LINK and POWDER soundtracks – CD Reviews

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 04/28/2016
LINK soundtrack | ©2016 La La Land Records

here Jerry Goldsmith was lionized for any number of inventive, mainstream scores like BASIC INSTINCT, TOTAL RECALL and THE WIND AND THE LION, the composer had an equal knack for embodying idiosyncratic characters for movies well below the widely accepted radar like UNDER FIRE, THE SALAMANDER and THE TRAVELING EXECUTIONER. Goldsmith’s creativity flowed with noticeable enthusiasm for these soundtracks where he could show off his devilishly clever humor and emotional resonance, whether accompanying an orangutan manservant or a mystical albino. In his follow up to PSCYHO II for director Richard Franklin, Jerry Goldsmith was given the opportunity to play a not-so obviously lethal killer. Instead, […]Read On »


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Movie Review: KRAMPUS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/04/2015
KRAMPUS movie poster | ©2015 Universal Pictures

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Krista Stadler Writers: Todd Casey & Michael Dougherty & Zack Shields Director: Michael Dougherty Distributor: Universal Release Date (theatrical): December 4, 2015 While KRAMPUS is far from the first movie to use the mythic anti-Santa of legend as its villain, it’s arguably the best of the bunch, and indeed, up there with GREMLINS as a Christmas horror movie that deserves to become a tradition. Krampus, for those who’ve never heard of him, is a figure who possibly predates Christianity, but certainly showed […]Read On »


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CD Review: THE HOLE Soundtrack (3000 limited edition)

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 05/14/2013
THE HOLE soundtrack | ©2013 Quartet Records

Kids and the monstrosities often mixed in Joe Dante’s legendary collaboration with Jerry Goldsmith, from mischievous GREMLINS and SMALL SOLDIERS to the atom bomb in MATINEE. One might imagine what Jerry would have done had he been around to peer into THE HOLE for Dante, only to find far more of an ephemeral and psychological threat than he’d been given to handle before with the filmmaker. Yet Dante’s still in very capable musical hands for a low key entry into teen horror, especially with the heavy lifting being done by Javier Navarette, a composer who teamed with Guillermo Del Toro […]Read On »


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Horror For the Holidays – Ten Christmas Films That Make You Scream

By PETER BROWN 12/24/2012
RARE EXPORTS - A CHRISTMAS TALE - U.S. Poster | © 2010 Oscilloscope Laboratories

While everyone else is cuddling up with a copy of A CHRISTMAS CAROL,  A CHRISTMAS STORY, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, heck, even some people still watch WHITE CHRISTMAS, ASSIGNMENT X thought it was high time to give credit where bloody credit is due to the Christmas films that have an unconventional way of celebrating Christmas cheer – namely one of sheer terror. That’s why we invite you to celebrate a little horror for the holiday’s with us, chronicling ten unconventional films that are just as worthy as the umpteenth incarnation of A CHRISTMAS STORY retold on any one of Tyler […]Read On »


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DVD Review: THE HOLE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/26/2012
THE HOLE DVD | ©2012 Big Air Studios

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble, Bruce Dern, Teri Polo Writer: Mark L. Smith Director: Joe Dante Distributor: Big Air Studios Release Date: Theatrical September 28, 2012; home video, October 3, 2012 THE HOLE may serve as a good test disc for the young would-be horror fan in your family. Approximately as scary as GREMLINS, one of THE HOLE director Joe Dante’s better-known credits, this movie doesn’t have flying gore or a body count, but it’s reasonably serious and creepy, and does have a few shots of a ghost with the back of his skull missing, along […]Read On »


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Movie Review: FRANKENWEENIE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 10/06/2012
FRANKENWEENIE movie poster | ©2012 Walt Disney Pictures

Rating: PG Stars (voices): Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Winona Ryder, Robert Capron, James Hiroyuki Lao, Conchata Ferrell, Tom Kenny Screenplay: John August, based on a screenplay by Leon Ripps, based on an original idea by Tim Burton Director: Tim Burton Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: October 5, 2012 In 1984, Tim Burton made FRANKENWEENIE as a short film (directed by Burton from Lenny Ripps’ script, based on Burton’s original idea) that essentially launched his career. It’s taken the filmmaker almost thirty years, but he’s finally made FRANKENWEENIE into a full-length animated feature film. There’s […]Read On »


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CD Review: GREMLINS soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 12/25/2011
GREMLINS soundtrack | ©2011 Film Score Monthly

If you were among the generation that saw one great genre film after the other in the early ’80’s, perhaps no signature theme signaled these pictures’ often seditious spin on kid-friendly formulas than the sweet whistling of Gizmo and the cackling, rambunctious jazz rag of what would pop out of that furry little fella if you fed him after midnight. It’s taken nearly three decades for those little devils’ music to fully metamorphose, but at long last, Jerry Goldsmith’s full score to GREMLINS is finally here to create hilariously menacing havoc. While Goldsmith was famed for scoring the far more […]Read On »


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Movie Review: DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 08/26/2011
DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK movie poster | ©2011 Film District/Miramax

Rating: R Stars: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Jack Thompson Writers:  Guillermo Del Toro & Matthew Robbins, based on the original teleplay by Nigel McKeand Director: Troy Nixey Distributor: FilmDistrict/Miramax Release Date: August 26, 2011 Audiences of a certain age have at least vague memories of the original 1973 TV movie DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, written by Nigel McKeand, which featured Kim Darby as a young woman using the flash cubes on a Polaroid camera to combat evil, light-fearing creatures that lived in the chimney and under the fireplace of an old house. The new feature film […]Read On »


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The X List: Horror For the Holidays – Ten Christmas Films That Will Disrupt Your Silent Nights

By PETER BROWN 12/24/2010
RARE EXPORTS - A CHRISTMAS TALE - U.S. Poster | © 2010 Oscilloscope Laboratories

While everyone else is cuddling up to a copy of A CHRISTMAS CAROL,  A CHRISTMAS STORY, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, heck, even some people still watch WHITE CHRISTMAS, we here at ASSIGNMENT X thought it was high time to give credit where bloody credit is due to the films that have an unconventional way of celebrating Christmas cheer – namely one of sheer terror. That’s why we invite you to celebrate a little horror for the holiday’s with us, chronicling ten unconventional films that are just as worthy as the umpteenth incarnation of A CHRISTMAS STORY retold on any one […]Read On »


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AXclusive Interview: IT’S 25 YEARS LATER AND DIRECTOR RICHARD DONNER LOOKS BACK ON ‘THE GOONIES’

By The Editors of ASSIGNMENT X 11/15/2010
© 2010 Berliner Photography/BEImages/Photo: John Sciulli | Director Richard Donner at THE GOONIES - 25th Anniversary Treasure Hunt

With so many hours of excellent television (THE TWILIGHT ZONE) and classic films under his belt (SUPERMAN, THE OMEN, the LETHAL WEAPON franchise), the problem with speaking to director Richard Donner is figuring out where to actually start. Luckily, that part was taken care of for us since he recently did some press in honor of the 25th Anniversary of his classic adventure/kids film THE GOONIES which just hit Blu-ray in a brand-new deluxe edition. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, THE GOONIES is one of those perfect 1980s confections filled with great performances by a […]Read On »


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