The Movie

Some movies want to be more than they seem. Much like literature, these movies are full of symbolism and it's up to the viewer to dive in and find the story within the story. And then, there are movies which hide nothing and strive to be exactly what they are. This "what you see if what you get" approach definitely applies to Forest of the Dead.

As Forest of the Dead opens, a group of friends -- Johnny Rebel (Chris Anderson), Roger (Mark Singleton), Amy (Brandi Boulet), Christine (Elaine Cummings), Crystal (Heather Duthie) and Marcel (Kevin Norris) -- take a trip to the woods of Canada in search of a campground. What they find instead is an old summer camp. (I found this part really confusing). They had planned to spend the night and meet some friends the next day. They are unsure of what to do, when suddenly a woman named Angie (Stephane Halin) appea...Read the entire review

The Movie

"As seen on TV." "Foolproof." "Clean Restrooms." "The funniest movie in decades." Let's face it, there are certain statements or claims that we have learned to distrust. This is usually due to the fact that we've been burned before. For me, a claim that I'm always wary of is "a new twist on the vampire genre". It seems that every vampire movie makes this claim, and yet none deliver on this promise. This latest in this line of teases if Night Junkies.

Night Junkies tells the story of Vincent (Giles Alderson), a vampire who lives in London. Vincent views vampirism as just another addiction, and he keeps to himself, quietly feeding his hunger. One night, he meets a stripper named Ruby (Katia Winter). Ruby hates her life and is constantly infuriating her boss, Max (Jonathan Coyne), because she won't have sex with the customers. Vincent is immediately ...Read the entire review

The Movie

There's nothing like a good hybrid film. Be it a horror-comedy, such as Shaun of the Dead, or a "dramedy", like Forrest Gump, or the sci-fi horror in Alien, it's great to see filmmakers straddle two genres. But, blending different types of stories isn't as easy as it look. The Empty Acre is an independent film which wanders between drama and horror and simply can't find its balance.

The Empty Acre tells the story of Beth (Jennifer Plas) and Jacob Nance (John Wilson), a young couple who have a six month old baby, Michael (Jesse Reiser). They live on a farm in a small town in Kansas. There is a large piece of land on the farm where nothing will grow. At night, a shadow arises from the land and seemingly kills anything that it touches. Beth and Jacob have a turbulent relationship, as she doesn't like small-town life and he spends a l...Read the entire review

The Movie

I have to assume that it wouldn't be a stretch to say that many film-fans have dreams of making movies themselves. And I would wager that most of those people have made statements like, "If I ever got to make a movie, I would make the best movie that I could." This may seem like a obvious statement, but I think that we've all seen movies where those involved didn't really seem to be trying. The makers of Bloodlines may not have made a great movie, but it's clear that they had a vision of pushing a certain genre and they've made a memorable film.

Bloodlines tells the story of Amber Strickland (Grace Johnston), a young woman from Alabama who is driving through Kentucky on her way to college. She experiences car trouble (which wasn't an accident) and is abducted by the Hackford clan and taken to their ramshackle house. There, Amber awakens to find herself ...Read the entire review

The Movie

I once read a critique for Dario Argento's classic Suspiria which stated that the best way to watch the film was to assume that you were watching someone else's nightmare. (I can't remember which critic said this and I am not taking credit for this statement. So, if you are the critic who created this theory, consider yourself cited.) This would be my advice if you choose to watch The Cradle, a film where logic apparently got lost on its way to the set.

As The Cradle opens, we witness a couple, Frank (Lukas Haas) and Julie (Emily Hampshire), and their infant son, Sam, take a ferry to an island. They conclude their journey at a somewhat neglected house which is to be their new home. They have moved to this secluded location so that Frank, a writer, can concentrate on his novel. Unfortunately, Julie has severe emotional problems and can't stand the...Read the entire review

The Movie

Oh, The Blair Witch Project, what have you wrought? The success of that film has spawned many imitators, but none as blatant as In the Dark, a movie which was lensed in 2004, but didn't come to DVD until 2006. The movie owes a huge debt to The Blair Witch Project, but doesn't have a tenth of the imagination shown in that film. (And for the record, I hated The Blair Witch Project.)

In the Dark is a faux-documentary which tells the story of the Ridgley Institution, a hospital for "mental defectives". In 1984, there was a fire at the facility, in which one patient was killed and another was severely burned. Following that incident, a new hospital was built on an adjacent site and the old one was left standing. In 1989, a group of teenagers decided to break into the old hospital to party, and once there, they encountered some bizarre e...Read the entire review

The Movie

There was a time in the 1970s when made-for-TV movies meant something. These movies would be touted as "World Premiere" movies and they would often either be based on a true story, or they would bear a striking resemblance to popular theatrical films. But, today, that trend has all but died out, although the 2005 CBS entry Spring Break Shark Attack looked as if it were bringing the genre back. However, the German TV production of Shark Attack in the Mediterranean shows that these films may be alive and well in other parts of the world.

Shark Attack in the Mediterranean takes place on the island of Mallorca, where German ex-patriate Sven Hansen (Ralf Moeller) runs a helicopter tour business. He lives with his daughter, Maja (Oona-Devi Liebich). As the story opens, Maja is assisting Fabio (Patriq Pinheiro) and Javier (Carsten Spengemann) on their b...Read the entire review

The Movie

The average movie sets up its own reality and then sticks to the rules of that reality. The exceptions are films where we learn that reality isn't what it seems, such as any movie where it was all a dream. Most dramas are set in the real world, and thus, the characters acts as if they are in the real world, even if they do odd things. But, when a character does something incredibly unrealistic (or something which makes little sense), it pulls me out of the story. Such a scene occurs very early in the foreign film Moonlight and for me, it was all downhill from there.

As Moonlight opens, we witness two disturbing events. First, an adolescent Boy (Hunter Bussemaker) (we never learn his name), who is being used as a drug "mule" is shot and left for dead in the woods. Then, Claire (Laurien Van den Broeck), an adolescent girl who lives in a large house, hav...Read the entire review

The Movie

Many films, such as 9 1/2 Weeks, Secretary, and Body of Evidence, have featured extreme sex. Typically, the issue with these films is, no matter how good or bad they are, the portrayal of sex in the movie becomes the focal point of any marketing, review, or discussion. Going Under is an independent film which features both an interesting story and a degree of kinky sex. Which piece will win out in the end?

Roger Rees stars in Going Under as Peter, a psychotherapist who is married and has a teenaged daughter. He also enjoys having sessions with a dominatrix named Mistress Diana (Geno Lechner). Peter has been seeing her for some time, and he's very excited when she suggests they see each other outside of her workplace. Peter's wife has left town to work on her latest novel and his daughter is traveling through Europe, so he jumps at ...Read the entire review

The Movies

The recent release of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double-feature Grindhouse was meant to evoke memories of those days gone by when one could catch a few B (or Z) grade movies at the local theater. Even though the movie didn't perform as well at the box office as predicted, this event has no doubt triggered thoughts of those older films in many fans and home video companies. Thus, we get DVD releases such as this Al Adamson Double Features of Five Bloody Graves and Nurse Sherri.

Despite the fact that it sounds like a horror film, Five Bloody Graves is a western. Here we meet Ben Thompson (Robert Dix), a gunslinger who roams the barren desert of the old west. He learns that a Native American named Setago (played by John "Bud" Cardos) has been roaming the area attacking settlers. Ben tries to warn and save as many people as he can...Read the entire review

The Movie

In today's world, everyone has to do something to make money, even serial killers. Over the years, we've seen slashers with different jobs. There was the fisherman in I Know What You Did Last Summer and the miner in My Bloody Valentine. Now, we have Monty the pizza delivery guy in Delivery. When he gets to your door, you had better have that coupon that you claimed to have when you called in your order.

Matt Nelson stars in Delivery as Monty, an obese, shy man. His father had been a pizza delivery guy as well, and he committed suicide when he caught his wife cheating. Monty has attempted to make a life for himself, but he's tormented by everyone that he meets. His boss, Mr. Hand (Kevin J. O'Neill), calls him "fatass" and orders him around. His co-worker won't assist him when he needs help. The customers to whom he delivers pizzas eithe...Read the entire review

The Movie

I know that I'm not the first person to point this out, but what's the deal with the Lifetime Network? They claim to be television for women, and yes, all of their productions feature women in leading roles, but 9 times out of 10, something really horrible is happening to those women. It's just weird. The Perfect Marriage is that rare Lifetime movie where bad things don't technically happen to the main woman in the, but she certainly isn't in a great situation.

As The Perfect Marriage opens, we meet Annie (Jamie Luner), who is married to Martin (James O'Regan). Annie is having an affair with Brent (James Wilder), who convinces her that she can easily kill Martin and inherit his money. Annie agrees and murders her husband, making the whole thing look like a simply heart attack.

The story then leaps ahead a few years, Annie has changed her...Read the entire review

The Movie

When those in the know in the name Takashi Miike, what comes to mind? Weird? Different? Something unusual that you wouldn't see from another filmmaker? Those are just a few things that those familiar with the maverick Japanese director would think of. But, how about pedestrian and somewhat boring? Would it surprise you to hear those words linked to a Miike film? If so, then you may not want to read on about Family 2.

(Author's Note: Family 2 is a continuation of Miike's Family, which I haven't seen. I could find little information on the web about either film. Also, Media Blasters' DVD offers no cast listing in English, so I'm at a loss to identify some of the actors.)

Family 2 continues the story which began in Family and picks up where that story ended, with a battle between two rival Yakuza gangs which ends when...Read the entire review

The Movie

Ah, the nature run amok movie. This horror movie staple has been around for decades and every few years we see a resurgence in the genre. From classics such as The Birds to Jaws, these movies keeps coming back, and they've really found a like with direct-to-DVD movies. (You see more sharks, alligators, and spiders in the video store then you do on Animal Planet.) While big predators can be scary whether or not they are running amok, some movies, such as The Breed try to make more common animals seem threatening.

As The Breed opens, five friends arrive on a remote island via sea-plane. Brothers John (Oliver Hudson) and Matt (Eric Lively) have inherited their late uncle's cabin on the island and they've brought three friends, Nicki (Michelle Rodriguez), Sara (Taryn Manning), and Noah (Harper Hill), along for a vacation. The group makes them...Read the entire review

The Movie

Those who have never worked with film may not know how difficult it can be to add sound to a movie. Unlike video, where the microphone can be a part of the camera, thus recording audio directly onto the tape, the audio in film must be recorded separately, thus adding more expense. Because of this, many ultra low-budget movies, such as students films (trust me) or experimental movies, are shot with no audio (or MOS as it's known in the industry). But, today, it's rare to encounter a feature length film which was shot in this fashion. This is the unique feature of Defenceless: A Blood Symphony, and also one of its pitfalls.

Susanne Hausschmid stars in Defenceless: A Blood Symphony as a woman who named Elizabeth Peace who is involved in a deal to sell ocean-front property to build a high-rise. But, at closing, she refuses to sign the paperwork. Because of...Read the entire review

The Movie

In my recent review for The Ghost I mentioned that I'd noticed several South Korean films which mirror the basic premise of I Know What You Did Last Summer. So, was I surprised when I popped in another South Korean film, Arang, and discovered that it to shared this central plot? Honestly, no. What did surprise me was how the film took the typical The Ring-type vengeful ghost antics and put a new slant on them.

Arang opens with violent crimes detective So-yeong (Song Yoon-ha) and her new partner Hygeon-gi (Lee Dong-Wook) investigating a series of murders. One victim is found burned in his home, while another died of an apparent heart attack. Following the autopsies, So-yeong and Hygeon-gi realize that the murders were connected and that the victims knew one another. They had b...Read the entire review

The Movie

For some reason, many American filmgoers think that Hollywood product is unoriginal and saccharine, while foreign films are intellectual and far superior. (I blame snobby critics for this.) Sure, there are plenty of foreign films which are very poignant, artsy, and have a more serious tone than American films. But, there are also foreign films which are just as derivative as anything made in Tinseltown. The Korean film The Ghost is a good example of this, as even the bland title tells us to not expect anything overly unique.

The Ghost centers on Min Ji-won (Ha-Neul Kim), a young college student who enjoys swimming and spending time with her friend, Park Jun-ho (Jin Ryu). But, Min's life isn't as care-free as it seems. She was involved in an accident and suffers from amnesia. She can't remember what her life was like before the accident and doesn't re...Read the entire review

The Movie

It's a fairly reliable fact that people like familiarity and dislike change. For example, if something, such as a movie or a TV show, is famous, when we hear that title, we immediately think of that movie or show. Thus, for most people, "The Honeymooners" will bring the 1950s TV show to mind. (Or, for some unfortunate souls, they 2005 movie with Cedric the Entertainer.) So, it was surprising to come across an Irish film called The Honeymooners. Maybe the Jackie Gleason show isn't well-known in Ireland. Or maybe, The Honeymooners is better than the title which would better fit the film, "Two A*&holes in a Cottage".

As The Honeymooners opens, we are introduced to David (Jonathan Byrne), a young man who is about to be married. After a misguided toast with his best man Ben (David Nolan), where booze is spilled on David's pants, his day gets eve...Read the entire review

The Movie

I've never been a fan of pretty boys. You know, those guys who skate by based solely on their looks. I really don't like pretty boy actors. While women seem to flock in droves to their films, I stay far away. That is, until the pretty boy moves past that phase of his career and learns to have fun with his image -- that's when I get on board. This happened with Brad Pitt in films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Ocean's Eleven (where he was a total goofball). The same could be said for Hugh Grant. I had no time for him in the early 90s, but as of late, his frazzled comedic roles have won me over. His latest effort is a romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore entitled Music and Lyrics.

In Music and Lyrics, Grant stars as Alex Fletcher, who was part of a band called PoP!, which was big in the 80s. However, the band broke-up and Alex's partner be...Read the entire review

The Show

As a child, I was big fan of Saturday-morning cartoons (truly a lost art if there is one), and things were much simpler then. My favorite character was Scooby-Doo, and looking back, I remember three Scooby-Doo shows -- there was Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!; the Scooby show which featured real-world actors (some of whom were dead by the time I started watching the show), which was of course The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and then Scrappy-Doo came along and ruined everything. But, when one looks at a Scooby-Doo episode guide from the 1970s, there are several more shows to be had. Entering this confusing cycle is the newly released DVD, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: The Complete Third Season.

Based on research that I've done, here's what I now know about the Scooby-Doo line-up. First, there was Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, then cam...Read the entire review

The Movie

When we think of filmmakers, we typically picture a director -- someone whose job it is to translate a story into moving pictures by composing shots and manipulating actors. The role of a documentary filmmaker can be much different. Typically, they have no control over what they are shooting. If done in a true verite style, the director simply points the camera and documents a person or an event. It's in the editing room where the documentarian becomes a filmmaker, as they use the footage which they've shot to tell a story. The ups and downs of this practice become evident in Christopher P Garetano's documentary Horror Business.

With Horror Business, Garetano has decided to take a look inside the world of independent, low-budget horror films. His primary subjects are five directors, Mark Borchardt (Coven), Ron Atkins (Necromaniac), David ...Read the entire review

The Movie

It's been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. (And if you've seen the film Highway to Hell, then you've seen an hilarious sight-gag based on this quote.) This comes from the idea that the wicked claim that they are going to do something, but never follow through with it. In a similar vein, the road to movie hell is often paved with good ideas. There are a slew of movies which have an awesome concept, but simply can't close the deal. Cruel World is such a movie.

Edward Furlong stars in Cruel World as Philip Markham, a man who was rejected by Catherine (Jaime Pressly) on a reality show similar to The Bachelor. As the film opens, Catherine and her husband (the winner of the show) Daniel (Sam Page), are about to leave for a vacation, when Philip suddenly appears, seeking revenge. Catherine and Daniel had been living in ...Read the entire review

The Movie

Hart to Hart was a TV show which ran from 1979-1983. In the show, Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers play a rich couple who solve murders. The show was lite and fun, but one of the main characters never got enough credit -- that was the dog, Freeway. Well, I'm glad to say that Freeway finally got his own feature film and it's made its way to DVD. Hold on a second, Geoffrey Kleinman is saying something to me. What's that? Freeway isn't about the dog from Hart to Hart? OK, I guess that I should watch this DVD.

Well, as it turns out, Geoffrey was right. Freeway isn't about a dog. To be honest, I'm not sure what it's about.

Reese Witherspoon stars in Freeway as Vanessa Lutz. Vanessa is an illiterate teenaged girl who is involved in an inter-racial relationship with her gang-banger boyfriend, Chopper (Bokeem Woodbine). She li...Read the entire review

The Movie

Any DVD knows that you can't trust a DVD by its cover...especially if that cover proclaims "Special Edition". By that same token, I try not to pre-judge a movie based solely on the company which has released the DVD. But, this isn't always easy. Take Archetype Films for example. I've seen three of their recent releases, UKM: Ultimate Killing Machine, Living Death, and Dead Mary and I've hated every one. So, it was with unintentional trepidation that I approached their latest release Bottom Feeder. I was surprised to find that I didn't hate the movie. It's not very good, but at least I didn't hate it.

As Bottom Feeder opens, we meet wealthy industrialist Charles Deaver (Charles Fitzpatrick). Having been severely burned in an auto accident, Deaver has hired scientist Nathaniel Leech (James Binkley) to help with his maladies. Leech...Read the entire review

The Movie

When I critique a movie and DVD, I attempt to add my own unique approach to the review. Be it in the introduction or in the body of the review, I try to use a perspective or make a comment which is exclusively mine. However, I'm afraid that with my review for the film Funny Money, I am going to say something which has most likely been echoed in every article about the film: "What happened to Chevy Chase?"

Chase stars in Funny Money as Henry Perkins, a mild-mannered employee at a wax fruit company, who cowers to his boss, Mr, Feldman (Robert Loggia) and lets others take his ideas. While riding home on the subway, Henry accidentally bumps into a man and they switch briefcases. When Henry inspects the case, he finds that it contains $5 million. Meanwhile, Henry's wife, Carol (Penelope Ann Miller), has been having a busy, yet less exciting day of her own. ...Read the entire review

The Movie

It would be safe to say that nearly everyone has read a book which was eventually made into a movie. And, in many cases, no matter how good the movie is, the viewer will be disappointed as there is typically something from the book which didn't make it into the film. But, have you ever seen a movie based on a novel where you wished that they could have dropped an important part of the book? That was my feeling with the live-action version of E.B. White's classic, Charlotte's Web. While I love the book, I could really do without a live-action spider on-screen.

Charlotte's Web opens with a litter of pigs being born on the Arable farm. Mr. Arable (Kevin Anderson) discovers that one of the piglets is a runt and plans to kill it. His daughter, Fern (Dakota Fanning), witnesses this and elects to take care of the baby pig. Fern names the pig Wilbur (voiced ...Read the entire review

The Movie

For years, the makers of low-budget films have done whatever it takes to get their movies made. I've noted a recent trend where independent horror films are shot in what appear to be abandoned buildings. Now, I know that the filmmakers can get a lot of mileage out of locations like this, but for some reason the thought of people shooting in what should be condemned dwellings makes me uncomfortable. Thus, I was dismayed to find that the Japanese film Nezulla, The Rat Monster opens in what appears to be an abandoned building and much of the action takes place there. I can't say why, but I would have thought the Japanese above this.

Nezulla, The Rat Monster takes place in an unnamed small town in Japan which is being ravaged by a plague. The infected sport black sores and the local clinic is overrun with patients. A representative of defunct local company...Read the entire review

The Movie

The romantic comedy used to be a box-office slam dunk and for well over a decade (since Pretty Woman brought the genre back to the forefront), rom-coms (as they are known) have meant money in the bank. However, the guaranteed nature of these films may be going away. Just this year, we've seen the surprisingly lackluster openings of Catch and Release and Music and Lyrics. The Holiday premiered over the holiday season in 2006, and despite a star-studded cast and a noted writer/director, the film struggled in theaters. Is this a sign of things to come? As The Holiday hits DVD, we can now study how this film features many of the pros and cons of the modern-day romantic comedy.

The Holiday focuses on a group of characters who are struggling with relationships. Iris (Kate Winslet) writes for a London newspaper and she's in love wi...Read the entire review

The Movie

When I got my first video rental club membership back in 1982, I immediately began renting low-budget horror films. (My first two rentals? The Evil Dead and The Burning.) Since that time, I've seen countless movies in this genre, and with a gig reviewing DVDs, my intake of indie horror has increased. And, over the years, I've learned one thing: many of these movies aren't very good. Thus, when one comes along which is just slightly above average, it catches my attention. Bit Parts is by no means a great movie, but, as you'll see, it hits some high notes.

As Bit Parts opens, we witness a young woman enter a darkened warehouse for what she thinks is a movie audition. She is subsequently attacked. Next, young Melissa (Molly Fix) arrives in Los Angeles. She hails a cab and soon strikes up a conversation with the driver, Bobby (Dave Reda)....Read the entire review

The Movie

During the 1990s, we saw a rash of TV programs (usually from the 1960s) which were transferred to the big-screen. Overall, the problem with these film was that familiar characters from the show were placed in incredibly convoluted situations. Thus, films like Dragnet, Wayne's World, and The Addams Family, had way too much plot happening and generally not enough of what made the shows great. Now, we are getting a similar issue when a direct-to-video item heads to the multi-plex with Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie.

