Description

Hatchet is a 2006 slasher horror film written and directed by Adam Green. The film features horror veterans Kane Hodder, Robert Englund, and Tony Todd along with a bunch of actors you may or may not have heard of.

Summary

Hatchet begins with a campy cameo appearance from Robert Englund as Sampson and his disrespectful son Ainsley (Joshua Leonard) getting brutally killed by an unseen force while fishing in the swamps of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

The scene shifts to two friends Ben (Joel Moore) and Marcus (Deon Richmond) during the Mardi Gras celebration deciding they want to go on a haunted swamp tour. They run into the tour guide Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd), but he tells them the tour has been closed and directs them to a moronic inexperienced tour guide further down the street, Shawn (Parry Shen).

The two friends along with Misty (Mercedes McNab), a ditzy porn star, and Jenna (Joleigh Fioreavanti), an equally dumb up and coming actress, their sleazy director, Doug Shapiro (Joel Murray), join up to go on the tour of the haunted swamp where Jim (Richard Riehle) and Shannon Permatteo (Patrika Darbo), a Minnesota couple, and Marybeth (Tamara Feldman) are waiting.

Misty (Mercedes McNab) and Jenna (Joleigh Fioreavanti) (Hatchet 2006)

Once ashore the legend of Victor Crowley comes to life as the group members are stalked and killed in brutal fashion by the grown up hideously deformed Victor Crowley, as he defends his house and territory from unwanted intrusion.

Hatchet: The Review

This is my first time seeing the movie Hatchet and it is supposed to be a throwback to classic horror films from the 80’s as the tagline says on the DVD cover. It has the clichés of some horror films like Friday the 13th, Pumpkinhead, and The Burning. It has a lot of the same silly humor, nudity, ditzy slutty female characters, dorks, and bad acting from various horror movies over the years.

I really didn’t like this film and I consider it below average. It is ruined by dialogue that is supposed to be funny, but it just comes off corny and stupid. I did find some dialogue to be funny like the scene with the two dumb porn star girls Misty (Mercedes McNab) and Jenna (Joleigh Fioreavanti) arguing about stuff such as vibrators. Mercedes McNab who you may know from the Addams Family Values Movie (1993) and Buffy the Vampire TV series flashes her breasts several times along with her friend Jenna in Hatchet.

I really hated the tour guide character Shawn played by Parry Shen. He nearly ruins this film and made me want to turn it off before the slasher horror elements kick in. His character was intended for some campiness and humor elements, but he was cringeworthy. It would have been nice if Tony Todd (Candyman and Final Destination) and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger from Nightmare On Elm Street) had an increased role in the movie. They were in it for a few minutes in the beginning and not to be seen again.

The thing I liked about Hatchet were the really brutal killing scenes by Victor Crowley. His strength is very inhuman much like similar horror icons Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. The make up and creature design for Victor is like a mixture of the Elephant Man with water on the brain (Hydrocephalus) with him being very much like Jason Voorhees in his appearance. The killing scenes are all very gory with blood splattering all over the place.

The best kill scene in Hatchet is when Victor Crowley splits Shannon Permatteo’s face in half by grabbing her mouth and pulling it apart. Kane Hodder who is known as a great horror stuntman and being the man behind the mask as Jason Voorhees for many years plays Victor’s father and the monster itself. This would only be the second time I have seen Kane Hodder in a movie without any make up. I first found out how Kane Hodder really looks like when I went to go see Jason Goes to Hell in the theaters in 1993.

The only thing that saves Hatchet from being a total letdown are the brutal killing scenes and Victor Crowley’s make up and design job. The Inclusion of horror movie icons Robert Englund, Tony Todd, and Kane Hodder aren’t used effectively. I don’t see how anyone can find this type of humor used in films as of late by Hollywood to be amusing. It’s just dumb and corny. I would not buy this film and would just recommend to use a streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon instant video if you are curious to watch it. Or you could just watch it on Cable TV.

Hatchet Movie Review: Done by Rancel

Hatchet (2006) Trailer

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Description

The Devils Rejects is a 2005 horror movie directed and written by Rob Zombie. It is the sequel to his 2003 film release, House of 1000 Corpses. The psychotic Firefly family from the first movie returns with Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Rob Zombie’s wife Sheri Moon reprising their roles.

Summary

The murderous backwoods Firefly family is given a rude awakening when their home is besieged upon by the police led by Sheriff John Quincy Wydell (William Forsythe). Mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook) is taken into custody after the shootout with the cops, while Otis (Bill Moseley), Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), Tiny (Matthew McGrory) escape.

After Baby calls Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), they all reunite at an isolated motel in the desert. Otis and Baby arrive at the motel and take two family’s  of singers called the “Banjo and Sullivan singing group” hostage. Roy Sullivan’s (Geoffrey Lewis) wife Gloria (Priscilla Barnes) is sexually assaulted by Otis. Gloria, along with her husband Roy, the Roadie Jimmy (Brian Posehn), and Adam Banjo (Lew Temple) are eventually murdered by Otis and Baby.

Otis (Bill Moseley) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) The Devils Rejects (2005)

Captain Spaulding, Otis, and Baby leave the grisly crime scene in the family of entertainers van. The murder scene is discovered by the motel maid with the words “Devil’s Rejects” written in blood on the wall. Adam’s wife Wendy (Kate Norby) is seen getting run over by an 18 wheeler truck when she runs out of the motel seeking help. Sheriff Wydell  and the police arrive to observe the crime scene and talk to the witness motel maid (Jossara Jinaro).

The determined Sheriff Wydell promises to kill the entire Firefly family with the help of two unconventional bounty hunters in Rondo (Danny Trejo) and Billy Ray (Ex-WCW and WWE wrestler Diamond Dallas Page). Sheriff Wydell want’s revenge against the Firefly family for the killing of his brother, Deputy George Wydell (Tom Towles). Captain Spaulding, Otis, and Baby make their last stand by hiding out at Spaulding’s friend, Charlie Altamont (Ken Foree) brothel.

Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding in The Devils Rejects

The Devils Rejects: The Review

The Devil’s Rejects continues the story of the disgusting and psychotic white trash Firefly family. The sequel is even more sadistic and gritty in nature than the first one. It also takes on a more exploitation crime thriller approach to the plot this time around. It plays out like the film “Natural Born Killer’s” or some 1970’s Grindhouse type feature. The Devil’s Rejects is less campy and comedic than House of 1000 Corpses. It isn’t without it’s funny lines at times though.

Rob Zombie did a better job of directing and writing the script this time around. He makes less use of the camera and editing tricks he used in House of 1000 Corpses. That is a good thing, because everyone and including myself was a bit turned off with the ridiculous amounts of slowdown, split screens, and other effects he used in the first one. Rob Zombie applies it at more appropriate times in The Devil’s Rejects. The plot and dialogue moves along more smoothly now.

The sadistic nature of this bizarre family is even more appalling in the Devil’s Rejects with one scene depicting a rather disgusting humiliation style rape scene. The Charles Manson looking Otis humiliates and fondles Roy’s wife Gloria in the motel as his sister Baby watches with much enthusiasm. I don’t condone rape in life and I also find it distasteful in movies, as it is played out in this film in a way similar to “Last House on the Left”.

The acting in the Devil’s Rejects is better now with a more veteran group of actors rounding out the cast. Sid Haig continues his funny antics in this film in a less forceful manner. His act as a clown plays second fiddle to his actual psychotic nature this time in the sequel. Sheri Moon as Baby gives a stellar performance and is more demented in the Devil’s Rejects. I liked that Rob Zombie replaced Karen Black with Leslie Easterbrook as Mother Firefly. Leslie is very powerful with her performance in a very disturbing scene involving her and Sheriff Wydell while she is in custody. She is truly depraved and disgusting. It would have been nice if she wasn’t killed off early.

William Forsythe is great as the tough takes no prisoners  Sheriff Wydell who you don’t want to f**k with. He is almost as psychotic as the antagonists in the film. Sheriff Wydell is reminiscent of Lefty (Dennis Hopper) from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Ken Foree is also in the film as the very cool and funny brothel owner friend of Captain Spaulding. The real star of this film is Bill Moseley as he channels his inner Manson with his extremely psychotic character in Otis.

Horror and B movie Icon Michael Berryman makes an appearance in this film as Clevon. He has a very funny scene with Ken Foree and some fat hillbilly farm guy involving some trashy humor regarding chickens that I can’t write down in this review due to the vulgarity of the dialogue.

The Devil’s Rejects is even more vulgar with its dialogue as references to sex, violence, and silly white trash style humor are on display. Here are some of my favorite lines from the Devil’s Rejects.

Captain J.T. Spaulding: [to Sheriff Wydell] If you’re gonna start the killing; you best start it right here. Make sure I’m all the way dead, because I’ll come back and make you my bitch!

Otis B. Driftwood: Boy, the next word that comes out of your mouth better be some brilliant f**kin’ Mark Twain shit. ‘Cause it’s definitely getting chiseled on your tombstone.

Roy Sullivan: Do you kiss your mama with that mouth?

Baby: Trust me, fella. That ain’t the only thing I do with this mouth.

Otis: Consider me f**kin’ Willy f**kin’ Wonka! This is my f**king chocolate factory! You got it? My factory!

The one thing I was disappointed in about The Devil’s Rejects was the music selection for the soundtrack. It is primarily hillbilly southern rock garbage. I much preferred the soundtrack in House of 1000 Corpses, which was driven by some punk, Hard Rock, and Metal music. Considering the Devil’s Rejects takes place in the 1970’s and the type of music Rob Zombie does, I was surprised by his music selection for the film. I would have much preferred if he used some Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Deep Purple, and some more punk music.

For those who can tolerate gritty, violent films with some sadism you will find the Devil’s Rejects enjoyable since it is a very entertaining film if you aren’t easily offended by these themes.

The Devils Rejects Review: Done by Rancel

The Devils Rejects (2005) Trailer

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Description

House of 1000 Corpses is an exploitation style horror movie written and directed by shock rocker musician Rob Zombie. It came out in 2003 and was successful  enough to garner a sequel in “The Devil’s Rejects”. House of 1000 Corpses stars Chris Hardwick, Rainn Wilson, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie and Karen Black. The film is Rob Zombie’s directorial debut.

Summary

House of 1000 Corpses begins with four college students, Jerry Goldsmith (Chris Hardwick), Bill Hudley (Rainn Wilson), Mary Knowles (Jennifer Jostyn) and Denise Willis (Erin Daniels)  taking a road trip through the back roads of the South in America so they can write a book on bizarre roadside attractions.

They stop by a gas station run by a foul mouth, but friendly clown dubbed Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig). He also happens to be the owner of a “Museum of Monsters & Madmen”. Before the group of students leave, Captain Spaulding tells them of the legend of “Dr. Satan”.

Back on the road, the group picks up a pretty blonde hitch-hiker, Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie). The car they are traveling in breaks down and they follow Baby back to her family’s house. There they meet her mom (Karen Black), adopted brother Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley), grandpa Hugo (Dennis Fimple), and her deformed extremely freakish looking big half-brother, Tiny (Matthew McGrory). After having dinner with Baby’s family, the family puts on a Halloween show for the youngster’s which ends violently, because Baby pisses off Mary by acting flirtatiously towards Bill. The college students are forced to leave and so begins a horrifying experience as the group of young adults are tortured and killed by this bizarre family of psychotics.

Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) in House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Sheri Moon as Baby Firefly in House of 1000 Corpses

House of 1000 Corpses: The Review

House of 1000 Corpses isn’t very original since this type of story has been played out in films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes movies. The psychotic Firefly family shown in the House of 1000 Corpses act in the same manner seen in those classic exploitation style horror movies from the 1970’s I just mentioned. They are the clichéd type of characters that have been seen many times.

Two types of psychotics are seen in these type of films. Highly functioning types that can run a business such as Captain Spaulding and really deficient monstrous type ones such as Tiny. The House of 1000 Corpses movie is very violent and had to be cut to avoid a NC-17 rating since there is a lot of blood and gore in the film.

The killing scenes in this movie are all very brutal. The dismembering of people’s bodies, facial disfiguring, people getting shot to death, slashed up with knives/stabbed to death, gutting, disemboweling, and head scalping scenes, which you see in this movie resulting in lots of blood and gore. Rob Zombie does a decent job with his directing and writing for the House of 1000 Corpses.

He does overuse some camera tricks such as split screens, slow motion, negative coloring, some grainy stock footage scenes of various S&M and gore images. I really did not like the slow motion murder scene of the police officer with the laughably out of place song “I Remember You” (performed by Slim Whitman) heard in the background as Bill Moseley holds a gun to the cop’s head. You just sit there watching as it takes forever for Otis to put the cop out of his misery as the song ends. Oliver Stone made better use of techniques in his 1994 film “Natural Born Killer’s”.

