If you recall, the original “Boogeyman” was a steaming pile that seemed to put up so much effort for an end product that would ultimately mean nothing, and this is because of the phenomenally bad writing that took the interesting concept and went nowhere fast. What “Boogeyman 2” does is take the typical route and makes all the obvious moves: It becomes a slasher movie, one that basically follows in continuity with the first without reminding us too much how much it stunk. Call me an apologist, proclaim my taste as being awful, but “Boogeyman 2” isn’t so bad. Sure it’s far from perfect but what it lacks in originality and scares it makes up for in creativity and hitting most of the right chords as a slasher film… and yes some of the performances manage to be pretty decent in the meanwhile.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The character of Wolverine has always been a hard sell for yours truly. As a comic book superhero, Wolverine has always been one of the more overrated in Marvel Comics in spite of his rabid following. Wolverine’s progression from this tier villain to top tier superhero has been nothing short of remarkable, so when he received his own spin off that unfolds to tell his story once and for all, I was quite confused. The entire “X-Men” film franchise have already been nothing more than vehicles for the Wolverine with the X-Men taking nothing more than a supporting status to what he can do on screen. We’ve already had three Wolverine films, did we really need to see another with the furry one front and center? Yes and no.
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Inspired by Michael Dougherty’s short horror film “Season’s Greetings,” our favorite trick or treater Sam returns to remind us of the further tricks he has up his sleeve as Dougherty introduces a film comprised of interwoven sub-plots a la “Go” (where everyone is out for the occasion but only a select few experience the true heinous clutch of Halloween evil) along with the comic book format in the vein of “Creepshow” where we’re bombarded with comic panels of what’s to come .
Season's Greetings (1996)
Back in the late nineties to early millennium there was a series on the Science Fiction channel here in America called “Exposure,” it was a fantastic take on a mini film festival by taking experienced indie directors and showing off some of the best and worst short films they could dole out to the audience. In the meantime we also were able to see early works from legendary filmmakers in Hollywood. “Season’s Greetings” was one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Upstairs (2006)
Writer-Director Mark Howell’s short is one of the finest examples of short horror cinema I’ve seen in a while. He wastes no time in explaining his characters to us, leaves our experience completely ambiguous and also leaves me wanting a sequel. When a young couple happen upon a house being sold in a seemingly mundane neighborhood, they decide to buy it under the house’s value and are talked in to the purchase by a content realtor who seems to know the house’s ins and outs as the new buyers prepare to move.
The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
I’m one of the many people in the film community who has had nothing but contempt for the practices Rob Zombie has exorcised since his venturing in to filmmaking. Beside “Devil’s Rejects,” Zombie is a man who is nothing but a studio tool who injects his own brand of trailer trash chic in everything he does, even polluting the origin of Michael Myers with it. Zombie is 100 percent Grade A hack and a complete studio stooge who knows how to be a horror fan but doesn’t know what horror fans want, nor will he ever try to find out.
Liberty's Kids: The Complete Series (DVD)
Like every bit of American history, it’s good to know that “Liberty’s Kids” tells its core audience only one part of the story and never the full details on what, when, and why. For one thing, the series focuses on only a quarter of American history with a sometimes artful dodging of aspects like slavery, illness, and the bloody events that were the wars. However there is a considerable acknowledging of slavery as one of our main characters, an African American, battles on the forefront of the Civil War in order to escape slavery. Sadly, the episode that focuses on the Native American experience only depicts us as inadvertent dominators of the land, not the evil villainous barons who strong armed a race out of their motherland.