The Blob was a movie that really could have used a do-over; he original 1958 film is a fun science fiction film, but the special effects and script are very dated and needed a bit of fine-tuning. It was movie in desperate need of a remake, and when the film's 30th anniversary rolled around, we finally got it. The 1988 remake is just as good if not better than the original. It has its flaws, but it manages to do the 1958 version justice. It's gory, intense and a lot more revved up than the original.
The plot is pretty basic, an alien life form lands on earth and eats people. It's not a very original premise, but considering it's based on a B-movie from the 1950's, I'll cut it some slack. There's also the generic "this seemingly unimportant scene in the first act that pays off later" scenes, and a lot of generic characters, but the movie has a very likable charm to it that washes away the camp of the remake. I'll also give it props for being one of the only movies ever to kill off a child. It's somewhat of an unspoken rule that kids under the age of 15 or so can't die in a movie unless it's some sort of drama, and the death is the focal point of the film. The Blob treats the kid as just another casualty, and it takes serious guts to do that in a movie.
The remake doesn't veer too far from the original film's plot, but there are a few changes. Our cast of characters is slightly different, thankfully no longer the silly 1950's character archetypes, and thankfully not any equally silly 1980's character archetypes. The only major plot change, and an unfortunate one, is the addition of a government conspiracy subplot. In the original film, nobody believed the protagonists about the blob, and they ended up having to draw a large crowd before anyone would listen to them and get something done. In the remake, the local authorities still don't listen to the heroes, but about halfway through the film a legion of guys in hazmat suits show up and quarantine the town. These guys actually listen to our heroes, but have sinister ulterior motives. In a disappointing twist, it's revealed that the blob is a failed result of the USA's attempt at germ warfare. In the original film, the blob is just deadly space goo, which is far creepier than overgrown pathogens.
The main attraction to this film, however, are the special effects. The original film had some very clever but campy special effects, mostly involving miniature angled sets and whatever kind of jelly the blob was made from. The remake doesn't hold back and gives us the grossest special effects in a science fiction movie this side of 1982's "The Thing". We get gruesome imagery of the blob melting people, pulling them down drains, and coming out of people's faces. The special effects for the actual blob are questionable, though. When it isn't eating people, the blob is moving around, and it more often than not looks like a pile of scrambled eggs. The blob in the original film was actually made from some sort of gelatinous mixture, but it's quite obvious that they used an abundance of latex for the remake. It's still pretty cool that we get to see the blob so much, but I wish it looked more like the creature in the original.
Overall, this is a solid remake of the original film, and for the most part is actually better than the original. The first half of the film is great, but it starts to get really campy once the government guys show up. That besides, this is still a very fun movie and a definite must for fans of creative special effects. It's not perfect, but it's a close as you're going to get with a movie about killer silly putty from space.
Enjoyment- 4/5
Quality- 3/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094761/
June 24, 2012
June 18, 2012
Movie Review- Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI
The title says it all; "Jason Lives". In one of the franchise's weakest moments, it resurrects a clearly-dead Jason for yet another film. This could have easily been a shoddy and unimaginative Friday sequel, but Jason Lives keeps its tongue firmly planted in cheek, keeping this film afloat with intentional jabs at the series. The occasional knowing wink saves this film from being terrible, and it also gives us arguably the funniest of the Friday the 13th movies.
Right off the bat, Jason Lives informs that this is going to be a very silly movie. Tommy Jarvis has come back to incinerate Jason's corpse. But Jason is inadvertently brought back to life by a lightning bolt, Frankenstein-style, despite the fact that Jason is clearly rotting and probably seized with rigor mortis. This doesn't stop the hockey masked fiend, as he punches straight through one of Tommy's friends, and starts on his usual rampage. Before that, however, we get a hilarious opening title sequence, which parodies the famous James Bond title sequences. The rest of the story is standard slasher fare, with Jason hacking people up as Tommy tries to warn the police. The random interjections of humor, however, really keep this film moving.
In terms of comedy, Jason Lives derives much of its humor from being over-the-top. It could even be described as a self-referential parody under the guise of a slasher film. It manages to keep some restraint, and actually tries to be scary at times, as opposed to going all out on the laughs. Along the way, we get subtle references to Boris Karloff, former Friday producer Sean S Cunningham, and Nightmare on Elm Street's Nancy. We also get some seemingly intentional insipid exposition at the beginning, and equally bland characters. Really, the only main characters here are Tommy and his love interest, everyone else is pretty much just there to die. This really helps the film, though, because it reduces time spent on character development, and gives us more hilariously wanton carnage.
The death scenes in Jason Lives are the pinnacle of goofy and cartoonish violence in slasher films. Jason punches through people, smashes someone into a wall so hard it leaves their face imprint, beheads three people at once, and literally snaps a guy in half. The special effects for the deaths are a bit lacking, except for the aforementioned face-smash and guy-snapping, but even then it's pretty obvious how the effects were pulled off. However the special effects and deaths aren't as important, because Jason's comedic timing is killer. In a prime example, he stalks a camp counselor from behind a window, pausing when she does, and so forth, much like a cartoon. It's moments like these that make this film much more of a comedy than a slasher film.
Overall, this is a very silly and fun slasher movie. Jason Lives doesn't take itself seriously, and gives us a very tongue-in-cheek horror movie. The humor is great, and the acting is hilariously terrible. Jason Lives is right up there with Part 3 as my favorite Friday the 13th movie, although Jason Live's humor was intentional. This is definitely an improvement over Part 5, but unfortunately the series never gets better past this one. Jason Lives is not scary in the least, but you'll be laughing the whole way through.
Enjoyment- 4/5
Quality- 2/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091080/
June 8, 2012
Movie Review- Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning marks the gradual decline of the Friday the 13th series. People often bash this film for the exceptionally thin plot, the exceptionally thin characters, and lack of Jason. This might be one of the worst films in the franchise, but boy is it entertaining. Much like Part 3, which was often unintentionally hilarious, Part 5 is so contrived and over-the-top that the end result is a very entertaining slasher film.
The story picks up several years after Part 4, and Tommy Jarvis is now in a mental institution. Shortly after arriving, some kid gets ax-murdered by one of the patients after a dispute over a chocolate bar. That scene pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the film; extremely goofy and violent. Soon after, a copycat Jason goes around randomly killing people on his way to the mental institution. We then get a final showdown sequence, and after faux-Jason is dispatched, it's revealed that the killer was the father of the kid that got ax-murdered. It's a pretty lame twist, but at least there was a twist instead of the killer just being the crazed ax-murderer. A lot of people complain about this movie because Jason isn't actually in it. I personally thought this was a refreshing plot point. By slightly distancing itself from the other films, Part 5 prevents itself from copying the exact same plot of the previous 4, giving a bit of fresh air into the series.
The characters this time are thinner than ever. Several characters are introduced only to be killed five minutes later, and the only character with any depth is Tommy, but much of his character is just carried over from the previous film. That's not to say these characters aren't hilarious, though. All of the teens at the mental institution are comically over-the-top with their delivery, and because of the lack of character development, many of the characters seem to act at random, making for some very unexpected laughs here and there. The minor characters are hilarious, too. There's a foul-mouthed hillbilly and her son, who live next to the institution and do nothing but act like rednecks and swear. It's extremely juvenile but entertaining. There are also two greaser-looking kids who show up pretty early in the film. They get killed off quickly, but their time on screen is hilarious; one of the characters starts randomly singing to himself before getting killed by faux-Jason, and it's as funny as it is very unfitting for a slasher movie.
The death scenes are all very ridiculous and over the top in Part 5, which makes this film very enjoyable. There's a bizarre death by belt to the face, and an equally weird death by road flare to the mouth. There's a few generic axings and the obligatory "someone gets stabbed while in bed" scene. The makeup effects are pretty decent throughout, but for some reason we rarely seen any violence on screen. Most of what we see is the aftermath of the killing, which doesn't take nearly as much effort to pull off as a special effect. As someone who loves special effects, I couldn't help but feel slightly cheated.
Overall, this is a very campy and ridiculous slasher film. It doesn't feel like a Friday the 13th movie, but more of a parody of the series. The ridiculousness doesn't seem intentional however, and we're left with a slasher movie that doesn't realize how hilariously terrible it is. It's definitely a terrible movie, but it's just as enjoyable as the first four films, just not in the same way. This is definitely a film worth watching if you like the campier stuff.
Entertainment- 4/5
Quality- 2/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089173/
The story picks up several years after Part 4, and Tommy Jarvis is now in a mental institution. Shortly after arriving, some kid gets ax-murdered by one of the patients after a dispute over a chocolate bar. That scene pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the film; extremely goofy and violent. Soon after, a copycat Jason goes around randomly killing people on his way to the mental institution. We then get a final showdown sequence, and after faux-Jason is dispatched, it's revealed that the killer was the father of the kid that got ax-murdered. It's a pretty lame twist, but at least there was a twist instead of the killer just being the crazed ax-murderer. A lot of people complain about this movie because Jason isn't actually in it. I personally thought this was a refreshing plot point. By slightly distancing itself from the other films, Part 5 prevents itself from copying the exact same plot of the previous 4, giving a bit of fresh air into the series.
The characters this time are thinner than ever. Several characters are introduced only to be killed five minutes later, and the only character with any depth is Tommy, but much of his character is just carried over from the previous film. That's not to say these characters aren't hilarious, though. All of the teens at the mental institution are comically over-the-top with their delivery, and because of the lack of character development, many of the characters seem to act at random, making for some very unexpected laughs here and there. The minor characters are hilarious, too. There's a foul-mouthed hillbilly and her son, who live next to the institution and do nothing but act like rednecks and swear. It's extremely juvenile but entertaining. There are also two greaser-looking kids who show up pretty early in the film. They get killed off quickly, but their time on screen is hilarious; one of the characters starts randomly singing to himself before getting killed by faux-Jason, and it's as funny as it is very unfitting for a slasher movie.
The death scenes are all very ridiculous and over the top in Part 5, which makes this film very enjoyable. There's a bizarre death by belt to the face, and an equally weird death by road flare to the mouth. There's a few generic axings and the obligatory "someone gets stabbed while in bed" scene. The makeup effects are pretty decent throughout, but for some reason we rarely seen any violence on screen. Most of what we see is the aftermath of the killing, which doesn't take nearly as much effort to pull off as a special effect. As someone who loves special effects, I couldn't help but feel slightly cheated.
Overall, this is a very campy and ridiculous slasher film. It doesn't feel like a Friday the 13th movie, but more of a parody of the series. The ridiculousness doesn't seem intentional however, and we're left with a slasher movie that doesn't realize how hilariously terrible it is. It's definitely a terrible movie, but it's just as enjoyable as the first four films, just not in the same way. This is definitely a film worth watching if you like the campier stuff.
Entertainment- 4/5
Quality- 2/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089173/
Movie Review- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is far from the last movie in the series, but it might as well be. The series really goes downhill from here, but this is a pretty nice end to the series if you ignore the eight films that followed this one. There's the right balance of scares and camp that were imbalanced in the previous two sequels. It's still not as good as the original, but it gets pretty close.
The story is still the typical "promiscuous teens die in the woods" storyline, but there's an addition of a young Corey Feldman that somewhat shakes things up. The pacing is still the same as the rest of the series, but this time we have a much shorter flashback to the previous films, this time it's a creepy montage set to the Jason campfire story from Part 2. The death scenes are also more frequent, and its well before the 45-minute mark before one of the main characters dies. We still have the typical cast of paper-thin twits, but Crispin Glover is one of the dumb teens, so that makes up for it.
Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman are the best part of the film, outside of the death scenes. Crispin delivers his usual weirdo performance, and in a notoriously goofy moment, does a really spastic dance-thing halfway through the film, and that alone makes the movie worth watching. Corey is a rare feat, a not-annoying child actor. He plays a strange little kid who's obsessed with monster masks and video games, and he gives off an equally strange performance to match the character. And he kills Jason, which is pretty cool, too.
The death scenes are really top-notch, too. Tom Savini returned to do the special effects, and it really shows. We get some really gross and brutal offings, ranging from a neck-stab while eating a banana, a meat cleaver to the face, and a harpoon gun to the crotch. Jason's face is also really well done, albeit weird-looking. He no longer looks like the mongoloid hillbilly from Part 2, nor does he look like the pig-man from Part 3. Instead we get a Jason that looks strangely like a zombie, which is a rather uncanny foreshadowing to the later films. Friday the 13th Part 4 doesn't hold back in the least, and it really helps make this film memorable.
There's not a whole lot wrong with this film to point out, unless I wanted to nitpick, but there are few weird plot holes. Part 4 doesn't take place anywhere near Camp Crystal Lake, so it raises the question why Jason chose to hunt down teenagers that were nowhere near his home. Jason also starts to seemingly exhibit teleportation powers, as he manages to pop up in places around the woods far faster than humanly possible. Jason's still human in Part 4, too, so this comes across as really ridiculous.
Overall, this is a great Friday the 13th sequel. It's not as much fun as Part 3, but it manages to properly balance between scary and campy, giving us a film that's on par in quality with the original. The previous storylines are all nicely interwoven and ties everything together for a nice finale. This wasn't the last film in the series, of course, but it ends the arcing storyline of the first four films, and paves the way for the Tommy Jarvis storyline in the next two films.
Entertainment- 4/5
Quality- 3/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087298/
The story is still the typical "promiscuous teens die in the woods" storyline, but there's an addition of a young Corey Feldman that somewhat shakes things up. The pacing is still the same as the rest of the series, but this time we have a much shorter flashback to the previous films, this time it's a creepy montage set to the Jason campfire story from Part 2. The death scenes are also more frequent, and its well before the 45-minute mark before one of the main characters dies. We still have the typical cast of paper-thin twits, but Crispin Glover is one of the dumb teens, so that makes up for it.
Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman are the best part of the film, outside of the death scenes. Crispin delivers his usual weirdo performance, and in a notoriously goofy moment, does a really spastic dance-thing halfway through the film, and that alone makes the movie worth watching. Corey is a rare feat, a not-annoying child actor. He plays a strange little kid who's obsessed with monster masks and video games, and he gives off an equally strange performance to match the character. And he kills Jason, which is pretty cool, too.
The death scenes are really top-notch, too. Tom Savini returned to do the special effects, and it really shows. We get some really gross and brutal offings, ranging from a neck-stab while eating a banana, a meat cleaver to the face, and a harpoon gun to the crotch. Jason's face is also really well done, albeit weird-looking. He no longer looks like the mongoloid hillbilly from Part 2, nor does he look like the pig-man from Part 3. Instead we get a Jason that looks strangely like a zombie, which is a rather uncanny foreshadowing to the later films. Friday the 13th Part 4 doesn't hold back in the least, and it really helps make this film memorable.
There's not a whole lot wrong with this film to point out, unless I wanted to nitpick, but there are few weird plot holes. Part 4 doesn't take place anywhere near Camp Crystal Lake, so it raises the question why Jason chose to hunt down teenagers that were nowhere near his home. Jason also starts to seemingly exhibit teleportation powers, as he manages to pop up in places around the woods far faster than humanly possible. Jason's still human in Part 4, too, so this comes across as really ridiculous.
Overall, this is a great Friday the 13th sequel. It's not as much fun as Part 3, but it manages to properly balance between scary and campy, giving us a film that's on par in quality with the original. The previous storylines are all nicely interwoven and ties everything together for a nice finale. This wasn't the last film in the series, of course, but it ends the arcing storyline of the first four films, and paves the way for the Tommy Jarvis storyline in the next two films.
Entertainment- 4/5
Quality- 3/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087298/
June 7, 2012
Movie Review- Friday the 13th Part 3
Friday the 13th Part 3 is best known for two things; it's the movie that gave Jason his iconic hockey mask, and it's only Friday the 13th movie that was shot in 3-D. And boy does this movie love 3-D effects. This is one of the campiest films in the series, and that makes it all the more enjoyable. The film still takes itself seriously and tries to be scary, and while it fails at that, it make the film a lot more entertaining.
The film is riddled with gratuitous 3-D effects, ranging from popping popcorn to flying eyeballs. I was not able to see this film in 3-D, but I imagine it would even more fun to see everything popping out of the screen. Even the opening titles fly out at the audience. Some might say the film goes overboard with the 3-D, but I think it makes film a lot more interesting.
The script is a lot better this time around, relatively speaking. There's still an extended recap of the previous film, just like in Part 2, but Part 3 is a longer film and uses its time wisely, so the film doesn't feel rushed like Part 2 did. The characters in this film are a lot more distinguishable than the previous two films, and while they still aren't very developed characters, at least the audience can tell them apart. There's an attempted subplot in which the comic relief character tries to woo one of his friends and get over his self-consciousness, but the plot doesn't really go anywhere because both of them end up dead before anything can happen. It's nice that the writers tried to add some drama to the film, even though it wasn't very good. There's also a few minor things throughout the first act that end up paying off at some point during the end, and it helps make the script seem competent, despite the campy storyline.
The death scenes are hilariously over-the-top, and that alone makes this film fun to watch. And while none of the main characters die until an hour into the film, the minor characters that get axed before then get the boot in some really creative ways. When it does get time to kill off the main cast, the film doesn't hold back; there's a death by spear gun and a guy who gets chopped in half mid-handstand to name a few. Most of these scenes are done with really silly special effects. You can often see the wires supporting various flying objects, and that makes it all the more campy. The special effects makeup for Jason isn't as good this time around, however. We no longer get the mongoloid hillbilly from Part 2, instead we get a vaguely pig-looking version of Jason. That's no big deal, though, since we finally get to see Jason in his now-famous hockey mask, which he wears for the last half-hour of the film.
The end fight scene is great, too. Jason is still human in this installment, and he really gets a beating. He's stabbed, hanged, and has a bookshelf dropped on him. He's finally dispatched with an ax to the head, but he still manages to keep going for several seconds afterwards. This has one of the best end fight scenes in the series, and it's definitely lives up to the buildup throughout the film.
Overall, this is one of silliest but most enjoyable movies in the Friday the 13th series. The death scenes are ridiculous, the acting is hammy, and the 3-D effects are everywhere. The best part about this film, though, is that it doesn't realize it's being campy. Friday the 13th Part 3 tries to be just as creepy and intense as its predecessors, but it miserably fails. The end result is one of the funniest slasher films out there, and one that's definitely worth the watch.
Entertainment- 4/5
Quality- 2/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083972/
The film is riddled with gratuitous 3-D effects, ranging from popping popcorn to flying eyeballs. I was not able to see this film in 3-D, but I imagine it would even more fun to see everything popping out of the screen. Even the opening titles fly out at the audience. Some might say the film goes overboard with the 3-D, but I think it makes film a lot more interesting.
The script is a lot better this time around, relatively speaking. There's still an extended recap of the previous film, just like in Part 2, but Part 3 is a longer film and uses its time wisely, so the film doesn't feel rushed like Part 2 did. The characters in this film are a lot more distinguishable than the previous two films, and while they still aren't very developed characters, at least the audience can tell them apart. There's an attempted subplot in which the comic relief character tries to woo one of his friends and get over his self-consciousness, but the plot doesn't really go anywhere because both of them end up dead before anything can happen. It's nice that the writers tried to add some drama to the film, even though it wasn't very good. There's also a few minor things throughout the first act that end up paying off at some point during the end, and it helps make the script seem competent, despite the campy storyline.
The death scenes are hilariously over-the-top, and that alone makes this film fun to watch. And while none of the main characters die until an hour into the film, the minor characters that get axed before then get the boot in some really creative ways. When it does get time to kill off the main cast, the film doesn't hold back; there's a death by spear gun and a guy who gets chopped in half mid-handstand to name a few. Most of these scenes are done with really silly special effects. You can often see the wires supporting various flying objects, and that makes it all the more campy. The special effects makeup for Jason isn't as good this time around, however. We no longer get the mongoloid hillbilly from Part 2, instead we get a vaguely pig-looking version of Jason. That's no big deal, though, since we finally get to see Jason in his now-famous hockey mask, which he wears for the last half-hour of the film.
The end fight scene is great, too. Jason is still human in this installment, and he really gets a beating. He's stabbed, hanged, and has a bookshelf dropped on him. He's finally dispatched with an ax to the head, but he still manages to keep going for several seconds afterwards. This has one of the best end fight scenes in the series, and it's definitely lives up to the buildup throughout the film.
Overall, this is one of silliest but most enjoyable movies in the Friday the 13th series. The death scenes are ridiculous, the acting is hammy, and the 3-D effects are everywhere. The best part about this film, though, is that it doesn't realize it's being campy. Friday the 13th Part 3 tries to be just as creepy and intense as its predecessors, but it miserably fails. The end result is one of the funniest slasher films out there, and one that's definitely worth the watch.
Entertainment- 4/5
Quality- 2/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083972/
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