Hey everyone! The “October: The 31 Days of Halloween” thread over at Comic Book Resources is now open. Go check it out!
I’ll post my entries at the end of every week. Enjoy!
After seeing a UFO land as well as it’s enormous inhabitant, a beautiful, but unstable heiress tries to tell anyone what she encountered. Taking it a metal relapse, her thieving husband plays along as the doubting Thomas until they encounter the UFO again. He leaves he behind the heiress at the mercy of the alien. Returned home and radiated, the heiress grows to large proportions and wreaks havoc on the town.
The Good
Directed by Academy Award winner Nathan Juran, this cult classic has great acting as well as an awesome score by Roland Stein. Stein’s score is what propelled him onto bigger and more well known sci-fi and horror features. It’s the kind of music you can listen to on it’s own.
The thing that really brings this movie out from all the rest is the way Juran decorates and lights sets due to his expertise in set design and lighting. Some of the designs are copied even to this day. He really make set pieces look really professional.
The Bad
Oh boy. Even though Juran was good at design, he was never given a decent effects budget. He had to rely on one giant rubber hand and a lot of double exposure to film just at least try to get the effect he wanted. Even in his final breath, he threw a fit about the effects of the movie. In the end, this folly helps this movie have it’s own distinct charm.
The story was too short and the dialog was cheesy. While the actors tried to carry the movie the best they could, it had the faint mac and cheese smell to it still. But then again, people were used to sitting through a hour long movie when a double feature was involved.
The DVD!!!
This is part of the Warner Bros Cult Camp Classics Sci-Fi Thrillers box set. The video is very clear and the sound is awesome crisp. Extras include commentary from movie historian Tom Weaver and actress Yvette Vickers, who was in the movie. While an essay would have been nice on the cultural impact this movie had, it all works well with the commentary alone.
Conclusion
This is a must have for the DVD collector. A time capsule of the fifties now on DVD. This is fun watching at parties or anytime really. If you’re really into film in general, this is the movie for you.
Hey all just letting you know that me and others will be running a film festival-like thread at the Comic Book Resources TV/Film forums. We will be watching as many horror movies as we can and write reviews about then during the whole month of October. I will be doing reviews and post them as fast as possible so stay tuned!
An American mercenary goes deep and hitches up with a group of bandits on a hidden agenda as they go around Mexico to steal arms from the army to sell for money.
The Good
Hey look! Gian Volonte gets to play the protagonist for once!!
This is not only a great spaghetti western, but it is also a good example of the political bend westerns were achieving in the late 60’s. The script was co-written by Franco Solinas who was known for his political films, especially The Battle of Algiers. Teaming up with director Damiani, they weave an action packed parable about how it is easy to be blinded while living the life of a revolutionary. Almost everyone plays their part well including Klaus Kinski, who plays the crazy theologian El Santo.
The story was even in pace as well. It wasn’t to fast or too slow. It build characters effectively while still keeping it full of action to keep the audience involved.
The Bad
I really would like to wring the neck of the American PR department for this movie. The name they gave this movie totally killed the suspense of the picture. If given another name, the picture would have more impact and would have been more well known.
Also, a lot of people see this as a Buddy movie. It isn’t. Volonte is a the colourful protagonist while Castel’s character, Gringo, was the one sided opportunist antagonist. Castel, I think, was doing everything that was expected of him, but he forgot to add a little something more to the character. So, when he has scenes with Volonte, his character is a paper doll compared to Chuncho.
The DVD!!!
The Blue Underground disc is a carryover from Anchor Bay. While the sound is nice and crisp, the visuals are a bit washed. I’m a fan of “natural transferal” so this doesn’t bother me none. The extras are sparse. Just a domestic and an international trailer.
Conclusion
While this is a collectible for Spaghetti Western fans, I would hold and possibly ask for a better reissue. General fans should look this up if you have a hankering for westerns.
3 Stars
In 1894, a millionaire is placed in his crypt after he is believed to be dead. At the reading of the will, his family is given instructions as to how to maintain his body in case he is not dead. They do not carry them out and he rises from his tomb to enact ghastly punishment.
The Good
Del Tenney double billed this with The Horror of Party Beach and by far is this the more stronger of the two. It is a bit of a more modern take of the Old Dark House genre that fueled most of the 30’s cheap fair. Some thing that wasn’t quite seen at the drive in at the time. It’s a very nice bridge between the two. This is also Roy Schnider’s first movie. He and a great cast he worked with also made the movie riveting. It was very well acted.
Comparing Curse with Horror, you have to wonder what went wrong. I think Del Tenney is used to directing more stage like performances and wasn’t as familiar with outside shots or how to film under a deadline at the time. Plus, I think working with a better cast helped him out a lot as well.
The Bad
The pacing was a bit awkward. It would rev up for a minute then slow down again. While sometimes it was for build up, the rest was totally unneeded. It also was getting a bit predictable towards the end.
The DVD!!!
This is the other half of the Del Tenney Double Feature disc. Like Horror, It has awesome cleanup on the visuals and audio content. The feature also comes with a Del Tenney commentary track and a trailer of the movie.
Conclusion
If you get this disc, watch Curse first before Horror. You feel a lot better if you did. Both are great in their own way. definitely for the boring day.
3 stars.
Radioactive waste dumped into the sea resurrects and mutates dead bodies. The living dead rise from the sea and feast on unsuspecting youths of a seaside community.
The Good
This movie’s got it all! Beaches, boobs, bikes, pajama parties, monsters, music. This film might not take itself seriously, but it’s an awfully lot of fun. This movie also gets right down the point during the first five minutes. Amazing!! By the time it’s to the fifteen minute mark, I’m really into it.
Very fun feature.
The Bad
Where to start….plot holes as big as Swiss cheese. Some one dimensional characters that disappear all the sudden. Audio tracks sometimes don’t sych up and is noticeably spliced in. Hokey science. Continuity problems, middle age folk acting as teens and Tina can’t act like a drunk slut even if her life depended on it.
Yes folks, it’s so bad, it’s good.
The DVD!!!
This is one half of Dark Sky’s Del Tenney Double Feature disc. The video and audio is really great. It surprised me how clear the movie looked and sounded. Extras include an interview with Del Tenney himself as well as commentary on the movie. You also get a trailer and some visual material as well.
Conclusion
This a fun little movie that is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine. Check it out if you have free time or you want to make a long day shorter. This is a good cheesy movie.
SODIUM!!!
2 and a half stars.
After being committed to a state mental institute for 17 years for killing most of his family, a psychopath returns to his hometown to finish the job.
The Good
I think Daeg Faerch did an awesome job as young Mikey. He had that ability to switch from an innocent loser to a psychopath in seconds. Probably the best actor out of the bunch. I think this was punctuated in the scene where he beats the living shit out of the school bully.
The Bad
Sweet Cthulu, where to start….
While I do understand this is a remake…re-imagining…whatever, certain elements need to be intact or added to the idea to keep the movie at least scary as the original was. With The Thing it was the wide expanse of Antarctica and open isolation. The Fly had that chilling subtext of terminal illness during the era of AIDS. If we were to remake Halloween, what it needed to cover was the idea of…swift quick, feel good techniques creating a monster. How gated communities and social drug regimen could create a killer. Zombie does not do this. He forsakes the subtext to make a generic slasher movie.
I think it’s safe to say that after three movies, Rob Zombie’s major flaw is writing. He’s too in love with exploitation elements to properly write a script. You can see it in the first part of the movie clearly. And yes, while the first part seems to hold a bit of interest, the whole movie goes downhill in the second half. He needs someone to hold his hand and to help him convey his messages a wee bit clearer. Maybe even be a leash to tighten when he gets too far.
The second half of the film was just so god damn frustrating. It reminds me of this little habit my brother used to have when singing songs. He’d sing at least a bit of the song and then get to what he thought was awesome. Rob takes the build he has in the first half and just totally squashes it in the second. He takes what he thinks are the best scenes out of the original and just scatters them while trying to add his own flavor into horribly bland scenes.The difference is, I can’t backhand Zombie when he does that.
What really bothers me is that I can’t recall a single thing that happens in the second half other then the stuff lifted from the original. That’s really sad.
Conclusion
If you’re a fan of Horror, don’t go see this movie. If you have friends who are into horror, stop them at all costs and if you know somebody who thinks this movie was good, stage some sort of intervention because clearly they need help.
In the spectrum of remakes, this movie is just above TCM: The Beginning, but waaayyy below Night of The Living Dead ‘92.
2 stars.
Forced into hiding, a queen and her son run from a bloodthirsty general. They find themselves under the protection of a stranger who’s fighting off a secret while looking to get revenge on the general
The Good
This is pretty much Shane without the metaphorical metaphysical hero and knives in the place of six shooters. Camron Mitchell does a great job as the stranger and ‘Lissa is freaking hot as Queen Karin.
Also, Bava made this on a real short budget on a real short time frame. From what I hear, this movie was originally already worked on by another director and the production company ran out of money and lost the director. Bava picked up the project and put his own touches into what we have today. Which shows Bava as a very versitile director in any situation.
He also create something that feels like an understanding of space. You get a feeling that it does take a bit of time to get from one destination to another. Something you think is rare in movies.
The Bad
I think the script could have been better constructed. Sure there are clues as to what Mitchell’s character has done. I do think that it would have made the movie better if the reveal was held off a bit longer so it would have a much bigger impact.
The DVD!!!
This movie is part of the Mario Bava Collection Vol. 1. It’s the same as the Image DVD, but without the Italian dub track. The video and audio is alright for people who dig a more natural feel to the stock. The DVD is pretty bare bones. Besides the Italian dub, you get a black and white trailer as well as a Bava bio.
Conclusion
If you’re a Bava fan, this is a flick you really need to have in your collection. Fantasy fans would dig it too. General film fans should at least give it the time of day as a rental.
3 Stars
