Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#696

In this episode, Des sits down with Sezin Koehler and Paula Ashe for a Spoiler-Filled, In-Depth Discussion of the landmark French horror film, 2008‘s Martyrs.

The trailer is below, as well as the trailer for the...unfortunate American remake, an exploration of the French Extremity movement, an interview with Martyrs director Pascal Laugier at Frightfest 2012, and some French metal from Eths and Mass Hysteria!

Listen to Dread Media #696 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 46A. Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)

Now to go back to some unfinished business....namely, the second Doctor feature film starring Peter Cushing as the Doctor.

Police constable Thomas (Bernard Cribbens, a comedian perhaps better known to NuWho fans as Donna’s Uncle Wilf) fails to stop a jewel heist and heads for the nearest police box to call things in...except the police box he runs into is the Tardis.  This Doctor is still hanging with his much younger version of Susan (Roberta Tovey) and his...niece?..Louise (Jill Curzon) and they’re mid trip to...well, 2150 ‘London’ while it’s under Dalek occupation.  The rest of the film follows the original serial from here on in more of less.  Obviously, there’s no romance subplot with Susan and David (Ray Brooks)--although I’m rather surprised they didn’t try to pair David up with Louise who, let’s be honest, does nothing during this eighty-eight minutes.  Sadly, there’s no Syltheen Monsta but there is a underground resistance led by Dortmann (Godfrey Quigley), who sacrifices himself, and there’s a slimy profiteer, here played by Philip Madoc, who will become a frequent guest star on the classic Who series.

The biggest thing that sets this apart from the original serial besides the technicolor is that Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD does no location shooting.  Everything is set bound with mattes, and it really shows in its generic feel.  One of the reasons ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ worked so well was the immediacy of it, as recognizable places in London were shown under Dalek rule; this movie loses that immediacy.  Viewing it feels more like watching a stage show rather than a film.

I will say this much, though--even though at this point he was known as a comedian, Bernard Cribbens actually comes off real well as our Ian stand-in.  One scene involving Tom disguised as a Roboman aside, Cribbens plays this straight and comes off very practical and no-nosense, accepting all the strangeness around him and focusing on his police training to keep from freaking out.  If they had made Tom a regular companion in the series, I not only would have accepted it, I would have enjoyed seeing him interact with Hartnell*.

The budget does allow for some upgrading--I remember little Tom being real freaked by this version of the Robomen when I first saw this film on WNBC, and they are kind of neat in a low budget sort of way--but by suiting them up in black vinyl and ginchy double-goggles, they lose something.  The Roboman of the serial, because they looked hastily put together, emphasized the beaten down aspect of this world whereas this Robomen seem more like actual aliens rather than
brainwashed (literally in the story’s case, figuratively in the case of the Stormtroopers who the Robomen were stand-ins for) human beings.

Overall, I found this viewing of the film sort of underwhelming.  The Doctor is backgrounded a bit more than I’d like (something I think is made obvious by the movie’s marketing in ‘66), and I never get the sense of the Cushing Doctor being as smart and clever as the Hartnell Doctor.  It’s just ‘blah,’ and it doesn’t surprise me that the planned third film, based on the serial ‘The Chase,’ was scrapped.

As a whole, these two films remain as curios, and that’s probably how we should approach them.

 *--instead we got the Amazing Plank of Wood named Steven, played by Peter Purves, but we'll get to that soon enough...

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 57. Inferno (The Romans, Episode Four)

Color me impressed.  Spooner pulled it off, and did it in a way that was so much smoother than I ever imagined.

As this is a wrap up episode, a lot happens in an effort to draw our three threads together.  Ian’s friend rebels against Nero’s order, resulting in a lil’ chaos in the palace, Nero deciding to burn down Rome (at the Doctor’s....advice?) and our heros fleeing the city before everything goes south and reuniting in time to set us up for our next serial.  There’s some laughs before Ian discovers that the Doctor is struggling to free the Tardis from a mysterious force that’s dragging them down to a planet.

While we’ve been playing games for an episode and change, it gets real serious, real quick.  And it gave me a massive respect for Derek Francis as an actor--when he casually kills a centurion for not fighting Ian and his pal hard enough, he’s not changing his tone from the comedic stuff he’s done so far...but there is a subtle shift that makes his antics suddenly horrifying.  And while some stuff could be construed as comedic (the way the Doctor’s glasses accidentally set fire to a map of Rome while he’s taunting Nero), but there’s a edge of menace to them, especially as we see the insanity ignite behind the emperor’s eyes.  I was impressed by how Spooner pulled everything together and still had time for some mild Ian/Barbara horseplay.

It does help loads that Michael Peake’s Tavius not only becomes an integral part of this episode, but is given a reveal that explains his motivations very eloquently.  I really liked this character loads.

I am beginning to fear that my fondness for Vicki might turn into a crush if I’m not careful.  Her attitude of wonder and excitement at traveling through time and space is something we saw in fits and starts in Susan, and her chemistry with Hartnell is just magnificent.  This is what I expect in a companion--someone who engages with the Doctor, shows glee in what she’s able to do, and being able to stand up to him.  When Vicki pointed out the Doctor may have violated one of his own rules about interfering with history, I smiled wickedly.  She. Is. Great.

So even though episode three and parts of episode two will still cause me to wince, I am pleased to report that ‘The Romans’ worked as a whole.  It bodes well for the next serial, doesn’t it?

What?

‘The Web Planet’?

That’s next?

...grumblemutter...

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 56. Conspiracy (The Romans, Episode Three)

Well, I guess we know where Spooner’s head is at....

Even though there are little crumbs of the things I usually like about the pure historicals, it’s become clear that this story is all about the Komedy...to the point where the cliffhanger has nowhere near the impact it’s intended to, even though Ian’s about to get his head chopped off.

Now that Derek Francis’ Nero has been established, the serial is all about him.  We are forced to sit through scenes of him pursuing Barbara in chases that must have inspired Scooby-Doo, sparring with his jealous wife and being tricked by the Doctor’s riff on ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’  And when we get something interesting, like Vicki befriending the Court Poisoner, it’s made subservient to the wackiness.  The threads spun out in the first half are given lip service, but only in the barest sense.  And given this is part three of four and we all know where Nero ends up, I fear that it will never get back on track.

There is a very strange schizoid feel to this serial, as it began very seriously with slavers and the promise of court intrigue (the Doctor still hasn’t figured out the harpist he’s impersonating is secretly a master assassain) and has degenerated into bedroom farce.  I found myself having to recallibrate every time Spooner returned to Ian’s plotline to the point where the cliffhanger doesn’t register with anywhere near the impact it was expected to be.

This serial started out with a lot of promise, and it keeps sinking further and further into not-very-amusing comedy.  I continue to hold out hope...very, very little hope

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#695

It’s time for Our Annual Calvacade of Christmas Chills!  First Des and Duane go looking for Parking and find a soaked Rachel Nichols in peril on P2.  Then Rich the Monster Movie Kid dials 3615 Code Pere Noel.  Finally, I get hopped up on egg nog and takes a look at a...different kind of dangerous Santa in Fatman.

The trailers are below, as are some actual Santa Claus sightings, and some music courtesy of Frog Leap Studio (I’m about to make us all loser on the Wham! challenge), Small Town Titans and Dropkick Murphys.

Listen to Dread Media #695 here

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#694

This week it’s about sinister sci-fi--one that may be too artistic to be properly comprehended, and one that might be too stupid.  First up, Des and I try to figure out the Shudder original mini-movie Blood Machines.  Then I try to figure out the Oklahoma made...epic? Army of Frankensteins...but for different reasons.

The trailers are below, as are a discussion of ‘Soul Machines,’ biologically inspired AIs, a little drunk history on what to call the monster of Frankenstein, an early collaboration between Blood Machine’s director Seth Ickerman and soundtrack artist Carpenter Brut and music from Stitched Up Heart!

See you next week for our triple threat Christmas Spectacular!

Listen to Dread Media #694 here

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#693

This week Des and Duane genuflect before Michele Soavi’s The Church.  Then Des gives us a Top Five Italian Horror Films not made by Bava, Fulci or Argento!

The trailer is below, as is a short history of Italian horror, a tutorial on how to make effective horror movies, the top five most cursed Religious and Horror Movie Sets of all time, and music from Dead XIII and The Church of The Cosmic Skull


Listen to Dread Media #693 here

Phase Sixteen of...THE HONEYWELL EXPERIMENT!

This month we make a joyful return to Planet Fred Williamson, in this case a landmark spaghetti western/blaxploitation film where he wrecks Whitey’s stuff up while D'Urville Martin takes advantage of the new criminal code in this landmark film called....

Yeah, that title.  My lab monkey and I do have a discussion about how to approach the title this film was graced with everywhere but in the deep South, where it was simply called The Boss.  All I can say is, that particular word was used in more than one movie titles in the 70‘s, and it’s very liberally used in this story.  The 70‘s was a powerful drug.

Belly up to the bar here

If you want to support this podcast and other podcasts like it, please consider becoming a Domicile of Dread Patreon and receive lots of free goodies throughout the year including exclusive essays, movie commentaries and podcasts.  If you'd rather not make a monthly commitment, please consider making a one shot donation through Ko-Fi.

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#692

This week it’s time for some horror comedies, as Des and Duane review the demon-hunting hijinks of Hellbenders.  Then I follow McG back to the scene of his most successful crime and see if The Babysitter: Killer Queen stands up to its predecessor.

(Here's a hint...it sure as hell doesn't...)

The trailers are below, as are a profile of a real life exorcist, a play-through of a videogame based on a babysitter-themed horror film, and music from Hellbenders and all-female cover band The Killer Queens!

Listen to Dread Media #692 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 55. All Roads Lead To Rome (The Roman, Episode Two)

As is the mode of these early serials, we have our team triforcated: Ian ends up on a slave galley, Barbara is sold to be a house slave for Nero’s Wife Pompeii, and the Doctor and Vicki get to meet Nero Ceaser themselves...of course, considering that the Doctor doesn’t actually know how to play the lyre and it looks like the lyre player he is pretending to be in involved in some sort of political plot, things potentially get complicated.  And it’s even more complicated when Ian and his new friend head to Rome after the galley is shipwrecked and is now going to be trained to fight stock footage lions as a gladiator....

Things are moving at a pretty fast clip, but that humor creep continues when it comes to Nero. There is no ambiguity when it comes to Derek Francis’ portrayal; he is a broadly comic buffoon.  I do wonder if that might be Dennis Spooner’s point--that when it comes to government, you cannot expect a moron to achieve greatness (kinda pertinent these days, huh?)--but Francis aims so far into the bleachers that it’s impossible to take him seriously.  It takes away from the absolute grimness of Ian’s thread and the nuanced performance of Michael Peake as Tavius, who ends up buying Barbara, which seem to exist in an entirely different serial.

To be fair, the resolution of the cliffhanger is also played for comedy, and it’s a joy to behold.  We get to see Hartnell (or Hartnell’s stunt double) get into a fight with the assassin and revel in his physicality after he and Vicki dispose of the threat.  This approach, with the Doctor and Vicki treating this as a grand escapade when their friends are going through a gauntlet of the worst Rome has to offer, actually was effective for me.  Of course, a lot of this might be because I am thoroughly on board with Vicki and her sunnier, more adventurous outlook.

So....I’m still on board.  I like that Spooner is continuing to deal with Rome’s ickier aspects head on.  But still, I fear that, with the appearance of Francis’ Nero, things are going to do downhill from here.

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#691

This week, Des and The Local Crew of Brittney, Jo, Scott, Jeff and Mostly Silent Stacy take a look at the Shudder Original Blood Quantum, then Des gives us a Dread Media Top Five Indigineous Horror Films!

The trailer is below, as is a roundtable discussion with filmmakers represented in the Nightmare Vision Film Festival, the first Indigenous Horror Film Festival, ten horrifying Native American Legends, a reading list of Indigenous Horror Fiction, a featurette on the Navajo DIY Metal Scene, and music from Southeast Desert Metal and A Tribe Called Red featuring Black Bear!

Listen to Dread Media #691 here

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#690

This week Des and Duane look at two different films with two different kinds of women at their center, as they review the Austrian/German period piece Hagazussa and the arthouse-y Darling!

The trailers are below, as are a history of witches in Europe, Audrey Hepburn dancing to AC/DC (look at that Darling trailer, it makes sense), and music from Witch Taint and Eyes Set To Kill!

Listen to Dread Media #690 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 54. The Slave Traders (The Roman, Episode One)

In this episode, after Dennis Spooner waves away the literal cliff hanger from last episode, we check in with Team Tardis living comfortably in a villa some distance from Rome a month later.  The Doctor, Ian and Barbara have been loafing around enjoying the respite, while Vicki is anxious to start going on those adventures they were talking about.  When the Doctor’s feelings are hurt, he and Vicki head off for Rome--thus narrowly avoiding being taken by the titular slave traders that nab Ian and Barbara.  Luckily, that doesn’t mean the Doctor and Vicki are out for a couple of episodes, as he’s mistaken for a talented harpist who has an appointment with Nero....of course, considering the real harpist was murdered because Nero was jealous of his talent, this is not gonna be all puppies and lark’s tongues.

While there is some serious stuff in this half-hour--Spooner’s Slave Traders are properly loathesome and without morals, and Barbara is really getting a case of the Despairs over it--you will notice there’s a lightness of tone that we haven’t seen in the previous historical...well, at least the historicals we are able to see.  The whole first segment seems to be played for laughs.  This is the beginning of why I think the pure historicals disappeared shortly after Troughton took over.  As the emphasis of the series landed more and more on science fiction, the educational intent evaporated...and without that educational aspect, the pure historicals became less and less accurate to the point that some of those last serials are...well, really silly.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not looking down on this episode.  There’s an extended scene between Ian and Barbara after they’ve been left alone in the villa the Tardis Crew has been squatting in that’s utterly charming and sort of implies that their relationship has become very romantic without explicitly saying it.  And I am still totally on Team Vicki, as her wanderlust is a great contrast to the way our other travelers are content to be kinda lazy after all their adventures.  In fact, Spooner is doing thing with her that they could not do with Susan, like having her talk openly about London to cause Barbara to quickly cover up the gaff.

