Reviews
Titicut Follies (1967)
So good it's almost unwatchable
When someone asks me "What's the best documentary you've ever seen?" I find myself in a quandary. The best documentary I've ever seen is Titicut Follies, but for the life of me I couldn't recommend it. That's because this stark portrayal of the "treatment" of the insane at a Massachusetts state asylum is terrifyingly, horribly disturbing. The documentary reflects the horror of its subject matter. Once seen, it is unforgettable. I find it difficult to take responsibility for exposing another person to this film. And that is probably the highest compliment I can pay it.
Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)
A funny, unashamedly crazy little movie
If you're looking for slick, look elsewhere. SPIDER BABY is a uniquely off-kilter movie that has no pretensions to being anything other than a very twisted horror comedy. It parodies movies in general, the horror genre, and itself with equal facility. There has certainly never been another film like it. This story of the revealing of all the skeletons in the closets of the Merrye House unites Lon Chaney Jr. (in the best performance of his career), Mantan Moreland, Carol "House on Haunted Hill" Ohmart, Beverly Washburn, Sid Haig, Mary "Dementia 13" Michel, Jill Banner (17 years old when she made the film!) and others in a loony stew of murder, madness and hilarious mayhem.
The House of Seven Corpses (1974)
John Carradine was in this film? Oh, dear...
Look, I taped and watched this film, and John Carradine did not appear in it, to the best of my knowledge. His presence would have dignified this flick -- with Faith Domergue, who gets no respect. Think of CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS -- that's the level this film functions at...
But Faith was in IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA. She was the object of maybe two men's interest -- or not
Journey to the Center of Time (1967)
Relentless cheapskate garbage -- not without interest
This flick is a catalog of flaws, end to end. But almost for that very reason, it is interesting. A terrible cast speak terrible lines as they plow through an interesting premise -- that time-scouring scientists accidentally become unstuck in time. But it's a low-rent approach all the way. When Scott Brady is the only "name" actor on a project, you know there's a problem. And futuristic visitations and prehistoric trauma notwithstanding, this movie puts misguided filmmaking on a fluoroscope -- and the results will probably be interesting only to cinema pathologists...
The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)
Graphic treatment of a classic story, with an heroic resolution
FLESH AND THE FIENDS (aka MANIA) is, I believe, an early Hammer film (or at least a standout example of the Hammer genre type) -- so you'll expect the sadism, sex, brutality, and cheap shocks to be found in it. But This pic is enlivened by the presence on Mr. Donald Pleasance in a leading role! Along with Mr. Peter Cushing. The film is an aggressive recounting of the Burke & Hare horrors, with some love interest and of course a good deal of "wherefore art thou the medical profession?". But what with rats, stabbings, decaying corpses and shrieks of "Murder!" through the midnight streets of Edinburgh, the flick's a treasure.
The Satan Bug (1965)
Taut thriller, 60's style, that reminds us of another way that the world might end
THE SATAN BUG is a very competent treatment of a CBW (chemical and biological warfare) nightmare scenario: Somebody steals from a Defense fortress a flask of the deadliest bugs ever developed. George Maharis is there to try to track down the baddies, as is Anne "Forbidden Planet" Francis. And prime psycho villain? Richard "Commander Nelson" Basehart! His paranoid stooge? Ed Asner! Dana Andrews is chief spook presiding over a scenario that features the end of the world accomplished not by atoms, but by microbes. For its time a very alarming and fast paced thriller.
Werewolves on Wheels (1971)
Okay, garbage -- but what are the redeeming features?
WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS was one of the first tapes I bought when I got a VCR. Did it satisfy? Well, it's got violence and nudity (sort of) and -- ? I guess that's what the moviemakers intended and who am I to criticize? Do not watch this for intellectual stimulation. Do watch this for gratuitous nudity and pretentious "biker-type" terroristic mannerisms. Also, the intro music isn't half bad -- in fact it's pretty good. It deserves a better flick behind it.
The Lost Continent (1968)
Man, the sea, mutiny, hurricane, seaweed, monsters, girls, Inquisitors...fun!
THE LOST CONTINENT might be typified by the music that accompanies its credits (a kind of languid 60s house band crooning intro) and perhaps that's not entirely a bad thing, because the movie is an initially-languid action fantasy that eventually includes plenty of angst, violence, heavy weather, man-eating plants, top-heavy Christian girls, oversized arthropods, bloodthirsty Inquisitorial Spaniards and a very explosive substance in yellow barrels...
The overall effect is that of medium-budget comic-strip, but with this much action and so much violence and all these yummy females and heroic guys...it's a fun movie from end to end...a great tonic if you're marooned in the Sargasso Sea...or stranded in your living room of a Sunday afternoon
Castle of Evil (1966)
a varied and interesting cast in a perfunctory -- and weird -- horror exercise
On the surface, CASTLE OF EVIL is a movie about a bunch of people who are threatened my a business-suited robot (with a really bad skin condition) who promenades about the secret passages of a Gothic castle in Nassau (?!). But look again! The film features Scott "Journey to the Center of Time" Brady, Hugh "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers" Marlowe, Lisa "House on Haunted Hill" Gaye, Virginia "I guess that blows this spook stuff!" Mayo, and last but certainly not least "Shelley Morrison" -- a stunning South American Indian-featured woman -- as "Natividad Esperanza", and her pet gecko-on-a-leash. Secret doors, native superstition, and Shelley at the surveillance console...the movie's a smorgasbord of cliches, bad reads and improbability, but it's great to see this wild assortment of actors ply their trade amidst the pseudo-gothic surroundings. And anyone who can tell us the real name of "Shelley Morrison" will get a heartfelt thank you for those of us who fell in love with her in close up.
King of the Zombies (1941)
"Race" is a dirty word -- but this movie rocks on top of it
Anyone who's seen JUNGLE GODDESS or LOST CONTINENT will recognize the crashing airplane in this flick, but after that, we're into a hybrid movie, folks, in which the "lead characters" are white, but the best characters are black! Focus on Mantan Moreland, whose comedic "race" antics make this flick a treat to see -- not to mention his supporting pals:
Mantan: "Zombies! What's dem?" Girl: "Dead folks, what walks around." Mantan: "Here?" Girl: "Especially here." Mantan: "Why's dat?" Girl: "'Cuz dis where dey grows de best"
This Philadelphian wants to tell the world to see this movie!