Showing posts with label 80s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 80s. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Location: Micah's Home Theater
Horror Movie Night
Kicking off the apparent "babies in pods" theme of Horror Movie Night for March is this wonderful little film from the early 90s. The story centers around a woman and her husband who are trying to get pregnant and go to a fertilization specialist. After the success strange things begin to happen in Virginia's (Brooke Adams) body and surrounding the clinic. This is an entry into the killer kid subgenre and while it starts off kind of slow it really picks up the pace and rocks it to the end. Nothing too crazy happens after the opening until almost halfway through when a hysterical patient of the clinic starts plunging a chef's knife into her bloated belly. Awesome! After that point the insanity grows and grows to an wonderful climax and some great animatronics, for what otherwise appears to be a rather low budget film.
There is a ton of man hating in this film. Most all of the male characters have bad qualities and are chastised by the females. A rather young Kathy Griffin plays one part of a man-hating lesbian couple who teach a birthing class. This gives way to a wonderful line of dialog when a woman storms out of their feminist meeting by telling Griffin and her lover to suck her dick. There is so much anti-penis in this film that Marcus rightfully labeled it a Lifetime horror flick.
I really enjoyed watching this and will definitely revisit in the future. In a couple of weeks we'll be watching the sequel and I hear it's even better. I can't wait!
Location: Micah's Home Theater
Weird Wednesday
From splatter and killer babies we switched to Australia in 1865 for a killer western-ish film about an infamous bush ranger named Daniel "Mad Dog" Morgan (Dennis Hopper). He was an Irish immigrant and criminal who gets out of prison and makes his way across the county robbing and excessively drinking alongside his aboriginal partner. The story of Morgan is rather interesting - too bad it's contained within this snoozefest. Hopper is nearly certifiable here and the choices by the director and editor are not much different. From scene one they wave goodbye to any sense of transition or interesting composition. I have heard many things about this and how difficult Hopper was to work with, but all of that was more interesting and entertaining than the actual film. A real shame since I had such high hopes.
Location: The Comfort of My House
An adulterer catches a killer disposing of his latest victim but instead of turning him in he hires the man to get rid of his wealthy wife. While the husband is away the killer does his business but a young couple steal his car with the woman in the trunk. Sounds like a pretty standard giallo, right? It does have killing, vivid colors, stylish cinematography, a funky score, weird title and plenty of sex but one major thing is missing - the mystery. In most giallos the killer is a mystery and red herrings are thrown around to take you off their tracks. With this film you know the offender from the very beginning so you get the same thrill of the chase feeling without the mystery. I wasn't too sure how this was going to work out, since I love trying to solve the mystery myself, but Cozzi's picture pleasantly surprises.
Taking away the puzzle in a giallo is like pulling away a crutch. Now instead of just making people guess it's all about the hunt and the killer's revenge against the couple who screwed up his sacred act. I'm sure some might find the lengthy chase for the middle portion of the film a tad slow but it does nothing but add tension. I highly recommend giallo, thriller or Italian horror fans check out this film right away.
Alternate Titles
- The Killer Must Strike Again
- The Dark is Death's Friend
Location: The Comfort of My House
Long before there was Scary Movie there was this little flick. Not to say this is the first horror spoof, but it goes in a very goofy direction. A young man travels to Transylvania to retrieve a 200 year old book with great powers. What I really like about this film is the broad horror spectrum parodied. There are some typical scenes with Freddy, Jason, Pinhead and the more mainstream crew, but there are also major events revolving around events Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, the film Nosferatu (with some characters named Orlok) and a ton of Lovecraft influence - the book calls the Elder Gods, main character is named Dexter Ward (Lovecraft has a novel entitled The Case of Charles Dexter Ward) and other minor shout-outs. Aside from the great references many great cameos in the film including Angus Scrimm, Brinke Stevens and Forrest J. Ackerman.
The downside are the laughs aren't really there. You will chuckle here and there but no real belly laughs. I was also surprised to see a Wynorski film without any nudity. I know, shocking! This film isn't for everyone but horror aficionados will get a kick out of all the references.
Location: Theater - Hulen Movie Tavern - Ft. Worth
I was in Ft. Worth and had a few hours to kill so I checked the trusty iPhone for movie times and saw that I could book it over to Hulen Mall area and catch this latest remake to fill my time. I have been to this theater many times, but not in years. Since my last trip it was transformed from the dingy UA theater into a movie tavern and it is quite a makeover. I still hate that most of the newer movie taverns and the Studio Movie Grills in Dallas all have office style chairs on wheels. They might be a little more comfortable than regular old movie seats but they creak and you end up rolling into others. I'm not a fan.
