TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977)

KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977)

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Plot of the flick is fairly simple. When pesticides kill off their natural prey, the usually solitary tarantulas surrounding the remote town of Camp Verde, Arizona form a massive colony to attack larger prey such as farm animals and humans. Local veterinarian Rack Hansen (William Shatner) teams up with pretty arachnologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) to try to stop the wave of hungry spiders as it closes in on the town.

Nature run amok flick is directed by John “Bud” Cardos from a script by Alan Caillou and Richard Robinson. It’s a spooky flick with many chilling scenes, especially for those who might have a problem with spiders. Anyone with arachnophobia will definitely have a hard time here. This might possibly be Cardos’ best movie as he hits all the right notes and his straightforward directing style works perfectly, as a slow burn is what this story needs. A problem effecting one farm, slowly builds into an invasion of an entire town and it’s done very well. The presentation of armies of spiders is very effective and looks like hundreds were used in filming. There is also some decent enough make-up FX to simulate spider bites and who isn’t given the willies by seeing someone wrapped up in a web as a spider snack. There is suspense, tension and watching spiders pouring out of air vents or surrounding a little girl on her bed, are goose-bump inducing. There are a few cheesy FX, such as the matte paintings used during the still very effective climax, but otherwise this is a little movie that smartly stayed within it’s means and spent it’s $1 million budget well. By today’s standards it could be seen as tame and slow moving, but the restraint and pace does work in it’s favor. When things do happen it’s all the more effective.

Cast are really good here. Cardos even reigns in Shatner a bit. Sure Shatner plays his country veterinarian as a bit of a Romeo, but the character also has some depth, as he is a bit of a drinker and torn over the feelings he has for his dead brother’s widow, Terry (Marcy Lafferty). It makes him more of a human hero. Tiffany Bolling is good as the sexy scientist that catches Rack’s eye, as well as, investigates his spider problem. She stands on equal ground with the heroic veterinarian and it makes it interesting. The then Mrs. William Shatner, Marcy Lafferty, is sweet yet a bit emotionally troubled as Terry. She has feeling for Rack, too, but is still mourning and loyal to her husband, who died in the Viet Nam War. Again it gives the characters a little depth. Little Natasha Ryan is cute as Terry’s daughter and Rack’s niece Linda and legendary athlete turned actor Woody Strode is perfectly cast as a farmer with a serious arachnid problem.

In conclusion, this is a solid and sometimes chilling nature run amok flick. It keeps it’s story simple with nature, in the form of tarantulas, making lethal adjustments to their habits to counter man’s interference. The spider sequences are really well done and effective and director John “Bud” Cardos’ down to earth style, keeps the flick grounded, realistic and scary. The FX are effective, for the most part and the film knows how to give you the willies. A solid horror with a good cast of humans and spiders.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3  (out of 4) webs.

 

 

 

 

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HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY (2015)

A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY (2015)

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Ho ho ho-hum horror is a Yuletide-set anthology that tells four stories that take place all at the same time on Christmas Eve. One tale has a group of students investigating a campus murder, from a year before and not liking what they find. Another has a family reunion, of sorts, ending in a deadly encounter with Krampus. A third has a family going where they don’t belong, to cut down their Christmas tree and paying the price. The final tale has Santa (George Buza) himself battling his own zombified elves. The stories are loosely tied together by a DJ (William Shatner) on his Christmas Eve show.

Flick is directed with equal blandness by three filmmakers, Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan and Grant Harvey. The script by five people, no less, has all four stories occurring at the same time and thus we cut back and forth between the four tales constantly. This gives the film a very disjointed narrative and keeps any of the individual stories from building any momentum they might have. Regardless, the direction is very by-the-numbers with only Santa’s battle with his zombie elves having much impact, thought the final moments of the Krampus story and the film’s reveal finale are somewhat effective, too…not enough, however, to save the movie as a whole. The FX and gore in the segments are actually pretty good, but the fact that none of the episodes stand out, or have any real memorable style, neuters any effect the well-done bloodshed might evoke. It’s kinda dull, when all is said and done and only the old pro Shatner gives his performance any life…and he is actually fairly restrained as Shat usually goes. As directors Hoban and Harvey have worked on the Ginger Snaps series, they set the little horror in the same town of Bailey Downs…and that’s about as interesting as this flick gets. It’s overall very forgettable, with what moments that do work being few and far between.

Not really much to recommend here. The direction is all fairly wooden and it’s disjointed narrative kills any momentum that the by-the-numbers stories might have built. The film looks good and the FX are well done, but aside from being set in the same town as the classic Ginger Snaps, there really isn’t much of interest going on in this disappointing Yuletide horror anthology.

-MonsterZero NJ

2 Christmas trees.

 

 

 

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1984)

STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1984)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock had the deck stacked against it from the moment it was green-lit by Paramount Pictures. First, and most obviously, it had a tough act to follow and big shoes to fill after Wrath Of Khan was hailed by many as an instant classic and some of the finest moments of Star Trek yet seen. They also painted themselves into a corner by killing off Spock and now wanting to continue the cinematic series and thus needing to bring him back. Khan was supposed to be the last film but, now Trek was big again and to continue, our favorite Vulcan had to be part of it. And on top of all that, Khan director Nicholas Meyer was unhappy with the added epilogue to ST II that showed Spock’s burial tube on Genesis implying his death may not be final, and chose not to return. So, in essence they needed a sequel to hold it’s own against it’s predecessor, somehow bring back Spock and replace the director that put Star Trek back on the map after the universal disappointment with the stuffy and bloated ST:TMP. Which brings me to the big question… does ST III get a bit of a bum rap with all that was expected from it?

Well, yes and no…

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock picks up with the Enterprise limping home after it’s devastating battle with Khan and The Reliant. Kirk (William Shatner) is equally devastated by the death of his longtime friend, Spock and Dr. McCoy (Deforest Kelley) is also showing signs of odd behavior possibly brought on by grief. Kirk’s son (Merritt Butrick) and Lt. Saavik (now Robin Curtis) are headed to the Genesis planet for study and unknown to any of them, an ambitious Klingon Captain (Christopher Lloyd) has intercepted transmissions concerning Genesis and sees it’s uses as a weapon of power for the Klingon Empire. As the Klingons head for the restricted Genesis planet to steal it’s secrets, Kirk is visited by Spock’s father Sarek (Mark Leonard) and informed that Vulcans can transfer their essence and there is a chance Spock’s “Katra” has been transferred to another before death. It soon becomes apparent that McCoy now hosts Spock’s soul and Kirk must get to Genesis in the hopes his body is still within his burial tube and Spock can be restored. But, Starfleet forbids Kirk’s return there and now he must sacrifice everything he’s accomplished by stealing the Enterprise and going to the restricted planet against orders. And as the outlaw Kirk and his loyal crew race to Genesis, they are headed not only towards a confrontation with the Klingons but, a race against time as the Genesis planet has a dark secret that could spell doom for Kirk’s mission and all their lives. I like Trek III and despite it’s intrusive flaws, it’s a fun flick especially if you are a Trek fan but, it’s certainly far from a Wrath Of Khan. First problem is obvious from the story description, there is an overabundance of plot and it takes a long time before the plot elements and characters come together. The film starts to take off with the theft of The Enterprise but, it’s not till Kirk and company arrive on Genesis, wrecking the Enterprise in the process, that the film really starts to hit it’s stride. The film needed to address the return of Spock, yet also have some kind of conflict for entertainment purposes, and find a way to remove Genesis from the mix if the series was to continue without having to continually deal with it’s effects on the Star Trek world. And the film actually gets all this done but, at the cost of a more streamlined plot and a good degree of fun as the film can get heavy handed when dealing with the life and death issues that surround Spock and the Genesis device and it’s theme of how far will you go to help the ones you love. Taking advantage of Paramount’s desire to have Spock return, Nimoy landed himself the directing gig replacing Meyer. And while I don’t think he did a bad job, his lack of experience does show with the film resembling a TV episode in tone and look, where the story could have used a more epic feel with it’s disintegrating planets and starship confrontations. The pacing and tone are uneven with the first half moving rather slowly and picking up speed once Kirk and company leave Earth and going from dead serious one minute to borderline goofy the next such as some humor involving the Klingons who needed to remain fierce. But, Nimoy also creates some wonderfully Star Trek moments… the theft of The Enterprise being my favorite… and the camaraderie between the characters is as endearing as always. There is some nice action in the  second half and the climactic scenes on Vulcan do carry the emotional weight intended. The SPFX are really good from ILM again and this time no stock footage. The sets once again look cheesy but, being that the whole thing reminds one of a TV episode, it’s not as intrusive as one might expect. And there is some very weak dialog too but, again, Star Trek has always had it’s own way of phrasing things and it’s own jargon so, this isn’t as damaging as it could be. As for the cast, everyone recreates their beloved characters just fine though, Nimoy isn’t as adept at restraining Shatner as Meyer and Shat does fall back into some of the hamminess he’s famous for yet, does have some very strong scenes too. Newcomers range between good to outright bad, such as Phillip R. Allen who is dreadful as Grissom Captain Esteban. Christopher Lloyd is a good villain but, every time he speaks you hear Reverend Jim from Taxi which was fresh in everyone’s mind when this was released. The effect has warn off over time but, was very noticeable back then. Robin Curtis replaces Kirstie Alley as Saavik and is a bit wooden even for a Vulcan, which might explain why the character sadly disappeared after a brief appearance in ST IV. Fans really loved Saavik and it was odd they introduced new characters like her and Kirk’s son and then did away with them. David is especially wasted in this as he doesn’t do much but look wide eyed at the Genesis planet and then pouts when he discovers his device is flawed. Luckily composer James Horner returned and gives another epic score to enhance the flick and the cameo from Mark Leonard is a pleasure as he brings a power and dignity to Ambassador Sarek that the series made good use of with his return in IV and VI. But, flaws aside, ST III is still enjoyable and contains some fun lines and classic Star Trek moments giving each cast member a memorable scene to punctuate their appearances. It is certainly nowhere near the train wreck that Shatner’s ST V is or the mind numbingly dull Insurrection. To a degree Search For Spock had too much to measure up to in the eyes of fans, especially with a first time director, but, the fact that it did have so much to accomplish and actually does get as much done despite it’s flaws, earns the film a bit more credit then it is given. And despite all that was stacked up against it, it still is a fun romp especially once it gets going and it does return some of the TV episode level charm whether that was the intention or not. It’s a flawed but, still entertaining entry in the series and Nimoy would grow as a director with the following and very entertaining Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home that became the series biggest hit till J.J. Abrams took Trek mainstream.

3 stolen starships!

 

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan is one of my all time favorites and I have to say I enjoy it just as much now as I did in a theater in 1982… maybe more with the added nostalgia and that it retains it’s status as the best of the Star Trek movies even with the addition of J.J. Abrams’ fun reboot series. The film is a direct sequel to a first season episode entitled Space Seed where Kirk and crew find a 20th century Earth genetic superman in suspended animation with his crew on an unregistered space vessel. He’s thawed out and identified as Khan Noonien Singh a genetically engineered tyrant who, with his followers, nearly conquered Earth in the 1990s. He tried to take command of the Enterprise and kill Kirk but, was thwarted and he and his followers were sent into exile on a deserted planet. The film picks up 15 years later with a ship, The Reliant, accidentally happening upon Khan (Richardo Montalban reprising his classic role), and the remaining members of his crew, while searching for a lifeless planet to test a planetary terraforming device on called Genesis. Khan, who is now mad with vengeance as the explosion of his world’s sister planet has ravaged his home and killed his wife, takes the ship and plans to use Genesis as a weapon of revenge against now ‘Admiral’ James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Lured into a confrontation and badly damaged, The Enterprise and it’s valiant crew must somehow find a way to stop Khan from using the Genesis Device to commit ‘universal armageddon’… and caught in the middle are the creators of the device, a former lover of Kirk’s (Bibi Besch) and a son, David (Merritt Butrick) he’s never met. Khan, as directed and co-written by Nicholas Meyer, corrects basically all of Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s mistakes by returning Star Trek’s sense of adventure and action and making it’s character’s 3 dimensional again. Where ST:TMP ignored the fact that the characters where now over a decade older, STII:TWOK makes their aging part of the story. Kirk is celebrating his 50th birthday and dealing with issues of his new earthbound rank when his heart still belongs in the captain’s chair. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is training a new crew to take over the Enterprise with our beloved crew members assisting in shaping their eventual replacements. Khan himself once a vicious but, noble warrior who graciously accepted Kirk’s decision to let him have his own world to build instead of imprisonment, is now a madman who seeks revenge at any cost. Meyer takes our beloved characters and gives them legendary status working in themes from classic literature like Moby Dick, Horatio Hornblower and Tale Of Two Cities… and gives the Enterprise a charming Naval feel as opposed to the antiseptic and cold feeling the previous film imbued it with. And added to the richness of story and character are some thrilling and suspenseful space battles that evoke some of the classic submarine movies like Run Silent, Run Deep. Assisting Meyer is a cast that brings their famous characters vibrantly to life once more. Shatner may get flak for his over the top performances but, here he is at the top of his game and gives one of his best performances as an aging warrior forced once more to battle against the odds and possibly face mortality for the first time. Nimoy plays an older, wiser Spock who is happy to be molding the next generation and has mellowed a bit allowing him to show a slightly warmer side… or dare I say more human. Deforest Kelley is as cranky as ever as Bones but, this is one character we don’t want to change a bit and he hasn’t. Montalban takes Khan and turns him into a vengeful madman who is still fiercely intelligent and ruthless but, now on the brink of madness with revenge, a foe even more dangerous now that he would destroy James T. Kirk at all costs including that of his own people. A classic character is now made larger then life by a veteran actor knowing when to show the cunning villain and when to unleash the madman. And Meyer gives him some great dialog to chew on. The rest of the classic Trek cast all do well in reviving their beloved characters though I will admit Walter Koenig’s Chekov has a few moments that spill into camp but, the character always was very emotional. Bibi Besch is fine and sexy as Dr. Marcus, Kirk’s old flame. Butrick doesn’t quite cut a figure we’d expect of Kirk’s son but, we can forgive this as it’s part of the story that his mother didn’t want him to grow up like dear old dad. Kirstie Alley made her acting debut as Spock’s protegee’ Lt. Saavik a vulcan officer following in his footsteps and her characterization made her instantly beloved by fans who were equally disappointed when she didn’t return in Star Trek III. Rounding out the main cast is Paul Winfield as The Reliant’s Captain Terrell who makes the best of giving some character to a limited role. I won’t pretend the film doesn’t have faults, it does. There are obvious flaws in it’s science and their are inconstancies, one being that the Chekov character didn’t join the show till season 2 so, Khan should not have known him. The film was made on a low budget so, the sets are cheap looking and a lot are borrowed and redressed from ST:TMP and while the ILM FX are fine, a lot of FX early in the film are also borrowed from ST:TMP and it’s a little obvious. But, the biggest flaw is that Kirk and Khan never meet face to face, all their confrontations are done by radio or on view screen and these two actors at their best, never get to be in the same room together and that’s a shame. But, all it’s flaws can be forgiven as this is just a real fun flick and is classic Star Trek at it’s best… both in spirit and in the portrayal of it’s characters. It’s a film that elevated the characters from heroes to legends and has an old fashioned swashbuckling tone that seems to be gone from films today. It’s a classic flick now made even more fun by the nostalgia it has picked up and is a movie that has charm to spare. An all time favorite and a great movie even with it’s flaws. Also stars regulars James Doohan as Engineer Scott, George Takei as Helmsman Sulu and Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura with Ike Eisenmann playing Scotty’s nephew Ensign Preston, a new character. STII also features a great score by James Horner and is pretty much the movie that put him on the path to becoming one of the best film score composers out there today. A classic!

4 Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnssssssss!

 

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: THE DEVIL’S RAIN (1975)

THE DEVIL’S RAIN (1975)

As a horror movie fan and an all around movie geek, I try to give even some really bad movies a break if there is something to entertain within it. Some movies are delightfully bad and I have no problem giving them credit even if they are entertaining for the wrong reasons. But occasionally a movie comes along that should have been ripe for a fun time and yet just doesn’t live up to it’s potential either as a solid flick or as campy fun…and sadly, The Devil’s Rain is one of them.

The story has the Preston family being hunted…for centuries apparently…by a cult of Satanists and their leader Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), to regain a book that is in the family’s possession that will grant the cultists great power. When the mother and father are taken, son Mark (William Shatner) goes to confront Corbis and win his parent’s freedom. When Mark fails and becomes one of Corbis’ soulless servants, his brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) comes looking for his family and must find a way to destroy Corbis and his followers by releasing the souls that Corbis has imprisoned.

This Robert Fuest directed horror was universally panned when it came out and while I don’t think it’s quite as terrible as it was accused of being, it is a rather dull flick despite a heavy dose of horror trappings. Fuest tells his tale filled with Satanic ceremonies, sinister visuals, psychic phenomena and plentiful make-up FX, with a very slow pace and fails to really instill any menace in what should be a story filled with dread. The cinematography by Alex Phillips Jr. is quite good and makes good use of the desert locations and the spooky sets, but fails to give the film the atmosphere it needs to chill us. The movie has a very good cast with Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, Keenan Wynn and a young John Travolta joining Skerritt, Shatner and Borgnine, but only Ernest Borgnine really seems to get the material, giving his Jonathan Corbis some nice over the top villainy. The rest of the cast seem to perform by-the-numbers, not that the script…written by three people no less…gave the characters or story much development to work with. The dark humor and sinister sense of fun that Fuest brought his Dr. Phibes films starring Vincent Price, is sadly missing. This film could have used a bit of those movies’ morbid sense of humor, especially when things get borderline silly in the last act. The production value on the film is fine and it’s make-up effects by Ellis Burman Jr. are top notch for the time…especially during it’s climactic meltdown…but there is just very little life in a movie that’s plot was well suited for some over the top horror fun…and with people turning into human rams and scenes of dozens of melting cultists, you’d think the director would have had a good time with it.

Still, the film has developed a bit of a following and the fact that Satanist Anton LaVey is listed as a consultant adds to it’s infamy, but bottom-line, the film simply doesn’t live up to it’s potential and is an oddity and a curiosity at best. Oddly the very last scene has the kind of creepiness the rest of the film desperately needed, but it’s far too late. Even the film’s marketing failed, as it used it’s climax as the focal point of it’s advertising, so anyone going in to the movie already knew how it was going to end.

If you’re a horror completest or just a fan of bad movies like I am, it’s worth a look, but this could have been a lot of fun had the filmmakers and cast chose to have fun with the material. And by that I don’t mean make a joke or comedy of it, just perform the scenes with some gusto instead of this almost funeral-like deadpan. You know there is a problem when Shatner isn’t being theatrical. At least veteran actor Borgnine enjoyed himself and Skerritt had Alien and Shatner the return of Star Trek to keep their careers afloat while, sadly Fuest all but disappeared from feature film-making. In a time of endless remakes, this flick is one that could use a redo by someone who gets material like this, like Eli Roth or Alexandre Aja, and make it the fun horror blast it could have been. It has it’s fans, so I guess that’s something.

-MonsterZero NJ

2 horny goat Borgnines.