4 Shots From 4 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!
Today, we wish a happy birthday to Kevin S. Tenney, director of some of most best loved horror films of the 80s and the 90s! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Kevin S. Tenney Films
Witchboard (1986, dir by Kevin S. Tenney, DP: Roy Wanger)
Night of the Demons (1988, dir by Kevin S. Tenney, DP: David Lewis)
Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway (1993, dir by Kevin S. Tenney, DP: David Lewis)
Pinnochio’s Revenge (1996, dir by Kevin S. Tenney, DP: Eric Anderson)
Was I the only one who was relieved that William Shatner didn’t die this week?
Seriously, when I heard that the 90 year-old Shatner was going to be taking a trip on one of the Amazon rockets, I was really worried. First off, you’re taking a 90 year-old into space. Secondly, you’re doing it with a rocket that people don’t really know that much about. And third, that 90 year-old is a cultural icon and one who probably played no small role in causing people like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to become obsessed with conquering space in the first place. With the exception of George Takei, everyone loves William Shatner. (And, at this point, Takei’s constant sniping about Shatner is coming across as being just a little bit petty. Move on, George! People love you, too.)
As I watched Shatner land back on Earth, I found myself thinking about The Devil’s Rain, a film from 1975 that starred William Shatner as a man whose exploration of the unknown led to a far less triumphant result.
In this film, Shatner plays Mark Preston, a youngish man who lives on ranch with his father (George Sawaya) and his mother (Ida Lupino). For some reason, the Preston family owns a book that is full of evil magic. Satanic high priest Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) wants the book and when the Prestons refuse to hand it over, he makes it his mission to destroy them. He gets things started by turning Mark’s father into a weird, waxy zombie who melts in the rain. Not wanting the same fate to befall the rest of the family, Mark grabs the book and heads to a desert ghost town that has been taken over by Corbis and his followers. Mark never returns.
Mark’s older brother, Tom (Tom Skerritt) then shows up in town, searching for Mark. Accompanying him are his wife (Joan Prather) and a paranormal researcher (Eddie Albert). Tom discovers that Corbis is transforming his followers into zombies who have no memories and who exist only to …. well, I’m not sure what the point of it all is but I guess it basically comes down to Corbis needing something evil to do. Not only has Mark become one of his Corbis’s followers but, if you keep an eye out, you might spot a very young John Travolta in the background. This was Travolta’s film debut. According to the end credits, the character he plays is named Danny. Danny Zuko, perhaps? That would serve him right for making Sandy doubt herself.
The Devil’s Rain is one of the many low-budget movies that William Shatner did between the end of the Star Trek TV show and the start of the Star Trek movies. It’s a bit of an disjointed film, as I think any film starring William Shatner and Tom Skerritt as brothers would have to be. Skerritt gives a very laconic performance, playing his character as if he was the star of a Western. Shatner, meanwhile, does that thing where he randomly emphasizes his words and gets the full drama out of every sentence and facial expression. But, as much as Shatner overacts, you can’t help but enjoy his performance because he’s William Shatner and that’s what he does. The same is true of Ernest Borgnine, who overacts in his role just as much as you would expect Ernest Borgnine to overact when cast as an evil cult leader. For that matter, Eddie Albert isn’t exactly subtle as the paranormal researcher. Don’t even get me started on Keenan Wynn, playing yet another small town sheriff. Let’s just say that, with the exception of Tom Skerritt, the cast of The Devil’s Rain is not necessarily full of actors noted for their restraint. That said, there’s something rather charming about everyone’s attempts to steal every scene in which they appear.
The Devil’s Rain is a deeply silly film but that doesn’t make any sense but it’s hard not to get caught up in it. Even if the fact that this film is perhaps your only opportunity to see John Travolta melt on screen isn’t enough to make you watch, Shatner vs. Borgnine with Skerritt approaching in the distance is just too entertaining to resist! Thankfully, Shatner survived appearing in this film and revitalized his career through a combination of Star Trek movies and Canadian tax shelter flicks. He’s a survivor. In fact, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that, even at the age of 90, Shatner has no trouble going into space. William Shatner’s going to be around forever.
Ever since the birth of film, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been a popular subject for adaptation. Not only does the classic story of a good doctor who unleashes his evil instinct via potion serve as a potent metaphor for everything from sexual repression to drug addiction, but the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has provides an excellent opportunity for an actor to show off.
The first film adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is believed to have been made in 1908. Two more version followed in 1912 and 1913 and then, suddenly, 1920 saw three different film versions.
The best known of the 1920 version is our film for today. This version is best remembered for John Barrymore’s powerful performance in the title role but it also holds up remarkably well as a work of cinematic horror.
On tonight’s episode of Friday the 13th, Val Avery plays an angry cop who uses an antique sheriff’s badge to get revenge on the mobster who put his wife in a coma. The mobster is played by David Proval, who later played RIchie Aprile during the second season of The Sopranos. (You might remember Janice shooting him in the chest.)
This episode was directed by Michelle Mannings who, while working as an executive at Paramount, produced both Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club!
