Movie of the Week: The Uncanny

This housecat-themed horror anthology is about average by Amicus standards (it isn't actually an Amicus film, but the cast and era make it seem like one).  It's no Uninvited, that's for sure. But still, there aren't enough killer-cat movies, so take what you can get.

The first of the three stories is best, so at least stick it out for that mini-feature. If you want to skip Peter Cushing's linking segment, jump ahead to 6:30.

Slithis 7

Expedition

Dark Temple

The Spawning

Aviary

Radiokrak

Astrophobia

Cryogenic

Encounter

Trailer Trash: Empire of the Ants

Swamp Girl

Century 21 Calling

1990: The Bronx Warriors in Eight Minutes

Sunday Stooges: Monkey Businessmen

The Case for Flash

"...as a young boy, I didn't recognize the elements of camp, I just thought, 'why isn't Star Wars more like this?'"

In this extra from the DVD that came out a couple years ago, comic artist Alex Ross claims to have seen his favorite movie Flash Gordon more than anyone (possibly excepting the film's editors), and nicely articulates what makes it so wonderful.



part 2

September 8, 1966: The Television Debut of Star Trek

Happy 45th Anniversary to Spock & Company.

Trailer Trash: Deathstalker

Equinox in Ten Minutes

I wouldn't necessarily recommend sitting through Equinox in its entirety, but the stop-motion work in this homemade production has a unique, phantasmagorical crudity. Dennis Muren directed, and did all the special effects himself, while a student at Pasadena City College, and shot nearby in Big Tujunga Canyon, Bronson Canyon and Arroyo Seco. He went on to helm effects for Star Wars, Jurassic Park and others. And although it's never been confirmed, the movie is a straight-up prototype for The Evil Dead.

Dracula Vs. Frankenstein

I saw this on Son of Svengoolie in the late 70's, but wasn't prepared for its greatness at that age. It's surprisingly watchable, considering the general oeuvre of director Al Adamson.

The lineup consists of three former A-Listers: Russ Tamblyn as Rico the biker, Lon Chaney Jr. as Groton the mute servant and J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Duryea. Angelo Rossitto, of 'Freaks' and hundreds of other films, plays the dwarven carnival barker. Forry Ackerman is Dr. Beaumont. The director's wife plays the female lead, and his accountant or something is "Zandor Vorkov" (phony name) in the role of Dracula. He's mostly famous for being the most inappropriate Dracula in the movies, and he does not disappoint in this regard. And the character named "Strange" (the Judge Reinhold-looking sidekick), is Greydon Clark, who goes on to direct Joysticks. What a cast.

The narrative is a little confusing until you understand the circumstances: Adamson made this as a semi-sequel to "Satan's Sadists", about a biker gang that happens upon a wax museum at the Venice boardwalk. The producer didn't like the finished result, so Adamson added the whole "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" angle. All of the scenes with Dracula and / or Frankenstein were shot in upstate New York with no money, nearly two years after the original film had wrapped. Most of the scenes with the bikers were omitted, and with the extra footage the film still runs a long 90 minutes. It would have been a better film in its original incarnation. But pacing aside, it's a good time, with the late-60's Venice Beach locations looking suitably grimy, and there's lots of gratuitous violence and a couple of titty shots.

Poor J. Carrol Naish has a foot in the grave: confined to a wheelchair, with one glass eye, and senile enough to not remember any lines, requiring cue cards. Lon Jr. is even worse, wrecked from decades of alcohol abuse and genuinely mute from mouth cancer. They're both a sad sight. This would be the last film either of them would appear in.

Also available on Netflix Streaming.

Jac Mac and Rad Boy Go!

I saw this in highschool on "Night Flight" and accredit it, more than anything else, with inspiring me to go to animation school a couple years later (then I dropped out of animation school after three semesters 'cause couldn't draw that well after all).