Bad Moon is a 1996 American supernatural horror feature film written and directed by Eric Red (Body Parts) and produced by James G. Robinson. It is based on the novel Thor by Wayne Smith, which mainly tells the story from the dog’s viewpoint.
The movie stars Mariel Hemingway (Rise of the Zombies; Tales from the Crypt ‘Loved to Death’), Michael Paré (Abbatoir; Bone Tomahawk; Sicilian Vampire), and Mason Gamble.
A few seconds were cut from the opening scene in order to avoid an NC-17. The film was a box office flop – grossing just over $1 million domestically on a $7 million budget – although it has since built up a decent cult following.
Bad Moon was released on Blu-ray by Scream Factory on July 19th 2016 with the following special features:
The high-definition theatrical cut of the film, plus a new director’s version supervised and approved by Eric Red (30 seconds difference – there’s slightly more gore and nudity in the prologue, while the digital transformation at the climax is trimmed down)
“Nature of the Beast: Making Bad Moon” featuring interviews with writer/director Eric Red, actors Michael Pare and Mason Gamble, Special Effects Make-up artist Steve Johnson, and stunt coordinator Ken Kirzinger
Audio Commentary with writer/director Eric Red (Director’s version only)
Audio Commentary with writer/director Eric Red and actor Michael Pare (Theatrical Cut)
The unrated opening scene from the Director’s first cut (Sourced from VHS)
Three Storyboard sequences
Original Theatrical Trailer
Plot:
While on assignment in the jungles of Nepal, photojournalist Ted Harrison (Michael Pare) and his girlfriend are savagely attacked by a hideous beast which tears the woman to shreds and leaves Ted badly mauled.
He later returns to the States to live near his sister Janet (Mariel Hemingway), nephew Brett (Mason Gamble) and their German shepherd Thor, hoping the presence of family will dispel the horrific memories… until the inevitable effects of a werewolf curse begin to surface.
As Ted’s humanity begins slipping away, only the family dog begins to suspect something is wrong — but poor Thor ends up being the chief suspect in a string of recent murders…
Bad Moon doesn’t have what one would call a complicated story. The wayward brother becomes a werewolf and moves in with his sister. That’s it. But the werewolf makeup was great and the kills were fantastic. The hot babe who gets it at the beginning was appropriately bloody and, of course, the big climax scene with Thor was great.” Dr Gore’s Movie Reviews
“This movie was so unbearable that I would have preferred a literal translation of the title. Two hours of looking up at Marlon Brando’s butt cheeks squashed flat against a glass tabletop would have been a preferable to this werewolf masterpiece — and probably more hairy.” Mr Cranky
“While it is constantly dragged down by the complete lack of logic and shoddy performances, there are two distinct features that make this a hit amongst fans: Christopher Allen Nelson’s gory effects and one of the most convincing costume designs ever conceived” I Like Horror Movies
“Michael Pare does a damn good job as villainous Ted, working hard to convey a sense of rotted humanity within him, doing the work until Red reveals the werewolf in the light, and then the bang up special effects complete the transformation. Considering the budget and period, the special effects and monster of “Bad Moon” still looks incredible in motion and Red’s strong direction matched with the excellent editing offer up a wonderful climax…” Cinema Crazed
“Bad Moon isn’t a great film, but it is a competent one with enough inspiration and individuality to impress. It is easy to see why it has built up an affectionate little following over the last few decades.” The Blu File
“It’s impossible to hate any movie in which the hero is a magnificent German Shepherd, but that angle is about all that Bad Moon has going for it … extremely thin on the narrative side, and Paré’s character fails to make consistent sense, but the effects aren’t bad.” Creative Loafing
Killer Condom – original title Kondom des Grauens (translation: “Condom of Horror” – is a 1996 German comedy horror feature film based on the comic book of the same name by Dylan Kenyon.
The film was directed by Martin Walz and featured Kurt Scobbie as its special effects coordinator. Artist H.R. Giger (Species; Alien) was a creative consultant. It was distributed in the United States by Troma Entertainment.
Plot:
New York City: Gay detective Luigi Mackeroni (Udo Samel) has been hired to investigate a series of bizarre attacks at the Hotel Quickie in which male guests have all had their penises mysteriously bitten off.
Whilst at the crime scene, he enlists the services of a gigolo named Billy and invites him up to the crime room. Before the two men engage in sex, a carnivorous living condom interrupts them and bites off Mackeroni’s right testicle.
Now on a personal vendetta, Mackeroni begins his lone quest to not only bring a stop to the rash of condom attacks, but also face his true feelings toward Billy the gigolo…
Reviews:
‘One part crime drama, one part comedy, one part ultra-low budget horror movie (dig the cardboard cut out of a nurse float pass the door in the hospital) and one part gay movie. That’s right, this certainly isn’t a movie for everyone. If you have a problem with seeing naked guys together, you best leave right now and not look back.’ IGN
“The carnivorous contraceptive, which admittedly shares some similarities to Giger’s work on the sandworm from Dune, has teeth like a lamprey and makes cartoon sound effects as it squirms around … Killer Condom is not your average B-movie, but if you’re looking for something a bit different, it definitely is awfully good.” Jason Adams, JoBlo.com
” …we still have the danger of AIDS this is a film that is willing to show you the dangers of carnivorous condoms. On top that this film poke fun at the stereotypes of macho men and action hero’s. Also the film has a nice gritty sleaze feel to it being full of hookers, perverts and religious fanatics.” Horror News
Nightmare Concert(A Cat in the Brain) – Italian: Un gatto nel cervello – is a 1990 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci (The House by the Cemetery; Zombie Flesh Eaters; A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin; et al) from a screenplay co-written with Giovanni Simonelli and Antonio Tentori.
Nightmare Concert is one of Fulci’s final films and is notable for self-reflexively summing up his career. The film is a meta-film in which the director appears playing himself, a tortured horror filmmaker who is driven by the violent visions that he experiences both behind the camera and off the set.
Feeling like he’s losing his grip on reality and disturbed by murderous fantasies, Fulci consults a psychotherapist. The “shrink” exploits the director’s vulnerabilities to his own murderous ends.
Juxtaposing gory horror clips from several of his own recently horror films that he either directed and/or produced, Fulci shot a wrap-around segment and used Vincenzo Tomassi’s film editing (as well as his own voice over) to create the storyline – a personal insight into the effects of horror filmmaking on the psyche. The resulting film was composed almost entirely in post-production. The wrap-around segments featuring Fulci were largely shot in and around Rome’s famous Cinecittà Studios.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“Most of the gore effects are pretty shoddy, but they’re so over-the-top that they tend to nauseate regardless (naturally, the film was banned in the U.K. for a number of years). The acting (especially when watching the English language version) is mostly laughable, though Fulci is fascinating to watch as himself in a series of ambiguous routines.” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-in
“Fulci keeps the feature trashy, spotlighting nudity and sex with loving detail, and there’s enough unexplained events to blur concentration on the production’s limitations, finding a few violent outbursts merely hinted at. It’s wildly silly stuff at times, but there’s a darkness to Cat in the Brain that’s convincing, even when pieces of this puzzle are never meant to join together.” Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com
You might find yourself, like I did, wondering what the point is. But the more time you spend with Cat in the Brain, the more it grows on you. Fulci’s work in front of the camera becomes more interesting, the humor in his performance and in the dialogue more obvious and more biting and the whole vibe a bit more playful, despite the fact that, yeah, it’s clearly malicious. This isn’t the man’s best film, not by a wide margin, but it’s certainly one of his more interesting.” Ian Jane, Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Chainsaw eviscerations, decapitations, piano-wire throat slashings, intestines being fed to ravenous pigs, eye-gougings, masses of T&A, graphic knifings, tongue-rippings… all and much more are present and correct. And I mean much more!” Chas Balun’s Deep Red
“Although punctuated by grisly visions of death, putrefaction and dismemberment, the mood of the film is almost as facetious as The Touch of Death. The insane psychiatrist Swharz (David L. Thompson) exhibits the same sort of maniacal glee as Halsey in the earlier film. His risible amalgam of ‘crazy’ grins and goggle-eyed mirth squanders what could have been an interesting idea.” Stephen Thrower, Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci
“Newcomers to Fulci will definitely wonder what the fuss is about: the acting is uniformly terrible, the visuals are crude at best, and Fabio Frizzi’s score awkwardly mixes new muzak compositions with excerpts from his past glory days (mainly The Beyond). Scene for scene, this may be Fulci’s goriest film, and this aspect alone has earned it some fan loyalty; on another level, it’s a bizarre cry for understanding…” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital
“It’s all very nasty stuff, that even heavy use of Edvard Grieg’s classical-music hit “In the Hall of the Mountain King” can’t serve as a reliable salve. It really is like a proto-Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, but one that most video viewers won’t have the stomach to take. I can’t say I really blame them.” Rod Lott, Flick Attack
Cast and characters:
Lucio Fulci as Himself
Brett Halsey as Human Monster [footage from Touch of Death]
David L. Thompson as Professor Egon Swharz
Jeoffrey Kennedy as Officer Gabrielli
Malisa Longo as Katya Schwarz
Ria De Simone as Sopran [footage from Touch of Death]
Sacha Darwin as Woman in the oven [footage from Touch of Death]
Robert Egon as Himself/Second Human Monster [footage from Ghosts of Sodom]
Herschell Gordon Lewis (June 15, 1929 – September 26, 2016) was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the “splatter” subgenre of horror films.
He is often referred to as the “Godfather of Gore”, though his film career has included works in a range of exploitation film genres including juvenile delinquent films, nudie-cuties, two children’s films and at least one rural comedy.
Herschell Gordon Lewis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1929. His father died when he was six years old. His mother never remarried; and his family then moved to Chicago.
After graduating from high school, Lewis received a master’s degree in Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. A few years later, he became a professor of English literature at Mississippi State University.
In 1953, Lewis began working for a friend’s advertising agency in Chicago while teaching graduate advertising courses at night at Roosevelt University. He began directing TV commercial advertisements.
Lewis served as producer on his first film venture, The Prime Time (1959). He would assume directing duties on nearly all of his films from then on. His first in a lengthy series of collaborations with exploitation producer David F. Friedman, Living Venus (1961), was a fictitious account based on the story of Hugh Hefner and the beginnings of Playboy.
The two continued with a series of erotic films in the early 1960s. Typical of these nudies were the comedies Boin-n-g! (1963) and The Adventures of Lucky Pierre (1961).
With the nudie market beginning to wane, Lewis and Friedman entered into uncharted territory with 1963’s seminal Blood Feast, considered by most critics to be the first “gore” film.
Incredibly cheap and cheesy, the film nonetheless stunning audiences with the jaw-dropping gore on display. They formed queues at drive-ins to see it. The splatter sub-genre was born!
The far superiorTwo Thousand Maniacs! (1964) followed, with a whole town getting in on the mayhem. And this one included great singalong ditty ‘The South’s Gonna Rise Again’
Color Me Blood Red (1965) followed the same formula but was about a deranged artist and more low key. Still, the full-color gore on display in these films caused a sensation, with horror film-makers throughout the world gradually saturating their productions with similarly shocking visual effects.
Outside the gore sub-genre, Lewis pursued a wide gamut of other exploitation avenues. Some of the subjects he explored include juvenile delinquency (Just for the Hell of It, 1968), wife swapping (Suburban Roulette, 1968), the corruption of the music industry (Blast-Off Girls, 1967), and birth control (The Girl, the Body, and the Pill, 1967).
He was also not above tapping the children’s market, as with Jimmy the Boy Wonder (1966) and The Magic Land of Mother Goose (1967), which were padded out to feature film length by incorporating long foreign-made cartoons.
Lewis financed and produced nearly all of his own movies with funds he made from his successful advertising firm based in Chicago. Always resourceful despite the low budgets he worked with, Lewis purchased the rights to an unfinished Bill Rebane film and completed it himself, re-titling the film Monster a Go-Go (1965). This approach demonstrated Lewis’s business savvy; by owning the rights to both features, he knew he would not get fleeced by theaters juggling the box office returns, a common practice at that time.
Lewis’s third gore phase served to push the genre into even more outrageous shock territory. Starting with The Gruesome Twosome (1967), he went onto The Wizard of Gore (1968, released 1970) featured a stage magician who would mutilate his volunteers severely through a series of merciless routines.
