In the eighties, Hulk Hogan was a titan who stood tall in influence and adoration alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the age of the cold car, Hogan is the hero America wanted. He was blond, large, charismatic, heroic, and garnered a handlebar mustache that made him look like a buff trucker fighting for the country. “No Holds Barred” perfectly demonstrates why Hogan was such a force in the sports world, with a charismatic performance in an otherwise goofy movie.
One thing Lars Von Trier makes it apparent from the outset is that the sex in his epic tale of a nymphomaniac named Joe is never erotic. It’s ugly, uncomfortable, weird, funny, disgusting, and surreal. But never erotic. He begins the tale of her discovering her sexuality as a toddler, and then explores her pre-pubescent obsession with her “sensations” between her legs and the tricky methods she implemented to experience them, and then recalls the awkward encounter where she lost her virginity to a local boy that garnered immense pain and unusual emotions.
If there’s anything really good I can say about “Nurse 3D” is that you certainly won’t be bored. Will you be entertained? Well, that’s debatable, but bored? Likely not. I certainly wasn’t bored through “Nurse 3D.” Granted, it’s one of those so bad it’s good exploitation horror movies, but it’s definitely a good time, and kept me watching from minute one. It also has its fair share of gorgeous women including Paz De La Huerta, and Katrina Bowden. Broken down objectively, director Douglas Aarniokoski’s “Nurse 3D” is simply just another obsession horror film, but takes the formula and completely drops it on its head. Director Douglas Aarniokoski films the story in a pulpy glossy lens, that makes the film feel like a neo-noir horror comedy very detracted from reality.
In “Nebraska,” Woody Grant is convinced that he’s won a million dollars. So convinced is he that he’s won, that soon everyone begins to believe it. What were once old friends, are now people intent on collecting a debt from him, while old relatives come knocking at his door asking for a hand out. Woody Grant is known as the town degenerate, a man who lived life as a loser and will die a loser, only when he perceives himself as a winner, do people begin to believe he is, and try to exploit that.
It’s ridiculous how great director Bryan Trenchard-Smith’s sequel to “Night of the Demons” is. Smith doesn’t just take Kevin Tenney’s story and run with it, but he ups the ante by adding mythology, giving Angela a larger persona as the series’ official villain, and has a damn good time. And how bad ass is Jennifer Rhodes as film heroine Sister Gloria, an uptight nun whose own religious devotion becomes the only thing that can stop Angela’s reign of terror?
Director Kevin Tenney loves Halloween, and it’s never made more clearly than during the “Night of the Demons.” The 1988 horror film is still a fun and hilarious horror comedy that doesn’t just embrace its horror tropes, but celebrates Halloween as a whole. From the pumpkin in the opening shot to the book end sub-plots involving a crabby old man preparing for trick or treaters, “Night of the Demons” is a perfect film for a Halloween party, and just a downright fantastic summary of why the eighties were such an unabashed festival of novelties for the horror genre.
Movie three and I’m still not sure about what Hull house is, or why it hasn’t been torn down yet by the city. We know it’s built to keep out demons, and we know a man is accused of slaughtering his entire family (all of whom likely possessed by demons), but beyond that we’re not given anymore information. There’s still a lot of material to be mined from the concept, but director Jimmy Kaufman is mainly here to bring us through the motions. Angela is back, and she’s preparing another Halloween party for demonic minions. That’s about it, and that’s all we’re really getting for this final outing. Unlike the second film, Kaufman doesn’t do much with Kevin Tenney’s original premise.