THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, David Crawford, David Early, Richard France, Howard Smith, James A. Baffico, Rudy Ricci, Tom Savini, Taso N. Stavrakis, Marty Schiff, Nick Tallo, William George, and Larry Valra.

Directed by: George A. Romero.

Story:
Set approximately three weeks after “Night of the Living Dead”, the zombie plague has now escalated to new heights as opposed to the end of ‘Night’ where it seemed like everything was under control - A state of martial law is now in effect in all major cities of the United States, the plague has begun to spread overseas as well, some people are listening to what the scientists and media tell them, but many aren’t, many are reluctant to give up their deceased loved ones to be discarded of completely, adding to the ever-growing ranks of the army of the living dead spreading across the globe.

The story opens in a chaotic news station where all hell has broken loose, the hosts debate back and forth, old and incorrect information fills the TV screens, and people are abandoning their posts left and right. A News chopper pilot, Stephen Andrews (David Emge), meets up with his camera operator girlfriend, Francine Parker (Gaylen Ross), to steal a chopper and escape the ever-growing zombie threat. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia SWAT team is forcing a raid on a ghetto tenement building where its residents refuse to give up their revived loved ones for proper extermination. Part of this raid is SWAT operative Roger DeMarco (Scott H. Reiniger) whom finds himself in a more of a bloody massacre than he bargained for upon working his way into the building with his teammates. He soon runs into Peter Washington, part of another SWAT unit raiding the building, whom he connects with and offers a getaway ticket from the end of the world.

The two SWAT officers, the pilot and his girlfriend all meet up to escape Philadelphia via helicopter. The group flies cross-country Pennsylvania, stopping for fuel and supplies wherever they can and running into the undead everywhere they go. They soon stumble across a massive shopping mall in Monroeville, a suburb just outside of Pittsburgh, which the dead are already starting to invade. The group lands on the roof and set up shelter in one of the mall’s storage rooms on top. But what starts as a short break soon turns into a long-term stay as they decide to take over the shopping mall, blocking all the entrances with trucks, taking care of what’s left inside, and keeping the place all to themselves - And they have everything they will ever need right there.

Characters:
*Stephen ‘Flyboy’ Andrews (David Emge): The clumsy traffic helicopter pilot who needs a lot of practice firing a gun as well as getting his priorities straight.
*Peter Washington (Ken Foree): A big and tough SWAT team member who is pretty much the brains and backbone of the group.
*Roger ‘Trooper’ DeMarco (Scott H. Reiniger): A wildcat SWAT team member who’s close friends with Stephen and partners up with Peter.
*Francine Parker (Gaylen Ross): A news camera woman who is also Stephen’s girlfriend and is pregnant with his baby.
*Blades (Tom Savini): An important member of a biker gang that wants to loot the shopping mall.

Overall:
“Dawn of the Dead” is the best sequel since “The Godfather, Part II”, a classic piece of 1970s cinema that has been heavily praised ever since. The cast of four each hold their own. Romero once again casts an African-American hero and, just like the original, there is no mention of race anywhere to be found. Much like James Cameron did with “Aliens”, George A. Romero tops himself in many ways with this epic-scope horror sequel with its setting, gore, action, and characters.

The ending is not necessarily a happy one, but there is a slight glimmer of hope as not every single one of the cast members die, but their secluded shopping mall haven comes tumbling down in one of the most fashionable, disgusting, and action-packed showdowns ever depicted. The music is a huge plus this time around, much thanks to Dario Argentino and Goblin, while it does have a 70s streak, it is some of the most creative and unconventional tracks ever recorded for a horror film.

As the first sequel to “Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead” deserves its rightful place next to the likes of “The Godfather, Part II”, “Aliens”, and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”.

Rating: *****

Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, Kyra Schon, and Russell Streiner.

Directed by: George A. Romero

Story:
The story takes place around Daylight Savings time in 1982. Brother and sister, Johnny and Barbara are driving out somewhere in Western Pennsylvania to place new flowers on their father’s grave. Johnny starts teasing his sister who has a certain fear of cemeteries. A pale-faced tall man moves toward them at a snail’s pace as they bicker and tries to attack Barbara.

The man turns out to a reanimated corpse bent on eating their flesh. Johnny wrestles him to the ground and dies, leaving Barbara to fend for herself. She runs off and stumbles across a seemingly abandoned farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Inside, she finds yet another dead corpse (although not reanimated, this one has been disposed of by someone) and a few more dead guys find their way to the house. In an attempt to flee the shelter, she is saved by Ben who shows up in his pick-up truck and fends off the four or five zombies.

Together, they hold up in the house, which Ben begins to board up with all the wood he can find. They soon discover a few other survivors who are holding up in the basement - A bitter married couple, Harry and Helen Cooper with their unconscious (zombie-bitten) daughter, and a teenage couple Tom and Judy. They find a radio which informs them of a strange mass murder effecting the entire Eastern Seaboard where the unburied and recently dead are returning to life and attacking the living.

Characters:
*Barbra (Judith O’Dea): The lead female protagonist whom loses her brother to the undead.
*Johnny (Russell Streiner): Barbra’s brother who becomes one of the first victims.
*Ben (Duane Jones): The lead male protagonist who saves Barbra’s life just in the nick of time. One of the smartest people in the group.
*Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman): Husband to Helen and father to Karen, he and his family have been hiding in the farmhouse’s cellar the entire time. He turns out to be the most ignorant of the group and the most uncooperative.
*Helen Cooper (Marilyn Eastman): Wife to Harry and mother to Karen, she and her family have been hiding in the farmhouse’s cellar the entire time. She is the complete opposite of her husband.
*Karen Cooper (Kyra Schon): Harry and Helen’s daughter who has been bitten by one of the undead.
*Tom (Keith Wayne): Judy’s boyfriend, the both of them have been hiding in the cellar with the Cooper family.
*Judy (Judith Ridley): Tom’s girlfriend.

Overall:
Director George A. Romero drew some inspiration from Richard Matheson’s novel, “I Am Legend”, where a plague engulfs Los Angeles in the near future, turning everyone into vampire-like creatures, and came up with the skeleton of his first feature film, “Night of the Living Dead”. It is one of the first films in the 60s to use an African-American hero without one drop of racism or the mere mention of race throughout the entire film.

The protagonists battle not only the gathering dead people outside but themselves as well. One half argues that staying in the cellar is the safest course of action while the other half wants to stay above and finish boarding the place up. Little by little, things fall apart and the group gets picked off one by one, partly due to their own arrogance to work together. By the end of the film, the world has already ended for the group inside the farmhouse but as for the virus, we are led to believe that everything is under control as the government and local authorities give the impression that they are on top of the problem. But of course, that’s another story to be continued in the film’s sequel, “Dawn of the Dead”.

Upon release in October of 1968, “Night of the Living Dead” was highly criticized for its explicit content, aside from breaking new ground in filmmaking and the horror/zombie genre, making use of fairly simple special effects (i.e. Bosco Chocolate Syrup for blood, roasted ham for consumed flesh, second hand clothing for costumes, mortician’s wax for zombie make-up). It became known as the catalyst of the contemporary Zombie Apocalypse sub-genre in horror that the world has come to know. Shot on a budget of $114,000, the movie has grossed $12 million domestically and $30 million international after a decade or so of cinematic re-releases. Since its’ release in 1968, the Library of Congress has labelled the film as “historically, culturally or aesthetically important”.

Rating: ****

Starring: Garret Dillahunt, Michael Bowen, Joshua Cox, Riki Lindhome, Aaron Paul, Sara Paxton, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Martha MacIsaac, and Spencer Treat Clark.

Directed by: Dennis Illiadis.

Story:
Remake of the 1972 film of the same name. The parents of a raped daughter, who was shot and left for dead, act out their revenge on the four rapists that have taken shelter in their very own home.

Characters:
*Krug (Garret Dillahunt): Leader of the gang.
*Sadie (Riki Lindhome): Krug’s bisexual girlfriend.
*Francis (Aaron Paul): Krug’s brother.
*Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton): Main character/victim of the flick; John and Emma’s daughter.
*Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter): Mari’s mother.
*Paige (Martha MacIsaac): Mari’s best friend.
*Justin (Spencer Treat Clark): Krug’s son.
*John Collingwood (Tony Goldwyn): Mari’s father.

Overall:
“The Last House On The Left” has been the second remake so far this year to surprise me and blow my fears away (the first remake being “Friday The 13th”). I believe having the original director return as a producer here may have helped out significantly in terms of how this film turned out.

The remake is basically the same story as the original except it builds upon it much like the remake for “Friday The 13th” did. First of all, the annoying music in the original which did not match what was going on at all is now gone, thank God. The finale is more action-packed and extended as well.

Many of the improvements is noticable within the characters. Krug’s girlfriend, Sadie, is depicted as a far more fierce villain; Mari’s father, John, appears more middle-aged here than his elder counterpart in the original and puts up more of a fight as well; Krug’s son, Justin, shows more depth and is more likable here. The only problem I have with the new cast is with the two girls - Mari is not attractive whatsoever, the original Mari was beautiful therefore making her more believable as a rape victim; then there’s her friend, Paige, who actually looks like Mari from the original film (looks like the casting director got it all backwards if you ask me).

Overall, “The Last House On The Left” deserves to sit up there with all of the other worthy remakes including the brand new “Friday The 13th”. Now, let’s hope 2009 is a good year for remakes, then next year, we can start working our way towards some original ideas.

Rating: ****

Starring: Gary Oldman, Odette Yustman, Ethan Cutkosky, Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good, Jane Alexander, James Remar, Idris Elba, Rhys Coiro, Carla Gugino, Aiden David, Conner David, Eric Flores, Atticus Shaffer, and Rachel Brosnahan.

Directed by: David S. Goyer.

Story:
A malevolent spirit known as a dybbuk refuses to leave the world and instead inhabits the body of Casey Beldon, plaguing her with nightmarish dreams, strange visions, and a ghostly child with big blue eyes. Casey seeks the help of a spiritual advisor, Rabbi Joseph Sendak, to perform an exorcism and rid the entity from her body.

Characters:
*Rabbi Joseph Sendak (Gary Oldman): A spiritual advisor who can perform a Jewish exorcism.
*Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman): The protagonist college girl who is being haunted by the dybbuk entity.
*Romey (Meagan Good): Casey’s best friend who happens to know a lot about voodoo, dreams, and superstition.
*Sofi Kozma (Jane Alexander): An elderly lady who is revealed to be Casey’s grandmother. It turns out that she had a twin brother who died as a result of Nazi experimentation, the brother in question happens to be the ghost/dybbuk who is haunting Casey.
*Matty (Atticus Shaffer): Casey’s neighbor’s son whom she babysits from time to time.

Overall:
I was surprised and pleased to see that “The Unborn”, written and directed by the critically-acclaimed and respected David S. Goyer (just thought I’d point that out to let you all know that this wasn’t directed by some stupid music video director like many movies are these days), is neither a remake or a book adaptation because hey, let’s face it, that is the automatic assumption nowadays. It is in fact a creation of Mr. Goyer, however, it’s not entirely original as it borrows from so many movies that it’s not even funny - “The Exorcist”, “The Omen”, “Rosemary’s Baby”, need I go on?

“The Unborn” is a downright cheesy horror flick with cringing dialogue, Mr. Goyer actually wrote and directed this? That’s hard to believe. Wow. Maybe he watched too many of the crappy horror movies that came out recently before he conjured this up. As with most horror pictures in the now era, it relies on boo and jump scare tactics with the occasional musical cue, no build-up whatsoever. The script tries to be clever and throw in some Nazi genetic experiment as the initial catalyst for all that’s happening, but it doesn’t work. Sorry, but the whole “my baby is possessed” or “my child is a demon” cliche is just that - CLICHE. If you feel you must go and watch “The Unborn”, just be sure to go home and UNwind yourself by watching a horror movie that came out before the year 2000 - You may not like everything you see, but you’ll have a lot better trouble than if you stick with the 2000s where a good horror movie is like a needle in a haystack.

Rating: *1/2

Starring: Derek Mears, Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Righetti, Nana Visitor, Jonathon Sadowski, Ben Feldman, Nick Mennell, America Olivo, Willa Ford, Ryan Hansen, Juilianna Guill, Arien Escarpeta, and Travis Van Winkle.

Directed by: Marcus Nispel.

Story:
About 30 years ago, young Jason Voorhees witnesses the beheading of his mother by a camp counselor who was the last survivor of Mrs. Voorhees’ murderous rampage at Camp Crystal Lake. Now, in present day, a group of teens vacation nearby Crystal Lake in search of weed that was planted in the surrounding wood areas. The pack is killed by Jason, all except for Whitney, who is kept prisoner beneath the campsite due to the resemblance between her and his mother.

A month later, Whitney’s brother, Clay, has been searching endlessly for her. While searching near Camp Crystal Lake, he runs into some trouble with Trent who is driving his friends to his summer vacation cabin nearby. Jason Voorhees hunts them down one by one as Clay continues to search for his missing sister with the help of Trent’s girlfriend who is falling for him.

Characters:
*Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears): The looming and iconic hockey-mask wearing murder who needs no introduction.
*Mrs. Voorhees (Nana Visitor): Jason’s mother who makes a brief cameo at the very beginning.
*Wade (Jonathon Sadowski): A nerdy GPS-using, know-it-all geek who is very well-informed about Camp Crystal Lake.
*Richie (Ben Feldman): Wade’s buddy who doesn’t believe in the scary stories that he shares with him but does share the same desire to find weed in the woods and get rich off of it.
*Mike (Nick Mennell): A friend of Wade and Richie.
*Whitney (Amanda Righetti): Mike’s girlfriend who goes missing after her five friends get killed by Jason in the beginning.
*Amanda (America Olivo): Richie’s freaky girlfriend.
*Trent (Travis Van Winkle): Leader of the new pack of teens who are introduced after the first batch is killed. He’s the a-hole of the pack.
*Jenna (Danielle Panabaker): Trent’s far more sympathetic and caring girlfriend who seems to be more interested in Clay.
*Chewie (Aaron Yoo): An Asian dude whose nick name is the work wizard and that’s not just because he masturbates, according to him that is.
*Chelsea (Willa Ford): Nolan’s girlfriend.
*Nolan (Ryan Hansen): Trent’s best buddy and Chelsea’s boyfriend.
*Bree (Julianna Guill): A freaky white girl whom Trent cheats on Jenna with.
*Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta): A funny, down-for-anything African-American dude whom makes his presence well-aware to everyone and is not afraid to speak the truth in a humorous way.
*Clay (Jared Padalecki): Whitney’s brother who is in search of his missing sister.

Overall:
When I first heard that this was going to be remade, rebooted, or whatever the heck you want to call it, I just wanted to smack myself in the head and say “Oh no, not again”, then I watched the trailer and thought to myself, “Typical, so sad”. But you know what? This remake totally surprised me. I think this remake could stand right up there with the new ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ films that came out in this decade, is it no wonder that they were also directed by Marcus Nispel who directed this?

If you’re looking for some new twist on the slasher genre, “Friday The 13th” doesn’t offer any of the sort, instead it accepts what it is and lets it be clearly known - Ridiculousness, death, dismemberment, teenage sex, party animals, and the like. That’s exactly what the franchise contained. This remake contains a huge amount of nostalgia and references to other films. Mind you, this is a remake of Parts I-IV in the “Friday The 13th” franchise, not just the first one.

There appears to have been some effort put into the death of the characters as many of them are quite impressive. They even put enough effort to make some of these faces in the cast stand out. The script adds a black and Asian character to keep up to date with the ‘movies of the millennium’. The plot of a brother searching for his sister is well written, executed, and adds a little more juice to this ‘Friday The 13th’ story to make it stand out.

Jason is now able to run, not as fast as the zombies from the “Dawn of the Dead” remake, but enough to make him more menacing and scary; he also has a somewhat sympathetic backstory now which doesn’t soften him in any way whatsoever. Also notable is the fact that he slowly obtains his hockey mask as the film progresses. The film has an open-ended climax, of course (what did you expect?) and, while I wasn’t left with a sense of “you’ve got to be kidding me”, I was left wondering how on Earth they plan to make one, two, five, heck even ten MORE films in this “rebooted” franchise and have them be as good as this one or the old ones?

Rating: ****

Starring: Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, Marc Sheffler, Richard Towers, Cynthia Carr, Marshall Anker, Martin Kove, Ada Washington, and Ray Edwards.

Directed by: Wes Craven.

Story:
Two teenage girls head out on the town for a concert. Along the way, they hear a radio report concerning a pack of four criminals who escaped from prison. On the way back, they attempt to score some marijuana as they stroll through the city streets - it is then that they meet one of the criminals who leads them back to the apartment they live in, trapping them there.

Characters:
*Mari Collingwood (Sandra Cassel): The main character who’s about to turn 17.
*Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham): Mari’s best friend.
*Krug Stillo (David Hess): Leader of the escaped criminals.
*Fred “Weasel” Podowski (Fred J. Lincoln): Krug’s right hand man.
*Sadie (Jeramie Rain): Krug’s bisexual girlfriend.
*Junior Stillo (Marc Sheffler): Krug’s teenage son.
*Dr. John Collingwood (Richard Towers): Mari’s father.
*Estelle Collingwood (Cynthia Carr): Mari’s mother.
*Sheriff (Marshall Anker): A fat tub of lard who takes up too much weight on a truck full of chickens.
*Deputy (Martin Kove): The Sheriff’s right hand man who’s in much better shape but can’t remember to refuel a police car when needed.

Overall:
Wes Craven’s film debut, which was influenced by Vietnam War news footage, was highly controversial for the amount of graphic violence it contained and let alone, the nature of the psychotic and sadistic villains themselves. The film is classic exploitative trash as well as a bold artistic statement. It’s one of those movies that stands in the same line as “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974) and “Night of the Living Dead” (1968).

Also keep in mind, this is a horror movie but not in the sense of Freddy, Jason, or some supernatural force running amuck; it is purely psychopathic criminals doing the killing here. Wes Craven’s script does a great job of getting you involved with the two main girls and their friendship, enough for you to care for them and strongly route for them to escape in one piece. Unfortunately, that’s not the way things panned out for them - then again, not along after their deaths, the villains’ car breaks down right outside of one of the girls’ house and they have no choice but to con their way into spending the night with the parents before getting a lift in the morning. At that point, you start routing for the girl’s parents to give the criminals a taste of their own medicine.

“The Last House On The Left” is a very effective thriller that will constantly keep you interested, right down to the final fifteen minutes. The only downside to this movie is that most of the soundtrack sucks and doesn’t match up with the atmosphere and themes it presents, a lot of it sounds like something out of some southern Texas comedy yet this is not a comedy although it does have a few scenes with attempts at humor. Now it’s only a question of whether or not the 2009 remake is any better.

Rating: ****

Starring: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, Elizabeth Banks, David Strathairn, Maya Massar, Kevin McNulty, Jesse Moss, Lex Burnham, Danny Bristol, Matthew Bristol, Don S. Davis, Heather Doerksen, and Dean Paul Gibson.

Directed by: Charles Guard and Thomas Guard.

Story:
Anna Ivers, a young girl who was institutionalized for her recurring dreams of her dead mother and ghostly visions, is now released and arrives home with her sister Alex and father David. David is now living, dating, and sleeping with his dead wife’s nurse, Rachel Summers, whom the two daughters suspect to be responsible for their mother’s death. As usual, David refuses to believe them and thinks they’re out of their mind. Meanwhile, Rachel threatens the two daughters behind his back while Anna’s ghostly visions give her further insight into Rachel’s true intentions. Together, Anna and Alex team up to stop Rachel before she kills them and her father.

Characters:
*Anna Ivers (Emily Browning): A young girl who keeps having weird ghostly visions and dreams of her deceased mother.
*Alex Ivers (Arielle Kebbel): Anna’s sister, roughly the same age.
*Rachel Summers (Elizabeth Banks): The nurse of the deceased mother who is now the significant other of the widowed husband.
*Steven Ivers (David Strathairn): Anna and Alex’s concerned father.
*Lilian Ivers (Maya Massar): Alex and Anna’s dead mother who keeps appearing to Anna in her dreams.
*Matt (Jesse Moss): Another typical teenage pretty face boy who’s a ‘friend’ of Anna and serves no other purpose except cannon fodder.
*Mildred Kemp (Heather Doerksen): The woman whom Anna and Alex suspect to be the same along with Rachel Summers.
*Dr. Silberman (Dean Paul Gibson): Anna’s psychiatrist.

Overall:
I have to admit, I had very low expectations for this film which happens to be yet another remake of a recently released South Korean horror movie (how many more times, please God, how many more?). While I haven’t seen the original film it is based on, “A Tale of Two Sisters” (2003), “The Uninvited” was surprisingly watchable although it was quite an average film. Also bare in mind, “The Uninvited” shares no relation to two other films of the same name, one being (another) 2003 Korean horror film and the other a 1944 American film.

“The Uninvited” does have its share of cliched horror movie scare tactics which the film studios continue to include regardless of how ineffective they are; the twist it pulls at the end is somewhat cliche as we have seen it before, however, you pretty much won’t see it coming throughout most of the movie. The performances and dialogue are right out of your typical run-of-the-mill teenage horror movie from the 2000s, David Strathairn and Elizabeth Banks do well with what they are given to work with. Stay tuned for the next remake.

Rating: **1/2

Starring: Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo, Dean Jagger, Sydney Lassick, Jack Carter, Perry Lang, Henry Silva, Bart Braverman, James Ingersoll, Robert Doyle, and Patti Jerome.

Directed by: Lewis Teague.

Story:
A teenage girl purchases a baby alligator during vacation with her family in Florida. After returning to Chicago, Ramon the alligator (that’s what she names it) gets flushed down the toilet by her father who is an animal phobic of sorts. The baby alligator ends up in the city’s sewers. Twelve years later, the alligator has survived and has recently begun feeding on covertly discarded corpses of other pets that were the guinea pigs for an experimental growth formula. As a result, the gator is now approximately 30-40 feet long.

When the gator begins picking off humans, it grabs the attention of police officer David Madison who seems to have a bad reputation for losing his assigned partners after a botched case in St. Louis. Madison soon meets reptile expert Marisa Kendall, who turns out to be the teenage girl from the beginning; when the gator soon reaches the surface of the city for new territory, they must team up to track down and kill the alligator before it causes any further harm.

Characters:
*David Madison (Robert Forster): A police officer with a bad stroke of luck for losing all the partners that he’s assigned, whether it’s a botched case from his past or from an alligator.
*Marisa Kendall (Robin Riker): The gorgeous eye candy, err, reptile expert whose father is responsible for the alligator ending up in the sewer in the first place.
*Chief Clark (Michael V. Gazzo): Madison’s supervisor who could also pass for Lil’ Wayne’s father if he keeps up that voice.
*Slade (Dean Jagger): The local tycoon who is also responsible for the alligator as he is the one secretly disposing of pets who were the results of his growth experiments.
*Col. Brock (Henry Silva): A big game animal hunter who is hired to track and kill the animal.
*Thomas Kemp (Bart Braverman): A nosy tabloid reporter who gets a little too deep in the sewer for his own good.
*Bill Kendall (Robert Doyle): Marisa’s animal phobic father who flushed the alleged alligator down the toilet in the beginning.
*Mrs. Madeline Kendall (Patti Jerome): Marisa’s mother who loves to talk non-stop.

