MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: THE CAR (1977)

The ominous black sedan. Is it The Devil himself behind the wheel of The Car!

Elliot Silverstein’s fun 70s horror flick recently had an anniversary having been originally released on May 13th, 1977. It brought back memories of having seen it in a theater as a kid when it originally came out. I remember seeing it at the long-gone Park Lane Theater in Palisades Park, NJ which was one of the movie houses I most frequented in the 70s and early 80s, and the theater my parents or grandfather took us to when we or they wanted to see something. My sister and I loved the flick and as we were kids, we cut it a lot of slack and were highly spooked and entertained. Revisiting it now as an adult, I can say I love it equally for its 70s charm, wonderful nostalgia and simply making a good movie out of what is basically the silly premise of The Devil taking a homicidal joyride in a sinister sedan. In honor of its anniversary, I am reposting my review of this perfect example of how they made flicks in the 70s…

THE CAR (1977)

I love this 1977 B-movie action/horror, it is a textbook example of how a good director…Cat Ballou’s Elliot Silverstein…can take even a ridiculous premise and turn it into a solidly entertaining flick. And The Car is exactly that. The plot is simple, a demonic looking black sedan comes thundering out of the desert one morning and heads into the small rural desert town of Santa Ynez and begins to mow down innocents, like a hitchhiker and two young bicycle riders. While the Thomas County Sheriff’s office, including Captain…soon to be sheriff thanks to The Car…Wade Parent (James Brolin and an awesome 70s mustache), think there is a psycho on the loose, we already know something supernatural is afoot from the red tinted POV shots from within the vehicle and the mysterious wind that blows through right before it’s thunderous engines and blaring horn can be heard. Despite roadblocks, the vehicle appears and disappears at will and Wade and his deputies start to realize something is satanically wrong here, when the vehicle tries to run down a group of school children and is stopped when they flee into the hallowed ground of a cemetery and Wade himself confirms eyewitness accounts that the vehicle has no driver. But something evil is inside as indicated by the gleeful sounding horn after a kill and the fact that single dad Wade’s pretty schoolteacher girlfriend (Kathleen Lloyd) finds out the hard way that calling the ‘driver’ a “chicken shit” is a bad idea. Now with the body count mounting and all signs pointing to the fact that Old Scratch himself might be out for a joyride, Wade and his rapidly diminishing police force must find a way to stop Satan’s Sedan before Santa Ynez becomes a ghost town.

As with our previous Tomb of Nostalgia…The Devil’s Rain…The Car is another film that employed Satanist Anton LaVey as a technical advisor and even opens with a quote from him. Not sure what he advised as there really is very little religious talk in the film and even when they start to believe something evil is going on, a priest is never even mentioned much less consulted. Who cares, as Silverstein takes this laughable idea and makes a really fun and suspenseful action/horror flick that actually has some goose bump inducing moments, such as when The Car has some kids trapped in the cemetery and when Wade has an encounter with it in his own garage. Silverstein accomplishes this by taking his subject totally seriously and not only instilling his villain with a good deal of menace, but delivers some really intense chase and action sequences, including a very thrilling climax where all Hell literally breaks loose. Obviously the 70s nostalgia adds a lot of fun to it, too, but this is actually a well-directed film, and we enjoy it far more then we expect from a movie about a demon driven car. Another thing that adds to the effectiveness is that The Car appears in sleepy Santa Ynez for no reason, nor do we ever get one. It’s very spooky and random and that works far better than a hokey explanation and it gives The Car added personality to what Silverstein already imbues it with.

The cast, also starring Ronny Cox, R.G. Armstrong and Kyle and Kim Richards as Wade’s precocious daughters, take their roles very seriously with Brolin making a very human and sometimes fallible hero. He and Lloyd really do come across as a cute couple, too. The film was criticized for its acting back in the day, but personally, I think they are just fine for being in a flick about a demon possessed car. And speaking of which…the real star is George Barris’ customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III and it’s an iconic movie vehicle and is very intimidating and effective. If Beezelbub had a car, I have no problem believing this is what it would look like. Leonard Rosenman’s score is appropriately spooky and incorporates bits of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique…the piece that open’s The Shining and Gerald Hirschfeld’s cinematography makes nice use of the desert locations. Despite being filmed mostly in the day, it has plenty of creepy atmosphere.

All in all, The Car is a really fun B-movie blast with a well-deserved cult following and a favorite guilty pleasure of mine that I actually saw at The Park Lane theater in Palisades Park in 1977 when I was a kid…and it delightfully holds up all these years later! A fun action/ horror of the type they don’t make anymore!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) satanic sedans.

**************************************************

 

 

 

 

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY BEETLEJUICE (1988)

HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY BEETLEJUICE (1988)

Tim Burton’s classic comedy Beetlejuice was released 35 years ago, and I was there with friends at the long-gone Century Theater in Paramus, N.J. Having loved Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and being big fans of Michael Keaton, we knew we were in for something special. We loved it, as did the packed house we saw it with, and almost immediately started quoting it, as many movie fans do today. It’s still to this day an all-time favorite comedy! To commemorate this anniversary, I am reposting my original review…

BEETLEJUICE (1988)

Burton’s sophomore feature teamed him with another comic icon Michael Keaton, in this tale that puts a spin on the traditional haunted house story by having the ghosts trying to remove the humans from their house and not the other way around… and turning in desperation to the demonic bio-exorcist Beetlejuice (Keaton) for help.

The story has young couple Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin) Maitland, living a peaceful life in their large house in a remote New England town… until a horrible accident brings about their premature demise. But, things get worse for the dearly departed couple when, as they try to adjust to their new after-life, their home is invaded by the new owners, the new age Deetz family, Charles (Jeffery Jones), Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and their Goth emo daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder). With their gaudy interior decorator Otho (Glenn Shadix) in tow, they begin to completely remodel the Maitland’s house. The ghostly couple try to haunt the new family out but, only wind up intriguing them and in desperation, they turn to the demonic entity known as Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to evict the Deetzes from their home. But, they have started to bond with Lydia and realize all too late that the funky phantom they have unleashed has a far more sinister agenda and becomes a far worse problem then the Deetzes and their plans to turn the house into a paranormal sideshow attraction.

Written by Warren Skaaren and Michael McDowell from a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson, this was another film perfectly suited to Burton’s gothic, offbeat visual style and his quirky sense of whimsy. Burton really gets to have some surreal visual fun with his presentations of the afterlife and in the design of some of the supernatural beings that inhabit it. His teaming with Keaton is also perfect as the actor gets to really chew up the scenery as the bizarre and slightly perverse Beetlejuice. The character comes across less an actual demon than your creepy, pervy, alcoholic uncle… on crack… and that’s kinda what makes it work. Keaton is completely over the top and it fits Burton’s over the top style directing style very well. While not all the bits work, most do and the film is not only flat out hysterical at times but, whimsically spooky at others. The climactic last act when Beetlejuice is loosed on the Deetzes dinner party and trying to wed Lydia so he can remain corporeal is an amusement park ride, almost literally, and it makes it worth the wait to see him finally and fully unleashed. The film also makes it’s ghost characters, The Maitlands, the only normal people in the movie which adds to the turning the traditional haunting premise on it’s head. The film is a lot of fun and Burton imbues it with some nice sentimental moments too. Here he still knew when to temper the outlandish with the subtle, something some of his recent films seem to have lost. The FX here are very inventive and not only include some very bizarre make-up and prosthetics but, some charming stop-motion animation as well. A time before CGI and it’s all the more charming for it. Despite a modest budget the quaint FX enhance the film’s atmosphere and add to the fun. Again Danny Elfman was brought into score and again his music fits the film like a spooky glove.

As for the human cast elements, despite not having as much screen time as you might think, it’s Keaton’s show and he takes the demonic ball and runs with it. He is completely and unapologetically over the top as the perverted and devious oddball demon that is Beetlejuice. He has a lot of great bits to chew on and while not every line is knee-slapping, Keaton gives them his all anyway and the film would not have worked so well without him. Davis and Baldwin make a very endearing couple of ghosts and they have a really great chemistry together and with Ryder. The fact that they are played as the most normal characters in the film adds to the charm and they both give very down to earth performances… pun intended. It really works as a nice contrast to the eccentric Deetzes and their weird friends and, of course, Beetlejuice himself. And as the Deetzes there is also a nice contrast here with Jeffery Jones’ more down to earth real estate developer and Catherine O’Hara’s delightfully eccentric new age sculptor wife. Add in the adorably gloomy Lydia brought to life by a cute, young Winona Ryder and the obnoxious and self centered Otho, made all the more amusing by a scenery chewing Glenn Shadix (who sadly passed away in 2010 due to injuries sustained in a fall in his home). A very well cast comedy with some very talented people doing what they do best.

I love this movie. Sure, not all the bits work, and a slightly tighter script could have made it even more of a tour de force for the eclectic cast, but with Keaton creating an iconic character and some truly inventively designed otherworldly characters and sequences, you get a very original and now classic comedy and a film that is still, in my opinion, one of both Burton’s and Keaton’s best. A delight even now, 35 years later. Also features cameos by Robert Goulet and Dick Cavett.

Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) Beetlejuices!

**************************************************

HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY BEETLEJUICE (1988)

-MonsterZero NJ

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY THE HOWLING (1981)

HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY THE HOWLING (1981)

The Joe Dante werewolf classic turns 42!!

The Howling was released 42 years ago, and its anniversary has brought back memories, as I saw it with friends at a special preview screening, weeks before it’s March 13th release, at the now long-gone Stanley Warner Theater in Paramus, NJ. Preview screenings were quite common back in the 80s before there was an internet and were used to spread advance word of mouth to promote movies before websites like Rotten Tomatoes and Bloody Disgusting did the job as they do now. As such, we didn’t know quite what to expect as the only knowledge of the movie came from Fangoria articles and brief commercials on TV. There was no Youtube to view trailers either. If you didn’t catch a trailer at your local theater with another movie, you missed it.

 

Howling heroine and future horror queen Dee Wallace knows there is something lurking in the woods!

For those unfamiliar… The Howling is a true horror classic and is regarded as one of the best werewolf movies ever made. Joe Dante, fresh off of Roger Corman’s Piranha, re-teamed with writer John Sayles for a fun and spooky tale of lycanthrope loose in the California hills that was based on a book by Gary Brandner. After a traumatic close call with a strangely animalistic serial killer named Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo), young newswoman, Karen (Dee Wallace) is sent to a holistic retreat by her therapist, Dr. Waggner (Patrick Macnee) for treatment. But unknown to Karen and her husband, Bill (Christopher Stone), The Colony is actually a haven for werewolves that the therapist is trying to civilize…and that a certain, Eddie Quist was one of his ‘patients’. Some of the pack have other ideas and are looking at Karen as their next meal.

 

Rob Bottin’s amazing transformation FX that beat Rick Baker’s American Werewolf work to theaters by five months!

We all loved it! It was fun, scary and Rob Bottin’s make-up, gore and werewolf transformation effects blew us away. The mix of twisted humor and horror elements was perfect! It’s been my favorite werewolf movie ever since…sorry American Werewolf in London. Personally, I am not a fan of the sequels that followed and was very disappointed at the route they took with Howling II, which has now become a cult favorite all these years later after initially being scorned. Why they didn’t do a direct sequel and bring back Marsha (Elizabeth Brooks) was beyond me and how they screwed up a sequel that starred the great Christopher Lee, I’ll never figure out.

 

There is something malevolent and hungry stalking a remote retreat in the California woodlands.

Accepted by horror fandom as a horror classic and one of the best werewolf movies of all-time, The Howling has remained effective all these decades later and Rob Bottin’s prosthetic transformations effects still lauded as a far better than any CGI could hope to be. Dee Wallace is also renown as one of the queens of modern horror and it’s still counted as one of legendary filmmaker Joe Dante’s best movies!

HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY THE HOWLING (1981)

-MonsterZero NJ

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S SATURDAY NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE: A CHINESE GHOST STORY I & II

 

This edition of MZNJ’s Saturday Night Double Feature is a revamped repost of one of my first installments of this column…almost ten years ago. It is also a bit of a Movie Memories, too as I saw both these films at the Film Forum in NYC during the Hong Kong Film Festival in September of 1991. During the festival run I spent many a night racing into the city after leaving my job at Tower Records to see quite a few of these amazing films from the late 80s Hong Kong Cinema revival! These two are amongst my all-time favorite films and it was amazing seeing them with an audience at this legendary theater!

A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987)

This Hong Kong classic is an enchanting supernatural romance/action/fantasy! It’s a fairy tale-like story that takes place in ancient China of meek tax collector, Ning Tsei-Shen (the late Leslie Cheung), who encounters and falls in love with a beautiful ghost, Nieh Hsiao-Tsing (the gorgeous Joey Wang). But this enchanting specter who has stolen his heart has been betrothed to the devil himself by her master, the soul sucking Tree Demon (Lau Siu-Ming). The mild-mannered Ning Tsei-Shen teams up with a powerful Taoist monk (the scene stealing Wu Ma) and vows to save his supernatural love from her eternally damning fate.

A Chinese Ghost Story is simply a great movie, directed by legendary Hong Kong director Ching Siu-Tung and produced by the equally legendary Tsui Hark, that delivers everything from sumptuous cinematography, charming romance, thrilling martial arts action, spooky scares and some very effective old-school SPFX. The film has the wonderful ability to charm us, entertain us, give us the chills and make us laugh out loud. The cast is perfect with leads Cheung and Wang making an enchanting couple with some wonderful on-screen chemistry. Wu Ma’s Yin Chek Ha is an endearing and cantankerous mix of Bruce Lee, Gandalf and Yoda, while Lau Siu-Ming is creepy and formidable as the weirdly androgynous Tree Demon. A simply wonderful and wildly entertaining film!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 4 (out of 4) supernatural sirens!

**************************************************

A CHINESE GHOST STORY II (1990)

Chinese Ghost Story II is a cinematic rarity, a sequel that’s an equal. Tax collector Ning Tsei-Shen (Leslie Cheung) returns and is once again drawn into a battle with evil supernatural forces over a woman. This time, she’s flesh and blood rebel fighter, Windy (Joey Wang) who is the spitting image of his ghostly love from the previous installment. As Ning is also mistaken for the rebel leader, Chu, he is more than happy to perpetuate this error in order to get close to the beautiful Windy. But the rebels are up against a demon in disguise and once again Ling is forced to battle an assortment of supernatural foes.

Chinese Ghost Story 2 is a bit bigger with more action, but the human element is not lost thanks to another fine performance by Leslie Cheung as tax collector Ning and Wang as his paramour, Windy. There are some delightful new characters such as cocky Taoist monk, Autumn (Jacky Cheung), Windy’s spunky sister, Moon (Michelle Reis) and heroic swordsman, Fu (Waise Lee). There is also a surprise cameo from a character from part 1 that I won’t spoil, but the audience at The Hong Kong Film Festival at the Film Forum in NYC erupted in thunderous cheers when they appeared. While less of a romance and more of a supernatural adventure this time, CGS2 nonetheless has some great action, some nice chills and some hysterically funny scenes—one involving two characters, a giant demon and a freezing spell might be among my favorite slapstick comedy scenes ever! There are also some charming old fashion FX that might be cheesy elsewhere but bring a smile to one’s face here. Again Ching Siu-tung skillfully directs and beautifully shoots this great follow-up and Tsui Hark again produces. Another Hong Kong classic.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 4 (out of 4) supernatural sirens!

**************************************************

**************************************************

There is a Chinese Ghost Story III (1991) also directed by Ching Siu-Tung, and while it is entertaining, it takes place 100 years later and is in today’s terms a “requel”, so it doesn’t quite fit in with the first film and its direct sequel…unless you want to include it for a complete trilogy viewing. Joey Wang stars again, but as another Ghost named Lotus, and Lau Siu-Ming returns as the tree demon now awakened from its 100-year slumber. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is the love interest this time around, as shy Buddhist monk Shi Fang who is trying desperately to resist Lotus’s temptations. I saw this in NYC, too but at a later time and a different theater. A good movie, but not equal to the previous chapters in this franchise. The chemistry between Joey Wang and Leslie Cheung was sorely missed.

**************************************************

On a more somber sidenote… it will be twenty years this April since series star, actor/singer Leslie Cheung, sadly and tragically took his own life. He is considered a pioneer LGBT performer for openly coming out about his bisexuality at a time when Hong Kong cinema was still very conservative. *

RIP Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing

September 1956-April 2003

**************************************************

-MonsterZero NJ

*Source: Wikipedia

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: TRICK ‘R TREAT FINALLY GETS A THEATRICAL RELEASE!

TRICK ‘R TREAT FINALLY GETS A THEATRICAL RELEASE!

After 15 years, cult classic Trick ‘r Treat finally gets a theatrical release in time for Halloween!

Trick ‘r Treat was released direct to home media by Warner Bros in 2009 after first showing at a Texas film festival two years earlier and then some sporadic festival showings over the next two years. Like everyone else, I discovered this great Halloween movie on DVD. Since then, it’s become a beloved holiday classic. Now fifteen years after its festival only showings, Michael Dougherty’s cult favorite has finally gotten a theatrical release at AMC theaters right in time for All Hallows Eve. One of my favorite spooky season flicks, I took in a showing tonight and it was magical seeing it on the big screen for the first time…even though I have watched it dozens of times by now.

Ticket was only five dollars to start! It was a good print with vibrant colors and great sound bringing the lush Halloween visuals and spooky screams to vivid life as never before. Don’t care how boss your home theater system is, there is nothing like seeing it on the big screen with an appreciative audience. Everyone was quite during the showing, save for the appropriate laughs or gasps, depending on the goings on. Seeing Sam and company larger than life was a great experience tonight and one I am so thankful that the folks at AMC provided. Better late than never! A great Halloween movie now getting its proper due! Was like seeing the film for the first time and I’m so glad I went! 

-MonsterZero NJ

Photos: Warner Bros/Legendary

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)

The controversial sequel turns 40 today!!

Halloween III: Season of the Witch was released 40 years ago today and it has brought back memories, as I was there opening night with friends at the now long-gone Cinema 35 in Paramus, NJ. Fans were cautious as this would be a Halloween film without Michael Myers…something that some audience members did not know upon hearing angry and disappointed post-show comments. Carpenter considered Myers’ story over and thus was planning to turn the franchise into an anthology series, with a new and different story each year. This chapter was directed by long-time Carpenter friend and collaborator Tommy Lee Wallace. I really enjoyed this flick and was fully onboard for what Carpenter was planning. My friends whom I attended the showing with weren’t so happy with it and there was much discussion on the way home. Me championing the film all the way while they were highly critical and disappointed. Box office numbers were ultimately disappointing, and Carpenter’s anthology never went any further. Myers returned in a series of lackluster sequels six years later.

 

 I have been a fan of this sequel ever since and it’s watched every Halloween, along with Halloween and Halloween II as part of the “Big Three.” Personally, I am not a fan of the sequels that followed after Carpenter left the franchise and would have loved to have seen his annual Halloween anthology plans come to pass, with word that Halloween IV would have been a haunted house movie. I am very happy to see this flick finally find it’s fanbase and get the love it deserves. It’s a twisted Halloween tale and possibly embraces the spirit of the holiday even better than its two Michael Myers based predecessors. That’s just my opinion and am glad to celebrate this delightfully gruesome Halloween story with a twisted sense of humor that embraces the term trick or treat!

 

One of my favorite moments in the film is when asked “why” by hero Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins), bad guy Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy) delivers one of the greatest villain monologues of all time in Halloween III: Season of the Witch!…

“Do I need a reason? Mr. Kupfer was right, you know. I do love a good joke, and this is the best ever: a joke on the children. But there’s a better reason. You don’t really know much about Halloween. You thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy.

It was the start of the year in our old Celtic lands, and we’d be waiting in our houses of wattles and clay. The barriers would be down, you see, between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in to sit by our fires of turf.

Halloween… the festival of Samhain! The last great one took place three thousand years ago, when the hills ran red with the blood of animals and children.”

Gives me chills just transcribing it here, and I can hear the late, great Dan O’Herlihy’s deep voice echo in my head as I do!

 

 

Much maligned for decades, Halloween IIl: Season of the Witch has now earned some well-deserved love and taken its place as classic franchise canon!

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH!

-MonsterZero NJ

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986)

Big Trouble!

As it is the anniversary of its release, a look back at this now classic action fantasy…

Once again director John Carpenter was ahead of his time with this spin on the type of SPFX filled supernatural/martial arts flicks that were being made as part of the revisionist Hong Kong cinema of the 80s and 90s like Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain (1983). Unfortunately, like his masterpiece The Thing, Big Trouble failed at the box office and would only years later be recognized and loved for the classic it is. As an avid fan of Carpenter, I was there opening night in 1986 and my friends and I loved it and immediately started quoting characters and making references, years before it got the attention it deserved. I’m proud to have championed this flick from the beginning. I had yet to see Zu, but heard enough and saw enough from the film, to know what Carpenter was doing. The Hong Kong cinema wouldn’t catch on here in the US till the early 90s and sadly it was only then when movie fans realized that Carpenter nailed the spirit and frantic fun of those movies perfectly with this deliriously entertaining flick!

 

Don’t mess with Jack Burton!

 

Photos: 20th Century Fox

-MonsterZero NJ

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982)!

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING (1982)!

The ill-fated crew of U.S. outpost #31 from John Carpenter’s The Thing!

John Carpenter’s production of The Thing turns 40 years old on 6/25/22 and I was fortunate to see it at a preview screening a week earlier at the long-gone Totowa Cinema in Totowa, N.J. At this point I was already a John Carpenter fan and The Thing from Another World, which is the first film adaptation John W. Campbell Jr’s Who Goes There?, was one of my childhood favorites. I was very excited and as there was no internet to spoil things, I didn’t know what to expect apart from a few stills posted in Starlog and a cast and crew with some familiar faces and names. I was wowed to say the least by this groundbreaking adaptation with some of the most amazing make-up FX I’d ever seen! There was no traditional monster such as in Alien, but a creature that changed shape and form every time you saw it and right before you eyes. I loved the flick and was actually mad when it opened officially a week later to bad reviews and even worse box office. I saw it at least twice more in a theater before it’s sadly brief theatrical run came to an end. now, after four decades I can be happy that the film is finally recognized and regarded as the classic that it is!

 

Something not of this world has been unleashed from it’s icy tomb!

Last night John Carpenter’s flick, now rightfully recognized as the masterpiece it is, returned to theaters to commemorate it’s 40th anniversary thanks to AMC and Fathom Events. It was a bittersweet return as, sadly, it was an inferior print that was not only faded and sometimes a bit blurry but cropped from the film’s original 2:35 aspect ratio to something more resembling 1:85! WTF!? This totally betrayed Carpenter’s impeccable visual style and Dean Cundey’s masterful cinematography. On that level it was very disappointing. However, the heart and soul of this science fiction/horror was still intact, and it was still a blast and a good time to see Kurt Russell and co-stars up on the big screen once more battling Rob Bottin’s shape-shifting alien monstrosity. It brought back a lot of memories from my first screening in 1982 and proved this flick has lost none of its potency four decades later. It will always remain one of my all-time favorites and if you truly want to see it as intended, pick up Scream Factory’s collector’s edition. The print is a beautifully restored high definition transfer that presents this masterpiece of alien terror in all it’s gory glory!

 

A last stand against the alien invader!

**************************************************

-MonsterZero NJ

Photos: Universal Pictures

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY FORBIDDEN WORLD (1982)

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY FORBIDDEN WORLD (1982)

The doomed research station on the planet Xarbia!!

Roger Corman’s production of Forbidden World was released 40 years ago today and I was there opening night with friends, at the now long-gone Stanley Warner Quad Theater in Paramus NJ. A big fan of Corman’s films already, I couldn’t wait to see this, especially after having seen and loved Corman’s Galaxy of Terror the previous November on Thanksgiving Night. It was an absolute blast, with its combination of babes, blood and beasts, and the energetic music video editing style was way ahead of its time! A fun flick!

Sexy space scientists perfectly dressed for a lurking genetic mutant on the loose!

Forbidden World is directed by director Allan Holzman with an almost psychedelic music video style, as it tells the story, written by Tim Curnen, R.J. Robertson and Jim Wynorski, of a soldier, Mike Colby (Jesse Vint) sent to an isolated research station on the remote planet Xarbia to deal with a genetic experiment that has gotten out of control. Colby not only has to battle a growing and hungry genetic mutant, but handle not one, but two hot and very horny female scientists (Dawn Dunlap and June Chadwick). The type of B movie they just don’t make anymore. One of the last of its kind. Crack a few beers and enjoy!

The constantly evolving mutant in its most lethal form!

-MonsterZero NJ

 

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY to JOHN CARPENTER’S THE FOG (1980)

HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY to JOHN CARPENTER’S THE FOG (1980)

John Carpenter’s The Fog was released on February 8th, 1980, and my butt was there in a theater to see it! So, in honor of the 42nd anniversary of one of my all-time favorite horror flicks, I am re-posting this look back at Carpenter’s classic!

One of my all-time favorite horrors and one of my favorite John Carpenter flicks, in fact, since I was too young to see Halloween when it came out, this was the first Carpenter film I saw in a theater and the flick that started me on my love of his movies.

The Fog tells the story of the 100-year anniversary of the small coastal California town of Antonio Bay and as the town prepares for its centennial celebration, a dark secret is revealed. Legend has it a leper colony paid the founders of Antonio Bay a lot of gold to let them settle nearby, but they were betrayed and murdered, as their ship was lured onto the rocks to crash and sink on a fog laden night. All were lost, but now a horde of vengeful spirits returns from the sea, wrapped in a surreal fog, to make the descendants of those who wronged them, pay with their lives.

The Fog focuses not on a main character, but a group of central characters whose individual experiences during this supernatural crisis bring them slowly all together, for its tense and creepy final act set in the town church. A good cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis as hitchhiker Elizabeth, Tom Atkins as local fisherman Nick, Janet Leigh as centennial chairwoman Kathy Williams and Adrienne Barbeau as single mom and radio DJ Stevie Wayne, give life to this ensemble and make them characters we like and care about, so we fear for them when they are placed in harm’s way. Add to that Hal Holbrook as the town’s alcoholic priest and a host of Carpenter regulars—with even a cameo by Carpenter himself—and you have a film wonderfully filled with a variety of characters who are all potential victims for the marauding phantoms. As for those phantoms, let’s not forget to mention the ghostly Captain Blake (FX man Rob Bottin) and his vengeful crew who are portrayed with in-camera practical FX. This makes them quite spooky and gives them a heavy dose of menace and a lot of effectiveness when they are on the attack. There is loads of atmosphere and some very solid scares and suspense created by Carpenter, along with some great cinematography from frequent Carpenter collaborator Dean Cundey, which makes this a good, solid, old-fashioned ghost story and a fun Halloween season treat. Carpenter again delivers a score which adds chills and foreboding to his tale of ghostly revenge, much like he did for Halloween and he starts the film off perfectly, with a chillingly fun opening sequence featuring veteran John Houseman as a crusty sailor who likes to tell kids scary stories. It sets the mood for the thrills and chills yet to come. This classic was made back when there was no phony CGI, just solid make-up effects from master Rob Bottin (who went on to do The Thing’s FX for Carpenter) and some very basic down to earth smoke and mirrors style visuals, that are as beautiful as they are scary. A great flick the likes of which they rarely make anymore and one of MonsterZero NJ’s must-watch flicks during the Halloween season!

The film is thankfully available, on blu-ray from Scream Factory with all the extras from previous releases, plus a new commentary track with Barbeau, Atkins and Tommy Lee Wallace and two really fun and informative interviews with Jamie Lee Curtis and Cinematographer Dean Cundey, who also supervised the absolutely gorgeous transfer!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 4 (out of 4) spectral sailors!

**************************************************