• Canister X Movie Review #127: Flight of the Living Dead (2007)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Flight of the Living Dead (2007)

    Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane
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    Flight of the Living Dead (2007)
    Written by Sidney Iwanter, Mark Onspaugh and Scott Thomas
    Directed by Scott Thomas
    Runtime 94 min.
    4 out of 5

    A team of scientists creates a virus that kills the victim then regenerates the body. The idea: sell it as a biological weapon. The plan: one of the scientists is infected so is transported via plane in a special container under armed guard. Not that they think the scientist within is a threat, just that they don’t want anyone stealing the container.

    The plane encounters a severe thunderstorm and is rocked all over the place. Sure enough, the container is no longer secure and the person within is brought back to life. First goes the guard . . . then goes everyone else.

    Also on board—in coach—is a cop named Truman Burrows (David Chisum) and a criminal, Frank (Kevin J. O’Connor), being transported for trial. Soon these two must set aside their differences if they are to survive this doomed flight.

    Outbreak on a plane? You bet.

    Big trouble? You better believe it.

    The premise for this movie is just plain cool: zombies on a plane (sounds familiar, don’t it?). Good stuff. My question going into this was: okay, you got a plane full of zombies, but only so much room. How can you fill a whole movie without people getting slaughtered inside of fifteen minutes? Sure enough, the writers thought of that and managed to at first slowly let the zombies rise then, due to the large plane and various compartments therein, give our main band of heroes some room to run around and not get eaten.

    The zombies were scary, especially their eyes. Really good makeup. There was plenty of action and enough blood and guts to make any horror fan happy.

    The only thing I thought was kind of weak was the pilot’s insistence on not setting the plane down once the undead outbreak occurred. Can’t you land on more than just a long stretch of road? How about a field? Even a water landing? Better to take a chance with those than watch your passengers get eaten.

    This is one of those B-movies that make you happy you love B-movies, you know? There’s a sense of B-horror pride with this one. Hard to place it, but it’s there. More than once I was going, “Oh man, this is so good!” Maybe it’s the acting. Maybe it’s the grade of the film. Maybe the effects. I don’t know . . . but it’s good.

    Fun flick. Check it out.

    I’m glad I added Flight of the Living Dead to my collection.

    And on a personal note, I had the privilege of publishing one of the co-writers of this movie, Mark Onspaugh, in my science-gone-wrong zombie anthology, Dead Science. His story is called “The Decay of Unknown Particles.” Cool.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #126: Ninja Assassin (2009)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Ninja Assassin (2009)

    Ninja Assassin
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    Ninja Assassin (2009)
    Written by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski
    Directed by James McTeigue
    Runtime 99 min.
    5 out of 5

    Raizo (played by Rain), an orphan, was taken to a secret ninja training camp run by the Ozunu Clan when he was just a boy. After years of harsh, even deadly, training, Raizo was brought up to be the greatest ninja of the clan, even one who would one day take it over as leader.

    While a child and through his growing-up years, he befriends Kiriko (Anna Sawai) and she is just as strong-willed as he is except where he lacks feeling, she has a heart and doesn’t agree with all the clan teaches. When Kiriko tries to escape, Raizo sees what it truly means to be a member of the Ozunu Clan and from then on follows his own path to take the clan down.

    Enlisting the help of a Europol agent, Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), together they try and bring the clan to justice. However, not is all what it seems and the Ozunu Clan has plans of their own. Led by Raizo’s brother, Takeshi (Rick Yune), the two are hunted, and only after the swords stop slicing and the blood cools will a victor be decided.

    This movie is hardcore, man. There’s really no other word for it. Total and utter blood-soaked craziness that reminded me of Mortal Kombat (the game). I was just waiting for a low, ominous voice to say “Fatality.” Awesome.

    The kung fu in this flick is intense, especially the swordplay. Those bladed fights were among some of the best I’ve seen, right up there with the stuff in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Rain looked brilliant, his body and demeanor as hard as steel. More than once was I reminded of Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon with the way he moved. The flashback sequences also worked well and really added to Raizo’s back story and firmly cemented us in his psyche so we know why he fights the way he does, why he’s on the path he’s on, and what motivates him as a ninja. Well done.

    What I especially liked in this movie was the ninjas’ mystique and their power, namely the part about them being one with the shadows and the paranoia those being hunted had with the dark. The idea of always keeping the lights on and bright was a great way to play this up. The ninja-morphing with the shadows was also cool, giving the impression that these guys, after all that training, have become something more than human.

    This is just one crazy bloodbath of a movie. Non-stop action. Amazing sword battles. Cool enough story to string one fight scene to the next.

    Ninja Assassin is the definition of a martial arts flick.

    Yeah, go check it out. Definitely.

    Please visit here for more movie reviews.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #125: JCVD (2008)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    JCVD (2008)

    JCVD
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    JCVD (2008)
    Written by Mabrouk El Mechri, Frédéric Benudis and Christophe Turpin
    Directed by Mabrouk El Mechri
    Runtime 97 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    Jean-Claude Van Damme—international movie star.

    Jean-Claude Van Damme—the Muscles from Brussels.

    Jean-Claude Van Damme—loved by millions

    Jean-Claude Van Damme—criminal?

    It’s a post office hostage situation and Van Damme is suspected to be the guy running the show. He talks to the cops, tells them what he wants, is alone inside with the hostages—he’s got guilty written all over him.

    Except not all is what it seems and Van Damme—hero to all—is having the worst day of his life. Not only did he lose custody of his daughter, he’s broke, has no new movie on the horizon and now he’s getting framed taking a post office with a built-in bank hostage.

    I just finished watching this and I’m still soaking it in. I’ve seen most of Van Damme’s movies and JCVD is nothing like any of them. This isn’t an action movie despite it starting that way. This is a drama. Big time, and Van Damme proves here he is way more than just muscles, high kicks, and guns. This Van Damme is raw, brutally honest, caring and just downright human. No eight-foot-tall-and-bullet-proof karate guy here. This is the story about Van Damme the man (he goes by his own name in the movie), one with heart, potent emotion and a performance that should have been nominated for an Oscar. Seriously.

    Van Damme’s not listed in the movie’s writing credits, but there’s a point in the movie where he talks to the camera about life, Hollywood, the ups and downs and simply apologizes for the mistakes he’s made in real life to those he knows and to those, like us, he doesn’t. Just phenomenal.

    My only little thing was the story seemed to move slowly in parts, but, hey, that could just be me.

    And the ending . . . man, it was just perfect. I really liked how they presented it, especially the climatic scene between Van Damme and the bad guys. To go any other way would have completely ruined the movie, but this was handled nicely. Good on them.

    The sepia coloring used throughout the film added a wonderful grittiness to it, enhancing the drama and its foreign and rustic atmosphere.

    This is a Van Damme movie you’ve never seen before. This is a Van Damme you’ve never seen before.

    You need to see this.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #124: Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)

    Night of the Living Dead 3D
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    Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
    Written by Robert Valding
    Directed by Jeff Broadstreet
    Runtime 80 min.
    3 out of 5

    I found out about this flick via the movie-on-demand feature from my cable provider. I watched the trailer, loved the zombies, then vowed that one night soon after my wife and kids went to bed, I’d indulge in a world of darkness and gore while hiding out in an old farmhouse.

    The problem was: I got busy, so when I finally got around to my late-night television watching, I was too tired to watch a full movie and since the on-demand rental would only be for 24 hours, there wouldn’t be any other time to watch this flick other than, well, right when I rented it.

    So the suspense built. One day turned to two. Two to four. Four to eight, ’til eventually a few weeks passed, me all the while unable to stop thinking about this film. Then . . . finally—finally—I was able to watch this thing. The only problem was it was an over-the-cables rental so no 3D for me. Oh well.

    I loved how it started out like the original Night of the Living Dead (that was 1968, for those who don’t know). The opening scene in the cemetery immediately brought back memories of the original and the same kind of eeriness. Then the zombies showed up; I was all giggles and my inner undead fanboy was a happy camper.

    Right then I knew I was in for a good time. And I had a good time. The zombie scenes were great. The dead were just plain gross, each in various states of decay. The blood was plentiful and Sid Haig as Gerald Tovar Jr. did a great job of being that creepy, hick kind of guy that would bother anyone. And I gotta tell you, I didn’t see the twist in the storyline coming. I won’t spoil it, but those who’ve seen this movie know what I’m talking about.

    This movie is one of those great-yet-not flicks. You love it because it’s all blood and guts, zombies and definitely a B-movie. You have a problem with it because the story is kind of “meh” and the acting is all right. At the same time you can’t stop thinking about it afterward because—since it’s a remake—it brings back gushy memories of the original (and in this case the original and the 1990 remake), but at the same time you wonder how it got off the rails so badly.

    That said, I’m giving it a split rating, the idea here being you can go either way on this, but at the very least be in for a good time, especially if you dig B-horror.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #123: Land of the Dead (2005)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Land of the Dead (2005)

    Land of the Dead
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    Land of the Dead (2005)
    Written by George A. Romero
    Directed by George A. Romero
    Runtime 93 min.
    3 out of 5

    One day, they rose.
    The next, the world fell.
    Now, humanity barely survives.
    And the undead have gotten smarter.

    Zombies abound in this recent blockbuster by George A. Romero and, as always, the man who invented the zombie genre shows us he still has what it takes to turn out a good flick.

    Simon Baker does a great job playing the hard-edged-yet-soft-hearted hero, while John Leguizamo steals the show as a kind of crooked hero-turned-bad guy.

    What I enjoyed about this flick was the idea of a walled-in society, a city-turned-world of its own, with its own hierarchy, running down from rich to poor. I suppose that even if the dead walked the earth, we’d still have the same problems we have today with the rich getting richer and the poor poorer.

    Blood and guts fill the screen of this feature: graphic, wet and sloppy. There’s no shortage of stomach-turning moments here.

    I liked the idea of some of the zombies getting smarter instead of just roaming around looking for folks to eat, and the idea of them trying to regain their former humanity was well done. However, the “human-hearted” zombies also made the creatures feel a bit too human, for my taste, and the undead lost their edge as a result.

    The story was simple, but fun.

    Not a bad effort, this one.


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  • The Dance of Mervo and Father Clown: A Clown Horror Novelette

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Dance of Mervo and Father Clown: A Clown Horror Novelette

    The Dance of Mervo and Father Clown: A Clown Horror Novelette

    After the divorce, all Jackson wanted was to spend the weekend with his father.

    He just didn’t count on his dad pushing him to go into the haunted house at the carnival.

    Soon, Jackson is immersed in a colorful world of white paint, floppy shoes, rainbow overalls and . . . blood, all ruled by the psychotic Father Clown.

    And there’s no escape. Not from under this big top.

    Welcome to twisted clown horror.

    Available as a paperback at:

    Amazon.com
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    Amazon.co.uk
    Barnes and Noble

    Available as an eBook at:

    Amazon Kindle
    Drivethru Fiction
    Smashwords

    For more horror titles, please visit the Book and Comic Shop.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #122: Final Destination 2 (2003)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Final Destination 2 (2003)

    Final Destination 2
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    Final Destination 2 (2003)
    Written by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress
    Directed by David R. Ellis
    Runtime 90 min.
    4 out of 5

    After Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) has a premonition about a massive series of car accidents on the highway she and her friends are on, she pulls her car over. A cop, Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), comes up to her and asks why she’s blocking traffic. She says there’s going to be a huge accident and, sure enough, events begin to unfold on Highway 180 . . . but without them in it unlike in her vision. The cop goes to alert other emergency personnel. An oncoming truck heads right for Kim’s car. Kim escapes but her friends are killed. Yet others—who had died in the multiple wrecks in Kim’s vision—also survive.

    Soon, the survivors are all together. Except one by one Death comes for them, making things as they should be, restoring order and bringing his agenda of who dies and when back under his control.

    To try and stop the cycle before it’s too late, Kim seeks out a survivor from the first movie—Clear Rivers (Ali Larter)—and Clear takes command, explaining why people are dying and how to save themselves.

    If they believe her.

    Shock, gore and suspense are what this movie is all about.

    I got to tell you, this movie had me biting my nails all the way through. After the *ahem* blood settled and we knew who the major players were, I was gripping my seat because very quickly they slowly begin to die. And not just, oh, they die slowly—but in that step-by-step, cause-and-effect way that is the Final Destination franchise’s hallmark. These movies are very much about the Butterfly Effect, and the way the tension is created as you wait for someone to be a goner is pure gold.

    I loved the creative ways folks died in the movie. No clear-cut, bang-you’re-dead stuff here. Just pure strange ways of checking out. The most creative, I thought, was when that kid got squished by a falling sheet of glass. Didn’t see that coming, and the way he folded in half is burned in my memory. Likewise when the barb-wired fence dices Rory (Jonathan Cherry) into pieces. Who comes up with this stuff?

    The only thing that got under my skin was Clear’s constantly talking about “Death’s design.” Okay. We get it. He has a design. Move on. I don’t need to hear you using that phrase a thousand times in the movie.

    This flick has a permanent place in my DVD collection.

    Recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #121: Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

    Resident Evil: Extinction
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    Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
    Written by Paul W.S. Anderson
    Directed by Russell Mulcahy
    Runtime 94 min.
    5 out of 5

    Alice (Milla Jovovich) wanders the Nevada desert alone, flying under the radar of the Umbrella Corporation.

    It’s been five years since the deadly T-virus outbreak. The world is all but in shambles. Alice believes that only Alaska is the last safe place on Earth. An old journal she found with a six-month-old radio transcription told her so.

    On her journey, Alice comes across a small caravan of survivors headed up by Claire (Ali Larter) that also happens to be carrying along some old friends: Slater (Matthew Marsden) and L.J. (Mike Epps).

    She convinces them to head north to Alaska, and so they embark, fighting off the dead at every turn, even undead crows that have been transformed from feasting on zombie flesh.

    Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) wants Alice back under his control as he focuses on perfecting her as a weapon against the undead. Except, once Alice catches on, she manages to disable their system of control over her and escapes with Claire and the others.

    All hope lost, and having been bitten by one of the dead himself, Dr. Isaacs uses the antivirus on himself . . . but in a different way, creating a result neither he nor Alice expected.

    It’s ultra crazy good and suspenseful action horror in this third installment in the Resident Evil series.

    Wow. I mean, man oh man, I love this movie. So, so good. I’m a sucker for roadside horror and sleepy towns. This movie has both. The zombies? Pure gruesome since most of them have been rotting for five years as they wander around devouring the rest of the living.

    The zombie crows were a nice touch. So, so many of them. Swarms. That’s the thing I always tell people about zombies. One zombie’s not so bad. Get a whole mess of them together and they’re scary as all get out. Same for zombie crows. There was enough here to turn the sky black. Freaky.

    The development of Alice’s powers was cool and though her telekinesis might seem kind of outlandish to some, it’s portrayed well here and done with the utmost seriousness and not used as a cop-out to get her out of a jam.

    I felt bad for her as well when she saw all those clones of herself rotting out in the desert sun. That’d be heartbreaking, upsetting and angering for anyone. I’m glad she gave Dr. Isaacs his due.

    The ending raises a ton of questions for the forthcoming Resident Evil: Afterlife. I’m eager to see how they deal with that army of Alices without it coming off goofy or repetitive.

    This movie’s score was also spectacular, the hard beat of the drums and dark, raunchy guitar giving it a very awesome grittiness that adds to the whole post-apocalyptic feel.

    Check this flick out. It’s hardcore, loaded with gore and just down right fantastic.

    Recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #120: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

    Resident Evil: Apocalypse
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    Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
    Written by Paul W.S. Anderson
    Directed by Alexander Witt
    Runtime 94 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    The Umbrella Corporation needs to know what happened at the Hive and why it was sealed up afterward, so a team is sent down there to open it. Unfortunately, when they do, they unleash an army of the undead and the T-virus is unleashed on the world.

    Alice (Milla Jovovich) wanders the streets of Raccoon City, now under quarantine, blasting the heads off of anything dead that moves. Soon she saves Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and crew and the group is quickly contacted by Dr. Ashford (Jared Harris) whose daughter, Angie (Sophie Vavasseur), is still in the city. Umbrella Corporation scanners show her at the school she attends. The deal: if they save his daughter, he’ll guide them out of the city and past the perimeter Umbrella has put up to keep the T-virus in. They have to do this before sunrise otherwise they won’t make it out before Umbrella nukes the entire city, erasing any trace that the T-virus existed and reanimated the dead.

    Oh, and the Nemesis Project is online, and it’s on the hunt.

    Usually sequels fail after the first, or if they succeed, it’s only by a small margin. Well, Resident Evil: Apocalypse is even better than its predecessor and brings another haul of thrills and chills along with it. In this one the post-apocalyptic feel hangs thick on the air. Raccoon City is in ruins. Cars are overturned and on fire. Bodies and blood litter the streets. Guns are going off in the distance.

    And zombies are everywhere. Good and gruesome zombies. (I particularly liked the ones featured in the cemetery; the level of rot and decay on those things was exquisite.)

    In Resident Evil style, dark things lurk in the shadows and the suspense and tension built in this movie is awesome. I jumped I don’t know how many times. Even the parts where you go, “Okay, something’s going to pop out . . . NOW!” make you jump. Very cool.

    The fight between Nemesis and Alice was cool along with her other wheelings and dealings with the undead. Her super solider-esque, Matrix-like fighting techniques was a treat to watch.

    That scene in the school with all those zombie kids? Truly creepy. Adult zombies got nothing on these little terrors.

    The movie serves as a nice in-betweener for the first and third. The epic scale of storytelling is terrific, and this is one zombie saga I’m eager to see go on, especially when part four (Resident Evil: Afterlife) comes out in 2011.

    Recommended.

    Please go here for the first movie’s review.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #119: Resident Evil (2002)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Resident Evil (2002)

    Resident Evil
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    Resident Evil (2002)
    Written by Paul W.S. Anderson
    Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
    Runtime 100 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    When Alice (Milla Jovovich) wakes up on a shower floor inside a mansion with no memory, she has little time to try and get herself together. Soon the place is infiltrated by commandos, who then take her down beneath the mansion to a secret train and into a place called the Hive, a hidden underground facility where the powerful Umbrella Corporation was conducting secret experiments.

    The problem is something had gone wrong before the team got there.

    And the dead are coming back to life.

    Alice and the commandos dodge zombies, the Hive’s super sophisticated security system—called the Red Queen—and teammates who have secrets of their own.

    It would be a miracle if anyone makes it out of the Hive . . . alive.

    This movie is pure suspense. Every little sound, thump and bump make you wonder when a zombie’s going to pop out of nowhere and devour one of the living. Keeping things even creepier is the Hive itself. It’s location: a half mile below Raccoon City. Space is limited. Time is running out. You feel the tension all the way through, right from when Alice wakes up ’til the blood-soaked climax.

    I loved this movie. The only reason I’m knocking off half a point is because the plot is super simple (though they make you feel otherwise). However, this flick serves as an awesome back story for what’s to come because there have been two sequels so far (Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction) and a fourth one to come in 2011, currently called Resident Evil: Afterlife.

    This movie definitely served its purpose of setting things up for the saga to come, and wasted no time going through zombie origin stuff before getting hardcore into the action, mystery and carnage. Director/writer Paul W.S. Anderson nailed it with this film. Though—according to my Mrs—this flick was different than the game, I enjoyed it big time and have been a fan of the franchise since. Guess I owe my wife one for introducing it to me back when this film came out.

    Zombie fans will love this movie and it’s easy to see why Resident Evil has the following it does.

    Recommended.


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