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Crash Analysis: RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE (Finland/Norway/France/Sweden, 2010)
The Best Holiday Horror of All Time One strong story from start to Finnish… I had put off RARE EXPORTS long enough. After all, Christmas horrors are usually nothing but slashtastic misadventures, and I wasn’t in the mood for another run of the mill tale about a wingnut in a Santa suit wielding an ax…
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Crash Analysis: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (Italy/USA, 1964) – My 1,500th Horror Movie
Isolation and hopelessness leads to suicide by vampire Waiting to die Writer Richard Matheson thought the Grand Guignol, Vincent Price was miscast for the role of Dr. Robert Morgan, but the actor captured the essence of a man with truly nothing to live for, which mirrored his role as THE FALL OF THE HOUSE…
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Crash Analysis: Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Homewreaking disappointment Teen discovers next door neighbor kid’s messed in the head Oren Peli’s PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007) rocked theatres, and brought found footage to a new level. Afterward, the guy who spent $15,000 on his dream feature earned an office at Paramount, and his franchise was born. Sadly, the second installment took a disappointing dive,…
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Crash Analysis: SINISTER (2012)
Smart to derivative in three acts Egomaniacal writer endangers family SINISTER had such promise: A strong beginning, relatable yet interesting characters, great dialogue, Ethan Hawke’s spot-on acting, and some rock solid, if not disturbing intrigue. The first act alone is enough to make horror fans twinge from delight. After all, a noted but struggling true…
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Crash Analysis: TALISMAN (1998)
Uh… Er… Uh… A teen enters a bizarro school for mispent rich youth and all Hell breaks loose. Benjamin Carr, who has written a lot of schlocky and pathetic horror, including RETRO PUPPET MASTER (1999), THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001) and HELLRAISER: DEADER (2005), brings us another half-baked script that in the end, makes very little sense.…
