Episode 248: Strangeland (1998)
Rundown
1998 was a weird time; so weird that Dee Snider somehow got funding to make a spiritual successor to REEFER MADNESS, but instead of the dangers of weed, have it be about the dangers of body modification. If you weren't aware yet, this film is the inimitable STRANGELAND... Brian's picks are bewildering, and this one is no exception, so strap in for bad tribal tattoos, suspensions, dick mods, nu metal and a hard-boiled cop story. Seriously, these are all things this movie leans heavily into.
Film Trailer
Quote of the Episode:
"Poor Dee man" - Brian
More Late 90's Horror Films
Another week, another Famke Janssen lead role, this time in Dark Castle's remake of the William Castle/Vincent Price classic HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999)! This was discussed way back in the Reddit Horror Club days, so Scott decided it was time to bring in into the HMN library, much to Brian's dismay. Sure, the CGI is bad, Chris Kattan is annoying, and it's not nearly as good of a movie as the original, but it's got Jeffy Combs as a psychotic ghost doctor, Geoffrey Rush channeling Vincent Price through John Waters, and some amazingly surreal visuals. Oh, and Marilyn Manson's cover of Sweet Dreams. It's unacceptable that Brian didn't love this film. Unacceptable!
It's been a while since the last time we got to fawn over Phil Fondacaro's charm, so Brian did us the favor of picking THE CREEPS (1997), also known by the incredibly insensitive alternate title DEFORMED MONSTERS! Is this the worst acting we've ever seen on Horror Movie Night? Matt thinks so, but he also seems to forget about TERROR TOONS and DRIVE THRU... Watch as diminutive versions of the Universal Monsters terrorize people who took half of an acting class, possibly while drunk or half asleep. It's kind of like watching THE MONSTER SQUAD in the wrong aspect ratio. Or nothing like that at all, we can't tell anymore.
We walk a thin line with the movies discussed on the show, one balancing nostalgia with the reality of b (and sometimes z) grade horror. Often, the former cannot even out the latter, but not this week. No, this week, we discuss CARRIE 2: THE RAGE from 1999 and it's somehow better now than it was when it was first released. If you avoid comparing it to Brian De Palma's original, this is a well-executed sequel with a LOT of great kills. Put on your party dress (red, of course) and cut loose with your bros in Horror Movie Night!