Rob Whitehouse Movies

This British historical drama chronicles the failed Jacobite rebellion in Scotland which ended with a bloody battle at Culloden in the 18th century. The Jacobites were a pro-Catholic group who followed King James II. Thirty years after their first battle in which they were routed, the Jacobites rallied around Bonnie Prince Charlie as he attempted to reclaim the English throne. Charlie and the Jacobites made their stand on Culloden Moor, near Inverness in 1746. Because the promised French troops never arrived, they were slaughtered by the English red-coats. The film presents the stories of people involved in both sides of the conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

After wiping out half a village of native South Pacific tribesmen, Captain Bully Hayes (Tommy Lee Jones) is eventually captured, put in prison, and the rest of this swashbuckling action film is told in a series of flashbacks as he remembers the recent past. The lead-in scene may be off-putting, but its larger context is soon revealed. Hayes had just left a young couple, Nate (Michael O'Keefe) and Sophie (Jennie Seagrove) on an island so they could set up housekeeping and follow in the missionary footsteps of an uncle, when the villain Ben Pease (Max Phipps) shows up, kidnaps Sophie and leaves her husband for dead. Pease runs into a German naval officer who feels it would be advantageous to join up with him -- so when Captain Hayes saves Nate and, the two go looking for Sophie, their enemies are formidable villains indeed. Laced with humor and acting in the grand pirate-movie tradition, Nate and Hayes has enough adventure and style to stay entertaining for its 100-minute running time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This gothic hillbilly horror thriller was produced in New Zealand and centers around a small rural town, circa 1953, where unusual events lead a teenager to cross paths with a serial killer. Ned (Jonathan Smith) and his pal Les (Daniel McLaren) are a pair of teens in trouble with local bullies after they steal some prize chickens. Their troubles are compounded by the arrival of a carnival, employing the sinister Salter (John Carradine), an evil magician and sideshow hypnotist. The presence of Salter seems to bring out the worst in the local citizenry, inspiring nascent lust and perversion to surface in disturbing ways, much of which is centered on Ned's nubile sister Prudence (Tracy Mann). When a girl is slain in the woods, the trial leads to Salter, who is not only guilty of the crime, but of many more. The Scarecrow (1982), based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was the feature debut of co-writer and director Sam Pillsbury, who went on to direct numerous television movies and series episodes in the U.S. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi