Movie Review: Back from Hell (1993)

Some movies beg to be skewered. Some movies fail on pretty much every level and are made with an astounding level of incompetence. However, not all movies can be judged the same way. You cannot just parse the elements, you have to put them into some manner of context. The thing is, it may be easy to rip into a bad movie, but you have to ask if it is truly deserving of the ire you can bring to the table. This is where a movie like Back from Hell enters the picture. It is not a good movie, but I found it incredibly entertaining.

Movie Review: Return of the Living Dead 3

After spending an evening revisiting the classic Return of the Living Dead and discovering that I had never seen Return of the Living Dead Part II, I decided to complete the trifecta and watch Return of the Living Dead 3 (which I know I had seen before). There is nothing like spending some time with some zombies, sure they are pretty much everywhere these days, but that has not diminished their effectiveness, it just might take a touch longer to uncover the good ones. In any case, the third return film is my second favorite of the three (we won't bother with those two that were on TV later on). This one also changes the formula, while remaining a recognizable part of the series.

Movie Review: Leprechaun

Way back in 1993, writer/director Mark Jones introduced us to his version of the Leprechaun myth. The rules may state that if you catch one, he must take you to his pot of good, but there is nothing that says he cannot hang around and do whatever it takes to get his gold back. That is what the tale here is all about. It opens up in the past, a fellow has caught he wee guy, taken his gold and imprisoned him in a box using a four leaf clover. I don't recall that bit before, but it makes sense, I guess. Doesn't matter, that is what it means in this movie.

Movie Review: RoboCop 3 (1993)

I guess it was a foregone conclusion that RoboCop 2 was going to be a hit as RoboCop 3 went into production shortly after the second film wrapped. As it turned out, part 2 was a moderate hit, not making as much as the original, but certainly enough to justify a continuation of the series. Unfortunately, this third film seems to have been compromised from the get go. This third film just takes everything that made RoboCop a franchise to be reckoned with and made it a joke. I know that sounds harsh, but this movie is just bad. I am sure it did not help that it sat on the shelf for a while as Orion Pictures went through bankruptcy.

Movie Review: Jason Goes to Hell - The Final Friday (1993)

1989 saw Jason leave Crystal Lake for the first time (well, second if you count the opening moments of Friday the 13th Part 2). The machete wielding killer got reanimated (again), hopped a boat and had a killer cruise to Manhattan, where he ultimately met an end at the hands of a daily flush of NYC toxic waste. The film did not do all that well at the box office and Paramount ultimately sold the rights to New Line Cinema. It sat there for a few years until the character was resurrected in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. It was not well received and its box office take backed that up, it started off a distant second to The Fugitive and fell from there. It ultimately took in a bit more than Jason Takes Manhattan, but that does not mean much.