Intruder (1989)

In a time when horror movies were being heavily censored by distribution companies and the MPAA, Intruder was one of the films that received the short end of the stick. The tale of this film is sad but, light has shined its head upon this classic slasher film once again and fans finally have the opportunity to view the film as it was originally intended...UNCUT.

Intruder is about a night crew of a local Michigan grocery store. The crew finds out that the store is being sold and they will be losing their jobs in a couple of weeks. Unbenounced to them, someone is watching them, and eventually the crew begins getting picked off in gruesome ways.

Intruder is one of the later 80's slasher movies that really works amidst a slew of very bad low rate knock offs. However most of the public who saw the original release of the film may not agree with that. Long story short Intruder was made in 1989 at the tail end of the slasher craze. It was originally set to be distributed by Empire Pictures which was Full Moon owner Charles Band's first company which unfortunately when under. As a result of the company folding most of the unreleased films were sold off to other companies. Intruder was one of those pictures. Band sold the releasing rights to Paramount who released the film to VHS with an R rating and over 5 minuets of footage missing from the picture.

As a result of Paramount's misstep, the film was almost un-watchable, and incoherent. Many fans wrote the film off as just another ugly slasher film trying to coattail a dying genre. Fortunately this movie was no where near that. Written & Directed by Scott Spiegel of Evil Dead II fame the film boasts some very creative camera angles, as well as some very neat POV shots. Scott really nailed it. You can defiantly see the similarities between Sam Raimi's and Scotts shooting styles. This could be due to the fact that they grew up together in Michigan along with Bruce Campbell and Sam's brother Ted. This film actually started off as a short film shot by Scott, Sam, and Bruce under the name Night Crew. Unfortunately the film is now long lost.

 This films restored cut, is in fact a very cohesive film, and is extremely well put together. The film also boasts a very familiar cast consisting of Elizabeth Cox, Sam & Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Dan Hicks and more horror familiars. Each doing a good job with their roles. The dynamic between characters seemed very genuine, probably because, for most of them, it was their first feature.

Most of the removed footage was that of now infamous K.N.B's effects. For those of you who don't know who that is think of Nightmare on Elm Street 5, Halloween 5, A&E's The Walking Dead, and more. As their first feature film Kurtzman, Nicoterio, and Berger did the film for next to nothing but proved they would be an effects company that would be around for sometime. The uncut effects in this movie are amazing some of the best and most gruesome kills I have seen in a slasher film for its time. Each kill makes your cringe and smile with sadistic delight. Not to mention there are some very creative kills thrown into the mix.

For the longest time this film would stay cut to shreds. Until Wizard Entertainment released a Directors Cut of the film with all the cut scenes placed back into the movie. But like most smaller slasher movies to be released on DVD the transfer was low quality and rather sub-par to what bigger companies were releasing at the time.

Now enter Synapse Films, In November of 2011 they released an amazing Blu-Ray & DVD combo pack of a newly remastered and fully uncut version of Intruder. This Blu-Ray sports a crystal clear 2k digital restoration and its the best it's ever looked. The colors are vibrant and the lighting is just right. Not to mention its loaded with special features. A 30+ minuet featurette of the making of the film made its way on  the release and it sheds a lot of light on the history of Intruder. Synapse Films has made its way into a die hard horror fans heart and as a result I want to pick up everything I can from them.

All and All, this film is a really good slasher. Granted it has the 80's cheese and some of the acting may be over the top at times but that is all part of the fun. Story wise Scott Spiegel did a great job of keeping the viewers on their toes, and adding a memorable setting to slasher universe. K.N.B's effects work shows exactly why they are still uber successful in the industry. GLP gives this film 4 out of 5 for great gore scenes and a very well written cohesive slasher film. You can currently still get the film from Synapse Films on Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack and you really should. View the trailer below and as an added bonus here are some behind the scenes looks at K.N.B's work while on the film.

Warning: Contains Spoilers

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Warning: Contains Spoilers

Black Christmas (1974)

When I think of Christmas horror films, two prominent films stick out in my mind. These films seem to be on every horror fans Christmas watch list and rightfully so. I'm talking about Silent Night, Deadly Night, and Bob Clark's 1974 cult classic Black Christmas. These films optimize what Christmas horror flicks are all about, yule tide fright and holiday cheer. Most hardcore genera nut will tell you...It's not Christmas time, unless you've watched these films.

Bob Clark's Black Christmas is a staple of the Holiday horror genre. It's also the film that started the slasher craze being sighted by some as inspiration for John Carpenters Halloween and Sean Cunningham's Friday the 13th.  Black Christmas is reminiscent to the Urban Legend "The Babysitter and The Man Upstairs" taking bits and pieces from the lore and molding them to the story. Black Christmas is about a sorority house that starts receiving obscene phone calls from a vulger man the girls dub the moaner. Soon the girls sorority sisters start going missing and they soon find out there is a deranged serial killer after them all.

Bob Clark directed this film beautifully, using odd camera angles and excellent lighting to develop an eerie mood and atmosphere. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Clark's work... you may be surprised...He would go on to make Porkys and the other Christmas classic A Christmas Story. His work in this film helped create a massive sub-genre that has captivated many audiences world wide and birthed some of the most twisted villain's of all time.

The acting in this picture is pretty good, John Saxon, Olivia Hussey, and Margot Kidder do a fantastic job. Olivia does a great job as Jess. Jess is a strong willed female lead keeping her composure during the traumatic events near the end. Margot plays Barb, the sister that is slightly slutty and likes to drink. Margot does a great job with the role, playing the part to a T. While the characters are only about skin deep, the actresses manage to give them more life than they probably should have had. Saxon plays Lt. Fuller a cop who is trying to help the girls find their friends and nab the obscene caller.

The killer, Billy, is a great character. The serial killer with what seems like multiple  personality's. The obscene calls are full of tension and at some points makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The decision to not ever fully show the killer was a great one, leaving an air of mystery to Billy and leaving the audience wanting more. You never really understand his motives either, which makes the film so successful. There is not much to say about gore, cause there is none. People die, but mostly off screen, and if they do bite it on screen there is only a little bit of red stuff.

When it all boils down. Black Christmas is one helluva good movie. Age has played only a minor factor in its dating, but still manages hold as true as it did in 1974. This movie is a must see. GLP gives Black Christmas 5 out of 5 stabs for great story, atmosphere, direction, and acting. If your interested in picking up this classic you can do so on special edition Blu-Ray & DVD. View the trailer below.

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Sinister (2012)

What would you do if you moved into a new home in a strange town, found an old dusty box filled with various family videos, but each video showed the death of the family in the end. Personally I would GTF out of the house and never look back but… Im not in a movie and what you chose could kill you.

Sinister staring Ethan Hawke, & Juliet Rylance with a cameo by Vincent D’Onofrio is, for all intents and purposes, a really good movie. Basically the movie is about Ellison (Hawke) a struggling true crime writer trying to recapture the glory of his famed NY time’s best selling book “Kentucky Blood”.  After moving uprooting his family yet again to research his next book, Ellison finds a mysterious box of super 8 family films depicting violent deaths and begins to research the families. As he digs deeper into the films past, strange things begin to happen around his home.

Sinister will have you on the edge of your seat. The film makers really did a great job of creating a really thick atmosphere. You get a great feeling of impending dread while watching the film. The lighting in the house was amazing! The choice to have the film lighting very sparse during the night shots help add tension to the films already heavy feeling.

The films villain is very effective. Dark, Creepy, and Menacing are all words you can use to describe him. The image of him is so effective, the sight of him made the audience in the theater squirm. The make up effects were great to boot. While most incidents didn’t need a lot, it was used effectively when it was.

The acting was done well, Ethan carries the film for me, his performance is outstanding. Acting, emotion, and believability is on point in this effort. D’Onofrio’s cameo was surprisingly well done, playing a nerdy occult college professor his quirky lines and slightly awkward demeanor is well received. The entire cast gave great performances but as I stated earlier Hawke carries the film.

While there is not a lot of red stuff the deaths in the film are done superbly. The viewers get hangings, knifings, lawn mowers, drowning’s, burnings and a few more that are truly unnerving. I also thing the story was well written and acted, while there are some slower aspects to the film they are warranted and help move along the actual story and character development.

My only problem with the film was the ending, while it was good, I would have like to see it go a different direction. I personally feel like it was rushed, and or a studio change. I have a feeling when this film hit home video that we will see an alternate ending or 2 pop up. Other than that I was 100% satisfied with the money spent to see the film. Sinister will be in my collection once it hits DVD and Blu-Ray.

Sinister is a very well done physiological horror film, with more emphasis on atmosphere and mood rather than blood and guts. While there are some cheap jump scares, the writers manage to work them in appropriate areas of the film. For those reasons GLP give this successful effort 4 out of 5 stabs. Sinister is currently on its 3rd week in theaters and has made over 13x the amount in the box office as it was made for. I can personally see a sequel coming and coming rather soon. Be sure to check it out in theaters while you still can, as it is defiantly worth the price of addition. For more on Sinister visit their website and facebook page. View the trailer below.

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