Harry Alan Towers Movies

In this modern take on the classic tale The Picture of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man quickly learns that having it all may not be the key to happiness after all. A handsome model whose wealth, fame, and luck with the ladies is more than most men could ever dream, Dorian (Ethan Erickson) knows that time is not on his side and when his looks go, his career will be quick to follow. Though Dorian's malevolent agent, Henry (Malcolm McDowell), offers his client the gift of eternal youth, the price tag on this luxury may be more than the vain young man is willing to pay. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, featuring 1991 Academy Award winner Jack Palance as the salty pirate Long John Silver. ~ Rovi

A hellish piece of professional laundry equipment wreaks havoc in a tiny New England town in this horror film. It all begins in The Blue Ribbon Laundry, a place run by the ruthless, crippled old Bill Gartley. With no feelings at all for his employees, he demands absolute obedience and unrelenting hard work. One day an old speed iron goes crazy, sucks in and permanently presses a hapless worker. The rest of the crew is frightened and in shock, but this does not stop old Gartley from cruelly ordering them back to work. A police officer investigates the case and begins suspecting that the sinister owner is concealing something. When a boy suffocates in an abandoned refrigerator that had somehow come in contact with the speed iron, the cop calls in his friend the theoretical parapsychologist who deduces that there is a "transference of evil" going on. Meanwhile, Gartley is putting the moves on comely Lin Sue; he also is interested in messing with his own niece. Both girls have been harmed by the evil iron and have contributed some of their precious blood to it. It is the cop who discovers that in order for Gartley to remain successful, he must see that the demonic machine periodically receives such sacrificial donations. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Working-class espionage-agent Harry Palmer returns in this spy thriller. The story begins in London after a murder occurs during a demonstration at the North Korean embassy. Palmer, who was supposed to ensure nothing happened, fears repercussions from his higher-ups. They tell him that since the Cold War has ended, he and the senior spies have become redundant and are therefore placed on accelerated retirement. He then receives a mysterious phone call from a person wanting to meet him. They make an arrangement and the rendezvous occurs beside a river. There Palmer is given a plane ticket to St. Petersburg and an envelope stuffed with American $100 bills. He decides to go and, after a chase, ends up with Alexei, a recently released KGB spy. Unlike Palmer, Alexei received generous compensation for his years of devoted service. Palmer's new boss assigns him to find a stolen vial of a virulent, fatal virus, The Red Death, that has been sent to the North Korean embassy in Beijing. All he knows for sure is that the virus is aboard the Trans- Siberian Express. Palmer is assisted by Nikolai, Natasha and an ex-CIA agent. Along the way, the spies double and triple cross each other. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Filmed in the Zimbabwe jungles at the same time as its precursor, the 1992 version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic adventure fantasy The Lost World, this sequel is set a few years after the six explorers journeyed into the Belgian Congo and discovered the isolated plateau where dinosaurs still thrive. The explorers have regrouped because a greedy oil developer is threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem that supports the great beasts. Before they can effectively stop the rapacious oil company, they must first contend with the personality differences that again threaten to fracture the group's unity. When the oilmen steal a baby stegosaurus, the expedition becomes more urgent. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This mundane, predictable psycho-thriller was originally conceived as a sequel of sorts to the 1989 version of Phantom of the Opera, another unsuccessful horror vehicle for Robert Englund. Filmed on location in St. Petersburg, the film stars Englund as the co-director of a prestigious Russian dance academy whose students are systematically murdered by an unknown interloper shortly after the arrival of an American student (Michelle Zeitlin) -- whom Englund perceives as a young version of his former lover, the wheelchair-bound Svetlana. By the time the clueless ingenue figures out who's responsible, half of her classmates have already been drowned, hanged or thrown from various heights. Unfortunately, the entire "mystery" hinges on a laughably transparent attempt at visual deception; it's painfully obvious from the get-go that Englund's relationship with the invalid Svetlana is remarkably similar to that of Norman Bates and dear old Mom -- something the students fail to recognize, even to the bitter end. A few red herrings are batted about, but they serve more to annoy the audience than to convolute the plot. It's hard to tell whether writer/director Greydon Clark (who graced us with the likes of Satan's Cheerleaders) wanted to draw parallels to Dario Argento's Suspiria, but he's definitely out of his league here regardless. The atmospheric locales provide some degree of class, but their somber potential is sadly wasted. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

A contemporary version of the masterpiece by Edgar Allan Poe follows a photographer (Michelle McBride) as she spies on a soap-opera star at a party in Bavaria. She must solve the crimes when several guests are murdered by someone in a skull mask and red coat. ~ John Bush, Rovi

This jungle adventure features an extremely complicated plot that involves a megalomaniacal Nazi doctor who continues to perform inhuman experiments in the Amazon jungle and helms the Lost City of the Nazis, a mecca for war criminals and new followers. He is pursued by three vengeful people: a former colleague whom he double-crossed near the end of the war, a young woman who saw him murder her father, and an angry American physician, whose daughter the doctor kidnapped after they came to the jungle to help the ailing Indians who are dying from a mysterious disease. In addition to coping with each other, the searchers must also deal with the usual Amazon dangers, including ferocious cannibals, before they can make it to the hidden city and get their revenge. The plot is an adaptation of an Alistair McLean novel. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This, the third issue in the American Ninja series, stars karate expert David Bradley who goes to Japan for ninja training so he'll be able to avenge his father's murder. Once trained, he enters in an international karate contest held by some no-goods who'd like to get their hands on the world's toughest fella so they can try out a new artificial disease they've created. (They figure the best way to test the disease is upon the toughest guy they can find.) Most action occurs on a Caribbean island. ~ Rovi

Gaston Leroux's classic tale of love and suspense gets a face-lift in this horror story loosely adapted from Leroux's novel. Christine (Jill Schoelen) is a young classical vocalist who, in the midst of performing a recently discovered piece by an obscure composer, is struck on the head by a sandbag and wakes up in London in 1884. Eric Destler (Robert Englund) is a composer who is desperate to succeed -- so much so that he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for writing songs that people will love. However, the devil adds a twist to the bargain by horribly scarring Eric's face, which can only be disguised by flesh from a living victim. Living below the London Opera House, Eric works night and day on his music; when he hears Christine's voice he falls in love, he and lures her to his lair. Eric decides that Christine is the perfect woman to sing his music; he coaches her to a perfect interpretation of his work, and he kills anyone who stands between her and success. Future Saturday Night Live star Molly Shannon made her film debut in a small role in the film's modern day sequences. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Without a doubt the weirdest adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe tale in recent memory, this lurid production features a raging, leering Oliver Reed as Roderick Usher, who treats his nephew (Rufus Swart) and the man's bride-to-be (Romy Windsor) to some genuine family hospitality by raping her and burying him alive. It seems Roderick intends to sire a child with the poor girl in order to continue the Usher bloodline -- apparently oblivious to the fact that her marriage to his nephew would have accomplished the same thing. As if Reed's lecherous advances weren't enough, we are presented with a one-armed Donald Pleasence, who likes to threaten our heroine with a power drill attached to his stump! This film is not only an abomination to the memory of the great author, but a sick joke by comparison with Roger Corman's excellent 1960 adaptation. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

In this swashbuckler a despotic colonial governor has made it legal to punish people with the terrifying and excruciatingly painful split-tongue whip, called the Dragonard. Fortunately, a handsome hero appears and stops him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Edward Delacorte (Robert Vaughn) is the director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency who incurs the wrath of the Paradorian dictator General Belmondo (Oliver Reed) when the general's drug-dealing son is arrested. The irate dictator orders a plane carrying students from Loyola Marymount to be hijacked and flown to his South American country. Ten young women including Edward's daughter Lucy (Lisa Rinna) are held prisoner. Belmondo threatens to torture and kill them all unless his son is released within 72 hours. Piranhas feast on human flesh and the femmes create quite a stir themselves when they prove to be adept at handling semi-automatic weapons to fight the forces of the despotic dictator. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi