Welcome to the new home of Creepercast.com. Where we let the fear creep in with all things horror genre. News, Reviews, and more! STAFF:
J.P.: Editor (EIC - Editor in Cheif), Writer (CC - Content Contributor);
Joel Kenyon: Editor (AE - Assistant Editor), Writer (CC - Content Contributor); William S Mayfield: Writer (CC - Content Contributor)
Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and younger brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) say goodbye to their mother as they board a train and head deep into Pennsylvania farm country to meet their maternal grandparents for the first time. Welcomed by Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), all seems well until the siblings start to notice increasingly strange behavior from the seemingly charming couple. Once the children discover a shocking secret, they begin to wonder if they'll ever make it home.
Release date: September 11, 2015 (USA)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Box office: 98.5 million USD
Initial DVD release: January 5, 2016 (USA)
Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan, Michael Madsen
Dragging the depths of my old horror reviews, I thought they might need to see the light of day again. So, I bring you some of Joel's 'Classic' horror reviews....
Imagine you're a screenwriter. You've got a great idea for a movie, so you write a script. You get the money to get it produced and not one, but TWO directors for it! You get one star with a name for themselves and you make your dream film. Everything you'd hoped for becomes a reality! The dream is fulfilled. That brilliant idea that started it all, is now on celluloid for all the world to marvel at. It's amazing. The sad thing it.... your movie actually sucks.
'The Morgue' seems to be that movie and I'll start off this review by saying that it deserves less than a 1 star rating. Sadly, that's not possible on Netflix and to be honest, I barely even made it through this movie. The only reason I even added it to the queue and was quick to watch it was because of the fact that Heather Donahue (of 'The Blair Witch Project') was getting top billing. I couldn't wait to see her in something again! Little did I know, what I was really in for. Good lord, she only had about 20 minutes of screen time total. I can honestly say that I didn't care about any of the characters in this movie, not even hers. Not even a little tiny bit. What's the point of a horror movie or any movie if you don't give a rats ass about the characters involved? I was hoping that maybe I'd get lucky, after about 15 minutes of the movie, that something would go drastically wrong and Netflix headquarters and I'd never be able to finish it. Oh well, that never came to fruition.
Here's the genius plot of the film. A girl works at a morgue with only one other person, the nightwatchman. A family of 3 run out of gas and show up during the night. Meanwhile, 2 guys that have been in an accident end up showing up too. We keep getting flashbacks about a mortician who killed himself and has come back for revenge. No one is safe! Everything gets confusing and horribly edited. People start dying off one by one as the group tries to find a way to escape But where's the watchman? He's not the killer, but he's strangely missing and a bit aloof. Then the twist at the end happens. Oh my, what a twist it was.
Do not waste one minute of your time to watch this one. Stay away at all costs. The twist is pulled off horribly. It's kind of confusing at first and the script and editing job don't help things much. In reality, who really gives a damn anyway? Just be thankful that it's over. I'm not demanding my time back. I, at least, got to see Heather for awhile and she does so few movies, it was nice. Other than that though, it's a complete work of garbage. I have no idea why it was even made. It should have stayed a script on someone's coffee table, safe from the world. Anyway, at least from watching it, I can warn you before you make the same mistake. Don't hope for the 'So bad it's good' factor. This is just bad. 1 out of 5 stars, in case you didn't get that from the first part of my review.
In closing, it's like having your teeth pulled really slowly, while under a mild anesthesia. Everything is blurry, but you still feel every pinch, pull and tug. Not too mention, your dentist is Stevie Wonder. Got the image in your head? That's this movie.
(NEW thoughts: I don't remember anything about this one, if that says anything. Although, I am still finding that I was a much harsher critic back in the day. That's not at all who I am now. It's kind of weird seeing where I was and wondering what made me so dang jaded?)
If you feel like watching this. Don't. Watch anything else instead.
On this day in horror history.... 'Bride of Re-Animator' is released. The 1990 science-fiction horror film directed by Brian Yuzna and the sequel to the original 'Re-Animator'. This film follows in the footsteps of the Frankenstein monster before him, as Dr. Herbert West is back and creating a bride. What could go wrong?
On this day in horror history.... Friedrich Gustav Maximilian "Max" Schreck was born. A German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film Nosferatu (1922) and a hell of a creepy guy. He went on to have a career in acting, but will always be remembered as the head patriarch of the Dracula family.
A young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move to a New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and odd neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet (Sidney Blackmer, Ruth Gordon). When Rosemary becomes pregnant she becomes increasingly isolated, and the diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth.
Release date: June 12, 1968 (USA)
Director: Roman Polanski
Screenplay: Roman Polanski
Story by: Ira Levin
As hordes of zombies swarm over the U.S., the terrified populace tries everything in their power to escape the attack of the undead, but neither cities nor the countryside prove safe. In Pennsylvania, radio-station employee Stephen (David Emge) and his girlfriend, Francine (Gaylen Ross), escape in the station helicopter, accompanied by two renegade SWAT members, Roger and Pete. The group retreats to the haven of an enclosed shopping center to make what could be humanity's last stand.
Dragging the depths of my old horror reviews, I thought they might need to see the light of day again. So, I bring you some of Joel's 'Classic' horror reviews....
I've long since overcome my dispute with remakes. Instead, I give them their day in court and try to keep an open mind. With the majority of the ones I've seen lately, they don't seem to be getting any better and with the recent news that Robert Zemeckis is looking to re-do 'The Wizard of Oz', I'm really wondering what they're going to be retooling next?
The original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' was a film with heart. It was limited by the FX of the time, but Wes Craven had a vision and he carried it out as best he could. What he created gave birth to one of the most recognizable horror icons in the history of fright films. Not too mention, it spawned a ton of sequels, merchandise and even a TV show! Now, to the 2010 modernized retelling. Personally, I think Jackie Earle Haley is a talented guy. He's short and that kind of works against him in the title role of Freddy Krueger. However, he makes the best of it. The first thing that jumped out at me with this movie, was the makeup effects for Freddy. They went for a more realistic burn victim look. In the original, Freddy didn't look nearly as burned as he more looked like he had a pizza face.... but it worked. With the new makeup, it became distracting to look at Freddy. Also, his voice is much deeper and more menacing. It tended to give him a darker edge. A positive change was the way that Jackie used the glove, by rubbing the knives together in anticipation before he killed someone. It showed that he relished in what he was doing. That he enjoyed taking revenge on the children of Elm Street. He also kept the character from making jokes. Something that eventually destroyed the Elm Street franchise, in my opinion. My favorite scene in this movie was where Freddy had just killed the teen in the jail cell and then we cut to the dreamworld. In this space, Freddy had his victim hanging upside down and he comes right up to his face and says something like, “....the human mind lives on for 7 more minutes after dead. This means we have 6 more minutes to play.” If the whole movie was this sinister, it might have put the fear of Freddy back into us all. Sadly, this is the high point.
In regards to the new Nancy, played by Rooney Mara, I didn't care for her nearly as much as I did for Heather Langenkamp's portrayal. Needless to say, most of the characters just came off as flat and dull. Not too mention, something I covered earlier, this movie didn't have the same heart as the original version. It was a movie made for the sake of making a movie and for that, I started to lose interest after a while. I still enjoyed Jackie's portrayal. I only hoped for something more than what we got. There's talk of a sequel already and I kind of doubt that they could take it to a new place and a better place. But who knows? I'm sure I'll submit myself to watching it, as I'm always willing to give a movie a try. I give this 3 out of 5 stars. Mostly for Jackie Earle Haley's performance and not for the rest of the cast and crew. Sorry guys, but you didn't pull off a miracle. Finally, if you're a fan of the original, you may want to think twice before watching this one. Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong and you'll end up loving it? But I doubt it.
(NEW thoughts from 2018: I've watched this again a few more times since this original review. I can honestly say that I still don't like it. Not that I don't care for remakes, but rather.... it's just not a good film. While it has some moments of good things happening and can be very effective, it is just too much of a hodge podge of ideas that never seem cohesive or logical. A horror film by committee. I would actually drop this to 2 out of 5 stars upon repeated viewings.)
If you like this or want something similar, check out: 'Friday the 13' (2009), 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (2003) and 'My Bloody Valentine' (2009)
