Halloween Horror Watch #15: Twilight Zone: The Movie

Twilight Zone: The Movie -- John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller



What we've got here is a murderer's row of late-'70s to '80s movie directors. I mentioned my love of Joe Dante before, but in 1983, all of these director's were aces. John Landis had a bunch of great comedies and one of the best werewolf movies ever under his belt. George Miller already made Mad Max and The Road Warrior. Even Spielberg was working just on the cusp of his turn to mindless fluff and sentimental drivel, though his segment, Kick the Can, is just that and is easily the worst of the bunch (and features a magical negro to boot!).

John Landis' short is mired in the tragedy that left his star, Vic Morrow, and two little girls dead. I'd developed a great appreciation of Landis' work by the time I learned of this incident and still find it hard to rationalize my love of many of his films with his irresponsibility and dickish behavior in the aftermath (of course, Steven Spielberg was also a producer of Twilight Zone and should also be held accountable, at least for the hiring of the two girls against California law). It's hard not to watch the segment and think about the history.

George Miller tackles Nightmare at 20,000 Feet with John Lithgow in the William Shatner role. It's about on par with the television episode with some amped up camera work. The greatest improvement is that of the gremlin on the wing. The gremlin in the show looks like some fuzzy bear-man:

Whereas the movie is much creepier*:

There's also a really cool, quick image of Lithgow's eyes bulging out of his head. Fun stuff.

My favorite segment, obviously, is Joe Dante's. He is unleashed in It's a Good Life. The material is familiar, but he makes it his own and turning in a live-action cartoon. Kevin McCarthy and Dick Miller appear, there are amazing sets and puppets, and an insanely creepy sickly girl with no mouth. If one were to distill Joe Dante into a 20ish minute review, one could simply show this. It's awesome.

There's also a cute, if overlong, prologue with Dan Ackroyd and Albert Brook (the must have been given leeway to riff) that has a payoff at the end of 20,000 Feet.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Richard Matheson wrote or had a hand in writing most of these segments because he is the best. Also, score by Jerry Goldsmith (both men worked on the original series)!

*There's something weird going on with the formatting of these pictures.

Halloween Horror Watch #11: Splatter

Splatter -- Joe Dante



Roger Corman. Joe Dante. Tony Todd. Richard C. Matheson (son of Richard Matheson). On board so far? How about Corey Feldman? It's easy to forget that before Feldman was a douchebag and before he fell into a pit of drugs, he was a charismatic and good actor. The Goonies, Stand by Me, Gremlins, The 'Burbs, even The Lost Boys. He's terrific in all of them. But now we end up with what we've got here: a joke. It is impossible to take him seriously anymore. It's a shame.

But really, no one comes off too good in Splatter, a web series produced by Roger Corman and helmed by a top-5 all-time director for me, Joe Dante. Corman hasn't been involved in anything interesting since the '80s and Dante has struggled to make movies since the mid-'90s. Splatter feels like a group of kids learning how to make movies, throwing everything at the screen to see if it sticks, not the product of two of my favorite movie minds. And poor Tony Todd is given nothing. Feldman is exactly as you'd expect from the teaser above.

There is some potential, though. If there had been some money behind this (and on Corman productions, there rarely was/is), Splatter could have looked good. And if it hadn't been shot on a really crappy digital camera (some out there may find the aesthetic charming in a low-budget way, but it makes me went to vomit). Get some better actors, flesh out the story a bit so that every line isn't trying to force in exposition. I even legitimately smiled at the finale (as ridiculously as it's staged) after hating the prior 27 minutes.

This is only for Joe Dante completists.

Weekly Film Rec: Rock 'n' Roll High School

People who know me are well aware of my massive dislike of musicals. I can probably count the musicals I enjoy on one hand (let's give it a shot! Little Shop of Horrors, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Forbidden Zone [the Danny Elfman factor, I guess... I am listening to Oingo Boingo right now], Singin' in the Rain... and now I start to struggle). My issue with the genre is largely the same as my issue with most action movies: all forward momentum of the story consistently stops for five or so minutes for some spectacle in which I have no interest (special exception for awesome car chases). Even Singin' in the Rain has a fairly useless and unrealistic (in the context of the film) scene in the Gotta Dance sequence. It feels like it goes on for fifteen minutes, though I'm (mostly) certain that that's not the case.

However, Rock 'n' Roll High School has a lot going for it. P.J. Soles (who is one of my top three all-time film crushes), the involvement of Joe Dante (you'll learn a lot about my love of him in 2011), and awesome soundtrack even if you aren't a Ramones super-fan, and Clint Howard. What really helps is that the narrative lends itself to becoming a musical pretty effortlessly. Riff Randell (Soles) wants to write songs for the Ramones. Why wouldn't there be singing?

One of the great strengths of Rock 'n' Rolls High School is that it feels no need to take itself seriously. In fact, it almost revels in its silliness. In what must have inspired Nelson Muntz, Clint Howard has an alternative guidance counselor's office in a men's room stall. Mice experimentation has... unexpected... consequences (with an assist from eventual The Thing creature designer/make-up effects maestro, Rob Bottin). Dialogue is both hilarious and punnerific (though, admittedly, most of the puns are on the walls) :

Kate: Look at your algebra book; it looks like it's never even been opened!
Riff: I only use it on special equations

Miss Togar: [holding phone to radio broadcasting live Ramones concert] That, Mrs. Rambeau, is where your daughter is.
Mrs. Rambeau: [over phone] My daughter? Kate? I thought she was in the basement splitting photons.

Kate: I don't wanna have fun! I wanna be with Tom!

Miss Togar: Those Ramones are peculiar.
Police Chief Klein: They're ugly. Ugly, ugly people.

I'd only seen the trailer before checking Rock 'n' Roll High School. Perhaps it was preordained that I'd like it. It was released on my birthday, August 24 (three years before I was born). I went to see it mostly because the Hollywood Theatre was screening it and I got to see it for free (though it had been on my "I'll get to it eventually" list). The experience was such a complete surprise and utterly joyous. I want to share it with the world.

Punk Movie Night

Last night, I went to the Hollywood Theatre to watch Rock 'N' Roll High School (35mm, of course) and it was awesome! Not only is it hilarious, but Joe Dante was involved (and even directed a few scenes) which only reinforces my undying love of him. It was part of a book tour for Destroy All Movies, a history of punks in movie history (from about 1975). Before the screenings, the folks at Everything Is Terrible edited together a ton of clips from movies featuring punks. While it was a bit on the long side, I couldn't help but want to do a punk movie marathon. As my recent Evil Dead marathon showed, it's hard to sustain 4.5-6 hours of movie watching. People drop out, get tired, lose focus. It's hard work to sit on your butt. So even though the marathon won't be happening, I still like to think about what I'd program, so here it is. If you think there's a glaring omission, it's probably because I haven't seen it or just plain forgot.

Rock 'N' Roll High School (12 PM - 2 PM)
Why not start off with the film that inspired this list? It's light and fun, with lots of stupid (read: amazing) puns and giant mice (made by Rob Bottin, the man responsible for the special effects in John Carpenter's The Thing!). Plus, P.J. Soles will instantly win over any audience with her infectious charm. A+!


The Road Warrior (2 PM - 4 PM)
Next, we shift to the barren wasteland of the Outback for epic car chases and crashes. This film is visual adrenaline. The bad guys are assorted crazed maniacs led by the same guy who literally crashed the party in Weird Science (just realized that connection last night). Great use of the punk aesthetic in a post-apocalyptic wasteland (and if the and of Rock 'N' Roll High School is any indication, that's an inevitability if these punks aren't contained).


Doomsday (4 PM - 6 PM)
From one island to another (well, part of an island). This may seem a bit redundant as it's directly inspired by The Road Warrior (and Escape from New York, 28 Days Later, and whatever medieval films you can think of), but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Scotland has been quarantined after a virus outbreak, but the virus got out and England needs to go in to find a cure. The survivors are resistant, but to more than just the virus. To everybody, even family. Not just resistant, but hungry, too. I'll admit, I feel validated for including this just for the line, "First we're gonna catch 'em. Then, we're gonna cook 'em! Then, we're gonna EAT 'EM!"


Phantom of the Paradise (6 PM - 8 PM)
Released a year before Destroy All Movies cut-off (or what they told us was the cut-off), but you can't look at The Phantom or Beef and not see at least a little bit of punk. Phantom of the Paradise runs the gamut as far as genres (both music and film), but it's all good. Like Doomsday, Paradise is a pastiche of several existing plots with many references to other films (most obviously, Touch of Evil). Another musical, but sometimes you just need music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5qVJEg3qA

The Warriors (8 PM - 10PM)
Technically, not about punks, but gangs. I just have a hard time convincing myself that in all of those gangs, there aren't a bunch of punks at heart. Plus, it's all about attitude and appearance that separate one from the status quo. They share an ethos even if not a point of view.


The Return of the Living Dead (10 PM - 12 PM)
The series that gave us fast zombies, "Braaaaains," and parties in the graveyard. Just an all around awesome movie and a great way to finish the night.