Reviews (21)

An enchanting movie from start to finish.
The epitome of the "feel good" movie, "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" was the perfect Friday night family movie. We watched it 3 times in one day. Appropriate for younger children (there is one fight scene). What made this film work was the genuine love and compassion the main characters come to feel for each other. Wonderful.

Magical, musically entertaining, amusing and clean!!
The premise of this movie is quite unusual, five men pool their last few dollars to purchase a brilliant "ice cream" white suit that will empower them. Humorous, heartful, musical, silliness and action!

The men, Bien Azul, Martinez, Dominguez, Gomez and Daminos schedule the suit for an hour on the first night. Each takes his turn at wearing the suit, and reluctantly share it with the very filthy, smelly street urchin, as he contributed also.

They take extreme pride in the suit and the urchin must be bathed, hair cut, and he needs specific instructions: He is not to fall down, no standing under trees with birds in it, no drinking wine, no smoking, don't eat juicy tacos. One other request: don't go to the Red Rooster where the fat one, Ruby Escadrillo is because she would sit on his lap and crush the suit, put powder and lipstick on it and most of all she has a mean boyfriend "El Toro", the monster.

Well, the fun begins when he goes to the Red Rooster and does everything they told him not to do! The battle begins as they try to "protect" the beloved suit.

There are clever slow motion shots during the action and fighting at the Red Rooster. Entertaining, fun, clean movie!

This is an all star cast of talented Hispanic actors, Esai Morales, best known for "La Bamba", Edward James Olmos, Joe Montegna, Liz Torres, etc. There is plenty of music to fill this humorous movie. It's great for the entire family because it is clean and decent ...MzRizz

Nice movie
I really enjoyed this movie. Couldn't find the soundtrack anywhere... loved the songs. Very good movie. good movie.. is very funny

A Celebration of Life!
I refuse to even contemplate living in a world in which Ray Bradbury does not exist. For within Bradbury's mind resides an entire universe filled with metaphor and dreams; galaxies teeming with life and love and poetry, with tales told and untold of such things as this world has never known and would never know, except for that magic that flows from his heart, through his brain and out through his fingertips, where they are born on the keys of his typewriter. And within that very same, ever fertile imagination, that wellspring of creativity, the words were formed, in a rush! and a swirl!, then tempered on Bradbury's mental forge of the fantastic, that ultimately came together and burst! forth as "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit," a transporting film directed by Stuart Gordon.

Gomez (Joe Mantegna) lives in the barrio; a poor man, except in spirit, for Gomez has dreams, ah, such dreams! of something better, of a better life, of the magic that can happen if you but want it badly enough and will it to! And Gomez knows how to make that magic happen. There is a store, a certain clothing store, and in the window there is a suit; not just any suit, but a magnificent white suit, as white as the clouds, as white as the snow that falls in the mountains. Oh, such a suit! The kind of a suit that can make the man who wears it anything he wants to be. And the price? The cost of this bottle holding a genie who can grant your every wish, your every desire? $100.00!

Gomez has $20.00...

But, he has a plan! If he can only find four others like himself-- others with dreams but no means-- and of equal size and weight (and, of course, $20.00), they could buy the suit together, and share the magic! Ah, such a plan for such a suit! For one day at a time, taking turns, they could each wear the magnificent suit that's as shiny and bright and as white as ice cream; and for a time be able to realize their dreams. And so, very quickly, or even sooner, at that very moment! Gomez puts his plan into action, driven on by the vision he holds in his mind's eye of himself, wearing that wonderful ice cream suit.

Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay for this film, which he adapted from his own play of the same title, and this is vintage Bradbury. Under the auspices of director Gordon, the film successfully captures the very essence of Bradbury the writer, Bradbury the poet, Bradbury the genius, Bradbury the beautiful dreamer; this man from Illinois, who walks with kings and dines with gods, and dares to dream such dreams. More than a film, this is a celebration of life; an acknowledgement of the joys of living, captured exuberantly in music and song, poetry, performance and, of course, in Bradbury's words-- those exquisite, noble, transcendent words, born of some special, personal, inner muse-- that flow so splendidly in time with the rhythm of his heart and conjure up the images of his singular vision. All of which Gordon manages to grasp, grab hold of and transfer so resplendently to the silver screen.

The performances are first rate, beginning with Mantegna as the indomitable Gomez, who believes he can rule the world when wearing that wonderful suit; Esai Morales, as Dominguez, who dreams of enchanting beautiful women with his music and songs, and knows he can with the suit; Gregory Sierra, as Villanazul, who looks to the suit for the words of hope and encouragement he can take to his people; Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez, as Martinez, hoping that the suit will attract the girl of his dreams; and Edward James Olmos, as Vamanos, who just wants to have a good time! Respectively, their portrayals are alive, and with their collective breath, they bring this film to life, as well.

The supporting cast includes Liz Torres (Ruby Escadrillo), Sid Caesar (Sid), Howard Morris (Leo), Lisa Vidal (Ramona), Mike Moroff (Toro) and Mercedes Ortega as the beautiful Celia Obregon. From the opening credits, awash with dazzling color and brilliant imagery, "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" is an exhilarating, unique treasure to be embraced with the heart; a masterpiece of delights to be watched again and again. And most importantly, it honors the man who created it all, Ray Bradbury; a man who is, himself, invested with the same kind of life and joy his film brings to the screen. It's a fitting tribute to the inimitable Bradbury, Purveyor of Happiness, Magistrate of Joy.

--Then through an open window blew
the winds of night, and creatures,
dark they were and golden-eyed;
and calling to the Son of Kong they whispered
"Something wicked this way comes!"
And then, a sound of thunder!
She rises! She rises!
And from twenty thousand fathoms came
the dragon,
as if summoned by his master from the deeps;
and the Man from Illinois
held his sword above the crowd,
the blue flame cracked and sparked
and leapt into our bodies! then,
"Farewell, my friends," said he
as on the dragon's back he mounted,
"Live forever!"
"Live forever!"
Live forever...

(From the poem, "Bradbury," by JH Clues)

great movie & great music !
5 guys pour their money together for an icecream-white suit and take their turns wearing it, creating 5 sub-stories of how these guys gaining their magics from the suit and use their magics. The movie is slow tempo and lay-back, more like a brazilian or spanish movie. And that it has no hip-hop, techno beats but salsa and spanish guiatar. Too bad they didn't release the soundtrack for this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

It'll draw you in
This is a REALLY fun little movie. That's said from the perspective of someone who generally doesn't like horror movies. But this one's different. Like Re-animator there's a certain sense of humor that pervades everything, but being that it's based on a Lovecraft story, it's heart is very dark indeed. So it takes you from moments of guilty laughter to creepy horror and back again throughout the course of the movie. The mood gets set early on and builds with a pretty good consistancy. By the time the Resonator device is first set on full power, you get a dreadful feeling from it's menacing, throbbing hum that things are about to get really, really bad...and do they ever!!

"This time I'm not running away, Eunuch!"
Two scientists are on the verge of discovery, creating a resonator to stimulate the pineal gland located in the brain - to create a 6th sense. But this is a horror movie not a documentary so things go...well, wrong. The resonator opens up a world visible only to those in the 'field' or range of the device but one that is constantly expanding and filled with horrific creatures that certainly aren't friendly.

This IS without a shadow of a doubt the best film EVER. The cast surpases brilliance - Jeffery Combs certainly deserves more recognition as the BRILLIANT actor that he is, Barbara Crampton is one foxy chick and that Leroy 'Bubba' Brown character has to be one of the funniest 'Shaft' wannabee's ever put to film.

I won't spoil the film for you but just wait to see what happens to Dr.Edward Pretorius - "My God Edward, WHAT have you become?" - "Myself!". Pure genius.

I'd recommend this film to anyone - you'd be mad to miss it, and why isn't it on DVD? - Criminal!

This movie is awesome
This is a great "Horror" movie and shouldn't be taken as any other thing. Reading Blake Kleiner's review all I have to say is pal you overanalyzed a great "Horror" movie. If you want a great psychological thriller watch "Silence of the Lambs"
Horror movies aren't meant to be anaylzed, they're meant for us to see some gore, some bad acting and most of the time a little T&A if your looking for more than that then find another genre, but if your looking for all of the above make sure you see this movie!!

Stuart Gordon at His Best!
I am a huge fan of Stuart Gordon, Jeffrey Combs, and H.P. Lovecraft. I watched this movie repeatedly as a teenager and have been anxiously awaiting a collector's edition DVD release. I'd love to see this movie in widescreen with a dts soundtrack! Some director and actor commentary would make this film even better. Aside from that, it's already a perfect 80's gore flick.

YES!!

Our pick for Crappy Movie Night
The chosen film for the Crappy Movie Night this past Friday was this H.P. Lovecraft adaptation from the makers of "Re-Animator." There's a reason for that.

Now, here's where I'm at a loss: describing the plot. I wouldn't know where to start, so I'll break it up into little blurbs. Two scientists created a machine called the Resonator, its desired effect and purpose is to stimulate the dormant pineal gland in the human brain, making possible to see beyond the external aesthetic offerings of the third dimension. Instead of the machine offering simple "sight", however, it elongates the pineal gland into a freaky looking worm type thing that protrudes from the center of your head. Apparently it's some kind of a third eye. Another side-effect: it causes sexual overload, madness, and possibly (it's never really stated) opens up a door to another place fittingly dubbed "the beyond". Convenient, isn't it?

Now, being a novice in the field of Lovecraft, I'm hesistant to make this observation, but here goes: Lovecraft obviously was a simple-minded storyteller with tons of vivid imagery in his head, but with no skills of how to craft a story around them. If "From Beyond" is any indication, his mind gave him a picture of an insane otherworldly overlord created by this machine for reasons unknown. No explanation whatsoever is offered for what we are given; we're just supposed to accept it at face value. Well, sorry, but I have a hard time doing that when Earthworm Jim is sticking out of the "Re-Animator" guy's forehead and peeking around ("Talk to the worm, cuz the face don't wanna hear it anymore" was a comment I uttered during the group viewing that got a huge laugh).

Why does the machine take over the entire essence of the first mad scientist but not the second? How is it that the creatures seen while the machine is on can take on actual physical presence (they inflict injury and decapitate people), yet they don't carry over into reality once the machine is off (like Jeffrey Combs' third eye does later on)? These are questions that director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna (who directed the superb "The Dentist") aren't interested in answering. They expect us to leave logic at the door and be taken along for the ride of this ludicrous story. Gore effects are enough to propel a Lucio Fulci film because that's what his films are about. But this film actually tries to involve us in a story fit for an audience of tards, and it packs in as much gore as it can. Sorry guys, but you can't have it both ways.

Anyway, that's my little review for the film. Now, imagine a room full of people who share my opinion watching this turd and shouting out comments, additional dialogue, and expletives to describe the inate characters. (Even poor Ken Foree, who was such a strong presence in George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" as the black SWAT team member, got caught up in this dreck. Not only that, he got stuck with the name "Bubba." If that's not a step down from one of the best dark comedies ever made, I don't know what is.) Our little group of movie defecators were merciless to this celluloid, pelting every second of it with a sarcastic comment. From my own lips, we heard: "Whore!" "Best y'all be eating my dumplins!" "It'sa me, Mario!" and other such phrases.

Lovecraft stories have a history of bad film adaptations, this one and another Yuzna-produced film, "Necronomicon," being the most obvious examples. They should really learn to leave well-enough alone. The best Lovecraft film to date wasn't actually a Lovecraft film. It was John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness." Ain't that a slap in the face? ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A Enjoyable Film from Stuart Gordon
Re-Animator was a classic, From Beyond was too, Dolls was disappointing and Robot Jox a great film of entertainment. The setting is somewhere after a Nuclear War and 2 countries have split in to oppossing sides; 1 Good (The Market) and 2 Bad (The Confederation). War has been outlawed and terrotial possession has been settled by piloting huge mechanical robots by there nation's champions. Achilles (Gary Granham) is the Market's only help against the Confederation's unstoppable champion Alexander (Paul Koslo) must do battle once and for all. This is a great movie from Stuart Gordon i noticed some people won't like it but it's there decision. Also there are some great stop motion by David Allen Productions but the effects aren't great but there ok for the age. Overall i enjoyed it.
Note: This move is extremely rare and i bought it at half.com they should have some copies left so better hurry before they run out.

Campy lunacy
I watched a screening of this at a convention where SF writer Joe Haldeman, who did the screenplay, sat in back with a something eating grin on his face.

What's not to like? In celebration of their son's visit, the family has meat--a lone weiner floating in a tureen of soup. The female pilot makes all the men nonplussed, then has the tables turned on her when an enemy robot unleashes a giant crotch chainsaw in the midst of a duel, for the obvious Freudian tie-ins (at which point Joe was grinning mercilessly.)

All the jokes and innuendos are way over the top. As Joe put it: "I was writing a movie for adults that kids could enjoy, and the director was writing a movie for kids that adults could enjoy."

Add in a Slim Pickens performance invoking Dr. Strangelove, and it's a twisted, unsubtle romp through political incorrectness, poking fun at (among others) environmentalists, capitalists, global politics and sports fanatics (the spectators who get squashed under a falling robot).

Oh yeah, and it has these kick butt robot warriors, too. Grab your friends, grab the kids, grab a pizza and a couple of beers for the adults and laugh until you choke.

Perfect for Any Occasion
Anyone who knows me is familiar with my philosophy that there are only three genres of movies worth watching:
First, there's the miniature robot movies (see Batteries not Included), that feature robots much smaller than people. These movies get a little sappy but they still make me hope for a day when I can have a conversation with my toaster. Second, there are the human size robot movies (see RoboCop parts 1-3), distinguished by robots that are roughly the size of the actors playing them. Third, there is the giant robot movie (like Robot Jox!). I'd take this genre any day of the week. I would recommend this movie. You've gotta see these robots bash each other into submission! I don't know if they used models or built real robots but the special effects make them look like robots. The acting glistens with reality.
The worst part about the movie is the opening credits-everyone knows the title of the movie they're seeing either from buying the ticket or from the box the tape was in so why do they have to waste valuable movie time by showing it on the screen? Unless you want to read a title you already know and a bunch of names I would fast forward that part.
I used to watch this movie almost every day in my basement and my dad would yell at me "quit watching that movie and eating peanut butter and get a job!" I also love the soundtrack but I don't listen to it anymore because it reminds me of my ex-girlfriend.

Crash and Burn
Any fans of campy movies like "Army of Darkness" and "Wing Commander" and TV series like Voltron and Transformers should love it. Similar fans of computer games like Mech Warrior should also appreciate this movie. Decent special effects, casting, directing, and music make it better than many B movies like those previewed before the movie. The best parts of the movie are the robot fight scenes, but even the storyline isn't bad.

We find our hero surrounded by "tubies", young men and women that have been created in test tubes for the express purpose of being robot jocks. He witnesses the ninth member loss of the Market team which he represents, to their nemesis the Confederation. The Confederation team led by a baddy with a Russian accent that kills people indiscriminately. It seems the Markets secret weapons are being sold to the Confederation by a spy.

The finale shows the spy exposed and a battle royale of the two mechs of the Confederation and Market. One can only hope this comes out on DVD since it is far more fun to watch than many of the others I have seen released. Let's hope Columbia Pictures makes it available soon.

Meca madness
I'd have to start with a contraction since that's what I'm reminded of seems to be a movie spin off of some 70's and 80's cartoon legends such as Voltron and Robotech (Macross, for the new generation). Over all Great fights, good fxs for early 90's release, a couple familar faces and good story line to run with. Hope you like it as much as I. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Please release this on DVD. Please?
I agree with dalva76, this movie has everything. Atmosphere, a thunderstorm, a weird elderly couple and KILLER DOLLS!! AGGHHH!! RUn!! Run!!
Please put this on DVD, pretty please?

Welcome to the Doll House
Blah! I'm sorry, but this movie is seriously lacking in everything. This is much too bland and dim for Stuart (Re-Animator) Gordon. Granted, the movie IS pretty cheezy, it's just never fun OR funny in that cheezy way. It's dry, stale, and reaks of all those earlier toys/puppets-that-breathe-life-and-start-hacking-and-slashing-at-anything-and-everything movie's left-overs. One fatal weak-point would be the characters. A grumpy, bitter old jerk that screams at everyone in his sexy gold&black PJ's, 2 Madonna posers, a fat moron, an equally moronic kid, a shriveled up old master-of-the-house... all weak paper-cut-outs. Infidelic buffoons. You'd think at least one of them would stand out and be somewhat interesting or at least add a little zig to the boringness that surrounds... I mean, come on! This is supposedly a "B-movie classic"! Pfft... yeah right...

As for the "plot"? I've seen better stories regurgitated from Ed Wood. Nothing inventive, nothing creative, nothing funny or cool. This is definitely not a worthwhile B-movie opus. It's boring and shrewd to the core. Where's the cool cheeze? Where's the campy feel? Where's anything that could be considered classic? The rest of these reviewers that praise this crud are sadly misguided.

So, what have we learned, if nothing else, children? "**** YOU, CLOWNY!"

Are you a child at heart?
This movie is fun stuff! Six people get "caught" in a storm and end up staying the night at a house in the middle of nowhere's. Of course once it's bedtime for the guests it's playtime for the dolls. If you're a fan of the horror genre you'll regret missing out on this gem. Great kills, scares and even some laughs. If you can find it check it out!

Dolls are scarey
This movie is great. It has everything you could ever want.
Dolls [Aggggggh, they're alive!!!!]
An evil Stepmother [Boo!!!]
A mean daddy [Bad!!!!!!]
A little girl [Aw]
A nice fat man [what a sweetie]
An older couple [aw, again]
And two british hookers dressed like Madonna [Har de har har har]

Guess what the dolls do? They kill everybody who is mean. I wish they worked for me.

The original Living Dead Dolls...
I am a collector of Living Dead Dolls. If you aren't familar with them they are these creepy dolls that are made to look like demonic children. Go to a search engine if you want to learn more.

Anyhow, the movie "Dolls" really reminds me of my collection. The dolls in this movie are made from the dead, after all. They are also very eery. The special effects in this movie are unbelievable. You HAVE to see this film if you love collecting Living Dead Dolls. Oh, and watch out for the two girls in this movie that are dressed up like Madonna--very 1980's indeed!

I just hope this movie gets re-released soon. It deserves another shot at immortality with horror fans. ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Worth seeing for the commentary alone
Okay, I see lots of reviews that talk about the film itself and don't dwell much on special features. Here, I'll try to get into the reason for buying a special edition and you can read other reviews if you want to know about the story.

Re-Animator (The Millennium Edition) brings an old favourite back to life (no pun intended). The picture and sound quality are so good, it's almost as if the movie was re-made using today's technology. I always liked this quirky little movie ever since I saw it on video in 1985-86, but I had assumed it had gone the way of so many '80s low budget gems. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it recently on DVD and in a remastered edition. The film is still a classic cult film, having lost none of its wit and charm (if one can say that a gory horror fest can be 'charming'), but the thing I'm happiest about is the cast commentary, which, although not overly informative (there's a director commentary and numerous video interviews that go deeper into movie facts), is nevertheless very entertaining. The actors obviously had a lot of fun making the movie, and they clearly have a lot of fun watching it together. Some moments during the cast commentary are truly a Mystery Science Theater 3000 kibbitz-fest, and so really we get two movies in one - the original version and a goofy MST3K-style review, but with the insights and rememberances of those who helped make the film.

There are lots of extended scenes and one deleted scene that was too hot for the censor (Barbara Crampton - yeah, baby! Yeah!) Added to this, lots of audio choices make this a great buy for those with hi-fi bells and whistles. Also, a set of still photos and video interviews that put other special edition efforts to shame.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic effort, far better than many remastered editions on DVD. The team that remastered this one obviously did their job with care and reverence for this cult classic. Certainly this 're-animated' Re-Animator (okay, sorry, I meant that pun) is well worth the price of admission.

Horror at it's finest!
Rarely do great 80's horror movies get the DVD treatment they deserve. Sice the assumption that the market is limited, you can often only find mediocre transfers with little to no extras. But with "Re-Animator", that paradigm is broken and we get a top quality and thoroughly entertaining version of the cult classic.

Stuart Gordon's gore-fest concerns a medical student named Herbert West, who's experiments with bringing the dead back to life are successful, but with grave consequences. Jeffrey Combs is first rate as the whacked out West, and he plays it both for shock and comedy value. It is criminal that he isn't more widely recognized outside of the horror and cult circles. The rest of the cast is exceptional, especially Robert Sampson as the re-animated headmaster. The special effects can best be described as gruesome, with plenty of decapitations, body parts flying, and other nasties. But what sets "Re-Animator" apart from other 80's horror flicks is the story, the good acting, and the good production. This is a great movie that satisfies both the need for quality filmmaking and the need for gore.

The Millenium Edition DVD is packed with extras, all of them worthwhile. What initially pleased me most was the quality of the transfer, which makes the horrible VHS transfers seem like a different movie. The commentary, especially by the producer and the cast, is more like a high school reunion with everyone having a good time. The interviews also give valueable insight, and the deleted scenes are also nice goodies for fans.

This is the definative version of "Re-Animator", and great value for anyone who loved the movie. The extras are quality, and the transfer is superb. In short, a DVD you must own (assuming you can stomach it).

Funny Gore Flick
How they took HP Lovecraft's short story (which is one of the SCARIEST short stories ever written, in my opinion)and came up with this, I'll never know, but there's no denying the entertainment value.
This has some outrageous scenes, like the decapitated head performing cunnilingus on a woman strapped to a table, and the exploding eyes, and the re-animated cat. It is easy to see why this has such a huge, loyal cult following.
Now to be fair, what I'm about to say has not been mentioned by the other 106 reviewers, leading me to believe that this only occured with my copy, but I was not able to move the arrow on the main menu, so I missed out on the extra features. Like I said, I proably recieved a defective copy, but it may be wise to investigate before purchase.

"Re-Animate Her"
One of my all time favorite horror movies next to day of the dead, Zombie, dead alive, etc. A good horror for fans of the undead or just a quick scare. There are some very gruesome scenes such as decapitation by shovel, eyeballs exploding, attacking intestines, and it seems when ever you see the Deans daughter, about five or ten minutes later she's naked. I also highly recommend Bride of the Re-Animator.

Utterly Disgusting
This is a warning to any horror fan. This movie is extremely disgusting and has absouletly NO point what so ever. I feel bad for jeffery combs, because of this movie his repuataion is now worse than ever. The gore is over the top, and there is no plot, besides phystoic zombies trying to kill people.

Here is the gore that this movie has: Decapitation by shovel, bitten off fingers, a bone saw through the stomach, someone pulling off some guys skin, than revealing the skull, and with a bone saw removes the skull, and picks up the brain and plays with it, we see a guy shove a Q-tip in a hole in someones for head, a cat with a broken neck, a stomach exploding with organs coming to life and attacking someone, eyes exploding, a head being impaled on a needle and lots more blood plus a head that falls off after being hit by a woman. For violence, we get someone being hit in the head with a shovel, someone being thrown into the wall with extreme force breaking the glass, slapping, hitting and punching to ward off a dead zombie.

Overall, I think this movie was a waste of money. But, now that you know what the movie is truly about, you can make that descision for yourself. ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Worth seeing for the commentary alone
Okay, I see lots of reviews that talk about the film itself and don't dwell much on special features. Here, I'll try to get into the reason for buying a special edition and you can read other reviews if you want to know about the story.

Re-Animator (The Millennium Edition) brings an old favourite back to life (no pun intended). The picture and sound quality are so good, it's almost as if the movie was re-made using today's technology. I always liked this quirky little movie ever since I saw it on video in 1985-86, but I had assumed it had gone the way of so many '80s low budget gems. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it recently on DVD and in a remastered edition. The film is still a classic cult film, having lost none of its wit and charm (if one can say that a gory horror fest can be 'charming'), but the thing I'm happiest about is the cast commentary, which, although not overly informative (there's a director commentary and numerous video interviews that go deeper into movie facts), is nevertheless very entertaining. The actors obviously had a lot of fun making the movie, and they clearly have a lot of fun watching it together. Some moments during the cast commentary are truly a Mystery Science Theater 3000 kibbitz-fest, and so really we get two movies in one - the original version and a goofy MST3K-style review, but with the insights and rememberances of those who helped make the film.

There are lots of extended scenes and one deleted scene that was too hot for the censor (Barbara Crampton - yeah, baby! Yeah!) Added to this, lots of audio choices make this a great buy for those with hi-fi bells and whistles. Also, a set of still photos and video interviews that put other special edition efforts to shame.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic effort, far better than many remastered editions on DVD. The team that remastered this one obviously did their job with care and reverence for this cult classic. Certainly this 're-animated' Re-Animator (okay, sorry, I meant that pun) is well worth the price of admission.

Horror at it's finest!
Rarely do great 80's horror movies get the DVD treatment they deserve. Sice the assumption that the market is limited, you can often only find mediocre transfers with little to no extras. But with "Re-Animator", that paradigm is broken and we get a top quality and thoroughly entertaining version of the cult classic.

Stuart Gordon's gore-fest concerns a medical student named Herbert West, who's experiments with bringing the dead back to life are successful, but with grave consequences. Jeffrey Combs is first rate as the whacked out West, and he plays it both for shock and comedy value. It is criminal that he isn't more widely recognized outside of the horror and cult circles. The rest of the cast is exceptional, especially Robert Sampson as the re-animated headmaster. The special effects can best be described as gruesome, with plenty of decapitations, body parts flying, and other nasties. But what sets "Re-Animator" apart from other 80's horror flicks is the story, the good acting, and the good production. This is a great movie that satisfies both the need for quality filmmaking and the need for gore.

The Millenium Edition DVD is packed with extras, all of them worthwhile. What initially pleased me most was the quality of the transfer, which makes the horrible VHS transfers seem like a different movie. The commentary, especially by the producer and the cast, is more like a high school reunion with everyone having a good time. The interviews also give valueable insight, and the deleted scenes are also nice goodies for fans.

This is the definative version of "Re-Animator", and great value for anyone who loved the movie. The extras are quality, and the transfer is superb. In short, a DVD you must own (assuming you can stomach it).

Funny Gore Flick
How they took HP Lovecraft's short story (which is one of the SCARIEST short stories ever written, in my opinion)and came up with this, I'll never know, but there's no denying the entertainment value.
This has some outrageous scenes, like the decapitated head performing cunnilingus on a woman strapped to a table, and the exploding eyes, and the re-animated cat. It is easy to see why this has such a huge, loyal cult following.
Now to be fair, what I'm about to say has not been mentioned by the other 106 reviewers, leading me to believe that this only occured with my copy, but I was not able to move the arrow on the main menu, so I missed out on the extra features. Like I said, I proably recieved a defective copy, but it may be wise to investigate before purchase.

"Re-Animate Her"
One of my all time favorite horror movies next to day of the dead, Zombie, dead alive, etc. A good horror for fans of the undead or just a quick scare. There are some very gruesome scenes such as decapitation by shovel, eyeballs exploding, attacking intestines, and it seems when ever you see the Deans daughter, about five or ten minutes later she's naked. I also highly recommend Bride of the Re-Animator.

Utterly Disgusting
This is a warning to any horror fan. This movie is extremely disgusting and has absouletly NO point what so ever. I feel bad for jeffery combs, because of this movie his repuataion is now worse than ever. The gore is over the top, and there is no plot, besides phystoic zombies trying to kill people.

Here is the gore that this movie has: Decapitation by shovel, bitten off fingers, a bone saw through the stomach, someone pulling off some guys skin, than revealing the skull, and with a bone saw removes the skull, and picks up the brain and plays with it, we see a guy shove a Q-tip in a hole in someones for head, a cat with a broken neck, a stomach exploding with organs coming to life and attacking someone, eyes exploding, a head being impaled on a needle and lots more blood plus a head that falls off after being hit by a woman. For violence, we get someone being hit in the head with a shovel, someone being thrown into the wall with extreme force breaking the glass, slapping, hitting and punching to ward off a dead zombie.

Overall, I think this movie was a waste of money. But, now that you know what the movie is truly about, you can make that descision for yourself. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Underrated Full Moon Flick From The Makers Of Re-Animator
"Castle Freak" (1995) is the third in a series of films that were directed by Stuart Gordon, and starred both Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. The first was the brilliant cult classic "Re-Animator" (1985) and the second was the equaly bizarre "From Beyond" (1986). Although "Castle Freak" doesn't scale the delirious heights of those two masterpieces, it still holds up as a great old-fashion fright flick. The film was so impressive that it won the Fangoria "Golden Chainsaw Award" for best direct-to-video film.

Unlike many films in the genre, "Castle Freak" spends a great amount of its screen time developing its characters. John Reilly (Combs) has just inherited a castle in Spain from a distant relative. He brings along his wife Susan (Crampton) and their blind daughter Rebecca (the excellent Jessica Dollarhide). However, as the title suggests, there is someone or something locked in the dark and murky basement of the castle.

Director Stuart Gordon does a masterful job with the material, turning what could have been just another routine horror movie into a surprisingly emotional tragedy. As the film progresses, we slowly learn more and more about what the characters have been through. There are even touching moments within the film, although it would ruin the surprise if I were to give anything away. In the end, the castle freak becomes a physical manifestation of the emotional guilt of the characters, and taking that into account, the movie becomes more complex than it would initially seem to be.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... this is a horror movie and, rest assured, Stuart Gordon does not disappoint. The violence is bloody and graphic, and there are many repulsive scenes that are guarenteed to shock. There's also a bizarre scene of eroticism in the film (you'll know it when you see it). It all ends in a thrilling action-packed conclusion that only Stuart Gordon could deliver. Fans of "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" shouldn't be disappointed. The freak itself is a hideous creation, and Jonathan Fuller gives an amazing performance under a ton of make-up. Richard Band composes an eerie minimalist soundtrack, and there's a little bit more than a touch of humor in the film. Jeffrey Combs has always been a favorite actor of mine, and he certainly delivers in the acting department here.

This being a Full Moon film, the DVD features a great behind the scenes segment that includes interviews with the cast and crew. The disc also features a theatrical trailer for "Castle Freak," and other Full Moon films, and a bunch of advertisements for Full Moon merchandise. The movie is presented full screen, although I believe that was the way it was shot due to the fact that it was a direct to video film.

All Hype..or some people scare real easy :)
Well after reading all 37 reviews on Amazon got the DVD and BOO! This movie is often touted as "Sex,nudity,violence,and gore all in one movie?" and its true however the fails in all those areas. First off the movie is not scary unlike the countless reviews that claim it is; well actually..if the Scream series starring Neve Campell 'terrified' you then maybe you'll get a scare out of Castle Freak LOL.

Sex, nudity...again BOO! The only graphic nudity involves the hooker; explicit? Please don't make me laugh..plus its really quick..were talking about 1 minute. The Matrix II sex scene was more titillating LOL! Some have mentioned eroticism; there is one scene that falls into this area and it involves Jessica Dollarhide getting captured by the freak but its quite brief and you don't see any umm skin; big big BOO!

Gore..yes there is some..but no where near the level of Re-Animator series.

Overall quite disappointed once again by Amazon posters. Other movies highly touted on Amazon to recommended to avoid in this category:
A Virgin Among the Living Dead
Vampyres
The Demonics

I'd sell you all for the price of three..seriously LOL

From the man who brought you "The Re-animator"
Stuart Gordon presents another film adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story. In this one "Castle Freak" John Reilly(Jeffrey Combs,The Re-animator series)his wife(Barbara Crampton,The Re-animator)and their blind daughter inheret a castle in Italy,from a relative who recently passed away. They also inhereted her son, who was chained up in the cellar, that they don't know about until, John brings home a prostitute and she is never seen again and he is accused of her murder. It's up to John to protect his family and prove his innocence. As you would expect there is plenty of creative gore, one scene is similair to one in Beyond Re-animator. If you enjoy the works of H.P.Lovecraft, STuart Gordon, or Jeffrey Combs you will enjoy this film others however should be causious about choosing whether or not they want to watch this.

A Classic Horror Flick
Full Moon is really the most under-rated horror studio. This movie was famous enough to spaawn a mass market toy of the monster. Great genre actor Jeffrey Combs and his family move into a gothic Italian castle, only to find inside there resides a hideous monster hungry for flesh. This is one of the better-known H.P. Lovecraft adaptions, and is similiar to the earlier movie Unnamable, though not as good. It is the same premise- the first scene is that of the monster being tormented and locked up, people come to the residence and get killed. A by-the-numbers slasher/monster movie that is one of Full Moon's best movies. Not essential viewing by any means, but any somewhat-dedicated horror fan who sees this will surely never forget it. This is based on the H.P. Lovecraft pulp "The Outsider."

This isn't horror, it's drama.
A family inherits a castle in Italy and there's a freak lurking around, with a disturbing history. A simple premise to a story executed right. For a direct to video film, I didn't expect it to go into such incredible depth emotionally. The main theme of the story from my impression was about how people could get second chances to redeem themselves. (You'll see what I mean when the husband does something heroic to ask for forgiveness from his wife because he did something awful earlier). The only flaw in the movie is that Castle Freak wasn't in the movie enough. He'll pop up every now and then, killing whoever shows up in the house. There weren't much graphic scenes, except for the one part where he murders a hooker. The make-up is impressive, none of that computer generated nonsense. Looks like it took a great deal of labor. But we only get glimpses of it which is a shame. Jeffrey Combs is the main character even though the movie is called Castle Freak. Other then that, this is probably one of the most dramatic "horror" films ever. I don't really consider this a horror film since the Castle Freak was just an abused child who we still feel pity for. He's not just some blood-thirsty monster. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Nothing to grave about...
This is one of those made-4-TV movies that often show a lack of character...'Daughter of Darkness' is no exception. Anthony 'Norman Bates' Perkins makes the best of his role as the father/head vampire. The film starts well, but it becomes lethargic and a little silly. These vampires have no fangs, instead these weird spiky things emerge from their tongues (ala the armpit mutant thing from 'Rabid'.
Not a particularly memeorable film, which is a shame considering it comes from 'Re-Animator' director Stuart Gordon.

Daughter of Darkness: How does it rate?
Daughter of Darkness is a made for television vampire movie that tells the story of a young American woman named Cathy (Catherine) Thatcher who travels to Romania in search of the father she never knew after her mother dies. Upon Cathy's arrival in Romania she begins to investigate her father's life, trying to find out as much as she can about him. Along the way she meets and befriends Jack Devlin, a semi-important functionary working for the US embassy, and an older man named Max, a taxicab driver. Both men try to help Cathy in her search for info about her father. Eventually, Cathy meets her father, and falls into the clutches of a secret community of vampires, who have some definite ideas about the role she should play in their society as the "Daughter of Darkness."

I like this movie because Mia Sara plays the part of Cathy Thatcher convincingly, the character Gregori is attractive and charming, and its interesting to see how the members of the vampire coven relate to one another. Worth checking out. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Worth watching for the little details
Space Truckers is not a good movie. The story is ludicrous, the plotline isn't so hot, the special effects are cheap, and the acting is mediocre. Still, when I watch a movie like this, one that's supposed to be bad, I can't help but wish I could have been in it. Everyone looks like they're having an absolute blast! This is a good thing for Dennis Hopper, because I don't think he's been in a decent movie since Easy Rider. If he can't be in a good movie, he deserves to, at least, be in a fun movie.

As I said, the story is awful, but what is good are all the small details. A lot of thought went into things like posters on the walls, billboards, trucks, and highways. But, as the other reviewers have mentioned, the best part of the movie is the first ten minutes. After that, inspiration seems to have fizzled.

Still, the movie is worth watching if only for the "square pigs for a square meal," "Liquid beef: From a cow! From a cow!", and the evil pirate lord's pull-start crotch engine.

OK film
Space Truckers is a lot of fun to watch, but it is very dumb. Maybe that is part of its charm. This movie is fun to watch and is very funny in spots. Most of the reviewers of this film are correct in giving Space Truckers 3 stars.

ZERO STARS: I'll make this short and unsweet.
This is Barb Wire-Battlefield Earth BAD! Why do I subject myself to such BAD filmmaking? Considering the talent involved this is pathetic. If you have a choice whether to see this movie or have a finger removed, I guess see the movie. Otherwise avoid this at any cost ..I must say one last thing, Stephen Dork is overrated.

Square pigs, killer robots, and crotch engines oh my.....
Okay, this wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't a great one, either. I think the biggest problem this movie had was the script. It just seemed pretty weak. I did like the characters, the special effects, and the actors, but I don't think they had enough to work with.

The story involves the last of the independant space truckers, Dennis Hopper, and how he's hired to take a shipment of supicious cargo to Earth which turns out to be ultra high tech killer robots that someone is planning to use to overthrow Earth's government.

Anyway, there's some mildy amusing scenes, and stuff happens which all lead up to the climatic scene at the end involving the killer robots. As I said before, the special effects look really good and it's obvious that a lot of time and effort was spent in this area. The pirate ship was really well done. And, in Stuart Gordon fashion, the pirate captain looked like something out of Re-animator or From Beyond, from his half flesh, half metal head to his pull start groin.

The script wasn't really that strong, and some of the actors almost seem embarassed to be in the movie at times, but they perform adequately with what they are given. I thought Charles Dance (Alien 3, The Golden Child, Gosford Park) played his role quite well. And it was nice to see Dennis Hopper play something other that a deranged lunatic for a change.

All in all, fun, light entertainment, just don't expect too much from this movie in terms of a good script or decent character development.

question ?
who sang and wrote the ending theme song for space truckers ? ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Worth seeing for the commentary alone
Okay, I see lots of reviews that talk about the film itself and don't dwell much on special features. Here, I'll try to get into the reason for buying a special edition and you can read other reviews if you want to know about the story.

Re-Animator (The Millennium Edition) brings an old favourite back to life (no pun intended). The picture and sound quality are so good, it's almost as if the movie was re-made using today's technology. I always liked this quirky little movie ever since I saw it on video in 1985-86, but I had assumed it had gone the way of so many '80s low budget gems. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it recently on DVD and in a remastered edition. The film is still a classic cult film, having lost none of its wit and charm (if one can say that a gory horror fest can be 'charming'), but the thing I'm happiest about is the cast commentary, which, although not overly informative (there's a director commentary and numerous video interviews that go deeper into movie facts), is nevertheless very entertaining. The actors obviously had a lot of fun making the movie, and they clearly have a lot of fun watching it together. Some moments during the cast commentary are truly a Mystery Science Theater 3000 kibbitz-fest, and so really we get two movies in one - the original version and a goofy MST3K-style review, but with the insights and rememberances of those who helped make the film.

There are lots of extended scenes and one deleted scene that was too hot for the censor (Barbara Crampton - yeah, baby! Yeah!) Added to this, lots of audio choices make this a great buy for those with hi-fi bells and whistles. Also, a set of still photos and video interviews that put other special edition efforts to shame.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic effort, far better than many remastered editions on DVD. The team that remastered this one obviously did their job with care and reverence for this cult classic. Certainly this 're-animated' Re-Animator (okay, sorry, I meant that pun) is well worth the price of admission.

Horror at it's finest!
Rarely do great 80's horror movies get the DVD treatment they deserve. Sice the assumption that the market is limited, you can often only find mediocre transfers with little to no extras. But with "Re-Animator", that paradigm is broken and we get a top quality and thoroughly entertaining version of the cult classic.

Stuart Gordon's gore-fest concerns a medical student named Herbert West, who's experiments with bringing the dead back to life are successful, but with grave consequences. Jeffrey Combs is first rate as the whacked out West, and he plays it both for shock and comedy value. It is criminal that he isn't more widely recognized outside of the horror and cult circles. The rest of the cast is exceptional, especially Robert Sampson as the re-animated headmaster. The special effects can best be described as gruesome, with plenty of decapitations, body parts flying, and other nasties. But what sets "Re-Animator" apart from other 80's horror flicks is the story, the good acting, and the good production. This is a great movie that satisfies both the need for quality filmmaking and the need for gore.

The Millenium Edition DVD is packed with extras, all of them worthwhile. What initially pleased me most was the quality of the transfer, which makes the horrible VHS transfers seem like a different movie. The commentary, especially by the producer and the cast, is more like a high school reunion with everyone having a good time. The interviews also give valueable insight, and the deleted scenes are also nice goodies for fans.

This is the definative version of "Re-Animator", and great value for anyone who loved the movie. The extras are quality, and the transfer is superb. In short, a DVD you must own (assuming you can stomach it).

Funny Gore Flick
How they took HP Lovecraft's short story (which is one of the SCARIEST short stories ever written, in my opinion)and came up with this, I'll never know, but there's no denying the entertainment value.
This has some outrageous scenes, like the decapitated head performing cunnilingus on a woman strapped to a table, and the exploding eyes, and the re-animated cat. It is easy to see why this has such a huge, loyal cult following.
Now to be fair, what I'm about to say has not been mentioned by the other 106 reviewers, leading me to believe that this only occured with my copy, but I was not able to move the arrow on the main menu, so I missed out on the extra features. Like I said, I proably recieved a defective copy, but it may be wise to investigate before purchase.

"Re-Animate Her"
One of my all time favorite horror movies next to day of the dead, Zombie, dead alive, etc. A good horror for fans of the undead or just a quick scare. There are some very gruesome scenes such as decapitation by shovel, eyeballs exploding, attacking intestines, and it seems when ever you see the Deans daughter, about five or ten minutes later she's naked. I also highly recommend Bride of the Re-Animator.

Utterly Disgusting
This is a warning to any horror fan. This movie is extremely disgusting and has absouletly NO point what so ever. I feel bad for jeffery combs, because of this movie his repuataion is now worse than ever. The gore is over the top, and there is no plot, besides phystoic zombies trying to kill people.

Here is the gore that this movie has: Decapitation by shovel, bitten off fingers, a bone saw through the stomach, someone pulling off some guys skin, than revealing the skull, and with a bone saw removes the skull, and picks up the brain and plays with it, we see a guy shove a Q-tip in a hole in someones for head, a cat with a broken neck, a stomach exploding with organs coming to life and attacking someone, eyes exploding, a head being impaled on a needle and lots more blood plus a head that falls off after being hit by a woman. For violence, we get someone being hit in the head with a shovel, someone being thrown into the wall with extreme force breaking the glass, slapping, hitting and punching to ward off a dead zombie.

Overall, I think this movie was a waste of money. But, now that you know what the movie is truly about, you can make that descision for yourself. ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Worth seeing for the commentary alone
Okay, I see lots of reviews that talk about the film itself and don't dwell much on special features. Here, I'll try to get into the reason for buying a special edition and you can read other reviews if you want to know about the story.

Re-Animator (The Millennium Edition) brings an old favourite back to life (no pun intended). The picture and sound quality are so good, it's almost as if the movie was re-made using today's technology. I always liked this quirky little movie ever since I saw it on video in 1985-86, but I had assumed it had gone the way of so many '80s low budget gems. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it recently on DVD and in a remastered edition. The film is still a classic cult film, having lost none of its wit and charm (if one can say that a gory horror fest can be 'charming'), but the thing I'm happiest about is the cast commentary, which, although not overly informative (there's a director commentary and numerous video interviews that go deeper into movie facts), is nevertheless very entertaining. The actors obviously had a lot of fun making the movie, and they clearly have a lot of fun watching it together. Some moments during the cast commentary are truly a Mystery Science Theater 3000 kibbitz-fest, and so really we get two movies in one - the original version and a goofy MST3K-style review, but with the insights and rememberances of those who helped make the film.

There are lots of extended scenes and one deleted scene that was too hot for the censor (Barbara Crampton - yeah, baby! Yeah!) Added to this, lots of audio choices make this a great buy for those with hi-fi bells and whistles. Also, a set of still photos and video interviews that put other special edition efforts to shame.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic effort, far better than many remastered editions on DVD. The team that remastered this one obviously did their job with care and reverence for this cult classic. Certainly this 're-animated' Re-Animator (okay, sorry, I meant that pun) is well worth the price of admission.

Horror at it's finest!
Rarely do great 80's horror movies get the DVD treatment they deserve. Sice the assumption that the market is limited, you can often only find mediocre transfers with little to no extras. But with "Re-Animator", that paradigm is broken and we get a top quality and thoroughly entertaining version of the cult classic.

Stuart Gordon's gore-fest concerns a medical student named Herbert West, who's experiments with bringing the dead back to life are successful, but with grave consequences. Jeffrey Combs is first rate as the whacked out West, and he plays it both for shock and comedy value. It is criminal that he isn't more widely recognized outside of the horror and cult circles. The rest of the cast is exceptional, especially Robert Sampson as the re-animated headmaster. The special effects can best be described as gruesome, with plenty of decapitations, body parts flying, and other nasties. But what sets "Re-Animator" apart from other 80's horror flicks is the story, the good acting, and the good production. This is a great movie that satisfies both the need for quality filmmaking and the need for gore.

The Millenium Edition DVD is packed with extras, all of them worthwhile. What initially pleased me most was the quality of the transfer, which makes the horrible VHS transfers seem like a different movie. The commentary, especially by the producer and the cast, is more like a high school reunion with everyone having a good time. The interviews also give valueable insight, and the deleted scenes are also nice goodies for fans.

This is the definative version of "Re-Animator", and great value for anyone who loved the movie. The extras are quality, and the transfer is superb. In short, a DVD you must own (assuming you can stomach it).

Funny Gore Flick
How they took HP Lovecraft's short story (which is one of the SCARIEST short stories ever written, in my opinion)and came up with this, I'll never know, but there's no denying the entertainment value.
This has some outrageous scenes, like the decapitated head performing cunnilingus on a woman strapped to a table, and the exploding eyes, and the re-animated cat. It is easy to see why this has such a huge, loyal cult following.
Now to be fair, what I'm about to say has not been mentioned by the other 106 reviewers, leading me to believe that this only occured with my copy, but I was not able to move the arrow on the main menu, so I missed out on the extra features. Like I said, I proably recieved a defective copy, but it may be wise to investigate before purchase.

"Re-Animate Her"
One of my all time favorite horror movies next to day of the dead, Zombie, dead alive, etc. A good horror for fans of the undead or just a quick scare. There are some very gruesome scenes such as decapitation by shovel, eyeballs exploding, attacking intestines, and it seems when ever you see the Deans daughter, about five or ten minutes later she's naked. I also highly recommend Bride of the Re-Animator.

Utterly Disgusting
This is a warning to any horror fan. This movie is extremely disgusting and has absouletly NO point what so ever. I feel bad for jeffery combs, because of this movie his repuataion is now worse than ever. The gore is over the top, and there is no plot, besides phystoic zombies trying to kill people.

Here is the gore that this movie has: Decapitation by shovel, bitten off fingers, a bone saw through the stomach, someone pulling off some guys skin, than revealing the skull, and with a bone saw removes the skull, and picks up the brain and plays with it, we see a guy shove a Q-tip in a hole in someones for head, a cat with a broken neck, a stomach exploding with organs coming to life and attacking someone, eyes exploding, a head being impaled on a needle and lots more blood plus a head that falls off after being hit by a woman. For violence, we get someone being hit in the head with a shovel, someone being thrown into the wall with extreme force breaking the glass, slapping, hitting and punching to ward off a dead zombie.

Overall, I think this movie was a waste of money. But, now that you know what the movie is truly about, you can make that descision for yourself. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Underrated Full Moon Flick From The Makers Of Re-Animator
"Castle Freak" (1995) is the third in a series of films that were directed by Stuart Gordon, and starred both Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. The first was the brilliant cult classic "Re-Animator" (1985) and the second was the equaly bizarre "From Beyond" (1986). Although "Castle Freak" doesn't scale the delirious heights of those two masterpieces, it still holds up as a great old-fashion fright flick. The film was so impressive that it won the Fangoria "Golden Chainsaw Award" for best direct-to-video film.

Unlike many films in the genre, "Castle Freak" spends a great amount of its screen time developing its characters. John Reilly (Combs) has just inherited a castle in Spain from a distant relative. He brings along his wife Susan (Crampton) and their blind daughter Rebecca (the excellent Jessica Dollarhide). However, as the title suggests, there is someone or something locked in the dark and murky basement of the castle.

Director Stuart Gordon does a masterful job with the material, turning what could have been just another routine horror movie into a surprisingly emotional tragedy. As the film progresses, we slowly learn more and more about what the characters have been through. There are even touching moments within the film, although it would ruin the surprise if I were to give anything away. In the end, the castle freak becomes a physical manifestation of the emotional guilt of the characters, and taking that into account, the movie becomes more complex than it would initially seem to be.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... this is a horror movie and, rest assured, Stuart Gordon does not disappoint. The violence is bloody and graphic, and there are many repulsive scenes that are guarenteed to shock. There's also a bizarre scene of eroticism in the film (you'll know it when you see it). It all ends in a thrilling action-packed conclusion that only Stuart Gordon could deliver. Fans of "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" shouldn't be disappointed. The freak itself is a hideous creation, and Jonathan Fuller gives an amazing performance under a ton of make-up. Richard Band composes an eerie minimalist soundtrack, and there's a little bit more than a touch of humor in the film. Jeffrey Combs has always been a favorite actor of mine, and he certainly delivers in the acting department here.

This being a Full Moon film, the DVD features a great behind the scenes segment that includes interviews with the cast and crew. The disc also features a theatrical trailer for "Castle Freak," and other Full Moon films, and a bunch of advertisements for Full Moon merchandise. The movie is presented full screen, although I believe that was the way it was shot due to the fact that it was a direct to video film.

All Hype..or some people scare real easy :)
Well after reading all 37 reviews on Amazon got the DVD and BOO! This movie is often touted as "Sex,nudity,violence,and gore all in one movie?" and its true however the fails in all those areas. First off the movie is not scary unlike the countless reviews that claim it is; well actually..if the Scream series starring Neve Campell 'terrified' you then maybe you'll get a scare out of Castle Freak LOL.

Sex, nudity...again BOO! The only graphic nudity involves the hooker; explicit? Please don't make me laugh..plus its really quick..were talking about 1 minute. The Matrix II sex scene was more titillating LOL! Some have mentioned eroticism; there is one scene that falls into this area and it involves Jessica Dollarhide getting captured by the freak but its quite brief and you don't see any umm skin; big big BOO!

Gore..yes there is some..but no where near the level of Re-Animator series.

Overall quite disappointed once again by Amazon posters. Other movies highly touted on Amazon to recommended to avoid in this category:
A Virgin Among the Living Dead
Vampyres
The Demonics

I'd sell you all for the price of three..seriously LOL

From the man who brought you "The Re-animator"
Stuart Gordon presents another film adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story. In this one "Castle Freak" John Reilly(Jeffrey Combs,The Re-animator series)his wife(Barbara Crampton,The Re-animator)and their blind daughter inheret a castle in Italy,from a relative who recently passed away. They also inhereted her son, who was chained up in the cellar, that they don't know about until, John brings home a prostitute and she is never seen again and he is accused of her murder. It's up to John to protect his family and prove his innocence. As you would expect there is plenty of creative gore, one scene is similair to one in Beyond Re-animator. If you enjoy the works of H.P.Lovecraft, STuart Gordon, or Jeffrey Combs you will enjoy this film others however should be causious about choosing whether or not they want to watch this.

A Classic Horror Flick
Full Moon is really the most under-rated horror studio. This movie was famous enough to spaawn a mass market toy of the monster. Great genre actor Jeffrey Combs and his family move into a gothic Italian castle, only to find inside there resides a hideous monster hungry for flesh. This is one of the better-known H.P. Lovecraft adaptions, and is similiar to the earlier movie Unnamable, though not as good. It is the same premise- the first scene is that of the monster being tormented and locked up, people come to the residence and get killed. A by-the-numbers slasher/monster movie that is one of Full Moon's best movies. Not essential viewing by any means, but any somewhat-dedicated horror fan who sees this will surely never forget it. This is based on the H.P. Lovecraft pulp "The Outsider."

This isn't horror, it's drama.
A family inherits a castle in Italy and there's a freak lurking around, with a disturbing history. A simple premise to a story executed right. For a direct to video film, I didn't expect it to go into such incredible depth emotionally. The main theme of the story from my impression was about how people could get second chances to redeem themselves. (You'll see what I mean when the husband does something heroic to ask for forgiveness from his wife because he did something awful earlier). The only flaw in the movie is that Castle Freak wasn't in the movie enough. He'll pop up every now and then, killing whoever shows up in the house. There weren't much graphic scenes, except for the one part where he murders a hooker. The make-up is impressive, none of that computer generated nonsense. Looks like it took a great deal of labor. But we only get glimpses of it which is a shame. Jeffrey Combs is the main character even though the movie is called Castle Freak. Other then that, this is probably one of the most dramatic "horror" films ever. I don't really consider this a horror film since the Castle Freak was just an abused child who we still feel pity for. He's not just some blood-thirsty monster. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

One of Stuart Gordon's Best Films
Fortress is one of Stuart Gordon's best films ever made. I never saw this in the theatre because I was only 8 years and never heard of the movie before. I heard this was an international success but it received little notice in the U.S. (I even noticed the box office business money it was only around 6mil). But hey i don't care how it did i just care if i enjoyed the movie or not.

The film opens in 2017 where we realize a couple John and Karen Brennick (Christopher Lambert and Loryn Locklin) are trying to have another child due to the first one they lost but unfortunately they can't due to overpopulation crisis in America.
They try to have another but they're caught and sent a Maximum Security system called "The Fortress" built 33 stories deep. The prison is operated by a genetically enhanced sadistic warden Poe (Kurtwood Smith) and Zed-10 the computer system owned by Men-Tel Corporation who also built The Fortress. When they arrive they are outfitted with intestinators they could make your stomach in pain mode or explode mode. Even though this prison is high tech and very well guarded Brennick plots an escape anyway. I don't wanna tell you more because i'll be spoiling the movie for you. Stuart Gordon who made such low budget classics like Re-Animator and From Beyond he jumps into a bigger budget in Fortress and makes the film more enthusiatic and more energtic than ever before. The budget wasn't high though it was around 10million that's what the T.V Guide review said but its still ok, and probably will be the only bigger budget he ever did. The performances are great, plot good, and SFX are great as well. Overall this is a classic and i really enjoyed it.

"Built to hold anything . . . except an innocent man."
You know all those anonymous video box covers you see when you walk down the aisle at the video store? Well, most of them are direct-to-video productions and aren't worth a second look. Some of them are films made with modest budgets that got a limited theatrical release. Most of them are horrible which helps to explain why they left the theaters so quickly. However, once in blue moon one of these obscure "lost" films actually manages to surprise. Stuart Gordon's "Fortress" is one of those rare finds.

The population in the United States in the early 21st century has increased beyond control. In an attempt to solve the problem, the government has passed a law that limits a woman to only one child. However, John Brennick (Christopher Lambert) and his wife Karen (Loryn Locklin) run afoul of the authorities when they try to have a second child to replace their firstborn who died as an infant. Imprisoned for their crime, the couple is sent to a maximum security prison called The Fortress and are tormented by its despotic director, Poe (Kurtwood Smith).

"Fortress" is neither a completely original film nor one that has had a tremendous influence on the medium. It is quite simply an odd film that somehow works despite its limited production values and its lack of big-name stars. As with most science fiction films set in the near future, "Fortress" paints a rather bleak view of the years to come. Those looking for a nightly rental that has some deep meaning to it might enjoy the film's cautionary messages on overpopulation and private-sector prison administration. Yet, the film also satisfies as a breezy time-killer for those who find themselves with free time on their hands and nothing else to watch. Either way, "Fortress" fits the bill.

It's Got a Charm of Sorts
The first time I ever saw Christopher Lambert was in the memorable "Highlander" film back in the 1980s. I saw him again in the first sequel to that film a few years later, but after that he seemed to vanish down some type of cinematic memory hole. Occasionally, I would stumble across "Highlander" again on some cable channel and wonder about the fate of this actor. After recently wandering across the 1993 film "Fortress," I got my answer: Lambert works almost exclusively in the landscapes of low budget movies. I am not saying low budget films are a bad thing?certainly not?but if ever there was an actor who perfectly fit the parameters of a B movie production, it is Christopher Lambert. That accent coupled with a slightly stilted method of delivery dooms Lambert to semi-obscurity. You can probably tell that I am not a great fan of this actor's work, but after criticizing his acting skills, I should state that "Fortress" actually manages to achieve a certain chintzy charm.

"Fortress" presents a picture of an extremely bleak future set in America in the year 2017. The United States, and possibly the world, staggers under the weight of a massive boom in its population. In an effort to alleviate these problems, the government resorts to enforcing laws banning couples from having more than one child. Anyone caught breaking this law ends up in an underground prison run by a private corporation named Men-Tel. This prison does not qualify as one of those posh, white-collar jails we know and love today, but is a claustrophobic, overcrowded place bristling with automatic cannons, cameras that move across the ceiling, and androids armed with impressive weaponry. Even worse, newly inducted prisoners swallow "intestinators," devices that explode if a prisoner wanders beyond certain boundaries. For those inmates considered especially problematic, there awaits the "mind wipe" chamber capable of turning a man into a shattered wreck. It sure looks as though no one could escape this subterranean nightmare.

Enter John and Karen Brennick, a married couple that conceived a second child after their first born died. The Brennicks know the laws, but decide to flee to Mexico in order to escape these draconian measures. Regrettably, the couple's ruse falls apart at the border, earning them a quick trip to the Men-Tel resort and spa. John and Karen, forcibly separated, soon encounter the warden of the prison, a brutal thug played by veteran actor Kurtwood Smith, and the computer that runs the prison. John bunks with few odd characters, most notably imprisoned technology wizard D-Day (played with geeky aplomb by the always amazing Jeffrey Coombs). John Brennick doesn't intend to spend one more day than necessary in prison, and he soon enlists his roommates in a plot to escape from the prison. Along the way, Brennick dukes it out with the resident psycho, undergoes a trip to the mind wipe chamber, and schemes to get his wife out of the clutches of the evil warden.

"Fortress" offers up a whole host of gory sequences for the avid sci-fi/horror fan. The best sauce scene occurs when an intestinator explodes inside a man's stomach. The filmmakers love the idea of such a device so much they just have to show this scene soon after we learn what function such a piece of hardware serves. I kind of like that in a way. Why waste time when you can show a guy's abdomen exploding in the first twenty minutes of the movie? Moreover, the fight between Lambert and the cellblock murderer is appropriately bloody, as is the gunfire heavy finale. Overall, "Fortress" does give the viewer plenty of good old-fashioned carnage. The conclusion does seem a bit predictable, but who cares? Getting there was quite fun.

I liked most of the performances in this movie, even Lambert's turn as the laconic Brennick. Kurtwood Smith always does a good job, and Jeffrey Coombs may well be one of the greatest B movie stars in the history of cinema. Look for Lincoln Kilpatrick in a prime role, as well as the always menacing Vernon Wells playing the prison heavy who hates Brennick at first sight. About the only actor I didn't care for in "Fortress" was Loryn Locklin, who played Karen Brennick. I cannot put my finger on any specific reasons for this dislike, except that maybe I thought her too plain for the role. Stuart Gordon, the director responsible for the cult classic "The Re-Animator" helmed "Fortress." According to the production notes on the DVD, none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger helped get this movie made. With heavy hitters behind the scenes and a strong cast in front of the camera, "Fortress" entertains.

The DVD falls short in the extras department, but the picture transfer looks great. A sequel to this film appeared several years later, reportedly not as good as the original. I will probably watch this continuation of the "Fortress" saga, if for no other reason than the promised appearance of Pam Grier as the owner of Men-Tel. Grier, even at her worst, is always worth watching. Movies like "Fortress" and its sequel usually possess a few flaws, but violent science fiction can be immensely fun to watch, and in that aspect, "Fortress" delivers.

Oooh, C. L. Great Job!
This is an awesome edition to any Christopher Lambert Collection. One of his finest, and you almost get to see his whole, body front and back nude! How awesome for C.L. fans like me. I recommend you don't watch this around little ones, but it's great for watching with your special someone, it's got romance and action so you'll both be happy.

BB-T

Not bad for Lambert...
It is the future and breeding is controlled by the government. John Brannick and his wife are about to illegally have their second child. They are caught making their way out of the country and put in a fortress, a large prison in which the prisoners are controlled via a small device placed in the intestine. Silly? Yes. Fun? Definitely. I honestly can't give this movie more than three stars, but it was a fun action flick. The gore is big here and fans of this kind of movie, like "Robocop" or "Total Recall," will surely find much to like. Christopher Lambert does a nice job as the action hero who just wants to see his wife. The film is sort of like a futuristic "Great Escape." I had fun watching this film and if you're a fan of action or sci-fi, you should too. ... Read more