Big Brother is Watching You

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)
Dir - Rudolph Cartier

I had never heard of this version but a friend bought a bootleg of it at a recent comic convention so we gave it a go. Originally made-for-TV by the BBC for their program BBC Sunday-Night Theatre this is a fantastic telling of Orwell's classic tale. Cushing is fantastic and it proves that TV movies can be awesome.

Devil's Plan

La Setta (1991) aka The Sect
Dir - Michele Soavi
Halloween White Elephant

Another great from the short lived directing career of Soavi.

Read my full thoughts here on Horror's Not Dead!

Softcore Nanny

Jailbait Babysitter (1977)
Dir - John Hayes
Weird Wednesday

This is basically porn without any hardcore sex. According to the write-up in the Drafthouse guide Lars was originally distracted by all the boobs, but there were far less than I anticipated. Not much about this was interesting, but there are some bitchin' vans!

Tech Lover's Dream

Ragewar (1984) aka The Dungeonmaster
Dir - Charles Band, et al
Horror Movie Night

What an odd, short movie.

Read my full thoughts here at Horror's Not Dead!

Coco is Cuckoo

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)
Dir - Rodman Flender

I have been a Conan fan for many, many years and felt really bad about all that happened to him over at NBC. This shows a broken man who really wants to entertain. He's shown in his graciousness and his frustration. I really hope he's happy now at TBS because he seems like a really nice guy.

Is It Really You?

The Thing (1982)
Dir - John Carpenter

One of the best horror/sci-fi films out there... period. Couldn't pass up the chance to see this in 35mm at the Texas Theatre. The print was obviously aged and well worn with much "pinking" but that only added to my enjoyment. I wonder how many times and in how many places that particular print has screened? The film was great though some of the audience, probably a tad tipsy, laughed at a few parts that, in my opinion, aren't really funny. Great FX work by Bottin and truly frightening.

Into the Blue

The Return of Captain Invincible (1984)
Dir - Philippe Mora

Since we had technical difficulties with our Weird Wednesday selection Micah suggested this early 80s superhero comedy starring Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee. It was quite fun, funny in parts and turned out to also be a musical! Some of the songs sounded very Shock Treatment-esque and when the credits roll it's because Richard O'Brien and Richard Hartely, the guys behind ST and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, did a few of them. Actually the best songs were theirs. I must find a soundtrack somewhere... or I'll just make one myself.

It's Magic!

Demon Wind (1990)
Dir - Charles Phillip Moore
Horror Movie Night

This was quite an interesting HMN entry that I found myself equally fascinating with and dumbfounded by. On the positive side of things there's a kung-fu magician guy!

Full thoughts next week on Horror's Not Dead!

Green Eggs and Ian

Contamination (1980)
Dir - Luigi Cozzi
HND Halloween White Elephant

Pretty interesting Italian alien horror flick. My full thoughts will be on Horror's Not Dead next week!

Spooky Apartment

The Haunting at the Beacon (2009) aka The Beacon
Dir - Michael Stokes

This is a low budget horror flick that I worked on a few years ago. It recently, finally, hit DVD and Netflix Instant so I thought I'd take a peek. The story is kind of interesting and though there are some weak moments and poor actors, I've seen MUCH worse. I was an Art PA and worked mainly on building and dressing sets. It's crazy how much I forgot about doing until I watched the film. Pretty nifty I guess.

Cancer Sucks

50/50 (2011)
Dir - Jonathan Levine

I would have seen this no matter what because of my man-crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the plot intrigued me too. This is pretty damn funny in parts but will pull on your heartstrings quite a bit. I'm glad I saw it alone and the only other moviegoer was quite a ways away from me in the theater.

Rockin' in the Woods

Hard Rock Nightmare (1988)
Dir - Dominick Brascia

Watched this VHS on our Horror Movie Night BYE week and was very pleased. I love any kind of heavy metal horror as it is but this has some great tunes and a keyboard player who openly admits to idolizing Paul Schaffer - not very metal. Some great kills, one of which I modified and added some text to create an anti-drug PSA. Take a look...

A Wee Bit Chilly

Arctic Blast (2010)
Dir - Brian Trenchard-Smith

BTS' latest was recently added to Netflix Instant so I thought I'd give it a go. It's... OK. Some of the FX work is pretty lame and I have a real problem with some of the logistics behind the way this icy fog kills some but not others. Still, I'm a sucker for a disaster film so I was entertained the whole time. Surely this will become a favorite of SyFy Original Movie fans everywhere.

Drug Child fo' Real

Party Monster: The Shockumentary (1998)
Dir - Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato

A few years before they made the feature film with Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green the filmmakers did a documentary on Michael Alig. This is a very interesting look at the club kid life in NYC. It's way too short but it was made for an hourlong piece for a premium channel, so what do you expect. Very interesting and a must see any fan of the later film.