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Scores:
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HORRORS
OF SPIDER ISLAND West
Germany (1960)
Something
Weird Video (Image Entertainment)
Not Rated |
B&W |
77 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD Released: November 14, 2000
.........
Featured
as one of the final "experiments" of Mystery Science
Theater 3000's 10-year run, this loony bit of Euroschlock
is every bit as entertaining in its "stand-alone" form.
On their way to Singapore for a gig, a group of curvaceous, badly-dubbed
showgirls and their beefy manager Gary (Alex D'Arcy) wind up stranded
on a remote Pacific island after their plane crashes. (In one
of the film's most ridiculous scenes, WWII stock footage of a
B-24 bomber plunging earthwards in flames is intercut with
tight close-ups of the women screaming.) To their relief, the
famished castaways soon discover a cabin in the jungle. But their
joy is short-lived when they find the body of a dead man within,
suspended in a giant spider web... With its cast of buxom, scantily-clad
women, atrociously dubbed dialog, kitschy jazz score, goofy spider
puppet and bare-chested, dress pants-wearing monster — who
in many shots isn't even wearing his fright make-up and claws
— Horrors
Of Spider Island
is chock full of knee-slapping moments, with or without the
presence of the wisecracking MST3K crew. Be warned, though; your
patience may be tested after "GARY!" is hollered
for the umpteenth time.
• • • Considering
the convoluted route this obscure film had to go through before
its DVD release, any audio-visual flaws in the transfer are minimal.
Something Weird provides the usual assortment of gonzo extras:
liner notes, a gallery of exploitation movie posters set to a
succession of "Horrorama" radio spots, plus three spider-themed
short subjects — including a hilarious one with actress-model
Joi Lansing (The Atomic Submarine)
belting out "Web of Love" while a costumed, middle-aged
male dancer thoroughly embarrasses himself.
-
B. Lindsey
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Film:
5 |
DVD: 7 |
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TOUCH
OF EVIL U.S.A. (1958)
Universal Home Video
Not Rated |
B&W |
105 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD Released: October 31, 2000
.........
A
noble Mexican cop (Charlton Heston) squares off against a corrupt
American detective (Orson Welles) in a seedy border town... The
story goes that producer Albert Zugsmith hired Orson Welles to
play the heavy, but was only able to secure star Charlton Heston
when he promised the latter to allow Welles to write and direct
the picture. The end result was steeped in all the drama and turmoil
typical of Welles, and would prove to be the final film he would
direct for a major American studio. In adapting the pulp novel
Badge of Evil, Welles artfully blends suspense, sleaze
and a sense of personal tragedy, elevating the film above and
beyond its source material. It’s easy to see how the film could
have become another back lot cheapie in the hands of a lesser
director, but Welles turns it into one of his very best pictures.
The casting is as inspired as it is bizarre. Though third-billed,
Welles naturally dominates the proceedings —
his portrayal of the morally degenerated Hank Quinlan escapes
caricature to become a three-dimensional figure of tragic proportions;
he cannot be called a hero, but neither is he the one-dimensional
bad guy he could have developed into. It’s hard to imagine many
directors making themselves look as bad as Welles does here, as
he plays up his significant weight gain and makes himself look
unbelievably rumpled and seedy. The impression is of a man on
a downward spiral —
his flaw being similar to that of Citizen Kane as a man with greatness
in his grasp who allows his appetites to get the better of him.
The casting of Charlton Heston as Vargas has always inspired chuckles,
and don’t think Welles bought it, either —
at one point his character makes a sardonic wisecrack to the effect
that Vargas doesn’t look at all Mexican. True, Heston doesn’t
really look right for the part, but within that handicap he gives
one of his stronger performances. The character is interesting
in that he is set up as the conventional square-jawed hero, but
as delineated in Welles’ script he is less interesting than Quinlan,
even coming across a bit boorish at times. The supporting cast
includes memorable roles for Akim Tamiroff, Dennis Weaver and
Marlene Dietrich, as well as unbilled cameos from Joseph Cotten
and Mercedes McCambridge. Loaded with absolutely stunning imagery
—
including a rightly celebrated opening shot —
and set to an insanely sleazy and catchy score by Henry Mancini,
Touch Of Evil is Orson Welles at
his very best; essential viewing.
• • • Universal’s
release is in dire need of an updated special edition. The disc
presents the same 1.85/16x9 transfer present on their laser disc
edition, which coincided with the re-editing of the film according
to Welles’ famous memo to Universal. As had been the case with
so many of his films, Welles fell out of favor with the producers
over his meticulous working methods and was ultimately banned
from the editing room. Upon viewing their initial cut of the picture,
Welles fired off a 58-page memo begging for some editorial and
soundtrack alterations; many of these requests were denied at
the time, but the project was finally undertaken in the late 1990s.
This edition does not represent a true director’s cut, but it
does reflect the changes Welles tried to encourage Universal to
make in 1958. The transfer looks very good indeed —
the materials are in excellent shape, blacks are appropriately
deep, whites are clean, and the grey scale is accurately rendered.
The mono soundtrack also packs a lot of punch, and Universal has
seen fit to include Welles’ memo as an on-screen text extra. Though
satisfying in terms of its presentation of the reconstructed edit,
one remains hopeful that Universal will give the film a proper
SE treatment that will incorporate the other two edits of the
film (’58 theatrical cut and longer European cut).
- T. Howarth
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Film:
10 |
DVD: 8 |
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THE
BEYOND Italy
(1981)
Anchor Bay Home Entertainment
Not Rated |
Color |
89 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD Released: October 10, 2000
.........
I've finally seen Lucio Fulci's notorious horror film via Anchor
Bay's October 2000 DVD release, and my feelings are mixed. I expected
to like it a lot less than I actually did. Fulci establishes a
credibly creepy atmosphere; some of the set-pieces are marvelously
photographed. The opening pre-credits sequence, set in 1927 and
shot in a sepia tone recalling old photos, is very well executed
(and will evoke winces from even the most jaded). The music score
is memorable and — for a Fulci zombie pic — the acting's actually
pretty good. In these regards it's superior to a very similar
Fulci effort, City
Of The Living Dead. That being said... Like City,
the plot of The Beyond doesn't make
a whole lot of sense. (We do, at least, get a tidy Twilight
Zone-ish ending here instead of the former's head-scratching
"What the hell???" conclusion.) And yes, it's ridiculously gory
in some parts, particularly the scene involving some laughably
phony spiders that devour a man's face. Since the rest of the
makeup effects in this 20 year old shocker are quite good —genuine
nightmare fuel, in fact — this one scene really hurts the movie.
The spider idea, when there was obviously only enough money in
the budget to wrangle three real tarantulas, was incredibly dumb
in retrospect. The entire sequence should have been cut. Gorehounds
will doubtless revel in this movie, which also holds things of
interest for anyone who likes creepy, atmospheric chillers. It's
the second-best of the three Fulci "living dead" flicks I've seen
(Zombie being the superior
of the trio), but certainly falls short of the Italian director's
intriguing, offbeat gialli A
Lizard In A Woman's Skin (1971) and Don't
Torture A Duckling (1972). • • •
Anchor Bay has done a splendid job here, it must be said. Video
and (especially) audio quality are truly excellent — presenting
the film in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen with a choice of either
a top-notch 5.1 Surround mix or the original Italian mono. The
DVD features a plethora of interesting and worthwhile extras,
including a hidden Easter Egg showcasing what has to be the goriest
movie trailer in human history, a promo for Fulci's Cat
In The Brain. (The AB edition covered here has been OOP
for some time now.) -
B.
Lindsey
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Film:
5 |
DVD: 10 |
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THE
1000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE
West Germany (1960)
Allday Entertainment
Not Rated |
B&W |
99 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD Released: July 18, 2000
.........
This disc was a real find. It's a terrific way to introduce American
audiences to the sinister world of Dr. Mabuse (pronounced "Ma-BOO-za"),
the seemingly immortal German super-criminal who's the villain
in a series of European thrillers dating from the Silent Era.
1000 Eyes marked the return of master
director Fritz Lang to the subject of Dr. Mabuse as well as his
native Germany, where this low-budget but tightly constructed
film was made. In the intricate scenario
almost nothing can be taken at face value; characters and events
may very well not be what they seem. Disparate strands of plot
— a bizarre murder during a traffic jam, a rich American industrialist
visiting Germany on NATO business, a suicidal mystery woman with
a dark secret, a psychic who foresees assassinations — each have
threads all leading to the same place: a hotel built by the Gestapo
during World War II. Who is the sinister man with the club foot?
Why did Howard Vernon (The
Awful Dr. Orlof) shoot the TV reporter with the weird-looking
"needle" gun? Is that bald guy who keeps popping up really an
insurance salesman? Could the nefarious Dr. Mabuse, believed dead
for almost 30 years by the West German police, really be spinning
a web of subterfuge, blackmail, and murder from the plush environs
of the Hotel Luxor? You'll have to check in to find out. •
• • Marvelously
packaged with some terrific extras (particularly the audio commentary)
and presented in both its original German (with subtitles) and
English-dubbed versions, fans of obscure European cinema can't
afford to miss this DVD. Equal parts crime drama, noirish mystery,
and James Bond espionage flick, The 1000
Eyes Of Dr. Mabuse proved to be such a genre-bending entertainment
that I immediately snapped up Allday's second release in the series,
1962's The Testament
Of Dr. Mabuse. -
B.
Lindsey
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Film:
7 |
DVD: 8 |
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TORSO
Italy (1973)
Anchor Bay Home Entertainment
Not Rated |
Color |
92 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD Released: March 21, 2000
.........
When one of their female classmates is brutally murdered by a
sadistic sex killer, four foxy college girls leave the city for
the perceived safety of a country villa owned by one of the girls'
father. Naturally these nubile co-eds are given many opportunities
to shed their clothes before discovering that the killer has trailed
them to their rural sanctuary... Helmed
by Sergio Martino,
Torso is an Italian murder mystery/suspense thriller in
the giallo style popularized by directors Mario Bava and
Dario Argento. Despite some genuinely effective moments of terror,
it can't hold a candle to such earlier Martino works as The
Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh and
All
the Colors Of The Dark. Unconvincing gore and
clumsily translated dialog don't help matters. It's not a complete
turkey by any means, however. Some of the stalking scenes do generate
goose bumps — particularly the one in the woods — and there are
attractive European actresses in it who frequently cavort in the
nude. Typical of the genre, the music score greatly enhances the
imagery. Although giallo fans will likely find things of interest
in this film, they'd be better off revisiting Argento or superior
Martino as far as armchair-gripping chills are concerned. Torso
is a giallo that just doesn't quite gel. Still worth a look at
any rate, if only for the naked babes and the occasionally effective
set-piece or two. • • • Anchor
Bay's DVD presentation is commendable. This is the uncut
European version, never seen in the U.S.,
including a few seconds of generally unconvincing gore effects
and a lot more nude women. Audio/video quality is quite good;
the picture has been enhanced for 16:9 TVs. Extras: You get the
humorously-narrated American trailer, the psychedelic European
trailer, English and subtitled Italian language tracks, and an
insert card featuring a reproduction of the film's Italian poster
under its more lurid native title, I Corpi Presentano
Tracce di Violenza Carnale ("The Bodies Bore Traces of
Carnal Violence").
- B. Lindsey
Update
This DVD went OOP in 2005.
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Film:
5 |
DVD: 5 |
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BRIDE
OF THE MONSTER U.S.A.
(1956)
Image Entertainment
Not Rated |
B&W |
69 Min. |
R0 - NTSC
DVD Released: February 15, 2000
.........
Not as endearingly bad as Ed Wood's famous Plan
9 From Outer Space but it comes hilariously close.
In his last film role (while alive, anyway) a frail, elderly Bela
Lugosi triumphs over adversity — chiefly the entire production
— in conjuring a few flashes of the old Hollywood spirit in his
portrayal of the power-mad Dr. Eric Vornoff. The not-so-good doctor
will stop at nothing to perfect his own race of atomic supermen
with which to conquer the world, including kidnapping the local
yokels and subjecting them to one failed experiment after another.
This eventually draws the attention of the police (who are pretty
slow on the uptake) and an intrepid female reporter. Ms. Reporter
is captured by Vornoff's lumbering, ox-like servant Lobo (the
immortal Tor Johnson) and is held prisoner at the mad doctor's
extremely rustic manor near Swamp Lake, where Vornoff squints
and makes weird hand gestures at her. The police eventually arrive,
Lobo turns on his master and much unintentional hilarity — Ed
Wood style — ensues. There's a moral to the story, too: Never
tamper in God's domain. Any fan of Wood, Tim Burton's bio-pic
about Wood, Bela Lugosi, or Mystery Science Theater 3000
(which 'experimented' on this film in its fifth season) is guaranteed
to be entertained. Bela's immortal "Jungle Hell" monologue is
priceless. • • • While
the Image DVD, part of the Wade Williams Collection, features
a pretty good print of Bride
Of The Monster, the only extra is
a well-worn trailer. Still, this is the kind of flick which only
folks who've already seen and can appreciate its peculiar charms
will want to buy anyway. You're either in league with Bela's race
of atomic supermen... or you're not. -
B.
Lindsey
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Film:
6 |
DVD: 5 |
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THE
TINGLER U.S.A.
(1959)
Columbia TriStar Home Video
Not Rated |
B&W |
82 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD Released: September 7, 1999
.........
This
classic '50s "gimmick" picture from B-movie impresario William
Castle (the original House
On Haunted Hill) is wonderfully presented here. The incomparable
Vincent Price plays Dr. Warren Chapin, a dedicated scientist who
unwittingly discovers the secret of the "Tingler" — a hideous,
physical manifestation of human fear. The
centipede-like creature 'appears' along the spinal column of people
who undergo a severe fright. In the course of his research Chapin
devises a method of surgically removing the Tingler and trapping
it alive, with all sorts of unforeseen — and dire — consequences.
(Lesson # 1: Never bring monsters into the house when you've
a wife that wants to kill you.)
Price's performance
perfectly treads the very fine line between over-the-top hammery
and camp. ("This pistol can put a hole in you the size of a
medium grapefruit," he smoothly intones, and we buy it.) Though
the entire concept behind the origin of the creature is patently
ridiculous, Price sells it to us with the consummate bravado of
a carnival barker. The scene in which he experimentally
injects himself with LSD to generate fear — the first use of the
drug in the movies — is an absolute hoot; the unique color-enhanced
fright sequence (bright red blood with everything else in the
shot remaining black and white) is also a treat. •
• • Columbia TriStar gave this charming chestnut a fitting
treatment for its 40th anniversary DVD in 1999. The movie has
never looked or sounded better and is presented in letterbox format.
A number of bonus features are included; the Scream For Your
Lives! featurette, about William Castle and the making/marketing
of The Tingler, is a particular delight.
I can only imagine the reactions of audience members in the few
theaters in which Castle rigged a random number of seats with
(mild) electric shocks! -
B. Lindsey
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Film:
6 |
DVD: 9 |
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THE
PHANTOM U.S.A. - Australia
(1996)
Paramount Home Video
Rated PG |
Color |
100 Min. |
R1 - NTSC
DVD Released: May 25, 1999
.........
The
only superhero with the balls to wear a bright purple suit! Now
to be fair, the Phantom has a long and venerable history — Lee
Falk's jungle crimefighter was really the first of the modern
masked superheroes. Falk may have borrowed from Tarzan here and
there but the costumed paladins who followed, chiefly Batman,
certainly stole ideas from his "Ghost Who Walks".
As scripted by the late Jeffrey Boam (Indiana
Jones And The Last Crusade), this modestly budgeted 1996
film does a fine job of upholding the Phantom's traditions, presenting
one of the smoothest superhero 'origin' tales among the many such
pics made in the last two decades. We're introduced to the necessary
backstory, then the hero himself, with a minimum of fuss that
segues effortlessly into the main plot (which could've come straight
out of a Doc Savage novel). Unfortunately some of the action set-pieces
don't quite deliver — or are just
plain ridiculous, such as one in which the Phantom's horse outruns
a low-swooping plane! — and the special
effects, especially the CGI, are a bit dodgy.
Keeping things afloat is the cast, fully embracing the
cornball spirit of the thing, notably Billy Zane (Titanic)
in the title role. (Only Treat Williams, as the villain, occasionally
goes overboard into outright hamminess.) Since the Phantom costume
has no room for padding a la the modern Bat-suit, Zane had to
get in tremendous shape to be physically convincing, which he
is. He plays the Phantom totally straightfaced, albeit with a
wry sense of humor, staying true to the comic strip character
in every respect. Some nice period detail and a grand score by
composer David Newman also contribute to the positive side of
the ledger. In sum, The Phantom is
a seriously flawed yet still highly entertaining throwback to
the adventure yarns of yore. If you have a fondness for those
old cliffhanger serials and/or pulp heroes of the 1930s you'll
be on the right wavelength for this. Makes for a great family-friendly
double bill with Disney's The Rocketeer
(1991). • • • A strictly
bare-bones DVD, but the film looks and sounds great via a colorful
anamorphic (2.35:1) transfer and robust Surround mix. Given the
long history of the Phantom character it would've been nice to
get some kind of historical featurette — it's a sorely missed
opportunity. (Only the theatrical trailer is included.) At least
the price is right... The disc's still in print (as of 2007) and
pretty cheap. -
B.
Lindsey
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Film:
6 |
DVD: 5 |
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