Horror on the Lens: The Little Shop of Horrors (dir by Roger Corman)

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Enter singing.

Little Shop…Little Shop of Horrors…Little Shop…Little Shop of Terrors…

Hi! Good morning and Happy October the 25th! For today’s plunge into the world of public domain horror films, I’d like to present you with a true classic. From 1960, it’s the originalLittle Shop of Horrors!

When I was 19 years old, I was in a community theater production of the musical Little Shop of Horrors. Though I think I would have made the perfect Audrey, everybody always snickered whenever I sang so I ended up as a part of “the ensemble.” Being in the ensemble basically meant that I spent a lot of time dancing and showing off lots of cleavage. And you know what? The girl who did play Audrey was screechy, off-key, and annoying and after every show, all the old people in the audience always came back stage and ignored her and went straight over to me. So there.

Anyway, during rehearsals, our director thought it would be so funny if we all watched the original film. Now, I’m sorry to say, much like just about everyone else in the cast, this was my first exposure to the original and I even had to be told that the masochistic dentist patient was being played by Jack Nicholson. However, I’m also very proud to say that — out of that entire cast — I’m the only one who understood that the zero-budget film I was watching was actually better than the big spectacle we were attempting to perform on stage. Certainly, I understood the film better than that screechy little thing that was playing Audrey.

The first Little Shop of Horrors certainly isn’t scary and there’s nobody singing about somewhere that’s green (I always tear up when I hear that song, by the way). However, it is a very, very funny film with the just the right amount of a dark streak to make it perfect Halloween viewing.

So, if you have 72 minutes to kill, check out the original and the best Little Shop of Horrors…

Irish Eyes Are Smiling: THE QUIET MAN (Republic 1952)

Posted on October 24, 2015 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

With the passing of screen legend Maureen O’Hara today, I’ve decided to put aside my Halloween Havoc! series this evening to take a look at one of my favorite Maureen movies, THE QUIET MAN. Paired once again with John Wayne and director John Ford, Maureen shines as Mary Kate Danneher, a feisty, hot tempered colleen who refuses to honor her marriage vows until she gets her “fortune” from brutish brother Red Will Danneher (perennial big lug Victor McLaglen). Mostly filmed in Ireland by Winton Hoch, the countryside scenery is breathtaking in vivid Technicolor, with Maureen radiant as ever.

The story concerns American ex-boxer Sean Thornton (Wayne), returning to his Emerald Isle birthplace of Innisfree after accidentally killing an opponent in the ring. When he first sets eyes on Mary Kate herding sheep, he’s immediately smitten. Sean buys his family homestead from the Widow Tillane (Mildred Natwick), outbidding Danneher, who knows how…

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Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 1.3 “Mr. Denton on Doomsday”

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone, Al Denton (Dan Duryea) used to be a notorious old west gunfighter. Now, haunted as the result of killing a teenage boy, Mr. Denton is just the town drunk. However, a salesman subtly named Henry J. Fate (Malcolm Atterbury) comes into town and gives Denton the chance to once again be great. Of course, it all comes with a price and a lesson.

Originally aired on October 16th, 1959, Mr. Denton on Doomsday is one of the earlier episodes of The Twilight Zone. Today, it’s perhaps most interesting for its message of anti-violence. Myself,I just like it because I went to college in Denton, Texas.

The TSL’s Daily Horror Grindhouse: Godmonster of Indian Flats (dir by Fredric Hobbs)

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Occasionally, before the main movie starts, the Alamo Drafthouse will show a clip from an old movie. In this clip, a picnic is ruined by the sudden appearance of a giant mutant sheep. Everyone screams while the sheep stares at them with that passive sheep look. Whenever this clip is shown, the audience laughs. And it is pretty silly, especially when it’s seen devoid of any another context.

Myself, I have to admit that I’m always amused when that clip is shown because I know that I’m probably one of the few people in the audience who knows that the scene comes from a 1973 film called Godmonster of Indian Flats. Thanks to Something Weird Video, I have actually seen the entire film and I know that it’s probably the best movie ever made about a giant mutant sheep.

Of course, it’s also the only movie ever made about a giant mutant sheep.

Having sat through Godmonster a handful of times, I’m assuming that it was meant to be satirical. At least, I hope it was meant to be a satire.

While Godmonster may be best known as being a film about mutant sheep, the majority of the movie’s screen time is actually devoted to the culture of the town of Virginia City, Nevada. Virginia City is a tourist town, where everyone dresses like they belong in the old west and where tourists enjoy watching carefully staged gunfights and hanging out at the old-fashioned saloon/brothel. The mayor of the town is evil old Mayor Silverdale (exploitation vet Stuart Lancaster). Mayor Silverdale is determined to keep the town in the past and, as such, he is upset when a real estate agent named Barnstable (Christopher Brooks) shows up and starts trying to convince people to sell their land.

So, Mayor Silverdale and Sheriff Gordon (Robert Hirschfield, who has some truly impressive sideburns) decide to frame Barnstable for murder. It turns out that Gordon owns a dog who knows how to play dead. One day, when they see Barnstable engaged in target practice, Gordon shouts, “YOU SHOT MY DOG!” The dog rolls over and plays dead. Everyone in town believes that Barnstable murdered Gordon’s dog and it turns out that everyone in town loved that dog. They even have a funeral, with a tiny casket.

(Don’t worry, the casket’s empty. As Gordon explains to Silverdale, the dog is visiting relatives in the next town over.)

So, the entire town decides to practice some frontier justice on Barnstable. However, as the mob chases after Barnstable, they end up stumbling across a laboratory. And, inside the lab, is a mutant. 8-foot tall sheep. The sheep escapes the lab and one member of the lynching party is accidentally killed. The town blames the sheep but actually, the sheep is a gentle, well-meaning mutant. Meanwhile, Mayor Silverdale views the sheep as another way to make money…

It’s up to Prof. Clemens (E. Kerrigan Prescott) and his hippie assistant, Mariposa (Karen Ingenthron) to protect the sheep. But where did the sheep come from? Well, Clemens explains that it all has to do with toxic nerve gas and ecological destruction…

Anyway, I’m probably making Godmonster of Indian Flats sound more interesting than it actually is. It’s never as much fun as you would expect a movie about a giant sheep to be. But, even with that in mind, where else are you going to see a giant sheep wandering throughout the desert?

Seriously, this is one of those movies that you should see at least once. It may not be any good but it is one of a kind.

Horror Film Review: The Last Wave (dir by Peter Weir)

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For whatever reason, I’ve lately found myself very much enjoying films about the end of the world. Who knows why. Maybe it’s because I’m dreading having to sit through another election year. Seriously, if the world just ended now, we could all be saved a lot of trouble.

Add to that, the weather’s been weird this year (and please do not take that statement to mean that I want to hear about climate change because seriously, that crap bores me to death). We got hit by snow earlier in the year. (I live in Texas, where snow is a big deal.) It rained more than usual during spring. Summer started late but when it did, it was hot and dry and there was not a rain cloud to be seen. Two days ago, out of nowhere, it started raining and right now, we are under a flash flood warning. Since I believe that existence is random chaos with no rhyme or meaning, I don’t necessarily think there’s any huge meaning behind the strange weather. But still…

The 1977 film The Last Wave is all about strange weather and, in many ways, it’s the perfect film to watch while you’re stuck inside, waiting for the rain to stop. (Watch it with Take Shelter and have a watery apocalypse double feature.) The film opens in the Australian outback. The sky is blue and clear. And yet the children at a small schoolhouse hear thunder rumbling in the distance. When it suddenly starts to pour down rain, the kids are excited. Their soaked teacher manages to herd them back into the schoolhouse. As the teacher struggles to calm the children down, we suddenly hear something pounding down on the schoolhouse’s tin roof. Suddenly, the windows are shattering as huge chunks of ice crash through them. Looking outside, the teacher is confronted with the sight of torrential rain, gigantic hail, and a perfectly blue and cloudless sky.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, three Aborigines are accused of murdering a fourth outside of a bar. Assigned, by legal aid, to defend them is David Burton (Richard Chamberlain), a complacent upper middle class attorney. Since David usually deals with tax law, he doesn’t understand why he has been assigned the case. However, he take is because he feels a strange link to one of the accused men, Chris Lee (David Gulpilil).

Much like Michael Shannon in the previously mentioned Take Shelter, David has been visions and dreams in which he sees the world flooded. As he researches the case, he begins to suspect that he may be seeing visions of the future….

Well-acted and visually stunning, The Last Wave is a thought-provoking meditation on nature of reality, the end of the world, the “old ways” vs the “new ways,” and whether or not humanity is even worth saving. On top of all that, it features an absolutely brilliant final scene!

All in all, it’s not a bad way to pass the time on a rainy afternoon.

Horror on the Lens: Dr. Strange (dir by Philip DeGuere, Jr.)

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I knew that we’re all looking forward to seeing Benedict Cumberbatch play the title character in the 2016 MCU film, Doctor Strange. However, did you know that the Cumberbatch film will not be the first time that a movie has centered around the character of Dr. Stephen Strange?

It’s true! In 1978, there was a made-for-TV movie that featured the sorcerer Dr. Strange (played here by Peter Hooten) battling none other than Morgan Le Fay (Jessica Walter)! I watched it a few months ago with my friends in the Late Night Movie Gang and it was actually a lot of fun. I should admit that I have absolutely no idea whether or not it was true to the original comic book but still, it was enjoyable in a trippy 70s sort of way.

And you can watch it below!

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 3.24 “To Serve Man”

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I shared this episode of The Twilight Zone two years ago for Halloween but the YouTube video has since been taken down. So, here it is again!

There’s a lot I could say about To Serve Man but really, all that needs to be acknowledged is that it’s a classic and features one of the best endings ever.

To Serve Man was written by Rod Serling and directed by Richard L. Bare. It originally aired on March 2nd, 1962.

Bon appetit!

The TSL’S Daily Horror Grindhouse: Devil Monster (dir by S. Edwin Graham)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh my God, where to begin with this?

Okay, how about with a few confessions.

Number one, I came across the 1946 film Devil Monster in my 100 Horror Classic Movie Pack from Mill Creek. The main reason that I decided to watch and review it was because it only had a running time of 64 minutes. (On a good night, I have a 10-minute attention span.)

Number two, I guess it’s debatable whether or not Devil Monster really qualifies as horror movie. I mean, it is called Devil Monster. And there’s a big stingray that shows up during the final 10 minutes of the film and it rips off someone’s arm. I assume the stingray is meant to be the devil monster of the title. It’s not really scary but it’s supposed to be. What matters is that, from the title and some of the dialogue, it’s obvious that an attempt was made to sell this movie as being at least partially a horror film.

Finally, you may have noticed that I mentioned that Devil Monster was a 1946 film. Well, that’s actually debatable. Devil Monster was apparently released in 1946 but, according to Wikipedia and the imdb, it’s actually a re-edited version of a 1936 film called The Sea Fiend. Footage from The Sea Fiend was apparently mixed with stock footage and scenes lifted from other random films. (One scene, featuring a bunch of island natives dancing, was clearly lifted from a silent film.) The film was then dubbed over and a heavy-handed, nonstop narration was added in an attempt to link all of these random scenes together. So, even though Devil Monster was released in 1946, it was actually filmed, in pieces, much earlier.

And really, that’s the main thing that I liked about Devil Monster. It’s not that the film is in any way good or memorable. (Well, it is memorable but mostly in a WTF sort of way.) Instead, it’s a testament to the “never give up” attitude of the best B-filmmakers. The producers of Devil Monster took a bunch of random footage, crammed it all together, and created something that resembles a movie. Good for them.

As for the movie itself, it’s about a bunch of tuna fishermen who take the boat out and decide, in between searching for tuna, to stop by an island and pick up Jose (Jack Del Rio), who has been hiding out on the island ever since he was shipwrecked. The problem is that Jose doesn’t want to go home and, after he’s forcefully dragged onto the boat, he decided to sail the boat into a part of the ocean that is home to the Devil Monster. But then once the Devil Monster shows up, Jose changes his mind about killing everyone. He jumps overboard and gets into a fight with the Devil Monster and … well, you simply have to watch it to truly understand how ludicrous this fight truly is. Basically, footage of Jose throwing punches was superimposed over footage of a stingray in the ocean. As a result, the scene features Jose punching the stingray and the stingray not reacting at all. On top of all that, Jose is somewhat transparent. You can literally see the ocean through him. And, in the scenes where Jose is supposed to be swimming, you can see the hands of the crew holding him up in the air.

(Meanwhile, as we watch all this, we hear — but do not see — the tuna fishermen cheering Jose on. “Get that devil fish, Jose!” someone yells.)

Of course, before that exciting scene, we get to see a battle between an octopus and a moray eel. They are supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean but it’s obvious that they are actually in an aquarium. How obvious? Obvious enough that the studio lights are reflected in the glass and that the octopus tentacles gets stuck on the side of the aquarium in a few scenes.

And, before we watch the octopus/eel battle, the fisherman stop off at an island, where they meet a bunch of topless native girls. We don’t actually see the fisherman interact with the natives. Instead, we just hear the narrator tell us how much they enjoyed hanging out with the girls. The natives, of course, change ethnicity from scene-to-scene, depending on from which source the footage has been lifted.

One of my favorite parts of this film comes at the end. That’s where the boat captain’s son spots Jose and says, “There he is now.” We then see Jose walking, before cutting back to the exact same footage of the son saying, “There he is now,” followed by the exact same footage of Jose walking.

My other favorite part of the film comes about 40 minutes in. That’s when the screen goes black and we’re presented with a title card that reads, “One Moment Please, While We Change Reels.”

Of course, there’s also the scene where one of the fishermen suddenly yells, “TUNA! TUNA! TUNA!” He’s just sounds so excited.

Devil Monster is in the public domain and can be found on YouTube. Watch it at least once, just so you can say that you’ve seen it.

Horror Film Review: Hell Night (dir by Tom DeSimone)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s pledge initiation night at Generic University! Four students are hoping to join the Alpha Sigma Rho fraternity and its sister sorority. Denise (Suki Goodwin) is English and never goes anywhere without a supply of quaaludes and a flask of Jack Daniels. Seth (Vincent Van Patten) is the blonde jock, who wants to spend the entire night hooking up with Denise, despite the fact that Denise keeps calling him, “Wes.” Jeff (Peter Barton) is the sensitive rich kid who fears that the only reason he’s getting into the fraternity is because of his family’s money. And Marti (Linda Blair) is the girl from a poor family who works on cars during her spare time. In order to pass the initiation, they have to spend the night in deserted Garth Manor.

However, they won’t be alone in Garth Manor. The president of the fraternity, Peter (Kevin Brophy), is planning on spending the entire night playing pranks on them. Helping him will be his girlfriend, May West (Jenny Nuemann) and his nerdy best friend, Scott (Jimmy Sturtevant). Unfortunately, what Peter did not realize was that the four pledges are all smart enough to know that he’s going to be trying to scare them. As a result, they just ignore his best efforts to make things creepy.

Of course, what none of them know is that the legend of Garth Mansion is actually true. As Peter explains at the beginning of the film, it has long been rumored that Mr. Garth murdered his entire family, except for his horribly deformed son Andrew. They say that Andrew still lives in the mansion, waiting for a chance to attack and kill all trespassers…

And that’s pretty much exactly what happens!

But you know what? For a relatively straight forward slasher film from 1981, Hell Night is not a bad film at all. In fact, with its relative lack of gore, nudity, and painfully stupid victims, it can probably be argued that Hell Night is a slasher film for people who don’t like slashers. Hell Night emphasizes atmosphere over easy shocks and actually devotes some time to characterization. Even if the majority of the characters are familiar horror film types, you still care about them. Even poor Denise, who has the thankless role of being the sexually independent girl who you know is doomed from the minute she first appears on screen, gets a few good lines.

(Plus, the film opens with a costume party so, of course, all of the outfits are to die for!)

One of the things that really made Hell Night effective is that the characters are not idiots. They don’t just stand around waiting to be picked off. At first, they just assume that any and all strangeness is a result of Peter trying to scare them. When it becomes obvious that Andrew Garth is alive, one of them manages to escape the manor and goes straight to the cops. And how do the cops react? They tell him that they’re tired of dealing with drunk frat boys and order him to go home, adding to the hopelessness of the situation.

(But, honestly, if some random guy told you that a deformed monster was trying to kill him, would you believe him?)

Hell Night is full of scary atmosphere, clever lines, and good acting. As far as early 80s slasher movies go, it’s one of better examples of the genre.

Horror on the Lens: Feeders (dir by Jon McBride, John Polonia, and Mark Polonia)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For this morning’s horror on the lens, we have a low-budget alien invasion film from 1996. The name of the film is Feeders and, much like Exorcist II: The Heretic, this is one of those films that simply has to be seen to be believed.

Patrick and I watched this with the Late Night Movie Gang back in July. And we had a lot of fun with this film. Feeders definitely rewards a snarky attitude. Now, if you’re looking for a film with amazing special effects, great acting, and a good script, Feeders may not be for you. But if you’re looking to enjoy watching a true WTF!? epic, so bad-its-watchable Feeders is for you!