Gulliver’s Travels (1977)

GULLIVER’S TRAVELS (1977)
Article 3880 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-20-2012
Posting Date: 3-29-2012
Directed by Peter R. Hunt
Featuring Richard Harris, Catherine Schell, Norman Shelley
Country: UK / Belgium
What it is: Another take on the Swift satire

Gulliver becomes a ship’s surgeon, but after a storm, he is stranded in the land of Lilliput, where everyone is tiny and he’s a giant.

To its credit, this take on Jonathan Swift’s famous book doesn’t completely eliminate the satire, but given the fact that it’s still seen as primarily a children’s story, it does soft-pedal it quite a bit. As expected, it sticks to the first book of the novel, though it does end on a note that at least addresses the second voyage to Brobdingnag (perhaps a sequel was hoped for). It’s a combination of live action and animation; the latter is serviceable but uninspired. I could do without the songs myself, and though Richard Harris does all right with the title character, it’s hardly a challenge the way it’s written. Oddly enough, there’s a glimpse of totally gratuitous animated nudity as well; why, I don’t know. It’s not awful, but it’s probably the weakest take on the tale that I’ve seen for the series.

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Vargtimmen (1968)

VARGTIMMEN (1968)
aka Hour of the Wolf
Article 3879 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-19-2012
Posting Date: 3-28-2012
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Featuring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gertrud Fridh
Country: Sweden
What it is: A descent into madness

An artist, tortured by memories and unable to sleep at nights, shares his darkest memories with his wife. He is invited to a party by the owner of the island… but what do the owner and his friends intend for him?… and are they even real?

Many Bergman films have touches of horror to them; I’ve had the chance to cover several of them already. However, this is the one that is usually thought of as his horror film, and, given some of the events and imagery during the final half of the movie, I’d say that’s fairly accurate, though it’s certainly not one that can be easily parsed out. It most reminds me of REPULSION and THE TENANT, and both Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann are excellent as the artist and his wife who has loved him so long that she has begun to see the ghosts that haunt him. Some of the imagery and events are truly haunting; there’s a shocking encounter with a young boy on a cliff side, and a nightmarish sequence where a woman finally removes her hat. It’s not Bergman at his very best; for one thing, it does take a little too long before things get moving. But even with that in mind, it’s fascinating. The script is apparently a scaled-down, reworked version of an earlier one called THE CANNIBALS, which Bergman abandoned because he thought it would have been too expensive and involved to make; however, I would love to have seen that one.

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Garden of the Dead (1974)

GARDEN OF THE DEAD (1974)
Article 3878 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-18-2012
Posting Date: 3-27-2012
Directed by John Hayes
Featuring Phillip Kenneally, Duncan McLeod, John Dullaghan
Country: USA
What it is: Low-budget zombie mayhem

Convicts forced to work in a camp manufacturing formaldehyde plan a breakout which then goes awry, and they all die and are buried in unmarked graves. But some of the formaldehyde spills onto the graves, and they rise to take revenge!

I’ll give the movie a little credit for not being a slavish imitation of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD; the zombies here are intelligent (which is to say that they’re as intelligent as they were when they were alive), able to talk, and can move fast. But that doesn’t keep this one from going off the goofy meter; for one thing, despite the fact that they’re intelligent, they still like to walk around saying “Urrrr… Urrrr….Urrrr” (Is that all they can think of to say, or does that just come with the territory?) And instead of going after human flesh, they’re after … hold on, I can barely believe it myself… FORMALDEHYDE!! which they sniff, pour over their bodies, rub on their faces…I guess it must be like zombie catnip. Oh, they have their weaknesses; bright light is fatal to them, they can be killed by close-range shotgun blasts, and they’re hypnotized by… and once again, I can barely believe it myself…. CLEAVAGE! Yes, they can be stopped in their tracks by the sight of a low-cut blouse. No wonder Troma’s logo opens the movie. Can’t you just see the inevitable sequel being made, BIKINI BIMBOS VS. FORMALDEHYDE ZOMBIES. Oh, I certainly hope I don’t give anybody ideas out there. Awful, but irresistible.

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Fatal Games (1984)

FATAL GAMES (1984)
Article 3877 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-17-2012
Posting Date: 3-26-2012
Directed by Michael Elliot
Featuring Sally Kirkland, Lynn Banashek, Sean Masterson
Country: USA
What it is: Slasher film

A group of Olympic hopefuls are being stalked one by one by a killer who uses a javelin as a murder weapon.

Who is the killer? Is it one of the two coaches? The doctor? The nurse? Or one of the students? All I’ll say is that the revelations towards the end of the movie give us one of the silliest slashers I’ve encountered yet for this series. The rest is pretty much by the book, with a lot of nudity towards the beginning, forgettable characters and a lot of pointless scenes. Restricting the slasher’s murder weapon to a single item makes the murders duller than usual. It’s not the worst slasher I’ve seen, but I doubt that I’ll remember much about it in a couple of days.

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Endgame (1983)

ENDGAME (1983)
aka Endgame – Bronx lotta finale
Article 3876 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-16-2012
Posting Date: 3-25-2012
Directed by Joe D’Amato
Featuring Al Cliver, Laura Gemser, George Eastman
Country: Italy
What it is: After-the-apocalypse action

It’s after the apocalypse. While roving bands of the military gun down mutants, the rest of the world enjoys a violent game show called ENDGAME, where violent warriors square off against each other in hunter-vs-hunted scenarios. One of the reigning champions of the game is recruited on a mission to save a handful of telepathic mutants by leading them on a journey to a meeting place where they can be saved.

Here’s another one of the many ROAD WARRIOR clones of the eighties, though, truth be told, I’m beginning to think they owe as much to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK as they do the other movie. It’s nonstop action, loud, violent, and, if not quite stupid, I can say that it’s obvious. Still, if you take this all into consideration, then I think I can say that it’s at least not too bad for what it is; it neither takes itself too seriously or too lightly, and even though the themes are obvious, it does set them forth with a modicum of wit. I have to admit that I even liked the somewhat open-ended ending, largely because the movie manages to find just the right degree of character development to make it work. I usually hate movies like this, but at least this one left me with a little smile on my face, and that’s saying something.

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Eating Raoul (1982)

EATING RAOUL (1982)
Article 3875 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-15-2012
Posting Date: 3-24-2012
Directed by Paul Bartel
Featuring Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran
Country: USA
What it is: Black comedy

When a down-on-their-luck straightlaced couple (with dreams of opening a country restaurant) accidentally kill a couple of swingers, they discover that their victims had lots of money on them. They hit on the idea of financing their dream by posing as swinging prostitutes and knocking off their respective customers. All goes well until a opportunist discovers their secret and decides to horn in…

This is the third movie I’ve seen from Paul Bartel, and I marvel a bit at the way he can deal with sleazy, shocking and taboo subjects in a way that is witty and fun; I don’t feel my nose is being pushed into the slime when I watch his movies. Of the movies I’ve seen of his, this is perhaps the one that qualifies the least for genre; though it does deal with serial killing and cannibalism (among other things), this is not a horror movie. In fact, the whole style feels like a sitcom; I could actually imagine a laugh track being grafted onto this movie. Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov are excellent as the “too-square-for-words” couple; one of my favorite moments in the movie is seeing the arrangement of their bedroom. Another of my favorite moments features Billy Curtis as one of the couple’s prospective clients. I also like Susan Saiger as Doris the Dominatrix, who has a surprisingly normal home life. All in all, this is a genuinely amusing black comedy that doesn’t really feel like one.

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Jekyll and Hyde: Pact With the Devil (1969)

JEKYLL AND HYDE: PACT WITH THE DEVIL (1969)
aka Pacto diabolico, Diabolical Pact
Article 3874 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-14-2012
Posting Date: 3-23-2012
Directed by Jaime Salvador
Featuring John Carradine, Regina Torne, Miguel Angel Alvarez
Country: Mexico
What it is: Jekyll and Hyde variation

A colleague of the late Dr. Jekyll is trying to come up with a formula for eternal youth so that he can become young again and continue his experiments. However, his younger self turns into a monstrous killer.

This Mexican horror movie adds a bit of American star power by including John Carradine in the cast. However, one of the appeals of Carradine is hearing his rich, sonorous voice, and since in this subtitled version of the movie his voice has been dubbed by someone who can speak Spanish, we’re robbed of that voice. Actually, the most fun I had out of this movie was imagining Carradine’s voice while reading the subtitles for his character; beyond that, this is a tired, static movie, Mexican horror at its least inspired. It does come up with a few twists to the basic Jekyll and Hyde story, but they’re not particular good or original, and the repetitive sound effects and score (which on occasion gives you the feeling that you’re watching a silent movie) gets tiresome quickly. I’d been curious about this one for some time, but it’s a real disappointment.

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Demented (1980)

DEMENTED (1980)
Article 3873 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-13-2012
Posting Date: 3-22-2012
Directed by Arthur Jeffreys
Featuring Sallee Young, Harry Reems, Deborah Alter
Country: USA
What it is: Rape victim freaks out

A rape victim, still troubled by her experience, returns home with her husband. When some hoods begin threatening her, she is not believed by her husband or the cops, since they think she’s having a flashback. When the hoods return, she snaps, and…

You know, the subject matter, unpleasant as it is, isn’t unworkable, but there’s at least three things you need – a decent script, strong acting (especially from the woman playing the rape victim) and solid direction. For this movie, that means “Three strikes, you’re out!” The script is obvious, loaded with cliches, and has no subtlety; it’s one of those scripts where the characters remind you that the woman was raped every five minutes or so, just in case you forget. Sallee Young is really trying her best in the central role, but she just doesn’t have the acting chops to pull it off, and the crazier her character gets, the worse her performance gets. And the functional-at-best, petrified-at-worst direction just makes the whole experience seem lifeless; it’s one of those movies where you realize the only thing that keeps you from going to sleep is the high exploitation quotient (nudity and violence). I’m sure that’s enough for some; me, I found this one just plain lousy.

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Gemini Man (1976)

GEMINI MAN (1976)
TV show pilot
aka Code Name: Minus One
Article 3872 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-12-2012
Posting Date: 3-21-2012
Directed by Alan J. Levi
Featuring Ben Murphy, Katharine Crawford, Richard Dysart
Country: USA
What it is: Invisible man TV series

A government agent is exposed to an explosion by a radioactive mine, and it gives him the ability to turn invisible. He uses his ability to uncover a Soviet spy ring that is trying to take over a munitions industry.

Here’s another pilot for a TV series, but this is one of them that actually made it. I can see why; it’s got a workable premise and is competently made. It isn’t particularly inspired, though, and I know I would have found the semi-romantic bantering between Ben Murphy and Katharine Crawford to tire very quickly. The first half of the movie is concerned with working the fairy dust so that we get some clearly delineated limits to his abilities; he can only remain invisible for fifteen minutes a day, his clothes are able to disappear with him due to his proximity to them (though I notice the movie is conveniently selective on how this works; there’s one point where they have him completely swaddled in bandages which for some reason do not disappear), and he has to control his abilities with the help of an atomic wrist watch. In truth, the science behind it seems rather silly, and the plot is pretty run of the mill, and I gather from the swift cancellation that the stories didn’t get much better. In truth, I didn’t see anything really special about this one.

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Brainwaves (1983)

BRAINWAVES (1983)
Article 3871 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-11-2012
Posting Date: 3-20-2012
Directed by Ulli Lommel
Featuring Keir Dullea, Suzanna Love, Vera Miles
Country: USA
What it is: Science fiction crime thriller

A housewife suffers a brain injury in a car accident that leaves her in a coma with little chance of recovery. Her family agrees to an experimental procedure that reprograms the electrical impulses in her brain. Though the process works, there is a side effect; the person who posthumously provided the electrical impulses was in fact a murder victim… and the housewife is beginning to remember the victim’s final moments…

I’ve only seen two other of Ulli Lommel’s movies at this point – THE TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES and THE BOOGEYMAN. Ulli Lommel’s reputation, as I’m given to understand, was that after the promising start of his first movie (WOLVES), he descended into an abyss of awfulness from which he never recovered, and certainly there was nothing in THE BOOGEYMAN to convince me that it wasn’t true. So I was expecting the worst going into this one, but, truth to tell, I didn’t find this one an atrocity; in fact, I found it rather engaging at some points. It’s certainly not a mess like THE BOOGEYMAN; the story is simple, concise and clear, the performances are solid, and the movie, though a bit slow-moving, doesn’t overstay its welcome. Granted, the story isn’t really that original, though in most of the other variations on the story, it’s usually some psychic power that makes someone privy to the dead person’s final moments, and it could be pointed out that this movie spends a lot of its running time getting to the point that a similar movie might reach in the first five minutes. There’s a few other script problems (including a rather useless twist ending), but I find it a definite step up after THE BOOGEYMAN. Still, a sort on Ulli Lommel’s directorial oeuvre by rating on IMDB puts this as his third best movie, and if it’s only okay, that doesn’t bode well for the rest of his work.

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