John Schouweiler Movies

Danny Coogan and his girlfriend Beth team with a weather-beaten police sergeant and Toulon's puppets in order to prevent the evil Commandant Moebius from creating an army of unstoppable Nazi soldiers in the most ambitious installment of the Puppet Master saga to date. Having just prevented the destruction of an American arms plant by Nazi forces, Danny and Beth discover that Commandant Moebius has stolen one of Toulon's puppets with the intention of extracting its animating serum. From that serum, he will create a new army of deadly puppets and dispatch them on a mission to assassinate the American General Porter - striking a crucial blow to Allied forces. But as the new race of Nazi puppets prepare to carry out their diabolical mission, Blade, Jester, Pinhead, and Leech Woman unveil a secret weapon that could win the battle once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Seven students participating in an experiment designed to eliminate the sensation of pain begin to question the validity of the study after arriving at a remote institute and realizing that their numbers are dwindling fast. Greeted at the institute by eccentric scientist JB Divay, the students view their host's fascination with hypnosis, clocks, and cactuses as simple personality quirks. Before long, however, the frightened lab rats discover that Divay is far from the harmless crackpot she first appeared to be. Later, when one of the students finds his boyfriend strapped to a table beneath a giant pendulum, he must race to prevent Divay from finishing her final experiment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Co-written by Jonathan Tolins and based on his original stage play, this Showtime drama concerns the possible role of genetics in determining sexual orientation. Suzanne Gold (Jennifer Beals), a medical-school dropout who manages a clothing store, marries genetic researcher Rob Stein (Jon Tenney), the son of Orthodox Jews who disapprove of what they perceive as their son's meddling with God's prerogatives. When Rob submits his and Suzanne's unborn son to his colleagues' experimental test procedures, the baby appears to have a 90 percent chance of being homosexual. Suzanne confides to her mother, Phyllis (Faye Dunaway), that she fears for the added burden her new family will face. Mom's got a big mouth, and before long Suzanne's father, Walter (Garry Marshall), and gay brother, David (Brendan Fraser), are weighing in with their conflicting opinions about whether or not Suzanne should abort the child and what such an action would mean about David's place in the family. The strain of such a decision ruptures existing fault lines in both the Gold family and Suzanne's marriage, culminating in revelation, transformation, and a group hug. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

In this awful black comedy, an aging bank robber tries to pull off one final caper. Things go awry and he ends up staying in a raunchy hotel. The crime is well-publicized, but fortunately the equally seedy residents there keep mum. Unfortunately, they are determined to literally nickel and dime him to death by making him pay dearly for even the smallest favors. Things look bleak until a kindly hooker falls in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The supernaturally animated demonic puppet creations of a mad puppeteer spring back to life in hopes of reanimating their master with an ancient Egyptian formula that utilizes brain serum in this gory horror thriller. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Once again someone from the future has come back to create an army of Trancers, human zombies who do what they're told without question or pause. Now officer Jack Deth, a cop from the future stranded in the past, must once again go forth to stop them. This sci-fi action sequel chronicles his courageous actions as he struggles to save the future. His difficulties are compounded when his boss sends his first wife back from the future to help Deth who has unfortunately, married a 20th-century girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this special-effects-laden sci-fi thriller, a classical pianist commits suicide by diving off a building after the five men who gang raped her are released. Fortunately, her brother is a talented scientist who rebuilds her broken body and turns her into a cyborg killer programmed to get revenge in gory and inventive ways. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Ghettoblaster immediately gets down to business with a frightening montage of urban gang violence. Richard Hatch plays Travis, a survivor of the ghetto who returns home to find that his "hood" is a hotbed of criminal activity (he didn't know this when he left?) Fortunately, Travis is more than a match for the punks who terrorize the local citizenry. He himself becomes a marked man when he falls in love with Gina (Diane Moser), the object of gang leader Jesus' (Del Zamora) affections. Before the film has run its course, Trask has become a one-man vigilante unit against the forces of evil, much to the dismay of ineffectual police officer and self-styled "champion of the people" Mike Henry (Richard Jaeckel). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this routine actioner, Sergeant Mark Stryker (Richard Young) is framed for murder by the scheming politician Nguyen HuuTri (Joonee Gamboa) in war-torn Saigon. Stryker uncovers evidence that the series of murders he is blamed for were committed by heroin dealers in cahoots with Tri. The wrongly accused sergeant enlists the help of pretty Associated Press reporter Jean Lassiter (P.J. Soles) to help with the probe. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

With a title like Assault Of The Killer Bimbos, the viewer gets pretty much what he or she would expect: a dumb-but-hip instant cult favorite that knows - and revels in - its limitations. Christina Whitaker and Elizabeth Kaitan are the two lead, er, bimbos, who are working as go-go dancers in a dead-end nightclub when their boss is murdered. When the two girls are accused of the crime, they hit the road for Mexico, picking up yet another bimbo along the way, along with three beach bums, and engaging in various adventures as they attempt to expose the real killers. First-time director Anita Rosenberg delivers a certain amount of wit, getting the most out of her low-rent cast, and the film's self-awareness goes a long way toward making it more palatable than one might expect. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

From the prolific (if not particularly inspired) "B"-movie cheese factory of Charles Band, this sci-fi/horror morsel is set during a nuclear/biological war, and involves an AWOL military team (including the ubiquitous Linnea Quigley) as they take shelter from the relentless acid rain in an abandoned research facility. As it turns out, the building is not abandoned at all but the happy home of legions of greasy, oversized rats and an outrageously drippy man-in-a-rubber-suit monster. The K-Y-covered creep is clearly one of Alien's countless bastard offspring... but the similarities don't stop there, as several intrepid troopers take to the air vents to flush out the belligerent beastie. Veteran exploitation director David De Coteau tries to keep things interesting by rounding up practically every science fiction and horror cliche ever invented (there's even a killer baby that's a dead ringer for the It's Alive! tyke) and drenching everything with blood, slime and alien saliva -- but the abundant goop still can't disguise the fact that there's nothing worthwhile underneath. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi