L.Dallas

"Hard Feelings" is a lot better than dozens of movies in the "American Graffiti" ilk, so why did I have to wait for it to play on TV to see it? "Hard Feelings" avoids sappy nostalgia for a "simpler time," and grapples with real social issues without ever getting too heavy-handed, and without losing its entertainment value. My fave line is by Latham: "Man, people are like dogs...if they smell fear they'll be on you like flies on sh!t"

"Silent Predators" uses every single cliche from countless other horror movies which have "nature vs. the greedy interests of capitalism" as a theme e.g. "Empire of the Ants" Although this formula is tired, sometimes two big heaping scoops of banality is just what the doctor ordered. Rating: 6 out of 10

Squirm is superior to its brethren primarily because of its use of worms as the "beast". Being at the top of the food chain, as we humans are, there is little risk of any of us being eaten alive by wild animals (e.g. "Jaws") during our little sojourns into nature. Director Lieberman realized this and took this horror sub-genre to a higher level by combining the best elements of "nature in retaliation" cinema with our innate fear of death i.e. literally our fear of being "eaten by worms". Kudos to Rick Baker's make-up design which was probably the inspiration for a countless number of shoddy Halloween make-up kits. He cut his teeth on movies such as "Squirm" and "Incredible Melting Man" and continued his greatness in "Videodrome" and "Ed Wood". Credit must also go to director Lieberman. Whether it was his choice to use sparse lighting in the night scenes or it was merely the lack of a budget, the effect is unnerving nonetheless. In too many horror films night scenes are lit so that you can virtually see everything. In short, they are unrealistic. When the characters walk through the dark, in Squirm, you feel a sense of unease because you can't see what is in the outer edges of the frame. American International Pictures were responsible for the production of many great obscurities like "Squirm" and "Food of the Gods". I hope AIP's films will be rerun on late night TV ad infinitum, and be given their due recognition well into the next millennium!