tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25255812248270750732024-02-20T12:31:12.767-06:00Outpost ZetaOutré and cult media reviews every Friday.Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.comBlogger799125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-7414737306867407672022-09-09T08:46:00.001-05:002022-09-09T08:51:55.871-05:00We go to 11<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLm96k-bcRdnG6HZLEvk2qeXl4YeAr5ScJLUcplehLLHN8j8eGadaSn_PS8Nu_m2WuPzLf25qj5CIAbZPiQYtg3Xl-y2D9D5rn2PHyC9TacI8_awITGvikMso6Aab93LlD9rkMouYFk7-ahm0G9Iso1-Kkd8Gk7tq8AMfgWUEspLxp4AQVserK3T-a/s418/OZ-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLm96k-bcRdnG6HZLEvk2qeXl4YeAr5ScJLUcplehLLHN8j8eGadaSn_PS8Nu_m2WuPzLf25qj5CIAbZPiQYtg3Xl-y2D9D5rn2PHyC9TacI8_awITGvikMso6Aab93LlD9rkMouYFk7-ahm0G9Iso1-Kkd8Gk7tq8AMfgWUEspLxp4AQVserK3T-a/s320/OZ-11.png" width="318" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtNIj9my7GTWxwwkDM0656629DLDpmuE9IMBFj9A40_aNasJCFASaRIA_nlChfRYFzHGwtTmgQKrdTkXgN8ZH4F3r1w3kNfNqXOnZidCL38wD4gCYAxdAO7OWPo3Jkgc110-LymXaC12lxLRDJhkVXLiQcL73uLZiQ7ODz1Rb0ktl_RGvsYSeepB8/s500/OZ-11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>This marks Outpost Zeta's 11th year! I have been putting out a review every Friday without fail, multiple reviews around the holidays, trading cards, and a lot of other things. (I would have done this announcement on its 10th birthday, but I kind of forgot... It's been a long pandemic, friends.)<p></p><p>I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my little movie blog. You're the best. I hope you discovered some films that you've liked or at least enjoyed hating. <br /></p><p>I think it is time to change up the format. Posts will not be weekly anymore, they will be coming monthly from here on out, but they are going to be longer reviews. I really want to take a deeper look at these cult and b-movies I love so much and I need to go past 500 words and I want to take my time and produce some good content for you.</p><p>So, check back here in a couple weeks as we give the site a long needed makeover and take a deeper dive into the first movie ever reviewed on Outpost Zeta. That's right. Get ready for a look at <i>The Apple</i> (1980)!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Apple: The Outrageous 1980 Dystopian Sci-Fi Musical — Lethal Amounts" class="n3VNCb KAlRDb" data-noaft="1" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a82845bb7411cbbaf736525/1618349864702-D7KPOUKWOIX6VPWFQWOM/Mr.+Boogalow.jpeg" style="height: 222px; margin: 20.1px auto; width: 565px;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>"Who Me?"</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-40887172005889583992022-09-02T11:18:00.000-05:002022-09-02T11:18:02.661-05:00The Greasy Strangler<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDzw0tr-yY8fiAikx1GMoTNPCqdxR_0nHV8gHJP4_ZkpQqzJ6K5NI0uO_GDNvU_KVJnn7NZ3-76Pc1_gQwJJjSBZM1pDyATYM4iBBMFbyjW_EiDacKUZzLKAyoVVuRDcGX_9gnDd11gcM8i3uTRZ6HjFIdl4c1Ct_7E9ewy7ZPH27OERmzRrQWSMe/s250/Greasy-Strangler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDzw0tr-yY8fiAikx1GMoTNPCqdxR_0nHV8gHJP4_ZkpQqzJ6K5NI0uO_GDNvU_KVJnn7NZ3-76Pc1_gQwJJjSBZM1pDyATYM4iBBMFbyjW_EiDacKUZzLKAyoVVuRDcGX_9gnDd11gcM8i3uTRZ6HjFIdl4c1Ct_7E9ewy7ZPH27OERmzRrQWSMe/s1600/Greasy-Strangler.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4381236/">The Greasy Strangler</a><br />2016<br />Jim Hoskins</p><p><br /><i>The Greasy Stranger</i> is about the friction between its bright surface and the oozing grease of horror and emotional damage that lurks underneath. It’s not a serious film but at the same time it does explore some complicated and messy emotional relationships, albeit with a lot of highly strange and gross things going on at the same time. Big Braden (Sky Elobar) and Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels) are overly bright and audacious in public but behind closed doors and in the cover of darkness they reveal with highly greasy and unpleasant life they both inhabit in each other’s orbits.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD60pVc-CVJwgPHd2SPNF5m6HQ9eoBA-p8xpUXkgD1Jjj6PY9K2QKtV-__X7Hi111SYdpDX_-l0eb8uGVy3MrBUN4cqoNQQWGg5FE6Dqe9zo-EXW_gLN6CCprWJacj4-b1XSUjGpozvwd37XnBPB7_LIdBSAaua2mRRVtmM0PxS93AvWT8PjiBmqU/s644/GS%2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="644" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD60pVc-CVJwgPHd2SPNF5m6HQ9eoBA-p8xpUXkgD1Jjj6PY9K2QKtV-__X7Hi111SYdpDX_-l0eb8uGVy3MrBUN4cqoNQQWGg5FE6Dqe9zo-EXW_gLN6CCprWJacj4-b1XSUjGpozvwd37XnBPB7_LIdBSAaua2mRRVtmM0PxS93AvWT8PjiBmqU/s320/GS%2003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>When someone says they don't like the Greasy Strangler.</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Big Braden is the emotional center of the film. He feels stifled in his day-to-day life and although he loves his father, Big Ronnie, he also is feeling the need to strike out on his own and that opportunity comes when he meets Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo) while father and son give their walking tour of famous spots from disco history. Ronnie doesn’t like Janet coming between him and his son, more importantly he doesn’t like the thought of her undermining his authority. Braden’s arc is the struggle to find his own voice and purpose.</p><p><br />The biggest obstacle is the fact Big Ronnie is the Greasy Strangler.</p><p><br />There is no mystery here, the identity of the Greasy Strangler is revealed within minutes of the film starting which should serve as a tipoff that the movie is going to subvert the usual plot points. What is the Greasy Strangler? Apparently, he’s a local legend who kills people while covered in grease. That’s it. Why does Big Ronnie’s grease obsession drive him to kill? That’s a good question but it’s also an irrelevant one. The Greasy Strangler is just a fact of life for these characters. </p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQ9kBG6Maq__JplcLdHovyrBkdW240FvWzPkrtI01vl18wbMLk7uT-yygyLjQJ_o9QO_X1A90FzPj8ueANtuxaqbB8T0C6JPXWrwfybBM7iHEkWECCuT8hcePqn9IqpipqsW1cAr1iSzmDY9tj0iRdq5EFAUaBxoIcttw5lReeSZAXw7WlkkgSQb9/s904/GS%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="904" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQ9kBG6Maq__JplcLdHovyrBkdW240FvWzPkrtI01vl18wbMLk7uT-yygyLjQJ_o9QO_X1A90FzPj8ueANtuxaqbB8T0C6JPXWrwfybBM7iHEkWECCuT8hcePqn9IqpipqsW1cAr1iSzmDY9tj0iRdq5EFAUaBxoIcttw5lReeSZAXw7WlkkgSQb9/s320/GS%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">It's called fashion, sweaty. Look it up.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>I think what is often overlooked is that as a viewer we are encouraged to identify with Braden and his struggles, we want his dad to see him as an equal. Sometimes you get exactly what you want, and it turns out the be the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.</p><p><br />The soundtrack helps set the tone of the film with a mixture of almost whimsical and upbeat sounds, there is also something unrelenting and menacing about it as well. We get this reinforcement of the theme of zany and grotesque, and it works marvelously. </p><p><br />The body horror of the film is gross but far too cartoonish to be taken seriously, eyes pop out, faces are punched in, gaping nose holes are poked, and just so many upsetting shots of weird looking dicks. The film also lives up to its title with plenty of shots of greasy food, grease in barrels, grease covered bodies, and more. It is a masterpiece of being absurdly disgusting. </p><p><br />You’ll be thinking about <i>The Greasy Strangler</i> long after you’ve watched it, whether it’s laughing about the quotable dialog, recoiling from the horror, or being unable to get rid of the image of giant conical red tipped dicks. Proceed with caution.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-90220962618407153592022-08-26T14:22:00.005-05:002022-08-26T14:22:34.631-05:00Glorious<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjfbbX20-pqCwIW3inssM2EGeyTrVHIDMQq6SQHyyXacgMIYQNT-drOM76JvQqpW4g9_kNPFIgjynVVvfVpRUK8JUH-JM8UFgzjHNreKk74zBiDlsqH-VOHYCAHPnRcJtVOQazepG1DlbMrwHblOgEm9DMBb8TgftF832rFh8WDRrv_2EpQ0Vx7WV/s250/Glorious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjfbbX20-pqCwIW3inssM2EGeyTrVHIDMQq6SQHyyXacgMIYQNT-drOM76JvQqpW4g9_kNPFIgjynVVvfVpRUK8JUH-JM8UFgzjHNreKk74zBiDlsqH-VOHYCAHPnRcJtVOQazepG1DlbMrwHblOgEm9DMBb8TgftF832rFh8WDRrv_2EpQ0Vx7WV/s1600/Glorious.jpg" width="167" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12724306/">Glorious</a><br />2022<br />Rebekah McKendry</p><p><br /><i>Glorious</i> is a “COVID film,” these are usually shot in limited locations with small casts. There are a slew of these films ever since lockdown was a thing, and I love them. I think these limitations can really bring out some interesting problem solving and creativity, and I think it is exactly that which makes <i>Glorious</i> such a fun horror film as it sets out to cram cosmic scale horror into a rest stop bathroom.</p><p><br />Wes (Ryan Kwanten) awakens in a rest stop bathroom with a massive headache and a mysterious voice coming from the next stall. The stall has an elaborate piece of graffiti featuring a demonic creature but the voice coming from the other side is pleasant enough. This voice belongs to a being named Ghat (J.K. Simmons), and Ghat has a request for Wes and he’s not going to like it one but… but it seems that time is running out for the both of them.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWPAnECkM8V7RcWs3NcezIx2KIhmBMKyaUzmuKjhAHvNm3giR9DRDaf6AQI8eCeWseAaG-4aizfGK3pEhSmt-_PiyE8lw8jB7rhy5K-fFv7uVZD3NuIdjo0wZiiyzGh4Cwk9d_SLyiz4Url28HPBFXLqFyzXSOnreICg0_-RBhAo2Yzdi0DWC0ZKK/s1024/Glorious%2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWPAnECkM8V7RcWs3NcezIx2KIhmBMKyaUzmuKjhAHvNm3giR9DRDaf6AQI8eCeWseAaG-4aizfGK3pEhSmt-_PiyE8lw8jB7rhy5K-fFv7uVZD3NuIdjo0wZiiyzGh4Cwk9d_SLyiz4Url28HPBFXLqFyzXSOnreICg0_-RBhAo2Yzdi0DWC0ZKK/s320/Glorious%2003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>"I should have smoked that blunt now I woke up<br />on the set of From Beyond."</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><i>Glorious</i> boils down to the back and forth of Wes and Ghat. This wouldn’t work without some some great chemistry between Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons. Simmons manages to dominate a film in which he never physically appears. His Ghat is magnetic and filled dry wit and menace. Where as Wes is a scrambling mess of a person looking for any way out of his situation, Ghat is a methodical, charming yet relentless. Underneath that surface, it is just as madly scrambling to survive but it maintains the illusion of control.</p><p><br />Despite rarely taking a step outside of the rest stop, <i>Glorious</i> has a beautiful look to it. The most striking element is the use of animation in the form of bathroom stall graffiti to tell the history of the cosmic forces at play. The bathroom is a contrast of squalor and bright neon lighting. This lighting scheme also serve as a narrative reminder of the collision of the grime of earthly life and psychedelic cosmic threats lurking just beyond the veil of our perceptions.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBxbT202iNgjUgnf-8qZ6eJm_Hpn9nF3rsgaKq9zBEyest1HgJFpoMwMTr99IAx-CW2_1Wc54tsknMrGeaEdMbgCxDXwcNYFsGtkkSyyx8IalYMbKvejyPe05OXvSd5_PWRtPubHHBF3F_DOY6iz7HxhbmGNg4AGh-Bx_unPkitkLkvv47_dLJnQ6/s681/Glorious%2002.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBxbT202iNgjUgnf-8qZ6eJm_Hpn9nF3rsgaKq9zBEyest1HgJFpoMwMTr99IAx-CW2_1Wc54tsknMrGeaEdMbgCxDXwcNYFsGtkkSyyx8IalYMbKvejyPe05OXvSd5_PWRtPubHHBF3F_DOY6iz7HxhbmGNg4AGh-Bx_unPkitkLkvv47_dLJnQ6/s320/Glorious%2002.jpg.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>"IT'S A METAPHOR!!!!!"</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Pacing is vital to a film like this because it needs to keep the tension constantly climbing, the climax has to feel inevitable but at the same time satisfying on a narrative level. This is where <i>Glorious </i>stumbles just bit, it starts so strongly and keeps building on to this moment and it has to because the story asks quite a bit of Wes by the end of the 2nd act and we have to get him emotionally to a place where he would even consider doing such things. <i>Gloriou</i>s takes just a bit too long tearing down Wes and the film loses some steam but not enough to completely undermine the climax.</p><p><br /><i>Glorious</i> was a delightful surprise. I knew very little going in but each revelation works and the characters have an enjoyable chemistry. <i>Glorious</i> is a great horror comedy that I hope gets the recognition that it deserves.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-5786346936383565072022-08-19T13:41:00.000-05:002022-08-19T13:41:04.317-05:00Blood Diner<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQqYrEGCH5ipgz2u46DWnoqeseWaV9FS7yqAGy_gVPT4tYpeITFRdUPpjULZj5_9upRAbSNO9h6qEDTPYtnnQTokpoBkIlQ3Tmv0NLXWq1gcgErXes4FNBjySRYJVezwO2fjjbSSt_pHKtStvwKH0-c5x2vyVkb8wq7iCpqbXLoOK_a-FkfasmZ3R/s250/Blood-Diner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="161" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQqYrEGCH5ipgz2u46DWnoqeseWaV9FS7yqAGy_gVPT4tYpeITFRdUPpjULZj5_9upRAbSNO9h6qEDTPYtnnQTokpoBkIlQ3Tmv0NLXWq1gcgErXes4FNBjySRYJVezwO2fjjbSSt_pHKtStvwKH0-c5x2vyVkb8wq7iCpqbXLoOK_a-FkfasmZ3R/s1600/Blood-Diner.jpg" width="161" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056875/">Blood Diner</a><br />1987<br />Jackie Kong</p><p><br /><i>Blood Diner</i> is a delirious mess. I don’t think I like it, but I keep coming back to because there are some inventively goofy sequences, so there must be something compelling going on. The biggest issue with <i>Blood Diner</i> is that it is always running at full tilt. Every moment feels like a grotesque cartoon which would work fine in a short film, but <i>Blood Diner</i> just becomes exhausting. The whole enterprise feels like it runs out of steam as we hit the climax which is just when things should be reaching peak zaniness. This is a problem that plagued horror in the later half of the 1980s, too much comedy and not enough horror elements. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhxkeEzL4JhFnziP0SBtAn7Oq59GHEBDpSv3ekzy48p3SJeF8Xb2_PI5rIqrrSNeVaM4y7YStR9HjTDgWK8DLseVpm3rJkGgcoFU51eFBxiENsFtYtee_B5o7stjHuZcbIdv2RaaRAQDqnNfPx5edS6Wu-qFeOujjrzTDbHKGyrfnSRMLAU--aZvt/s450/BD-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="450" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhxkeEzL4JhFnziP0SBtAn7Oq59GHEBDpSv3ekzy48p3SJeF8Xb2_PI5rIqrrSNeVaM4y7YStR9HjTDgWK8DLseVpm3rJkGgcoFU51eFBxiENsFtYtee_B5o7stjHuZcbIdv2RaaRAQDqnNfPx5edS6Wu-qFeOujjrzTDbHKGyrfnSRMLAU--aZvt/s320/BD-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Look, I'm just really into contact lens solution, OK?"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The film is a riff/homage on <i>Blood Feast</i> (1963), a film that is also very silly but plays it very serious which manages to be much more interesting (while not being a very good film either). Michael (Rick Burks) and George (Carl Crew) Tutman are brothers who have been indoctrinated into the cult of Sheetar a goddess worshiped by the lost civilization of Lemuria. Their uncle, a disembodied brain in a jar, guides them in the ritual to resurrect their goddess and it involves harvesting a lot of body parts from unsuspecting women. </p><p><br />In 2022 it is difficult to escape the misogyny inherent in the movie’s premise. The vast majority of women in <i>Blood Diner</i> are reduced to victims, literal slabs of meat to be consumed. Thankfully the movie never lingers on their suffering it is much more interested in silly spectacle. The flip side of this is that cast is filled out with non-white actors including a POC woman as the antagonist looking to bring the Tutman family to justice. A nice change from the parade of square-jawed white cis men who were (and still are) the heroic forces of so many films.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivm14IFSqU2TCgxZyukOiZKFkCE1ZeiXuvaKXnVAaY7vCdiX7-xjJGAJ28khpJfpoCRzj3DwUw03CrFIENTVdFzVr1hYFdf-O3bd3ebzZNGD737bDnA7sWUyBcZQjcJBDRPoARwSi0__TdkA28Rbbttz8BGfnpziRJKw_VGft9B67GNvC6EIYwGekk/s1280/BD-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivm14IFSqU2TCgxZyukOiZKFkCE1ZeiXuvaKXnVAaY7vCdiX7-xjJGAJ28khpJfpoCRzj3DwUw03CrFIENTVdFzVr1hYFdf-O3bd3ebzZNGD737bDnA7sWUyBcZQjcJBDRPoARwSi0__TdkA28Rbbttz8BGfnpziRJKw_VGft9B67GNvC6EIYwGekk/s320/BD-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Bring on the corn on the cob!"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The director, Jackie Kong, has made a movie I did like, <i>The Being</i> (1981), which is also a campy homage to horror films of the past, but that one works much better than <i>Blood Diner</i>. Aside from a dream sequence, the monster movie elements are played straight and this flip flop of tone makes for a much more interesting film. </p><p><br /><i>Blood Diner</i> is trash, but it supposed to be trash. It’s a trashy homage to a trash film. Technically that makes it double trash. I personally have a pretty low tolerance for movies that try to deliberately be camp and emulate ‘bad movies.’ Ultimately, I feel like <i>Blood Diner</i> is just trying to hard to be wacky and gross and it becomes annoying rather than entertaining. I’m not a fan of <i>Blood Feast</i> either but it is a far more entertaining film and at least has some historical importance as an early gore film. <i>Blood Diner</i> is a movie that has its fair share of fans, but I can’t count myself among them.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-37103494160860106142022-08-12T13:27:00.008-05:002022-08-12T13:28:27.534-05:00Amityville 1992: It’s About Time<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog69KNYVbf-CRvmSo35aOVua86_OR4jv2ktoktn12pm_KEjzlbVY2EdZYts99NgOO1tsMdkRXR5GRtGC8XIL_o9Sjc0qLbHqfV4robpegG6gFdalzg1Ah7pcMxHyJVxS4S2uweb_1eoJTN-C9aMQOLeLtIc9BroWJo2_KBFj7bmefhYajGf2U-uYq/s250/Amyityville-1992.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="145" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog69KNYVbf-CRvmSo35aOVua86_OR4jv2ktoktn12pm_KEjzlbVY2EdZYts99NgOO1tsMdkRXR5GRtGC8XIL_o9Sjc0qLbHqfV4robpegG6gFdalzg1Ah7pcMxHyJVxS4S2uweb_1eoJTN-C9aMQOLeLtIc9BroWJo2_KBFj7bmefhYajGf2U-uYq/s1600/Amyityville-1992.jpg" width="145" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103678/">Amityville 1992: It’s About Time</a><br />1992<br />Tony Randel</p><p><br />This movie has virtually nothing to do with the <i>Amityville Horror</i> series but that’s probably not a surprise at this point. There are a flood of films with Amityville in the title now because you can’t copyright a village and/or a house style.<i> Amityville 1992</i> was doing it before it was cool (it was never cool). You could safely cut out one shot and a small section of dialogue and sever all connection to that film series, but if it managed to get a few extra viewers to rent this movie so be it. </p><p><br />It's a surprisingly fun little film.</p><p><br />Jacob Sterling (Stephen Macht) is a well-regarded architect who brings home a clock from the notorious Amityville house. The clock is, of course, very haunted and soon the house and Jacob are as well. Only his son Rusty (Damon Martin) realizes something is up but who’s going to believe him? The only other person who seems to understand is local weirdo, Iris Wheeler (Nita Talbot).</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g-4_tTkSox2MjsVRsoHy1rvHL_VtCfWHO91Uokii3lIze52FRKLkM_6cYM62Bmlp4yQAEvcHbDx53NbPRYs8nYhHEUCOrKQPIUjcnmZ-YXRmX25UM0O13ucKmztjOjblhjTkWr2458dNnCZHTPrQoZ-_Pd0n5pA3SMUdJwtUCFJPbeGkHrTZhy8c/s1200/A1992.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g-4_tTkSox2MjsVRsoHy1rvHL_VtCfWHO91Uokii3lIze52FRKLkM_6cYM62Bmlp4yQAEvcHbDx53NbPRYs8nYhHEUCOrKQPIUjcnmZ-YXRmX25UM0O13ucKmztjOjblhjTkWr2458dNnCZHTPrQoZ-_Pd0n5pA3SMUdJwtUCFJPbeGkHrTZhy8c/s320/A1992.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Frog House 1992</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p><i>Amityville 1992: It’s About Time </i>manages to craft an uncanny atmosphere by giving us some very atypical haunted house and demonic possession elements. I really enjoyed how the haunted clock physically infiltrated the space and began to alter the house. A less interesting film wouldn’t have demon clock extending secret drills to literally enmesh itself into the physical environment. The demon possession comes via dog bit of all things, and it too is a physical intrusion of supernatural elements. These two possessions mirror each other as the story continues.<br /><br />It is pretty obvious that <i>Amityville 1992</i> is not a large budget production, but the money is well used. Most of the film takes place in the house and in a turn away from the typical spooky decrepit mansion or idyllic middle-class home, the house in the movie is a nightmare on its own. It’s filled with clashing ugly patterns and colors. The layout is strange. The house feels wrong even without the haunted clock causing problems.</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbsjz0AoLWS1a4PK0gp-o8sQe5tTYnIlWAM7B_7laJgiu472SRwpqr_nOFp6jik8LuxcNMw9fooF-i-YhLnDGh7D3muEfZEpEywx5MPDuaEquPAa-33n2hUd03iia-imkS6ub7acTRDQLs9VPhkiDvUgfkydWe2OPP0-fF3S8PCU2ppjkPaYyiARM/s510/A1992%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="510" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbsjz0AoLWS1a4PK0gp-o8sQe5tTYnIlWAM7B_7laJgiu472SRwpqr_nOFp6jik8LuxcNMw9fooF-i-YhLnDGh7D3muEfZEpEywx5MPDuaEquPAa-33n2hUd03iia-imkS6ub7acTRDQLs9VPhkiDvUgfkydWe2OPP0-fF3S8PCU2ppjkPaYyiARM/s320/A1992%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Hurry, I need to be on the Even Horizon."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>Another welcome element was the use of comedy in what is a dour series of films. <i>Amityville 1992</i> cultivates some absurd kills and moments but uses them to build on the uncanny atmosphere almost as much as they threaten to break any suspense. It is yet another odd ingredient in an odd film. I can only guess what someone who rented this looking for some demon shenanigans and instead got a woman killed by a robot bird on top of an ice cream truck.</p><p><br />Direct to video sequels more often than not disappoint so it is exciting to find one that tries to bring something new to the formula and carves out its own identity in the process. <i>Amityville 1992: It’s About Time</i> is kooky little haunted house movie that manages to be more weird than scary but honestly the Amityville films needed more weird (or a least before Amityville went to space or fought a shark or whatever the heck is going on with these films today.)<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-27901298389182564552022-08-05T09:54:00.001-05:002022-08-05T09:54:12.625-05:00Gateway<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqxKzryUn0W3uRwHXrRdscVoP9cFB94q5Lm1yNJX4ek5Q2oqEnBfAPlpWOA9Fr45OT0UGKzeC-CMKXg1DmAUP-pkUXt9i7n7R2PcTOoudrm8LQXDVrx1J6l_RgcK0Zp8gJr_UT0vbtE2NCTtH1_5pbfMchQwR3b-HBpOAYqFLkH6pZdbj5gS2gKAZ/s250/Gateway-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="169" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqxKzryUn0W3uRwHXrRdscVoP9cFB94q5Lm1yNJX4ek5Q2oqEnBfAPlpWOA9Fr45OT0UGKzeC-CMKXg1DmAUP-pkUXt9i7n7R2PcTOoudrm8LQXDVrx1J6l_RgcK0Zp8gJr_UT0vbtE2NCTtH1_5pbfMchQwR3b-HBpOAYqFLkH6pZdbj5gS2gKAZ/s1600/Gateway-01.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8765666/">Gateway</a><br />2022<br />Niall Owens</p><p><br /><i>Gateway</i> demonstrates that you can tell an effective ghost story with very little in the way of special effects.<i> Gateway</i> communicates it horror almost entirely through careful composing of shots and by the uncanny way in which its specters behave. A lot of modern horror give us ghost as just another monster meant to chase people around in dynamic ways. They lack a sense of being unearthly and that’s where <i>Gateway</i> succeeds.</p><p><br />A group of men who are looking for a spot to move their marijuana growing operation, find an abandoned house in excellent shape, but with one door that will not open. Mike (Tim Creed) is one of these people and he’s in a bad way, his sister’s murder haunts him constantly. The group feels watched and stressed inside the house, the locked door begins to open for certain people who end up dead shortly after, and then the spirts come walking up the stairs and things get really bad.</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkm0t7Q05FIg5e71dxm1lGpnpcWHvt8J7lbotrrALO70YLTrLcW-OkQ2STAy86XeaDFigWuwfjcCY9gCPafd2wId-wHmNnjctqaEG8yOhHeqExK9qb6WxzryF0qmpgihxtGGmJ9rF9GNXxAg5D93LYJVB8iKqFeljetjN-4xmGhCYliV0Qt4pPqJi/s1024/Gateway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="1024" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkm0t7Q05FIg5e71dxm1lGpnpcWHvt8J7lbotrrALO70YLTrLcW-OkQ2STAy86XeaDFigWuwfjcCY9gCPafd2wId-wHmNnjctqaEG8yOhHeqExK9qb6WxzryF0qmpgihxtGGmJ9rF9GNXxAg5D93LYJVB8iKqFeljetjN-4xmGhCYliV0Qt4pPqJi/s320/Gateway.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">This is an aggressively brown movie.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p><i>Gateway</i> is a hell of a slow burn. It opens like a low-key crime drama, and it’s the first half-hour that will test a lot of viewers' patience. This is a very low budget production, as demonstrated by some iffy sound engineering and a lot of standing around and talking. After the movie gets everyone in the house things pick up considerably. Everything about the film improves, from the pacing to the sound design.</p><p><br />The supernatural elements are never given adequate explanation. They exist outside of such mortal concerns. Any answers given only lead to further questions. We long to learn what’s behind the door and it is held tantalizingly in front of us for a while. Once we do get to see, we are only left with, ‘well what is beyond that?’. Also, at this point a couple of black clad and utterly silent beings begin to appear in the house and rather than shrieking and chasing people around they go about their own strange business which is far more sinister.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgoKv8F3_9QduzrMe_Za89VXpUTBW_LOqKVTiaX_o1LZAyP6kq1itLD7G7EQJSCzOC5uRa5XpJEZNWdcxeOyvejKOHFiH63ENT1SpFK6viC6_ag1rQeHgkJ9nZ9HFRFW6aehTHYMdmr1M3AJ_sERDWkNAQKAhxpmIlQMR41ONT0itr5Hq9Xg6qUjD/s1200/Gateway%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgoKv8F3_9QduzrMe_Za89VXpUTBW_LOqKVTiaX_o1LZAyP6kq1itLD7G7EQJSCzOC5uRa5XpJEZNWdcxeOyvejKOHFiH63ENT1SpFK6viC6_ag1rQeHgkJ9nZ9HFRFW6aehTHYMdmr1M3AJ_sERDWkNAQKAhxpmIlQMR41ONT0itr5Hq9Xg6qUjD/s320/Gateway%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"We saw you across the threshold of life and and<br />unlife and we liked your vibe."</span></i><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The human element is primarily carried by Mike’s story, he’s the one under pressure to make the grow operation work or he’s going to be on the wrong end of a gangster, he’s the one with a dead sister and accompanying sleep paralysis. Mike is so well developed that the rest of cast falls by the wayside. I suppose the focus on him is necessary in the early 1/3 of the film because he’s literally all we have to sit with as this entire criminal enterprise is revealed to us.</p><p><br /><i>Gateway</i> was a delightful discovery, a genuinely unsettling supernatural story and unsettling in a way that I don’t see often. The crime drama element feels a little half-baked, but it is an excuse to get a bunch of people who don’t trust each other into a death trap of a house.</p><p> <br />Maybe it isn’t death, maybe it is something far worse.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-69036911840863479892022-07-29T10:31:00.001-05:002022-07-29T10:31:00.192-05:00Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgk00Hljc7ReOnulTYfKN6lLJ29hSR8IqSRw7-G6ucq0adpRTQ3ag-h55eiE45LUNm96pRfYmlqZSefJeqNp28F8ljpwba7l_8xqaag5I8WbQL3dlXUihI-GUAcbgCAEmxY26VeMhkSW3PWSZDHzxaHcUUaHFmW1PI3f6wYzUXrL2UCHtJivtVyu3/s250/Phantom-of-the-Mall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="160" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgk00Hljc7ReOnulTYfKN6lLJ29hSR8IqSRw7-G6ucq0adpRTQ3ag-h55eiE45LUNm96pRfYmlqZSefJeqNp28F8ljpwba7l_8xqaag5I8WbQL3dlXUihI-GUAcbgCAEmxY26VeMhkSW3PWSZDHzxaHcUUaHFmW1PI3f6wYzUXrL2UCHtJivtVyu3/s1600/Phantom-of-the-Mall.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098089/">Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge</a><br />1989<br />Richard Friedman</p><p><br />I don’t know why we need to know its Eric’s revenge up front. Is it important that we know Eric is going to be doing some revenging, before the movie starts? Unsurprisingly, the Phantom of the Mall terrorizes the residents of a brand-new mall. This mall just happens to be built on the remains of the burned down house of Eric Matthews (Derek Rydall). Susie (Kimber Sissons), Eric’s former girlfriend is on the case to discover the identify the mysterious figure killing mall employees.</p><p><br />It's Eric.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreKbrAoC_JvC4faqkLpVLrYxrIt8AuVAVb4UeX7l6t3i9bI3SzjnyfHoQCURPH3KX4Sw3TIzTshzMF6PQqpJQXt-AJiURIGv-lTUlYJu6jhhJJwGMLck1TckpQ1OMN_ec_lnUOd1JIkdtGV5teowbgz9OSv23SaeRPy-z1P3xLv_a83UfG-ZTLqkq/s750/PotMER%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="750" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreKbrAoC_JvC4faqkLpVLrYxrIt8AuVAVb4UeX7l6t3i9bI3SzjnyfHoQCURPH3KX4Sw3TIzTshzMF6PQqpJQXt-AJiURIGv-lTUlYJu6jhhJJwGMLck1TckpQ1OMN_ec_lnUOd1JIkdtGV5teowbgz9OSv23SaeRPy-z1P3xLv_a83UfG-ZTLqkq/s320/PotMER%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Okay, maybe I should have read the Instant Pot Instructions."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <i> </i></p><p><i>Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge</i> is set to be prime junk cinema and I think if it had been made just a few years prior it might have been. The film we get is unfortunately listless and lacks that maniacal spark that can make a rote slasher film like this feel fresh. There are attempts to make something unique, the mall setting, giving the Phantom modern technology, his kung-fu skills, and making him an angsty teen. These never work as well as they might. The uninteresting staging and dull lighting don’t help matters much either. By 1989 the slasher film was feeling tired, and it shows in a film like this, there’s just nothing here that feels fresh.</p><p><br />By 1989 horror films had also been under intense scrutiny for years, miserable authoritarians had gone after them for their depictions of violence. Many films in the later 1980s were rendered toothless by editors who were told to cut depictions of gore in order to be suitable entertainment for places like Blockbuster Video which had a terrible track record of censoring the films it made available. <i>Phantom of the Mall</i> is filled with scenes that might have had an impact on the screen but are rendered as forgettable.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUVmTsItQDMaOoZKleAFTuffqN3mX0MmY4DkzisWOmmsnS19dsrPk4LaTydr_JAMC28xUHZwQklQ1BmJV7xS3MTr7m5bdNY9oeoyYxfUlus8OjX1jgVxTrohgv2gX1LhHPrx__8Bhg1gVGAlbCkIZ2ZE6Y5J0V7Sx_vstYusswWXDNUuUEQAicwnw/s750/PotMER%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="750" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUVmTsItQDMaOoZKleAFTuffqN3mX0MmY4DkzisWOmmsnS19dsrPk4LaTydr_JAMC28xUHZwQklQ1BmJV7xS3MTr7m5bdNY9oeoyYxfUlus8OjX1jgVxTrohgv2gX1LhHPrx__8Bhg1gVGAlbCkIZ2ZE6Y5J0V7Sx_vstYusswWXDNUuUEQAicwnw/s320/PotMER%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"What is a weasel?"<br />"A miserable pile of secrets."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>None of the cast is terrible but even the charismatic Ken Foree feels like he doesn’t have much to do as a mall security guard. Morgan Fairchild has a handful of fun scenes as an archly evil mayor, the rest of the production certainly could have taken a few cues from her. Pauly Shore appears as Buzz who happens to act just like Paul Shore. If The Phantom (or Eric if you’re nasty) is supposed to be an updated version of the classic horror character he is supposed to be charming, or at the very least a talented and soulful person, but Eric (aka The Phantom of the Mall) is bland. He’s just angry and mean, and although he’s given a tragic backstory it never translates into a sympathetic character.</p><p><br />The most notable thing to ever come out of <i>Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge</i> is the end credits theme song which is an amusing enough goof on the whole movie (it does repeatedly drop the r-slur so your ability to enjoy it may vary), when I have brought up the movie to others, it’s the only thing that ever gets mentioned.</p><p><br /><i>Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge</i> isn’t great but if you need some 80’s mall horror nostalgia… I’d just watch<a href="http://www.outpost-zeta.com/2012/04/chopping-mall.html"> </a><i><a href="http://www.outpost-zeta.com/2012/04/chopping-mall.html">Chopping Mall</a> </i>(1986). It’s better in every way and it's even set in the same mall.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-48435928592316208142022-07-22T09:24:00.001-05:002022-07-22T09:24:18.768-05:00Double Feature: Girl in His Pocket & Final Curtain<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrRFvwBa5iYwcrqxJhXtA-0gOAfaWJHUxECmmFENsB8YeBcReVCMR12W8OdvZhBSj5N-8PziuZ4ft1GlaBo9LJ5Iwg3TkzoSZwWbEe75L5InI-h5nT9ALCq8Dr4_SH_Q4nmUdDXtE3ZF3jCqXJwFie9ON3qsdECWZfKe0DJip3UF4f8gwDqNf0_Je/s250/Girl-in-His-Pocket.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="180" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrRFvwBa5iYwcrqxJhXtA-0gOAfaWJHUxECmmFENsB8YeBcReVCMR12W8OdvZhBSj5N-8PziuZ4ft1GlaBo9LJ5Iwg3TkzoSZwWbEe75L5InI-h5nT9ALCq8Dr4_SH_Q4nmUdDXtE3ZF3jCqXJwFie9ON3qsdECWZfKe0DJip3UF4f8gwDqNf0_Je/s1600/Girl-in-His-Pocket.png" width="180" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050124/">Girl in His Pocket</a> (aka Amour de poche)<br />1957<br />Pierre Kast</p><p><br /><i>Girl in His Pocket</i> drapes a very light science fiction story over a very light romantic comedy. The whole thing is a breezy 77 minutes, but it is harder to escape some of the more sinister implications of the technology presented and how it is used. The technology in question is a chemical when drank, turns someone into a small statue which can only be revived with salt water. This becomes a vehicle for a scientist to carry on a romance with his lab partner without letting his fiancé find out… or at least she doesn’t find out for a little while.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWgSbI2dJNPjz_6G4jT31RVHmDM6mhfLWuyAaOouyGGUlgy7cstWEPgjxSAgDBxvZm93crFVCQpsWivr-VzMd1fWH5Vy8Eb3W-97Pg3kXrbf922AviNivQCFMnA3X52ovqFYZKPMNWRjvUQIVtkUBYtBkOTgbPyQ1yiG1B-6KKyg8y81zdSUItgZY/s276/GiHP%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="276" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWgSbI2dJNPjz_6G4jT31RVHmDM6mhfLWuyAaOouyGGUlgy7cstWEPgjxSAgDBxvZm93crFVCQpsWivr-VzMd1fWH5Vy8Eb3W-97Pg3kXrbf922AviNivQCFMnA3X52ovqFYZKPMNWRjvUQIVtkUBYtBkOTgbPyQ1yiG1B-6KKyg8y81zdSUItgZY/s1600/GiHP%2001.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Breaking Baguette</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The idea of being turned into a tiny immortal statue that can just sit there forever is low key horrifying to me. You are at the mercy of everything. There’s never a mention of what happens to a broken statue, but you could just as easily be lost somewhere with millennia in between until you come in contact with salt water. <i>Girl in His Pocket</i> is so lightweight as to never address these issues, but I found myself pondering them as the silly romance unfolded.</p><p><br />This is a French production although the version I was watched had a remarkably good English dub. These scenes where the lab assistant is revived contained some mild nudity, but the US version ruthlessly hacks these out, resulting in a garbled end to the first act as it builds to a scene that we never get to see. United States puritanism strikes again.</p><p>The science is silly, the romance is silly, this is a weightless yet mildly charming little film. Just don't let me thing about being isolated in a tiny statue for too long or I start to panic.<br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinflQEOYc12Do7wv2UXPlTSZitGxMmeAwCNRdFJMKezCZrSLTJTJhCfEL0osX3nfORS1b-M3AWlVIRaxvP8oRJ2uuvfYu7p-XlAZr4q5NdyHmDW8grd1NfpveV3HIqu1Zzc5_LFNWeas3NoTNA6oXDcoAWdhGYzCqYcGu4HMSIVbj8Zbd--IZpyDpo/s344/Final-Curtain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="344" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinflQEOYc12Do7wv2UXPlTSZitGxMmeAwCNRdFJMKezCZrSLTJTJhCfEL0osX3nfORS1b-M3AWlVIRaxvP8oRJ2uuvfYu7p-XlAZr4q5NdyHmDW8grd1NfpveV3HIqu1Zzc5_LFNWeas3NoTNA6oXDcoAWdhGYzCqYcGu4HMSIVbj8Zbd--IZpyDpo/s320/Final-Curtain.png" width="320" /></a></div> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050396/">Final Curtain</a><br />1957<br />Edward D. Wood Jr.<p></p><p><br /><i>Final Curtain</i> was a seemingly lost Ed Wood project that was eventually tracked down and restored. <i>Final Curtain</i> served a pitch/pilot episode for what would have an anthology horror show in the vein of Twilight Zone.</p><p><br />The plot (such as it is) is basically an actor walking around and empty theater and having scary thoughts about ghosts or something. That’s literally it. Aside from one other character near the end, it’s just 22 minutes of a guy standing in an empty theater while a narrator tells us how scary it is. </p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPZF4l9DFwtuYpzkp894Np2mwQv-BU2_8Y4GWERVQ1NCcUX5Smf7XBQbd18FBpLeGAHc24tonzPnivT3zO7_jbV5qhSgfPg5sQ68kmuQPXerTHZQYp7uGFmYFhINx-PRabfv7JYCd5Nc4fL-5RFbzLJzDIhBCQba3pI1jsXE88H_u2MyfWbLX7T7O/s745/FC%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="745" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPZF4l9DFwtuYpzkp894Np2mwQv-BU2_8Y4GWERVQ1NCcUX5Smf7XBQbd18FBpLeGAHc24tonzPnivT3zO7_jbV5qhSgfPg5sQ68kmuQPXerTHZQYp7uGFmYFhINx-PRabfv7JYCd5Nc4fL-5RFbzLJzDIhBCQba3pI1jsXE88H_u2MyfWbLX7T7O/s320/FC%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Say, do you haunt this place often?"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Despite its thinness this film is a treasure trove of Ed Wood’s purple prose. We are served an endless stream of dialogue explaining to us how this actor is frightened by the benign looking theater.<br />This might be one of the best-looking Ed Wood productions I’ve seen. The picture is actually beautiful at times with rich blacks and just the barest hint of moodiness in the lighting. </p><p><br />Like a lot of early Ed Wood projects, there is something marvelous in seeing him work with what he has available, in this case two actors and an empty building. Its not successful but it takes a certain amount of drive to put together a story on virtually nothing and then have the chutzpah to put it in front of producers in hope of getting a television show. </p><p><br /><i>Final Curtain</i> in not good but it is Ed Wood to its core.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-23443011708105076872022-07-15T13:56:00.002-05:002022-07-15T13:56:20.305-05:00Double Feature: The Professor and Howl from Beyond the Fog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4APHKvqPcRaRduPOOqZDJ8DmhAoNE1ERWYIJ9pd3NTihy_m1dwjguMMIhDAw-0KHynjQUcO7ldP_CbEmzFuI3eW6oQiHCsKx-OnXxNpzijdCXjBfKnX9sc1ZkpG2tYll_Sq9_e5OKTO1OJYCNwPbCv8H5fSLbJMg6f97ORqA1FqhzIKOYAHpgSEcN/s333/vlcsnap-2022-07-15-13h43m55s721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4APHKvqPcRaRduPOOqZDJ8DmhAoNE1ERWYIJ9pd3NTihy_m1dwjguMMIhDAw-0KHynjQUcO7ldP_CbEmzFuI3eW6oQiHCsKx-OnXxNpzijdCXjBfKnX9sc1ZkpG2tYll_Sq9_e5OKTO1OJYCNwPbCv8H5fSLbJMg6f97ORqA1FqhzIKOYAHpgSEcN/s320/vlcsnap-2022-07-15-13h43m55s721.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244734/">The Professor</a></p><p>1958<br />Tom McCain</p><p><br />OK this plot rules: A communist agent looks to destroy America by creating werewolves that will cause mass panic and allow the commies to swoop in and take over the USA. Pretty cool, right? We get all kinds of 1950s goodies here: commie conspiracies, mad science, and werewolves. What could possibly go wrong?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tqWGvSJukYZ9hGMMEtG0QV7U4KdoAEV67fYZk_Yi38HfY6VLVsf8MFmdmlH5DowolXk6cPIpBl_6trJW_zpNmybsE1ffLzko0N4g0gO0iwPh4VLnx0Ex0_RVvcKaTUfeO30tlBRI7vzRmPpoFFp_5fSLqO2CtGJj38kquqIsgwO6Ho2oFARATvn7/s640/vlcsnap-2022-07-15-13h44m14s611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tqWGvSJukYZ9hGMMEtG0QV7U4KdoAEV67fYZk_Yi38HfY6VLVsf8MFmdmlH5DowolXk6cPIpBl_6trJW_zpNmybsE1ffLzko0N4g0gO0iwPh4VLnx0Ex0_RVvcKaTUfeO30tlBRI7vzRmPpoFFp_5fSLqO2CtGJj38kquqIsgwO6Ho2oFARATvn7/s320/vlcsnap-2022-07-15-13h44m14s611.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>Plenty</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>OK this movie sucks: With a runtime of 25 minutes this appears to be a failed pilot of some sort, although what kind of show you could make out of such a listless story is beyond me. Most of the story takes place in a lab with people talking. If you go in expecting some hot werewolf action, you’re in for a big disappointment. There’s nothing here I would qualify as entertaining, even the hardiest of bad movie fans will find it difficult to unearth anything of worth beyond the general premise of the film.</p><p>Due to its rarity, the only existing version you can find is in pretty bad shape, but there isn’t much to see anyway. Even on a TV pilot budget, <i>The Professor</i> looks dire, cheap sets, little location work, and the less said about the werewolf the better.<br /></p><p><br />I would avoid it, unless you have 25 minutes of your life you don’t value (like me). If you are looking for a much better werewolf movie from the 1950s, I would recommend <i>The Werewolf</i> (1956) a traditional lycanthrope story but told with an atomic horror angle, or the far more well-known<i> I was a Teenage Werewolf</i> (1957).</p><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-RRJvo5k38sWKJ-VFaPC9EBhJ_KxX3hrOl57oPe6SohMo7rkj1sKYYKqx0MytUOh17Guft81QQrq4FrDzcRUTY166w5KAsvNqS3HaQga1UVGfF94cbn7gSv_-EhKhI0LDul9POueoGo2N5_8CJIv7SxuJ64sNX5jD5BjGx3ZOhwiAekbyaXrhUAN/s250/Howl-from-Beyond-the-Fog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="177" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-RRJvo5k38sWKJ-VFaPC9EBhJ_KxX3hrOl57oPe6SohMo7rkj1sKYYKqx0MytUOh17Guft81QQrq4FrDzcRUTY166w5KAsvNqS3HaQga1UVGfF94cbn7gSv_-EhKhI0LDul9POueoGo2N5_8CJIv7SxuJ64sNX5jD5BjGx3ZOhwiAekbyaXrhUAN/s1600/Howl-from-Beyond-the-Fog.jpg" width="177" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12020368/">Howl from Beyond the Fog</a><br />2019<br />Daisuke Sato</p><p><br />Takiri
(Akane Kanamori) is a young blind woman in Meiji era Japan. She
befriends the local monster, a giant sauropod named Nebula. Local land
developers look to wipe out her village but they don’t count on her
special connection to the monster that she unleashes on the people who
would harm her.<br /><i>Howl from Beyond the Fog</i> is a fascinating
short film. A kaiju film told purely with puppetry and miniatures.
