Miscellaneous Film Reviews by HorrorHound94

[HorrorHound94]

Creepshow 2

"When The Curtain Goes Up, the Terror Begins!"

Creepshow 2 is the frightfully fantastic sequel to the 1982 Horror classic Creepshow. It follows three seperate Horror stories in three segments.

"Old Chief Wood'nhead" is the story of a native american statue that comes to life and seeks revenge upon a group of murderers that robbed it's elderly owners' shop and tragically killed them.

"The Raft" follows the tale of four teenagers who are stranded on a raft in the middle of the lake with a carnivorous blob monster with a taste for human flesh killer stalking them.

"The Hitchhiker" is about a cheating wife who accidentaly runs over a Hitchhiker but when she strands the dead body, she finds herself being followed by the Hitchhiker.

Considering the budget for Creepshow 2 was an estimated $3,500,000, the film still offers scenes that contain some quite dark humour and tormenting suspense moments which can result in the viewer being quite frightening. The direction of the film by Michael Gornick was outstanding considering it's low budget. George A. Romero's screenplay writing skill is shown very well as he writes the film's screenplay fantastically by adapting stories that had been written by Stephen King. The acting performances in this film are fantastic but actors and actresses in particular who stand out in this movie are George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour and Lois Chiles. Also, Stephen King plays an incredibly funny cameo role as well as Tom Savini playing the sinister character of The Creep. Another key point to this film is the music by Les Reed and Rick Wakeman. The music has a great 80s feel to it and it fits into the movie perfectly.

In conclusion, Creepshow 2 is an excellent low budget Horror movie sequel that should be in every Horror fans movie collection.

Fear Factor: 3/5
Gore Score: 4/5
Movie Rating: 7/10
Overall: 14/20

Words by Daniel Sheppard (HorrorHound94)

[HorrorHound94]

The Blair Witch Project

"In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary...A year later their footage was found."

The Blair Witch Project is the shocking horror movie that scared cinema audience members worldwide!

It follows the very simple story of three students that go into the woods in a town called Burkittsville to film a documentary on the legend of the Blair Witch. At the start, everything seems well for the three students until they realise they are being followed by the sinister being that is the Blair Witch!

The Blair Witch Project must be the most terrifying Horror film that was released in 1999 and is arguably the most frightening film released in the 1990s. The acting performances by Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C Williams are breathtaking and petrifying and considering the film's script was completely improvised, their acting was incredibly believable. The film's cinematography was different but this wasn't a bad thing. Using a common handi-cam to film the events that were happening added to the overall tension and suspence that was being slowly built up. What makes The Blair Witch Project even more frightening is the fact that the viewer never actually gets to see the witch although descriptions of what she looks like are given allowing them to create an image in their head. Amazingly, this film only had a budget between $500,000 and $750,000 and considering this incredibly low budget, directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez still managed to make a Horror film so terrifying, it was actually believable!

In conclusion, The Blair Witch Project is a truly petrifying Horror movie that is certainly a modern classic and will undoubtedly be counted as a classic for generations to come.

Fear Factor: 5/5
Gore Score: 2/5
Movie Rating: 9/10
Overall: 16/20

Words by Daniel Sheppard (HorrorHound94)

[HorrorHound94]

A Nightmare on Elm Street

"She is the only one who can stop it... if she fails, no one survives."

A Nightmare on Elm Street is the 1984 slasher movie directed by Wes Craven.

The movie follows a typical bogeyman story in which teenage residents of Springwood are slowly murdered one-by-one is a series of odd deaths that occur in their dreams. One of Springwood's teenage residents, Nancy Thompson, must find why her friends are being brutally slaughtered in their nightmares and who the culprit is who wears the infamous red and green sweater, brown hat and glove made with razor sharp knifes... Fred Krueger!

A Nightmare on Elm Street is possibly one of the most superior slasher movies ever made. The death sequences in this film are fantastic, creative and disturbing. Wes Craven manages to make this movie even more brilliant with his enormous talent for directing. The musical score creates a suspenceful atmosphere resulting in the viewer feeling uncomfortable and intense which was obviously Charles Bernstein's main target with the music and he achieves this perfectly. Robert Englund's performance as Fred is incredible! He manages to make the character terrifying yet you grow to love him purely for his corny one liners. Other outstanding performances are credited to Heather Langenkamp who plays Nancy, Amanda Wyss who plays Tina Gray and Ronee Blakley who plays Marge Thompson. Not forgetting Johnny Depp in his debut co-starring role as Nancy's boyfriend, Glen Lantz, who meets a tragic yet disturbingly comic end!

In conclusion, A Nightmare on Elm Street earns the reputation of being arguably the most scary film of the 1980s and is a must-see for all fans of Cult movies.

Fear factor: 5/5
Gore Score: 5/5
Movie Rating: 9/10
Overall: 19/20

Words by Daniel Sheppard (HorrorHound94)

[HorrorHound94]

Halloween

"The trick was to stay alive."

Halloween is the 1978 horror movie directed by John Carpenter that is the mother of all slasher movies.

The story is of a young boy called Michael Myers who violently murders his sister on the 31st of October 1963. The killing of Michael's sister results in him being sent to a mental institution. Then, exactly 15 years later on the 31st of October 1978, Michael escapes from the mental institution holding him and seeks murderous revenge upon a group of teenagers who live in the neighbourhood in which he murdered his sister.

The film must be one of the most frightening movies made in the 1970s. The tension and suspence is amazingly slowly built up causing the viewer to feel nervous and on edge. Director, John Carpenter manages to direct this film with great care and attention but one of his highlights in Halloween is how he manages to make you feel very settled and comfortable with the film and then suddenly and unexpectedly a jump-out-of-your-seat moment occurs making the viewer feel tense and nervous but then he makes you feel settled again until BOO! One factor that I love about this film also is the fact that although this movie is the parent to all other brutal and bloody slasher movies, Halloween itself contains an incredibly low amount of blood and like I said previously, the frights are purely made in the film by the slow increase of tension and suspence. Lastly, Jamie Lee Curtis provides one of her most fantastic roles as innocent Laurie Strode and her portrayal of the character is amazing.

In conclusion, John Carpenter's Halloween really does live up to it's reputation as being a frightening film full of terror without breaking the budget of just $320,000 on buckets of theatrical blood and meat from the butchers!

Fear Factor: 5/5
Gore Score: 1/5
Movie Rating: 8/10
Overall: 14/20

Words by Daniel Sheppard (HorrorHound94)

[HorrorHound94]

The Last House on the Left

"To avoid fainting, keep repeating; "It's only a movie... It's only a movie..."

The Last House on the Left is the arguably the most disturbing video nasties of the 1970s and was once one of the most controversial Horror films ever made!

The plot is fairly straight forward. Two teenage girls go to New York to attend a Blood Lust concert. Before the concert, they go on the hunt trying to find some weed but instead of finding weed they find four escaped convicts that have the intention to take them to the lake, sexually abuse them and murder them. One thing the criminals don't realise is that the lake they take the girls to is right next to one of the girl's houses and when the parents find out what has happened to their daughter and her friend, they go on a revenge murder spree!

Distrubing, horrific and brutal are the ultimate 3 words I can use to describe this movie. Wes Craven manages to make one of the most controversial yet brilliant Horror movies in his debut direction role and his direction is remarkable. The musical score to this movie however is incredibly shocking! Two girls are being raped and tortured and the only music David Alexander Hess can think of to use for the movie is country/folk music! Why didn't he think about sticking Johnny Cash's The Ring of Fire on the end credits!? But on a higher note I have got to mention David Hess' performance as Krug Stilo! It is in my opinion that together, Wes Craven and David Hess managed to create the most vile disgusting, brutal and sadistic Horror villian before Buffalo Bill came along in Silence of the Lambs! Other outstanding acting performances included Sandra Peabody and Lucy Grantham. Oh, not forgetting the beautiful Ada Washington and her Chickens!

In conclusion, The Last House on the Left is a possible candidate for the most disturbing and controversial horror movie ever made! But putting it's shock factor to one side, the movie is a true rare gem that deserves it's place in cinema history.

Fear Factor: 2/5
Gore Score: 3/5
Movie Rating: 8/10
Overall: 13/20

Words by Daniel Sheppard (HorrorHound94)

[Ancient One]

It's utter rubbish. The soundtrack as you laughingly call it is just a lot of random music Craven had lying around at the time that he used to keep costs down. The a
"actors" are unknowns and believe me they are that way for a reason. The controversial rape scene is so drawn out it loses all its impact and borders on boring with only its subject matter preventing it being so. the ways in which she gets her revenge are ( for a horror movie ) very tame and shot with almost no gore, again to keep costs down and save on special effects.
In short DONT bother. 1/5

Addendum. As for it being the most shocking and controversial horror ever. for gods sake dont watch Martyrs.

[HorrorHound94]

Although the film is cheesy, the storyline is dark and disturbing. Also, think about the fact it was released in 1972 where visual aids and special effects where not as common as they are in film now. And another thing, The Last House on the Left was made with a budget estimate of just $87,000 so it must of been very hard to keep everything in the budget boundary.

The film also may have changed Horror history though. Do you think Friday the 13th would of existed without Sean S Cunningham producing this film or do you think A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream and The Serpent and the Rainbow would of ever been made without Wes Craven directing The Last House on the Left?

[HorrorHound94]

The Evil Dead

"Can they be stopped?"

The Evil Dead is a 1981 Horror movie directed by Sam Raimi on a low budget of $375,000.

It follows 5 students who go on a short break to an isolated cabin. At the cabin, they accidentaly unleash demons with the intention to posses each of the their bodies!

The movie is one of the most controversial films released in the 1980s. In England, it was one of the first films to be labelled as a video nasty and in other countries including Finland, Germany, Iceland and Ireland, the movie was banned! The Evil Dead doesn't run low on blood, guts and gore! It must be one of the most ultra-violent and ultra-erotic films made ever! All the actors and actresses made a fantastic effort in this movie but how can I not mention The Evil Dead without giving special credit to Bruce Campbell who plays the icon that made him famous, Ash. Bruce Campbell's portrayal of Ash is phenomenal and truly incredibly! The direction of the film by Sam Raimi is outstanding considering the low budget of the movie and the fact that the majority of the cast couldn't keep their commitment to the movie which was filmed over a period of a year and a half. Another highlight of The Evil Dead is it's cinematography by Tim Philo. He managed to use effective cinematography techniques that were incredibly cheap. For example, some scenes are filmed so the viewer sees through the Demon's perspective. This technique wasn't just used in the first Evil Dead film but in fact it was used in The Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn as well as Bruce Campbell vs The Army of Darkness.

In conclusion, The Evil Dead is a brutal Horror movie that is frightening yet cheesy and remains a Horror classic to this very day.

Fear Factor: 5/5
Gore Score: 5/5
Movie Rating: 10/10
Overall: 20/20

Words by Daniel Sheppard (HorrorHound94)

[Jonesy]

Hi HorrorHound94.

When posting a batch of film reviews, please use one thread for them, particularly when the films being reviewed are cut and pasted from another site. Thank you.

[HorrorHound94]

Originally Posted by Jonesy

Hi HorrorHound94.

When posting a batch of film reviews, please use one thread for them, particularly when the films being reviewed are cut and pasted from another site. Thank you.

All reviews posted onto the Total Film forums are my own material. I write reviews and post them onto Total Film forums, Little White Lies forums and Rotten Tomatoes. I do not cut and paste any information for my reviews or cut and paste entire reviews and call them my own. All the reviews I write for these forums are written by me.