By The Gore Gore Girls (1972) he had begun to lampoon himself and this last dark comedy would mark his semi-retirement from film altogether. He decided to leave the filmmaking industry to work in copywriting and direct marketing, a subject on which he published several books in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, interest in his splatter movies continued to grow as more and more horror fans began to appreciate the naive charm of his outlandish oeuvre. Sequels to Two Thousand Maniacs! and a remake of The Wizard of Gore proved that Lewis’ lasting influence on the horror genre had been firmly established.
In 2002, Lewis himself was finally drawn back into the film world, released his first film in thirty years, Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat, a sequel to the first film. It featured a cameo appearance by John Waters, a devotee of Lewis’ work.
In 2016, he proved to still be a draw as Canadian anthology movie Herschell Gordon Lewis’ BloodManiawas filmed with his name as part of the title. The same year, Blood Feast was remade in France with a small cameo role for Lewis. He was still enjoying being the Godfather of Gore!
Everything I Need to Know to Survive Covid-19 I Learned by Watching Sci-Fi and Horror Movies is a satirical mash-up of clips compiled and edited together by Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty and editor Evan Gorski with Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ as the background music.
The mashup, which was was posted on YouTube on 6th May 2020, and [spoiler alert] contains clips of movies such as Alien; The Birds; Dawn of the Dead; The Fly (1986); I Am Legend; Jaws; The Mist; Night of the Living Dead (1968); Rosemary’s Baby; Shaun of the Dead; The Shining; They Live; The Thing; The World’s End; World War Z and others.
Psycho is a 1998 American horror-thriller feature film about a young female thief who arrives at the Bates Motel, only to be killed shortly afterwards. The movie is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic of the same name. Both films are loosely adapted from Robert Bloch‘s 1959 novel of the same name which was turned into a screenplay by Joseph Stefano. The remake follows the original script closely, deviating only to update details to 1998 and to make the murders more explicit.
Directed and co-produced by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting; To Die For; My Own Private Idaho), the Imagine Entertainment production stars Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, Robert Forster and Philip Baker Hall.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“The problem with Gus Van Sant’s Psycho is that it’s a dry academic exercise that never feels like anything other than, well, a dry academic exercise. Van Sant’s much-maligned folly ultimately belongs not in a movie theater or a drive-in but in a fancy pants conceptual art museum in a wing devoted to pretentious experiments in pointlessness.” AV Club
“The film had a talented director and an incredibly talented case. They all had the best intentions and yet the end result was nothing short of a mess. It’s a movie that doesn’t need to exist. It serves no purpose other than just to be something that is there. And that’s too bad.” Bloody Disgusting
“It seems that Vaughn struggled to get into the character during his first few scenes with Heche but then gradually steeped himself within Norman’s psyche. Also quite good are James Remar as the dark-shaded patrolman and Robert Forster as Dr Simon, Norman’s psychiatrist. Van Sant’s version of Psycho has some nice things going for it but it can’t hold a candle to the original.” Blu-ray.com
“If Vaughn had been allowed the leeway to go beyond a mere duplication of Perkins’s performance, he’d undoubtedly have found another way to help us believe Norman’s mother fixation.) The result is a slew of studied, tepid performances from actors who can do much more.” Flick Filosopher
” …there’s definitely a lot to be gained from viewing this as an academic exercise. Director Gus Van Sant knows how pointless it is to try and remake such an acclaimed masterpiece, and he makes a great effort to highlight the futility of the exercise. Before you even see one bit of the performances on display, just watching the opening credits is enough to put you off.” For It is Man’s Number
“Slow, stilted, completely pointless scene-for-scene remake of the Hitchcock classic (with a few awkward new touches to taint its claim as an exact replica.) […] an insult, rather than a tribute, to a landmark film…” Leonard Maltin’s Film Guide
Norman Bates (Vaughn) giggles now, which is the extent of Vaughn’s vaunted “making the character my own.” He’s about as terrifying as a tranquillized dachshund. I can’t tell you they had a decent cast, because that’s just like the old one. I can tell you that Lila Crane is a lesbian, according to Julianne Moore. I can also tell you that it’s still good to see her and Macy, even in a farce like this.” Need Coffee
“Think of this return to Bates Motel as more of a fascinating experiment that’s concerned with how art operates rather than creating actual thrills or shocks. After all, when you know what’s coming, it’s hard to be surprised; but you probably are left asking yourself why you’re bothering anyway, which is what I think the film wants you to do.” Oh, the Horror!
“The lure of an exact remake presents a tremendous challenge. Unfortunately, it was undoubtedly a lot more stimulating for Van Sant and his crew to make Psycho than it is for an audience to watch it. As I indicated above, curiosity is going to be one of the primary reasons why people pay money to see this movie; boredom will be the predominant result.” Reel Views
” …an invaluable experiment in the theory of cinema, because it demonstrates that a shot-by-shot remake is pointless; genius apparently resides between or beneath the shots, or in chemistry that cannot be timed or counted.” Roger Ebert
” …it was such a strange project that it resembled someone dreaming of Psycho after watching it immediately before bed, familiar but far from the real deal, its authenticity drained by what looked surreally false. That it was never going to succeed made it all the more bizarre.” The Spinning Image
“While les hasbian Anne Heche (where’d shego?) is acceptable as Marion and the always lovely Moore is equally fine with being Lila, as is Macy as the detective. Herein lies the blandness of it all – they’re all just fine. Nobody’s gonna win anything for tracing a masterpiece and then painting by numbers.” Vegan Voorhees
Cast and characters:
Vince Vaughn … Norman Bates
Anne Heche … Marion Crane
Julianne Moore … Lila Crane
Viggo Mortensen … Sam Loomis
William H. Macy … Milton Arbogast
Robert Forster … Doctor Simon
Philip Baker Hall … Sheriff Chambers
Anne Haney … Mrs Chambers
Chad Everett … Tom Cassidy
Rance Howard … Mr Lowery
Rita Wilson … Caroline
James Remar … Patrolman
James Le Gros … Car Dealer (as James LeGros)
Steven Clark Pachosa … Police Guard
O.B. Babbs … Mechanic
Flea … Bob Summerfield
Marjorie Lovett … Woman Customer
Ryan Cutrona … Chief of Police
Ken Jenkins … District Attorney
Roy Brocksmith … Man in Cowboy Hat outside Realty Office (uncredited)
Rose Marie … Norma Bates (voice) (uncredited)
Gus Van Sant … Man Talking to Man in Cowboy Hat (uncredited)
Technical details:
105 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Audio: Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS
Release:
December 4th 1998
Box office:
Psycho (1998) took $37,170,655 worldwide on a reported budget of $60 million. The 1960 original cost a mere $806,947 and took $50 million at the box office.
Lost in Space is a 1998 science fiction action feature film about the Robinson family that goes into space to fight for a chance for humanity. They end up fighting to live long enough to find a way home.
Directed by Stephen Hopkins (The Reaping; Predator 2; A Nightmare on Elm Street 5) from a screenplay written Akiva Goldsman, based on characters from the Irwin Allen television series, the movie stars William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, Matt LeBlanc, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert and Jack Johnson.
Review:
A mighty trilogy from New Line Cinema that would take turn-of-the-20th-century viewers to incredible new worlds of fantasy, lore and adventure!!!… Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings cycle? No. A few years before that, a three-parter had apparently been determined for Lost in Space, an FX-laden relaunch of a nostalgically remembered American TV show from the 1960s.
Mediocre reception for 1998’s $70 million (back when that was rather a lot of money) Lost in Space movie meant that the continuing adventure… never did. But that sure does explain a few things for me with this costly, eye-filling epic: subplots and characters introduced that never pay off, dangling storylines, meandering motivations, and an overarching sense that the whole thing was simultaneously overthought and underthought.
Behold Earth of 2058 (already looking as inaccurate as did the 1965 TV show’s fictitious incept date of 1997). With the planet’s resources tapped out, scientists aim to send humanity looking for more upscale real estate in the cosmos. Professor John Robinson (William Hurt), the developer of a faster-than-light drive, gets to test the technology in the maiden voyage of the Jupiter 2 saucer, his whole family aboard in a symbolic exploratory hop to a distant star.
But terrorists with no clear agenda have paid freelance traitor Doctor Zachary Smith (Gary Oldman) to sabotage the flight. Smith gets trapped aboard the Jupiter 2 when it uncontrollably warps to a random spot in the galaxy.
With an unrepentant Smith their perpetual prisoner and foil, the Robinsons and their would-be macho guest pilot Don West (Matt LeBlanc) rush at comet velocity through perils sewn together by director Stephen Hopkins in the style of a 64-bit video game set to demo mode. There’s an excursion to a mysteriously adrift starship crawling with ferocious, giant bugs (for those who didn’t get enough of that cliché in Men in Black and Starship Troopers), hastily followed by a sojourn on a nearby, unstable planet, as the Jupiter 2 castaways try to determine a way back home. Though, of course, if they really did succeed in that, there would be no call for the planned sequels.
TV’s original Lost in Space, produced by big-things-going-boom Hollywood mogul Irwin Allen, was a sci-fi version of the venerable Swiss Family Robinson castaway premise. The network program was noteworthy not only for an early John (“Johnny”) Williams score but also for its schizoid arc, beginning in black-and-white as fairly sombre Mercury Space Program attitude, then morphing – with the introduction of colour cinematography and studies of what was most appealing to American viewers – into garish silliness. Grimly confronted alien threats got replaced with galactic long-haired bikers and, at one point, a half-man-half-carrot.
TV’s Doctor Smith (thespian Jonathan Harris gamely running the gamut) started out a genuine menace but ended a simpering comic-relief buffoon, squalling “the pain, the pain!” and playing off his squabbles with the Robinson’s trusty Robot (“You bubbleheaded boobie!”) or the young science prodigy Will Robinson (Billy Mumy in the show, Jack Johnson in this feature).
Welding the unmatching bits together for the New Line reboot, fell to blockbuster screenwriter/producer Akiva Goldsman, fresh off doing two campy Batman movies that were generally considered not the Dark Knight’s finest hour. Thus there are lots of clever comic-bookish lines, a front-loading of cameos by actors from the original show (June Lockhart, Marc Goddard, etc) and other inside jokes.
Silicon Graphics, responsible for lots of spiffy f/x in otherwise empty movie spectacles when CGI was Hollywood’s latest bright shiny toy, churned out great eye candy in terms of bubble-hood spaceships, domed cities, shimmering force fields, clattering arachnids, and a squirmy alien pet the Robinsons acquire, Hollywood’s most nauseatingly cute sci-fi lifeform since the Ewok. Jim Henson’s workshop built not one but two animatronic iterations of young Will’s famed Robot. In case some of the imaginative ergonomic gadgets and production designs (Stephen Hopkins went with a futuristic veneer that largely eschewed right angles) flashed past too fast, toy versions were available at retailers everywhere.
What Lost in Space needs more is a sense of wonder, suspense, involvement, terror, discovery… Key sensations even Irwin Allen’s original TV show managed to stir on occasion. In the evolution of sci-fi on American television, the debut of Star Trek right after Lost in Space is considered by many science-fiction fans to be when the medium at long last Got It Right. But in this 1998 version one watches the explosions and glitz with detachment and dry palms, appreciating mainly the gigabytes of hard-drive storage and hours at some terminal it must have taken to envision it.
What relaunched/re-lost Lost in Space should be remembered for is the contrast between the 90s Robinsons and their counterparts of yesteryear. Products of the pre-Vietnam, pre-feminist mindset (occasional encounters with space hippies notwithstanding), the ’60s Robinson clan was the idealised American household, with a wise and brave father, serenely domestic mother, and a trio of straight-A kids. The worst that ever happened was daughter Penny’s teen crush on Major West, or Will forgetting to keep his elbows off the table at dinner.
This one presents a Space Family Robinson for the downsized and dysfunctional ’90s, when the moms and dads (if any) must work three jobs just to pay the interest on the credit cards and kids get to run wild. Workaholic John Robinson rarely sees or listens to his children, and missed Will’s science fairs. Will hacks the school computer and isn’t above a PG-13 expletive. Penny (Lacey Chabert) is a truant goth chick. Judy is cold and emotionless in mimicry of dad, and mom (Mimi Rogers) mediates between the combatants. In the course of cataclysmic adventures, Professor Robinson learns to Always Be There for His Family, which was a standard Hollywood story arc of the era (I often wonder how many movie-industry marriages fell apart while the talents involved laboured overtime on save-your-family tales.
Gary Oldman, in the “coveted” role of Doctor Zachary Smith, expounds that he’s made a “profound philosophical choice” of evil over good, to forever be the serpent in the garden, Do What Thou Wilt and all that, as Goldsman’s dialogue tries to throttle-up the dialogue out of the juvenile realm. At least the thespian did a public service preventing other worthy
Brit actors (Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley, Terence Stamp, Jeremy Irons… Dame Maggie Smith, even) from selling out as one more upper-crust baddie in Hollywood drivel. O my brother, where were you when Malcolm McDowell needed you?
Following the iffy flight of this Lost in Space there came an unrelated Lost in Space Netflix series in 2018 that did indeed make Doctor Smith a female (Parker Posey); I haven’t made the acquaintance. As for this one, it’s there on video with the pretty pictures and the what-ifs? for viewers (and Akiva Goldsman’s bank account) if the rest of the spectacles had ever been made.
“Oldman should have stayed at home. LeBlanc comes courtesy of Dial-A-Hunk. Graham makes you forget she was in Boogie Nights. Rogers makes you forget. Hurt looks miserable as if he strayed onto the wrong sound stage. Chabert could have stolen the picture but is given nothing to do in the second half.” Eye for Film
“Without a clear narrative drive, there doesn’t seem to be much of a point to the whole endeavor. The desire to get home doesn’t generate the level of urgency one might reasonably expect, and the movie ends up feeling like a few episodes of Star Trek: Voyager strung together. ” Reel Views
“The film, running a tad over two hours, at times gets lost in its own kind of space, not sure which end is up. But a deft interplay among swaggering Major West, the muttering Professor John (protective of his daughter) and cute scientist Judy helps keep the trip fun.” San Francisco Chronicle, April 3, 1998.
Choice dialogue:
Major Don West: “Ok, last one to kill the bad guy gets the beer.”
Major Don West: “Ok, I’m puttin’ the pedal to the metal. Here goes.”
Doctor Smith: “I loathe children.”
Cast and characters:
William Hurt … John Robinson
Mimi Rogers … Maureen Robinson
Heather Graham … Judy Robinson
Lacey Chabert … Penny Robinson
Jack Johnson … Will Robinson
Gary Oldman … Doctor Smith / Spider Smith
Matt LeBlanc … Don West
Jared Harris … Older Will
Mark Goddard … General
Lennie James … Jeb Walker
Marta Kristen … Reporter #1
June Lockhart … Principal
Edward Fox … Businessman
Adam Sims … Lab Technician
Angela Cartwright … Reporter #2
Filming locations:
Principal photography began on March 3, 1997, at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England.
Box office:
Lost in Space reportedly cost $80 million and grossed $136.2 million worldwide.
The Creeps is a 1997 American comedy horror feature film about a scientist that brings Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and Frankenstein’s Monster to life… but there’s a problem and they end up three feet tall! It was re-released as Deformed Monsters
Directed by Charles Band (over 150 features) from a screenplay written by Neal Marshall Stevens [as Benjamin Carr] (Thir13en Ghosts; Hellraiser: Deader), the Full Moon Pictures-Tanna Productions movie stars Rhonda Griffin, Justin Lauer, Bill Moynihan, Kristin Norton, Jon Simanton, Joe Smith, Thomas Wellington and Phil Fondacaro.
Plot:
Mad scientist Winston Berber (Bill Moynihan) invents a machine that can bring mythic cultural archetypes to life. After Berber steals Mary Shelley’s original handwritten Frankenstein manuscript from her library, Anna Quarrels (Rhonda Griffin) enlists the help of amateur detective David Raleigh (Justin Lauer) to track down the priceless artefact… but they’re too late.
Berber uses his invention to bring Dracula (Phil Fondacaro, Troll), Frankenstein’s Monster (Thomas Wellington), Mummy (Joe Smith), and Wolfman (Jon Simanton, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie) to life, with hopes of ruling the world while his new minions do his bidding.
Unfortunately for Berber, something goes wrong. Rather than the hulking, imposing monsters of legend, they emerge as diminutive versions. To make matters worse, the uncontrollable creatures fail to obey his orders…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“There’s something embarrassingly entertaining about a three-foot-high werewolf, but that and a genuinely strong performance by veteran little-person actor Phil Fondacaro as Dracula are pretty much the extent of The Creeps‘ charms. It’s not all that funny, and not scary at all. However, like most Full Moon movies, it’s far from unwatchable…” AV Club
“The Creeps puts just enough of an original twist on well-trodden characters that have been on screen in hundreds of incarnation. The schlocky aspects largely add to the charm, though the film feels incomplete at 75 minutes. The set-up is there, but a big finale is sorely missed.” Broke Horror Fan
“The actors, recognizable from other roles, are quite good. The story takes a while to get going and the film’s running time is short, but the attack scenes are well done, particularly the one of the librarian at the altar.” Down Among the “Z’ Movies
“Rather flimsily-scripted and unevenly acted, The Creeps is redeemed by a touching performance by Phil Fondacaro (Meridian and TV’s Seinfeld) as well as a climactic argument about our cultural need for heroes and monsters (as well as the fangasmic name-checking of Jess Franco, Italian exploitation, Hong Kong crime films, and The Bad Lieutenant by filmmakers and actors who sound like they know what they’re talking about).” DVD Beaver
“While the acting and story of The Creeps are worth talking about, I really want to dive into how impressive the special makeup effects looked […] Gabriel Bartalos and his team of make-up artists managed to conjure up some of the best creature designs I’ve seen in Frankenstein and Wolfman history.” Repulsive Reviews
“The story itself is full of holes but it’s reasonably quick in its pace and the monster/makeup effects, as mentioned, are pretty solid. This is goofy stuff to be sure, but it’s entertaining in its own mindless sort of way.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Fans of Grade A cheese will definitely want to give The Creeps a go. Everything about it suggests it should be rubbish – the acting, the budget, the soundtrack, the ending – but in this case, multiple wrongs somehow do end up making a right.” That Was a Bit Mental
“With a lightweight tone and silly premise, this is certainly campy stuff and manages to be fairly entertaining despite the fact it’s really hard to be menaced by pint-size creatures (I mean come on, just push them out of the way and run!) […] Phil Fondacaro does decent as Dracula and Moynihan is amusing as the nebbish scientist.” The Video Graveyard
Choice dialogue:
David Raleigh: “She had a mole on her thigh! She wore pink panties! Just leave me alone! What are you doing?”
Rhonda Griffin: “As much as we need heroes we need our monsters. Because you’re a part of us too.”
Cast and characters:
• Rhonda Griffin … Anna Quarrels
• Justin Lauer … David Raleigh
• Bill Moynihan … Winston Berber
• Kristin Norton … Miss Christina
• Jon Simanton … Wolfman
• Joe Smith … Mummy
• Thomas Wellington … Frankenstein’s Monster
• Phil Fondacaro … Dracula
• J.W. Perra … Video Store Customer
• Andrea Harper … Stella, Video Store Clerk (as Andrea Squibb)
Technical details:
• 75 minutes
Trivia:
Filmed in StereoVision 3D: The movie was shot in 35mm using Chris Condon StereoVision lenses.
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Graveyard Shift is a 1990 American horror feature film directed by Ralph S. Singleton from a screenplay written by John Esposito (The Theatre Bizarre), based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King.
The story was first published in the 1970 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King’s 1978 collection Night Shift. It should not be confused with the 1987 film of the same title.
On a reported budget of $10.5 million, the film took $11,582,891 at the US box office but presumably worldwide receipts and ancillary sales turned more of a profit.
The movie stars David Andrews, Kelly Wolf, Stephen Macht, Brad Dourif, Vic Polizos, Robert Alan Beuth, Ilona Margolis, Jimmy Woodard, Jonathan Emerson, Minor Rootes, Kelly L. Goodman.
New Blu-ray release:
In the USA, Scream Factory is releasing Graveyard Shift on Blu-ray release on July 28th 2020. Order from Amazon.com
Special features:
• Two interviews with director/producer Ralph S. Singleton (new)
• Interview with actress Kelly Wolf (new)
• Interview with actor Stephen Macht (new)
• Interview with actor Vic Polizos (new)
• Interview with actor Robert Alan Beuth (new)
• Theatrical trailer
• Radio spot
Plot:
When an abandoned textile mill is reopened, several employees meet mysterious deaths. The link between the killings is that they all occurred between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. – the graveyard shift.
The sadistic mill foreman (Stephen Macht) has chosen newly hired drifter John Hall (David Andrews) to help a group clean up the mill’s rat-infested basement. The workers find a subterranean maze of tunnels leading to the cemetery—and a giant bat that hunts at night…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“The characters are so dark and unappealing that sympathy for their eventual plight, when trapped in the monster’s breeding grounds beneath the rat-infested mill, is nil. John Esposito’s script never escapes the B-movie category, rendering director Ralph S. Singleton as helpless as the cast.” John Stanley, Creature Features
“Like most of the films expanded from Stephen King’s short stories, Graveyard Shift doesn’t really succeed as well as the ones based on his novels and novellas, but if you want a mediocre creature feature to rag on, or you are Stephen King completionist, Graveyard Shift is decent enough.” HNN
“The whole concept is pretty ridiculous, why not laugh it up? Even in the finale, when a Diet Pepsi can is used to save the day (best product placement ever?), director Ralph Singleton and writer John Esposito play the whole thing maddeningly straight. ut it’s still enjoyable once it gets going, and the gore is sufficient. The acting is pretty decent for the most part as well.” Horror Movie a Day
“As directed by Ralph S. Singleton, Graveyard Shift works better above ground than below. The early scenes that allow the actors a little color are more fun than the all-basement episodes, which are visually monotonous despite the fact that the film’s monster plot is a multi-media affair.” The New York Times
“Few King adaptations feel this gleefully unrestrained and go straight for the throat like this one, and it sees its commitment to monster movie madness through to the end. There’s no explanation for what this bizarre creature is doing here or how it can even exist, nor is there any thematic pondering about what its presence might mean.” Oh, the Horror!
“Adapting short stories to feature-length is particularly tricky, and this film falls prey to the usual pitfalls–there just isn’t story to go around. Consequently, for the first two-thirds of the movie the characters are forced to muddle through various forms of small-town unpleasantness to fill up time. Overall the cast does well…” TV Guide
“This isn’t exactly a memorable time but it’s not all bad as genre favourite Brad Dourif (the voice of Chucky in the Child’s Play series) shows-up as a odd exterminator, Stephen Macht plays the “jerk” role as the foreman well and the film has an okay grimy look along with acceptable effects (which granted look a bit too fake at times).” The Video Graveyard
Cast and characters:
• David Andrews … John Hall
• Kelly Wolf … Jane Wisconsky
• Stephen Macht … Warwick
• Andrew Divoff … Danson
• Vic Polizos … Brogan
• Brad Dourif … The Exterminator
• Robert Alan Beuth … Ippeston
• Ilona Margolis … Nordello
• Jimmy Woodard … Carmichael
• Jonathan Emerson … Jason Reed
• Minor Rootes … Stevenson
• Kelly L. Goodman … Warwick’s Secretary
• Susan Lowden … Daisy May
• Joe Perham … Mill Inspector
• Dana Packard … Millworker
Filming locations:
Harmony, Maine at Bartlettyarns Inc., the oldest woollen yarn mill in the United States (est. 1821).
Split Second is a 1992 British science fiction horror feature film about a maverick detective hunting an inhuman serial killer in flooded London.
Directed by Tony Maylam (The Sins of Dorian Gray; The Burning) from a screenplay written by Gary Scott Thompson (Timecop: The Berlin Decision; Hollow Man – story), the movie stars Rutger Hauer (The Sonata; Dracula 3D; The Hitcher; et al), Kim Cattrall (Big Trouble in Little China; Good Against Evil), Alastair Duncan (The Batman TV series; The Hound of the Baskervilles, 1978) and Michael J. Pollard (House of 1000 Corpses; American Gothic).
Thompson’s original script was a standard serial killer hunted by mismatched cop buddies but was changed during production. As a result, several plot strands never go anywhere. Stephen Norrington (director of Blade) was a production designer.
New Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release:
“MVD Rewind Collection has teamed up with 101 Films to bring collectors a fully-loaded special edition. Starting with a brand new high definition presentation overseen by Joe Rubin, the main feature is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, newly scanned, restored and colour graded in 4K from the 35MM internegative, with uncompressed 2-channel stereo audio.
“Split Second is packed with hours of bonus material produced by 101 Films exclusively for the US (and the UK) including brand new cast and crew interviews, new audio commentary, and rarely seen 1992 legacy features, an alternative cut of the film, deleted scenes, promos and more!” Order via Amazon.com
• High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, newly scanned, restored and color graded in 4K from the 35mm internegative
• Audio: 2.0 LPCM Stereo
• English Subtitles
• New! Audio Commentary by action film historian Mike Leeder and filmmaker Arne Venema
• New! “Great Big Bloody Guns!” Producer Laura Gregory & Actor Alastair (Neil) Duncan on Split Second (HD, 27:25)
• New! “Call Me Mr Snips!” An Interview with Composer Stephen W. Parsons (HD, 22:21)
• New! “Stay In Line!” An Interview with Line Producer Laurie Borg (HD, 23:02)
• New! “More Blood!” An Interview with Creature Effects Designer Cliff Wallace (HD, 32:03)
• New! “Shoot Everything!” An Interview with Cinematographer Clive Tickner (HD, 18:57)
• Original 1992 Split Second “Making of” featurette that includes interviews with stars Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Alastair (Neil) Duncan, Michael J. Pollard, Writer Gary Scott Thompson and more! (SD, 6:26)
• Original 1992 behind the scenes featurette with effects creator Stephen Norrington, cast and crew (SD, 3:41)
• Split Second Japanese Cut, full-frame with burnt-in Japanese subtitles (SD, 95:00)
• Deleted Scenes from the Japanese Cut (English, burnt-in Japanese subtitles) (SD, 4:42)
• Seven Promotional TV Clips (SD)
• U.S. VHS Home Video Promo (SD, 2:34)
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:15)
• MVD exclusive: Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Dude Designs created exclusively for this release
• Collectible Mini-Poster featuring original VHS style artwork
Plot:
The year is 2008. Global warming has melted much of the polar ice caps, resulting in serious flooding around the world – including the city of London, much of which is now under several feet of water. In the ensuing chaos, a new killer has emerged. One that’s unnatural, unrelenting and unstoppable.
Maverick veteran policeman Harley Stone (Rutger Hauer) has a link with the killer – it murdered his partner.
As new rookie Detective Dick Durkin(Alistair Duncan) is assigned to him, Stone must find the killer, rescue his girlfriend Michelle (Kim Cattrall), and fight off his own inner demons as he gets closer to his mysterious adversary.
But when the killer is a vicious ten-foot-tall alien creature, even in the future, there aren’t guns big enough to stop the creature’s deadly reign.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“There are no big special effects, but this is something that actually helps the film a lot. Maylam and cinematographer Clive Tickner (Getting It Right) use a number of excellent locations and a variety of dark and cold colors and shadows to give the film what can best be described as an organic industrial look.” Blu-ray.com
“Split Second is great – unintentionally hilarious, reasonably well-made and very, very wet […] utter rubbish, with possibly the worst final scenes ever. Even the name of the film doesn’t make sense…” British Horror Films
“Worth watching if you’re really bored, but I can’t really recommend it. The story’s not strong enough, the action scenes are pretty forgettable and the gritty story sprinkled with comedy moments made the whole thing feel uneven.” Happyotter
” …the film looks great, the monster is reasonably impressive (if somewhat familiar) and kept very mysterious for most of the film, there are some very funny moments (particularly what happens to his partner after their first encounter with the creature, and one line mostly stolen from Jaws), Rutger and Alastair Duncan both give excellent performances…” Rivets on the Poster
“Very fast-paced, Split Second is an example of the men-versus-monster genre, with a British setting providing a fresh twist. The film’s speed drowns any questions an audience may have about the presence of so many Americans in London or the apparent lack of interest by the whole police force in a creature that can crash through its mortuary’s steel door.” TV Guide
“Climax in a London subway is well directed by Ian Sharp, but the man-in-a-rubber-suit monster is a poor imitation of Alien with lots of dripping petroleum jelly. Hauer harrumphs his way through a role that merely parodies his previous fantasy films, while newcomer Neil Duncan fares better in a multidimensional assignment.” Variety
” …Split Second is a bit slow in the beginning, but it gets better as it goes along and by the end, it’s pretty kick-ass. The plot is similar to Predator 2 in some ways and it would probably make a great double feature with that flick. The Giger-inspired monster is also rather boss and looks cooler than most Giger-inspired monsters you’d see in this sort of thing.” The Video Vacuum
“Split Second is a film clearly influenced by Blade Runner. It’s aesthetically very similar, and the score reminds me somewhat of Vangelis’ work, but nonetheless, it manages to be different enough from Scott’s masterpiece that it can be said to be influenced by without being a copy.” Werewolves on the Moon
Main cast and characters:
Rutger Hauer … Harley Stone
Kim Cattrall … Michelle McLaine
Alastair Duncan … Detective Dick Durkin (as Neil Duncan)
Michael J. Pollard … The Rat Catcher
Alun Armstrong … Thrasher
Pete Postlethwaite … Paulsen
Ian Dury … Jay Jay
Roberta Eaton … Robin
Tony Steedman … Pat O’Donnell
Steven Hartley … Foster McLaine
Sara Stockbridge … Tiffany (as Sarah Stockbridge)
Colin Skeaping … Drunk
Ken Bones … Forensic Expert
Dave Duffy … Nick ‘The Barman’
Stewart Harvey-Wilson … The Killer
Paul Grayson … The Killer
Chris Chappell … Rat Catcher’s Assistant (as Chris Chappel)
Filming locations:
Hartley Jam Factory, Tower Bridge Road, Southwark, London, England
London, England
Tower Bridge, London, England
17th June 1991 to 9th August 1991
Technical details:
90 minutes | 96 minutes (extended)
Audio: Dolby SR
Kodak Eastman
Aspect Ratio: 1.85: 1
Trivia:
Tube train and ‘additional sequences’ were directed by Ian Sharp after Tony Maylam left the production.
A Canadian archaeological team in Sicily accidentally unleashes vengeful ghosts of five demonic nuns who were murdered 500 years earlier, and the ghosts set out to kill the group and townspeople alike…
Blu-ray:
Severin Films will be releasing Demonia on Blu-ray this summer. Special features and an exact release date have yet to be confirmed, however, pre-orders via their site will be available from June 26th 2020.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
” …it shares a fault with nearly all of Fulci’s later horror films. What used to be carnivalesque in his approach was becoming merely tawdry. The obsessiveness, the sheer insolence in the violence in Fulci’s work had, by Demonia, been reduced to mechanical insertion.” Stephen Thrower, Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci
“The movie was scored by an inexperienced composer named Giovanni Cristiani, and the cinematographer, Luigi Ciccarese, was best known for skin flicks and Bruno Mattei movies. This is hardly a promising lineup […] But Demonia is still very watchable, in spite of its shortcomings…” Braineater
” …this tale of “violence, sin and blood”, to quote the screenplay, is enhanced by a powerful sense of place thanks to location shooting, and more than that, Fulci’s expressive bizarro camera-work. Uniquely, Demonia also feels like a meditation on the sometimes negative power of human impulse and desire let loose.” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1990s
” …Demonia is a pitiful attempt at clawing back some small fragment of Fulci’s previous reputation. Depressing and mediocre, even dedicated fans will have a hard time finding something to appreciate here.” Jim Harper, Italian Horror 1979 – 1994
“The lackluster performances, flat cinematography, and watery electronic music sap away most of the potential suspense, but on the positive side, Fulci does cut loose with a few anarchic gore scenes to goose viewers awake.” Mondo Digital
“The mystery and atmosphere works better than usual and the movie is also packed with very gory and violent killings! […] The budget for effects wasn’t really high, it seems, and most of the effects – the spectacular one’s like the body ripped in part and the poked-out eye – looks very amateurish.” Ninja Dixon
” …when Fulci’s at his most stylish, it’s easier to forgive the lack of coherence, the ludicrous dialogue, the disregard for basic storytelling conventions, but here there’s little to distract us from those things and the maddening gaffes leap out at you.” Plate O’Shrimp
Lucio Fulci and Brett Halsey discuss the murders
“The overall impression is of Fulci being compelled to fluff-off the big set pieces while having to pad the movie out in other areas with boring dialogue scenes.” Troy Howarth, Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films, Midnight Marquee Press, 2015
” … gore, the nun bits, a groovy dream sequence, a funny scene involving a blood-covered youth, an occasionally creepy atmosphere — do little to make it bearable or worth watching. Demonia remains an exasperating experience because it introduces so much that could be used and developed into something good, and then under-bakes everything.” A Wasted Life
Cast and characters:
Brett Halsey … Professor Paul Evans – Nightmare Concert; Twice-Told Tales; Return of the Fly
Absurd is a 1981 Italian horror feature film directed by Aristide Massaccesi [as Joe D’Amato] and written by Luigi Montefiori [as George Eastman]. The movie also stars Eastman, alongside Annie Belle (House on the Edge of the Park), Charles Borromel, Katja Berger and Edmund Purdom (Don’t Open Till Christmas; Pieces; Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks). The original Italian title is Rosso Sangue [“Red Blood”].
On its release, some critics accused the film of being nothing more than an Italian version of Halloween. There are some similarities between the two films – references to a ‘Bogeyman’ and a babysitter and her changes in peril from a silent and seemingly indestructible killer. Director D’Amato also attempted to make the film more attractive to the American market by setting it in the States, even though it was clearly shot in Italy.
Plot:
Mikos Stenopolis (George Eastman) is a man who was experimented on in a church-sanctioned scientific experiment that gave him a healing factor but inadvertently drove him insane. The Vatican priest (Edmund Purdom) who helped create him pursues the homicidal Mikos to a small American town, attempting to kill him by impaling him on a set of railings. With his intestines spilling out it seems he may be dead.
However, Stenopolis later revives in a local hospital. The madman escapes after brutally murdering a nurse and goes on a killing spree. The priest informs the hospital and authorities that the only way to kill Mikos is to ‘destroy the cerebral mass’.
While attacking a motorcyclist, Mikos is struck by a hit-and-run driver. The driver of the car, Mr Bennett, and his wife are going to a friend’s house to watch a football game, leaving their two children at home with a babysitter. Their daughter Katia is confined to her bed because of a problem with her spine, while her younger brother believes that the ‘boogeyman’ is coming to get him…
Video nasty:
Absurd was one of the infamous British so-called ‘video nasties‘ and became one of 39 titles to be successfully prosecuted in 1984. It was originally released in both a cut and an uncut version with identical sleeve designs by Medusa Home Video in 1981.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“The best part of this film is watching George Eastman go bonkers. All of the kill scenes are entertaining and on par with other kill scenes from similar Italian horror films from this era.” 10k Bullets
“Your enjoyment of this film will be colored by how much you like gore, how much you understand that Italian movies are often very hard to understand and how much you’re willing to forgive a film. Personally, I loved it. The oven kill scene is really uncomfortable to watch and the gore is incredibly effective.” B & S About Movies
“The film is slow in spots and borrows a ton of ideas from other, more popular slashers (like the aforementioned Halloween), but is a surprisingly entertaining exploitation-horror film nonetheless and delivers what fans of these types of films want to see (aside from the curious absence of nudity). Eastman (sans make-up this time) has more screen time than he did in the original and gives an effective, creepy performance.” The Bloody Pit of Horror
“There’s nothing remotely scary or creepy here, but D’Amato does manage to eke out some suspense as Mikos stalks his victims. Of course, being a D’Amato movie, there’s some violence against women here. The gore isn’t necessarily unsettling, but the treatment of women is.” DVD Sleuth
“The problem with the second half is that I don’t think it really manages to ratchet up the suspense as well as it could, as the contrivances become rather blatant as the movie progresses, and the denouement is rather unbelievable. However, gorehounds will probably be quite satisfied, as the movie is very bloody. To me, this was a mixed bag.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
“Lest I dwell on needlessly comparing it to Anthropophagus, I will say that Rosso Sangue is decent on its own as a standard slasher film. Plus, the score is decent enough and there are some good, interesting shots to bring a modicum of atmosphere and suspense to the proceedings. It’s by no means a Eurotrash classic, but even its predecessor can’t boast that.” Oh, the Horror!
” …there’s precious little character development on exhibit here and D’Amato dearth of know-how with regards to staging set-pieces effectively also but, shortcomings aside, Absurd is a movie which is hard not to love just a little. Cordio’s frenetic composition is suitably pulsating and Eastman, for his lack of range, is like a one-man wrecking ball with a beard once he comes to from that anaesthetic.” Rivers of Grue
“This one won’t win over the D’Amato doubtful but the converts who already appreciate the languid pacing, thick atmosphere and irreverent gore of his earlier Antropophagus will definitely appreciate this follow up film, firmly rooted in similar territory even if it isn’t a direct sequel per se.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Yes, the story is lame and inconsequential. Yes, the cast is uniformly nondescript (even Michel Soavi, who turns up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him cameo as an ill-fated biker). Yes, you’ll be scratching your head by the end wondering what the point of it all was and whether maybe the sole source of inspiration for this film was the finale’s riff on Halloween. Who cares? The editing is brisk, the direction is assured, the studio lighting is stylish and colourful in a cut-rate Argento style and the body count builds formidable.” Sex Gore Mutants
” …Absurd is full of gratuitous violence all the same: the first two kills are the most splatterific, and things DO get tense towards the end as Katya – as we suspected – finds that inner strength to hobble around and takes on the maniac with a compass of all things and a game of hide and seek ensues.” Vegan Voorhees
“Monster Hunter is a solid slasher movie. The main deterrents are some lapses in pacing and an extremely annoying kid. Other than that, I liked it just fine. In fact, I think I dug this flick more than The Grim Reaper.” The Video Vacuum
“If you like your murder blunt and meaningless, then you’ll probably get a kick out of D’Amato’s nihilistic slasher. If, however, you like your horror tense or ironic with relatable characters and genuine scares, you may want to look elsewhere. In 1981, morbid curiosity would have made Absurd a must-see. Almost forty years later, it has proven anything but.” VHS Revival
Choice dialogue:
Doctor Kramer: “It’s absurd! Completely absurd. Recuperative powers like that simply don’t exist.”
Father: “There is nothing human left of him…he is a creature of evil. The spark of God was smothered the moment the devil took possession of him.”
Release:
On September 25, 2018, Severin Films released Absurd on Blu-ray in the USA. Order via Amazon.com
Special features:
Rosso Sangue: Alternate Italian cut (with optional English subtitles)
The Return of the Grim Reaper – Interview With Actor / Writer / Co-Producer Luigi Montefiori
D’Amato on Video: Archive Interview With Director Aristide Massaccesi
A Biker (Uncredited): Interview With Filmmaker/extra Michele Soavi
Trailer
First 2,500 copies: Bonus CD Soundtrack
Reversible Wrap
Cast and characters:
George Eastman … Mikos Stenopolis
Annie Belle … Emily
Charles Borromel … Sergeant Ben Engleman
Katya Berger … Katia Bennett
Kasimir Berger … Willy Bennett
Hanja Kochansky … Mrs Bennett
Ian Danby … Mr Bennett
Ted Rusoff … Doctor Kramer
Edmund Purdom … Father
Cindy Leadbetter … Peggy (uncredited)
Lucia Ramirez … Woman on TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
James Sampson … Cop at the station (uncredited)
Mark Shannon … Man on TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michele Soavi … Biker (uncredited)
Martin Sorrentino … Deputy (uncredited)
Goffredo Unger … Machine Shop Worker (uncredited)
Also released as:
Anthropophagus 2
Horrible
The Grim Reaper 2
Monster Hunter
Fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, has always been a phobia for some people. A few movies explored this fear but it was the 1990 adaption of Stephen King’s IT novel that really propelled the sub-genre forward. Thereafter, the number of films featuring creepy and downright evil clowns began to gradually proliferate to a point where there is now a silly over-saturation of clowns in horror. Here are just a few examples:
Lake Placid is a 1999 American horror feature film directed by Steve Miner (Day of the Dead 2008; Friday the 13th, Part II, Halloween H20) from a screenplay written by producer David E. Kelley.
The movie stars Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt, Betty White, Meredith Salenger and Mariska Hargitay.
The film’s soundtrack score was composed by John Ottman (House of Wax; Gothika; Eight Legged FreaksUrban Legends: Final Cut; Halloween H20; Snow White: A Tale of Terror).
Plot:
A giant, thirty-foot-long man-eating crocodile terrorises the fictional location of Black Lake, Maine, United States, and also follows the dysfunctional group who attempt to capture or destroy the creature…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“The actors seem to be having fun with the mixture of Kelley’s sharp dialogue and the inherent cheesiness of being in a giant crocodile picture. Pullman really gets the joke, acting like he can wear the beast down with menacing stares and grumbled speech. Fonda, who has acknowledged her love of horror films in the press, is clearly relishing the chance to act in one, and Platt uses this as an opportunity to go way out in left field as the rich wacko.” The Aisle Seat
“Kelley creates a handful of snappy one-liners, but a majority of the dialogue lacks the bite of his work on Ally McBeal. As with the Jaws franchise, the real moments of suspense arrive when the unseen croc lurks beneath the lake and prepares for a surprise attack. The impressive computer-generated monster surfaces frequently…” AllMovie
” …it’s the easy, underplayed performances and the slick dialogue that make this more than a rural cat-and-mouse (or croc-and-cow, since a heifer gets used as bait). But it’s not a spoof, and that’s crucial. You can enjoy Placid as a straightforward camping-holiday nightmare, or as a sly, ironic take on the same. It works deliciously as both.” Empire
“Despite the horror and gore (be warned though – gory deaths are a frequent occurrence!), Lake Placid has a playful tone overall, with plenty of comic relief to keep things nice and breezy. Most of the gags are either delivered by or pointed in the direction of Brendan Gleeson’s character, as he finds himself at loggerheads with pretty much everyone he meets (he seems to dislike people more than the crocodile!).” Geek Ireland
” …the human storylines take over and, minus the then-novelty of hearing White drop F-bombs, they’re more aggravating than anything else. Both back in the day and on this recent revisit, I found myself wishing the toothy terror would swallow the lot. Sadly, the body count, not counting CG bears and cows, is a paltry two.” Horror 101 with Dr AC
“Pullman’s a bit dry compared to the rest of the cast – may be a bit miscast – but he does just fine as the straight man with a wry sense of humor. Platt and Gleeson are a fun adversarial duo regularly trading barbs and one-line stingers. The now 15-year-old special effects hold-up surprisingly well including some early-stage digital effects.” McBastard’s Mausoleum
” …an entertaining stab at making a tongue in cheek monster movie with the emphasis firmly on being funny rather than frightening. It’s by no means the best example of this sort of movie and a few more frights wouldn’t go a miss but with a wonderful performance from Betty White it is well worth a watch, just be prepared for plenty of stupidity.” The Movie Scene
“There’s some moderate gore here, most of it jokey. (“Is this the man who was killed?” Platt asks, wielding a severed toe. Gleeson replies, “He looked taller.”) And there’s also Betty White on hand to play the crocodile’s best human friend. Her character’s foul-mouthed dialogue is funny for its incongruity, less so for its real purpose.” The New York Times
” …it’s not exactly Jaws, but some of the sequences are rather intense. The climax especially provides plenty of jolts and one really neat surprise […] Miner knows not to let a horror flick last too long (seriously, check the run-times for just about any one he’s ever done). Lake Placid is short, sweet, and bites pretty hard–in a good way.” Oh, the Horror!
“Briskly paced and offering nice balance of humor and horror, Lake Placid isn’t likely to leave any sort of serious lasting impression on you but it is a fun way to kill an hour and a half. It offers up pretty much everything you’d want it to – a decent monster, some solid gore, interesting and fairly likeable characters and some witty dialogue.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“It’s gruesome, and then camp, and then satirical, and then sociological, and then it pauses for a little witty intellectual repartee. Occasionally the crocodile leaps out of the water and snatches victims from the shore, looking uncannily like a very big green product from the factory where they make Barney toys.” Roger Ebert
“The strange thing is that for all of Fonda’s whining, Pullman’s wary squinting and muttering, the bad dialogue, the cheesy effects, the severed toes, the severed heads, the severed bodies and the cliched directorial choices, Lake Placid adds up to a halfway enjoyable time at the movies.” San Francisco Gate
” …it is derivative of many sardonic monster flicks that have been seen before. Add to that the zero chemistry between the romantic leads (you could accept them as friends, sure), plus an ecological dilemma over killing the croc (this was the nineties all right), and you get a film where you can see what they’re aiming for, but also the targets they miss.” The Spinning Image
” …while he’s got all the tricks, and an impressively CG’d croc, Miner never loses sight of one thing: this is a horror-comedy and not an out-and-out scarefest. Terror takes a back seat as David E Kelly’s script develops sharp, well-observed characters rather than simple-minded croc-fodder.” Total Film
“Written by [Ally] McBeal creator David E. Kelley, this comic thriller owes a substantial debt to Tremors, in which a similarly off-center bunch find themselves up against a nest of gigantic killer worms. Tremors is a wittier, less predictable picture, but this one is smoothly enjoyable, undemanding entertainment and features a couple of knock-out giant croc attacks.” TV Guide
“Director Steve (Friday the 13th Part 3-D) Miner knows a thing or two about delivering shocks (that is before he lost all his credibility with the atrocious Day of the Dead remake) but too much of the film’s goofy intentional humor gets in the way of the monster mashing. Platt’s constant mugging in particular gets kinda annoying after awhile.” The Video Vacuum
Production:
Lake Placid was produced by Fox 2000 Pictures and Stan Winston Studios (which did the special effects for the creatures) and principal photography was shot in British Columbia, Canada.
Cast and characters:
Bill Pullman … Jack Wells
Bridget Fonda … Kelly Scott
Oliver Platt … Hector Cyr
Brendan Gleeson … Sheriff Hank Keough
Betty White … Mrs Delores Bickerman
David Lewis … Walt Lawson
Tim Dixon … Stephen Daniels
Natassia Malthe … Janine
Mariska Hargitay … Myra Okubo
Meredith Salenger … Deputy Sharon Gare
Jed Rees … Deputy Burke
Richard Leacock … Deputy Stevens
Jake T. Roberts … Officer Coulson
Warren Takeuchi … Paramedic
Ty Olsson … State Trooper
Adam Arkin … Kevin (uncredited)
Steve Miner … Airplane Pilot (uncredited)
Filming locations:
Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia. Three different lakes in British Columbia stood in for the fictional “Black Lake”: Shawnigan Lake, Buntzen Lake and Hayward Lake.
The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and released in theatres in the U.S. on July 16, 1999, and in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2000. It grossed $56.9 million worldwide and has so far been followed by five lower budget sequels, starting with Lake Placid 2 in 2007.
The Haunting (1999) is being released on Blu-ray in the USA on October 29, 2020, as part of the Paramount Presents line of Special Edition discs. The film has been newly remastered from a 4K transfer, supervised by director Jan de Bont. Special features:
Filmmaker Focus: Director Jan de Bont on The Haunting
Behind-the-scenes featurette
Theatrical teaser
Theatrical trailer
Meanwhile, here is our previous coverage of the movie:
The Haunting is a 1999 American horror feature film directed by Jan de Bont (Speed). It is a remake of the 1963 horror film of the same name Both films are loosely based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, published in 1959. The movie stars Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor.
Plot:
Eleanor “Nell” Vance (Lili Taylor) has cared for her invalid mother for eleven years. After her mother dies, her sister (Virginia Madsen) evicts her. Nell receives a phone call about an insomnia study, directed by Doctor David Marrow (Liam Neeson) at Hill House, a secluded manor in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, and applies for it.
At the house, she meets Mr and Mrs Dudley (Bruce Dern, Marian Seldes), a strange pair of caretakers. Two other participants arrive, Luke Sanderson (Owen Wilson), and the bisexual Theodora (Catherine Zeta-Jones), along with Doctor Marrow and his two research assistants.
Unknown to the participants, Doctor Marrow’s true purpose is to study the psychological response to fear, intending to expose his subjects to increasing amounts of terror. Each night, the caretakers chain the gate outside Hill House, preventing anyone from getting in or out until morning…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“On the sliding scale of botched remakes, The Haunting ranks pretty high. Its cinematic sins are many and varied, but to my mind the greatest of them is that it seems so disrespectful of its source – both the novel and the film. There’s a sense of impatience with the material about this film as if its makers undertook the project in order to show people how this sort of thing should be done.” And You Call Yourself a Scientist!
“Everything looks eerie, impressive, amusing, and cliched without being the least bit scary, and the ride goes too slow. De Bont’s impressive cast is given little to do other than act all spookity-spoo, a situation that reaches its nadir at the perfunctory climax, a scene stolen from The Devil’s Advocate, for heaven’s sake.” A.V. Club
“It relies heavily on computer special effects which haven’t aged well, but even in 1999 were sometimes weak. The film really should be about atmosphere and style, but instead, it just comes off as a weird mush of action and attempts at scaring.” Basement Rejects
“You may expect a little bit more quality from director Jan de Bont, the maker of Speed and Twister, but the hokey film is always entertaining, keeps firing on enough cylinders and delivers a punchy climax.” Derek Winnert
“The acting was… not good. With the exception of Liam Neeson, this was not a well-seasoned cast. I’ve liked all of these guys in other roles, but their performances in this were about as dynamic as 80’s sitcom actors. I guess, it can be chalked down to lack of experience, but really, who thought it would be a good idea to put this much inexperience in a multi-million dollar movie?” Girl on Book Action
“…after the first hour or so, the well-made aspect was completely lost and the film, including the actors’ dialogue (solely writer David Self’s fault) seem to lose their way, growing mundane and lackluster, slowing to a ridiculous grind, never regaining momentum all the way to the less than stellar and unbelievably unfulfilling ending.” HNN
“The Haunting was for me a depressing dull movie which feels like the director saw it as another chance to deliver visual entertainment but ignoring that when it comes to a horror movie it needs more than f/x gimmicks. As such whilst director Jan de Bont might be adept at delivering action movies and bringing the larger than life thrill to the screen he doesn’t have the same skill when it comes to delivering the atmosphere needed for horror.” The Movie Scene
“Filmmaker Jan de Bont’s ongoing (and increasing) reliance on CGI certainly does nothing to alleviate the pervasively tedious atmosphere, as the overuse of shoddy special effects diminishes the impact of the movie’s few overtly unsettling moments (ie there’s nothing scary about any of this, ultimately).” Reel Film Reviews
“The Haunting cannot be considered a classically enjoyable bad movie because the strong beginning promises much more than the film ultimately delivers. Yes, it’s possible to derive some enjoyment from the silliness of the climax and conclusion, but it’s mixed with disappointment. One needs to look no further than the 1963 version to understand how the same basic story can be done far more effectively.” Reel Views
” …you wonder why they didn’t try just a little harder to write more dimensional characters and add the edge of almost plausible realism that distinguished Shirley Jackson’s original novel. The movie does not, alas, succeed as a horror film. But it succeeds as a film worth watching anyway, and that is no small achievement.” Roger Ebert
Liam Neeson … Doctor David Marrow
Catherine Zeta-Jones … Theo
Owen Wilson … Luke Sanderson
Lili Taylor … Nell
Bruce Dern … Mr Dudley
Marian Seldes … Mrs Dudley
Alix Koromzay … Mary Lambetta
Todd Field … Todd Hackett
Virginia Madsen … Jane
Michael Cavanaugh … Doctor Malcolm Keogh
Tom Irwin … Lou
Charles Gunning … Hugh Crain
Saul Priever … Ritchie
M.C. Gainey … Large Man
Hadley Eure … Carolyn Crain
Technical details:
113 minutes
Technicolor
Aspect ratio: 2.39: 1
Audio: Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES
Box office:
Budget: 80 million (estimated)
Worldwide theatrical gross: $177,311,151
Skeeter is a 1993 American science-fiction horror feature film about giant mutant mosquitoes attacking a desert town. The infestation is a result of a corrupt businessman’s illegal dumping of toxic waste.
Directed by Clark Brandon (Dark Secrets) from a screenplay co-written with Lanny Horn, based on a storyline by Joe Rubin, the movie stars Tracy Griffith, Jim Youngs, Charles Napier and Jay Robinson. It was produced by James Glenn Dudelson, John Lambert and Kelly Andrea Rubin. Don Edmonds (director of Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks; Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS) executive produced.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“Not much new, but it is fun to watch big cheesy looking mosquitos latch on to everybody’s ass that doesn’t have sense enough to just leave town […] Some of the effects were o.k. too. Not nearly as classic as other killer bug films, but a decent effort overall.” Buried.com
“The dialogue is clunky, there’s a long dull stretch and the special effects are cheap, but this is a much more enjoyable film than most of its ilk.” Down Among the “Z” Movies
“As the stupid, struggling story slowly slips into a decidedly creepy-crawly-less coma, we get more scenes of underhanded schemes, shots of Napier getting nookie, and the occasional proposed POV of those damn marauding mosquitoes.” DVD Talk
” …the titular monsters — Chihuahua-size mosquitoes — aren’t very convincing. The square-jawed Charles Napier is droll as a sheriff with impure allegiances, and Michael J. Pollard, as the town wacko (so what else is new?), seems to be doing a Yoda impersonation.” Entertainment Weekly
” …at the heart of Skeeter’s failure are poor pacing, pitiful acting, lazy storytelling, and hopelessly flimsy mosquito props. If it weren’t for a couple of unintentionally hilarious moments of bad filmmaking (such as Boone stopping by his house to do some last-minute welding rather than rushing to the rescue of his abandoned girlfriend, seconds away from being consumed by ravenous insects), Skeeter would be utterly unwatchable.” Gone with the Twins
“Mosquitoes the size of small cats are terrorizing a small southern town. But forget about that, what you really wanna see is the love lives and trials and tribulations of the country folk. Right? Yeah me neither […] Bad effects mixed with a terribly boring plot makes this one a definite pass. Watch Mosquito instead.” Kaijuman
“…to say that there are big gaps between attacks, Skeeter seems to even make this time seem like an eternity with a pedestrian pace which just hinders any attempts to get any momentum injected into proceedings when the mosquitoes do attack. That said, when they do appear they look poor..” Popcorn Pictures
“Skeeter, like so many awful B-grade movies, just doesn’t make any sense. How does bulldozing a few acres of land create enough toxic waste to fill hundreds of shiny tanker trailer trucks? […] How does toxic waste cause mosquitoes to grow to 50 times their normal size and make them want to kill all humans?” Something Awful
” …Brandon probably feels he’s slumming in the genre on his way to dealing with more “serious” material. There’s nothing wrong with trying to inject real humanity and characterization into a low-budget genre piece, of course, but this is supposed to be a horror film, after all. It doesn’t help that, thanks to occasionally cheesy special effects, the skeeters are more silly than scary.” TV Guide
Choice dialogue:
Gordon’s Boss: “I’ll see to it you’re checking toxicity levels in service station toilets from here to Tijuana.”
Cast and characters:
Tracy Griffith … Sarah Crosby
Jim Youngs … Roy Boone Charles Napier … Ernie Buckle
Jay Robinson … Drake
William Sanderson … Gordon Perry
Michael J. Pollard … Hopper
Eloy Casados … Hank Tucker
John Putch … Hamilton
Saxon Trainor … Doctor Jill Wyle
Stacy Edwards … Mary Ann
John F. Goff … Clay Crosby George ‘Buck’ Flower … Filo (as Buck Flower)
Michael D’Agosta … Bo
Eric Lawson … Frank OConnell
Lindsay Fisher … Chrissy OConnell
Joe McCutcheon … Wil
Barbara Baldavin … Dorothy OConnell
Jane Abbott … Esther
Larry Stevens … Trevor OConnell
Robert Snively … Luther
John Ingle … Preacher
Mia St. John … Charlie
Warren A. Stevens … Man #1
Travis McKenna … Man #2
Jefferson Wagner … Man #3
Michael Lee Baron … Man #4
Richard Herd … (uncredited)
Joseph Luis Rubin … Townsperson #3 (uncredited)
Demonia is a 1990 Italian supernatural horror feature film directed by Lucio Fulci (The Beyond; City of the Living Dead; Zombie Flesh Eaters; et al) from a screenplay co-written with Piero Regnoli (Patrick Still Lives; The Playgirls and the Vampire) based on a story by Fulci and [uncredited] Antonio Tentori. The movie stars Brett Halsey, Meg Register and Lino Salemme.
Plot:
A Canadian archaeological team in Sicily accidentally unleashes vengeful ghosts of five demonic nuns who were murdered 500 years earlier, and the ghosts set out to kill the group and townspeople alike…
In Sicily, 1486, five nuns are dragged into a crypt and crucified by a proverbial angry mob who, having done their job, walk away leaving their victims to rot.
Moving forwards in time to Canada in 1990 and a séance is being conducted (recalling a similar scene in City of the Living Dead) which leaves one of the participants, Liza (Meg Register), to have visions of the aforementioned nuns in their agony and causes her to pass out. When she wakes, it’s revealed that she’s an archaeologist about to travel with Professor Evans (Brett Halsey) to work on some ancient Greek ruins in Sicily.
As the team set about their dig they are warned by the town’s Mayor, a sailor-cum-archaeologist (Al Cliver) and the local butcher Turi (Lino Salemme) that they should cease because the superstitious locals are very protective of their cultural history. Away from amphitheatre site that they are supposed to be excavating, Liza wanders into the crypt of the nunnery, finds still-dressed skeletons (these real-life remains are genuinely creepy) and discovers the bodies of the crucified nuns. Having been disturbed by Liza’s presence, it isn’t long before they begin murdering members of the archaeological team and some prominent locals.
Demonia was intended as a return to the glory days of Fulci’s heyday, following his work on a number of lacklustre TV productions such as The Ghosts of Sodom (1988), The Sweet House of Horrors and The House of Clocks (both 1989). While Demonia is certainly better than these pics and more interesting than the rather bland Voices from Beyond that followed it, unfortunately, it fails to fully rise to its potential. It’s still a thoroughly enjoyable watch though.
The film certainly begins promisingly, with the nailing of the nuns to crosses – invoking memories of the infamous scene at the beginning of The Beyond. The breathtaking beauty of the Sicilian coast provides a splendid backdrop to the events as they unfold and the fact that real-life locations such the pretty town of Caltabellotta, an abandoned monastery perched atop a huge hill and a deconsecrated church crypt were available for filming provides plenty of genuine atmospheric charm.
The plot is somewhat threadbare but the main protagonists are well-played by wide-eyed Meg Register (who looks suitably Gothic wandering around the cobweb-covered crypt in dream sequences in a white nightgown), veteran Brett Halsey (who apparently had a hand in improving some of the dialogue), Carla Cassola as the doomed medium and the aforementioned Lino Salemme (who was Ripper in Demons and a police inspector in Lamberto Bava’s Delirium). The director’s fans also get to see him in extended cameo scenes as an Interpol detective investigating the murders.
Lucio Fulci and Brett Halsey ponder the murders
Giovanni Christiani’s score is serviceable at best, and curiously muted in the audio mix, never matching the delights of Fabio Frizzi’s classic efforts. Another downside is that much of the film is shot in a haze that Fulci seemed to feel added a dreamlike quality. He had used this technique previously, most notably in Conquest (1983) but even his most ardent fans seem to feel that it compromises rather than adds to the quality of the images onscreen. It’s fine for dreams, or nightmares, but not daylight shots where it just seems incongruous. Worse, some technical gaffes mean that the thin gauze through which many scenes were shot, is clearly visible.
Some critics have complained that Demonia sags somewhat in the middle, highlighting scenes such as the drunken campfire singalong (Molly Malone!) and the lengthy interrogation of Brett Halsey’s character Paul on a boat as just filler yet this seems overly pernickety.
[Spoilers] Fulci’s trademark focus on gore is present, of course. Al Cliver’s sailor character is shot with a harpoon by a briefly seen naked ghostly nun and his head later turns up skewered on the end of an anchor (a reasonably convincing effect). Two drunken archaeologists fall into a hole onto some protruding spikes and there’s a nicely staged neck stabbing after a sweaty sex scene. The medium is attacked by her own cats in a hilariously tacky scene that utilises some obviously fake mewling moggies.
In the film’s gory highlight, the local butcher is killed with his own meathooks before his tongue is yanked out and nailed to a table! There is also a quartering of a father in a trap that’s set off by his own son. The screaming victim is pulled apart by ropes causing his intestines to spill out. Unfortunately, some odd editing and the evidently low budget means that this effect is rendered somewhat less effective than it might be (there is a blatantly false prosthetic which could have been blended better with actor Ettore Comi’s skin). So, the gore’s there for those that expect it even if the unfortunately-named Elio Terribili’s efforts are not up to the standard of masters such as Giannetto De Rossi.
Demonia is most certainly a must-see for Fulci fans and anyone with an interest in Italian horror. No-one would claim it’s perfect and it’s obviously not up to the standard of his career highlights such as his early ’70s gialli and so-called Gates of Hell trilogy. However, it’s infinitely preferable to the lamentable likes of The Ghosts of Sodom and The House of Clocks and unlike those films stands up to repeated viewings.
Blu-ray review:
Severin Films have released the film via a new 4k scan of the negative that was ‘color corrected and restored during quarantine’ on a 1080p high-definition transfer framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. Having only previously seen Demonia in Italian and on VHS, it was a revelation to watch it in English (even if the dubbing was occasionally a little hokey) and in high-definition. The obviously sharper detail is both a bonus and a distraction as you can now see all the over-lit scenes and lamentable gauze over the camera. That said, you soon used to it. Close-ups are pristine and scenes in the dark crypt are much improved.
The new audio commentary by Stephen Thrower, author of weighty tome Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci, is excellent. Obviously, Steve’s intimate knowledge of the director’s entire oeuvre means that he can expound in detail about not only this movie but all the other films that Demonia refers back to.
Steve provides detailed insights into all the main actors’ careers, with particular attention to Brett Halsey’s other work with Fulci. Steve’s dry humour is present throughout so when he discusses lead actress Meg Register he notes that she also played a “slinky handcuffed wench” in a music video for heavy metal band Great White’s song ‘Mr Bone’ before quoting the amusingly sexist lyrics. He also reveals her current career as a qualified hypnotherapist and also a “love attraction” expert based in California, even quoting the amusing blurb from her website.
Elsewhere, he informs us that in 1486 witchcraft was reclassified as heresy by the Catholic Church and that the Spanish Inquisition visited Sicily to ascertain more confessions as apparently the local torturers weren’t reaching the desired Papal quota! There is detailed information about the ancient Greek amphitheatre and the installation of plastic in 1964 to protect it which only made it more susceptible to the ravages of rain and vegetation. Thankfully, long shots meant that the daftness of a plastic-covered ruin is not visible in Demonia itself. It’s detailed research such as this that adds real value to this commentary.
He obviously discusses Fulci’s use of “hazy, diffused light” which began with Conquest, Murder-Rock, Zombie 3 and Voices from the Beyond and the ‘scrim’ that caused the aforementioned unfortunate gauze vision in this production. He reveals that the campfire scenes were improvised due to a realisation that the running time would have been too short
Elsewhere, Steve discusses the connections with Yugoslavian co-production Aenigma (1987), the Lucio Fulci Presents brand-name movies such as Red Monks and three unmade Fulci projects from the same period. Finally, he expresses satisfaction with the likes of the “slap-happy gore” cat scene which he likens to similar cheap splatter in the later films of Herschell Gordon Lewis.
‘Holy Demons’ (33m 17s) is a featurette in which uncredited co-writer and assistant director Antonio Tentori (talking via Zoom due to COVID-19) explains how he discovered Fulci’s films and became a fan before eventually meeting the director via a radio interview in 1986. They became friends afterwards, met up regularly and began developing a Gothic horror film that would eventually become Demonia. He admits that the plot doesn’t have much depth except that “these nuns are possessed because they worship the Devil”. To add depth, the production team scrawled fake inscriptions such as Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep on the church walls despite the plot having nothing to do with Lovecraft!
Direct references to Fulci’s previous films such as The Psychic (the pickaxe scene) and Meg Register’s character Liza talking telepathically to Brett Halsey’s character (a vague link back to the kids in The House by the Cemetery) were apparently added during production and not in the original script. He discusses the locations such as the town of Sciacca, the genuine rotting corpses that give the crypt scenes so much atmosphere, the “impressive” remains of the amphitheatre and the hostility of some of the local superstitious population.
As regards the lead actors, he has nothing but praise for Brett Halsey, “a nice man”, beautiful blonde heroine Meg Register, friend Lino Salemme (who played Turi the butcher), character actress Carla Cassola and Fulci regular Al Cliver, whom he describes as a “riot”.
Tentori admits that some of the special effects scenes – particularly cat attack – don’t come off as well as they should have but blames poor editing rather than budgetary reasons. Curiously, he thinks the quartering comes across well. He also reveals that producer Ettore Spagnuolo had to visit the set because the money had run out and there were financial issues during the editing stage which meant that Fulci was not present.
‘Of Skulls and Bones’ (14m 59s) is an onscreen interview with camera operator Sandro Grossi in which he explains he was inspired to take up the profession by John Alcott’s photography for Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975). Grossi worked with Fulci on the low-budget Reteitalia TV productions The Sweet House of Horrors and The House of Clocks. Describing Fulci as being like a “bulldozer” on-set and a “walking film bible”, he goes on to reveal they found two hundred open coffins in the deconsecrated church where they filmed which obviously gave it a real-life “creepy” vibe. He says they often shot using a fog filter to give the film an unusual effect and opines that Fulci would have hated to watch his films in HD which makes everything look like a “soap”. He also talks about Fulci’s love of zooms to “achieve a stronger dramatic feel” and how the director would perhaps have liked to do more comedies but was stuck in the horror genre in his later career. “Every single frame speaks of Lucio”.
‘Fulci Lives!!!’ a four-minute VHS-era shaky-cam behind-the-scenes piece of footage filmed by giggling Massimo Lavagnini on the set of Demonia shows the special effects team readying the death scene where the father is literally pulled apart. Fulci declares “I am perfect and strong!” and promises that he will be making more films for his fans.
Finally, there is the English theatrical trailer, presented in high-definition, which shows the gory highlights.
The leap into Blu-ray quality and the fact-filled extras on this Severin disc make it a must-have for Fulci fans even if they aren’t that keen on the film itself.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES and MANIA
Other reviews:
” …it shares a fault with nearly all of Fulci’s later horror films. What used to be carnivalesque in his approach was becoming merely tawdry. The obsessiveness, the sheer insolence in the violence in Fulci’s work had, by Demonia, been reduced to mechanical insertion.” Stephen Thrower, Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci
“The movie was scored by an inexperienced composer named Giovanni Cristiani, and the cinematographer, Luigi Ciccarese, was best known for skin flicks and Bruno Mattei movies. This is hardly a promising lineup […] But Demonia is still very watchable, in spite of its shortcomings…” Braineater
” …this tale of “violence, sin and blood”, to quote the screenplay, is enhanced by a powerful sense of place thanks to location shooting, and more than that, Fulci’s expressive bizarro camera-work. Uniquely, Demonia also feels like a meditation on the sometimes negative power of human impulse and desire let loose.” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1990s
“While not as bat-shit crazy as some of Fulci’s previous efforts, Demonia is still pretty f*ckin’ fantastic. The ancient monastery and it’s demonic denizens give off a real Lovecraft vibe at times (and has a bit of Blind Dead flavor), as does the small coastal village where the tale is set. Think of this as a spiritual successor to the maestro’s Gates of Hell trilogy…” Horror Fuel
” …Demonia is a pitiful attempt at clawing back some small fragment of Fulci’s previous reputation. Depressing and mediocre, even dedicated fans will have a hard time finding something to appreciate here.” Jim Harper, Italian Horror 1979 – 1994
“The lackluster performances, flat cinematography, and watery electronic music sap away most of the potential suspense, but on the positive side, Fulci does cut loose with a few anarchic gore scenes to goose viewers awake.” Mondo Digital
“The mystery and atmosphere works better than usual and the movie is also packed with very gory and violent killings! […] The budget for effects wasn’t really high, it seems, and most of the effects – the spectacular one’s like the body ripped in part and the poked-out eye – looks very amateurish.” Ninja Dixon
” …when Fulci’s at his most stylish, it’s easier to forgive the lack of coherence, the ludicrous dialogue, the disregard for basic storytelling conventions, but here there’s little to distract us from those things and the maddening gaffes leap out at you.” Plate O’Shrimp
“The overall impression is of Fulci being compelled to fluff-off the big set pieces while having to pad the movie out in other areas with boring dialogue scenes.” Troy Howarth, Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films, Midnight Marquee Press, 2015
” … gore, the nun bits, a groovy dream sequence, a funny scene involving a blood-covered youth, an occasionally creepy atmosphere — do little to make it bearable or worth watching. Demonia remains an exasperating experience because it introduces so much that could be used and developed into something good, and then under-bakes everything.” A Wasted Life
Cast and characters:
Brett Halsey … Professor Paul Evans – Nightmare Concert; Touch of Death; Twice-Told Tales; Return of the Fly
Meg Register … Liza Harris Lino Salemme … Turi DeSimone – Demons Christina Engelhardt … Susie – Skinner
Pascal Druant … Kevin
Grady Clarkson … Sean (as Grady Thomas Clarkson)
Ettore Comi … John
Carla Cassola … Lilla the Medium
Michael Aronin … Lt. Andi (as Michael J. Aronin) Al Cliver … Porter (as Al Clever) – The Black Cat; Devil Hunter; Zombie Flesh Eaters; et al
Isabella Corradini … Nun
Paola Cozzo … Pregnant Nun
Bruna Rossi … Nun
Paola Calati … Nun
Antonio Melillo
Ruth Anderson
Gianfranco Bonavita
Francesco Biasini
Clorinda Pucci
Kerstin Soderberg
Francesco Cusimano … Robbie
Lucio Fulci … Inspector Carter (uncredited)
Robert Spafford … Inspector Carter (voice) (uncredited)
Antonio Tentori … Man at ‘Bar Sicilia’ (uncredited)
Severin Films has announced the ‘Shocktober’ releases of Luigi Cozzi’s bonkers The Black Cat (1990), Mario Landi’s manic Patrick Still Lives and Alain Jessua’s hospital horror Shock Treatment. All are out on October 27th 2020.
The Black Cat stars horror genre regulars Caroline Munro, Brett Halsey, Florence Guérin and Urbano Barberini in a meta-story of fright filmmakers encountering a real demon while filming a Three Mothers-themed horror flick!
Patrick Still Lives (1980) is Mario Landi’s outrageous sex ‘n’ gore-filled Italian unofficial sequel to Richard Franklin’s Australian flick Patrick (1978) which features the notorious long poker up Mariangela Giordano’s pussy scene! The screenplay was written by Piero Regnoli (Nightmare City; Malabimba; The Playgirls and the Vampire).
Shock Treatment is a tale of medical madness at a seaside clinic that features French stars Alain Delon and Annie Girardot (infamously released in UK cinemas by Antony Balch (Horror Hospital) as Doctor in the Nude!).
All three films have been scanned uncut in 2K from original elements and are presented in 1.66:1 widescreen. Special features are:
The Black Cat:
Cat on the Brain: Interview with director/co-writer Luigi Cozzi and actress Caroline Munro
Trailer
Patrick Still Lives:
C’est la Vie: Interview with actor Gianni Dei (Giallo in Venice)
Trailer
Double-sided Blu-ray wrap
Severin web store exclusive slipcase
Shock Treatment:
Director’s Disorder: Interview with director Alain Jessua
Alain Jessua–The Lone Deranger: Interview with Bernard Payen, curator at The Cinémathèque Française
Koering’s Scoring: Interview with soundtrack composer René Koering
“Drumrunning”: René Koering commentary on three sequences
Trailer
Double-sided Blu-ray wrap
Wide-release Limited Edition with slipcase and CD soundtrack
Order in advance as a bargain bundle via Severin Films
Small Soldiers is a 1998 American science-fiction comedy feature film about toy action figures that are programmed to genuinely do battle.
Directed by Joe Dante from a screenplay co-written by Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin, Ted Elliott, Zack Penn and Terry Rossio. Starring Kevin Dunn, Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Dick Miller and the voices of Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, Jim Brown, Ernest Borgnine, Bruce Dern, George Kennedy, Clint Walker, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci.
Plot:
A giant American corporation in the toy-manufacturing business delivers a shipment of prototype high-tech toy soldier action-figures to a small shop in the suburbs.
The owner’s son (Kevin Dunn) is the first to discover their terrible flaw: the robot dolls are programmed with military-computer chips and hardwired to exterminate their enemies, another set of dolls who are grotesque monsters on the outside but actually harmless and timid. The mini-commandoes stage missions of destruction throughout the boy’s house overrun household.
Review:
In the 1970s while working for Roger Corman, Joe Dante directed Piranha, a genuine cult classic which won benediction from Steven Spielberg himself as the one Jaws rip-off that was any good. One could only hope, twenty years later, that with the release of Dante’s much bigger-budgeted Small Soldiers (this time via Dreamworks, the super-studio co-founded by Spielberg), a few of the talents behind Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story were similarly appreciative of Dante‘s clever tribute/takedown of their blockbuster family-feature franchise.
Globotech, a multileveled, multinational corporation, has added toy division to its bulk. In a lengthy pre-credit prologue, idealistic young designers see their ideas go into the company meatgrinder and emerge transformed: Globotech’s blockbuster new plaything concept will be hyperaggressive robotic military action-figures called the Commando Elite, programmed to literally punch their way out of their packaging and exterminate their sworn enemy, the basically benign but grotesque-looking alien `Gorgonites.’
A lorry of Commando Elite and Gorgonite prototypes arrive at a suburban Ohio toy store. The owner’s adolescent son Stuart (Kevin Dunn, an understated and likeable juvenile lead) takes in the kitschy robot dolls and strikes up a friendship with Archer, the inquisitive mini-monster who is the de facto leader of the Gorgonites.
But there’s a problem, which Dante, typically, underscores with clips of Universal’s Frankenstein (1931). One of the designers dipped into Globotech’s military R&D surplus. Power cells and PC chips in the toys are actually tiny combat microprocessors, with a capacity to adapt and learn.
So, when Commando Elite commander Chip Hazard (voiced by Tommy Lee Jones) activates and rallies his foot-tall foot soldiers (a la George C. Scott in Patton) it’s a war for real against the shy Gorgonites – whom Stuart allies with, much against the mythos of the toy company’s concept. The boy’s block becomes a battleground for the tiny terrorists, who fabricate slapsticky yet devastating weapons out of household items.
Most of the abundant F/X here involve Stan Winston‘s mechanised, animatronic puppets. Dante had hoped to do the film entirely with actual automata, but CGI proved more viable (even with a $40 million US budget), and in the end, the filmmaker estimated it came down two-to-one in favour of computer graphics.
Aside from the action binges, Dante and his scriptwriting squadron (five credited writers, usually a bad sign) concoct a clever, fast-paced scenario, with nice breathing room between its over-the-top action, plus send-ups of everything from The Terminator to Apocalypse Now and Dante’s own Gremlins.
The voiceover casting for the toys, as with Pixar, is quite impressive. One-touch Dante leaves to the cognizant to figure out: Frank Langella, velvety as Archer, played the hideous Skeletor in the 1987 movie of… Mattel’s schlocky playset franchise He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
And kiddie patrons are supposed to cheer as Action Man lookalike Chip Hazard and his Schwarzenegger-muscled military heroes get routed – even as hints of genocide, Vietnam war crimes, Ronald Reagan’s invasion of Panama and corporate greed hit home for adult viewers. There’s a deliciously hideous bit about a girl doll collection that’s every Barbie-haters phobias come true.
While Pixar’s Toy Story indeed filled merchandise outlets with replicas of Buzz Lightyear and Cowboy Woody, a line of real-world toy spinoffs from Small Soldiers was created but are much harder to locate – fittingly, for an anti-corporate satire (a Dreamworks-produced videogame also existed). Plans in the 21st century to remake Small Soldiers, under the title “Toymageddon,” have so far come to nought.
Small Soldiers is dedicated to comic actor Phil Hartman, whose blowhard bit as Stuart’s gadget-crazed neighbour is actually less fun than expected. It may be relevant to know that offscreen the prolific sketch comedian and voiceover actor had been killed just two months before the premiere in a shocking murder-suicide by his Hollywood wife.
Charles Cassady Jr., MOVIES and MANIA
Other reviews:
“There is too much of Gremlins in it, and fun and all as the scenes of the soldiers and the Gorgonite sidekicks running rampant are, they lack a certain vital imagination. There is only a single scene where Joe Dante seems to demonstrate the perverse undertow that fired much of Gremlins up…” Moria
” …Small Soldiers whilst obviously owing a lot to Joe Dante’s Gremlins is, in fact, a movie which takes it to the next level with a wide variety of humour to make it fun for all the family. The only thing it doesn’t have is the cute factor and is probably why Gremlins remains better known.” The Movie Scene
“The toys are presented as individuals who can think for themselves, and there are believable heroes and villains among them. For smaller children, this could be a terrifying experience. It’s rated PG-13, but if the characters were human the movie would be a hard “R,” just for the scene where characters get run over and chewed up by a lawnmower.” Roger Ebert
“Satirical jabs at films (Patton, Rambo), corporate “culture” and toy manufacturers (“What they call violence, I call action”) spice up Small Soldiers. With Joe Dante (Gremlins) in charge, the film has its own share of grotesquerie — one commando gets ground up in the garbage disposal and, my favorite, a band of girl dolls goes bad. It’s the Attack of the Killer Barbie Dolls.” San Francisco Chronicle
Cast and characters:
David Cross … Irwin Wayfair
Jay Mohr … Larry Benson
Alexandra Wilson … Ms. Kegel
Denis Leary … Gil Mars
Gregory Smith … Alan Abernathy
Dick Miller … Joe
Kirsten Dunst … Christy Fimple
Jacob Smith … Timmy Fimple
Jonathan Bouck … Brad (as Jonathan David Bouck)
Kevin Dunn … Stuart Abernathy
Ann Magnuson … Irene Abernathy
Wendy Schaal … Marion Fimple
Phil Hartman … Phil Fimple
Archie Hahn … Satellite Dish Installer
Robert Picardo … Ralph, Clean Room Technician
Julius Tennon … Toy World Supervisor
Belinda Balaski … Neighbour
Rance Howard … Husband
Jackie Joseph … Wife
Tommy Lee Jones … Chip Hazard (voice)
Frank Langella … Archer (voice)
Ernest Borgnine … Kip Killagin (voice)
Jim Brown … Butch Meathook (voice)
Bruce Dern … Link Static (voice)
George Kennedy … Brick Bazooka (voice)
Clint Walker … Nick Nitro (voice)
Christopher Guest … Slamfist / Scratch-It (voice)
Michael McKean … Insaniac / Freakenstein (voice)
Harry Shearer … Punch-It (voice)
Sarah Michelle Gellar … Gwendy Doll (voice)
Christina Ricci … Gwendy Doll (voice)
Marcia Mitzman Gaven … Globotech Announcer (voice)
Technical details:
108 minutes
Technicolor
Audio: DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
‘The sound he created was strange. His life was even stranger.’
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey is a 1994 feature documentary about Russian inventor Leon Theremin and the cultish musical instrument that bears his name. Directed by Steven Martin, the documentary features Leon Theremin, with Clara Rockmore, Brian Wilson and Robert Moog.
Review:
The aptly named filmmaker Steven Martin (whom we’d like to say is a pseudonym for absurdist comic/actor/novelist/musician Steve Martin, but no) rendered this transfixing, odder-than-fiction true story of Russian inventor Leon Theremin, who birthed the field of electronic music with the instrument that bears his name.
A theremin is a magnetic-field gadget that, paradoxically, can only be played by not touching it. Waving one’s arms around its two poles (originally protruding from a low-tech wooden cabinet) generates a number of tones, in a somewhat disquieting woo-woo manner that often became synonymous with alien-riddled science-fiction and uneasy futurism.
It wasn’t always that way. When Russian physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen (Westernised to Leon Theremin) unveiled the gadget in the 1920s, it seemed to come along with a wave of innovations, artistic and otherwise, that typified the new, forward-thinking Soviet Union, promising that Lenin’s tomorrow would be a humane, proletarian paradise of creativity unfettered by the nasty old villains of hidebound, class, capitalism and religious superstition. The “Constructivism” sculpture of Alexander Rodchenko and the films of Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov came along with the same giddy optimism that captivated western intellectuals. Who, in hindsight, really ought to have known better.
Theremin enjoyed a brief heyday in the Jazz-age United States, and his instrument found its first virtuoso in musician Clara Rockmore, who in her prime looked like an Aubrey Beardsley illustration (well, so did nearly all New York City ladies in those days). However, the idyll was not to last.
With Red Scares and the infant Cold War beginning, Leon Theremin was spirited back to the Soviet Union, literally kidnapped into the Kremlin’s research laboratories. He worked on all manner of bizarre projects for the dictatorship – death rays, force fields, levitation, sadly no great details given here – to advance the scientific might of the USSR in ways more in line with monolith Moscow socialist Central Planning Authority, more so than the development of some whimsical melody machine.
Meanwhile, back in decadent-imperialist Hollywood, the theremin persisted. The instrument was deployed in sci-fi flicks like the original, iconic The Day the Earth Stood Still, with Bernard Herrmann composing, it provided a slapstick interlude in a Jerry Lewis comedy and popped up in the Beach Boys classic 1966 song Good Vibrations (thus prompting an interview with Brian Wilson here). Alas, Theremin the man vanished utterly for half a century.
Finally, with the twilight of Soviet Communism, old Leon, long thought dead, was brought to New York City for a reunion with senior-citizen Clara Rockmore, still surviving. Circumstances suggest that she was a great love of his life – and like the instrument, basically untouchable.
Theremin died before this feature’s release in 1993, whence it became quite the art-house item. Clara Rockmore passed away soon afterwards. The feature uses archival film footage, old home movies and obscure newspaper clippings to bring their time and culture-warping chronicle to life.
As for the theremin, needless to say, it can be bought/built via hobby kits and the internet (so, probably, can death rays and levitating force-field bridges). As for communism, well, better luck next time, comrades.
“Martin […] makes wonderful use of performance footage, newspaper items, home movies, Hollywood movie clips, and posters to illustrate the tale. Theremin is a blend of great subject matter and a well-told story and, furthermore, proves that sometimes things are stranger than fiction.” The Austin Chronicle
“This is a must-see for any fan of electronic music and electronic noise. Watching this movie, I had the immediate impulse of wanting to reach out to Theremin who had obviously been through a lot but yet managed to keep a sense of childlike wonder about him. The character in the movie is far more charismatic than most fictional characters.” Movie Ramblings
“Watching Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey is a curious experience. You begin with interest, and then you pass through the stages of curiosity, fascination and disbelief until in the last 20 minutes, you arrive at a state of dumbfounded wonder. It is the kind of movie that requires a musical score only the Theremin possibly could supply.” Roger Ebert
” …Theremin is a tight, well-paced, near-perfect documentary. Then it seems as if Martin decided his film had to be stretched into a feature in order to get decent distribution. Rockmore’s reunion with Theremin is touching but belabored, and the last third of the film feels padded. Nevertheless, Theremin is still highly entertaining…” San Francisco Examiner
” …a documentary of surprising and seemingly unbelievable twists and turns- a fitting coda on a life that might have provided infinitely more accomplishments had things worked out differently.” Sonic Cinema
Nightmare Concert (A Cat in the Brain) – Italian: Un gatto nel cervello – is a 1990 Italian horror film directed by 
