2003 Halloween DVD Blitz

It's that time of the month again. (I mean Halloween, of course.)

That means DVDs will be flying off the shelves of your local video mart as if they've been "Repossessed". There has been a "Deadly Invasion" of horror releases this year, all leading up to the big sales and rents the distributors hope for in October when "Darkness Falls" on All Hallows Eve.

Many of them are older movies, or TV movies, available for the first time on DVD this year. So's you don't get a rock in your pillowcase this year,  I've taken the time to sort out the various tricks and treats for you.

Abandon (2003, Rated PG-13) - TREAT. Abandon is a pretty decent little thriller; well-acted, well-directed and especially well-photographed. It’s nothing special, but it’s worth seeing once. Be sure and rent the widescreen version, because the cinematography is especially good.

Bloody Murder 2 (2003, Rated R) - TREAT. Legend has it that a bad guy named Trevor Moorehouse (kind of a wimpy bad guy name, isn't it?) has a chainsaw in place of his left arm and wears a hockey mask as he lurks the forest and murders teenagers from Placid Pines, the nearby summer camp. No doubt about it. Bloody Murder 2 is nothing more than your standard stab-n-slab slasher flick. Still, it's nothing less. It delivers what it promises, and I have seen much, much worse horror movies. In a pinch for blood and guts, Bloody Murder 2 does the job.

Bride of Reanimator (1990, Rated R) - TREAT. "Date, Mate, Re-Animate." How can you resist that tagline on the DVD cover? Especially if you saw the camp horror classic it's a sequel to, Reanimator. The batty Dr. Herbert West, the beleaguered Dr. Dan Cain, and the beheaded Dr. Carl Hill all return in this H.P. Lovecraft tale. When the legs of a prostitute, the womb of a virgin, and the heart of Dr. Cain's dead girlfriend are joined together the Bride is unleashed, and watch out! There is excellent bonus material on this DVD, which Re-Animator geeks (shyly raises hand) will love.

Cronos: 10th Anniversary Edition (1994, Rated R) - TREAT. (see the full review here.)

Da Hip Hop Witch (2000, Rated R) - TRICK. Da Hip Hop Witch, an urban spoof on The Blair Witch Project, is a great idea for a short film. Unfortunately, it is not a short film. It runs for a seemingly endless hour and a half. I was smiling and chuckling for the first 15 minutes, but after that the joke had run its course and the movie became so redundant I began to wonder if my DVD player had learned to scratch. However bad it is, I may just keep in my collection because it's a standout as a truly appalling film; if you want to push a suicidal type over the edge, break out the razor blades and play Da Hip Hop Witch as a double bill with Vulgar. (Vulgar is, sadly, 2002 DVD release, so I cannot mercilessly pan it here.)

Darkness Falls (2003, Rated PG-13) - TREAT. While Darkness Falls is not nearly as bad as the theatrical release reviews would have you believe, it’s nothing special, either. The acting is OK, the direction is OK, the screenplay is OK. The only real standouts are the cinematography and the CG effects on the Tooth Fairy.  I say it's a treat, because the effects are cool, and the additional release material is exceptional. The mockumentary of the 'real' tooth fairy is a lot of fun.

Deadly Invasion (1995, Not Rated) - TRICK. Robert Hays, Nancy Stafford, Ryan Phillipe, and Dennis Christopher are the stars of this not scary,  not suspenseful film that follows one family's struggle to survive against the deadly swarm of horrible CGI while trapped inside their farm house. Yawn.

Dracula2: Ascension (2003, Rated R) - TREAT. This is a sequel to Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000, with the ageless and ruthless vampire returning once again from apparent annihilation. The original, Gerard Butler, has been replaced by another fang-face, but it doesn't matter -- I actually only saw the first half of D2000 when it first came out and miracle of miracles, I was able to pick up the new story right away. A plot for rocket scientists, it's not, but it's fun.

Fright Night 2 (1989, Rated R) - TREAT. The Suckers are Back! Another irresistible tagline. There are so few sequels that do work, and have something a bit more to say from the original, and Fright Night 2 is one of those. And the 80s big hair and massive shoulder pads are almost as scary as the bloodsuckers themselves.

Frost: Portrait of a Vampire (2001, Rated R) - TRICK. You don't have to just suspend disbelief for this toothless vampire story -- you have to send it into the stratosphere. I'll spare you the details, but Frost just misses the mark of being so-bad-it's-good. So, it's just bad. Aside from killing careers, Frost: Portrait of a Vampire does feature several death scenes. Unfortunately, they saved the best for first so after that there's really no point in watching the rest of the film. (It has an incredibly cool visual effect showing a vampire's eyes as he feeds... that's it!)

Gacy (2003, Rated R) - TRICK. Unfortunately, this biopic of the prolific serial killer is so much on the surface we don’t even get to see much of the freaky clown stuff. We also get no insight (except a throwaway scene, showing a young Gacy with his abusive father) as to why or how Gacy committed these crimes. The move jumps from J.W.G. being a model citizen to a sudden suspect with no methodology between. Although it’s well-acted and the casting was good, the screenplay is rather poor and so is the direction. But hey, if you like endless scenes of writhing maggots, you are in luck!

Ghost Ship (2002, Rated R) - TREAT. Ghost Ship is director Steve Beck's follow-up to Thirteen Ghosts. While I enjoyed Thirteen Ghosts for what it was (stylized shock/schlock horror), other critics weren't nearly as amenable to the kooky concept. Ghost Ship uses similar tacks in that a group of people are trapped in a relatively small space with some pretty pissed off phantoms, but it differs in that it takes itself more seriously -- and for the most part, this works in Ghost Ship's favor. If you like that sort of thing, then go ahead: dive in.

House of 1000 Corpses (2003, Rated R) - TREAT. It's a rainy night in 1977, as two young couples embark upon a larkish trek in search of a shadowy legend known as Dr. Satan. Soon lost and stranded, they are taken in by a family of backwoods psychotics mothered by none other than Karen Black (as Mother Firefly). Murder, taxidermy and cannibalism are just a few of the thousand horrors that await the hapless couples. There are lots of extras on the DVD, which should serve to satisfy the bigger fans of this movie, and fans of writer/director Rob Zombie.

Identity: Special Edition (2003, Rated R) - TREAT. Identity is a twisty, turny, tricky little thriller that's a lot of fun (and leaves a lot of corpses along the way). Set in a lonely motel on a rainy night, we meet several characters whose lives all intersect, and collide, at a small motel managed by a mysterious young man. Identity is the kind of movie you'll want to see twice (ala The Others, The Sixth Sense, and The Usual Suspects). When this DVD says "Special Edition" it means what it says, offering two versions of the film, plus tons of bonus material. Good show.

Invitation to Hell (1984, Not Rated) - TRICK. I think Wes Craven should have gone the Allan Smithee route on this one. ... But some might find it's cheesiness Velveetalishious.  Not only were the so-called special effects beyond cheap and obvious, the acting was so over-the-top, I almost thought Invitation to Hell was a spoof. But alas, it's not quite funny enough to quality for spoofdom. When Susan Lucci is cast as an alien from Hell, I think you are already forewarned. ... Rent at your own risk.

I've Been Waiting for You (1998, PG-13) - TREAT. Well, almost a treat. This movie is very "TV" (and stars a lot of little screen people, like Markie Post, Sarah Chalke, and Soliel Moon-Frye -- who, incidentally, is also in Invitation to Hell) but it's got its points. The fairly entertaining story centers around the idea that someone is stalking teenagers in a quiet and picturesque New England town, and one by one they fall victim to grisly but TV-friendly deaths and accidents. It seems the new girl in town, Sarah, is to blame because she moved into an old house that's believed to be haunted by the restless spirit of a Salem Trial witch.

Killing Mr. Griffin (1997, PG-13) - TRICK. More teenagers, more TV-actors, but a trick this time. Killing Mr. Griffin's most grievous sin is that it's boring. And also, it stars  Mario Lopez.

Lair of the White Worm (1988, Rated R) - TREAT. So bad it's good, this one will rot your teeth out. Follow the sinewy trail of the mysterious, serpent-like Lady Sylvia who steals an ancient skull from a construction site and then engages in erotic worship of her heathen god, The White Worm, who hungers for the taste of fresh virgins. Adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker, and directed by Ken Russell.

Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The (1999, Not rated) - TRICK. This particular version (Hallmark Hall of Fame) should have just removed all words from the title except for "Sleepy".

May (2003, Rated R) - TREAT. May is supposed to be a psychological horror film, but I saw each an every "shocking and/or disturbing" moment coming from a mile away. Too obvious and too languidly directed, May is only worth watching for the superb acting performances and lovely look and feel. Bettis is especially good as the possessive, obsessive freak-girl (look for her next year in Tobe Hooper's Toolbox Murders).

Red Dragon: Director's Edition (2002, Rated R) - TREAT. Red Dragon might provide you with food for thought. Why remake a perfectly good movie (released in 1986 as Manhunter)? It's simple: Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter has whetted our appetites for more of the canny cannibal. Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann, didn't have much of the Hannibal character (and neither did the Red Dragon book, by Thomas Harris), and at that Hannibal was played by a different actor (Brian Cox). Hopkins obliges us, chewing lots of scenery along the way. The fact that Red Dragon is a prequel to 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, and that Hannibal is somehow older and heavier, doesn't distract. Red Dragon gets off to a roaring start with gourmet cannibalism and multiple stabbings within the first few minutes. The DVD featurettes include Lecter’s FBI files (which, happily, end with the Hannibal book’s ending rather than the Hannibal movie’s ending), Ratner’s video diary, music score commentary with composer Danny Elfman, and more.

Reposessed (1990, Rated PG-13) - TRICK. When you combine spoof-king Leslie Nielson and scream-queen Linda Blair, you really can't go wrong -- or so you'll think, till you see this painfully lame exorcise... er, exercise. Granted, there are a few moments that do work, but the devil's in the details and that's where Repossessed falls flat.

Ring, The: Widescreen Edition (2002, Rated PG-13) - TREAT. I saw The Ring at a prescreening in 2002, then paid to see it again with friends, and in seeing it again on DVD I liked it just as much. I was, however, rather disappointed with the lack of additional release material. There is one very short trailer for "Ringu", the Japanese film upon which The Ring is based, and there is a film "short" which seems to consist of extended and deleted scenes from The Ring. It's not very well put together, unfortunately, but for the movie -- especially having it in widescreen -- this DVD is a keeper.

RSVP (2002, Rated R) - TREAT. When a psychotic college student throws a party, it's like a twist on the Roach Motel: party guests check in... and they check out! The ways in which they check out are pretty innovative, and promising young writer/director Mark Anthony Galluzo does a fun, hip update of Hitchcock's "Rope". Most of the movie takes place in one location, but even with this opportunity for scrutiny, we don't get to know much about the killer or his victims. With that, the movie falls a bit flat.

Sabretooth (2002, Rated R) - TREAT. Using fossilized DNA, a scientist resurrects one of nature's most fearsome predators, a sabretooth tiger. Too bad he couldn’t also conjure up some decent special effects. (This 90 minute TV movie was probably quickly excised from the resumes of the actors in it, once they saw how the CGI sabretooth tiger turned out.) However, if you can overlook deficient digital effects and poor puppetry, this is a somewhat fun low-budget monster flick, which blends elements of Predator, Friday the 13th, and Jurassic Park. Two of the actors, John Rhys-Davies and David Keith, are particularly fun to watch as they run from the laughable beast.

Shaft, The (2001, Rated R) - TREAT. There's is a dangerous and evil presence lurking in a mysterious elevator in New York City's Millennium building. As the death toll rises, a slacker elevator mechanic and an ambitious reporter set out o to investigate…It's really  a shame that a good script, decent direction and passable acting weren't investigated first. Still, it's a fun and cheesy horror flick and some of the death scenes are clever, so if you like that sort of thing (I do), then The Shaft might be worth the price of a mid-week rental. If you are looking for additional release material in the DVD release, you get… the shaft.

Spider (2002, Rated R) - TRICK. As directors go, David Cronenberg is very hit-or-miss for me. Loved The Fly, hated Crash. Loved eXistenZ, hated Spider. Yep, Spider is a "miss" for me. It was a very static film, filled with too much slow and obvious symbolism. The actors are all A-list and quite good, but they are not enough to carry the languid approach to the material.

Spring, The (2000, Not Rated) - TREAT. Starring Kyle MacLauchlan and Alison Eastwood, The Spring is more supernatural mystery than horror. Still, I include it for its star quality and the behind the scenes scandal involved (the author of the book upon which this movie is based, Clifford Irving, did time for defrauding his publisher with a phony authorized biography of Howard Hughes). Have a little trivia with your popcorn balls, and enjoy the slightly spooky story of a spring of water with bestows eternal youth... at... guess what? ... a terrible price!

Summer of Fear (1978, Rated PG-13) - TREAT. Look at the fancy new artwork adorning the cover of the 2003 Wes Craven DVD release, Summer of Fear. Nice, huh? Look a little closer and see that it's all marketing hype for a 1978 movie he directed with Linda Blair in the lead for network TV. Then it was called Stranger in Our House, and the novel it's based upon, a cult teen classic, is called Summer of Fear. Therein lies the title tie-in. (It was later released on big screens in Europe under the latter title.) I vaguely remember seeing the movie in 1978 and liking it. In seeing it again, I still like it. It's fun. Trashy fun, with black magic scares thrown in, and rather dated in a sweet, nostalgic way.

Willard (2003, Rated PG-13) - TREAT. I used have pet rats when I was a kid, and I still think rats are cute. As such, they are not one of my horror triggers -- but there were moments in which I cringed in this more stylish than scary genre film. But when Willard (Crispin Glover) is pushed to the breaking point by his obnoxious boss (R. Lee Ermey), he sets his army of telepathically trained rats loose, expecting them to do their worst. It's a working stiff's greatest revenge fantasy, ever. Although the ending (which the studio insisted be tacked on) feels wrong, overall Willard is a creepie-crawlie good time.