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The Offspring

1987, Movie, R, 96 mins

The Offspring: Review

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This effective low-budget horror anthology, which features an ensemble cast of familiar faces, manages to capture the look and feel of the classic E.C. horror comics of the 1950s without resorting to the kind of overly dramatic comic-book lighting used by George Romero in CREEPSHOW. In the small town of Oldfield, Tennessee, Julian White (Vincent Price) relates four hideous tales to curious news reporter Bess Chandler (Susan Tyrrell). The first concerns Stanley Burnside (Clu Gulager), a bespectacled middle-aged nerd who finally works up enough nerve to ask a beautiful young coworker out on a date. The second story shows small-time hood Jesse Hardwicke (Terry Kiser) suffering from a gunshot wound and seeking refuge in the swamps, where he is rescued by an eccentric old black man, Felder Evans (Harry Caesar). The third tale takes place in a obscure carny and features a handsome young man--the glass-eater in the freak show--who is in love with a local girl. When he runs off with her, the voodoo priestess who runs the carnival seeks revenge. The final episode, set at the end of the Civil War, stars Cameron Mitchell as a mean Union sergeant who is captured, along with three comrades, by a band of children whose parents were killed in the war. Although the war has just ended, the children will not rest until all adults are made to pay for starting the fighting. Although the subjects of these loathsome tales run the gamut from necrophilia to cannibalism, first-time director Jeff Burr presents them in a slightly tongue-in-cheek manner that captures the ghoulish spirit of horror comic books. He imbues each sequence with a different feel and juggles his obviously low budget with considerable skill. Despite the emphasis on gore and some pretty vile subject matter, Burr has a definite appreciation for the history of the horror genre and presents more here than just your average slasher film. leave a comment
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The Offspring - Conspiracy of One
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The Offspring: Complete Music Video Collection [UMD for PSP]
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