Mark Hamill

Lee Marvin leads a rifle squad through the many grim and gurgling trials of war. The D-Day invasion and the liberation of a concentration camp are among their victorious yet tragic adventures. Sam Fuller's semi-autobiographical war-drama is filled with the kind of gripping action, raw intensity and occasional off-beat humor that we've come to expect from one of the great pioneers of independent cinema.

A few years before Rob Zombie and the like decided to re-visit John Carpenter movies, Carpenter himself chose this 60's black-and-white British chiller to re-imagine. Most remakes are a pointless exercise (The Omen, Psycho, The Fog, Assault on Precinct 13) while just a few actually improve upon the original source material and make the grade. This is one of them. This isn't art, it's entertainment - and when you consider that the vintage VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is now dated and cheap-looking, this update is leaps and bounds ahead of it. Christopher Reeve's last on-screen performance (as the head doctor who suspects foul play) before his horse-riding tragedy is engaging and the supporting cast is suitably fraught: there's Kirstie Alley (FBI/CIA-type), Mark Hamill (Priest!), and Linda Koslowski. The silver-heaired kids are pretty good but arn't terrably scary, and Carpenter's music as always is perfect. Released just after ESCAPE FROM LA and before IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS this is undemanding and frivolous horror fluff from the master.

Wow! Is there anything else I could say to explain how much I think this movie should be seen and adored by all?! It is the kind of movie that can be loved by all different types and classes of people. It has it all. Drama,action,comedy...you name it.