The B Movie Celebration October 25th-27th

This month marks the seventh annual "B" Movie Celebration. For the past seven years, fans have come to this event to not just watch, but celebrate classics along with emerging B films. This year, the Hollywood Boulevard Cinema  in Woodridge, Illinois  is hosting this celebration of emerging B films, along with classics.

This year, there will be screenings of over 68 B movies, including 26 feature films and 42 cutting edge shorts. The organizers of the event have scoured their way through the independent underground and dug up some goodies that shouldn't be missed.

There's even going to be guest appearances there by Jim Wynorski, Fred Olen Ray, and Kevin Tenney. They'll be launching digitally remastered versions of Wynorski's "The Lost Empire" (1985) and "Chopping Mall" (1986). Fred Olen Ray will have the World Premiere of his latest film, "After Midnight". And Kevin Tenney will be present during a screening of is movie, "Witchboard" (1986).

For those in the Chicagoland area, don't miss out on this event! You're guaranteed to have a good time!

For tickets or any other info, visit their website here.

THE RELIC (1997)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 110 MINS
WRITER(S)- DOUGLAS PRESTON, LINCOLN CHILD, AMY HOLDEN JONES, JOHN RAFFO, RICK JAFFA, AND AMANDA SILVER
STARRING- PENELOPE ANN MILLER, TOM SIZEMORE, AND LINDA HUNT
DIRECTOR- PETER HYAMS



Synopsis taken from IMDb
A homicide detective and an anthropologist try to destroy a South American lizard-like God, who's on a people eating rampage in a Chicago museum.

 
This one goes out to my buddy, Lee. After briefly discussing this flick along with other horror nerds, he requested that I review it. Now, I don't usually do older film reviews unless I've just recently seen them for the first time. However, I've only seen "The Relic" once before, back when it came out on VHS. So, watching it again would be like watching it for the first time. That's my logic, anyway.

Now, one thing that always comes up when ever this film is the topic, is the book by Douglas J. Preston. I've never read it, but apparently it's even better than the movie. And from what I understand, has a lot more depth and more characters. Even when watching the film, I can see areas that I think are going to be touched up on more. Such as Margo and Dr. Greg Lee's rivalry. 

The one thing that I remembered about the film going into it again was how little you see of the Kothoga. Although it works, because less is more, it's a shame there just wasn't some really bright lights on this Chimeric beast if only for a brief period. I like the quality of darkness kept to set the mood, even if it does deprive us of a great visual creature. The late Stan Winston's masterful skill and genius gave birth to yet another one of the best designed movie monsters ever.

Watching this again was like experiencing it for the first time, I had forgotten so much. The heavy footsteps the Kothoga has, and how eerie it's breathing is, sounding like an old man wheezing. The ferocity and viciousness make it a truly terrifying creature.

Now, on with the plot. Very suspenseful, there's many scenes where nothing happens and yet you're on edge. The mystery behind the Kothoga, and where it could be at any and all times adds a strong sense of paranoia whenever a scene is dark. I also like that it takes place in a museum. It's like the last bit of "Jurassic Park" (1993), only more terrifying than fun. Although this film is entertaining, it does suffer from not enough interactions between characters, there's not really any character development.

The acting is surprisingly well done. Tom Sizemore does very good at playing a really likable character. It really is a shame what's become of his career. Anyway, the performances all around are strong, especially Penelope Ann Miller and James Whitmore. I just wish we had more time to see the characters grow, and really get to know them. For this reason, I am very much excited to read the novel. 

The scenes with the Kothoga, are downright scary. It has a seriously intimidating presence, and I genuinely felt scared for the people who got close to it. I knew it wasn't going to end well. This thing pulled the heads off of humans like it was opening a beer! The gore isn't overdone, but used very properly to push the realism.

There's good story development, and a solid little twist at the end. Overall, I think this is a really well done and underrated motion picture. Completely original, and it delivers as a horror movie. What else can you really ask for? Although it's not a perfect film, and needed more room to grow, it's very effective and memorable. But, I think the studio execs should have let this have an extra 20 minutes, at least.

As a matter of fact, after seeing this film again, I've decided to buy a collectible from it for my mancave. The paint job isn't quite right, but I know people who can fix that.

10 Favorite Death Scenes

With all the 5's and 10's lists I've been doing lately, I figured it only to be natural that I mention my favorite death scenes. This list, however, was tremendously difficult. Because I've simply seen too many horror films to narrow it down. But, after tedious thinking, I was able to compose a list of the scenes that have impacted me in some way or another.

There's such an abundance of films that I've viewed that I could easily make this a top 20 list. There's too many honorable mentions to even begin naming. The scenes below are the ones that made the list, and the ones that have burned their way into my mind.

Having watched horror films since I was a small child, I had to dig my way through all the great and terrible films I've seen in order to assemble this list. I give credit where credit is due, and everyone has a few scenes that they think of when they think of certain horror films that make them cringe or look away. Well, here's mine.

1. Halloween (1978)

2. Suspiria (1977)

3. Final Destination 2 (2003)

4. High Tension (2003)

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

6. The Lost Boys (1987)

7. Alien (1979)

8. Sleepaway Camp (1983)

9. The Blob (1988)

10. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

PARANORMAL ASYLUM: THE REVENGE OF TYPHOID MARY Will Make You Sick

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 90 MINS
WRITER(S)- FRED EDISON AND GREGORY SCOTT HOUGHTON
STARRING- ROSALIND ASHFORD, PAUL BRIGHT, AND CAMERON CHIUSANO
DIRECTOR- NIMROD ZALMANOWITZ



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Best friends Mark (Aaron Mathias) and Andy (Nathan Spiteri), both aspiring filmmakers, are seeking their next project. They decide to investigate the mystery of Mary Malone, aka Typhoid Mary (Jenny Lee Mitchell), who was sent to North Brother Island, a New York insane asylum, to live in a quarantined isolation after she was blamed for spreading Typhoid Fever.

This is a flick that can be viewed on Netflix, the source in which I watched it. Now, some of you may not be familiar with Typhoid Mary, and neither was I, until I did some research. Turns out that in 1900 to 1907, Mary worked as a cook in the New York area. Pretty much, everywhere she went and worked, resulted in people getting really, really sick. And after all fingers pointed back to her, she was put away in quarantine, then released. Then, she was put back in quarantine, and that's where she died of pneumonia in 1938, at age 69.

Now, after reading up on Mary, and Typhoid Fever, I was anxious to see how "Paranormal Asylum: The Revenge of Typhoid Mary"  would play out. And if used properly, Mary's story could be tweaked to be made into a horror film. The question was, would this film take that leap and succeed? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

I am truthful when I say that this film had potential, but it's vision was just out of reach for such a low-budget movie. The story ends up becoming cliche and typical, and it doesn't go anywhere daring to keep the viewer engaged. I honestly don't know how many paranormal films can keep being made. There's a film for just about every haunting now, and most of them fail miserably. It would be nice for once someone could pull a rabbit out of a hat and really deliver a solid film.

The story and plot are so common that the lack of effort takes the wind out of the movie's sails. It tries to remain suspenseful, but lacks in all suspense and scares. And tries to get away with cheap, loud jumps and quick flashes, simple tactics that don't work on a professional level. I don't know what's so hard about making a ghost story! All the writers, Fred Edison and Gregory Scott Houghton, had to do is look at every other common ghost story around and make a film that's not like them. 

Instead, we're given a film that joins right along side the weak and lackluster ghost stories.

The acting suffers dearly along with the slow and boring pace of the movie. It's a flick that you pay attention to, but don't get anything out of. I just watched as the non-layered character development went on, never feeling or caring anything for any of the cast. Seems like some actors and actresses didn't try at all, and others that did try, tried too hard.

Andy's fiance, Michelle starts acting strange, and both Andy and Mark can see something is wrong with her. This of course, ties in with the fact that Michelle contacted the spirit of Mary through a seance. Some people just never learn...

The film becomes a struggle of survival, but the threat never really seems there due to the seriously low suspense rate. It's very dry and dull, and misses the point. Ghost stories like these are a dime a dozen. They're ridiculously common, and it's a shame that ghost stories like this are currently mimicked and used as the latest standard. Sorry, I just expect films with a little more effort. Can't say I'm a fan of this one.

On a side note, I am currently in a slump of movies. Every so often, I will be on a roll of good movies. Sometimes, I view 10-15 decent flicks in a row. And then, I hit a low, where I watch a large amount of bad pictures in a row. Hopefully, I'll get past this rut soon and get back on track with reviewing films that I actually like. Of course, I have to find some first.