Daddy’s Girl is a forgotten film today but I swear that there was a two-month period in 1997 when it showed up every weekend on late night Cinemax and Showtime. Like many former late night cable mainstays, Daddy’s Girl never developed enough of a cult following to justify getting a DVD release so, if you want to see it, you either have to have a working VCR or the ability to search YouTube.
I’m surprised this film doesn’t have a following because it features two thing that were every popular on cable in the 90s, William Katt and an evil child. This time, William Katt plays Don, a toy designer who can’t get anyone to buy his creations. Because he’s struggling, his wife (Michele Greene) is having to support the family. Despite the fact that they’re not in great financial shape, they still decided to adopt 11 year-old Jodi (Gabrielle Boni). Jodi loves Don and he spoils her every chance that he gets. Jodi hates everyone else and tries to kill all of them.
What sets Daddy’s Girl apart from other crazy kid movies is just how far Jodi will go to kill anyone who might get between her and her adopted father. Don’t even think about recommending that Jodi go to a special school because Jodi will knock you off a ladder and then push over a bookcase so that it lands on top you! Don’t try to investigate her past because Jodi knows how to use a meat tenderizer as a deadly weapon! Even if you’re at the hospital as a result of Jodi’s actions, she’ll just go down there and pull the plug herself! And Jodie won’t just kill you. She’ll make a joke about it after she does it! Jodi is full of one liners. Is this kid a comedian or a killer? You’ll die laughing!
It’s hard to believe that no one would catch on to what Jodi is doing and I think the movie overestimates the physical strength of a typical 11 year-old girl but Daddy’s Girl isn’t bad. William Katt was one of the better actors to regularly appear in direct-to-video thrillers like this one and Gabrielle Boni is a trip as the clingy and crazy Jodi. Direct-to-video mainstays Mimi Craven and Whip Hubley also make welcome appearances. Daddy’s Girl is an enjoyable take on The Bad Seed.
There are some games out there that are so surreal and borderline obscure that you’re either going to love them or you’re going to hate them but at least you won’t be bored. That was my reaction to An Aside About Everything, a surreal game that will either leave you feeling very frustrated or very intrigued. You are Him. You exist in a void that appears to be your office. You are searching for a girl whose flyer you have hanging in your office. At first, you only know that her name begins with a K. When you leave the Void, you walk around a strange city and you talk to the strange people within. Some of them seem to know you. Some of them seem to know the girl.
It’s not always an easy game to figure out and it’s easy to get trapped in a loop so I would suggest saving the game every chance that you get. Playing the game, I got the feeling that it wasn’t meant to be totally understood by the person experiencing it. The author, though, seems to know what she was trying to say, even if it wasn’t always clear to the player. As a result, this game is surreal but it’s not random. It’s leading somewhere but where is a question that you may have to answer for yourself. The game was well-written, with brief but memorable descriptions of each location and character and, for a Twine game, you had a lot of options for what you wanted to say or do. It’s not an easy game to figure out and definitely not for everyone but I enjoyed it.
Dario Argento’s 2021 film, Dracula 3D, doesn’t get the respect that it deserves. I guess that’s to be expected, as people are pretty much obsessed with criticizing Dario and his later films. Personally, I think it’s an enjoyable and unique version of the legend. Thomas Kretschmann is a credible Dracula. Rutger Hauer was a great Van Helsing. The whole thing is wonderfully over-the-top and stylish.
Plus, to my knowledge, this is the only Dracula film in which the Count turns into a preying mantis and beheads someone. Don’t believe me? Here is today’s horror scene that I love:
This is worth watching if you’re sick of the Walking Dead and crave a sendup. It does have a beginning, middle, and end. It is aggressively mediocre, but so is Thursday- when I was supposed to get this review out. I did not. I have no excuse, except that I fell asleep. I love pizza though, especially with anchovy.
Anchovy gets a bad rap; it’s salty, but COME ON, you’re eating an open-faced cheese sandwich- not the time for sanctimony. This is worth a watch and as is very obvious frozen pizza caused a zombie outbreak. Bummer. Frozen pizza is trash, but sometimes you want something trashy. The heart wants what it wants.
4 Shots From 4 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!
Today, let us take just a few moments to pay tribute to one of the icons of Halloween. He was born into nobility but he never let that stop him from visiting the village at night and getting a taste of the common life. I’m talking, of course, about the original royal influencer, Count Dracula! Everyone knows Dracula. Everyone wants to either be with or even be Dracula. It’s no wonder that he’s been the subject of so many biopics.
In honor of the Count’s legacy, here are….
4 Shots From 4 Dracula Films
Dracula (1931, starring Bela Lugosi as the Count, Dir by Tod Browning, DP: Karl Freund)
Horror of Dracula (1958, starring Christopher Lee as the Count, Dir by Terence Fisher, DP: Jack Asher)
Dracula (1979, starring Frank Langella as the Count, Dir by John Badham, DP: Gilbert Taylor)
Dracula 3D (2012, starring Thomas Kretschman at the Count, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luciano Tovoli)
