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Halloween, a review by Jon

Halloween
5 out of 5

After recovering from the utter bollocks that was Halloween: Resurrection, I thought I'd have another look at the original. Peerless. One of the very best slasher movies ever made before anyone really knew what a slasher movie was.

The atmosphere is consistently foreboding, thanks to Carpenter's wide open shots and the classic theme. I love how the screen-title comes up, after the audacious start and Michael's escape from the hospital, "Haddonfield, October 31", then as it changes to the word "Halloween" the music kicks in and completely alters your peception of the quiet little town.

Scream-Queen Jamie Lee Curtis has rarely been better and Donald Pleasance has great fun hamming it up as the Dcotor who is the only one who understands the threat to the town. Much of the films atmosphere is generated before Michael is on-screen, but he has a fantastic presence once he is. The whole concept of the character is brilliantly engineered and he is the best movie serial killer of them all when compared against the almost cartoon like Freddy and Jason's. Of course, I'm not including the sequels! No need. The power of this original film has never been compromised by the unnecessary franchise.

Even part 2 was only written by Carpenter to protect the rights, but he could hardly see the point. Ok, there's the supernatural twist that shows Michael is unstoppable, but that didn't mean they had to follow it up. It just left Michael as a legend, the Boogie Man who may not have even existed.

By the way, if you get a chance to see the TV version, it's worth a look. While making part 2, Carpenter came on set and directed a couple of scenes to insert into the original as they had had to cut it for violence, but keep up the length!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on July 31st, 2009)

Werewolf: The Beast Among Us, a review by addicted2dvd

Werewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Louis Morneau Writing: Michael Tabb (Screenwriter), Catherine Cyran (Screenwriter), Michael Tabb (Story By) Length: 93 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Stars:
Ed Quinn as Charles
Guy Wilson as Daniel
Stephen Rea as Doc
Rachel Dipillo as Eva
Adam Croasdell as Stefan

Plot:
Werewolf: The Beast Among Us takes Universal Studios' historic monster legacy to an all-new level of chilling action and terrifying suspense. When a mysterious creature terrorizes a village by moonlight, a local young man, Daniel, convinces a team of skilled werewolf hunters to let him join their quest to hunt it down. But as the villagers are attacked one by one and turned into vicious beasts, Daniel begins to fear that his ruthless foe is someone closer than anyone thinks. Starring Ed Quinn, Stephen Rea, Nia Peeples and Steven Bauer.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• BD-Live
• Digital Copy

This is the first time I seen this one. I found it to be a decent werewolf movie. It has a nice bit of action in it as well. I am not really familiar with the cast in this one... but they seemed to do a fine job. The story line keeps you interest through out. And there is a surprise here and there. I would say it is worth the time put in to watch it.



Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 15/52

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 7th, 2016)

Sliders Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

17. THE EXODUS (Part 2)
Quinn and Maggie begin sliding to other worlds to scout for the perfect location while Wade and Arturo must contend with the egomaniac Colonel Rickman as they argue over who will be saved. Meanwhile, a serial killer has invaded the base and is systematically putting people into a coma.

My Thoughts:
The search for the new world continues. While I know it was needed,,, I have always had mixed feelings about the Rickman storyline. I just never cared for the character. I wouldn't say it is a storyline that gets boring. But it does get kinda old after the first time you view it. Seems weird but basically that multi-episode storyline don't have as much rewatch value as the rest of the series does.This is also the episode we say goodbye to Professor Arturo. But all that said... it is the end of a very good 2-parter episode.

My Rating:

18. SOLE SURVIVORS
Quinn is bitten by a zombie, infecting him with a flesh-eating, zombie-making virus.

My Thoughts:
Just by the description I am sure you know that I liked this episode! I thought they did the zombies pretty cool... and liked the effects they used for the dead (and eaten) corpse they found when they first slid onto this Earth. The glowing eyes were pretty cool as well.

My Rating:

19. THE BREEDER
On a world with a mandatory organ-donor program, Maggie is infected with a parasite that seeks out mates a-la-Species.

My Thoughts:
Oh... this is another really good episode. And this one makes 2 in a row that is somewhat horror related. You know I love that! Of course even as the plot says... this one is pretty much a rip-off of the movie Species. But I still enjoyed every minute of it. It really has been a great run of episodes here lately.

My Rating:

20. THE LAST OF EDEN
On a world plagued by earthquakes and populated by primitive people, Wade stumbles upon a vast, deserted underground city overrun by a race of nonhuman creatures.

My Thoughts:
This one is a little on the confusing side. Not the story... but the fact that this episode has Professor Arturo in it. I don't know if this set is in Air Date order or if they just goofed up. But it did take away from the flow a of the story a bit. It also wasn't quite as good as the resent episodes. But it is still good.

My Rating:

(From Sliders Marathon on November 19th, 2009)