Leapin’ Leprechauns! (1995)
Leprechauns
Likeable film for children from Charles Band about an American family who inherit a property in Ireland inhabited by leprechauns
Film Series and Sequels
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)
Action/Advanced Weaponry
Sequel to Under Siege in which Steven Seagal was a lone individual in a Die Hard scenario defending a battleship against a terrorist takeover; this is the same but with Seagal defending a train
Pocahontas (1995)
Disney Animation/Historical Meeting Between English & Native Americans
Disney bases an animated film on the historical character but warps the story considerably. It feels that this is a Disney animated film made more to adhere to Political Correctness than it is a good one
Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995)
Pagan Child Cult
The third of the films based on the Stephen King short story, this moves the locale to the city but is otherwise based around a series of completely ridiculous makeup effects every few minutes
Leprechaun 3 (1995)
Malevolent Leprechaun
Third in the series takes Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun to Las Vegas for a series of novelty deaths that have silliness that frequently defies belief
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Cyberpunk Anime
Classic anime from Mamoru Oshii, a Cyberpunk work with a heroine who is a cyborg special forces officer, a work that delves deeply into the philosophical questions of what is human and what is machine
Scanner Cop II: Volkin’s Revenge (1995)
Psychic Powers
The fourth and last of a series of low-budget sequels to David Cronenberg’s Scanners, also the worst of the bunch featuring a series of absurd head-exploding effects
Toy Story (1995)
Pixar Animation/The Secret Life of Toys
The first film from Pixar and a breakthrough in being the first computer-animated film. Even aside from its technical innovations, this is enormously good fun with extremely well-constructed character arcs
Invisible Mom (1995)
Invisible Housewife
B-budget director Fred Olen Ray makes an invisibility comedy with impoverished effects. Olen Ray’s usual parade of bimbos and cynical one-liners is kept under restraint and this made as a children’s film
Addicted to Murder (1995)
Vampire/Serial Killer
Strong and intelligent low-budget vampire film from Kevin J. Lindenmuth that plays with a fascinating ambiguity in the story of a man obsessed with a mystery woman who is making him kill
Prehysteria! 3 (1995)
Baby Dinosaurs
The third and probably the best of the children’s dinosaur films from Charles Band where the pitiful effects are at least compensated for by an eccentric sense of humour
Xtro3 (1995)
Alien Nasty
Third of the Xtro films, none of which are related to one another, this features the discovery of aliens at an abandoned military base
Mortal Kombat (1995)
Interdimensional Combat/Videogame Adaptation
This film adaptation of the videogame is a lot of fun. The plot is a rehash of Enter the Dragon but the film offers up wall-to-wall action and exotic creatures. A directorial debut for Paul W.S. Anderson
Cybertracker 2 (1995)
Killer Androids
In this sequel to Cyber Tracker, Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson is a police officer fighting a criminal mastermind who is attempting to replace world leaders with android duplicates
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
Boogey Man
The first of the Candyman sequels, this goes back to add a Candyman origin story but mostly rehashes the first film. Director Bill Condon’s constant straining for effect becomes maddening
Mommy (1995)
Psycho Mother
Patty McCormack played a psychopathic child in The Bad Seed. This is essentially a sequel where McCormack has grown up and become a mother
Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995)
Disfigured Avenging Superhero
The first of two video-released sequels to Sam Raimi’s Darkman now starring Arnold Vosloo in the title role. This also brings back Larry Drake as the villain Durant
Batman Forever (1995)
Comic-Book Superhero
Tim Burton’s superlative duo of Batman films were wrecked after Joel Schumacher took up the director’s chair and turned the films into giant camp fests. Here he allows a madly overacting Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones loose as the villains
Project Shadowchaser III (1995)
Shapechanging Killer Android
Third in the series about android terrorists, this is now about an amok android on a spaceship
Species (1995)
Alien Sex Fiend
Slick and rather silly copy of Alien that conceptually cross-hatches it to emerge as essentially Basic Instinct with tentacles
The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1995)
Animation/Talking Dinosaurs
The fourth of The Land Before Time animated films about talking dinosaurs, having been made for very young children
Jumanji (1995)
Chaos-Unleashing Boardgame
A popular Robin Williams starring hit about a boardgame that unleashes jungle-themed chaos in a small town. A cute effects-driven idea that ultimately becomes an incredibly safe fantasy
Screamers (1995)
Evolved Androids/Planetary Journey/Philip K. Dick Adaptation
Modest and underrated Philip K. Dick adaptation that builds reasonable atmosphere during its journey across a planet and doubt as to who among the party might be one of a breed of evolving androids
Black Scorpion (1995)
Masked Superheroine
Following Michelle Pfeiffer’s turn as Cat Woman in Batman Returns, this was a copycat from Roger Corman in which Joan Severance becomes a black vinyl clad superheroine exacting justice
Josh Kirby … Time Warrior! The Human Pets (1995)
Juvenile Adventures Through Time
This was the second and weakest of the Josh Kirby juvenile time travel adventures that takes the young hero and companions to a future where they are enslaved by giants
Josh Kirby … Time Warrior! Planet of the Dino-Knights (1995)
Juvenile Adventures Through Time
This was the first and one of the weaker of the generally quite likeable films from Charles Band about the time-travelling adventures of a juvenile hero
Balto (1995)
Animation/Talking Husky Dogs
One of the better animated films produced by Amblin, this is based on the true story of a husky rescue in Alaska, albeit turned into a film where the dogs now talk
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Slasher Film
The sixth of the Halloween films, the fifth with Michael Myers. By now John Carpenter’s original eerie suspense has been reduced to crude slasher movie payoffs. This tries to add some nonsense about druidic cults
The Mangler (1995)
Possessed Laundry Press/Stephen King Adaptation
The single worst Stephen King adaptation ever made. Director Tobe Hooper fails to approach the story of a possessed laundry press with the same drollness that King did and inflates it into something ridiculous
The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995)
Animation/Talking Dinosaurs
Third of The Land Before Time animated films about talking dinosaurs, made for very young children
Cyborg Cop III (1995)
Killer Android
A completely ridiculous action film (that features no cyborg cops) and instead concerns the attempts to create an army of cyborgs using insect DNA
Babe (1995)
Talking Animals
Runaway hit produced by George Miller of Mad Max fame that conducts what in any other terms would be an animated talking animals film in live-action with CGI and animatronics. The results are utterly charming.
GoldenEye (1995)
James Bond Film
The 17th James Bond film, the first featuring Pierce Brosnan who gives a dazzlingly ruthless performance. The series is rebooted and takes the opportunity to reconstruct the mythos in terms of modern politics in ways that often take you aback
The Net (1995)
Cyber-Thriller
Film that tried to jump aboard the newly arrived paradigm of the internet but is mostly a cliched thriller about Sandra Bullock trying to recover her erased identity
Nemesis 3: Time Lapse (1995)
Time-Travelling Killer Cyborgs
The third of Albert Pyun’s Nemesis films about time-travelling cyborgs – not much plot just action scenes and some moments of undeniable strangeness
Gamera, The Guardian of the Universe (1995)
Japanese Monster Movie
Here Shusuke Kaneko revived the Gamera series of the 1960s/70s with a series of stunning effects. The result promptly set a new standard for the Japanese monster movie
Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995)
Time-Travelling Killer Cyborgs
The first of several sequels Albert Pyun made to Nemesis. This copies The Terminator with bodybuilder Sue Price being pursued through East Africa by killer androids
It Came from Outer Space II (1995)
Alien Body Snatchers
It Came from Outer Space was one of the classics of the 1950s SF film. Here it was resurrected as a cable-made sequel. Without Jack Arnold or Ray Bradbury on board, the results are dreary
The Prophecy (1995)
War Between Angels
Standout film about angels warring on Earth that dispenses with any cutsie depiction of angels. Several sequels followed.
Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994)
Monster Movie
The Stan Winston directed Pumpkinhead was one of the genuinely original monster movies of the 1980s. This was the first of several video-released sequels
Phantasm III (1994)
Dream Horrors/Other-Dimensional Grave Robbers
The third of Don Soscarelli’s Phantasm films reunites many of the regulars and goes some way towards offering explanations for everything
Cyber Tracker (1994)
Action/Killer Law Enforcement Cyborg
Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson stars as a law enforcement officer pursued by killer androids in a blatant made-for-video action movie copy of the basics of The Terminator and RoboCop
The Swan Princess (1994)
Animated Fairy-Tale
Nicely animated film from Richard Rich that tells the story of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in which a princess is turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer
Guyver: Dark Hero (1994)
Power-Suit Superhero
Sequel to the live-action US-made adaptation of the manga about a power-suit superhero. As with the first film, there are lots of rubbery aliens and martial arts fights
The Return of Jafar (1994)
Disney Animation/Aladdin Sequel
A weak video-released spinoff of Disney’s Aladdin that began Disney’s habit throughout the 90s/00s of generating cheap sequels to their animated classics
The Mask (1994)
Zany Comic-Book Superhero
Comic-book adaptation featuring a ballistically OTT Jim Carrey who becomes a zany figure of chaos whenever he puts on a mask. The film has been designed to emulate cartoon physics but its lack of any grounding reality proves annoying
Timecop (1994)
Time Police
Film featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a temporal police officer. While you expect another time travel action film, this has quite a deal more sophistication in the scripting department than you expect
The Lion King (1994)
Disney Animation/Talking Animals
One of the best films to come out of Disney’s animation renaissance during the 1990s, this uses all the studio as its disposal to create a work that is epic in its scope
The Jungle Book (1994)
Jungle Hero
The first of the Disney live-action remakes of their animated films. Stephen Sommers abandons the talking animals and gives us a film that it more Tarzan than Rudyard Kipling set in a lush fantasy version of India
Cyborg3 (1994)
Cyborgs on the Run
The second of Michael Schroeder’s sequels to Albert Pyun’s Cyborg both of which are better than the original. This does interesting things with the hokey idea of a pregnant android.
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994)
Backwoods Brutality
The third sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Usually reviled by fans, this is not unworthwhile, capped by a genuinely insane performance from a then-unknown Matthew McConaughey
Scanner Cop (1994)
Psychic Powers
Third of the sequels to Scanners, this stars Daniel Quinn as a police officer who discovers scanner abilities
Leprechaun 2 (1994)
Malevolent Leprechaun
The second in the Leprechaun series with Warwick Davis delivering a series of extremely silly novelty deaths accompanied by excruciating one-liners
Prehysteria! 2 (1994)
Baby Dinosaurs
The second and worst of Albert and Charles Band’s dinosaur films made for children, this suffers from the most pitiful and immobile effects of any film of the era
Cyborg Cop II (1994)
Action/Killer Cyborgs
From the height of the 90s RoboCop copycat video release, a sequel that this time pits DEA agent David Bradley up against an army of rogue cyborgs
Class of 1999 II: The Substitute (1994)
Killer Android Schoolteacher
A sequel to the killer android school teacher film Class of 1999. The sequel was made on a far lesser budget and is wrecked by an absurd twist ending
Project Shadowchaser II (1994)
Android Terrorist
Sequel to the ridiculous Project Shadowchaser, which has another android terrorist this time take over a nuclear power plant
When the Bough Breaks (1994)
Serial Killer Thriller
Strong and absorbing serial killer thriller with Ally Walker tracking a killer who severs children’s hands
The Hidden II (1994)
Body-Hopping Alien
The Hidden was a wittily enjoyable hit about body-hopping aliens. This is a cheap sequel that substantially reuses material from the first film, while missing everything that made the original work
Richie Rich (1994)
Comic-Book Rich Kid
From the producers of The Matrix, an adaptation of the classic comic-book about a lonely rich kid now made as a vehicle for Macaulay Culkin
Emmanuelle in Space: First Contact (1994)
Erotica/Alien Encounter
The original Emmanuelle was a supposedly autobiographical memoir about the sexual dalliances of a bored wife in Thailand. Here Emmanuelle is now abducted by aliens for further encounters
Dragonworld (1994)
Children's Dragon Film
One of the better films produced by Charles Band. Despite variable dragon effects, this is a children’s film that captures a genteel sense of innocence
Godzilla vs Space Godzilla (1994)
Japanese Monster Bash
Space Godzilla is one the strangest nemeses to turn up in these kaiju films – a blue counterpart of the Big G with a giant glowing mass of crystal on its shoulders. One of the more routine entries in the modern Godzilla series
Night of the Demons 2 (1994)
Campy Supernatural Retribution
Sequel to a film that few people remember, this is all campy one-liners and gory set-pieces conducted with a silliness that boggles the mind
The Fear (1994)
Evil Dummy
Rather confused film about people on a therapy retreat to confront their fears who then have to deal with a wooden dummy that has maybe come to life
Oblivion (1994)
Western on an Alien Planet
One of the best films from Full Moon Productions that locates a Western on another planet and manages a perfectly pitched homage to either genre
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Santa in Court
A John Hughes written remake of the classic Christmas film where a man (Richard Attenborough) claiming to be Santa ends up tried in court.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
Meta-Fictional A Nightmare on Elm Street Sequel
Seventh of the A Nightmare on Elm Street films where Wes Craven returns to direct the most remarkable of all the sequels, an extraordinary meta-fiction that takes place in the real world
The Flintstones (1994)
Prehistoric Comedy/Cartoon in Live-Action
The first in what later became a fad for replicating cartoon tv series as big-budget live-action films, this does an exacting live-action version of the Hanna-Barbera series
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Intergalactic Adventures
The first of the Star Trek: The Next Generation films is an odd affair that seems like a routine episode of the series that accidentally gained a big-screen budget. This crosses over with Classic Trek where William Shatner mugs his way through a grand old airing of Captain Kirk
The Kingdom (1994)
Haunted Hospital/Black Comedy
Danish tv mini-series co-directed by Lars von Trier set in a haunted hospital. This comes with a blacker-than-black sense of humour in its interwoven character strands plus moments that are genuinely eerie
The Neverending Story III (1994)
Adventures in a Fantasy Land
Abysmal third entry in the series. The creatures lack any conviction and everything is wrecked by taking the story out of Fantasia back to Earth amid hip contemporary jokes
The Santa Clause (1994)
Man Becomes Santa
Popular film with Tim Allen as a regular family man who is forced to become Santa. Several sequels followed.
The Crow (1994)
Resurrected Avenger/Graphic Novel Adaptation
Overshadowed by the tragedy of star Brandon Lee’s death on set, this is a beautifully dark and glistening Gothic tale of a murdered youth revived from the dead to attain vengeance against his killers. Several lesser sequels followed
Nightwatch (1994)
Morgue Attendant's Paranoia/Serial Killer
Gripping Danish thriller in which morgue attendant Nicholaj Coster Waldau finds a serial killer is playing games with him. Filled with paranoia, sharp twists and lashings of black humour
Stargate (1994)
Intergalactic Portal/Planetary Adventure
The first of Roland Emmerich’s special effects epics. Emmerich rehashes Erich von Daniken’s Ancient Astronauts theories but casts it as a planetary adventure on an epic canvas with surprisingly entertaining results
Highlander III: The Sorceror (1994)
Immortal Combat
The third Highlander film is better than the abysmal second one was. It comes with slick visuals but an often absurd plot that strains to spin the concept out any further
The Visitors (1993)
Time-Travel Comedy
Hilarious French comedy where a filthy Mediaeval knight and his servant are transported into the present-day
Puppet Master 4 (1993)
Malevolent Dolls
The fourth in Charles Band’s most popular series about a group of malevolent dolls. This turns the dolls into good guys and adds an Ancient Egyptian deity who despatches a Terminator robot against them
Cyborg Cop (1993)
Action/Killer Cyborg
A low-budget action copy of RoboCop starring David Bradley as a DEA agent up against drug lord John Rhys-Davies who has transformed his brother into a cyborg
Ghoulies IV (1993)
Malevolent Satanic Creatures
The fourth and final of the Ghoulies films. This one comes from B-budget hack Jim Wynorski who seems to not be taking any of the show seriously
Faraway, So Close! (1993)
Angels
Wim Wenders returns to angels in this sequel to Wings of Desire, along with most of the cast. Again Wenders delivers a work of haunting beauty about the angels invisibly looking in on humanity
Addams Family Values (1993)
Kinky Perverse Family
Sequel to the live-action Addams Family film that reunites the same cast who fine-tune their roles, while the black comedy has an even more barbed bite second time around
Witchboard 2 (1993)
Malevolent Spirit Conjured by an Ouija Board
Way back before Blumhouse’s Ouija and the subsequent cheap ouija-titled films, there was the 80s horror Witchboard, which proved popular enough that it produced two sequels starting with this
Jurassic Park (1993)
Genetically-Engineered Dinosaurs Amok
An enormous hit for Steven Spielberg who took new emergent CGI technologies and wowed audiences with dinosaurs brought to life in dazzlingly realistic detail. It doesn’t hurt that he delivers a relentlessly suspenseful film too
Iron Monkey (1993)
Hong Martial Arts/Masked Hero
Martial arts film from legendary Hong Kong action coordinator Yuen Wo Ping (behind the fight scenes in The Matrix). Essentially a Wu Xia version of Robin Hood and worth watching for Yuen’s amazing action scenes
Karate Cop (1993)
Post-Holocaust Action
A really cheap and unconvincing post-apocalyptic action film starring forgotten martial arts star Ron Marchini as a lawman fighting off mutant crazies to obtain a power crystal
Swordsman III: The East is Red (1993)
Hong Kong Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
The third in the Hong Kong Wu Xia/flying swordsman series. After a sensational second entry, this one figures it has to top it, resulting in some utterly whacko scenes even by the usually OTT, anything-goes standards of Hong Kong fantasy
Nemesis (1993)
Cyberpunk/Cyborg Takeover
Albert Pyun’s finest film. It is another of his standard killer cyborg films but comes with an often hauntingly written gritty Cyberpunk edge that makes it quite unique
Prehysteria! (1993)
Baby Dinosaurs
In the aftermath of the success of Jurassic Park, Albert and Charles Band quickly responded with this children’s dinosaur film that contains some of the most pitiful effects in any film of this era
Weekend at Bernie’s II (1993)
Resurrected Corpse Comedy
The first Weekend at Bernie’s had the lame concept of two jerks forced to pretend that their boss’s body was still alive. For the sequel, the body is resurrected by voodoo
Hard Target (1993)
Human Hunting for Sport/Action
John Woo made his US debut with this Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle, which is essentially an urban version of The Most Dangerous Game. Woo’s stylised action set-ups give a slight script a dynamism that blows his contemporaries away
RoboCop 3 (1993)
Cyborg Cop
The third Robocop film killed the series off with a disastrous decision to go for a PG rating and pair Robocop with a cute kid
Dollman Vs. the Demonic Toys (1993)
Miniature Cop vs Satanic Dolls
Full Moon production that offers the novelty of bringing together their Dollman and Demonic Toys franchises, although nearly a third of the film is comprised of recycled footage from said films
Philadelphia Experiment II (1993)
Alternate History/Nazis Rule
A sequel to The Philadelphia Experiment where Brad Johnson is thrown into an alternate timeline where the Nazis have overtaken the USA
When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)
Babysitter Stalker
When a Strange Calls is one of the overlooked entries of the original slasher fad but was quite a hit in its day. This is a forgotten sequel that does some undeniably interesting things with the basics.
Carnosaur (1993)
Genetically-Engineered Dinosaurs Amok
A Roger Corman produced cheapie about genetically engineered dinosaurs that was quickly rushed out to exploit the success of Jurassic Park. Corman went on to make two sequels
The Bride With White Hair (1993)
Hong Kong Swordsmen Fantasy
Classic Hong Kong Wu Xia film featuring much aerial swordplay and lushly dressing/lighting but also a work of wildly uneven tone
A Warrior’s Tragedy (1993)
Hong Kong Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
Entry from they heyday of Hong Kong’s Wu Xia cycle. By this point, the moves had become so over-the-top the film verges on the cartoonish, all with rather entertaining results
Fortress (1993)
Future Prison
Stuart Gordon, a cult director on the basis of Re-Animator, ventures into making an SF action film set in a futuristic prison. The film has a bone-headed script that feels like it is only rehashing cliches from every SF film