792 Carnosaur (1993)

 In  the  same  year as  Jurassic Park came  out  and changed the game with its CGI dinosaurs, Roger  Corman rushed out  this  old  school movie which  relied  on  rubbery  models for  its  creatures. That's  the  fatal flaw in this movie ; once  you see the  dinosaur  early on  you  assume  the  film's  a  spoof  ( the wafer thin characterisation doesn't  help ).  By  the  time you  realise there's some serious thought in the script ,it's too late and  some  blatant thievery from Aliens doesn't help.

Diane Ladd ( mother of  Laura Dern ) heads the cast as  a  geneticist  who's secretly trying to eradicate humanity  and  replace  it  with  her new  breed of  dinosaur. Raphael  Sbarge plays  the  only other  even  half-realised  caharacter as a drunken security guard trying to stop her.

Jennifer Runyon ( as Thrush)

Sex : No

Death : Machine-gunned and then incinerated

This  was  Jennifer's last  film  for  22  years.

Lisa Moncure ( as Susan )

Sex : No

Death : Dies giving birth to a dinosaur egg

This was Lisa's last horror film

Martha Hackett ( as Miss Kroghe )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Martha  is  mainly  a  TV  actress  making her biggest  impact as a Klingon woman in Star Trek. She  has had a few bit parts in films. She  was previously married to director Tim Disney and has been inactive since 2020

.Norita Golanos ( as Janie )

Sex : Janie starts making out with her boyfriend

Death : Eviscerated by a dinosaur

Norita  was a bit part actress with a brief career in the mid-nineties

791 The Dark Half ( 1993)

 This Stephen King adaptation by  George  Romero has its fans, perhaps because  it's more faithful to the book than many of the others. I can't  say it's one  of  my  favourites mainly  bacause I  was  exasperated by  its  failure  to  resolve its  narrative  confusion despite  having  two hours in which  to  do  so. Following life-saving brain surgery as a  child Thad  Beaumont (Tim Hutton) is  a  college tutor  and  writer who only has  success when he writes violent pulp fiction under the name George Stark. To pre-empt  a  blackmailer exposing this he  stages a mock  funeral of  Stark on his family burial plot. Here's where things get confusing. "Stark" ( again played by Hutton )  emerges from his "tomb",  apparently because the  remains of Thad's unformed twin  were  buried there  and  starts  murdering Thad''s associates  while  Sheriff  Alan ( Michael Rooker )  scratches his  head for  a  motive ( like the rest of us ). There  are good  things in  the  film like Hutton's  performance as  two very  different  characters  and  some  grisly  special  effects but  the  script  is  just  too  frustrating  to make  it  an  enjoyable watch.

Amy Madigan  ( as  Ruth )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Amy  was born in Chicago. In her early career ,she  juggled acting with  singing and for a time was lead singer with Big Daddy. Her life changed on the set of her fourth film Places in the Heart  where she met future husband Ed Harris. They have appeared in eleven films together though she has achieved success  in her own right with an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for the film Twice In A Lifetime. She is still active.

Chelsea Field ( as Annie Pangborne)

Sex : No

Death : Survives

This was a pretty thankless role for Chelsea with only  two inconsequential scenes. This was her last horror film.

790 The Vanishing (1993)

 This  remake of  the  fabulous Dutch film  Spoorloos  drew a  visceral revulsion from those crtics who pat themselves on the back for watching films with subtitles. They had a point though. Most  of the  original story remains ; a  girl goes missing from a bathroom break at a gas station, her  boyfriend becomes  self- destrutively obsessed with her disappearance until her abductor makes contact and offers to  explain but on his own terms. This originally led to an ultra bleak shock ending which Hollywood would not accept. This  necessitated a restructuring of the story so that a minor character in the original becomes the female lead,  the abducted girl is  relegated to the background and the film ends really lamely on a naff joke.

That said, if  you're unfamiliar with the original, this is a  watchable thriller. Jeff  Bridges got a lot of stick for  his  performance as the smiling psychopath but  he's not  atrocious and  Keifer  Sutherland  is good  as the tormented boyfriend. The main problems are his unconvincing relationship with the  new girl and  her abrupt transformation from soft-hearted waitress to quick thinking action heroine, both  of them stemming from the requirement to change the ending.

Nancy Travis ( as Rita )

Sex :  No

Death : Survives

Nancy was born in New York and  started out  as  a  stage actress in the  early eighties , moving through television to her first  film role in Three  Men And A Baby, a  stroke of luck that  would not be all that typical of her career. In  the  following  few  years she  was  very busy with roles in Air  America, Chaplin and  Internal Affairs  but  eventually  the  accumulation of bombs (such as this one ) on her c.v. took its  toll and  she  was more  often found on the small screen. In 1994 she  married a film  executive  but she is still active.

Sandra  Bullock  (as Diane ) 

Sex : No

Death : Offscreen but it's strongly intimated she  was  buried alive

A  genuine superstar , Sandra  was  born in Virginia. Her mother was German and she was partly raised there.  She  worked her way through odd jobs, student poroductions and theatre to a first film role in Hangmen in 1987. She  first attracted attention in Demolition Man in 1993  and became  a  star after Speed in 1994. Her  good  sense and nose for a good role  have  kept  her an A-lister and since 1998 she has also been a  successful film producer. She  finally snagged an Oscar for The Blind Side in 2009 and got another nomination for Gravity in  2013. She has  twice been Hollywood's best paid actress.

Park Overall ( as Lynn)

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Christened Parker, she presumably chose to sound more like an item in  the wardrobe  than an actress. She  made  her  film  debut  in Tainted in 1987 but became  famous on TV the  following  year with Empty Nest. Her  strong  accent  led to  typecasting in white trash supporting  roles  and  her  increasing environmental activism and pro-abortion statements  didn't help her career either. Her  last film was in 2011 and in her bid to become Democratic nominee for  Tennessee in 2012 she  came a distant third.

Maggie Linderman ( as Denise )

Sex : No

Death : Survives

With only  two other mid-nineties credits to her name, Maggie  has done an effective vanishing act of her own.

 

789 Children Of The Corn II (1993)

 Stephen King had nothing  to  do  with this less than hotly anticipated sequel nor did any of the original cast though it did OK at the box office. The film begins where the  first film left off with reporter John Garrett (Terence Knox)  and  his estranged son Danny (Paul Scherrer) coming to Gatlin to investigate the massacre of the adults there. In  the meantime, the murderous kids find a new leader Micah (Ryan Bollman) and continue their rampage in a new town with apparent impunity. The more Garrett  investigates , the more the script muddies the waters with themes of small town corruption  pollution and religious mania , a Native American sage and love interest for Danny who appear from nowhere and a feebly predictable  ending.

Christie Clark ( as Lacey )

Sex : Lacey starts to have sex with Danny but it's interrupted

Death : Survives

This is Christie's final film to date.

Rosalind Allen ( as Angela )

Sex : Angela has sex with John

Death :  Survives

Rosalind was born in New Zealand . Her acting career began in the early eighties. She is mainly a TV actress who makes the occasional film starting with Perfect in 1986..She had a near twenty year career break from 2002  but has reappeared in supporting roles since 2021.

Kellie Bennett ( as  Mary )

Sex : No

Death : Perishes in a fire

This was Kellie's only film role after a couple of TV appearances.

Kristy Angell ( as Ruth )

Sex : No

Death : Uncertain but probably survives

This was Kristy's only screen role.

 

788 Bloodlust (1988)

 This  campy Aussie  vampire  film  struggles with a low budget and amateur cast and loses badly. The very loose plot  involves three modern day vampires who prefer money and guns to blood and fangs ; after the first half hour the vampire trappings are pretty much abandoned. They are chased by corrupt cops , religious maniacs and  gangsters none of whom can act. It's nearly unwatchable.

Jane Stuart Wallace ( as Lear )

Sex : Lear seduces both men and women but kills them before they get too close, She also gives oral sex to a man before  cutting off his penis

Death : Survives

Jane had a minor part in a 1999 independent film; otherwise this is her only role.

Kelly Chapman ( as Frank)

Sex : Frank does have sex with her marks

Death : Survives

Kelly too had  just one other role, a  supporting part in the 2010 comedy Jucy which she produced.

Rosie D'Urso ( as Tad's pickup)

Sex :  She has sex with Tad, the male vampire

Death : Tad bites her throat

This was Rosie's only screen role.

Paloma Gower ( as Lear's pick up )

Sex : She is picked up by Lear and they kiss

Death : Lear cuts her throat with a knife

This was Paloma's only screen role.

787 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)

 Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Dracula ( no more faithful to Stoker than any other version )  divided the critics  and I'm in the hater's camp. It  looks good in  the  main  and won some technical Oscars but  it's let down by  an  overblown and pretentious script and some  abominable acting whether hammy ( Gary Oldman ) or  terminally wooden ( Keanu Reeves ).

Winona Ryder ( as Mina /Elisabeta )

Sex : Mina has an intimte encounter with Dracula but it's not sexual in the conventional sense,

Death : Mina survives, Elisabeta throws herself off a  castle wall

Winona  was raised on a commune  in  her early years and made her initial impact as  a  quirky teenager  in the late eighties most  notably in Beetlejuice . She became a big star in the nineties with two Oscar nominations and  a  high profile liaison with Johnny Depp. Her  career hit the rocks in 2001  when she  was  arrested  and  subsequently convicted for  shoplifting. She took a four  year break from  acting and  returned  to  smaller films  in  the  late  noughties. She  has  repaired  the  damage  to  some  extent  with  a  starring  role  in  the  TV  series Stranger Things.

Sadie Frost ( as Lucy )

Sex : Lucy has sex with Dracula in bestial form

Death : Staked through the heart as a vampire

Sadie is an English actress from Islington who first appeared on screen as a toddler in a Jelly Tots advert. In the early eighties she started appearing in music videos where she met first husband Gary Kemp. She made her film debut in Empire State in 1987. This  is  probably  her  biggest film role. In 1995 she and Kemp divorced and two years later she married Jude Law. Through him she  got  involved in film production and eventually directing though she still acts. In 2024 she directed a feature-length documentary about Twiggy.

Monica Bellucci ( as Dracula Bride)

Sex : She seduces Jonathan Harker

Death : Beheaded by Van Helsing

Monica  was  born in Italy. Originally she set out to be a lawyer but  modelling  on the side during  her  studies led her to the film world. Her Italian film debut was just before this. She  declined to move  to  Hollywood and has mainly worked in French cinema including the highly  controversial Irreversible in 2004.. Her career is ongoing

Michaela Bercu ( as Dracula Bride )

Sex : She seduces Jonathan Harker

Death : Beheaded by Van Helsing

Michaela was a Rumanian supermodel born in Tel Aviv. This was her only film.

Florina Kendrick ( as Dracula Bride )

Sex : She seduces Jonathan Harker

Death : Beheaded by Van Helsing

Lorina made one other film in 1995.

786 Hellraiser III ( 1992 )

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785 Raising Cain ( 1992 )

 Brian De Palma returned to the pyschological  horror/thriller after eight years away with this  enjoyably  silly romp which  often lurches into self-parody without becoming too arch.  You're  thrown into it  mid-plot with no preamble, having to piece things together through flashbacks with a shedload of red herrings to distract you. John Lithgow plays Carter/Cain , an apparently sensitive husband and father with an adulterous wife  who is nevertheless  on a murderous mission to collect children and dispose of their mothers for some nefarious purpose  because he has multiple personalities. Lithgow holds it together with a tour de force performance as five "separate characters" although the climax  is surprisingly clumsy.

Lola Davidovich ( as Jenny)

Sex : Jenny has alfresco sex with an old boyfriend though it could be an illusion

Death :  Survives

Lolita  is a Canadian actress of Serbian descent who began acting on US TV. After a few bit parts in films in the eighties she broke throuh as the title characterin director Ron Shelton's Blaze . She appeared in four more of Shelton's films and has been married to him since 1997. From the noughties on. she dropped down to supporting roles but she is still active.

Mel Harris ( as Sarah)

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Mel  was born in Pennsylvania  and made her film debut in 1986 in the Rutger Hauer vehicle Wanted: Dead Or Alive. The following year, she started in the role that made her famous, that of Hope in the series Thirtysomehing. After that she worked more in TV than film up to 2020. She ha been married six times.

Teri Austin ( as Karen )

Sex : No

Death : Killed by  Cain offscreen after being chloroformed

Teri is from Toronto and came to prominence in the mid-eighties as Jill Bennett in the TV series Knots Landing .Her career after that was mainly on TV. In 2001 she  retired to become a full time animal activist, setting up the Amanda Foundation.

Gabrielle Carteris ( as Nan )

Sex : No

Death : Stabbed in the chest by Cain

Gabrielle was born in Arizona and first appeared on TV in 1987. She achieved fame in Beverley Hills 90210 though  she lied to get the part, being much older than her character. This was her second film and she has been much more active on TV than in films. From 2016 to 2021, she was President of oe of the major acting unions.

Kathleen Callan ( as Emma )

Sex : No

Death : Dies of heart failure in hospital

This was Kathleen's only screen role.

784 Split Second (1992)

 This  Anglo-American co-production mashes up the science fiction, monster movie and  buddy  cop genres with unconvincing  results. Set in the near future/recent  past -2008 - in a mildly-flooded and rat-infested London  Rutger Hauer  is Harley Stone, a half-insane cop chasing a serial killer who killed his partner. He is assigned  Dick Durkin ( Neil Duncan) an inexperienced academic as his new partner  by his barely-acknowledged superior (Alun Armstrong)  and they eventually  realise their  quarry is not exactly human. Nothing really hangs together. Despite the odd flash of wit in their exchanges , the  development of the two men's relationship is no more  believable than the rubber suited monster who can tie knots despitte having huge claws for hands. The plot is illogical and the world-setting half-hearted at best.

Kim Cattrall ( as Michelle )

Sex : Michelle has been having an affair with Harley 

Death : Survives

Kim  was  born in Liverpool but the family emigrated to Canada when she was still a baby. She studied  drama in both London and New York and made her film debut in the action thriller Rosebud in 1978. For the next few years she alternated bewtween Canadian films and frequent guest star roles in popular US TV series (Logan's Run, Starsky and Hutch, The Incredible Hulk, Charlie's Angels). She made more impact in US films in the eighties with the lead female role in Mannequin probably the pinnacle of her film career. Her star was fading in the nineties until Sex  And  The  City in 1998 spectacularly  reignited her  career. She  is  still very active.

Tina Shaw  (as nightclub stripper)

Sex : She reveals her breasts during her routine

Death : Survives

Tina  was a bit part actress active  since 1986 who often played strippers. This was her final screen appearance. 

783 The Lawnmower Man (1992)

 This sci-fi horror film was very loosely ( so loose he sued to dissociate himself from it ) based on a Stephen King short story. Pierce Brosnan plays Dr Angelo, a driven scientist working in  Virtual Reality for a shady corporation. When he loses his subject chimp, he enlists Jobe ( Jeff Fahey ) a retarded gardener for his experiments. Jobe soon  attains normalcy but then develops much further than intended. The plot  has more in common with the Oscar-winning Charly from 1968 than the source material and  though the effects  inevitably look dated it's still an absorbing story, the last  half  hour being an edge of the seat thrill ride.

Jenny Wright (as Margie )

Sex : Margie has sex with Jobe

Death : Survives but brain-damaged 

Jenny was a former model from New York who first appeared on TV  in 1981. She made her film debut the following year in Pink Floyd :The Wall. A  small  part in St Elmo's Fire put her on the fringe of the Brat Pack and she dated Nicolas Cage for a time. This was her  final film role and she dropped out of the public eye after a couple more TV appearances

Colleen Coffey ( as Caroline Angelo)

Sex : Caroline comes onto her husband but he's not interested

Death : Survives

This  was Colleen's first film role after a smattering of TV appearances. She remained a bit  part actress before retiring into family life after 1997.

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.

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.

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. 

 

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.

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. 

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.

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.