Revisiting a Murder: The Crow: Wicked Prayer

By the time The Crow: Wicked Prayer arrived in 2005, the franchise was already on life support. The movie had a brief one-week theatrical premiere before being unceremoniously dumped to the video market. To be fair, the movie really isn’t that good, it looks bad even next to the prior outing, the also direct to video The Crow: Salvation. With that said, as I revisit the film now, I still see it as a bad movie, but there are things that I have come to like about it. It is like there are good elements in spite of its efforts to be a bad movie. Overall, the feel is not unlike that of the latter Hellraiser sequels, made as a reason to hang on to the license.

Movie Review: Rush Hour 3

I remember when the first Rush Hour film came out, it was way back in 1998. Jackie Chan was on a run of action films that was raising his international recognition (Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop, First Strike, Operation Condor) and Chris Tucker was a rising star following Friday, Money Talks, and The Fifth Element, so it seemed like a good idea to combine the fleet feet of Chan with the fast tongue of Tucker. I have to admit, I really liked that first film, the second two. Granted it has been some years since I have revisited them. Now, for some reason I decided to revisit part 3, and it has not aged well. I’m not sure I really liked it the first time around back in 2007.

Movie Review: The Midnight Meat Train

Let me start by saying that I am pretty disappointed that I did not get a chance to see this in a theater. That is not to say that it is a classic, but deserved more of a shot than it was given. The Midnight Meat Train was supposed to hit theaters nationwide way back in 2008. The problem is that, for whatever reason, the new head of Lionsgate did not like it, pulled it from the schedule and released to roughly 100 budget theaters. On top of that, they never told anyone what theaters they were, so if you wanted to see it, good luck finding it. Honestly, it should have gotten a push, it is certainly better than a lot of what passes for wide-release horror these days.

Movie Review: Dangerous Men

Wow. I really don’t know where to begin with this one. Dangerous Men is being billed as a movie 26-years in the making. It is a no budget action film that appears to have begun shooting in the early 1980’s and had scenes finished sometime in the 1990’s. It is the brainchild of John S. Rad, an Iranian who fled his home country for California, leaving behind a multi-million dollar fortune and several finished features. An architect by trade, it seems he fancied himself more of a filmmaker. This action/thriller is his magnum opus and the only film the world will ever get to know. Should you see it? That depends on your capacity for cheese.

Movie Review: Splinter (2008)

There was this movie I wanted to see a few years back, but never did. I remember seeing trailers for it in theaters, but it never came. Not around my neck of the woods, anyway. Over time I forgot about it and the desire to see it all but disappeared, since I did not remember anything about it. Well, it turns out the movie was Splinter and my chance and desire to see it returned as I found it streaming on a new horror movie service. So, I clicked on the play button and watched this little horror movie, and guess what? I liked it! No, it is nothing particularly revolutionary, but it is quite entertaining and nicely executed.

Movie Review: Leprechaun - Back 2 tha Hood

Here we are, the final entry in the inexplicable Leprechaun series. Seriously, how did this make it to six movies? Beyond that, how did it rate a remake/reboot/whatever you want to call it? I guess it doesn't matter. I guess they all managed to make some money and warrant another trip into the well. Granted, it did take three years after Leprechaun on the Hood for this to appear. On the flip side, I guess this one did not land as well as the others, as this was the last one to be released prior to the WWE produced reboot.

Movie Review: Leprechaun in the Hood

Five movies in to the Leprechaun series and still I wonder how they kept getting made. Of course, logic tells me that enough people were buying or renting them versus how much they cost to make, making it economically viable for the studio to continue making them. You will notice that the idea of quality never enters the picture. Of course, everyone watching, everyone buying, anyone paying attention always goes in with the highest of hopes only to be let down time after time. I sort of knew from the start watching them all was a fool's errand, yet here I am. Just me and Leprechaun in the Hood.

Movie Reviews: Divergent/Insurgent

It was just about a year ago that a little movie called Divergent hit the screens. At the time I took a pass on it, as it looked a lot like all the other young adult adaptations that have been hitting the screen. Frankly, I just was not interested as they all seem to pale in comparison to The Hunger Games, which seems to have nailed to format in a worthy and entertaining fashion. I felt vindicated in my decision to skip it when I faltered and saw The Maze Runner, which attempted to hide narrative deficiency in fast moving action. The the trailer for Insurgent arrived, and I felt my resolve slip.

A Revisitation: Saw

So, the other night I decided to revisit the original Saw. I was curious to see how it held up of if my opinion of it had changed. Now, I never officially reviewed it on its original release, and I am not reviewing it now, but I thought i would reflect on it a little bit now that my memory is refreshed. The movie, and series in general, has become something of a lightning rod in terms of mainstream horror and can sort of be looked at as a more current counterpart to the Friday the 13th films from the 1980's. You can see that, right?

Movie Review: The Turnpike Killer

There seem to be a lot of filmmakers out there intent on recapturing past glories. And by past glories, I mean stuff us genre fans have come to love about the past. Examples would be Tarantino's Death Proof as an ode to the grindhouse, and Adam Green's Hatchet series, paying homage to slashers. The problem is that horror, at least mainstream horror, is full of ironic touches and references. To make a true grindhouse type film is a chore, the classics were made with genuine earnestness, not made as a joke or to be funny. Now along comes The Turnpike Killer. It is not mainstream, it's not ironic, and it is not nice. This is grindhouse era exploitation.

Movie Review: Dead Snow

Nazi zombies, as a sub-genre of the horror genre and a sub-sub-genre of the zombie film, is one that is not very well packed with movies, but it is one everyone seems to know about. Even if they haven't seen a sample of said film, everyone acknowledges it like it is a thing. Considering the few titles that I have found that fall into this category, I am not sure it even qualifies. Still, I am pretty sure it doesn't really matter. This 2009 Nazi-zombie entry may be the most popular at the moment, but it still owes some credit to predecessors like Zombie Lake and, in particular, Shock Waves.

Reviews in Retrograde: Autumn in New York

Critical Outcast isn't my first attempt at a website, I had a few stutter steps in the late 1990's and early 2000's. These attempts generated a whole bunch of poorly written, often very short and spoilerific reviews. I recently stumbled upon them in my archives and thought you may be interested in seeing some of these early attempts at writing. They are as they were then, I make no apologies for how bad or how short they are. Feel free to have at them with reckless abandon! I present to you: Reviews in Retrograde.

Critical Capsule: The Room (2003)

Have you ever heard of The Room? Before a few days ago I had no idea what it was. I have since learned it is generally considered one of the worst movies ever made. I am here to tell you that is a pretty accurate description. It is one of the worst things I have ever laid eyes on, although I would still watch it over Movie 43. It is a movie that completely fails on every level, even the title makes no sense. Still, it is a movie that needs to be seen, preferably with friends and an abundance of beer.

Critical Capsule: Timecrimes

So, last night I watched a little movie called Timecrimes (Los cronocrimenes). Wow. It is the sort of movie I think I will need to watch a few (if not more) more times to get close to figuring out what happened, but I felt the need to share with you that I saw it and implore you to check it out. I know I have some friends who balk at the idea of subtitles and to you I say “Get over it!” While I like having the option, the best way to experience a foreign film is in its own language. Well, back to the movie at hand. While I do not think Timecrimes is necessarily a great film, it is one that is exceeding spectacular in its construction.

Movie Review: Friday the 13th (2009)

What began as merely a means to keep a company going, beyond all expectations Friday the 13th became a thing of legend. Who would have guessed this low budget rip off movie (targeting Halloween's success, and the less admitted to death stylings of Bay of Blood) would become such an unmitigated success. It has spawned 9 sequels, plus a crossover with another horror icon, before arriving here. You knew it was going to happen sooner or later, with Hollywood's ever expanding penchant for remakes and “product” with a built in fan base, it was inevitable. The big question was whether or not it was going to be any good.

Movie Review: Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

So, with 2002's entertaining bomb of Jason X, one had to wonder when we would next see the hockey masked momma's boy and if it would a worthy addition to the franchise. Since Paramount ended their run with Jason Takes Manhattan we had to wait years between Jason appearances. One would think the character was dead. The same thing could be said for Freddy Krueger, who hadn't been seen on the big screen since 1994's Wes Craven's New Nightmare. While both characters had their fan bases and dreams of a showdown, it did not seem likely to happen. Then 2003 rolled around and Freddy vs. Jason was unleashed on the world. It was like a dream come true, although it was not all that I had hoped it would be.

Movie Review: Jason X (2002)

After the 1993 failure of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, the Friday the 13th got kind of put back on the back burner. The movie did not do all that well and was not exactly well received by the fan base. It is right up (down?) there with Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. It seems that if you stray too far from the established path you will be rejected. Well, that is neither here nor there. In the years following Jason's journey south, attentions were turned to creating a Freddy vs. Jason movie, following a failed attempt in 1988. Sadly, creative wheels continued to spin with many stabs at a script and numerous director interviews. So, while that was going on, New Line was approached about doing another Jason film. Jason X was born.

HorrorA-Day: Mimic 2 - Hardshell

As Halloween draws ever closer, I have found at least one more shorts day in the season. I guess those few frosty mornings were just a tease. The consistently chilled weather is coming, it is right around the corner and soon enough I will be complaining about cold weather and I will be ready for the warmth of spring. But I am getting ahead of myself. This season has also allowed me to discover a few movies, some new, some old, some good, some bad, and there is still some time left. Hopefully, I will get back on a good role.

Horror-A-Day: Salvage (2009)

This morning didn't have a frost like the past few days have had, but there was still a crisp coldness that dug into my scalp when I stepped outside. It was the sort of chill that kinda gathers at the back of your neck and drives to the bone. Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but it could certainly be liked to the feeling when a good horror movie injects a decent creep factor. Not all horror movies set out to creep, or get under the skin, some just want to toss blood at you, and others want you to believe it could happen.

Movie Review: The Hazing

Cruising Netflix for something to watch and I stumbled across The Hazing, also known as Dead Scared. At first glance, it looks like just another low budget horror movie. You'd be right, that is exactly what it is. It is a good thing that doesn't necessarily mean bad, however, you actually need to watch the thing to find that out. It's a good thing I am here to take the bullet for you, and let you know if any of these are worth watching.