#8. Pet Sematary - Another movie that I saw way too young thanks to my mom. I couldn't even make it all the way through the first time. The guy who dies in the car accident and actually ends up being kind of a good guy, his bloody face freaked me out and I couldn't make it to the end. But I became obsessed with knowing had happened and a few days later I watched the rest and was terrified for months afterwards.

There were so many things about this film that bugged me. When Gage comes back to life and he slashes his Grandpa's Achilles tendon from under the bed, I couldn't walk by a bed without thinking about it. But what got to me the most was one shot in the film, where the sister who's dying from spinal meningitis and looks just creepy as hell, runs at the camera after she opens a door. Every time I opened a door for years after this, I had to brace myself for her running at me. It's also kind of a zombie film and for whatever reason, the idea of somebody coming back to life after death, is what creeps me out the most in the whole world. ”

I'm currently 44 films behind on my reviews. I find myself skipping movies at night, simply because I don't want to get further behind. Which is not what I want to do. I want to watch as many movies as I can. So there will probably be more postings like this in the future, with mini-reviews. Today I'm going to focus on three 2007 films that could fall under the horror genre. One near classic, one mediocre film, and one terrible film; can you guess which is which yet?

(Seen on 5/27/08) Vacancy was a film I didn't have a ton of interest in seeing, the trailer made it look okay, with nothing special or unique. I still have the same feeling after seeing it, the only part that truly stood out was the opening credits. But I'll recommend it as a decent thriller, that's pretty well made, and not too stupid.

I was actually surprised by how smart they made the lead characters. Instead of constantly putting themselves in harm's way, they were making the right decision. The bad guys kept one step ahead for most of the film, simply because they were on their home turf. There were a couple of good jumps and I was pleasantly surprised they were restrained in the ending and didn't go for the obvious horror cliche'. Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale have a good bickering chemistry together, it convincingly felt like they'd been together a while. And I think this is the first time I've liked Luke outside a comedy, he doesn't seem to do drama well. You could do a lot worse in the thriller genre than Vacancy; it's a tight film, moving along quickly and smartly, without any truly dumb moments to drag it down. - Grade: B-

But within a few minutes it was fairly evident that this sequel wasn't going to be much better. They take way too long setting up the characters that are mostly going to end up fodder for the two species of aliens to maim and kill; with none of them are memorable. Where's our Ripley, Dutch, Hicks or "I ain't got time to bleed" Blain? I couldn't care less about a single one of these folks, they couldn't kill them off fast enough. I'll admit that the fight scenes in this film are done much better than the first Alien vs. Predator, but they're the only scenes in the film worth watching. I actually found myself getting bored about half way through the film, a real no-no for something so stupid.

Directors Greg & Collin Strause try way, way too hard to make us think about the classic film Aliens, there are a ridiculous amount of allusions to that film; from the music and sound effects ripped straight from that film, to the character archetypes and they even include military vehicles and weaponry extremely similar, even though this film takes place now and Aliens is hundreds of years into the future. The second half of the film is pretty much nothing but a bad Aliens rip-off, with a few Predators thrown in to kill an alien here or there. Another worthless addition to both series. - Grade: D

(Seen on 5/23/08) Ultra-talented writer/director Frank Darabont could go on making Stephen King adaptations for the rest of his career and I think the world would be a better place. His film Shawshank Redemption, is the absolute best King movie ever put on film; yes, I believe it's even better than The Shining. The Green Mile, was another excellent adaptation, a little long in spots, but tonally just right. With The Mist, he moves away from the prison-drama setting, into more familiar King territory, a horror story. And in my opinion he made the best horror film of 2007. One whose reputation will grow with time; because like many great films it was misunderstood upon it's first release.

The Mist takes the classic horror cliche' of trapping a bunch of people together with monsters banging on the door, and turns it on its ear. Darabont started out in horror films, writing the best of the Nightmare on Elm St., sequels with The Dream Warriors and also wrote the completely underrated remake of The Blob. So it's with no surprise that he's created a wonderfully built, incredibly well thought out B-Movie. If it weren't for a few spottily built computer monsters, The Mist would be an almost perfect horror film. There are great characters to root for in the hero David Drayton, a painter and dad, who stays calm under pressure; played nicely by the underused Thomas Jane. I particularly dug the character of Ollie; he's a chubby, balding, overage bag-boy, who has a big brain and a kick-ass action hero brewing inside him. They gave them a great human villain, in Mrs. Carmody, an over-zealous religious nut, who believes the monsters are God's apocolypse and she's ready to sacrifice the sinners to save the believers who begin to follow her. Marsha Gay Harden, brings this woman to life with such ferocity, that she is often more terrifying than any of the creepy-crawlies outside.

Although there are definitely a couple of classic monster scenes; the first time they get a taste of what's really happening, some incredibly creepy spiders, and I thought the "fishing for monsters" scene was darkly hilarious. I like how the monsters have an ecosystem all their own, with creatures of all size, from insects to dinosaurs, feeding on each other, and only turning to the humans as another source of food. The grocery store setting is the perfect place to bring characters from all walks of life together and it gives them ample food and shelter. It's only when things start to go so wrong on the inside that the heroes dare to venture out into The Mist. Once they do, it brings a whole other level to this already excellent film. The end is one of the most pessimistic I've ever seen, it leaves you with an ache in your gut, for what these characters have gone through. And I believe that's why the film didn't catch on like it should have, it's not the typical "everything is going to be okay" type of wrap up, and the film is much more powerful because of it. - Grade: A-

I've been a big Stephen King fan since I started reading novels. Yet I'd never read one of his most famous novels. Maybe in part because I didn't want the perfection that is Stanley Kubrick's film ruined in any way. But after reading it, I can see why King complained about Kubrick's film being such a horrible adaptation of his book. It's a beautiful film, but beyond the basic set-up they don't have a lot in common. The book is of course far more in depth. You learn much more about the hotel's history, and there is much more hauntings going on than in the film. You get a much better feeling for what's going on in Danny's head. It's also extremely scary, not often do I get scared by reading, but the scene where Danny finds the dead woman in the bath gave me the creeps, and I kept thinking about it as I was going to bed.

I'm very glad that I read it now. The next time I see the film, I'll appreciate it for what it is, but I'll also be able to enjoy it on a deeper level, having a greater understanding on everything that is going on. - Grade: A

I've never understood why more of Dean Koontz books haven't been adapted for film. Watchers and Phantoms are probably the two most popular adaptations, both which suck as films and failed at the box office. And from looking at his IMDb page, it looks like a few of his novels have made it to television, but I've never seen or heard anything about them. He's insanely popular as a writer, and even though he's not as talented of a writer as Stephen King, I believe his books offer themselves up for adaptation much easier than King's, who has near a 100 films from his works. Most of King's books have more inner conflict, while Koontz is more story, which easier to get across on screen.

Odd Thomas is the perfect example. Although I think Odd has much more going on in his head than some of Koontz's characters, his story would make a fantastic film. I've read 25-30 Koontz books in my life and this is my favorite. Odd, being his actually given name, has the ability to communicate with the dead. Yes, much like The Sixth Sense, but it's as if that character is now grown up, completely used to his role as speaker for the dead, accepted it, and tries to help out where he can.

He has a beautiful girlfriend, many wonderful friends, a job he loves as a short order cook, and a small town that he's never left. He likes to keep his life simple, because talking to ghosts makes it difficult. Besides seeing the dead, he is also able to see other unworldly things; such as bodachs, which feed off people's misery. They often lead Odd to tragedies about to occur. When a strange-looking-dude, Odd takes to calling Fungus Man, comes into his restaurant, with over a 100 bodachs following him, Odd is determined to find out what catastrophe is about to happen. It's a horrendous, real world event, that only he can stop; with quite a few scares and deaths along the way.

Odd Thomas, moves along at a brisk pace, keeping you excited and guessing what's going to happen next. With the immediate similarities to The Sixth Sense quickly out of the way, it moves into much deeper, philosophical territory. I could have done without Elvis showing up to hang out with Odd every so often, it dragged it into a cheesy area. But for the most part, it's a fantastic read; I really fell in love with Odd as a character, and am looking forward to reading the sequels, Forever Odd, Brother Odd and Odd Hours. Somebody with the right sensibilities could make a kick-ass film out of this book, but I won't hold my breath. - Grade: B+

Being a big fan of Stephen King, I'm surprised it took me this long to get to the first book of The Gunslinger series. One thing that took me this long, was that King recently published the last book in the series. Over the years I heard that Kind had no real idea of when he'd finish. Being the kind of guy I am, I just can't start something, unless I know there's an ending.

The story involves The Gunslinger chasing The Man in Black across a desert. Not knowing too much about the series, I'm not sure if this is Earth far into the future, after a holocaust has wiped out much of our population, which is my guess; or if it's another planet all together. The Gungslinger is some sort of mystical Samurai with a gun, and he's chasing The Man in Black for unknown reasons, but he also has some sort of magical powers about him.

It's a very fun and easy read. Though you're left in the dark as too much of what's really going on, which isn't a problem knowing there are six more books to fill out this world. Knowing how King writes (read On Writing), I don't think he himself had much of an idea of where this was all leading. I'm greatly looking forward to finishing the rest of the books.