Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

THE FLESH EATERS (1964):
This slightly grisly and somewhat forgotten monster flick exists in a strange liminal space - too late and too hip & happening to be mistaken for one of the mild-mannered, kitschy science-horrors of the 1950s, but too early and not sophisticated enough to join the late 60s horror vanguard of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD et al. Its reach also unquestionably exceeds its grasp, so to speak - at least in a budgetary/technical sense. Yet it's got heart and brains, as well as more blood than most flicks from '64, and that counts for a lot.

Following the earliest instance I can track of the famous pre-credits "fatal skinny-dipping" sequence that would later be seen in JAWS, PIRANHA, and many others, we follow a small cast of miscreants as they become stranded on a small and deserted East Coast island. There's not too much threat on the island itself - well, besides the island's resident sinister ex-Nazi scientist - but the island is surrounded on all sides with dime-sized silver aquatic creatures that dissolve human flesh at the touch. There's some pleasing attrition as the characters contest w/ these little bastards, and as the survivors  approach the climax, they realize that the ex-Nazi's tinkering has had an unforeseen effect - the "flesh eaters" are assembling like Voltron to become one giant kaiju flesh eater.

That grand finale was (I'm sure the first- and last-time filmmakers would admit) not really covered by their funding. The F.E. Final Boss is only the most glaring of several lapses in quality control when it comes to SFX or complicated cinematic techniques. (FLESH EATERS also has the worst day-for-night shooting and editing this side of OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES - shooting DFN on white sand, it's a killer!) But these shortcomings are almost charming, really, because (unlike a lot of legitimately bad Bad Movies) there's a ton of professionalism on display in all other departments. The dialogue is smart and often funny. All of the actors are better-than-competent or even compelling. And besides the hapless DFN, FLESH EATERS is otherwise shot really nicely, w/ some highly effective stark compositions and suspenseful action sequences. (The crisp B+W on the Media Blasters DVD looks just lovely.)

So, yeah, the ending is a touch goofy, but if FLESH EATERS was made 20 years ago instead of 60 years ago, it would've been hailed as canny camp pastiche on a low-budget. So why not appreciate the genuine/vintage article? Tons of fun, some good use of fake blood, and more female flesh than in most '64-era horrors. (...Much of it eaten, naturally.)

3.5/5
Also an early appearance of one of my fav genre tropes - the victim who won't stay dead! Screenwriter Arnold Drake never made another horror movie but his estate still gets checks from WB and Disney. He created the Doom Patrol in the early 60s (and one of the Teen Titans) as well as some other DC characters, and wrote a short run of strong X-MEN issues in the late 60s (and introduced a couple characters who are still around). As comic book writers go, he was a better screenwriter than Pat Boyette, director of DUNGEON OF HARROW! Too bad Drake didn't get another shot at the big screen.

[RCMerchant]

^ The tiny "flesh Eaters" F/X in that film was done by scratching the film with a pin so it looked like shiny dots zipping back and forth on screen. The ex-Nazi was played by Martin Kosleck, who played Joseph Goebbels in a number of WW 2 era war films (he also appeared opposite Lon Chaney Jr. in the MUMMY'S CURSE and Rondo Hatton in HOUSE OF HORRORS.)

[FatFreddysCat]

"Trick or Treat" (aka "Ragman," 1986)
Eddie Weinbauer (Marc Price, aka "Skippy" from TV's "Family Ties"), a heavy metal obsessed high school nerd, is crushed when he learns that his rock idol "Sammi Curr" has died in a hotel fire. However, Eddie soon learns that by playing Sammi's final album backwards, he can communicate with the rocker's undead spirit! Eventually he figures out that Sammi is merely using him as a pawn for his Ultimate Revenge, which leads to heavy metal mayhem at the high school Halloween dance.
A cheesy as hell, dumb as dirt, but oh-so-metal cult horror classic with a great performance by Price as the dorky Eddie, a killer soundtrack by Fastway, and brief cameos from Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne. It falls short on gore (and the guy playing Sammi can't lip synch worth a damn!), but this time capsule of the 80s "Devil music" and "backwards messaging" panic is still loads of goofy fun.

[Jim H]

I've been watching a lot of movies, a few highlights:

The Shadow Strays - from the director of The Night Comes For Us, another brutally violent and gory Indonesian action flick.  This is quite similar to the Night Comes For Us plot wise, and has some of the same problems.  Point in fact, they're almost across the board worse.  Some of the fights strain credibility too much, it's hard to care about some of the side characters, and some of the action staging is a clear step down.  It's still entertaining at least, even though it's definitely a full half hour too long.  I rewatched the Raid and the Raid 2 recently, and god damn, they're just much better films from the same crop.

Grave Encounters - Solid found footage film.  Good slow build of creepiness, and a good concept.  Good acting too.  It's interesting how this concept has since been copied numerous times - I guess it's an evolution of the Blair Witch formula, but this feels like a further refinement.

Hell House 2 and 3 - Badly acted and mostly badly written wastes of time.  They're surprisingly watchable despite that, but I can't recommend them

Hell House prequel - I forgot the name, but this is a big step up from 2 and 3...  But still not as good as 1.  I'd say just watch 1.

DEER CAMP '86 (2022)

   A group of goofy friends from Detroit head into the woods for their annual deer hunt at their uncle's cabin - only to run afoul of a monstrous, vengeful spirit after a local Indian girl is murdered.  This was better than I expected - a nice homage to 80's horror.  4/5

As a born and bred Michigander, been meaning to watch this.  Knew lots of people in my hometown in suburban Detroit that went up north to go deer hunting, in my childhood it was probably about 1 in 10 families that did it, something like that.

[indianasmith]

THE JACK IN THE BOX RISES (2024)

   This was a decent little horror flick, nothing exceptional but worth the watch.  A young woman named Raven is tasked to find an ancient cultic box in which a demon has been imprisoned in order to pay off her father's debts to a ruthless crimelord who is also a collector of occult artifacts.  The home of the last owner of the box has been converted into an elite girls' school, so she goes in undercover as a student to retrieve the box and free her father. But someone has let the demon out . . .
    A fun watch, could have been better but I have definitely watched worse!  3.5/5

[Rev. Powell]

MOTHER, COUCH (2023): A mother sits on a couch in a furniture store and refuses to leave, despite the best efforts of her three children. The scenario sounds Bunuelian and indeed it gets gradually more absurd and surreal as it goes on. Ultimately, it doesn't achieve too much in terms of addressing familial resentments, but it's reasonably entertaining, sometimes funny, and the fantastic cast are at the top of their games: Ewan MacGregor, Ellen Burstyn, Rhys Ifans, Lara Flynn Boyle (underutilized), and F. Murray Abraham (in an amusing dual role as twins). Taylor Russell even manages to keep pace with these legends. 3/5.

[Trevor]

I tried to watch THE DEMON again but gave up again. I can't believe I knew the director and that the DOP on this pile of 💩 was a mentor of mine 😳😳😳