Tubi Thursday: Dark Asylum (2001)

 While his last Film did not work for me, I do like Larry Drake as an Actor (RIP since 2016).

Let's give him another shot with 2001's...

A city is overrun with fear (in Voice Over and B-Roll of a City) as a mysterious killer is on the loose.

By luck, some Cops find his lair.
It goes poorly for the first one.

They catch him, but he's shot and taken to a Mental Hospital.

Um...wrong kind of Hospital, Film.

He's put in there (off camera) and in the care of Jurgen Prochnow.

My 2nd Film of his in a row (watched, but not reviewed).

He goes full Hannibal Lecter.

Our Heroine- Paulina Porzegova- is called in to work there, even as she's dealing with some personal things.

Do you care?
Nah.

Drake is a modern Serial Killer, so he's super smart, super strong and somehow reading the Script ahead of the other Characters.

He easily breaks free of his straitjacket and kills Prochnow.  Bye!

They lock down the place- since that works and nothing else does- and now he needs the key.

He takes out all of the Cops and Security- with ease- and now he has to get Paulina.

She gets helped by a patient- Judd Nelson- and must find a way out while avoiding Drake.

After escaping the Building and getting help, Drake somehow blows up the Cops who ran in and escapes via the Sewers.

He somehow finds Paulina's Grandmother's House (was the address in the records?) and kidnaps her Daughter.

Now only SHE can stop him...and she blows him up.
That seems to work this time.  The End.

A Film that has some real potential...and then just gets ridiculous.

Drake is, yet again, a super impossible to defeat guy.  He's also suddenly taller here, as his Character is billed at 6'7, while he was 6'2.
He can choke people to death with one hand and knock people around like bowling pins.

Of course, his backhand strikes to Paulina only stun her for a second, so consistency is not strong here.

If this was just a riff on Die Hard where a Psychologist and a Patient must play keep away from a Serial Killer, it could be good.  

Hell, it sounds like a good premise for a Survival Horror Game!

This is far from the only Film to pass off Serial Killers as some sort of Superhuman Being.  That said, this Film has nothing else going for it.

Paulina and Judd try.  Drake is fun when he's a talkative killer.

The Film is just not good and keeps going way past the point where it should have.
At least there's not an alternate Title and Poster that lies to you...

Is that an Alex Ross drawing?

A Film that is not truly terrible, as the setup is good and the Actors are too.  It's just too bad that it gets plain ridiculous and over-the-top.

Forgotten Toons: Marvel's Dracula- Sovereign of the Damned (1980)

 As Marvel under Disney tries to rebound with another billion-dollar Film, let's go back to their animated heyday.

Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned is the 1980 Anime adaptation of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula.  The Book ran for many years and has been viewed well in the Decades since.

In the 70s, Marvel licensed their stuff to Toei Animation.  This is how we got Japanese Spider-Man and Super Sentai.

The Plot is essentially a speed run of THE ENTIRE SERIES which had 70 issues over 7 years.  Alas, there is no Marvel connection in supporting Characters as Blade and Doctor Strange were cut.

Will this make sense in around 90 minutes?
To find out, read on...

My copy didn't have the cool Title...I think.

A Satanic Cult is making a big sacrifice to Lucifer Satan.
Yes, they say it like this every time.

Dracula shows up and they think that he's their Master.
He takes the lady with him.

Elsewhere, a young guy named Frank is confronted by an old dude in a wheelchair and a lady.

They hire him to hunt Dracula!

As it turns out, he's Dracula's Son...albeit one born while he was alive.
They don't get into the chronology of this at all.

The Cult plans revenge when they learn that Dracula tricked them.  Lucifer Satan tells him that he has a plan and to wait a year.

While the year progresses, the Hunters sort of close in and Dracula sires another child- Janus.

Issue 55

Weirdly, he picks that moment to reveal the truth to his Wife.
Yes, this didn't come up in a whole year.

He tells a long flashback where he was a strong protector of his land until he was killed.
He was brought back to life by Lucifer Satan as a Vampire!

The Hunters close in, but they are actually not the first person to confront Dracula.

The Cult Leader surrounds the Church with crosses and tries to shoot Dracula with silver bullets.

He turns into smoke and the baby is shot.
I mean...you turned into smoke in front of them- what did you expect?!?

Issue 59

Things take a very strange turn in the ensuing time.

Dracula hides away and the Wife mourns Janus.
She tries to commit suicide, but a literal Deus Ex Machina happens.

A heavenly light (God?) revives Janus...and turns him into a super-powered teenager.
He was the original Psi-Lord (aka Franklin Richards)

Issue 61

The new Janus has holy powers and scares away Dracula.

A different power confronts him, however, in the form of Lucifer Satan.

He literally Drags them To Hell and tries to kill Dracula, who is saved by his Wife's latent holy powers!
(In the Comics, it's a lady named Topaz)

Issue 64

While he's free, Dracula is a human once again!

He fails many times to get restored, including asking two different lady Vampires to turn him (back).

He gets oddly heroic as he flees to a House full of kids and fends off the undead with a cross.

Issue 69

He manages to regain his vampiric powers, but the Hunters (remember them?) are coming.

Harker makes them stay outside and he manages to impale Dracula with a silver spoke.
He blows them both up, as the Couple leave.

Back home, Janus returns to his Mother...and to his baby form.  The End.

Issue 70

What a strange, truncated series of events.

As mentioned, this is a loose adaptation of 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula.  With Blade and Dr. Strange excised (as well as Silver Surfer), they found room to trim things down.

As you saw, the character of Topaz was basically absorbed into Dracula's Wife, for example.

I was not *that* familiar with the Tomb of Dracula Books (being born 4 years after they ended didn't help matters), so I honestly thought that this one was just going off in a weird, Japanese direction.

Color me shocked to learn that all of this- Dracula's superhero kid, him fighting Lucifer Satan and all that- is 100% from the Books.  Maybe I need to support the Kickstarter to get the last Trade released.

The Animation here is dated in good and bad ways.  If you like the '70s style (think Lupin the 3rd or early Gundam), then you'll like this.
They do take some short cuts with repeat animation, some people just not moving and other such things.  It's not amazing, but it is crazy.

This one works if you don't know the Comics as a bizarre bit of History, with Japan making Anime out of Marvel Comics a few Decades before they tried again.

Now I'm doing this during October since it is Horror themed, but it is actually the wrong Holiday...

Next time, I switch back to physical media.  I'm sitting on a few Horror Remakes from the 2000s, so maybe I'll check one out.  Stay tuned...

Shudder Day: Grave Encounters 2

A Film that makes me yearn for the joy of being in an *actual* Haunted Sanitarium.

To find out why this Sequel is so divisive, read on...

A guy named Alex is an Online Film Critic- a respectable profession- who starts to learn more about the Film 'Grave Encounters.'

Yes, like 'Blair Witch 2,' we're going with The Film was a Film within this World...but also real.
More on that later.

He starts to make his own Film, but feels that making a 'Torture Porn' Film is not his vision.

Instead, he gets obsessed with the mystery behind Grave Encounters.

They also confirm the 2003 timeline for the first Film, in case you were wondering.

He gets his buddies and would-be girlfriend to go to the same Hospital- with the Caretaker long dead via suicide- and find out the truth.

This is all because a mysterious source sent him clues to go there.
Wait- did 2016's Blair Witch take that Plot Point from this Film?!?

Well, I guess we can call it even for how much this truly is Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows.

They wander around the place and revisit the key locations, literally showing you the big moments from the last Film.

Just like that Film, they do, well, the same bits.

I wonder if she'll grow a giant, monster face and scream.

She does.

The Building plays the same tricks as before- somehow making Exits vanish and walls appear- and our Heroes do the same dumb thing.

They just find little tweaks.  So, for instance...

In the first Film, they fell asleep and the ghost broke their lights.
In this Film, they fall asleep and a ghost checks their camera footage.

They also find out that they aren't as alone in the place as they thought.

It only gets stranger, deeper in lore and, to be honest, dumber from here.

I won't SPOIL anymore for you while it is getting a second chance this Month on Shudder.
The End.

A Film that was clearly designed to outmatch the original Film in every way.

Unfortunately, that came at the cost of logic, good storytelling and any real tension.

This one- like many Sequels, Horror or otherwise- goes deeper into its lore and suffers for it.

It both explains a whole lot more and also raises many, MANY more questions than you had before.

If you're here for the ghost stuff, it is the same as last time, save for a few new (for this Series, anyways) tricks.
This one goes ALL IN on the Ghosts being walking Plot Devices too, so enjoy that...I guess.

If this could have avoided more cliches, I'd like it more.
Hell, if it could have at least tried a few actually new ideas in regard to its Third Act, I'd at least be more generous.

Instead, this one is a big, dumb mess that manages to be 'inspired' by more successful Found Footage Films like Rec/Quarantine.

A Film that goes 'Here's what you wanted- right?!?'  Sadly, it's not that and just so much worse all around.

Rare Flix: Curse of the Black Widow (1977)

What happens when you made Kolchak and Dark Shadows, but kept going?

This is Curse of the Black Widow, a 1977 TV Movie made by Dan Curtis.  Yes, that one.
The same year as Dead of Night, he was behind this Film.

The Plot involves a Private Investigator getting involved in a series of strange murders in the City.  Nobody is quite sure how they can explain the murders are taking place.

It all connects to a woman who then hires him and a possible family curse!

The Cast includes James Franciosa (from Tenebrae), Donna Mills, Patty Duke (as Patty Duke Astin), June Lockhart, Sid Caesar and Vic Morrow.  The latter are Special Guest Stars, which is still a Credit that I don't understand.
How do you Guest Star in a Film?!?

Anyhow, to find out what exactly this curse is, you might as well read on...

In the Opening, 3 guys are in a Bar when a woman walks in.
She picks the youngest guy to 'help her fix her car.'

When he turns her down (saying that he's going to meet someone), her eyes get all crazy and he's killed via a POV Monster!

One of the men in the Bar happens to be Franciosa, who works a Private Investigator.

He's questioned by the Lieutenant (Morrow), but nothing comes of this...yet.

The Story also follows a pair of Sisters- Mills and Duke- as well as their Aunt- Lockhart- and Niece.

There's definitely something going on with them.

The Cops- specifically Morrow- tell Franciosa to back off.

He's then hired by one of the Sisters, so that isn't going to happen.

Meanwhile, the other guy from the Bar is killed by the mystery woman after he tries to bring her to our Hero.

The other Cop- who looks like a Live Action Hank McCoy- springs what sounds like a crazy theory on our Hero.

The killings were done by a giant spider!  Not only that, but a woman is transforming into one to do them!

He doesn't believe it until the evidence- like a body full of spider venom and webbed up crime scenes- piles up!

He learns that the client and her Sister were both born in the wild- after a plane crash- and one was bitten by spiders.  That can apparently incite the titular Curse.

He's saved by this 'Indian'- played by Jeff Corey- who confirms the tale, but can't point out which Sister it is.

The Plot Twists begin to pile up in Act 3, so hang on!

The mysterious woman is one of the Sisters, who suffered a 'Split Personality,' and started the killings.

The Mom- thought dead in Italy- shows up and is then killed by the Sister.

She's scared, which causes her obvious Stunt Double (even in 360p) to dive out a window.

The Black Widow wraps up the good Sister, but kills the Aunt when she tries to help out.

Franciosa is told that only fire can kill the Spider.
It finally appears in the finale in full frame...and is mercifully not build on top of a Volkswagen!

He shoots it...for some reason and then uses the fire to kill it.

In the aftermath, him and the Sister are an item (shared trauma does that).

The Niece is then used as a Sequel Bait, as the final shot shows her to have the Black Widow mark!

Dun dun DUNNN!  

The End.

A fun Film that is very much of its time in the best and worst ways.

We get lots of shortcuts to not show the Spider.  I was expecting that.
Thankfully, this is a Dan Curtis Film, so his usual flair (and Soundtrack by Robert Cobert) make up for things.

The Plot is a bit convoluted, for sure.

I do wonder how this one has NOT ended up on Svengoolie by now.  He's run Dead of Night, both Kolchak Films and Trilogy of Terror.  Odd.

Given that it's a TV Movie from the '70s, I get that the modern audience for this one is pretty slim.  Even so, it's a good to great time and deserves more than just a VHS rip and being free on YouTube.

And yes, mine was a VHS Rip.  Don't believe me?

Next time, I'll take another Film from my Digital Library.  At long last, my love of Dracula and Marvel will finally intersect properly!  Stay tuned... 

Tubi Thursday: Dr. Giggles

With a Medical/Asylum Theme to this year's Horror Movie Madness, I might as well check out this bizarre Film that I've never gotten around to watching.

Will this Horror Comedy kill?

This is Dr. Giggles.  He's a crazy guy who escapes from a Mental Hospital.

He's also a super genius, because reasons and returns to his hometown.

In said hometown is our Final Girl- Holly Marie Combs- and her boyfriend Not Zach Braff.

She has a heart condition and fears Doctors, so a scary one is one to avoid.

The Doctor hides out in his old House, which was apparently abandoned for Decades.  Why was it left standing when it was full of bodies?

That's not how this works.

His Dad was also a Doctor who went crazy and was lynched by the Town.  He wants revenge...and this is just Freddy Krueger's Origin Story, only Medical.

I should also note that he has a compulsive giggling fit, even if it much of it is clearly ADR (his lips are oddly still while giggling).

In spite of that, the giant man sneaks around town in full Doctor gear and picks off everyone.

As it turns out, the Son was also crazy and the Doctor hid him where nobody would look.

I won't SPOIL it.
Sufficed to say, it's gross.

Can anyone stop him as he seeks to kill everyone, because...um, reasons.

Seriously, he just kind of kills anyone, be them teens, old men or adults.

Will he get his hands on Combs?

He manages to survive being stabbed, shot and blown up.

He gets an extended chance to kill Combs in a Hospital, because nobody noticed the giant burn victim.

She zaps him with the shock pads and he breaks the 4th Wall for a bit.
The End.

A Film that can't agree what it wants to be.

It wants to be a Horror Film.  It has lots of kills, although it cuts away from most of them and usually shows only the aftermath.

It wants to be a Comedy Film.  It has the Villain giggle all of the time and act over-the-top.

I suppose there is likely an audience for this kind of thing, as shown by the continually baffling love of Art the Clown.
Dr. Giggles is arguably as much of a Mary Sue here.  He overpowers everyone, can sneak into anywhere while being as silent as a Ninja, literally walks off by stabbed in the femoral artery in one leg and just seems invincible.

With Freddy Krueger, he's literally (dark) magic.  I can make exceptions.
This is just a mental patient that is impossibly strong, silent and always two steps ahead.

It's a Film that probably worked better in Comic form, which is where it began and went back to after grossing just $8.5 million against a $7 million budget.

If people you know like this kind of stuff, let them know- just maybe be less dramatic about than Cliff here.

A Film that could really work if it either reined things in or really went for the gusto.  Instead, it is nearly a cartoon, but also tries to be shocking...and mostly fails at both.

Fiction vs. Fiction Double Feature: For Your Eyes Only and Moontrap

Two Movies that I own in Comic Book form.
Two adaptations that don't change all that much.

It would be a stretch to cover either separately and I don't want to forget about these until November.

As such, let's cover the brief differences with both here.

Let's start with Bond...

***VS***

What's the Same?

It's the same Script, pretty much.  It all plays out as intended in both Versions.

I own it in this format, but my copy is not nearly this pristine.  Kids owned it, alright!

What's Different?

M is actually in this Comic.  Since the Script had him in it, they included the Character (whose Actor was really sick and couldn't shoot any Scenes) in here.

The other big thing is a little one, but a constant one.  I'll explain.
The Film doesn't have banter from the many Henchman and glorified Extras that make up the Cast.

This is likely since they were actually Foreign and thus didn't speak English.
The Comic has them all making quips/comments constantly.

In addition, the fake Margaret Thatcher is mentioned, but not shown. 
I want to think that Howard Chaykin refused to draw her, but it's likely just a likeness issues.

This might be an edit, but it looks semi-legit.

For the second feature, we jump ahead to 1989 and...

***VS***

What's the Same?

The Story- again- is based on the Script and it's a tight adaptation.

What's Different?

The Comic version is a pretty tight one at right around 25 pages.  As such, some little things get cut.

Lots of banter between Koenig and Campbell is cut out.  If you look at the first page posted above, you miss all of the Character Setup between them and jump right into the Action.

On top of that, a pair of Scenes are missing. 
A short bit with Koenig and his Son is cut and a bit where Koenig meets up with Campbell at a Strip Club (where he's getting drunk) is also cut.

In case you couldn't tell this was from the '80s.

Amusingly, this is not just to cut out the pointless T&A.
The Comic actually adds some to the romantic bit with Koenig and Mera.

In the Film, any nudity is pretty much just implied.  In this Comic, we see her naked- albeit from behind.

Oh and the Comic has NO time for Mera's Backstory about being an Ancient Astronaut!  Kind of key.
She's just discovered and ends up with Koenig as they save the day.

So, the obvious question for both...

Which is Better?

The Film (For Your Eyes Only)

The Film (Moontrap)

Neither comic is bad- at all.  Chaykin's art- while rushed by his own admission- is good in the Bond Comic.
Moontrap's Comic is just too truncated and lacks the pathos established in the Film.

With all that said, I've own the Bond Comic- in Book form- since I was a kid (and it shows).  I spent 99 cents on Moontrap and it got me to watch the Film (and likely the Sequel), so I'm still content.