Wednesday, 15 October 2025

782 The Gate II ; Trespassers (1992)

 Louis Tripp returns as  Terry , the nerdy one in this  silly sequel to the 1987 film. Despite the events of the first film, Terry somehow works out that the demons he summoned could  also perform as genies and  banish his father's  alcoholism. His ritual is gatecrashed by three intruders, two oafs and a nice girl who takes a shine to him. Although parts of the film work quite well ( the make-up artist deserves a  mention )   the plot has a certain making it up as we go along quality which prevents you from really engaging with it.

Pamela Segull ( as Liz )

Sex : No

Death : Survives


Pamela was born in New York. Her father was a screenwriter. She emerged in the early eighties making her film debut in Grease 2 and starring in The Facts Of Life on TV. She  struggled to get out  of  supporting roles  and  diversified into  voiceover work both as women and young boys scoring big with King Of The Hill  by which time she was  known by her married name of Pamela Adlon. She started to get good TV roles such  as Marcy in Californication and  was showered with awards for her work on the comedy series Louie both as a performer and writer. She  remains in high demand.

Tuesday, 14 October 2025

781 Scanners II : The New Order (1991 )

 This  sequel arrived ten years after its predecessor. without David Cronenberg or any of the original cast and  went  straight to video. Despite these unpromising portents, it's actually a half-decent film.  David Hewlett stars as David Kellum, a young veterinary student who discovers his powerful telepathic abilities when he and his girlfriend are caught up in a store robbery. This brings him to the attention of  corrupt cop Forrester ( Yvan Ponton ) who is collecting scanners for his own nefarious purposes. There is some loose plotting  particularly around introducing a link to the first film halfway through the movie but  the maintenance of a human element to the story and satisfactory special effects compensate.

Deborah Raffin ( as Julie)

Sex : No

Death : Survives


This  was  Deborah's penultimate film and a farewll to horror.

Isabelle Mejias ( as Alice )

Sex : Alice sleeps with David

Death : Survives


Isabelle is  a  French-Canadian actress  who started acting at the start of the eighties. She  was  touted for Hollywood stardom after her leading role in the 1984 film Unfinished Business. It never really materialised though she worked steadily up until 1996 when she  apparently  retired. She has dropped out of the public eye completely.



Monday, 13 October 2025

780 Howling VI ; The Freaks

 After the  atrocity that was Howling  V. this one  raises  the  franchise slightly by  being merely poor. Brendan Hughes plays Ian, a young British man who turns up in a small American town for  no apparent reason. He's swiftly followed by a travelling  canival run by suave  Mr Harker (Bruce Payne)  who specialises in displaying freaks (including Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas ). It turns out Harker and Ian have some history It's uneven  in tone, has some dodgy acting  and  low-flying boom mikes  but there is the odd  impactful scene that lifts it above its predecessor.

Michelle Matheson (as Liz)

Sex : Liz has sex with Ian (largely offscreen)

Death : Survives


Michelle's  parents met while acting in the TV series Land of The Giants. She made her acting  debut  on TV in the 80s comedy series Mr Belvedere in which she had a recurring role. This was her first film. Although she had parts in poular ilms such as Threesome and Kingpin, her acting career fizzled out . She has also dablled in music and has had an autobiographical novel Saving Angelfish published. 



 

Sunday, 12 October 2025

798 Afraid Of The Dark ( 1991 )

 This  British  psychological  thriller about  a  disturbed  boy losing his sight  has a strong cast ( not all giving their best performance unfortunately )  and  an  unreliable  narrator  twist  that  makes it  ahead of its time  It's  a  bit  slow at  times   but  an  interesting effort with an unexpectedly hopeful ending after the  unpleasant  tone  of much  that has preceded it.

Fanny  Ardant  ( as  Miriam )

Sex : Miriam is heavily pregnant

Death : Survives


Fanny is a highly respected actress in French cinema with two Cesar Awards and nominations for six more. Her film career blossomed after catching the eye of Francois Truffaut with ehom she had a daughter. This is one of the few films she has made outside France. She courted controversy by expressing her admiration for the REd Brigade terrorist group in 2007. Since 2009  she has branched out into directing and screenwriting.

Clare Holman ( as Rose )

Sex : Rose poses  topless for a photographer but it's actually a delusion

Death : Survives


Clare  is  from  London  and  has ben a much in demand actress, mainly in British TV since 1988. She is best known  for  playing pathologist Laura Hobson in Inspector Morse and Lewis  and the adulterous teacher's wife in The Lakes . She  was married to theatre director Howard Davies from 2005 to his death in 2016.

Susan Wooldridge ( as Lucy )

Sex : No

Death : Survives


Susan  is another British actress who is still active. She was born in Hammersmith.In an up and down career  she had small parts in British films of the 1970s then rose to fame as Daphne Manners in The Jewel In The Crown. She also starred in John Boorman's Hope And Glory in 1987. Her fortunes dipped until  All Quiet On The Preston Front in the mid-nineties.  Since then her career has continued as a low profile character actress.




Monday, 22 September 2025

797 Two Evil Eyes ( 1991)

 This was a joint effort by George Romero and Dario Argento with  each one filming a segment inspired by Edgar Allen  Poe. Romero goes first with The Facts In The Case of  M. Valdemar starring Adrienne Barbeau as a soon-to-be-widow whose lover is  hypnotising her dying husband into arranging his affairs to benefit them. When he dies too soon they put him in the freezer but of course he doesn't lie still. Despite the modern setting it's old-fashoned and a bit too predictable. Argento's narrative The Black Cat is grislier and more  inventive though a little rushed in places and the ending is very contrived. Harvey Keitel plays a cynical photographer jealous of his young girlfriend's affection for her cat, a resentment  that  spills into violence and worse. It's the more  gripping of the two when you're not distracted by the lousy effects when the cat goes into action.

Madeleine Potter ( as Annabel)

Sex : Annabel is having an affair with one of her students

Death : Hit with a meat cleaver


Madeleine made her film debut in a Merchant-Ivory production The  Bostonians and has made three other films with them. Though born in America, she has been based in Britain since the mid-nineties dividing her time between stage, TV and voice work.

Julie Benz ( as Betty )

Sex : No

Death : Survives 


This  was  19-year old Julie's film debut, possibly owing to being a native of Pittsburgh where it was filmed. She is the daughter of a doctor and a figure skater. She was hoping to be a skater herself but injury diverted her into acting. In 1996 she auditioned for the main role in Buffy The Vampre Slayer   . She didn't getit but was compensated by the supporting role of Darla which made her name. Julie is a big star on TV  which rather overshadows her film work.

Lanene Chanters (as Bonnie)

Sex : No

Death : Survives


This was Lanene's only screen appearance. 



Saturday, 20 September 2025

796 Body Parts (1991 )

 This  body horror  film has  a  completely  ludicrous premise and  the last thirty mintes or so don't make a great deal of sense  but  the  impressive  cast take it seriously  and  it  is  pretty good gory fun, A serial killer has his execution method switched from the electric chair to dismemberment in an operating theatre - which seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me -so Dr Webb ( Lindsay Duncan)  can give his limbs to patients such as  psychiatrist Bill Crushank  (Jeff Fahey) , When  the arm seems to have a mind of its own, Bill tracks down the other recipients  including an unusually sympathetic Brad Dourif.

Kim Delaney ( as Karen )

Sex : Karen has sex with Bill

Death : Survives


Kim  was  born in Philadelphia  and was  a  very  successful teen model before  breaking  into acting  on TV in 1981 on All My Children . Although she has  appeared  sporadically in films, she is  primarily a TV actress winning an Emmy Award for NYPD Blue. She  is  still active, seen most  recently in Chicago Fire.

Sarah Campbell  ( as Samantha )

Sex : N/a

Death : Survives


This  was Sarah's first film role. She managed to keep her career going, mainly on TV up to the mid-90s and has made one or  two  appearances  s  an extra since.

Saturday, 9 August 2025

795 Bride Of Reanimator ( 1991 )

 This  sequel  to the 1985 film reunites most of the key cast but it's  shockingly bad; it's no surprise it went straight to video. In  its gore and special effects, it outdoes the previous film in sheer volume  but  if  you're looking for a coherent plot  or  even consistency of motivation  - Dan  Cain (Bruce Abott in particular -, this is the wrong film for you. There  are  still one or two good jokes here and there but  it's not worth wading through the manure to find them.

Fabiana Udenio ( as Francseca )

Sex : Francesca has sex with Dan then is repeatedly assaulted by the zombiefied cop

Death : Survives


Fabiana was born in Argentina ut raised in Italy where she became a teen model. She made her film debut in a German picture in 1978 but moved to the US in the eighties. She has regularly worked in TV and  is  currently  in  the  series FUBAR.

Kathleen Kinmont ( as Gloria )

Sex : Glora is stripped for resuscitation

Death : Gloria dies of an unspecified terminal illness


Kathleen was cast after Barbara Crampton declined to return although she plays a different character.