House Call: House of the Damned (1963)

Well, it is two-thirds of a really interesting movie.  Close but no cigar!  Today's Film is House of the Damned, a 1963 Film about a pretty familiar topic.  In this Story, a Couple is called in to check out a house before it is going to be put back on the market.  Naturally, this house is up in the mountains, has no phone and is not empty.  Haunted House hat trick!  What will happen?  Well, you get mysteriously-opening doors, ominous shadows, creaking floors- all the usual.  There is an interesting twist to this one and it has some really good moments.  The problem comes in the overall execution and...well, you'll see.  To find out why the life of an Architect is hard if you aren't Brad Pitt, read on...

After getting a late night call for a job, an Architect and his wife drive out to the remote estate.

Just to note: the Shots of them driving the Car on a dirt road look very similar to those in Night of the Living Dead, but this came out 5 years earlier.

They explore the house and find out from the Realtor that it was owned by a crazy, old lady.  What could go wrong, right, ominous shadows?

That night, a strange figure comes in and steals the key ring.  The keys return..missing 2 though.

While waiting for the Boss to arrive, the Couple is greeted by his girlfriend.  She changes into her bathing suit, but someone/thing watches her in his slip (which is less revealing than most actual dresses people wear these days)...

She has a fight with the Boss when he arrives and decides to leave...but runs into a giant.  Khali?

In the film's only real scare, they take a page from House on Haunted Hill and have the old lady pop out and yell at a Nurse.  This doesn't amount to anything though...

That...however is pretty good.  I don't know what it actually means though...

Ultimately, our three remaining heroes find some people in the Attic, including Richard Kiel!  What?  Why?  How?

Well, the people were Circus Freaks who didn't know what to do when the last Owner died, so they hid.  Oh and the lady wasn't killed...and they just kind of leave.

Does anyone else feel like there is a missing final third here?  The End.

Not a bad Film, but it just kind of builds and builds to nothing.  Can you say anti-climax, kids?  Was this intentional?  I don't know, but it must be, right?  Someone Wrote, Shot and Edited this thing without thinking 'Wait- doesn't this Film just kind of stop?' even once.  Maybe it is just me.  Regardless, the Film has a simple enough Plot to connect with, a good Setting, a nice use of Shadows and some really-inspired Characters that hide in said shadows.  The problem is simply that there is no major pay-off.  Like I said, the Characters reveal themselves, they aren't evil, nobody died and they agree to just leave.  The Plot figuratively crashes into a brick wall of a Stop and takes maybe two minutes to pick up the pieces.  It is a shame, really.  It is one of those rare occasions that I want people to re-do this.  It isn't a perfect idea for a Film, but it could be so much better.  If you want a glimpse into how things used to be in Media, check out the fact that the married couple still have to sleep in twin beds (in 1963)!

Next up, a recent Film which hits a couple notable markers.  When in doubt, unleash Dinosaurs in L.A.  Stay tuned...

Sons of Kong?: Nabonga (1944)

Back to the Jungle we go!  Today's Film is Nabonga, a 1944 Film about...what you expect at this point.  We've got Explorers.  We've got an Ape.  We've got a Jungle Girl.  Thankfully, we don't have Mantan Moreland or most of the shit that has brought down some of these other Films.  You know what we do have though?  Buster Crabbe!  Flash Gordon, bitches!  He plays an Explorer who's in the right and has to do battle with one that is, well, not so much.  In between, we have a young lady, some lost loot and the titular Gorilla.  This really does have most of what you expect.  Thankfully, the casual 'I can't be offended since it was ''okay'' then' Racism is at a minimum here, as is the Comedy.  I like good Comedy, but it is so rare in this DVD Set so far.  Does it end up being the best so far?  To find out, read on...

A criminal and his daughter's plane crashes in the Jungle.  He kills the Pilot after the fact (when he sees the loot)...

...but gets killed and his daughter left alone in the Jungle.  This isn't a Savage Girl Prequel is it?

Years later, our hero shows up to find out what happened to the people in the Crash.

As a side-note, why do Flash Gordon Actors have to go Brunette to go to the Jungle?  You have Crabbe in this Film and Sam J. Jones in Jane & The Lost Jungle.  Coincidence?

The Plot isn't all that exciting, so here is some Stock Footage.  Kudos for including Hyenas this time.

Our hero finds the girl, but is being followed by the bad guy.  He's after the loot and anything else worth a dime!

This is Nabonga.  Is this the same suit from nearly every Film so far?  It sure looks like it, right?

Flash and the bad guy fight, but things turn against him.  When the bad guy betrays his moll, she decides to free Nabonga to sic on him.

It ends badly for her (off-screen).  Should have thought this one through.

Since Nabonga has the title-role, he offs the bad guy too!  All is well (for the living).  The End.

It's alright.  It's not great.  It's not bad.  It's...just alright.  This really feels like a cheap, Saturday Matinee.  I really can't say that much about it.  Crabbe is good.  The Nabonga suit looks fine (even if it is very familiar by now).  It is kind of funny to see all of the stuff that has to happen off-screen due to standards of the time.  Mind you- I don't want to see people ripped apart by a Gorilla...but that's clearly what is happening after they cut away.  In closing, Nabonga is a fine time-filler...but not much of a Classic.  The most notable thing to me is the lawsuit-worthy logo of PRC Pictures...

Next up, I go slightly-less Old School with a House of horrors!  You're Damned if you do and dead if you don't!  Stay tuned...

Impossibly-Stolen Cover Art Overload: The Coven (2015)

A quick look at recent Releases on Netflix has reminded me that creativity is not dead.

No- just kidding.  It totally is...at least for people that make DTV schlock.  Take a new release called...

Okay- everyone gets this, right?

In case you don't, it is kind of very similar to this 90s Cult Classic...

...which is just not to be confused with this 1996 Rip-Off...

...or the 3rd Season of this very popular Show (which is mostly what inspired it)...

 

...nor should you confuse it with the 1997 Home Video Release just called...

...whose Filming was the inspiration for the far-more-seen Documentary about the Directors.

...nor should it be confused with the 2006 Film that is the male equivalent of The Craft...

In summary...

Wait- I forgot the point.

Oh right- come up with your Cover Art, jerks!

TV on the TV: Daredevil (2015)- Part 1

Unlike many people, I have not 'binge-watched' this Show.  I have my reasons.

That's not to say that I haven't been watching it.  I'm just only to the halfway point, so let's look at that...

With this kind of Show, you could argue that how it starts is the most important thing.  People go into this with probably alot of bad expectations.  They think of the much-maligned Affleck Film.  They think of a Comic Book Character that they may not know much about.

With that said, the Show starts off great!

The first 2 Episodes mix the Present with the Past in a good, smart way.  I'm not overly-fond of the Lost-style Flashbacks, but they are a big thing these days.  In this case, they are used to break up the Story well.

You don't get all Origin and you also don't miss the Origin.  They cover it all well in the first 2 Episodes and only get to adding anything major until Episode 7.

Everything at this point is building.  Matt is getting better, the case with Karen Page is escalating and Kingpin finally makes waves (in Episode 4).  The latter is neat to see as he's no mustache-twirling bad guy.

He's a real (bad) guy who does what he does for reasons that make sense to him.  He's not evil- is he?

One thing the show does well is Action.  They shoot it in interesting ways and don't cheat too much.  It is rare that they rely on dark shadows and trick shots to cover things.  The most blatant is in Episode 7, but it is also completely understandable.

At this point, Daredevil is still finding his way.  That means no red Costume...yet.

As an Origin Story, this works for me.  As a brand new IP (for TV), this works for me.  As the start of Marvel's run on Netflix, this totally works for me.

Is it too dark?  I can see why some say that.  For me, all of the Violence has consequences- both physical and mental.  It doesn't shy away from how bad this can be.  They have a Character who judges Matt for what he's done.  You have a Character who does the same for Kingpin/Fisk.

This is not a glorification of violence.  If that changes in the second half, I may change my mind.  As far as the Arc appears to be going, I don't think that will be the case.

If you use Netflix and like the gritty stuff, check this out.  There is some humor too.  The first half is quite dark and brutal at times.  Still not as brutal as Armored Daredevil though...

Check this one out if you haven't yet.  It is guaranteed to go for a Second Season, so hop on while everyone else is...

Indy Flix: Primer (2004)

Can I get MY time back?  Today's Film is the super-Low-Budget Film Primer from 2004.  Some weird Austrian I know recommended it to me.  Is he crazy?  Well, obviously, yes.  Was he right in this case though? Um...no.  SPOILER ALERT: I did not like this one.  I can *sort of* see why some people like it.  I don't...but good for them.  The Film is about some guys who create Time-Travel by accident and...that's about all I can easily summarize.  It is notable for being made for an alleged $7,000!  If that's true, Netflix probably spent more ordering the Discs to be Produced for Rental than they did on the actual Movie.  This is one of those 'so dense that you need to see it many times' to get it all.  Some of you have.  If that is your prerogative, go ahead.  As for me, I'm just going to Review it and move on with my life...

A group of 4 guys work for Tech Companies by day and are doing a start-up at night.  It is slow going though.

Two of them work on a side project that starts to yield results.

Now just consider that this three Summary wrap-up above accounts for over twenty-minutes of slow, tedious tech talk about their work.  Get it yet?

They seek outside verification for their work, albeit somebody who doesn't know the whole Story.

Things get more interesting when one of the men takes the other near a Storage Facility where they see...him.  Another him, that is.  From the Future?

Now with proof that it works, they talk...and talk about what they will do.  It just involves Stock Trades.  So...exciting?

Intrigue- I guess- arises when there appears to be more going on.  For example, another machine...

...and some odd moments where the Narrator suddenly talks about deception behind the scenes.

What is going on between the two now?  You got me- this one gets hard to make sense of after about 55 minutes or so.

All I can tell you is that they part over...something and one of them appears overseas working on another machine...or something.  The End.

Yeah, sorry, people that like this movie.  All five of you won't like my Review.  I can't say that I'm wrong here, because I'm not.  This Film feels like they wanted to just talk about what they would do, since the Budget wasn't large enough to buy a good, Used Car.  I can understand this to a point.  I get it- you have no money.  It doesn't mean that you have to spend so much damn time just talking about shit and not doing it.  Even when the Plot picks up, it still...really doesn't.  This one is slow, tedious and dull.  I can think of many other great ways that the $7,000 could have been spend.  They could have gotten a 2005 Ford Focus.  Good car, that Focus.  So next time you have almost no money and want to make a pretentious Film about Time Travel, just give me a call and buy my Car!  It has a new CD Deck, so that's something.  Seriously- your money is better spent that way, even if you pull double/triple duty like these folks...

Next up, we jump back again to another Sons of Kong Film.  This time, it is murder, a monkey and Flash Gordon.  Stay tuned...

Holiday Hoax: Marihuana- The Devil's Weed (1936)

Let's keep the Old School theme going with some blatant lies and deception.  In honor of 4/20 Day, here is Marihuana: The Devil's Weed.  This 1936 Drama tells you 'the truth' about the dangers of Marijuana.  You all already know Reefer Madness, so let's expand our taste, shall we?  This is a very silly and over-dramatic Film if viewed through a modern perspective.  For every little truth, there are a bunch of big lies or exaggerations.  It is not even close to a Documentary!  I'll keep this short for all of you that are, ahem, enjoying this 'Holiday.'  For everyone else, read on...

The Film focuses on a group of young people with everything to look forward to.  Well, except for World War II...

The Rise of Hitler isn't important now though.  What is important is that you don't use Pot!  Ever!

Look at these two.  They get kids hooked on Pot, which somehow leads to accidental death, Heroin and Crime!  Let it not be said that they don't aim big here.

This is so silly and stock that there's not much to really say.  In lieu of that, enjoy this silliness.

One thing for this Film- the idea that it has Nudity!  I guess since it was for Adults (to get scared), they decided to make it closer to what we call an Adult Film now.  Random!

Speaking of random, people can apparently just casual shoot up Heroin and people killed by the Police are the bad guys.  Makes sense.  The morals are nice and heavy-handed here- why wouldn't they be.  The End.

Damn- this old Film sure is something.  Nothing good, mind you.  It is just something so...so...ridiculous.  They are not always 100% wrong, but are so false that it is hard to believe even the true stuff.  People get high and decide to run off a small cliff- sure.  People go right from Marijuana to Heroin- of course!  People become Criminals since Pot makes them more confident- naturally!  This whole thing is a big scare tactic.  Given how we still treat Marijuana these days, stuff like this apparently worked.  If you watch it today, there is nothing but groans and laughs.  So don't look to this Film for actual Science or reason- just emotion.  In other words, it is Kansas.  Unlike Kansas though, people were apparently really excited about this...

This is just...just ridiculous.  Any good points it has just buried in the lies.  Classic Propaganda.