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Reviews
Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story (2002)
a legal mess
As it is not all states have laws against this kind of thing, and it's hard to bust anyone for anything but theft of electricity or damage to property (if they bolt the cameras in place, that is). It actually is hard to prove breaking and entering if you gave a neighbor a key, as many people do when they go on vacation. And video, without sound, is legal without knowledge or permission, to protect shop owners with surveillance cameras. And if you're unlucky enough to have this done by an apartment manager or landlord, they have legal access to the entire building. In fact, if you rent your home, the landlord is entitled to make any modifications he wants most of the time, including cameras, to his property. The woman in this movie felt justifiably violated and was treated poorly at almost every turn. I was shocked by her church preaching cart blanche 'forgiveness', but even more so by the police who showed up with a search warrant and then just took what they were handed. Do Louisiana police raid drug houses and just take what they're offered, ignoring the entire house? And why were they not more upset to learn that one of the naked bodies on the tapes belonged to a teenage girl? The fact of the matter is, this is a great movie because it is so realistic. In this case, the police were incompetent, and the victims felt the way almost anyone would. Of course a high school girl is going to worry first about what her friends will think! That's almost all of what high school girls worry about. And no woman is going to want to sleep in a bed she's been violated in, whether the cameras are gone or not. I'm just surprised any husband would be so understanding of his wife. If I can leave my curtains open and prosecute a peeping tom looking in the window, then it should be a much harsher sentence for someone who bypasses any measures I put up to keep myself hidden.
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994)
Why Leatherface Wore A Dress
I don't care much for horror flicks so I can't really form an opinion on this, except that I think it probably fell short of what was intended. I can however say that the man Leatherface was originally based on, the "True Story", was Ed Gein, a serial killer who wore a mask of human flesh and killed women at his remote home. The characters of Norman Bates and Buffalo Bill (Silence of The Lambs) were both also based on him and were, by all accounts, more accurate. Ed Gein also wore a suit of human flesh, including breasts, in an attempt to be more female, which accounts for Leatherface wearing a dress in this film. However, a lot more characterization should have been put into explaining this. For the record, Ed Gein worked alone, no family members helping him and certainly no grand family traditions of cannibalism, and the only two bodies ever found were killed with a pistol; no evidence ever pointed to him using a chainsaw on any of his victims. He was just another Jeffrey Dahmer-esq serial killer with a highly dysfunctional sense of eroticism.
Daybreak (1993)
This movie is great
I thought this movie was great, and I think it should still be shown to teens today. The virus, an obvious AIDS parallel, striking paranoia and fear into the populace, and the reluctance of government to educate people on prevention, are themes I remember seeing in the real world when AIDS first came out. I also remember the suggestions of quarantines and somehow marking the infected as dangerous. The romantic aspect of the film was a bit off-subject, but then most subplots are, and I liked how Moira Kelly's character brought about the opportunity to explain details that otherwise might have been assumed "obvious" by characters, thus making the explanations seem forced and unnatural. I wish I owned this DVD, especially since actors tend to do better work before reaching star-status, and this is certainly an example of that.
Luther the Geek (1989)
hometown classic
This movie has been a classic in my part of the country because it was filmed in my own small town. I now have many friends who are guards at Dixon Correctional, and I myself worked for 3 yrs at the SuperAmerica store next to the Krogers store the old lady was at. However, this is still the dumbest movie ever made, destined to be introduced by Gilbert Godfreid or Rhonda Shearer, if it hasn't been already. A bit of trivia, Illinois doesn't even have parole hearings, and Dixon Prison is a medium security facility housing burglars and vending machine vandals. The classic clucking/seduction scene is perhaps the most amusing piece of writing I've ever seen, especially with the suspenseful build-up