Recent Viewings, Part 2

[FatFreddysCat]

"Dead Ant" (2017)
A has-been '80s hair metal band are headed to a desert music festival, for what they hope will be their big comeback gig. Along the way they accidentally violate an ancient Indian curse that awakens hordes of huge, man-eating ants. Think "Spinal Tap" meets "Them!" with a bit of "Big Ass Spider!"

This tongue-firmly-in-cheek creature comedy barely scrapes the lower end of the "So-bad-it's-good" meter, thanks to the hair metal connection. I think I can guarantee that this is the only monster movie you'll ever see where the world is saved by a terribly played cover of Kix's "Blow My Fuse." Yes, really. 

Your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for cheap special effects and the acting of Tom Arnold (who plays the band's manager).

[FatFreddysCat]

"Jumanji: The Next Level" (2019)
The kids from the last "Jumanji" return to the dangerous video-game world once again to rescue one of their own, and they bring a few new friends along for the ride. Just as much fast-paced fun as the original.

[Rev. Powell]

SUBURBAN BIRDS (2018): In China team of engineers investigate the appearance of sinkholes which are forcing them to condemn buildings; the story changes to follow a group of suburban elementary schoolers, with parallels developing between the two tales. Done with skill but it takes far too long in developing its enigmas, which don't seem worth the journey. Very art-house, not for folks here. 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Beyond" (aka "7 Doors of Death," 1981)
A woman inherits a run-down hotel in the Louisiana bayou, but her attempts to renovate and re-open the old place are marred by a series of bizarre deaths, which may be tied to a murder at the site 50 years ago.
Lucio Fulci's artsy splatter fest is lovely to look at, even if the story has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. It may not make much sense but "Beyond" totally delivers on the gross-out gore front, with plenty of eye gougings, disembowelments, exploding heads and other assorted nastiness.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Dark Night of the Scarecrow" (1981)
A posse of small town yokels (led by the great Charles Durning) kill a local mentally-handicapped man, under the mistaken assumption that he harmed a little girl. The four men aren't found guilty of any crime, but then one by one they are picked off by a mysterious figure in a scarecrow outfit.
A spooky little Halloween treat, originally made for TV in 1981, which has gone on to become a cult classic.

[indianasmith]

HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE - I had seen snippets of this movie, but never the whole thing.  Two stoners experience a strange odyssey of R-rated adventures as they make their way to the legendary fast-food establishment and munch off their high.  A runaway cheetah, a leprous auto mechanic with a hot wife, a horny Neil Patrick Harris, and a runaway cheetah are among the perils they face on the quest to consume junk food.  This is a wonderfully bad and hilarious film!  4/5

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD - A cynical journalist with a bitter past is sent to interview the saintly children's TV host, Fred Rogers, and experiences first hand the force of niceness incarnate.  A little slow at the start, but very well done and deeply moving by the end.  Tom Hanks is marvelous as Mr. Rogers! 4/5

[Dr. Whom]

Wavelength (1983)

This starts off SLOW. Just when you've resigned yourself that you are watching a no budget movie with lots of padding, it suddenly takes off and both the pace and the production values improve dramatically. The plot is basically ET, but with some twists and a a clever use of stock footage to make it watchable. There are even some SFX towards the end. Apart from having a washed up folk rock musician in the Canyon as its male lead, there are other links with music: the female lead is played by Cherie Currie of Runaways fame, and the score is by Tangerine Dream.

[Rev. Powell]

HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE PALACE - I had seen snippets of this movie, but never the whole thing.  Two stoners experience a strange odyssey of R-rated adventures as they make their way to the legendary fast-food establishment and munch off their high.  A runaway cheetah, a leprous auto mechanic with a hot wife, a horny Neil Patrick Harris, and a runaway cheetah are among the perils they face on the quest to consume junk food.  This is a wonderfully bad and hilarious film!  4/5

You mean White "Castle," lol. Never seen the movie but I love White Castle! They're only in the Northeast and Midwest.

THE ANTENNA [BINA]: A building supervisor deals with strange occurrences after a satellite antenna is installed in his apartment building to broadcast new government-sponsored news bulletins. This Kafkaesque nightmare, inspired by life in Erdogan's Turkey, can be hard to follow, but contains some great spooky imagery and has a vibe dimly reminiscent of VIDEODROME. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Matinee" (1993)
In 1962 Florida, a producer of gimmicky low budget horror movies comes to town to premiere his latest creature feature ("MANT! Half Man, Half Ant!"). The kids can't wait to see the movie, while their parents are panicked by the ongoing Cuban Missile Crisis.
John Goodman is great as the William Castle-esque schlock mogul in this fun period piece by Joe "Gremlins" Dante. The goofy black and white movie-within-the-movie is fun too.

[indianasmith]

WITCHES IN THE WOODS - A group of college students take a shortcut over the mountain on their way to a ski cabin, and wind up stranded in a patch of woods where a group of witches were hung back in the 1600's.  As the sun sets and the mercury drops, one by one they descend into madness and violence.  Is it an ancient witch's curse bearing fruit once more, or are they all a bunch of crazy, unlikable paranoids?  Moderately entertaining.  3/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Sleepaway Camp" (1983)
Foul mouthed Ricky and his strange, withdrawn cousin Angela arrive at Camp Arawak for the summer, but their fun is interrupted by a mysterious killer who starts picking off campers and counselors one by one.
...for most of its length, this cheap, cheesy slasher saga is little more than a generic, store-brand ripoff of "Friday the 13th," but it has developed a loyal cult following thanks to its infamous twist ending, which is still one of the most enduring "what the f*ck?" moments in horror film history.  It's so bad, it's almost good.
Followed by numerous sequels and at least one "reboot," none of which have been seen by me.

[FatFreddysCat]

"No. 1 of the Secret Service" (1977)
Suave British secret agent "Charles Bind" is assigned to find out who is murdering England's wealthiest financiers in this cheap, corny, hopelessly unfunny spoof of the James Bond series. Nicky Henson seems to be having fun parodying Roger Moore's take on Bond, but the TV sitcom-level production values and near-total lack of action made this an extremely tough slog. Imagine if they'd tried to make an "Austin Powers" movie in the '70s but forgot to make it funny, and you're in the ballpark.
AVOID.

[Gabriel Knight]

"Sleepaway Camp" (1983)
Foul mouthed Ricky and his strange, withdrawn cousin Angela arrive at Camp Arawak for the summer, but their fun is interrupted by a mysterious killer who starts picking off campers and counselors one by one.
...for most of its length, this cheap, cheesy slasher saga is little more than a generic, store-brand ripoff of "Friday the 13th," but it has developed a loyal cult following thanks to its infamous twist ending, which is still one of the most enduring "what the f*ck?" moments in horror film history.  It's so bad, it's almost good.
Followed by numerous sequels and at least one "reboot," none of which have been seen by me.

That frozen expression at the end freaked me out for sure.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers" (1988)
After four years in the looney bin, Angela's free, and working as a counselor at a new summer camp full of horny teenagers. You can probably guess how well that works out for everyone. In an odd bit of stunt casting, "Angela" is played by Bruce Springsteen's younger sister, Pamela!
Sequel to the '83 slasher shocker is much more tongue-in-cheek than the original, leaning towards horror-comedy territory, with lots of blood and boobs. It was dumb as a box of rocks, but at least it was entertaining.

[lester1/2jr]

I really liked Sleepaway Camp not just the ending. I didn't care for the Cropsy one whatever it was called. as far as post Friday the 13th camp movies