DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART EIGHT

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Eight: Doc Freak watches as Zombzany begins to struggle with the spell of immobilization that he has placed on Wolf E. Bones. Doc Freak realizes that Wolf E. will soon be free to attack Zombzany again, so he bids both of them a quick farewell and leaves Zombzany's cemetery. Wolf E. Bones once again becomes mobile and attacks Zombzany, who stops him with his scepter. The two of them battle into the night!

This is the final part of Doc Freak Meets Wolf E. Bones. This is also the final video that will be uploaded to this blog. Anyone interested in further videos featuring Zombzany, Doc Freak and others may find them at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ONyPl-PDuq2zhDp2gvDEw?view_as=public

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART SEVEN

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Seven: Doc Freak has hidden from Wolf E. Bones until dusk, and he enters the cemetery of Zombzany the Necromancer. He calls for Zombzany, asking for his aid in returning Wolf E. Bones to his non-werewolf zombie form. Zombzany, the master of his domain, approaches Doc Freak and surprises him. Zombzany is aware of Doc Freak's problem and is unsympathetic to his plight. In fact, Zombzany seems extremely amused by it!

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART SIX

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Six: Doc Freak has outrun Wolf E. Bones and returned to his lab in search of the anti-werewolf serum, so that he can transform Bones back to his harmless zombie pal. Before Freak is able to locate the serum, Wolf E. Bones attacks him and turns the table of volatile chemicals over that Freak was hiding behind!

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART FIVE

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part Five: Doc Freak is still on the run from Wolf E. Bones, who is overcome by bloodlust in his new werewolf form. Freak, hiding behind a tree, needs to stop Wolf E. Bones long enough to get back to his lab for some "anti-werewolf serum" and transform Bones back to his harmless zombie pal. Freak finds some useful items in his lab coat pockets and concoct something to knock the fuzzy were-zombie out!

DOC FREAK MEETS WOLF E. BONES - PART ONE

Doc Freak and all his friends and enemies are
back in: Doc Freak Meets Wolf E. Bones - Part One

Doc Freak hosts this year's Horror Movie Marathon solo!

In Part One: Doc gets a telepathic communication from his zombie pal, Bill E. Bones.

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING (2012) AWAKENING YOUR WORLD!

"Overall, Underworld: Awakening achieves what it set out to do, which is build on the story and world of the previous Underworld movies, while still creating an exciting and visually stimulating supernatural spectacle!"

Action, Horror and Fantasy

Starring – Kate Bekinsale/Selene, Steven Rea/Doctor Jacob Lane, Michael Ealy/Detective Sebastian, Theo James/David, India Eisley/Eve, Charles Dance, Kris Holden-Ried/Quint

Directors – Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein

Writers – Len Wiseman, John Hlavin, J. Michael Straczynski and Allison Burnett

Rated R – for strong violence, gore and language

1 hr., 28 min.

Thanks to a New England snowstorm last weekend, I had to wait a week before seeing Underworld: Awakening. For reasons I can’t fathom, my local theater did not have the film showing on any of its ten screens, so I was forced to trek to a slightly more distant cinema to see it. Worst of all, this theater has no stadium seating and they were only showing Underworld: Awakening in 3-D! I don’t hate 3-D, but of the four films I have now seen in 3-D, I can honestly say that the process added little to nothing to any of these films. Fortunately, despite all these seemingly opposing events, I still enjoyed Underworld: Awakening immensely – with one caveat, which I’ll get to at the end of this review.

Underworld: Awakening is a sequel to Underworld: Evolution (2006) and takes place twelve years after “The Purge”. A prologue to the movie tells us that six months after Selene gained the powers of the Vampire-Corvinus strain and she and her lover Michael Corvin killed the remaining elder vampires, the human race discovered the existence of Vampires and Lycans, which began a worldwide purge of their species. Selene and Michael are captured by a medical corporation Antigen and frozen in a cryogenic state for study.

Twelve years later, Selene escapes the medical facility, but soon after begins having visions, which lead her to a vampire David, the son of Thomas, a Vampire Elder who leads one of the few remaining vampire covens that remain hidden from humans. David helps Selene rescue a young girl from Antigen, who Selene sees in another vision. Selene and David fight a group of Lycans, who are also after the girl, but she is injured in the fight. The girl, who is another hybrid, is not healing, so David takes her and Selene back to his coven to be looked at by a vampire physician.

Thomas blames Selene for the human’s discovery and extermination of vampires, so he is anxious for her to leave his coven, but David wants Selene to train his coven to defend themselves against both the humans and the increasingly violent Lycan race. Dr. Jacob Lane, the director of Antigen, was using the hybrid girl to develop an "antidote" to make Lycans immune to the deadly effects of silver and enhance their physical abilities. The girl, dubbed by Lane “Subject 2”, needs the hybrid genetic code to achieve this, so Lane sends a super-Lycan Quint with other Lycans to the vampire coven to recapture her. A battle ensues and many of the vampires and werewolves are killed, but Quint dispatches and nearly kills David before leaving with the hybrid girl. Selene heals David with her “immortal” blood and they depart to confront Lanne, Quint and the minions of Antigen.

To start, Underworld: Awakening is even more reliant on action and violence to carry its plot than any of the other three films. I assume that the filmmakers knew that anyone going to see a forth film in a series is going to be familiar enough with the Underworld mythology to not need lengthy bits of narrative to understand the whos, whats and wheres of the story. Even after having just watched the previous three films a few months ago, I was still a bit dazed by how briskly the plot points of Underworld: Awakening are gone over. I was able to keep up with the basic reasons for why Selene was motivated to rescue “Subject 2”, but I would have liked a bit more space between the action sequences to add some depth to the motivations of Selene and the other characters in the film.

Still, the action sequences are the main draw of the Underworld films and Underworld: Awakening does not disappoint in this regard. The opening sequence of Selene’s escape from the high-rise medical center is amazing. Selene demonstrates her uber-vamp powers on numerous occasions, where she seems almost to defy the laws of gravity. The Lycans in this film are very impressive, but the super-Lycan Quint – who is easily nine feet tall – is an amazing creature to behold. If I have any complaints about the special effects at all is that at times they are moving so quickly that you have little time to admire their detailed effectiveness.

Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, who previously directed the supernatural thriller Shelter (2010), do a fine job recreating the dark-monochromatic look and feel of the previous Underworld movies. Len Wiseman, who previously directed the first two movies – Underworld and Underworld: Evolution – as well as having a hand in the story for all three Underworld films, wrote the initial screenplay for Underworld: Awakening. The three other writers, most notably J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5 fame, stepped in for rewrites, but there is so little narrative that is carried by dialogue, that I have to wonder what, if any contributions he or the others made to the script.

Kate Beckinsale steps back into the role of Selene after six years effortlessly. Her cool, hard, but still quiet deadly passion fills the screen for most the film’s short 88 minute run time. I do miss her interaction with her Lycan lover Michael – who only makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film – and the leading male role of the vampire David played by Theo James is little more than male eye-candy. Veteran actor Charles Dance as the Vampire Elder Thomas adds a nice bit of gravitas to the film and Stephen Rea as Dr. Jacob Lane is quietly sinister as the head of the medical corporation Antigen. If Kris Holden-Ried, who plays the super-Lycan Quint, looks familiar, it is because he plays a similar supernatural creature on the TV Series Lost Girl. Holden-Ried’s facial features and physicality certainly add weight to his role as the ferocious uber-Lycan, but I wonder if he is in danger of being typecast in a way similar to that of actor Ron Perlman.

Overall, Underworld: Awakening achieves what it set out to do, which is build on the story and world of the previous Underworld movies, while still creating an exciting and visually stimulating supernatural spectacle! The one caveat with the film that I hinted at at the outset of this review, is that the film has a tenuous conclusion that leaves me wondering if the writers had planned on a longer movie, but didn’t have the budget to film it. Underworld: Awakening is in definite need of a sequel to finish the many plot-threads that were left dangling at the end of the movie. While I’m glad that the film should be financially successful enough to warrant a sequel and I’m sure I’ll be attending it as well, it might have been nice if Underworld: Awakening could have had a stronger finish that would not necessarily required one.

Underworld: Awakening is a wild ride and a worthy addition to one of my favorite supernatural fantasy series! See it now or later, but don’t miss it.

TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 9 Cinematography – 10 Script – 7 Special effects – 10

VISCERAL: Visual – 10 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 7 Emotional – 9 Involvement – 10

TOTAL RATING: 87

TRAILER TUESDAY! UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING THIS WEEK!

Underworld: Awakening is being released this Friday on January 20, 2012 and I will be the first in line! Okay. Maybe the first in line for the Saturday afternoon show, but still... FIRST IN LINE! Enjoy the latest trailer!

TRAILER TUESDAY! DEATH VALLEY: HORROR AND COMEDY MEET ON MTV!

Death Valley is a new half-hour scripted horror-comedy show on MTV. It follows the nightly routine of police officers in California’s San Fernando Valley filmed in the documentary style of "Cops"; only instead of bad boys these cops deal with vampires, zombies and werewolves. Two episodes have aired so far and the violence is as hard-core as any R-rated horror film, so this show is not for the squeamish. Being a fan of Zombieland, Death Valley shares some of that film's satiric elements, if with somewhat less subtly. If you like your horror-comedy loud and low-brow, with lots of gore, then Death Valley is for you and I qualify it as a definite “guilty pleasure”!

Death Valley's characters are:

Captain Frank Dashell is as crazy as he is dim-witted and spouts nonsense passing as instruction to his officers.

Officer Joe Stubeck  is a family man who tries to keep his younger partner Billy in line and often tries too hard to do the right thing.

Officer Billy Pierce is  a tough young cop who enjoys killing zombies a little too much and is as likely to have his mind on food and sex as he is the job at hand.

Officer Kirsten Landry is the rookie of the staff and is a little leery of the Captain who has taken her under his wing. She is tough and capable and seems slightly out of place among the rest of the somewhat crazy officers.

Officer Carla Rinaldi is a streetwise beat cop, who takes her job protecting the innocent from monsters as seriously as she would from ordinary criminals.

Officer John "John-John" Johnson is the young-tuff of the crew and has is partner Rinaldi's back.

Here is the press release for the show from MTV:

                                                                                                             

Viewers will be taken to a place they’ve never been before, with MTV’s new horror-comedy “Death Valley.” The scripted series follows the ‘Undead Task Force’ (UTF), a newly formed division of the LAPD, documentary-style, as they capture the monsters that roam the streets of California’s San Fernando Valley. In a world where vampires, werewolves and zombies live freely, “Death Valley” is a fun, comedic non-stop thrill ride featuring chases, hardcore kills and bizarre encounters.

“Death Valley” stars Tania Raymonde (“Lost”), Bryan Callen (“The Hangover”), Caity Lotz (“Mad Men”), Bryce Johnson (‘Sleeping Dogs Lie”), Texas Battle (“Final Destination 3”, “Dragonball,” “Coach Carter”) and Charlie Sanders (Funny or Die’s “The Big Dog”). “Death Valley” is executive produced by Eric Weinberg, Austin Reading, Julie Kellman Reading and Tim Healy. Spider One is co-executive producer of the series. Tony DiBari is Executive Producer, MTV and Matthew Parillo is MTV executive in charge of production.

Take a look at the trailer for Death Valley!

TRAILER TUESDAY! UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING!

Underworld: Awakening is the fourth film in the series about a war between the vampire and werewolf races.  Rise of the Lycans, the previous film, was a prequel to the first film Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. Underworld Awakening appears to be a direct sequel to Underworld: Evolution.

Kate Beckinsale, the star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

Although I enjoyed Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and thought Rhona Mitra was fine in the lead role as Sonja, I much prefer the modern setting and Kate Beckinsale as Selene from the previous two films. The trailer tells us that Selene has been held captive (presumably by humans) for twelve years. Selene escapes and is caught in the war between Humans, Vampires and Lycans. The trailer also hints that the half-breed child of Selene and Michael is alive and mixed up in the war – but on whose side? Underworld: Awakening is set for release on January 20, 2012 and I for one can hardly wait! Enjoy the trailer!

THE WOLFMAN - 2010 - A MODERN MONSTER, OR AN AGING ANACHRONISM?

BY FRITZ "DOC" FREAKENSTEIN

I had wicked high hopes for this modern remake of my second favorite classic Universal horror flick The Wolf Man. Right after Frankenstein, the Wolf Man has always been my personal favorite monster. Who couldn’t feel empathy for poor Larry Talbot, who was bitten by a werewolf trying to save the life of an innocent? The Wolfman starts off well, with a foggy forest, a tense Ben Talbot and a largely unseen werewolf. The beast strikes quickly and easily kills the elder Talbot spawn. Unfortunately, the next quarter of the film dedicates itself to introducing the “return of the prodigal son” and explaining why he has not seen his estranged father until the murder of his brother. Benicio Del Toro is a fine actor, but he is not the likable lug returned from America as played by Lon Chaney, Jr. in the original. Instead, he is quietly withdrawn, if determinately passionate, about finding the murderer of his brother. Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot as a slightly eccentric and gruff hermit, who seems outwardly pleased at his son’s return, but is mysteriously devoid of anger at the loss of his eldest son. Emily Blunt is lovely and convincing as the fiancé of the slain Ben Talbot. Yet, it is somewhat disturbing that she becomes so fond of her dead beau’s brother. At the film’s midpoint, Larry finally succumbs to the werewolf’s bite and, thanks to the quick actions of the local gypsies, is rescued before the werewolf can finish his prey. Geraldine Chaplin is fantastic and unrecognizable as the gypsy woman Maleva, who stitches Larry’s wound and keeps the other gypyies at bay, who wish to end Larry’s suffering, before it truly begins. The pivotal moment of the film, where Larry first endures his transformation into the Wolfman, is visually sumptuous, but erratically emoted. We never quite feel Larry’s inner pain at the realization that he has become the very thing that ended his brother’s life. Still, there is some interesting plotlines left to untangle and the third quarter of the film does a serviceable job at tying up loose ends. Hugo Weaving, a great character actor who has appeared in many genre films, is introduced as a Scotland Yard detective, who seems to have been on the trail of the Wolfman before. Unfortunately, he his given little to do, other than hang out at the pub and wander aimlessly in the fog. Finally, the last quarter of the film gives us the big reveal, that ties up all the loose ends, and surprises us with a climatic battle to the death. As in the original, Larry is killed by one who loves him. However, in an effort to improve on the original, the 2010 The Wolfman fails to instill the same pathos and sympathy for Larry Talbot that was so pivotal to the climax of 1941’s The Wolf Man. Taken on its own merits, The Wolfman is a visually resplendent, well-paced modern action horror film. Joe Johnston, who showed hints at being able to direct a dramatic period piece with 2004’s Hidalgo, has done as well as could be expected with what appears to be an erratic script by the duo of Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self. Despite my disappointment in The Wolfman overall, I did enjoy many of its elements and will gladly view it again. I’ll continue to watch all of Universal's resurrections of any of its classic monsters, because as a fan, any monster is a good monster. I hope that the real Frankenstein monster is lurking somewhere in a theater in the near future!