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belial-6
Reviews
Cemetery High (1988)
ugh, horrible
Absolutely horrid. Barely any T&A and maybe a hair more Gore than T&A. It wouldn't have been so bad (or noticeable) if it wasn't for that awful Gong and Horn which made it seem like something it wasn't. Much more T&A (as well as comedy) in other flicks such as The Invisible Maniac.
Basket Case (1982)
They dont get much better...
One of the absolute best low-budget horror films ever made. Made in 1982 it's a bit dated, but the special effects are still pretty cool for the time. It really shows the seedy side of New York, much like Taxi Driver did, but Taxi Driver only had Robert Dinero, Basket Case had Belial! A mutated half brother is carried around in a basket by his normal brother taking revenge on the doctors who seperated the two. Nothing like a woman to drive the two brothers apart. It is a MUST see for any true horror fanatic. It's got plenty of gore (especially the surgery scene, if I remember correctly) and is truly a lost classic. But whatever you do, don't watch the sequels! Like many other sequels to horror films trying to cash on the success of the original, they fell short and came close to ruining the image of Belial. The sequels were just about as bad as the Last Chainsaw Masscare sequel, but don't even get me started on that one. Go check out Basket Case and enjoy one of the best horror films you will have ever seen.
Terror Train (1980)
Another cult classic
Another classic from the 80's and starring the 80's scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis. A far cry from the legendary Halloween (I & II) but on par with Prom Night and a heck of a lot better than the Fog, Terror Train is a super slasher film. It's quite basic, no complicating plot lines and is easy to follow making it an enjoyable horror film. What was it about all the great horror films to come out in 1980 (mid/late 70s-early 80s), where have they have?
Friday the 13th (1980)
The one that started it all
Granted Halloween came out 2 years prior, but Friday is in no way a rip-off of Halloween. The plots don't even corrolate other than a 'crazy' person going around killing people, and if you want to get technical about it, then every 'slasher' horror flick is a ripoff of one another going all the back to the birth of horror in movies.
You have a kid who killed his sister in Halloween to go on and age to adult hood and then try and seek out his other sister and kill her, all in one movie. Friday the 13th, Jason is only seen briefly at the end and revolves around his mother seeking revenge for allowing the camp counselors to let her son die while they were busy have sex! Both, at first, are believable plots, a sibling (crazy) wanting to kill his sister, and a mother taking revenge because her son drowned. If we didnt know better, these may be headlines out of a local newspaper. But when it comes right down to it, how many horror films actually have believable plots anyway? And if i wanted something believable I'll go watch documentaries.
It's hard to say how scary Friday was, it has been nearly 20 years! Yet it is synonomous with horror films. That alone should tell you something. Times have changed since 1980, more money is invested into the production of the movie, audience expects wild special effects, but in 1980 that wasnt the case. I wasnt fortunate to see the first friday in the theatres, but when I did see it for the first time, it was scary. Not to mention the fact I was going away to camp during the summers. The scene at the end of the movie forever burns a memory into your mind.
The first one may not have been the scariest or the best, but it's the original, it spawned more direct sequels than any other horror film of its time. Want to see some great horror films, go rent Friday I, II, & III.
Lake Placid (1999)
A good straight-up monster film
All in all it seemed like a remake of the 1980 flick, Alligator, without the urban legend of flushing a baby alligator down the toilet to where it thrives in the sewers and does lunch on the occasional sewer dweller.
While this movie may also be compared to Anaconda, that would be rather unfair. The cast here was much better than those in Anaconda, each of them delivering a good performance of their character and the script well written with plenty of one-liners and quick comebacks that allow for a good laugh while eagerly waiting for the next time for the crocodile to strike. Betty White was truly hilarous! The special effects were much better and overall there was plenty of more action in Lake Placid.
I really liked the movie, I went into it expecting nothing more than a typical 'monster killing people' type of movie and that's pretty much what I got. If you want complicated plot twists or a confusing story line, go see the Matrix or something. If you are happy with a basic slasher film (where the 'slasher' is a creature), go see it. I could have done without the typical romance between the lead actors (Pullman and Fonda), but it seems every movie now adays must incorporate some type of romance. Fortunately, the movie doesnt dwell too long on the romance and remains focused on the 'man vs creature' theme.
Again, I suggest checking this out if nothing for a few good laughs, good special effects, and a straight-up horror film.
And how can you not like a director who manages to get his mentioned in the movie (Paging Dr. Miner, Dr Miner.) Classic.