Danitza Kingsley Movies

New York's Troma Films continue their grand tradition of relentlessly bad taste with this horror epic, which follows the exploits of an all-girl motorcycle gang -- who go by the quaint moniker "The Cycle Sluts" -- and their fearless leader Rox (Catherine Carlin), who offers the freedom of the road to any frustrated small-town girl willing to slap on the leathers. Things take a nasty turn for Rox and her violent femmes when the gang rides into Zariah -- a town in the slimy grip of a deranged mortician named Ralph (Don Calfa), who has been busily turning the locals into cannibalistic zombie slaves. As if that weren't enough... a busload of blind, orphaned teens become stranded within spitting distance of Ralph's undead army, and it's up to Rox's twisted sisters to save the day. Troma is often guilty of slapping outrageously goofy titles on not-so-funny films (e.g. Surf Nazis Must Die, Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid!, etc.), but this is something of an exception, with wonderfully sleazy performances, lots of zany energy and many clever references to zombie and biker-movie genres. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

The "Jack" who's "back" in this contemporary chiller is none other than Jack the Ripper. The scene is Los Angeles: the time is August of 1988, exactly 100 years after the Ripper's original reign of terror in Whitechapel. When several LA prostitutes turn up murdered and disemboweled, young physician James Spader is accused of emulating Spring Heel'd Jack. Before the film is half over, Spader is killed, and so far as the police are concerned, the case is closed. But then, Spader's twin brother appears on the scene, determined to track down the genuine culprit (if it doesn't turn out to be him, that is!). Handled with restraint, Jack's Back covers much of the same ground as the classic Robert Bloch tale Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," though its crucial plot twist is a tad more clever (if a bit silly out of context). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Majel Barrett, one of the cast members of the original Star Trek, guest stars as Deanna Troi's mother Lwaxana in this Next Generation episode. Unexpectedly showing up at the Enterprise, Lwaxana announces an impending wedding, not hers, but Deanna's. Understandably upset at the notion of a prearranged marriage to the son of an old family friend (Rob Knepper), Deanna is in no mood to contend with a band of renegade plague-bearing aliens who intend to take refuge on an inhabited planet. Originally telecast December 5, 1987, "Haven" was cowritten by Tracy Torme and Lan O'Kun. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Benjy Taylor (D.B. Sweeney) is a rookie cop who goes undercover to nab a gang of car thieves in this routine crime drama. Taylor salivates over the lifestyle and money enjoyed by Ted Varrick (Charlie Sheen), the smooth operator who leads the Porsche pilferers, and he reports back to Lieutenant Vincent Bracey (Randy Quaid), who is convinced Ted is a cop killer but needs more proof. Taylor joins the gang and begins to justify car theft and the money it brings as gathering evidence. Soon his reasoning is clouded and the rookie cop gets in deeper when he actually begins to like Ted and the suspect's sultry sister Ann (Lara Harris). ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A woman fears that her amnesia-stricken husband may be a serial killer in this made-for-cable thriller. After family man Ed Vinson gruesomely murders his wife and kids and skips town, police investigator Joe Steiner (Richard Widmark) becomes obsessed with capturing the monster -- even after he's forced to retire from the force. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, a traffic accident kills one man and leaves another (Keith Carradine) a hideously disfigured amnesiac. Police can't figure out who the survivor is, so he takes the name Allen Devlin and, after reconstructive surgery, falls in love with and marries his recently divorced nurse, Chris Graham (Kathleen Quinlan). Several years later, Steiner shows up in town, convinced Devlin is really Ed Vinson; his dogged pursuit threatens the happiness the Devlins have carved out for themselves and their children -- especially after a series of gruesome rapes begins to occur. The evidence seems to implicate Allen in the attacks, but Chris suspects that her old boyfriend, cop Mike Patterson (Michael Beck), is trying to frame him. The tension escalates as Chris suffers through a series of anonymous phone calls from a man who seems to think he's Ed Vinson; when her son finds a grotesque fetish mask in the garage, even Chris begins to doubt her husband's innocence. Directed by British horror veteran Douglas Hickox and written by Amityville 3D scribe David Ambrose, Blackout premiered on the Home Box Office network in 1985. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi