Another major contributor to the horror field has died. Wes Craven has left behind a legacy, love it or hate it. I liked this first entry in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series. There were a few sequels that I didn’t much care for. And after awhile, Freddy Kreuger’s wisecracks can get grating and tiresome. There are some style points to consider though. Craven incorporated a lot of dazzling effects in this film that still retain the power to creep out the viewer. There are elastic walls groping toward intended victims with claws and bodies busting through. There is the girl who finds herself plastered to the ceiling. There is a substantial quota of blood and gore. No wonder this series lasted as long as it did. The kids love all this shit! If nothing else, Craven will be recognized as an industrious talent who had a keen eye for developing horror franchises and having his earlier works rebooted. “Scream” is the other major franchise but that whole phenomenon eluded me. I guess I was too old.
All posts by Andrew Swartz
HOMBRE – 1967
This movie has been playing a lot on cable TV. It is, in fact, a very fine film. Paul Newman is a man who was brought up among Native Americans in the Old West. His attempt to enter into “civilized society” meets with many harrowing encounters with man’s inhumanity to man. There are quite a few characters appearing in this film for whom enough just isn’t good enough. They want more than the what they’ve already got, no matter how sizable, and do not care who or what is forced out of the way on their quest to get the additional largess. To put it simply, there are a ton of dirt bag scoundrels acting out this drama. Some fine performances provided by Richard Boone, Frederic March, and Cameron Mitchell. Newman essentially plays a rather stoic persona here but his “strong, silent type” is loaded with more strength and character than most of the other players. I like him in this role. The various instances of racism, intolerance toward fellow man, greed, avarice and general bad behavior on display here make it, at times, a difficult movie to sit through. Take the time to make this journey and you will feel well rewarded although a bit sad at the end.
WESTWORLD – WHAT HAPPENS IN WESTWORLD….
Enjoyable fantasy flick about an amusement park for adults where life like robots make up the populace and, if you’re lucky, you might even be able to sleep with or kill one of them! Vegas has got nothing on this place! But, it isn’t a perfect world, even in Westworld. Computers there, as in our present society, seem to have mind’s of their own. The robots begin to act on impulse, out of control of their creators, and all Hell breaks loose. A good rainy day flick to curl up with for 90 minutes. Nice electronic soundtrack, too!
STRANGE AND UNUSUAL CREATURES – WTF?
With all the recording devices out there capable of capturing video and digital pictures, it may be but a short time before some substantial evidence of something truly weird will be available. Have evidence of Bigfoot, aliens, sea monsters and the like already been obtained? Check out this creepy little compilation of freaky, pixelated pixies of all stripes. So many monsters, so little time.
THEY LIVE – PIPER’S BEST!
It gets to be a drag commenting on the great personalities who are no longer with us. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper just passed at too young an age. Roddy Piper made his name in the wrestling ring and established himself as one of the most memorable heels ever. You were never quite sure what stunt Piper would resort to as he became increasingly wound up and then exploded in some violent act of lunacy. Sports Entertainment never looked so good when this maniac was present. Piper branched out into action flicks and turned up in this John Carpenter directed paranoid fantasy. Piper plays a drifter who stumbles into a well concealed alien scheme of mass manipulation and brain washing of the public at large. Piper then attempts to eradicated the problem. Much machine gun fire, explosions, mayhem and even some wrestling action ensues. One of Carpenter’s better post – Halloween, The Thing, efforts. Piper’s best role. BTW – I made up for an earlier fail and have actually attached the trailer now. DOH!!!
COUNT DRACULA – 1970
Christopher Lee commented that he welcomed this take as Dracula because it was a role that followed the novel source material closer than the Hammer Film’s series which brought Lee to international stardom. Lee also had a chance to emote beyond the various snarls, grunts and invectives that the Hammer Dracula required. I look back fondly on this film, admittedly. a low budget affair. Yes. The interior sets look a bit prefabricated and cheap and spray on spider webs adorn Dracula’s castle to an uncomfortable degree but there are many charming exterior sequences that sustain my interest. There is also a nice turn by macabre movie veteran Klaus Kinski as a bug eyed, creepy Renfield. I remember seeing Christopher Lee at a horror movie convention in the 1970’s where he sat not more than five feet away surrounded by fans and talked of his career. It was a very awesome experience for an impressionable youth, being me. I always enjoyed Lee’s work, whether it be portraying Frankenstein’s monster, The Mummy, The Man with the Golden Gun, or Dracula. A true giant in the world of fantasy films, Lee will be greatly missed.
NEWS FLASH – 10/07/16 – I watched some of this flick last night and noticed that Van Helsing (Herbert Lom) had blue hair! The back of his gentlemanly white pate was an odd shade of blue. WTF? Nice touch whether intentional or not.
LOVE STINKS – J. GEILS BAND
More 1980’s music video hilarity, intentional or otherwise, from this big blues/rock band. The sentiment of the song is universal as well as we have all had our hearts ripped out at one time or another by the focus of our affections. Beautiful guitar break about 80% in to the song. My old friend once described it as “5,000 overdubbed guitars” crunching out some power chords. What’s not to love????!!!!!
LADY IN A CAGE – 1964
Sickening 1960’s precursor to the “Saws” and “Hostels” of today’s sadomasochistic cinema. An invalid gets trapped in her elevator after an electrical mishap shuts off the power in her house. It’s not long after this that a collection of cruds break in to her place and indulge in unpleasant behavior. A wino, a floozy, and a trio of psychotic hipsters make the place their own and spread the mayhem. James Caan in an early, evil role. Shot in very bland, claustrophobic black and white. You’ll feel damaged by the time this thing is done.
KING OF THE LOST WORLD – 2005
With a lot of attention being placed on the upcoming theatrical release of “Jurassic World”, it might interest you to take a look at this lovely little lost world ditty. A plan crashes on an isolated island that is rife with primordial life forms. But the really beautiful beastie present is the “King” of this place. Look familiar? A man in a terrible ape suit runs wild at times through this thing. This movie is a great diversion. Seek it out and have a few cheap thrills!
ALIEN 3 – A NEW DIRECTION
Alien 3 is not my favorite entry in the Alien film franchise. After the kinetic pace and firepower of “Aliens” before it, this tale of the Ripley character marooned on a planet serving as a prison for male only inmates who have no access to guns, explosives, etc. was, to say the least, a letdown. It was also in this David Fincher directed piece that people started fucking with the alien character itself. We started to see the alien hybrid creature emerge which is meant to add to its character development as it can’t speak and deliver lines of a script. In my opinion, it adds no interest to the story to see an alien burst out of a dog and to try and pick out the new features particular to this unholy mating. LAME! Let’s also not forget that two pivotal characters from “Aliens”, Hicks and Newt, didn’t even make it out alive from the crash of the escape shuttle on the prison planet! It was a very messy creative decision but that is how we started “Alien 3”.
It was thus a very pleasant shock to find out that Neill Blomkamp, director of “District 9” and “Chappie” fame, has been tinkering with a storyline that will follow on after the events of “Aliens”! It will be like “Alien 3” and (the dreadful, don’t get me started, another review maybe?) “Alien Resurrection” never existed. Hicks, at least, will live to face another alien challenge!!! Blomkamp is not releasing a lot of details but Ridley Scott will be producing the new film and Blomkamp is writing and directing. What an amazing development in my favorite film franchise!
OVERLORDS OF THE UFO – 1976 – BOSS!
Until Ken Burns comes around to create the definitive UFO documentary, whet your appetite for extraterrestrial visitation speculation with this 1970’s compendium of still photos, film footage and witness interviews. A lot of zooming and panning across still images of alien abductions and weird encounters taking place are in full representation in this film. Very serious narration bolsters the claims of pilots, military personnel and civilians that they have been in the presence of other worldly beings and craft. Nice, electronic music flourishes, combined with canned orchestral passages provide the musical bed for this piece. It all has a very ’70’s feel which can be attractive or repulsive according to your tastes. For a historical refresher course on the state of UFO research up until the 1970’s, this one is worth checking out. But be warned that the film’s mellow pace may lull you to sleep as well.
NIGHT RANGER – “WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES” – LEAVE THE ACTING TO THE PROFESSIONALS
Night Ranger was a band that made it big in the formative days of MTV. Apparently, a film school friend recorded their music video and it was given heavy air play on the fledgling music video network. With a limited amount of content to air, Night Ranger’s “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” received heavy play on the network. The public took note and music video stars were born. A succession of pop metal hits was the spawn. “When You Close Your Eyes” follows the Night Ranger formula and features the band members exhibiting their thespian skills. The net results are lame and strained but what would you expect from the heady days of the early 1980’s? These guys were on fire and knew no limits. Looking at this video now, I’d say they met their match as they couldn’t act their way out of a paper sack. Nice try, though, as painful as it may be to sit through. Seeing the band perform now, I think it is bassist/singer Jack Blades who is dreaming about the mullet sporting dreamboat he once was. Time has its ravage and Blades is a perfect example. I am no exception. Rock on, Dudes.
REVENGE – 1990 – (NOT A DATE MOVIE!)
Two of Hollywood’s most beautiful stars at the time, Kevin Costner and Madeline Stowe, engage in an illicit affair in this Tony Scott directed film. The scorned husband of Stowe, Anthony Quinn, uncovers the truth and orchestrates an unremittingly grim beat down upon the two lovers. Shockingly violent and ugly, this is a movie plot conjured out of nightmares and grim fantasies. There are no hero saves the day moments in store, just a final, sickening realization within the main characters that maybe it would have been better to have just stayed the course and avoided the ruination of their lives that took place after engaging in the affair. Another in a long line of movies that I have no desire to view twice.
THE RELIC – 1997
I have never really liked this movie. On recent viewing, I can see why. The entire production is revolting. It starts with the fact that this is a big budgeted movie based on a best selling book, “Relic”. Don’t expect to watch this and think it reliably follows the novel. There have been many editorial liberties taken. (So what else is new, you ask?) This movie is awash in guts and gore being spewed in all directions. There are generous helpings of entrail ripping, blood splatterings and heads being severed. Ugh. I don’t think I found one likeable character in the entire story. Maybe that helps ease the pain of having to add to the body count. So what the whole sick mess is about purports to be a genetically altered human, reptile, insect hybrid monster that lurks in a sewer below a Natural History Museum. A cop is investigating some deaths at the museum and stumbles upon this menace. Too many dimly lit scenes, screaming, fleeing people, body mutilations, and crude special effects for my tastes. Should have been left under lock and key.