Tag Archives: Monsters

Remembering the “Ghosts of Fear Street” Pilot

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When it comes to children’s television, networks and studios tend to get weird and air specials out of desperation. Often times it’s to test for a potential audience, which is why we got “Legend of the Hawaiian Slammers,” and other times it’s apparently to fill dead air; which is why we got “Ghosts of Fear Street” in 1997. I remember a lot about 1997, and my Friday nights typically was devoted to the scattered remnants of what was once ABC’s TGIF line up. For those final years we didn’t have much save for the last death gasp of “Boy Meets World.” Say what you want about the series, but those last seasons are terrible. There seems to be no record of “Ghosts of Fear Street” ever having existed. Save for some TV listings, and occasional screen caps, this isn’t even included in the resumes of its cast that include the lovely Azura Skye, and Alex Breckinridge, and the always odd Red Buttons.

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Mothman (2010)

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With a B movie like “Mothman,” you can only laugh it off. What keeps the film from really taking off as an effective horror entry is that it’s so painfully derivative of “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Jewel Staite stars as Katharine, a young girl a part of a small group that goes camping. One night during a swim with her friends, they decide to pull a prank on the youngest in the group resulting in an accidental drowning. So frightened are they by this that they decide to cover it up, and pretend it was one big accident. Why?

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Eyes in the Dark (2010)

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Say what you want about the found footage sub-genre, but director Bjorn Anderson smartly takes from “Cloverfield” and builds an intriguing gimmick. Naming his movie “Eyes in the Dark” leads the audience in to a very tightly wound and spooky found footage horror film where a group of hapless individuals wander in to the Cascades and are stalked and hunted by glowing red eyes in the dark. Part of the fun is finding out what the red glowing eyes are, and the mystery of the unknown is a valuable tool that director Anderson implements for his audience.

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Mosquito (1995)

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“You’re living science fact!”

An alien ship crash lands in a swamp in the wilderness. But that’s unimportant–giant mosquitoes! What about the aliens, you say? Who cares? Giant Mosquitoes! It’s too bad we never saw what happened when humans drank alien blood. Do they too become gigantic? I think we deserve an answer. Director Gary Jones’ “Mosquito” is pure mid-nineties STV junk, but damn is it a good time. If you’re going to name a movie “Mosquito” (and it’s not a metaphor) you’d better serve us some giant mosquitoes, and director Jones supplies the goods.

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Animal (2014)

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animal-2014Anything featuring Elizabeth Gillies or Keke Palmer gets my automatic attention, so “Animal” was really an easy sell for me. True, it’s another horror film from Chiller Films, but, you know—Elizabeth Gillies and Keke Palmer. So, I’m willing to compromise. Thankfully “Animal” ends up being a very entertaining and creepy monster in the house horror film that feels like it could have been made in the mid-nineties. That’s by no means a caveat, as Brett Simmons’ “Animal” is a healthy amalgam of “The Descent” and “Feast,” with a hint of “Night of the Living Dead.” Simmons doesn’t try to break the mold. But he doesn’t strive to regurgitate the same old tropes, either.

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Men in Suits (2012)

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Director Frank H. Woodward’s “Men in Suits” is one of the best film related documentaries ever made. It’s an insightful and entertaining look at a rarely covered corner of Hollywood that’s gone unnoticed and uncredited since the beginning of film. “Men in Suits” is a fantastic chronicle of the facet of Hollywood films revolving around men that dress up as monsters for horror, fantasy, and science fiction, and bring to life many of the most iconic and horrific monsters ever put to film. Woodward chronicles how the art form began in the golden age of filmmaking, and has become something of a rare form of performance art in the era where studios are dependent on CGI and polygons.

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Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College (1991)

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ghouliesiiiThis is about as low as sequels go. At least for third rate horror franchises. “Ghoulies” was never sure what the hell it ever wanted to be, and “Goes to College” shows. The third part in the series shows them as nothing more than annoying little monsters that wreak havoc by inflicting pain, though never really murdering anyone. In fact they’re really nothing but third wheels in what feels like a stale campus comedy about prank wars with the Ghoulies attached for a wider audience. Before the ghoulies actually pop out to terrorize people, “Ghoulies Goes to College” watches like a fourth rate “Revenge of the Nerds” wannabe, about two warring frats and their ever lasting prank war.

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