Audience Member
Taking place in a church, the film follows two groups of people, one which is there to battle the ghouls rising from the adjacent graveyard, the other bandits, looking to excavate a hidden treasure, located somewhere in the same burial ground. In ways the plot reminds me of both "Demon Knight" and "From Dusk 'Til Dawn". It stars Vincent Schiavelli ("Batman Returns", "Lord of Illusions") and Jeffery Combs ("Re-Animator", "The Frighteners", "From Beyond", "Necronomicon"), in yet another Lovecraft adaptation. A Full Moon production, unfortunately this film was not handled as well as it could have been, despite the presence of a strong cast.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
VERY loose adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name is nowhere as good as Stuart Gordon's "Re-Animator" or "From Beyond". Although those adaptations also played fast and loose with their source materials (for my money, the only film to really feel like a Lovecraft story is the 2005 faux silent film "The Call of Cthulhu"), but this adaptation fails at even being entertaining. The story involves rival groups of criminals looking to dig up a corpse in a graveyard that's hiding a big stash of stolen money. However, this same night a group of townspeople are planning to dispose of an ancient evil living beneath this very same graveyard. The film boasts a stronger than usual cast for a Full Moon Features production, with Jon Finch ("Macbeth" "Frenzy"), Jeffrey Combs ("Re-Animator" "The Frighteners", Paul Mantee ("Robinson Crusoe on Mars" "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"), Vincent Schiavelli ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" "Ghost"), and "Hellraiser" star Ashley Laurence, but they are wasted with poorly developed characters, though Schiavelli is a lot of fun in his one-scene appearance at the start of the film. When I rewatched the restored blu ray print of the film, I was struck by the better than expected photography by regular Full Moon cinematographer Adolfo Bartoli ("Trancers" 3-5, "Oblivion" 1-2, "Puppet Master" 3-5, etc.). However, writer/director C. Courtney Joyner ("Doctor Mordrid" "Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge") fails to create much atmosphere and it's unclear if the film wanted to be a serious horror film or wanted to be tongue-in-cheek. It ends up being neither and fails as a whole. FUN FACT! It "The Lurking Fear" was originally to be made by producer Charles Band's earlier company Empire Pictures and directed by Stuart Gordon, which I'm sure would have been a MUCH better film.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Written and directed by C. Courtney Joyner, who directed Trancers III and wrote From a Whisper to a Scream, Doctor Mordrid, Class of 1999, Prison and Total Excess: How Carolco Changed Hollywoo, this film tells the story of Leffert's Corners, a place that has been plagued by unearthly beings for decades. It's basically abandoned except for a few hearty souls like a priest and now John Martense, who is in town to put his family's estate in order. And we all know what happens to people who come to claim inheritances in horror movies.
Joyner was a first-time director, so there was a worry that hiring an actor like David Hemmings would lead to him not being treated well, as Hemmings was also a director. Instead, Jon Finch, who was also in Frenzy and Murder on the Nile, was hired. He did exactly what the production teamed feared and repeatedly clashed with the director and refused to even listen to him say cut.
The rest of the cast is pretty strong with the dependable Jeffrey Combs as a town doctor, Vincent Schiavelli as a mortician and Ashley Laurence as a woman seeking revenge. Plus, it's also cool to see Paul Mantee in a movie.
For a while, it seemed like H.P. Lovecraft was to Charles Band as Edgar Allan Poe was to Roger Corman. This is another of the many Full Moon films that use a Lovecraft story as an inspiration.
This also was edited down to thirty minutes and used as part of Full Moon's remix movie Tomb of Terror, where it had the title "Infinite Evil."
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Lurking Fear: 5 out of 10: Full Moon Pictures dips into the Lovecraft well to mine another short story. Somebody gave Jeffery Combs bus fare so he is here along with a collection of other actors ranging from Jon Finch (Frenzy) to Ashley Laurence (Hellraiser). Well, it might not be good but at least it won't be boring. (Forty minutes later) Oh good God will somebody just do something.
The Good: The open scene works well and is exciting. Don't get used to that, however. There is some decent acting for this type of film. Allison Mackie in particular as the cruel femme fatale deserves her own entirely better film.
The Bad: Writer and first-time director C. Courtney Joyner actually has all the tools he needs to make a better film. He has an overall talented cast and a workable if well-worn plot. He really needed to workshop this better. For example, his lead Blake Adams is his weakest character and honestly his weakest actor. There is no reason he needs to be the center of the action. (And for God's sake don't have him narrate.) Focusing on Ashley Lawrence's Rambo or Finch's mob boss would have done wonders.
Joyner gets all the players in place about a half hour into the film. It is a somewhat entertaining half an hour. Then he does nothing with them. They sit around and talk for at least twenty minutes with one group or another occasionally getting the upper hand. You might spend thirty minutes getting Godzilla into Tokyo Bay but you don't leave him in hip-deep water sitting in the same bay for the next half an hour.
The Ugly: I am not sure what they were going for with the creatures. It is like a cross between the Crypt Keeper and the family in Mac and Me. They were fine when all you saw was arms and claws. Should have stayed that way.
In Conclusion: Lurking Fear is inoffensive, occasionally boring with bits of entertainment. It isn't an unpleasant hour and a half spent but it is imminently forgettable. An average movie for its genre.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Heh! Jos olisin tiennyt etukäteen, että kyseessä on Full Moon-tuotanto niin olisi kyllä jäänyt väliin. Tältä kökköydeltä ei pelastanut edes 77min kesto.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It reminded me a lot of "Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight" (1995). It is not a bad one even when I do not use to like Lovecraft based movies.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/14/23
Full Review
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