Kung Fu Zombie (1982)

KUNG FU ZOMBIE (1982)
aka Wu long tian shi zhao ji gui
Article 3920 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-28-2012
Posting Date: 5-8-2012
Directed by Yi-Jung Hua
Featuring Billy Chong, Kang-Yeh Cheng, Lau Chan
Country: Hong Kong
What it is: Kung Fu horror comedy

A bank robber, seeking revenge against the man who caused him to go to prison, recruits a wizard to resurrect zombies to help him with his vengeance. When the plan backfires and the bank robber ends up dead, his ghost tries to force the wizard to give him a new body…but further complications arise.

I expected a martial arts/horror movie going into this one, but I have to admit I wasn’t expecting a comedy – at least, not one that was intentional. But that’s exactly what it is, and with its manic Three Stooges energy level along with its ridiculous situations, it’s actually somewhat effective; I ended up laughing a number of times at this silly movie. In fact, it most reminded me of INFRA-MAN, and though it’s not quite up to that level, this is still a fairly entertaining movie nonetheless. The plot gets pretty farcical at times, and is full of outrageous coincidences, and you end up with a ghost, a vampire, and a passel of zombies to fill out the movie, along with the usual kung fu cliches. I was expecting a lot worse myself.

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Killer’s Moon (1978)

KILLER’S MOON (1978)
Article 3919 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-27-2012
Posting Date: 5-7-2012
Directed by Alan Birkinshaw
Featuring Anthony Forrest, David Jackson, Tom Marshall
Country: UK
What it is: Horror movie… at least, I think it’s trying to be

A busload of schoolgirls is stranded at an isolated hotel… and find themselves at the mercy of four mental patients who have been the subject of drug experiments that have left them believing that they’re dreaming.

The first half of this movie is actually rather effective; there’s an offhand, slightly comic air to the proceedings that has the effect of leaving us with the feeling that everyone involved has no real sense of the pending horrific ordeal. I also like the central idea that the escaped inmates are under the sense that they’re dreaming, which is established before we meet them. Yet I found myself thinking that it would be extraordinarily difficult for the various members of the creative team to render that idea effectively and convincingly. As a result, I’m not totally surprised that the movie ends up stumbling at this point; once we meet the inmates and they start talking, it stops feeling like a horror movie and feels like we’ve wandered into a rather self-referential and pretentious absurdist play, with the inmates endlessly speculating on how they can be sharing the same dream, and how they don’t have to worry about what they do because it’s all a dream, etc… in short, they’re not acting like they’re actually in a dream, they act like they know they’re in a dream, and that’s not the same thing. It’s at this point that the movie stops feeling real and starts feeling mannered, and despite the rape and carnage that ensue, any suspense has gone out the window and given way to detached mental speculation. In the end, the movie ends up feeling like a dream, though not a nightmare; the latter seem a lot more real when you’re having them. I don’t know if that makes the movie “bad”, per se; a lot depends on what the filmmakers were trying to do. But the end result is more of a surreal mental exercise than a horror movie.

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The Hunters of the Golden Cobra (1982)

THE HUNTERS OF THE GOLDEN COBRA (1982)
aka I cacciatori del cobra d’oro
Article 3918 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-26-2012
Posting Date: 5-6-2012
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
Featuring David Warbeck, Almanta Suska, Luciano Pigozzi
Country: Italy
What it is: Exotic actioner

An American soldier is recruited to recover the Golden Cobra, an artifact that gives its possessor supernatural powers.

In case you haven’t figured it out from the title, this is one of several Italian imitations of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, which, in this case, translates as a standard period action/adventure movie shot in an exotic location involving the recovery of supernatural artifacts. Given the low-budget pedigree of this one, I didn’t expect the stunt work or special effects to match that of its model, and I kept my expectations pretty low, and I was right. For what it was, it was passable; the violence is a bit nastier than that of RAIDERS, and the script seems like it was thrown together without much care, but I rather like the British soldier who is paired with the hero. Still, this one is routine at best.

