To prep people for this weekend’s release of Twilight, Joost.com is running a special all-vampire feature called Vampires Suck.  While not as many movies are involved as there were on the Halloween special I advertised before, they DO have Underworld: Evolution and Nosferatu on there.  There’s also some snippets from FEARnet for Twilight, some factual history on vampires, and a show called Tales of the Unexplained - London Underworld that looks at some of the real Dracula’s haunts.  So head on over to http://www.joost.com/024jrv4/t/Vampires-Suck and check it out!

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Hey, there, readers!  I know you’re waiting on my next review, but I just wanted to mention a site that contacted me.  They’re called Joost.com and they’re a video service similar to YouTube with some pretty big partners so they can post some really good movies and shows without copyright worries.  Plus, they’re completely free!  Now I know you’re saying "Red Hawk, what does that have to do with Halloween?"  That’s a very good question.  And here’s my response!

Throughout the month of October, they’ve been having a "Special Effects Not Included" Halloween special, with ten classic horror films available.  Alongside previous Happy Horror entries Night of the Living Dead and Nosferatu, there’s also Attack of the Giant Leeches, Troma classic Class of Nuke ‘em High, and Toho’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.  As I said, they’re free to view, so if you want to check out some good, classic horror films, but are on a tight budget, they’re a good place to try.

You can find the special right here: http://www.joost.com/0248l5j/t/Special-Effects-Not-Included-Halloween

And so, until next time, this is Red Hawk signing out!

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"Ain’t science wonderful?" - Mr. Hyde

Day Five of Tony Todd Week, and this time, I’m bringing you an update of a classic story, brough into the modern day.  I know that, with the exception of Night of the Living Dead, I’ve been sticking to cameo appearances for Mr. Todd, but this time, he’s the star of the show, playing both Jekyll and Hyde as polar opposites, as the role should be played.  So, let’s dive in!

The movie opens with a credit role that shows a lot of lab equipment and scientifically-minded things, then opens on Jekyll struggling with someone named Eddie in a laboratory.  Eddie overcomes the good doctor and leaves the lab.  Meanwhile, we see three girls talking on the road, when one decides to walk down to where her car’s parked by herself.  As she walks, we see through the eyes of something watching her, and hear some growling sounds.  She starts running but doesn’t get very far, as the follower attacks her, ripping her apart.  After this, we see the lab again, where Jekyll asks Eddie what he’s done.

Normally, I do a detailed review of the first bit of the film, but I don’t want to give too much away of the movie if you haven’t seen it yet.  One thing I thought was original, in a way, was the interaction between Jekyll and his alter-ego (as seen in the opening sequence).  At first, I thought that Eddie was a test subject that was out of control, then I realized that it was actually a mental struggle between the doctor’s good and evil sides.  Also, the film gives a legitimate reason for Jekyll to keep taking the medicine: he has a heart condition, and it’s supposed to help strengthen his heart.  Unfortunately, the side effects were unforeseen, but he now has to live with it.

Actingwise, Tony Todd did excellently as both the good-natured, philanthropic Dr. Jekyll and the sadistic, bloodthirsty Mr. Hyde.  As Hyde, he has some humorous lines and he delivers them well.  I think this might be one of the few times I’ve seen Mr. Todd in an actual starring role (I know Candyman could be considered a starring role, but he always seemed to be in the background of that film and its sequels).  Tracy Scoggins plays Karen Utterson, one of the detectives out to catch the murderous Hyde.  She’s one of those actresses who I recognized her name, but couldn’t place it to any other films.  A quick look at the IMDb shows she’s played Captain Elizabeth Lochley on Babylon 5, as well as playing in the recent film Otis, the Full Moon film Demonic Toys, and the crossover film Dollman Vs. Demonic Toys.  Dr. Dennis Lanyon, Jekyll’s superior, was played by Vernon Wells, who some people might be interested to know played Wez, the mohawked member of Lord Humungus’ gang in The Road Warrior (or Mad Max 2), as well as Plughead in the Circuitry Man films, and Ransik on the Time Force season of the Power Rangers series.  Stephen Wastell played Utterson’s partner, Richard Enfield.  He’s also been in The Ghosts of Edendale, Curse of the Forty-Niner, and Fright Club.  I also want to take time out to mention the director of the film, John Carl Beuchler.  He is a veteran in the horror film business, with acting, directing, producing and writing credits in a number of films, but most especially when it comes to make-up effects (which he also did for this film).  He’s had his hand in several of the films that have been covered on our site: Carnosaur and Hatchet, namely, and also the first film of next week, Ph-… well, let me just surprise you there.

All in all, I’ll give this film a 4 out of 5.  I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t the best Jekyll and Hyde adaptation I’ve ever seen.  At any rate, it’s definitely worth at least one viewing, though I have to admit that it was a bit bloody in the opening.  Take care, everyone, and tune in tomorrow for my induction for Tony Todd into the Happy Horror Hall of Fame!  Talk to you all later, and until next time, this is Red Hawk signing out!

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"Yeah, they’re dead.  They’re all messed up." - Sheriff McClelland

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Tony Todd Week at Happy Horror!  I’ve admired Mr. Todd’s work in many horror films, from Candyman to Final Destination 1 and 2 to this one, and we’ll be covering them this week, starting with the remake of Night of the Living Dead.  Way back when this first hit the theaters, my mom and I were supposed to go see it with a friend of hers from work and her friend’s daughter, Brenda, who I’d found out had seen me at another movie (Back to the Future III) and had a small crush on me (hey, it could happen!).  On the day we were supposed to see it, I accidentally let my mom oversleep and she thought we’d missed a chance to see it… well, it turned out that it didn’t even show at the theater till late at night, so we ended up seeing Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift, and then we snuck in to catch the first bit of Pacific Heights with Michael Keaton as the ultimate deadbeat tenant.  We left after that and all of us ended up hanging out together for a while.  Unfortunately, nothing ever came out of the crush that happened, but I enjoyed getting to spend time with her.

So, on to the review!  Longtime readers will remember that I covered the original film last year, but for newcomers, here’s the basic gist of it: Barbara and her brother, Johnnie, are traveling to a graveyard to leave some flowers on their mother’s grave.  While in the graveyard, they see a strange-looking man wandering around, staggering in their general direction.  While the original film’s original zombie looked somewhat normal, this one looks extremely ragged and I would definitely notice something wrong immediately.  Anyways, in the altercation between Johnnie and the zombie, Johnnie falls and hits his head on a tombstone, killing him, while Barbara runs towards a hearse, looking for help.  Instead, she finds an empty coffin and turns to see another person walking towards her.  She thinks it’s someone to help, but then notices the way his clothes start sliding off his body, showing his chest with an autopsy scar in the middle of it.  Barbara screams and runs back to the car, trying to get it started but ends up having to pull the parking brake which starts it rolling down a hill and into a tree.  She sees the zombies staggering towards her and runs for the woods, where she eventually comes to a farmhouse…

This film was most likely one of the best remakes that has come out.  The looks of the zombies were updated, the storyline moved ahead to the modern day (for 1990), and one of my complaints from the first film gets rectified: Barbara in this film is now just as strong as the rest of the group, even taking charge in certain situations, rather than sitting on the couch, in shock, the whole movie.  The director, Tom Savini (making his directorial debut), does a good job of balancing the scare scenes with the quiet scenes and the whole film works because of it.

We get a good mix of actors in the film, with the part of Ben being played by Tony Todd.  He plays the role strong, not backing down from the antagonistic Cooper at any time in the film.  Patricia Tallman plays heroine Barbara, and she plays her alot stronger than the original actress did.  She’s also played Posessed Witch in Army of Darkness, a Party Guest in Monkey Shines and has also been a stunt woman in a lot of movies.  Clearly, this film was her breakout, as later on she also played on several episodes of the popular series Babylon 5 (as well as a spoof of it, Babylon Park: Frightspace).  Tom Towles plays Harry Cooper, the antagonistic jerk who insists that the safest place in the house is the basement.  He does well with the role, definitely making you wish that something bad happens to him.  He’s also been in House of 1000 Corpses as well as it’s sequel, The Devil’s Rejects, evil angel sequel The Prophecy II, a Grindhouse fake advertisement (Werewolf Women of the SS), and Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake of last year.  Bill Moseley is an old alumnus of the site, and he plays Johnnie in here for the short part at the beginning.  He’s also been in House of 1000 Corpses and Devil’s Rejects (as Otis B. Driftwood), as well as Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 as Chop Top.  The initial Cemetery Zombie was played by Greg Funk, who also did make-up duty on this film, as well as on Spawn, Rose Red, Blade II, and Transformers, as well as acting in Wishmaster, and doing stunts in a movie that I definitely have to find, Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh.

I loved this movie, and can definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a really good remake of a classic (which is usually really hard to find).  This film gets 5 out of 5 from me.  And so, as always, tune in next time for another Tony Todd film, and until next time, this is Red Hawk signing out!

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