CHARLES B. PIERCE

 

 

Had a chance to catch-up with the new BluRay/DVD release of Charles B. Pierce’s The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) today. While the transfer itself looks great and Scream Factory have done their usual terrific job with the presentation and supplementary material, I found the film itself (the first time I have ever seen it) to be a little underwhelming, even within the forgiving confines of the 1970's B-movie drive-in market for which it was clearly made.

 

Based on the true story of a series of random and unsolved murders which took place in the small town of Texakarna, in the backwaters of Arksnsas in 1946, the material is certainly there to make The Town that Dreaded Sundown a tense little exploitation thriller, but Pierce and writer Earl E. Smith decide to inject too much (bad) humour in the story, which kills off a lot of the film’s momentum and frisson. Was nice to see Dawn Wells (Maryanne on Gilligan’s Island) pop-up briefly in an exploitation film (and still looking cute as hell), and it has a nice clever ending, but too little atmosphere or tension.

 

Far more successful is Pierce’s rather obscure The Evictors (1979), which is included in this release as a bonus feature (though strangely, only on the DVD). A gothic thriller with hints at (PG-rated) supernatural horror, the film is set in Louisiana in (mostly) 1942, and uses the location and period to convey tension and ambience, has hints of Penkinpah in its style, and a stronger cast (headlined by Vic Morrow and Jessica Harper) than The Town that Dreaded Sundown.

 

I would have preferred if The Evictors was the main feature on this release, and there were some special features devoted to it, but overall this is still a worthy set that will be welcomed by fans of 1970s backwater exploitation cinema.

 

 

FATAL VISIONS

Really been enjoying the recent compendium of the first six issues of Michael Helm's seminal trash film culture zine Fatal Visions, a great time capsule of what was happening in underground and exploitation cinema, video and television in Melbourne at the time (1988/89). Along with Crimson Celluloid and Betty Paginated, Fatal Visions was one of the few Australian fanzines that was required reading for me in the 90s, and I was fortunate enough to have some of my earliest writing pieces published in later issues. Was a sad day when it's run finally came to an end, let's hope Michael gets to eventually collect the entire run of the magazine in future volumes.

 

 

BURN, BABY, BURN

Scream Factory’s new Blu-Ray/DVD release of The Burning (1981) sees the label continuing its tradition of giving cult 1970s/80s genre films the love and respect they (usually) deserve.

At a summer camp in Western New York, a prank performed by a bunch of kids on the mean groundskeeper, Cropsy, backfires and results in him being burnt beyond all recognition and left barely alive. After being released from the hospital after five years of medical treatments and rehabilitation, Cropsy heads immediately for seedy Times Square and murders a horrified low-rent hooker (so much for that rehabilitation program!), before heading back to his old summer camp stomping grounds and slicing and dicing his way through a group of the usual over-sexed (and over-aged) teenagers.

One of the better (and first) of the Friday the 13th copycats, The Burning certainly follows the tried and true formula of the limited genre. There are certainly no real surprises on offer, but the direction by Tony Maylam is energetic, the make-up effects are some of the best of Tom Savini’s early career, and there’s a pretty cool synth score by Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman that helps set it apart from its contemporaries. The Burning was also one of the first projects from Miramax Films (Harvey Weinstein produced and Bob Weinstein co-wrote the screenplay), and it marked the film debuts for future Oscar winner Holly Hunter, Fisher (Short Circuit) Stevens and Jason Alexander (who flashes his lilywhite ass and is already developing his obnoxious George Costanza personality).

Scream Factory’s release includes an audio commentary by director Maylam and film writer Alan Jones, original theatrical trailer, making-of featurettes and more. The print sourced has a few flecks of grime and the odd scratch, but the 1080p transfer itself looks superb. Really crisp and sharp, surprised me how well the film was originally photographed, since I've previously only ever seen this film on the (butchered) VHS release. A must-have for fans of the genre.

DRIVER'S ED TOP 5

As a tie-in for Blood on the Windscreen, my recent booklet on classic Driver's Education cinema, and to coincide with the interview with me discussing the subject which appeared in Fangoria #323, the Fangoria website have now posted videos of my Top 5 Driver's Ed shorts along with brief commentary notes. WARNING: some of these films are very graphic, containing an overload of real accident footage, and should be watched with extreme caution.

 

http://www.fangoria.com/new/drivers-ed-shock-horror-top-5-by-blood-on-the-windscreen-author-john-harrison/?age-verified=8b87cde9a6

CREATURE FEATURE

An Interview with Artist/Collector/Monster Kid Dave Warren

 

 

Dave Warren is a Sydney based artist whose work reflects an influence of vintage tattoo design, garage rock & roll and classic movie monsters. When he is not sitting at his drawing desk in deep concentration, or working out his aggression on his drum kit, Dave is adding to his enormous collection of memorabilia based on the classic and iconic 1954 Universal horror film The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels (1956’s Revenge of the Creature and 1957’s The Creature Walks Among Us).

 

John Harrison: When did the collecting bug first hit you?

 

Dave Warren: Well, I have always been a monster fan, but I didn’t really start collecting seriously until I was in my early 20s. I had just moved out of home for the first time and was taking a walk one evening, when I came across a comic shop. There was a really cool display in the front window of model kits, comics and horror magazines. I went inside for a closer look, and found the Creature vinyl model kit released by Horizon. It was pretty expensive...but I had to have it!

 

 

JH: What was it about the Creature that struck such a chord with you?

 

DW: My earliest memories of the Creature go back to when I was a kid. Sometime in the 70s my Dad came home one afternoon with some gifts for my sister and I. My sister got a rubber shark and I got 2 rubber monster jigglers – a Wolfman and...a CREATURE! (I should add, I didn’t know this toy was called "The Creature", or who he was, or that these cool jigglers were produced by Azrak Hamway and would later in time become rare and highly sought after by monster collectors). The jiggler was my first introduction to the Gill-Man!

 

Another memory, from around the same period, was seeing a photo in MAD Magazine. It was the classic shot of Ricou Browning, as the Creature, creeping up on a log from the lagoon. That image was etched into my brain for a few years and soon after, I saw the movie on late night TV.

 

Seeing the movie for the first time as a young boy was an amazing experience for me. As much as I had always loved monsters, I had NEVER seen anything as cool as "THE CREATURE"! I was hooked from then on.

 

 

JH: You used to collect a wide variety of subjects, including Planet of The Apes and Mego action figures. What made you decide to focus all of your collecting energies on the Creature?

 

DW: There are many films, monsters and vintage toys that I dig, but the Creature is, and has always been my number one. I got to a point where I didn’t have the money or space to collect all the other subjects that I like as much as my favourite, so I made the only decision I could.

 

JH: What is your favourite piece of Creature memorabilia currently in your collection & what is the Holy Grail you most wish to add to it?

 

DW: There’s a variety of things in my collection, toys, model kits, masks, posters, t-shirts, 8 x 10" stills, comic books, jigsaw puzzles, magazines etc. I love every piece I own. Over the years that I have been collecting Creature memorabilia, I’ve been lucky to add pieces to my collection that I thought I may never own.

 

My favourite in the toy department is an AHI 8 inch "Male" action figure, and in my opinion, The Coolest Creature Toy EVER! (most of the original paint has worn away, but I love it anyway!)

 

 

I own the Don Post Studios’ Creature Hands (2nd issue from the early 70s). Rare, and awesome.

I have a small (but authentic) piece from The Revenge of the Creature Creature suit. It’s the rarest and most historical piece I own. There is nothing better than owning a piece of film history…that piece can’t be beaten.

 

On a personal level, some of my Creature highlights have been writing to Ben Chapman (who played the land Creature in the first movie); Ricou Browning (who played the underwater creature in all 3 of the Creature movies) and Julie Adams (who played the leading lady and object of the Creature’s affections in the first movie).

 

I sent Ben Chapman a fan letter, and a drawing I did of him in the Creature suit. A few weeks later, I received an envelope from Ben, filled with autographed photos of Ben and Ben as the Creature and a personal letter in which he thanked me for my artwork and for being such a fan of The Gill-Man. Receiving that response from Ben Chapman was such a rush!

 

I received similar letters and autographed photos, in response to my letters and drawings sent to Ricou Browning and Julie Adams. They are great caring people who acknowledge their fans worldwide.

 

Holy Grails? Well... there is a heap! The great Hasbro stuff from the 60s (The Mystery Game and Paint by Numbers Set) The Takara Inflatable Figure (from Japan), the AHI Squirt Gun and the Standard Plastics Monster Wallet...

 

JH: How does your collection inspire and influence your artwork?

 

DW: I’ve been drawing monsters since I was a kid, and I don’t see myself stopping! These days, I basically eat, sleep and breathe the Creature, so he does make regular appearances in my artwork, he inspires my subject matter, and he’s just so much fun to draw! I use my existing collection for reference, and I use images/photos of my sought after holy grails for reference as well. My artwork features many things I own and love, but also sought after items I may never own, and my artwork draws me closer to those holy grails.

 

 

JH: Having amassed such an impressive collection of Creature memorabilia, with presumably a lot more to come, do you have any long term plans to put your collection on display anywhere for other fans to enjoy?

 

DW: I will definitely be adding more to my collection. In relation to display, we will see what the future brings....

 

 



All original artwork Copyright Dave Warren.

JAWS 2: THE SEQUEL WITH BITE

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.."

If for nothing else, Jaws 2 should be considered a landmark film just for the that classic tagline, which when it began appearing on blood-red teaser posters in early 1978 had cinema patrons excited at the prospect of once again being confronted and terrified by one of our most primal - and very real - fears. The Great White Shark.

Thankfully, Jaws 2 turned out to be a fair bit more than just a clever tagline. Living up to the original Jaws (1975) was always going to be nigh-impossible, and in truth Jaws 2 does not come close to matching the tension, action and character dynamics of Steven Spielberg’s undeniably landmark production, a film which changed the way films were marketed and established the enduring Summer Blockbuster template.

When Spielberg announced he had no intention of helming a sequel, director Jeannott Szwarc came into the film with little preparation after original director John D. Hancock was booted off (Hancock, who helmed the cult 1971 shocker Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, was apparently unable to handle the action sequences to the satisfaction of Universal Studios). What Szwarc ultimately delivered was, I have always felt, a mostly satisfying and at times rousing action-adventure-terror yarn that embraces a lot of low-budget exploitation elements yet still has a big enough budget and studio sheen to give it an epic ‘blockbuster’ feel. And the return of actors Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gray and Murray Hamilton, along with composer John Williams and co-screenwriter Carl Gottleib, help provide the film with both a layer of class and a sense of continuity.

In Jaws 2, Szwarc, Gottleib and his co-writer Howard Sackler combine the horror genre with the teen melodrama, creating an archetypal slasher film of a kind that would dominate the horror film in the early-eighties via the likes of Friday the 13^th and it’s many sequels and copycats. And of course, another prototypical slasher film, John Carpenter’s Halloween, was released later in the same year as Jaws 2. The only real difference is that in Jaws 2, the stalker doesn’t wear a hockey mask or wield a knifed glove, just razor-sharp teeth, vice-like jaw muscles, and an innate, primal drive to hunt and kill.

Co-starring as the Amity Island teens, a daggy but mostly likeable lot of typical WASPy Americans who end up alone on the ocean facing off against Bruce the shark, are Ann Dusenberry, Keith (Christine) Gordon, Donna (Angel) Wilcox and other young faces that may have been familiar on the odd television show or commercial at the time. Scheider, reprising his role as ocean-fearing sheriff Martin Brody, is once again terrific to watch, injecting a real sense of energy, apprehension, paranoia and humour into the role, not to mention the chemistry he creates on-screen with co-star Gray (playing his wife, Ellen).

Although it lived in the shadows of a more illustrious predecessor, and received a mixed critical response, Jaws 2 was still an immense box-office success in its own right, becoming the third highest grossing film (worldwide) of 1978. Unfortunately, the significantly lesser quality of the following (and until this point, final) two sequels in the Jaws saga, Jaws 3D (1983) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987) has helped to perhaps tarnish the reputation of Jaws 2 to a certain extent. But it’s an unfair stigma as the film is much closer in overall quality to the original film than either of the subsequent entries, delivering some great set-pieces and one genuinely terrific shock (involving Brody wading out into the surf to investigate a piece of driftwood). Jaws 2 was also more heavily merchandised than Jaws, spawning a series of Topps bubble gum cards, Marvel Comics adaptation, film tie-in novelization, soundtrack LP and the making-of paperback The Jaws 2 Log.

I first saw Jaws 2 as a kid at a packed Forum in Melbourne on it’s weekend of release. I have watched it many times on television, video and DVD since, and am looking forward to experiencing it on the big screen once again when Cinemaniacs present it at Cinema Nova in Carlton on Sunday, 16 June 2013 at 6.30pm as part of their Scream and Scream Again season of modern horror sequels. As with their recent Amityville II: The Possession screening, a video introduction featuring interviews with some of the cast and crew will be preceding the film. Contact Cinemaniacs via their Facebook page for ticketing and further information:

https://www.facebook.com/cinemaniacsmelb?fref=ts

Review by John Harrison/Copyright 2013

 

EVIL DEAD REDUX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There will only ever be one true incarnation of The Evil Dead. What 21 year-old Sam Raimi and his largely inexperienced but highly eager cast and crew created in those Tennessee woods in 1980 was more than just an atmospheric little comic book horror flick with some outrageous gore effects and inventive camera work. The Evil Dead was the first horror film which became a bonafide classic thanks to the burgeoning home video market, where the movie found the bulk of its enduring audience after limited cinema and drive-in runs. In those early days of home video in Australia, we hired movies like I Spit on your Grave, Zombie Flesh Eaters and Bloodsucking Freaks to revel in their notoriety and outrageousness. But we hired The Evil Dead because we wanted to be scared shitless.

The Evil Dead gave me literal nightmares before I had even seen the film, just based on what my older brother-in-law had told me about it after he had seen it at the drive-in. And my first actual viewing of the film wasn’t in the most ideal or atmospheric of settings – a couple of friends and I, none of whom were lucky enough to have VCRs in the family as yet, had hired the movie from a video store in Bentleigh and booked one of the media rooms at Caulfield Institute of Technology, where we were studying (‘studying’ being a very loose term). There in that little room, with the glass walls around which we pulled all the curtains tight, we savoured every moment of the film, jumped when we were supposed to jump, laughed when we were supposed to laugh, and as soon as the end credits had finished, we rewound the tape and watched it again before our three-hour booking was up. Suddenly, a VCR became a necessity in my life, and this was the first of many occasions that The Evil Dead was hired from that Bentleigh store, the picture quality becoming notably fuzzier over time, as the film got played at parties, sleep overs, bong sessions and late nights spent all alone.

Up against such a strong lineage, Fede Alverez’s remake of The Evil Dead could never hope to have the same visceral, personal or pop-cultural impact, and it would probably be very unfair for anyone to expect it to. Despite this, I think it ranks as one of the more successful of the recent spate of horror reboots/remakes. It’s largely unnecessary of course, but it’s a commendable attempt at capturing the vibe of 1980s (pre-CGI/camcorder) horror and is fairly respective of Raimi’s original (no doubt the involvement of Raimi and original star Bruce Campbell as producers helps here). Having the group of characters visiting the isolated cabin in the woods in order to help their friend Mia (Jane Levy) overcome her drug addiction adds a bit more gravitas to the plot, and provides a more believable explanation for why the group didn’t just haul ass out of the woods as soon as she started behaving strangely.

 

It’s one of the few recent horror movies that I will probably watch again (on disc) and I would recommend it to any genre fans who are able to go into it with an open mind and no lofty expectations.

 

 

 

OFFBEAT

OFFBEAT: BRITISH CINEMA’S CURIOSITIES, OBSCURITIES AND FORGOTTEN GEMS
Edited by Julian Upton
(Headpress 2013)

 

Edited by Julian Upton (Fallen Stars), Headpress’ newest volume Offbeat is an entertaining and informative look at some of the lesser-known gems of British cinema – cult films in waiting, so to speak. While many tomes have been written exulting the worth of films like Get Carter, Peeping Tom, The Wicker Man and the Hammer horror classics, there have been many more British productions which have gone undervalued and, in many cases, virtually unnoticed for decades, and Offbeat aims to redress the balance, and does so most effectively.

Featuring contributions from the likes of David Kerekes, Martin Jones, Kim Newman, Jennifer Wallis, David Slater and others, Offbeat is broken up into brief chapters that look at certain themes and genres (swashbucklers, rock & roll, asylum horror, British sex flicks, the Children’s Film Foundation and the short supporting feature), interspersed with a selection of film reviews, which are presented in chronological order.

Some of the titles covered in Offbeat include Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure (1959), Jigsaw (1962), some of the lesser-known Hammers (Never Take Sweets from a Stranger,Captain Clegg, The Abominable Snowman), Twisted Nerve, Permissive,The Black Panther, Jubilee, The Squeeze and many others (along with, of course, Cliff Owen’s 1961 crime film Offbeat).

Illustrated throughout with (B&W) stills and ad-mats, Offbeat is one of those great cinema books which you read and devour with a pen and paper by your side, eagerly jotting down title after title which you will feel compelled to track down (easier said than done, considering the scarce availability of many of the films covered).

One of the cinema books of the year so far…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.headpress.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=127

FANGORIA 323

Peek at the interview with me, discussing my recent mini-book on vintage Driver's Education films (Blood on the Windscreen), that appears in the current issue of Fangoria (#323). Piece written by Kier-La Janisse.

I SPIT ON YOUR ORIGINAL

Caught up with the 2010 remake of Meir Zarchi's controversial 1978 exploitation hit I Spit on Your Grave (aka Day of the Woman). While I thought Sarah Butler did an OK job of filling the role made so iconic by Camille Keaton in the original..., I really hated the way they turned the Jennifer Hills character into an almost Jason Voorhees type, hiding in the woods for months and moving around like a ghostly apparition at times. Once the rape stopped and the revenge began, the film just ventured into generic Saw/Hostel territory.

 

One of the great things about the original (and Camille Keaton's performance) is the way that Jennifer Hills uses her femininty to play with the males' egos and lure them into a comfortable spot before exacting her payback. In the remake, she simply sneaks up behind her abusers and whacks them on the head with a crowbar or baseball bat, knocking them unconcious long enough for her to tie them up to some grisly but unlikely and overly-creative torture/killing device. Even the famous genital amputaion scene is played here for just a brief moment of wincing and male leg-crossing, unlike the lingering sense of suffering and uncomfortableness which Meir Zarchi achieved in his low-budget original. The introduction of the sheriff character was also an unecessary addition and seemed too closely inspired by R. Lee Ermey's faux-sheriff character in the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake.

BODACIOUS BABE (WITH BRAINS)

DIANE FRANKLIN: 

THE EXCELLENT ADVENTURES OF THE LAST AMERICAN, 

FRENCH-EXCHANGE BABE OF THE 80s

By Diane Franklin

In the mid-eighties, I developed an unashamed crush on Diane Franklin. Nothing too remarkable or unique about a young film-lover harbouring a bit of a thing for an unattainable celebrity, the curious exception here being that I fell for Franklin three times in different movies before I realised I was smitten by the same actress, so effective was her ability to completely disappear, chameleon-like, into her roles (no matter how lightweight those roles may have seemed on paper). In Amityville II: The Possession (1982) she portrayed the teenaged Patricia, innocent and sweet yet aroused by dark, forbidden sexuality. In ‘Savage’ Steve Holland’s brilliant teen comedy Better off Dead (1985) she was the petite and intelligent French exchange student living next door to dumped, depressed everyman John Cusack, while in the live-action comic book horror of TerrorVision (1986) she was the exaggerated Cyndi Lauper-esque valley girl trying to deal with a dysfunctional family and a blob from outer space that was slowly devouring the whole household. While the mainstream media may have been touting Molly Ringwald as the queen of 80s teen cinema, for me that tiara always belonged to Diane Franklin. Apart from always being so much fun to watch, I think I identified with (and was attracted to) the ‘misfit’ side that inhabited most of her characters.

In The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s, Diane Franklin looks back on her childhood in Plainview, Long Island, her teen modelling career and early appearances on daytime soaps and TV movies of the week, and of course the 80s films which she is so fondly remembered for. Apart from the three films previously mentioned, Franklin also appeared in The Last American Virgin (1982), Second Time Lucky (1985) and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). Each film is given a brief chapter, and in a fun little touch Diane gives each chapter a film-like ‘rating’ that warns younger readers about any upcoming racy material!

This isn’t some kind of tell-all, scandalous cash grab, nor is it an in-depth autobiography of Diane Franklin's private life, and I doubt it was ever intended to be either of these. It’s more like the ultimate souvenir scrapbook of her career, presented in a way that allows Franklin’s infectious personality to shine through. She just seems like such a genuinely nice, positive and upbeat person, happy with where she is in life and with an appreciative grasp on her contribution to 80s pop cinema culture.

Breezy but entertaining and filled with a wealth of terrific black & white photographs from all periods of Franklin’s life and career, The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s is – as the title suggests – a truly excellent 114 page volume that is bound to bring back nostalgic pangs and memories of all-night VHS marathons, sitting up with friends (or alone) by the light of the cathode ray, feeding tape after tape into the hungry VCR, while you sat back and snacked on chips and cola (or bongs, beer and pizza, depending on what the mood called for and the wallet allowed).

Order Diane Franklin’s book (published in large trade paperback format) exclusively from Amazon here:

DIANE FRANKLIN Book

　
Review Copyright John Harrison 2013

HITCH

Caught up with the recent Hitchcock biopic last night and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. Directed by Sacha Gervasi (who directed the great 2008 documentary on 80s Canadian heavy metal band Anvil), Hitchcock examines the relationship between the director and his wife Alma during the making of his genre-changing 1960 classic Psycho. It doesn't paint as negative a portrait of Hitch as the other recent biopic The Girl did, but it's still not a wholly endearing portrait of the master of suspense and his curious peccadilloes.

Nice production design, and loved seeing the recreation of the filming of Psycho and it's cinematic release - the movie reiterates just what a big gamble Psycho was for Hitchcock and how ground-breaking it was at the time, and how much the studio heads hated it (until it was released and started making a fortune for them, of course). Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren turn in dependable performances as Alfred and Alma, Scarlett Johansson and James D'Arcy are more than serviceable as Janet Leigh and Tony Perkins, while Jessica Biel (as Vera Miles) and Toni Collette (as Hitch's assistant) are terrific and virtually unrecognizable. Also a surprise to see the original Karate Kid star, Ralph Macchio, turn up playing Joseph Stefano, the writer who penned the screenplay for Psycho. And loved the running apperance by Michael Wincott as Ed Gein, the Wisconsin psychopath, grave-robber and ghoul who inspired Robert Bloch's original novel on which the film was based.

 

 

VALE ANNETTE

While most people talk about Thatcher, I will be thinking of the beautiful Annette Funicello, who has died at the age of 70 after a 25 year battle with multiple sclerosis. Farewell, sweet Pineapple Princess...she was one of my first crushes (along with Marcia Brady) and a big part of my Sunday afternoons growing up.

 

 

TERRORVISION

Director: Ted Nicolaou (USA, 1986)

Written and directed by Ted Nicolaou for Charles Band’s Empire Pictures, TerrorVision has always been one of my favourite low-budget genre films from the 1980s, a garishly lurid comic book come to life which satirises virtually everything that was prominent in the disposable pop culture canvas of that decade – satellite television, the aerobics fitness craze, valley girls, MTV, swinging suburbia, new wave, heavy metal, military survivalists and ostentatious interior decorating.

The Puttermans are the ultimate caricature of grotesque eighties suburbia. Mom and dad Raquel and Stanley (Mary Woronov and Gerrit Graham) are would-be swingers wanting to spice up their love lives while trying to deal with their highly dysfunctional family. Grampa (Burt Remsen) is a survivalist with an armoury of high-tech weapons at his disposal should enemy troops suddenly appear on his doorstep. Young son Sherman (Chad Allen) plays war games with Grampa and is prone to fits (a typical 80s Prozac child), while teenage daughter Suzie (Diane Franklin) is a hyper Cyndi Lauper wannabe and probably the most (relatively) normal member of the family.

Thrown into this oddball mix is Suzie’s metal head stoner boyfriend O.D. (Jon Gries), swinging couple Spiro and Cherry (Alejandro Rey and Randi Brooks) whom Stanley and Raquel bring home for a bit of fun in the Olympic-sized Jacuzzi, and a buxom but obnoxious TV horror hostess named Medusa (played by Jennifer Richards in an obvious spin on Cassandra Peterson’s Elvira character). Oh, I should also mention the big ugly blob of an alien monster that has been banished from the planet Pluto via some strange intergalactic beam which is intercepted by Stanley’s temperamental new satellite dish, causing the monster to intermittently materialise inside the Putterman’s house, chewing on the residents and guests and leaving them a puddle of gooey gelatin.

Like many of the low-budget AIP monster movies of the 1950s, TerrorVision was initially conceived as a piece of poster art, around which Nicolaou was given free reign to write a screenplay, opting to deliver a surreal, goofy comedy satire that works so well primarily because of its larger than life characters, all of which are brought to cartoonish life by the wonderful ensemble of actors. Particularly entertaining to watch are Diane Franklin and Jon Gries, who really disappear into their roles and create a terrific onscreen chemistry, as do Mary Woronov and Gerrit Graham. Former Flying Nun star Alejandro Rey is also amusing as the sleazy but cheerful Greek swinger Spiro, whose eyes are set not on Raquel but on "manly man" Stanley (Rey would die of lung cancer not long after the film’s release, at the young age of 57).

Filmed in Italy at the old Dino De Laurentis studios, TerrorVision also boasts memorable production design by Giovanni Natalucci, a tacky mixture of Playboy mansion and art deco from Hell, which compounds the alternate reality of the film and creates the perfect playhouse for these exaggerated characters to run amok in. The ludicrous monster, built by eighties effects maestro John Carl Buechler is also an inspired creation, funny and repulsive and with its own sense of personality and character. The film additionally benefits from a cool new wave-tinged soundtrack (from Richard Band) and theme song by the Fibonaccis (in the making-of featurette, director Nicolaou talks about screening a rough cut of the film to both Frank Zappa and Lux Interior of the Cramps, in hopes of getting them to do the soundtrack. Unfortunately, they both passed the opportunity up for different reasons).

Shout! Factory’s BluRay/DVD combo pack of TerrorVision (where it is paired with Robert Scott’s 1987 low-budgeter The Video Dead) is beautifully presented, the stunning transfer really bringing the vibrant, pulsating colours to life like never before. Extras include a fun and entertaining audio commentary with director Ted Nicolaou and stars Diane Franklin and Jon Gries, and a nice 38 minute making-of featurette that contains some great behind-the-scenes photos and interviews with various members of the cast and crew.

Review Copyright John Harrison 2013

MORE HAMMER

Continuing to plough through the recent spate of Hammer BluRays, this morning it was a double-bill of Rasputin - The Mad Monk and The Reptile. Since these two 1966 productions were released on the same bill in many markets, it made sense to watch them together.

The Reptile is the lesser of the two Cornwall set horror flicks filmed back-to-back by director John Gilling (the other being the much more satisfying Plague of the Zombies). Essentially a female take on the werewolf mythos, The Reptile has a decent plot and performances, and an interesting choice in male lead with ruddy-faced Australian Ray Barrett, but it is let down by the appearance of the title (she) creature, which is brilliant in design but sadly lacking in the execution, with Roy Ashton’s budget-restricted make-up effects not up to his usual high standard.

Much more successful is Rasputin - The Mad Monk, which has a more classically grand, epic feel, is quite mature in its nature and features another great, commanding performance by Christopher Lee in the title role, bringing his Count Dracula charisma and vibe to the sexually-charged Russian madman. Barbara Shelley is also wonderful in the role of Sonia, the Tsarina’s lady-in-waiting who falls under the spell of Rasputin (and commits a wicked act in his name which is still shocking nearly fifty years later).

As with the other releases, the BluRays of The Reptile and Rasputin have a great selection of nice extras - including making-off featurettes and, in the case of Rasputin, a cool little documentary on the vintage Hammer paperback novelisation tie-ins.