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Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010)
A MUST for anyone interested in the evolution of the horror genre
Packed with more gore and nudity than any documentary I can think of, THE GODFATHER OF GORE is almost like watching a "Greatest Hits" list of Lewis' films, so I'm hoping new comers will be enticed to go back and check out these precursors to Friday THE 13th and HALLOWEEN, and the haters may see what a great guy (if not the greatest director) Herschell Gordon Lewis was (and still is).
Even though I've been a fan of Lewis since reading about him in the 4th issue of FANGORIA way back when, have read 3 books about him, and have met and spoke with him and David Friedman, I still learned some things about him in this wonderfully entertaining and educational tribute that any horror fan interested in the roots of modern horror cinema would be crazy to miss.
All About Evil (2010)
A Homage that Becomes its Own Thing
In 1984, Deborah Tennis' father ran The Victoria Theatre, a revival house that also featured vaudeville-like mini-shows, especially at the kiddie matinees. One day he made Deborah sing for the kids and she was so nervous she ended up peeing herself on stage and was nearly electrocuted when the stream hit a frayed electrical line.
Flash forward to present day: Deborah is now a librarian. She keeps the Victoria Theatre alive at night out of love for all her father had taught her about show business. Then her witch of a mother comes by one night to tell her she's putting the theatre up for sale. Having enough of her mother's abuse (which has been going on since childhood) Deborah Tennis (pronounced, Deb-bore-AH Ten-Niece) takes a pen and jabs it into mom's neck. As rage takes over, she jumps on her body and begins stabbing her multiple times until the lobby floor is covered in blood.
Meanwhile, the audience is chanting for the film to start (a revival of BLOOD FEAST). The Victoria's projectionist is out getting something to eat, so Deborah runs upstairs (covered in her mother's blood) and attempts to put the film on. She accidentally hits the security camera button, and the audience is treated to an unusually realistic film: the footage of Deborah killing her mother.
With growing insanity and a father-taught love for entertainment, Deborah (along with her trusty projectionist, Mr. Twigs) begins to shoot short films that they show every Friday night before the main feature; the films also serve as Public Service Announcements. A highlight is when one unlucky patron is forced to star in a little ditty they title A TALE OF TWO TITTIES (Deborah bases all her films on literary classics she spends most of the daytime reading).
The gruesome twosome eventually recruit a derelict cameraman named Adrian (after watching him beat down an old woman in the street) and sexy Goth-looking twins named Veda and Vera (on they day they're let out of prison). After several shorts the crew plans their first full-length film, GORE AND PEACE, and what they have planned for the audience itself is, in the words of one theatre patron, "So Jonestown!" Thomas Dekker plays Steven, a young film fanatic who is infatuated with Deborah's films until one of his friends (the non-horror fan Judy) goes missing and he believes she's being held hostage at the Theatre. Cassandra Peterson (yes, the legendary Elvira) plays Steve's clueless mother, and cult film icon Mink (Pink Flamingos) Stole plays Deborah's librarian boss (and what happens to her body during the ending is the stuff gore-film fans live for).
ALL ABOUT EVIL is the product of Peaches Christ (a.k.a. director Joshua Grannell), he a cult-film fan who has finally delivered his own full-length feature; but unlike the countless films out there that TRY to be something special, this one actually is. Sure, it's a tribute to the films of H.G. Lewis and Ted V. Mikels, bit it doesn't stop there. Grannell has taken what inspired him, and by adding a fantastic cast (especially the hysterical Natasha Lyonne as Deborah) has created what could potentially become a genuine cult hit. The characters are all memorable, the gore scenes are over the top but not done tastelessly, and most surprising, being a horror comedy, the film works quite well. The audience I saw this with laughed when they were supposed to and gasped during the more serious kill scenes. While there are posters of the director's favorite films seen in the background during most of the film, cult-film fans will have a ball when they notice on-screen tributes to everything from BLOOD FEAST to BLOODSUCKING FREAKS to CHAINED HEAT's toilet-stall kill sequence all the way down to the finale's ode to KING KONG.
In a nutshell, ALL ABOUT EVIL is a pure blast of comedic cult-horror fun.
I was among the lucky few who saw this complete with the "Peaches Christ Experience in 4-D!" which is a Rocky Horror-like pre-show featuring Peaches and a theatre full of monsters and drag queens who sing, dance, and introduce the film (and being Natasha Lyonne is a New Yorker, the NY screening had a wonderful introduction to Natasha's work, right before she came out in character as Deborah Tennis and rocked the place to the ground).
But opening stage show aside, ALL ABOUT EVIL (the film itself) is highly recommended if you like horror comedies that are actually funny and if you want to see how a "tribute/homage" film can still go on to become its own thing (hey Rob Zombie
take notes!).
With a first feature so well done, Joshua/Peaches has surely set the bar quite high for himself
here's hoping he has another one this cool hiding up his dress
or in his super-bouffant hairdo.
Le diable est parmi nous (1972)
A Satanic Slop-a-Thon
After her boss Jack commits suicide, Virginia inherits his antique shop. Paul (a successful journalist) begins to investigate Jack's suicide, he being a close friend to both the deceased and Virginia.
Strange things begin to happen when Paul comes home from work and gives his cat a bowl of milk; the cat dies, apparently the victim of poisoning. A local animal shelter comes by to collect the cat's corpse and perform an autopsy, but when Paul heads down to the shelter for the results, they assure him no one had come by to pick up the cat. Despite the milk-poisoning attempt on his life, it doesn't stop Paul from making himself a sandwich and letting Virginia have a sip of booze when she comes over to visit (the booze nearly kills her until Paul makes her barf in the toilet). And still, no clearance of anything else in Paul's fridge or liquor cabinet.
And so begins the mind-numbing satanic melodrama that is THE POSSESSION OF VIRGINIA, a seldom-seen 1971 Canadian production that's available on several online rarity sites (the copy reviewed here is quite good and comes from Luminous Film and Video Works, www.lfvw.com).
In my never-ending quest to see every Exorcist rip-off AND possession-themed film, THE POSSESSION OF VIRGINIA was said to be among the rarest of them all (although in this wonderful Internet age, I found a copy 40 seconds after reading this statement on a review site).
Paul manages to get his hands on the police photos of Jack's suicide (he had jumped out of his apartment's window) and has a photographer at the paper he works at enlarge them. A mysterious old woman is seen in all the photos, as well as a couple of clues that are found a bit later when Virginia herself is found hung in a local church's stairwell (and after having to hear her attempt to sing opera while making breakfast, I actually welcomed her death).
But enough investigating for now; a friend of Paul invites him out to get his mind off Paul's suicide, and we're taken to a trippy early-70s pot party where Paul meets a famous pianist. They hit things off and we're soon treated to a tedious sequence (at least 20 minutes) of the two falling in love (thank goodness for the fast forward button).
About an hour into the film Paul becomes convinced there's some kind of underground network out there trying to kill him. Before you can say CONSPIRACY Paul finds himself a guest at a Satanic initiation ceremony (why he's let in is anyone's guess) where he witnesses a woman joining the sect to replace the departed Jack. To my non-surprise, it's Virginia (yep
her suicide was an elaborately-staged hoax).
Jack goes home and doesn't seem surprised to find the mysterious old woman from the aforementioned photographs sleeping in his bed. After checking her pulse, he turns to leave the room, giving her just enough time to spring up and jab a long knife into his back.
We then discover everyone in Paul's life (including his new pianist girlfriend) were part of the coven Jack had abandoned.
With an opening credit sequence that's as annoying (and almost as long) as the one in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978), English overdubbing despite the actors speaking in English, horrendous 70s fashions (turtle neck alert!) and acting bad enough to make Ed Wood proud, THE POSSESSION OF VIRGINIA is a sloppy Satanic mess that I'm sure most Canadian horror fans wish the rest of the world would forget, especially since it has NOTHING to do with possession.
Gone with the Pope (2010)
A MUST for lovers of 70s trash cinema
Inspired by THE GODFATHER, director, writer, and actor Duke Mitchell tried his own hand at a gangster film, and in 1978, his violent THE EXECUTIONER was released (the film is more commonly known as MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE). The low-budget Video Gems label released THE EXECUTIONER on VHS in the mid-80s, while a double-disc DVD came out a few years ago and sold out of its limited edition. Hence, few people can actually say they've seen this film. Flash forward to 2009: The always-seeking-for-another-classic psychos at Grindhouse Releasing manage to get in touch with (the late) Duke Mitchell's family and are granted access to his archives. Among the goodies was a never-released sequel (of sorts) to MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE, titled GONE WITH THE POPE. Currently on a 35mm-print tour of the U.S.A., I attended a midnight screening in NYC with a few buddies, and needless to say, the entire audience seemed to love this lost underground mobster movie. When life-long criminal Paulie (played by Mitchell) gets out of prison (the film claims he did 15, then later 20 years, so take your pick), he goes to Vegas (I'm assuming they shot most of these scenes without permission) and manages to take out 7 guys (who I'm assuming were part of a rival family
the audio in the theater was ridiculously low for some reason) and then spends one last night with his wife before going on a lengthy trip to Rome. With 3 members of his crew, Paulie sets out (on his wife's yacht) on a 48-day cruise from California to Italy, mapping their course with nothing more than an atlas and an ancient piece of nautical equipment (which we see him use once). While having espresso at a bistro in Rome, Paulie explains why they're here: They're going to kidnap the pope, then charge a dollar from every Catholic in the world as ransom (when his buddy tells him, "But what about all the Chinese?", Paulie agrees to drop the fee to 50 cents). But before doing their task, Paulie tries to get one of his prison-partners laid (and brings an obese woman back to their hotel room in one of the most disturbing—and hilarious—scenes I've ever seen). After dressing as priests and abducting his holiness, the men keep the pontiff on their yacht as their ransom message goes out. During this time, The pope manages to talk sense into the whole crew, except for Paulie, who tells the pope he thinks the Catholic church is a scam, citing reasons such as all their not doing enough to help all the poor children in the world and the Catholic church's silence over the slaughter of 6 million Jews during World War 2 (hey—even Vito Corelone didn't get this deep!). Paulie agrees to let the pope go back to Rome with his two friends, but swears that if he doesn't take care of them, he'll kill 100 priests "as revenge for the Jews!" (Folks---the quotability of this movie is endless). Paulie manages to get back to America where he finds one of his best friends has been whacked. He takes out those responsible, then keeps his promise to the pope of lighting a candle on Christmas Eve. The film ends where a couple of supernatural occurrences go down as Paulie keeps his promise in a local church, and Paulie runs out in terror—leaving the audience to debate if Paulie has seen the light or has been rejected by the church. GONE WITH THE POPE is a lost, "authentic" grindhouse film. It's a fine example of everything we, the lovers of trash cinema, love about trash cinema: the plot is all over the place, there's enough bad acting to rival anything H.G. Lewis or Ed Wood has done, it's chock full of horrible 70s staples (polyester suits, bad make-up on the ladies, an acid-rock soundtrack, plenty of super-politically incorrect dialogue which, again, had the audience in hysterics). I'm now on a mission to find the first film, MAFIA MASSACRE STYLE (which one article I read said is a stand-alone film and not a prequel to GONE WITH THE POPE). Duke Mitchell has only left behind these two Godfather-esquire films, and although I've only seen the second one, he has managed to muscle his way into my exploitation film hall of fame. This sucker's PRICELESS.
Black Santa's Revenge (2007)
For Foree / blaxploitation fanatics only!
Despite it's short running time, BLACK SANTA'S REVENGE is fun, although just a standard revenge tale ALA DEATH WISH. There's a couple of classic lines, some neat-o gore, and a topless bar scene thrown in for good measure. This is based on an underground comic book, which should have been added to the DVD case as a make-up for the short running time. It's cool to see Ken Foree in a genre flick like this, and I'm assuming there'll be a lot of DAWN OF THE DEAD fans checking this out. I miss him in the SWAT uniform, but it's kind-of cool watching him walk around in a Santa Outfit with a shotgun, blowing away 'hood scum ALA SHAFT.
Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007)
Very good adaption of classic Bentley Little story
The screenwriters stayed very close to Little's original story...I thought the beginning could have been cut down a tad, and the "6-month later" post ending was kind-of silly, but with those minor flaws aside, this was easily one of the best MASTERS OF HORROR episodes I've seen. There's some good, creepy moments, and the entire premise is downright spooky. Bloody good show here!
I'd like go know what Bentley Little thought of this, as well as other fans of the original story. The acting is fine, although the little girl's screams are kind-of unconvincing. I'm looking forward to the DVD.
Blue Sunshine (1977)
A true lost gem
Despite the lame and all-too-sudden ending, BLUE SUNSHINE is a great lost psychological horror film, easily on par with almost anything done by Cronenberg. The Synapse Films' DVD is a real treat, featuring a great interview with director Lieberman, one of his old short films, and a really creepy extra soundtrack CD makes this one of the best releases so far this year (2003). Add a plus for a few truly intense moments.
Blood Freak (1972)
One of the Strangest trash-fests of all time
What more needs to be said about a pro-Jesus, pot smoking, heroin addict killing monster turkey epic? With acting worse than PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and totally inept dialogue, this is a must see for "so bad it's good" fans. Add a plus for all the extras on the SOmething Weird DVD release.
The Omega Man (1971)
Gives and extra-Eerie feeling when watched today
With all the talk of biological warfare, this underground gem was way ahead of it's time. The film does take on some camp halfway through, but the early scenes of Heston riding his car through a wiped-out city (and ironically watching the Woodstock film in a theater)can send chills up your spine. Great scifi fun...and let's hope this stays scifi!
Horror House on Highway Five (1985)
Horrendously Bad (But Fun)
HHOH5 will cause any "Scream"-fan to shut the tape off in under three minutes. However, fans of horrible horrors will eat up the killer-in-a-Richard-Nixon mask thing, as well as plenty of priceless dialogue. You've been warned.
A Thief in the Night (1972)
Thought-Provoking though cheap
YEARS before the "Left Behind" saga, A THIEF IN THE NIGHT scared many a non-believer and tuned many in to the teaching of the 2nd coming of Christ. Although this film is extremely low budget and poorly acted, it has made it's point over the last three decades at church film nights everywhere. I personally disagree with some of the pre-tribulational teachings found in this film, but the director still makes his point. This will appeal to end-times fanatics as well as those who like low budget, spooky cult films.
Die Screaming Marianne (1971)
The absolute WORST film of all time
Forget PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE or BRIDE OF THE MONSTER. This gem, which was released in the early 80s in a very gory video box, was marketed as a horror film, yet is really a lame drama about 2 cops searching for a lost girl. Everyone even remotely connected to this film (especially it's video release) should be jailed for life.
Bruiser (2000)
Under-appreciated film from the Master
I guess too many Romero fans were expecting a bloodbath. This film, without a doubt, deserved theatrical distribution. This one contains all of the isolation and claustrophobia that Romero creates like no other director, bringing to mind his earlier works such as NOLD and Season of the Witch. A nice allo-gory of one man who literally looses his identity. Add a plus for a great back-ground appearance by the Misfits! George still rules.
Take the Money and Run (1969)
The FUNNIEST film of all time
Since I first saw this classic on the ABC Friday Night Movie in the mid 70s, I knew it was unique. Now, almost 30 years later, the film still manages to crack me up. Allen was at his all time best with this, as well as with SLEEPER. MONEY, however, has more laughs in the first ten minutes than just about every comedy released in the last decade.
The City of the Dead (1960)
One of the last, great old-school horror films
Horror Hotel is one of those films that holds up great to repeated viewings. Christopher Lee was at his prime here, and the atmosphere during the entire film is constantly eerie. A true classic that deserves more than cult status.