Tibor Takacs Movies
Budapest-born Tibor Takacs has been a successful maker of horror and exploitation movies in Canada since the mid '70s, when he was in his early 20s. Following relatively minor films such as Metal Messiah (1977) and Tomorrow Man (1979), he struck gold with Gate (1987), an entertaining low-budget chiller about two kids who inadvertently open a pathway to Hell. Gate II: Tresspassers (1991) followed, a sure sign of horrors to come. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
Giant spiders from outer space attack New York City, sending a health inspector and a subway worker on a frantic race to save their daughter and prevent the queen from hatching an army of colossal arachnids that could take over the entire world. Patrick Muldoon and Sydney Sweeney star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Christian Slater stars in this thriller as successful self-help author Wes Wilson, whose happiness is shattered when his fiancee, Samantha (Sarah Ann Schultz), is killed in a seemingly random attack. Wes's world is turned further upside down after he uncovers Samantha's secret double life, which involved stealing a cache of diamonds from ruthless jewel smuggler Isaac (Cuba Gooding Jr.) -- who now wants his loot back, and is willing to do anything to get it. ~ Sandra Bencic, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Cuba Gooding, Jr., (more)
- 2008
The deputy mayor of New York City and his meteorologist wife race to save the Big Apple from a series of devastating tornados created by global warming in this made for television disaster film. The upper and lower atmospheres have split, giving birth to towering tornados and unpredictable electric storms. When an enormous jet-stream vortex fills the skies over Manhattan, numerous twisters emerge from its center and send towering skyscrapers crumbling to the ground. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, Deputy Mayor James Lawrence (Sebastian Spence) and his wife Cassie (Nicole DeBoer) realize that in order to stop the storms, they'll have to innovate. But time is running out, because at the rate the storm is building, the entire city will be completely leveled in less than 24 hours. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicole deBoer, Sebastian Spence, (more)
The cast of the hit primetime drama Melrose Place reunite for his Sci-Fi Channel original film concerning a remote ski lodge that is overrun by enormous mutant spiders. Ski season is upon us, and as an ambitious team of Olympic hopefuls arrives at the Lost Mountain Ski Resort to train under a retired Olympic skier (Patrick Muldoon), it begins to look as if they may have a shot at the gold after all. The fun quickly turns to fright, however, when a scientist (Vanessa Williams) from a local government lab arrives with an ominous warning about a top-secret experiment gone horribly awry. It seems that government scientists have succeeded in creating a breed of giant spiders capable of surviving in even the most extreme climates, and somehow the aggressive arachnids have managed to escape from the lab. Now, as the snow begins to fall, the flesh-eating spiders scurry out onto the slopes for a hearty winter snack. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A man is forced to overcome his lifelong fear of snakes in order to protect his town from a mythical serpent that is growing at an alarming rate and swallowing up anything and anyone who happens to cross its slithering path. Les Daniels was just a young boy when his father was bitten and killed by an extremely poisonous snake. Years, later, Lee is still petrified of snakes. When Lee's brother inadvertently releases an extremely deadly serpent that was feared by ancient cultures, the one person with the power to defeat the creature is the same one who fears it most. Now trapped in a terrifying situation and forced to confront his painful past, Lee boldly sets up to stop the Meg Snake before it's too late. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Shanks, Siri Baruc, (more)
A botched science experiment unleashes a destructive otherworldly force with the power to devour the planet in this science fiction disaster thriller starring Judd Nelson and Kristy Swanson. Science has finally gone too far, and as a giant black hole opens up over St. Louis, the terrified denizens struggle to escape the all-consuming void by any means necessary. As General Ryker (David Selby) prepares to lob a heaping helping of nuclear warheads at the rapidly expanding hole, scientist Eric Bryce (Nelson) and his assistant Shannon (Swanson) soon discover that the hole has also provided passage for an interstellar stalker of the most unsavory variety. Now, with a murderous alien on the loose and the fate of the world looking grimmer by the minute, Eric and Shannon must destroy the savage visitor and reverse the effects of the black hole before the increasingly unstable General Ryker carries out his explosive final solution. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Kristy Swanson, (more)
The made-for-television Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep stars Charlie O'oConnell as Ray, a man who lost his parents as a boy when they were eaten by a sea monster. Now as an adult, Ray plans to get his revenge while stealing a valuable jewel the monster hides. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlie O'Connell, Victoria Pratt, (more)
- 2004
- PG13
- Add Nature Unleashed: Earthquake to Queue Add Nature Unleashed: Earthquake to top of Queue
The disaster film Nature Unleashed: Earthquake concerns a massive earthquake that strikes near a Russian nuclear plant, forcing a group of brave people to figure out how to keep the plant from exploding and causing devastation much greater than was visited upon Japan at the end of World War II. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Gerald McRaney stars in this made-for-TV nailbiter as Jake Arledge, a dedicated meteorologist. Having invented a device to predict the patterns of tornadoes, Jake is unable to convince the higher-ups of the device's value. All this changes when Jake joins forces with his estranged TV-weatherperson daughter Dee (Thea Gill) and his former protégé Mark Scott (Steve Braun) to prevent the wholesale destruction of a town smack-dab in the middle of a tornado's path. Also in the cast is Joan Van Ark as the town's politically ambitious mayor, who insists upon throwing a huge vote-raising party despite impending disaster from the skies. Shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba over a hectic 13-day period, Tornado Warning debuted over the PAX network on September 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Clements, Gerald McRaney, (more)
- 2001
John Dye, supermodel Kathy Ireland, and Mary Donnelly Haskell, stars of the late 2000 holiday telemovie Once Upon a Christmas, return for this family-friendly sequel, Twice Upon a Christmas (2001). Whereas, in the original film, Santa sends his daughter Kristin out to redeem a dysfunctional family and thus save Christmas, the sequel presents a completely unrelated story. In Twice, Santa's first born daughter, Rudolfa (Kristin's older sister) is slyly selling off pieces of the North Pole. She plans to eventually take over the entire place, destroy Christmas, and replace Santa's workshop with a shiny new casino. At the last minute, Kristin comes to the rescue with her two kids, who join forces to save the holiday by bringing the destroyed village back to its former glory. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
The rats have taken over the lab in this tale of rodent terror that's sure to give even the most stringent animal lover nightmares. The Brookside Institute has long been known as the place the wealthy go to dry out and get it together, but deep within the walls of the pricey rehab center lurks a dark secret. Years ago, the scientists who worked in the institution conducted a series of gruesome experiments on countless lab rats, and though the scientists are long gone, the genetically mutated rats have multiplied, turning the pricey institute into their own personal breeding ground. With the patients in lockdown and the rats gaining an insatiable appetite for human flesh, it appears as if rehabilitation is about to take a back seat to survival for the patients of Brookside. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A cop travels through time to chase a killer in this sci-fi tinged thriller. Police detective Michael Norstrand (Rob Estes) has been assigned to investigate a series of ritual murders in which the victims have been horribly burned. Michael finds himself working the case alongside Lucy Hudson (Joely Fisher), an eccentric FBI agent who claims to have psychic gifts; together, they learn that the killings are in fact the work of the Sixth Order, a bizarre cult that is using time travel and occult practices to help bring about the apocalypse, using the 16th century philosopher and prophet Nostradamus as its guide. Nostradamus also stars Peter Jordan and Michael Gwynne. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rob Estes, Joely Fisher, (more)
- 2000
- G
Supermodel Kathy Ireland (Alien from L.A., Necessary Roughness) co-stars with newcomers John Dye and Mary Donnelly Haskell in the heartwarming, family-oriented fantasy drama Once Upon a Christmas, originally produced for and aired on television during the holiday season of 2000. The picture finds Santa Claus growing jaded and disgusted with the selfishness of mankind. He is ready to give up on the world altogether and head off to a vacation in Hawaii, until his daughter, Kristin, convinces him to give humans one final opportunity to prove that they can be caring and selfless. She must, it seems, find a selfish, dysfunctional family and turn them around. Kristin selects The Morgans - a seriously troubled brood. The dad works nonstop and the children amuse themselves by playing outrageous pranks, such as smearing peanut butter in the au pair's undergarments and putting glue on the whistle of the local high school coach. For Kristin, it will be a long, uphill battle, and if she fails, Christmas joy just may disappear for good. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
Wanting to escape a life of violence and bloodshed, an assassin renounces his profession and tries to become a priest. Unfortunately, he discovers his past is not so easily buried. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Dacascos, Kylie Travis, (more)
- 1997
- R
A smuggler is killed by a man he thought was his friend and comes back to tell the story in this sci-fi tinged action drama. John Anderson Wade (Rutger Hauer) is a black marketeer who gets on the wrong side of Merrick (Mark Dacascos), his partner in crime. A disagreement with Merrick turns deadly, and Wade ends up murdered. However, scientists from the Russian government perform experiments on Wade's body that bring him back from the dead; Wade teams up with female kickboxer Marina (Yvonne Scio). and they set out to find Merrick and exact revenge for his brief career as a dead person. Redline has also been released under the titles Deathline and Armageddon. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Mark Dacascos, (more)
The pilot for a popular youth-oriented ABC sitcom, this light-hearted feature-length comedy stars teen idol Melissa Joan-Hart (from the Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All) as Sabrina, a typical teen whose life is turned topsy-turvy after she discovers that she possesses the powers of witchcraft. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Melissa Joan Hart, Charlene Fernetz, (more)
