Forgotten TV: 'The Outer Limits' vs. Ron Perlman's Reality.

 Another Episode of The Outer Limits for the DVD I bought.
Gotta get that $3.18 worth of value, after all.

This one is actually what I watched first.

Was it because it was the one with Ron Perlman.
Obviously, yes.

To see how Black Mirror got its mojo, check out this Episode here...

A man- Perlman- is first seen lying near dead in a river dressed for combat.

He wakes up from this dream...or memory and is told by his Bosses in a Meeting that they must make Sales.

He's greeted by a Client who arrives unexpectedly.

Later, he goes to a Bar and she greets him again.

At work, he's still not doing well.

He's trying to get in touch with his estranged daughter and he's starting to see a helmeted men around all corners.

He goes to see his ex-Wife and she's not much help.

She says that his Daughter wants nothing to do with him.

As she leaves, the same helmeted man strikes her down his car!

After being talked to by the Police, the woman shows up again.

He's really starting to suspect that something is up.

She reveals that she's actually a Psychiatrist for the VA and wants to help him.

He doesn't exactly want help, but he clearly needs it.

Ron gets in a fight with his Boss and his friend at work & is obviously fired.

While trying to console himself, he starts to feel strange, see flashes and...

Here's the reveal.

Perlman's visions were flashes of his real memory.

He was a Soldier (quite recently) sent to recover some important device.

He was betrayed and left for dead by one of the men and only he saw their face.

They used this machine to stabilize and get him to see the truth- so they can as well.

Despite the risk, the woman goes back in one more time.

He's not stable, his vitals are failing and his grip on this new reality won't last.

She finally gets him to remember and the culprit is...the guy who was his friend in the imaginary world.

Now they can catch him, while Perlman 'makes peace' with his 'Daughter' in his final moments.

I suppose this one definitely qualifies for the 'Death and Beyond' tag/theme of this release!

It was pretty clear that something was off about this world.
Hell, even if you had never watched a single one of these Episodes, your brain would tell you that.

Perlman really sells this, treating his Character with dignity and really portraying the breakdown of his 'world!'

The other Actors/Actresses- like Chris Mulkey (above), Maria Del Mar and Peter DeLuise (below) do their parts very well too.
This is Ron's show though.

Speaking of Shows, this one was Directed by a veteran of many TV Shows (like Wings and NBC's Chicago Shows)- Steven Weber.
It's also his only Directing Credit, so...weird.

This one has just enough of a Sci-Fi hook to qualify for this kind of Show without being potentially being bogged down by it.

A big improvement over the previous Clip Show one.
You do believe me...right?

A very strong and emotional Episode with a nice, if familiar hook.  Here's hoping that a jump back to the very first Season for the next Episode is as solid.

4,600th Post Celebration: The Ed Wood Film Made...in 1998?!?

 After some slowdown and other nonsense, we've hit 4,599 Posts, so it is time for the...

To celebrate another numerical milestone, how about a weird gem out of my extended digital collection?  For all of the weird stuff I own on physical media and that I can stream through the 642 Services, I have a number of Films that are purely-digital.  They either don't have a release (like this one- outside of Germany) or it is so out-of-print that I can't be bothered.

So how did we get an Ed Wood Film in 1998?  The man died in 1978!

Well, one of his unproduced Screenplays (that thankfully wasn't Porn) got discovered and a one-time Director decided to shoot it as-is. 

The problem- the Script apparently didn't have Dialog yet.
The solution- don't add any.

Yep, this is a 'Silent' Film in 1998, although you get screams and voices in footage they spliced in (I'll explain later).  So how do you explain a Plot without Dialog?  You'll...see.

A crazy man escapes from a Sanitarium by stealing the Nurse's Uniform.  Check off 'Dressing in Drag' for your Ed Wood Bingo Card.

Of course, he abandons the outfit quickly, so it's not a lifestyle thing.

Also that's Billy Zane, a year after Titanic.

The Film having no Dialog means that it plays out like segments in a Silent Film.

They also changed none of the info in the Script, so you get stuff like 45 cent hot dogs in Los Angeles.

The desperate Zane robs a Bank, but isn't stopped by the Keystone Cops.

Instead, he shoots the Teller after he draws a gun and somehow misses by a mile 4x.

He runs away.

It's funny, because...he just killed that guy?!?

The Film does this odd bit throughout which is both creative and annoying- the fun combo!

We learn that Zane hates loud noises- who likes them?- and we learn this via Educational Short Footage spliced in.

It's kind of funny.  Once.  Only once.

Since we have no Dialog, the Film does this 'cute' thing where it just shows the Script notes on Screen.

It's literally the definition of Tell, Don't Show...but it also Shows...I guess.

My brain hurts.

Hiding out in a Cemetery (as one does), the man loses his stolen money.

He thinks that the people at the previous day's Funeral stole it, so he tracks them down by reading the Script (basically).

He tracks them all down to various Locales- like a Burlesque Club, a far-away House and a Carnival- and kills all but one of them.

He's stopped from taking out Tex (Jon Ritter) by the Carnies.

He flees from them and the Cops (all played by the most random of Actors and Conrad Brooks).

He goes back to the Cemetery, finds his money and falls into a grave, where he dies.

Crime never pays.  Neither does doing a Film without Dialog based on something half-written 20+ years earlier.  The End.

This...could have been good.  It wouldn't have been great, due to all of the hurdles it put in front of itself.

With no Dialog, the Actors do the heavy lifting in other ways.  That leads to Zane being a manic ball of energy that is sometimes fun, sometimes very annoying.  The other Actors are often various forms of deadpan to counter that.  At least it isn't full-on nonsense greeted with more nonsense.

The Cast for this is so weird and wacky that I'm doing a 2nd Post on it.  Cheap plug.

The Film is best described as a silly piece of Pop Art.  It has canned Music- from Psycho-, weird interludes, a goofy Plot, old-timey footage to be ironic and lots of silly Acting.  It's not meant to be taken seriously, so why bother?

As for Ron and I, we watched the whole thing for you.  How was it, Ron?

Bad...but in a way that some will like.  It would be a fun Short Film.  It's 80 minutes long though.

Quick Review: The City of Lost Children (1995)

 As the French say, 'Il est temps que je regarde ça.'  They also eat snails in butter, so they have no room to complain to me.  Let's see how this Cult Classic turned out...

On a seemingly-abandoned Oil Platform, a crazy Scientist is trying to solve his problem- he can't dream.

His solution- try to steal them from Children.

I want to know if that was his *first* idea or if there was somehow worse ones he crossed off his list first.

He sends his not-so subtle henchman to keep getting more Children from the nearby (and titular) City.

What kid wouldn't love these guys?

An especially-crafty girl gets caught in the middle as one boy is kidnapped by the henchman.  He happens to be the Little Brother of...

Ron Perlman?!?

Between this and Cronos, the guy loved to do '90s Films where he didn't speak the Language in.

Can the pair overcome the odds to rescue the kid?  Will the Scientist and his 'family' find the solution they are looking for?  How will Santa Claus play a part in this?

To find out, watch the Film.  It's free to stream on Amazon and Tubi, so get on it!

A weird, but slow Film.  For starters, the Film looks really good.  It has a very odd color palette and this was done before everyone just starting color-correcting everything with pre-made software.  Thanks again for that, Coen Brothers!  Evidently, the odd look was achieved by a soft version of color-correction and making up the Actors pale as possible.  Once you make them look 'normal' again, the whole thing looks...off.  There's lots of weird other things to see here as well.  You see lots of strange outfits, accessories and uses of gadgets.  According to Reddit, some of the Sets still exist (or at least did 6 years ago), so you can see it in a normal light for comparison.  The Plot is bonkers, but also not in a hurry.  Key Scenes play out in what feels like real time.  In many cases, it works to highlight the absurdity (like the kids' 5-part plan to get a key from behind a locked door).  In other cases, it is just Directorial excess.  There's also some weird, early-90s CGI courtesy of the future Catwoman Director-  Pitof.  Thankfully, none of the visuals are as bad as the original suit for the Alien Hybrid from Alien Resurrection (by the same Directors) apparently was!  Given the slow pace and strange feel, the Film is certainly not for everyone.  If you're a weirdo like me, don't wait any longer and just see it already.  When you're done, you can play the Playstation Version...

A slow burn of a Film, but it is always pretty.  Even if you don't quite get into the weird, esoteric nature of the whole thing, it sure is unique and crazy.

Quick Reviews: Pro-Life (Masters of Horror)

After his last edition of Masters of Horror, I'm really excited for the new one by John Carpenter...

In this Episode/Film, we see what happens when you get stuck in between your Dad and The Devil!

 A young woman goes to a Clinic- after nearly getting hit by the Doctors in their car- with a request.

She wants this baby out of her.

Of course, there's a catch: she claims that she got pregnant yesterday...by a Demon!

To make things worse, her Dad (Ron Perlman) is a big Anti-Choice Activist.  He's also willing to kill over this- gotta love the lack of understanding regarding THAT irony...

Along with his sons, he breaks into the Clinic and does some pretty bad stuff.  Meanwhile, the Demon Baby appears to be on its way!

Speaking of on its way, the other 'Daddy' is on his way too.  Don't you just love Parallel Structure?

 What happens when both forces meet up for the big finale?  I won't say.  Yeah, I'm a dick like that- sorry.

Damn good fun.  Pro-Life is much more of a Monster Movie than you might think.  While others like Joe Dante make clear Political statements in their MoH works, Carpenter doesn't here.  They make a point of it in the Making of Featurette- almost to the point of absurdity.  Alright- I believe you.  Once you get past that, you have a good Story, good Actors, good Effects and a good Director to hold it all together.  Perlman really shines as a menace that thinks that he is in the right.  That is truly how these Characters work best, as opposed to cackling caricatures.  I was less impressed with some of the Supporting Cast, but they don't really drag this down either.  They do their job, but nothing more.  Kudos to Greg Nicotero and his team for making a good, solid Effects for this one.  The creature is better and bigger than you might expect, but still shot more in the shadows than usual.  I kind of wanted to see it more, but I respect Carpenter's choice all the same.  Since this one is so good, I have to get pretty nit-picky for a joke.  In the Making Of Featurette, they explain that Perlman's van was originally covered in propaganda pieces.  Carpenter apparently shot down that idea, but you can still see the residue of where some of it was in the final product...

A good, solid Episode.  It is nice to see Carpenter shine once again!