Black Sunday (1960)

Black Sunday (1960)

Actors:

Barbara Steele, John Richardson & Andrea Checci

Director:

Mario Bava

Runtime:

87 minutes

Plot:

A vengeful witch and her fiendish servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's look a like descendant.

Trailer:

Review:

This movie came highly recommended by a lot of people. This is a classic atmospheric film that made Barbara Steele a Horror Scarlet. Director Mario Bava's finest work as well as his first credited work launching his career. The original title was "The Mask of Satan." Everything about this movie was incredible from the set designs and wardrobe to the lighting. 

This is a MUST SEE for horror fans and is one of the best made horror films to date.

Friday the 13th (2009 Reboot )

Friday the 13th  (2009 Reboot )  

Actors:

Jared Padalecki, Amanda Righetti, Derek Mears

Director:

 Marcus Nispel

Runtime:
1 hr 37 minutes

Plot:

A group of young adults discover a boarded up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.

Trailer:

Review:

This version tells more of the back store of Jason, his mother and even his hockey mask than the original first 3 movies put together. if you read the critic's reviews of this reboot (not actual movie goers) you will see most of them hated it because it was just another "Slasher" film. HELLO it is Friday the 13th, the definition of slasher movies.

With that being said this was one of the many reboots of Horror movies past. Marcus Nispel, director, did a fantastic job retelling Jason's story.  Yes there's a lot of eye candy for both men and women to enjoy in this. Blood, gore everything you need in a horror.

This version whether or not you have seen the original will not disappoint you. The actors can act & special effects are pretty awesome, all in all a great reboot.

Jason goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Jason goes to Hell: The Final Friday  (1993)

Actors:

 John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Kane Hodder

Director: 

Adam Marcus

Runtime:

1 hr 27 minutes

Plot:

We find supernatural psychopath Jason Voorhees returning from the dead to possess the body of a medical coroner.

Trailer:

Review:

While the beginning of this film is kinda cool, Jason explodes you ask yourself if they showed you the movie backwards. No they did not, it is only the beginning of one of the most confusing plot of the series. This movie turns Friday the 13th, our beloved slasher film franchise into a freaky who's possessed by Jason now wtf movie.

 The only way I would recommend that you watch this is if you want to watch the entire series. The only good part of this film is the first 10 minutes.

Jason X (2001)

Jason X (2001)

 

Actors:

Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Jeff Geddis

Director:

 James Isaac

Runtime:

 1 hr 31 minutes

Plot:

 Jason Voorhees returns with a new look, a new machete, and his same murderous attitude as he is awakened on a spaceship in the 25th century. 

Review:

Jason meets SciFi?? The government captures Jason and finds out they cannot kill him, so they cryogenically freeze him. A few hundred years later, scientists find his body along with another female and decide let's defrost them, on a ship in outer space.  Jason starts his killing spree. At one point,  Nanites come into play, yes nanites. 

The effects in this are second rate at best and the plot is weak. This is Jason killing in space with no real plot or storyline. And yet this somehow it is still better than Jason takes Manhattan.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Actors:

Jensen Daggett, Kane Hodder, Todd Caldecott

Director:

Rob Hedden

Runtime:

1 hr 40 minutes

Plot:

A passing boat bound for New York pulls Jason Voorhees along for the ride. Look out New York, here comes hell in a hockey mask.  

Review:

If you watch this franchise for the horror, this movie is not for you. But however it you like to watch it for the humor, this is the one for you. While Freddy and Michael can easily blend into the cityscape, Jason is meant for stalking in the woods not the sidewalks. This is the least horror of all the franchise. I don't recommend this film for a horror watch.

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)

Actors:
Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen

Director:

Tom McLoughlin

Runtime:

1 hr 26 minutes

Plot:
Tommy Jarvis goes to the graveyard to get rid of Jason Voorhees' body once and for all, but inadvertently brings him back to life instead. The newly revived killer once again seeks revenge, and Tommy may be the only one who can defeat him. 

 Trailer:

 Review:  Warning Spoilers!

Tommy (all grown up) just has to make sure Jason is dead on a dark, stormy night, (Jason meets Frankenstein so to speak) and accidently brings him back from the dead with lightening. Did I meantion that Jason has decayed a bit in his coffin? From there the slaughter begins.

Director Tom McLoughlin brung this series back to life after the failure of the part five film. Jason comes back as  unkillable and grosser than ever. As well as going back to the original story line of killing campp counselors. With good effects this makes a good watch and has the best soundtrack of the franchise.

Top 10 Friday the 13th Deaths

Top 10 Friday the 13th Deaths

Normally, I would list these in order of what I thought was their order. This time while I can decide that these are the top 10 of the complete franchise, I have great difficulty picking the order.  So I will list the top 9 in no specific order and at the end list my first and second places.

WARNING! (ADULT CONTENT)

Pamela Voorhees- Friday the 13th (1980)

Eddie -  A New Beginning (1985)

Trey - Freddy vs Jason (2003)

Deborah - Jason Goes to Hell  (1993)

Adrienne - Jason X  ( 2001)

Doug - The Final Chapter (1984)

Amanda - Friday the 13th (2009)

Jason Voorhees - The Final Chapter (1984)

2. Jason Voorhees -(Friday the 13th (2009)

 

1. Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger - Freddy vs Jason ( 2003)

 

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter  (1984)

Actors:

Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton

Director:

Joseph Zito

Runtime:

1hr 31 minutes

Plot:

 After being mortally wounded and taken to the morgue, murderer Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives and embarks on a killing spree as he makes his way back to his home at Camp Crystal Lake.

Trailer:

Review:

 Does Jason Finally meet his match in Little Tommy Jarvis?  This is one of my favorites in the franchise, still a bit campy but a tad step up from the first 3, with a different kind of hero in the end.  Jason is resurrected from his brief stint in the morgue. The gore and blood are turned up for this installment. Special effects are top notch (for its day) done by Tom Savini. The body count reaches a new high and the nudity and sex are on their way up as well. 

If you only see one sequal, The Final Chapter is the one to watch.

Friday the 13th part 2 (1981)

Friday the 13th part 2   (1981)

Actors:

Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey

Director:

Steve Miner

Runtime:

1hr 27 minutes

Plot:

 Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the infamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant. Is it Mrs. Voorhees' son Jason, who did not really drown in the lake some 30 years before? 

Trailer:

Review:

In this film, Jason takes over where Mommy left off, killing everyone that gets in his way. This time it's a camp counselor training center on Crystal Lake. We even get to see the town crazy again. Jason, all grown up, wears a sack over his head, as he has yet to get his mask. And one of the few times in the series you actually see Jason's face.

This is a slasher film through and through that turned Jason into an horror icon.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Actors:

 Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King & Jeannine Taylor

Director:

Sean S. Cunningham

 Runtine:

1 hr 35 minutes

Plot:
A group of camp counselors is stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp which, years before, was the site of a child's drowning. 

Trailer:

 Review:

 This movie sets up the basis for the rest of the series, especially "Freddy vs Jason."

The music is iconic almost everyone knows it or has heard it as one time or another. Most of the kill shots are in the first person camera mode, making sure you don't really know who's killing until toward the end of the movie. The acting isn't bad, but the town crazy might have been a bit over the top. 

Keep in mind that Friday the 13th was a low-budget film. The movie spawned 11 movies including a reboot, which mean Jason's legacy will continue to live in the hearts of horror fans.Paying attention to the details is what I do. that being said, why is there a deadbolt on the inside of the pantry other than giving a character a place to hide?

If you have seen the reboot and not the original, SHAME on you! lol

 

Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh  (1995)

Actors:

Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan & William O'Leary

Director:

Bill Condon

Run time :

1 hour 34 minutes

Plot:

The supernatural serial slayer Candyman returns to stalk the descendents of the family who, a century ago, caused his horrific death and unholy afterlife.

Trailer:

Review:

This is the second of the Candyman series. There is no need to hit on cinemaotgraphy or special effects for this is like the first, both top par. Most of the actorspplayed their part well.

A supernatural slasher story with a back story that the first film did not hit on. This is a solid horror that anyone should see and like.

Castle Freak (1995)

Castle Freak (1995)

Actors:

Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton & Jonathan Fuller

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Run Time:

1 hour 34 minutes

Plot:

A troubled couple and their blind daughter come to Italy to visit a 12th century castle they have inherited. Soon they are plagued by unexplained noises, mysteriously broken object sand  the daughter's claims of an unknown nocturnal visitor to her bedroom. When the housekeeper and a local prostitute and are discovered savagely murdered in the castle's dungeon, John must unlock the castle's secret to save himself from jail and his family from the castle's secret inhabitant. 

Trailer:

Review:

 Jeffrey Combs, plays a normal husband and father with a troubled marriage in this film, quite the opposite from many of the roles he ususally plays or is known for and its rather refreshing to see another side of his acting chops.

 There are some greatly gruesome practial special effects in the horror. If you get squemish this might not be the movie for you. There are not alot of squemish parts but just enough. This is for a select audience only or what I call "an under the covers" watcher. 

While the plot and special effects are fine, this film lacks something to make it great.

My Bloody Valentine (Original vs Remake)

My Bloody Valentine
Original	Remake
1981	2009
Actors: Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier & Neil Affleck	Actors: Jensen Ankles, Jaime King & Kerr Smith
Director: George Mihalka	Director: Patrick Lussier
Run Time: 1hour 30 minutes	Run Time: 1hour 41 Minutes
Comparison: Both films are mindless slasher movies with buckets of gore and blood. The storylines are very different while both having a miner serial killer in town. The original is and will continue to be a cult classic and one of the best in the sub genre of slasher horror films. While the remake, well is forgotten by the wayside. Not for it's cast but for the film itself. I would recommend the original but if you want to see the true difference watch the remake.

Amityville Horror (Original vs Remake)

Amityville Horror
Original	Remake
1979	2005
Actors: James Brolin, Margot Kidder & Rod Steiger	Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George & Jesse James
Director: Stuart Rosenburg	Director: Andrew Douglas
Run Time: 1hour 57 minutes	Run Time: 1hour 30 Minutes
Comparison: Both James Brolin and Ryan Reynolds played the lead role well and they both happen to be smokin' hot in their versions. The original was by far more intense than the remake but that doesn't mean that the remake lacked in any way. You cannot compare the special effects in either film to the other, IMO they were both on point and well done. I prefer the original to the remake for its intensity factor alone.

Halloween (Original vs Remake)

Halloween
Original	Remake
1978	2007
Actors: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis & Tony Mason	Actors: Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane & Scout Taylor-Compton
Director: John Carpenter	Director: Rob Zombie
Run Time: 1hour 31 minutes	Run Time: 1hour 49 Minutes
Comparison: While both versions are well made in their own right, some will have a favorite. Special effects have come a long way since the 70s and while I personally love practical effects more than cgi, the remakes cgi was impressive. The stoylines between the two are similar in many ways and yet so very different, the remake gives more of a background of Michael growing up in a mental hospital. The cast of both films were impressive and cannot be compared. This is one of those you just have to choose for yourself, it's all a matter of taste. I would recommend both versions.

Fright Night (Original vs Remake)

Fright Night
Original	Remake
1985	2011
Actors: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale & Amanda Bearse	Actors: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell & David Tennant
Director: Tom Holland	Director: Craig Gillespie
Run Time: 1hour 46 minutes	Run Time: 1hour 46 Minutes
Acting: I was not impressed with the acting chops in this version. Lack luster casting.	Acting: With the cast being made up of accomplished actors as it is the acting in this one out ranked the original.
Effects: There wasn't really that many effects to   be honest and the few they had were okay.		Effects: Both practical and cgi effects were used in this and well done at that but nothing you haven't seen before.
Intensity: The intensity was lacking in this version, but a lot of mid 80s horror did.		Intensity: Higher than average intensity but not thru the roof.
Review: Hands down over all the Remake wins special effects, better storyline and casting. Over all the remake was a much better movie than the Orginal.

The Fly (Original vs Remake)

The Fly
Original	Remake
1958	1986
Actors: David Hedison, Vincent Price & Patricia Owens	Actors: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis & John Getz
Director: Kurt Newmann	Director: David Cronenburg
Run Time: 1hour 34 minutes	Run Time: 1hour 36 Minutes
Acting: For me was not that impressive as a matter of fact it was ordinary for the 50s & 60s.	Acting: Jeff Goldblum shined in this version and played his role like only he could.
Effects: Not that the 50s had the best special effects but even for it's day this film lacked for quality effects.		Effects: In the 80s, special effects were starting to evolve and this film was (imo) very much in the forefront of that evolution.
Review: While both films had the same basic plot, the storylines itself separate these two movies. To me, there is a clear winner between them, the remake.

Nightmare on Elm Street (Original vs. Remake)

Nightmare on Elm Street
Original	Remake
1984	2010
Actors: Robert Englund, Johhny Depp & Heather Langenkamp	Actors: Jackie Earl Haley, Rooney Mara & Kyle Gallner
Director: Wes Craven	Director: Samuel Bayer
Run Time: 1hour 31 minutes	Run Time: 1hour 35 Minutes
Acting: IMO there will only be one Freddie (Robert Englund), he made this character an Icon. A few young up-incomers ,like Johnny Depp, made the teenagers real.	Acting: Being honest, I have never cared for Jackie Earl Haley and this film shows you why. Other than that we have some namers and up-incomers that for the most part played their roles well.
Effects: In terms of 1984, this film  accomplished wonders in terms of practical  effects.		Effects: Freddie makeup was jacked up plain and simple. A lot of the effects as the original were done via CGI and it shows in not such a good way.
Intensity: 30+ years later this film can still scare  a first time viewer.		Intensity: Not even intense on today's standards. Lack luster horror.
Review: Hands down over all the Original wins with Robert Englund defining the Freddie role, special effects team accomplishing new effects. When the original is this good it's hard to beat or even come close to replicate its success. I personally have been avoiding watching the remake since it's release and would not recommend anyone wasting their time on the remake.

Motel Hell (1980)

Motel Hell (1980)

Actors:

Rory Calhoun, Nancy Parsons  & Nina Axelord

Director:

Kevin Conner

Run time:

1h 41 min

Plot:

Vincent Smith (Rory Calhoun) and his sister Ida (Nancy Parsons) run a rural hotel, but they earn most of their cash operating a food stand that specializes in world-famous sausages. After years of success, however, the duo's upstanding brother, Sheriff Bruce (Paul Linke), eventually discovers the grotesque details of his siblings' booming business: Vincent and Ida are actually plumping up their hotel patrons, killing and dismembering them and then grinding them into frankfurters. 

Trailer:

Review:

A good old fashioned 80s cult classic horror.  This is a comedy as well, you'll laugh with this one. One person described this as "Texas Chainsaw" meets "The Beverly Hillbillies". It has  been underrated by critics but any horror fan will like if not love this film. I'm not saying it doesn't have it's faults but you overlook them.

Highly recommend watching.

Way of the Vampire (2005)

Way of the Vampire (2005)

Actors:

Rhett Giles, Andreas Beckett & Paul Logan

Directors:

 Sarah Nean Bruce, Eduardo Durão

Run time:

1h 22 min

Plot:

 Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is granted immortality by the Catholic Church until he can hunt down the last vampire prince. 

Trailer:

Review:

I am truly shocked that the Aslyum (B movie producction house) put out this bad of quality movie. Lighting, most of the time its fairly bad (its night in the house but daylight comes through the window). Costumes, set and props departments lacked in their jobs: example: old likking house- modern door used,  time when candles were source of light- can see light bulbs in pendeant lights. 

Save your time read the book.