Eric Johnson Movies

William Shatner stars in this harrowing drama about a team of climbers who attempt to reach the top of Everest. When their friend, John Laughlin (Jason Priestley), dies on his solo attempt to reach the summit, the group decides to make the trek in his honor. Their quest draws the attention of a journalist (Shatner), who accompanies them and chronicles their intrepid journey. ~ All Movie Guide

This Canadian TV movie is based on the true story of infamous serial rapist and killer David Snow, as originally set down in print by Allison Shaw, the woman who brought Snow to justice. After narrowly escaping a sexual assault, Allison (Laura Harris) marries her rescuer Darris Shaw (Eric Johnson) and tries to put her past behind her by moving to a new neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia. Before long, however, Allison notices the unnatural interest taken in her by her next-door neighbor David Snow (Eric Johnson). Going public with her stories of David stalking and menacing her, Allison finds herself written off as paranoid and delusional by everyone, including the police and even her husband: It seems that Snow is a pillar of the community, beloved by all and utterly above suspicion. Eventually, a series of rapes and murders occur in the area--yet still no one but Allison is willing to link the amiable Mr. Snow to the wave of terror, despite the fact that several of the victims bear a startling resemblance to Allison! First seen on Canada's CTV network in February of 2005, A Friend of the Family made its US cable debut via the Lifetime channel on July 4 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Casual Rex, one of a series of lighthearted fantasy novels by Eric Garcia, the made-for-cable Anonymous Rex would have us believe that not all dinosaurs were rendered exinct 65 million years ago. The survivors dinos had gone into hiding, gradually re-emerging in human form courtesy of a special holographic process. In fact, one out of every ten thousand "humans" is actually a well-assimilated dinosaur, and among these are a pair of private eyes: Ernie Watson (Daniel Baldwin) and Vincent Rubio (Sam Trammell), respectively a raptor and a triceratops. Hired to investigate the "accidental" death of the son of one of Ernie's old girlfriends, the two lizardy gumshoes stumble upon a cult called the Voice of Progress, comprised of fanatical dinosaurs who want to wipe out all humans and take over the world. Things take a serious turn when one of the two detectives is killed, and Ernie's daughter Gabrielle (Stephanie Nicole Lemelin) is kidnapped. Although the special effects are nothing to write home about, the film scores with its wry, knowing humor, likening the plight of the disguised dinos to those people in real life who must "pass" as something they're not (there's even a scene at a nocturnal dino club which looks more like a reptilian gay bar). Anonymous Rex debuted December 4, 2004 on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The feminist horror film genre might not have very many prominent entries, but the critically acclaimed 2000 film Ginger Snaps was just that. A darkly humorous chiller that drew parallels between menstruation and a werewolf curse, the John Fawcett picture garnered several Canadian Genie Award nominations and a loyal cult following. Four years later, Brett Sullivan, the film's editor, made his feature directorial debut with this sequel, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins reprise their roles from the first film as sisters Ginger and Brigitte, respectively. This time around, Brigitte is found by the police after being attacked and taken to rehab when it's assumed that the wolfbane serum that keeps her from turning into a monster is a narcotic. Once inside the facility and denied the substance, Brigitte must strike deals with one of the orderlies to obtain it; meanwhile, she is pursued by another werewolf, and escapes with Ghost, another female patient, to that girl's vacant old house, which sets the stage for a brutal showdown -- made even nastier when the orderly, a hospital doctor, and the elderly Barbara show up and decide to intervene. Also starring Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed was followed only a few months later by Ginger Snaps Back. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

"What was life like for Superman before he grew up to be Superman?" That was the questioned posed, and brilliantly, answered, on the weekly sci-fi/adventure series Smallville, the WB network's most successful new program of the 2001-2002 TV season. Without wreaking undue damage on the sacred Superman legend, as set down by 65 years' worth of comic books, radio series, TV shows, and movies, Smallville artfully wove its own mythos concerning the early years of Clark Kent -- not yet "the man of steel" Superman, but born Kal-El, "strange visitor from another planet" (namely, the doomed planet Krypton). The first episode, telecast October 16, 2001, rapidly established the fact that the child Kal-El's arrival on Earth in the year 1989 profoundly affected virtually the entire population of Smallville, a tiny Kansas farming community. The spacecraft bearing the alien toddler arrived at the same time as a cataclysmic meteor shower, which all but devastated Smallville. Among other things, the meteor bombardment brought about the deaths of the parents of little Lana Lang, and rendered completely hairless nine-year-old Lex Luthor, son of ruthless billionaire businessman Lionel Luthor. Though Lana was able to put the tragedy behind her thanks to the loving care of her aunt Nell (Sarah-Jane Redmond), Lex's sudden and spectacular hair loss left him cynical and suspicious of humankind in general, and his grasping father in particular. On a happier note, childless farming couple Jonathan and Martha Kent (John Schneider, Annette O'Toole) rescued Kal-El, renamed him Clark, and raised him as their own son.

As the years passed, it was painfully obvious that Clark (played in his teen years by Tom Welling), possessed Herculean strength and other powers "far beyond those of mortal men." To protect their adopted son from being exposed as an alien, and to prevent others from being accidentally injured by the boy's superstrength, Martha and Jonathan kept Clark from indulging in youthful horseplay, and refused to allow him to participate in contact sports. As a result, Clark earned a reputation as something of a namby-pamby nerd -- and his own growing realization that he was different from his peers kept him perpetually on the outside looking in, a natural-born loner. Which is not to say that Clark didn't have his own circle of friends at Smallville High School. Lana Lang (played as a teen by Kristin Kreuk), who had matured into the campus queen, regarded Clark as a loyal and faithful friend -- but, much to Clark's dismay, she reserved her romantic feelings for high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson), who, thanks to a series of neat coincidences, tended to get the credit for the heroics performed by Clark (which of course, young Mr. Kent was bound not to claim as his own lest his secret be revealed). Conversely, fellow student Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), a budding paranormal investigator who wrote for the Smallville High newspaper, the Torch, harbored a hidden crush on Clark. Our hero's best bud was the shy and self-effacing Pete Ross (Sam Jones III), who like everyone else in Smallville could not help but notice that strange things happened whenever Clark was around, but who seldom questioned these happenings for fear of damaging their friendship. As for Lex Luthor (played as an adult by Michael Rosenbaum), several years Clark's senior, he lived the life of a swinging bachelor in his family mansion, while dad Lionel (John Glover) wheeled and dealed from his headquarters in the city of Metropolis. A firm friend of the young Kent since Clark saved his life, Lex had his share of good and noble impulses, but they were often mitigated by his inbred avariciousness and lust for power -- and his overpowering desire to wrest the family business from the grasp of his father.

During season one, Lex had a fling with sexy Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook), but their romance fell victim to his self-absorption. And though Clark generally got along with Lex, the same could not be said for Jonathan Kent, who (not without reason) felt that the Luthor family's business ambitions posed a threat to Kent and his fellow farmers. Also muddying up the Luthor legacy was the cache of kryptonite -- the green, glowing element indigenous to Clark Kent's home planet -- which was kept on the premises of Smallville's LutherCorp plant. As everybody familiar with the Superman canon knows, kryptonite has an adverse and possibly deadly effect on Clark; in this series, the mineral also brought out the worst in everyone else who came in contact with it. The first season of Smallville studiously avoided any mention of Clark's future alter ego, Superman, though the viewers would see the young misfit painfully adjusting to his awesome powers, some of which (such as his x-ray vision) were brand-new to him. Also, several episodes placed those closest to him in dire jeopardy, forcing him to utilize his powers without giving himself away -- and in at least a couple of cases, Clark's friends would themselves develop temporary superpowers that they too had to learn to properly deploy. Along the way, Clark's campus rival, Whitney Fordham, would leave Smallville after a series of daunting personal setbacks, joining the Marines to see the rest of the world. Like many another network series of its ilk, Smallville closed out its initial season by setting up a cliffhanger, to be resolved at the beginning of season two. In this case, the "to be continued" elements involved the first kiss between Clark and Chloe, a potential unholy alliance between Lex and Lionel Luthor, a startling discovery made by an unscrupulous big-city news reporter named Roger Nixon (Tom O'Brien), and a devastating tornado that threatened to bump off the helpless Lana Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Eleven-year-old Emily (Kaitlyn Burke) is an environmental activist in training, having saved a bear cub wounded by poachers and nursed it back to health . When Emily's 16-year-old sister Melissa (Kimberley Warnat) -- another would-be environmentalist -- and her high school pal Daniel (Kristian Ayre) go to the woods to document evidence of a shady millionaire's (Alan Thicke) clear-cutting operation, Emily follows her and promptly gets washed away down a fast-flowing woodland river. Soon everyone is looking for the lost girl, including Melissa and Scott (Eric Johnson), a hunky slice of logger beefcake. With only the trusty bear cub -- now grown into a 700-pound adult named Masha -- as her guide, Emily struggles to make it out of the woods alive. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Set in Arizona (but filmed in Alberta), the made-for-TV thriller Children of Fortune stars James Brolin as Navy detective Dave Passenger. Assigned to investigate the murder of a sailor's girlfriend, Dave follows the trail of evidence to a small Arizona community where polygamy is still being practiced. Along for the ride is Passenger's estranged 15-year-old daughter Erica (Amanda Fuller), who has been invited to participate in the investigation by Dave in the hope that he can mend a few family fences while tracking down the culprit. Virginia Madsen appears in the role of the secretive Ingrid Bast, wife of the local sheriff (Michael Moriarty). Children of Fortune made its CBS broadcast debut on November 1, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide