KipBlount

Full Moon finally did it. Yes, they quit making those horror-comedies("Curse of the Puppet Master", "Hideous", and "Creeps") and finally attempted a serious horror picture. The film basically is set around a bunch of cheap college students who don't want to pay rent like the rest of us. They get this idea of residing in an old hospital that contains the evil spirit of the Shrieker. Victoria Sloan is once again taking the reins of director for Full Moon Studios and actually makes a worthy picture for once. She seems to understand the restrictions of her actor's talents and the lackluster special effects and works around them. However, I shouldn't be so rough, the acting is actually pretty good in terms of recent Full Moon actors. Tanya Dempsey, who plays the lead, is pretty convincing as the brave new tenant who solves the riddle of who is behind the Shrieker. A highlight of the film is one guy who is so self conscious of his sexuality that he spends the whole film stating he is not a homosexual(pretty interesting). I recommend giving this movie a try, especially if you are a fan of Full Moon films. I really feel it is one of their best movies in recent years.

Bad Channel is an embarrassing outing by "Subspecies" director Ted Nicolaou. Actually, to get to the point, watch Ted's "Subspecies" movies(there are 4 of them as of December 1998) instead. However, we are here to review and comment on "Bad Channels". This pic stars everyone's favorite 80's MTV vj Martha Quinn in a spirited performance as Lisa Cummings, a local reporter. She is the center of a prank created by DJ Dangerous Dan O'Dare(Paul Hipp), but soon the prank is turned on Dan when an alien takes over the radio station. That is much as I will give away on this classic. The move is split up by pathetically made music videos starring bands that have never heard of, and I'm sure that I will never hear of again. The highlight of the film is, again as I have said in other films starring her, Charlie Spradling. Charlie, who plays Cookie, gives it her all as a waitress. I gave the film a 4, only recommended to Full Moon fans.

Full Moon's Puppet Master III is a disappointing sequel to the classic series concerning killer puppets. We are now taken back in time to Nazi Germany and have the general pleasure of watching the puppets beat the hell out of the Nazis. The film is directed actually quite well by David Decoteau, however, a lot of the acting falls short and is flat(probably because we are not gifted with the talents of Paul Lemat(Puppet Master) or Charlie Spradling(Puppet Master II). The movie was filmed on the backlots of Universal Studio, so you may recognize some of the scenery. The new addition to this flick is Six-Shooter, a puppet with 3 pairs of arms, each armed with a gun(how creative). The movie seems to run a little on the long side even though it is only 86 minutes. Only for die hard Puppet Master fans.