Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

The opening scene of Dir. Philip Kaufman's version of author Jack Finney's 1954 body snatchers story sets a weird tone. The subsequent move to San Francisco, to focus on the part of the world around us that many city folk take for granted and/or see but barely acknowledge is less trippy but it keeps the feeling of unease. One might expect the Noir-esque visuals, the disorientating camerawork and the eerie sound effects and music to clash, but they too function as one, supporting the feeling that things are working on a number of thematic levels, with the personal and political being the most obvious.
Kaufman captures well the foreboding notion that the central characters are being watched from off-screen by unknown eyes. There's an astonishingly creepy FX scene near the end, but the film loses momentum thereafter.

3½ cross pollinations out of 5

Inserts (1975)

It's somewhat ironic that Dir. John Byrum's first feature was for twenty-one years lumbered with an X rating, considering it's a black comedy/satire/direct commentary on the movie business, the people that work in it, and the people that consume its output. At least, I think that's what it's about. It's not explicit in meaning, but it is explicit in other ways, hence the rating for sexual content.
Richard Dreyfuss plays a 1930s film-maker who's left the Hollywood system. Unable to deal with the 'talkies', he now spends his time shooting sleazy silent porn movies in his apartment, a location that the camera never leaves.
With just five characters, including Veronica Cartwright, who I'm a big fan of, it's like a stage play, in which the seemingly washed-up pornographer's interactions with the others reveals the naked truth about himself.

3 genre edicts out of 5

Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994)

aka Mirror Mirror II:  Raven Dance

Marlee and her younger brother are residents at an orphanage run by nuns. The old building also houses the titular mirror, stored in a cupboard, easily accessible, just waiting to be rediscovered!
MM2 has a trio of actors that I usually enjoy seeing at work, namely Roddy McDowall, Veronica Cartwright and William Sanderson, so I gave it a try. As expected, the three stars are entertaining. Also, young actress Tracy Wells was likeable and does an okay job, especially during the dance scenes.
The looking glass does very little other than sit in a corner and try to be menacing with its blue filter vision (why blue and not green?). When it does finally get its shit together and does something it's suitably cheesy.

2 chairs on strings out of 5

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

An unnecessary sequel to a film that had taken its plot as far as it could naturally go. The justification for its existence from a storytelling perspective seems to be that it offers an explanation for the use of a mirror in the summoning of Candyman and sheds illumination on his name.

The pompous prick from the first film returns. He's published a book on the subject and the events that occurred after Helen's digging. By doing so he not only keeps the Candyman myth alive but makes it more widespread.

Unfortunately, it commits one of the worst sins that a horror film can ever commit: it’s boring. Even the reused score cues fail to give some crucial scenes the special kind of aura they need to work.

2 witnesses out of 5

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN [2014]

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Town That Dreaded Sundown is simultaneously a remake of the 1976 grindhouse slasher of the same name and a bit of a meta-sequel.
Set in the same town, the story takes place in a world where the 1976 film is a cult classic and watched annually only to birth a copycat killer that follows the film's murders from beginning to end.  This grim and atmospheric little piece has some wonderful tracking shots and scene set-ups with some great performances to boot but in the end it just isn't all that scary.  Which is fine but it seems to take itself way too seriously, so the fun of cheap laughs are quickly tossed out the window as well.  It's nowhere near as shitty as any of the other slasher flick remakes as of lately but it doesn't quite succeed in standing aside any of the more recent originals either.

2½ trombones of death out of 5

Flight of the Navigator (1986)

A family film about twelve-year-old David (Joey Cramer) who's forced to deal with a frightening and unexpected change in his life. The appearance of an alien ship complicates matters further for everyone involved.
It’s a coming of age story, but not in the traditional manner. I can’t say more than that for fear of spoilers. It avoids many of the clichés that usually litter this kind of feature and makes best use of some others.
Being set in a specific era means it doesn't feel overly-dated, except perhaps for some of the music.

3½ leaks out of 5

Alien (1979)

Ridley's first influential sci-fi is an ambitious production that's lit more like a horror film. The creeping zooms in dark corridors and ominous environments reinforce the claustrophobic living conditions that influence the crew. It's a cold, distanced experience that forces you to find a connection with the mostly unlikeable protagonists. Once you find it, you feel the fear the same as they do when the terror comes calling.
The themes that would make Cameron's action movie sequel worth watching were birthed here, hiding in the narrative and the performance.
The original 1979 Theatrical Cut is superior to the 2003 Director's Cut.
Let's not forget H.R. Giger, who gave the world the most fascinating alien design I've ever seen. Its appeal is that it's familiar but frightening.

5 meals ruined out of 5

QUICKSILVER HIGHWAY [1997]

Camp director Mick Garris has a lot of fun adapting two lesser known short stories written by horror authors Stephen King and Clive Barker.  

The Chattery Teeth segment, based on King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes story looks like it was more fun making it than watching it.  While Clive Barker's Books Of Blood story The Body Politic is actually really entertaining not unlike one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's campier episodes.  Matt Frewer gets top points for taking it that extra step to make it better than it really is, while Christopher Lloyd seems horrendously out of place in a silly wig. 

2 reigning hands out of 5

THE BIRDS [1963]

Alfred Hitchcock wraps himself around the classic story of man against nature in this colorful and eerie thriller.

Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor lead the cast, rounded out by Jessica Tandy (was she ever young?), Suzanne Pleshette and a very, very young Veronica Cartwright.

Hitchcock has a wonderfully brilliant way of "watching" people, setting scenes up and inserting his wicked humor at the best moments.

4 ½ gouged out eyes out of 5