Search

Search only in certain items:

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
1988 | Horror
7
6.7 (20 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A nice return for Michael.
Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is having nightmares of Michael Myers coming after her. When he returns to Haddonfield, Jamie and her sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) must fight for survival. Luckily, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) also returns to stop Michael.

Halloween 4 is more of a blunt movie then its predecessors. It lacks the inventive camera work of Carpenter, and Michael comes across less sneaky, he's much more aggressive.
Loomis feels a bit unneeded, the mask is weird looking, the score isn't as good.

But there is still plenty of good. Harris's performance is pretty good, especially for child actor standards. Jamie's nightmares are surprisingly fairly creepy. The various death scenes are brutal and unsettling.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a pretty simple slasher. But it put the franchise on a new steady path, and it gave us Danielle Harris which is a plus. It's definitely not a film you'll hate, and if you like the Halloween franchise it's a must watch!
  
Letter Never Sent (TBD)
Letter Never Sent (TBD)
TBD | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"For years, this fairly obscure Russian movie has probably been my favorite movie. I first had a crummy Russian VHS with blocky Soviet-era lettering (in which the movie title was translated as Unmailed Letter). Then in the early 2000s, my friend somehow found me a bootleg DVD. (Shoutout to Bilge!) Miraculously, in 2012, I saw it listed on Criterion’s “Coming Soon” page. I remember when I saw that, I just couldn’t believe it. This story of survival in the Siberian wilderness is simply the greatest “tough terrain” adventure movie ever made (with apologies to another Criterion fave, The Wages of Fear). Both director Mikhail Kalatozov and his cinematographer, Sergei Urusevsky, seem half-crazed, and my jaw drops repeatedly while watching. Kalatozov is one of cinema’s boldest stylists, and there are a zillion shots in this movie that blow me away. Yet, despite the cinematic fireworks, the most affecting shots might actually be the many meticulous close-ups of the explorers’ faces, which foreground the raw human drama unfolding before your eyes."

Source
  
Wrong Turn (2003)
Wrong Turn (2003)
2003 | Horror
6
6.4 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Wrong Turn is pretty standard early-2000s cannibal/slasher horror, but manages to be memorable thanks to a decent cast playing tolerable characters.

The cannon fodder teenagers in this are also pretty standard, with the exception of the two leads played by Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington. They don't come across as the usual empty headed victims that make stupid decisions, and as a result, it's easy to become invested in their fight for survival.

This first entry in the franchise is a far cry from the more digital looking, torture porn leaning sequels, and boasts some decent practical gore. The designs of the mountain men are suitably unsettling, thanks to Shane Mahan and Stan Winston, and it's easy to see why Thee Finger became something of a horror icon following this film's release.

Wrong Turn won't set your world aflame, but it's a competent and watchable horror that stands well on its own, and is a pretty fun, especially when compared to it's plethora of shitty sequels (the second one isn't too bad to be fair...)