PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Friday Night Movies 939

Left For Dead 2007 Written by Chad Leslie and directed by Albert Pyun. Am American Argentine production that was filmed in Argentina in 12 days. Albert won the Best Director award at the 2007 Costa del Sol Fantasy Film Festival.

A horror western with a demon gunfighter. Victoria Maurette plays Clementine, she's looking for a man called Sentenza, he deserted her and their baby. She meets a gang of whores who murdered all the people in a town. The head of the whores is looking for Sentenza also, he left her daughter pregnant and ran off.

They find Sentenza in the ghost town of Amnesty which is home to the dead soul of slain preacher Mobius Lockhardt. He made a pack with the devil to remain among the living. He can't leave the town and he can't die.

The whores get picked off one by one. There's a fair bit of action but the jittercam, jump cuts and freeze frames became annoying right quick. The characters were mostly entertaining, the lesser characters disappeared quickly, it's only an 84 min movie, no time to waste.

It's got a low score, a 3.2, on the IMDb but I thought it was more like a 5. That score would improve if there wasn't all the camera and editing trickery. That IMDb score is buoyed up by 54.5% of the votes being a 9 or a 10. I'm not sure who's voting, don't care. Don't think I'll bother with the DVD, maybe if I find it on clearance sometime.

Accion Mutante 1992 Written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría and Álex de la Iglesia, directed by Álex de la Iglesia. It's Álex's first film. A Spanish French production.

In a post-apocalyptic future the world is ruled by the rich and beautiful. A group of disable people, calling themselves mutants, plan to take down the rulers. Sadly, the mutants are mentally disabled and cannot formulate a plan that they can follow through. The kidnapping the movie opens with fails because they suffocate the victim.

The next kidnapping victim manages to survive in a complicated plot that I wouldn't even attempt to cover. It's a chaotic film with weird stuff going on all the time. The mutant group falls apart from the inside and nearly everyone dies.

I'd seen this 22 years ago but couldn't remember a thing about it. It's noisy, colorful, violent, funny and worth a look for some. Not everyone is going to like this one. We watched the new Severin Blu-ray release and it looks nice enough. The movie was pretty low budget, nice that the film elements survived. Doubt I'm going to add this to my collection.

The Canterville Ghost 1997

The Canterville Ghost 1997 Story by Oscar Wilde, screenplay by Olivia Hetreed, directed by Crispin Reece.

A British TV adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story. An American family moves into a big manor house and has to contend with the ghost. I've seen several adaptations of the story. This isn't going to be a favorite adaptation to me. It's a bit annoying. I was most interested in seeing Rik Mayall, he's got a smallish part as a reverend who comes to preform an exorcism. He doesn't stand a chance against Ian Richardson's ghost. You can watch a poor copy on YouTube. Better though you watch the more entertaining 1944 version with Charles Laughton. The 1996 version with Neve Campbell and Patrick Stewart is slightly less entertaining than the 1944 version but still fun.

 

Friday Night Movies 928

Frostbiter: The Wrath Of Wendigo 1996 Written and directed by Tom Chaney. Troma released the film and put it out on DVD. We watched the new Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. Chaney was highly influenced by Sam Raimi's Evil Dead.

A couple of hunters go nuts on an island off Northern Michigan. One of the hunters kills the guardian of the Wendigo and destroys the circle of protection that traps the Wendigo. The beast kills most everyone but one strong lady becomes the new guardian and she puts the beast back in it's hole.

It's pretty low-budget and goofy, there were some laughs and some gory bits. I'd watch it again but I doubt I'd buy a copy.

Mindfield 1989 Based on a novel by William Deverell, screenplay by William Deverell, Tom Berry and George Mihalka, directed by Jean-Claude Lord.

Michael Ironside is a cop in a city in Canada. He's got some mental issues from being experimented on when he was a teenager. Christopher Plummer plays the scientist who did the experimenting. Years pass and a shootout with a criminal triggers the memory. He gets some help from a lady and there's a bit of romance. Eventually Michael figures out who needs killing and takes care of them.

Fairly good but not much more than average. There's a dull part about an hour in, the action picks up for the ending. Enjoyed watching, wouldn't need to see it again.

Basket Case The Trilogy

Basket Case The Trilogy

I ordered the Second Sight Blu-ray in August 2020 and I'm finally getting around to it. Second Sight is a UK company but the set is region free and all 3 films have their own disc. I liked all three films with I first saw them.

Basket Case 1982 Written and directed by Frank Henelotter.

Kevin Van Hentenryck plays Duane Bradley, a young man who had a conjoined twin called Belial. They were separated when they were in their early teens, Belial survived and the twin went to live with their Aunt. She died and the twins set out to kill the doctors that separated them. There's three of them and Duane is successful in his endeavor but he creates a big mess and falls off a building.

There's a lot of mayhem and murder in the film, it's all balanced out by a good dose of humor. There's plenty of odd characters and 42nd Street plays a big part in the film. Not for everybody but I still like it after quite a few viewings.

Basket Case 2 1990 Written and directed by Frank Henelotter.

