This movie is more of a comedy that its predecessor, though it still has plenty of fun action as well. It’s a bit of a cash grab, trying to recreate the success of the first one with no better ideas than “what if it were in a different city?” But Kurt Russell and John Carpenter are so good at their jobs that the end result is engaging and enjoyable right to the end.
Closest comparison: It’s like Escape from New York by way of Die Another Day.
Setting: Action
Plot: Suicide Mission
Tone: Action
This movie is a cheesy gorefest that takes itself way too seriously. The trifecta of bad acting, flimsy sets, and clumsy fight choreography are compounded by the choppy editing and bogus writing. None of the characters are likeable, the usual saving grace of the sci-fi B-movie, and they’re constantly doing things that go against their character motivations which is the original sin of script writing. The music is great and it the narrative is sitting on a solid premise, but there’s no saving this catastrophe of a movie.
Content warning: mild gore
Closest comparison: It’s trying to be Pandorum but it ends up closer to Battlefield Earth.
Setting: Sci-fi Action
Plot: Survival Horror
Tone: Pop Horror
This movie is yet another small scale first contact movie set in the heartland of America in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It’s very competently made, as are all films with John Carpenter at the helm, but it also has nothing to separate it from the crowd apart from a brief special effects shot early on that is up to Carpenter’s usual high standards. Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen have dynamic chemistry and Bridges does especially well with a strange role. While it’s certainly worth a watch for fans of quirky first encounter movies, most cinephiles can give it a miss.
Closest comparison: It’s like E.T. in the the era road trip trappings of Smokey and the Bandit.
Setting: First Contact
Plot: Road Trip
Tone: Fish out of Water
This is a classic action movie that doesn’t quite stand up to its own hype. It has a fun aesthetic and a playfully wacky premise, but it ultimately just sort of plods along until it’s over. There aren’t as many quips and setpieces as its contemporaries, and apart from Kurt Russell and Ernest Borgnine there aren’t any interesting or even memorable characters. The sleaze dampens the fun and the grit overshadows the adventure, but it’s still an enjoyable ‘80s action romp.
Closest comparison: It’s like Big Trouble in Little China by way of Judge Dredd (1995).
Setting: Sci-fi Dystopia
Plot: Rescue Adventure
Tone: ‘80s Action
This movie is a disturbing entry in the horror genre, along the lines of Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. Many of the scares are well executed, but the overall camp of mediocre production values lessens them somewhat. There’s not as much gore as many of its peers and much of it centers around investigating the quiet, backwoods town that keeps terror under the floorboards. Still, there’s plenty of dread and the film comes through with the cosmic hellscape in the end. If you’re a fan of 80’s hell horror, you’ll probably like this one more than I did.
Closest comparison: It’s like a cross between Children of the Corn and Event Horizon.
Setting: Small Town Creepshow
Plot: Disappearance
Tone: Dreadful Investigation
It's a classic for the horror genre, and the creature effects clearly demonstrate why it's still relevant 36 years later. Though the practical effects are definitely antiquated, the editing very cleverly conceals an impressive amount of what could otherwise have been flaws. This movie would have done better to provide enough information that The Thing could be traced upon repeat viewings, and the ending is anticlimactic. These do not detract from the flim as much as they are missed opportunities. Sill, I would be excited to watch it again so I have to give it the 4/5.
