Welcome to one of the main features of 'Castle Dracula,' the movie reviews section.
The reviews placed here are from all around the world, from the USA to the UK Japan
and everything inbetween. The formats reviewed are video and DVD. I have included the
origin of the film reviewed so you can check your player for compatibility. You may
also notice that there are some DVD-R reviews. These are not 'bootlegs' or 'copies'
but official screeners that I have been sent containing an as yet unreleased film to
review. All the reviews here have been reviewed either by myself or my current movie
reviewers. If you're an avid watcher of horror movies then why not join 'Castle Dracula'
as an official 'staff member' reviewing them. To do so, just click on the 'Join My Staff'
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New reviews are normally placed here once a week, check my front page for under 'Castle
Dracula Updates' to see what latest movie reviews have been placed.
- Carnival Of Souls (1998) - US DVD -
The plot is about a woman, 'Alex Grant,' who doesn't know if she's dead or alive.
The title credits are run during underwater scenes. It begins with her as a girl,
watching her mom and her crazy boyfriend fighting. He kills her mother in front
of her and goes to prison. We go back and forth between her past as a little girl,
her present as a bar owner along with her younger sister and the present in which
her bar is closed. We never know which is her true present. We repeatedly see her
in only a few settings with no real explanation of how she got to each place, no
transition. Throughout she has 'hallucinations' of her mother's boyfriend who was
a clown in a carnival and hints at him having been a child molester and carnies at
the local carnival grounds. Also there's a pointless hallucination of these Hellraiser
like naked Cenobites. It has a "B" (maybe even "C") movie atmosphere. There isn't
much. No depth, the characters are all pretty flat and no dynamics. You don't really
feel for them at all. The main actors included the woman and her sister, Bobbie
Phillips & Shawnee Smith, two actresses that play small roles in many movies/shows,
the clown played by Larry Miller, a comedian who looks like 'Ian Gomez' from "The
Drew Carey Show," and the only actor I recognized was the bar worker played by
Cleavant Derricks of "Sliders" fame as 'Rembrandt.' There's no chemistry between any
of the actors. The cinematography is very clear and vibrant colors causing an almost
surreal appearance to it all. It doesn't add to it as there very little depth to it.
There's not many special effects. The usual suspenseful music, nothing special.
Overall, I just wanted it to end!
I give this half a star out of five. This is one badly done Wes Craven production,
obviously only it has his name on it but not his hand in its production. A few good
one-liners which are out of place in this endless drivel. The clown is definitely
partially taken from the serial killer, John Wayne Gacy. The movie is basically and
endless stream of disjointed images. The ending answers nothing really and the very
end scene makes no sense at all. It's a take, not remake, on the original title but
doesn't even come close to the original's story, plot or charm. Not worth the viewing!
This felt more like a bad Full Moon Production. If you like a crazy, hallucinogenic,
confusing, and pointless movies, then step right up!
Have I got a GREAT movie for you!!
Someone please pass the aspirin!
Reviewed By Wolf By Night
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