Topy 5 Horror Moives of 1989

The last year of just a fantastic decade for horror films.  The slasher films start to wain and die off but there are still a ton of great horror films in this year.  Although I have to say it is the worst year for 3 big franchises: Halloween 5, Friday the 13th Part 8 and Nightmare on Elms St part 5.  All 3 in my opinion are flops.  Each one had a giant success with the prev installments but could not sustain it.  Spoiler here!  None of those 3 make my top 5 list.

Pet Sematary

Stephen King the master!  This is one of my favorite King movie and one of the few films that actually scared me and gave me nightmares multiple nights in a row.  Very deserving of #5 on this list.

Puppetmaster 

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a Full Moon nut.  This it the one that started the Full Moon success that lasted through most of the 90's.  I don't care for this one as much as the sequels but I love it all the same.  No real notable actors in this one but a nice cameo by Barbara Crampton.

Clownhouse

A controversial film to say the least but not because of the film itself but what went on behind the curtains.  Unfortunately this one will probably not see another release on DVD or BluRay.  If it did I would be surprised.  If you have never seen it I recommend it, you can watch the full movie on You Tube.  The quality is not great but unless you were lucky enough to get a copy that never really hit the shelves then it is the only way.

Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland

The 2nd sequel to the 1983 masterpiece starring Bruce's little sister Pamela Springsteen as our Transgender killer.  While this was filmed at the same time as Part II it was not released till a year later.  My favorite of the series honestly.

Warlock

One of my favorite movies that is severely underrated.  Steve Miner, who is well recognized in the horror world, did a fantastic job with this film.  Not only is it creepy as shit but Julian Sands turns in an outstanding performance of a very evil warlock.  So yes this is my #1 of 1989!

Top 5 Horror Sequels

Anyone who knows me and my taste for movies knows I absolutely love a good sequel.  I could make this list probably about 20 movies long but I decided to narrow it down to my top 5.  My choices by no means are predictable and only one is part of a major franchise.  It's not really about how good the movie is, it's the fun factor that matters the most.

There is a new sheriff in town named Sean Braddock (Andrew Robinson) and he is looking for a new start for his family witch some small town living opposed to the big city of New York.  His daughter Jenny (Ami Dolenz) gets mixed up with the wrong crowd and they conjure up the Pumpkinhead demon that is now out for revenge.

The 1994 follow up to Night of the Demons with only one returning cast member Amelia Kinkade to reprise her role of the demon Angela Franklin.  More kids look to have a little Halloween party at Hull House and discover that all the stories are true.  Angela still haunts the house and no one is going to get out alive if she has something to do with it.

This installment of the Puppet Master franchise is the first of many prequel's in the series of movies.  This one follows Andre Toulon (Guy Rolfe) as he and his wife Elsa (Sarah Douglas) run a children's puppet show with their magic puppets.  Only problem is they live in Nazi Germany and he has made an enemy out of Major Kraus (Richard Lynch) who burns down his place and captures Andre Toulon.  Andre takes his revenge and wages war on the Nazi's.

Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen) is back again after her failed stint at Camp Rolling Hills as a counselor.  Now she goes back to the same camp under new ownership as a camper this time.  There are plenty of naughty kids there to keep her occupied for the weekend at least.  Will Angela get away with it again?

Last but certainly not least we have Jason Lives.  Jason comes back for the first time from 6 feet under as he is dug up by Tommy Jarvis (Thom Matthews).  Jason is back again and he is now a zombie and harder to stop than ever as he strikes terror back in what is now called Camp Forest Green.  Tommy is looking to put an end to his rampage once and for all but it may be too late.

Well there you go my top 5 and like I said before there are so many I could have used in this list but these are my favorites.  It's worth mentioning the two movies that were really close to making this list but didn't are Halloween II and Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3.  Stay twisted everyone!

Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland 1989 - REVIEW

In the late 1980's Michael A Simpson took on making not one but two sequel's to 1983's Sleepaway Camp.  Filming the movies back to back, part 2 released in 1988 while part 3 was released in 1989 by Double Helix.  Both were direct to video and were not really hits at the time but over the years have gained quite a cult following.  I even think that parts 2 and 3 are better than the original and a whole lot more entertaining, but no one can top the originals surprise ending.  Part 3 expands on the murder spree of Angela Baker Camp New Horizons which was formerly Camp Rolling Hills were Angela was a counslor at.

Maria (Kashina Kessler) wakes up bright and early and gets ready to go wait for her ride to go to camp.  Just outside of her apartment in New York a garbage truck comes roaring down the street chasing her into and alley and runs her over.  It is revealed the driver was Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen) and she looks surprisingly just like Maria.  She puts her in the back of the truck and assumes her identity and is picked up by the Camp New Horizon's van.  She is now a camper and ready to slash away at some more terrible kids.

Another fun, cheesy slasher movie from the 80's that came at the end of the era but really was one of the great ones.  It's true that the acting really wasn't that great and really did not have much to offer in way of a soundtrack, but it was effective none the less.  Pamela Springsteen returns to the big screen as the mentally unbalanced trans sexual killer Angela and is really one of the brightest spots of the film.  She is in no way a great actress but she plays a great corny serial killer.  There was even a small part for film veteran Michael J Pollard in this one.  He really did not last too long but his character was a lot of fun.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this movie is the special effects.  The man in charge was none other than Bill "Splat" Johnson.  You really have to appreciate the use or really the non use of CGI that you see all too much these days.  It really was good old fashion slashing and blood splatter.  My favorite was the heavily edited death scene of Lily (Sandra Dorsey) getting her head run over with the lawn mower.  It really does not get any better than that.

I was only about 10 years old when I first saw this movie, and it was the first Sleepaway Camp movie that I had ever seen.  I was hooked after just one viewing.  VHS tapes from independent film company's were really hard to find on sale and not just for rent at the time.  I did not obtain a copy of this until the late 90's but that did not stop me from renting this endlessly from the local blockbuster video.  I cannot rate this as my favorite slasher movie of the time, but it is definitely in my top 10.  If you are a slasher fan and by some twist of fate you have not seen this movie, you need to right away.  Stay Twisted everyone!

Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers 1988 - Review

 Summer camps are supposed to be a place where children and teenagers can go and have fun for a few weeks every summer. That’s not the case when a killer is on the loose and even more disturbing is the fact that SHE used to be a HE.

The story begins years ago at a campfire with 1 girl and a group of boys telling horror stories around the fire in the woods.  It is learned that Angela/Peter Baker, the Camp Arawak killer from the first movie, has had a full sex change operation while in a mental institution and was released. Angela (Pamela Springsteen) is now a camp counselor at Camp New Horizons and no one knowing about her past.  She shows up to keep Phoebe (Heather Binion) from hanging with the boys and in Angela’s opinion acting like a slut.  Walking back to camp there is an argument and Angela leaves Phoebe to walk back by herself.  Phoebe loses her way but never fear, Angela shows up to help her find it with a stick to the head.  Since Phoebe had such a filthy mouth her tongue gets cut out as well.  Angela is at it again not stopping till she has “sent home” all of the campers that are not good kids.  In her opinion that is all of them.  Not even the macho head counselor T.C. (Brian Patrick Clarke) and his super mullet can stop her. 

I want to start with saying that the director Michael A Simpson did a fantastic job of continuing the storyline of the original Sleepaway camp.  While Robert Hiltzik did a great job with the original movie, Michael took it a step further and adding dark comedy and less of a serious atmosphere.  This sequel is also filled with famous names as well.  Pamela Springsteen the little sister of “the boss” Bruce Springsteen, Renee Estevez who is the sister of Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen and let’s not forget the late Walter Gotell.  Rule #1 for a good slasher movie is you can’t enjoy it nearly as much unless there is bad acting.  The acting is not horrible, but not really great either.  At the same time Unhappy Campers is able to deliver a fun movie to watch.

I first saw this movie at the young age of 9 years old.  Yes folks, I had very cool parents that let me watch this kind of filth at a young age which may explain my twisted mind at the age of 31.  Anyway, when I first watched this movie I was hooked.  My dad and I rented it from Blockbuster video and I made him watch it 4 times before we returned the movie the next day.  I have to admit I had a HUGE crush on Pamela Springsteen and not even afraid that her big brother Bruce might beat me up for it.  It’s no secret that I am a huge slasher fan but some of my favorites involve some kind of camp or just in the woods.  It adds so much more to the whole creepy stalking factor.  This movie eluded me for many years.  By the time I was able to actually buy the movie for myself when I had a job at the age of 17 the movie as long out of print with no plans of release on DVD just yet.  2002 came along and the morning the box set was released I was at Best Buy before they even opened to buy the first copy off the shelves.  This was a good move because 2 weeks later the Red Cross had a fit they used the cross on the front of the Survival Kit box set cover and they all had to be pulled off the shelves to have it removed.  While all incarnations of this movie are all out of print you are able to find it on Amazon.com for a pretty decent price.  If you have not seen this movie, you just flat out need to.  Stay Twisted Everyone!
Reviewed by: J.R. Watkins