Welcome to another opportunity of mine to return to past horrors, and honestly I am watching these movies and reading the reviews, and while sometimes I do still agree with my assessment there are those films with which I tend to reflect with a negative view. It might be due to my increasing knowledge of the genre and coincidentally the subgenres and learning of the techniques that independent filmmakers often take to enhance their features with limited funds. Regardless, the adventure is fun mainly because of the memories.
Island Zero [2018]
SUMMARY: A fishing community on a remote Maine island finds itself suddenly cut off from the rest of the world after the ferry stops coming. When people start to vanish, the terrified survivors realize that someone – or something – is hunting them.
WHEN I SAW IT DATE: May/June 2018
THE IMDB RATE AT TIME OF REV: 4.2/10
MY RATE THEN: 4.0/10
HAS MY VIEW CHANGE: Actually, it has improved, if I saw this film now I would change my rate to 4.5, the reasoning likely point to what was accomplished with the limited budget, how the filmmakers achieve interesting terror through intriguing scenarios. It generates some decent aquatic terror with a good atmosphere, however that ending, is more of a shrug than a lasting grin.
***** ***** *****
Return to Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1 [2013]
SUMMARY: When the other students begin to undergo mutations, a lesbian couple must solve the mystery and save Tromaville High School.
WHEN I SAW IT DATE: This isn’t actually straight-forward, I originally saw at the Bizarre AC, which was held at the Tropicana, in Atlantic City, NJ on Friday, December 13, 2013, then again as a refresher in May/June 2017.
THE IMDB RATE AT TIME OF REV: 5.6/10
MY RATE THEN: 5.5/10
HAS MY VIEW CHANGE: Yes, it has it is now 4.5 and that is more based on history of viewing Troma material as a teen than an actually a movie. The film has inane actions, dreadful stereotypes, god awful dialog, lame jokes, and yet Lloyd Kaufman understands his core audience he isn’t going to give high-brow horror, nothing in the terms of The Final Countdown [1980] just an updated return to one his best franchises named Nuke ‘Em High, like the second best compare to Toxie Avenger. Honesty, Missing the mark of a true b-movie quality and standard.
***** ***** *****
Blood Slaughter Massacre [2013]
SUMMARY: 10 years ago, Officer James Fincher narrowly escaped being killed at the hands of a masked maniac. Now a Detective, a new string of murders has begun in Havenwood. Has the Ripper returned?
WHEN I SAW IT DATE: Sometime in 2014.
THE IMDB RATE AT TIME OF REV: 3.6/10
MY RATE THEN: 5.0/10
HAS MY VIEW CHANGE: Yes, sadly it has lowered to 4.5/10, this isn’t because the IMDb rating also dropped, to a flat 3.0 rather it has been 10-years and my understanding on film structure has changed greatly; while the film contains an enormous amount of violence and gore, enough to satisfy any gorehound or splaterpunk both which I won’t deny, I seek more nowadays, Perhaps that’s where loyalty is tested have firm footing in what I like in the slasher realm but now seeking the psychological tension filling films. Yes, the movie has plenty of homage built into it, with nods to Friday the 13th [1980] and Madman [1981] the plus is good character construction the negative the story is weak and struggles to hold laying that to the dialog with seemingly too overindulging. Best to show then tell, a prime example Psycho [1960] it isn’t to the end that learn why Norman Kills or in The Thing [1982] we are shown the genetic simulation of how fast the ‘orgasm’ will take to consume and replicate the human host.
***** ***** *****
It Came from Outer Space [1953]
SUMMARY: A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.
WHEN I SAW IT DATE: Several times over numerous dates.
THE IMDB RATE AT TIME OF REV: 6.6/10
MY RATE THEN: 6.0/10
HAS MY VIEW CHANGE: No, I still find it interesting that movie has a cult following, I think it also has warning of dread in the line that states they’ll (aliens) will be back, an ominous tone that could imply a dangerous tone. Aside from that the film still holds well with the sci-fi fans, with good precursor to Close Encounters to the Third Kind, and solid script that encourages thoughtful discussions afterwards. One should note, to read the Ray Bradbury short story “The Meteor” as the movie adapted slightly from this tale as well capturing the moody qualities and small-town mindsets of yesteryear with Richard Carlson (Creature From the Black Lagoon [1954]) carrying a majority of the film doing a fine performance.
***** ***** *****
A Haunting at Silver Falls [2013]
SUMMARY: A small town is haunted by the twin daughters of a wrongfully convicted man. Young Jordan is sent down the path to who the real killer is, only to find the killer is very close to her.
WHEN I SAW IT DATE: May/June 2014
THE IMDB RATE AT TIME OF REV: 4.8/10
MY RATE THEN: 4.5/10
HAS MY VIEW CHANGE: No, it’s still the same, in fact the IMDb rating hasn’t change either, and one just has to ignore the box cover art as it much more involve storyline than that, it generates the goal of delivering a well-balanced psychological terror but on a small independent scale, but not quite to a b-movie level. For some this is a good haunting tale for stormy late night adventurers, not a lot of waste of screen time, works to keep a well-paced film to entertain a viewer.
***** ****** ******
Well, I hope you all enjoyed that trip down memory lane and join me again when I revisit movies the good and bad for June of 2023.