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 – Chuck Patton

Cast – Nika Futterman, Keith Szarabajka, Jim Cummings, Kevin Michael Richardson, Kelly Hu, Bruce Boxleitner, Lia Sargent, Hal Sparks, Jeff Bennett, Jim Piddock, Phil Morris, Grey DeLisle, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Neill, David Allen Kramer

Release Year – 2008

Reviewed by John of the Dead

I am not very knowledgeable on animated horror films, but I really wish that I was. There are times when I just want something different, and animated horror is an easy and enjoyable fix that I should delve into more often. Based on the popular video game series “Dead Space”, Dead Space: Downfall plays into the origin of the storyline and gives us everything we’d imagine in a video game adaptation: tons of ass-kicking, gore, and good creature carnage – making for a very enjoyable experience.

Set in a futuristic age where Earth no longer exists, mining spaceship USG Ishimura is transporting an ancient artifact of religious significance known as the Red Marker. Soon after the discovery of the artifact those in its presence begin falling victim to mental breakdown that results in suicides and mass murders, and when one of those infected makes its way onboard the Ishimura all hell breaks loose in a space-age battle between man and beast.

I really need to get more into animated horror films, because this was a damn fun film to watch. Coming in at a mere 77 minutes there is little time wasted before those affected by the Red Marker begin savagely killing themselves and those around them, and when the infection reaches to Ishimura all hell breaks loose as Head of Security Alissa Vincent leads her team of security operatives to do away with the heinous creatures taking over her ship…and in bullet-slinging violent fashion. The storyline is simple and consists primarily of non-stop ass-kicking, which I found no problems with given the type of film this is. I heard some negative remarks regarding the story, with some saying the story did not offer much and this was just eye candy for gore hounds. That is somewhat true to an extent, but is it a negative? Not to me it isn’t.

Director Chuck Patton did a fine job with this piece, giving us sweet visuals and great execution of the tons of action involved. The atmosphere is great, as are most films involving space, and the nowhere-to-run scenario of being in a spaceship surrounded by millions of miles of nothing added to the good tension provided by the ghastly creatures running amok in the ship. I loved the look of the creatures and the intense gore they dished out, and equally awesome were the security operatives to returned the favor to the devilish beings and made this one hell of a fun film to watch.

Overall, Dead Space: Downfall is a fun animated horror film that I recommend to fans of such flicks as well as those who just want to see something different in the horror genre. The story is simple but effective in providing good horror as it allows Chuck Patton to give us tons of ass-kicking carnage and loads of gore that result in truly fun ride.

Rating: 8/10