(1991)
Dir - Jim McBride
Overall: MEH
A lackluster made-for-television film with one of the most neutered interpretations of vampires on any size screen, Blood Ties is rightfully forgettable. Airing on Fox in May of 1991 with some mild soap opera sexiness thrown in that is adjacent to that of Melrose Place which debuted the following year, there is no star power present and as a collaboration between director Jim McBride and screenwriter Richard Shapiro, (both of whom had worked in and out of TV by this point), its pedestrian style and melodrama leaves much to be desired. In this universe, vampires are all descendants from a single bloodline, that being derived from the biblical character of Lilith, Adam's first wife from Judaic and Mesopotamian mythology. Said undead can roam about freely in the day time, are not immortal, do not have fangs, and also have little to no interest in sucking blood, so why bother labeling them as "vampires" in the first place is anyone's guess. The story examines foreign assimilation and racism in the most mild of senses, throwing in some yawn-inducing romance and petty rivalry between the not-really-vampiric family, all while the stock musical score plays continuously and nothing frighting or tantalizing happens at any time.
(1993)
Dir - Henry Selick
Overall: GOOD
A celebrated stop-motion fantasy musical that simultaneously constitutes as both a Christmas and Halloween one, The Nightmare Before Christmas is an impressive achievement in its field. Though Tim Burton was not officially at the helm, (that duty would go to fellow, former Disney animator Henry Selick), the director's influence and style remains front and center. Burton wrote the story and struggled in vain to get it made as anything from a short, a televised holiday special, or even a children's book before he finally had enough Hollywood clout under his belt to get it underway as a feature. The same year that digital effects work hit a milestone with Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Selick and his team here took over two years to deliver stellar stop-motion animation in the more traditional manner, utilizing twenty sound stages to create three different highly imaginative and detailed worlds. Halloween Town is rooted in pure German Expressionism, Christmas Town is Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the real world resembles a comparatively more normalized version of both. It all has a quirky energy that is purely appeasing to Burton's singular aesthetic and throw in a barrage of toe-tapping Danny Elfman songs, (as well as his own singing voice for Chris Saradon's Jack Skellington), wonderful voice work, and a brisk seventy-six minute running time, and it remains an infections watch.
(1995)
Dir - Kathryn Bigelow
Overall: GOOD
A gritty and grandiose techno-noir/cyberpunk thriller, Strange Days marks the most ambitious collaboration between filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron. Nearly a decade in the works from conception to completion, Cameron's initial ninety-page treatment was eventually collaborated upon by he and Jay Cocks, with Bigelow finding thematic inspiration from both the 1992 LA riots and the Lorena Bobbit incident. Technically dazzling with groundbreaking POV camera work and a jacked-up editing style that firmly roots it in a sensationalized, post-MTV type of grunge aesthetic, its bombastic length and presentation never becomes exhausting. This is partly due to its unflinching brutality at times, which snaps the viewer out of the very sensory-overload trance that the characters in such a dystopian setting are experiencing, with a virtual reality epidemic that allows for people to feel other's sensations that are recorded on discs. The over-the-top style may distract from what is essentially a popcorn friendly conspiracy mystery with a heavy ending that borders on schlock, but the ride is so captivating, the cinematography so inventive, the alt-industrial soundtrack so deliciously 90s, and the performances so finely-tuned, (especially Ralph Fieness and Angela Bassett in the leads), that it easily represents a high point for all involved.
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