'00s Trash?: Soul Survivors (2001)

 Not Another Teen Slasher.  Despite all of the Marketing and promotion for this Film (see below for one example), this is not what it seems.  This is Soul Survivors, a 2001 Horror (?) Film that is kind of a lie.  From the way the Film was marketed, you'd think that they were being hunted by some sort of masked person/monster.  Nope.  I'll get into what happens in the actual Review, but, sufficed to say it ain't what they sold you.  As I noted way back in 2013, there was a Poster trend for these kinds of Films.  The Plot involves a group of young people who survive a car wreck, but one of them starts to be bothered by strange visions and seeing dead people.  Wait- is this just another Soultaker?  Yes and no.  No Joe Estevez here (sadly?) and no Robert Z'Dar either.  Instead, you get Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck and Luke Wilson.  To see what happens when you make a confusingly-marketed Film and accidentally release it days before 9/11, read on...

A pair of Couples hang out for one last Party Night before some of them leave for College.

A normal College Party- boring.
A Rave at a Church- a real winner!

Some personal drama comes up as our Lead used to date her lady friend's Boyfriend and lets him have 'one last kiss'...which the current Boyfriend sees.

This combines with a bunch of Ravers spinning their car out to lead to a car accident that kills Affleck.

Our Lead tries to move on and go to College.  Confusingly, she already has Mid-Terms.

While there, she starts to see weird things.  For instance...

These 'dreams' where she is on the Operating Table and treated by Doctors.

Fun Fact: one of the EMTs is played by T. J. Jagodowski aka one of the two Guys from the Sonic Drive-In Commercials.  I'm a font of useless knowledge.

She also keeps seeing Affleck randomly, despite him being dead.

He keeps saying stuff like 'don't give up' and encouraging her 'not to go with him.'
Hmm....

She also keeps talking to this Priest- Wilson- who encourages her not to give up.

To add to the 'like a Slasher, but not' vibe, I'm getting a real 'Nun from Nightmare on Elm Street 3' vibe here.  He's slightly-less useful though.

In the most 'this is still too early to handle this right' moment, she also sees her friend- Dushku- in a softcore lesbian tease that is supposed to 'prove' that everything she is seeing is starting to get 'freaky' and 'wrong.'

Yeah, this hasn't aged well.

Can our Heroine figure out the secret to her mysterious visions and the strange occurrences?

Yeah, duh.

She was in a coma.  The people she was seeing from the Club were dead and trying to get her to stay.
The Priest who was helping her was also dead and pushed her to cling to life.

Well, it ended better for her than it did for this guy.  The End.

It is rare that I compare a Movie to a very mundane experience.  Watching this Movie for me was like waiting for the Bus.  You know how it is going to end from the get-go.  You aren't that interested in what is going to happen between then and now.  To be fair, this is not a unique gripe with this Film.  I had the same response to the Remake of Carnival of Souls.  Despite a good Director and some good visuals, I knew where it was going from the beginning, so the twists and turns did little to excite me.  Like that Film, this one tries to give you weird, freaky moments.  Unlike that Film, however, this Film tries to be less scary and more 'unsettling.'  It is all about our Heroine being constantly off-guard between random hallucinations.  Meh.  They're fine.  The Acting is fine.  Other than the part I mentioned above that feels really weird to see as 'freaky' in 2020, the Film had aged alright.  I just wish that things weren't so obvious.  While it is not the Slasher Film that it was sold as, it's alright...but very dry due to obvious Plotting.  Oh well- at least it got a plaque.  No joke- this is real!

Next time, October begins with the Remake of a Film that is fairly-infamous.  Is a more sane version a better one?  Stay tuned...

Once-Lost TV: The Veil (with Boris Karloff)- 'Jack the Ripper'

 In lieu of a new piece on The Boys, it is a Horror Anthology Show with Boris Karloff as the Host.
2020- the Year of Disappointments.

I joke, but this one is kind of interesting.  It is...

The Veil was a 1958 Horror Anthology Show that never actually aired.  It couldn't find a Network or buyer, so sat unreleased until the 1990s.

Now it is Public Domain and on random Discs like the one I got for a whopping $2.99.

Naturally, it is ANOTHER Jack the Ripper Story...

In this 1958 Episode, a Medium has visions of murder.  I wonder if that will be important.

He's pushed by his Wife to go to the Police, so he does.

However, the murders bring out all the 'crazies'...who manage to not be in the wide-shot and then magically appear in an insert shot.

Movie magic!

He has another vision and is, again, pushed to go to the Cops.  This time, he has a detail not given in the Papers.

Instead of proving his powers, however, this...

…lands him in a Holding Cell.

Overnight, two more Murders happen in Whitechapel and now the Police believe him.

He leads them to where he 'knows' the killer lives.

He's a Socialite that is part of the RCS (Royal College of Surgeons).

At first, it seems like he is dead, but he's actually given himself to an Asylum...which somehow makes him 'outside of the Police's jurisdiction.'

Is that how things worked?!?  Whatever- it is better than him being a Time Traveler or Immortal.
The End.

A nice twist on very, VERY familiar territory.  Another Jack the Ripper story- what else can you do?!?  Well, to be fair, this was made in 1958, far before nearly all of the previous examples I've covered here.  Karloff does double-dip on the matter- with Thriller- but he's not actually *in* either Story.  Speaking of not in the Story, this was not actually made for The Veil, so Karloff doesn't appear in the feature himself.  Presumably, he'd have played the Doctor at the end- just a guess.  This was actually made by someone else and then bought to connect to The Veil and pad out its potential sale.  As noted, that sale never happened.  David MacDonald is not a household name, but he Directed numerous TV Shows and Films like Devil Girl From Mars and The Moonraker (no relation to the Bond Film).  The Episode itself looks pretty good, is nicely-acted and has a pretty good resolution.  As people will note, this Story does ignore the final Ripper Murder from 2 months later...which I guess is just a copycat to them.  It hurts the flow of the story to give it the actual ending, huh?  Regardless, this once-lost Show- it only appeared on DVD in the '90s after 30+ years in limbo- is pretty good, even if it randomly cuts from Karloff standing to sitting for no good reason to get this shot....

A good, solid Episode that maybe isn't the most accurate representation of the Show.  Even so, they made Jack the Ripper feel kind of fresh, so kudos.

Almost Heroes?: Max Rourke (2005's The Ring Two)

 If the people behind the Series can get blood from a stone with the Ringu Series, so can I.
Here's another squeeze...

In a previous (read:old) entry, I covered the Hero (sort of) of the original Film...and its many Remakes.

Well, it is time for the Sequel...to the 2nd Remake (counting Kanzenban as the first Film).

He's a Male Lead in a Ringu Film, so things don't go well for him...but he tries.

He hires our Heroine after she moves to Oregon.
He's supportive.

Even when things get weird- and it seems like she might have tried to kill her Son-, he's on board (as much as you can be)…

While she's investigating Samara's origin, the Son- possessed by Samara- escapes from the Hospital and returns to Max's place.

Suspicious, he tries to film the kid in secret (since he'll show up differently on Film).
The kid/Samara figures it out.

Mom comes back and finds the Son there, acting weird.

Hmm...she should ask Max what happened.
'Hey Max, what's...up?'

Poor Max- he tried to help.  He cared.

Ultimately though, he wasn't quite Hero enough for this Film.
So close, even though he dies right at the start of the Third Act.

Buy or Cel?: The X-Men vs. Apocalypse (Part 2)

 Another X-Men Show did a big Story Arc with Apocalypse, so let's compare that to the Film too...

In one corner, we have the Blue Man and his Group from X-Men: Apocalypse...

...vs. The Saga of Apocalypse from the oft-ignored X-Men: Evolution.

In contrast to the Film, SOOOO much time is spent building up to the arrival/return of Apocalypse.

Throughout Season 3, we see Mesmero working for 'someone' in a scheme that involves brain-washing our Heroes to steal stuff.

It turns out to be keys to Doors that Apocalypse is sealed behind.

Season 3 formally ends (it has a one-off to actually finish) with a battle to stop the last Door from opening...which fails.

They also accidentally deliver his ship to him, setting up the final Season.

Throughout the condensed 4th Season, we get build-up for Apocalypse's plan as his Pyramids pop up and draw the ire of many, including Magneto, who is seemingly-killed by the Villain.

In the End, all of the Heroes must unite to stop the Villain and his Horsemen.  It is actually a small, forgotten Character that seals the almighty Apocalypse's fate.

Good stuff.

Weird fact worth noting: on Evolution, Apocalypse recruits/steals 4 Mutants to be his Horsemen- Mystique (set up in Season 3), Magneto, Professor Xavier and Storm.

In X-Men: Apocalypse, he recruits another 4 Mutants for his Horsemen- Angel, Psylocke, Magneto and Storm.

Also Mystique is key in stopping him here, so seeing her as his stead is obviously different.
Lastly, I'll note that there's a soft tease for Phoenix here, as opposed to SUPER IN YOUR FACE one in the Film.

Once again, the Film isn't bad.  The Film has some big ambitions.  It tries to introduce new Characters like Storm, Psylocke and the villain, while also trying to build off of Character Plots like Magneto's.

It's just not as interesting as a long-running, mystery build throughout numerous Episodes like on the Show.  Another win for that format- fair or not.

They make the arrival of Apocalypse out to be a huge deal and, in fact, the Series arguably is built around it.  Apocalypse tries to activate the dormant X-Gene of everyone on Earth, which is a jump-start to evolution.  Say- that's the Title!

The Film, again, used none of its predecessors to do any of this work, save for a vague Teaser at the end of 'Days of Future Past' (a future induction, no doubt).

So, with no disrespect to the Film, the choice is obvious- Cel.

I'll leave you with this.  For the wrap-up (since Season 5 wasn't greenlit), the Producers show a flash-forward tease of what they would have done.  That includes, naturally, The Dark Phoenix Saga!

As a bonus, I'll point out that Wolverine and the X-Men (the most recent X-Men Show) only got one Season, but did a tease for a future Season 2.  That tease- Apocalypse!

Next time, let's jump over to DC.  With all of the talk about another cut, let's compare the birth of the Justice League!  See you then...

Lost in Translation?: The Terror Within II (1991)

 Das ist good?

This is the German DVD Art for the Corman-produced Sequel.

How is it?

I hope that's a door he's ripping open!

Seriously though, this is a good Poster/Box Art/whatever this is.

This isn't *quite* the creature...is it?
No, it's not.

Here's the original one...

A bit of color and contrast- nothing I haven't done before.  The bright red is an improvement though, right?

'90s Trash: The Terror Within II (1991)

 Now with the Star in charge of everything- oh boy.  

This is The Terror Within II, the 1991 Sequel that also comes from Roger Corman's Production Company.  Weirdly, it is Concorde Films on this Film, as opposed to NEW Concorde for the previous Film.  Times change quickly!  

Speaking of change, let's talk about the obvious one.  Andrew Stevens has escalated from being just the Star to being the Star, the Writer AND the Director!  Holy Ed Wood, Batman!  He's since gone on to Direct a dozen or so projects, ranging from Episodes of Swamp Thing to Virtual Combat with Don 'The Dragon' Wilson.  Let's see how it all began, shall we?  

The Plot mostly follows the first one and introduces the Bunker we'd only heard about/from briefly in the previous one.  I'm not clear how much time has passed exactly, which would have been nice to know.  In addition, they no longer call them Gargoyles, which is odd.  

Instead, they use the Latin to make it sound scarier- worked for Night of the Lepus, no?  This time, we got some other Stars to 'slum it' here like R. Lee Ermey and Stella Stevens.  

Hidden amongst the Cast is a two-time Oscar Winner though- it's Cinematographer.  Janusz Kaminski would go on to work Oscars for Schlinder's List and Saving Private Ryan, but he started out on stuff like this, Cool as Ice and Little Giants.  Can the previous Star make a Film that tops the original?  To find out, read on...

In the vague time since the last Film, Stevens wanders the Desert collecting resources.  He does so alone, but the Film won't address his missing Co-Star for at least 30 minutes.

Also...that beard.  He's like 40% of you as the Shutdown ended, isn't he?

He saves a pair of people from a POV attacking Gargoyle...or just one.  The guy dies and leaves his sister in Stevens' care.

He's now the Writer, so, of course, they hook up and she is immediately pregnant.  Subtle!

At the other Bunker, we see that apparently there is no some issue with a virus *inside* and not just the creatures to deal with.  Is that a retcon or did I just glaze out when it was mentioned in the last Film?

Regardless, their Bunker has the aforementioned Stevens, Ermey AND Burton Gilliam- most well-known for being in Blazing Saddles alongside Slim Pickens!

While they work on securing plants for a vaccine that is suddenly super-important, Stevens and his lady meet up with a random Cult to get some Peyote- for the vaccine, not personal use.

This distraction accomplishes three things-

1) Padding the runtime to 90 minutes (with Credits)

2) Padding the body count

3) Leading to the woman being raped by one of the creatures, setting up the Third Act.

Speaking of setting up the Third Act, a Gargoyle loses a finger to a closing hatch and one of them takes it inside to study...or just forget about it.

Seriously, they just leave it in a container and forget about it until it kills someone in a larger, goopier form.

So even though Stevens KNOWS what happens when a Gargoyle is birthed, he hides the fact that one will be born soon from the Bunker's inhabitants.  

That lasts for all of 5 minutes of on-screen time though.

Naturally, it is born, but it doesn't kill the Mother this time because reasons.

On top of that, it is a hybrid creature, since she was knocked up by Stevens like a day earlier.  Sure, whatever you say, Movie!

Ultimately, the Bunker now has TWO menaces to deal with (since it is a Sequel).

Can they stop the hybrid Gargoyle and this mutated Blob one too?

The latter proves to be quite dangerous as the Film needs to start offing the Supporting Players before the end.  It is ultimately stopped by Stevens and the 'Mother' working together.

As for the Blob one, it...kind of just dies easily right afterwards.  The survivors group back up and... oh, that's the End?!?

A less-than-overwhelming retread.  To be honest, I wasn't *expecting* much more, but was hoping for it.  First-time Director Stevens does okay here.  I do miss the random forced perspective shots though.  

The Film is shot well, but you should hope for that given the man behind the shot layouts.  Seriously, he worked on Watchers II and Saving Private Ryan!  There's one big, obvious problem- the Special Effects.  With Jaws 2, its Director spoke of how you can never replicate that first moment when the Shark appears for the Audience, so you have to show it more and more.  Someone didn't get that lesson…or couldn't afford to follow it.  

Despite having one for the last Film, we don't get to ever see the original Gargoyle Suit(s?) in this Film outside of shadowy, far-away shots.  Did they lose it?  Did it get worn down from disrepair?  I don't know.  Regardless, the Film using POV Shots for the Monsters in THE SEQUEL feels like a real slap in the face.  When we finally get a new creature- the Hybrid-, they make it covered in blood/goop and there's far less detail here.  The addition of the semi-human face is nice, but isn't nearly enough.  

Where did the money go?  Oh right, you got Ermey and put lots of lights in the new Bunker.  It is hard to ignore the seeming ego on display as Stevens is the only competent fighter, seen as the potential savior for the Bunker, gets the girl and saves the day...even if he also caused 80% of the deaths.  

Seriously, he faces ZERO repercussions for bringing the fetus in there and making most of the Cast die.  Dick.  

With hindsight, they should have started with him and the woman together, showing their meeting in flashbacks.  That would make it more understandable for him to possibly-doom everyone for her...instead of for a woman he met like 2 days ago and already hooked up with.  

Regardless, Within II is a bit of a retread that has a couple of new ideas that don't really mix things up.  You've gotta love this Rambo-style Poster highlighting ONLY its Star/Writer/Director too.

Next up, a recent $1 purchase that will hopefully pay off.  Let's see if the Killer Cut is worth it.  Stay tuned... 

New Streaming- The Boys- Season 2, Episode 3

 Another week and I check out the chaos that comes from the World of...

Some big news has been leaked that has everyone rocked.  Can Vought overcome this?

Will their Boss ever seem fazed?

In hiding, The Deep finally has a breakthrough and is encouraged to get back out there.

Will he be a help or a hinderance?

It all comes down to a chase between The Boys and The Seven.

Is this a fair fight?
Will loyalties be tested?

Alot of big stuff goes down in this one, so I won't SPOIL anything else.  I'm not that mean.

I mean, I'm no Stormfront!

To find out what happens, watch the Show.

A crazy, action-packed Episode.  This was the last of the 3 Episodes put up on the Debut Weekend, so they knew how to structure this.  The first 2 Episodes build and build things up.  This one is the payoff for alot of things.  Naturally, it then sets up new, interesting Plots as well.  Without SPOILERS, I can say that it is neat to see the natural culmination of Stormfront's initial Arc here.  It is neat to see how they are trying to make The Deep more than a one-note Character.  The events here obviously set up a very natural and understandable rivalry that I'm excited to see play out.  So many questions lie unanswered though.  I guess I have to keep watching!  Aside from the big action moments, we get plenty of nice character moments from Homelander, Queen Maeve, Starlight and Billy the Butcher.  The Show balances the act of leaving Plot Lines simmering and having big blow-offs.  Other Prestige Shows I've covered in the past have been able to do one or the other.  They would leave you hanging for seven Episodes- see Castle Rock- and then only have a pay-off moment in the final Episode.  Some of them- like American Gods- never even gave you that!  Way to balance things, folks!  If you still haven't seen it, get some friends together (safely) and check this out...

Next time, we have some big repercussions from this one.  What kind of insanity will we get next?  See you then...