I thought I'd begin the new week with a couple of my favorite anthology films. I'm a massive fan of Stephen King - even some of his lesser works I find to be incredibly fun pieces - and the two "Creepshow" films released in the eighties rank high on my scale of rewatchability. Right from the opening wraparound of this first film, viewers know they're in for something special. There's atmosphere in abundance and director George A. Romero has always known how to grab his viewers from frame one. The outstanding cast also helps to imbue the production with a winking sense of jest that keeps the terror lively without ever turning the film into an outright clown show. It's wonderful to see people near the beginning of their careers (like Ed Harris and Ted Danson) share the screen with veteran performers (like Viveca Lindfors and E.G. Marshall) who were still snagging prime roles near the end of theirs.
In my eyes, "Father's Day" is probably the segment closest in tone to the old E.C. Comics I remember reading and wouldn't have felt out of place in one of the seemingly numberless British anthologies that sprouted during the seventies. King himself takes the lead in "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" and is the only person I could really see doing justice to the role. His comically exaggerated expressions and well-timed "Down East" drawling wordplay never fail to bring a smile to my face. When I was a kid, I found the "Something to Tide You Over" segment to be a bit on the boring side, and while it's still my least favorite of the five, I have gained an appreciation for it over the years. It works well as a bridge between the perfectly humorous "Jordy Verrill" and the delightfully macabre monster hiding within "The Crate."
Adrienne Barbeau is such a deliciously nasty piece of work in this segment which is a terrific contrast to the kinds of roles I saw her in previously (namely John Carpenter's "The Fog" and Wes Craven's "Swamp Thing"). Watching her get her comeuppance is satisfying every time. The monster itself is capably crafted by the legendary Tom Savini and its toothy afterimage stays burned in your brain for days. While I've met all manner of bug face-to-face, I have never had the displeasure of running across a cockroach. Not once in my life. And after watching the last segment of this film, I hope I never do! I don't care how cute and talented they were in "Joe's Apartment," it will never help erase the horrid image of
[Show spoiler]hundreds of creepy crawlies bursting out of a man's chest during the finale of this film.
Yech.
½
One of my fondest childhood memories is staying overnight at my grandparents' house where my grandmother would read me short stories from Stephen King books before bed. I remember her reading pieces from "Skeleton Crew" and when "Creepshow 2" came out, I was ecstatic to see that "The Raft" had been adapted for the film. It just barely edges out the beginning and end chapters as my favorite segment. The four leads work well together and breathe some honest life into their admittedly two dimensionally-written characters. Paul Satterfield and Daniel Beer carry the bulk of the story's weight on their shoulders but Jeremy Green and Page Hannah do make very attractive victims.
While I prefer the original "Creepshow" film slightly over its sequel, for some reason the wraparound here is my favorite between the two. "Old Chief Wood'nhead" gives George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour an incredible opportunity to work together and they leap at the chance to make their elderly couple as dusty and as once promising as the town they inhabit. Holt McCallany is an underrated antagonist as the tribal elder's son but I've always thought that Wood'nhead himself is one of those decent unstoppable avatars of revenge that isn't really scary, merely disquieting due to the governing force of spiritual karma that live behind his abilities. "The Hitchhiker" is the darkest of the segments and Lois Chiles was a great choice to play Annie Lansing. She's more than capable of rising to the demands of a solo spotlight being shone on her character. The story is squarely on her - her spoken monologues to herself and her reactions to the ever more grisly terror that's stalking her on her journey home. Chiles is wonderful every step of the way. It's also nice to see King himself in one of his trademarked cameo appearances, though after his turn as Jordy Verrill in the original film, I'd have liked to see a larger part written for him in this sequel.
½
Here we have my inaugural "first time watch" film for this Halloween. I went into this blind to the point that I only knew Helen Hunt was one of the stars. I've absolutely adored her since I first saw her in "Trancers" and I feel that her 2012 film "The Sessions" was one of the most underrated of its decade. William Arcane's ominous, booming score and the accompanying small town visuals were a jarring mix to start the show, made more so by the youngster getting yeeted off his bicycle by an invisible force. Its continued use a few moments later - and at a few other inopportune times later in the film - doesn't suggest suspense to me as much as it suggests an annoying single-digit school kid bouncing up and down, screaming "Look at me! I'm scary! I'm over here! Give me attention now!" There's something to be said for subtlety and I'm not sure Arcane has fully grasped that concept yet.
Early on, I was riveted by the pieces of two separate jigsaw puzzles being put together at the same time: the adulterous love affair
[Show spoiler]with the resultant murder
and the missing children taken by a possible copycat serial abuser. However, while the idea of
[Show spoiler]phrogging culture is quite disturbing unto itself, the inclusion as a script alteration here took me out of the film a little. Honestly, I would have rather seen Hunt and husband Jon Tenney take more central roles in a supernaturally-tinged procedural storyline where Hunt is having psychic manifestations of guilt start infecting her like poltergeist activity while her husband tracks down the kidnapper. Even retaining the twist of having Tenney be the culprit could have worked and been a more engrossing film than the one director Adam Randall presented here. I suppose he had a clear vision of what he wanted for a film and I'm sure it's not his fault I couldn't enjoy what he presented. I can just think of better ways this storyline could have developed. At least the phroggers themselves don't bother me the way some actors from the newer generations have. Owen Teague is actually quite good and, at the very least, Libe Barer is two or three notches above being a generic insert.
This wound up being more of a thriller than an actual horror movie but I think it still has a marginal "Halloween season" feeling. I like the way cinematographer Philipp Blaubach gives the film a decorous modern sheen that places us just inside the locations but never fully immerses us, like the viewer is always supposed to be an observer of the events rather than a participant. I do wish Hunt herself had a little more screen time as her character was genuinely interesting but that might be my opinion simply because it was her that brought me to the film in the first place. Overall, I thought this was an average movie: not really good, not really bad, and probably not something I'd watch again any time soon.
And they say gingers have no soul. Murderous dolls are nothing new to the horror genre - they've been around since at least the mid-forties - but one being possessed by the soul of a disbelieving voodoo apprentice was a nifty little twist when this came out. Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray, the Lakeshore Strangler, is on the run from the police when he gets mortally wounded and must transfer his soul into the nearest available source: a Good Guys doll. Once inside, he finds the doll is turning into a human and he must transfer his soul once more, this time into the person he first told his secret to - a little boy named Andy. It must be said that Brad Dourif has one of the best horror movie voices in history. It lends itself so naturally to the concept of derangement.
Alex Vincent was the perfect child actor for the role of Andy, maintaining just the right amount of innocence in his vocal inflections to offset the outright insanity Dourif brought to the table. Writer Don Mancini also gave the kid some brass to actually go running toward gunshots instead of away from them when searching for the missing Chucky. Catherine Hicks holds a commanding presence of near hysterical worrying as Andy's mother while "Fright Night" favorite Chris Sarandon elevates his police detective role over the paper thin portrayal from the screenplay into something more palatable. There's a real sense of tension in this first film and its immediate sequel that would be lacking in later entries. Granted there would be a few frightening moments in each, but the first two movies were old school nail-biters by comparison.
I love the fact that "Child's Play" takes place in winter and I always wished more horror films would utilize the backdrop of the coldest season. There's something about frosty air and snow-covered locations that increases the impression of isolation. I also love the straightforward attitude of this film. It takes such a simple story and runs with it to its logical conclusion instead of stuffing the story with all manner of subplots. Most of the top tier horror movies from the twentieth century understood that developing their narrative any further than necessary was absurd. Repeat the same formula in numerous sequels until the grosses go down and then latch onto another simple story and start the process over again. It's not that hard, people. You'd think modern filmmakers would be able to create lasting franchises but they just can't seem to craft compellingly uncomplicated slice 'n' dice. Anyhow, the finale of this film is one of my favorites. You'd think a toy doll would be easy to dispose of but
[Show spoiler]this film proves otherwise as they shoot, burn and decapitate the little f***er and he still keeps coming toward them until a direct shot through the heart punches his little plastic ticket. He's like a mini terminator!
Good stuff.
WANT TO LISTEN TO SOMETHING REALLY SCARY?
(Don't say I didn't warn you! Turn back! Turn back!!)
MONSTERFEST 2024
Blue = blu-ray, * = first viewing
September Warm-upThe list so far:
[Show spoiler]
TV EPISODES
ROUTE 66: LIZARD'S LEG & OWLET'S WING (1962) 1/2 This Halloween episode itself isn't great, but it guest stars Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr, and Peter Lorre. Chaney appears as the Hunchback (his dad's old role), the Mummy, and the Wolf Man. Karloff dons his Frankenstein monster make-up one last time. The story is nothing, but it's worth it to see these guys in something close to the make-ups that made them famous. Nostalgic fun. Cool blu-ray, with vintage horror commercials, a clip of Vampira, an episode of Suspense with Bela Lugosi, and two episodes of the Karlff show, The Veil. TWILIGHT ZONE: JESS-BELLE (1962) One of the best of the 1 hour episodes - a tale of witchcraft and a Were-cat. Great script by Earl Hamner, with a strong folk-tale favor. Really good.
MOVIES
THE SPELL (1977) 1/2 1970's TV movies appeal mainly to those of us that grew up with them. They have limitations on budget, FX, and gore, but to this former 70s kid they're cheesy fun. This one gets dismissed as a Carrie knock-off (though it was actually written before Carrie) but other than a few surface similarities they're not that much alike. The subject is witchcraft, not telekinesis, and the final revelation is far from Carrie's storyline. Over-all rather good for what it is. Well-acted with some effective moments and a fun surprise ending. WARNING: the Scream-Factory blu-ray only contains the extended version. Unfortunately, the additional scenes were obviously not part of the original movie. They add nothing, they're spliced crudely into the film, and the tagged on ending spoils the very satisfying original conclusion, and lowers my rating by 1/2 skull. I wish the added footage wasn't there, or was a bonus to the original film. *HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM (1959) 1/2 First time viewing this early slasher/gore flick. Not exactly good, but very entertaining! Michael Gough hams it up nicely, and if there are no surprises, there are plenty of smiles at this once-shocking film. Best remembered for those horrible loaded binoculars! LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL[/B] (streaming) (2023) 1/2 Really clever, and very well-done! The recreation of the 70s TV show is totally convincing. It loses me a bit at the ending when the faux-documentary approach is suddenly abandoned. It turns quite dark and, IMO, a bit less fun. Still there's much to like here, and I loved it until the ending. *AFRAID (2024) (Theatrical) 1/2 This is getting absolutely TERRIBLE reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but my wife and I really enjoyed it. It's a bit silly in parts, but always engrossing, and very well-acted with convincing family relationships. It has a wonderful sense of paranoia, and it doesn't over-stay its welcome. Instead of endless climaxes, it comes to a swift, satisfying, and unsettling conclusion ...and stops. Bravo! Obviously I'm alone on this one, but I found it far more enjoyable than most theatrical horrors I have seen this year. I'm sure I'll add it to the collection when it comes out. *MOON OF THE WOLF (Streaming) 1972 Another of those 70s TV horrors, this time set in the Louisiana bayou and starring David Janssen as a southern sheriff. We had never seen it before, but despite a cool setting, decent story and good acting, it was just too tame. There's more investigation footage than werewolf action, and when the climax did come, it was undercut by weak werewolf make-up. It was fun for our September warm-up, but I doubt we'd watch it again. *THE PSYCHIC (1977) 1/2 First time viewing, and a pretty good film. It's one of those Italian productions where everyone is ridiculously overdressed and badly dubbed. The plot gets a bit murky in spots, but over-all this is quite enjoyable. Very suspenseful as different parts of our heroine's vision come to pass. Well worth watching! THE MUMMY (1932) One of the Founding Fathers of Fear. Moves a bit slower than some, but it's so well shot and edited. Basically an Egyptian-themed re-write of Dracula, with Van Sloan and Manners back in their Van Helsing/Harker roles, the Nubian servant for Renfield, Zita Johann in the Mina role and under the control of the monster. and an amulet replacing the cross. Probably not quite as strong as Frankenstein, but wonderful and still deserving of 5 skulls. DEAD CALM (1988) An impossibly young Nicole Kidman stuck at sea with bonkers Billy Zane, while Sam Neill fights to escape a watery would-be grave. Really quite a good thriller (after a completely unnecessary opening with the death of a child.) Good performances all around. The final moments lapse into been-there-done-that killer clichés, but it's so much fun getting there that it doesn't matter. A minor classic. DEMENTIA 13 (Director's Cut) (1963) I doubt anyone would call this a great film, but Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut is certainly interesting. This print removes the silly "Dementia 13 test" prologue, and an additional murder added by another director at Roger Corman's insistence to pad the running time. While the story is a bit muddled, it's plain to see the potential of young Coppola. Some great shots and cool scenes. A fun, worthwhile curio. Wonderful print too! *SPEAK NO EVIL (2022) (On Shudder) I hated this film. We watched it in preparation for the remake opening this week, but now I doubt I'll even see it. The premise is fine (though the bombastic score screams "HORROR MOVIE!" before anything sinister even happens.) The behavior of our protagonists gets dumber as it goes, however the film doesn't really derail until the scenes at the end. At that point I was done with it. Why was this made? Not for the poorly developed characters. Not for the plot, which becomes nonsense half-way through when our heroes begin doing thing that NO ONE would ever do. Not for the back-story - there isn't one! No explanation at all for these people and what they do. That just leaves the pointless - and utterly tasteless - cruelty at the end. If watching suffering is all there is, count me out. This isn't entertainment. BAD RONALD (1974) 1/2 This is another of those fun, fondly remembered 70s TV movies, and one of the better ones! Ronald is an outcast kid who lives alone with his sick mother. He gets in trouble with the law, so mom helps hide him in a secret room in the house. Unfortunately mom dies, and Ronald is still hiding in the walls when a new family moves in. Hilarity ensues. If you grew up with these TV films and understand their limitations, make it 4 skulls - it's quite good for what it is. If you're too young to have been there, or have no patience for vintage cheese, you should probably just move along. A really fun film, and a remarkably good looking blu-ray! SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK (1991) This was a 1991 CBS TV movie, and despite a few cheesy elements (the campy "undead" makeup, occasionally cringy dialogue) it's a favorite of mine. It's an engrossing story, mostly well-acted, and ends on a surprisingly bitter-sweet note. I really enjoyed it!
Only complaint: why is this in the 2:35 aspect ratio? It was filmed and shown at 4:3. An earlier blu-ray offered 2 versions - in 4:3 and 2:35 (or possibly 1:78, which would probably look good.) At 2:35 it's way too tight, with lots of heads cut off at the top and the chin. Annoying! *BURIED ALIVE (1990) 1/2 My wife and I have been on a vintage TV movie kick this month, and this was a fun new discovery! Frank Darabont directed it - it was his very first film - for the USA Network. Tim Matheson gets bumped off (almost!) by his cheating wife, and wakes up to find himself ...wait for it ... Buried Alive. I assumed the movie would be a survival flick about his attempt to escape, but no. He was out fairly quickly and the films heads in a completely unexpected direction. It's becomes a campy, comic book-style story that would have fit in well in Creepshow. The second half may not be very realistic, but it's a lot of fun. Great final scene! A really enjoyable blind buy. Good blu-ray from Kino. TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) 1/2 This landmark TV horror movie gave school kids the screaming meemies for weeks after it aired. No one who saw it then has every forgotten it. It's made up of three stories, all starring Karen Black, who is quite good throughout. The first story, about date rape(!) is tame, but pretty good with a nice twist at the end. 3.5 skulls. The second, a tale of 2 sisters, is obvious and forgettable and would score a 2 at best. However, it's the final story - about a "Zuni fetish doll" - that this film is remembered for. It starts quietly, but once it gets going it's frantically paced and relentless in it's tale of survival between a woman and the action figure from Hell. Unlike anything ever produced for TV up until that time, and still very effective. A solid 5 skulls. That story alone made this film a must-see. *TRILOGY OF TERROR 2 (1996) I had never seen this sequel before, and never even knew it existed until recently. Producer Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) is back with 3 more stories, this time all featuring Lysette Anthony ...who proves that she is no Karen Black by ranging from poor to just adequate in her three starring roles.
For me, the first story - a tale of infidelity and grave robbery - is the best. The climax features some very nasty inhabitants of the graveyard, and if they're not exactly realistic looking, they work, and had me squirming in my seat. 4 skulls. The second story, of resurrection from the grave, has the poorest acting of the three and would get a 3 at best. The third was perhaps the biggest disappointment. It's a direct sequel to the original Zuni Fetish Doll story, but it offers nothing new. After an adequate set-up it's basically a remake and even copies the original's suitcase scene note for note. Maybe 3 skulls. A fun film, but other than the first gruesome tale, it's no threat to the original. *SPEAK NO EVIL (2024) 1/2 My wife and I watched the original Danish version a few days ago, and hated it. While the premise was great, the ending was so dark, ugly and pointless that it completely wiped out the fun of the film. After reading that this version ended differently, we gave it a chance. Very different animal! Where the original is more "serious" and dark, this is a popcorn thriller. Unfortunately, like many modern popcorn flicks, it didn't know when to stop and had a silly, over-baked climax, but it was still a good time at the movies. It might not be "art" (though McAvoy is excellent) but it's fun. Many will prefer the more brutal original, but we came out of this one smiling instead of depressed. Mission accomplished. *ANTS (aka IT HAPPENED AT LAKEWOOD MANOR) (1977) 1/2 This is one of those films they always had at Blockbuster (the cover was a close-up of Suzanne Somers' cleavage, covered with ants, remember?) Finally saw it, as part of our Ant Attack double feature. Typical 70s TV eco-horror, and a lot of fun. A quaint lakeside hotel does some reconstruction and unleashes a colony of mutant, poison-injecting ants on the guests. (They're gonna hate their Yelp reviews.) Campy fun, with a lot of effects that were never meant to be seen in high-def. Still, a lot of scenes made me squirm. How did Myrna Loy end up in this, along with all those familiar 70s TV actors? Suzanne Somers is an eyeful! Surprisingly for a Kino release, the picture quality was a bit disappointing - clean, and in a choice of two aspect ratios, but waaay too bright looking. THEM! (1953) All-time 50s Sci-Fi classic. Humorously, the film takes great pains to present all the opening unexplained deaths as a mystery ...despite the movie poster and trailer featuring tons of giant ants carrying screaming people away! Look fast for young Leonard Nimoy in an early role. A terrific, suspenseful film, really well-written and acted, with wonderful footage of mid-50s Los Angeles. Easily the best of the "big bug" movies. *FEAR NO EVIL (1969) This movie was a real surprise! It's early for a TV movie - in fact it was the very first ever NBC "Movie Of The Week". Unlike many TV films from the era, it's not cheesey in the slightest. In fact, it's remarkably serious, and quite good. It's definitely a slow-burn film (and maybe a little talky) but the atmosphere is excellent, the acting is quite good and story is intelligent. It's also subtle - we had to rewatch the ending before we picked up an important detail that expalins the action in the climax. Great performance from Carol O'Conner in a small but important role. This was a blind buy, but it's definitely a film I am looking forward to watching again.
COUNT DRACULA (DVD) (1977) Dracula gets the BBC Masterpiece Theatre treatment. A really excellent adaptation! It has it's flaws - it was shot on video tape so the picture quality is poor, and special effects shots consist mainly of garishly colored negative images. But story is everything, and it really shines in that department. It's closer to the book than most versions, and includes many bits that are usually left out. Jordan is used sparingly, but he makes a cold, cruel and intelligent Dracula. Renfield and Van Helsing (Frank Finley) are both excellent. (On the other hand, the English actor playing Quincy has a laugh-out-loud bad "Texas accent.")
It's low-tech and soft looking, but truly chilling and even disturbing in parts. For story and atmosphere, I would rank this among the very best adaptations of Dracula.
Last edited by charlieray1; 09-17-2024 at 04:31 PM.
I have not seen this film since the autumn of 1998 at a party with friends, so it was a real treat going back to this one. I've always loved small town Halloween-oriented films that actually look like they were filmed in fall, rather than using spring or summer to masquerade as the holiday season. I also prefer small town horror films over ones that take place in the city, simply because there's a scarier appeal to me of terror lurking around the street corners in the kind of suburbs where I myself grew up. There are obviously a few really good genre movies that take place in cities ("Child's Play" naturally springs to mind after watching it last night), but for my money, the smaller the town, the creepier the horror. Here, young Frankie Scarlatti gets locked in his school cloakroom overnight as a prank. While there he witnesses the murder of an apparitional girl, whom he later finds out is named Melissa Anne Montgomery. Thus begins a fairly laid-back children's mystery as Scarlatti - in an unhurried fashion - tries to figure out who killed Melissa Anne before an innocent man pays the price.
Although never dull, this film feels as slow as life must have felt in 1962 Willowpoint Falls, where the action takes place. There are so many little touches that hold one's interest as the story progresses on its leisurely way. Lukas Haas is great in the lead, but another person who stands out for me is Jared Rushton as the boy who pulled the prank. I always wish Rushton had a few more high profile roles to set alongside this, "Overboard," "Big" and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" as he epitomized the typical eighties' kid for me. Oh sure, he'd show up again in "Pet Sematary II," but by that point it felt like whatever magic he had was gone. I admire Frank LaLoggia's writing and directing here, but I'm truly impressed by his musical score, which stands as one of my favorite compositions geared toward childhood horror (equaled only by James Horner's score for "Something Wicked This Way Comes"). I must say, when I first saw this film I was surprised by the fact
[Show spoiler]it didn't have exactly the kind of happy ending one would expect. The death of the janitor Harold Williams was a shock that left me reeling as I fully expected him to be all right and return to his family.
I enjoyed going back to this film after more than a quarter of a century. I really shouldn't wait so long to revisit it again.
I only saw this film once when it was released and I can't seem to recall anything about it, so it's almost like a first time watch for me. It starts off well enough with a cameo from horror legend Wes Craven but it quickly falls into the mid-nineties trap of using rap music as part of its soundtrack whether it fit or not. Now, I have nothing against rap music. It's not my favorite genre in the world, but I can listen to some and I can even enjoy it during films . . . if it's used in the right context. The basic premise on this occasion is that a group of college students head up to a cabin in the woods as part of a psychology work shop. That doesn't exactly scream "rap music belongs here!" to me. In fact, its continued use through the first half hour of the film instead makes me think the makers of "The Fear" were trying to be hip or edgy and instead they come off as extraordinarily lame. The songs stick out like sore thumbs, and when they finally go away, they are not missed in the slightest. When the rap music returns for the end credits, it feels even more inappropriate.
The production value for this film makes it feel like a cousin to the kind of features Full Moon was churning out around the same time. "The Fear" could have easily fit between "Castle Freak" and "Head of the Family" and I don't think anyone would have batted an eye. Robert O. Ragland's score definitely reminds one of a "Puppet Master" movie if you listen closely enough. For a group consisting of low card filler and unknown actors, they're astonishingly capable of making believable characters here. That is, with the exception of Darin Heames who turns in another imbecilic performance after doing the same for "Dr. Giggles" and "Night of the Demons 2." How this guy continued to get work is beyond me. On the other hand, lead player Eddie Bowz actually reminds me of a young Christian Bale and I'm bewildered as to why he never had better roles.
To my utter amazement, this film commits the cardinal sin of being infinitely more entertaining in its first hour than it is during the last forty minutes when it throws all its cards on the table thinking it has a full house only to find out it's holding a pair of deuces. It wants to be inventive by using the supernaturally-tinged Morty entity, a lifelike wooden mannequin with some connection to . . . something or other; I've already forgotten what the thing's backstory was and I just watched the damn film a few hours ago. Let's just say we have found in Morty a character that makes Chief Wood'nhead from "Creepshow 2" actually look animated. Morty is seriously a waste of time. If this film had remained an indie drama centered squarely on the psychology student aspects, it could have been a decent film in my book. As it stands, it starts well and devolves into a movie I probably won't remember any specifics from by the time I wake up tomorrow morning.
½
Growing up, none of my friends or I felt that "Child's Play" really needed a sequel. It was just one of those great late eighties one-offs destined for many repeat viewings on long, dark, spooky evenings. Yet when the first trailer arrived for the sequel, it seemed like a desirable addition to the storyline that we absolutely had to see. The original was a simple tale but it looks positively Shakespearian by contrast to the sequel. Here, a greedy toy company rebuilds the Good Guys doll that was possessed by the soul of Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray who comes back to kill, KILL, KILL!!!!!! Sorry . . . that got away from me for a second. Meanwhile, Andy Barclay has been put into a foster home due to his mother being placed under psychiatric evaluation for retelling the events that happened to her and her son. The foster parents here are two of my favorite actors from classic seventies films: Gerrit Graham who had a wonderful turn as Beef in Brian De Palma's "Phantom of the Paradise" and Jenny Agutter who starred in my second favorite Australian film "Walkabout." For anyone keeping score, my favorite Australian film is "Crocodile Dundee."
This sequel benefits from its brisk pace and shortened running time as there's never a moment when you can feel too settled into the story. Chucky
[Show spoiler]replacing Tommy, the Good Guys doll that was already present in the foster home, also allows him to incriminate Andy for bad behavior both at home and at school.
This adds a bit of humor and gives Chucky a new dimension of menace that makes him all the more lovable for us horror enthusiasts. Alex Vincent continues to prove his worth as he increases Andy's depth, visibly suffering through the separation from his mother and the isolation caused by the disbelieving adults who currently surround him. Christine Elise makes a great foster teen who becomes the person Andy must rely on most in his quest to rid himself of Chucky's wrath. Writer Don Mancini ratchets up the tension and demonstrates his ability to successfully recapture the allure of the first film. The finale
[Show spoiler]in the doll factory features the terrific twist of having Chucky be too late to transfer his soul into Andy. Brad Dourif's phenomenal voice work perfectly conveys the rage Chucky feels and this intensifies the chase through the factory and the ultimate confrontation that ends in satisfyingly gruesome fashion for the former Lakeshore Strangler.
As I said, after the first film a sequel wasn't readily apparent . . . but after "Child's Play 2," you could almost sense another chapter already in the works.
Torso (First time viewing. New Arrow 4K. This was a pretty good early Giallo. The only thing I didn't like was how fake some of of the special effects looked. I sensed John Carpenter got some inspiration for Halloween from this film. I thought the 4K looked great)
MONSTERFEST 2024
Blue = blu-ray, * = first viewing
September Warm-upThe list so far:
[Show spoiler]
TV EPISODES
ROUTE 66: LIZARD'S LEG & OWLET'S WING (1962) 1/2 This Halloween episode itself isn't great, but it guest stars Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr, and Peter Lorre. Chaney appears as the Hunchback (his dad's old role), the Mummy, and the Wolf Man. Karloff dons his Frankenstein monster make-up one last time. The story is nothing, but it's worth it to see these guys in something close to the make-ups that made them famous. Nostalgic fun. Cool blu-ray, with vintage horror commercials, a clip of Vampira, an episode of Suspense with Bela Lugosi, and two episodes of the Karlff show, The Veil. TWILIGHT ZONE: JESS-BELLE (1962) One of the best of the 1 hour episodes - a tale of witchcraft and a Were-cat. Great script by Earl Hamner, with a strong folk-tale favor. Really good.
MOVIES
THE SPELL (1977) 1/2 1970's TV movies appeal mainly to those of us that grew up with them. They have limitations on budget, FX, and gore, but to this former 70s kid they're cheesy fun. This one gets dismissed as a Carrie knock-off (though it was actually written before Carrie) but other than a few surface similarities they're not that much alike. The subject is witchcraft, not telekinesis, and the final revelation is far from Carrie's storyline. Over-all rather good for what it is. Well-acted with some effective moments and a fun surprise ending. WARNING: the Scream-Factory blu-ray only contains the extended version. Unfortunately, the additional scenes were obviously not part of the original movie. They add nothing, they're spliced crudely into the film, and the tagged on ending spoils the very satisfying original conclusion, and lowers my rating by 1/2 skull. I wish the added footage wasn't there, or was a bonus to the original film. *HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM (1959) 1/2 First time viewing this early slasher/gore flick. Not exactly good, but very entertaining! Michael Gough hams it up nicely, and if there are no surprises, there are plenty of smiles at this once-shocking film. Best remembered for those horrible loaded binoculars! LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL[/B] (streaming) (2023) 1/2 Really clever, and very well-done! The recreation of the 70s TV show is totally convincing. It loses me a bit at the ending when the faux-documentary approach is suddenly abandoned. It turns quite dark and, IMO, a bit less fun. Still there's much to like here, and I loved it until the ending. *AFRAID (2024) (Theatrical) 1/2 This is getting absolutely TERRIBLE reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but my wife and I really enjoyed it. It's a bit silly in parts, but always engrossing, and very well-acted with convincing family relationships. It has a wonderful sense of paranoia, and it doesn't over-stay its welcome. Instead of endless climaxes, it comes to a swift, satisfying, and unsettling conclusion ...and stops. Bravo! Obviously I'm alone on this one, but I found it far more enjoyable than most theatrical horrors I have seen this year. I'm sure I'll add it to the collection when it comes out. *MOON OF THE WOLF (Streaming) 1972 Another of those 70s TV horrors, this time set in the Louisiana bayou and starring David Janssen as a southern sheriff. We had never seen it before, but despite a cool setting, decent story and good acting, it was just too tame. There's more investigation footage than werewolf action, and when the climax did come, it was undercut by weak werewolf make-up. It was fun for our September warm-up, but I doubt we'd watch it again. *THE PSYCHIC (1977) 1/2 First time viewing, and a pretty good film. It's one of those Italian productions where everyone is ridiculously overdressed and badly dubbed. The plot gets a bit murky in spots, but over-all this is quite enjoyable. Very suspenseful as different parts of our heroine's vision come to pass. Well worth watching! THE MUMMY (1932) One of the Founding Fathers of Fear. Moves a bit slower than some, but it's so well shot and edited. Basically an Egyptian-themed re-write of Dracula, with Van Sloan and Manners back in their Van Helsing/Harker roles, the Nubian servant for Renfield, Zita Johann in the Mina role and under the control of the monster. and an amulet replacing the cross. Probably not quite as strong as Frankenstein, but wonderful and still deserving of 5 skulls. DEAD CALM (1988) An impossibly young Nicole Kidman stuck at sea with bonkers Billy Zane, while Sam Neill fights to escape a watery would-be grave. Really quite a good thriller (after a completely unnecessary opening with the death of a child.) Good performances all around. The final moments lapse into been-there-done-that killer clichés, but it's so much fun getting there that it doesn't matter. A minor classic. DEMENTIA 13 (Director's Cut) (1963) I doubt anyone would call this a great film, but Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut is certainly interesting. This print removes the silly "Dementia 13 test" prologue, and an additional murder added by another director at Roger Corman's insistence to pad the running time. While the story is a bit muddled, it's plain to see the potential of young Coppola. Some great shots and cool scenes. A fun, worthwhile curio. Wonderful print too! *SPEAK NO EVIL (2022) (On Shudder) I hated this film. We watched it in preparation for the remake opening this week, but now I doubt I'll even see it. The premise is fine (though the bombastic score screams "HORROR MOVIE!" before anything sinister even happens.) The behavior of our protagonists gets dumber as it goes, however the film doesn't really derail until the scenes at the end. At that point I was done with it. Why was this made? Not for the poorly developed characters. Not for the plot, which becomes nonsense half-way through when our heroes begin doing thing that NO ONE would ever do. Not for the back-story - there isn't one! No explanation at all for these people and what they do. That just leaves the pointless - and utterly tasteless - cruelty at the end. If watching suffering is all there is, count me out. This isn't entertainment. BAD RONALD (1974) 1/2 This is another of those fun, fondly remembered 70s TV movies, and one of the better ones! Ronald is an outcast kid who lives alone with his sick mother. He gets in trouble with the law, so mom helps hide him in a secret room in the house. Unfortunately mom dies, and Ronald is still hiding in the walls when a new family moves in. Hilarity ensues. If you grew up with these TV films and understand their limitations, make it 4 skulls - it's quite good for what it is. If you're too young to have been there, or have no patience for vintage cheese, you should probably just move along. A really fun film, and a remarkably good looking blu-ray! SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK (1991) This was a 1991 CBS TV movie, and despite a few cheesy elements (the campy "undead" makeup, occasionally cringy dialogue) it's a favorite of mine. It's an engrossing story, mostly well-acted, and ends on a surprisingly bitter-sweet note. I really enjoyed it!
Only complaint: why is this in the 2:35 aspect ratio? It was filmed and shown at 4:3. An earlier blu-ray offered 2 versions - in 4:3 and 2:35 (or possibly 1:78, which would probably look good.) At 2:35 it's way too tight, with lots of heads cut off at the top and the chin. Annoying! *BURIED ALIVE (1990) 1/2 My wife and I have been on a vintage TV movie kick this month, and this was a fun new discovery! Frank Darabont directed it - it was his very first film - for the USA Network. Tim Matheson gets bumped off (almost!) by his cheating wife, and wakes up to find himself ...wait for it ... Buried Alive. I assumed the movie would be a survival flick about his attempt to escape, but no. He was out fairly quickly and the films heads in a completely unexpected direction. It's becomes a campy, comic book-style story that would have fit in well in Creepshow. The second half may not be very realistic, but it's a lot of fun. Great final scene! A really enjoyable blind buy. Good blu-ray from Kino. TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975) 1/2 This landmark TV horror movie gave school kids the screaming meemies for weeks after it aired. No one who saw it then has every forgotten it. It's made up of three stories, all starring Karen Black, who is quite good throughout. The first story, about date rape(!) is tame, but pretty good with a nice twist at the end. 3.5 skulls. The second, a tale of 2 sisters, is obvious and forgettable and would score a 2 at best. However, it's the final story - about a "Zuni fetish doll" - that this film is remembered for. It starts quietly, but once it gets going it's frantically paced and relentless in it's tale of survival between a woman and the action figure from Hell. Unlike anything ever produced for TV up until that time, and still very effective. A solid 5 skulls. That story alone made this film a must-see. *TRILOGY OF TERROR 2 (1996) I had never seen this sequel before, and never even knew it existed until recently. Producer Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) is back with 3 more stories, this time all featuring Lysette Anthony ...who proves that she is no Karen Black by ranging from poor to just adequate in her three starring roles.
For me, the first story - a tale of infidelity and grave robbery - is the best. The climax features some very nasty inhabitants of the graveyard, and if they're not exactly realistic looking, they work, and had me squirming in my seat. 4 skulls. The second story, of resurrection from the grave, has the poorest acting of the three and would get a 3 at best. The third was perhaps the biggest disappointment. It's a direct sequel to the original Zuni Fetish Doll story, but it offers nothing new. After an adequate set-up it's basically a remake and even copies the original's suitcase scene note for note. Maybe 3 skulls. A fun film, but other than the first gruesome tale, it's no threat to the original. *SPEAK NO EVIL (2024) 1/2 My wife and I watched the original Danish version a few days ago, and hated it. While the premise was great, the ending was so dark, ugly and pointless that it completely wiped out the fun of the film. After reading that this version ended differently, we gave it a chance. Very different animal! Where the original is more "serious" and dark, this is a popcorn thriller. Unfortunately, like many modern popcorn flicks, it didn't know when to stop and had a silly, over-baked climax, but it was still a good time at the movies. It might not be "art" (though McAvoy is excellent) but it's fun. Many will prefer the more brutal original, but we came out of this one smiling instead of depressed. Mission accomplished. *ANTS (aka IT HAPPENED AT LAKEWOOD MANOR) (1977) 1/2 This is one of those films they always had at Blockbuster (the cover was a close-up of Suzanne Somers' cleavage, covered with ants, remember?) Finally saw it, as part of our Ant Attack double feature. Typical 70s TV eco-horror, and a lot of fun. A quaint lakeside hotel does some reconstruction and unleashes a colony of mutant, poison-injecting ants on the guests. (They're gonna hate their Yelp reviews.) Campy fun, with a lot of effects that were never meant to be seen in high-def. Still, a lot of scenes made me squirm. How did Myrna Loy end up in this, along with all those familiar 70s TV actors? Suzanne Somers is an eyeful! Surprisingly for a Kino release, the picture quality was a bit disappointing - clean, and in a choice of two aspect ratios, but waaay too bright looking. THEM! (1953) All-time 50s Sci-Fi classic. Humorously, the film takes great pains to present all the opening unexplained deaths as a mystery ...despite the movie poster and trailer featuring tons of giant ants carrying screaming people away! Look fast for young Leonard Nimoy in an early role. A terrific, suspenseful film, really well-written and acted, with wonderful footage of mid-50s Los Angeles. Easily the best of the "big bug" movies. *FEAR NO EVIL (1969) This movie was a real surprise! It's early for a TV movie - in fact it was the very first ever NBC "Movie Of The Week". Unlike many TV films from the era, it's not cheesey in the slightest. In fact, it's remarkably serious, and quite good. It's definitely a slow-burn film (and maybe a little talky) but the atmosphere is excellent, the acting is quite good and story is intelligent. It's also subtle - we had to rewatch the ending before we picked up an important detail that expalins the action in the climax. Great performance from Carol O'Conner in a small but important role. This was a blind buy, but it's definitely a film I am looking forward to watching again. COUNT DRACULA (DVD) (1977) Dracula gets the BBC Masterpiece Theatre treatment. A really excellent adaptation! It has it's flaws - it was shot on video tape so the picture quality is poor, and special effects shots consist mainly of garishly colored negative images. But story is everything, and it really shines in that department. It's closer to the book than most versions, and includes many bits that are usually left out. Jordan is used sparingly, but he makes a cold, cruel and intelligent Dracula. Renfield and Van Helsing (Frank Finley) are both excellent. (On the other hand, the English actor playing Quincy has a laugh-out-loud bad "Texas accent.")
It's low-tech and soft looking, but truly chilling and even disturbing in parts. For story and atmosphere, I would rank this among the very best adaptations of Dracula.
Tonight we learned ...NEVER GET ON A PLANE WITH WILLIAM SHATNER!
THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET (DVD) (1973) 1/2 This is the TV movie where former series stars went to die. William Shatner (Kirk!) Buddy Ebsen (Jed!) Russell Johnson (Professor!) Chuck Connors (The Rifleman!) Roy Thinnes (The Invaders!) and other fading stars are stuck on a plane with an evil Druid whatzit that causes freezing temperatures, oozes green glop and makes the plane stand still in mid-air! Before long the passengers are at each other's throats and arguing about who gets to be tonight's human sacrifice. Only alcoholic, defrocked priest Bill Shatner can save us all! This epic may smell as bad as last weeks fish, but it's so much fun. A one-skull cheese-fest with 5-skull entertainment - I'll call it 3 1/2. A must see!
TWILIGHT ZONE: NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET (1963) What a great Twilight Zone episode. A true TV-horror landmark. Shatner is GREAT in this. According to their titles, this flies 17,000 feet lower than the similarly titled movie above, but don't believe it. This soars miles above the competition. A stone-cold TZ classic, and a really fun capper to our Shatner-On-A-Plane double feature.
Last edited by charlieray1; 09-18-2024 at 05:59 PM.
[Show spoiler]09/04/24: Blink Twice ^ (2024): Shaun Of The Dead (2004):
09/05/24: Beetlejuice (1988):
09/06/24: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ^ (2024):
09/07/24: Jaws (1975): Jaws 2 (1978):
09/11/24: The Front Room ^ (2024): [ZERO SKULLS]
09/13/24: Speak No Evil (2024):
09/18/24:
-Sweet Sixteen ^ (1983):
A rash of murders sweeps a small Texas town -- victims found stabbed over and over in a vicious frenzy -- and the local sheriff (Bo Hopkins) finds himself at a loss. Does it revolve around a teenage girl (Aleisa Shirley) who's on the cusp of her sweet sixteenth birthday party, and who makes casual accusations of predatory behavior towards a local Native American handyman (Don Shanks)?
Typical exercise in early-80s whodunnit slashers, Sweet Sixteen isn't an incompetent movie, but it doesn't distinguish itself in any particular way, with suspense that's routine, kills that mostly consist of stabbing scenes done with clumsily shot step-printed slo-mo, and a final reveal of the killer's identity that's so out of left field there's no pleasure in putting the jigsaw puzzle pieces together.
-Soul Survivors ^ (2001):
A quartet of college students, Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller), Sean (Casey Affleck), Matt (Wes Bentley) and Annabel (Eliza Dushku) plunge into a river after a horrible road accident, with Sean perishing in the crash. Returning to her studies months later, Cassie is wracked with guilt...which isn't help when she starts seeing images of Sean on the campus, not to mention visions of an eerie, faceless man (his features obscured by an opaque plastic mask) randomly pursuing her. Can a local priest (Luke Wilson) help her make sense of her increasingly fractured, self-loathing state of mind?
Utterly bland and forgettable exercise in psychological suspense plays like an episode of a TV series (or segment of an anthology feature) padded out to 84 minutes...it's both far too long (you'll get what's going on after a half-hour) and not long enough. For a movie made in the waning Miramax era of horror schlock, it gets bonus points for attempting something a little more thoughtful than your typical Scream clone (and sexy Dushku, in her Maxim prime, is awfully easy on the eyes), but it's never especially scary, and the obligatory Big Tweest can be seen coming from miles away.
Almost a decade before he became Ace Ventura, no one in my small corner of the world had ever heard the name Jim Carrey. Hell, he hadn't even worked with Clint Eastwood in "The Dead Pool" or "Pink Cadillac" yet (let alone showed off his out of this world humor in "Earth Girls Are Easy")! But after watching "Once Bitten" for the first time, it was easy to see this individual possessed something special and wasn't going to slink back into the shadows without a massive fight. A centuries-old vampire countess needs to drink the blood of a virgin three times before Halloween night, but in mid-eighties Los Angeles, that's not an easy task to accomplish. This is pure eighties cheese at its finest. Everything here screams "the decade of decadence" from its overly bright lighting scheme to its off the wall set designs which takes all the old familiar horror locales and flips them on their colorful little candy-coated heads. Seriously . . . lime green pipes in the basement of a mansion?
Lauren Hutton is looking lovely as ever as the countess and it's nice to see Cleavon Little have another role he can really sink his comedic teeth into as her manservant Sebastian. While he doesn't get the lion's share of farcical frivolity like he did in "Blazing Saddles," some of his line deliveries and physical gestures in "Once Bitten" are as funny as anything ever captured on screen from him. Karen Kopins is game enough to keep up with Carrey's burgeoning manic energy and I swear there must have been an assembly line somewhere in Hollywood that kept cranking out excellent best friend actors in the eighties because both Skip Lackey and Thomas Ballatore are perfect sidekicks.
It's been a number of years since I last watched this film and I had forgotten its connection to the "Friday the 13th" franchise. I mean really, where else are you going to find Stuart Charno (Ted from "Part 2"), Carey More (one of the twins from "The Final Chapter") and Dominick Brascia (Joey from "A New Beginning") all appearing in the same movie? The only thing I don't care for about eighties cinema is the soundtrack selections. Don't misunderstand me; some of them are undoubtably good songs. It's just that a lot of them have a tendency to work their way into my brain and the little buggers absolutely refuse to exit again for weeks on end. I know I'm going to be humming the theme song to this film until Halloween night. I guess that's the price you pay when you revisit some of these pieces.
½
This is my second "first time watch" of this spooky season and it's also the second time I've gone into a new film completely blind. I can't even recall seeing a trailer for this, although I'm sure I probably ran across one a decade ago when "Housebound" was first released. I'm not sure I like the idea of someone being ordered into a home custody sentence to find stability. It doesn't appear like the characters in this film get along all that well and I know if it were my family, stability is the last thing that would grow out of forcing us to spend eight months together. In any case, the leading actress here (New Zealand native Morgana O'Reilly) has just the right amount of attitude to make her character believably hostile, yet still retains enough magnetism to allow the viewer to actually care about what happens to her.
Once locked away inside her family home, it becomes clear creepy goings-on are happening and I'm already settling in for the kind of haunted house chiller I truly enjoy. As things progress, O'Reilly brings in Glen-Paul Waru (as her parole officer) and moments in the basement have me flashing back to old episodes of "Ghost Hunters," which is fine by me. The apprehensive relationship between the pair develops instinctively between the actors, who play their parts much better than I expected. The film gets a little bloody from time to time,
[Show spoiler]particularly when O'Reilly unwittingly attacks Ross Harper with a pair of garden shears and the "head explosion" at the end of the film,
but it never goes overboard with the gore. It maintains a firm grasp on the hair-raising instead of slinking into the stomach-churning.
I will say that the biggest surprise for me was
[Show spoiler]the fact that this was my second "first time watch" and the second time a major plot point of the film involved someone living undetected in the main character's home. Nope, sorry, no genuinely haunted house in either of the films. Sigh. Not only that, but both times the undetected character wound up exposing the criminal activities of someone who was associated with law enforcement. What are the odds? Of the two, "Housebound" is easily my favorite and I could see myself watching this again in a couple of years. I'll grant you that the finale brings nothing new to the table, but it's still exciting and indulges in its horror movie repetition shockingly well. On a final note, does anyone else think that Ryan Lampp (the hider in the house) looks like Daniel Stern's character Marv from "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" after he's been shocked at the sink in the basement? I half expected him to warble out a frail little "Haaaarry" before being whacked in the face by a brick.
Writer Don Mancini has gone on record saying he felt rushed into this second "Child's Play" sequel. He feels that he wasn't given enough time to develop good ideas and that's certainly reflected by what's presented on screen. All the correct pieces of the puzzle are in play, but once connected they display a faded picture not worthy of hanging on the walls next to its predecessors. Picking up eight years after the original incident, the toy company once again tries to resurrect its line of Good Guys dolls because there is an endless supply of corporate greed in the world of cinema (and probably in our reality as well, but I digress). Chucky is reborn and discovers that Andy Barclay is now enrolled in the Kent Military School, so he mails himself there in an attempt to complete the transfer of his soul into Andy's body.
You'd think the new location would squeeze some juice out of the "Child's Play" formula, but this is bargain basement compared to what came before. In a way, it's a shame they didn't pick up where the second film left off and bring Alex Vincent back to round off the trilogy. He advanced his character well in the second chapter and I would have liked to see his maturation in the role continue. Justin Whalin is a so-so replacement who looks the part but feels a bit uninspired while trying to capture Vincent's quirks and mannerisms. The surrounding cast is much preferred with Perrey Reeves, Dean Jacobson, Travis Fine, and even young Jeremy Sylvers performing at a higher skill level than the supposed leading man.
There are a couple of creative kills and a few decent one-liners, but a great deal of what made the first two films work appears to be absent. There are long stretches when it feels like nothing significant is occurring and Chucky himself seems to be too easy going. There's no urgency in his actions; no high octane psychopath gleefully toying with victims left and right. The only thing I do enjoy is the
[Show spoiler]finale in the fairgrounds which makes an honest effort at replicating the suspense from the first two films. Seeing half of Chucky's face sliced off is awesome as well and the liveliness of the chase makes one wish the rest of the film carried the same tempo.
Thirty-three years later, the magnitude of the drop in quality between "Child's Play 2" and this installment still amazes me. Fortunately, a better film was waiting just over the horizon.
AH, THE GLORIOUS SOUNDS OF THE EIGHTIES:
(If it's going to get stuck in my brain, it might as well get stuck in yours, too!)
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