Don Hodson Movies
- 1993
It is the 19th century in Italy, and Maria (Angela Bettis) has joined a convent in order to explore her strong feeling that she has a calling to become a nun. She has adapted to live at the convent quite nicely, and is relatively untroubled, but a cholera outbreak sends her back to be with her family for a while, near the steaming peak of Mount Etna. She enjoys her freedom to move around the countryside, and is wooed (unsuccessfully, it seems) by a charming young man named Nico, but returns to the convent when the danger is past. There, she is troubled by the thought that she truly loved Nico, and that her calling may not be as firm as she thought. When she learns that Nico has married her sister, she nearly goes mad with self-recrimination, but eventually weathers the storm. All the dialog in this Italian-made film by Franco Zeffirelli is in English. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Bettis, Johnathon Schaech, (more)
- 1988
- R
Adapted by Lewis John Carlino from the speculative novel by Anne Edwards, Haunted Summer recounts one of the most tempestuous "menage a quatres" of the 19th century. During an Italian holiday in 1816, novelist Mary Godwin (Alice Krige) meets the man she is destined to marry, bisexual poet Percy Byshe Shelley (Eric Stoltz). In so doing, Mary finds herself in emotional conflict with Shelley's possessive mentor Dr. Polidori (Alex Winter) and his fellow poet and erstwhile lover, the tortured Lord Byron (Philip Anglim). The erotic adventures that follow make the Gothic goings-on in Mary Shelley's subsequent novel Frankenstein seem like a day at the beach, though it is suggested that Frankenstein might never have happened had it not been for Mary's fateful "Summer of '16." Also figuring into the proceedings is one Claire Claremont, played by Laura Dern, who arguably delivers the film's best performance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Anglim, Laura Dern, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
This pedantic sequel to Empire Pictures' less-than-original Ghoulies was released directly to video and summarily slipped into oblivion. At the outset of this one, the title creatures -- rubbery puppets originally conceived as cut-rate Gremlins lookalikes -- are shanghaied by a priest who intends to exterminate them, but they manage to escape to a low-rent carnival. There they take up residence in "Satan's Den," a foundering, old-fashioned haunted house attraction run by Royal Dano, who fears he may lose ownership of the show due to sagging attendance. The presence of the ghoulies at first gives business a much-needed boost ... until the slimy little buggers start dining on the patrons. Despite some enhancements in the lackluster monster effects (by John Buechler, who's done better work elsewhere) and clever stop-motion animation by David Allen, this film is just as pointless as its predecessor. There is, however, one memorable scene, which makes good on the promise of the first film's ad campaign -- which featured one of the reptilian critters leaping from a toilet bowl, accompanied by the tagline "They'll get you in the end!" ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damon Martin, Royal Dano, (more)