Sid Haig gives an awesome performance as the very amusing clown Captain Spaulding. He also happens to be one of the creepiest and ugliest clowns I have seen in a movie. I actually like Bill Moseley in this movie better than his role as Chop Top in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. He was far too silly and cartoon like in that Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel.  In House of 1000 Corpses he is more menacing and intimidating.

Sheri Moon does do a decent job as the over the top, very sexy, but twisted Baby in House of 1000 Corpses. I love her voice and the cute giggle she does in the film. It’s great that you get to see her naked a few times in this movie along with a nice close up shot of her ass shaking around, while she’s walking towards a store in her ass-less chaps cowgirl outfit.

The scene also has my favorite quote In the film where Sheri Moon says with much enthusiasm, “”Yeah, we like to get fucked up and do fucked up shit, you know what I mean?” The rest of the acting by the actors is forgettable. Karen Black isn’t very believable as the psychotic mother. The movie is only 88 minutes long, but tends to drag on at times largely due to the editing style. Rob Zombie did a decent job in his first directed feature film and he gets better with the sequel “The Devil’s Rejects” and Halloween remakes.

Even though House of 1000 Corpses seems amateurish at times it still is very entertaining since it is driven by strong enthusiastic performances by Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Sheri Moon, as well as funny dialogue throughout the movie. It could use some work on character development for the crazy Firefly family, since it never really explains why these bizarre people act the way they do. I would have liked to have seen more of the Dr. Satan (Walter Phelan) character since his design was really cool looking and was like something out of old 50’s Sci-Fi and Horror Movies.

The soundtrack is really great too, with contributions by the Ramones with the song “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”, along with Rob Zombie’s great cover of “Brick House” (Featuring Lionel Richie & Trina). Rob Zombie also did the main theme song “House of 1000 Corpses” and “Pussy Liquor”. You can check out the complete soundtrack contributions for the movie at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_1000_Corpses_(soundtrack). Despite it’s flaws this is still a good horror movie to have in your DVD or Blu-ray collection and you should get the sequel as well.
House of 1000 Corpses Review: Done by Rancel

House of 1000 Corpses (2003) trailer

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Description

The Howling is a 1981 Werewolf themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. It is based on the novel by Gary Brandner. The screenplay is written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless. The Howling soundtrack is composed by Pino Donaggio.

Summary

Karen White (Dee Wallace) is a TV Anchorwoman who agrees to a sting operation to capture a serial killer. Little does she  know that the serial killer also happens to be a Werewolf. She meets up with the serial killer, Eddie Quist ( Robert Picardo) at an adult bookstore in the back of peepshow booth. Karen is wearing a hidden microphone to help in the operation. The wired transmitter all of a sudden stops functioning and she is cut off from the police.

When Eddie tells her to turn around she becomes scared after catching a glimpse of him. The police arrive in time to save her from his attack. Eddie is seemingly killed when the police fire a few rounds into the booth.

After the traumatic experience with the serial killer in which she doesn’t get a good look at his face. Karen goes on a leave of absence from her TV news job. On the advice of her psychiatrist, Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee) she retreats to a rural area called “The Colony” for group therapy. Karen along with her husband R. William ‘Bill’ Neill (Christopher Stone) arrive at the secluded cabin in the forest countryside.  There they meet various oddball characters including a sexy nymphomaniac named Marsha Quist (Elisabeth Brooks), who tries to seduce Bill.

Bill (Christopher Stone) in The Howling (1981)

Bill is soon attacked by a large wolf like creature after rejecting Marsha’s attempts to come on to him, even though he is obviously attracted to her. Later that night by the campfire under the moonlight, Bill and Marsha have sex all the while metamorphosing into Werewolves. Karen later calls her friend Terri Fisher (Belinda Balaski) to help her continue the investigation on Eddie and the mysterious deaths happening all around. Terri is later killed by the resurrected Eddie Quist in Dr. Waggner’s office while placing a call to her boyfriend Chris(Dennis Dugan). Chris who now knows the colony’s true nature sets off for it armed with silver bullets. It soon becomes a hairy and dangerous situation for Karen and Terri’s boyfriend Chris as they must fight off an entire colony of Werewolves.

The Howling: The Review

The Howling is a horror movie that I haven’t seen in a long time. After watching it again, I consider the film to be on the boring side at times. There are many times throughout the movie where it moves at a slow pace. The film is only an hour and 30 minutes long. Yet it feels like 2 hours. The film comes at you in a suspenseful and mystery storyline way. The beginning part of the movie with Dee Wallace encountering Robert Picardo as Eddie is very creepy and sleazy.

Robert Picardo makes your skin crawl in The Howling. He does an effective job as the creepy Werewolf Eddie considering he usually plays comedic characters. Robert Picardo is best known for his work as the hologram Dr. Lewis Zimmerman on Star Trek: Voyager. Dee Wallace gives a strong performance in her female hero role. She does some of the best scared and crying expressions I have seen. Dee Wallace is best known for her work in The Hills Have Eyes (1977), E.T., and Cujo. Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Belinda Balaski, and Christopher Stone are also decent in their supporting roles. Christopher Stone actually happens to be the scariest looking Werewolf in the movie.

I’m not familiar with Elisabeth Brooks, but she is very sexy and menacing in this movie as the She-Wolf. That was one hell of a sex scene she had with Christopher Stone by the burning flames of the campfire at night. B-Movie horror great John Carradine makes an appearance as one of the older Werewolves in “The Colony” as Erle Kenton. You may also know John Carradine as being the father of the Carradine brothers acting family and from such films as Stagecoach (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).

The visuals in The Howling are awesome. The transformation sequences for the Werewolves are very cool to watch as they go through several stages. My favorite transformation sequence is the naked transforming werewolf sex scene by a campfire. You get to see a full frontal nudity shot of Elisabeth Brooks in that scene.

The Howling isn’t very disturbing in terms of violence, blood, and gore. It’s more about the suspense and the excellent special effects that have stood the test of time. Rob Bottin’s makeup FX job is very impressive for the time this movie was released and still is. I much prefer this form of effects than the CGI used today. It gives it a more natural look. Eddie Quist transformation sequence is a sight to behold, although it does drag on a bit, which I found odd. I found the musical score to be a little weak. I was expecting something better. The Howling has a lot of satirical humor in it and references to old horror movies.

This movie sets itself apart from some other Werewolf horror flicks with the Werewolves being unremorsefully evil and embracing their dark gift. The only time the gift is rejected and it becomes tragic is for the reluctant Werewolf at the end. I give the Howling a 5.5 out of 10 after watching it again. The movie is hindered by slow parts and not enough violence and blood. It is very visually appealing though with great cinematography and creature FX. It is a decent Werewolf horror movie, but in my opinion there are better ones out there such as American Werewolf in London, American Werewolf in Paris, Silver Bullet, Ginger Snaps, Dog Soldiers, and The Wolfman (2010 Remake).

The Howling Review: Done by Rancel

Dee Wallace as Karen White in The Howling

The Howling (1981 Trailer)

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Description

Sweeney Todd  2007 is a musical horror film directed by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. It is an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning 1979 musical. The story is about an English Barber and serial killer who murders his customers. It was well received by critics, but was not a box office success in the U.S, overseas it was however. Helena Bonham Carter was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and Johnny Depp was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Summary

Sweeney Todd begins in Victorian era London, England, the barber Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) is married to Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and they have a child, Johanna (Jayne Wisener).

Lucy is very beautiful and it attracts the attention of the corrupt Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who wrongfully accuses the barber of a crime that he did not commit and treats Lucy horribly after gaining custody of her. Benjamin Barker who has been in exile for 15 years finally returns to London under the new identity of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Judge Turpin.

Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) and Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) in Sweeney Todd 2007

Sweeney Todd 2007: The Review

Since I usually don’t watch musicals, I have mixed feelings about Sweeney Todd. I have seen Johnny Depp in a previous musical he did in the John Waters directed 1990 comedy/musical, Cry-Baby. I did enjoy that film and I have always enjoyed Johnny Depp’s body of work. He is a very charismatic and talented actor.

This isn’t the first version of Sweeney Todd to be on film. There have been several versions of the film and play. I’m not going to list them all, but you can search for them at http://www.imdb.com/find?q=Sweeney+Todd&s=all.

Johnny Depp along with Helena Bonham Carter, Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), Beadle (Timothy Spall), Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), Alan Rickman, Jayne Wisener, and Ed Sanders as Toby all do a great job singing the various songs in Sweeney Todd 2007 version. Johnny Depp is a very good singer and does have actual musical talent since he has had his own rock band in real life and performed with various rock bands such as Aerosmith. Some of the songs do get a bit tiresome such as “My Friends”, where Depp is singing to his razors. I just thought that part was a bit silly and drawn out.

My favorite songs are the upbeat sounding “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir” sung by young Ed Sanders and his duet with Helena Bonham Carter with the song  “Not While I’m Around”.  I also liked the “Worst Pies in London” song done by Helena Bonham Carter. She has a very lovely singing voice. Ed Sanders is very talented and confident with his singing and acting in Sweeney Todd 2007.

I’m not familiar with the previous versions of this musical. I have only seen this one and can’t judge the quality of Sweeney Todd 2007 by comparing it to past versions. It is an entertaining film at times, but it is a bit too long at close to 2 hrs. The acting for the most part was excellent.

Alan Rickman was good as usual in this playing another slimy character. Johnny Depp and Helena Bohnam Carter were excellent in their roles. It is pretty bad how Mr.Todd treats Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd and by the end of the movie you’re going to lose all sympathy for Mr. Todd as his madness consumes him. It was a bit odd seeing Sacha Baron Cohen doing a non comedic role such as this as the Italian Adolfo Pirelli. He looked a bit awkward and robotic in his role. I was shocked when I find out Toby ends up being a killer the first time I saw this film.

Tim Burton as a director often adds a dark, gothic, and a weird touch to the movies he directs and Sweeney Todd 2007 is no different. The cinematography and atmosphere is very dark. Everyone is very pale looking wearing Victorian era clothing. The scenes have a grim coloring showing that it was a dark time to live. Sweeney Todd 2007 has a lot of blood and gore. The murder scenes are very brutal and are akin to a slasher horror movie. The blood also squirts all over the place, which is similar to the Japanese film Shogun Assassin.

I was initially drawn to Sweeney Todd 2007 by the actors that are in it such as Johnny Depp and Helena Bohnam Carter. However it’s not as good as some other Tim Burton films such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Sleepy Hollow. Perhaps it’s because I generally don’t watch musicals and I’m not familiar with the play or the previous versions of Sweeney Todd.

I wasn’t really interested in the music since most of it isn’t catchy sing along type stuff except for the ones I mentioned I liked.  I did like the dark setting, colors, blood and violence in the film. The film is also very slow paced and could use a reduction in length. You wouldn’t watch this film over and over again, but it’s a decent watch on a rainy day.

Sweeney Todd 2007 Review: Done by Rancel

Sweeney Todd 2007 Trailer

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Description

Casualties of War is a 1989 Vietnam War era Drama directed by Brian De Palma, and the screenplay is based on the actual events of the incident on Hill 192 in 1966 during the Vietnam War. The film was critically hailed, but a box office failure. Casualties of War stars Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. John C. Reilly (Boogie Nights 1997 fame) and John Leguizamo (later would star in the Brian De Palma directed 1993’s Carlito’s Way and 1999′s Summer of Sam) make their screen debuts in the film. Casualties of War has a running time of 113 minutes.

Summary

Casualties of War tells the story of a Platoon of of American soldiers in 1966 during the Vietnam War.

Newly arrived recruit PFC Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is shown the ropes by the other squad members Sgt. Tony Meserve (Sean Penn), Cpl. Thomas E. Clark (Don Harvey), PFC Herbert Hatcher (John C. Reilly), and Brownie (Erik King). Eriksson witnesses Tony Meserve’s best friend Brownie (along with the other squad members) being killed by a Viet Cong sniper.

The dead soldier, Brownie is replaced by PFC Antonio Diaz (John Leguizamo) and Tony Meserve is promoted to squad leader. In an act of revenge Tony Meserve decides to take his squad to a local Vietnam village and kidnap a young Vietnamese girl named Oanh (Thuy Thu Le) from her family. Four of the squad members brutally rape her several times. Eriksson is the only sane voice in the bunch, while Tony Meserve, Thomas E. Clark, and Hatcher are committing the vile act with much enthusiasm. PFC Antonio Diaz is too afraid to go against Meserve’s orders and just gives into peer pressure.

Later, the squad is ordered to take up a position near a railroad bridge overlooking a Viet Cong river supply depot. The abducted and traumatized Vietnamese girl begin’s coughing and Meserve notices she can give them away to the Viet Cong and orders Eriksson to kill Oanh. Despite Meserve’s death threats, Eriksson refuses to kill the girl and fires some rounds into the air, which causes the Viet Cong to attack them. While the battle with the Viet Cong is raging the young Vietnamese girl Oanh has been brutally stabbed a couple of times by Thomas Clark, which Eriksson doesn’t notice at first.

Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) Casualties of War (1989)

Oanh (Thuy Thu Le) and Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) in Casualties of War (1989)

As the firefight between the Platoon and the Viet Cong continues, the Vietnamese girl starts walking onto the bridge trying to make her escape. Meserve yells out she is getting away and begins to aim his gun at her. Eriksson starts running towards the girl in an attempt to save her from being killed, but is knocked down with the butt of Meserve’s M-60 Machine Gun. Eriksson watches helplessly as the entire squad shoots Oanh numerous times until she falls off the bridge, dead. After the battle, Eriksson wakes up at the military base hospital. He finds out Meserve and the others have covered up the rape and murder of the village girl they abducted.

Eriksson reports the matter to his superiors, Lt. Reilly (Ving Rhames) and Capt. Hill (Dale Dye), who take an indifferent response to his report. After nearly being killed by a grenade that was planted by Cpl. Thomas E. Clark, Eriksson tells what happened to a Chaplain named Kirk (Sam Robards) and he in turn escalates the matter to high command. The four squad members involved in committing the vile crime are convicted in a court martial.

Casualties of War: The Review

Casualties of War is a great war movie driven by stellar performances by all the cast members. It is very realistic and gritty. It holds nothing back and shows the real ugliness of war and what it can do to a soldier. It’s not a film that you will find enjoyable for the usual reasons. The character Eriksson played by Michael J. Fox defines this tale of morality with his voice of reason, justice, and to stand by his good morals against the peer pressure from his corrupted fellow squad members. The battle scenes that are featured in this film are very well done, but it plays secondary to the great performances and to the message that Casualties of War presents.

Sean Penn is excellent as the once honorable soldier gone bad. His facial expressions throughout the movie are a bit comical and so is his voice at times. You will find yourself hating his character Sgt. Tony Meserve as you finish watching. He turns into real scum. This is the first movie I have seen John C. Reilly in which also happens to be his debut. He is not a very good looking man and plays the part of a really unintelligent “Bullwinkle” type soldier really well. You wonder if the makers of Casualties of War were trying to imply his intelligence is tied to his rather mentally challenged look. Makes you also wonder how the character with his baffling stupidity passed the I.Q. Test to get into the military.

As much as I disliked Sean Penn in this film, I really found Cpl. Thomas E. Clark played really well by Don Harvey an irredeemable piece of garbage. He was really psychotic and menacing in the film. I’m not excusing Tony Meserve’s actions, but he didn’t start out a villain in the movie. Clark is just plain evil in Casualties of War. This is my favorite performance by Michael J. Fox and he is very believable in his role as a soldier who eventually stands up for what’s right. John Leguizamo (in this, his first film) looks a bit lost at times. He looks very amateurish in his role which is understandable. He does become an excellent actor later on in his career. Ving Rhames, in this early role is very good with his douchebag indifference like approach to Eriksson’s problem, as Lt. Reilly. The abducted, raped, and finally murdered Vietnamese girl played by Thuy Thu Le is quite depressing to watch throughout this movie.

Her performance highlights this tragic tale. Her facial expressions and cries of anguish seem so real for her highly traumatized and suffering character. The haunting and depressing theme song to Casualties of War makes the rape scenes and the murder of the young Vietnamese girl even more depressing to watch. It is not a pleasant thing to watch the girl finally fall to her death after being shot several times. Another scene that was very disturbing is the hospital scene where the injured soldiers are screaming in severe pain. One poor guy has no legs and his stumps are twitching up and down.

This is one of the best American made war movies ever. It’s not an epic war movie and not as good as Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket. The thing I was a bit turned off about this movie was the excessive profanity. I never like that in any of my movies I watch. It dumbs down the quality of a film. Casualties of War is a good film to have in your collection, it’s just so depressing that you would not want to watch it over and over again.

Casualties of War Movie Review: Done by Rancel

Casualties of War (1989) Trailer

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Description

The Expendables is a 2010 action spectacular film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, Stallone directed the movie. Stallone gathered many action movie stars that have graced the big screen for many years.

The Expendables cast includes Stallone, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Gary Daniels, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Schwarzenegger in a cameo role), as well as more recent stars such as Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, and Steve Austin.

The film being a throwback to all the 80’s and 90’s great action movies had mixed reviews upon its release in theatres in 2010. The Expendables was a box office success though. The movie is 103 minutes long.

Summary

The Expendables are an elite mercenary group and bikers comprised of Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), Toll Road (Randy Couture), and Tool (Mickey Rourke). The military experienced and martial arts trained group are deployed to the Gulf of Aden to save hostages on a vessel from Somali pirates. During the mission the loose cannon Gunner Jensen starts shooting at the pirates and gets into a fight with Yin Yang over the morality of hanging one of the pirates. Ross intervenes eventually and in the aftermath releases Gunner from duty, because of his psychological unstableness and drug use.

Yin Yang (Jet Li), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham),Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone),Toll Road (Randy Couture),Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) – The Expendables (2010)

The Expendables are then assigned by Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to assassinate a brutal dictator General Garza (David Zayas) of a small South American island called Vilena . Ross is accompanied by Lee Christmas to fly out there and do some reconnaissance work to find out what they are up against. Once they arrive there they ‘re informed by a local rebel Sandra (Giselle Itié) and discover that Garza is backed by ex-CIA agent James Munroe (Eric Roberts), his henchmen Paine (Steve Austin), and The Brit (Gary Daniels).

His backers manipulate things in the background and keep Garza in power by making the citizens fear him. After discovering the nature of the conflict on the small island, Ross and Lee escape. Unfortunately Sandra couldn’t escape with them and stays behind. Ross and Lee with the rest of the Expendables must go back and overthrow Garza, rescue Sandra, while fighting it out with many of his men, including the turncoat Jensen.

Dolph is the man! Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren) in The Expendables (2010)

The Expendables: The Review

The Expendables is a great action film that keeps your eyes glued to the TV or if you are like me and saw it in the theatres in 2010, it doesn’t disappoint either way. Sylvester Stallone brought together an awesome cast of action movie heroes that have graced the big screen from the 1980’s-2000’s. There is a lot of testerone going around with a cast like Stallone, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Hong Kong martial arts movie star Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Gary Daniels, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as more recent stars such as ex UFC MMA Fighter Randy Couture, Jason Statham, former NFL player turned actor Terry Crews, and ex wrestler turned actor Steve Austin.

If you are expecting an original plot for this action spectacular, you will not find it. The Expendables is like many other big time or b-movie type action movies that have graced the screen through the decades. The only difference is this is the first where many high profile action movie heroes have been brought together. It is a very fun movie to watch with lots of violent scenes intermixed with some very amusing dialogue.

To be specific a highlight of this feel good movie is when Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a brief cameo during the scene with Bruce Willis talking to Sly and Arnold steps in being a real smart ass to Sly. They just go back and forth with Arnold eventually walking out of the church with a classic Schwarzenegger smirk on his face after Bruce Willis ends the scene with “what’s his problem?”, Sly reply’s “he wants to be President”.

A lot of these guys are pushing 50 or are in their 50’s with Sylvester Stallone being 65 at the time of this film being in production and they all are still in tremendous physical condition despite their aging. The hand to hand combat scenes are very well done. Jason Statham shows off his excellent martial arts skills along with knife fighting in various scenes. The Jet Li fight with the towering Dolph Lundgren was very cool albeit somewhat unrealistic. Dolph is 6′ 5″ while Jet Li is only 5′ 6″. It is a bit disappointing though that both fights between the two were stopped prematurely by Sly’s intervention.

If you do not know already Dolph Lundgren is skilled in Martial Arts having a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate. The fight that Sly has with Stone Cold Steve Austin is very brutal and exciting. Sly takes a hell of pounding from Steve Austin that includes Steve Austin ramming into him like a huge Rhino. The Randy Couture fight with Stone Cold was also cool. Randy Couture is very brutal with his fighting style and is in beast mode in The Expendables. All the punches and kicks have a booming sound to them as they connect with a lot of power.
The Expendables has a lot of blood in it with it exploding out of the bodies that get shot up into pieces, slashed with a knife, or pummeled to death. The effects of blood are unrealistic though since the film uses digital effects in the blood. I first saw this effect in Rambo IV (2008).

It gets to be a bit too much especially in the final battle scene with Terry Crews coming in and taking out everyone of General Garza’s men with an assault shotgun called an MPS AA-12 Sledgehammer. That gun is a really badass and a real nightmare. Terry Crews uses his assault shotgun to make the bad guys explode with Frag-12 Rounds. Mickey Rourke is excellent in his appearance in The Expendables, but you are going to say when you see him what the hell happened to your face man?

Eric Roberts is his usual slimy piece of shit in this film and he does it well. It is also great to see Dolph back on the big screen after being stuck doing a lot of bad b-movies preceding this movie. Even though Mr. Dolph Lundgren has never been considered a good actor, he has a natural charisma that makes him immediately likeable in the action films he stars in.

The Expendables also has an excellent soundtrack to go along while you watch the movie. It has a couple of songs by John Fogerty and his band Creedence Clearwater Revival . The classics by them “Born on the Bayou” and “Keep On Chooglin”. Some more good songs are contributed by Mountain – “Mississippi Queen”, Thin Lizzy – “The Boys Are Back in Town”, and The Georgia Satellites – “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”.

My favorite fight in the film is Randy Couture’s brutal fight with Steve Austin while surrounded by flames. Poor Stone Cold dies an agonizing burning death. I also love new comer Mexican actress Giselle Itié, she is very beautiful. I hope to see more of her in American Cinema. The Expendables (2010) is an excellent way to start a film franchise and everyone did a marvelous job working on the film. It is an excellent throwback to the great 1980’s and 1990’s action films. You will not be disappointed.

The Expendables Review: Done by Rancel

The Expendables (2010) Trailer

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Description

Rocky III is the third installment to the action packed boxing movie series Rocky. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky’s trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky’s wife, Adrian. When Rocky III was released in theatres in 1982 it was an enormous box office success.

The film’s now famous theme song “Eye of the Tiger” is written and performed by the group Survivor. In Rocky III, Rocky’s boxing opponent is Clubber Lang, portrayed by Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952). Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan makes his acting debut in Rocky III. The movie is 100 minutes long.

Summary

Rocky III begins with a montage of events following Rocky Balboa’s (Sylvester Stallone) recent victory over Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in which he defeated him for the heavyweight division boxing championship. Rocky is now enjoying his time as the new champ and fighting hand picked fighters from his trainer.  Elsewhere, a new arrogant and thug like fighter who has recently been released from jail named Clubber Lang (Mr. T) has been observing Rocky’s fights and training hard. Clubber challenges Rocky for the title in which Rocky accepts the challenge while disregarding the warnings from his trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith).

Clubber Lang (Mr. T) Rocky III

(Apollo Creed-Carl Weathers) and (Rocky Balboa-Sylvester Stallone) Friends pushing each other to be the best (Rocky III)

During fight night in a heated argument between Clubber Lang’s crew and Rocky’s crew, Mickey suffers a heart attack. Rocky wants to call off the fight due to anxiety, fear of the new opponent, and worrying about his trainer Mickey’s condition. Mickey and Rocky’s wife Adrian (Talia Shire) urge Rocky to go on with the fight. The now distracted and distraught champion Rocky is easily pummeled and brutally knocked out by the intense, stronger, and hungry new fighter Clubber Lang within a couple of rounds. When the defeated and now ex-champion Rocky arrives back at the locker room, Mickey dies soon after Rocky exchanges some words with his trainer, while kneeling at his side.

Rocky’s ex-nemesis Apollo Creed, who was a guest analyst during Rocky’s match with Clubber Lang, confronts the demoralized Rocky and offers to train him for a rematch to win the title back and his dignity. Apollo also wants a “big favor” in return for his services. Rocky, Adrian, and Paulie (Burt Young) arrive in downtown Los Angeles at Apollo and Duke (Tony Burton) gym.  At first the still depressed and demoralized Rocky in the first rounds of training sessions doesn’t put forth his best efforts, much to Apollo’s annoyance. Eventually Rocky is able to pull himself together after some encouragement from his wife Adrian and begins the journey back to the top in which he bonds with his new friend Apollo Creed.

Rocky III: The Review

Rocky III is somewhat similar to its sequel Rocky IV in which everything is done in a very spectacular entertaining type fashion. The movie is filled with montages, a catchy song such as “Eye of the Tiger”, and the inclusion of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who wasn’t a star at the time of Rocky III, but it helped catapult him into the famous wrestler he is today. It doesn’t take itself too seriously except for the death of Mickey. That scene always made me cry as a kid in the 80’s. The new fighter Clubber Lang played by Mr. T is really great. Mr. T is awesome with his intense portrayal of the highly intimidating Clubber Lang.

Go for it! (Rocky III)

Balboa delivers the knockout blow (Rocky III)

There is a somewhat amusing interview with Tony Burton (Duke) that played on the ESPN channel marathon of the Rocky movies several years ago right before the release of Rocky VI aka (Rocky Balboa). Tony Burton says something to the effect that you think of Mr. T as some mean, intense, angry, and bully type guy in real life, but he really is just a big teddy bear and a nice guy. Burt Young is also really great in his expanded role as Paulie in Rocky III.

I always break out laughing in the beginning when he is drunk, totally out of it, wanders into an arcade and winds up getting arrested for throwing his bottle of whiskey at the Rocky pinball machine. His usage of bizarre facial expressions, complaining, and wise cracks he does the throughout Rocky III is very funny. Burt Young is a great character actor.

The training scenes, the great fight choreography and the bonding between Rocky and Apollo help make this film the second best in the Rocky series. The first two films had a more serious dramatic atmosphere to them. I would say those two films are for older people, Rocky III and Rocky IV are for pure entertainment as fun sports boxing films.

I enjoy the first two films and I’m not trying to put them down in anyway, but the ones I like to watch multiple times for inspiration and motivational purposes are Rocky III-V. As for realism or lack thereof, Rocky Balboa somehow manages to increase his IQ in Rocky III and the following films. That’s something that’s never been explained, but it works for entertainment purposes lol.

The Sweetest Victory! (Rocky III)

A favor for a friend. Who won? (Rocky III 1982)

The inclusion of Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) as Thunderlips is a bit ridiculous, over-the-top, and highlighted by some bad acting from the Hulkster. Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers really work well together on-screen and the bonding between their characters seems really genuine. Carl Weather’s performance as a trainer and friend is even better than when he was the antagonist. His charm and charisma really shines. Rocky’s fighting ability is much improved in Rocky III. Sylvester Stallone gives a good performance as a more evolved version of Rocky Balboa.

During the rematch with Clubber Lang, Rocky’s speed, footwork, stamina and dodging ability are on display. He actually fights Clubber with technical ability. He also pulls a Rope-a-dope which is an obvious homage to the Muhammad Ali and George Foreman fight from their “Rumble in the Jungle” 1974 fight. Much like Ali, Rocky uses it to eventually put down his stronger opponent. Rocky Balboa is at his peak in Rocky III.

Rocky III and Rocky IV have the most entertainment value for me. I recommend watching these films when you want to have some fun, enjoy life, or pick you up when you’re down. You will not be disappointed. They have great longevity as well.

Rocky III Review: Done by Rancel

Click to read Rocky IV Review at Rocky IV Review

Rocky III Trailer (1982)

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Description

The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman and Dee Wallace. It is about a family on a road trip stranded in the Nevada desert that become hunted by a clan of deformed cannibals in the surrounding hills.

The Hills Have Eyes is an exploitation style horror movie meant to shock the viewers with its controversial content and subject matter. The Hills Have Eyes had a sequel to it in 1985 and a remake in 2006. The 1977 version of The Hills Have Eyes is considered a cult classic now. The film running length is 89 minutes long.

Summary

The Hills Have Eyes is about a family traveling in a station wagon with a trailer in tow, through the desert to California. Big Bob Carter (Russ Grieve), a retired detective stops with his family at a gas station for fuel and rest. On this trip with Bob are his family, his wife Ethel Carter (Virginia Vincent), his son Bobby (Robert Houston), his daughters Brenda (Susan Lanier) and Lynn (Dee Wallace), his son-in-law-Lynn’s husband Doug (Martin Speer) and their daughter baby Katy (Brenda Marinoff).

They are advised by the owner of the gas station, Fred (John Steadman) to stay on the main road as they leave. Disregarding the warning from Fred, the traveling family drives through a nuclear testing site and then crashes as a result of a booby trap, leaving them stranded in the desert. The father Bob goes looking for help heading back to Fred’s gas station, while the rest of his family waits at their trailer. They unknowingly are being watched and hunted by a cannibalistic family that lives in the wilderness.

Bob arrives at the gas station where he is told a story from Fred about his son Jupiter and how the cannibal family came to be. Fred left his extremely unstable son Jupiter (James Whitworth) to die in the wild, but he survived only to mate with an equally unstable and alcoholic prostitute known as Mama (Cordy Clark). They gave birth to a bizarre and inhuman looking family, which includes Mars (Lance Gordon), Pluto (Michael Berryman) and Mercury (Peter Locke as Arthur King), and their abused daughter Ruby (Janis Blythe). They live in the hills by stealing and feeding on travelers that come by. Fred after telling his story to Bob is than killed by Papa Jupiter and Bob is taken prisoner, later killed by being set on fire. As nightfall begins the road tripping family that are trapped and cornered by these bizarre cannibals are in a fight to survive.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977): The Review

The Hills Have Eyes plot and atmosphere is somewhat similar to Tobe Hooper’s directed Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974 Film. The movie’s antagonists are pretty much the same as Leatherface’s clan of freaks. They both are incestuous type families that are monstrous in appearance and despicable in behavior. They both are cannibalistic clans and they have limited intelligence as well, but manage to survive despite these flaws.

As for the atmosphere of the movie, the acts committed by the cannibal family in The Hills Have Eyes are shocking just like in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It is very unsettling to watch these brutal acts committed by the villainous clan in this movie. The desolate landscape and the hopelessness of the preyed upon camping family is captured well on camera by Wes Craven excellent camera work. The haunting soundtrack is well done since it adds to the feelings of dread and terror portrayed in The Hills Have Eyes. The performance by the relatively unknown actors that portray the preyed upon campers is decent. The only one I recognize from them is Dee Wallace Stone. Jupiter, Mars and Pluto are three very disgusting inhuman looking bad guys.

The actors James Whitworth, Lance Gordon, and Michael Berryman are great in their menacing roles as these inbred mutant freaks. The low-budget make up used on the actors to make them look inhuman and frightening is excellent. Michael Berryman didn’t require make-up to make him look bizarre since he has a well-noted birth defect that causes him to have no body hair, sweat glands, teeth, and fingernails.

Berryman who is great as Pluto suffers from Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia, which is a rare condition. Despite his lack of sweat glands, he worked on The Hills Have Eyes in the desert for 5 months in 100+ degrees heat. Michael Berryman has since gone on to be a horror, Sci-Fi, and b-movie icon despite his genetic abnormality. I’m not going to go through all the movies he has done since he has a long work history, but he has been featured in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Weird Science (1985), My Science Project (1985), and The Devil’s Rejects (2005). You can look up the rest of his movie career work at http://www.imdb.com/

Michael Berryman was also the school principle in Motley Crue’s 1985 music video “Smokin’ in the Boys Room“. The Hills Have Eyes is an intense violent, shocking, graphic, gory, and doesn’t hold back type of film. Pluto and Mars rape of Brenda was pretty brutal and disgusting as the poor girl screams her head off in terror. Another nasty scene is when Mars rips the head off the tweety bird and drinks its blood. Some more brutal acts by these inbred monsters are when they shoot to death Bob’s wife Ethel and her daughter Lynn as they try to save baby Katy from being abducted by them. It’s highlighted by the unfortunate victims’ blood being all over the trailer floor.

It’s pretty horrible how the clan of cannibals treat Ruby in The Hills Have Eyes movie. They make Ruby eat the dead dog in the film called “Beauty”. Ruby happens to be the only one of the clan with a good soul. They bully and traumatize Ruby treating her as a slave. The Hills Have Eyes had an X-Rating when it was released in 1977 and the more graphic scenes were edited to cut it down to an R-Rating. There is supposed to be an uncut uncensored version possibly floating around.

On my Anchor Bay DVD release there is alternate ending on the special features second disc. If you are into this type of no-holds barred, gritty, and very violent low-budget 1970’s horror you should enjoy this classic by Wes Craven.

The Hills Have Eyes Review: Done by Rancel

The Hills Have Eyes (1977) – Trailer

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Description

The Serpent and the Rainbow is a Wes Craven directed horror film that came out in theatres in 1988. The stars of the movie are Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson (Niece of actress Cicely Tyson), Paul Winfield, and Zakes Mokae.

The Serpent and the Rainbow is loosely based on the 1985 non-fiction book of the same name, which was authored by Wade Davis. Richard Maxwell and Adam Rodman write the film script. The film, The Serpent and the Rainbow is 98 minutes long.

Summary

Ethno botanist/anthropologist Dennis Alan played by Bill Pullman on a visit in the South American Amazon Rain Forest drinks a potion that was given to him by an Old Indian Shaman (Evencio Mosquera Slaco).

Unfortunately for Dennis Alan, the result of drinking this potion causes him to have an immediate hallucination in which he sees a friendly Jaguar, another man now dressed up like the Shaman, and falling in a pit where the hands of zombies are grabbing and clawing at him as he falls deeper into its darkness.

Bill Pullman as Dennis Alan in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

He eventually makes it back to Boston with guidance of his Totem/Jaguar. He accepts an assignment by a pharmaceutical corporation employee, Professor Schoonbacher (Michael Gough) to investigate a drug used in Haitian Voodoo, in the hope of finding out how the zombification works. They also want to use it as an anesthetic. Dennis Alan arrives in Haiti and is assisted by a psychiatrist, Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson), business owner Lucien Celine (Paul Winfield), and Louie Mozart (Brent Jennings) an expert in voodoo, in finding the miracle power. He falls in love with Marielle Duchamp. In their attempts to find this miracle drug, they attract the attention of an evil voodoo witchdoctor.

Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson/Cicely Tyson’s niece) in the Serpent and the Rainbow

The evil voodoo witch doctor Dargent Peytraud (Zakes Mokae) also happens to be the Chief of Police in the impoverished and much oppressed Haiti. Mr. Peytraud showed up in the hallucination while Alan was in the Amazon. Peytraud doesn’t like this intrusion by Alan since he uses the zombification process to keep everyone under his control. Alan’s stay in Haiti soon becomes a fight for his sanity and life, as he is tortured with more hallucinations, being buried alive, and ultimately having to rid the island of Dargent Peytraud.

The Serpent and the Rainbow: The Review

The Serpent and the Rainbow is a horror film that messes with your mind and makes your skin crawl like certain films in this great genre such as, Angel Heart and Jacob’s ladder. Much like those films it is also a psychological thriller type horror flick. The Serpent and the Rainbow has no slasher type horror elements like most Wes Craven directed movies do. The acting in it is very solid. I especially like the performance by Zakes Mokae. He is very sinister and a really nasty guy as Dargent Peytraud.

The evil voodoo witch doctor Dargent Peytraud (Zakes Mokae) (The Serpent and the Rainbow)

There is some truth to the Haitian Voodoo Zombie trick. There is a neurotoxin, “Tedrodotoxin”, which certain animals, such as the puffer fish have as a poison. It can simulate death by stopping the heart yet the person is still alive. Other chemicals are administered that leave the victim physically mobile, but incapable of higher cognitive functions. A Bokor or Voodoo sorcerer performs the ritual on the person.

The cinematography done by John Lindley captures the beauty of the Amazon Rainforest and the unfortunately impoverished look of Haiti along with its natural tropical island beauty. I really like the scene in the waterfall area; it is really nice to look at. The mountains in Haiti featured in the film are also very beautiful. The waterfall scene also has a decent sex scene between Bill Pullman and the sensual Cathy Tyson.

The Serpent and the Rainbow makes great use of lightness, darkness, shadows and fast-moving cameras to startle you when you least expect it. The Spine-chilling cemeteries and voodoo ceremony scenes are very creepy. The torture scene where Bill Pullman is having long spikes hammered into his scrotum is pretty gruesome. He is naked, but the scene doesn’t show anything really. Bill Pullman is a good screamer.

The stuff of nightmares (The Serpent and the Rainbow 1988)

The best things about The Serpent and the Rainbow film are the vivid hallucination/nightmare sequences, which have mummified corpses, lots of blood and snakes involved. The corpse in the wedding gown walking towards Bill Pullman’s character, speaking unintelligibly in a creepy voice and a snake jumping out of her mouth attacking him is the stuff of nightmares. There is another frightening scene with the female corpse in a wedding gown coming towards Bill Pullman in a boat that is in flames and then approaching him and almost her entire figure is in the dark.

The scene with Bill Pullman being buried alive with a tarantula on his face is very cool. The ending is very morbid like in scenery with a lot of simple but effective special effects. The Serpent and the Rainbow is a pretty all right film to watch, but it isn’t as strong as some other Wes Craven horror films. It is better than those horrible “Scream” films. It is best to watch The Serpent and the Rainbow on a slow rainy day or when alone after midnight and you can’t sleep.

The Serpent and the Rainbow Review: Done by Rancel

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988 Trailer)

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