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Post by almuric on Oct 12, 2017 18:47:50 GMT -5
House of Long Shadows (1983) - Sigh. I had such modest hopes for this one, and it barely met them at all. The good and bad of this can be summed up in the opening credits. Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, John Carradine and . . . Desi Arnaz Jr. Yes, the star of Automan is our supposed leading man. Watching him in "action", I quickly realized why Automan was the long-running and well-remembered series it is today. Arnaz is Kenneth McGee, a cynical author who takes a bet from his publisher to write a Gothic novel in 24 hours while staying at a supposedly-abandoned manor in Wales. It has four classic horror stars (Elsa Lanchester had to bow out, sadly) and a well-worn but serviceable plot (this is the 13th adaptation of Seven Keys to Baldpate, a novel-turned-play-turned-movie) and it just barely manages to be worth watching. Arnaz is a big reason why. He sucks the life out of scenes, deflating moments of tension with stupid wisecracks. For every scene of the Four Greats hamming it up, there's three of Arnaz being a big schmuck. This film is too dark, quite literally. There is almost ten minutes of screen time (thankfully not all consecutive) taken up with Arnaz wandering the halls without any light. Sometimes you can barely see what's going on. Even after Arnaz lights some candles, he keeps going out into the dark hallways to investigate suspicious goings-on without a light. It got so bad that at one point I yelled at my TV: "TURN ON A LIGHT!" It didn't help. Even if there had been light, it meant I would have had to watch even more scenes of Arnaz being useless. But towards the end there's a good plot twist, and it finally gets some momentum and it seems for a moment it's going to redeem itself somewhat . . . and then the second plot twist strikes. There are no murders! The whole thing was an elaborate prank by Arnaz's editor. Which isn't great, but does lead to a modestly-amusing metafictional scene where the "actors" discuss their roles. But then we get the third twist. Even this didn't happen. The whole thing was Arnaz's fictional story in the novel he wrote. Oh. Come. On!  It fails as a horror movie. It fails as a parody of horror movies. It's barely successful as a nostalgic reunion of four horror stars. I need a palate-cleanser. Next: Well worth the Price. |
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Post by almuric on Oct 15, 2017 9:59:29 GMT -5
House on Haunted Hill (1959) - Well, that's better.
Old dark house movies have become an unintended theme this year. And this is a good one.
It starts off with . . . an empty black screen?
No! NOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okay, the disembodied heads of Elisha Cook and Vincent Price quickly appear. Whew. Price is Frederick Loren, a millionaire who invites a group of strangers to spend a night in the titular house for $10,000. We learn quickly that Price is unhappily married to a woman (Carole Ohmart) who he suspects of having tried to kill him. Pretty soon the party favors have been handed out (loaded pistols in miniature coffins) and mysterious things begin to happen. Is the house haunted? Or are they being threatened by a more human evil?
Of course, the logistics of the fake apparitions and the plan by Loren's wife don't really add up if you think about them for too long. But who cares? It's got Vincent Price at the height of his powers and it's directed by the master of gimmicks, William Castle. Castle doesn't waste any time setting things up and the movie isn't a minute longer than it needs to be. He knows what an asset he has in Price and unlike some directors he doesn't hide him in the dark.
On a personal note, this was the very first horror movie I ever watched, back in my younger days. I saw it on Saturday Night Cinema on my local PBS affiliate on a long-ago Halloween night.
Next: It feels familiar somehow
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Post by almuric on Oct 19, 2017 10:05:06 GMT -5
It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) - A rocket arrives on Mars to rescue Col Carruthers (Marshall Thompson), sole survivor of a previous expedition. Carruthers claims his expedition was killed by a Martian creature, but the crew is skeptical until the creature stows away and starts killing them. This was pleasant enough. While the monster costume is a bit stiff (worn by Crash Corrigan, taking a break from the gorilla suits he so often wore) and the spaceship is incredibly roomy, the story by Jerome Bixby builds the tension was the creature forces the crew to retreat from one level of the ship to the next until they have nowhere left to retreat.
While it's good to see a space expedition which is prepared for trouble, I have to wonder who thought it was a good idea to bring a bazooka. What were they expecting to encounter? And one of the astronauts was making gas grenades in his spare time. Not that their arsenal does them any good against the creature, which in true Hollywood fashion is impervious to all Earthly weapons.
The idea of a murderous alien on a spaceship is solid enough. Hollywood should give it the big-budget treatment. You never know, you might get a good movie or two out of It! . . . ;-)
Next: Double feature
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Post by johnnypt on Oct 19, 2017 12:14:23 GMT -5
It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) - A rocket arrives on Mars to rescue Col Carruthers (Marshall Thompson), sole survivor of a previous expedition. Carruthers claims his expedition was killed by a Martian creature, but the crew is skeptical until the creature stows away and starts killing them. This was pleasant enough. While the monster costume is a bit stiff (worn by Crash Corrigan, taking a break from the gorilla suits he so often wore) and the spaceship is incredibly roomy, the story by Jerome Bixby builds the tension was the creature forces the crew to retreat from one level of the ship to the next until they have nowhere left to retreat. While it's good to see a space expedition which is prepared for trouble, I have to wonder who thought it was a good idea to bring a bazooka. What were they expecting to encounter? And one of the astronauts was making gas grenades in his spare time. Not that their arsenal does them any good against the creature, which in true Hollywood fashion is impervious to all Earthly weapons. The idea of a murderous alien on a spaceship is solid enough. Hollywood should give it the big-budget treatment. You never know, you might get a good movie or two out of It! . . . ;-) Next: Double feature Hey! It's the Undersea Kingdom! For you and for me and it's fun...
Wow, he really did have the gorilla suit market cornered, you check imdb and it looks like he all but caused Jack Leonard to quit.
The costume looks pretty good in the publicity stills. They must have realized how it looked in action because they keep it in the dark for the most part.
Sure it may bear some similarities to some other outer space movies, but the way they get rid of the creature is completely original: they all strap themselves down and open up...the...airlock and...hmm, guess the only thing missing is a chick in her underwear...
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Post by almuric on Oct 26, 2017 19:02:12 GMT -5
Real life got in my way big time this week. Also, a couple of the movies I hoped to review this month are still on hold, so I likely won't see them until November.
Anyhow . . .
Fiend Without a Face (1958) - Sometimes, the difference between an okay movie and a great one is a small thing. In the case of this movie, the difference is the past 15 minutes. The 55 minutes before that aren't too bad, standard but well-executed '50s SF B-movie stuff about a spate of mysterious killings near an army base, but the reveal of the monsters sends this one into the stratosphere. Stop-motion brain monsters wrapping their tails around people's necks! Brain monsters dying in graphic (for the time) spurts of blood! Well worth the time spent getting there.
Be sure to give the Tom Weaver commentary on the Criterion version a listen too.
Equinox (1970) - By rights, this should be awful. A student film, made over three summers, and then expanded with new footage for theatrical release (watch the sideburns) featuring an amateur cast doesn't sound very promising. But what elevates Equinox above MST3K fodder is the obvious talent and enthusiasm of the filmmakers. The stop-motion monsters are good and the cast, while a bit stiff, isn't distractingly awful either. Not that it's perfect, or anything. It's hilarious how they keep trying to find excuses to keep the kids in the forest without running off to get the authorities. And then there's the mysterious ranger Asmodeus, which is totally not a suspicious name, or anything. In the end, it's a labor of love with a few genuine chills.
Also, look for Fritz Lieber in a brief cameo as the doomed professor. And this one is also on Criterion, with both versions, each one with a commentary.
Next: By the pricking of my thumbs . . .
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Post by johnnypt on Oct 27, 2017 6:42:41 GMT -5
Real life got in my way big time this week. Also, a couple of the movies I hoped to review this month are still on hold, so I likely won't see them until November. Anyhow . . . Fiend Without a Face (1958) - Sometimes, the difference between an okay movie and a great one is a small thing. In the case of this movie, the difference is the past 15 minutes. The 55 minutes before that aren't too bad, standard but well-executed '50s SF B-movie stuff about a spate of mysterious killings near an army base, but the reveal of the monsters sends this one into the stratosphere. Stop-motion brain monsters wrapping their tails around people's necks! Brain monsters dying in graphic (for the time) spurts of blood! Well worth the time spent getting there. Be sure to give the Tom Weaver commentary on the Criterion version a listen too. Equinox (1970) - By rights, this should be awful. A student film, made over three summers, and then expanded with new footage for theatrical release (watch the sideburns) featuring an amateur cast doesn't sound very promising. But what elevates Equinox above MST3K fodder is the obvious talent and enthusiasm of the filmmakers. The stop-motion monsters are good and the cast, while a bit stiff, isn't distractingly awful either. Not that it's perfect, or anything. It's hilarious how they keep trying to find excuses to keep the kids in the forest without running off to get the authorities. And then there's the mysterious ranger Asmodeus, which is totally not a suspicious name, or anything. In the end, it's a labor of love with a few genuine chills. Also, look for Fritz Lieber in a brief cameo as the doomed professor. And this one is also on Criterion, with both versions, each one with a commentary. Next: By the pricking of my thumbs . . . One of the other things Equinox had going for it is one of the young filmmakers was a fellow by the name of Dennis Muren, who went on to work on a little picture called Star Wars and helped create the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park (from such humble beginnings...) |
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Post by almuric on Oct 29, 2017 10:19:54 GMT -5
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) - During the late '70s to mid-'80s, Disney went through an interesting phase. Trying to break out of their bland live-action family movie mold, they experimented with different genres, producing some very odd but memorable films like The Watchers in the Woods, Tron and Return to Oz. One of these was an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's 1962 novel about a sinister carnival that visits a sleepy small town.
