Shocker is a 1989 horror movie directed by Wes Craven and starring Michael Murphy, Peter Berg and Mitch Pileggi. A serial killer called Horace Pinker(Pileggi) is on the loose in Los Angeles. He has killed loads of people and the detective in charge of the case is called Don Parker(Murphy). He is on the trail of Pinker when Pinker kills his family. He doesn't kill his foster son, Jonathan(Berg). Jonathan tells his father that he saw the killer in his dreams. He tells him that he saw the killer's name on his van. He is a television repair man. His name is Pinker. He leads his dad to Pinker's home and they try to get him, but he escapes. Pinker is mad at Jonathan, so he murders his girlfriend, Alison, in revenge. Jonathan has another dream and he leads the cops to find Pinker, who is just going to kill someone. Pinker tries to get Jonathan, but the cops arrest him. He is arrested and sentenced to death.
Before he is taken to the electric chair, he performs some sort of ritual and makes a deal with the devil. He tells Jonathan that he is his real father and that Jonathan shot him in the knee because he tried to kill his mother when he was a child. He is electrocuted but he turns into some sort of spirit and can possess bodies. He escapes the prison and goes into a doctor and then a cop. Jonathan is unsafe and he sees Alison who tells him that he needs to stop Pinker. She hands him a necklace that will help him to defeat Pinker.
Pinker jumps into Jonathan's football coach and he tries to kill Jonathan. Alison and Jonathan try and get the coach to fight Pinker, but he can't. He kills himself. Pinker jumps into Don but Don manages to get him out and Pinker ends up inside the TV. Jonathan gets his pals to go to the power station to shut off the power and this will stop Pinker. Jonathan succeeds in trapping Pinker in a TV and the power shuts off, leaving Pinker stuck. Jonathan and Alison rejoice.
This was a pretty good movie. It isn't as good as some of Craven's other movies, but I liked it. The idea of the killer jumping from person to person was good and I liked Pileggi as the sadistic killer.It is worth a look if you are a fan of Craven, as I am. All in all, this is an entertaining horror movie which I recommend. I will give it a 6/10.
Retro Puppet Master is a 1999 horror movie and the seventh movie in the Puppet Master series. It is directed by David DeCoteau and stars Guy Rolfe, Greg Sestero and Brigitta Dau. The movie begins after Puppet Master 3. Toulon(Rolfe) is with his puppets and they find a bit of Cyclops, an old puppet of Toulon's. Toulon says that Cyclops was one of the first puppets he had. He tells them a story. It begins in Cairo,in 1902. A man called Afzel has stolen the secret of life and he is in trouble with a god called Sutekh, who sends his men to get it back. He is able to fight then and flee to Paris. The god Sutekh sends three mummies after him. Cut to Toulon, who is making his puppets. A woman called Elsa(Dau) wanders is to see his puppet show.
Afzel gets beaten up by men who have been hired by the mummies. Elsa finds him and Toulon brings him into the theatre. He talks to him about the secret of life and he wants to pass it on to him. He makes the puppets come alive and Toulon believes his story. Toulon's friend dies and Afzel tells Toulon to bring him inside and he uses his blood to animate the puppets. He teaches Toulon what he knows. He warns Toulon not to waste the gift of life. Elsa is having problems with her father who does not want her to see Toulon. He gets his men to take him out to the forest and leave him there. He threatens to send Elsa away. The mummies go to Toulon's home and they kills his friends. Afzel kills himself so Sutekh won't get the magic.
Toulon uses his friends souls and puts them into the puppets. The mummies want to kill him, but they can't as the puppets help him. They go and capture Elsa and hold her hostage to get Toulon to come. He takes the train and sends the puppets to find her. They do and he has to fight the mummies who want the scroll that Afzel gave to him. He manages to get rid of them and he and Elsa head off into the future, along with the puppets...The movie ends with Toulon telling the puppets that he has more stories to tell them in the future.
This was a fun sequel and it contributed to the story of the puppets. I liked the way that it set up the next movies and it is a good origin tale. It wouldn't be my favourite of the Puppet Master movies, but I enjoyed it all the same. If you enjoy the series, then this will be entertaining. I liked it anyway. I will give it a 5/10.
