Film Review: MADHOUSE (1981)

Madhouse (1981) is another one of those movies with an evil twin that saw no shortage in the ‘80s and ‘90s but this one happens to be one of the better ones.  In this film Julia Sullivan (Patricia Mickey) is a teacher of deaf children whose birthday is coming up.  Unfortunately, her disfigured and crazy sister who has been in a mental institution breaks out in order to crash her surprise birthday party.  There are elements of The Omen (1976) with the almost demonic dog in the film, as well as elements of Happy Birthday To Me (1981) but the film stands on its own with the strong performances from Mickey and the rest of the cast.

Writer/Director Ovidio G. Assonitis does a great job in creating atmosphere and suspense in what some would consider more a thriller than a straight slasher film but when people get killed, they really meet a gory demise especially in terms of the dog attacks.  Roberto D’Ettorro Piazzoli’s cinematography is amazing as he creates a character out of the location which creates a creepy atmosphere when there is little violence in the film.

For slasher and horror fans looking for a good ‘80s film that still holds up, Madhouse is one of those few.

Film Review: BLOOD RAGE (1987)

A product of the ‘80s, Blood Rage (1987) is one of those slasher films that you either love or your hate but if you saw it when it was released then you’re probably of the group that love it.  Having (finally) gotten around to seeing the film after years of hearing about it, I’m of the “indifferent” group in my opinion in regards to this film.

Twins Todd and Terry are so much alike except that one of them as a murderous fiend.  As a child Terry kills someone and frames his brother Todd who is put in an institution for ten years.  Terry in the meanwhile grows up a seemingly normal child and a jock beloved by his school peers but when Todd breaks out of the hospital on Thanksgiving Terry gets back into his murderous ways in order to cover up secrets…or just because he likes to kill people.

Mark Soper gets the chance to be two uniquely different characters as Todd and Terry which is the highlight of the film.  The kills are not all that creative but this is a derivative of ‘80s slasher films and by ’87 most audiences had seen everything and there were so many other films with better makeup FX. 

Bruce Rubin does the best he can with the screenplay as does John Grissmer as director but the film lacks its own unique style that differentiates it from the other ‘80s slasher films which is why this film hasn’t reached greater status.  This remains a curiosity for slasher fans but pretty much for everyone else it’s just a highly forgettable film.

Film Review: THE FOREST (2016)

Sara (Natalie Dormer) goes to Japan to Aokigahara Forest in search of her twin sister Jess who has gone missing and presumed dead.  She soon learns that her sister Jess ventured into Japan’s so-called “Suicide Forest”, a place where people go to commit suicide.  This is the premise for The Forest (2016) which is the first major American film to take a look at the infamous real life place.

Sara refuses to believe that her sister committed suicide and ventures to Japan to find her sister even if no one else will help her.  She eventually convinces Rob (Eoin Macken), in Japan on assignment, to help her into the forest but when she refuses to listen to the advice of her guide to not spend the night in the forest and not to venture off the path, she starts to experience haunting visions that start to drive her mad and question her own sanity.  Soon she finds herself lost and with no way of finding herself back on the right path as the forest itself seems to close in on her and she can’t decide what is real and what is a living nightmare.

Written by Nick Antosca, Sarah Cornwell, and Ben Keith there is an interesting premise to the film but the concept relies too much on the jump scare and your typical supernatural horror film tropes.  It’s actually quite a well written film except you can tell that test screenings probably didn’t go over well and because of the slow build up.  The jump scares (and there are many) were probably added after the fact.  Without the jump scares the film would have been a moody and atmospheric and very effective but instead it’s just a mediocre film with a great concept that hopefully someone else will explore again.

Film Review: JACK’S BACK (1988)

It seems that there is a new serial killer in the Los Angeles area and he’s modeling his kills after the infamous Jack the Ripper killings from a hundred year ago.  This is the premise for the thriller Jack’s Back (1988) which stars James Spader as twin brothers John and Rick Wesford.  It seems that Rick’s brother John committed suicide and was the new Jack the Ripper serial killer.  This isn’t possible as Rick had a nightmare of this brother being hanged by an unknown man; he believes that his brother was killed and framed and will stop at nothing to find the person responsible.  He finds help in a co-worker of his brother by the name of Chris Moscari (Cynthia Gibb) and together they seek to discover the truth before the cops and the real killer get a hold of Rick. 

Jack’s Back is a tight mystery and suspense thriller with a strong yet subtle performance by Spader (which he was known for in the ‘80s and early ‘90s).  There is not much differentiation between the two brothers but that okay because even this early in his career Spader has an undeniable star presence and carries the whole film.  Written and directed by Rowdy Herrington this is a concise and straight forward thriller (similar to his Striking Distance – 1993 and A Murder of Crows – 1998).

This film ages better than most thrillers of this time period as Jack the Ripper is always a topical subject for films but it lacks the wham-bang punch of more modern thrillers (which I actually like the film more for) and may seem more passé to modern audiences.  Regardless, it remains a gem of Spader’s earlier exploits as an actor and that right there elevates it above the other cannon fodder.