562 Friday the 13th Part VII : The New Blood

 The  rather  desperate  title gives  away its  makers' insecurity  but  there  is  one  new  twist  here. The  final  girl  has  telekinetic  powers  with  which  to  defend  herself  making the  climactic  scene  a  bit  less predictable. The  bulk  of  the  film  though  follows  the  formula, an  unlikely  resurrection of  Jason  who slices  and  dices  his  way  through  a  group  of  interchangeable  horny  teens  before  a  showdown  with  his  nemesis.

Lar Park-Lincoln ( as Tina )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Lar was born Laurie Park in Dallas. She made her acting debut on TV in 1985 and  this  was  her  third  film.  Lar  returned  to  TV  afterwards  and  played  two  roles on Knots Landing in  the  late  eighties. She  took a  ten  year  sabbatical from acting  following  her  husband's death in 1995 but  could  still be seen presenting on the  QVC  shopping  channel. She  has  also  dabbled  in  fashion  and  runs  her  own  acting studio  in  Dallas. Her  recent  work has all been  in  the  horror  genre.

Susan Jennifer Sullivan ( as Melissa )

Sex : Melissa initiates sex with  a stoner but doesn't go through with it 

Death : Jason plants an axe in her head

Susan  was  from  Massachusetts and  only  had  a  brief  acting career. In 2012 , a  documentary  on  the  franchise  erroneously reported that she  had  died.

Heidi Kozak ( as  Sandra )

Sex : Sandra strips off for a skinny dip. The underwater scenes are a body double

Death : Jason drowns her in the lake

Heidi appears to be  wearing  the  same oufit as in Slumber Party Massacre II.

Elizabeth Kaitan ( as Robin)

Sex :  Robin has sex with her boyfriend

Death : Robin is thrown out of  a window

Elizabeth was born in Hungary and  moved to America at 18 to become sn actress. She  was  a  model  and stage actress before making  her  screen debut  in 1983. She had a small role in Twins  but otherwise  was  confined  to B-movies, her  career lasting til 1999. She  is  now  a  politician's secretary.

Diana Barrows ( as Maddy )

Sex :  No

Death : Jason slices her open with a sickle

Diana  is  from  New  York  and  this  was her  first film  role. Since  the  early nineties her  screen  appearances  have  been sporadic  but  she  does  a  lot  of  stagework. She  is  a  fluent French  speaker  and   is  active in French  theatre.

Diane Almeida  ( as Kate ) 

Sex : Kate has sex with her boyfriend

Death : Jason drives a party horn through her eye

This  was  Diane's  only  film role  but  she had a  reasonably  successful  TV career. In 2000, she won an award from  the  Pan African Film Festival as a producer on  the  film Raising Tatiana.

Staci Greason ( as Jane )

Sex : No

Death : Jason drives a tent stake through her throat

This  was  Staci's  first  film  role. She  joined  Days Of Our  Lives  in 1989  and  made  over 450 appearances in it. She  retired from  acting to  concentrate on  writing  in 1999 but  made a  return to  the soap in 2010 to  wrap  up  her  character's  storyline.

Debora Kessler ( as Judy )

Sex : No

Death : Jason smashes her against a tree

This  was Debora's only film role.

Jennifer Banko ( as young Tina )

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

Jennifer  was 9  years  old at  the  time  of  filming. She worked steadily, mainly  on  TV until she  was  eighteen. She made  a  comeback in 2014 and  is  still active.

 

561 Graveyard Shift ( 1987 )

 This  Canadian  vampire  film  isn't  well  known  but  it's  worth  a  look.  Michael Miranda  plays  Stephen, a New York cab driver who's  really  a vampire  targeting  women  who  are  near-suicidal  and  grateful  for  his  attentions. He falls  for  a  terminally  ill  TV  producer but  her  husband  has  other ideas. This  unusual  love  triangle gives  the  film a  distinct  identity.

Helen Papas ( as  Michelle )

Sex : Michelle has sex with Stephen in his coffin

Death : Michelle becomes a vampire herself

Helen , who  is  clearly  of  Greek extraction, only  appeared in  one  other  film and  little  is  known about  her.

Dorin Ferber ( as Gilda )

Sex : Gilda is sleeping with Michelle's  husband

Death : Eviscerated by Stephen

Dorin  appeared with  Helen  in both her  films and  one  other.

Lesley Kelly ( as Officer Arbus )

Sex : No

Death : She  is  already a vampire

This  was  Lesley's second  film  but  she  had  a  more  solid  career lasting  until 2007.

Kim Cayer  ( as Suzy)

Sex : Suzy strips for sex with Stephen 

Death : Suzy becomes a vampire

Kim  was  production secretary on  her  second  film Oddballs  and  went  on  to  be  a  bit  part actress. Her  career looked to  have  petered  out  in 1994 but  she  reappeared in a  film in 2021.

Sugar Bouche ( as Franne)

Sex :  Franne strips  for sex with Stephen

Death : Franne becomes a vampire

Sugar  was  a  Polish  actress  who  had  a  brief  career in  film, usually  playing  a  stripper.

Jessie  Taylor  ( as Swimming Pool blonde )

Sex : She  strips to entice her victim

Death : She  is  already a vampire

This  was  Jessie's  only  acting  role.

560 Bad Dreams (1988)

 This  is  an  aggravating  film  because  it  could  have  been so  much  better.  A  young woman, Cynthia  is  the  only  survivor from a  seventies  doomsday  cult  that  voluntarily  followed its  leader  Harris  (Richard Lynch ) into self -immolation - the  scene  depicting  this  is  genuinely  shocking. Cynthia  wakes  up  from  a  thirteen year  coma  and  is  placed  in  a  therapy  group for  people  with  borderline  personality disorder under  handsome  Dr  Kamen ( Bruce  Abbott)  as  she  sees  Harris or  the  remains  of  him at  every  turn .  

From that point on , the  film  inexorably unwinds  with   increasingly  absurd plot  twists, completely  usympathetic  characters  including  Cynthia  herself  and  a  laughably  ludicrous  conclusion.

Jennifer Rubin ( as Cynthia )

Sex : No

Death : Survives 

Jennifer  got  the  final  girl  role  in  this  one  but  as  noted  above it's  very  difficult  to  sympathise  with  her  character.

E G Daily ( as  Lana )

Sex : No

Death :  Drowns  herself

E G's  real name is Elizabeth  Guttman. Her  first  film role  was  in  Jukebox in 1976  but  she  first   made  her  name  on  TV  in  The  Righteous  Apples  a  few  years  later.   Her  most  high  profile  film  role was  Dottie  in  Pee  Wee's  Big  Adventure.  In  the  mid -eighties she  had  an  international  hit  single  with  Say It  Say It. From  the  nineties  onwards , she  concentrated  more  on  voice  acting  for  which  she  is  still  in  great  demand  for  film, TV and  video games.

Damita  Jo  Freeman ( as Gilda )

Sex : No

Death : Poisons  herself  with  formaldehyde

Damita made  her  name  as  a  dancer  on  Soul  Train  in the seventies  before  lauching  a  briefly successful acting  career  in  Private  Benjamin ( both  the  film  and  TV  series). This  was  her  last   acting  role  before  a  new  career  in  TV  choreography.

Melissa  Francis  ( as Young Cynthia )

Sex : No

Death : Survives 

Melissa  made  her  film  debut  at  the  age  of  six  in  the  comedy  Scavenger  Hunt. She  won  a  number  of  wards  as  a  child  actress on  TV. In  1990 , she  gave  up acting  to  study  economics  at Harvard . She  became  a  financial  reporter  and  anchorwoman  on  TV  and  married  an  asset  manager. She  has  made  a  couple  of  cameo  performances  as  herself in  films.

559 Pulse ( 1988 )

 This  chiller has  a  potentially  intriguing  satirical  premise , that  household  conveniences are  a  menace. Young  David  ( Joey  Lawrence ) comes  to  live  with  his  father  and  stepmother  and  is  the  first  to  realise  there's  a  malevolent  spirit  lurking in  the  electricity  supply.

Despite  the  likeable  protagonists  and  the  odd  decent  shock , this  comes  across  as a  pale  imitation  of  Poltergeist  with  no  real  exposition and  for  the  most  part  it's  pretty  boring.

Roxanne Hart ( as  Ellen )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Roxanne  was  born  in  Trenton New  Jersey  and  first  appeared  in  an  uncredited  role  in  1979's  The  Bell  Jar. She  is  best  remembered for  her  role  in  Highlander.  In  the  nineties,  she  made  a big  impression  in  the  series  Chicago  Hope. Her  career is  ongoing.

558 Prison ( 1988 )

 This  bluntly-titled  horror movie  is  chiefly  remembered  for  giving  an  early  lead  role to  Viggo  Mortensen. He  plays  Blake , one  of  a  busload  of  convicts  transferred  to a  derelict  prison that  they  have  to  make  habitable  for  themselves. When  he  smashes  his  way  through to the  old  execution  chamber,  the  vengeful  spirit  of  an  executed prisoner is  released and  starts  picking  off cons  and  screws  alike.

Despite  all  the  named  prisoners  being  humanised, this  film  largely  relies  on  frequent  violence  to  entertain and  distract  you  from  the  abundant  plotholes .

Chelsea  Field ( as  Katherine  Walker )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

The  only  female  in  the  cast, Chelsea  was  born  Kimberley  Botfield in California. She made  her  screen  debut  in  1983  as  a  dancer on  the  pop  show  Solid  Gold and  her  film  debut  with  a  minor  role  in  Perfect. She  is  best  known for  her  role  as  Teela  in  Masters of  the  Universe. On  TV, she  often  appears  with  real-life  husband  Scott  Bakula, including  her  most  recent  work  in  NCIS : New  Orleans.

557 The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988 )

 Wes  Craven took  something  of  a  left  turn  with  this adaptation of  a  non-fiction work  by  botanist Wade Davies.  Dr  Allan ( Bill  Pullman, usually  to  be  found in lighter  fare ) visits  Haiti  to  investigate  reports of  zombie-like  resurrections  which  could  be  the  key  to a  safer  anaesthetic. He  finds  what  he's looking  for  but soon  falls  foul  of  the  dreaded Ton Ton Macoute, headed by  a  particularly  nasty voodoo  magician, Peytrand . It's  at  least  as  much  a  political  thriller , with  the  most  obvious  horror  tropes  largely  confined to  Allan's  dreams  and  visions  but  the  authentic  settings  and  good  performances  make  it  worthwhile.

Cathy  Tyson ( as Marielle )

Sex : Marielle has sex with Alan in a cave. It looks like she  used a body  double in parts of the scene,

Death : Survives

Cathy was born in  London  but  largely  brought  up  in  Liverpool where she  joined  the  Everyman theatre. After  one  TV  appearance  she  shot  to  fame in  Mona  Lisa . This  was  her  second  film  role. Partly  due  to  her  left  wing  views, she  turned  down  further  Hollywood  roles  and  retreated  to  British  TV  finding  fame  again  in  Band  Of Gold . She  has  never been short of work and  is  currently in Dune: Prophecy. She  was  married to Craig Charles  between 1984 and 1989.

Dey  Young ( as Deborah)

Sex : No

Death : Uncertain - she  is  possessed by Peytrand but  it's  unclear  whether it  kills her

Dey  is  the  younger sister of the  better known actress Leigh Taylor-Young. She made her film debut in Rock N Roll High School. She  has  appeared in some  popular  films but in very small  roles and  is  mainly a  TV  actress, She  has achieved  more  recognition  in  a  parallel career as  a  sculptress.

556 Blue Monkey (1987)

 This  hospital-set  Canadian shocker  borrows  liberally  from Alien and The  Fly  and  is  low  on  gore but  it's  hard  to  dislike  with  its  tongue in cheek  tone - some  of  the  characters  are  wholly  comic. That  doesn't  extend  to leading  man  Steve  Railsback whose  one  dour  expression brings  down  every  scene in  which he  appears.

Gwynyth  Walsh ( as Dr Carson )  

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Gwynyth  is  a  respected  Canadian  actress on  stage  and  screen, perhaps  best  known  for  appearances  in  Star  Trek The  Next  Generation. This  was  her  first  film. She  currently  has  a  recurring  role  in  the  Netflix  series  Virgin River.

Marsha  Moreeau  ( as Marcy)

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

This  was  Marsha's  second  film  after  a  string of TV  movie  appearances. She  had  a  small  role in Dead  Ringers . At  the  start  of  the  nineties , she  switched  to  voice  acting, most  notably  with  the  Little Bear series. She  retired  after 2005.

Sarah Polley ( as Ellen )

Sex : n/a

Death : Survives

Sarah   is one of  Canada's most  celebrated  actresses  who  started  acting at  the  age  of  four  through  her  mother's connections  as  a casting director. She  seamlessly  transferred into adult  roles. She  is  a  political activist and lost some teeth in  a  clash  with police  in 1995. She retired  from  acting in 2010  to  concentrate on writing  and  directing. In 2023, she won  the  Oscar  for  Best  Adapted Screenplay  for Women Talking.

Cynthia  Belliveau ( as  Alice )

Sex : Alice  is  about  to  have  sex when  attacked

Death : Perishes  in  the  hospital fire 

Cynthia  first appeared  on  TV  in  the  comedy  series  Bizarre in 1979  but  worked  as  a  model, winning  beauty  pageants and  reporter  before  concentrating  on  acting. She  was  well  known  on  Canadian  TV  with  regular  roles  in E.N.G and  Caitlin's  Way. She  retired  after her stint  on  the  latter  show  ended in 2002.

Robin Duke ( as Sandra )

Sex : Sandra is  about  to  give  birth

Death : Survives

Robin  is  a  comic  actress  and  writer from  Canada  who  regularly  appeared  on  Saturday  Night  Live . She  is  better  known for  scores of  TV  appearances than  her  film  career but  is  remembered  for  Doris the  waitress in Groundhog  Day. She  has  recently  been  a  voice  actress on My  Little Pony. She  also  teaches  comic  writing  in  Canada.