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The Midnight Hour (1985)

The Midnight Hour is one of the Halloween-iest TV movies I've ever seen. It's Halloween in the small town of Pitchford Cove (pretty much a stand in for Salem, Mass) and 5 Pitchford teens break into the local witch trial museum to steal some costumes for a party. They unknowingly bring forth a curse, when the latent sorceress amongst them, Melissa, reads a cursed scroll in a cemetery. What ensues is pure Halloween fun!

Starring: Jonelle Allen, LeVar Burton, Kevin McCarthy, Dick Van Patten

Directed by: Jack Bender (Child's Play 3)

Originally aired: November 1, 1985 on ABC

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Olympic Artichoke Radio Episode 39

Hey! The guys are back in action this week resurrecting Tremors July! On Episode 39, the guys discuss the first four episodes of the Tremors TV series. They also talk about what's been going on since they went on hiatus and what's in store for the future. Tune in, turn off, whatever.

Tremors Episode One: Feeding Frenzy - d. Bradford May

Tremors Episode Two: Ghost Dance - d. Whitney Ransick

Tremors Episode Three: Night of the Shriekers - d. P.J. Pesce

Tremors Episode Four: Blast from the Past - d. Michael Shapiro

I want to apologize for the sound quality on this episode, it may get a little glitchy here and there.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 39: BY CLICKING HERE!

Olympic Artichoke Radio Episode 38

The guys are back with Episode 38! This time they talk about a couple of newer horror/thriller flicks, WNUF Hallowen Special and Berberian Sound Studio.  They also blab on and on about Philip Seymour Hoffman and the movies they enjoyed from 2013. Hear the guys' thoughts on Hollywood fare like The Wolf of Wall Street! Wonder if they liked that Bronies documentary? Look no further than this episode!  You probably want to listen to that.

WNUF Halloween Special (2013) – d. Chris LaMartina, starring Paul Farenkopf, Leanna Chamish, Richard Cutting

Berberian Sound Studio (2012) – d. Peter Strickland, starring Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Antonio Mancino

 You can find WNUF on DVD here: Alternative Cinema

You can download Episode 38 HERE.

Music used in this episode: Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings

Olympic Artichoke Radio Episode 29

And now it's time for what you've all been waiting for...Tremors July! That's right. All July long we will be discussing the Tremors films and the short-lived Sci-Fi series. It's a Graboid feast for the ears! We hope you like it.

First up, Tremors and Tremors II: Aftershocks.

Tremors (1990) - d. Ron Underwood, starring: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire

Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996) - d. SS Wilson, starring: Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Christopher Gatin

PS. Here's a link to that poster Bryon was talking about (along with some other cools ones) - Tremors Posters

DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE

Song used in this episode - Chance the Rapper - Juice

HERO

Olympic Artichoke Radio Episode 26

The guys return to discuss two more flicks. On this episode, it's Dead Heat and Naked Obsession on the docket. This episode also boasts the first appearance of a new segment, Olympic Artichat. It's pretty much just what the guys normally do, but with 100% more Coen Brothers! Download that shit now!

Naked Obsession (1990) - d. Dan Golden - Starring: William Katt, Rick Dean, Maria Ford

Dead Heat (1988) - d. Mark Goldblatt - Starring: Joe Piscopoe, Treat Williams, Lindsay Frost, Darren McGavin, Vincent Price

DOWNLOAD: OAR EPISODE 26

Song used in this episode: Orchid - Mouths of Madness

Olympic Artichoke Radio Episode 24

Episode twenty-four is now available! Listen to two strangers discuss Infra-Man and Sugar Hill. That's the one with the zombies, not the one with Wesley Snipes. We also talk a little bit about Texas Frightmare Weekend 2013, the late Ray Harryhausen, and probably something else that I don't remember. Coooooool!

Sugar Hill (1974) - d. Paul Maslansky, Starring: Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley

Infra-Man (1975) - d. Shan Hua Starring: Danny Lee, Terry Liu

Download that shizz here: EPISODE 24

Song used in this episode: Prince - Raspberry Beret

Clip of the Week

V/H/S Red Band Trailer

Television Exorcise Program!

The Exorcist Coming to TV

Well, it looks like director Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) is planning on turning the classic William Peter Blatty novel into a ten-part (!) series for television. It's still be shopped for a network. Hopefully he's looking for a pay cable station in order to do this right. It would have to be pretty tamed down to make it into the CBS lineup.

You may remember that William Friedkin already made this book into a film in 1973. You may also remember that his effort was super-duper fantastic, and one of the best horror films of all time. Not sure why Durkin would want to face such a daunting task as living up to the original The Exorcist, but I'm interested. Hopefully he uses practical effects, but, again, how can you top the original?

Read the article at CinemaBlend: http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Exorcist-Being-Adapted-TV-Mini-Series-42847.html

Upcoming Film Preview: Detention

Upcoming Film Preview: Detention
Directed By: Joseph Kahn
Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook, Spencer Locke, Shanley Caswell
Country: USA
Release Date: April 13, 2012

Plot Synopsis: (from Wikipedia)

The film centers around Riley Jones (Shanley Caswell), a clever but cynical social outcast at Grizzly Lake High School who is harboring an unrequited love for ironically named hipster, Clapton Davis (Josh Hutcherson) who is in turn, head over heels for Ione (Spencer Locke), a beautiful but self-absorbed cheerleader. All four are waiting out their final year of high school, but it's anyone's guess if they'll ever see graduation, as a serial killer known as Cinderhella is on the loose and preying on Grizzly Lake's student body. The principal (Dane Cook) is certain Cinderhella is a disgruntled student and figures he can keep the prom from turning into a bloodbath by putting the likely suspects in all-day detention on the day of the big dance.

If the inclusion of Dane Cook doesn't scare you off, this one actually looks pretty interesting. I'm all for slashers, even if a lot of them turn out like Laid to Rest. You can check out the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UkdZd_muq4

Films from the Crypt: Episode 14 - The Last Slumber Party (1988)

Films from the Crypt: Episode 14 - The Last Slumber Party (1988)
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212302/
Director: Stephen Tyler (not that one)
Starring: Jan Jenson
Tagline: "...where the girls are DYING for a good time."

Full disclosure here, The Last Slumber Party is a film that is near and dear to my heart. My friends an I "discovered" this gem many years ago while trolling our local Blockbuster Video for bad horror fare. And we hit the mother lode with The Last Slumber Party.

I've seen this movie many, many times over the last few year. I rented it so many times from Blockbuster, that I wound up just keeping the tape. I eventually upgraded to the bare bones double-feature DVD (which comes along with Terror at Tenkiller).

The plot, such as it is, is about a group of three teenage girls (Linda, Chris, and Tracy) who celebrate the last day of school with a sleepover. The three ladies hang out and do stupid stuff at Linda's house. Of course, being an eighties movie, some cool bros decide to crash the party and get with these young ladies. As it turns out, while all of this is going on a patient of Linda's dad (Dr. Sickler) flips out when he's told he's going to be receiving a lobotomy (!) and flees. He kills two people with a stolen scalpel and dons an orderly uniform.

There's a lot of really confusing stuff in this movie. Linda's dad seems to appear and disappear whenever it's convenient. He goes to get some orange juice at one point and is gone for forever. There's an out-of-place dream sequence that involves some supernatural elements. I don't know, it's probably best not to overthink this one, but it sure is fun. There's lots of cool eighties cliches to poke fun at (cool mullets, a nerd named "Science"), and honestly the whole movie is just plain awful.

It's a shot on video movie, and as far as I can tell the director Stephen Tyler never really went on to do much else (except for fronting Aerosmith!). There is one other listing for him on IMDb and it's some bizarre sex movie from Japan in 2002. He's listed as co-director. That seems strange. You can tell that he just had some friends that would let him shoot in their house so he decided to make a movie.

The gore (which is VERY minimal) is pretty awful. They do a lot of extreme closeups, particularly when the villain is cutting someone's neck with the scalpel. Usually the blood starts pouring about halfway through the cut, which seems like accurate anatomy.

I don't know. You either like this kind of crap, or you don't. I doubt I could convince anyone to like this movie, but maybe I can make more of you aware that it's out there. I wholeheartedly endorse it. I would definitely recommend that you watch it with a group of friends that are game to riff on the film. It's way more fun that way.

Oh yeah, and just so you know, none of those girls on the box art are in the movie.

Did You Know?

Did You Know?

That 20th Century Fox and Atari got together sometime in the early eighties to develop a game based on the 1981 horror picture The Entity? It's true, and the prototype still exists! Why would they base a game on such clearly disturbing subject matter? Beats me, but it's totally radical! Check out this link for more information: http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/entity/entity.htm

October Horror Gauntlet Film #11

October Horror Gauntlet Film #11
[REC]
Directed by Balagueró and Plaza

I don't know what more I can really say about [REC]. It's one of my top ten horror films of the decade. It's my favorite found-footage film. It's one of the best zombie (viral, or otherwise) movies of all time. It's pretty much fantastic - taut, thrilling, scary, enthralling. All the things you want a horror film to be.

If you are one of the uninitiated, [REC] is the story of a young reporter that's on assignment following around a team of firefighters. They are dispatched to a call in an apartment building, where an elderly lady may be hurt. Of course, from there things get really interesting. I really don't want to get bogged down here in plot description. The plot is effective enough, but it's really secondary to the palpable sense of dread that the film creates. Other than maybe Martyrs, [REC] is probably weaves the most effective web of atmosphere of any horror flick in the last ten years.

Suffice to say that I recommend the film. And highly. I haven't seen the American remake (Quarantine), but I can't imagine it coming very close to matching the quality of [REC]. Maybe I'm wrong though, and it's just as awesome. But I doubt it.

8/10

The Landlord (2009): A Review

The Landlord (2009)

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME MINOR SPOILERS

Recently I was enticed by some fairly excellent throw-back style cover art to watch writer/director Emil Hyde's (apparently) first and only movie, The Landlord. Knowing that it was very low budget picture, I assumed it wouldn't live up to the great cover, but picked it up anyway off of the official website just to support independent horror. The DVD will only cost you $12, including shipping. Click the link to check out the trailer

The Landlord is the story Gary, landlord and part owner of a small apartment building. He's a regular guy, who happens to have a very irregular problem - his apartment building actually houses two blood-thirsty demons. It's up to Gary to keep the demons fed and happy, by enticing tenants (preferably fat, lazy ones) to rent out his rooms. One day, a young woman, with troubles of her own, moves into one of the vacancies - only this time Gary takes a shine to her and has to do decide what to do about his situation.


I wish I could get on here and say that my preconceived notions were all wrong, and that The Landlord was actually a fantastic first effort from Emil Hyde. Unfortunately, I think the best thing I can say about the film's merits is that it's not bad. It's not particularly good, but it's not terrible either. Most of the jokes don't quite land, the grue is lacking, the effects are cheap (if sometimes effective), the writing is fairly flat, and the acting is generally amateurish.

There's one really strange side story in the film that involves Gary the landlord's sister. Apparently she's a dirty cop who has made a deal with demon possessed monster/vampire people. The monsters feed on criminals, and the cops collect their spoils is how it works, I guess. Anyway, it's never really explained why these creatures exist, if they are an accepted part of reality, or what. It's just kind of a strange little story tucked into the larger one.

There is a lot to knock about The Landlord, but there are good things as well. The best thing the films has going for it is that there is certainly a lot of heart behind The Landlord. I love Rom Barkhoarder's Rabisu character, and I think he really shines here. The setup is interesting, even if the writing fails to deliver on it. And, even though most of the jokes fall flat, some of them actually do work.

What I am really hoping is that this is a stepping stone for the crew involved here. If Hyde can harness the passion that is seen here, and develop some of the talent that is glimpsed here, then I think we could really be on to something. Cheapie horror doesn't have to be bad, and even though The Landlord isn't going to make you rethink your ranking of best horror flicks, it does at least exemplify that.

5/10

Films from the Crypt: Episode 13 - Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Films from the Crypt: Episode 13 - Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Director: Stephen King
Starring: Emilio Estevez
Tagline: "Who Made Who?"

Warning, here there be spoilers:

The poster tag "...masterpiece of terror directed by the master himself" may be a little bit of an overstatement. In reality, Maximum Overdrive is one of the campiest, most fun horror flicks of the eighties. And, it's pretty easy to see that it was intentional when the first scene has an ATM calling Stephen King an asshole.

The plot is pretty simple. The earth passes through the tail of a comet and, without warning, all of earth's machines take on a life of their own. Oh, and they are murderous. Can't forget that part. We never actually come into any realization as to why the machines are rebelling, I guess it's technically possible that there are invisible aliens that are driving the trucks around. The main story follows a group of people that are surrounded by circling semi-trucks inside a gas station. These include a pervy Bible salesman, newly wed couple, and a badass ex-con played by the Mighty Duckman himself, Emilio Estevez.


Just look at the poster to get a sense of the overall awesomeness of the film. Yeah, I think it's a picture of a well-bearded Steve King breaking through a trailer holding strings attached to semi-trucks like he was the puppet master of so many marionettes. Then you've got Gordon Bombay holding an M16 like he's gone commando while standing next to the female lead.

The characters are underdeveloped, the plot is so full of holes it's ridiculous, and the gore is fairly light, but dammit, this movie just works for me. It's such a ridiculous premise and the leads play it completely straight, ostensibly to give the terror some legitimacy. But the cheese that spews forth from Emilio playing a hard nosed ex-con taking on both shitty boss Pat Hingle (who is excellent by the way) and an onslaught of nefarious, sentient trucks is just amazing beyond words. If somebody pitched that movie to me, I would green light it faster than you can say Another Stakeout.

At this point, let me go back and address the gore, and say that I have only seen the cut version - word is there is another print of the film that has all the kills in tact. I'm holding out hope that the infamous "little kid run over by a steamroller" kill gets even more awesome in the uncut version.

I also want to discuss a little bit about, at least what I see as, the major plotholes. For instance, why are some machines controlled by the alien force, and some are not. Why does the force not just take over the newly weds car instead of trying to use a dump truck to squash them? It seems like it would be easier. We also know that the force is capable of taking over simpler machines, like guns (as is seen when the rolling machine gun acts as a sentry at the gas station), but in the final act all of our protagonists use guns in an attack against the truck menace. It boggles my mind! I'm assuming that someone of King's caliber recognized this and either didn't feel the need to address it, addressed it and it was cut, or just didn't give a damn.

But, the fact of the matter is that none of these flaws make me like the film any less. In fact, I think they are kind of endearing. In reality, I should think that this movie is pretty shitty, and maybe it is, but I happen to think it's awesome.

7/10

Spotlight on Evil: Leslie Vernon!

Part Man Bites Dog, part American Psycho, and part Friday the 13th - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon unleashed its eponymous protagonist upon the world. Leslie is the type of guys that likes to laugh at the little things, he likes to curl up with a nice book on rainy evenings, and he especially likes to hack up young girls into teeny tiny pieces.


While living in the small town of Glen Echo, Leslie took up with and became the apprentice of a retired serial killer named Eugene. Here Leslie lived for a time while he refined his skills as a sickle wielding psycho. This stuff takes a lot of practice and hard work.

Finally, in 2006, Leslie Vernon was ready to take the mantle of ultimate serial killer from the likes of Michael Myers and Jason Vorheese. After devising a very elaborate plot to trap and kill a group of unsuspecting teenagers (complete with a red herring and a final girl), Leslie enlisted the help of college journalist Taylor Gentry and her crew to document his rise to serial killer prominence. Of course, that didn't work out that well. After chasing young Taylor into an orchard, Leslie is actually killed by his own final girl.

But! Yes, there's always a but. As it turns out, Taylor's meddling may have actually done the world a grave disservice, as Leslie's body is seen rising up from the coroner's table. Could it be that Leslie has joined the ranks of Jason and Michael as an unstoppable, undead murderous psycho? God, I hope so.

I would like to formally lodge a complaint, however. There is no cool Behind the Mask swag. At least, none that I could find. Give us a t-shirt, and action figure, something, because Leslie Vernon is the great big bloody shit. That sounds grosser than I meant, but you get the picture.

Films From the Crypt: Episode 12 - Home Movie (2008)

Films from the Crypt Episode 12: Home Movie (2008)
Director: Christopher Denham
Starring: Adrian Pasdar

Warning, here there be spoilers:

Generally on the Films from the Crypt section we take a look back at some older films that you may have missed, but today I make an exception. Today we are going to look at a film that was released a couple of years ago called Home Movie. Released at the beginning of the Second Found Footage Wave (my own moniker), Home Movie is just that - a found footage film. But unlike something like Cloverfield, Home Movie is a very, very small film that centers around a family in upstate New York. The family, the father (a priest - played by Adrian Pasdar or, as I know him, Caleb from Near Dark) the mother (a psychiatrist), and two kids, have moved to the rural countryside in order to ease the children's declining mental states.

I don't know how much of a spoiler it is to say that this is a killer kid film, as you can probably gather that by looking at the back of the box. And, let's be honest, who doesn't love killer kid films? From the Bad Seed to Who Can Kill a Child? to The Good Son, killer kid flicks are just great. Mine is still just shy of three months old, so I don't have to worry too much about him, but I wonder if I'll still feel this way when he gets a little older...old enough to weild, say, a hammer?

Anyway, so the two little freakish kids wind up being just a little bit more malevolent than the parents ever thought. That's all well and good, but my absolute favorite part of the film is the filmmaker's propensity to wrap everything up very nicely. At the end of the film (LAST WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD) when the kids finally best ol' mom and pop, they put to use every bit of advice that the dad had given them in attempts to "normalize" them. Here is a list of things that I picked up on that were originally taught to the kids by the parents, and then turned around on them to be used for their demise:

Trash bags for dead things.
The dragon/paper mask story.
The picking of the locks.
The tying of the knots.
The ability of the pills to induce comas.
The use of a baseball bat.

Overall, it's an interesting film. That's not to say it's fantastic or anything. The acting is pretty flat, at times it's not lean enough to keep you from wanting to hit fast-forward, and sometimes the camera work can get on your nerves. It's definitely not the best found-footage movie (I'd give that title to Spain's [rec]), but it is an entertaining, and deeply interesting piece that works, for the most part, on all the levels that it attempts to. It's definitely recommended viewing and a nice find in the onslaught of crappy horror that's produced today.

6.5/10

Now That's Art!

The Crazies (1973)

Clip of the Week

House by the Cemetery Trailer

Now That's Art!

In Memoriam of Zelda Rubenstein:
Anguish (AKA Angustia) - 1988