Wes Craven

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Wes Craven’s legendary franchise returns this weekend with a decade since its last installment and to a genre that has been almost entirely bereft of creativity since its director started to lose his prominence as one of its best. Can “Scre4m” rejuvenate the slasher genre like the first film did or will it fall victim to the rule that horror sequels almost always suck?

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Dennis Illiadis’ remake of “The Last House on the Left” is the exception the proves the rule that most horror movie remakes are a complete waste of time. With an incredible performance by Garret Dillahunt (“Deadwood,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and great supporting work by Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Tony Goldwyn, and others, “Last House” is the best mainstream horror movie in a long time.

CHICAGO – Master horror filmmaker George A. Romero is back for the fifth installment of his “Dead” series as what began with 1968’s “Night of the Living Dead” has fast-forwarded to “Diary of the Dead”. This time, Romero takes on the modern soul deadening of staring at screens and includes the constant navel gazing of videotaping, computers and the instant playback that has become our lives.