'70s Trash: Mansion of the Doomed (1976)

At long last, I see if the Poster matches up to the Film.  This is Mansion of the Doomed, a 1976 Horror Film that feels similar to a French.  The biggest critique out of the way first: it is similar to Eyes Without a Face.  I'll grant you that.  I just don't think that it is a rip-off or knock-off per se.  The Plot involves a Doctor who's Daughter is made blind after a car accident.  Can he defy the known laws of Medicine to cure her?  She sure as hell is willing to try!  The Director- Michael Pataki- only has 3 Credits (this is his 2nd) and is much more known as an Actor.  He's in a slew of things- listed here- and is a great 'That Guy' in Films.  The Lead is Richard Basehart, most notable to me from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (the TV Show).  The Writer, meanwhile, has many crazy Credits, including Dracula's Dog (aka Zoltan, Hound of Dracula), Fairy Tales (which is Softcore Porn) and Laserblast!  While he has a mustache in this Film, he doesn't look like Edgar Allen Poe, despite what the promo art all entails (see below).  The only other credit really worth mentioning here now is that of Stanley Winston, a few years into his famous career.  Yeah, I'd go by Stan too.  This Movie wasn't *technically* a Video Nasty, but makes many Lists of them all the same.  To see why it is warranted, read on...

A young woman has lost her sight due to a tragic car accident.  Thankfully, her Dad is a Doctor who happens to specialize in Eyes.

What can he do though?

Well, he monologues ALOT, but eventually decides to try out a new, fresh pair of donor eyes.

For some reason, he picks her (ex?)Boyfriend...Lance Henriksen?!?

We soon find out that he has kept Lance locked up in the Basement in a Cage, since, he 'can't dispose of the body.'

Within weeks (since the transplants keep failing), there are a half-dozen people down there!

In a bit that reminds me more of The Brain that Wouldn't Die than Eyes Without a Face (got no human race), he has to keep finding people to bring home and then steal the eyes from.

Fun Fact: one of them is (I guess) famous Baseball Player Al Ferrera.  He was also on Batman.

The Film really makes you feel for the Daughter, who he apparently performs eye transplants on at least 6-7 times within 2 Months (tops!).  Ouch!

I do, however, feel less bad for when she goes swimming in a pool (full of chlorine!) two weeks after the first operation!

The act becomes too much to keep up with as he keeps performing operations and leaving eye-less victims in the basement.

One of them escapes, which leads the Police in his direction...but he's killed by the Prisoners- specifically Ferrera- before that actually happens.

Weird to set up that Plot Point then, no?  The End.

A dark and interesting Film.  True Horror Films make you ask questions.  In this case, is the Doctor right for doing whatever it takes to cure his Daughter?  After all, he does plan on using the same research to do full Eye Transplants for everyone.  Do the ends justify the means?  Medicine has sacrificed more than a few people to get new achievements- right or wrong.  To his credit, Basehart does a good job in selling you his ideals and slowly-increasing insanity.  He's definitely a bad guy here- no question.  Even so, part of you does want him to succeed.  At the very least, it means that he'll stop taking people's eyeballs out!  As things continue to fail, you can see his desperation grow and how he's willing to do stuff he wouldn't have days ago.  I'm still not clear why Lance was his first target though.  I could see him being a later one- perhaps he visits and says something to offend the Daughter- but not the first.  Credit for the realistic and freaky effects has to go to the late Mr. Winston.  He nails the horror of their missing eyes and it is a pretty seamless effect 99% of the time.  The Acting here can range from the good to the melodramatic.  Granted- if I was in the situation that the people in the Cage were, would I sound calm and rational?!?  I'm not going to say that this is a 'lost classic,' but it is definitely a shocking and scintillating Film quite often.  If you're into the darker Horror, check it out.  Just be careful with some of the alternate Titles and Box Arts.  For instance, this one features a shot of George Eastman from a completely different Movie...

Next time, I check out another forgotten 'classic.'  This one infamously has about 3 different Cuts, but I *think* I have the original to cover.  Stay tuned...

Lost in Translation Double-Feature: Mansion of the Doomed (1976)

After discussing the Film, I might as well look at some alternate Box Art.

One of the more common Alternate Titles is Massacre Mansion, which is quite a bit misleading.

For all that happens, like 2 people actually die in there.

Mansion of the Doomed is melodramatic, but not too far off.

Let's look at one from the UK, specifically a VHS Release...

Credit for dramatic flourish and style.

I love that font too.  
I should update my Resume with that one.

Here's another, which looks like a DVD one.

Eyes!

This is a nice and freaky promo art for the Film.
What kind of weirdo could resist this?

I think the 2nd one is the winner!

Quick Review: Sadako (2019)

A Pandemic has officially kept this Film from our shores, but I found a way to watch it.  How's the latest Film...

A strange woman keeps her kid locked up in a closet.  She talks about the kid as being a 'reincarnation of evil' and plans to burn her alive.

As you can see above, that doesn't exactly go according to plan and the girl is free.

She ends up in a Hospital and people are looking into the incident, since apparently 5 people died in it.

Don't get used to these Cops/Detectives- they soon vanish from the Plot.

The young Doctor's brother happens to be a would-be YouTube (not named) sensation.

Desperate for the clicks, he VLogs himself at the site of the fire...and vanishes.

Is this based on Logan Paul's incident in the Suicide Forest?  Maybe.

The Doctor realizes that something is up with the kid and weird stuff starts to happen at the Hospital.

She does 'scared eyes' very well, you have to give her that.

She has to team up with her Brother's Producer/Promoter/Manager to solve his disappearance.  Can they find him?  Can they save him?

Or will Sadako rise once again and take out anyone she wants for arbitrary reasons?

To find out, watch the Film.  It's 'around' if you know where to look, but support the official release when and if it comes.

A bit different, but is it enough.  After doing what feels like 20 Ring-related Films, it was nice to see something different.  There is no cursed tape.  There's not really a well.  There's not even an eventually-proven-to-be-evil father figure either.  Is this Film fresh?  Kind of.  Despite feeling different than the rest of the Series, it is still pretty standard J-Horror stuff.  There's a woman who's constantly in some sort of peril from a ghost.  There's still an evil-looking kid.  There's still a ghost lurking around all corners.  They do, thankfully, update some things here on the surface to freshen things up.  For instance, the Brother is a YouTube sensation (of sorts)- that's new and topical.  The tricky thing for me is that I'm not sure if they are expanding the story of Sadako or partially-rewriting it.  The infamous Well now seems to be a cliff side cave and there's some mythos about 'the spirit of dead children' at the site.  In the Ring story proper, Sadako evolves beyond the tape to the written word and it eventually leads to some sort of virus, going in a more sci-fi direction.  The Films just can't escape the Horror roots, however, and keep circling back.  Ironically, the Story that turns it more Sci-Fi is called 'Loop,' but they keep looping back to the first story.  As far as J-Horror, there's not much new here, but nothing is done wrong.  As far as Ring Films go, it is nice to see some diversity of content.  After all, the last thing they want to do is look like a fool...

An interesting Film that is thankfully not just a retread of familiar material.  It just isn't as groundbreaking or unique as you'd expect from the return of the original Director to the Series.

Lost in Translation?: Freddy vs. Jason

Art is subjective.

Some people love Fine Art and hate Modern Art.
Other people hate Fine Art and love Modern Art.

I think we can all agree on one piece though...

Oh Ghana- never change!

Yes, the Internet is chock full of these bizarre, hand-made Posters.

They always look weird.
They always look silly.

I will say that this one is at least close to the Plot and gives us a new, silly subtitle- The War of Doom!

Hmm...sounds more like a Marvel Comics thing.

Ultra Rare Flix: The Ring- Kanzenban (1995)

A Film that I didn't know was hiding online all this time.  As part of my plan to try and do all of the Ring Films, I have to go to the beginning.  No, not the Books.  I'm sure that there's a different Blog for that.

No, it is time to go back to the first Movie...which is not Ringu.  

No, this TV Movie is the actual first. 
It has never been released in the US as far as I can tell. 
When it actually was released on Video in Japan, it was for two now-dead formats- VHS and Laserdisc!

This one promises to be the most accurate one to the Books. 
Is that a good thing? 
Does it, at the very least, make it stand out?  To find out, read on...

In a Cold Open, a teenage girl is alone at home when something scares her, chases her into the Bathroom (indirectly) and kills her.

Notably this one does NOT feature the crazy, distorted faces you associate with the Series.
I don't know if it is because they were following the Book or just couldn't afford it.

Our Hero is the Uncle of the girl and...wait?  Our Hero is a dude?

Yep.  This is the ONLY Ring adaptation out there to not decide to make him a lady- not that there's anything wrong with that.  Gender-swapping him and the kid is a choice that started with Ringu and just stuck.

He's still otherwise the same Character, so...nothing changes.  Still a unique aspect to the Film though.

He, of course, finds the tape and watches it.

I won't go too in-depth here, but the visuals are VERY different from any Ring Film too.

It's in Color, for one, and full of strange visuals like dice (see the Stinger) and a Volcano.  They all factor into the Story.

There's also no 'Seven Days' phone call- the Tape ends with the message for you.

Instead of working the case with an Ex-Husband (it was 1995 and Japan, so no), he works the case with a disgraced friend and former-Psychic.  Who doesn't know one?

The case goes all the same- Psychic Mom, scared people and the well-, save for one thing.

The final incident with Sadako involves her 'going all the way' with her boyfriend, only to discover that she has a pair of things that he didn't expect.

This leads to her ending up in the Well, thankfully re-framing the incident from her being raped to this (small improvement, I know).

As usual, they set Sadako free and she kills the friend. 
However, there is sadly no 'crawling out of the TV' bit.

Instead, you get arty flashes of color, her Mom appearing as a ghost and then her killing the guy.  No scary face or face hidden by hair either.

The Movie ends with him explaining all of this to the audience- thanks!- and going to make a copy, since his Pregnant Wife watched the tape.

There is no Sequel to this.  The End.

At this point, it is almost like a weird dream watching this one.  I've seen 3 versions of this Story already- Japanese, South Korean and American.  Hell, if you count that sort-of-canon Prequel, I've seen it 3 and a half times.  So when I see one that feels similar, but different in many ways, it is like a dream.  Things feel familiar, but many little things (or big things) are off.  The Film is solid, but I should point out one aspect.  To put it bluntly, it can be a bit 'sleazy.'  The first victim dies in the shower, so her blouse (with Snoopy on it- no joke!) is see through.  They also randomly cut from a conversation to this couple having PG-13 (or is it 15-Rating?) sex in a car.  It is important- since they are the third and fourth victims, respectively- but we didn't *need* to see the Actress topless for this.  She's also shown dead and topless- double fun?!?  Lastly, we get a bit more with Sadako in the flashback parts and when she appears at the end.  It's not excessive nudity, but it is weird to see in a Franchise who I almost criticized for showing Naomi Watts in her underwear in literally her 2nd Scene.  By comparison, that's nothing.  If you're not familiar with the Ring Films, this can work.  Do note that the only version online is not *great* quality.  That was a selling point for Gore Verbinski with Ringu though, since he claimed the lower fidelity of his copy added to the terror (or something).  If you're familiar with the Films, check this out for a very different, but familiar take on things.  It's just a shame that the Cursed Tape look more like Public Access Programming...

Next time, I go from the beginning to the end.  The most recent Ring Film didn't make it to the U.S. due to Quarantines, but life, uh, finds a way.  Stay tuned...

New Streaming: Creepshow- Lydia Lane's Better Half

Another week and another freaky entry from the recent Show known as...

In this Segment, someone makes a rash decision and has to cover it up.  That always ends well in these...

A businesswoman named Lydia decides to promote one of her Employees over the other, which creates a bit of a conflict.

She was sleeping with the one she *didn't* promote, so that makes snese.

Things escalate during their private conversation and the Employee meets a somewhat-ironic end.

Now Lydia needs to hide and/or dispose of the body.  I'm sure that will be easy.

To find out what obvious wrinkles happen, watch the Episode.

A fun, but dark Segment.  Aren't they all though?  There's some amusing bits here- darkly so, of course- involving the 'high jinks' of trying to hide the body.  Oops, not there.  Try again!  The meat of the Episode takes place in an Elevator as she tries to hide it on another floor.  Some *spooky* stuff starts happening in classic Creepshow fashion.  I don't want to give too much away.  What they do well is make use of a single location for the bulk of the Segment.  It is easy to make it boring, but they do a good job avoiding that.  The Acting, Editing, Cinematography and Music all accent things.  It all builds up to a fairly-obvious conclusion, but it is still satisfying.  Not every one of these has to completely-surprise you.  Looking up the Director, she did the weird segment in XX (see below) involving a Mom trying to hide a dead body before her kid's Birthday Party.  I wonder what she'll do for an encore...

Next time, it is not a Horror Anthology without a Monkey's Paw.  What twists and turns will they give it?  See you then...

'Ringu' Wrap-Up: Rings (2017)

After 10 years, someone brought back the Ring Franchise in America.  Oops, re-shoots.  More re-shoots.  So, after 12 years, someone finally brought back the Ring Franchise in America...

In a Syfy Opening, people on a plane are in peril since one guy watched the video (still on tape!) right on cue.  It also happens that someone who saw it before was there to...stop nothing.  More on this bit later.

Here's my first issue- what tape?  Rachel burned what seemed liked the last copy in The Ring 2.

Now there is just another one for this Scene and to set the Plot in motion?

A man- Johnny Galecki- buys a VHS Player from a Yard Sale and decides to play the tape inside.  70% odds of finding a snuff film.

Instead, he finds, you know what.

Some time later, we meet our 2 Leads.  The guy is going away for College, which sure ended well in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

I will say that our Female Lead is no Megan Fox though- she can actually emote!

When he suddenly won't answer her calls, she goes to his College and finds a group of people studying the cursed footage called the Seven.

Seems like a waste to not re-used the Rings group...when the Film is called Rings.

Can she solve the *now updated/retconned* mystery of Samara before it is too late?

Or will the Film get bogged down in random details like Copying Quicktime Films and/or comparing the File Size of said copies?

To find out, watch the Film.  I had to spend $3 on it, so you'd better!

On the surface, it is more of the same.  Another Film with another woman trying to find Samara's remains to set her free.  Another Film where people still keep watching the same damn video and never learn.  We also have another guy who is doomed for helping her out.  We also also have an older Character Actor playing a key figure related to Samara.  So what's different?  Well, they move the video from Analog to Digital, running them all on Apple Machines.  I'd argue how much of an upgrade that really is.  The wrinkle here is that someone is copying the video and having people watch it to study it.  His reason is, well, stupid and I won't SPOIL it.  Instead of an ex-boyfriend or a new replacement, we have a current one.  Progress?  It is weird to see how they reuse some Plot Points (like a group who watches the cursed Tape) and tries to tweak it slightly- especially when both Films have the same name!  The big thing here is that they try to expand the mythos...even while also messing with it.  Remember when they buried Samara and that was a bad thing?  Well, now someone un-buried her...before it happened last time.  Let's also reference her past while getting the details wrong.  It's okay- the whole Plot doesn't hinge on it or anything.  No Sissy Spacek either- bummer.  The Film tries to find a balance between new and old.  It kind of works, while not overall impressing too much.  That probably explains the need for all of the Reshoots, the February Release and the near-immediate lack of interest.  So who did they get for this one?  Oh, it's...aw...

A decent extension of the Series, even if it is chock full of retcons.  It's just a shame that it is probably going to lead to nothing.

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Stuber

As an advance warning, this has minor SPOILERS.  Don't complain after this.

In Stuber, 2 mismatched guys have to catch a killer.  To get evidence from an injured thug, they talk him to a Doctor...or Vet.

In an amusing bit, he escapes death by walking the dogs while the big gunfight in his Shelter happens.

Touche.

So by the Third Act he reappears and meets with someone- who I blacked out to avoid full SPOILERS- when they get a call from Batista.

They kill him, since his death is apparently a key part of the plan involves framing Batista for every death in the Film.

Did they really need to kill him?  I mean, not really.  He's just collateral damage and one more body for the pile.

The lesson: don't work with Dogs.  Nobody is ever killed watching over a cat.

Next time, a lot of collateral damage for a Syfy Opening.  It's a doozy.  See you then...

Lost In Translation?: King Kong (1976)

Dino's infamous Remake speaks for itself.

He promised a fully-realized Kong via life-sized robot.

It didn't happen.

Regardless, people didn't know this in other Countries when they were trying to promote the upcoming Film.

See what the lovely folks over in Asia got...

That's...one awkward Poster to look at now.

Yes, he does climb the World Trade Center in the Film.
Yes, it was about 20 years before the first attack on said Building.

That awkwardness aside, it is an odd point to pick for the Poster.  Why not him on top?

It seems odd to get him like halfway up, especially since this isn't a shot from the Film that they used.  They actively chose to pick this moment and make a detailed drawing/painting for it.

Odd.

Here's the original...

Not bad, but it needed a little bit of love.  I got ya, Kong!

'Ringu' Wrap-Up: The Ring Two (2005)

After all this time, I finally cover the Sequel to the Remake that isn't a Remake of the Sequel.  Does anyone smell toast?  This is the American version of The Ring Two from 2005.  Sequels in this Series are a weird one to explain.  The first one- Rasen- was basically erased from continuity and replaced with The Ring 2.  Yes, there are two Ring 2 Films in Japan alone.  It is confusing.  Mind you, there are also two Films in the Series called Rings too!  So, again, this is not just a Remake of that Japanese Film.  It does, however, borrow many elements from that Film, so it isn't as simple as people make it sound.  Does it make improvements over that Film?  It is also worth noting that the original Film's Director is back for this one, despite not doing the first Remake.  It is also his only American Film.  He apparently hated the experience and refused to repeat it.  Does that hurt the Film?  To find out, read on...

If you watched Rings (again- the 2005 one), you'd know that this guy was part of the titular group who dare each other to watch the tape and wait as long as possible before passing the curse on.

The Film jumps in right here as he tries to do just that to 'some girl from his School,' but it doesn't work.

This is the first of many 'riffs' on the original The Ring 2 you'll see.

Now here's the kicker- Rachel returns to the Story as that kid *just happened to live where she just moved to that very day* and she finds the tape.

She burns it.  The End?

Nope- now her kid is acting weird...well, by his standards.

Not Sadako (Samara, if you care) is now trying to take over the kid, which I guess she can just do.

If there's a concise, thought-out rulebook for what Rage Ghosts and the like can do, I want to see it!

This leads to the most dated-looking and silliest part of the Film- including the bit with CGI Bathwater- bar none...

The CGI Deer attack.

This Film had a $50 million Budget.  They didn't use it for these things.
Also it is silly and makes no sense.

As the possession takes effect, the kid now fears water and is cold, since Not Sadako was in the Well.

Naturally, she also summons water with her appearance every time, because...Nakata made the original Dark Water, I guess.  It's just the new 'Theme.'

Rachel has a new, good-looking, helpful and scruffy man in her life who wants to help.

Guess how this all ends for him.

In a small but impactful role, Sissy Spacek plays the *real* Mother of Not Sadako, who tried to kill her as a baby before she got adopted.

This random role was enough to warrant Top Billing.

Rachel gets the girl out of her son by drowning him for a bit- casual attempted murder, you know- but ends up in the Well.

She climbs her way out to safety...

...and manages to escape when she follows her son's voice.

So does the rock on the metaphysical well seal up Not Sadako for good?  We'll find out in 12 years, I guess.  The End.

It is somehow too silly to be taken seriously and too dry to be taken for fun.  The Movie is just plain weird.  That's usually a good thing.  In this case, it is less so.  So many things are introduced and then just kind of forgotten.  The Doctors don't trust Rachel- no matter, the kid is home.  The kid can control Doctors- never comes up again.  The possessed kid can just face-warp you to death instantly- that's new and unexplained!  Here's Sissy Spacek...and she's gone.  Here's Gary Cole...and he's gone.  The tape being destroyed so early- is it the only one?- is a nice wrinkle, but it doesn't do enough.  The spirit can just do what it wants, so why was it even still bothering with the tape?  A better twist would have been that she/it could kill you *any time* in the 7 Days if she wants to, since her spirit is free?  On that note, her spirit is free, but also keeps dripping water like it just left the Well.  Huh?  It also later turns *into* water, despite being afraid of it.  Logic!  I'm curious to see what Hideo Nakata was going for, since he says that the Film was edited so much that he disowned it.  What could they have done?  Do we need people to complain until we get a Nakata Cut?  Count me out- just for the record.  For hilarious moments like the Deer Scene and not much else, this one is alright.  I know- I clearly didn't like it and then I say that.  It makes no sense, right?  That's what it apparently was like working with a Director who didn't speak English, as shown by Baker's face...

Next time, I cover the most recent- and least remembered- entry in the US Series.  Will a repeat Title mean repeat success?  Stay tuned...