Forgotten Horror: Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive

The curse of hitting it big with something is the inevitable need to top it.  

Tobe Hooper made alot of great and/or interesting Films in his life.  Many of them- like this- were attempts to replicate his first success.  

Today's Film is Eaten Alive, not to be confused with an Italian Horror Film of the same name.  That one combined the Cannibal Peril Film with the Topical Horror Film, combining elements of a Jim Jones-like Cult.  

This Film does not do that, but does riff on an actual real-life case.  Say, didn't that other Movie do that too.  In this case, it's Joe Ball, who was accused of killing Waitresses at his Restaurant and then feeding them to the Alligators.  

Sadly, Phoenix Wright wasn't there to question said animals on the stand.  When Ball was confronted with the claims, he pulled out a gun and shot himself dead.  

Is that a confession?  In lieu of that, the Film takes the basic idea as premise and then just goes a bit bonkers with it.  

It is full of Character Actors- I'll try to cover as many as possible- and what you'd expect from an early Hooper Film.  

Is it original?  No.  

Is it good?  Let's see...

A woman working at a Brothel leaves when she gets fired for turning down a freaky guy.

To be fair, it was Robert Englund.

She ends up with this guy, who eventually makes the same moves on her and she freaks out.  He kills her.

This sets the stage for what most of the Film is going to be- screaming and killing.

More guests arrive and it's a Couple with arguably-worse luck than the one in Manos.  FYI they also have a kid and a Dog.  Thankfully, their kid isn't dubbed by a middle-aged woman.

The woman is Marilyn Burns- adding to the TCM comparisons- and the husband is William Finley, most famous for his work in DePalma Films like Sisters or The Phantom of the Paradise.

Fun Fact: The Actress that plays the little girl is the longest-lasting Cast Member on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  No, really.

They both act like a bunch of psychopaths, leading to the Husband trying to shoot the Crocodile and being killed.

Honestly, am I supposed to root for this guy over them?

An older man and his Daughter come looking for the woman from earlier, but get the run-around from the people like Sheriff Stuart Whitman (fresh off killing giant rabbits) and...

Morticia Adams (from the original Show)?!?

I'm sure alot of that is make-up, but...wow.  I'm having flashbacks to the lady who I could have sworn was a Mannequin.

This leads to more death (including the Dad), some nudity, lots of screaming, a kid being locked in a cage while screaming and a climax where, of course, the Crocodile eats the bad guy.   The End.

A trashy, pretty one-note affair.  Not to insult the dead- which includes 96% of the Cast- but I was hoping for more from this.  

Instead of a Film full of good Characters escaping an evil psycho, I got one and a bunch of creeps.  

Do I care if the rape-inclined Englund is killed?  

Do I care if the awful Husband dies?  No.  

This is one of those Films where it is hard to root for anyone.  The Dad and the Daughter are probably the best Characters here.  

Sadly, one of them eats it and then has his death slightly undermined by the reveal that he was dying anyhow.  

The other gets to be good...until the Film has to fulfill a nudity quote and she strips down at the Hotel.  Why would you even do that?  

Aside from the guy being creepy and the placing looking weird (it was shot on an artificial Sound Stage), I'm pretty sure just looking at the bed would give you tetanus!  

Seriously though, this Film is like 50% screaming.  

People scream while running.  

People scream while hiding (makes sense!).  

People scream while a guy runs at them with a scythe.  

People scream just because.  

I feel for anyone who was trying to watch another Movie in an adjacent Theater to this back in the day.  

After putting off the Film for a Decade, I was letdown.  It is what it is and nothing more- I wanted more.  

Speaking of more, it had a number of random Titles on both Video and in Theaters.  For instance, this odd one...

Next time, I celebrate a Master of Horror with his most recent work.  Will I be calling on him for one more Film or to stop while he's behind?  Stay tuned...

Quick Thoughts on Recent Horror Viewings (with Rifftrax)

So I've been binging on more Horror Movies this Month for obvious reasons.
I've also been enjoying more Rifftrax Versions thanks to Tubi (cheap plug- now pay me!).
Naturally, these two coincide quite a bit.

Instead of giving lengthy Reviews for all of them, let me just cover them more succinctly...

The Dark

A badly-lit, confusingly-made Horror Film from Producer...Dick Clark?!?

It starts out with a generic monster killing people and eventually turns into a laser light show.
Throw in an anti-climactic ending and some obvious Post-Production Wraparound bits about Aliens and you've got a strange mess.

The House on Sorority Row

Simple on paper, strange in reality.

Some girls in a Sorority have to stay over break and pull an elaborate prank on their mean Den Mother.  When she dies, they cover up the crime and party!

What comes next is a strange reveal (or two) about said Mother, another menace and a last-minute explanation of who the killer is- for real this time.  Too many cooks for such a simple premise.

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant

No, not the Rosey Grier one.

This Film involves a mad Scientist, his barely-mutated 'Igor,' a loose convict and an Of Mice & Men cast-off.  Somehow you end up with a killer's head sewn onto a giant dummy's body.  Naturally, every one is a creep (save for the wife and Casey Kasem) & it's all just so cheap and icky.

And yes, Kasem was also in The Dark.  I've watched two 70's Horror Films with Kasem in them in one Month.

The Astro-Zombies

Is the first one better than the much-later Sequels?

There's barely a solid Plot here, but involves secret deals, Tara Sultana shooting people and John Carradine ambling around in a Lab for thirty-plus minutes.  It barely explains what Astro-Zombies are and just kind of ends after every Sub-Plot smashes together.

It also features long, close-up shots of toy robots for no good reason.  I'd ask the Director, but he's dead, so...no such luck.

I'd include The Godmonster of Indian Flats, but I don't know if that qualifies as Horror or a Film.  It's definitely...something.

Seriously, watch Rifftrax.

Viewer Beware!: A Look at Horror Film Knock-Offs

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

In this case, it is less 'flattery' and more like 'greed.'

Before you sit down to watch a bunch of Horror Movies for Halloween, beware of some of these...

Let's begin with an easy one.  When in doubt, add a word and the Lawyers can't touch you!

Likewise, changing one word- from Curse to Haunting- and you're golden!

In a bit of twist, this one takes one word from a famous Title, remove one word and then add another at the end.  It's totally original now!

When Annabelle hit it big, alot of copycats emerged.  This is perhaps the most egregious as far as making the Title as similar as possible...

When you make your Title as generic as 'The Nun,' it makes easy for imitators to work.  This UK DVD Cover really leans into it too...

...and another.  There are like 3 more, but you get the idea.

As a quick aside, this is not just with domestic Films.  I found this long ago and still don't know what the hell it is, besides a clear copycat in marketing...

Last and certainly not least, a Film that appears to nearly copy the Title AND the Plot.

Yes, I will watch and Review this soon.  UPDATE: It wasn't good.

In closing, watch what you, well, watch.

Not every Film is what it seems like...

Impossibly-Cool Cover Art: Uninvited

A Cat can be scary- granted.
A Cat Puppet- less so.

Throw in George Kennedy and Clu Gulager and NOW you've got some Horror.

Take it from this Poster for the Film in question...

Ghost Cat!
Cat Cloud?

"Hey Steve, did the Forecast mention anything about giant, floating Cat Heads in the sky?"
"Yeah, 40 percent chance- why?"
"Um...no reason."

Here's the original...

As with some of these, I didn't change *that* much.  I didn't need to though, right?

New Streaming: Creepshow- 'Bad Wolf Down' and 'The Finger'

After last week's fun Episode, can they keep things up?  Let's flip the pages and find out...

 In our first tale, we get a tale of WWII Soldiers and Lycanthropes.  Can this top Dog Soldiers?

In occupied France, some Soldiers are hiding out in a Jail en route to their vantage point.

They end up trapped inside with a strange woman.  When one of their own makes a break for it, things look even worse.

When the Nazis- led by Jeffrey Combs!- show up in force, can they survive?  Will they have an edge?

In our second tale, a bitter young man tells us the story of how he got where he was.

He collects forgotten/discarded objects, which now includes a strange creature's finger...

Unique to this tale is our Narrator's ability to constantly break the 4th Wall and fully-control the story, glossing over parts that he finds boring/unnecessary.

When the finger turns into something bigger and scarier, will things end well for him?

To find out, watch both stories.

Two solid, but very different stories.  The pacing is interesting here as the former story- Down- is quite a bit shorter than the latter- Finger.  I guess kudos for not extending the Story past when it needed to be.  Don't make both of them the same length if they can't support it.  'Down' is a fun, somewhat-original tale that has a nice Grindhouse feel.  Soldiers, werewolves and Nazis- what's not to love?  Jeffrey Combs doesn't get to do too much here, but he shines in his small part.  The Effects are great, with a nice old-school, Howling feel to them.  It's not a real long story- as mentioned- so it is easy to enjoy for what it is.  Finger is a different tale altogether.  We have an all-knowing, unreliable Narrator here.  The way it is presented already makes it feel different, which is nice.  This one was done by Nicotero, which is always nice to see.  I can't be bothered to invest the dozens of hours needed to catch up to The Walking Dead at this point, so this is much easier.  This one is a quirky monster tale that isn't going to surprise you that much, but was enjoyable.  This is another good, interesting Episode of a Show that I thought would never come to play.  That said, maybe don't give Syfy Channel any ideas for Movies like you make up below...

Next time, more horror and more surprises.  Can they keep it up?  See you then...

New Flix: The Dead Don't Die (2019)

A Zombie Film from a man not known for doing Horror?  Jim Jarmusch is certainly an unexpected voice in this Genre, so let's see what he can do...

A pair of Cops in a small Town deal with little threats.  Something strange is happening in their self-contained world though...

The First Act is all about setting up every part of the Town- from the Diner to the Gas Station to the Juvenile Detention Center- so that you know everyone.

All seem to make sense, save for Tilda Swinton as the Samurai-loving Coroner from Scotland.

It's like she came from a different Film, which is likely the point.

Things get bad as the News reports some problems with the Earth that may cause serious repercussions.  For instance, the night-to-day cycle is off.

Oh yeah, also Zombies.  They rise from you grave at night and start attacking people in the Town.

Can our Heroes stand up to the threat?  Does Driver's Character know more than he lets on?  Can anyone survive?

To find out, watch the Film.

It's certainly unique.  Whether you think that the Film is revolutionary, stupid or mediocre, you can't deny that it is unique.  We have more Zombie Films than we do World Leaders, so it is hard to stand out.  Do you involve aliens or mutants or something silly like that?  In this case, you just act like it is simultaneously a big deal and also mundane.  The Film is all about creating a realistic small Town...that will eventually be overrun with Zombies.  It is less about setting up each Zombie attack and more about letting you know each person involved in said attack.  Without SPOILing too much, they even skip over some notable moments that you'd expect to see.  There's also a weird undercurrent of something with Driver's character that I also won't SPOIL.  If you're worried that this is all just a quirky Comedy, it's not.  There are lots of Zombies and they don't hold back on them, especially in the 3rd Act.  It's always a delicate balance going from Horror-Comedy and not just slipping into Horror.  In this case, they manage to do it quite well.  The Film won't win you over to Jim Jarmusch most likely, but it is a more interesting thing than a curiosity piece.  It's a good-to-great Zombie Film within a sedate, but subversive Comedy.  If nothing else, they do thank George A. Romero...as well as someone twice- just because.

Ironically, this understated and sardonic Film is a bold one too.  It's not going to be for everyone, but I got on board with the quirkiness.

'70s Trash: Frightmare

A silly title for a Film that takes itself 100% seriously.  Those are the best kinds of Films, no?  Today's Film is Frightmare, a 1974 Horror Film about family, murder and...well, that's it.  There's really not much to this when you break it down.  It is a tale of a family torn apart by one of them being a murderous cannibal.  Can they come back together?  Is she really cured?  What is a Frightmare?  This Film goes by a few alternate titles- on account of being British- like Cover Up (lame) and Once Upon a Frightmare (better).  The Film was made by Pete Walker, a British Director with a 15 year career.  Oddly enough, his last Film was made in the year I was born and features Vincent Price.  No, I still haven't seen House of the Long Shadows yet.  Should I?  He's got a handful of notable Films that I should probably do in the future- Schizo and The Comeback being the big ones.  In the meantime, I'll settle for this strange little Film...

In the late '50s, a woman is caught with some bodies and locked up in an Asylum as a Cannibal.

In the Present (of 1974), we follow two women.  The first (back of frame) eggs on an edgy boyfriend to stand up for her against mostly-imagined slights.

No, I don't know why the guy is wearing a Palm Springs, California shirt is Sussex.  He is named 'Alec' though.

The other Sister is more down to Earth and dating a lovely young man who just wants to help her.

Not-so shockingly, the pair don't get along.  This girl is still more likable than Laurie in Rob Zombie's Halloween II though.

In the Countryside, Mom is back home from the Asylum and totally-cured, now working as a Taro Card Reader.

Psych- still a murderous cannibal!

The conflict of the Film involves her husband- who didn't just divorce her- and the older Sister.  They know about her past, while the younger one doesn't.

They are both unwilling accomplices in some regards, although the Sister is less than Dad here.

The climax involves the boyfriend- also a Psychiatrist- coming to check on Mom, but getting caught when the younger Sister comes home.

She has been giving into her urges- and revealed to the be real Daughter, not the other lady!- and this doesn't end well for him!

And so the Film ends with both boyfriends dead- Alec being killed earlier- and the older Sister confronted by a knife-wielding sibling (just not by blood).

Instead of showing the end, we just see a close-up of poor Dad's expression.  The End.

A strange and dour Film.  The Plot is pretty simple- woman can't stop killing and family gets involved.  There are other hang-ups- like both boyfriends- but it all really revolves around that.  The Film does a nice job of giving too much away at first and building up its reveals.  For instance, we see 'bad' Alec beat up the Bartender.  Much later, we see the man's body and it's mutilated far beyond what he did in the fight.  The Film is telling you that the younger Sister did this and that she knows about her Mother's past crimes.  After all, the injuries we see are in line with what she did (and does!).  It's not until near the end that she makes an official turn, so kudos for the build-up.  Likewise, a fairly-nothing Scene happens with the good boyfriend, but it pays off at the end when she can identify him for who he really is.  There's still some weird padding and the Film can be a bit much.  So many unhappy people is hard to endure for too long, you know.  It's by no means a perfect or even really-good proto-Slasher.  What it is, however, is a solid Film that manages to be bleak and also interesting.  It's not one that I'm going to want to see again anytime soon, but I can recommend it for the like-minded.  Speaking of recommendations, who else needs a giant, wooden caveman face on their wall?

Next time, I stay in the '70s for some more rarities.  So, so many choices for this one.  Stay tuned...