October True Crime: The Preppie Murder (dir by John Herzfield)

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 1989 film, The Preppie Murder, tells the story of the murder of Jennifer Levin (played by Lara Flynn Boyle), an 18 year-old teenager from an affluent family, who was found dead in Central Park on August 26,1986.

The man who was accused of murdering her was Robert Chambers (played by William Baldwin). Tall, handsome, and popular, Robert Chambers was a former prep school student who had spent one semester at Boston University before being asked to leave because of a series of petty crimes. Though Chambers and Levin were both a part of the same social circle, Chambers did not come from a wealthy family. Instead, his background was working class. (That said, his mother did once serve as a private nurse to John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Robert Chambers even met the presidential scion once.) Chambers supported himself through stealing his girlfriend’s jewelry and selling drugs. At the time that he started dating Jennifer Levin, he had just gotten out of rehab. As shown in the early part of the film, Jennifer’s friends warned her that Chambers had a bad reputation but Jennifer felt that he was just someone who had made mistakes and who was trying to take advantage of his second chance. To be honest, it’s a sentiment to which I could relate. I think every woman has had at least one Robert Chambers in their life, the bad boy who could melt hearts with calculated moments of vulnerability but who, in the end, turned out to be an empty shell of a human being.

In the film, the murder occurs off-screen. We watch as Robert and Jennifer leave a bar together and then we cut to the next morning, with Robert watching from a distance as a homicide detective (Danny Aiello, bringing his trademark, no-nonsense New York style to the role) investigates the scene of Jennifer’s murder. When the police learn that Robert was the last person to see Jennifer alive, Robert is brought in for questioning. The cocky Robert attempts to explain away the scratches on his face and body by saying that his cat scratched him. (“Do you own a tiger?” Aiello’s detective asks him.) When Robert finally confesses to having killed Jennifer, he claims that he Jennifer was assaulting him and that he only struck her in self-defense. It’s a ridiculous and offensive story but it’s one that the press loves. Robert may be the one charged with a crime but it soon becomes clear that, despite not being able to defend herself, Jennifer is the one being put on trial.

It’s an infuriating film, all the more so because it was based on a true story and stuck close to the facts of both the case and the trial. William Baldwin is well-cast as Robert Chambers, playing him as a handsome and superficially charming man who secretly knows that he’s empty on the inside. William Devane plays Chambers’s high-priced attorney, who puts Jennifer on trial and only briefly allows himself any feelings of guilt about his actions. Lara Flynn Boyle wins the viewer’s sympathy in her limited screen time and Danny Aiello is, of course, the perfect New York cop.

What was particularly disturbing about the film was its portrayal of Jennifer and Robert’s friends, many of whom chose to support Robert even though they knew he had murdered Jennifer. The film ends with clips of Robert at a party that was thrown by his friends after he got out on bail. While Robert pretends to twist off a doll’s heads, his friends laugh in the background, either unaware or unconcerned that Robert is recreating his murder of Jennifer while they watch.

The real-life Robert Chambers eventually pled guilty to manslaughter and spent 15 years in prison. He was released in 2003 and promptly returned to his old life of petty crime and drug dealing. He was sent back in prison, convicted of selling $2800 worth of heroin to an undercover cop. He was released in July of this year.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: Special Tobe Hooper Edition

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

Today, I am proud to pay homage to a director from my home state, a man who changed the face of horror and the movies but who was treated terribly by a jealous film industry. I am talking, of course, about Texas’s own Tobe Hooper. Hooper redefined horror with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Though his later films were never quite as critically or financially successful as that classic, many of them have since been rediscovered by audiences who now better appreciate Hooper’s quirky sensibility. Hollywood may not have known how to handle Tobe Hooper but horror fans like me will always appreciate him.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Tobe Hooper Films

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Daniel Pearl)

Eaten Alive (1976, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Robert Caramico)

Salem’s Lot (1978, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Jules Bremmer)

The Funhouse (1981, dir by Tobe Hooper. DP: Andrew Laszlo)

Moments #11: Exploring The Red House

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Dazzling Erin

One day, not too long ago, I was walking around the neighborhood with my camera when I came across a deserted house.

I decided that, since I had my camera with me, I might as well explore.

The window were broken and the backdoor was unlocked.

As I walked through the house, it seemed to be deserted but it soon became obvious that someone else had recently been there. The doors were all open. The ceiling fans in the kitchen were still spinning. There was a chair, like the one pictured above, in almost every room of the house. I started to feel uncomfortable so I decided to leave the house. As I stepped back through the backyard, I noticed a pile of bricks lying in the backyard.

As I walked away from the house, I noticed one last thing — the remains of a bicycle in the front yard.

Eventually, someone bought and refurnished the house, fixing the broken windows and, I assume, the broken door as well. I still wonder who owned that bicycle.

Previous Moments:

Horror on the Lens: Island of the Burning Damned (dir by Terence Fisher)

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror on the lens is a British 1967 science fiction film, featuring the team of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and directed by Terence Fisher!

This film is based on a novel that came out in 1959. It was originally meant to be a movie for British television but, after the script was written, it was decided to instead turn it into a theatrical film. The film was originally called Night of the Big Heat but, when it was subsequently released in the United States, the title was changed to Island of the Burning Damned.

It’s not October without Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee!

6 Trailers For The End Of The Third Week Of Horrorthon

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

With the third week of Horrorthon coming to a close and the final week about to start, I have to really ask myself, “Where does the time go!?”

Well, as I consider that, why not check out this special Horrorthon edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film trailers!

Ruby (1977)

In this film from 1977, the great Piper Laurie plays Ruby, a former gun moll who owns her own haunted drive-in theater!

2. Drive-In Massacre (1976)

Ruby was not the only 70s horror film to be sent at a drive-in. There was also 1976’s Drive-In Massacre!

3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

And what were they all watching at the drive-in? Depending on the year, they could have very well have been watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

4. The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

Another drive-in of the 70s was this documentary about the search for the Fouke Monster.

5. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

The Legend of Boggy Creek was such a hit that director Charles B. Pierce was able to follow up with The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

6. The Evictors (1979)

The Town That Dreaded Sundown was a bit enough hit that Charles B. Pierce was able to follow it up with The Evictors.

Such is the power of the drive-in!

Artwork of the Day: Negative Shadows (by Erin Nicole)

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Dazzling Erin

by Erin Nicole

Have you ever really searched the shadows?

Music Video of the Day: Lonely In Your Nightmare by Duran Duran (1982, directed by Russell Mulcahy)

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

This is one of two videos for Duran Duran’s Lonely In Your Nightmare. In this one, Simon Le Bon finds old photographs and remembers a past relationship that might have just been someone’s dream. Lonely In Your Nightmare appeared on Rio, one of the defining albums of the early 80s.

Director Russell Mulcahy was Duran Duran’s video director of choice in the early 80s and, of course, he worked with many other bands as well. His stylish music videos dominated MTV and set the template for which most subsequent videos would come. He also directed a little film called Highlander.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: The Hitchhiker 5.24 “My Enemy” (dir by René Bonnière)

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, Joan Severance stars as both a film star and a woman who is stuck in a go-nowhere marriage. Neither one is happy with her life and looking for an escape. Murder turns out to be a convenient solution. This episode has a bit of a strange ending, one that really doesn’t make a lot of sense if you think about it too much. But, fortunately, The Hitchhiker is there to impart a lesson.

(It’s a bit unfortunate that they apparently never did an episode that explored the Hitchhiker’s origins. I mean, the guy just pops up everywhere.)

This episode originally aired on November 25th, 1989.

The TSL Horror Grindhouse: Lord Shango (dir by Ray Marsh)

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 1975 film, Lord Shango, takes place in a small, rural town in the Deep South, where the population appears to be firmly divided between those who worship at an evangelical Christian church and those who follow the Yoruba religion.

(To answer the obvious question, I have no idea how faithful this film is to the realities of the Yoruba religion.)

Jenny (Marlene Clark), who is a waitress at a local restaurant, is a member of the evangelical church, largely because her boyfriend is a member and he thinks that her attending the church will help her to get pregnant. Her daughter, Billie (Avis McCarther), is in love with Femi (Bill Overton), who is a follower of the Yoruba religion. One Sunday morning, while all the church people sings hymns, a series of baptisms are held in a nearby river. When it is time for Billie to baptized, Femi rushes into the water and objects. After he shoves her out of the river, the men of the church grab Femi and announce that the evil must be taken out of him through what appears to be a forced baptism. They force him under the water but, with Femi struggling, the end up holding him down for too long and Femi drowns.

Traumatized, Billie sinks into depression and Jenny grows disillusioned with the church, especially when the men who held Femi down refuse to take any responsibility for their actions. She also learns that her boyfriend, Memphis (Wally Taylor), had sex with Billie after Billie mistook him for being the spirit of Femi. When she finds Memphis praying in the church, she proceeds to yell and curse at him while he pathetically apologizes.

The next morning, Jenny wakes up to discover that Billie has run away, leaving behind a note that simply reads, “I can no longer live in your house.” When the men of the church again prove to be insensitive and ineffectual when it comes to finding out where Billie has gone (and instead are more concerned about why Jenny and Memphis has not been coming to the prayer meetings), Jenny turns to Femi’s friend, Jabo (Lawrence Cook). Under Jabo’s guidance, Jenny offers up a series of sacrifices to the local Yoruba priest (Maurice Woods) and asks for her daughter to return home.

The sacrifices appear to work. Billie returns home and reveals that she’s pregnant with a baby that she believes to be Femi’s and which Jenny believes to be Memphis’s. Jenny, now firmly under the control of Jabo, continues to make sacrifices and bad things continue to befall the men that she holds responsible for Femi’s death….

A frequently surreal film, Lord Shango is an interesting, if not always easy-to-decipher, portrayal of the battle of two different belief systems. While the evangelical Christianity that Jenny first followed could only promise an eventual reward, Jabo’s tribal religion offers her immediate reward and revenge. (Significantly, even though Billie was in love with Femi and wants to have his child, she has no interest in following his religion.) The film is often edited to provide a direct contrast between the staged cermonies of evangelical Christianity and the sensuality of the Yoruba religion. The film is full of Southern gothic atmosphere and is well-acted, particularly by Lawrence Cook and Marlene Clark. That said, the film is also frequently very difficult to follow. At times, one gets the feeling that the film is being surreal simply to be surreal and it’s hard to find a coherent message in the film’s collection of odd scenes and strange dialogue.

Lord Shango is a frequently intriguing film, as long as you’re willing to accept a little incoherence.

The Terror Experiment (2010, directed by George Mendeluk)

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

At the Houston Federal Building, a disgruntled domestic terrorists sets off a bomb that not only rocks the building but also unleashes a government-designed nerve gas that turns anyone exposed to it into an animalistic, rage-fueled zombie who attacks everyone that they see. Soon, the building is full of former friends and co-workers who are now obsessed with ripping each other to shreds. The few people who were not exposed to the nerve gas are hiding on the top floor. Under the reluctant leadership of Cale (Jason London), they try to figure out how to escape from the building.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Police Chief Grosso (C. Thomas Howell) and Fire Chief Lohan (Lochlyn Munro) attempt to rescue as many people as they can before the building is blown up. The scientist on the scene (Robert Carradine) sees all of this as a research opportunity while a sinister government agent (Judd Nelson) conspires to keep word about what has happened from reaching the public.

With its images of suit-and-tie wearing madmen trying to kill everyone in the building, The Terror Experiment may seem like it would have much in common with The Belko Experiment (which came out a few years after Terror Experiment) but actually, The Terror Experiment is mash-up of Die Hard and 28 Days Later, with Jason London and Lochlyn Munro filling in for Bruce Willis and Reginald Veljohnson. With its frequent scenes of formerly normal people suddenly going mad and turning into homicidal maniacs, The Terror Experiment has its effective moments and Jason London does the best that anyone probably could with the role of the film’s reluctant hero. But the film also suffers because you never really get to know who any of these people were before they were trapped in the building and there aren’t really any emotional stakes to whether or not they’ll manage to get out. As well, the scenes outside the building often fill like filler that was included so that some “name” actors could be recruited to appear in the film. Howell, Carradine, and Nelson are all fine in their roles but the only thing they add to the movie is an opportunity to recreate the one of the most crowd-pleasing moments from the finale of Die Hard.

The Terror Experiment is occasionally diverting but it’s hard not to feel that it never really reaches its potential.