Deryck Hazel Movies
Teenager Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) would rather party with her boyfriend, but when her beau breaks their date she reluctantly accepts a babysitting job. It isn't all TV and icebox-raiding when Chris' best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) calls her to announce that she's stranded at the bus station. With her youthful charges in tow (one of whom, 15-year-old Brad (Keith Coogan), has a hopeless crush on the babysitter), Chris heads into downtown Chicago to go to Brenda's rescue. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of comic mishaps, unexpected perils and hairbreadth escapes. IN one bit, blues singer Albert Collins refuses to allow Chris and company to leave the nightclub they've wandered into until they agree to sing along with a song borrowed from, of all things the 1939 B-picture Nancy Drew, Reporter! . Screenwriter and Steven Spielberg protégé Chris Columbus made his directorial debut with Adventures in Babysitting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, (more)
- 1987
- R
Though not a true sequel to Paul Lynch's derivative slasher-dud Prom Night, this Carrie-flavored horror film begins in 1957 with the fiery death of bitchy prom queen Mary Lou Maloney (Lisa Schrage) courtesy of a backfired stinkbomb stunt pulled by her jealous ex-boyfriend. Thirty years later, her killer has become the school principal (Michael Ironside), and sweet, innocent Vicki (Wendy Lyon) is a contender for the prom-queen title. Mary Lou's vengeful spirit spies the perfect opportunity to reclaim her crown once and for all. The rest of the film involves Vicki adopting Mary Lou's less-than-reputable habits and messily destroying anyone who stands between her and the coveted title. High points include a telekinetic "Tutti Frutti" locker-room squashing and a swirling demonic blackboard, all courtesy of FX wizard Jim Doyle, who worked previously on A Nightmare on Elm Street, to which this film bears some stylistic similarities. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, (more)
- 1987
Spanish hack Rene Cardona, Jr. (of Aztec Mummy fame) directed this gory rip-off of The Birds (not a parody as its goofy title suggests) which follows a reporter/photographer team (Michelle Johnson & Christopher Atkins) as they investigate frequent reports of lethal bird attacks on humans. They eventually conclude that the attacks -- which are increasing in size, frequency and severity -- are part of an orchestrated avian plot against mankind. They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by screening Hitchcock's classic chiller beforehand, just as viewers expecting a spoof of that film can save themselves the grief of enduring this bloody exercise, which pulls no punches in its graphic depiction of flesh-rending bird attacks. Gore-hounds should approve, as the makeup effects are painfully convincing, but die-hard Cardona fans may be disappointed to learn that no lady wrestlers actually step in to swat at the winged tormentors. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Atkins, Michelle Johnson, (more)
- 1985
Shot for a mere $400,000 (Canadian) in a little over a month at the end of 1984 in Edmonton, Alberta, this tepid thriller readily betrays its low-budget, hasty origins. Beware of a film with characters with names like "Lever" and "Smarm" that is produced, written, edited, directed, and starred in by a modest two-person crew (Jorge Montesi as Detective Carlos Solo and Peter Haynes as Smarm). While the title of this film is shared by six other movies at least, starting in 1927, its plot is distinctive. It involves a serial killer tracked by Carlos Solo until the evidence seems to mysteriously indicate that Solo's criminally-inclined friend might be connected to the slayings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jorge Montesi, Joseph Patrick Finn, (more)
