Richard P. Rubinstein Movies

The Sci-Fi Channel's first miniseries production adapts Frank Herbert's esteemed futuristic novel Dune into a six-hour epic. When House Atreides lead by the noble Duke Leto Atreides (Academy award-winner William Hurt) gains control of the universe's most powerful commodity -- Spice -- rival House Harkonnen begins plotting their revenge. As a result, Duke Atreides' mistress (Saskia Reeves), a magical Bene Gesserit witch, and their son Paul (Alec Newman) must flee into the dangerous, worm-infested dunes where they find help from an ancient civilization that engages in guerilla warfare. As the political agenda of the reigning emperor unfolds, Paul is enlightened about his powers in the world and those of the mysterious Navigators of Spacing Guild. The series is written and directed by John Harrison who had considerable help from an award-winning production team including three-time Academy award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (The Last Emperor, Apocalypse Now). ~ Jessica Frost, All Movie Guide

Day of the Dead, the third and concluding chapter in George Romero's zombie trilogy is the most distinctly 1950s-style science fiction version of the lot. Set in Florida, as the film begins the dead have taken over the world, outnumbering humans 400,000 to one. The handful of surviving humans have taken refuge in an underground missile silo and argue and yell at each other like players in a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode. Among the survivors are Sarah (Lori Cardille) -- a scientist who is trying to reverse the process whereby the dead turn into flesh-eating, irrational zombies -- and Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) -- an out-of-his-mind psychologist who wants to capture the zombies and turn them into domestic help. Things heat up when the military tries to take over the scientific experiments. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Stephen King's short story, The Night Flier, originally appeared in Prime Evil: New Stories by the Masters of Modern Horror (1988), edited by Washington, D.C., lawyer Douglas E. Winter, and it was later collected in King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993). This film adaptation aired on HBO (November 1997) and was seen in European territories prior to the American theatrical release. An unknown vampiric Cessna pilot is suspected of night murders at remote airfields. At the tabloid Inside View, longtime reporter Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer) expresses disinterest, so eager newcomer Katherine Blair (Julie Entwisle) is instead given the story by editor Merton Morrison (Dan Monahan). Then there's another murder, prompting Dees to reverse himself. He demands the story back and takes after the killer in his one private plane, tracking witnesses, gathering grue, and staging photos when the subject looks too dull. Blair is also on the trail, and the two newshounds are soon competing. Both are out for blood -- and so is the night flier. Stephen King campaigned for director Mark Pavia and co-scripter Jack O'Donnell to steer The Night Flier after he saw their short film Drag, which King called "the best short horror film I've seen in 20 years." Locations included Wilmington, North Carolina. The character of tabloid journalist Richard Dees was first introduced in Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This feature-length spin-off of the popular television horror anthology is directed by John Harrison, who directed many episodes of the television series. The film consists of four grisly and gruesome horror teasers. "The Wraparound Story" stars Deborah Harry as Betty, a chef with a kitchen complete with Cuisinart and dungeon. She plans to cook a little boy, who delays his execution by telling Betty three tales of terror. The first tale is "Lot 249," based on the mummy story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The tale concerns Bellingham (Steve Buscemi), a bug-eyed graduate student who has raised a mummy from the dead. The second tale, "Cat from Hell," adapted by George A. Romero from a Stephen King story, deals with a broken-down millionaire (William Hickey), who has made his millions by developing habit-forming painkillers. He is convinced that, since 5,000 cats have been killed in his lab experiments in order to develop his pills, a stray cat has killed his family. He hires a hit man (David Johansen) to track down the cat and rub him out. The third tale, "Lover's Vow," is based on "Woman in the Snow," one of the episodes in Kwaidan.James Remar plays an artist who strikes a deal with the devil and is rewarded with a beautiful wife (Rae Dawn Chong) and a respectful art career. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This less-satisfying sequel to the 1982 George A. Romero/Stephen King anthology presents a new trio of King stories, framed in a similar EC Comics-style format -- this time featuring some rather lackluster animated segments involving horror-host "The Creep," who introduces each chapter with pun-heavy gallows humor. The stories vary widely in quality: first there's "Old Chief Wood'nhead," involving a cigar-store Indian who quite literally guards the entrance to an old general store and comes to life to avenge the murders of the elderly couple (George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour) who owned it. The middle segment, "The Raft," features a group of obnoxious teenagers stranded on a raft in the middle of a lake at the mercy of a murderous oil slick which looks like a bunch of plastic garbage bags stitched together. Both of these suffer in comparison to the closing segment, "The Hitchhiker," in which a bored, promiscuous socialite (Lois Chiles) mows down a hitchhiker who refuses to stay dead, returning again and again to torment her at every turn, rasping "Thanks for the ride, lady!" Despite its strengths -- a livelier pace, some creatively gory set pieces -- this is a much cheaper-looking effort than its predecessor, with the deft guidance of Romero conspicuously absent (long-time collaborator Michael Gornick took up the directorial reins); as a result, King's gross-out sensibilities don't come off as well. Makeup maestro Tom Savini appears in heavy makeup as a live-action version of The Creep, and King pops in for a bit part as a redneck trucker. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Knightriders may well be the only cycle flick ever to be played out in suits of armor. A hardcase motorcycle gang led by Ed Harris has found itself a neat money-making gimmick. Dressed as the knights of the round table, the cyclists pick up a few bucks at local "renaissance" fairs, selling handicrafts made by the more talented members of the gang. Harris' great rival is Tom Savini, who has his own band of "black knights." Keep an eye out for a chucklesome unbilled bit by novelist Stephen King. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director George A. Romero's epic sequel to his legendary Night of the Living Dead has firmly established itself as the equal of its ground-breaking predecessor. Though shot in 1978 -- ten years after the first films' release -- Dawn's story begins as if the events in Night had happened only a few months before: after shambling armies of the recently-dead take over every major city -- seeking warm human flesh for food -- the U.S. government imposes a state of martial law, sending in special National Guard units to attack and destroy zombie infestation where they find it. Two members of one such unit, Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger) have been tasked to overthrow a nest of zombies in a Pittsburgh housing project (one of the film's most explicitly gory scenes). When the job turns ugly and Peter is forced to terminate his own berserk, racist commanding officer, the pair decide to split the outfit with the help of his friend Stephen (David Emge), a traffic pilot for WGON-TV, and the station's floor manager, Stephen's girlfriend Frances (Gaylen Ross). Together they steal the station's helicopter and head for less-populated areas, but after some narrow scrapes with flesh-hungry redneck ghouls in the country outside Harrisburg, they opt for a more secure hideout. Eventually they find the perfect solution: a massive, sprawling shopping mall. After the lengthy process of purging the building of zombies is complete, the four secure themselves snugly in the miniature city, consigned to live out their lives in a dull but cushy consumer's paradise... but the arrival of a menacing gang of nomadic bikers proves that this is not to be. With their survival instincts weakened by a mallful of toys and trinkets, the crew are again forced to face grim reality as they face both living and undead foes in a final battle. Romero's excellent, multi-layered story combines high-adventure heroics, three-dimensional characters and explicit gore (by the always masterful Tom Savini, who plays a small role as a leering biker) to excellent effect. The subtext comparing the glassy-eyed behavior patterns of the ghouls to those of American consumers is clear, but not overdone: "It's some kind of instinct," Stephen comments, observing the zombies' attraction to the mall; "This was an important place in their lives." Despite the glimmer of hope offered by the film's closing scene, the outlook for humankind is grim. Perhaps it is Frannie who best expresses Dawn's outlook for humanity: "We're not gonna make it, are we?" Several versions of this film are available on video, including a faster-paced European version edited by overseas distributor Dario Argento and a "Director's Cut" with a great deal of exposition restored (though Romero is quoted as having preferred the unrated cut released initially to U.S. theaters). The shooting script also contains a more downbeat ending, which was never filmed. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide