Dana Gravesen

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Dana is a media critic from Chicago, Illinois with a B.F.A. in Cinema Studies and Computer Applications from NYU. He has written film, media, and political criticism online and in print for almost a decade. He is also the author of three feature-length screenplays: North & York (with Terry Rothfield, 1999), The Nobodies (2004), and Medium Well (with Anna Chlumsky, 2005).

Posts by Dana Gravesen

Review: Hostel (2005)

Hostel poster
Submitted by Dana Gravesen on Wed, 2006-07-19 00:00

Hostel is a film so ridiculous, so filled with unbearable lapses in logic, and so devoid of anything remotely based in reality that it exists in my mind solely as a tawdry blueprint of how not to construct a horror film. The amazing box office popularity of this dreck keeps me up at nights, and the fact that a sequel is on its way to theaters in 2007 is more frightening than anything conjured here by writer/director Eli Roth. Roth crafted the so-so if mildly entertaining Cabin Fever, but with Hostel, he seems intent to outcrap even the likes of Paul W. S. Anderson.(read more...)

Review: Child's Play 2 (1990)

Child's Play 2 poster
Submitted by Dana Gravesen on Thu, 2006-07-13 17:23

Where Child's Play successfully used tightly wound, slowly released tension to assist an otherwise outlandish premise, Child's Play 2 is content to trim some of its predecessor's cinematic fat and get right to the point (of the butcher knife, of course). I suppose that's because if you buy the idea of a killer doll once, you'll buy it again: little-to-no explanation required. As with other slasher sequels, Chucky's second outing doesn’t approach the depth of the first film, but unlike others of its ilk, this demented dollhouse offers numerous pleasures within its celluloid walls.
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Review: Last House on the Left (1972)

Last House on the Left poster
Submitted by Dana Gravesen on Mon, 2006-04-24 00:00

There are many words to describe Wes Craven’s first horror effort: repulsive, jarring, unnerving, even sadistic. All words relative to the film’s content, to be sure, but that’s one of the striking things about Last House on the Left: from a critical standpoint, it is neither here nor there, good nor bad; it simply is what it is -- a macabre exploitation film intended to shock.(read more...)

Review: Child's Play 3 (1991)

Child's Play 3 poster
Submitted by Dana Gravesen on Thu, 2006-03-30 17:23

It happens to every successful horror franchise: the one film that creators and fans alike wish never found its way to celluloid; a black cinematic hole so deep, even other lackluster entries in a given series can’t approach its awfulness. Friday the 13th fans have A New Beginning, Nightmare on Elm Street aficionados have Freddy’s Revenge, Halloween diehards have Season of the Witch, and those of us who enjoy the perverse pleasures of obscene plaything Chucky have Child’s Play 3.(read more...)

Review: Bride of Chucky (1998)

Bride of Chucky poster
Submitted by Dana Gravesen on Wed, 2006-03-08 01:00

This may be as hard to believe as a doll come to life, but Bride of Chucky is one of the best horror films of the 1990s. Gory, trashy, funny, and truly entertaining, the film pays homage to the entire genre, is a send-up of its own predecessors, and plays out like a wild & witty remake of Bride of Frankenstein. And after the surprisingly dreary Child's Play 3 and a seven-year hiatus, it's good to see the ol' Chuckster cleans up real good.(read more...)

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