Disturbing Behavior (1998)

This movie is stupid… and barely even like stupid enough to be funny. It’s trying really hard and it’s a fairly interesting concept. I like all the actors in it and think they’re doing a decent job. I just feel like the movie is mediocrely written. It’s pretty much standard fare for late 90’s teen horror/sci-fi. If you’re looking for a good late 90’s sci-fi-fi horror flick with your favorite teen celebrities, might I recommend The Faculty.

This film is set in Cradle Bay, a small island town off the coast of Washington State. The Clark family are relocating to cope with the trauma of one of their sons committing suicide. When arriving at his new school, Steve falls in with a group of outcasts, Gavin, UV and Rae. The group tells him about a Stepford like academic group, The Blue Ribbons. The group takes in rebellious students and magically transforms them into “perfect” students and teenagers. Gavin is suspicious that something sinister going on. Steve is skeptical at first, but when Gavin joins the group, he becomes convinced that Gavin was right and enlists Rae’s help to figure out the cause and save the teens of Cradle Bay.

As I said before, most of this film is just mediocre. I like Katie Holmes and think she does a fine job playing the angsty Rae, and James Marsden is great as Steve. I don’t think there is any fault on them, I think the writing just isn’t that good. It’s trying to go for something Faculty-esque, but just misses the target. I think it could have been an interesting concept, something about it just isn’t gripping. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what I dislike about this movie, it just doesn’t come together.

I don’t think there’s really any need to seek this film out, unless you’re just curious about it. You can definitely live your life without having seen this and be just fine. In fact, I saw this film recently and I honestly had a hard time even remembering it all that clearly. It’s just that average. So I would say this is a film you could definitely skip, or at least push to the very end of your watchlist.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfintiy available: Yes

Amazon available: Yes

Rating: 2/5

The Faculty (1998)

The Faculty is a teen science fiction film, packed with the celebrities of the 90’s. And while this film could have ended up a disaster, it holds its own in a surprising manner. It is definitely a product of its time; the late 90’s was filled with less than wonderful horror films packed to the brim with the heart throbs of the moment. But this is different than your Disturbing Behaviors or Urban Legends, as I feel this film is still enjoyable and gripping 20 years later.

There is something strange going on at Herrington High School. The teachers and students are becoming increasingly threatening. When school newspaper student, Casey, finds a mysterious creature on the football field, he takes it to his science teacher. It begins to grow. Meanwhile, Casey and paper editor, Delilah, witness the principal and football coach shoving the mysterious creature into the school nurses’ ear. They also find a dead body. When they contact the police, however, the mess is cleaned up and the teens are not taken seriously. It soon becomes clear that something is wrong with the faculty and student body and the teens must fight to save their school.

As I said, this movie is surprisingly still good 20 years later. The acting is believable from all the cast and it’s still very gripping and entertaining. The film is paced well and is full of different twists and turns that aren’t your average predictable teen film. The effects, obviously are a little dated, but they aren’t all that terrible. While, sure the film isn’t anything groundbreaking, in comparison to other teen films of its time, it’s definitely more entertaining and competent.

I definitely recommend checking this film out. It’s often on TV so it should be easy to catch. If you’re in the mood for some exciting late 90’s teen sci-fi this is 100% the film for you. As I said, it isn’t the perfect movie by far, but compared to its peers, this is definitely one of the better ones. The Faculty is still entertaining 20 years later and can still provide some excitement and chills for the teen movie fan.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: Yes

Amazon available: Yes

Rating: 3.5/5

Candyman (1992)

Creepy, original, sociological… this movie has it all! Based on a short story by Clive Barker, this film is creepy, has the perfect amount of purposeful gore, and is wonderfully acted. Plus if you’re scared of bees it will haunt your nightmares even more. This film breaks the mold most horror films were following in the late 80’s, that of the generic slasher, and went to a totally different place and I think that is partially why this film stands out so much; there’s not many other films I can think to group it in with, it really stands on its own.

Candyman follows Helen, a graduate student who is studying urban legends and decides to investigate the local Chicago legend of “candyman”. Candyman was the son of a slave owner who becomes a successful businessman and painter. He is killed in a lynching when he fathers a child with a white woman. In the process of the lynching the mob cuts off his painting hand and replaces it with a hook, then covers him in honey to attract bees, which sting him to death. It is rumored that his spirit can be summoned by saying his name five times in the mirror, and that he murders the summoner with his hook hand. Helen and her friend Bernadette attempt to summon candyman but nothing happens. While researching the legend in a poor apartment building, Helen encounters a gang, whose leader goes by the name “candyman” and carries a hook, further cementing her theory that the legend is merely a legend. Soon, the real Candyman appears and informs Helen that he must kill in order to reinstate fear in the people of the neighborhood and Helen becomes trapped in his game of murder.

I don’t want to reveal too much about the ending, as it is a little convoluted and it is hard to summarize without giving too much away. So what works and what doesn’t. For me, this film mostly works. The acting is the strongest part of the film, Tony Todd is absolutely chilling as the titular character, and Virginia Madsen does a nice job as the scholarly skeptic turned believer. One thing I really love about this film is that it does address the underlying of urban legends, why they exist, and uses their sociological purpose as the backbone of the film. I like that the film isn’t centered around bland replaceable teens, but is set in an urban setting where people are struggling to survive as it is. The other thing that this film really has working for it is some shocking but purposeful gore. Unlike in torture porn movies, where the gore is just there for shock value, the gore in this film has a reason to exist, which makes it all the more horrifying.

I highly recommend checking out this film, if you couldn’t tell. It’s original, it’s frightening, and it still holds up 26 years later. I’ve never seen the sequel because I’ve been afraid of it ruining the original for me, but perhaps I’ll check it out sometime. The good thing about this film is it stands so well on its own. This film is one of the great horror movies of the 90’s and every horror buff should check this out.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: I don’t know because I am a victim of the nation-wide Comcast outage, but I’ll try to update this as soon as I can check.

Rating: 4.5/5

Scream (1996)

So if you read my review of this film on my other blog, you’ll know that this was the film that not only made me fall in love with horror movies, but also made me fall in love with film in general. To summarize, I was never a horror fan before I saw this movie, but once I saw it I yearned to be in on the joke- to understand the films referenced in this smart slasher. So I sought out books (before google was commonplace) about horror and film and became obsessed. So I don’t know that I can be totally unbiased in my review of this film, as it does hold a special place in my heart.

This film follows Sidney Prescott, a girl whose mother was tragically murdered. When another string of murders begins, the teens of the town use the school closure as a chance to party. As the party goes on, they begin to be picked off one by one and Sidney must fight for survival, learning that the slayings may have something to do with her mother’s death.

So, this film simultaneously tells its own gripping story, while also spoofing the genre that Craven was instrumental in creating. It affectionately mocks genre tropes, as the characters are aware of the “rules” of their universe and must use their knowledge to survive. This film is funny as well as scary, it has a great balance of gore and tension. The characters are smart, which makes you invested in their survival. Plus, there’s a great killer reveal. As I said before, I may be biased, but it hard for me to find things I don’t like about the movie.

Scream is great for horror fans and the general public alike. Unlike films like, The Cabin in the Woods (which is one of my favorite movies), Scream can be enjoyed by people who are not familiar with slasher tropes because it holds its own as a slasher. But, if you are knowledgable about the genre it makes the movie doubly enjoyable because of the references. I recommend everyone check out Scream, as it is truly a horror classic.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: Yes

Amazon available: Yes

Rating: 5/5

 

Demon Possessed (1993)

Low-budget, early 90’s horror is a tough genre to get through, but this movie especially looks like it had a $12 budget. Also the cover? Has nothing to do with the movie, not too sure where that image came from. They probably figured it would be attention grabbing on Blockbuster shelves. This movie is terrible and while I did get a few laughs, for the most part it’s not even funny bad.

This movie follows a group of friends who are skiing and become trapped on the mountain, seeking shelter in a mysterious abandoned cabin. One of their friends is riding on his snowmobile and crashes into a tree. They bring him to the cabin while another friend looks for help. They discover what looks like occult materials and decide to use them to summon demons, which is always a good idea. A member of the group becomes possessed and they all begin to get picked off one by one.

This movie is incredibly low budget, so the acting and general film quality is definitely subpar. But I also feel like no level of budget really could have made this movie great, because even plot-wise there are just some baffling choices being made. Like there’s a brother-sister duo who are clearly having a sexual relationship and NO ONE MENTIONS HOW FUCKING WEIRD OR INAPPROPRIATE IT IS. Like the brother’s girlfriend is right there and says nothing when he grabs his sister’s butt. At first I thought I was misunderstanding something, but no. That’s his sister and there’s clear intentional sexual tension between them. And then at the end there is a straight up 15 minutes snowmobile chase scene with like generic electric guitar playing in the background. Some very weird choices were made in the filming of this movie and it’s just, it’s all bad.

So, the only way you’re seeing this movie is if you buy the VHS, which I got for only $5 on amazon, so it’s definitely doable. Is it worth $5? Probably not? I mean there are maybe 3 or 4 scenes that are so bad they’re good, but otherwise, it kind of drags and makes no sense. I think the reason this movie fails is because it is played so straight. If they had tried to make it campy or taken it less seriously it may have worked, but it’s not even bad enough to be enjoyable. This is probably one to skip.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: No

Rating: 1.5/5

 

Subspecies (1991)

I’m surprised this series doesn’t have more of a cult following because it has the right amount of campiness and fun to warrant it. It could be due to the fact that this was released direct to video in the 90’s, when there was a plethora of cheap horror films to choose from on video store shelves, but I think this film warrants a watch. It is by no means great or overly original, but at the same time, I can’t really think of many films like it that were being released in the 90’s. This is a vampire film set in the 1990’s but featuring an old gothic vampire. It’s weird but it kind of works for some reason.

A group of three female college students, Mara, Michelle, and Lillian, arrive in Romania to do a study on culture, specifically surrounding superstition. As they arrive they begin to investigate ancient castle ruins, leading to its resident, Radu, a vampire to stalk them. Radu’s brother, Stefan, lives among people and aims to help the girls defeat Radu. He falls in love with Michelle, and when Mara and Lillian are captured and turned by Radu, the couple set out to save them. There’s also a story line about Radu wanting control of the bloodstone which is said to contain the blood of saints.

So the whole bloodstone thing isn’t that well explained, and I don’t really understand why he wants it, but it becomes more of a focus as the series continues so that could be why they were setting it up. But honestly, this movie is pretty enjoyable. The acting is great from most of the cast. Anders Hove kind of hams it up as Radu, but that adds to the campy fun. I like that all the girls seem like actual human beings instead of props. As I stated earlier, the movie about a straight up gothic vampire set in the 1990’s is unique and works pretty well. It’s simple but fun. The only big complaint I have is that it does drag at times, it kind of feels like nothing important is happening.

I definitely recommend checking this film, and the entire series, out. They definitely manage to be campy while still maintaining serious tones. If I had to describe the viewing experience in one word it would be “fun”. It’s a little dated, especially some of the effects on the creatures, but I don’t mind that. I think more people should give this underrated series a chance.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: Yes

Xfinity available: No

Amazon Prime available: Yes

Rating: 3.5/5

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

So, I love a good (and bad) shark movie. And even though I know logically this movie isn’t very good, I kind of love it? I don’t think it is all that bad either, but it’s no masterpiece. Compared to the shark movies that we have now, I just like that this movie at least takes sharks seriously and have them be an actual scary entity instead of a campy film like Sharknado. Not that there’s anything wrong with camp, but it’s just nice to have options.

This film follows a group of scientists at an ocean research base who have been genetically modifying sharks for Alzheimer’s research. Right as they have their breakthrough, they learn that the tests they have been running caused the sharks to become smarter and more aggressive. They are soon targeted and hunted by the sharks and they begin to get picked off as they search for a solution and signal for help.

So while I wouldn’t define this movie as “campy” there are definitely some funny moments, courtesy of LL Cool J and his pet bird. I like that the movie focuses on people with different abilities, a chef/minister, the shark caretakers, the scientists, the pharmaceutical reps. I like the differences of characters and watching them work together to try to solve the problem. The characters are believable and I am definitely interested in their survival. One of the biggest problems with this movie, especially now is that some of the effects don’t hold up great (although I’ve definitely seen movies made more recently with FAR worse special effects). Some of the movie is cheesy, the acting isn’t always the best, and obviously because it’s about genetically modified sharks some of the scenes are less than realistic.

I think this movie is definitely worth watching, not because it is all that great, but because it is a really fun movie to watch. If you like shark films, this will definitely be one of the better ones you’ll see (most shark movies leave a lot to be desired). Don’t expect perfection, but definitely expect to have a great time.

Netflix available: On DVD

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: Yes, for a fee

Amazon Prime available: Yes, for a fee

Rating: 3/5

The Dark Half (1993)

When you have two kings of horror behind the wheel, you’re destined to have a hit, right? You’d think so, but sadly it isn’t the case for The Dark Half. The film isn’t a total miss, but it gets a little confusing and unnecessary towards the end. It also rings eerily similar to another Stephen King adaptation that would come out in 2004, also to mixed reviews. Of the two, I personally prefer Secret Window, as it is slightly more straight-forward. However, a lot of King works follow the same protagonist. If it’s a male author struggling with substance abuse and keeping his family together in Maine, it might be the work of Stephen King.

This film follows a man living a double life (well, double career). Thad Beaumont is an unsuccessful writer, but his alter ego, George Stark, is famous for his gritty crime novels. Thad is tired of getting into the dark mindset of George Stark and decides to kill him off and reveal to the world that he is actually George. However, after having a fake funeral for George, murders based on Stark’s books begin to occur, with evidence at the crimes scenes pointing to Thad. Thad struggles to figure out who is trying to frame him for these murders and prove his innocence.

[moderate spoilers ahead]

So this film is adequate, the effects aren’t terrible, albeit a bit dated. The acting is fairly convincing and the story is interesting. The main place where this movie begins to fall apart is the end and the explanation for who is committing the murders. So, at the beginning of the movie we see that Thad had previous troubles with unabsorbed remains of his twin inside his brain that began curiously growing. It is seen that this twin is responsible for the dark half of Thad, George Stark. The problem is, this twin somehow becomes a fully formed separate entity that is committing these murders. I would have understood more if the dark entity was taking over his body, but no, he’s somehow a fully formed adult that is committing murders. Then a psychic lady tells Thad that he must kill George because there is only room for one of them on the planet. It’s just so insanely convoluted and nonsensical that the film really falls apart.

I think this film could have been something great, but the ending really drags it down. I don’t think it’s totally worth missing, the insane ending is honestly pretty comical. But I don’t know that it’s an especially worthwhile horror film. I recommend checking it out just to experience the weirdness, but if so-bad-it’s-good isn’t your style, you can probably skip it.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: Yes

Amazon Prime available: No

Rating: 2/5

 

Wishmaster (1997)

This movie sucks. Honestly, I could just leave the review at that because there’s very little  to unpack here. This movie was pretty much universally panned and I’m not surprised at all. The effects are terrible, and I can’t imagine they looked that much better in 1997. The acting is also just abysmal. Some movies are so bad you can enjoy them and laugh at them, but I couldn’t do it with this one. I was honestly just bored, and waiting for it to end. This is one case where I think the sequel is better, as it does a better job of leaning into comedy. But we aren’t here to talk about that one yet, so let’s get this over with.

In this movie, a gemologist, Alex, accidentally unleashes an evil genie (or djinn) from a jewel and he begins to wreak havoc on her loved ones. The djinn uses people’s wishes against them, which usually results in their death. Alex learns that the djinn is powered by people’s souls which he gets when he grants their wishes. He is storing souls to eventually unleash all the djinn into the human world. Alex must figure out a way to stop him and save the world… but not her friends because most of them are dead already.

I am a person who can appreciate camp and even an unintentionally bad movie, but this is just something else. The djinn is like Freddy lite, where he tries to be sardonic and funny but never fully commits to the ridiculousness, so it just falls flat. They honestly do a better job of this in the sequel. The acting from the rest of the cast is just awful. The special effects are really the worst part of the film. The scenes where she’s having visions are just unforgivably bad. I wish I had more to say about it, but it’s just bad.

This movie is cheap looking and it’s honestly a shame Wes Craven’s name is attached to it. I don’t think this movie is worth watching, even in an ironic sense. If you’re going to watch anything, I recommend watching the sequel (you don’t need to have seen the original to understand the sequel).

Netflix available? No

Hulu available? No

Xfinity available? Yes, for a fee

Rating: 1/5

Kalifornia (1993)

So, this isn’t an out and out horror film, it’s definitely more of a psychological thriller. One thing I’ve noticed about a lot of 90’s horror is that a lot of it leans more towards being thriller-y. Despite that, it’s pretty horrific and all kinds of awesome. Brad Pitt gives an outstanding performance that he doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for, and the story is incredibly gripping, despite dragging a bit at times.

This movie follows a grad student (Brian) and his girlfriend (Carrie), played by David Duchovney and Michelle Forbes, who are looking for some carpool buddies to go on a road trip to California. The catch is, on the road trip they’re going to be stopping at the sides of serial murders for a book Brian is writing. Enter Early and Adele, played by Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis. They’re a poor couple looking to get a fresh start, leaving behind Early’s violent past. At first, their demographics don’t mesh: a redneck couple and some artsy grad students don’t have all that much in common, but they begin to connect as they travel together. However, as they travel, Early continues to unravel, becoming more and more violent and unstable.

As I said before, Brad Pitt gives an unbelievably brutal and convincing performance. He plays a man exploring and ultimately giving into his underlying nature perfectly. Juliette Lewis also gives a strong performance as the innocent and childlike Adele, a girl who just wants to be loved, even if it is by a sometimes abusive man. Duchovney and Forbes do fine enough, but compared to Lewis and Pitt leave something to be desired. One of the big weaknesses is that certain scenes tend to drag. The movie comes in just under 2 hours and I think easily could have been equally, if not more, effective at 100 minutes. There’s no one specific part I feel should have been cut either, more that if they just snipped a minute or two off each scene it would have been perfect.

I feel like this film is often overlooked and doesn’t get the recognition that it should. Despite its flaws, I think Kalifornia is definitely worth watching. The performances are memorable, the story is strong, and the violence is chilling.

Netflix available? No

Hulu available? No

Xfinity available? Yes, for a fee

Rating: 4/5