Mini-review: Madhouse (1974)

Madhouse
Directed by Jim Clark

A fairly forgettable horror mystery with a decent setup marred by an uninspired twist ending and an unfortunate misuse of horror icons Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. When given the right material, both of these actors can be compelling, entertaining, and even quite chilling; but with what they were given here, neither of them shine at all, and the whole movie fails because of it. Price is given a mopey, uninvolved character, whereas Cushing isn't given much to do at all (until near the end, which is where the movie starts to pick up, despite being relatively predictable). No, this isn't a bad movie. It's decent. But it could have been much more, which is really its biggest problem.

Mini-review: As Above, So Below (2014)

As Above, So Below
Directed by John Erick Dowdle

One of the most uneven, creative, and ridiculous mainstream horror movies of the past few years, this movie takes many wrong steps as it goes, but succeeds in staying at least interesting and delivering a surprising and often quite interesting third act. What it lacks in scares, it more than makes up for in creativity, and has a few really great moments. It may feel at times a little bit like National Treasure, but I suppose there are worse things in the world than being similar in ways to a silly Nic Cage movie. Also, this really didn't need to be found footage. That's a gimmick that has really run its course, and it would be nice if in the future filmmakers would refrain from arbitrarily using it. Still, as erratic is it may be, this movie is worth looking into if you find yourself in the mood for a different kind of horror film.

Mini-review: The Mummy (1959)

The Mummy
Directed by Terence Fisher

Of all the landmark Hammer horror films I've seen, this one has to be my least favorite. And even still, it isn't a bad movie. With Peter Cushing delivering one of his many strong performances and poor Christopher Lee playing a monster (as usual), this movie is all style and little substance. Not even remotely creepy or tense, this film focuses more on storytelling. And while the story it tells is enough to keep your attention, it isn't enough to keep you interested in what might happen next. Not bad, but not good. Worth a watch only if you're in the mood for a small dose of ancient Egypt.

Mini-review: Ice Cream Man (1995)

Ice Cream Man
Directed by Paul Norman

Featuring a rare leading role for Clint Howard (AKA Ron Howard's weird brother), this cornball horror movie is just bad enough to be relatively funny, but good enough in ways to make it somewhat interesting. Clint Howard is creepy; but not in the way he's supposed to be. He kind of does a Batman voice throughout the movie, and is obviously only the kind of performance that's intended to scare little kids -- but the movie is rated R, so little kids shouldn't be watching it anyway. Entertaining enough, but definitely not worth spending anything more than a little of your time on.

Mini-review: House (1986)

House
Directed by Steve Miner

Mildly creepy and entirely silly, this movie is bizarrely original and totally unpredictable. Taking a far more literal approach to PTSD than just about anything I've ever seen, this challenges your perception of what to believe and delivers a few decent jump-scares along the way. Some parts are creepy, others are funny, but most of it is just plain weird. The ending is somewhat unexpected, but when the entire movie is at least slightly confusing, that's not necessarily much of a surprise. Overall, worth a watch, and I'll be sure to check out the sequel to see what it might have to offer.