Suitable Flesh, from Barbara Crampton & Team Stuart Gordon

Appropriately, this Lovecraft film starts in a padded cell. It then flashes back a few weeks to Miskatonic University, which is ominous but also quite fitting. Originally written with the late, great Lovecraftian filmmaker Stuart Gordon in mind, Dennis Paoli’s screenplay is the perfect vehicle to get the old gang back together, including executive producer Brian Yuzna and producer Barbara Crampton, who also co-stars in Joe Lynch’s Suitable Flesh, releasing this Friday in theaters and wherever you rent movies.

Dr. Elizabeth Derby is in an agitated state. She insists her friend and colleague, Dr. Danielle Upton must destroy “the brain” before it is too late. That definitely sounds crazy, but Dr. Upton will be seeing some crazy stuff during the course of this film. So will Dr. Derby when Asa Waite walks into her office, very much like Lester Billings in The Boogeyman, but worse. Waite clearly needs help for his schizophrenic behavior and what Derby assumes is an acute multiple personality disorder. She also feels a reckless sexual attraction to him, which makes her even more vulnerable to what will happen.

Soon, Derby discovers Waite was plagued by a body-swapping entity that becomes a full-blown body-snatcher after the third transference. She will need the help of her friend, Dr. Derby, to avoid such a fate, but convincing her without sounding crazy will be tricky. She also worries what the elder god-worshipping body-hijacker might do to her husband, Edward.

Paoli, who previously wrote Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon, and “Dreams in the Witch House,” certainly knows his way around a Lovecraft adaptation. Despite some Cthulhu imagery, Suitable Flesh does not feel as Lovecraftian as other Lovecraft films, but it very identifiably (and somewhat kind of faithfully) based on his story, “The Thing on the Door Step.” Regardless, it is a charmingly unhinged movie, featuring spectacular freakouts from its stars, Heather Graham and Crampton, who are absolutely amazing as Dr. Derby and Dr. Upton, respectively.

Judah Lewis and the great character actor Bruce Davison (who is also becoming a horror star in his own right, thanks to work in Creepshow, The Manor, From the Shadows, and the like) are similarly freaky and sinister as Waite and his father, Ephraim. You can also look for Graham Skipper playing a horrible morgue attendant.

From the Shadows, Starring Keith David

Dr. Amara Rowan is sort of like an academic Amazing Randi, who specializes in debunking supernaturally-themed cons. Frankly, four survivors of the Hidden Wisdom cult would be thrilled if she could debunk the heck out of the horrors they barely lived through. They have seen some things and Dr. Rowan will see some too in Mike Sargent’s From the Shadows, which opens tomorrow in New York.

Before their falling out, archaeologist Dr. Joseph Cawl launched the Hidden Wisdom cult with his more scientifically-rigorous colleague, Dr. Leonard Bertram. For a while, they promoted it through late night TV commercials, like an average cheesy self-help program, but there was something sinister at its core. Supposedly, Hidden Wisdom and Cawl went the way of Heaven’s Gate and the Branch Davidians when the compound mysteriously went up in flames. However, four very scared cult-members survived and now they want to tell their story to Dr. Rowan, via online conferencing, from undisclosed locations.

Many of the survivors complain of seeing “Shadow People,” whom he audience can often spy moving furtively in corners of their video feeds. Of course, Dr. Rowan and her videographer Peter are skeptical, but they will be convinced when a hooded figure starts attacking the ex-Hidden Wisdomers, one-by-one.

Although Sargent’s budget was obviously severely constrained, he still manages to realize a respectably Lovecraftian vibe. The effects are not great, but the dark, claustrophobic locations help cover for them.

Creepshow: Night of the Paw/Times is Tough in Musky Holler

You know W.W. Jacobs’ short story “The Monkey’s Paw” must be a horror classic when it gets satirized on The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror. Shudder’s Creepshow also riffs on the fateful paw in what could well be its best story of the season. Three wishes lead to some serious monkey business in the latest episode of Creepshow, which premiered last night.

The widowed undertaker Avery Whitlock is not surprised when a mystery woman collapses on his doorstep. It is the power of the paw, after all. Of course, he did not ask for this specifically, but the monkey digits work in mysterious ways. After patching her up, he will give her the full history of his involvement with the paw. It still grants three wishes, but in ghoulishly unexpected ways, as was the case in Jacobs’ original tale.  John Esposito’s teleplay somewhat parallels Jacobs, but it has some fresh twists to offer. Unfortunately, Whitlock’s reluctant patient will miss the most important implications of his experiences, but isn’t that always the way?

“Paw” is a wonderfully macabre yarn that is so aptly suited to the Creepshow/E.C. Comics aesthetic, especially its sinister kicker. Academy award nominee Bruce Davison is perfectly cast as Whitlock, making him a rather weird but tragically poignant figure. Plus, the design of the grotesque paw is wonderfully creepy.

“Paw” is one of Creepshow’s best, but it is paired up with the worst so far. Presumably, “Times is Tough in Musky Holler” was intended to be a commentary on the power of fear to corrode communities, somewhat in the tragic of Twilight Zone episode, “I Am the Night—Color Me Black,” but it has none of Rod Serling’s insight or the power of helmer Abner Biberman’s’ stark imagery.

Itsy Bitsy: Actually, These Spiders are Pretty Big

There is a long but inconsistent tradition of killer spider movies. The diverse ranks of mutant arachnid fighters include William Shatner in Kingdom of Spiders, Barbara “Perry Mason” Hale and Alan “Skipper” Hale Jr. in The Giant Spider Invasion, Scarlett Johansson in Eight Legged Freaks, and Godzilla in Son of Godzilla. This is the latest one. There is also a bit of antiquity plundering and some House M.D.-style Vicodin-popping in Micah Gallo’s Itsy Bitsy, which is now playing in Los Angeles.

Ever since the death of her middle child, Kara Spencer has been on a downward spiral. She self-medicates and has trouble holding nursing gigs. She has just uprooted her surviving children, 13-year-old Jesse and 8-year-old Cambria, so she can serve as the live-in caregiver for Walter Clark, a wealthy collector of dubiously acquired antiquities.

Frankly, Clark did not even ask for the latest addition to his holdings. That big black egg was given to him by Ahkeeba, his former expedition leader, who insists Clark offer it a “sacrifice.” Clark does not believe in mumbo jumbo, so Ahkeeba tries to steal it back, but he breaks the relic in the process, releasing a strain of highly potent mutant spider larvae. Soon, the eight-legged monsters are crawling all over the place.

There are some amusingly goey spider effects, which makes sense, considering Gallo cut his teeth doing post work on films like the Hatchet franchise. However, it feels like there is considerably more family melodrama that most genre fans could really do without. Frankly, the spiders could do their worst to virtually all the human characters and we wouldn’t care.

Still, it is worth watching Oscar-nominated (for Longtime Companion) Bruce Davison bring another intriguing screen persona to life as crusty old Clark. He has his moments, but he is not the focus of the film (and it is debatable whether the spiders are either). Denise Crosby adds further genre interest playing Sheriff Jane Dunne, but she is stuck with some strangely corny dialogue.

Believe it not, the best killer spider movie of the decade might just be Jaime Dezcallar’s Spanish short film, The Bird Spider. Arguably, Itsy Bitsy is only a bit of an improvement over low budget knock-offs like the pedestrianly named Spiders. Not recommended, Itsy Bitsy is now screening in Greater LA County at the Laemmle Glendale.

Along Came the Devil: Name That Demon

It isn’t just vampires. Once you invite any kind of evil entity into your home, it will be the devil’s own time getting rid of them. For some reason, demons from Hell are particularly keen to possess members of Ashley’s family. It could very well be her turn in Jason DeVan’s Along Came the Devil (trailer here), which opens today in Los Angeles.

Dad was abusive and mom just up and disappeared. Now that her older sister Jordan is off at college, Ashley has returned her original hometown to live with Aunt Tanya Winbourne. Her old pal Hannah and the crushy lug who used to have a thing for her want to pick up where they left off. However, Ashley will quickly scare away everyone but Hannah with her crazy behavior. Alas, Hannah is fascinated with the occult, but knows just enough to put Ashley in dire jeopardy.

Aunt Tanya is skeptical of the supernatural, but Reverend Michael has seen his share of demonic horrors. In fact, his spirit is hanging by a thread, which is why young and dynamic Pastor John handles most of the church’s day-to-day services. Of course, when the infernal chips are down, you want a seasoned demon-hunter like Rev. Michael performing the exorcism rituals.

Along is a ultra-low-budget film that has its merits (and probably had even greater potential), but the execution is uneven. Sadly, there are several conspicuously missing scenes. The film starts with title cards to explain Ashley’s messy family history and references an incident in her class that we never see. We would guess the production had permission to film exteriors at the high school, but not interiors, so they just punted Ashley’s second freak-out scene.

Still, there are some surprisingly compelling supporting turns, particularly TV veteran Madison Lintz (Walking Dead, Bosch), who shows big-screen-worthy presence and energy as Hannah. Bruce Davison is also terrific—looking like the personification of world-weariness as Rev. Michael.

DeVan scores some deeply unsettling scares and just generally gets under the viewer’s skin, but he never really puts a unique stamp on the demonic horror subgenre. Still, the coda has some bitter bite to it that rather ironically reminds us of Charles Beaumont’s Twilight Zone episode, “The Howling Man.” Horror fans will appreciate the evil vibe, but Along still requires them to grade on a curve. Yet, we are more than willing to check out the next DeVan family joint, which is something. For horror addicts in need of a fix, it opens today (8/10) in LA, at the Laemmle Music Hall and also releases on VOD day-and-date, where it should do most of its business.

Displacement: Time Travel and Family Issues

Time might be relative, but family is a cold, hard absolute for Cassie Sinclair. She is wracked with guilt for not fulfilling her mother’s dying wish, while bitterly resenting her father’s disappearing act. She might be able to partly rectify her past with the breakthrough time-travel equation she developed, but first she will have to extricate herself from the time loop someone created through their arrogant incompetence in Kenneth Mader’s Displacement (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

It was Sinclair who developed the equation, not her theoretical physicist father or her kindly faculty advisor, Peter Deckard. However, both men now want it, so they can find a negation point for the loop they are stuck in—or so they say. However, Sinclair does not want to end the repeating cycle until she can prevent her boyfriend Brian Chance’s fatal gunshot. Further complicating matters, she is periodically captured and interrogated by a shadowy cabal (yes, another one) that also wants the secret of time-travel for vaguely sketchy military applications.

Displacement is a bit slow out of the blocks, but once it starts looping back on itself, the energy and tension pick up considerably. Mader slyly choreographs the crisscrossing paths of the various Sinclairs from various times and he creates some highly credible sounding physics mumbo-jumbo. Displacement has few special effects of any sort, because it is driven by ideas, which is cool. However, it is still a bit pedestrian looking.

Courtney Hope convincingly portrays Sinclair as both wickedly smart and emotionally damaged. Sarah Douglas (the super-villainess Ursa in Superman II) is almost too good as the Dr. Miles, the mysterious co-conspirator trying to extract the equation from Sinclair. She is so poised and polished, she almost makes viewers switch their allegiance to the quasi-governmental faction. Veteran character actor Bruce Davison also inspires confidence as Prof. Deckard, but Hope’s chemistry with Christopher Backus’s Chance always feels forced and flat.

Displacement still can’t lay a glove on Nacho Vigalondo’s Timecrimes, but its cerebral concern for molecular physics helps distinguish it from other recent time-travel movies. It is smart and ambitiously complicated in the right way. Recommended without reservation for time-travel fans, Displacement opens tomorrow (4/28) in LA, at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty: Briar Rose with Demons

It is time to put the grim back in Grimm’s. This is not a teen-angst television fairy tale. The Briar Rose fable of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm has been transformed into a contemporary horror film—finally. She is still waiting to be kissed, but there are some pretty sinister creatures guarding her in Pearry Reginald Teo’s The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Thomas Kaiser never knew he had an uncle, but the reclusive old man just bequeathed him the family mansion. Unfortunately, the ramshackle haunted house makes Grey Gardens look like Falling Water. It is probably no joke about it being haunted. People seem to disappear there, like Linda’s brother. Ever since, she has been obsessed with the property and its murky history. Frankly, she seems to know more than he does when he first arrives. However, he quickly realizes the house is related to his reoccurring dreams of the princess in a magically-induced coma.

The good news is Briar Rose must be close, because Kaiser can finally talk to her in their shared dreams. The bad news is Kaiser’s spirit has been supernaturally bound to the property he was hoping to flip. Prolonged time away from Casa Kaiser leaves him drained and disoriented, whereas his cursed bloodline offers some limited protection from the bad stuff lurking about. He will need all the help he can get when he ventures into the bowels of the house with Linda and her slightly eccentric Van Helsing-esque pal Richard.

Apparently, Kaiser lives in a world where Perrault, the Grimms, and Giambattista Basile never lived, because the name Briar Rose does not mean anything to anybody. However, old Richard is highly conversant in ancient demons and djinns, which comes in handy. Regardless, Teo and co-screenwriter Josh Nadler cleverly incorporate and subvert elements of the classic fairy tale in their adaptation of Everette Hartsoe’s graphic novel. They make intriguing use of ancient lore and modern technology (although not to the extent of the already under-rated The Offering).

India Eisley is the perfect choice for Briar Rose, being lovely and eerily young looking, but “distant,” like a porcelain doll. Ethan Peck (grandson of Gregory) is surprisingly convincing and rather intense as the anti-social and paranormally-afflicted Kaiser. Oscar-nominated character actor Bruce Davison (Longtime Companion) has fun with Richard’s flaky persona, constantly giving the film an energy boost. Restoration’s Zack Ward only has two brief scenes, but he still delivers some of the film’s best lines. Altogether, it is a pretty strong ensemble, with True Blood’s Natalie Hall gamely soldiering through the standard genre stuff her Linda is stuck with.

Curse is quite an impressive genre production, especially with respects to the infernal set pieces created by production designer Alessandro Marvelli, art designer Chris Scheid, and their teams. Likewise, the Briar Rose costume fits the film’s tone perfectly. It is a smart, ambitious indie dark fantasy/horror film worth your consideration. Recommended for those who did not think Tale of Tales was sufficiently macabre, The Curse of Sleeping Beauty opens this Friday (5/13) in Los Angeles, at the Arena Cinema.