Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: A once-struggling magician, Charles "Corky" Williams, finds success after adding a risqué-talking ventriloquist dummy, Fats, to his act. Just as he is about to get his best break ever, a television series, Corky sabotages the deal by refusing to take a physical and instead flees the city to his hometown in the Catskills, renting a cabin from his high school crush, Peggy. Despite Peggy being married, they end up having an affair and she seems ready to leave her husband for him. However, it soon becomes apparent Fats is more than just a prop for Corky's act and is instead a manifestation of a second, domineering and sometimes violent personality. Who's in it? The movie stars Anthony Hopkins , Ann-Margaret , Burgess Meredith , Ed Lauter and David Ogden Stiers . Review: I remember first seeing the film Magic on display at a video rental store (remember those?). However, despite the movie being out for nearly 30 years, I never took the time to watch the film ...

Synopsis: Waitress and single mother Jess is invited by one of her customers to go with him and his friends while cruising on his yacht, the Triangle. When the sailboat encounters a storm, it is capsized in the ocean. One of the passengers is swept away but the others, including Jess, believe they are saved when a passenger liner arrives. Only, the ship appears to be deserted except for one other person, who is trying to kill them. I should also mention the killer is Jess. Or at least a future version of herself. Who's in it? The movie stars Melissa George , Liam Hemsworth , Michael Dorman , Joshua McIvor and Rachel Carpani . Review: My wife is feeling under the weather, a combination of a cold and just being on the go the past few days. As a result, I made her some soup yesterday evening and we settled down to watch a movie while waiting for the thunderstorm outside to pass. I picked this one because, from the description, it sounded like a basic slasher movie. As it turns out...

Synopsis: A group of four men and two women who have never met are invited to a dinner party/social experiment on Valentine's Day and offered $10,000 if they complete the evening. The event, however, has sinister intentions and as tensions rise, turns violent. The film is also known as Love Hurts .  Who's in it? The movie stars Sean Sprawling , Simon Phillips ,  Sarah J. Butler , Natalie Burn and Sean Patrick Flanery Review: My wife and I opted not to go out last night and instead celebrated the end of the work week with pizza and a movie. This one looked intriguing, so I decided to give it a try. After watching it, I guess the best way to describe it is I didn't hate it, but it seemed to lack something too. To be honest, from the description and the opening scenes, I thought this would be a slasher movie/murder mystery. Instead, it ended up being more of a psychological thriller with an unusual host (Sprawling), his butler (Phillips) clearly trying to agitate their six g...

Synopsis: A 13-year-old boy, John, discovers an abandoned bunker in the woods behind his house. A couple days later, he drugs his family and leaves them stranded in the bunker. As they struggle to survive both starvation and the elements, John tries to live his life without them. Who's in it? The movie stars Charlie Shotwell , Michael C. Hall , Jennifer Ehle , Taissa Farmiga and Samantha LeBretton . Review: When I found this movie at the library and read the description, I didn't know if it would be a pleasant surprise or another dud. After watching it, I can confidently say this film falls into the "what the hell did I just watch" category. The premise of this movie isn't a terrible one and, because of that, the movie did seem like it would be interesting at first. John (Shotwell) seems to be relatively normal with a caring family. This made his obsession with that bunker and his decision to leave his family in it for several days out of character enough to m...