'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...

Impossibly-Cool Cover Art: Slave of the Cannibal God

Cannibal Films are a mixed bag.  Many suck.  Many are good.  Most are controversial.

Can we at least agree on one thing though?  This Poster is amazing!

Damn!

This whole thing is just...I mean, damn.

How can you *not* want to see this movie now?

Here's the original...

Still great, but it has no flair!  Colors!  Lighting!  Magic!

Pretty-Convenient Cover Art: Cannibal Farm

Someone online was mentioning how familiar this looked, so I might as well borrow...I mean, co-opt...I mean...use this idea for myself.

Have you ever wanted to be a famous Film but couldn't be?  Just dress up like one instead...

So yeah, I don't need to explain this one, right?

What's it like overseas?

About the same.  I just feel like there's something different out there too.  How could you kill all of the Horror and make it look like some Book you'd pass over in Barnes & Noble?

Perfect!

On the plus side, it's not an insult to Tobe Hooper (R.I.P.) this time.

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Raw (2016)

This is a Poor Bastards of Cinema induction, but it does relate to a big Plot Point in the Film known as Raw.

If you don't want to know, just skip this one until you watch the Film.

You were warned.

In Raw, our Heroine struggles with a sudden desire to eat meat- no matter if it is human or animal!

Her Sister tries to help her in a bit of an odd way...

...by running into the street and causing a car to crash.

As it turns out, her Sister was apparently affected in a similar way a few years back.  Surprise.

Meanwhile, this guy and his friend are dead, the former getting a few bites taken out of him for good measure.

Basically, that is what they get for driving on a Country Road in France.

The moral: take a Bus.  They get killed far less often.

Mondo Trivia: The 'Cannibal Holocaust'-'Spider-Man' Connection

Cannibal Holocaust is a famous Film that was once banned in over 40 Countries.

It is down to like 3 now.

While I won't go into the whole Plot here, this is what you need to know...

Robert Kerman is sent to the Jungle to find a missing Film Crew (not Mike, Kevin and Bill).

***Smash Cut to 22 years later***

In Spider-Man, Green Goblin has set up a life-or-death scenario for the titular hero to solve.

Who should help save the day but a friendly Tugboat Captain- Robert Kerman

So what's the Story?

While doing an event celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Cannibal Holocaust, Kerwin Matthews here met Sam Raimi.

Impressed by his earlier work, Raimi offered him a job in Spider-Man.

Given his work in that Film AND Cannibal Ferox AND Eaten Alive (plus about 100 '80s Porn Films), could this happen today?

Not likely.

New Flix: Raw (2017)

Are you a Vegetarian?  If not, then you might be one after watching this French Thriller...

A young woman has enrolled in Veterinarian School, which is apparently into hazing.  That or they just love Carrie.

As part of the initiation, she must eat a piece of rabbit kidney.  The problem: she's been born and raised as a Vegetarian.

She comes down with a rash and starts to feel strange.  At least there aren't any side-effects...

When a chance to eat something more than animal meat comes to her, will our Heroine do it?

Why is her Sister not exactly a lot of help with the problem?

Will she succumb to her desire to eat others?  Will she lose her humanity?

To find out, watch the Film.

A slow-cooked tray of meat.  Raw is not a conventional Horror Film.  It spends a long time building up the Character and her environment.  You don't get the big pay-off for a while.  Fortunately, the Acting and Writing make it all feel pretty natural.  Having never been a young woman in a Fraternity at a French Veterinarian School, I can't attest to how accurate things are per se.  They feel real, so that is what counts.  The Film is never that showy or flashy, choosing to just let thing simmer.  When things start to happen, they are done quite well.  What could be cheap and gory for gore's sake is actually- again- quite real and gross for story's sake.  It all works.  That said, the Film is quite slow and won't please people looking for stuff like Jump Scares or the like.  It is almost a modern Carrie.  Raw is not a perfect Film, but it can absolutely wreck you if you are in the right mood...

A slow-burn of a Film.  If you're willing to put in the time, it is mostly worth the wait.

Rare Streaming Flix: Cannibal Holocaust 2- The Catherine Miles Story

Since I don't speak Russian, I had to go with Plan B.  As it turned out, it was...not so great, but better than it sounded (but just barely).  Today's Film is Cannibal Holocaust 2: The Catherine Miles Story, a 1985 Film known by many different names.  It took more work to come up with all of the alternate Titles than to write the Script.  Also known as Amazonia, it tells the fictitious Story of Catherine Miles- duh.  Who is she?  Well, nobody.  In context of the Story, however, she was captured by Cannibals, lived for a year and then did something bad.  Is this at all like Ruggero Deodato's Classic?  It sure does use their music, if that helps.  To find out more, read on...

B\A lovely, rich family goes out boating.  It's not a 3-Hour Tour is it?

Instead, the Parents are both killed via dart guns, while Catherine is poisoned.

A Villager shows up and takes Catherine to his Tribe...but only after decapitating the pair.

Life in the Tribe is rough, but thankfully-sparse on ritualistic animal slaughter.

We still get the 'Amazonians paint their faces white' trope though.

I have to discuss how convoluted this Narrative is, by the way.  We see Catherine interviewed by a Reporter, who proceeds to ask about the Trial.  The Film then cuts to the Trial...in which she re-tells the Story of her year in captivity.

So did she tell him this whole thing too or...I don't know anymore.  Moving on...

Animal Stock Footage- check.

As the Film progresses, Catherine sees some White Hunters and talks about how evil they are.  She is saying this to the Villager who bought her as a Slave.  The same Village which 'took her cherry' without her consent.

You know what perspective is, Catherine?

Things take a turn when the Villager- who has learned English- tells her that the Villagers didn't kill her Parents- her evil Relatives did.

Maybe they did, but why does she automatically-believe him with no evidence?  You not bright, girl!

She kills the pair in their bed and decides to leave the Village afterwards.  This leads back to the Trial- finally!

In the aftermath, they do their best to make this fake tale seem real with staged Police Footage (above) and the 'Hey, Don't Shoot Here' Trope supposedly showing the real Catherine.

Oh, so it is your fault that we got The Fourth Kind.  The End.

Eh, not bad.  The Film is pretty 'by the numbers' and really not that engaging.  Part of the problem is the convoluted Narrative.  Why can't you tell this Story in order?  If you want it to seem real, don't show me obviously-fake footage showing what supposedly-happened to Catherine.  If you want it to be more engaging, don't complicated matters!  It wants to have its cake and eat it too, as the cliche goes.  It doesn't really succeed at seeming real, so it is alot of effort gone to waste.  Oh well.  All I can figure is that this was done to compensate for the lack of big, bold moments that you really expect in these.  There's not much gore here and there's really not any sensuality on-screen.  There is plenty of Nudity, but it is nothing special.  No Ursula Andress, no sale.  Is this a Cannibal Holocaust Sequel?  With the 3rd Act Plot Twist, it at least takes on the slightly-META tone of that Film.  It lacks the punch and sharpness of said Film, so I'm going with 'no.'  I hope that the other 'Sequel' does a better job.  You know what is ironic though?  The Film literally did cast a Savage- Deborah Savage!

Next up, I tackle an old movie with a far-out premise.  Hey- you got your Military in my Werewolf movie!  Stay tuned...

Cold Snap: The Donner Party (2009)

With that Polar Vortex gone now, it only seems fitting to put it all into perspective.  It may have been cold outside, but I bet you never once thought about eating your co-worker!  Well, except for you Mr. Lecter.  You're just all kinds of messed up- cold or otherwise.  Let's jump in the way-back machine to see the story of some folks who said 'Utah- screw that!'  They trusted a Guide to lead them on a super-safe, much quicker path to California's Land of Promise.  It doesn't go well.  On a related note, the Production of the film about said journey had its own problems.  It didn't end in Cannibalism or anything, but alot of funding fell through and things changed.  The big thing is that you have to just sort of accept the Donner Party at the end being about eight people, as opposed to forty-eight.  That said, they do just about everything right here.  The film is bleak, depressing (as a positive) and all of the color appears to be washed out.  It is a better use of Color Correction than just making Underworld films look all blue.  The film has a couple of notable Actors in it, namely Cripin Glover and Christian Kane.  A co-worker of mine has a thing for Mr. Kane, so that's just a bonus for them.  To find out if a film about people eating each other 'eats' or is an underrated effort, read on...

It is important to note that they focused on just the final leg of the journey.  In other words, the part when things really went to shit.

After seeing bloated scripts like the one for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, i'm not complaining about the tight focus here.

At this point, there's some serious tension.  They have been at Camp hoping to wait for rescue, but food is scarce.  The guy on the left doesn't want to share, especially since his wife and baby are sharing his residence.

The rescue has arrived.  It's...three sick people with no wagons or support.  Well, shit.

The group leaves their Cabin to head to a stash of supplies roughly three days away.  It turns out to be a lot longer, actually, as things aren't quite what they were originally told.

As you can see, they're doing just fine with almost no food and constant freezing winds.

Sadly, Kane doesn't stick through this movie to the End.  I won't SPOIL what all happens in case you want to see the movie though.  He's...had better days, it seems.

When food runs out and hope runs low, the group must resort to eating each other.  I got that way once at a really-long traffic light.

I mostly drive by myself now.  I don't know why.

Most of them take part, but obviously are not happy about it.  Will this be enough to help them make it through to the Spring?

While the general historical facts about what happened are readily-available/known, I don't want to really SPOIL the movie's take on them.  Sorry.  The End.

Damn, this is bleak!  To be fair, if they made the story of the Donner Party fun or amusing, it would be kind of freaky.  I think only Trey Parker and Matt Stone can do that.  The film has some interesting hurdles to tackle.  One of the big ones is the fact that the story (in a general sense) is well-known.  How do you make a suspenseful film about well-known facts?  Mind you, films like United 93 and World Trade Center worked (for some people), so go figure.  They do a good job of making the story play out naturally and mining what drama they can have.  On the flip-side, there is an extra bit of suspense because you know what is going to happen.  You see things going bad and just know that it is going to get worse.  The Acting is all top-notch, something that is required to make this thing work.  If played as too broad, it would be hard to take seriously.  If played too subtly, it might get boring.  Crispin Glover is the real Star here, playing the charismatic leader of the Party that always acts like he knows what to do.  As things fall apart, he portrays that quite well.  It's a shame that he plays such weird characters and doesn't get alot of mainstream work.  If you are curious about how a story like this could work on film, definitely check it out.  If you're less inclined to see such material, this film will probably be too bleak for you.  Take us away, human version of the SPCA Ads with the sad dog faces...

Next up, let's change tones and genres completely.  Let's see if this Spider is as Big as(s) they say.  Stay tuned...