Author: Jeff Mitchell

Movie of the Week: ‘Dave’

Jeff Mitchell

“Dave” (1993) – U.S. President Bill Mitchell suffers a stroke and lies in a coma, so Chief of Staff Bob Alexander (Frank Langella) and Communications Director Alan Reed (Kevin Dunn) have a local employment agency manager, Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline), impersonate the president…for a while.  You see, Dave is Bill Mitchell’s uncanny doppelganger, but pretending to be the leader of the free world?  That sounds frightening, but not as scary as attempting to convince First Lady Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), who carries the gravitas of a U.S. president herself.  While…

31 Scary Movies that are 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon: ‘Motel Hell’

Jeff Mitchell

“Motel Hell” (1980) – Vincent (Roy Calhoun) and Ida Smith (Nancy Parsons) are a brother and sister team who run a motel in the countryside.  Vincent sports a southern accent of sorts, but Ida’s might be placed somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic.    Anyways, their lodging doesn’t sit off a busy highway, but a winding road with a marsh close by, and the accommodations look low budget.  In fact, the second “O” flickers on the MOTEL HELLO sign, so it reads MOTEL HELL.  For folks who unfortunately attempt to drive by,…

31 Scary Movies that are 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon: ‘The Stepfather’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Stepfather” (1987) – Hey, being a stepparent is hard, but in 86 minutes, director Joseph Ruben explains his view: a stepchild’s world is more difficult…because a kid may have to fend for his or her life.  Add an unsuspecting spouse to the list too! Seventeen years before Terry O’Quinn starred in “Lost” (2004 – 2010), he infamously played Jerry Blake, a husband to Susan (Shelley Hack) and a stepdad to Stephanie (Jill Schoelen).  This teenager never warmed up to Jerry – over the course of a year – despite…