I know, I know ... this is firmly in the 1970s in almost every way. But I'm including it because it had a HUGE influence on a certain vein of '80s teen horror; a case might be argued that it is still influencing movies even now.
Phantasm has a tremendous sense of atmosphere (DREAD) and style to it, even while its plot is *completely* incoherent and nonsensical. The villain is so memorable and evil that anyone who saw this at a certain impressionable age (say, 9 to 15) will never forget it. I also particularly like the sidekick Reggie, driving an ice cream truck and playing guitar (well, too!).
The shortest explanation for this movie is "young boy and his older brother, along with their best friend, learn that the local funeral home is not what it seems, and the strange tall man who runs it tries to stop them from spreading the message." This really doesn't do the movie justice, but I'm also trying to avoid spoilers here. The movie moves along its own pace and logic - which might infuriate some viewers, especially those raised on the glossy horror productions of the last 10-15 years - but I'll tell you, when I saw this at age 10 or so, I was petrified. When you're about the age of the main character, it really hits home.
Phantasm has recently been fully remastered, thanks to J. J. Abrams (!). I look forward to reviewing one of the director Dan Coscarelli's '80s films, The Beastmaster, in the near future.
Vendetta is a pretty typical women-in-prison movie, with a rather effective revenge angle. I don't have a lot to say about it - it's definitely watchable, but it's also definitely not amazing. The most startling thing for me for discovering Sandy Martin (Mac's Mom on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as the main villain - and she's great!
The general plot: Younger sister kills evil guy in self-defense. Younger sister goes to prison. Younger sister resists evil prison gang. Younger sister is killed by evil prison gang. Older sister, who is a stunt actor in the movies, gets herself arrested and sent to same prison. Older sister immediately begins targeting the evil gang. Older sister gets revenge, one piece at a time.
The directing is workmanlike and the actresses are all natural, so the film is certainly worth a quick view if you're curious. The direct is Bruce Logan, who once did second unit photography on the original Star Wars, working with the miniatures (!). This was his first directing effort. I can't find any budget information for this, but I can't imagine it cost or made a ton of money.
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