The first time I ever saw “Mortal Kombat” was in 1992 when I stopped by a grocery store on the way to school and saw a pair of guys battling one another on the arcade cabinet. Though “Street Fighter 2” was huge, “Mortal Kombat” made its own waves by realistic character models and some of the most vicious video game violence ever conceived in its era. So came the 1995 movie where not even then was there this much babbling about supernatural forces, and tournaments. “The Journey Begins” works overtime to build a mythology from this simple video game, and fails big time. It feels like someone at Threshold Studios were alerted about the upcoming movie and only had about two weeks to build a respectable animated tie-in.
Tag Archives: Supernatural
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
Sam Liu’s “The Judas Contract” is both a sequel to “Justice League vs. Teen Titans,” and an adaptation of perhaps one of the most iconic storylines in comic book history. And, I’ll just say it: The animated series of “Teen Titans” accomplished this storyline so much better. With “The Judas Contract” we’re given literally eighty four minutes to know, understand and empathize with the Teen Titans and perhaps feel a twinge of shock when they’re betrayed by a close ally. With the animated series, we were given so much more build up and time to understand the betrayal of Terra, as well as dodge all the creepy pedophilia overtones between villain Deathstroke and his assistant. The animated series allowed for a lot of build up and when Terra does make her descent in to the dark side it stings so much that even levelheaded Raven begins to shed a tear.
The Pumaman (1980)
Notorious for being mercilessly spoofed by MST3K in one of their best episodes, Alberto De Martino’s “The Pumaman” is an atrocious and pretty awful movie even without the riffing. It’s a movie that increases in quality, however minimal, thanks to the benefit of the trio from the Satellite of Love. It’s an arbitrarily titled Italian fantasy superhero movie about a man given a funky belt that allows him the qualities and powers of a puma. This involves leaping in the air to attack like a puma, slowing down his heart like a puma, uh—flying like a puma, teleporting… like a… puma…? And he even goes so far as donning a cheap excuse for a superhero costume that’s very un-puma like. If funky bellbottoms and a costume color scheme that looks like it was taken from the back of a cab is what you’d envision for a puma-esque (pumatic?) superhero, then this is up your alley.
Kairo/Pulse (2001)
Kyoshi Kurosawa’s “Kairo” is a film dripping in terror that deliberately paces itself as a slow burning end of the world tale. Rather than an all out orgy of gore and carnage, “Pulse” eventually explodes in to something of a last gasp of humanity, and a civilization that ends in a whisper and somber whimper. “Kairo” is written as something of a two act structure where Kurosawa opts for a film that’s episode in the vein of “Pulp Fiction,” and then smashes together in the stunning climax. Much of what we see seems and feels random in many places, and events collide allowing for a cogent unfolding of events that doesn’t just make sense but feels so meticulously planned from square one. What makes “Kairo” so haunting even when the credits have drawn to a close is the way the director opts less for splatter and gore, and more for a requiem that depicts mankind as a stain and nothing more.
The Devil’s Candy (2015)
After buying their dream house in Texas, The Hellmans, a painter, his wife, and their daughter, must face human and supernatural threats. As the father finds an incredible muse and must paint, his daughter and wife deal with lurking dangers.
Written and directed by Sean Byrne, The Devil’s Candy is a strong follow up to his debut feature The Loved Ones, showing that his talent was not fluke and showing that the man can craft a good horror story with truly creepy and even scary elements. Here he creates an interesting family who is traditional in one way and not in others; they are a cool, artsy family with a love to heavy metal. Their differences set them apart from the usual cinematic families who encounter evil in their new homes. Also, the way the evil comes into their lives is original and works well in the film’s context. His characters work well together, giving them more to care about, more to worry about, more to lose. His writing and directing create a film with a family the viewer can identify with and care for. Also, his human antagonist is one that has presence, who oozes creepiness while playing in the potential supernatural angles.
Firestarter (1984): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
If there’s anything that Stephen King loves to write about, it’s powerful children with god-like abilities, and I imagine considering most of his stories connect in to a universe, someone with Danny Torrance’s abilities is married to someone with the abilities from “Firestarter.” Mike Lester’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel is not a masterpiece, but I still insist it’s a fun movie with a good amount of effort behind it. The only thing it really suffers from is being ahead of its time. I imagine were we given a new adaptation “Firestarter” might be a mix of dazzling and disturbing a la “Carrie.” As it is, “Firestarter” is mostly a compelling horror drama about another very powerful young girl who is being hunted by the government.
Don’t Kill It (2016)
A demon has taken over the town of Chickory Creek, Mississippi. As things escalate quickly an FBI agent and a demon hunter arrive in town and are forced to cooperate to save the locals. As the demon jumps from body to body, they must find a way to stop this demon and not become one with it at the same time.