Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review — 10/25/21 — 10/31/21

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, that’s it!  Another horrorthon draws to a close!  This was our biggest horror month ever!  Thank you to everyone who contributed and a special thank you to everyone who read and commented!

Here’s what I did this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962)
  2. Black Sabbath (1963)
  3. Carnival of Souls (1962)
  4. Dementia 13 (1963)
  5. Dolls (1986)
  6. Dracula (1931)
  7. Falling From Grace (1992)
  8. A Field in England (2013)
  9. Halloween (1978)
  10. Halloween Safety (1977)
  11. Highway to Hell (1992)
  12. Hoosiers (1986)
  13. Inferno (1980)
  14. The Internship (2013)
  15. Lisa and the Devil (1973)
  16. The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
  17. The Mark of the Wolfman (1968)
  18. Near Dark (1987)
  19. Night of the Lepus (1972)
  20. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
  21. None For The Road (1957)
  22. Norwood (1970)
  23. Outlaw Blues (1977)
  24. Phenomena (1985)
  25. The Procrastinator (1952)
  26. Psycho (1960)
  27. Shake Hands With Danger (1980)
  28. Spiral: From The Book of Saw (2021)
  29. Suspiria (1977)
  30. The Swarm (1978)
  31. The Tell Tale Heart (1953)
  32. Ten Minutes To Midnight (2021)
  33. Tenebrae (1982)
  34. The Terror (1963)
  35. Wicked Stepmother (1989)
  36. Zola (2021)
  37. Zombi 2 (1979)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Allo Allo
  2. Dancing With The Stars
  3. Degrassi
  4. Fear The Walking Dead
  5. Friday the 13th: The Series
  6. The Love Boat
  7. Open All Hours
  8. Saved By The Bell
  9. Seinfeld
  10. Survivor 41
  11. Toy Story of Terror
  12. The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Books I Read:

  1. Killer’s Kiss (1997) by R.L. Stine
  2. The Knife (1991) by R.L. Stine
  3. Master of Murder (1992) by Christopher Pike
  4. Night of the Living Dead (1974) by John Russo
  5. Shock Value (2011) by Jason Zinoman
  6. Trapped (1997) by R.L. Stine

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Blanck Mass
  2. Britney Spears
  3. The Chambers Brothers
  4. The Chemical Brothers
  5. Chrysta Bell
  6. Fiona Apple
  7. Goblin
  8. Hans Zimmer
  9. Jakalope
  10. John Carpenter
  11. Katy Perry
  12. Keith Emerson
  13. Nine Inch Nails
  14. Saint Motel
  15. Taylor Swift

Trailers:

  1. Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse Trailers: 6 Trailers For The Fourth Tuesday In October
  2. Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse Trailers: 12 Trailers For Halloween
  3. Lightyear
  4. Black Friday
  5. Prisoners of the Ghostland
  6. The Unforgivable
  7. Deadlock
  8. Hellbound
  9. House of Gucci
  10. A Hero 
  11. Red Stone
  12. The Wheel of Time
  13. The Witcher
  14. Cowboy Bebop
  15. True Story

Live Tweets:

  1. The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Halloween

News From Last Week:

  1. Friends’s James Michael Tyler dies at 59
  2. Comedian Mort Sahl dies at 94
  3. Katy Perry celebrates 37 in Mexico with Orlando Bloom and Friends
  4. Hilaria Baldwin fears Alec will develop PTSD after tragic shooting of Halyna Hutchins
  5. BOO York: Big Apple is No. 1 city for witches
  6. Ice Cube backs out of $9M Sony, Jack Black flick after refusing vax request
  7. ‘Dune’ Leads Domestic Box Office Again as ‘Antlers,’ ‘Last Night in Soho’ Struggle to Scare Up Crowds
  8. Alec Baldwin Gives First On-Camera Comments on Halyna Hutchins Death: ‘She Was My Friend’
  9. ‘Rust’ armorer says she doesn’t know how live ammo got on set, according to attorneys
  10. 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Stuns With Surprise Guests, Magical Performances

Links From Last Week:

  1. The house from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is for sale — if you have the guts to buy it – CNN October 30, 2021
  2. 19 Horror Films I own that I can watch over and over (and some are pretty awful, but there is something about each of these films that I dig)…
  3. Halloween Costumes 2021! Big Macs! Headless Dogs! Bacon And “Squid Game” Too!
  4. MONKEY’S PAW- HALLOWEEN 2021
  5. Christopher Hitchens: ten years since he has gone
  6. The World’s Common Tater’s Week In Books, Movies, and Television — 10/29/21
  7. It’s Time for a Rock & Roll Halloween
  8. Japanese Films at Tokyo FILMeX 2021 (October 30th to November 07th)
  9. Visiting Dracula’s Castle! Would You Spend The Night There – Inside A Coffin?
  10. The ‘Strange’ Writing of Robert Aickman

Links From The Site:

(Yes, this is going to take a while)

  1. Doc shared a Halloween message!
  2. Ryan reviewed Scat Hog, Sum Musings On Skipping Town, Tackling Ancient Patterns Of Codependency, Trying To Harness Wholeness, & Generally Just Trying To Fucking Cope!, Musical Pretext For Gestural Adventure, and Are Comic Books Real?
  3. Erin shared Tourist Trap, Girls Nite Out, Too Scared to Scream, Trauma, Deer in a Cemetery, Ghost Story, and Happy Halloween!
  4. Erin shared How A Neighborhood Gets Ready For Halloween and the Dastardly Cults of the Pulp Era!
  5. Erin counted down the days to Halloween: 6 Days, 5 Days, 4 Days, 3 Days, 2 Days, 1 Day, and 0 Days!
  6. Erin welcomed you to the night before Halloween and Halloween!
  7. Leonard reviewed Werewolves Within and Halloween Kills!
  8. Jeff reviewed The Disappearance of Flight 412, Sssssss, Murder By Phone, The Martian Chronicles Episode 1, 2, and 3, and Afraid of the Dark!
  9. Jeff played Dungeons and Deadlines, Plane Walker, The Golden Heist, Hercules!, Universal Hologram, What Heart Heard Of Ghost Guessed, and we the remainder!
  10. Jeff shared music videos from Andrew Gold, REO Speedwagon, Pete Townshend, The Cars, Genesis, Carly Simon, and Alice Cooper!
  11. Jeff wrote about Apaches, Doctor Who, Werewolf By Night, and Ghost Rider!
  12. I reviewed The Danger Next Door, Rope, Zola, The Mark of the Wolfman, Mulberry Street, Wishmaster, The Bridge Curse, The Naked Witch,  Outlaw Blues, Hellraiser, The Awful Dr. Orlof, Star 80, Body Bags, Dementia 13, The Brood, Terrifier, Ira and Abby, Wicked Stepmother, Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Terror, Lisa and the Devil, Spiral, Fear the Walking Dead, Ten Minutes to Midnight, The Amazing Colossal Man, War of the Colossal Beast, The Love Boat, and Satan’s School for Girls!
  13. I read Jack the Ripper: The Complete A to Z, Killer’s Kiss, L.A. Exposed, Trapped, Shock Value, Master of Murder, The Rocklopedia Fakebandica, Night of the Living Dead, If Chins Could Kill, and the Knife!
  14. I paid tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, Jess Franco, Mario Bava, John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Dario Argento, and George Romero!
  15. I shared scenes from Halloween 3, The Birds, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Thing, Black Sabbath, The Trip, Inferno, and Dawn of the Dead!
  16. I shared the following movies: The Lodger, House on Haunted Hill, The Last Man on Earth, Gammera the Invincible, Little Shop of Horrors, Carnival of Souls, and Night of the Living Dead!
  17. I shared the following episodes of Friday the 13th: The Series: Scarlet Cinema, Mephisto Ring, The Butcher, Mesmer’s Bauble, Wedding Bell Blues, The Maestro, and Coven of Darkness!
  18. I shared my week in television and a bonus episode of Degrassi and six classic Halloween episodes!
  19. I shared the following blasts from the past: The Procrastinator, None for the Road, Shake Hands With Danger, Halloween Safety, Christopher Lee reads the Tell Tale Heart, James Mason reads the Tell Tale Heart, and Swing You Sinners!
  20. I shared the following AMVs: Blood/Water!
  21. I shared my October Oscar predictions!

More From Us:

  1. Ryan has a patreon!  Please consider subscribing!
  2. On her photography site, Erin shared: Rainy Morning, Evening Clouds, Morning, October Branches, October Leaves, Swinging Death, and Happy Halloween!
  3. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared Don’t Read Too Much Into Anthony Brown’s Decision, Don’t Blame Princess Blanding, Vincente Gonzalez Switches Districts, Biggest Surprise of the Season, The Dirty Tricks Squad, Clutching Pearls, and A Special Halloween Offer!
  4. At SyFy Designs, I shared Halloween Memory #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6!  I also wished everyone a Happy Halloween!
  5. At my dream journal, I shared: Monday Morning’s Cat Dream, Tuesday Morning’s Banquet Dream, Wednesday Morning’s Movie Dream, Thursday Morning’s Shopping Dream, No Friday Morning Dreams, Saturday Morning’s Car Wash Dream, and Sunday Morning’s Airport Dream!
  6. At my music site, I shared songs from John Carpenter, Goblin, Keith Emerson, Jakalope, Jack Skellington, Fiona Apple, and Wendy Carlos!
  7. At Reality TV Chat Blog, I reviewed the latest episode of Survivor!
  8. For Horror Critic, I reviewed Dolls!

Want to check out last week?  Click here!

A Bonus Horror Scene That I Love: Conal Cochran’s Speech From Halloween III

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

With horrorthon coming to a close for another year, I figured why not allow Conal Cochran to get in a word or two.

This is from Halloween III: Season of the Witch.  Playing Conal Cochran, of course, is the great Dan O’Herlihy.

We hope you’ve all had a wonderful Halloween.

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Halloween

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Halloween!

Well, October is our biggest month of the year at the Shattered Lens.  We spend 30 days waiting for Halloween and then when it arrives, it’s always a little hard to know how to react.  I watched several horror movies.  Val watched some movies about Arsene Lupin.  Leonard reviewed a few movies.  Case has got his super cool sick voice going.  Jeff watched a documentary on mummies.  Erin is watching the World Series.

Here’s a little of what Halloween was like here at the Shattered Lens:

https://twitter.com/ShootThePicture/status/1454883030804275205

https://twitter.com/ShootThePicture/status/1454893582888816649

That #704 means that Val has watched nearly a hundred more movies than I have this year  I’m running behind!  What have I been doing that’s been taking me away from my first love of movies?

Agck!

By this point, I was watching Psycho on TCM.

All in all, it’s been a good October here at the Shattered Lens.  So, from our family to yours, Happy Halloween and to all a good night!

Horror on TV: Friday the 13th: The Series 2.26 “Coven of Darkness” (dir by George Bloomfield)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, with Horrorthon coming to a close, it’s time to share one final episode of Friday the 13th: The Series. Coven of Witches is the final episode of the second season. The third season would see John D. LeMay leave the show and Steven Monarque taking his place as Robey’s main co-star. So, this is perhaps the last classic episode of Friday the 13th: The Series.

I’ve really enjoyed sharing this series here on the Shattered Lens. In November, I’m going to sit down and the binge the entire show. Every episode is on YouTube, for anyone else who may want to catch up on it.

This episode originally aired on June 17th, 1989.

