March is looking to be packing quite the punch when it comes to the genre love, as not only do we have another bloody good time in theaters with THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2, but DVD is also rockin’ hard, with the latest special edition of RE-ANIMATOR, Carpenter’s PRO-LIFE, the shit-in-an-awesome-box ROTLD 5: RAVE TO THE GRAVE, and an interesting Elizabeth Shue effort hitting straight to DVD called FIRST BORN. From classics to crap in just one day, this is yet another week that goes to show that late winter/early spring is the new fall when it comes to horror.
SLAUGHTERING THEATERS THIS WEEK
THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2
Rated R
Directed by Martin Weisz
Starring Jessica Stroup, Reshad Strik, Michael McMillian, Daniella Alonso
Run Time: ???
What started with the Carter family, clearly didn’t end with the Carter family. Some time later, as part of a routine mission, a unit of National Guard soldiers stop at a New Mexican outpost only to find the isolated research camp mysteriously deserted. After spotting a distress signal in a distant mountain range, the team decides to commence a search and rescue mission into the hills. Little do they know that these are the very hills that the ill-fated Carter family once visited, and that a tribe of cannibalistic mutants lies in wait. And this time, there is an even larger force of evil at work that is intent on the soldiers’ very destruction.
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ARROW IN THE HEAD’S DVD PICKS
SLAUGHTERING STORES THIS WEEK
RE-ANIMATOR
Rated: R
Directed by Stuart Gordon
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton
Run Time: 113 Min
A medical student and his girlfriend become involved in a bizarre experiment into reanimating the dead conducted by the student’s incorrigible housemate in this campy sendup of an H.P. Lovecraft story. The emphasis is on humour but once the dead walk, there is gore aplenty.
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MOH: PRO-LIFE
Unrated
Directed by John Carpenter
Starring Ron Perlman, Emmanuelle Vaugiere
Run Time: 57 Minutes
John Carpenter’s (Halloween) contribution to the second season of the Masters of Horror series, Pro-Life, tackles one of the most abject horror film topics–abortion–with absurdity, showing how humor can be rooted in disgust. Fifteen-year old Angelique (Caitlin Wachs) Burcell has been raped by the devil, and seeks an abortion at the local abortion clinic in this homage to Rosemary’s Baby. Unfortunately, her right wing Christian father, Dwayne (Ron Perlman), is not only pro-life, but also has a psychotic belief that she is about to birth God’s child which justifies fighting his way into the clinic with guns to prevent Angelique’s operation. Two doctors are shocked to learn that they can’t exterminate the evil spawn, as they watch it bulge and buck inside Angelique’s belly. Graphic birth scenes coupled with the Devil’s visit to the clinic to meet his newborn will cause both laughter and repulsion. The baby, with human head and six crab-like legs, crawls around the operating room floor until he meets his demise. Demented as it is funny, Pro-Life contains less metaphoric horror than the Alien series, but has a similar aesthetic. For those who appreciate mutant birth scenes, Carpenter’s rendition will satisfy.
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RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 5: RAVE TO THE GRAVE
Rated: R
Directed by Ellory Elkayem
Starring Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict, John Keefe, Jenny Mollen
Run Time: 86 Minutes
Julian and his few friends that actually managed to escape Necropolis have all enrolled in college and are trying to put their experiences with Hybratech behind them forever. Soon after, Jenny and Julian find a strange chemical container in a hidden room. In an effort to find out what this chemical, labeled as Trioxyin-5 is, they take it to their friend Cody for screening. However, Cody soon finds a way to make party drugs from it and try to earn some quick cash. Cody then makes a huge quantity of a drug called ‘Z’ that he begins to sell to the college kids. Soon, Halloween approaches, and almost all of the college kids have already taken ‘Z’. After the drug takes effect and turns the kids into zombies, the Halloween costumes everyone is wearing make it hard to distinguish the living from the undead.
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Rated: PG-13
Directed by Isaac Webb
Starring Elisabeth Shue, Steven Mackintosh
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Laura’s expecting. Her husband, Steven’s a loving guy but has little time for her. Her mom lives thousands of miles away. Forced to give up on her dreams, she’s always been a bit edgy. A C-section drives her over the edge, making her see things in a different light. A creepy babysitter doesn’t make things any better. She begins seeing things, trusts no one, as she goes into self-destruct mode.
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