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Remember the TitansGenre: Dramas Release Date: 01/16/2007 Rating UR Production Year: 2000 Cast: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Hayden Panettiere, Donald Faison, Wood Harris While on the surface, high school football may seem like an innocent game played by the young, for the young, it is, in fact, much, much more. For millions, including many fans who are well removed from their high school years but who love to sit in those creaky bleachers every Friday night/Saturday morning, it is something akin to a religion. Director Boaz Yakin's REMEMBER THE TITANS captures the heart of high school football while tackling the sins of its fathers, chronicling the true story of the undefeated 1971 T.C. Williams team of Alexandria, Virginia, which was the first integrated high school team in the state. Denzel Washington brings his ever-powerful presence to the role of coach Herman Boone, who is brought in to oversee the transition to integration. Though Boone is eventually successful as a coach, the townspeople dissaprove of him because he replaces the popular, entrenched former coach, Bill Yoast (Will Patton). At first, coach Yoast resents being supplanted, while coach Boone is told that his promotion was just for show--to help the integration--and that he's likely to be lifted if the team loses a game. Will the coaches and players be able to overcome their adversity and make T.C. Williams a beacon for integration in sports? Those viewers who follow history already know the answer. But REMEMBER THE TITANS portrays the story and delivers the inspirational result with a passion and glory that will warm the hearts of all those dedicated high school football fans who continue to bring pride to the sport. … more less -
Pineapple ExpressGenre: Comedies Release Date: 01/06/2009 Rating UR Production Year: 2009 Run Time: 117 mins Released By: Sony Pictures Home Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny McBride While it might sound outlandish to speak of THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS in the same sentence as CITIZEN KANE, in its own little neck of the cinematic woods the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen comedy is perhaps just as groundbreaking. In fact, it's nearly impossible to think of another film that blends so seamlessly pitch-perfect stoner babble with high-octane action sequences. Dale Denton (Rogen), a process server with a weed fixation, witnesses a murder and turns to his dealer, Saul (James Franco), for support. The murderer is actually Saul's main drug supplier, and because of Saul's access to some extremely rare high-grade pot (called Pineapple Express) the two are quickly tracked down and put on the run. Like all Apatow/Rogen vehicles, the movie deals with the theme of men succumbing to adulthood and all the adjustments they are forced to make in the process. However, unlike KNOCKED UP and THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is just too wacky to offer any lessons. Still, there's more going on here than giggles and the munchies. Indie director David Gordon Green (SNOW ANGELS) brings a subtle auteur's touch to the proceedings, approaching the smoking scenes with his distinctively loose feel and giving the action sequences a wonderfully dated sheen that makes them look more like a fight from KNIGHT RIDER than the empty flash of 21st-century blow-‘em-ups. It is Franco, however, who truly steals this movie--he hasn't been this charming since his days on FREAKS AND GEEKS. There's only so many ways to play a stoner, but Franco puts his own endearing, lovable spin on the type, portraying Saul as a kind-hearted, well-intentioned yet hardcore dope smoker. Rogen and Apatow have proven themselves a nearly unstoppable juggernaut; here's hoping they bring Franco along on the ride a little more often. … more less -
Last House on the Left, TheGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 08/18/2009 Rating UR Production Year: 2009 Run Time: 110 mins Released By: Universal Studios Home Video Cast: Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Garret Dillahunt, Martha MacIsaac Based on Wes Craven's landmark 1972 exploitation flick of the same name, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a brutal movie that exposes the darkest recesses of human depravity. The simple plot follows four criminals on the lam who encounter a pair of nubile female teens in a small mountain town. After murdering one and brutally raping the other and leaving her for dead, the cons seek refuge at a nearby summer house. The twist is that it's the very home inhabited by the parents of one of the victims. Upon learning that their house guests raped and tortured their 17-year-old daughter, the couple exact a revenge that arguably exceeds the excesses of the sociopathic gang. When originally released in 1972, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT was a shock to the system. Never before had a film shown such images of human wickedness. Grainy and low budget, the original film played like a maniacal cackle from the seedy underbelly of an America nursing a brutal post-Aquarian hangover. Things play out a little differently, though, in 2009. For starters, the movie actually looks quite beautiful, and the story’s idyllic mountain setting is milked for all it's worth. The performances are noteworthy as well, with Garret Dillahunt more than convincing as Krug, the gang's swaggering leader; and Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn portraying the distressed parents with an effective mix of panic, courage, and blind instinct. In an age marked by both increasingly ghastly films and a public discourse that actually debates the merits of institutional torture, a film like LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT really shouldn’t shock anyone. But in both the original and the remake, there’s a latent nihilism that permeates the world. The idea of a sense of lawlessness that cannot be understood or prevented, but only reacted against, is truly disquieting and makes this story unique in the annals of horror. … more less -
Step BrothersGenre: Comedies Release Date: 12/02/2008 Rating UR Production Year: 2008 Run Time: 105 mins Released By: Sony Pictures Home Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Adam Scott, Mary Steenburgen, Kathryn Hahn While nearly all Will Ferrell's films are enjoyable on some level, they tend to fire on all cylinders when Adam McKay is involved. McKay co-wrote and directed ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY and TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY, two of Ferrell's most popular and consummately hilarious films. McKay reteamed with not only Ferrell for STEP BROTHERS, but also Ferrell's co-star in TALLADEGA NIGHTS, John C. Reilly (who has steadily proven himself to be one of Hollywood's most versatile actors); and though STEP BROTHERS may be the most threadbare of the three movies on which the duo have collaborated, it's arguably their best. The plot is about as simple as they come: Brennan Huff (Ferrell) and Dale Doback (Reilly) are deadbeat man-children thrown together when the single parents with whom they live marry. The two initially despise one another, but become fast friends over a shared love of ninjas, COPS, porno mags, and the comforts of living in the fantasy world of a prolonged adolescence. What makes STEPBROTHERS so much fun, however, has nothing to do with story or script; rather, it's McKay's foresight to step back and let Ferrell and Reilly run wild. The duo kick and punch, fart and burp, laugh and cry, yet somehow elevate such banalities to a level of grotesque poetry, hitting upon what feels like an entirely new comedic language. When the pair act like children, they are not presenting themselves as immature adults, but are literally acting like children, meticulously duplicating everything from the fears and concerns to the speech patterns and awkward physicality of children. It sounds simple enough, but it requires a dexterity and sense of timing and delivery that is actually quite amazing. In the end, STEP BROTHERS is really nothing more than an absurd comedy; then again, isn't that what they called WAITING FOR GODOT? … more less -
Ginger Snaps Back: The BeginningGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 09/07/2004 Rating UR Production Year: 2004 Run Time: 94 mins Released By: Lions Gate Home Entertainment Cast: Emily Perkins, Katherine Isabelle The Fitzgerald sisters are back in the third installment of the wonderfully horrific Canadian werewolf series, and this time they've travelled back in time, manifest in one of their previous incarnations. Orphans traveling across the Canadian wilderness by horseback during the 19th Century, the girls encounter a crumbling Indian campsite where the one remaining inhabitant issues a strange prophetic warning, the first of many mysterious encounters to come. When the sisters take refuge at a trading fort populated only by men, they soon learn of the monstrous beasts in the outlying land that menace the men both physically and mentally, as many seem to be moving towards madness and all seem to have something to hide. When Ginger is bitten by a little boy and starts slowly changing, the sisters realize they must work to solve the prophecy before its too late. This film, providing a backstory for characters introduced in the first two films of the series, offers stunning cinematography by Michael Marshall, known for his work with gifted Canadian director Guy Maddin, and superb performances by all the actors, including many respected indie stars. The series has been a cult favorite since the first GINGER SNAPS in 2000, and this film is more than just another werewolf horror flick; it has a little of everything: fantastic gore and great action with a challenging script that has real emotion, all depicted with a beautifully Gothic aesthetic. … more less -
High TensionGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 10/11/2005 Rating UR Production Year: 2005 Run Time: 95 mins Released By: Lions Gate Home Entertainment Cast: Philippe Nahon, Maiwenn Le Besco, Cecile de France In the 1970s, moviegoers reveled in a new sub-genre of horror films that were low on plot, required only the most basic acting skills, and called upon dumb teenagers to die onscreen deaths in a multitude of strange and horrific ways. The slasher movie was born, and with it came classic features such as THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, HALLOWEEN, and FRIDAY THE 13TH. The genre enjoyed a postmodern revival in the late-20th and early-21st centuries with films such as SCREAM and SCARY MOVIE, but French director Alexandre Aja (FURIA) hauls the slasher film back to its roots with his gore-addled romp HIGH TENSION. Like the most effective additions to the genre, HIGH TENSION's plot is elemental, and simply serves as a springboard for Aja to deliver lashes of blood and guts. Alex (Maiwenn Le Besco) and Marie (Cecile De France) are two teenage girls who head out to Alex's family home in the French countryside. Once there, their idyllic and peaceful time is abruptly disturbed when a maniac breaks into the house and butchers Alex's parents. The shadowy figure captures Alex and throws her into his van, while Marie escapes and sneaks into the vehicle in order to save her friend. By affording very little screen time to the unhinged protagonist who attacks the family, Aja creates a genuinely scary villain, recalling Wes Craven's treatment of Freddy Krueger in the first NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET movie. While the violence is explicit and the girls fit perfectly into their roles, Aja prevents the film from lapsing into parody by packing a mind-bending twist into the plot. A valuable and fun addition to the canon of slasher films, HIGH TENSION shows there is still plenty of life left in the genre. … more less -
Death SentenceGenre: Dramas Release Date: 01/08/2008 Rating UR Production Year: 2007 Run Time: 110 mins Released By: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Cast: Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman A white-collar revenge fantasy in the vein of DEATH WISH (and based on a novel by the same author, Brian Garfield), DEATH SENTENCE ponders the nature and limits of retribution, asking if murder can ever be justified. Director James Wan (SAW) delivers a high-end exploitation film, complete with a washed-out, grainy appearance and some startling violence, but with complex, thrilling action sequences. Kevin Bacon is Nick Hume, a successful businessman with two children and a lovely wife (Kelly Preston). While driving home from his older, college-bound son's hockey game, Nick must pull into a gas station in a tough part of town. When the boy goes into the store to buy a drink, his throat is slit during a bloody robbery attempt. Nick identifies the killer, but with him as the only witness, the case is unable to go to trial. Discovering that the murder was merely a gang initiation, Nick is pushed over the edge, taking on the deadly gang headed by the fierce Billy Darley (Garrett Hedlund). Payback becomes all-encompassing for Nick: it not only takes over his life, but it also causes a startling physical transformation. Wan forgoes emotional impact in favor of souped-up, visceral, and occasionally thrilling setpieces. Bacon makes Nick's transformation from a suburban, suit-and-tie family man into a gaunt, shaved-headed angel of death startling and believable. Full of interesting contradictions, DEATH SENTENCE lets viewers have it both ways--fulfilling their bloodlust while ensuring that Nick's targets are despicable people who deserve their fates. Ultimately, though it serves to remind us that, as a solution, violence only begets more violence. … more less -
HancockGenre: Action/Adventure Release Date: 11/25/2008 Rating UR Production Year: 2008 Run Time: 102 mins Released By: Sony Pictures Home Cast: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan Peter Berg (THE KINGDOM, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) directs this story of a reluctant superhero, John Hancock (Will Smith). Like the best superheroes, Hancock can fly, is bulletproof, and has insurmountable strength. He uses these gifts to fight crime in Los Angeles and save people in distress, Unfortunately, he also is a drunk who leaves a trail of costly destruction behind during his lifesaving pursuits, and his constant sarcasm fails to win him friends. But after Hancock randomly saves his life, public relations executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) decides to give him a makeover and help the superhero change his image so that the police and citizens of Los Angeles will realize how much they need their seemingly inappropriate hero. All the while, Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron)--who seems to simultaneously have a strange connection and aversion to Hancock--worries that her