Patrick Lussier Movies

NASA's canceled trip to the moon in the 1970s is the basis for this found-footage-style picture exploring the urban legend surrounding that mission -- what if Apollo 18 actually did occur and the proof of extraterrestrial life exists on film? Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov produces the film, with Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego taking on helming duties. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Sydney Wells (Jessica Alba) has been given the gift of sight, but it comes with a horrifying price in the English-language remake of Danny and Oxide Pang's The Eye. The double corneal transplant was to open up a new world for Sydney, a concert violinist whose blindness has plagued her since childhood. With the help of Dr. Paul Faulkner (Alessandro Nivola) and sister Helen (Parker Posey), Sydney's operation and recovery seemed to be on the road to success -- until horrific images start to tear their way into her newfound vision. What's worse is that these episodes appear to foreshadow future deadly events, leading Sydney on a mission to track down the person whose eyes she has inherited and discover what kind of mystery from beyond the grave lies before her. The film is directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, the duo behind the acclaimed 2006 French terror flick Them, and is produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner under their Cruise/Wagner production banner. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

The team behind the Scream trilogy, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson, present another entry in the teen-horror genre with Cursed. Starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg, the film tells the story of two siblings who have to battle a werewolf that has been wreaking havoc on their neighbors, just as they learn that they might be marked with "the sign of the beast," and may become werewolves themselves. Along with Shannon Elizabeth and Judy Greer, Cursed also co-stars Dawson Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson, as well as R&B star Mya. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

In this direct-to-video sequel to Dracula 2000, iconic vampire Dracula (Rutger Hauer) has once again escaped the clutches of Luke (Jason London) and Father Ufizzi (Jason Scott Lee), a pair of traveling vampire hunters. Luke and Ufizzi discover the undying bloodsucker has made his way back to his native Romania, and the hunters give chase. They arrive in Romania to discover the nation is caught up in a bloody civil war -- and that Dracula has kidnapped Elizabeth (Diane Neal), Luke's fiancée. Can Luke and Ufizzi finally vanquish Dracula and save Elizabeth in the midst of the chaos that sweeps the land? Produced in tandem with Dracula II: Ascension, Wes Craven Presents Dracula III: Legacy also stars Roy Scheider and Alexandra Westcourt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Anarchic comedy veteran David Zucker directs hot young thing of 2003 Ashton Kutcher in the fast-paced romantic comedy My Boss's Daughter. Kutcher plays rookie executive Tom Stansfield, who wants to impress his demanding boss, Jack Taylor (Terence Stamp), and win the heart of said boss' conventionally attractive daughter Lisa (Tara Reid). In order to achieve these ends, he agrees to housesit at their palatial mansion for one night. Chaos ensues throughout the evening as rowdy houseguests show up with various means of disruption. Molly Shannon plays Jack's former employee Audrey and Andy Richter appears as Lisa's brother Red, who's on the run from nasty drug dealers. Cameos come from Carmen Electra, Ever Carradine, and the like. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

In this loose reinvention of the classic Bram Stoker novel, the Count (Gerard Butler) is transplanted to the present day, after a brief prologue where Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) captures Dracula and conceals him in Carfax Abbey, where he remains for many years. In the future, Carfax Abbey is contained within an office building where Van Helsing's been using Dracula's blood to stay alive in order to guard the evil secret. After a band of thieves, led by the malevolent Marcus (Omar Epps), attempts to seize Dracula's remains, the Count escapes to New Orleans, where Mary Van Helsing (Justine Waddell) currently resides. Mary is eventually persuaded to fight Dracula with the aid of a reluctant Simon(Jonny Lee Miller), one of Van Helsing's employees, all while trying to escape the newly-made vampires of Marcus' gang and a zealous TV reporter (Jeri Ryan). The film also features Lochlyn Munro, Jennifer Esposito, Vitamin C, and Danny Masterson in supporting roles.
~ Jason Clark, Rovi

After devoting his career to such horror films as Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Last House on the Left, director Wes Craven makes a dramatic change of pace with this inspiring drama about a teacher who helps change the lives of her students. Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras (Meryl Streep) teaches at an elementary school in Harlem, where discipline is a higher priority than the lively arts. But Roberta believes that studying music will give the children a sense of purpose invaluable in later life. Despite indifference from the school administration and budget cuts that force her to seek outside funding (and even threaten her job), Roberta struggles to teach the violin to her students, instilling a love of classical music in kids who might otherwise never have heard Bach or Mozart, and leading to a student recital at Carnegie Hall. Angela Bassett, Cloris Leachman, and Aidan Quinn highlight the supporting cast, and virtuoso violinists Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Mark O'Connor appear as themselves. The Music of the Heart is based on a true story; the real Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras and her students can be seen in the documentary Small Wonders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

While one would imagine that the average New Yorker would be used to dealing with bugs after years of apartment dwelling, a scientific experiment gone wrong results in an insect that even Raid can't handle in this sci-fi/horror thriller. In Manhattan, cockroaches are spreading a deadly disease that is claiming hundreds of the city's children, so entomologist Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) uses genetic engineering techniques to create what she and her colleague (and husband) Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam) call the Judas Breed, a large insect that will feed on the disease carrying roaches. Since the Judas bugs have been designed so that they can't breed, the mutated species should die out in a matter of a few years. However, Susan, Peter, and their staff severely underestimated the cockroach's ability to adapt to its conditions. The Judas Breed has indeed found a way to reproduce itself, but more importantly, the insect has grown remarkably large (sometimes reaching six feet in length), has developed a taste for meat, and can mimic the appearance and behavior of other creatures with uncanny accuracy -- including humans. Susan and Peter have learned that huge swarms of the Judas Breed are living beneath the city in the subway system, and with the help of Leonard (Charles S. Dutton), a transit system employee who knows the labyrinth of subway tunnels like the back of his hand, they search out the humanoid insects before they can take over the city. Mimic also features Giancarlo Giannini, Josh Brolin, and F. Murray Abraham. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

While one would imagine that the average New Yorker would be used to dealing with bugs after years of apartment dwelling, a scientific experiment gone wrong results in an insect that even Raid can't handle in this sci-fi/horror thriller. In Manhattan, cockroaches are spreading a deadly disease that is claiming hundreds of the city's children, so entomologist Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) uses genetic engineering techniques to create what she and her colleague (and husband) Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam) call the Judas Breed, a large insect that will feed on the disease carrying roaches. Since the Judas bugs have been designed so that they can't breed, the mutated species should die out in a matter of a few years. However, Susan, Peter, and their staff severely underestimated the cockroach's ability to adapt to its conditions. The Judas Breed has indeed found a way to reproduce itself, but more importantly, the insect has grown remarkably large (sometimes reaching six feet in length), has developed a taste for meat, and can mimic the appearance and behavior of other creatures with uncanny accuracy -- including humans. Susan and Peter have learned that huge swarms of the Judas Breed are living beneath the city in the subway system, and with the help of Leonard (Charles S. Dutton), a transit system employee who knows the labyrinth of subway tunnels like the back of his hand, they search out the humanoid insects before they can take over the city. Mimic also features Giancarlo Giannini, Josh Brolin, and F. Murray Abraham. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Scream is at once a slasher film and a tongue-in-cheek position paper on the "dead teenagers" movies of the late 1970s/early 1980s that plays as half-parody, half-tribute. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is having a rough time lately: she's still getting over the brutal rape and murder of her mother a year ago, and now one of her friends (Drew Barrymore) has been killed by a lunatic who harassed her with terrifying phone calls, then stabbed her to death while wearing a Halloween costume. Soon Sydney is receiving similar phone calls, quizzing her on the arcane details of such films as Friday the 13th and Prom Night, and is attacked by the same cloaked maniac. With her father missing, she has hardly anyone on her side except her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) and Tatum's brother Dewey (David Arquette), a half-bright cop. As for the murderer, it could be any number of people: Syd's father; her cute but overly intense boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ullrich); Tatum's goofball boyfriend Stuart (Matthew Lillard); or Randy (Jamie Kennedy), who works at the local video store and seems to like horror movies just a little too much. Much like Halloween, Scream spawned a series of sequels and inspired a large number of similar films -- its original working title, Scary Movie, became the title of the 2000 parody film by Damon Wayans. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

If Ms. Famke Janssen is a Model By Day in this TV movie, what does she do by night? If this were a USA cable movie, perhaps she'd be walking the streets. But since it's network movie, Famke spends her evenings as a masked crimefighter. She runs into trouble with the law when a murderer appropriates her alter ego and costume for a mayhem spree. Sean Young costars in this busted pilot film. Model by Day was first telecast March 21, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

If you liked the Australian thriller Dead Calm, then the look-alike American TV movie Adrift will probably tickle your fancy as well. Kate Jackson and Kenneth Welsh play a honeymooning couple, relaxing on their yacht in the South Pacific. When they come upon a shipwrecked couple (Bruce Greenwood and Kelly Rowan), the newlyweds pull the castaways on board their vessel. That's their first mistake; the castaways are evil incarnate, and they proceed to put the young marrieds through hell. Filmed off the coast of New Zealand, Adrift premiered on April 13, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi