Svengoolie Special: The Devil's Rain (1975)

 As a fan of Robert Fuest- Director of the greatest Film ever made-, I'd avoided this one.  It's his last big, commercial Film.  It's failure is attributed to him doing TV Movies and the like for the rest of his career- see my look at Revenge of the Stepford Wives.

Well, Svengoolie played it, so I watched it.

Made in 1975, The Devil's Rain is all about Satan, family and, well, rain.  There's both more and less to it than that.  You get an eclectic Cast that includes Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, Tom Skeritt, Ida Lupino and more.

It's famously-bad, but also by a great Director.  Can it be?  Let's see...

A family- Ida Lupino and William Shatner- are waiting for their missing Dad/Husband (respectively) to return.

He does, but as a mostly-melted figure in the rain.

He tells them to return the Book.

Shatner is lured outside, whereupon Mom is kidnapped (in like 20 seconds!).

He goes to a Ghost Town to confront the man behind it- Ernest Borgnine.

He 'bets' his faith (and a magical medallion) against Borgnine's.

He loses.

Ruh roh.

His Brother- Tom Skeritt- and his Girlfriend- who is Psychic- follow the Case, but the Sheriff (of the unseen nearby Town) won't help.

I mean, he's obviously in the Cult, right?  Right.

Things go awry as the pair narrowly escape the Ghost Town, but Skeritt goes back.

Meanwhile, his Girlfriend is captured...when she crashes the Car due to being scared.

Tom here does the 'put on Robes to watch the Ceremony' bit, but is discovered by a Cult Member...played by John Travolta?!?

Yep, he's fully-masked and not famous...but would become famous before the Film came out, so he's Credited.

He's too late to stop the Ceremony- not that he tries too hard to do so- and Shatner is now part of the Cult.

We get a prolonged flashback to explain things involving the Psychic Girlfriend...

The short version- Puritan Shatner turned in Puritan Borgnine, who cursed his family in death and vowed to return.  He needs the Book of Souls to fully gain his power.

That said, he can swap places with this Goat Man version of himself, so he does have SOME powers.

Only one thing can stop him...

Alongside Eddie Albert (!!!), Skeritt must destroy the titular Devil's Rain- a big orb thing that holds the souls of Borgnine's Cult Members.

To be clear, this is different than the Book containing them signing away their souls.

Shatner ends up smashing it, leading to a VERY LONG section of the Cult Members melting.

We also get the inexplicable Good Ending Fake-Out with Borgnine somehow stealing the Psychic Lady's soul...apparently and going to try again.

Gee- who would try to take away a Happy Ending like that.

Oh, right.

Yeah, it's not great.  This point in the '70s was weird for Cinema as the newest Trend seemed to be, well, Satan Movies.  Thanks alot, William Friedkin!

This is an odd example of a Film that both tries too hard, but also gets a bit lazy.  Yes, you can do both in one Film.

They get really creative with the whole Cult transformation aspect and the look of alot of things, especially the titular prop.  They do this prolonged flashback bit- which is oddly-timed- and try pretty hard.  At the same time, they prolong the ending way too much.  It's gotta be a good 5-10 minutes of just watching the bodies 'melt.'  Thanks?

In spite of its many problems, the Film is quite historically-notable.  It's the first Film for Travolta and, allegedly, where he was introduced to Scientology.  I hope L. Ron gave Fuest a cut!  There's also the fact that it was *allegedly* funded by the Mafia, which just doubles up with the whole Church of Satan involvement aspect.  I just wish that the Film itself was actually better.  

Maybe if you watch it with the companion album to see if they sync up...

Next up, I return to the surprisingly-alright-so-far 4-Film Set.  Will it keep surprising me?  Stay tuned...

*****3,500th Post Celebration**** Fiction vs Fiction: The Abominable Dr. Phibes

It has been ages since I did one of these.  Oh well- it is my favorite Film ever as a Book!

Who will win in this battle of the greats?  Let's find out...

VS

What's the Same?
This is a bit of a tricky one, as you may have noticed that this Book is based on the Screenplay.  That was Co-Written by William Goldstein, the same guy who wrote the Book.

I'm still committed to this, so...

The Plot is still the same.  Phibes still kills a bunch of Doctors and his Clockwork Band is still great.

What's Different?
A big difference...in that there are many little ones.

Here's the big thing: the details.  The little details...but lots of them.

Here is one example...
In the Film, one Doctor is mentioned as being a target, the Police take him for security...and he's immediately-killed.

In the Book, you get a 3-4 page Backstory on him.  He loves pretending to be a rich Duke, hires a Prostitute to act it out and then falls in love with her.  He even runs up a debt renovating his place to look the right way....and then he gets pulled in by the Police and dies.

Which is better?
Your opinion may differ.  My opinion about yours will not.

For me, the Film moves at a better pace.  While I can appreciate the backstory and detail, I don't really need to know whether or not the guy killed in his Plane had a very smart and successful girlfriend.

Plus, the Film features the Art Direction and style of Robert Fuest.  A real winner.

Both are great.  Plus there's a third Phibes Story out there...

Given that I already own it, I probably should read it some day.

Next time, I plan to actually do this one a lot sooner.  How about the second/third Exorcist tale?  See you then...

Rare TV Flix: The Revenge of the Stepford Wives

I only did this for the Director.  Even though I never got to meet Robert Fuest before his death in 2012, I always felt for the guy.  He made 2 of my favorite Films ever- The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again-, but then got screwed over by the Hollywood System.  One big flop- The Devil's Rain- and his Career would never recover.  That leads into today's Film- 1980's The Revenge of the Stepford Wives, a TV Sequel to the iconic Film.  If you don't remember it (or the 2004 Remake), this is the basic Plot- a small town in Connecticut has started turning their Wives into robot slaves that only want to serve them in the House.  Nice, homely stuff.  

Five years later, we get a Sequel set...10 years later (for some reason).  If you think that this time jump matters, it doesn't.  Now a Reporter comes to Town and gets stuck in the midst of the continued craziness.  As noted, the Director is Fuest and the Cast has some notable names.  Sharon Gless is the Reporter, while Don Johnson plays a Cop who gets caught up in all of this.  

This one, like all of the Sequels, fudges the details a bit.  Is it worth trying to track down (despite the lack of quality copies)?  To find out, read on...

If you're wondering about that Title, my Version apparently has the German VHS Title and burned-in...Dutch Subtitles?

Anyhow, a guy in Stepford wants out, so they let him...get driven off of a cliff and die.

A Reporter- Gless- drives into Town right after (literally driving past the Cop who caused the wreck) and wants to know about the Town, due to its 0% turnover rate for Housing and nearly 0% crime rate.

The men in Town are wary of this, of course, as they are mind-controlling their wives.  How?

With Pills, of course!

No, they're not Robots anymore.  Did the time-jump between Films make this change?

Our Heroine meets up with a potential new Wife (the future voice of Marge Simpson) and her Husband (the future voice of Lt. Falcon).

He somewhat reluctantly agrees to have his wife- who is messy and opinionated- converted in exchange for a new life in Stepford and a Job.

She is now programmed to serve and not question, as the treatment is said to suppress all instincts but to serve the man.  If the Pills are taken too often or not enough, things go wrong.

Gless tries to help her new friend, but finds out that it is easier said then done.

She finally manages, thanks to information that the head of Stepford exposited conveniently earlier.

Gless' escape attempt is initially stopped, but she ultimately does so with the Cop/Wife pair (who work things out).

As for the Wives, they get their 'revenge' when they are tricked into taking too many pills, making them go violent and kill the Leader.  The End.

Pretty good stuff, but nothing mind-blowing.  Right off the bat, you have two issues to confront: familiarity and Plot Changes.  On one hand, this one feels very familiar to its more famous predecessor.  I'm not sure how many different ways you can approach this Plot, mind you, so I'm giving it a little bit of  pass.  As for the changes, well, there are no Robots.  This allows them to give Kavner a happy end, since she wasn't killed and replaced by a Robot.  To be fair, the mind-control without full replacement thing makes it feel less like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.   What the Film does right is make the whole Setting feel unnatural and too serene.  The performances by the Wives are quite fun here, ranging from silly to a little scary.  The Film doesn't shy away from the core issue to tackle: patriarchy run amok.  Does wanting your Wife to be subservient make you a bad person?  Probably, at least if you go too far with it.  Wanting to be happy and content- logical.  Making someone abandon their whole self to make yourself happy- insane.  Could people really go this far if the technology allowed them?  Regardless of how you feel about all that, this one is actually...kind of good.  It doesn't make any big changes or do anything super-remarkable.  There are some nice touches (like Gless' arrival), good shots (Gless backing up towards a potential attacker) and it pretty much works.  It would be nice to see this on something better than a VHS Rip from overseas...although a Blu-Ray wouldn't have this little bit at the end...

Next up, I go back to some older stuff as I continue to sort through my Moviestop purchases.  Something smells fishy.  Stay tuned...

Holiday Flix: The Last Days of Man on Earth

Well, it's less about Earth than I thought...but screw it.  Today's Film is The Last Days of Man on Earth, also known as The Final Programme.  Let's be honest- the first Title is better, right?  Besides the Title connection, why am I doing this Movie?  The answer- Robert Fuest.  If you don't know, Fuest Directed the greatest Film ever made- The Abominable Dr. Phibes.  Need I say more?  Well, I will anyways.  He also made the quirkier Sequel, the surprisingly-straight ...And Soon the Darkness, as well as numerous Episodes of the original Avengers TV Show.  His big thing- amazing Set Direction.  It may not sound like much, but his Films always looked great!  

Unfortunately, his downfall was The Devil's Rain and he slowly degraded into doing TV work before retiring.  While it saddens me that the man is not alive to see people like me praising his work, I will do it all the same.  Yes, I will also eventually do his TV work, though I'm somewhat reticent about it.  Before his sudden fall, he managed to make this weird Film.  It is about...well, alot of weird things.  It is part-Science Fiction, part-Thriller and part-Spy Film. 

I really want to check the book out to compare it- even if there are like 65 books ahead of it.  It is hard to sum up, so let me just jump right in...

A rich guy- Cornelius- is pondering the fate of mankind after his father's death.  

His creepy pal ain't helping matters.

As he plans to save his Sister and blow up his house (don't ask), he goes through some very Fuest-like Sets.

Don't you wish this was a real place?!?

This mysterious group agrees to help Cornelius, but they have an ulterior motive.  What is it?

At the house, the step-brother has set up a serious of bizarre traps that involve gas, hidden doors and lights that induce seizures.  

Wait- he invented Anime?!?

After a series of fights, Cornelius has one last chase with his rival- in some beautifully-shot locations- and kills him.

With nothing left to do, he joins the woman on a trip to Lapland.  He learns of the secret cabal of which she is a part.  

They have planned for the end of the world with the power of Math and a computer that is probably less powerful than an iPhone4.

So what is their big plan- which involves a bunch of suspended brains in jars- and what is their goal?

They want to create a self-sustaining lifeform.  That means that it is both Genders and somehow reproduces with itself.  

No, really.

After some 2001-style imagery, the creature- which is the woman and the man together- emerges as some sort of primordial ape man and leaves (to some ironic Jazz Music).  The End?

 Weird.  Double weird.  Triple weird!  This whole thing is just bizarre and banal.  It is an early version of such oddities as The Lobster in that regard.  It is a bit flipped though.  That Film was all about people saying weird things in a plain-spoken manner with really normal visuals.  This Film is about people saying fairly-normal things surrounded by bizarre visuals.  Aside from the ones I showed you, Last Days features lens effects, colored gas, background mud wrestling and a Nazi Submarine.  The pace is slow and steady, but the mysterious Plot should keep you hooked.  Strange things happen at every corner, be it shifting rooms or a creepy guy more interested in straightening a Pinball Machine than a woman in front of him.  Besides, our Hero says 'Napalm' like 'Nah- palm' a few times- gold.  It is definitely for everyone.  It veers quite a bit into 'arty for arty's sake.'  I'll grant you that.  In the End, The Last Days of Man on Earth is a weird little gem that needs to be celebrated with its kind.  You never know what you'll find if you stop to take a second look sometimes...

A whole lot of weird that eventually pays off for the more patient viewer.  If you like this kind of stuff, it is right up your alley!