I just wasn’t a fan of “House on Haunted Hill.” William Castle’s utter masterpiece was turned into a Nine Inch Nails video with rapid fire editing, goofy atmosphere, CGI overload, and terrible acting even from Geoffrey Rush. “Return to House on Haunted Hill” was something I really wanted to give a chance. Thankfully, this is not a sequel in name only. This new installment takes place shortly after the ending of the first film where Sara’s (Ali Larter) sister Ariel discovers she’s killed herself after a mental breakdown, and learns of the house where Stephen Price held his party and allegedly went on a murder spree. Cue plot catalyst. Ariel discovers by a professor that there’s an ancient statue of a satanic cult somewhere in the hill house and he wants it. Lo and behold we have a rival group of relic hunters who also want it and will kill anyone for it.
Tag Archives: Mystery
Hollywoodland (2006)
On June 16, 1959, George Reeves committed suicide; which was then later thought to be and is still heavily debated as a murder. This death was important to many people for the simple fact that it was the end of a beloved icon, and one of the earliest people to bring Superman to life. Reeves is also one of the earliest to help fuel the alleged Superman Curse, a series of coincidences later touted and tagged as a black mark on the folks who played Superman, for the sake of selling books. Is it a curse that brought about such bad ends to these men who played Superman? I say no. It was merely a bunch of coincidences that lent credence to the term “Shit happens.”
RL Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)
Sure, by today’s standards, and with my current age, R.L. Stine isn’t so scary anymore. But in case many of you don’t know the name, R.L. Stine is very recognizable to the folks like me who grew up around the time Stine resided in book shelves all over the country. For horror geeks like me, Stine was a gateway drug, he was that first introduction into the horror genre before you came into the hard stuff, and I loved it all. For the teens that could get away with it, he brought us “Fear Street,” a creepier, mature, and violent series of books that had actual stories to them.
Mime (2005)
I guess you could say that this is based on a true story, but then it’s so absurd I truly had a hard time believing. So, I’ll take Balinski’s word for it, in the end. Based on a true story, a young man who poses as a mime goes walking in the park one night, and proceeds to mime killing a passerby. He’s then chased, beaten and put on trial for murder. I can imagine the original proceedings (if there were any) didn’t really go this way, but “Mime” seems as more a lampooning of the proceedings with a clown as one of the jurors, and our lawyers insisting that the victim not speak since he’s technically dead.
Dead Silence: Unrated (2007) (DVD)
Thanks to the advent of “The Twilight Zone,” R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps,” and many other horrific entities, ventriloquist dummies have managed to become a pretty valid specter of fright all of my life. And thankfully, here comes James Wan to further perpetuate the fear of the ventriloquism in all its delights. “Dead Silence” is a film that wasn’t really an easy sell from the first minute. Surely, it starts off eerily enough, but it doesn’t really pick up until the second half. But what it accomplishes are genuine plot twists that only the boys from “Saw” can truly utilize, and man, are there ever plot twists abound, including one that’s a bit over the top, but truly creepy.
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
What helps “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” pave the way as a genuine horror film, is that it’s more content with examining the pure madness of the human mind than it does splashing blood on the walls. Which is not to say there isn’t blood, but the madness of the entire premise is perfectly exemplified thanks to the often desolate set pieces before us. The farm house in which our characters reside, the small town down the road, and even the lake, are all spots that are perfectly maddening and morbid to the story.
Scoop (2006)
After the painfully overrated “Match Point,” I was basically ready to welcome anything else that Allen could offer us. Sadly, going out of New York and onto the UK for his comedy thrillers has worked against Allen, and he’s pretty out of his element, as it becomes apparent with “Scoop.” All essence of genius and life is gone, and every one liner that Allen hurls our way manages to fall flatter and flatter to the point where it becomes rather pathetic. Especially when you consider the fact he’s now resorted to remaking his own movies, with “Scoop” being a loose remake of “Manhattan Murder Mystery.”