31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Demon Knight

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (1995)

Directed by Ernest Dickerson

Starring William Sadler, Billy Zane, Jada Pinkett Smith, Thomas Haden Church, and CCH Pounder

            The Crypt Keeper goes through his usual puns and jokes before introducing a story in mid chase.  Frank Brayker is trying to outrace a fiendish demon in a cowboy hat.  Brayker has an artifact of great power that he needs to keep away from this infernal antagonist, The Collector.  Brayker manages to ditch Collector and attract the ire of local law enforcement, causing him to slink away to the nearest safe spot.  He stumbles upon a boarding house full of colorful characters, hoping to hide amongst them.  When The Collector and the police show up to detain Brayker, all hell breaks loose.  Now, the ragtag band of residents and Brayker will have to work together to keep the key to everything falling into the hands of pure evil. 

            Demon Knight is a solid movie with a good script and an interesting story.  It is a slow burn siege movie that focuses on good characters and great dialogue.  You get a lot of who these people are from just a few lines and a little body language.  This is all done while gradually advancing the plot between Brayker and The Collector, taking their high speed chase to some claustrophobic encounters within the boarding house.  The story itself includes a detailed and well done history to these two characters and what their quests mean for the supporting players.  For a Carpenter style siege flick, there is a lot of time taken to explain what is at stake and make you care about the situation. 

            The acting is all over the place, but quality work.  William Sadler is a character actor who finally got the lead in this movie and he delivers.  In the midst of all the craziness, Sadler’s Brayker is cool and collected.  His every move speaks to the weariness of carrying such a huge burden for so long.  Billy Zane does not even try to ground The Collector in any kind of reality.  He chews scenery like he has not been fed in weeks.  Zane’s campy and over the top performance is excellent; making all those great lines have an extra punch of menace and comic whimsy.  CCH Pounder and Dick Miller also turn in some solid work as the boarding house owner and the town drunk respectively. 

            The special FX and creature makeup are serviceable, but not great.  The demon killing looks dated now, with some green lightning shooting out of their eyes every time they bite the dust.  It does not take you too much out of the movie, and the demons help reel you back in.  Their design is creepy enough and certainly worthy of the Tales from the Crypt name.  The gore is pretty standard fair, but it works.

            Demon Knight is a pretty great horror movie and an admirable attempt at bringing the show into film.  If you love hearing that familiar music and high pitched ghoul introduce something, check this out.  If you are jonesing for a good horror movie with some twisted humor and engaging story, I highly recommend it.

8 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Trick 'r Treat

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Directed by Michael Dougherty

Starring Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin, and Brain Cox

            In a small town, during a large Halloween celebration, something is watching.  It looks for those who are breaking the rules of Halloween and punishes those who dare to.  This menacing force of autumnal fury is Sam, spirit of Halloween and keeper of its traditions.  Sam looks like a child in a rather low budget scarecrow costume, wondering through the stories of a few people on Halloween night.  There is a couple coming home from a long night of partying, with the wife making a grave mistake concerning jack-o-lanterns.  The local Principal is having a hard time covering up his child-murdering hobby.  Some kids go to an abandon quarry of local legend to scare a girl.  A young woman looks for a date to a party while being pursued by a masked killer.  Finally, an old man with a hatred of Halloween and a dark secret faces off with Sam.  Not everyone will make it to the morning. 

            A quick bit of history: Trick ‘r Treat never had a theatrical run.  It was made in 2007 and screened at various film festivals for the next two years until it was released direct to DVD in 2009.   This is a shame, because Trick ‘r Treat is the best Halloween movie since Halloween.  Also, it could very well be the movie to take up Creepshow’s mantle as the go-to anthology movie of horror fans.  This film is insanely good. 

I do not toss around the Creepshow comparison lightly, as Trick ‘r Treat uses the same EC Comics style to spin several tales of unfortunate souls.  Also, it has a truly pitch black humor that is absolutely hilarious.  It takes a dark delight in maiming and generally brutalizing everyone in it, children included.  It shows how a serial killer can be a loving father.  And its mascot is both adorable and ominous at the same time, more so when he is stabbing people with a lollipop.  Sam is bound to be the next big horror icon, as he is too good a character and design to not see some sequel action. 

The gore is satisfying and well done.  Skin tears off with a sickening elasticity, a kid vomits a fountain of blood, and someone becomes their own gnarly lawn decorations.  Even the spirit of Halloween has a moment were we see his impressive guts.  However, blood is not sprayed with reckless abandon.  Dougherty prefers to show less and leave the rest to you, indulging in a blood bath mostly to elicit some laughs.  But when those scenes happen, they make you cringe in a good way. 

           

            Those looking for something to play during All Hallows Eve have to find themselves a copy of this movie.  It is fun, frightening, and wonderfully made.  Forget whatever you planned on watching this Halloween: Trick ‘r Treat is what you should be watching. 

