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Ghost Ship, a review by Jon

GHOST SHIP
3 out of 5

This is the closest so far a Val Lewton production could be described as rubbish. Yet it's still watchable and still gets under the skin. Full marks for atmosphere too. You can't go wrong with a ship; there's nowhere to run for starters, then add the darkness and the fog, plus a couple of dodgy characters. And when one of them is the captain, you're really stuffed!

I'd have been more disappointed if I'd watched this first, but by now I've learned that just because it's called "Ghost Ship" doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to see ghosts! No, these are Lewton ghosts. Emotional demons preying on sanity. A new third officer believes his captain's demons have driven him to murder. But he's such a nice chap no-one believes he could have. Undaunted, after a bit of Crimson Tide style tension, they dock and the officer reports the charges officially. Of course they fail to stick and he loses his job. He's off the boat.

And this, despite being in overall the weakest entry so far, is one of the most brilliant plot points. They build up all the tension on the lonely ship, with
danger and suspicion around every corner and then let the viewer off by getting to dock safely. But then though a misunderstanding, he gets trapped back on the boat! He's now a civilian, with a crew that openly hates him and a captain trying to kill him! Bloody genius.

Sadly, this doesn't extend to the rather stilted production overall. Everything just seems more obvious and lazy than before, which is a shame. The very last shot is a case in point: two characters meet and have a conversation, but we only see it via there shadows. Maybe I'm thick and I've missed something brilliantly insightful. I hope so, but quite frankly, it just looked a bit shit to me. Overall it does work though and there are some great moments, like a knife fight and a death by chain. Plus Sir Lancelot is in it again! I haven't mentioned him before. He's a West Indies actor who played a Calypso Singer in I Walked With a Zombie and ended up singing in both this and Curse of the Cat People as well.

(From Val Lewton Horror Marathon on October 5th, 2008)

Leprechaun, a review by Jimmy

Title: Leprechaun (1993)

Genre: Horror
Director: Mark Jones
Rating: 18+
Length: 1h31
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
Warwick Davis
Jennifer Aniston
Ken Olandt   
Mark Holton
Robert Hy Gorman

Plot:
A horrific. Leprechaun (Warwick Davis) goes on a rampage after his precious bag of gold coins is stolen. He uses all of his magical powers to trick, terrorize and kill anyone who is unlucky enough to hinder his relentless search. In a frantic attempt to survive the wrath of the Leprechaun, Tori (Jennifer Aniston) must scramble to find the Only weapon known to kill this monster.

Of course you don't start that kind of movie expecting something scary, because if we are honest the idea of a kiiler Leprechaun is silly. Strangely it's a lot more bloody that I remembered, maybe I've seen a cut version when it was originally released on VHS. The Leprauchaun is the kind of character who fall on the nerves real fast (those 90s movies filled with "comic" one liner get old fast), so I know in advance that it will be chore to see the others. Anyway that one wasn't too bad, even if the cast was kind of weak...
   
One annoying detail about the DVD: The CC are out of sync wich is really poor quality control from Lion's Gates.

Rating :

(From Jimmy's - 2013 Ooctober Horror Marathon on October 19th, 2013)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Fear Itself
Terror has a new name: "Fear Itself"! A 13-episode suspence and horror anthology series, "Fear Itself" takes horror to shocking new heights with its mix of mind-bending stories, spine-tingling chills, and top Hollywood talent including acclaimed directors John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV) and Ronnie Yu (Bride of Chucky); actors Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Shiri Appleby (Charlie Wilson's War), Elizabeth Moss ("Mad Men"), Cynthia Watros ("Lost"), Eric Roberts ("Heroes") and John Billingsley ("Star Trek: Enterprise"); and writers Joe Gangemi (Wind Chill, the novel "Inamorata"), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and Dan Knauf ("Carnivale," "Supernatural").

The Sacrifice
Two brothers, Point and Lemon, along with two of their friends, end up stranded at an old fort and slowly discover that the three sisters who reside there are hiding a deadly secret.

My Thoughts:
I am sure it is of no surprise that I enjoyed this episode a lot. Of course I like most shows about vampires. You never really get that good of a look at the creature in this episode... it is always either out of view or the views are so quick that you don't get a good look at him.

My Rating:

NOTE: This episode review taken from my Fear Itself Marathon Thread

(From Pete's Pilots on January 25th, 2010)