It has been a while since I watched Romero's original film from 1973 but the same basic premise is there. A small town is put under a high level quarantine and clean suited agents infiltrate terminating anyone in their path. There is nothing really special about this film but it has some fun, tense and startling moments. Olyphant in the lead role of the town sheriff is great but a tad underused. One thing that really bugged me is the odd moments the writers chose to have the deputy make his wisecracking remarks. Many times it takes you right out of the tension and atmosphere of the moment.
Location: Mi Casa
Horror Movie Night
This week Marcus was busy with bagpipe and drum stuff and Micah was busy working before heading off to SXSW so I watched the film at home alone. I really think having people to make fun of this with would have helped enormously. Unfortunately I was alone, confused and bored.
An submarine, Siren II, is sent to see what happened to the crew of its predecessor, the Siren I, when it disappeared. Strange things happen underwater and people die. When I saw Juan Piquer Simón directed this and it stars R. Lee Ermey and Ray Wise I figured I was in for a treat. I love both of those actors, and Simón's film Pieces kicks much ass. Soon I found out this was not going to be a fun hour and a half. The logic of their sea knowledge was very confusing. At one point I swore they said they were over 45,000 feet down when the Mariana Trench is only around 36,000. At the extreme depths a diver was sent out of the submarine in a fairly standard looking suit with no decompression. Right. I'm sure if I were surrounded with friends and beer fun could have been had but I just wasn't into it by myself. Ermey and Wise were great but they could not save me.
Alas there is no Horror Movie Night this week so I have to wait much longer for the next fun time. Hopefully we can all get together again.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Location: Inwood Theater
Midnight Madness
On my birthday I watched one of my favorite horror films, and favorite zombie flick of all time, Dawn of the Dead. Not only did I love this movie but it was one of the first in the horror genre I saw. Around the same time my dad and I watched another VHS, The Evil Dead, but I'm not sure which was first. I was somewhere around four or five and while I don't remember every detail of the movie I still have memories of bits and pieces. My eyes were opened to the spooky and gorey side of life and I would never turn back.
The film sees a group of five head to a remote cabin for the weekend. Things are certainly going to be fun until they find the odd recording and book in the cellar. Then the forest rapes one of the girls and the possession begins leaving our hero, Ash (Bruce Campbell), to fight off his friends and girlfriend. The forest, or spirits within, won't let them leave so he tries to hang on until morning or until the madness stops. There are scares, gore, a chainsaw and even a pencil in the ankle!
When I revisit films I loved as a kid sometimes I find the magic lies in nostalgia and not in the film itself. Could it be that I hold this among my top horror (and non-horror) films because it was one of my earliest introductions to the genre? Well, I've watched it many times over the last twenty-five or so years and I can safely say that it holds up and validates its place on my list. When I was a kid this was one of the few films that managed to actually scare me to some degree, most of the time I was happily watching others scream and salivating over the gore. At the time I couldn't explain to you what was different about this movie, just that it left a weird feeling in its wake. Now I understand it was the inventive "handheld" camera work and insane sound design which turned this low budget flick into a terrifying classic.
Most people know I'm not a huge fan of CG FX in horror films. They rarely look realistic enough to not be laughable, unless you're James Cameron or have WETA on your side. Luckily this was not really done in the early 80s and especially not on a low budget. Here everything is a practical effect, with some terrific make-up on the lovely ladies possessed in the cabin with creepy laughs and oozing wounds all over. More than once stop-motion is used for things they cannot do in real time. They don't look very real but there is something gritty and charming about them. At one point during one of the claymation sequences a girl behind me in the theater let out an "ewww" and it made me smile. Even though it's an old technique that most would scoff at today it still holds the same effect that it did almost thirty years ago.
After the movie ended I was just sitting in my seat and overheard a guy in the theater talking with his friends. He said something like, "this was pretty good but the second one is way funnier." I rolled my eyes, but bit my tongue. People seem to forget that the first in the trilogy is not comedy and more straight horror. Nothing against the other two adventures of Ash but this is by far the best of the three films. I do love Evil Dead 2 for the comedic aspect and ridiculous amounts Kool-Aid looking blood, but the more serious nature of the first film will win out anytime in my mind. There are a few laughable moments in the film, but it should, in no way, be compared to the splatstick style of the others. I was a bit annoyed at some of the laughter, especially during the tree rape scene, but what can you do?
There has not been another film to come out on DVD in so many different versions and special editions as The Evil Dead. I've bought a couple of them but have yet to pick up the latest. I really wish they would just pick an ultimate edition and stick with it instead of trying to outdo themselves every couple of years. If you're going to buy it, which you should if you don't already have it, go with either the newest
Ultimate Edition here
or you can buy the super cool Book of the Dead edition here
along with the sequels BotD Ed. I cannot really describe how awesome it was to finally see this film on the big screen in 35mm. I was giddy the entire time and felt like I was glowing when the movie was over. If Grindhouse Releasing's tour of the print comes near your town see it for sure! Find the dates here. Now if someone would only screen Romero's Dawn of the Dead.
Location: Micah's House
Horror Movie Night Bye-Week Pick
Micah posted on his Twitter about this movie he started watching on VHS and about twenty minutes in it crapped out on him. He found another copy and it was watched by the usual suspects, along with Jenny and Melissa (Micah's wife). What a glorious night for us all! This isn't so much of a horror film rather than a thriller about a Las Vegas choreographer, Jason, who is hunted by his recently deceased drug dealing roommate's killer. There is plenty of dancing but not in the way I hoped. It is used as a way for Jason to tell the story of his life and his struggles with kicking his drug addiction.
There is plenty of 80s fun here with fashion, hair and more fashion. My personal favorite scenes involved anything with Jason's AA meetings and sponsor who looked to be much older than she said, even though Jason would hit on her from time to time. The hit of the night would be the killer who is known as Turtle. Jason spends a lot of time looking for this mysterious man and hires the help of a psychic who finds a bag of coke hidden in a two-liter of Coke! When Jason realizes his sponsor has a turtle tattoo he has quite an argument leading to some wonderful dialog.
Sponsor: I like turtles!
Jason: That's not good enough.
Sponsor: Then go fuck yourself!
Genius. Sad to say this is not out on DVD so you can't really watch with friends. But if you ever come across a VHS somewhere watch it!
Rescue Force - 1989 - Dir. Charles NizetLocation: Micah's House
After Dance or Die we were trying to decided what to watch next and we decided on this interesting 80s action flick. This takes place largely in the Middle East as a huge team of CIA agents go to rescue a kidnapped official. There are tons of explosions (easily a third of the film), bad/non-existent transitions, horrible acting and many weapons. One thing that really stood out is how the majority of the dialog is dubbed in post and those who aren't appear to be reading the lines from a notepad on their respective desks! Good grief.
Micah and Marcus seemed to enjoy this one, but I was bored for the majority of the film. Parts were funny for being so bad, but it was mostly just bad. There was also a lot of confusion with the many characters and the badass, Striker, appeared to be played by more than one actor and wasn't even credited. I can't really recommend this, even if you could find it, but on the plus side the end of the film sees three female agents nude in a hot tub together with champagne.
Location: My Couch
I remember reading about this one a while back somewhere because of Crispin Glover's involvement but it had completely slipped my mind. Then when watching Attack of the Show on G4 as I always do, the lovely Alison Haislip showed a quick clip to promote since she's in the film. I immediately put it in my queue and sat down to watch it as soon as it arrived. The story of the Donner Party traveling to California in the mid-1800s, getting stuck in the snow and some resorting to cannibalism is well known. Still I have not seen much in the way of films about this that weren't awesome musicals by the creators of South Park, Cannibal! The Musical. This film doesn't follow the main group but catches up with one section after they has split from the rest and were stuck with the likelihood a rescue party looking grim. One of the party says they know the way to food supplies and certain help but they need the help of others to make the three day trek and the wealth of William Foster (Glover) to pay a rescue team. As everyone knows, things don't turn out so well and the idea of eating one of the group comes up.
This is not a face paced movie and nothing really action packed happens, but the slow pacing and intimate setting of the freezing, hungry characters packs a powerful punch. You really feel the pain this group faces and the struggle when it comes to the inevitable. Their discomfort is easy to see but hard to watch. Glover has the most extravagant role in the film, and I don't really think he can due subdued anyway. At times it felt a little like George McFly in the 19th Century, but his roles often always feel like McFly to me. There are a few scenes of brutality but overall this is a very simple film that really works. Pick up the
DVD here
. 
Hot Dog... The Movie - 1984 - Dir. Peter MarkleLocation: The Comfort of My House
After watching Hamburger: The Motion Picture a while back I decided to visit the food themed 80s flicks, or at least food-in-the-title. This film was even written by the director of Hamburger! A young hot shot skier named Harkin Banks (Patrick Houser) heads to a skiing competition and picks up a hitchhiker along the way, Sunny (Tracy Smith). When he gets there he meets a world class American on the slopes, Dan (David Naughton), and the rival jerk from Germany, Rudi. Tons of competitive skiing with impressive jumps and runs and plenty of nudity to gleefully remember the 80s.
The jokes are as lame as most films of its ilk, but the good news is the nudity is just as great. Every one of these films needs a playmate or other nude celeb and here we have a small role by Shannon Tweed, now the non-wife of Gene Simmons as Rudi's ex who likes to get around. Plenty of boobs and sex related humor for all like the "steamy" ski lift ride and the country western bar's wet t-shirt night. That scene is epically awesome but it seems to border on some sort of sexual harassment crime at times. These guys get a little too excited and forceful when pulling girls on stage. Plenty of great 80s times are to be had here and it's a shame the DVD went out-of-print. You can still find some
used copies here
.
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