Horror Film of the Week: Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary

Directed By: Mary Lambert

Starring: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Brad Greenquist, Fred Gwynne

Year of Release: 1989

Rated: R

1 hrs. 43 min.

The Creed family moves to a beautiful house off of a country highway that is frequented by big rigs. A kindly neighbor named Jud (Fred Gwynne) shows the family a pet cemetery in the woods nearby. An accident occurs over the Thanksgiving holiday that is only the beginning of a much larger event.

Right from the beginning the audience is pulled into the film; its eerie opening sequence puts the viewer in the right mood for a horror movie. The camera creeps through the titular cemetery, giving us a peek at each of the tombstones of beloved pets from the past, and it is backed by dark music consisting of children's voices. And what's creepier than children when it comes to horror films?

Pet Sematary is a brilliant masterpiece that is a darkly wonderful comment on the concepts of death, afterlife, and grief. It is able to pull you into more emotions than just fear; you feel sadness, loss, joy, and shock, all in one movie. Plus, there is the added bonus of the presence of Fred "Herman Munster" Gwynne as the kindly neighbor.

Intrigued yet? If not, there are two words that can only make this even better: Stephen. King. The script for Pet Sematary was written by the Master of Horror himself, and was based on his 1983 novel of the same name. There are many reasons why Stephen King has earned his title of Master of Horror, and Pet Sematary is one.

"Spanish 101"

Community

Starring: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Chevy Chase

Network: NBC

Thursdays at 9:30pm

"Spanish 101" is the second episode of NBC's new comedy following The Office on Thursday nights.

In this episode, something Britta says to Annie and Shirley inspires them to hold a protest. Pierce tries to win the friendship of Jeff by partnering with him on a Spanish assignment. In the end, Jeff's willingness to accept Pierce may or may not impress Britta, the girl whose affection Jeff is trying to win.

It seemed as though the comedy level dropped a bit from the Pilot episode. While the jokes were not as funny as they were in the premiere, there were definitely some great lines and moments (such as Pierce's toast in which he says "To the powerage of words," and to which Jeff responds, "To the irony of that sentence.").

This time, however, it was The Hangover's Ken Jeong who stole the episode as Señor Chang (apparently also known as "El Tigre Chino"). His over-the-top character created laughs in every scene he inhabited. Hopefully there will be a lot more of Señor Chang in the future.

Grade: B+

"Friday Night Bites"

The Vampire Diaries

Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder

Network: The CW

Thursdays at 8pm

The plot thickens in Episode 3 of the CW's new teen vampire drama The Vampire Diaries, "Friday Night Bites."

The episode opens the morning after Caroline's rough night with Stefan's older brother Damon. And he won't let her leave just yet. Later on at school, Elena convinces Stefan to try out for the football team despite the fact that the coach is the history teacher who now hates his guts for showing him up in class, and despite the fact that a couple of the players already don't like him (including Elena's ex). Elena tries to rejoin the cheerleading squad and finds it harder to adjust than she imagined, and Bonnie's witchy senses are tingling about Stefan. All of this plus Damon starts to move in on Elena, while Stefan tries to convince himself there's still humanity left in his brother.

The acting has improved ever so slightly in the third episode. There is still something a little lacking with some of the dialogue, but I blame that more on the writers than anyone else. This episode also packed a little less cheese than its two predecessors; cheese is still abounds in the smallest amounts however, because after all, its a CW show and they tend to be a little overdramatic sometimes.

Bonnie and Elena are finally starting to figure out there's more to the Salvatore brothers than people think. It's only a matter of time before the weird occurances catch up to them and the girls figure out what the guys really are. And with another death in town on game night, I'd say it isn't long before people start pointing their fingers at Stefan and Damon.

As for the "diaries" part of "Vampire Diaries," the show isn't going overboard with Stefan and Elena's diary voice overs. We get an entry or two in each episode so far, and it's just the right amount. If they were constantly reading us entry after entry it would get old, but the writers are giving the audience just the right amount to still be able to call it "The Vampire Diaries."

I'm definitely sticking around for episode 4.

Grade: B+

Horror Film of the Week: The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead

Directed By: Sam Raimi

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, Sarah York

Year of Release: 1981

Rated: NC-17

1 hrs. 25 min.

In this classic horror film from the now renowned filmmaker Sam Raimi, five friends travel to a cabin in the woods. Upon exploring the cabin their first night they come across a Book of the Dead and a recording of a man's research and readings of demonic incantations. Upon playing the recordings they unwittingly release an evil in the woods. One by one the characters are possessed and become zombies. Will any of them make it to see the sun rise?

The Evil Dead has everything you expect from your classic horror movie: lots of blood, gore, cheesiness. Despite being a non-Hollywood chillfest, the film, like any great classic, has many a great scare and thrill in it, from a brutal attack on one girl by the trees and roots in the forest to the iconic scene in which a possessed zombie girl stabs her friend in the ankle with a pencil.

The film went on to spawn two sequels, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, a stage musical, and a comic book series. There is even a fourth film in the works. Hey, if Bruce Campbell returns in the fourth film, then that is also sure to be a classic as well.

This is one film that is not just a must see for the film buffs and horror aficianados. Anyone and everyone should see The Evil Dead, but be prepared for the occasional cheesy moment and bad acting. But isn't that what makes so many of our favorite horror films so classic?

Pop Culture References, Asperger's, and Chevy Chase

Community

Starring: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Chevy Chase

Network: NBC

Thursdays at 9:30pm

Tonight the Pilot for NBC's new comedy Community premiered after the season premiere of The Office.

We open on a bright sunny day, students are milling around, and things look like your typical college campus. Then the clock tower we think we hear is revealed to be a boom box accompanying a fumbling Community College Dean at a podium, who then gives one of the worst speech since "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

Enter Joel McHale as Jeff Winger, new student at this fine school. His main objectives this episode? Get answers to all the tests he will be taking this semester and get a date with the hot girl from Spanish class. Sounds like your average high schooler, actually.

While all this may sound cliche, its actually a rather refreshing show. The humor was pretty good, with the occasional corny lines and immaturity, such as when students Pierce and Troy giggle over the pronunciation of the word "Asperger's." There were plenty of pop culture references all the way from Bill Murray to the Breakfast Club (including a dedication at the end to John Hughes, gotta give props for that). And as an added bonus, you get Chevy Chase as the creepy old guy student.

Joel McHale seems to be able to carry off the job of being the one under the spotlight for the show as well, with sarcastic quips and jokes as good as the ones he makes about reality tv on The Soup. I'm half expecting a few jibes at Ryan Seacrest this season.

All in all, a great start and a good choice to follow NBC titan The Office.

Grade: A-

"The Night of the Comet"

The Vampire Diaries

Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder

Network: The CW

Thursdays at 8pm

Tonight was Episode 2 of the CW's new attempt at the vampire genre The Vampire Diaries, "The Night of the Comet."

This time there was a small improvement on the acting from the pilot episode. I actually believed the characters this time, minus any scene with Ian Somerhalder as Damon. He's trying too hard to be the bad guy and everyone else is too stupid to realize how extremely creepy Damon really is.

There was no less cheese than there was in the pilot. There was still mist, crows, and bad lines. But that's the epitome of CW television shows, so should we expect any less?

That being said I find myself oddly addicted to this less than spectacular series. I'll be tuning in next time.

Grade: B+

More Vampires, Rolling Fog, and ...Another Hit for the CW?

The Vampire Diaries

Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder

Network: The CW

Thursdays at 8pm

Tonight was the premiere of the CW's new vampire drama The Vampire Diaries, based on a book series by L.J. Smith.

Elena returns to school after losing both her parents in May. Now her brother's dealing drugs, her friend thinks she's turned psychic (has she really? it's quite possible...), and her ex-boyfriend is apparently still pining for her.

Enter the new (hot) guy in school.

But the new guy is more than meets the eye. No, he's not a transformer. Turns out he's a vampire.

There's something else coming into town, as we see two people murdered by a vampire at the get go. Is he the murderer? When another girl is attacked and survives, questions will certainly be raised.

The acting wasn't too bad in this Pilot episode (certainly better than the acting in Twilight, to which the show is already being compared to despite being based on books written previous to the Twilight Saga). And we already know Elena and the new guy Stefan are headed for romance, the question is, "What's the deal with Stefan's brother Damon?" There were certainly some cheesy moments, like the typical thriller movie raven flying around and crowing and the fog rolling in (apparently a product of the vampires in this series).

All in all, I would call the pilot episode mediocre. But since it's the first episode, there's time for it to grow, so we'll just have to see.

Grade: B

Blazing Guns, Tough Guys, and Weird Sort-Of Robot Dancing by That Dexter Guy.

Gamer

Directed By: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick

Rated: R

1 hrs. 35 min.

Death row inmates participate in a live action video game. 30 games and they are free. Guess who is dangerously close to 30? Kable (Gerard Butler). Not only are they in real life war situations with explosions going off around them and guns a-blazing, but they are controlled, through new neuro-technology developed by Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall), by outside gamers. In Kable's case, its a 17 year old rich kid. Kable wants the kid to cut him free so he can control himself and find his wife and child in the outside world. Is he able to do it?

The plot is engaging (for the most part) and the action is fun. Gamer has everything you expect from your typical action film: tough guy, guns, explosions, car chases, random nudity and sexuality that has nothing to do with the central plot. However, the plot thins out the closer to the end of the film and the ending comes to quickly and easily.

By far one of the best things about this film: Michael C. Hall. He steals the scenes he is in, and plays an amusing villain who you actually like. Plus in one scene he shows off a few moves while controlling some semi-minions in a sort of dancing/fight (no, not in a Jets/Sharks kind of way, don't worry).

So while it isn't the best thinker's film, stuff gets blown up, there's lots of cool action, and Butler is a tough action hero you can actually stand and who you actually hope succeeds in getting what he wants.

Grade: B -