ATM (2012)

Director:  David Brooks

Avg. Rotten Tomatoes Score:  10%

Genre:  Survival, Thriller

Source:  DVD Rental (Redbox)

Wow.  That’s all I have to say about this movie.  Chris Sparling, the writer behind the criminally underrated gem, Buried, tries to take another shot at the notion of “being trapped in a _____” and fails in so many different ways.  If you’ve seen the trailer for this film you’ve essentially seen the entire movie.  The only thing missing from the trailer are the insane plot holes, weird “twist” ending, and the pure anger you will experience once the credits start rolling.

Tales from the Hood

Year of Release:  1995

Directed by:  Rusty Cundieff

Source:  Netflix (instant stream)

Average IMDb Rating:  5.8

Average Rotten Tomatoes Rating:  38%

What is it about anthology films that are so appealing to the horror fan?  Could it be that we don’t just get one horror story, but multiple ones?  I personally love anthology films, from Trick ‘r Treat to both Creepshows (let’s pretend that the third one doesn’t exist), it’s my favorite sub-genre in horror.  However, there are a lot more bad ones than good ones.  For every classic, like Creepshow, we get several bad films a la Campfire Tales and George Romero Presents Deadtime Stories.  However, every once in a while we get a diamond in the rough.  The gem I’m referring to is a Spike Lee produced joint from the mid 90s that never gets addressed in the world of horror:  Tales from the Hood.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Year of Release:  1984

Directed by:  Wes Craven

Source:  DVD (Own Collection)

Average IMDb Rating:  7.4

Average Rotten Tomatoes Rating:  95%

Plot:  Nancy Thompson is having horrible, reoccurring nightmares about a gruesome, badly scarred figure who wears a glove with razor sharp knives for fingers.  At first, she thinks they are just bad dreams, but when she finds out that her friends are also having similar nightmares with the same eerie figure stalking them, she begins to think that this is no coincidence.  One by one, all of her friends begin to die in their sleep, and Nancy soon realizes that the only way to survive is to stay awake, by any means necessary.  Nancy begins to investigate who this mysterious figure is, but she soon realizes that this phantom dream killer is linked to a conspiracy that involves her father, a police officer, and other parents in the neighborhood.  With lack of sleep beginning to take its tole on her, Nancy decides to fight back against this deranged killer, and will do anything she can to get him out of her dreams, and into the real world where he once existed.

Day of the Dead (1985)

First came the night, then came the dawn, now the world is experiencing the most frightening day imaginable

Year of Release:  1985

Directed by:  George Romero

Source:  DVD (Own Collection)

Average IMDb Rating:  7.0

Average Rotten Tomatoes Rating:  79%

The United States and, from the looks of it, the entire world are under control by the walking dead.  Modern civilization is extinct and the only thing resembling a stable government is a group of military soldiers, with a handful of scientists, trying to find a cure for the zombie epidemic in an underground bunker in Florida, miles away from the dead.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb

Year of Release:  1964

Directed by:  Stanley Kubrick

Source:  DVD (Own Collection)

Average IMDb Rating:  8.6

Average Rotten Tomatoes Rating:  100%

Introduction:  

I know what you’re thinking:  “Dr. Strangelove is not a horror movie!!!!!!”  I know, I know, but there is a valid reason for this entry here today on MVH.  For the entire month of January, Chuck over at Zombies DON’T Run is running Stanley Kubrick month, where he will be discussing all things Kubrick.  As a big Kubrick fan, I decided to contribute to this glorious Kubrick celebration by putting in my two cents and discussing one of my favorite comedies of all time, Dr. Strangelove.  This film is not your traditional comedy, like a Bridesmaids or a Superbad, since it deals with very unfunny themes like war, communism, and massive global destruction, but it’s the brilliant performance by legendary comedian Peter Sellers that really gets the laughs going out of this black comedy.  Sellers, best known for his role in The Pink Panther, plays three different characters in the film:  The US President, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, and the former German scientist Dr. Strangelove.