Ruben Fleischer’s cinematic treatment of the Marvel super villain “Venom” feels a lot like it someone was making this movie in 1997, and it remained in the vault for twenty years. Then Fleischer and Sony dusted it off and finished it. “Venom” feels so out of date and ridiculously nineties you can almost expect the home video release to come with a hologram. That might be due to the character of Venom who looks less like an amorphous sentient Alien organism that creates kind of symbiosis with its host, and more like alien Jello that covers its host and causes trouble. The titular Venom is so random and bafflingly stupid, especially in its basic behavior that varies between mischievous, to downright evil. How do we root for a being who tells the film’s hero “Do what I say or I’ll eat your head”?
Tag Archives: Horror
Nightmares (1983)
Joseph Sargent’s “Nightmares” is one of the more underrated anthology horror films to ever cross the genre and it’s surprising how constantly overlooked it is. While it’s not a masterpiece, it definitely serves up its fair share of strong horror tales. It’s probably because it doesn’t have a mascot like the Creeper or the Cryptkeeper to tell its tales. We’re essentially treated to a pair of glowing eyes in a storm, and hands that open us up to some really creepy tales. “Nightmares” wastes no time with fatty introductions and gets right to the thick of the creeps.
Casper’s Scare School (2006)
I’m not sure whose brain child Kibosh was, but I’m not so sure we needed a villain for Casper. So apparently, there are ghosts, there are friendly ghosts, and there are—uh—bad ghosts? Or super ghosts? In either case, the Casper franchise continues its downward slump in the awfully mediocre “Casper’s Scare School.” This time around Casper best friends with a lonely boy named Jimmy. Jimmy has a big soccer game and Casper is helping him become a great athlete. But after getting scared by Jimmy, Casper’s embarrassment is discovered all over the ghost realm.
House on Haunted Hill (1999): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
William Castle’s “House on Haunted Hill” was a pretty great horror movie that inevitably became a pretty good remake in 1999. When Sam Raimi founded Dark Castle films, his love for William Castle was worn on his sleeve, right down to theatrics of the remake. “House on Haunted Hill” from 1999 does a good job of delivering something new and unique to the premise of the original film, putting twists in the premise, and offering some contemporary thrills that more than make up for the film’s massive short comings, overall. It’s a great Halloween treat; I can at least say that for it.
Ghost Stories (2017) [Blu-Ray]
I have to admit that “Ghost Stories” was something of a surprise this year, because I’m shocked so many people liked it, while I just didn’t. Surely, “Ghost Stories” is a beautifully directed film but it builds on a momentum that it can’t deliver. It seems to be leading up to one big bang, and in the end when that big bang finally arrives, it’s more like a trick gun with the flag that reads “Bam!” The message is also pretty heavy handed and feels tacked on. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s “Ghost Stories” is a beautifully directed film with excellent cinematography, and brilliant sound design, it’s just all glimmer and no substance.
Malevolent (2018)
Netflix’s penchant for premiering “original” movies on their platform is typically hit or miss, and I’m glad that “Malevolent” for the most part is a hit. It’s kind of taken a well worn premise but adds a bit of heart to it, thanks to the very good performances, and atmosphere. “Malevolent” has a very subtle sense of terror behind it, and while it does rely on jump scares every now and then, what keeps the film consistently creepy are the quieter moments, the instances when we’re never quite sure what’s going to pop up behind a door. Director Olaf de Fleur has every chance to fall in to the trap of delivering shock after shock, but “Malevolent” ends up as so much more.
Funny Man (1994)
To say that Simon Sprackler’s “Funny Man” is a bizarre horror film is doing no justice. It is probably one of the most bizarre horror movies I’ve ever seen, and I’m sad to admit I’ve never heard of it until 2018. I’m usually very good about horror movies and slashers, but “Funny Man” jumped right over my head, and I was finally able to see it. I wasn’t so much entertained as I was genuinely baffled most of the time, and I’m not sure if that was a bad thing or not. It’s a good enough horror movie if you’re willing to accept it’s sheer insanity.