Tag Archives: movie

Bonus Horror On The Lens: Not Of This Earth (dir by Roger Corman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

Today, we have a bonus horror on the Lens, the 1957 Roger Corman-directed, sci-fi “epic,” Not of this Earth.

Paul Johnson (Paul Birch) may seems like a strange character, with his stilted way of speaking and his sunglasses and his overdramatic reaction to any and all loud noises.  Paul could us be an eccentric.  Or, he could be …. NOT OF THIS EARTH!  Actually, his habit of draining people of their blood and sending weird, umbrella-like creatures out to attack his enemies would seem to suggest that the latter is probably true.

Listen, it’s not easy being a blood-sucking alien.  I mean, sure, there’s always seems to be people stupid enough to show up at your mansion so that you can drain their bodies.  Paul is lucky that he doesn’t exactly seem to be surrounded by brain surgeons.  But sometimes, things happen.  For instance, someone might show up from your home planet and demand an immediate transfusion!  What is an alien to do?

Watch this low-budget but undeniably entertaining film to find out!  And be sure to especially keep an eye out for the great Dick Miller, who reportedly improvised his role as a vacuum cleaner salesman.  (Before going into acting, Miller actually did sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door.)

 

Horror On The Lens: The Terror (dir by Roger Corman, et al)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

Today, we’ve got a treat!

Who wouldn’t love to see a movie where a youngish Jack Nicholson played a French soldier who, while searching for a mysterious woman, comes across a castle that’s inhabited by both Dick Miller and Boris Karloff?

In Roger Corman’s 1963 film The Terror, New Jersey-accented Jack Nicholson is the least believable 19th century French soldier ever.  However, it’s still interesting to watch him before he became a cinematic icon.  His performance here is rather earnest, with little of the sarcasm that would later become his trademark.  Boris Karloff is, as usual, great and familiar Corman actor Dick Miller gets a much larger role than usual.  Pay attention to the actress playing the mysterious woman.  That’s Sandra Knight who, at the time of filming, was married to Jack Nicholson.

Reportedly, The Terror was one of those films that Corman made because he still had the sets from his much more acclaimed film version of The Raven.  The script was never finished, the story was made up as filming moved alone, and no less than five directors shot different parts of this 81 minute movie.  Boris Karloff’s scenes were filmed first, with the other actors performing in front of a body double during their scenes.  Among the many directors who filmed bits and pieces of The Terror: Roger Corman, Jack Hill, Monte Hellman, Francis Ford Coppola, Coppola’s roommate Dennis Jakob, and even Jack Nicholson himself!  (Despite this number of directors involved, Corman received the sole directorial credit.)  Perhaps not surprisingly, the final film is a total mess but it does have a definite historical value.

(In typical Corman fashion, scenes from The Terror were later used in the 1968 film, Targets.  In that film, Karloff plays a version of himself, an aging horror actor who watches The Terror and dismisses it as being “terrible.”)

Check out The Terror below!

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  Join us for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there happily tweeting.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you there!

 

 

Horror Song of the Day: Profondo Rosso by Goblin

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror song of the day comes from Dario Argento’s Deep Red!

Deep Red features the first collaboration between Argento and Goblin and the score remains a classic and one that I listen to every October.

Here’s Goblin performing Profondo Rosso on Italian television in 1975.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Godzilla vs. Megalon

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s Horror Scene That I Love, let’s take a minute or two to show some respect to one of the world’s greatest (and longest-lived) film stars, Godzilla!  Whether he’s attacking humanity as the literal representation of atomic age anxiety or if he’s saving Earth from a bunch of aliens, Godzilla has always been a superstar.

In this scene from 1973’s Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla shows just how much of a star he is by taking a stand against bullying and saving his friend, Jet Jaguar.  In this scene, Godzilla shows that he was an anti-bullying activist even before it was cool.  Megalon and his friend thought they could just taunt poor old Jet Jaguar.  Not as long as Godzilla’s around!

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: Special Kevin S. Tenney Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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)

Lights Out, Short Film Review by Case Wright

Posted on by casewright

Lights Out is a short film that asks the question: how did you live this long? Even if there were no ghosts, how did you survive with NEGATIVE survival skills?

A woman in her pajamas turns her lights out and sees a monster. So, she does what any person who has the IQ of a rabbit would do, she turns the lights on and off several times, watching the creature get closer to her. Does she run? No. Does she get out of the apartment? No. Does she call for help? No. She goes to be and waits for the monster to kill her.

The short was scary, but did the protagonist just get drunk on stupid juice before she ended her day?

October Positivity: One Nation Under God (dir by Lisa Arnold)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In 2o2o’s One Nation Under God, David Gutierrez (Isaak Presley) is a new student at an exclusive private school.  (He was selected via a lottery of intelligent but economically disadvantaged kids.)  On the first day of school, David makes a point of saying “One nation under God,” while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  His classmate, Gordon (Thomas Kasp), corners him outside of class and tells him that he’s not allowed to say that in school.  Since Gordon’s father happens to Headmaster Kingsley (Casper Van Dien), David’s first day is not off to a good start.

However, the debate coach, Mr. Truman (Kevin Sorbo), hears about what David said and decides that David should definitely be on the debate team.  The topic for the semester is whether or not “God should be in schools.”  Gordon is already prepared to argue the negative.  Can David argue the positive?

But first, presidential candidate Sen. Viera (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) stops by the school for an assembly.  He’s a graduate from the school and it’s felt that appearing there will be a good PR move for him.  He’s accompanied by one of his strongest supporters, former football player and U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker.  When David stands up and asks Viera about his own beliefs, Viera stumbles over the question and his aides quickly end the assembly.

Stunned by David’s question and ashamed of his own inability to answer it, Sen. Viera decides to make his religious faith the center of his campaign.  His wife is happy but his campaign aides are freaking out.  They’ve got a big debate coming up with Governor Palabra (Summer Selby) and they just know that she’s going to accuse Viera of wanting to legislate morality.

Meanwhile, David has his own debate to prepare for.  Fearful that Gordon will lose the debate and also whatever chance he may have to attend an Ivy League college, the Headmaster plans to bribe David to lose.  David’s single mother could really use the money. Will David sell out or will he stick to his beliefs?

As you can see, there’s a lot going on in this movie but, ultimately, every subplot serves the same purpose, which is to tick off any liberal who happens to watch it.  Sure, there’s a lot of talk about the importance of faith and also the importance of freedom of speech but the main purpose of this movie is to upset liberal viewers.  Judging from some of the reviews of this film that were posted on Letterboxd, the film appears to have accomplished that.  My personal opinion is that, if you spend more than an hour composing an angry review about a relatively obscure film starring Kevin Sorbo, you’ve already lost the war.   I always find the frenzied reaction to these type of films to be a bit amusing because they’re really not any more heavy-handed or one-sided than the typical mainstream film.  It’s just they’re attacking from the right instead of the left.

And make no mistake, One Nation Under God is heavy-handed and one-sided.  Nothing about its portrayal of the inner workings of a major presidential campaign feels authentic and quite a few of its subplots fall flat.  That said, I actually liked some of the songs on the soundtrack and the film itself looked like a real movie, which definitely set this film apart from a lot of other faith-based films.  Kevin Sorbo is properly authoritative as the debate coach.  Casper van Dien is properly villainous as the evil Headmaster.  In the end, though, the main purpose of the film is to annoy liberals and it accomplishes that goal.

I’m ALIVE!!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

We have reached October 15th, the final day for individuals to file their income taxes in the United States of America and not be late. For a lot of you, this day means nothing. For a guy who makes his life in the tax business, and who has spent the last couple of months helping his clients get their taxes filed up to the very last minute, this day is a day of freedom! Happy October 15th, my friends. Let the holidays commence!

SOV Horror Review: The Hackers (dir by John Duncan)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Shot in Michigan, 1988’s The Hackers lives up to its name in two ways.

First off, it’s about a family that actually does have the surname of Hacker. Pa Hacker (Howard Coburn) drives around Michigan with his two sons, Arnie Hacker (Dale Caughel) and Eldon Hacker (Steven Picharo). They drive around Michigan and make a living by doing odd jobs. They claim that they can build and fix just about anything, even though they don’t seem to be particularly effective once they show up at their work site. Pa is gruff and kind of ornery. You can tell that he’s old school and he expects everyone to carry their weight. Arnie and Eldon are a little bit more goofy. They like to wear masks and they like to go fishing. They’re the type who will invade your personal space without even realizing why that would upset anyone. They are hicks and they’re proud of it.

Pa, Arnie, and Eldon also live up to their name in that they enjoy hacking people up. They’re the Hackers and they are really into hacking. When they see a man hitchhiking, they chop off his thumb as they drive by. When they pick up another hitchhiker, they end up strangling her. When a fisherman tells them to find another place to fish, Arnie and Eldon put an abrupt end to his fishing days.

Pa, Arnie, and Eldon have been hired to fix up the barn on a nearly deserted property. Marcie (Michelle Rank) is house-sitting and she soon finds herself being menaced by the Hackers. And while that’s definitely a scary situation, Marcie does have one big fact on her side: Arnie and Eldon are idiots. They’re the type who accidentally lose a finger while using a radial saw. Really, I’m surprised that Pa keeps them employed. If Pa simply did the job by himself, he’d probably get finished and get paid a lot quicker. Instead, he spends a lot of time dealing with Arnie and Eldon’s messes.

This is pretty much the epitome of a late 80s SOV slasher film. This was pretty much the only film that the majority of the cast appeared in, and it only has a 70-minute runtime. It’s hard to believe that a 70-minute movie could have any wasted moments, but this one does. There are scenes in which Arnie and Eldon seem to literally spend hours arguing about nothing. There’s no real suspense. The special effects are definitely on the cheap side. It’s a regional film, through and through.

And yet, there’s something oddly likable about a film like The Hackers. It’s an amateur film that was made by some guy in Michigan in 1988, and yet, I’m sitting here in Texas and I’m reviewing it in 2026. Because the film was shot on location and it was made by a bunch of amateurs, there’s an authenticity to the film that you wouldn’t necessarily get from a more professionally shot film. When it was made, it may have just been another regional horror flick. Today, though, it’s a time capsule. Watching a film like The Hackers is about as close as any of us are going to get to using a time machine.