Today is the first day of our annual October Horrorthon! In honor of our favorite time of the year, here is a special edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers.
The six trailers below all have one thing in common! Can you spot it?
Enjoy and happy Horrorthon!
2. Lisa Lisa (1977)
3. A Black Veil For Lisa (1968)
4. The Haunting of Lisa (1996)
5. I Am Lisa (2020)
6. Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Welcome to October! October is a big month here at the Shattered Lens. It’s the month when we devote the majority of our time to the horror genre. It’s time for our annual Horrorthon! Last year, we had a record number of Horrorthon posts. I’d love to break that record this year but mostly. I just want this year’s Horrothon to be fun for both our writers and our readers!
Here’s what I’m looking forward to in October!
October’s going to be a great month and those of us at TSL can’t wait to celebrate it with you! What are you looking forward to in October?
Happy Horrorthon! I’m writing this in July because I enjoy it, not this particular short- this short is garbage trash. It got 1.2 Million views and I’m certain at least 3 of those views were On Purpose! Mustafa Nohekhan should be featured on the Real Men of Genius ad campaign. Here’s to you Mr. Super Low-Budget Horror Film Maker [sung]. It’s hard to make a movie when all you have is your iPhone, Party City makeup, and some leftover jello for blood from your Sunday picnic, but you showed them- YOU SHOWED THEM ALL! Here’s to you – God of the bloody goop and unpaid crew. Mr. Super Low-Budget Horror Film Maker because when your critics said that this film couldn’t and shouldn’t be done. You responded, “I can do it!” They responded, “But why?”
This short does have a beginning, middle, and an end. The protagonist, an actress, says bloody mary in a mirror and is killed by “Mary” between takes. The acting is worthy of the finest 7th grade home movies. It has a we’ve got an iPhone let’s make a movie vibe. If you don’t want to take my word for it and wish to watch this piece of cinema- Here is the link:
Happy Horrorthon!
I have Jeff to thank for introducing me to the British ska band Madness. The first Madness song that he played for me was Our House, which was the band’s biggest hit in America. I liked the song, so much that I found myself humming it incessantly after first listening to it. Perhaps to get to me hum something else, Jeff then sent me a playlist including Night Boat To Cairo, The Prince, One Step Beyond, It Must Have Been Love, Michael Caine, Driving In My Car, Grey Day, and a host of other songs. It was not only my introduction to Madness but also my introduction to two-tone ska in general. I was quickly hooked.
Here in America, Madness is often incorrectly described as being a one hit wonder. While it is true that Our House was Madness’s biggest hit in America, it’s also true that, ever since the late 70s, Madness had been hugely successful in their native UK, spending 214 weeks on the UK Singles Charts and essentially becoming a bit of a cultural institution. They’ve had 16 singles reach the UK top ten and, somewhat charmingly, the band that formed in 1976 is still largely together.
Ever since the Beatles made A Hard Day’s Night, it’s been almost a rule that almost any successful British band should make a movie. 1981’s Take It Or Leave It is the Madness movie. Admittedly, it’s not a film with a great reputation. The members of the band have themselves described the film as being a bit amateurish and, as I watched the film, I couldn’t help but notice that lead singer Suggs always seemed to be struggling not to look straight at the camera when delivering his lines. Watching the film, it was obvious that the members of Madness were better musicians than actors. It’s interesting to consider that one of the things that makes Madness such an amazing band is that every member comes across as being a star. Watching them perform in their music videos, you get the feeling that you’re watching a group of seven extroverts having the time of their lives. And yet, even though the film’s director also directed the majority of the band’s videos, the members of the band still seemed to be unsure how to play themselves in Take It Or Leave It. It wasn’t just Suggs looking at the camera. It was also the other members of the band, often looking down at the floor when they had to deliver their lines or speaking so softly that it was a struggle to actually hear what they were saying.
The film attempts to tell the story of Madness, from the early days of Chris Foreman, Lee Thompson, and Mike Barson playing in a living room to the full band heading out on their international tour. Along the way, there’s arguments about the band’s musical direction, frequent personnel changes, and Suggs becoming the lead singer, leaving, and then becoming the singer again. The drama is all very lowkey. It’s perhaps a bit too lowkey. A scene where one of the members of the band attacks a drummer seems to come out of nowhere because the members of the band all just come across as being too mellow and friendly to really attack anyone.
Here’s the thing, though. None of that mattered. The members of the band were all so likable that it really didn’t matter that they weren’t particularly good actors. The scenes of the band performing were full of so much energy and joy that it more than made up for the parts of the film that dragged. Watching the band perform One Step Beyond in a pub, it’s impossible not to get pulled into the excitement. Even the use of slow motion during a performance of Night Boat To Cairo works because it allows us to watch a group of young men who are obviously having the best night of their lives. It’s moments like those that make life worth it. It’s moments like those that make you love a band like Madness.
In the end, Take It Or Leave It is a film that will best be appreciated by people who already like the band. It may not work as a drama but, as a celebration of music and performance, it’s the nutsiest sound around.
I’m a huge fan of the 1984 film, THE KARATE KID. The stars aligned perfectly for my lifelong love affair. I was 10 or 11 years old, and my family had recently purchased our first VCR when the movie was released on VHS tape. I’ll never forget that first viewing. It was one of the most exhilarating films I had ever watched, and it’s fair to say that I literally wanted to be the karate kid. I was also smitten with Elizabeth Shue as the kid’s girlfriend, “Ali with an I!” I’m still infatuated with her to this day. I watched THE KARATE KID PART II (1986) and THE KARATE KID PART III (1989) at the movie theater, especially enjoying Part II, although I did miss the beautiful Ali. For a short, skinny guy from Toad Suck, Arkansas, the story of a skinny kid getting the best of the much stronger bullies was irresistible to me. The strong relationship between Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) gives the stories so much heart, which makes the rousing finales even more emotionally satisfying. I didn’t care so much for THE NEXT KARATE KID (1994) where Hillary Swank stepped in as the kid. Even with the return of Mr. Miyagi, I wasn’t very interested in a movie that didn’t feature the character of Daniel LaRusso.
After being away for sixteen years, THE KARATE KID was given new life in 2010 when it was rebooted with Jackie Chan as the martial arts master and Jaden Smith as his bullied student. I wasn’t that interested in watching it due to the presence of Jaden Smith, but I ended up watching it because I love Jackie Chan. It didn’t make a lasting impact on me, but I must admit that I did end up enjoying the film. Then when the T.V. series COBRA KAI came out in 2018 with William Zabka and Ralph Macchio in the leads, I was immediately taken back to my teenage years, and I loved it all over again. I especially loved how the series brought back so many of the characters from the first three movies, including my beloved Ali! The series paid homage to the original 80’s films, which satisfied old farts like me, while introducing a bunch of new teenagers and drama that brought in a whole new audience. I was so happy the “karate kid” world was back in my life.
Which brings us to KARATE KID: LEGENDS (2025), a movie that blends the world of the original KARATE KID and COBRA KAI, with Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso, with the world created in the KARATE KID reboot starring Jackie Chan as Master Han. When I first saw the trailer for “Legends” that features LaRusso and Master Han working together to train the young Li Fong, I knew it was a movie I wanted to see. The plot is nothing new as kung fu prodigy Fong (Ben Wang), haunted by his brother’s tragic death, relocates from Beijing to New York City with his mom (Ming-Na Wen). Forbidden from fighting by his protective mother, Li meets and starts falling for his classmate Mia (Sadie Stanley). Unfortunately for Li, Mia’s ex-boyfriend turns out to be a badass karate bully named Conor (Aramis Knight), who proceeds to demonstrate his skills with fists to Fong’s face and kicks to Fong’s torso. With the contrived help of a wise-cracking Master Han and an emotionally earnest Sensei LaRusso, Fong enters the “5 Boroughs Fighting Tournament” to settle the score with Conor and prove that he’s all the man that Mia will ever need.
I liked KARATE KID: LEGENDS. The pure nostalgia of watching Daniel LaRusso show his love for Mr. Miyagi by sharing the master’s teachings with Li Fong is quite satisfying for me. Adding to that feel-good vibe is the opportunity to see Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan working together on screen. The legendary Chan may be over 70 years old, but he’s still fun and energetic. And Ralph Macchio still seems to be defying the aging process. At 63 years of age when filming KARATE KID: LEGENDS, Macchio is twelve years older than Pat Morita was when he starred as Mr. Miyagi in the original 1984 film. That fact is amazing to me. And the familiar storyline of an underdog standing up to a bully is engaging no matter how many times we’ve seen it before. With fight choreography that’s both acrobatic and bone-crunching at times, as well as a running time of just over an hour and a half, director Jonathan Entwistle delivers a fast, easy-to-watch, and entertaining film. With that said, KARATE KID: LEGENDS does have some issues. Primarily, I wanted more Chan and Macchio. A lot of the film’s run-time focuses on Li Fong’s move to New York, his blossoming relationship with Mia (and her dad), his troubles at school and with the bully, as well as the tragedy of his brother. By the time Chan and Macchio start training him, a big part of the movie is over. Since they’re the main reason I wanted to watch the film, that was a little disappointing. Also, the relationship between Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san is so important in the original films, but this movie misses that part completely between Li Fong and either of his teachers, Master Han or Sensei LaRusso. Without an emotional connection being created in this film, the overall impact is blunted for new viewers who aren’t bringing in 40 years of nostalgia with them.
Overall, I’m happy I spent an hour and a half of my life revisiting the world of THE KARATE KID. This film itself may not bring in a lot of new fans, but it offers tons of fan service to old timers like me.
As September comes to a close, the Oscar picture is clearing up a bit. The early word on some films is very strong. The new Paul Thomas Anderson film is being massively hyped online, though I get a Killers of the Flower Moon/Brutalist vibe from a lot of the coverage. Meanwhile, films that were once seen as surefire contenders are falling to the wayside.
And, with that inspiring introduction out of the way, here are my predictions for September.
Click here for my April and May and June and July and August predictions!
Best Picture
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Wicked For Good
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler for Sinners
Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine
Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao for Hamnet
Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis in Anemone
Leonard Di Caprio in One Battle After Another
Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine
Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent
Jeremy Allen White in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley in Hamnet
Cynthia Erivo in Wicked For Good
Jennifer Lawrence in Die My Love
Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Valure
Julia Roberts in After The Hunt
Best Supporting Actor
Paul Mescal in Hamnet
Sean Penn in One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler in Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgard in Sentimental Value
Jeremy Strong in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt in The Smashing Machine
Zooey Deutch in Nouvelle Vague
Elle Fanning in Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande in Wicked For Good
Emily Watson in Hamnet
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, TSL celebrates the 120th anniversary of the birth of Michael Powell, the British visionary who changed the face of cinema, both on his own and through his collaboration with Emeric Pressburger. It seems appropriate that we pay tribute to Powell on the day before October, as his 1960 film Peeping Tom is considered by many to be the first slasher film. (It’s not but it’s influence on the genre cannot be overstated.)
In honor of Michael Powell, TSL is proud to present….
4 Shots From 4 Michael Powell Films
I Know Where I’m Going (1945, dir by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, DP: Erwin Hillier)
Black Narcissus (1947, dir by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, DP: Jack Cardiff)
The Red Shoes (1948, dir by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, DP: Jack Cardiff)
Peeping Tom (1960, dir by Michael Powell, DP: Otto Heller)
Hi, everyone! Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania! Join us for Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge! Dr. Albert Beck is back!
You can find the movie on Prime and Tubi and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time! (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.) See you then!
For today’s song of the day, we have Chernobyl by Blanck Mass. This piece of music was used to haunting effect in 2014’s A Field In England.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 1975’s The Passenger, a film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Antonioni was born 113 years ago today, in what was then the “Kingdom of Italy.”
In The Passenger, Jack Nicholson plays a journalist who, because he’s bored with his life, impulsively assumes the identity of a deceased American businessman. What he discovers is that the businessman was an arms dealer and that the people that the arms dealer were doing business with still expect to get their weapons. Despite the fact that he knows that it might cost him his life, Nicholson is still drawn to see just how far he can take his new existence.
The film’s enigmatic final scene, in which Nicholson goes to a hotel to wait as both the people who double-crossed and his wife search for him, is Antonioni at his best.
Through the Shattered Lens 