THE BIG BUS (1976)
Article 3454 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-20-2010
Posting Date: 1-28-2011
Directed by James Frawley
Featuring Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck
Country: USA
What it is: Disaster movie spoof

A new nuclear-powered bus name Cyclops makes its maiden trip, but an unscrupulous oil lobby has plans to destroy it.

Had this movie been made five years later, I’d have accused it of trying to emulate the style and success of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy classic, AIRPLANE!; it does come very close to capturing the style of that movie. However, since this predates that movie by several years, the influence (if any) must have gone in the opposite direction. However, the reasons this one never really became a comedy classic are rather clear; it doesn’t quite kick the comedic style into the stratosphere like the later movie did, and the movie runs out of gas while there’s still a goodly amount of running time to go. Still, there’s some good moments here; I particularly like the bar brawl and a gag involving a milk carton. I’m also partial to the gags involving the world’s most annoying pianist. It’s worst problem may be that it doesn’t know when to let some of its running gags expire; too many of them get repeated too often.

THE BOY WHO TURNED YELLOW (1972)
Article 3453 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-19-2010
Posting Date: 1-27-2011
Directed by Michael Powell
Featuring Mark Dightam, Robert Eddison, Helen Weir
Country: UK
What it is: Children’s fantasy

A young boy loses his pet mouse named Alice on a field trip to the Tower of London. He seeks a way to get it back.

If the above plot description seems singularly lacking in fantastic elements, be aware that the plot involves our main character ending up in an area in London where everything and everybody has turned yellow, meeting an extraterrestrial who skis across electricity, and facing execution unless someone can get a television to him in time. Yet the strangest thing about this one is that it marks the final collaboration between director Michael Powell and screenwriter Emeric Pressburger, who were responsible for THE RED SHOES, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and THE TALES OF HOFFMANN, just to mention the movies I’ve covered of theirs for the series. Powell also gave us PEEPING TOM, which practically destroyed his career. This movie was made for the Children’s Film Foundation, and is definitely not representative of Powell’s work, but it is intriguing and downright weird. Once again, a children’s movie takes me places I’d never been before.

BLACKBEARD’S GHOST (1968)
Article 3442 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-8-2010
Posting Date: 1-16-2011
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Featuring Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette
Country: USA
What it is: Shopping cart movie

The ghost of Blackbeard must remain in limbo until he can do a good deed. He finally decides to help a bunch of old women living in an old house that is in danger of being taken over by gangsters. In order to help them, he must help a hopeless track team to win their meet.

The above plot description sounded so silly that, having THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK still strong in my memory, I was expecting this to be one of the worst of the shopping cart movies. The fact that it isn’t is a tribute once again to the care taken in the casting; many of the shopping cart films are full of fun veterans and likable newcomers, and this one is no exception. Still, it’s Peter Ustinov who really makes this one fly. Sure, his Blackbeard probably has very little in common with the historical figure (and the truth be told, I certainly didn’t expect it would in this movie), but he manages to instill a little soul into his character to keep it from being simply a caricature. He’s also had experience with curmudgeon-to-be-redeemed roles; the last movie I saw him in (THE MAN WHO WAGGED HIS TAIL) was of the same ilk. It’s still pretty silly plotwise, but there are worse out there.

THE BERMUDA DEPTHS (1978)
TV-Movie
Article 3441 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-7-2010
Posting Date: 1-15-2011
Directed by Tsugunobu Kotani
Featuring Leigh McCloskey, Carl Weathers, Connie Sellecca
Country: USA / Japan
What it is: Lyrical “Moby Dick” pastiche

A young man returns home to learn the reason for his father’s death, and takes up with a scientist intent on catching a strange creature believed to live in the Bermuda Triangle. He also meets a woman who may or may not be a ghost.

I suspect this movie was originally made as one of the sea monster movies that came in the wake of JAWS, but it doesn’t use that as its model. Rather, it seems a curious cross between “Moby Dick”, NIGHT TIDE, and a Bermuda Triangle movie, which is such an interesting mishmash that I really found myself hoping I would like it. The movie mainly aspires to a sort of lyricism, and occasionally (such as in the opening sequence) it meets that goal. Unfortunately, it doesn’t know when to set aside the lyricism when necessary, so the movie starts to get tiresome. Also, for a movie which shows some real imagination in scenes with very little conversation, it makes the mistake of talking your head off in other scenes, often doing little more than rehashing facts that we’ve already encountered. In short, the movie ends up moving at a turtle’s pace, which makes the fact that the giant sea creature is a turtle an unfortunate coincidence. This is another one of those odd Rankin/Bass USA/Japanese co-productions.

THE BLACK TORMENT (1964)
Article 3401 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-25-2010
Posting Date: 12-6-2010
Directed by Robert Hartford-Davis
Featuring Heather Sears, John Turner, Ann Lynn
Country: UK
What it is: Sinister secrets horror story

A lord returns to his estate with his new bride after a departure of three months. However, he finds himself under suspicion of having committed crimes in the area despite his absence, due to the testimony of several witnesses.

I have to admit to a certain admiration for this movie’s set-up; usually, the story of a noble bringing his new bride to the ancestral home turns into a GASLIGHT variation of sort where the bride encounters mysteries and family secrets while being terrorized. In this one, however, the groom is just as puzzled by the mysteries as the bride, and this definitely piqued my interest. Granted, I was able to sort out parts of the mystery long before the final revelations (thanks to a scene involving a broken family tradition), but it was still fun seeing how the various details unfolded, and even though this type of movie generally turns out to have a non-supernatural explanation, this one really leaves you wondering at times. I found myself quite satisfied while I was watching it, despite a scenery-chewing performance by John Turner. Unfortunately, the second it’s over, the plot holes start showing through. Still, it is original enough that it’s worth a watch.

THE BOOGENS (1981)
Article 3382 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-5-2010
Posting Date: 11-17-2010
Directed by James L. Conway
Featuring Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin
Country: USA
What it is: Old-fashioned monster movie

A mine in Silver City, closed mysteriously for seventy years, is reopened. However, it was closed for a reason… and that reason is now loose to wreak havoc.

Though it doesn’t have a particularly high reputation, I think it’s a bit of a breath of fresh air to find an old-fashioned monster movie in the middle of the slasher era. Granted, an old-fashioned monster movie wouldn’t quite have as much talk about sex as this one does, but even this aspect of the movie is fairly mild, considering the amount of sex the slasher films had. I like the Colorado settings and the snow-covered locations, and I even admire the way the movie handles some of its fake-out scares; in most horror movies, the fake-out scares anticipate the real ones, whereas in this one, the fake-outs only occur in places where a real scare has already happened, and somehow this makes them more effective. The monsters are a bit on the silly side when you get a better look at them, but that doesn’t happen until the very end of the movie; up until then, we only see bits and pieces of them, and even at the end, we never really get a good look at the whole thing. No, if I were to pick out the movie’s worst problem, it’s the title; I can see how it’s a condensation of the word “boogeyman”, but it scans so that the first thing you think of is of something you find in your nose, and that tends to short-circuit your desire to see the movie.

THE BEAST OF BABYLON AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1963)
aka L’eroe di Babilonia
Article 3342 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-23-2010
Posting Date: 10-8-2010
Directed by Siro Marcellini
Featuring Gordon Scott, Genevieve Grad, Andrea Scotti
Country: France / Italy
What it is: Sword and Sandal mayhem

A noble of Babylon returns to find the king has become a cruel tyrant who indulges in human sacrifice. He decides to help some rebels who plan a revolution with the aid of an invading Persian army.

The beast of the title is metaphorical, so there’s no monsters in this one; in fact, this is another case where the only fantastic content is the great strength of the hero (called Nippur). There are some nice touches to this one; the character of the tyrannical king is particularly well played, and the head of the invading army is a more interesting character than is usual for this sort of thing. Furthermore, there is at least one impressive scene of spectacle; it’s a battle scene which features several layers of soldiers, some on horses and some on foot, running in opposite directions. However, you don’t have to have seen too many of these movies to know that the plot here is strictly by-the-numbers, and after a while the movie gets a bit tedious in its predictability. It’s far from the worst of these movies; in fact, it may be one of the better ones, but I’m really at the point with these types of movies that if they don’t offer something new or up the fantastic content a bit, I find little satisfaction in watching them.

BUG (1975)
Article 3331 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-11-2010
Posting Date: 9-27-2010
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
Featuring Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles and Richard Gililand
Country: USA
What it is: Killer bug movie

A small community is hit by an earthquake which opens a fissure from which emerge insects capable of lighting fires. A scientist from a local college investigates their nature.

This was William Castle’s last movie, though he did not direct; he produced and helped with the script. The movie doesn’t have a very high reputation, and I suspect that’s because the movie starts off in one direction and ends up going in another. The first half of the movie sets up the usual killer bug scenario, and at certain points it looks like it’s going to explore just how this community is effected by the arrival of the bugs in an interesting way. However, once it has been established that the insects in question carry the seeds of their own destruction (they are sluggish and unable to breed due to having come from an environment from much greater pressure), the movie veers off in a different direction when the scientist, driven to madness by the death of his wife at the hands (or is it legs) of the insects, becomes inexplicably obsessed with finding a solution to the insects’s breeding problem. The problem here is that you spend the last half of the movie watching the scientist behaving with truly reckless stupidity. Throw in some bizarre PHASE IV style plot elements (Ken Middleham served as insect director on both movies, as well as THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE), and a somewhat head-scratching ending with possible mystical overtones, and you end up with a movie that strains credibility. Still, I like that the movie pays a little more attention to details about the insects, which I suspect is from the original source novel; I also hear that the source novel doesn’t end at the same point as the movie does. Apparently, William Castle’s intended gimmick was to have it seem as if the bugs had invaded the theater, but I’m glad that he passed on the idea; I’m sure it would have backfired.

BARON BLOOD (1972)
aka Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga
Article 3329 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-9-2010
Posting Date: 9-25-2010
Directed by Mario Bava
Featuring Joseph Cotten, Elke Sommer, Massimo Girotti
Country: West Germany / Italy
What it is: Evil comes back from the grave

An American arrives in Austria to learn about his heritage, especially concerning an evil ancestor who tortured the local villagers. He ends up reviving the evil Baron, but finds him easier to conjure up than to get rid of…

It’s seems as if it’s been quite a while since I’ve covered a Mario Bava movie. I remember seeing this one as a kid, and it really didn’t do much for me back then. Having seen it again, I’m afraid I still feel the same way. Bava is a creative director, all right, and there are moments where the wonderful cinematography and the exquisite use of light bring the movie to life, especially in a scene where the Baron chases a woman (Elke Sommer) through the streets of the town. Unfortunately, I’m just not impressed with the script, which is by turns cliched, banal and muddled. The performances also do not impress me, though I’m sure in some cases that may be due to the dubbing. I’m particularly disappointed with Joseph Cotten’s performance as the mysterious man who buys the castle; it seems self-consciously eccentric, and not in a fun way. In the end, the movie just doesn’t make much impact on me. It’s not awful, mind you, but I think it’s far from Bava’s best.

BRIDES OF BLOOD (1968)
aka Brides of the Beast
Article 3322 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-2-2010
Posting Date: 9-18-2010
Directed by Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero
Featuring Kent Taylor, Beverly Powers, John Ashley
Country: Philippines / USA
What it is: Filipino-style horror

A scientist, his wife and a Peace Corps volunteer arrive at an island to do research and to help the natives. However, they soon discover that something is amiss; the plant and animal life undergoes strange mutations, and the natives have taken to sacrificing their maidens to a hideous monster who ravishes them and tears them to pieces.

With this I finish covering what could be loosely called the “Blood Island” trilogy of horror movies from the Philippines. Some people have grouped TERROR IS A MAN and BRAIN OF BLOOD into this group, though the inclusion of the former movie is a bit of a stretch, and the latter movie simply doesn’t belong in any way, shape or form to the series. Matter of fact, it isn’t even strictly a trilogy to begin with; the only two movies that have a plot relation are MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND and BEAST OF BLOOD. This movie at least shares certain crucial similarities in that it also features direction by Eddie Romero and acting by John Ashley.

I fully expected merely a lurid piece of exploitation horror like the other two movies of the trilogy, and for a while that’s what it seemed like, with its liberal doses of sex and gore. Then a certain key moment in the movie made me start pondering at a possible deeper meaning to the movie. That moment occurs when a young native couple is interrupted in their frolicking by the sight of a native child being attacked by a killer tree. The tribe rescues the child, and then proceed to undertake the ceremony leading to another set of sacrifices. The fact that the attack of the tree and the advent of the sacrifices were related, combined with the fact that the creatures and plants that mutate eventually return to their previous state, and that these mutations occur in sync with each other, led me not only to figuring out the nature of the monster but also that the whole movie can be seen as a metaphor for aberrant sexuality. When the monster manifests itself, nature itself takes on an unhealthy phallic atmosphere, and the mutations only retreat after the monster has raped and dismembered the sacrifice victims. As a result, the sex in the movie isn’t merely exploitative; it is inherent in the story. Because of this, I find it interesting that the natives can only have their mating dance ritual at the end of the movie after the monster has been finally destroyed; it is a metaphorical return to healthy sexuality, and, as such, is actual essential to the picture rather than a mere attempt to add some running time or protract the ending. The special effects are pretty problematic (the butterfly is pretty fake looking, and they should have avoided any close-ups of the monster), and some of the acting is weak (Beverly Powers is memorable for something other than her performance), but the presence of the very strong subtext gives the movie far more depth than I expected. This is easily the most interesting of the “Blood Island” trilogy.