Serial Mom

Year: 1994
Director: John Waters
Writer: John Waters
Genre: Slasher, Comedy

I adore John Waters but have since having only seen one film of his. Over time, I have slowly worked through his filmography. Serial Mom is one that has continually evaded my watching pleasure, but I'm glad to have finally given it a watch.

The basest assessment of the film would peg it as a slasher, and it is. People are killed time and time again and it's routinely bloody. However, the film is not about fearing the killer or even being led on as to who it is. We all know who the serial killer is just by looking at the title of the film. The overly-peppy, restrained mother makes the perfect killer as you can't help but laugh at the strangeness of it all.

The piece seems to primarily speak of Western society and its full blown obsession with fame. Even when everyone knows that the mother is a psychopath she is given the star treatment. Everyone idolizes her as someone better than Freddy or Jason because she's an actual being. People are caught up with their obsessions and are unable to hate such a lovely, charismatic woman.

This is one of those Waters' films that seems tailor made to appeal to a wider audience. Perhaps not so much as Hairspray, but it is still pretty close. There's nothing wrong with that but it always interests me to see Waters create films beyond his original style. Definitely a fun watch for fans of horror comedy.

The Unborn II

Year: 1994
Director: Rick Jacobson
Writer: Rob Kerchner, Daniella Purcell
Genre: Horror: Sci-Fi, Evil Children

The Unborn was a movie that I feel is entirely unrated. It received a remake in 2009, which I knew of, but also a sequel. The sequel was something which caught me completely by surprise. Although I didn't remember the end of the first film, it didn't seem like something that would lead into a new movie. Now I can understand what angle they took with it although there didn't really need to be a sequel to begin with.

So the story starts us off with a woman moving into a new neighborhood. Her overly cheery (and pesky) neighbors butt into her life almost immediately, pointing out the baby gear she has in tow. We knows he has a child but for some reason isn't bursting to pull out photos to show everyone. Something is wrong... but what?

We're also shown a woman who puts on some heavy sunglasses before marching up to a child on the playground and shooting him square in the face. WHAT? It's really this scene (the first in the film) which sets the tone for everything else that comes. The idea behind the story may be serious - that experimental artificial insemination might be going wrong - but beyond that it's a hilarious little film. Who really just wanders around in broad daylight shooting children between the eyes? Even if they are cannibalistic monsters it just feels incredibly hokey.

Because it does feel so ridiculous I was able to enjoy it a lot. It's a very dumb film and the twist doesn't even make sense if you really think about it. It was just put there to give you something else to worry about besides a bloodthirsty infant. But why would you even need anything else when you have that? The Unborn II made me think about a few things though despite how silly it was. For one, who are these movies about pregnancies gone wrong made for? Are they made for women to prey on their very personal fears? Or are they made for the same audiences as everything else?

Anyway, it was a truly goofy experience and would probably be good to watch with friends. The basic plot does keep in line with the original movie, so if you've seen it, you might as well give it a shot too. However, don't expect them to feel at all the same. If anything, it really feels more like It's Alive.

PS: The Unborn II's soundtrack has nothing on the first film's awesome score by Gary Numan and Michael R. Smith.

Body Parts

Year: 1994
Director: Michael Paul Girard, Jan Marlyn Reesman
Writer: Teri Marlow, Dick Monda, Clement von Frackenstein
Genre: Horror: Possession

I came into Body Parts not expecting much at all. I knew it was something put out by Troma but beyond that I wasn't sure. Besides, there are Troma films out there that I don't like (Mothers Day). So, with a bit of worry I watched it and quickly fell in love. Or perhaps it's better to say I fell in "like" with it.

The movie is your standard tale of a psycho killing strippers. What isn't standard about it is the cast of characters. Everyone is ridiculous but in a mostly believable way. However, the longer the movie goes on the more times the believability is stretched thinner. By the end we've thrown it completely out the window and are experiencing something absurd. I for one liked the gradual climb from semi-realism to hilarity over the hour and a half.

Some instances of silliness are like when the cops are chasing a suspect. As they pass through a back yard with a dog the dog is never their concern. Instead, they tiptoe and weave over the many dog poop pieces strewn about the yard. It's dumb but made me chuckle all the same. Then there's one character whose persona is Marilyn Monroe. Probably unlike Marilyn though she is a complete and utter dunce. When it is her time to shine on camera she really does shine. I couldn't stop giggling at her ridiculous antics and lines like "If I'm ever reincarnated I wanna come back as Vanna White."

There's actually not much murdering in the film beyond the start. As such it's a bit of a stretch to call this a horror film since it's not very scary either... Still, I think it fits in especially since there is possession involved as well. Regardless of the genre this is one awkward film which deserves a watch.

Heavenly Creatures

Year: 1994
Director: Peter Jackson
Writer: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Genre: Drama

Why did Peter Jackson ever leave his really cool style of films to pursue huge Hollywood ones? I guess I should be happy with it but after he created Bad Taste, Dead Alive/Braindead, and this I kind of wish he had never hit it big. Well, it's too late now!

Heavenly Creatures is a departure from Jackon's previous films. It's not a horror film but just a sort of interesting drama, romance, coming-of-age thing. The story focuses on two imaginative girls who create a whole world together. They create characters to inhabit their world and all the backstories that come with them. It's a pretty interesting look into youthful friendships.

The characters feel pretty damn real which is appreciated. Normally, it might seem odd that 14 or 15 year old girls would be creating such elaborate fantasy worlds together but it fits them. What especially interested me was the relationship between the girls. It seemed to be so true for a fiction narrative. I guess that's the sign of a good movie though.

Honestly, I can't really think of what to say. I really enjoyed the film and would watch it again if a friend was interested in it.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Year: 1994
Director: Stephan Elliot
Writer: Stephan Elliot
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Where do I start with Priscilla... Well, suffice to say I love it.

For a film from 1994 it's surprisingly candid and sweet for the subject matter. The story by the way focuses on a troop of crossdressers going cross country for a performance. Predictably, the story focuses around all the exciting events and people they come across on their journey. Sometimes the characters must face insult and injury but the main focal point of the movie is fun, fun, fun and having lots of it.

Movies about cross country journeys tend to be hit or miss with me. They can fall completely flat with stupid characters or come to life because of interactions. This film definitely got it all right and with a distinctly fabulous edge. I like that the characters are shown as being able to take care of themselves and with their heads screwed on straight. Again, for 1994 this is pretty solid.

The characters are campy but that's the whole point. It's great fun and still manages to have heart. I can't accurately convey how much fun I had with the film, but it was pretty great. It almost make me want to try out drag although I doubt I could ever be as cool as these characters.

Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter

Year: 1994
Director: Jeff Burr
Writer: Steven E. Carr, Jo Duffy
Genre: Horror: Evil Dolls

So here we are at the supposed "final chapter". Obviously it isn't though as there are 5 more films to go. I guess Full Moon believed this was the end though, or at least the end of this storyline. I'm not really sure but maybe things will become clearer once I watch the 6th film.

Puppet Master 5 is better than 4 because more things happen. It feels once more like a movie even if the "horror" tag is getting lesser and lesser as time goes on. Once again, some ancient Egyptian evil is sending out a little demonic child to take care of things here on regular Earth. This is a super demonic baby though as there's only one of it and it manages to be a definite threat all on its own.

For the regular team of puppets, they're still all good. Interestingly, it seems like between this and the last film they got rid of the female puppet. I'm not sure why, since they seemed so happy to use her in the previous films. In fact, she was an important character for the 3rd. Either way, I'm glad they got rid of her because she was a disturbing and annoying creature... She'd moan and choke as leeches slowly squirmed out of her gaping mouth. Yuck.

So, this time around the science kid is convicted of murdering people from the last film. Obviously he didn't but how do you prove to the police that small demonic monsters did it? And that puppets helped you? So the bulk of the film focuses around a small squad of people investigating and attempting to steal the puppets - to learn about their technology. Things don't go as planned. It's an okay movie but nothing to write home about.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Year: 1994
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror: Slasher

This is the very final Freddy movie. Even if it might not have been intended to be, with the 2010 remake any following sequels will continue on with that modernized one. So, here we are, the end of the Freddython and it's practically a return to the wonderful nature of the original.

Wes Craven took the reigns once again for this one, which he had basically let go of for all the sequels. It was apparent that maybe Wes was tired of his killer character being pushed into goofier and goofier situations. Either way, New Nightmare is a brilliant return to form that only he could have crafted.

The movie takes us out of the "Elm Street" world and away from the story of Freddy that was hammered into the citizens of the town. We are no longer in that series but in the real world. The movie follows the actress who played Nancy in the first film (Heather Langenkamp). Robert Englund talks to her and they go on a talk show together and basically this is our world. What brings this back to Freddy is the fact that apparently Wes Craven is hard at work on a new Nightmare movie. Around this time, Heather is getting harassing phone calls and letters at her house and starts to worry that Freddy is coming into real life.

It is about as fresh a take on a horror series as someone can do and Wes is near genius for creating it. It is only necessary to watch the original movie to get what is going on in this one. However, watching the sequels wouldn't damper your interest in New Nightmare. The movie almost feels like fanservice with how wonderfully it ties into the original. Almost.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is right up there in the list of great horror films. It isn't viewed as such by the movie community at large who prefer The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, and The Shining but that doesn't make it any less. It's a sort of slasher movie but with a lot more depth than most. For that, I give it a ton of credit.