Movie of the Week: The Curse (1987)

I recently discovered this and was very impressed and amused by it. Starring the young Will Wheaton, who would have been in between the two roles he's most famous for (Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation), with additional footage shot by the great Lucio Fulci. I don't believe you'll have trouble determining which specific footage that is, if you're familiar with his work.

This Italian production set in Tennessee is a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour out of Space, and it achieves a nice Lovecraftian sense of existential horror as well as Southern deep-fried white trash vibe. This youtube rip, which is linked if you click the above poster image (Blogger has made embedding videos more difficult since the last time I posted) isn't the best, so I recommend you seek it elsewhere via DVD or streaming.

Movie of the Week: The Stuff (1985)

Movie of the Week, Herschell Gordon Lewis Memorial Edition: She-Devils on Wheels

Herschell Gordon Lewis has passed away at the age of 87. Here's one of his relatively tame features to remember him by. The soundtrack is muted to start, but returns in a minute or two.

Movie of the Week: Street Trash (1987)

Movie of the Week: Grosteque (1988)

Movie of the Week: Quartermass and the Pit (1967)

Movie of the Week: The Uninvited (1988)

Movie of the Week: Nightmare City (1980)

Movie of the Week: The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Movie of the Week: Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

 

This G-rated fantasy romp deserves a better reputation. After Ray Harryhausen's signature film, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958) was a big hit, its producer hired the same director (Nathan Juran) and two principle actors (Sinbad and Sokurah the Magician) for this followup. Harryhausen isn't involved, so the stop-motion animation isn't up to his level of artistry. But there's lots of it, along with a truckload of other special effects like in-camera mattes, hand-drawn animation and optical printing. You will definitely not be bored, and it's fun for all ages. Sorry about the commercials, but if you subscribe to Hulu Plus you can watch it uninterrupted.

Movie of the Week: Road Games (1981)

Movie of the Week: Screamers (1979)

from wikipedia:

Island of the Fishmen (L'isola degli uomini pesce) is a 1979 Italian adventure action horror film directed by Sergio Martino.

After being acquired by American distributors, a new opening for the film was written and shot. This footage contained grisly special make-up effects created by Chris Walas. Changes to the film itself included the addition of musical cues by Sandy Berman not present in the Italian cut, a new English dub track and a new title, Something Waits in the Dark.

After this 1980 release proved unsuccessful, Jim Wynorski spearheaded New World Pictures' re-release of the film. Wynorski retitled the film (again) and for this new version, entitled Screamers, a scene of a man being turned inside-out was filmed specifically for inclusion in a trailer designed to lure in audiences who failed to give Something Waits in the Dark much notice.





Upon its release in June 1981, Screamers performed well for its releasing company but when moviegoers complained that the gruesome "man turned inside-out" scene was not included in the actual release, prints were sent back to New World to have the demanded scene spliced in. This sequence has never been seen on home video as it was not part of the original negative.

Both Something Waits in the Dark and Screamers run approximately 85 minutes in length. Roughly half an hour of footage was excised from L'isola degli uomini pesce in order to make room for the stateside additions.

Movie of the Week: The Visitor (1979)

"Fearlessly fuses elements of The Omen, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, The Birds, Rosemary’s Baby, The Fury and even Star Wars creating the most ambitious of all '70s psychedelic mindwarps."
-Drafthouse Films

Movie of the Week: Stunt Rock (1980)

Movie of the Week: Hercules II (1985)

After Hours Movie of the Week: Hardbodies (1984)

Movie of the Week: Hellraiser (1987)

Movie of the Week: Just Before Dawn (1981)

New to me, but apparently it's had an enthusiastic following for years. Easily the finest film I've seen from director Jeff Lieberman, best known for Squirm, Blue Sunshine and Satan's Little Helper, movies that aren't all that great. But this has a nice on-location Oregonian setting for the entire film, talented cinematography, and a buildup of suspense that takes its time and doesn't transition to full-blown horror until the third or fourth reel.

Unfairly grouped into the Slasher genre because of the era in which it was released, as well as the teenagers-in-peril scenario. But if you except the opening and closing scenes, there's almost no onscreen violence. It's more closely related to Deliverance, The Hills Have Eyes and Blastfighter: crazy redneck retards hunting down unarmed civilized people in a remote environment is a tried and true, can't-miss formula when done well. It's an assured, practically tasteful thriller.

This youtube video resolution sure is crummy. Looks like a VHS rip. Maybe even a rip of a copy of a VHS done at the cheapskate six-hour EP speed that I always used. There's a better free version here. Or you can always buy or rent it on disc, if you're the type who does that sort of thing.

Jack Hill Double Feature: The Big Doll House (1971) and The Big Bird Cage (1972)

A double-dose of feminist / misogynist Filipino thrills! Doll House invented the genre, with a 125k budget and a 10 million dollar box office draw. But I way prefer the followup Bird Cage for being more technically accomplished and fun. Also, unlike the first film, Bird Cage had a screenplay written by Jack Hill, so his tongue-in-cheek satirical edge makes the inherently sleazy scenario more palatable.

Related: if you have Netflix streaming, don't miss Machete Maidens Unleashed, a recent documentary regarding exploitation movies shot in the Philippines.

Movie of the Week: The Last Man on Earth (1964)