FIRESTARTER (1984) Blu-ray Review

SCARE-A-THON Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 7
Total First Time Views: 5
Amount raised for BOXVILLE: $448.14

Firestarter (1984) d. Mark L. Lester (USA) (114 min) (2nd viewing)

During a top-secret experiment that leaves the rest of their comrades insane or dead, two of the test subjects undergoing a pituitary gland enhancing drug series end up marrying and producing a child capable of starting infernos with her mind. The nefarious government agency, “The Shop,” observing from afar, decides that Charlie McGee’s (Drew Barrymore) talents should not go unharnessed and plan to spirit her away from her father Andrew (David Keith) and Vicky (Heather Locklear). On the run, Andrew and Charlie dodge and weave, using their extraordinary mental gifts as needed to stay alive and at liberty. The Shop recruits Native American tracker and assassin, John Rainbird (George C. Scott), to bring in their quarry, which he does with disquieting ease. But Rainbird quickly becomes obsessed with Charlie’s power, and so begins the struggle for who will control the young pyrokinetic, raising the question if anyone can….

HAPPY CAMP (2014) movie review

 

Happy Camp (2014) d. Josh Anthony (USA)

It’s hard to believe that The Blair Witch Project, the flick that launched an infinite number of copycats, was released 15 years ago this summer.  Harder still to believe, however, is that modern filmmakers think they can follow that phenomenon’s template and recapture the same lightning in a bottle, or that cinema fans with even the most rudimentary knowledge of the genre won’t call them out for it.  Witch writer/directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick had the advantage of the then-novelty of “found footage” working to their advantage, not to mention a brilliant sense of how to build tension and execute chills.  In this age of reality TV and every living, breathing moment of any individual on earth being uploaded to YouTube a billion times a day, artists have to think outside the box.