Reviews

The Dead Talk Back. Weren't they irritating enough when they were alive? This is a somewhat odd "who done it?" tale of a crossbow murder at a boarding house. The story is basically told through the eyes of one police Lt.Lewis investigating the crime and the amateur sleuth helping out. Mr Krasker, the amateur sleuth, believes the departed can be contacted and communicated with. Therefore his services are highly sought by the police in solving the murder. All boarders are suspect. Who done it? Is it the bible quoting potentate of righteousness, the homely Miss Byington, the withdrawn record clerk, the refined DJ, the landlady, Frits Kreuger, or Mr. Krasker himself?? Marvel as Mr. Krasker devises a plan to nab the murderer. Recommended for murder mystery buffs and those who talk to the dead or are thinking about it.

I watched this movie on the merit of various reviews I read about it. All were positive. As I watched I kept expecting good things to happen, but grew more disappointed as the film progressed. Anthony Hopkins gives a decent performance as Corky Withers the self doubting ventriloquist, but Ann-Margret comes off a bit stilted and uninspired as Peggy Ann Snow, Corky's love interest. Ed Louter as Duke also seems wooden. Perhaps it is the characters they play. Neither has appeal or is interesting.

As far as the story goes, I was neither spooked or humored by Fats the dummy. As Corky's alter ego tormentor he is neither that spooky or humorous. The device of mixing attempted terror and humor just doesn't work here. Timely jump cuts and editing as well as crafty camera work together with a more maniacal Fats would have aided in making the film more terrifying and suspenseful. I was underwhelmed with the film's ending as well. A bit more imagination please? Also - harmonica music for the evil vent figure's theme music?? I guess the accordion was too intense.

Although the evil ventriloquist dummy story line is a bit of a cliché, I would welcome a remake of Magic. Remakes seem to be the trend these days and I think a new slant on the movie would be a worthy venture. Overall, I give Magic a C.

Here it is. The Monkees one and only contribution to cinema. With their show at the end of it's TV run, the boys now had more precious time to devote to movie making. Ooops! The Monkees, Peter, Mike, Davy, and Micky, try to break away from their teenybopper/bubblegum image with this "hip" cinematic offering. Lots of pretty decent FX for the time. This is not so much a movie, but a visual stream of consciousness committed to film. Lots of unusual celebrity cameos and groovy songs (the Porpoise Song isn't bad). Not as relevant now as it was then, but worth a one time viewing in case you missed it in 1968. Oh yeah, written by and co produced by Jack Nicholson. Far out man!

OK, so Samuel Jackson is in this film. Great. OK, somebody had an idea to make a gimmicky movie with Samuel L. Jackson and a bevy of crappy computer image snakes on a 747 racing from Honolulu to LA. Terrific. Star power and cheesy special effects. But let's face it, this is a stinky movie - a B flick if you will. Take Jackson out of the equation and all you have left is a bad movie, reminiscent of the B monster and horror flicks of the 1950's. The hype preceding SOAP reminds me a lot of the same hype prior to the Blair Witch Project, another dud of a "cinematic" offering that hoodwinked millions out of their hard earned money. That aside, SOAP is a wonderfully cheesy, idiotic movie guaranteed to entertain and keep you on the edge of your gum encrusted seat! Careful when you open that over head compartment. Contents definitely will have shifted during this flight! ssss!

This film is a testament to the low budget, independent monster/horror flicks of the 60's and 70's. Man with a grudge, Dr. Kurt Leopold, transforms himself into a murderous "man fish" reeking revenge on all who have scorned him and anyone who gets in his way. Sure, the FX are non existent, the acting and dialogue amateurish, and the monster looks incredibly inane - a "man fish" with fur around the neck and back to hide the zipper! But that's what makes these films loads of fun to watch! You have to admire these independents who often invest their life savings to produce these gems. Lots of heart and soul fuse this genre. Today's excuses for cinema with bloated corporate budgets, over production, over paid prima donna actors, and excessive FX can't compare to the spirit and zeal of this genre. Cinamatic hacks such as Spielberg, Scorsese, Lucas, and Coppola who prostitute themselves on a consistent basis can learn a lot from the likes of The Blood Waters of Dr. Z.

The Incredible Melting Man is a 1970's version of the typically awful science fiction movies of the 1950's. Even worse. Astronaut Steve West returns to earth from a mission to a sun of Saturn? He crashes, goes AWOL, and begins to melt. It is then Dr. Ted Nelson's job, with help from General Perry, to track him down and bring him in. The story then centers around the Incredible Melting Man roaming the countryside and murdering victims as the good doctor and general follow. And I realize that Rick Baker did the makeup and as hard as I try to see through it, it still just looks like a man with melted wax poured over him. Nice try though Rick. And how can a human being melt in the first place? Incrdible bad acting. Incredible bad script. One time viewing only.

Every time I think I've seen the worst sci-fi movie from the 1950's, I always come across one that tops them all. This is one of those movies. This flick is so full of ineptitude it's incredible. Let's start with the script. The script sounds like it was written by a junior high school writing club. It's awful! The special effects are incredibly bad. I mean baaad. The monster is nothing more than the enlarged shadow of a lobster superimposed on the screen and the sound it emits is a person making a screeching sound! Acting? I've seen better acting in a third grade play. And the title is a misnomer since most of the actors are twenty and thirty somethings. No way do any of them look like teenagers, especially the leader of the aliens. Tune in if you will, but this is bottom of the barrel sci-fi. Lobster anyone??

Great movie that stands up even after 35+ years although not the same impact it had in 1969. I guess you could call it THE movie of a generation as it deals with the "drop out and do your own thing" theme, a popular sentiment of the era. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda are decent as Billy and "Captain America" respectively, although I felt they were a little too old for the roles, Hopper being 33 and Fonda 30. Don't trust anyone over 30, remember? The story centers around the two as they motorcycle from LA to New Orleans in search of "America" and their experiences along the way, some not so pleasant. And of course, Jack Nicholson in somewhat of a breakout role for him, is great as the sot lawyer they pick up along the way. Interesting musical score with various artists of the period. I would recommend this film to today's teens and twenty somethings as it might offer a taste of their parents' America circa Woodstock and the hippie era.

Astro Zombies is one of the greatest movies of the 20th century! Ted V. Mikels is the godfather of schlock moviedom. Acting? Who needs it? Storyline? So what. Coherency? Nah! What we have in Astro Zombies is rogue scientist John Carradine as Dr. DeMarco, creating an army of astro men - half man half astro robot, tough, sexy spy Tura Santana (dig her cool wardrobe!) and her minions trying to shanghai the zombies for her evil country, and has been actor Wendell Corey and his FBI cronies trying to put a stop to it all. Why would they want to spoil all the fun? The astro zombie masks are really cool looking too. Fabulous nonsense from the man that brought us The Corpse Grinders, The Doll Squad, and the sequel Mark of the Astro Zombies. Hell, the Misfits even entitled a song after this flick and there is a European punk/metal? band of the same name. Tune in this film for fun and mayhem as the Astro Zombies rampage late 60's Los Angeles. Highly recommended!

Sleaze fest concerning full grown young man still in diapers, inarticulate, and crawling and his psychotic, over protective family and the social worker assigned to assist them. Ruth Roman is great as the unbalanced mom. She's one nasty mother! Kudos to Marianna Hill and Susanne Zenor as the abetting siblings. Anjanette Comer gives a stellar performance as the dedicated social worker that gets personally involved with the Wadsworth family and Baby(Baby does not have a first name, he is merely referred to as Baby). All in all, the story is quite absurd, but if you can get by the premise that a 20 something year old is still in diapers and living in a crib unable to speak, then this is a unique, twisted tale guaranteed to open your eyes. Recommended!

I bought this tape from the discount bin with the possibility of viewing a pretty good movie considering the decent cast and the fact that it deals with the legend of the Jersey Devil. Now I know why it was in the discount bin. First, the story deviates significantly from the true legend of the Jersey Devil. Second, the acting is quite atrocious, especially Michelle Maryk who plays the part of the investigating law officer. I felt equally embarrassed for Robert Guillame and Cliff Robertson two veteran actors, Robertson being an Oscar winner. Third, the devil reminded me of a monster from a 1950's B science fiction movie. Throw in the gratuitous violence and nudity and you have an underwhelming low budget movie. It's not even in the "so bad it's good" category. Why was this film made? Beats the devil out of me!

We all know the Cleavers. TV's squeaky clean, model American family. But were they really? Let's face it, Wally and Beaver were dumb stumps bordering on idiocy. An analyst would have had a field day with the Beaver. Suffering from paranoia and a persecution complex, Beaver managed to screw up episode after episode usually by caving to peer pressure and then trying to hide the consequences from the ineffectual Ward and June despite Ward's standard dispensing of fatherly advice. The best episodes were the later ones with an awkward, pubescent Beaver working his way into more jams. He just never learned! Had Ward and June truly loved their underachieving children they would have sought professional help for them. But then, that didn't make for a TV sitcom in 1961. "Gee dad!"

"Impulse" is a must see for any fan of B moviedom! During a low point in his career, Shatner gives a stellar performance as Matt a psychotic killer. He begins his killing ways as a child when he sees his mother, in their home, being raped by a soldier (played by William Kerwin) and plunges a Samurai sword into him. The film then flashes forward to 1974 Florida where he kills his current lover, then comes into a small town and wins the heart of a widow, but not her disapproving young daughter. The daughter is wise to his motives after she witnesses Shatner kill Harold Sakata in a car wash, but no one will believe her until the bloody climax of the film. Think Shatner's acting was tacky in his Star Trek hey day? He goes over the top in this cheapy thriller. And yes, dig his groovy duds! Everything from polyester zig zag print shirts to striped tank top and white pimp suit complete with hat! Cheesy scenes, dialogue and plot make this drive in delight a movie to seek out. Hard to find, it is slowly making it's way to DVD. This would have made an excellent MST3K episode! Fun for all!

Another mediocre quickie Bela Lugosi did for Monogram. Storyline has Lugosi sedating brides to be at the altar with tainted orchids, then abducting them to his secluded sylvan laboratory where he extracts some type of essence from their necks and injects it into his 80 year wife to keep her young. Why would one attempt such a conspicuous act during the most conspicuous moment of a woman's life - her marriage?? Wouldn't it have made more sense to abduct young women more randomly say off the street or in a park without the theatrics? Nice stereotyping of physically challenged people (Angelo Rositto, Frank Moran as the dim witted hunch back) as nefarious types also. Lugosi's career nose dived after his halcyon days as Dracula into banal offerings such as this until his final days where he appeared in embarrassments such as Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 From Outer Space. Sad indeed.