The story picks up with Duane and Belial in a hospital. They are rescued by a woman called Granny Ruth. She's got a nice big house and it's filled with a large number of deformed people. Belial finds a girlfriend while Duane thinks he should be allowed to go off and lead a normal life. He wants the one woman in the house who seems normal to go with him but Granny Ruth's granddaughter Susan isn't willing to leave the group.

Duane and Belial are wanted by the police for all the murders and things get dicey when a snoopy reporter and her photographer spot Duane in the house. The deformed people fight back and the snoopers come to a gory end. Duane gets nuttier and nuttier, especially when he nearly has sex with Susan. The movie ends with Duane killing Susan and then trying to sew Belial back on his body.

It's somewhat sillier than the first movie while still providing plenty of laughs and gooey content.

Basket Case 3 The Progeny 1991 Written by Frank Henenlotter and Robert Martin, directed by Frank Henenlotter.

Some time has past and Duane has been locked in a padded room in Granny Ruth's house. She finally lets him out as the group are going to take a road trip to visit her ex-husband Hal. Belial has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and she wants some help with the birth. Once they get to Hal's house things go downhill pretty quickly. Duane escapes the house and Belial attacks Hal. Duane gets arrested and the cops want the million dollar reward for for the capture of the brothers. Things go bad for the cops when they get involved, many of them die.

Even more gore and mayhem in this one. More laughs too.

It would be 17 years before Frank made another movie.

Bonus Features A mix of older extras from the US DVD and some new stuff. The commentary and the new docu were the most entertaining extras for me.

What's in the basket? A new 79 min docu with director Frank Henenlotter; actors Kevin VanHentenryck, Beverly Bonner, Annie Ross; producers Edgar Ievans and James Glickenhaus; make-up effects artists John Caglione Jr, Kevin Haney, Gabe Bartalos and writer Uncle Bob Martin.

Interview With Graham Humphreys A new interview with the artist who did the cover to the Second Sight Blu-ray set.

Everything below came from the US DVD:

Video introduction by Frank Henelotter

Audio commentary by director Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, and actress Beverly Bonner

Outtakes / Behind-The-Scenes

In Search Of The Hotel Broslin Frank and a pal wonder around New York looking at the places where they filmed the movie.

Trailers / Radio Spots

Photo Gallery: Behind-The-Scenes, Promotional Material, Stills

The Return Of Tommy Tricker 1994

The Return Of Tommy Tricker 1994 Written and directed by Michael Rubbo. Sequel to the 1988 film Tommy Tricker And The Stamp Traveller. Both are part of the Films For All series. This is the last of 4 kids films that Michael made for the series, the other two were The Peanut Butter Solution and Vincent & Me. I haven't seen the latter film. Stopped making films, bar two documentaries, after this came out.

Sadly the sequel is much less appealing when compared to the first film. Tommy Tricker takes center stage for most of it and he's even more of a douche bag than he was in the first film. He lies and cheats and steals all the time. Really disliked having to look at his smug face. The kid who played Tommy Tricker in the first film didn't get to play Tommy, he got a small part, don't know why. There are a lot of changes in the characters and situation from the first film, hard to believe when it's supposed to be set immediately after the first film.

The main plot is about trying to rescue Charles from the Bluenose stamp. The attempt brings a young girl from the past and she starts to age. They pack up and go to the south seas to try to find a cure. None of it makes much sense but the scenery of New Zealand and the Cook Islands was very nice. Disappointing in the end. Doubt I'd bother watching it again.

The Invisible Maniac 1990

The Invisible Maniac 1990 Written and directed by Adam Rifkin under the pseudonym Rif Coogan. It's Adam's third movie, he followed it with my favorite of his films The Dark Backward. Some of his early films stood out from the crowd and I've followed his career much more than many other film makers.

A repressed boy grows up to be a sexually repressed scientist named Dornwinkle. His mother caught him spying on his neighbor getting undressed when he was a young boy and she let him know how naughty and evil women are. As an adult he goes mad at a science conference when his invisibility serum doesn't work. Some of the scientists laugh at him and he kills four of them. Dornwinkle is sent to the State Institution for the Criminally Insane, six months later he escapes and gets a job teaching science at a high school.

Dornwinkle is harassed by some of the students and it makes him angry. He's perfected his invisibility serum but it has some side effects. The principal of the school, played by Stephanie Blake, tries to seduce Dornwinkle but he doesn't want any part of it, things turn ugly and the poor principal gets murdered. It's just the start of a spree as Dornwinkle takes out his revenge on the student body.

It's rough around the edges, a bit sick and pretty over the top but it's filled with laughs. Not the kind of film everyone is going to like but there you go. Sadly there's no legit DVD release out, there are bootlegs but I haven't bothered with one. You can see it on YouTube, link above. You can find a better copy to download at RareLust.

The Laughing Dead 1990

The Laughing Dead 1990 Written and directed by Somtow Sucharitku under the name SP Somtow. This is Somtow's first feature film as a director, the other was called Ill Met By Moonlight, which I've not seen. Somtow once wrote an episode of Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and 4 episodes of Dinosaucers. I've seen the former but not the later.

I saw this back in 1990 when a local guy got a VHS tape from the director. The film didn't get a US release but Somtow showed it at SF conventions a few times. It did eventually show up on DVD, usually packaged with another film, recently there's been a Blu-ray release.

It's 80s Asian horror transplanted to the US southwest and mixed with Mexican mythology. Somtow plays the evil Dr Um-tzec, he loves sacrificing people and ripping their hearts out. He's got his eyes set on the son of Father Sullivan. The Father is leading an archeology expedition to Mexico. Dr Um-tzec seems a bit weird at first but soon enough his true nature comes apparent. There's the typical sort of slaughter with a fair bit of gore. They did pretty well for a small budget and a group of film makers that haven't had much experience. From the making of documentary Somtow wasn't supposed to direct but the woman hired stepped down and he was forced to direct. Some others helped.

I remember liking it on the first watch, much of that like was the fun of seeing it in a group and enjoying the appearance of several SF authors in the cast. You may or may not have heard of any of them: Tim Powers, Tim Sullivan, Gregory Frost, Larry Kagen, Wendy Webb, Arthur Byron Cover, William F Wu, Len Wein. Edward Bryant, Forest Ackerman, Bill Warren and his wife Beverly. After seeing it now, the rose off the bloom, I can see why it scores a 4.2 on the IMDb. It's entertaining but it's still below average. It's nice seeing it widescreen and with a nicer image than that old VHS tape. You can check out the copy on YouTube, you might like it, at least you'll know if you might want to spend the money on the Blu-ray. It's a stonking $35 on Amazon. It's hardly worth that.

Vegas In Space 1991

Vegas In Space 1991 Written by Phillips R Ford and Doris Fish, directed by Phillip R Ford. Doris Fish is the stage name for Phillip Mills, an Australian who was a major star in the 80s world of San Francisco drag. Filming started in 1983 and continued for 18 months. Much of the film was shot in Doris's apartment.

It took another 8 years to finish the film, Fish died in 1991, a few months before the film was released. There was a VHS tape release and a Troma DVD which seems to be out of print. Not that I would want to buy one. You can see it on YouTube in the link above. I saw it on Amazon Prime.

That's Ford surrounded by the cast with Doris in the back row (second from the right). In the 80s Ford was the "honorary straight man" in the San Francisco drag troupe Sluts A-Go-Go. This is his only feature film, he had previously directed a short called Rollercoaster To Hell.

The movie is a super campy parody of space films. The crew of Captain Dan Tracey's ship are sent on a mission to the planet Clitoris. It's a pleasure resort planet that's only for women. No men allowed. Luckily they have sex change pills that turn all the men into women. Except for one guy, he took two pills and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Doris and a couple of other gals pose as a trio of singers. They're looking for some stolen gems that are used to help control the planet's orbit and keep it from falling into the sun. There's plenty of running about and camping it up. The sets and props are way below average, same with the script, the costumes on the other hand were fabulous!!! They aren't but it was fun to say. The movie is sort of fun but it lacks good jokes. It's mostly just drag queens nattering at each other. Worth a look for something that's unique. Really low budget. Just not that great.

Addams Family Reunion 1998

Addams Family Reunion 1998 Absolutely awful.

Bernard And The Genie 1991

I bet I haven't seen Bernard And The Genie for ages and ages. I first saw this 1991 Lenny Henry BBC TV movie back in 1992. At that point I'd been seeing Lenny on PBS for a few years. PBS had good audiences for BBC comedies like The Young Ones, A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, and French And Saunders. Lenny was in the same zany vein and some episodes were pretty darn funny. I had a VHS of BATG but it's long gone. I saw a DVD on sale at MDV video and bought it. The movie is written by Richard Curtis and directed by Paul Weiland. In 1991 Richard had already written all 4 series of Blackadder and just started on writing Mr Bean. Four Weddings And A Funeral was his next feature film.

Alan Cummings is Bernard, an art buyer for a firm run by Rowan Atkinson. Rowan is a super scumbag and he fires Bernard for being a nicer person. Poor Bernard goes home to find out his girlfriend is dumping him for his friend. That's all the same day that a genie comes into his life. Lenny Henry plays Josephus the Genie and he's a handful. He's been trapped in the lamp for 2000 years and he's busting to have some fun. He might have to grant Bernard all the wishes he wants but he's going to do it in style. People familiar with the 80s Lenny Henry show would know exactly how's he's acting. Big noise, loud costumes, plenty of emotion, and a sense of wonder set to eleven. Bernard takes Josephus on a tour of London and introduces him to the Big Mac and ice cream. That's one ecstatic genie. Bernard has some fun with his wishes. Those get him into some trouble but having a genie around sure can help. I liked all the characters, I thought there were plenty of jokes and I even laughed out loud a few times. I was glad to have picked it up and I hope to see it again someday. You can see a copy on YouTube that isn't too bad. Might do ya. In fact, the DVD is not much better. The DVD says it came out in 2004 and it's not been replaced by a better copy, even in the UK. I only paid 5 bucks for the copy I got, it's 18 bucks on Amazon right now. That's a steeper price that I would like to pay.