Driven

Starring:Brook Susan Parker, Spencer Garrett, FranÃ§ois GuÃ©tary, Rawle D. Lewis, Richard Riehle, Joseph Culp, Mike Jacobs Jr., Fred Ornstein, Eric Pierpoint, Lou Rawls, Chad Lowe, Xander Berkeley, Adam G., Whip Hubley, Al Israel, Lee Garlington, Tony Todd, Iqbal Theba, Daniel Roebuck, Judson Morgan
Director: Michael Shoob
Studio: Mti Home Video
Product Type: DVD

The Number 23 (Unrated Infinifilm Edition)

Average customer rating:

I'm 24...One Year Ago I was 23. *GASP!*
Humorous parts, but Jim Carrey is still amazing!
Read this, no matter what anyone told you.
-COLDPLAY- under the surface trying to break through dechipering X&Y codes in you...
I'm at a loss.

The Number 23 (Unrated Infinifilm Edition)
Starring: Jim Carrey , Virginia Madsen , Logan Lerman , Danny Huston , and Lynn Collins
Director: Joel Schumacher
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000OYC7BW
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Amazon.com

Jim Carrey as a schizophrenic murderer isn't convincing, in this melodramatic film about a man obsessed by the Number 23. Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, St. Elmo's Fire) has unintentionally managed to make a comedy of horrors that really is quite humorous in parts. Walter Sparrow (Carrey) becomes engrossed in a homespun novel about Detective Fingerling, whose life degrades into mayhem because of his obsession with 23's esoteric numerical puzzles. Sparrow's preoccupation with the book follows his botched attempt to catch a nasty dog that bites him, leading one to believe that Sparrow's contraction of rabies might be the cause for his mental degradation. As the story progresses, Sparrow retreats further into Fingerling's world, rife with suicidal sexpots and hardboiled detective sleuthing. His wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen), also plays Fingerling's girlfriend, sex-crazed Fabrizia, who taunts Fingerling until he stabs her. Back in reality, Walter aims to solve the unresolved crimes in the book, taking it as a murderer's diary rather than as an imagined work. The story is half-baked, though Carrey's portrayal of a mentally disturbed person is what makes The Number 23 comedic. Long, contemplative stares, and over-dramatized acting renders Sparrow a clichéd character, rather than one odd enough to engage viewers. For a better version of almost the exact plot but with a terrorist's twist, see Thr3e instead. --Trinie Dalton

Customer Reviews:

I'm 24...One Year Ago I was 23. *GASP!*.......2007-06-05

I am not one to be spooked by a numerical digit, so I could never really understand what the big deal was. I didn't understand why Jim Carrey's character Walter was freaking out about every "coincidence" involving the number 23 as he read the novel in a weird Zoolander-like voice. I kept thinking 'maybe there's more to it...maybe there'll be a twist in the end that will shed new light and then everything will make sense...maybe...' The film tries to be tense but is at times laughable; one scene comes to mind where Walter, who is now convinced that his problems began because one day a dangerous dog bit him, sees the dog in the road. He turns the car around with his family in it and begins a ridiculous ("dramatic") face-off with the dog in the street. Throughout the entire film, I kept trying to come up with a reason for what the bigger picture was behind the whole thing, but by the end, I realized there isn't one at all. A huge disappointment.

Humorous parts, but Jim Carrey is still amazing!.......2007-06-02

Yes, everyone was scratching their heads when they heard that Jim Carrey was going to be in a psychotic thriller. But, with everything Jim Carrey has been in, it's about time he try something COMPLETELY different. I will admit, there were times then I had to laugh at the ridiculous lines, but I don't think it's Jim Carrey's fault. The line was bad, that's all that was wrong with this movie. Jim Carrey took the character and made the best of it. So, I enjoyed this movie and I'm excited to own it on DVD.

Read this, no matter what anyone told you........2007-05-18

Before I say anything I want you to read this before you read the other negative comments about this movie. Despite the reviews of the bad plot and blah, blah, blah horrible and judgemental reviews from the magazines.. This movie is one of my Top 5 movies of all time. Finally a mystery movie that I cannot predict what's going to happen next. No bad acting in this movie and the plot and the story are perfect the way they are.. If people were bored while they were watching this movie, then maybe they need help, because this movie is anything but boring. The way the number 23 shows up in various criminal names, bombing dates and even the characters birthday and time. Carrey plays a man that becomes obsess with the number 23 and finds out when he reads the book that it sounds like the author is talking about him and maybe the book was meant to find him. The wife thinks he's crazy, having read the book herself, she thinks it's just another book that leaves an impact on a person. However, his 13 yearold son believes what his father is saying.. Overall, the only thing I would change is to have more information on how to get the number 23 from names, dates, and words. There is many twist and turns in this movie and the story presented by Mr. Fingerling in the book is amazing and the characters are classic and realistic like the conniving people populating the world today. Buy this movie, it is worth every penny.

-COLDPLAY- under the surface trying to break through dechipering X&Y codes in you..........2007-04-29

-OASIS- I'M NO STRANGER TO THIS PLACE WHERE REAL LIFE & DREAMS COLLIDE EVEN THOUGH I FALL FROM GRACE I WILL KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE DON'T BELIEVE THE TRUTH...
I'm a sucker for art reflecting/imitating my status-less existence. I believe certain famous musical bands have written songs about me, so instantly once I found out about this film, I paid full price, watched it ASAP & was NOT disappointed. Infact the last stanza, I wanted to cry, but my male cousin was with me. One message of this film is not to take art too seriously, as it can lead to obsession, isolation, hero worship: almost idolatry. I'm am so disappointed with the negative reviews of this film. Jim Carey's performance reminds me his role in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: & is a continuation of his alternative 'struggling artist' persona roles. Hmm maybe The Number 23 is based on my life, as sometimes in the 'fever' of loneliness I thought my house had hidden cameras aka Carey's The Truman Show: oh bless the synchronicity & sparks. The number symbology is on par with The Davinci Code & Pi: but is explored vividly & with resounding depth. The soundscape of this film is stunning, the audio really utilises modern cinema's surround sound. There are suicide themes in the film, & some really disturbing/gloomy scenes. If you are into 'esoteric' films that have meaning in this secular pragmatic, soul-less western society inc-corp, then this is the film for you. It caters for a select 'niche' of film lover, whose interests lie in the sublime & 'existential' angst...PS Will deFINitely buy the DVD when it comes out...but I believe this is the type of film that can only be fully ascertained & appreciated when watched on the big screen, soundtrack pumping & no interruptions.
-NEIL FINN- MY JOHN LENNON LIKE SECRET GOD UNDISCOVERED WAS BORN ON 1958: 1+9+5+8=23 TALES FROM MY HEAD CAN'T BUY THE BOOK NO-ONE LISTENS BUT I GUESS YOU COULD...

I'm at a loss........2007-04-28

I don't understand what people are not seeing in this movie. The story was unique and complex, changing directions on a dime to gripping effect. The main characters were appealing and the performances excellent - Jim Carrey's portrayal of Walter Sparrow was first-rate. His character begins with an almost surprisingly familiar personality, emanating Carrey's trademark humor and quirks. This makes his character arc all the more dramatic as Walter sinks into obsession and paranoia. The visuals were stunning, the mood was appropriately tense, and the twists (even if you managed to predict some) were highly effectual.

I have to say I really get aggravated with people who give bad reviews to films and describe them as confusing. This is not a legitimate criticism. I've never been confused by a movie. These people just don't seem to get that the answers are not supposed to be obvious, and any outright exposition is supposed to appear at THE END.

I can't think of anything that this film didn't do right. I suspect a considerable portion of the bad reviews are the result of the discomforting feeling of being unable to pigeonhole a film that, in a traditional genre, has the nerve to display such far-reaching ambition and achieve its goals. I actually read a review complaining that the story goes beyond the character's obsession with the number- a professional film critic complaining that the film contains too much plot, too much clarifying history where it was needed. Please explain to me what people are looking for.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Baby Jane? Who the hell is Baby Jane?
Here's A Timeless Classic Well Worth Seeing!
Good ol' movie
Baby Jane

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Bette Davis , Joan Crawford , Victor Buono , Wesley Addy , and Julie Allred
Director: Robert Aldrich , and Susan F. Walker
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
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ASIN: B000EU1Q4A
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Amazon.com essential video

A cultish horror favorite, 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? will make you think twice before hungrily unveiling a covered plate of food. Bette Davis stars as Jane Hudson, a onetime child actress and singer. As an elderly woman, she wishes to revive her vaudevillian career, but she has become a grotesque caricature of her former self. Over the years as her star faded, the star of her older sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) rose, outshining the career of the has-been Baby Jane. Jane was relegated to minor roles, which she only won when Blanche demanded that she be awarded them. The film opens years after a calamitous car accident leaves Blanche in a wheelchair, with no one to care for her except the increasingly insane and sadistic Jane and their servant, Norman. Trying to punish Blanche for her years of success, Jane tortures the housebound woman, slowly trying to starve her to death, all the while attempting to recapture the fame of her youth. This dark drama also stars Victor Buono as the hefty pianist who answers Jane's ad for an accompanist, hoping to milk some money off the demented old woman. Both Buono and Davis were nominated for Oscars for their roles in this suspenseful and somewhat sick thriller that exploited well the real-life antagonism between Davis and Crawford, while at the same time rejuvenated both their careers. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews:

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.......2007-07-02

Aldrich's campy cult classic still chills, thanks to a deliciously creepy premise which borrows from "Sunset Boulevard" in exposing the mental disintegration of a one-time star. Still, this is a more ghoulish affair, with Jane finding a variety of sinister ways to torture poor Blanche. Leads Davis and Crawford had parallel Hollywood careers, and their rivalry was famous, yet they'd never worked together before this (nor would they again!). Davis in particular is fearless as demented harridan Jane, and corpulent Victor Buono adds a revolting touch as Jane's smarmy accompanist.

Baby Jane? Who the hell is Baby Jane?.......2007-06-08

"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" was originally billed as a horror movie, but by today's standards is more of a thriller. No one could have asked for a better star pairing. Joan Crawford plays the sympathetic 'good sister' Blanche, a faded screen starlet wheelchair bound and left tormented at the hands of her psychotic sister, Jane. Jane was once a cutesy childhood performer, groomed and dresed up like a little doll. Like Shirely Temple, her performances probably made pedophiles grin. An embittered, nasty woman who never quite grew up past being a spoiled child, Jane is eager for any audience. Bette Davis really nails the part of Jane, as viewers are given no choice but to simply HATE her character. She really steals the show. Crawford is also very good too, as viewers feel pity for her, hoping she'll make it in the end. The ending is ambiguous. An excellent movie that provides an interesting character study of child starlets, fame, sibling rivalry, and the dire for attention.

Here's A Timeless Classic Well Worth Seeing!.......2007-05-26

This movie made its original debut during my childhood. It stars 2 of the most famous American actresses of the 20th century---Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The story is intriguing and, at times, chilling. I feel comfortable recommending it to all viewers who love the Hollywood classics...

Good ol' movie.......2007-05-13

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a memory from my childhood. I remember being four maybe five years old when I first saw this movie. It wasn't until now that I decided to get my own copy on DVD. I would not consider it a scary movie, just a thriller with plenty of black humor. It almost reminds me of Alfred Hitchcook's mini episodes that sometimes run on TV. Anyone who likes good old classics should consider having this movie in their collection.

Baby Jane.......2007-05-09

I first saw this movie as a child and it continues to amuse me and at the same time make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. I enjoyed passing this down to the next generation, this movie is a timeless masterpiece!

Average customer rating:

YOU STOLE MY STORY.
Uninspired performance from Johnny
Insane People Shouldn't Write Reviews!!/Let Me
(CAUTION - PARANOID PSYCHOSIS & MENTAL ILLNESS STEREOTYPE & STIGMA SPOILERS)
"I'm Sure Eventually that her Death will become a Mystery even to me"

Secret Window
Starring: Johnny Depp , John Turturro , Maria Bello , Timothy Hutton , and Charles S. Dutton
Director: David Koepp
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002234LS
Release Date: 2004-06-22

Amazon.com

Johnny Depp gets high off another acting challenge in this tricky adaptation of a Stephen King yarn. Although the mood is too sinister to allow for the mischief of his Pirates of the Caribbean turn, Depp still manages to embroider his role here with plenty of quirky business. He plays a writer, depressed and nearly divorced, who's stuck in an isolated cabin (shades of The Shining) when a stranger (John Turturro) arrives, accusing him of plagiarism. Writer-director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) does his best to make the rickety material compelling--he gets the maximum out of the cabin set, for instance--but the problems inherent in the King story eventually win out. The climactic scenes are particularly unpleasant, especially in contrast to the cleverness of Depp's performance. A Philip Glass score adds class, but this one ultimately feels like a disappointment. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

YOU STOLE MY STORY........2007-06-27

This movie was on television a few months ago. My daughter who is 15 years old, watched the movie also. She loves Johnny Depp, so I got the movie for her. It's funny, and psychological to me. Poor Mort, his mind was so messed up he couldn't tell reality from fiction. The DVD also has features about the story. It explains certain scenes about the movie also deleted scenes. I really liked the man Mort made up Mr. Shooter. The beginning of the movie" You stole my story" I recommend this movie to any person who likes Johnny Depp.

Uninspired performance from Johnny.......2007-04-09

I was really disappointed in this movie, as Johnny Depp seems to sleepwalk through the entire role, and shows none of his previous greatness from other roles. And the two tone hair? Not a good look.

My dad has all of Stephen King book's but the last couple he has read, he has either struggled to get into, or found it was too similar to previous novels. I've read a couple, but watching this, I discovered every Stephen King stereotype/cliche is included. The loner eccentric writer, by himself in the middle of nowhere, the strange man - just everything about this film.

There's also a very unexpected twist, which not only ruins what was already a mess before the twist hits, but comes so abruptly, that you have to actually pause the film and work out what on earth is going on. The 'twist' has become the most overused solutions in Hollywood in thrillers etc of the past few years, and they're getting worse, and more predictable each time. For me, the twist completely ruined this film. Other reviewers disagree.

Maria Bello, the fabulous bar owner from Coyote Ugly, is seriously underused, and underdeveloped as a character, that it's a waste of time in even having her in the movie.

Major disappointment. See some of Johnny's earlier films for his best work. And if you want to see something really off the wall, watch Benny & Joon.

And on that note: "Rah! Rah! Rah!"

Quite.

And there was absolutely nothing 'thrilling' about it.

Insane People Shouldn't Write Reviews!!/Let Me.......2007-02-28

Okay that other guy who reviewed this is insane as H.

This movie is awesome. Johnny Depp gives a brilliant performance as author Mort Rainey. If you read the book then you know the story and hopefully you also know that movies won't ever be completely the same as the book. So don't be mad at the movie just get used to it.

(CAUTION - PARANOID PSYCHOSIS & MENTAL ILLNESS STEREOTYPE & STIGMA SPOILERS).......2007-02-23

This is an awesome awesome movie. I say that because it is one of the best renditions Hollywood has ever done of a person suffering from "psychotic depression." Johnny Depp (who is effected by it) lets the viewer watch this illness evolve in a slow journey down into the dark pit of insanity. The audience experiences this pure psychosis in a fashion that is authentic to the T.

The movie ingeniously shows this form of stress-induced-insanity which is so brilliantly triggered by (1) finding your wife in bed with her boyfriend, (2) the impending divorce, (3) Depp having to move out of his house and into a summer house on a lake, and (4) the inevitable financial stress on this lead character. I mean, oh my god, he must be running about 500 stress points! That's enough to trigger a psychotic attack on anyone who is predisposed to psychotic mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia, psychotic bipolar, psychotic depression, post-partum psychosis - about 8 million US people).

This is exactly the type of stress that triggered me to go into an almost identical type of psychotic episode a number of years ago while an army officer assigned to Germany. For me, the stressors were very similar to the movie - move to Europe, new platoon leader, financial difficulties, relationship stress, new language to speak, etc.

Psychosis means delusions and the movie very realistically showed the onset of the "persecutorial delusion" (where you think someone is coming to get you) by showing Turturro coming to get Johnny. And then the formation of the potentially more serious "grandiose delusion" where you think that others (real people) are conspiring against you. This is where some psychotic people will actually lash out at others, and by so doing, if they harm them, they become criminally insane. Of the 8 million of us who have this type of psychotic illness, about 50,000 of us will do this. We'll read about the next one in the newspapers next week. Almost all of these will be done by people who did not know they had a psychotic illness, were not previously diagnosed and were not medicated. And this is exactly Depp's situation in the film (I have psychotic bipolar and must take lithium for mania, and Zyprexa for psychosis daily).

Psychosis also means hallucinations. And Turturro has this part by playing an "imaginary paranoid hallucination antagonist." This is really an ingenious Hollywood technique because it helps others in our society understand psychosis by showing a visual hallucination. I believe the technique was first used in "Beautiful Mind." This phenomenon, coupled with the delusions, is what makes paranoid psychosis a horrifying experience.

The movie shows this paranoid delusional psychosis very well and Depp actually lashes out at a number of people in his psychotic episode. For me, I got these same types of delusions and similar hallucinations in Germany but never lashed out at others - therefore I got an honorable discharge as a captain, after getting out of the stressful situation and the psychosis dissipated.

I liked the above parts of the movie very well for its authenticity - it was good. However what I didn't like about the movie is that it went way over board in the number of homicides. This just adds to the mental illness stereotype and the stigma. And so more people won't go in and get help when they should be getting help and medication. It took me 23 years before I got help. Why? Because of the stigma and fear. Maybe if society didn't have this stigma, we wouldn't have these types of terrible tragedies like in this movie. My heart goes out to anyone who has been impacted by this.

Society has available the medicine and counseling which is needed to eliminate this type of tragedy. Maybe if they educated the masses in a smart way we could eliminate it. But instead we "monsterize" this illness by this type of movie.

"I'm Sure Eventually that her Death will become a Mystery even to me".......2007-02-22

Hey. Johnny Depp can act. He basically carries this movie on his back to the promised land of 4/5 star movies. Thats not to say that the other actors are bad, they are all good, no one stands out as a total [...] job that says he/she is only in it for the money. A few points on the movie:

First of all this is a horror movie and I was surprised that I was on the edge of my seat. This is why I contend that PG-13 movies can be just as scary as R rated movies. The atmosphere is great and I was, like I said, on the edge of my seat. The biggest thing that helps this movie is the Unknown. Most R rated movies show you the monster/pysho/math teacher/maniac and take away the element of the unknown(Of course I'm not saying that R rated Horror movies are not scary, I'm just saying that PG-13 movies can be scary too). In this movie you know the villain is [...] character but you still feel like there is more to it than that and of course there is.

Secondly, this movie also has some good parts in the middle of it. With a lot of these movies with a big twist at the end the middle can get boring and pointless because the ending is really all that matters. But Johnny Depp once again comes to the rescue and gives us some good humour which adds to rewatchability.

And finally the ending is, in my opinion, great. I loved the direction, I loved the acting, yea the story did get a bit uninvolving, but this is still a very good movie which all should see....

Average customer rating:

A HAIR RAISING SHOCKER
What A Twisted Tale Of Life-Long Deception!
Great entertainment
If you haven't seen the movie before........
HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Starring: Bette Davis , Olivia de Havilland , Joseph Cotten , Agnes Moorehead , and Cecil Kellaway
Director: Robert Aldrich
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009NZ2MO
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Amazon.com

Poor Charlotte Hollis. She's been shunned by the community for decades, ever since the fateful night in 1927 when her lover was hacked apart with an axe. Her antebellum southern mansion is slated for the bulldozer, as it stands in the way of highway construction. Charlotte's only hope lies in her cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), coming down from up north to help settle things. Miriam, however, has other designs. Together with her boyfriend Drew (Joseph Cotten), she embarks on a scheme to systematically drive Charlotte out of her mind (not a great leap) and get her mitts on the family fortune. From there, things only get more complicated. Charlotte puts the "gothic" in southern gothic, as a great showcase for completely bizarre, overwrought, and out-of-control performances from all involved. Agnes Moorehead plays Charlotte's loyal, disheveled housekeeper to the hilt, with an odd inflection that calls to mind Amos and Andy more than southern gentility. As the drunken, conniving Dr. Drew, Cotten's accent is indeterminate at times, and seems to come and go. As great as the supporting players are, though, the crown goes to Bette Davis as the shrieking Charlotte, a portrait of isolation and decay stuck in a world of tragic delusions inside her crumbling mansion. De Havilland is a close second as the scheming Miriam; the scene where she slaps the holy snot out of a hysterical Charlotte is itself worth the price of admission. Mary Astor (in her last role) and Cecil Kellaway (as a kindly Lloyd's of London adjuster) put in the only performances with any restraint, acting as counterweights for the rest of the cast. Besides, you'll never get another chance to see Joseph Cotten playing the harpsichord and singing, or caked in mud and lily pads! With Robert Aldrich's claustrophobic direction, Charlotte is as Southern as a field of kudzu, and as subdued as a train wreck. --Jerry Renshaw

Description

This is the tale of a wealthy southern spinster Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) who lives with her eccentric maid (Agnes Moorehead) in a decaying southern mansion, shunned by the townsfolk after the mysterious axe-murder of her late lover. When her jealous cousin (Olivia de Havilland) and her cousin's wily husband (Cotton) arrive for a visit, the two conspire to drive Charlotte insane and have her commited so the two can sell off her estate and pocket the proceeds.

Customer Reviews:

A HAIR RAISING SHOCKER.......2007-06-09

THIS SUPERB FILM STARS BETTE DAVIS AS CHARLOTTE HOLLIS WHO HAS BEEN CLOSETED IN HER MANSION SINCE THE GRISLY MURDER OF HER MARRIED LOVER MANY YEARS EARLIER. FINE SUPPORT COMES FROM OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND AS HER COUSIN MIRIAM AND JOSEPH COTTEN AS DOCTOR DREW BAYLESS. THIS THRILLER WILL HAVE YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT AND SPECIAL MENTION MUST BE MADE OF CHARLOTTE'S LOYAL SERVANT OSCAR NOMINEE AGNES MOOREHEAD - I DON'T THINK EVEN THIS FINE ACTRESS HAS DONE ANYTHING BETTER. FINE REMASTERING FROM THE 1964 PRINT ADDS TO ONE'S PLEASURE SO DON'T MISS THIS REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT.

What A Twisted Tale Of Life-Long Deception!.......2007-05-26

Davis and DeHavilland are truly at their best in this shocking thriller, set in the bayou country of Louisiana. The setting, the family dynamics, and the un-expected twists and turns in the story will keep your attention riveted to the screen. I enthusiastically recommend this movie to all lovers of Hollywood classics...

Great entertainment.......2007-02-12

The story behind the conception of "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" is well documented, so the question is: without being another Bette Davis/Joan Crawford battlefest, does it match up to the runaway success of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane"? My opinion is that it ranks as a good movie, but falls into the shadow of it's predecessor.

The plot follows Davis as Charlotte, an eccentric recluse who has been shunned by the townsfolk ever since her married lover was found brutally murdered at a party when she was a young girl. Branded as the killer, Charlotte has grown into a bitter and lonely old woman, who is finally forced to come out of her isolation when the county wants to knock down her house to build a new road. The main part of the film begins as Charlotte's cousin Miriam arrives in an attempt to talk some sense into her, and all the skeletons of the past come to light again.

The film is built around it's two central stars, Bette Davis and Olivia de Haviland (who plays Miriam). The two could scarcely be more different. Davis plays Charlotte as wide-eyed, shrill and in a constant state of nervous terror, while de Havilland delivers a performance of sleek velvety calm. The film hinges on the relationship between these two women, and out of the two of them, it is Miriam rather then Charlotte who suggests a character with much more going on beneath the surface, thanks to de Havilland's glacial cool. Davis is brittle and exhausting nearly all the time, and although she was one of the greatest Hollywood stars of her time, some more subtelty would have greatly enhanced the character of Charlotte in places. However, for the most part she is terrific, in fact her performance gets better and better as the film progresses, culminating in a very moving conclusion. De Havilland also does a great job, speaking in silky soft tones for the most part, but capable of erupting into surprisingly venomous anger as more of her true character comes to light. As is usual with a well known film like this, the twists and surprise revelations are already well known, but what impressed me was the the way the various strands were worked into the film, and how effectively some of the twists were then later built up into new twists! It must have been very effective for first time audiences in 1964, and for anyone who has not seen it even today.

The film looks great. Beautifully shot in black and white, it makes great use of selective lighting and deep shadows, more often than not inside the grand but rotting mansion that Charlotte lives in. There are also some great lines in the script, most often spoken by Davis, which make the proceedings border on high camp some of the time, but for the most part it is a quality product. What detracts from the enjoyment are some very lazy post dubbing in several places (where you can see that the actors are either mouthing something different or not speaking at all!), and the opening prologue set at a party supposedly in 1927, which has no attempt at period detail at all as most of the party goers are dressed in contemporary 1960's oufits (one girl even has a beehive hairdo!). This lack of care by director Robert Aldrich is more in line with one of William Castle's schlocky (but enthusiastic) efforts, rather than a major studio production like "Charlotte" was supposed to be.

I haven't really got that many bones to pick though, as the film delivers solid entertainment for most of it's 2hour running time. It IS a little long, but the constantly unravelling plot together with the performances from it's stars (not forgetting to mention the hilarious turn by Agnes Moorhead as the tousled maid) keep you hooked all the way through. Although some of the early parts are a bit of a screech-fest, it definitely improves as reaches the end, in fact Davis' performance in the last half hour becomes quite touching (barring her cross-eyed freak out on the stairs), and the ending scene especially shows that the film has a real heart.

If you haven't seen the movie before...............2007-01-18

......don't watch the film with the commentary feature
activated. The long-winded, overexcited announcer gives
away the plot details within minutes of the opening credits.

Otherwise, this film is a wonderful, nostalgic presentation
of the B-movie style, black and white thrillers of the
late 50's/early 60's. Bette Davis, fresh off her success
of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," returns in a film
adaption of another Henry Farrell story. She reprises the role
of a mentally disturbed dame (in this case, done Southern style)
and she takes it way over the top, but still within the threshold
of high cinema. Fellow Academy Award winner, Olivia de Havilland
(replacing Joan Crawford, who was originally slated for "Miriam")
gives a good performance as the goodhearted relative with dark
ulterior motives.

This is a great movie. The theatrical trailers are laughable at how they present this film as the most suspenseful, horrifying film ever.
Well,given the time period, who knows? In any case, this is an enjoyable
exercise in suspense with Bette Davis at the helm, which always
translates into worthwhile cinema. Along with Davis and De Haviland, Agnes Moorhead
gives a remarkably delightful
performance as the feisty housekeeper,
receiving a well-deserved Academy Award nomination.

Highly Recommendable.

TURN OFF THE COMMENTARY FEATURE UNTIL YOU'VE HAD THE CHANCE
TO SEE THE MOVIE FROM START TO FINISH!!!!!!! If not, the
entire suspense element will be ruined.

HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE.......2007-01-13

It was just as I remembered it. I had a good time watching it with my daughter.She can't believe what we use to think was scary.
Laura

Average customer rating:

Have to admit, I didnt' like it at first...
A film with some serious atmosphere
The best movie ever!!!!!!!
NERVOUSLY BRILLIANT
What's Eating Trevor Reznik?

The Machinist
Starring: Christian Bale , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Aitana Sánchez-Gijón , John Sharian , and Michael Ironside
Director: Brad Anderson (II)
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007Y08QA
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Amazon.com

As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy--a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. --Jeff Shannon

Description

THE MACHINIST is the story of Trevor Reznik, a machinist who hasn't slept in over a year. Working in a machine shop, Trevor faces the usual occupational hazards, yet his extreme fatigue only makes them worse, causing him to accidentally cut off a co-worker's hand. What Trevor suffers from clearly isn't a typical case of insomnia…

Customer Reviews:

Have to admit, I didnt' like it at first..........2007-06-14

After watching it a few times, I can appreciate what they were trying to do with this film. If you can, watch it when you're really, really, really tired.

A film with some serious atmosphere.......2007-06-14

Christian Bale's Trevor Reznik hasn't slept in a year. He's so thin you can see his ribs and spine. His main social interactions are with his regular call girl and the waitress at the local airport late-night diner. He's obsessed with cleaning his body and house with bleach.

As the movie opens, we see a husk of a man inhabiting the grimy, industrial streets of a coastal city. Reznik is a machinist, and lately he's been seeing a new guy at work that no one else can see. Reznik is obviously hiding from some traumatic even in his past, and the movie consists of the unfolding of the jigaw puzzle of his life. The Machinist is an atmospheric movie, one that will transport you to a waking-nightmare state of dark colors, somber music, and a general haziness between reality and horror.

The best movie ever!!!!!!!.......2007-05-20

I love this movie to death!!!!! My favorite type of movies are suspense movies and this one reigns supreme. I consider myself pretty smart,but this movie had me confused in the beginning. I had no clue, which is what makes this movie great!!! And Christian Bale....EXCELLENT!!! Now, everytime I watch it, I pick up more clues. It's a masterpiece and I highly recommended to anyone who like to challenge their brain!

NERVOUSLY BRILLIANT.......2007-05-03

It had been a while since a movie shocked me. "The Machinist" is about a man who can't sleep. He is the thinnest man you might ever see for two odd hours. You might wonder if that is reason enough for you to watch this film and that is precisely why I took me a while to finally watch it. I like films that are based solely around one character but The Machinist is something else. I thought it would be easy to write a review for this film. Well, it's about time I start mine.

I liked "Fight Club" but didn't like "Memento" too much and I thought "Seven" was good while I thought "Lucky Number Slevin" insulted movies. Some of these films werent as good as the others. The more popular ones had one or two characters to keep you interested. I liked Machinist because it had everything a character should be and more. In Trevor Reznik's heart resides a man of much mystery, intrigue and forgetfulness.

I mean, 11 minutes into the film I knew I was going to love it. It is a masterpiece because it has to be watched again to be appreciated and understood. Some might argue and find faults - too bad for them. Overall, much like my fellow readers who've written very good reviews for the Machinist, I felt the background score was truly magnificent while the semi-lucid conscience of characters had it's own charm.

The Machinist will grab your nerve and noodle it. Easily among my top 15 films of all time and I just saw it a week back. I will now go and watch every film by Christian Bale (loved Prestige) and meanwhile you should go watch The Machinist. Not to forget, fans of "Secret Window" might like this film,too.

My Rating -> 9.5/10

What's Eating Trevor Reznik?.......2007-04-16

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"The Machinist" is a very interesting film with a simply stunning performance from Christian Bale as Trevor - what he did was amazing and I mean not only his physical transformation that by itself was a real sacrifice an actor can commit for his Art. Besides Bale's performance, the film is masterfully directed and what is very important, clever written. It is one of few films that get under your skin and stay there. The ending was very satisfying and put all pieces of the puzzle together.

I read and heard that the film is a combination of "Memento", "Fight Club", "Angel Heart", Insomnia", "Thinner", and "Identity". "The Machinist" may bring all these pictures to memory but it is a masterfully crafted and compelling study of one man's journey from his crime to the punishment where he himself was a criminal, a victim, a prosecutor, and the executioner. (Trevor read the wrong Dostoevsky's novel - he should have read "Crime and Punishment") The one film I was reminded of while watching "The Machinist" - David Cronenberg's "Spider". Both films take place in the atmosphere of confusion, paranoia, guilt, and unbearable terror and both have the unforgettable performances by Christian Bale and Ralph Fiennes as two very disturbed individuals.

Masters of Horror - The Screwfly Solution

Average customer rating:

The Sci-Fi Problem to the Screwfly Solution
A LITTLE BIT SCREWY
Pest Control-and Man is the Pest
Chances are this Flick won't make it to "Lifetime: Television for Women"
A Great Premise And Intelligent Plotting Bring New Life To The End Of The World

Masters of Horror - The Screwfly Solution
Starring: Elliott Gould , and Jason Priestley
Director: Joe Dante
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000OYCMO4
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Amazon.com

Director Joe (The Howling, Gremlins) Dante helmed one of the more daring episodes of Masters of Horror to date--Homecoming-- and his second go-round for the cable anthology series is another thought-provoking chiller with real-world overtones. Here, Dante and screenwriter Sam Hamm (who also penned Homecoming) adapt James Tiptree, Jr.'s 1977 noted short story of the same name and concoct an alarming nightmare scenario in which men are suddenly and brutally attacking women when sexually aroused. The solution to this sudden wave of violence falls to scientists Jason Priestley and Elliott Gould, but the situation rapids erupts into a global epidemic, and Priestley's wife (Kerry Norton) must fend for herself and their daughter in a world that wants her dead at all costs. Dante and his capable deliver the terror with a straight face, and if Hamm's script strays too often into tangents about environmental responsibility, the abundance of suspense and outright violence offers a balance to genre fans that are less interested in social issues. The DVD includes commentary by Dante and Hamm, featurettes on the episode's production and special effects (by KNB), and the shooting script in DVD-ROM format. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews:

The Sci-Fi Problem to the Screwfly Solution.......2007-07-03

Joe Dante is one of my top favorite horror directors. Because I think he keenly understands how to make a really intense horror film. His thing is that he mixes the horror with humor so that you're expecting the entire film to be a fun breeze... and then: HE HITS YOU with straight-up, pure horror in one key scene. And when it comes, it packs a serious punch, and from that moment on, you have to hold on to your seat because a Joe Dante film is an unpredictable ride of crazy, quirky horror.

But... he hasn't made a horror film since the exquisite Gremlins 2. Maybe he's rusty.

This Masters of Horror thing hasn't been a very good gig for Joe. Of course, maybe he'd tell you different since he's been very enthusiastic about finally getting to direct 2 projects he's been wanting to do for some time. In his interviews for Homecoming, he mentions that Masters of Horror is pretty much the only place he could make a horror flick like Homecoming. And in interviews for Screwfly, he mentions that he's been trying to do The Screwfly Solution since the 1980's. But his trademark style of horror has been stifled by the ambitiousness of his chosen projects versus the limitations of the Masters of Horror format.

Quite frankly, to make material like The Screwfly Solution really work... the man needs MORE TIME. The Masters of Horror shooting schedule allows for 10 days. That's it. I honestly doubt that is enough time to fully form and organize and work out a story like this to make it horrifying enough for maximum impact. And this is a subject that deserves maximum impact. I'm sure Joe did the best he could, but unfortunately all he had time for was to project the idea of what would happen if this situation were to come upon the human race while deciding to use the Science Fiction genre to explain everything.

I don't think The Screwfly Solution is a horror that should be or needs to be explained rather than shown. The only way to feel this intensity and learn from it, to have it truly affect us, there has to be less focus on telling a story in the traditional method. And instead, show it to us raw. Allow us to feel it in a way that will leave us really questioning how much of a problem this is. Because it's obviously a subject of great interest.

The specific problems with Screwfly are that the men, who are the killers in the film, aren't scary. They are merely shown as frustrated and annoyed. But that's what we experience every day from men. And it's not really all that horrifying. We see territorial man, road rage man, military authority man, and the standard pig-headed man. But are we afraid of these men? And how much do we fear them? We fear that they will set us back, irritate us, and make us late for a dinner appointment. The man Screwfly completely forgets to show us - is Serial Killer Man. This of course might have something to do with the movie's decision to make the men killing women kill them because of sexual arousal.

For instance, there's a scene in the movie where a man stabs with his knife aimed at the level of his crotch as he kills a woman in a rhythmic manner. That is pretty much as disturbing as this movie gets. I'm not kidding. It's another Joe Dante Masters of Horror tale that implies horror and refuses to show it. This could be considered compensation for the fact that Dante's trademark satire-humor is completely missing from Screwfly. And in its' place is a full dose of science fiction. Which also helps to ensure that Screwfly is merely intriguing, not horror-enducing. Dante's usually usually depends on 1 key scene as an accelerator. Unfortunately his work in this series only has 1 key scene each.

In Homecoming, it was a wonderfully threatening and unexpected moment where a zombie actually kills a human being. In Screwfly, it's when we see a man kill a woman with the force of his sexual frustration.

In many science fiction films, the theme is invasion. Disease isn't uncommon to horror either. 28 Days Later, for instance. Maybe the appeal of making Screwfly a disease-horror film has to do with the fragility of our psychological stabilities. That we can be easily overrided by our own bodies. Just a twist of a few chemicals in our systems or hormones in our brains and we could be manipulated into becoming killers.

The last remaining bit of horror in Screwfly involves an escape for (apparently) the last living woman on Earth. Which I think brings the viewer to the best part of the movie, the ending. The ending a lot of people have remarked is terrible. However, I think it's far-fetchedness is exactly what makes it a happy ending. It's a cop-out in a way. Depending on how you look at it. But it's also a sign that getting rid of women wasn't the real objective. One of the greatest horrors I can think of is that men as a race will suddenly physically decide to wipe out an entire group of people for an arbitrary reason yet unknown to us. So maybe a story like this needs an unrealistic ending to help us sleep better at night.

In short, either you'll like just the ending (like me) and reject the majority of the episode. Or you'll somehow be pulled along the episode's trail but be disappointed by the needlessness of the ending. A lot of movies have had endings that feel like different movies altogether. I wouldn't have rather watched the kind of Screwfly Solution that would have been made based on expanding the ending here by itself. But I think the ending here actually adds a tone to the episode. The episode itself lacks a true tone. It's certainly not very disturbing. In fact, I think, save for nudity and language (and a little blood in 2 scenes), this is exactly the sort of thing that would show up on Lifetime. It has that characteristic Lifetime flatness about it.

The idea is horrifying. I think women will understand it without becoming confused as to what the filmakers were trying to accomplish. For instance, it's silly to assume that just because women die in Screwfly Solution while men call them horrible names and assault them sexually, that women will be offended by it.

Here's a trick question: how many times did you think about sex while reading this?

A LITTLE BIT SCREWY.......2007-06-14

This entry in the compelling MOH series is a little strange, mixing social commentary with a small dose of horror. The world is suddenly going mad, at least its male population...sexual arousal is leading men to murder the woman responsible...and soon it's just men murdering women. Two scientists offer a solution, as evidenced by the control of the dangerous screwfly population. But no one listens, and of course disaster ensues.
Director Joe Dante doesn't do anything compellingly different, and the acting by Jason Priestley and Elliott Gould is merely adequate. Not a sterling entry in this otherwise good series.

Pest Control-and Man is the Pest.......2007-06-06

I expected this to be good because I know that Joe Dante is an excellent director, but when I saw that it was based on a story by James Tiptree Jr., I sat up, because I knew this was going to be something REALLY extraordianary.

James Tiptree Jr. is one of the greatest science fiction writers of the latter part of the 20th Century. James Tiptree Jr. was also the nom de plume of Dr. Alice Sheldon (look for Tiptree's books on Amazon). Her writing was always psychologically complex and surprising. And this installment of MASTERS OF HORROR captured that, thanks to Dante's brilliance and Sam Hamm's great script.

It's made clear from the beginning that there is a parallel between our decimation of the screwfly/pest insect populations by disruption of their sexual cycles, and what is occuring to the human population in this story (at least it's clear to us, the audience). So this naturally begs the question: If we did that to the insects, who or what could be doing this to us?

The conclusion of this story is set up right from the beginning, is deepend, enhanced, and made more apparent throughout the telling of it. There is no cheap ending here. It is logical, inevitable, and horrible. Horrible for humans, anyway.

The dogs seem to like it.

It's important to keep in mind that this isn't a chainsaw hack-'em-up-er, or blood drinking beast fest, or a vengeful ghost mind twister. This is a story about the most terrifying monsters in the world: ordinary people who give in to the worst within themselves, thinking they're right, and good, and normal. Men who don't see other people (women) as human. And you have to pay attention.

Personally, this is my favorite episode so far in the series.

Chances are this Flick won't make it to "Lifetime: Television for Women" .......2007-06-04

In the 1950's 2 American Entomologists (Dr. Raymond Bushland & Dr. Edward Knipling) developed the "sterile insect technique",
to control the population of the screwworm fly. In this technique the male screwworm flies were exposed to radiation, thus rendering them sterile. They were then returned back to the wild, to mate with other wild female screwworm flies. The result was a reduction in the amount of eggs being laid inside American crops.
Now someone or something is applying the same technique to mankind.
A new form of sterilization, characterized by sexually driven bloodlusts.
At first it appears to be a few random mysoginistic slayings.
But as the numbers grow, so does the concern.
With the possibility of an epidemic, whole areas are soon quarantined.
No women are allowed in for they're own safety.
They're being forced to stay away, because women of all ages are being wiped out by men who seem to believe that what they're doing in natural & rational.
In countries around the world it's occuring on such a massive scale, that whole rivers are being damned by the steady influx of bodies.
But who is causing this, and why?

I watched this episode with my wife, which almost never happens as a result of her being female, and hating horror movies.
So, after an unnatural amount of coaxing, I finally got her to sit down and watch one with me.
And of course, it was an apocalyptic horror movie concerning the erradication of women.
Suffice it to say, she will never be watching another horror movie with me, for as long as we both shall live.
Obviously, this movie had a much greater impact on her than it did on me.
And rightfully so,
I'm not a woman, who in most countries (and maybe even in this one),
have to live in fear of men every day.
(Hell, in Japan, groping is so bad, women have their own subway cars.)
(And let's not even get started on the Middle East)
This flick is the cinematic embodiment of every woman's fear.
Namely, Men.

With all that being said,
this film deserved more time to explore it's subject,
a bigger budget to employ more extras & horrific scenes,
and a much better ending that doesn't blow the whole premise.
(Nothing ruins a good horror movie more than a really cheap twist ending.)
All in all this was an enjoyable film, that could have been memorable, had it been alotted the time to go the extra mile.
As a result, the films story suffered, often taking huge leaps in time, giving it an incomplete feeling.
But if you really wind up liking it, I have a suggestion.
A better, modern example of "gendercide" is depicted in Brian K. Vaughn's monthly comic series, "Y: The Last Man". Pick up the trade-paper-backs, you will absolutely not be disappointed.

In closing,
If you're a horror-buff you'll enjoy this movie for what it is,
But do yourself a favor and don't watch it with your female,
She won't look at you the same way, for like a week.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
A world without women
is not a post-apocalyptic world I would want to live in.

A Great Premise And Intelligent Plotting Bring New Life To The End Of The World.......2007-04-18

Joe Dante's "Homecoming" for Showtime's "Masters of Horror" anthology series was easily the controversial high point of Season One. Alternately described as "brilliant" and "complete trash," there were very few who straddled the middle on this political zombie satire. Needless to say, this intrigued me to contemplate how Dante would follow up this divisive little tale. Well, for Season Two, Dante clocks in with "The Screwfly Solution." It certainly has a provocative topic, and is the ultimate battle of the sexes--but I suspect that it is a lot less likely to engender the passionate debate of "Homecoming." That is not a criticism, however, as I think this episode stands as one of the more sophisticated entries we've seen so far!

Contemplating the end of the world, "Screwfly" offers a new take on the apocalypse genre. A virus affecting men is discovered where if the man is to become sexually aroused--his feelings end up turning to a murderous rage. Needless to say, this doesn't bode well for the women of the world--as this rage is directed at them! While this may, on the surface, seem to be a bit (or a lot) misogynistic--the disease is handled well and its repercussions are real, unpleasant and not taken lightly. The principles include Jason Priestly and Elliott Gould as researchers trying to combat the virus, but this just may take the ultimate toll on their families.

"Screwfly" may not be scary in the traditional sense if you're looking for quick thrills, but the premise is chilling and disturbing and it leads to appropriate gruesomeness. The tale is well acted and sometimes harrowing, with an emotional context I haven't found often in the "Masters of Horror" series. In fact, through most of the film, I thought I might be scoring this episode at 5 stars--that's how pleasantly surprised I was by this tale. The end scenes, however, may be a bit prolonged for some viewers. That didn't bother me as it brought the real domestic dilemma of this story to the forefront. But, at the last minute, the film provides us with an unnecessary explanation for the whole catastrophe which was both unnecessary and not worthy of what has preceded it. This terrific tale went wrong in the end, but that doesn't keep it from being one of the best this show had to offer! KGHarris, 04/07.

Average customer rating:

Come in for a Spell ...
Overall it's good.
Witchy Good Movie
The Craft Rules
5of5 for good reasons

The Craft (Special Edition)
Starring: Robin Tunney , Fairuza Balk , Neve Campbell , Rachel True , and Skeet Ulrich
Director: Andrew Fleming
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004W4UD
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Amazon.com

If Buffy the Vampire Slayer represents the lighter side of high school as a macabre experience, here's a movie that asks the burning question, "What happens when angst-ridden teenagers develop supernatural powers?" More to the point, how do four outcast teenaged witches handle their ability to cast wicked spells on the taunting classmates who've nicknamed them "The Bitches of Eastwick"? The answer, of course, is "don't get mad, get even." That's about all there is to this terminally silly movie, which makes up for its ludicrous plot by letting its young female cast have a field day as they indulge their dark fantasies. Fairuza Balk is enjoyable as the most wicked of the witches, and is therefore the focus of the film's most dazzling special effects. But it's Neve Campbell from television's Party of Five who made this film a modest box-office hit, just before she became her generation's fright-movie favorite in Scream and its popular sequel. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Come in for a Spell ..........2007-06-13

This movie was alright, it's one of those USA network type movies that you watch on a Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else on but football, and of course, it's for women and girls. Pre Buffy and Charmed, this rose a year or two before. It's an old story, updated with Generation X / goth rocker imagry for the 90s.

Earth, Air, Fire and Water, the four elements, come together at a Catholic school in southern California. Sarah has moved from the north to start over, makes some new friends at her new school, and all seems well. Soon the three new friends reveil that they are witches, looking for the fourth to complete their coven circle, and they believe Sarah is the match. Sure enough, the four come together and create just that.

This movie is about the abuse of power. Neve Campbell wishes that her scars would be removed when all medical treatments have failed, and, like magic, they vanish and she gets hot. Another wishes that the mean girl would get what's coming to her. And, sure enough, after a spell, the evil blonde popular girl (why are the mean girls always blonde in the movies and real life?) is knocked down a few pegs when her hair starts falling out. And the head witch, Fairuza Baulk, wants all the powers of the universe. And gets it. They become as vain and self centered as the ones they were looking to get even with, fall off their pillars, and eat some humble pie.

It's not an original story by any means, it's just dressed up with special effects to make it witchy and supernatural. Just some light entertainment, have fun with it.

Overall it's good........2007-05-13

Came fast, and in good condition. I haven't seen it since i was young so i bought it. Good movies about witches or witchcraft are hard to come buy. It's set for a more young adult to teen audience.

Witchy Good Movie.......2007-01-14

I think every young woman in Generation X has seen "The Craft." Sarah moves to Los Angeles from San Francisco and meets three friends who teach her about the world of witchcraft. In a story somewhat similar to "Mean Girls," her three new friends end up turning on her. Mean witches can be bitches. Sarah discovers that her mother was a powerful white witch and that she has the gift of witchcraft herself. While this is a lite horror movie, it has a good message of not messing with black magic.

The Craft Rules.......2007-01-11

The craft is a new classic for me, it was cool when I watch in high school and now my little sister (too little to get interested at the time) is hardcore fan, so I bought it for her a b-day present, she loves it, it a great movie, full of fun and special effects (some of them not very good) and special features, you will definitely wont regret to add this to your collection.

5of5 for good reasons.......2006-11-13

I gave it 5 stars for several reasons. Real Wiccans that view this usually down it. But I have read interviews to why there are inaccuracies in it. If they actually performed the ritual correctly, it could have been devastating. So, with technical help from the Golden Dawn, it was "modified" for safety. Fairuza Balk is a Wiccan herself. I call her Ru for short.... She has captured hearts everywhere in this movie. It has lead many people to the teachings of Wicca, unfotunately in a fantasy way. I wsh they had posted a notice before or after the movie that teh Witchcraft used was modified from the real teachings to protect the actors and actresses from harming themselves or others.
I would love to see Ru do another Witchcraft movie in which she can be a part of the direction. This movie is an instant classic and will never fade away. I wish they would make a sequal.

Average customer rating:

Largely Forgotten Gem
Scary and Wonderful
Let's Bore Film Fans to Death
Seriously Stupid
It Scared Me to Death as a Kid

Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Starring: Zohra Lampert , Barton Heyman , Kevin O'Connor , Gretchen Corbett , and Alan Manson
Director: John D. Hancock
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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Masters of Horror - Imprint

ASIN: B000FSME2E
Release Date: 2006-08-29

Description

Jessica goes to the Connecticut countryside for some rest following her release from an institution where she has just recovered from a nervous breakdown. She arrives with her husband and friend, but the three find little relaxation. Instead, they become entangled in a creepy tale of the supernatural which involves murder, an attempted drowning, a séance, disappearing bodies, vampires and constant torment for Jessica. Her marriage is strained, she hears voices, and she can't escape the mental turbulence which haunts her - for there really is something after Jessica.

Customer Reviews:

Largely Forgotten Gem.......2007-05-17

It's not often, anymore, that I get to see a truly excellent horror movie for the first time, so "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" was quite a pleasant surprise. It's got a dumb title, but everything else about the film is quite good. It won't be to everyone's taste, since it's not a commercial, mainstream horror film nor is it a gruesome underground gore film. "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" is just a dreamy, slow-moving horror film where the supernatural creeps into a seemingly ordinary situation and gradually makes itself known. Lotsa of people will think it's boring, no doubt, but these people just have no taste for what I think is the truest, best distillation of horror in film. I like the sense of otherworldliness that you get in some of your more low-key horror, and "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" has about as much of this as any film I've seen. If that's what you're looking for, it doesn't get much better than this.

The film opens with Jessica on a boat, alone in the midst of foggy lake. She wonders what has happened, and what is real just as the narrative moves back to the beginning, with Jessica, her husband Duncan and their friend Woody moving to a small, unassuming rural town in New England. Jessica has, apparently, just finished a stay in a mental institution, and this move represents a new beginning for her and Duncan, as they plan to begin a new low-key life on an apple ranch. Not all is well with Jessica, however, and she sees strange things, things that, perhaps, the others can't see. Furthermore, they arrive at their new rural home to find a mysterious, pretty redheaded girl by the name of Emily who has been squatting in their home. She seems pleasant enough, though, so they let Emily stick around for a while, and they even grow somewhat attached to her. (Perhaps too attached, in Duncan's case.) Everything seems more or less fine, but strange occurrences and odd behavior by the local townspeople begin to add up, and Jessica gradually comes to believe that more is going on here than meets the eye or, perhaps even worse, that she's lost her mind.

"Jessica"s critics generally accuse it of being dull, and though I don't agree, I can see where they're coming from. Virtually nothing happens for the films first half, and it doesn't really kick into top-gear until the climax late in the film. Still, it has a certain air to it from the very first frame that I just love. The film isn't about major action or great scenes, it's about the slow buildup of seemingly minor scenes and details which combine to generate a palpable sense of the unnatural. This all begins with the pitch perfect score, mostly slow, mournful piano and guitar with some occasional ominous synth that build a proper feeling of sorrow and foreboding. And then we get the seemingly trivial details: They drive a hearse (cheaper than a station wagon, apparently); The town is populated entirely by old men, hostile old men with strange marks and wounds; Jessica makes grave rubbings, and keeps them in her bedroom where they shudder and seem to whisper at night; Emily herself is just a bit odd, with her long red hair and impish smile. Who is she where did she come from? While exploring their new home, Jessica finds a painting in the attic which looks strangely like Emily. Coincidence? (A great scene by the way, with Jessica being unknowingly trailed by a vague, half-seen black force. What is it, if anything? We never know.)

Eventually, the film becomes more forthright. Turns out Jessica and Duncan bought the the old Bishop place, a long empty home with a tragic history with superstitious connotations in the community. Even worse, Jessica's visions become more common and intense, as she again sees a mysterious white gowned woman roaming the area and believes that she is attacked by a pale figure beneath the surface of the nearby lake. Tension rises: Duncan wants to send Jessica back to New York and his attraction to Emily becomes more and more overt, and now Jessica has to fight to save her mind, her marriage and her life.

"Jessica" really benefits from being a cheap film from 1971: They don't ruin the eeriness with phony CGI or unnecessary cheap scares, nor is the pacing forced in anyway. It builds as is necessary. Equally significant, we get to have mature, adult characters rather than a pack of tiresome teenagers, well-played by a generally unknown cast. (Some have complained about the acting. Anyone who does so clearly hasn't watched much low-budget horror, cause this is way above average in that respect.) Zohra Lampert is particularly good in the lead, as is Mariclare Costello, though her effectiveness is more her basic look than the real acting. For a film of limited means, the technical aspects are solid, with some generally nice photography, though the occasional zooms are a bit dated.

Normally I'm not too hesitant to give away late film details in horror movies since they're generally so formulaic, but I'm going to avoid doing this here, because "Jessica" follows no specific horror movie formula. Sure, it is, at heart, a mystery-horror movie, where the supernatural occurrences function as clue towards the central secret, but even within this form it doesn't follow the traditional routes and clichés. I doubt anyone will be too shocked by the end, but it's not nearly as inevitable as the ending of your typical horror movie. The film does become a bit more conventional at the end, dispensing with the subtle, atmospheric horror and working the standard run-and-chase angle, but I think they do this fairly well, and it is ultimately necessary. Even though the climax rarely lives up to the buildup in this kind of movie, to exclude it is a cheat, because half of the interest in the mysterious occurrences lies in finding out what they ultimately mean. You gotta lay your cards down sooner or later. This isn't to say you need to explain absolutely everything, and the film doesn't, but I've never bought the ludicrous "incoherence is a virtue" principle that so many lazy critics invoke and almost as many obliging filmmakers cater to.

Anyway, I hate to invoke the old cliché, but they really don't make `em like this anymore. Too bad, but at least we've got plenty of classics to fall back on, like this one.

Grade: A-

Scary and Wonderful.......2007-01-11

I had waited thirty years to get Let's Scare Jessica To Death, and now I have it on DVD thanks to this great seller. Fast delivery, too.

Let's Bore Film Fans to Death.......2007-01-10

I tried this one based on other submitted reviews and was sorely disappointed. Where were the scares? A little trippy, it hints at being a countercultural horror film: Easy Rider on Vampire Island. Interior monologue from our heroine, Jessica, reflects her insecurities about what her friends will think of her, but offer no insights into her mental illness. This is the film's one and only device. And the filmmakers have no idea what to do with it. BORING.

Seriously Stupid.......2007-01-09

I love 70's horror movies like the exorcist and The Changeling. This movie is so stupid, I turned it off half way through. It's poorly acted and not in the charming way that so many older movies are either. I would suggest renting it before you buy. I just don't know what other reviewers saw in this.

It Scared Me to Death as a Kid.......2006-12-20

Cookieman's review is perfect, so I don't have anything earth-shattering to include here in my review other than I didn't see this in the movies and felt like I missed a great experience as this is one spooky film, but edited and interrupted by commercials certainly dulled the impact this film could have had on me. It is truly terrifying in it's atmospheric direction.

This is a slow, but very disturbing film and the joy is the unfolding of the tale. The slowness can be annoying, but it's worth it as it was with the equally slow Nicole Kidman film The Others. Zohar Lampert is a very talented actress who shamefully never made it as big in Hollywood as she should have. I've loved her in everything I have ever seen her in. She has a graceful beauty to her and a wonderful speaking voice that has a soft by determined quality to it.

If you like slow, but involving films that are open to interpretation and are heavy with atmoshere and looks, then this film is for you.

Average customer rating:

Step right up for chills, spills and thrills!
Why did I bother?
One of my favs!
There are some nice horror visuals here... and the story isn't too bad.
A GOOD REMAKE.

House on Haunted Hill
Starring: Jeffrey Combs , Peter Gallagher , Famke Janssen , Max Perlich , and Bridgette Wilson
Director: William Malone
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Deep Blue Sea

ASIN: B00003CWRF
Release Date: 2000-04-18

Amazon.com

House on Haunted Hill is one of the new breed of waste-no-time thrill machines, like Deep Blue Sea, and a particularly effective example at that. The plot is pure contrivance: For a party stunt, a wealthy amusement-park manufacturer (Geoffrey Rush) offers five people a million dollars if they spend the night in a former insane asylum where the patients murdered the sadistic staff. But it turns out the five people who arrive aren't the five he invited--did his wife (Famke Janssen), who hates him, make the switch? From there events unfold with a smart combination of human and supernatural machinations; spooky jolts are dispensed at regular, but not entirely predictable, intervals. The visual effects owe a considerable debt to Jacob's Ladder, a much more ambitious movie; House on Haunted Hill just wants to get under your skin, and succeeds more than you'd expect. Rush is his entertainingly hammy self; Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, and Bridgette Wilson are attractive and reasonably straight-faced about it all; and Chris Kattan is genuinely funny as the house's neurotic owner. Some elements of the plot seem to have been lost in the editing process, but it hardly matters. More bothersome is that the scares go flat when computer effects take over at the end--the digital images just aren't as creepy as the more suggestive stuff that came before. But that's just the very end; most of the movie has a lot of momentum. Watch until the end of the credits for a final bit of eeriness. --Bret Fetzer

Description

When an eccentric millionaire offer a group of opposites $1,000,000 to spend the night in a so called "Haunted House" with a murderous past, they figure it is a quick way to get quick money and leave. All of them are sure it is some made up story just to mess with their heads a little and test their courage. But, once they stay in the house they start to think about the mistake they made in coming there when mysterious things start to happen.

Customer Reviews:

Step right up for chills, spills and thrills!.......2007-06-29

Ladies and Gentlemen, and American Idol haters and fans, allow me to direct your attention to the big screen, where you'll bear witness to chills, spills and thrills that will haunt you till the day you die. Behold the "House on Haunted Hill," and let the nightmare begin!

As far as remakes go, this is the best I've seen. I saw this movie alone, and let me tell you, it was quite a thrill ride. The high gore level makes this movie really fun to watch. Jeffrey Combs is the greatest actor of all time. Buy/rent this movie, and see if you can survive a trip through a Haunted House for the second time in many years...if you dare. Highly recommended.

Why did I bother?.......2007-03-26

I kind of wanted to see this movie when it originally came out in theaters, but I never got around to it...I'm glad I didn't. This movie was really bad. Most of the scenes just didn't make any sense. The characters weren't likeable at all, I couldn't have cared less if they all got killed. The acting was awful and the script was just down right horrendous. Some of the worst lines came from chris kattan's character like, "this house is alive, we're all gonna die" and "you give me my money right now...I want it, so you give it". Thats the kind of bad script that I'm talking about. The only slightly decent thing in this movie is some of the special effects. I would also like to give credit to geoffery rush for trying to do the best he could with what he was given. All and all...don't watch this movie.

One of my favs!.......2007-03-10

This is by far one of my favorite movies. This is definitely not for the weak of heart though, lots of disturbing imagery.

There are some nice horror visuals here... and the story isn't too bad........2006-09-01

House on Haunted Hill is your standard "group killed off one by one but no one knows who it is" ghost movie, and on that level, it works, despite having "been there done that". With that said, there are decent performances, but what really saves this film is the horror visuals and special FX, which are a little 'trippy' considering a asylum doctor who appears on the monitor, and his head flicks back and forth very quickly. Yes, it was based on an earlier work but it works well here, along with the basic gore FX and dark castle/mansion setting.

The pace is decent, and there are some memorable kills. I've seen worse, and at best, this is a slightly above average ghost film.