Traditional kaiju films employ a number of techniques, including
puppetry and most certainly miniature work but it is an interesting
approach to produce the entire film in this fashion. The love and skill
put on screen is breathtaking, every frame is lush with detail. The story centers around
vengeance and the environment, often reoccurring theme in kaiju
films.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMR2r5-LQB8UGGKcETparL1Wo6XNIFR0FVOTIE0wTq_U5FnD2PW2FtFMrJDv860COBZQPdfvmhoDD5-6mDjNiAXcBWKZUU_cDPrw2GiLsT-u1e2w82wllS8Rv7jHflI_1JJAnq0PE6mDV2l1jaPamCqbptS547ytnZUQRyNE0CtGY7QJPYd1Vs51g_/s538/HFBtF.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="538" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMR2r5-LQB8UGGKcETparL1Wo6XNIFR0FVOTIE0wTq_U5FnD2PW2FtFMrJDv860COBZQPdfvmhoDD5-6mDjNiAXcBWKZUU_cDPrw2GiLsT-u1e2w82wllS8Rv7jHflI_1JJAnq0PE6mDV2l1jaPamCqbptS547ytnZUQRyNE0CtGY7QJPYd1Vs51g_/s320/HFBtF.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Twaaaaang"</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When still and contemplative <i>Howl from Beyond the Fog</i>
works extremely well. The monster action is lively although it
occasionally shows the limits of the budgets with some dodgy video
editing. It’s never enough to sink the whole production, the opulence of
the images far outweighs the flaws.</p><p>The film clocks in at a
leisurely 66 minutes, and it is the perfect length, any longer would
threaten to bog down this simple slow-paced story. This is a film to be
enjoyed for its visuals and not its plot. A gorgeous film and a reminder that even a monster movie can approach its often-maligned content as
something beautiful.</p><p><br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-36513002880004141182022-07-08T10:00:00.003-05:002022-07-08T10:00:00.185-05:00I Come in Peace<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4_CfbhWvk90fYpsGxqDCLesWPPh0WkFN2dNSllExSvb1m8_s7KNEXCNMSWeSHuKHwxV9oTah9DpOs34L2IoVgNZJQrOD4EsOyIExYBUZDkjsNl-xwHeLJLTTkedFYmRwIdshHv2w7DDMrMP9JQeiywbOGtOmd-OY6CHZuSvBkVTx7YxIMaGUVJL7/s250/I-Come-in-Peace.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="141" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4_CfbhWvk90fYpsGxqDCLesWPPh0WkFN2dNSllExSvb1m8_s7KNEXCNMSWeSHuKHwxV9oTah9DpOs34L2IoVgNZJQrOD4EsOyIExYBUZDkjsNl-xwHeLJLTTkedFYmRwIdshHv2w7DDMrMP9JQeiywbOGtOmd-OY6CHZuSvBkVTx7YxIMaGUVJL7/s1600/I-Come-in-Peace.png" width="141" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099817/">I Come in Peace</a> (aka Dark Angel)<br />1990<br />Craig R. Baxley</p><p><br />I just want to say that <i>I Come in Peace</i> is a fantastic title. There is never a real reason for the being in question to say it, but it works as a threat and a punchline and is easily the best thing about this film.</p><p><br />By 1990, our buddy cop action movie technology was very well developed. <i>I Come in Peace</i> serves as an example of just about every trope you’d ever expect to see in this kind of film. A partner getting killed early on? Check. A loose cannon cop who doesn’t play by the rules? Check. A new partner who’s by the book? Check. Top that off with a mild science-fiction element and we have an unoriginal but still entertaining action movie.</p><p><br />Detective Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is a wise talking cop who loses his partner while investigating a local heroin ring. His new partner is a straight arrow Federal agent (Brian Benben). The two find a strange disc weapon at a crime scene. Elsewhere in the city an 8ft tall humanoid (Matthias Hues) is stealing heroin for its own needs while a space cop (Jay Bilas) arrives to take it down. Eventually these various people cross paths in shootout after shootout, in what amounts to a movie you’ve probably seen a dozen times in other forms.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePniWeI2osa77T0DdUxX40JNan9MZbTCxRbZC0RhcVZgKMfUofy5yE8R8MExzd7ufNehFGraGFfQ1TgW1emuACkkOSl0vzgRvWL5B0FPFuEDqYlJEJu-gAIpCssrvBt5aBrdYvzAYiu8HGX2ZMGFPSX2sj55WMo45OrxplYbSn_NXcRQr3GgrOczN/s656/ICiP%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="656" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePniWeI2osa77T0DdUxX40JNan9MZbTCxRbZC0RhcVZgKMfUofy5yE8R8MExzd7ufNehFGraGFfQ1TgW1emuACkkOSl0vzgRvWL5B0FPFuEDqYlJEJu-gAIpCssrvBt5aBrdYvzAYiu8HGX2ZMGFPSX2sj55WMo45OrxplYbSn_NXcRQr3GgrOczN/s320/ICiP%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>"Excuse me, I have to go take my estrogen."</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>Despite being rote, the movie is still engaging thanks to some great looking action scenes. The aliens are the twist in the formula and to make their focus extraterrestrial drug dealing is a decent twist, but in function there’s really nothing that separates these aliens from human drug dealers in any other movie. It does add in fun weapons and these lumbering giant people making weird faces while talking.</p><p><br />Dolph Lundgren plays a very typical cop character for the era, nothing seems to get to him, the death of his partner and the realization that aliens exist end up happening within hours of each other and he just keeps on wisecracking. This is definitely a holdover from the 1980s, on the other hand, there is an undeniable charm to his performance and it is a fun if paper thin character. His chemistry with Brian Benben’s Agent Smith is another trope, but it works in that capacity. Both Matthias Tuttle and Jay Bilas put some very idiosyncratic performances as our alien opponents. They are both a mass of weird twitches and expressions. It’s a very simple approach but it works well to communicate that these are not humans merely, but trying to imitate them.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbxLrRhMtPvk8N9pBTPtNn1JBTbITB-YN9eyVGDsmKcU2RUizfkbNEFC0UfViZ4jCuTLfMxuziajtwR8wQk92cKYU1wKy6mBDbr7bPuqq64VAmfeuSKnlD6OYdBvDJwPAuwtq1Am6nti8iA2nLP-F7Og0812_fcztPKmYah0k_H0H3UylIxgKuPQM/s1100/ICiP%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1100" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbxLrRhMtPvk8N9pBTPtNn1JBTbITB-YN9eyVGDsmKcU2RUizfkbNEFC0UfViZ4jCuTLfMxuziajtwR8wQk92cKYU1wKy6mBDbr7bPuqq64VAmfeuSKnlD6OYdBvDJwPAuwtq1Am6nti8iA2nLP-F7Og0812_fcztPKmYah0k_H0H3UylIxgKuPQM/s320/ICiP%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Dolph, can you get me in an Expendables movie or something?"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p><i>I Come in Peace</i> is not a great film, it’s derivative and repetitive, but I still found myself enjoying it. Yes it trash, but it’s comfortable trash from the end of particular era of film when something like this would get a theatrical release. If want a far better version of this movie go and watch <i>The Hidden</i> (1987), but if you are up for some silly action, with silly characters and a really carefree attitude, I Come Peace does just fine.<br /> </p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-18752841525034716422022-07-01T10:00:00.001-05:002022-07-01T10:00:00.282-05:00The Alchemist's Cookbook <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kOuSDkyVNxpiTZag3u_22CHdmHJ9-n3wghZaV67A9UT_3K8ZwcOYnwXqQeQhQqDDRkdTcyiO5l2isWgHxSgAGPbpToSSdCbh-X5is22NiTceFVzcy5DU2zP_YCLBtOhjRLVHL5GZPELXw7zYhAOkvfMpU4iUTzjn_yHbXdfRjc_g0fptoTrtB1rC/s250/Alchemists-Cookbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="176" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kOuSDkyVNxpiTZag3u_22CHdmHJ9-n3wghZaV67A9UT_3K8ZwcOYnwXqQeQhQqDDRkdTcyiO5l2isWgHxSgAGPbpToSSdCbh-X5is22NiTceFVzcy5DU2zP_YCLBtOhjRLVHL5GZPELXw7zYhAOkvfMpU4iUTzjn_yHbXdfRjc_g0fptoTrtB1rC/s1600/Alchemists-Cookbook.jpg" width="176" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5128826/">The Alchemist’s Cookbook</a><br />2016<br />Joel Potrykus<br /><br />Joel Potrykus movies often centered around a single individual at odds with his world, despite this conflict, the main character struggles to achieve a goal often focused on personal transformation. Often these characters are hyper focused on their goal, usually have fallen through any kind of social safety net (insofar as any such thing exists in the United States), and they usually only have one person they call a friend. Potrykus returns to this set-up through several films in his career, all his of them contain some humor, but <i>The Alchemist’s Cookbook</i> is the closest he comes to making traditional horror.</p><p><br /><i>The Alchemist’s Cookbook</i> takes this scenario to an extreme with a person purposefully isolated from the world to achieve the goal of maybe summoning a demon? Whether this obsession is actually achievable or merely in the mind of someone who is very ill is left up to the viewer. What makes this film work when literally hundreds of films about a person’s possible descent into madness lies in the writing and performance of its lead character, Sean, as played by Ty Hickson. Sean leads a strange little life that is often marked with frustration and self-endangerment but at the same time he finds joy in little moments especially with his cat, Kaspar. We might not understand his goal, but we grow concerned to his safety in obtaining it.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrciORwbmf6dmtq4jvBgD3aQ0aUuD3qhcZDc7JnJAeCLr3vF0v-KE9tOz5EXo7ABIvC0Mv_PDaQjt7Qfi2uZVZwGWz4qacWBADbHv5qGgPsG7JJ9kXdGis5Wd0I2mX3goAX3ZPeMiYATWimk7Khw3jrjL333WkOzeRMjOcULkDtFCUlEkSuVMygGQ/s1280/AC%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrciORwbmf6dmtq4jvBgD3aQ0aUuD3qhcZDc7JnJAeCLr3vF0v-KE9tOz5EXo7ABIvC0Mv_PDaQjt7Qfi2uZVZwGWz4qacWBADbHv5qGgPsG7JJ9kXdGis5Wd0I2mX3goAX3ZPeMiYATWimk7Khw3jrjL333WkOzeRMjOcULkDtFCUlEkSuVMygGQ/s320/AC%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>This happens every year to me around the holidays.</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The only other human character in the story is Sean’s friend Cortez who also appears to be out of touch as well but not really to the degree Sean is, underneath that though he genuinely cares about Sean and tries to do what he can to make sure he’s fed and healthy. There is such a weird camaraderie between these two that is difficult to not get invested in them. Which makes the encroaching horror all that more effective.</p><p><br />The entire film takes place in a single trailer home and the surrounding woods. As Sean’s exploration of his magic continues and his methods grow more grotesque and extreme, the woods grow more and more sinister. Soon there is a presence lurking out there, and it has its sights set on Sean. In a lot of ways, <i>The Alchemist’s Cookbook</i> works as a low-key <i>Evil Dead</i> (1981), with a figure isolated in the woods as he is assaulted by possession and demons.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyZXGT9IbWilTkRCU4767uHU2ZCAG7Zj25FodhZHTckQsL55idqrg2lLFbJni6nlfZV0s69fibMVYq9TE80JzDQ7AsJh0MpDe3G-SsJuXX4m6jx8aYeuz5ZUqxWskm1RnHB7PjZIVHJkwJBvmhaNwVEwqWsO9Mz8rc76Ce_Jw-Rs3UcJUIabMqcwZ/s1195/AC%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1195" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyZXGT9IbWilTkRCU4767uHU2ZCAG7Zj25FodhZHTckQsL55idqrg2lLFbJni6nlfZV0s69fibMVYq9TE80JzDQ7AsJh0MpDe3G-SsJuXX4m6jx8aYeuz5ZUqxWskm1RnHB7PjZIVHJkwJBvmhaNwVEwqWsO9Mz8rc76Ce_Jw-Rs3UcJUIabMqcwZ/s320/AC%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>"We got Red Heat on loop!"</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The look of the film is split between the chaos of Sean’s trailer and calm beauty of the woods. Potrykus has a great visual sense to use visual clutter of the trailer and limited line of sight of the forest for maximum tension. There is nowhere to relax in this world and the viewer feels it more and more as time goes on. </p><p><br /><i>The Alchemist’s Cookbook</i> is probably my favorite of Potrykus’ films (see my review of <a href="https://www.outpost-zeta.com/2022/06/buzzard.html">Buzzard</a> (2015). I love its slow burn, weird humor, and ambiguous ending. Sean is a legitimately interesting and tragic figure. A great film from a director I enjoy. You might enjoy it too. <br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-39675044579994619142022-06-24T09:40:00.002-05:002022-06-24T09:40:17.201-05:00Buzzard <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurKrh5_T_lpkmqe035-lsdacJbbuHg0Q7mCjFuC_5p5ULWNeXPxvQdhfDvUY82crlJ056h06PafQCLSqioO6flNI0aSJ-byeLc7F-T2cONErrUk-qPF25EwY2SbN9642i2TvwPFxRCXFQ52XL0sQ9S5s3_naxLro3O-O-8ENdZ0gC02vbqWGHKPKs/s250/Buzzard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="169" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurKrh5_T_lpkmqe035-lsdacJbbuHg0Q7mCjFuC_5p5ULWNeXPxvQdhfDvUY82crlJ056h06PafQCLSqioO6flNI0aSJ-byeLc7F-T2cONErrUk-qPF25EwY2SbN9642i2TvwPFxRCXFQ52XL0sQ9S5s3_naxLro3O-O-8ENdZ0gC02vbqWGHKPKs/s1600/Buzzard.png" width="169" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2656588/">Buzzard</a><br />2015<br />Joel Potrykus</p><p><br /><i>Buzzard</i> exists in a world that just seems to a be a series of banal spaces and totally devoid of any personal meaning to anyone. Houses and jobs are just spaces to occupy. What you do there is largely irrelevant. These are the corpses of what might have once been thriving places filled with people who have full lies, but all of that is dying or already dead. Enter into this world, Marty (Joshua Burge).</p><p><br />Marty is low-wage temp performing pointless work at an insurance company. Marty is schemer, always looking for ways to get things for free, he struggles to get traction in a world that has been smoothed down by indifference. His frustration at the world transforms into rage. At his core, Marty is an angry person and grows angrier with each passing day. Eventually he tries illegally cashing checks and returning stolen office supplies to the store for cash. His fragile criminal enterprises collapse and soon Marty is laying low in the basement of his sort of friend, Derek (Joel Potrykus). Eventually things threaten to get bad enough that Marty, along with his Freddy Krueger/Powerglove invention go on the run.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzoEtnglCAlmRVGFZ0gKI30S__dO14jYZekPRc39rMlvNrWNlQlFdUPjYkp-6SJUhvd779inqu1umDnSbXD76zUQcUTB7LF_kseYWilOV7H7C-nwhWRIv0mp9U_hdhBCG21NNfKApuxBYSdBROR4ofIWkbGYonwxzLL2wQhkRCfze17FWBPgnP6jS/s1500/B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1500" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzoEtnglCAlmRVGFZ0gKI30S__dO14jYZekPRc39rMlvNrWNlQlFdUPjYkp-6SJUhvd779inqu1umDnSbXD76zUQcUTB7LF_kseYWilOV7H7C-nwhWRIv0mp9U_hdhBCG21NNfKApuxBYSdBROR4ofIWkbGYonwxzLL2wQhkRCfze17FWBPgnP6jS/s320/B01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Getting ready for the midnight movie.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The director, Joel Potrykus, loves his weirdo loners being put through trials to reach enlightenment. Similar themes happen in all this films, <i>Alchemist’s Cookbook</i> (2016), and<i> <a href="https://www.outpost-zeta.com/2020/11/relaxer.html">Relaxer</a> </i>(2018) being his most recent two. Does Marty reach some kind of enlightenment at the end? It’s difficult to say, he’s so mired in the crapped-out world he inhabits that any struggle is going to be difficult. Every character in the film feels isolated in a similar way.</p><p><br />The world of <i>Buzzard</i> is full of tedious office buildings, faceless shops, and basements full of pathetic knickknacks. Marty’s signature object, a bladed Power Glove is a hybrid of pop-horror and video games, it’s what little culture he posses turned into a weapon. If the rest of the movie is deliberately unremarkable looking, Marty’s little toy is the opposite. It’s dangerous and funny and absurd in a way the rest of the world isn’t.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNbMBeON6GdHQjOSnltzGhsF_LZMRFvSZWuAgryl_agYh1aq1USWE6l-ZLEgqNiShz-CmIQ9cmVlmKKoy4zFVxv_qDZkMOZtdn9Xvws-yRGzKbYKB_e5s12Mibtc1MFXAtxW1zOYmnwhVjjtevILBr3zpXK5ki9CjJvaUJboZku83Nmo-YgrPdlaN/s1147/B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1147" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNbMBeON6GdHQjOSnltzGhsF_LZMRFvSZWuAgryl_agYh1aq1USWE6l-ZLEgqNiShz-CmIQ9cmVlmKKoy4zFVxv_qDZkMOZtdn9Xvws-yRGzKbYKB_e5s12Mibtc1MFXAtxW1zOYmnwhVjjtevILBr3zpXK5ki9CjJvaUJboZku83Nmo-YgrPdlaN/s320/B02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">At the midnight movie.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <i> </i></p><p><i>Buzzard</i> is a bleak but there are plenty of moments of comedy. Marty’s whole dysfunctional friendship with Derek is a constant source of painful laughs. These two people don’t respect each other, but they both seem to need each other around. Derek’s inflated sense of ego vs. Marty’s cockroach survival instincts provide for the bulk of the humor. The rest of the movie lives in a sort of glum absurdity. It is in these moments the real darkness bubbles to the surface as all this work to cheat the system fails and tears at Marty’s fragile sense of self. The final moments of the film speak of a threshold crossed but that threshold is left up the viewer.<br /><br />Funny, disturbing, and a perfect story to touch on what it is like to be a wage working on flat, terrible world as seen through someone with little morals and even less planning skills. Highly recommended.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-48443212654170920672022-06-17T08:30:00.001-05:002022-06-17T08:30:00.212-05:00Hand of Death<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpActN8GSAZCRaO55NzeGkPRIM7nuu9Gi4uRBagc3Pr5uARxPcwpK99XokYtTz1cSHhVbnPGOEfDsL1vgnpPTFIwSgFAf8LUj5cDvaDGLb6JS_7k1MhsznLqh_XdSfZASKFWQ2FjOqXNWBMPPy131jOIMlZw1yt_oicrxIMl3LgplaF9wSfkRKD8x/s250/Hand-of-Death.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="165" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpActN8GSAZCRaO55NzeGkPRIM7nuu9Gi4uRBagc3Pr5uARxPcwpK99XokYtTz1cSHhVbnPGOEfDsL1vgnpPTFIwSgFAf8LUj5cDvaDGLb6JS_7k1MhsznLqh_XdSfZASKFWQ2FjOqXNWBMPPy131jOIMlZw1yt_oicrxIMl3LgplaF9wSfkRKD8x/s1600/Hand-of-Death.png" width="165" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056055/">Hand of Death</a><br />1962<br />Gene Nelson</p><p><br /><i>Hand of Death</i> was most notable as being considered a piece of lost media while it existed in legal limbo from the 1970s-2000s. Eventually it began to appear on AMC and other cable film stations, and we learned the difficult lesson that just because a film is difficult to find doesn’t mean it’s any good.</p><p><br />Dr. Alex Marsh (John Agar) is a scientist who is working with the government to develop a nerve toxin that stuns its victims rather than killing them. Carol Wilson (Paula Raymond) is Alex’s girlfriend and she has serious reservations about Alex working on such a project. Her fear turns out to be founded when Alex gets a dose of his own poison and becomes lethal to the touch. To make things worse his whole body is changing into something bloated and cracked. Alex races to find a cure while the authorities close in on him.</p><p><br />Ultimately <i>Hand of Death</i> follows the path of dozens and dozens of films prior in which a scientist is bodily subject to the monstrous results of their research. They wander around looking for a cure and killing people accidentally or purposefully. This was the roadmap laid out by Jekyll and Hyde, and <i>Hand of Death </i>follows it unerringly. This is its biggest failing; <i>Hand of Death</i> just doesn’t have much new to offer a viewer. Most viewers will know exactly where this story is going from its opening moments and this predictability saps the movie of much of its energy.