**

Medical student Susan Wheeler attempts to unravel the baffling mystery of several cases of unexplained coma at Memorial Hospital in Boston, rapidly uncovering a vast, sinister conspiracy that puts her own life in danger. Sounds exciting, but after a promising beginning, Cook undermines the whole thing with his ludicrous characterization of Susan (and everyone else in the book), incompetent criminals, and the logical union of both: laughably unbelievable crisis resolutions. It's too bad, too, because the plot is genuinely disturbing. At least the medical portions are realistic and fun, in a queasy, glad-it's-not-me sort of way.

****

Pre-Code romantic comedy-drama starring barely-18-year-old Marian Marsh as Margie, whose girlish dreams of marriage are assaulted by life on the poorer side of the big city and shattered when her older sister announces she wants a divorce.  “I’ve made up my mind,” Margie says, “that any time I hand myself to a man for life, it’s cash on delivery” — a sentiment that doesn’t sit well with love-struck boyfriend Jimmy (Regis Toomey), but finds favor with rich playboy Raymond (Warren William).  Rife with unpunished immorality and snappy dialogue.  Grim and fascinating, yet also funny and fast-paced.

***

Literary horror novel about a stir-crazy woman who convinces her husband, son, and her husband's elderly aunt to take a suspiciously affordable mansion as a summer home, not realizing at first that the house has plans of its own.  Marasco skimps a bit too much -- on plot (very little actually happens) and on character (the husband, for example, is frustratingly and incomprehensibly weak) -- to entirely succeed in his main objective, which is a sense of mounting dread, but at its best the novel is both suspenseful and frightening.  Marked by Stephen King as a "particularly important" work, and it is perhaps no surprise that his own work -- especially The Shining -- echoes Marasco's ideas and style (though King would improve upon them both). Made into a film in 1976.

**

South Korean horror film about two sisters who are convinced their stepmother means them harm and decide to fight back.  Nothing, however, is what it first appears to be in this jigsaw of a movie that spends so much time establishing its creepy atmosphere that, when the revelations finally start coming, it becomes one momentum-killing flashback after another during its interminable conclusion.  The cinematic equivalent of an incoherent joke followed by an explanation.  Not that there aren't some nice moments -- involving ghostly scares and human cruelty -- but something is obviously wrong when a horror movie's principal accomplishment is leaving you thinking you understand the plot.  More or less.  Remade in America as The Uninvited (2009).

*

Generic muddle about a cop chasing a serial killer/kidnapper.  Makes so little sense, director O’Neill has to go back and show us all the clues leading to its just-because-we-can ending, though all that gets clarified is just how bad and illogical this film is.  “Inspired by” true events, which would appear to be a mixture of the Joseph Fritzl and Gary Heidnik cases, with some Manson-like brainwashing thrown in to glue it all together.  John Cusack plays every maverick cop ever, breaking things, beating people up, and doggedly pursuing his goal until, of course, he brilliantly solves the case.  The best line in the film occurs during the Christmas season, when a young boy whose older sister has been kidnapped asks his mom, “If Abby doesn’t come back, do I get her presents?”  What should have been a poignant moment is notable only for its comedy.  A dismal effort all around.

***

Genial hit-and-miss parody, aimed rather more at the Universal Frankenstein films of the 1930s than Mary Shelley's book.  Gene Wilder plays the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, who overcomes the shame of his famous forebears (he pronounces his name "Fronkensteen") when he discovers Victor's notes and realizes he can reanimate dead tissue, ultimately creating his own "monster" (Peter Boyle).  Marty Feldman and Teri Garr assist.  Very funny in spots -- Gene Hackman's turn as a lonely blind man is a particular highlight -- but the humor is so compartmentalized, much of it either works for you or it doesn't.  Black and white.

**

Schoolboy science fiction fantasy that is as aggressive as it is repetitious.  Ender Wiggin, a brilliant young boy being groomed as a military commander for a war with aliens, solves one new problem after another as he tackles a series of games and mock battles designed to teach him tactics, strategy, and command. Losing is not an option; neither is any limit to Ender’s ability. So each “test” is a fait accompli, and it’s just a matter of how many of them Orson Scott Card can cram into 300 pages.  Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novel.  Must have been a bad year.

**

Human trafficking crime drama — about Eden (Jamie Chung), an 18 year old Korean-American girl who is kidnapped and forced into prostitution by a corrupt lawman (Beau Bridges) and his young crack-smoking assistant (Matt O’Leary) — confuses intelligence and resourcefulness with selfish opportunism, squandering all the sympathy we have for the girl immediately following her abduction.  Based on the lies of a woman named Chong Kim, whose story evidently was taken at face value by the filmmakers and only later shown to be fantasy when it was investigated by Breaking Out, an anti-trafficking non-profit organization.  The movie, however, retains the “based on a true story” title which, ironically, is more accurate here than in some other cases, as Kim appears to share the same vile personality traits as Eden.  For those who think making us hate inherently hateful people is an accomplishment.  Also known as Abduction of Eden.

*

Fashion model Jennifer Tree (Elisha Cuthbert) is kidnapped and tortured by mysterious Saw-like serial killer. Even dumber than Saw. Cohen and Tura treat believability like Jack the Ripper treated women. With characters who have no discernibly human psychologies and a torture house that would confuse M.C. Escher. See Elisha forced to drink puréed body parts. Or better yet — don’t.