(1990)
Dir - Francis Teri
Overall: MEH
A D-grade exploitation movie set at a whore house abortion clinic of all things, The Suckling, (Sewage Baby), goes for a Night of the Living Dead type scenario where a bunch of people violently argue with each other while being stuck inside of a building that is under threat by a monstrous force. The lone film from Francis Teri, it has a ridiculous mutated fetus abomination that terrorizes our crop of yelling, obnoxious characters, yet sadly, said creature is given a small amount of screen time. In place of that, (i.e. the only thing that anyone coming into such a movie would be interested in), we have lousy-to-manageable no name actors embarrassing themselves as everyone systematically and of course boringly gets picked off. The fleshy monster looks great, (and is performed in a suit by Fangoria editor Michael Gingold), plus Teri makes the most out of his single location by trying to find claustrophobic camera angles without any effective gore effects or atmospheric lighting at his disposal. Still, watching miserable people act like raving assholes for just shy of ninety minutes in such bottom-barrel nonsense is hardly worth the effort.
(1991)
Dir - Steven Fierberg
Overall: MEH
Not to be confused with the 1998 bayou thriller with Michael Madsen and Rosanna Arquette that goes by the same name, this Voodoo Dawn was the debut from cinematographer Steven Fierberg and is an adaptation of John A. Russo's 1987 novel of the same name. It also serves as an early starring vehicle for Tony Todd, who plays an intimidating voodoo practitioner that is hellbent on transforming Haitian plantation workers into zombie slaves. Often in these types of stories, it is wealthy and morally deplorable Caucasians who use their finances to oppress the disenfranchised locals, but making Todd the mysterious bad guy at the helm of such a diabolical scheme, (and turning white guys into slaves as well), gives the story a differentiating race reversal. Ultimately, folks from both skin colors reunite to take Todd down, plus Gina Gershon turns in one of her finer, (and comparatively less sexualized), performances as a Southern farm girl adoptee. There are a few splashes of brutal violence and Fierberg turns South Carolina into an earthy, supernatural realm where forbidden magic is made manifest. The movie is serviceable if not remarkable, dragging until the third act which is when the evil forces kick into higher gear, but it delivers a good amount of heavy atmosphere, plus Todd's wordless portrayal is a stand-out.
(1993)
Dir - Charles Band
Overall: MEH
Charles Band himself takes the helm for the crossover Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, a film that does not only fuse together its two title properties, but also manages to shoehorn it into the Bad Channels universe. We get the obligatory flashback sequences that recap the previous movies, all of which still pathetically only stretch this one out to sixty-four minutes. On top of one of the tiny-sized ladies from Bad Channels, Tim Thomerson's Dollman title character, and the demonic toys of course, we also have the notable dwarf character Phil Fondacaro joining the ranks, making this, (along with the minuscule running time), the most small-themed Full Moon film since 2004's inevitable Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys hybrid. Anyway you slice it, this is some dopey shit, and it is done on such a pathetic scale that even fans of these silly properties will be hopelessly underwhelmed. There are no inventive set pieces or new ideas to further the mythos of anything going on in these franchises, just slight variations of the good and bad guys doing the same thing in an overall weaker film. At least the Quiet Riot jams are appreciated though.
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