Tag: Horror

5 Horror Sequels That Don’t Suck

Slasher Studios*Great Horror

Sequels are both the best and worst thing to happen to the horror genre. Loved the original? We’ve got more of that for you! Really love the original? We have ten more installments exactly the same as the original for you. Some horror sequels are lazy, some are outright bad (Jason Goes to Hell), I’m looking directly at you. Below are five horror sequels that we recommend for a lot of reasons. One of the key reasons is that they remain faithful to their predecessor while, at the same time, adding something new and original to the story. Now THAT is the key formula to making a successful horror sequel.

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Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009)
“Cabin Fever 2″ is a messy, gory, bloody cherry on top of a demented sundae. From the opening (poor Rider Strong) to the blood bath of an ending, nearly everything about this sequel works. This is one of those slasher movies where I just don’t understand the hate. Had this movie been made in the 1980′s and directed by Sam Raimi, horror fans would be praising this as the next second coming of horror. The gore is demented, the kills are extremely disgusting, and the central love story is actually quite sweet. I was actually touched at the sacrifice that one friend gave so another could live. So the epilogue doesn’t really work (poor Ti West got his movie taken away from him and had his ending completely butchered just to go in some producer cameos) but this is splatstick at its very best. If John Waters directed a horror film in the 1980’s, it would look something like this. Bloody
recommended!

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Final Destination 2 (2003)
“Final Destination 2″ is wittier, smarter, and bloodier than its original. It is clever in the way that it ties our characters from this film with characters from the previous installments. The deaths are incredibly inventive and stand as the best deaths of the entire series. The ending in particular is a black comedy miracle that shouldn’t work but does. Granted some of the acting can be a bit over-the-top and melodramatic and some of the effects don’t hold up as well as others. Nonetheless, this is still the rare sequel that takes everything that works about the original film and adds to it. A definite must see for fans of the original.

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Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
“Friday the 13th Part 2″ is the kind of sequel that takes a lot of chances and most of them work. The film is well paced, well acted (big props to Amy Steel who does an incredible job as Ginny), and the deaths are effectively gruesome. Also, for what its worth, I’ll take potato head Jason over hockey mask Jason any day. This is a fun sequel that doesn’t exactly advance the series (the godawful Part 3 actually does more to define Jason than this one does) but doesn’t destroy its legacy either. The characters aren’t particularly memorable but they aren’t particularly annoying either. This is really the last point in the series were you actually still feel some affection for the characters. They aren’t quite stereotypes…yet. Furthermore, it contains the two best “jump scares” of the series and the ending is pretty damn scary. Sure the middle act drags a bit but don’t let that stop you, “Part 2″ is a fine slasher film that does the series proud.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
“Dream Warriors” is just all around a great sequel. I love that Nancy’s back for one last final battle with Freddy. A new addition too is the fact that Freddy is now able to target the teen’s fears and use it against them in their dreams. This makes the deaths more frightening and some of the use of special effects (the puppet scene, the television scene, etc) are just ingenious. Everything about the sequel works and when Freddy and Nancy have the one last showdown there is a bit of sadness at the end. It’s ***SPOILER ALERT**** always sad to see your hero die in the arms of the villain but it’s nice to see that Nancy isn’t willing to go down without a fight. In all honesty, the series should have ended with this installment.

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Scream 2 (1997)
Although at times I feel as though I am in the minority, I truly believe that “Scream 2″ is the best film in the Scream franchise. This is that rare sequel that takes everything that works about its predecessor and manages to take it to another level. The deaths are suspenseful, the characters are charming and likable, and the twist ending works better than it has any right to. I also truly believe that this is some of Craven’s finest directing and the “cop car” scene is a hide-your-eyes-behind-your-fingers chiller of a scene. More than that, this film is just a hell of a lot of fun from beginning to end.

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Kevin & Steve’s Slashers: “Prom Night III: The Last Kiss” (1990)

Slasher Studios*Kevin & Steve's Horror Movies

Kevin: Prom Night III: The Last Kiss continues that story of Mary Lou Maloney (the very beautiful and quite voluptuous Courtney Taylor), the vengeful spirit from Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, who is still haunting the halls of Hamilton High. She is a lonely ghost who is looking for a little bit of love and romance. Into her life walks Alex Grey (the bland but quite likeable (Tim Conlon), the painfully average high school junior who is looking for a little bit of excitement in his life. Little does Mary Lou know that Alex already has a girlfriend, Sara (played by underrated Scream Queen Cyndy Preston), and will do whatever it takes to get her our of his life.

Steve: The story if nothing too unique or too convoluted that would cause the audience to lose interest in the film. We are given the classic love triangle and some jealous girls that help make this film into and interesting watch. Prom Night III set out to be a comedic horror movie and succeeded all around. Nothing too pretentious here.

Kevin: Prom Night III: The Last Kiss is an interesting blend of comedy (very broad Student Bodies style splatstick) and horror, slasher and supernatural, and tongue-in-cheek and clever. It is mostly a lot of fun to watch and Taylor delivers some great zingers as Mary Lou. At 97 minutes,
the film is a bit on the long side. At least ten minutes could have been cut from the final act within losing anything storywise. That said, it is consistently funny and quite often very entertaining. The production values are solid throughout and the script is helped out immensely by a game cast that appears to be having just as much fun as we are.

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Steve: The comedy found within Prom Night III may not suit every movie-goer, but I found the silly, yet oh so clever jokes to hit each and every time. There are some fun shots as well, like when Alex uses the pay phone to call his parents. He doesn’t necessarily address the audience, but he does look directly into the camera and while you have this on your mind, you then here the Charlie Brown like voices come from the phone. A great sequence to say the least.

Kevin: Please note, if you choose to watch this film (and it is indeed recommended), the DVD version released in a double feature DVD along with Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil is a cut TV broadcast version. Most of the gore, swearing, and nudity is all but removed. However in the VHS version it is uncut, with all gore, profanity and nude scenes left intact.

Steve: Please, if you have not seen this, I urge you to do so. Like I said, the comedy may be hit or miss depending on your taste, but it is a must for the true horror fans in the world! So, search for that elusive VHS tape today and have some go wild with Prom Night III.

To purchase Prom Night 3: The Last Kiss from Amazon: Prom Night III: The Last Kiss [VHS]

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Slasher Movie Posters: “Humongous” (1982)

Slasher Studios*Slasher Movie Posters

The 1982 film, Humongous definitely has its fun moments, and then it also has its dark moments. That’s what is so great about the two posters shown here. The first one is very light-hearted with a cartoonish drawing and baby blocks spelling out the title. A fun poster, but does not really tell you what you will be in for as you begin to watch the film.

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The second poster featured here has a much darker feel to it. The emotions are deep and the colors are rich. This version really lets the viewers in on a little more of what is to come. The addition of the dog was a nice touch. Overall, both posters are drastically different, but both great additions to any horror poster collection.

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So Bad It’s Scary: “The Roommate” (2011)

Slasher Studios*So Bad It's Scary

Some movies are just bad. Born bad without an ounce of originality or depth. Without a single imaginative scene or performance of note. “The Roommate” WISHES it were one of those films. This is easily one of the worst movies in recent memory.

The film starts with our bland heroine Sara (Minka Kelly) moving into college and getting used to living the dorm life. Her roommate, Rebecca, ends up being an awkward young woman who becomes increasingly weird and possessive of Sara. Rebecca does more and more harmful things to the people she’s trying to “protect” Sara from. Rebecca also finds ways of manipulating Sara to keep her from leaving once Sara starts becoming uncomfortable. Until this final act, Sara doesn’t even really show she’s scared or uncomfortable with Rebecca. It ends up escalating (although there’s no real escalation) to the point of the lame ending.

The Roommate is poorly done in every way possible. Everything from showing that Sara was an innocent, ignorant young lady from a small town (who really goes to a frat party and thinks they’re just serving punch?), to the all too obvious ending that never properly showed the escalation where it would get to that point. The escalation in violence is small, inconsistent, and boring. Nothing massive to the point you’d be creeped out, scared, or even just made uncomfortable, happens. The story is stupid and unoriginal. The directing seems passive, and the actors don’t seem very interested in anything that is going on around them. And don’t get me started on poor little Cuddles.

Everything about The Roommate is terrible. The acting, directing, casting, music, cinematography all feel very “made for tv”ish. There is no entertainment value and no reason to watch this movie in any fashion. Avoid at all costs.

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Slasher Studios Podcast: Horror Clichés

Slasher Studios*Slasher Studios Podcast

Slasher Studios Webcast

On this week’s episode of Slasher Studios, our hosts Kevin Sommerfield and Steve Goltz will be discussing their favorite horror movie clichés. Clichés that are used in just about every horror movie and yet still continue to work today. Show starts Monday January 14th at 10PM central. Click on the link below to listen in live or to check out an archive of a previous show.

Slasher Studios Podcast: Horror Clichés

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Ain’t Gonna Dream No More: “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” Review

Slasher StudiosNightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

If ever there was a horror sequel that screamed the 1980’s, it would be “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors”. Crazy punk chick? Check. Wheelchair Dungeons and Dragons obsessed geek? Check. Zsa Zsa Gabor? Check. Dokken theme song? You better believe it, check! Dream Warriors is both a faithful to sequel to original masterpiece as well the rare sequel that actually advances the story without just being a carbon copy reboot of everything that made the first film great.

Picking up where the original Nightmare left off, Nancy has grown up and become a psychiatrist specializing in dream therapy. She meets a group of children at a local hospital facing Freddy Krueger, the same demon she once encountered in her sleep. The “leader” of the last of the Elm Street teens is Kristen. Kristen has the rare power to draw other people into her dreams. Nancy, with the help of Kristen, helps the kids realize their special abilities within the nightmare world. When Freddy captures one of her charges, she leads a rescue attempt into Krueger’s domain, in hopes of putting his spirit to rest once and for all.

Dream Warriors is just all around a great sequel. I love that Nancy’s back for one last final battle with Freddy. A new addition too is the fact that Freddy is now able to target the teen’s fears and use it against them in their dreams. This makes the deaths more frightening and some of the use of special effects (the puppet scene, the television scene, etc) are just ingenious. Everything about the sequel works and when Freddy and Nancy have the one last showdown there is a bit of sadness at the end. It’s ***SPOILER ALERT**** always sad to see your hero die in the arms of the villain but it’s nice to see that Nancy isn’t willing to go down without a fight. In all honesty, the series should have ended with this installment.

Buy it here: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 – Dream Warriors

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Going to “Hell” Has Never Been So Much Fun: “Drag Me to Hell” Review

Slasher StudiosDrag Me to Hell

I will start this review off with one simple fact: I love Sam Raimi. I remember staying up late at night as a child watching the original “Evil Dead” through the corners of my fingers. It scared the hell out of me but, at the same time, there was something genuinely gratuitously amazing about the film. It was bold, bloody, filled with puss and maggots, and gore. It was incredible. If the nine year old me at the time could have married anything, it would have been The Evil Dead.

After the Evil Dead trilogy, Raimi pretty much stayed away from horror (not including the excellent and sorely underrated “The Gift”). That is until 2009 when Raimi splashed his way back into the scene with “Drag Me to Hell.” I’ll be the first to admit that I had no desire to see “Drag Me to Hell.” PG-13? Yawn. Ancient spirits? Double yawn. Justin Long? I think I’m falling asleep already. Little did I know what I had coming.

The plot is relatively simple. Determined to impress her boss and get a much-needed promotion at work, Christine Brown lays down the law when mysterious Mrs. Ganush literally comes begging for mercy at her feet. In retaliation for being publicly shamed, Mrs. Ganush places the dreaded curse of the Lamia on her unfortunate target, transforming Christine’s life into a waking nightmare. Her skeptical boyfriend, Clay, casually brushing off her disturbing encounters as mere coincidence, Christine attempts to escape eternal damnation by seeking out the aid of seer Rham Jas. But Christine’s time is fast running out, and unless she’s able to break the curse, she’ll be tormented by a demon for three days before literally being dragged to hell.

What follows is gore, gore, and more gore. How this film was granted a PG-13 I’ll never know. A waterfall of a nosebleed, gooey dentures, dancing goats, maggots…if you can imagine it, it’s here. The film works as a social satire (the death of the middle and lower classes) and as a horror/comedy (the ritual at the end has to be seen to be believed). The performances are top natch and the ending is quite ballsy in its conviction (you’ll see it coming a mile away but will be surprised they actually follow through on it). Overall though, if you love movies like “The Evil Dead”, “Army of Darkness”, or “Cabin Fever”, it’s a must watch. It is one of the best horror films of 2009.

Buy it here: Drag Me to Hell (Unrated Director’s Cut) [Blu-ray]

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The Power of Authority: A Look at “Red Eye”

Slasher StudiosRed Eye

Wes Craven’s brilliant thriller Red Eye is probably one of the most underrated suspense flicks of the last decade. The film revolves around a young woman named Lisa Reisert, an average, day-by-day nobody, who is thrown into a world of betrayal and intrigue when she meets a strange young man on a plane.

The film is beautifully constructed. From beginning to end, director Wes Craven shows that he has clearly learned a thing or two on how to present strong female leading ladies from Alfred Hitchcock. Much like Mr. Hitchcock, he uses the character as a strong, independent young woman who is forced to become a hero to survive. It is not something that she has set out to do and it is not something that comes naturally to her.

I like how Wes Craven toys with the audience here by giving us a hero that must do everything in her power to survive without giving her or the audience very many clues as to what is happening or who to root for. Hmm..sound familiar? She simply becomes the reluctant hero, much like Roger Thornill of Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”

Lisa must use her authority figure status (manager of a successful hotel management firm) to save the day. Of course, the irony here is that had she not had this authority figure status, she wouldn’t have been thrown into this new mysterious and confusing situation. Her authority is the one thing that gets her into trouble as well as the only thing that can save her. In the end, her authority status saves that day.

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My Love Affair With “Scream”

Slasher StudiosScream

Growing up in a small town with not a lot of friends, you have to do what you can to make the time pass. For me, my friend past-time was horror movies. I devoured them as a kid. I remember going to the local video store with my mom and running to the horror aisle to see what new releases might be in stock. But even more than the new releases, it was the 80’s style horror movies that really caught my eye. The box art was normally quite grotesque with a naked girl here and a body part here. I always thought to myself, “This is awesome!” Hell, the Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors back box art (Kristen in the “Freddy snake”) scared me so much that it would take me years to watch it. Of course, I would always check out the back cover art just to freak myself out.

My view of horror as an art form all changed on one cold winter day in 1996. December 20th, 1996 to be exact (and no, dear viewers, I didn’t need to look that date up). A little movie called “Scream” opened and terrified moviegoers everywhere. It was the first film of its kind. A horror movie in which the characters in the movie had seen other horror movies. It could have been confusing and overly meta but it was all part of the fun.

So, for those of you who haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s one of the best horror movies of the 1990’s and makes me eager to see the reunion in the upcoming Scream 4.

Buy the great blu-ray here: Scream [Blu-ray]

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