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jharrismo
Reviews
Wendigo (2001)
Boring...
I like horror movies a lot and have seen a great many of them. I rented this movie with misgivings which were, alas, justified. For approximately the first hour, very little happened. A couple & small child driving along the woods hit a deer then encounter some hunters, one of whom has a screw loose. Words are exchanged and the family eventually gets unstuck from the ditch they ran into after hitting the deer. After that, for about an hour, not much happens.
A horror movie, above all, should not be boring, and this one is. All that happens occurs in the last 1/2 hour.
The Alchemist (1983)
worth renting
This is a low budget movie, but the people who made it seemed to want to do a good job. The sets and location are good, the photography is very good. You care about the main characters. The special effects aren't state of the art, but are good. Worth seeing.
Death Wish 3 (1985)
Politically incorrect but enjoyable
If you like the "Deathwish" movies (and I do), then you'll probably like it. An ultraviolent fantasy. It has factual errors: you can't buy handguns or rocket launchers by mail. However, it has a strong good vs. evil theme, and plenty of action. The bad guys get it, and get it in a major way.
If you enjoy exploring the rationale of criminals, fascinating intellectual discourse, or the adventures of introverts, pass this one by.
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Good Movie, minor flaws
This movie has an excellent plot, and, for its day, outstanding special effects.
The flaws are minor: a goofy love story, and distracting sound effects. Apparently, somebody had an early version of the Moog Synthesizer and uses it to produce background noise that adds nothing to the movie and, indeed, distracts from what is going on.
An added bonus is seeing Leslie Nielson in a dramatic role.
Crucible of Terror (1971)
Boring....
This movie is a certifiable stinker. I rented it out of the "horror" section, but it's about as scary as the elm tree in my front yard. I found myself fast-forwarding through most of it, after watching about 20 minutes normally and wondering when something would happen. I like a good horror movie (although most of them aren't really scary), which this isn't. It should likely be reclassified as "drama."
The Born Losers (1967)
This movie is a loser.
I am not especially a fan of the "Billy Jack" movies, but wouldn't go out of my way to criticize them; I'll make an exception here. This movie succeeds in that it makes you care what happens to the two main characters. It fails in writing. The plot makes little sense. In most situations, the two main characters ("Billy Jack" and the girl he's protecting) do whatever act would be most stupid at that time. Many movies do this (e.g., man & woman being chased by monster, woman constantly falls down; or people splitting up in monster-stalked castle), but this movie is worse than usual.
If you can get past the plot stupidities, you might like it.
The Haunting (1963)
The best haunted house movie ever made.
This film version of Shirley Jackson's masterpiece is one of the most frightening movies ever made. It doesn't rely on gore or splatter to enthrall and frighten you, but on good writing and excellent photography, along with great acting. Every member of the cast was great.
The real star of the movie, however, is the house itself. I don't know whether or not the movie was filmed in a real house, a school, or what, but it's one helluva creepy place.
This movie, by the way, is far superior to the remake that came out in 1999, special effects of the latter notwithstanding.
Lurkers (1987)
Boring.
This movie, which is ostensibly a horror movie, fails on several levels: it does not make you care about what happens to the characters, it does not scare you, the atmosphere is not interesting. In other words, it's boring. A horror movie doesn't necessarily have to be really scary (most aren't), but it must NEVER bore you.