[Tommy Jarvis]

The Hitcher 1986 ★★★★½

From the very first shot, the movie sets its gloomy, somber tone. You immediately know what you are in for.

The same goes for our main character. From the moment we see him, John Ryder gives out a menacing appearance, making Jim uncomfortable as hell. To then further up the ante with the coll, dry delivery of his actions and his threats. This is one scary dude. The late Rutger Hauer was at one of his peak moments here. Unrelenting, killing everyone in the way of him tormenting and torturing poor Jim. Even a small victory like throwing Ryder out of the car turns out to be only temporary.

And it never lets up. The moment you start to feel the slightest bit of comfort, you had better buckle up, because something scary is coming. Like the shot with the teddy bear. Jim's response just makes him look like Crazy Ralph's cousin. Or the moment in the diner where he's eating and then... wow. Talk about fish fingers.

The setting and the tone are simply amazing. The vast landscapes and the seemingly never ending roads make you feel like you can escape and yet, the danger can come from anywhere. Granted, you need a good spoon of suspension of disbelief, but with a movie this scary, you happily accept that.

Final thought: I don't care what imdb says here. The fear of hitchikers along with the eeriness and dark ending make The Hitcher into a horror film. And a great one at that.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child 1989 ★★

Without a doubt the worst in the series. Bland across the board.

The kills were better than I remember, but the goofiness kept them from being really good.

The only upsides were the take on me-kill and Freddy screaming "It's a boy!". And I may be in the minority, but I kinda like Super Freddy. Still better than Aquaman.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child 1989 ★★

Without a doubt the worst in the series. Bland across the board.

The kills were better than I remember, but the goofiness kept them from being really good.

The only upsides were the take on me-kill and Freddy screaming "It's a boy!". And I may be in the minority, but I kinda like Super Freddy. Still better than Aquaman.

Child’s Play 1988 ★★★½

Let's rewind all the way back to march of 1976. A promsing, young actor named Brad Dourif is at the Academy Awards, at what is undoubtdely the highlight of his career so far. Imagine pulling a Back to the future on him at the afterparty. No, Brad. Your career defining role will be thirteen years from now. When you play... a killer doll. Correction: a ginger killer doll.

You know, it's uncanny. Not only how the Chucky-franchise managed to last as long as it has so far – crossovers, reboot and all. But also the impact Chucky has had, with people calling him scary as hell and with professional atheletes (like soccer players Roman Yaremchuk and Hirving Lozano) being nicknamed after him.

And all this based on a movie that should not even be all that good based on the premise: a serial killer in the body of a what? A three foot tall doll?

The transition in the opening scene is silly and Brad Dourif's delivery of the line “Oh God, I'm dying”? Well, it's... something. That's for sure. And a child with a doll getting a train ticket just like that? That's not very believable either.

In all fairness, the movie does have qualities. Some of the scary moments do work. The kills are well done and they turn the premise into an advantage. Because of the silly premise, the makers need to be creative in how they let Chucky kill people. And they are. Throughout the franchise.

And you have to admit: the bit where the doll holds a voodoo doll is pretty funny.

Brad Dourif is great as Chucky, positioning himself as one of the icons of the genre and Alex Vincent overcomes his challenge as a child actor to deliver an adorable performance. In a role he would regularly revisit later in his career. Talk about growing up with a character.

Child's Play, for those who have already seen it, it's always good for a laugh and a good time. And if you have not seen it yet... what are you waiting for?

The Omen 1976 ★★★★

A movie like The Omen deservedly belongs in the canon of classics of the broad seventies (an era which in my opinion starts in the late sixties with Night of the living dead and ends somewhere in the early to mid eighties with... maybe The Fly?) and is also one of the better religious horrors out there.

One of the main reasons is the casting. Having an experienced class actor like Gregory Peck helming this project. He gives Robert Thorn the class and dignity that elevates this character above the rest. With the rest of the cast being no slouches. They are all in their place. With miss Baylock being suitably scary as the replacement nanny and father Brennan getting just the right dose of sombreness and perceived madness. He is aware of the looming danger, yet unable to articulate his feelings without sounding like a madman.

That is shown in the scary moments. With the first whammy being a big one. The glee in the eyes of the nanny as she commits suicide... brr. Or the chase scene with the rotweilers in the graveyard. Bone chilling and edge of your seat intense. And of the course, there is the decapitation scene for the gorehounds. Holy crap, that hit hard.

And of course the final glance and wave. The knowledge that evil has won. Brr indeed.

Ps: fun fact: I only found out today that the actress playing Miss Baylock was the lady behind the fascist-hag exchange in Hot Fuzz. Her very last role, no less. So... the more you know.

House 1985 ★★

House is a funny little bit of eighties horror. Not in the least because of the number of recognisable actors: Creighton Duke and Bubba from In the heat of the night as the two requisite starstruck cops (and I could swear I recognised the other cop from somewhere), George Wendt as the comic relief, the later Frau Ferbissinau even had a small part. In the starring,we have William Katt, whose smile still delivers the charm as when he played Tommy Ross.

What is this movie's main problem? Hard to tell. On the one hand, you can tell that it's dated. It really looks very eighties in the special effects and the tone and what not. On the other hand, it never seems clear what this movie really wants to be.

We know one thing: while the sequels went full on goof, this one was in essence at least (trying to be) somewhat serious. But otherwise? Are they going for scares in the vein of Poltergeist? Or are they going in a more horror comedy direction, like Evil Dead? Heck, one or two moments even had a Back to the future-like vibe to them.

The villain looks cool, but not scary and the Vietnam-link and the missing link never really managed to capture me.

It has not aged well, but it remains a nice bit of campy fun. I recommend watching it with a few friends, because it makes for good drinking games. Example: every time you see Wendt, someone shouts “Norm!” and the others do a shot.