Tubi Thursday: Scream of the Wolf (2022)

 I was going to watch Scream of the Wolf (1974) because it was a Dan Curtis Film.
...sadly, the Tubi Copy is like a 4th Generation VHS rip, so...what's Plan B?

Scream of the Wolf (2022).

Let's do this!

Somewhere out in the in descript regions of the UK, a bunch of folks are making a Vampire Film.

Nice misdirection there.

A couple new guys are called out to work on it and we *sort of* get an American Werewolf in London reference with them asking for directions at a Pub.

It's about the only comparison I'll make to a good Film, so enjoy it.

After lots of stalling and nothing, we learn that a Werewolf has made it to the Manor.
Is that why this is also called Wolf Manor?

It sometimes kills some folks- like the guys on the way to the Manor- but sure takes his sweet time.

This Film has time for lots of complaining by the old guy playing the Vampire AND for him to have a $36 Dream Sequence (one lady in a top hat dances while music plays).

Can you start killing some folks again, Mr. Wolf?

Thank you.

In the most telegraphed of endings, we see the old guy has a silver cane and uses it to stab the Wolf and walk away in the morning.

Confusingly, we then cut to a bunch of Werewolves all meeting on the road by the Manor...since I guess the victims are now transformed?

That or there was always five of them?  Who cares?
The End.

Okay, let's jump right into positives.

The Werewolf Suit looks cool.  I like Practical Werewolves (more than Practical Magic).  It's nice and furry.

There are also some decent gore and fake limbs.

The Setting is nice.

Sadly, that's it, as the Film drags for long, long stretches of time.
The Werewolf can't enter the House...until he can.  That will get us to the mandatory runtime!

I'm only here since there's a bad copy of a Film I wanted to see, so I got what I was going to get.

Is this a Werewolf Comedy or a decent Werewolf Film?  They say its one, but it is certainly not the other.

Tubi Thursday: ROB1N (2025)

What happens when you rip off a Movie whose Sequel underperformed?

Well, let's hope people still care.

This is...

In a Flashback Scene, a kid kills a bunch of people at his Birthday Party.

See- I was never that bad, Dad!

His name is Robin.

A few Decades later, an old man makes a boy robot.

Why we aren't just making Johnny 5's is anyone's guess.

His name is Rob1n.

A young man with a secret to hide has just gotten engaged.

He tells his new Fiance that he wants to make peace with his long-estranged Uncle.

They go to visit him and stay in his House.

His name is NOT Robin.

Despite clearly not being to actually move on-screen, the titular robot goes around killing people in the House, from the Staff to Cops.

Who will live?
Who will die?

Will this at least be better than a Robert the Doll Film?

To find out, stream it now.

A pretty lackluster ripoff in look and overall execution.

To be 100% fair to this Film, they don't rip off the Plot of MEGAN...much.
They rip off the Plot of different Films and just market it as a rip-off of MEGAN.

Much different!

The Acting and overall presentation of this one isn't bad.  It feels slightly more professional than many of the recent UK Horror Films I've seen.

That said, ROB1N here is a decent, but clearly fragile animatronic.  It never moves while fully shown on screen.  Hell, it never moves while HALFWAY being shown on screen.

When your Killer Doll/Robot can't actually kill, what's the point?

It's alright, but I think my renewed look at The Outer Limits will bring better Boy Robot fare...

A Film with a few interesting Scenes and it's not a total rip-off.  That said, it isn't that interesting either- even as its own thing.

Shudder Day: 28 Weeks Later (2007)

 As a Film Monster Connoisseur, I've always preferred Zombies to Infected.

That said, I should pay more attention to this Series, since it suddenly revived for 2 Films in the last Year.

Let's jump back to 2007 for...

As a refresher, a strange infection started to show up in England- specifically around London.

People would get bit, get red eyes and become dangerous infected.

They would chase you down, tear you apart and snarl the whole time.

That brings us to know as our Hero- Robert Carlyle- is hiding out in the Countryside with his Wife and other survivors.

They help a child and then immediately get attacked.

When his wife is cornered near him, he chooses Flight over Fight.

Later, we are introduced to the new situation.

The US Army has moved in and has locked down the area.

Led by the top brass (including a waste of a role for Idris Elba), they have the Isle of Dogs as a Safe Zone...for now.

Enter these two kids.

They are the Children of Carlyle and his Wife.

After he's not exactly honest about how he lost their Mom, they break the quarantine and go home to get a picture of her.

Things go wrong.
They go very wrong.

Can they get out when the infection is revived and people start to die?

Let's avoid 18 year old SPOILERS and say 'To find out, watch the Film now.'

A tense Film that will hinge upon how much you care about Children.

This Film seems to inspire two vastly different reactions- 'Those poor kids' or 'Those damn kids!'

Simply put, the crux of the Plot is them breaking quarantine and discovering Mom.  Granted.

That said, the point here is that this tenuous barrier was NOT going to hold it.  If they didn't do it, some lady might go back for her hair dryer, some guy might want his skateboard or some other kids may wander over just for fun.

Also, let's be clear- the Dad is at fault here.  If he stayed, these people wouldn't die.

For many, the real villain is the shaky cam.

It can be good in small doses.  It can create a look of frantic chaos.

If you actually want to see what is happening and avoid taking Dramamine though, this is a problem.

It is also funny to wonder if this Film is the origin of Jeremy Renner being cast as a Soldier (The Hurt Locker) and the 'guy on the roof' (The Avengers).

Regardless of how you feel about kids, this one has impact and kept the Series running...in about 2 Decades.

A Film that delivers what you want from the Infected in Films.  That said, it is full of that damn Shaky Cam!

Tubi Thursday: Krampus- The Return (2024)

 As Krampus Nacht is nigh, I have to cover another one of these.

This one is a recent one too, so it must be good...right?

A guy calls his Sister wanting her to come back and help him deal with Krampus.

The titular creature shows up and kills him.

She goes to his House in the aftermath.

The killer creature makes sure to...kill a random businessman and a prostitute?

He was in the House at the beginning...but alright.

He also kills a Gardener.  Cool?

He briefly appears to talk to our Heroine and then vanishes.

That...was something.

With about 20 minutes left in the Film, we finally get Krampus in the House with them.

We got to this amount of runtime by adding some random drama that I won't bore you with.

Given that our leftmost victim looks like the least fortunate victim from In A Violent Nature, I don't like her odds.

To find out what happens, check out this Promo Image for the Film that has since been deleted from Facebook...I mean, the Movie.

No, I didn't make this.

The Poster cliche continues!

A Film that I was momentarily thinking could be good.

Sadly, it quickly turns into the usual Direct-to-Streaming Horror Film that seems to pop up 3x a month from Britain.  They have fields, latex and plenty of free time, I guess.

Is this better than those Leprechaun Films?  Not really.

The Krampus mask looks cool- I like the horns.  I just wish they had an actual full outfit for him.

If the mouth actually moved, that would have been nice too.

The Film's opening narration talks about how the German Villages fought an army of Krampus beings (or Krampi).  They don't show this, so screw you.

This is super generic and even the kills aren't interesting.  No amount of 3rd Act Twist can save this- sorry.

Just imagine a more interesting Film- in AI Slop form.

A Film that starts out strong...and quickly loses steam.  If they put the effort into the rest of the Film, this might not have sucked.

Tubi Thursday: The Flesh and Blood Show (1972)

 Let's jump back to the '70s to see a Film that sort of revolutionized the Genre.

Granted- the Genre didn't exist at the time, but still.

It is...

A man shows up at two ladies' apartment with a knife wound.  He asks for help and works his way inside.

He falls over and...

It was a fake.  Womp womp.

He's an Actor and so are they.

They are part of a makeshift troupe (with Stage Actors and some down on their luck Movie Actors) hired to do a Play.

They have to practice and live together for the next week.

Tensions run a bit high with some of them, with the constant practice not making things better.

One couple is conflicted when the guy won't stop looking at another Actress.

That night, there's a scream and one of the Actresses goes missing.

The Police are called, but the body is missing and the Cops think that it was a prank.

They bring in a new Actress and meet up with an old man in town too.

Lots of wandering around though.

Given that it is the '70s, they just needed a talking dog.

A few of them get picked off, but are thought to be missing.

They eventually figure out that there is a connection between this Theater and the old man from earlier.

A practice with the remaining group is interrupted...

...and we get the prolonged explanation via flashback.

The guy was doing Othello, discovered that his wife was cheating on him with his Co-Star and buried the pair alive in the bowels of the Theater.

Wrong Shakespeare, but you do you!

In the aftermath, the Cops arrest him (as they figured things out), we get everything explained and then we're out on a semi-META line.

The End.

A Film that, while not great, was ahead of its time.

If you didn't spot the connection, the Film is similar to many of the early Slasher Films. Those were all whodunnits (before just being versions of a Jason Voorhees killer for a while).

There's a clear throughline from this 1972 Film to, say, 1980's Prowler (especially with the older, revenge driven killer) or 1981's My Bloody Valentine.

This one doesn't have the style or grace of other Films that would define the early Slasher prototypes, of course. 
This isn't Halloween or Blood and Black Lace.

The Pacing is not great here and it is a bit of a test of one's ability to keep interested at times.  It isn't done badly- it is just not done all that excitingly.

The Film had a unique gimmick- as seen on the Poster- with the Flashback bit being in 3-D.  Of course, the digital print is not in 3-D, but you do still get the notice...

A Film that is notable for doing many things that far more famous Films would do later.  If only it did them more interestingly here, this would be less of a Cult Film.

Tubi Thursday: Eye of the Needle (1981)

 A Film that both relates to this Anniversary AND to Star Wars.
I'll get to the explanation for that later.

This is the seminal Thriller called...

Donald Sutherland is working for British Intelligence in 1940.

Unfortunately (for his Housekeeper), he's also a spy.
Get used to seeing him stab people with that knife (or needle).

Four years later, he's assigned a big task- find out about Operation Overlord.
That's D-Day, in case you missed the 100 Articles about it today.

He gets his proof, but runs into trouble.

More stabbing.

Now he's got to get to Germany and his cover appears to be blown.

He travels by Car, by bike, by train and even by boat.

That leads him to Storm Island (aka the original Title of the Book that this is based on).

He's rescued by Tom, a would-be RAF Pilot who got paralyzed in a car accident on his Wedding Day (right before his deployment).

Things are tense with him and his Wife.

Sutherland bides his time on the Island while he waits for a U-Boat to pick him up.

Things go well for a while, as he hooks up with the lonely Wife.
By the end, however, there's lots of shooting and violence (despite what this happy still says).

To see how it all plays out, stream the Film now.

A really good and tense Film.  It is easy to see why it so well-reknowned.

I'm definitely glad that I picked this over an Asylum Film.  No lie.

Sutherland plays a cold, calculated man that is just shy of pure evil.  You see glimpses of his humanity early on and more by the end.

The Film takes a neat turn once he gets on the (originally) titular Island.  The Plot basically becomes a twisted version of a 1940s Romance Tale.  In those, it is usually two Men (usually in the Army in some capacity) who fall for the same Woman.

In this case, one is a Nazi Spy!

One thing the Film does well is repetition, but with key changes.  Without SPOILing too much for you, it gives you a happy moment involving the Wife.  Later events make the same moment now seem tragic.  It's really well done.

Like with Siege, I'd be interested in seeing a version of this done where we DO NOT know the truth about Sutherland.  Maybe show it in flashbacks or something like that to build the tension on the Island- just a free pitch for when this inevitably gets remade for Paramount + or something.

As for the Star Wars connection mentioned at the top, it was this Film (especially being shot on time and on Budget) that got Director Richard Marquand the gig of directing The Return of the Jedi in 1983.

There's a real killer for you to Direct!

A true classic.  Happy D-Day- you owe it all to this random lady in Scotland!

Tubi Thursday: Argoman- The Fantastic Superman (1967)

 I needed a break from Cyborgs, Bodybuilders and Post-Apocalyptic Wastelands after this last month.

Let's go with cheesy, dated stuff instead...

This is Sir Reginald Hoover.  He's called in by Scotland Yard when they need help solving cases.

Oh and he's also the titular Superhero.
His powers are telekinesis and mind control, but he wears a visor like Cyclops.

He uses his powers to get a woman named Regina to come to his Island and they eventually hook up.
There's a catch- he loses his powers for 6 hours after he 'does the deed.'

After she leaves, he realizes that she's a bad lady calling herself Jenabell- Queen of the World.

She stole the Royal Crown of England, but then returns it with a note asking for a greater treasure.
It is less of a request and more of a threat, but you still have to appreciate the courtesy.

He tracks her to Paris and gets into a fight with her goons after they rob a bank- just in time for his powers to return.

If you think the whole 'losing his powers' thing will come up again, dream on.

He works to stop her from stealing a diamond that can transmute matter if light is reflected off of it.

It's all a big MacGuffin and as silly as you'd expect from a Film like this.

He keeps nearly catching her.

At one point, she kidnaps his lady friend and he has to save her from a robot- as you do.

Her big Plot basically involves using said diamond to help make Robot doubles for World Leaders.
A Plot so good that Futureworld stole it.

In the End, our Hero stops her...and keeps the Crown she originally stole.  You scamp!

Is it good?  Objectively, it is not great.  

It is cheesy, has a very dated Soundtrack, a ridiculous Plot and can't decide whether it is a Spy Film or a Superhero one.  Argoman is kind of a jerk too.

That said, it is enjoyable in a strange way.  It is just so committed to this silly Plot, silly outfits, silly Soundtrack and just its overall vibe.

It is so silly.
Things just kind of happen.

This isn't a great Film.  It was featured by the recent MST3K crew, so that tells you alot.

If you want a silly, dated Film to enjoy, this will do.
If you want something great, keep scrolling.

A silly Film that is pretty enjoyable, provided you set your expectations right.  It is a cheesy time capsule of a Film that I can't really hate.