Tuesday, March 30, 2021

NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast Episode 11 - Do You Want To Scan a Skimble? (Just Press Play)

Film's Researched for this Episode: Rabid (1977), Naked Lunch (1991), The Pit and the Pendulum (1991), A History of Violence (2005), Rabid 2019, and Frankenstein (2015).

Curse this foul, photogenic fluffball

NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast

Episode 11: Do You Want To Scan a Skimble?  (Just Press Play)

Read more: https://html.com/media/#ixzz6jIeBsAn5

After finally finding a PlayStation 5 (Meijer's hides them) and getting a COVID-19 vaccination, I really cannot complain about not being able to secure a guest for this week's episode of the podcast. Believe me. I tried (To rant and secure a guest). It took recording three introductions, and by the third one, the societal anger had all but worn out.

Which is sad, because Tubi really needs the negative press for promoting Fox News even though these ads showed up while I was watching Stuart Gordon's adaptation of "The Pit and the Pendulum". If you wanted an appropriate feature to advertise Christian hate, a film about the Spanish Inquisition would be the ironic choice.

But is it not bad enough for Tubi to promote an anti-vaxxer's show. Here is to hoping Ken Jeoung can correct her politics. He is still a doctor, right?

I could go on about other anti-democratic propaganda like where am I going to eat breakfast, which I will rant on about at the bottom of this post. When my podcast involves the "adaptation" of William S. Burroughs's "Naked Lunch" and the ironic take on Middle America that is "A History of Violence", to continue ranting about politics to promote this blog seems pointless.

This blog explores David Cronenberg films I have watched or rewatched recently. It actually turns out to be quite poignant when I investigate 1977's "Rabid" and the Soska Sister's re-imagining from 2019. They both serve as accurate prediction's of the American response to COVID-19. You end up admiring the Canadians for learning from their art. They do not have the mess that is occurring to their southern neighbors.

And to further investigate the American attitude, "Ally's Accessories Shop's Trash Film Reviews" provides us with a take on "Candyman" director Bernard Rose's modern re-imagining of "Frankenstein". With Tony Todd on board for that ride for some racial abuse, you know you have an intriguing feature concept that only wretched monster makeup may hinder.

I hope you enjoy this brief edition to NinetyForChill.com - The Podcast. A guest has been lined up for next Tuesday's episode, so the migration to Spotify will definitely be worth it. Thanks for visiting and listening.

No cats were scanned in the making of this episode.

 

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Buzzfeed - 15 Mensajes de texto que nadie quiere recibir

Georgia businesses need to take a hit for their state's racist voting laws, but all the best fast food places serve Simply Orange Juice which is a Coca-Cola subsidiary. There comes a point where I can no longer eat Chick-fil-A's delicious hate chicken. Of course when you look at the states that fast food chicken represents (Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky) this fowl may deserves Lance Henriksen's wrath. It is almost like these birds are the spawn of Satan. If only I was not an atheist, then I would lack the guilt for funding the fascism.

 

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The Criterion Collection -   David Cronenberg Naked Lunch
 


 

Essential: My Careers, Yes. Lockdown, Yes. "Demon City Shinjuku", Maybe

*Blog started on March 24, 2013.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. My two jobs have both been deemed essential. Unfortunately, a lack of computers with Internet browsers at the retailer and catching up on how things will operate with two less hours (those still being paid thankfully) means that the Monday blog did not even get started.

So again Morrisey confirms that he is a dick. He lied, everyday feels like Monday. With an ex-girlfriend whose job has deemed unessential, everyday will be silent and grey. That may be a bit of hyperbole. Actually, it is a fuck up because I thought the lyric was "everyday feels exactly the same". I guess I am the dick. How dare I not pay close enough attention to Moz.

It is a good thing that my secondary website (MainEventOfTheDead.com), NinetyForChill.com is dedicated to shorter movies. The only problem I have is it takes so much time to find them through all the streaming services. Amazon Prime has come through for me many a time when it comes to haste, but with on-demand Rifftrax, finding these less than 90-minute gems makes me feel like I am missing something, besides "Fleabag". It is still offers plenty of the familiar, especially in terms of the post-apocalyptic, so "Demon City Shinjuku" seemed right for a revisit.

IMDB.com - Demon City Shinjuku (1988)

Demon City Shinjuku

Since the film suggests peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, lets just say in the not too distant future, the primary district of Tokyo, Shinjuku, is a wasteland controlled by vile lowlifes and vengeful spirits. This was the result of a pact made between the demons of hell and Rebi Ra, a practitioner of the chi-dependent martial art of Nenpo who envies any human that possesses more power than him. As a result of his rival Genichiro's sacrifice in battle, the district was separated from the rest of the city, but once Ra regains his strength, the world is doomed.

10 years later, the world's president Kozumi Rama and daughter Sayaka come to visit Japan for the first time. Upon arriving, a bouquet of flowers meant to welcome the president turns out to be a trap from Ra. This attack requires Ra's former master Aguni Rai to be at the president's side as protection, so it seems that no one will be able to stop him from fulfilling his pact with Hell. The only person who may have the knowledge and skills of Nenpo to contend with him is Genichiro's son, Kyoya.

Kyoya was barely a teenager when his father disappeared, and had no time to master Nenpo. Since this seemingly makes him no match for Ra, why should he sacrifice his life only to change nothing? His reluctance to take on the war he just now became aware of seems steadfast, but if he will not go, Sayaka is more than willing to take the task on herself. He cannot just let the girl do this on her own, so despite his better judgment, he will go to war with a realm of demons. Fortunately for him, there are demons and residents who are opposed to Ra's rule, but will that be enough to survive and restore the Monster City?

"Demon City Shinjuku" is the fourth feature by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. If there is any director who I associate with all the negative stereotypes of anime (graphic violence and excessive nudity), it would be him. That maybe an insult to him because I think he has one of the most notable character designs in the industry. But this design serves as a warning that an anime may go over the top in a hurry.

"Demon City" is definitely one of his more restrained features. The first version of this feature that I saw was on the SciFi Channel in the late 1990's. Revisiting it kind of shocked me at moments of blatant sexualization of women, but it turned out that these took nothing away from the story. It leaves you wondering if there was much to take away from to begin with.

The OVA's narrative is rather straight forward and you can tell that they crammed the original novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi into this 82-minute package. Action sequence after action sequence just happens, and that totally takes away from the quest that an unlikely hero is suppose to experience. When it comes to the action, aside from the first demon battle, there is not much to it as a well-placed blow will solve any problem.

There are some great scenes that show you how to cut corners, but only if you want to know how to make a cartoon on the cheap would make this film worth studying. That is kind of a shame because for the year it was made, 1988, it might be the best-looking anime outside of "Akira" and Studio Ghibli. As I said, this was done on the cheap, so I really would like to see another/updated take on "Demon City Shinjuku." At least a version with a English dub that is not used as a voice acting exercise for its cast.

If you can watch "Demon City Shinjuku" with subtitles, this is worth a watch. Too bad finding a free version of that is going to be a challenge. $3.99 for misplaced poor Mexican and British accents is too much.


 

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast Episode 10: Skimble Dies at the End (Just Press Play)

Films Researched for this Episode: Phantasm III (1994), Phantasm IV (1998), and John Dies at the End.


NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast

Episode 10: Skimble Dies at the End (Just Press Play)

Read more: https://html.com/media/#ixzz6jIeBsAn5

I suggested doing a podcast about the "Phantasm" franchise. Kodiak Thompson wanted me to investigate the schizophrenic nature of "John Dies at the End". All of these features are from Don Coscarelli, perhaps the best auteur when it comes to affordable horror, so it was not hard to meet in the middle.

John Dies at the End notes

With the exception of his attempt to be a genre director, the American sword-and-sandals movie and HBO stable "The Beastmaster", all of Coscarelli's features come in at under 100 minutes. His filmography only features 11 full-length films (If you include "Phantasm V: Ravager" which he only wrote. Did this inspire Quentin Tarantino to want to stop directing after 10 movies?) and five of them make up the franchise that inspired the design of J.J. Abrams's Captain Phasma from the "Star Wars" sequels, so it should have not been overly difficult to cover his hits. We do skip his family-friendly work before he introduced us to Angus Scrimm's legendary "Tall Man" and we failed to address the conceptually awesome collaboration of him and Lance Henriksen, "Survival Quest". I guess I have another name to apologize to along side Michelle Wolf and Ken Foree...

...and homosexual Muslims. I am sorry for our little tangent about the Starz series "American Gods" when I said that people find it difficult to get into because they do not want/need to see a three-minute gay sex scene. To say that is insulting to the people behind the series and this American minority that might really appreciate the representation.

Some other tangents we go off on include one about Alan Tudyk. Another is how feeding a man into a wood chipper seems to be an indication of great cinema. This all stems from us just mentioning "The Beastmaster", so the 90-minute podcast (nice) fits the non-linear storytelling method that Coscarelli masterfully delivered upon in "John Dies at the End".

Twighlight - The NotesThere are just three other regrets that stem from this episode. First, I failed to bring up the last horror film that I saw which featured the late great Angus Scrimm, "I Sell the Dead", a comedy that is centered around a conversation between Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman. Secondly, I should have asked what Kodiak thought of rebooting the "Phantasm" franchise with Clancy Brown as the Tall Man. And the third regret, taking the time to watch "Twilight" based on @QuidPro_joe's suggestion. That cost me a rewatch of "Ravager" aside from me feeling that the success of the books should have told us all that we should have done more for teenage girls' self esteem during the Bush era.

Needless to say, it will be nice to return to "Ally's Accessories Shop's Trash Film Reviews" instead of further investigating "Twilight: New Moon". Then again, I do have a free Rifftrax for that film.

I hope you enjoy this episode and if you want to be a guest on the podcast, send your movie, theme, director, or actor suggestion to russthebus07@gmail.com. Just focus on sub 100-minute movies. Distance is not an issue. It seems Zoom recordings take up less memory than memory than Audacity audio.

Thanks for the visit. Enjoy.

Monday, March 22, 2021

90-Min Tubi: "The Lair of the White Worm" - Snakes versus Scots

  *Blog post started on March 5, 2021.

I have been trying to makes things better for myself, but the gatekeepers are not budging. And to think, I almost thought I could finally have an excuse to leave weekend retail.

The sense that I need to make connections is driving me nuts. As I type that, the feeling that my blog "Forty Years Is Enough" may as well have been a suicide note. Nothing has happened to me over the past year, so it feels like I may as well be dead. There is "NinetyForChill.com - The Podcast", but with the difficulty to line up guests, can I keep that up. Sadly, AAW is not looking to start a podcast. Or an interview guy to abuse. Like Sarah Shockey is willing to be thrown into walls to get a heel over.

My hopes for connection are kind of stuck on intrigued Snapchat "friends" to give the podcast a chance. Eva and Skimble have at least opened communications, but judging the lack of dates from my prior app use, expecting people to dedicate an hour to just bullshit about movies is ill advised. There is just seemingly no way to get anyone to take a chance on me. I guess Skimble's one-eared charm is not enough.

Perhaps Skimbleshanks needs to be replaced. If I need to replace my ward, maybe I should just sacrifice him. Do eunuchs count as virgins? Do I want to abandon my atheistic views to appease imaginary beings just because it may be fun? If the results are as crazy as "Dagon" or "The Lair of the White Worm", how can one not be tempted?

I brought up the latter film to some coworkers received a not so surprising response of, "Where do you find these movies?" Am I the only person who does not consider the algorithm's suggestions? With a title like "The Lair of the White Worm", how do you not click on it? Once you see that it stars Hugh Grant before he was HUGH GRANT and Peter Capaldi (The Twelfth Doctor) in an obviously campy flick, how can you not place this in your queue?

I did not even need to consider that it was directed by Ken Russell of "Altered States" and "Tommy" fame. With that said, "The Lair" tells me I need to give the prior of those films a watch.

"The Lair of the White Worm" (1988; 1 hour 33 minutes)

The only late winter excitement in Debryshire is usually the annual party to celebrate how the Lord of d'Ampton Manor slayed the a serpent god who was feeding on the locals nearly 1000 years ago. This year is going to be different with the arrival of Scottish archeological student Angus Flint's arrival at the Mercy Bed and breakfast. He has done some excavating and discovered a giant lizard's skull.

It cannot be a dinosaur since he was able to locate it along side the remnants of a 1000-year old Roman church. What makes this even stranger is that the church's art work seems to indicate that the Christians from Rome were trying to incorporate their fate with a regional snake god. Has he discovered the remains of the d'Ampton Worm? With a rash of snake bites and disappearances, even the current lord of the manor, James, thinks the legends might be true.

To further escalate the queerness, Lady Sylvia March has returned home for the season. With all the excitement and a possible break in the missing persons case of the B&B's parents, Sylvia steals the skull and leaves a hallucinogenic trail of HER venom at the house. It turns out that she is a priestess to the snake god Dionin, and now is the time for sacrifices to him.

After one of the sisters goes missing, a year after their parents vanished, Angus and James decides they better forgo logic and take on this ancient evil on their own. Angus has his bagpipes and James has his sword and Turkish snake-charming records, whoever is most clever will likely win the day.

I can see why flipping channels would not help this flick out. If you come into "The Lair of the White Worm" just looking for a film to watch and before Lady Sylvia is introduced, this feature would come across as just a cheeky sounding Britcom. To count the times I flipped from "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Are You Being Served?" would be a futile task. Fortunately, this is a brief picture, so if you hit info on the cable box and stick with it, the sheer craziness makes this feature irresistible.

This is from the director of "Tommy", so maybe the film was better served to have a visually stimulating overture, but that is the only change I would consider. Oh to see Capaldi pantomiming.

The odd visuals keep you invested until Amanda Donohoe's cynical seductress in Lady Sylvia controls the narrative. Ken Russell really only has one scene until that point that displays his talent and hearkens back to "Tommy", but his obnoxious cuts to video like dream sequences and the absurdity of his set pieces makes sure you know his controlled madness is driving this picture.

I find the real strength is Russell's script that sets up for all of the wackiness. The film is dealing with snake vampires, but instead of treating them like vampires, he commits to treating the villains like serpents. These serpents are susceptible to all the animal training tricks and it is a blast to see our heroes fight them off as if they were being driven to the sea.

On top of these snake exploitations, Russell does not forget how phallic these reptiles are. Be it a naked Donohoe with a codpiece or Grant's pen rising as his arms are tied to his side, the director demands that you to know that this film is suppose to be sexy. Humorous, but sexy none the less. It leaves me thinking that Russell may have been too old for his appropriate entertainment medium. That perfect medium for him would have been music video or narrative porn.

"The Lair of the White Worm" is near perfect camp. It never takes itself too seriously while being intriguing enough to keep the viewer invested. I would say that it is more comedy like a Joe Dante horror film than it is scary, but by treating the darker genre with a silly nature, one can imagine the laughs and gore that could be had with more resources behind this feature. The ending is left slightly open, and I would not mind more snakes versus kilts.

 

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

The Podcast - Episode 9: A Very Special $15 Episode (Figuratively)

 Films Researched for this Episode: Care Bears - The Movie (1985), DuckTales - The Movie (1990), and Underwater (2020).

Eva seems ready for a genuine logo to the podcast

NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast

Episode 9: A Very Special $15 Episode (Figuratively) (Just Press Play)

Read more: https://html.com/media/#ixzz6jIeBsAn5

@QuidPro_Joe returns to the podcast with a discussion about animated television shows which received adaptations/extensions to the big screen. He originally typed (I do not know if he meant it), "animated movies based of tv shows".

Joe did provide me with examples like "Transformers" and "Care Bears", but technically, the statement left the door open for films like "The Addams Family (2019)". Fortunately, in this case, our similar tastes avoided this feature. My apologies to the parents who allowed for such a toothless feature concept to be shown in 1.85:1. You will be excluded this week.

My guest this week is 10 years my junior, so we have a nice dynamic for this episode. I come at the topic from the establishment of this genre as solely being a means to introduce new toy lines (Care Bears, Transformers, GI Joe) while Joe offers incite from the Nickelodeon and Disney kids TV renascence inspired by the rise of Cartoon Network. "Duck Tales" serves as the middle ground.

Of course, as adults, we do tackle "The Simpson's Movie" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut", where we express our awe in how those movies did so much while both being under 90 minutes in runtime. We also tackle how the gradual death of physical media has affected viewing preferences. Just a heads up, there is going to be a "Star Wars" rant.

And since we are talking about animation, we do tackle the current "controversies" in regards to "The Space Jam" sequel. If you want to know about first animated crushes, this is the podcast for you.

Let me be up front with you. This episode is the longest podcast that I have released. Compared to many of the podcast that I listen to (ID10T, Marty & Sarah Love Wrestling, Screen Drafts, The Rewatchables), the runtime is still short, but if you like the brevity of what I have previously produced, let me know with an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

With that email address, you can also offer me suggestions on what subjects we/I should tackle in upcoming episodes. I will always appreciate requests to be a guest on the show. If you have a director, actor, or theme that you think you can offer at least a half hour of content on, lets chat.

Thanks for visiting NinetyForChill.com. Enjoy.

 

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Good Game Report Merch Shop

An Inadvertant Jeff Goldblum Shrine and the Under Appreciated "New Mutants"

  *Blog post started on January 12, 2020.

And of course the podcast drop ruins the blog dropping schedule. I cannot really add additional NinetyForChill.com posts once the latest podcast is released. Cannot have visitors scrolling to find the play button.

In case you have not heard about the first episode of "NinetyForChill dot Com: The Podcast" finally dropping. Feel free to hit play below to hear "Ally's Abbreviated Anime Adventure".


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There are a lot more podcasting issues. Right now, I am waiting on my older sister to listen to the first episode to determine if her reputation would be besmirched if she was to be the the next guest. It is tough for me to comprehend. Not that she wants to make sure she will not humiliate herself. My initial pitch was a Jeff Goldblum theme, and she is the Jurassic Jeff Jezebel

 


Mad Dog Time (1996)

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Too bad I do not mean to post this blog till tomorrow (I think). This homage to the Tyrannosaurus Pecs may have sold big sis on doing the pod. Why do I always fail to think of the bribery angle?
 
Speaking about bribery, there was an article that I came across discussing how Disneyland will become a mass-vaccination site for COVID-19. If the concept of an "X-Men" horror movie was not going to sell you on seeing "The New Mutants", perhaps protection from the premier plague would.
 

The New Mutants (2020; 1 hour 34 minutes)

Dani Moonstar wakes up handcuffed to a bed. Her last memories were seeing her reservation devastated by some monstrous beast. The first person she meets upon waking is Dr. Reyes. Reyes seems a compassionate person, which makes immediately telling Dani that it was a tornado that devastated her people and that she was the sole survivors a little bit easier.

On top of this, she is told that they discovered she was a mutant when they rescued her. This is news to Dani and what makes things more frustrating is that she is presumed dangerous. Because of this, her new home is a hospital for new mutants who need to be taught to control their powers. Her fellow patients all carry similar emotional damage, having hurt someone once they discovered their powers. There attitudes may also be affected by the force fields that ensure they cannot leave the facility.

With this stigma, it is tough to see them end up becoming heroes, but if they follow Reyes's treatment plan, the doctor suggests that they can move on to Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Once Dani had arrived though, they may not get a chance to finish the treatment. At night, all of the kids are experiencing past nightmares based on their power manifestations, but in the flesh. This could be a means for them to find out what really is going on at this facility. Reyes is so focused on realizing Dani's powers, it is the ideal time to snoop around for secrets.

"The New Mutants" is a great PG-13 horror movie. It may have benefited from an R-Rating when it comes to some of the trauma the kids had experienced in the past and to flush out the romantic relationships, but that could also mean it just needed a longer runtime.

Unlike previous films in the "X-Men" franchise, there are not any break out characters. This might be the biggest reason that critics and fans felt let down by this feature. If you just watch it as an 80's horror film with a disposable cast, it works out well. Break out performances would have lead to screams for Disney to keep this portion of the franchise alive, but I feel the references to films like "Logan" allows it to fit into the X-Men Universe and reason enough to continue pursuing this mutant line up. This is an origin story that I think could only be improved upon.

I felt that the dream monsters element allowed it to feel a bit like the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street." It definitely is not on the same level because there is not a charismatic antagonist from the nightmares (though Alice Braga as Reyes works as a conflicted villain). Fortunately, having a diverse team of characters gives it more range in terms of victims to antagonize, something Wes Craven's series lacked.

On the flip side, the character diversity can come across as ridiculous. The non-white characters are represented well. As for the English actors trying to give this film a multi national flare: "Game of Throne's" Maisie Willliams has a Scottish accent (Adrian Paul it is not.). "The Queen's Gambit's" Anna Taylor-Joy has a Russian accent (Halle Berry eventually gave up the West African accent for Storm.). "Stranger Thing's" Charlie Heaton tries a southern accent (It comes of as any random Brit trying an American accent.). This all comes across as tacky, but it is a horror film, so it is excusable.

There is nothing exceptional about "The New Mutants", but it works as a brief full-length feature. Curse the studio interference because I would have loved to see what the original product was. It does an excellent job of playing up horror movie tropes while maintaining the fun vibe of an "X-Men" film that works (so not "X-Men III", "Apocalypse", or "X-Men Origins"). It is probably a certainty that "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" will do all of this better, but with a year to wait on that, "The New Mutants" is the darker Marvel movie I needed after an overly charming "Spider-Man."

90 Min. Netflix DVD - "Castle Freak" - All the Gore with Fewer Bodies

 *Blog post started on January 22, 2021.

It is a good thing that I have started "NinetyForChill.com - The Podcast" because I have blown my annual resolution of eating something with Buffalo seasoning everyday. The main issue with this is that it throws off my diet. I did not buy much food because I would need to eat out every other day to make it work.

Stuart Gordon could be waistline savior for those who have a weaker stomach. Maybe after seeing a hole carved out of my wrist with pins sticking out of it (WRESTLING! YAY!!!), I can take about anything visually. Perhaps I need to rent some more French Extremism to shake this invulnerability, or I just need to stop cheering for directors to go for the bad taste reactions. Being a direct-to-video feature, "Castle Freaks" is a limited experience for fans of "Re-nimator" and "From Beyond", but makes sure to give the audience the shocks that you expect and push the boundaries of what they are allowed to enjoy. That does not necessarily mean the feature has is good, but if cat and boob mutilation perk your ears up, this film may be worth a view.


Castle Freak (1995, 1 hour 35 minutes).

The Riley family has fallen on hard times. It has been nine months since the patriarch, John, was drunk behind the wheel and was involved in an accident that took his five year-old son's life and blinded his 16 year-old daughter Rebecca. They may have gotten a break when they are informed that they had just inherited a castle in Italy.

Of course, this castle is considered haunted. The duchess who lived their never left the premises after her five year-old son died. This was shortly after John's father left her and returned to the United States with her younger sister. Stories of wailing at night that can be heard through the castle halls do not help the properties reputation.

John does not plan to relocate to Italy, he is just looking to liquidate the assets. The simplicity of this task is quickly lost after Rebecca wonders off during his inventory to follow a cat into the dungeon and crypt. Believing she heard someone, her investigation inadvertently unleashes the Castle Freak.

The home is quickly cursed by strange occurrences mainly centering around Rebecca. John's overbearing wife believes her daughter has an overly active imagination, but as John investigates these happenings, he starts to unravel a dark tale about his parentage and how the duchess's son never died even presuming that she kept him alive to torture the past 40 years. One can only imagine the anger and vengeance that seethe in the mind of this newly freed monster. 

The title delivers exactly what it promises. "Castle Freak's" story really expounds upon the simple premise and is a classic in terms of body horror and the family-related horror that is becoming the current rage in cinema. Like the Italian horror legends, Stuart Gordon captures everything he wants you to see despite the 4:3 aspect ratio.

It is difficult to pin down anything this film does wrong. This is not high art nor is it cinema with a capital C. This feature is a solid, brief story which does harken back to the concepts of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft would give you a scenario and left the story to the audience's imagination. "Castle Freak" is not a Lovecraft adaptation like his two undeniable classics, but Gordon flushed this out from only seeing a poster in the producer's office (that producer being Charles Band of "Arena" fame). He saw a freak locked in a dungeon, and created a marvelous narrative.

The film benefits from the established chemistry between the lead actors, Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton (who were also leads in the classics) and I think it is a shame that this is the last performance of Jessica Dollarhide who portrays the confident and caring Rebecca. You may complain about the Italian cast being there solely to become corpses, but that means no chemistry required. This is how no budget cinema thrives.

The most intriguing chemistry may come from how the Freak interacts with the starring cast. This maybe more of a story element, but from the beginning of the feature, you know the Freak has a reason for his actions. What is most important is the Freak trying to be human. It never works out, but he is not entirely evil.

He is definitely somewhat evil. I know why the cat has an awful fate, but killing our mewing masters will always tick me off. At least Dario Argento gives the felines vengeance.

If mutilated pets is not going to upset you, the Freak actions might. This feature likes to mix all kinds of vices, and the mixture is always messy. It may come off at chauvinistic, but I do not think you can argue the realism of the monster's actions. This would just be a French monster story that can be romanticized without them. Renting this title must mean you are here for the horrific. Do not complain about it.

"Castle Freak" is a horror movie for fans of the genre. Those who do not like graphic and nearly unthinkable violence need not view. That is sad because it is a brilliant take on stories like the Hunchback and the Phantom. Stuart Gordan could take any classic story premise and flush it out into something all his own.

This is a display of gore horror fans want without any unnecessary narrative to endure. "Castle Freak" is a classic from a horror master that fans of the genre owe to themselves to view.

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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

The Podcast - Episode 8: The Brilliance of Stuart Godon, The Madness of Russ Stevens

Films Researched for this Episode: Robot Jox (1989), Daughter of Darkness (1990), Castle Freak 1995, Dagon (2001), Eternal Damn Nation (2015)


NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast

Episode 8: The Brilliance of Stuart Gordon, The Madness of Russ Stevens (Just Press Play)



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Thank you Stuart Gordon for creating nothing but gems that I am proud to promote. Too bad he passed away before I could get a chance to tell him to quit picking on cats and Downstate Illinois. Yes, Chicago is where I want to be, but I will not forget that I was Peoria Made. Daisy from "John Wick" was asking for it. A feline would have stayed out of Iosef and his gang.

The lesson this week is to always keep coming up with content. I ponder when I am going to get sick of that. Thanks to these little extra steps when it comes to documenting nearly every "new to me" movie I have watched since September of last year has allowed me to provide a somewhat genuine episode of the podcast. It is almost like I never missed a beat.

Of course there were some misses. I was unable to line up a new guest this week and that scramble was really frustrating for me. This is where I would say, "If you have been keeping up on my blog posts at MainEventOfTheDead.com," but there has been a back log since I am prioritizing promoting the podcast. With that said, some restructuring of my promotion schedule will be taking up my downtime today at work. That defeats the bringing "Pokemon White 2" to the bank, but content creation needs to be a constant in my life.

Creating content at least means I am doing something and have something to offer for my readers and listeners to invest in. But to be frank, I am still perplexed on how much less effort certain people put in to something to get people to invest in them. When you take in account how some of them treat others, their success can seem maddening. My forties outside of the podcast have sucked so far, but this is a theme to my adulthood. It is making life seem pretty pointless, especially when I have not asked for a cent.

I have only asked for advice on how to produce and opinions on my treatment for my pro-wrestling, zom-com Z-movie "Main Event of the Dead". 20 minutes of time is all I ask. If you want to offer that up, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

Needless to say, watching and pondering how the hell this week's addition of "Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/allysaccessoriesshop)" offering of trash cinema, "Eternal Damn Nation" was ever produced, did not help my state of mind. I guess "Brain Damage Films" thinks just producing content, regardless of quality, will pay for itself. Perhaps I need to get off my high horse and abandon wanting to create worthwhile material.

This is going to be a quick podcast and I promise to provide you with some great conversation next week. In other words, I do not have enough David Cronenberg material to devote 25 minutes to...unless I just pull all the references from the past episodes. Let me know if you want to hear The Poetic Critic talk about Jeff Goldblum killing cat monkeys again.

 

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 www.madduckposters.com - Re-Animator - Frankenstein Homage - Vintage Variant



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