'Jason Takes Manhattan' is squandered potential

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Starring: Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves, V.C. Dupree, Kelly Hu, Sharlene Martin, and Kane Hodder
Director: Rob Hedden
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

A chartered boat full of high schoolers celebrating their graduation crosses Crystal Lake, and in doing so dredges the undying killer Jason Vorhees from his temporary watery grave. Mass murder and massive amounts of mayhem follow, aboard a ship and on and under the streets of Manhattan Island.

Someone came up with the clever idea of trying to breath new life into a played-out slasher movie series by moving the murder spree from shadow-haunted woods to the debris-strewn alleys of New York City. And that's where any cleverness and creativity stopped.

From the shipload of super-intelligent Asians, hyper-athletic black kids, bitchy white party girls with big hair, and Jason hacking and stabbing his way through the stereotypes with wild abandon, aside from a change in setting, there seems to have been little or no effort put into writing a decent script. In fact, the writers don't even give us kills as impressive as we've seen previously. Worse, they almost completely squander the basic idea's potential for a really terrifying film, what with the set-up of the close confines of a ship by going with all sudden shock kills/attacks instead of mixing in a few slow-build terror sequences. Hell, they even fail to fully deliver the promise of the tile; Jason doesn't get to Manhattan until the final 1/3rd of the movie, and he is even absent from the film for a bit at that point. Perhaps "Jason Goes for a Boat Ride" would have been a better title?

Near the end of the film, Jason is washed away by a wave of toxic sludge. Perhaps this is the one clever bit in the movie--with the writers commenting on what they believe the nature and effect of their "contribution" to the franchise will be?

There isn't much to be said about the acting, the music, or anything else about the film's technical aspects, other than the camera's always in focus and gore effects are well done. At least some effort was put into that. Lead "survivor girl" Jensen Daggett is easy on the eyes, and she does an adequate job, but supporting cast members Kelly Hu and V.C. Dupree are far more interesting both as characters and as performers on screen; naturally, then, given how bad this movie is, they are both killed off early.

Hardcore fans of the series and the world's biggest lovers of slasher flicks, are probably the only viewers who will enjoy this movie. It's not as bad as "Jason Goes to Hell" but it's close.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Karloff

In celebration of Boris Karloff's birthday, I present a review of one of last great screen appearances. For more reviews of films featuring this great actor, visit The Boris Karloff Collection.

Targets (1968)
Starring: Boris Karloff, Tim O'Kelly, Nancy Hsueh and Peter Bogdanovich
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

As aging horror movie star Byron Orlok (Karloff) prepares to announce his retirement, a seemingly average young man, Bobby (O'Kelly), embarks on a killing spree. The creator of make-believe monsters and the real-life monster come face to face when Bobby's day of terror culminates with a sniper rampage at the drive-in where Orlok is making his final public appearance.

In "Targets", Bogdanovich expertly interweaves two storylines that only really connect in a single scene at the film's climax. In the process, he manages to build a tremendous amount of tension, because we come to like and care about Orlock, his secretary (Hsueh), and the young writer/director (Bogdanovich) who is trying to convince him to make at least one last movie--his movie. The audience can see that these three characters are going to walk head-long into Bobby's gun-sights, and Bogdanovich establishes that he is a good shot.

Although the entire film is perfectly paced, well-acted--with Karloff in particular shining, despite his health being poor at the time--and looks far better than the shoe-string budget it was shot on should allow, it's the scene where the two stories finally completely merge, with Orlok and Bobby confronting each other that really makes the movie for me.

This is a film that's definately worth seeing for fans for suspense and horror movies and admirers of Boris Karloff. It's the last good movie in Karloff's career and like so many of his films it holds up spectacularly well.

As I make this post, "Targets" is officially unavailable commercially. A few copies may still be had at retailers and you want to make sure you get the "Paramount Widescreen Collection" DVD version of the film. That disc includes an interview with Bogdanovich. It gives some fascinating insights into how the movie came to be. It's a very different film than it started out as--a throw-away Roger Corman production made to fulfill Karloff's contractual obligations to the producer--and it's a story that illustrates that pure business decisions can sometimes lead to great art, even on shoe-string budgets and tight shooting schedules.