The TSL’s Grindhouse: Satan’s School For Girls (dir by David Lowell Rich)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Have you ever wanted to enroll in a private school so that you could investigate a murder and maybe uncover some sort of occult conspiracy?  Sure, we all have!  Well, don’t worry …. there’s a place for you!  Welcome to Salem Academy, an exclusive all-girl’s college where students learn all the basic subjects, along with taking courses in art and human sacrifice!

Salem Academy is overseen by the feared and intimidating Mrs. Williams (Jo Van Fleet), who keeps a close eye on her students and tries to make sure that they aren’t distracted or corrupted by any outside influences. However, not even Mrs. Williams can keep Martha Sayers (Terry Lumley) from fleeing the school and going to her sister’s house in Los Angeles. When Martha’s sister, Elizabeth (Pamela Franklin), returns home, she discovers that Martha has been hanged. The police say that it was suicide. Elizabeth believes that it’s something else.

So, Elizabeth does what any vengeance-seeking sister would do. Using an assumed name, she enrolls in Salem Academy herself. She meets and befriends three other students (played by Kate Jackson, Jamie Smith Jackson, and Cheryl Ladd). She gets to know two rather suspicious teachers, Prof. Delacroix (Lloyd Bochner) and Dr. Clampett (Roy Thinnes). She also manages to raise the concerns of Mrs. Williams, who doesn’t like the fact that the new girl keeps asking so many questions about why so many students at Salem Academy have died recently.

Still, Elizabeth continues to investigate. Perhaps the secret can be found in a mysterious painting that she comes across, one that appears to be of Martha? Perhaps the teachers and the students know more than they’re telling. But who can Elizabeth trust?

A made-for-television film from 1973, Satan’s School For Girls is frequently as silly as its name.  Fortunately, the film, which was produced by Aaron Spelling and directed David Lowell Rich, seems to understand just how ludicrous it is and it totally embraces both the melodrama and the silliness of its plot. This film is totally product of the time in which it was made, from the dialogue to the hairstyles to the fashions to the ending that you’ll see coming from a mile away. At the same time, that’s also why this film is a lot of fun. It’s such a product of its time that it doubles as a time capsule. Do you want to go back to 1973? Well, go over to YouTube and watch Satan’s School For Girls.  After you’ve watched it, step outside and ask anyone who the president is and they’ll probably say, “Richard Nixon.”  And if you ask them who they’re favorite Brady is, they’ll look at you like your crazy because everyone know that Marcia is the best Brady.  If you even have to ask, it’s obvious that you don’t really watch the show.  After that, you should probably try to find a way to get back to 2021 before you change the future or something.  You know how tricky time travel can be.

As for Satan’s School for Girls, it’s just a really fun movie so check it out and be sure not to be late for class!

What Lisa Marie Watched Tonight: The Love Boat 2.7 “Ship of Ghouls” (dir by Roger Duchovny)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, after I finished up Halloween, I switched over to MeTV and I watched a Halloween episode of that very 70s series, The Love Boat!

Why Was I Watching It?

A special Halloween episode of the silliest television series ever!?  And one featuring Vincent Price as an illusionist!?  How couldn’t I watch?

What Was It About?

For the ship’s Halloween cruise, the Amazing Alozno (Vincent Price) has been hired to do his act.  He’s quite the illusionist.  Through a combination of hypnotism and magic, he transforms the ship into a magical wonderland where people turn into donkeys and the pool briefly appears to be a giant ice cream sundae.  But will Alonzo also be able to conjure up love or will he continue to ignore his devoted fiancée and instead, only worry about keeping his fans happy?

Meanwhile, a model (Barbara Anderson) who is recovering from a serious car accident has absolutely no use for illusion.  She just wants to stay in her cabin but her friend, who also happens to be the cruise director, demands that she enjoy the cruise.

What Worked?

Vincent Price as an illusionist!?  Hell yeah!  Okay, the illusions were kind of dumb and never really made sense and the show never actually explained how he could turn Gopher and Doc into donkeys but …. well, isn’t the silliness kind of the point?  The important thing is that he was Vincent Price and he appeared to be having time of his life.  Good for him!

Barbara Anderson actually gave a pretty good dramatic performance as the model.  Admittedly, it did feel a little strange to have this extremely dramatic story playing out beside scenes of Vincent Price turning people into donkeys and transforming the ship’s pool into a giant ice cream sundae but again, I guess that was kind of the appeal of the show.  It’s all weird and somehow, it works.

The boat, incidentally, looked really nice.  I’m going to take a cruise now.

What Did Not Work?

On the Love Boat, everything works!

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

I could relate to the model and before anyone rolls their eyes, allow me to explain.  When I was 19, I was in a pretty serious car accident.  The car that I was in flipped over and I basically ended up upside down in the driver’s seat, surrounded by broken glass.  Later, I was told that, when people saw the damage the car, they assumed that I had to have died.  Instead, I only got a few scrapes, bruises, and cuts.  I ended up with two permanent scars — a small one on my hand and then another one on the side of my neck.  And for years, I was so self-conscious of that scar on my neck, even though it faded quickly and I now realize it was barely noticeable.  I obsessed on it, though, both because I disliked having it and also because it reminded me of a traumatic event.  All the angst and worrying that I did about it seems kind of silly now.

Lessons Learned

Love won’t have to hurt anymore.  It’s an open smile on a friendly shore.

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Finale of Dawn of the Dead

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For our final horror scene that I love of the 2021 Horrorthon, how about the ending of George Romero’s 1978 masterpiece, Dawn of the Dead?

Keep an eye out Tom Savini, going over that railing.

Horror Film Review: War of the Colossal Beast (dir by Bert I. Gordon)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Look who’s back! He’s big. He’s bald. He’s now missing a bit of his face and an eye. He doesn’t look too good but still…. it’s Glenn Manning!

When we last saw Lt. Col. Glenn Manning in 1957’s The Amazing Colossal Man, he had grown to become a giant as the result of getting caught up in a nuclear blast. He had also gone totally mad and, after attempting to destroy America’s greatest city (Las Vegas, if you had to ask), he promptly fell off the Boulder Dam. Everyone assumed he was dead.

They assumed wrong.

1958’s War of the Colossal Beast (which came out a year after The Amazing Colossal Man) opens with the discovery that Glenn is still alive and he’s still wandering around in the desert. Of course, as the title suggests, he’s no longer a man. Now, he’s a crazed beast! Not only is he missing an eye and several teeth but he can no longer speak in intelligible words. Whatever bit of mind he had left when he went over the side of Boulder Dam, he lost it all when he landed.

That’s not to say that the beast that was once Glenn doesn’t have memories. In fact, a good deal of this film’s 69 minute run time is made up of flashbacks to The Amazing Colossal Man. It’s just that Glenn can’t figure out what those flashbacks mean. Perhaps it’s because Glenn is now played by an actor named Dean Parkin while the flashbacks all feature a totally different actor in the role.

Anyway, Glenn is once again captured by the army and once again, he manages to escape. This time, Glenn leaves Vegas alone and instead attacks Los Angeles and Hollywood. Spare the film industry, Glenn! It’s up to the army and Glenn’s sister to once again try to convince Glenn to stop ripping the city apart. Of course, they could just try to convince him to fall off another dam….

Like the first film, War of the Colossal Beast was directed by Bert I. Gordon. War of the Colossal Beast isn’t as much fun of The Amazing Colossal Man, largely because Glenn can no longer speak so, other than in the flashbacks to the first film, we don’t get any tortured monologues about the unfairness of it all. That said, the Colossal Beast make-up is actually pretty effective and I’m sure many kids in the 50s had nightmares about having to escape from a one-eyed giant.

War of the Colossal Beast will be best appreciated by people who have seen the first film and who are looking for some sort of closure to Glenn’s tragic growth spurt. God knows that when I first watched The Amazing Colossal Man, I went outside after it was over and I shook my hands at the sky and I shouted, “DAMN YOU! I NEED MORE GLENN!” The main lesson of these films is that you should never try to rescue anyone in the desert. If Glenn hadn’t tried to save that pilot who crashed in the nuclear testing site, Vegas and Hollywood would never have been destroyed. It’s something to think about.

Horror Film Review: The Amazing Colossal Man (dir by Bert I. Gordon)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

First released in 1957 and beloved by B-movie lovers ever since, The Amazing Colossal Man tells the story of Lt Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan). It also tells the story of a country where bigger is automatically considered to be better but what happens when bigger leads to insanity?

In Nevada to observe the testing of America’s first plutonium bomb, Glenn panics when he sees that a small commercial plane has crashed in the test area. Glenn runs out to rescue the pilot and, not surprisingly, he ends up getting caught up in the bomb’s nuclear blast. Though he survives the initial explosion, he’s suffered severe burns and he’s not expected to live.

However, survive he does! Glenn Manning may now be totally bald but he still recovers from the burns. The only problem is that Glenn is growing now. He keeps getting bigger and bigger until eventually …. he’s colossal!

Unfortunately, becoming a giant doesn’t do much for Glenn’s overall mood. The film is rather unclear on what Glenn was like before he got dosed with radiation but afterwards, he’s kind of a jerk. He’s bitter about being so big. He’s upset that he has to live in a tent out in the middle of the desert. He resents being told that everything’s going to be okay. Worst of all, he’s reduced to wearing a really giant diaper which …. well, I don’t even what to think about it!

Eventually, Glenn gets so annoyed that he goes on a rampage, heading for Las Vegas! Realizing that America’s greatest city is in danger of being destroyed and that all the work of Bugsy Siegel will be wasted unless something can be done to stop Glenn, the military goes into action. While Glenn’s former friends try to inject him with a giant hypodermic needle (and seriously, the scene where a group of them charge at him with the needle simply has to be seen to be believed), the military tries to destroy him. As for Glenn, he just wants to visit the Boulder Dam….

As I watched the film, I couldn’t help but compare The Amazing Colossal Man to The Incredible Shrinking Man. One featured a man who became so big that he couldn’t be ignored. He got so big that he almost had no choice but to destroy everything smaller than him. Meanwhile, society had to conspire to keep him out of sight and to eventually destroy him before the rest of the world realized how small they were in comparison. Meanwhile, in The Incredible Shrinking Man, a man becomes so small that he’s forgotten and eventually, he vanishes from our world but, at the same time, he discovers a new existence and a new state of enlightenment? Is it perhaps better to be forgotten and unseen than to be known? Glenn Manning would probably think so.

Setting aside the quest for deeper meaning, The Amazing Colossal Man is pretty silly but it’s also undeniably enjoyable. It was directed by Bert I. Gordon (who was nicknamed Mr. Big because of the number of films that he made about giants) and there’s something undeniably charming about the sight of the giant Glenn towering over Vegas. Admittedly, if you’re looking for a film that realistically and sensitively explores what it would be like to be a mad giant, this isn’t the film for you. However, if you’re just looking for a short and silly movie with a giant bald man ripping up downtown Las Vegas, The Amazing Colossal Man is just what you need!

A Blast From The Past: Swing You Sinners (dir by Dave Fleischer)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The much-missed Gary Loggins loved Halloween and he loved the old, frequently cartoons from the 1930s.  He was a particular fan of the Fleischer Brothers so it only seems right that today, on Halloween, we should share one of those cartoons.  Here is 1930’s Swing You Sinners.

In this bizarre cartoon, a dog named Bimbo attempts to steal a chicken.  After the police chase him into a cemetery, Bimbo is confronted by ghosts, demons, and apparently death.  Shockingly, there is no escape offered in this film.  Abandon all hope!

I guess chicken theft was a really huge problem in 1930.