Tubi Thursday: Asylum (1972)

 Does this count as doing another Asylum Film?  I sure hope so!

This 1972 Film is a Horror Anthology Film, since I'm kind of on a streak with them.

A young Doctor is brought to an Asylum and told that he'll be hired...if he can prove which of the Patients is actually the Doctor who originally called him to work there.

I mean, I've had worse Job Interviews...

A woman tells the tale of 'Frozen Fear.'

In it, a man kills his rich wife after taking her down to see the new Freezer.

He chops her body up, wraps each section and waits for his lady (the Patient) to come over.

So, who's strangling him?

As it turns out, the body parts are still alive separately- something to do with voodoo and an unreliable narrator- and killed him.

They tried to kill the Patient, but she hacked at it near her face until she was found- wounded- and brought in.

In 'The Weird Tailor,' a man- Peter Cushing- hires a Tailor to make a strange garment with a very specific schedule (only after midnight).

He's super vague and sketchy, but the guy owes rent.

Things go horribly wrong, Cushing dies, and the suit is taken back to the shop.

The wife- not knowing its dark origins- puts it on the dummy in the shop, which comes to life!

In 'Lucy Comes to Stay,' a woman returns home, but her brother is convinced that she needs to be coddled based on her past experience.

When she takes the Pills she wasn't supposed to, Brit Ekland shows up and someone dies.

Robert Bloch- of Psycho fame- wrote this Film and intended for THIS to be the first Story.  Oh well.

In the final Story, he meets Byron- Herbert Lom- who wants to put his mind into a doll- as you do.

Oddly, this one just kind of stops abruptly and goes back to the Framing Device.  Confused?

To find out the strange, dark secrets (and obvious twists), stream the Film now.

An Anthology Film with varied Stories, notable Actors and weird twists tied together with a simple Framing Device.  Why couldn't Dan Curtis ever do that?  Was he just 'too cool' for it?

In any event, let's skip from mocking the dead to praising them.  Asylum has a nice variety of tales, good Acting, strange moments and a decent, if predictable Story.  I'm one of those guys who wouldn't use Time Travel to say, kill Hitler or punch Jesus.  No, I'd use it to do stuff like see this Film in 1972 and see if anyone didn't guess the twist in real time.

That's why we Science, folks!

As far as the Segments go, the first one is good, the second one is generally better (but mostly setup) and the third is alright.  It's just not, well, directly weird enough for me.  Maybe they did the right thing by making it the Third Story.

Asylum is a better than average Horror Anthology which should be expected with Bloch writing it and Roy Ward Baker- a great British Director- behind the camera.  It also beat Full Moon to the punch with killer dolls, though I don't know if anyone sells a Wind-Up Herbert Lom Doll these days...

A fun, if not amazing Anthology Film.  It's weird and wacky enough with a straight face for everyone to enjoy.

'70s Class: Dead of Night (1977)

 After 30 years and with a new Director, will this one be even better?

1977's Dead of Night is a TV Movie Directed by Dan Curtis.  All of the Segments (with one caveat) were Written by the late great Richard Matheson.  It was supposed to be a Series, I think.  There are conflicting reports on this, as Wikipedia references a 1969 Pilot Version (which I'll have to check out).  Why would there be a Pilot Version, no sale and then a TV Movie 8 years later?

To be fair, this is the same Dan Curtis who made 2 Pilots in the same Year for the same Station to hedge his bets.  One went to Series- Kolchak the Night Stalker- and the other- The Norliss Tapes- did not.  Even so, the timeline is weird and, well, I can't exactly ask Dan Curtis now, can I?

I'll tell you now that this one lacks the structure of the 1945 Film and is just a bunch of stories.  They couldn't even afford a Framing Device, apparently, as we just get a Narrator at the beginning and that's it!

Will this Trilogy of tales of Terror be as memorable as those other Trilogies of Terror by Curtis?  To find out, read on...

Our one-time Narrator explains that 'Dead of Night' is not a time or a place...well, not exactly.

It is the part of our minds that can handle the dark, scary stuff...or something.  Look- it's a good title.  Moving on...

Our Hero- Ed Begley Jr- buys and restores a very old car that was once wrecked when its Driver tries to cross in front of a train.  He takes out for a drive one night (with the shutters exposed).

He sees a similarly old car drive by and is surprised.

When more drive by, he knows that something is up!

As it turns out, the Car took him back in time to when it was wrecked in the 1920s.  The Car is stolen from him while he's gawking at people in Town.

He wakes up the next morning like nothing happened, meets a girl and later meets her grandparents.

Grandpa gives him an old Car- the same one from before.

He slowed them down briefly when they took the Car and that made them not hit the train and die, so now a whole family line exists.

Hey Narrator- you still back there?  

Anything to say?
Nope.  Awkward Cut it is then to...

A woman is convinced that a Vampire is targeting here, as she keeps waking up feeling weak, her blood missing and strange wounds on her neck.

Her Husband- the original Avenger- is a skeptic, while their Housekeeper- the big-head guy from House on Haunted Hill- is a believer.

To make a long(ish) story short, it turns out to all be a long con by the Husband.

He invites an Expert over, but drugs him that night.  He takes blood via syringe from the wife and puts some on the guy's mouth.

He drags him upstairs and puts him in a coffin for the Housekeeper to find and kill.

He monologues to, well, nobody that the man was his Wife's Lover and... that's it.  Evil wins.

One last chance?

Any Commentary on that Story?  A pun?
Anything?

A woman is done mourning the death of her Son- named Bobby, duh- and has now moved on to Black Magic.

Her entirely offscreen Husband is in the dark about this whole thing as she does the ritual...

...which works, or seems to, at least.

Bobby is really weird and suddenly turns violent.  He chases her around the House and tries to attack her!  He taunts her the whole time, to boot.

She shoots him and he falls out a window...but he won't stay down.

In the closing moments, he reveals that since she killed Bobby, he didn't want to come back, so he sent a Demon in his place!

Cut to black and... yeah, that's it.

A very random collection of Tales in search of something more.  Am I the only one who likes/needs/prefers some sort of connective thread in my Anthology Films/Shows?

The Tales here are all fine, but there's also nothing that they really have in common.  One involves a time traveling car and a closed loop Plot.  One involves a Vampire...or does it and a general bit of Gaslighting.  The final one involves a bit of accidental demon summoning- as you do.

Is there a Theme here that I missed?
This, again, could be alright if the Story is the Theme- see The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt or Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.  Hell, even Tales That Witness Madness was connected by the Asylum.

For better or worse, this is just 3 Stories that Richard Matheson had Written (although he actually just Adapted the first one) and Dan Curtis liked.  I guess they couldn't work in any other Format and these Anthologies were still popular at the time.

I like the Stories, Actors, Writer and Director all fine, but this just needed something else.  Maybe if they did them again.  Oh right- 'Bobby' was redone in 1996 for Trilogy of Terror II...

Next time, it is back to the DVD pile to clear up some room.  Maybe something nice and foreign will do the trick.  Stay tuned...

Shudder Sunday: Japanese Evil Dead (aka Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell)

 Sometimes plans work out badly at first, but then for the better.

Delaying my look at this Film now means that I'm coinciding this with the Trailer Release of the newest Evil Dead Film.

Let's see what a bloody "rip-off" (or is it?!?) from the other side of the World looks like...

A young man agrees to go with his on-again/off-again girlfriend on a trip to visit a Haunted House.

I mean, as a guy, we've done worse, right?

Alongside a Psychic, they go into his dead Parents' House.

He's very skeptical about it all, while the Psychic is very self-serious.

The Psychic is attacked by an unseen force as ominous music tells us that something bad is going to happen.

He goes back inside alone when he recovers... 

He's possessed by the evil spirit in the House and now has gone full Deadite.

I'll be honest, I was hoping that someone would read the Japanese Necronomicon- just to see it read from right to left.

Once this happens, all hell breaks loose inside of the tiny residence.

Blood will fly.
Body parts will fly.
People will get knocked around, stabbed and bitten.

To find out how it all comes together, stream the Film now.

A fun, silly Film- it just takes a while to really get going.  The first 20-30 minutes of the Film are mostly-setup with very little big moments.  It is never boring, but it doesn't have alot of excitement.

Once the Film gets going, however, it is a pretty damn crazy.  It features pretty much all Practical Effects and Stop-Motion, since this is a low-budget Film from 1995.  Would they have used CGI?  Dunno.  I kind of doubt it though.

The Effects are both great and terrible.  They are great in the sense that they show real hard work by those involved and look ridiculous, which the Film is going for.  They are terrible in the sense that they don't look remotely realistic.

The finale has a nice hook to it that includes enough ED lines/stuff to get the idea across, but also make it its own thing.  The Plot is like 40% ED and maybe 60% Japanese Ghost stuff you'll see in stuff like The Grudge, if I'm being honest.

Will BMBBiH replace Evil Dead for you?  No.
Is it a fun bit of Pop Culture showing us how an idea can mutate into something crazy with the right people behind it?  Yes.

You keep doing you, man (even though you've only actually made one other Film since 1995) ...

If you give it a bit to set up and don't take it super-seriously, you can enjoy this one.  Plus, it is a bit shorter than most Horror these days.

Tubi Thursday: Body Count (1986)

 Let's pour one out for the late Ruggero Deodato, shall we?

Since I don't drink, however, I will just review a 1980's Slasher he Directed instead...

A bunch of random 'teens' (some might be the right age, to be fair) end up at a Campground in 1986.

It's a Horror Film, so nothing goes wrong...except the very recent murders.

Of course, we don't learn about some of those murders until later on...

The place is owned by David Hess aka the Director of that Christmas Slasher Film I just reviewed.

He doesn't seem happy to have company, since he believes that 'the Indian Shaman is back.'  He's slightly happier to see his son back home...for about a second.

He's also setting up traps in the Woods, which sure won't pay off later.

You'll never guess what happens next.

Yep, the teens all split up and start being killed.

I'm as shocked as this guy.

They don't look friendly.

They also appear to be blind, based on those eyes, so they shouldn't possibly be a threat, right?

If you started taking a shot everyone ran/backed up while screaming 'No' or 'Stop,' you'd be passed out long before he showed up though.

All of the usual stuff, like the ladies all taking turns showering and then getting into peril.

True Story- one Actress signed off after reading her death scene and verifying that she 'won't be naked the whole time.'  She was assured that she'd put her clothes back on, so she agreed to do the Film.

Welcome to the '80s, folks!

Shockingly, it all comes to a head with our Final Girl...and guy facing off with the killer in a freaky mask with a knife.

Do we also get the 'Cop explains everything at the end' cliche too?  You can do it, Charles Napier.
Yes- I think I just won Slasher Film Bingo!
(Do I need to make that a thing?)

To find out what secrets lie in this one, stream it now (since it has no physical release in America) ...

It's an odd one, since it is both pretty by-the-numbers, but also confusing at times.  Confused?

Well, for instance, we meet a happy young Couple (one of whom is named Bob) at the beginning of the Film and don't see them again until about an hour in... where the Dad (John Steiner) talks about how they were killed (which we are then shown).

We then never see Steiner again.

See what I mean?

When the Film is doing the usual Slasher stuff, it works.  It's nothing amazing, which is a shame considering all of the people involved.  It was Directed by Deodato, it was co-Written by Dardano Sacchetti (who did rewrites when Shooting went afoul due to Weather) and it features Music by Claudio Simonetti.

It's a shame that this Film isn't more than it is.  For fans of Slasher Films, it's a good, if confusing one.  For people that think they're all the same, well, this won't help matters.  It's a decent, if unimpressive culmination of things, which is a real pity.  At least I got to see allot of familiar faces, including a recurring Cast Member in Andy Sidaris' Films.

On the plus side, our old killer has a match out there just waiting to call him...

Well, it wasn't exactly the tribute I was going for.  On the plus side, they didn't kill any animals in this one.

The Batman Legacy of Patrick Leahy

 Patrick Leahy served as a Senator from 1975 to, well, yesterday.

So what does Batman have to do with a retiring Senator?

Well, he's in more Batman Films than *checks Google* anyone.
No, really.

In Batman Forever, he attends a Party for the launch of Edward Nigma's new Tech.

In Batman & Robin, he's attending the Charity Costume Ball.

To note, he was 'paid' for all of his Film & TV work with charitable donations to local Groups and a Library where he first discovered Comic Books.

In The Dark Knight, he's attending...another party- this time to help Harvey Dent's Campaign.  That probably ended well, right?

This is his most famous Cameo since he has a line AND is confronted by Ledger's Joker.

In The Dark Knight Rises, he's on the board of the Wayne Foundation and speaks up about the takeover planned by Bane and his conspirators.

He also might be the same guy in both Films.  Dunno.

In his final- so far- Cameo, he plays a fictional version of himself in Batman V Superman (not to be confused with the Supreme Court Case of the same name).

He's at a Senate Committee Hearing which, as you recall, ends poorly.

However, it's not just in Live Action that he appears....

In 1995, he was the Voice of The Governor in Batman: The Animated Series Episode entitled 'Showdown.'

That's the one that is 90% flashback to the Old West with Ra's Al Ghul's original heir- Malcolm McDowell- and famous Western Hero Jonah Hex basically gets a Backdoor Pilot.

Also in the Episode is Bewitched's Elizabeth Montgomery and, of course, David Warner as Ra's.

As a double bonus, he's also written Introductions and other such Extras on a number of Batman Comics, including the recent 80th Anniversary Book.

He wrote the Introduction to 1996's Batman: Death of the Innocents, a PSA Comic about land mines (which he worked to deal with as a Senator).

Regardless of how you may feel about his Politics or Party, that's quite a Resume for Leahy.

Could you imagine someone fudging their Resume to get into Congress?
Never...

Old School Flix: Dead of Night (1945)

 A Film so good, they made it twice.  Well, kind of.
I'll get to that later.

This is Dead of Night, a 1945 British Horror Film with a dash or two of Comedy sprinkled in. 
For somewhat obvious reasons, Horror Films were discouraged in the UK during WWII.  This was supposedly one of the first ones allowed to be made after the War (there) ended.

The Plot involves a confused man in a familiar situation.  Why does he remember these people he's 'never met?'  Will their Stories clear things up?

To find out, read on...

As an Anthology Film, it has multiple Directors for the Framing Device and separate Stories.

Of note, Mr. Crichton ended his career by Directing 'A Fish Called Wanda.'  Neat.

A man arrives at a Cabin way out in the Woods where he meets a bunch of people.

He seems to know them but doesn't know why.  They don't know him either.

He also speaks vaguely of something dire...

The first tale involves a Young Racecar Driver (this is pre-NASCAR) who nearly dies.
He has a dream/vision of a hearse, and the Driver says that 'There is room for one more.'

The next day, he is about to get on a Bus, but the Driver is the same one he saw and says the line.

He doesn't get on the Bus, and it crashes.

The next tale involves a young lady at a Christmas party.  Topical...ly late!

She plays a form of Hide & Seek, but gets separated after a guy tells her the tale of a kid killed there years before.  Christmas!

She finds a child and puts him to bed...only to find out that he was the Ghost of that kid.

The kid does nothing btw.

In the next Story, a woman gets a mirror as a gift for Husband.
No issue there, right?

Well, it apparently was owned by a man who went crazy and killed his (not really) cheating wife.

It seems to possess the Husband...until she breaks him free.

Another Guest tells a tale that is clearly designed to lighten the mood (both in and out of story)...

A pair of Golfers agree to decide who can romance a woman with a Golf Game.  The winner seems to cheat, so the loser drowns himself in a lake!

Yep, this is the Comedy one.

Said man is now a Ghost who makes his old friend unable to enjoy life.  They settle things, but now the Ghost can't 'disappear.'

In the stress of teaching him how, the living man...disappears...somehow and the Ghost gets the girl.

******

The next Story- and the final one- is the most famous of the Film.

A Ventriloquist has a sardonic dummy that makes him thinks that he'll leave him for another Ventriloquist.

When said man finds the dummy missing and in that guy's room, he shoots him (but not fatally).

The Therapist- who was skeptical the whole tie- tells of how the man eventually smashed the dummy...and then began to speak in his voice.

Back in the Framing Device, the lights go out and the group splits up.

Our Hero kills the Therapist and escapes...into the settings of the previous Stories.

He wakes up and tells his wife about his vivid dream...before the phone rings.

He's invited to help out a man at his Cabin and that's...the guy from the beginning (with the Golf Story)!

Time Loop?  Hell?  White Bear?
Dunno.  

The End.

A good, if dated, Film that has some good Stories to share.  There's certainly no confusing Dead of Night with a modern Horror Film in any way, shape or form.  Is that a bad thing though?

The Film doesn't necessarily feel stodgy or outdated- just of its era.  There's no blood.  There's no guts.  There's really not much that's graphic or anything.  The worst you get is the Mirror Story or the creepiness of the Ventriloquist's Story.

Oddly, for me, the most unsettling thing was the casual nature of how the one guy just walked into the Lake to die and nobody stopped him.  At a certain point, what did you think he was doing?  Why didn't you help him?!?

If you're looking for true Horror, the Stories are mixed bag. 
The first one with the Racecar Driver is ominous, while the Christmas Ghost is harmless. 
The Golf Story- casual and avoidable suicide aside- is intentionally Comedic. 
The Mirror Story has a nice slow burn, just not the payoff you might expect as a modern viewer.
The Ventriloquist Story is the most famous one for a reason.  While there's still no actual death, it is the most Horror of them all.

The wrap-up is intentionally vague, but interesting.  I have to imagine that David Lynch was inspired by it.

Dead of Night is a Classic bit of unique Horror- just know what you're getting into.  Don't be caught off-guard like this little guy, which is a small animal reacting to the Golfer's slow-motion suicide.  No, really.

Next up, I might as well watch the follow-up (in name only) Film next.  Will 30 years change the tone?  Stay tuned...

The Best, Worst and Most Disappointing of Tubi Thursday in 2022

 Tubi still hasn't paid me for all of this free advertising I give them.
Eh...I'll keep doing it still.

Doing Tubi Thursday helped keep me on Schedule- in one instance- and exposed me to much I might not have seen this Year.

Some was good.
Some was bad (very bad!)
Some was just disappointing.

Let's discuss some, shall we?

Best: Hurricane Smith- While not a great Film, it's all relative, no?

I had fun with this never-discussed much Film with 'Apollo' in Australia.
Fun is what I'm looking for with a Film with this Cast and Plot.

Worst: Queen Crab- It was worse than expected in one major way: lack of fun.

The Film used Stop-Motion in place of CGI which takes away some of the silly charm from these things.  The CGI is bad.  This Stop Motion was...alright, but the Plot was so self-serious and drab.

Most Disappointing: Primal Scream- This one sounded like dumb fun, but just put me to sleep.

It has this weird Sci-Fi Noir thing it is going for but was just so cheap (you can almost see the hand moving their spaceship in one shot) and uninteresting.  That's the biggest crime, really.

Best: Swamp Thing- Admittedly, I've seen the Film before.  Even so, it is a great bit of schlocky fun.  It's so serious, which makes it all the better.

Worst: Land Shark (2017)- On a whim, I did the 2 Films called 'Land Shark.'

One was a cheesy Chinese Monster Film (which wasn't technically part of this Series) and then this one...well, really sucked.

It seriously has the worst Special Effects I've seen in a while and was just bad.

Most Disappointing: Curse of the Kraken- This Chinese Monster Film promises way more than it can deliver.

The premise- random folks vs a killer Kraken.
The Film- a Kraken attacks at the beginning and is gone until the last 5-10 minutes.  In its place, 'mutants' jumping around and people fighting in the dirt.

Not even a random 2-headed Shark cameo can save this.  Boo.

Curious to see what else has been covered?  

Just search for 'Tubi' on the Site.