'Case 39' is good but predictable horror film

Case 39 (2010)
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, and Bradley Cooper
Director: Christian Alvart
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A social worker (Zellweger) rescues a girl (Ferland) from parents so crazy and abusive they tried to cook her alive in an oven. She takes the child into her home while a foster family is sought, but she soon learns that maybe the parents weren't quite as crazy as it appeared. She soon learns that she may have let a literal demon into her life.

"Case 39" is a well-made but absolutely predictable horror film that is elevated by strong pacing and excellent performances from its stars. There's nothing here you haven't seen before if you've watched at least one "killer kid" movie, be it "The Omen", "Godsend", or even "Bloody Birthday".

Perhaps the best thing about the entire movie is Joelle Ferland as the demon-child Lilly. A common complaint I have about movies is the casting of older actors to play characters younger than they are, something which is usually a bad choice when it comes to roles written for children. Some of the worst examples of this was the 16-year-old Holly Fields as 4th grader in "Seed People" and the busty 20-somethings trying to pass for teens and even younger in "Terror Toons", because in all cases, the actresses don't look like kids, so when they behave like they are, they come across as if they are portraying developmentally retarded characters instead of children. But Ferland, although a teen trying to pass for a ten-year-old is excellent in her part.

It starts with the fact that Ferland is one of the scrawniest 15-year-olds you're likely to encounter outside a Russian women's Olympic gymnastics team training gulag, so she can physically pass for a slightly tall ten-year-old. But she is also a talented actress who is easily convincing as a precocious abused child and who is able to play sweet and inquisitive without coming across as cloying or irritating--with her big doe-like eyes helping immensely when it comes to taking on a wounded puppy air. But because she is older than the character she is portraying, she is equally capable of turning on a sudden, much harder edge, instantly transforming the cute little Lilly into a frightening psychopath that oozes menace from every quietly spoken word and every subtle curl of her lip. The scene were Lilly reveals her true nature to a doomed child psychologist is one of the high lights of the film, and a scene that convinces me that Joelle Ferland is a talent we'll be seeing a lot of in years to come if she sticks with acting and avoids the Lindsay Lohan Trap. But regardless of the future, Ferland has secured herself a place in the Creepy Movie Children Hall of Fame.

Although she is ostensibly the star of the film, Renee Zellweger really has the thankless job of being the victim of Joelle Ferland's demon child. But it's a job she performs admirably. I've heard that some reviewers have stated that Zellweger isn't convincing as a social worker, but I can't see where they're getting that from. To me, she seemed perfectly believable as the sort of dedicated above-and-beyond the call of duty CPS worker who is going to burn out and change careers or become an indifferent supervisor. Zellweger also sells me on her transformation from a woman who is enjoying pretending that she is a mom, to a woman who finds herself trapped and increasingly isolated by her supposed charge. Throughout the film, Zellweger played her part perfectly, whether she was a crusading caregiver or a panicked victim. Going in, I was wondering if she would be able to pull it off, because of other roles I've seen her in and because of the comments I'd heard, but I was instead left wondering what movie those other reviewers watched, because it didn't seem to be this "Case 39".

More often than not, I end up rating a film as predictable as this one at the low end of average, no matter how good the performances or pacing or technical aspects. But this one has the added benefit of a strong ending, one that avoids the habitual "shocking twist" that stopped being shocking 20 years ago, but instead goes with a more classic sort of ending; the film pulls out all the stops in is final 15 minutes and ends when the story is over. No tacked-on crap here... just the end followed by the credits. Even better, we've got a film where good beats evil at its own game, which is always something I find appealing when it comes to films focused on supernatural evils like this one.

There are going to be many, many choices for you to spend your entertainment time and money on this October--with 29 more suggestions coming from this very blog--but if you like supernatural thrillers or horror films about Evil Children, you should make "Case 39" a priority.

'Dead Again': Mystery meets reincarnation

Dead Again (1991)
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Andy Garcia and Robin Williams
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A private detective (Branagh) trying to uncover the identity of a victim of amnesia (Thompson) discovers that she may be a reincarnated murder victim... and that someone is still stalking her.


"Dead Again" is a thriller with fantasy/horror overtones as it revolves around the notion that people are reincarnated to share life after life. It makes good use of the fantasy elements, weaving them into the mystery plot and using them as part misdirection and ultimately making them central to a couple of well-executed third-act twists.

While this a well-acted and often engrossing film with a well-written script, it drags a little during the flashbacks to the 1940s to the point where it might be tempting to turn it off. If you stick with it, your patience will be rewarded, although you will still wish they had trimmed a bit of those sections.

Dark Waters can't cover bad writing

Dark Water (2005)
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Ariel Gade, Pete Postlethwaite, Tim Roth and Dougray Scott
Director: Walter Salles
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

A mother and her young daughter (Connelly and Gade) shortly after they move into their new apartment, in a building with a creeper super (Postletwaite) and strange plumbing problems. This go from mildly unsettling to nightmarish when the girl gets an imaginary friend... who is actually a vengeful ghost.



I came to this film knowing nothing more than it was a horror movie and that it probably involved water. Barely twenty minutes in, I knew pretty much everything that was going to happen, thanks to foreshadowing so heavy-handed that I'm surprised the projector could support its weight, and a storyline that not once deviated from a paint-by-numbers ghost movie plot. Sure, there were some half-hearted attempts at misdirection, but they were too little and too late and too disconnected from some of the events that had already occurred to work. The end result is that unless this is the first ghost movie you've ever encountered, you're going to spend more time wishing the story would move forward than being scared or apprehensive.

If the goal was to produce a ghost story that plods through all the expected standards step by predictable step, the creators succeded. I kept HOPING that they'd take an unexpected turn somewhere, but they never did. The only decent thing about the film is that all the performances were appropriately understated. Connelly is great in her part, and Tim Roth shines as her quirky attorney.

My bottom line: Save your time and money. There's not enough worthwhile here for you to spend either on "Dark Water."

Reluctant psychic enters 'The Dead Zone'

The Dead Zone (1983)
Starring: Christopher Walken, Tom Skerritt, Brooke Adams, and Martin Sheen
Director: David Cronenberg
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Johnny Smith (Walken) awakens from a five-year coma to discover he has psychic abilities, which he gets visions of the past, present and a terribly deadly future. He uses his new powers to help a sheriff (Skerritt) to solve a murder and to save a life, but his visions tell him that nothing he does will matter unless he manages to stop Greg Stillson (Sheen) from gaining the US presidency--because Stillson will bring about a nucular holocaust.


"The Dead Zone" is one of the very best Stephen King adaptations (and the novel upon which it is based happens to be one of his very best books). The director does a spectacular job, especially in the area of using visuals and sound effects to pull the viewer into Johnny's psychic visions. The cast is also perfect, with Walken really shining as the tragic psychic who wants nothing than to just have his old life back, but who has to face a destiny that is being thrust upon him.





(An amusing side note is that Martin Sheen did become president on the TV series "The West Wing".)

You didn't expect anything else, did you?

April Fool's Day (1986)
Starring: Deborah Foreman, Ken Olandt, Pat Barlow, Deborah Goodrich, and Jay Baker
Director: Fred Walton
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Muffy St. John (Foreman) invites several of her good friends from college to spend the weekend of April 1st partying at her isolated family home. Fun turns to fear when the guests start to fall victim to a murderer.


"April Fool's Day" demonstrates that long before Wes Craven's "Scream" movies, filmakers were playing with the subgenre's standards and audience expectations to create films that deliver both the familiar and unexpected. The coolest about "April Fool's Day" is that the title and the jokes that day brings to mind are used to their utmost all throughout the movie... all the way up that twist upon the all-too-expected "unexpected twist ending.

With a cast that's not only handsome but also talented, a solid, expertly paced script that only works as a slasher tale but also serves as a almost-classic suspense film, this is a movie that fans of both slasher flicks and mystery films should get a kick out of. (The only possible dissapoitment I can see is if you like gory death scenes with lots of blood. This film features none of those. There is a really cool scene in a well where.... I better stop. I don't want to spoil anything!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Starring: Paul Kelman, Neil Affleck, Lori Hallier, Don Francks, and Peter Cowper
Director: George Mihalka
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A bunch of young miners and their girl friends throwing a Valentine's Day party are stalked and killed by a psychotic miner bent on avenging a decades-old tragedy.


"My Bloody Valentine" is one of any number of holiday-themed slasher-flicks (with "Halloween" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" being the most famous of the lot), and it is blessed with a better-than average script, better than average group of actors, and a killer who's one of the most striking appearing of the madmen who slashed and stabbed their way across movie screens in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His full mining gear, complete with gasmask and helmet with mounted lamp, is creepy enough, but he's downright terrifying as he stomps down mine tunnel, snashing the lights to make the already dark mine even darker.

On the other hand, that nice, spooky costume also has the drawback of requiering that the slasher in "My Bloody Valentine" has powers of stealth that must outstrip even those of the mightest ninja: How, exactly, does a killer who wanders around with a spotlight mounted on his forehead sneak up on his victims? However he manages it, this guy does.

Although mostly well done, the script does have two major weaknesses. The first is the town's chief of police. I don't think I've seen a dumber cop outside a 1930s "dark old house" mystery. The second is the "clever" twist in regards to the true identity of the killer. I don't think even audiences in 1981 would have been surprised by that groan-worthy, badly executed "surprise."

The print I saw of the film was obviously and heavy-handedly edited. There seems to be an entire segment missing from part of the chase in the mine, and almost all the murders are edited so the gory bits happen off-screen. (While this tends to lessen the impact of the murders, the one exception is the murder that takes place in the shower. The angle from which we see the body when it is discovered is more disturbing than it would have been if we had seen the kill, or seen it from the discoverer's point of view.)

"My Bloody Valentine" is worth a look if you're into slasher movies. It's competently made and well acted. (It's a shame that it appears to have been butchered by studio censors. Maybe a "restored" version can be produced, if the cut footage still exists in a vault somewhere; it's unlikely, as the film is not part of a series, nor does it feature anyone who went on to become a big star. If the right bits of footage are restored, this would be a stronger movie.

Eddie Murphy is a 'Vampire in Brooklyn'

Vampire In Brooklyn (1995)
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett, Kadeem Hardison, and Allen Payne
Director: Wes Craven
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Maximillian (Murphy) is the last of a dying breed of vampires. He travels to New York City to woo the one woman who can become his undead bride and save his bloodline (Bassett). But he first has to overcome her devoted friend and valiant defender (Payne), and the incompetence of the local help (Hardison).


"Vampire in Brooklyn" is a horror/comedy that, despite its great cast and talented director barely manages to achieve the upper end of average. It's a great homage/send-up of the blacksploitation flicks from the 1970s, and the classic vampire movies of the 30s, 50s, and 60s, and it mixes its elements well... but it doesn't go quite far enough with either its humor or horror.

The cast, though, needs to be acknowledged. Murphy plays an excellent vampire, bringing charm and menace to every scene he's in--not to mention a fair amount of well-delivered laugh lines. Hardison, however, is the true comedic heart of the film. As Maximillian's slowly rotting undead henchman, he is funny and disgusting all at the same time. Bassett and Payne both make for great romantic figures--her with her troubled past and even more troubled destiny, and he with his unwavering devotion to her and his duty as a police officer. Every actor and every character in the film are perfect for the type of movie this is... it's just that there isn't enough "oomph" here.

I've been told there are some out there who believe this movie is racist, because of Hardison's dimwitted, lowlife, criminal character who becomes an even more repulsive undead creature. They also like to point to the various black criminals and all-around scum that Maximillian meets when he arrives in Brooklyn. Oh my God... the movie features black characters who are less than righteous, and who serve as comic relief!

What these critics seem to miss (or, more likely, willfully ignore) is that Bassett and Payne both present black characters who are high-achieving, highly intelligent career police detectives. And then there's Murphy's vampire character--the lead figure in our story.

So, if you've heard someone condemn this movie for its racists undertones, just write that person off as a moron whose love of Political Correctness has rotten his brain. If you've heard someone condemn "Vampire In Brooklyn" for its timid, middle-of-the-road script that seems to be striving for acceptance among polite society, you're dealing with someone who is closer to criticizing the movie's true flaws.

The bottom line is that Eddie Murphy and Wes Craven have both done films worse than "Vampire In Brooklyn". However, this is a movie that should have ratcheted up the comedy and/or horror aspects just a tad more to be truly good.