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Death Nurse 2 (1988)
Just as brilliant as the first film
Nurse Mortley is back. This time, Social Services is placing homeless people in Shady Palms Clinic.
Death Nurse 2 is just as good as the first film. It was filmed on a camcorder, just like the original, and the shenanigans and dialogue are just as John Watersesque. We even get some social commentary within this sequel. One person who finds himself unfortunate enough to be a new resident loves to rant and rave, 'especially crazy stuff like 'socialism is the way forward'' as stated by the official from Social Services when he performs the handover. This film can be added to the list of films that may prompt arguments about which is better- the original or its sequel. But I bet it won't.
The ending is left open, which prompts the question- will there someday be a Part 3? I hope so.
Not 'so bad, it's good' but more 'so good, it's great'.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Kiss Daddy Goodbye (1981)
A tale of two halves
A father is killed by a biker gang who are trespassing on his property. What the gang don't realise is that his young kids have psychic and telekinetic powers and bring Pops back to life to enact his revenge after, bizarrely, painting his face.
I love movies featuring creepy kids. Bloody Birthday is a great example. The sequences involving the children are great. But, unfortunately, a lot of the film involves protracted sequences regarding the new deputy sheriff and his romance with a woman who works as a social worker for the children who checks in on them from time to time as their father (used to) home-school them. These sequences are boring, and even more frustrating is that the social worker is played by none other than Marilyn Burns. The material she is given is embarrassingly slight, and she's worth so much more than the lines she has to deliver here. She bursts into laughter a couple of times during her delivery and is probably chuckling at the dire dialogue she's been subjected to.
There should have been more creepy kid episodes and less Marilyn being demoted to being a sex object social worker.
2 out of 5 stars.
Terror on Tour (1980)
Solid slasher movie
The Clowns are a shock rock group who look like a cross between The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Sgt Kabukiman and your average Goth and like to pretend to stab, mutilate and kill groupies on stage. It becomes problematic when someone starts to actually kill groupies who have come to see the band in real life.
Terror on Tape was made in 1980 and so the shock rock aspect seems a bit passe. It would have been cooler if it was made in the early/mid 70's when Alice Cooper was becoming famous. But, nonetheless, it's still a solid and entertaining yarn. The make-up the band members wear makes it easy for someone to imitate them or to make it harder to ascertain which band member is bumping off the pretty young women who surround the band. The backstage area is also eerily deserted when the band is onstage, and so this also makes the murders easier.
The movie also captures something that you don't see in modern movies that try to portray the early 80's, and that is the amount of wood panelling that was used for interiors. Youngsters nowadays think the era was all pastel colours and neon. It wasn't. It was wood panelling.
Terror on Tour isn't bad, but it's far from being some forgotten masterpiece, either.
Fun fact 1- Alex Rebar, who was the lead in The Incredible Melting Man, is one of the executive producers on this movie.
Fun fact 2- The guy (Larry Thomas) who plays the notorious 'Soup Nazi' character from Seinfeld is one of the band members.
Yami no teiô kyuketsuki dorakyura (1980)
Fantastic Animated Dracula Adaptation
A new adaptation of Dracula, you say? And it's Japanese animation?! I'm fricking there!
Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned follows Drac as he falls in love with a woman who is meant to be a new bride for Satan (!) but is stolen by our favourite winged vampire. He even becomes a dad!
As you'll probably have surmised, this takes characters from the original book by Bram Stoker and utilises them in a whole new adventure in the present day. This is actually an animated adaptation of the Marvel Tomb of Dracula comic book series.
Wanna see Dracula courting his new beau by taking her to a restaurant and then window shopping with her afterwards? Of course you do! You even get to see him go to a hamburger joint at one point in the narrative.
There was a point in the proceedings where I thought to myself, 'Anything could happen in this film' as the action goes from one incredible event to another. But one thing I knew was that I loved it from start to finish.
The animation is amazing and perfect for comic book fans and horror aficionados alike.
Look for the subtitled version on YouTube rather than the dubbed. It feels even more dramatic in its native tongue.
A delight.
Schlock (1973)
Hilarious debut
A serial killer known as 'The Banana Killer' (bananas are found at the site of his murders) is terrorising a town in Southern California. He turns out to be akin to the missing link between man and an ape. He falls in love with a local young woman and resorts to kidnapping her when she doesn't reciprocate his affections.
This is the first film by John Landis and features the work of the as-yet-unheard-of Rick Baker. Landis couldn't get Schlock distributed. As luck would have it, Johnny Carson saw it and loved it and so invited Landis onto his show to talk about his opus and hopefully get the film a distribution deal. And it worked!
Apparently, Landis hated this film for years. This reminds me of the Sam Raimi film, Crimewave which he said was on the same level as porno filler material (he's wrong. It's brilliant).
Schlock is fantastic. Very funny, very idiosyncratic and a true original. It pokes fun at a number of different genres at once and succeeds effortlessly.
I'm so glad that this film was rediscovered decades later and given a new lease of life courtesy of an Arrow Video Blu-Ray transfer that is beautiful to behold.
I urge you to see Schock as it shows that the genius of Landis and Baker was there for all to see from their very first cinematic effort. Oh, and it's nice to see that See You Next Wednesday is mentioned even in Landis' debut.
Opera (1987)
Prime Argento
When the lead in a new opera version of Macbeth is run over, her young understudy has to step in. However, there are shady goings-on with a killer on the loose.
I love Opera. I remember the kills were shown as part of a horror module I took at university, and I couldn't wait to see the full film.
Opera doesn't disappoint. It contains some of Dario Argento's most innovative and striking directorial flourishes to date and contains some of the most operatic (pun not intended) murders in horror history.
I love Betty's emotional detachment and the fact that this is due to her traumatic past.
Opera really is Argento firing on all cylinders and displays the work of a director who is at the peak of his powers. He really is the Scorsese of horror.
The last ten minutes are like The Sound of Music on crack.
Bravo.
Blood Feast (1963)
Gore masterpiece
A curfew has been placed on all women in Miami Beach due to a killer being on the loose. Could it be the work of a random serial killer or the local Egyptian caterer who is sacrificing young women to an ancient god?
I first heard of Hershell Gordon Lewis' Blood Feast through reading Incredibly Strange Films, published by Re: Search. There was then an episode of Jonathan Ross' excellent series The Incredibly Strange Film Show devoted to Blood Feast's director Hershell Gordon Lewis, which whet my appetite. I'd have to wait until I loved in London to finally see this opus.
It was worth the wait. Blood Feast is a trip. It dragged the horror genre into the modern day with gore galore that is still something to behold. John Waters says that he saw the film in a drive-in and was impressed as fellow patrons were leaving their cars to vomit! He would later show a short clip from the film in his masterpiece Serial Mom.
In fact, Blood Feast can be seen as a huge influence on Waters. The acting is like something from one of his films. Also, it could have influenced other pivotal horror films. Could the bright red blood have influenced George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead? Could the male survivor of the killer, who we see go mad and start laughing hysterically, have influenced what happens to Sally Hardisty at the end of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Quite possibly.
But whilst Blood Feast is such an important work, it's one thing that a lot of landmark films aren't- it's fun. Whilst it's gory and still shocking, it's also very funny (another quality that made me think of Waters' early films). I love the fact that the woman killed in the bath is reading a copy of a book called 'Ancient Weird Religious Rites'. The film is also gorgeous to look at and has a colour palate that will make your retinas bleed.
Blood Feast feels like visiting an old friend and is a delight from start to finish.
Deliria (1987)
Cracking Italian Horror
This Italian film concerns an acting troupe rehearsing a musical who find out that they are locked in their theatre with an actor cum serial killer who has escaped from a nearby psychiatric hospital.
This Micheal Soavi-directed shocker is a banger from start to finish. I love that the characters are either bitchy, conniving, horny or all three.
The kills are innovative, directed with real aplomb and gruesome to watch. There are also some really ingenious plot twists that keep things feeling fresh and interesting.
The killer's owl mask is very effective indeed. The dark recesses of the theatre are also brilliantly used, with some scenes being eerily suspenseful.
I also love the sheer range of implements the killer uses to pick off the cast one by one.
This is a terrific film. Look out for the uncut version. The UK video version was cut by 11 seconds before it was submitted to the BBFC.
Spasms (1983)
Fun gory movie
After he is bitten by a giant poisonous killer snake, Jason Kincaid finds that he has a psychic bond with the reptile from hell.
The premise of this film is like a foreshadowing of the future masterpiece Jaws The Revenge. There are other links with everyone's favourite shark in that Mr Snake likes to fling people around as he's killing them.
Spasms has a great cast that includes Oliver Reed (as Kincaid) and Peter Fonda as the scientist on the case. Al Waxman (yes, the chief of police from Cagney and Lacey) is also a cast member. How could anyone resist?! The theme song is written and performed by Tangerine Dream.
I love it when mainstream Hollywood films go full exploitation. This movie has such great, gross special effects that they feel like they're straight from a video nasty. I also love the scenes in which Ollie is having visions from the point of view of the snake. One such vision makes him go cross-eyed, which really is something to behold. As is the scene in which he starts communicating as the snake.
The finale involves Reed having a knife fight with his venomous adversary.
Spasms is absolutely bonkers but great fun because of this. Wait until you see the scene in which Waxman reacts to being bitten. It really is worth the price of admission on its own.
Gatto nero (1981)
Fulci In Britain
A psycho black cat is on the prowl and killing people.
Lucio Fulci 'freely adapts' Edgar Allan Poe's story. I never knew that Fulci had shot a film in Britain. And it's glorious! Beautifully shot by Sergio Salvati, this is one of the most picturesque Fulci movies I've ever seen. Add to proceedings a fantastic cast (Patrick Magee, David Warbeck, Al Cliver and Mimsy (!) Farmer) and a stirring score by Pino Donnagio, and this is a joy to behold.
Whilst the locale may be quaint, the kills are prime Fulci and very full-on. A car crash (resplendent with the driver's head crashing through the car's windscreen and catching fire), a fall onto spikes, a fire in which a woman's face is shown to melt like candle wax are to name but a few.
The cat in this film is a badass.
Backwoods (1988)
Solid hillbilly horror
A couple go camping in the woods. When they're advised not to go in a certain direction, obviously, they venture there. When they save a little girl's life, the girl's hillbilly father invites them to dine with him and stay in their tent on his land. The next morning they meet his son- who just happens to be feral and likes to do things like biting the heads off chickens (hence the title of the movie).
Geek! Is also known as Backwoods in some territories.
The actual character of the geek (or William as he's known to his father) is very scary and very unsettling. There are shades of The Hills Have Eyes with Geek! As William's father confides that he once tried to kill his son as he knew he was possibly psychopathic.
This is a slow burn of a film but livens up when Billy Boy enters the fray (with drool dribbling from his chin).
Not bad. And in a subgenre that is overpopulated, I've seen much worse.
The Caller (1987)
Heavy-handed and tiresome
A woman living alone in a remote house in woodland feels like she's being watched and that someone may have invaded her home. A man calls around out of the blue to use her phone as his car has broken down. And so ensues a night of psychological sparring with the stranger who seems to know a lot about her and shifts of powers between the two as to who is the victim and who is the aggressor.
The Caller starts well but very quickly becomes heavy-handed and tiresome because of this. If only more time had been spent on the script, then this film would be as intelligent as it thinks it is but clearly isn't.
Malcolm McDowell as The Caller is excellent but deserves better material to sink his teeth into.
Rather than being a cerebral thriller, this feels more like a superficial and banal TV movie.
Dolly Dearest (1991)
Upsettling and visceral
An archaeologist frees an evil spirit, which then possesses a doll known as Dolly Dearest.
