Movie Review: Leprechaun 3

Sometimes I wonder how Leprechaun became a series. The movies are not particularly good and only two ever hit the big screen. The first one was modestly entertaining, the second was pretty awful, and the third falls somewhere in between. After the second film failed to gain cinematic traction, grossing $2.2 million (it opened in limited release to about $.25 million), the third film was changed from a 3D theatrical release to a direct to video title. To its credit it was the biggest selling DTV title of 1995. Still, the movie is not all that good. Its one saving grace? Warwick Davis.

Blu-ray Review: Joy Ride 3 - Roadkill

Way back in 2001 there was a little movie called Joy Ride. It was a decent low grade thriller with a few actors who we would become more familiar with over the years in Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, and Leelee Sobieski. More than that it was co-written by JJ Abrams. It was effective, entertaining, perhaps nothing particularly special, but it is certainly worth watching. Things become a little dicier when you start to consider sequels. Frankly, I had no idea that there was a sequel to this until I got my hands on this third entry to review. It turns out that a sequel was released straight to video back in 2008. I have never seen it, but judging on the third entry, I am not sure it is actually necessary.

Movie Review: Dreamaniac

The 1980's saw an explosion in the movie industry, an aftermarket appeared and the videostore was born. This opened up another new market, low budget films, many shot on video, made specifically for these video stores. Now, I am not going to get into this history, but I will say that some men knew how to tap into that market, Charles Band is one of those guys. With Empire Pictures and later Full Moon Pictures, he filled the market with what they wanted. Not always good, but they were there. Dreamaniac is one of those features, produced by Band and directed by David Decoteau.

DVD Review: Code Red (2013)

Zombies are all the rage, although their welcome seems to be wearing thin in some corners of the horror community. Not this one, however. While there have been some really bad zombie stuff released over the years, I am a sucker for a good one, or even a modestly entertaining one. They come in all shapes and sizes, they recently made the jump to big budget blockbuster status with the surprisingly decent World War Z. They seem to be easy to write, easy to execute, but difficult to master, and every would be horror director seems to try their hand at it. This includes first time writer/director Valeri Milev.

Movie Review: Phantasm - OblIVion

Following the release of Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead in 1994, plans were made for a fourth film. A screenplay was penned by none other than Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction, Silent Hill) with an eye towards a release in 1999. Well, it took a little while to try and pull it together so Don Coscarelli made his own fourth film, OblIVion. The intention was to use this as a bridge to the Avary penned film. Unfortunately, it appears that the ship has sailed and this supposed bridge has more of an air of finality to it. This is not really a bad thing, as the movie really is not all that bad and definitely has a few things going for it.

Movie Review: Phantasm III - Lord of the Dead

Phantasm arrived in 1979 and proved to be a unique voice with a wicked bad guy at its core, a movie that stood out in the early days of the slasher cycle. It was not a slasher, but the bad guy easily stands with the most evil of that bunch. It took nine years for its sequel to arrive. Phantasm II gave the franchise a new, more straightforward focus, as well as cementing the series' reality, its bad guy, and the hero's desire to stop him, as well as bringing some more action and even some road movie elements. Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead arrived in 1994, fifteen years after the original, with another slice of eerie road movie horror.

Movie Review: Mindwarp (1992)

Mindwarp was released way back in 1992 and was the first film released by the short lived Fangoria Films label. Yes, that name has been used a few times since, but this was back when the intention was to actively finance one film a year (it lasted through three films before folding). In the years since it has been used as a distribution company and as a marketing label. Anyway, this movie debuted on home video and does not seem to have gone much of anywhere. It is not a movie that comes up in everyday conversation, even among genre fans. I guess the question could be asked about whether you should care or not? The answer is a resounding maybe.

Movie Review: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 - Initiation

With three Silent Night, Deadly Night movies in the can, the series made the shift to video and they started churning them out, one a year for three years. The first was 1990's Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation. This slice of DTV badness was directed by Brian Yuzna, settling into the director's chair after producing such classics as Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dolls. Now, this is not a good movie, features some rather sloppy storytelling and acting that is pretty poor. On the plus side, it does feature Clint Howard and a small role for Reggie Bannister.

Movie Review: Pumpkinhead II - Blood Wings

Way back in 1988 legendary make up and special effects guru Stan Winston decided to try his hand at directing. The result was a horror movie that has become something of an underrated classic. Seriously, it is a movie that I frequently forget about and forget about how awesome it is, or at least parts of it. The movie is Pumpkinhead and it features a great creature and a great lead performance from Lance Henriksen. It was perfectly set up for a sequel and seemed like the perfect choice for a franchise. Unfortunately, it took six years for one to materialize and it went straight to video! On top of that, it appears they chose not to pay attention to what came before.

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.