10 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Creepshow

Creepshow (1982)

Directed by George Romero

Starring Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, and Ted Danson

            A young boy is reading a spooky comic called Creepshow.  His father catches him and slaps him around for reading it.  The father throws the comic in the trash while the kid curses his father.  Just then, the kid hears a noise at the window and goes to see what it is.  The eerie apparition from the comic book is tapping at his window, segueing into the stories from the comic.  There is tale of a Father’s Day filled with bloody retribution.  There is the story of Jordy Verill, whose luck changed when he found a crashed meteor.  A creepy quarrel between a psychotic husband and his wife’s lover leaves both of them all wet.  A university Professor finds the answer to his home life in a forgotten, forbidden crate.  And finally, a wealthy and wicked businessman gets what is coming to him by a swarm of antagonistic cockroaches. 

            There is absolutely no reason to dislike this movie.  It is directed by George Romero at the top of his game, with a screenplay by none other than Stephen King.  The collaboration was not done to cash in on their pairing.  This movie came about because both Romero and King love the horror publications of EC Comics.  They have absorbed what made those books unique and managed to distill it into a movie better than any attempt before or since.  There is an undeniable feeling while watching Creepshow that this film is a labor of love. 

More so than any other movie inspired by EC Comics, Creepshow accurately captures the real feel of those comics.  It has that dark humor, the snark, and that patented twist ending that gets you every time.  To cement the connection even further, each segment ends with the comic-like transition.  The colors become vibrant, the background a swirl of action lines, and the frame turns into a comic panel.  It is fun and adds to the overall aesthetic nicely. 

            The acting is fantastic across all the stories.  Ted Danson and Leslie Nielsen play well off each other in their twisted game of Simon Says.  Hal Holbrook manages to convey weary defeat and morbid delight in equal measures.  Only Stephen King himself contributes a mediocre performance.  He plays Jordy as a caricature country bumpkin, which gets grating after a few minutes.  Luckily, it does not hamper the quality of that segment and it is over fairly quickly. 

            The makeup and special FX hold up well.  The makeup runs the gamut from drowned zombies to a man infested with alien flora.  The details are excellent: you can see the extent of a corpse’s rot and so much more.  And the creature animatronics are outstanding.  The beast in the crate looks authentic and has a very interesting design.  The whole movie is a visual treat.

            If you love the work of either Romero or King, you need to see Creepshow.  If you yearn for a nasty little piece of work to satisfy your sick tastes, you need to see Creepshow.  No matter how you boil it down, you need to see Creepshow. 

10 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Cat's Eye

Cat’s Eye (1985)

Directed by Lewis Teague

Starring Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan, Robert Hays, and Candy Clark

            A tabby cat runs away from a rabid St. Bernard and is nearly hit by a vintage red Plymouth.  From there, our protagonist feline finds itself wondering into three stories.  First, the cat is picked up by a company that specializes in getting smokers to kick the habit.  When a new client enlists their services, he has no idea what terror it will bring upon his family and himself.  Second, the cat is taken in by a casino owner/crime boss.  The boss makes a wager against his wife’s lover that he cannot traverse the entirety of his building’s ledge without falling off.  Finally, the cat is found by a little girl.  While the girl sleeps at night, the cat must protect her from a tiny troll who is looking to steal her breath. 

            In case the opening sequence could not make it any clearer, this movie is entirely composed of Stephen King stories.  And there is quite a variety of tales of terror in this film.  The first segment does a good job feeding on paranoia and slowly revealing just how dangerous this program can be.  James Woods does a fine job looking distraught and like he needs a cigarette.  The second segment has a Hitchcock-like feel to it, combining personal drama with high tension.  Robert Hays spends most of this part looking horrified, but his performance does not evolve much beyond that.  The third segment is easily the best, with the entire movie building towards the cat’s quest.  Once finds this girl and has to fight the troll, the filmmaking gets very interesting.  Their confrontations are done in a similar style to those in older movies about shrinking people fighting spiders and cats.  A man in a troll suit is filmed on a giant sized bedroom set, while the cat is filmed on the normal set.  The blending of the two is pretty seamless and is a nice throwback to the 50s sci-fi and horror that pioneered it. 

            Overall, Cat’s Eye is an enjoyable collection of stories.  It is not remarkably fantastic, but it is much better than most of the anthologies you could turn on.  If you like variety, this is the one to find.

7 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Tales from the Crypt

Tales from the Crypt (1972)

Directed by Freddie Francis

Starring Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Roy Dotrice, Richard Greene, Ian Hendry, Patrick Magee, and Barbara Murray

            Five strangers get lost from their tour group in some old catacombs.  They wonder into a large hall with a man waiting.  He is the Crypt Keeper, and he knows how each of these people will die.  The woman in the group will be pursued by a psychopath dressed as Santa after murdering her own husband on Christmas Eve.  One man will know what it is like to feel left behind after leaving his own wife.  Another man will be shown how truly heartless he is by a man he killed.  A businessman will find that his wishes can come true at a cost.  And finally, the last man will know why he should not mistreat the disabled in his care.  Of course, being that this is based on the Tales from the Crypt comics and others from EC Comics, there is a twist in store for all involved. 

