FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/25/21

 

I've been a bad movie lover for so long, I can sit back and enjoy movies like FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER (1965) just as much as I would CITIZEN KANE or THE SOUND OF MUSIC, whereas your average normal person might find both their gag reflex and their flight instinct activated by the very sight of it.

I pity such people their inability to watch stuff like this with the same giddy delight I felt as I ordered the DVD from Amazon, knowing that when it arrived, I would be able to immerse myself in low budget, ineptly made, but wonderfully entertaining sci-fi goodness about aliens from Mars who have come to Earth to kidnap women as breeding stock to help repopulate their atomic war-ravaged planet.

As if that weren't enough, NASA scientist Dr. Adam Steele (venerable actor James "Jim" Karen in an early role) and his co-worker Karen (Nancy Marshall) have just made space travel safer for humans by creating an android astronaut, whom they've named "Colonel Frank Saunders" (Robert Reilly). 

 

 

 
Right after Frank is launched into space, the Martians shoot his rocket down, leaving the horribly disfigured humanoid robot roaming the countryside killing people a la "Frankenstein."

Not only am I not making any of that stuff up, but it's even nuttier than it sounds. The head Martians are played by former Playboy Playmate and Three Stooges co-star Marilyn Hanold (as "Princess Marcuzan") and familiar face Lou Cutell (LITTLE BIG MAN, PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE) as her second-in-command Dr. Nadir, a bald, white-skinned alien with pointed ears and a high camp sense of humor that kicks in whenever he's ordered to blow something up or shoot it down.

Their bargain-basement spaceship is also populated by a gaggle of henchmen whose spacesuits, confusingly, make them look like Earth astronauts. There's also a tall, brawny alien played by the great Bruce Glover (CHINATOWN, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, WALKING TALL), recognizable even under heavy makeup in his second movie role. He also plays the fearsome space monster of the title, who will indeed meet "Frankenstein" during the film's furious climax.

 

 

 
The story begins in Florida, where, at a press conference, we're treated to the sight of Frank rather comically going freeze-frame during a press conference and having to be hustled back to the lab for repairs by Adam and Karen.

Then we're whisked off to Puerto Rico after Frank's disfiguring crash, allowing the director to shoot a lengthy montage of the two scientists riding a dinky motor scooter along scenic motorways and beachfronts to the film's sappy and rather incongruous love theme, "To Have And To Hold" by The Distant Cousins.

While the two young lovers search for their runaway robo-astronaut, the Martians terrorize the countryside kidnapping bikini-clad women from beaches and pool parties, disintegrating any men who get in their way with sunlight-reflecting ray guns like the ones used in TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE.

 

 

 
Also like that film, this one is surprisingly well-edited, with a gradually quickening pace that leads to a fast-moving, exciting finale that sees the Martians attacked by our air force and Frank, his rational mind now restored, going mano-a-mano with that really cool space monster.

Just as Johnny Depp claims in ED WOOD that he could construct a whole movie out of stock footage, this one goes a long way toward doing just that by using tons of the stuff for any scenes involving either the military or NASA spacecraft (including much footage from Mercury launches and orbital photography). The final five frenetic minutes or so are evidence that the film's editor was having a ball putting this thing together, and it's infectious.

Granted, the shamelessly warped FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER would fit comfortably onto any list of the worst films ever made, but that doesn't keep it from being just as much fun as a lot of "good" movies that I could name. Maybe even more fun if, like me, you're just a tiny bit warped too. 

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER -- Movie Review by Porfle

When The Universal Monsters Carried The Ladies (video)

Carrying the leading lady is a time-honored tradition among monsters.

Most of Universal's monsters got their chance, but not all.
Neither the Invisible Man nor the Wolf Man had the temperament for it.
The opportunity never presented itself to Karloff's "The Mummy" (1932).

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney, Sr.) carried Esmerelda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923).

Bela Lugosi carried Helen Chandler in "Dracula" (1931).
Carlos Villarías carried Lupita Tovar in the Spanish version.

Kharis the Mummy carried Peggy Moran in "The Mummy's Hand" (1940)...
...and Elyse Knox in "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942)...
...and Ramsay Ames in "The Mummy's Ghost" (1944)...
...and Virginia Christine in "The Mummy's Curse" (1944).

The "Creature From the Black Lagoon" carried Julie Adams in 1954...
...and later Lori Nelson in "Revenge of the Creature."

Out of all his films, the Frankenstein Monster only got to do it once...
...when Bela Lugosi's stand-in Gil Perkins carried Ilona Massey in "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943). 

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

When The Universal Monsters Carried The Ladies (video)

The Frozen Grin Dude From "Frankenstein 1970" (1958) (video)

 

Publicist Mike is carrying a torch for starlet Carolyn. 

So he decides to pull the old "frozen grin" move on her. 

Amazingly, it fails.

Oh well...torch, scorch, unforch.

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

 

The Frozen Grin Dude From "Frankenstein 1970" (1958) (video)

RAGS TO RICHES: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/13/12

 

A weird conglomeration of teen period musical, teen family drama, teen family sitcom, adult dramedy, and all-around idiocy, NBC-TV's RAGS TO RICHES: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1987-88) comes to DVD in a five-disc, 20-episode set that's like a grueling marathon of sheer teen "WTF?"

Actually it isn't totally bad once you get used to it, but getting used to it is a pretty major undertaking.  What we have here is Joseph Bologna (MY FAVORITE YEAR) as frozen foods tycoon Nick Foley, a "streetwise" New Jersey-born playboy circa 1961 who wants to improve his public image by temporarily adopting six orphan girls aged 8-17.  Naturally, their initial culture clashes and personality conflicts will evolve into mutual love and understanding as the odd sextet become a family, with everyone learning and growing and all that good stuff.

The movie-length pilot (which, for some reason, is called "Rags and Riches" and looks like a crudely-edited workprint) gives us six downtrodden Annies in search of a Daddy Warbucks while the hateful old spinster in charge of them threatens to ship them all off to juvy hall.  After being adopted by Nick--on the advice of his young assistant, played by an embryonic, Gumby-haired Bill Maher--their rough adjustment to the lap of luxury is complicated when they discover that Nick and his loathesome fiance' have planned to ship the girls off to a strict boarding school ASAP. 

Choosing what they consider the lesser of two evils, they run back to the orphanage, whereupon Nick realizes how much he now loves them and can't live without them.  He goes to the orphange to fetch them home, thus setting the stage for seemingly endless adventures in adolescent angst which often escalates to nightmarish proportions.  (The sixth girl, Heather McAdam as "Nina", disappears from the cast after the pilot.)

While "Brady Bunch"-type comedy abounds along with several of its plotlines (in one episode, 13-year-old Patti's big science project is--you guessed it--a volcano), a big factor here is broad, relentlessly overplayed drama.  Particularly in the earlier episodes, these young actresses are so doggedly intense that their scenes resemble really bad drama class exercises, with future "Martin" co-star Tisha Campbell as Marva often being the most freakishly overwrought. 

Not only that, but their characters often come across as total spoiled bitches, constantly screaming their lungs out at Nick and each other before stomping offscreen and slamming doors.  A typical example:  "Blah blah blah!!!  I am not going to [whatever Nick has told her to do] and there's nothing you can do about it!!!"  STOMP STOMP STOMP!!!  SLAM!!! 

Even as late as episode 12 ("Wilderness Blues"), Nick's insistence that they go camping as a family leads to his being mercilessly harangued day and night, to such an extent that I wouldn't have blamed him for lobbing a live grenade into the girls' tent after lights-out.  Of course, strong-willed Marva runs away to be with her college-aged boyfriend the moment Nick turns his back, ranting and fuming the whole time, while Rose (Kimiko Gelman, THE HUNGER GAMES) and ditzy blonde Diane (Bridget Michele) sneak off to attend a dance at the lodge. 

Later episodes begin to show a promise that the series' second-season cancellation would cut short.  "Dear Diary" features Robin Curtis ("Lt. Saavik" in THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK) as an unconventional teacher whom conservative dad Dick Van Patten wants fired for being an unhealthy influence on her students.  "Born to Ride" guest-stars David Paymer (GET SHORTY) as a con man faking an injury to gain insurance money after supposedly being hit by novice driver Diane. 

The final episode, "Sweet Sixteen", ends the series on a high note as the Cuban Missile Crisis drives the Foley's into their newly-built bomb shelter and those of us old enough to remember get to relive what the whole atomic bomb scare was like, complete with elementary school kids participating in "duck and cover" drills.  The song-and-dance stuff is mercifully toned down in this one, and we get the idea that the show might have actually evolved into something pretty worthwhile if allowed to continue. 

High points aside, however, much of "Rags to Riches" is business-as-usual dumb stuff straight outta Bradyville but with loads of bratty attitude that Mike and Carol never had to contend with.  In "Business is Business", Marva buys her own lunch wagon against Nick's advice and then, when the endeavor goes south, immediately drives it to a secluded area and douses it with gasoline so she can torch it and collect the insurance!  (Fabian and Ken "Eddie Haskell" Osmond guest star as her unscrupulous competitors.) 

"Foley vs. Foley" is the old saw of the girls protesting the closing of lovable Spiro's (Jack Kruschen) hamburger joint to make way for the new Foley building complex.  "Hunk in the House" has Rose and Diane both falling for Nick's visiting godson, played by a young Richard Grieco.  "Marva in the Key of Cee" is the show's version of the Marcia Brady-Davy Jones affair, but with Marva promising to get retired torch singer Cee Cee Smith (Margaret Avery, THE COLOR PURPLE) to sing at the prom without actually asking her first.  "Partridge Family" alumnus Danny Bonaduce shows up in "Guess Who's Coming To Slumber?", the old story of the illicit party that gets horribly out of control while Nick is due to return from a trip at any minute.

"Vegas Rock" and "Once Upon a Lifeguard" play up the girls' sexuality in borderline inappropriate ways.  In the former, they secretly follow Nick to Las Vegas because, as usual, they do whatever they damn well please, and end up performing onstage in showgirl costumes.  In the latter, Patti's desire to impress a hunky older lifeguard has her sashaying around in skimpy bathing suits and stuffing her bra to Mae West proportions.  (Future porn actor Scott Schwartz of A CHRISTMAS STORY guest stars.)  While this is ostensibly meant to draw in potential teen male viewers, it sometimes comes off as a tad creepy. 

For better or worse, however, what really sets "Rags to Riches" apart from other shows of its ilk is the fact that it's a musical.  This means that the girls break into song and dance numbers at the drop of a plot twist, and more often than not they're blaring, sassy-brassy covers of 50s-60s tunes (their lyrics altered to fit the storylines, as when "Please Mr. Postman" becomes "Hey, Mr. Foley") with lots of head jerking, hand jiving, arm flailing, and generally obnoxious choreography that would embarrass even Paula Abdul.  Even the youngest sister Mickey (played by perhaps the best actress of the bunch, 8-year-old Heidi Zeigler) gets into the act with her saxophone, which we're supposed to believe she can play like a pint-sized Tom Scott. 

When this happens, the girls suddenly turn into hopped-up speed-freak versions of the Pointer Sisters for a couple of minutes before going back to what they were doing as though nothing had happened.  As if that weren't bad enough, Joseph Bologna and Douglas Seale (as their overly-cutesy British butler, Clapper) sometimes add their rusty pipes to the mix.  On the rare occasions that a slow ballad is required, the girls display some pretty nice singing voices, as when Patti (Blanca De Garr) and Rose duet on "Anyone Who Had A Heart."  Some of the songs are anachronistic ("You're No Good", "Get Ready") considering the show's early 60s time frame, but since the whole thing's a fantasy anyway I suppose it doesn't really matter.

The 5-disc set (running time 18 hrs. 20 min.) from Image Entertainment has an aspect ratio of 1.33.1 with Dolby Digital sound.  There are no subtitles or extras.

Much of RAGS TO RICHES: THE COMPLETE SERIES finds Joseph Bologna struggling to figure out just how the hell to play this kind of teen-oriented nonsense while his young female costars chew up the scenery like a school of ravenous singing and dancing piranha.  And just when they all seem to be on the verge of finding their way, the party's over.  While I can't wholeheartedly recommend it as actual entertainment, I must say that this bizarre patchwork creation is one of the most perversely interesting train wrecks I've seen in a long time.

