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Post by bluetomb on Jun 30, 2023 11:43:54 GMT
Anyone seen and enjoyed Tobe Hooper's Spontaneous Combustion? Seems somewhat similar to Cronenberg's Scanners. I have memories of it being a wacky mess that never achieves some pretty interesting potential, but a lively one with some cool effects and entertaining work from the great Brad Dourif. I gather Hooper's original vision went pretty awry in production, I've not seen the salvaged rough cut but it runs some way longer than the eventual release. What we generally got is on the good bad side though I thought, if that's your cup of tea. |
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Post by Knygathin on Jul 1, 2023 23:43:26 GMT
Anyone seen and enjoyed Tobe Hooper's Spontaneous Combustion? Seems somewhat similar to Cronenberg's Scanners. I have memories of it being a wacky mess that never achieves some pretty interesting potential, but a lively one with some cool effects and entertaining work from the great Brad Dourif. I gather Hooper's original vision went pretty awry in production, ... Like you said bluetomb. Interesting concept. Some nice visuals. Story and dialogue a confused mess. |
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Post by Knygathin on Jul 18, 2023 10:44:22 GMT
I re-watched The House that Dripped Blood. Very enjoyable episodic film. I think Peter Cushing here gives one of his finest and most subtle performances.
Carrie is a film I had delayed seeing until now. As expected it was a harsh and unpleasant, but also very good. Sissy Spacek burns. Brian De Palma did a competent job. I am not familiar with any of his other films; remember when Dressed to Kill premiered, and I carefully avoided it.
The scene where Carrie is about to be run over by a car from behind, suddenly turns and diverts it, was especially memorable. Have rarely seen such a well cut action scene before.
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Post by ripper on Aug 3, 2023 12:01:47 GMT
I've been watching a few UK horrors from the 60s and early 70s.
Corruption (1968)
Seeing this again just reminded me how much I miss Peter Cushing. Even in a film that he didn't totally care for, Cushing is great. He makes his anguish over what happened to his girlfriend and what he has to do to put her face back to normal very believeable. You have to feel sorry for his character as he is manipulated and guilt-tripped by his girlfriend, who is the real villan of the story, and Sue Lloyd gives a fine performance in the role. Tony Booth as the slimy photographer is also good, and you can't blame Sir John wanting his gf away from him. It does get progressively wilder as the running time is eaten up. By the time of the home invasion, both Sir John and Lynn are bordering on madness, with the latter showing she will do anything to get the treatment she needs to heal her face. Vanessa Howard has a small but memorable part in the party scene, where Cushing's character is utterly out of place among all the groovyness.
The Blood Beast Terror (1968)
This one isn't one that is generally well regarded from comments I have read. I saw it in the 70s when ATV would show a horror film after News at Ten on fridays, and it has been a guilty pleasure of mine ever since. It's a low budget affair with unconvincing special effects, but has a good cast. Cushing is fine as the detective on the trail of the murderer, though I couldn't help thinking I would have liked to have seen him in the role of Dr Mallinger, with Robert Fleming as the detective. As always, Wanda Ventham looks wonderful, and it's no wonder she lures her male victims so easily. Vanessa Howard turns up as Cushing's daughter, and she's suitably sweet and charming. Roy Hudd plays the morgue attendant in a cameo played for laughs, which I have read annoys some. Glyn Edwards gives solid support to Cushing as his sergeant, but for those of my age will always be Dave the barman at the Winchester Club in Minder.
What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972)
I don't recall this turning up on TV when I was growing up, and it was comparitively recently that I first saw it. Not sure of the film's budget, but it couldn't have been much. A lot of scenes are between Mona Washbourne and Paul Nicholas playing her nasty grandson. He's the Jack of the title (well, John actually), and Vanessa Howard play's Jill, John's gold-digging and scheming girlfriend. John and Jill convince Alice (Washbourne) that a youth revolution is brewing and old people are to be killed or imprisoned. They want the old lady's house and savings. Jill hates her job as a travel agent and John is just bone idle. Jill influences a youth march to pass by Alice's house, and the old lady has a heart attack and dies thinking the revolution had started. John and Jill are happy as they believe that they have the house and money, but Alice's will holds surprises. John is a nasty piece of work and you just want him to have a bad end. As Jill, Vanessa Howard is very good, so different to her performance as Meg in Blood Beast Terror. She's another schemer, urging lazy John to get rid of his grandmother for her estate. It's a pity Howard retired from acting so early, this was one of her best performances imo. Mona Washbourne is also good as Alice, and you are always on her side in the drama. It's good to see the schemers get what's coming to them, with John's comeuppance being particularly satisfying.
Night of the Big Heat (1967)
Another film that would turn up on late night TV in the 70s fairly regularly. A similar plot to the better and better known Island of Terror. A small island off the British coast is sweltering in 90F heat while the mainland shivers in sub-zero temperatures. Strange noises are heard, and both sheep and people begin being found burnt to cinders. A fair amount of action takes place as the local pub where landlord and author Jack Callum (Patrick Allen) is juggling his love life between wife Frankie (Sarah Lawson) and recently arrived secretary Angela Roberts (Jane Merrow), with whom Jeff had an affair on the mainland. Add to this melodrama a mysterious guest at the pub played by Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in an extended cameo as the local doctor. Despite the very strange conditions on the island, nobody seems to be very worried about the cause and the government doesn't seem to have sent anyone to study the phenomenon. Only Lee's character, Professor Hanson, knows what's going on and is seeking proof before alerting authorities. It's as much melodrama as science fiction horror, with considerable time devoted to the Jeff-Frankie-Angela triangle. Allen is a little wooden, but gets one of the best lines in the film--I won't spoil it for others, but you'll know it when you hear it. Compared to Island of Terror,it comes off worse in all departments imo, but it's okay to pass an hour and a half.
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Post by Swampirella on Aug 3, 2023 12:31:04 GMT
I watched this last night, directed by William Castle. It's a very enjoyable, not too long, psychological drama, even if one can guess the ending without much trouble.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on Aug 3, 2023 12:34:05 GMT
A film I watched last year that I found interesting was La Llorona ( The Crying Woman 1933) A Mexican horror movie. I was surprised by how well done it was, especially in terms of the special effects. The film was thought lost but was uploaded on youtube and rediscovered, I wonder how many films have been found that way. La Llorona is a vengeful spirit in Mexican culture. Here is a link to the film, with English subtitles: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq_WXS7BKQk |
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Post by dem on Aug 3, 2023 12:40:16 GMT
What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972) I don't recall this turning up on TV when I was growing up, and it was comparitively recently that I first saw it. Not sure of the film's budget, but it couldn't have been much. A lot of scenes are between Mona Washbourne and Paul Nicholas playing her nasty grandson. He's the Jack of the title (well, John actually), and Vanessa Howard play's Jill, John's gold-digging and scheming girlfriend. John and Jill convince Alice (Washbourne) that a youth revolution is brewing and old people are to be killed or imprisoned. They want the old lady's house and savings. Jill hates her job as a travel agent and John is just bone idle. Jill influences a youth march to pass by Alice's house, and the old lady has a heart attack and dies thinking the revolution had started. John and Jill are happy as they believe that they have the house and money, but Alice's will holds surprises. John is a nasty piece of work and you just want him to have a bad end. As Jill, Vanessa Howard is very good, so different to her performance as Meg in Blood Beast Terror. She's another schemer, urging lazy John to get rid of his grandmother for her estate. It's a pity Howard retired from acting so early, this was one of her best performances imo. Mona Washbourne is also good as Alice, and you are always on her side in the drama. It's good to see the schemers get what's coming to them, with John's comeuppance being particularly satisfying. I've a soft spot for this one, and Laurence Moody's source novel The Ruthless Ones is a pulp minor masterpiece, all done in 150 pages. I became obsessed with trying to locate the cemetery they filmed in - can no longer remember if I ever found out .... Think the film incorporates footage from the French student riots? |
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on Aug 3, 2023 14:00:19 GMT
Here is the cartoon version of Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas. How rich is Richard Burton's voice? I seem to remember Kenneth Williams saying it was one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. Here he plays both First and Second voices.
To begin at the beginning...
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Post by ripper on Aug 3, 2023 16:21:19 GMT
I watched this last night, directed by William Castle. It's a very enjoyable, not too long, psychological drama, even if one can guess the ending without much trouble.
I think I saw it once a very long time ago. It's kind of in the Psycho mould as I recall, but in the sub-genre of making someone go insane. Thanks for the reminder. Don't know if Castle had any gimmicks for it when shown in cinemas. |
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Post by ripper on Aug 3, 2023 16:27:40 GMT
What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972) I don't recall this turning up on TV when I was growing up, and it was comparitively recently that I first saw it. Not sure of the film's budget, but it couldn't have been much. A lot of scenes are between Mona Washbourne and Paul Nicholas playing her nasty grandson. He's the Jack of the title (well, John actually), and Vanessa Howard play's Jill, John's gold-digging and scheming girlfriend. John and Jill convince Alice (Washbourne) that a youth revolution is brewing and old people are to be killed or imprisoned. They want the old lady's house and savings. Jill hates her job as a travel agent and John is just bone idle. Jill influences a youth march to pass by Alice's house, and the old lady has a heart attack and dies thinking the revolution had started. John and Jill are happy as they believe that they have the house and money, but Alice's will holds surprises. John is a nasty piece of work and you just want him to have a bad end. As Jill, Vanessa Howard is very good, so different to her performance as Meg in Blood Beast Terror. She's another schemer, urging lazy John to get rid of his grandmother for her estate. It's a pity Howard retired from acting so early, this was one of her best performances imo. Mona Washbourne is also good as Alice, and you are always on her side in the drama. It's good to see the schemers get what's coming to them, with John's comeuppance being particularly satisfying. I've a soft spot for this one, and Laurence Moody's source novel The Ruthless Ones"]https://vaultofevil.proboards.com/thread/7442/laurence-moody-jack-jill]The Ruthless Ones is a pulp minor masterpiece, all done in 150 pages. I became obsessed with trying to locate the cemetery they filmed in - can no longer remember if I ever found out .... Think the film incorporates footage from the French student riots? It was apparently made in 1970, but Amicus were a bit taken aback by how dark it was and left it unreleased for a couple of years before selling it to 20th Century Fox. There were a lot of riots in 1968, so the makers had plenty of choice for nabbing some news footage, wouldn't be surprised if you were spot on about it being the French students. |
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Post by ripper on Aug 3, 2023 16:33:33 GMT
Here is the cartoon version of Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas. How rich is Richard Burton's voice? I seem to remember Kenneth Williams saying it was one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. Here he plays both First and Second voices. To begin at the beginning... He had one of those voices that I could listen to all day. I have a vague memory of being shown the cartoon at school via 16mm cine film--maybe we were reading it at school or something, but it was so very long ago I can't be sure. |
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Post by Swampirella on Aug 3, 2023 17:15:18 GMT
I watched this last night, directed by William Castle. It's a very enjoyable, not too long, psychological drama, even if one can guess the ending without much trouble.
I think I saw it once a very long time ago. It's kind of in the Psycho mould as I recall, but in the sub-genre of making someone go insane. Thanks for the reminder. Don't know if Castle had any gimmicks for it when shown in cinemas. Apparently he did: (from Wikipedia) During the film's original release, moviegoers were given little cardboard axes as they entered the theater. At the end of the closing credits, the Columbia logo's torch-bearing woman is shown in her traditional pose, but decapitated, with her head resting at her feet on her pedestal. |
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Post by ripper on Aug 3, 2023 17:43:53 GMT
Apparently he did: (from Wikipedia) During the film's original release, moviegoers were given little cardboard axes as they entered the theater. At the end of the closing credits, the Columbia logo's torch-bearing woman is shown in her traditional pose, but decapitated, with her head resting at her feet on her pedestal. Oo that's a new one on me. There was the electric shock seats for The Tingler, plastic skeleton on a wire in House on Haunted Hill, an insurance policy in case an audience member died of fright for one movie--forget which one, and a vote for Sardonicus to see if he gets punished or not--spoiler there was only one ending so the vote counted for nothing. As for Strait-Jacket, I remember now that I had a 20-minute condensed version on Super 8 when I collected cine films in the mid to late 70s. Pretty sure it had sound as well, so cost me around Ā£20 at the time, so not cheap, especially when my only income was from my paper round. |
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Post by Swampirella on Aug 3, 2023 17:50:50 GMT
Oo that's a new one on me. There was the electric shock seats for The Tingler, plastic skeleton on a wire in House on Haunted Hill, an insurance policy in case an audience member died of fright for one movie--forget which one, and a vote for Sardonicus to see if he gets punished or not--spoiler there was only one ending so the vote counted for nothing. As for Strait-Jacket, I remember now that I had a 20-minute condensed version on Super 8 when I collected cine films in the mid to late 70s. Pretty sure it had sound as well, so cost me around Ā£20 at the time, so not cheap, especially when my only income was from my paper round. I'm going to watch Tingler right now, as it happens.
20min certainly is condensed, from 1hr20 or so. I hope it was worth watching, for your hard-earned money.
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Post by ripper on Aug 3, 2023 18:15:36 GMT
Oo that's a new one on me. There was the electric shock seats for The Tingler, plastic skeleton on a wire in House on Haunted Hill, an insurance policy in case an audience member died of fright for one movie--forget which one, and a vote for Sardonicus to see if he gets punished or not--spoiler there was only one ending so the vote counted for nothing. As for Strait-Jacket, I remember now that I had a 20-minute condensed version on Super 8 when I collected cine films in the mid to late 70s. Pretty sure it had sound as well, so cost me around Ā£20 at the time, so not cheap, especially when my only income was from my paper round. I'm going to watch Tingler right now, as it happens. 20min certainly is condensed, from 1hr20 or so. I hope it was worth watching, for your hard-earned money.
That was for a 400-foot reel, which I believe was the biggest that a home Super 8 projectar could accept. There were condensed movies on 200 foot reels which lasted 10 minutes. My prize possession was a 400 foot condensed version of Creature from the Black Lagoon with sound and in 3-D. It came with two pairs of glasses and even on a small home screen it looked wonderful, especially underwater scenes of the Gill-Man and Julie Adams swimming. You could buy the occasional full length film on multiple 400 foot reels, but they were expensive--Ā£80 for Scars of Dracula, so I made do with the 400 foot version. Hope you enjoy The Tingler, it's a good one with some creepy scenes. |
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