Category: Horror

“American Horror Stories” 5 Episode HULUween Event – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Check out the trailer for American Horror Stories Huluween Event!

Deal me in.

American Horror Stories is a spin-off of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s award-winning hit anthology series American Horror Story. American Horror Stories is an anthology series that will feature a different horror story each episode.

CAST: Michael Imperioli, Henry Winkler, Dyllón Burnside, Debby Ryan, Jeff Hiller, Jessica Barden, Angel Bismark Curiel, Guy Burnet, Victor Garber

“Halloween II” starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence / Z-View

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Halloween II (1981)

Director: Rick Rosenthal

Screenplay: John Carpenter, Debra Hill

Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Lance Guest, Pamela Susan Shoop, Hunter von Leer, Dick Warlock, Leo Rossi, Gloria Gifford, Tawny Moyer, Ana Alicia, Ford Rainey, Cliff Emmich, Nancy Stephens, John Zenda, Catherine Bergstrom and Alan Haufrect.

Tagline: The Nightmare Isn’t Over

The Plot…

At the end of Halloween, Michael Myers escaped after being shot by Dr. Loomis (Pleasence).  Halloween II picks up immediately after this.  Loomis and the police begin searching for Myers.  Laurie Strode (Curtis) is taken to the hospital to treat her injuries.  Michael Myers is also headed to the hospital.  He kills anyone who crosses his path.  Soon he and Laurie Strode’s path’s will cross.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Halloween II is more of a slasher movie than Halloween.

John Carpenter chose not to direct Halloween II.  He was against a sequel, but became involved in order to be paid since the movie was going ahead with or without him.

Although Jamie Lee Curtis receives top billing she has less screen time than Donald Pleasence.  Also since this is more of a slasher film, several other young people get screen time before their deaths.

Halloween II (1981) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Elevation” starring Anthony Mackie is Here!

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The trailer for Elevation starring Anthony Mackie is here.

Deal me in.

Set in the post-apocalyptic Rocky Mountains, a single father and two women venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy. The film stars Anthony Mackie, Morena Baccarin, and Maddie Hasson and is directed by George Nolfi.

Vertical will release the thriller in theaters on November 8, 2024.

“From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996) directed by Robert Rodriguez, written by Quentin Tarantino, starring George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis & Quentin Tarantino / Z-View

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From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, story by Robert Kurtzman

Stars: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Brenda Hillhouse, John Saxon, Marc Lawrence, Kelly Preston, John Hawkes, Greg Nicotero, Robert Rodriguez and Michael Parks.

Tagline: From Quentin Tarantino. From Robert Rodriguez. From Dusk Till Dawn

The Plot…

Seth (Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino) Gecko are bank robbers on the run.  They’re desperate to get to across the border to Mexico.  If they make it, they’ll meet Carlos at a strip club called The Titty Twister.  From there, for a price, they’ll be taken to a sanctuary.

The trip won’t be easy.  Every cop including the Texas Rangers are after them.  There are roadblocks, constant news reports plus Richie is liable to royally screw things up.  Seth is a thief and will kill anyone who attempts to bring him in, but there are lines he won’t cross.  Richie is a sadist, sexual deviant and is an eager killer.

Opportunity presents itself when the Gecko brothers see Jacob Fuller (Keitel) and his two teenage kids, Scott (Liu) and Kate (Lewis) outside their RV.  They kidnap the family and force Jacob to drive them across the border.

Now it’s a short journey to The Titty Twister.  Once there the family will be set free and the brothers will go to sanctuary.  Or so they think.  No one can imagine the horrors that await.  Not everyone will survive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I love how From Dusk Till Dawn morphs from a crime flick to a horror movie.

There are movie easter eggs throughout the film.  Earl McGraw (Michael Parks) appears here and in Kill Bill, Planet Terror and Death Proof.  Big Kahuna Burgers, made famous in Pulp Fiction (and later Death Proof) show up.  A Precinct 13 shirt worn by Scott is a reference to John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13.  The crotch-gun that Sex Machine uses was also seen in Rodriguez’s film Desperado. Chango Beer seen in this film was also a beverage in Desperado.

Cheech Marin plays three roles in the film: a border patrol agent, the barker at The Titty Twister and Carlos.

From Dusk Till Dawn fits in perfectly with Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grindhouse double feature… instead make it a triple feature that would run from, uh, dusk till dawn.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Organ Trail” (2023) starring Zoé De Grand Maison and Clé Bennett / Z-View

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Organ Trail (2023)

Director: Michael Patrick Jann

Screenplay: Megan Turner

Stars: Zoé De Grand Maison, Lisa LoCicero, Olivia Grace Applegate, Sam Trammell, Nicholas Logan, Michael Abbott Jr., Alejandro Akara, Clé Bennett, Jessica Frances Dukes and Thomas Lennon.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The year is 1870.  The Archer family, Abraham, Celeste, and their teenage children, Tobias and Abby are traveling across the frontier in a covered wagon.  One evening they come across a massacre.  Everyone except a young woman named Cassidy has been brutally murdered.  The Archers treat Cassidy’s wounds and tell her she can travel with them.

Late that night, the four murderers, Logan, Rhys, Brody, and Felix return.  They kill everyone in the Archer family except Abby.  It turns out Cassidy is with the four men.  Abby is bound and taken to a deserted ghost town.  It is the base of operations for the killers.  They routinely use Cassidy to slow down travelers who they then kill and rob.  Cassidy’s injuries were because she tried to escape the men.

The men are sadistic, perverted killers.  Now they have two women to use as bait on unsuspecting travelers. Abby realizes that escape is unlikely and will likely result in her death.

Abby plans to leave the first chance she gets.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Organ Trail is western/horror mashup.

Zoé De Grand Maison and Clé Bennett are both new actors to me.  I will be keeping an eye out for their future performances.  They were excellent.

Nicholas Logan once again makes an excellent scary bad guy.

Organ Trail (2023) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Sinners” directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Check out the poster and trailer for Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan.

I cannot remember the last time a trailer had me this hyped to see a film.

Deal me in.

A new vision of fear from director Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. #SinnersMovie – Only in theaters March 7. #ShotWithIMAXFilmCameras

From Ryan Coogler — director of “Black Panther” and “Creed” — and starring Michael B. Jordan comes a new vision of fear: “Sinners.”

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Coogler, “Sinners” stars Jordan (the “Black Panther” and “Creed” franchises) in a dual role, joined by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (“Bumblebee,” “True Grit”), Jack O’Connell (“Ferrari”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Passenger”), Jayme Lawson (“The Woman King”), Omar Benson Miller (“True Lies”) and Delroy Lindo (“Da 5 Bloods”).

The film is produced by Coogler and frequent collaborators Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. The executive producers are Ludwig Göransson, Will Greenfield and Rebecca Cho.

Coogler’s behind-the-camera artisans include his “Black Panther” franchise collaborators: director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler, editor Michael P. Shawver, Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, and Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents A Proximity Media Production, A Ryan Coogler Film: “Sinners.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, in theaters only nationwide on March 7, 2025, and internationally beginning March 2025.

“Eyes Without a Face” (1960) / Z-View

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Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Director: Georges Franju

Screenplay: Boileau-Narcejac, Jean Redon, Claude Sautet; dialogue by Pierre Gascar; based on Les Yeux sans visage by Jean Redon

Stars:  Pierre Brasseur; Alida Valli; Juliette Mayniel; Alexandre Rignault; Béatrice Altariba; François Guérin and Édith Scob.

Tagline: Beautiful women were the victims of his FIENDISH FACIALS!!!

The Plot…

Dr. Génessier is a brilliant surgeon.  His work with skin grafts is cutting edge.  When Génessier causes an accident that destroys his adult daughter’s face, he is determined to repair it with skin grafts.  But to do that he will need young women’s faces!

When women begin disappearing, the police are baffled… until…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Eyes Without a Face was not well received when first released.  Over the years it has become a cult classic.

Eyes Without a Face is a stylish horror film with a nightmarish quality.

Eyes Without a Face (1960) rates 4 of 5 stars.