            This is a treat of a movie for horror fans.  This is an Amicus production, Hammer Horror’s chief rival in English horror cinema.  Their sets are wonderful and well adorned.  The craftsmanship of the filmmaking is top notch and consistent through all of the segments.  And it is a great slow burn picture, taking its time even in the individual segments.  All of the things I just listed are why I like the movie, and I know that these could be reasons why others might like it.  But, Tales from the Crypt could be murder for anyone who cannot sit still and let the film develop at its own pace.  Even for me, the movie dragged in certain parts.  But it always managed to get right back into the shocks fairly quickly. 

            The acting is great from all involved.  The special performances of the movie belong to Peter Cushing and Joan Collins.  Hammer Horror mainstay Cushing is a fantastic dual performance as both a man driven to suicide by his cruel neighbors and the vengeful ghoul who comes back for their hearts.  Collins throws herself into the role of a wife who just murdered her husband but cannot call the police when a manic tries to get her.  The practical effects are satisfactory, especially Cushing’s zombie form.  The real wonder of Tales from the Crypt is just how effective it is at building tension within the time frame of a short segment and repeating it with each subsequent one.  Each part of the movie builds towards a horrifying climax that owes more than a little bit of credit to the EC Comics source material. 

            For those that love a good anthology movie: find a copy of this movie.  It may move a little slow, but it delivers a punch with every part.  Just try to limit the “Boys and Ghouls” jokes.  This one aspires to be far classier than the original comics, and for the most part it succeeds. 

9 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

Directed by John Harrison

Starring Deborah Harry, Christian Slater, David Johansen, William Hickey, James Remar, and Rae Dawn Chong

            An imprisoned young boy is slated to be the main course of a woman’s dinner party.  To stall for time and avoid evisceration, the boy starts telling the woman stories from the book she left in his cell.  He reads three macabre tales while she should be preparing him for dinner.  First, the boy tells a story of a bookish college student who has been cheated out of a scholarship.  When he gets his hands on a mummy, his rivals and victimizers feel the wrath of his hard studying.  Second, an old man hires a contract killer for the oddest job of his career: kill a deceptively evil black cat.  Finally, there is a story of man who is spared death at the hands of winged monster provided he never tells anyone about it.  After three stories, it is time for the boy to face this woman’s dinner plans.

            Tales from the Darkside is a mostly decent anthology movie.  It feels like there could have been more done to make some segments work better.  However, it also does not really fail all that often.  The bookending story is the weakest of the bunch, but that is forgivable.  It sets up the segments well enough and gives you a palate cleanse between each.  Both Deborah Harry and Matthew Lawrence as the woman and the kid respectively barely manage to make it through their scenes.  Lawrence is more annoying than scared for his life.  Harry alternates between looking like she does not care and looking like she is balancing her checkbook in her mind.  But again, it is just supposed to introduce each story. 

            The three segments vary in quality, but all are at least decent.  The first segment, “Lot 249”, has a lot going for it.  It has three major actors at various stages of their careers: Christian Slater, Julianne Moore, and Steve Buscemi.  Slater and Moore do not do much with their roles except act waspy and conniving.  Buscemi has more fun with his role, playing it arrogant and vindicated all in one breath.  The mummy looks alright and there is even a fun scene with him getting taken apart.  Not bad, but not great.

            The second segment is the most enjoyable for its sense of morbid humor.  “Cat from Hell”, based on the Stephen King story of the same name, feels like a really dark episode of Looney Tunes.  The killer cat murdering people is nearly always juxtaposed with it looking playful and cute.  One of the murder flashbacks uses an obviously fake cat while it is smothering someone.  The whole bit is hilarious, unintentional or not.  Plus, it is probably the most adorable asphyxiation ever in a horror movie.  David Johansen is the other part of what makes this segment good.  You always feel like he is about to explode, twitching violently and starring with murderous intent.  Seeing a cute cat do some unspeakably terrible things to the lead singer of The New York Dolls is worth the rest of the movie.  This one is the real winner of the movie.

            Finally, the third piece is called “Lover’s Vow”.  This is the straightest horror in the whole film.  It has a certain fable-like quality to it and an ending right out of the pre-Disney fairy tales.  The real highlight of this segment is the monster suit and effects, which are quite good.  Outside of that, however, the segment flounders a bit.  The characters are thin and the actors just manage to carry it until the creature reemerges.  It is another segment that needed a little more to make it special. 

            Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is no classic, but it still has some moments of a fun horror movie.  Seek this out if you love anthologies and expect to be underwhelmed.  If you are hungry for a new anthology, this will be but a snack. 

6 out of 10