Fright Night Part 2 (1988)

This is such a hard movie to find and get ahold of that I'm very pleased I was finally able to see it after all this time. The DVD goes for almost $70 on amazon, and seeing as I've never seen it there was no way I'm spending that kind of money on a movie that I don't know if I like or not.

As I've mentioned I've never seen this film up until now and I'm glad the opportunity finally arose. I have a few friends who have seen it and whenever I asked them how it was I just got the generic "it's okay, not as good as the first" reply. So I didn't have high hopes going in to this because they didn't exactly make it seem appealing.

But as the movie played and I saw not only William Ragsdale reprising his role as Charley Brewster but Roddy McDowall also reprising his role as Peter Vincent. So right from the start my feeling changed and I figured this would be a good movie after all.

This film takes place shortly after the first with Charley no longer believing in vampires due to seeing a shrink. He believes Jerry Dandridge was just a psycho and he imagined the vampire scenario. Peter Vincent however is still hosting Fright Night and believes in vampires. When Jerry's sister comes to town wanting revenge for her dead brother Charley starts to realize he's not crazy and that vampires are real. This leads him and Peter Vincent on another vampire hunt.

There were so many funny moments in this movie as well as jumps. It turned out to be a damn good sequel and did the first justice. The story was strong, the acting was good, the effects were cheesy but awesome. Alot of memorable moments came from this film including the vampire and werewolf bowling scene! Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous but it's a great scene.

Now the big question- is Fright Night Part 2 better than the first?
No it isn't. It's like Halloween H20 to the original 1978 Halloween. It was a good sequel and it kept the feel of the first and stayed true to it but it just didn't have the same amount of lightning in a bottle the first had. Good sequel though and I would proudly own it one day when I don't have to spend $70 on a used copy of it.

I found Jerry's sister, Regina Dandridge, very seductive and beautiful. Good job on the casting as well. But really to experience this movie you have to see it. It's funny and very entertaining. I'm glad to say that after all these years of wondering that Fright Night Part 2 did it's job with flying colors. It puts a smile on my face. And as I said in my review for the remake, I liked the remake alot so that means that all 3 films made in this franchise have my approval.

Seeing Charlie and and Peter Vincent together again was so cool! I didn't even know they were going to be in it!

3 stars for me. Trailer below.

The House On Sorority Row (1983)

Now here is a movie that I've been wanting to see ever since I saw the horrible remake. I was so turned off by the remake and how bad it was that I knew the original couldn't be as bad, especially since it's an 80's film categorizing it as an 80's slasher.

What I liked about this film was the story and the way it was pulled off. Really kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing who the killer was. There were some great kills and some moments where the female in distress is doing dumb things that are only going to get her killed, but that's how these movies go. Regardless of how much we want to warn them or remind them how dumb and foolish they're being it doesn't matter, they're going to die anyway (laugh).

This film, as I mentioned before, has a strong story and the acting is pretty good also. I just wish I wasn't a baby when this came out so I could have seen it in all its glory. Much different than the remake, that didn't even make it on my review list, wasn't worth my time.

It's crazy thinking of how this film has slipped under the radar of just about everybody! Since it was in '83 that makes it an early slasher film and deserves more recognition.

Now the only thing that I disliked about the movie was the ending. It ended good BUT I felt like it could have gone on longer. Kind of like they cut the last 5 minutes out of the film. But I did like the ending. For what it was I shouldn't have expected anything less.

Synopsis taken from IMDb
A group of girls staying at a sorority house clash with the house's owner, who wants them out. They decide to play a prank on her, but it goes awry and she winds up dead. Panicking, the girls try to hide the body, but someone (or something) witnessed the crime and begins to stalk them. 

I'm a fan of this movie and will gladly be adding it to my collection of on-growing movies. It never ends.

3 stars for me. Trailer below.

Bloody Birthday (1981)

I breathed a sigh of relief when I found a stash of new slasher films to watch. Especially since they're from the 80's. The 80's slasher genre will always be my favorite genre of horror. The 80's was the best era for horror ever in my opinion.

Now going into this movie I wasn't expecting much...just eager to watch a slasher that makes me feel at home.

Synopsis taken from IMDb
In 1970, three children are born at the height of a total eclipse. Due to the sun and moon blocking Saturn, which controls emotions, they have become heartless killers ten years later, and are able to escape detection because of their youthful and innocent facades. A boy and his teenage sister become endangered when they stumble onto the bloody truth.

This was as expected, it wasn't very well acted or have a strong story, but it kept me entertained. It was a fun watch. The things I like about it are also the things I don't like. The camp was good but a little too much.

The kills were good and laughable, the whole movie was laughable. If you go into this movie wanting gold don't watch it. If you want to watch a movie that you can laugh at and relax with then watch this. I wouldn't go as far to say I'd buy this movie or own it, but I don't regret watching it.

The gore and acting were weak but that's the kind of things that made movies like that good to us horror fans. Just entertain us and we'll be happy. That's how I am anyway.

1 1/2 stars for me, judging on the movie itself. Entertainment factor would be a 2 1/2 out of 4.

Grave Encounters

I was a little worried going into this movie seeing as I haven't heard much about it and that usually isn't a good sign.

This film is about a film crew doing the 6th episode of their reality ghost show (strongly mocking Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures) in a mental institution that's been abandoned for a long time. The crew doesn't take it seriously and they aren't even true believers, they just put on a show for the money they make. But it all goes south when it turns out that the institution is haunted and they've wore out their welcome.

So for the first time they actually have to fight for survival against malevolent spirits until they can find a way out. The scares build slowly and slowly but they did it in a very good way to keep you waiting and anticipating things to start happening.

I was kind of thrown off by this movie because there were actually alot of things that I liked about it but there were alot of bad things too. I guess you'd say it was one of those movies that has alot of potential but the people making it didn't know how to deliver it properly. So unfortunately the potential and build up was wasted on a bunch of cheap and weak scares.

There's a scene where they go into a room after hearing screaming and they record a woman in the corner weeping. Now this scene had me on the edge of my seat, I was ready to be creeped out and even jump just to see they used crappy CGI to make the woman look scary. It was such a shame because that scene had ALOT of potential just to be thrown away with some PG-13 crappy scare. I was angry at how bad they did this scene. I wanted this scene to deliver.

Another scene I hated was when they went into a room that was full of black arms coming out of the walls and ceiling. I don't know what this scene was supposed to do for watchers but it sure as hell wasn't scary. It was kind of dumb and pointless. They could have gone without that scene.

I guess the things I liked about this movie was the potential it had but it didn't pull through so it's kinda pointless. I was disapointed in this film regardless. I did like the idea of the movie. I just wish they knew how to make an impact. Instead it's totally forgettable.

2 stars for me. Trailer below.