ANGEL HEART (1987) Interesting, but sedate, filming of William Hjortsberg’s book, Falling Angel, about 1950s gumshoe, Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke), who’s hired by the strange Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to track down a former client who disappeared years earlier. Harry’s search brings him to New Orleans, where he discovers the voodoo-practicing daughter (Lisa Bonet) of the missing man, along with a string of brutal, Satanic-like murders. Director Alan Parker gives the film a gritty atmosphere filled with amazing detail and some truly impressive sequences, some of which are so visually arty and cryptic that it often slows down the plot. The real strength of the movie is Rourke, who gives an excellent performance and sucks the viewer into the story even when it’s not always working. B–
BODY SNATCHERS (1993) A loose but well-written adaptation of the Jack Finney book, this moves the action to Alabama, where the Malone family takes temporary residency while father, Steve (Terry Kinney), an Environmental Protection Agent, does research for a military base. The stressful move makes things tense between pouty teenager, Marti (Gabrielle Anwar), and her stepmother, Carol (Meg Tilly), a situation made worse when Marti discovers the base is being taken over by alien pod people who plan on using the military’s power to enact a countrywide invasion, and stepmom is on the takeover list. Despite coming in after the release of the first two (and superior) Invasion of the Body Snatchers, this ’90s version is good stuff, with strong direction from Abel Ferrera (Driller Killer), a suspenseful screenplay written by Stuart (Re-Animator) Gordon, Dennis (From Beyond) Paoli, and Nicholas (King of New York) St. John, and a first-rate cast, including an underused Forest Whitaker. Anwar makes for a likable Final Girl, but Tilly steals the show in a chilling scene that could give Donald Sutherland a run for his money. B
HELLRAISER (2022) A remake of Clive Barker’s classic was always inevitable, and luckily this modern “reworking” of the 1987 film is mostly handled with care by director David Bruckner (V/H/S, The Night House). Trying to make extra money in order to move out of her brother’s apartment, recovering drug addict, Riley (Odessa A’zion), along with her shady boyfriend, Trevor (Drew Starkey), steals a mysterious crate containing the dreaded Lament Configuration. When Riley’s brother (Brandon Flynn) is targeted by the Cenobites, unearthly creatures who feed off human suffering, Riley must figure out how to get him back before she and her friends become next on the demons’ hit list. Riley and gang are essentially disposable, Gen-Z bimbos, and a subplot involving a millionaire’s obsession (and ultimate sacrifice) with the puzzle box is just a repeat of the Dr. Channard storyline from Hellbound: Hellraiser II. What makes this new Hellraiser interesting is the attention and detail given to the Cenobites, all of whom feel genuine and sinister. My main complaint (if it really is one) is the movie looks too good, too polished for what it is. The Cenobites’ make-up designs, while impressive, are smooth and shiny, creating an attractive, pleasing-to-the-eye array of creepy but pretty creatures – sort of a supermodel variant of Doug Bradley’s iconically wicked Pinhead. A departure from the gruesome (and appropriate) ickiness of the original. Hell should never look this clean. C+
TALES FROM THE HOOD (1995) Underrated anthology focusing on a trio of drug dealers looking to score at a South Central mortuary but end up coming face-to-face with Death in the form of the place’s creepy mortician, Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III). Simms spins four tells of terror to the dealers, stories that revolve around recently embalmed bodies that lay in observance in his parlor – an idea later ripped off in the inferior Mortuary Collection. The first story deals with police brutality as a young black officer (Anthony Griffith) gets revenge on a group of racist cops for the brutal murder of an African-American politician. The second tale features a young boy (Brandon Hammond) who holds a powerful secret over his mother’s abusive boyfriend (David Allen Grier), dubbed the “Monster.” A racist Southerner (Corbin Bernsen) running for governor is terrorized by an animated doll that harbors the soul of his ancestor’s slave. The final segment has a convicted gangbanger (Lamont Bentley) being transferred to a strange facility where a doctor (Rosalind Cash) performs psychological tests on the man. A good mix of Tales from the Crypt storytelling and socially relevant topics, with an excellent performance by Williams III, slick direction by Rusty Cundieff, and a twist ending that pays off. B+