SPACE PRECINCT: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 12/10/10

 

Looking like a kiddie show but playing like a futuristic primetime cop series, Gerry Anderson's SPACE PRECINCT: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1994-95) may take an episode or two for members of its target audience to realize what they're watching.  I didn't really like it myself at first, but boy, did it ever grow on me.

Despite its Saturday-morning look, SPACE PRECINCT is a sci-fi variation of the traditional hardboiled cop show complete with sexuality, violence, and other adult themes.  Familiar cliches abound, but with a subtle satirical edge that never veers into farce or self-mockery.  The characters and situations are always realistic enough to be taken seriously even though the show itself is one big, elaborate elbow in the ribs.

Ted Shackelford plays Lt. Patrick Brogan, a former NYPD cop who's now part of the 88th Precinct, which happens to be in orbit around the distant planet Altor.  Brogan's a devoted family man and a good, honest cop, but he's not above bending the rules a little when the situation calls for it.  His main beat is gritty metropolis Demeter City, a bustling hotbed of crime and corruption that looks like something out of a bargain-basement version of BLADE RUNNER, complete with flying cars (known here as "hoppers"). 

Since this UK show is produced by the same guy who brought us "Thunderbirds", "UFO", and "Space: 1999", everything's done with obvious models and the hoppers zip around on wires, but that's part of the fun.  Once you get used to it, it looks pretty cool--in fact, the SPFX guys manage to pull off some awesome "car" chases and stage an endless number of entertaining crashes and explosions.  This model work often has an updated "Flash Gordon" vibe which tends to give my inner geek a real buzz.  (Some CGI does crop up occasionally, mainly in the outer space shots.)


 

Down on ground level, the life-sized inner city sets are appropriately grimy and foreboding as lowlifes lurk in the shadows and crime runs rampant.  Here we find the main draw of SPACE PRECINCT--a variety of wonderfully designed aliens sporting some of the most lifelike, expressive animatronic masks I've ever seen.  The movements of the eyes and facial muscles in conjunction with the actors' performances creates a stunning effect which really makes these characters come alive despite a certain "cartoony" quality. 

In addition to its human population, Demeter City's two main alien races are the Creons and the Tarns.  Creons resemble gnarly versions of E.T. with big wide-spaced eyes and prunelike skin, and comprise most of the city's blue-collar element.  Tarns are somewhat more streamlined in appearance and sport a third eye which gives them limited telekinetic and mindreading abilities.  With Demeter City serving as a melting pot for the surrounding star system we also get to see a wide variety of other alien species with similarly ingenious design.

Back at the precinct, Brogan's cocky but capable young partner Jack Haldane (Rob Youngblood) is forever trying to break through the romantic defenses of beautiful Officer Jane Castle (Simone Bendix, who looks just plain awesome in uniform).  Her partner, Aurelia Took (Mary Woodvine), is a sensitive, soulful Tarn who uses her third-eye powers as an interrogation aid.
 

 

Buddy cops Orrin and Romek are a couple of likable Creon sad sacks who provide much of the comedy relief, while another Creon, Captain Rexton Podly (Jerome Willis), is the stereotypical gruff, hardnosed boss with a heart of gold.  ("Sometimes," Podly philosophizes in one episode, "reality takes a hammer to your dreams and smashes the hell out of them.")  Rounding out the group is a diminutive robot named Slomo who actually manages to not be overly cutesy.  On the homefront, Brogan's strongwilled wife Sally (Nancy Paul) and tweener kids Matt and Liz provide moral support and also feature prominently in several storylines.

While Shackelford, Youngblood, and Bendix are talented enough to give their thinly-drawn characters sufficient depth and charm (Shackelford in particular is so good here that I've been forced to forgive him for being in "Knot's Landing"), it's those alien characters that I find so mesmerizing.  Brimming with personality, each is capable of expressing subtle emotions in closeup (Officer Took in particular), with surprisingly convincing results.  Although you never forget that they're actors wearing articulated big-head masks, the effect is never less than impressive.

Stories alternate between cop-show staples, "X-Files" strangeness, and pure sci-fi, sometimes in various combinations.  The wide-ranging array of plotlines include black-market organ harvesting ("Deadline"), a Terminator-like cyborg with its sights set on Brogan and everyone around him ("Time to Kill"), interspecies racism ("Hate Street"), and a new, highly-addictive drug that causes its users to spontaneously combust ("Flash").  Things get tense in "Body and Soul" when Brogan and his son Matt find themselves trapped in a derelict spaceship that's on a countdown to self-destruct.


 

"The Fire Within", a two-parter from late in the season, starts out on the dull side as Brogan and the gang investigate a shady fire-worshipping religious cult.  But part one ends with a bang and part two builds to a spectacular finale with movie-level thrills and suspense. "Deathwatch", another two-parter which brings the series to a close, features a deadly alien spore that threatens to wipe out all life on Altor.

"James Bond" alumnus John Glen directs several episodes of this flashy, fast-moving series, with a rousing musical score by composer Crispin Merrell.  British viewers will probably recognize more of the guest stars than I do--"Divided We Stand", for example, features Suzanne Bertish of the Royal Shakespeare Company.  Ray Winstone's name shows up in the end credits for the prison-asteroid hostage drama "Two Against the Rock" although he must've been playing an alien because I couldn't spot him.  Also appearing in various episodes are Burt Kwouk (THE PINK PANTHER series), Maryam D'Abo, ALIEN 3's Danny Webb, and Christopher Fairbank (BATMAN, THE FIFTH ELEMENT).

The five-disc DVD set from Image Entertainment is in 1.33:1 full-screen with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.  There are no subtitles or extras.  Total running time for the 24 full-length episodes is 17 hours, 43 minutes.  Again, Simone Bendix looks awesome in uniform.

It's a shame this series didn't last longer, because it just gets better and better during its single season.  Kids may find the stories too grown-up, while many adults will initially be put off by its seemingly juvenile veneer.  But for the discerning geek who thinks a cross between "Jason of Star Command" and "Hawaii Five-O" sounds like a cool idea, watching SPACE PRECINCT: THE COMPLETE SERIES is like going to Disneyland and riding all the rides. 

SPACE PRECINCT: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

ZOMBIE HAMLET -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/21/13

 

If you like madcap mockumentaries,  zombies, and Shakespeare, then ZOMBIE HAMLET (2012) may be just the low-budget indy mish-mash you didn't even know you were looking for.

Filmmakers seem to have fun making movies on shoestring budgets that are about how much fun it is making movies on shoestring budgets.  Here, aspiring writer-director Osric Taylor (Travis Wester) and his producer-partner Kate Spangler (Vanessa Lee Evigan) find themselves stuck with a fraction of the millions originally promised them by sleazy movie mogul Jerry (John de Lancie, best known as "Q" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), and are forced to turn their epic Civil War-era version of "Hamlet" into a Southern-fried zombie flick.

Their Louisiana shooting location is the antebellum home of reclusive romance author Hester Beauchamps (June Lockhart) and her blonde granddaughter Annabelle, who wins both Osric's heart and the leading lady role in his movie.  June is one of the film's major delights, displaying a flair for dizzy farce that wasn't called for too often on "Petticoat Junction."

She's matched by "Good Times" vet John Amos as her shrewd, no-nonsense lawyer Edgar Mortimer, whose suspicions about these "Hollywood types" are proven correct when Hester suddenly dies and the filmmakers must pretend she's still alive (with Osric himself dressing in drag to impersonate her) in order to retain access to her bank account.

Amos is delectably deadpan while threatening Osric ("I'm a Louisiana lawyer--I can do anything I want!") lest he try to take advantage of Hester, and much of the fun centers around Mortimer's dogged attempts to get the goods on him.  Voodoo rears its ugly head at one point when Osric seeks a high-risk loan from some scary backwoods types. All of this is taped documentary-style for the eventual DVD by goofy makeup guy  Lester (Brendan Michael Coughlin), a local who sees the film as his ticket out of town.  Coughlin is very likable as the dorky Lester eventually starts taking his "documentarian" duties way too enthusiastically.

Shelley Long turns up as local TV gossip queen Shine Reynolds and proves that she's still a deft comedienne as her character gleefully eavesdrops on the secretive production.  Rounding out this impressive cast is Jason Mewes (JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK,  SILENT BUT DEADLY) as action star Zack Buckley, coming to the film's rescue at the request of his former girlfriend Kate.  Mewes handles the role of the self-impressed but not too bright star with just the right measure of drollness, while much fun comes from flashbacks of his previous action flicks. 

Naturally, the main draw of ZOMBIE HAMLET is watching the unholy communion between the Bard and the undead unfold right there on our screens, which does lead to much laughter even though it never achieves the all-out hilarity we're hoping for.  The pace rarely lets up and is helped along by lots of zippy visual exposition and cartoonish editing.

Director John Murlowski (SANTA WITH MUSCLES) and first-time screenwriter John McKinney go for broke with a really big slapstick sequence late in the film that doesn't quite come off, but for the most part they manage to keep things on track nicely and tie up all the loose ends for a satisfying fadeout.

The DVD from Level 33 Entertainment is widescreen with 5.1 surround sound.  No subtitles.  Extras consist of trailers from this and other Level 33 films.  The main titles sequence is a cool montage of scenes from various Shakespeare and zombie films.

This briskly-paced cinematic amusement park ride hits the ground with its wheels spinning furiously and hardly lets up till the end.  ZOMBIE HAMLET proves that while "epic" may cost a lot of money, "funny" is limited only by the filmmakers' imaginations.



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ZOMBIE HAMLET -- DVD Review by Porfle

DEAD SEASON -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/25/12

 

With NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, George Romero created a zombie mythology that just won't die.  Filmmakers are still adding their own chapters to the story and exploring various nooks and crannies of the scenario Romero set into motion over forty years ago.  The characters and settings may change, the timeframe may be updated, and the zombies may move a little faster sometimes, but we know that it all stems from that one night when a guy named Johnny taunted his jittery little sister in a gloomy cemetery with the words, "They're coming to get you, Barbara..."

DEAD SEASON (2012) is director Adam Deyoe's contribution to this sub-genre, and, like many of the others before it, it assumes we know the drill and need little or no exposition to get the ball rolling.  Thus, we join a former paramedic named Elvis (Scott Peat) already dodging "walkers" (the script, we learn from the commentary, was written before HBO's "The Walking Dead" popularized the term) in his search for food and shelter, and trying to hook up with a woman who calls herself Tweeter (Marissa Merrill) whom he's met over the airwaves. 

After a wild and woolly escape from over a hundred extras in some pretty passable zombie makeup, Elvis and Tweeter sail to an island off the coast of Florida (actually Puerto Rico) that they think is "walker-free."  It isn't.  The living inhabitants are a paramilitary bunch led by hard-ass Kurt Conrad (James C. Burns) whose philosophy is that if they don't "strip themselves down to the wires" they aren't going to make it.  This means being ruthless and totally unsentimental, and it also means that Elvis and Tweeter must make themselves useful to the group if they expect to eat or, in fact, live.

As in the better zombie movies, the constant menace of the living dead serves as a backdrop for intense interplay between the human characters, with Conrad's increasingly domineering behavior alarming the two reluctant newbies even as they try to fit in.  Elvis' medical skills are put to good use, especially in the treatment of Conrad's listless daughter Rachel (Corsica Wilson), the last link to his more human side.  Meanwhile, Tweeter joins the search and destroy team and gets to kill zombies which have overrun the island ever since a Dutch cruise ship sank nearby (which I thought was a pretty cool touch). 

DEAD SEASON brings lots of good ideas to the table and keeps things interesting most of the time, making up for occasional lulls by offering some surprising and sometimes shocking twists along the way.  While directing and editing aren't always slick, the low-budget film boasts several furious action sequences that are often grippingly suspenseful, in addition to some extremely dramatic exchanges such as the one in which Conrad springs his darkest and most dreadful secret on a stunned Elvis. 

Performances by the leads are exceptionally good, with James C. Burns playing good-guy/bad-guy Conrad to a tee and making us sympathize with his intentions even when his methods seem repellent.  Peat and Merrill are a great team as Elvis and Tweeter--even their brief lovemaking scene manages to convey a sense of erotic desperation rather than being merely obligatory. 

The unglamorous yet tomboy-attractive Merrill in particular shines as a female character who can handle herself impressively in action situations without simply being the stereotypical "strong woman."  Peat, on the other hand, is adept at letting his emotional side show through even when he's smashing zombie skulls with a sledge hammer.

The DVD from Image Entertainment is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 surround sound.  No subtitles, though closed-captioning is available.  Extras include a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a trailer.  The cast and crew commentary track is fun while being casual almost to a fault--in fact, it sounds as though someone's absent-mindedly kicking the microphone during the whole thing. 

As you might expect, the human characters' fragile veneer of civilization begins to fall apart at the seams during the final act as their compound is overrun by zombies and all hell breaks loose.  Nods to Romero abound--some of the grisly gore setups are an obvious reprise of familiar horrors from DAWN OF THE DEAD--but the action-packed, richly character-driven DEAD SEASON stands on its own as a modest but worthwhile entry in the zombie mythos.  

 

DEAD SEASON -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE RETURN OF DRACULA -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 1/21/14

 

Watching THE RETURN OF DRACULA (1958) for the first time since my initial afternoon-TV viewing as a kid, I was bowled over by what a finely-wrought and effective low-budget vampire thriller it is. The stage is set by its spooky opening titles (Dracula's eyes stare out at us during the familiar strains of "Dies Irae") and it only gets better.

In the midst of all the the giant radioactive creatures, alien invaders, and revisionist updates of old classic horror themes which dominated 50s genre films, this atmospheric black-and-white chiller seems like a holdover from the fabulous 40s and lacks only the production gloss of the Universals (although it still beats the likes of SHE-WOLF OF LONDON by a country mile). 

Directed by Paul Landres and written by Pat Fielder (THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD), both of whom also gave us the creepy John Beal shocker THE VAMPIRE, the story begins with an enigmatic Count Dracula (Francis Lederer) escaping pursuit in Europe by assuming the identity of an artist named Bellac Gordal who is traveling to the United States to live with American relatives.  (Norbert Schiller, who played "Shuter" in FRANKENSTEIN 1970 and also appeared in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, is seen briefly as the real Bellac.)

Once there, the sinister impostor's curdled charm will entrance the kindly and vivacious young Rachel Mayberry (Norma Eberhardt, surprisingly effective in the role) who finds him dashing and worldly despite his odd behavior (he disappears during daylight hours and refuses to participate in any social activites). 

This elicits jealousy and suspicion from Rachel's hot-rodder boyfriend Tim (Ray Stricklyn) although her naive, trusting mother Cora (Greta Granstedt) and kid brother Mickey (Jimmy Baird) are much slower on the uptake.

Never having seen Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT, to which this is often compared, I see THE RETURN OF DRACULA as sort of a companion piece to Universal's 1943 Lon Chaney, Jr. classic, SON OF DRACULA.  In both films, the Count takes up residence in smalltown America (in SON, it's the bayou country of Louisiana) and wreaks havoc with the locals while a vampire expert joins forces with a resident authority figure (in this case a priest) to combat the encroaching evil.

Francis Lederer makes a very imposing Dracula with his commanding yet subtle presence and his air of dark continental decadence, clearly taking a perverse relish in the act of corrupting the innocent.  In fact, as soon as Rachel tells him about Jennie (THE HILLS HAVE EYES' Virginia Vincent), the poor, bed-ridden blind girl she's been taking care of at the parish house run by Reverend Whitfield (Gage Clarke), this vile creature of darkness wastes no time making her his first victim. 

The hapless Jennie's violation as Dracula enters her bedroom shrouded in mist is nightmarish--Dracula bestows on her the ability to "see" him advancing toward her as she lies helpless--but nothing compared to Jennie's fate when, after transforming into the living dead herself, she's followed by relentless vampire hunter John Merriman (John Wengraf) back to her crypt to be staked in a shocking color insert.

Along with some good jump scares, several scenes are memorably eerie and disturbing.  The opening scenes with Merriman and company closing in on Dracula in a shadowy European cemetery at dawn are so tense and well-staged it's almost as though Quentin Tarantino were guest director. 

Later, Rachel's ongoing seduction by "Cousin Bellac" results in several chilling scenes and close calls--in one, the blare of Tim's car horn snaps her out of a hypnotic reverie and prevents her from joining Dracula in the nearby cave where his coffin resides.  It's here that the teen lovers will fight a losing battle against the Lord of the Undead in a suspenseful climax.

THE RETURN OF DRACULA is highly recommended for anyone who appreciates classic horror.  In my opinion, this superior 50s effort--be it ever so humble--is one of the finest Dracula/vampire movies ever made. 

THE RETURN OF DRACULA -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 1/18/14

 

In THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (1944), it's great to see Bela Lugosi playing Dracula again (his name,  technically, is Armand Tesla, but I choose to pretty much disregard that particular detail), and he obviously relishes the chance to don the old cape once more.

The wartime England setting is effective in this relatively fast-paced film, and there's a lot of spooky atmosphere. Frieda Inescort makes a strong impression as a female Van Helsing equivalent, doing her best to track down the vampire before he ruins the lives of her son and his fiancee, played by a cute young Nina Foch.  Matt Willis is Tesla's werewolf slave, Andreas, who gets a couple of cool Chaney-like transformation scenes.

[spoiler] It's a little strange to see Tesla knocked cold by a bomb blast in the final scenes, but when Andreas drags him out into the sunlight soon afterward he decomposes rather nicely. [/spoiler]

While Tesla no doubt lacks some of the class of the original Dracula character, I like to think of him as Dracula gone to seed, as though time and trevails have finally started wearing away his immortality and suave veneer, and made him a little more desperate -- not unlike the state of Lugosi's career at that point.

The story is dead serious (barring a strangely whimsical, fourth-wall-breaking ending) and filled with atmospheric sets (the cemetery is outstanding) and spooky situations.  A scene between Inescort and Lugosi's characters about midway through the film is one of the most startling and excitingly staged encounters in any classic vampire film.

THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE is also considered by many to be as close to a "Dracula vs. the Wolf Man" movie as we ever got except for the climax of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" which briefly pits the two Universal monsters against each other.

Matt Willis' Andreas gains audience sympathy as the unwilling werewolf slave to Tesla, while the lovely Nina Foch is quite endearing as the object of the vampire's perverse lust.  A young Jeanne Bates is seen briefly as Tesla's first victim.

Although a comparatively minor production released by Columbia, THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE is a good companion to the Universal "Dracula" films and should prove to be a very satisfying viewing experience for any fan of classic horror.  What's more, it's really fun to see Lugosi hamming it up once again in a part that's as close to a genuine sequel to DRACULA as he was ever allowed to play.

THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE -- Movie Review by Porfle

BLOOD OF DRACULA (1957) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/6/21

 

Currently watching: American-International's BLOOD OF DRACULA (1957) starring Sandra Harrison as Nancy, a teenage girl who becomes a blood-sucking vampire while attending an exclusive girls' boarding school in the mountains.

After Nancy's mother dies, her father waits a mere six weeks before hooking up with a gold-digger and sending Nancy off to boarding school to get her out of their hair.

Nancy is understandably distraught and resentful, and her first days at the school find her clashing with a clique of spoiled bullies who call themselves the "Birds of Paradise."

 

Eventually, the headstrong Nancy wins their grudging acceptance and also the attention of an oddball science teacher named Miss Branding (Louise Lewis), who finds in Nancy a perfect subject for her weird experiments in bringing out certain supernatural powers inherent in human beings.

Under hypnosis, and with the aid of a mystical amulet she obtained in the Carpathian mountains, Miss Branding succeeds in turning Nancy into a horrific fanged creature who stalks the campus thirsting for warm teenage blood.

If you catch it in the right frame of mind, BLOOD OF DRACULA is just as much fun as it sounds. It helps to be a fan of producer Herman Cohen and director Herbert L. Strock's other teen monster classics I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN. 

 

Except for the different-sounding title, this one fits right in with these and forms an ideal trilogy of teen variations on classic horror monsters. It also boasts a rock-and-roll song performance (Jerry Blaine's "Puppy Love") so awful that it rivals the ungodly "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo" from TEENAGE WEREWOLF.

The isolated setting, with its shadowy surrounding forest and adjoining cemetery, adds considerably to the film's atmosphere, as do composer Paul Dunlap's characteristically downbeat, piano-heavy score and the moody black and white cinematography.

Performances are generally good, with Richard Devon, Malcolm Atterbury, and Paul Maxwell (HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, ALIENS) as local detectives baffled by the brutal blood-draining murders that begin to occur whenever Miss Branding exercises her mental powers over the hapless Nancy. 

 

 

Louise Lewis gives a restrained performance as the psychotic Miss Branding, who, just like the great Whit Bissell's psychiatrist character in TEENAGE WEREWOLF, uses hypnosis to turn an unsuspecting teenager into a fearsome creature in the service of some mad perversion of science.

Sandra Harrison is quite good as Nancy, especially when overcome by the vampiric curse which, thanks to a cool transformation sequence that occurs three or four times throughout the film, turns her into a wonderfully weird-looking fanged vampiress who's way more bestial than her Hammer counterparts. 

 

 

In fact, I'm surprised that her monstrous visage isn't more well-known (I've only seen it a few times in monster magazines over the years) and that this film itself seems almost obscure compared to the others in the series.

While sparing in its scenes of horror and with a somewhat anti-climactic ending, the film as a whole should prove a satisfying view for fans of Herman Cohen and Herbert L. Strock's brand of low-budget chiller fare, especially those who appreciate a really cool monster makeup.  At any rate, BLOOD OF DRACULA was a treat for this old-school monster fan.

BLOOD OF DRACULA (1957) -- Movie Review by Porfle