Overall:
I had no idea that a “Jaws” clone existed until I watched “Alligator”. Roy Schieder is replaced by Robert Forster, the shark by an alligator, and the water by a city/sewer environment. The film is pretty much predictable, I really don’t have to tell you what happens when and where, just watch “Jaws”. However, the film’s intentional humor and wit does work, but it certainly reeks of low budget cliche-ness all throughout. Some parts are just boring, take the opening sequence and the first act for instance.

The film does get interesting when the creature decides to come up to the city surface for new territory, providing a full-length shot of the alligator that looks like it’s eerily out of one of today’s big special effects shots. “Jaws” is simply a better and far more interesting film to watch than this trite, “Alligator” is nowhere near being special. The final shot of the movie has to be the most cliche of them all. Who knows, maybe the film might turn into something scary if it was flushed down the toilet as well.

Rating: ***

Starring: Angus Scrimm, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Terrie Kalbus, Kenneth V. Jones, Susan Harper, Lynn Eastman, David Arntzen, Ralph Richmond, Bill Cone, Laura Mann, Mary Ellen Shaw, and Myrle Scotton.

Directed by: Don Coscarelli.

Story:
24 year old Jody Pearson and his 13 year old brother Mike Pearson are residing in a small suburban town where death happens very often, that includes both of their parents too. Jody and Mike, along with their ice cream vendor friend Reggie, begin to suspect The Tall Man as being responsible for the plague of deaths. Before you know it, The Tall Man’s minions begin haunting and pursuing Mike, forcing him to try and convince his older brother of what’s going on. Once he successfully does so, the three of them discover an odd white room with containers inside the mausoleum, there happens to be a gateway in this room that leads to another planet (or dimension perhaps?) which Mike momentarily enters and sees the dwarfs that have chased him throughout the whole film being used as slaves.

Characters:
*The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm): A supernatural undertaker who is capable of turning dead people into dwarf versions of zombies and orders them to do his work.
*Mike Pearson (A. Michael Baldwin): Jody’s younger 13 year old brother who is the main protagonist and pretty much is ahead of everyone else in terms of knowing what’s really going on.
*Jody Pearson (Bill Thornbury): A 24 year old musician who is raising his 13 year old brother Mike. Their parents recently passed away.
*Reggie (Reggie Bannister): An ice cream vendor who teams up with Mike and Jody in their suspicions of the supernatural mortician.

Overall:
Although “Phantasm” has long since become a cult classic and has many redeeming things about it, it comes off as possibly being one of the most boring films of 1979 (not to say I was alive in that year, but it certainly gives off that impression). The film is about an evil figure known as The Tall Man (Scrimm) who is a supernatural undertaker of sorts that turns the deceased into these ‘dwarf zombies’ whom he commands to do all of his dirty work. We come to learn that The Tall Man was formerly a mortician.

The film does engage in some visually stunning special effects - such as a silver sphere sequence which caused the film to initially be rated X by the MPAA because the scene involved a man urinating on the floor from a wound in his forehead before his corpse falls to the ground - and some rather creepy chase sequences involving The Tall Man and the main characters. Overall, the movie does have some interesting story concepts but the tone of it all is rather repressed and boring, especially the music. I know that the director was trying to pull us into the film’s world of a town that is plagued by death and the deceased, but accompanying it with repressive horror music isn’t going to enhance the film’s quality any further.

Rating: **1/2

Starring: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, John J. Newcombe, Lucas Donat, Leo McKern, Robert Foxworth, Nicholas Pryor, Sylvia Sidney, Lew Ayres, Lance Henriksen, Elizabeth Shephard, Meshach Taylor, Ian Hendry, and Allan Arbus.

Directed by: Don Taylor.

