Month: May 2020

Eureka (1983)

EUREKA (1983)
Article 4560 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-12-2014
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Featuring Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer
Country: UK / USA
What it is: Stylistic drama

During the twenties, a prospector becomes the richest man alive after discovering a mountain of gold. Twenty years later, he finds his life beset by problems with family relationships and threatened by a mob that wants an island he possesses.

If there’s one thing I can count on in a Nicolas Roeg film, it’s that it will have its share of stylistic flourishes, and the movie at its most interesting when it’s at its most stylistic; the opening twenty minutes and a brutal murder two-thirds of the way through will be the scenes that linger the longest. As for the rest, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge; it’s a drama/love story/gangster thriller that owes (somewhat self-consciously) something to CITIZEN KANE, and there are references to “Alice in Wonderland” as well as to the Utopian novel “Erewhon”. It’s interesting but not quite satisfying. Dramatically, I’m not sure how I feel about it, nor am I particularly satisfied with it at the ending. It is very well acted, however, and it has quite a few familiar actors in it, such as Mickey Rourke and Joe Pesci. The fantastic aspects are a bit harder to pin down; some of the stylistic touches give it a sense of fantasy, and there are occult references and a voodoo ceremony thrown in the mix, but it’s hard to say if these touches ever push it into the realm of the fantastical.

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Don’t Go in the House (1979)

DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE (1979)
Article 4559 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-11-2014
Directed by Joseph Ellison
Featuring Dan Grimaldi, Charles Bonet, Bill Ricci
Country: USA
What it is: Psycho killer

When a disturbed young man discovers that his abusive mother has died, he takes revenge on her by doing all the things she wouldn’t let him do, and by setting fire to her corpse. When her spirit still haunts him, he begins stalking women, luring them into his house, and setting them on fire.

If there’s a major difference between what I call “psycho killer” movies and slasher films, it’s that the latter generally are focused on the mayhem caused by the killer with little concern about the killer’s motivation, while the former are a lot more interested in why the killer does what he does. That’s definitely the case with this one; when you get right down to it, the killer is the only major character in the story, and the movie remains focused on him and his actions throughout. In fact, those drawn to the movie by the promises of violence may well be disappointed by this one; except for one sequence that graphically shows his method of murder, the other killings all happen off screen. Though this might have resulted in a more interesting movie, the trouble here is that the character isn’t really complex enough to sustain that much focus; even at a fairly short 82 minutes, we have lots of retreading the same ground, and there are some scenes that seem only intended to stretch out the running time (such as the scene where the killer goes to a haberdashery to buy clothes suitable for a disco). There is the occasional interesting scene (such as the one in the disco where a woman who tries to draw him into a dance inadvertently causes him to flash back to past abuse), and the movie is certainly competently directed, but it never rises above the obvious.

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Bewitched Matches (1913)

BEWITCHED MATCHES (1913)
Article 4558 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-10-2014
Directed by Emile Cohl
Cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Animated fantasy

Three girls seeking to have their fortunes told invite a witch over. When the girls’ father offends the witch, she puts a hex on him and his matches.

Despite the semblance of a plot here, the purpose of this short is primarily to have an extended sequence of abstract animation involving the manipulation of matches. They turn into a horse, a windmill, a skeleton… you get the picture. Like Cohl’s animated shorts in general, this is fairly amusing if you’re in the mood for it.

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In Search of Dracula (1975)

IN SEARCH OF DRACULA (1975)
aka Vem var Dracula?
Article 4557 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-9-2014
Directed by Calvin Floyd
Featuring Tor Isedal, Christopher Lee
Country: Sweden / France /USA
What it is: Documentary

The various historical and legendary aspects of the story of Dracula are discussed.

This movie overall is only so-so, but at least it’s nice to see a documentary for this series that doesn’t have the ulterior motive of trying to get me to believe in the actual existence of its fantastic aspects. The first part of the movie emphasizes the various aspects of the vampire legend. The second part tells the history of Vlad Tepes, who was one of the primary inspirations for Dracula. The third part covers the history of the book and its popularity. There are a few side issues here and there; for example, there’s a short section about a man who possessed several real-life qualities of a vampire. Much of the footage is authentic location footage of the various places discussed in the movie; I’m particularly taken with the Transylvania footage. Most of the other footage seems to consist of footage from movies, though there may be some historical re-enactment footage as well; Christopher Lee wanders around as Vlad Tepes in several scenes which may be original to this movie. The vampire legend section could be very interesting to those attempting to write their own vampire stories, as they discuss rarely-used aspects of the vampire legends that could serve as very interesting starting points. I also found the Vald Tepes section worth catching. The movie’s biggest problem is that it overuses movie footage, often without compelling reasons to do so; the use of extensive footage from a Theda Bara film and one of the silent Lugosi films in particular seems to be poorly motivated. It also wanders off into the history of the writing of “Frankenstein” for no really good reason. Nevertheless, the movie does have its moments.

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Deadly Games (1982)

DEADLY GAMES (1982)
Article 4556 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-7-2014
Directed by Scott Mansfield
Featuring Alexandra Morgan, Jo Ann Harris, Sam Groom
Country: USA
What it is: Psycho killer

A woman returns to her home town when her sister is killed by a maniac, and she decides to stay in her sister’s house while she is there. She befriends two men, but one of them may be her sister’s killer…

I use the phrase “psycho killer” in my description to differentiate certain movies from slasher films, which are generally playing a different type of game than the one this one is playing. Still, I have to confess that I’m not quite sure what game this one IS playing; though it does seem to be trying for suspense, there’s no real consistency to this approach, and it even seems to be trying for romantic comedy at times. The thriller aspects of the movie are nothing special (especially when you discover the killer’s motivation), but the real problem I have with the movie is when it tries to be something else. In particular, the lead female character is supposed to be a cute and lovable kook, but she ends up being a self-consciously annoying, and rather than being charmed by her antics, I end up feeling awkward and uncomfortable. The movie also tends to wander from scene to scene; there are moments where I feel that the movie was edited in random order. In the end, I just don’t think this one works.

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UFOs: It Has Begun (1979)

UFOS: IT HAS BEGUN (1979)
Article 4555 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-6-2014
Directed by Ray Rivas
Featuring Jose Ferrer, Burgess Meredith, Rod Serling
Country: USA
What it is: UFO documentary

The existence and nature of UFOs are discussed, with particular emphasis on government research and cattle mutilations.

When I first started reviewing UFO documentaries for this series, I decided to keep my own skepticism in check and watch them in regard to their entertainment value, and some of them worked well enough on this level. I’ve seen enough of them by this time that any novelty value has worn off. This one has a fairly high rating on IMDB, which makes me suspect it’s one of the more highly regarded of these types of movies, and though I do find the proceedings less sensationalistic than usual, the movie amounts to mostly lots of people talking about UFO experiences combined with re-enactments involving actors, and overall, it’s a bit on the dull side and doesn’t really contain a lot that is new, though this is the first one I’ve seen that really delves into the cattle mutilations. Most of it is narrated by Serling (with aid during one sequence by Ferrer and Meredith) while the whole cattle mutilation sequence is narrated by someone else and feels somewhat tacked on to the movie. My guess is that the movie will be a lot more interesting for believers than skeptics, though I doubt it will change anyone’s mind on the subject.

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Tuck Everlasting (1981)

TUCK EVERLASTING (1981)
Article 4554 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-5-2014
Directed by Frederick King Keller
Featuring Margaret Chamberlain, Paul Flessa, Fred A. Keller
Country: USA
What it is: Fantasy

At the beginning of the twentieth century, a young teenage girl meets a family living in the nearby woods who have gained immortality from drinking from a special spring. They wish to keep the spring a secret, but a mysterious stranger may already know about it…

This is an independent low-budget fantasy based on a well-known children’s book. As you might expect, it’s not really flashy, but it’s likable, and the characters are appealing enough that you get caught up in the story and the situations. It also makes nice use of music, and despite the low budget, it does have some memorable images, especially the final shot of the movie. The movie would be remade 20 years later by Disney; I’ve not seen it, but I wonder if it has the same gentle charm of this version.

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Dark Enemy (1984)

DARK ENEMY (1984)
Article 4553 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-4-2014
Directed by Colin Finbow
Featuring David Haig, Douglas Storm, Martin Laing
Country: UK
What it is: After the apocalypse… for children

It’s after the apocalypse. There is a small society of valley people which consists mostly of children because adults come down with a sickness that kills them. When the current leader decides to pick his successor, one of the candidates sent out on the ordeal is a young boy with psychic powers, and he makes a great discovery…

This was made by a company called Children’s Film Unit, and the cast is made up mostly of children. I gather the movie is intended for children, and I suppose that if you saw it as one, it might have some impact on you. However, as an adult, you’ll probably see mostly a compendium of cliches and obvious moralizing. Furthermore, you might notice that the movie is lacking in energy, not much fun, and actually rather dreary and depressing. In fact, the most interesting thing about it is that the cast is mostly made up of children, and many scenes feel improvised and spontaneous rather than scripted. So there are items of interest here. Nevertheless, if you chose to skip this one, you probably aren’t missing much.

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Curse of the Black Widow (1977)

CURSE OF THE BLACK WIDOW (1977)
TV-Movie
Article 4552 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-3-2014
Directed by Dan Curtis
Featuring Anthony Franciosa, Donna Mills, Patty Duke
Country: USA
What it is: Monster on the loose

A private investigator is called in on a series of murders in which the symptoms indicate attack by a giant spider. Could this be part of an ancient curse that causes women to turn into giant spiders?

There’s at least one thing I can feel confident about when I see Dan Curtis’s name in the credits, and that’s that we are going to end up with an authentic monster rather than just someone committing murders and making it look like a monster did it. This has the feel of an extended episode of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” with a few modifications to accommodate a different set of characters. I don’t mind that in the least; for the most part, the movie is lively and entertaining, and there’s quite a few familiar names in the cast, such as June Lockhart, Sid Caesar, Vic Morrow and (for the second day in a row) Jeff Corey. The movie only starts to lose steam in the final act, just about the time it really should be taking off. Nevertheless, I rather enjoyed it overall, and I’m a little surprised that it doesn’t appear to have been intended as pilot for a new TV series; certainly, the final twist in this one would have been a bit different if it had been one.

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Cry for the Strangers (1982)

CRY FOR THE STRANGERS (1982)
TV-Movie
Article 4551 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-2-2014
Directed by Peter Medak
Featuring Patrick Duffy, Cindy Pickett, Lawrence Pressman
Country: USA
What it is: Ghost story

A psychiatrist and his wife move to a small coastal town and discover that something is killing off people on dark, stormy nights… and that it targets strangers and newcomers.

There’s some truly atmospheric shots of storm clouds coming up over the horizon that are very effective during the opening sequence of this movie; this sequence is very eerie and effectively draws you into the story. The movie manages to ride that eeriness throughout the first half, even though you can see the movie succumbing to a few of the “strangers in a small town” cliches that pop up in movies like this. It’s only at about the halfway point when I really found myself realizing that they were getting an awful lot of mileage out of that storm cloud footage; it’s not the same identical footage each time, but it’s obvious it’s all footage from the same shot, and it’s at this time that the relentless use of that footage starts calling attention to itself. And therein lies the problem with the movie; it goes to the same well too often, and the law of diminishing returns sets in, and I found myself getting more annoyed by the movie as it went along. The movie then throws in a surprising but very disappointing revelation, and then backtracks so that the movie can have it both ways, a strategy that is truly unsatisfying. Well, at least there’s Jeff Corey to keep us entertained; he seemed to have cornered the market on a certain type of crazed local color.

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