Tubi Thursday: Gothic (1986)

Oh boy- Ken Russell is back!

Is this a legendary Film for the right reasons...or the weird ones?

Welcome to the House of Lord Byron!

He's in exile from England for, well, lots of stuff.

He's joined by a number of people, including his sometimes girlfriend Claire, Lord Shelley, Mary Shelley and his Doctor/Writer Polidori.

It is a dark and stormy night...and they're taking, well, liquid opium.

They go a little bit crazy, especially after they read a ghost story.

In typical Russell style, it changes and gets tweaked by each reader.
Freaky stuff.

The night gets weirder as everyone gets a bit crazier and more intoxicated.

Nobody is in their right mind and the growing fear and paranoia is only making things worse.

There's also some personal drama going on between Shelley, Mary and the rest.

Things get weird.
Things get spooky.

How will this all work out?
Stream it now to find out.

This one is weird and sure has alot to say.
What that is?  Nobody can quite be sure.

There are some obvious Themes- mortality, insanity vs creativity- and some good Acting.  The positive and negative is that everyone plays this so loudly, crazily and wider than the mass of a gas giant!

Many good Actors- Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Timothy Spall- are here and they all play crazy quite well.

This Film is very chaotic and it will certainly not be for everyone.

This is a Ken Russell Film that will be beloved by his true fans and befuddling to casual fans.
If this is you, stick to other stuff.

A Film that is absolutely a must-see for Ken Russell fans.  For everyone else, give it half an hour and see how you feel.

Forgotten TV: Is This the 2nd Worst Episode of 'The Outer Limits?'

 After finishing the Disc, I decided- with some help- to find a new approach to covering this Show.

Let's see how the 2nd lowest rated Episode of the Show on IMDB is.

(Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm doing the 2nd one, it's because I've already reviewed the lowest rated Episode.)

An Astronaut (Greg Evigan) approaches a Couple for their help.

They have found a crazy wormhole and needs their help, since she's an Astrographer and he's a Doctor.

They assemble a crew, dress up in Enterprise uniforms and go into the wormhole.

I'm not even joking about the uniforms- they have a shared wardrobe.

The wife- Callie Whitehorse- is troubled by a previous pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage.

She finds out that she's pregnant again once they are in the other world (it was a matter of days and wasn't caught).

She's having weird visions of her Mother as well and is warned about how the World is like a body- it's all connected. 

The ship is surrounded by strange gravitons.

Meanwhile, Callie is also experiencing weird symptoms as they experiment in this realm.

Why is this affecting only her?

Well, it turns out that this world is essentially the 'blood stream' of the Universe.  Picturing their entry like a stent being put into a vein.

Scanning this area seems to even show that the area matches a DNA profile!

They have to get out and report this, but it would require detonating the ship and poisoning the area.

As such, Callie sends the others away to stop the ship from blowing up, dying in there and seemingly forming a new World!

The End.

This is truly the 2nd lowest rated Episode of all time?  Weird.

There are obvious reasons I could point out- it is about a 'magic' pregnant lady (that is also a Native person).  All of the user Reviews (admittedly there's like 6) are all saying this.

I mean...that's a weird way to see it.

The Episode states the idea that since she's carrying life (being 10 days pregnant), this force made a connection with her.  It's nothing about her being magic or anything.

I've covered this Show giving us Android Nannies, alien souls inhabiting the dead, the dead literally coming back to life and aliens kidnapping people to restart the World.

Why was the line drawn at 'lady is affected by vague/weird science?'

Rant aside, it can be a bit melodramatic, Evigan's accent pops in at random and there's likely more that could have been done with this concept.

But, I mean, is this nearly as bad as the Clip Show Finale?  Hell.  No.

Next time, let's keep going up in the User Ratings.  How about a tale of bad neighbors and electricity?  Stay tuned...

Screener Flix: Killer Whale (2026)

 Aquatic Creatures can be beautiful...and deadly.

Given that 'Killer' is in this creature's name, it can't be good.

To see how you can do both more and less with this concept, read on...

A Cold Open sets up the Character Arc of our Final Girl.

It involves a gun, a Diner and a boyfriend.

A year later, her friend convinces her to go on vacation with her.  She really wants to make things up for her...for some reason.

They visit an aquatic park with a Killer Whale...and then things take a turn.

The next day, they go out on a trip to a private atoll with the guy they met earlier.

It looks beautiful.
It looks...enclosed.

Our Heroine wants to just take in the sun, while her friend and the guy drive around in a jetski.

However, as you'd guess from the Title, they are not alone...

The duo end up trapped on a rock to stay safe from the creature.

The other problem, of course, is that they have no food and water on this random rock they fled to.

How will they survive?
Can they?
Will they escape?

To find out, stream it now.

A Movie that manages to do more than I was expecting...but also less.

The Plot is pretty simple, with a dramatic beginning to set up later events (which I won't SPOIL).  They get to the Atoll pretty quickly, since the focus is on them being trapped.

I am at least glad that we didn't get this one done in the 'arty way' (showing them on the rock and then showing flashbacks to how they got there).

I liked the Acting from both ladies here.  They felt very natural and they certainly make me want to see them in more.

In older Films, there would usually be a(n often) flimsy pretense for more people to either show up or be there. 
Link, for instance, has 3 guys from earlier go to the House to up the body count.  
That or you get Films (like Piranha 3-D) that make it a larger group of people that are often cliches.

This one is stronger in terms of story for not doing it, but weaker in terms of action and scares for not doing it.
And yes, this is similar in certain ways to a tale of a lady hiding on a rock from a shark.

And also yes, the green/blue screen work here is not always great.  I did like the Whale though.

In summary, Killer Whale is a strong Film for Story, but just know that it is more about that than it is a Creature Feature.

A Film that may not please people looking for the usual Killer Animal Film.  That said, it has many high points and nails the Story.

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.