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrAr0TCVxS2qCv1RdbZfWHp8mPRtultwLw7FBKjIZ2gU_T0Psvi2qbzeHj2vNuvALfttdFCwH6dC8VePMRjDcUOLiWpqYBOmAhJa7EgemxvIfgde_-ZLUxqpUnwDHXmcVAy6a2JOxXDrf4UVHuc1BHI94Bkz8W3KlrgBcS3DXcTaYeTMM99se4pvV/s584/HoD-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="584" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrAr0TCVxS2qCv1RdbZfWHp8mPRtultwLw7FBKjIZ2gU_T0Psvi2qbzeHj2vNuvALfttdFCwH6dC8VePMRjDcUOLiWpqYBOmAhJa7EgemxvIfgde_-ZLUxqpUnwDHXmcVAy6a2JOxXDrf4UVHuc1BHI94Bkz8W3KlrgBcS3DXcTaYeTMM99se4pvV/s320/HoD-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Last water cool talk turned into a brawl."</span></i><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <i> </i></p><p><i>Hand of Death</i> stars John Agar, who always manages to be serviceable in roles like this. His character of Dr. Marsh is incredibly underdeveloped, there is no indication that he would be so reckless as to work on nerve gas without any safety equipment, but that is exactly the silly development in which the plot hinges on. I don’t understand this choice, it makes Marsh look like a fool. </p><p><br />The 62-minute running time still feels too long, the story and characters are just too paper thin. <i>Hand of Death</i> could have been a thirty-minute short film and even then, I feel like it would be just as slow and derivative, but at least you’d get to leave earlier and go do some laundry. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLuvWyLB7eukMPpae_tRypc_9yqrmfwgY0Ieif-nyDE0_5f6z-VkZMDjolaU6dJbZow7vCeDKEkP9zkYDzubo0blcrgwszDKAqIzswJtFGcXadQGtkojwKa-WGeo30a4LKkCex-XxSJva3bndsKr3MtZaq98OQIQrnAcwq_25kTKnSJJ6Y14lCA7KH/s700/HoD%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="700" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLuvWyLB7eukMPpae_tRypc_9yqrmfwgY0Ieif-nyDE0_5f6z-VkZMDjolaU6dJbZow7vCeDKEkP9zkYDzubo0blcrgwszDKAqIzswJtFGcXadQGtkojwKa-WGeo30a4LKkCex-XxSJva3bndsKr3MtZaq98OQIQrnAcwq_25kTKnSJJ6Y14lCA7KH/s320/HoD%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>Oof.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The most notable (or notorious) element of <i>Hand of the Death</i> is in its presentation of Dr. Marsh’s condition. Marsh’s nerve gas accident poisons his skin, first turning him dark complected and then bloating his body and face into a distorted black mass. It’s surprisingly weird creation, but it also resembles a grotesque caricature of POC. This sort of thing might have slid by without much comment in the 1960s but in the 21st century, it’s impossible to escape.</p><p><br /><i>Hand of Death</i> is nothing you haven’t seen before. If you can look past some serious flaws it works fine as a curiosity, but as an interesting film on its own, it crumbles under a slow pace, predictable story, and ill-chosen monster.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-84110696303251669612022-06-10T09:00:00.003-05:002022-06-10T09:00:55.739-05:00Space Master X-7<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLbkVkwkaGPPadHDoVh9HgxEzlG6VyDtZVi0Uk3VsoVWX4i0qEXcGwMA7j7wzXKKccz5Mra-EjVtcrxRHt8Uf2nT-CQOM_FsiVEo26IqV1UGjUQpaWu8ErZVpVAbfVQ9OhCDnz8dA2q9JGcxA5nOFRCGsFMOnTG6qNmGdax_vPINYJOmLuwjEI2y-/s250/Space-Master-X-7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLbkVkwkaGPPadHDoVh9HgxEzlG6VyDtZVi0Uk3VsoVWX4i0qEXcGwMA7j7wzXKKccz5Mra-EjVtcrxRHt8Uf2nT-CQOM_FsiVEo26IqV1UGjUQpaWu8ErZVpVAbfVQ9OhCDnz8dA2q9JGcxA5nOFRCGsFMOnTG6qNmGdax_vPINYJOmLuwjEI2y-/s1600/Space-Master-X-7.png" width="167" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052228/">Space Master X-7</a><br />1958<br />Edward Bernds</p><p><br /><i>Space Master X-7</i> takes a more realistic approach to its science fiction. There are no rubber monsters, flying saucers, or ray guns, instead we get a level of technology that is just slightly above what you would expect from the late 1950s. <i>Space Master X-7</i> also forgoes the usual professional emotionless scientists and women in distress for far more grounded people who make mistakes and follow their baser desires in spite of their high intelligence. This puts <i>Space Master X-7</i> next to more science minded films like <i>The Magnetic Monster</i> (1953). This also makes the title a bit of a misnomer as space barely factors into the overall story.</p><p><br />The story shares some similarities to <i>First Man in Space</i> (1961), a space probe to returns the Earth with a mysterious substance that creates a fast-growing rust when it comes in contact with human blood. When the lead scientist’s own infidelity comes back to haunt him, the ‘bloodrust’ is let loose on Earth thanks to a woman unwittingly spreading it as rushes back to Hawaii lest her husband found out about her affair with the scientist.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2Wf65E8c_ryXBsStgBfCRAnXY37GhvD3QtZKcMIaF7mWyqt1HBGGcD7r6nL1qwM5dmur1Us8gtwEtM3cDVejAyD74jjnG64StkK78mOhiaWwW5rdGkBPdglmsEt8442ekfyV0ilgJ_4EhtXhbWeNVz0x4vrsVPT9t_HKxvZwy7m8OOr3dAEGra2r/s627/SPX7%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="627" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2Wf65E8c_ryXBsStgBfCRAnXY37GhvD3QtZKcMIaF7mWyqt1HBGGcD7r6nL1qwM5dmur1Us8gtwEtM3cDVejAyD74jjnG64StkK78mOhiaWwW5rdGkBPdglmsEt8442ekfyV0ilgJ_4EhtXhbWeNVz0x4vrsVPT9t_HKxvZwy7m8OOr3dAEGra2r/s320/SPX7%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Why do people keep asking me to slap them?"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <i> </i></p><p><i>Space Master X-7</i> starts like a more typical science-fiction film with lots of technical speak, stock footage and space stuff before it veers into an almost noir like tale of toxic love, finally the film takes a third turn into a procedural as the police and scientists attempt to track down the woman before she inadvertently destroys the world through a contagion that she doesn’t know she’s carrying. I often hear complains about 1950s era SF being plodding and dull, <i>Space Master X-7</i> manages to keep things moving by constantly switching up its story.</p><p><br />This film can’t overcome the one issue that often plagues SF of this era and that is having memorable characters. Paul Frees is a delight as Dr. Charles T. Pommer because it’s so rare we get a scientist character who also has a dire personal life filled with selfishness and cheating. He has more dimension than 99% of other 1950s SF characters so of course he’s not too long lived in this film. This leaves our other interesting character and flip side to Dr. Pommer, Lyn Thomas as Laura Greeling. Greeling’s entire motivation is get home before her husband finds out she’s been cheating. I do wish the story had stuck with her more and touched on the impact of her accidentally killing a lot of people, but the story opts for a happier if weaker ending.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYUmStkYGjYdF5yUWxFCsI_zltiSTmSDeENpjKmvAtFvhirsNnOJyYILu1YH7t__mQL1vbqPdtTzwa6eYU2QcMR9AWN3NoPTi6-x84QvF0SNa6oTbdLEV_PZW4kvZ8bMtDQWJs_P2Oqkym6T3dqGib2Tmq9SrDlC94DFe0RGf024CSOF1_N62ndV7/s418/SPX7%2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="418" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYUmStkYGjYdF5yUWxFCsI_zltiSTmSDeENpjKmvAtFvhirsNnOJyYILu1YH7t__mQL1vbqPdtTzwa6eYU2QcMR9AWN3NoPTi6-x84QvF0SNa6oTbdLEV_PZW4kvZ8bMtDQWJs_P2Oqkym6T3dqGib2Tmq9SrDlC94DFe0RGf024CSOF1_N62ndV7/s320/SPX7%2003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"They called me mad when I said I could<br />make a nuclear pot roast."</span></i><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <i> </i></p><p><i>Space Master X-7</i> is a decent example of a mature science fiction story in an era where rubber suits and spaceships ruled popular culture. It’s well thought out and keeps things fresh by always having something different to offer as the story unfolds. A good film for those looking for a change of pace. </p><p><br />Oh yeah, Moe Howard shows up in a distracting cameo as a taxi driver. I have no idea why.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-8351395479293133442022-06-03T08:48:00.002-05:002022-06-03T08:59:41.038-05:00Double Feature: Miami Golem & The Kindred<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5mcS3x3uyh3lQmxJiudzCm5IdjkO0dGQ_zYKLwaZTjIzC9zq1SKjH6ui7Vbb1r9N7r2h842y24Q2Fq3kzk4dYS-yT_SFxiEq-kI2e5SSVhR04yjlri6eVj2jkcwEfBgTBxhp9V2Yyh5ralWTqSBnt6AVs5X46yfbwmkZpxD84zfW8M4-Lfr0Od3w/s250/Miami-Golem.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="133" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5mcS3x3uyh3lQmxJiudzCm5IdjkO0dGQ_zYKLwaZTjIzC9zq1SKjH6ui7Vbb1r9N7r2h842y24Q2Fq3kzk4dYS-yT_SFxiEq-kI2e5SSVhR04yjlri6eVj2jkcwEfBgTBxhp9V2Yyh5ralWTqSBnt6AVs5X46yfbwmkZpxD84zfW8M4-Lfr0Od3w/s1600/Miami-Golem.jpg" width="133" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091343/">Miami Golem</a> (aka Miami Horror)<br />1985<br />Alberto De Martino</p><p><br />Craig Milford (David Warbeck) is a TV reporter who is caught up in a conspiracy after interviewing a scientist about cloning research. A wealthy businessman wants him dead and to make matters worse the cloned lifeform might be a potential threat to the universe.</p><p><br /><i>Miami Golem</i> is a middle of the road Italian action/SF film, but it happens to come during arguably the golden age of Italian genre cinema, so it is still very entertaining. <i>Miami Golem</i> keeps things fresh by jumping from detective mystery, action film, and science fiction story. In general, the story is lighter in tone and lacks the excessive gore that was often a hallmark of the Italian cinema of the time. This restraint is what really keeps this film from reaching a level of notoriety that films like <i><a href="http://www.outpost-zeta.com/2016/03/demons.html">Demons</a> </i>(1985) or <i>The Beyond</i> (1981). Ultimately this strength is also the film’s undoing, as it loses focus by the climax and then wanders around for several minutes afterwards before finally concluding with a limp finale. </p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0LSbGBSP06yU6jUoBhRv2mH94S952FWPjn5s6fY-1DiG0l9dBvvVW_mJYQ23mqMOLDrHTKkODRrJcQij5PtA7I2j6Mg5itjuGnE4BJ_wqq-NPTEzY1exPSeld43LjtwbqxTrzYPjPFenzBmkw3yRPY9R3ZRr4-aX1NV4WQLoRnK_URfEMmL3W-ZI/s575/MG%2001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="575" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0LSbGBSP06yU6jUoBhRv2mH94S952FWPjn5s6fY-1DiG0l9dBvvVW_mJYQ23mqMOLDrHTKkODRrJcQij5PtA7I2j6Mg5itjuGnE4BJ_wqq-NPTEzY1exPSeld43LjtwbqxTrzYPjPFenzBmkw3yRPY9R3ZRr4-aX1NV4WQLoRnK_URfEMmL3W-ZI/s320/MG%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">How I though babies were made as a child.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>The best element of the entire film is catchy synthesizer score that gets plenty of play including an extended number over the opening credits. Some may say that it is repetitive and the synth sounds cheap, but I think that’s part of the charm. The cheapness of the music mirrors the cheapness of the special effects and if that sounds appealing to you, you should give <i>Miami Golem</i> a look.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091343/"><br /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0YeOuoGcwzUDcZEjJAFwhS6mPYuq24JaUDViBeMf1DdklPCZltyDc5tSl530DGUb1ZYHCGC1RdCPDs_PaoLXiG2OGEd1fAftHojHBzBrDEv7g4fH0tEDAtebQKhUtr_AuCmkoKSaoNbnm3oozBOXCmwkhX6o6H6GTuOl_v7C8oUMzCdC5jmjF4lW/s250/Kindred.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="189" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0YeOuoGcwzUDcZEjJAFwhS6mPYuq24JaUDViBeMf1DdklPCZltyDc5tSl530DGUb1ZYHCGC1RdCPDs_PaoLXiG2OGEd1fAftHojHBzBrDEv7g4fH0tEDAtebQKhUtr_AuCmkoKSaoNbnm3oozBOXCmwkhX6o6H6GTuOl_v7C8oUMzCdC5jmjF4lW/s1600/Kindred.jpg" width="189" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091343/">The Kindred</a><br />1987<br />Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter</p><p><br />John Hollins (David Allen Brooks) honors the dying request of his mother by heading to her remote cabin to destroy her research. She also happens to mention a brother that he knew nothing about. John meets a woman (Amanda Pays) who claims to be a fan of his mother’s work. John, Melissa, and some friends travel to the cabin. Here they find something horrible that will make you side-eye every watermelon you see.</p><p><br />I have distinct memories of seeing the poster for <i>The Kindred</i> when I was younger and it giving me a little chill. The movie doesn’t live up to the effectiveness of the poster, but if you’re a horror fan you should be used to that at this point. <i>The Kindred</i> is never bad per se but it rarely rises above passable. The plot is listless where it should be a creeping dread the continues to rise until the appearance of ‘Anthony’.</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipul2DlE4FIDwMdAAiTTmhrLrkFzuy3vcCG1bKewU6uctWWwj7v99hcELFC-V5w7zGfTXgnbIZ6JIFphqCn8AJ4SqdMyWqses71oaet80uCmxDT010ev8jE0l1jX-YAoqk9szxEeV_nhDYgs-VwNu7gnO8cxkDNiVDBw-xVgjFZs_F5GloeO4LxPAf/s780/K%2001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipul2DlE4FIDwMdAAiTTmhrLrkFzuy3vcCG1bKewU6uctWWwj7v99hcELFC-V5w7zGfTXgnbIZ6JIFphqCn8AJ4SqdMyWqses71oaet80uCmxDT010ev8jE0l1jX-YAoqk9szxEeV_nhDYgs-VwNu7gnO8cxkDNiVDBw-xVgjFZs_F5GloeO4LxPAf/s320/K%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Me thinking about how babies were made as a child.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>Anthony is the monster, and it is pretty obvious this where all the energy of the film went. There are number of fun gooey rubber monster scenes and other inventive sequences, the most notorious being a scene of Anthony hitching a ride in a watermelon. All of this isn’t nearly enough to right the film, but it is enough to make the slog of the actual plot bearable. I think with a stronger story <i>The Kindred</i> could have fallen into the pantheon of beloved 1980s horror films, as it stands, it is a curious footnote.<br /><br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-18471741418706919112022-05-27T09:07:00.003-05:002022-05-27T09:08:16.077-05:00Double Feature: The Astounding She-Monster & Devil Girl from Mars<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuNj6DYB1m0D9m5eC03RPw1uaXpHnT0T9_DEj4AUumuEX_p5AJ3ySHGf1NdVC72kF7eVXQe1sYLoimoM4C6Ky9QJEzpFzDX_-MSTMNtJxq3CTiIsrHgsuyTjr_PwIAT7IqVNMg_JUZtCOnE2gX0dQGNmz7gFEVVD4S30GSIq9PIQW8Lc4oAvShPvXo/s250/Astounding-She-Monster.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="162" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuNj6DYB1m0D9m5eC03RPw1uaXpHnT0T9_DEj4AUumuEX_p5AJ3ySHGf1NdVC72kF7eVXQe1sYLoimoM4C6Ky9QJEzpFzDX_-MSTMNtJxq3CTiIsrHgsuyTjr_PwIAT7IqVNMg_JUZtCOnE2gX0dQGNmz7gFEVVD4S30GSIq9PIQW8Lc4oAvShPvXo/s1600/Astounding-She-Monster.png" width="162" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050143/">The Astounding She-Monster</a><br />1957<br />Ronald V. Ashcroft</p><p><br />A group of criminals kidnaps a woman to ransom and hideout in a cabin. What they don’t count on is a) the owner of the cabin is in the area to investigate a meteor, and b) the meteor was in fact an alien woman who can kill with a touch. Who is this strange creature and what does she want? Apparently, she wants to murder people but is there something more beyond that?</p><p><br /><i>The Astounding She-Monster</i> is a threadbare production possibly most famous for being so low budget that they couldn’t repair a tear in the back of the She-Monster’s body suit, so they simply ran the film backwards to have her walk back into the woods without turning around. The whole production feels similarly drab and cheap.</p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGjHPm7yIkOZswUbqjxDQ_hKjKuQFNSmKsccsXq96Nqvy2qtAzWq-TjzSzPRxRgXEt5nd3vn2YrYIQh_o3rfu0JgEldtcIqPIcdwe3_fFTkJlZSxRMa3mghzyJFnkKi7ER20Sj_fjIR1Gm8VTkVhchSMOWL1R-oX2JuyPZca-4yOwCHMmPVTVh-IR/s261/Astounding%2001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="261" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGjHPm7yIkOZswUbqjxDQ_hKjKuQFNSmKsccsXq96Nqvy2qtAzWq-TjzSzPRxRgXEt5nd3vn2YrYIQh_o3rfu0JgEldtcIqPIcdwe3_fFTkJlZSxRMa3mghzyJFnkKi7ER20Sj_fjIR1Gm8VTkVhchSMOWL1R-oX2JuyPZca-4yOwCHMmPVTVh-IR/s1600/Astounding%2001.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">That reminds me, drag brunch is coming up.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>That’s really too bad because the set-up provides for what could have a real potboiler as we have an already tense situation made that much worse by the uncanny. <i>The Astounding She-Monster</i> can never summon much energy with it’s uninteresting look and flat acting. </p><p><br />Insult to injury comes at the end with a Twilight Zone style ending that only serves to make the alien’s actions that much more nonsensical. Once again we have a movie where the best thing is the poster.<br /></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqejXLIby50TtcGN_FpRkuNyBKBD3Mlwfc10dO6p-qTpK_O0w0kG1o6GiAhn4OB3b4wgPLvyNesiHUMrYLiMWeSB8obHJgvSgCDzAo32q0JTV_rHGTGwqmzwm7APUHqvpBD96f5V9KC9Tkz8i2EC5tyE9gA1_FN7PPmDCR1S8cx407o8rno5qLkO9/s250/Devil-Girl-from-Mars.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="163" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqejXLIby50TtcGN_FpRkuNyBKBD3Mlwfc10dO6p-qTpK_O0w0kG1o6GiAhn4OB3b4wgPLvyNesiHUMrYLiMWeSB8obHJgvSgCDzAo32q0JTV_rHGTGwqmzwm7APUHqvpBD96f5V9KC9Tkz8i2EC5tyE9gA1_FN7PPmDCR1S8cx407o8rno5qLkO9/s1600/Devil-Girl-from-Mars.png" width="163" /></a></div><p><br /><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046907/">Devil Girl from Mars</a><br />1954<br />David MacDonald</p><p><br />Nyah (Patricia Laffan) is an alien from Mars who has accidentally crashed into an airliner while heading to earth. She’s here to scoop up some men since all the men of Mars died in some kind of gender war. She lands outside an inn in Scotland and deploys her robot bodyguard, Chani to help her find a suitable man to take back to Mars to repopulate the planet.</p><p><br /><i>Devil Girl from Mars</i> is an exercise in minimalism. A few stage bound locations, simple costuming, just a few special effects, and shot with no retakes. It’s also proof that with some skill behind and in front of the camera these limitations can be overcome. <i>Devil Girl from Mars</i> is staidly competent throughout the run of the film. Nyah’s costuming and her robot pal, Chani are the only real indulgences in this production and they are wonderfully designed. Nyah’s costume is pure camp and wouldn’t be out of place at your nearest drag show. Chani is a wonder of fantastical robot design. It’s impractical and stiff but still fun in a gee whiz 1950s kind of way.</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4fJ-OYzJPhS5lUBx0SyNdzsEHHseaT4t3aAA2rNmyAXz4FAzZkVooEUlIcfONHwLm7CBZptMHeTfpG5eb-7_mZN_IQRGWlhUsctcOwyuAPg1AmDX7rEwhYn3FElR2TdsKXilxDelEhNcGNVD-eQ2ukSPyPtVFSQ_Jm0VfdKyeMXmGG4-hVDMFoZq/s1200/DGfM%2002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="1200" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4fJ-OYzJPhS5lUBx0SyNdzsEHHseaT4t3aAA2rNmyAXz4FAzZkVooEUlIcfONHwLm7CBZptMHeTfpG5eb-7_mZN_IQRGWlhUsctcOwyuAPg1AmDX7rEwhYn3FElR2TdsKXilxDelEhNcGNVD-eQ2ukSPyPtVFSQ_Jm0VfdKyeMXmGG4-hVDMFoZq/s320/DGfM%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"It's a heartless killing machine, stop calling it cute."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>Despite the attention-grabbing title, <i>Devil Girl from Mars</i> plays out at a
leisurely pace. There are no large-scale action scenes. The majority of
the film plays out in a cozy Scottish inn and as a result there is
something pleasantly calming about this alien invasion. Sure, Nyah is
a menace and has a mean henchbot but there is congeniality between the
human characters that takes away any real threat from the villains.
