PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde 1941

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde 1941 Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson story Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, screenplay by John Lee Mahin, Percy Heath and Samuel Hoffenstein, directed by Victor Fleming.

Spencer Tracy plays Dr Jekyll, he's got an idea that he can separate the good and bad in people. We all know now how that's going to go. His experiments lead him to taking his serum and Mr Hyde is born.

 

He likes the night life, visiting the musical halls, and taking a fancy to Ivy, played by Ingrid Bergman. Hyde provides her with an apartment and sexually abuses her for his fun. Things get worse and worse and Hyde eventually kills Ivy. His transformations are out of control and that eventually leads to his death.

Hyde has some interesting visions when he takes his serum.

It's a fairly good adaptation. Before watching this I watched the 1911 and 1920 silent versions. Those were not anywhere near as interesting. Tracy is good but his Hyde isn't as repulsive looking as many of the other adaptations. Despite the lack of ugly his Hyde is still a monster. I'll want to watch it again sometime. Maybe have a Jekyll and Hyde marathon.

Friday Night Movies 926

L A Wars 1994 Screenplay by Addison Randall and Tony Kandah, directed by Tony Kandah and Martin Morris.

There's a drug war going on in Los Angeles. Heading up some stereotypical Italian Mafia types are Carlo Giovani and his insane henchman Vinnie, they're up against some aggressive Latinos under the control of Raul Guzman. Raul wants the business and he's ready to kill everyone in his way. He'll get a fight from Carlo, that's for sure.

The police can't seem to do anything to get ahead of the gangs and Captain Roark is desperate. Desperate enough to hire ex-cop loose cannon Jake Quinn to infiltrate one of the gangs. Jake lucks out, he's in the right place at the right time to save Carlo's daughter Carla from being kidnapped by Guzman's thugs.

Once Jake's in the house he talks Carlo into hiring him to be Carla's bodyguard. Vinnie isn't too happy but Jake kicks his soldier's to the ground and Carlo hires him. Vinnie has designs on Carla but she's not digging him at all. She's got her sights on Jake and soon enough they're in bed together.

Things deteriorate and there's a good bit of battling between the gangs. Bodies litter the streets and the violence escalates. Eventually things get sorted out by Jake.

It's a ridiculous story with some action and lots of yelling. Everyone yells, all the time. It's barely average and there's nothing new here. You can see a copy on YouTube in the link above.

Bodies Bodies Bodies 2022 Story by Kristen Roupenian, screenplay by Sarah DeLappe and directed by Halina Rejin.

A group of rich 20 somethings gather in a nice big house for a vacation in a remote location that due a hurricane. There's plenty drinking and drug taking. Everyone, except for one gal, gets fucked up a good bit before the storm knocks out the power. It gets all Lord Of The Flies in the house after the biggest asshole is found with his throat cut.

Sadly I found most of the partiers so horrible that I couldn't stand being around them. They are so awful that they can't even stand being around each other. They turn on each other fairly quickly. Now one of them is a killer and between them they haven't got enough little grey cells to solve the crime, even if they were sober. When they do stumble onto a particle of rational thought it's almost too late. The reality in Mike Judd's Idiocracy doesn't seem so farfetched.

It's supposed to be a black comedy about some shallow Gen-Xes who can't survive without their social media. I was hoping for more humor, many of the good gags are in the last few minutes. Gleiberman described the film as "And Then There Were None staged by John Cassavetes for the age of Instagram."^[41]  That's a better joke than most in the movie. I thought it was more Real Housewives in the Big Brother house and that would be no joke. Those housewives are some nasty nasty people, barely human, they can turn on each in a heartbeat. I don't see me needing to watch it again.

Fantasy Island 2020

Fantasy Island 2020 Based on the TV show created by Gene Levitt, screenplay written by Jeff Wadlow, Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs, directed by Jeff Wadlow.

I wasn't ever a fan of the show and only watched a handful of episodes. The movie more of a horror fantasy as Mr Roarke lets people have murderous violent revenge fantasies. Some people show up and start their fantasies, they go south quickly and some of the guests die. There's a few twists and turns and some supernatural business. More people die.

I didn't find it interesting and didn't really like the movie. I wouldn't watch it again.

Friday Night Movies 923

Seobok Project Clone 2021 Written and directed by Lee Yong-ju.

Seobok is a new species of human created by cloning and genetic manipulation. The process gave Seobok some mental powers but the companies goal is to tap into his bodily fluids and use that to create a longevity serum.

Seobok becomes the pawn of the old man who runs the company and one of the people in the intelligence agency who wants to sell Seobok to the Americans. Stuck in the middle is an ex-agent of the intelligence agency called Min who's supposed to get Seobok to his new digs. The transport is attacked by mercenaries and Min and Seobok go on the run. There's some fish out of water stuff and some gun fights along the way to the end of the movie. The factions interested in Seobok battle it out until most everyone is dead.

It's a longish movie, 115 mins, and it takes a while to get going. There's a few action scenes along the way but at it's core it raises questions of ethics in medicine. Is it OK to create a human clone for the purpose of harvesting it's biomass for medicine like an insulin pig and is it OK to kill everyone who opposes your plans. I enjoyed it for the most part but would have enjoyed it more if they had picked up the pace a bit. It's not going to get added to my library unless it's a free download which I probably wouldn't ever get around to again.

The Munsters 2022 Written and directed by Rob Zombie.

It's the Munster's origin story. A mad scientist puts Herman together and sends him out into the world. Herman gets some success as a comedian and meets Lily Gruesella and her father the Count. They get married and Lily's brother Lester tricks Herman into giving away the family castle to the Count's ex-wife. Herman, Lilly and the Count move to Hollywood, winding up at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

There's plenty of gags and slapstick, all briskly paced to keep the story moving. Some of them work well, other's pratfall. I got plenty of laughs from it and will eventually pick up the Blu-ray so I can watch it again someday. I need to re-watch the original show, I haven't seen much of it for years and years.

Mortuary 2005

Mortuary 2005 Written by Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch, directed by Tobe Hooper. Tobe's second last movie.

Here's another movie where the main character takes over a dilapidated property only to find out it's haunted by some sort of supernatural something or other. It's Denise Crosby, playing a recent widow with two children. She thinks she's going to run a funeral home there but that's not going to happen. Crazy stuff happens and eventually everyone dies.

It's barely average, the effects ares nothing special, the characters aren't that interesting. I picked up the DVD on clearance for a couple of bucks, I doubt I'd watch it again.

Friday Night Movies 919

Black Friday 2021 Produced by Bruce Campbell and Warner Davis, written by Andy Greskoviak, directed by Casey Tebo.

Bruce Campbell is the manager of a big box toy store called We Love Toys. It's Thanksgiving and tomorrow is Black Friday. Devon Sawa is a divorced father, he drops off his two daughters with the ex wife and her new family, and drives off to start his midnight shift at We Love Toys. It's a clumsy scene that made me wonder why he was dropping his daughters off in daylight and arriving at the store in the pitch black.

At the store the customers are lined up for nearly a block. There's some banter between the staff and the doors open. Things go along fine until an infected person infects the customers. Chaos breaks out and the infected start building something in the middle of the store. While the phones still work they fine that other stores are infected and the cops aren't answering their phones.

There's plenty of running about and violence. Characters get picked off pretty regularily. It was a bit slow getting going but it picks up the pace when the infected ramp up the violence. Somewhat entertaining but definitely average. Nothing new here really, the script is weaker than the direction, but it did have a few laughs. I probably will pick up a copy because Bruce is in it but I'll wait to see if it drops in price. Maybe I'll find a free download sometime.

Witch Academy 1995 Written by Mark Thomas McGee and directed by Fred Olen Ray. The Wikipedia says: Rey said it was the last of his "scream queen" films as the bottom was about to drop out of that market.

Robert Vaughn plays the Devil, he's poking his nose into the goings on at the Sigma Gamma Sorority. Some nasty women live there. When a party with some scummy frat boys gets cancelled they decide to invite a student, who's seeking membership, over for a bit of torture. The Devil turns the tables on the sorority gals by turning the initiate into a murderous monster.

There's not much story going on, just some horrible women mistreating a nice gal, but there are a lot of boobs. The script is poor, the acting poor but Robert Vaughn was OK. Some bit of fun but not something I need to pick up.

The Thing That Couldn't Die 1958

The Thing That Couldn't Die 1958 Written by David Duncan and directed by Will Cowan. The movie was used for an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is season 8. Some might know David from his SF 1957 novel Occam's Razor. I know I had a copy, I read it in the 70s but can't recall anything about it.

A young woman, Jessica Burns, dowses for water and finds a head in a box. Jessica lives with her aunt, played by Peggy Converse, on a dude ranch. Against Jessica's warning the box is brought to the house. William Reynolds is a guest, he things they should get the box appraised to see if there's any value.

The ranch's foreman, played by James Anderson, thinks there's treasure inside the box and he convinces the somewhat dim handyman, played by Charles Horvath, to break open the box. Inside is the animated head of a man executed for sorcery 400 years ago. The head is played by Robin Hughes, he takes over Mike and a guest played by Andra Martin.

The head gets the handyman to murder the foreman. William returns with the historian to find things have gotten out of hand. The police come after the foreman's body is found. They kill the handyman when he threatens them with a knife. Things get pretty dicey but the good guys find the head's body and use a magical amulet to destroy both.

While not one of the best movies in this collection, it scores a sad 4.1 on the IMDb, there's still some entertainment value here. There's a decent commentary by Tom Weaver with additional comments by C Courtney Joyner. The only other extra is a trailer.

Friday Night Movies 911

Buried Alive 1989 Vaguely based on Edgar Allen Poe stories, screenplay by Jake Chesi and Stuart Lee, directed by Gérard Kikoïne, produced by Harry Allan Towers. Filmed in Botswana and Johannesburg. We watched the new Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. The image looks alright, there's are interviews with Ginger Lynn Allen and William Butler for extras.

A young teacher, played by Karen Witter, goes to work for Robert Vaughn at his school for troubled young women. These are some annoying bad girls with Ginger Lynn Allen leading the pack. Some women go missing and Robert says they ran away. He tries to come off as caring but he's really a self involved creep. The audience knows that there's someone in a Ronald Reagan mask killing those women and bricking them up in rooms in the basement of the big school building.

Donald Pleasence might be a doctor at the school, the script is unclear. It's generally a poor script. Donald comes off as creepier than Robert. More people die and the new teacher has some weird hallucinations about the murders. She discover one of the bricked up rooms. Arnold Vosloo is a local policeman. John Carradine plays Robert's deceased dad in the teacher's hallucinations.

There's plenty of running about and screaming, a fair bit of violence, a few scares  and an annoying score. Despite that it's somewhat dull at times. I thought it was below average but watchable. Not something I would need to see again.

Samson And The 7 Miracles Of The World 1961 Story by Oreste Biancoli, screenplay by Oreste Biancoli and Duccio Tessari, directed by Riccardo Freda. An Italian and French production with Gordon Scott and Yoko Tani. The film was released in Italy under the name Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan. The American release is from AIP and they cut the original by nearly 20 mins. We watched the original Italian version from the fairly new Kino Lorber Blu-ray. The disc also has the AIP version. The picture looks very nice. There's a commentary by Tim Lucas and some trailers.

Gordon made a half dozen Tarzan films between 1955 and 1960. You can find a nice 6 DVD set from Warner Archive. The films look good and I find them entertaining but I'm a big Tarzan fan.

Though the film is titled Samson And The 7 Miracles Of The World in the West, it's really one of many Maciste films produced in Italy starting with the 1914 film Cabiria.

In 13th century China with Mongol Warlord Garak leads an invading force that controls part of China. There's a resistance force and Maciste joins them to put an end to the Mongol rule. There's plenty of running about in the countryside on horses with oodles of fist fights and sword play. Maciste provides some Herculean feats of strength. There's a bit of romance between Yoko Tani and the rebel leader.

I thought it was a bit draggy at times. It sure made me less interested in picking up the Blu-ray. I've seen the AIP version, I have a copy in one of those 50 Movie Packs from Mill Creek, but it's been so long since I watched it I've forgotten anything about it.

Cult Of The Cobra 1955

Cult Of The Cobra 1955 Story by Jerry Davis, screenplay by Jerry Davis, Cecil Maiden and Richard Collins, directed by Francis D Lyon. Jerry wrote 8 other movies and a lot of popular TV shows in the 50s and 60s. Richard wrote a few movies, starting in the 30s, in the early 50s he started writing a lot of TV shows, some of which I watched. He's got an uncredited writing credit on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Francis worked on some TV that I know I've seen, The Adventures Of Spin & Marty, Adventures In Paradise, Whispering Smith and Laramie.

 

The Second film in the Universal Horror Collection Volume 6. The Blu-ray has an interesting commentary with Tom Weaver, Steve Kronenberg, David Schecter ad Dr Robert J Kiss. There's also a trailer and a still gallery.

Left to right that's William Reynolds, Richard Long, David Janssen, Marshall Thompson and Jack Kelly. They're American soldiers who are ending their tour in an unnamed Middle Eastern city. They visit the bazaar, while watching the snake charmer one of the soldiers mentions he's heard of a cult of snake worshipers. The snake charmer says he can take them to a gathering for a hundred bucks. That's a good bit of money in the mid 40s.

They decide to go and the snake charmer warns them they must be in disguise. No one must know they are foreigners. If they are found out they will be killed by the cult. Of course one of the more stupid guys in the group, James Dobson, pulls out a camera during the snake lady's performance. The camera has a flash, everyone sees it when he snaps a shot. James grabs the snake woman's basket and bolts. The cult goes nuts, the snake charmer is stabbed to death, the priest curses the soldiers as they escape. A few blocks away from the temple they find their pal has been in a jeep accident. He dies in the hospital and the autopsy reveals he'd been poisoned by a snake. The other 5 are sent back to the US.

Little do they know as they settle into their new domestic lives that the cult has sent an assassin after them. That's Marshall, Kathleen Hughes and Richard. She dated both men before the war but now that they are back she's picked Richard.

Faith Domergue plays the cult's assassin. She moves into the apartment across the hall from Marshall. They strike up a bit of romance. Faith gets to revenging pretty quickly, she's efficient, David gets it first, bitten in his car, crash, dead. Things get pretty bad for everyone, especially Jack, he fell off the balcony of his apartment. Marshall doubts the curse theory, so do the police but we've seen the snake cam. They'll have to be pretty darn lucky to get out of this predicament.

It's a fairly good story and a decent cast. I like the way the film looks and there's a good level of jeopardy. I'd watch it again someday.

The Black Castle 1952

The Black Castle 1952 Story and Screenplay by Jerry Sackheim, directed by Nathan H Juran. The first film in the Universal Horror Collection Volume 6. Four films on 4 Blu-rays with commentaries and a few random extras.

Jerry's film before this one was The Strange Door, another odd and entertaining film. Can't say I recognize any of his previous dozen films and I don't think I've seen much of the TV he wrote in the 50s.

The Black Castle was Nathan's first film as a director, he'd been an art director on a couple of films in the 40s. He won an Oscar for How Green Was My Valley back in 1942 and a nomination for Razor's Edge in 1946. I know I haven't seen the latter but not sure on the former. I might have seen it on TV when I was a teen.

Nathan didn't win any Oscars for his film direction but he won the hearts and minds of young SF and Horror fans from the mid 50s on. In 1957 he directed The Deadly Mantis, 20 Million Miles To Earth and The Brain From Planet Arous. In 1958 he followed that with The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad and Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman. In the 60s there was Jack The Giant Killer and First Men On The Moon. There's some entertaining films there. I wish I had seen more of his crime and western films.

That's Stephen McNally, Richard Green, Rita Corday and Nancy Valentine. Richard plays Sir Ronald Burton, he's investigating the disappearance of his friends. They'd been to see Count von Bruno, played by Stephen, and disappeared. The Count has a grudge against the British after they sent African natives to attack him. He's killed Sir Ronald's pals and plans to put an end to Ronald's life.

Rita plays the Count's wife Countess Elga von Bruno and Sir Ronald plans to take her with him when he escapes the Count's clutches. John Hoyt and Michael Pate play the Count's pals and they are a scummy lot. No one will miss them when they wind up dead. Boris Karloff plays Dr Meissen, Lon Chaney Jr plays Gargon, the Count's servant.

There's plenty of scheming and running about with occasional fights and murders. I first saw the film in 2015 as part of a DVD set of Boris Karloff films. I thought it was good enough to upgrade to Blu-ray. The Shout Factory transfer is fine and there's a good commentary by Tom Weaver and a still gallery.