LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

This is the 80's version starring Rick Moranis, I recently went back and watched the original from the 50's and while it wasn't particularly worse than other movies from the era, it left me rather underwhelmed.
This one however is a different story... its vibrant, funny and interesting... and a musical. Its hardly a gore-fest but I do have to say its a great watch and a heap of fun. The music is firmly "rooted" (excuse the pun) in 50's rock n roll but suits the vibe of the film perfectly.

The film if you don't know revolves around a failing flower/plant shop that's just about to go out of business when flower shop worker, Seymour (Moranis) finds a rare breed of flower that starts attracting customers into the shop. Only problem is that it feeds on... wait for it... BLOOD! As the town gets word of the strange flower the traffic to the shop grows, and so does the plants appetite.

There's a bit more to the plot that that but really it doesn't matter, this is just good simple musical fun. Switch off the brain and enjoy the film and the tunes!

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DAWN OF THE DEAD (remake 2004)

In all honesty this remake is pretty good, production values are great and the violence and gore is top notch. It just misses something. It follows a fairly similar story line and progression to the original "Dawn of the Dead" but something about the souped up special effects leaves me feeling like I miss the "Good old Days" so to speak.

The plot itself follows a few small groups of people who after the zombie apocalypse have holed up in a shopping mall in an effort to survive. Obviously with the situation unfolding around them the tensions mount and relationships between the parties are strained... one by one they are picked of by the hordes of zombies surrounding and breaking into the mall to feast on the survivors. There are slight plot differences, enough to keep it interesting and updated for current fans but no major departures from the original story line.

One thing that really annoyed me about this film was the fast moving zombies, to me zombies are supposed to be slow, sluggish and brain dead, where as these zombies run around like Olympic sprinters and seem to be able to master more complex operations than the zombies featured in the original film.

That aside, I really don't have any problems with anything else the film has done and in a way its probably a necessary evil as I'm sure it exposed a whole new generation of scare fans to the work of George Romero.

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BLOOD FEAST (2016)

It's easy to say "Groan... Not another remake of a film that didn't need to be remade" but lets face it... while the original Blood Feast from 1963 raised (or lowered depending on how you look at it) the bar for cinematic depictions of gore, it was hardly a cinematic masterpiece.

This remake has a few things going for it... It's quite reasonably shot and produced.. as a stand alone movie its not too bad at all... The gore effects are really well done as well.... which of course will put it at odds with fans of the original film. 1963s Blood Feast was a B Grade explosion of hammy acting, and gore ... the likes of which had never been seen before.

One question I know you're all going to ask is "How is the gore in this film?" … With this version the gore  is stepped up again, and there's some definitely cringe worthy moments for even seasoned horror fans in this one. It s a lot more convincing than the original... and while I would have to say it builds into one of the more extreme climaxes out there, its definitely got a few squeamish moments - Enough to make most of the hardened gore fiends out there wince at least a little.

The plot is a little different featuring of course Ramses who in this movie is running a little American Style diner in France and financially struggling. He works a night job at the museum with the hopes of pulling himself out of debt. Obviously working two jobs is stressful and things are getting a bit much for poor old Ramses and he looses his medication and starts seeing visions of the ancient Egyptian goddess Ishtar. Ramses then sets about to hold a "Blood Feast", a cannibalistic ritual feast in the hopes of resurrecting and then becoming one with the goddess Ishtar.

Ramses has a family, not the least of whom is his daughter played by the stunning Sophie Monk (a definite plus for this film) who he hopes will join him for the climatic crescendo of blood and meat.

Overall I quite enjoyed this film and while I don't get precious about remakes this one really didn't have that much to live up to anyway. In some ways it surpassed the original and in other ways it didn't have the same punch as the original would have had. It IS however immensely more watchable for people who don't get the old school horror, and lets face it most of us weren't born when the original came out...  and for that it could be a useful tool in introducing a new generation of gore fans to some *cough* classic horror.

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FRIDAY 13th (REMAKE 2009)

Producer Michael Bay (despite being a big time hollywood guy) was always going to have a huge task ahead of him remaking one of the greatest horror films of all time. I don't think he did a particulary bad job of it, its just that remaking the first film for anyone who's seen it would be a pointless affair as the plot relied on the major twist at the end (you know what I mean) and rewatching another version of it when you already know the ending just wouldn't have any effect.

With that said the film moves fairly fast through the territory covered by the first film and then the second and seems to land somewhere in the territory covered by the third film, where its spends the rest of the film as a standard slasher film from the point where Jason dons the hockey mask for the first time and the classic representation of Jason Vorhees is now able to be used. Lets face it, this is the way most people (except hardcore afficionado's) will remember Jason and it really does up the commercial appeal of the project.

As a slasher flick its pretty good actually, the horror effects are great and the acting is good enough to get it over the line. It's actually not a bad flick at all, but inevitably the question will be asked 'How does it compare to the original' and it doesn't. The original is one of the greatest horror movies of all time and this is what I'd call a solid slasher flick at best, definitely worth a watch and I'd take a punt it would be aimed at the younger horror fans who maybe wouldn't be inclined to watch the original series of films, maybe with the intention of getting them to go back and watch the original films which I could totally see it doing.

Easy to follow plot and lots of topless babes, and some righteous killings make it an easy to follow plot as well if you're having a few drinks or watching it with friends.

Be sure to check out our review of the original film here FRIDAY 13th FILM REVIEW

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