<i>Devil Girl from Mars</i> feels like a perfect film to have playing on a
rainy Saturday when you are spending time sorting your comic books.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-37966926223226454842022-05-20T09:04:00.003-05:002022-05-20T09:04:15.223-05:00The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5wPNgC47AF3bE8ZwXYcNMVNc3NR5UHP7tw917R4MN02bMHPaJ9FDZacLSAjPEqQiLo5VFSSO3Mc3PBKwkh4szX5V-2k3r7jCfqXu-VCpATyCHlAdxCs_ElkulMBVq07HvOBlDV_Ev_EmwnGngPG1EGT49ciACdhEomfdOy44NWrAe2wQhNO6TBXe/s250/Nest-of-the-Cuckoo-Birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="169" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5wPNgC47AF3bE8ZwXYcNMVNc3NR5UHP7tw917R4MN02bMHPaJ9FDZacLSAjPEqQiLo5VFSSO3Mc3PBKwkh4szX5V-2k3r7jCfqXu-VCpATyCHlAdxCs_ElkulMBVq07HvOBlDV_Ev_EmwnGngPG1EGT49ciACdhEomfdOy44NWrAe2wQhNO6TBXe/s1600/Nest-of-the-Cuckoo-Birds.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361953/">The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds</a><br />1965<br />Bert Williams</p><p><br />When the word psychedelic is mentioned it comes with a notion of swirling colors, fuzzy discordant guitars, and LSD. Beyond that, the psychedelic film contains a certain mood, it’s not the colors that melt it’s time and space. In my opinion the best psychedelic films also contain air of mystery tinged with menace. The psychedelic experience values strangeness above all else. The uncanny bleeds into the world, and that is what makes psychedelia such a good match for horror. <i>The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds</i> is a confusing mess but it is an atmospheric and deeply psychedelic confusing mess.</p><p><br />Johnson (Bert Williams) is Liquor Control Agent who is discovered while investigating moonshiners. He escapes into the swamp. Exhausted he manages to swim to an island only to be stabbed by a nude person wearing a mask. Now wounded he stumbles to the Cuckoo Bird Inn only to find even more weirdos, all of whom are plotting against him. Johnson needs to get the heck out before he ends up preserved in the Cathedral of the Dead.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5U76lG2TfLobzDd1axrXdV56WUfniyuDevcqRQfliqLeB_1Dxj9nuSIwtyThhXcRji6pmOatMn-iMPofbKPDLwdUq_zV5L4DmYPEd47yUIp_S9-2MPPES92AhD4_dXmmYim73uu763ULXBRVDsCB3V9OkkpANKK0MnY4AVl1vdH323R_5jXDhLcZ/s1600/NotCB%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5U76lG2TfLobzDd1axrXdV56WUfniyuDevcqRQfliqLeB_1Dxj9nuSIwtyThhXcRji6pmOatMn-iMPofbKPDLwdUq_zV5L4DmYPEd47yUIp_S9-2MPPES92AhD4_dXmmYim73uu763ULXBRVDsCB3V9OkkpANKK0MnY4AVl1vdH323R_5jXDhLcZ/s320/NotCB%2002.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Lemme just put that back for you..."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Hold onto that plot summary tight, because the film is never terribly interested in making its plot elements very clear. The story unfolds like a confusing dream. I wasn’t even sure who the lead was for a while as several similar looking grimy men chase each other around the swamp in the beginning. Whether this somewhat dull and confusing beginning is by accident or design it is the perfect set-up for the jolting introduction of the masked killer. It’s a sudden and potent shock and an announcement that the film is changing gears.</p><p><br />From this point on the film becomes more unhinged with each passing moment. Johnson is besieged from all sides by weirdos, stuffed corpses, and a mysterious killer who could strike at any moment. <i>The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds</i> feels like a prototype for T<i>he Texas Chain Saw Massacre</i> (1974) in the way it descends into screaming madness as it approaches the finale. There is also a certainly sweaty claustrophobia surrounding the entire film as the sweltering swamp threatens to close in on Johnson just as much as the residents of the inn.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTw4H3YjIVRx8rqQlqzucJJnRPqW1_4oxG132HEMlx5TFvYOqepQDLClugpVRXgHurKfmJEwaufxEtkh9dsUY4XQmcDu8Gq045k-tVvHDSMbXP3WdIdvk9UrW0rWfWeos3KcPXRX0KSRZHPWvlb4zhmBQLrT0T-Hlumjbu5tbmHd8QNUkZN4AOzZ0G/s1033/NotCB%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="1033" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTw4H3YjIVRx8rqQlqzucJJnRPqW1_4oxG132HEMlx5TFvYOqepQDLClugpVRXgHurKfmJEwaufxEtkh9dsUY4XQmcDu8Gq045k-tVvHDSMbXP3WdIdvk9UrW0rWfWeos3KcPXRX0KSRZHPWvlb4zhmBQLrT0T-Hlumjbu5tbmHd8QNUkZN4AOzZ0G/s320/NotCB%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Starring my sleep paralysis demon.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <i> </i></p><p><i>The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds</i> in its restored format is a gorgeous looks looking film drenched in rich black shadows that give it a noir edge. The killer is shot in a series of staccato shrieking cuts that is unnerving but overused to the point where it becomes annoying rather than frightening. The taxidermied corpses are the biggest visual failing of the film looking more like paper-mâché dummies rather than preserved bodies.</p><p><br /><i>The Nest of the Cuckoo</i> is wonderful discovery. It is a strange little noir horror hybrid that feels like it may have influential in the transformation of horror into its more modern form starting around the 1970s. It's a psychedelic film devoid of many of the trappings of that kind of film. Definitely worth checking out and you can view it for free at <a href="https://www.bynwr.com/articles/the-nest-of-the-cuckoo-birds. ">https://www.bynwr.com/articles/the-nest-of-the-cuckoo-birds. </a><br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-85604439571616158702022-05-13T09:06:00.003-05:002022-05-13T09:06:56.674-05:00Out There<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RYhrcFG_ra1FnRKqrlWQF8VWSsSQMza_0XajSd5wImb5h3XsK8VIv_DsrnagdCJxTPIr_Cbb58J3OoYveIGRGZUpo7-9bpBRnTTdW9Oh5dNWanfUMDjyNZ9IQDZA0Z98TzxlMrG_SqaDutycPgpQ9M-rj4MAuavTknPoU7JBh1XrWCzw_bushjUL/s250/Out-there.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="137" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RYhrcFG_ra1FnRKqrlWQF8VWSsSQMza_0XajSd5wImb5h3XsK8VIv_DsrnagdCJxTPIr_Cbb58J3OoYveIGRGZUpo7-9bpBRnTTdW9Oh5dNWanfUMDjyNZ9IQDZA0Z98TzxlMrG_SqaDutycPgpQ9M-rj4MAuavTknPoU7JBh1XrWCzw_bushjUL/s1600/Out-there.jpg" width="137" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114065/">Out There</a><br />1995<br />Sam Irvin</p><p><br />It’s 1995 and X-Files is riding high in popular culture and along with it, a wave of public interest in UFOs and the supernatural. Lots of ancillary media tapped into that interest (I know the first one to spring to your mind, Baywatch Nights season 2, right?). Aliens and conspiracies were a hot property, and the culture was ripe for some satire or in the case of <i>Out There</i>, some mild teasing. I wasn’t expecting much, but it did manage to offer more than I expected from a near forgotten TV movie made for Showtime.</p><p><br />Delbert Mosely (Billy Campbell) is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who is haunted by his most famous photo, a child falling to their death. While out he buys an old camera only to discover that it has photos of two missing men and what appears to be an alien abduction. As he begins to investigate, he encounters what may be a conspiracy to cover up and actual alien abduction or just a bunch of confused weirdos who mistook a movie set for the real thing.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DLxE7x1U4turo2f8yjQS0qB0OsT0YAoXuazTRpvplFYWBSw36o5hE_SPrymKBJqaYV1pXHCnHqlmuMs9_GZWprYkCepgYjCoQlFQ3fqkQ7NMEKDARx58VEGsv4_z8r_ZlTZvZUO8fL-b7Slj6GF6PECNHU0g5ERvnGzgM13ARC4tlnpSgzujmoEb/s1280/OT1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DLxE7x1U4turo2f8yjQS0qB0OsT0YAoXuazTRpvplFYWBSw36o5hE_SPrymKBJqaYV1pXHCnHqlmuMs9_GZWprYkCepgYjCoQlFQ3fqkQ7NMEKDARx58VEGsv4_z8r_ZlTZvZUO8fL-b7Slj6GF6PECNHU0g5ERvnGzgM13ARC4tlnpSgzujmoEb/s320/OT1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Hi there, I'm Rugged McWhiteguy."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>I don’t watch a lot of comedies mainly because the risk/reward is too high. A bad horror movie almost always has at least one thing notable about, but a bad comedy is pure agony. <i>Out There</i> surprised me by genuinely funny at times and I appreciated its willingness to go as silly as it did. The attempt to give the film a more serious tone at time never works as well as the comedy, it’s far too maudlin and uninteresting in the face of an otherwise lighthearted film.</p><p><br />I think the most interesting element of the film is its conspiracy plot, the filmmakers decided to actually build a conspiracy with twists and turns, false fronts, and secret players. It plays well, I did not know which way the film was going to fall on an alien abduction being real of fake. The general tone of the films feels like a very goofy romantic comedy and that works well to lower the guard of the viewer to accept what they are seeing. It’s not genius plotting but it’s nimble enough to keep the viewer engaged and more than I expected from something a light as this.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKU3ifXlq5LwO13erIe9A3vO9bhI-fSxAR-HqQvzmRux1XCW3mhSrkxFfZNfqRH6wd2iD5ymPZD-LlycJhn6go1Tb65nvbV2xjZsFpGZ-s8juVOGs1j0aGzNJvj00vMMxZCe0OC7_qL--LbGADG2AuBzN7D-CVVhXME7F4UB565LgIonQ2Cr8uqkK/s688/OT2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="688" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKU3ifXlq5LwO13erIe9A3vO9bhI-fSxAR-HqQvzmRux1XCW3mhSrkxFfZNfqRH6wd2iD5ymPZD-LlycJhn6go1Tb65nvbV2xjZsFpGZ-s8juVOGs1j0aGzNJvj00vMMxZCe0OC7_qL--LbGADG2AuBzN7D-CVVhXME7F4UB565LgIonQ2Cr8uqkK/s320/OT2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Julie Brown is the best reason to watch anything.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Another surprise <i>Out There</i> has in store is a number of notable cameos, Julie Brown, Bobcat Goldthwait, Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Kenney, P.J. Soles, and June Lockhart among others. Thornton, makes the most of his short screen time with a great scenery chewing inmate and I will always take Julie Brown mixing it up with aliens (I really need to do an <i>Earth Girls are Easy </i>(1989) review).</p><p><br /><i>Out There</i> was a pleasant surprise, it’s genuinely funny at times, it actually makes the effort to craft and alien conspiracy, and it has a lot of talent on screen. It isn’t going to reshape how you see cinema or anything but it is a welcome distraction during some pretty dark times. <br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-27502291294629941642022-05-06T09:39:00.005-05:002022-05-06T09:39:38.347-05:00Dr. Phibes Rises Again<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKjLwHGvkjM5SqOdQHc7UtroRoLFFCWhqQG5x2ahlro996nVZ2YOg_2x2_s8cUMZk3OYdC7jRvt02YaipjJfHsZx38L6zRmzs9b4w7T86Zd1PGF979FlEjEbRJkh2OuZfR--VCghsT1SqAObMQkcCyDde_QmRW99GC-fgT5FIDFids7MUbemjsAHp/s250/Phibes-Rises-Again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKjLwHGvkjM5SqOdQHc7UtroRoLFFCWhqQG5x2ahlro996nVZ2YOg_2x2_s8cUMZk3OYdC7jRvt02YaipjJfHsZx38L6zRmzs9b4w7T86Zd1PGF979FlEjEbRJkh2OuZfR--VCghsT1SqAObMQkcCyDde_QmRW99GC-fgT5FIDFids7MUbemjsAHp/s1600/Phibes-Rises-Again.jpg" width="167" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068503/">Dr. Phibes Rises Again</a><br />1972<br />Robert Fuest</p><p><br />Dr. Phibes (Vincent Price) literally rises from suspended animation again a mere three years after the events of <a href="http://www.outpost-zeta.com/2017/04/the-abominable-dr-phibes.html"><i>The Abominable Dr. Phibes</i></a> (1971). Summoning a new assistant who’s face he didn’t melt off, the pair work to get Phibes’ dead wife, Victoria, to Egypt where the legendary River Life will be accessible for the first time in 2,000 years. The river can reportedly resurrect her and grant them both eternal lives. Another villain is looking for the same thing, one Mr. Darius Biederbeck (Robert Quarry), will he outsmart, Phibes?</p><p><br /><i>Dr. Phibes Rises Again</i> follows the same basic structure of <i>The Abominable Dr. Phibes</i>, Phibes bumps off various people through amusing disguises and themes. This time around it’s a number of elements from Egyptian mythology rather than plagues. The added spice in this outing is that we now have a competitor for the same goal, which should theoretically up the tension, but there is no question that Phibes is going to succeed. Phibes is far cleverer than anyone else and you want him to succeed, sure he’s a murderer but he’s doing for the love of his wife.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzdobDFchLx4-IH9ghbUQHnQVA65gjMBjSHlpc7tdeON2mCAymKx_f3R_u_z6AUpEKM5D_CS3c_GQWh5VxDbnGFAixK9tQ6QtPbnh1dj89zyCnS1ujPeekZ3fH8CvS_PtZ4i5K6PwylRdG0aWO_ra8As0PnckQStfBqZATto72S6yyO3pk-VEw3Wd/s960/DPRA-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzdobDFchLx4-IH9ghbUQHnQVA65gjMBjSHlpc7tdeON2mCAymKx_f3R_u_z6AUpEKM5D_CS3c_GQWh5VxDbnGFAixK9tQ6QtPbnh1dj89zyCnS1ujPeekZ3fH8CvS_PtZ4i5K6PwylRdG0aWO_ra8As0PnckQStfBqZATto72S6yyO3pk-VEw3Wd/s320/DPRA-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><i>"Do you mind? I'm trying to play."</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The character of Dr. Phibes is a tribute to the power of Price’s acting. Denied his one of his strongest acting tools, his voice, Phibes can only speak through an amplifier when he has access to one, otherwise he is forced to emote through his physicality. Despite these restrictions, Price still crafts a marvelous character. The rest of the cast is fine, but it’s hard to make much of an impression when you have Price dominating every scene he is in. This does create the problem with his nemesis, Biederbeck who is always one step behind and barely registers as a threat. I feel it would have been more interesting to have him be Phibes’ equal in every way.</p><p><br />While <i>The Abominable Dr. Phibes</i> reveled in deliberately arty and beautiful compositions, <i>Dr. Phibes Rises Again</i>, is a definite step down in that respect. It is still a beautiful and interesting film, but the methods of killing Phibes' enemies aren’t as creative and strange. There is a grandiosity that this film brings to its horror scenes that sits wonderfully at odds with strange and violent deaths that befall the victims. It is hard to escape the fact that <i>Dr. Phibes Rises Again</i> is a paler imitation of <i>The Abominable Dr. Phibes</i> but that still means it’s only slightly less brilliant.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAa1MpCeTof2ESZw8avmpEanDNPBtzqEJGt3FxhCcml1HuyBdEo1sg72jtbisWa0PZirnFKKk0-45Rc-m6pbZ2H0oviERE57sj2p5Bh1sdP2cujPrkGLdDra75BqntuMkcXrgg9-h4bPV_7p-I171X00gZWZ0xVmrP702CLSO8lmS2XJf3n4XQuxn/s600/DPRA-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="600" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAa1MpCeTof2ESZw8avmpEanDNPBtzqEJGt3FxhCcml1HuyBdEo1sg72jtbisWa0PZirnFKKk0-45Rc-m6pbZ2H0oviERE57sj2p5Bh1sdP2cujPrkGLdDra75BqntuMkcXrgg9-h4bPV_7p-I171X00gZWZ0xVmrP702CLSO8lmS2XJf3n4XQuxn/s320/DPRA-03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">What it feels like when you have anxiety<br />but also want to order a pizza.</span></i><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Fans of Vincent Price and classic horror and going to have a great time. If you are a hopeless romantic, you might even find something here for you. If you are a Saw franchise enthusiast, you can definitely see the DNA from this series in those films and I think you will find something to enjoy. <i>Dr. Phibes Rises Again</i> struggles a little to capture the magic of <i>The Abominable Dr. Phibes</i>, it still manages to be an enjoyable film in its own right. <br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-48262090181600247602022-04-29T10:59:00.000-05:002022-04-29T10:59:13.253-05:00We’re All Going to the World’s Fair<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9SRLO1xMqpu6tVMb5g4_b3-0mqzjx5ui5gSE6Tyzg7Rn8-9lWIueuW5QKhNa6H_-cNZixAPW1s1mAvL4nUL3Y4eGt7yZsAVCuaBWCOpQ_0btVHRXyCzCGaZHUf9vf7EdPPibK-0L5vB7fTqhsyE2CV5JSbIiifQRR5LzJPIUb0PFQpP8rBb5Vm-l/s250/WAGttWF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="169" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9SRLO1xMqpu6tVMb5g4_b3-0mqzjx5ui5gSE6Tyzg7Rn8-9lWIueuW5QKhNa6H_-cNZixAPW1s1mAvL4nUL3Y4eGt7yZsAVCuaBWCOpQ_0btVHRXyCzCGaZHUf9vf7EdPPibK-0L5vB7fTqhsyE2CV5JSbIiifQRR5LzJPIUb0PFQpP8rBb5Vm-l/s1600/WAGttWF.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13648224/">We’re All Going to the World’s Fair</a><br />2021<br />Jane Schoenbrun</p><p><br />We’re all living in a horror movie.</p><p><br />Casey (Anna Cobb) is a young woman who spends her days playing an Alternative Reality Game (ARG) called The World’s Fair Challenge, in which people perform a particular ritual and documents the results which are supposed to change that person forever. Casey’s videos catch the attention of JLB (Michael Rogers) another player who is concerned about her behavior. Is Casey really under the sway of some unknown evil or is she simply playing the game along with everyone else? What exactly are his motives?</p><p><br /><i>We’re All Going to the World’s Fair</i> is about the horror of isolation and how we use the internet to create narratives for ourselves and others to film those spaces in our lives. The story itself is fragmented much like our day-to-day interactions on the internet, we see Casey create her videos, we see her isolated quiet life, we jump to the videos of other people playing the World’s Fair Challenge, and we see JLB in his vast nearly empty home. Casey never appears on screen with another character, JLB only in brief moment is seen with another person in frame.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrp_HzxkX1aJbANh2kord0uPY-PvKeovFOyFajNiWBYVGNRCqj-ThhSjZ3Q7g-fKNDcuBtTgimKwpp7O3F6LpzPRHPE_RMcarEgypH4wte9SW89lz9BPQ5Sa97Nqq1kwG_5w_NMQglzsUF5-JRCwZR6KM51X2nZAtY1hwoSGv8WsfYy6OYNOU0J6c/s760/WAGttWF-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="760" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrp_HzxkX1aJbANh2kord0uPY-PvKeovFOyFajNiWBYVGNRCqj-ThhSjZ3Q7g-fKNDcuBtTgimKwpp7O3F6LpzPRHPE_RMcarEgypH4wte9SW89lz9BPQ5Sa97Nqq1kwG_5w_NMQglzsUF5-JRCwZR6KM51X2nZAtY1hwoSGv8WsfYy6OYNOU0J6c/s320/WAGttWF-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">OK, but that bedroom is pretty cool.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>There isn’t much in the way of a traditional narrative or even traditional horror. Instead, the film is an exploration of tone and void. Set around Xmas, the film forgoes the usual festive settings for a bleak gray and windswept world that is as alien as anything Casey reaches for in her game. The look of the film is sparse, as it should be. Relegated to just a few locations, and the drizzly bleak outdoors. Her waking life and her ARG blur together. The blending of worlds is normally a common trope in horror films but <i>We’re All Going to the World’s Fair</i> takes it one step further, as the viewer is never sure just how much of this is Casey playing a game, actually falling under the influence or something, or even having a narrative constructed for her by JLB and by extension the viewer. While her world feels haunted and empty, Casey feels the real horror from within, there is a fracture in her personality. She is reaching for something missing about herself, but there is nothing online or in the bleak world around her that offers any help. The film becomes about a person to contextualize themselves while another outside observer attempts the same thing.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi748whyrAUr1idnBgoZC9m9AmWIQHFFfgQuzYKKrgbOLSmR7iHbH63Pb_8xyEcubaQ-FPicS3GBNGSrkp9qT1KszMlqh0kXzW8XxaQXl6TbvNXJ0YDgCRr5WCbZ-IOjU3RsikfERQgFMQdKRKok5zdDoEHeJLpiow8yK1Nce1iY_ALdY586F5oZxRa/s1366/WAGttWF-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1366" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi748whyrAUr1idnBgoZC9m9AmWIQHFFfgQuzYKKrgbOLSmR7iHbH63Pb_8xyEcubaQ-FPicS3GBNGSrkp9qT1KszMlqh0kXzW8XxaQXl6TbvNXJ0YDgCRr5WCbZ-IOjU3RsikfERQgFMQdKRKok5zdDoEHeJLpiow8yK1Nce1iY_ALdY586F5oZxRa/s320/WAGttWF-03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Stupid Windows updates... <br />I want to get back to my bleak existence."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><i>We’re All Going to the World’s Fair</i> does contain a couple of frightening scenes but it largely trades in dread from an oppressive world and an unknown destination. I can see this being a divisive film because it offers no answers to its questions, the audience is as lost in the hunt for concrete meaning as much as the characters are, but if you also allow yourself to be swept up in the emotional side of the journey as you will find a film that is as haunting and desperate as marginalized lives in this era can be. <br /> </p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-42686954176078632222022-04-22T17:23:00.004-05:002022-04-22T17:23:27.998-05:00After Last Season<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECANs1WKO_I7cCoo08fgPMWfzgfLTFBLfLSFfH0Y33pPLhxpnr1xVW0PcEOM-0FwjwlHELqM5q5B1bBmxUPBDxy9YXXaqWnNQRTxlusVYMfLBtl0sDLHn-sZOBiepYjxEjku7-4CliU5FYZRw9RQ6mHTGHLnCMohSHexZDkmSK19tCuzFMlWhNhWl/s250/After-Last-Season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="169" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECANs1WKO_I7cCoo08fgPMWfzgfLTFBLfLSFfH0Y33pPLhxpnr1xVW0PcEOM-0FwjwlHELqM5q5B1bBmxUPBDxy9YXXaqWnNQRTxlusVYMfLBtl0sDLHn-sZOBiepYjxEjku7-4CliU5FYZRw9RQ6mHTGHLnCMohSHexZDkmSK19tCuzFMlWhNhWl/s1600/After-Last-Season.jpg" width="169" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196334/">After Last Season</a><br />2009<br />Mark Region</p><p><br />I am at a loss.</p><p><br />I honestly don’t know what to make of <i>After Last Season</i>. I can say with certainty that is very boring, very weird, and unwatchable in a way that lures you into a fugue state. It is the kind of film that if it had been released by Adult Swim, I would grasp what it is supposed to be doing but I am not given that gift of deliberate irony.</p><p><br />The plot, which is as<i> </i>mercurial as the rest of the movie, concerns a couple of interns at a company called Prorolis. Someone is murdering students and the other students use experimental brain chips to try and visualize the killer and stop them before they strike again.<br /></p><p><br />The first and most striking thing about <i>After Last Season</i> is it’s look. Shot in what looks like an unfinished house, the sets, furniture, and props are often created from cardboard and/or covered in what appears to be large sheets of butcher paper. The effect does give everything a white sterile and completely artificial appearance. Every room feels sparse, the overwhelming whiteness of the imagery begins to wear on the eyes after just a few minutes.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdaS56lAvIGpWMF66xVE3YRy2xq4oQnHSCYWf4RVwFouLbUDs92-4-MT_XaLM-vdKyBuBEI54WQLh0Cfg8fIBVy2i-myHxDFPeMTFKYlNFoRCUo90EsyQiZjYYoh5BKfoZOhEb9p2KcoG6cagf8OpI2Bl-am2bMANQ7dAimin4VwAaGWJS1Km-uHF/s1875/ALS%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1875" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdaS56lAvIGpWMF66xVE3YRy2xq4oQnHSCYWf4RVwFouLbUDs92-4-MT_XaLM-vdKyBuBEI54WQLh0Cfg8fIBVy2i-myHxDFPeMTFKYlNFoRCUo90EsyQiZjYYoh5BKfoZOhEb9p2KcoG6cagf8OpI2Bl-am2bMANQ7dAimin4VwAaGWJS1Km-uHF/s320/ALS%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">The Ambien party kicks into high gear.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The acting from every single person is flat, no one shows much affectation even in the face of finding a dead body or trying out some kind of impressive technology. There are vast dead quiet spaces between lines. Inane dialogue about where to find a room, or a place someone visited a year ago go on at length. The film wastes time on the most banal improvised dialog that never sounds naturalistic.</p><p><br />The third element and maybe the most confounding of all are the lengthy CGI sequence which are meant to represent a technology that allows two people to share thoughts and generate images. The results are scenes of what usually amount to blocks and shapes punctuated only by sparse dialog or random sounds of water that would have looked primitive in the 1990s much less 2009. These scenes go on for what seems like ages. They push past boring to become weirdly hypnotic. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xbrYIAJi5oJwqsk-6pmJiOP5gPKwe2N668NOJ5OJ167hmt6aDbFw4QoDGzkTUeavcfuMvJtCtgymSr4GunF2g7Dwkwp4n_mGg5fRbHSr8AasmbO3MSDlQylAniGk_FJTXNN8_SQqkRk4xrCCG9RaTRRV1uHyrYO9jtjYrphsLBPARZ2hpw3yNaxN/s1200/ALS%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xbrYIAJi5oJwqsk-6pmJiOP5gPKwe2N668NOJ5OJ167hmt6aDbFw4QoDGzkTUeavcfuMvJtCtgymSr4GunF2g7Dwkwp4n_mGg5fRbHSr8AasmbO3MSDlQylAniGk_FJTXNN8_SQqkRk4xrCCG9RaTRRV1uHyrYO9jtjYrphsLBPARZ2hpw3yNaxN/s320/ALS%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Clinical Depression 64</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>So, it really comes down to intention with this one. Were all these choices deliberate? Were they driven by a lack of resources or a dismissal of traditional storytelling? I honestly have no idea. If this quirkiness is on purpose the film never ever tips its hand and lets you know. If this is just the pure vision of Mark Region than I am eager to see more.</p><p><br />I can’t in any good faith recommend this movie for 99% of the movie going audience, it will be torturous. For the 1% of ultra weirdos. The kind of person who derives enjoyment from <a href="http://www.outpost-zeta.com/2015/12/science-crazed.html">Science Crazed</a> (1991) or legit thinks <a href="http://www.outpost-zeta.com/2016/07/vhs-summer-week-2.html">Things</a> (1989) is a masterpiece in its own twisted way then this is a film you will appreciate. If you think something like <i>Birdemic</i> (2010) or <i>The Room</i> (2003) are the pinnacle of so bad it’s good outsider film, <i>After Last Season</i> could very well kill you stone dead.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-20672351861058937532022-04-15T09:53:00.000-05:002022-04-15T09:53:08.812-05:00Dr. Frankenstein on Campus<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFHgSOBeYtSBIfyElseMWPn3qeskBqU0NpKYe8VEagITT9pt0F1lnkhA_CunLU0IWhK_AdZekQTzJWAw4edeYEklRlffl-ObtPn1PxumajWfGHVKc12cleKqV4BU9omN7JhiThiLY6HBtY8k_LARKyFQQXKExHNkzzVHTGvzg1Fi4ugJ4-VgyASUe/s250/DFoC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="165" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFHgSOBeYtSBIfyElseMWPn3qeskBqU0NpKYe8VEagITT9pt0F1lnkhA_CunLU0IWhK_AdZekQTzJWAw4edeYEklRlffl-ObtPn1PxumajWfGHVKc12cleKqV4BU9omN7JhiThiLY6HBtY8k_LARKyFQQXKExHNkzzVHTGvzg1Fi4ugJ4-VgyASUe/s1600/DFoC.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202358/">Dr. Frankenstein on Campus</a> (aka Flick)<br />1970<br />Gilbert W. Taylor</p><p><br /><i>Dr. Frankenstein on Campus</i> isn’t a very good Frankenstein movie or even a horror movie, but it excels as a time capsule of the end of the hippie era and the beginning of the great dissolution in that culture that would lead to hedonistic excesses of the 1970s and the real horror of the Regan led 1980s. It is such a strange little pretentious mess that it is frustrating but also engaging thought its flourishes and high camp.</p><p><br />The film opens with a Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Robin Ward) dueling and subsequently being thrown out of his university. He runs off to Canada to study brain control technology with another Professor. Victor uses this technology to turn rivals into killing machines who murder those who displease him. Frankenstein also seems very averse to taking his shirt off or indulging in drinking or drugs. I wonder why?</p><p><br /><i>Dr. Frankenstein on Campus</i> thinks it is a very clever movie, it sets out to subvert the typical Frankenstein movie tropes. There is no apparent monster, there is no lurking around in graveyards or gothic atmosphere at all. It replaces all of that that with a sneering look at youth counterculture. Frankenstein is both immersed in this culture and an abject enemy of it, which brings us to the biggest problem in the film and that is Frankenstein’s characterization. He is by terms a charming person, an unreasonable snob, and then a monstrous criminal. There never feels like a connecting thread to these changes in personality, it inconsistent and distracting.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhta1pqEQTvd3m2CaQLIubK5VhyDenJJMr3m2sR6wOtV6RW32MGVFzzVkBvGMDUZktR72cVwjSqTF4xtX6_6QlQ8wafaZQat8kfX_1lMDGadfJ9C9_hPTv8cS6fdeIypwbJ2WXXYgNPjnROhMvtQdEwfzmhOm92cFxS4W13-ANuPxW4eF60uWjUNtue/s500/DFoC-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhta1pqEQTvd3m2CaQLIubK5VhyDenJJMr3m2sR6wOtV6RW32MGVFzzVkBvGMDUZktR72cVwjSqTF4xtX6_6QlQ8wafaZQat8kfX_1lMDGadfJ9C9_hPTv8cS6fdeIypwbJ2WXXYgNPjnROhMvtQdEwfzmhOm92cFxS4W13-ANuPxW4eF60uWjUNtue/s320/DFoC-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">The most 70s face.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>The saving grace of <i>Dr. Frankenstein on Campus</i> is its campy nature, in particular the musical choices which give the film a film a comedic air while the content of the film is played straight for the most part. I can’t tell how much of this was intentional versus how much of it just hasn’t aged well at all. The effect of viewing in modern day creating a juxtaposition of elements that it is far and away the most interesting thing in a film that is slow and pretentious.</p><p><br /><b>Spoiler territory ahead.</b></p><p><br />So, in the end it turns out that Victor Frankenstein was not in fact the doctor by the creature. The film drops some hints by having Frankenstein never indulging in drugs or alcohol and never wanting to take off his clothes in front of anyone else. The reveal scene of his body, covered in stitches that slowly start popping, is the only truly horrific scene in the entire film. It’s a clever moment and the fact that it goes on for so long and forces the viewer to sit there and watch this gross scene unfold is just the touch of sadism the rest of the film could have benefited from.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp6ebsySVFyAXErSFHhXJkwbYN1A8upb-sXoM__EOoRKgQwI3yKCQXlfKZx18wYsIBalHBRbHVmjXyTTjWENvWJiUk5PQ2tCAq3URnYbQtNdEmDRAtswKz6hKxliD2EPA8MjQG_euQu-9mS6Ma-a-oQKvSnC9W3NPZA8PCF0ucwlSspaX3p047WCq/s720/DFoC%2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp6ebsySVFyAXErSFHhXJkwbYN1A8upb-sXoM__EOoRKgQwI3yKCQXlfKZx18wYsIBalHBRbHVmjXyTTjWENvWJiUk5PQ2tCAq3URnYbQtNdEmDRAtswKz6hKxliD2EPA8MjQG_euQu-9mS6Ma-a-oQKvSnC9W3NPZA8PCF0ucwlSspaX3p047WCq/s320/DFoC%2003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Yeah, I had a chemistry test like that too.</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>If you are in the mood for horror, I don’t think <i>Dr. Frankenstein on Campus</i> will satisfy you. If you are in the mood for a weird mess then I would definitely give this a look.</p><p><br />(I have no idea why this movie was originally titled Flick.)<br /> </p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-19777103829253148902022-04-08T08:53:00.003-05:002022-04-08T08:53:56.194-05:00The Bamboo Saucer<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062704/">The Bamboo Saucer</a><br />1968<br />Frank Telford</p><p><br />Flying saucers and the Cold War were staples of genre cinema for decades and hit their height in the 1950s and 1960s. By 1968, with the Vietnam War causing so much strife both in Vietnam and the US, people had become weary of all the pointless death in the name of a proxy war that more and more were publicly turning against. It is interesting how this is reflected in <i>The Bamboo Saucer</i> and that it probably would have been a completely different film if it had been made just a few years earlier.</p><p><br />An Air Force test pilot (John Ericson) is chased by a UFO. After his adventure, not only is there no evidence, but also nobody believes him. His pursuit catches the notice of a secret organization that reveals a similar craft may have landed in China. A small team are air dropped in to the find the UFO. They run into another team of scientists from the USSR and two decide to form a truce to find the craft before the Chinese army finds them.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09K4r4rGWzu2TiITP_kzws01AxfYSoaefxQtaX6g4TobOZXeuoRKLImW89ekJTwHtXphZUUT5gmLBbiLhwRcPdhp8I47WP_09M1mERcSVbv893cS2Yz4hpZ5n--9n97ZuvUUFzT575OZ9srptsk3moxT4HIWJfsoqUlB4I0SMy4-lh862Ccuah9J4/s550/tbs%2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="550" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09K4r4rGWzu2TiITP_kzws01AxfYSoaefxQtaX6g4TobOZXeuoRKLImW89ekJTwHtXphZUUT5gmLBbiLhwRcPdhp8I47WP_09M1mERcSVbv893cS2Yz4hpZ5n--9n97ZuvUUFzT575OZ9srptsk3moxT4HIWJfsoqUlB4I0SMy4-lh862Ccuah9J4/s320/tbs%2003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"It smells like Fritos in here!"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The majority of <i>The Bamboo Saucer</i> plays out like a spy adventure film. We have mysteries, secret organizations, a military that is hiding the truth, and a little glob trotting. Despite this being a low budget film, the adventure does feel big. It does the important work of making the effort to reach the flying saucer feel earned and I think the most interesting part of this is how the USA and USSR backed teams join forces and are shown to be equally heroic when things grow dire.</p><p><br />It was with no small amount of delight for me to watch this cold war spy film turn into a proper science-fiction film with a message of cooperation. The USSR and USA groups are given some nuance when it comes to their views and characters. The Chinese aren’t given quite this deep a look, serving more as the faceless bad guys who push our heroes to work together. It would have added yet another level of nuance and show that all people could benefit from cooperation had they been given more to do. This production had already caught the ire of the US military for not showing it in the most perfect light, which means they were doing something right at least.</p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTcf2rj_dZ1i8duytsf4w42a26-3RGmK0tCodyTwhmsl5M5gDywmJusVyo_gEB1M8kjPvMBx6RaLI9EKEBSYudN00pgDr7tTGVv7DrSWbcSxiByWwRCkRO_e7DWyHq2e_UBqEwv5t-zpvFnbQGgCszKQvqFecCmDteHDX_Yr3QcXWqqsn6jzHIqy9/s440/tbs%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="440" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTcf2rj_dZ1i8duytsf4w42a26-3RGmK0tCodyTwhmsl5M5gDywmJusVyo_gEB1M8kjPvMBx6RaLI9EKEBSYudN00pgDr7tTGVv7DrSWbcSxiByWwRCkRO_e7DWyHq2e_UBqEwv5t-zpvFnbQGgCszKQvqFecCmDteHDX_Yr3QcXWqqsn6jzHIqy9/s320/tbs%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"A craft from the planet Ertl."</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>I enjoyed seeing this as a color production, it helps the whole experience feel bigger and more important. The downside of this is that it makes the already dodgy special effects stand out even more. While there is something certainly charming the obvious model effects it does diminish the feeling of large-scale adventure up to that point, but it’s a minor quibble.</p><p><br /><i>The Bamboo Saucer</i> is a minor gem that offers quite a few surprises, especially if you’re used to the tone of cold war films from this era. A fun adventure that has something to say, <i>The Bamboo Saucer</i> is worth taking for a spin.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-89196828123794099292022-04-01T10:04:00.001-05:002022-04-03T08:21:36.004-05:00Gamera: Super Monster<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUedAX-coNuZBpYtIeTzye0k-ZB3UeK2IlvZnmitN_TrnshWNb13mYeM1HTW1kxA2cdSz8GxgR6Ye6DNpHB-0cffHX_JIwznT2CYFqU8A8BI8bKlOZlqwfOf_HIqtfp2kYJTFggPN0OjwtGirxdOwRJQwG24FCVq7cN8THeCxZiCQwn3pgxsaZZAA3/s250/Gamera-Super-Monster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="175" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUedAX-coNuZBpYtIeTzye0k-ZB3UeK2IlvZnmitN_TrnshWNb13mYeM1HTW1kxA2cdSz8GxgR6Ye6DNpHB-0cffHX_JIwznT2CYFqU8A8BI8bKlOZlqwfOf_HIqtfp2kYJTFggPN0OjwtGirxdOwRJQwG24FCVq7cN8THeCxZiCQwn3pgxsaZZAA3/s1600/Gamera-Super-Monster.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081675/">Gamera: Super Monster</a><br />1980<br />Noriaki Yuasa</p><p><br />Look, as kaiju fan, you learn to deal with low budgets, cheap sets, and incredible levels of silliness. None of that will prepare you for how bottom of the barrel <i>Gamera: Super Monster</i> is in terms of well… everything. By 1980 Gamera’s home studio, Daiei, was in deep financial trouble so they decided to throw whatever they could into a film with minimal cost to try and generate some profit. It worked for a little while as Daiei limped along until finally closing for good in 2002. We did get three excellent <br />Gamera movies in the 1990s out of this, so in that respect we should thank <i>Gamera: Super Monster</i>.<br /> </p><p> This may be the only reason we should thank it.</p><p><br /><br />Some aliens show up to cause trouble like always do in Gamera movies. The earth is protected by three women, creatively called the Space Women, who are not very good at their jobs. The Space Women get help from a kid who can call Gamera to fight back against the onslaught of familiar monsters that the aliens are unleashing on Earth. Can even Gamera face all his fast foes at once and save the day? That is a much more exciting description of what amounts to 80% stock footage, shot on video sequences, and a final ignoble end for our hero.<br /><br />The majority of this film is complied out of reused footage from the previous Gamera films. We get a parade of fights with Gyaos, Barugon, etc. To sit through recycled fight after recycled fight is agony. These fights have no connection to the story, there are no stakes, nothing to push the plot along. I can compare it to the inserted wrestling matches in luchador films, they exist to take up time and nothing else.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB72uArr6F2L4AIdDhyRlQyMPrSKJHFLSlzfCOZfwjwGmi6hd-2rbY8nJSuusQeOzPQbdLXku73qFRpeRWIwpJw5JuUMR4enMkG5DGn5L1LgnAoiImDwAilh33o3QsT-UGW8lTzq_eNPQuHGOIMA6o5Mdm5WJqsSGdilifRov8XkJxezYdTnhauy_/s1920/gsm%2002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB72uArr6F2L4AIdDhyRlQyMPrSKJHFLSlzfCOZfwjwGmi6hd-2rbY8nJSuusQeOzPQbdLXku73qFRpeRWIwpJw5JuUMR4enMkG5DGn5L1LgnAoiImDwAilh33o3QsT-UGW8lTzq_eNPQuHGOIMA6o5Mdm5WJqsSGdilifRov8XkJxezYdTnhauy_/s320/gsm%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"A tiny space ship!"</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Somehow the scenes with the Space Women are even worse if not as boring. They feel slight and silly, which could be fine, Gamera movies are no strangers to being silly. Even at their silliest, they at least made some attempt to show characters in danger. The Space Women are presented as just embarrassingly bad at their jobs. They aren’t particularly fun to watch.</p><p><br />The film looks like it shot on video and converted over to film. This not only makes the movie look incredibly cheap, but it makes the reused footage stand out even worse than it would normally. The effects are mostly video based and look terrible for even a late stage Gamera film.</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9OC4tuXEOSTHQ4gt9ou3cW6yxHtfDAiABiiq3CJZQGiTc_EBzYclG9NfAtJP9I30I2jtLWyVbaUWhSrCBU8VnpUN70acB1ScsWLvbcIlcSgpGK0ec4KRQQ3ExwFBZLu3T33AIkmwUfKWp7EqjodmWfmCnve11k2vdWgH5wpNhf3MpvU4hAsXEzYF/s308/gsm%2003.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="308" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9OC4tuXEOSTHQ4gt9ou3cW6yxHtfDAiABiiq3CJZQGiTc_EBzYclG9NfAtJP9I30I2jtLWyVbaUWhSrCBU8VnpUN70acB1ScsWLvbcIlcSgpGK0ec4KRQQ3ExwFBZLu3T33AIkmwUfKWp7EqjodmWfmCnve11k2vdWgH5wpNhf3MpvU4hAsXEzYF/s1600/gsm%2003.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">"Good-bye everyone! I hope someone makes<br />a kick-ass reboot in the 1990s!"</span></i><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>The awful cherry on top of this movie is the half-assed way it kills off Gamera, lazily crashing him into a spaceship and then having someone tell us he’s dead. I understand that this was a minimal effort cash grab for a series that had been dead and gone for some time, but it is still a sad send off for a character with plenty of fans.</p><p><br />I consider myself a big of Gamera (I even recently an essay about it), but this not a film that I revisit often. It’s pure pain and not the fun kind you can get from a bad movie.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525581224827075073.post-13851777189847922122022-03-25T11:11:00.000-05:002022-03-25T11:11:08.429-05:00Haunting Fear<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxKzw7RI3ojJnBt6lgXkCYo5SHjryFbpq6HhVpPxDmjPsTOdpdYo1y0zu_XA7isJPieQX2eRRTQosJlHXLFTnit9NZZKP3VYE8ryEoI8PxHkpP1A-0WGnyEiiT8ifEJD9uu_8MPm5-ZPYjmQ67-kAYfsySngNEHzHm0qo6Ht_4UfXL5LCf9oixMPA/s250/Haunting-Fear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxKzw7RI3ojJnBt6lgXkCYo5SHjryFbpq6HhVpPxDmjPsTOdpdYo1y0zu_XA7isJPieQX2eRRTQosJlHXLFTnit9NZZKP3VYE8ryEoI8PxHkpP1A-0WGnyEiiT8ifEJD9uu_8MPm5-ZPYjmQ67-kAYfsySngNEHzHm0qo6Ht_4UfXL5LCf9oixMPA/s1600/Haunting-Fear.jpg" width="167" /></a></div> <p></p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099742/">Haunting Fear</a><br />1990<br />Fred Olen Ray</p><p><br /><i>Haunting Fear</i> is supposedly based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, mostly the story, Premature Burial. In b-movie tradition, that connection is tenuous at best, see <i>Haunted Palace</i> (1963) and several other Corman films from his Poe cycle for more details. I mean I guess there is a premature burial in the film (actually 2 kind of but not really). What this story is really about comes down to sex scenes and some light horror. That’s not a complaint, when you watch a Fred Olen Ray movie, you want him to stick to his strengths. </p><p>I love Michelle Bauer, she always seems very game for whatever kind of movie she’s in and with the right material she has a lot of charisma on screen. <i>Haunting Fear</i> is not one of those instances. The bulk of the story hinges on Victoria’s abject horror at being buried alive and how that slowly pulls her down into insanity. The acting just isn’t there to pull it off. To be fair, nobody puts in a good performance, save Michael Berryman who steals the entire film in his brief scene. Then again, I can’t recall Michael Berryman not stealing a movie that he’s in.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMx6CMfqMhjN8XOOwEhVLWt0TqCZEc0hsof3YLx0se7cCVFeGsDpUaYdgImE-kN2MOzXF8z3eugYyJVX1TvxwcvrvI2TDkowPl3aqYejf2j23E7W2PNRLdeuTfHRgE_U-2XC0gVL70E2RC3sFff98rINK_R9ozYdnHNBHz6D7BphzoRu6eI4qEi4B-/s1272/HF%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1272" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMx6CMfqMhjN8XOOwEhVLWt0TqCZEc0hsof3YLx0se7cCVFeGsDpUaYdgImE-kN2MOzXF8z3eugYyJVX1TvxwcvrvI2TDkowPl3aqYejf2j23E7W2PNRLdeuTfHRgE_U-2XC0gVL70E2RC3sFff98rINK_R9ozYdnHNBHz6D7BphzoRu6eI4qEi4B-/s320/HF%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Future star of 1313 Cougar Cult (2012).</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>Spoiler territory here but the most frustrating aspect of the <i>Haunting Fear</i> comes from its best sequence turning out to be a dream. Victoria finds herself somehow trapped in her body unable to speak or move and to everyone’s perception quite dead. She ends up in the morgue and the mortician (Michael Berryman) starts to perform an autopsy on her. Immediately my interest in the story was much more engaged, as I was wondering how they were going to have her survive this and they don’t, it’s just a dream, disappointing.</p><p> <br />First premature non-burial down.</p><p><br />The second half of the film is more of the same. Victoria’s husband (John Henry Richardson) gaslights her in hopes of forcing her to die from a heart attack by playing on her fear of being buried alive. He ends up trapping her in a coffin with a handful of dirt and two mice in order to drive her over the edge. Not a buried coffin mind you, it’s just sitting on there in the house. Somehow this turns her into a demon.</p><p><br />Second premature non-burial is in the can.</p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3qX3WHJNidQgj3UCcrOpB2uwF80bhT1YlLOhhpFir63rQchSGun9r0oudOgcXS3Q4NhZ6sVwGAxWlVMlh0B0C5G2UinrIA4V-_SpFiLnIO0VdhTH2gKuu6U4eAWmco2-5R_drM4js8ccbdM54GDQyiSXktYZEWs-qe9QiX2_xvxty5T39rncM5kD/s588/HF%2001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="588" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3qX3WHJNidQgj3UCcrOpB2uwF80bhT1YlLOhhpFir63rQchSGun9r0oudOgcXS3Q4NhZ6sVwGAxWlVMlh0B0C5G2UinrIA4V-_SpFiLnIO0VdhTH2gKuu6U4eAWmco2-5R_drM4js8ccbdM54GDQyiSXktYZEWs-qe9QiX2_xvxty5T39rncM5kD/s320/HF%2001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Michael Bury Man (get it?)</span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><i>Haunting Fear</i> is not a good film but as low budget time-waster it carries a certain charm about it. If you are familiar with Fred Olen Ray’s output you know what you are getting. I can’t say I hated it, sometimes you just want some cheap scares and lengthy sex scenes to pass the time. If you’re a big Edgar Allen Poe fan probably won’t find much that qualifies it as a Poe film. Michael Berry fans enjoy your supreme five minutes of screen time and then go watch <i>Armed Response</i> (1986) a much better Fred Olen ray movie with him in it.<br /><br /></p>Glitter Godzillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12238549322346287580noreply@blogger.com0