Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Dominique is Dead (1979)

There's spooky stuff going on in their mansion and Dominique believes her husband David is trying to drive her insane. After her death, David starts wondering if he's going mad himself as he keeps seeing Dominique in the house and outside his office. The twist ending answers the question of whether Dominique is truly dead and whether the supernatural inhabits the home. Not a particularly original film, it's similar to Gaslight and countless other driving the spouse insane plots.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Fiend (1980)

An alien energy reanimates a corpse who rises from the grave, kills a couple, buys a house, gets a car, feeds his cat, opens a music academy, and teaches violin. Honestly, is there a more bizarre concept for a film? What sort of reanimated corpse is going to buy a house or teach violin? And where did he get the money to purchase the home in the first place?

The corpse, who goes by the name of Mr. Longfellow, has to kill to keep his body from deteriorating. He strangles women in the neighborhood and glows red when he's committing these crimes. He spends all his time down in the basement rec room. In the other half of the basement, there is a little area where he keeps a knife in fancy box and slashes photographs of his victims.

Mr. Kender, his next door neighbor, suspects something is off with Longfellow, especially after a little girl is murdered behind their home. When Longfellow needs to kill, he starts looking waxy and his eyelids get all droopy which is yucky.

While the story is ridiculous, the film is actually well done, nicely edited and another good attempt by Don Dohler.

AVP Aliens vs Predator Requiem

A spaceship filled with alien hatchling specimens crash lands on Earth unleashing the hatchlings on a small town. Aliens run amuck in town as a Predator arrives to take control of the creatures that killed his friend.

The townsfolk don't get any character development, so it's hard to remember anyone's name. But since they're all stereotypes, you can remember them that way. There's the ex-con, sheriff, younger brother, pizza guy, army mom, little girl, asshole jock, and hot chick.

As the slaughter of the townspeople rages on, a small group bands together to try to survive, and must decide whether to follow the Army's instructions to go to the center of town for an evacuation or to head to the hospital in hopes of using their chopper to escape. Guess which is the better idea.

Blood Sisters (1987)

A sorority initiation calls for pledges to spend a night in a house that has been closed for thirteen years due to multiple murders that took place within. The local fraternity has rigged what they call pranks inside the haunted brothel to test the bravery of the sorority pledges as they compete on a scavenger hunt. Oddly enough, this is the only movie I remember where the pledge master is actually concerned for the pledges safety and considers calling off the hazing ritual.

The movie has ghost prostitutes, the couple who decides to have sex in the haunted house, and a geeky girl with glasses straight out of Scooby Doo. Her glasses are knocked off her face at a key moment in the ghost activity and she blindly moves around with her arms outstretched in front of her.

Murder Mansion (1972)

Stranger's lost in what the description called "a thick and leering fog" - how in the world does fog leer?! - end up stranded in an old mansion at the edge of a cemetery. The young woman who owns the home invites them to stay the night and spooky things happen.

There are numerous flashbacks to events you wont' care about, a creepy lady, her hulking driver, and a twist ending that will generally elicit a response of "oh..."

Final Payback (2001)

Richard Grieco is Joey Randall, an ex cop who who is having an affair with his former Captain's wife, who is murdered while he sleeps downstairs. Randall becomes a suspect as not only is he observed fleeing the scene, but he also accidentally grabs in the murder weapon by the handle.

Randall goes on the run and becomes involved with his ex-girlfriend who is soon to be married. Randall's only friend, a former junkie, is worked over by a corrupt cop played by Martin Kove. Grieco is very puffy and does not look healthy. He looks nothing like the picture on the cover, and I don't even think the girl on the cover is in the film.

Blood Mania (1970)

Groovy hipster Dr. Craig Cooper is providing care to a rich old guy who's sleazy daughter Victoria likes to walk around wearing see-through dresses. When Victoria finds out Cooper is being black mailed by an old friend, she decides to give him the money, which she'll have once daddy dies. If she hastens his death along, then perhaps she can get what she desires, which is Cooper.

Victoria's younger sister Gail, who has a massive bouffant, goes to the county fair with Cooper. Gail is young and vapid. Cooper is old and bulky. They look like father and daughter, not a couple, which makes it a bit creepy.

After an incredibly long, long, long montage of their day, Cooper returns Gail to the house where Victoria witnesses them kissing and goes crazy - thus beginning both the blood and the mania referenced in the title.