Reviews

Animals that kill on command could make a great horror movie but I wasn't impressed with this film.

Murders in the Zoo has a strong opening (can be found on YT) but the rest of the movie doesn't hold up.

I've read several reviews that call this movie "grisly" "chilling" "creepy" but I don't see it. To me it has very little horror to it at all. It's a mystery crime movie first.

**SPOILERS** one death scene has a woman fall into alligator infested waters and you see nothing except a piece of her clothing afterward. For another death scene a boa constrictor does what they do best. You would think a scene like that would be gripping but still nothing. Then there are some obviously tame and oppressed big cats released into a small area to act as a blockade while Atwill makes an escape. The cats run around scared and confused. You see a male lion attacking smaller cats like cougars and female lions. It's off putting.

Then this terrified actor is squeezing the life out of a snake for a scene where he extracts venom to create an anti venom. I was surprised the snake still had it's head when he was done.

Then there was a bumbling drunk running in and out of scenes for comedic relief which was really unnecessary and detracted from any macabre quality this movie may have had.

The last half of the movie dragged. It gave the impression that three months were spent filming the first half and one week for the last half.

Dr. Renault's Secret (1942) is a boring science-experiment-gone-wrong sci-fi horror. Dr. Renault, eager for notability in the medical field, turns an ape (man wearing gorilla suit) into an apeman (man wearing bad wig and lump under his top lip), named Noel. Noel becomes Dr. Renault's servant and all goes seemingly well for a while but soon things take a turn as Dr. Renault learns he underestimated Noel's animal instinct and aggression.

Could've made more of it's 58 minute run time but it jumped around in a jumbled fashion making it impossible for the viewer to care.

To sum this film up in a word: lackluster.

The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) is a mediocre horror featuring a young Roy Scheider eleven years before, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." Roy's performance was the one strong point and sole reason I sat through this otherwise unremarkable film. It kicks off with the far from original plot where an old contemptible, wealthy man dies. His heirs, hoping to inherit, gather together in one house. But they soon start getting creatively picked off one by one.

You can see the twist ending coming from a mile away.

With the plot holes, overacting and bad dialogue it misses the mark and falls some where between horror and dark comedy. It does show potential with a few of the death scenes. Pair that with an outstanding performance by Scheider and all things considered it's not all bad.

"Garfield His 9 Lives" is divided into nine animated stories all centered around Garfield in different eras of time from prehistoric to futuristic space. In some stories Garfield takes on a new look. You will probably have your favorite story as some are more involved than others.

Life #6 - Diana's Piano, is most unlike any of the other Garfield tales. It captures a long term relationship between a beloved feline and her owner. I couldn't help but wonder if this one was based on a true story.

Dog lovers beware as this movie as a whole does show some cat bias. But if you've got a good sense of humor to get you through there's some justice at the end of King Cat ;)

People of all ages would enjoy this movie. It's intelligent, funny, well written, good soundtrack(see #5 Court Jester if you're into funky jazz), full of colorful fun animation(see the shape-shifting in #7 Lab Animal).

I must not forget to add that #8 includes Garfield as a kitten with his mother, how Garfield came to love Italian cuisine, and how he met Jon and Odie. Simply a must see for any Garfield fan.

Parents can watch it with their children. It's sure to get kids thinking and asking questions. Or if you're like me you may just enjoy watching it for old times sake. This was one of my favorite movies when I was 6. The images and stories have always stuck with me. Unforgettable.

Here's the titles of the stories as they appear.

#1 Cave Cat, #2 King Cat, #3 In The Garden, #4 Court Musician, #5 Stunt Cat, #6 Diana's Piano, #7 Lab Animal, #8 Garfield, #9 Space Cat.

Although I haven't seen all of Stephen King's films I have seen Pet Cemetery, Cat's Eye, Cujo, It, Carrie, Silver Bullet and The Dead Zone and all of these are great movies but Cat's Eye is my favorite so far.

Cat's Eye is a perfect example of a thriller and comedy flawlessly intertwined. The humor is great because it's deadpan therefore it doesn't take away from the suspense of the story at all. This movie is actually three mini-movies all in one and all three are events which the cat either witnessed or experienced.

This has very memorable characters and excellent acting by Alan King, James Woods, and a very young Drew Barrymore.

Vote: 10 (Excellent)