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A House in Nightmare Park (1977)

A HOUSE IN NIGHTMARE PARK (1977)
Article 3917 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-25-2012
Posting Date: 5-5-2012
Directed by Peter Sykes
Featuring Frankie Howerd, Ray Milland, Hugh Berden
Country: UK
What it is: An old dark house movie

A ham actor is invited to entertain at a spooky mansion, but he’s unaware that he is actually the true heir to the estate and that the other members of the family want him out of the way…

This horror comedy is a vehicle for British comedian Frankie Howerd. I do like that the movie generally tries to use verbal wit instead of broad slapstick, that it tries to have some horror atmosphere, and that the comedian is one of those I don’t find actively annoying. However, the story is hardly original and the comedy is only fair to middling; there’s a few smiles, but not much in the way of outright laughs. Ray Milland gives his usual solid performance, and that adds a bit to the proceedings, but really, there’s not an awful lot here.

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Plus moche que Frankenstein tu meurs (1975)

PLUS MOCHE QUE FRANKENSTEIN TU MEURS (1975)
aka Frankenstein: Italian Style, Frankenstein all’italiana
Article 3916 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-24-2012
Posting Date: 5-4-2012
Directed by Armando Crispino
Featuring Gianrico Tedeschi, Aldo Maccione, Jenny Tamburi
Country: Italy
What it is: Frankenstein sex comedy

Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster who has an eye for the women… including the doctor’s own spouse.

My copy of this Italian movie was dubbed into French and has no English subtitles. Yet, even with these handicaps, it seemed patently obvious to me that this movie was primarily inspired by YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, only sexed up, with dumber gags, and minus the stylistic emulation of the old Universal classics that gave its model that extra needed touch. I can also say that if the verbal humor of this movie is on the same level as the visual humor, then it may well have been a blessing not to have seen it in English. Visually, the gags are painfully obvious and badly timed; the only thing that brought a smile to my face was a gag involving the monster fixing Igor’s hump. And for those drawn to this movie for the sex and nudity, I can only say that unless there’s a sexier version of it out there (or a more complete one, as my copy is short about three minutes), then you’re likely to walk away from this feeling short-changed. So it comes down to the fact that from whatever angle you may be attracted to this movie, there are lots of other better choices out there.

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The Force on Thunder Mountain (1978)

THE FORCE ON THUNDER MOUNTAIN (1978)
Article 3915 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-23-2012
Posting Date: 5-3-2012
Directed by Peter B. Good
Featuring Christopher Cain, Todd Dutson, Borge West
Country: USA
What it is: Your chance to see stock footage

A man takes his son on a camping trip to hike to Thunder Mountain. Many animals are encountered. A UFO is seen. Strange things happen.

This is one of those movies that seems to be an experiment on how little you can have happen during a movie and still call it a movie. About ninety percent of the movie is banal dialogue, hiking scenes, and animal stock footage. Sporadically, something mysterious happens, but except for a sequence where the hikers vanish from the forest and end up in a desert, the mysterious happenings are incredibly tepid. Eventually the movie works itself up to revealing the secret of Thunder Mountain, and though I’m tempted to call the revelation disappointing, the truth of the matter is that my expectations were so low by this time that the movie would have to have worked pretty hard to lower them any further. The movie has a rating of 1.6 on IMDB, and I’d say that’s pretty accurate. If I myself found the movie a bit on the painless side, that’s only because I have a weak spot for animal footage. If you don’t, then you’ll probably want to avoid this one like the plague.

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The Clones of Bruce Lee (1981)

THE CLONES OF BRUCE LEE (1981)
aka Shen wei san meng long
Article 3914 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-22-2012
Posting Date: 5-2-2012
Directed by Joseph Velasco
Featuring Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, Yi Tao Chang (as Bruce Lai)
Country: Hong Kong / Philippines
What it is: Just what you think it is

Upon Bruce Lee’s death, a scientist uses his DNA to clone three new Bruce Lees, named Bruce Lee 1, Bruce Lee 2, and Bruce Lee 3. They go out and fight crime. But can the scientist who created them be trusted…?

On the level of sheer physical spectacle, it’s hard not to be a little impressed by the fighting in a martial arts film; as a combination of fighting, gymnastics, mime, dance, and sound-enhanced gesturing, it’s at least interesting to look at. But it takes more than a series of staged fight scenes to make a movie, and outside of a handful of silly moments, there’s very little else to draw you into this one. On top of the cloning concept, there’s also some fantastic content with a mad scientist who develops a formula that turns men into metal, which largely results in their being more clanging during the fight scenes with them; their defeat involves force-feeding them poison grass, certainly the comedic highlight of this film. As to how our Bruce Lee wannabes compare to the original, I can only say that I’m not familiar enough with Bruce Lee’s own work to do so, but I’m willing to bet that none of them had a movie made after their death in which someone was cloning them.

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Ritual of Evil (1970)

RITUAL OF EVIL (1970)
TV-Movie
Article 3913 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-21-2012
Posting Date: 5-1-2012
Directed by Robert Day
Featuring Louis Jourdan, Anne Baxter, Diana Hyland
Country: USA
What it is: Tale of the supernatural

The suicide of a rich young woman brings about an investigation by a psychiatrist who dabbles in the supernatural. He begins to suspect that a black mass has occurred involving the sacrifice of a young man, and that a demon may have been summoned from hell…

This is the sequel to FEAR NO EVIL, and features once again psychiatrist David Sorell. When I saw the earlier movie, I thought his concept would have made for a nifty series, and I still do. I also think this movie would have made a decent first episode for that series; it would have certainly worked better had it been condensed down quite a bit, as in this current form, it takes way too long for things to get going. And that’s my primary problem with this one; it feels padded and unfocused. I also think Wilfred Hyde-White’s mentor character is used a little too sparingly, and that he’s kept too much on the outskirts of the story; I’d like it more if he was on hand for the main action. As it is, I was disappointed by this sequel, though it’s a shame that it marked the end of the series.

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Le temps de mourir (1970)

LE TEMPS DE MOURIR (1970)
aka The Time to Die
Article 3912 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-20-2012
Posting Date: 4-30-2012
Directed by Andre Farwagi
Featuring Anna Karina, Bruno Cremer, Jean Rochefort
Country: France
What it is: Futuristic thriller

A woman suffers a riding accident on an estate while carrying a film canister. Inside the canister is a film of a man being killed that clearly shows the killer.

This is another movie that I’ve rescued from my “ones that got away” list, but, as is often the case, I’ve only been able to find it without English subtitles or dubbing, thus leaving me having to rely on the visuals alone to sort out the story. Back when I covered it for my other list, I commented that what plot descriptions I had found for it to be rather confusing, and the only clue I ever got to its fantastic content was that it was “futuristic”. Well, there is a futuristic touch to some of the movie, that much is clear, and one thing I was trying to watch for was whether the futuristic setting was merely a stylistic conceit or whether it had something to do with the storyline. Having now seen the whole movie, I suspect that the futuristic setting is not just a stylistic conceit. I also suspect that the plot descriptions I’ve found (which usually mention how the killer begins stalking those who’ve seen the film) aren’t entirely accurate, at least as far as I can make out here. Let’s just say that there’s a twist ending to the movie that I can’t discuss without giving the game away, and I’m not sure how much information I can reveal, because I don’t know when or if the dialogue reveals that information earlier than the ending. All I’ll say is that it has something to do with time, and until I can see a version in English, I’m going to have to leave it at that.

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Obsession (1976)

OBSESSION (1976)
Article 3911 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-19-2012
Posting Date: 4-29-2012
Directed by Brian De Palma
Featuring Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold, John Lithgow
Country: USA
What it is: Arty thriller

A real estate man, torn with guilt over the role he played in the death of his wife, meets a woman who looks just like her in Florence. He decides to marry her… but will he find that history repeats itself…?

Usually with De Palma, I tend to go on about his obsession with the work of Alfred Hitchcock, but even I’m a little bored with that anymore. I find it more useful to consider him as someone who likes to play variations on some of Hitchcock’s themes. Here he’s taking one of the central gimmicks in VERTIGO and doing his spin on it. He manages to gather some strong talent to help him out; the three leads all do fine work (especially Cliff Robertson), Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography is excellent, and so is Bernard Herrmann’s score. There’s some story problems, especially towards the end of the movie, when certain characters start acting with uncharacteristic stupidity. But I think the primary problem I have with this movie is that I find myself emotionally detached from it; there’s a number of times where the camera tricks and arty touches call too much attention to themselves, drawing us away from the suspense and emotion. I do have to admit that De Palma can surprise you on occasion; I certainly wasn’t expecting the movie to end on the note that it did, but even that final moment is hoodwinked by the camera trickery. Incidentally, I’m not sure just how much the movie can be considered genre; it flirts with madness and touches momentarily (and not quite explicitly) on the theme of reincarnation. But then, I’ve also covered VERTIGO and had the same reservations about that one as well.

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