Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
*My first Leprechaun film and one of the most unintentionally funny films of this Marathon. I know because all intentional moments of humor are terrible. Crazy characters, terrible sets and no money for even basic space effects.
Wishmaster (1997)
* * Obvious attempt at creating a new Horror icon has a clever idea in the mythology of wish-granting genies being evil and always making the worst of your wish. Beyond that the script is terrible and many of the wish twists are great leaps of logic. On the plus side, Tammy Lauren is a very likable female lead, the evil Djinn has a cool growly voice and the practical makeup effects are superior, probably because the director is Robert Kurtzman of KNB Effects.
Jack Frost (1997)
*To its credit, the filmmakers seem to know that a killer snowman is a terrible idea to take seriously. Performances are deadpan and despite the killing, this is much more comedy than horror. Still, this isn’t worth any more of your time than a YouTube short. To sustain feature length, there needs to be genuine wit and clever ideas. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the superior version of this type of film.
Rasen (1998)
* ½ Forgotten sequel to Ringu, from the same source material and produced at the same time as its more famous predecessor. (If you didn’t know that, this would have you wondering how many haunted VHS tape films Japan has made.) Where Ringu was a supernatural mystery, Rasen is a drama that tries to explain the mystery using science and logic. Like if George Lucas made a film about the discovery of midichlorians, which gives you an idea how dull this is. Not surprisingly, the filmmakers ditched this and released a more direct sequel, Ringu 2, the following year.
Nang-Nak (1999)
aka. Return From the Dead
* * ½ Supernatural Thai drama. I found it difficult to get involved because of the vast cultural differences, much like the few African films I’ve seen. Closer in spirit to Uncle Boonmee but without the surrealism and with a much more simple plot.