Stagefright is a 1987 horror movie directed by Michele Soavi and starring Barbara Cupisti, and David Brandon. The movie begins with a woman being murdered on the street. It turns out that this isn't real. It is a play. The director is Peter(Brandon) and he is not happy with his performers. One of them, Alicia(Cupisti) hurts her ankle and is taken by her friend, Betty, to a hospital. It turns out to be a psychiatric hospital. They talk to the doctor. In one of the cells, a killer called Irving Wallace, is being held. He was an actor, but he went insane and killed people. He escapes from custody and hides in Betty's car. Alicia gets fired because she left the theatre. Betty gets murdered by Wallace. Alicia finds her dead body outside and she runs back in to tell everyone. The police come. Peter wants to use the murder to promote his play. He tells the cast that they need to keep going with the play. He tells Alicia to come back. He decides to put the character of Wallace into the play.
One of the actresses, Lauren, hears a noise in the wardrobe room. She is nervous. Someone is in there. She thinks that it was an actor called Brett, but it wasn't. He is looking for his Owl costume, but he can't find it. The killer has it. He shows up on stage and people think that it is Brett. Alicia discovers that they are locked into the theatre. The killer murders one of the performers for real on stage as the others watch, thinking that it is fake. Wallace turns off the lights. The cast search for torches. Another actor gets killed by Wallace. The group search for a key to get out of the theatre. More of the group get killed by Wallace. They go to the workshop to find weapons. The killer is prowling around.
Peter dies and Alicia is left alone in the theatre with the killer. The cops don't see anything as they are sitting outside in their car. Alicia looks for the key and she finds a gun. The killer arranges all of the dead bodies on the stage, She sees that he has left the key on stage. She climbs under the stage and tries to get it. Wallace hears her and tries to kill her. She manages to hurt him. She uses the key but can't open the door. There is a chase scene as Wallace tries to get Alicia. She manages to set him of fire and she gets out of the theatre. The cops come and the press come. Alicia goes back inside to look for her watch and she finds it broken on the floor. The caretaker comes in with her. The killer comes for her again and the caretaker shoots him dead. Or does he?
I really liked this slasher movie. The setting of the theatre was fun and the whole movie was just entertaining. I like these kinds of films and I enjoyed this. There isn't too much to it and you get the idea straight away, but it is just enjoyable throughout. I recommend this as it is a good horror movie and the cast are pretty good. This is directed by Michele Soavi who also directed The Sect. I prefer this movie, to be honest. I will give it a 6/10.
Hatchet is a 2006 horror movie directed by Adam Green and starring Joel Moore,Tamara Feldman, Kane Hodder, Robert Englund and Tony Todd. The movie begins with two guys who are crocodile hunting in a swamp. They are killed by some sort of monster. Cut to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and a group of people are going to visit a so called haunted swamp. They go to see a guy called Rev. Zombie(Todd) who was doing the tours, but has stopped now. He points them in the direction of another guide called Shawn(Parry Shen). Ben(Moore) and his pal Marcus(Deon Richmond) are going along with two porn actresses called Misty(Mercedes McNab) and Jenna. They are making a movie with dodgy director Doug(Joel Murray). There are an old couple, Jim and Shannon, who are along for the ride.
They go on to the boat which Shawn is in charge of. It becomes obvious that he doesn't have a clue what he is doing. The boat hits a rock and Shawn tries to fix it. It is no good, as the boat gets flooded. They need to get off the boat.They meet a girl called Marybeth(Feldman) whose dad and brother were the two men killed at the beginning. She is looking for them. She tells them that they are in Victor Crowley's woods. She says that Victor was disfigured as a boy and his dad kept him inside at all times. Some teenagers set fire to the Crowley house so he would come out. Victor was locked inside and when his dad tried to break down the door with a hatchet, he killed Victor, who was behind the door. The old man died ten years later. People have disappeared in the swamp.
Jim is injured so they need to get help. They pass by the Crowley house and Victor(Hodder) appears. He kills Jim and Shannon and Marybeth shoots him. It makes little difference. The group look for weapons. They go into his shack. Marybeth finds the dead bodies of her dad and her brother. He kills Shawn and another of the group. Ben stabs him. He wants to fight back and he wants to get gasoline and burn him. Of course, Victor is not dead. They throw the gasoline on him and set him alight. Unfortunately, it rains and the fire is put out. Victor chases Ben, Marcus and Marybeth. He catches Marcus and kills him. Victor runs into a spike and gets impaled. Marybeth and Ben think that they are okay so they go to the boat. Marybeth gets pulled into the water. A hand comes to help her out but it is Crowley who is using Ben's severed hand. She screams....
This movie is just so much fun. I really liked it a lot. I liked the humour and the gore was great!!! There are some great scenes in this and the whole movie is just enjoyable from start to finish. It was refreshing to see a newer horror movie that reminds me of the older slasher movies like Friday the 13th etc. If you enjoy slashers, as I do, then you will like this. It is entertaining and a must for any horror fan! I recommend it and I give it a 7/10.
