Tag Archives: Julie Lynn Hayes

Saturday is Horror Day #197 – Abigail

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Abigail

A group of criminals is hired for the purposes of kidnapping. They are not told beforehand who the target is, just that they are to kidnap her and hold her while ransom demands are made and met. They don’t know one another and are under strict instructions from the man who hired them, Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) not to change the status quo in any way, including exchanging real names. To that end, he assigns them nicknames they are to use. Joey(Melissa Barrera), Frank(Dan Stevens), Rickles(William Catlett), Sammy(Kathryn Newton), Peter(Kevin Durand), and Dean(Angus Cloud) Clearly, someone likes the Rat Pack here.

Abigail is a ballerina, and is performing to an empty theater. Afterward, she is taken home, and the

kidnappers follow. Upon arrival at the place where the kidnapping is to occur, Sammy is dismayed to learn the target is a young girl, Abigail (Alisha Weir). But a job is a job, and she has a child of her own, so what can they do? They break into the house, acquire the target remove her to another location, where she is blindfolded and shackled to a bed. They decide that only one of them will interact with Abigail, thus lessening the chances she might recognize their voices later. Sammy volunteers for this, and makes sure she wears her mask whenever she checks on Abigail.

But strange things begin to happen, and the kidnappers find their numbers dwindling. Worse, they find themselves locked into this place with no way out. If that’s not bad enough, Abigail is no ordinary child…

First, let me say that if you happened to watch the trailer, as I did, there is no need to see the movie, you’ve seen it all. Seriously. I believe that had I not seen that first, I would have enjoyed the movie more. But the element of surprise was irretrievably lost, so I had a good idea what was coming. I even made some surmises regarding Sammy from the beginning, which proved to be true.  There was one unexpected event at the end, but I would have known that if I had read the entire cast list at IMDB.

That being said, there is nothing about this movie that stands out. Even the child ballerina who is more than that loses interest. The acting is just okay, although I do like Kevin Durand, also the surprise visitor at the end. But ultimately it’s not enough for me to say I enjoyed watching this. It misfires on some level. The info dump at the beginning was just too obvious and did come into play later. But I have to believe there was a better way to do this. So, if you’ve seen the trailer, stop there. You’ll be better entertained. If you still want to watch, proceed at your own risk. I’ll give this film 2 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #196 – Dark Night of the Scarecrow

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake) is a mentally changed man who wouldn’t hurt a soul. He lives with his mother, and his best friend is a young girl  named Marylee (Tonya Crowe), and they spend a lot of time together. Unfortunately, in their small Southern town, four men who are the local assholes, including the postal carrier Otis Hazelrigg (Charles Durning) like to make life miserable for Bubba. They torment him and have, on more than one occasion, beaten him, simply for existing.

When Marylee is attacked by a dog, the four men blame Bubba, even though it wasn’t his fault, and he

actually saved her. They chase him down and execute him, only to learn that the girl lived and he didn’t harm her. They hide their deed, and claim self-defense, and are declared blameless, to the chagrin of the prosecuting attorney. Bubba’s mother is very angry, and tells them that there will be justice of another kind.

And then suddenly these four men can’t stop seeing a mysterious scarecrow. And once he appears to one of the men, that man dies. What sort of curse is this? Has Bubba come back from the dead? Or was he even dead to begin with.

So maybe this film will never receive an Academy Award nomination (especially as it’s from 1981), but I find a certain satisfaction in watching ignorant assholes get what is coming to them. Charles Durning is particularly loathsome as the mailman who torments poor Bubba every chance he gets. He is also cringeworthy when he tries to convince young Marylee that Bubba’s death isn’t his fault. If this was done today, some might even say he’s a pedo, but I think he just can’t handle the truth. As a side note, Larry Drake, who plays Bubba, played Benny in the TV series, LA Law, a character who was also mentally challenged. In fact, Drake became known for playing that kind of character, and people were so convinced by his performance they thought he was handicapped himself.

I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #195 – Son

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Son

Laura (Andi Matichak) has a troubled past, one she was able to escape from… barely. She still has nightmares about that time and those people. But the one good thing she took away with her is her son David (Luke David Blumm).  Several years have passed, and David is ill. The trouble is that none of the doctors can diagnose what is wrong with him. Worse, they seem to think something is wrong with Laura. Something mental.

Laura removes David from the hospital and flees with him. But violence seems to follow them. She  meets a detective who is working the case, Paul (Emile Hirsch), and it seems they may be forming a connection. But at the end of the day, David comes first, and Laura will do whatever she must to protect him…. anything at all.

This film does start slowly, I admit, but it does pick up eventually. I think it feels a bit disjointed at times and that perhaps it could have been told in a better way. The basic premise is solid and entertaining, and the end is unexpected. Luke David Blumm was great as the unfortunate son, outshining the adults around him. The two leads are so-so. It’s not a bad film, I just think it could have been better. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #194 – Starry Eyes

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Starry Eyes

Sarah (Alexandra Essoe) is an aspiring actress in a town that is full of aspiring actors. To get ahead, one has to stand out, but that is difficult to do. To make ends meet and pay her bills, Sarah works at a family restaurant called Taters, but she is hardly the ideal employee and has been warned multiple times about being on her phone or not coming to work. But she persist in this behavior because she has to follow her dream, right?

She finally gets a break… well, a psychotic break. After doing poorly at an audition, she loses her shit in the ladies room afterward, furiously punching and swearing and finally pulling out her hair in frustration. She is overheard by the casting director who brings her back and asks her to show them that performance. Sarah is startled by their request but agrees. Afterward, she is invited to meet with a producer! Sarah is thrilled. But when she meets with him, it is clear that he has certain “expectations” which she is unwilling to meet, and she makes a hasty exit.

Sarah has a small circle of friends, one of whom is making a film. He tells her he would love to cast her in his film. But she doesn’t think that is enough for her. Her life is falling apart, so she swallows her pride and calls the producer back and arranges another meeting…

This film examines how people perceive themselves and how they value or don’t value themselves, and what they are willing to do to achieve their dreams in the artificiality that is Hollywood. So many insincere people who only see your physical form with no regard for anything else. We follow Sarah through her journey. Frankly, I disliked her, and I think she is a bit unhinged in her extreme reactions to rejection. We also see what price she is willing to pay, and at the end we see even more. Not really a fan of the ending, but all in all, it was worth watching once. I’ll give this film 3.5 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #193 – Thir13en Ghosts

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Thir13en Ghosts

Arthur (Tony Shalhoub) has a wonderful life, with loving wife Jean (Kathryn Anderson), and their two kids, Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (Alex Roberts). But Fate has other ideas, and an unexpected fire takes Jean’s life. Now Arthur’s own life is in chaos as he tries to provide for the kids and their nanny Maggie (Rah Digga). They are crammed together in a small apartment, have financial problems,  and nothing is going right… until Arthur receives a visit from a lawyer (Ben Moss) who brings him news of the demise of his Uncle Cyrus, a man he barely knows (F Murray Abraham), and tells him that Arthur has now inherited from him an actual house. Seems like divine providence, right?

Maybe not.

The lawyer offers to take them to the house, which lies a couple of hours away, in the middle of nowhere. The house turns out to be much more than they ever dreamed of. Plus it is very unique, being entirely made of glass. As Kathy says, “I hope the bathroom’s in the basement.”

On their arrival, they find an inspector for the electric company (Matthew Lillard) who insists on coming in with them and then asks for directions to the basement. What they don’t know is that he is not what he seems to be, his real name is Rafkin, and he was an associate of Uncle Cyrus. Not only that, he knows what Cyrus spent his life collecting, as he helped him do it. Namely, ghosts. And this house is simply an elaborate containment system for twelve ghosts. But more than that, they serve a very sinister purpose. Funny thing, the lawyer knows all this too. As if he is in on some secret. But what is contained can get out, you know? And a house might not necessarily be a good home.

This movie is a reboot of the original 1960 Thirteen Ghosts made by director William Castle. The first film was black and white and 3D, whereas the newer one is color. During the intervening years between the first and second film, computer graphics came a long way, resulting in more sophisticated special effects, which the movie utilizes well, the most astounding being the house itself.

I love Tony Shalhoub and he doesn’t disappoint as the almost bewildered widower who can’t seem to cope with the death of his beloved wife, but loves his children more than anything and will do whatever he can to protect them. F Murray Abraham as Uncle Cyrus is deliciously vile and evil, urbanity aside, and Matthew Lillard as the poor dupe with psychic abilities is wonderful. I’d say he shines in the role.

If you can, watch the special features that go with this film. My mind was blown when I saw the “reality” of the house, because I kept wondering where they built this house. Spoiler alert – they didn’t. All special effects and interior sets. I like that they chose to use their own story instead of simply remaking the original. Is it scary? Not really. Is it interesting?  I think it is. I’ve seen it multiple times, in fact. The ghosts themselves are quite unique, and each has a backstory you can watch in the special features. I found it very enjoyable and will no doubt watch it again some day. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #192 – Grace: The Possession, Sympathy for the Devil

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Grace: The Possession

Born to a mother who died afterwards, Grace (Alexia Fast) has been raised by her grandmother Helen (Lin Shaye). Eighteen years later, she is off to college and more than a little nervous, having little actual experience with people. Her new roommate is rather forward and outgoing, and introduces Grace to a few of her friends, but Grace finds herself quickly left behind. It doesn’t help when her grandmother calls to admonish her for not taking the Bible with her when she packed for college. Luckily, Grandma has corrected that oversight.

To be honest, I didn’t get any farther than this. The camerawork was driving me crazy, done from Grace’s POV, and Grace herself was a very uninteresting character. Not much to say other than I didn’t care for it and never watched far enough to see Lin Shaye, who was in the Conjuring series.  Oh well, can’t win them all. I recommend skipping this one.

Sympathy for the Devil

A man (Joel Kinnaman) is driving to the hospital to join his wife, who is in labor with their second child, the first having died in childbirth. He is naturally anxious about the pending birth and wants to be with his wife. But he is unexpectedly joined by a man with bright red hair (Nic Cage) who tells him to simply drive. And by the way, he has a gun….

I’ll be honest with you, there is only one reason to watch this film – if you are a fan of Nic Cage, as I am. His performance is high energy cray-cray at its finest. I was actually misled by the title, assuming Nic Cage was playing the devil in human form, but such was not the case. There are some tricks and twists to this film, which is mercifully short, but not of that compares to watching Nic at work. This all takes place in and around Las Vegas. I didn’t like the Driver, he was very weak and uninspiring, but I absolutely loved Nic. If you want to see this, see it for Nic. If you aren’t a fan, you might as well skip it.

I’m giving this film 3 Stars, purely because I love Nic Cage.

Sorry, not exactly winners this week. Better luck next time. Feel free to make suggestions for films you want to see reviewed.

Book Review: Titus Groan (Gormenghast Trilogy, Book 1) by Mervyn Peake

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Titus Groan (Gormenghast Trilogy, Book 1)   

Author: Mervyn Peake

Publisher: Weybright and Talley (rev January 1, 1967)

American release date: October 26, 1982

Format/Genre/Length: Hardback/Literary Fiction/543 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Gormenghast Castle is an ancient edifice whose history goes back many years. There has always been an Earl of Gormenghast, and the current holder of that title is the seventy-sixth in his line. He has many people who live in the castle and both depend on it and him to keep it running, but the Earl’s greatest love is for his vast library, which is cared for by a man named Sourdust. However, joy has arrived in Gormenghast with the birth of an heir, who is given the name of Titus.

Not everyone is excited about the birth, however. Lady Fuchsia is fifteen and feels too old to not be an only child.  Petulant and moody, she rejects the birth of her brother. She is an odd teenager, and has her secret places within her room, which leads to the attic, where she can be alone. The person she is closest to is the woman who has actually raised her. Not her mother, the Countess, whose attention is all for her birds and her cats, but Nannie Slagg, who has now become the nanny of the new young lord. Fuchsia is mightily displeased, but no one seems to notice, not even Doctor Prunesquallor, whom she is also rather close to. The good doctor lives with his sister, Irma, who exists in a strange world of her own.

The present Earl has a long, lean servant named Flay who has been with him for many years and sleeps on the floor outside of his lordship’s bedroom door. He is a man of few words and creaking bones. In the kitchen, a corpulent tyrant named Swelter holds sway, abusing the young kitchen workers in his charge, keeping them in a state of fright. One day, one of these abused creatures, a 17-year-old named Steerpike, simply runs away. Caught by Flay, he manages to escape by climbing out of the window and ends up on top of the castle, a perilous position to be in. But he manages to find his way to a safe place – one that just happens to belong to Fuchsia.

The earl also has a pair of twin sisters, Clarice and Cora. Identical in every way and quite self-absorbed. They think and move alike and are generally both in harmony and in discord.  They feel neglected by their brother and they despise their sister-in-law. They also feel that Fuchsia should visit them far more often as they are deserving of her attention – of everyone’s attention. In fact, they are angry that Gertrude, the Countess, has the power which should be theirs. The only people they have any communication with are Dr. Prunesquallor and his sister. But that changes when they meet Steerpike, whom Fuchsia has introduced to the doctor and who has become his assistant.

Gormenghast will never be the same now that Steerpike has arrived…

Titus Groan is the first book in the Gormenghast trilogy. It’s hard to actually define it. Is it gothic, is it horror, is it fantasy…. What is it? It defies genre identification, in my own opinion, being in a class of its own. What I will call it is fascinating. Peak creates this incredible world and its inhabitants so vividly that you can feel them. His prose is very descriptive. His characters are both believable and fantastic. The action moves, not quickly and yet inexorably, from beginning to end. There is a BBC series of the books, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyer as Steerpike, Christopher Lee as Flay and two Harry Potter alumni – Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon) as Swelter and Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia) as Irma Prunesquallor. At four hours, it can’t possibly capture the depth of this series, but it does cover the basics, and I found it worth watching. However, I would read the books, whether before or after or simultaneously. This is an amazing series and I am looking forward to the next book.

Saturday is Horror Day #191 – Trap

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Trap

Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is the kind of father teen-aged girls dream of when he gets tickets for them to the concert Riley (Ariel Donoghue) is dying to see! She’s had issues at school recently with being bullied by a group of girls she thought were her friends, and Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) is her very favorite performer.  Riley knows the words to all her songs (although she doesn’t sing them very well) as well as her dance moves.

As they make their way to their seats, Cooper can’t help but notice a massive police presence in the venue, far more than a mere concert would warrant. He quickly figures out they are searching for him, everything is a trap, and he has to find a way to safely himself and his daughter out of this place.

I don’t consider it a spoiler to reveal that Cooper is the serial killer the police are searching for, hence the title of the film. You can see this much from watching the trailer. Unfortunately, the trailer is more interesting than the film. We watch Cooper continually leaving his daughter alone as he tries to find his way out, which entailing a lot of perfect coincidences falling into place and everything going his way, including getting Lady Raven to choose his daughter as her Dream Girl.  Honestly, I felt as though he sleepwalked through is performance, and I do like Josh Hartnett. The girl playing his daughter was okay, but she needs more acting lessons. And Saleka Shyamalan does too. I wonder if she would have been cast if she weren’t the director’s daughter.

I watched this movie despite thinking Shyamalan hasn’t done anything good since The Sixth Sense, and I won’t watch anything else after seeing this. It’s rather predictable, not very interesting, despite hopeful moments I thought might lead to something interesting… but they didn’t. The twist at the end was not even logical and rather ambiguous. There is a small extra scene during the credits, if you make it that far. I had high hopes for this but those were dashed. Lackluster all the way around. I’ll give this film 2.5 Stars.

On a side note, look for Hayley Mills as a police profiler. Nice to see her again. Sorry it was in this film.

Saturday is Horror Day #190 – Unhinged

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Unhinged

Rachel (Caren Pistorius) thinks she has problems, between her ex-husband, being behind on bills, and then losing her job. But she’s about to learn things can get a whole lot worse… and they do. While attempting to get her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school on time, because she overslept, she gets behind a truck with a driver who sits through one green arrow. She honks at him then angrily passes him. But she’s picked the wrong man to upset, as this man (Russell Crowe) has just killed two people and isn’t in the best of humor himself. He catches up with her and calmly requests an apology. She refuses, and now the game is on.

Russell Crowe gives new meaning to the term road rage. Of course, Rachel doesn’t know this when she

confronts him, but she quickly discovers just how unhinged he is. What makes this movie scary, in my opinion, is that I can see this happening. Road rage is real and becoming more and more common, unfortunately. Crowe’s character escalates it to a degree that is terrifying, and the people in Rachel’s life suffer for her actions. This sort of things could happen to anyone. My advice is to keep calm, no matter what, and consider that the person you are honking at might be a potential homicidal maniac if you push the right buttons. I found it amusing that Rachel threw her boss under the bus in order to save herself and her son. Wonder what happened when that came out? Definitely worth a watch. I thought Russell Crowe did a good job as the man, while I had little sympathy for Rachel. She was whiny and made bad choices.  I give this film 3.5 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #189 – Sharknado 2: The Second One, Fright Night (1985)

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Sharknado 2: The Second One

Having successfully defeated the Sharknado in LA, Fin(Ian Ziering) and ex-wife April (Tara Reid) head to New York City for some family time with Fin’s sister Ellen (Kari Wuhrer) and her husband Martin (Mark McGrath) and their children Mora (Courtney Baxter) and Vaughn (Dante Palminteri). Despite having been close friends at one time, Fin and Martin are barely on speaking terms now. On the plane to New York, a freak occurrence happens in the form of another Sharknado! In the course of fighting if off, in order to save the plane and its passengers, Fin is forced to fly the plane and April ends up losing a hand.

They arrive in New York safely. The original plan is for April to join Ellen and Mora for some girl time,

while Fin joins Martin and Vaughn for a Mets game. But plans change, due to April’s injury. As if this wasn’t bad enough, strange weather patterns are emerging – an arctic front from the north, which is bringing snow to NYC in July! And a warm Gulf stream bearing sharks from the South., which are feared will form into Sharnados. Al Roker and Matt Lauer follow the action for their viewers on The Today Show as Fin finds himself having to go to Met Stadium to rescue his brother-in-law and nephew and hopefully meeting Ellen and Mora at their agreed upon rendezvous point. Meanwhile, April refuses to lie quietly in the hospital when there is work to be done.

The second Sharknado film is actually funnier and more interesting than the first one as it doesn’t even pretend to take itself seriously. There are a number of Easter eggs, and I’m sure I didn’t get them all. For example the Airplane references in the airplane they take to New York, including Robert Hays as the pilot. They end up in a taxi driven by…. Judd Hirsch. Andy Dick plays a cop, Richard Kind a one time baseball great, Robert Klein is the mayor, and so on. Vivica A. Fox plans an old wanna-be girlfriend of Ziering and she kicks major add in this. Some I didn’t realize were there until I saw the credits include Billy Ray Cyrus and Kelly Osborne.

Great moments in filmmaking? No, it’s not. Fun to watch? Yeah, I thought so. And I plan to keep watching them. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Fright Night(1985)

Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a typical teen with the usual things on his mind – having sex with his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse) and watching late night horror shows such as Fright Night, hosted by premiere vampire killer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell). But he quickly becomes more interested in what’s going on next door when he sees two men carry what looks like a coffin into a newly sold house. He learns from his mother Judy (Dorothy Fielding) that the house has indeed been sold. While looking out his window, Charley spies a pretty young woman in the window next door, next to a man who unexpectedly bares what appear to be fangs, before drawing the shade on whatever is happening. The next day, Charlie learns of another murder of a young woman in their city, and he knows it was the woman he saw, and his next door neighbor is a vampire!

Neither Charley’s best friend Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffreys) nor Amy believe him. Charley tries to

involve the police, but ends up looking foolish. Desperate, he doesn’t know where to turn until he remembers Peter Vincent and turns to him, unaware the actor has just been fired and is in rather desperate straits himself. But even the vampire killer doesn’t want to help Charley. What’s a boy to do?

Charley thinks he has the answer because Ed tells  him a vampire can’t enter your home unless he is invited, but that plan fails when his mom calls him down to meet their new neighbor, Jerry (Chris Sarandon), whom she has invited over. The vampire lets Charley know he is on to him and has unpleasant things in store for him. Charley has to find a way to contain Jerry and keep him continuing to kill the residents of his town.

Before I watched this, I saw the 2011 version and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the original, or how closely the two films resemble one another. The answer is they do have the same characters and basic plots. And the original was actually pretty good. I was afraid it would be a cheesy 80s flick but it wasn’t. It’s usually fun to watch actors in their younger days, and this is true here. I remember William Ragsdale, who plays Charley, in a series which I enjoyed called Herman’s Head, while Amanda Bearse/Amy is best known for playing Marcy Darcy in Married With Children. Roddy McDowell is famous for many things, but if you want to see him do more horror, watch the comedy horror film Arnold and a segment of Night Gallery called The Cemetery, both of which I enjoyed

I liked Fright Night, and I plan to look for the sequel. Not sure if I want to see the modern sequel, since it looks like none of the original actors came back. This version is enjoyable. And I have to say the dance sequence between Jerry and Amy was rather seductive. I give this film 4 Stars.