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Suburban Grindhouse Memories: FIEND (1980)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, B-Movies, Killers, Nick Cato Reviews, Paranormal, Suburban Grindhouse Memories, Supernatural, Weird Movies with tags , , , , , , on November 9, 2011 by knifefighter

SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE MEMORIES
So Bad It’s . . . Not Good or Bad…. Just … Hmmmmm …
By Nick Cato

Faithful readers of this fine column have heard me mention Staten Island’s (now defunct) Fox Twin Cinema. The more my suburban memory is refreshed, the more I realize just how many amazing double features were shown there during the early 80s—1982 being out of control.

And in 1982, the Fox Twin introduced me to the wacky world of low-budget film maker Don Dohler. Among Don’s nearly-unwatchable achievements are the painfully bad THE ALIEN FACTOR (1978) and NIGHTBEAST (1982), both which feature unconvincing monsters and acting that’d make H.G. Lewis blush. But in 1980, Don ALMOST got it right, and the result has been debated by underground horror fans since its release.

FIEND (1980) was re-released in 1982 with the gruesome DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE (another film originally released in 1980), in one seriously uneven double-bill. After two years of seeing stills from FIEND in horror magazines and fanzines, I was thrilled to finally catch it. DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE was first, and a more brutal R-rated film would never be released (how this one hit American theaters unrated is anyone’s guess). Its depraved scenes of some lunatic killing women in his fire-proof basement with a flame thrower had the theater screaming out loud, and the film managed to work even despite its PSYCHO-inspired conclusion.

After a brief intermission, FIEND hit the screen, and within the first five minutes I can recall at least six people walking out…not due to anything disturbing, but due to a “special effect” so cheesy, it’s amazing any of us stayed for the rest. But I’m glad I did. Kind of.

Some red “spirit” is seen floating around a dark graveyard in the aforementioned special effect. It enters a grave and reanimates some 70s-looking guy, complete with big mustache and ugly sports jacket. Just WHY this happens is never explained, but we now have the title creature who—instead of eating flesh or drinking blood—decides to buy a large house in Maryland where he opens a music school!

(BRIEF PAUSE FOR MY MENTAL STABILITY: It’s my interest in plots like these that have caused me to age at an unusual rate and lose friends. Now back to the review.)

The FIEND takes the name Eric Longfellow, and spends a lot of film time wandering around the front yard of his new home where his neighbors stare at him with odd expressions. It should be pointed out that Longfellow, played by Don Dohler regular Don Leifert, does a fine job here and gives off a truly eerie vibe.

We’re eventually clued in as to just why Longfellow is a FIEND and not a ZOMBIE: if he doesn’t take other people’s “life forces” on a regular basis, he starts to grow old. When fully charged, Longfellow looks to be about 35-40 years old. But as he ages, the cheap special effects attempt to make him look like he’s in his 80s. The unique angle of the FIEND is how this freshly-risen creature kills his victims: by strangulation!  When the FIEND chokes some poor soul, his body glows the same shade of ghastly red that reanimated him in the first place. And while this could’ve been a real laugh-riot (especially with the below-grade-Z effects), there’s a certain sense of dread and some decent atmosphere that makes these sequences work.

A couple of nosey, goody-two-shoes neighbors eventually begin to suspect there’s something weird about their new neighbor, and decide to investigate. (The one thing I laughed at by the middle of the film was the absence of students or any actual music playing in Longfellow’s home academy…perhaps this is what caused suspicion in his neighbors?).

FIEND is a seriously flawed film, but worth a look if only for Leifert’s fine performance as the soulless title monster, and some unusually solid atmosphere for a low budget picture. But as fans of B-horror know, there’s stretches of boredom here that will challenge even the most jaded of trash film junkies. But if you can get through these areas, FIEND isn’t too bad a time (and it didn’t help seeing this after DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE, a superior film on every level).

(NOTE: In researching this film, I discovered FIEND star Don Liefert had passed away just recently in 2010. Hopefully his rest won’t be interrupted by a tacky-looking, malevolent spirit…)

© Copyright 2011 by Nick Cato

 Showing his early 80s horror-film colleagues you don’t need sharp weapons to be effective,
the FIEND (the late Dan Liefert) takes another soul.

(Note: Because there wasn’t a Suburban Grindhouse Memories column last Thursday, Nick agreed to write a new one this week, as well as his regular column again for next Thursday)

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Bill’s Bizarre Bijou: MYSTICS IN BALI (1981)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, Asian Horror, Based on a True Story, Bill's Bizarre Bijou, Campy Movies, Cult Movies, Exploitation Films, Magic, Supernatural, William Carl Articles, Witches with tags , , , , on October 13, 2011 by knifefighter

Bill’s Bizarre Bijou

William D. Carl

This Week’s Feature Presentation:

MYSTICS IN BALI (1981)


Welcome to Bill’s Bizarre Bijou, where you’ll discover the strangest films ever made. If there are alien women with too much eye-shadow and miniskirts, if papier-mâché monsters are involved, if your local drive-in insisted this be the last show in their dusk-till-dawn extravaganza, or if it’s just plain unclassifiable – then I’ve seen it and probably loved it. Now, I’m here to share these little gems with you so you too can stare in disbelief at your television with your mouth dangling open. Trust me, with these flicks, you won’t believe your eyes.

In the early 1980s, the Indonesian film market was trying to distance itself from its Bollywood cousin. They refuted the song-and-dance numbers and the boy-meets-girl happy endings in favor of emulating the exploitation cinema of the West. Full of crazy amounts of violence, nudity and unfamiliar mythology, grindhouse cinema patrons were graced with such delightfully nutty movies as JUNGLE VIRGIN FORCE (1982), SATAN’S SLAVE (1980), and the don’t-miss-it exploitation classic LADY TERMINATOR (1988). We also got the wild and whacked-out MYSTICS IN BALI (1981), certainly one of the oddest horror films ever produced.

Our story begins in (where else) Bali, where Catherine Kean, a student from the U.S. and her Indonesian boyfriend Mahendra (who proudly sports a ‘Property of Notre Dame’ T-shirt) discuss the book she wants to write about Leak (pronounced Lee-ack), a Balinese black magic. He knows a guy who knows a guy who can take them to meet the Queen of Leak. Within five minutes, they are watching a strange ceremony, obviously a real one shot documentary-style, which features tons of loud screaming and even louder percussion. The following night, they follow the friend’s instructions and do, indeed, find the Queen, a hag with hair covering her face and ten-inch rubber fingernails. She refuses to stop laughing, a high screech that sounds a lot like Witchypoo from H.R. PUFNSTUF of “Seventies Saturday Morning” fame. She cuts off her hand and says to come on back now, ya’ hear, and disappears. The following night, the pair of lovebirds do go back in the spooky forest, where the head Leak demon hides behind a bush, its tongue emerging to snatch jewels and drink blood. Then, it brands Catherine’s leg with its long tongue so she can gain power. Yeah, sure, go ahead and disfigure me with a ten foot tongue. Catherine and Mahendra take it all in stride. The next evening, Catherine returns wearing a traditional undergarment (!) and holding a cloth of spells. In the background, we can hear the wolves (werewolves?) of Bali howling in the night. Wait a minute!  Are wolves indigenous to Bali?  Not unless it’s the soccer team, the Tangerang Wolves.

“Where do you get your nails done?” The Queen of Leak from MYSTICS OF BALI.

Catherine returns alone to find a hysterically laughing pig-woman, who even resembles Witchypoo. They both laugh for what seems like ten minutes, and I had to laugh along with them. It’s just infectious!  Then, they dance like hula dancers with Parkinson’s Disease, and in a moment of so-called “special effects”, the two women transforms into pigs. But, in the morning, Catherine seems fine, not bothered at all by her swinely state. Luckily, Mahendra’s uncle is a holy man, who recites holy Buddhist mantras. What a stroke of luck!

Even though she feels ill, Catherine goes back to the park to learn the final lesson of the Leak (I’m at a loss to explain anything she’s learned except how to become a pig). After a long laughing match, Catherine’s head rises right off her body, pulling out most of her internal organs — heart, lungs, intestines—which dangle from her neck. The Leak sends her head, trailing her guts, flying out after nourishment. This leads to one of the sickest scenes ever to (dis)grace a movie screen. A pregnant woman is having trouble birthing her baby. The head, now sporting fangs, flies to between her open legs, and sucks out the unborn child!  The woman’s stomach slowly deflates as Catherine’s possessed head slurps away. After this, the Leak apparently has complete control over Catherine, screeching and laughing, “I’ll never let you get away!”  Plus, the Leak seems able to transform itself into a worm Leak, a fish face Leak, a beautiful woman, a snake, all with the aid of helpful time-lapse photography. She also becomes a pair of laughing, bouncing balls of fire. Meanwhile, Catherine gets sicker and sicker, even vomiting blood after being kissed by her boyfriend, which should be a turn-off, but Mehandra doesn’t seem to mind very much. Although, his hair does continue to get bigger, making him look more and more like Tony Orlando.

“I have a special present for your baby!”

More insane laughing. More heads flying through the night. More babies are devoured, sadly off-screen. Finally, a bunch of local holy men and magicians decide to stop talking and take action. It’s up to Mehandra’s uncle to stop the floating head zombie chick before she kills again, giving eternal life to the forest witch Leak!  It’s not as exciting as it sounds, but it does involve villagers with torches trying bat the head like a psychotic piñata and stabbing incense sticks into the headless body. This is followed a laser show that almost demands Pink Floyd playing in the background, instead of the cheesy electronic music we get. Then, the ultimate in dues ex machina excuses for the final battle. Yes, a god comes down and fights the evil pig woman in a not-so-royal rumble.

Wow!

The director of this hilarious trashy wonder is H. Tjut Djalil, who should be recognized and lauded as Indonesia’s greatest exploitation director. Not only did he give us the fabulous beyond words LADY TERMINATOR (1988), but also SATAN’S BED (1983), THE WHITE ALLIGATOR QUEEN (1988),  and  DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS (1995). MYSTICS IN BALI was one of his earliest flicks, and it’s obviously low-budget, but it contains fun, rubbery special effects, laughable acting, atrocious dubbing, a very loud percussion and electronic score, way too much blue eye shadow, neat locations in temples and parks, and a totally new kind of villain. It never reaches the ludicrous highs (lows?) of LADY TERMINATOR, but it certainly comes close.

With its flying heads, floating monks, hysterical laughter, snakes, fireballs, sub-par optical effects and witches, there’s never a dull moment in MYSTICS IN BALI. If you’re looking for something different—and I mean really different —this is the movie for you!  It’s available on a great looking DVD from Mondo Macabro Video, that includes a terrific essay about Indonesian exploitation.

I give it three and a half Witchypoos out of four.

© Copyright 2011 by William D. Carl

This stop - PAGAN ISLAND. Next stop - MYSTICS OF BALI.

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“Me and Lil’ Stevie” Review THE SHINING (1980)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, Haunted Houses, Horror, Me and Lil' Stevie, Peter Dudar Reviews, Stephen King Movies, Telepathy with tags , , , , on October 12, 2011 by knifefighter

Me And Lil’ Stevie Present:
THE SHINING (1980)
Review by Peter Dudar

 

INTERIOR: NIGHT

(Establishing shots of the empty halls and corridors of the Overlook Hotel. Camera slowly pans at low, odd angles, as if we are at the POV of a small child. Creepy string music from the soundtrack begins, and as these long camera pans continue, we begin to see ghostly vignettes play out. These vignettes are disturbing and ethereal, but the camera is relentless. We pass by the ghosts of two young girls in matching dresses, then the ghost of a naked older woman, who just climbed out of a bathtub in room 237. We move a little further and round a corner, and camera stops and pans in on a little boy sitting on a Big Wheel. The boy is silent and still, staring with wide eyes at the pair of elevators at the end of the hall. The boy looks terrified, and rightly so, as blood begins to trickle out of the cracks of the elevator doors. The trickles become a steady flow of blood, slowly beginning to fill the hallway as the boy watches in absolute horror. The elevator doors begin to open and a river of blood comes gushing out, sweeping the furniture away like a raging sea. When the blood is done pouring out, the camera zooms in on a figure inside the elevator. The figure is holding an object in his hand. From our POV, the object appears to be a small ventriloquist dummy. The figure steps out of the elevator, and we see that it is actually Peter Dudar, holding a small wooden dummy that looks a lot like the master of horror, Stephen King. )

Peter: Good evening, folks, and welcome to my first column of “Me and Lil’ Stevie”. Today, we’re going to be talking about the original cinematic version of Stephen King’s THE SHINING (1980).

Lil’ Stevie: Hello, Constant Reader! As you already know, the book was much better!

Peter: Quiet, you…Everyone knows the book is a masterpiece. But we’re not here to discuss books. We’re here to talk about Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 motion picture, which is based on the novel. It even says it in the credits…”Based on the novel by Stephen King.”

Lil’ Stevie: The key words being, “Based on…”

Peter: It’s been well documented that you were disappointed in Kubrick’s cinematic adaptation, and rightly so. In Kubrick’s movie, there is very little exposition into the history and nature of the Overlook Hotel. In your novel, part of Jack Torrence’s downward spiral deals specifically with his obsessive-compulsive infatuation with uncovering the past of the Overlook. Jack spends a great deal of time uncovering newspaper articles and doing research, with a notion of perhaps writing a book about it. But we can put that all aside because Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Jack Torrence ignores most of those plot devices anyway.

Lil’ Stevie: And let’s not forget that Kubrick also ignored all exposition regarding Jack Torrence’s alcoholism, or how he got fired from his teaching gig, or…

Peter: Calm yourself, Lil’ Stevie…let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have a movie to review.

Lil’ Stevie: Fine!

Peter: Thank you. Anyway, like I said, Stephen King has already gone on record about his disappointment with Kubrick’s vision of THE SHINING. But the reality is that Kubrick’s THE SHINING happens to be one of those films that have become iconic for horror movie fans. In fact, the picture of Jack Nicholson’s face in the smashed up doorway, the part of the film where he utters the infamous line, “Heeeeere’s Johnny!” has appeared on book covers, college dorm poster art and even as tattoos, for decades. Kubrick set out to capture the perfect ghost movie on celluloid, and I have to admit, he came very close.

Lil’ Stevie: Nicholson was over the top!

Peter: I know! I get it…Nicholson did not portray Jack Torrence the way you wanted him to.

Lil’ Stevie:  Thank you. That’s all I wanted these people to know.

Peter: They already do know. Stop interrupting me, or I’ll put termites in your armpits!

Lil’ Stevie: I’ll be good!

Peter: THE SHINING is about a writer who, after being fired from his teaching job, agrees to be the caretaker for a prestigious resort hotel in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Jack Torrence brings his wife, Wendy and son, Danny, to the hotel at the close of tourist season, where they are to become the official winter custodians of The Overlook Hotel; a hotel that, according to manager Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson of AIRPORT (1970)), was the in-spot for movie stars, politicians, and royalty…because of its opulence, seclusion, and beauty. In the first portion of the movie, we’re introduced to Torrence and the hotel itself, and in Kubrick’s genius, we’re presented with a massive, giant hotel. Nicholson’s tour of the hotel (and subsequently Wendy and Danny’s tour), takes us on a camera-created labyrinth of the Overlook…there’s so much space that it would seem impossible to feel claustrophobic when inside. And yet, by the end of the picture, we do!

Lil’ Stevie: On top of that, we’re presented with the labyrinth of the hedge-maze, which did NOT appear in the book. In fact, the book had topiary!

Peter: What, the animal-shaped hedges that threatened Danny?

Lil’ Stevie: Exactly!

Peter: Were there hedges shaped like termites?

Lil’ Stevie (pouting): Please continue.

Peter: Thanks! Anyway, Jack Torrence takes the job as a last-ditch effort to support his family, gain some seclusion, and finally get some meaningful writing done. And at the conclusion of his interview, Mr. Ullman asks Torrence if he was aware of the fate that befell the last caretaker and his family.

Lil’ Stevie: Delbert Grady.

Peter: Yeah. Apparently Mr. Grady suffered a severe case of cabin fever and offed his wife and two daughters with an axe…before inserting the barrel of a rifle in his mouth and blowing his own brains out. It is a bit of foreshadowing, but Kubrick’s script does a very good job of driving home just how isolated things can be at the Overlook during winter.

Lil’ Stevie: I had a lot of problems with the dialogue at the beginning of the movie.

Peter: I did, too. Nicholson seemed very wooden in his interface with Ullman and the other hotel workers.

Lil’ Stevie: Hey!

Peter: No offense. But, yeah…Nicholson went into the hotel not acting like a guy who just lost his job and can’t provide for his family, but as a cocky SOB who was just telling them what they wanted to hear. Of course he’s a perfect match for what they’re looking for…He’s a guy that wants a good, solid five months to do nothing but work on his writing. So what if he has to go check the boiler every now and then?

Lil’ Stevie: That’s crucial! In the book he HAS to check the boiler. If he doesn’t, then the hotel could blow sky-high from the built up pressure. That’s the crux of the novel…built up pressure!

Peter: And yet, none of that is important in the movie at all. In fact, the only scene they show the boiler in, Wendy is the one who is doing all the work.

Lil’ Stevie: Well, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! (rolls eyes in a comical dummy gesture).

Peter: You’re telecasting. Slow down, will ya? We’re also introduced to Jack and Wendy’s son, Danny. Now, Danny has THE SHINING, the gerund that gives our little movie a title. What it means is that he can communicate telepathically with others like him who also have “the shining.” You see, Danny doesn’t realize there are others like him out there. He has this imaginary person named Tony who lives inside his mouth. Tony is a conduit for “the shining”, insofar as explaining things, giving glimpses of the future, and protecting him from the terrors of the Overlook Hotel.

Lil’ Stevie: Another element of the novel that Kubrick failed with.

Peter: How so?

Lil’ Stevie: Because in the novel, Tony is based on a real person rather than an imaginary friend of Danny’s. In the movie, Tony is reduced to Danny’s index finger moving up and down while Danny talks in a silly voice.

Peter: But it works! It’s convincing.

Lil’ Stevie: No, it’s not. It’s hokey. When Danny’s sitting there screaming “Red Rum! Red Rum!” it seems more irritating than creepy.

Peter: During the “Closing Day” segment, Danny is befriended by Dick Halloran, the hotel’s chef (Scatman Crothers…who also appeared with Jack Nicholson in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUKOO’S NEST (1975)). Halloran explains to Danny in the only real bit of exposition that Danny has THE SHINING. Dick knows because he ‘shines’ too. In fact, Dick and his grandmother could have whole conversations without ever opening their mouths.

Lil’ Stevie: In the novel, that telepathy is what brings Dick back to the Overlook to try and save Danny.

Peter: But we don’t have that luxury. Kubrick minimized it. Instead, Kubrick’s aim was to have Danny ‘shine’ in terms of visualizing all the terrible things that had happened within the Overlook in the past. That is the primary haunting of this ghost story, and truth be told, Kubrick does a very good job of capturing it. In fact, he did such a good job of it that he turned this mammoth old hotel into a very claustrophobic, heart-pounding knot of tension. And, metaphorically speaking, Jack Torrence’s spiral into insanity almost mirrors that tension. That’s the key to what makes this film the iconic fear machine that it is. We have several storylines working together like clockwork: we have complete isolation in an era where computer and cellphone communication are absolute science-fiction, we have Danny channeling the Hotel’s horrors of the past, we have Jack’s downward progression as the hotel begins to use his life’s failures and anxieties against him, and we have sinister supernatural forces pulling the strings at every turn, tormenting young Danny and torturing Jack.

Lil’ Stevie: But there’s also several problems going on. First off, Jack Torrence looks like a crazy guy right from the beginning…

Peter: No argument there.

Lil’ Stevie: In the novel, Jack Torrence is a guy who is really trying hard to overcome his demons. He’s supposed to be a good guy who’s trying like hell to pull himself out of the hole he’s dug himself into. He’s a recovering alcoholic that wants to do right by his family and fix the damage he’s done. That’s the pathos that Nicholson is missing in the movie. Nicholson is so busy being over-the-top in his version of the character that you never build that necessary empathy for him. Or his family.

Peter: No argument there, either. What we’re presented with is a study of a guy who very quickly stops being a husband and father, and is replaced by a lunatic who blames everyone but himself for his own problems. But Kubrick does lend some exposition in Jack’s hallucinogenic conversations with the ghosts of Lloyd, the bartender and Grady, the ex-caretaker. We learn that Jack DOES have an alcohol problem and subsequently harmed Danny in one of his fits of anger. And we see Jack’s emotional patterns as he stares off into space with his crazy smiles, or when he storms off down hallways throwing menacing hand-gestures, as if he means to hurt whoever gets in his way. Nicholson’s performance is actually pretty frightening to watch. And the tension is absolutely unbearable when we reach the big reveal with Wendy.

Lil’ Stevie: As for Shelly Duvall’s turn as Mrs. Torrence—Kubrick presents her as a gutless, subservient bimbo until the big reveal. It’s almost pitiful to watch her portrayal as the dutiful wife with no other role in life than to be a good wife and mother. She’s absolutely one-dimensional in this movie.

Peter: But, for 1980, it works. That was the expectation. Have dinner ready for your husband when he comes home from work, take care of the kids, and stay in line.

Lil’ Stevie: So when we reach the big reveal, where she sees that the book that Jack’s been working on is nothing but endless pages of his writing, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” there is nothing for her to do but fall apart. It’s obvious that the man she married is gone. It’s obvious that her and Danny are in absolute danger, and it’s obvious that there’s nowhere in that monstrously big hotel that her and her son are safe.

Peter: You’re selling Shelly Duvall’s performance a bit short. Wendy is supposed to be supporting her out-of-work husband in taking this job to begin with. She’s agreeing to six months of being separated from the real world with a child who is old enough to be in school, as well as being cut off from any doctors (in case something goes wrong) or other human contact. That’s a hell of a chance to take. Nowadays, most women would have been smart and/or strong enough to dump a guy like Jack. Just looking at Duvall in the movie, she’s not that attractive and she’s not that strong -. Her terror is reactive instead of proactive, like Jack and Danny. She doesn’t have to deal with ghosts. At least not until the climax, where the Hotel’s ghosts really come out to play.

Lil’ Stevie: The rest of the film is pretty fictional, in terms of Kubrick dropping most of what was in the novel. In the book, Jack does return to the father/husband side of himself, when he tries to dump the boiler and release the dangerous pressure building up in the heart of the hotel so that his family can escape. Kubrick has Nicholson chasing his son through the maze of hedges during a blinding snowstorm. In fact, nothing in the movie’s end matches up with the novel.

Peter: And that’s okay, Lil’ Stevie. Here’s the thing about Kubrick’s THE SHINING: It is an unbalanced film. There’s no pathos or redemption for Jack Torrence. There’s no happy moments or comic relief. There’s only a cinematic masterpiece of haunting and insanity as Jack makes his downward spiral. There’s tons of creepy atmosphere. There’s moments that leave the viewer chilled to the bone with thoughts and implications, and there’s Jack Nicholson in all his craziness. Kubrick leaves us mesmerized with trick camera angles and startling vignettes. He flawlessly brings the massive Overlook Hotel to life and portrays it as a character in every cinematic sense. It doesn’t need to be balanced. It only needs to be experienced.

Lil’ Stevie: Really? Because the ending left me confused. You know…the part where the camera pans down on a photograph of The Gold Room from the 1920’s, where Jack Nicholson’s face is right there in the middle? What the hell does that supposed to signify? That he’s reincarnated? That Jack Torrence was always part of the Overlook Hotel? I just don’t get it, and I wrote the freakin’ novel!

Peter: You didn’t write anything. You’re a puppet. I don’t even know how you came to be sitting here on my arm.

(Peter tries to pull the puppet off his hand, but it seems to be adhered to his skin. Lil’ Stevie laughs maniacally)

Peter: Er…well, folks…until next time, this is Me and Lil’ Stevie, signing out. Hope you enjoyed our little column.

Lil’ Stevie: …and your stay here at the Overlook. Drop in again sometime.

Peter:  Say goodnight, Stevie!

Lil’ Stevie: Good night, Stevie!

FADE TO BLACK

© Copyright 2011 by Peter N. Dudar

(Note: Any opinions expressed in this column belong to Peter Dudar and are not meant to reflect the views of Stephen King or this website. This is a work of humor).

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Suburban Grindhouse Memories: Lucio Fulci’s THE GATES OF HELL

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, Cult Movies, Demons, Gore!, Italian Horror, Lucio Fulci, Nick Cato Reviews, Suburban Grindhouse Memories, Zombies with tags , , , , , on October 6, 2011 by knifefighter

SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE MEMORIES
You’ll PUKE Your Guts Out!
By Nick Cato

During the spring of 1983, a black and white version of the poster seen above graced the film sections of NYC newspapers. While it didn’t take much to get us horror fans into the theater, it was even easier when a film came out UNRATED and was directed by some Italian guy only a handful of us had heard about. Remember, this was still the age of no Internet. The only sources of horror news came through FANGORIA magazine and, for a select chosen few, a small network of crudely-made underground horror film fanzines.

I had missed Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE (1979) when it hit American shores during the summer of 1980, and was tired of hearing people rave over how wonderfully disgusting it was. But three years later, here was another one from the same director with an equally as creepy ad campaign. To say I was psyched was putting it mildly (I later found out GATES had been released in 1980 in Italy, a year after ZOMBIE premiered there.).

Thankfully, THE GATES OF HELL opened at the (now defunct) Amboy Twin Cinemas, the easiest theater in all of NY’s five boroughs to get into if you were underage. And despite being UNRATED, the Amboy Twin still allowed me and my gang of pimple-faced freshman gore geeks to march right in on opening night.

Let’s back-track one more time: Everything about this film gave the theater itself an uneasy aura: from it’s startling title (that I still prefer over its official DVD release as CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, as well as over twenty other international titles) to it’s threatening blurb at the bottom of its poster (“This film contains scenes which may be considered shocking. No one under 17 admitted.”). A brief NYC television ad even featured a Catholic priest slipping a noose around his neck as a luminous voice said “The gates of HELL are about to be opened!” In other words, there was no bootleg VHS copies available, no Pay-Per View previews on cable TV… just good, old-school advertising and a short & sweet trailer I’ve been trying to track down since the night I saw it on late night television. If memory serves right, even FANGORIA didn’t run pictures until AFTER the film had been in theaters.

While, at the time, none of us saw Fulci as the gore-god he would soon become known as, it was evident the guy wasn’t playing with even half a deck: I can’t recall any other film featuring a zombie apocalypse caused by a priest hanging himself. Well, maybe it wasn’t an apocalypse per se, as all the action took place in a small town.

The strong point of GATES is its constant sense of dread. As soon as the suicidal priest does his business, supernatural-type zombies began to appear all over the small town of Dunwich, ripping out unsuspecting people’s brains, shown in gooey, graphic detail that would become any gorehound’s glory. And just WHY this dead priest caused the dead to rise is anyone’s guess (if you’ve never seen a Lucio Fulci film, logic is rarely—if ever—something to bother looking for). But the audience and myself really didn’t CARE why, as we were having too much fun watching zombies rip out brains, and others become possessed: one poor woman begins to cry blood before puking her guts up (literally) in what seemed like a five-minute sequence. While I actually laughed as this happened, due to the ultra-fake looking teeth during the close-up, most of the audience screamed and gasped, causing me to laugh harder. But any laughs had during this cheap-looking effect were made up for in BUCKETS over the film’s most infamous sequence.

The mentally-challenged Bob (played by the soon-to-be Euro-cult film icon Giovanni Lombardo Radice) is thrown onto a table by his father. On the table is a stationary power drill, which Bob’s head is slowly—ever so slowly—pushed onto. The camera doesn’t cut away. The theater freaked out. I was glad when I eventually found out Giovanni was making another film as I was CONVINCED they had killed the poor guy for this scene! If you haven’t seen it, it’s arguably one of the most gruesome, realistic special effects ever devised for a film. Hats off to FX artist Gino de Rossi for pulling off one of the greatest gore sequences I ever had the pleasure of witnessing in a theater.

Now, despite all the fun we were having, and despite the non-existent plot (and DO NOT even get me started on the ridiculous, completely pointless ending), what TRULY bothered me about the film was its star, Christopher George, who plays a New York City reporter who, for some reason, is in New England covering the priest suicide story. While it’s true George has starred in numerous horror and exploitation films (most notably 1982’s PIECES and 1980’s THE EXTERMINATOR), I’ve just always had a hard time buying him in any role. Thankfully, the lovely Catriona MacColl co-stars as a psychic who helps him discover what happened the night the priest hung himself at a local cemetery.

THE GATES OF HELL, with its slow-moving first half and horrendous acting, is truly an acquired taste. But once things get underway—and if you’re willing to ignore the fact there’s not much of a story to go with—you just might enjoy this gross, over-the-top splatter-fest from the “legendary” Lucio Fulci. And again, despite a few people attempting to explain the ending to me over the years…trust me: IT MAKES NO SENSE!

With all his flaws, I truly miss Fulci and his few films I was lucky enough to see during the Golden Age of the Splatter Films.

And THE GATES OF HELL was one of his better efforts.

© Copyright 2011 by Nick Cato

Bob (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) at the start of one of the most grueling sequences in horror film history.


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Meals For Monsters: MOTEL HELL (1980)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, B-Movies, Campy Movies, Cannibalism, Jenny Orosel Columns, Meals for Monsters with tags , , , , on August 24, 2011 by knifefighter

MEALS FOR MONSTERS: MOTEL HELL (1980)
By Jenny Orosel

Everybody loves a good cannibal movie, and you can’t get much more classic than MOTEL HELL (1980).  With its blend of horror, comedy and pure absurdism, it set the bar for other horror-comedies to come in the eighties.  And nothing says, “Delicious Dinner Night” like a cannibal movie.

Vincent and Bruce Smith are brothers in a small southern town.  Bruce is a good-natured sheriff and Vincent is a hog farmer/motel owner.  His smoked meats are the best in town.  What makes his food so special?  He combines the pork with…other meats.  Those other meats come from folks driving down the lonely road running alongside the ranch.  Sure, it might be a bit unpalatable for some but “It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters!”  Things change when Vincent runs a busty, barely legal drifter off the road, and instead of lunch, he sees her as a possible love.  Unfortunately, so does Bruce, and their brotherly affection is put to the test.

For the cocktail, I look to the one scene with alcohol featured—Vincent slips something into the drifter’s champagne to knock her out.  This meal calls for its own champagne cocktail (without the illegal incapacitating substances, of course).

The Motel Hell Cocktail

1 part cranberry juice (or preferred derivative)

2 parts sparkling wine.

****

As far as the main course, you can’t do MOTEL HELL without making Farmer Vincent’s Fritters!

For the sauce:

1 18oz bottle barbecue sauce

1 12oz bottle of beer

Directions:

Whisk both together in a large saucepan and bring to boil (I learned the hard way that the beer mixture expands greatly when boiling.  Make sure you have plenty of room).  Reduce to simmer and cover.

For the fritters:

1 lb ground pork (regular pork, not long pig)

1 lb ground turkey

½ cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1tbsp liquid smoke

1tsp salt

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Form into 12 balls.

Pour just enough oil into the fry pan to just cover the bottom.  Heat at medium-high.  Brown the meatballs, turning once.  Do this a few at a time if your fry pan isn’t as big as a small doghouse.  Once meatballs are toasty on the top and bottom, put them in the sauce mixture.  When all the meatballs are in the sauce, pop the lid back on and let cook at simmering for a half hour.

Serve on toasted rolls or on top of rice.  Corn on the cob makes a tasty side, and that way you can say there’s a vegetable involved in your dinner.

The dessert didn’t come directly from the movie.  But there is one thing I’ve learned since moving to Texas—any time smoked meats are involved, there is only one acceptable dessert.  That is Southern-Style Banana Pudding.  It’s not enough for southerners to make plain banana pudding from the box.  No, they dress it up and the result is a nice, smooth finish to a hearty meat dish.

Southern-Style Banana Pudding:

2 boxes banana pudding mix

Milk

4 ripe bananas

Box of vanilla wafer cookies

Directions:

Prepare the pudding according to the instructions on the box.  In a 9×9 pan, put one layer of cookies, one layer sliced bananas (you should use two bananas per layer unless you slice them really thin) and half the pudding.  Repeat.  Put in the fridge for a few hours.  Scoop into serving bowls and top with whipped cream.

MOTEL HELL is a fun movie to watch, and would make a great party movie.  This meal can easily be adapted to fit a bunch of people.  Just be careful when wording the invitations—this is not the movie where you should say to folks, “I’d like to have you for dinner….”

© Copyright 2011 by Jenny Orosel

"Meat's meat and man's gotta eat!"

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Monstrous Question: BEST MAD SCIENTIST MOVIE? (6 of 6)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, Colleen Wanglund Reviews, Geisha of Gore Reviews, Mad Doctors!, Monstrous Question with tags , , , , on August 13, 2011 by knifefighter

MONSTROUS QUESTION
(Part 6 of 6)
Created by Michael Arruda

This month’s MONSTROUS QUESTION comes to us courtesy of our good friend Pete Dudar.

PETE:  Okay, so what’s the best ‘mad scientist’ movie? Is it FRANKENSTEIN? RE-ANIMATOR? THE FLY? We fans want to know.

****

Our panel answers:

COLLEEN WANGLUND:

Best mad scientist movie?

That’s easy…. RE-ANIMATOR (1985).


I love RE-ANIMATOR, and I love Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Herbert West.  Based on a story by H.  P. Lovecraft, RE-ANIMATOR blends horror and black comedy in such a way that you don’t necessarily expect it.  The gore factor is awesome and this is one of those movies I can watch over and over again.  And you can’t go wrong when the movie is based on Lovecraft.  Don’t get me wrong, I love FRANKENSTEIN (1931) the movie, especially Karloff’s monster, but I prefer the book by Mary Shelley.

Now I know what you’re saying.  “Colleen, you’re the Geisha of Gore, so what about Asian horror?”  Okay, as for Asian horror, my pick for the best mad scientist film is VAMPIRE GIRL VS FRANKENSTEIN GIRL (2009).  The mad scientist is in full-on Kabuki makeup and costume and his creation is his own dead daughter.  It’s an awesome horror/black comedy by one of my favorite directors, Yoshihiro Nishimura.

—END—

© Copyright 2011 by Colleen Wanglund

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NIGHTMARE! Finally On DVD!

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, Drive-in Movies, DVD Review, Gore!, Grindhouse, Italian Horror, Nick Cato Reviews, Psychos, Slasher Movies, Suburban Grindhouse Memories, VIOLENCE! with tags , , , , , on August 11, 2011 by knifefighter

SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE MEMORIES
FINALLY!  The Wait is OVER…
By Nick Cato

Most (if not all) of my faithful readers are sick and tired of hearing me go on about the 1981 slasher film NIGHTMARE (a.k.a. NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN).  I’ve been telling people about it since 1982, when I first saw it on a double bill with MOTHER’S DAY (1980), and I’ve had countless family members and friends sit through my well-worn VHS copy over the years.  And yet despite the digital video uprising, a proper DVD had not been released in America (those with turbo-DVD players had the option to buy a British DVD that has been on the market for several years).  Enter CODE RED DVD, a specialty DVD company who release deluxe editions of rare and seldom-seen horror, action, and comedy films.  Since 2007, CODE RED had been promising a DVD of NIGHTMARE, and due to too many factors to discuss here, it was continually placed on their back burner.  We die-hard fans visited CODE RED’s blog nearly every day, awaiting word, and were occasionally teased with pictures and info of the coming DVD extras.

AT LONG LAST: on July 26th of this year, NIGHTMARE was finally released in a 2-disc package that has already become as controversial as the film itself (sorry about the plug, but for a full review of the film, see my chapter in the book BUTCHER KNIVES AND BODY COUNTS— to be released shortly from Dark Scribe Press).

Before I get to the DVD review, newcomers should know that NIGHTMARE is a generic slasher film.  It’s low budget, features some less than stellar acting, and has a sequence or two of gabbing and walking around that the editors should’ve cut in half.  But what set NIGHTMARE apart from other “psycho-leaves-nuthouse-too-early” films is its grueling tone, its over-the-top splatter scenes (how this was released with an R rating is anyone’s guess), and an amazing performance by star Baird Stafford, who portrays George Tatum, a killer haunted by a vicious murder he committed at a young age.

NIGHTMARE instantly made the UK’s “Video Nasty” list, and there was much controversy over who was responsible for the disgusting special effects (there’s a few extras on this DVD that deal with the Tom Savini-issue…if you haven’t heard about this, Google it— or better yet, get the DVD).

Before I sat down to review this DVD, I read what some fans were saying about it and was surprised to see so much arguing.  Some praised the three (yep—three!) transfers of the film included here, while others claim CODE RED did a sloppy job with all of them.  I watched the entire film in its newest transfer (a 2011 telecine), which looked fine to me.  I then scanned through certain scenes on the 2008 high definition transfer and the 2005 “corrected telecine transfer approved by director Romano Scavolini.”  To be honest, there are differences, but I’m not one of those “VIDEO WATCHDOG” anal-retentive film inspectors who spends countless hours deciding if someone’s toe made it into a certain frame or not: to me they ALL look good, and I’m just happy to have this film preserved on a digital edition (hence, if YOU’RE an anal-retentive DVD freak, go check out the arguments happening on Amazon.com and various message boards.  Life’s too short for this nonsense, in my opinion).

The DVD itself is a lot of fun: the main menu boards feature moving scenes from the film (although I thought it was a bit too spoiler-ish to show the intense finale on one of these) and each board is easy to navigate (as far as I know there are no “Easter Eggs” here).  Among the extras is a VERY informative audio commentary with star Baird Stafford and make-up effects man Cleve Hall.  There’s a very nice “Making Of” feature with more from Stafford and Hall, as well as ex-distributor Tom Ward.  But perhaps the most sought-after extra here is an interview with special effects maestro Ed French,  who gives his side of the Tom Savini story (again, Google this if you’re interested).  It’s a bit short, but good.  There are also two NIGHTMARE trailers, one that I hadn’t seen before.

NOW, where CODE RED has annoyed some fans: While it’s true that we NIGHTMAREians have haunted Code Red to release this film for years, one of the main reasons (besides financial) was the inability to have a 90-minute interview with the director translated and/or subtitled.  Yet the interview is included here in Italian–I’m assuming CODE RED did this to break our chops (and after you see the sarcastic blurbs and synopsis they’ve placed on the front and back of the DVD case, you just might agree).  I’m guessing those who aren’t die-hard fans of the film might get pissed off over this…personally, I found it funny.  TRUE, I’d like to hear what Romano Scavolini has to say about his only horror film, I guess I’ll have to wait until I can convince my grandmother to come over and translate for me…

Was the wait for this DVD worth it?  For me, while someone could’ve released it without all the extras and I’d still be happy, having the aforementioned commentaries and especially the Making Of feature was WELL worth the wait.  And although I actually spoke to Tom Savini at a 1985 FANGORIA convention about his involvement with the film, it was nice to hear two other sides of the story (and all three basically mesh).

