Samhain Project #19: Willy's Wonderland

      

      I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Nicolas Cage is the world's greatest living actor.  In Willy's Wonderland, a bizarrely effective horror/splatstick opus, his character is simply called The Janitor.   Mr. Cage speaks nary a word in the film, and he completely owns every scene he's in.  Literally.  The Man's face is all he needs.   And I have to tell you, his direct-to-DVD, or "limited release" material is getting to be every bit as interesting as his releases in his big budget days.  Maybe more so.

     After the horror trope known as  "Local Yokels trap lonesome traveller for nefarious reasons" is executed by Donnie Darko veteran Beth Grant's sheriff's department, Cage's character is talked into cleaning out a Chuck E. Cheese ripoff restaurant to pay off the damage repairs to his hot rod.

     This place is not what it seems. The freaky animatronic bastards contained within the joint are the current residential vessels for dead serial killer spirits.  But you know what?  

     This is Nicolas Fucking Cage.  

     As the young (and excellent) female lead, Emily Tosta states in a line lifted from Watchmen, "He's not trapped in here with them, they're trapped in here with him!" Incidentally, I'd like to see more of the kid, as she's pretty damn good with the light weight given her here, but the same can't be said for the youngsters around her. So with that weakness, can a movie where a guy alternates between serious deep-cleaning and hydraulic-operated monster killing be interesting?

     Oh, hell yeah.  And Cage has the most interesting fictional product since Mandy's Cheddar Goblin.  It's called Punch Pop.  An energy drink he consumes so regularly, you wonder how his heart doesn't explode. This movie is a ton of fun, and a perfect Halloween entertainment.  A real blast from front to finish, and oh yeah.......I once read that Rob Zombie's usage of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird in Devil's Rejects was somehow "next level".  This movie removes Mr. Zombie's crown in that category.  Just so you're aware. 

Samhain Project #18: "Goodnight Mommy"

     

      Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz have already been mentioned in The Samhain Project as they are the minds behind The Lodge.  They seem to have a predilection for disastrous aftermaths of horrible family tragedies. 

     This film, Goodnight Mommy, is an Austrian release. As in The Lodge,  there's an awful tragic event, but this one is a bit of a mystery, masked off screen.  Twin brothers Elias and Lukas, played wonderfully by Elias and Lukas Schwarz (at least they didn't need to learn their characters' names) have divorced parents, and seem to think their mother is not who she is supposed to be any longer after plastic surgery, and her subsequent return home's behavior.

     What this leads to  is upsetting bloodletting and pain for all involved.  Much like The Lodge, the selfishness of parents in the face of unimaginable loss bequeaths confused pain on the young, who are often ill-equipped to handle it, and often can turn to dark methods to face it.  

      I hate to repeat myself, but much like The Lodge, this is not a happy film, but a quiet, sinking slide into an inevitable worst case scenario.  Watch at your own discretion.    Michael Haneke made a strange and effectively disturbing Austrian film in 1997 called Funny Games, that was anything but fun, however.  He directed the English language version 10 years later with Naomi Watts in the lead.  They're using Ms. Watts in the remake of Goodnight Mommy, but Fiala and Franz are not directing it. 

     Naomi may be a bit of a glutton for punishment.  She may need to form a support group with Susanne Wuest, the mother of Lukas and Elias.  She's powerful in this film.  A character arc that draws you from hatred to sympathy in layers of difficulty, with little dialogue.  This is a tough sit, folks, but as Rob Zombie apparently told William Moseley in the shooting of The Devil's Rejects, when he was struggling with his character's cruelty:  "art isn't safe". 

      Or some shit.

Samhain Project #17: Television Terrors

 

Thriller: 1961:  "Pigeons From Hell":     

      Thriller ran for a couple of seasons on NBC in the early 60's.   Boris Karloff served as your Rod Serling-esque master of ceremonies, albeit just presenting you with the horrific scenarios and not the morality plays and attempts at wisdom through shock Serling did masterfully with The Twilight Zone.   Stephen King himself to this day regards Thriller as the best horror television has had to offer. 

     "Pigeons from Hell" is an episode that garnered attention years later and for good reason.  It's a bizarre sketch about two young brothers taking a road trip and winding up with their car stuck and immoveable in a swamp not far from an abandoned plantation. 

     The old empty house is a horror trope as old as story telling.  This one, however, is a little more bent than your average tale.  This isn't just an abandoned house, of course, and those that dwell within it have cruel and sinister agendas, probably made more malevolent by the passage of time.

     The acting is a bit overboard by Brandon DeWilde, but balanced by Crahan Denton as the local sheriff.  Wonderfully shot for its time, it's a good way to spend Halloween hour, if you can find yourself a copy. 

The Ray Bradbury Hour, 1985: Season 5:  "Zero Hour": 

     The first time I heard Ray Bradbury's radio classic Zero Hour, it creeped me and my kid out.  It was first aired in 1955, and you can hear it here.  It was quite controversial for its time, mostly for the use of children as antagonists.  (This is still a bit touchy, but far less as evidenced by the piece I wrote days back on Who Can Kill a Child).  

 

      Updated here for a 1985 audience, but set in future that appears more like today,  screen veteran Sally Kirkland and a very young Katherine Isabelle (Isobel here) star.  She's no stranger to horror audiences thanks to excellent turns in the Ginger Snaps trilogy, the unparalleled television Hannibal, and Christopher Nolan's Insomnia.  She's about 8 years old here in this episode, and still working today regularly.  

     Seems children around the world have enlisted themselves in the army of Drill; an unseen character who uses the kiddos to plan an invasion.  (the name and somewhat similar plot were used in the 2016 series The Whispers) Buncha crazy kids. 

     

    Until they're not.

     Which I think is Bradbury's point, genius that he was.  Maybe we should listen to the little ones a little more often, eh?  This episode doesn't pack anywhere near the wallop that the rising terror in poor mom does in the original radio play, but any chance to see Bradbury's work put to the screen is a chance that should be taken.  Sadly, the DVDs aren't of the greatest quality should you track them down, but they're inexpensive more often than not and well worth it. 

Tales from the Darkside:  1984:  Trick or Treat:

      George Romero's long running syndicated treasure has a Halloween treat for you, in a spin on A Christmas Carol, where instead of Ebenezer Scrooge hating Christmas, you have a different asshole, who is just as much a cruel penny pincher, but he loves Halloween.  It's an excuse to mentally torment children of those who owe him money.  

       Let's just say, the morality play is terrific here, as Barnard Hughes ("That's the problem with Santa Clara, all the damn vampires") plays the Satanic Scrooge, and with great vigor.  What a show he puts on right until he, as Scrooge does, gets his just desserts.  Is there a Tiny Tim to bring redemption this time?  Well.  We are talking about George A. Romero here.....

     Veteran director Bob Balaban makes this a creepy blast that fits the season in tone, look, and content.  This one should be a Halloween tradition of the highest order. 

Night Gallery. (1969): "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar 

      Rod Serling presents a story here, where situations present themselves that may seem like ghosts, it's really just a guy, Randolph Lane, filled with regret seeing the old glories dance in front of his eyes. What a writer Serling was, of situations and dialogue, his work was so stellar, even after his seminal Twilight Zone.  

      Seems our hero is 25 years into his career as a plastics salesman working for long time silver and small screen legend John Randolph, and being assisted by future game show host Bert Convy.   But, as Yogi Berra once said, "the future ain't what it used to be".   He's a widower now, and his sales success isn't what it once was.  William Windom as Lane, is absolutely devastating as he struggles with a question mark of a life.  He's not a failure, but he lost his wife young, is at a downturn at his job, and has many miles to go before he sleeps.  

      Diane Baker is terrific as his empathic secretary, who serves as anchor, not just to the lovable but struggling Lane, but the story, as she delivers the blows that make you cheer, and positions the world to catch a person's fall.  This is just a terrific piece of television.  Though it may not be ghostly or horrific, the second, very brief segment of this season finale, The Last Laurel, has enough of both. It also provides chuckles to boot, to give you what you may have been looking for, but didn't receive in the first 40 minutes. 

  

     

Samhain Project #16 "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark". (1973)

   

     This nifty little made for TV number is exactly what 70's TV horror was all about, minus any involvement from Dan Curtis.  This one was so loved by Guillermo Del Toro that he produced a remake directed by Troy Nixey with Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes starring.  Not a box office smash by any means, as the film lacked punch.  Not that the '73 version is a cacophony of horror, but I get why Del Toro has feelings for it. 

     It seems the grandmother of Kim Darby (The little girl who enlists the aid of Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, makes sentient desserts that terrorize John Cusack in Better off Dead, and even gets murdered by Michael Myers in Halloween 6) has left her a sizable abode that she and her cranky-ass husband played by Jim Hutton (who couldn't outact his son Timothy no matter what the stakes may be).  They do the old school horror movie chestnut of ignoring warnings from old dudes.  Several times, for God's sake.

     The house has issues, and of course they're deadly, (and freaky little fuckers to boot).  The effects are more passable than some of the size work for the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings, and the cast is okay with a lightweight script.  A burn-on-demand Warner Archive DVD is the only way to get this flick at this point, and be prepared to turn your TV up to 90 because there's not a subtitle or closed caption to be found.  Somehow a director's commentary was made available, though.  Which is kind of ironic.  

     As far as it goes, it's fun, nostalgic, worth more than a few chuckles, and the tiny antagonists are freaky enough to at least make you feel like leaving the lights on is a good idea for a couple nights.  Plus, Darby drives a Chrysler that I believe doubled as a submarine in World War II.  All around enjoyable.

Samhain Project #15: "Near Dark"

     

    And the Halloween viewing continues......

  Near Dark is regarded as a classic of the genre, a vampire film that creates its own mythology.  It's also a noir-western with special effects that are better than the era's low budget films, and a good cast.  The first film from Hurt Locker and Point Break director Kathryn Bigelow, it's still a confident movie.

     Aside from veteran Adrian Pasdar (the era's Top Gun, Solarbabies, Vital Signs, and in the future, the heralded series Profit), the principal cast is made up of a chunk of the crew from Aliens (Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenete Goldstein) which shouldn't surprise, as Bigelow ended up married to the director of that film, James Cameron.  As a matter of fact, when our merry vampire band is crossing in front of a theater marquee, Aliens happens to be the feature.  Near Dark also features genre veteran and still a hero of mine because of his ridiculous banter with Sylvester Stallone in the even more ridiculous Rhinestone, and his performances as Jack Deth in the Full Moon Trancers series, Master Tim Thomerson.

     Near Dark was released in 1987 (which coincides nicely with Aliens (1986) on the marquee), but still holds up due to its dark and sad romance between Pasdar and Jenny Wright (of I, Madman fame), who is responsible for turning the naive and over-eager kid.  Also, our cult of vampire renegades who somehow manage to be hideous and hold your attention at the same time. They all have weird quirks, which make them unique among movie vampires. 

     There's no Lugosi, no Lee, no Langella, and certainly no Barlow here; these are street thugs that happen to drink blood.  

     I recommend seeking out Anchor Bay's 2-Disc edition which is long out of print, but available all over eBay.  It's worth it.

     Hey!  There's James LeGros!!!!

     

Samhain Project #14 "Who Can Kill a Child?"

      

      The storyline to Who Can Kill a Child? lies in its title.  The opening few minutes gives us a refresher on how awful history, with its war, tyranny, and famine has been to the world's kids.  And then it gives us an answer to the question by creating a scenario that is so nightmarish, it's hard to fathom.  

      Our two principals, on vacation on the coast of Spain, take a trip to a small island that isn't even on a map, 4 hours off the coast.  Once on the island, they've seen the villagers have disappeared, but the kids are everywhere, running...

     and giggling.

     One can see how Stephen King may have seen this 1975 film before laying pen to paper on Children of the Corn.   Cinematically, killing kids has been an unwritten no-no, pretty much broken only by a handful of filmmakers.  But what if they're the antagonists, the murderers?  This is a Spanish production revived by Dark Sky video about 12 years ago, and given a big mention by Eli Roth on his History of Horror series, Season 2.  I'm sure he feels it needs reappraisal, as it is dark, creepy, and effective.

     In the past we've seen The Bad Seed, The Exorcist, The Children, The Omen, et al, but this feels realistic in its visuals and its set up.  Something unnatural is spawning this event, but what it is, is not clear.  It's not sociopathy, the devil, chemicals, or he who walks behind the rows, but folks, it ain't right. 

     Recommended, and as I always suggest, the original Spanish with subtitles. 

Samhain Project #13: "Halloween Kills"

     

     Since 1980, I've grown up with Halloween being part of my October rituals as evidenced by this and this.   I wasn't terribly skeptical when 2 years ago, I saw David Gordon Green's 40 years later direct sequel, because I trust him as a filmmaker going way back.  He is a true renaissance man in filmmaking respect.  And it turns out I couldn't have been more right as he and Danny McBride, the gents behind scripting and directing the revival, have shown they have nothing but love and respect for the original. 

     This one picks up where the last one left off, Halloween, 2018.  The story grows from there, with Green and McBride bringing in elements of the 1978 original straight into the story with some more performers from the original to play their characters 40 years later.  Green and McBride show guts even going back to 1978's timeline on screen and flawlessly, using modern technology and seamless casting.   As my kid told me this morning, (You can check out the youngster's writing here, here, and here, for opinions on everything from George A. Romero, to Billy Jack, to the criminally underrated Midnight Movie) McBride said they'd pay homage to the sequels while skipping over them, and so far they've held to that in both films, in a way that will bring grins to a true Halloween fanatic's face.

     Of course this was executive produced by John Carpenter, the genius behind the original, along with Debra Hill, and he is the composer along with his son Cody, and Daniel Davies.  It feels like home to have the maestro involved.  The score is one of the films many strong points, to boot.  Green and McBride lay down a possible story sword so that it can be wielded more strongly in the finale of the trilogy, but bring out homages to Frankenstein and as my kid mentioned, 1989's Halloween 4 as they do so.  

     Halloween Kills joins its many partners in the series as one to be referred to this time of the year for spookytime viewing, but for my bottom dollar, you can't beat starting with the original, and then cutting to 2018's sequel, and then Kills, until Halloween Ends comes out next fall to drop the final bomb.