Howard R. Cohen Movies

A handful of teenagers learns there can be a dark side to a good time in this independent drama. Mary (Aimee Graham), Tracy (Tricia Dickson), and Sadie (Nicholle Tom) are three girls from wealthy families who are bored, self-consciously hip, and looking for some fun one night. When the girls hear about a rave being held in a massive warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, they decide to join the party, accompanied by Brian (Scott Torrence), a gay friend who loves the high-energy flash of the dance scene. Also on hand for the rave is Daffy (Douglas Spain), an Hispanic teen whose relationship with his father (Steven Bauer) has hit a rough spot -- and whose girlfriend Nette (Tamara Mello) has just learned she's going to have a baby. Also making the scene are Jay (Dante Basco), a youth of Korean descent who is at the rave against the orders of his father; Lazy (Shaun Weiss), a cheerful laid-back stoner; his pal JP (Franco Vega), a young tough with a hair-trigger temper; and Sky (Chris Weber), a dealer who specializes in drugs for the rave clientele. While most of the kids aren't looking for any more than a place to dance and have a good time, by the end of the night the discover they've entered a world more dangerous than they imagined. Rave was the first feature film from director Ron Krauss. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the four episode "Deathstalker" series of sword and sorcery adventures, a brave hero takes on the dreaded Warriors from Hell as he searches for the three magic stones that will grant him the ultimate power. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The sequel to Saturday the 14th, this horror-comedy traces the adventures of nice-guy teen Eddie Baxter (Jason Presson) as he saves the world from the brink of supernatural destruction. After moving into a decrepit, inherited mansion with his family -- a collection of oddballs who eat nothing but junk food yet cling to a Leave It to Beaver sense of normalcy -- Eddie is the only one to notice the mysterious mists that spill up from the basement and engender odd behavior in everyone but himself and lovable old Gramps (Ray Walston). The entire family, from Eddie's dad (Avery Schreiber) to his freeloading Aunt Alice (Rhonda Aldrich), soon begins conducting late-night chocolate-fudge sculpture classes in the kitchen. Chairs begin eating people, Aunt Alice spouts werewolf-style facial hair, and monsters begin issuing forth from a crack in the basement floor. Soon, a leggy blond vampire named Charlene (Pamela Stonebrook) has taken up residence in the Eddie's room; she tells the boy he's set to inherit the mantle of darkness from a fiend known as The Evil One (Leo V. Gordon) at the stroke of midnight on Saturday the 14th. As signs and portents proliferate, Eddie must decide whether to reject temptation or bask in his newfound powers. Help arrives unexpectedly in the form of Leonard Cavendish (Phil Leeds), Gramps' deceased best friend. Saturday the 14th Strikes Back co-star Avery Schreiber spent much of the '80s being distracted by the hearty crunch of Doritos snack chips in a long-running series of TV commercials. Audiences will remember Ray Walston from his role as Uncle Martin in the '60s TV show My Favorite Martian, while veteran comedy player Phil Leeds would go on to play tooth-obsessed Judge Happy Boyle on the '90s Fox comedy Ally McBeal. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this martial arts flick, Los Angeles is once again torn by street gangs, who are still killing each other over the same things, year after year -- drugs, money, power and glory. Young (Jun Chong) is the leader of a gang, but his goal is to return to his homeland where he belongs and leave this the insanity of L. A. behind. Standing in his way is a turf war, a family falling apart at the seams, and a bang-up, knock 'em dead showdown with a powerful drug cartel and its chief hitman, Kruger (Bill Wallace). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Low-budget and cheap, the sci-fi adventure Space Raiders liberally raided Star Wars and the previous Roger Corman film Battle Beyond the Stars for scenes of special effects once, twice, three times, and more. The story, also cribbed from Star Wars is about a Col. Hawkins or "Hawk" (Vince Edwards) who has to defeat the "Company" and their massive robot ship in order to bring a young boy back to his home planet. A Star Wars bar scene has a space creature hooker looking great until she turns around and shows her face. Aside from the familiar content in this film, there are continuity gaps that make wounds miraculously jump from one side of the body to the other and do not connect the special effects in space with the space travelers inside the ships. Perhaps the title should have been "Spacy Raiders." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Set in a future time after a nuclear holocaust, survivors battle each other over water, a key to both power and life in this low-budget, damp version of a Mad Max world. Stryker (Steve Sandor) joins forces with Delha (Andrea Savio) when she makes a decision to share her colony's fresh water supply with the neighboring settlements. Stryker's decision to throw in with Delha leads to some chug-along car chases, as his arch-nemesis Kardis (Michael Lane) has opposite views on the use of water. A smattering of beautiful women in a minimum of clothing, a tribe of lovable dwarfs, and a few requisite battle scenes fill in the time between chases. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A Vietnam veteran returns to America but finds difficulty in adjusting to normal life and controlling his violent impulses. This action drama follows the vet as he finds his way to New York, where his killer instinct finds a suitable outlet in a job as a hitman for the mob. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This crime drama is the fourth in Roger Corman's series of sexy "nurseploitation" films. Three curvaceous health care workers in a big city hospital expose a drug ring that is operating from inside the facility. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide