Cult Films

Combine Tom Savini's genius fx talent with producer and creator Harvey Weinstein's sociopathic cruelness and you get The Burning, a wicked slasher but also an incredibly mean film. The killer's genesis is mean, the kids are mean, the hospital orderlies are mean, the killer himself is mean as hell, and even the erotic sequences are mean. Usually there are some funny hijinks and shenanigans within summer camp movies that give the viewer a break but here they fall flat and don't generate the same light-hearted emotions so that what you are left with is relentless and unforgiving. There is an undeniable cruel streak that runs throughout the runtime, but I think it can be said that without it the film's impact would have been lessened considerably.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

In order of post date:

Ernest Goes to Jail

Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

Ernest Goes to Camp

Ernest Saves Christmas

Ernest Scared Stupid

Ernest Rides Again

Don't let the beginning credits full of English names fool you, this is Italian through and through. There is a certain stilted dialogue and style that is always a dead giveaway, and this film has style in spades. Some of the most beautiful shots I've ever seen staged in a horror film. The score is divine as well. It starts slow and doesn't really pick up speed until the final act, but what you end up with is certainly worth waiting for, if not for the visuals alone. I didn't realize until researching the film after watching that the director Michele Soavi also made Cemetery Man, a sleeper hit for me that I discovered a few years ago. I will definitely be checking out the rest of his work.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I forgot that at one time Jim Belushi was poised to be the next big action/comedy star, and Real Men is not a bad example of why that was. He definitely has charisma, and can even be funny at times. But the real star here is Ritter. His physical comedy and facial expressions make me really miss him. He's such a lovable guy that I'm glad I never got a chance to meet him because it would have broken my heart if he turned out to be a real dickhead IRL. This is goofy 80s fun, but one of its flaws is that it feels like a build up to something great but by the end it just peters out and doesn't really deliver.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