The Spell (1977)

4 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Lee Philips
Written by: Brian Taggert
Actors include: Lee Grant, Susan Myers, Helen Hunt
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Drama
Length: 86 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Imagine you are a 15 year old girl named Rita that is slightly overweight. Now imagine you have a perfect thin little sister aged 13 (in this case played by a young Helen Hunt) who can do no wrong in your Parent's eyes. Now imagine that you are teased constantly at school, then when you get home your Father seems to hate you as does your sister also because you are overweight. It's oddly very realistic seeming...this sort of thing does go on and it's very much the way it's portrayed here, the acting in this is quite impressive really. When things start to go wrong with those who make fun of the 15 year old people are getting scared...could Rita have anything to do with this? It definitely does echo Carrie in several ways but I wouldn't exactly say that this is a rip-off, it's quite different. This isn't filled with blood and torment (though the boiling from the inside scene is quite a treat), it's more of a drama with horrific elements but it's a good drama. It's a rather intense tale and for a made-for-tv movie it's quite good really and it's available to watch for free on the internet...who can argue with that?

Availability:  Not on DVD but available to watch for free online here:  http://www.hulu.com/watch/92741/the-spell

The New Kids (1985)

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror!
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Stephen Gyllenhaal, Brian Taggert
Actors include: Shannon Presby, Lori Laughlin, James Spader
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 89 minutes
Banned: Iceland

Review:
Teehee, well this starts out like an insanely cheap teeny bopper flick it morphs into one heck of a bizarre and satisfying revenge flick so stick with it. Brother Charlie (Eddie Jones) and Sister Abby (Lori Laughlin yes Rebecca from Full House) are orphaned and they end up living at their Uncle's house. Uncle and wife are working on making a little theme park about Christmas, and together they all restore the park. It's not all happy though because Abby is one heck of a pretty girl and the local thugs have noticed. When she refuses each and every one of them a date, war is on and it's really not pretty (it actually goes a lot further than I thought it would dare). There are knives being pulled, they keep trying to light Abby on fire and ultimately a huge showdown occurs at the theme park (which involves many deaths with the rides which is awesome). It's got a lot more to offer than one might think, but you really wouldn't know it was from the same guy who directed Friday the 13th. Also be prepared to laugh hysterically at James Spader who plays one of the main thugs and looks like an albino, and has a terrible accent.

Availability:  On DVD