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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 93.97.134.20
Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2016 - 06:32 pm:   

Here we go... and for my first triple bill I've decided on a celebration of legendary 1950s schlock of the highest quality. And they are:

'The Snow Creature' (1954) by W. Lee Wilder (Billy's less famous brother).

'The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake' (1959) by Edward L. Cahn.

'Teenagers From Outer Space' (1959) by Tom Graeff.

All three are new to me and the beers are laid in. Can't fecking wait!!!!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 93.97.134.20
Posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2016 - 07:01 pm:   

I was inspired to pick these films by how much I'm enjoying Jake Epping's trip back to 1958. I can almost smell the air of those halcyon days and I wasn't born until 1965 ffs. Escapism has never been so much damn fun!!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 90.214.168.17
Posted on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - 03:11 pm:   

That first triple bill was a case of one load of rubbish and two unexpectedly brilliant classics. Time to get the painful bit over with:

‘The Snow Creature’ (1954) by W. Lee Wilder - 4/10
Now this is one truly abominable film! It’s worth watching only as an abject lesson in just how bad schlock cinema can be, and not in a good way. Instead of a case of beers one would be better sticking to several mugs of extra strong black coffee during this one, for it commits the unforgivable cinematic sin of being unutterably boring. The best I can say about it - and I’m digging deep here - is that there are some interesting resonances. Made at the height of public interest in all things Yeti, following those iconic photos of Eric Shipton in 1951 and Hillary’s sighting of 1953, the film structure was clearly inspired by ‘King Kong’ (1933), then undergoing a resurgence in popularity, as we follow a scientific expedition, to the polystyrene Himalayas, facing all kinds of perils in the first half, and the second half sees them bringing a caged Yeti back to LA, which duly escapes and goes on a raping (of the women) and killing (of the men) rampage - all sadly occurring off-screen ffs, while our heroes witter on endlessly back in police headquarters about the latest outrage… and boy do they drone on. The “finale” is straight out of ‘Them!’ (1954), released five months earlier, with the murderous beast being hunted through the cavernous storm drains of Los Angeles. Yeti in a sewer remind you of anything? Yes, perhaps the idea for one of the most fondly remembered ‘Doctor Who’ stories of the Troughton era, ‘The Web Of Fear’ (1968), was born here…? If so I pity poor the poor writers having had to sit through this dross. But what of the presentation of the monster I hear you ask? It’s some seven foot bloke in a white fur coat, boots, gloves and hat who gets mercifully brief screen time - and nearly always the same repeated shot of emerging from or stepping back into the shadows. There are a mere three “action scenes” - in a Himalayan cave, at the airport and in the sewers - where we see the thing actually attack, and they are all over in seconds before we’re back to the endless jaw-jaw-jaw. Amidst all the tedium there is one unintentionally hilarious scene when the expedition arrive back in LA and are stopped going through customs with demands for the thing in the crate’s immigration papers, as it is, “clearly a man”! During all the red tape kerfuffle that follows the thing itself gets bored and breaks its bonds in a vain attempt to escape the picture. Truly terrible filmmaking. And I wasn’t joking. The director really is the brother of Billy Wilder. Sibling rivalry was never so cruelly mismatched.

Thankfully what followed was much, much better.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 90.214.168.17
Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 - 01:16 am:   

‘The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake’ (1959) by Edward L. Cahn - 9/10
On watching this unexpectedly excellent and remarkably gruesome, for its day, gothic horror picture I was convinced that it had to be based on a famous short story by the likes of Henry S. Whitehead or August Derleth, but, on checking, it turned out to be an original screenplay by director Cahn’s longtime collaborator Orville H. Hampton. The man played a blinder as this is certainly one of the most literate, original and memorably creepy horror films of the 1950s, imho. Cahn’s direction and the earnest respect with which the cast treat the material creates an atmosphere to match the most gripping Hammer horrors of the period. And the fact that it is shot in shadowy b&w only adds to the pervading sense of dread. I was reminded very much of forgotten supernatural gems like ‘The Screaming Skull’ (1958) or ‘Horror Hotel’ (1960), and even, to some degree, Mario Bava’s great masterpiece, ‘Mask Of The Demon’ (1960). But, more than anything, the menacing presence of Henry Daniell as the principal villain, a practitioner of tribal black magic by the name of Dr Emil Zurich, and his hulking zombie slave, Zutai (Paul Wexler) - forever silent due to having his lips sewn shut - made this great little film feel for all the world like a particularly brilliant feature length episode of ‘Boris Karloff’s Thriller’ (1960-62). For my money that show remains the greatest horror anthology series ever made! Daniell played much the same kind of satanic arch-villain in several of the show's most effective episodes. See my other thread for details.

The plot here involves these two demonic figures tracking down the male descendants of a certain explorer, Captain Drake, who had led an expedition to the Amazon jungle 200 years before that resulted in the slaughter of an entire village. One by one they paralyse their victims in a death-like coma by curare tipped dart - shades of 'The Sign Of Four' (1890) - resulting in mistaken interment in the family vault, before returning to remove their heads while still alive - leaving the peeled skulls to freak out the remaining family and keeping the hideously shrunken heads as trophies. Unlike ‘The Snow Creature’ above all this messy business is shown graphically on screen and still packs a hell of a punch, imo. We see the whole decapitation, skinning, stuffing, boiling, shrinking and sewing process in all its grisly glory… yeeuch!! And once the last of the line, Jonathan Drake (Eduard Franz) - a professor of the occult - has gotten the chop their sacred mission of revenge will be complete and justice will have been served. So it’s a race against time for our occult expert, his daughter (Valerie French) and her detective beau (Grant Richards) to somehow break the cycle and lift the death curse. One other thing about this film really stood out for me and that was the truly grotesque and frightening final reveal, in which we learn the nightmarish nature of Dr Zurich’s power. That sequence really gave me the shivers and deserves to be better known as one of horror cinema’s great moments. I loved this wee film. What Cahn, Hampton and the cast achieved on such a meagre budget was a joy to behold. A classic of the macabre!!

And yet it wasn't the best film of the night. Oh no, no, no...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 90.214.168.17
Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 - 11:55 am:   

‘Teenagers From Outer Space’ (1959) by Tom Graeff - 10/10
Before doing a double take at the score above let me explain myself. In my opinion this is a GREAT film! It is arguably one of the most perfect and perfectly entertaining examples of schlock cinema, at its finest, that ever came out of the 1950s. I went in with meagre expectations and found myself loving every damn second of the thing! Yes, the movie was made on a zero budget by a collection of complete unknowns, yet somehow, by some uncanny alchemy, they managed to forge a cinematic masterpiece that says more about its era and the young people who lived then than any mega budget studio extravaganza I can think of. Forget ‘The Wild One’ (1953), ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ (1955) or ‘Jailhouse Rock’ (1957)… if you want to know what the youth movement of that wondrously energetic decade was all about then watch this picture!! It rocks daddy-o!! Or whatever… Stephen King has a lot to answer for!

What is so great? I mean this was a student project cobbled together piecemeal between 1956-57 and shopped around the studios until finally getting a modest drive-in release by Warner Brothers in ‘59, as part of a double bill with ‘Gigantis, The Fire Monster’, when it was mauled by the critics and seemingly disappeared without a trace… But a seed had been planted in the minds of all those who saw it and an insidious cult had been born. Crushed with disappointment the young writer/director/producer/misunderstood genius, Graeff, went hopelessly insane and proclaimed himself the Second Coming of Christ before being thrown into prison for public disorder and finally committing suicide in 1970, aged 41. His film was criminally neglected, imho, and still stands up as a remarkable achievement with nary a dull moment in its whole 86 min length. I laughed, I cried (often simultaneously), I trembled with breathless excitement, I went awwww… with a cheesy grin on my face, I was moved to righteous anger by the fate of poor Sparky the dog, I sat paralysed with disgust at the grisly flesh stripping effect of the alien ray-gun and I trembled, barely able to look at the screen, as the ultimate horror of the Gargons was unleashed, but, in the end, folks… I wept. Yes, philistines! I unashamedly wept for our gallant, doomed young hero as he made the ultimate sacrifice… and all <choke> for the love of a girl called Betty.

This film has it all!!!! A brilliantly original science fiction premise - the Nazi-like alien invaders are all young and good looking, as no one is allowed to live beyond a certain age or outside of a certain aesthetic - way before William F. Nolan’s ‘Logan’s Run’ (1967). Their intention is to turn Earth into a great big grazing farm for their favourite livestock - giant carnivorous lobsters - with us as their prime food source! And their power lies in a devastating death ray that reduces all living things to skeletal remains with one brutal zap - decades before Tim Burton’s ‘Mars Attacks!’ (1996). The special effects are wondrously effective and show great imagination, resourcefulness and restraint on the part of the filmmaker, foreshadowing John Carpenter’s similar miracle working in ‘Dark Star’ (1974). Also, the ‘Romeo And Juliet’ theme is given whole new meaning by flinging two star struck lovers from different planets together and forcing one of them, the quintessential rebellious teen, Derek (David Love), to reject his whole civilisation, bringing about their inevitable demise, after experiencing human kindness from Grandpa Joe (Harvey B. Dunn) and Nurse Morse (Helen Sage), and a night of passion on a hilltop with Betty Morgan (Dawn Anderson) - while all the time being tracked by psychopathic bounty hunter, Thor (Bryan Grant), and trying to destroy the rapidly growing first of the Gargons before it can reach the city and spore!! See what I mean about breathless excitement?! And on that score the director delivers. No endless waffling here but constant action, plot and character development that is a genuine wonder of economy and self-belief. The acting is ropey as hell but that hardly matters when the action is so gripping and, really, only adds an extra dimension of irresistible charm to the whole affair.

So I have no hesitation in calling ‘Teenagers From Outer Space’ a stone cold 10/10 ***** schlock masterpiece and the best film of my first triple bill. I’m still smiling now just thinking about it. Well done, Tom.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 90.214.168.17
Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 - 12:07 pm:   

I would like to state, here and now, that my assessment of the above film was in no way affected by the amount of alcohol I had by that stage consumed. Thank you.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 82.132.225.6
Posted on Saturday, June 18, 2016 - 06:30 am:   

Time for another one. This week it's 1930s horror comedies. And I've decided on:

'The Laurel And Hardy Murder Case' & 'Noche De Duendes' (1930) by James Parrott - the original short and feature length Spanish version, incorporating 'Berth Marks'.

'The Gorilla' (1939) by Allan Dwan - featuring The Ritz Brothers.

'The Cat And The Canary' (1939) by Elliott Nugent - featuring Bob Hope & Paulette Goddard.

"Should be fun" is like saying the sea should be wet...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 90.214.168.17
Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 - 09:46 pm:   

By God, that was wonderful!! Like being transported back in time for a night. Two of the films (no prizes for guessing which) are 10/10 masterpieces and the other one was fascinatingly all over the place. Great, great fun!!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Thursday, July 07, 2016 - 11:06 pm:   

‘The Laurel And Hardy Murder Case’ & 'Noche De Duendes' (1930) by James Parrott - both 10/10

Of all the films of Laurel & Hardy this one has a special place in my heart. I have a vivid memory of seeing it on television when I was a very, very young child, probably in the late 60s, and being simultaneously scared stiff and made almost sick with laughter. After that those two silly bowler hatted men were forever etched in my deepest affections and, like countless millions before me, they shall always remain so. They were, and are, the two greatest, most endearing and side-splittingly hilarious comic actors who have ever lived. The fact that my earliest recollection of them involved being scared - and loving it no end - may also have sparked a passion for all things horror in my gurgling toddler’s mind. I wouldn’t be at all surprised! It was either them or Scooby Doo lol. Anyway, that’s the gushing fanboy adoration out of the way&#8252;

I know I’m teaching my grandmother to suck eggs here but the 1920s and 30s was the absolute golden era of comedy cinema. From the silent slapstick masterpieces of Chaplin, Keaton & Lloyd to the manic zaniness of L&H, The Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, etc, there was an overflowing of natural comic invention and exuberance evident in the new medium that can never again be matched. I shy away from the word “innocent” as there was also a no-nonsense realism and grittiness about the popular entertainments of the time. To my modern eyes there seems almost a sense of transgressive danger about these films, especially in the pre-Code days, that makes them still stand up as refreshingly hard edged. Yes, they can be shockingly un-PC, but with that comes an inoffensive honesty. Even Chaplin at his most sentimental pulled no punches in showing the hardships and injustices faced by the poor, as they really were - and he made them laugh at themselves. I mean, Christ, they couldn’t even drown their sorrows in alcohol until 1933!! So it is not difficult to imagine what a ray of sunshine the bumbling antics of the fat man and the skinny man must have been to 1930s audiences living through the First Great Depression. We’re in the early years of the Second one right now, folks, and in dire need of two such angels again…

Okay, now I really am going to talk about the film! Old dark house horror comedies had been made popular on the stage in the 1920s, and by such film adaptations as D.W. Griffith's 'One Exciting Night' (1922), the original ‘The Cat And The Canary’ (1927) and ‘The Gorilla’ (1927), so it was inevitable that Hal Roach would put his two biggest stars (then at the height of their global popularity) into such a production. The original film, made in 1930, was a 28 minute three reel short that stands as one of the very best of their early sound efforts, imho. They had toyed with elements of horror comedy before, in the silent shorts ‘Do Detectives Think?’ (1927) and ‘Habeas Corpus’ (1928), but this was their first true foray into the genre. It was so successful that they decided to remake it, not once but three times, for the international market, as; ‘Feu Mon Oncle’ in France, ‘Spuk Um Mitternacht’ in Germany and ‘Noche De Duendes’ in Spain - all made in 1930 and with the cast speaking phonetically in each language. Strangely these versions were turned into feature length films by the incorporation of the 1929 short ‘Berth Marks’, also remade. The ploy worked very well, imo, as the extended 'Noche', with all its new scenes, was a pure joy to experience, language being no barrier to this level of comic brilliance. There is a part of me would love to see someone create a similar English language feature version using the original soundtrack of both shorts. Sacrilege to some, maybe, but I’d still love to see it!

The story involves Stan and Ollie - penniless as usual - coming across a newspaper advertisement asking for any surviving relatives of the late Ebeneezer Laurel to go to his address for the reading of the will. As the old man was very rich Ollie convinces Stan to go along and chance his arm as a "distant relative". In the short US version they simply turn up at the house but in 'Noche De Duendes' {Night Of The Goblins} their journey results in a night of slapstick discomfort and disaster on board a train - as in 'Berth Marks'. And on arriving at the spooky old mansion - during a thunderstorm, naturally - they are greeted by a grotesquely creepy old butler, are forced to spend the night, encounter a few ghosts and find themselves involved in murder and mayhem as the other assembled relatives are bumped off one-by-one and the police desperately hunt the killer, etc. All this farcical nonsense is elevated to the level of timeless genius by the perfectionism of the cast and crew (right down to the smallest bit part players) combined with the natural charisma and legendary comic timing of the two stars. This hard working professionalism and love of their craft was the accepted norm in all Hal Roach films of the period, the performers having perfected their skills in vaudeville and silent cinema over the previous twenty years. But there is an extra frisson of genuine fear in this particular story that we are not used to seeing with these men and that makes their clowning all the more enjoyable. We share their knee trembling terror and would dive under the bedcovers with them, were we there. For me the single most cherishable moment in all horror comedy is when the pair are being chased all over the house by a horribly convincing be-sheeted ghost and Stan lets the thing into the closet in which Ollie is hiding. His bemusement at Ollie's roof raising cries of ultimate horror has had the tears running down my face on many occasions. Trust me, being scared has never been so much fun.

Every precious minute of the film (in either version) has its own moment of magic. Fans will be familiar with every one; "Twas ever thus"... "Are ya really going?" "I am." and the offering of the umbrella, "I'm getting half of everything that's coming to you!" Frank Austin's unforgettable first appearance as the butler, with his "I hope you have a nice LOOOOONG sleep" and weirdly feral face transformation as he leers round the bedroom door. Stan to Ollie, "You know what you said downstairs. I've decided... you can have it all." The first iconic utterance of, "This is another nice mess you've gotten me into." "Whadaya mean, I got you into?" "Well, your name is Laurel, isn't it!" Priceless harum scarum routines with a bed, a painting, a cat, a lamp stand, an errant bat and the most notorious chair in horror... to which the butler intones, "You're still wanted on the telephone." Etc, etc... how I love them all.

This is a magic that can never be recaptured or replicated, as it was the product of revolutionary times, unique working conditions and even more unique individuals. In my opinion - and as a matter of hard fact - the very Art of physical character comedy reached its natural peak in the 1930s films of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy (above all their mighty peers) and everything since has existed in their shadow... straining to look up.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Thursday, July 07, 2016 - 11:18 pm:   

‘The Gorilla’ (1939) by Allan Dwan - 6/10

I hardly know where to start with this film. It is a right shambolic mess but one that still manages to entertain for all its frightful flaws. As a comedy star vehicle, for a kind of poor man's Marx Brothers, it is painfully, excruciatingly unfunny. This was my first exposure to the long forgotten Ritz Brothers (Jimmy, Harry & Al) and I won't be going out of my way to seek any of their other films on this evidence. They appear to be three brothers who all look, dress and act alike and are unable to present a single coherent personality between them. They just kind of swan about making dopey faces and acting stupid. Here they play a trio of incompetent private detectives. They'd have been better off calling in The Three Stooges! Even Abbott & Costello, at their worst, appear towering giants of comedy genius beside these dicks!!

But, having said that, there is still much to enjoy in this creaky old dark house yarn if one tries to think of the "stars" as merely part of the cast. Comedy wise they are completely outshone by the priceless tongue-in-cheek playacting of Bela Lugosi, as the menacing butler, and Patsy Kelly as the scaredy cat maid having a nervous breakdown and getting all the best one liners. Add to that sterling support by Lionel Atwill, Anita Louise, Joseph Calleia, Edward Norris, Wally Vernon and Paul Harvey, as the prospective victims - all treating the horror material in deadly earnest - and gloriously shadow haunted sets and cinematography all adding to the spooky atmospherics. There is the makings of a really great little horror comedy in here and that quality shines through in enough aspects to almost make up for the three idiots who keep getting in the way.

Based on another old 1920s stage play, originally filmed in 1927, the story involves a serial killer known as "The Gorilla", who disguises himself in a gorilla suit, and makes self-righteous threats against the rich and corrupt, who invariably wind up dead once he has marked their cards. Atwill is the latest bigwig with a shady past who gets targeted and all the action takes place during one night in his palatial home. Refusing to go to the police, due to some dark secret in his past, the poor fool calls in our heroes as his bodyguards, without checking their credentials. Then a real escaped gorilla turns up to add to the confusion! So we have a spooky old house full of many, many secret passages being terrorised by two killer gorillas, three gurning morons and Dracula himself!! What's not to like?

One to wallow in for its nostalgic atmospherics and sense of harmless fun the film is an oddly endearing car crash of mismatched talents that just goes to prove some comedy stars are forgotten for a reason... and best left that way. Lugosi, at his most deadpan, is the best and funniest thing in it. A fascinating curate's egg of a dusty old time capsule from a more innocent Hollywood era.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Thursday, July 21, 2016 - 10:55 am:   

‘The Cat And The Canary’ (1939) by Elliott Nugent - 10/10

If 'The Gorilla' - made the same year - was a terrible marriage of star comedy and old dark house horror then this film is arguably the finest antidote ever made! Bob Hope simply couldn't have hoped (sorry) for a better breakthrough film to launch him to screen stardom. Again based on a 1920s stage play, that was originally filmed extraordinarily well by Paul Leni in 1927, this is one of those rare examples of a remake of an established classic that, imho, surpasses the original. Everything about the film was judged to perfection. Nugent's energetic direction balances nervous laughter and serious scares with a timelessly quotable script, written by Walter de Leon and Lynn Starling, that features some of Bob's most famous and perfectly timed one liners - "Big old empty houses don't scare me. I've played vaudeville." etc... He shines here as the comic relief hero, bricking it but trying to be brave, beside an all round excellent cast of seasoned performers at this kind of straight faced schtick. Your set up is the quintessential gathering of eccentric relatives for the reading of a will in a creepy old mansion, this time isolated in the murky depths of the Louisiana bayou and only reachable by boat. The marvellously atmospheric opening sequence of each of them arriving one-by-one is a masterclass of anticipatory scene setting that surely must have been an influence on René Clair's great masterpiece 'And Then There Were None' (1945). Once there these people aren't going anywhere else!

Paulette Goddard is winningly chirpy yet vulnerable as the beautiful young heiress whom everyone wants dead, it seems, and who Bob has always had an eye for. Gale Sondergaard is the very epitome of the creepy old housekeeper who glides through the house like the Angel of Death with her scalp-prickling pronouncements of doom, and always just before someone gets the chop. Her: "I see you surrounded by spirits." Bob: "Yeah, I could do with a top up." You get the idea lol. Horror veteran George Zucco is the shifty lawyer arriving to read the will and holding a surprise in store for the prospective heirs. Douglass Montgomery plays Bob's suave love rival for Goddard's affections, remaining irritatingly unruffled in the face of danger. John Beal is the suspiciously sullen disinherited one, bemoaning his lot and attracting attention as the chief suspect. Elizabeth Patterson and Nydia Westman are a couple of bickering bitter old bitches, determined to prove Goddard's insanity, thus making her ineligible as the sole heiress. And John Wray completes the line-up of suspects cum potential victims as a security guard from the local asylum who arrives during the reading of the will to announce the escape of a homicidal maniac, dubbed The Cat, who was last reported seen in the immediate vicinity of the house... oh dear!!

The rest is pure joy as these characters face a night of unrelenting terror, one-by-one falling foul of the supernaturally elusive killer, while Bob tries to stop shaking long enough to get to the bottom of the mystery, cracking nervous jokes all the while. Every cliche in the old dark house arsenal is thrown at us (secret passages galore, revolving bookcases, moving eyes in portraits, bodies falling out of closets, pesky cats leaping out at the most inappropriate of moments, etc) and all are mischievously sent up by the new young star's "modernising" presence. This cheeky freshness of approach, coupled with the sublime production values, energises the horror and suspense elements and makes them all the more effective. I consider this film and its follow up, 'The Ghost Breakers' (1940), again pairing Hope (before he was to go down another road) with Goddard and another wonderful Walter de Leon script, to be the finest and least dated such comedy horrors of their era. They ushered in a new level of professionalism in the treatment of such creaky old subject matter and a careful artistry in the balance between fear and laughter that still stands up today as thoroughly magical entertainment for all ages and sensibilities. This is how horror comedy should be done, folks. It is a masterpiece of the genre and it is still very, very funny!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Thursday, July 21, 2016 - 11:12 am:   

And now for another one. The theme this time is old, modern and recent "Hitman Movies" and I've tried to be as varied as possible in the approach to the genre:

'The Green Man' (1956) by Robert Day & Basil Dearden - starring Alastair Sim as the professional killer.

'Scorpio' (1973) by Michael Winner - starring Alain Delon in the murderous title role.

'Red Eye' (2005) by Wes Craven - starring Cillian Murphy as the aptly named Jack Rippner.

I haven't seen any of them before!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2016 - 01:41 pm:   

Three highly entertaining thrillers! None of them are cinematic classics but they were all very well made and acted and a joy to watch. A great night's viewing.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2016 - 01:51 pm:   

Here are the film's watched so far ranked:

1. 'The Laurel And Hardy Murder Case' (1930) by James Parrot
2. 'The Cat And The Canary' (1939) by Elliott Nugent
3. 'Teenagers From Outer Space' (1959) by Tom Graeff
4. 'The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake' (1959) by Edward L. Cahn
5. 'Scorpio' (1973) by Michael Winner
6. 'The Green Man' (1956) by Robert Day & Basil Dearden
7. 'Red Eye' (2005) by Wes Craven
8. 'The Gorilla' (1939) by Allan Dwan
9. 'The Snow Creature' (1954) by W. Lee Wilder

Latest write-ups to follow...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2016 - 03:16 pm:   

'The Green Man' (1956) by Robert Day & Basil Dearden - 8/10

One of those largely forgotten little gems from the golden era of British character comedy. I had never heard of this film before picking it up on DVD, which I unhesitatingly did on the strength of the cast and my surprise at the premise. Alastair Sim playing a professional hitman in a star studded black comedy compared favourably to Ealing's 'The Ladykillers' (1955) - I'll be having some of that, thank you very much!! The rest of the cast reads like a who's who of familiar comedy faces from the era; George Cole, Terry Thomas, Raymond Huntley, Jill Adams, Avril Angers, Dora Bryan, Richard Wattis, Arthur Brough, Arthur Lowe & Michael Ripper, among others. With veteran director Basil Dearden helping out first timer Robert Day and the script based on Frank Launder & Sidney Gilliat's classic stage farce, 'Meet A Body', adapted by themselves, they really couldn't have gone wrong. And they didn't.

The film opens with a wonderfully funny montage of Sim's career as a hired killer, who prides himself on his ingenuity at always dispatching his "deserving" victims with a flourish of poetic justice. From precocious boyhood, blowing up his hated headmaster in chemistry class, to satisfied retirement at the advent of World War II, when the grim reaper had other fish to fry, this miracle of swiftly edited character building sets the scene beautifully for what is to follow. As Sim's world weary narration informs us the events at the quaint old Green Man guesthouse by the sea were to have been his crowning achievement, having been tempted out of retirement as a humble old watchmaker for one last irresistible job. Then a certain cretinous vacuum cleaner salesman, played by Cole, had to stick his nose in as a most unlikely nemesis.

Ever pompous Raymond Huntley plays the intended victim; a British envoy to the Middle East enjoying an incognito dirty weekend with his nervous young secretary in the aforesaid establishment. Sim plans to blow him up using a rigged radio while he self-importantly listens to his latest speech on the BBC, at the precise moment he announces his "retirement from the political scene". Naturally things don't go according to plan due to the old standby in such farces of several cases of mistaken identity that lead to much running in and out of the wrong hotel rooms, embarrassing misunderstandings and accusations of sexual misconduct on the part of the most innocent of bystanders, etc. Sim's increasing frustration, all shown in his priceless facial expressions, while he tries to keep his cool and get things back on track, is as hilarious as one would imagine. Consider the quality of the supporting cast above - representing a cross section of English society all with their own reasons to be at this particular hideaway - and attempts to hide the body of an unfortunate witness in several different locations, while the countdown to detonation approaches, and think 'Fawlty Towers' (1975-79). If all that hasn't whetted your appetite for a prime slice of gloriously old-fashioned stiff-upper-lip British tomfoolery then nothing will.

If not quite up to the standard of the best Ealing comedies of the era this is still a lovely little film steeped in pure class and guaranteed to have the viewer smiling and chuckling throughout while enjoying spotting all those unmistakeable faces familiar from countless films and sitcoms of the 1950s-70s. A minor classic of its kind.

Interesting to note too that the assassination plot of all three films in this great "hitman triple bill" were the result of unwanted Western interference in the troubles of the Middle East. A sobering thought in these apocalyptic days.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Monday, August 08, 2016 - 03:11 pm:   

'Scorpio' (1973) by Michael Winner - 9/10

Michael Winner was one of those larger than life personalities who tended to inspire a strong reaction in people... usually coming across as some kind of odious buffoon. But I'll say this for the man - he could bloody well make good movies! And this is one of his best!!

A twisty Cold War thriller steeped in the grubbily authentic, cynical, violent and refreshingly un-PC quality that marked all his films of the early 70s, when the man was at the absolute top of his game. I would rank this one up there with 'Lawman' (1971), 'Chato's Land' (1972), 'The Mechanic' (1972) and 'Death Wish' (1974) and it may even, in truth, be the pick of the crop. Burt Lancaster is on menacing form as Cross, a world weary and coldly pragmatic veteran CIA agent who has seen it all and done it all and understands perfectly the rules of the espionage game and just how dirty it can get. His body language, those reptilian eyes and the way he delivers every line tells us all we need to know about what this man has done and is prepared to do for the job and ultimately his own survival. Alain Delon matches him, reprising his icy hitman persona from 'Le Samouraï' (1967), as the title character, a renowned freelance assassin who does the odd wet job for the Agency under Lancaster's control. Scorpio has a thing about street cats, identifying with their unsentimental hunters' instincts, but showing his humanity in his handling of a stray kitten he takes in. Scriptwriters David W. Rintels and Gerald Wilson revealed the debt of gratitude they owe Graham Greene in that little detail - hired killer Raven having done exactly the same thing in 'A Gun For Sale' (1936).

These two shadow warriors' latest deep cover assignment involves the assassination of an influential Arab politician in Paris and setting the crime up to look like the work of fanatical terrorists - Oswaldian patsies being set up for the police to gun down. The mission is considered so "delicate" by the men at the top that, once completed, the elimination of all those involved in it is sanctioned, with Scorpio being paid to take out his former contact and respected mentor. Of course Cross is too experienced a campaigner to be taken in and the film resolves itself into a tense and satisfyingly unpredictable game of cat and mouse across Europe and the States - with Scorpio using all the tricks his master taught him to bring the old man down and Cross falling back on all his years of experience, while gradually both men come to realise the depths of betrayal their paymasters are capable of. The film, unlike all those pap political thrillers of today, refuses to take sides - presenting Cross and Scorpio as equally ruthless and culpable high-stakes criminals who know that their cards have been marked and are prepared to use anyone and do anything to escape their fate. Old underground associates are contacted, used and sacrificed if need be, deals are struck with former enemies, loved ones are bargained with like pawns and all loyalty is thrown aside when survival is the name of the game.

There are plenty of exciting chase and fight sequences and scenes of explicit violence and cruelty typical of the director but the real strength of the film lies in the detail of the internecine back room plotting as layer after layer of betrayal and counter-betrayal is revealed. As is also usual in a Michael Winner film the supporting cast is exceptional, providing all the gravitas that such a grim story deserves. You have; Paul Scofield as an inscrutable Russian agent prepared to strike a deal with Cross if he will "come over" to their side, John Colicos as the brutally dispassionate CIA chief consigning his colleagues to their fate once they are of no further use, Gayle Hunnicut and Joanne Linville as the lover and wife of the two stars who prove the weak spot of both their men, and familiar faces such as J.D. Cannon, Vladek Sheybal, James Sikking, William Smithers and Jack Colvin completing the roll call.

In the exchanges between Lancaster and Scofield's two emotionally battered old troupers - who balance respect with suspicion and a strange kind of friendship - there is a feeling of tired resignation as we see these old men giving up the ideals that got them into the game to be replaced by young men with nothing but ambition to drive them. The film may be too pulpy an entertainment to be considered a masterpiece of the genre but if it's thought provoking thrills with a mean streak and absolutely no good guys you're looking for then this has to be seen as one of the hardest hitting espionage thrillers of its era. The portrayal of Western forces manipulating the troubles in the Middle East by state sponsored assassination and subterfuge makes it still all too relevant. Truly espionage is a dirty business and spies are not people to be admired by anyone with a conscience.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Monday, August 08, 2016 - 10:37 pm:   

'Red Eye' (2005) by Wes Craven - 7/10

For most of its length this was a great little Hitchcockian contained suspense thriller, set on board a plane, then, in the climactic final third, it was as if the script got ditched, amid incongruities in the carefully laid set up, for a heart-sinkingly average by-the-numbers slasher movie. Craven seemed to be attempting something new that could have galvanised his late period career and may have been overruled by nervously unimaginative studio bigwigs, who had their target audience expectations of what a Wes Craven movie should be. I'm not surprised he was never to attempt anything as different again - returning to lacklustre horror potboilers like 'My Soul To Take' (2010) and 'Scream IV' (2011) before his untimely death last year. Having said all that this is still a gripping, well made and acted thriller that could have been something really special but ends up passing the time entertainingly enough.

Cillian Murphy plays the cold-eyed psychopathic hitman, Jackson Rippner, menacing Rachel McAdams on a routine flight home as he forces her, in her position as a swanky hotel manager, to arrange the assassination of the US Secretary of Homeland Security - again due to vested interests in the Middle East - by ensuring he stays in a specific room targeted for destruction. He does this by threatening to have her father back home (Brian Cox) murdered by one of his associates unless she complies by telephone, using her trusted security clearance. What could possibly go wrong and how can sweet innocent terrified little Rachel ever hope to foil the dastardly plan? Whether being casually charming or revealing his true colours in flashes of restrained rage the compelling threat of the film is all in Murphy's piercing blue eyes and "oh so fake" smile - he really is a hateful swine in this!

The battle of wits on board the plane, surrounded by an assortment of unsuspecting fellow passengers who unwittingly help or hinder our plucky heroine, is the real meat of the film and reveals the director as an assured hand at character and dialogue driven suspense. But, sadly, once we are back on solid ground and McAdams manages to elude her captor the whole thing degenerates into a tired race-against-time thriller that throws logic out the window in favour of bloody violence and jump-tactic scares. I swear I detected evidence of a much stronger and more cynical ending that involved a shock revelation regarding dear old Dad's true part in proceedings - it really did appear to be set up that way - but intelligence, such as we saw in Michael Winner's far superior 'Scorpio' (1973), may have been jettisoned in favour of "safe thrills" that wouldn't upset the audience too much. Maybe I'm wrong but I would love to pick the scriptwriter Carl Ellsworth's brains to find out who the mysterious corpse in the hallway was that only Cox could have killed and that was never mentioned again in the stalk and slash pandemonium that followed!

A film of two thirds and a third that has to be seen as a missed opportunity for its director but that is worth seeing for Cillian Murphy's bravura performance of smarmy villainy and the few neatly played twists while the action is still airborne. Not bad but not great and ultimately rather pedestrian this was easily the weakest of the hitman triple bill.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Monday, August 08, 2016 - 10:54 pm:   

And for my next line-up I've decided to investigate the Legend of Cropsey. A bogeyman that haunts New York State and that may have a disturbing basis in reality:

'The Burning' (1981) by Tony Maylam.

'Madman' (1982) by Joe Giannone.

'Cropsey' (2009) by Joshua Zeman & Barbara Brancaccio.

Two cult classic 80s slashers based on the myth, that I've never seen before, and an excellent and highly disturbing feature documentary that I caught by chance a few years ago and has stayed with me. The old children's scare story of the mad axeman in the woods may just be real after all!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Monday, August 08, 2016 - 11:03 pm:   

Anyone interested should check this out:

http://cropseylegend.com/urban-legends
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Tuesday, August 09, 2016 - 03:00 am:   

'The Burning' (1981) by Tony Maylam - 8/10

Excellent 1980s campsite slasher movie that follows the template of 'Friday The 13th' (1980) to a tee but is raised above the other imitators by the unforced naturalism of the acting from a talented young cast - that includes a pre-fame Jason Alexander (good old George from 'Seinfeld'!!), Holly Hunter ('Raising Arizona', 'The Piano', etc) and Fisher Stevens ('Frasier', 'Friends', 'Law And Order', etc) - and by tweaking the rules of who should get killed and who should survive just enough to appear fresh and not as predictable as might be expected. It also boasts superbly gruesome special effects by Tom Savini and a memorable monster in the shape of the horrifically deformed Cropsy. This maniac illicits some sympathy early on in the film by having been burned beyond recognition in a campsite prank by a bunch of pesky kids gone horribly wrong. Five years later the former caretaker of Camp Blackfoot is released from hospital after an agonising recovery that has left him looking like some kind of horribly melted human slug and, after seeking solace with a prostitute and impulsively killing her at her horrified reaction on seeing his face, he returns to his old stomping ground armed with a pair of wicked shears and with payback against any hated kids he encounters on his mind.

From there we're into nicely paced stalk and slash territory as an unfortunate group of youngsters and their guides set out on a canoeing expedition up-river from which very few of them will return in one piece. There are a few early near misses to tease the audience before the bloodshed begins in earnest and all sympathy for Cropsy ends. What I liked about this one was its energy and wicked sense of humour and how we are made to like and care about the innocent young people being ruthlessly picked off - refreshingly they aren't nearly as irritating as the usual sort of highly sexed glipes we get in these films. When they begin to die there is a definite feeling of regret and fear for those left generated.

The murder sequences are very well handled by director Maylam and genuinely suspenseful, culminating in one unforgettably vicious mass slaughter of a whole group that puts to bed the idea of being safer in numbers. The climax too involves the few survivors left - and they're not the usual suspects that the conventions outlined in 'Scream' (1996) would lead us to expect - engaged in a tense game of cat and mouse through some spooky old ruins before the full horror of Cropsy's half glimpsed appearance is revealed and Savini lets rip with one of his bloodiest finales. I really, really enjoyed this and it is bookended by a wonderfully atmospheric campfire storytelling of the legend of Cropsy that has us shivering at the thought that he may still be out there. Definitely one of the finest slasher movies of the era it started Miramax and its producer, Harvey Weinstein, on the road to riches. Well made, gritty, exciting, scary and very bloody I'd call it a minor classic of its kind, for all the unoriginality of the set up.

The film is interesting too for its use of the genuine Cropsey myth of the mad axeman in the woods praying on innocent children that has haunted the Hudson Valley region of New York State for over a hundred years. And of the truth behind that story more anon...
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted From: 86.185.27.105
Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 10:22 am:   

The Burning was one of the first horrors I saw at the cinema - I got a job there as an usher. I loved the film so much I bought the excellent Rick Wakeman album and got the poster from the cinema. Watching it again recently it was fun but kind of sloppy.
I watched a little of the recent Cropsey film but my son got bored and made me switch off (something that happens a little too often these days. :-( )
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 10:23 am:   

Thanks for the legend stuff.
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 - 10:26 am:   

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cropsey-2010
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 02:56 pm:   

You should watch the rest of it, Tony. A fine piece of filmmaking that really gets under the skin. I've done some digging into the case myself that only makes it all the scarier. Staten Island is littered with corpses it would seem and has attracted some very twisted individuals over its history.

The Rick Wakeman score in 'The Burning' was excellent. Like something by Goblin or John Carpenter. Have you seen 'Madman' (1982)? It was an arguably even better slasher based on the Cropsey legend. At least as good anyway, imo.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 03:01 pm:   

Chilling to think that those films were made at the height of Andre Rand's reign of terror. Something was definitely in the air in the early 80s.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 03:43 pm:   

I've discovered links between the Rand murders and individuals involved in the Son of Sam case - with the same kind of thing going on in Untermyer Park in Yonkers, New York as occurred at the Willowbrook School. Paedophilic orgies dressed up as Satanic rituals, sacrificial murders, missing children and buried bodies. The detectives in the 'Cropsey' film discuss the belief that Rand was a procurer of children for a paedophile ring - locals knew him as the Pied Piper - like the Child Catcher in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' or the awful Marc Dutroux case in Belgium.

'Killer Legends' (2014) is another great documentary feature by Joshua Zeman that looks into the truth behind four urban legends; the hook-handed killer who haunts lovers lanes, the Candy Man killer who poisons Halloween treats, the babysitter getting phone calls that turn out to be from inside the house and the killer clowns luring children into white vans panic that periodically sweeps America. It plays like a portmanteau horror film for real. Excellent stuff!
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 12:43 pm:   

Watched the Cropsey film last night. Jesus. The stuff of nightmares. I think Rand was brutalised by that hospital. I think he killed the kids out of a misconceived pity. One of the most upsetting docs I've seen. :-(
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted From: 86.185.27.105
Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 12:45 pm:   

The Process was something Manson delved into, too...
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted From: 86.185.27.105
Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 01:04 pm:   

http://visupview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-process-strange-and-terrible.html
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

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Posted From: 86.185.27.105
Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 01:14 pm:   

Well Staten island sounds fun. http://www.silive.com/eastshore/index.ssf/2009/07/grisly_finds_at_staten_island. html
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

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Posted From: 86.185.27.105
Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 01:22 pm:   

Sammy Davis Jr, Satanist?!? http://listverse.com/2016/01/28/10-cities-and-towns-with-connections-to-satanism /
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Tony (Tony)
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Posted From: 86.185.27.105
Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2016 - 02:02 pm:   

Read Stubby's comments at the end. It sounds right to me.
http://chuckpalahniuk.net/reviews/love-sex-fear-death-the-inside-story-of-the-pr ocess-church-of-the-final-judgment
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2016 - 02:15 pm:   

It was interesting that he targeted vulnerable children with disabilities after working at that horrible school, Tony. The scenes from inside it were like something from the Middle Ages. Truly shocking and deeply upsetting. I agree it is the stuff of our darkest nightmares.

Rand's case parallels almost exactly that of Edward Paisnel, known as the Beast of Jersey, who also worked at the notorious Haut de la Garenne children's home, playing Santa Claus for the kids at Christmas time, and stalking the island in a leather mask by night, when he wasn't cavorting in the woods with his Satanist friends. These stories sound like myths - too far fetched to be true - but they did happen and many of the people involved never came to justice. Usually one man (a Rand, a Paisnel, a Dutroux or a Saville) or a small group of frontline staff members take the rap (as at Willowbrook, HdlG, Kincora and in the Franklin scandal, among many others) and the investigation isn't taken any further. I believe Rand did not act alone and many in the 'Cropsey' film concur with that assessment. There is too much evidence of endemic evil on Staten Island (just like Jersey) for us not to take the local rumours seriously. Even the cops agree with that.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2016 - 02:28 pm:   

As for the Process Church of the Final Judgement... I see them as having fomented chaos at a time when America was experiencing a collective nervous breakdown and its youth were feeling the brunt of that confusion. Processeans believed that Satan and Christ were real spiritual entities and ultimately on the same side, working together to bring about Armageddon and a cleansing of the human race. It was their duty to aid in that war against civilisation. To bring about civil unrest by spreading terror, destruction and hatred. All of this is in their literature. I see them as analogous to what is happening with ISIS today. They were a death cult and directly influenced Charles Manson in his setting up of The Family. Somehow I find it far from surprising that their Antichrist-like figurehead, Robert DeGrimston, picked Staten Island to retire to after The Process chose to disappear back into the shadows. Their influence, however, endures among disaffected youth and apocalyptically minded outsiders to this day.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2016 - 03:04 pm:   

Staten Island's reputation as a "bad place" goes back to Native American legend, Tony. It was home to the Lenape tribe and was known in Algonquin as Eghququous meaning "the bad woods". It is home to the largest pre-European Indian burial ground in New York State and to the Fresh Kills Landfill, at one time the largest dump site in the world and still reputed to be the Mafia's place of choice for garbage disposal, as Tony Soprano would say. That island has more buried bodies per square foot than anywhere else in the States according to law officials.

As for those sacrificed dogs - good work finding that story, Tony - I'll do a bit more digging and am going to make the prediction that they were German Shepherds. Maybe I'm wrong. But Untermyer Park is littered with dead Alsatians. They are the sacrificial animal of choice of The Process.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - 09:15 pm:   

Most of the sacrificed animals found in and around New York are related to the practice of Santería among the Hispanic and Latino community. Usually goats or chickens are found. It's a part of their religion and in no way related to Satanism despite the sinister connotations it has for us unbelievers. But when dogs are used, and specifically German Shepherds, as in Untermyer Park, it points to Process involvement or influence, or the actions of one of their off-shoots such as the Four-P Movement. This is all common knowledge to the NYPD.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - 11:02 pm:   

'Madman' (1982) by Joe Giannone - 8/10

Anyway back to the movie reviews. Written and directed by New Yorker Joe Giannone, on a noticeably lower budget than 'The Burning' (1981), this was the second slasher movie directly based on the legend of Cropsey to be produced at that time. In fact the script for 'Madman' had been around since 1979, inspired by the seismic impact of Carpenter's 'Halloween' (1978), but Giannone was forced to rename the central maniac as Madman Marz at the last minute when Tony Maylam's film beat him to release. In all other respects, however, this is the story of Cropsey all over again. The original title was even to have been 'Madman : The Legend Lives' directly referring to the well known myth.

We start with another irresistibly atmospheric campfire telling of the mad axeman in the woods story to a group of goggle eyed teenagers vainly trying to show how "not scared" they are. And the rest of the set up is simplicity itself as on the way back to their cosy dorm one young idiot called Richie gets separated from the group in the dark and goes stumbling off through the woods to a date with destiny that will bring doom on all their heads. It has been said that if anyone finds the old Marz house and knocks on the door calling out the name Madman Marz then his demonic spirit shall be summoned to kill. Guess what happens next? Our Richie plays a blinder and all hell is unleashed...

From there the film settles into the gothic horror template of Tobe Hooper's 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) as one by one each of the group go back into the woods in search of their missing comrade(s). It's a case of calling out; "Richie!", and then "Richie! Dave!! Where are you?!", and "Ellie! Dave!! Richie!!! Anybody...", "Ellie? Is that you? Stop messing about!", ker-chuk, chop, slice, aiiieeee, etc, long into the night. If that makes the film sound naff and predictable as hell then believe me it isn't. This one is again all about the unforced naturalness of the acting, by a cast of unusually likeable unknowns, and the deadly serious intent of the filmmaker beefed up by excellent make-up and prosthetic gore effects that equal anything by Tom Savini and a relentlessly grim tone that refuses to wallow in the expected character cliches and leaves us feeling no one is safe. But best of all the hulking dimly glimpsed shaggy monstrosity that haunts these woods, wielding its trusty axe and powering through every obstacle with terrifying strength to get at its screaming victims, grunting, squealing and giggling all the while, is genuinely the stuff of nightmares and made all the scarier by the script's holding back of any explanation as to who or what it is and why it is doing these terrible things. It's just a mythical demon, everyone's worst bogeyman, summoned from Hell and doing what it does best - scaring the living crap out of us! Most memorable scene? Probably the one with the girl hiding in the fridge while the thing trashes the kitchen outside inches from her face - roaring like some wild beast rather than anything human. And then it all goes quiet...

This is as pure and effective and edge of the seat gripping as the 80s slasher genre ever got and I rank it very highly indeed. The final sequence is a classic of hollow eyed madness in the aftermath of terror to match anything in horror cinema. There is something of the raw energy and "take no prisoners" will to shock of 'The Evil Dead' (1981) about the film that belies its budget and lack of professionalism. The people who made this believed in the project and put every effort into making it as scary as possible. They succeeded and their unpretentious passion resulted in a cherishable minor classic of this kind of schlock. It's not great art but it is a great wee horror film, imho, and at least as memorable as 'The Burning' (1981) or 'Friday The 13th' (1980). Madman Marz rocks!! Just don't go calling his name.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - 01:21 am:   

Randomly picked another three (old, modern and recent) horror movies to watch tonight. The unintended theme appears to be horrible things happening underground:

'Dungeon Of Harrow' (1964) by Pat Boyette.

'Catacombs' (1988) by David Schmoeller.

'The Midnight Meat Train' (2008) by Ryuhei Kitamura.

All of them are new to me.
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Hubert (Hubert)
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Posted From: 178.117.197.80
Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - 05:17 pm:   

The Burning: terribly predicatble, but passably good acting for once. You should see Sleepaway Camp: apart from the very impressive ending, the acting here is so bad it has to be undergone to be believed. Some viewers have called the mother's way of talking and general behaviour over the top, but I can vouch that women like that truly exist.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
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Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 10:16 am:   

'Sleepaway Camp' (1983) is one of the few slashers I've yet to track down on DVD, Hubert, and I missed it, like so many of them, at the time. Having a search now. We all know most of them were badly made, atrociously acted and predictable as hell but I have a soft spot for even the worst of them. Call it nostalgia.
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Hubert (Hubert)
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Posted From: 178.117.197.80
Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 11:36 am:   

There are a couple of sequels, all eminently forgettable. I'm sure the first Sleepaway Camp is on Youtube, Stevie. The acting is really atrocious, but the ending has made an impression, so much so that the actress in question (who is now middle-aged) has to do 'that' bit every time at horror conventions for selfies etc. She finds it suppremely funny that she's stuck with the role; I'm sure she isn't even acting anymore.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 5.68.170.9
Posted on Friday, August 19, 2016 - 11:59 am:   

I don't like watching films on YouTube. Call it the purist or else the collector in me. But I like to own the films on properly packaged DVDs. It's such fun to look them over on the shelves, all in strict alphabetic order of course lol. There are some shocking juxtapositions on my shelves that never fail to give me a thrill. I'm such a nerd lol!
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.155.218.177
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 11:04 am:   

I love Sleepaway Camp. It has an odd quality. It's one of the few films I've seen that makes you query your own sexuality.
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Hubert (Hubert)
Username: Hubert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 178.117.197.80
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 01:34 pm:   

Some male viewers fell in love with Angela, believe it or not.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.155.218.177
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 04:07 pm:   

I did. Whoever she was. The actress looks great, still.
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Hubert (Hubert)
Username: Hubert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 178.117.197.80
Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 06:40 pm:   

Yes, Felissa Rose still looks fab!

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