You know exactly what you're getting with this horror movie.
I love evil, creepy dolls. Of course, Child's Play is the big hitter of this subgenre. But I prefer the other films that followed, such as this movie, Toys and Demonic Toys.
I love the little girl who owns Dolly Dearest and the fact that she seems to be just as demonic as her doll. The scene in which she freaks out on seeing a priest is very Omen.
This isn't a multi-layered, intelligent horror film, but every horror movie doesn't have to be. If you want a shocker which is visceral and has you rooting for the villain, then you can't go wrong with Dolly Dearest.
Monster in the Closet (1986)
Dull
As the film's title suggests, a monster is hiding in people's closets and killing them. However, a rookie journalist, scientists, and the army are hot on its trail.
With this being a Troma film, I was expecting, at the very least, some spectacular gore. But no, this is a *gag* horror comedy that's so bland and tame that all I can think is that, at one time, Troma was thinking of moving into the PG-13 arena. They didn't pursue this idea maybe because this film is so anaemic.
Don't waste 90 mins of your life. Watch one of Troma's classics instead (Bloodsucking Freaks and Mother's Day instantly spring to mind).
Possession (1981)
An insane masterpiece
A couple are going through a divorce in Berlin. But this isn't Kramer vs Kramer.
I know this plot summary is basic, to say the least, but a) once you see the film, you'll know why this plot has been reduced to one line, and b) I don't want to ruin any surprises for you.
I first saw Possession as it was on the list of Video Nasties here in the UK. After I had seen it, I wondered what the hell I had just experienced, but I knew that I had loved it.
Possession is unhinged, neurotic, on the edge, over the edge and a complete and utter one-off. If ever a movie was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it's this.
Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani give the most demented performances I've ever seen in a movie, but this isn't narcissistic overacting, this is full-tilt boogie insania and really is something to behold.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
The Howling (1981)
Horror Masterpiece
Newsreader Karen White has been maintaining regular contact with serial killer Eddie Quist, aka Eddie The Mangler. He arranges to meet her, and she agrees, albeit whilst she is monitored by the police so that they can catch him. The experience traumatises her to such an extent that Dr George Waggoner suggests that she goes to a retreat he runs for survivors of trauma called The Retreat. She goes there with her husband but finds that this locale is not what it seems.
The Howling was one of the first movies my family ever rented on home video when we bought our first VCR in 1983. I then remember recording the film shortly after this as it was shown on TV. I watched the film over and over again! I also remember reading the original book by Gary Brandner around this time. It's very different from the movie and an excellent read.
After watching this movie again recently, I was staggered by how much I still loved it. I kept thinking, 'God, I love this movie!' during the film's runtime. I was also blown away by the Scream Factory Blu-Ray. The picture and sound, not to mention the wealth of special features, are a revelation for fans of the film.
1981, when the film was made, was a treat for werewolf fans. You wait forever for a new lycanthrope movie, and three appear at once, with An American Werewolf in London and Wolfen being released the same year. Wolfen is the most radically different of the trio but no less brilliant. Both The Howling and American Werewolf perform a tricky manoeuvre, but they both succeed brilliantly at it- they are both horror movies that are very scary still, but both contain brilliant humour but not at the expense of the horror. They also both contain special effects and transformations that were wayyy ahead of their time. Rob Bottin is a genius.
The Howling contains uniformly impressive turns from a stellar cast (Belinda Balaski, Dennis Dugan, Patrick Mcnee, Christopher Stone, Kevin McCarthy, to name but a few), but it's Dee Wallace who steals the show. Her acting is off the chart, as it is in everything she stars in. Apparently, she employs the Method Acting approach to her roles and was on edge permanently on set as she believed that werewolves were real and were out to get her! Check out some of the outtakes for the film, and you'll see her jump out of her skin during some scenes. Also, witness the scene where she goes to meet Eddie and the therapy session where she is asked to recreate the episode, and you'll see some of the best acting in horror history. The scene in the bookstore is one of the most terrifying sequences I've ever seen in a movie.
I also love the cameos within The Howling, whether it's Roger Corman waiting outside the phone booth Karen is in (he enters and checks the change drawer!) and Forrest J Ackerman (clutching copies of Famous Monsters of Filmland!) in the occult shop run by Dick Miller. This is a horror fan's wet dream of a movie. Also, notice all of the wolf references, whether it's old film clips or cartoons or the can of Wolf Chili and a copy of Howl by Allan Ginsberg on a desktop.
Also, check out the gorgeous colour palate of the movie and also Joe Dante's masterful direction and the way that the humans are shown to be minuscule in proportion to their rural surroundings. Woodland has never looked as threatening or inviting as in this movie. The film also gives the woods a kind of supernatural power, as if they propel people to operate on a more primal rather than rational level. There's a dark nursery rhyme/ folk tale quality that The Howling operates within, which is also brilliant.
Certain horror movies that I obsessed over as a kid have aged like fine wines. Watching them as an adult brings all of that childlike wonder back to the surface, with their brilliance being still evident. The first three Halloween movies are a good example. Watcher in the Woods is another. And so is The Howling. A joy from start to finish.
Phantasm II (1988)
Could have been better
I first heard about Phantasm 2 through my love of Fangoria and Gorezone magazines, which I devoured religiously in the 80's and 90's. The stills from the film were so otherworldly, gory and darkly innovative that I couldn't wait to see the movie. When it was finally released in the UK, the first film wasn't readily available, so I was watching the sequel for a film I had never seen and hadn't even heard of before. I enjoyed the film nonetheless, even though I didn't know what was going on.
I then got to see the original and thought it was a masterpiece, as I still do.
On watching the sequel, I have mixed feelings towards it. It concerns Mike from the original being released from a mental facility and going on the road to track down and kill The Tall Man.
As this was made for Universal Studios, some sacrifices had to be made. The studio insisted on a jobbing actor to play Mike, and so Micheal Baldwin from the first film was out as he had given up acting. This is a major setback for the film. James Le Gros, who plays Mike in this sequel, just isn't as good.
Whilst there are aspects of this film that I love (the introduction of The Tall Man speaking telepathically to people, the evolution of the spheres, some of the humourous sequences), there's much that dilutes the film's impact. The fact that the film seems to be more action-orientated, the attempts by director Coscarelli to make Reggie's character into a cult movie hero a la Ash from the Evil Dead sequels, the lack of Tall Man action (the first hour of the film is largely Tall Man-free and is a slow burn in that very little happens) and the fact that the silver spheres only really make an appearance until the film's final act all affect what could have been a great and worthy sequel to a classic horror anomaly.
This is still fun to watch, but I kept on thinking that I would rather be watching the original (which is not the response that was sought by cast and crew).
Alien 2: sulla Terra (1980)
Solid Italian gorefest
This Italian film was made before the trademark of the better-known Alien film was registered. After the success of Ridley Scott's movie, it was duly released as Alien 2. It may have been cheekily named as if it was a sequel to this film, but it wasn't.
Cave explorers find more than they bargained for- creatures that feed on humans and can make their bodies seemingly explode.
There are enough kills, gore and bad dubbing to satiate the most ardent horror fan here.
I loved the film's conclusion...but, of course, I won't spoil it for you.
I also love any film where the pseudonym Oliver Onions is used in the credits.
Murder by Phone (1982)
Solid TV horror movie
An ex-telephone worker with a serious chip on his shoulder is murdering people by playing deadly frequencies down the phone to anyone who answers. This results in them bleeding from their eyes, nose, mouth and ears and then being blasted backwards with such force that it kills them. But don't worry- Richard Chamberlain is on the case.
Bells (1982) is also known as Murder By Phone. It's a solid thriller that will forever have a special place in my heart, as it was one of the first videos I ever rented in the early days of home video here in the UK. In those days, there were loads of businesses that rented out videos as a sideline. I hired this film from a place called Clockmakers (strange name for a bookshop, but there you go. Just kidding), which specialised in loads of Guild Home Video titles like the Marvel cartoons from the '60s, Scanners and When A Stranger Calls.
The effects of the phone calls are pretty cool and have aged nicely. There's also a great score by John Barry, but with this not being orchestral but synth-led instead (rare for Barry).
All in all, this feels like a TV movie that was shown on a Sunday night here in the UK. And that's no insult.
Der Fan (1982)
Cinematic Shocker!
Simone is so obsessed with her favourite pop star (the mysteriously named 'R') that she can't eat or concentrate in school anymore. She waits for his reply to the letter she wrote, but nothing arrives. She goes to the TV studio where he is due to appear on a music programme, he sees her, likes what he sees and invites her inside. To tell you anything more would be to completely ruin this gem of a movie.
Let's just say that the expression 'That escalated quickly' is perfect for this film. The final act is so messed up that I'm surprised this movie never appeared on my radar until about two weeks ago.
The whole movie is fantastic- the slow burn, almost dream-like state of her fan worship and then the shocking denouement of what happens when her and R actually meet and become acquainted. This is a very worthy entry into the crazed fan genre (think The King of Comedy, The Fan et al) and is also a brilliant precursor for the 'crazy girl' genre.
It also gives us an insight into early 80's German life and how certain practices during World War 2 have made an indelible mark on Simone.
There's also an amazing minimalist soundtrack of drum machines and synths. Think of a stripped-down version of Kraftwerk, and you're on the right lines.
I loved this movie.
Rituals (1977)
Sufferance not Deliverance
Rituals is a Canadian horror film about five doctors who decide to go camping in the wilderness. What could possibly go wrong?
The obvious reference point for this film is Deliverance. I think of Rituals as 'Sufferance' instead.
A great cast (Hal Holbrook would go on to star in John Carpenter's masterpiece The Fog, Lawrence Dane, who also produced Rituals, would star in Cronenberg's similarly iconic Scanners) in a dire, slow and very boring movie.
This film outstays its welcome by its entire running time. The characters aren't likeable in the slightest, and so it's hard to care what happens to them.
When I looked at the comments for this film on YouTube, most commentators stated how grateful they were that a decent copy of the film had been uploaded and that this was a film that hadn't received the acclaim it so rightfully deserved. Excuse me?! Rituals is about as welcome as a toothache. It reminded me of one of those really boring and average B-movies that would be shown as part of a double bill at the cinema when it was fashionable for two films to be shown together back in the day.
Dullsville.
Camping del terrore (1986)
Solid slasher movie
Stop me if you've heard this one before...a group of teens go camping but find that they are being preyed upon by a killer.
Body Count was a movie that I saw on the shelves of the many video shops in my area but never got around to seeing. I don't know why because the video artwork was excellent. So many slasher movies, so little time.
I was prepared to be underwhelmed when I finally saw it, as watching so many bad examples of the subgenre has made me somewhat jaded. But, instead, I found that it's pretty good!
The fact that it was directed by Ruggero Deodato certainly helped. Also, the fact that David Hess and Charles Napier are in the cast certainly helped too.
The kills and plot twists reminded me of Just Before Dawn and showed that that could be originality in this most cliched of horror movies back in the day.
It doesn't excuse the number of women who fall over when running from the killer, though. My eyes were rolling as I watched these incidents.
There also seems to have been a product placement deal with Kellogg's cereal with this production, which is odd.
All in all, it's a good slasher movie.
Hospital Massacre (1981)
Surreal, nightmarish hospital slasher movie
X-Ray starts with a prelude in 1961 with a boy called Harold leaving a Valentine's Day card for a girl he fancies called Susan. He watches through her front window to see what her reaction to his card is. She laughs about it with her brother and screws it up. In a rage, Harold breaks into the house and kills her brother. Harsh.
The action then fast-forwards to the modern day (well, 1981, anyway). Susan is now a young woman and going to a hospital to collect test results after her new job asks her to complete a medical. However, she soon discovers that an orderly is stalking her and not to give her her medical results.
X-Ray was also released under the name Hospital Massacre. I love hospital-based horror movies. The viciousness of Visting Hours, the brutal beauty of Halloween 2. Will X-Ray hold up when compared to these two fine films?
The answer is yes. There's a different kind of vibe to the film that I've never experienced with any other slasher movie. Susan quickly finds that although she just expected to pop in and pop out of this medical facility, events conspire to prevent this. There's almost something Kafkaesque to proceedings. Check out the authoritarian doctor and his two henchmen nurses who let her know in no uncertain terms that she isn't going anywhere. This is a form of horror in itself- having your freedom taken away.
There's also something unsettling about the others in the hospital. They're all stark raving mad and wouldn't be out of place in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or a Fellini film. Witness the co-inhabitants of the room she is made to reside in during her unexpected stay. Also, the chase scene near the end, where she runs into a room to find three men in traction who start to clap their plaster-cast limbs together like performing seals on acid. 'WTF?!' I kept thinking.
But this is all excellent. It beats the vast majority of slasher films that are formulaic cash-ins.
There are occasional moments that lapse into standard slasher cliche, though. The scene in which she is hiding from her psycho doctor and knocks some files off a filing cabinet had me rolling my eyes. Has she never seen a slasher movie before?!
But, on the whole, this movie surprised me. I never thought a slasher movie could dumbfound me, but in the past, some have (Pieces and Madman instantly spring to mind).
BTW, the actress who plays the young Susan is one of the three psycho kids in the excellent Bloody Birthday, as was the actor who played Harold.
Killer Workout (1987)
As vapid as the characters
Members of Rhonda's Workout gym are being bumped off. But who is the killer?
Killer Workout was released on video in the UK as Aerobicide.
This is, as you would expect, a slasher movie set around a gym/beauty spa. Hence, we get the whodunnit aspect of the narrative, red herrings as to who the killer may be and, as this is an 80's movie, bad hair, the overuse of syn drums on the soundtrack and lots of pastel-coloured gym outfits. There are also loads of examples of bad acting and bad fight scenes. The killer uses what looks like an oversized bobby pin for some of the murders (!)
We also get to see women working out in full makeup and wearing enough hairspray to create another huge hole in the Ozone Layer.
Getting through this film is like an endurance test, even if the last 10 minutes are pretty interesting. This is a horror movie I would have rented from my local video shop back in the day and booed at when the end credits rolled.
Killer Workout is the worst type of film, in my view- not good, not bad, just bland.
Please don't waste your time. I'd rather clean out cupboards than watch this movie again.
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
An acid trip of a movie
Prince Prospero sees that local villagers are suffering from the Red Death, but rather than help them, he demands that the village is burnt down, but not before he has taken a local young woman as his own. Her father and her husband seek revenge and want to save her from Prospero's clutches.
The Masque of The Red Death is my favourite of the Corman Poe adaptations. Everything just seemed to fall into place with this film. There is amazing direction by Corman, a colour palate that is akin to a 1960s acid trip and a supporting cast that is top-notch, including Patrick Magee (the author in A Clockwork Orange, another film with a colour palate that makes your eyes water) and Jane Asher (before her cake-baking overtook her film career).
But, there is but one star of this film and that is, of course, Vincent Price. This is one of his career-defining performances and is full of knowing looks, the raising of eyebrows and the delivery of lines that are sardonic, bleakly funny and utterly brilliant. Anyone else in this role would have seemed wrong. He was born to play Prospero.
It would seem that Masque has famous fans as well. It was Martin Scorsese who was behind the restoration of the film for a recent Blu Ray release. This is a fitting tribute to Corman as Scorsese made Boxcar Bertha for his studio.
I'd give my right arm to see this opus on the big screen. One day it might happen.