(1991)
Dir - Rachel Talalay
Overall: MEH
Certainly one of the dumbest franchise installments ever made, (Friday the 13th, Leprechaun, Saw, Puppet Master, Child's Play, The Amityville Horror, and probably several other ones notwithstanding), Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare rightfully sort-of-not-really ended the Elm Street series, at least for a couple of way too short years. In any event, this was the sequel that crescendoed the comedic elements to their breaking point. By turning Freddy Krueger into a literal cartoon character, (with Looney Tunes gags, sound effects, and a partially animated 3D finale to boot), all previous coherency rules from the previous five films are tossed aside because as New Line Cinema properly surmised, nobody cared anyway. As usual, the more that screenwriters delve into the backstory of a titular villain, the less interesting and frightening that they simultaneously become, but to the movie's credit, at least they seem to be purposely running this schlock train headlong into a brick wall. On that note, amusing cameos by Johnny Depp, Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold, and Alice Cooper, plus a strong emphasis on ridiculous nightmare sequences, (always the series' strong suite), and Robert Englund either trying way too hard or way too little, all makes the proceedings a moronic hoot for those who are in on the joke at least.
(1992)
Dir - Ate de Jong
Overall: MEH
Following up Drop Dead Fred, (a movie that eventually achieved cult status, as did this one), Dutch filmmaker Ate de Jong's Highway to Hell has its B-movie heart in the right place, but the sum of its campy parts fails to fully come together. The third straight horror screenplay from Brian Helgeland, it has an acceptable premise where two recently engaged lovebirds find themselves on an isolated, Nevada stretch of interstate where a mute, burn-victim-faced patrolman kidnaps Kristy Swanson in order to deliver her to the Lord of Darkness. This in turn sends Chad Lowe on a quest through the netherworld which is depicted as a post-apocalyptic, sunny, desert landscape full of bikers, strippers, hoodlums, and the overall damned. Several of the set pieces are wacky fun, with solid special and make-up effects, especially where C.J. Graham's Hellcop and some horny demon gargoyles are concerned. A handful of cameos color the proceedings, including Jerry Stiller as a wise-cracking police officer, Ben Stiller as a hillbilly cook, Lita Ford as a horny, Old West hussie, and Gilbert Gottfried as Adolph Hitler. Unfortunately, the tone is inconsistent, as is the humor which mostly gets by on the inventiveness of the details as opposed to many of the jokes landing. The material probably called for a more outrageous approach than the quasi-sincere one taken here, but what does work is admirable at least.
(1993)
Dir - Tony Randel
Overall: MEH
As a creepy crawly, practical effects showcase, Ticks, (Infested), is a lot of fun for those who can withstand the mild aggravation of a merely point A to point B plot that is front-loaded with unlikable characters. One of several horror films from director Tony Randel, the set-up serves its purpose to get a cabin full of people out in the woods where Clint Howard is mad scientisting marijuana plants, which of course results in chemical run off that mutates ticks to dangerous size and aggression. The fact that most of the adults and teenagers are present to conduct some kind of inner-city wilderness project is lame, as is the fact that they spend the majority of their time being mildly to aggressively nasty to each other. This is even more prominent in the final act where two vile hillbillies enter the picture, resulting in more arguing and screaming as over-sized bugs attack everyone. Doug Beswick's special effects are appropriately disgusting though and watching fresh carcasses violently gyrate and explode while boatloads of critters emerge out of oozing slime sacks to scurry everywhere is what any audience member privy to such a movie is signing up for in the first place. So at least that is delivered, plus Howard is always a hoot and Carlton himself Alfonso Ribeiro gets to act all hood, as well as getting the most over-the-top post-death scene out of the bunch.
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