RAGS TO RICHES: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE LOST TREASURE OF THE GRAND CANYON -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on May 7, 2009

 

A Sci-Fi Channel original movie is like a box of chocolates--you never know what you're gonna get, or just how nutty it's gonna be. THE LOST TREASURE OF THE GRAND CANYON (2008) is not only nutty as hell, but it's so hard to swallow that Forrest Gump would've choked on it.

Shannen Doherty stars as a 19th-century archeologist named Susan Jordan (who is anachronistically referred to in the DVD's captions as "Ms. Jordan"). Susan is following in the footsteps of her father--literally, in fact, since he disappeared on an expedition in the American southwest and she's on the hunt for him. 

Dr. Jordan (Duncan Fraser) was searching for an Aztec pyramid that's supposed to be hidden out there somewhere, and Susan enlists the aid of her colleagues in her search. The trail leads them to a grand canyon, just like the title says, only it isn't THE Grand Canyon since this was filmed in British Columbia.

Finding a passageway into the hidden canyon, the group encounters a hostile tribe of Aztecs who seem to be constantly sacrificing people to appease their horrible flying serpent god. These Aztecs are a motley bunch with pallid skin, cottage cheese thighs, and big butts, and they wear the same kind of flip-flops that you get out of a bin at Wal-Mart, but Shannen and her pals have their hands full fighting them off while struggling through a series of low-grade cliffhanger perils. 

These include trying to get through a booby-trapped doorway without being decapitated by the spring-loaded axe, falling into a pit where they must avoid getting beaned by a spiked ball on a chain, and, in one of the lamest suspense scenes ever, attempting to pull two of their group out of a large puddle of quicksand by poking sticks at them.

Shannen Doherty is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth to be playing this sort of ingenue role, especially when we (along with the male leads) are supposed to be titillated by the sight of her sponging off in a creek. "Stargate SG-1" alumnus Michael Shanks fares a bit better as Shannen's secret admirer Jacob Thain, a hands-off archeologist who'd rather stay in his tent than pick up a shovel but who turns out to be quite courageous and resourceful when the chips are down. 

Another familiar face, JR Bourne, does well as the cowardly Langford. Heather Doerksen ("Stargate: Atlantis", THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL) plays one of those irritating frontier feminists whose character gets sillier as the movie goes on, along with the script.

LOST TREASURE wants to offer up the same excitement and thrills as an Indiana Jones or Ricochet O'Connell adventure, but it just doesn't have the budget or the talent to pull off anything that comes close. Sparse production values and really bad CGI conspire to give the film a consistently bargain-basement look (shots of the canyon's interior are particularly cheesy), which is compounded by slipshod direction from LAWNMOWER MAN 2's Farhad Mann and some of the worst handheld camerawork I've ever seen. And since it's a Sci-Fi Channel original, you just know there's going to be a CGI creature--in this case, the Aztec serpent god--that's considerably less than convincing.

The DVD's 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image and Dolby 5.1 sound are good. The sole bonus feature is a "making-of" short that lasts about twelve minutes and consists mainly of cast interviews.

I try not to judge low-budget made-for-TV flicks too harshly, especially if they have that elusive "so bad it's good" quality that can make a lesser effort fun to watch. However, THE LOST TREASURE OF THE GRAND CANYON is, for me, simply boring and a chore to endure. The cast is pretty game, but the filmmakers just don't seem to be trying any harder than they have to.

 

THE LOST TREASURE OF THE GRAND CANYON -- DVD Review by Porfle

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

 

 

 

Originally posted on 12/11/15

 

Some musicals are great comedies, others great love stories.  Some are known for their music and songs, some for the wonderful dancing.  But when a musical excels at all four of these--as does SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)--then you're looking at a prime candidate for the best and most popular musical of all time.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN comes about as close to creating a colorful explosion of pure, undiluted joy as a movie can get.  Basically a "jukebox" musical--that is, a collection of already-existing song favorites written (mostly) by producer Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown which have nothing to do with each other besides being fortuitously inserted into the same story--it's a labor of love in which co-directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly teamed up to make sure the music and dance numbers were intertwined seamlessly with the narrative and staged in the most artistic and gloriously cinematic style possible.

The handsome, charismatic Kelly, who shows off his robustly masculine, athletic style in a succession of wild yet precise song-and-dance workouts, plays silent film idol Don Lockwood.  We see him starting out in vaudeville along with his lifelong buddy Cosmo (Donald O'Connor) before becoming a lowly Hollywood stuntman and finally graduating to stardom along with ditzy blonde Lina Lamont, who believes the publicity about their torrid romance even though he can't stand her.  Don, meanwhile, has become smitten with a cute aspiring actress named Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), who intially feigns aloofness even though she's secretly a big fan of his.

Wildly comical self-parody abounds as this big Hollywood production pokes fun at big Hollywood productions such as Don and Lina's corny silent epics.  An early highlight is a typical gala premiere where the faux couple display their artificial "lofty artist" personas for an adoring crowd.  But with the release of the surprise smash sensation THE JAZZ SINGER, silents are out and "talkies" are suddenly all the rage, throwing the studios and their stars into a chaotic scramble to give the public what they want. 

Several real-life silent stars such as Garbo's leading man John Gilbert found their careers on the rocks when their voices proved inadequate for sound.  Such is Lina's problem when it turns out her grating accent and horrendous diction threaten to make her a laughing stock on the screen.  Oscar-nominated Jean Hagen (PANIC IN YEAR ZERO) is hilarious in the role, as in frazzled director Roscoe Dexter's (Douglas Fowley) vain attempts to master the new art of sound recording during a florid love scene in which Lina doggedly refuses to speak into the hidden microphone.  

The solution?  Hire Kathy Selden to dub both Lina's speaking and singing voices and then turn Don and Lina's latest silent picture into a musical, "The Dancing Cavalier." But while this arrangement is meant to be only temporary, Lina demands that Kathy henceforth secretly do all of her dubbing, and nothing else, thus derailing Kathy's own promising career.

 

While all this is going on--which we know will eventually work itself out in wonderful and amusing ways--Kelly, O'Connor, and Reynolds are working overtime to give us the best show that the film medium has to offer.  The results, under the direction of stern, uncompromising choreographer/taskmaster Kelly, are nothing less than incredible. 

