(1991)
Dir - Dean Tschetter
Overall: WOOF
The only full-length directorial job for Dean Tschetter, (who utilized the age ole alias of Allan Smithee), Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh is a "comedy" in the technical sense, focusing on a slasher killer who murders women for sacrificial body parts with a nasty power tool. All of the characters have quirky attributes, (Beverly Penberthy smokes so much that she needs to undergo an experimental treatment ala James Woods in Cat's Eye, Don Brockett explodes at the handle as a police chief, Susann Fletcher cannot stop hiccuping, Jake Dengel looks like a Caucasian James Hong somehow, etc.), and this breaks a fundamental rule of comedy in that there is no straight man/woman to balance out the wackiness. This is hardly the film's biggest faux pas though. No, that would be Tschetter and Tom Tully's script, which has an endlessly not-serious tone yet lands none of its intended jokes. There is nothing worse than a comedy which fails to realize that it is not funny, and even though the film is sufficient from a production standpoint, Veronica Hart shows up, and none other than Tom Savini provided the gore effects, it gets everything else wrong.
(1992)
Dir - Albert Band/Charles Band
Overall: MEH
Supposedly earning the rights to Marvel's Doctor Strange before those rights ended up elapsing, Full Moon Features went ahead and made an unofficial adaptation anyway with Doctor Mordrid, changing some names and plot points around and scoring genre heavyweights Jeffrey Combs as the diligent title character and Brian Thompson as his no good rival. Like Strange, Mordrid lives in a swanky abode in New York, can astral project and travel through dimensions, uses a sacred amulet, and has a nifty outfit at his disposal, (granted one that he barely wears), but screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner's script bares no direct references to the Sorcerer Supreme. Instead, this is an R-rated romp done on a B-movie scale, but an impressive one as far as Charles Band productions go. There are a barrage of locations, frequent special effects sequences, (including a stop-motion showdown in the finale between two dinosaur fossils), and no unnecessary padding. In fact at seventy-four minutes, it even feels rushed, wrapping up Thompson's threat before the stakes are made dire. While Thompson chews the scenery with a posh and villainous accent, he does not get to flex much of his diabolical prowess, plus the usually delightful Combs is wooden in the lead. Still, it has some fun moments and easily ranks as one of Full Moon's better endeavors.
(1998)
Dir - Ronny Yu
Overall: GOOD
The genre shift to unabashed comedy finally transpires in the forth Child's Play installment Bride of Chucky, not coincidentally the first in the series to abandoned the tired saga of Andy Barclay and instead just stick with the diabolical trajectory of Brad Dourif's title character. A seven year break transpired between this and Child's Play 3, which allowed for not just a necessary differentiating angle to take, but also made it possible to be self-referential. The late 90s were an abysmal time for the horror genre overall, but producer David Kirschner and franchise creator Don Mancini take advantage of a post-Scream landscape here, making fun of how silly these Chucky movies always were and leaning into such silliness in the process. There is no other way to handle such a ridiculous script, and thankfully all parties involved seem to know the assignment. Jennifer Tilly of course steals the show as Dourif's former love interest-turned-murder doll Tiffany; a Goth rock gay icon that matches Chucky's lust for mayhem. The set pieces are just as stupid as they are hilarious, peaking with the two villainous dolls consummating their marriage in the same tacky honeymoon suite of their latest lovebird victims who they just killed by way of shattered ceiling mirror shards. Best of all though, the movie's comedic adherence allows for things to fly off the handle and stay there, plausibility be dammed. This means that it is only limited by the creativity of Mancini and his collaborators, all of whom rise to the occasion.
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