Richard Stanley Movies
A curious young woman sneaks into a derelict movie theater and experiences six tales of Grand Guignol terror in this horror anthology featuring contributions by Buddy Giovinazzo, Tom Savini, Jeremy Kasten, Richard Stanley, David Gregory, Douglas Buck, and Karim Hussain. As the sinister host (Udo Kier) emerges to introduce the show, the screen flickers to life and the terror begins to build. In Buddy Giovinazzo's "I Love You," a bewildered man (Andre M. Hennicke) awakens with a gruesome hand injury and a debilitating case of amnesia, and he endures a brutal verbal onslaught from his unfaithful wife (Suzan Anbeh). Marital troubles continue when an abusive husband gets his gruesome comeuppance in Tom Savini's "Wet Dreams," and an anthropologist (Shane Woodward) and his frivolous partner (Victoria Maurette) encounter an enigmatic witch (Catriona MacColl) who casts a seductive spell before making a grotesque transformation in Richard Stanley's "The Mother of Toads." Hopelessly depressed after being rejected by his gorgeous girlfriend Estelle (Lindsay Goranson), portly sugar addict Greg (Guilford Adams) discovers that you really are what you eat in David Gregory's "Sweets," and a female serial killer seeking to preserve the tragic memories of society's outcasts finds an unusual means of doing so in Karim Hussain's "Vision Stains." Elsewhere, in Douglas Buck's "The Accident," a mother searches for the words to comfort her traumatized young daughter after the pair witness the sudden death of a friendly motorcyclist. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Udo Kier, Virginia Newcomb, (more)
An adopted girl returns to her homeland of Russia to explore the dilapidated mountain farm she has recently inherited, only to discover that it harbors a deadly secret in the feature debut from Aftermath director Nacho Cerdà . Shortly after the mysterious death of her birth mother, young Marie was adopted and brought to live in the United States. When Marie receives word that she has inherited an isolated farm in her native Russia, she soon sets out to explore the vast estate and peel away the thick gauze obscuring her secret-shrouded past. Confounded by the local's refusal to show her to the "damned" locale and determined not to give up after coming this far, Marie convinces a man to take her there only to discover that he has inexplicably vanished shortly after arrival. As Marie sets out to explore the ominous and expansive property alone, a surprise encounter with a man named Boris, who claims to have been lured to the house under similar circumstances, sets into motion a chilling series of events in which the ghosts of the past -- as well as deceased doppelgangers of both Marie and Boris -- prevent the frightened pair from leaving. In the terrifying hours that follow, both of these tormented lost souls will find that sometimes the past is best left forgotten. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden, (more)
On a remote tropical island, Dr. Moreau has appointed himself ruler over a menagerie of genetic mutants fashioned in his gene-splicing chamber of horrors. The products of his misguided attempt to create a more "pure" human species, the man-beasts worship Moreau as their god and "father" and live by his code of law -- a code rigidly enforced by radio-operated implants in their bodies capable of inflicting pain and death. Into this surreal nightmare arrives UN negotiator Edward Douglas (David Thewlis), the sole survivor of an airplane crash. Douglas is brought ashore on Moreau's island -- against his better judgment -- by the doctor's insane, drug-addled assistant, Montgomery (Val Kilmer), and eventually becomes a prisoner. Horrified by the doctor's monstrous experiments and afraid for his own life, Douglas seeks the aid of Moreau's lovely daughter, Aissa (Fairuza Balk), in escaping the island, but is foiled at every turn by Montgomery and his armed man-beast lackeys. Eventually, the creatures discover the existence of their electronic implants and remove them, providing the opportunity for an armed rebellion -- but eventual regression into their original animal state causes their revolt to collapse into anarchy. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, (more)
Brave is Richard Stanley's vision of life in the modern landscape as inspired by the Marillion album of the same name. It focuses on a teenage girl who is found wandering the Severn Bridge with no memory of who she is. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
In this stylish supernatural horror story, Hitch (Robert Burke), a mysterious loner, wanders the deserts of the African nation of Nambia as he searches for the lost and suicidal. Hitch is wanted by the police in connection with the death a woman whose blood was used in a strange magic ceremony. A shaman consulted by the police and a pathologist investigating the killing believe that Hitch is a "Dust Devil," an evil spirit who can shift shape at will, taking the form of a man when it's convenient. Meanwhile, Hitch encounters Wendy (Chelsea Field), a woman who is despondent after the collapse of her marriage. Wendy gives him a ride along a lonely highway, and later that night, as Wendy contemplates suicide, Hitch waits patiently outside her door. The next day, Wendy runs into Hitch again and casually looks through his bag to discover that it's filled with human fingers. Convinced that Hitch is no harmless eccentric, she tries to escape, but she discovers that he's difficult to get away from; meanwhile, Mark (Rufus Swart), Wendy's ex-husband, is searching for her, convinced that she's fallen victim to foul play. Dust Devil has been released in a number of different forms; the original European cut ran 125 minutes, while the American version, which features redubbed voices and a different narration, ran only 87. The "final cut" prepared by director Richard Stanley, meanwhile, is 103 minutes in length. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert John Burke, Chelsea Field, (more)
Music video director Richard Stanley made his feature debut with this apocalyptic, post-industrial nightmare set in the distant future. Dylan McDermott stars as Moses "Hard Mo"' Baxter, a washed-up ex-soldier who spends most of his time in "The Zone" -- a scorched, ochre-colored desert littered with the radioactive debris of an unspecified war (or wars). Mo's recent Zone foray with war-buddy Shades (Jon Lynch) turns up an interesting find -- a pile of droid parts he purchases from a spooky "Zone Tripper" (Carl McCoy, frontman for goth-rock's Fields of the Nephilim), which he carts home to his reclusive artist girlfriend Jill (Stacy Travis) to serve as raw material for her latest work. Unbeknownst to them, the dismantled robot is the prototype of a controversial new battle-droid dubbed the Mark 13, which is designed to reassemble itself from available materials if damaged in combat. In short order, the Mark 13 proceeds to do just that, tapping into the power grid in Jill's fortress-like apartment and targeting her for death. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis, (more)
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