Great...The Bloodsucking Brady Bunch!

The Lost Boys (1987)

Dir- Joel Schumacher

In literature, The Lost Boys were young characters who never grew old, much like vampires. This title would seem perfect for a film that would help inject fresh blood into one of the oldest horror movie genres. Corey Haim and Jason Patric are brothers who relocate to a California beach town with their newly divorced mother. While hanging out on the beach, they find numerous missing person posters as well as a pair of odd comic book reading brothers who wish to recruit them in fighting vampires. The older brother is drawn to a beautiful girl who invites him to join her group of friends who enjoy daredevil activities that may bring him closer to their secret lifestyle. Once afflicted the older brother turns to his younger brother to seek help from what he may become. What isn't to love about this movie, it has vampires, hot ladies, cool music and the Frog Brothers. The Lost Boys was an immediate hit with movie viewers and critics who found the film offered a fresh new approach to vampires by making them young and sexy. This film would then inspire later movies like Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Interview with the Vampire to follow in the mold of young bloodsuckers. The rest of the cast stands out with Kiefer Sutherland appearing as the leader of the group of young vampires, Jami Gertz as the object of Patric's affection as well as veteran actors Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrman and Barnard Hughes as the crusty but awesome Grandpa. The movie is three decades old but still, stands out for the groundbreaking approach to the vampire mythos as well as the great performances by the principal cast. The film has a strong cult following among its fans as well as those who are not drawn to vampire movies. With a Rotten Tomato score in the mid 70's, The Lost Boys still enjoys appeal by fans and critics alike. There is a direct to DVD sequel as well as comic books to continue the story, but I would recommend enjoying this film for all its greatness.

Wolfman's Got Nards

The Monster Squad (1987)
Dir- Fred Dekker

Three decades ago in the midst of Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers a low budget creature feature came and went that mixed elements of the Goonies, Ghostbusters, and the Universal Studios classic monsters. The Monster Squad are a group of pre-teens who enjoy the old movie monsters of the past and meet together at a tree house behind the home of one the members. They discover that Dracula is looking to throw the world into eternal chaos as he summons a collection of monsters that include Frankensteins monster, the Mummy, the Gillman, and Wolfman to acquire a magical device that helps to maintain the balance of good and evil. The Monster Squad seek out help from a local older gentleman to assist them in translating an ancient book and discover how to defeat Dracula and his army. The cast of young actors work well together and make the movie stand out with a camaraderie that would have many fans compare them to the young actors in The Goonies, Stephen Kings It and the more recent Stranger Things. Stan Winston was responsible for the creature makeup and due to licensing issues he had to alter the monsters slightly to avoid litigation. What we get are some pretty amazing looking creatures that honor the spirit of the classic movies of the 30's and 40's. The one area the film does suffer from is the special effects that look silly and dated, but you can look past that when you weigh the whole movie together. Since its release in 1987 Monster Squad has gained an impressive cult following as fans rediscover this film with the help of The Alamo Drafthouse and fan conventions bringing the cast together for reunions and watch parties. The film is available on some streaming sites as well as DVD and Blu Ray. If you are a fan of the classic Universal Monsters, this film will not disappoint.

My Top Horror Films of each year since 2000

2000 American Psycho
2001 Brotherhood of the Wolf
2002 28 Days Later
2003 A Tale of Two Sisters
2004 The Grudge
2005 The Descent
2006 The Host
2007 REC
2008 Let the Right One In
2009 Zombieland
2010 Black Swan
2011 The Cabin in the Woods
2012 The Bay
2013 We Are What We Are
2014 It Follows
2015 The VVitch
2016 Don't Breathe
2017 Get Out

Chopping Mall (1986)

Chopping Mall (1986) 
Dir- Jim Wynorski
1986 was a big year for horror films as VCRs and video stores opened up horror movies for the masses. My weekly trips to the local mom and pop video store helped to fuel my love for horror films as I was able to rent movies weekly instead of having to wait for them on cable. One video that grabbed my attention was Chopping Mall, the box for it showed a cool robot hand holding a bag with chopped up teens. Little did I realize how deceptive the poster and video box would be. A group teens are trapped in a mall with a trio of high tech robot security guards that have gone deadly. I will have to say that unfortunately there is no chopping in this film, but we do get some of the usual cliches of overage teens having sex somewhere they shouldn't and the Final Girl and Boy being the ones you least suspect to survive. Despite my utter disappointment when I first watched the film I now recognize how campy it was and that recent viewings have made it more enjoyable. The movie is full of inside jokes that fans of Roger Corman will appreciate, these include some of his stock actors playing roles from earlier movies. Along with Night of the Comet, you can enjoy seeing Kelli Maroney in yet another movie where she plays a spunky cheerleader. Released under the title Killbots, it was later renamed Chopping Mall to make it more appealing to horror hounds.

The Exorcist | Banned/Unreleased Trailer - "Flash Image"

A remake that exceeded its parent

The Crazies (2010)

Dir- Breck Eisner
A small town sheriff (Timothy Olyphant )and his physician wife (Radha Mitchell )find themselves having to deal with an outbreak that is turning some of the locals into homicidal maniacs. Of course, when the Government shows up all will be well, or will it? This remake of the 1973 George Romero film had a much bigger budget and slicker look than the original. Unlike so many remakes, The Crazies improves on the story by using the zombie trope invented by George Romero and injecting elements of 28 Days Later into this derivative genre. Upping the violence, tension and adding some dark humor Director Breck Eisner took a relatively minor terror film from the seventies and reinvented it for the 21st Century. Unlike many in the audience, I had watched the original movie years back and was impressed by this production. I am usually not too fond of remakes, but this was a welcome change from the slew of knock off films and remakes that only seem interested in showing blood, gore and ignoring the spirit of the original production.

Happy Birthday To Me (1981) Canada

Happy Birthday To Me (1981) Canada

Dir- J Lee Thompson

Is it all in her imagination or is Ginny (Melissa Sue Anderson) killing her friends off one at a time? In this VERY CONFUSING horror who-done-it, we get a very complicated plot involving a rainy night, a pissed off mother and a poor girl who was not invited to a party. A terrible accident occurs on that rainy evening, and the death of the mother is the only certain thing. It is years later, and Psychiatrist Dr. Faraday (Glenn Ford) is working with Ginny to help her sort out her terrible nightmares. Back in school, she is part of an elite group of students who are being killed offed with plenty of Red Herrings to make you go WTF. In a series of flashbacks, we get to see what happened yet even with all these clues; I still found myself rewinding the tape just to figure this mess out. The killings are pretty gruesome and in some cases entirely original, but the overall feel of the film is confusing and too much of a mess to figure out. Anderson and Ford must have had been told something we weren’t, like what the hell is going on!