Prince and the Revolution |
04 August 2021
Purple Rain
03 August 2021
Massad Ayoob vs Bikini Machine Gun Fun
I found this Mail Order Video tape at a Habitat for Humanity recently. Of my collection of video tape oddities I’ve found some of the most bizarre were found at Habitat.
I really was hoping by the cover that this tape would contain some pretty crazy 1990 video graphics and gun fighting action.
Turns out it’s just this guy sitting on a couch in a gun shop talking about the finer points of successfully surviving a gunfight.
I could tell it was a gun shop by the frequent and distinct pop! pop! sound of the indoor firing range in the back.
The video is very informative and probably even relevant today with the exception of newer gun fighting technology.
Massad said a lot of things similar to what I’ve heard other gun guys say in various other gun shops and courses. So no disrespect to retired Police Captain Ayoob for keeping it real and teaching proper technique.
02 August 2021
Wes Craven
01 August 2021
MTV vs Music Television Go To Hell
As of 12:01 a.m. Sunday August 1st, 2021 MTV is exactly 40 years old.
MTV went on the air in 1981.
That’s just about 15 years of good music videos, right?
31 July 2021
Ted Cassidy
Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester and Cassidy as Lurch Cassidy also played Thing |
John Astin, Jackie Coogan, Ted Cassidy, Lisa Loring, Carolyn Jones and Ken Weatherwax (1964-1966) |
Lurch window cameo on the Batman TV series with Adam West |
Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek |
30 May 2020
Seven (Technically Nine) Pretty Good Vampire Movies You Might Have Missed
Near Dark (1987)
Released 3 months after The Lost Boys, Near Dark didn't do quite as well in theaters but over the years has gained something of a cult like status. It follows a band of bloodthirsty and ruthless travelers as they terrorize their way through the mid-west. Along the way they inadvertently recruit Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) who, unfortunately for the group, comes from a very loving home life.
Squad Goals |
Kathryn Bigelow also directed Point Break (1991) and more recently The Hurt Locker (2008) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Near Dark was co-written by Eric Red who also directed the over the top road trip/action/horror flick The Hitcher (1986) starring the late Rutger Hauer.
Let The Right One In (2008)
dir. Tomas Alfredson
Screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Let The Right One In (2008) |
Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson were 11 years old at the time of casting and filming and have been praised for their performances.
The film has a dark and quiet reservation about it that is very fitting for the subject matter. It proves that restraint is sometimes much more frightening than full on, in your face fright.
Let Me In (2012) |
The Addiction (1995)
written by Abel Ferrara and Nicholas St. John
A late night convo between Walken and Taylor |
The Addiction stars Lili Taylor, Edie Falco, Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra. Both Walken and Sciorra starred together again in Ferrara's Funeral (1996). Walken had previously worked with him in King of New York (1990). The film itself contains allegories to both addiction and religion, both a recurring theme in Ferrara's work and the vampire genre in general. Whenever I think of this movie the scene that comes to mind is a blood orgy near the end of the film where Lili Taylor regurgitates blood after gorging on too many victims only to go right back at it. The excessive bloodiness of the scene is made that much darker by the fact that it is filmed in black and white.
Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston |
Starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as a pair of ancient lovers, Mia Wasikowska as the eternally energetic little sister and the late Anton Yelchin as the human lackey. The late John Hurt supports as a vampiric Christopher Marlowe who, in the story, faked his own death in 1593 to continue writing anonymously for others including William Shakespeare.
If you are strictly looking for true horror in your vampire movie you can keep looking. This is more of a thinking persons vampire movie. Chock full of cultural and scientific references I must admit a some of which was a bit above my lowbrow. I did however relate to the disillusionment in society that the characters have gathered over the centuries.
written and dir. George Romero
Martin the shy vampire |
Martin is a well made, Gothic psychological horror. Some of the scenes are a bit cringe worthy, mostly revolving around the uncomfortable scenes when Martin is awkwardly subduing and assaulting his victims. Martin is notable as it is the first time that Romero and famed special effects artist Tom Savini worked together. Savini has a small part as the boyfriend of the sympathetic cousin that also lives in the house with Martin and his Uncle. Romero is great in a small part in which he plays a priest. It's an amusing scene because there is little acting involved. It's just Romero dressed as a priest doing Romero stuff. Prepare yourself for an abrupt and shocking end to this film.
Ganga And Hess (1973)
written and dir. Bill Gunn
Duane Jones and Marlene Clark |
The producers of Ganga and Hess, unhappy with the box office numbers and general feel of the film, sold the rights to another company. Heritage Enterprises released a re-scored drastically re-editted version of the film on VHS entitled Blood Couple that was disowned by Gunn. The original cut was donated to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan whose screenings slowly helped build this films reputation as a piece of independent African American cinema.
The production for Lee's remake was mostly funded through kickstarter, the first time he used crowd funding to make a film. Lee also compiled a great soundtrack through submissions from unsigned artists.
There is also an incredible 6 minute gospel rendition of Sam Waymon's "You Got To Learn" from the original Ganga and Hess soundtrack.
Vampires 2010
written by Frederique Broos and Vincent Lanoo
Starring Carlo Ferrante as the father, Vera Van Dooren as the mother, Pierre Lognay and Fleur Lise Heuet as rebellious teenage children in a family of vampires residing in Belgium who invite a film crew into their home. Benedicte Bantuelle supports as an ex-prostitute who acts as something of a servant and is refered to as "the meat". Baptiste Sornin and Selma Alaoui also support as the pesky and childless downstairs neighbors.
This French mockumentary style film preceded What We Do in The Shadows original film version by 4 years and offers a fresh and interesting satirical look at what modern day vampire culture and society may look like.
A majority of Vincent Lanoo's work focuses mostly on drama. His only foray into horror/comedy won him the Audience Award at the prestigious Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
10 April 2020
Finley (2019) - A Short Comedy Horror Film
I had the privilege of seeing this highly entertaining short at the first annual iHorror Film Festival held at the notoriously haunted Cuban Club in Ybor City, Tampa on Saturday October 5th, 2019.
The festival is coordinated through a partnership of St. Petersburg based iHorror.com and Ybor based production company, The Power Station. The company, co-founded by Dan Myrick (Director of The Blair Witch Project) and Jeffrey Reddick (Creator of The Final Destination franchise) will primarily focus on producing horror in the Tampa Bay area.
It was a grueling 12 hour day of 2 hour blocks of short horror (both local and worldwide), an awards presentation and an industry talk with Dan and Jeffrey. I was also lucky enough to squeeze in a ghost tour of the building and learn of the dark history of the Cuban Club. I did witness some weird shit involving a flashlight and a bouncy ball in the basement. The festival was a great experience for those in the industry and fans alike and I look forward to attending in the future.
Finley is the story of an evil ventriloquists dummy struggling at his craft who eventually gets his opportunity to shine. It is written, directed, filmed and edited by J. Zachary Thurman and co-written with Maddison Stroud. It stars Alexa Leigh Fletcher, Brooke Wallace and Keith Dowsett as college roommates who get a little more than they bargained for in a new living arrangement and Chase Anderson and Mike Pearson as a pair of unfortunate burglars. There is also what I believe to be an uncredited child worked in for hilariously edited motion shots.
Finley is a highly entertaining short that has a nice balance between humor and brutality. It has taken home quite a few festival awards including best production design at the iHorror Film Festival. I would highly recommend any fan of horror/comedy spend 25 minutes of your life watching Finley.