DVD Collectors Online

Friday the 13th, a review by RossRoy

What they say

Terror and suspense abound in this 24-hour nightmare of blood. Camp Crystal Lake has been been shuttered for over 20 years due to several vicious and unsolved murders. The camp's new owner and several young counselors are readying the property for re-opening despite warnings of a "death curse" by local residents. The curse proves true on Friday the 13th as one by one each of the counselors is stalked by a violent killer.This film is widely acclaimed for its horrifying and creative murder sequences.

My Thoughts

Suspense? Where? They don't take the time to build the suspense. All they do is to have the story make the kids get isolated, only to be promptly killed, without much build up. The movie gets so easily predictable because of it (not that there's a whole lot of unknown to begin with in a slasher movie). But, the movie does get interesting once the killer is revealed. Then you actually get the cat and mouse chase that finally builds up some tension. Maybe I did go into the movie with too much expectation. After all, it is the "classic" that spawned a whole franchise and defined a genre. But I'm a bit disappointed by it, I was expecting more. I did enjoy it, that's not the problem, but it didn't tick the way I hoped it would. Maybe it'll click with one of the sequels. We'll see.

Rating:

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on October 11th, 2009)

Psycho IV: The Beginning, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Psycho IV: The Beginning
Movie Count: 18
TV Ep Count: 3
Other Count: 0
Time Started: 5pm
Plot:
In this chilling prequel to the classic Hitchcock thriller, Norman Bates ('Anthony Perkins') is drawn to a late night radio show, where the host ('C.C.H. Pounder') encourages him to share his views on the topic of matricide - the murder of a mother by her own child. Reliving his childhood, Norman recounts his trials as a young boy ('Henry Thomas') living with his widowed schizophrenic mother ('Olivia Hussey'). These haunting memories are more than just images of the past; they threaten to rekindle his killing urge in this spine-chilling thriller.

My Thoughts:
As I said above... I was a little worried going into this one what with the last not not being as good as the first two and this one being a TV Movie. I did like the idea of a prequel though. Luckily I did enjoy this one more then part 3.  I liked how they did the movie with flash backs and Anthony Perkins telling his story on a radio talk show. I thought the kid that played a young Norman Bates did a real good job. Unfortunately unlike the other 2 movies in this set we didn't even get the trailer for an extra. But over-all the set was pretty cheap and the movies was ranged from good to very good. So I am happy I added this set to my collection!



(From My Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2008 on October 5th, 2008)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

American Dad! - Season One

1. American Dad (Pilot)
Stan Smith uses his CIA skills to help 13-year-old son Steve win class president and the heart of the hottest girl in class, Lisa Silver. But when being class president makes Steve mad with power, Stan must jump in to save the day. Meanwhile, Roger, the alien Stan saved from Area 51, helps 18-year-old Hayley with her school paper. In return, she hooks him up with boatloads of junk food to curb his sweet tooth. Unfortunately, some Chocodiles send him over the edge and a sugar crash prohibits him from finishing one of her papers, forcing Hayley to pick up the pieces. And Klaus, the goldfish with the brain of a German guy, pines after mother Francine. Unfortunately for Klaus, the closest he'll ever get to a date with her is the spin cycle with her sports bra.



From the delightfully twisted creative minds behind Family Guy comes American Dad, the animated tour de force featuring CIA operative Stan Smith, his outrageous family and Roger, the alcoholic extraterrestrial who lives with them! Follow the adventures of the Smiths from the California desert, where Stan's wife, Francine, relives her teenage years at the Burning Man festival, to Saudi Arabia, where the entire family is sentenced to death by the Vice and Virtue Police! Whether it's rigging elections, erasing memories, casing sleazy strip clubs, or staging "bum fights", it's all in a day's work for Stan, and it's all here in the side-splittingly hilarious first season of American Dad!

Clearly designed for a younger teenage audience, knowing how much my lad loves this programme.
Most of the 'jokes' passed me by, and I found it a bit childish and stupid.
Its a big fat raspberry in my book, and I expect I will be busy when he watches the 3 series we have again.
 


(From My PILOT Marathon on September 10th, 2009)