Director Paul Schrader (The Canyons) bravely forged a new path in updating the 1942 RKO classic — evident from frame one with a gorgeous prologue, unfolding slowly with a dreamlike quality. Purposely abstract and erotic, it’s the kind of sequence the legendary Val Lewton never would have considered four decades earlier, even if the squeaky-clean […]
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Sanitarium
Coming in before the New Year’s bell is Sanitarium, in which three unknown directors contribute tales exploring mental illness, each centered on a patient at a padded-wall institution run by Dr. Stenson (Malcolm McDowell, Silent Night), our host. First up, in “Figuratively Speaking,” an artist played by Scrooge‘s John Glover (sporting dreadlocks that make him […]
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The Philadelphia Experiment
Based on the 1984 sci-fi movie of the same name, this made-for-Syfy version doesn’t improve upon the premise of scientists cracking invisibility. Again, it has terrible consequences — namely, a World War II destroyer ship suddenly transported to a modern-day runway. Holy Battleship! Coffee barista Molly (Emilie Ullerup, TV’s Sanctuary) worries when her cop boyfriend […]
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Silent Night / Silent Night, Deadly Night / Silent Night, Deadly Night Part II
In her third horror remake within as many years, Jaime King (My Bloody Valentine 3D, Mother’s Day) stars as Aubrey Bradimore, a crossword-loving sheriff’s deputy forced to work on Christmas Eve — in particular, the annual Santa parade. She lives in a dreary small town where nothing really happens, but she’s in luck: There’s a […]