Cinema Du Meep

1982 on Film

2012-01-19T17:38:00.008-05:00

Cinema Du Meep has just turned 3! To celebrate, why not look back at another 3... 30 Years ago to be exact.

My 10 Favorite Movies of 1982:

1982. I was 7. And like most 7 year olds, I was obsessed with one Movie. You can probably guess what that is pretty easily. And guess what, 30 odd years later it's still pretty great, if a touch too sentimental. But hey, it will still melt your heart and the Reese's Pieces in your pocket....

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Original Theatrical Release Date: June 11th 1982

If it's 1982, It can only be E.T... Some Movies stay with you forever. Those experiences of seeing it at the Cinema (I think around 3 or 4 times) still burn bright in my mind. Oddly, of all the E.T. merchandising that came along with the Film, my favorite was a puzzle of the bicycle flying scene. I remember being really upset that someone had glued it together after I had completed the puzzle. I would never be able to take it apart ad complete it again. And Elmer's Glue just makes a big old mess.

E.T. takes you through a wave of emotions. It's great Filmmaking, it's heartfelt and it will be around longer than any of us.

Tootsie

Original Theatrical Release Date: December 17th 1982

Somethings telling me it might be you
Yeah, it's telling me it must be you
And I'm feeling it'll just be you
All of my life...

So goes some of the infectious lyrics that crawl into your brain and never leave for the theme song to Tootsie. A Movie that I adore to no end. Studio Films still had a spring left in their step in 1982, and although this Picture lost out to the rather dry Gandhi Bio-Pic for most of the awards (Comedy rarely ever fares well) Tootsie will always remain one of the very best of the year and of the decade for that matter.

The Last American Virgin

Original Theatrical Release Date: July 30th 1982

When you're a teenager, especially when you're a bit shy, the worst possible thing to do is to be friends with a Class-A jerk who's also a stud with the ladies. Our poor hero doesn't really learn this until late in the Film. And by the time he does, he's devastated and he'll never be the same again. The Last American Virgin is a Teen Sex Comedy very much like Porky's from the same year, but it also has an unexpected soul and dramatic weight that catches you off guard from time to time in between all the scenes of the boys trying to score with the ladies. Plus the Soundtrack is absolute tops. I sometimes credit this Picture, along with Just One Of The Guys, as the Movies that kind of changed my life. When I found myself watching these Movies over and over, I knew I was hooked and I myself would never be the same. Thankfully that didn't mean crying off into the night while driving while Quincy Jones' Just Once played over me. Well, at least not all the time...

Grease 2

Original Theatrical Release Date: June 11th 1982

If you can't fathom why I like Grease 2 so much, well, you're probably never going to know me. The real me. In my charade.... Actually, that's not my favorite song in the Film. It's probably a toss up between Cool Rider and Who's That Guy. The latter getting the edge because it invokes my name. What would they say it they knew it was Michael? But hey, I love all the songs. And I do like the first Film. It's just that Grease 2 belongs in a totally different universe for me. A world where nothing is ever that wrong. A world where I order a hamburger and ask for double Ketchup. A world that's not weird-weird, but like exciting weird. Ya know?

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Original Theatrical Release Date: August 13th 1982

I wasn't in love with Fast Times as much growing up as I am now. It's kind of crazy to think that, but it's true. Amy Heckerling's honest look into the lives of (mostly horny) High School teens mixed with zany antics is the perfect blend. I want to go to the Mall, have a lemonade, maybe a pretzel, make eyes with Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh and then catch a Movie RIGHT NOW. Aloha.

Zapped!

Original Theatrical Release Date: July 23td 1982

Speaking of horny teenagers, Scott Baio and Willie Aames work their pre-Charles In Charge magic and bring the Teen Comedy (by way of Carrie) gold. Zapped! is probably the best Motion Picture ever made. If you don't believe this, I just may have to shoot Salamis at you from a cannon. If you find yourself enjoying that too much, well, I'm sure we can make other arrangements (Maybe a yet-to-be exorcised ventriloquist dummy) For now, just watch Zapped all over again and fall in love it's mind bending, brassiere exploding power.

The Verdict

Original Theatrical Release Date: December 8th 1982

Sidney Lumet was a masterful Director. He was always able to coax great performances from his actors, and he had a knack for grounding his Movies in a reality that you not only can identify with, but also place yourself in. The Verdict is probably my favorite Film about a lawyer (sorry, To Kill A Mockingbird--You already have your throngs of fans, anyway) I think mostly it's because the Picture made me really care about this guy. A Lawyer. That's an incredible feat. The Verdict is the very definition of compelling.

My Favorite Year

Original Theatrical Release Date: October 1st 1982

It seems like most period Films are almost always so dramatic, so a comedy about the early days of Television was a refreshing change. And then you watch My Favorite Year and it turns out to be a HYSTERICAL comedy about the early days of Television with a truly wonderful performance by Peter O'Toole, my 2nd Favorite drunk of the 80's after Dudley Moore's Arthur. The script is superb. It's a Screwball Comedy very much in the vein of the all the greats from the 30's but set in the 50's and filmed in the 80's. It's a high wire act that never once teeters.

Eating Raoul

Original Theatrical Release Date: March 24th 1982

Cult icons Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov are cult icons for a reason. Just take a look at this insane Comedy and you'll be hooked. Eating Raoul was unlike any other Film of the time. And thank god for that. Anyone hungry? I know of a good little restaurant we can check out after watching the Movie...

Jekyll & Hyde...Together Again

Original Theatrical Release Date: December 3rd 1982

The Airplane! of coke snorting Mad Scientist Movies. I'm obsessed with this bizarre Movie. To think that it was released by Paramount, such a highly regarded Film Studio is just insane in itself. Jekyll & Hyde...Together Again makes me laugh and laugh. Mark Blankfield is genius in the titular roles. He should have had a bigger career. Co-stars Krista Errickson (Little Darlings, The First Time) as a ho, for sho. She's always played the bitchy girl so well. 1982 was truly a great year for Comedies.

More Movies I loved:

An Officer And A Gentlemen
Querelle
Vice Squad
48 Hrs.
The World According To Garp
Tempest
Fitzcarraldo
Making Love
Death Trap
Still Of The Night
Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Personal Best
Veronika Voss
Fighting Back
Porky's
Night Shift
Victor/Victoria
and Partners

Since there were so many good Horror Films in the early 80's (ah, still the golden era for the Slasher) I decided to give them their own top 10.

My 10 Favorite Horror Films of 1982:

The Thing

Original Theatrical Release Date: June 25th 1982

John Carpenter's The Thing. Not just A terrifying remake. A terrifying Film, period. The effects, the atmosphere, the music, the actors. Everything works and it works so well. The Thing didn't go over too well in 1982. Audiences were much more in the mood for a gentle Alien Film with E.T., released that very month. It's since become the Classic (and I can use that word as this Film is now 30 years old) that it so rightfully deserves to be.

Basket Case
Original Theatrical Release Date: April 2nd 1982

By 1982, The Grindhouse Film was on it's last legs. With Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, you get Grindhouse Movie perfection. I actually saw this in a Times Square theater back in the day, and it terrified the hell out of me. Now it's much more hysterical than scary, and I still love it so. It's the kind of Movie that captures a real sense of atmosphere and time period. We all have a little Belial attached to us somewhere. Hopefully not to our crotch...

Visiting Hours

Original Theatrical Release Date: May 28th 1982

Visiting Hours scared the hell out of me. And it still does. There's no Movie Psycho quite like Michael Ironside in this Film. Tons of suspense and an attitude to match. Don't ever cross a creep who wears mesh shirts and occasionally likes to wear women's makeup and jewelry when he has the urge to Slash. TV Journalists, Nurses and sluts with crimped hair, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Poltergeist

Original Theatrical Release Date: June 4th 1982

You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn't you? You son of a bitch... you left the bodies and you only moved the headstones! You only moved the headstones!!!

I always thought this was much more a Steven Spielberg Film than a Tobe Hooper one. Just watching the Film, you can tell who truly Directed the thing. But hey, whatever the case, Poltergeist was really effective back in it's day. I know a lot of people don't seem to think it holds up, but I'm not one of them. Every time I watch this Movie, I'm always struck by how authentic it's characters feel and how well the situation plays out. It may not be a non-stop creep-fest like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but it has it's moments, and those moments are really eye-opening. And you'll never look at a clown doll the same way ever again.

Class of 1984

Original Theatrical Release Date: August 20th 1982

When does a dream become a nightmare?
When do we do what must be done?
When do we stand and face the future?
When there is nowhere left to run?

The High School Movie meets The Horror Movie. Class of 1984 is really an Urban nightmare. A story of a teacher up against the odds, trying to hang on to the few students who do want to learn while dealing with the many who just want to cause trouble. It's a Movie that kind of shook me to my core back in the day. I understood that sometimes younger people can be bad, but I didn't know to what extent. And boy, they can also be damn fine Pianists! Class of 1984 is also a kick-ass revenge Movie. Wood Shop would never be the same for me once I reached High School.

Alone in the Dark

Original Theatrical Release Date: November 12th 1982

Director Jack Sholder's (A Nightmare On Elm Street 2, The Hidden) first Feature Film. A Slasher Movie with more attitude than anything else of the time. It's also criminally underrated. Let's see, mental patients Jack Palance, Martin Landau, a child molester and a guy known as "The Bleeder" under the influence of a wacky and possibly nuts himself psychotherapist played by Donald Pleasence, out to kill Dwight Schultz of the A-Team and his Family. Awesome.

Creepshow

Original Theatrical Release Date: November 12th 1982

George Romero + Stephen King. You can't go wrong! Some of the stories might be better than others (My favorite being the E.G. Marshall creepy-ass bug segment, and my least favorite the Stephen King starring Moss-Man bit) but it's all good stuff. I love Romero's visuals and his loving nod to the EC Comics of past. The cast is really superb. Top drawer Anthology Horror Filmmaking. I also enjoyed the Sequel from 1987.

Humongous

Original Theatrical Release Date: June 11th 1982

I've covered this little gem a couple of times before, so I'll leave it at that. You can read more about it here and more about the recent DVD can be found here.

And a 3quel Double Feature:

Friday the 13th Part 3

Original Theatrical Release Date: August 13th 1982

Jason is just off from his potato sack-head high from the great Part 2 and finds himself a new, iconic look for Part 3. In glorious 3D. I'm going to say it right now, Friday The 13th Part 3 is still my favorite theatrical 3D experience to date. The format has gotten all spiffy, but nothing will ever top my experience with this one. All in 3D: Eyeballs go-a-gouging. Juggling. Bats. Yo-Yos. Various weaponry. Windshields getting broken. Potheads. Popcorn and on and on. Friday 3 is the epitome of silly, Slasher Movie goodness. With a disco theme song! Grab your friends, prankster, pregnant or otherwise, get into a customized van and head to your families' cabin on the lake and let the fun begin!

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch

Original Theatrical Release Date: October 22nd 1982

The Night Michael didn't come home but some kids with gnarly masks sure did. The fun begins!

Actually, I remember a lot of people really disappointed with this Film back in the 80's. I guess that's why it wasn't really a financial high point for the series. But hey, who cares about them? Tom Atkins and his investigation into the evil doings at a Halloween Mask and Novelty company are plenty fine to me. I'd also credit Halloween III with having the single most impressionable scene in Horror Movies of the time. Ugh, Bugs. I hate them. I'll never be the same. It's time, Kids....

I also have love for:

The Slumber Party Massacre
Cat People
Q The Winged Serpent
The Killing Hour
Amityville II: The Possession
Girls Nite Out
Death Valley
Madman
The Slayer
The Sender
The Dorm That Dripped Blood
Evilspeak
New York Ripper
and Silent Rage

1982 At The Box Office:

1. E.T. (359 million)
2. Tootsie (177 mill)
3. An Officer And A Gentlemen (129 mill)
4. Rocky III (124 mill)
5. Porky's (105 mill)
6. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn (78 mill)
7. 48 Hrs. (78 mill)
8. Poltergeist (76 mill)
9. The Best Whorehouse In Texas (69 mill)
10. Annie (57 mill)

1982 At The Oscars:

Best Picture: Gandhi (My personal choice of the nominees: E.T.)
Best Director: Richard Attenborough, Gandhi (Sidney Lumet, The Verdict)
Best Actor: Ben Kingsley, Gandhi (Peter O'Toole, My Favorite Year)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice (Meryl Streep)
Best Sup. Actor: Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer And A Gentlmen (John Lithgow, The World According To Garp)
Best Sup. Actress: Jessica Lange, Tootsie (Glenn Close, The World According To Garp)
Best Orig. Screenplay: Gandhi (Tootsie)
Best Adapt. Screenplay: Missing (The Verdict)
Best Cinematography: Gandhi (E.T.)
Best Original Score: E.T. (E.T. or Poltergeist)

Cinema Du Meep's 12 Favorite Older Films First Seen In 2011

2012-01-16T09:55:00.002-05:00

Although I try to get around to watching things I haven't seen before as much as possible, it gets a little harder these days in a world without the Video Store as we once knew it. Oh how I miss those days when the thrill of the hunt meant getting up off of the couch and actually going outside and down to the local Video Shops to find some Films that you have always meant to see, or the ones that you just had to take a chance on.

These days, I'm sometimes able to find things through online means like Netflix and Youtube (The great little Thriller Windows that is on my list just happens to be available on YouTube in it's entirety. You can find it here). Occasionally I'll buy an old VHS (or a DVD if the Film was lucky enough to get one) off of eBay or Amazon. Even if the Movie doesn't turn out to be a Classic, it's more than likely worth the few bucks to buy. And besides, considering how many people worked on the Film, don't these Movies, whether they be good or bad, deserve to be checked out before they are forgotten entirely?

For the second year in a row (2010's list is right here) I was asked by my friend Brian over at the great blog Rupert Pupkin Speaks to be part of his monthly blogathon and contribute my list of First Seen Films From Last Year. Some of the Movies ended up being a bit obscure, while others were much more of high profile. I'm really proud to be in such great company with these bloggers, and I urge you all to not only check out my list, but to check out some others as well.

You can find my new list here: My 12 Favorite Older Films First Seen In 2011.

You're outta here, Julian. Bruce brings on the Payne in the surprisingly decent Warlock 3

2011 in Review

2012-01-12T20:42:00.006-05:00

Everything I've seen that's first run in 2011 (2010 can be found right here)
I will be editing this list as I catch the ones that I've missed and actually want to see!

A
Drive ****
Insidious ****

A-
Midnight In Paris ***1/2
Dirty Girl ***1/2
Beginners ***1/2
Bridesmaids ***1/2
Shame ***1/2
50/50 ***1/2
Win Win ***1/2
Young Adult ***1/2
Moneyball ***1/2
Our Idiot Brother ***1/2
True Adolescents ***1/2
The Sitter ***1/2
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory ***1/2

B+
Friends With Kids ***
Good Neighbors ***
Jane Eyre ***
Amigo ***
3 Backyards ***
Kaboom ***
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol ***
Final Destination 5 ***
The Innkeepers ***
Super 8 ***
Attack The Block ***
Super ***
Scream 4 ***
Margin Call ***
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo ***
The Myth Of The American Sleepover ***
Trust ***
J. Edgar ***
Fast Five ***
Arthur ***
Cedar Rapids ***
Straw Dogs ***
X-Men: First Class ***

B
Friends With Benefits ***
The Change-Up ***
The Help ***
Horrible Bosses ***
Carnage ***
The Descendants ***
The Future ***
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes ***
The Iron Lady ***
Stake Land ***
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil ***
Just Peck ***
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas ***
The Trip ***
The Woman ***
Cracks ***
F. ***
What's Your Number? ***
The Rum Diary ***

B-
Fright Night ***
Paul ***
Bad Teacher ***
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy ***
One Day ***
Footloose ***
Shark Night 3D ***
Killer Elite ***
Creature ***
Husk ***
The Muppets ***
The Resident ***
Ceremony ***
Your Highness ***
The Ides Of March ***
Like Crazy ***

C+
Limitless **1/2
The Ward **1/2
Contagion **1/2
Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark **1/2
HappyThankYouMorePlease **1/2
Take Me Home Tonight **1/2
The Roommate **1/2
Burke And Hare **1/2
A Little Help **1/2
30 Minutes Or Less **1/2
Everything Must Go **1/2
Hall Pass **1/2
Henry's Crime **1/2
The Perfect Host **1/2
Crazy Stupid Love **1/2
Every Day **1/2
Just Go With It **1/2

C
A Dangerous Method **
We Need To Talk About Kevin **
The Thing **
The Hangover Part II **
The Dilemma **
Unknown **
Martha Marcy May Marlene **
Dolphin Tale **
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 **
I Don't Know How She Does It **
The Beaver **
The Rite **
Jack And Jill **

C-
The Big Year **
Black Death **
Death Race 2 **
Monogamy **
Red State **

D+
Larry Crowne
Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night **
Priest **
Mother's Day **
Cars 2 **

D
Hostel Part III **
Season Of The Witch **
Drive Angry **
Red Riding Hood **

D-
Hobo With A Shotgun *1/2
Rubber *1/2

F
Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon *

Key

**** excellent

***1/2 very good

*** recommended

**1/2 not bad

** not so hot

*1/2 skip it, buddy

* don't even think about it, mister

Still need to see

Margaret

Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel

The Skin I Live In

Higher Ground

The Tree Of Life

Weekend

The Artist

Terri

and a few others.

Battle Of The HOT Network Stars: Charlene Tilton Vs. Pamela Sue Martin Vs. Lisa Hartman

2012-01-10T18:09:00.001-05:00

Round 9 finds itself in a three-way battle of the 80's Night Time Soap Starlets!
(previous rounds found right here)

Charlene Tilton of Dallas

Pamela Sue Martin of Dynasty

Lisa Hartman of Knots Landing

Which suds star would you rather lather up with?

Corey Feldman of the 80's

2012-01-05T19:27:00.012-05:00

Corey Feldman. His very name should bring you back to the 80's. He had quite the run back then, starring in a string of memorable hits. Here's a look back...

Right before the 80's, Corey had made his debut doing a series of Commercials for McDonalds.

He also found himself surrounded by some creepy Hawaiian Punch action....

He made his Television acting debut with episodes of Eight Is Enough (1978), Alice (1978) and Willa (1979) before his feature Film Debut in the great, Time After Time (1979).

He landed as a series regular on The Bad News Bears TV Show (1979-80) which only lasted 2 Seasons, and then got work on the Television Movies Love, Natalie and Father Figure (both 1980).

From there he voiced a role in the Animated Disney Film The Fox and the Hound (1981) and co-starred with Gary Coleman in the TV-Movie The Kid With the Broken Halo (1982) TV-Movie. In 1982, he also became a Series Regular on that show that not only starred mega-babe Judy Landers, but also a creepy puppet: Madame's Place. Sadly (happily?) it only lasted 1 season.

From there on out Corey was the 80's.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) Corey Vs. Jason...

Gremlins (1984) Corey meets cute with a Mogwai...

A brief return to Jason country in Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning (1985)...

The Goonies (1985) finds Corey as the irrepressible but lovable Mouth...

Corey dons a new look and gets to display some acting chops in Stand by Me (1986)...

The Lost Boys (1987) finds Corey as a Vampire Hunter...

Corey loves to break all the rules in License to Drive (1988)...

The 'Burbs (1989) finds Corey neighbors with Tom Hanks and possibly some mass murderers...

Corey gets to do the old body switch routine in Dream a Little Dream (1989)...

Corey Feldman also had guest starring roles throughout the 80's on the Television shows: Mork & Mindy (1980), I'm A Big Girl Now (1981), Foul Play (1981), The Love Boat (1979/1982), Father Murphy (1982), Gloria (1982), The New Leave It To Beaver (1983), Cheers (1983), One Day At A Time (1984), Heart Of The City (1986), Trying Time (1989) and who could forget the 15 And Getting Straight, The CBS SchoolBreak Special from 1989 which also co-starred Tatum O'Neal and Corey's girlfriend of the time, Drew Barrymore.

The Innkeepers (2011)

2012-01-03T01:02:00.008-05:00

Ti West's The House of the Devil was a Retro Horror Movie surprise. His latest, The Innkeepers, continues some of that retro feel while incorporating it's own point of view and sense of humor. I enjoyed the Film's attention to details (the opening credit sequence especially) and West's admirable attempt at delivering a Supernatural Horror Film that delivers some chills while being grounded in it's world of twenty-something slackerdom.

The Innkeepers does fumble with it's tone. It's sometimes overly meandering, other times manic. House Of The Devil was a bit more consistent until it's batshit crazy finale. The quirky humor here was welcome from time to time, mostly due to it's leading lady, Sara Paxton. She's great and extremely likable, and ends up totally blowing her co-star (Pat Healy) off the screen anytime she's partnered with him (which is most of the time). The Film is also boosted with the presence of 80's star Kelly McGillis, grounding the film just when the potential silliness of the Supernatural starts to kick in. She may not be able to take Tom Cruise's breath away anymore, but the bitch will cut you with an arched eyebrow.

Haunted House/Hotel/Whatever stories of this kind will always have you talking back to the screen with sentences that go something like this: GET OUT OF THE HOTEL!... DON'T GO IN THERE!... DON'T YOU DARE GO IN THE BASEMENT!... LEAVE ALREADY!... But it's characters never listen. Ti West understands his audiences expectations and instead of completely defying them, he nimbly plays along with the game. You can never leave a Haunted House. Once you do, the Movie is OVER. West's camera is also pretty assured here. Lots of creepy zooms and tracking shots, building tension and suspense in both expected and unexpected places. It's so welcome to see a Filmmaker in the Horror Genre who not only actually cares about such things, but is actually good at generating them (recalling John Carpenter's workmanlike 70's Films) and also isn't completely opposed to the idea of a cheap shock or two. Horror Films are supposed to be fun, right?

While The Innkeepers will inevitably be considered a letdown after the entirely excellent The House Of The Devil, I couldn't help but feel it's still miles above most other Films I've seen in the genre in the last 2 or 3 years since that Film (though Last year's Insidious is still TOPS in my book, Supernatural Horror wise) INN is especially effective if you enjoy Horror Films that rely more on their setting and characters instead of whatever else is considered fashionable these days in the genre but is ultimately empty and pointless. This is a Picture that will probably grow on you more in multiple viewings, and I look forward to watching it again in the future. This might sound weird, but watching that poor girl struggle so much to put a bag of garbage in a big, clunky dumpster was quite fun to watch.

Alternative Posters:

The Innkeepers was made available to watch On Demand starting on December 30th, and will also be in theaters for a limited engagement on February 3rd.

Ultimate 80's Adventure Movies

2011-12-19T19:49:00.001-05:00

Join The Adventure, The Romance, The Danger, The Treasure, The Thrills, The Spills and The Non-Stop Fun of the 1980's Adventure Film.

Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ripoff...

3D Adventure...

Adventures In Space...

Time Traveling Adventures...

Sky Adventures...

Pirate Adventures...

Adventures in Swords, Sorcery And Lots Of Muscles...

Animal Adventures...

Kids Adventures...

Adventures In Nature...

Fantasy Adventures....

Women Of Adventure...

Men Of Adventure...

Adventures In Treasure Hunting...

Out Of Control Adventures....

Cheerleader Movie Mania

2011-12-14T17:03:00.002-05:00

Let's hear it for the Cheerleader Movie!

Ranking Woody Allen

2011-12-09T16:39:00.002-05:00

After catching the Woody Allen Documentary on PBS a couple of weeks ago (It's available to stream within the US on their website and it heads to DVD for a limited time in February), I made it a mission to revisit Woody's Film Canon, in the order they were released. I fizzled out a bit during his lesser fare in the early to mid 2000s, but I was surprised to find that I loved some of his Films now more than ever (Small Time Crooks, Manhattan Murder Mystery) while others that I once really liked have lost some of their luster (Interiors, Alice)...

Check out the Documentary if you can. It was very well done and an informing glimpse into the inner workings of a Film Director. It was fun to draw parallels to Woody's upbringing in New York to my own. His real home was at the Cinema, and I can totally relate.

Here are his Films, in the order I like 'em...

Annie Hall (1977)
Play It Again, Sam (Actor/Writer) (1972)
Hannah And Her Sisters (1986)
Manhattan (1979)
Crimes And Misdemeanors (1989)
The Purple Rose Of Cairo (1985)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Husbands And Wives (1992)
Small Time Crooks (2000)

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Broadway Danny Rose (1985)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Match Point (2005)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Take The Money And Run (1969)
Midnight In Paris (2011)
Every One Says I Love You (1996)
Another Woman (1988)
Sleeper (1973)

Radio Days (1987)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Stardust Memories (1980)
Scoop (2006)
Alice (1990)
Sweet And Lowdown (1999)
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask (1972)
Bananas (1971)
Celebrity (1998)
Whatever Works (2009)

Interiors (1978)
Zelig (1983)
Anything Else (2003)
Oedipus Wrecks (from New York Stories) (1989)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion (2002)
Love And Death (1975)
Hollywood Ending (2001)
Melinda And Melinda (2004)
Don't Drink The Water (1994)
Shadows And Fog (1991)
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
September (1987)

Woody Allen is currently our most prolific American Filmmaker. Now in his mid 70s, he's still making the occasional wonderful Film, and has scored his biggest hit with the charming Midnight In Paris. Here's to all his future Films to come!

My Favorite Scream Queens Part 2

2011-12-05T15:50:00.002-05:00

More of my Favorite Scream Queens can also be found in Part 1 right HERE

Amy Steel
of Friday The 13th Part 2, April Fool's Day & Tales Of Poe

Kelli Maroney
of Slayground, Night Of The Comet, Chopping Mall, The Zero Boys, Not Of This Earth, Transylvania Twist, Hard To Die & Servants Of Twilight

Lesleh Donaldson
of Funeral Home, Happy Birthday To Me, Deadly Eyes, Curtains & Tales Of Poe

Lori Lethin
of Bloody Birthday, The Day After, The Prey & Return To Horror High

Bette Davis
of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, Hush...Hush...Sweet Charlotte, The Nanny, Scream Pretty Peggy, Burnt Offerings, The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home, Return From Witch Mountain, The Watcher In The Woods & Wicked Stepmother

Mary Elizabeth Winstead
of Wolf Lake, Monster Island, The Ring Two, Final Destination 3, Black Xmas, Death Proof, The Thing & Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Janet Leigh
of Psycho, Honeymoon With A Stranger, Night Of The Lepus, The Fog & Halloween: 20 Years Later

Angela Bettis
of Bless The Child, May, Carrie ('02), Toolbox Murders, The Circle, Masters Of Horror: Sick Girl, The Woods, Roman, Scar, Wicked Lake & The Woman

Virginia Madsen

of Zombie High, Candyman, The Prophecy, The Haunting, The Number 23, The Haunting In Connecticut & Red Riding Hood

Deborah Foreman
of April Fool's Day, Grizzly 2: The Predator, Destroyer, Waxwork & Sundown: The Vampire In Retreat

My Favorite role for each Scream Queen:

Amy Steel - Friday The 13th Part 2
Kelli Maroney - Night Of The Comet
Lesleh Donaldson - Curtain/Funeral Home (tie)
Lori Lethin - Bloody Birthday
Bette Davis - Burnt Offerings
Mary Elizabeth Winstead - The Thing (as she's the only good thing about it)
Janet Leigh - Psycho
Angela Bettis - May
Virginia Madsen - Candyman
Deborah Foreman - April Fool's Day

Total Cheeseball Guilty Pleasures Part 2: The Revenge of Señor Cinema Cheeseball

2011-12-02T15:13:00.004-05:00

Revenge is a dish best served with crackers. Here are more cheese-fest favorites (Part 1 can be found here)

Kirsty Swanson in the role she was born to play... A Mannequin! Well, I guess she was a robot once. Seriously though, she's even more wooden in this one. You gotta love that method acting! Also on hand are hairy Bavarians, weightlifter goons in neon spandex, Meshach Taylor returning to all his queening glory as Hollywood Montrose, several dance numbers, fairy tales come to life, the guy from Herman's Head, magical necklaces that aren't made of pearls, illegally parked jeeps, Video Dating and perhaps the lord himself returning to earth to stop this insanity from being shown in theaters and on Home Video... Until that happens, watch this Movie at all costs. It'll change your life!

Mannequin 2: On The Move (1991)

Okay, I'd gladly be the first to admit to loving this silly Movie and even preferring it to the first. Who in their darkest hearts doesn't have a desire to sing along to a class of horny kids about reproduction, or dance along with nuns at a bowling alley? You know you want to go to Biker heaven to find your chest exposed true love or the very least watch her or him gyrate on a ladder in the middle of a song and dance number. A couple of years ago there was a sing-a-long screening of this Film, and there I was, with a surprising amount of other people (nearly 25!), wearing a plastic lei, singing along. Grease 2 is considered a bomb, and it explodes it's way into my heart.

Grease 2 (1982)

Johnny Five is still alive, and this time he's in what I think is supposed to be New York City (or Toronto where they actually filmed). Short Circuit 2 sadly does not have either The Gute nor Ally Sheedy returning. But hey, it does have Fisher Stevens returning with his borderline racist portrayal of an Indian Computer geek! This go round Stevens gets to meet cute with the super cute Cynthia Gibb (who may or may not have been the reason why I watched this Film more than once in the first place growing up) The plot also revolves around how the big bad city is filled with people that only want to use Johnny Five to either rip off car stereos, make toys on an assembly line or rob Bank Vaults. At least he gets to speed read an entire book store and becomes an American Citizen at the end! Honestly, I can't tell you why I like this cheese-fest. Sometimes we all go down pretty reckless paths in life and don't want to stop...

Short Circuit 2 (1988)

Ethereal beauty and French Cinema star Emmanuelle Beart takes Tom Cruise's advice in Risky Business and says What The Fuck and makes her move to 80's American Films. She crash lands in Date With An Angel. The concept of a dude (soap star Michael E. Knight--not to be confused with the guy with the talking car) with a bitchy fiancee (a fuming Pheoebe Cates) who falls in love with an Angel with a broken wing is so cloyingly cute (complete with non-stop glowing Cinematography on Ms. Beart) that this hunk of brie actually somehow wins me over. Naturally directed by the guy who Helmed Friday The 13th: Jason Lives and the spooky One Dark Night.

Date With An Angel (1987)

Two working stiff dudes leave Detroit and head to Aspen to mingle with the super rich and teach them how to ski. One of them falls for that super rich bitch from other cheese favorite Staying Alive, leaving poor, interesting DJ Teri Polo waiting in the wings. Part romance, part soap opera, part sports movie, part buddy flick, part who the hell was this movie made for anyway? Me, I guess.

Aspen Extreme (1993)

Yeah, it's safe to say that nearly all Madonna movies suck. I love Desperately Seeking Susan, but can I honestly say that I love a strangely updated version of the Classic Bringing Up Baby with the Material Girl adopting a bizarre voice and needless betty boop-bop behavior? Griffin Dunne of After Hours returns for more New York adventure and somehow through all the madcap comedy and 80s cheese his and Madonna's zany chemistry actually works.

Who's That Girl? (1987)

She's a telephone pole worker by day. An aerobics instructor by night. Now she's possessed by a dead Ninja. This Movie simply cannot be described. It has to be seen to be believed. Enter The Lucinda Dickey Ninja, if you dare...
.

Ninja III: The Domination (1984)

Speaking of which, I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this one. The Original Karate Kid had become a cherished film to me. I even enjoyed the sequel, and felt it was a pretty decent companion to the original. But Part 3... How could they go so wrong... but oh so right! People, you must meet our new villain, ascot wearing Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). This guy is so completely ridiculous and over-the-top that he never fails to make me laugh. I almost wish he conquered poor Daniel Laruso and Mr. Miyagi and had sequels all his own.

The Karate Kid Part III (1989)

The moving and triumphant story of a boy in a plastic bubble, er, crystal room, who falls for... Ack, just watch the video and fall in love with the glorious musical stylings of Tawny Kitaen...

Crystal Heart (1986)

I assure you, there is no one in the world quite like Kim Bentley (Jill Lansing in her only role). Who doesn't want to be around a girl with such an incredibly bad attitude, someone who constantly gets into fights with her parents, gets into fights with school friends, sleeps with her teachers, becomes a prostitute and then a hitman? Malibu High also uses music from The People's Court (!) in chase scenes. Now this is Filmmaking!

Malibu High (1979)

Porky's this ain't. It's so much better... It's the sequel to Screwballs!
And it has a theme song! Here's another classy song and scene from the Film...

Loose Screws (1985)

Come on, everybody... DO THE SCREW!!!

More screwy montage fun!

Total Cheeseball Guilty Pleasures and the man who loves them Part 1

2011-11-30T15:08:00.006-05:00

Call these silly Movies whatever you want. Totally cheeseball, cheese-fests, guilty pleasures... Whatever. I think maybe for some of us guys it's a bit harder to admit to enjoying or even, gasp, loving some of these rather light entertainments or Films aimed for perhaps a totally different demographic (Scotch loving, bearded married men are only supposed to love things blowing up, I guess) I say revel in it and enjoy. These are some of my Favorites. What are yours?
(Part 2 can be found here)

Monsieur Steve Guttenberg is probably the 1980's unsung hero. He starred in tons of hits and fondly remembered films (Cocoon, Police Academy, Diner, Three Men And A Baby...) but somehow didn't survive that decade fully intact. As the 80's drew to a close, The Gute sank his fangs into the groundbreaking story of a cancer stricken overweight cartoonist who allows his romance novelist sister (Shelley Long) to transform him into a hunky, motorcycle ridin' New Zealander. Yes my friends, his name is LOBO.. And this is the Movie that was formerly named Don't Tell Her It's Me and later retitled The Boyfriend School.

Don't Tell Her It's Me (1990)

One of The Gute's biggest hits of the 80s, Short Circuit, co-starred Ally Sheedy. After their fine work together on that Film, Sheedy set her sights on a Cinderella story. That is a Cinderella who is actually a Jesus And Mary Chain listening, coked up night club partying, midnight nude swimming, rich spoiled brat who one day loses her identity, family and friends and has to learn a few life lessons with the help of her fairy godmother (a chain-smoking Beverly D'Angelo) - Maid To Order is a PG-Rated chick-flick fantasy that this grown man and his beard loves...

Maid To Order (1987)

High School Movies were at their most popular in the 80s, but by 1989, the combination of High School flick by way of Footloose Musical was not warmly welcomed at all. The writer of Footloose tried to give the same old guy on the wrong side of the tracks story a Brooklyn spin, and ended up with a total cheese-fest. Complete with a Lorainne Bracco dance number. Sing is naturally spellbinding!

Sing (1989)

Pia Zadora + Harold Robbins. Need I say more?
The Lonely Lady was a notorious bad Movie back in it's day. I say that in today's world of fame at all costs regardless of talent makes this Lonely Lady a cheese that has aged very, very well...

The Lonely Lady (1983)

Most knew that a follow up to the disco grit of Saturday Night Fever some 6 years later wasn't going to be a surefire success, and with Sylvester Stallone and the helm with his brother Frank providing the music, I say those naysayers were completely wrong. Witness this masterful montage and fall in love with the wonder and the POWER that is still....

Staying Alive (1983)

Ah, Shelly Long once again. I could have easily included her other 80's guilty pleasure, Troop Beverly Hills, but for some reason I keep going back to this one. The popular chick Novel author Susan Isaccs penned the script, and the great Frank Perry (David & Lisa, The Swimmer) Directed this Movie about a Long Island housewife who dies by choking on a giant South Korean chicken ball ("A Chicken Ball That Ended It All" as the trailer so wittily proclaims) and comes back to life to find her true love (the charming irish doctor who couldn't save her from dying in the first place--Gabriel Byrne) Hello Again is my favorite of the cheeseball variety, the New York Movie Cheeseball. Remember to chew slowly while watching!

Hello Again (1987)

Lara Flynn Boyle kills someone with a wasp, arranges it to look like a member of the A-Team has committed suicide, mangles someone's hand by way of a paper shredder and makes old ladies bleed from cookies. With Oscar Winners (Faye Dunaway and Timothy Hutton) strutting their acting chops for all the world to enjoy. So much to enjoy here. Just don't fuck with...

The Temp (1993)

A movie about an ambitious college student who will stop at nothing to get his best friend, a hunky diver, to pose for a calendar so he can make a lot of money. Welcome to the 80's people! And dive into the cheesy fun of...

Campus Man (1987)

Chad Lowe plays a man who will also stop at nothing. This time it's to get close to the women he loves by pretending to be her female best friend, roommate and tennis partner. Somewhere in the world Hilary Swank is waiting to marry this dude. But hey...

Nobody's Perfect (1990)

Before his Arrested Development and eventual breakthrough success, Jason Bateman was once a leading man. Or rather, leading wolf. I love Teen Wolf Too. I suppose it's in it's own way terrible, but so is the original. This has the totally tubular premise of a boxing wolf, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark's Kim Darby as a mulleted Professor with a secret of her own and tons of Montages. Oh how I heart Montages...

Teen Wolf Too (1987)

Coming Soon: Part 2, The Revenge of Senor Cinema Cheeseball.

New Retro 80's DVDs For The Holidays

2011-11-28T14:57:00.003-05:00

All 80's Movies. All released for the first time on DVD. Get 'em for your favorite 80's Movie Lover. And maybe for yourself!

Coming In December:

Don't Open Till Christmas (1984) 12/6
Zone Troopers (1985) 12/6
Intruder Blu-Ray/DVD (1989) 12/13
Under The Boardwalk (1989) 12/13
Opposing Force (1986) 12/20

(Post) Thanksgiving Films worth checking out.

2011-11-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

Surrounded by Family members. Swarmed by cousins and relatives who's names you can't quite recall. Chomping on a turkey leg. Realizing that the best part of the meal are actually the sides and not this dry bird. I myself long for some Sweet Potato casserole. The kind with the marshmallows on top. Some find it cloyingly sweet. I find it beyond awesome. The stuffing. Hopefully it's done well. There's nothing better than a delicious stuffing. And I kind of love the cranberries that come out of a can. The kind that take on the can's shape. Yum. But that's just me. Whilst feeling a bit claustrophobic, and trying to tune out the noise of family yammering away, and the image of a crazy aunt doing what every families crazy aunt does (embarrassing herself always) you might feel the need to run. I contemplated taking up smoking, just to have an excuse to get myself out of the house, but I don't think inhaling clouds of smoke into my lungs is the answer. I eye the Turkey's carving knife, catching a glimpse at myself in the reflection. An escape to the Movies is definitely in order. Before it's too late!

Here are some of my Favorite Films that revolve around Thanksgiving. Some of them are as sweet as the casserole, others are a bloody mess.. And all the better because of it.

I'm so glad you survived Thanksgiving! Here's to some Christmas and New Year's Evil just on the horizon...

Vigilante Movies Of The 1980's

2011-11-17T18:07:00.004-05:00

The 1980's. The Country's deficit grows and grows. Cities become bankrupt. Crime rises. What do you do when you can't walk the streets by yourself? Who do you turn to? The police? The ones that aren't losing their jobs to the failing economy and cutbacks are turning their backs. Too much to do with little manpower. Or are they afraid themselves?

Growing up in New York City during a fairly rough era, we had the Guardian Angels. They did what they could within an organized group to clean up the streets. While there was plenty of crime related to drugs and robbery, you couldn't possibly protect all the streets when Crime sometimes tends to be so utterly random. The Silver Screen had people like Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) and Paul Kersey (Death Wish) taking matters into their own hands. We had people like Bernard Goetz who fended off muggers on the subway with his gun. Although it was a crime he was ultimately punished for, the debate will always remains the same: Shouldn't you have the right to be able to defend yourself when you feel like no one else is?

It's easier to just enjoy some of these crazy Films, a lot of which were VERY reactionary to the times and growing unrest, especially in urban areas. Movies like these can easily cross the line into exploitation, but when it's done in a way to entertain rather than simply depress it's audience, then I'm totally there. Pictures like Vigilante and Fight Back are outrageous in the way crime is portrayed, and that's what makes them so much fun.

Why not take back the streets yourself like some of these heroes in these Movies...

1980:

1981:

Panic In The Schools (1981) AKA: Panikos Sta Sholeia:

1982:

Devils In The Schools (1982) AKA: Satanades sta Sholeia:

1983:

1984:

1985:

Blood Debts (1985) AKA: Eliminator:

Streets Of Justice (1985):

1986:

1987:

1988:

Let Sleeping Cops Lie (1988) AKA: Never Wake A Cop:

1989:

Orapronobis (1989) AKA: Fight For Us:

Humongous (1982) - Now on DVD!

2011-11-15T14:54:00.002-05:00

Good news 80's Slasher Fans... Humongous, from 1982, is now on DVD!

Thanks to the good folk over at Scorpion Releasing, we can now finally see Humongous in all it's Anamorphic Widescreen glory. Uncut, too!

The beautiful opening credits...

A gorier, grittier prologue...

Headbands, big eyeglasses and crazy looks galore...

This new version will make you feel real good...

And maybe put you in the mood...

To drive a boat in a fog, of course...

Try not to scream, if you can...

Put some berries in your favorite shirt...

But remember to wash them off...

And then lay on top of someone if they have the chills...

Start your Scooby-Doo investigations...

Scream again if you must...

Return to sleuthing, please...

Get totally bummed because you lose your big glasses...

Be careful, someone might try to grab your crotch...

And this might take your boyfriend away. What a drag...

Look out for the things lurking behind you in a Split-Diopter shot...

Try to survive the night from some really bad makeup...

Become victorious.... and all alone...

Get your hands in your favorite pair of 80's jeans, pull out some cash, and buy yourself a copy of Humongous right now!

Humongous at Amazon

Top 10 Paul Schrader

2011-11-14T13:03:00.002-05:00

My 10 Favorite Films of Maverick Writer/Director Paul Schrader, a man who really knows how to tap into the darker, grittier parts of human nature.

1. American Gigolo (also writer) (1980)
2. Light Sleeper (also writer) (1992)
3. Cat People (also co-writer) (1982)
4. Affliction (also writer) (1997)
5. The Comfort Of Strangers (1990)
6. Hardcore (also writer) (1979)
7. Blue Collar (also writer) (1978)
8. Auto Focus (2002)
9. Patty Hearst (1988)
10. Light Of Day (also writer) (1987)

The Rest:

11. Witch Hunt (1994)
12. The Walker (also writer) (2007)
13. Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters (also writer) (1985)
14. Touch (also writer) (1996)
15. Forever Mine (also writer) (1999)
16. Adam Resurrected (2008)
17. Dominion: The Prequel To The Exorcist (2005)

Solely as a Screenwriter:

1. Taxi Driver (1976)
2. Raging Bull (1980)
3. Obsession (1976)
4. Rolling Thunder (1977)
5. Old Boyfriends (1979)
6. The Yakuza (1974)
7. The Mosquito Coast (1986)
8. The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)
9. Bringing Out The Dead (1999)
10. City Hall (1996)

Paul Schrader's career in both Writing and Directing Films is pretty unique. He often stays true to his themes and ideas, even when the Films dip into other genres. He walks a dark path, and often the leading men who populate his Pictures are very flawed characters, sometimes desperately searching for some form of redemption. We can't help but identify with them to varying degrees.

Hopefully this Great Filmmaker, who has worked within the mainstream and on the outside, will get more opportunities to have his incomparable point of view come across in future projects.

25 Years Ago in 1986...

2011-11-07T15:18:00.001-05:00

...These Films were now playing at a theater near you!

I remember seeing quite a few of these at the Cinema. I just love the look of posters back then, don't you?

My only complaint... Let's Get Harry (good little Action Flick by the way) Gary Busey. No mustache. He totally broke the running theme of that poster, the bastard!

I highly recommend Modern Girls if you're in the mood for something very 80's and a lot of fun. In some ways it's the L.A. pop version of After Hours. And yes, that's a good thing. A very good thing. The actors and their characters are quite lovable, too. And if you're already a fan of the Film, Join Modern Girl's Facebook Page.

Besides Modern Girls, of the films on this list, Jumpin' Jack Flash is easily my most watched. And it ranks very high on my most watched of the 80's list. It's just so effortlessly watchable and the dialogue is very quotable. Whoopi Goldberg has never been as good in a Movie as she is here. For her first leading role, she really does a really great job of making it fun to watch a woman talk to her computer.

I can also watch Soul Man over and over. That is up until it tries a bit too hard to deliver it's message and the comedy winds down. But for the first hour or so, Soul Man is totally brilliant in the way it sends up white fear with black culture. Deadly Friend on the other hand is totally brilliant in the way it delivers this message: Mess with a robot, and then get your head basketballed off...

Something Special is a good addition to the gender reversal sub-genre. It's a charming little Teen Film with a very likable performance by the always underrated Pamela Segall.

Trick or Treat was a perfect Halloween release. I still remember going to see this at a theater filled with both families and heavy metal heads. Sometimes overlapping with a family of Metalheads. Some of the theater patrons were in full costume. It was a very interesting dynamic and a good time at the Movies. Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons are in the cast, but more importantly, it's star is Skippy from Family Ties.

From Beyond was also a terrific Film to release around Halloween. Remember when movies could be totally gruesome but also kind of sexy? From Beyond turns a crisp fall evening into something totally nasty and hot. Keep your pineal gland to yourself, Mister.

New York Horror Movies List

2011-11-03T19:18:00.001-04:00

Growing up in the gritty New York City of the late 70's and 80's could be considered by some to be horrifying in itself. For me, it helped form an appreciation for many things, including the Horror Film. The New York City of my youth was full of Movie Theaters, some of which were Movie Palaces, a lot of others were pretty run down and with no signs or repair on the horizon. But they were dirt cheap! It's in these theaters where I met my first love, The Movies. A love affair still growing strong after all these years.

Because a lot of these theaters were by their nature considered "seedy", I got to see all sorts of strange, offbeat Films, always avoiding the plethora of Porn and badly dubbed Chop Socky at my disposal. Porn because I was way too young, and Chop Socky because it somehow bored me. Although I still very much loved all the Mainstream films of the time (which I'm sure I'll get to in future posts), I tended to gravitate towards those of the more visceral variety. The Horror Film especially. I was lucky enough to watch a lot of movies that probably didn't get a lot of play outside of the Drive-In's in this country. I still greatly remember sitting in the theater watching Basket Case with both a wide smile on my face and my hands sometimes covering it in fear. To quote my Favorite Horror Film, Halloween, "...Everyone's Entitled To One Good Scare". I wanted a few more. And I got 'em.Thank you, New York!

Here's my way of celebrating the New York Horror Film. A visual list of everything that was either filmed in or set in the boroughs, upstate, the islands and all the nooks in between. Enjoy!

What better way to start off then the most infamous of Haunted House Movies & it's sequels, the Long Island set:

The Amityville Horror (1978) - Amityville, Long Island

Amityville II: The Possession (1982) - Amityville, Long Island

Amityville 3-D (1983) - Amityville, Long Island

The Addiction (1994) - Manhattan

The Ambulance (1990) - Manhattan

American Psycho (2000) - Manhattan

Angel Heart (1987) - Manhattan, Brooklyn

Aroused (1966) - Manhattan

Audrey Rose (1977) - Manhattan

Bad Biology (2008) - Brooklyn, Mahattan, Staten Island

Basket Case (1982) - Manhattan

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) - Manhattan

Begotten (1990) - Manhattan

The Believers (1987) - Manhattan, Brooklyn

Blood Sisters (1987) - Manhattan, New Jersey

Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) - Manhattan

Bloodthirsty Butchers (1970) - Staten Island

Brain Damage (1988) - Manhattan

Breeders (1986) - Manhattan

The Burning (1981) - Buffalo, New York

Carnage (1984) - Staten Island

Carnival Of Blood (1970) - Brooklyn

Cat People (1942) - Manhattan

C.H.U.D (1984) - Manhattan

Cloverfield (2008) - Manhattan

Combat Shock (1986) - Staten Island

Dark Water (2005) - Roosevelt Island

Dead Dudes In The House (1991) - Cherry Valley, NY

Def By Temptation (1990) - Brooklyn

Deranged (1987) - Manhattan

Devil's Advocate (1997) - Manhattan

Driller Killer (1979) - Manhattan

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - Manhattan

The Eyes Of Laura Mars (1978) - Manhattan

The Fan (1981) - Manhattan

Fear No Evil (1981) - Rochester & Alexandria Bay, NY

Final Destination (2000) - Long Island

Final Destination 2 (2003) - Long Island

5 Dead On The Crimson Canvas (1996) Glen Cove, Long Island

Flesh Eating Mothers (1988) - Long Island

Forced Entry (1973) - Queens, Manhattan

1408 (2007) - Manhattan

Frankenhooker (1990) - Manhattan, Long Island, New Jersey

Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) Manhattan, mostly on a boat :)

The Ghastly Ones (1968) - Staten Island

God Told Me To (1976) - Manhattan

Guru The Mad Monk (1970) - Staten Island

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) - Manhattan

Habit (1997) - Manhattan

He Knows You're Alone (1980) - Staten Island

Headless Eyes (1971) - Manhattan

Hell High (1989) - Scarsdale, The Bronx

Horror (2002) - Warwick, The Bronx, New Jersey

House On The Edge Of The Park (1980) - Manhattan, New Jersey

The Hunger (1983) - Manhattan

I Drink Your Blood (1970) - Sharon Springs, NY

Igor And The Lunatics (1985) Carmel, NY

Inferno (1980) - Manhattan

Invasion Of The Blood Farmers (1972) - Weschester County

Jacob's Ladder (1990) - Manhattan

Kill By Inches (1999) - Brooklyn, Manhattan

Killer Condom (1996) - Manhattan

The Killing Hour (1982) - Manhattan

King Kong (1933) - Manhattan

King Kong (1976) - Manhattan, Queens

Lady In White (1988) - Rochester, Alexandria Bay, Wade County, NY

Lake Placid (1999) - Lake Placid, Manhattan

Last House On Dead End Street (1977) - Oneonta, NY

Legacy Of Horror(Blood) (1978) - Staten Island

Love At First Bite (1979) - Manhattan

Lurkers (1988) - Manhattan

Madman (1982) - Southhampton, Long Island

Magic (1978) - Manhattan

Malevolence (2004) - Long Island

Manhattan Baby (1982) - Manhattan

Maniac (1980) - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens

Maniac Cop (1988) - Manhattan

Maniac Cop 2 (1990) - Manhattan, New Jersey

Mimic (1997) - Manhattan

Mirrors (2008) - Manhattan

The Monster Of Camp Sunshine (1964) - Manhattan

Mulberry Street (2006) - Manhattan

My Demon Lover (1987) - Manhattan

New York Ripper (1982) - Manhattan

Night Owl (1993) - Manhattan

A Night To Dismember (1983) - Long Island, Queens, The Bronx

Nightmare (1981) - Manhattan

100 Feet (2008) - Brooklyn

The Oracle (1985) - Manhattan

Perfect Strangers (1984) - Manhattan

The Phantom Of The Opera (1989) - Manhattan

Plutonium Baby (1987) - Manhattan

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) - Poughkeepsie, NY

The Possession Of Joel Delaney (1972) - Manhattan

Prime Evil (1989) - Manhattan

Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) - Manhattan

The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! (1972) - Staten Island

Red Hook (2009) - Manhattan, Brooklyn

The Rejuvenator (1988) - Manhattan

Rosemary's Baby (1968) - Manhattan

Satan's Little Helper (2004) - Hastins-On-Hudson, Tarrytown, White Plains, NY

Scream For Help (1984) - New Rochelle, NY

The Sentinel (1977) - Brooklyn

The Seventh Victim (1943) - Manhattan

Sex Wish (1976) - Manhattan

Shriek Of The Mutilated (1976) - Croton-On-Hudson, NY

Silent Madness (1984) Staten Island, New Jersey

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974) - Oyster Bay, Long Island

Sisters (1973) - Staten Island, Manhattan

Sleepaway Camp (1983) - Argyle, Fort Edward, Glen Falls, Lake Luzerne, NY

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Sleepy Hollow, NY

Slime City (1988) - Manhattan

Slime City Massacre (2010) - Buffalo, NY

Slugs: The Movie (1987) - Lyons, NY

Special Effects (1984) - Manhattan

Spookies (1986) - Rye, NY

A Stranger Is Watching (1982) - Manhattan

Street Trash (1987) - Brooklyn

The Stuff (1985) - Manhattan, Accord, Kingston, NY

Tenement: Game Of Survival (1985) - The Bronx

Terror Firmer (1999) - Brooklyn, Manhattan

There's Nothing Out There (1992) - Piermont, NY

Too Scared To Scream (1985) - Manhattan

Vampire's Kiss (1989) - Manhattan

Wait Until Dark (1967) - Manhattan

Wendigo (2001) - Kingston, Phoenecia, Ulster County, NY

Wolf (1994) - Manhattan

Wolfen (1981) - The Bronx, Manhattan

Zombie (1979) - Brooklyn, Manhattan

31 Days Of 80's Movie Slashers: 10/31 - Happy Birthday To Me (1981)

2011-10-31T16:12:00.007-04:00

Day Thirty-one: Happy Halloween, kids!

Happy Birthday To Me
From Columbia Pictures
Original Theatrical Release Date: May 15th 1981
DVD: Yes

Plot: Poor Virginia (Melissa Sue Anderson). She just might go bonkers. Someone is giving her the rather nasty gift of killing off her friends just in time for her Birthday.

You might remember that I love a good Scooby-Doo Slasher every now and then. Well my friends, it doesn't get any better than Happy Birthday To Me if that's what you're also looking for.

The elite Top 10 students at Crawford Academy are a strange bunch. They all seem to only want to party and act as if they are completely guilty of murder. I suppose the pressures of school and success can do that to you. I love that these crazy kids go to a pub called "The Silent Woman" and I love that they take the time to play pranks and upset the local senior lodge members. Why have endless scenes of academia when we can have moments of mice in beer? And when we do have some moments of Academia, thankfully it's hair raising moments like this:

Melissa Sue Anderson's Ginny (Definitely not to be confused with Amy Steel's Ginny from Friday The 13th Part II and my way of just mentioning Amy Steel once again in these posts) is a bit more aloof and serious than her friends. She tries her hardest to fit in as she's not from money like everyone else but has seemingly inherited her mother's crazy genes. Because these kids seem wacko themselves, they never take notice of her strange behavior. Melissa Sue Anderson does a great job in a very complicated role. She could have easily been unlikeable. Instead, we do care about Ginny and her mental health. But also, we can't help but wonder what she may be up to.

Okay, let's run this down again quickly...

I have a head wound.

I see a psychiatrist who was once a classy actor named Glenn Ford.

And my friends are weird.

Am I losing my mind? Or did I stumble upon a lifestyle that just might be so much more awesome than yours.

Happy Birthday's world is awesome and strange, indeed. We get treated to what the tagline calls "Six of the most Bizarre Murders You Will Ever See". Three of which taught such ever valuable lessons in life, like:

Never ever wear a scarf while fixing your motorbike, even if you think you're the biggest preppie stud on campus. It does not ends well.

Always wear an athletic cup when you're lifting weights. There are many people out there who are just simply tempted to drop a heavy weight onto your package. 10 times out of 10 this will distract you and the heavy weight from the bar will crush your neck. This also hurts like balls.

And don't you dare sit by the fireplace and eat Shish Kebab with anyone you think you might be so comfortable with that they insist on feeding you food from a long, sharp poker. Secretly people don't like you, and this is their chance to let you know.

You know, I may have made it sound that way, but, High School isn't all fun and games that include motorbikes, working out and a good stick in the mouth. It's also about beheadings, brain surgery, bell towers and panty stealing. But then, all the best movies have at least some of those qualities. And if they don't, they really should get on that.

Happy Birthday To Me was produced by John Dunning and Andre Link, the Canadian geniuses behind My Bloody Valentine and Death Weekend. They hired Director J. Lee Thompson (The Guns Of Navarone, The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud, 10 To Midnight) to orchestrate this madness and the Film ends up with a polish so unlike other Films of it's kind of the time. With a great cast and a higher than usual budget for a Film of it's type, Happy Birthday is a step above it's other Slasher cousins and I tend to come back to it time and time again like an old friend. There's an indescribable comfort of watching a well crafted movie about some crazy nonsense that it ends up becoming even more therapeutic than the Hot Tub from Halloween II or watching Glenn Ford's open shirt and gold chain.

Hamlet this also isn't.

You do not have to question your sanity when you love a Film like Happy Birthday To Me. You might as well have come from a parent who was impossible to deal with and ends up drowning in her crazy sorry, or you might have the urge to act like Quasimodo for no good reason, and you may even feel the need to don a mask that just so happens to look exactly like a good friend or relative of yours that you hate. You do absolutely have to be in the mood for the classiest, sharpest cheese you can find at your local grocery or video store or wherever you happen to shop. The aromas, the texture, the aged beauty of a 30 year old Slasher Film is a wonderful thing. They can easily be paired with a good Red Wine in the Cabernet, Pinot Noir family or whatever you might have on hand. I myself prefer a nice single malt scotch. The more developed the flavors such as a good nutty or peaty quality seem to work well. I can sit around in the dark admiring Ginny's eyes as she looks off into the none too distant crazy future. I can watch as her friends drop away, coming back to say hello in the final act with their best birthday wishes (which they really should have done all those years ago). I can also learn to play "The Game"... I wonder if my car would make it off the bridge in time.

Watch Happy Birthday To Me no matter if it is or isn't your Birthday. If you do end up watching it alone, don't get too upset with the friends you invited that didn't show up. It's not good to hold a grudge. And someone just might want to frame you for their murders. I won't say who, but, you just might want to check to see if their face is real or not. I sometimes have to do that in life. Call me crazy, but, you just never know.

Trailer:

For more Happy Birthday To Me Lovin' please see The Hysteria Continues' inaugural podcast which covered the Film. The show is hosted by 4 loving fans of the genre and their coverage on the Film for their first show which was back in January of this year is superb. Check it out on iTunes. Just scroll down to episode #1 right here: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME/HYSTERIA

As for more 80's Slasher Film Recommendations, here's just a quick list of Favorite Films I wanted to cover this Month, but just couldn't get to. 31 Days is just not enough!

1980
Fade To Black

Friday the 13th
Funeral Home
He Knows You're Alone

1981
Bloody Birthday
The Boogeyman
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
Deadly Blessing
Friday the 13th Part II
Madhouse
Nightmare
The Prowler
Strange Behavior

1982
Death Valley
Don't Go to Sleep
The Dorm That Dripped Blood
Hospital Massacre
Madman
The Slayer

1983
10 to Midnight
Mortuary
Night Warning
Sleepaway Camp
Sweet Sixteen

1984
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Girls Nite Out
A Nightmare On Elm Street

Scream For Help
Silent Night, Deadly Night

1985
A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

1986
Psycho III

1987

Blood Rage
Blood Sisters
Hunter's Blood
Return to Horror High

The Stepfather
Slumber Party Massacre II

1988
Bad Dreams

Child's Play
Evil Laugh
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers

1989
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Hell High
Rush Week
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland

Happy Halloween everybody!

31 Days Of 80's Movie Slashers: 10/30 - Halloween II (1981)

2011-10-30T23:15:00.001-04:00

Day Thirty:

Halloween II
From Universal Pictures
Original Theatrical Release Date: October 30th 1981
DVD: Yes

Plot: Michael Myers returns to further stalk newly appointed sister Laurie Strode while she is recovering at a hospital. Slutty nurses and hot tubs ensue.

30 years ago this very month in 1981 John Carpenter released the sequel to his masterpiece, Halloween. While the inevitable Halloween II was ushered into Production to make a Halloween Release for the year (and to nicely tie in to NBC’s Broadcast Premiere of the Original Film) Carpenter was already at work on Escape From New York for AVCO-Embassy, so he would be working this time in a Writer/Producer capacity along with his partner Debra Hill. Rick Rosenthal was assigned Directing duties, but watching Halloween II, it’s clear that John Carpenter’s stamp is all over it. And thank goodness for that!

Carpenter had some Production problems on his previous Film, The Fog, and had learned in the editing process that his Film just simply wasn’t scary or visceral enough. He ended up re-shooting and adding additional scenes to that Film, greatly upping the Tension and Terror. As it turns out, Halloween II would be a similar affair. It’s not to say that Rosenthal’s work on the Film was not completely working, It’s just that the film needed to have more of what made the Original Film work so well, as well as additional scares, and Carpenter was clearly the only man for the job. With some re-shoots, Carpenter not only created a more impactful Halloween II, but he also had the duty of adding some scenes for the Television release of his Original. NBC needed to pad out the Film after the necessary cuts that was made for a Broadcast Release, and Halloween was already only a 91 minute Movie. This was Carpenter’s chance to expand on the mythology of the first Film that would be carried over to Part II, making both Films adhere closer to each other.

By 1981, The Slasher Film was in full swing and Carpenter & Company had to deliver a Movie that would hold up to it’s newfound peers. Halloween II really delivers. Freeing itself up a bit as a sequel rather than a stand alone Film that ultimately became a Masterpiece in Filmmaking, Halloween II’s goal was to entertain and to give us the goodies you’d expect in a Film of this kind. Fans wanted what made the first Halloween work so well, but once you cross into sequel territory, they also expect a bit more. Halloween II has all the amped up violence and suspense of a Horror Sequel, but also delivers on the atmosphere and impending sense of doom that permeated the First Film. Halloween by it’s very name conjures up feelings and mood within us, so naturally a Film with that moniker should do the same.

The hospital-set Halloween II serves as a great way to follow Laurie Strode’s natural progression from her survival into the night evil Michael Myers came home. Poor Laurie, she’ll never get any rest as Mike doesn’t seem want to stop until she’s dead. Along the way, he racks up quite a few more bodies in gruesome and memorable ways. Halloween II. Like the previous year’s Friday The 13th, Part II has some very unique death scenes that stand out, even after all these years. Notably when hospital workers are falling prey to their objects of healing... Needles and therapeutic hot tubs oh my! John Carpenter’s wonderful score (here with additional help by Alan Howarth) also adds greatly to the proceedings and atmosphere as it did with the first Film. It isn’t Halloween until you hear Carpenter’s music.

Jamie Lee Curtis does an admirable job with a role that was a bit underwritten and requires her to be almost comatose for a large part of the time. It’s too bad they fit her with such a terribly distracting wig. Curtis had cut her by the time the Sequel rolled around and considering that she’s the lead of the Film, they should have sprung for something a bit more natural looking. As always, Donald Pleasence is fun to watch as the obsessed Dr. Loomis. He has to make the ultimate sacrifice at the end of the Film, and somehow makes it all believable. It’s no wonder the franchise was really hard to watch in some of it’s later installments. Pleasence’s great talents were often wasted. I also enjoy some of the new characters from Part 2. Especially Gloria Gifford as sassy head nurse Mrs. Alves, Leo Rossi as horny nurse fondler Budd and Lance Guest as nice guy EMT Jimmy and potential new love interest for Laurie. Speaking of love interests, poor Laurie doesn’t know that her beloved Ben Tramer dies in Part 2 as he’s mistaken for Michael Myers. Laurie Strode is having the worst night ever.

It's a good thing there's a sign right there.

You’ll never have such a bad night watching Halloween II. For me it’s one of the reasons why I enjoy Slasher Films so much. Slasher Sequels can be a lot of fun. And in some ways, a bit easier to watch than their predecessors. You don’t really have to hold the up against the gold standard. If they are good or at least fun to watch, you simply enjoy them over and over again. That isn’t to say the original Halloween isn’t the same for me. It’s actually my favorite Horror Film of all time. And the first Film I remember seeing at the Cinema period. I can watch both of these films continually and leave them always with a smile on my face. The work their magic in both similar and different ways. Add the fact that they are set on one of the best days of the year and that it’s villain, arguably the most indelible of all Horror Films, shares my namesake, I would say these Pictures are the most special to me of all of the Slasher Films of the time.

Laurie Strode should get work as a sharpshooter. She has the best aim ever.

Spend your favorite Holiday with the big brother you never knew and watch Halloween II. If he follows you to the hospital afterward, skip the painkillers and get yourself to a town that isn’t named Haddonfield. Though Michael may continue to follow you. He just can’t help himself, the big lug.

Trailer:

TV Trailer:

I'd be upset if I'd have to wear that thing on my head as well, Laurie.

31 Days Of 80's Movie Slashers: 10/29 - Just Before Dawn (1981)

2011-10-29T16:32:00.000-04:00

Day Twenty-nine:

Just Before Dawn
From Picturemedia Limited

Original Theatrical Release Date: October 14th 1981
DVD: Yes

Plot: Campers find themselves up against not only the dangers of nature, but also the dangers of towering in-bred backwoods creeps who have really sharp knives.

Did you know, when you look up "Underrated Slasher Film" in the dictionary there's a picture and synopsis of Just Before Dawn? Picked up by a tiny company at the boom of the 80's Slasher for release in 1981, Dawn was unceremoniously ignored. Sometimes marketing can either help or distract away from a Film, but this one clearly needed a lot more help than the work that was put into getting this Film out there. It's a real crime when good Films are left ignored. Thankfully over time Just Before Dawn has found love through it's fans. Those who have seen the film have largely fallen in love with it. With good reason to.

There are so many things to recommend here. I can go into them in more minute detail, but for me a film like Dawn is best experienced rather than deconstructed. For those who love atmosphere, I think this is one of the very best Films of the time to really exploit that aspect of Horror Filmmaking. There's a lot of natural beauty in Dawn, and Lieberman seems to effortlessly catch it all. He often cites Deliverance as his inspiration and while looking at the film you understand why. This isn't the kind of Movie that uses the great outdoors as just a set. It's really a world where every sound, every tree and everything around them is something that the characters fully inhabit.

I really like the actors in this film. There are all a pretty likeable bunch, which is rare. Leads Gregg Henry (Body Double, Slither) and Deborah Benson (September 30 1955, Our Winning Season) are really good and believable as the couple with the camping experience and a seriousness about their passion. Jack Lemmon's son, Chris, is on hand as the more jokey of the bunch to serve as a nice counterpoint to the leads. Jamie Rose plays Megan, who would be otherwise known as the "slut" of the group but is actually, though very attractive and sexy, a surprisingly decent actress (she now teaches it in Los Angeles). Ralph Seymour (Killer Party, Rain Man) is always fun to watch. He's a pretty quirky guy and I love when he pops up in random things (Meatballs Part II, Fletch, Ghoulies, Empire Of The Sun, The Relic and so on). And I can't forget the character actor greats, Mike Kellin (Hell Is For Heroes, Sleepaway Camp) and George Kennedy (The Dirty Dozen, Cool Hand Luke). They each bring an additional weight and class to the Film. I love that George talks to his plants and horse, Lucille. His character is at first glance a tad unnecessary, but he's always a hoot to watch and gives the role a real dimension.

There are things that go down in Just Before Dawn that are pretty unique in Horror Films. I would like to say that the defeat of the villain is one of the best and most original I've seen. There's a sense of the primal that Writer/Director Jeff Lieberman taps into, and the Film is a lot more layered and intelligent than you might imagine. Going back to Deborah Benson and her role as Connie, there's a real interesting metamorphosis that goes on with her in the Film. Deborah brings a real quiet intensity, and Lieberman's Direction in those scenes are utterly flawless.

Intelligence and playfulness can be found in all of Lieberman's Film Work. From the Nature runs amok Squirm (1976) to the droll LSD Paranoia of Blue Sunshine (1978) to later films like the campy fun 50's Sci-Fi tribute Remote Control (1988) and the quasi-Slasher Satan's Little Helper (2004). I actually really recommend Squirm and Satan's Little Helper if you haven't seen them. Squirm is one of my absolute favorite movies about the dangers of Nature in the post-Jaws sweepstakes of the genre. And Satan's Little Helper is a Movie full of dark humor and a surprisingly nasty bite. It's a lot of fun to watch, especially around Halloween as that's when it's set.

Both Just Before Dawn and Jeff Lieberman should really be sought after if you love Horror. It's not all the time you walk away from a Movie feeling as if you actually watched something from someone with a real point of view. We need more Filmmakers like Jeff, and he needs to be making more Movies for us. In the meantime, watch Just Before Dawn with your favorite capable camping buddy who happens to be sporting a lot of eye makeup and short shorts. You just might need her to get your ass out of the forest one day.

Trailer:

Connie Before.

Connie after. Don't even think about messing with her.

PS:

This is the only Slasher Film that I know of that uses Blondie's Heart Of Glass on the soundtrack. Using Blondie in any Movie is always a good thing.

31 Days Of 80's Movie Slashers: 10/28 - April Fool's Day (1986)

2011-10-28T23:23:00.000-04:00

Day Twenty-eight:

April Fool's Day
From Paramount Pictures
Original Theatrical Release Date: March 27th 1986
DVD: Yes

Plot: Muffy invites her best college friends over to celebrate her just inherited mansion on a secluded island. There will be the usual catching up of old times and a little murder.

It’s still fitting for me that I am working on a post for yet another Slasher Film set on an island. Just like Humongous, April Fool’s Day is serving as a way to exorcise my Island Demons. Since this is 80’s Slasher Movie month, I should probably be aerobicizing them out, too.

You have to love Muffy. This girl really loves a good party. Imagine inviting all of your close college friends to your newly inherited spooky mansion on a secluded island for a weekend of thrills and chills. She gives them place settings at dinner complete with barbie and ken dolls. She assigns them rooms that are all fraught with memories of the past; with just a little hint of the macabre and murder. Some get sex gear, others crying babies, and some bloody newspaper headlines. And you can’t forget the occasional practical joke. This is April Fool’s Day after all.

I can now rest easy and know that I made it off that (mostly uninhabited) Island alive (though with all those impossibly itchy bug bites). Muffy’s friends aren’t all that lucky. But are they? Slasher fans know the resolution to April Fool’s Day the Movie all too well. Some really enjoy it, others feel it greatly lessens the impact of the Film. I’m of the camp that will defend it to the death.

Without entirely spoiling the Film, let me just say, why not have a Horror film that plays with the balance of Horror and Comedy? Horror, especially of the Slasher variety, isn’t mutually exclusive with his morose girlfriend or boyfriend doom and gloom. I think the best films tend to have spikes of different moods and emotions, rather than just the same pulse. Really it’s more about how you dish it out. I love the way April’s comedy comes from it’s characters. There’s a wink and a nod here and there (sometimes on screen literally) but that is the fun of a movie like this. By 1986, Slasher Films had already passed their peak, and Filmmakers and Studios were trying to move on and slowly take the Slasher Film to the next level (It would be 10 years in 1996 with the success of Scream before this happened on a mainstream level)

There is a fun mystery within April Fool’s Day and I almost wish the movie had gone on longer to explore it more. Apparently there is both a different filmed and scripted ending to the Picture which does elaborate it, as well as in a Novelization--I really need to hunt it down at some point. I think what ultimately makes the Film work is it’s characters and the actors who portray them. Whether some of these guys be loud mouthed jerks or headstrong women or complete loonies, I kind of would love to hang around with them in that gorgeous house! They are a diverse, wacky bunch for sure, but they do seem like they could have been College friends. Notably, Deborah Foreman does a great job in a dual role, and Amy Steel’s Kit is essentially an extension of her wondrous Ginny character from Friday The 13th Part II. Hey, I get to mention Friday The 13th Part II twice in the same day! I love October and Halloween. And I really love Slasher Movies with Amy Steel. Can’t forget to mention Paramount’s brilliant decision to cast two of the stars of Just One Of The Guys: Deborah Goodrich and Clayton Rohner. Both are pretty good here in very different roles.

One thing you don’t hear much about with regard to April Fool’s Day is the Film’s Cinematography. Even back in the day on a badly pan ‘n scan VHS (remember those?) I immediately took notice of the compositions in it’s photography and the lighting. Cinematographer Charles Minsky has gone on to bigger projects (He shoots every Garry Marshall Film) but he does a better than usual job good job here. I also really like the music by Charles Bernstein (A Nightmare On Elm Street, Deadly Friend). It’s a surprisingly good Score that I go back to from time to time. I also wish Director Fred Walton (When A Stranger Calls) was still making Films. Walton gave each of his Slasher Movies (he also Directed The Rosemary Murders and When A Stranger Calls Back) all something unique as they were a step above run of the mill and had their own quirks and charm.

April Fool’s Day is a Slasher that isn’t sure to please everyone. Die hard Slasher fans either get the joke, or are totally offended by it. I think if you go into it with a more lighthearted point of view, you may actually find something to really enjoy or love. Slasher Films of the 80’s still had an innocence about them. I know, innocence is a very strange word to use with regards to Movies that feature people getting hacked up, but, it’s more about the way these films were approached. When we look back to films of this era, they were still making Pictures to titillate, to thrill but to also make you smile. I’ve always thought that it was easy to shock someone with overdoses of blood and gore, but it’s much harder to get someone to walk away from a Movie that takes a different approach with a big grin. In 1986, I was ear to ear. April Fool’s Day is a joke tailored made for the big Movie lover in me.

Trailer:

31 Days Of 80's Movie Slashers: 10/27 - Humongous (1982)

2011-10-28T15:58:00.003-04:00

Day Twenty-seven:

Humongous
From Embassy Pictures
Original Theatrical Release Date: June 11th 1982
DVD: No (Coming Soon)

Plot: Young people crash their boat onto an island that's is seemingly uninhabited. They eventually find themselves fighting for survival as the titular character is alive and well on the island... and very hungry.

Readers, I am so very sorry for this late posting. I was stuck on an island without any means of outside communication. No phone (lost that when I left it in my pocket and decided to take a swim in the pool on Tuesday--but that didn’t matter as there’s also no Cell Phone service on the Island, anyway) no WiFi, no TV and I think the only newspaper available was from Tuesday of last week. It is then truly fitting that Thursday’s post just so happened to be the deserted Island-set Humongous. Just like a young Jamie Lee Curtis in Haddonfield High School learned, Fate has a way of sneaking up on you.

At some point in life, you might ask yourself what would you do if you were stuck on a deserted island like in the film. I’m not one of those persons. I do not want to be stuck on a deserted island. Nor do I want to put myself in a position where I might be stuck on a deserted island. And I certainly don’t want to think about what I would have to do if that situation arose. No good can come of it. For one, you can plan it out in your head all you want, but I think the reality just might be a bit harder and more frightening than that picture.

Frightening for me comes in a very small form... Think about all those mosquitoes, biting gnats and bugs! The main culprit for my torture was what the locals called "NoSeeUms"--Small enough to not spot right away, but you sure can feel them!. It’s enough that they spent all day yesterday and this morning eating me alive (I think I have literally 50 bites) imagine spending weeks? Months? Years?! I’d end up being a half eaten, talking corpse right out of a Stephen King short story. I might adapt to my environment as they say you do, but, these bugs know I’m a city boy, and they are totally gunning for me. I’m dead meat.

Also, the superstitious side of me fears that if I think too much of these things (I definitely should not dare speak them aloud!) then they just might happen. And finally, why do I have to think about putting myself in this scenario when I can watch Movies where people fall into it themselves? I’ve always considered Movies as a form of therapy. Without them, I’m sure to be a crazy mess. I would more than likely start thinking that this Island I was on just might turn out to be a place I’d never escape. It’s enough that I’m not able to get my little writings out to the World Wide Interwebs on time, but to not be able to flip through the TV to see ads for old people who can drive their scooters to the edge of the Grand Canyon? What am I, an animal?! Am I a mongoloid without a family, a home, building blocks and a dream to one day be a TV Talk Show Host in the unassuming style of Dick Cavett, Mike Douglas or Tom Snyder?

I’d imagine The Movie Humongous wasn’t so put through the publicity machine where it’s young stars guest starred on such shows or their early 80’s counterpart. The Film was released by Embassy Pictures, which as it turns out, was not the best Studio in the world and didn’t make it past the mid-80’s. They did release the occasional wonderful Film now and then and had come up with great poster art for the Film. The Trailer also has a certain charm to it. Their biggest folly came in their Home Video division as it’s VHS was famously transferred incorrectly (were they actually sleeping while they did this?) and it’s print was way too dark to make out of a lot of the Action. For years this has marred the Film, and a lot of potential fans ended up dismissing the Film because of it.

Now if you really love Humongous, and I’m one of the few who really do, then you probably already understand why. Regardless of it’s beyond muddled transfer, and this is a Film that already used a lot of natural lighting in it’s Cinematography in the first place, there are several treats in store for you. The aforementioned Island setting is one that I like to see as it adds to the creepiness and gives the film a more claustrophobic feel (the kids crash their boat with no foreseeable way to get off) and again, I can let them go through all the trouble of having to worry about that while I am not sitting somewhere comfortable, sipping a sweet tea (ah, the south and their sweet tea--lord bless ‘em!) and finally being able to post this damn thing.

Nick and Donna are quite the duo and have some really wacky and combative dialogue. For example, in bed during sex...

Nick: You blew it Donna! This was your last chance at this bed; an historic occasion.
Donna: Yeah right, Nick. Everything with you is an historic occasion.
Nick: Well if you’d have cum, that would have been a historic occasion!

Nick seems to have a really distraught view of the world, but because he does, it makes his actions and motivations that more interesting to watch. Donna is definitely not the typical slut of these films. There’s a warmth behind her eyes and she really does have good intentions. And golly, she picks berries like the best of them! Headband sporting Sandy has a great outfit and look. By the end of the Film she does win you over a bit more. She has a knack for sleuthing and shares notes with Amy Steel’s Ginny from Friday The 13th Part II with how to deal with deformed sons in a bind. David Wallace (A handsome actor who was also the lead in 1983’s Slasherific Mortuary) as Eric does a good job in portraying a guy who just wants to keep his head above water and get his family and friends out of this mess.

The look and feel of Humongous is one that is not captured all that often in Horror Films. I think anyone can plop their camera down on an Island, run around with it, create fake tension with a shaky camera. There is something at once both restrained and creative at play here. The Filmmakers occasionally use dutch angles (especially when it’s titular character comes around to say hello) and the minimal lighting and emphasis on dread and mood come into play very nicely. Paul Lynch for the most part is known as a serviceable, workmanlike Director, but Humongous gives you a little something extra now and then. His artistry comes through in the way he attempts to deliver a solid story from beginning to end.

From it’s prologue to it’s mesmerizing early credit sequence and down to it’s final shot, Humongous always keeps me hooked. Even if I couldn’t absolutely see everything. Thankfully, I eventually got hold of a copy of an Canadian VHS Tape from the Astral Label and the quality was a bit more brighter than the Embassy Tape and the Film’s darker moments, especially during the chase sequences, were considerably more effective. Even better the Film is coming to DVD next month from the Scorpion Releasing Label and is promised to be the best transfer of the Movie yet. I can't wait.

On the Island last night I learned to be man enough to know that I’m just not going out there in the dark. I know my place. The bugs have made it clear. My place is definitely at the Movies. Whether they be in a darkened Movie Theater or at home. It’s the best place to be.

Trailer:

31 Days Of 80's Movie Slashers: 10/26 - Hell Night (1981)

2011-10-26T15:07:00.003-04:00

Day Twenty-six:

Hell Night
From Compass International (Sadly their last Film)
Original Theatrical Release Date: August 28th 1981
DVD: Yes (and contains a very good Commentary to boot!)

Plot: College kids must stay at an old manor as part of their pledge. They soon realize that they are not alone as the mutated offspring of the manor's owners don't like uninvited guests.

Hell Night is probably the best Slasher Film to ever have been Directed by someone who also did porn. Director Tom DeSimone (Reform School Girls, Chatterbox, The Concrete Jungle) started his career by editing Children's Films, and has had a wild career trajectory since! In the 70's, DeSimone switched gears to the Adult Gay Filmmaking industry and while watching a movie like Hell Night, you would have guessed. Well, porn in the 70's was a bit more classy than usual, I suppose.

Classy is an easy but appropriate word to label a Slasher like Hell Night. The vibe here is a bit more elegant than usual (Well, that is after the really wild opening scene. Now that seems like a party!) There's just something about a large, creepy house light with mostly natural lighting. Hell Night is kind of like the Barry Lyndon of Horror Films. Imagine all the work it took to light all those candles and to keep it in continuity! The Cinematography was by the underrated Mac Ahlberg (The Seduction, Re-Animator, House, A Very Brady Sequel) and he has a particular style that I always enjoy.

Another thing I adore about Hell Night is it's characters. Linda Blair is charming as usual (especially with her, er, natural charms) and makes for a good Final Girl. She comes close to being a tad useless with Peter Barton around to play the hero, but in the rousing finale she proves she can kick butt like the best of Final Girls. There's also the surprisingly fun performance of Vincent Van Patten (Rock 'N Roll High School, The World Poker Tour) as surfer type Seth. Dressed as Robin Hood, Seth cracks jokes and could have easily been the typical prankster character from a Slasher, but here he is filled with quirks and is quite charming. He has has a pretty good knack for climbing over impossibly sharp and high gates and sneaking into Police Stations to steal their weapons. We all need a little Seth in our lives to make it a bit brighter. Peter Barton (Friday The 13th Part 4) makes for a sensitive would-be hero. Kevin Brophy's Peter Bennett play the fraternity jerk really well, and the girls, both bitchy (Jenny Neumann) and slutty--and maybe Australian? (Suki Goodwin) are fun to watch.

I wouldn't be put off by the fact that this Film is lighter on the standard gore and nudity of Films of it's kind of the time. It's interesting that the producers and powers that be chose to to trim down some of that in hopes to make a Film that would hold up a bit more with time. Because the Film is so well done, DeSimone has a really good eye for creating atmosphere in his films, ultimately you don't need to walk away only remembering the gratuitous. There are plenty of creepy, wonderful things to be found in Hell Night. Maybe it's just me, but, sleuthing and walking around in the dark with candles to guide your way is kind of hot.

Trailer:

Next up for Linda Blair after Hell Night: Chained Heat and Savage Streets. This might be the last time Linda was so innocent and sweet. Dealing with mongoloids in dark mansions with secret underground passageways will do that to you!