There’s not much more to report on this episode; let’s be honest, it’s all setting up stuff for the serial.  I’ve never seen this story before, although I do know something about the plot.  The character stuff does make up for this half hour’s sketchiness.

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#689

This week Des and Duane look at Scream, Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street, a documentary on Mark Patton, the star of Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Nightmare and how that film impacted his career as a closeted gay actor in 1980's Hollywood.  Then Des returns for a Top Five Horror Film Documentaries!

The trailer is below, as is a recent interview with Patton, an essay on LGBTQ Representation in horror cinema, a list of top five homoerotic films, an overview of unmade Nightmare sequels, and music by The Fat Boys (yes, I’m going there) and Ice Nine Kills!

Listen to Dread Media #689 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 53. Desperate Measures (The Rescue, Episode Two)

I am definitely on Team Vicki!

So The Doctor and Ian do get out of the Monsta Trap and eventually find their way to the rocket where the others are sheltered.  There’s a bit of tension going on as Barbara shot a monsta that she thought was about to eat Vicki, but turned out to be her...pet? Sandy looking for some veggie num-nums.  The Doctor goes to talk to Bennett to find the guy missing.  He also finds a trap door that leads to the seat of Dido Civilization.  The Doctor has figured out that Bennett is secretly Quollillion!  It seems Bennett had murdered someone on the ship and was going to go to prison...so he sabotaged the ship, killed off everyone on the ship save Vicki and the whole of Dido Civilization with a bomb, and was planning on killing Vicki, using Quollillion as a scapegoat!  The Doctor actually fights Bennett, and almost loses before two of the actual Dido natives (Didoians?  Didons?) show up to put an end to the villain’s shenanigans....and sabotaging the ship once the crew invite Vicki to join them on the Tardis.

If I was a little unsure last episode, I am not anymore; Vicki shows more range in this one serial then Susan did almost throughout her tenure.  O’Brien oozes chemistry with Hartnell in their scenes, and the scene of Vicki taking in the concept of the time travelers from the Pre-Swinging 60‘s is actually pretty good; our new companion treats the concept first as a joke, then actually works up to grasp what Barbara and Ian are saying.  I like that approach.  I like that she seems capable of contributing something to the crew--the whole twist with the Monsta having been domesticated was a lil’ surprise for me.

The other thing I really liked is how the Doctor ends up doing most of the heavy lifting himself, unraveling the mystery and revealing Bennett’s plan.  He even gets into something of a fight, and sensibly doesn’t come out on top.  Yeah, the idea of the Dido Guys showing up is bald-facedly deus ex machina, but considering how the Doctor has been emphatically portrayed in previous serials as aging and, well, if not feeble not in the prime of his life, it makes more sense than having him overpower a much younger, fitter man.  I liked that the Doctor is capable of taking the spotlight when needed.

...oh, and Barbara shoots a monsta!

Obviously, several minutes are spent inducting Vicki into Team Tardis.  I didn’t mind it as much as some of the NuWho onboardings, and I thought it didn’t become what we’ll see in the future with an accelerated acceptance (‘Hey, I just stumbled into this police box after my aunt was shrunk to death....uh, okay, I guess I’m a companion now.’).  And considering I was so sold on Vicki as a character, the wrap up made me happy...as did this story as a whole.

While I’m sure I should be a little upset that this is the first--and as far as I know, only Scooby-Doo serial, I actually was pleased to find a genuinely fun and interesting change of pace that ends up giving us what promises to be a great new companion.  Color me super-intrigued!

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#688

This week, Des gets the Local Crew together to talk about the first Fox film to be released by Disney, Ready or Not, starring my super-crush, Samara Weaving.  Then Des and Duane examine a...post-modern?...rape revenge movie, not surprisingly titled REVENGE!

The trailers are below, as is some dating advice from Weaving and her Bill and Ted Face The Music compatriot Bridgette Lundy-Paine, an assortment of top-notch female revenge films, and music from Onyria and Violent Revenge (featuring a 13 year old singer rocking an Ozzy classic)!

Listen to Dread Media #687 here

Boycott Disney, kids.

HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2020: Random Acts of Violence (2020)

Our sponsors this time around is one of the true Power Couples of Comics, a writer and an artist who have united on several landmark characters in pop culture (there’s a certain version of Harley Quinn that I bet some of you crush on that’s all their work) and now work hard on some projects of their own over at Paper Films....namely Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner!  Please go over to their website and check out their upcoming projects and maybe pick up some merch!

Jimmy and Amanda have also had a hand in some film and TV projects, like today’s flick directed by Jay Baruchel, Random Acts of Violence!

Todd (Jesse Williams) is a comic creator well known for a very violent, graphic comic called Slasherman.  As he struggles to find the perfect ending for his series, he embarks on a road trip with his wife Kathy (Jordana Brewster), business partner Ezra (Baruchel) and assistant Aurora (Niamh Wilson) down to a comics convention in New York.  Kathy is presently researching a book on the I-95 Slayer, a serial killer who inspired Todd to create Slasherman...and a random encounter has apparently triggered a man (Simon Northwood) to emulate some of the more gruesome murders in the comic.

And that’s the premise, and there’s a bunch more in this film’s eighty minute run time.  Baruchel is interested in something a little deeper--something that actually makes what people would assume is an obvious reveal part of this film’s theme.  At its core, if we take away the gruesome set pieces (and trust me, some of this stuff is pretty gross, especially the third act), this is about the old school argument about whether art inspires violence or the other way around...and Baruchel’s answer is ‘yes’ to both.  This is why what people will assume is a twist that’s easy to see isn’t a twist at all; this film is an oroborous, telling us that there is no pat, easy answer to this question, that it’s not a cause-and-effect but a cycle, and trying to stop one will not stop the other.

I liked how Todd is portrayed by Jesse Williams and the script as being uncomfortable and conflicted with his creation.  In fact, I don’t think there is one person in our central quartet who is made out to be enthusiastic about violence; quite the contrary, they are justifiably horrified when real bodies show up...although for me, one of the most uncomfortable moments comes at a comic book signing, where a fan presents a model based on the comic--complete with victims--and starts raving about the comic being his life (I wonder if Baruchel consciously cast a redheaded actor in this role; we know from a previous scene that this isn’t the killer, but our director sort of knows in a conventional slasher he would be an obvious red herring); it’s the enthusiasm this fan displays that is truly sickening and not the decapitated heads or the Hannibal-style sculpture of dead bodies on the side of the road.

There are a number of good performances--I’ve always thought Brewster was a much better actor than the roles she ended up in gave her, and I was really taken with the slightly manic but grounded performance by Wilson.  I appreciate that the script gives us moments with everyone so that they’re not just volunteers for the body count--even a family about to be slaughtered is given a little silent tableau of harmony that says something about these future victims.  You’ll notice that one thing Baruchel does avoid is turning every character into a jerk...we feel the carnage because we don’t hate them, even if we don’t love them.  We know just enough to know they don’t deserve the carnage about to rain down on them.

My one fear about this film is that people will take it for what’s on its surface and not look at what lies beneath its celluloid skin.  It’s got something else on its mind and, as such, there’s more an emphasis on our main protagonist and what he and his friends are going through rather than the kills.  I think it works in a weirdly meta-way, and I would recommend it.

Well, as mentioned in earlier essays, Halloween Horrorfest Is Going Into Overtime for at least two more days, and our sponsor for tomorrow is our pal Mike Blanchard of Geekcast Radio, who has chosen for what would have been the finale, the Curtis Hanson cautionary tale for expecting rich jerks, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.  Then stay tuned to find out what horror film would be chosen by...my mother!

You can make things last beyond this Monday, folks! Just choose one of four options:
 
1) You can become a Domicile of Dread Patreon at any level.  Patreons always get a free slot, as well as advance access to podcasts and other goodies!

2) You can buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi.  Suggested donation is $3

3) You can make a donation to Black Lives Matter.  Suggested donation is $10.  Please forward your receipt to me as proof.

4) You can choose to make a donation to the charity chosen by a sponsor on his/her/their day. Like with the third possibility, please forward me proof of donation.

HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2020: Another Kind (2013)

Our sponsor today...well, yesterday, since I’m a day behind...is one of my Domicile of Dread Patreons, a woman who I bonded with over Ranking Roger and I still suspect might be a blood sister who was separated from me through time and space by nefarious means, Angie Bulkeley!  Angie represents Horizons For Homeless Children, a Massachusetts-based organization that provides support, education and services to homeless kids and their families!

Angie chose a film from 2013 I had not heard of prior to her recommending it, Another Kind.

Patrick (Patrick Woodall) is a self-important hipster doofus who bullies his hipster doofus girlfriend Jamie (Jamie Law) and hipster doofus friend Nate (Nate Miller) and his girlfriend Laura (Laura Ramedei) into embarking on a weekend-long snowshoe hike around the Catskills.  Patrick doesn’t have to worry about the fact he hadn’t planned things out or didn’t bring a map; he’s got the best equipment.  But then Jamie takes off to a hotel--back in New York City, apparently--and then they get lost, and then strange lights start appearing in the sky, then Patrick ends up in a coma with a weird wound under his hipster doofus sherpa cap, and...well, let’s just say I was surprised that the closing credits didn’t reveal that the film’s real title was Another Cloverfield.

You know, I could just run you off a list of things this film did that you shouldn’t be allowed to do anymore in low budget ‘indie’ horror films.  You shouldn’t start with a big shock sequence, then followed with a title telling us we’re going back ‘___ hours earlier’. You shouldn’t give your characters the same first name as the actors to ‘increase veracity.’ You shouldn’t make all your characters annoying--except maybe one, who you know the director is going to assume we will assume will be the final girl when she’s not.  You shouldn’t have someone taking our cast into the woods not bother with something as basic as maps, and you shouldn’t have the rest of the cast go any further with him...especially since they outnumber that lead doofus three to one.  You shouldn’t have your cast’s cell phone work except, you know, when it’s convenient for it not to.  You shouldn’t drop little crumbs of weirdness without thinking how to draw those crumbs into a semi-logical whole.  You shouldn’t do found footage style shots even though the film is a conventional narrative.  Most importantly, you shouldn’t let your last survivor be one of those hipster doofuses (doofi?) that you hated and never explain what happened to the one character you didn’t hate.

Just like The Raven earlier, this film is a microcosm of what people thought would go over with the public at the time, only this time it’s low budget hipster horror instead of big budget blockbuster horror...and this one is better.  I mean, yes it annoyed the crap out of me to the point where I checked out very early, but at least it seemed sincere.  This felt like a story that director Jonathan Biltstein wanted to tell, not a story that he thought people would eat up...it’s just that I suspect he was influenced by the state of low budget filmmaking at the time.  You can see those echoes of found footage--we all seem to forget how hard it was to kill that cinematic fad back then--prompting Biltstein to make so many of the mistakes he makes.  As such, it emphasizes how little there is brought to the table in this story that’s not new; I did not make that Cloverfield joke lightly, folks.

Still, I think the film could have been salvaged if the actors rose above the material, but they can’t give the nuance needed to indicate to me they weren’t just jerks.  Laura Ramadei almost manages to do this, and Nate Miller tries in the final act, but they can’t get their characters out from under the shadow their first few scenes cast over them.  Jamie Law’s character is underwritten to the extreme.  I know this is not Biltstein’s fault, but the fact that Patrick Woodall looks uncomfortably like notorious alt-rock asshole David Lowery of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven made it hard to even consider seeing things from his super-privleged point of view.

But at least the film isn’t bloated at an hour and sixteen minutes, and I got a thrill from recognizing that the footage in the first act was definitely shot on the New York State Thruway (I used to go to that rest stop when my family would drive up to Albany to see my grandmother!).  I can’t recommend this, but it’s far from the worst offender on this year’s Halloween Horrorfest Menu.

Our sponsor tomorrow/today is a man I’ve known for about thirty years and his wife, who together are one of the Power Couples of Comics, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner!  Jimmy and Amanda have chosen a film from this year directed by Jay Baruschel, Random Acts of Violence!

We are Going Into Overtime this Halloween Horrorfest.  Right now it looks like it’ll wrap up November 2nd....but I’m open to going longer if you want.  Just choose one of four options:
 
1) You can become a Domicile of Dread Patreon at any level.  Patreons always get a free slot, as well as advance access to podcasts and other goodies!

2) You can buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi.  Suggested donation is $3

3) You can make a donation to Black Lives Matter.  Suggested donation is $10.  Please forward your receipt to me as proof.

4) You can choose to make a donation to the charity chosen by a sponsor on his/her/their day. Like with the third possibility, please forward me proof of donation.

(Psst...and don’t forget tomorrow to check out the Two True Freaks Network tomorrow to check out a special Halloween Treat from the Ocadecagonagon Theater Group, Public Domain Comics Theater: Monster of The Bayous!)

HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2020: The Stuff (1985)

In an unprecedented move in the history of the Halloween Horrorfest, my beloved Patreon Sean Foster decided to sponsor a second slot...and good thing, considering the utter garbage I endured yesterday, because Sean chose a film from one of my heroes and featuring one of his collaborations with New York-based actor turned right wing wackadoo, Michael Moriarty.  So let’s dive into Larry Cohen’s 1985 flick The Stuff!

David ‘Mo’ Rutherford (Moriarty with a deliciously over-the-top southern accent) has been hired by a consortium of ice cream manufacturers to discover what the hell is going on with the all-natural dessert sensation called The Stuff.  Now, we saw in the opening teaser that this white, gloopy gelatin bubbled up from the ground in a mine down in Georgia and is instantly addictive...but what we learn alongside Mo, a young boy whose family has become ‘Stuffies’ (Scott Bloom) and the ad executive who put together The Stuff marketing campaign (Andrea Marcovicci), this ‘benign bacteria’ is anything but benign; it’s actually a parasitic organism that first takes over its host’s mind, then consumes it from the inside out.  

Even though Larry Cohen was one of the writers for what would eventually become Abel Ferrera’s Body Snatchers, this is his version of the Don Seigel classic. Just as Seigel used his monster to represent Communism and the Philip Kaufmann remake covered new age thought, Cohen’s chosen as his bugaboo...well, we could say ‘consumerism,’ but let’s be honest, we’re talking Capitalism itself!  Larry’s taking both barrels of his satiric mind on the corporate greed and dishonesty that dominated the Reagan era.  Throughout the film, Mo encounters different types who could have asked the questions he’s asking now but didn’t bother; all that they cared about was that people would buy it in droves.  The executive who manufactures The Stuff (Patrick O’Neal) even admits that the people who brought this substance to his attention were already too far gone, and only thought of the profits!  This is a story not about a killer yogurt, but about how willing we are to just take anything at faith about something we want if we’re told we want it enough.

I think that’s why Cohen pointedly does not reveal what the Stuff is or what it wants...or why it looks like a certain, ummm, biological substance common to humans, or why when we see its ‘source,’ it seems to coagulate into certain phallic symbols. It’s almost as if our entropic element is the ultimate avatar of the ‘subliminal advertising’ panic that gripped the country in the late 70‘s; it wants us to think of it as the ultimate sex symbol.  The way that the commercials seen throughout the film’s ninety three minute running time are all sort of sexually charged (well, except for the one with Abe Vigoda and Clare Peller that will not be comprehensible to anybody who didn’t live through the ‘Where’s The Beef’ fad) are just being blatant about what we should already know--Capitalism is more than willing to sell you something dangerous to you by telling you using it will make you hotter, sexier and more popular.

A word about the commercials.  You might think they seem a little...forced into the film, and there’s a good reason for that: Cohen never intended them to appear in the film.  The four or five clips were intended to be broadcast on TV prior to the film’s release without any word that it was connected to a movie, which would be revealed as the release date grew closer.  New World Pictures, who financed the production didn’t felt the public would be ‘too confused’ by this advertising campaign and nixed it, so Cohen put them in the film when he was ordered to re-edit it to make it less ‘philosphical and dense.’

This is the second time Cohen worked with Moriarty (Q The Winged Serpent being their first collaboration), and while I do think it’s not their best collaboration, I think Mo Rutherford is Moriarty’s best portrayal of the four he made in Cohen's films.  There’s a line of dialogue where Mo assures one of the corporate types who is hiring him that ‘no one can be as stupid as I seem,’ and that’s the key to this performance.  In this film, Rutherford is consciously counting on those around him underestimating him to get the work done, and his personality on getting him what he wants.  The fact that he basically convinces a psychotic militia leader (Paul Sorvino having a ball and a half) to help him, even gets him to allow a former African-American cookie magnate (Garrett Morris at his most Garrett Morris-iness) to testify on his right wing radio station in spite of him being not white is indicative of the charm.  After seeing it numerous times, I’m still not sure if Mo’s broad accent is real or a calculated affection to get people to lower their guard.  It’s a bravura performance, which makes it all the sadder that he has become such a gross person in real life.

The special effects are of their time, sometimes being truly spectacular in their grotesqueness (the post-Stuff broken apart bodies are truly icky), sometimes being regretfully dated (some clumsy green screen effects), but mostly being...okay, I guess.  But then, the special effects are secondary to what Cohen has in mind; after all, if one of the people up the line questioned what the Stuff actually was, this film would never have happened.

For New Yorkers like me, there are a couple of surprising Easter Eggs, including an uncredited cameo by monologist Eric Bogosian (who goes on to star in my favorite Cohen film, Special Effects).  It almost upset me that so little of the film takes place in New York City, as Cohen was a New Yorker at heart.

I love this film like I love almost all of Larry Cohen’s productions, especially the ones set in our shared home town.  It may not be among his absolute best, but that great performance from Moriarty and the satiric grace notes make it more than viewable.  I recommend it!

Tomorrow, the last of my beloved Domicile of Dread Patreons to step into the spotlight, Angie Bulkeley, has chosen chosen for me the 2013 survival horror story Another Kind.  I know nothing about this film, so I am intrigued!

We are Going Into Overtime this Halloween Horrorfest, and if you want it to go longer into November, there are other options besides becoming a Domicile of Dread Patreon:
 
1) You can buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi.  Suggested donation is $3

2) You can make a donation to Black Lives Matter.  Suggested donation is $10.  Please forward your receipt to me as proof.

3) You can choose to make a donation to the charity chosen by a sponsor on his/her/their day. Like with the third possibility, please forward me proof of donation.

HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2020: The Raven (2012)

I think we have found the one that broke me this year.  This is awful.

And to think it took almost the entire Horrorfest for me to want to tap out.

I’m serious.  I started watching this yesterday evening and got to approximately the 47 minute mark (right after John Cusask’s Edgar Allan Poe’s fiancee was teased with being buried alive by his serial killer nemesis...don’t worry, we’ll get to it), and I just couldn’t be bothered anymore; I turned off the film and devoted my energies to other, more significant actions...like lying in bed with my cat, Tabitha Da Movie Cat.

This is purportedly the story of Poe’s last couple of days, which ‘remain a mystery.’  Poe has just proposed to his rich-familied-girlfriend (Alice Eve) when he’s sent for by Inspector Fields (Luke Evans).  It seems that Poe’s fiction has inspired a serial killer, and said serial killer is fashioning his murder after mayhem in Poe’s stories, and Fields wants him to consult so they can catch the culprit.  Of course, once Poe’s girlfriend is kidnapped by the killer, the maniac forces the writer into a game--Poe has to decipher clues left for him on future bodies and print his efforts to unravel this mystery or his girlfriend dies.

This film may be set in the 19th century, but it is so 2012.  That drab-ass color palette, the ridiculously super-genius serial killer with unlimited resources and a really obvious red herring to hide behind, a minor-but-significant character whose only purpose is to be ‘shockingly’ killed at the end of the second act, a female lead who’s decorative but plucky enough to try and defy the killer, the weird lingual anachronisms (the killer is referred to as a serial killer in the headlines, even though the phrase wasn’t coined until the 1970‘s), the CGI blood and bullets whizzing towards the camera, even that last sequence that was obviously meant to run after the initial closing credits sequence featuring an abstract CGI raven and a pop song by UNKLE--it’s all of the time of its production.  Even though it’s meant to be Baltimore, the setting is generic ‘old-timey,’ with Serbia and Hungary subbing for Maryland.  I was never less than annoyed by this film, and frequently was actively angry at it.

I suppose I should mention John Cusack’s ‘star turn’ as Poe, which is...not good.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of Cusack, particularly because he is able to appeal to both male and female audiences and is, at least according to Danny Trejo, a legitmate bad-ass who doesn’t feel the need to present as a bad ass.  But it might not be that he comes off as miscast as the script by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare miscasts Poe as an action hero.  By the time this legitimate literary figure is riding a horse and engaging in a gun battle with the dark-garbed murderer, I was thoroughly checked out.  It’s a ludicrous portrayal, and it’s not over the top enough that I could laugh at it.

Oh, and the villain?  The villain sucks, a Jigsaw-manque who seems to have enough resources to build a freaking pendulum but is supposed to be a humble typesetter.

The worst thing about this is that the whole ‘serial killer inspired by Poe stories’ has been done several times, and every time these attempts have stunk on ice.  I point you to the low, low budget flick The Descendant, where the serial killer is played by Jeremy ‘Party of Five’ London and the heroine was a young Katherine ‘I Have A Stupid Face’ Heigl.  Yes, it’s just as bad, but it doesn’t pretend to be ‘lit’ry’ by setting it in period and has the good sense to be only ninety minutes--not this film’s bloated hour and fifty minutes!  Or I could point you to The Following, the ‘cult’ series that featured James Purefoy (who is Joe R. Lansdale’s Hap to me) as the killer and Kevin Bacon, wanting some of the television cash his wife got from The Closer, as the sad and pathetic hero....and that was created by Kevin Williamson, who mocked so much of the serial killer tropes he was using in that series in Scream.  Either one may be awful, but at least they’re honest about what they are....this, this is just pretentious emo doofus blockbuster shit.

I guess I’m particularly annoyed because this film was directed by James McTiegue, whose adaptation of V For Vendetta I loved.  I expected more from him, and got less...so, so, so much less.

Fuck this movie.  Just fuck it in whatever orafice would be the most painful for it.  It goes without saying that this is Not Recommended.

Our sponsor tomorrow is....well, Sean Foster bought me another Ko-Fi so I can watch a film from one of my true heroes, the great Larry Cohen.  I am so relieved that I will be watching Cohen’s second collaboration with Michael Moriarity, The Stuff...which, by the way, is the second film of this Horrorfest featuring Brooke Adams.

We are Going Into Overtime this Halloween Horrorfest, and not just because this fucking film screwed with me.  I’ll probably be doing this until November 2nd....and if you wish to make overtime longer, you have four options:

1) You can become a Domicile of Dread Patreon at any level.  Patreons always get a free slot, as well as advance access to podcasts and other goodies!

2) You can buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi.  Suggested donation is $3

3) You can make a donation to Black Lives Matter.  Suggested donation is $10.  Please forward your receipt to me as proof.

4) You can choose to make a donation to the charity chosen by a sponsor on his/her/their day. Like with the third possibility, please forward me proof of donation.