Shawnee Smith Archives

I Saw What You Did (1988)

Rating: ★★

Jul 3, 2019Prank Phonecall Psycho-Thriller

TV movie remake of a 1960s psycho-thriller about two girls making prank calls and uttering the title phrase - only to inadvertently call a killer. The premise makes a lot more sense updated to the 80s

Director: Fred Walton

Actors: Shawnee Smith, Tammy Lauren, Robert Carradine, David Carradine, …

Category: Horror

3 July 201922 June 2021 by Roog

The Blob (1988)

Rating: ★★★

Aug 6, 2000Monster Movie

The original 1958 The Blob gets a full makeover via some sensational state-of-the-art animatronics and makeup effects with impressive results. A much superior work to the original in all ways

Director: Chuck Russell

Actors: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Joe Seneca, Donovan Leitch, …

Category: Science Fiction

6 August 200028 December 2025 by Roog

The Stand (1994)

Rating: ★

Jul 1, 2019Showdown Between the Forces of Good and Evil After the Collapse of Civilisation/Stephen King Adaptation

The Stand is regarded as Stephen King's best novel, an epic that depicts the final showdown between good and evil in the aftermath of civilisation. The mini-series adaptation was alas placed into the ham fists of one of King's worst adapters. Mick Garris

Director: Mick Garris

Actors: Gary Sinise, Jamey Sheridan, Adam Storke, Rob Lowe, …

Category: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

1 July 20193 March 2021 by Roog

Carnival of Souls (1998)

Rating: ★

Nov 17, 2000Haunting and Hallucination

Carnival of Souls was rediscovered as a cult classic in the 1980s. Then there was this remake that misses all of the haunted mood of the original in favour of makeup effects jumps and reality blurrings that make no sense

Director: Adam Grossman

Actors: Bobbie Phillips, Larry Miller, Shawnee Smith, Paul Johansson

Category: Horror

17 November 200028 November 2023 by Roog

Saw (2004)

Rating: ★★★★★

Nov 16, 2004Killer's Sadistic Games

Forget the grim and sadistic sequels that followed, this low-budget directorial debut from James Wan is a masterwork that conjures unbearable dread and tension in its study of characters forced to consider the horribly inconceivable

Director: James Wan

Actors: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Leigh Whannell, Michael Emerson, …

Category: Horror

16 November 200426 January 2020 by Roog

Saw II (2005)

Rating: ★★

Nov 13, 2005Killer's Sadistic Games

The first sequel to the sleeper success of Saw where Darren Lynn Bousman inherits the director's chair but delivers a film that lacks the torturous suspense that James Wan gave the original

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Actors: Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Franky G, …

Category: Horror

13 November 200517 April 2025 by Roog

Saw III (2006)

Rating: ★★

Feb 11, 2007Killer's Sadistic Games

Third of the Saw films and the point where director Darren Lynn Bousman places the series' focus on grim gore-drenched sadism and torture

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Actors: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus MacFayden, Dina Meyer, …

Category: Horror

11 February 20073 November 2023 by Roog

Saw VI (2009)

Rating: ★★

Nov 2, 2009Killer's Sadistic Games

Sixth time around and the backstory is starting to become so excessively complicated it is hard to follow what is going on. All the gruesome torturings now seem passe, although this does redeem itself somewhat in making a few black digs at the medical health industry

Director: Kevin Greutert

Actors: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Peter Outerbridge, …

Category: Horror

2 November 20098 June 2021 by Roog

The Grudge 3 (2009)

Rating: ★★

Oct 30, 2019Haunting

The Ju-on/The Grudge series has spawned thirteen films to date. This was the second sequel to the English-language remake but by this point everything disappears into formulaic scares

Director: Toby Wilkins

Actors: Johanna Braddy, Gil McKinney, Emi Ikehata, Shawnee Smith, …

Category: Horror

30 October 201926 February 2026 by Roog