Sunday, January 30 : Made in Japan

I took in a several films from the land of the rising sun today. The first was Toho's Lake of Dracula (1971), an original tale featuring a descendent of Bram Stoker's infamous Count. The film has kind of a House of Dark Shadows (1970) feel to it and is pretty entertaining. The vampire looks pretty sharp with blue skin, glowing yellow eyes and manacles hanging around his wrists.

Next was 964 Pinocchio (1992), a low-budget sci-fi gross-out. Although the majority of the film is in color, it instantly reminded me of Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo (1988). Pinocchio has a similar kinetic style and industrial score. I really enjoyed it.

Inspired by Pinocchio 964, I pulled Tetsuo (1988) out from my collection. Despite owning the DVD, I realized that I had seen the film in years. I think the last time was when I first saw it at the Boston's Brattle Theatre in 1992. I guess I was too young and jaded to fully embrace the film at the time, because I enjoyed it far more today than I remember I did then.

I then moved on to the sequel, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992). It's a lot slicker than the original, making it seem much more like a live-action comic book. That's not a bad thing, it's just that without the raw energy of the first film, Body Hammer is a much more conventional cyberpunk adventure. But it's pretty hard be groundbreaking twice.

 

Saturday, January 29 : Tag-Team Titans!

I was deeply distressed when I realized that my beloved VHS copy of Godzilla vs. Megalon had finally bought the farm. I really didn't want to go scouting around for one of those inferior and currently out-of-print bargain bin DVD's of the movie, but didn't see too many other options. Thankfully, arch-fiend Dan F. came through with a copy of the beautiful Japanese widescreen Godzilla vs. Megalon DVD for me. Perfect for a Saturday afternoon on the couch!

It seems that most Godzilla fans HATE this movie. It's one of my favorites. I'm not going to try to defend the film here, as Brett Homenick takes care of that in the current issue of G-Fan magazine. I just remember this being the first Godzilla movie that I ever saw a trailer for on TV when it was playing theaters in the 70's. I begged my parents to take me, but they weren't big movie-goers back then, so I never got to see it. A few years later, I was thrilled to see it show up on TV one Sunday afternoon. I was ecstatic! It had all of the big monster action and excitement I had imagined it would and one thing I hadn't expected: Jet Jaguar, the coolest thing that I had ever seen (I had yet to discover Mechagodzilla).

Many nerds dismiss Jet Jaguar as just an Ultraman knock-off. But back then I hadn't yet seen Ultraman, so the idea of a super hero who could fly, grow huge and beat the snot out of giant monsters was totally new to me. Plus, Ultraman is just a guy with some sort of cosmic mojo. Jet Jaguar is a ROBOT -- a super hero robot who knows karate! Again: a super hero robot who knows karate. What more could you want?

I finished off the afternoon with The Gruesome Twosome (1967) from the The Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection. It's one of Lewis' more bizarre films, which you can tell immediately from the introductory scene acted out by two styrofoam wig heads. There's also mock-romance feature playing at the local drive-in that takes the absurdity of the film to a new level. The story is about and nice old lady named Mrs. Pringle who runs a wig shop with her son. Of course, the hair from the wigs comes from women at the local college who are murdered by the mother & son team. The true star of the picture is Mrs. Pringle's pet cat Napoleon, the only witness to the grisly goings-on at The Little Wig Shop.

Lisa and I spent the evening watching spiritually-themed documentaries. Richard Sandler gave me a copy of his acclaimed film, The Gods of Times Square (1999). Sandler spent years walking around the heart of Manhattan talking with the various street preachers and prophets. The film not only gives snippets of insight into various varieties of religious belief and fanaticism, but also documents a neighborhood in transition, as Disney moves in -- driving out family businesses and the soul of a city. A DVD release is rumored to be on its way, with some great bonus materials that Richard was generous enough to share with me.

We also watched The Rainbow Man/John 3:16 (1997), a light and quick look at the rise and fall of Rollen Frederick Stewart. He's that guy who used to show up at sporting events wearing a big rainbow afro wig and holding up a John 3:16 banner. It turns out he's a fanatical Jesus-freak who is currently serving time in prison. Imagine that...

 

Friday, January 28 : Abbondanza!

I just want to say how everyone spoiled me rotten while I was recovering from surgery. Dave snuck by my place and dropped off a package for me labeled "a short tour of Italy." Inside were three Italian horror DVD's featuring zombies, cannibals and Lucio Fulci. I know what you're thinking: why would anyone give a person a bunch of gore movies to watch while recovering from a painful operation? Well, Dave is insane. He's also my friend and knows what makes me laugh.

The Fulci film was the barbarian fantasy, Conquest (1983). I've actually had my eye on this DVD from Blue Underground for a while and was delighted to get it as a gift. This is one of many films of its ilk that quickly followed the success of Conan the Barbarian (1982). Although Conquest seems like it was more inspired by The Beastmaster (1982) and Ator the Invincible (1982) than the Schwarzenegger film.

Conquest is nonsensical Itallian nuttiness at its best. In fact, I'd call the first 10 minutes some of Fulci's most bizarre and dreamlike work. After that, things become slightly more down to earth (slightly), as the characters begin speaking and the "story" kicks in. I love this kind of movie. Aside from the two lead humans, every character is some kind of wolf person, bog creature, cobweb creature or has their head locked inside an iron mask. The whole thing takes place in a prehistoric world where the mist is always rolling in and the women never wear tops. There's action, cheesy effects, and the usual "fighting the evil oppressor" plot that's really not worth going into here. Let it suffice to say that our hero, Mace, becomes everyone's savior in the end. Which is odd, since he has a symbol on his forehead which supposedly means: "Every man is an enemy." Guess what tattoo I'll be getting next next week...

The next Italian film in the pack is ultra-hack Bruno Mattei's Hell of the Living Dead (1980). Also known as "Virus" & "Night of the Zombies", this movie is the most blatant rip off Dawn of the Dead (1978) that I've ever seen. The main characters are a man and a woman in the tv news business accompanied by blue uniformed SWAT-type police commandos. The film also uses a recycled soundtrack by Goblin. But it's not completely the same. There's no mall here. Most of the action takes place in a tropical location stolen from Fulci's Zombie (1979). Grainy, mismatched stock and mondo-type footage is liberally cut into the feature to add local "color" and few extra-nasty moments. All of this seems to drive most Dawn of the Dead fans that are leaving comments on imdb crazy, but having just read Romero's Toe Tags comics, this was just the sort of gory zombie action I was in the mood for. So what if it's a rip off? At least they stole from a great film and made no attempts to hide it. Enjoy. Romero's Land of the Dead (2005) is still a way off...

The final film that Dave left on my doorstep was Cannibal Ferox (1983). Well... I'm still not feeling well enough for that trip into Green Hell. Thanks Dave!

 

Wednesday, January 26 : Armies of the Dead

Ethnic stereotypes run amok in King of the Zombies (1941), another of the DVD's that my sister Sharon and her family were kind enough to send me. An evil Nazi scientist attempts to use Voodoo magic and Zombies to get information for the Axis powers. The most fascinating aspect of this film is seeing how the different classes of black characters (Island natives, English-speaking servants, an African-American valet, and of course, zombies) interact with each other and the white people in the film. There's also a subplot involving hypnosis.

Also involving the militarizing of the Living Dead, is the first story arc in DC Comics' new horror title, Toe Tags. Written by Zombie movie auteur George Romero, the comic contains tons of gory zombie action and the kind of not-so-subtle social commentary that we fans have come to expect from the Dean of the Dead. The fourth issue is currently in comic shops. Check it out.

Tuesday, January 25 : Post-Op Wrap-up

I'm beginning to get back on my feet after having my head carved up last week. Here's what I watched through my drug and pain-induced brain haze:

 Wednesday, January 19:
The Hundred Monsters (1968) - Although released as the second Yokai Monsters DVD from ADV Films, this is actually the first entry in the series. There are much fewer than 100 monsters in the film, and their appearances are few and far between, but the kooky and uniquely-styled creatures are worth the wait.
Thursday, January 20:
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) - I love Mechagodzilla. I mean, he's a Godzilla AND a robot! What could be cooler? Two great tastes that taste great together! Lisa gave me this DVD for Christmas. I love Mechagodzilla.
Open Water (2003) - I thought the concept for this film was a brilliant way to get the most out of a small budget. But I never saw it when it was in theaters, as I felt that the preview trailer pretty much gave me the whole film. Watching the DVD, I found that the movie was even more raw and bare bones (in a good way) than I expected, making it great little film with a lot of impact.
Friday, January 21:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - I watched the first film in the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition 12-disc set that I bought for my week of recovery. This is the 208-minute version of the film. I love the Dark Riders in this one.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - I went right into the 223-minute extended cut of the second film in the series. I'm not sure why, but it's probably my least favorite of the three, though it features heavy doses of Gollum and other cool monsters.

Saturday, January 22:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - Despite it not having Christopher Lee as Saruman in the theatrical version, this is my favorite of the series. But Lee is here in the 251-minute extended edition of the movie. The explanation that the producers give for Lee's final scene being cut makes sense: It was actually part of The Two Towers (2002), but they decided to save it for the beginning of the third film. When it was time to release The Return of the King, they realized that the scene wasn't didn't work as the start the movie, so they cut it. It's a shame, really, as it's a great scene for Lee as well as Brad Dourif (as Grima Wormtongue) and Bernard Hill (as Theoden).
Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Appendices - I then watched several hours of the "making of" documentaries. Many, many more hours to go...

The Fishmen and Their Queen (1995) - It's sort of a sequel to Island of the Fishmen (1979). But aside from re-using footage from the first film (as well as director Sergio Martino's 1983 movie, 2019: After the Fall of New York), it has very little to do with the original.
 
Sunday, January 23:
Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Appendices - I'm over five hours into it, and I'm still watching the stuff from the first film!
The Gorgon (1964) - Inspired by hours of watching Christopher Lee talk about playing Saruman, I decided to watch he and frequent Hammer co-star, Peter Cushing in this horror/thriller. Patrick Troughton (who was Doctor Who from (1966-1969) and the priest in The Omen) plays the police inspector. The title character is played by the unfortunately named Prudence Hyman.

The Monster of Frankenstein (1981) - This is an animated feature produced for Japanese television. It's sort of an updated version of Mary Shelley's novel combined with elements from Universal's Son of Frankenstein. A little slow, but it's nice to see an anime version of the classic Monster.

Monday, January 24:
Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned (1980) - Another made-for-TV feature from Toei Animation. It's loosely based on the Marvel Comics Tomb of Dracula series. I'm not sure that this film was authorized by the comic's creators.

Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966) - More fun with Peter Cushing in his second outing as Doctor Who. Features the evil cyborg Daleks in every color of the rainbow!

A Taste of Blood (1967) - Dracula invades the suburbs of Florida in this vampire film from the The Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection. The film doesn't feature any of Lewis' trademark over-the-top gore or nudity, but it does have a little black dog wearing a green sweater.

The Phantom Planet (1961) - Not the band or the planet, but the trashy, sci-fi epic motion picture! It's got some great b-grade effects, nonsense science and Fire Monsters, all wrapped up in in a very Star Trek-like plot! It's great fun, if you like this sort of thing. Which I do.
Tuesday, January 25:
Tomie (1999) - A while back I bought the Hong Kong DVD version of this film in Chinatown for $4. I was considering renting one of its many sequels, so I pulled out the disc for review. It's still pretty creepy, mostly toward the end, but I thought I'd check out some other Asian horror offerings before returning to this series...
Night Corridor (2003) - This Hong Kong offering breaks with many of the conventions that have become far too common in the current cycle of Asian horror films. It's probably a bit vague and even frustrating for some viewers, but "vague and frustrating" is this movie fan's middle name.
Dead Men Walk (1943) - I was so happy when the package arrived from my sister and her family containing Alpha Video's Vintage Horror 6-disc set. Being stranded in bed, and more than a little Hobbited-out, this bundle of poverty row horrors was just what the doctor ordered. This DVD from the set features George Zucco in a dual role as a pillar of the community with something to hide and his Satan-worshipping dead brother who comes back as a vampire. The split screen effects are handled very well with heavy shadows and ghostly superimposition. Dwight Frye is typecast here as the vampire's Renfield-like servant.

Wednesday, January 19 : Under the Knife

I probably won't be adding any new entries for a bit, as tomorrow I'm going in for a little surgery. I'm having a couple of new holes drilled in the sinus region of my head and my tonsils removed. What this means is several days in bed with pain killers and lots of time staring at the TV.

In anticipation of this little "vacation", I purchased the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition 12-disc set. That (and the meds) should keep me entertained for a while. My main interest in this box set is seeing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff and the scenes featuring my hero, Christopher Lee, that were cut from the theatrical version of the third film. I'll have a full report from Middle Earth and on any other films I watch after I'm up and around.

Until then, my most recent movie, The Off Season (2004) is showing this weekend, January 22 & 23 at the 6th Annual Nevermore Film Festival in Durham, NC. See it, if you live anywhere near there.

Over and out.

 

Tuesday, January 18 : Black and White Ecstasy!

I've never been as much of a fan of the prolific Takashi Miike's ultra-violent gangster films, as I am of his quirkier efforts, like The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001). The film that I watched tonight, Zebraman (2004), definitely fits in as one of Miike's oddball creations. It could also be his most mainstream and accessible film, as it's a fairly straightforward superhero comedy with a moral.

But don't let that put you off, unlike many American directors, Miike pulls this one off. And there are hints of his trademark violence present, as well as some very dark moments. Much of the bleaker stuff involves the main character and his family's unhappiness. The whole subplot revolving around our hero's relationship with his wife and kids, as well as the one he develops with a student and his mom, really adds an unusual texture to the film. It is a situation that is common in real life, but rarely depicted in these types of movies.

There's also plenty of action, comedy and overall insanity handled by a prolific filmmaker who has become a master of his craft. I give Zebraman my highest recommendation. See it now!

 

Sunday, January 16 : The Brother with no Soul

I couldn't sleep again last night, so I started watching Blacula (1972) on cable. I hadn't seen it since I was in high school. About half-way through, I was out.

I finished it this morning (DVR rules!) and found that it's much better than I remembered it being. I love the way Blacula's facial hair grows whenever he vamps-out. Great soundtrack.

Saturday, January 15 : White Noise

I got pretty burned out on the whole Asian horror thing a long time ago. So it took a little bit of convincing from Ti to pull out the copy of Kaïro (2001) I had sitting in my collection and finally take a look at it.

It starts out looking like most other Asian Haunted TV / computer / curling iron, or whatever other piece of household technology is making contact with the dead. But the movie eventually opens up, revealing a much larger story about the ways we deal (or don't deal) with death and loneliness.

The story is can be pretty vague and slow-moving at times. I also have to admit that of the two parallel storylines, I was far more interested in the one dealing with the solitary economics student than I was with the group of coworkers. But it all comes together quite well toward the end, which is worth the wait, and there are scares-a-plenty throughout. Wes Craven had plans at one time to remake this film, but thankfully it looks like that's not going to happen. See Kaïro now.

Friday, January 14 : Black Tiger, White Mama

Over a year ago, my friend Rich insisted that I see Tears of the Black Tiger (2000). I don't know why it took me until tonight to view it. Rich has never steered me wrong before. I mean, it was he and his wife who first turned me on to both Dario Argento and Guy Maddin!

Of course, Rich was right, Tears of the Black Tiger is a wonderful film. It's a beautiful-looking cowboy Western from Thailand, a truly unique cinematic experience. The film is vividly filmed with a great sense of humor.

Director Wisit Sasanatieng has a new film out called Citizen Dog (2004). I'm now impatiently waiting for a version of it to hit the US.
In the meantime, If you see only one gun-slinging, action-packed, Technicolor, Thai Western this year -- see Tears of the Black Tiger!

I couldn't sleep, so I got up in the middle of the night, went out to the living room and watched Eddie Romero's Black Mama, White Mama (1972). Pam Grier and Margaret Markov play two mismatched escape convicts, who are chained together at the wrist.

There's an extended gang shower scene, cat fights, gun fights, food fights and wall-to-wall boobies in this little WIP / Sexploitation / Blacksploitation gem, as the girls are pursued by the cops, rebel guerillas, and two rival crime bosses.

One of the drug lord / pimps is played by Sid Haig, who you can see this summer in Rob Zombie's sequel to House of 1000 Corpses (2003), The Devil's Rejects (2005). He also was a guest at last week's Chiller Theatre, along with Doug, Ti and myself.
Here's a photo of Sid and Ti:

I'm far too shy and do the "meet and greet" thing, so no photo of Sid and me. But Sid's Devil's Rejects co-star, Bill Moseley, came by our table to admire the MonsterPants T-shirts we were selling. I gave him one. Size: Large.

