Archive for the Psycho killer Category

« Older Entries

The Distracted Critic visits MADISON COUNTY (2011)

Posted in 2013, DVD Review, Horror, Indie Horror, Paul McMahon Columns, Psycho killer, Serial Killer flicks, Slasher Movies, The Distracted Critic with tags , , , , on February 15, 2013 by knifefighter

MADISON COUNTY (2011)
Review by Paul McMahon – The Distracted Critic

Madison-County

Oh, how I miss video stores. I miss popping in with an evening to kill and browsing the shelves of cover art, trying to determine from an artist’s rendering whether a film would be worth a rental or not. When the “box art” for MADISON COUNTY(2011) appeared on my Netflix Instant Watch menu, I immediately knew it was something I would’ve snagged off the VHS shelf back in the day.

The movie was written and directed by 22-year old Eric England, who starts out the film with a bold choice for an opening—a bloodied, scantily clad blonde in the bed of a blue pickup truck, her face distorted with terror. It reminds you instantly of the ending of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), giving you the subconscious impression that all the terror of that classic film has come before this. The driver of the truck brakes, and immediately the blonde climbs out and tries to escape. She calls for help to someone off-camera while the driver comes up behind her, knocks her out with a shovel, and throws her in the cab of the truck. As he drives off, the camera pans to a run-down house a few feet off the road, where a grinning old man sits on his rocker, enjoying the show as all this goes down.

Now we meet James and Will, excited about embarking on a trip once they pick up “the girls.” They’re off to Madison County to interview the author of a book about Damien Ewells, a serial killer who murdered 33 people. James has been corresponding with the author and is planning his school thesis on the case. Will is going along to take pictures. Presumably, “the girls” are going so “the boys” don’t get lonely. They arrive at Brooke’s house, and since Will is her boyfriend, he knocks. Brooke’s brother Kyle answers the door, glaring. He’s a coiled spring who we realize is ready to rip Will limb from limb. Brooke and Jenna finally come out of the house, and while they greet James and Will, Kyle climbs into James’s truck. Apparently, he’s decided he’s going with.

“Are you freakin’ kidding?” Will asks Brooke. “He hates me!”

Once within Madison County, they stop at a diner with gas pumps out front. The diner is jammed with creepy-looking townsfolk who stare at the newcomers. It’s a real TWILIGHT ZONE moment, as we realize that James’s car was the only one outside, so how did all these people get here? James manages to get directions to author David Randall’s place. After ignoring the POSTED: KEEP OUT sign and climbing over a gate at the end of the drive, they find the author’s home deserted. Confused, they try to decide what to do next. Kyle drives back to the diner, alone, to get further advice. James and Jenna stay at the house to wait while Will and Brooke set off down the path to check out the barn on the property.

With our heroes thus split up, it’s time to introduce Big Pig Head, so he can start shedding blood.

In this corner... weighing 190 pounds... Big Pig Head!

In this corner… weighing 190 pounds… Big Pig Head!

The actors do exactly as well as expected for a movie like this, with no one really standing out above the rest. They’re all relative newcomers, though Ace Marrero, who plays Kyle, has a role in England’s movie ROADSIDE (2012) while Matt Mercer, who plays Will, is appearing in England’s upcoming CONTRACTED (2013). Colley Bailey, who plays James, appeared in last year’s DONNER PASS. The girls, Joanna Sotomura as Brooke and Natalie Scheetz as Jenna are making their first feature film appearance.

Eric England’s direction is pretty advanced for a young person making his first feature film. He’s creative and chooses interesting shots, at one point framing the car in a bright red dust mote, sort of like a bull’s eye. At another point, Kyle is glaring at Will and a flash of light looks like a knife in Kyle’s hand. Possibly most interesting of all is how, except for one brief scene, he films the entire movie in broad daylight. Artistically, Eric might be a director to keep an eye on, especially with the two more films already on the way, ROADSIDE and CONTRACTED. As far as his writing, though, MADISON COUNTY ends up losing points.

Director Eric England is a newcomer to watch. Writer Eric England... he can only get better from here.

Director Eric England is a newcomer to watch. Writer Eric England… he can only get better from here.

There are at least three moments in the film where minor characters assure James, and therefore us, that “he’ll understand before it’s all over.” This is a point that’s made and re-made throughout the first three quarters of the movie, usually after a weird swerve in the plot that leaves us scratching our heads. When it’s all said and done, though, there are no answers to be found. There is no final revelation that makes the movie come together in a flash of understanding. The credits roll abruptly and leave us wondering what in the hell was going on, which really drained my enjoyment of the film.

It’s not that I don’t like movies that leave us with unanswered questions. I recently reviewed LOVELY MOLLY, which left more than a few. In that film, though, Eduardo Sanchez never promised that we would understand everything. In MADISON COUNTY, England goes out of his way to foreshadow that answers will be coming, but then he ignores these promises and leaves us feeling cheated. I’m going to chalk it up to a rookie mistake and hunt down ROADSIDE as soon as I can, to see if this was a fluke. In the end, though, I find it difficult to recommend MADISON COUNTY overall.

I give MADISON COUNTY one and a half stars, with no timeouts.

© Copyright 2013 by Paul McMahon

madison_county_2

2 Comments »

Transmissions to Earth Presents: LAID TO REST (2009)

Posted in 2013, Horror, Horror DVDs, Killers, LL Soares Reviews, Psycho killer, Serial Killer flicks, Trasmissions to Earth with tags , , , , , , , on February 7, 2013 by knifefighter

TRANSMISSIONS TO EARTH PRESENTS:

zontar_sage_2

LAID TO REST (2009)

laid-to-rest-dvd-cover-92

Movie Review by L.L. Soares

Look out! Here comes ChromeSkull!

Yet another in the “Unstoppable Killer Who Keeps Coming” Sweepstakes, ChromeSkull is the antagonist of the 2009 movie LAID TO REST, directed by Robert Hall, who is probably better known as a special effects makeup artist who has worked on everything from television series like THE X-FILES to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL to recent movies like THE COLLECTION and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 (both 2012).

To say there’s a plot to LAID TO REST is a bit of an exaggeration. But here goes:

A girl (Bobbi Sue Luther, who was also in the 2009 remake of NIGHT OF THE DEMONS) —we never learn her real name, and she’s simply called “The Girl” in the credits—wakes up inside a coffin and struggles to get out, knocking the casket to the floor. The mortician (Richard Lynch), freaks out and runs away. The girl runs around, trying to determine where she is (how hard is it to figure out you’re in a funeral home?) and at one point, she sees the mortician killed by a psycho who wears a chrome mask that looks like a skull. The guy also has a video camera he attaches to his shoulder, so he can tape all his murders. We learn later he’s sent some of his “home movies” to the police to taunt them. So he’s been doing this for a while.

Somehow, the girl escapes and flags down a guy named Tucker (Kevin Gage, who some people might recognize as the title character from the LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT rip-off, CHAOS, in 2005), who takes her back to his house. For some strange reason, nobody in this movie has a working phone, and Tucker and his wife Cindy (Lena Headley) are no exceptions. They tell the girl they can’t call the police, but they’ll bring her to the sheriff’s office in the morning, and that she’s safe for the time being. Of course, she’s not. ChromeSkull followed them there and is soon going on another killing spree. Tucker and the Girl escape and drive away, but Cindy isn’t so lucky. Soon after they escape, Cindy’s brother Johnny (Johnathon Scheach) and his girlfriend show up, and are promptly murdered by ChromeSkull as an appetizer, before he goes after the ones that got away.

Look out! Chromeskull's on the rampage in LAID TO REST.

Look out! ChromeSkull’s on the rampage in LAID TO REST.

Tucker and the Girl show up at the house of Steven (Sean Whalen, who’s been in everything from HANNAH MONTANA to LOST and movies like MEN IN BLACK, 1997), a goofy-looking guy who reminded me of  a young Steve Buscemi. Steven tells them he doesn’t have a phone (of course), but he does have a computer and can email the police for them (WTF?). It doesn’t take ChromeSkull long to track them down and they get away, heading back to the funeral home (where Steven’s mother is, since she just died the day before).

The rest of the movie involves everyone trying to stay one step ahead of ChromeSkull, who kills other people who get in his way as he tries to get these guys, and most specifically, the Girl.

All the big names here (big for indie horror movies, I guess) don’t last very long. As previously mentioned, they include Richard Lynch (who just died last year and whose long career included everything from Larry Cohen’s GOD TOLD ME TO, 1976,  to the upcoming Rob Zombie movie THE LORDS OF SALEM); Lena Headley (who was Queen Gorgo in 300, 2006, Sarah Connor in THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES TV series, and is probably best known as Cersei Lannister in the HBO series GAME OF THRONES); and Johnathon Schaech (who we saw as the killer in the PROM NIGHT remake in 2008, and in movies like THE POKER CLUB , 2008, and “The Washingtonians” episode of the Showtime series MASTERS OF HORROR, 2007).

There’s not all that much to LAID TO REST. It’s just people trying to stay one step ahead of a maniac who wears a mask. It must have been successful, because it spawned a sequel (2011’s CHROMESKULL: LAID TO REST 2). But I didn’t find it to be particularly memorable, aside from that shiny mask of his (it does look pretty cool, but it  keeps slipping off, and he keeps gluing it back on, so it’s not very practical). We learn that he has tons of videotapes of his victims from cities and towns all over America, that he likes to use super-sharp hunting knives and that he kept lots of bodies in caskets in a house back behind the funeral home (it’s not really clear what his relationship with that mortician was, but they knew each other). We never get a good look at ChromeSkull’s real face, and it’s hard to see him as anything more than just another one-dimensional boogeyman.

As I said before, nobody seems to have a phone, every car seems on the verge of running out of gas, and nobody seems to have any brains, which means that LAID TO REST isn’t the most satisfying horror movie you will ever see. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have its moments. Director Hall is able to generate some suspense, and he keeps the pace brisk enough, but by the end, it’s hard to really care about what happens, since the characters make so many dumb decisions.

Overall, there’s not a lot about LAID TO REST to distinguish it from other movies of its ilk.

© Copyright 2013 by L.L. Soares

A cool foreign poster for LAID TO REST.

A cool foreign poster for LAID TO REST.

Leave A Comment »

Meals for Monsters (Christmas Edition): SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT (1972)

Posted in "So Bad They're Good" Movies, 2012, 70s Horror, B-Movies, Evil Santas, Family Secrets, Grindhouse Goodies, HOLIDAY CHEER, Jenny Orosel Columns, Low Budget Movies, Meals for Monsters, Psycho killer with tags , , , , , , , , on December 25, 2012 by knifefighter

MEALS FOR MONSTERS: SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT (1972)
Special Christmas Review and recipes by Jenny Orosel

SilentNightBloodyNight1974USposterThere are a ton of Christmas horror movies to liven up the season. For every disgustingly sweet animated special with singing toys and perky reindeer, there is a psychopath in a Santa suit screaming about “garbage day,” or a homicidal, wise-cracking snowman. But a truly scary horror film, those are harder to come by. Recently, though, I discovered SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT (1972), and it saved my sanity from the season’s twentieth bad cover of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”.

Something happened in the Butler mansion on Christmas Eve, 1935. Little is known, other than the mansion had been converted into an asylum in order to provide treatment for Wilfred Butler’s teenage daughter. Neither of them survived, and the asylum was shut down. Fast forward three decades and Butler’s grandson is trying to sell the old house. The city’s elite want it destroyed. And people connected to the house are dying at the hands of a masked killer. Who is it, why are they massacring the town one by one, and what does it have to do with that fateful Christmas Eve?

SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT could have easily been a horrible movie. Let’s face it, a psychotic killer and a mental hospital setting are hardly original. Yet somehow writer/director Theodore Gershuny manages to make it as realistic as it can be, consistently suspenseful, and rather unpredictable. The performances were pretty good as well, especially from genre favorites John Carradine and Mary Woronov. There wasn’t much of a budget, but BLOODY NIGHT didn’t need it. The scares came from the great pacing not fancy special effects, so I rarely noticed. It might be that I expected so little going into it but I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had with BLOODY NIGHT.  So much fun, in fact, that I made it the Christmas Meals for Monsters column.

The Christmas Eve of 1935 included a huge feast with champagne flowing freely. In honor of one of the stars, I’ve named the cocktail:

THE GINGER WORONOV:

drink1 part ginger ale
4 parts sparkling wine
1 splash bitters
serve cold

You can’t have a feast–especially a Christmas Eve feast–without a roast. The traditional beef rib roast or Chateaubriand can get pricey VERY fast, and would hardly fit the budget of BLOODY NIGHT. An eye of round is a relatively inexpensive beef roast, and can still be delicious if done right.

CHRISTMAS EVE ROAST BEEF:

dinner3-pound eye of round roast
1 bunch fresh sage
1 bunch fresh tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Soak the herbs in water while the oven heats. When the oven is ready, put the herbs in the roasting pan underneath the rack. Salt and pepper to taste. Put the roast in the hot oven for a half hour. Turn off the oven but DO NOT open the door. Leave the roast in the oven for an hour and a half. This will make it medium doneness. If you prefer your beef more cooked through, increase the initial cooking time. Serve sliced thin.

The Christmas Eve scene included a cameo by Candy Darling, one of my favorite “superstars” from Andy Warhol’s stable of actors. Her role was small and added very little to the overall plot, but she was memorable and a nice little addition to the flick. As a nod to her and her inclusion:

CHRISTMAS CANDY DARLING (aka Peppermint Bark)

dessert1 pound dark chocolate (NOT chips)
1 pound white chocolate (not chips, either)
6 candy canes

Smash the unwrapped candy canes until well pulverized. Line a 9×9 square cake pan with wax paper. In the microwave, heat the dark chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each, until completely melted (you will be tempted to heat it for longer increments. DON’T DO IT! Trust me.) Pour melted chocolate into the pan, spread evenly, and refrigerate until solid. Heat the white chocolate in the same manner. Pour over the cooled dark chocolate and, before setting in the fridge, sprinkle evenly with the candy cane pieces. Once the candy has hardened, break apart into wedges. Will stay good for weeks, as long as it isn’t stored on a radiator.

SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT is in the public domain and easy to get a hold of. Getting a hold of a decent copy, though, is much more difficult. The copy I watched was from Alpha Video and, while grainy, was not unwatchable. And there’s something fun about it, amid the Martha Stewart level of neatness and precision abounding during the holidays, to watch something with flaws and scratches. So relax, let your hair down, and blow off all that holiday season steam with some good, old-fashioned lunatics.

© Copyright 2012 by Jenny Orosel

noite-de-sombras-noite-de-sangue-theodore-gershuny-silent-night-bloody-night-1974

2 Comments »

The Ghost of Christmas Past Presents: BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)

Posted in 2010, 70s Horror, HOLIDAY CHEER, Horror DVDs, LL Soares Reviews, Psycho killer with tags , , , , , , on December 21, 2012 by knifefighter

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
Review by L.L. Soares


Who would have guessed that the guy who gave us PORKY’S back in 1982 would also be the guy to give us two Christmas classics. Yes, TWO. The first one that comes to mind for most people is the movie Bob Clark made in 1983, and which has gone on to become a Christmastime juggernaut – A CHRISTMAS STORY. The story of Little Ralphie and his BB gun seems to be playing in a constant loop in the latter part of December. It’s become as much of a holiday staple as IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. And I’ll admit, it’s a fun movie, as long as you don’t sit in front of the television for days on end watching it 150 times in a row.

But Clark also gave us 1974’s BLACK CHRISTMAS (also known as SILENT NIGHT, EVIL NIGHT), one of the first of the Christmas slasher films. And one of the best.

It may be the most famous of Clark’s early horror movies, probably because it was remade (badly) in 2006.

In BLACK CHRISTMAS, a deranged killer breaks into a sorority house, hides in the attic, and takes his time killing some of the girls who are left behind during the holiday (most of the girls have gone home to see their families). The killer has contacted them before this— by way of obscene phone calls that have plagued the house for a while. The killer says his name is “Billy” and his phone calls are pretty damn weird: he speaks in different voices and seems to be totally wacko.

One of the girls, Claire (Lynne Griffin) disappears, just before her father (James Edmond) comes to the college to pick her up, so he goes to the police, who are at first not very helpful, but grow more concerned as other murders pile up.

The other “girls” include Jessica (Olivia Hussey), the sensible lead; Barbie (a young Margot Kidder—most famous as later being Louis Lane in the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN movies—and I have to admit she’s pretty hot in this movie!), who likes to drink too much and tell dirty stories; Phyllis (known as “Phil” and played by Andrea Martin of SCTV, in a rare dramatic role) who is the nerdy one; and house mother Mrs. Mac (Marian Waldman), who’s always sneaking drinks and shouting for her cat. And the cop who investigates the case, Lt. Fuller,  is played by genre icon John Saxon.

The movie is unique for its camera work (the killer is never shown, and the camera is often from his point of view in his scenes) and weird sound effects (the killer’s phone calls are downright weird and unsettling). This is one case where the killer actually seems frightening and totally unhinged. The fact that not much is explained actually works to the story’s benefit, building suspense. The identity of the killer is also a source of much suspense. Is it Jessica’s boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea), who seems a bit unstable after a piano recital that fails to impress his professors, and who is angry that Jessica plans to abort their unplanned baby? Or is there going to be a twist as the story develops?

Bob Clark had a real talent for simple little horror flicks that were also very effective. It’s too bad he didn’t seem to be a big horror fan (he treated these early films more as a way to build his film resume). His biggest successes were  comedies like the PORKY’S movies and A CHRISTMAST STORY. Then, later in his career, he turned out, almost exclusively, family films like BABY GENIUSES (1999) and KARATE DOG (2004).

BLACK CHRISTMAS is a classic of its kind and a real pioneer, since it pre-dates another “mysterious killer” movie, John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN. Also, its famous “the phone calls are coming from inside the house” storyline was ripped off years later in 1979’s WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (which Bob Clark seems to feel both flattered and annoyed about in a Q&A session that’s one of the extras on the DVD).

The 70s horror films Clark made (especially this one,1974’s DEATHDREAM and CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS from 1973) are all worth checking out. They’re all entertaining and suitably creepy. Clark had a very unique vision for these kinds of things, and I wish he’d made more horror films.

I think DEATHDREAM is the best of the bunch, but BLACK CHRISTMAS probably has the biggest profile of his horror work. Watch it this Christmas with someone you love (and who scares easily!).

© Copyright 2010 by L.L. Soares

1 Comment »

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS (2012)

Posted in 2012, Crime Films, Gangsters!, Hit Men, Nick Cato Reviews, Psycho killer with tags , , , , , , on October 20, 2012 by knifefighter

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS (2012)
Movie Review by Nick Cato

Martin McDonagh, who directed Colin Farrell in 2008’s IN BRUGES, returns to the director’s chair to once again guide Farrell through another dark comedy that’s also more violent than most horror and action films; by the crowd’s reaction (at least where I attended a screening), they seemed to love it or hate it. Or in this case, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS apparently left some viewers undecided.

Farrell plays Marty, a struggling screenwriter. His best friend Billy (played by the wonderfully demented Sam Rockwell) attempts to help him write his current project (titled SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS) and keeps coming up with some really “out-there” ideas. But Farrell takes them, and before long his screenplay begins to take shape.

Unknown to Marty, Billy is involved with an unusual money making scheme with his senior citizen friend Hans (played by Christopher Walken in one of his funniest—and most heartfelt—performances in years). Hans and Billy kidnap dogs from wealthy-looking people and then wait for “missing dog” signs to appear, and then return the mutts for reward money. Hans is using his share to help pay medical bills for his cancer-stricken wife, Myra (and although she only appears for a short time, actress Linda Bright Clay does a fantastic job portraying Hans’s better half).

Things take a wicked and funny turn when Billy kidnaps a Shih Tzu that belongs to a gangster (Charlie, played with anarchic abandon by Woody Harrelson). Before long Charlie has his goons ripping L.A. apart looking for the pooch, and when they discover Hans’s operation, Charlie decides the best way to get to Hans (who he can’t find) is to get to his wife.

Fans of singer Tom Waits are in for a real treat; his performance as psychopath Zachariah shows he can act as well as pen a solid tune. And one of his scenes is arguably the funniest in the film.

SEVEN PSYCHOPATH’s plot is simple, but thanks to writer/director McDonagh, there’s plenty of depth to each character, and the story reveals levels not common to mainstream Hollywood comedies. What I liked best was how we see the struggle of a writer; Marty is at wit’s end and is just desperate enough to accept Billy’s crazy ideas to get his screenplay moving (an early scene featuring an unforgettable cameo by Harry Dean Stanton, as a psychopathic Quaker, had me in stitches). And as the film moves along, Billy’s psyche is unraveled one funny layer at a time, in the end turning him into something I think few people will have expected.

I’m sure the violence level will turn some people off: there’s graphic throat slashings, countless bullets-to-the-head, and in one dream sequence, a head explosion that rivals anything in David Cronenberg’s SCANNERS (1981). SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS does a good job going from laugh-out-loud funny to halting the viewer with a grim kill scene…and thanks to the aforementioned part by Linda Bright Clay, a few serious, tension-filled moments worthy of any blockbuster thriller.

Most of the second half takes place in the desert, as Marty, Billy, and Hans both hide and wait for Charlie to find them. During this sequence, Hans takes a tape recorder and explains his idea for Marty’s screenplay. What he says is shown at the end of the film, and it’s classic Walken all around. I’m a major Walken fan (I even sat through his 1995 turd-bucket SEARCH AND DESTROY), and am thrilled he has taken this role that will surely go down as one of his all-time best. Or at least all-time funniest.

If your sense of humor leans toward the dark side, check out SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS. It’s as grim as it is funny, and unlike the majority of junk coming out of Hollywood, features a textured story that will surely hold up well to repeat viewings.

4 out of 5 bloody Knives.

© Copyright 2012 by Nick Cato

Marty (Colin Farrell) attempts to understand suggestions for his screenplay given by Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Hans (Christopher Walken).

 

Nick Cat gives SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS  ~FOUR knives.

Leave A Comment »

The Distracted Critic: BEREAVEMENT (2010)

Posted in 2012, Indie Horror, Killers, Madness, Murder!, Paul McMahon Columns, Psycho killer, Psychos, Serial Killer flicks, The Distracted Critic with tags , , , , , , on October 10, 2012 by knifefighter

BEREAVEMENT (2010)
Review by Paul McMahon– The Distracted Critic

Rarely do I watch a movie in one sitting anymore. Too often my interest wanes and I find myself wandering away to do something else. In addition to doling out movie ratings, I’ll also tell you how many times a movie lost my interest during its running time. –The Distracted Critic

I’m finding that there are two halves to my psychology when it comes to rating movies. First, it’s pretty easy to tell what a film is intended to be. Based on that, it’s easy to tell whether it surpassed its goal, achieved it, fell short, or failed miserably. Second, no matter how hard I try to go in with an open mind, I always have an expectation of how a movie’s going to affect me, be it based on a trailer, on overheard comments, or on what I hope to experience based on my mood that day. Critique germinates in the gap between expectation and experience.

In the case of BEREAVEMENT (2010), I remembered being impressed with director Stevan Mena’s style and workmanship on his first feature, MALEVOLENCE (2004), and I expected to be wowed again. I was. To a point.

BEREAVEMENT is a prequel to MALEVOLENCE. It starts creepily enough, with six-year-old Martin Bristol playing on his backyard swing, when a rusty old truck pulls to a stop in front of him. His mother, meanwhile, is explaining to a potential aide that her son has CIP, a rare condition that prevents him from recognizing pain. When next she looks outside, the boy is gone.

We see a girl chained to the ceiling in a dark basement. She’s obviously been there a while. A figure lugs in a burlap sack, puts it down and opens the top. Inside, Martin blinks and looks around, seemingly unafraid. The dark figure cuts Martin deeply along one cheek to show him that knives don’t hurt, and then begins stabbing the dangling girl while she screams. Martin runs, and is caught.

Five years later.

A waitress from a local diner is abducted and chained up by her wrists in the same dark cellar as before. On the other side of a makeshift wall, another girl hangs, insisting that there’s no escape and they will be killed.

A man in a pick-up truck, Michael Beihn (ALIENS, 1986 and GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR, 2007) picks up a gorgeous girl in the middle of nowhere. We learn this is his niece, Allison (Alexandra Daddario, who plays Annabeth Chase in the PERCY JACKSON movie series, both THE LIGHTNING THIEF in 2010 and the upcoming SEA OF MONSTERS due in 2013), and she’s coming to live with his family.  She’s a long distance runner from Chicago, shunted to the middle of nowhere, and the school doesn’t have a girl’s track team. She goes for a run, passes a creepy abandoned building and sees the scarred Martin Bristol in a window. He bolts. A little further on, she’s almost run over by a truck. She’s helped up and cared for by William (Nolan Gerard Funk, HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET, 2012), a local boy her own age that you just know is going to be loathed by her uncle. We learn that Allison’s parents were killed when an SUV blew a stop sign.

“It’s funny how everything can change in an instant,” she tells William at one point, summing up the gist of the film. “A stranger can come along and in the blink of an eye just destroy everything.”

Meanwhile, Martin Bristol is still refusing to help his captor and even unties the girl from the diner at one point to watch her run about, looking for an escape.

Because this movie is a prequel, it’s pretty obvious where it’s heading. It’s a grim tale, brutal throughout. In other words, it’s not called BEREAVEMENT for nothing.

Like in MALEVOLENCE, Mena’s use of the camera, or more importantly his use of light and shadow to create atmosphere, is impressive. He balances the story elements well, interspersing scenes of violence with clashes of will between Allison and Uncle John. There’s a cameo appearance by the great John Savage (THE DEER HUNTER, 1978; HAIR, 1979 and according to IMDB he has worked on 17 projects for 2012 &13).

Martin Bristol’s kidnapper is revealed a little ways into the movie. A small man named Graham Sutter, sporting wild hair and crazy eyes who looks fragile as a baby bird; he’s played by Brett Rickaby (THE CRAZIES, 2010), with a lunatic intensity that frankly seems over-the-top.

Graham Sutter dares you to trespass on his property. He won’t beat you with that shovel. He’ll use it to bury your corpse.

BEREAVEMENT wants to fit on the top shelf of brutal killer movies. It’s got tones of BORDERLAND (2007), THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), WOLF CREEK (2005), and many other vicious “torture-porn” films. But as Graham Sutter’s one-sided dialogues with the skulls of steer increase in frequency and insanity, his effectiveness as a person to be feared fades away. There’s a fine line between “insane” and “loopy.” Leatherface wouldn’t have been as effective if he’d talked in a high falsetto, and Mick Taylor of WOLF CREEK wouldn’t have been as formidable had he held conversations with a sock puppet. Graham’s lunatic quirk detracts from the grief-stricken tone of the film, and for me personally it broke the spell of the movie. Once that happened, the questions started coming.

What does this guy eat? How do other people react when he walks into a store? Does he pay his electric bill by check? Drawn from what bank? How does he make money to live if the abattoir he owns has been closed so long? How does he care for a six year old with such a serious medical condition? How has Martin Bristol survived in that deathtrap for five years without a single injury or infection? With the frequency that Graham kidnaps girls in town, how is he never investigated, let alone besieged by townsfolk brandishing torches and pitchforks?

I’ll stop there. You get the idea.

Here’s where we turn off Insane Boulevard to make a detour onto Loopy Lane.

In all, it’s a well-made movie, very effective in places, and it held my attention until Graham went cukoo toward the end. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did MALEVOLENCE, which made me want to go back and reassess that one.

I think I will do just that. Stay tuned.

BEREAVEMENT: Two stars, with a single time out.

© Copyright 2012 by Paul McMahon

1 Comment »

Transmissions to Earth: HEADLESS EYES (1971)

Posted in "So Bad They're Good" Movies, 2012, 70s Horror, Bad Acting, Gore!, Killers, LL Soares Reviews, Low Budget Movies, Psycho killer, Trasmissions to Earth with tags , , , , , , on August 9, 2012 by knifefighter

TRANSMISSIONS TO EARTH
Column by L.L. Soares

Well, we’ve got another very strange horror movie from the early 1970s this time around, from the era when incredibly strange movies were pretty easy to find.

HEADLESS EYES (1971) begins with a robbery.  Arthur Malcolm (Bo Brundin) breaks into a woman’s apartment while she is sleeping and digs through her purse. When she wakes up, he tries to strangle her (“I just need $65 for my rent!”), but she’s able to grab onto a nearby spoon and jam the handle into one of his eyes. Arthur starts screaming over and over “My eye! My eye!” as he crawls across the floor, out the window, and down the fire escape. When he gets down to the sidewalk below, he cowers on the ground shouting, “My eye! My eye!” as a crowd gathers around him. His eyeball is hanging out of its socket.

Needless to say, right off the bat, this movie is hilariously bad.

We then see Arthur later on. He’s wearing an eye patch and is making weird pieces of art, that all seem to involve eyes. A mobile hanging from the ceiling features lots of hanging eyes. He freezes eyes in ice in his freezer. He imbeds more eyes in plastics and creates strange sculptures. Meanwhile, some maniac is going around killing women and scooping their eyes out with a spoon. Any idea who the killer could be?

When he’s not running around the streets of New York, convinced that someone is chasing him, he’s breaking into apartments and killing women for their precious eyes. There’s nothing subtle about this guy, and he doesn’t even try to be inconspicuous. When a woman is murdered on a rooftop in his neighborhood, Arthur is only able to get one of her eyes out before he almost gets caught. Later on, he’s part of a crowd while a TV journalist reports about the murder. Arthur even digs the lady up later at the cemetery, so he can get her other eye!

Whenever he kills anyone, he tells them “I’m so sorry, I’m sorry,” and tells their eyes that “soon you will be preserved forever!” He has some ugly art gallery that looks like a junk shop (he lives in the apartment above it). At one point, a former girlfriend comes by to see how he’s doing. She gives him a speech where she talks about his never trusting her because she was a rich girl who wanted to date a famous artist, and he tells her how the “accident” that took his eye, changed him. That it brought out another person who lived inside of him. He starts ranting, and she gets disgusted and leaves.

There is nothing normal about this guy. He might as well have a sign around his neck that says “I kill people and cut out their eyeballs to make bad art!” At one point he follows a blonde actress to an audition for some sleazy producer (the guy’s “office” is a small room in an apartment building).  When the man leaves, Arthur breaks in so that he can look through the headshots and find hers, with her address on the back. He writes it down, intent on paying her a “visit.” Of course, the producer’s ugly old secretary comes back to work around this time and catches him, ripping off his eye patch. He goes wild, strangling her with her own gaudy necklace (and of course takes her eyes!)

Crazed “artist” Arthur Malcolm taking a brief break from cutting out people’s eyes!

Despite the fact that the death toll continues to rise, and Arthur’s behavior continues to get worse, the cops have a hard time solving the case. The one cop who does track him down finds him almost by accident, and isn’t smart enough to finish the job.

A young art student named Gingy keeps stopping by his shop. She tells him he’s a brilliant artist (she must be high or something) and she wants to learn how to make sculptures in plastic like he does (something they don’t teach at art school). At first, he blows her off, but she’s persistent and he agrees to meet her at a lighthouse where she goes to get away from everyone and work on her art assignments. When he goes there, you think the girl might be in danger, but instead, they go for a walk and discuss art. For the first time, Arthur laughs and seems normal, and you think maybe he has a chance to show some kind of human emotions again. But not long after he leaves her, he goes back to his old, murderous ways.

HEADLESS EYES is a pretty insane, low-budget flick. I’m sure it played at grindhouse theaters in the 70s, even though the company that made the VHS tape, Wizard Video, claims it was “too shocking to show in theaters and was made to go directly to video.” There’s an awkwardness to it all that makes you wonder if it’s a bad Italian horror movie dubbed into English. There are names in the credits: Ramon Gordon, Kelley Swartz and Mary Jane Early, but you have no clue who played what character.

Star Bo Brundin actually went on to get roles in legitimate Hollywood movies like THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER (1975) starring Robert Redford and the 1979 disaster movie, METEOR, as well as lots of TV shows like the original BIONIC WOMAN series from the 70s, FALCON CREST, and THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO.

Director Kent Bateman made a couple more low-budget flicks before working for television, directing episodes of FAMILY TIES and VALERIE’S FAMILY in the 80s. A little more digging will reveal he was also the father of actor Jason Bateman!!

Despite the fact that his behavior continues to worsen, the cops are baffled by Arthur’s crimes.

The fact that the movie is so low-budget sometimes works in its favor; there are times when Arthur’s psychotic antics seem especially creepy. And the repetitive score is actually kind of eerie, when it doesn’t grate on your nerves.

HEADLESS EYES ends with a scene in the meat packing district, with Arthur stalking that poor blonde actress (who appears to be delivering a bag of heroin to someone – we can’t be sure, but at first maybe she thinks he’s a cop following her – but it turns out he’s something much more dangerous). The final scene takes place in a cold meat locker, with sides of beef hanging from hooks.

There’s not really very much about HEADLESS EYES to recommend it. It’s a bad movie with bad acting and a pretty much non-existent storyline. Yet, if you like this sort of dreck, you might find it strangely entertaining. I would say it’s of the “so bad it’s good” school of filmmaking, but I’d be lying. It’s just bad, and it never comes full circle to being even close to “good.” But, on some level, I think I enjoyed it.

If you can actually find this movie somehow, view it at your own risk.

-END-

© Copyright 2012 by L.L. Soares

NOTE: Despite the fact that the opening credits call the movie, THE HEADLESS EYES, every video box I’ve ever seen lists it as simply, HEADLESS EYES.

Once this movie starts, you’ll beg it to end!

2 Comments »

Cinema Knife Fight: COMING ATTRACTIONS FEBRUARY 2012

Posted in 2012, 3-D, Action Movies, Cinema Knife Fights, Comic Book Movies, Coming Attractions, Nicolas Cage Movies, Psycho killer, Sequels, Serial Killer flicks, Telekinesis, Thrillers with tags , , , , , on February 3, 2012 by knifefighter

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT: COMING ATTRACTIONS
FEBRUARY 2012
By Michael Arruda & L.L Soares

(The Scene: A toy store. A little girl screams when a Teddy Bear floats off the shelf and starts to chase her. MICHAEL ARRUDA & L.L. SOARES enter scene.)

MA: That’s a new low for you. Picking on little kids.

LS: Don’t look at me. I didn’t do that. Who do you think I am, Yoda? Besides, if I could do that sort of thing, I wouldn’t waste it on kids. I’d pick on adults. Like this.

(LS waves his arms and a stack of game boxes falls off a shelf and crashes on top of a man’s head. The man screams and his girlfriend rushes to his aid.)

MA (dressed as Darth Vader): Impressive. Very impressive.

LS: Thanks.

MA: So, how exactly did you do that, Yoda?

LS: Don’t call me Yoda. If I’m any character from STAR WARS it’d better be Darth Vader….or Chewy!

MA: You could be the Emperor.

LS: That shriveled up old dude? No way— what’s with all this STAR WARS talk anyway?

MA: Well, two reasons. The main reason is the first movie we’re reviewing this month, CHRONICLE, is about a group of young men with some super powers that look strangely familiar. They can move objects without touching them, and my thirteen year-old son commented that it looks like they’re using The Force.

LS (groans): Actually, it’s called telekinesis, and it’s been around in literature and movies a lot longer than The Force.

MA:  I’m not so sure about that.  After all, when talking about The Force, we’re talking about events that happened “a long time ago, in a galaxy, far, far away.”

LS:  Hey, I was actually looking forward to CHRONICLE. Why did you have to go and bring up STARS WARS for?

MA: Well, the other reason is THE PHANTOM MENACE is being re-released in 3D in February.

LS (grins): The one with Jar Jar! Hey – you didn’t say the full title. It’s really STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999). Don’t tell me we’re reviewing that one, too?

MA: Nope. We’ve seen THE PHANTOM MENACE. No reason to see it in 3D.

LS: Whew!

(Samuel Jackson strolls by wearing a Jedi robe.)

JACKSON: Take a seat, you two! And put on a pair of 3D glasses!

MA: Uh, not this time. Go seek out some fans who don’t care that they’re seeing the same movie YET AGAIN! It’d be nice if George Lucas would come up with something original.

(JACKSON ignites a light saber. LS waves his arms, and JACKSON disappears.)

LS: Take that! You foolish Jedi! (to MA) I never was all that impressed with Sam Jackson as a Jedi. He’s actually a lot scarier in PULP FICTION (1994).

MA: Neat trick. How did you—?

LS: A magician never reveals his secrets.

MA: Tell that to Penn and Teller. Anyway, getting back to the movies we’re reviewing….

CHRONICLE actually looks pretty cool. It has an interesting trailer, and it looks like it has potential. On the other hand, it also has the potential to be pretty stupid. We’ll have to see.

LS: This is another new movie to use the popular “fake documentary” style. It looks like someone is videotaping it while it happens. We just saw this applied to exorcism movies in THE DEVIL INSIDE, and it should be cool to see it used in a story about three guys with telekinetic powers. I’m looking forward to this one.

MA: On February 10, we’ll be reviewing SAFE HOUSE starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. I’m looking forward to this one. I always enjoy Washington, as he’s one of my favorite actors working today.

On the other hand, I’m not a big fan of Reynolds. I didn’t enjoy him all that much in GREEN LANTERN (2011).

LS: I’m with you. I like Washington, but I’m still on the fence about Reynolds. I’ve liked him in some things, but GREEN LANTERN wasn’t one of them.

MA: The story itself, about a CIA agent, played by Reynolds, taking on a fugitive, played by Washington, looks OK, but certainly doesn’t wow me. This one could go either way, but I do like Washington a lot, so I’m guessing I’ll like this one.

LS:  I’m willing to give it a chance, but I’m not really too psyched to see this one. Maybe it will surprise me.

On February 17, we’ll be reviewing GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE (2012), the sequel to GHOSE RIDER (2007), a movie that I had mixed feelings about. I still say that Nicholas Cage is a lot of fun as an action star, but I’m also a big fan of the comic book character, Ghost Rider is pretty cool, and the first movie had a lot of scenes that made me wince. That said, this one looks like it could be potentially better than the first one. I sure hope so. Even if it’s bad, I’m sure there will be some great Nick Cage moments to keep it from being totally awful.

MA: It’s hard for me to get excited about GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE. I’m not a big Nicholas Cage fan, and this is a sequel, and so my expectations aren’t high. Although it does have Idris Elba in it, and I usually enjoy his work.

