Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
 |
| Original Theatrical Poster |
What unravels is a story of a strange, old mask-maker who plans to had out more than candy on Halloween night, and whose business plan is linked to an ancient Celtic ritual.
Following quickly on the heels of the original Halloween (1978) and a successful sequel, Halloween II (1981), with Halloween III (the numericals are getting repetitive, I know...) producer and writer John Carpenter dropped the storyline of the first two films just as quickly, replacing popular horror icon Michael Myers for an army of slime-filled robots and a piece of, um, Stonehenge?
Fairing poorly at the box office, Halloween III upped the gore meter of the first two films considerably, with its face melting, insect-infested masks, but it took six years to bring Michael Myers back, and, ultimately, the fan base. In a way, the film should have dropped the Halloween tag and just been called Season of the Witch to avoid any confusion with the other films. But this film is a bold and daring departure from the franchise and the only entry to embrace the holiday's traditional roots.
The Road Warrior (1982)
 |
| Original Theatrical Poster |
Max hits the road after his family is killed by an outlaw highway motorcycle gang in search of food, ammunition and petrol - commodities that have ran scarce in this dystopian wasteland - and are in high demand.
Vulnerable and lost, Max travels deeper in the outback with redemption on his mind, but instead turns into a mythic figure when he stumbles upon a colony of people being terrorized by a marauding troupe of savage outlaws out for a prized surplus of petrol.
The Road Warrior is a great sequel in an industry where the same formulas and stories can become stale and trite, but this film starves off those labels and becomes even better than the first installment, featuring more action and thrilling chase scenes - maybe even functioning better as a stand alone film.
Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987)
As you can see from the previous selections, the 80s was prime time for cult films and the slew of outrageously extravagant sequels that filled out the decade. Evil Dead 2 is the cult film of the decade - and for all time.
Essentially a retelling of the first Evil Dead (friends visit a cabin in the woods, they unleash demonic spirits resting in those woods, friends have to be hacked to death, etc.) the predecessor ups the ante with a much larger budget, buckets more of blood, numerous scenes of slapstick gags, and turned Ashley J. Williams into the greatest, most likeable movie character in film history.
There isn't much to say about this film that hasn't been said except for the fun, wild romp viewers will be in for once they sit down and watch this candy-colored horror/comedy hybrid. Evil Dead 2 proves you can never go too far.
Oh, and it gave us Ash's memorable bad-ass chainsaw hand.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars a cult film? You betcha. There is no bigger cult than Star Wars, especially when you have those lightsaber-wielding fathers running around Comic-Con every year.
And the best film in the franchise - and greatest science fiction movie ever - just so happens to be the middle film of the original trilogy, where the bad guys win and the audience is left hanging like Luke Skywalker from the wire cables above Cloud City.
One of the best punch you in the face moments in cinema history that also helps bring a conclusion to the darkest installment in the trilogy. On top of that, Han Solo gets frozen in carbonite and we see Boba Fett for the first time (albeit a brief minute of screen time). And because this is the middle film of the trilogy, you know the good guys eventually win out. Also, Yoda makes his first appearance. 'Nough said.
What if they did never make that Muppet inundated final installment? Too late now, but damn - I wish Vader was my dad.
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Another sequel that is just a complete rehash of the first film (I can now see where the current trend of Hollywood remaking film after film stems from), but unlike Evil Dead 2, which employs the technique properly, Escape from L.A. only amps up the action - which, in this case, is a bad thing.
Escape from New York (1981) is a cult classic, introducing audiences to rouge antihero Snake Plissken and a post-apocalyptic world, where strange criminals crawl throughout the sewers and streets of a destitute Manhattan, and where Plissken is commissioned to save the President.
In the West Coast version, Snake must recover a compact disc for the President that controls a series of satellites which have the ability to wipe out all technology on the planet. All this in between scenes of Snake playing basketball in order to escape imprisonment and surfing on a tidal wave traveling through the streets of L.A.
Troll 2 (1990)
Easily the most terrible film on this list and yet another sequel that has no connection to the original, what makes this film so enjoyable and solidifies its cult reputation is the horrendous acting, shitty costumes, G-rated gore and the fact that the little monsters in the film aren't even trolls, but rather goblins!
I could show the clip floating around YouTube excerpting the best parts of the film, but it would ruin the experience of viewing this film first time through. Let me stop now before I waste my time trying to find something to say about this useless film. Just enjoy the clip.
No comments:
Post a Comment