Hope Perello Movies

Part of a pointless string of sequels ostensibly based on the werewolf novels by Gary Brandner, this entry deserves credit for taking the creatively dead series in an interesting new direction. Set in the barren rural town of Canton Bluff, the story centers on the enigmatic figure of Ian (Brendan Hughes), a likeable but severely solitary drifter who takes a job making repairs to the local church. Eschewing human contact, Ian seems unnaturally leery of the impending full moon, a fear shared by a man named Harker (Bruce Payne), the owner of a sleazy traveling carnival. Aware that Ian is a genuine werewolf, Harker is able to blackmail the young man into working for his carnival, where he is put on display with other human oddities. To further complicate matters, Harker is revealed to have a monstrous secret of his own -- he's a vampire, who sees Ian's condition as a cover for preying on the blood of local folk. In a nod to Tod Browning's Freaks, Ian joins forces with the other carnival freaks to destroy their evil master. Director Hope Perello's taut, suspenseful debut makes clever references to classic horror films without lapsing into parody or imitation, and the production has a classy look and feel, helping to shrug off the unpleasant stigma normally associated with the otherwise mediocre Howling franchise. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Despite the tendency of the Curse films to bear absolutely no relation to each other, this is perhaps the only film in that series to involve an actual curse. It's also one of the better installments. The curse in question is leveled upon the 16th-century monks of San Pietro by a demonically-possessed man, just prior to his being sealed alive in the catacombs beneath the Abbey. His curse plagues the monks' embittered modern-day descendants, who toil under the strict guidance of Father Marinus (Jeremy West). When an American schoolteacher (Laura Schaefer) comes into their midst to explore the sealed catacombs, Marinus fears the worst: not only does the woman represent a powerful temptation to the repressed brothers, but her tamperings with the 400-year-old seal threaten to unleash the horror lurking behind it. His fears are, of course, well-founded, and the demonic attacks begin. Frequent Charles Band collaborator David Schmoeller directs this demon-possession opus with surprising subtlety, eschewing gore effects and Exorcist-style weirdness in favor of a pervading atmosphere of dread, weighed down only slightly by a rather talky script. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this violent crime drama, the residents of a New York City housing project live in fear of The Vampires, the brutal gang that continually terrorizes them. Things change after an insurance agent and a telephone repairman end up trapped there. Perhaps things would not be so desperate had the fellow not accidentally offended one of the gang members. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide