The Money Pit (1986)

"Ahh, home crap home!"

There's nothing quite like piling a whole ton of stress upon lovable characters and watching them fall apart for comedy value. All it took was a disasterous holiday to nearly smash up the Griswalds perfect relationship. A few days travelling home together for Thanksgiving to drive both Neal Page and Del Griffith to each others throats. The fun comes from seeing how far our fictional friends can be pushed before their limits of acceptance is reached and the gloves come off. Our empathy towards these characters is always strong; we don't really want to see them break up (or break each other up), as deep down the fears and anxieties that they have to go through are ones we will probably all have to deal with in real life, minus the hilarious consequences of course. Who hasn't had a holiday go pear shaped? Who hasn't had a lengthy trip home meet serious delays and frustration?

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Saturday the 14th (1981)

"When I get that book, I will rule the world! Think of it - famine! War! Death!"

Saturday the 14th and its sequel - Saturday the 14th Strikes Back - were always sat on the dustiest, darkest part of the video shop shelf. No doubt the film did enough business on its initial release (especially to warrant a sequel) but by the time I was stalking the aisles they probably hadn't been touched, let alone rented, in years. Still, what could be more appealling than that video cover to a ten year old? Well, a ten year old like me, I guess. It has everything you could want; Terror! Monsters! Artist interpretations of what the film is about! And hey, promises of an outrageous horror-comedy spoof!

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