October Belongs to Horror #7: Romasanta The Werewolf Hunt

Romasanta The Werewolf Hunt a.k.a The Werewolf Manhunt a.k.a Werewolf Hunter: The Legend of Romasanta a.k.a Werewolf Hunter 

Filmax, Future Films, Fantastic Factory (Filmax), Castelao Producciones, Spain, UK, 2004. 

Based on a true story about Spanish serial killer Manuel Blanco Romasanta, "The Werewolf of Allariz." 

1851 Spain. Young women are being torn apart by wolves. Merchant Manuel Romasanta (Julian Sands) returns to village to meet his girlfriend Maria (Maru Valdivielso). Maria has sister Bárbara (Elsa Pataky, known for "Fast and Furious"-series) and mute daughter Teresa (Luna McGill). As Bárbara  has crush on Manuel, jealous Maria moves to Santander with Manuel and Teresa, leaving Bárbara behind. But Manuel has dark and sadistic tendencies. 

Manuel Romasanta

Maria

Bárbara

Teresa and Maria are murdered. Charming Manuel targets Bárbara next. Unbeknowingly Bárbara falls in love with him, but soon starts to see that something is wrong. Wandering madman Antonio (John Sharian) believes that Manuel is a werewolf. Professor Philips (David Gant) is a phrenologist and believes that manuel is insane. District Attorney Luciano de la Bastida (Gary Piquer) does not know what to believe. Bárbara wants revenge and so she participates to hunt Manuel.

Not a werewolf

Antonio

Professor Philips

This is an unconventional werewolf-movie and leaves open the question if Romasanta was a real werewolf or not. Moody horror drama (point being on drama) has slow-burning suspense, nice cinematography and good actors. As the style is of period drama many horror-fans expecting werewolf action will be disappointed even if the killings are brutal. Julian Sands who is always cast as handsome but more or less dubious characters. If he is the Beast, then Elsa Pataky is the Beauty, giving romantic spice to the story. Director Paco Plaza later directed the effective [REC]-zombie movies.

Rating: Good

Starring: Julian Sands, Elsa Pataky, John Sharian, Gary Piquer, David Gant, Maru Valdivielso, Luna McGill, Carlos Reig-Plaza, Reg Wilson, Ivana Baquero, Laura Mañá, Sergi Ruiz, Itziar Fenollar, Carlos Sante, Jaume Montané, Arantxa Peña, Anna Estellés, Ben Temple, Tacho González, Pep García, Alejandra Juno, Jesús Berenguer, John Easthman, Macarena Gómez

Director: Paco Plaza

Movie Review: The Incredible Hulk Returns

The Incredible Hulk Returns
Bixby-Brandon Productions, New World Television, USA, 1988. 

The TV-series "The Incredible Hulk" was followed by trilogy of TV-movies. At the moment I have two of those.

David Banner (Bill Bixby) (not Bruce as in the comics) has been living peacefully for a few years. Thinking about his girlfriend Maggie (Lee Purcell) has kept the angry side persona Hulk from appearing. But one day David plans to use new revolutionary Gamma Transponder to destroy Hulk once and for all. 

Maggie and David Banner

Gamma Transponder

Donald Blake

But before he can do that, Donald Blake (Steve Levitt) visits him and shows an old hammer he found in Norway. It is more than just a cool souvenir, as Blake can use the hammer to call a mighty viking warrior Thor (Eric Allan Kramer). Odin has ordered Thor to do heroic acts before he can enter Valhalla. Still Donald has similar problems as David, as Thor has become a part of his personality.  Perplexed by modern technology, Thor breaks expensive equipment in the laboratory. That makes David turn into a green monster man Hulk (Lou Ferrigno). Hulk angry!

Hulk

Thor

After mutual buttkicking, Thor and Hulk decide to be friends. In the 1980s there are no monsters to battle, so Blake takes homesick Thor to the biker bar. This is how to have fun in the 1980s! Chugging beer, flirting with girls and picking a random bar fight makes Thor feel at home. As a small sideplot nosy reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) tries to expose Hulk's identity but Thor helps David remain incognito.

Jack McGee

But the superheroes need something important to do. Spies try to steal the Gamma Transponder. Jack (Tim Thomerson) and his henchmen Mike (Charles Napier) and Barner (Carl Ciarfalio) get pounded by Hulk first, but then they decide to kidnap David and Maggie. The bad boys manage only to kidnap the later as David turns into Hulk and also Thor comes to help.

Mike, Jack and Barner

Hulk & Thor

As this is and not a modern ADHD-adventure, the style is quite different. The superpowers are quite limited nad Thor is not a God but a strong Viking warrior. This is a clasical style TV-scifi drama with moodiness of David Banner being balanced by jovial Thor. Lou Ferrigno does very little acting here, his work is to look angry and do the action scenes, with Bill Bixby taking care of the drama. The overall tone is quite melancholic with David never cetting along with his angry side, whereas Donald and Thor find a balance. Also it was a new idea to put two Marvel superheroes in the same film. Fans of vintage TV-shows and classical style superhero stories should enjoy this.

Rating: Good

Starring: Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Jack Colvin, Lee Purcell, Charles Napier, John Gabriel, Jay Baker, Tim Thomerson, Eric Allan Kramer, Steve Levitt, William Riley, Tom Finnegan, Donald Willis, Carl Ciarfalio, Bobby McLaughlin, Burke Denis, Nick Costa, Peisha Arten, William Malone, Joan Douglas, John Novak
Directors: Nicholas Corea, Bill Bixby

Movie Review: Atomic Twister

Atomic Twister
Once Upon a Time Films, TBS Superstation, USA, 2002. 

Single-mother Corrine Maguire (Sharon Lawrence) and her son Campbell (Daniel Costello) have moved to small town in Tennessee. Neighbour Jake Hannah (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is a virile police officer, who has a childhood's trauma. Tornado killed his mother, or that's what the told to Campbell. Jake has trouble with his former girl friend Ashley Bishop (Charmaine Guest) whose father happens to be Jake's boss Sheriff C.B. Bishop (Corbin Bernsen). So there is enough drama potential for a regular teen soap-opera. 

Corrine

Jake

Ashley

Campbell is a player-wannabe who wants to play Twister with his considerably older and curvy nanny Stacy (Joanna Morrison). Naughty kid. 

Stacy

But this is a disaster movie though. Corrine works in Helman-Klein nuclear plant. Security guard Stu (performed by Olympic champion Carl Lewis) is the only security of the plant that is manned by about 5 people. The reactor is safe and protected from meltdown. But is it tornado-proof? Of course not! The tornado is threatening the plant and even Stu can not sprint fast enough to avoid a dark fate. The communications are lost and the Standard Operating Procedure for Disaster Situations seems to be gone with the wind as no-one really knows what to do. Jake brings an emergency radio, but it only works outside (!) Also the nuclear power plant has chronic power shortages (!!)

Stu

This makes the safety procedures and management of Chernobyl look good.

If the tornado blows up the Calvin-Klein plant, it would have a huge negative impact on the property prices of the state (bad). So Dr. Martin Jennings (James Gaylyn) from Nuclear Regulatory Commission sends some experts to prevent the disaster. The only expert who gets to the location on time is Manuel Fluentez (George Henare) so Corrine and her work-mates Neville (John Sumner), Gail (Meryl Main) and Potter (Jonathan Blick) have to gain time to prevent the disaster. At the same time Corinne tries to save her son.

Gail stares at the monitor while Corrine looks horrified

Potter and Neville

Modest TV movie has dramatic music that sometimes sounds like background music from original "MacGyver." Although it is not quite worst of Syfy-style films, there are many scenes that make you shake your head. There is not much believability and the technical details are horrible. In one scene a guy has to walk through a  radioactive area to hit the shutdown switch. One would think moving quickly would shorten the exposure time to radiation but no. Let's stroll slowly admiring the scenery instead. And with Stu dead just about anyone can wander into the nucular plant without hindrance. And if something is broken, kick it and it works again.

Yes, they really are tornadoes.

Some amusingly bad scenes and nice-looking ladies make it watchable. Otherwise it is pretty basic cheap disaster film that delivers a small amount of suspense.

No radiation-laced tornado is seen. Now that would be silly. That would be like combining already dangerous tornado with something overkill like sharks. What?

Corbin Bernsen drinking coffee

Rating: Bad or So bad it is good

Starring: Sharon Lawrence, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Carl Lewis, Jonathan Blick, Daniel Costello, Charmaine Guest, George Henare, John Leigh, John Sumner, Corbin Bernsen, David Aston, Paul Barrett, Grant Bridger, Katrina Devine, Peter Feeney, Taylor Garton, James Gaylyn, Michele Hine, Meryl Main, Joanna Morrison, Ashleigh Seagar, Jared Michael Thomas, Louise Wallace, Sara Wiseman, Roz Turnbull, Jak Wyld
Director: Bill Corcoran

Movie Review: Paheli (2005)

Paheli (2005) a.k.a The Dilemma
Red Chillies Entertainment, India, 2005.

Based on Vijayadan Detha's novel and 1973 movie "Duvidha."

Beautiful Lachchi (Rani Mukerji) is getting married in ancient India. In the first song there is both playful anticipation of the wedding night and sadness of leaving behind family and childhood's friends. The wedding procession has to stop at a place that is said to be haunted. There a shapeshifting ghost falls in love with Lachchi. Husband Kishanlal (Shah Rukh Khan) is a trader and only interested in business. He is leaving for a business trip for five years (!) and has no time for even a wedding night, so Lachchi feels lonely and sad. The women in the family seem to be have unhappy fates as also Kishanlal's brother Sunderlal (Sunil Shetty) left his family and wife Gajrobai (Juhi Chawla) after losing a bet in camel races. 

Lachchi

Kishanlal

Gajrobai

The Ghost disguises as Kishanlal and returns home. He tells Kishanlal's father Bhanwarlal (Anupam Kher) that he is now blessed and earns five magic coins per day.  Lachchi is happy but the Ghost reveals that he is not the real husband. Sneaky Uncle Kanwarlal (Dilip Prabhavalkar) wants to know where the gold comes from, however this subplot never comes to any conclusion. 

Supernatural romance!

Bhanwarlal

Kanwarlal

Confusing situation arises when servant Bhoja (Rajpal Yadav) comes to bring letter from Kishanlal - only to be greeted by Kishanlal. The Ghost is generally a nice guy and a benefactor of his society - however the real Kishanlal still has fondness for his wife. And to make it clear, he is not a bad guy, just a man pressed by the expectations of his father. Later when the real Kishanpal returns, wiseman The Shepherd (Amitabh Bachchan) arranges a group of tests to decide who is the real Kishanpal. How will the Dilemma be solved and will Lachchi be united with her ghost lover or her work-obsessed husband?

The Shepherd

The musical numbers alternate between playful teasing and longing passion. The gigantic turban worn by Kishanlal in the DVD cover gives a comical impression, but this is mainly an exotic romantic fantasy. However there are some amusing side characters and the story is narrated by two puppets. Supernatural identity theft contrasts the reality vs Lachichis dream man where Kishanlal is the sense and Ghost Kishanlal is the sensitivity. It is beautifully filmed and colourful with nicely choreographed music numbers. Although it was generally pleasant, the acting and chemistry of the charismatic main stars, who are two megastars in India, was great and the film praised by Western critics, I didn't find it the best Bollywood can offer.

Puppets

Dance now!

Then the bad. The simple story feels overlong (the film's duration is 134 minutes) making poor use of the subplots. For me the handling of real Kishanlal's story felt clumsy and the solution to the awkward situation felt forced, making shortcuts to arrive at the happy ending. And indeed, what I found out from teh Internets is that the original 1973 film had a sad ending with the romantic ghost being trapped forever and the true feelings of Lachchi ignored. This modernization seems to water down the original 1973 version's critique of the Indian social traditions and the point about woman's position in Indian society (i.e what the woman wants vs what is socially acceptable). Having a more audience pleasing happy end, the new version cuts away the stronger points that the 1973 had. Maybe I have to find the original 1973 film for comparison if I can buy it somewhere. Despite all the good things, for me "Paheli" didn't leave an Oomph-effect that the best Asian films make. But then again I'm an old crank so what do I know.  

Rating: Average

Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Anupam Kher, Rani Mukerji, Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Sunil Shetty, Juhi Chawla, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Nina Kulkarni, Padma Rani, Sharvari Jamenis, Aditi Govitrikar, Advait Trivedi, Palak Jain, Ratna Pathak, Rajpal Yadav, Somesh Agarwal, Mohan Bhandari, Rishi Deshpande, A.K. Hangal, Vijay Mishra, Surendra Rajan, Nikhil Ratnaparkhi, Aashif Sheikh, Lekh Tandon, Anita Wahi 

Director: Amol Palekar

Movie Review: Just Add Water

Just Add Water
Bleeding Hart Films, Morningstar Films, USA, 2008. 

Ray Tuckby (Dylan Walsh) has a boring job and a boring life. He lives in a small town of Trona with mentally troubled wife Charlene (Penny Balfour) and troublemaker but sensitive son Eddie (Jonah Hill). Only light in the day is a cute grocery store cashier Nora (Tracy Middendorf) who has secretly yearned after Ray since high school.

Ray Tuckby

Eddie and Charlene

Nora

Ray's brother Mark (Michael Hitchcock) is a crybaby with million plus one kids. When Ray finds out that Charlene has had a relationship with Mark since forever, Ray decides to start his life again. If only he could have courage to ask Nora for a date. Mystical stranger Merl Striker (Danny DeVito) opens a gas station in town and inspires Ray to follow his dreams. 

Merl Striker

Dirk

Trona

Druglord Dirk (Will Rothhaar) terrorizes the town. Dirk controls the water and electricity in the town. Every day Dirk's actions strain the townspeople more. The downtrodden town needs a hero so Ray starts slowly crawling out of his misery. Together with his friends he makes a plan against Dirk.

Merl and Elmo (John Balma) being stealthy

Off-beat Drama-comedy has nice little story with eccentric characters. The story has potential for vigilante story but it remains on the humoristic side. The humour is whimsical and surprising but often quite black though. Ray is a nice but passive guy and he grows up during the story affecting also the people around him. Danny DeVito has a small but important role and comedians Jonah Hill and Melissa McCarthy have some of their early roles. Melissa McCarthy appears as Ray's neighbors meth-addict wife who can throw a punch or two. The stroy opens up quite slowly, so the beginning takes a bit of patience. After that the characters become likeable and you want to know what happens to Ray and the town.

Rating: Good

Starring: Dylan Walsh, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, Danny DeVito, Tracy Middendorf, Melissa McCarthy, Anika Noni Rose, Lindsey Axelsson, Will Rothhaar, Joey Kern, Penny Balfour, Lee Garlington, Michael Hitchcock, Tracey Walter, June Squibb, John Balma, Chelsea Field, Lucy DeVito, Cerina Vincent, Ahna O'Reilly, Emily Arlook, Chris Owen, Nate Mooney, Jonathan Moore, Sewell Whitney, Scott Kinworthy, Brad Hunt
Director: Hart Bochner