Daily Archives: October 4, 2022

What Lisa Marie Watched Last Night #223: Black Eagle (dir by Eric Karson)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I watched the 1988 “action” film, Black Eagle!

Why Was I Watching It?

Last night, I watched Black Eagle as a part of the Monday Action Movie live tweet.  Going into the film, I knew that it starred Sho Kosugi and Jean-Claude Van Damme and that was enough for me.  As the film started, I was happy to see that it took place in Malta.  I spent the summer after I graduated from high school in Europe and I spent a few days visiting Malta, its museums, and especially its beaches.  I have good memories of the Malta days and especially the Malta nights.

What Was It About?

I’m not really sure what the film was about.  I watched all 100 minutes of it and, as far as I could tell, an American airplane crashed off the coast of Malta so the CIA brought in Ken Tani (Sho Kosugi) to dive into the sea and retrieve something important from the plane.  However, a Russian named Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme) also wanted whatever it was that was on the plane so he and his people ended up chasing Ken all over Malta, an island that I have visited.

Ken was also on vacation so, when he wasn’t killing people, he was hanging out with his two sons, Brian (Kane Kosugi) and Denny (Shane Kosugi).  The CIA helpfully sent along one of their agents, Patricia Parker (Doran Clark), and she acted a sort of nanny while Ken was busy fighting the Russians.  Also helping Ken was a Jesuit (Bruce French) who also happened to be an explosive expert.  I don’t think the Vatican would approve of a priest blowing up boats and building but everyone knows better than to argue with a Jesuit.

What Worked?

Jean-Claude Van Damme didn’t really do much in this movie but he still looked good and he got to do the splits a few times.  In fact, it was kind of funny to watch him actively search out any possible excuse to do a split.  I had a lot of fun imagining that Andrei only became an international spy so that he could show off his gymnastic abilities.  It’s too bad he missed out on Gymkata.

The Maltese scenery was lovely, even if the film itself was a bit grainy.  Have I mentioned that I’ve been to Malta?

What Did Not Work?

Oh, that Sho Kosugi.  He was great when he was fighting people and tossing them off of buildings but whenever he had to actually deliver dialogue and try to show emotion …. AGCK!  There’s a reason why Sho Kosugi’s most popular American films — Enter the Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination — feature him playing a villain.  Even when Kosugi was acting opposite his children, he seemed to be in a fairly bad mood.

At one point, Ken asked the priest how he became an expert in demolitions.  “Ever hear of a place called Vietnam,” the Jesuit replied and I groaned as I realized that Ken had made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.  If there’s one thing that I understand as a result of being raised Catholic, it’s that you never ask a Jesuit for his origin story unless you’ve got a few hours to kill.

To be honest, the film could have used even more scenes about Malta, a lovely place of which I have many good memories.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

I’ve been to Malta.

Lessons Learned

Definitely go to Malta if you get a chance.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: The Mid 50s

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films.  I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we take a look at the mid-50s!

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: The Mid 50s

Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: William E. Snyder)

Tarantula (1955, dir by Jack Arnold, DP: George Robinson)

Bride of the Monster (1955, dir by Ed Wood, DP: Ted Allan and William C. Thompson)

It Conquered The World (1956, dir by Roger Corman, DP: Fred E. West)

Horror Film Review: Child’s Play (dir by Tom Holland)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A few months ago, I rewatched the original 1988 Child’s Play.

I have to say that I was surprised by just how well the film held up.  Today, of course, everyone knows about Chucky.  Everyone know that Chucky was originally Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif), a serial killer who was chased into a toy store by police detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon).  Knowing that he had little chance of escaping and not wanting to go to back to prison or face the electric chair, Charles Lee Ray performed a quick occult ceremony.  While lighting crashed all around the store, Charles transported his soul into a “Good Guy” doll.

That doll was later purchased by a hard-working, single mom named Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks).  She gave the doll to her six year-old son, Andy (Alex Vincent).  There was nothing that Andy wanted more for his birthday than a talking Good Guy doll.  Unfortunately, Good Guy dolls were also very expensive and Karen wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to afford to buy one.  But, when she ran into a homeless guy who happened to be selling stolen merchandise out of his shopping cart, Karen was able to make Andy’s birthday a happy one!  Andy unwrapped the doll and smiled as the doll introduced himself as being “Chucky” and asked if he wanted to play.

Unfortunately, it soon turned out that Charles Lee Ray wasn’t going to stop killing people just because he was now trapped inside the doll.  If anything, being trapped in the doll made Ray even more homicidal.  It makes sense if you think about it.  I’m sure that Charles Lee Ray didn’t realize that performing that voodoo curse would cause him to wake up as a plastic toy wearing overalls and being expected to be a 6 year-old’s best friend.

Anyway, Chucky went on a rampage, killed several people, and everyone blamed Andy.  Not even Karen believed Andy when Andy explained that Chucky was the one killing people with toy hammers and blowing up houses.  Or, at least, Karen didn’t believe Andy until she herself was attacked by Chucky.  With Chucky freaking out about the prospect of being stuck in the doll’s body for the rest of his existence and wanting to possess his new owner instead, Karen and Mike teamed up to protect Andy from the world’s worst birthday present.

To be honest, Child’s Play shouldn’t work as well as it does.  The story is ludicrous, even by the standards of late 80s horror.  There’s no way that a doll should be able to do things like throw a hammer with enough force to send someone flying out of a window.  (Making the scene even stranger is the fact that it’s not even a real hammer but instead a little plastic Good Guy hammer.)  And yet, the film does work and not just as an example of nostalgic camp.  This is a scary and emotionally effective story, even if you already know the truth about Chucky.  It helps that Alex Vincent gives a totally natural, uncutesy performance as Andy.  Your heart really breaks for him as he begs the adults in his life to understand that it’s Chucky who is doing all of the bad things and not him.  As well, Catherine Hicks deserves a lot of credit for taking her role seriously.  And finally, the great Brad Dourif does wonders with just his voice.  At first, it’s undeniably funny to hear his angry voice coming out of Chucky but Dourif delivers his lines with such unhinged conviction that it’s actually rather frightening when he suddenly drops the act and starts cursing out Karen.  After all of the sequels and the subsequent television shows, Chucky himself has become a bit of a pop cultural icon.  He’s almost as lovable as Freddy and Jason combined.  But in the first Child’s Play, that doll is seriously scary.  He may be small but he has the energy and ruthlessness of a feral beast.  When he attacks, you have no doubt that he’s not going to stop until he’s gotten what he wants and what he wants is usually for someone to die.

The first Child’s Play earns its status as a horror classic by being surprisingly scary and also surprisingly emotional.  You really do end up caring about Karen and Andy.  When Karen finally went after that smug, murderous doll, I definitely cheered a little.  Take that, Chucky!

The Sky, Review by Case Wright (Dir. Matt Sears)

Posted on by casewright

Matt Sears only creates shorts, therefore, I am primed to like this creator. The Sky takes the Alien invasion/destruction genre and compresses it to two ordinary friends who are going to watch it end. The short brushed up a little too close to the Cardinal Sin of making a pitch masquerading as a short. I do give him a pass on this because it did deliver on the apocalypse.

Ellie and Victoria are old friends who are salt of the earth archetypes. Ellie has a string of boyfriends and is on the outs with her mom. Victoria doesn’t want to die alone. They decide to drink the British version of Two Buck Chuck, do shrooms, and watch it all end. Ellie’s mom tries to reconnect with her for the final moments, but she is on a pier somewhere not nearby. It is revealed that somehow Victoria contrived to prevent Ellie from spending the end of the world with her instead of having a reconciliation during this lovely Gotterdammerung.

Ellie leaves Victoria to die alone as she is hallucinating on shrooms. We are not sure whether or not she actually sees her mother, but we do see them both die. This film was made during COVID; so, it has an out with a whimper feel to it. I have not seen Matt Sears’ other shorts, but this is a Stephen King style story-telling- regular people who have to live with a monster in the basement- i.e. it’s never about the monster, it’s about how ordinary people live with a monster.

It reminds me of the song Veronica. It’s not about the Alzheimer’s; no, it’s about how loved she was that a man left everything to help the love of his life- die. Here, there’s no hope, but humanity continues.
So yes, I approve.

Horror on the Lens: A Cold Night’s Death (dir by Jerrold Freedman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s Horror on the Lens, we have a made-for-TV movie from 1973.  As you can tell from the video below, it originally aired as a part of ABC’s Tuesday Night At The Movies so it’s only appropriate that we are also sharing it on Tuesday.

A Cold Night’s Death tells the story of two scientists (Eli Wallach and Robert Culp) who are sent to a remote research station to investigate the apparent disappearance of another scientist.  They soon come to suspect that they may not be alone and soon, paranoia rears its ugly head.  With its frozen landscape and its ominous atmosphere, this movie feels like a distant cousin to John Carpenter’s The Thing.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: See You In Hell by Grim Reaper (1982, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Grim Reaper was so hardcore that they ever had Satan himself watching over their concerts!

See You In Hell is probably best remembered for Beavis and Butt-Head’s epic takedown of both the video and the singer.

Unlike certain other musicians — Oh hai, Winger — Grim Reaper was actually a good sport about Beavis and Butt-Head’s mockery.  Mike Judge once told David Letterman that one of the scariest moments of his life was when he ran into Grim Reaper’s lead guitarist while backstage at a concert.  Judge was expecting the guitarist to be angry with him but instead, he said that the band enjoyed and agreed with Beavis and Butt-Head’s critique.  He also sent Judge copies of the band’s other two videos so that the boys could take a crack at them.

Enjoy!