Category Archives: Horror-Comedy

2012 Films, Animated, Comedy, Gothic, Horror-Comedy, Kids

Hotel Transylvania-2012

Leave a comment

Hotel Transylvania-2012

Director Genndy Tartakovsky

Starring Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg

Scott’s Review #418

70220028

Reviewed June 18, 2016

Grade: C-

Hotel Transylvania is a 2012 animated comedy film about an overprotective Dracula with a teenage daughter fascinated with the human world.

The premise sounded interesting to me- a gothic, spooky feature, and the animations are very well done- bright, colorful, and unique- but the plot is way too predictable, and the story is as safe as they come.

Despite the dark mood of the film, there is nothing remotely scary about Dracula or any of the other characters. Rather, they are completely cliched and quite amateurish.

The target audience is ages 10 and under, and parents might find themselves bored. I am not a parent, and I was bored to tears at one point.

It is too cutesy for my tastes.

Save for the impressive animations, Hotel Transylvania (2012) is completely mainstream fare and forgettable filmmaking.

A great story achieves mountains, and this one lacks.

2015 Films, Comedy, Horror, Horror-Comedy, Made for Television

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda- 2015

Leave a comment

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda- 2015

Director A.B. White

Starring Robert Englund

Scott’s Review #267

80058483

Reviewed August 16, 2015

Grade: D

To say that Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015) is a bad film is being generous. It is poorly made, written, and acted.

Containing every horror and comedy cliché in the book, it is not a film to take seriously and is best watched late at night amongst adult spirits.

The premise is ludicrous, the acting way overdone, and all characters are “types” and one-dimensional.

Having seen the original Lake Placid (1999) and Anaconda (1999) films (and they were not so great themselves), I was unaware that this is the fifth film for both franchises and is a crossover.

Premiering on the Syfy network in mid-2015, it is a made-for-television feature, and the lack of any real gore is apparent for this reason.

Robert Englund and Yancy Butler, stars of other franchise installments, make return appearances. Sadly, this one has no Betty White or Jennifer Lopez (stars of the original Lake Placid and Anaconda, respectively).

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is not trying to be great or necessarily art, but rather an idiotic late-night experience. I did not rate the film a solid ‘F’ since it knew what it was and did not try to take itself too seriously, which I respect at least.

The story begins in the middle of the woods near Clear Lake, Maine, as an illegal experiment occurs inside a truck. The serum is being illegally extracted from a sedated crocodile to sell to a giant corporation for profit.

Jim Bickerman (played by horror legend Englund) has been paid handsomely to provide information for the plot to happen.

A villainous corporate schemer is on hand to oversee the events. Inevitably, something goes wrong and the crocodile wakes up and gets loose, encountering large anacondas, also on the loose.

From this point, we are introduced to other inane characters that round out the film, including a group of bitchy sorority sisters on their way to Clear Lake presumably to pledge and party, and Sheriff Reba (Yancy Butler) and her bumbling team of police officers.

Also integral to the story is one of the sorority sisters (Bethany) fathers, Will, who attempts to help Sheriff Reba rescue everyone from the killer reptiles.

Side stories include the laugh-out-loud pledge attempts by some of the sorority wannabees (one is forced to dig a hole in the sand large enough for her to hide in within twenty minutes), a friendship between the only two sensible girls, Bethany and Margot, a high leveled female executive intent on capturing the serum for riches, and a burgeoning romance between Reba and Will.

Silly personified, the film is meant to be goofy and the actors play their roles as they are foolishly written. There is not a shred of realism to the film and none of the characters have any depth.

The worst offender from a character standpoint is humorously my favorite. Tiffani is the comically vicious sorority queen. With her constant berating of the new pledges, she regularly demands that they get in the water and swim for her entertainment.

Ultimately, the girls are attacked by the crocodile in the water, allowing for multiple camera shots of the girls swimming underwater while scantily clad.

Is this a 1980s low-budget horror throwback? When the crocodile emerges to land the remaining girls flee for safety.

In a hilarious scene, Tiffani and one of her minions are cornered by the vicious crocodile. The minion asks what they should do and Tiffani replies with, “I have an idea”, and promptly pushes the minion towards the crocodile where she is chewed to bits allowing Tiffani to escape.

Later, predictably, Tiffani receives her comeuppance.

I find myself perplexed as to why this film was even made. With a shoestring budget, dated CGI effects, little blood, and a silly plot one assumes that the franchise’s predecessors were similar ventures.

Laced with one dumb scene after another and tough to take seriously, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015) is as poor filmmaking as they come, but certainly to be taken with a grain of salt and enjoyed for its campy badness.

Horror-comedy for a boozy Saturday night.

1981 Films, Horror, Horror-Comedy

An American Werewolf in London-1981

Leave a comment

An American Werewolf in London-1981

Director John Landis

Starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne

Scott’s Review #253

Reviewed July 2, 2015

Grade: B

A melding of British-American horror and comedy, An American Werewolf in London (1981) provides entertainment while also being a campy and silly.

While two American buddies, Jack and David, traverse the English countryside with backpacks in tow on a spring break jaunt of sorts, one is viciously attacked and killed by a strange werewolf, setting off a series of strange occurrences that play out over the remainder of the film.

From this point, the film is told from the perspective of one of the males, as the other appears to him in visions, warning him of his inevitable transformation into a werewolf.

An American Werewolf in London does not intend to mock the horror genre, but it is certainly campy and over-the-top.

Despite the cult-classic accolades thrust upon the film, which I respect, it is not among my favorites.

I would have preferred it to tilt more towards the horror classification rather than the comedy, because it comes across as some spoof, with the main characters overacting.

The film has a silly quality. It is light fare instead of dark or morbid, and even the kills are meant to be fun, not horrific. In a way, it is almost cheesy, and that is not a compliment.

This is not to say that the film is completely subpar. It is decent, but not very believable, and I think that is a distraction and a missed opportunity.

However, my favorite characteristics of this film are the makeup/special effects and the musical score, which features such fitting treats as “Moondance”, “Bad Moon Rising”, and “Blue Moon”.

Sense an intelligent theme? The makeup, especially during the reanimation sequences, is creative and still impressive today, considering the film was made in 1981.

Besides, the best scene of the film is undoubtedly the “Slaughtered Lamb” scene when Jack and David stumble upon the aptly named pub filled with interesting, blue-collar-looking locals.

When one of the tourists inquires about a mysterious five-pointed star on the wall, the pub dwellers grow angry and cold, leaving the young men confused and intrigued.

This scene is full of interest, and I only wish the pub characters had more of a chance to shine, as they seem benevolent and have potential backstory.

I would have enjoyed learning more about the history of these folks.

Sadly, the focus is by and large on Jack and David and a poorly constructed love interest- Nurse Alex Price, who is not to be taken at all seriously and played for one-dimensional laughs.

A lighthearted, sort-of fun late-night flick, An American Werewolf in London is a cult film, though I would not agree with the “cult classic” distinction.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Makeup (won)

1973 Films, British, British Horror, Horror, Horror-Camp, Horror-Comedy

Theatre of Blood-1973

Leave a comment

Theatre of Blood-1973

Director Douglas Hickox

Starring Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry

Scott’s Review #230

220px-Theatreofbloodposter

Reviewed March 23, 2015

Grade: B

Theatre of Blood (1973) stars Vincent Price, a long-time fixture in the classic/campy horror scene, as a demented Shakespearean theatre actor who enacts revenge on critics who fail to recognize him for a coveted award he cherishes.

Price, as always, frighteningly good, delivers a campy, but not ridiculous, turn as the crazed actor.

Price’s appearance alone- tall, wiry, with sinister facial expressions- poises him perfectly to believability in any dastardly role he portrayed in his heyday, and the performance he gives as Edward Lionheart is no exception.

Not solely a campy, melodramatic horror film, Theatre of Blood rises above that categorization with humorous tributes to Shakespeare and a unique chronicle of the Shakespearean works used to systematically take out the critics one by one, about the Shakespearean story, quite frankly, in a comical and witty way.

Price eerily dresses in many different elaborate costumes to commit the murders- a wine-tasting expert, a television host, among other interesting characters, and oftentimes, taunts his victims before permanently dispensing them.

The film is quite British in tone and humor, and is done in a tongue-in-cheek manner, so that the murders are not to be taken at all too seriously.

The critics themselves- seven or eight of them- are deliciously fun. One is a loud, boisterous, fat man who always has his beloved poodles at his side.

What happens to him and the dogs is better left unsaid.

Another is an uptight, sophisticated woman (played by Price’s real-life wife Coral Browne). Several of the critics are depicted as comic villains, so their demises are not particularly devastating for the audience, as they are, to begin with, rather unlikable.

I found myself rooting for Lionheart and looking forward to the next murder!

One criticism involves Diana Rigg, who plays Price’s daughter Edwina, accomplice to his dirty deeds. Well known for her starring role in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the 1960s Avengers series, Rigg has little substance to do in Theatre of Blood.

Perhaps by 1973, her film career was on the decline, and she was no longer winning the coveted roles. I would have loved to see her sink her teeth into a meatier role.

A sidekick, Edwina, could have done much more.

The film belongs to Price, and the unique storytelling of Shakespeare’s works was made possible only by this great actor.

Not overly serious and played for some laughs, Theatre of Blood (1973) is successful in its telling of an interesting British horror story.

It’s a nice late-night treat for fans of the British horror genre, especially.

1988 Films, Comedy, Horror, Horror-Camp, Horror-Comedy

The Lair of the White Worm-1988

Leave a comment

The Lair of the White Worm-1988

Director Ken Russell

Starring Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant

Scott’s Review #15

Reviewed June 17, 2014

Grade: C+

The Lair of the White Worm (1988) is a very strange film.

Set in Scotland, it tells the tale of a giant snake skeleton unearthed in the ground, which leads to a series of strange events.

A wealthy Lady, brilliantly played by Amanda Donohue, begins a sinister plot to sacrifice the townspeople.

The film is campy and way over the top, though Donohue is delicious and seems to have fun with the role of a slithering, sexy, bisexual creature.

The gloomy ambiance is fantastic, mixed with many psychedelic sequences that are entertaining.

It’s a somewhat fun, late-night B-movie, to be sure, but the plot did not seem to make much sense to me, especially in the final act.

Lair of the White Worm (1988) is a trippy experience to say the very least.

I may need to see it again.

1967 Films, Gore, Horror, Horror-Camp, Horror-Comedy

The Gruesome Twosome-1967

Leave a comment

The Gruesome Twosome-1967

Director H.G. Lewis

Starring Elizabeth Davis, Gretchen Wells

Scott’s Review #8

60001958

Reviewed June 17, 2014

Grade: B+

The Gruesome Twosome (1967) is an offbeat treat, an extraordinary, super-low-budget horror film from influential director H.G. Lewis.

This film is an enjoyable, campy, midnight-movie type of experience. The acting is completely over-the-top and played for laughs, purposely.

It felt like watching a horror version of a John Waters film, and the atmosphere and acting style undoubtedly influenced Waters.

Shots were added to fill the running time to warrant a film release. KFC and Michelob products are featured, and one favorite scene is a sorority-type slumber party where the girls dance while eating KFC.

The seven-minute intro of the talking foam heads is wonderfully strange and not to be missed.

While campy, there is one intensely gruesome scene towards the beginning of The Gruesome Twosome (1967), and it is a must-see for cult horror and/or late-night film fans.