DVD Review: The Hills Have Eyes (Unrated)

Wes Craven's thriller re-imagined for a new age of moviegoers. I'm ho-hum on this one. It could have been much much better. Sure, there was a ton of violence, blood, and gore, but there was no suspense. Things just happened, with no real buildup of tension. That killed the fear aspect immensly. This could have been a very creepy, effective scarefest, but it wasn't. Not that it was terrible, it was entertaining as a movie, but just could have been so much more. The plot's the same as the original so there's no point going over it. It's worth a look if you like realistic violence, but if you're looking for scares, set your eyes on other hills. **1/2 out of *****.

DVD Review: Cemetery Gates

From the creators of Boo comes a nice return to Saturday night monster matinees. The creature is cheesy and is shown way too much, but you just can't help loving every minute of it. You just have to sit there and smile as the beast tears into unsuspecting victims. The producers must have gotten a great deal on stage blood because there is a ton of it spilled here! A couple of well intending activists steal a creature from a lab, intent on setting it free. What they don't know is that the creature is a tasmanian devil that's had some serious testing done to it! Once free, the beast wrecks havoc and only the scientist (Phantasm's Reggie Bannister) responsible can stop it. Can he do it before it kills his estranged son and his goofy friends? ***1/2 out of *****.