Friday, June 3, 2016

FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND / The Mount Company - 1990

It's Friday the 3rd, that mean it's time to check out this $11,500,000 production filmed in Italy, starring John (Caligula) Hurt and Raul Julia and directed by the man hisself, Roger Corman! It's a story based on a novel by Brian Aldiss, when the ultimate weapon which was meant to be safe to use develops side effects including time slides and disappearances, the scientist behind the project (Hurt) and his car are ripped from the year 2031 to 1817 Switzerland, where he finds Dr. Victor Frankenstein to collaborate with.

I have a sound clip for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our atomic lava lamp, NOW, Rufus The Gnat!.. Here's some... FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND!

John Hurt plays Buchanan, his death machine has some problems, a time rip shows up as a huge bizarre cloud that reaches across the sky.

Buchanan ends up in Switzerland in the year 1817, and, he meets Frankenstein's monster.

Here's Buchanan's futuristic car that ends up with him is Switzerland, it looks like a converted Nissan to me. Where the Hell's he going to find a freakin' gas station?!

The monster kills Frankenstein's fiancée by pulling out her heart!! So, Victor plans on bringing her back to life, the monster is now part of the lab crew and throws the switch.

This still cracks me up big time, these orbs were popular in the eighties and nineties.

You can hear in the sound clip where Victor cries out... She lives.. SHE LIVEEEES!..

What the Hell's wrong with you, man!! You call that shit living?!..

Then, the devious Buchanan tells Frankenstein... Now, meet my monster!!.. What a SOB!

The lightning charged up his death machine, he wants to return to the future...

But, it destroys the world instead, another miscalculation by the maniac.

The monster pulls off his arm and uses it to clobber Buchanan!

Buchanan then uses his insane machine to decimate the monster, interesting effects...

Anyway, Buchanan inherits a dead world, a just dessert!.. Check in tomorrow when Eegah!! dishes out another tasty Saturday Special serving.. Later, ya'll..

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

ROPE - Alfred Hitchcock - (1948)

 It's the first of June, it's already hot as Hell, and..........it feels like something is tightening around my throat!

 Tonight's classic thriller falls squarely into the department of "It's all been said before, it's just my time to say it!" But, if you just happen to be that one person who doesn't know about tonight's feature, but now you do, then my job is done!  

 I saw "Rope" as a student of film back in the mid seventies! My teacher couldn't stop babbling on about how the movie was shot in just one shot, and what a tremendous achievement that was, and you know what, he was absolutely correct! The only time they do a fade to another shot is when they had to change out the roll of film! It's really quite amazing!

 Why is this guy getting killed? It really doesn't matter because "Rope" isn't about something that happened, it's about lies and deceit!

Far ahead of the curve, "Rope" depicts a gay couple way back in 1948! It was also Alfred Hitchcock's first colour film! Many of the movies he made after this were still in black and white!

"Rope" is a stage play that goes against the grain of Alfred's total film philosophy that movies should be a montage! The small cast includes Edith (The Soul Of A Monster) Evanson as Mrs. Wilson, the maid!

The less than happy couple are John (Gun Crazy) Dall, and Farley (Strangers On A Train) Granger!

The guys murder their friend basically just to prove they can do it, leave his body in a chest in the living room, and then entertain their friends, and the victim's girlfriend, her ex, and the victim's family for dinner! Pretty sick! The girlfriend and her ex are Joan (Dragstrip Riot) Chandler, and Douglas (Waterfront) Dick!

Bernie Sanders, I mean Sir Cedric (Uncle Simon in the Twilight Zone episode "Uncle Simon Polk") Hardwicke as the victim's Father, and his sister Constance (Perils of Pauline) Collier show up for the party!

And so does the ever popular Jimmy Stewart, as Rupert, one of the guy's ex-professors!
They could have gotten away with it if they hadn't invited Rupert to the party, but they had to push it to the edge, and now, they have to pay!

The trunk containing the body is the centerpiece of the party, it's just that the guests don't know it!

No, it's not Jello Biafra's hat! It's the hat of the dead man handed to Rupert by mistake, and now it's time for all the lies to become truth!

Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is very difficult to find in "Rope!" Look out the window, and you'll barely be able to make out Alfred's classic silhouette as a flashing red neon light off in the distance!
If you'd like to know about each and every one of Alfred's cameos, there's an awesome site called The Hitchcock Zone that showcases them all with very cool screen caps!

So Rupert comes back and confronts the boys with the truth, and it doesn't take much imagination to figure out where it goes from there!
No shit, if you're looking for a bargain, I bought a 37 DVD Box set of Alfred Hitchcock films for 65 bucks from China on Ebay, and the quality has been quite good so far! It comes with Chinese sub-titles, but you can turn them off, and I can't even imagine what they think about it, but I'm pretty sure, in the next 50 years, we'll find out!

Monday, May 30, 2016

NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD / Xeromega - 1977

Here's a wild one, it was filmed in the bay area including Half Moon Bay, where we used to vacation back in the early sixties. The story's about disappearing attendees at a horror-film convention in San Francisco. It turns out that the guest of honor, Malakai, is a real vampire, and his henchmen are kidnapping the convention guests! A horror writer and an Israeli Nazi-hunter set out to stop him before everbloody's dead.

I have a sound clip for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our haunted coffins, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula!.. Here's a sample from... NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD!

A lot a time is spent in the San Francisco Comic Shop, our heroes' thinkin' spot. Ahh, the good old days, simple pleasures and plenty of that there eye candy!

Our guys end up on a local TV horror show to discuss the bloody murders.

Here's a warning for Eegah!!.. He's our resident golfer, and, many of his balls end up in the rough! I just want to let him know that there are maniacs out there just looking to slice up anybloody who loses their balls in the rough!!

Welp, in SF, if you're planning on hunting Draculas, you'll need this lightning bolt talisman!

Malakai sleeps in his coffin all day, then get's up to go work in his lab with his two little helper goons. There are always plenty of things to do, like...

Injecting this dude in the brain with a special double needled syringe... Fun stuff!

Our heroes use Malakai's own lab amenities against him and his pals, one dude gets a jar full of acid thrown on him! OUCHIE!!

Malakai gets the Star of David stuck to his head and he goes into freak out mode, looks like the little guy did the job!

But, to make sure, they bring in the big sharp stake to finish off the Dracula! Eegah!! takes the reigns on Wednesday, no telling what he will have for us, so, until then...

Saturday, May 28, 2016

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Boris Karloff (1957)

 I consider this to be a super "Saturday Night Special!," and any true lover of classic horror films will agree, no doubt!
Enjoy this modest homage to Dungeon Superhero Boris Karloff!

"This Is Your Life" was a 1950's 30 minute TV series that did just what the title suggested, a surprise retrospective of classic character's lives, a REAL reality TV show!

"This Is Your Life" was on from 1957 to 1961 and featured people like Dick Clark, Jayne Mansfield, Kirk Douglas, Jesse Owens, Connie Francis, etc., and on this particular night....

Mr. Boris Karloff!

The basic premise was that they would bring people on the show to be part of a surprise for somebody else, and then turn the tables on the unsuspecting victim! Boris was set up! They bring out an old an elementary school buddy from his past, Jeffrey Taylor, and they have a glorious nostalgic interchange!

Doesn't it just make you just feel good to see Boris Karloff smile?

Just to see Boris in all these classic shots is worth the price of admission!
There's no need for words!

Maybe I'm screwy in the head, but I just don't honestly think that there will ever be a group of people making movies to match the magnitude of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Peter Lorre, John Carradine, and Vincent Price! It would be like somebody running a mile in one minute, I just don't think it's possible no matter how much technology runs amok!

Makeup artiste extraordinaire Jack Pierce also shows up in a really neat sequence!
Jack Pierce did not only create Boris's makeup in "Frankenstein," he was also responsible for the makeup in "White Zombie," "The Mummy," "The Invisible Man," "The Black Cat," "Werewolf Of London," "The Wolf Man," "Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man," "Son Of Dracula," The Brain From Planet Arous," etc. etc. The list goes on and on!

With these five photos of Boris, I rest my case!

How awesome is it to see a photo of the man who was Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Ghoul, goofing on his wife!

In the last segment, Boris's daughter Sara makes an appearance!
I love this shot of Father and daughter together!
The best part is you can watch it for free, right here; it might just be some of the best 24 minutes and 53 seconds of your life!

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??