In Sam Raimi’s wildly original, wildly influential The Evil Dead of 1981, five friends into the woods for a cabin getaway and couldn’t get away from the demons they accidentally summon from an ancient book. In his feature debut, Uruguay director Fede Alvarez retains that setup, minus the vacation. In his vision, the young men […]
1981
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The Burning
(Granted, hearing future Seinfeld sidekick Alexander talk about spermicide is memorable, too. Seeing his bare behind on a high-definition Blu-ray, however, is something I’d like to forget.) In the prologue, Cropsy (Lou David, The Gumball Rally) is a caretaker at Camp Blackfoot. One night, a few kids have the bright idea to “scare the shit out […]
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Night School
Remembered all these years for introducing us to Aussie actress Rachel Ward (“Against All Odds”), the horror film is finally available on DVD, courtesy of Warner Archive. She’s one of many pretty people in danger of losing her head at the titular institution — not figuratively due to a punishing course load, but literally due […]
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The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway
“On Broadway” is a mix of that and the Saturday-morning classic “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” staged on a near-exact re-creation of that series whacked-out set. Many characters return, both human (Miss Yvonne, The King of Cartoons) and not (Magic Screen, Globey). So do many of the elements, from a “Penny” claymation cartoon to the infamous “Lunchroom Manners” […]