do-gooder husband will end up disappointed by Hancock's antics. The special effects are quite impressive, as Hancock flies through Los Angeles crashing into buildings, bursting through freeway signs, and flipping automobiles around as if they were wet noodles. Smith evokes a depth and warmth in Hancock; even when he's unpleasant and anti-social, it's clear that there is more to him. Bateman is well cast as a man who really does want to change the world for the better. And Theron is quite touching in her role as a wife to Ray, a mother to Aaron, and ultimately a savior to Hancock. Be forewarned that this rather lighthearted film takes a rather sudden dark turn about three-quarters of the way through, and gunplay and fight scenes abound. … more less -
Married...With Children - The Complete Fifth SeasonGenre: Comedies Release Date: 06/20/2006 Rating UR Production Year: 1991 Run Time: 576 mins Released By: Sony Pictures Home Cast: Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, David Faustino, Christina Applegate, Amanda Bearse The Bundy saga continues with the fifth season of this long-running, trend-setting sitcom. Staunchly underachieving, antisocial, and utterly hilarious, the Bundy family is headed up by shoe salesman Al (Ed O'Neill), who fondly looks back upon his better days as a high-school superstar. His wife, Peg (Katy Sagal), is a curvaceous shopaholic, daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate) is a blonde bombshell with a low IQ, and her brother Bud's (David Faustino) anomalous intelligence doesn't prove helpful with the ladies. In this season, a family trip to New Mexico ends in disaster, Al's dreams of a vegetable garden are cruelly destroyed, and Peg and Al try to get pregnant for a cash reward. … more less -
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3Genre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 06/07/2005 Rating UR Production Year: 1989 Run Time: 84 mins Released By: Warner Home Video Cast: Kate Hodge, William Butler, Ken Foree, Viggo Mortensen Two friends begin a simple, uneventful drive to Florida to deliver a car. But the trip soon becomes a voyage to hell when they hit the backroads of a barren Texas county and meet up with a monstrous serial killer. Through all the gore, it's really a comedy. … more less -
BullyGenre: Dramas Release Date: 01/22/2002 Rating UR Production Year: 2001 Run Time: 113 mins Released By: Trimark Home Video Cast: Nick Stahl, Bijou Phillips, Brad Renfro, Leo Fitzpatrick, Rachel Miner Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) is not a nice guy. He beats up his "best friend" Marty every chance he gets, he abuses Marty's girlfriend Lisa, and he rapes Lisa's friend Ali. From director Larry Clark (KIDS) and screenwriter David McKenna (AMERICAN HISTORY X) comes this gruelling thriller based on the true story of Bobby Kent, a bossy Florida teenager who was beaten to death by a group of his peers. There isn't a lot to do in the suburban Florida town that Bobby and his "friends" inhabit. They play violent shoot-em-up video games, they work at the Pizza Hut, they go surfing at the beach, and they cruise in their hot rods. But mostly, Bobby and his friends have lots of sex. The film is drenched in graphic shots of barely legal naked teenagers. (This has been Clark's favorite subject matter since his days as a photographer, as illustrated in his 1997 book TEENAGE LUST.) Sexual identity is an undercurrent in Bobby's story: he watches gay porn while he rapes Ali, and he forces Marty to dance with him at a gay club. Some of the other teenagers think that Bobby and Marty are a couple. But this is a minor issue. They decide to kill Bobby because he's a bully who has hurt and angered them; and because they're bored and desensitized to violence. In BULLY, Clark provides another hard look at the hard lives of American teenagers, in all their confusion. It isn't pretty. … more less -
Planet TerrorGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 10/16/2007 Rating UR Production Year: 2007 Cast: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, Michael Biehn, Bruce Willis Director Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY) pays homage to his favorite B-movies with PLANET TERROR, an old-fashioned zombie film that's infused with enough gore and giggles to please even Peter Jackson (BAD TASTE). Rose McGowan (CHARMED) plays Cherry, a go-go dancer whose night is interrupted by a vicious zombie attack that leaves her missing a leg. Her ex-boyfriend, Wray (Freddy Rodriguez, SIX FEET UNDER), takes charge, fashioning her a new leg from a machine gun and killing zombies along the way. PLANET TERROR plays as a pleasing ode to the horror and exploitation films that once played in grimy grindhouses across the country. Rodriguez splashes plenty of blood, guts, and gore across the screen, while also taking the plot into some wonderfully bizarre territory. PLANET TERROR was originally released as part of the GRINDHOUSE double feature with Quentin Tarantino's DEATH PROOF. … more less -
IrreversibleGenre: Foreign Films Release Date: 08/05/2003 Rating UR Production Year: 2003 Run Time: 99 mins Released By: Lions Gate Home Entertainment Cast: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon, Jo Prestia After what would normally be the end credits (which run backwards), IRREVERSIBLE begins with a heated hunt through a gay S&M club. It is a chaotic sequence shot from a wildly spiraling camera seamlessly edited together to appear as one single shot and culminating in one of the most violent murders ever portrayed on celluloid. Following this crescendo, Gaspar Noe's (I STAND ALONE) film uses a reverse narrative structure similar to MEMENTO through which the audience learns the motivations for the murder and the relationships of three parties directly involved, the beautiful Alex (Monica Bellucci) and two men who adore her (Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel). The frenzied style of the opening gives way to increasingly static camera work throughout leading to an idyllic final shot of Alex, who the audience has long known is a doomed woman, set to Beethoven and alive with color and youthful innocence otherwise absent from this bleak urban nightmare. The film disregards conventional editing by ending each scene with a dizzying camera whirl. Since each scene is intended to look like a single take (although there are seamless cuts throughout), this gives the film the appearance of one continuous shot. … more less -
Battlestar Galactica: RazorGenre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy Release Date: 12/04/2007 Rating UR Production Year: 2007 Run Time: 101 mins Released By: Universal Studios Home Video Cast: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Katie Sackhoff, Michelle Forbes Those craving an extra dose of the gritty and smart sci-fi of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA will be pleased by this TV movie addition to the show's canon. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR prepares the audience for the fourth season of the series, showing Lee Adama's (Jamie Bamber) first experiences leading the battlestar Pegasus. But RAZOR also takes viewers back to the Pegasus commanded by Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION). In her three-episode stint, Cain quickly became one of the Peabody-award-winning show's most hated villains--and best characters--thanks to her brutal brand of leadership. Here Cain takes Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobson) under her wing just as the Cylons are beginning their genocidal attack against humanity. Later as Lee Adama's XO, Shaw must step up to her new role as she faces the demons of her past. RAZOR also reveals more about the origins of the newest brand of Cylons. This unrated version expands on the TV broadcast, giving fans even more of one of the best shows on television. … more less -
Dead EndGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 11/09/2004 Rating UR Production Year: 2004 Run Time: 87 mins Released By: Lions Gate Home Entertainment Cast: Ray Wise, Alexandra Holden, Lin Shaye This thriller is a heady, suspenseful brew that mixes dark comedy with scare tactics, resulting in a tense buildup and a complexity that belies the apparent simplicity of the plot. Ray Wise plays Frank Harrington, the sharp-witted patriarch of a family that's having difficulties getting along during the holiday season. Driving to Christmas dinner at the in-laws, his passengers include his wife, his psych-student daughter, her unhinged boyfriend Brad, and her teenaged, gothed-out brother. The trouble begins when Frank falls asleep at the wheel, nearly killing everyone; a foreboding sign of what's to come. Soon after realizing that his shortcut has resulted in getting the travellers hopelessly lost, Frank picks up a beautiful, mute lady in white, hitchhiking with a little bundle that appears to be a baby. Things soon turn deadly, and the family embarks on a panic-stricken quest to escape the nightmare they have stumbled into, while their bickering maintains its constancy. Though the special effects are superbly done and the simple scenario is carried along by an impressive buildup, in the end it is the superbly acted characters who carry this film. Along with Wise, ALLY MCBEAL's Alexandra Holden, Amber Smith, (AMERICAN BEAUTY) and Farrely brothers veteran Lin Shay all turn in stellar performances. … more less -
Knock, KnockGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 04/29/2008 Rating UR Production Year: 2006 Run Time: 92 mins Released By: Lions Gate Home Entertainment Cast: Kim Taggart, Antonio Mastrantonio Kim Taggart and Antonio Mastrantonio star in this horror movie about a serial killer who terrorizes the unsuspecting citizens of a small American town. Two detectives attempt to crack the complex case after a group of high school kids encounter the deranged murderer--with grisly results. As the case unravels fingers start to point at a high school loner who is seen acting suspiciously, but KNOCK, KNOCK has a few surprises in store as the bloodshed escalates and the film builds towards a dramatic finale. … more less -
Day WatchGenre: Action/Adventure Release Date: 10/30/2007 Rating UR Production Year: 2007 Run Time: 145 mins Released By: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Cast: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valery Zolotukhin, Maria Poroshina, Galina Tunina This sequel to the Russian film NIGHT WATCH centers on an epic battle between forces of good and evil. An uneasy truce has kept the armies at bay for centuries, but that peace is about to end, and it will pit vampires, psychics, and witches against one another. Both factions, the Day Watch and the Night Watch, have beings of extraordinary power called "Great Others," and if these two people meet, a supernatural war will begin. Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) finds himself torn between his son, the dark side's Great Other, and the woman he loves, the champion for the Light Others. DAY WATCH (DNEVNOI DOZOR) explodes in the mind-bending space between THE MATRIX and UNDERWORLD. The Russian film boasts the same visual verve as THE MATRIX, and it's just as revolutionary. Director Timur Bekmambetov is operating on a completely different level of creativity than most of his peers, fashioning a unique world and jaw-dropping set pieces. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance, but DAY WATCH doesn't take itself too seriously. From humor in the subtitles themselves to jokes at the expense of the Russian bureaucracy, there's a lot of fun to be had at the dawn of the apocalypse. Though NIGHT WATCH was an enjoyable experience, Bekmambetov ups the ante with this sequel, improving on the original in every way. DAY WATCH may clock in at an epic 140 minutes, but it's a tight film filled with action and style. … more less -
RevengeGenre: Dramas Release Date: 03/06/2001 Rating UR Production Year: 1990 Run Time: 104 mins Released By: Sony Pictures Home Cast: Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine Stowe, Sally Kirkland Tibey (Anthony Quinn), a powerful Mexican businessman is expecting a visit from his American friend Jay Cochran (Kevin Costner), a recently retired Navy fighter pilot. Little does Tibey know that his young trophy wife, Miryea (Madeleine Stowe), will fall for his dashing friend, finding the passion with him that is missing from her marriage. Eventually, the lovers have to face the consequences of betraying Tibey, thus beginning a violent cycle of revenge. … more less -
BulletGenre: Action/Adventure Release Date: 06/01/2004 Rating UR Production Year: 1996 Run Time: 96 mins Released By: Warner Home Video Cast: Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur, Ted Levine, Adrien Brody In this gangland action thriller, a pair of urban underworld thugs struggle to come to terms with both their intense, violent rivalry and their grudging respect for one another. … more less -
Mother of TearsGenre: Horror/Suspense Release Date: 09/23/2008 Rating UR Production Year: 2008 Cast: Asia Argento, Cristian Solimeno, Adam James, Udo Kier The third installment in Italian horror master Dario Argento's Three Mothers saga, THE MOTHER OF TEARS is a gruesome and long-awaited treat for horror fans. Completing a loosely knit trilogy that began with SUSPIRIA (1977) and continued with INFERNO (1980), the film sees the titular witch awakening to unleash apocalyptic evil on Rome. A grisly and excessive hoot, this is one of the director's strongest efforts since the 1980s. After construction workers discover an ancient urn near a cemetery, it is sent to a Rome university where Sarah Mandy (Asia Argento, daughter of the director) is an art history student. Shortly after opening the urn, Sarah's associate is brutally murdered (in an frighteningly creative manner) by a mysterious being who also unleashes an evil monkey in the halls of the school. Sarah escapes to tell the police, but they find her story implausible. Soon, though, it becomes apparent that a tidal wave of evil is washing over the city as a serious of excessively violent crimes is committed. Matters are worsened when the international black magic community--aware that the urn has unleashed Mater Lachyrmarum, The Mother of Tears--begins to descend upon a chaotic Rome in droves. Within its first 10 minutes, MOTHER OF TEARS features a woman being strangled by her own intestines, and continues with well-paced shocks from that point on. As in TRAUMA (1993) and THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996), Argento has no reservations about putting his always-game daughter though virtual hell on screen. While featuring none of the candy-colored lighting that made SUSPIRIA and INFERNO such surreal nightmares, this is still a rock-solid horror film with more originality and loony energy than a dozen SAWs or FINAL DESTINATIONs, proving that the nearly 70-year-old Argento still has the knack that won him legions of fans. … more less
