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

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead (1988)

Directed by Stan Winston

Starring Lance Henriksen, John D’Aquino, and Kerry Remsen

            Ed Harley and his son live a quiet life in a rural town.  That silence is shattered one day when some vacation teens accidently kill the Harley boy.  Driven by his loss, Ed searches for a way to get his son back or get those kids back for what they did.  He finds a witch in a backwoods swamp who can help him.  She summons a demon of vengeance, with long claws and big fangs.  This demon, Pumpkinhead, seeks out the teenagers and brutally kills them one at a time.  Ed cannot shake the feeling that this is wrong.  Not only did he not want all this blood on his hands, but he senses a connection to the beast.  Once Ed realizes the true cost of summoning Pumpkinhead, he races to the teen’s aid in hopes of stopping the monster’s onslaught. 

            This movie really only exists for two reasons: the monster and Lance Henriksen.  Winston does a fine job with his first movie, but he focuses the picture on those two and lets everything else fall by the wayside.  The teen are forgettable and the actors playing them feel very green.  The supporting cast does better, especially Florence Schauffler as the witch.  And the script itself is alright, it just needs a few more passes on the dialogue.  The mode and tension are quite good.  The rural area where this all takes place is dripping with dread.  The story is told well enough and keeps the suspense building all the way to the final confrontation.  Winston got it done effectively and adeptly.  What makes you interested, however, always comes back to those two things. 

A Southern Gothic fairytale with excellent special effects, Pumpkinhead is an admirable directorial debut from Stan Winston.  The creature design and effects are strong, making for a memorable antagonist.  You can see bits of Giger’s influence, along with a feeling that the effects team wanted to create something visually arresting.  And its face has  a lot of emotive power, hinting at something deeper in the beast.  Lance Henriksen finally has a chance to showcase his talents and he does not disappoint.  As Ed Harley, Henriksen is the center of the story.  He feels like a real parent and his grieving for his son looks authentically dreadful.  It is a good performance from a man too regularly relegated to supporting actor status. 

Pumpkinhead is a fun, bloody little movie.  It does what any viewer wants to do at some point during a creature feature: put less attention into the supporting players and more attention into the main man and the bid bad.  If you want a monster movie that you have not seen before, you could do a lot worse than this. 

7 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Feast

Feast (2005)

Directed by John Gulager

Starring Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Navi Rawat, Judah Friedlander, Josh Zuckerman, and Jason Mewes

            In a bar in the middle of the desert, patrons and staff go about their routines.  Suddenly, a man burst through the door with the head of a monstrous beast.  He tells them they have to secure the bar, and that if they listen to him they will survive the night.  The movie stops to pull up a plaque identifying this man as “Hero”, and that he will probably live through the movie.  Immediately following this, Hero is pulled head first into a window by a monster arm, than decapitated.  What follows is the efforts of the people inside this bar to fend off the hideous beasts and live to see the morning.  However, it all goes down in the same fashion as the Hero.  It is going to be a long night. 

            Billed as a cross between Evil Dead and Diner¸ Feast does not quite live up to either.  It is a confident film from a first time director and writing team, but I cannot help but feel that confidence is misplaced.  As the winner of the third and final season of Project Greenlight, Feast should have been the best of the best that series could produce.  Instead, the movie does almost everything it can to obscure what happens in every scene of action and horror.  It is still funny, but enough to make the rest of the movie worthwhile. 

Nearly every shot in this movie looks handheld, and it gets jitterier as time goes on.  When the creatures attack, the shots become manic and incomprehensible.  There are scenes that I know have some great effects and would look awesome if it were not for the camera moving around so violently.  It really hampers the enjoyment of the movie.  The writing is good in spots and has some interesting ideas, but it does not make for a good film overall.  The characters are all horror stereotypes and they are played with in surprising and amusing ways.  But once these characters have a moment to themselves, things start to fall apart.  There is no depth to support them, no real layers to make them interesting.  As splatter fest cannon fodder, they work wonders.  But they are nothing more than that. 

            There is a lot to like about Feast.  The cast is filled with great choices that make their sometimes limited time count.  Henry Rollins, Glu Gulager, Jason Mewes, and Judah Friedlander all have fun with their roles.  They ham it up and make every moment of screen time enjoyable.  The creature designs and makeup are excellent.  They look fierce and frightening when the camera can steady itself to get a shot.  Also, there are title cards that come up with every character that are genuinely funny.  They explain who these people are in horror movie terms and their life expectancy.  These add to the humor when the following scene turns that information on its head.  You cannot see everything coming in Feast, and that adds some welcome fun to the film.

            There is a lot of Feast that needs some serious work.  But, there is a good bit of it that is an enjoyable creature feature.  Only genre fans and those with the patience to try out a first-time effort should look this up.

5 out of 10