Thursday, January 13 : Monster Trash

Watched Gamera vs. Viras (1968), aka Destroy All Planets. I don't have too much to say about it. There's a really crazy-looking spaceship that shows up a lot throughout the film. Other than that, you know the deal: Alien invaders wearing hospital scrubs attack earth and it's up to Gamera and a couple of snot-nosed cub scouts to save the day. It all leads up to a big monster vs. monster grudge match. The turtle wins.


Wednesday, January 12 : Plastic Surgery Disasters

Dipping into the Ed Wood Box set that Lisa got for me, I chose Jail Bait (1954) for viewing. Contrary to what the title suggests to modern audiences, the film is a "Crime Doesn't Pay" drama with a face-switching subplot and has nothing to do with statutory rape.

This is probably one of Wood's more technically successful attempts. It's a pretty straightforward crime story with an EC Comics-style twist at the end. There are no shoddy special effects and MOST of the performances aren't that bad. But there is still Ed's kooky dialog and this relentless and inappropriate Spanish guitar incidental music.

Bela isn't in this one, but a young Steve Reeves is. Wood even finds an excuse, which makes no sense, for the future Hercules to take his shirt off. Earlier in the film, "Cotton" Watts does a short stage routine in black face. Nice.

The box art for this Image DVD features THE most unflattering photo of Dolores Fuller. I'm stumped as to why they chose it. Even she-male Sarah Jessica Parker didn't look that bad as Fuller in Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994).

I also watched The Record (2000), a fairly entertaining slasher from South Korea in the I Know What You Did Last Summer vein.

 

Tuesday, January 11 : "Gog" is "Gog" spelled backwards.

In the not-so-distant future, super-computers are programmed using adding machines and powerful robots are controlled with electric typewriters. This is the world of Gog (1954)!

The film sets itself up as a murder mystery, but once the title character is introduced, it's pretty obvious to the viewer who the killer is. Gog the robot isn't really the only culprit here. He's aided by his twin, Magog. Super-computer, N.O.V.A.C, controls both machines. Using their ability to turn levers and open and close doors, these slow-moving mechanical terrorists almost prove to be more than a match for their human creators. Luckily, the steel killers can be defeated using flame-throwers. Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either. And as exciting as the flamethrower vs. robot scenario sounds, it's pretty awkward and dull here. But the robots are pretty cool and the film did end up influencing a lot of other, more successful, killer-robot films, like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The CryptFlicks DVD that I watched was obviously from a television source, complete with fade-outs for commercial inserts and the occasional TNT network corner logo.


Monday, January 10 : My aching back!

I threw my back out on Saturday morning and haven't been able to stand up straight since. As a result, I stayed in bed today and watched movies. Being immobile for so long gave me the chance to watch a three-and-a-half hour Bollywood film that's been sitting on my shelf for some time now, Abhay (2001). Probably best described as Cape Fear meets Die Hard on acid, it's the story of a psychotic killer, named Abhay, who breaks out of jail in order to kill his twin brother's new bride. Once out in the free world, Abhay misses the anti-psychotic drugs that he was given by prison medics, and tries to replace them with street drugs. The results are insane, and we get to see it all through the eyes of Abhay as he trips out for days. Cell and computer animation provide some amazing visuals. I highly recommend this film, but suggest avoiding the DEI region 0 DVD, as many copies are defective.

I was pleased to find Terence Fisher's The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) playing on cable. Peter Cushing does a nice job as Sherlock Holmes, although it seemed to me that he is absent during a majority of the film. Most of the work seems to be left to Andre Morell's Doctor Watson and Christopher Lee's Lord Baskerville. I enjoyed the film, as I do all things Hammer.

I also watched The Irrefutable Truth About Demons (2000) from New Zealand.

 

Sunday, January 9 : Queer Eye for the Space Guy.

Woke up, hobbled over to the couch and plopped down on it. Turned on the TV and there was Flash Gordon (1980). I thought I'd just take a few minutes to enjoy some of the crazy visuals, garish costumes and flashy sets before I started my day. I ended up getting sucked into watching the whole thing. My god, that movie is gay. I love it...

While I didn't find The Bride of Frank (1996) as disturbing as its tagline and reputation would suggest, it is one bizarre movie. I'd been keeping my eye out for it for a while and managed to pick up the "legitimate release" DVD at the Sub Rosa table at Chiller for $5. This shot-on-video oddity is for the most part, the story of an obscenity-spewing and formerly homeless man's quest to find a mate. Though that's pretty interesting in itself, the filmmakers decided to add a healthy dose of gory violence to the mix. This is a tough movie to categorize: it is a comedy? A romance? Is it horror? Pornography? The answer is: Yes. See it now.

Despite what one might assume about my tastes in film watching, I'm not a huge fan of the Bikesploitation sub-genre. I love Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) and that's about it for me. But Psychomania (1971) is the exception. It's got everything: An outlaw motorcycle gang with cool skull-emblazoned helmets, witchcraft, the walking dead and a cameo by John Anthony Blake (then known as John Levene) who was in my first feature film, CanniBallistic! (2002). It's also got that quiet, overcast atmosphere that makes so many British genre films from this era so cool. A classic!

 

Saturday, January 8 : Oh, Ashton!

Okay, maybe it was a result of all of the Vicodin I took, but I loved The Butterfly Effect (2004). I'm not completely surprised, as it was made by the guys who wrote Final Destination 2, the second entry in the best mainstream horror franchise of the post-Scream era. I wanted to see this in the theater, but was put off by the Ashton-factor. I hate to say it, but Kutcher really gives an outstanding performance in this dark and often brutal thriller. Go into it with the low expectations one should always have with this sort of mainstream faire, and you'll be pleasantly surprised as well.

My night of uplifting entertainment continued with a rare sci-fi outing for actor Paul Newman and director Robert Altman, Quintet (1979). I'm guessing that this science fiction oddity got into production thanks to success of Star Wars. But this film has far more in common with Lucas' THX 1138 (1971) and other more thoughtful SF movies (2001, Fahrenheit 451...) from an earlier era.

Quintet is a pretty stark and depressing film with a unique feel to it, despite it being bound to Altman's somewhat modest set. Like many films from the 70's auteurs, it seems to drag at times, but really pays off in the end.

 

Thursday, January 6 : Taking a Wiz

Thanks to an article in the 14th issue of Cashiers du Cinemart that I've been raving about, I spent 95 minutes of my life in the world of Mike Jittlov, aka The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989). In the film, Jittlov plays himself, a special effects artist / writer / actor / jack-of-all trades filmmaker trying to break into the Big Leagues of Hollywoodland. The humor is quite broad in this ham-fisted (but accurate) satire, but Jittlov's obvious talent with old-school effects and earnest demeanor make the film quite enjoyable. The Wizard of Speed and Time has a kind of naive, good-natured, 'Weird Al' Yankovic-type dorkiness that is, overall, quite endearing. Check out Jittlov's web site to taste his brand of dementia.

 

Wednesday, January 5 : Chiller Killer

Larry F, Ti and I will be promoting our ScareFlix at the Chiller Theatre show in East Rutherford NJ, this weekend. Stop by to chat, say "hi" or pick a fight.

Tonight I watched the DVD of Bride of the Monster (1955) from the Ed Wood Box set that Lisa gave me for Christmas.



Monday, January 3 : I watch short shorts.

Jeremiah Kipp's 19-minute film The Christmas Party (2003) is a beautifully shot look at a difficult period in a boy's life. With this film, the viewer immediately identifies with young Gabriel who finds himself in some difficult situations, thanks to the adults surrounding him. Go visit Kipp's web site and see the film if you can.

With last month's issue #14, Mike White's Cashiers du Cinemart 'zine has really come into its own. I had to wait two years between issue 12 and this one, but it was more than worth it. The highlight of the mag is the list of Modern Day Midnight Movies, mostly consisting of films that came out during CdC's 10-year history. I was surprised at how many of the 50 films listed I hadn't seen. Thanks to Mr. White & Co., my "movies to see" list has just grown by another page.

Also in this issue is a three page article on Shock Treatment (1981), a favorite film of mine. I'm always stunned by the amount of people who haven't seen nor heard of this film, despite it being a sequel to the mega-popular Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and that it was a video store staple throughout the 1980's. I actually prefer it to Rocky Horror, (I own the Shock Treatment soundtrack on both vinyl and cassette, while I haven't see RHPS since I was a teen) though most folks would probably disagree with me. Unfortunately, Shock Treatment is not yet out on DVD.

Pieces on John Michael McCarthy, Suji Terayama, IFC's Ultimate Film Fanatic and others round out this issue of the mag, along with tons of reviews and a sidebar about Tom Hanks' pee-pee obsession. Check it out.



Sunday, January 2 : Anton LaVey was a turd.

I watched Something Weird's wonderful multi-feature DVD of Satanis, the Devil's Mass (1970) & Sinthia, the Devil's Doll (1968) this evening. The disk is also loaded with Satanic extra featurettes, most of which include some sort of Black Mass or other Satanic ritual.

Of all of the Ceremonies celebrating the Great Adversary depicted on this DVD, none are anywhere near as ridiculous as the one in Satanis (1970). Overall, it's a fun documentary on Church of Satan founder, Anton "Am I freaking you out?" LaVey, who presides over a Black Mass wearing what appear to be evil Mickey Mouse ears and a Bela Lugosi cape. The effect is somewhat less demonic and more "Look at me! I'm Batgirl!"

Anyway, there are some great interviews with LaVey's neighbors (my favorite being the guy who complains about LaVey's poor groundskeeping) as well as several Church of Satan members. Everyone seems to have a pretty good sense of humor about the whole thing, except for LaVey himself, who comes across like a humorless dork. One gets the impression, as followers interrupt and talk over LaVey during a roundtable discussion, that members have more respect for the hedonistic ideology of the Church than for its charisma-deficient leader.

It's a popular myth that LaVey had something to do with the making of Rosemary's Baby (1968), a rumor that he encouraged. In reality, LaVey had nothing to do with the film, and most certainly didn't play the Devil in it. That was Clay Tanner.

Sinthia, the Devil's Doll (1968), directed by Ray Dennis Steckler (under the name of Sven Christian) is a delightfully meaningless piece of psychedelic art-trash. It's basically a 77-minute softcore dream sequence, which will be thoroughly enjoyed by fans of surrealistic kitsch and will drive everyone else out of the room. I loved it.

Larry F. gave Brahm and I copies of Shaun of the Dead (2004) for Christmas. We saw this movie in the theater a while back as a Glass Eye Pix field trip. Of all of the films I saw last year, it was one of my favorites. No mere parody, the film works brilliantly as both a comedy and a horror movie, with several actually touching moments throughout. I made Lisa watch it with me this afternoon and she seemed to really like it. If you haven't seen this yet, you should just kill yourself.

I woke up this morning with the Japanese/French co-production, Samourais (2002). It's a supernatural action movie that's very well shot (with one of the most beautiful uses of the color green that I've ever seen) and some excellent action sequences. The bad guy looks really cool too.

The main drawback of the movie is its comic relief, which is mostly just intrusive and not funny. In the same respect, the film almost lost me during the 20-minute climax, when the entire story suddenly became extremely goofy.

I saw it on The Movie Channel in a very badly dubbed version that I believe is the same as the one available on the domestic DVD. Purists may want to look around for an International version with subtitles.

 

Saturday, January 1 , 2005 : Happy New Year.

I started out the new year with two Australian DVD releases:

The first is an American film not yet out here in the US: Tobe Hooper's Toolbox Murders (2003). Aside from the obvious death-by-tools factor, this remake has little to do with the 1978 original. It's Hooper's best film in years and has a supernatural/monster element that I enjoyed much more than the original version's generic slasher premise. Although the "building with a dark history" storyline is pretty much by the numbers, there are some really great scares here. Current genre "It"-girl, Angela Bettis, gives a convincing performance as usual. If you haven't seen her in May (2002), do so immediately.

The second DVD is the Australian tongue-in-cheek zombie flick, Undead (2003) Similar in tone to Dead Alive (1992) and with more than a few gimmicks borrowed from the Evil Dead series, this quirky film becomes more fun and more original the longer you watch. There are some great "kills" in this one, but the gore is used sparingly, making it that much more effective when the guts start flying. Oh, and there's zombie fish. See it now.

I also watched John Woo's Paycheck (2003) and Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks (2004) today.

 

 

RETURN TO CURRENT UPDATES