Susan Blommaert Movies

The ongoing debate over parental rights in medical procedures comes to the forefront when a five-year-old girl dies from a relatively minor throat infection. The child's parents, Ted and Nancy Driscoll (Byron Jennings, Kaiulani Lee) are arrested, whereupon they argue that their religious beliefs compelled them to deny medical treatment for their daughter. Incidentally, the unfortunate youngster is played by an uncredited Michelle Trachtenberg, who later co-starred on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands opens as an eccentric inventor (Vincent Price) lovingly assembles a synthetic youth named Edward (Johnny Depp). Edward has all the essential ingredients for today's standard body, with the exception of a pair of hands. For what is initially thought to be a temporary period, he is fitted with long, scissor-like extremities that, while able to trim a mean hedge, are hardly conducive to day-to-day life. When the kindly inventor dies, however, Edward is left lonely and cursed with some very heavy metal for hands. He is eventually taken in by Peg Boggs (Dianne Weist), an Avon lady who takes pity on him after seeing his bleak existence. Edward, in spite of his inherent ability to slay anyone he comes across, is a gentle soul whose only wish is to be loved. His impromptu family has, at best, a limited understanding of Edward, but he finds himself drawn to Peg's weary but sympathetic daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder), who is dating Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), the neighborhood bully. Meanwhile, Edward finds himself a local celebrity after the town realizes that his talents include creative hedge trimming and an unrivaled ability to cut hair. His so-called friends are proven fair-weather when Edward is accused of a crime, after which his only supporters are Peg and Kim. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A doctor dabbles in magical resurrection with horrific consequences in this supernatural thriller adapted from the novel by Stephen King. When Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) and his family move from Chicago to an old farmhouse in rural Maine, their only concern is the busy highway that flanks their new home. Louis' family -- wife Rachel (Denise Crosby), daughter Ellie (Blaze Berdahl), and toddler Gage (Miko Hughes) -- soon meet kindly old duffer Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), who introduces them all to the local attractions, including a pet cemetary built on the remains of a Native American burial ground. When Rachel and the kids head off to visit Louis' in-laws, Ellie's cat gets flattened by a truck. Jud counsels Louis to bury it in the old Indian portion of the cemetary; the next day, it returns from the dead, carrying with it the stink of the earth and a decidedly bad attitude. Shortly thereafter, Louis is tempted to use the cemetary's magical powers again when his son suffers a tragic accident. A snarling kitty, it turns out, is nothing compared to the horror of a little boy with no soul and a taste for scalpels. In addition to adapting his own novel for the screen, writer King appeared in a brief cameo as the minister presiding over Gage's funeral. Director Mary Lambert would return with Pet Sematary Two. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a young German woman named Elaine Hines (Hanna Schygulla) moves to New York City with dreams of becoming a writer. Elaine becomes entangled in a mystery and falls in with a group of gangsters who lead her through a series of crazy adventures. Released on video under the title Crazy Streets, this movie featured an appearance by Deborah Harry and was Alec Baldwin's first screen appearance. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide