THE CHILD (1977) A weird mix of Dark Shadows gothicism and George Romero zombie mayhem, this period piece centers on the strange Nordon family, who’ve hired young nanny, Alicianne (Laurel Barnett), to look after their youngest daughter, Rosalie (Rosalie Cox), in their isolated, hilltop house. Little does Alicianne know that Rosalie has Carrie-like powers and uses them to raise the dead from the nearby cemetery in order to act out revenge against those she feels wronged her deceased mother. A thick atmosphere and intriguing premise are hampered by terrible acting and one of the most useless and annoying Final Girls in horror history. The 1940s aesthetics and somewhat lively climax are not enough to recommend this. The musical score sounds like it was recorded inside a washing machine. C–
HOMEBODIES (1974) Kooky but charming horror-comedy about a group of old-timers who are being evicted from their crumbling apartment building to make way for a new string of modern skyscrapers. Refusing to be relocated to a nursing facility, the sprightly residents take matters into their own hands and resort to murder in order to stay where they are. Wonderfully acted, daftly funny, and refreshingly original, the film works from beginning to end because of its good cast, including Paula Trueman, who could be Minnie Castevet’s twin sister. B+
SOLE SURVIVOR (1984) A sorta-kinda reworking of Carnival of Souls, this version has young TV exec, Denise (Anita Skinner), being the only survivor of a plane crash and subsequently being stalked by the reanimated corpses of people who’ve recently died. Good, slow-building, suspenseful direction from Thom Eberhardt (Night of the Comet) and an eerie atmosphere help create a nice little movie that’s much less predictable than you’d think. Skinner’s Denise isn’t the warmest protagonist and the script plods here and there, but this is still a solid film and with a very satisfying, and appropriately grim, ending. The Christmas holiday setting isn’t important to the plot, but the change of scenery is nice. B
WITHOUT WARNING (1980) Goofy and entertaining crossbred of Alien and Friday the 13th about a group of friends on a woodsy excursion who’re pursued by an alien hunter that uses bloodsucking, flying leech-like parasites to subdue its victims. Good direction from Greydon Clark and a likable cast of characters help keep this moving even when the plot doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, something a faster pace might have helped with. Jack Palance, and especially Martin Landau as a war vet who believes he’s still in Vietnam, are good. Look for David Caruso as an early victim. Slight but amusing. B–