Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949)

DICK BARTON STRIKES BACK (1949)
Article 3680 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-27-2011
Posting Date: 9-11-2011
Directed by Godfrey Grayson
Featuring Don Stannard, Sebastian Cabot, Jean Lodge
Country: UK
What it is: Science fiction espionage

When all life in some small villages is wiped out by an unknown power, Dick Barton is sent out to investigate. He believes it is some fearful new weapon developed by a foreign power.

Immediately after watching this movie, I went back and read my review of the first movie in the Dick Barton series, DICK BARTON , SPECIAL AGENT. I remember thinking that movie was quite awful, but I also remember being told that the sequels were much better. Having now seen one of them, I can attest to the fact that at least this one was a massive improvement. Most of the flaws that plagued the first movie are gone; in fact, the main problems I had with this movie was the occasionally clumsy use of background music, and the fact that some of the characters (both heroes and villains) act with amazing stupidity at times. Nevertheless, the movie has an interesting weapon, and its use at several times during the movie moves it into science fiction territory. It also builds up a fairly decent amount of suspense. It was also fun to see Sebastian Cabot sans beard in a villainous role here. Being an early Hammer film, it also has a certain similar feel to the Quatermass movies, though I wouldn’t put this one on their level; nevertheless, this is a solid and entertaining entry in the series. I also find myself wondering what the third movie in the series will be like.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Please Don’t Eat My Mother (1973)

PLEASE DON’T EAT MY MOTHER (1973)
Article 3679 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-26-2011
Posting Date: 9-10-2011
Directed by Carl Monson
Featuring Buck Kartalian, Lynn Lundgren, Art Hedburg
Country: USA
What it is: Comedy horror sexploitation

A middle-aged voyeur who lives with his mother buys a talking plant with a sexy voice that has an ever-increasing appetite, finally settling on human beings as its choice food.

Between the original Corman version of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and the big-budget musical remake of the eighties, we have this uncredited remake that adds a bunch of sex and nudity into the mix. It manages to add the sex by simply making the Seymour character (here named Henry Fudd) a voyeur, so every once in a while he goes into a wooded area and watches couples having sex. Once again, I’m not going to comment on the sex scenes except to point out that besides their obvious primary purpose in the movie, they do serve at least one useful secondary purpose; they distract us from the comedy and plot, which are, in a word, abysmal. The original version is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen; this one, despite occasionally hovering near some potentially humorous ideas, doesn’t net a single laugh. Then there’s the crappy special effects; the plant looks like nothing more than a tacky puppet, and though it’s tempting to blame this on the movie’s no-doubt extreme low budget, I suspect that the budget wasn’t significantly lower than Corman’s original, and the plant passed muster there. But then, the comedy and horror were the primary elements in the Corman original; here, they’re supposed to play second fiddle to the sex scenes. This movie is truly horrid. Still, a couple of side notes. Since I do some acting on the side, I hope that I never fall so low as to play a voyeur in a movie like this, as the acting in such a role requires little more than being able to stare straight ahead and grin like a maniac. Secondly, there are some movie titles that I just feel embarrassed to mention or write out, and the tacky, tasteless title of this one is one of them.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Les creatures (1966)

LES CREATURES (1966)
aka The Creatures

Article 3678 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-25-2011
Posting Date: 9-9-2011
Directed by Agnes Varda
Featuring Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, Eva Dahlbeck
Country: Sweden / France
What it is: Fantastically themed art movie

After an accident, a writer and his wife (who has lost the power of speech) move into a castle, and have odd encounters with the local residents. The writer begins to suspect someone is practicing mind control on the residents…. or is he just writing a book about it?

The first thirty minutes of this strange little movie are impenetrable; events happen, but their significance within the scheme of things is nearly impossible to discern. It’s only when the writer reveals the nature of the book he is writing (in a conversation with a horse) that the movie gives out a clue on what to watch for, as well as providing the key to the fantastic content in the movie. I’m not sure whether the events portrayed are real or just part of the novel he’s writing, but I actually found it didn’t matter; the second half of the movie, in which the writer encounters the man behind the mind control and becomes engaged in a game with him in which the lives of the various people in the community are at risk, is fascinating to watch, and I like the movie’s symbolic use of the checkerboard pattern and the technique of darkening the screen to symbolize that the characters are under mind control . I’m not saying that I’ve scoped out the movie completely; there are still some questions I have about the action (such as whether or not a rabbit really talks back to the writer at one point, and what the significance of the final scene is), but considering the impenetrability of the first part of the movie, I was really glad it settled down into a more coherent and enjoyable groove. This one is recommended, but one should be aware that it’s an art film before taking it on.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Conquest of Mycenae (1963)

THE CONQUEST OF MYCENAE (1963)
aka Ercole contro Molock

Article 3677 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-24-2011
Posting Date: 9-8-2011
Directed by Giorgio Ferroni
Featuring Gordon Scott, Alessandro Panaro, Rosalba Neri
Country: Italy / France
What it is: Sword and Sandal

The evil city of Mycenae terrorizes its neighbors and demands hostages for sacrifice to the human incarnation of their god Moloch. Can Glaucus, the prince of a neighboring city, find a way to infiltrate Mycenae and spark a revolution?

The movie actually begins with a scene that seems intended to generate a bit of sympathy for the Mycenaens and their plight, but after that, they’re the typical evil kingdom for these types of movies. And don’t let the alternate title (which implies that Hercules is in the movie) fool you; the hero is Glaucus, and he just calls himself Hercules when he willingly agrees to be a hostage in order to get access to the city. He’s strong enough, but not Hercules-style strong. Still, the movie has other fantastic content to it; there’s at least one moment where divine intervention steps in, and though the human/god Moloch is just supposed to be a mutilated human being, it looks like he has a few mystical powers as well. Other than that, it’s the usual sort of thing for a sword and sandal movie, with the order a bit scrambled (the hero’s dalliance with the evil queen is gotten out of the way earlier than usual), and some scenes appear to be missing (if the evil queen ever got her comeuppance, I missed it). Some of the special effects are quite bad; there’s a truly awful shot of a burning city at one point. All in all, it’s just another sword-and-sandal movie.

1 CommentLeave a comment

Ganja & Hess (1973)

GANJA & HESS (1973)
aka Blood Couple

Article 3676 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-23-2011
Posting Date: 9-7-2011
Directed by Bill Gunn
Featuring Marlene Clark, Duane Jones, Bill Gunn
Country: USA
What it is: Art movie masquerading as blaxploitation horror

An archaeologist becomes a vampire after having been stabbed with a ceremonial knife. He tries to cope with his affliction and finds himself involved with the wife of his now-dead assailant.

It features the lead actor from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and is a movie about a black vampire made in the same era as BLACULA. But anyone walking into this one expecting the usual blaxploitation horror vibe will be severely disappointed. Granted, I can’t speak about the 78-minute edit, which reportedly comes across as almost a completely different movie; I opted to watch the complete 110 minute version. There is much to admire here; the acting is strong, the use of sound and music is truly creative, and it adds some interesting wrinkles to vampire mythology (incidentally, the word “vampire” is never used once during the movie). Yet, it remains an art film, and a fairly long one; there is a lot of talk, and not all of it is interesting enough to hold the attention. There are scenes that are confusing, and other scenes that go on too long; despite the positive qualities of this movie, I often found myself quite bored. It is also a movie steeped in black culture, and as such, I may simply not be one of its intended audience. Some people consider it a masterpiece; others think it’s awful. Me, I find it unique, but not quite satisfying overall, though it may be one of those movies that requires more than a single viewing.

1 CommentLeave a comment

Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)

BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965)
Article 3675 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-22-2011
Posting Date: 9-6-2011
Directed by Otto Preminger
Featuring Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea
Country: UK
What it is: Mystery thriller

In England, an inspector is called in to investigate the disappearance of the daughter of a single American mother who has just moved to the country. However, when he can find no evidence for the existence of the child at all, he begins to suspect that the woman may be delusional…

Otto Preminger was an interesting if uneven director with his own set of obsessions, and at one point in this movie, I found myself pondering a certain comparison between his work and Jesus Franco’s and then was startled when the movie suddenly dropped the name of the Marquis de Sade. As a mystery, this one is really not that tricky; you’re basically given two options (the child exists or the child does not exist), and if you go with the correct option, you’ll probably sort it all out before the movie spells it out for you. The movie may seem somewhat borderline in its fantastic content; the option that the woman is delusional certainly points to the theme of madness. All I’m going to say is that madness definitely plays a big role in the proceedings before the movie winds up. If the mystery isn’t difficult, it does manage to give us some good thrills before it’s all through; in fact, this appears to be one of the better movies from Preminger’s waning period from the mid-sixties onward. The movie also features a memorable performance from Noel Coward. All in all, this one is quite satisfying.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Case of the Smiling Stiffs (1973)

THE CASE OF THE SMILING STIFFS (1973)
aka Case of the Full Moon Murders

Article 3674 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-21-2011
Posting Date: 9-5-2011
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham and Brud Talbot
Featuring Sheila Stuart, Jed Ziegler, Cathy Walker
Country: USA
What it is: After hours horror

A vampire is loose in Miami whose method of attack leaves a number of happy corpses around. Dragnet-style cops investigate.

The producer of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and FRIDAY THE 13TH shows that he was as interested in live bodies as he was in dead ones with this movie; yes, the title does indeed have a double meaning. Apparently, this movie was made in both hardcore and softcore versions, with only the latter version surviving. Now I find these movies rather difficult to review; since they’re something in the way of a “specialty” genre, they really need to be judged on the degree they provide that “specialty”, and other factors (such as acting, plot, etc.) are of minimal importance. However, I have no interest in reviewing movies on those terms, so let’s just say that I’ve watched this on to get it off my hunt list. I will make one comment, though; the “Dragnet” style narration really gets tiresome before this one is through.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

The Incredible Paris Incident (1967)

THE INCREDIBLE PARIS INCIDENT (1967)
aka Come rubare la corona d’Inghilterra, Argoman Superdiobolica

Article 3673 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-20-2011
Posting Date: 9-4-2011
Directed by Sergio Grieco
Featuring Roger Browne, Dominique Boschero, Eduardo Fajardo
Country: Italy
What it is: Superspy/supervillain/superhero mishmash

When the crown of England is stolen, the authorities call on a freelance agent to help them solve the theft, unaware that the agent is also the superhero/supervillain Argoman.

Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday; a superhero movie that plays like a supervillain/superspy movie. Our hero actually does have superpowers; he may have superstrength, but he definitely has telekinesis and lightning fast reflexes. He’s not only a hero (he sets out to defeat an evil woman who is intent on taking over the world), but he’s a villain as well; he has the real copy of the Mona Lisa among other trophies of his various exploits. The big difference between the evil woman and Argoman is that he does not take human lives. The movie is on the campy side (it’s full of silly dialogue), but it manages to stay on the side of “fun” campy rather than “cloying” campy. In fact, the whole movie is a light-hearted lark, and Argoman’s costume is not too bad. I really didn’t know what to expect from this movie, but I ended up enjoying it thoroughly, and that says something.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Christmas Evil (1980)

CHRISTMAS EVIL (1980)
aka You Better Watch Out

Article 3672 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-19-2011
Posting Date: 9-3-2011
Directed by Lewis Jackson
Featuring Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull
Country: USA
What it is: Christmas psycho movie

After suffering a traumatic childhood experience involving his father in Santa Claus outfit, a disturbed toy factory worker fixates on Santa Claus in an unhealthy way. When Christmas cynicism pushes him over the edge, he takes on the role one Christmas eve to reward the good boys and girls… and to murder the cynics.

With only a 4.4 rating on IMDB, this entry in the “killer Santa” subgenre is not very well respected. But I believe anyone who goes into this one with the expectation of seeing a full-blown slasher film will walk away very disappointed. Rather than having some mindless killer knocking off people one by one, this one attempts to paint a portrait of a disturbed man and his obsessions while exploring some of the slightly creepy undercurrents of the Santa legend itself. He doesn’t don the Santa suit until the second half of the movie, but where many people find the first half dull, I was actually fascinated by seeing the details of his obsession, and I think the first half has the most suspenseful scene (where he covers himself with mud to hide himself while spying on one young boy). It looked initially to me that it was going to go downhill once he was in the suit; his first scene has him flashing a knife in a self-consciously “scary” way, and this made me fear that the main character was going to lose all of his dimension. However, there are some real surprises during this half, largely because the main character is such a loose cannon we’re not sure what he’s going to do in certain situations. There are some flaws, of course. The police investigation is extraordinarily lame; despite the fact that they have a clear description of the killer’s distinctive van and the fact that he leaves his fingerprints all over creation, they decide to arrest every one they find in a Santa suit on Christmas Day. And though the movie does add a bit of a homage to the Universal Frankenstein movies by having Santa chased around by villagers bearing torches, it seems really forced because there is simply no logical reason why these people would even have torches handy to begin with. The ending of the movie is very unexpected, but quite interesting in its way. All in all, I quite liked this one.

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Damnation Alley (1977)

DAMNATION ALLEY (1977)
Article 3671 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-18-2011
Posting Date: 9-2-2011
Directed by Jack Smight
Featuring Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda
Country: USA
What it is: After-the-apocalypse road movie

It’s after the apocalypse. A group of survivors from a military installation cross the country in a special tank-like vehicle to see if there are survivors in Albany.

I saw this movie years ago, and I could only remember two things about it; one was the cool three-tire arrangement on the large motor vehicle, and the other was the color orange. Watching it again, I can see why; there’s something in the general tone of this movie that is so muted and suspenseless that even the apocalypse at the beginning of the movie comes across as only mildly interesting. The movie is based on a novel by Roger Zelazny, and I certainly hope the source novel is more inventive than this movie is; I found the movie singularly lacking in surprises. The movie does struggle out of the doldrums a little for the killer cockroach scene, and the special sky effects are pretty to look at. Probably the thing I will most remember from this viewing is that the movie also features Jackie Earle Haley, who would go on to give an excellent performance as Rorschach in THE WATCHMEN. Outside of that, this is a fairly tired and tiresome outing.

0 CommentsLeave a comment