Don’t Go to Sleep (1982)—the made-for-TV horror that proves family therapy could have saved a lot of lives, if only the insurance covered paranormal possessions and deadly Frisbees. Richard Lang directs this slow-burn nightmare where grief meets supernatural payback, and apparently every household object is just waiting for a chance to murder you. The plot … Read More “Don’t Go to Sleep (1982)” »
Deadly Games (1982)—the small-town slasher that proves that in rural America, everyone knows your name, your high school gossip, and apparently your inevitable death. Directed by Scott Mansfield, this film is basically Friday the 13th if it were written by someone who spent too long in board games and high school reunions. The movie opens … Read More “Deadly Games (1982)” »
Cry for the Strangers (1982)—the made-for-TV horror that proves even thunderstorms on the Pacific Coast aren’t as scary as your local cable schedule. Directed by Peter Medak, this film is basically Poltergeist meets Hallmark Special, with Patrick Duffy—yes, Dallas’s Patrick Duffy—playing a psychiatrist who apparently thinks moving to a haunted fishing village is a “fun … Read More “Cry for the Strangers (1982)” »
BrainWaves (1982)—or as it could have been more accurately titled: Computers Are People Too, But They’re Also Terrible at Plotting. This is the kind of film that makes you question whether science fiction is supposed to expand the mind—or just fry what’s left of it after two hours of limp dialogue and awkward hospital lighting. … Read More “BrainWaves (1982)” »
Blood Tide (1982)—or as I like to call it: James Earl Jones Goes Swimming with a Sea Serpent and Somehow Everyone Else Survives the Chaos. There’s a special kind of magic in a film that starts with a missing sister, a Greek island, and quickly spirals into blood-soaked mythology, amateur scuba bombing, and nuns meeting … Read More “Blood Tide (1982)” »
The Beast Within (1982)—or as it could be subtitled: “Mississippi, Monsters, and Moral Confusion.” This film makes it abundantly clear that sometimes Hollywood purchases a novel based solely on its title and says, “Yes, this will do… whatever it is.” Tom Holland’s screenplay takes a backseat to the question: how many horror elements can we … Read More “The Beast Within (1982)” »
The Survivor (1981)—or, as it could more accurately be called, Planes, Pyrotechnics, and Poor Plotting: The Movie. If Possession is a fever dream that makes sense in its own psychotic way, The Survivor is like someone decided to retell a James Herbert novel using cardboard cutouts, a hangover, and a fog machine. Robert Powell plays … Read More “The Survivor (1981)” »
Possession (1981)—a movie that feels less like a psychological horror and more like someone distilled a messy divorce, a bad LSD trip, and a Cold War spy thriller into a single cinematic acid burn. Andrzej Żuławski’s only English-language film is essentially Isabelle Adjani screaming, writhing, and occasionally doing things with a tentacle monster that your … Read More “Possession (1981)” »
Nightmare (1981) is one of those “so-bad-it’s-almost-impressive” horror flicks that feels like it was conceived during a caffeinated fever dream on a hot Florida beach. Picture this: an Italian director, Romano Scavolini, reads about psychiatric patients being chemically reprogrammed, thinks, “Yeah, let’s make a movie about that,” and suddenly you have George Tatum—a man so … Read More “Nightmare (1981)” »
Imagine taking a trip to Bali, expecting serene beaches and coconut cocktails, and instead being greeted by a flying head with guts dangling like spaghetti from a meat grinder. That, in a nutshell, is Mystics in Bali, a movie that feels less like a supernatural horror film and more like a fever dream produced by … Read More “Mystics in Bali (1981) – Flying Heads, Entrails, and the Worst Vacation Ever” »