The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)
Producers: Robert L Lippert and Jack Parsons
Director: Terence Fisher
Screenwriter: Harry Spalding (“Henry Cross”)
This is quite a good little science fiction thriller. And at just over an hour, it has no fat.
A test pilot comes back from a mission only to find most people dead. He and some other survivors join together and find out that space alien robots have taken over the world. And they are turning the dead into their zombie slaves.
Starring: Willard Parker (Tales of the Texas Rangers), Virginia Field, and Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets) as the bad guy.
The Earth Dies Screaming is copyrighted, but it isn’t hard to find online. If you want it on DVD, it is available with Choosen Survivors (1974). It is available on Blu-ray with an audio commentary by Richard Harland Smith.
Earth vs the Spider (1958)
Producer/Director: Bert I Gordon
Screenwriters: László Görög and George Worthing Yates
A giant spider lives in a cave and feeds on passersby. The town tries to kill it with DDT. But apparently, rock music wakes it up. So they electrocute it.
The inclusion of shots from Carlsbad Caverns makes this film much more interesting than other cave-based films of the time. Of course, the outside of the cave is Bronson Canyon, which psychotronic fans will know from countless other films spanning decades. It’s also helped by having a plot that strays from the usual formula.
Starring June Kenney (Attack of the Puppet People), Gene Persson (Bloodlust), and Ed Kemmer (Space Patrol).
Earth vs the Spider may be in the public domain; there is a nice print on Archive.org. You can get it cropped on DVD with War of the Colossal Beast. But you should get the Shout Factory Blu-ray, which includes a commentary track by Ted Newsom. It also includes the MST3K episode if that’s your thing.
7 September 2022
Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! (2006)
Producer: Trent Haaga
Director/Screenwriter: Chad Ferrin
A single mother of a boy with MRCP gets a boyfriend who moves in and tortures the teen when his mother is away. But someone in an Easter Bunny mask takes revenge.
I love this film! It’s a very effective horror film combined with a nice sense of family values. Many of the victims didn’t really deserve what they got, so it isn’t quite as good as Dolls. But I had a great time!
Starring Timothy Muskatell (Hell Asylum), Ricardo Gray, Charlotte Marie (Elevate), and Trent Haaga (Killer Biker Chicks).
Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! is copyrighted. It is available on DVD with a short featurette and a director commentary.
22 March 2020
Eat Locals (2017)
Producers: Rod Smith & Jason Flemyng and Neil Jones & Jonathan Sothcott
Director: Jason Flemyng
Screenwriter: Danny King
The regional vampire heads of the United Kingdom have their twice a century meeting to get rid of one problem vampire and replace him with a new one. But things get dicey when an anti-vampire military unit shows up to eliminate them.
This is a clever and funny film with an exceptional cast. The plot gets kind of lost in the middle. But it’s a fun view throughout.
Starring Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave), Tony Curran (Shuttle), Eve Myles (Keeping Faith), Robert Portal (Paintball Massacre), and Billy Cook.
Eat Locals is under copyright. It is available on DVD.
26 February 2021
Eat My Dust! (1976)
Producer: Roger Corman
Director/Screenwriter: Charles B Griffith
The son of the local sheriff tries to impress a girl by stealing a stock car. The two joy ride the rest of the film with the sheriff’s department and other racers in pursuit.
This film is a bit of a mixed bag. The father and son at the center of the narrative are far more realistic and sympathetic than you’d expect. And the sequence with the milk cart was refreshing. But the car crashes seem de rigueur and most of the secondary characters are annoying. Most of all, the visual humor just doesn’t work.
It’s interesting that Howard’s character wears a Union army cap throughout the film but for the posters, they put a Confederate flag on it — probably because the film opened throughout Texas. Regardless, the film presents southerners as stupid but I guess the power of the Confederate flag is such that it can blind southerners to obvious insults.
Starring Ron Howard (Grand Theft Auto), Christopher Norris, Warren J Kemmerling (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and Dave Madden (The Partridge Family).
Eat My Dust! is copyrighted. It is available on DVD alone or along with Grand Theft Auto.
1 May 2021
Eaten Alive (1976)
Producer: Mardi Rustam
Director: Tobe Hooper
Screenwriters: Alvin L Fast and Mardi Rustam (earlier screenplay: Kim Henkel)
Alternate titles: Starlight Slaughter, Death Trap, Horror Hotel
A number of people stay at the Starlight Hotel where the crazy owner is easily upset. He has a large crocodile that gives us the title of the film.
This film doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves. In its way, it’s as effective as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Not surprisingly, it isn’t even appreciated by most critics today who, in usual form, find ways of claiming things that work well (like the lighting) are, in fact, fatal flaws. Tobe Hooper forgot how to make films, apparently. Watch it. By the end, you’ll see what I mean about its effectiveness.
Starring Neville Brand (Riot in Cell Block 11), Mel Ferrer (The World, The Flesh and The Devil), Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family), William Finley (Phantom of the Paradise), and Marilyn Burns (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre).
Eaten Alive is under copyright. It is available on a 2-disc DVD with a commentary with Mardi Rustam and many other extras. It is available on a 2K Blu-ray with most of the same extras and a few more.
25 September 2020
Edge of the Axe (1988)
Producer: José Frade
Director: José Ramón Larraz (as Joseph Braunstein)
Screenwriters: Joaquín Amichatis & Javier Elorrieta & José Frade
Alternate titles: Al Filo del Hacha
A young computer geek and the daughter of a local bar-owner try to uncover a serial killer who is menacing the area.
This is another 1980s slasher film with a “clever” plot. It’s a well-made film but hard to get too excited about.
It stars Barton Faulks and Christina Marie Lane.
Edge of the Axe is under copyright. Arrow has released a nice Blu-ray of the film.
20 March 2021
Effects (1980)
Producers: Pasquale Buba and John Harrison
Director: Dusty Nelson
Screenwriter: Dusty Nelson (novel: William H Mooney)
Alternate titles: The Manipulator
A couple of people working on a low-budget horror film don’t realize that the director is actually working on a snuff film with them as the stars. It’s a clever plot even if a bit hard to believe. The first half is a bit slow. The third act is fantastic!
This film was made by various techs who worked for George Romero. A lot of the technical staff on this movie worked on Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow. And that includes the producers. It is not, however, true of first-time director Dusty Nelson. But it isn’t hard to connect him to the gang.
Producer John Harrison (Screwdriver Zombie in Dawn of the Dead) plays the psychopathic film director. Starring Joseph Pilato (Day of the Dead) and Susan Chapek. Also featuring Bernard McKenna, Debra Gordon, Charles Hoyes, and Blay Bahnsen. Tom Savini plays one of the bad guys (in addition to doing special effects).
The film is copyrighted. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray with various extras.
Elvira’s Haunted Hills (2001)
Producer: Mark Pierson
Director: Sam Irvin
Screenwriters: Cassandra Peterson & John Paragon
Our review: Elvira Movies
In the middle of the 19th century, Elvira is on her way to be an exotic dancer in Paris. But she gets sidetracked at a castle in Romania where much that is nefarious is going on.
This is an homage to the Corman Poe Cycle. It is by far the best thing in all the Elvira universe. The writing is crisp and funny, the acting exceptional, and the directing perfectly channeling Corman (but better).
Starring Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). Featuring Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Mary Scheer (MADtv), Scott Atkinson, Heather Hopper, and the hilarious Mary Jo Smith (Thank You for Smoking).
Elvira’s Haunted Hills is under copyright. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray with a good set of extras.
15 August 2020
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)
Producers: Eric Gardner and Mark Pierson
Director: James Signorelli
Screenwriters: Sam Egan, John Paragon, and Cassandra Peterson
Our review: Elvira Movies
Elvira learns of an inheritance from an aunt she didn’t know existed. She travels to a small town where she receives the aunt’s house and a “cookbook.” But it turns out she’s actually from a family of witches and her evil warlock uncle is determined to get his hands on the book.
This is pretty much the show turned into a film. Most of it is quite funny and filled with the boob jokes and wholesome family values we all expect from Elvira.
Starring Cassandra Peterson (Elvira’s Haunted Hills). Featuring Daniel Greene (Hands of Steel), Edie McClurg (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and W Morgan Sheppard.
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is under copyright. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray with basically no extras. It is available on an Arrow Video Blu-ray with a high-definition print along with a feature-length documentary, three commentary tracks, a featurette on the creation of the “pot monster,” and various small things.
15 August 2020
Empire of the Ants (1977)
Producer/Director: Bert I Gordon
Screenwriter: Jack Turley (story: Bert I Gordon)
A real estate agent takes a group of potential investors to an island trying to sell what is clearly worthless property. But before anyone can be scammed, giant ants attack. But they don’t seem to want to kill the humans. They seem to want them to work at the nearby sugar refinery.
Michael Weldon said of this film, “Somebody should tell Bert you can’t bring back the ’50s.” I think this is unfair. This film is quite different from the ones Gordon was making back then. In particular, it seems to be going for something like Phase IV, but with the BIG spin.
Starring Joan Collins (Dynasty), Robert Lansing (The Nest), John David Carson, and Jacqueline Scott.
Empire of the Ants is under copyright. There is an expensive widescreen DVD as well as some double-feature discs.
22 September 2022
Enter the Devil (1972)
Producer: Michael F Cusack
Director: Frank Q Dobbs
Screenwriters: Frank Q Dobbs & David S Cass
In rural Texas, there is some odd religious group killing people. It is deliberately plotted, but you will stick around just to figure out what the hell is going on. (It has a great plot twist.) This is a little-seen gem — even for psychotronic fans.
It features Joshua Bryant (A Scream in the Streets), Irene Kelly, and director David S Cass.
The film is copyrighted. You can get it in excellent condition along with another Dobbs/Cass film The California Connection on Blu-ray. I can’t speak for the DVD.
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Producers: Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller
Director: Robert Clouse
Screenwriter: Michael Allin
A crime boss holds a martial arts competition every three years so British intelligence sends in Bruce Lee to get proof of his nefarious deeds.
Although the plot is extremely silly and has been parodied a bunch, this film is a lot of fun. It does exactly what it intends to and never gets boring despite a decent run time.
Starring Bruce Lee (The Big Boss), John Saxon (The Evil Eye), Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri (Payday), and Shih Kien.
Enter the Dragon is under copyright and generally hard to find streaming. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray — both with lots of extras.
1 December 2023
Equinox (1970)
Producer: Jack H. Harris
Director: Jack Woods
Screenwriter: Jack Woods (story: Mark Thomas McGee)
A student and some friends go to the woods to meet his professor. Once there, they find his cabin destroyed. Then an odd man in a cave gives them an old book of magic. Asmodeus sends various mythical creatures to get the book back.
There’s not much to this film outside of the stop-motion animation, which is great. The whole thing started with a short film, The Equinox . . . A Journey into the Supernatural. It was made by iconic special effects artists Dennis Muren, Dave Allen, and Jim Danforth. Jack H Harris had a feature film built around it. If you like classic stop-motion effects, you will definitely want to check this one out.
Starring Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner (WKRP in Cincinnati), and Robin Christopher.
Equinox may be copyrighted. The Criterion Collection has put out a great 2-disc release of this on DVD. It features a restored high-definition transfer. It also includes the original short film. And it has a load of extras including two commentary tracks. One is with the producer and director. The other is with Muren and Danforth. (Allen died several years before.)
24 August 2020
Eraserhead (1977)
Producer/Director/Screenwriter: David Lynch
A young man is forced to marry a young woman he impregnated. They go to live in his small apartment with their baby, which looks like a space alien and is very unhealthy.
I loved this film when I was younger but I find it now annoys me. It has some remarkable moments though. The baby-creature is endlessly fascinating. And much of it is very funny. It is the perfect encapsulation of everything that’s right and wrong with Lynch as an artist. Visually it is very interesting (when it isn’t simply black) but the plot is slow almost to the point of nonexistence. And as with all of Lynch’s work, there is nothing beneath the surface. People who look for deep meaning in his films are doing much more thinking than he ever did. He’s still made some great films, I just think this one is more of a curiosity that should be cut down to 30 minutes and shown at the local Museum of Modern Art.
Starring Jack Nance (Meatballs 4), Charlotte Stewart (Tremors), and Judith Roberts (You Were Never Really Here).
Eraserhead is under copyright. It has been released on DVD and Blu-ray from Criterion with a number of interviews that mostly feature Lynch. The highlight is an 85-minute Lynch dialog where he talks about his early days and the making of the film. It is arguably as self-indulgent as Eraserhead itself. But for fans, it’s essential.
18 January 2022
Escape From LA (1996)
Producers: Debra Hill and Kurt Russell
Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriters: John Carpenter & Debra Hill & Kurt Russell
Sixteen years after the first film, America is a theocracy, there was an earthquake that made Los Angeles an island, and it is now a prison. The president’s daughter escapes to it with a special device to control satellites that can knock out all electronics in a particular area — or the whole world. Once again, Snake Plissken must save the day. But what does that mean?
This is a beat-for-beat sequel of Escape From New York that is gloriously aware of just how silly the whole conceit is. I actually like it more although the end goes on and on. But the basketball scene alone makes it all worthwhile.
Starring Kurt Russell (Stargate). Featuring Steve Buscemi (Living in Oblivion), Georges Corraface (Papadopoulos & Sons), Stacy Keach (Body Bags), Valeria Golino (The King’s Whore), Cliff Robertson (The Key To Rebecca), Pam Grier (Black Mama White Mama), and AJ Langer (The People Under the Stairs).
Escape From LA is under copyright. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray with no extras. Shout Factory has released a Blu-ray with a 4K transfer from the original negative and two commentary tracks and a bunch of interviews.
26 May 2020
Escape From New York (1981)
Producers: Larry Franco & Debra Hill
Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriters: John Carpenter and Nick Castle
The president’s plane is hijacked so he has to escape in a pod that lands in New York, which is now a prison. So they offer a pardon to war hero and criminal Snake Plissken if he rescues the president.
People love this film but I consider it one of Carpenter’s lesser works. There is no question that it is a fun film though. And in addition to all the great action, there’s one moment that is actually touching. Regardless, this is a film you must own!
Starring Kurt Russell (The Thing). Featuring Adrienne Barbeau (Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death), Lee Van Cleef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man), Ernest Borgnine (The Wild Bunch), Isaac Hayes (Truck Turner), and Donald Pleasence (Prince of Darkness).
Escape From New York is copyrighted. It is available on a basic DVD and a Shout Factory Blu-ray packed with features.
26 May 2020
Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Producer: Arthur P Jacobs
Director: Don Taylor
Screenwriter: Paul Dehn (characters: Pierre Boulle)
Much of this installment of the series is quite funny — but always with a subtext that things are going to go very wrong. And they do.
Cornelius and Zira escape from their time right before Charlton Heston blows up the planet. They land on modern Earth and become a cause célèbre before the humans decide the apes will cause the end of humanity’s dominance. This, of course, leads to the end of humanity’s dominance in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972).
The film is a lot of fun but taking the story to modern Earth gives it a distinct made-for-television feel. This is true for the remaining films.
It features Roddy McDowall (That Darn Cat!), Kim Hunter (The Hiding Place), Bradford Dillman (Sudden Impact), Natalie Trundy (Battle for the Planet of the Apes), William Windom (“They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar“), M Emmet Walsh (Blood Simple), Ricardo Montalbán (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan).
I don’t know of this film having been available on disc. But fans should get the whole thing, “Planet of the Apes: The Legacy Collection” as DVD or Blu-ray.
Eve and the Handyman (1961)
Producer/Director/Screenwriter: Russ Meyer
A sexy PI is following a nerdy handyman for unknown reasons. Lots of comedy and scantily clothed (and un-clothed) women follow.
This is a genuinely funny and very sexy film. It’s definitely one of Meyer’s best — still amusing me after 25 years of viewing.
Starring Anthony-James Ryan and Meyer’s wife at the time, Eve Meyer who later died in that awful Tenerife airplane disaster.
Eve and the Handyman is copyrighted. It is available on DVD with The Immoral Mr Teas.
16 May 2021
Event Horizon (1997)
Producers: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, and Jeremy Bolt
Director: Paul WS Anderson
Screenwriter: Philip Eisner
The Event Horizon was a spaceship designed to distort space in order to reach speeds above that of light. But on its maiden voyage, it disappears. Seven years later, it comes back. When the crew of the Lewis and Clark come to investigate, strange other-worldly things begin to happen.
This is a very effective film even if it doesn’t ultimately make a lot of sense. The CG doesn’t hold up particularly well but the acting does.
Starring Sam Neill (In the Mouth of Madness) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix). Featuring: Kathleen Quinlan (The Runner Stumbles), Joely Richardson (Anonymous), Richard T Jones (The Trigger Effect), and Jack Noseworthy (Barb Wire).
Event Horizon is well copyrighted. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
The Evil (1978)
Producer: Ed Carlin
Director: Gus Trikonis
Screenwriter: Donald G Thompson
A doctor purchases an old mansion with a history to start a drug rehab clinic. Some of his students help him to fix the place up but after he unlocks a demon, they are all trapped inside and on the verge of letting the Devil himself into the world.
This is a good haunted house film with mostly practical effects including full-body burns by Buddy Joe Hooker who was injured doing them. The mansion is a great location and adds a lot to the creepy feel of the movie.
Starring Richard Crenna (Body Heat), Joanna Pettet (The Best House in London), Andrew Prine (Grizzly), and Victor Buono (The Strangler).
The Evil is under copyright. It is available on DVD with Twice Dead and a commentary by Trikonis, Thompson, and cinematographer Mario Di Leo.
Evil Bong (2006)
Producers: Joe Dain and Charles Band
Director: Charles Band
Screenwriter: August White (story: Charles Band)
A house of stoners decides what they need is an awesome bong. So they buy one with a warning that comes from Louisiana. But they soon find themselves trapped inside the bong, which is all part of the bong’s quest for world domination.
This is pretty much a play shot on video. It features good performances and a reasonably well-executed premise. It struck me as kind of slow but maybe only because I wasn’t high while watching it. The film spawned many sequels.
Starring David Weidoff, Kristyn Green, John Patrick Jordan, Mitch Eakins, Brian Lloyd, and Full Moon regular Robin Sydney (The Gingerdead Man) who will apparently do anything for a paycheck. But despite only appearing in the second half of the film, Tommy Chong (Up in Smoke) is the real star here.
Evil Bong is copyrighted. It is available on DVD. You can also get all (most?) of the films in a box set and other ways.
18 July 2021
Evil Clutch (1988)
Producer: Agnese Fontana
Director/Screenwriter: Andrea Marfori
Our review: Evil Clutch
A succubus-like creature is killing men and turning them into zombie-like creatures. She goes after a young couple camping. Things get… weird.
Despite the fact (Because?) it is a gleeful rip of Evil Dead II, I find this film irresistible. It’s actually a more interesting story than Raimi’s opus and the gore is glorious!
Starring Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni (Terror At The Opera), Elena Cantarone, Diego Ribon, and Luciano Crovato (Family Scandal).
Evil Clutch is copyrighted. It is available on a Troma DVD. I don’t know anything about its quality or extras, however. It hasn’t really been reviewed. It’s not hard to find this film online, but much of it is dark and it’s hard to appreciate these with a bad copy.
25 March 2020
The Evil Dead (1981)
Producer: Robert Tapert
Director/Screenwriter: Sam Raimi
Five friends go on vacation to a cabin in Tennessee. There they find a Sumerian book and a tape recording of it. This unleashes the Evil Dead who kill them all with much madness in between like when one of the women is raped by some vines.
To a large extent, this film has been forgotten. It’s lumped in with Evil Dead II, which is a shame because The Evil Dead is a first-rate horror film. It’s by far my favorite of the trilogy.
Starring Bruce Campbell (Man with the Screaming Brain), Ellen Sandweiss (My Name Is Bruce), Richard DeManincor (Crimewave), Betsy Baker (Witches’ Night), and Theresa Tilly.
The Evil Dead is copyrighted. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray. You can get it for the same price with Evil Dead II on DVD and Blu-ray.
Evil Dead II (1989)
Producer: Robert Tapert
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriters: Sam Raimi & Scott Spiegel
A young couple vacations at a remote cabin. They find the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and hear parts read on a tape recorder. Then the Evil Dead show up and things get weird.
This is a comedic remake of The Evil Dead. Most people prefer it but I think it spoils the mood. You know what I think about sawing limbs off. But make no mistake: it’s a hell of a good film.
Starring Bruce Campbell (Bubba Ho-Tep) and Kassie DePaiva. With Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks (Darkman), and Ted Raimi (Eddie Presley).
Evil Dead II is copyrighted. You can get it on DVD and Blu-ray. Or get it with The Evil Dead on DVD and Blu-ray.
The Evil Eye (1963)
Producer: Massimo De Rita
Director: Mario Bava
Screenwriters: Ennio de Concini & Enzo Corbucci & Eliana de Sabata & Mino Guerrini & Franco Prosperi & Mario Bava
Alternate titles: La ragazza che sapeva troppo, The Girl Who Knew Too Much
A woman visits her aunt in Italy. The aunt soon dies and on her way to alert the doctor, she witnesses a murder. She’s thought to be crazy because the police can find no body. She soon becomes the target of a serial killer and things get very complicated.
This is said to be the first giallo. It’s an odd one because the tone changes so much. There are comedic sequences, even slapstick. But it still manages to be serious and romantic. And it is gorgeous. At very least, it’s worth checking out to compare to later giallo films like Don’t Torture a Duckling.
Starring Letícia Román (Charge of the Black Lancers), John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Valentina Cortese (The House on Telegraph Hill), and Dante DiPaolo (Blood and Black Lace).
The Evil Eye is probably under copyright. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray with both the US and European versions and a commentary by Bava biographer Tim Lucas.
18 December 2020
The Evil Next Door (2020)
Producer: Gila Bergqvist
Directors: Oskar Mellander & Tord Danielsson
Screenwriters: Tord Danielsson & Oskar Mellander
Alternate titles: Andra Sidan
A widower and his son move into a duplex along with the father’s girlfriend. The boy claims to be playing with a boy who lives next door. But it seems some evil lives there that wants to take the son. Unfortunately, the father doesn’t believe the girlfriend who is trying to protect the son.
The first half of this film is pretty slow and I had all but given up on it. It was all worth the wait, however. Where most films lose focus, this one takes off. It’s an excellent low-budget film that shows what you can do with good acting and dim lighting. It’s in Swedish with modest dialog.
Starring Dilan Gwyn, Eddie Eriksson Dominguez, and Linus Wahlgren.
The Evil Next Door is under copyright. It is available on DVD. You can find foreign releases on Blu-ray.
18 February 2024
Evilspeak (1981)
Producers: Sylvio Tabet and Eric Weston
Director: Eric Weston
Screenwriters: Joseph Garofalo and Eric Weston (story: Joseph Garofalo)
A nerd at a military boarding school takes comfort from his bullies trying to communicate with Satan via a computer. Eventually, he’s had enough. He allows a demon to take over his body and goes whoopass on everyone.
This film is widely admired. And it does include some very effective moments. But the plot meanders. Even after they kill the kid’s puppy, we are treated to a bunch more moping until we get to the whoopass, which is underwhelming with the primary bad guy not even being killed by the kid. But the film is competently made — especially for a first time director.
Starring Clint Howard (Blubberella), Don Stark (Switchblade Sisters), Joe Cortese (The Death Collector), RG Armstrong (Children of the Corn), and Haywood Nelson (What’s Happening!!).
Evilspeak is copyrighted. It is available on DVD. Better to get the Shout Factory Blu-ray with Weston commentary, documentary, and interviews.
17 June 2021
eXistenZ (1999)
Producers: Robert Lantos, Andras Hamori, David Cronenberg
Director/Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Allegra Geller, the world’s greatest game developer, is demonstrating her latest game when an assassin almost kills her. She flees with a marketing intern and must go inside her game to unravel the conspiracy against her.
This is one of my favorite films and one of David Cronenberg’s best. It’s also one of his weirdest with a whole subplot about the manufacture of game systems built from amphibian organs. Must see!
Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh (Dolores Claiborne), Jude Law (The Talented Mr Ripley), Ian Holm (The Fifth Element), Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in LA), and director Don McKellar (The Grand Seduction).
eXistenZ is copyrighted. It is available on DVD (no extras) and Blu-ray (some interviews).
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
Producers: John Boorman and Richard Lederer
Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: William Goodhart (characters: William Peter Blatty)
Regan is now a teen and a new priest comes to investigate her exorcism that happened in the first film. He finds that Pazuzu still lurks inside her. Together they fight the demon.
This is a supremely weird film. Most people hate it and it is commonly on lists of “worst films ever.” But it’s an admirable film that weaves in and out of different realities extremely well. The music by Ennio Morricone reminds me too much of For a Few Dollars More, but I guess it’s okay. How it managed to get such a big budget, I can’t say. But I’m glad it did. Just the same, if you want to be entertained, watch The Exorcist III.
Starring Richard Burton (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold), Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Kitty Winn (The Panic in Needle Park), James Earl Jones (The Great White Hope), and Paul Henreid (Casablanca). Max von Sydow (Three Days of the Condor) has a small part and Ned Beatty (Deliverance) has an even smaller one.
Exorcist II: The Heretic is under copyright. It is available on DVD but you should really get the Shout Factory Blu-ray with both 102- and 118-minute 2K versions, some commentaries, and miscellaneous other stuff.
28 August 2022
The Exorcist III (1990)
Producer: Carter DeHaven
Director/Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty
Alternate titles: Legion, The Exorcist III: Legion
Fifteen years after the original film, Father Karras seems to be back, in a mental hospital and possessed by a serial killer who can possess others to do his killing for him.
Opinion is mixed about this film, but I think it’s excellent. Blatty simply makes my kinds of film. Sad that he only made two of them. But he was part of the irrationality trend in horror that I much appreciate.
Starring George C Scott (They Might Be Giants), Brad Dourif (Wise Blood), Ed Flanders (The Ninth Configuration), Scott Wilson (In Cold Blood), and Jason Miller (The Exorcist).
The Exorcist III is under copyright. You can get it on DVD. Better to get it on the Shout Factory Blu-ray, which includes both the released version and the “director” cut as well as many extras. You can also get it as part of The Complete Anthology, which is great but there is only a teaser trailer in terms of extras for this film (the extras on the other film are good). There are other packagings.
20 February 2021
The Exotic Ones (1968)
Producers: Ron & June Ormond
Director/Screenwriter: Ron Ormond
Alternate titles: The Monster and the Stripper
A monster in the swamps is killing hunters. So a gangster club owner decides to capture it to improve business. Soon he is threatened by the monster as well as the police.
This is basically a nudie cutie with a Bigfoot in it. There are lots of strippers along with some musical acts. It has a surprisingly large cast and quite a good script. It also features a great moment when the monster tears off a hunter’s arm and then beats him to death with the arm.
Starring exotic dancer Georgette Dante (she is amazing), Peggy Ann Price, Tim Ormond, Ronald Drake, and Gordon Terry. The producers play the club owner and his oldest stripper/manager. Musician Sleepy LaBeef appears as the monster in his only screen role.
The Exotic Ones is under copyright. It is available on a DVD-R only consisting of the film (not even custom menus). But the print is really good. It is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio and I don’t know if it was shot that way. Given how the stage numbers are shot, I suspect so.
16 September 2020
Extra Terrestrial Visitors (1983)
Producer: Almena Films
Director: J Piquer Simón
Screenwriters: Piquer Simón & Jack Gray (Joaquín Grau?)
Alternate titles: Los Nuevos Extraterrestres, The Pod People
Something crashes into Earth, which seems to be a spaceship with a mother and her eggs. A poacher finds the eggs and destroys them all (except one) but then is killed by the mother. A little boy saves the one egg and it hatches into some anteater kind of creature that can do magic. The mother goes around killing people, including a rock band visiting, while the little boy bonds with the baby who doesn’t want to kill anyone.
Made famous by MST3K, this film actually works pretty well all by itself. My only real complaint is that the “It sucks!” guy isn’t killed so the film has a sad ending.
Starring Ian Sera (Christina), Nina Ferrer, Susana Bequer, Sara Palmer, and Óscar Martín as the little boy.
Extra Terrestrial Visitors is under copyright. It is available on DVD.
8 September 2021
The Eyes of My Mother (2016)
Producers: Jacob Wasserman, Schuyler Weiss, and Max Born
Director/Screenwriter: Nicolas Pesce
A young woman stands by as an intruder beats her mother to death. After her father comes home and restrains the murderer, the young woman removes the man’s eyes and vocal cords and keeps him as a kind of pet. After the father dies, she expands her endeavors.
This is a deeply disturbing film. It’s hard to know what to think of it. But it is incredibly engaging.
Starring Kika Magalhaes (818). With Paul Nazak, Diana Agostini, Will Brill, and Flora Diaz.
The Eyes of My Mother is under copyright. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Eye of the Needle (1981)
Producer: Stephen Friedman
Director: Richard Marquand
Screenwriter: Stanley Mann (novel: Ken Follett)
A Nazi spy is trying to get out of England with information about Operation Fortitude. His boat crashes in a storm on an isolated island. There, he finds a young married couple. The spy falls in love with the wife and his usual ruthless efficiency fails him.
This is an outstanding film. It succeeds perfectly in what it tries to do. It is probably a bit slow for most psychotronic fans. But it still has much to recommend it. And the ending is badass.
Starring Donald Sutherland (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Kate Nelligan (Eleni), Christopher Cazenove (Tears in the Rain), Ian Bannen (Waking Ned Devine), and Philip Martin Brown (Waterloo Road).
Eye of the Needle is under copyright. It is available on DVD. It is also available on a limited-release Blu-ray with a commentary with some writers.
18 June 2021