So Horrorfest V is reaching it’s last few weeks and could there be something missing?
I’ve already done an animated film like always, a Disney film, and Alfred Hitchcock. All things that have become staples every year. Now who could be missing?
A Stephen King film!!
Yes, it is time to review a Stephen King film. Not a Horrorfest has gone by without me reviewing one of his films, so here we go.
Every breath you take…I’ll be watching you
I had never seen this film before, but my friend really wanted to watch it as she loves ’80s films and was a horror film mood. Aren’t we all?
The film is actually based on three Stephen King short stories, with the only thing pulling them all together is a cat.
So the first third of the film is based on the short story Quitters, Inc. First we see our stray cat wandering the streets. It goes to a store window and sees a little girl mannequin. This changes into a vision of a real girl (Drew Barrymore) who is calling for the cat to come and save her. I guess it is another child with powers, those come up a lot in Stephen King films.
The cat gets captured by a guy who works for Quitters Inc. He takes the cat back to headquarters, where Dick Morrison is being dropped off. Now you might not recognize the actor’s face, James Wood, but you will defintely recognize his voice as Hades from Hercules.
Dick has been a long time smoker and his friend advised using the agency, Quitters Inc. to finally stop his habit. He’s given paperwork to fill out, but finds it hard to as the man next to him is hysterically crying.
His wife comes out with her clothes all messed up and looking like she has had a hard time. She is furious with her husband, blaming him, but he quiets her down and tells Dick she is having her second treatment.
Dick thinks the whole thing smells.
And he decides to leave, but before he can go he is stopped by Dr. Vinnie Donatti. He brings him into his office and explains their 100% success rate.
That poor CAT!!! I just wanted to run in and grab him, save him.
It’s okay I have you.
So yes the first offense will be James’ wife “cat room”, not too much but there will be shocking. The second offense will be his daughter in the “cat room”, third offense someone will rape his wife, and the fourth offense will be his death.
What a psychopath. A sadistic one too.
So Dick quits cold turkey and goes home. He acts like a real bear because his addiction is gnawing at him. He tries his hardest, but can’t sleep. That night he heads downstairs and starts looking for a cigarette.
When he gets downstairs, he hears a noise coming from the closet.
He grabs an umbrella and throws it at the closet, hearing an umpf. Quickly he tosses his cigarette away and takes his golf clubs out, pretending that was the whole reason he was in the office.
The next day Dick goes to visit his daughter, Alisha (Drew Barrymore) who has down syndrome and lives at a school. He brings her a doll, but sees that Dr. Donatti is watching him. Dr. Donatti warns him that his people will always be watching.
In fact, just that morning a jogger was around his house, but he wasn’t really a jogger as no jogger wears oxfords. Yes look out Dick, they are everywhere.
So Dick has been doing good for two weeks. He then goes to a party and he is the only one not smoking. The next day when he gets stuck in traffic, he finds a cigarette in the glove box and smokes it, confident no one is watching.
Majorly
The guy in the car next to him is a Quitters, Inc. agent and speeds off to report him as soon as the traffic clears. Dick tries to race home and when he gets there he finds it ransacked and his wife missing.
He runs to Quitters, Inc. and sure enough there is his wife in the cat box. Dick tries to fight with the two men and get his wife free. His confrontation frees our stray cat from his cage and he goes running off.
I’m getting out of here
Dick, however, is forced to stay and watch his wife be tortured.
Afterwards, Dick explains everything and his promise to not give into temptation and hurt his family again. I just think why didn’t they go to the police? He never signed a release form and two people will be giving testimony.
I mean, seriously.
So weeks pass and Dick has been doing great, only one problem; he’s been gaining weight. It is common after quitting an addiction, and Dick feels okay about it.
However, Quitters, Inc says that he needs to lose weight or else they will cut off his wife’s pinky finger.
A few days later, Dick and his wife are having dinner with a family friend, the same one who advised him to join Quitters, Inc. They are having a great time until Dick realizes his friend’s wife is missing the top of her pinky finger.
That means that his friendknew what was going to happen. He sent him there and new the horrors he would face. What a-
I would dump that friend and never speak to them again. And that ends our first story.
The second section comes from the short story, The Ledge. The cat and the viewers have traveled from New York to New Jersey, Atlantic City to be exact, as he continues to look for the girl in the vision. Here the cat is trying to cross a busy intersection when he is spotted by Cressner, casino owner and very powerful man. He spots the cat and bets that he will make it across without injury, while his friend thinks the cat will be killed.
All I can think:
Poor cat. They are so cruel to you.
The cat does manage to make it and Cressner takes him home; telling his two rough guys to “get him”
Who?
Meanwhile, gambler and tennis pro, Johnny Norris has been seeing Cressner’s estranged wife. He sends her away on her own as he has a few things to take care of and wants her safe from her crazy husband. As soon as she boards the bus, Johnny is beat up and taken.
He is brought to Cressner’s penthouse and Cressner tells him that he has planted heroin in his car and is going to call the cops on him. However, he will make one deal and if Johnny can do it he will get “money,the girl, the gold watch, the car, and everything.” All Johnny has to do is walk around his ledge without falling off, if he does, he’s dead.
Johnny sees no other way and agrees. However, as he starts to move around, Cressner does everything in his power to try and get him to fall off; playing a trumpet, shooting him with a fire hose, etc.
Ahhh!
He finally makes it around and back inside. Cressner gives him a bag full of money, but there is one extra item. His wife’s head.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cressner gets ready to kill Johnny too, when Johnny, angry and horrified, lunges toward him trying to knock them over. The cat joins in, causing some to trip and allows Johnny to get the gun. The cat then takes off while Johnny shoots the goon and train the gun on Cressner.
Cressner promises him anything, anything at all, just let him live. But that is not good enough for Johnny.
Instead he forces Cressner to do the same challenge he did. And Cressner isn’t as lucky.
SPLAT!
We then come to the third installment, General. The cat has finally made it to the little girl who has been calling him the whole time in Wilmington, North Carolina. However, the girl doesn’t act like she has been calling him, so why was that in it earlier?
So the little girl, Amanda, wants to keep the cat, calling him General, but her mom hates cats. She especially doesn’t want him in the house and throws him out at night. However, General knows he needs to protect Amanda and tries to find a way inside.
Meanwhile, in Amanda’s room a portion of the wall opens up and a troll appears. He kills Amanda’s bird and tries to go after her, when General manages to get through the window and save her, getting stabbed in the process.
The next day, General is kicked out of the house as “he killed polly” the parrot. General lies about injured, the husband discovering it and commenting on it to the wife; but she doesn’t care. She thinks General should die for what he did. She captures him and drops him off at the animal shelter, telling lies so that he is euthanized that night.
That poor cat. I would take good care of you.
Poor cat. They are so cruel to you.
That night the troll comes out and tries to kill Amanda, taking her breath away. General manges to escape, run back to the house, and kill the troll in the weirdest way. He traps him on the record playing Every Breath You Take, and sends him shooting into the fan, cutting him up into a million pieces.
I mean, seriously.
The parents come in and realize there daughter was telling the truth about seeing a troll and decide to keep General to protect her.
So that was Cat’s Eye, first of all it made ZERO sense!!! I mean who decided to put this together? It is just strung along and is just kind of dumb. I mean if they has made the cat a more crucial character and also gave a reason to why Drew Barrymore was calling the cat it would have been better. But mostly-
The first story was the best, but the other two were just dumb. It really isn’t worth watching.
So some of you might recall my post last year on an author I enjoyed, Frank Peretti. He wrote Christian novels, ranging from suspense, to horror, to everyday fiction; but most have to do with angels battling demons.
This film is an adaption of one of his books, so yes it is a Christian film. I know not all of you might be interested in it, but let me say I have shown this film to Christian and non-Christian friends and both liked it. It’s pretty good.
I’ve read the book that the film is based on, and for me I like this film better than it’s source material.
I know it’s weird for me to write such a thing, but it’s the truth. To me the book is two stories, while the film is more focused on one. But that’s not my forte, if you want to read posts comparing the film to its original source material, check out my sister blog From Print to Screen.
Oh and by the way, I could not find like almost no photos of this film. So for the review I will be using whatever I have in my media collection. That’s the hard thing about reviewing lesser known films.
Anyways, let’s get on to the review.
So the film starts off a little different. As they show the credits they show other things that are important to the story. We see photos of a woman, Marian Jordan, and then her with the dog waving good-bye to her husband. Next thing, we see a newspaper clipping, woman missing.
Everyone searches for her, and they find her body. She was killed, but not just murdered.
It appears her death was a part of some kind of Satanic Cult ritual.
After the death of his wife, Pastor Travis Jordan is so grief-stricken, that he ends up quitting the ministry.
Now the actual film begins:
Three years later, and Travis is still grieving. He lives with just him and his dog, but now his dog is sick and has to be put down. After Travis does so, he takes the body home and buries him in the backyard.
Noo!
Poor guy.
So that night, Michael, a seventeen-year-old boy who just moved from San Francisco to Antioch; is driving the Pentecostal Church van with a keg in the back. His friends had dared him and as he is on the way with the keg for the party, three men appear in the road.
Michael moves quickly to not hit them, and ends up flipping over the van and crashing on the side of the road.
Think he survived?
He in this case
He survives it.
How did that happen?
So did these three men save him?
“Tall Man: Be not afraid. You are safe.
Michael: Am I dead?
Tall Man: You must go back.
Michael: Go where?
Tall Man: He is coming.
The man touches him, and Michael has this vision of a windmill, and some other things.
So let’s stop a moment and talk about the cinematography. It is actually beautiful. At times it is creepy,
and often in a voyeristic approach. Giving you the sense that someone is always watching.
Oooh…creepy.
So the authorities come, along with Michael’s mother Morgan, who is the vet. They fill out a report, and the newspaperwoman takes down the story.
Now at the Catholic church, the Arnold the janitor is cleaning and talking to God or to the stature of Jesus being crucified, I’m not sure. He has a problem with his hip and is asking for a miracle, to heal it completely. After all he has done so much for God.
Now here is where I think this guy is going wrong. You don’t do something nice or good in God’s name and expect a reward, then you aren’t truly giving as you expect payment of some sort. God wants a cheerful heart, something freely given. It makes me think of the part in Atlas Shrugged, when Hank’s family all expect this and that, and he tells them that it doesn’t work like that. You give and expect nothing in return, that is a real gift.
Anyways, sorry for the tangent. I’m back. So as Arnold notices that the crucifix is crying, as he reaches up and touches it he starts to have these visions and falls off his ladder.
When he gets up, he is completely healed. He starts telling everyone about the healing tears.
The “Tall Man” shows up again at this miracle as well. Alright, now we know they are more than ordunary men. But are they angels or demons?
Which one?
They tell Arnold:
“Tall Man: He is coming.”
“Arnold: Who?”
So that isn’t the only place seeing Jesus. In a hotel, the mildew makes Jesus on the wall. People see him in the clouds. It’s becoming a full-scale Jesus spotting epidemic.
Things are getting intense.
So Pastor Kyle Sherman, head of the Pentecostal church is unsure what these “sights” are. He and the other religious leaders decide to hold a board meeting, and Kyle wants some extra back up. He goes to get Travis, but Travis does not want to go to church, even if it is just for a meeting.
After Kyle leaves, Travis hears barking.
He goes out there and his dog Max is alive!!!!!
Travis is estatic, but he also notices that same three men that’s been appearing everywhere on his hill.
Who is that?
Kyle goes to see the vet, Morgan to talk about Michael. He wants to have Michael come to their meeting and share his experience. Morgan refuses as they “are not church people”. Kyle lets the comment go, but gives her the bible he brought as a “welcome to the community gift.” She’s not really into it, but rude to resist, she puts it to the side.
So that night the religious leaders are all discussing it. The Pentecostal preacher, Kyle, thinks it is demons and demonic possession. The Baptist minister, on the other hand, thinks it is just the usual religious crazies having fun.
So some of you might not know that Christianity has different splits. Most of them have to do with doctrine. Pentacostals believe in “speaking in tongues”, like the desciples did on the day of Pentecost. Presbeteryians don’t. There is more, but let’s move on back to the review.
So they all start fighting and arguing, until Travis comes in.
Travis back in Church? Crazy! Never thought it would happen.
So they ask Travis what he thinks, and he tells them that he thinks it is nothing, but people wanting things to happen. Before they can talk about it more, they are interupted by screams.
But it actually isn’t anything bad. In fact, one of the girls, Darlene (daughter of the sheriff) touched the crucifix’s tears and is healed of her scars.
Her mom starts yelling and telling people to pray.
She’s not the only one who has had an “experience”. Her father was driving to the church, stopped to pick up the Tall Man, and was talking to him in the car. Next thing he knows, guy disappeared!
The next day, Travis spots the Tall Man on the hill. He goes to get his camera, but has no film.
Darn it!
He goes to the store to buy some, when the owner, Matt Kiley a wheel-chaired veteran, gets touched by the “He” who is coming. He starts to have a shock and seizure. But after it passes, he can walk again!
Travis sees Matt’s transformation, and tries to chase after the person who did it. This leads him to the grocery store, where the lights are all flickering.
Never a good sign.
There he discovers that Darlene’s mother, Dee, was touched by “him” too and is now slain in the spirit.
The person who did this is long gone, and they ask Dee what he looked like. She tells them Jesus.
This is the only painting I have that shows his face clearly
For a moment they are all shocked and confused, until they are interrupted and told that it isn’t Jesus, but Brandon Nicholas, Mrs. Macon’s new farmhand.
Te sheriff decides to drive out there, only taking Travis (backup in the religious circle even though he is no longer a pastor) and Nancy, the newspaper reporter. But of course everyone wants to get a part of him, and they all follow them out there.
When they reach the farm, I guess you could say he looks like Jesus because of his long hair and a beard, but not really.
But wait…I have seen this man somewhere before? But where? Hmm…
HE WAS JOHN CONNER IN TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, back to the review.
So Brandon has moved to the area and going to have a revival. He starts talking to them, and suddenly the mood alters. Brandon is no longer questioning, but has the upper hand. He knows about Nancy the newspaper writer’s search for love, and tells her that he can fill the hole in her heart, he search for love. He sticks his hand out, and when she takes it, it is like a jolt of electricity.
He then goes to Sheriff Brett and tells him he knows all about the tumor in his head, and his 50/50 chances. He tells Brett he can help, strechting out his hand. When Brett takes it he too is shocked and healed.
He asks Travis, but he doesn’t agree to get his help.
As they are all leaving, Travis sees that Tall Man again, and something clicks. He has seen him before, but where?
He heads back to the town and to the sheriff’s office to open up his wife’s case files.
While there, Travis finds a picture of the Tall Man by the ambulance when his wife was loaded in.
opy of the
Morgan comes in to get a copy of the accident report. While the deputy is distracted trying to get a date, Travis takes the photo and puts it in his pocket.
He heads to his car, but stops and asks Morgan if she has seen him too. Morgan disagrees, and I’ll be honest. This is the one scene I don’t really like as the only reason why they do it is so that Morgan joins him in the rest of the film. But it wasn’t that bad, so its nothing to hate the film on, just an annoying piece.
Anyways, the two end up heading up to the revival, as Travis wants answers about the Tall Man, and Morgan wants her son. Yes, Michael is very, very, very into everything going on. So much, that he ends up leaving his mom and joining the commune Brandon sets up.
There Brandon starts healing people. Norman Dillard has had to wear super thick glasses for 40 years, Brandon touches his hand:
He is healed.
Brandon starts touching people, healing, slaying in the spirit, etc. Dee wants to be choosen but he doesn’t pick her, she isn’t young enough.
But Dee predents to be moved by him.
As this is going on, Pastor Kyle comes up and calls out Brandon.
He knows Brandon is trying to insiinuate that he Jesus, and he won’t stand for that. He calls out that Jesus Christ died over 2000 years, nailed to a cross: where are your markings?
And then Brandon does something no one expected. He rolls up his sleeves and reveals that he has nail markings in his wrists.
Everyone goes crazy and starts praising him even more. All are captured by this and don’t stop to think that Jesus was not just wounded in his wrists, but in his side as well. Pastor Kyle tries to warn them about false prophets, but no one will listen
So as everyone is worshipping him, Travis spots the man from the photo, and begins trying to photograph him.
Travis gets kicked out by Brett, who is acting insane. Travis tries to tell him about the photo, but when they look at it again, the man is missing from the photograph!
Travis tries to get Morgan to vouch for him, but she is no help as she is preoccupied with everything that is happening with her son.
The next day Morgan comes over, as she is at a loss of what to do. She was able to fight her ex for custody, but how does she defest Brandon to win her son back?
While she is there, Max Travis’ dog is stolen by the Tall Man.
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
The two follow the truck which heads up to the farm, where Brandon is having another revival, one that is crowded with people. They look around and spot the car Max was taken in, snapping a shot of the license plate.
I have to wonder, why would they take his dog? Is it a ploy to bring Travis back to the farm as he was going to stay far away. Is something to do with bringing the dog back to life? Is his powers failing and he needed the dog back before it fell apart and died?
They head back to the Sheriff’s office and Morgan agrees to a date with the deputy in return for running the plate from the car they photographed. They discover that it was last registered to an Abe of Abe’s Salvage, about two hours away.
When they reach Abe’s Salvage they ask Abe about the car, showing him the photo, but he doesn’t know what happened to it. It was stolen a few years back, and he hasn’t seen it since. As Abe is giving the camera back to Morgan he accidentally hits the next button, and sees a picture of Brandon….except that’s not Brandon.
Yes, Abe reveals that Brandon is not Brandon, but Herb Johnson. Brandon Nicholas used to work for him, but disappeared one day. Herb came along not too long after, but he too just took off withour notice.
After they get that information, they score his home address and search out to see it.
When they head out to the home, they discover it was a horrible, decrepit, falling apart shack. When they go inside they find the walls coverd in all kind of demonic signs, a pentagram, and one wall coverd in the same news clipping, but painted over black so we can’t see it.
The only reason you would do that is if to severely hide something. What could the article cover?
They take one and head out.
They head back to Antioch and when they get there they hear police sirens. Travis knows that Brett has been hanging out at the commune, and has become a body guard for Brandon. He decides not to stop, but keep going heading up to the farm. When they stop, the Brett gets out and starts yelling and attacking Travis, fully pumped of adrenaline.
They calm him down, and he relays a message, Brandon wants you.
Everyone acts almost as if they are under a spell or something. Travis and Morgan follow him to the house in which they run into Nancy.
Where did Nancy go and who is this girl?
Yes, Nancy has gone through a LOT of changes since living on the commune. Not only has she been living there 24/7 but she no longer cares about reporting the news or any thing that used to be important. She wears a sexy dress, drinks nonstop, and only cares about pleasing herself and Brandon.
Travis and Macon both ask after Mrs. Macon, but no one has seen her for a while.
Okay, we don’t know this has happened to her, but that’s what I am thinking.
So Travis is taken to Brandon, while Morgan investigates the house looking for Michael.
So Travis confronts Brandon with his knowledge that he is Herb Johnson, and Brandon doesn’t care.
He tells Travis that Brandon is just a stage name. Brandon…Herb…Justin…the name doesn’t matter. He tries to get Travis to accept him, touch his hand, allow him to heal him; but Travis still says no. Brandon tries to assure him he isn’t evil, he wants to clean up the towm.
While that is going on, Morgan is searching for Michael and goes down a blinking lighted hallway:
Never a good sign.
There she runs into Max, the dog, is starts trying to attack her so she runs downstairs and back with Travis. They are heading out when something hits their car.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It turns out to be Darlene who has a huge cut across her forehead. They ask her what happens, and she tells them that Brandon wanted her to do things, things she’s not interested in doing. And when she said no, he hurt her.
They put her in the car and head to the hospital. While they are heading to the hospital she reveals that her scars she wa healed from, have come back. And hurt even more.
It looks like Brandon’s so called “healing powers” don’t last. Interesting, very interesting. And more proof that Brandon is not Jesus.
Back at the commune, Brandon has canceled the night’s services. Everyone is disappointed, but Tall Man goes and selects the pretty young girls for Brandon’s private sessions. Dee hopes to be choosen and recieve special attention, but they won’t take her because she is too old.
And all I can say, is hey you are married. You shouldn’t be trying to get with any man that is not your hudsband.
So back at the hospital, the Sheriff shows up yelling at them to leave his daughter alone. They tell him the story and he goes in with her. They talk to the doctor and Morgan sweet talks him into letting them use the cat scan to read the article. Sometimes being a girl is extremely awesome.
Back at the farm, Matt’s legs aren’t working right. He wants to see Brandon to fix it, nd Michael helps carry him to the house. He leaves Matt in the parlor and goes looking for him upstairs and finds something creepy.
Brandon tied to a barbed fence with a chisel and speaking in a strange language. It is a creepy scene.
Michael gets freaked out and runs out of there.
After the doctor bandages Darlene’s head, Brett takes her home. There they find Dee staring at herself in the mirror.
She’s crying about not be choosen and the voices she has in her head telling her thinks. They try to calm her down, but then Brett starts twesking out as well. He sees the Tall Man and is trying to shoot him, when in reality the only people there are his wife and daughter.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They run from him, as he chases them around shooting.
He finally calms down and heads out to the farm to give Brandon a piece of his mind.
Michael is running across the cornfield, trying to get as far away from the farm as possible.
AHHHHHHH!!!!
When he stumbles upon two guys burying something.
Matt has crawled into Brandon’s room, where he is currentlu gettin a massage from Nancy. Brandon is angry and yelling at Matt for turning on him, of which Matt promises that he would never do such a thing. He will do whatever Brandon wants.
Brett storms in as well, angry and yelling at Brandon. He is about to stand up to him, when his tumor comes back. Brandon promises tp take away the pain, but only if Brett becomes his servant. Brett agrees.
I just think what a jerk. He would trade his own comfort fpr his daughter?
And this begs the question again, are Brandon’s “healings” really healing anyone? They seem to last only a short time, and then need to be administered again.
At the hospital, they find out what the article says. 15 years ago, Reverand Cantwell disappeared a fugitive from the law, with his son Justin. This all sarts to gel in his mind and brings something back to him.
He talks about looking into who owned that decreput house. Just as they are discussing how to do it, Pastor Kyle and Michael show up.
Michael was running and ran into Pastor Kyle. He was freaked out, so Pastor Kyle decided to take him to the hospital. As they are talking, Michael starts tewaking out all over the place. Turns out he is posessed. Pastor Kyle does what needs to be done:
After he has prayed the demons out of Kyle, doing it the way ones are actually done , through prayer, and not showy like in The Exorcist or Supernatural. Michael tells them about the body. The group ends up splitting up.
Travis and Pastor Kyle head out to see what was buried, while Morgan and Michael go home tp do reasearch.
Travis and Pastor Kyle dig up the whole and find two bodies. One in a jumpsuit with the name Brandon Nicholas, the other, Travis thinks is Reverand Cantwell. They figure out that ever three years someone has been killed; Reverand Cantwell 9 years ago, Brian Nicholas 6 years ago, and then Marian Jordan 3 years ago. Someone needs to die tonight, and they think it is Mrs. Macon.
While they are talking, Brett comes on the scene shooting like crzy and trying to kill them as he is under orders from Brandon. He too is posessed, and Pastor Kyle has to do an excorcism on him as well. But once it is done, they team up and head up to the farm.
There they have to watch out for Brandon’s other bodyguard, Matt, who have I mentioned used to be a sniper in the military. Brett manages to get into the house and finds Mrs. Macon, too bad she is possessed too.
They see no sign of Brandon, and Travis figures out that he went after Morgan instead. As he is leaving he spots his dad on the second floor balconey. He now has a choice: go after the last connection to his wife, or save his friend he cares about that might become more.
He chooses to go after Morgan; leaving his past behind, accepting his wife’s death, and opening his heart to others.
Morgan has found the documents online, and sees that the house was owned by Reverand Cantwell. Just as she has made this discovery, Brandon appears with his posse. And I’m sure you have realized those guys are demons.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michel gets stuck to the wall spinning like a windmill
While Brandon attacks Morgan.
Travis has reached the house and discovers Morgan tied to the table with barbed wire, while Brandon is there with a chisel.
Travis announces that he has figured out who Brandon really is…Justin Cantwell. Justin’s father was a minister and a psycho. He was abusing wife and son, and Justin made a choice to go to Travis for help. Travis calls CPS, but they don’t help as Rev. Cantwell can be charming when he wants to be.
After that, the Reverand decided he needed to punish Justin for going to a rival church. He ties him up with barbed wire on the base of the windmill and crucifies him with a chisel.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He makes a covenant with the devil, he is saved, given a few powers, and can continue to live but has to shed blood every three years. He went after Marian because he wanted Travis to suffer as he blames him for not doing more. It’s the same reason why he made discoveing his identity so easy and why he chose Morgan.
Travis tres to overcome him, but can’t as Brandon/Justin’s demon friends knock him about. Justin starts dying, as he is nearing his time and hasn’t killed. Just as he is about to, he throws one final barb ay Tavis, asking him where’s his God now?
Travis maages to grab a bible and tosses it, saving Morgan and killing Justin, as he hasn’t killed anyone yet.
The next scene, they are having a funeral for Justin. Travis is now Pastor Travis, he and Morgan are at the start of something, and the town is mending back together.
I know some of you might not care for it, but I loved it. It has a few hokey moments, as all do, but overall a good and creepy film. Too bad they don’t have any video clips of it on youtube.
And sorry, but no facebook cover photo/poster, as I couldn’t find any pictures really online to work with.
Justice, ain’t about bringing back the dead, white man. Justice, is about justice. Your friend the policeman, your friend the judge, they make sure nothing happen to you. They keep you safe. But I make sure something happen to them. That justice, white man. Gypsy justice!
It’s that time of the year again. Our annual Stephen King Post. Now some of his film’s I do like, The Secret Window, Children of the Corn, The Shining, etc. Thinner is not one of them.
Now this doesn’t have all the usual tropes:
But it is kind of a lame story. Let’s get started before I give too much away.
So Billy Halleck is an obese lawyer.
{Now the film is set in modern times, I just felt like using an old photo from a previous post.} Anyways, he lives with his wife Heidi and their daughter Linda. Heidi tries to get him to stop eating:
Heidi Halleck: Billy, you’ve got to stop eating like that. I want you to stop digging your grave with a spoon and fork.
But Billy can’t stop, he loves food too much.
Billy has just helped a Mafioso, Richie, get off from going to prison. Something his wife also finds fault in him.
Meanwhile, in the town Billy lives in, there is a carnival, one which is run by gypsies. One day his wife is distracting him, by doing oral sex, and he hits and kills a gypsy woman.
You need to leave gypsy women alone. They can lay some serious curses.
This gypsy woman, however, dies instantly. The death is ruled an accident and no charges filed. The dead woman’s 106 year old father, Taduz Lempke, is angry that Billy got off so easily and curses him, saying to him “Thinner”.
So Billy keeps losing more and more weight. No matter what he eats, he keeps getting thinner and thinner.
He’s getting emaciated, almost as thin as this guy.
Heidi calls in a doctor, Dr. Mike Houston, who can’t find anything to help him. So the doctor decides to help himself to Billy’s wife.
Billy enlists the help of Richie and they begin to wage a war on the gypsies. Billy’s friend, the Judge who let him off, also gets cursed, “Lizard”. He commits suicide as he can’t stand looking at himself anymore. It all comes to a head when Richie kidnaps Taduz’s granddaughter, Gina, intending to kill her, but stopped by Bill.
Taduz finally agrees to lift the curse, but only if they promise to leave him and his family alone. With Billy’s agreement, Taduz makes a pie from Billy’s blood. Whoever eats the piewill die, and Billy will gain more weight.
Taduz tells Billy he should eat the pie himself, and die honorably, but Billy has decided that this pie is going toward the people he wants revenge on.
In this case it is fattening as it will help Billy gain weight.
He calls his daughter and tells her that he is doing better and she should spend the night at a friend’s house. He then goes home and gives the pie to his cheating wife.
That night he puts the rest of the pie in the fridge and goes to sleep. The next day he wakes up and Heidi is dead.
AWESOME!!!
But when he goes downstairs he discovers that Linda has eaten some of the pie. That means in his quest of selfishness, to get revenge on his wife and her lover, he has just killed his own daughter.
He decides to head the gypsies advice and eat the pie, killing himself, when the doorbell rings. It’s the Dr. Houston, the man his wife was having an affair with!
Billy then decides to give this doctor the pie and complete his revenge.
Billy Halleck: Dr. Mikey! A bit early for a house call, isn’t it?
Dr. Mike Houston: Oh, Billy! It’s- it’s not what you think! I…
Billy Halleck: It’s okay, Dr. Mikey. I was acting like kind of a big jerk. But, everything’s fine with Heidi, I’m even starting to gain a little weight. In fact, I was just about to dig into this breakfast pie. Care to join me?
Dr. Mike Houston: I couldn’t possibly…
Billy Halleck: Oh, it’s no trouble at all…
[Dr. Mike Houston enters the house]
Billy Halleck: …white doctor from town [chuckles and shuts door].
Yeah, he seemed to get over the fact he killed his own daughter pretty quickly. What a jerk.
So yeah, I didn’t like it. I thought it was boring, the main character unlikable, and I hated the fact that He KILLS his daughter he supposedly doted on and had an incredible bond with, and a second later he’s over it and planning revenge. A true dud King, a true dud.
This movie has been referenced in so many books and films that I had been dying to watch it. I wanted to see why everyone loved. So this past Friday the 13th, I decided to watch it and The Wolf Man (1941) as it was a full moon. But when I saw it, I found it was HORRIBLE!!!! One of the worst films ever!! On par with Attack of the Killer Tomatoesand The Beast of Yucca Flats.
