ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 7, 1995 By Steve Newton Highlander and Backdraft screenwriter Gregory Widen forgot one very important thing when he set about making his directorial debut with the supernatural horror flick The Prophecy. He forgot that when people are watching movies depicting the supreme struggle between good and evil—heaven and … Continue reading Horror review: The Prophecy
Category: scary movies
Horror review: Lord of Illusions
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 31, 1995 By Steve Newton Clive Barker is the ultimate lord of self-delusion if he believes that Lord of Illusions—which he wrote, directed, and coproduced—is going to help the film career that took a nosedive five years ago with the nonsensical and inept Nightbreed. That flick, like Barker’s … Continue reading Horror review: Lord of Illusions
Horror review: Species
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 13, 1995 By Steve Newton Somebody should have told the makers of Species that if they’re gonna blatantly rip off other movies, they should at least do it right. It’s obvious—from the H.R. Giger–designed creature right on down to the glowing, thin-lettered logo—that the folks behind Species took … Continue reading Horror review: Species
Horror review: Village of the Damned
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 4, 1995 By Steve Newton It’s hard being a proud horror fan in 1995, when movies based on the works of genre kings Dean Koontz and Clive Barker turn out to be as lame as Hideaway and Candyman 2, respectively. Then you’ve got former terror titan Tobe (Poltergeist) … Continue reading Horror review: Village of the Damned
Horror review: The Mangler
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 6, 1995 By Steve Newton The fear of being mangled by machinery is a powerful one, indeed. Of course, not everyone suffers the daily risk of being sucked into a threshing machine, but the potential for physical harm is always there. Say the electric lawn mower gets clogged … Continue reading Horror review: The Mangler
Horror review: Hideaway
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 9, 1995 By Steve Newton Before actually seeing Hideaway, I had mixed feelings about the potential of this Vancouver-made thriller. On the positive side, I was a big fan of both star Jeff Goldblum and the Dean R. Koontz novel on which the film is based. But I … Continue reading Horror review: Hideaway
Horror review: Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 19, 1995 Take equal parts Night of the Living Dead and Aliens. Mix thoroughly with generous doses of sick humour and state-of-the-art gore. Toss in one shot of kinky sex and a few dozen naked breasts. Flavour with a thrashy metal soundtrack. Colour with a garish, comic book–style … Continue reading Horror review: Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight
Discriminating horror fans and Stephen King freaks needn’t bother with Needful Things
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 27, 1993 By Steve Newton “Hollywood North” has been quite a hotbed for horror films in the past few years. But whether it’s a direct-to-video gorefest (The Resurrected), theatrically released slasher entry (Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan), or big-budget TV miniseries (Stephen King’s IT), there has been nothing … Continue reading Discriminating horror fans and Stephen King freaks needn’t bother with Needful Things
Jason Goes to Hell and takes the audience with him in what surely isn’t The Final Friday
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 19, 1993 By Steve Newton I’ll never forget the time I saw Friday the 13th: Part 2 at the grand old Paramount Theatre in Chilliwack back in ’81. It was the first low-budget slasher flick I’d seen on the big screen, and, mindless and exploitative as it was, it scared the … Continue reading Jason Goes to Hell and takes the audience with him in what surely isn’t The Final Friday
Horror review: Army of Darkness
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 25, 1993 By Steve Newton Sam Raimi, the imaginative director who turned the horror world on its ear with 1983’s shocking cult hit Evil Dead—and then did it again by remaking that film on a bigger budget and calling it Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn—has achieved one … Continue reading Horror review: Army of Darkness
Children of the Corn II is so despicable it makes the lowly original look good
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 10, 1993 By Steve Newton The previous movie “based on a short story by Stephen King”, 1992’s The Lawnmower Man, bears so little resemblance to anything King wrote that the horror master belatedly sued to get his name separated from the film. The latest flick spawned by one of King’s short … Continue reading Children of the Corn II is so despicable it makes the lowly original look good
Horror review: Hellraiser III–Hell on Earth
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 12, 1992 By Steve Newton In 1987, the mind of multi-talented British horror icon Clive Barker graced the screen with the formidable presence of Pinhead, the refined leader of a gang of sado-masochistic demons from hell. As played by veteran stage actor Doug Bradley, Pinhead was evil personified, … Continue reading Horror review: Hellraiser III–Hell on Earth
Horror review: Dr. Giggles
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 29, 1992 By Steve Newton Out of Africa and Driving Miss Daisy are fine films, I’m sure, but every once in a while that old dark side of the mind requires a dose of the truly sick and twisted to make one appreciate the finer things in life. … Continue reading Horror review: Dr. Giggles