Long time no see! I have actually contributed a few reviews to 366 Weird Movies but have been lax in posting links here on the site. Naughty! And speaking of naughty, you will definitely want to see Lina Romay; that vivacious vixen of sleazy cinema give one of her all-time best performance in Night has a Thousand Desires. This one is a must-have for Franco and Romay fans. Read my review here.
And check out my tumblr archives for the film here.
Music and images from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) directed by Don Siegel; Suite: Main Titles, You’re Next and Finale from the compilation Things to Come: The Golden Age of Science Fiction, Volume Two.
Lobby Cards for Invasion of the Body Snatchers
David Cronenberg has forty director credits listed on IMDB; twenty-one of those credits are feature films. I have seen twenty of those feature films; Maps of the Stars has not yet been released. I think they outta start naming some Canadian monuments after David Cronenberg, or at very least a school or two. David Cronenberg Elementary; they can do a musical version of The Brood each year in his honor. Before compiling this list I went to the effort of seeing Cosmopolis, which I found Comme-ci, comme ça. It certainly wasn’t changing anything on this list. The only film I feel really strongly about from Cronenberg’s last decade of filmmaking is Eastern Promises. Don’t misunderstand, I have actually quite enjoyed Cronenberg’s entire body of work but it is his horror films that will always have a special place in my heart. Cronenberg’s early horror films are the perfect combination of the physical with the psychological. The term body horror or venereal horror has been used to describe his early genre films and an apt description it is. The term body horror basically represents a complete and graphic breakdown of the human body from any number of causes; disease, parasite, cerebral manifestation to note a few. Cronenberg’s films are complimented by strong stories, perfect casting, amazing performances and gag-worthy visuals. This was the easiest list I have ever put together; the only real struggle was leaving Dead Ringers off the list. As much as I love Dead Ringers and Jeremy Irons brilliant performance it is not a film that I revisit nearly as often as the five included below.
**********
VIDEODROME (1983)
Videodrome is about a struggling cable television station run by Max Renn. Renn is always on the lookout for programming not offered by the competition and shows soft-core adult films late nights. Renn is looking to step up his game and one night his engineer stumbles upon a grainy barebones production called Videodrome. Videodrome appears to be simulated snuff but as Max soon discovers it is all very real. Videodrome is more than torture, it is an addictive mental mindfuck with the ability to transform the human body. Videodrome is both a warning about the dangers of technology taking over our lives and our desensitization to violence. It also has really bloody amazing effects by Rick Baker that hold up as well today as they did back in 1983. Really ghastly and original stuff. Despite a mainstream cast and major distribution Cronenberg holds back nothing and creates a gritty, disturbing and uncompromising film. James Woods is pitch-perfect as station owner Max Renn. Woods Renn character is cocky, tactless and intense; watching him lose his grip on reality is Shakespearian. Deborah Harry was an impeccable choice as Nicki Brand; she is sexy, kinky and completely believable in the role. Renn has a sexual relationship with Brand who becomes drawn into Videodrome and eventually becomes one of its victims. Videodrome is without a doubt my favourite David Croenberg film and one of my favorite horror films of all time. “Long live the new flesh!”
**********
THE BROOD (1979)
The Brood is about Nola Carveth who is being treated by Psychotherapist Dr. Raglan. Dr. Raglan is using an unconventional treatment called Psychoplasmics. The method encourages the patient to work through their emotion until it physically manifests itself. Nola has become a primary focus of Dr. Raglan’s therapy due to her extraordinary adaptation. Nola receives weekend visits from her daughter Candy important to her therapy; but after her ex-husband Frank finds Candy bruised and scratched he puts an immediate end to the visitations. Shortly after, Nola’s abusive mother is found brutally murdered. Even more disconcerting they discover the dead body of a mutated child who appears to be the one responsible for the death. The ability to materialize your anxiety, fear or anger would be a pretty unsettling ability to have. I can’t imagine what mad nastiness my mind would concoct! The little mutant children featured in The Brood are creepy as hell. The effects are impressive and the makeup on the mutant kiddies is beautifully grotesque. Large groups of children in snowsuits scare me to this day. One of my favourite scenes in the film takes place in a kindergarten class with a bunch of child actors who probably grew up seriously traumatized thanks to Cronenberg. The best visual effects assault however is courtesy of Nola Carveth in the film’s finale. You can find pictures of it all over the place, but I am not going to be the one to spoil it for you. It really is freaking spectacular! Another top-notch cast that includes legend Oliver Reed who plays Dr. Raglan with charisma, strength and authority, the exquisite Samantha Eggar who plays Nola Carveth with disturbed psychosis, rage and a touch of empathy, Cindy Hinds who plays Candice Carveth a quiet, solemn little girl with an adult-like numbness that is chilling and Art Hindle who plays the voice of reason Frank Carveth. Mood and atmosphere, well paced, steadily building tension, amazing effects and stunning performances; The Brood is a suspenseful, intense and chilling experience.
**********
NAKED LUNCH (1991)
Naked Lunch is loosely based on William S. Burroughs’ novel of the same name. Cronenberg turns the story into a semi-autobiographical account of Burroughs life. Characters are based on Burroughs real life acquaintances Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Vollmer and Paul and Jane Bowles. Bill Lee is an exterminator whose wife Joan is addicted to the insecticide he uses to kill bugs. Bill too is affected by the substance which causes him to have severe hallucinations. So severe are his hallucinations that Bill believes he is a secret agent for an organization called Interzone and is assigned tasks by a giant insect! Although I included Naked Lunch on my top ten horror film list for 1991 it really is not a horror film; although Cronenberg definitely includes horrifying images in the film. There are some downright gross visuals that are on par with any of the horror films on the list. As noted, Cronenberg never intended his film to be a straight up adaptation of Burroughs book but I think he does a superb job of capturing the general vibe while maintaining a distinct David Cronenberg flavor. I love Cronenberg’s approach with the inclusion of facts from Burroughs fascinating life. The shooting death of Burrough’s girlfriend Joan Vollmer is worked into the plot of Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch. Burroughs says of the incident “I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan’s death”. Naked Lunch is a strange, hypnotic, and sublime trip into another world. The film is accented by some truly exceptional performances from Judy Davis, Roy Scheider, Ian Holm, Julian Sands and Nicholas Campbell and most notably Peter Weller who plays Bill Lee. When I think of the most iconic acting roles of the past few decades Weller’s Lee is one of the first that comes to mind. Naked Lunch has withstood countless viewings and always leaves me feeling a little disoriented but awestruck. It is truly a one of a kind experience that, like a lot of Cronenberg’s films, elicits strong opinions of love or hate; I happen to think it is a masterpiece. “Exterminate all rational thought. That is the conclusion I have come to.”
**********
RABID (1977)
Rabid focuses on Rose, the victim of a serious motorcycle accident. Rose becomes the beneficiary of a radical surgery performed by Dr. Keloid involving tissue grafting. The surgery has an unexpected side effect in the form of a vagina-like orifice in her armpit that craves human blood. Rose runs amok in an effort to sate her cravings. Rose’s feedings not only cause bodily harm but they infect her victims causing them to go into a rabid state and attack and infect others. Doctors in horror movies have caused so much mayhem over the years haven’t they? If Rose had been taken to a regular hospital instead of a plastic surgery clinic none of this would have happened. Needless to say the infection spreads like wildfire and martial law is declared. The infected move quickly and attack viciously; fortunately they are easy to kill. The effects are solid although Rabid is not especially graphic. Rose’s armpit vagina is the film’s coolest effect and it is quite a unique one too! There are some particularly well-executed action sequences. My favourite is a scene that takes place in a mall during Christmas time and a security guy goes on a crazy shooting spree and kills Santa! Another scene that takes place on a subway is also delightfully chaotic. Marilyn Chambers does not speak much in her role as Rose but she is lovely and intense and a pleasure to behold. Chambers brings a good balance of strength and vulnerability to Rose. Frank Moore is natural and likable as her boyfriend Hart. Rabid is well-paced with evenly distributed violence throughout. Rabid is smart, well-written, intense and seriously entertaining.
**********
THEY CAME FROM WITHIN (1975)
They Came from Within aka Shivers is about an experiment conducted by Dr. Emil Hobbes using parasites. The parasites cause the patient to have an overwhelming sexual appetite. Hobbes implants his girlfriend Annabelle with the parasite who is living in The Starliner a self-contained, exclusive high-end condominium. Annabelle quickly spreads the parasite throughout the building. Hobbes then kills his Annabelle and himself and the case is closed. Meanwhile residents of the building are getting sick and parasites are running loose and attacking the residents. The condominiums on-site Doctor Dr. St. Luc uncovers information about Hobbes research and tries to contain the parasite in the Starliner condominium, but will it be too late? Shivers is an intense, intelligent, claustrophobic tale full of sexuality and violence. Shivers opens with the death of a very young woman by the hands of a middle-aged man who then cuts his own throat. The next bit of yuckiness comes from a resident named Nick who leaves work early feeling sick. He vomits out a parasite and it is not long before all hell breaks loose in the enclosed space of the condo. The violent and deviant scenes to follow are unique and effective in that very special Cronenberg sort of way. Shivers has sex, nudity, incest, violence and even cannibalism. There is a ton of crazy shit going on here! Repulsive, erotic, nasty, “even dying is an act of eroticism”. As is the case with all the films on this list there are great performances here from Paul Hampton as Dr. St. Luc, the feline-esque Lynn Lowry as Nurse Forsythe, Allan Kolman as Nicholas Tudor, Susan Petrie as Janine Tudor, Joe Silver as Rollo Linsky and Barbara Steele as Betts. Cronenberg creates an excellent mood of paranoia and includes plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle commentary on contemporary 70′s culture. Shivers was Cronenberg’s first horror film and is one of his best.
**********
I was making an effort this year to see some horror films from the past decade if it killed me. I thought I would kick off my viewing with a horror-comedy from a Canadian production/directing outfit Astron-6. The film was produced and distributed by Troma and even features a cameo appearance from Lloyd Kaufman who plays both God and Satan. Good fucking news! My first newish horror film in ages was a shitload of fun! All hail the Fuckmanus!
In the pre-credit prologue we get a glimpse of the father’s day killer. He has just killed a dad. We know this because they show us a DAD mug. He is noshing on the dead dad as Ahab makes his way up to the room. We know his name is Ahab because his license plate says AHAB*666. Ahab chases the killer down and wishes him a happy father’s day before he shoots him in the head.
A really nifty animated credit sequence follows.
We meet Twink who is being questioned at the police station about his father’s death. There has been a rash of fathers raped and killed. Father John Sullivan is waiting for Twink to offer him solace but Twink isn’t having any of it.
“Stay the fuck away from me Jesus freak.”
Father Sullivan visits Father O’Flynn and relays Twinks cold reception. O’Flynn tells Sullivan about “The Fuckman”.
“Many fathers were killed at that time. Not one was safe from the beast. Then one day he found Ahab’s father. I raised that boy as I would raise me own. He tried to kill The Fuckman. You must find this man Ahab”
Sullivan makes the long journey to Ahab’s remote home where he taps trees for maple syrup.
“Sorry, I’m tapping this maple tree.”
“It’s not a maple tree.”
Ahab is initially unreceptive but eventually agrees to meet with Father O’Flynn.
Ahab seeks out the last crime scene and runs into Detective Stegel. The two men have a history on account of Ahab’s vigilante past. There is no love lost between Stegel and Ahab. Stegel threatens to take Ahab and his little sister down if they interfere.
Ahab goes to see his little sister Chelsea who he has not seen since she was a child. Chelsea is working as a stripper in a bar run by Ahab’s former lover Sleazy Mary.
Ahab walks into the club’s dressing room to find this angry stripper with a chainsaw.
“How’d you get in here?” -Stripper
“Your doorman took a break.” -Ahab
“My god Artie, you got shot again?” -Stripper
Little sister Chelsea is understandably bitter about having to grow up in a nun-run orphanage. She tells Ahab to fuck off.
Twink and Walnut meet up with Chelsea. Twink is pretty choked up about his father and Chelsea invites him to stay with her. Suddenly the power goes out and Fuckman is in Chelsea’s apartment. Chelsea shoots the hell out of him but not before he rips out walnuts throat with his teeth. Ahab shows up too late. They need to take this Fuckman bastard down! But first they have to deal with Detective Stegel who is knocking on Chelsea’s door.
Twink and Ahab leave out the front door incognito as two of Chelsea’s girlfriends and head to the grave of Ahab’s father. They dig up the grave of Ahab’s father which is actually a coffin full of weapons.
“All hail Fuckmanus!”
Father Sullivan finds Father O’Flynn’s head in a box.
Father Sullivan joins Twink and Ahab on their mission to kill Fuckman.
They go to the strip club to retrieve Chelsea but Fuckman has been there and has laid waste to the staff. Chelsea is nowhere to be found.
Some shit happens and Ahab is badly injured. They are forced to lay low for the night. The hungry Twink and Father Sullivan finds some berries in Ahab’s pocket which they eat. The berries make them trip balls.
Ahab is just fine and dandy in the morning and the trio head out to find Fuckman and Chelsea.
“Did you guys see that?!” Things take a weird and supernatural turn at this point.
The film is presented as a television late show complete with Commercials. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this detail on my first viewing of the film. On a second watch however I thought it suited the campy comic book feel of the film. Also, the commercial is pretty damn entertaining.
Father Sullivan finds the ancient tome “The Fuchmanus”.
Hold on. Why is Ahab fucking his sister Chelsea? You are going to have to see the film to find out!
“I own upstairs and downstairs. You give the illusion of competition and it raises morale. Kinda like the movie business.” – Lloyd Kaufman as God and Satan.
They all end up in hell and have to fight a giant demon! I really could have lived without the Princess Leia and Jabba the Hutt Shtick. I thought this sequence was fabulous but I am so freaking sick of Star Wars references (and by the way I know Jabba the damn Hutt is from The bloody Empire Strikes Back and not Star Wars).
Father’s Day would have been a lot of fun to see at a festival with like-minded folks. It is campy, comical and its story and characters are outrageous. Creating visuals for your film that make it look like it was a seventies or eighties production seems to be a popular trend from the last few years. A trend that seems to have been inspired by Tarantino and Rodriguez’s Grindhouse. I’ve read a few negative opinions on the subject but I actually dig it. Granted it isn’t always done very well but when it is I enjoy it lots. Two of my favourite films from the past decade fall under that umbrella; Jason Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) and Scott Sanders’ Black Dynamite (2009). Father’s Day is made to look aged and doesn’t do too bad of a job of it but where it really succeeds is in the effects department. The giant demon in the film’s finale is super neato and there is plenty of gore. There is a delightful head-stomping, baby-stomping, a throat-ripping, explosive shot to the gut, blood/entrail vomiting and a few really nasty looking dead folks. Not all the humour made me laugh but there was more than enough that did; some great prop comedy and enjoyable performances too. I always enjoy religious folks doing sacrilicious stuff and the film’s two Father’s use the work fuck more often than Joe Pesci (okay, not more often than Joe Pesci but lots). Three of the film’s directors play central characters; Adam Brooks is Ahab, Matthew Kennedy is Father John Sullivan and Conor Sweeney is Twink. Twink was definitely my favourite character and would have been at home in any Troma film. I dug his Loverboy headband! Clearly the Astron-6 team are fans of low-budget eighties horror and Father’s Day fits the Troma label like a glove. I really look forward to checking out Astron-6’s Manborg now! For those of you who like corny, campy, gory fun you might enjoy Father’s Day as much as I did. Highly recommended!
Dungeon Rating: 4/5
Directed By: Astron-6 (Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski, Conor Sweeney)
Starring: Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney, Amy Groening, Garrett Hnatiuk, Brent Neale, Kevin Anderson, Meredith Sweeney, Zsuzsi, Lloyd Kaufman, Mackenzie Murdock, Billy Sadoo, Falcon Van Der Baek, Kyle Young, Murray Davidson
I was completely unfamiliar with the title The Witch Who Came from the Sea until I picked it up at Black Dog Video last week. I did not read the back of the DVD to see what it was about only the comment written on a piece of paper taped to the front of the case; “This film is freakin’ awesome. It’s weird. It’s fun. It won most popular film at Cinemuerte 2004!” I lived in Vancouver in my twenties and moved back to Ontario for ten years. While I was away a short-lived film festival was concocted by former Black Dog employee Kier-La Janisse who was a huge horror fan. Black Dog Cambie was practically my second home back then. In a large part that was due to Kier-La’s presence. To this day I have met very few women who are passionate about horror films the way I am; very few women or men for that matter. Of course online I have connected with loads of folks but I am talking my everyday reality here. I used to enjoy just chatting with Kier-La, and she was always good for a solid recommendation. Unfortunately, I missed out on the awesomeness that was the Cinemuerte Film Festival which ran from 1999 to 2005 and featured such films as Massacre at Central High, School of the Holy Beast, Let me Die a Woman and Poor Pretty Eddie. I moved back to Vancouver in 2007 and while Cinemuerte was defunct I am happy to say that Black Dog Video is one of the few rental outlets still left standing. I rented The Witch Who Came from the Sea based on the aforementioned comment and what a fucking treat! What an unusual, hypnotic, fascinating journey this trippy psychological horror-drama was! I can’t thank the good people over at Black Dog Video enough for this brilliant recommendation! It’s just like old times.
Molly is spending some quality time with her nephews Tripoli and Tad at the beach. Molly is staring intently at two men working out. She is admiring their physiques. As Molly continues to admire the men the music becomes more frantic. Images are shot at the viewer like bullets as Molly eventually pictures both men dead. There was an animated image of blood drops pouring from one of the men’s heads that was so fantastic! The bloody image is flashed so damn quick however I was unable to catch it. I tried! For half an hour I tried! It just about drove me nuts!
Aunt Molly stays to watch the football game with the kids. Sam “the electric man” Walters and Austin Slade are the boys heroes. Molly speaks lovingly about her father to Tripoli and Tad. He was a Captain and according to Molly was lost at sea. Her sister Cathy, the kids mother has some different thoughts on dear old dad who she says was a real sonofabitch, an abusive alcoholic and an evil bastard. We learn early that Molly is in complete denial; powerful denial!
Molly has “episodes” but they are actually not really “episodes” at all. In Molly’s warped mind she believes she is imagining these events but in reality the are recollections of events that actually happened. Voice distortion is used when Molly is wigging out or recollecting an event which gives these scenes a particularly warped vibe. Molly picks up the two football players Sam “the electric man” Walters and Austin Slade. The trio go to a hotel together where they get naked and smoke pot. Molly ties them up and kills them. As a Captain’s daughter Molly knows how to tie a good secure knot.
“Do you shave with a straight razor? Or is this all going to be agonizingly slow?”
Molly works as a waitress at the Boathouse. The bar is owned by Long John who Molly is also sleeping with. Molly spends the night with Long John and is woken the next day by a newscast reporting the deaths of the two football players Sam Walters and Austin Slade. Molly is very upset and worried about her nephews. Molly is also becoming obsessed with a handsome man in a shaving commercial.
Molly has regular flashbacks to childhood. These flashback gets progressively creepier as the film roles along. In this flashback her and dad are building a boat and dad gets uncomfortably intimate.
Billy Batt is a movie star and regular customer at the Boathouse and has invited Molly and Long John to a party at his home. This scene explains the origins of the film’s title.
“Who is she?” -Molly
“She is a witch who came out of the sea.” -Billy
“She’s not a witch, she’s beautiful.” -Molly
“Venus.” -Billy
“Why did she come out of the sea?” -Molly
“Venus was born in the sea.” -Billy
“Why?” -Molly
“Her father was a god, they cut off his balls, his sperm got into the ocean and the sea was knocked up and Venus was the kid.” -Billy
Molly ends up in Billy Batts bedroom and bites his lip. Billy slaps her and Molly ends up getting pushed out the door by him into a room full of people. To those in the room it appears that Billy Batt was the aggressor; little do they know of Molly’s psychosis.
Back at the bar Molly complains she has a bad headache. Fellow waitress Doris offers her some pills.
“…and they’re two colors I’ve never seen in pills before; shocking pink and electric blue, and they’re a knock out.”
Molly meets the man in the shaving commercial, Alexander McPeak along with his girlfriend Clarissa.
“Do you love him?” -Molly
“McPeek? Gee, why?” -Clarissa
“Because I do. I want him.” -Molly
A very odd thing to just come out and say, but everyone seems to think Molly’s childlike wonder is charming. Well, Clarissa did not think it was terribly charming.
Molly gets a tattoo of a mermaid on her stomach; one just like dad used to have. She chitty chats with tattoo artist Jack Dracula and shares with him the name she gave herself as a child; Molly Contiki Polynesia Easter.
Molly will not get undressed in front of Long John on account of her new tattoo. Molly and Long John have a conversation about when Molly first had sex. Molly does not know the answer to that question. “How could you not know Molly?” Long John asks. This triggers a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious trip out to an event where it appears that Molly has killed and chopped up several men on a boat! It is a very lovely and cool looking psychedelic colored-tinted segment!
Molly goes to see Alexander McPeak.
“Who are you? Did you shave this morning? I never see your face in color, I only see it in black and white.”
As she is speaking these words, warped circus music is playing in her head as a creepy looking clown is making silly gestures.
Long John wakes up to see Molly lying beside him covered in blood.
No one knows better than her sister Cathy what ails Molly.
Tripoli and Tad come by Long Johns for a visit with Aunt Molly. Molly’s facade of sanity if finally slipping.
The final and most disturbing childhood flashback.
All drugged up and Molly is floating on a calm sea.
I knew in the first five minutes that I was going to love The Witch Who Came from the Sea. The wacky opening scene with Aunt Molly and the kids at the beach was totally one of a kind! We are completely aware of Molly’s severe psychosis and there is no mystery for the viewer of who killed the football players. It is however a mystery to the film’s characters. Although we are aware of Molly’s mental state there is much we still need answered. The film leaves no loose ends and offers a few surprises also. Despite being completely loco, Molly is a likable and empathetic character. Molly appears to genuinely be unable to control her actions and her back story is so distressing it is easy to understand why her mind has become such a prison. A huge part of this treasure’s charm was the strange and compelling lead performance from Millie Perkins who plays Molly. Perky Perkins quirky performance, her child-like wonder and natural beauty had me enthralled. Molly is the film’s focus but there are some fun and eccentric supporting roles that are worth noting; especially Long John and the foul-mouthed waitress Doris. They add some humor to the proceedings. The Witch Who Came from the Sea has several surreal and hypnotic moments. Although I included pictures for several of these scenes they really can’t do them justice. It is the voice distortion, the camera tricks, the tinting, the sound effects and the music that accompanies these images that intensifies the trip. The Witch Who Came from the Sea is horror of the psychological persuasion and the violence is not graphic. It certainly offers up an array of disturbing moments but they are of the variety that get under the skin and messes with the psyche. The Witch Who Came from the Sea is definitely my favourite film of the year thus far, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sad about returning a rental. Why isn’t this mine?! I am supposed to be easing off the DVD purchases to save up for a trip to New York later in the year but I MUST have this film in my collection. The Witch Who Came from the Sea gets my highest of recommendations; a perfect score.
Dungeon Rating: 5/5
Directed By: Matt Cimber
Starring: Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Feury, Jean Pierre Camps, Mark Livingston, Rick Jason, Stafford Morgan, Richard Kennedy, George ‘Buck’ Flower, Roberta Collins, Stan Ross, Lynne Guthrie, Barry Cooper, Gene Rutherford
GOREGIRL'S DUNGEON 