I am a big fan of Vincent Price and somehow missed this one until a couple of weeks ago. Price plays Don Gallico, a top engineer of elaborate stage magic illusions. He’s not able to be successful as a performer himself, so naturally he… must… KILL. This is definitely not one of Price’s best films, but I was entertained from start to finish. The was originally in 3D, so there’s some awkwardness when watched without that effect. It’s also pretty damned cheesy, and a bit of a pale imitation of House of Wax (1953), but I found the movie charming anyway. Bottom line, if you like old horror, you should check out The Mad Magician.
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Streaming on Amazon Prime, Kanopy, and Shudder |imdb | trailer
This is quite possibly my favorite horror comedy, and one of my most rewatched ’80s films of any genre. The story involves unhoused people that have their already fucked up lives disrupted by a batch of old cheap wine that makes anyone who dares drink it melt. When I say “melt” I mean ooze to death in some of the most extreme and graphic ways I’ve ever seen. Not only do you get some of the weirdest practical gore sequences committed to film, but this movie is genuinely funny, and has some great action as well. There’s no doubt the story was heavily influenced by The Toxic Avenger (and shares one actor), but honestly I like Street Trash more. In fact, it’s better than anything Troma ever released in my opinion. The version I checked out streaming is fine, but I highly recommend the Synapse Blu-ray. Their transfer looks excellent and there are tons of extras including an early short version of the film. There’s also a new 4k disc available from the UK. Anyway, if you like gory ‘80s horror, this is essential viewing.
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This movie is arguably terrible. It has one of the lowest meta scores I’ve ever seen. I’m going to tell you about it anyway, but please proceed with caution. Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett are a couple on a spaceship trying to help keep the overcrowded Earth fed. They’re having a pretty lovely time until Harvey Keitel and a very intimidating robot show up. I liked this movie as a kid, and found it surprisingly entertaining as an adult in spite of it’s massive flaws. The most glaring problems are the fact that Keitel’s voice was dubbed because of his accent, and the general cheesiness of the whole movie. If you can look past those issues, you may just enjoy this sci-fi horror thriller.
PS – There’s a lot of amusing trivia about Saturn 3. My favorite is that Kirk Douglas insisted on showing off as much skin as possible so the world knew he was still in shape. This was parodied in Martin Amis’s book “Money” which I coincidentally read recently.
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I’m not a big fan of modern vampire movies, but this happens to be a good one. I think my reason for giving this a try was Tom Hiddleston’s performance in High Rise. It helps that I will watch damn near anything with Tilda Swinton in it, and I also like several Jim Jarmusch films (my favorites are Night on Earth, Dead Man, and Gimmie Danger). Only Lovers Left Alive is pretty slow paced, but it never felt boring to me. The soundtrack is excellent too. Once you’re done with the film, you need to watch the What We Do in the Shadows series episode “The Trial” (Season 1, Episode 7) – trust me.
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When you see that Franco Nero is the lead in an Italian movie with Ennio Morricone doing the score, you might make assumptions. Please don’t. This isn’t an action film or giallo (in spite of some plot descriptions out there). I’d call it a psychological drama with a few horror elements. If that turns you off, please skip this one. I personally really enjoyed A Quiet Place in the Country. Franco Nero is great as a tortured artist. Vanessa Redgrave is her usual amazing self as well (she and Nero were a real-life couple at the time). If my description has not scared you off, give this movie a chance. It’s a unique mix of styles, and definitely worth seeing. You may be interested to know that the director, Elio Petri, went on to make the Oscar winning Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion.
Available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory (currently out of print).
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As you might know, I usually steer clear of Academy Award winners. I made an exception because I have recommended very few movies from the 1930s. There were dozens of adaptations of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s excellent novel over the years, but this is considered the best. The 1931 Jekyll managed to push things as far as censors of the time would allow, yet it was well made enough for lead actor Frederic March to win the Oscar. That marked the first time a horror movie ever won the award. As impressive as that is, you may be a little thrown off that his name is pronounced “Jee-kall” in this film, which is supposedly as the original author intended. I guess the way everyone pronounces it now first began with the Spencer Tracy version from 1941. Anyway, there’s a lot to enjoy here. The in-camera transformation effects were revolutionary at the time (the trick wasn’t revealed until decades later), and the gruesome overall feel of the film makes it a classic. In the end, if it still comes off as too tame, go ahead and give Walerian Borowczyk’sThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981) a shot. That one is flat-out bonkers.
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I am very skeptical of remakes, but I gave this Toxie reboot a shot for three reasons: Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, and Macon Blair (bonus points for David Yow and what the hell, I’ll throw in Elijah Wood). I would say if you’re not a fan of those people, maybe skip this version. Minus some unimportant personal quibbles, I found this to a very entertaining tribute to the original film. It’s fast paced, funny, and gory as hell. To put things in perspective, I rated this an 8/10 on IMDb, and the 1984 Toxic Avenger a 10/10.
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This is a solid psychological horror thriller that I suspect may have been missed by some of you weirdos. A group on a doomed yacht trip manage to be saved by a seemingly empty ship. Bad times follow. Our protagonist Jess keeps having experiences that foreshadow horrific events, and then gradually reveal what is really happening. Triangle really held my attention the first time I saw it. I recall being pleasantly surprised by where it all ends up, and I think there’s a good chance you will too. You will have to give some 15+ year old CG a pass, but it really is worth it.
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My coworker Dan turned me onto this amazing film recently. I had never heard of it, or writer and director Konstantin Lopushansky before. I am writing this after just finishing the movie, and have not done any research on the director (I did find this article that I will be reading later). I personally loved Visitor of a Museum, but I can tell you right away this is not a film for everyone. It is deliberately paced and on the long side. However if you are a fan of Andrei Tarkovsky (who was Lopushansky’s mentor) as well as early Jodorowsky and Lynch, you really need to watch this. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a man decides to use his vacation to see a museum that is submerged in water most of the year. That’s all you really need to know. This is definitely an artsy movie, but unlike Tarkovsky, it manages to slip in various cult film staples like uncomfortable humor, disabled actors, and even a bit of sex. One element that really stood out to me was the haunting musical score and sound design. Think dark ambient but made by someone with access to real classical instruments and performers. I know that what I have said has immediately connected to film fans that are most likely appreciate this. If you are one of those folks, get on it.
NOTE ON QUALITY: I watched the version on YouTube that is uploaded as UHD. I’m not a video expert, but I suspect it was upscaled from a Blu-ray. There is a fair amount of scratches in the film, a lack of grain, and quite a bit of visible compression artifacts. I wasn’t terribly bothered by any of that though. I have to imagine this one is hard to track down, so I am just grateful to the person that was kind enough to upload it.
Not available on domestic Blu-ray.
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I hadn’t seen this since it came out and a friend recommended I revisit it. I did, and it blew my damn mind. I don’t know how I forgot how insane this movie is. Gremlins 2 must be one of the most bizarre big budget PG-13 films ever made. It’s so bonkers that Key and Peele did a parody of the pitch meeting in their episode “Hollywood Sequel Doctor” (Season 5, Episode 8). If you happen to have never seen either that skit or G2, wait to watch the K&P episode until after the film. I will admit that the original Gremlins is a minor classic, and I rate it 8/10. However The New Batch gets a 9/10 in my book. Oh and it appears Gremlins 3 may become a reality soon as well.
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