Story:
Nearly a week after the death of Robert Thorn and his wife, two men who have learned the true identity of Damien Thorn (who now lives with Robert’s brother, Richard Thorn, in Chicago) and the deaths he has caused attempt to bring Richard a package explaining everything and to warn him. However, one of the men remains unconvinced, so they pay a visit to the ruins of Tel Megiddo to show him proof. While inside, the entire tomb collapses, killing them both.

Seven years after, Damien is now 13 and living with his father’s brother in Chicago, Richard Thorn, a wealthy industrialist. Also living with him is Richard’s wife, Ann, and his son from his first marriage, Mark. Damien, along with Mark, both attend military academy. Damien’s Aunt Marion is not so fond of him and his influence on Mark and therefore attempts to cut off his inheritance unless he is transferred to another school. While Richard Thorn plans tentative moves to expand his Thorn Industries operations into Third World agriculture, little does he know, it is all for the benefit of Damien so that he claims his place with the ten kingdoms on Earth.

Characters:
*Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern): A man who is well aware of Damien’s identity and tries to convince Michael to warn Richard.
*Michael Morgan (Ian Hendry): A journalist who is unconvinced of Damien’s identity.
*Richard Thorn (William Holden): The brother of Damien’s deceased father who runs his own company, Thorn Industries.
*Ann Thorn (Lee Grant): Richard’s wife, apparently, she’s not all she seems to be either.
*Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor): The now matured and teenage soon-to-be Anti-Christ.
*Sergeant Daniel Neff (Lance Henriksen): The young Lance Henriksen - here, he is one of Damien’s evil helpers.
*Dr. Charles Warren (Nicholas Pryor): Richard’s closest friend.
*Bill Atherton (Lew Ayres): One of Richard’s associates who is against the company’s agricultural plans.
*Dr. William Kane (Meshach Taylor): A doctor who discovers some strange inhuman things about Damien after taking a blood sample.
*Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shephard): Journalist who tries to warn Richard.
*Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney): Damien’s aunt who doesn’t approve of him and thinks he’s a bad influence.
*Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth): Another Thorn associate who is also a helper of Damien.
*Mark Thorn (Lucas Donat): Damien’s brother.
*Teddy (John J. Newcombe): One of Damien’s classmates at the military academy who doesn’t like him very much.
*David Pasarian (Allan Arbus): Sharing Bill’s viewpoints and opinions, he takes Bill’s place after he dies.

Overall:
“Damien: Omen II” may not be perfect, but it expands on the classic original in several ways and provides a bit more depth in a now teenage Damien Thorn. The sequel contains more horrific deaths, more evil bad guys, and even more special effects than the first. In the original, Damien had the help of an evil babysitter and a dog; this time, Damien is aided by a new batch of evil, disguised minions this time around - Paul Buher, an associate in Richard Thorn’s company and Sergeant Daniel Neff who is Damien’s mentor at the military academy - both make sure that Damien avoids arousing any attention or suspicion until the timing is right, which he does unintentionally on a few occasions throughout the film.

Damien soon begins to realize who he truly is and what is to become of him which he doesn’t accept at first - This was a very interesting aspect of the film. As more people are out to stop Damien from fulfilling his destiny this time around, the special effects guys certainly had a ball with this film as they got to kill more people than in the original - Two guys are buried alive in sand and debris within a collapsing tomb, an old lady has a heart attack while trying to get rid of an evil crow, a woman is hit by a truck after her eyes are plucked out by a batch of crows, a man falls through ice while skating and drowns, a man and his assistant die from inhaling poisonous fumes at an industry plant, a man is split in half horizontally by a falling elevator cable, and another man is impaled between two train cars - That’s just to name a few.

Richard Donner’s directing is absent due to his commitment to the “Superman” film at the time, here he is replaced by Don Taylor who had a reputation for finishing films on a timely budget and schedule. Jerry Goldsmith’s spooky music is definitely back. Much like the original, evil triumphs once again in this series, leading to a future sequel - Why should one be surprised? One doesn’t have to guess the ending of “Damien: Omen II”, I mean after all, it is in the book of revelations - It’s his destiny.

Rating: ***