Occult Movies

Banking on the release of the 2005 remake comes The Amityville Horror DVD Collection from MGM Home Entertainment. The first three movies are included, plus a bonus disc that features an inside look at the new film, along with two History Channel documentaries on the actual Amityville case. Of the film discs, only the first one comes complete with bells and whistles. With a new high-definition anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound, the first movie looks vibrant and sharp, full of atmospheric sound design made to make the hairs on the back of your neck spring to life. Extras include an exclusive audio commentary by Dr. Hanz Holzer, the author of the original Murder in Amityville book on which the movie was based. The good doctor does a nice job of laying out his side of the story, while also taking the occasional jab at Hollywood. The disc also contains the well-made "For God's Sake, Get Out!" documentary, which includes new interviews with both James Brolin and Margot Kidder. The two let loose stories of their clashes on the set and obvious moments of over-acting on both of their parts, bringing a candidness to the piece that is quite refreshing compared to many studio-created fluff pieces often found on DVDs. Seven fantastic radio spots are included on the disc as well, plus the original theatrical trailer. Amityville II and 3-D have been given the 1.85:1 anamorphic treatment, with added full-screen options on the flip side of each dual-sided disc. Sound options include a 5.1 Dolby Digital track for the third entry, while the second one got shafted with a measly mono signal. Trailers have been included for each film, but don't look for much else on either DVD. MGM definitely put some work into the set, and it shows. This is a perfect box set for anyone who's looking to bone up on his or her Amityville knowledge before the Ryan Reynolds remake comes out. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Though not actually a film addressing the evil lure of cream-filled chocolate cakes, this amusingly cheesy made-for-TV opus from director Curtis Harrington pits a relatively normal suburban family against a slavering, demonically-possessed German shepherd whose hunger for human souls far exceeds that of the normal household pet. Although not above resorting to the usual throat-maulings, the satanic psycho-pup's preferred method of attack is to supernaturally cause the deaths of various friends and neighbors, in a style reminiscent of The Omen. Though the gory potential of this scenario is obviously dulled by the TV-movie format, there are enough implied shocks and chills to keep up the pace -- particularly a grueling scene in which Dad finds himself unable to resist the urge to plunge his hand into a spinning lawnmower blade, while the possessed pooch looks on with tongue-wagging glee. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

A righteous police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl comes into conflict with the unusual residents of a secluded Scottish isle in this unsettling, intelligent chiller. Brought to the island of Summerisle by an anonymous letter, Edward Woodward's constable is surprised to discover that the island's population suspiciously denies the missing girl's very existence. Even more shocking, at least to the traditionally pious law office, the island is ruled by a libertarian society organized around pagan rituals. Repelled by the open acceptance of sexuality, nature worship, and even witchcraft, the officer takes an antagonistic attitude towards the people and their leader, an eccentric but charming English lord (Christopher Lee). The officer's unease intensifies as he continues his investigation, slowly coming to fear that the girl's disappearance may be linked in a particularly horrifying manner to an upcoming public festival. Anthony Shaffer's meticulously crafted screenplay creates a thoroughly convincing alternative society, building tension through slow discovery and indirect suggestion and making the terrifying climax all the more effective. Performances are also perfectly tuned, with Woodward suitably priggish as the investigator and horror icon Lee delivering one of his most accomplished performances as Lord Summerisle. Little noticed during its original theatrical run due to studio edits and a limited release, the film's intelligence and uncanny tone has since attracted a devoted cult following. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

The debut feature from Italian filmmaker Mariano Baino, Dark Waters is a gruesome horror flick about a young woman named Elizabeth with a terrifying secret. In search of answers about her mysterious childhood experiences, Elizabeth falls in with a creepy group of nuns who seem to know everything about her and take her captive. Winner of the Vincent Price Award at the Rome Fantafestival, the film has also been released as Dead Waters. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar's first English-language production is a creepy period ghost story that continues in the vein of his earlier art house hit Open Your Eyes (1997). Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, a devoutly religious mother of two ailing children who has moved with her family to a mansion on the English coast while awaiting her husband's return from World War II, though he has been declared missing. Their children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), both suffer from a rare photosensitivity disease that renders them extremely vulnerable to sunlight, prompting Grace's rule of having only one door open in the house at a time. When Anne begins claiming to see ghosts, Grace at first believes her newly arrived family of eccentric servants to be responsible, but chilling events and visions soon lead her to believe that something supernatural is indeed going on. The Others was released only a few months prior to Vanilla Sky (2001), the American remake of Alejandro's Open Your Eyes (1997), ironically starring Kidman's then-estranged husband Tom Cruise. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Yuko, the mysterious time-space witch who runs a wish-granting shop, is invited to a client's mansion. She brings Watanuki and Domeki, but they find upon arrival that many other fanatical collectors have been invited, and though they all came due to the same promise of an auction, strange things begin to happen, and people start disappearing. Will the three wish-granters be next on the list of those who vanish? An old fashioned mystery begins to unfold, with a dark and fantastical twist. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Tim Brown's supernatural thriller The Cradle stars Lukas Haas as Frank, the father of a baby boy named Sam. Frank's wife suffers from such an acute case of depression that she has no interest in even holding the baby. In an attempt to shake her out of her illness, Frank moves the family to a quiet new home away from people. Eventually, strange events start happening around the baby, and soon Frank becomes very leery of their only neighbor. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A candy-colored nightmare from Italian terror maestro Dario Argento, Suspiria weaves a menacing tale of witchcraft as a fairy tale gone horribly awry. From the moment she arrives in Freiberg, Germany, to attend the prestigious Tans Academy, American ballet-dancer Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) senses that something horribly evil lurks within the walls of the age-old institution. Ill at ease as the result of her fellow student's peculiar behavior and increasingly terrified following a series of gruesome and spectacular murders, Suzy slowly begins to unravel the dark history of the academy. Convinced that the occult roots of the school and the horrific tale of its founding mother may hold an unthinkable secret, she begins a hallucinatory journey into the black heart of one of the most powerful witches ever known to exist. As Suzy edges ever closer to a secret that may hold the answers to all of her nightmares, the coven's grip on her soul begins to tighten until there is seemingly no escape. Will Suzy solve the mystery of the cursed academy before the fearsome Black Queen consumes her, or will she finally reveal the secret that has forever haunted the lavish corridors of the academy and bring an end to the Black Queen's terrifying reign? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Hideo Nakata follows up on the phenomenal success of Ringu -- the highest grossing Japanese film up to that point -- with this effort. In the previous film, Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) was a television reporter doing a piece on a videotape that seemed to kill those who watched it. Not long after learning that the cause of the killing was a vengeful spirit named Sadako who inhabited the video, Reiko's researcher ex-husband (Hiroyuki Sanada) died a painful death, and the fate of Reiko's son, Yoichi (Rikiya Otaka) -- who watched the tape -- was in doubt. Ring 2 opens with an autopsy of Sadako, whose supernatural rage was sparked when she was dumped in a well. Sadako's powers affect Yoichi, who survived the video and has become a medium of sorts for the wraith. Also affected is Reiko's dead husband's mistress, Mai Takano (played by pop star Miki Nakatani), whose life has become a living nightmare. Also under Sadako's power is Masami Kurahashi (Hitomi Sato), who was a schoolmate of one of Sadako's first victims. Though many try to get to the bottom of the problem -- including a psychologist (Fumiyo Kohinata) and a police detective (Kenjiro Ishimaru) -- the bodies start piling up. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, directed this intriguing, deliberately-paced thriller based on his novel Legion. Ignoring the events of John Boorman's disappointing Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), the film moves ahead 15 years from the end of the original, when Georgetown is being plagued by occult murders bearing signs of the long-dead Gemini Killer, James Venamon (Brad Dourif). Although the killer was executed 15 years earlier, a young boy is horribly mutilated and the ailing Father Dyer (Ed Flanders) is drained of blood in his hospital bed. George C. Scott takes over the role of dedicated police Lt. William Kinderman, who is convinced that the key to the killings lies in an amnesiac mental patient who looks exactly like the dead Father Karras (Jason Miller) at some times, and like Venamon at others. It appears that Venamon was executed at the exact moment that Father Karras became possessed by the killer/devil and hurtled from the window at the end of the first film. Kinderman slowly comes to accept that the patient is Venamon and enlists an exorcist, Father Morning (Nicol Williamson), to free Karras' soul and stop the murders. The Exorcist III is heavy on dialogue, but contains some fine performances and some chilling moments, particularly the haunting opening in a Georgetown church. George DiCenzo, Viveca Lindfors, and Zohra Lampert also appear in this underrated, low-key horror film. Award-winning makeup artist Greg Cannom contributed to the special-effects, Gerry Fisher's cinematography is excellent, and the cast includes some notable bit parts by Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Ewing, and Tyra Ferrell. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

An authority on rare books is drawn into a confrontation with the forces of darkness in this thriller directed by Roman Polanski. Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a rare book broker who makes his living tracking down valuable items for rich bibliophiles. Corso is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), a millionaire New Yorker with a vast collection of occult literature and a keen interest in "The Nine Gates to the Kingdom of Shadows." Legend has it that the book was co-written by Satan in the 17th century, and only three copies are known to exist; the owner of one recently sold the book to Balkan a few days before killing himself. Balkan wants Corso to find the other two copies (one owned by a Mr. Fargas in Portugal and the other by a French collector named Kessler) and examine them to determine if they are forgeries. Corso is told to be thorough and spare no expense. He begins by visiting Liana Telfer (Lena Olin), the widow of the man who once owned Balkan's copy of the book, who has an unusually strong desire to get the book back, and confers with his friend Bernie (James Russo), who soon turns up dead, in a manner much like an illustration from the book. Corso learns that the book contains clues to a puzzle that will allow people to call up the devil, and certain people will stop at nothing to find the missing parts of the formula. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A group of terrified campers attempt to outrun a gang of devil-worshipping bikers in this high-octane horror flick starring Miguel Ferrer and Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps). They were just looking for a place to pop a tent; now they're running for their lives. Texas can be a truly unforgiving place, especially if you've just stumbled into a blood sacrifice. Now, in order to escape their diabolical pursuers, the desperate vacationers flee to a remote ghost town and seek sanctuary in a derelict church. A chance encounter with a mysterious young boy and a malevolent priest, however, leads to a terrifying battle between good and evil that no mortal could ever survive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Disillusioned charlatan Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) comes face to face with pure evil after recruiting a documentary film crew to capture the final exorcism of his career. For years, Reverend Marcus has taken advantage of the faithful and desperate. Now it's time for him to finally come clean. Just as Reverend Marcus prepares to shoot the film that will set the record straight, he receives an urgent letter from a desperate farmer. The devil has taken possession of his beloved daughter Nell (Ashley Bell), and Reverend Marcus is their last hope for salvation. Up to this point it's been all fun and games; now things are about to get serious. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi