House III

HehHEHhehHEHhehHEHhehHEH the guy's laugh in this is so funny it totally undermines the scary elements of the movie.

I got this when i was eleven, and being a kid who loved freddy, jason etc i was always on the look out for another similar villain to get my teeth into, and for me, max jenke delivered. Around the same time, horace pinker came into play with 'shocker', and although good in his own way, the movie became a little too silly with the jumping in and out of TV shows. The two movies were almost the same story, but in max there was a much more evil guy, almost made for brion james, and if it wasn't tied in with the 'house' films i believe it would have had more impact. Bottom line is, if you enjoyed 'shocker' i doubt very much this would disappoint.

I waited a long time to see a third House movie, and once I heard it was called The Horror Show, I had to rent it. The Horror Show is a pretty cool film.True it has no relation to House, but neither did the second, or fourth ones, and they were still good. Brian James makes a great bad guy.Good story, and o.k. acting.*** out of *****.

The Horror Show (1989)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Detective Lucas McCarthy (Lance Henriksen) finally manages to arrest the notorious serial killer known as Meat Cleaver Max (Brion James). However, at the electrocution, something goes wrong but finally Max is pronounced dead. This should be the end of Lucas but instead he becomes convinced that Max has somehow survived and is coming after his family.

THE HORROR SHOW, for some reason, got released in certain parts of the world as HOUSE III even though it has absolutely nothing to do with that series. I stayed away from this film for quite a while just thinking that it was some sort of cheap horror film but it actually turned out to be much better than I expected thanks to some good characters and some bloody effects.

I really thought the character development for the lead detective was quite good and Hendriksen is such a fine actor that even though this is a horror film you don't mind going along for the ride. I thought the screenplay was quite good, if cliché, and it managed to hold you attention through the various scenes where the lead character is basically questioning his own sanity. The detective character was a good one but so was the serial killer. He was certainly a demented character and after the opening sequence and a certain bit of violence, you know this guy is for real and a nut.

Both actors did a very good job with their roles and this certainly helps makes this a bit more than your average slasher. It also doesn't hurt that there are some very good special effects and especially if you're watching the uncut European version, which restores some of the gore that was cut out of the U.S. theatrical release. The film also offers up some nice cinematography and a good music score.

THE HORROR SHOW isn't a masterpiece but it's certainly much better than what you typically get with a film like this. The two lead performances really sell the story and this is very much worth watching.

And once again I'll promote the first (and the very best) House: Ding, Ding. You're Dead. Go, see my review on it.

So, The Horror Show, as many call it, is different from other three House creations. Some even claim, that initially it wasn't created as a part of the whole series. And I might as well agree with them.

First of all, I need to warn you. The Horror Show characters use an unrealistic amount of swearwords. They swear and curse on every single occasion. So the movie resembles a mess of dirty dialogue, soft but scary horror and some grotesque humour - quite well put together.

The main characters - a good guy - cop Luke - and a bad guy - serial killer Jenke. This Jenke gets electrocuted and his bloodthirsty spirit travels to an oven in the basement of Luke's house. And here we go.

The movie's intense. It doesn't let you go till the very end. It would have been a classic if not for unnecessary swearing, horrible acting and lack of chop-chop violence.

Overall, this is not a bad movie. It doesn't have the charm of the first episode, but it is not as hopeless as the other two episodes. So, if you need a midnight movie, then this mild snack might be for you.