The Thing (August 20, 1982) (DVD Released May 5, 2004)
Tagline - Man Is The Warmest Place To Hide
Australian Gross - $1,198,000
In the winter of1982, a twelve-man research team at remote Antarctica research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form changing alien wreaks havoc, creates terror and becomes one of them.
Slow. I'm not a big fan of this type of isolation movie, but had heard great things about this movie, and that is what made me wan't to see it. It starts off slow and mysterious, mainly because some Norweigans are shooting at a dog, but towards the end I felt it seemed to drag on quite a bit, and was a little too unrealistic for my likings. The over-use of explosives and blowtorches also made the film rushed, even though it went for 1.4 hours. The death/gore scenes were really cool I thought, not looking fake like i was expecting a 1982 movie to look.
The premise is promising, but there were a few plot holes I found. The characters found this enormous space-ship, but didn't explore it. The biggest explosion of the film didn't kill people, yet the minor ones killed some. When the movie finished I was left wondering something. Why did the alien kill them?. All we knew was that it was 100,000 years old, and could immitate anything.
The acting was watchable, but sometimes unrealistic. A special mention to "Kurt Russell", who really pulled the film together. I felt that every scene he was in, the more interesting it became. He brang something to the movie, that without it, it would be a complete mess.
Overall "The Thing" is OK, but drags on for a while, and leaves you with some unanswered questions. My rating is 2/5.
Night Of The Living Dead (Theatrical release unknown) (DVD released May 1, 2002)
Rating - M for Horror Theme, Medium Level Violence.
Tagline - They Wont Stay Dead.
In the quiet Pennsylvania countryside, the dead began to walk. Fueled by an insatiable hunger for living human flesh, the ghouls ghastly quest inadvertently brought together six strangers whose inability to unite would ultimately lead to their tragic downfall.
Really slow. The film starts off really slow, and really doesn't start to get interesting until about an hour. The make-up of the zombies, was cool, and although not freaky, still cool. The one setting of the movie, really made it boring too, and the characters didn't lighten the mood either. The black and white format of thew film wasn't in anyway a downfall. The ending was definately not expected.
The plot was good, but i think could've been better interpreted into different settings, instead of being in a mouldy old boarded up house for the whole movie.
The acting, i guess would've been average for back then, but several times i couldn't help laughing at the epxressions and dialogue the characters used.
Overall "Night of the Living Dead" fails to be enjoyable until the last half hour, and the ending isn't worth waiting for, although it is unexpected. My rating is 2/5.
Friday The 13th 4: The Final Chapter (July 13, 1984) (DVD Released July 2, 2003)
Rating - R18+
Tagline - This Is The One You'll Be Dying For
Australian Gross - $210,000
After the confrontation with Chris, Jason presumed dead, is taken to the Wessex County Morgue. There he escapes killing an attendant and a nurse, making his way back to Crystal Lake Camp. Six teenagers rent a cabin next to the Jarvis' in Crystal Lake. Soon Jason finds his way to eliminate all who trespasses his way, but not for long. There are two survivors left, a girl and her little brother, Tommy Jarvis. The final battle will define their destiny, be prepared for the Final Chapter.
Unpredictable. As the movie wen't on, the more it felt like it wasn't a "Friday" film, as we only really saw Jason a couple of times. The only moment that felt entirely predictable was the cast of characters that survived, although there was one girl I didn't expect to die. It tended to drag on for a while, and stray a little from an actual horror plot, and be more of a drama.
The plot was really just an adaption to what has previously been done. The only fault i found was that I never once heard that the new victims say they were in "Crystal Lake". The only thing we heard was at the start of the film, where they done a little re-cap for new viewers.
The acting was allright, and believable to an extent. The roles were portrayed, as you'd expect them to be, nothing more, nothing less.
Overall "Friday The 13th 4: The Final Chapter" is unpredictable, but drags on quite abit. My ratins is 2.5/5
Carrie (March 17, 1976) (DVD RELEASED May 13, 2002)
Rating - R18+ for Medium Level Violence
Tagline - If Only They Knew She Had The Power.
Australian Gross - (Not Avaliable to me at the moment, but will try to get ASAP.)
Carrie White is a shy young girl who doesn't make friends easily. After her class mates taunt her about her horrified reaction to her totally unexpected first period one of them takes pity on her and gets Tommy Ross, her boyfriend and class hunk to invite Carrie to the senior prom. Meanwhile another girl who has been banned from the prom for her continued aggressive behaviour is not as forgiving and plans a trick to embarrass Carrie in front of the whole school. What she doesn't realise is that Carrie is ... gifted, and you really don't want to get her angry.
Amazing. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that i'd actually enjoy a movie from the 70's. This movie had me literally biting my nails, at a scene so famous, yet I was still hoping it wasn't going to happen. The way the movie is set out, from "Carrie" being the helpless girl, to transforming into the strong, beatiful Prom Queen, is truly an amazing watch. Not once was I tempted to walk away from the film, and "Carrie"'s ability and her wierdly religious mother, are fascinating on their own. The last 20 minutes of the movie were obviously the best, bringing out the beast inside.
The plot was really, one of the best ever adapted, i think. I love how the character transforms from doing anything she's told, to being more confident is amazing. The sequences where Carrie uses telekenesis, are very thrilling.
"Sissy Spacek" is an amazing actress. She portrayed "Carrie" better than anyone else would be able to. The scenes at the end where she broke loose, where actually firghtening. Her eyes are just scary in themselves, she is truly one of the highlights of the movie. "John Travolta" in his "BIG SCREEN DEBUT" was a rather small role, and I really can't see why people are so fanatic about his acting, as to me it was quie average, unless "Sissy's" was so well it decreased "Travolta's".
Overall "Carrie" is definately in the must-see-before-you-die category. It's an amazing movie. My rating is 4/5
Friday The 13th (June 1, 1980) (DVD Released October 8, 2003)
Rating - R18+ for Medium Level Violence
Tagline - A 24 Hour Nightmare Of Terror
Australian Gross - $2,202,000
In 1957, at Camp Crystal Lake, a young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned. In 1958, two camp counselors were murdered. In 1962, fires and bad water thwarted the camp's reopening. Now, in 1979, Steve Christy finally reopens Camp Crystal Lake with the help of a few new counselors. Ignoring the warnings from a local wacko, the murders start once again while a mysterious stalker prowls the area. Is it Revenge that the killer is looking for? Who will survive the nightmare and live to tell the story?
Kool. For an 80's movie, this was actually allright. Compared to modern horror, this is nothing special, but back in it's day, this would be one spooky flick. One part of the movie, actually did make me jump. The film did have some times, that were so unbelievable, and to an extent I actually was quite amused at how serious it took itself. Many times, the dialogue was just hilarious, because these day's not a single person would say anything like it. I really liked the lats 20 minutes, best part of the movie.
The plot was decent, but was never exceeded over expectations. It wasn't complex, but simple enough for anyone to follow. Decent deaths, and decent body count kept the movie's momentum climbing the longer it went on.
The acting, to me wasn't vewry believable, but i can't say for sure whether or not, back in 1981 it was good. I found it to be very unrealistic, but Kevin Bacon actually put on a decent performence, even if it was only for 10 minutes.
Overall "Friday The 13th" had a decent body count, death scenes, and is actually enjoyable even if it is predictable, and laughable. My ratins is 3/5.