Pierre Spengler Movies

The zombie genre gets a revamp with Eduardo Rodriguez's adaptation of Stephano Raffaele's comic book, which centers on an undead couple that search to find a cure for a zombie outbreak that leaves the dead yearning to continue with their lives, despite the virus that's slowly eroding their bodies. Jeff Dixon provides the script for the Rogue Pictures' production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

As the endless cycle of violence between the Hatfields and McCoys rages on, a youthful tragedy conjures the dreaded demon of vengeance to rise up and claim the lives of those who caused the death of a young innocent. Ever since the McCoys ran over Abner Hatfield with their motorcar and reneged and their promise to give the Hatfields the vehicle as a gesture of goodwill, the two backwoods families have been locked in an ongoing battle. But while the adults in each family are consumed by hatred, all young Jodie Hatfield and Ricky McCoy want is to love one another. Knowing that their families will disapprove of their union, the two young lovebirds furtively rendezvous in the woods as Ricky's little sister, Sarah, stands lookout. One night, as the two declare their love by the light of the moon, two of the Hatfield brothers spy Sarah in the woods and quickly give chase. When Sarah makes a fatal misstep and dies, Ricky visits the old woman in the woods and summons the one hell-spawn that can settle the score. But vengeance is a dangerous game, and before long both families are running for their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Reconstructed using archival film and sound elements long thought to be extinct, this special cut of Superman II pieces together unseen footage shot by Richard Donner in order to present the most comprehensive version of what was to be the original cut of the blockbuster sequel. As initially planned, the first two films were to be filmed back-to-back using the same sets and actors to save on production costs. However, with a budget escalating out of control and Warner Bros. breathing down the producers' necks, the decision was made to drop any further filming on the sequel in order to finish the first movie and usher it into theaters. Of course, the first Superman was a wild success, so then it was just a matter of ramping up production again, though this time, Donner was not asked back. Instead, producers went with Richard Lester, who had served them well with his Three Musketeers films. Decisions were made to drop most of the key scenes that were already in the can, including all of the footage featuring Marlon Brando as Jor-El, the Man of Steel's father. After completion, the sequel found much success in theatrical and home-video box-office returns, though that didn't stop die-hard fans from speculating what Donner's cut would have looked like. Once the Internet was spawned, Warner Bros. saw interest grow more and more for this alternate version, even prompting the company to send cease and desist letters to individuals who had posted a re-edit of the film using deleted footage taken from an alternate TV version from the U.K. With the release of Superman Returns, the company saw this as a chance to finally deliver what people had wanted for years and enlisted Michael Thau to oversee the restoration process. Under the tutelage of Donner's notes, scripts, storyboards, and the director himself, the new version was delivered to home audiences in 2006, thereby not only giving people a look into what could have been, but giving a director an unprecedented chance to realize a vision long thought lost in the annals of movie history. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A girl searches for her father while he is forced to answer for some of his misdeeds in this beautifully photographed adventure drama. Gary (Julian Sands) is a French geologist who lives in Africa, where he's made a fortune in the diamond business. Gary has a fourteen-year-old daughter named Grace (Camille Summers) from a marriage that ended in divorce. When Grace's mother passes on, Grace flies to Africa to visit Gary for the first time in years. While Gary is thrilled to see Grace, work calls him away the day after she arrives, and he boards a small plane to take some needed supplies into a remote area. However, the plane hits some bad weather and crashes, with the wreckage found by a band of revolutionary soldiers. The makeshift army is battling wealthy mining moguls like Gary, appalled by the child labor, environmental devastation and economic exploitation that thrive in their wake. While Gary is held hostage by the guerillas, Grace suspects something is wrong, and she persuades one of Gary's closest friends, Kadjiro (Eriq Ebouaney), to help her find her dad. La Piste (aka The Trail) was directed by Eric Valli, a former photographer for National Geographic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Released back into society after being locked away in an insane asylum for twelve years, a fragile former patient is haunted by suspicions that she and her two best friends murdered a young boy when they were just children. As a young girl, Dana (Lydia Leonard) played a fateful game of Truth or Dare with her best friends Nathalie (Jaime King) and Paige (Annabelle Wallace). Reunited with her two best friends shortly after her release, Dana once again plays the game that led to her breakdown and loses her ability to discern reality from fiction. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two men cut off from the world in different ways become unlikely friends and protectors in this offbeat action drama. Danny (Jet Li) is a physically powerful but emotionally stunted man; never given any sort of proper education, Danny has learned little in his lifetime but how to fight, and his minder, Bart (Bob Hoskins), treats him more like a guard dog than anything else, using him in illegal no-holds-barred brawls that earn Bart plenty of money but only reinforce Danny's violent alienation. When Bart is injured in an auto accident, Danny is left to fend for himself, and stumbles upon Sam (Morgan Freeman), an elderly piano tuner who has lost his sight. Sam is the first person to treat Danny with kindness, and the music he plays soothes the troubled soul of the fighter. However, Danny's fighting skills soon come in handy when Sam runs afoul of a pack of small-time crooks who believe he knows too much about their operations. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Snuff-Movie, an outing by the celebrated music video-director-turned-horror maestro Bernard Rose (Paperhouse, Candyman), references both the Charles Manson/Sharon Tate murders and Michael Findlay's notorious grindhouse film Snuff (1974), in its tale of a slasher movie director's involvement with off-camera butchering. Jeroen Krabbé stars as Boris Arkadin, the popular creator of stomach-churning cinematic gore fests. His life takes a dark turn late one evening in 1975, when, after a private screening of his latest opus, a group of maniacs turn up at his mansion and slaughter all of the overnight guests -- including Boris' pregnant wife, Mary (Lisa Enos). Cut to the present day, in London. A young actress, Wendy (also played by Enos), decides to audition for one of Arkadin's films, and accepts the director's subsequent invitation (despite the admonitions of her boyfriend, Andy) to stay at the Arkadin mansion overnight. Soon, Andy is wracked with horror to discover that additional murders are occurring and being broadcast live, online. But are these homicides real or simply staged contrivances for another film? Teri Harrison and Alastair Mackenzie co-star; Rose authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Has a star's desire to fully embrace a sinister role led her into madness? Rebecca Fairbanks (Elizabeth Hurley) is a well-known actress trying to get her career back on track after taking several years off. Fairbanks is returning to the screen in a role she's long wished to play -- Belle Gunness, a notorious real-life mass murderer who went on a well-documented killing spree in the 19th century. As the film's shooting schedule wears on, Fairbanks becomes romantically involved with her leading man, Jake Fields (Jeremy Sisto), but Fields and his friends on the production staff begin to question her stability when she starts wearing her costumes at all times, living on the sets, and tries to live as the character of Guinness. Fairbanks' behavior becomes all the more disturbing when members of the crew start falling victim to a murderer. Coincidentally, The Method (also known simply as Method) was Elizabeth Hurley's first film project after taking a two-year break from her acting career following the birth of her son in the spring of 2002. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An unpredictable black comedy with an epic scope, Emir Kusturica's highly acclaimed Underground takes a look at the modern history of Yugoslavia through the often absurd misadventures of two friends over several decades. The film begins in Belgrade in 1941, establishing the friendship between the gregarious Blacky and the more intellectual Marko during a drunken, late-night musical procession that establishes the riotous tone to follow. Fellow members of the Communist Party, the friends also share an involvement in shady business activities and an attraction for a beautiful actress. Soon, the chaos of World War II forces them to take refuge in an underground shelter with a variety of other townspeople. Years pass and the war ends, but Marko and the actress trick the others into believing that the war is still going on. Kusturica turns this inherently absurd premise into a vibrant portrait of the contradictory, foolish nature of war. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the film received great acclaim on the festival circuit but had a hard time securing a release in the United States. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Richard Lester returned to his double-barreled successes of the 1970s, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, with Return of the Musketeers, a film that was inexplicably shelved for several years, making its belated premiere on cable television. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Twenty Years Later, the film takes place (appropriately enough) two decades after the death of Milady de Winter. Though Milady may have died, her nefarious schemes have been taken up by her daughter Justine (Kim Cattrall), who maneuvers with the conspiring Cardinal Mazarin (Philippe Noiret) to gain control of the crown through Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin). D'Artagnan (Michael York) calls for his old compatriots Porthos (Frank Finlay), Athos (Oliver Reed), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) to once again go "one for all and all for one." But complications set in when Athos and Aramis take sides with the crown and Athos' adopted son Raoul (C. Thomas Howell) falls in love in Justine. The film is dedicated to character actor Roy Kinnear who plays Planchet, who died in an equestrian accident during the production. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A big-budget spin-off from the series of three successful Superman movies, this film stars Helen Slater as the counterpart to the famous comic-book superhero. Supergirl is Kara, Superman's young cousin. She is sent to Earth is search of a Krypton power source, a lost ring that has been turned into a paperweight. She disguises herself as Linda Lee, a meek high-school student. Peter O'Toole is Zaltar, a mad villain who wants to use the power of the ring to take over the world. Faye Dunaway plays the evil sorceress Selena, who is also plotting to get the gem and uses her incredible powers of black magic in service of her scheme. Linda Lee meets Ethan (Hart Bochner), who is under a spell cast by Selena, which causes him to fall in love with the first person he sees. Selena had intended to use the spell to make Ethan fall in love with her, and she is furious when his affections are directed toward Supergirl. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Between giving up his super powers, confronting criminals from outer space, and having problems with his girlfriend, it's a bad time to be the Man of Steel in this sequel to the 1978 blockbuster. When terrorists threaten to destroy Paris with a thermonuclear device as they hold reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) hostage, Superman (Christopher Reeve) comes to the rescue and flings the weapon into space. However, its blast outside the earth's orbit awakens Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Halloran), three villains from Superman's home planet of Krypton who were exiled to outer space for their crimes. Zod and his partners arrive on Earth and use their powers in a bid to take over the U.S., and then the world. However, when Lois realizes that mild mannered Clark Kent and Superman are actually the same person, he brings her to his Fortress of Solitude, where his decision to marry Lois costs him his remarkable strength. Without his super powers, how can Superman vanquish Zod and save the world? Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Susannah York, and Jackie Cooper return from the first film, which was shot at the same time as parts of the sequel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A poor commoner and a young prince each find out how the other half lives in this adventure story based on the classic tale by Mark Twain. Tom Canty (Mark Lester) is a young man from a laboring family who bears a striking resemblance to Prince Edward (also played by Lester), the son of King Henry VIII (Charlton Heston) and heir to his throne. Tom and Edward meet by chance, and they decide to exchange places briefly as a lark; Edward will get to live as an ordinary boy, and Tom will be able to enjoy the perks of royalty. But the two are separated before they can let everyone in on the joke, and Tom discovers as he pretends to be Price Edward that the castle is awash in corruption. Originally released as Crossed Swords, The Prince and the Pauper also features Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, George C. Scott, and Rex Harrison. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide