Hammer and Sicko: The Quatermass Xperiment

A Hammer Film that isn't about Dracula or any other kind of Monster like that?!?  Is that allowed?  Yes, yes it is.  This is The Quatermass Xperiment (or Experiment), a 1955 Film made as the Studio's first official one.  Side-note: this is a Remake a TV Mini-Series from 1953, so stuff that in your 'people are only now obsessed with Remakes in Year XXXX' argument.  The Film is about the titular Scientist and the aftermath of, well, his experiment.  Movie Titles can sometimes be pretty straight-forward, no?  It seems simple enough at first, but then boils down to scientific silliness.  This is one of those 'crazy thing X has created crazy monster Y' Films.  It's also one of the ones that explains it- I'll get to that-, but also doesn't really explain the Science behind the thing all that much.  It's like that Film I watched about killer mud (also British and Hammer, I think) that explains (in a crazy way) how the creature exists.  That one also didn't actually *verify* the man's theory of what the creature was, which still bugs me to this day (clearly).  This time, it involves a crashed rocket ship, a lone survivor and...not Superman?  Oh well.  Instead, a guy slowly transforms into something freaky.  To find out how this long-regarded Cult Classic feels to me, read on...

A Ship crashes in a British Field.  They can't afford to show the effect, but they do give us this shot, so...alright.

A man- Quatermass- is called to the Scene.

You see, he set up a trip in the Rocket with three men, not getting full permission.  He's somehow not thrown in Jail, because reasons.

After a bit of stalling, the Rocker is opened and only one man is alive.  The other two are missing, although their still-sealed suits are there!

Is the secret to what happened going to be gained from this man?  He can only say two words- 'Help me.'

While he recovers in a Hospital, we get more padding about them getting the Film from the ship developed.

Yes, we can fly Rockets deep into Space in this semi-past/future, but no digital!

The footage reveals little, but raises many questions.

The man is freed from the Hospital by his somewhat-dense wife, but gets mutated more and kills the man she hired for the job.  He's kind of an evil monster-in-the-making now.

Skipping to the 3rd Act, he's now fully a monster and hiding in Westminster Abbey.  He's an evil, world-killing Alien, but he knows fancy!

Our Lead kills it again as his plan involves...shocking the metal frame to kill the beast.  I mean...I could have done that.

In the aftermath, he vows to do his experiment again and we see another rocket leave.  Again- he's not arrested for this and, not only that, he gets more funding?!?

Sure- why not?  The End.

A somewhat dry, but enjoyable Film.  1950s Sci-Fi can be that way.  Throw in the fact that this is British and you're going to get dryness overload!  It's still a good, solid Film though.  The premise is simple enough and they don't muck things up too much.  He accidentally brings back a monster, it kills some people (more Poor Bastards of Cinema in the future) and it gets defeated.  It's pretty cut-and-dry, really.  The devil, as always, is in the details.  We see a man transforming into a monster and see you how much he hates it.  Nothing will ever top the possessed man crying while killing himself to stop the beast in Prince of Darkness for me (R.I.P. Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), but this guy does his best.  He makes you feel bad for him.  His story does not end happily.  On the plus side, he doesn't kill Paul McCartney's future fiancee (Jane Asher as a littler girl), so it worked out well for someone else.  The worst thing you can say about Films like this is that they spend more time talking about the idea and science of their monster/creature than they do showing it.  This is definitely a good example of that.  It's still better than damn mud though!  There was apparently some issue with the Casting of an American Actor as the Lead, but I was cool with it.  On a related Casting Note, how often do you see the strange caveat under Jack Warner's name?

Next time, a jump back the 1970s.  I've got plenty of strange options, so who knows what's next?  Stay tuned...

'70s *TV* Class: Frankenstein- The True Story- Part 2

Previously on this same Site that you're hopefully reading, we got this stuff that happened...

- Dr. Frankenstein becomes an Atheist who tries to create life.
- He joins forces with another Doctor, who dies before revealing that the process will not last.
- The Doctor's attempts to humanize Adam seems to be working, until his body breaks down.
- The Creature/Adam tries to kill himself/itself, but survives a cliff dive...unbeknownst to the Doctor.

Now that you're caught up, here is Part 2...

Adam observes a blind man and his family.  Sadly, it's not Gene Hackman in this and not nearly as funny.

Unfortunately, his time there ends in tragedy as he kills the young man (with a light shove against a wall) and the lady with him is killed by a sudden, surprise carriage.

Adam takes her body and finds...the guy from the beginning who broke the 4th Wall.  He's a key character in Part 2, so enjoy James Mason.

The Doctor, meanwhile, has gone back to his lady and is now happily-married.  That bit with James Mason finally connects to the Story (over 90 minutes later!).

To avoid having his acts brought up (with what evidence?!?), he agrees to help Mason create a new creature- a woman.

As it turns out, Mason has damaged/missing hands from an experiment too.  Now look back at all the times he grabbed things with them and don't think about how he must make his twin servants help him go to the bathroom.

Too late.

The Bride- not called that- is set up to join High Society, but that all ends when a burned up Adam (escaping an attempt to destroy him) shows up.  His plan- rip the woman's head off!

Oh well- you always have your QVC Jewelry Line, Jane Seymour.

The Doctor and his wife go on a boat to America, but have company- Mason and Adam!

This can't end well for anyone!

Adam seems to revert to the personality/mind of the original helper and kills Mason, as well as scaring the crew off of the boat as he steers it to...

Antarctica!

What a great shot.  Even better if it was actually convincing, right?

The wife is killed and the Doctor goes to see the Monster.  They both decide to leave society and an Iceberg crashes around them.

Yes, they did show this in the Teaser bit covered last time.  The End.

All of the stuff you actually wanted to see last time!  Yes, this one is all of the payoff from the last Film.  You obviously can't have one without the other.  Even so, this 2nd Half is so much more interesting that its kind of sad to look back at the other half.  In this one, we get the famous Blind Man bit, albeit more in line with the Book.  We get the Monster killing quite a few people.  While they can't actually afford the effect, we get to picture him ripping someone's head off.  Hell, a man is struck by lightning and turned into a skeleton!  What happened in the last part again?  Oh right- he took Adam to see an Opera and his face got kind of ugly.  Oh the horror!  It's obviously way too late to do anything about it, but maybe there's a lesson here.  Don't make a 3-Hour Film if you only have 90 or so minutes of really good and interesting content.  Don't make it longer just to make it more 'epic.'  Likewise, maybe sticking stringently to parts that work in a Book and not on Film isn't the best idea.  Frankenstein- The True Story is a great example of what's wrong and right about these 2-part Miniseries Films.  Yes, you get more context and more detail.  Yes, sometimes you get too much and you could have lived with less.  I'm not being snide because alot of good, talented people worked on the Film.  Besides Mason and are other Leads, we get Sir John Gielgud and the 4th Doctor himself- Tom Baker- in small Roles.  Yes, this was the best shot I could get of him.  Sorry, Tom.

Next time, I look at more Films from this time period.  They surely won't be this classy though.  Stay tuned...

DCE-Hulu: Titans- 'Aqualad'

The 1,000mph was just too much, so we might as well have a 2-Episode Flashback Tale.  Seriously.  Let's just see if it is worth it...

Five Years Ago...from I guess the end of Episode 3 we get a Flashback to how Deathstroke is super-deadly and kills people.

Of course, this also depends on the people having zero security, but badass has to badass.

The Titans- not Teen anymore- are still together, but clearly some things have changed.  One of them is the fact that Aqualad is a Member, although we don't see him in the present.

It can't be a SPOILER that he's killed, right?  I mean, the whole Episode is just one long set-up to the death, so...

The group gets together to stop Dr. Light for the first time.

Hey look- they do have uniforms!  Will we get them in any future Episodes?

Can they stop Dr. Light?  Is this just 60 minutes of pathos for a character we've never even met?

To find out, watch the Show on DC Universe or however else you do so.

A slow walk to an obvious location.  Right off the bat, this one feels odd.  We just start a Plot and end with a big Cliffhanger.  Naturally, it is the perfect time to stop everything cold for a Flashback that we needed to see in one big chunk, as opposed to spacing it out.  Does this one work in a Binge-able Show?  Yes.  Does this come out one Episode per week?  Yes.  So, you know, maybe don't punish the people trying to watch the Show in real time.  Skipping past that, this one is...alright.  I like that we get to see the group dynamic.  That said, we get to see them right before something big happens.  That said, they also sneak a time-jump in here, which is weird when you think about the fact that this is all a flashback.  Donna has to leave (or does she) in two weeks and they just literally skip right past it?  I thought she was just lying when she said it was 'tonight,' but then it actually is.  So Dr. Light just chilled out at his base for 13 days or so?  It took that long to find a hit on a famous person that is dead and/or a famous criminal?  This little thing is just so frustrating, especially when you consider something else.  You see, we get to see them take down the 'Happy Birthday' display...but that makes zero sense now.  If two weeks have passed, they haven't taken that shit down?!?  I have more questions about how this works, but I'll hold off on them in case the next Episode explains things.  When all is said and done, this is a random, fairly-unnecessary Flashback Episode (of TWO!!!) that is going to make for awkward skipping when/if you watch the complete Season 2 on DVD or as a collection.  Also where the hell is Superboy?  These folks want to know...

Next time, the flashbacking continues.  Now we get to see our Heroes be terrible, so...yea?  See you then...

Lost in Translation?: Friday the 13th (1980)

We don't get another one until December, but I don't want to wait that long...

This Poster for the Slasher Classic comes to us from the Far East and boy is it...something...

Where do you begin?

The random murder box in the center of the Poster?
The shot of a Cabin in deep fog?
The random shot of the Campers/Counselors chilling by a jeep?
How tiny they made the English Title in the corner?

Yes, I guess.  Yes to all.

Here's the original...

I did all of the usual stuff.  It may look less realistically-colored now, but isn't that better for the mood?

'70s *TV* Class: Frankenstein- The True Story- Part One

Am I going to make fun of an Art Film?  Isn't that what I have Bob for?!?  This is Frankenstein: The True Story, a 1973 TV Mini-Series.  It has a whole Cast of notable people in roles ranging from small to large.  It has a fairly-unknown, but well-respected Director.  The Co-Writer- alongside the Director- is a still living, very prolific Artist who has sold his work for Millions and has it up in MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art).  Why am I doing this then?  Well, it is still kind of silly, in spite of everything else.  Plus I've done more random Frankenstein Films- like the Japanese one that involved Suicide Cults and Telepathy.  This one is also notable for being extra long and more accurate to the Book.  Is this the true story?  Well, it is fictional, so...no?  Yes?  It also adds a new character named after someone from in Mary Shelley's life.  It feels so true.  This thing is long enough to review in 2 Parts (as it was presented), so I'd better not waste any more time here...

Actually, one more bit of time-wasting...

This Version on DVD begins with a Scene from Part 2 with James Mason's character showing up, only to abruptly stop and show the real James Mason expositing about the Book.

He then sort of narrates over clips from the Film to come (even showing you the last shots!).  What in the what now?!?

In the actual Story, Victor is a Doctor who loses faith when his brother dies.

The Scene plays out with an empty boat in a lake and him popping up during a failed rescue of said brother.  The Horror Fan in me thought of Friday the 13th's famous ending when this happened, which says much about me.

He helps this guy, who proceeds to take him down the path of 'Mad Science.'  He wants to create life, since 'God only takes it away.'

This guy seems trustworthy.  I want to buy Pot from him behind a 7-11 now.

This path of Science worries Victor's fiancé, enough that she vanishes for the rest of Part 1.

And yes, I did take all of the Caps where they wear funny hats.

They try to revive the dead and make new life from a bunch of corpse parts after a Mining Disaster.

They were all ready to go back in Chile recently too, although they left disappointed.

His partner sees that their early work is dying/decaying and decides to write down his findings.  However, he has a heart attack before writing 'The process is reversing itself' and Victor assumes that all is well.

And yes, he does this make this silly face right as the heart attack hits him.

He makes Adam and takes him to his new place to train him how to be human in secret.

There's alot of talk about this Film having much Gay Subtext and it's hard not to see at times.

Unfortunately, he sees the decaying bodies and the deterioration of Adam.  He realizes that he has failed.

He eventually can hide his problems with it and Adam finds out the truth about himself.  He jumps off the White Cliffs of Dover, but survives.  The catch- Victor doesn't know that.  The...

A dry, but well-made Film.  'Dry' is just the word I keep going back to.  This part features Mad Science, intrigue, drama and experimentation...but is still kind of dry.  It is uptight people being uptight in every situation.  They play this one deathly-serious.  It mostly works as far as establishing how 'important' this is supposed to be.  This is the 'setting things up' part of the Story, so it is guaranteed to not be as interesting.  It's a necessary evil in these things.  In this case, they don't seem to try that hard to make up for the issue and just roll with it.  People are just kind of there and doing stuff.  There aren't really any big, explosive moments in Part One.  The closest you get is some stuff with resurrected bugs or limbs.  I kind of wish that they hadn't just backloaded the Film/Mini-Series so obviously.  Yes, they are basing it on the Book.  Yes, they also make up a character for Mason to play too, so...you know, why not spice things up?  As it is, you get lots of good Acting, good Production Values and big scares like...a butterfly moving at the future Mrs. Frankenstein...