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN bursts forth with song at the slightest provocation, yet it never seems less than spontaneous or perfectly fitting for the occasion.  Don and Cosmo's breathless vaudeville montage "Fit as a Fiddle (And Ready for Love)" is just a warm-up for their screamingly funny precision dance duet "Moses Supposes" as well as O'Connor's absolutely astounding solo sensation "Make 'Em Laugh", a whirlwind of frenetic energy which he ends by literally running up the walls.  It's one of the most astonishing physical performances in any musical, ever.

Debbie gets into the act with the delightfully breezy "Good Morning", which shows how impressive a dedicated song-and-dance novice can be with Gene Kelly as her tutor.  While the number was obviously an ordeal to get just right, these three make it seem effortless.  With "You Were Meant For Me", Kelly emphasizes the artifice of filmmaking by having Don stage an impromptu love song for Kathy in an empty studio soundstage complete with wind machine and painted backdrop.  It's an elegant moment amidst the frivolity.



Still moreso is Kelly's dazzling movie-within-a-movie, "Broadway Melody Ballet", a lengthy interlude in which he plays an ambitious young hoofer arriving in town looking for stardom, only to be seduced and then discarded by a gorgeous goodtime gal played to perfection by she of the long legs and slinky shape, Cyd Charisse.  Their dance incorporates several styles from jazz to ballet, all of it mesmerizing. 

But most memorable of all is Gene Kelly's immortal "Singin' in the Rain" sequence, in which the lovestruck Don expresses his boundless feelings for Kathy by singing and dancing gleefully down a dark city street in the middle of a downpour.  It's one of cinema's most endearing expressions of pure, uninhibited optimism, made all the more impressive by the knowledge that Kelly performed it that day with a raging fever of 103 degrees.  

One of the best things about SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is that the story of Hollywood's painful transition from silents to talkies is fun and entertaining on its own, while serving as an ideal vehicle for the seemingly unrelated songs--most already decades old, including the 1929 title tune--which are somehow perfectly incorporated into it.  It's a giddy, affectionate, super-charged celebration of song, dance, movies, romance, and sheer joy. 

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN -- Movie Review by Porfle

Failed Stunt Used In John Wayne Western "The Trail Beyond" (1934) (video)

Lone Star studios hated to waste footage...

...so failed stunts were worked into the action whenever possible.

Here's an exciting one from John Wayne's 1934 western THE TRAIL BEYOND, performed by either Yakima Canutt or Eddie Parker. (Looks like Eddie.)

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Failed Stunt Used In John Wayne Western "The Trail Beyond" (1934) (video)

Maureen O'Hara's Unquiet Whisper in John Ford's "THE QUIET MAN" (Republic, 1952) (video)

"The Quiet Man" was a dream project for director John Ford, and a fond tribute to his Irish heritage.

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara were ideal as the tempestuous romantic couple, Sean and Mary Kate.

The chemistry between Duke and Maureen was off the charts.

Their characters marry, but marital bliss doesn't come until film's end.

John Ford had an idea--he wanted Maureen to whisper something shockingly suggestive to Duke.

Ford wanted a real reaction from him...and got it.

Maureen insisted that what she said never be revealed.  And it wasn't.

The only three people who knew are all gone.  And now...we can but imagine.

What could she possibly have said to elicit such a doubletake from Duke?


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Maureen O'Hara's Unquiet Whisper in John Ford's "THE QUIET MAN" (Republic, 1952) (video)

Ed Wood In Drag (video)

Filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. "came out" as a transvestite...

in his semi-autobiographical 1953 film GLEN OR GLENDA?

Here are some scenes of him in drag from that movie as well as clips from "Take It Out In Trade" (Something Weird Video) and home movie footage (Legend Films), both from the 70s.

Originally posted on 3/15/18
I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Ed Wood In Drag (video)

THE BLOOD ISLAND COLLECTION (Severin Films) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

  (Originally posted 11/11/2018)

 

"THE BLOOD ISLAND COLLECTION" is a Blu-ray box set from Severin Films which contains the following titles: Terror Is a Man/ Brides of Blood/ Mad Doctor of Blood Island/ Beast of Blood.  Here are our collected reviews of each separate title.

TERROR IS A MAN -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle


Being as it's the prelude film to what is known as the "Blood Island Trilogy", I watched TERROR IS A MAN (Severin Films, 1959) expecting something cheap and lurid--in a "so bad, it's good" sort of way--and was delighted to find that it's a terrific film, well-made, with a fine cast, and all the flavor of the best horror/sci-fi thrillers of the 50s.

It's a modest production, to be sure, but its budget is well-used and the sets and locations--a reclusive scientist's island home and laboratory, and the surrounding jungle--more than adequate.

Expertly and stylishly directed by Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero, the film is photographed in crisp, atmospheric black-and-white (this 4k restoration from a recently-discoverd fine grain print looks great in Blu-ray) that's noirish and often gorgeous to look at. It also boasts a robust musical score.

Sort of a cross between "The Island of Dr. Moreau", "The Most Dangerous Game", and "The Creature Walks Among Us", the story begins when a lifeboat containing one William Fitzgerald (Richard Derr) washes ashore on a secluded island in the Philippines, where Dr. Charles Gerard (Frances Lederer) lives with his wife Frances (Greta Thyssen), sadistic animal wrangler Walter (Oscar Peesee), and a native boy and girl who are their servants.

It doesn't take long for Fitzgerald to discover that Gerard is involved in some pretty unethical experiments in evolution--namely, attempting to surgically transform a panther into a human being.

Fortunately for us, this has resulted in a horrific but very cool monster that tends to escape pretty often and go on murderous rampages which have already driven the island's terrified native population to flee in boats.

Naturally, Gerard's wife Frances is a beautiful woman who hates her husband's work and is strongly attracted to the handsome stranger, an attraction that he reciprocates in record time.  Before long, they plan to escape the increasingly-unbalanced Gerard and leave the island together, but before this can happen the panther-man breaks loose again and his current rampage will result in catastrophic death and destruction for several of those involved.

For those who love vintage 50s horror films, this one should fit the bill quite nicely--at times it even has shades of the old Universals in a slightly low-rent sort of way, with a tragic, tortured (but adequately frightening) monster who evokes sympathy even as it strikes out in bloody violence against those who have caused it pain.

The cast is fine, starting with Frances Lederer who was so effective in the title role of THE RETURN OF DRACULA and the gorgeous Greta Thyssen, best known as the leading lady in the Three Stooges' final Columbia shorts such as "Sappy Bullfighters."  Richard Derr, a veteran of such films as FIREFOX and AMERICAN GIGOLO and a two-time Admiral on "Star Trek" ("The Alternative Factor", "The Mark of Gideon") gives a solid performance as well.

Giving it a touch of the old William Castle bally-hoo is the announcement in the film's foreword of a warning bell intended to give the squeamish time to close their eyes when something ghastly is about to happen. It's only used once, and the scene isn't all that ghastly, but it's the sort of touch that makes movies like this just a bit more fun.

Severin Films' Blu-ray comes with the usual array of fun bonus material, including:

Man Becomes Creature: Interview with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Dawn of Blood Island: Interview with Co-Director Eddie Romero
Terror Creature: Interview with Pete Tombs, Co-Author of “Immoral Tales”
When the Bell Rings: Interview with Critic Mark Holcomb
Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Reversible BLOOD CREATURE Cover

(NOTE: Something I didn't notice the first time I watched the Severin Blu-ray disc is an annoying buzzing noise that begins somewhere near the middle of the film and lasts for several minutes. Others have reported hearing this on their copies as well. I checked an earlier posting of the film on YouTube and this noise was not there.)

As the film that kicked off the "Blood Island Trilogy" of American/Filipino horror productions, TERROR IS A MAN is an old-school monster lover's delight that's just pure fun to watch.

BRIDES OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle


As the first film in the "Blood Island" trilogy, which was kicked off nine years earlier by its unofficial prequel "Terror Is a Man", the American-Filipino co-production BRIDES OF BLOOD (Severin Films, 1968) gets this particular horror cycle off to a lively, lurid, and very colorful start that's nothing if not wildly frenetic and fun.

This time the island is inhabited by a tribe of natives who are regularly attacked by a terrifying jungle monster that is only appeased when they sacrifice their lovely young maidens to it two at a time.  Lashed to poles and stripped, the unfortunate lasses await the toothy, snarling beast who then has its horrible way with them before ripping them to pieces.

None of which sets well with idealistic young Peace Corps worker Jim Farrell (John Ashley), who arrives at the island to oversee various work projects and promptly falls in love with native girl Alma (Eva Darren), who, naturally, promptly becomes one of the next women chosen as a sacrifice to the jungle monster.

Also getting involved are seasoned research scientist Dr. Paul Henderson (Kent Taylor) and his neglected, sex-starved, and rather voluptuous wife Carla (exotic dancer-turned-actress Beverly Hills).  Dr. Henderson is interested in gauging the effects of nuclear tests on the islands in the area.

The three outsiders soon meet Estaban Powers (Mario Montenegro), a wealthy gentleman who invites them into his nearby mansion which is stocked with all manner of odd servants including the ogre-like Goro.  He seems nice and hospitable enough, but there's something off about him that won't become blindingly obvious until later.

Meanwhile, Powers shows the astonished outsiders some of the surrounding jungle's bizarre features, which include snakelike vines and tree tentacles which are alive and very carnivorous (all due, of course, to those nuclear tests and their radiation).  When these puppet-like tentacles get riled up, they give the living forest in THE EVIL DEAD a real run for its money.

With such a set-up, it doesn't take long for BRIDES OF BLOOD to become a free-for-all of mutated flora and fauna attacks (even the butterflies and cockroaches get into the act) along with a deadly conflict between Jim Farrell and the natives when he rescues his love Alma from the jungle monster's hungry clutches and both must flee for their lives.

Meanwhile, the mansion serves as a backdrop for sexual tension with poor Carla wandering around looking for love after trying in vain to arouse her husband and continuously throwing herself at Mr. Powers.  This works out nicely for the viewer since the generously-endowed Beverly Hills (aka Beverly Powers) is very easy on the eyes.

Some long, talky sequences soon give way to lots of action, especially when the slavering, comically-outlandish jungle monster is ready for its closeups.  This thing has to be seen to be believed--it's like a big, mutant escapee from a deranged Sid and Marty Krofft series and is constantly bellowing for victims to ravage and rend asunder.

Production values are pretty good although not as polished as those of its predecessor, "Terror Is a Man."  In color this time, the film is loaded with action that's vividly staged and fast-moving.  Graphic violence consists mainly of quick glimpses of body parts and such.  Nudity is also brief and seen mainly from a distance.

Kent Taylor played in lots of prestigious films in his career but I think of him most fondly in stuff like THE CRAWLING HAND, THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH, and this.  Beverly Hills, who lent her talent and looks to a wide array of films such as SPEEDWAY and I'LL TAKE SWEDEN, is ideal as the sexy wife.

Best of all is the great John Ashley, former teen idol and star of such classics as FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER, HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, and the legendary "Beach Party" series.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films features a 4k scan from a recently discovered 35mm interpositive and is presented absolutely uncut for the first time ever.  The usual bundle of bonus features includes:

Audio Commentary with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Jungle Fury: Archival Interview with Co-Director Eddie Romero
Here Comes the Bride: Interview with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Beverly Hills on Blood Island: Interview with Actress Beverly Powers a.k.a. Beverly Hills
Alternate BRIDES OF BLOOD ISLAND Title Sequence and JUNGLE FURY Title Card
Teaser Trailer
Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Reversible ISLAND OF LIVING HORROR Cover  

Not quite a top-drawer production, BRIDES OF BLOOD is still technically far superior to the gore-drenched jungle exploitation dreck we'd start to see in the coming decades.  Thanks largely to its great cast and freewheeling style, it's a barrel of fun from start to finish.

MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle


The middle entry in the American-Filipino "Blood Island Trilogy" that started with "Brides of Blood" (and its sort-of prequel "Terror Is a Man"), MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND (Severin Films, 1969) moves the dial much closer to eleven with more blood (much of it green), more gore and severed limbs, more grotesque monsters, and, last but not least, more sex and nudity.  In other words, more exploitation for our twisted viewing pleasure.

This time the boat to the island carries Dr. Bill Foster (John Ashley of "Brides of Blood" again), investigating reports of a green-blooded maniac on the island; Sheila Willard (Angelique Pettyjohn), a woman searching for her long-missing father; and a young man named Carlos (Ronaldo Valdez) returning to his old village in hopes of persuading his widowed mother to return to civilization with him.

What all of these people have in common is Dr. Lorca (Ronald Remy, THE LONGEST HUNDRED MILES, FLIGHT OF THE SPARROW), a research scientist who may or may not be an insane crackpot performing horrifying experiments on anyone he or his henchman Razak can get their hands on. The local natives provide a steady supply of subjects, several of whom now roam the jungle as hideous chlorophyll plant-monsters attacking people and disemboweling them.

These scenes are way more graphic than in previous entries in the series, as we're treated to bloody severed limbs and heads flying about while copious amounts of actual animal entrails ooze from a procession of hapless victims.  The gore effects are crude but plentiful, while the grotesque monster makeup, especially on the main chlorophyll creature, makes them look as though they're wearing spinach and asparagus pizzas on their faces.

The steamy melodrama within Dr. Lorca's mansion takes up much screen time, providing not only heaps of interpersonal conflict (along with some amusingly biting dialogue) but also a much larger sex and nudity quotient than before.

This is especially true for Carlos when he's reunited with a young village girl from his past who seduces him while still carrying a torch for his dead father, and for Dr. Foster and Sheila who are destined to go at it eventually.  Various village girls scamper around nude in the jungle as well before coming face-to-face with Chlorophyll Man.



As in the previous film, John Ashley ends up on the run with his girlfriend from a group of hostile villagers who think he's brought misfortune to their island.  Meanwhile, we get to see a tomb opened up, a graphic monster attack inside Dr. Lorca's own home, some eyebrow-raising plot twists, and, finally, an explosive finish that takes place within a subterranean laboratory of horror.

Production values are considerably less polished this time although the beautiful natural settings are a huge asset.  There's an odd stylistic affectation that grows tiresome real quick--whenever a monster is present, the camera lens zooms in and out in jittery fashion.  Before long I was wishing I could get my hands on the cameraman's zoom lens and smash it to pieces.

There's also a disturbing element of needless, sadistic animal cruelty in one scene that puts a damper on the entire film.  It's a really nasty scene, and I couldn't view anything else that followed without repeatedly going back to it in my mind.  This is the sort of thing that would also ruin my enjoyment of other jungle exploitation films to come.



The great John Ashley once again lends his considerable presence to the proceedings, this time accompanied by the equally noteworthy Angelique Pettyjohn.  "Star Trek" fans will remember her as the warrior woman with the Jiffy-Pop bra and silver hair in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" as well as numerous cult pics like "The Last Empire" and "Repo Man."

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is scanned in 4k from a recently discovered camera negative and presented totally uncut for the first time ever, including the legendary “Oath of Green Blood” prologue.  Extras include:

Audio Commentary with Horror Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
Audio Commentary with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Tombs of the Living Dead: Interview with Pete Tombs, Co-Author of “Immoral Tales”
A Taste of Blood: Interview with Critic Mark Holcomb
The Mad Doctor of Blood Island: Archival Interview with Co-Director Eddie Romero
Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Bonus Disc: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD (in box set only)
Reversible TOMB OF THE LIVING DEAD Cover

As a continuation of the "Blood Island" series, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND ups the exploitation ante on all counts and comes through for anyone who likes their monster/horror action cheap, lurid, and drenched with sex and gore.  The animal cruelty element is indefensible--for some, it will even be a deal-breaker--but otherwise this is down and dirty monster fun. 

BEAST OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle


Like many horror fans, my first look at the "Chlorophyll Man" was in Dennis Gifford's celebrated book, "Pictorial History of Horror Movies."  Now, with Severin Films' Blu-ray release of BEAST OF BLOOD (1970), we get to see the movie behind that picture in all its gruesome, exploitative glory.

The finale of the "Blood Island Trilogy", which includes "Brides of Blood" and "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" (along with the 1959 prequel, "Terror Is a Man"), this lurid shocker is pure grindhouse goodness for horror lovers who enjoy wandering the dark territory of the grotesque and bizarre.

The story picks up right where "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" left off, with Dr. Bill Foster (the great John Ashley) leaving Blood Island on a boat which, unbeknownst to him, contains a stowaway--none other than the dreaded Chlorophyll Man himself.  When this creature attacks in a frantically-staged scene, the ship ends up sinking and Foster is the only survivor.

He returns to the island some time later to investigate brand new sightings of the "green men" created by evil Dr. Lorca, and discovers that the doctor has also survived the previous film albeit with some severe facial burns and a renewed interest in creating green-blooded chlorophyll monsters using the local island inhabitants as his guinea pigs.

Foster and a hardy crew of local men set off through the jungle to Dr. Lorca's remote subterranean lair, accompanied by plucky lady reporter Myra Russell (Celeste Yarnall, LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE, "Star Trek: The Apple") and even pluckier island girl Laida (Liza Belmonte) who is as handy with a machete as she is beautiful.

Much of the first half of the film covers their trek through the jungle, which tends to drag a bit until finally we rejoin Dr. Lorca in all his mad-doctor glory. "Beast of Blood" kicks into fun-gear at this point, thanks mainly to the fact that Chlorophyll Man's decapitated head is being kept alive while his headless body is strapped to a lab table, also alive.

Lorca's laboratory set and its surrounding cave tunnels look like something out of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and give the movie a pleasantly low-rent science fiction vibe. But it's the horror of that really hideous animated head leering back at Lorca and baring its fangs, biding its time for a chance to get revenge, that gives these scenes a satisfying shudder.

As usual, Lorca keeps a fresh stock of native captives caged for his ghastly experiments, with the goriest scenes consisting of some actual animal entrails being sliced and diced by the mad doctor's scalpel under the camera's loving gaze.

The film's sex quotient is filled early on when Foster and Myra have a steamy sex scene containing quite a bit of nudity.  Soon after, Myra is kidnapped by Lorca's men and serves mainly as a damsel in distress, giving Foster and crew added incentive to descend on Lorca's compound bearing spears and guns in the film's delightfully action-packed battle royale.

The machete-wielding Laida is especially fine during this sequence, and even Myra gets a chance to impale a bad guy or two.  John Ashley fans will enjoy seeing him in James Bond/Indiana Jones mode as well.  But the best part is when Chlorophyll Man takes telepathic control of his headless body (in a finale reminiscent of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die") and goes after Dr. Lorca while the laboratory crumbles around them.

Visually, this Severin Films Blu-ray (available only as part of the "Blood Island Collection") is less refined and restored than the rest of the trilogy, but it's a look that I find deeply appealing in a nostalgic way.  Extras consist of the following:

Audio Commentary with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Celeste and the Beast: An Interview with Celeste Yarnall
Dr. Lorca’s Blood Devils: Interview with Actor Eddie Garcia
Super 8 Digest Version (approx. 15 minutes)
Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery

With no arthouse pretensions whatsoever, BEAST OF BLOOD simply wants to shock, appall, and exploit our basest entertainment needs, which it does in shameless earnest.  It's prime, joyfully perverse drive-in fodder, and I'd rather watch it than whatever they threw Academy Awards at this year.  


"Terror Is a Man", "Brides of Blood", and "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" can be ordered separately. "Beast of Blood" is available only as part of "The Blood Island Collection."  

THE BLOOD ISLAND COLLECTION (Severin Films) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/20/18

 

Sex and cannibalism--two great tastes that go great together.  That is, if that particular combination appeals to you.  And if it does, then you'll be in for quite a treat when you watch Joe D'Amato's 1977 Italian flesh feast EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS (Severin Films).

Finding a clue to a lost tribe of people-eaters deep in the Amazonian jungle, intrepid journalist Emanuelle (Laura Gemser, VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON, THE ALCOVE) heads south in the company of handsome anthropologist Prof. Mark Lester (Gabriele Tinti, who would co-star with Gemser in VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON and also marry her in real life).

Lester's young lady friend Isabelle (Monica Zanchi), a trader's daughter, agrees to take them and a nun, Sister Angela (Anne Maria Clementi), on a supply run to the isolated mission of a priest who knows about the lost tribe. 

During the trip, they're also joined by a gruff big-game hunter named McKenzie (Donald O'Brien) and his oversexed wife Maggie (Susan Scott), whose sexual dysfunctions--he's frustrated and impotent while she's a nympho making out with the help behind his back--add fuel to the film's dramatic fire.

Once we meet all the players, it's time for a long jungle trudge that's frequently interrupted by intense softcore sex scenes involving various combinations of characters. 

It quickly becomes apparent that these people have sex the way race car drivers have pit stops, and they're all in a constant state of arousal.  This leads to a few volatile exchanges, mostly due to McKenzie's jealousy, that play out like something from a steamy pulp novel.

But just when we think we're simply watching a jungle skin flick, in swoop the ever-stalking cannibals to make off with someone and stake them out for some maniacal dismembering, disemboweling, and devouring. 

While not entirely convincing, the graphic gore FX (often using actual animal entrails) are above-average for this kind of flick and those not already desensitized by frequent viewing of such cinematic atrocities will likely be properly shocked and appalled.

When Isabelle herself is kidnapped by the ravenous horde and made the main attraction in a horrific sacrificial ceremony, those who remain must undertake a desperate rescue mission in which they're vastly outnumbered. 

Still more blood 'n' guts cannibal action ensues, as well as a thoroughly unpleasant gang-rape sequence, after which the film's rousing finale takes place with a daring escape attempt that ends it all on a high note.

The cast of familiar genre stalwarts is in top form here, particularly the lovely Laura Gemser in her signature role as Emanuelle.  Despite some long stretches of repetitive hiking through the jungle and monotonous sex, the story manages to build to a suspenseful pitch in the latter half as things grow more hopelessly bleak for our main characters. 

D'Amato (BEYOND THE DARKNESS) handles the direction with his usual rough-hewn style, in which moments of placid sexual imagery are harshly juxtaposed with tawdry, stomach-churning gore. 

With that in mind, potential viewers should have no problem deciding whether or not this is their kind of movie. For those who are intrigued by the prospect of such horrific goings on, EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS delivers enough sex and violence to satisfy the most voracious appetites.


Buy it at Severin Films

Special Features:
The World Of Nico Fidenco: An Interview With Composer Nico Fidenco
A Nun Among The Cannibals: An Interview With Actress Annamaria Clementi
O’Brien MD: An Interview With Actor Donal O’Brien
From Switzerland To Mato Grosso: An Interview With Actress Monika Zanchi
I Am Your Black Queen: Laura Gemser Archive Audio Interview
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible Box Art
Italian and English/English captions

Reversible Box Art:

EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

DRIVE-IN MASSACRE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 (Originally posted 2/27/2017)

 

When a movie is described as "so bad, it's good", often the "it's good" part is solely up to the charity and goodwill of the viewer.  If you simply don't like bad movies at all, chances are DRIVE-IN MASSACRE (1976) won't appeal to you at all.  But if you qualify as a bonafide junk-film junkie, then this no-budget little effort will likely tickle your fancy in a big way even though, at times, it really does tend to get just a tad dull.

What it mostly does for me is to let me indulge in some good old-fashioned nostalgia and wallow in hazy, golden memories of things like drive-in theaters (natch), renting obscure VHS horrors from the local hole-in-the-wall video store (which is how most people probably first caught this one), and reliving those crazy wonderful early days of slasher flicks before the genre wore itself out through sheer repetition.

Like BLACK CHRISTMAS and THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (and before HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH), DRIVE-IN MASSACRE was right there on the ground floor of the slasher era, when poor but plucky filmmakers were still making up the rules and flying by the seat of their pants.

Here, of course, most of the film's shortcomings--limited funds, rushed schedule, less than stellar acting and dialogue, crude gore effects--are, in hindsight, what makes it so endearingly fun to watch. 

And speaking of gore, there's considerably less here than in the average H.G. Lewis movie, but what there is scores major fun points.  My favorite is the guy who leans out his car window to snag a speaker and gets his head cleanly lopped off by a samurai sword. 

Most of the kills happen to people sitting in their cars watching the drive-in movie, including a double skewering (later reprised in FRIDAY THE 13TH) and a sword through the throat which elicits a wonderfully expressive reaction from the actress (that's her on the poster).

While semi-competent police detectives Leary (co-scripter John F. Goff as "Jake Barnes") and Koch (Bruce Kimball as "Michael Alden") bumble their way through the murder investigation in seriocomic style, suspects include foul-tempered drive in manager Austin (Robert E. Pearson as "Newton Naushaus") and feeble-minded janitor Germy (Douglas Gudbye)--both of whom happen to have carnival experience working with knives and swords! 

(Note: all the cast aliases have something to do with SAG rules.)

There's also a perv named Orville (Norman Sheridan as "Norman Sherlock") who likes to creep around from car to car, peering in at the more amorous couples and--err--"gratifying" himself.  While we're busy keeping up with all the potential suspects and red herrings, much screen time is devoted to those couples yakking away (some of the dialogue is amusing) while the guy tries to score. 

Not all the action is confined to the drive in, however.  In addition to scenes of the two cops grilling people at the station or running down (literally) suspect Orville who flees an interview at his house, there's a lengthy detour in which another likely candidate gets cornered in a warehouse while holding a young girl hostage.

This nutty-looking psycho is none other than familiar character actor "Buck" Flowers (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE FOG), who, it turns out, co-wrote the screeplay along with Goff and director Stu Segall (as "Godfrey Daniels"). 

Buck's hostage here is his own daughter Verkina Flowers, and the cat-and-mouse sequence that follows her escape, while nominally entertaining, seems most likely intended to pad out the running time. 

This is also true of a long interlude in which former carnival geek Germy wanders through a brilliantly-lit carnival at night for several minutes while dialogue from earlier in the film wafts through his mind.

While the scene serves little purpose, it's beautifully photographed (looking particularly good in Blu-ray) and offers yet more nostalgia value, this time for the days when a carnival was just about the most fun place I could imagine being at.  Besides a drive-in, of course.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films (which boasts a cool reversible cover) is widescreen with 2.0 English audio and optional English subtitles. Severin comes through again with some cool extras which include an informative director's commentary, a trailer, and recent interviews with star/co-writer John Goff, actor Norm Sheridan, and director Segall. Despite some occasional imperfections (or, in my case, because of them), the picture is a joy to behold.

Many people, of course, will have no idea why this cheap little gore flick would appeal to anyone at all.  But if you're one of those to whom the very sight of the cover of DRIVE-IN MASSACRE elicits a giddy tingle of excitement, no explanation is necessary.  It's just plain fun, period.

DRIVE-IN MASSACRE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

The Amazing Tumbling Salad Bowl From "The Godfather" (1972) (video)

 

Of all the great performances in "The Godfather" (1972)...

 

...perhaps the least appreciated is that of Connie's incredible acrobatic salad bowl.

 

A tumbling run such as this would surely rate a "ten" at any dinner-table-related Olympics.

 

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. Music from the TV series "CHiPs."  I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

 

 

 

 

The Amazing Tumbling Salad Bowl From "The Godfather" (1972) (video)

Elmer Bernstein's Early Sci-Fi/Horror Themes: "Robot Monster" and "Cat Women of the Moon" (1953) (video)

Before scoring such classics as THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE GREAT ESCAPE, and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN...

...legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein supplied the music for the notorious turkeys ROBOT MONSTER and CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Elmer Bernstein's Early Sci-Fi/Horror Themes: "Robot Monster" and "Cat Women of the Moon" (1953) (video)

FULCI FOR FAKE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/28/20


 

For an unusual filmmaker such as Lucio Fulci comes an unusual approach to a screen biography, FULCI FOR FAKE (2019), which gets points for trying something new even though the attempt isn't always a success.

Writer-director Simone Scafidi, a longtime admirer of his subject, came up with the odd conceit of placing a fictional character, that of an actor hired to play Fulci in a fictitious film about his life, in the position of interviewing actual people from Fulci's life in order to lay the groundwork for his portrayal.

Thus, when we see Fulci's daughters Camilla and Antonella along with various friends and coworkers being interviewed by Scafidi, closeups of the actor are inserted asking the questions.  We also see occasional glimpses of the actor contemplating the role as he goes about his daily business.

For me, this unique form of presentation never really gels, and I began to view the actor segments as more of an intrusion than anything else. It's a cinematic affectation that doesn't really do anything to augment the actual interview material or the film as a cohesive whole.

Still, for Fulci fans the documentary material will prove priceless, as we're treated to extensive contemplations, ruminations, and revelations about the famed Italian film maestro by those who knew and loved him best.

Daughters Camilla and Antonella give the most intimate details of their father about whom they still get visibly emotional.  More essential perspectives on Fulci as a filmmaker and as a man are supplied by the likes of close friend Sandro Bitetto, film composer Fabio Frizzi, actor Paolo Malco (NEW YORK RIPPER), cinematographer Sergio Salvati (THE BEYOND, THE WAX MASK), director Michele Soavi, writer-producer Enrico Vanzina, and official biographer Michele Romagnoli.

The film is at its best when these notable personalities are waxing nostalgic about Fulci. Where I find it most lacking is in the almost total absence of film clips. We never get to see actual examples of the scenes to which the interviewees are referring, and the only visuals besides the talking heads consist of still photos and some home movie footage.

The narrative also tends to stray from the more interesting cinematic aspects of Fulci's life into less compelling areas such as his love for horses and even such trivial things as how unruly his hair tended to be. This results in some rather dry passages that don't really add much to the film.

More pertinent to many viewers will be details such as the making of the maestro's final film, THE DOOR INTO SILENCE, and his beginning work on THE WAX MASK (which was conceived for him by friend Dario Argento) during which he died due to heart complications.

In addition to this is some fascinating coverage of Fulci's most essential works in the horror genre during the late 70s and 80s, including AENIGMA, THE DEVIL'S HONEY, and ZOMBIE 3.

Perhaps the most fulfilling parts of Severin Films' Blu-ray edition of FULCI FOR FAKE (which is in Italian with English subtitles) are contained in the generous bonus menu, which contains Camilla Fulci's entire interview along with extra interview footage with Salvati, Frizzi, Malco, Soavi, Vanzani, and Romagnoli.

We also get more of those vintage home movies (with commentary by Fulci and Romagnoli) and audio recordings by Fulci himself. Rounding out the menu is some zombie footage from the Venice Film Festival and a trailer.

Scafidi himself reveals in a bonus interview that his docudrama isn't intended to be a comprehensive biography of Lucio Fulci--the internet now exists, he says, to fill interested parties in on such details--but is more of an esoteric celebration of the essence of the man. 

This makes watching FULCI FOR FAKE a rather fruitless pursuit for the uninitiated, while those already interested in and somewhat knowledgable about the subject should find it an enriching experience.

FULCI FOR FAKE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle