Rodman Flender Movies

Nature of the Beast is a made-for-TV movie that blends the horror, comedy, and romance genres. American Pie's Eddie Kaye Thomas stars as Rich, who is finding it increasingly difficult to hide his werewolf status from his unsuspecting fiancee, Julia (Autumn Reeser, The O.C.), as their wedding day approaches. The ABC Family film features Ugly Betty's Eric Mabius in a supporting role. ~ All Movie Guide

Caleb (Alan Dale) wants to get rid of Julie (Melinda Clarke), but doesn't want to come off as the villain of the piece -- so he dumps the responsibility onto poor Kirsten (Kelly Rowan). Meanwhile, Kirsten and Sandy (Peter Gallagher) are torn over what they should do about Ryan's (Ben McKenzie) recent misbehavior, though they ultimately want to be supportive. And in a startling climax, the truth about Oliver (Taylor Handley) is finally revealed to a frightened Marissa (Mischa Barton) -- but will Ryan be willing and able to help her when she needs him most? ~ All Movie Guide

Teenage burnouts and post-modern slasher films are both raked over the satiric coals in the blood-soaked comedy Idle Hands. Anton (Devon Sawa) is a cheerful but exceedingly non-ambitious 17-year-old stoner who lives to stay buzzed, watch TV, and moon over Molly (Jessica Alba), the beautiful girl who lives next door. However, it turns out that the old cliché about idle hands being the devil's playground has a kernel of truth after all; there's a demonic beast living in his house that has already decapitated Anton's mom and dad (though it takes him a while to notice), and now the Dark Lord Himself has taken possession of Anton's right hand. Before he's entirely aware of what's happening, Anton's demon hand has killed his two best friends, Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), though both come back as zombies to keep Anton company. Can Randy (Jack Noseworthy), local metalhead and expert on all things Satanic, figure out what the Evil One has planned next for Anton's digits? Will traveling demon slayer Debi (Vivica A. Fox) vanquish the possessed in time? And most important, will Anton get to go to the big dance with Molly before his hand starts causing trouble again? Director Rodman Flender certainly knows the genres he parodies here; he cut his teeth in horror working for exploitation legend Roger Corman and directed the film Bloody Mutilators as well as episodes of the TV series Tales From The Crypt, while more recently he immersed himself in teenage culture directing episodes of the TV series Party of Five and Dawson's Creek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paying a brief return visit to San Francisco, Will McCorkle (Scott Grimes) can't get Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) to reveal the truth about Bailey (Scott Wolf) and his drinking problem. Having been burned out of her own home, Grace (Tamara Taylor) moves in with Charlie (Matthew Fox) and the Salingers, stirring up all manner of excitement--and not a little resentment. As for Charlie, his rage over Julia's decision not to attend Stanford is so intense that Julia (Neve Campbell) decides to move in with her boyfriend Sam (Ben Browder), whose reaction to this turn of events is most surprising. And Claudia (Lacey Chabert) draws up an unusual agreement with baby brother Owen (played by twins Andrew Cavarno and Steve Cavarno). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the more popular features from Roger Corman's "B"-factory Concorde/New Horizons, Carnosaur perpetuates the grand Corman tradition of zeroing in on a big-budget Hollywood studio moneymaker, then dashing off a quick-and-dirty poor man's version before moss gets a chance to grow on the larger film's concept. This bargain-basement spin on Jurassic Park was actually based on a novel by John Brosnan (under the pseudonym Harry Adam Knight). It features Diane Ladd (whose daughter Laura Dern took the high road on Spielberg's film) as a kooky mad scientist whose experiments on human and dinosaur DNA result in dual disasters -- first, a rubbery midget Tyrannosaurus bred from dinosaur and chicken DNA (imagine the barbecue potential!) which escapes the lab and goes on the requisite bloody rampage; and second, a specially-engineered virus with the ability to replace human beings with dino-babies. Although this exploitation quickie doesn't waste too much time delivering the standard Corman cargo (blood and breasts), the mayhem is too often derailed by endless genetic techno-babble from Ladd, whose freaked-out performance is the film's sole plus. The downbeat ending is pure '80s, and paves the way for the inevitable sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This 1991erotic thriller revolves around a politician caught in a sexual cover-up that is reminiscent of the real-life 1987 Gary Hart/Donna Rice scandal. After city-council member Franklin Carlyle (William Katt) is mugged and stranded while checking out a redevelopment project in a downscale neighborhood, he is befriended by an alcoholic (Rick Dean) who introduces the politician to a local strip-bar. Carlyle becomes sexually involved with one of the dancers at the club (Maria Ford). This liaison horribly backfires when the woman is discovered murdered the morning after. As councilman Carlyle tries to hide his one-night stand with the slain stripper, the alcoholic begins to assume an increasingly menacing aspect. Interspersed with erotic dream fantasies and strip scenes, the thriller continues onward to its final--and cinematic--climax. This is the first release of director Dan Golden. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Best known as the sexy but intellectually challenged Kelly Bundy on Married with Children, Christina Applegate broadened her range a bit with this tough-minded drama in which she played a drug-addicted teenage prostitute living on the streets of Los Angeles. Sy (David Mendenhall) is a clean-cut, middle-class teenager who dreams of becoming a rock star, so he makes his way from the suburbs into downtown L.A. to check out the action. Shortly after arriving, Sy sees a man with a gun beating Dawn (Christina Applegate), a hooker who didn't let her customer get as rough with her as he wanted. Sy comes to Dawn's rescue, and he suffers some severe facial scratches for his trouble. Dawn takes Sy under her wing and gives him a guided tour of the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, where murder, theft and addiction are as common as jaywalking, and hundreds of homeless kids no older than Sy fight for survival. Meanwhile, as Dawn and Sy become closer, the psycho who attacked Dawn is hot on her trail, looking for revenge and unconcerned with who gets hurt before he finds her. Streets was directed by Katt Shea Ruben, who acted in several low-budget exploitation films for producer Roger Corman before moving on to direct several films for Corman's New World Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of a few abortive attempts by B-movie legend Roger Corman to recapture the questionable glory of his 60s Edgar Allan Poe films as well as his 70s sexploitation romps, this is definitely the least entertaining of the lot. Taking massive liberties with Poe's tale, the plot involves lovely young Lenora (Nicole Eggert) being possessed by the ghost of her mother (Eggert again), who was tortured and crucified as a witch when Lenora was an infant. After a series of flashbacks, it is also revealed that Morella had intended to sacrifice her child as part of a Satanic ritual designed to give her eternal life. Lenora's creepy governess Mrs. Deveroux (Lana Clarkson) is revealed as Morella's partner in crime, as she conspires to make Lenora's possession complete -- just in time for her to collect a sizable trust on her 18th birthday. Conceived primarily as softcore exploitation, this makes Corman's earlier bastardizations of Poe's works seem positively inspired by comparison. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

When a bodacious doctor assists a married sex researcher in the lab, they begin an affair that she seems to grow obsessed with. Before long, the regretful man realizes that he has snagged a psychopathic nymph who would rather kill him than give him up to his wife. If not already apparent: there is a bit of sexual content in this suspense film. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Stripped to Kill 2: Live Girls, the sequel to the excellent Stripped to Kill, directed by Katt Shea Ruben, is a lurid, exploitation film which has none of the humor, suspense or eroticism of the original. As in the original, exotic dancers are being murdered at their strip club in a variety of bloody and inventive ways. A psychic is brought in to help solve the murders. Director Katt Shea Ruben has a great pace and visual sense and works well within the confines of her tight budget, but this film, despite her best efforts, remains a formula slasher film with little to recommend it except for the beautiful women in various stages of undress. Those who loved Stripped to Kill will be disappointed in this routine sequel which captures none of the appeal of the original. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This sci-fi horror film is a knock-off of the Alien films. Set in the Mojave desert in the 21st century, it depicts a desolate world that has been ravaged by a human engineered plague virus where the few people live underground and the surface is populated by strange monsters. Unfortunately, for the humans below, food must be gathered on the surface. David is up on a foraging mission when he finds a pregnant woman and brings her down to his medical center. Unfortunately, she has been impregnated by one of the creatures and its offspring bursts from its womb in a gory spray of blood and guts. It's a hungry little thing and as it grows, devours every human in its path except for David and a physician. In addition to seeking nourishment, the creature is looking for human women to breed with. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide