Film Review: DEMONWARP (1988)

The ‘80s were an amazing type for the horror genre as there was no one particular subgenre that dominated any other.  Between the slasher films, the mutated monster films, and the psychological film there was also room for the occasional alien horror film of which Demonwarp (1988) can partially be included.  The film starts off with a Priest witnessing a space craft crash land.  It’s not until years later that the ramifications are truly felt. 

Bill Crafton (George Kennedy) and his daughter are enjoying a nice day in their cabin (that they rented) in the middle of the woods when they are attacked by a Bigfoot Monster which knocks him unconscious and abducts her.   Crafton then vows to find and kill the monster at any cost.  Several months later Jack Bergman (David Michael O’Neil) and his friends go to this same cabin which is uncle owns to search for his uncle who has been missing for almost a year.  It seems that there have been many disappearances in these woods of which Jack and his friends quickly realize when the Bigfoot Monster appears abducting one of his friends and killing another.  Not only that but this monster has also torn apart their car and stolen particular items from the house; it appears that this monster is intelligent.  Now Jack and his surviving friends must find a way out of the woods before the monster comes back but there are more strange things going on in these woods than just a Bigfoot monster as they encounter dead bodies and bones and victims of the monster now turned into zombies.

Kennedy was a major fixture in horror films in the ‘80s with Death Ship (1980), Just Before Dawn (1981), Wacko (1982), Creepshow 2 (1987), Uninvited (1988) and The Terror Within (1989), to name a few.  He was a big influence for my love of ‘80s horror films but he is given little to do in this film.  The best thing about Kennedy is that he always brings his “A” game whereas much of the rest of the cast is pretty much throwaway especially since they don’t do much for most of the running time of the film.  It’s your typical ‘80s horror film where people get killed one-by-one and a few extra people are thrown in to add more victims.  By the time the film actually gets to presenting more of the obscure ideas of the third act it may too much too late.  Regardless, it’s still an interesting little oddity of the ‘80s that reminds us just how crazy that decade in horror really was.

Film Review: TERROR TRAP (2010)

It is no secret that the horror industry relies on the popularity of its cult actors to help promote and guide the production of low budget horror films.  Actors such as Michael Madsen – starring in Piranhaconda (2012), Highway to Hell (2012), The Tomb (2009) and The Bleeding (2009), to name a few, and Jeff Fahey – starring in Tornado Warning (2012), Locusts: The 8^th Plague (2005), The Sacred (2012), and Sushi Girl (2012), to name a few, have been the only reason why some films have ever been made much less watched by an audience.  Madsen and Fahey are just two of these cult icons which also includes the names of Lance Henricksen, Tony Todd, C. Thomas Howell, William Forsythe, Vinnie Jones, Marc Singer, and Danny Trejo, to name a few.  In Terror Trap (2010) we get two cult icons for the price of one with Madsen and Fahey chewing up scenery.

Dan (David James Elliott) and his wife Nancy (Heather Marie Marsden) are having relationship problems and driving home through the country side when they are forced off the road by another car.  Stranded, Dan and Nancy call for help which arrives in the form of country police office Cleveland (Fahey) who takes the couple to a nearby motel until their car can be towed the next morning.  Unbeknownst to Dan and Nancy they are about to become part of an elaborate stalk and kill game in which they will be hunted by a gang of masked assailants for the pleasure of a watching audience.

If you’ve seen the film Vacancy (2007) then there is nothing new here that you haven’t already seen before because this is a low budget version of that film but with unlikeable characters and horrible acting and characters doing dumb things because they are dumb characters that have nothing else to do.  Fahey chews scenery like no one else and seems to be having a good time at it but Madsen is his usual stoic self and adds nothing to the film.  If you enjoy these two actors then this film will at least be a curiosity but other than that this is a film not worth even checking out.  Just watch Vacancy again.

Book Review: BROKEN MIRRORS/BROKEN MINDS: THE DARK DREAMS OF DARIO ARGENTO by Maitland McDonagh

There have been many books written about the “Italian Hitchcock” Dario Argento but none as in depth and interesting as Maitland McDonagh’s Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento which has resurfaced in a new Expanded Edition.  Most “normal” film goers know of Argento mostly as the so-called “Italian Hitchcock” by way of his giallo thrillers Deep Red (1976), The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970), and Tenebrae (1982) but horror fans know him best for his Susperia (1977), Inferno (1980), and Opera (1987).  His style is unlike any other director (in fact, his style is nothing like Alfred Hitchcock) and he rarely ever repeats himself instead seeking out new ways to terrorize his audiences which is probably why his more contemporary films have not been well received, such as The Phantom of the Opera (1998), The Card Player (), Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005) or Giallo (2009).

McDonagh’s book delves deep into each of Argento’s film in an academic way breaking down each film and analyzing them not just in terms of their individual merits but as part of Argento’s overall filmography.  McDonagh has a writing style that masks what could have easily been another academic study into a book that even the most casual reader will be able to understand and enjoy which is probably why it has been such a popular book since its original publication.  Despite all the other books out there about Argento this is the one that is chiefly concerned with his films and therefore is a great doorway into understanding not only the films but the film maker himself in terms of his films.

For film enthusiasts this is a book that needs to be added to your library and book shelf.     Despite the fact that the book ends at covering Argento’s Trauma (1992) McDonagh’s new Introduction for the Expanded Edition allows for a unique look at all Argento’s films current.  Also contained within the book is an interview with Argento himself (from 1985) as well as a plethora of photos, posters, and other media to fill out the massive book.  If you want to know anything about Argento’s films you can’t do any better than this book.