The Runestone (1991)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Just another monster on the loose feature, no surprises abound and routine as ever but remains entertaining for while it lasted. Never have I heard of it, until just recently. You could possibly see why. Far from memorable, but it's well made and its stark-like b-grade material (adapted off a novel) is quite polished. Fans of "The Relic" or even "Rawhead Rex" might get something out of it. Where I give it props is the origin of the mythological beast, Norse (Viking) folklore and the creation was something like a werewolf crossed ape design. Formidable in appearance, while it goes about tearing flesh, taking bites and for most part staying in the shadows. Even with this ancient prophecy background, some things felt a little unclear (like that of Alexander Godunov's mysterious stranger clockmaker character) if too black and white. The plot follows that of an archaeologist who uncovers an ancient Norse artifact; a power stone and returns to New York with it. However this stone possesses an evil which projects itself into the archaeologist, transforming him into a vicious beast that goes about terrorising the people of New York. Now it's up to an archaeologist and his artist wife to begin to investigate the threat and figure a way to stop it. It's as simple as that, but director / writer Willard Carroll's methodical handling is stylishly glassy and well-paced in its clichéd structure. Creating some moments of suspense, with grisly jolts and dark atmospheric encounters consisting of brooding lighting amongst its urban framework. The performances are strongly delivered with the likes of Peter Riegert (providing touches of humour) and Joan Severance standing out. You also have character actor William Hickey and the always hard-boiled Lawrence Tierney in small, but important parts."I'm sure there's a logical explanation to all of this"

One part end-of-the-world thriller, two parts werewolf-like nocturnal beast on the rampage horror picture, and all parts quick-moving, animated, get right down to business butt-stomping fun, this hugely enjoyable romp makes for a most pleasant surprise. An ancient rhunestone that's the prison for a centuries old clawed, fanged, highly lethal lupine humanoid monster gets unearthed in a Pennsylvannia coal mine. When the gigantic rock is sent to New York City so it can be displayed in an art gallery, naturally our hairy, hulking, none too friendly or sociable whatchamathingie wakes up from its lengthy slumber and boy is he one grumpy SOB! Pretty soon it's racking up a hefty corpse tally as a gruesome preliminary to a possible apocalypse said beast is a harbinger of. Of course, your usual colorfully mixed bag of courageous protagonists -- skeptical artist Joan Severance, her hunky boyfriend Tim Ryan, plucky teen Chris Young, and eccentric clockmaker Alexander Godunov -- have to stop this vicious critter or it's curtains for us all, baby! Besides the inspired and imaginative handy dandy multi-genre combo narrative which scores bonus novelty points for making Armageddon part of a Nordic prophecy rather than the standard hackneyed Christian religious hooey, this surprisingly well-produced and energetically executed little number further benefits from William Carroll's brisk, capable direction, a steady, unflagging forward-ho pace, David Newman's rousing score, some nice witty touches, a cool monster, handsome photography, several lively kill scenes, and a properly spooky atmosphere that positively reeks with ominous portent. The performances are uniformly stellar as well, with Peter Riegert giving a wonderfully rough-edged portrayal of a coarse, irascible, candy-noshing homicide detective and delightfully crusty cameos by Lawrence Tierney as a gruff police chief, William Hickey as a flaky elderly mythology expert, and Arthur Malet as an amiably yappy fuddy dud museum curator. Dynamic, thrilling and refreshingly bereft of any needless pretense or condescending campy humor, this vastly entertaining and charmingly old-fashioned fright film overall rates as one completely worthwhile and satisfying bloodthirsty behemoth on the loose in the Big Apple horror blast.

When I started watching this I thought it was going to be really boring and didn't pay much attention to what was going on. However, it seems that The Runestone is one of those films that improves as it goes on, because things seemed to pick up in the second half. The mystery surrounding the monster slowly sucks you in. The best scene is in the art museum, where a girl is doing some ironing (in a display box thingy) and people are watching her. Suddenly the monster bursts in and attacks her, and blood sprays across the windows. One of the people watching then says: "What's the artist trying to say?" to which another replies "Housework kills". The monster then bursts through the glass and attacks them too. This scene is priceless and definitely worth seeing the film for! There are a few other cool scenes after this which keep you watching. The acting is quite decent and better than most horror flicks. Overall, The Runestone is worth a watch for horror fans who can tolerate a bit of cheese.

The miners discover strange runestone in the mine.The runestone is transported to New York.Not long after that an archaeologist Martin Almquist,while studying a discovery,cuts his finger and becomes a blood-thirsty monster.This creature-on-the-loose flick isn't very good,but isn't completely bad either.The film tries to be scary and exciting at the same time,some lines are also pretty funny.No gore at all-for me the lack of blood is disappointing.The acting is acceptable,the monster is creepy looking and kills so many cops that it has to be seen to be believed.Good for the rainy day,just don't expect anything special.My rating:5/10.