Next time, the second half of the Story.  You sat through the more boring parts, so now you get the payoff!  Stay tuned...

Pilot Wings: American Horror Story- Apocalypse

Hopefully it is better than the last thing with 'Apocalypse' in the Title.

As is the norm, I will sometimes check out the first Episode of an AHS Season to see if it draws me in.  Not much luck so far.  Will this take- which connects loosely to a Movie Review I have planned- on a different kind of story do the trick?

The World is nearly-destroyed!

Since this is TV (even Cable TV), we only see one explosion and see it from the perspective of one City (Los Angeles).

We see that there is a bit of Eugenics going on as a few people are taken to a Shelter before the Bombs hit due to their 'superior genes.'

This reunites our original Protagonists (some rich folks and associates) and the new ones in a Fallout Shelter that is less than ideal.

'Quicksilver' here, for one, is not taking it too well.

With a strong, domineering woman with secrets in charge (naturally, it's Paulson), is there hope for survival in the Shelter?

Is it better to go out and possibly die from radiation?

To find out, watch the Show.  I saw it on Netflix, but there are probably 60 other ways too.

A decent, but vague start.  This one is all about building mystery and intrigue.  In that regard, it works.  You know that there's something extra weird going on here.  On the other hand, very little of note happens when they get past the setup.  Paulson is evil- got it.  They can't get out- sure.  Is there anything else?  This one isn't using padding per se, but they definitely have a checklist called 'Things We're Allowed to Show in the 1st Episode' and it's a tight one!  Anything bigger or more interesting will have to wait.  There's a fine line between playing your cards close to your chest and, well, not playing them at all.  The Show is several Seasons in, but each one is also a bit self-contained.  Each new first Episode is essentially a Pilot, so it has to do what Pilots are designed to do.  In this case, I'm not sure that I got enough to make me want to come back for more.  It's a pretty common problem with the Show, to be honest.  I've watched a different ones and rarely gone back for more.  Judge me harshly if you want, Internet!  The other thing, of course, is that most of the Seasons take a big, dramatic turn after a few Episodes, so alot of this setup is less important than it should be.  If this had delivered more and teased less, I might be sold.  At least having Not Jason Mewes does help a little bit...  

A sort of interesting start and I'm *kind of* curious to see it play out.  They just focus so much on this one location that it is just hard to think of enduring more Episodes trapped inside of it.

King Me!: Castle Rock- The Season 1 Finale

After 9 Episodes and a good year, I'm finally done with the Show as of today.  Will the ending make it all worth while?  Let's see...

After all of the backstory in the latest Episode, we return to the present and bad driving.

There is actually a guy who tells our Hero that the birds freaking out was caused by 'Global Warming.'  Thanks for the Guest Writing, James Nguyen!

The Prisoner ends up back in custody after seeing what is sort of his own grave and goes all Emo Dante on our Hero.

They both end up in custody together- since you can't just drive away from your 2nd Murder Scene of the day without looking suspicious- and things happen again!

It's still not clear to me why bad things happen with him around.

As thing just escalate and the Town gets full of chaos.  Who will live?  Who will die?

Will this Ending be a cop-out?  To find out, watch the Show...

More of the same, in spite of flashes of improvement.  Everything wrong with the Show is still here.  Everything right with the Show is still here.  I've covered all of this, so I don't want to repeat myself too much.  The Acting is good.  The Production Values are nice.  They keep trying to throw in random deaths to spice things up.  Even that doesn't really work, since it's not quite pulled off right.  A woman is hit by a truck walking parallel to it, but we see the stopped truck with her under it face-up.  Given that you used a Special Effect for the collision, why not fix it there?  The big problem is that they don't really close up things really well.  I won't SPOIL all of it, but you can read about it if you really want to know.  If you are looking for closure, you get little.  If you're looking for good explanations, you won't get it.  It's just dour and nothing.  On the plus side, they set up a neat idea for Season 2 in the Mid-Credits Stinger.  I'd watch...psst...what's that?  Oh, they're not doing this Story for Season 2?  Motherf….!

A good idea for a Show, that just gets drawn out endlessly.  It barely worked for American Gods and it does NOT work for you.