Update

Hey folks!

I've been trying to keep it a secret from most everyone online but I've been dealing with wrist issues for the past month or so. Because of that I find it tough to do my typical computer use schedule of writing, writing, and writing! I can write somewhat but not nearly as long as I would be able to normally.

As such, you've probably noticed I'm not updating this blog in my regular Mon/Wed/Fri thing right now. I'm not sure when that will resume but for now I'll just post things when possible. I'm still watching movies a great deal, just not as ready to jump on the keyboard and start clacking away.

Just letting you know where I've been and that I'm still enjoying horror (and other) films! :)

Cheerleader Autopsy

Year: 2003
Director: Stu Dodge
Writer: Stu Dodge
Genre: Horror: Comedy

Cheerleader Autopsy is not an exploitation flick, which is what I first thought when first coming across it. It does have to do with cheerleaders and autopsy but the main focus is the "humor" of death and morgues. If you have a hard time thinking of anything humorous about these things then maybe you should stay away from the film. If, however, you're looking for some extremely lowbrow, cheap laughs then go right ahead.

I enjoyed it. The movie knows completely it is a joke and runs right along with it. Sometimes horror comedy just doesn't work. Cheerleader Autopsy might be a big waste of time for you but for me it wasn't so bad. You've got a group of cheerleaders - The Beavers - and they're ready to go to some sort of big championship. Before they can get there however they manage to all get run over by their schoolbus. Whoops.

From here on the story shifts to the tale of the men in the morgue and how they ineptly handle their job. It almost makes me wonder if the director was a mortician because this seems like the kind of humor only they could come up with. That, or it's a bored young guy who has a screw loose. I suppose I'll never know.

I'd suggest probably going to check out other low budget horror comedies before this one. Stuff like Freak Out isn't so bad and seems to be made by actual horror fans.

Dolly Dearest

Year: 1992
Director: Maria Lease
Writer: Maria Lease
Genre: Horror: Evil dolls

I have a real love/hate relationship with evil doll/toy/dummy movies. For whatever reason, the idea of those inanimate objects coming to life really scares me - especially dummies. I think in the case of dummies it is their weird mouths. Anyway, so because of that it took me a really long time to ever watch these kinds of films. Child's Play, for example, took me years to sit down and watch (and then I loved it). Magic and other films I basically had left untouched until really deciding to deal with this.

Dolly Dearest is the story about a doll possessed by the spirit of a demonic child. This is fine and good but the movie itself fails because the doll has no real presence. It's not a witty, wisecracking thing but it isn't completely mute and terrifying either. It was at the start though, but then became increasingly silly as the film went on. When it started talking I basically lost it and couldn't take things serious anymore.

To say the movie is without merit though would be wrong. It tries to be something different. Minus the whole "possession of doll" thing it doesn't attempt to crib heavily off other films. The idea of a family moving to Mexico to run a factory manufacturing dolls makes sense, I guess. It certainly added a flavor you usually don't get in horror films too. Although of course it did have the trope of a religious and/or superstitious native of the region who knew something was up.

Overall it wasn't that great but it wasn't a nightmare either. If you're really in need of doll movies you could do worse than watching this. I guess that's a compliment!