Recent Viewings, Part 2

[chainsaw midget]

Wow, if I have actually introduced TEEN ALIEN to this community, I can expire at any time with a sense of authentic accomplishment. 

I only saw CLOWNHOUSE once, in the early 90s, but I remember it being highly effective. Sam Rockwell plays the a-hole oldest brother, doesn't he?

Yeah.  It's Sam.  He certainly did a good job at coming off as hated, like, not normal brotherly hatred siblingly rivalry stuff, but full on all out hate.

[Dr. Whom]

Au Pair Girls (1972)

The erotic adventures of four au pair girls in swinging London.

Directed by Val Guest, who also gave us The Day The Earth Caught Fire and Quatermass 2, this is essentially a Carry On movie with less slapstick humour and a lot more nudity. As an early 70s sex comedy, it is very much of its time, so your mileage may vary. In fact, it has become something of a time capsule of swinging London.

It is short, and moves along briskly. For the UFO fans who were wondering what Lt. Gay Ellis looks like under her uniform, this is the movie for you.

[M.10rda]

DEAD OF NIGHT aka DEATHDREAM (1974):
Bob Clark, I barely knew ye', but as the director of the hoary old CHRISTMAS STORY, which I must've seen 25 times as a kid, and that other CHRISTMAS movie, which I only saw once too long ago. But I watched CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS twice in quick succession a decade back and was very impressed, and a few years later watched PORKY'S for the first/only time - didn't love it as a whole, but there were at least two scenes that were the work of a genuine genius. Now at last I get around to Clark's "Monkey's Paw" riff, DEAD OF NIGHT, and more than ever I feel like Clark was something special.

A father, mother, and young adult daughter eat a tense dinner. They have been waiting for any word from, or about, the absent son Andy, a soldier in active duty overseas. Quickly the doorbell rings, and the father answers, accepting a telegram, bleakly (though, significantly, he doesn't relate the message and the viewer cannot see it). Much later that night, the family wakes to find "Andy" has returned to the house. The father and daughter are a bit surprised, though not as surprised as you'd expect; the mother barely blinks. One assumes they are just relieved to see Andy again. But, naturally, the thing that begins to stay in Andy's room that looks like Andy is definitely not Andy.

Two things mark out DEAD OF NIGHT as the work of a gifted director - the casting (and performances) and the tone. On the latter note, about half the film is set in broad daylight over a 48 hour period and those long sunlit scenes are remarkably oppressive. The night scenes, on the other hand, are masterfully sustained pitched terror. John Marley plays the father, and if you only know him from THE GODFATHER and some Cassavettes movies, he's quietly revelatory here as a man who seems to perpetually be struggling to wake from a terrible, disorienting fever dream, never quite getting a grip on reality or sobriety.

There are also two exceptional supporting performances. Henderson Forsythe plays the family doctor with such naturalism you'd think he was Clark's actual general practitioner. Because Forsythe is so understated and reasonable in the face of a scenario that is increasingly bizarre and fraught, Forsythe really helps amplify the viewer's anxiety. Even better is Jane Daly as Andy's girlfriend Joanne, who could just be a mechanic of the plot except Daly's every guileless word and look milks extraordinary audience sympathy. Daly was one of the girls from CHILDREN... but gets to give a real, and indelible performance here.

Anya Ormsby (wife of the screenwriter, Alan) also reappears from CHILDREN... as Andy's sister, as does the hard-to-mistake Jeff Gillen, who plays a loquacious bartender. Like in the films of David Lynch, there are few small roles in DEAD OF NIGHT - if a character appears, Clark gives them the spotlight. Other than Gillen, there's a memorable diner with a cook and a drunk old patron who are clearly and marvelously not actors, a neighborhood mailman who visits and tries to hijack the film, and a sheriff's deputy who functions in a climactic scene in a very similar (though less hilarious, more suspenseful) way to the immortal "Paul" the factory clerk from ERASERHEAD. (Alan Ormsby, who was the splendidly loathsome lead in CHILDREN..., gets a cameo here.)

Everyone in this film is interesting and likeable, with two notable exceptions: Richard Backus as Andy, who maintains an appropriately off-putting monotone for the film's duration, and Lynn Carlin as Andy's mother, who begins the film in profound neurosis and has nowhere to go for 90 minutes but shrill hysteria. It's probably a feature of DEAD OF NIGHT, though, rather than a bug. After 80 minutes of nerve-wracking simmer, the film (and Andy, via Tom Savini's makeup) finally gets entirely out of control and literally combusts onscreen. It's a satisfying (which is to say horrifying) climax, underlined by a final moment involving a gravestone which defeats all literal narrative logic. Again, this must be the intentional flourish of a confident filmmaker. As signaled in its alternate title DEATHDREAM, this film is a nightmare. Wisely, Clark rolls the credits without ever allowing the characters or the audience the relief of someone waking up.

4.5/5 Great Horror Cinema

[Rev. Powell]

Airplane viewings:

JANET PLANET (2023): Young Lacy Planet, who has trouble making friends, spends summer vacation before 6th grade observing her acupuncturist mother Janet through her relationships with a loser boyfriend, an old friend on hiatus from a cult, and the charismatic cult leader.  Good job by Julianne Nicholson in the title role, but it's like a less amusing Wes Anderson movie without the great production design. 2.5/5.

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2024): Chimpanzee Noa seeks to liberate his tribe, who have been enslaved by a gorilla warlord, with the help of a mysterious human refugee. The expressiveness of the ape faces and fluidity of the action scenes is amazing; this series had become the standard bearer in terms of proper use of CGI. 3.5/5.

[Trevor]

DEAD OF NIGHT aka DEATHDREAM (1974):
Bob Clark, I barely knew ye', but as the director of the hoary old CHRISTMAS STORY, which I must've seen 25 times as a kid, and that other CHRISTMAS movie, which I only saw once too long ago. But I watched CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS twice in quick succession a decade back and was very impressed, and a few years later watched PORKY'S for the first/only time - didn't love it as a whole, but there were at least two scenes that were the work of a genuine genius. Now at last I get around to Clark's "Monkey's Paw" riff, DEAD OF NIGHT, and more than ever I feel like Clark was something special.

A father, mother, and young adult daughter eat a tense dinner. They have been waiting for any word from, or about, the absent son Andy, a soldier in active duty overseas. Quickly the doorbell rings, and the father answers, accepting a telegram, bleakly (though, significantly, he doesn't relate the message and the viewer cannot see it). Much later that night, the family wakes to find "Andy" has returned to the house. The father and daughter are a bit surprised, though not as surprised as you'd expect; the mother barely blinks. One assumes they are just relieved to see Andy again. But, naturally, the thing that begins to stay in Andy's room that looks like Andy is definitely not Andy.

Two things mark out DEAD OF NIGHT as the work of a gifted director - the casting (and performances) and the tone. On the latter note, about half the film is set in broad daylight over a 48 hour period and those long sunlit scenes are remarkably oppressive. The night scenes, on the other hand, are masterfully sustained pitched terror. John Marley plays the father, and if you only know him from THE GODFATHER and some Cassavettes movies, he's quietly revelatory here as a man who seems to perpetually be struggling to wake from a terrible, disorienting fever dream, never quite getting a grip on reality or sobriety.

There are also two exceptional supporting performances. Henderson Forsythe plays the family doctor with such naturalism you'd think he was Clark's actual general practitioner. Because Forsythe is so understated and reasonable in the face of a scenario that is increasingly bizarre and fraught, Forsythe really helps amplify the viewer's anxiety. Even better is Jane Daly as Andy's girlfriend Joanne, who could just be a mechanic of the plot except Daly's every guileless word and look milks extraordinary audience sympathy. Daly was one of the girls from CHILDREN... but gets to give a real, and indelible performance here.

Anya Ormsby (wife of the screenwriter, Alan) also reappears from CHILDREN... as Andy's sister, as does the hard-to-mistake Jeff Gillen, who plays a loquacious bartender. Like in the films of David Lynch, there are few small roles in DEAD OF NIGHT - if a character appears, Clark gives them the spotlight. Other than Gillen, there's a memorable diner with a cook and a drunk old patron who are clearly and marvelously not actors, a neighborhood mailman who visits and tries to hijack the film, and a sheriff's deputy who functions in a climactic scene in a very similar (though less hilarious, more suspenseful) way to the immortal "Paul" the factory clerk from ERASERHEAD. (Alan Ormsby, who was the splendidly loathsome lead in CHILDREN..., gets a cameo here.)

Everyone in this film is interesting and likeable, with two notable exceptions: Richard Backus as Andy, who maintains an appropriately off-putting monotone for the film's duration, and Lynn Carlin as Andy's mother, who begins the film in profound neurosis and has nowhere to go for 90 minutes but shrill hysteria. It's probably a feature of DEAD OF NIGHT, though, rather than a bug. After 80 minutes of nerve-wracking simmer, the film (and Andy, via Tom Savini's makeup) finally gets entirely out of control and literally combusts onscreen. It's a satisfying (which is to say horrifying) climax, underlined by a final moment involving a gravestone which defeats all literal narrative logic. Again, this must be the intentional flourish of a confident filmmaker. As signaled in its alternate title DEATHDREAM, this film is a nightmare. Wisely, Clark rolls the credits without ever allowing the characters or the audience the relief of someone waking up.

4.5/5 Great Horror Cinema

The poster of that scared the crap out of me when I saw it in a video store in the early 80s 😳😳

[M.10rda]

Imagine what the movie itself would have done to you! 

[Trevor]

Imagine what the movie itself would have done to you! 

I have seen it since and I realized it was just a modern version of the short story THE MONKEYS PAW so it was OK 😊🐒

[M.10rda]

That idea was what kept me from watching it for decades... I figured I knew the story already. I do, but DEAD OF NIGHT elaborates to the extent that the similarity is purely conceptual. I don't remember any flaming police car pursuits in the short story, for example.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Violent City" (aka "The Family" and "Final Shot," 1970)
A hit man (Charles Bronson) seeks revenge on his former employer, who double-crossed him and left him for dead. However, his quest is complicated by his relationship with a femme fatale (Jill Ireland) who may or may not be on his side.
This Italian/French co-production was nicely made, but unfortunately it's not very interesting. It starts off strong with some attention-grabbing action sequences, but then falls into a muddle of characters not doing much besides talking, talking, and more talking. (it also doesn't help that, on the print streaming on Tubi, the English language track dropped out several times, reverting to the Italian dialogue for a minute or so each time!)
Charles Bronson is his usual plank-of-wood self, Jill Ireland is lovely to look at, and a pre-"Kojak" Telly Savalas makes a late inning appearance as a mob boss, but none of them are able to salvage this slow moving slog.
AVOID.

[Trevor]

I don't remember any flaming police car pursuits in the short story, for example.

😳😄😆🤣😅😀😃🐢

[Bea]

Haha, yeah, I guess "Dead of Night" really goes all out when it comes to those over-the-top moments. The whole flaming police car thing is a bit of a wild departure from the original story     but it works in the movie's favor, I think. It adds that extra layer of chaos and makes everything feel more like a fever dream, definitely a movie that keeps you on edge, even if you know the premise... anyone got other suggestions in the same vein?   

[Rev. Powell]

CONCLAVE (2024): After the death of a fictional pope, reluctant Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with organizing the conclave of cardinals to elect a new pope: he must manage a web of scandals, ambitions, and a mystery candidate. The conservative papal candidate is too much of a caricature, but that aside, this is a surprisingly tense and thoughtful political thriller in a unique setting, anchored by a complex performance from the conflicted Fiennes. 4.5/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Romi (2023) - There is one nightmare high tech house movie that all others are to be judged against and that is The Demon Seed. How does this tubi original match up to that not even that good movie? poorly.

A girl is on the run from being in a hit and run car accident (what the hell kind of set up is that? We are supposed to LIKE such a person?? ) and is tasked with house sitting an ultra modern house where you can Alexa everything. While her one note politician Mom works to cover up her crime, the guy who owns the house and a creepy neighbor occasionally show up to try and be relevant to the plot.

It's odd that they would have enough money to make this but have seemingly no interest in having it work or make sense to any acceptable sort of extent.

2.75 / 5

actually watchable but I got taken out of it so frequently by all the mistakes and weirdness that it came off as crappy

[RCMerchant]

MOEBIUS (2016)
If your expecting to see Marvel's vampire/superhero in action-turn back now. This is no comic book movie. That's
Morbius.

A woman catches her husband cheating on her so she attempts and fails at removing his offending member, ala Lorena Bobbitt.
Failing at that, she does the obvious. She goes into her sleeping son's bedroom and bites his dick off.
Yikes! Then things get dark.
This Korean film has no subtitles, but it doesn't need them, being not one word of dialouge is spoken the entire film.
Not for the squeamish.

[M.10rda]

ROAR (1981):
This one-of-a-kind monsterpiece was once called a "snuff film version of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON" but is really more like a live-action remake of THE LION KING produced by and starring the JACKASS crew. It went entirely theatrically unreleased in North America until 2015, when Tarantino screened it at one of his Alamo Drafthouse movie marathons and it blew up so much that the AD then distributed it domestically. My expectations were modest. ROAR way over-delivers!

Producer/director/star Noel Marshall started collecting lions (!) in 1970, keeping them in his Hollywood home until the police finally grew concerned. So he used his profits from co-producing THE EXORCIST to move 'em all back where he found 'em - Africa - and just for good measure he also rounded up a bunch of leopards, panthers, jaguars, tigers (which, by the way, don't live in Africa to begin with), and even a few elephants  and decided to let them all live together in and around a four-story house in the African wilderness... 150 (!!!) giant cats total. (You never see more than maybe 15 or so in any one shot... thank Christ!) Then he invited his wife Tippi Hedren, their daughter Melanie Griffith, and their two teenage sons to visit him and play with all the large savage felines. Wait, is this the backstory of this movie or is it the plot? Both - to the extent there is a plot. As the opening credits acknowledge, the cats are the co-writers and co-directors, since they just do whatever they want when the cameras roll. And indeed they do. And for most of 90 minutes, what they do is chase, leap upon, and batter the entire cast.

Marshall (who comes off onscreen like a Will Ferrell caricature of a Kurt Russell hero) claimed he wanted to make a cross between a horror movie and a "Mack Sennett comedy", and to his credit, he did it. ROAR looks like adorable family friendly slapstick one second and then seconds later it looks like outtakes from the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. The bad guy poachers "shoot" a number of lions in one scene, though the credits guarantee that the lions were tranquilized and unharmed. What the credits don't tell you is that 15 cats died of viruses during the 3.5 year shoot and three cats were killed by police during a flood that damaged their pens.      Those bad guy poachers got theirs, though - and so did the actors who play them.

You will watch ROAR in a state of perpetual shock and disbelief, refusing to accept that it could have been made without anyone being seriously harmed. As it turns out, it wasn't. As many as 100 cast and crew members were injured during shooting, and several of the actors (including Marshall) are clearly bleeding from real injuries in the finished film. Marshall, Hedren, and both their sons were mauled and hospitalized at least once during production. Cinematographer Jan DeBont (later the director of SPEED) - who it must be said does an incredible job making this insanity look gorgeous, like 70mm though it's only 35 - was partially scalped in a lion attack. Teenage Melanie (who is truly lovely) was clawed in the face, nearly lost an eye, and required reconstructive surgery. If I wanted to be utterly tasteless I could suggest this goes some distance to explaining her limited expressiveness as an adult actress. Moreover perhaps it shines some light on her parents' permissive attitudes towards her underage dating life. Let's see, is my daughter in more danger with adult lothario Don Johnson or with 150 hungry lions?    

I've watched this twice this week and will revisit it in the future. If I was still a drinker I'd put it on every time I started hitting the sauce, just to laugh and gape. It's barely a film, but you will never see another film that is barely a film remotely like ROAR.

4.5/5
Among other things this movie makes you appreciate how similar your own domestic cats are to 500-pound lions and 1200-tigers, but then makes you grateful that your cats are 10-20 pounds and won't take your hand off if they swat at you, and when you close the bathroom door and they get p**sed off they can't just knock the f*****g door down like the kitties in ROAR.