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Of all the masters of horror that helped to reshape the genre as we know it in the ’70s and ’80s, none were more successful in branching out and achieving commercial success within the studio system than Sam Raimi. His Spider-Man trilogy laid the groundwork for the influx of comic book movies that would follow, but he was eager to return to his roots following the third installment’s turbulent production.

Armed with $30 million and complete creative control, Raimi dusted off a story he wrote with elder brother and frequent collaborator Ivan Raimi back in the ’90s to make his triumphant return to horror with Drag Me to Hell in 2009. The Raimi broters seemingly drew inspiration from 1957’s Night of the Demon but injected it with a heavy dose of Evil Dead DNA, most closely evoking Evil Dead 2‘s cartoonish blend of over-the-top splatter and tongue-in-cheek humor.

If the use...

It’s hard to surprise people when putting together a list of the best slasher movies and, in the interest of doing so, I thought I’d exclude all the genre mainstays from the list. This list doesn’t necessarily represent the “ten best”, but rather some of the slasher subgenre’s more ‘overlooked’ offerings.

10. The Mutilator (1985)

It can be argued that this film’s greatest asset is its amazing tag line (By Pick, By Sword, By Axe, Bye Bye!), but that’s doing a bit of disservice to director Buddy Cooper’s only attempt to run with the slasher big dogs.

First we’ve got one of the most preposterous killer motivations in the subgenre: a child, cleaning his father’s gun in an attempt to gleam his daddy’s affections, accidentally shoots his mother dead. Dad comes home, flips his lid and viola! Instant slasher!

If you track down the uncut version,...

Gary Shandling: 2 for 2. Two TV shows, two masterpieces. But where more people are familiar with his later Larry Sanders Show, It’s Gary Shandling’s Show has not received the same posthumous praise or attention, partly because it was a Showtime show in the mid to late 80’s, and then began playing on the just-starting Fox network. The show aired for four seasons, and then was out. And to be fair, it ran out of steam, but when it was on, it was one of the most dazzling formalist TV shows to ever air. My review after the jump.

The premise is that Gary Shandling plays himself, and has a platonic female best friend in Nancy (Molly Cheek) and a married best friend in Pete Schumacher (Michael Tucci). Pete’s wife Jackie (Bernadette Birket) eventually gives birth to a second child, who gets named by the audience, and they have...

Gary Shandling: 2 for 2. Two TV shows, two masterpieces. But where more people are familiar with his later Larry Sanders Show, It’s Gary Shandling’s Show has not received the same posthumous praise or attention, partly because it was a Showtime show in the mid to late 80’s, and then began playing on the just-starting Fox network. The show aired for four seasons, and then was out. And to be fair, it ran out of steam, but when it was on, it was one of the most dazzling formalist TV shows to ever air. My review after the jump.

The premise is that Gary Shandling plays himself, and has a platonic female best friend in Nancy (Molly Cheek) and a married best friend in Pete Schumacher (Michael Tucci). Pete’s wife Jackie (Bernadette Birket) eventually gives birth to a second child, who gets named by the audience, and they have...

Opens

Friday, Aug. 1

Having already twice proved that it's possible to make a top-grossing, gross-out picture that even chicks can dig, most of the original "American Pie" gang has returned for a third helping with the tellingly titled "American Wedding".

But while the threatened final installment, or rather "the thrilling climax," of the "Pie" saga serves up the same mix of shock comedy and lovable characters, the familiar formula feels significantly watered-down the third time around.

Too often, screenwriter Adam Herz's plotting seems to exist solely to set up one of those custom naughty sight gags rather than to advance any semblance of story.

Of course, that probably won't bother audiences, who'll still likely feel like they got what they came for, but even with the word "Wedding" ensuring a substantial female turnout, the total take might not reach the pie-in-the-sky heights of the two predecessors.

It seems like it was just yesterday when Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) was getting acquainted with hot baked goods, but band camp feels like a distant memory for Jim and his flute-playing fiancee Michelle Flaherty (Alyson Hannigan) as they make plans for their upcoming nuptials.

As if they don't have enough on their plate, despite getting assistance from Jim's unflappable dad (Eugene Levy) and mom (Molly Cheek) and Michelle's folks (Fred Willard and Deborah Rush), the arrival of Michelle's gorgeous sister, Cadence (January Jones) has been duly noticed by Jim's cerebral buddy Finch Eddie Kaye Thomas) and the indefatigable Stifler (Seann William Scott).

Determined to pull out all stops necessary to put the make on the maid of honor, Stifler manages to charm his way into the wedding party, much to the horror of Jim and Michelle, who have a right to be concerned.

While "American Wedding" might once again be focusing on the trials and humiliations of Biggs' nice guy Jim, this is Scott's movie all the way. Whether he's tearing up the dance floor in a gay bar on '80s Night, getting freaky with Jim's grandma or trying to coax a dog to part with an accidentally consumed wedding ring (better not to ask), the gonzo Stifler, with his John Belushi bursts of energy and his trouble-making Jack Nicholson grin, is up to any challenge that comes his way.

But even his contribution, as well as those of Christopher Guest regulars Levy, Willard and Jennifer Coolidge -- who makes a final, all-too-brief appearance as Stifler's mom -- only go so far in adding a little zip to the bland proceedings.

With original directors Paul and Chris Weitz having successfully moved on to more mature fare like "About a Boy", the reins have been passed from "American Pie 2" helmer James B. Rogers to Jesse Dylan, who proved he knew his way around a visual gag with his first feature, "How High".

Dylan can push through an effective gross-out scene with the best of them, but when it comes to pulling off that patented "American Pie" blend of the raucous and the sweetly innocuous, he lacks the Weitz brothers' seamlessly shifting light touch.

As is fitting for the genre, production values are bright and zippy, while executive music producer Kathy Nelson has assembled several albums' worth of ideally attuned tunes ranging from newer stuff by the All-American Rejects ("Swing Swing") and Joseph Arthur (the plaintive "Honey and the Moon") and older stuff, including a cover of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic", performed by Jesse's brother Jakob's band, the Wallflowers.

American Wedding

Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures presents

A Zide/Perry-LivePlanet production

Credits:

Director: Jesse Dylan

Screenwriter: Adam Herz

Producers: Warren Zide, Craig Perry, Chris Moore, Adam Herz, Chris Bender

Executive producers: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Louis G. Friedman

Director of photography: Lloyd Ahern

Production designer: Clayton Hartley

Editor: Stuart Pappe

Costume designer: Pamela Withers Chilton

Music: Christophe Beck;

CQ Executive music producer: Kathy Nelson

Casting: Lisa Beach, Sarah Katzman

Cast:

Jim: Jason Biggs

Michelle: Alyson Hannigan

Cadence: January Jones

Kevin: Thomas Ian Nicholas

Steve Stifler: Seann William Scott

Finch: Eddie Kaye Thomas

Harold: Fred Willard

Jim's Dad: Eugene Levy

Jim's Mom

Molly Cheek

Mary: Deborah Rush

Running time -- 95 minutes

MPAA rating: R...