Greetings once again my deviously demented and dreary drove of deranged despots! It's your old pal Moonstar, ready to serve out the salacious and salivating sentiments of my special screenings! I've decided that this feature will be regularly rounded up every manic Monday from here on out, exclusively at Upsidebackwards! Speaking of Upsidebackwards, in our last edition of this mischievous movie review, I mentioned my recent cybernetic enhancements, including the nanotech that was inserted into my knees (patent pending)! Well, it appears that some inane inventor out there has decided to cash in on my terrifying transformation, and has invented a knee mechanism that generates it's own electricity! Check it out for yourself at THE POWER PLANT IN YOUR PANTS and decide if cybernetic mutation is right for you! Also in our last episode, I spoke of the recent rumors that the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' franchise was being brought back to life, and it appears that Freddy Kruger himself, Mr. Robert England, is interested in reprising his rotting role as the lecherous lead in the forthcoming film. To find out more, check out the complete article HERE. In the meantime, let's get down to our blistering business, shall we?


THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997)

Whoa, excellent, a fright feature with Mr. Matrix himself, Keanu Reeves. Also starring Al Pacino (hoo-haa!) and the adorable Charlize Theron (who gets nekkid!), THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE is a stylish and suspenseful thriller much in the vein of the classic 'Rosemary's Baby'. Reeves stars as Kevin Lomax, a defense attorney from Florida who is tired of defending small time child molesters and criminals, and looking for his big break in a company where he can actually make a difference. That break comes in the form of John Milton (Pacino) who is the head of the huge New York law firm 'Milton, Chadwick & Waters'. Kevin is offered an enormous sum of money to come work in New York City to help the firm with a trial, and he and his wife (Theron) move out of their small town and into the life of luxury which comes with the benefits of his new job. Things aren't as optimistic as they first appear however, as the seedy underbelly of the firm quickly comes to light, and Pacino eventually reveals himself to be, get this, not only The Devil himself, but also Kevin's real father! It turns out that Milton has been looking for Kevin his whole life, and wants he and his half sister, who also works for the company, to give birth to the new Anti-Christ so that the nefarious legions of Satan can rule the world. Whoa, indeed! A mind bending affair with many twists and turns, the film itself is an homage to John Milton's 'Paradise Lost', and Dante's Inferno, which are alluded to at the end of the movie. While neither Reeves nor Pacino have often delved into the horror genre, this is a worthy film, an enjoyable watch, and has a good moral message to boot. Who say's old Moonstar doesn't have a heart afterall? Not to mention that I'm a glorified genius and oh so super sexy! "Vanity...definitely my favorite sin."


THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)

Undoubtedly one of the films that helped to inspire and bring forth the new centennial of independent minded horror film making, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT required a mere budget of $22,000 dollars, and has since generated revenue upwards of about $248 million worldwide. Not only is that quite a profit margin, but the picture also went on to garner endless spoofs, knock-offs, and imitations. The success of the movie won much kudos for writers and directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, also generating some acclaim for performers Joshua Leonard, Michael Williams and Heather Donahue (her runny nose is one of the scariest moments in all filmdom!) The latest feature to utilize the single-person Blair Witch style of jerky camera angles and the intimate aura of impending panic, was CLOVERFIELD, which drew in huge money at the box-office as well, almost worthy of its excessive "viral marketing" campaign. We could even argue that "conspiranoiacs" such as Alex Jones and his producers were influenced by this Blair Witch trend with his DARK SECRETS INSIDE BOHEMIAN GROVE documentary in 2000. All of this was in turn influenced by the 1993 HBO documentary PARADISE LOST: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, directed by Joe Berlinger, who went on to direct PART II of the Blair Witch franchise, but that's another story altogether. Whatever the case, while The Blair Witch Project received mixed reviews mostly due to the premature implosion of its own viral marketing campaign (initially Blair Witch was marketed as being REAL footage, but readers of 'Fangoria' and other horror zines knew from the start that it was only a movie. People didn't like being tricked, and after opening weekend, the hype started to turn a little negative against the film), it can't be denied that it's one of the most innovative and influential fright flicks of the past decade; helping to revive a buzz around the horror genre, and the many possibilities of film making in general. Followed in 2000 by the less successful "Blair Witch Project II: Book of Shadows", a respectable sequel if not overly complicated and convoluted (with a marketing scheme to match it), rumors are abound of a long awaited third part in the trilogy, tentatively titled "The Curse". Scheduled for a 2009 release date (probably July to match the 10th anniversary of PART I), we'll see if it can even come close to generating the anticipation and inventiveness of its predecessor. Love it or hate it, it's hard to deny that for a brief moment there on the verge of a new millennium, it was pretty damn creepy.

Well, that about does it for this week's feature presentation, but join me again next week, each and every Monday, as we delve into some of the eeriest extravaganzas ever to hit the TV eyes of the omnivorous entertainment entity. Before we go, there has been a lot of talk for the past year now that a big screen version of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" was soon to be a reality, and it seems that the project is still a go! Check out the latest interview with director Guillermo del Toro, as he talks shop about HELLBOY II, HOBBITS, and THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. Until next time, beware of ringing phones and things that go bump in the night… They might be bill collectors.