Today, Ed Bianchi is famous for his work on TV series like Deadwood and Boardwalk Empire, but he also has two movies to his credit. This one and the bizarre 1991 movie Off and Running, where Cyndi Lauper plays a mermaid-themed lounge singer whose boyfriend is murdered in front of her before she hooks up with a professional golfer.
It’s produced by Robert Stigwood, who in addition to managing the Bee Gees and Cream, produced the films Jesus Christ Superstar,Grease, Tommy, Saturday Night Fever, Bugsy Malone, Moment by Moment, Grease 2 and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As you can tell, the success of these films gradually declined as time moved on.
The Fan received plenty of negative media attention, due to being released a few months after the murder of John Lennon, who lived in The Dakota, the same building where legendary actress and star of this film Lauren Bacall had been living for many years. She wasn’t pleased with the final film, however.
“The Fan is much more graphic and violent than when I read the script. The movie I wanted to make had more to do with what happens to the life of the woman–and less blood and gore.”
You have to admire the audacity of people who will take a legend like Lauren Bacall — someone who had only made one Robert Altman movie since last appearing in the Duke’s last movie, The Shootist — and put her in a slasher.
Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn!) is obsessed — and that’s putting it mildly — with star of stage and film Sally Ross (Bacall). No matter how many autographs he gets or curt replies or even outright silence, it’s never enough. He must have her, he must own her, he must consume her.
Sally doesn’t even know he exists. She’s acting in a Bob Fosse-like musical and reconnecting with her ex-husband Jake Berman (James Garner!). But after the letters become more carnal — yes, this is how we sexted in the 1980s, I was 9 when this was made, so I know — her assistant Belle (Maureen Stapleton!) starts to worry. She should — Douglas is stalking her every single move. And when he figures out that Belle is the reason why his letter didn’t get through, he slices her up with a straight razor.
She survives, but Elsa the maid doesn’t. Soon, Sally is under protection courtesy of Inspector Raphael Andrews (Hector Elizondo) and being asked if she’s like to have conjugal relations with a meat cleaver. Of note, the 2002 Paramount DVD release of this film re-edited this line to be much less profane.
Our heroine leaves town but that’s when Douglas gets smart. He gets cruised in a gay bar and when in the midst of some oral delight, murders the man and sets him ablaze, faking that the body was his. Oh, the 1980’s, when DNA didn’t exist and these things happened all the time.
Finally, Sally comes back for opening night, but despite how amazing her performance is and even getting to reconcile with her ex, Douglas is waiting. He kills her costume designer and a guard before coming after her. But finally, he offers her an embrace and she responds by stabbing him in the neck before presumably leaving for the cast party at Sardi’s.
Look for Anna Maria Horsford from the Friday films as a female cop, Reed Jones (the original Skimbleshanks in Cats), a young Dana Delaney working in the record store alongside Douglas, Dwight Schultz as the director, Griffin Dunne as his production assistant and Liz Smith as herself.
The Golden Raspberry Awards nominated the song “Hearts, Not Diamonds” for Worst Song the year this came out. My ire for these awards and the wonderful films that they deride knows no bounds. Who are they to scoff at the abilities of Marvin Hamlisch and Tim Rice? How dare you insult Ms. Bacall! Why, why, why — I should write a letter just like Douglas did! That turned out alright!
There’s a rumor that this film was originally intended to be a straightforward thriller starring Elizabeth Taylor and directed by Jeff Lieberman. Yes, America’s favorite actress in the twilight of her career, being directed by the maker of Blue Sunshine. How did this not happen? How can we get to the parallel Earth where it did?
Much respect to Shout! Factory for finally releasing this insane blast of end of the last century star power-driven slasher on blu ray. It’s going to sit in a place of honor, right next to the other movies that I’m so happy they finally released, like The Lonely Lady.
Witch Story may have been sold as a sequel to Superstition in many parts of the world. In Germany, it was retitled Tanz der Hexen Teil 2 and claimed to be the sequel to Larry Cohen’s Wicked Stepmother, if you can believe that.
It’s also the directorial debut of Alessandro Capone, who wrote the 1987 slasher Body Countfor Ruggero Deodato. It was shot between Rome and Florida, which probably lends it the strange disassociated feel that it enjoys.
If you enjoyed Ghosthouse, good news. This movie could equally be a sequel to that film.
If you can hang on until the last part — getting past the product placement that isn’t product placement but is there to let you know that this was shot in America, as well as the farting and burping guy who lends an unnecessary air of frat humor — Witch Story will reward you with people getting possessed and killing one another with all manner of implements, as well as a small girl being killed by a tractor. And isn’t that what we all showed up for?
I posted the whole movie below, so go ahead. Enjoy.
Day 20 Sunday Dinner: From eating scenes to full on foodie fodder
Update, May 2023: The long-gestating sequel headed by actor Clint Howard is back on! Information on the new film to follow.
Now, here’s what we had to kibitz back in October 2019 during the annual, 30-Day Scarecrow Video Psychotronic Challenge.
Today, Tommy Wiseau markets his celluloid calling-card, The Room, as an intentional “black comedy.” Opinions vary on that assessment of that successful artistic disaster, but the same can’t be said for the exploits of Clint Howard’s dairy-swirled slasher, Gregory Tudor.
Considering the named-cast that stars David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London), Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas), Sandahl Bergman (Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja), Jan-Michael Vincent (Damnation Alley) and, holy crap . . . David Warner (From Beyond the Grave), I don’t think any of them signed on the dotted line for an “intentional comedy” done as a “campy” take on the serial killer genre. As with Tommy Wiseau’s The Room: The team behind Ice Cream Man, I believe, were making a serious horror film with dark humor touches—sort of a Motel Hell with cannibalism-confectionery treats instead of human-sausage meats—and it just deliciously careened off the rails and into our home video hearts.
Can you really see David Warner willingly—without being duped—signing on the dotted line for a film where Clint Howard’s dairy slasher is able to stick ice cream scoops into the necks of decapitated heads, and work his thumb on the scoop to make the mouths move for his twisted ventriloquist act? I’ve never dug deep enough into this film to see, although it was made for TV and video, if the proceedings were shot-on-video or actual film; but wow, David Warner is damn near close to John Carradine’s SOV-slumming in Blood Cult. No, I won’t believe it. No way had Gorkon, the chancellor of the Klingon High Council—within four years—fallen willingly from the throne of Paradise City in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (1991) to a film with heads-on-ice-cream-scoops. There had to be a nefarious scheme involving bogus tax shelters and a film-production covered drug smuggling ring. Was this pitched as Freddy Kruger as an ice cream man? What the fuck is going on here?
Just look at Clint’s lines when he’s about to give someone “the scoop”:
“You’re Ice Cream.”
“I guess not every day is a happy, happy, happy day!”
“You little turds are gonna learn you can’t run from the ice cream man!”
And, when he kidnaps the local fat kid, a cruelly-named Tuna, he chuckles, “Trolling for Tuna!” as he scoops the kid into his ice cream truck.
No. I won’t believe it. There’s no way Stringfellow Hawke, our bad-ass ‘80s Airwolf, is chasing a psycho ice cream man without producer or managerial misrepresentation on someone’s part. Jan-Michael in a film about chopped up dog and human-spiked Butterbrickel and Rocky Road? What the fuck is going on here? Eh, ah, wait a sec . . . let’s not forget Jan did The Divine Enforcer, so . . . I guess we just gotta believe Jan signed willingly. Yeah, he did because, well, David A. Prior sucked him into doing The Silencer the same year Ice Cream Man was made (at least David A. gave Jan-Micheal some dignity and killed him off a third-of-the-way through). The same goes for David Naughton: he did the abysmal Kidnapped for Howard Avedis . . . and trust us when we tell you Ice Cream Man is a step up for the ol’ Dr. Pepper guy from the ’70s.
Eh, still, while the celluloid proceedings are technically inept (There’s way too many shots of kids’ sneakers; did Converse have a product placement deal? The loopy dream sequences and flashbacks don’t mesh with Jan-Micheal’s heavy-stoic approach to the material; it feels as if his footage is spliced in from another film, entirely), we’re still going along for the whole, heartily-hilarious ride with Gregory Tudor. Turns out: as a child, lil’ Greggy was traumatized by seeing a local ice cream man murdered. So, after his release from the nuthouse, all Tudor wants to do is give children the happiness he never had (again, we learn of his agony via awkward, dark-comedy-slanted dreamy-flashbacks). So he reopens the old ice cream factory and, well . . . you know that ain’t bananas in the Banana Fudge Swirl . . . and that ain’t “fudge” those rats and roaches are scurrying in.
One of the great, off-the-rail moments, amid the ice scream slasher sickness, is that the proceedings spin-out from being a kid’s movie, say like The Goonies (1985), but more like The Monster Squad(1987), with way-to-smart-for-their-age Home Alone-styled brats who’ve given up on the dolt adults and plot to capture the ice cream man on their own. One minute: it’s cute, the next minute: it’s sick, tossing scared kids into the nooks and crannies of a ratty ice cream factory. What the fuck is going on here?
Regardless, I love seeing Clint Howard break from under his brother Ron’s shadow and ditch his second-fiddle status with a lead role. And they don’t come along very often, but when they do, we get Stanley Coopersmith in Evilspeak (1981). Yeah, Clint can screech that fiddle and scare the devil out of Georgia when he has to and is always game for the challenge.
Of course, Clint is forever loved as the Tranya-swillin’ Balok, kicking Enterprise ass with the Fesarius (in 1966 and in 2010), but don’t forget: Clint was the school restroom-based entrepreneur, Eaglebauer, in Rock ‘n Roll High School(1979). He was friggin’ Rughead in the automotive-slasher The Wraith (1986). He was Slinky in Tango & Cash (1989). He was the lead as the adult Ricky in Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1991). And the list goes on and on: Carnosaur, Barb Wire, the penis-spotting radar tech “Johnson” in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Rob Zombie showed respect by casting Clint in The Lords of Salem and 3 From Hell.
The Screenwriter and DirectorScoop
The completely off-the-reservation script served as the screenwriting debut for Tisch School of the Arts-graduated David Dobkin. You know Double D for his directing Jackie Chan in the martial arts romp, Shanghai Knights, and bringing Peter M. Lenkov’s hit underground comic book, R.I.P.D, to the big screen. He directed the always on-the-spot Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers and the Tim Allen-fronted Christmas comedy, Fred Claus. Dobkin is still at it with the SyFy series Resident Alien, as well as directing a few recent videos for Maroon 5.
But who directed this film? Uh-oh, it’s a John Howard-directing Spine alert! Yep, we are on the SOV fringes with porn auteurs goin’ mainstream just as I suspected, once you realize although director-producer Paul Norman directed over 100 films (the name of “Norman Apstein” is tossed around as the “director”; the former was his “professional” name)—they were porn movies. Don’t believe us: for a time he was married to adult film star Tori Welles (she cameos in a supermarket scene). Still don’t believe us: one of those films was the popular, behind-the-green-curtain renter, Edward Penishands (1991). So, yeah, give a guy $2 million bucks and he goes from penishands to icecreamscoop hands. Only in American cinema.
So, as you can see, based on David Dobkin’s screenwriting and directing credibility, Ice Cream Man is a case of a (porn) director (in his only commercial film) not connecting with the material he’s tasked committing to film.
Need another porn auteur goin’ mainstream in the VHS ’80s? Then Blood Salvage is your movie.
Wrapping It Up
However . . . I never review a flick that doesn’t warm the ol’ cogs of my VHS-pumping heart cartridge. So, yeah, I love this movie in a Blood Salvage and Baker County, USA trashy kind-a-way because there’s no way anyone—mainstream or porn—can direct a seriously-toned story about a demented ice cream man without instigating squirm-inducing discomforts. The auteur must go for the camp—which Paul Norman has—or the film ends up on a puritanical “video nasty” list, never to be seen again. And Ice Cream Man is full on drag-queen, RuPaul camp—and a bag of chips. Or a bowl of Bloody Cherry . . . and don’t hold the eyes . . . that you want to see again, and again.
Yes. Baskin Robbins marketed TV series and movies: check out our post for more of ’em!
Okay, I am going to have a bewitching scoop with Samantha Stephens—lord have mercy! Elizabeth Montgomery AND Baskin Robbins? A sexy, ’60s TV witch serving up two scoops?? Like ‘ol Diamond Dave opined: All of her flavors are guaranteed to satisfy . . . as will those DVDs issued in 2004, as well as the improved Blu-ray/DVD combo issued in 2017 by Vinegar Syndrome as a 2,500-limited, exclusive Slipcover Edition scanned and restored in 2K from the 35mm original negative (Blu-ray.com gives you the technical low-down on the latter). As result of those digital reboots, you can now easily stream Ice Cream Man on the Pluto, Roku, Tubi, and Vudu platforms. To promote the 2004 release, Joe Bob Briggs hosted that restored version on TNT for its weekly MonsterVision programming block with Clint Howard.
The Swirly Tales of the Sequel
In 2014, Clint Howard devised a Kickstarter campaign to fund a sequel. Uh? What? You’re telling me . . . with all that Howard family fortune from all of his brother’s movies . . . Clint has to “kickstart” a film for himself? Yep. According to these two posts at Dead Central (here and here) the campaign that opened on October 9, 2014, quickly closed on October 30, 2014, when only 70 backers ponied up a little over $4,000. Come on, Ronnie! Give brother Clint two million, shoot in Canada, and write it off as a tax shelter. We want our Ice Cream Man!
And we just may! In May 2023, courtesy of the fine folks at Joblo.com, we’ve come to learn that it’s taken nine years for Clint Howard to make good on his promise that he wasn’t giving up on the sequel. He and director Norman Apstein have collaborated on a new screenplay. You can keep up with the latest on the sequel by following Clint on his official Instagram. Clint’s latest film for 2023 is co-starring with Nicolas Cage in the revisionist western, The Old Way.
About the Author:You can read the music and film reviews of R.D Francis on Medium and learn about his work on Facebook.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: We put out the word to find out what people’s top ten slasher movies were and so many cool folks answered the call! William Mendoza, who is an Art Supervisor and 3D Animator on Dream Corp LLC on Adult Swim sent this great list. You can check him out on Twitter, Instagram and his website. Here’s a clip of the show he’s working on!
William tried to keep this list within the slasher boom of the later 70s/early 80s. When we talked, he didn’t want to put any giallos on the list, but he feels that Body Double is actually a true slasher film. He said, “It’s very different than the rest of them but it’s just too awesome and cinematic to dismiss.”
Day 20 Sunday Dinner:
From eating scenes to full on foodie fodder
Mike Nichols, who dominated early ‘70s cinema with the box office hits The Graduate (1967) and Catch-22 (1970), and received multiple award nods for Silkwood (1983) and Working Girl (1988), decided to make a comedy, a sci-fi comedy—a 2001: A Not-So-Funny Space Comedythat needed Leslie Nielson. Written and produced by the timely-hysterical Garry Shandling, What Planet Are You From? was a $60 million bomb with a worldwide theatrical gross of less than $15,000. Guess who didn’t write or produce another film, ever again?
The same can’t be said for Madeleine Olnek, an extremely talented, independent American film director, producer, screenwriter, and playwright with 24 plays and three feature films to her credit. Critics universally describe her work as “madcap comedies with absurdist leanings.”
That rule applies to this, her fifth film, and her first feature-film overall, which effectively utilizes its parody of ‘50s sci-fi films—Ed Wood’s in particular—to address the up and downs of lesbian culture.
Three lesbian space aliens come to Earth to have their
hearts broken in order to save their planet’s ozone layer—that’s being depleted
by “too much emotion.” Zoinx, one of the aliens, falls in love with the
greeting-card store employed Jane, who begins a romance with the alien—who looks
(just not-so-pointy headed) and sounds like Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtain’s
SNL’s Coneheads—and makes “love” by rubbing noses, as is Zoinx’s custom. When
the Men in Black show up, Jane needs to decide: stay on earth and be
miserable—where she’s alienated—or go to a planet where she’ll be the “alien,”
but be happy?
As with the Coneheads, who bypass the Earth’s vast cuisine
and cultural eats for a steady diet of beer and potato chips “for survival” (with
the occasional “Bass-o-Matic’d”
or “Bat-o-Matic’d” fish
or Chiroptera shakes), jokes are abound by the new, strange foods Earth has to
offer, such as alcohol, coffee, and desserts—instead of the need of sex or
chomping down on human flesh, as is the case with most-otherworldly aliens.
Hey, at least Commander Balok admits to his love of alcoholic beverages and isn’t ashamed of his bald head. You know he ain’t wearing no Wookie toupee on his dome when the Fesarius makes the Kessel Run back to the “First Federation.”
So raise your Tranya and toast this film. I hope you relish
it as much as I.
Madeleine Olnek’s latest and second feature film, Wild Nights with Emily (Wikipedia), is a biographical comedy based on the life of poet Emily Dickenson starring Saturday Night Live alumna Molly Shannon. You can learn more about the multiple award-winning film—90% “Certified Fresh” by Rotten Tomatoes—at the film’s official website.
About the Author:You can read the music and film reviews of R.D Francis on Medium and learn about his work on Facebook. He also writes for B&S Movies.
Day 20 Sunday Dinner: From eating scenes to full on foodie fodder
Author’s Note: You’ll be able to watch the full films of Ed and his Death Mother’s cool ‘n quirky cousins: Bartleby, Ed and Rubin, Trees Lounge, and Twister for free, and Ghost World for a fee. (Links to follow in the article.) And there is eating in all of them—especially Steve Buscemi driving an ice cream truck in Trees Lounge and Edna and Rebecca in Ghost World slinging popcorn and coffee, respectively. So there you go! And now, on with the eats, I mean, show!
The only thing missing from Ed and His Dead Mother is Crispin Glover.
When I look at this film’s cover, I can’t help but think of Twister (1989; full film/You Tube), featuring Crispin’s flaky, new wave rocker, Howdy, crooning in an echo chamber with a phase-connected guitar about how pretty his baby is and how mean his daddy is.
When I watch Ed and his Dead Mother, I can’t help but think of my equally quirky favorite, Ed and Rubin (1991; You Tube/full movie), with Crispin’s Rubin Farr and Howard Hessman’s Ed Tuttle frolicking about like Howdy’s distant cousins, wallowing in a henpecked loneliness, just down the street from Steve Buscemi’s Ed Chilton. And Mr. Chilton, probably, at one time, lived in the same neighborhood of another one of my favorite, quirky loves: the Steve Buscemi-starring and directed Trees Lounge (full movie/TubiTV).
“This movie sucks,” they say. “Come on, you have to hate this movie,” they tell me. In the words of Crispin’s Bartleby, in the awesome Jonathan Parker-version of Herman Melville’s short-fiction piece, “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” (Bartleby, 2001; full movie/You Tube), I say to them: “I would prefer not to.” That’s probably why I have no friends and write all day long. They’s nothing like a steely resolve in your movie preferences to drive away the sane people.
However, I didn’t say I wanted Crispin instead of: I want him in addition to Steve Buscemi. Do I really have to rattle off Steve’s credits for you: Escape from L.A., Fargo, Reservoir Dogs . . . but I will mention his Ed Chilton’s long-lost brother, Seymour, which you might have missed, from another one of my off-beat loves, Ghost World (2001; rental/Vudu).
So I think that little bit of insight to my VHS shelf will give you either fair warning to run—or leave your chops watering with bug-juicy anticipation for this Jonathan Wacks directed, chunky-chunk of weirdness. Hey, Jonathan is the dude who directed the Beatles’ George Harrison-produced Pow Wow Highway (1989) and produced the Monkees’ Michael Nesmith’s Repo Man. He directed porno-shock rockers GWAR (alongside Ethan Hawke from Reality Bites) in Mystery Date (1991). The dude ran, as Vice President of Production, the Samuel Goldwyn Company (of MGM fame). While he only did four feature films: they were awesome, unique original films and I love them all. I wished Jonathan Wacks stayed behind the camera and stayed out the executive suite. I wished fate would have had my own acting endeavors cross his path. I’d love to act in one of his movies. A gig as an under five/day player trading chops with Crispin and Buscemi in some crazy-ass road movie based on the writings of Hunter S. Thompson is in my thespian wheelhouse. I’d even take a part in a sequel to Ice Cream Man (see my Day 20: Option 4 review) just to work with Clint Howard.
“Dude, what the hell does this have to do with the ‘Day 20 Scarecrow Challenge’ regarding movies about or featuring food? While you were yacking about your man-love for Crispin Glover and Steve Buscemi, I went to the IMDB and it says Steve’s character doesn’t even run a restaurant: he owns and operates a hardware store. So, what’s he eating: sandpaper and paint chip sandwiches?”
Well, he’s not eating anything. But his dear, dead mom loves her bugs.
Lost somewhere between the cannibal-comedy shenanigans of Paul Bartel’s Eating Raoul (1982) and Peter Jackson’s gooey zombie-comedy Dead Alive (1993), only not as clumsy as Eating Raoul and not as icky as Dead Alive, lies the cockroach crunch of Ed and his Dead Mother, with its comedic questions on how we deal with death.
Ed lives with his perpetual telescope-peering pervert uncle Benny (Ned Beatty of Deliverance, 1972). Ned’s living the life, now that his domineering nag-of-a-sister, Mabel (omnipresent character actress Miriam Margolyes), is dead; Ed is still moping about it a year later. That makes Ed easy prey for a smarmy, super slick salesman in the form of the white-haired and white-suit clad A.J Pattle (ubiquitous TV and film villain John Glover; Gremlins 2: The New Batch, In the Mouth of Madness) from the Happy People Corporation of Webster City, Iowa. His product: he sells reanimation services (to the recently-insurance loaded loved ones of the dead).
Ed lays down the $1000 bucks—and Pattle shows up at the door step with Mabel. Of course, since this is all an elaborate insurance swindle, the reanimation “runs out.” Now Pattle pitches HPC’s “reanimation kit” (a shrink-wrapped metal tin) for $349.99.
And what’s inside: cockroaches. Why: “Life my, boy. Life,” exclaims Pattle. “But only give her two a day. No more, no less. You don’t want to give her too much ‘life’ at one time. It screws up the reanimation process.” Naturally, Ed and Benny soon realize the now profanity-spewing Mable is not the woman she used to be. Of course, as with any Pandora’s Box: Once it’s opened—and you don’t follow the instructions—and, in this case, if you overdose on “life,” you become a crazed killer. And you develop a taste for dogs and cats and become addicted to lawnmower death—of the furry creatures, not the band.
And that sultry babe teasing Benny through the telescope, the one that Ed would never have shot with, makes a play for Ed. And why not? She’s the Happy People Corporation’s femme fatale secret weapon to bilk Ed of his mother’s inheritance. Creepy Uncle Benny’s into it for the vicarious ride and listens to Ed’s total failure in sealing the deal and suggests, “Maybe I can hide in the kitchen and scream out positions to you in case you get stuck on what to do next.”
And what should you do next? Pop the Orville Redenbacher, throw in a DiGiorno’s, pop a Dos Equis and watch Ed and his Dead Mother for free on TubiTv.
About the Author:You can read the music and film reviews of R.D Francis on Medium and learn about his work on Facebook.
DAY 20. SUNDAY DINNER: From exceptional eating scenes to full on foodie fodder. Come hungry!
After a viewing of this movie at a very young age, I decided that I’d never have chaffing dishes in my house. That may never come true just because I doubt I’ll ever have the money to spend on such luxurious accoutrements, but also because the moment where Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) serves her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) her parakeet — and later a rat — on a silver platter, I was put off on silver serviceware for the rest of my days. This is not a meal fit for Ms. Crawford!
Robert Aldrich had the idea of bringing together two of America’s most enduring screen icons in one film where they’d bring their long-rumored rivalry to the story of two sisters who had been used up by show business.
Baby Jane was once a vaudeville star who held her family under her thumb, using her stardom to get whatever she wanted. That all changed once movies took over and she couldn’t adapt, so by 1935, her sister Blanche is the toast of Tinseltown while she’s a shell of her former self, her movies seen as failures. One night at a party, an accident leaves Blanche paralyzed from the waist down and it’s all blamed on a drunken Jane.
Flash to three decades later, as residuals from Blanche’s films are enough to keep the sisters in house and home, as the two former stars live in the shadows of their past glories. Jane has become a raging alcoholic, trapping her wheelchair-bound sister within their home, denying her even basic sustenance — hence the pet and vermin meal scenes described above.
Although Jane has gone far into middle age, she still wears the pancake make-up and outfits of her Baby past. She’s hired Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono) to play piano for her, preparing an entirely new show to take on the road. And to get there, she’s using her sister’s money.
Only madness and murder can follow, as well as the revelation that Blanche isn’t the innocent victim that she aspires to be. Both sisters have been forced into roles that they’ve played way beyond typecasting. As both sisters find themselves on a beach, with Blanche dehydrated and near-death, Jane’s plaintively sad question “You mean all this time we could have been friends?” cuts through this film, which ends before giving any resolution to the fate of either character.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? was a cultural force, changing Hollywood so that older actresses didn’t have to fade into the role of the matron. It’d be followed by other so-called psycho-biddy films like Aldrich’s follow-up Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, as well as movies that also asked questions like What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, What’s the Matter with Helen? and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
The feud between the two actresses — which began years before this movie and would extend to their deaths — is so legendary that books and even an entire FX series was created to document it. From allegations that Crawford backed out of a publicity tour because she didn’t want to share the stage with Davis to Crawford accepting Anne Bancroft’s Best Actress statue for The Miracle Worker in a successful attempt to overshadow her enemy, this war was just like the movie — only 100% reality.
I mean — this is the movie where Bette Davis installed a free Coca-Cola machine on the set for the cast and crew for the sole reason of drawing the ire of Crawford, who was on the board of Pepsi.
There are also plenty of personal touches by both actresses. Davis did all of her own makeup, saying “What I had in mind no professional makeup man would have dared to put on me. I felt Jane never washed her face, just added another layer of makeup each day.” And Crawford, who was an avid collector of Margaret Keane’s “sad eyes” paintings, made sure that the paintings appear in next door neighbor Mrs. Bates’ house, inclduing the famous Big Eyes piece.
While Ingrid Bergman, Susan Hayward, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, Jennifer Jones and Ginger Rogers were all rumored for Baby Jane and Tallulah Bankhead, Claudette Colbert, Olivia de Havilland and Marlene Dietrich were all in the running to play Blanche, only Davis and Crawford’s maniac energy — and downright hatred of one another — could make this film work as well as it does.
I truly believe that is Ms. Davis could have served Ms. Crawford a rat on a fancy tray, she would have done so. This is a film I’ve returned to time and time again, even if I’ve made sure to never eat a meal that has a silver cover on it.
For years, Superstition was a movie that was impossible to find. The 2006 Anchor Bay release was out of print and you could only find bootlegs of the film at conventions. That’s just part of this movie’s troubled history, as even though it was finished in 1981, it wasn’t released in the U.S. until 1985.
That’s probably why when people bring up great 80’s horror, this is a film that rarely enters the conversation. That’s changing, thanks to Shout! Factory finally bringing this odd film out on blu ray.
Filmed under the title The Witch, Superstition is all about murder. Violent, slasher-like murders filled with brutal amounts of blood-spraying gore. This is a movie that does more than not care about its characters. It seems to outright despise them, reveling in their horrible destruction. That makes it stand out from the pack of Amityville Horror and Poltergeist films. Much like Umberto Lenzi’s Ghosthouse, it melds the world of the slasher with the supernatural.
It all starts when two boys play pranks on a couple parked on lover’s lane. As they hide inside an abandoned house, they’re soon dispatched, which brings Inspector Sturgess (Albert Salmi, Viva Knievel!) and Reverend David Thompson (James Houghton, TV’s Knot’s Landing) in to investigate. Sturgess believes that the house is a place where occult rituals are taking place, as more than one murder and several drowings have happened on the estate.
What follows is a brutal series of kills, such as Sturgess’ partner being dragged under the lake, an elderly priest (Stacy Keach Sr., father of Stacy and James) being killed by a table saw, a contractor being hung by a clawed hand, exploding shards of glass mutilating another priest and so much more. Don’t fall in love with a single character in this movie — man, woman or even child.
Everything can be traced way back to a witch trial that happened in 1692, during when Elondra Sharack was accused of murdering a nine-year-old girl named Mary. The witch was drowned and then the church nearby instantly burned down. So when young Mary’s ghost starts wandering thr grounds, nothing good can happen. By the end, not even a crucifix can stop the witch from killing anyone and everyone that crosses her path.
Look for Larry Pennell — Dash Riprock from The Beverly Hillbillies — as doomed priest George Leahy, who somehow has a wife and three kids, one of whom is played by Billy Jayne, who is also Billy Jacoby, brother of actors Robert Jayne, Susan Jayne and Laura Jacoby, as well as the half-brother of Scott “Bad Ronald” Jacoby. Billy is also in Bloody Birthday, The Beastmaster and Cujo.
While not an official sequel, Alessandro Capone’s 1989 film Witch Story was also sold as Superstition2. That makes sense, as thematically these movies are incredibly similar. However, in Germany, Witch Story was retitled Tanz der Hexen Teil 2 and sold as the sequel to Larry Cohen’s Wicked Stepmother, a movie that feels like a complete 180 from Capone’s attempt at making a haunted house film.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Roslyn Frost hosts her own YouTube channel which reviews horror films. She has a genuine love for them and it really comes through in the videos that she shares. We put her on the spot by asking her to send us her top ten list. If you want to learn more about her, she’s on Twitter and Instagram. Take it away!
Doing a top ten slashers is incredibly difficult. It’s hard enough determining whether a certain movie is a slasher or not, but then limiting that to just ten is almost impossible. So instead I have compiled a list of ten random slashers I love for various reasons strictly from the 1980s (excluding the Italian giallos). So without further ado…
1. The Funhouse – Everyone talks about the typical slasher tropes, but to me what makes a great slasher is the atmosphere. And this Tobe Hooper classic is full of it. It relies almost completely on mood as opposed to kills and thrills, since nothing really happens for the first hour. Always a fun watch during the Halloween season.
2. Bloody Birthday – I love killer kid movies, and this is one I always enjoy watching. A campy flick full of early 80s charm. The kids are wonderful little creeps, especially Billy Jayne (the kid from Just One of the Guys and Beastmaster).
3. Night School – Another atmospheric slasher. This one is more reminiscent of Italian giallos than American slashers at the time. Some great cinematography and when the kills happen they’re pretty good. A stronger ending would have made this a true genre classic.
4. Blood Diner – I don’t think I’ve ever seen another movie like Blood Diner. Inspired by HG Lewis gorefests, Blood Diner is a spiritual sequel to 1963’s Blood Feast. Irritating at times, but always funny. This is a great movie to go in blind to since it’ll make the watch truly bewildering.
5. Prom Night – Jamie Lee Curtis dancing to disco. That’s pretty much the only reason I love this movie.
6. Nail Gun Massacre – I love bad movies, and they don’t get as bad as Nail Gun Massacre. One of the most inept movies I’ve ever seen, the biggest surprise is that they knew how to actually work the camera. The first time I saw it I wanted to destroy the tape. Now I treasure this garbage masterpiece for all its goofy quirks.
7. Pieces – I don’t think I can say anything about this that others haven’t said better. A remarkably bizarre slasher starring cult couple Christopher and Lynda Day George. It’s a movie you’ll never forget with one of the “best” endings ever.
8. House on Sorority Row – Although it’s a bit slow at times, this one has everything I want in an 80s slasher. A strong cast, dark cinematography, a mysterious killer, and plenty of camp.
9. Christmas Evil – I was hesitant to list this because I don’t really consider it a slasher and it’s barely a horror movie. It has more of the hallmarks of a Christmas classic: Down-on-his-luck lead, non believer side characters, Santa Claus iconography, a snowy setting, and a miracle ending. This movie is basically what Miracle on 34th Street would be if directed by William Lustig.
10. Killer Workout – Another inept slasher, this movie doesn’t offer a lot in the way or kills… or strong acting, directing, cinematography, or really anything else that makes a movie good. The worst parts are actually the slasher elements, but what I love about this movie is all the campiness. With unnecessarily long and out of place aerobics scenes, bodybuilder actors, ditzy actresses, and one of the catchiest soundtracks to an 80s slasher ever, this movie is perfect for a midnight double feature.
Thanks Rosalyn! You can check out one of her latest videos below, where she discusses Night of the Comet while playing old arcade games.
Shot in 1971 and 1972 in the towns surrounding Toronto — Beaverton, Aurora, and Oak Ridges — this low budget, mostly improvised Canadian horror film would be unremarkable if it wasn’t some of the first work of Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy and Ivan Reitman.
Levy stars as Clifford Sturges, a traveling guitar player, while Martin is his new girlfriend Gloria Wellaby. When their car breaks down in a small town called Farnhamville, they soon learn that not many visitors make it out of town.
After finding Mrs. Wainwright’s small motel, the owner tells them about the Cannibal Girls — Anthea, Clarissa, and Leona — sirens who lure men to their doom, only to eat them while they’re still alive.
Along with another stranger looking for his missing sister, our heroes are taken to the home of Reverend Alex St. John, who commands most of the town. They don’t even realize it, but they’re now in the presence of the titular villains.
Cannibal Girls aspires to the strange town aesthetic that movies like Messiah of Evil excel at. It doesn’t get there, sadly. But the idea that this family of human-eating femme fatales continues to add to their number is a good one.
Weirdly enough, when this played in the UK, it had a loud siren that announced when a scene with gore in it was about to be played, then a bell when that scene was over. This kind of feature would play well at my in-laws, where my wife’s mother often enters the room eyes and ears covered whenever a horror movie is on the TV.
While an interesting curiousity, this feels like the kind of film that Count Floyd would struggle to get through and instead replace it with another showing of Dr. Tongue’s Evil House of Pancakes. These sketches have special relevance for those born in Pittsburgh, as SCTV’s late night movie host turned werewolf howling vampire is pretty much a comedy version of “Chilly” Billy Cardille, a Pittsburgh broadcaster who was as comfortable doing the news as he was hosting Studio Wrestling, Jackpot Bingo or radio shows as he was showing horror movies late into Saturday night.
There was also another Pittsburgh horror host who influenced Count Floyd, KDKA’s E-Gor, who hosted the show The 13th Hour from 1958 to 1959. He was played by announcer George Eisenhauer, who from the 1950’s to the 1980’s was the familiar smooth voice who’d intone, “This is KDKA, Pittsburgh.” He also the host of the religious program Not Just Sunday. Yes, only in Pittsburgh could someone show you a horror film on Friday and discuss theology on Sunday.
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