Category: Horror

What would Halloween be without a good monster movie review? How about a review of one of the best remakes of all time and one of the most gruesome body horror movies.

Seth Brundle is a scientist making a teleportation device. He’s awkward but enthusiastic his invention will change the world, attracting the interest of a journalist named Ronnie. Seth’s experiment is seemingly a success, except for the unseen fly that found it’s way into the pod with him. The changes in Seth are small at first, he feels more lively and feels stronger with added libido. He tells Ronnie the process purified him, enhanced him and urges her to try it. Not long after he begins a series of horrific changes that accompany his enhanced strength and dexterity, he is becoming a new creature. He is becoming the fly; the question is can Ronnie escape before Seth changes her too?

It’s actually really hard and easy to do this review at the same time. The plot of this movie has been parodied so many times, I wouldn’t feel bad spoiling anything at this time. I will say this is Jeff  Goldblum’s best performance in my opinion as Brundle. He is mad, desperate and sympathetic but still terrifying. The layers of his decomposition is spectacular and what this movie is truly known for, but don’t watch this if you have a weak stomach. I love the moral conflict that Geena Davis has as Ronnie, watching and documenting this man’s hideous transformation and feeling sorry for him but wanting her story at the same time. The movie is a slow burn but will absolutely not disappoint leading to the tragic end. I highly recommend it this Halloween and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Candyman is one of those rare horror classics I haven’t seen fully until just recently. Based off of the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker (one of my favorite horror authors), I was excited to see what this icon had in store for me.

Helen Lyle and Bernadette Walsh are grad students investigating a local urban legend held accountable for several grisly murders, the Candyman. If you look into a mirror and say his name 5 times, a figure with a hook for a hand disembowels you. Upon further investigation Helen learns where this story originated, a young African American man was brutally killed by having his arm cut off and slathered in honey so he would by stung to death by thousands of bees and finally his body was burned and his ashes were scattered in what would be a run down apartment complex near her. She takes the legend in jest and summons the haunting figure who turns Helen’s life upside down to continue his legend; can Helen bring down the figure before he steals a baby’s life as well as her own?

While not perfect, I can safely say Candyman is a classic. Tony Todd as Candyman is menacing and his voice is frightening; my only grip is that they echo him too much and there’s a few times it becomes hard to understand his lines. I love the cinematography and the use of symbolism. My favorite besides Candyman’s full  reveal at the end is the entrance to his lair being a painting of his screaming face. Virginia Madsen as Helen isn’t a typical survivor girl and I liked her as a main character. The movie’s pacing is good and the score is pretty different which gives the movie a tone different than most slasher movies. A couple of times the effects look kooky but nothing unforgivable by any means. Candyman is definitely a movie I recommend to any horror fan who never saw it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Phantasm is one of my all time favorite horror movies and one of my first reviews I ever did on the blog. The Tall Man is a dark, menacing figure with untold horrors at his disposal. Unlike typical horror series though, Phantasm has a huge story that continues each installment.

The sequel picks up right where the first left off. Mike and Reggie barely escape there house, blowing the Tall Man up inside. Mike tells his story to the cops and is understandably thrown into the funny farm, released when he’s a full grown adult, reuniting with Reggie who go on a cross country hunt for the Tall Man. Setting up another remote funeral home, the Tall Man and his minions come across a gifted young woman named Liz. Can Mike and Reggie vanquish the sinister Tall Man once and for all?

I got to admit, as far as sequels go, Phantasm 2 is pretty damn awesome. The story stays fresh and stays strangely unpredictable as the original was. Angus Scrum is once again awesome as the Tall Man. The score is a cool, more action paced version of the original. There is a awesome amount of kills, including new modifications to the sphere that are simply badass. I definitely recommend checking out this strange, WTF, sequel that doesn’t disappoint if you loved the first. May the gaming gods bring you glory.