LS: I like Idris Elba, too. As for Cage, his last two movies, SEASON OF THE WITCH and DRIVE ANGRY (both 2011), were both a lot of fun. So, we’ll see what happens. It could go either way.

MA: We finish the month with GONE (2012), a thriller starring Amanda Seyfried. I like Seyfried a lot, as every movie I’ve seen her in I’ve found her completely captivating to watch. So, I’m looking forward to GONE.

LS: I like Seyfried, too, but I’m not always happy with her movie choices. While I thought she was the best thing in JENNIFER’S BODY (2009) acting-wise, it wasn’t that great a movie.  But I did think she was great in CHLOE (also 2009). And you liked her a lot in RED RIDING HOOD (2011). But then I think that she was also in MAMA MIA (2008) and the DEAR JOHN (2010)…..Ugh.

I never know when a new movie starring Seyfried is going to be good or dismal.

MA: I didn’t see JENNIFER’S BODY, and although MAMA MIA was goofy, Seyfried was great.

The trailer for GONE makes it sound like a pretty ordinary tale. Seyfried plays someone who believes her sister was abducted, but the police think otherwise. The question will be, is Seyfried’s character telling the truth or is she crazy?

LS: I find it hard to care. The trailer for this one looks pretty bland.

MA: I’ll be interested to see how this one plays out. It’s written by Allison Burnett, one of the screewriters for UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING (2012), which is NOT a good sign. However, keeping an open mind, maybe her work here will be better.

LS: Yep, always gotta keep an open mind. I always want her to be in a good movie. This one looks like your standard woman-in-jeopardy thriller, like the Ashley Judd movie KISS THE GIRLS (1997). Similar kind of vibe. For some reason, I’m not really all that excited about it.

MA: Well, that’s it for this month’s Coming Attractions column. So, now that we’re finished, are you going to tell me how you moved those boxes?

LS: That’s easy. I did it like this. (Waves his arms again, and this time stacks of toys fall from the shelves and crash onto MA’s head) See?

MA (seeing stars circling his head): That’s not exactly what I meant—.

—END—

Leave A Comment »

CKF COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR DECEMBER 2011

Posted in 2011, Aliens, Coming Attractions, Mystery, Period Pieces, Psycho killer, Remakes, Sherlock Holmes, Spy Films, Vampire Movies with tags , , , , , , on December 2, 2011 by knifefighter

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT – COMING ATTRACTIONS
DECEMBER 2011
By Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

(The Scene: The Circus. MICHAEL ARRUDA & L.L. SOARES walk by cages of lions, tigers, gorillas, and other wild animals.)

MICHAEL ARRUDA: So here we are— attending your family reunion.

L.L. SOARES: Very funny. Nah. It’s feeding time, and I’ve signed on to feed the animals.

MA: Really? What are you feeding them?

LS (takes out salt and pepper shakers and shakes them over MA’s head): You.

MA: Ha ha. Good one!

LS: I’m dead serious.

MA: Well, lucky for me, we’re not at a normal circus. This here is a vampire circus! (Caged animals suddenly sprout fangs and start sipping blood from liquid dispensers mounted on the sides of their cages.)

LS: Who knew!

MA: And we’re here at this bloodsucker’s circus because the first weekend of December, there isn’t anything of note opening at the theaters, so we’ll be treating our readers to a DVD review, of the weird Hammer Films movie, VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972).

VAMPIRE CIRCUS is one of the stranger Hammer vampire movies, made at a time when it seemed Hammer was releasing multiple vampire movies each year. It’s also one of Hammer’s more erotic vampire films, if I remember correctly. I’ll be looking forward to taking another look at it.

There’s not a lot of star power involved with this one. No Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee on hand, but the director, Robert Young, is still actively making movies today.

LS: I remember seeing stills of this one as a kid in old issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine, and really wanting to see it. I eventually did, but it’s been awhile. And Synapse Films put out a very nice Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack a year or so ago. This will be a good one to revisit, for old time’s sakes.

MA: Yes, VAMPIRE CIRCUS is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray—as well as streaming video—so there are plenty of opportunities to catch this one.

LS: On December 9, we’ll be back at the theater, as we’ll be reviewing TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (2011). Ahh, a British espionage thriller, with the talented Gary Oldman as George Smiley. I’m not a big fan of spy movies, but this one sounds interesting.

MA: Yeah, this one looks like a neat Cold War spy thriller, and I’m really looking forward to it, even though I have to admit, I don’t like the title at all. Sounds like a bad nursery rhyme.

LS: You don’t like the title? It’s based on the classic novel by John le Carre!

MA: Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, stuck his thumb inside a pie.  Awful.

But I almost always enjoy Gary Oldman. Plus the stellar cast also includes John Hurt, Colin Firth (THE KING’S SPEECH, 2010), Toby Jones, and Mark Strong (KICK-ASS, 2010). With a cast like this, I’m expecting a lot.

It’s directed by Tomas Alfredson, who directed LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008), with a screenplay by Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor, based on the le Carre novel of the same name.

All in all, I have some high expectations for this one.

On the other hand, on December 16, I’ll be reviewing the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes sequel, SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011). While I really enjoyed SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009) and bought into the Downey Jr. interpretation of an action- oriented Holmes, I can’t say that I have high hopes for the sequel.

LS: Me neither, which is why I’m not reviewing this one. You’re on your own buddy!

MA: Gee, thanks.

LS: Actually, I didn’t see the first one so I’m not all that interested in this one. Although it was cool to see in the trailer that Noomi Rapace will have a major role in it. Noomi played Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish film version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2009).

MA: Again, I liked the first one. I thought Robert Downey Jr. made for a fun Sherlock Holmes, as he brought along his Tony Stark/Iron Man pizzazz to the role, and he shared good camaraderie with Jude Law’s Dr. Watson. The two actors generated some neat chemistry together.

But SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS is a sequel, and most sequels just don’t compare to the original. I’ve seen the trailer for this about a million times and feel I’ve seen the entire movie already, so that hasn’t helped, and since it’s a sequel, it probably means there will be more action, more subplots, and fewer things that make sense. While I’m not dreading this one, I don’t expect it to be all that good.

Guy Ritchie’s directing it, and he directed the first one, and it’s written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney, two newcomers who did not write the first one.

LS: On December 21, we’ll be reviewing THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011). What a funny coincidence, since the star of the original film is in the new Sherlock Holmes movie. I have seen all three of the Swedish films based on the books by Stieg Larsson, and enjoyed them a lot, but I guess an American version of the series was inevitable. Since David Fincher is directing this one, I am very curious to see how it turns out. Fincher has given us everything from SEVEN (1995), to FIGHT CLUB (1999), to THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010). My first reaction is to say that since the Swedish films are so good, there’s no need for an American remake, but if anyone can bring something new and interesting to this movie, it’s Fincher.

MA: I’m looking forward to this one. I’ve enjoyed all the trailers I’ve seen for it, as it looks like it’s going to be a very stylish mystery thriller. I haven’t seen the Swedish version, so this one will be fresh for me.

Steven Zaillian wrote the screenplay, and he has a bunch of screenwriting credits, including the Steven Spielberg classic SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993). It also has a great cast, led by Daniel Craig, and also features Stellan Skaarsgard and Christopher Plummer.

LS: And don’t forget Rooney Mara, who will be taking over the role of Lisbeth Salander!

And just in time for Christmas, I’ll be reviewing the new horror sci-fi movie THE DARKEST HOUR (2011). This is the closest thing to a horror movie that’s coming out in December, so I’m looking forward to it. Invisible aliens attack the Earth for our energy and are able to smash humans to atoms if they get too close. How do you fight such an adversary? I guess we’ll find out.

MA: Since this one is opening at Christmas, I won’t be available to see it, and I can’t say that I’m feeling too bad about it. It looks like yet another alien invasion story. Frankly, I’m tired of this plot, as there have been a lot of these tales on the big screen the past couple of years.

So, that wraps up December. Also, as the year winds down, look for our annual BEST OF and WORST OF columns on our picks for the best and worst movies of 2011.

LS: Have a good weekend everyone, and we’ll see you soon with our review of VAMPIRE CIRCUS. Speaking of which (turns to MA). What blood type are you?

MA: Why?

LS: Just wondering. Just in case someone I know is a picky eater.

(Behind MA a giant gorilla with massive fangs sticking out of its mouth looms in the shadows).

—END—

© Copyright 2011 by Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

Leave A Comment »

Transmissions to Earth: WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK (1993)

Posted in 2011, 90s horror, LL Soares Reviews, Psycho killer, Sequels, Slasher Movies, Trasmissions to Earth with tags , , , , , , on September 9, 2011 by knifefighter

TRANSMISSIONS TO EARTH:
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK (1993)
By L.L. Soares

I was so intrigued by the original WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (1979) in my last TRANSMISSIONS column—it was so much better than I remembered—that I had to seek out Fred Walton’s sequel, 1993’s WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK. Once again, the movie is quirky as hell, and full of surprises. Just when you think you’ve got this one figured out, it finds a way to sidestep the obvious.

Just like the first movie, this one begins with a babysitter arriving at the house of a successful couple who are about to go out for a fancy dinner. This time, the girl is Julia Jenz (Jill Schoelen) and when the phone rings, as we know it will, nobody answers when she picks it up. Soon afterwards, there’s a knock at the front door (the buzzer is broken, as the parents informed Julia upon her arrival), and a guy telling her his car broke down and he needs help. She refuses to let him in, and tells him to give her his auto club information and she’ll make the call herself. He agrees, and gives her his information.

At this point, things get a little odd. Julia picks up the phone to make the phone call, and finds out that the line is dead. But instead of telling the guy outside this, she tells him she made the call, and the club said they would send a tow truck within the hour. I can only guess that she has caught on fairly quickly and thinks the guy outside has something to do with the phone being dead, and she doesn’t want to let on. The guy goes away.

Julia checks on the children, by the way, and they are fine. Asleep in their beds.

But Julia has to wait for the parents to get back, and it’s a long night of waiting. She can’t even call her brother to come pick her up (this is before cell phones were commonplace—if you can remember that far back).

Later on in the night, the guy comes back, and knocks on the door again. He tells her that the tow truck never showed up and he asks her to call his wife and let her know where he is. Julia agrees to make the call, checks and sees that the phone is still dead, and then tells him he’s all set.

But he knows she’s lying.

The scenes with Julia and “the stranger” talking to each other through the front door are tense. You immediately find this guy annoying and wish he would just go away: exactly what Julia must feel. But he won’t stop bothering her.

She checks on the children again. This time they’re gone. And when she talks to the guy outside the door, another man suddenly appears from the living room, with his arms out to grab her.

It’s about this time that the parents show up, just as Julia is unlocking the door to get out of the house. No one finds the intruder, and, as far as we know, the children are never heard from again.

****

Then we jump forward five years later to Julia as a college student. She clearly has not recovered from the trauma of that night years earlier. She keeps to herself, lives in a very bare apartment off-campus, and seems neurotic as hell. The poor girl doesn’t even have a boyfriend, or any friends at all.

When she finds a child’s sweater hanging in her closet that wasn’t there before, she goes to the police. She tells them that things have been moved around in her apartment before, and she’s sure someone has been getting in and doing it. The police don’t believe a word and think she’s just some nut, but they call in the campus therapist, Jill Johnson, who you may remember is Carol Kane’s character from the first movie, the babysitter who was terrorized last time. But now she’s an adult, and running a battered women’s hotline. Jill also has never recovered from her horrifying night as a babysitter so many years ago (Who knew babysitting was such a hazardous profession?). She instantly believes Julia, and wants to help her. She even calls in her good friend John Clifford (Charles Durning – also from the original movie), a private detective, to help her solve the mystery.

As the movie goes on, it seems like no one is going to really solve anything and no one really believes Julia, except Jill. But then the man who is breaking into Julia’s apartment starts to become violent, and it’s obvious to everyone that he does exist after all. John Clifford enters a weird underground world of strip clubs and avant garde ventriloquists for answers. The ending, when the killer appears when you least expect him (watch for the eyes peaking out from the bricks!)— like the original— is very effective, very strange, and oddly satisfying.

Poor Julia. Her life will never be the same after a scary night of babysitting WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK!

Like Walton’s first STRANGER film, this one is pretty offbeat. It’s not structured like a typical slasher movie, and there’s much more character development than you usually see in these kinds of movies. The killer this time is just as strange as the first one, although a totally different person, and Kane and Durning are effective as a team trying to get to the bottom of it all. You almost wish that they’d appeared in more sequels together.

WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK won’t appeal to everyone, since the emphasis is on character much more than action. But if you like thoughtful, intriguing little films, there’s a lot to like about this one, and its predecessor as well. Unlike most sequels, this one is actually pretty good, and makes a good companion to the first film, if you’re looking for a creepy double-feature.

© Copyright 2011 by L.L. Soares


1 Comment »

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 80 other followers