It had a troubled production, years of development hell and false starts, with rewrites and reedits, but the final product is good. Bradbury considered it one of the better adaptations of his work. This never feels like a "kid's film", despite the young leads. Jonathan Pryce is a wonderful Mr. Dark, menacing in every frame. There's a strong theme of growing older, the boys who long to be adult and the adults who long for their lost youth and regret their wasted years.
This is a movie that deserves more recognition and a better release than a bare-bones DVD.
Next: The House of Fronkensteen
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Post by johnnypt on Oct 29, 2017 10:41:07 GMT -5
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) - During the late '70s to mid-'80s, Disney went through an interesting phase. Trying to break out of their bland live-action family movie mold, they experimented with different genres, producing some very odd but memorable films like The Watchers in the Woods, Tron and Return to Oz. One of these was an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's 1962 novel about a sinister carnival that visits a sleepy small town. It had a troubled production, years of development hell and false starts, with rewrites and reedits, but the final product is good. Bradbury considered it one of the better adaptations of his work. This never feels like a "kid's film", despite the young leads. Jonathan Pryce is a wonderful Mr. Dark, menacing in every frame. There's a strong theme of growing older, the boys who long to be adult and the adults who long for their lost youth and regret their wasted years. This is a movie that deserves more recognition and a better release than a bare-bones DVD. Next: The House of Fronkensteen I remember when this was on HBO back I n the mid 80s my dad was sure it would be regarded as a classic. I don’t think it has in the way Blade Runner has (or Flash Gordon for different reasons). But I think it’s well regarded for those who remember it. Can’t say I liked it when I saw it (or if I ever watched the whole thing), but I have a feeling I’d like it better these days. |
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Post by deuce on Oct 29, 2017 10:50:07 GMT -5
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Post by almuric on Oct 29, 2017 21:51:16 GMT -5
Now that I have a PVR, I can record whenever TCM plays Hammer. Maybe next year can be Hammer Time.  |
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Post by almuric on Oct 31, 2017 9:58:49 GMT -5
Young Frankenstein (1974) - What can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said. It's a classic and a loving parody of classics. Mel Brooks wisely doesn't throw too many jokes at the viewer at once, like a modern comedy director might. As a result, most of the humor has time to breathe and most of the jokes still land. And while it's a parody, it's almost a quasi-sequel as well. A local mentions this has happened five times before, which Brooks says is a reference to the Universal movies from Frankenstein to Meets the Wolfman. And there's a few shots where you could be momentarily fooled into thinking you were watching one of the originals. There's loads of references and parodied scenes, from the brain accident in Frankenstein, the blind man from Bride and the dart game from Son. And I'll never look at a scene where the Monster carries off a woman again the same way!  Happy Halloween!
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Post by johnnypt on Oct 31, 2017 12:01:41 GMT -5
If you watch some of the deleted scenes on the DVD/Blu-ray, you'll see that breathing room came from very careful editing! They got some of the actual equipment from the old films which only helped the flavor of the film.
And let's face it, when Taco had his big hit in the 80s with Puttin' on the Ritz, could you really hear it properly after seeing this movie?
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Post by almuric on Nov 1, 2017 7:22:11 GMT -5
How could I have forgotten the Strickfadden machines? It's a measure of how many movies I've seen them in that I can recognize most of them on sight.
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Post by deuce on Nov 22, 2017 1:05:22 GMT -5
86 years ago yesterday...
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Post by almuric on Sept 30, 2018 17:56:43 GMT -5
It's that time of year again . . .
Less of a theme this time around, probably for the best considering how busy I've been with real life of late. I'll be covering at least two Universals I've never done before, and some Hammers.
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