Monday, August 3, 2009

FRIGHTMARE - Stanley Myers - "The Cover Up" (1974)

From the pictures I've shown you here, you might think that "Frightmare" is just another 70's teen flick, but the truth of the matter is that it's a real bloody gorefest centered around a family that is a bunch of cannibals! I just don't choose to dwell on that part of it!

Everything changed forever in the 70's! Disco almost managed to kill music, you can just thank the lord we were saved by the punks!! Lucky for you, the music for this film is not disco and was composed by Stanley Myers! Stanley was a very gifted and prolific writer, who worked in the industry for a good 30 years right up to the time of his death in 1993! He supplied some of the music for Dr. Who and a ton of other TV shows, and a slew of classic dramas like "The Deer Hunter", "The Watcher In The Woods" and "Incubus."

Actually, this is a story of young lovers, Alec and Debbie, played respectively by Edward Kalinski, and the oh, so appropiately named Kim Butcher!!!

So the little tart Debbie tries to get Alec to beat up the bartender because he wouldn't serve her!! By the time it's all over, Alec is in deep shit!

Kim Butcher was in only one more film after this, "House Of Mortal Sin!" She might be the cutest little evil carnivore you ever met in your life, but at least she drinks her milk!!!

Debbie's sister Jackie played by Deborah Fairfax reminds me of what Sarah Palin would look like if she was actually as good lookin' as everybody thinks she is! When was the last time somebody lit up a cigarette sitting behind you at the movies? My, how time flies when you're having fun!!

Hey, where'd they get the relief picture of me? Send him in Coach!!

Jackie and Debbie's Mom like to do Tarot card readings for people, but for some damn unexplained reason, at the end of the reading, the Death card always comes up!!

Of course there's the gratuitous squishy mystery package that leaks blood!

And my favorite, the blue room!!

So here they are, like two little innocent peas in a pod! You just have to use your imagination to know what just happened or is going to happen! If you're a big fan of this genre, you know, if you're not, then you don't need to!! Psycho whack job Mom Dorthy Yates is played effortlessly by classic actress Shiela Keith who left us back in 2004.

Finally Jackie Yates finds out about her family what a lot of other people didn't live to talk about!!!

Not to forget or forgive the father in the family, Edmund Yates portrayed by fine, classic actor Rupert Davies! Edmund is kind of the fall guy, because he loves his wife, he'll do anything, and I mean anything, for her! Rupert is a story unto himself, having been an Officer during the war, shot down over German-occupied Holland, and ended up in Stalag Luft III, where he actually performed in an acting troupe! I do believe that's the same camp that "The Dead One's" creator Barry Mahon was incarcerated! I found it personally interesting that one of composer Stanley Myers' last films was titled, "Stalag Luft!"

That about sums it up! Bon Appetit!!

11 comments:

Christopher said...

yew BAHASTADS..called her a Taht did yas?!...Kim BUTCHER!

Darfish said...

Mmmmmm mmmmmm, I do love me a rare steak.

Prof. Grewbeard said...

drip...drip...drip...

Anonymous said...

Great story and song lyrics.



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TABONGA! said...

Weird, wood carving of Eegah!! ...Where they get that?

John Rozum said...

I'm putting together the list of this year's Halloween Countdown participants. Please contact me and let me know if you'll be taking part.

Greg Goodsell said...

Ah, yes, the great director Pete Walker. His classic anti-establishment horror films were a definitie treat! I composed an article on him back in the Eighties that appeared in DEEP RED magazine. DO check out THE COMEBACK, HOUSE OF WHIPCORD, HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN (aka THE CONFESSIONAL)!

David said...

Hi, saw this film for the FIRST time on Vintagemovies/Freeview. I am 62. Excellent review and summary of the plot. Did you mention Myers wrote the theme music and score for The Deerhunter (Robert de Niro) which many mistakenly attribute to John Williams who plays it on the guitar. Also the British scarie House of Nihtmares....and the really great 3 part mini-series adaptation of The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (Rock Hudson) with a stellar British/American cast. available cheap on DVD Amazon. Cheers David

Eegah!! and Tabonga! said...

Thanx David!!

funny.onion said...

I wonder why Kim Butcher didn’t make more films as she was very attractive and put in a good turn as a rebellious teenager in Frightmare.

EEGAH!! said...

Good question!

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