Let me get this out of the way at the start: I sort of enjoyed the "Friday the 13th" and "My Bloody Valentine" remakes.
Before you kill me, remember that I said "sort of enjoyed" and understand that I'm a longtime horror-film fan. I was raised on the Universal and Hammer horror classics, and John Carpenter's 1978 slasher flick "Halloween" is one of my all-time favorite movies. (So are Sam Raimi's goofy but gory "Evil Dead" flicks.)
And personally, I blame the glut of bad PG-13 horror films, which have included remakes of earlier Asian cinema hits (the latest of these was "The Uninvited") and wanna-be R-rated horror films that were masquerading as PG-13 ones.
I'm looking at you, "The Unborn," which deserved an R but apparently got off the hook by cutting back before it became too gory and too disturbing. (I suspect the filmmakers will restore some of those clearly edited scenes for the DVD release.)
Those films have left a bad taste in my mouth. I just think there's something dishonest and disinegenuous about the way they're being marketed to teens.
Also, I'm not saying that "Friday the 13th" and "My Bloody Valentine" are great filmmaking. But at least they're "honest" about they're trying to do … they're paying homage to the exploitative, earlier movies that inspired them.
And I certainly wouldn't recommend them to anyone with tender sensibilities, or to anyone who isn't either a horror fan or incline to enjoy such things — you'll notice I gave the "Friday the 13th" a two-star review, which certainly isn't a recommendation by any means.
DID YOU NOTICE THIS?
It's interesting that the leads in both "Friday the 13th" and "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" — Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles — come from the same television series.
Padalecki and Ackles play brothers on the CW's hit "Supernatural." Speaking of which, the show is not always family-friendly, but it's fun, and is recommended to anyone who enjoyed the old "Night Stalker" television show — as I did.
IT'S SCARY GOOD?
As a horror fan, I can also say that I enjoyed the new documentary feature "American Scary: A Tribute to the Golden Age of the Horror Hosts" (Cinema Libre, $19.95).
John E. Hudgens, who was responsible for several "Star Wars" fan films and a promotions producer, pays his respects to horror-themed television hosts like Zacherley (John Zacherle), Ghoulardi (Ernie Anderson) and Vampira (Maila Nurmi).
Among those who are interviewed for the film are Zacherle, Douglas "Dr. Shock" Acosti, Barry "Dr. Creep" Hobart and Nurmi, as well as comic book writers Len Wein and Neil Gaiman, film critic/historian Leonard Maltin and comic actor Tim Conway.
Sadly, both Nurmi and horror/science-fiction archivist Forrest J. Ackerman passed away before the film was released, which does leave a bittersweet aftertaste.
(The film is not rated, but does feature some suggestive talk and some imagery. It would probably receive a PG-13 from the MPAA.)
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com