I’ll be the first to admit that I have never been a fan of Wes Craven’s “Last House on the Left” despite its legacy. I respect it for it becoming a platform for Craven but otherwise it was a fairy dull movie that squanders a good premise. Plus I could never get over the comedic sub-plot involving the pair of deputies. Dennis Illiadis completely remakes “Last House” in to the revenge picture that I was originally hoping for. In doing this he side steps about a quarter of the rape and torture, and amps up the revenge plot involving the pair of parents that are outnumbered but not outwitted.
Tag Archives: Wes Craven
Swamp Thing (1982): MVD Rewind LaserVision Collection [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
It’s too bad that in Wes Craven’s long and storied filmmaking career that “Swamp Thing” is the movie that’s aged the worst. It seemed like a slam dunk for the director, but his approach toward “Swamp Thing” never quite rises above niche horror camp. Even when adapting the source material as straight faced as possible, “Swamp Thing” is really never great as, say, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and that’s probably because the movie itself jumps back and forth in tone and aesthetic. It goes from cheesy monster movie to an attempt at a Beauty and the Beast tale. It garners clear moments of pure camp and then tries to offer allegories on God complex drawing obvious influence from “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”
Five More Great Minority Movie Heroes (to Root For)
It’s Black History Month once again, and in celebration of the month, I thought it’d be a great time to continue our saga of Great Minority Movie Heroes. With diversity becoming more prominent in modern pop culture, we’re witnessing an influx of people of color leading epic sagas, and fighting evil. I, for one, am enjoying it. Here are five more Great Minority Movie Heroes you can root for.
Now That You’ve Seen “M3GAN,” Watch These Five Films
Thankfully “M3GAN” has managed to live up to the hype it built throughout 2022, and has managed to also accumulate a strong slew of positive reviews and quite the profit at the box office. With a sequel underway, you probably can’t wait until the follow up. So if you have an appetite for more robots gone amok entertainment, here are five great movies that feature killer robots, haywire AI, and deadly androids that will keep you comfy until M3GAN 2.0 (?).
We Don’t Talk About Tatum Enough
Most recently I was discussing the “Scream” movie series with someone online, and while discussing Tatum Riley, they made the statement that she literally contributes nothing to “Scream.” I completely disagreed. Not only is Tatum Riley a major contributor to the fate (and genesis) of Sydney Prescott, but she’s easily the most important character of the first “Scream,” barnone.
Don’t Fall Asleep – My Five Favorite Freddy Kruger Moments
This year “A Nightmare on Elm Street” celebrated its 35th anniversary, the highly influential slasher film became the quintessential horror movie series of the eighties, turning Freddy Krueger in to one of the most recognizable villains in horror movie history. You wouldn’t think a scarred undead child molester and murderer with claw hands who takes perverse delight in haunting teens would become a mascot for the eighties, but you’d be shocked. Krueger was incredibly popular in the eighties, arguably more than Jason Voorhees, and I say that as someone who favors Jason. In either case, these are five of my favorite Freddy Krueger moments where he wrought havoc on unsuspecting Elm Street kids and was at his most sadistic.
Five Bogeymen Who Might Be Related to Freddy Krueger
If you’ve ever seen the series “Freddy’s Nightmares” (Trust me, don’t, it’s awful), then it’s verified in various episodes that Freddy Krueger isn’t the only dream demon out there. In fact he’s one of many, and there are other types of demons that can haunt our dreams and our subconscious. In either case, I was thinking about the slew of horror movie monsters out there introduced since Krueger hit the movies in the eighties and wondered what other boogey men could perhaps be a part of Freddy’s world, or from his lineage. Here are five monsters that I think could be related to Freddy Krueger.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977): Deluxe Edition [Blu-Ray]
Wes Craven’s survival horror film is a bit rough around the edges in terms of editing and acting, but that’s also why it’s so stark and creepy. It’s a gritty and grimy film much like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and its tone lends it something of a semi-documentary aesthetic. Everything, right down to the final shot feels so probable and possible of happening in this universe. It’s the destruction of the nuclear family by the ultimate clan of what society would normally deem the antithesis of the traditional family. Not to mention it’s the society cannibalizing one another right down to the very last man. I initially didn’t enjoy “The Hills Have Eyes” when I saw it a decade ago, but watching it again has allowed me to really enjoy what Craven intended and how soaked in dread and violence it is.