- 1996
- R
In this martial arts actioner, a bodyguard launches a brutal vendetta against those who killed his employer. While seeking them out, the brawny protagonist (European Kung Fu champ Mark Dacascos) takes on U.S. government agents and ruthless terrorists. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Dacascos, Carrie-Anne Moss, (more)
- 1995
When a young boy disappears in a house rumored to be haunted, his mother (Alberta Watson) is convinced that he has died. Still, she continues to experiences visions of the unfortunate youngster. Skeptical scientist Levi Mitchell (Dwight Schultz) enters the mysterious house, not so much to put the mother at ease as to prove once and for all that ghosts do not exist. Need it be added that Mitchell will be forced to alter his opinion before the end of the episode? "If Walls Could Talk" was first broadcast on July 30, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1995
Terrified of his ever-approaching death, billionaire Harlan Hawkes (William Hickey), who has already lived over 100 years, seeks a means of even further prolonging his life. To this end, Hawkes funds the development of an artificial heart, smugly assuming that he will placed at the top of the donor list when his time comes. But Hawkes has reckoned without the persistence of the Grim Reaper -- not to mention a strange, otherworldly electrical entity. "White Light Fevers" was originally telecast on April 21, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1995
Idealistic pharmaceutical scientist Spencer Deighton (Charles Martin Smith) discovers a miraculous vaccine with the potential to make human beings immortal. This is great news for Spencer's brother, Michael (Michael Kemp), a coldblooded, mercenary business executive. The inevitable clash of ethics and morals between Spencer and Michael culminates in treachery, murder and a wickedly ironic twist. "Blood Brothers" originally aired on April 7, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1995
During a return flight to Earth from Mars, an alien lifeform invades a spaceship, killing most of the Earth astronauts and assuming their shapes. Ed Barkley (Jay O. Sanders), the sole surviving Earthling, realizes what happens, forcing him to make a difficult decision: Should he complete the mission and head home, or should he destroy himself and the ship lest the rest of humanity be endangered by the shape-shifting alien? "The Voyage Home" first aired on June 30, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1993
- R
Policeman-turned-trucker Travis Blackstone (Lorenzo Lamas) is forced to use almost all of his exceptional martial arts skills after his screw-up brother Franklin (Hank Cheyne) begs him to return a fortune in embezzled money from the ruthless Mr. Chang's (Joe Son) money-laundering bank. The hard-driving, ham-fisted action begins when Travis learns that while Franklin claims he only swiped a few hundred thousand bucks, in reality his brother siphoned off five million and invested it in a bogus real estate operation. The decoy money is stashed in a trash can, but before Travis can get it, his own girlfriend sells out to Chang who immediately sets off for bloody revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lorenzo Lamas, Frankie Thorn, (more)
- 1992
- R
This sequel to the dreadful but creative 1987 horror thriller The Gate, centers on troubled-teen Terry who tires of being teased for being a nerd, not having dates, and dealing with his unemployed, alcoholic father. After learning about the portal to the gates of hell said to be in his town, Terry decides to cast a spell and see if he can make his life a little better. Using his computer and a book of ancient incantations, the determined young man begins his ritual. Unfortunately before he is finished, the two town bullies and their girl friend intervene and find themselves hopelessly involved when the gates open and out pops a diminutive demon who is more than happy to do their bidding. At first the kids are delighted to finally have their hearts desire, but it is only a matter of time before the demon's true nature manifests itself and all their dreams turn to nightmares. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Louis Tripp, Simon Reynolds, (more)
This commendable horror effort from Tibor Takacs is a stylish and more entertaining follow-up to his directorial debut The Gate. Employing a novel twist to the story-within-a-story convention, the plot involves meek but intense bookstore clerk Virginia (Jenny Wright), who develops an overpowering affection for the works of the late pulp horror author Malcolm Brand. A deranged murderer who removed parts of his body as offerings to his unrequited love, Brand had once claimed to his publisher that the bizarre supernatural tales in his books were purely autobiographical. After plunging into Brand's final novel I, MADMAN, Virginia soon becomes convinced that elements from the book are haunting her in the real world. It turns out that's only the half of it: it seems Brand himself (played by Randall William Cook, who also designed most of the effects for the film) has apparently returned to life to pursue her, believing her to be the woman who once jilted him. Pulp horror elements dominate this atmospheric and clever film, which boasts fine performances from Wright and Clayton Rohner as her detective boyfriend, and features a genuinely creepy villain. There's even a bit of excellent stop-motion animation, depicting one of Brand's ghastly storybook monsters, which tears its way into the real world for the ultra-violent climax. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jenny Wright, Clayton Rohner, (more)
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