Audrey Rose

 I'm going to start off by saying that Robert Wise Directed this. Robert Wise of West Side Story, The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Sound of Music. A heavy hitter to be sure. And, it shows. The film is expertly crafted and that combined with the top shelf acting talents of Marsha Mason, John Beck, the young and talented Susan Swift and Sir Anthony Hopkins makes it a must see.





Audrey Rose reminded me very much of The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005). It's the story of a poor, little girl that perished in a car fire at age five. Her father,  Elliot Hoover, (Hopkins) believes that she's been reincarnated as eleven year old Ivy Templeton - the daughter of Janice (Mason) and Bill (Beck) Templeton. Nightmares and wild night fits as Ivy's birthday grows near has Janice starting to believe that Elliot Hoover may be right. Things spiral out of control and the Templetons find themselves trying to hold their marriage together and their daughter alive.

And, man, John Beck is kind of an arse in this. He's scared and angry that Hopkins has entered their lives. Understandable. His world falls apart upon his arrival.

This isn't a Paranormal Activity type ghost fest. This is more of a drama. At one point, a courtroom drama. The story is fantastic and the pace of things - while very 70s - is not disruptive. It actually helps with the overall drama of the story.

Susan Swift does an amazing job as eleven year old Ivy Templeton. She was thirteen at the time and held her own among the other powerhouse stars she was acting with in Audrey Rose. Her performance is riveting and believable. Disturbing as well - as a Father, it's crushing to see what her character goes through in this film. It pained me.

So, if you're looking for something spiritual or a drama that leans towards the paranormal with some fantastic acting and story based plot (instead of effects driven), then I highly suggest that you take a moment to view Audrey Rose.




The trailer is fun, but it makes the film look more like Carrie. With films like The Sentinel, Demon Seed and the horrid Exorcist II coming out in '77, they might have been trying to get in on the horror action.

Zombie Audrey Hepburn Cosplay

Zombie Audrey Hepburn Cosplay
http://geektyrant.com/news/2012/11/11/awesomely-disturbing-zombie-audrey-hepburn-cosplay.html

Some fantastic make-up effects. Gore-riffic! :)

The Brood

NOTE: Do yourself a favor if you are interested in this film, but no nothing about it - avoid a Google image search for it. There are major spoilers that pop up. 

Well, The Brood didn't wow me like Shivers and Rabid did.

A man comes to grips with his failing marriage as his wife works with a psychotherapist (Oliver Reed) to overcome deep emotional scars. Their child sees the mother one weekends, but otherwise, the wife is under strict seclusion as she works with her doctor.  So, if that's the case, who's killing people she gets angry with during therapy and what is the true "Shape of Rage"?

As Rabid and Shivers seem to deal with themes like sexuality, science gone wrong and sexually transmitted diseases, The Brood seems to deal with the dangers of therapy and the trauma divorce has one the family unit - especially the children involved. I'm just happy my divorce wasn't as traumatic as the relationship in this film is!

Oliver Reed is grand, as usual, as he chews the scenery and delivers his lines under his sleepy eyelids and Shakespearean cadence.  :::grin:::  So much fun to see him in these therapy sessions. Art "The Jaw" Hindle does well with his role as the Father trying to hold everything together, juggling being a single father, keeping his construction company going and dealing with his wife. And, I have to say that I COULD NOT STAND Samantha Eggar as the wife with baggage, drama and a mild bout of insanity. Not to mention other items that make her very unappealing. Her acting is great, mind you - that's not the issue I had. I think it just hit a bit too close to home for me personally, which I took as a sign that the film managed to hit that particular nail on the head. It seems very real.

While I enjoyed the film, it's pace and story didn't really do it for me. It has a sort of
set 'em up and knock 'em down" quality that didn't sit well with me. Eggar goes through her sessions and Reed makes her angry about someone, then that person is attacked by something really nasty and they are dispatched violently. After a while, there wasn't anything super new about the situation. I was just waiting for things to happen. This was partially because it was a slightly simpler film and I remembered most of the main points from seeing it years ago.

And the main plot point of the story wasn't as interesting to me. I think that that was due to it being more psychology based and "magical" rather than the science based (yes, albeit fantasy science! :) ) plot lines of Rabid and Shivers. I find it amazing that these films from the 70s (Brood - 1979) still kick the arses of many films made today. This is largely due to the talents of Cronenberg, obviously. It's fun to watch a Director's work like I've been doing - movie to movie in the order in which they were made.  You start seeing common themes and Director styles from film to film.

THE BROOD is still fun and interesting and very Cronenberg and I still say that it's well worth watching.

Check it.

They Came From Within / Shivers

Dear Mr. David Cronenberg,
You are one sick puppy. I love that about you.
Signed,  Malco


Wow.


Cronenberg has this way of making films that make your skin crawl. They Came From Within - aka Shivers (...and originally written as The Parasite Murders. Whew)  - is one of those films. A few scientists are trying to grow parasites that can do the work of human body organs. This will take organ transplants to the next level. Genius, right? Well, one of the scientists happens to be a bit of a madman and pervert. He thinks people do a bit too much thinking, so he tweaks the parasites so they make people randy and so that they can be transferred like a sexually transmitted disease.  So, you have a bunch of horny crazy folks with parasites in their bellies chasing after people. And, how the parasites get into the bodies is a whole other matter. Any port in a storm comes to mind. In a word - awesome. Not bad for a first, feature film with a 15 day shooting schedule and "inexpensive" and often first time actors, Mr. Cronenberg!

There are some really nasty, Cronenberg body horror scenes in here. Nasty business all around. The creatures are gross and the visuals are nutty as usual.  He handles the location well, too. It's this sort of lone apartment complex, so the parasites and crazies are all in one spot. It has the usual psycho-sexual element as well. The sexual component of the film can be a bit much for "shy" viewers. The parasite makes people go into fits of orgy madness. Be aware - it gets pretty....well...Cronenberg. Lot's of people being forced into bad situations - some involving children or young ladies acting as "teens".

Allan Kolman is are major "bad guy" in the film, but his menace was lost a bit due to the fact that he reminded me of David Schwimmer on Friends. Joe Silver is back from dealing with Rabid folks and now he's dealing with parasites with his great, New York accent and great character face. Barbara Steele graces us with some fantastic and odd screen time. Paul Hampton is our hero, but he's rather wooden and seems lost in thought most of the time. And Lynn Lowry.....:::sigh::::....Lynn Lowry.....uh...is in it, too as the heroine of the story. *ahem*. Ok...she's kinda beautiful. It's like watching an elf on screen. :::sigh:::    :)


Unlike Rabid, the pace gets a little strange at the halfway mark. We're in the building and all madness is breaking loose. We move from scene to scene waiting for things to happen to people. We know the crazies are rapidly out numbering the sane, but it takes a while to build to the third act. Of course, it's a hell-of-a-third act and well worth slogging around the complex a bit. Just when you think you know what to expect from these creatures, things get ramped up to new levels of Cronenbergian madness. The numbed and parasited masses are hard to fight.

This is a great piece of 70s goodness that puts many of today's genre films to shame. They can't hold a candle to this film. If you like creepy horror, you need to check this out for sure! While the sexual stuff is rampant, it's not gratuitous. It's a definite statement being made here. STDs and human nature. Science gone wrong. It's great stuff.



Oh....and Lynn Lowry is in it. ;)

Horror Music

Some good horror music for you. ENJOY!

THE WOLFGANGS - Cannibal Family



VOODOO ZOMBIE - PANDEMIA
A little Latin spin.

Reckless Ones - Dead & Gone


Psycho Charger - Channel 13


And...just 'cause I love it so much...

Psycho Charger - Blood!!! Shock!! Kill!!! Rock!!!

Rabid

I tossed Rabid on recently thinking that I'd half watch while doing other tasks. I remembered it being somewhat slow and very "70s" in it's pace. The fact that it was David Cronenberg didn't sway me - I was thinking that it was one of his early works and was just ok. I was wrong. It's really rather good.

We have the yummy,  "porn actress gone straight" Marilyn Chambers playing Rose, a girl who is badly injured in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend. She's trapped under the cycle and suffers some major injuries. The accident happens next to the Keloid Clinic - a plastic surgery clinic that is trying some new skin graft treatments. Needless to say, something goes really wrong with the procedure and the outcome and Rose is turned into a vampire-like creature with a need to feed. Her feeding - unique in and of itself - transfers a rabies-like disease into it's victims. Chaos ensues.

The great thing about Rabid is the build. We have a bad situation with Rose that causes an even worse situation that builds to a wild climax. Throughout we're treated to a great story that plays out well, interesting characters and acting that carries everything expertly. We also get to see some of that grand, David Cronenberg body horror madness. Medical creepiness and sickly body horrors that I found myself shuddering about from time to time.




Rabid isn't your typical 70s schlock. If you have not sen it or have not viewed it in a long while, you may want to check it out. It's bound to please.

Stacy: Attack of the Schoolgirl Zombies

Stacy: Attack of the Schoolgirl Zombies is just frucking strange. It's part of the ultra-violent and ultra-strange group of films like Machine Girl, Onechanbara and Helldriver. 

There's a madness to it. A fantasy element that removes it from the real world and places it into some cartoon-like funhouse filled with over the top gore and fountains of blood. I find that these films are so over the top that they don't really effect me like the SAW style of movie making, even though they are often far more violent.

There's not need to go into a lot of detail here. There's not much to be had. Suffice it to say that the world is faced with girls 15 to 17 dying then coming back as zombies. They call the zombies STACYs. Don't worry - there are ways to cope like having a BRUCE CAMPBELL RIGHT HAND 2 chainsaw hand available. Yeah, bonkers, yet fun.

Along the way there are scientists fighting the situation, a trio of harajuku fighters fighting the zombies and some strange love story aspect that I'm still not sure I fully understand. Add it all up and you get another one of these acid trip, Japanese gore fests that are just...so much fun.

If you like over the top gore and fountains of blood spraying, check this and the movies listed above out. Fantastic for parties, too. Pizza, beer, a few sick and twisted friends and these movies = Party.

:)