I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Original Movie Poster

If you have come back then obviously you either really like my blog or you have never seen I Know What You Did Last Summer and came to check out me talking about its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Now I'm not used to talking about films and then directly talking about their sequels after so you are going to have to bear with me here on many spoilers as for the next many blogs I will be doing the same thing.

Freddie And Jennifer return with some new blood...

Now this film was released one year after the original and only two (or technically three characters) return so there you go for spoilers right now and just so you know I will not be talking about the last of this trilogy the film titled lamely I Will Always Know What You Did Last Summer just because it has nothing to do with any of the characters we have talked about or will talk about. If you were expecting that I am so sorry but you will just have to discover that film on your own as I have never seen nor will I ever see it. Now that I have gotten all of that out of the way let's discuss the plot to I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

Our Story Continues As Follows:
Julie James is back up at college still plagued by the terror that was Ben Willis, a fisherman who she and her friends Ray, Barry and Helen accidentally hit with their car on The 4th of July weekend two years ago. They thought he was dead but he survived the foursome dumping him in the ocean and he came back for revenge killing Barry and Helen. Disappearing the night he tried to kill Julie and Ray, now presumed to be really dead, the memory still haunts Julie despite the best efforts of her roommate Karla Wilson, her boyfriend Tyrell Martin and new college friend Will Benson.

J. Love back as Julie James

Julie has even distanced herself from her former love Ray who still remains a townie down in Southport, North Carolina even though he still loves Julie and is even thinking about proposing to her. When Karla wins a trip to a Caribbean resort via a radio contest, Julie invites Ray to go to make up for being so evasive but he says he might not be able to make it because of work and Julie heads off with Karla, Ty and Will not knowing that Ray is planning to surprise her instead by showing up unannounced with his engagement ring in tow.

Karla And Julie waiting for their ride to the Bahamas

Arriving in the Bahamas, our new foursome finds that they have arrived at the beginning of storm season which means all of the other guests are heading back for the mainland and they will be the only people there besides a small group of the resort's staff. Despite this news, the four college students decide to make the most of their trip and it seems some sparks are developing between Julie and Will. The good times abruptly end when Julie's past comes back with a vengeance and bodies of the hotel staff start popping up and she now knows that Ben Willis is back to finish what he started. Being cut off from the mainland and with storms about to come to the island, can Julie and her new friends escape their angry, hook wielding fisherman killer? Will Ray be able to get there in time to save the girl he loves?

Freddie Prinze Jr. returns as Ray Bronson

Pretty basic sequel plot and as always leaving you with only a taste of it since you pretty much know that Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. are back as Julie James and Ray Bronson respectively. I'm not about to tell you who else survives and who dies but I can tell you a little bit about the new characters and what I think of the actors who portray them. Brandy Norwood or pop star Brandy as you know her plays Karla Wilson, our strong, independent, sassy African-American best bud of Julie. I love Brandy as Karla because she brings so much to the movie and since they killed off Sarah Michelle Gellar's Helen in the first film, you need another strong woman in the cast. Karla is more like Julie was in the first film to balance out Julie being the haunted girl with the secret past because when Julie is scared Karla is strong and when Julie is strong Karla is still scared but she gets past that just as Helen did in the first film.

Brandy as Karla Wilson

Mehki Phifer as Tyrell "Ty" Martin is just a blast in this film as the wisecracking, completely horny boyfriend of Karla and even though he is hilarious he is also a no nonsense guy when it counts. I have seen Mehki Phifer pull of some serious acting in the movie "O" and as Doctor Gregory Pratt on ER so he does a great job pulling off the same here with a mix between drama and comedy and for a horror film it is not easy because you can come off as cheesy or dull if it is not done right. I think Ty is supposed to be the Barry of the group this time around since Ryan Phillipe was killed off in the first film but Ty is a little more likeable than Barry and he only starts to be an ass a little later in the film than from the very beginning as Barry seemed to be but that is only my opinion of course.

Mehki Phifer as Tyrell (Ty) Martin

Matthew Settle plays Will Benson, a new character who seems to be smitten with Julie James, and I wish I could say more about his acting but I can't as this is the only thing I have ever seen him in. He is handsome, an all around nice guy kind of character in this film, but that is pretty much all I can say. If I had more work to compare his role in this film to I might have more to say about Matthew Settle as and actor but I honestly can't. Aside from our main cast, there are supporting characters and the cast is pretty okay. Jack Black has an uncredited role as Titus, the white stoner pool boy who thinks he is Bob Marley, and he gets in a few laughs. (try to guess whether he makes it or not?) Muse Watson of course returns as killer fisherman Ben Willis and he does okay for what little screen time he gets not killing people and we even get to learn more backstory about his character which is kind of nice.

Matthew Settle as Will Benson with Brandy & Mehki Phifer

Sexy actress Jennifer Esposito who played Stacey on Spin City with Michael J. Fox plays a sarcastic bartender named Nancy and I like her ball-busting, witty attitude enough that she deserves a mention and the final actor of note is Jeffrey Combs. If you don't know who Jeffrey Combs is and are a horror fan like me, you need to be re-schooled in classic horror real quick and go rent The Frighteners and Re-Animator if you really want to see Combs in all his gory glory. If you aren't into horror (as much as me I mean) but you have a love for Star Trek you may recognize Combs as well from the Deep Space Nine part of that franchise. In any case, Combs is great as the hotel manager Mr. Brookes, playing the same kind of sarcastic, smarmy asshole he is so great at playing as always.

Jennifer Esposito as Nancy with Brandy & J. Love Hewitt

If you are wondering why I didn't talk about Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. and their characters of Julie and Ray it is because I already talked about them in the blog about I Know What You Did Last Summer. Both of them are still great actors but their characters are pretty much the same as they were in the first film just a little bit more troubled and slightly harder emotional wise but they still get in likeable, funny moments and few smiles here and there that continue to make me like the characters. What more can you say without repeating yourself?

Julie And Karla get Ben's message

So is it a good sequel? Yes I believe it is. Is it better than the first film? It's about the same in tone but there are more characters that grab my interest than in the first one so I would have to say it's only slightly better but not by much. Is it worth watching? There are worse movie sequels out there but I Still Know What You Did Last Summer isn't one of them.

 I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Teaser)

Next Blog: We tackle a different horror film trilogy and now that it is the time for horror being close to Halloween I hope you will join me as we take a look at an obscure little treat called Ginger Snaps.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Original Movie Poster

In the 1990s it seemed to me that horror was becoming a little cinematic in scope of the things because Stephen King movies based on his works like The Shawshank Redemption were not full of horror but drama (which isn't bad by any means) and then Scream came along and brought back the horror film and the following year I Know What You Did Last Summer came out and brought the budding horror fan in me a little hope which caused me to discover many of the classics I have already talked about. I didn't know until years later that this film was loosely based on a novel by Lois Duncan and that it wasn't as gory as it was on screen but more thriller based but I did know that I wanted to see it because Sarah Michelle Gellar was in it because I was a die hard Buffy fan but more on that later. So for those of you who have never seen this film (I shudder to think that no one has ever seen this film) let's get right to it shall we?

What's The Plot?
It's 4th Of July in the fishing town of Southport, North Carolina and newly graduated seniors: brainy but beautiful Julie James, quarterback Barry Cox and handsome but poor Ray Bronson go to see their friend and Barry's girl Helen Shivers win the crown of Croaker Queen in the yearly beauty pageant. After her win, the foursome go down to the local beach to celebrate with alcohol, making out and urban legends around the driftwood fire of the killer with a hook for a hand. They head back to town with Ray driving Barry's new graduation present car as Barry is too drunk to drive but it doesn't stop them from getting into an accident by hitting a man crossing the road and killing him. Knowing it is his car and that he is drunk, Barry freaks out when Julie mentions going to the police and the decides that they should dump the body in the ocean and never speak of this again. The others are hesitant and disgusted but Ray and Helen go along with the plan and once Barry threatens hers, Julie solemnly agrees to take this secret to the grave.

The Four Main Characters: Helen, Barry, Julie and Ray

 A year later, Julie comes home for the holiday from college but it is clear that the guilt of what she did has changed her as she is withdrawn and haunted. It doesn't help much when she gets a note stating I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and realizes that someone saw her, Helen, Barry and Ray run down the man on the side of the road. The secret they swore to keep has separated these four friends but now they must reunite to figure out who it was they killed and just who that person might have known that could be sending this note on the anniversary of their crime. Pretty soon a note is the least of their worries when a slicker clad figure with a hook is bent on killing the teens and making sure that they do indeed keep their promise all the way to the grave and beyond...

The Gorton Fisherman is pissed!!

Of course, telling the whole plot is a foregone conclusion if you have indeed seen this film and if not, since you know there is a sequel that I plan to talk about you know some characters from this movie survive and I will spoil it in my next post. It's not I'm mean and don't want to tell you the whole plot I just like to indulge those who don't really watch movies as much as myself and others in case they have never seen any of the films I talk about. I hope that the people who read my blog come back just to see what I talk about and see how I express my own views to films in general. I'm not an expert but I can convey things in writing much better than in speaking and I love movies and of course, love sharing that with you. Moving on from that...

What Else Can I Tell You?
I Know What You Did Last Summer has a very talented, good looking young cast who portray characters that are likeable and even un-likeable at times but it proves they are very good because in real life even the people you love or like can annoy you at times with just a shift in their attitudes or some little thing they do that annoys you to no end. Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie is a bright young woman and a strong character but she is also human and you can see that in how she is struggling to keep the secret and what it is doing to her. She wanted to go the police and was the most logical of the four and of course the one disgusted to just get rid of the body. Jennifer Love Hewitt is a great actress as her work on Ghost Whisperer proves and she is also a new age Scream Queen of horror (quite literally).

Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James

Ryan Phillipe as Barry Cox is a good looking jerk jock and at times you can hate him but there are times when you can like him mostly in scenes where he is genuinely scared because he is at his most human and you can tell that Barry does indeed love Helen and is protective of her even though is is shown that keeping the secret destroyed their relationship. I can't really say much about Ryan Phillipe as an actor because the only other movie I have seen with him in it is Cruel Intentions but he was very good in the film and ironically played the same kind of character of a jerk with human emotions and actions hidden beneath the surface.

Ryan Phillipe as Barry Cox

I will be honest after I saw this movie I had a crush on Freddie Prinze Jr. big time! His role as Ray Bronson is portrayal of a character who is not as well to do as his friends or even his girlfriend Julie but he is a caring person as well as intelligent that you can look past those puppy dog brown eyes and good looks and see a real human being. Ray is probably my favorite character in the film for those reasons and I think Freddie Prinze Jr. did a good job bringing Ray to life from a character in a book to the big screen. Besides being a talented dramatic actor, Freddie excels at making me laugh as well whenever his characters require comedy which is why I love watching him in She's All That and the Scooby Doo films because having an actor who is not only good looking but good at comedic timing and dramatic, human acting is hard to find.

Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson

Of course, Sarah Michelle Gellar-Prinze as she is known to me now is the main draw of why I went to see I Know What You Did Last Summer with my friend Chris in the first place. See around this time it was Season 2 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, my favorite show of the time and of all-time if you want to know and I just had to see SMG on the big screen. Sarah plays Helen Shivers, beauty queen but she is not just beauty she is also brains and attitude because there is just no way you can make any role that Sarah Michelle plays be that of a ditzy dumb blonde (and if you argue with me that Buffy was one you didn't really watch the entire show or understand the complexity of the character but I digress).

Helen and Julie off to see Barry.

Helen is Julie's best friend and the secret drives a wedge between them as it does between Helen and Barry and you can see that Helen misses the closeness she once had with both of them. She also has to put up with her older sister Elsa being a bitch and that people do see her as beautiful and shallow but once she has to deal with a killer coming after her and her friends you can see the human side of Helen even in the face of fear. Yes I admit that I am a Sarah Michelle fan girl and I have no shame in it!

Sarah Michelle as Helen Shivers

As an actress, I know she is very talented and she is very versatile in her roles as strong women, likeable women you can relate to, human characters facing real problems and even bitchy women you love to hate as her role in Cruel Intentions and one part of her dual role in Ringer proves. So there you have it I love Sarah Michelle Gellar-Prinze as much as I love Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart because there aren't too many women nowadays that I view as good role models but when you are genuinely human, beautiful and talented I'm not about to ignore that. Say what you want about it but there it is pure and simple...

Helen, Barry and Julie look for answers.

In a nutshell, I Know What You Did Last Summer is a decent, enjoyable horror flick and a very tame slasher film bordering more on thrills than out right blood and gore and it did succeeded in actually scaring me enough that in the theater I jumped in my seat and made then popular Surge soda come out my nose. If that's not a good enough reason to view this movie that it actually did shock me but not scare me (who watches horror movies on a predominant basis) then I don't know what is!

I Know What You Did Last Summer 1997 Trailer (Spoilers)

Next Blog: We return for a look at I Still Know What You Did Last Summer...is the sequel worth the view?

Prom Night 1980 vs. 2008

A big trend in Hollywood lately is remaking horror movies of the past for a whole new generation of today. The problem with me is I am still a part of that old generation  when most of these movie first came out so I have already seen them and if you don't know me here's something else to know: I am not a fan of change when it comes to my music and movies. Not that I don't own a few remakes of my beloved horror films but what bugs me the most is when you call something a remake and do one of two things:

1) Remake a film and just shoot the exact same film like when Gus Van Sant remade Psycho frame for frame with just new actors. You weren't creative enough to change it just a little so just how did you remake it?

2) Remake a film but you changed the character names is a good start but then the story resembles nothing of the original. Sometimes it works but some times it doesn't like I can watch Rob Zombie's re-imagining of Halloween but that is because it is telling the exact same story with a few changes to make it more mainstream. I can't really explain why I don't like the story to be changed but if you do it right I am hooked but if you don't I am turned off that's basically it.

Anyway enough of the ranting let's get to what you really came here for shall we? Prom Night is one of my favorite horror films and when I heard about the Prom Night that came out as a remake in 2008 I was intrigued. So it comes down to which one I think is the better of the two that I would suggest you watch. Instead of starting with the original, let's start with the 2008 version first.

2008 Version: What's The Plot ?
Donna Keppel is about ready to attend that highlight of the senior girl's life known as prom. She is going with her handsome boyfriend Bobby and her very best friends Lisa and Claire and their own boyfriends, Ronnie and Michael. What's different for Donna about this night is that it is the bright spot in a high school run marred by tragedy because when Donna was a freshman her family was murdered. Her father and little brother were killed and then Donna witnessed the murder of her mother first hand which was committed by one of her very own teachers, Richard Fenton.

Fenton was obsessed with Donna and wanted to make her completely alone so they could be together but all his actions did was get him arrested, force Donna to be taken in but her maternal aunt and her husband and send the poor girl to therapy for constantly dreaming about that horrific night. Donna plans to put that all behind her but the past won't ever rest for her because now Fenton has escaped from jail and he is still just as obsessed with Donna. A night of fun is going to turn into a night of terror for Donna and her friends because Fenton won't stop until he has Donna all to himself and he'll kill anyone that stands in his way...

So since you know the plot for this version let's talk about its pros and cons before we venture backward to look at the 1980 version. First off, you could probably throw this plot onto any occasion besides a prom or on any holiday but you call it Prom Night just because well there's a prom going on isn't there? So the story is less than original and way off from the original as well but I give a point for effort to make it a little different. The only actors that are of note as victim and killer respectively are Brittany Snow and Johnathon Schaech as Donna Keppel and Richard Fenton.

Brittany Snow makes for a great innocent victim but sometimes she flips from being a positive final girl to a less than stellar scream queen. When it comes to the scenes with the murder of her family, Snow gives a good portrayal of what anyone would feel in that moment and the emotion is raw and powerful. Schaech is perfect for Richard Fenton but at times I think he is too good actually because he looks like he could be a killer and his calm tone throughout doing these awful things and not going completely berserk is the most chilling thing imaginable when the person killing you looks like he could be your teacher, your dentist or any person you see everyday.

Trailer for Prom Night 2008

As for the other characters they don't really stand out to me at all except for actor Idris Elba who plays Detective Winn who was in charge of the case where Fenton murdered Donna's family and comes back into the picture when he learns Fenton has escaped. Elba's character stands out because he is concerned not just because he wants to get Fenton back in jail but because he is concerned about Donna's physical and mental well-being which makes him one of my favorite horror film cops by far.

From a gore stand point, there are murder scenes but they aren't grisly but this is what happens when a horror film is rated PG-13 and no I am not kidding that is its rating but even if you get the unrated version it is not that different and for you horror fans who like nudity or sex you won't get any here and I probably just turned 50 % off horror fans off this version with that one statement. So that's pretty much all I can say about this version so let's go back to 1980 for the original Prom Night...

1980 Original: What's The Plot?
Technically we start off in 1974 with a group of children playing a kind of twisted version of hide and seek/tag (where you hide from a killer and if you are tagged you become one too?...where did these kids come up with this?). Passing by are Kim Hammond and her younger siblings, Alex and Robin. Robin wants to play but Alex says the other children don't want her in their game but Robin doesn't listen as Kim and Alex end up going on without her. When Robin finds Nick, probably the nicest of the four, he turns the game on to Robin making her the victim and along with Kelly, Wendy and Jude they chase Robin around chanting the word 'kill" over and over again (again fun game these kids are playing isn't it?).

Their fun comes to end when they end up backing Robin against a window on the second story and she falls out of it on to the ground below where she is killed by the broken glass. Nick (again the nicest of the group) wants to go get help but Wendy (the meanest and future high school bitch) makes them all swear not to tell or else they will go to jail and the others agree and ride of on their bikes. As you may have guessed, someone witnesses the death of little Robin and their revenge is what will set off the drama and horror of the upcoming minutes of the film.

Six years later, the anniversary of Robin's death falls on the night of the senior prom at Alexander Hamilton High School and this time a real killer is coming. Kim Hammond is now dating Nick and the both of them are about to be crowned as Queen and King of their disco prom and Nick's ex-girlfriend Wendy (yes same little bitchy Wendy) is not happy. As for Jude and Kelly, Jude is going with the resident stoner, van-driving comedic geek Seymour ( " Slick" to his friends) and Kelly is going with her horny hound dog boyfriend Drew who only wants to get up her virginal skirt.

Prom Night 1980 Trailer

Yep everything seems normal in this high school rite of passage known as Prom Night but someone is going to the prom with murder on their mind. Wendy, Nick, Jude and Kelly have to pay for what they did and ominous calls are the least of their worries when someone has an axe to grind but will Kim also have to suffer for the loss of her sister as well as her brother Alex? Can Nick finally admit to Kim what he did before blood spills on the prom night dance floor? Tonight Prom Night is not about who you come with or who takes you home...it's about whether you will make it home at all.

Pretty different story huh? Well you will be happy to know that there is nudity, sex, drugs and profanity in this version so horror hounds rejoice! I like the revenge plot a whole lot more than the remake's story and I like all the characters a whole lot better even bitchy Wendy. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as a Scream Queen after her success in Halloween and The Fog and she does what she does best in Prom Night : portraying a strong female character as Kim Hammond. Jamie Lee Curtis is one of my favorite actresses and in her third theatrical film role you could tell she was going to be a star. Speaking of stars, another star of note is the underused role of Kim's father, principal of the high school, played by the late great Leslie Nielsen and yes that Leslie Nielsen! If you thought all Nielsen did was comedy and slap stick you are sadly mistaken because Leslie Nielsen was also a very good dramatic actor before he took on his more famous funny man roles.

 As I stated, I like the characters in this Prom Night better because even though Kelly and Jude as children made a very tragic mistake and pay the price for it they aren't bad persons and Nick is just the same. Casey Stevens as Nick McBride is probably one of the most decent characters in the film besides Curtis' Kim and Michael Tough who portrays Kim's brother Alex and when you can make fictional characters dimensional enough to have personalities that you can actually relate to them, love them or hate them then you have done a good job as a screenwriter and director. Another thing about Prom Night is its very highly sought after disco soundtrack which is not really that bad but I am also a closet disco fan so I guess I wouldn't mind having it as well. If you aren't a fan of disco there is original scoring and a kind of touching song that plays over the end credits called Fade To Black which after the climatic killer reveal is poignant and chilling all in one.

So there you have it two movies with one shared title and two very different stories but which Prom Night is best? Well again I do enjoy 1980 Prom Night better than its 2008 "re-imagining" but the 2008 Prom Night is certainly not lacking on originality from its predecessor than taking the same story and characters. As a horror film, 1980 beats 2008 in gore and suspense and even in drama as well as character development. Despite my love/hate mentality on remakes of good horror films I guess it's an honor when a film is picked to be remade for a whole new generation because that means it is a significant and cultural cinematic piece of history...or maybe Hollywood is just running out of good ideas for original horror films, eh?

So in conclusion, if you have never seen either Prom Night, I would check them both out but start with the 1980 version first. If you have seen the 1980 version but not the "remake" I wouldn't bother because you have already seen the best one. If you have seen the 2008 Prom Night and not the 1980 film of which it is loosely based on...you have got to go out and get this movie! If you are a true fan of 80s horror then you won't be disappointed and if you like 80s horror with a cheese factor to it the 1980 Prom Night spawned three sequels that range from good to bad. If I am being vague on these sequels its because they really have nothing to do with Prom Night itself they are in name only sequels but even they have more redeeming qualities than Prom Night 2008.

That's right...I said it.  Guess my inner bitchy prom queen made it to the surface.

Next Blog: Speaking of proms...if you like your comedies a little on the dark side the way I like my chocolate have I got a treat for you! Care for a little Jawbreaker my dears?

Valentine

There are a lot of films out there that people view as god awful movies but some are so bad they are good which is where I come in. I have only seen one movie in my lifetime that I thought was so awful I bought it and then took it back after one viewing but that is another blog post entirely. Anyways, I tend to like movies that a lot of people hate and one movie that suffers a lot of hate is the 2001 horror flick Valentine. I bought the movie on VHS when I was up at college and I admit in the beginning I only bought the movie because David Boreanaz was in it and I am of course a big Buffy/Angel fan girl. I watched the movie and I actually liked it being the horror hound that I am and it is one of my favorite films to still watch. I'll admit it does have many horror movie cliches but I like what I like.

So...What's The Plot?
The movie begins with the true horror that is a junior high Valentine's Day dance and the typical nerd Jeremy Melton is of course striking out with getting at least one girl to dance with him. In stereotypical big glasses and buck teeth he is turned down nastily by Shelley, Lily and Paige but is kindly rebuffed by a girl named Kate with the standard kiss of death answer "Maybe later" although it is not as harsh as the other girls' replies.

Jeremy then seems to get lucky when he asks Dorothy, a more heavy set girl, to dance and they end up making out under the bleacher. Of course when the junior high bullies catch the two swapping spit, Dorothy tries to save herself from humiliation by claiming that Jeremy forced himself on her even though he is probably only ninety eight pounds soaking wet. The bullies find this even more horrible than anything they could do in just name calling and proceed to beat up Jeremy in front of their classmates while stripping him down to his undies.

Years later, Shelley, Lily, Paige, Kate and Dorothy are now grown up to very attractive woman and the thing with Jeremy Melton is forgotten but some one still remembers of course in typical horror movie fashion and begins to take revenge against the girls. Shelley (Katherine Heigl) is the first one to bite the dust and her funeral is what brings the other girls together even though all of them have continued to be close. Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw) is thinner and is now finally having luck with guys as she is dating a young man named Cameron but of course he is secretly an asshole only interested in the money that her family happens to have in spades.

Paige (played by Denise Richards) has no trouble finding guys and Lily (Jessica Cauffiel) is involved with a creepy artist. Nice girl Kate (Marley Shelton) is in a relationship with sports writer Adam Carr (played by the gorgeous David Boreanaz) but it is constantly hindered due to Adam's alcoholism yet they seem to be functioning pretty okay. These romantic, dysfunctional and platonic relationships are about to be thrown into the normal turmoil of Valentine's Day but with a killer wanting revenge its bound to be an even more heartbreaking holiday than normal people experience. This year the cards and candy are going to be grisly as it seems Jeremy Melton is back for revenge but can the final four girls discover where or who there deadly admirer is before they meet the same fate as Shelley?

Now I can hear you groaning that this is all the plot I am going to give you and the answer is always yes. If I gave you the full plot I would be spoiling the rather appropriate deaths the girls receive and maybe even spoil who the killer is for you. If you have seen Valentine, you already know the answers and may not care if I spoil them or not but for my followers, I do care enough not to divulge the whole plot to you so you can view it for yourselves. If I do my job right, I am sparking curiosity in you to see the movies I am talking about especially if you have never seen them before.

What I Can Tell You?
The plot may seem typical of any other horror film but it is the dynamic of the characters that make the story and the women who play the group of girls at the very heart of the plot are the main focus. Katherine Heigl's Shelley has very short screen time as she is the first victim offed by our Cupid-masked killer but she does okay with what she is given. Jessica Cauffiel is also shown to be the blonde ditz in any role she does but she isn't completely brain dead here as Lily and she does a good job to bring a little more personality to her character. Denise Richards gets to be the sexy girl and even though she has a few bitchy moments, Paige is by no means stupid or completely callous and I think Richards had a lot of fun with her role.

Marley Shelton as good girl Kate is one of my favorite characters from the film as she is shown to be very kind and caring but she is not naive and as acting goes, Shelton brings that out marvelously. Jessica Capshaw's Dorothy is probably my second favorite character in the film and it also shows just what a great actress Jessica Capshaw is. Being that I've never really been a thin girl myself, showing the insecurity of younger Dorothy as being the "fat one" as she states makes me able to relate and it goes on to show that even though older Dorothy is thinner and by no means ugly, she is still insecure about her place among her friends and that she is still struggling in the romantic aspects of relationships as she is shown to be a good and caring girlfriend even though the man she wastes her affections on is a prick who is just using her.

As the only male lead of note, David Boreanaz is what brought me into the movie in the first place with his dark eyes and brooding features. His role is very small but when he is onscreen as Adam Carr, David Boreanaz has your full attention and those good looks are only the half of it. If you have seen him as Angel or even as Seeley Booth on Bones, you can tell that David Boreanaz can act running the gamut from troubled to funny as the role dictates and whether it is drama or deadpan delivery even with a smile, Boreanaz is talented. I wish his role had been expanded but he was starring in Angel around the time of filming so I can forgive David Boreanaz for that but his Adam Carr character was my third favorite character.

The chemistry between Boreanaz and Shelton's characters gave insight that Adam was trying not to drink to save his relationship with Kate as he did seem to really love her and it was shown that despite his alcoholism, Kate really cared about him in not just a romantic aspect but that she didn't want his addiction to end up killing him. That's the power of acting when you can actually care about certain characters thanks to what the actors portraying them bring to the table and despite what you may think about Valentine you can't deny its not really the actors' fault.

In regards to horror, the deaths aren't really too creative but the way in which the characters meet their ends are very fitting and the gore resulting from some of these deaths is passable. The writing is full of good lines of dialogue and a few parts of cheese but the quips that work make up for the ones that don't. Another saving grace of Valentine is the soundtrack which features, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Orgy, Static X, Disturbed and Linkin Park and if you think that sounds weird if you watch the film you can see and hear that the music and film do work good together where the music doesn't over shadow the film.

In conclusion, I would recommend Valentine to any horror fan but if you want lots of vulgar horror you won't find it here. If you like your horror with an actual bit of human drama and some thrills and snarky dialogue, then you will probably like Valentine. It's not over blown with gore or nudity but I can guarantee you won't be bored. Even if the kills and the story don't grab you the women have David Boreanaz to look at and the men have their pick of five lovely leading ladies to look at. A shallow enticement to see Valentine I know but if I can't get you to see a movie with just a smidgen of the plot I have to try something don't I?

Valentine Teaser Trailer

Next Blog: I talk about Prom Night...the original and a little about its in name only remake.

The Burning

If there was ever a theme that occurs in most horror slasher flicks it is the killer in the woods. To take the beauty of nature and turn it into something frightening and sadistic is very easy and Friday The 13th may have done it first and the best but The Burning to me does it far better. Never heard of The Burning you say? It's okay not many have but because I browse the horror section of Best Buy trolling for forgotten horror gems during Halloween you are about to learn why I love this film more than Friday The 13th but first things first...

What's The Plot?
The caretaker at Camp Blackfoot known as Cropsy is an alcoholic, cruel and sadistic man despised by everyone at camp and few campers decided to show him what it is like to be scared by pulling a harmless prank. Setting a skull on fire and placing it by his bed, Cropsy wakes up and so scared he knocks it over and ends up setting himself on fire to be burned beyond recognition. Five years later, procedures and skin grafts have failed to leave Cropsy disfigured that he has to wear gloves, glasses, a hat and a long coat; his rage is now burning for revenge.

At Camp Stonewater, a group of campers and their counselors are going to be the victims of Cropsy's desire for revenge. Camp outcast and nerd Alfred (Brian Backer) is the first and only one to notice Cropsy lurking with his scarred, burnt face and of course no one believes him but soon camp counselor Todd's tale of Cropsy before the three day canoe trip starts to put the other campers on edge and soon, people start to disappear. Todd (Brian Matthews) may not know it but his little campfire tale is going to come back to haunt him and only Alfred knows that Cropsy is out there in the woods killing his fellow campers but can he convince everyone else in time before Cropsy's killing spree of revenge burns out of control?

Again unlike most movie bloggers, I don't like to tell you the whole plot because I hope I can encourage you to go out and rent or buy the films I talk about to view them for yourself because I feel the film in question is good enough for you to watch or at least up to you discovering your own opinion. As I have stated, "the killer in the woods" genre has been done before by Friday The 13th as the most popular but The Burning has elements in it that make me enjoy it far much more.

What Else Can I Say?
Tom Savini is the master of horror film special effects and the infamous "raft scene" is a true pinnacle of his art and the DVD version I have is uncut to display every gore soaked minute. The acting of the campers and their counselors looks real and natural and you may notice some familiar faces. Jason Alexander from Seinfeld and Holly Hunter appear in small roles, comedic actor Fisher Stevens from the Short Circuit films has a role as a camper who is just so adorable you know he will meet a grisly end and Alfred is played by Brian Backer or as I will always know him Mark "Rat" Ratner from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, which he made after this film.

Seeing actors that I recognize make me relate and sympathize more to their characters but Brain Matthews as Todd is also a good actor and a real hottie as well! Most attractive men don't survive in horror films or they are the obnoxious jerks you want to get murdered but Matthews isn't one of them (oops did I give away a spoiler?)

Aside from acting, the score is also brilliant! All of the original music in the film is provided to us by Rick Wakeman, keyboardist of the band Yes. Now if you have never heard of the band Yes, I think you need to go out and try to find a greatest hits of CD by them or at least try to find a copy of the music soundtrack on eBay somewhere as well. There is additional scoring not done by Wakeman but you won't be able to tell the difference because you will be so engrossed in the film but if that music in the background doesn't give you chills it's not doing its job to add suspense and it does!

If you like Friday The 13th, you are sure to enjoy The Burning and even if you didn't like Friday The 13th, you will still love The Burning in my opinion. As far as a slasher, this film is an underrated if not undiscovered classic. The Burning has gore and sex to spare for you horror film fans out there and I am sure you will enjoy every minute of it once you get your hands on it!

The Burning 1981 Trailer

Next Blog: Gothic Horror Fiction makes for a great 80s flick - Flowers In The Attic

My Bloody Valentine

Horror loves the holidays from what I can tell and what holiday can be better for heart-stopping slasher love than Valentine's Day. The only way for those who hate Valentine's Day to enjoy it would be watching others suffering as much and My Bloody Valentine is perfect. Now there is the 3D remake but I want to talk about the original 1981 version because the gore is not CGI but real old fashioned movie magic that was so heinous most of the original footage was scraped and then edited back in when the remake brought this classic back to DVD as a promotion for the new film.

What's The Plot?
The coal mining town of Valentine Bluffs is having their first Valentine Dance in twenty years after an incident where five miners were trapped in a cave-in because two supervisors were rushing to the annual Valentine Dance and forgot to check methane levels that caused an explosion, killing all men but one: Harry Warden. Left for six weeks in the wreckage, Warden cannibalized his co-workers to survive and went insane, killing the supervisors after being released from a mental hospital. He cut out the hearts and left them at that year's following dance as warning that he would kill anyone who dared to celebrate on February 14th ever again.

Mayor Hanniger and all the young men who work in the mines are excited and ready to put this all behind them but when Police Chief Jake Newby receives a box of Valentine candy replaced with a human heart, it seems Harry Warden is making good on his promise. When the body of the dance organizer, Mabel, is found dead the plans for the dance are cancelled with the cover up of being a reason of respect. A young miner named T.J. who recently moved back suggests having the dance at the mine in an almost feeble attempt to get back with his ex-girlfriend Sarah, who is now dating another miner named Axel.

So the dance is back on and Harry Warden is on the loose! The triangle of Axel, Sarah and T.J may be the least of their worries as this proves to be another Valentine's Day that Valentine Bluffs will never forget!

What Else?
As I said, the kills in this movie are creative and nasty! You won't be able to look at dryers, shower heads and hot dogs the same way ever again after seeing this movie! The acting is great but as a horror fan, its the atmosphere and the kills that hook me to movies and classic ones like My Bloody Valentine are phenomenal because they don't need CGI and digital just some old fashioned movie make-up and creativity. For its time of the early 80s, this movie is a great slasher flick and the ending genuinely gives me chills of both the creepy and satisfied kind.

Now I'm a girly kind of girl and I love getting flowers, chocolates and stuffed animals for Valentine's Day but I'm not ready to have a human heart greeting me in the mailbox anytime soon. If I can't have a romantic V-Day with my boyfriend, I'll curl up watching My Bloody Valentine...the original 1981 version. If you like the 3D remake, you'll love this version better with its simplistic yet strong visuals guaranteed to get your heart...racing.

Next Blog: Ghost Story