"Strawberry Shortcake" first came on the scene in the 1980s as a line of toys. Some direct-to-video (?) animated specials followed. The character was resurrected in 2003 with a new set of toys and the premiere of what would be many direct-to-video features. These videos typically ran around 45 minutes and featured S...Read the entire review

The Movie

There's a simple fact of film criticism which can be very, very hard to follow: One can only review the film as it is presented. Many critics, myself included, are tempted to criticize movies for what they're aren't, or for what they could have been. (Gene Siskel was often guilty of this.) Keeping this in mind, how does one judge a film which was mis-represented by its advertising? The critic can't blame the filmmakers for this and can only look at the film in question. Thus is the case with Barry Levinson's Man of the Year.

Robin Williams stars in Man of the Year as Tom Dobbs, a Jon Stewart-esque host of a talk show which mixes political and comic overtones. One night, an audience member asks Tom why he doesn't run for president. When Tom mentions this on his show, the e-mails pour in and he begins to take the idea seriously, much to the chagrin of ...Read the entire review

The Movie

A new musical trend which developed (relatively) recently is the "mash up". This is where two seemingly different types of music are blended together to create one harmonious sound. Something similar can happen in movies where two ideas are blended together. The film Long Distance takes the telephone hi-jinks of Scream and When a Stranger Calls and mashes them together to create a plot. This is a great idea, but is it enough to sustain an entire film?

Monica Keena stars in Long Distance as Nicole Freeman, a graduate student who lives alone in an apartment in Boston. Nicole recently split from her boyfriend and she's been down. She calls her mother to chat and they get into an argument over Nicole's relationship, and Nicole hangs up on her Mom. Feeling bad, Nicole calls her back, but accidentally dials the wrong number and gets a stranger...Read the entire review

The Movie

The cover art of many DVDs feature blurbs from movie critics (or people like Larry King who I don't really considered to be movie critics). I typically avoid reading these because, A) I usually don't care, and B) I don't want my opinion accidentally influenced. While watching School for Scoundrels, I thought to myself, "This is like Bad Santa meets Napoleon Dynamite." After viewing the film, I noticed that front cover was emblazoned with a quote from Rolling Stone which states "Bad Santa meets Napoleon Dynamite". Wow! Was this remarkable synergy that we both thought this? No, this is the reaction that most anyone would have while watching this movie, and I can only assume that this was the intention of the people behind School for Scoundrels. But does the movie offer more than this?

In School for Scoundrels we...Read the entire review

The Movie

As someone who has dabbled in writing fiction from time-to-time, I truly appreciate a good story. A well-crafted plot with defined characters and plot twists can is truly satisfying, and is something which is not easy to construct. This is one of the reasons that I really don't like what I usually refer to as "art films". To me, these are movies which eschew a linear story and well-defined characters and instead attempt to enthrall the audience with striking visuals or by evoking a certain mood. Granted, some filmmakers, such as David Lynch, are able to do this. But, it's not as easy as it looks. Mad Cowgirl is one of these "art films" which wants to be quirky and disturbing, but only manages to be boring and confusing.

(Mad Cowgirl is all over the map in terms of story, but for this synopsis I'll report the plot points which I'm fairly certain actuall...Read the entire review

The Movie

"Camp" or "campy" are words which are often used to describe slightly silly, slightly offbeat movies. And perhaps films are labeled as "campy" far too often. Directors such as John Waters, Frank Henenlotter, and occasionally Tim Burton have perfected the art of making a seemingly serious film where the movie seems to be winking at us the whole time. Keep in mind though, camp can't be forced. Forced camp often becomes torturous. A perfect example of this is the 80s clunker Doom Asylum.

As Doom Asylum opens, a couple, Mitch (Michael Rogen) and Judy (Patty Mullen), are driving along a country road. We learn that Mitch is an attorney and that they are very happy about something, but before we can get any more details, they are involved in a car accident and Judy dies at the scene. Mitch awakens on the autopsy table and kills the coroner and attendant who ...Read the entire review