Magic (1978)

After watching the cheesefest that was Contamination, I decided to venture into something different. Subsequently, I searched through Shudder until I found something down a stranger path, finally settling on the underrated 1978 flick Magic.

Plot/ A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.

This was an amazing film, and one that often flies under the RADAR for fans of horror flicks or thrillers. Directed by Sir Richard Attenbourough, this movie oozes atmosphere and is one of the creepier films from that era. Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins is amazing, creating a movie that is in many ways a precursor to his performance in Silence of the Lambs. The cast is strong, the cinematography is solid, the storyline works, and there is great tension sprinkled into the entire film. Yes, some of the pacing may seem slow and there are some head scratching moments, but those do not hold the movie back in any way. In the end, this is a creepy flick that for some reason often overlooked. With the movie now available on Shudder; give it a shot.

Cassadaga (2011)

After finishing up my homework for the week, I decided to check out something different for the week. With a backlog of flicks to review from my alone time, I have not searched anything out. My selection for this Saturday night is the 2011 indie horror flick Cassadaga. 

Plot/ A deaf woman who resurrects the ghost of a murdered young woman is forced by the spirit to a serial killer who turns his female victims into marionette dolls. 

This supernatural thriller was a surprise and a lot different than I expected when I grabbed it at Family Video. As an indie flick, it does boast an interesting premise, solid acting, and some decent effects. Sure, there are some pacing issues, there are clichéd movements, and toward the end, the killer became predictable, but that does not truly bring it down in any major way. Overall, while it did somewhat fall short of reaching its potential because it never married all of the subplots, it is much better than many of the independent movies in the same genre. In the end, this one was better than I expected and a flick that is well worth watching. While nothing in it is groundbreaking, this is a quality production that is rather entertaining.