20 - The Quick and The Dead

Connection To NIGHTMARES - Lance Henriksen

After watching Nightmares it was supposed to lead onto Maximum Overdrive, per the Emilio Estevez connection, and You Tube had it on ready and all planned but in the meantime it was took off which as taught me a lesson not to plan too far ahead and just take it has it comes, there is a list of stuff I have saved with possible connections but I think that has taught me not to stay so close to that.

Anyway I digress, so that brings me up to the second western in as many days - Sam Raimi's 1995 The Quick and The Dead. This is the first time I've seen it since the 90's (when I was a teenager) and you know what I really bloody enjoyed this.

I was a would-be filmmaker at one point and this is the sort of western I would have come up with if I had the chance, I mean that more not about the plot or anything but it's certainly a western influenced by the western film rather then historical if this sentence makes sense.

The motive of Sharon Stone's character is straight out of Once Upon A Time In The West and that of Harmonica (the reveal scenes are very similar) but even though she is the de-facto star it feels more like an ensemble piece ( 2 of the co-stars Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio where not a-list yet) and it sort of feels like characters inspired from other westerns all mixed together and see if it works - which it does.

Gene Hackman is the bastard bad guy, who holds an annual dueling competition likely in some points to get rid of potential rivals and to show the townsfolk who fear him how dangerous he is, he as the old Freudian excuse which works in showing how much of a cold bastard he is.

The two main support are the future stars - Crowe and DiCaprio -this was Crowe's first US movie (and wouldn't be embarrassing like what was coming up soon for him - Virtiousity) and DiCaprio had the success already of an Oscar Nom for Gilbert Grape and some other well received films both are great in their roles, Crowe as the Reverend who was once part of Hackman's gang forced into the competition and DiCaprio as the Kid, cocky and the son of Hackman.

There's also some cool supporting players such as Keith David and Lance Henriksen, who both have their moments and considering how many duels are in this movie, none of them are ever boring, one even including a cool shot shown from the back of a bullet going right through a head.

Overall a fun western, I don't know if purest will dislike it but for me it was really well done with great characters and performances and it never has a dull moment.

19 - Nightmares

Connection To GOIN' SOUTH - Veronica Cartwright

This was a film I wasn't that familiar too until very recently, it had never been on my radar and was honestly looking through films that where on Youtube in full and this was one so I read up about it, I'm not going to pretend I knew of it's existence before then.

With horror anthology movies I think most people can count them on one or two hands - The Creep Show movies, Twilight Zone Movie, Dead Of Night - most likely perhaps, some will say Body Bags or The Willies among others as well, and I know I'm leaving loads off but the point is I think horror anthology is more something people will associate with television.

The first thing I'll say about Nightmares, is that  the running roughly of 90 minutes just flies by - 4 stories, none of them hidden classics, at least don't wear out their welcome, I swear I thought I'd been watching less then an hour by the time the fourth one finished.

The first story up is "Terror In Topanga" (nobody better tell Cory - I've been holding that joke in since I saw the title come up), I think it's the weakest of the bunch, I was going to say the ending is stole by the movie Urban Legend but then I realized the ending is probably based off the original urban legend.

"The Bishop Of Battle" was made in the 80's don't you know - well obviously the whole film was but this just stands out with the clothing, the walkman, the arcade graphics, Emilio Estevez seems to play the typical 80's douche who's obsessed with getting to Level 13 on a arcade game, fun segment.

"The Benediction" as Lance Henriksen as a Priest who as give up on faith after a child death, it's probably the best acted since Henriksen is a talented guy, this is the one that probably felt it went by quickest to me (but I didn't sit and time each segment).

"Night Of The Rat" is goofy but is fun and features a giant rat ending up terrorising the home of Veronica Cartwright and Richard Masur. As there ever been a feature length film with the same plot, I'd be surprised if it hasn't.

Overall, even though stories verge on the silly, it's sort of fun and like I said the time just flew by, as give me a taste to maybe watch some more horror anthologies somewhere down the line, I recommend it but reviews I've read suggest it wasn't brilliantly recieved.