John of the Dead(1978)'s Horror Flick Reviews

Director – Victor Cook, Tad Stones

Cast – Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, Doug Jones, Peri Gilpin, Jim Cummings, J. Grant Albrecht, James Arnold Taylor

Release Year – 2007

Reviewed by John of the Dead

The animated Hellboy series continues after Sword of Storms with Blood and Iron, an equally enjoyable piece that once again gives us Hellboy & co. kicking supernatural ass in animated fashion.

We follow the crew as they investigate a large mansion purchased by a friend of the senator who funds the paranormal ass-kicking force. The mansion holds much significance to Professor Broom, who in 1939 defeated the powerful female vampire Erzsebet Ondrushko at that very mansion, and he joins the crew to ensure the the mansion is still safe. When it becomes apparent that someone is trying to bring Erzsebet back from the dead, Hellboy & co. aid the professor in finishing unsettled business after over half a century of waiting.

I really enjoyed this storyline, adapted by Kevin Hopps from Mike Mignola and Tad Stones’ story, thanks to it involving Professor Broom to a much higher level than usual. Told in the past and present time we follow Broom as he fought to vanquish a woman who believed that bathing in the blood of young beautiful women would keep her young. Of course, this dilemma was ultimately left unsettled and Broom saw the need to investigate the mansion before the senator’s friend turned it into a ghost-themed hotel. I loved watching the storyline develop with constant flashbacks to the events that Dr. Broom saw occur at the mansion, events that are now occurring all over again. Each of our characters was used positively, especially our main characters in Hellboy, Professor Broom, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, and newcomer Oliver Trombolt. There is plenty of action written into this piece, which I assumed would be so, and it was great in giving us numerous antagonistic character for Hellboy and his troops to destroy, including: ghosts, wolves, witches, harpies, a giant werewolf, and Erzsebet herself in several different forms. In addition to this Kevin Hopps defied cliches often associated with animated films and gave us fantastic dialogue that aiding in presenting and developing the characters so positively.

Directors Victor Cook and Tad Stones did a great job with this one, giving us awesome visuals, great sets, and the usual enjoyable elements associated with these Hellboy films. The vocal acting performances are great, and much like Sword of Storms Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and Prof. Broom are voiced by the same actors who portrayed them in the Hellboy live-action flicks, making this piece all the more enjoyable for that reason. And the action? The action was fantastic and consisted of awesome looking antagonists and plenty of brutal confrontation in this epic battle between good and evil.

Overall, Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron is an awesome animated flick sure to please fans of the Hellboy series thanks to it giving us all of the same sweet elements found in the live-action films.

Rating: 8/10

Director – Mikael Hafstrom

Cast – John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Len Cariou, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Release Year – 2007

Reviewed by John of the Dead

Here is a film that I really enjoyed after catching it in theaters a few years ago. Based on one of Stephen King’s stories, I found this flick to be a fresh addition to the horror genre during an era where not too many “fresh” horror films come out in theaters.

1408 stars John Cusack as author Mike Enslin, a man who makes a living by staying in “haunted” places and writing about his stay, although secretly…he does not believe in the “paranormal” given all of these “haunted” places yielded nothing of the sort. One day, out of the blue, he receives a postcard from a hotel in New York telling him not to stay in room 1408. Intrigued, he heads to the New York City hotel and after some pleading from the hotels manager(Samuel L. Jackson), he is allowed to stay the night in the hotel room that has taken dozens of lives over the years. All is fine at first, but soon enough, Mr. Enslin realizes that he may have just made a very fatal mistake.

As a fan of most of the Stephen King film adaptations over the years, I went into this film with high hopes that I would enjoy it. Although this film is not the strongest of the adaptations, I really enjoyed the film’s plot and found it to be a great psychological horror flick. Mike Enslin’s character development is superbly done as we see a broken man, with no honest purpose in life, go about making his money by lying his arse  off about “haunted” places he had been, and how the ghosts tormented him during his stay. When he finally gets a real dose of “torment”, it is not only scaring him out of his mind, but brings us along with him and gives us a few scares of our own to suffer from. Aside from Samuel L. Jackson’s supporting role in the film(which does not amount to a whole lot of screen time), Mike Enslin is the only character we are really exposed to, which can be good or bad. Those wanting to see a smorgasbord of unique characters will not be satisfied, but those who prefer to see one person go deeper and deeper into madness will enjoy this film’s character use.

The backstory on the hotel room(1408) is an interesting one. I loved the scenes involving the hotel manager trying to sway Mr. Enslin to stay in another room by reluctantly showing him the grisly photos of the room’s previous occupants. We are never really shown what caused the room to send these people to their deaths, and I did not have a problem with that. The mystery behind the room is what sells this flick, and is sure to leave some travelers thinking about the hotel room they are staying in. Questions like “How many people have died in here?” and “What supernatural dealings have occurred in here?” will berate their minds thanks to this very well executed film.

Speaking of execution…I feel that director Mikael Hafstrom did an excellent job with this film’s atmosphere, especially given that fact that the majority of this film’s conflict takes place in one location…the hotel room. The hotel room itself was an excellent choice, providing the perfect balance of tranquil luxury with that slightly creepy feel thanks to the room’s odd color scheme and ornaments. The transitions in the room during the ending sequence were excellent as well, although they did cause the film to become slightly confusing. I enjoyed this though, and the confusion only adds to the viewer’s sense of the paranoia that Mike Enslin is going through himself. Genius huh?

I really enjoyed this film’s ending and it left me satisfied in more ways than one. One having to do with the backstory between Mr. Enslin and his previous life(and wife) as well as the notion that the supernatural really does exist, and is not just a figment of our ever exploring imaginations.

Overall, this is a positive film that shows Hollywood can still deliver a good film to theaters at times, although this does not occur often enough. If you are into supernatural horror or Stephen King’s work then this flick is for you.

Rating: 7/10