The ‘80s were filled with straight to video sequels of horror films of which the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise produced its fair share. This second sequel Part 3 Better Watch Out! Was the final story featuring the original “Santa Claus Killer” Ricky Caldwell (this time played by Bill Moseley) who has been kept alive through scientific experimentation. This Dr. Newbury (Richard Beymer) is using Caldwell and experimenting with ESP but doesn’t realize that Caldwell has created a psychic link with a blind woman Laura Anderson (Samantha Scully) who is celebrating the holidays with her brother and girlfriend. Caldwell escapes from Dr. Newbury and people get killed and that’s pretty much it for this film.
The ‘80s were notorious for slasher films that simply presented a killer that killed people for very little reason and that sums up the plot for this film. Written by Carlos Laszlo and directed by Monte Hellman, who directed the drive-in cult classic Two-Lane Backdrop, this film is a by the numbers slasher film on a very limited budget as neither the look of the film nor the kills are as elaborate or intricate as the previous two films. This film is only really for fans of the franchise. I can’t even recommend it to fans of Moseley as he has very little to do other than walk around like a mindless zombie the whole film. It is interesting to note that the film has an early appearance from actress Laura Harring (from Mulholland Dr. and the remake of Willard, to name a few films on her horror resume).
I remember seeing this film when it was originally released and I actually remember liking it (this film along with its brethren made for great holiday viewing every year) but the film has aged horribly (and was probably not all that good when originally released).
CITY GARDEN - "The Old Woman & The Park"
On the set of the short film "A Gift"
Showing posts with label Bill Moseley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Moseley. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
VAMPIRA: THE MOVIE - Remembering Maila Nurmi...
Maila Nurmi passed away early last year (2008) so it’s only fitting that I look at the 2007 documentary VAMPIRA: THE MOVIE by director Kevin Sean Michaels. Nurmi was best known to the public as Vampira, a bedeviled femme fatale of 1950s television as a host for obscure sci-fi and horror films. Modeled after the immortal Charles Addams character Morticia Addams, Vampira was decked in black hair and black clad clothing that made her look like she had no waistline. Nurmi on the other hand was a petite blond model who only wanted to earn enough money to become a traveling preacher.
Vampira was born out of Nurmi’s need to earn money to make her dream of becoming a traveling preacher a reality but her creation would soon have a life of its own. When Vampire appeared in the ‘50s no one had seen or experienced anything like her and in Michaels’ documentary he traces the beginning of Nurmi’s life and career as a horror-host icon through Nurmi’s own words. Nurmi, a recluse who disappeared from the spotlight long ago, is very candid about her life as Vampira with the ups and the downs. Vampira was a pop phenomena during her first year on television (sadly almost all of the episodes from her show have been lost but there are clips contained within this documentary) who was sadly fired and blacklisted when her contract (or written agreement as she likes to call it) was not renewed.
Nurmi recounts her mixed feelings and experiences on the infamous Ed Wood, Jr. film PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, which is what most of her fans are most familiar with (me being one of them since I’ve never had the pleasure of being able to view the show). She is very candid about the making of this film leading to a very revealing look into the mind that was Ed Wood.
Michaels also adds in a lot of interview footage from people whom Nurmi has influenced over the years from Forrest J. Ackerman, Kevin Eastman (creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Julie Strain, Sid (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES) Haig, Bill (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS) Moseley, writer David J. Skal , and Cassandra Peterson – aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the women that Nurmi tried to sue for infringement of copyright. The film is a unique look at a woman who had a profound effect on the horror-host identity to which many people of our current horror-hosts are indebted. Nothing can be more true then the opening of the film which has Count Smokula singing a song about Vampira. Now that’s a legacy if I ever saw one.
Vampira was born out of Nurmi’s need to earn money to make her dream of becoming a traveling preacher a reality but her creation would soon have a life of its own. When Vampire appeared in the ‘50s no one had seen or experienced anything like her and in Michaels’ documentary he traces the beginning of Nurmi’s life and career as a horror-host icon through Nurmi’s own words. Nurmi, a recluse who disappeared from the spotlight long ago, is very candid about her life as Vampira with the ups and the downs. Vampira was a pop phenomena during her first year on television (sadly almost all of the episodes from her show have been lost but there are clips contained within this documentary) who was sadly fired and blacklisted when her contract (or written agreement as she likes to call it) was not renewed.
Nurmi recounts her mixed feelings and experiences on the infamous Ed Wood, Jr. film PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, which is what most of her fans are most familiar with (me being one of them since I’ve never had the pleasure of being able to view the show). She is very candid about the making of this film leading to a very revealing look into the mind that was Ed Wood.
Michaels also adds in a lot of interview footage from people whom Nurmi has influenced over the years from Forrest J. Ackerman, Kevin Eastman (creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Julie Strain, Sid (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES) Haig, Bill (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS) Moseley, writer David J. Skal , and Cassandra Peterson – aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the women that Nurmi tried to sue for infringement of copyright. The film is a unique look at a woman who had a profound effect on the horror-host identity to which many people of our current horror-hosts are indebted. Nothing can be more true then the opening of the film which has Count Smokula singing a song about Vampira. Now that’s a legacy if I ever saw one.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Film Review: HOUSE (2008)
To say that the horror genre has been lacking this year is an understatement as the few that have performed well at the box office or have actually connected with audiences is few and far in between (the few being THE ORPHANAGE, PROM NIGHT, THE STRANGERS, and SAW V, to name a few) while others has simply gone ignored (i.e. THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY, MIRRORS, ONE MISSED CALL, THE EYE, and the list goes on). This new horror hodge-podge HOUSE (2008) is no different as it tries to present the complex ideas of the original Ted Dekker & Frank Peretti novel.
Screenplay by Rob Green, HOUSE is the story of two couples who after an automobile accident find themselves trapped in a nearby home that’s run by a delusion family with nefarious deeds on the mind. The film is filled with a cast of unknowns but is cluttered with B-movie horror starlets from Michael Madsen, Leslie Easterbrook, and Bill Moseley. Even they can’t help this muddled mess of a film. Although the film does a lamentable job of trying to stay in tune with the dying “torture porn” film movement it is too much too late as everything presented feels like it’s been done to death and with a characters that are less then interesting the film is at times a labor to seat through due to the abundance of clichés.
One of the film’s saving graces is Marcin Koszalka’s cinematography which gives the film the perfect horror film ambiance, which is probably why it was given a theatrical release instead of heading straight to the DVD waste bin (as most of this film’s B-movie starlets other films). There are some that will enjoy the “torture porn” aspects of the film but the lack of a coherent story (and characters that drive that story) will ultimately leave audiences empty.
Screenplay by Rob Green, HOUSE is the story of two couples who after an automobile accident find themselves trapped in a nearby home that’s run by a delusion family with nefarious deeds on the mind. The film is filled with a cast of unknowns but is cluttered with B-movie horror starlets from Michael Madsen, Leslie Easterbrook, and Bill Moseley. Even they can’t help this muddled mess of a film. Although the film does a lamentable job of trying to stay in tune with the dying “torture porn” film movement it is too much too late as everything presented feels like it’s been done to death and with a characters that are less then interesting the film is at times a labor to seat through due to the abundance of clichés.
One of the film’s saving graces is Marcin Koszalka’s cinematography which gives the film the perfect horror film ambiance, which is probably why it was given a theatrical release instead of heading straight to the DVD waste bin (as most of this film’s B-movie starlets other films). There are some that will enjoy the “torture porn” aspects of the film but the lack of a coherent story (and characters that drive that story) will ultimately leave audiences empty.
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