Night Of The Demons 2 (A sequel to DIE for!)

Score: 8 Out Of 10

           Back when I was in high school, I used to frequent this little video store around the corner from my parents house. The store was loaded with VHS tapes and had a fairly large selection of obscure horror and sci-fi films. This is where I first saw "Night of the Demons (1988)." I fell in love with the film and remember watching it twice back to back. So imagine how elated I was to learn there are sequels! "Night of the Demons 2 (1994)" was direted by Brian Trenchard-Smith and Stars Amelia Kinkade, Cristi Harris and Darin Heames. The movie is about some teenagers who decide to party at the infamous "Hull House." It's not long before creepy things start happening and they decide to leave unknowingly bringing a demonic force with them. What makes this film good is it does not take itself too seriously. This film is not a dark comedy by any means, but it does definitely have it's fair share of laughs. I am also happy to report that for every laugh to be had in this film, there is at least one genuinely creepy moment. The other aspect of this film I really enjoyed were the awesome special effects.

       A lot of nineties horror films experimented with computer generated imagery with some pretty awkward results. This film however, tends to favor home made effects done with paint and latex. The end results are some really wonderful and actually scary visuals. The downside was the dialogue was a little silly here and there. There were some moments where I was left thinking 'Who talks like this?' Also, I am not a fan of reusing scenes from the first film for things that should have been easy enough to shoot. Example: our main antagonist roaming the halls of "Hull House." But these minor irritants aside, "NOTD2" does not disappoint. It may not be as good as the first, but is does make for a pretty good sequel. Now let's just hope the third film is up to snuff...

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy

Le Fear II: Le Sequel (Kinda New But Kinda Not)

Score: 6 Out Of 10

              I will preface this post by saying that I have not seen "Le Fear (2010)" and did not read up on "Le Fear II: Le Sequel" before I started watching it. I did not even bother to reed the IMDB page for the film. Why? Because sometimes it is better to walk into a film completely blind and just let yourself be surprised. "Le Fear II: Le Sequel (Due to be released in the UK on April 11th, 2015)" was written and directed by Jason Croot (who also has a supporting role in the film) and stars Kyri Saphiris, Seye Adelekan and Leila Reed. The film is a comedy/horror/mockumentary that shows the trials and tribulations of a writer and director that has sunk five hundred thousand dollars of his own money into a film, but right from the first moment of shooting, our protagonist is plagued by a producer who seems to be more of a con-artist . The film is pretty well acted and very well shot. If I did not know any better I would almost swear that I was watching an actual documentary.

            The movie seems to take pages out of the playbooks from more mainstream  mockumentaries such as "This Is Spinal Tap (1984)" and "The Office (2001)" by building comedic situations based on awkward encounters and ludicrous problems. I'm happy to say that most of the jokes work, but in hindsight, the feeling I got through out most of the film was much akin to deja vu. I felt like I had seen almost all of the aforementioned situations in other movies and T.V. shows and the film as a whole was just unoriginal. In the end, It is a fun movie but I felt like they could have done better to offer new ideas rather than just rehashing the old ones.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy.

Twitter: @BMovieguy

Witching and Bitching (Good Movie, Stupid Title)

Score: 7 Out Of 10

             I will admit that the only reason I watched this movie is because the poster creeped me out. Every time I would load up Netflix for like two weeks I would see the poster and think, 'Eww, I should watch that, but the title is just so stupid.' "Witching and Bitching (2013) was directed and co-written by Álex de la Iglesia and stars Hugo Silva, Mario Casas and Pepon Nieto. The movie tells the story of three robbers (one being the twelve year old son of another older robber) who hit up a cash for gold store in hilarious fashion. Before long, police and the young boys mother are pursuing the robbers while they themselves are confronting witches in a small, creepy town. So finally, after a week or two, I gave in and watched the movie and I was not disappointing "Witching and Bitching" is a clever mix of both comedy and horror. For every moment I was cringing (in a good way) I was chuckling. I especially like the nods to European witchcraft films from the 1970's. Think "The Blood On Satan's Claw (1971)" and "The Wicker Man (1973).

         
         What bothers me, on the other hand, is almost the exact same thing I liked about this movie. For all the inspiration it draws from older films, it does not offer us anything new. The horror genre the last ten years or so (and really almost all american mainstream cinema) has gotten stale. It is almost all remakes and rehashed ideas and this film is no different. Be that as it may, "W&B" is still a pretty entertaining film. There are plenty of surprises and laughs, but I just can not picture this movie having any long lasting appeal to older horror fans, but for younger fans who are new to the genre, there is plenty to love.

  

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy.

Twitter: @BMovieguy

Full Moon High (Would've been better if I were...)

Score: 3 Out of 10

             In the first half of the nineteen eighties there was a rash of werewolf movies. Some funny, some scary, some just downright weird. "An American Werewolf in London (1981)," "Teen Wolf (1985)" and "Wolfen (1981)" are some of the better films. But for all the good movies that fit into this sub-genre, there were some really bad ones. "Full Moon High (1981)" was written and directed by Larry Cohen and stars Adam Arkin, Roz Kelly and Ed McMahon. Also keep an eye out for some pretty interesting cameos. No joke, Bob Saget is shown naked in the first three minutes of this film. The plot is about a high school football player who goes to eastern Europe with his C.I.A. agent father, is bitten by a werewolf, becomes a werewolf and then somehow magically time travels twenty years into the future. Yeah, you read the last part correctly. So the movie as a whole is supposed to be a spoof of werewolf movies but it is really more of a spoof of "I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957)." It should come as no surprise that "Teenage Werewolf" was a much better, and funnier film; even if it was not meant to be funny.

         Sadly, "Full Moon High" was meant to be funny, and for the entire ninety three minute run time I did not laugh once. I have a pretty dark sense of humor so dark comedies normally do well by me, but this movie was missing one key ingredient; humor. The jokes in this movie felt forced and half of them were just really bad puns (in hindsight, I guess if you like puns this movie is for you). Honestly, at a time when so many good werewolf movies were coming out, and even werewolf comedies, this movie just falls short. Do yourself a favor and skip this one and watch literally any other werewolf movie from the eighties.  I promise you will not regret it.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy

Twitter: @BMovieguy

Big Ass Spider! (Maybe too big...)

Score: 6 Out Of 10

              I woke up earlier than normal on Sunday morning. I could not get back to sleep, so I eventually got up, went to the living room and started browsing movies on Netflix. This little gem caught my eye and I thought 'why not?' Honestly, my Sunday was not off to a bad start. "Big Ass Spider!" was directed by Mike Mendez and stars Greg Grunberg, Clare Kramer and Lombardo Boyar. The plot is about an exterminator hired by a hospital to kill a genetically modified spider and it is not long before horror/hilarity ensues. Normally when I watch these Sy-Fy-channel-original-esque movies I get very bored about an hour into the movie and start staring into my cell phone. This time, however, I was pretty into it for almost the entire movie. The film had a pretty good mix of humor and creepiness that kept me glued to the t.v. for at least the first hour of the movie. The last half hour of the movie is where the movie started to loose me. If they had kept this film about a spider that is pretty big, maybe the size of a small dog, than it would have been better.

     
      When the spider became giant is when the movie lost me. I have seen so many giant spider movies at this point that the whole idea is just boring now. If I ever see a giant spider in real life, there is a fair chance I might look at it and go 'meh,' then go about my day. When the spider was small the film was genuinely creepy and was actually setting itself aside from all the other low budget monster movies I had seen. Another thing that sucks about this plot twist is once the spider goes giant the CGI becomes painfully obvious and everything just starts to look like a cartoon. When the spider was small the CGI actually looked pretty cool. So I at least recommend the first part of this film. The first hour of so will not disappoint.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy

Twitter: @BMovieguy

Strippers VS Werewolves (This Is An Actual Movie?)

Score: 3 Out Of 10

                That question I put as a subtitle, I find myself asking that a lot lately. I am still not sure why I even bothered to watch this movie. I have never been a fan of strippers and I tend to not like werewolf movies (although I have always loved the idea of werewolves). Yet, there was still a voice in the back of my mind that said, 'Maybe you will be surprised.' I was not. "Strippers VS Werewolves (2012)" was directed by Jonathan Glendening and stars Adele Silva, Martin Compston and Bill Murray (not the comedian and actor we all know and love, but the British actor who was in all those BBC shows i have never heard of). The plot is about a stripper who kills a werewolf chief and his crew who are now out for revenge. So besides what you can tell just by looking to the picture to the left, what is wrong with this movie? A lot. The pacing is bad. I feel like I spent more time waiting for something to happen than I did enjoying anything that actually did happen. The acting is pretty horrendous as well but I am guessing that is not a surprise to anyone. 

            None of this is to say that there is nothing good about this movie. There are some fun surprises and a nice cameo. I specifically like the references to older films that I actually enjoyed. In addition there some nudity in there (that is a good or bad thing depending on what kind of person you are, I won't judge) But none of those positives add up to a good movie. If the story is poor and is poorly told then you will still have a bad movie. For all the gore, boobies (not judging), surprises and hi jinks you can squeeze into a film, you still need a compelling story. And that is what this movie lacks. It is a fun idea, but maybe it should have just stayed as an idea.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy

Twitter: @BMovieguy

H.O.T.S. (Trashy AND Funny)

Score: 5 Out Of 10

           This is one of those movies where you invite some friends over, have a couple of beers, pop some popcorn and just laugh the night away. You and your friends, by the way, are not going to be laughing because the film itself is genuinely funny, but because of how ridiculously bad it is. "H.O.T.S. (1979)" was directed by Gerald Seth Sindell and stars Susan Kiger, Pamela Jean Bryant and Danny Bonaduce (I would love to make fun of him for being in this film, but who could blame him for wanting to costar with a bunch of Playboy Playmates). The plot is... well... Virtually nonexistent for one thing. It really seems like a group of girls start a sorority, get into to trouble with the dean for being too risque, then feud (for almost no reason) with another sorority. The feud, by the way, consists of pranks and a wet t-shirt contest and culminates in a (spoiler) game of strip football. So you have probably guessed by now that this is not a great movie, but to be honest, it was not meant to be a great movie. For your time and money it promises cheap laughs and lots and lots of boobies and to be fair it does deliver on both. The adult in me really wants to roll my eyes at this one but the teenager found it hilarious.

        It really is, however, how over the top bad this movie that made me enjoy it. All of the high jinks the girls get into play out so terribly and so ridiculously that I could not help but laugh at all of it. The girls have a sea lion as their mascot. So rather than have a guy in a sea lion mascot costume, there is a hand full of scenes with an actual sea lion. And that is the kind of shit that made me like this movie. It did not have good acting or a good script or even a real budget (I could imagine that most of it went to the actresses) but what this movie does have is, like it's main characters, heart and charm.

Love,

   The B-Movie Guy

Twitter: @BMovieguy