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BLOODY MUSCLE: BODYBUILDER IN HELL (2012) DVD Review

October 21, 2019, 3:30 pm
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Bloody Muscle: Bodybuilder in Hell (2012) d. Shinichi Fukazawa (Japan) (62 min) (1st viewing)

Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 19
Total First Time Views: 9
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,510.88

Shinji (Shinichi Fukazawa) is a young and hunky gent who likes to lift the weights and take care of his body, but he’s also the kind of guy who picks up the phone when his ex-girlfriend (Masaki Kai) calls asking him if she can take photos of his deceased father’s supposedly haunted love nest to see if anything spectral shows up. He’s also the type to drive over with said ex-girlfriend and a rent-a-spiritualist medium (Asako Nosaka) to open the door so they can check the place out. And he’s definitely the type to kick some demon/zombie ass should the occasion arise, which it does in very short order.


Literally also known as “The Japanese Evil Dead” on the poster art, writer/director star Fukazawa wears his adoration for Sam Raimi’s breakout film on his bloody sleeve (which has promptly been torn off and thrown to the floor to show off his awesome bulging guns), which is to say that it’s more fan-film redux than ripoff. Using the same low-tech gore effects and aggressive camera movements as its inspiration, the story revolves around a trio of young adults taking turns being possessed by evil spirits and either attacking and/or fending off their companions nonstop for the majority of its satisfyingly brief runtime.


There is no real plot: Dad murdered his mistress and buried her beneath the floorboards and, 30 years later, she’s super pissed about it. What there are are MOMENTS, and some of those moments are pretty darn entertaining, such as the “knife through the eyeball and back” stunt and the disembodied foot attack that almost matches Ash’s metacarpal mayhem from Evil Dead II. There are prolonged blood-spattered sequences and a lot of flexing, Bruce Campbell quoting, and fisticuffs and footicuffs aplenty.


Is Bloody Muscle a good movie? Probably not. But, then again, many could argue that Raimi’s debut is no great cinema shakes either, intrinsically speaking, surviving purely on youthful energy and long, stringy guts. Is it silly? Absolutely. Is it enjoyable? The enthusiastic crowd assembled at the Music Box of Horrors Saturday night certainly thought so. If you’re looking for an Asian twist on an old favorite, your search is over, friends.






At present, it looks like the only home video release available is an R2 DVD from Terra Cotta from 2017, although I’m fairly sure Wild Eye Releasing was the logo before our DCP screening, so drop them a line and see if they plan to drop this baby on shiny silver disc anytime soon.

http://www.terracottadistribution.com/films/bloody-muscle-body-builder-in-hell/






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THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968) Blu-ray Review

October 22, 2019, 11:32 am
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 20
Total First Time Views: 9
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,595.20

The Devil Rides Out (aka The Devil's Bride) (1968) d. Terence Fisher (UK) (95 min) (3rd viewing)

The debonair Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) has been entrusted with the care of his deceased friend's son, Simon Aron (Patrick Mower). The Duc discovers that the young man has been seduced into joining a satanic cult headed by the diabolic Mocata (Charles Gray), who is intent on making Simon and the lovely Tanith Carlisle (Nike Arrighi) card-carrying disciples of the Devil. Having rescued Simon from a bloodied ritual with the aid of his friend Rex (Leon Greene), de Richleau is pursued by Mocata, who will stop at nothing to destroy the Duc and his friends, even summoning the Angel of Death itself.


In one of his personal favorite roles, Lee plays against type, heroically leading a small band of friends against Gray’s nefarious cult of Satanic worshippers. Richard Matheson’s crisp screenplay condenses Dennis Wheatley’s novel of black magic while remaining admirably faithful to the source material in word and tone.


Fisher’s direction is fluid and atmospheric, and while some of the effects are dated today, the committed cast manages to generate a palpable sense of dread and tension, particularly when fending off powers of evil from within a chalked-out pentagram.


With several pillars of the studio’s technical team playing at the top of their form (Bernard Robinson’s art direction, James Bernard’s outstanding musical score, Arthur Grant’s cinematography, and James Needs on board as supervising editor) and a top-caliber cast, this remains one of the shining (if lesser known) jewels in Hammer’s crown.



BONUS FEATURES:

NEW 2K Scan of the 20th Century Fox Interpositive

Alternate Version: The Studio Canal Restored Master

NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman, filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr, and author/screenwriter Richard Christian Matheson

Archival audio commentary with actors Christopher Lee and Sarah Lawson

NEW “Satanic Shocks” with author/film historian Kim Newman (30 min)

NEW “Folk Horror Goes Haywire” with author/film historian Jonathan Rigby (24 min)

“Black Magic: The Making of The Devil Rides Out” (35 min)

“Dennis Wheatley at Hammer” (13 min)

World of Hammer TV episode “Hammer” (26 min)

Theatrical Trailers

Still Gallery







The Devil Rides Out is available October 29 on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be pre-ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-devil-rides-out?product_id=7201






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THE BLOB (1988) Blu-ray Review

October 23, 2019, 7:19 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 21
Total First Time Views: 9
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,737.96

The Blob (1988) d. Chuck Russell (USA) (95 min) (3rd viewing)

Small-town America comes under attack when a mysterious meteorite crashes outside Arborville city limits, unleashing an all-consuming gelatinous mass that devours any living creature it comes in contact with while growing at an exponential rate. Among the residents in its ravenous path are football hero Paul (Donovan Leitch), cheerleader Meg (Shawnee Smith), motorcycle-riding tough Brian (Kevin Dillon), stern-but-fair sheriff Herb Geller (Jeffrey DeMunn), and everyone’s favorite diner waitress Fran (Candy Clark). Without shape or remorse, the monstrous menace appears unstoppable, and the government troops sent in to protect seem more concerned with corralling and hushing up a very dangerous secret than with protecting the local citizens.


When the subject of sci-fi and/or horror remakes arises, as it is often wont to do in these creatively bankrupt times, there are always a few quick exceptions cited to soothe the raging mob: Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986). Chuck Russell’s reimagining of another classic monster movie, however, rarely enjoys the same critical or popular respect as its cinematic brethren, despite its groundbreaking practical special effects, empathetic characterizations, compact and energetic screenplay, spirited direction, and talented ensemble of players.


While displaying the same simplistic plotting and charm as the 1958 original, Russell and co-screenwriter Frank Darabont deliver warmer, more relatable characters – none of whom are safe from the oopy goopy rolling terror moving among them with insatiable impunity – and a more sinister backstory of the creature’s origins that shows us once again the scariest monster in the universe is the one staring back at us in the mirror or across the dinner table.


We experience genuine emotional loss as our heroes are messily digested before our eyes (the phone booth scene is particularly heartbreaking), courtesy of Tony Gardner’s gruesome makeup mayhem, and a legitimate “How’d they do that?” sense of wonder watching the Blob effects designed by Lyle Conway and executed by a crack team that included Christopher Gilman, Mark Setrakian, and Philip Bartko, among others.


Russell met Darabont while the two were working in separate capacities on the 1981 film Hell Night; they soon hit it off and knocked out the script for The Blob, inspired by Cronenberg’s critical and commercial success. While shopping the project to New Line Cinema, with the intent of it being Russell’s directorial debut, Robert Shaye instead offered Russell the big chair for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (for which Darabont and Russell subsequently delivered that script). When the film turned out to be a huge financial hit, Russell was given the green light by Tri-Star to bring his Blob-ular vision to the big screen.


The cast is comprised of familiar faces to genre fans, with Shawnee Smith joining the Saw franchise in 2004, Leitch starring opposite a young Brad Pitt in the 1989 slasher Cutting Class, DeMunn showing up in The Hitcher, The Mist, and all the way back to 1980’s Christmas Evil, Clark’s winning turn in Larry Cohen’s Q: The Winged Serpent and the less-winning Amityville 3D, and Paul “the melting guy from Robocop” McCrane as DeMunn’s hapless deputy. Even Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, Devil’s Rejects) has a brief appearance as one of the more panicky Hazmat-suited soldiers.


As far as pure enjoyment goes, this makes for a dandy double feature with the 1958 original, being different enough to be a complementary experience, and Shout! Factory has delivered a fan’s dream with their recent Blu-ray release, featuring over FOUR HOURS of interviews and THREE AUDIO COMMENTARY TRACKS. (All special features are produced with quality and care by Justin Beahm’s Reverend Entertainment, although Joel Robinson’s newly commissioned cover art work leaves a bit to be desired, especially when the original poster images were much more memorable.)

BONUS FEATURES:

NEW Audio commentary with director Chuck Russell, special effects artist Tony Gardner, and cinematographer Mark Irwin, moderated by filmmaker Joe Lynch

NEW Audio commentary with actress Shawnee Smith

Archival audio commentary with director Chuck Russell, moderated by film producer Ryan Turek

NEW “It Fell From The Sky!” with director Chuck Russell (22 min)

NEW “I Killed the Strawberry Jam” with director Chuck Russell (27 min)

NEW “We Have Work To Do” with actor Jeffrey DeMunn (14 min)

NEW “Minding The Diner” with actress Candy Clark (17 min)

NEW “They Call Me Mellow Purple” with actor Donovan Leitch Jr. (15 min)

NEW “Try To Scream!” with actor Bill Moseley (19 min)

NEW “Shoot Him!” with cinematographer Mark Irwin (18 min)

NEW “The Incredible Melting Man” with special effects artist Tony Gardner (22 min)

NEW “Monster Math” with special effects supervisor Christopher Gilman (26 min)

NEW “Haddonfield To Arborville” with production designer Craig Stearns (21 min)

NEW “The Secret Of The Ooze” with mechanical designer Mark Setrakian (20 min)

NEW “I Want That Organism Alive!” with Blob mechanic Peter Abrahamson (12 min)

NEW “Gardner’s Grue Crew” (behind-the-scenes footage of Tony Gardner and his team) (28 min)

Theatrical Trailers

TV Spot

Still Gallery











The Blob will be available Oct 29 on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be pre-ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-blob-collector-s-edition?product_id=7200




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TERROR BENEATH THE SEA (1966) Movie Review

October 24, 2019, 3:30 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 22
Total First Time Views: 10
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,820.72

Terror Beneath the Sea (1966) d. Hajime Sato (Japan) (78 min) (1st viewing)

During a press conference/demonstration of a new guided underwater missile, a unidentified humanoid shape is viewed on the Navy’s closed-circuit television monitors. Their curiosity sparked, reporters Ken Abe (Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba) and Jenny Gleason (Peggy Neal) decide to explore the area with scuba gear the following day, where Jenny has a close encounter with a low-rent Gill-Man, even getting close enough to snap a photo, losing her camera in the struggle. When the Navy refuses to believe her story, she and Ken head back out, only to be kidnapped by a swarm of the creatures and taken to the underwater laboratory of the nefarious Dr. Moore (Erik Neilson), who has dreams and schemes of transforming humanity into an army of amphibian cyborgs under his control! It’s up to Ken and Jen to clock the doc before the trouble bubbles and our lives take a dive.


Two years before delivering the mind-melting Goke: Body Snatcher from Hell, director Sato helmed this derivative but thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi romp that happily riffs on the James Bond films (Dr. Moore could arguably be called a direct ancestor to Curd Jurgens’ sea-dreaming megalomaniac in The Spy Who Loved Me) as well as Millicent Patrick’s monster designs for Creature from the Black Lagoon, with a pinch of atomic paranoia for good measure.


Outside of the rubbery suits, the special effects primarily consist of time-lapse photography of the human subjects being slowly turned into scaly mechanical monstrosities that seemingly have three settings: “Rest,” “Work,” and “Fight.” The futuristic sets and miniatures by Shinichi Eno are deserving of note, as is Shinsuke Kikuchi’s groovy guitar-driven musical score.


Chiba, still nearly a decade out from becoming an international action superstar with his Street Fighter movies, is an amiable heroic presence, with Neal on hand as the requisite shrieking eye candy (though she does manage to pull off a few moments of derring-do between cringes and moans). The rest of the characters are equally distributed between Caucasian and Japanese actors, and deliver their B-movie best. (Though the film was shot in English, it appears that all the dialogue has been re-dubbed by other performers, including several sounding suspiciously like Paul Frees, though IMDb cannot confirm this.)


Surprisingly entertaining despite (or perhaps because of) its low-tech charms, this is a charming curio that should pass the time most pleasantly for fans of old-school monster delights.

Terror Beneath the Sea is available now streaming on Shout! Factory TV (and was also released on a bare bones DVD by DarkSky Films in 2005).

http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/terror-beneath-the-sea/5d8e870dc6816e5c0f8a9659







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THE HAUNTED STRANGER (1958) Movie Review

October 25, 2019, 5:26 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 23
Total First Time Views: 11
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,903.48

The Haunted Strangler (1958) d. Robert Day (UK) (78 min) (1st viewing)

Newgate Prison, 1860. The notorious serial killer Edward Styles, also known as “The Haymarket Strangler,” is hanged to death before a bloodthirsty crowd, denying with his last breath that he is guilty of the crimes. 20 years later, novelist James Rankin (Boris Karloff) sets out to prove that Styles was, in fact, innocent and that the surgeon who signed all the victims’ death certificates, Dr. Tennant, is actually the Strangler. With trusty companion Dr. Kenneth McColl (Tim Tuner), Rankin explores dusty hospital records filled with abandoned medical bags and raucous dance halls filled with saucy cancan girls, but the truth they uncover is more shocking than anyone could anticipate.


Though Karloff never really experienced a fallow period in his prolonged career, it had been several years since he had appeared onscreen in a full-on fright flick, keeping himself busy with stage and television projects. 1958 proved to be a return to form for the horror icon, appearing in no fewer than three genre efforts: Frankenstein 1970, Corridors of Blood (opposite rising star Christopher Lee), and this underrated thriller which sees the 69-year-old actor barreling through his paces with the energy of a man half his age.


It really is a magnificent vehicle and the last time we would see him performing with such vitality. Without the use of special makeup devices, Karloff grotesquely contorts his face and body, stalking the shadows and hurling society swells out of his path (all the more impressive considering, five years later, he was struggling to descend the long staircase in Roger Corman’s The Raven).


The film itself is equally taut and engaging, even if it does feel a little padded with dance sequences of lovely ladies flashing their bloomers at the roaring crowd. Vera Day (Quatermass 2) and Jean Kent memorably appear as two of the featured starlets, while character man Anthony Dawson (who played the silhouetted Blofeld in From Russian with Love and Thunderball and put in an appearance in the 1967 Bond spoof Operation Kid Brother) lends his considerable presence to the role of Police Superintendant Burke, friend and foil to Rankin in his quest.


In addition to directing Karloff here and in Corridors, Robert Day also helmed Hammer Films’ production of She, First Man Into Space, and the TV-movie Carrie rip-off The Initiation of Sarah, while producer John Croydon (who co-wrote Strangler with Jan Read from the latter’s original story) brought the highly enjoyable “ambulatory brains on the loose” sci-fi mini-classic Fiend Without a Face to the screen the same year.


While not enjoying the same luster as many of Karloff’s other horror projects, The Haunted Strangler is a solid and worthwhile effort. The Criterion Collection paired it with Corridors of Blood, The Atomic Submarine, and First Man Into Space as part of their Monsters and Madmen box set (spine #364, for those keeping track). Though said collection is currently out of print, you can find it streaming on Shout! Factory TV.



http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/the-haunted-strangler/5d927194fef27c5c278131a1







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THE OMEN (1976) Blu-ray Review

October 26, 2019, 7:35 am
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 24
Total First Time Views: 11
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,986.48

The Omen (1976) d. Richard Donner (111 min) (5th viewing)

While stationed in Italy, influential American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) receives the tragic news that the child born to his wife Katherine (Lee Remick) has died during childbirth. However, the kindly Father Spilletto (Martin Benson) suggests that the grieving father secretly adopt another baby – born the same night – and raise it up as his own. Five years later, Robert has been appointed U.S. Ambassador to England, he and Katherine are happy, and their son Damien (Harvey Stephens) is healthy and thriving. But following a series of strange, fatal accidents, Robert is compelled to investigate the circumstances surrounding Damien’s birth and, with the help of independent photojournalist Keith Jennings (David Warner), comes to believe that his son may in fact be the offspring of the Devil Himself.


The success of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist in 1973 sparked any number of cheapie imitations, spawning an entire subgenre of occult and possession-themed features. While at dinner one evening with his friend Robert Munger, aspiring film producer Harvey Bernhard hit upon the idea of an Inverted Nativity, i.e. what if the child of Satan were to be born and raised as a normal person as Jesus had been 2000 years prior?


Dashing off a ten-page treatment, Bernhard turned to writer David Seltzer, whose biggest credits to that point consisted of the 1975 tearjerker The Other Side of the Mountain and ghost-writing Walon Green’s Oscar-winning documentary The Hellstrom Chronicle and performing similar duties on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when author Roald Dahl proved too cantankerous (both 1971). Seltzer immersed himself in religious texts, especially the Book of Revelations, weaving an intricate but authentic-feeling tapestry where pure evil rises from within a place of seeming innocence.


Though he had been working in television since 1960, Donner had only directed a handful of theatrical features; when Seltzer’s script came his way, he recognized the property’s commercial potential and brought it to his friend Alan Ladd Jr. at 20th Century Fox who gave it the go-ahead. Not long after, they reached out to the semi-retired Peck who was reeling from the death of his son and desperately welcomed the distraction of work.


Peck’s star power lent the project legitimacy, leading to Remick, Warner, Billie Whitelaw (as Damien’s new nanny) and Patrick Troughton (as a fallen priest) coming aboard, not to mention a technical team that included celebrated cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (A Hard Day’s Night, Dr. Strangelove, Repulsion, Frenzy), editor Stuart Baird (Ken Russell’s Tommy), and special effects man John Richardson (Rollerball).


Even with all the proper players in place, the secret to The Omen’s success (in addition to a masterful marketing campaign) comes down to Donner’s insistence on adhering to a rigid universe of logic and plausibility; all of the bizarre tragedies surrounding the Thorns needed to be justifiable as pure coincidence and/or freak accidents, without any supernatural leanings. This grounding in reality, further anchored by Peck’s stolid authoritarian central presence, turned what could have been a schlocky exercise in exploitation into a prestige picture that demanded attention and (occasionally grudging) respect. Even critics who disliked the film could not argue its merits, with Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting choral-tinged score receiving the most praise (and an Academy Award).


Spawning two theatrical sequels, a made-for-TV sequel, a 2006 remake, and a 2016 television series (Damien), the influence of The Omen has been felt for over four decades, boosting the careers of many of its main players. Donner became a major Hollywood star, handling the reins for such successful ventures as Superman, The Goonies, Maverick, and the Lethal Weapon franchise, and Baird, in addition to becoming Donner’s go-to cutter, has handled the editing shears for Ladyhawke, Die Hard 2, Casino Royale, and Skyfall. Taylor went on to lens a little film called Star Wars, as well as Flash Gordon and John Badham’s Dracula, while Richardson did Aliens (for which he and his team won an Oscar), numerous 007 outings, and the Harry Potter movies.


Shout! Factory’s devilishly comprehensive five-disc The Omen Collection box-set is a supremely satisfying celebration of all things Damien and belongs on every horror fan’s Anti-Christmas wish list.

BONUS FEATURES:

4K Transfer from the original negative, approved by director Richard Donner
NEW Audio commentary with special project consultant Scott Michael Bosco (not-great audio, but very informative)
Audio commentary with director Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird
Audio commentary with director Richard Donner and filmmaker Brian Helgeland
Audio Commentary with film historians Lem Dobbs, Nick Redman, and Jeff Bond
Isolated Score Track
NEW “The Devil’s Word” with screenwriter David Seltzer (23 min)
NEW “It’s All For You” with actress Holly Palance (13 min)
NEW “The Devil’s Music” with composer Christopher Young (19 min)
Richard Donner on The Omen (14 min)
The Omen Revelations (24 min)
Curse or Coincidence? (6 min)
666: The Omen Revealed (46 min)
“Screenwriter’s Notebook” with writer David Seltzer (15 min)
Introduction by director Richard Donner (2006) (2 min)
Deleted “Dog Attack” scene (with commentary) (2 min)
An Appreciation by Wes Craven (20 min)
Jerry Goldsmith discusses The Omen score (18 min)
Trailers from Hell featuring commentary by filmmaker Larry Cohen (2 min)
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Radio Spots
Photo Galleries (behind the scenes, movie stills, posters, and lobby cards)










The Omen is available now on Blu-ray as part of Shout! Factory’s The Omen Collection box set (which also includes Damien: Omen II, The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening, and the 2006 remake) and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-omen-collection-deluxe-edition?product_id=7198




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WHITE OF THE EYE (1987) Blu-ray Review

October 27, 2019, 7:48 am
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 25
Total First Time Views: 12
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,069.00

White of the Eye (1987) d. Donald Cammell (USA) (110 min) (1st viewing)

When a serial killer begins stalking housewives within a wealthy and isolated desert community outside Tucson, AZ, audio technician Paul White (David Keith) is targeted as the prime suspect of the vicious mutilations. Charles Mendoza (Art Evans), the cagey CID agent called in on the case, isn’t entirely convinced our local sound expert is the killer; enlisting the assistance of Paul’s flinty wife Joan (Cathy Moriarity), the investigation unearths the seedy underbelly of the small town and the multitude of seemingly ordinary citizens who make up its population.


At a time when slick, erotic thrillers like Jagged Edge, Fatal Attraction, and The Morning After were gaining traction at the box office, this wildly off-kilter piece from writer/director Cammell (Performance, Demon Seed) refuses to be boxed in by conventional standards, defiantly kicking out against expectations. The result is a unique, intriguing effort that rewards viewers’ patience and open-mindedness by delivering a wealth of memorably bizarre Twin-Peaks-before-Twin-Peaks sequences and characters before its literally explosive finale leaves you breathlessly wondering (in the best possible way) what the hell you just watched.


A former painter, Cammell enlisted cinematographer Larry McConkey to realize his unique vision, with sweeping helicopter shots of stark, bleached-out desert landscapes filling the screen trading beats with seemingly incongruous close-ups (meat slowly turning over a spit, twisted stereo wires, reflections in copper cookware). One of the busiest high-profile Steadicam operators of the 1990s (Goodfellas, Miller’s Crossing, The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Silence of the Lambs, Basic Instinct), McConkey quickly became a favorite of Brian De Palma, Paul Verhoeven, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese, but based on his work here, it’s a shame we didn’t get to see him show his full range more often.


Of the two murder scenes showcased, both conjure favorable comparisons to Italian giallos despite being quite different in content and tone. The first, which opens the film, sees a young woman murdered in her kitchen, her head shattering a microwave oven door while bloody meat slices and red wine spatter the immaculate white floor.


The second sees our victim grabbed from behind, turned upside down, and rendered unconscious via a pile-drive movement of her head into the floor. (Haven’t seen that before.) She is then wrapped in a bath towel, tied up with wire, and submerged to drown in the bathtub, with the killer eagerly watching from above. Both scenes are cut to perfection by the late, great Terry Rawlings (Alien, Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, Goldeneye), who had started his career as a sound editor before crossing over to the visual side, and highlighted by a rare theatrical score by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and Rick Fenn.


In the lead role, Keith (An Officer and a Gentleman, Firestarter) is clearly relishing fleshing out the idiosyncrasies of his opera-loving redneck, a simple family man with a deeply complex inner life. His scenes with onscreen daughter Danielle Smith feel organic and rich with history, from their pizza-eating rituals to teaching their dog to balance a cookie on its nose. Equally fantastic is Moriarty, lodging a memorable return to the screen after a six-year hiatus following her devastating 1981 car accident; it’s shocking to realize this was only her third screen role after Raging Bull and Neighbors. As the big city girl trapped in a dusty small town, Moriarty’s smoky voice, flaxen blonde locks, and snarling inner fire leave an indelible impression in her scenes opposite Keith and/or Alan Rosenberg (Miracle Mile) as her former lover.


The rest of the cast are well-used, with veteran character actor Evans (Tales from the Hood) doing his best “oh, one more thing” Columbo impression, and Alberta Watson (Madeline on TV’s La Femme Nikita) on hand as the bored sexy “rich/kept woman” asking Paul to put his fine-tuning expertise to work in a different way. The script – co-written by Cammell’s wife China, based on Margaret Tracy’s novel Mrs. White– provides myriad opportunities for all involved to create a curious collective where even the smallest character has a moment to shine. (Witness lawman Marc Hayashi’s powder puff sampling in the Whites’ bathroom!)


While not an unqualified masterpiece, White of the Eye is definitely deserving of a wider audience to appreciate its offbeat and unusual charms.

BONUS FEATURES:

NEW “Into The Vortex” with actor Alan Rosenberg

NEW “Eye Of The Detective” with actor Art Evans

Audio Commentary by Donald Cammell biographer Sam Umland

Deleted scenes with commentary by Sam Umland

“Into The White” with cinematographer and Steadicam operator Larry McConkey

Alternate Credit Sequence

Flashback sequences prior to the “Bleach Bypass” process


White of the Eye is available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/white-of-the-eye?product_id=4433




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THE OMEN (2006) Blu-ray Review

October 28, 2019, 1:38 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 26
Total First Time Views: 12
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,151.76

The Omen (2006) d. John Moore (USA) (109 min) (2nd viewing)

One of the few times in history where a calendar date (6/6/06) dictated a picture’s greenlight status, this remake of the 1976 classic generated a chorus of “pointless” from critics and audiences alike upon its release, even though it’s a capable enough effort. Considering how closely the redux hews to the original, it’s almost impossible not to compare/contrast; it feels like we’re being dared to, in fact. Since things play out nearly beat for beat, credit should be given for it not being a completely redundant experience, which it quite well could have been. But, while things are different, they are rarely improvements, and therein lies the hitch.


Where director Moore and David Seltzer (updating his own script) stumble is in trying to make a capital-s capital-m Scary Movie for an audience steeped in three decades of body count flicks, while overwriting expository dialogue instead of trusting the audience to understand character motivations. Even had they focused more on emotional drama than by-the-numbers shocks, however, it was unlikely they could have climbed out from under their predecessor’s long shadow.


First off, there is the obvious: Liev Schreiber, as fine an actor as he might be, lacks the gravitas and star power of Gregory Peck, and while this might seem an unfair comparison, the reason why the 1976 version worked as well as it did was due in large part to Peck’s presence. Much is made of the inexperience of Schreiber’s incarnation of Robert Thorn, making him the youngest U.S. Ambassador in history, but justification of youthful casting is not useful when what is required is a literal elder statesman, a man who has manifested his own destiny for decades, completely blindsided by his own hubris.


If the man who played Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and Philip Green in Gentleman’s Agreement and Joe Bradley in Roman Holiday and Captain Ahab in Moby Dick and Sam Bowden in Cape Fear and Capt. O’Mallery in The Guns of Navarone and and and… if THAT man is shocked and terrified by the Satanic Situation presented, then viewers have no choice but to take it seriously as well. Schreiber, in contrast, was hardly a movie star at this point in his career and as such, through no fault of his own or his talents, lacks the same audience investment. (To a lesser extent, Stiles suffers from the same dilemma when compared to Lee Remick, though she does a capable enough job.)


The rest of the recasting ranges from fine to good, with David Thewlis as the acerbic reporter Jennings, Pete Postlewaite as the doomed Father Brennan, Giovanni Lombardo Radice (aka John Morghen aka the guy who dies all the horrible deaths in 1980s Italian horror flicks) is the singed Father Spilletto, and, in an inspired bit of casting, Rosemary herself, the elfin Mia Farrow, is on board as the nanny-from-Hell, Mrs. Baylock. (I also love the fact that she’s married.) None surpass their forebearers, but they’re all worthwhile and not distracting. (Except Michael Gambon as Bugenhagen, who is shameless in his scenery munching, and young Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as Damien, saddled with cosmetic dark shadows under the eyes in place of Harvey Stephens’ cherubic innocence.)


The more spectacular death sequences from the original (Damien’s nanny’s suicide, Brennan’s church-spike impaling, Jennings’ beheading) are present and accounted for, all in suped-up, digitally sweetened fashion, with the reporter’s noggin loss reminiscent of a Final Destination outtake. It’s fun and gory, but yields a fraction of the original’s emotional punch. Speaking of which, I will concede that the cemetery attack from a devil-sent gaggle of Rottweilers does deliver one of the best jump scares, with a “dog-outa-friggin’-nowhere” sideswipe reminiscent of FD’s bus assault. (A less fortunate bit of computer-generated nonsense comes in the form of Mrs. Baylock meeting with the business end of Thorn’s sedan.)


There are also a number of flashy, almost subliminal nightmare sequences designed purely for cheap scares rather than any sense of lasting dread; that said, the cold-blooded hospital bed confrontation between Stiles and Farrow comes close to topping Remick’s high-rise fall.


As much as Schreiber has an impossible task of filling Peck’s shoes, composer Marco Beltrami must have been simply shaking his head at the notion of going head-to-head with Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-winning score. Like the rest of the film, it deserves points for not directly aping the original, but that’s about it.


In short, Omen 2006 feels like a film made for viewers with a prejudice against watching anything made more than 25 years prior… and made by studio executives who couldn’t bear to let a good marketing gimmick pass them by.

BONUS FEATURES:

Audio Commentary with Director John Moore, Producer Glenn Williamson, and Editor Dan Zimmermann

Unrated Extended Scenes and Extended Ending

Omenisms – Behind the Scenes of The Omen (2006)

Abbey Road Recording Sessions Featurette

Revelation 666: Behind the Scenes

Theatrical Trailers


The Omen (2006) is available now on Blu-ray as part of Shout! Factory’s The Omen Collection box set (which also includes the 1976 original, Damien: Omen II, The Final Conflict, and Omen IV: The Awakening) and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-omen-collection-deluxe-edition?product_id=7198






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TRUTH OR DARE (2018) Blu-ray Review

October 29, 2019, 5:41 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 27
Total First Time Views: 13
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,234.52

Truth or Dare (2018) d. Jeff Wadlow (USA) (100 min) (1st viewing)

While on spring break in Mexico, a group of graduating seniors decide to visit an abandoned cathedral at the urging of Carter (Landon Liboiron), a handsome young stranger who then suggests the group play a game of “Truth or Dare” in order to get the party started. Much to their dismay, the vacationing pals quickly discover that the game is more than a harmless party pastime: if a person does not tell the truth, they die. If they refuse to do the dare, they die. And the cycle is relentless, moving from person to person regardless of success or failure, digging up unpleasant secrets and proposing increasingly perilous scenarios as the surviving circle slowly diminishes….


It’s not a great premise for a horror film, but it’s certain not the worst either. And that’s pretty much where this offering from Blumhouse Production lands – squarely in the middle of the road. Filling us up without really nourishing, it’s a body-count movie where the creative kills are muted by a PG-13 rating and where director/co-writer Wadlow (Cry Wolf, Kick-Ass 2) seemingly wants us to relate to our cast of bland if diverse teen characters while at the same time delighting in their inevitable demises. (On that mention of diversity, it’s worth noting that our four lead characters are straight and white, while we get double our buck bang by having a gay Asian character, played by Hayden Szeto, whose most notable characteristics are that he is gay and Asian.)


Considering how uninspired and flimsy it all feels (producer Jason Blum reveals in a making-of featurette that the entire project was generated by a Universal marketing executive saying that if the studio could come up with a movie called Truth or Dare, “they could probably do something with it.”), I suppose it’s some sort of accomplishment that the final product zips along as handily as it does. The convention of ordinary bystanders’ faces suddenly contorting into cartoonish grins with “evil” glowing eyes is pretty silly and look, as one character puts it, “like a creepy SnapChat filter,” but it happens with such regularity that we are eventually bludgeoned into accepting it.


The cast, headlined by Pretty Little Liars’ human bobblehead Lucy Hale and Teen Wolf’s Tyler Posey, are attractive and disposable, and it’s telling that we are expected to empathize with their predilection for self-preservation over harming others. “Between the world and you, I choose you,” is the phrase that Markie (Violett Beane) declares to her best friend, and while intended to be cute and charming in the moment, the sentiment’s inherent nihilism in the film’s denouement is more than a little revolting. In a film about choices, it’s curious that our “heroes” elect to doom anyone and everyone else rather than sacrifice themselves, and that we, the viewers, are supposed to understand and applaud the decision.


BONUS FEATURES:

Unrated Director's Cut (1:40:32) and Theatrical Version (1:40:01)

Audio Commentary with writer/director Jeff Wadlow and actress Lucy Hale

“Game On: The Making of Truth or Dare” (7 min):

“Directing the Deaths” (4 min)


Truth or Dare is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Pictures and can be found on most major retail platforms.







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JIGSAW (2017) Blu-ray Review

October 30, 2019, 3:53 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 28
Total First Time Views: 14
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,317.28

Jigsaw (2017) d. Michael Spierig / Peter Spierig (USA) (92 min) (1st viewing)

John Kramer, better known as the infamous “Jigsaw Killer,” has been dead for ten years. So who is responsible for the bodies suddenly start turning up around the city bearing his signature disfiguring in the shape of a puzzle piece? The list of suspects is growing, extending to include the medical examiner in the case (Matt Passmore), his Jigsaw-obsessed assistant (Hannah Emily Anderson), the lead investigator (Callum Keith Rennie), his partner (Cle Bennett), and the comatose thug in the hospital bed (Josiah Black). And, of course, the Game Master himself, John Kramer (Tobin Bell), who unequivocally expired in Saw III and was graphically vivisected in Saw IV, but if you can’t keep a good man down, you certainly can’t count him out.


I know that I, for one, was not asking for another Saw sequel. When 2010’s Saw 3D finally brought the series to an end, I breathed an enormous sigh of relief that I wouldn’t have to trot myself out to the multiplex again for another glorious round of gratuitous torture and padded storytelling. I’m not sure who the target audience was for a franchise that has been dormant for seven years, but the writing team of Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger (Piranha 3D, Sorority Row) were inspired (or more likely recruited) to pump new blood into the old beast and so here we are again.


The most impressive thing about the Saw movies is that unlike most other franchises, there is a continuous story arc, one that had to be expanded from a trilogy to a septology on the fly after Saw III made a bucketload of cash back in 2006. While the actual plot of the four installments that followed barely amounted to a feature-length offering, writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (Feast, The Collector) managed to create enough puff and stuff to (barely) maintain viewer interest, and I've always expressed grudging respect for that.


So, with another chapter in the adventures of Jigsaw is upon us, I have to admit that, once again, I’m impressed at Stolberg and Goldfinger’s ingenuity at reviving our raspy-voiced moralizing antagonist to lay his infamous traps anew. It also works well enough as a standalone feature, i.e. there’s no need to go back and review the previous goings-on to make sense of it all, and you get exactly what you came to a Saw flick for.


In addition to the central mystery, there are plenty of hateful characters, hysterical screaming, graphic scenes of mutilation, and oodles of relatively clever misdirection set to Charlie Clouser’s driving musical score, perhaps the last great horror theme since 28 Days Later. The direction from the Spierig Brothers (Undead, Daybreakers) is efficiently engaging, the capable performances from the photogenic cast serve the turn, and it all mercifully concludes in less than 90 minutes (minus credits).


I can’t say I really missed Jigsaw and his little bike-riding puppet. But for those who did, this film exists and it doesn’t suck. Watch or Don’t: The choice is yours.


BONUS FEATURES:

Audio commentary with producers Mark Burg, Oren Koules, and Peter Block

The Choice is Yours: Exploring the Props


Jigsaw is available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Lion’s Gate and can be found at most major retail platforms.








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THE MIND'S EYE (2015) Blu-ray Review

October 31, 2019, 2:41 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 29
Total First Time Views: 15
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,400.04

The Mind’s Eye (2015) d. Joe Begos (USA) (87 min) (1st viewing)

It’s easy to dismiss and/or diminish writer/director Begos’ second feature merely as “a Scanners rip-off,” but it’s worth remembering that David Cronenberg did not invent the notion of a telekinetic monster (Carrie), nor the idea of an evil organization weaponizing such paranormal abilities nor even the spectacle of exploding body parts onscreen (The Fury did both three years earlier). As such, it seems a bit unfair not to at least acknowledge that Begos is doing quite a lot with a little (as was the case with his debut, Almost Human) and that his film does exactly what it sets out to do, which is to pay homage to what has gone before and tell his own version of the story. I don’t have a problem with that, and I’m a little surprised how many armchair critics have taken the film to task for its “lack of originality” when the horror genre is built upon endlessly recycled ideas and concepts.


First off, it’s worth pointing out that this ambitious, scrappy little effort marks a huge leap forward in terms of aesthetics and gory visual effects, many of which are realized practically. While Begos’ (who also served as cinematographer and camera operator) overuse of blue lighting gels does get a bit excessive by the halfway point, the flick looks fantastic, on par with most major studio efforts shot for exponentially more. Big points also to Steve Moore’s (The Guest, Cub) synthy ’80s musical score.


Where the venture falls short is in the writing and acting departments, both of which land solidly in the B-movie column. There is little to no subtlety on anyone’s part, and everyone plays their stock roles to the hilt. Producer Graham Skipper stars as Zack Connors, our ostensible psychokinetic protagonist, captured and imprisoned by Dr. Michael Slovak (John Speredakos, chewing allllll the scenery), the Evil Villain who has designs to train the mind-melting mutants while also siphoning off their spinal fluid and injecting it into his own neck to manifest their powers himself.


Naturally, Zack’s got a Scanner girlfriend, Rachel (Lauren Ashley Carter), and the two of them escape from the Slovak Institute and head for his dad’s (Larry Fessenden) to hide out. Slovak’s bad guys follow, fights ensue, people grimace at each other furiously, shots are fired, more grimacing, heads detonate, and everything builds up to a brain-bulging battle between the hero and the heavy.


If Skipper (Beyond the Gates) possessed a little more screen charisma (his bland adenoidal charms are lost on me) and if Speredakos (Wendigo) had been reined in a little (he’s so over the top we can’t see the bottom), I could see this having earned a bit more critical love. I’m also a little bummed that Jeremy Gardner, so wonderful in his own film, The Battery, is pretty much wasted here in a supporting lackey role. Carter (Jug Face, Gags the Clown) is fine, though her hysterics get a little old, while screen veteran Fessenden (Habit, We Are Still Here) is extremely well used, even employing the actor’s missing-in-real-life tooth to great effect!


Bottom line, to paraphrase one of the poster quotes, this is probably the best unofficial Scanners sequel we could have asked for, and I was not displeased. Thus far, in six years, Begos has made a alien body snatcher movie, a telekinetic flick, and a vampire venture (2019’s Bliss, seen at Cinepocalypse), and I’m eager to see what his latest, VFW, has to offer, since it will be his first time working with a script that is not his own. While he may not traffic in original ideas or nuance, what he does have is energy, enthusiasm, and visual style to burn, and that counts for a lot in my book.


BONUS FEATURES:

Audio commentary with writer/director Joe Begos

Audio commentary with producers Joe Begos, Josh Ethier, Graham Skipper, and Zak Zeman

"A Look into the Eye of Madness" (28 min)

Poster Gallery

Theatrical Trailer


The Mind’s Eye is available now from RLJE Entertainment and can be ordered HERE:

https://us.rljentertainment.com/franchise/minds-eye-the/






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THE PREDATOR (2018) Blu-ray Review

October 31, 2019, 4:38 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 30
Total First Time Views: 16
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,482.80

The Predator (2018) d. Shane Black (USA) (107 min) (1st viewing)

It’s amusing that I watched this the same day as Jigsaw, since both represent the latest installments in franchises that have limped along far past their sell-by dates, inexplicably generating box office revenue when it’s pretty obvious no one is really clamoring for them. That said, the notion of Shane Black (The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) directing a Predator movie, especially one co-written with longtime buddy Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps)… well, color me intrigued, especially since Black was hired to spice up the screenplay for the 1987 original with Arnold Schwarzenegger and was later added to the cast as Hawkins. Here’s a guy who was literally there at the beginning and now wants his shot at the title.


Plot-wise, there is very little new ground broken here. Yes, there is the sliver of an original idea in the dreadlocked menaces from space seeking out new species across the universe to cross-breed their own warriors with, making for bigger, stronger, SuperPredators, but that field has already been plowed by its sister Alien franchise.


But mostly, it’s more of the same: Predator shows up, kills pretty much everyone it encounters until the final mano-a-mano opposite its macho headliner, roll credits. Along the way there is some ancillary science stuff to clue newcomers into the fact that this is one rough emmereffer that we’re dealing with here, maybe a car chase or two, and, just as in Friday the 13th, there is the obligatory shot of the ugly fella without his trademark mask.


Black knows all this, checks all the required boxes, and loads his flick with the obligatory big-bam-boom action set-pieces. But he has also hired some wildly overqualified actors keen to sink their teeth into the juicy banter and one-liners that he and Dekker have doled out… and that’s where the magic happens. (I can’t help but picture the duo cracking each other up, banging this stuff out on the word processor while holed up in some ridiculously decked-out man cave somewhere.)


Seriously, look at this cast: Boyd Holbrook (the hunky baddie from Logan), Trevante Rhodes (the hunky guy from Moonlight), Keegan Michael-Key (Key & Peele), Olivia Munn (Office Christmas Party), Sterling K. Brown (Black Panther), Thomas Jane (The Mist), Alfie Allen (John Wick, Game of Thrones), Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale), Jake Busey (The Frighteners), and little Jacob Tremblay (Room). And they are all having so damn much fun. Plus there are dick jokes, Tourette’s jokes, space dogs, and jokes about space dogs.


The final product is undeniably artificial and overproduced, but it’s delivered in such supremely enthusiastic fashion that one can’t help but get swept along for the giddy ride. No, we didn’t need another Predator movie. But if we had to have it, I’m glad we got one with so much personality. This is 100% Shane Black’s The Predator, and that’s exactly what we paid for.



BONUS FEATURES:

Deleted Scenes (7 min)

"A Touch of Black" (10 min)

"Predator Evolution" (20 min)

"The Takedown Team" (16 min)

"Predator Catch Up" (9 min)

Poster and Photo Gallery

Theatrical Trailers


The Predator is available now on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox and can be found on most major retail platforms.






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TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) Blu-ray Review

November 1, 2019, 4:03 pm
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Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 31
Total First Time Views: 16
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $2,565.56

Trilogy of Terror (1975) d. Dan Curtis (USA) (72 min) (2nd viewing)

Producer/director Dan Curtis was already a legend in 1975, having created the legendary vampire soap opera Dark Shadows, as well as The Night Stalker, the highest-rated made-for-television movie released at the time, and well-received adaptations of Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (both starring Jack Palance). So when he hired Richard Matheson, already a well-regarded entity in both television and film, with numerous Twilight Zone credits to his name, among others, to adapt three stories, it seemed like a can’t-miss proposition. (William F. Nolan was eventually recruited to adapt the first two tales, while Matheson handled the concluding chapter, “Amelia,” based on the short story “Prey.”)


Two-time Golden Globe-winner and Oscar nominee (Five Easy Pieces) Karen Black was a bona-fide star at this point and was apparently reluctant to do the project, acquiescing only after her agent harangued her into accepting the assignment and then only on the condition that her then-husband, Robert “Skip” Burton, be allowed to co-star in the first episode, “Julie.” But there is no evidence of reticence in her performances, plural as she plays the lead characters in all three segments, including that of twin sisters in the second episode, “Millicent and Therese.” Black throws herself (literally at times) into the various scenarios with such gusto that it’s no wonder this has become her most recognizable filmed project.


We’ll deal with the most famous segment first, since Trilogy is often remembered as “That Movie with the Little Zuni Doll,” with people forgetting there ever were other stories in the mix. It’s a stunningly simple plot: An insecure woman struggling to cut the apron strings of her (never seen) mother has rented an apartment in the city. She buys an authentic African Zuni Fetish doll for her anthropologist boyfriend’s birthday, and when the small gold chain around its waist snaps, the little beggar comes to life in glorious shrieking ambulatory fashion.


It can’t really be done justice in print, because it shouldn’t work as well as it does. I mean, a little puppet chasing a full-grown woman around her apartment with a kitchen knife ought to be as silly in execution as it sounds on paper. But Paul Lohmann’s frenetic camera movement, Black’s committed solo performance, the massive-fanged countenance of puppet master Erik Von Buelow’s creation, and the insanely enthusiastic audio design of the doll’s nonstop, nonsensical war cries sell the bill of goods right down the line.


Seriously, you can’t watch the last 10 minutes without your jaw on the floor and/or a grin on your face. It can’t be done. And no one who watches it is ever quite the same afterwards.


The preceding two chapters simply can’t compete with this breathtaking assault, and that’s too bad, since they are both worthwhile suspenseful entries and Black is equally captivating in three separate roles. The first deals with a college student (Burton) who badgers his English teacher (Black) into going on a drive-in movie date, then drugs her root beer, and takes her back to his apartment, where he not only has (implied) sex with her, but takes photos of the encounter!


PRETTY RACY STUFF FOR TELEVISION IN 1975. She gets her comeuppance, not to worry, but still. Wow.


The second focuses on the war of wills between two sisters, spinster Millicent (Black in small round glasses and a tightly wound bun hairstyle) and her slatternly opposite Therese (Black in a long blonde wig and mascara), with the former trying to convince the latter’s new beau (Dark Shadow’s John Karlin) of the web of deceit and sin he’s wandered into. It’s a fun little diversion, mostly as an acting showcase for our star, but once again, the shocking taboo subject matter of incest and matricide are introduced so casually that viewers might find themselves doing a double take of, “Wait… what?”


This anthology showcase for Black and Matheson, served up with panache and chutzpah by Curtis, stands as one of the most beloved slices of television terror ever created for the small screen and remains essential viewing for all horror fans, casual or committed.



BONUS FEATURES:

Brand New 4K Restoration

NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Richard Harland Smith

NEW Interview with Composer Bob Cobert

Audio Commentary with Karen Black and writer William F. Nolan

"Richard Matheson: Terror Scribe" Featurette

"Three Colors Black" Featurette

Newly Commissioned Art by Jacob Phillips



Trilogy of Terror is available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Lorber and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.kinolorber.com/product/trilogy-of-terror-special-edition-dvd






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2019 SCARE-A-THON FINAL RESULTS!!!

November 3, 2019, 4:21 pm
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And that, friends and fiends, brings us to the end of yet another OCTOBER HORROR MOVIE CHALLENGE and Scare-A-Thon 2019!

As always, the Challenge itself is to watch (at least) one fright flick for each of those glorious 31 days that make up the month of October, 16 of which must be first time views. I am happy to report that we have accomplished that lofty goal and that along the way, thanks to the generous hearts and minds of fans like you, over $2,500 has been raised for Amazon Watch, with additional funds still coming in. (Yes, you can still drop a line at drach101@gmail.com if you wish to donate!)

My thanks to everyone who participated in some way, whether it be reading the reviews, making a contribution, watching alongside, or just stopping by to chat here or on the HORROR 101 with Dr. AC Facebook page. It makes the long nights go by much easier knowing that one’s efforts are noticed and appreciated. Hope you found a few new suggestions for future movie nights along the way!

Below are the 31 “official” features viewed (with links to the full-length reviews), as well as 16 additional titles "just for fun." Beyond that, there are a bevy of additional OCD factoids you might get a kick out of… or you can just run for the exits like any sensible human being. The choice is yours.

Enjoy!

CHALLENGE STATS:
Total Movies Watched: 47
First Time Views: 16
Total Scare-A-Thon Donations: $2,565.56

BONUS STATS:
TOTAL TIME: 4534 min (75.5 hours)
AVERAGE MOVIE LENGTH: 96.5 min
LONGEST MOVIE: Midsommar (147 min)
SHORTEST MOVIES: Tetsuo: The Iron Man (67 min), Trilogy of Terror (72 min)


OLDEST MOVIE: The Man Who Laughs (1928)
NEWEST MOVIES: 3 from Hell, Brightburn, Midsommar (all 2019)


MOVIES WATCHED ALONE: 24
MOVIES WATCHED WITH OTHERS: 23


SOURCES:
Cinema: 13
Personal Library: 12
Blu-ray/DVD review screeners: 10
Public Library: 4
Internet/streaming: 4
Redbox: 2
Borrowed from Friends: 1
Netflix: 1

FAVORITE DISCOVERIES:
The Predator, The Medusa Touch, White of the Eye, The Haunted Strangler, Terror Beneath the Sea, Bloody Muscle: Bodybuilder in Hell

FAVORITE REVISITS:
The Innocents, Let Me In, Ravenous, Beware! Children at Play, The Man Who Laughs, Dog Soldiers, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, The Omen, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Ravenous

SEQUELS: 7
Halloween II, The Fly II, The Predator, Jigsaw, 3 from Hell, Demons 2, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

REMAKES: 2
The Omen, The Blob

MOST VIEWED DIRECTOR:
Ari Aster (2)

MOST VIEWED ACTORS:
Sean Pertwee (2), Liev Schreiber (2), Bill Moseley (2), Harvey Stephens (2)

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED: 8
(USA, Japan, France, USA, UK, Italy, Canada, Russia, Spain)

SUBGENRES:
Psycho Killers: 12
Ghosts/Hauntings: 6
Science Gone Awry: 5
Monsters: 3
Animals Attack: 0
Psychic Powers: 2
Vampires: 3
Killer Kids: 4
Zombies: 1
Enemies from Space: 2
Cannibals: 1
Werewolves: 2
Scary Clowns: 0
Anthologies: 1
Occult/Religious Horror (Satan/possession/demons/cults): 11
Animals Attack: 0
Mummies: 0
Big Bug Movies: 0
Based on Videogames: 0
Documentaries: 1

COMMENTARY TRACKS: 2(The Blob, The Devil Rides Out)

NON-HORROR MOVIES WATCHED IN OCT:0


THE OFFICIAL SCARE-A-THON FILMS (with links to full reviews):

1. THE INNOCENTS

2. LET ME IN

3. FERAL

4. THE MEDUSA TOUCH

5. BAGHEAD

6. BEWARE! CHILDREN AT PLAY

7. FEAR NO EVIL

8. THE MERMAID: LAKE OF THE DEAD

9. SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN

10. BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON

11. INCUBUS (1982)

12. MIDSOMMAR

13. THE ORPHANAGE

14. 3 FROM HELL

15. THE BOY (2015)

16. FULL MOON HIGH

17. BRIGHTBURN

18. EVENT HORIZON

19. BLOODY MUSCLE: BODYBUILDER IN HELL

20. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

21. THE BLOB (1988)

22. TERROR BENEATH THE SEA

23. THE HAUNTED STRANGLER

24. THE OMEN (1976)

25. WHITE OF THE EYE

26. THE OMEN (2006)

27. TRUTH OR DARE (2018)

28. JIGSAW

29. THE MIND’S EYE

30. THE PREDATOR (2018)

31. TRILOGY OF TERROR



AND THE REST!


Ravenous (1999) d. Bird, Antonia (UK) (101 min) (6th viewing)

Decided to pop this one in as the femalien had never seen it before. As you might guess from the number of viewings, I’m a bit of a fan and it felt like a nice round of comfort food following the first week of reviews.

***CLICK HERE FOR FULL BLU-RAY REVIEW***





The Omen Legacy (2001) d. Zacky, Brent (USA) (100 min) (2nd viewing)

Solid documentary (included in Shout! Factory’s The Omen Collection box set) covering the three theatrical releases, as well as the misguided made-for-TV Omen: The Awakening. Narrated by Jack Palance (whose daughter appears in the 1976 original as the Thorn’s first nanny. “Look, Damien! It’s all for you!”)





The Man Who Laughs (1928) d. Leni, Paul (USA) (110 min) (2nd viewing)

I had seen this before, enjoyed it, and was thrilled to include Kristin Wicks’ excellent essay about the film in Hidden Horror. But I don’t think I had fully appreciated what an emotional and thrilling motion picture it is until this most recent viewing (kicking off the 15th Annual 24-hour Music Box of Horrors), complete with live musical accompaniment by the Maxx McGathey quartet. Conrad Veidt is terrific as the disfigured Gwynplaine and the last half-hour is literally breathtaking. Highly Recommended. (Music Box of Horrors)





Office Killer (1997) d. Sherman, Cindy (USA) (92 min) (2nd viewing)

This quirky, off-beat little slasher flick boasts a surprisingly high-caliber cast, and marks the second year in a row that Carol Kane has been showcased as part of the festival. (Last year’s The Mafu Cage was a definite hightlight.) (Music Box of Horrors)

***CLICK HERE FOR FULL MOVIE REVIEW***





Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) d. Hancock, John (USA) (89 min) (8th viewing)

An undeniably slow burn, this perhaps would have been better received had it screened before Office Killer as opposed to between it and Demons 2. But I’m always happy when more people become exposed to the wonders of this wonderfully haunting and atmospheric chiller, especially on the big screen with director Hancock on hand for a post-screening Q&A. (Music Box of Horrors)





Demons 2 (1986) d. Bava, Lamberto (Italy) (88 min) (2nd viewing)

Yes, it’s pretty much a retread of the 1985 Italian bonkersfest, set in an apartment high-rise instead of a movie theater, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun. (Music Box of Horrors)





Dog Soldiers (2002) d. Marshall, Neil (UK) (105 min) (6th viewing)

Oh, boy. Of all the films in the line-up, this was the one I was most excited about seeing on the big screen with all the speakers turned up loud and it did not disappoint. So much damn fun, with Sean Pertwee giving a performance for the ages as Sgt. Harry G. Wells. (Music Box of Horrors)

***CLICK HERE FOR FULL BLU-RAY REVIEW***





Retribution (1987) d. Magar, Guy (USA) (107 min) (2nd viewing)

Noisy but enthusiastic tale of a nebbish paranoid (Dennis Lipscomb) possessed by the spirit of a murdered gangster who proceeds to knock off all of his assassins. Based on his debut here, TV journeyman Magar probably deserved better future prospects than Stepfather III and Children of the Corn: Revelation. Or maybe not. (Music Box of Horrors)





Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) d. Tsukamoto, Shinya (Japan) (67 min) (2nd viewing)

Another festival highlight, like watching a David Lynch film on speed and steroids. Putting Tsukamoto’s biomechanical fever-dream on the big screen at 5am when the entire sleep-deprived audience was at their most vulnerable was a masterstroke of programming. I know that I and several of my compatriots nodded off a couple of times, but it didn’t really matter because no matter when we dropped back in, it still doesn’t make any narrative sense and it still doesn’t matter. (Music Box of Horrors)





Halloween II (1981) d. Miner, Steve (USA) (92 min) (5th viewing)

I’m not a huge fan of this movie, but I liked it more this time than on previous viewings, seeing it divorced from its lofty predecessor. (I feel like I’ve always watched it right afterwards and it can’t help but pale by comparison.) That said, it’s easily among the best in the franchise, although I would probably rank it below Halloween: H20, which I understand is heresy, but I’m sticking with it. (Music Box of Horrors)





The Fly II (1989) d. Walas, Chris (USA) (105 min) (3rd viewing)

Ugh. I keep trying to give this one a break, but it’s just not a good movie, even by dumb monster movie standards. Eric Stoltz is doing his best to elevate the material while everyone around him insists on dragging it down with flat, one-note characterizations. Yes, there are a couple of fun moments (vomit/face dissolve, elevator head crush), the Brundlefly II puppet is fine, and the transformation makeup is dandy, but considering its lineage, it should have been so much better. (Music Box of Horrors)





Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) d. Kuzui, Fran Kubel (USA) (86 min) (2nd viewing)

I’ve only seen a couple episodes of the cult favorite TV show, and it had been over 15 years since I had seen the original. You kind of get exactly what you expect, but the worthy cast helps take it over the top. (Music Box of Horrors)





High Tension (2003) d. Aja, Alexandre (France) (91 min) (5th viewing)

My 007-watching companion Daniel and I were planning to rent Crawl from Redbox, but it was checked out, so I decided to introduce him to Aja’s breakout film, if for no other reason than the sick pleasure of watching someone’s face when the twist occurs and they start sputtering, “Wait, what? That makes no sense! That’s impossible! Where the hell did the truck come from? What about the saw?! What the hell is happening….?!?!?!?” For the record, I do enjoy the movie, but I also feel like it’s a big cheat and that we deserved a better ending.





Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) d. Zito, Joseph (USA) (91 min) (6th viewing)

Daniel had also never seen a Friday the 13th movie before (blasphemy!), so I decided to plunk him down in front of this one, since I consider it the best of the bunch and it’s also a great introduction to the franchise. (Think about it. Jason doesn’t even show up in the 1981 original, he doesn’t have his iconic hockey mask in the second, and no one should have to sit through the third one just to get here.) The good news? He dug it, because how can you not.





Hereditary (2018) d. Aster, Ari (USA) (127 min) (4th viewing)

Watched this with a packed house as part of DePaul University’s Horror of the Humanities VII. The pre-screening ballyhoo was sublime, the movie played like gangbusters, Dr. Peter H. Steeve’s post-screening analysis and deconstruction was absolutely next-level, and the Q&A with Aster that followed was… profoundly disappointing. Despite Steeves serving up some fantastic questions, our writer/director refused to engage or discuss on any kind of meaningful level. I’m not sure if he’s just over talking about his celebrated debut or if he was (rightly) intimidated by his host’s brilliant insights or if he was just feeling lazy that night, but the assembled crowd deserved better than his sotto voce mumblings. (Seriously, dude, learn to use a microphone.)





Scream (1996) d. Craven, Wes (USA) (111 min) (4th viewing)

My pal Eric is decidedly not a horror fan, but he wanted to watch something with me as part of the Challenge. Flipping through Netflix’s genre offerings, I decided on Craven’s celebration/tweaking of genre conventions because, hey, it’s fun and it’s well-done and a solid slasher flick for people who don’t necessarily watch or like slasher flicks.



See you next year!!!!
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THE FAN (1981) Blu-ray Review

November 15, 2019, 3:05 pm
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The Fan (1981) d. Edward Bianchi (USA)

Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) adores classic Hollywood and Broadway star Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall). He writes her personal letters, sends tokens of affection, and prides himself on being above all the shallow “fan club” adulation. Douglas has a deep, abiding connection to Sally and is comfortable in the knowledge that one day she will share his life, loving him with the same fervent ardor that he feels for her. The problem is… Sally doesn’t even know he exists, since his increasingly impassioned letters are received and responded to by her loyal assistant Belle (Maureen Stapleton), who tries to deter the misguided suitor’s attempts, only to find herself drawn into his web of madness.


Producer Robert Stigwood, hot off the successes of Saturday Night Fever and Grease, decided to stick his toe into the psycho-killer pool with this adaptation of Bob Randall’s novel about an obsessed fan, ramping it up with additional scenes of graphic bloodshed to compete with Friday the 13th and its various imitators. This decision eventually created “artistic differences” between the film’s original director, Warus Hussein (The Possession of Joel Delaney), whereupon commercial director Edward Bianchi, best known for his energetic Dr. Pepper campaigns, was given the reins, much to the chagrin of the temperamental star.


By all accounts, Bacall proved increasingly difficult during a production which required her to not only wear her aging starlet cards on her sleeve, but also to perform several musical numbers for the Broadway musical integral to the plot, despite the fact that she was neither a singer nor a dancer. She also objected vehemently to the scenes of graphic bloodshed slowly working their way into the piece and made no secret of her discontent with members of the press.


Additionally, the film’s release coincided with the recent murder of John Lennon, himself the victim of an obsessed fan, and Paramount’s marketing executives’ decision to ghoulishly exploit the connection was viewed in poor taste. The film was, perhaps unfairly, seen as cashing in on tragedy and suffering (there had also been recent assassination attempts on President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II around the same time), and critics were not kind.


Nearly 40 years later, the film holds up slightly better than one might expect, considering its initial chilly reception. Thanks to the visuals stylings of Bianchi and cinematographer Dick Bush (who cut his teeth on British genre efforts like When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Twins of Evil, and Blood on Satan’s Claw before becoming Ken Russell’s go-to shooter on Tommy, The Lair of the White Worm, and Crimes of Passion), there are numerous striking images and Oscar-winning editor Alan Heim (All That Jazz, Network) keeps the action flowing swiftly, beautifully underscored by Pino Donaggio (Crawlspace, Dressed to Kill).


Biehn, who would soon become a major star with The Terminator and Aliens, does well in his first major motion picture, especially considering the role has nearly no onscreen dialogue. We mostly get into Breen’s head via his letters to Sally, heard in voiceover, while watching an array of emotions wash over Biehn’s face. We see him in his dead-end job as a record store salesman and having a brief argument with his intrusive sister Kauilani Lee (Cujo), but mostly we co-exist in his rich fantasy world as he imagines winning the attentions of his beloved, and we see the pain he suffers whenever that fantasy is interrupted.


Bacall, despite her personal feelings toward the project, delivers the goods as a once-towering force attempting to remain relevant in an ageist and sexist profession, her naturally flinty persona which had served her so well throughout her early career on full display, along with the vulnerability of attempting to adapt in a changing world. Where she is on less sturdy ground is in the aforementioned musical numbers (written by Marvin Hamlisch, no less), though she puts on a brave face and soldiers on like the old pro she is.


The rest of the high-profile cast includes Stapleton (who was to win Best Supporting Actress for Reds the same year), James Garner, Hector Elizondo (between his American Gigolo and Young Doctors in Love gigs), and a very young Dana Delaney as Biehn’s co-worker.


Though not as much sudsy melodramatic fun as the similarly oriented The Seduction (also recently released to Blu-ray by Shout! Factory), The Fan has several memorable moments (both positive and negative) and is worth examining as an interesting middle ground between success and failure.

BONUS FEATURES:

NEW Audio commentary with filmmaker David DeCoteau and film historian David Del Valle, moderated by Scream Factory marketing director Jeff Nelson

NEW “Number One Fan” with Michael Biehn (26 min)

NEW “Fan Service” with director Edward Bianchi (38 min)

NEW “Fanning the Flames” with editor Alan Heim (18 min)

Theatrical Trailer

TV Spots

Still Gallery

Goofs: During Bianchi’s interview featurette, Maureen Stapleton is mistakenly identified onscreen as "Maureen O’Sullivan." Whoops.

"Hey, you weren't in The Quiet Man!!!"

The Fan is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-fan?product_id=7232

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DAMIEN: OMEN II (1978) Blu-ray Review

November 18, 2019, 2:21 pm
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Damien: Omen II (1978) d. Don Taylor (USA) (107 min)

Following the demise of his parents, young Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is adopted by his uncle Richard (William Holden), head of Thorn Industries, and his new wife Ann (Lee Grant). As the lad becomes a teenager, he and his cousin Mark (Lucas Donat) attend an illustrious military academy near Chicago where they are brought under the wing of taskmaster Sergeant Neff (Lance Henriksen). Meanwhile, the ruthless Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth), while also attempting to take Thorn Industries in a radical new direction of acquiring land in the Middle East for pennies and holding the world’s food supply hostage, starts to show a curious interest in Damien. The Antichrist is alive and well, with his key protectors in place to ensure his rise to power.


After The Omen became a surprise smash hit, producer Harvey Bernhard was eager to cash in once again on the devilish proceeds. Despite the underperformance of 1977’s Exorcist II: The Heretic, screenwriter David Seltzer’s rejection of the offer to write a sequel, and original director Richard Donner being unavailable (Superman), Bernhard plunged forward, hiring Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Flash Gordon) to direct and co-write the screenplay with Stanley Mann (The Collector).


Unfortunately, Hodges was fired from the project after only a few weeks for taking too long setting up “artistic” shots, and TV director Don Taylor, who was starting to make a name for himself in features with serviceable gigs such as Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977), was brought aboard to move things along. Hodges and Mann’s script also underwent a number of changes, primarily to spice up the elaborate nature of the many onscreen deaths.


It is here that the film stumbles, because there is no underlying suspense throughout, only a cascade of increasingly violent set-pieces, some of which are spectacular but none possessing the emotional investment of, say, David Warner’s decapitation or Lee Remick’s high-window plummet. The pattern is not only rote this time around, it’s as concerned with offing anyone who is becoming a nuisance to the Antichrist’s assistant’s grand designs as it is with keeping Damien’s true identity under wraps. A character such Thorn executive Bill Atherton (Lew Ayres) is as likely to be targeted for opposing Buher’s business policies as journalist Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shepherd) who has seen Damien’s image on the underground murals.


Basically, the guideline seems to be, “Everyone dies, and dies memorably,” and while this directive is carried out with panache and style, it carries no weight and eventually becomes rather tiresome, believe it or not. Eleven main characters meet their demise before our eyes (as opposed to five in the 1976 original, one of whom was the evil Mrs. Baylock), and while their deaths are – pardon the expression – well-executed, it’s a matter of diminishing returns. Character proves him or herself a threat to Damien, character is killed in short order, usually the very next scene!


As such, the high-profile performers have very little opportunity to make any significant impression outside of their inherent screen presence. Holden (Network) is stalwart and sturdy, Grant (The Mafu Cage) is strong-willed and beautiful, Shepherd (The Tomb of Ligeia) is earnest and frantic, Foxworth (Prophecy) is icy and controlling, and so on. (While fans of Henriksen will be pleased to see him pop up in an early role, he doesn’t have the chance to do anything other than stand and stare malevolently.) Scott-Taylor is given the most opportunity to develop a character as he discovers his lineage and later his own power, but very little is does with it. Whereas the script could have had him struggling against his destiny, he falls in line pretty quickly and is more than happy to see everyone once close to him burn (or be drowned in an icy lake, crushed between train cars, severed by elevator cables, buried alive, run over by a truck, etc.)


Ultimately, the film is less a sequel to its lofty predecessor and more a forerunner to the Final Destination movies, with all manner of outlandish expirations dreamt up for our entertainment. It’s great body-count fun to watch with friends, with lots of ooh and ah and urgh, but leaves no lasting impression.


BONUS FEATURES:

NEW Audio commentary with special project consultant Scott Michael Bosco

Audio commentary with producer Harvey Bernhard

NEW “Damien’s Guardian” with Lee Grant (16 min)

NEW “The Devil’s CEO” with Robert Foxworth (16 min)

NEW “The Harbinger” with Elizabeth Shepherd (27 min)

NEW Elizabeth Shepherd’s Scrapbook (behind-the-scenes photos, with commentary by Shepherd) (4 min)

Vintage Featurette: “Power and the Devil: The Making of Damien: Omen II” (7 min)

Theatrical Trailer (3 min)

TV Spot

Radio Spot

Still Gallery



Damien: Omen II is available now on Blu-ray as part of Shout! Factory’s The Omen Collection box set (which also includes The Omen (1976), The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening, and the 2006 remake) and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-omen-collection-deluxe-edition?product_id=7198


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PROPHECY (1979) Blu-ray Review

November 23, 2019, 8:06 am
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Prophecy (1979) d. John Frankenheimer (USA) (102 min)

Dr. Robert Verne (Robert Foxworth) and wife Maggie (Talia Shire) travel to Maine to research the impact of the lumber industry on the local environment. They begin to investigate a succession of mysterious and terrifying events: ecological freaks of nature and a series of bizarre and grisly human deaths. Something unimaginably horrible waits in the woods ... something unwittingly created by man, that will become an uncontrollable, merciless machine of destruction.


With usually reliable director John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Birdman of Alcatraz), screenwriter David Seltzer (hot off The Omen), and a capable if not all-star cast in place, one might expect competence if not brilliance. How things went so wrong is anyone’s guess. After a promising opening, the film descends rapidly into a muddy cloud of social sermonizing (slumlords bad, big business bad, environment neglect bad) and laughable special effects while never embracing the schlock that it so clearly is. In fact, everyone on hand takes things so seriously that most of the fun is sucked right out of this eco-horror yarn of a murderous mutant creature lurking in the Maine forests, killing off lumber company employees, Native Americans, and unsuspecting campers alike.


Robert Foxworth (Damien: Omen II, sporting an impressive beard and man-fro) plays the tough-minded, take-no-nonsense, socially aware doctor/scientist called in to address concerns at an ethics-challenged paper mill while top-billed Talia Shire (Rocky, The Godfather) whimpers and simpers as his overly emotional cello-playing bride, spending 90% of them lowering her eyes and/or acting with the top of her head.







Honey, is there something wrong with your neck muscles? Maybe you should see someone.

A self-righteous ogre and a pregnant doormat – these are your heroes, folks.


Richard Dysart (The Thing) has better luck as mill foreman and stock villain Bethel Isely, though his Maine accent gets the better of him from time to time, butting heads with Armand Assante (using his deepest deep voice) as the least likely Native American since Burt Lancaster in Apache. As Assante’s loyal companion Ramona, Victoria Racimo fares the best, outshining Shire every time the two women appear onscreen together. (Why Dr. Rob doesn’t run off with her is beyond me, but I digress.)

Oh, Jesus Christ, she's doing it again, isn't she?

However, at the end of the day, any flick subtitled “The Monster Movie” is going to rise or fall on the strength of its central critter, and Prophecy’s biggest failing is Tom Burman (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Cat People) and Eduoard Henriques’ ill-conceived “Katahdin” creation and Frankenheimer’s decision to show it all. . .the. . .time.


Advice to filmmakers everywhere: When your creature described as being “larger than a dragon with the eyes of a cat” looks like a cross between a mutant bear and an exploded hot dog from the microwave, you might not want to give it this much screen time. With a superior monster design and a little restraint (a la Alien, released just one month prior), things might have worked out a lot better for all concerned.


That said, the cloud-of-feathers sleeping bag kill? Classic.


On a personal note, I should clarify that I don’t dislike the movie nearly as much as my above griping might indicate. The sad truth is just that every time I revisit it, I find myself wishing it were a better (or worse) viewing experience overall, as it seems like it’s more in love with the idea of a chemically enhanced killer mutant Ursus flick than in actually delivering same. If only the final product unspooled could have matched the sizzle of Paul Lehr’s iconic poster image… that would really have been something.



BONUS FEATURES:

NEW “All of our Sins” with Talia Shire (19 min)

NEW “Bearing Up” with Robert Foxworth (10 min)

NEW “Bear And Grin It” with writer David Seltzer (who is so tough on the film that his featurette earns its own “the views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect those of Shout! Factory and Paramount Pictures” credit) (13 min)

NEW “Hard To Bear” with special make-up effects designer Tom Burman (20 min)

NEW “Prophecy Prodigy” with special make-up effects artist Allan Apone (21 min)

NEW “Beneath the Bear” with mime artist Tom McLoughlin (22 min)

Theatrical Trailer

Radio Spots

Still Gallery

Trivia: That’s future Predator Kevin Peter Hall making his film debut inside the Katahdin suit.





Prophecy is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/prophecy?product_id=7234


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Fool's Views (11/1 – 11/15)

November 25, 2019, 9:47 am
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"Eleven #$%@&% Chuck Norris movies??? Are you out of your mind, boyo??????"

Well, with the crush of Scare-A-Thon 2019 behind us, the past two weeks have felt nearly luxurious. And by luxurious, of course, I mean we got to watch more movies! In addition to polishing off the handful of first-time views I’d grabbed as potential October Challenge selections, I finally got around to seeing Avengers: Endgame, had a Robert Pattinson double feature, and (drum roll please), embarked upon my first – and probably only – Chuck Norris film festival… affectionately dubbed Chucktober.™

You see, back in June, my buddy Dan Kiggins and I got together for a little movie day and randomly pulled The Octagon off his creaking video shelves. The wave of ’80s nostalgia sparked viewings of Invasion USA and Lone Wolf McQuade later that week, as well as the dawning realization that I hadn’t seen a majority of The Man Who Would Be Walker: Texas Ranger’s cinematic efforts, despite the fact that he cranked out at least a movie a year for over a decade before launching his nine-year television run.

It took a few months to work up the nerve, but the first weekend in November, I took the plunge into the pool of bad hair, dodgy fight scenes, and dodgier plotlines as a means of revisiting my youth (when His Blondeness was the spin-kicking champion for pre-teens across the country) as well as attempting to understand how someone with such limited screen presence and acting ability somehow managed to will himself into the realm of movie stardom. 14 films later (with another 5-6 still to go), I’m not sure I’m any closer to an answer, but it’s been an interesting journey to be sure.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

HORROR:


Damien: Omen II (1978) d. Taylor, Don (USA) (4th viewing)

***CLICK HERE FOR FULL BLU-RAY REVIEW***





The Fan (1981) d. Bianchi, Edward (USA) (2nd viewing)

***CLICK HERE FOR FULL BLU-RAY REVIEW***





The Lighthouse (2018) d. Eggers, Robert (USA) (1st viewing)

In his follow-up to The VVitch, Eggers delivers another stunning visual feast with exaggerated aesthetics (black-and-white, isolated setting, period trappings, ancient vernacular) and while it may not be as strong from a narrative standpoint, it’s decidedly confident and captivating in its own right. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson go toe-to-toe with each other and the elements as two lighthouse keepers slowly descending into madness, serving up Oscar-worthy performances that rival anything they have done before. Arty and cerebral and challenging.





Marrowbone (2017) d. Sanchez, Sergio (Spain) (1st viewing)

Solid little ghost story from the writer of The Orphanage, featuring several familiar faces such as Anna Taylor-Joy (The VVitch), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), and Mia Goth (Suspiria 2018). George MacKay stars as the eldest brother of a family of shut-ins who keep away from the prying eyes of the local community due to a dark secret in their past. Worth tracking down.




CATCHING UP WITH 2018:


Hellfest (2018) d. Plotkin, Gregory (USA) (1st viewing)

High-concept piece about an obnoxious group of party kids heading to an “extreme” haunted amusement park, where they are prime pickings for a local psycho who has decided to use the environment as a perfect cover for an evening of mass murder. It’s exactly what you think it’s going to be and delivers several decent kills, but it’s hardly breaking new ground nor does it seem interested in doing so.





The Little Stranger (2018) d. Abrahamson, Lenny (UK) (1st viewing)

More a drama of social manners than full-on scarefest, Domhall Gleeson (seemingly everywhere these days) is a small-town doctor with a personal connection to the strange Ayres house and family and its dark past. Ruth Wilson (I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House), Will Poulter (Midsommar), and Charlotte Rampling make up the curious brood in this adaption of Sarah Waters’ (The Handmaiden) acclaimed novel.





The Ranger (2018) d. Wexler, Jenn (USA) (1st viewing)

While it got a lot of love on the festival circuit, for my money this yarn about a gaggle of criminal punks (like, literal punks) who head off to the woods to hide out in a cabin while the heat blows over suffers from a crew of unlikeable and cartoonish characters and an indulgence in slasher clichés. Yes, it’s a low-budget venture and yes, it’s from a female writer/director and yes, it manages to do a lot with a little… it just doesn’t manage to do anything new or inspired. Here’s hoping longtime indie producer Wexler’s next time at bat swings for the bleachers now that she’s shown us she’s capable of getting on base.





Slice (2018) d. Vesely, Austin (USA) (1st viewing)

By contrast, this delightful effort known in certain circles as the “Chance the Rapper Werewolf Movie” is a wildly innovative yarn about a small city where ghosts and humans interact on a daily basis and where a serial killer is bumping off pizza delivery drivers with a scooter-riding werewolf as our main suspect although it’s really a group of witches seeking to open the portals of Hell behind it all. Got all that? It’s funny and clever and original and shot in Chicago and why aren’t more people talking about it????




CIVILIAN:


Avengers: Engame (2019) d. Russo, Anthony / Russo, Joe (USA) (1st viewing)

To my mind, the highest grossing movie of all time shouldn’t have me asking, “Wait a minute…” every 15 minutes. Not nearly as satisfying as Thor: Ragnarok or Avengers: Infinity War and twice as gimmicky (Fat Thor? Smart Hulk?), though I appreciated the fact that they actually had the courage to let some main characters actually DIE this time instead of the huge fake-out THAT WE KNEW WAS A FAKE-OUT from the previous film.





The Rover (2014) d. Michod, David (Australia) (1st viewing)

Okay, after seeing this, Good Time, Cosmopolis, and The Lighthouse over the past 12 months, I’m here to say that Robert Pattinson is the real friggin’ deal. Here’s hoping that between his residuals from the Twilight Saga and his upcoming turn as The Batman, he can afford to keep making these kinds of bold artistic choices. He is well-matched by Guy Pearce as a vengeance-and-vehicle-seeking force of nature in the wind-swept Outback. Michod (Animal Kingdom and the upcoming Oscar bait Henry V adaptation, The King) directs with a sure hand and a brutal heart.





CHUCKTOBER BEGINS!


Breaker! Breaker! (1977) d. Hulette, Don (USA) (2nd viewing)

This enjoyable slice of low-budget hicksploitation follows a nefarious group of moonshiners who divert traffic into their little burg so they can fine and extort big rig drivers. When their latest victim resists, he is soundly beaten and thrown in the clink to rot. Unfortunately for the baddies, Chuck is said victim’s brother and he strolls right into town and whups the tar out of everyone and everything. Goofy and fun, with Chuck providing the fight choreography (as he would for his next three films) and beating the hell out of his real-life prize karate student Ron Cedillos in the finale. Before becoming an Oscar-winning screenwriter (Schindler’s List), Steven Zallian served as an editor on this film as well as the William Shatner thriller Kingdom of the Spiders!





Good Guys Wear Black (1978) d. Post, Ted (USA) (1st viewing)

Backed by a legitimate director in Post (Magnum Force, Beneath the Planet of the Apes), a strong supporting cast (James Franciscus, Anne Archer, Dana Andrews), and a script co-written by future Tony Award-winner Mark Medoff (Children of a Lesser God), Chuck hit the big time as a former Army commando whose former team members are quietly being bumped off by a corrupt government official. Plenty of solid action sequences, including the famous scene of Norris jump-kicking through the windshield of a car. Thanks to American Cinema’s brilliant saturation marketing (via late-night television and radio ads) and its star’s willingness to promote his latest effort to anyone with a microphone, the film became a colossal box-office smash.





A Force of One (1979) d. Aaron, Paul (USA) (2nd viewing)

Chuck stars as a professional karate champion (nice stretch there) who is recruited by the LAPD to train their officers in order to combat a serial killer using martial arts to slay his victims. It’s a fairly flimsy plot, but somehow they convinced Oscar winner Ernest Tidyman (The French Connection, Shaft, High Plains Drifter) to take a stab at it and shored things up by surrounding our star with another solid ensemble (Jennifer O’Neil, Clu Gulager, Ron O’Neal, Eric Laneuville). Real-world karate champ Bill “Superfoot” Wallace makes his big screen debut as Chuck’s nemesis in and out of the ring.





An Eye for an Eye (1981) d. Carver, Steve (USA) (1st viewing)

In arguably the best of his early martial arts extravaganzas, Chuck plays an undercover narcotics cop whose partner (Weekend at Bernie’s’ Terry Kiser) is killed when a bust goes south. But the plot thickens after his late partner’s wife (Rosalind Chao) is also murdered following a series of investigative news reports, so he teams up with her father (Mako, in fine form pushing 50) to track down the culprits. Christopher Lee also stars as a newspaper magnate who just might have connections to the smuggling operation (ya think?), with Matt Clark and Richard Roundtree as Chuck’s fellow badges. The dim spot is Maggie Cooper as the ostensible love interest, all secret smiles and coy looks, but the wingding finale fight with professional wrestler Professor Toru Tanaka more than makes up for it. Director Carver (Big Bad Mama) would reteam with Norris two years later for Lone Wolf McQuade.





Silent Rage (1982) d. Miller, Michael (USA) (2nd viewing)

This represents one of Chuck’s few forays into horror (Hellbound and Hero and the Terror being the other two that I can think of, though I haven’t seen either firsthand yet) and even if it’s not exactly good, it’s never boring. Thanks to mad scientists Steven Keats, William Finley (in a rare non-De Palma appearance), and Ron Silver, human guinea pig Brian Libby becomes an unstoppable killing machine with Wolverine-like healing powers and it’s up to small town sheriff Norris and his dopey deputy (Stephen Furst) to track the monster down and take him out. Director Miller (Jackson County Jail) and one-and-done screenwriter Joseph Fraley attempt to juggle violent horror set-pieces, yuk-yuk humor, and sensitive family bonding moments (kudos to Silver and onscreen wife Toni Kalem for trying) without much success.





Forced Vengeance (1982) d. Fargo, James (USA) (1st viewing)

After serving as first AD on The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Eiger Sanction, Clint Eastwood tapped Fargo to direct The Enforcer and Every Which Way But Loose, both of which were hits, but then things seemed to lose steam. Fargo had only directed one other movie since when he landed the gig directing Chuck as a glorified casino bouncer who gets dragged into his employer’s son’s shady business dealings with a competitor (veteran character man Michael Cavanaugh at his sleazy best). Everything feels just a little lazy, including the opening titles which utilize a backlit fight scene that shows up again (in its entirety) later in the movie!





Missing in Action (1984) d. Zito, Joseph (USA) (1st viewing)

I had completely forgotten that Chuck beat Sly to the punch in the “let’s save the Vietnam POWs” race (although technically they were both preceded by Uncommon Valor), but it’s also a much lesser effort than Rambo: First Blood Part Two in every way. The other curious aspect is that it was actually shot after the Lance Hool film as a sequel, but when it was deemed to be the superior of the two, Golan/Globus decided to release it first! Being an early Cannon Group production (the first of nine that Norris did for the company), it’s a little dodgy in the production value departments, the plotting is thin, and the “name” supporting cast is limited to folks like M. Emmett Walsh and James Hong, but there are some fair action sequences and the final freeze-frame is surprisingly gratifying. Trivia: Prior to his own breakout performance in Bloodsport (1988), Jean Claude Van Damme served as one of the film’s stuntmen.





Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) d. Hool, Lance (USA) (1st viewing)

Set in 1982, this de facto prequel chronicles Col. Braddock’s (Chuck Norris) trials and tribulations within a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, held captive for 10 years, long after the conflict has concluded. The sadistic Col. Yin (Soon Teck-Oh) demands that Braddock sign a confession admitting to committing war crimes against his people, Braddock refuses, Yin tortures Braddock and his men, rinse, lather, repeat for 100 minutes. There’s not a ton of action, mostly confined to internal fisticuffs between Braddock and a turncoat American (Steven Williams, of Jason Goes to Hell fame), and the final showdown between the two main antagonists.





Code of Silence (1985) d. Davis, Andrew (USA) (4th viewing)

Chuck + Haiku = Chaiku

Chuck cleans up Chi-town
Beats up chumps, outs dirty cops
With his robot dog

I have a soft spot for this flick for several reasons: 1) It’s a legitimately solid effort, with no apologies or qualifications required (a rarity for Mr. Norris’ C.V.), thanks mostly to director Davis (The Final Terror) who would go on to direct such fare as The Fugitive, Above the Law, Under Siege, and The Guardian. 2) It was the first film for which I ever wrote a review (for my high school newspaper The Skyline Sun). I don’t have access to said review, but I remember pointing out Chuck’s dialogue was kept to a minimum (good call) as were his martial arts skills (curious, but it works for the story). 3) It’s set in Davis’ hometown of Chicago and he uses the city’s distinctive architecture to great effect. 4) Our “white knight” star – playing a squeaky clean cop surrounded by dirty dealings – is supported by a cadre of fantastic character actors, many of whom were early in their careers and since became staples of Chi-town flavor: Dennis Farina, Allen Hamilton, Ron Dean, John Mahoney, Nathan Davis, Joseph Kasala, and a young Molly Hagan. 5) Henry Silva is on board as the main baddie, and it’s true what they say: A great adventure yarn is only as good as its villain. 6) Davis seems to be the rare director who knew how to bring out the best in Norris (and fellow action-star-not-actor Steven Seagal), playing to their strengths and keeping their limitations at bay.





The Delta Force (1986) d. Golan, Meneham (USA) (1st viewing)

A film at war with itself, starting off as an all-star disaster flick after Robert Forster (playing a Lebanese terrorist, complete with accent and wig!) takes a commercial airliner hostage, doling out the punishment to such celebrated talent as Martin Balsam, Shelley Winters, Joey Bishop, George Kennedy, Kim Delaney, Bo Svenson, and Susan Strasberg. Meanwhile, Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (in his final screen role) are the leaders of the eponymous task force sent out to save the day, but they don’t really get to do anything until 45 minutes from the end (which is a long wait, considering the two-hour run-time). Once they start blowing things up real good, things pick up considerably, but then we have to contend with Alan Silvestri’s high-energy fanfare (a la The A-Team) which plays over and over and over and over and over until it’s become a death wish drinking game. (Fun fact: it was later co-opted by ABC Sports for their Indianapolis 500 intros!) Chuck’s unintentionally hilarious motorcycle-mounted rear-launching rockets are a great source of amusement, since it basically looks like he’s farting his enemies into oblivion.





Top Dog (1995) d. Norris, Aaron (USA) (1st viewing)

As Dan and I were watching, we just kept yelling at the screen, “Who was the audience for this movie????” When the high concept is “Chuck Norris is tough cop paired with a dog for a partner,” one would imagine we’re in for some easy breezy hijinks… as opposed to a plot (with a higher body count than laughs) about a group of white supremacists planning to assassinate an array of multicultural leaders as part of its grand rise to power. Also, it should have been clear to anyone at this point – especially his brother Aaron – that Chuck ain’t your go-to funny guy. This might have been a funny three-minute SNL skit, but as a feature-length film, it’s just embarrassing.



2019 Totals to Date: 398 films, 184 1st time views, 214 horror, 41 cinema


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DRACULA (1979) Blu-ray Review

November 26, 2019, 3:43 pm
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Dracula (1979) d. John Badham (USA) (109 min)

Fresh from his Broadway triumph in the titular role, a young and handsome Frank Langella smirks and smolders his way into the hearts of heroines Mina Van Helsing (Jan Francis) and Lucy Seward (Kate Nelligan), leaving the former bitten and drained, the latter smitten and stained with his tainted blood. Donald Pleasance provides a busy and eccentric turn as Dr. Seward, head of the local loony bin, while Laurence Olivier lends estimable gravitas as an aging but feisty Van Helsing, wrestling with undead demons and an unplaceable European accent (Dutch? Swiss? German?) with equal fervor.


Screenwriter W. D. Richter (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Needful Things) pulled elements from both the Hamilton Deane/John Balderston stage play that had launched Bela Lugosi to stardom as well as from Bram Stoker’s original novel. As such, Langella – who had performed the role to great acclaim using sets based on the drawings of Edward Gorey – was occasionally flummoxed making the transition, feeling very attached to certain moments that were either no longer in the script or having to perform them in a completely different manner than he had done on stage.


Speaking of transitions, one can hardly imagine a more startling 180 degree turn from the gritty NYC streets and flashy discotechs of Saturday Night Fever to the sumptuous period setting of this supernatural Gothic romance, but Badham pulls it off admirably, aided by cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (Star Wars, Flash Gordon, The Omen), editor John Bloom (responsible for cutting eclectic fare from The Lion in Winter and Ghandi to Orca and Magic), production designer Peter Murton (Goldfinger, Thunderball, Superman II and III), and costume designer Julie Harris (A Hard Day’s Night, The Great Muppet Caper, Rollerball). The gorgeous and melancholy musical score by John Williams proved to be the magical thread pulling all the elements together.


Dismissed during its original release as lacking in horror elements – a fair criticism, as this is decidedly more a romantic thriller than monster movie (and I’m sure the laser beam-accented love scene between Nelligan and Langella didn’t do them any favors). That said, it’s exquisitely realized with superb production values, and while I personally could have done without the final bat-kite mo-mo (added to lend a sense of ambiguity), it’s a more-than-worthy entry in the undead nobleman’s cinematic legacy.


BONUS FEATURES:

DISC ONE: Director Preferred De-saturated Color Timing

Audio Commentary with director John Badham

NEW Introduction by John Badham (1 min)

NEW “King of My Kind” with John Badham (32 min)

NEW “What Sad Music” with writer W.D. Richter (33 min)

NEW “Dracula’s Guest” with camera assistant Jim Alloway (6 min)

NEW “Dracula’s Guest” with hair stylist Colin Jamison (5 min)

NEW Interview with editor John Bloom (21 min)

NEW Interview with assistant director Anthony Waye (16 min)

NEW Interview with production manager Hugh Harlow (21 min)

NEW Interview with make-up artist Peter Robb-King (25 min)

“The Revamping of Dracula” featuring interviews with actor Frank Langella, producer Walter Mirsch, director John Badham, and writer W.D. Richter (40 min)


DISC TWO: Original Theatrical Color Timing

NEW 4K scan of the best available original film elements

NEW Introduction by John Badham (same as Disc 1)

NEW Audio commentary by film historian/filmmaker Constantine Nasr

Theatrical Trailer (2 min)

Radio Spots (2 min)

Still Gallery









Dracula is available now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be ordered HERE:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/dracula-collector-s-edition?product_id=7228


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MARY (2019) Blu-ray Review

November 27, 2019, 8:42 am
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Mary (2019) d. Michael Goi (USA) (84 min)

Stymied by having to struggle to make ends meet working for other venues, over-the-hill captain David impulsively purchases an abandoned ship, much to the dismay of his practical wife (Emily Mortimer) and two girls (Stefanie Scott, Chloe Perrin). After pouring their savings into repairs and restorations, the family takes the Mary out for her maiden voyage, with first mate Mike (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and youthful family friend Tommy (Owen Teague) aboard. But as is so often the way with discarded seacraft, a sinister curse seems to hang over the ship from bow to stern, muddling the minds of passengers and crew alike and causing them to lash out at one another with increasing violence and unpredictability. Trapped in the middle of the ocean (near the Bermuda Triangle, as fate would have it) with nowhere to escape, the hours tick by with certain doom drawing ever nearer….


While he’s never been the choosiest of actors, you really have to wonder what the hell Oscar winner Oldman was thinking when he signed on to sail this bilge barge. I mean, how expensive are those mortgage payments these days, Gary? Ditto Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns), who serves as our potentially unreliable narrator, relating the fateful events in flashback to an interrogation room police detective (Jennifer Esposito).


As written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows, Vanishing on 7th Street), it’s almost surprising how few surprises there are in store for our waterlogged band – people start inexplicably going mad and causing harm to themselves and others, the ship mysteriously drifts off course, tensions run high, computer-generated spooky images appear behind people, and so on.


Longtime American Horror Story cinematographer Goi (who also served as DP here) has only helmed a handful of features (including the scrappy, flawed, and occasionally terrifying Megan is Missing), and while he has a good eye for visuals, the performances from all assembled range from shrill to shriller, and because of the inherent claustrophobic location, he’s somewhat limited in terms of finding variety of setting. Hence the occasional bird’s eye view of the boat isolated in the middle of the water, with nothing around for miles. It’s a haunting reminder of a) the characters’ isolation and b) the fact that there is no place for them to go. (Esposito’s character actually asks Mortimer at one point, “Why didn’t you just get off?”, as if we needed the point hammered home.)


The elevated caliber of performers actually makes the pedestrian nature of the enterprise all the more disappointing; I felt suckered in by Oldman and Mortimer’s presence, and found myself wondering if I would have been as peeved had I been watching no-name actors looking for their big break. Ultimately, I decided it wouldn’t have made that much difference, except for the fact that I probably wouldn’t have bothered watching it in the first place. The final result is competent but completely unremarkable and of interest only to Oldman completists.




BONUS FEATURES:

The Making of Mary (6 min)

Family at Sea: The Cast of Mary (5 min)




Mary is available now on Blu-ray and DVD from RLJE Films and can be ordered HERE:

https://us.rljentertainment.com/franchise/mary/


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