★ 6 / 10
Fool Moon and Charles Band, don't disappoint with
patient1
Fool Moon and Charles Band, don't disappoint with the intro to the film, and we're setting up for a battle of some sort. I knew Jeffrey Combs was in the film…
Fool Moon and Charles Band, don't disappoint with the intro to the film, and we're setting up for a battle of some sort. I knew Jeffrey Combs was in the film but had no idea that Ashley Laurence was going to be in this 90s film of madness.
Our battle might just be against an unholy force, and it's getting exciting in a scifi channel way. What's even more enjoyable is that we've run off the mill baddies to deal with a well.
Has a Takes from the Crypt: Demon Night vibe, long winded for some, with spurts of maddness throught to keep you viewing and entertained. Ashley Laurence is a beautiful beast, and Jeffrey Combs's banter just keeps me watching anything he is involved in.
Lovecraft inspired...
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★ 4 / 10
An underwhelming Lovecraft adaptation.
Hey_Sweden
Hunky Blake Adams plays John Martense, a young man just released from prison. He has no prospects, but good fortune could come his way. He seeks out an old…
Hunky Blake Adams plays John Martense, a young man just released from prison. He has no prospects, but good fortune could come his way. He seeks out an old associate of his father, an undertaker named Knaggs (Vincent Schiavelli), who lets him know that in the remote community of Leffert's Corner, there is a cemetery containing a corpse stuffed with money. Martense arrives in this village to find a select few individuals preparing to do battle with the monsters that have been feeding on the citizens for the past 20 years. He is soon joined by Bennett (Jon Finch), his late fathers' ruthless former partner who, quite naturally, also wants the money.
This one has to rate as a misfire. C. Courtney Joyner directs from his own screenplay of the H.P. Lovecraft short story, and it's highly uninspired. It's simply too hard to care about any of the characters here, or the tale being told. One wonders what might have been had Stuart Gordon, creator of some of the best Lovecraft adaptations out there, done this film as was originally planned. A shame, really, because "Lurking Fear" has some amusing and striking Old World type atmosphere (this was shot on location in Romania). But Joyner fails to create any suspense or much in the way of horror. The creatures are rather unimaginative looking. Some gore lovers might be mildly appreciative, though.
Ever reliable Jeffrey Combs is entertainingly eccentric as a local doctor, and it's fun to see "Hellraiser" female lead Ashley Laurence play a badass sort of character. The full name of the man played by the distinctively featured Schiavelli is Skelton Knaggs, a nod to another character actor from genre films of the 40s. (Look, also, for the name "Michael Terence Ripper" in a ledger.) Finch is okay, no more, as the human antagonist. Allison Mackie, Joyners' cousin, gets to have some fun as one of the baddies. Paul Mantee is very good as the local priest. The less said about Adams, the better.
Decent music by Jim Manzie and a short running time (just over 77 minutes) help to keep this from being particularly painful, but if one wants a Lovecraft fix, they can do so much better.
Four out of 10.
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omg you don't know how creepy vhs version of this i have had watched. btw it's HP Lovecraft scent inspired flick. Thanks Freeman