Today we will be dissecting four new horror films for you to view at some point in the future.

I actually took three films that I like today, even if all of them aren't the greatest cinematic efforts of all time.  They all have a little something that makes them entertaining.  The fourth film is a steaming pile of poo.

Land of the Dead (2005).  This would be the fourth movie in series of zombie films by George Romero.  Granted, this is the weakest of the entire series but it is still fairly entertaining.  Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo and Asia Argento plus some other dude star in this film about what happens after society begins to reform once the initial zombie barrage from Romero's original trilogy has subsided. 

The entire movie revolves around a substantial group of survivors that have rebuit a city but unfortunately, even in a world gone made with zombies, the social status quo still exists.  The 'haves' live in a high rise facility called 'Fiddler's Green' and the rest of the people scrounge out an existence from any way that they can.  One particular sect of people is a group of mercenaries that run a beast of a vehicle called 'Dead Reckoning' that makes forays into the dangerous world of zombies to pillage supplies for the rest of society.

As the movie progresses, the zombies begin to gain some semblance of conscious thought again and stage an assault on the human settlement.  Along the way we have some under the table dealings between characters and because of that, things go to hell in a hurry. 

While not on the par of Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (either version) or Day of the Dead, the movie does give some very interesting commentary on how we, as a society, look at social status amongst ourselves.  Granted, it is a commentary will explosions and occasional blood spatters and dismemberments, but it is an interesting commentary nonetheless. 

Now, I recognize that zombie films aren't for everyone but this is still worth a look.

The Stand (1994).  A TV miniseries based off of an epic book by Stephen King, this movie grabbed me from the opening moments. 

The entire story centers around a super-flu virus that ravages the planet, pretty much killing off 99.999% of all humans.  As the death toll mounts, society breaks down.  People panic and go just a little bit feral for a period of time.  The military is given a particularly unfavorable light as they initiate martial law and take near complete control of the media, including gunning down reporters and radio personalities. 

The people that remain all begin to see visions in their sleep.  One group is drawn to a dark figure in Las Vegas.  The other group is drawn to an old woman in Hemingford Home, Nebraska.  And so the journey begins for all of the characters that we follow.  Some journey to Sin City, some journey to the plains.  People meet up, friendships are formed, love affairs are found, and betrayals are made.

The miniseries did a remarkably commendable job of translating a thousand page book into a four night show.  As I said, from the opening shots of the film with all the dead and dying scientists (with the song 'Don't Fear the Reaper') to an incredibly disturbing attempt to escape New York through a tunnel (which was originally the Eisenhower Tunnel) to the repopulation of Denver, this movie does a very nice job of conveying the horror and uncertainty of a world that no longer has any rules. 

Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald are the main protagonists but people like Ossie Davis, Bill Fagerbakke (of 'Coach' fame), Shawnee Smith (who re-emerged in the 'Saw' movies), Miguel Ferrer, Matt Frewer, and even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all have memorable roles in this little twisted vision of a future quite possible because of biological weapons. 

If you have a few nights to watch a good show and can ignore normal television, I highly recommend this. 

Tremors (1990).  This is another of those horror/comedy films.  Somehow, the producers and director of this film found a way to con Kevin Bacon into making a movie that is nothing short of B-level.  Throw in Fred Ward, who portrayed Remo Williams six years earlier, and you have two decent action stars working around a script and premise that is goofy at best.

Giant underground worm-creatures as slowly picking off the population of a Nevada village (village is actually a step up for it.  It is more like a group of desperate inbreds that never bothered to move away from mom) located in a bottleneck of a canyon.

The creatures are unseen for most of the movie and their only evidence is when one person or another is sucked under the ground by a series of tentacles or some beak looking mouth. 

That is where the terror actually lies.  We all are afraid of what we can't see.  People are afraid of the dark, but you can turn on the lights.  People are afraid of the water or sharks (that one is for me) but they can swim in remarkably controlled areas with clear water and cement foundations.  People are afraid of vampires or werewolves but they are just silly people for that. 

But you can't carry a shovel around with you all the time to check the dirt beneath your feet.  This unknown and unseen menace is what drives the movie 'Tremors.'  Something is underneath your feet and you can't see or detect it until it is too late.  Because by the time you recognize what is happening, you are lunch.

The movie is silly and the resolution is a little bit cheesy, still the movie itself has more than a few memorable frights and some great characters including Michael Gross and Reba McEntire as a survivalist couple that is more heavily armed than most third world countries.  Worms are gross and this movie will re-inforce that thought.

Virus (1999).  Okay, this film is a total turd fest.  Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and one of the Baldwin brothers star in this total fiasco of a film.
 
Initially, one could make the assumption that this film was an attempt to ride the coattails of the movie 'Outbreak' by protraying some sort of pathogen being unleashed on a small town.  Well, you would be wrong.

Apparently an alien presence has been 'beemed' if you will to Earth and has the ability to incorporate technology and even organic pieces into walking, talking, killing cybernetic critters of all shapes and sizes.  An almost totally abandoned Russian ship found somewhere in the oceans of the world becomes home to this alien entity.

The twist of this movie is not a cheesy nightmare sequence at the end or the inevitable betrayal by some characters or their fellow humans or the sacrafice that some characters make but instead that the alien entity is not the 'virus.'  Humans are considered the virus by this creature/thing/being and because we are destructive and harmful, it decides we need to be exterminated.  Al Gore would be so proud that a movie of this ilk predated his documentary by nearly a decade. 

I have read that this movie was based off of a comic book.  I hope that the comic book is better than this dreck.  From the absolute get-go, you will know who lives and who will not. 

If you want a couple of hours of D-Grade entertainment that will soon be a Rifftrax or MST3K episode, take a gander at this piece of work.

Just a few more movies for you.

This is Pete,

Over and out.