The main character, David, is so bland and hardly developed that I don’t even care if he becomes a werewolf or not. He also acts crazy all the freakin’ time. In The Wolf Man (1941), Larry thinks he’s crazy, realizes that he’s not, and then tries to stop turning into a werewolf and hurting others. David on the other hand seems to revel in the crazy, and doesn’t seem sad at all that his friend is dead as he is enjoying Nurse Price, etc. While The Wolf Man is sad and tragic, this was just boring and…more boring.
It took over an hour to see David turn! Over an hour! This movie is an hour and a half and I don’t want to have to sit through an hour of crazy David and naked David and have no werewolf!
This is like Godzilla (2014)!!!! If I’m watching a monster movie, I want to see that monster mentioned in the title! The Wolf Man (1941), has a wolf right away, as Bela is a werewolf, and then we see Larry turn at the half hour mark. That’s how its done people!!
They really should have changed the title of the film to David Naughton, My Naked Body, as that is really what this film is about. We see more nudity and sex than we do a werewolf, which is super disappointing.
I started a M&M eating game. For every time David was naked I would eat an M&M. My stomach started hurting barely in.
I have to admit I am getting ahead of myself. Lets go back to the beginning and go through some of the issues.
So for those of you who haven’t seen the film, Jack and David are Americans backpacking through Europe after they have just graduated from college. They are lost in the moors and come upon a pub called the Slaughtered Lamb.
I think the name is a message to steer away.
[Side Note: the pub is based on a real one that was destroyed years ago. After the film, they opened one up in New York.]
So as the two are walking towards the pub, David tells Jack knock-knock jokes. And I kid you not, he doesn’t get them.
Like who doesn’t understand knock-knock jokes? I mean three-year old children understand that concept. How did Jack even graduate? And more importantly, why did they even include that in the film?
And why would you ever enter a place called the Slaughtered Lamb? It just doesn’t sound like there will be anything good there. I’m with Jack on that one, you should’ve passed on it David.
Bad things happen when you don’t listen
So they go into the Slaughtered Lamb, Jack sees a pentagram and candles on the wall and he begins telling David all kinds of trivia from The Wolf Man (1941).
The two end up getting kicked out of the pub and start wandering the moor, when a werewolf attacks.
It attacks Jack and David takes off running.
Yep he takes off. You horrible man, you let your friend die! How could you??!! He was trying to help you and when the wolf attacks him you just RUN OFF???!!!
See Hook agrees with me.
So David ends up in the hospital with a “wolf” bite while Jack ends up in the morgue.
Your fault!
And that’s when Nurse Price enters the picture.
Ugh. Hate her.
Nurse Price is crazy and a skank. Now I don’t like to call women that, but she plays with David’s junk to get him to eat! I’m serious!!!
She must have a thing for sick/crazy guys.
Plus she is just annoying in how she acts. Nurse Price calls Mark Twain Samuel Clemens when she is reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court I know that is his real name, but who actually goes around using it? NOBODY! Everyone calls him Mark Twain. And I know the director is trying to draw parallels between the stories, but no movie, no.
The only similarity between the two is an American in Britain. NOTHING ELSE!
David doesn’t have the most fun in the hospital. He sees dead Jack and actually talk to him (weird scene). Jack tells David he is going to be a werewolf and he believes it. David is eventually allowed to check out as his bite is not serious. Nurse Price invites David back to her place and tells him she wants to be with him. She says “I don’t really bring strange men home…I’ve only been with seven men, of which three were one-night stands”
Sounds like you do bring strange men home since that is about half the men you’ve slept with, and David will make that four out of eight.
All I can think is how many were people presumed to be crazy (as at this point she thinks David is just imbalanced as he says he is a werewolf)? I mean she’s like Sam Winchester over here. (She actually is as he slept with a werewolf. And a demon. Dated another demon, and was involved with some other monsters.)
So as Nurse Price and David head back to her flat (apartment) they comment on how high the price of all food is. I’m like,
You paid like £5 for a bag of groceries. I wish food was that cheap.
Why? Why!
Anyways so we have a second visit from Jack and to be honest, this film is more about the Leprechaun (1993)/Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon a Time Zombie Ghost Jack, than it is about a werewolf.
The next day after Jack and Nurse Price had sex, she leaves for work and twin girls with a dog come upon Jack. The girls’ dog barks at him and they both laugh like crazy and walk off.
What? I know they are trying to reference The Wolf Man (1941) how the dog can sense he is a wolf (Gwen’s fiance Frank, his dog does this). But what was up with the twin girls? Did they think after The Shinning (1980) that the only way to do a creepy film was to have weird twin girls?
And are they honestly going to included every song that uses the word moon? We’ve already had Blue Moon and Bad Moon Rising, I am now half-expecting Moon River to be played next.
And we get the cliche #56, “person pretends in the mirror to be the monster they later turn into”.
Ugh
So we switch to the hospital and get a second round of this bratty little boy who says no all the time (he was in the first hospital scene). He’s even more annoying the second time around that I am actually hoping he does get eaten.
Die, die, die!
The transformation scene was okay.
So the next day David wakes up in the zoo naked with the wolves. Now that doesn’t make much sense to me, if you are a wild werewolf, why would you go put yourself in a cage? You’re free! It would make way more sense if he woke up in the park instead.
So David tries to get arrested, “to protect others”, and that was kind of funny because the bobby (cop) won’t consider it until he starts insulting the Queen, Winston Churchill, and Shakespeare. But he is so rude to nurse Price. Telling her to shut up and leave him alone:
He then tells Nurse Price he loves her, and she’s like woah Ted Moseby, slow down. I Love You? Really after one night? Woah, you don’t even know her. Besides she’s crazy. You don’t want to date crazy.
David then runs off to call his family and tell them he cares about them before he kills himself, but can only reach his 10-year old sister as everyone else is out. All I can think is, 1) David was attacked by a werewolf or “wolf” as the doctors are calling it and 2) his best friend has been killed! How are his parents not in London right now trying to see if he’s okay? Their son could have been killed!!
See Hook agrees with me.
So David tries to kill himself but can’t go through with it. Now all I can think is, haven’t you seen The Wolf Man (1941), I mean I assume you did as you were telling the nurse about it. Well don’t you remember, a werewolf can only be killed by silver? Slitting your wrists doesn’t work.
So stupid
So after that David sees Jack outside a porno film movie house and goes in after him. All I can think is, you’re worried about killing people and you go see a porno? Really?
And don’t give me, that’s where zombie Jack was at and he needed to speak to him. Before that we saw that Jack came to David wherever he went (hospital, Nurse Price’s flat, etc); he could find himself a quiet place and Jack would totally follow him there.
Plus what us up with the film they are watching? A guy and girl are getting it on and a second guy comes marching in the room yelling “You promised you wouldn’t do this again!” The first guy says “No, I didn’t.” The second guy answers, “I’m talking to her.” The women replies, “I don’t know you.” The second guy gets really embarrassed, says “Oh”, and leaves.
What the heck was the point of that? And immediately after, Jack says “great movie”. I know you are super horny Jack, but no, no, no, no ,no, no, no, no. That is horrible, horrible, horrible.
After this I couldn’t stomach anymore. It wasn’t scary. There was barely an werewolf. It was pretty much a huge mess. I’ll take The Wolf Man (1941) any day.
No no no no no
And here I will leave with more werewolf than we see in the film.
To start Horrorfest III from the beginning, go to Even a Man Pure of Heart
For the previous post, go to You Will Die in Seven Days
For more on An American Werewolf in London, go to Pink Elephants
Just what is this thing? Chaos, chaos in the flesh.
Phantoms is a 1998 film that is based on the book by Dean Koontz. The story is very creepy, and I was surprised at how well the film was done. I thought it was going to be done in a very stupid, silly way; but it was the essence of creepiness. The only thing I didn’t care for was Liev Schreiber, I felt that he didn’t portray the character very well in the beginning. I wouldn’t have chosen Rose McGowan either, but she did surprisingly well. I loved Ben Affleck as the sexy Sheriff and love interest. I love Ben Affleck though, I mean who doesn’t? They changed the film from the book, as expected, but the changes do not destroy the film, thank goodness. If you’d like to watch the film go here. So the film starts out with Dr. Jennifer Pailey bringing her trouble-making sister Lisa to live with her. They are hoping the change of scenery will help straighten her out as she was involved with gang members in Los Angelas.
I want to go back to LA
When they reach the town, it is empty. Like really empty. There is no one out and about even though they are in a ski town, in the middle of winter with great snow.
They continue on home. When Jennifer gets there she finds her housekeeper dead. All the life had been sucked out of her and she looks burned.
The girls are widely freaked and decided to head to the sheriff’s. But there is one problem, their car won’t work.
Oh no!
The girls hurry on to the sheriff’s office where they find a deputy, burned and blackened. He appears to have shot his gun at something, but they don’t find any traces of it, except shells. Dr. Jennifer grabs a gun and the two run off to the bakery, as it is getting dark and they are really freaked out. They head to the baker’s, running quickly as they hear sounds as if someone is following them. When they get there the oven goes off revealing severed heads!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
The girls are completely grossed out and confused when the Sheriff (who ex-FBI) finds them.
Hello Sexy!
With him are his two deputies Steve Shanning (Nicky Katt) and Stuart Wargle (Liev Shreiber) have come to investigate. They decide the best thing to do is go to the sheriff’s department, and just when they do every single horn, siren, whistle, bell, etc. goes off and then suddenly stops. The only lights left on are down on the Candleglow Inn up the street.
They check it out and see that only four guests are registered. The Sheriff and Stu go upstairs, while the girls stay behind with deputy Steve.
While the sheriff is upstairs he goes into a room and starts looking through an opening in a closet. When he does he sees a vision of a young boy with a gun, which disappers. You see when the Sheriff was FBI he accidentally shot a boy, which made him quit and turn to small town life.
Aw! Look at his face. 😦
Stu goes in the other room and finds a beautiful, dead woman. He sits next to her and puts his hand up her leg…
What a perv!
Then the Sheriff walks in. He lets it go, even though he is severely grossed out as he knows what Stu was doing, but he needs every man he can get as he has no idea what the situation is.
The Sheriff has Stu watch the hall as he continues checking things out. Stu comes on to Lisa who tells him flat out no, she is not digging that.
Dr. Jennifer joins the Sheriff and they discover that a bathroom locked from the inside (that has no other windows or doors) is empty, with something written on the mirror in lipstick. The writing says “Dr. Timothy Flyte–The Ancient Enemy“.
The two have no idea who Dr. Flyte is but intend on finding out. In another empty room they find a bunch of metal objects like jewelry, buttons, watches, gold teeth, a pacemaker, etc.; concluding that this thing, whatever it is strips a person completely of everything, if it chooses.
EW!
They go back into the lobby to regroup and figure out their next step. But then they suddenly hear a woman crying out “Help me!” and Deputy Steve rushes out to save her. The Sheriff follows him, but when he gets outside all that is left of Steve is his shoes and a gun.
They head back to the Sheriff’s office and put the dead deputy in a body bag. They then call for help–military, Dr. Flyte, anybody, but the line was so bad they don’t know whether or not it went through.
Bryce and Stu go through the dept. and pull out all their ammunition getting ready for–whatever the thing is that is trying to attack them. The lights go out and the creature takes on a Alien/The Thing (1982) feel. The next thing you know, Stu is dead.
Too be honest, good riddance. He was a creep and I didn’t like him.
They also put Stu in a body bag and wait out the night.
We then switch to another part of the country- Dr. Flyte. Dr. Flyte (Peter O’Toole) is a tabloid worker in New York City. He used to a professor at Oxford, but they let him go as they felt his writings were “too silly”.
Two FBI agents ask him to go to the small, winter, town of Snowfield to help solve what the “thing” is.
Back in Snowfield the three survivors are trying to figure out what to do next. Lisa tries to take a nap while the Sheriff tells Dr. Jen about how the monster called up the incident with the young boy. The two are interrupted when Lisa asks the Sherif to walk with her to the bathroom. He checks it and finds it clear. Lisa begins to smoke when she hears a squealing noise coming out of the drain.
She checks out the bathroom stalls (much like Scream) and finds the Deputy Stu there!
In the book the “Phantom thing” was more like the Blob from The Blob (1958); although it could take on the shape of other things, or create small phantom pieces of itself. In the film, however, the “Phantom” embodies the form of Stu, which is understandable from a filmmaker point of view. It doesn’t copying The Blob at all, as I mentioned earlier copying The Thing. Just like The Thing, the “phantom” takes on the appearance of something. This wasn’t a horrible decision as I bet it was easier to film. They also did a lot of blackout or limited lighting when the creature was in its true form, which allowed it to remain creepy as your imagination creates it. The director of It(1990) should have used the same technique, it would have been a better film.
I didn’t really care for Liev Schreiber, and thought he could have been much creepier. Instead he just comes off as a pervert. This film has actually ruined him for me in all other films. When I watch Kate & Leopold, Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Lee Daniel’s the Butler, or X-Men Origins: Wolverine; I keep expecting him to do something perverted to all the women.
Yes I am
Anyways, back to the story. So the Sheriff goes into the bathroom and can’t find anything. They go down to check the body bags, but both are empty.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Meanwhile Dr. Flyte is on route to Snowfield with military General Leland Copperfield, some mobile labs, an armored strike van, etc–all ready to take on whatever the “thing” is. They ask Dr. Flyte about “the Ancient Enemy”. Dr. Flyte explains that there were creatures, he calls “Ancient Enemy” who are amoeboidshapeshifters. This Ancient Enemy rarely feeds, but when it does, the effects are devastating and it was theorized that the Enemy either caused or aided in the extinction of the dinosaurs, the destruction of the Mayan civilization, Roanoke disappearance, the missing army of Nanking, China in 1939, etc. And the town appears to have been built on the home of one of these “Ancient Enemies”.
The group arrives to Snowfield and the three survivors come to meet the army. The next thing you know, “the thing” has taken out almost the whole team using its shape-shifting qualities and the pipes/sewers. Now these scenes are pretty intense. I was watching them and screaming and my roommates were all, are you ok? I highly recommend watching this film.
General Copperfield is last of the military to be killed; as a pair of oily black tentacles seeps up through the pavement, penetrates his hazmat suit, and smothers him.
[Note: From The Mist]
This leaves Dr. Flyte, Sheriff Bryce, Jenny, and Lisa as the remaining survivors..
He’s dead but the “Phantom” uses his body as a mouthpiece and begins speaking to the crowd.
“My Flesh. Study it. Write the gospel. But do not try to leave. Witnesses to the Miracle.”
The body then falls to the ground and an oily black substance comes out along with a gecko, of which the group is supposed to get a sample of. Dr. Flyte begins to analyze the sample, coming to the conclusion it has lived in the depths of the earth for eons, growing to immense size, and absorbing knowledge from its prey. It can separate off parts of Itself to send as drones, warriors, phantoms, etc.–having them assume the shapes of anything or anyone It has absorbed; even of people or monsters from memories and dreams.With these, It has manipulated Bryce, Jenny, and Lisa into bringing Dr. Flyte here, to be Its prophet, and to write Its gospel. For It has begun to think of Itself as God–or the Devil. Indestructible. All-Powerful. Immortal. Unstoppable.
This is bad. Very bad.
Dr. Flyte’s analysis reveals that It is similar to oil and if they are able to make the same kind of bacteria that eats away at oil spills, they may just have a chance at stopping it. They create cultures and prepare for the final battle.
Dr. Flyte goes out and calls to the creature.
He tells It that he needs to see all of it in order to write Its “gospel”. He says that the others are creating a weapon against It, that they don’t believe in It like he does. It appears first as a single person, but then becomes all 400 residents of the town, merging and melding into one swirling mass, which resolves Itself into an immense, hideous, upright millipede.
The Sheriff, Jenny and Lisa run and fire the guns loaded with the bacteria culture into It. This causes It to scream. Jenny and Lisa run for shelter into the nearby deputy’s office, to reload their guns but are pursued by a drone of Deputy Stu.
Deputy Wargle: Oh, you’ve got some guns, ladies, you wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man, would you? [both women cock shotguns and point them at him] That’s a dumb question.
They empty their shotguns into him, knocking him down, and blowing away huge chunks of his legs and arms. Tentacles shoot out of his arm and leg stumps. The girls run away and and he follows, but is killed by Dr. Jen as she shoots him with the last of the culture.
The bigger entity is falling apart and the Sheriff follows the last of It down into the sewer, finding him face to face with the boy that he killed. He hesitates, and while he does so, a tentacle shoots out of the boy’s mouth, and knocks him down. His gun with the culture is stolen by It. It pulls the vials out and starts taunting the Sheriff. In response to It’s mockings the Sheriff pulls out his gun and shoots the vials, causing the bacteria to spread all over.
With one final ear-shattering scream It is gone, and Bryce makes his way back to the others. As a helicopter arrives to rescue them, Dr. Flyte announces to the others that the Entity has won after all: It wanted him to tell the world, and that’s just what he’s going to do. Everything seems to end well, or well enough. Dr. Flyte has his story and will win back his prestige; Sheriff Bryce is no longer traumatized about killing the boy; Dr. Jen and Sheriff Bryce have found each other; and Lisa and Dr. Jen have bonded. Sounds as perfect an ending you can get for a horror film.
Uh, uh uh. Not quite yet!
We switch to a scene in a bar where Dr. Flyte is in TV talking about It and how it may still be out there waiting. One of the guys in the bar turns to his companion and says its a lot of hooey. A strange laugh is heard and at the end of the bar is Deputy Stu Wrangle, showing that It is still alive.
So it really was a good film, and I’m telling you the scenes with the creature are super creepy!!! You’ll love them if you love scary movies!
So unlike the other facebook cover pages I have made (and you should have guessed by now that practically every post has one) I made two for this one as the first one wasn’t working out right. Here’s the second one for those of you interested.
![[Note: From The Mist]](https://janeaustenrunsmylife.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/the-mist-2007-05.jpg)
![Deputy Wargle: Oh, you've got some guns, ladies, you wouldn't shoot an unarmed man, would you? [both women cock shotguns and point them at him] Deputy Wargle: That's a dumb question.](https://janeaustenrunsmylife.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/600px-phantoms-ithaca-1.jpg)
janeaustenrunsmylife 