DVD Collectors Online

Near Dark, a review by Danae Cassandra

Near Dark
Year of Release: 1987
Directed By: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein
Genre: Horror, Western, Crime

Overview:My Thoughts:
This is a stylish hybrid film, bridging horror, western and crime genres together to create a uniquely modern look at the vampire.  Perhaps one shouldn't use the term here, they certainly don't in the film, but it is still definitely a vampire film.  All of the actors do an excellent job, and the pull Caleb finds himself in between his two contrasting families creates quite a bit of excellent tension as you wonder whether he will accept his new family and new life, or continue to cling to his humanity.  Jenny Wright's portrayal of Mae is also just about the best portrayal of Stockholm Syndrome I've ever seen.  There is a bit of gore here, but nothing too bad and all necessary to the story.  Well worth a watch.

Bechdel Test: Fail (I think)

Overall: 4/5

(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon on October 9th, 2014)

Insidious, a review by addicted2dvd

Insidious (2011/United States) Trailer |IMDb |Wikipedia | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States) Director: James Wan Writing: Leigh Whannell (Writer) Length: 103 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1 Subtitles: English, Spanish

---

Stars:
Patrick Wilson (1973) as Josh Lambert
Rose Byrne as Renai Lambert
Ty Simpkins as Dalton Lambert
Lin Shaye (1944) as Elise Rainier
Leigh Whannell as Specs

Plot:
From the makers of Paranormal Activity, INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• BD-Live

This is my third time viewing it now. I did like the film but found I didn't care about the characters as much as I should have. The atmosphere was good... but not great. Though it did have some pretty cool visuals.



(From Horror/Halloween Marathon 2023 on October 1st, 2023)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

5. Rewitched
Billie jeopardizes the Charmed Ones' new lives when she uses her powers and is caught by Homeland Security Agent Murphy, who suspects the Halliwell sisters are not dead.

My Thoughts:
This is a good episode... and now the entire world knows that the Halliwell sisters is alive. I am glad they ended all that disguise stuff... I never liked that part of the storyline to start with.

6. Kill Billie: Vol. 1
After Billie freezes in fear upon seeing her demon target, The Dogan, she opens up to The Charmed Ones about a Halloween long ago when a demon kidnapped her sister.

My Thoughts:
Really good episode... and another Halloween one. I keep forgetting about this Halloween episode... as it is really low key... Halloween is not the main focus of the storyline.

7. The Lost Picture Show
Paige's Whitlighter father, Sam, asks for her help when his charge, J.D., escapes from Vaklav, a demon who holds people hostage inside an evil photo collage.

My Thoughts:
This is a good...but standard episode. It was entertaining to see someone who has been in captivity since the '50s react to how much things has changed in 50 something years.

8. Battle of the Hexes
Phoebe and Billie discover a belt with superpowers that can turn the sexes against one another, while a power-hungry female demon uses Billie to achieve female domination.

My Thoughts:
This is just a plain fun episode. A bit silly... yes... but fun. This time it is Billie's turn to be turned into something. She gets turned into a super powered feminist that wants to destroy all men.

(From Charmed Marathon on July 15th, 2008)