Carrie Snodgress

Genre writer/director J.S. Cardone crafts his own history of the vampire legend in this teen horror outing that takes place primarily in desert locations, à la Near Dark (1987) and Vampires (1998). Sean (Kerr Smith) is traveling across the desert to attend his sister's wedding when he picks up an unusual hitchhiker, Nick (Brendan Fehr). A vampire hunter, Nick soon has Sean embroiled in a battle between himself and a band of the undead creatures led by Kit (Johnathon Schaech). Caught in the middle of the supernatural shenanigans with Sean is Megan (Izabella Miko), who had been nearly turned into a vampire herself by Kit and his followers. Sean and Megan develop a romantic attachment, which encounters a further obstacle when Sean is infected with the vampire virus; only Kit's death can prevent Sean from permanently becoming one of the nosferatu. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

By day, Ed Gein was a quiet man who kept watch over the farm left to him by his late mother in Plainfield, a small rural community in Wisconsin. But by night, Gein was one of the most bizarre and dangerous psychopaths in recorded history. Raised by a violent alcoholic father and a mother with an obsessive fear of sin and hatred of sex, Gein had very few friends, and after the death of his parents, Gein was left to his own devices on the family farm (where, under a government subsidy program, he was paid not to grow crops), and his unhealthy obsessions eventually became ugly realities. Gein's crimes included murder, necrophilia, cannibalism, and grave robbing, with Gein using the flesh and bones of his victims to construct household objects, including a suit and mask made from human skin that Gein used when he wanted to dress up as a woman (it's been suggested that some of Gein's crimes stemmed from a twisted attempt to deal with his desire to change his gender). In 1957, two murders committed by Gein attracted the attention of the police, leading to Gein's arrest; near the end of that year, he was declared criminally insane and was committed for life to Wisconsin's Waupan State Hospital, where he stayed until his death in 1984. Gein's grisly story inspired a number of horror films, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Deranged, but Ed Gein is the first feature based strictly on the facts of Gein's case, using his real name as well as those of most of his victims. Ed Gein stars Steve Railsback in the title role, with Carrie Snodgrass as his mother Augusta, and Sally Champlin and Carol Mansell as two of his victims. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This thriller takes place in Blue Bay, Florida, where social-climbing guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) is indifferent to teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards), who retaliates by accusing him of rape, an accusation that leads to his suspension by the school and a rejection from the country club. He can't afford a big attorney, so he hires shrewd Ken Bowden (Bill Murray), while Kelly's mom, Sandra Van Ryan (Theresa Russell), Sam's former lover, gets a platoon of top lawyers. Trailer-trash Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell) backs up Kelly's claim and additional plot twists and turns develop. The seldom-seen Carrie Snodgrass (Diary of a Mad Housewife) has a supporting role in this film. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Jay Craven directed this post-WWII period drama adapted from a fact-based novel by Howard Frank Mosher. During the '50s, the service record of former Army chaplain Walter Andrews (Ernie Hudson) makes such an impression that he's hired over the telephone to serve as minister at a small town in rural Vermont. Only when Andrews arrives to begin work do the townspeople realize he's black. Despite some hostility from certain locals, he's accepted into the community. However, when young Claire LaRivierre (Jordan Bayne), is found murdered in the forest nearby, Andrews becomes the leading suspect because he gave her shelter. Contrasting accounts of Claire's final hours are revealed in the courtroom. Shown at the 1998 Hollywood Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this Kentucky-set drama, a tax attorney lays his career and life on the line while endeavoring to prove that a young girl was murdered. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blue Sky was the last film directed by Tony Richardson (Tom Jones) before his death in 1991 and one of the last releases from once-thriving Orion Films, whose bankruptcy kept the picture on the shelf for several years. It also features two career-high performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange, who won the Best Actress Oscar for this role, as Hank and Carly Marshall, a military couple whose marriage unravels under the pressure of his job and her mental instability. Hank is an Army captain at odds with his superiors over the wisdom of nuclear testing. Carly is a free spirit spiralling into a dangerous depression after the family's move from Hawaii to a nowhere base in Alabama alarms the couple's older daughter (Amy Locane) and sends Carly into an affair with the base commander (Powers Boothe). ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

This inspiring made-for-television drama tells the true story of how Dennis Byrd -- professional football player for the New York Jets -- rebounded from a terrible game injury that left him paralyzed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Luke Perry stars in this biography of the late Lane Frost, a champion bull rider who in 1987 won a rodeo world championship at the tender age of 21. In Eight Seconds (the title refers to the minimum amount of time a rider must stay on a bull in competition), Lane Frost is a young man from Oklahoma who learns to ride, hoping to win the approval of his emotionally distant father. As Lane works his way up the rodeo circuit with his best friend Tuff Hedeman (Stephen Baldwin), he meets Kelly Kyle (Cynthia Geary), a pretty barrel-race rider with whom he falls in love. Lane and Kelly marry, but Lane stubbornly refuses any help from Kelly's wealthy parents, forcing the young couple to live a hand-to-mouth existence, and while Lane's dedication to rodeo and its fans earns him a devoted following, it also keeps him away from Kelly and threatens to sink their relationship. Lane's hard work pays off when he wins the 1987 world championship, but the danger of the sport catches up with him two years later, when he dies as a result of an accident during competition. Country star Vince Gill appears onscreen with his band; keep an eye peeled for a brief appearance by Renee Zellweger, two years before her breakthrough role in Jerry Maguire. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When a top secret naval mission leads to the torpedoing of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at the end of WWII, it began one of the most scandalous court-martials in the history of the military. For five days the surviving crew members were left in the shark-infested waters, with only half of them surviving to be rescued. Their well-respected Captain accepted the responsibility to keep the scandal to a minimum but his court-martial only served to show that justice is not always found in military proceedings but rather mere expediency. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV adventure dramatizes the courage of Allan Pinkerton, who founded the famed detective agency, and a blue-blooded Southern belle, as they team up to keep the Union intact during the Civil War. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A first-rate jazz score dominates the coming-of-age drama Blueberry Hill. Jennifer Rubin plays a small town girl of the 1950s whose musician father dies suddenly. Rubin's grief is not assuaged by her mother Carrie Snodgrass, who is having enough trouble coping with the tragedy on her own. The young girl must turn to jazz singer Margaret Avery for comfort and advice. Along the way, Rubin discovers that she's inherited her father's piano-playing prowess-and has also learned a few unsettling family secrets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

All of Cabot Cove turns out for the funeral of Henry Vernon, the town's chief financial advisor. The ceremony is halted by the arrival of a woman claiming that Henry was murdered. Investigating, the local authorities open the coffin--only to find out that the occupant isn't Henry! Before the story is over, no fewer than two corpses have mysteriously vanished, then mysteriously reappeared, while Jessica (Angela Lansbury) conducts a thorough probe of the "late" Mr. Vernon's questionable business practices. Real-life husband and wife Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys, who'd once headlined the delightful fantasy sitcom Topper, appear as Ben and Agnes Shipley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide