I should have a weekly found footage column; that would make this a whole lot easier. Our found footage film for this week is Play Hooky
These days, made-for-TV movies are not good. I don’t want that to sound like an insult but it’s just how I feel and many others feel the same way. Back in the 1970s and ‘80s there were a ton of made-for-TV films and they were fantastic. Sadly, that time has passed and now we are left with some awful films, the majority of which come from Lifetime.
When I started watching all the zombie films I could get my hands, I stumbled into the realm of Nazi zombies, a.k.a. Nazisploitation. I started with Zombie Lake (which looked great but is not a good film) and then I watched Oasis Of The Zombies (I’m thankful I didn’t slit my wrists during that viewing). Needless to say, when Shock Waves came into my hands I looked away, rolled my eyes, and took a step back. After a year or so, I finally gave it a shot because I found out Ken Wiederhorn directed it and I loved Return Of The Living Dead Part 2, Meatballs 2, Eyes Of A Stranger, and a lesser-known film called Dark Tower.
I don’t know if I would be the same person today if not for Italian cinema. My film school was watching Italian action and horror movies; they taught me everything I know. Some people have a beef with the stories, while others can’t stand the dubbing, but that’s just how it is. Some of the original Italian tracks were lost and some were made for America with Italian actors who were then dubbed over during post-production with audio that was never meant to be released. Even if the dubbing is bad, I try to overlook that because it can’t be helped. I’m just thankful I can actually see the films because some weren’t preserved very well. Luckily, there are still some companies keeping these films alive by exposing the world to them.
People say the 1990s was the worst decade for horror films. I wouldn’t use the word “worst,” but I will say out of all the recent decades it wasn’t the strongest. Calling it the worst just makes it sound like all the films from that decade are terrible, but ‘90s horror is special to me. I love it and I always will.
Ambitious. That is the word that constantly comes to mind when trying to describe President Wolfman.
What do you say when a film doesn’t have any redeeming qualities at all? Ugh.
I first discovered Brian Trenchard-Smith when I saw Night Of The Demons 2. I didn’t know it was him at that time but I later recognized his name when I saw a film called Turkey Shoot (a.k.a. Escape 2000) and since then his name has been imbedded into my mind.
Autumn Blood is another film that suffers from a silly looking cover and not enough publicity. I probably wouldn’t have heard of Autumn Blood if I didn’t receive a review copy and an email stating what it was. The plot sounded OK and it does have Peter Stormare who is great even in bad movies. I knew I would be entertained at least.
Holy crap.
Stuart Gordon was one of the first directors I fell in love with. It started when I saw Robot Jox and then continued from there. Gordon’s films have had a huge impact on the horror industry and he still rocks people to this day. He hit it big with Re-Animator and From Beyond at the start of his career and pretty much everything that followed is considered a classic and loved by almost every horror fan. With Re-Animator and From Beyond we have films that blend sci-fi and horror, but both tell ambitious stories. I’ve always thought that Stuart Gordon was diverse because of his multiple styles, as seen in films like Space Truckers, Fortress, and of course, Dolls.