(1981)
Dir - Rick Rosenthal
Overall: MEH
As is the case with nearly all sequels to paramount horror films, putting one's thoughts to the side as to how much it takes away from the original is a key component in enjoying it. John Carpenter's seminal Halloween ended ambiguously, with the Boogeyman possibly still out there. To pick up exactly where that film left off and show an audience exactly how he is still out there does all the work for us. With the added narrative twist that Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are siblings, Halloween II makes some unfortunate bogus choices. Carpenter wisely refused to direct, though he and screenwriting partner Debra Hill were coerced into writing the script and the first film's director later admitted that the story here was concocted under the influence of both alcohol and indifference. Rick Rosenthal stepping in to mirror Carpenter's style and make the most out of the materiel does in fact do good work. Most of the scenes play out to total silence and much atmospheric mileage is gotten out of the deserted hospital setting. It fails to overcome the inherent slasher holdups though, meaning it is primarily just another slow, logic-less waiting game for people to get violently killed.
(1984)
Dir - Thom Eberhardt
Overall: MEH
From a premise standpoint, writer/director Thom Eberthardt's Night of the Comet is rather solid. A parody of both post-apocalyptic movies and valley girl tropes, (both of which the 1980s shamelessly indulged in), it takes a deliberately silly approach to its subject matter. This is refreshing in and of itself and makes for some wonderful set pieces like a Dawn of the Dead-styled shopping spree interrupted by machine-gun toting, zombie Goth kids. Eberthardt's script makes room for some tender moments as well, fleshing out the characters to where the weight of being left to fend for themselves in a barren, lonely landscape does not go unnoticed by them. The production makes swell use out of the deserted, LA streets and a neon-decorated radio station and expansive military complex are excellently designed. It is a shame that the movie loses its footing at regular intervals then. The pacing is quite stagnant, especially during the final act and though the laughs connect when they are attempted, they are very few and far between. It probably has enough inventive moments to please genre fans and certainly enough style for 80s nostalgia enthusiasts, but it is also unmistakably weaker than it should be.
(1988)
Dir - Robert Englund
Overall: MEH
There is no bamboozlement at play with Robert Englund's directorial debut 976-EVIL, a horror film almost overflowing with pure, unapologetic schlock. Expecting anything less would simply be foolish, coming from the guy who turned Freddy Kruger into a rap star and has embraced his genre typecasting like no other would. Even as a director-for-hire, Englund's B-movie, over-the-top aesthetics from his on screen persona are in full popcorn-munching swing behind the lens here. There is hardly much else he could do with the cornball material anyway though. Essentially a nerd revenge movie with such a silly demonic hotline premise, the script is not the tightest in the world. The characterizations are uniformly weak and when the dialog is not centered on groan-worthy one-liners, it is simply lame. Tone-wise, the camp level is consistent, but the first half nevertheless drags too much. When the wheels do come off, it has some fun, bloody set pieces like a limb-removing poker game and a hell-frozen-over house. Stephen Geoffreys and Sandy Dennis do ham it up appropriately and for a dumb, cheap, far from understated horror outing, it kind of delivers.
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