Forgotten TV: 'The Outer Limits' Lets You See Dead People

 At last, I've reached the final Episode on the Disc.
Will this one be good?

Let's find out as we learn about the...

A man- Joel Grey- meets a sad woman and gives her a substance.

He tells her to take one drop, but she obviously takes more.

She sees her dead Husband and 'dances with him.'

Through some somewhat clumsy expedition, we learn that most of the World's population died off in a viral plague around the year 2000.

To help restore things, grieving was outlawed (how do you enforce that) and Grey is helping people.

A Cop- Daniel (looking more like Alec) Baldwin- is on his tail.

They set up a sting operation to meet him and Baldwin gets some of the drug- called S.

He takes it home, planning to bring it in for study the next day.

...but, being a widower, he takes some anyways.

This makes him see his dead wife- Daphne Zuniga- and, as we find out later, he imagined having 'relations' with her.

Only MacGruber dared to actually show this.

He uses it all, so he meets up with Grey again.

Meanwhile, he has to keep this secret from the organization- he's supposed to bring Grey in, after all.

His visions of Zuniga soon get less...friendly.

We eventually learn that his tragic backstory involves her caring for him before getting ill (not defined how) herself.

He drank to 'keep sane' during this and his guilt is palpable.

Honestly some good work here.

The Organization finally makes the connection and goes to find Grey at a Funeral Home (why does this exist in this world still?).

He takes the fall, giving the stuff to make more to Baldwin.
He knew who he was the whole time and wanted a replacement.

Baldwin and his Partner flee, but she's skilled by a stray bullet.

The Organization thinks that everything is wrapped up as Baldwin is making more S- lots more!

The End.

A strong Episode that uses sci-fi to really encapsulate the Drama.

People tend to think of this Show as being hard Sci-Fi and that's a bit misleading.
I suppose the fact that it was syndicated by the Sci-Fi Channel didn't help matters.

The Plot goes for a big swing and mostly nails it.
I'd love to know more about the plague that killed most of the World, how they decided to ban mourning, how they enforced this and how Grey actually made S.

We don't get that.  Oh well.

In its place, we get a focused tale of love, loss and acceptance with a renowned Actor (except for that one thing), a Baldwin and a prolific TV Show Director at the helm.

It's not perfect, but it was engaging.
Now what emotion is he going for here?

An Episode that wisely has enough Sci-Fi to make things work.  Otherwise, this is just good Drama.

Tubi Thursday: Strange Invaders (1983)

 After some 60s and 70s stuff lately, let me jump to the 80s.

This one is apparently a Cult Classic, so let's see how good it is.

This is...

Back in 1958, strange lights are seen in the sky.

The people in the Town of Centerville are transformed by something.

In the Present (of 1983), Charles Bigelow's Wife visits her hometown- Centerville.

She goes missing and he reports it to everyone he can.
This includes Louise Fletcher, who mostly blows him off.

It turns out that these people in the Town are Aliens.

Kudos on this genuinely creepy effect (which I assume involves a puppet).

He goes to Not The National Enquirer to report this, but things don't go well.
He still meets Nancy Allen, however, which is always a plus.

The Aliens are now targeting her, including zapping Wallace Shawn and making him vanish!

The duo work together after his Daughter is taken and kind of fall in love.

They track down the guy who took the picture of the alien that lured Bigelow in...

The man- Michael 'Taken out by a Wrecking Ball' Lerner- narrates a flashback where his family accidentally visited the Town long ago and they turned them into energy balls.

He goes with them back to Centerville and meet Fletcher, who reveals that the Aliens known about and going to leave tonight.

Since they are going to leave with his Daughter, he rushes in!

The Wife turns on the Aliens and helps them get away.
The Ship leaves and everyone they zapped is brought back...25 years later.

That will surely end well, right?
The End.

A well-made, if oddly paced Film.

This is the 2nd of 3 Films by Michael Laughlin.  He planned a Trilogy, but his third Film was actually a New Zealand Drama with Jon Lithgow and Jodie Foster.

Don't worry that I didn't do Strange Behavior first- it doesn't really connect story wise.

The Film has an odd pace, but I did find it pretty engaging.  Our Lead is good at keeping your attention and making you connect to him.
Nancy Allen is great too- as always.  Having Fletcher play an unhelpful Authority Figure is a bit on the nose, right?

The limited use of Alien VFX work really well and you never quite get used to them.

If you want a Film with good atmosphere, good (if limited) VFX and a unique approach to the tale, this is a good one.  Just maybe watch it normally and not like some sort of weirdo...

A Film that I recommend to fans of retro Sci-Fi Films.  It has some genuine stand-out moments too.

Holiday Flix: Santo in The Witches Attack! (1968)

 A yearly look at Lucha Cinema is something I always look forward to.

This is El Santo in The Witches Attack, a 1968 Action/Horror Film.  This is at a good midpoint in his Film career- which ran until 1982- and features many familiar things.

Lots of fighting.  Black and white mood.  Ladies in miniskirts.

The Plot involves a woman who fears that she'll be sacrificed by a Witch and only El Santo can save her!  He's a spry 50-51 years old at this time.
There wasn't a younger Luchador who could help- Rey Mysterio Jr. wasn't born yet.

This one does a few unique things that are worth mentioning.
Are they enough to make this not too familiar?

To find out, read on...

The Film actually has a Cold Open where this lady monologues about the danger she's in from some Witches and that only El Santo (not named by her) can save her.

He fights masked thugs and is captured, but then breaks free and makes a cross with his arms...

...and that was all a dream.  

The Woman has been having very vivid nightmares ever since she moved into her Parents' house to get the money willed to her.

Her Sister tells her to stay.

Her fiancée Arturo (who was in the dream too) meets with El Santo after hearing about her dream.  He knows the guy.

What luck!

He explains the situation with the house and will to our Hero...and that the Sister is not who she claims to be!

She might even be- wait for it- a Witch!

This leads to the 2nd of what feels like a dozen (more like 6) prolonged Fight Scenes with El Santo, this time with unmasked guys (but clearly the same ones)...and there's no a third guy.

He doesn't find the proof he needs.

The Witches are real, of course, and doing exactly what was in the dream.

They capture and control Arturo with a magical spell.

Santo saves our Heroine from them again, but they flee...again.

It's not a Luchador Film without one unnecessary Wrestling Match Scene.

This has one that runs about 5 minutes.

The Witches have nigh unlimited power at their disposal thanks to the dark arts and their infernal Masters!

They...summon a single spider (seemingly made by a preschooler) to kill Santo.
It fails.

They do capture the woman again and she appears to escape...again.

She meets with Santo and tells him where to go.

Surprise- it was the Witch all along!

They capture Santo at Fight #22 (or 6) and chain him down for the sacrifice.

He breaks the chains...which shouldn't surprise them since he's DONE IT TWO OTHER TIMES and fights them.

Outnumbered, he resorts to their weaknesses (which the Witch recounted to the audience earlier) and returns with a big cross.
He waves it around and they all die.

The End.

A Film that is very similar to many Santo Films, but with some extra, spooky aesthetics.

The Plot is pretty simple- so much so that it is laid out in the opening minutes.
Not much changes from that setup explained to us then- we just see it play out.

I guess Horror can be about NOT surprising you.

To be fair, I might be judging this through the wrong point of view.

These Films were made for a broad audience and likely ran as Matinees in Santo's homeland of Mexico.

People weren't looking for great Acting or amazing Plots.  This is very similar to watching a spooky Episode of the Adam West Batman TV Show.

I own the whole Series on DVD and watch it every weekend, so clearly, I don't hate the formula.

This one gets a few points of credit for adding the spooky stuff, but is otherwise a fairly copy-paste adventure.
There's really no difference between these Witches having male henchmen and the Mad Scientists/Vampires having them.

Speaking of Vampires, this...goes nowhere.

A pretty fun, if familiar El Santo Film.  If you want one of these with a few new tricks, give it a watch.

'Holiday' Flix: Aldo Lado's Star Wars (aka The Humanoid) {1979}

 A long time ago, in a Country far, far away, a Movie was ripped off.

That Film was Star Wars.
That Country was Italy.
This Film- The Humanoid!

Directed by Aldo Lado (who I've covered a couple of times), this one is a bonkers sci-fi tale with some pretty blatant cribbing from Lucas' hit.

This seems to be a case of said ideas, visuals and designs being put into a completely different Story altogether.  So, it is less of a rip-off than other Films, but still clearly a rip-off all the same.

We've got a Dark Lord, an Empire and a big brute.
To see how similar and different this can be at once, read on...

The Dark Lord Graal- whose look is slightly similar to Darth Vader's- is trying to take over the peaceful Empire of Metropolis (which was once Earth).

He's joined by...I wanna say Crimson Fox, but 8 out of 10 people wouldn't get it.
No, it is Barbara Bach, who was married to an Italian man in the 70s and did this kind of stuff until she met Ringo and soon retired from Acting.

Our Heroine- right- is Barbara Gibson, which is just the most sci-fi name you could have!

She got a Scientist- Kraspin- working for Graal in trouble, so he wants her dead.
Not Luke here is this Tibetan boy with mysterious powers connected to Not The Force.

I won't SPOIL the actual reveal for him- it's nuts!

The original meeting of Luke and Rey?

Richard Kiel- another Bond Actor- plays a friendly Spaceman with a robot dog that rolls around like R2-D2.

He's chosen by Kraspin to be transformed into the titular Humanoid, which is done by way of sci-if bollocks.

Now he's invulnerable, super strong (or more, at least) and sent to take out the Leader of Metropolis.

However, this backfires when Kraspin spots Gibson and makes her the target instead.

The Tibetan Not Luke saves the day, freeing Kiel from the control.

Thankfully, he's still a nigh invulnerable Humanoid, because they'll need his help to take out this Not Stormtroopers and save the day.

They have to stop him from dropping a bomb full of his sci-fi bollocks and making an Army of Humanoids.
Wait- is this really The Creation of the Humanoids?!?

Not Han Solo- who dresses more like how Starbuck- is also here to help save the day.

Are they up to the task?
Can they somehow stop Kraal and his inexplicable laser hands?

Why does Kiel lose his fake beard when he's a Humanoid?

To find out, check out this Film now (on Rifftrax or slightly longer on Tubi)!

An enjoyable, if not all that original Film.

The Plot is all sorts of insane.

A wannabe Vader is going to conquer Metropolis with his Mad Scientist and Barbara Bach dressed as Sybil Danning.
He turns a giant into a giant monster.
A Tibetan Monk, randomly appearing aliens, Not Han Solo and Barbara Gibson save the day.

This one is both easy to mock- with its strange Plot and stolen Star Wars elements- but also enjoy to enjoy- with its strange Plot and stolen Star Wars elements.
Hell, Aldo Lado leaned into this with his pseudonym here- George Lewis!

This one is similar to other crazy Films like The Visitor (which is somehow about aliens and the Anti-Christ) for mixing ideas and Genres in a bonkers way.  It's not great, but it is fun- riffed or un-riffed.

I'm glad that I finally found this thing.
Now talk to the hands!

Italy is a Country with so many hidden gems yet to be discovered.  When a Film hit big, they did it about 60 times and always crazier!

Shudder Day: 'Tales From the Crypt'- The Pilot Episode

 It's about time this happened, boys and ghouls!

Tales from the Crypt is now available on Shudder (1 Season at a time).

Let's check out the very first Episode/Pilot...

In this Episode, a guy takes his job to the next level.

What happens to...

The Cryptkeeper is here to introduce the tale.

He does his puns, but he sounds...off.  
I'm sure it is just a case of a Voice Actor finding the Character.

William Sadler- who has been in nearly every Tales from the Crypt thing I've covered so far- is the guy who runs and uses the Electric Chair in a Prison.

He talks to the Audience like he's Deadpool, which is weird when we already have a Narrator.

He's happy until he's laid off when Capital Punishment is abolished in the State.

A bad guy apparently killed someone, but gets off on a legal technicality.

Sadler is watching in the Gallery and tells us that he's going to get justice.

He sets a trap and electrocutes the guy, getting 'justice.'

Another pair of shady people- including famous 'That Guy' Gerrit Graham- get away with murder.

After a bit of nudity (from her, of course), Sadler electrocutes them in a hot tub.

He then tells us that he has no problem getting women.

This is as he plans to kill an Exotic Dancer who spurned him...before he's caught by the Police.

Life goes full circle as he's convicted, sent to jail and then executed in the electric chair (as the State brought back the death penalty).

The End.

A strong start to the Show.

That said, I do wonder a bit about this setup.
Having the Cryptkeeper introduce the Story and THEN have Sadler as a mostly omniscient Narrator was a weird choice.

He's also talking to us until he's caught, so is he just crazy...or are we?

I do really enjoy William Sadler, so I'm not really going to complain too much about more of him.  This one was also Directed by Walter Hill, which explains the quality here.

This is before they reunited for 1992's Trespass.

The tale is a pretty simple one and works because Sadler is just so charismatic.  You can see the arc (accidentally made an electricity pun) coming a mile away.

It's not the greatest of twists, but it works.
Oh, and this is based on one of the Comics- The Crypt of Terror #17 from 1950.

A strong, if oddly shot Episode.  Itis a good update to an old Story, showing the potential of the Show in the future (our past).

Tubi Thursday: Squirm (1976)

 As a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I've seen lots of bad Movies.

I've never watched this one on its own and it's gotten a reputation as a Film that's actually not bad.
Is it?

Let's find out...

In the small Town of Fly Creek, a storm creates a flood and the flood creates a power outage when the lines go down.

This apparently makes the worms go crazy...which is what the opening narration tells us.

A young guy is visiting his girlfriend to be there.

The worms are scary...in extreme macro close-ups with added in roar sounds.

They start killing some folks, though they need you to lay really still on the dirt, so...how did this happen?

They can't get the Police (all one of them) to help for dumb reasons.

The guy who clearly wants to date our Final Girl ends up being left alone with him.
Worms crawl all over his face and...ew.

Our Heroes- joined by the younger Sister and her Mother- go home, but a tree wrecks one side of the house.

In spite of that, the Sister goes to take a Shower...which is a bad idea.

Mom is going full Glass Menagerie downstairs before the worms fall all over (off-camera).

Oh and the creepy guy is now a creepy worm-face guy who wants to, um, be with our Lead.

Good thing she has no peripheral vision!

Our Hero bravely sacrifices...his shirt to make a torch and get home.

He can't save Mom from the worms, but he can toss creepy worm-face guy into them.
They hide out in a tree until the sun comes up...oh yeah, the Sister hid in a chest off-screen and she's alive too.

So is this over or...
THE END!

A pretty enjoyable, if methodically-paced creature feature from the 1970s.

Ironically, for a Decade defined by people doing uppers, Films moved notoriously slow back then.

Are the worms really scary, I hear you ask.
Technically, no.

If they don't do the macro stuff, they are just a big pile of uncoiled rubber bands on the ground.  They're a step above the killer rabbits from Night of the Lepus, but I suppose a step below the killer bears from Films like Grizzly and Prophecy.

This is also one of those Films that goes 'Um, Science' to explain why the creatures are mad.  Kind of like how a hole in the Ozone Layer made everything in a nature park PISSED in Day of the Animals.

With all of the corners cut (only one Cop, for instance) and southern fried feel, it's easy to see why the folks picked it for MST3K.

That said, it's not terrible.

Now who is THIS lady from the VHS Box Art?!? 

Do her and The Evil Dead Poster lady hang out?

A Film that was better than I expected, to be honest.  That said, it is still a bit slow and all kinds of silly at times.