If you have a cast iron stomach and want to see a gore film that’s actually spooky at times, give NIGHTMARE a shot; aside from the first EVIL DEAD (1982), it’s the one horror film where the splatter actually ADDED to the chills and caused a disturbing atmosphere.  I also believe any serious horror film DVD collector should have this seldom-seen gem in their collection (while they still can).

Now let me see what grandma is up to…

© Copyright 2011 by Nick Cato

George Tatum (Baird Stafford) dons a creepy old man mask, then checks to see if anyone's home in NIGHTMARE (1981).

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Suburban Grindhouse Memories: INSEMINOID (1982)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, Aliens, Drive-in Movies, Gore!, Grindhouse, Monsters, Nick Cato Reviews, Suburban Grindhouse Memories with tags , , , , on July 28, 2011 by knifefighter

SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE MEMORIES
The Unborn Alien Avenger!
By Nick Cato

INSEMINOID? HORROR PLANET? Make up your minds already!

 

FANGORIA magazine had been running articles (and graphic stills) about an ALIEN-like gore-fest titled INSEMINOID.  Week after week, we gorehounds of the early 80s anticipated this potential gem’s release, and had all but given up when a film titled HORROR PLANET was unleashed in late 1982.  It turns out INSEMINOID had been re-titled (and as much as I LOVE the original title, perhaps HORROR PLANET was a bit more marketable?).  Either way, the (now defunct) Fox Twin Cinema was packed to the gills on opening night, with horny teenagers and underage patrons waiting for their long-awaited dose of otherworldly splatter.

It turns out the only similarity between this and ALIEN (1979) was in the alien impregnating someone.  In this case, a group of scientists are exploring the underworld of one of Jupiter’s moons (Why? I still have no idea—just go with it), when they happen to unleash a strange creature who forcefully does the intergalactic mambo with one of the prettier female scientists (hey—even monsters go for the hotties!).  Her pregnancy accelerates at an unearthly pace and her fellow explorers (in no certain terms) begin to look at her and her coming child as lab rats.  Unfortunately for these cosmonauts, whatever’s growing inside her is requiring human blood.  What follows is pure exploitation genius: Our pregnant heroine (Sandy, played by Judy Geeson—trust me, you’ve seen her in tons of TV shows) begins to protect herself and her unborn by slaughtering the rest of the cast, turning HORROR PLANET into one of the first intergalactic slasher movies I can think of.  And MAN does the sauce flow…

If you can overlook the horrendous acting and dialogue (if memory serves me, nearly every line was openly mocked at the screening I attended), HORROR PLANET is a decently made British flick with tons of brain-dead splatter fun in store for your viewing (or is that ‘spewing?’) pleasure: one guy’s stomach is blown apart with a laser gun as some poor woman is sliced to shreds with a pair of scissors, and another is eaten alive, in a genuinely savage scene of space-age cannibalism.  When Sandy finally gives birth, it turns out she was carrying twin humanoid creatures that come out of the womb with more goop and vomit-inducing green glop than even Linda Blair could’ve handled.  I haven’t seen the film since this fine evening around November of 1982, so I don’t know how much I’d enjoy this today…but at the time, I was in splatter/sleaze heaven.  And apparently, so was the crowd.  This is the first time I can remember the audience cheering during the kill sequences—a few years before this became the norm at FRIDAY THE 13th sequels (I believe FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 4 started this ritual—which—in my opinion—began to cheapen the feel and affect of most horror films).

If you’re a scifi fan, you’ll probably laugh at the primitive special effects, especially the base of command center (which looks like it was constructed on a really cheap set—or in someone’s basement!), and as mentioned, this is more of a gore film than a serious ALIEN wanna-be.

HORROR PLANET is worth a DVD viewing (I believe it was finally released under the INSEMINOID title), if, for nothing else, to show you how much fun and in-your-face these early gore-epics could be.

One thing’s for sure: you won’t have half as much fun with any other low-budget space monster film released since (and there’s simply NO WAY this would receive an R rating today).

-END-

© Copyright 2011 by Nick Cato

Sandy (Judy Geeson) takes matters into her own mouth in HORROR PLANET.

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Suburban Grindhouse Memories: I WAS A TEENAGE ZOMBIE (1987)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, 80s Horror, B-Movies, Cult Movies, Indie Horror, Low Budget Movies, Nick Cato Reviews, Suburban Grindhouse Memories, Zombie Movies, Zombies with tags , , , , , , , on July 7, 2011 by knifefighter

SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE MEMORIES
Another Trip into the City…
By Nick Cato

The summer of 1987 was a great time to be me (or at least my age).  I was only out of high school for a year, working the night shift at a local supermarket as I awaited my current city job to call, and playing drums in three different punk bands.  And while there was somewhat of a lull on the suburban grindhouse scene, an ad for a 1950s throwback film caught my attention in the film pages of the Village Voice (see poster above).  So I rounded up a couple of buddies and we trekked to the Waverly Twin Cinema in New York City (today the home of the IFC Center, which continues to show new and classic midnight movies).

In front of the theater, one of the film’s producers (at least that’s what he claimed to be) was handing out fliers for the film’s soundtrack (which is quite good, by the way) and telling everyone, “Come on in!  This one’s a coke classic!” (meaning “You’d enjoy it more if you were on cocaine!”).  I don’t know if he convinced any passers-by to come in OR if he was selling blow on the side, but we took our seats and were surprised to see such a large crowd at this relatively unknown film’s midnight premiere.

While I LOVED The Fleshtones’ opening title song, one thing annoyed me then and throughout the rest of the film: you could actually hear the sound of the projector OVER the sound of the film, and we were sitting around the center aisle.  But this distraction aside, the film still turned out to be an enjoyable—if uneven—horror comedy.

A group of high school buddies (who looked way older than high school buddies and resembled the cast of the Archie comics) accidentally kill a local drug dealer after trying to get some weed for their prom dates, and dump his body into a river.  Being a 50s-tribute film, the river is (guess what?) full of toxic waste, and causes the dealer (wonderfully named “Mussolini”and played by Steve McCoy) to come back as a crazed, green-faced zombie bent on revenge.  Mussolini kills the group’s “leader,” high school baseball star Dan (Michael Rubin).  His friends decide to dump him in the same river as Mussolini, figuring he’ll come back as a “good zombie” to protect them from the undead dealer.

What ensues is at times hysterical, at times really stupid, and at still other times quite gory, although the “special effects” are below amateur level, some even looking like the effects crew didn’t even give half a try.  Mussolini rips one poor guy’s face off (in the only decent-looking effect), going on about “You want weed?  HERE’S some weed for ya!” or something like that;  there’s a silly “romance” sequence where Dan reveals to his girlfriend that he’s now back as a zombie; and in the finale (SPOILER ALERT!), Dan tosses Mussolini’s decapitated head for a 3-point shot at the prom in the school’s gymnasium, then proceeds to chop it in half with a machete in one of the goofiest-looking gore scenes ever captured on film.

The scene that floored the audience, however, had nothing to do with zombies or gore.  A policeman (played by an elderly Steve Reidy in his ONLY film appearance) questions the boys at a “police station” that I’m assuming was one of the film crew member’s backyard shed.  Reidy’s police uniform also looks like it was purchased at the Salvation Army on a bad day, and his constant, un-threatening questions such as “What were you guys doin’ down at the pier?” had the crowd in stitches.  It’s a masterpiece of bad acting that would’ve made Ed Wood jealous.

I WAS A TEENAGE ZOMBIE was a fun film to see at a midnight show in NYC.  I’m not sure how many enjoyed this when it came to video, and I even saw a VHS of this placed in the “classic monsters” section of an old video store I belonged to, presumably by an under-informed employee.  I can still remember the sound of the projector’s click-click-clicking over the scenes I’ve just described, and the voice of the live film peddler out front was as entertaining as the film.

Trash film fans:  SLIME CITY (1988) and SLIME CITY MASSACRE (2010) star Robert Sabin stars as one of the high school buds, and keep your eyes peeled for an unaccredited cameo by director/author Gregory Lamberson, who plays a young pot-head.  The film also boasts an impressive soundtrack for a low-budget production, and includes artists such as Los Lobos, The Smithereens, Alex Chilton, The Waitresses and the Violent Femmes.  The aforementioned title track from The Fleshtones is easily the best, though.

Now excuse me while I go jump in the river…

© Copyright 2011 by Nick Cato

A reanimated Dan discusses how to get rid of rival zombie/drug dealer ‘Mussolini’ with his high school pals.

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Transmissions to Earth: THE BLACK ROOM (1984)

Posted in 1980s Horror, 2011, 80s Horror, Drive-in Movies, Grindhouse, Horror, Indie Horror, Kinky Killers, LL Soares Reviews, Psychos, Trasmissions to Earth with tags , , , , , , , on June 16, 2011 by knifefighter

Transmissions to Earth: THE BLACK ROOM (1984)
Movie Review by L.L. Soares

Another horror flick from the early 1980s. However, this is a kinky one.

A couple find they’re love life isn’t what it used to be (thanks mostly to two bratty kids who keep interrupting them), so husband Larry (Jimmy Stathis) decides to find some fun elsewhere. He finds an ad in the paper for a room to rent for only $200 a month at a “hilltop mansion” and checks it out. We’re not talking an apartment here. This room is clearly for one purpose only. It’s dark, with candles everywhere and glowing, white, geometrical tables. And lots of pillow all over the floor. Larry is immediately impressed and pays for a month’s rent in advance.

He then starts bringing lovers back there. Like college student Lisa (Charlie Young), and a hooker he pays for two hours’ time. Later on, at home, Larry tells his wife Robin (Clara Perryman) all about the room and his sexual escapades, telling her it’s all fantasy. She buys it, and these stories he starts telling her seem to be perking up their love life too. So everyone’s happy for a while.

The room, however, has two very strange landlords, handsome Jason (Stephen Knight) and his exotic-looking sister, Bridget (Cassandra Gava), who take a lot of interest in their new tenant’s activities. There’s a two-way mirror so they can watch Larry have sex with the girls he brings back with him, and Jason even takes tons of photographs (this is before the days when home video cameras were commonplace – besides, Jason is an “artiste”). But that’s not all. Not only do they spy and take pictures, they also occasionally take one of Larry’s girls’ for their own purposes, when circumstances allow them to do so without getting caught. And just what do they do with these girls? Well, it turns out Jason is pretty sick. He has some kind of blood disease where he needs transfusions often. It used to be once a month, but now he needs new blood twice a week. So they’ve got a machine set up in a downstairs room and use their abducted victims to provide poor Jason with fresh blood supplies. Of course, Larry knows nothing about this extracurricular activity.

Larry seems to be comfortable around his creepy landlords. At one point, when college girl Lisa can’t make it to a rendezvous, Bridget even offers to fill in herself and has a wild afternoon with Larry where they both get done up in body paint and play “Matador and Bull” in the black room (while Jason watches and takes picture of course).

So everything goes smoothly until Robin realizes that Larry’s “black room stories” are real. She finds the newspaper ad for the room and the keys in Larry’s car, and has an irresistible urge to check it out. When Jason finds her in the room, he tells her everything and even offers to let her watch Larry in action. When she is confronted with reality—she watches as Larry brings Lisa and her boyfriend Terry (Christopher McDonald) to the room; Terry says he just wants to watch and take notes for a psychology paper, but who knows what those three are up to in that darkened room—it hits her like a ton of bricks. This isn’t just a story, Larry is really cheating on her! At first she is completely devastated, until a seemingly sympathetic Jason talks her into considering another course of action. If Larry can have sex with strangers here, so can she, and that would mean twice as many victims to provide Jason with fresh blood!

Things get even more bizarre after that, as both Larry and Robin become aware of what’s going on, and have to look at their marriage in a completely different light. Meanwhile, Jason seems to need more and more blood, and Bridget does her best to keep the transfusion machine going.

There’s even an early role for future scream queen Linnea Quigley in this one, as Milly the babysitter.

Co-directed with lots of atmosphere by Elly Kenner and Norman Thaddeus Vane (Vane also wrote the screenplay), THE BLACK ROOM has good performances and a suitable sleazy tone. As you delve deeper into these characters’ lives, they become more and more fascinating. From Bridget getting attached to Larry (it looks like she and Jason never leave the house and see the outside world) to Robin’s disillusionment (the character changes before our very eyes in response to what she sees), this movie is a completely different animal from the usual 1980s horror movies that featured killers with knives and unlucky teenagers. THE BLACK ROOM is that rare horror film that actually deals with adults and adult matters. And for that reason, I recommend you check it out.

-END-

© Copyright 2011 by L.L. Soares

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