Horror

Firestarter

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Firestarter (1984)
  • IMDb: link

With the release of a new adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Flashback Friday takes a look back at 1984’s Firestarter starring a young Drew Barrymore as a child with the power to start fires with her mind. Definitely of its time, the 80s adaptation would likely be totally forgotten except for Barrymore’s involvement. To be fair, the goofy plot doesn’t fit the rather straightforward telling of a man (David Keith) and his wife (Heather Locklear in limited screen time) experimented on in college by a secret government organization who have passed on even stronger powers to their young daughter.

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Scream

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Scream (2022)
  • IMDb: link

Released 26 years after the original Scream, the confusingly-titled fifth film in the horror franchise that had devolved into a parody of itself captures a bit of the old magic with a “requel” introducing a new cast of potential victims and/or killers (Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar, and Jack Quaid) while returning the familiar faces of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) back to Woodsboro.

The new Scream is certainly derivative, but (like the original) it plays with the characters’ understanding of both horror movies and experiences with previous attacks. The results are better than expected, although for me things fall apart in the final act with the reveal who is under the Ghostface mask and the reasons why (to be fair, not all that dissimilar to problems I had with the original Scream).

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Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter
  • IMDb: link

An odd mix of western and horror genres, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter leads a betrayed Jesse James (John Lupton) and his wounded friend Hank Tracy (Cal Bolder) to the door of Dr. Frankenstein’s granddaughter (Narda Onyx) continuing her family’s experiments along with the help of her reluctant brother (Steven Geray) in and abandoned mission in the Old West.

Various subplots include the outlaw who betrayed Jesse hunting him down and a local woman (Estelita Rodriguez) who leads a desperate Jesse to the Frankensteins, despite knowing how dangerous they are. Made as part of a double feature for Saturday matinees (both it and Billy the Kid Versus Dracula were filmed in a combined 8 days), the film is cheap, rushed, and isn’t much notable for anything other than its bizarre premise.

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Fresh

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Fresh
  • IMDb: link

In this twisted take on modern dating from director Mimi Cave and screenwriter Lauryn Kahn, Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Noa, a young woman with bad luck in dating (and worse taste in men). After a meet-cute with Steve (Sebastian Stan) in a grocery store, the pair get together uncharacteristically quickly for Noa to the concern of Noa’s bestfriend Mollie (Jojo T. Gibbs).

It turns out there is good reason to worry when Noa turns up drugged and chained to a wall in Steve’s basement. Steve has plans for Noa, or at least parts of her, for his unusual fetish and business he chose not to disclose during the twenty questions they shared over their first few dates getting to know each other. Awakening in captivity, Noa discovers Steve abducts women like her (and the other women chained up in separate rooms) and slowly removes and sells off their meat to his clients.

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Angel #1

/ / Comics

The reimagined Buffyverse continues in a new series for Angel who is now a TV detective with Cordelia while his friends continue to fight monsters and things that go bump in the night in his absence. Angel #1 gives us a look at Angel’s life on-set while the action from the comic comes from Fred (who apparently is now a Slayer?), Spike, and Wesley taking down a mummy. Things go fairly well, until Wesley gets stabbed with a cursed dagger.

I’ve lost touch with BOOM! Studios’ Buffy comics, so I’m not exactly sure who the bloody interdimensional being skulking around for the issue is supposed to be. As for Angel, Fred’s attempt to buy Wesley some time (and save him from a curse) has unexpected consequences for Angel setting the stage for some soul-searching (so to speak).

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