Larry Dolgin Movies

Only loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story, this well-rendered and intelligent horror film was filmed on location in a spooky Italian castle and tells the convoluted story of a mad priest who devises exquisitely painful ways of getting his victims to confess to dabbling in witchcraft. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Leviathan, a sci-fi thriller directed by George Pan Cosmatos, is the story of a group of scientists who discover a sunken Russian submarine which contains a monster that is the product of a genetic experiment. This film, a hybrid of both The Abyss and Alien, has a decent cast, including Peter Weller as Beck, the lead oceanographer. Working with a good budget, action director Cosmatos, should have been able to put together better action sequences and a more frightening monster, but he gives this derivative, silly film below-par special effects and no particular visual style. Leviathan, while it may entertain a less-sophisticated viewer, has little to offer fans of the genre who are looking for thrilling special effects. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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

Rather than being just another exploitation documentary, designed to re-use footage from unprofitable porn films, this feature explores the social circumstances which gave rise to the legend of the "snuff" film, and the conditions present (in 1976) in the porn film industry in general. Sex performers and all the others involved in making such films are interviewed about their work and why they do it. The filmmaker, himself well-known for making "soft"-porn films, was so incensed by the snuff-film trend that he made this exposé of the hard-core pornography industry. The Evolution of Snuff includes a forward by Roman Polanski, who was experiencing legal difficulties in the U.S. at the time. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Like Cameron Mitchell and Jack Palance, Keenan Wynn spent an inordinate amount of time in obscure crime melodramas. In Falling Man, Wynn is second billed to the versatile Henry Silva. The plot concerns an ex-cop who goes after the men who ruined his career. The title refers to the hero's rapidly disintegrating emotional state. Barely released theatrically, Falling Man was run to death by independent TV stations in the 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide