Mace Neufeld Movies

Satan's son comes of age in this horror sequel. Shortly after the events of The Omen, a pair of anthropologists uncovers an ancient crypt that depicts the face of the Antichrist -- that of Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor), recently orphaned scion of a wealthy industrialist. Before they can warn the world of the child's evil lineage, both men are buried under tons of rubble. Seven years later, 13-year-old Damien attends military school alongside his cousin, Mark (Lucas Donat), and spends lots of time with his adoptive parents, Uncle Richard (William Holden) and Aunt Ann (Lee Grant). After the boy's Great Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney) tries to convince the Thorns that Damien is a malevolent influence on Mark, she dies suddenly, and, unbeknownst to the family, horrifically. Ravens, it seems, are the harbingers of Damien's power, and in addition to Aunt Marion, they visit a long procession of characters who get too close to Damien's true identity. The most horrible death is suffered by Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shepherd), an investigative reporter who's digging into the boy's life; she gets flattened by a truck after having her eyes devoured by those menacing birds. Meanwhile, executive Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth) climbs the corporate ladder at Thorn Industries and takes young Damien under his devil-worshiping wings. Sgt. Neff (Lance Henriksen), one of the boy's instructors, also helps initiate Damien. As the pile of bodies gets bigger -- and closer -- Uncle Richard begins to suspect the truth, and, like his brother before him, plot the death of Damien. The existence of another sequel, 1981's The Final Conflict, gives a good indication of the outcome. Although Damien: Omen II is his only Hollywood feature credit, Scott-Taylor appeared frequently in the theater and on television; he once even portrayed Damien's arch-nemesis, Jesus, on-stage. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

A gangster who was wrongfully executed for a killing is promised leniency from Satan if he returns to earth in the body of a lawman who is trying to stamp out evil. Trouble is, the dead man has a hard time being evil enough to get revenge. ~ All Movie Guide

This low-budget horror film about teenagers trapped in a carnival funhouse with a freakish monster is pretty standard stuff. Director Tobe Hooper manages a few shocks and includes some typically peculiar supporting characters, but this film is less entertaining than either of his previous excursions into such territory. Not as scary as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) nor as bizarre as Eaten Alive (1976), The Funhouse may as well have been directed by an anonymous hack as one of the foremost names in the genre. The movie tie-in novel, penned by Dean R. Koontz under the pseudonym "Owen West," is actually far more frightening than the film on which it was based. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Officially premiering April 27, 1981, the weekly TV drama American Dream was preceded by a 90-minute pilot film, telecast April 26. The six-member Novak family, headed by Marshall Field employee Danny Novak (Stephen Macht), moves from the comfort of suburban Arlington Heights to inner-city Chicago (gosh only knows why). Danny's wife Donna (Karen Carlson) approves of the move, while sons Casey and Todd (Tim Waldrip and Michael Hershewe) want no part of it. The Novak's new neighbors include feisty, combatitive Paula Navarro (Helen Rubio), and old philosophical realtor Berlowitz (Hans Conreid). The American Dream series itself lasted two months; for details of the compromises and the broken dreams that led to its demise, see media critic Todd Gitlin's 1984 book Inside Prime Time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a plot that combines Mary Shelley's mad Dr. Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, two yellow journalism reporters, Jack and Gil (Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley, Jr.) head off to a castle in Transylvania. The intrepid duo is out to hunt down a story that proves Frankenstein's "monster" is still alive and sparking. What they find is an appropriately demented Dr. Malavaqua and his monstrous creations. Tame stuff for the hardcore groupie, this intended spoof falls a tad short of funny. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This is an adaptation of a popular, violent Marvel Comics series about a character who's a frontier-style vigilante in modern-day urban America. Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, once a crusading police officer whose family was murdered by a car bomb planted by the Mob. Believed to be killed in the explosion, Castle has gone underground, building a subterranean lair in the sewer system and vengefully assassinating various criminals, wracking up an impressive body count of 125 slain in five years. Castle's former partner, Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett, Jr.) rightly suspects that he knows the true identity of the motorcycle-riding avenger dubbed "the Punisher." Meanwhile, Castle's bloody campaign has had the intended effect of weakening organized crime, creating an opportunity to consolidate power for the ambitious Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbe), the man responsible for the Castle family hit. Sensing an opportunity to muscle in on new lucrative turf, foreign competitors threaten Franco's empire. When the Japanese yakuza has the crime boss' innocent son kidnapped, Castle finds himself in the ironic position of helping a man he'd like to kill. Filmed in Australia, this low-budget action thriller did not get a theatrical release in the U.S., instead going directly to video. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The first of several films based on Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan" technothrillers, Hunt for Red October stars Alec Baldwin as eccentric CIA analyst Ryan and Sean Connery as Soviet submarine commander Marko Ramius. Ramius sets the plot in motion when he murders his political adviser, burns his orders, and steers his sub Red October towards American waters, hoping to defect. The CIA, aware that the Red October was about to embark on an evasive mission to demonstrate its ability to avoid detection and fire its nuclear missiles upon U.S. installations, believes that Ramius is insane, and that he plans to start World War III. To cover their own behinds, the Russians back up the CIA's suspicion. Only Jack Ryan believes that Ramius' mission is not as apocalyptic as it seems -- and it is Ryan who is assigned to infiltrate the Red October to prove his theory. The sort of film that in an earlier era would have been called a "thinking man's thriller," The Hunt for Red October ushered in a new series of Hollywood-produced post-Cold War adventure films, including 1995's Crimson Tide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a recruitment scandal, a struggling college football team is forced to turn to a rag-tag group of misfits in this sports comedy. It seems that Texas State University's football team has relied on some rather unorthodox -- and illegal -- methods to gain players, resulting in the disqualification of most of the team's stars. The desperate coach (Hector Elizondo) must rely on the school's actual students, a motley crew of unlikely characters that includes a female place kicker and a quarterback in his thirties. Unexpectedly, however, the coach discovers that the passer still has a heck of an arm, and suddenly the team again has a chance. The expected comic complications and obvious bits of slapstick follow as this band of eccentrics struggles to find a way to victory, resulting in a familiar reprise of a well-worn storyline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

In Patriot Games, Harrison Ford plays former CIA agent Jack Ryan, taking over from Alec Baldwin, who had played author Tom Clancy's brainy protagonist in Hunt for Red October. This time around, Ryan foils an attempted assassination, thereby incurring the wrath of a maniacal Irish radical (Sean Bean). After seemingly neutralizing the villains, and deciding to celebrate the occasion with his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch), everything appears to be back to normal; then all hell breaks loose. Author Tom Clancy himself bemoaned the liberties taken with his novel in the final sequences; the picture scored with audiences, however, and soon inspired a followup, A Clear and Present Danger (1994), also starring Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

This made for cable movie premiered over the Lifetime network on August 21, 1996, barely one year after the court case which inspired it. Though they have adopted a son, infertile couple John and Debbie Challender (Randle Mell, Marilu Henner) still feel unfulfilled. Desperate to have a child of her own, Debbie submits to experimental fertility treatments conducted by the brilliant and arrogant Dr. Ash (Castullo Guerra), the self-proclaimed miracle man of Irving University. The treatment, involving "hyperstimulated" ovaries, nearly kills Debbie, but it all seems worth it when she gives birth to a healthy son. But this is not the end of the story by a long shot: As Debbie discovers to her outrage that her own eggs have been implanted in other women without her permission, Marilyn Killane (Linda Lavin), office manager for Dr. Ash, unearths evidence that the doctor's staff has been regularly mishandling embryos--and that several of his nurses aren't even certified. Ultimately, Dr. Ash ends up in court, facing charges that, in so many words, he has been illegally "Playing God" with unwary women for the sole purpose of elevating his own reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the popular novels about that other suave, globe-trotting man of action, this genre picture from director Phillip Noyce mixed romance and character development with dangerous stunts, geopolitical intrigue, and a variety of elaborate disguises, resulting in an uneven stew of a spy thriller. Val Kilmer is Simon Templar, a classy, cunning master thief and "man of a thousand faces" who cribs his phony names from those of obscure saints and sells his illegal services to the highest bidder. Hired by an ambitious Russian politician (Rade Serbedzija) to steal the formula for cold fusion, Templar falls in love with Dr. Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue), the frail Oxford scientist who has unlocked the secret of the process. Back in Moscow, the thief debates whether to betray his new love or the powerful madman who is paying him millions, until he discovers that his client is concealing oil reserves that could save his freezing people. Often seen as an also-ran to the legendary James Bond, Templar, the creation of author Leslie Charteris, in fact predated the first Bond novel by decades and probably inspired Ian Fleming in his creation of the debonair agent. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide