William Sanderson

Based on an incident that allegedly took place in Seattle, WA, back in 1972, director Uwe Boll's Seed tells the twisted tale of a mass murderer who was buried alive after surviving the electric chair, and claws his way back to the surface in search of bloody revenge. According to U.S. law, any convict who somehow manages to survive three 15,000 volt jolts from the electric chair for 15 seconds is eligible to walk free. When notorious psychopath Sam Seed is strapped into the chair and asked for his last words, he simply replies by saying "I'll see you again." Later, after the electricity is sent surging through his veins and blood boils up through his eyeballs, Seed is still breathing. Realizing the dangers of letting such an unrepentant menace back on the streets, the executioner, Warden Wright, and the prison doctor conspire to skirt the law, and pronounce Seed dead. Subsequently bound and buried alive, the enraged Seed somehow manages to escape from his premature grave, and quickly sets out to prove just how alive he truly is. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Al (Ian McShane) regains consciousness, but he's in bad shape. Alma (Molly Parker) learns that she's pregnant, and, feeling that Doc (Brad Dourif) has been judgmental with her, she turns to Trixie (Paula Malcomson). Alma explains that she wants children of her own, but she has a physical deformity that could endanger her life if she tried to bear a child. Trixie later upbraids Doc about his attitude, and urges him to see Alma. Samuel Fields (Franklyn Ajaye), who calls himself the "Nigger General," arrives in camp to return a horse to Hostetler (Richard Gant), and befriends Jane (Robin Weigert) over an afternoon drink. Miss Isringhausen (Sarah Paulson) tells Silas (Titus Welliver) that she fears Alma. She claims that Alma admitted to killing her husband, and named Al as her instrument. When she then asks to meet Al, Silas moans, "Why do I feel lucky we didn't meet across a poker table?" Doris (Erica Swanson) reports to Cy (Powers Boothe), who is intrigued to learn of Wolcott's (Garret Dillahunt) disturbing activities at the Chez Amis. Jarry (Stephen Tobolowsky) gives Merrick (Jeffrey Jones) a notice about the validity of the camp's gold claims to print on the front page of the paper. Merrick, recognizing that the notice will only foster more confusion about the claims (as per Jarry's intentions), decides to dissociate his paper from the notice by simply posting it outside his office. The posting gets a number of claim holders riled up. Cy stops by and offers to buy their claims, but they're more interested in seeking revenge upon the author of the statement, Jarry. Led by Steve the Drunk (Michael Harney), the mob goes after Jarry, and when Seth (Timothy Olyphant) protects the commissioner, they turn their attention elsewhere. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

As Smith's (Ray McKinnon) health continues to deteriorate, Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) goes to Al (Ian McShane) for help. Doc also delivers a new boot to Jewel (Geri Jewell). Claggett (Marshall Bell) arrives back in camp, accompanied by General Crook (Peter Coyote) and a cavalry division. Claggett claims that he never made it back to Yankton, depriving Silas (Titus Welliver) of a chance to murder him on Al's behalf. Al tells Claggett that he's not getting any more money for the murder warrant. Claggett accuses him of "failure to value your freedom in the promising days ahead," to which Al ripostes, inimitably, "Maybe you don't value keeping your guts inside your belly enough." Still, Al is hesitant to act against Claggett with the military in camp. Leon (Larry Cedar) and sheriff Con Stapleton (Peter Jason) are involved in the suspicious killing of a Chinese laundryman. When Otis (William Russ) attempts to blackmail Alma (Molly Parker) for a continuing interest in her gold claim, she reluctantly turns to Seth (Timothy Olyphant) for help. After a somewhat heated encounter with Otis, Seth decides to involve Dan (W. Earl Brown) and Al in the increasingly ugly matter. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The brutal murder of a Catskill Mountains family sets into motion a terrifying sequence of events as the horrors of H.P. Lovecraft come to the screen courtesy of directors Barrett J. Leigh and Thom Maurer. The year is 1908, and a mountain man named Joe Slaader has just committed the ultimate atrocity. Committed to the Ulster County Asylum after murdering his entire family, the man with the mysterious growth on his back is seen by the studied doctors of the facility as the harbinger of the dark days to come. When the inmates of the asylum decide to turn on their captors and wrestle away control of the remote asylum, the strange events that follow precede the ominous arrival of a dark force that the mind of man may not hold the power to comprehend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Forget Gunsmoke and Bonanza. The HBO series Deadwood was as close to the "real thing" as any Western fan was ever going to see on television -- and in its pursuit of reality, the series was not afraid of smashing icons or skewering sacred cows. Could anything less be expected of executive producer David Milch (NYPD Blue)? The series began its story in 1876, two weeks after Custer's demise at the Little Big Horn, and in the midst of "gold fever" brought about by a major ore strike in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory. Into the wide-open and illegal settlement of Deadwood rode a terrifying variety of hard-bitten men and hard-living women. Keith Carradine headed the cast (at least in the early episodes) as gunfighter and Indian scout Wild Bill Hickok -- not the clean-cut hero of movie and TV fame, but an embittered, disillusioned, cold-hearted killer who trusted no one, least of all himself. Traveling to Deadwood with old friend Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie) and devoted, foul-mouthed sidekick Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert), Hickok quickly met and befriended former lawman Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), the archetypal man with a past who held out hope (but not much) that Deadwood would permit him a new start in life. The destinies of both Hickok and Bullock were gradually intertwined with that of self-styled town boss Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), the manipulative, cheerfully decadent owner of Deadwood's biggest "saloon," the Gem. Several major and minor characters passed through Deadwood, some for a long time, some only as long as it took to be shot down in the street. One of the more fascinating peripheral characters was gimlet-eyed cardsharp Eddie Sawyer, well played by real-life magician and master card manipulator Ricky Jay. Festooned with sex, sadism, sudden death, rampant profanity, and mud, mud, mud, Deadwood was not your father's "cowboy" show. The series drew huge ratings and enthusiastic critical plaudits from the moment it made its first appearance on March 21, 2004 -- and within a few weeks of this debut, all audience expectations were dashed to bits when one of the series' "stars" paid homage to historical accuracy by being abruptly killed off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lt. Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) is convinced that his widowed mother Maria (Susan Kellerman) is about to marry a con artist: namely, a much-younger antique dealer named Dalton Padron (Nestor Carbonel). As a favor to Disher, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) and Sharona (Bitty Schram) pose as a married couple and join a therapy group whose members also include the redoubtable Padron and his bride-to-be Maria. What neither Disher nor Monk know (but the audience does!) is that Padron is not only a crook but a murderer, who has already killed his partner to get his mitts on a fortune in hidden gold--and isn't about to stop at only one victim! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Jack Schaefer (writer of Shane), and previously filmed theatrically in 1970, the made-for-cable Monte Walsh is the still-timely saga of a dying way of life. Monte Walsh (Tom Selleck) and his friends are cowboys and bronco busters, plying their trade in the Wyoming Territory of 1892. Alas, the advance of civilization has all but rendered Monte and his comrades obsolete -- and with the increasing corporate buy-ups of Wyoming land, these relics of the Old West have practically nowhere else to go. Should Monte continue as before, seeking out the last of the wide open spaces, or should he follow the advice of his sweetheart Martine (Isabella Rosselini) and settle down in a steady job -- say, as a trick rider-roper in the traveling Wild West Show owned by impresario Colonel Wilson (Wallace Shawn)? This elegiac drama debuted January 17, 2003, on the TNT network as part of the cable service's "100 Years of Westerns" celebration. The teleplay is partially credited to one of the scripters of the 1970 film, Lukas Heller, who died in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Ron Maxwell and producer Ted Turner return to the glory and tragedy of the Civil War in this historical drama, a prequel to Gettysburg, which examines the early days of the conflict through the experiences of three men. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) left behind a quiet life and a career as a college professor to become one of the Union's greatest military minds. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) was, like Chamberlain, a man of great religious faith who served in the defense of the Confederacy. And Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall), who led the Confederate army, was a man who was forced to choose between his loyalty to the United States and his love of the Southern states where he was born and raised. As Chamberlain, Jackson, and Lee are followed through the declaration of war and the battles at Manassas, Antietam, Frederickburg, and Chancellorsville, the film also introduces us to the many supporting players in the epic tale of the war between the States, among them the women these men left behind, among them Fanny Chamberlain (Mira Sorvino) and Anna Jackson (Kali Rocha). Based on a novel by Jeff Shaara, Gods and Generals also features a new song written and performed by Bob Dylan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the popular Sega arcade video game of the same name, director Uwe Boll's action horror effort finds a group of partying teens stranded on an island and doing battle with a new breed of unusually mobile zombies. Looking for a place to party away spring break, college students Cynthia (Sonya Salomaa), Greg (Will Sanderson), and Karma (Enuka Okuma) hear rumors of a rave on a remote island in the Seattle area. Rushing to catch the party boat, the teens pick up friends Simon (Tyron Leitso) and Alicia (Ona Grauer), but discover upon arrival at the dock that the boat has set sail without them. Offering a few dollars to a local captain to hitch a ride to the island, the teens reach their destination only to find it eerily silent with no party in sight. Things go from bad to worse when the group is attacked by a mysterious creature, and they are forced to seek refuge in an old dark house on the island shore. Subsequently running into a few familiar faces and learning to their horror that the rave had been overrun by a horde of terrifying zombies, the group must now make one final bid for survival over the course of a long, blood-soaked night. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

From director Mark Stratton and screenwriter Dave Eisenstark comes Monkey Love, an independent romantic comedy set in Los Angeles. The film centers on three friends, Amy (Amy Stewart), Dil (Jeremy Renner), and Aaron (Seamus Dever). The trio have been best friends for years, with each of their very different personalities complimenting the other. But now in their college years, a wrench is thrown into the gears of their friendship. It seems that Amy suddenly begins to have romantic feelings. To make matters worse she seems to be falling for not one, but both of her male pals. Monkey Love premiered at the 2002 Seattle International Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A man trying to save his relationship with the woman he loves finds himself sinking into a quicksand of small lies and half-truths in this comedy. Paul (Jason Lee) is a regular guy who is engaged to marry Karen (Selma Blair); while Paul loves Karen, he's more than a bit nervous around her family, even though her father (James Brolin) has already given him a job in the family business. Shortly before the wedding, Paul's friends throw him a bachelor party, complete with a boatload of liquor and a squadron of grass-skirt-clad tiki dancers. Paul strikes up a conversation with one of the dancers, the cheerful if inept Becky (Julia Stiles), and the next morning, he wakes up bleary-eyed with a massive hangover -- and Becky in bed next to him. Paul soon receives a phone call from Karen saying she's stopping by for a visit, and Paul scrambles to get Becky out of his apartment. Paul attempts to explain some incriminating evidence with a few white lies, but a messy situation gets messier when Paul runs into Becky at a pre-wedding family get-together...and discovers she's Karen's cousin. A Guy Thing also features Shawn Hatosy, Lochlyn Munro, and Julie Hagerty. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide