Yearly Archives: 2020

2020 Scarecrow Psychotronic Challenge Day 10: Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991)

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DAY 10. PLASTIQUE VIVANT: Mannequins are creepy enough standing still but what happens when they come to life?

Stewart Raffill has made a diverse list of films over his career, directing everything from The Philadelphia Experiment, The Ice Pirates, Tammy and the T-Rex, Mac and Me and wrote Passenger 57. Let’s add this movie to the mix, which takes the first film and pretty much does it all over again, but this time inside Philadelphia’s Wanamaker’s department store.

It was produced by David Begelman, who embezzled thousands from Judy Garland before becoming an executive at Columbia Pictures. Actor Cliff Robertson noted that money had been paid to him from the studio that he didn’t receive at one point in 1977, which led to Begelman being let go and a rift within the studio itself. Begelman was more punished for lying about going to Yale on his bio than for stealing money; Roberston was blacklisted for years for speaking up. By 1980, he’d return to the job at MGM, where he lasted for two years and produced Fame and Poltergeist.

He then moved to Sherwood Productions, where he produced WarGames, Mr. Mom, Blame It On Rio and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, another movie that he scammed investors on by reporting inflated costs and pocketing the difference. After an investor pulled out, he started yet another production company where he made Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie’s, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Short Time and the movie we’re discussing right now. After failing to find funding to keep making movies, he became depressed and shot himself at Los Angeles’ Century Plaza Hotel.

A thousand years ago, Prince William (William Ragsdale, Fright Night) of the kingdom of Hauptmann-Koenig wanted to marry a peasant girl named Jessie (Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer). However, his mother (Cynthia Harris, Mad About You) does not approve of the marriage and asks her sorcerer (Terry Kiser, Bernie himself) to turn her into a mannequin for a thousand years or until she finds love in a foreign land.

Ragsdale also plays Jason Williamson, a new window dresser at Prince & Company, a Philadelphia department store. This is unlike any store you’ve ever seen before, putting even the one from A Christmas Story to shame. It’s like a self-contained city and will have a huge reveal of the new windows, which will include a peasant girl mannequin that is, of course, Jessie. Once our hero removes her cursed necklace, he suddenly has a new love.

That said, they must deal with the machinations of Count Gunther Spretzle, the reincarnation of the sorcerer, who wants Jessie for his own. He also has an army of bodybuilders — Rolf, Egon and Arnold — who are as ineffective as it gets.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that Hollywood Montrose (Meshach Taylor) shows up again and pretty much looks at the camera and lets you in on the fact that this happening twice is absolutely ridiculous. Taylor also plays a doorman at a nightclub in the film.

If you watch this and say, “That pink convertible seems familiar,” well that’s because it’s the same one from Raffill’s Mac and Me.

The failure of this film killed off Begelman’s Gladden Entertainment, which led to the end of his life. If you can get past that, this movie is absolutely off the rails. It has no grounding in reality whatsoever, beyond the fact that a mannequin comes to life. I’ve seen it so many times — it’s a Becca favorite so it airs several times a year in the B&S About Movies household — and every time I wonder, did anyone watch this in the edit and laugh that no one had caught on to the fact that they were aliens that didn’t know how humans really behaved?

SLASHER MONTH: Scary Movie (1991)

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No, not that movie. This movie.

Yes, 1991’s never-released until last year’s Scary Movie is straight outta Austin, Texas.

It’s all about a nerd named Warren (John Hawkes, Kenny Powers’ brother from Eastbound and Down) who winds up in a haunted house attraction, but is convinced that things are not what they seem. Just like this movie, which you’d think would be an end of the video rental idea movie and it ends up being a slapstick voyage into Bava lighting and slasher menace.

Hawks is awesome in this, somehow becoming a mix of Buster Keaton and John Lithgow in The Twilight Zone: The Movie as simply the act of going into a fake haunted barn is way more than his mind can endure. And once he reveals that the maze-like structure — all constructed from soundstages — contains a killer, he busts from his seams.

This is a low-budget affair, but any horror movie that uses The Butthole Surfers and ends with legendary Austin psychedelic performer Roky Erickson’s “I Walked With a Zombie” over the credits is one that you know I’m going to adore. And man, the killer’s mask is absolutely awesome looking.

You can order the AGFA blu ray of this from Diabolik DVD or watch it on Tubi.

SLASHER MONTH: The Majorettes (1987)

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Written and produced by John A. Russo, which he adapted from his own novel, this is yet another weird trip to Western Pennsylvania by the man who brought us the scripts for Night of the Living Dead and Midnight. Trust me, I live here, and I could tell instantly that this film emanated from my home base (Coraopolis and the Fox Chapel Yacht Club, in this case).

It’s directed by Bill Hinzman, who was the first zombie that we see in Night of the Living Dead. He also made FleshEater, which is one of the absolute worst films I’ve ever seen, which really says something.

The astounding thing here is that this movie sets you up for a slasher where majorette squad members are getting offed one after the other, but then switches the plot numerous times to bring in police corruption, elder abuse, Satanic bikers and vigilante justice.

There’s also the most Pittsburgh moment perhaps ever committed to film, as a bar that might be a VFW or just a garage has people drinking Iron City while a girl dances naked with a snake. That bar has to be out in Blawnox or something.

The end of this movie is pretty much as dark as it gets, but then again, this is also a movie that has someone who is not the slasher kills its final girl off nearly thirty minutes before the credits. You have to respect that level of disrespect for the more disrespectful of all genres.

It also has the darkest ending and I think about it every time I drive past the school where it was made.

You can watch this on Tubi.

2020 Scarecrow Psychotronic Challenge Day 10: The Devil’s Passenger (2018) and Window Dressing (2019)

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Day 10: Plastique Vivant: Manniquins are creepy enough standing still, but what happens when they come to life? (Window Dressing)

I came to my gig as the (chief) grease bit scrubber and dumpster pad washer at the ol’ B&S Bar n’ Grill by way of my screenwriting endeavors, which born out of my acting endeavors (which born out of my radio jock days).

As result, I’ve been to more than my fair share of film festivals, not only for the shorts I worked on, but for the films of others — in support of my fellow thespin’ brethren. And as someone who’s worked in the short film realm, take it from me: most of them are arduous, not only to work on, but to watch. As an actor, nothing is more heartbreaking than to pour your soul into someone’s vision to make it the very best short film it can be — only to see that filmmaker’s industry “calling card” disintegrate into an utter failure. And that’s not even counting the shorts that, through sheer directorial ineptitude and an indifferently staffed and in disarray film school, are never finished. The whole angle of the short filmVerse is that, while you, the actor, do not get paid, “you’ll get a finished film/clips for your reel.” And, as goes my luck, the filmmakers that never “paid” me with a finished film or so much as a clip (even after begging), far outnumbers the ones that did “pay” me. And, very few of those were of a quality to use as demo reel material.

Anyway, I digress . . . bottom line: I’ve seen lots of short films. I’ve long since surpassed my Hollywood-mainstream film attendances with my affection for the new breed cultivated in film festivals: I love going to film festivals, seeing short films, and acting in short films: the camaraderie of the indie environs is pure electric. It’s oxygen. It’s life.

And — in the hands of a knowledgeable and skilled filmmaker, one who checks their ego at the door and respects their actors and crew and realizes that film is a “team” effort — the short film story format works and there are, in fact, filmmakers who do not make you dread film festivals, but look forward to them. There’s nothing more pleasing, more exhilarating than to see all of those years of college and university-level film school classes pay off in spades. I am of the camp that doesn’t want those budding filmmakers to suck at their chosen profession: I want to see them succeed.

And succeed they do, as is the case with my reviews for Colin West’s Pink Plastic Flamingos, Marko Slavanic’s Project Skyborn, and Sara Gorsky’s Cockpit: The Rules of Engagement. Then there’s my recent reviews for Ben Griffin’s stellar sci-fi-on-budget excitement that is Ji, Marc Cartwright’s We Die Alone, Megan Freels Johnson’s Dear Guest, Brando Benetton’s top notch college thesis project, Nightfire, Greece’s Vahagn Karapetyan’s Wicca Book, Travis White’s Why Haven’t They Fixed the Cameras Yet?, and Chun-Ku Lu’s 2018 work, This Life, I am a flower pot (yes, he of 1975’s The Black Dragon’s Revenge).

And as I went down a You Tube rabbit hole, I discovered another Frank Barrone-moment, you know, a “holy crap” moment, with writer and director Dave Bundtzen’s The Devil’s Passengers.

Bundtzen’s been bangin’ at the Final Draft and eyein’ the Canon Reds since the early ’90s across fifteen shorts, with thirteen of them as a screenwriter, and a seventeen-film mix as a producer of his own shorts and of others. So it’s no secret that Bundtzen is bringing an A-Game to the table. He possesses an expert concept of what a short film should be: short. His films are well-written and edited and fully-character arced in less than five minutes, exactly as a short film should.

Ack! Please don’t delve into a college thesis on the craft of screenwriting, and act structure, R.D.

Don’t worry; I’m pulling back the reins. But take my word for it: Bundtzen’s short film days are numbered. There’s a feature film on the horizon.

His latest short-fiction work, The Devil’s Passenger, concerns a woman (a very good Colleen Kelly, who reminds of Dakota Johnson; I actually thought, at first, it was Australian actress Amanda Woodhams from 2020’s Dark Sister) in a traffic jam that desperately tries to help another woman she sees in the back of a van hold — held by a hand that appears from the dark background of the vehicle.

And that brings us to Dave Bundtzen and Colleen Kelly’s newest film (and the Scarecrow Video Challenge part), along with the expertly creepy Elaine Partnow, in a tale about Danielle (Kelly), a young woman who responds to an innocent “Help Wanted” sign in the window of the Rose Time antique dress shop run by Clara (Partnow), a kindly, senior shop keep. Now, if you know your British Amicus horror anthologies, you know about those little, out-of-the-way shops and their affable clerks. Yeah, this isn’t going to end well for young Danielle. The “Amicus” vibe of Bundtzen’s pen is buoyed by Gavin V. Murray’s stellar cinematography that gives the proceedings a very-Argento vibe.

The Devil’s Passengers and Window Dressing are currently streaming on You Tube, along with Bundtzen’s early efforts Siri (2012) and Tap (2018), courtesy of Flix Horror’s You Tube Platform. And, what I really dig: Bundtzen supports other short-horror purveyors, as his nifty “Great Horror Short Films on You Tube” playlist attests. Watch ’em once, twice, watch three times. Just an awesome day of movie viewing to be had over at Flix Horror’s page.

Colleen Kelly made one foray into network television with an appearance on ABC-TV’s Castle. Here’s to hoping she makes a much deserved transition out of shorts and indies and into more network television (yeah, you know me well: Law & Order: SVU and Blue Bloods) and A-List feature films. In fact, if you’re a Felissa Rose (A Nun’s Curse, Rootwood) fan — and aren’t we all — you’ve also seen Kelly’s work alongside Rose in Clawed (2017).

You can learn more about Dave Bundtzen’s filmmaking endeavors at Flix Digital’s website and Facebook page.

Disclaimer: We were not sent screeners or received a review requests for either of these shorts. We discovered them on our own and truly enjoyed both works.

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies and publishes on Medium.

SLASHER MONTH: Dreamaniac (1986)

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A former Wizard Video release, this is a David DeCoteau movie through and through, which you can tell by the fact that a buck naked male ass is one of the first things you see in this movie. It’s all about a heavy metal musician who  gets lucky with women, providing the succubus who gives him his powers get to eat them afterward.

The only performer that you may recognize is Kim McKamy, who would change her stage name to Ashlyn Gere and star in films like Chameleons and The Masseuse. She’s also in DeCocteau’s Creepozoids, Dominick Brascia’s Evil Laugh, Kirk Alex’s Lunch Meat and Tom DeSimone’s Angel III: The Final Chapter.

Speaking of adult video, this was DeCoteau’s first mainstream directing job after making movies like Boys Just Wanna Have Sex and New Waves Hustlers.

There are two movies within this movie, Hemoglobin House on Sorority Row and The Sorority That Dripped Blood. Obviously, you know where those titles came from.

You can watch this on Tubi.

SLASHER MONTH: Amsterdamned (1988)

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Dutch director Dick Maas started his career directing the videos for Golden Earring, including “Twilight Zone” and “When the Lady Smiles,” which was controversial as it showed a man about to assault a nun. He moved into feature films, including the comedic Flodder and The Lift. He’s also known for the American version of The Lift, which was called Down, and the absolutely deranged holiday movie Sint.

This film is at the crossroads of giallo and slasher, using the canals of Amsterdam instead of Venice to create a place where the killer can appear at seemingly any time and place to murder at will.

The film starts with a bravura scene of violence, as a prostitute is murdered and then her body, hung above a bridge, literally rains blood on to a boat full of tourists.

What keeps it from being giallo and pushes it toward slasher is the fact that its protagonist is not a stranger in a strange land, but instead Eric Visser, a detective struggling to be a single father while solving cases around Holland’s capital.

And what pushes it even further into slasher territory is the film’s propensity to deliver on the gore, from decapitated heads to bloody kills. The antagonist is so brutal that one of the witnesses refers to him as a monster that came out  of the water.

That said, where it does flirt with the giallo are the sheer number of red herrings that this movie throws at you, which makes sense, as Holland’s fishing industry continually lands plenty of them from the nutrient-rich coastal waters of the North Sea.

You can watch this on Shudder and Tubi.

SLASHER MONTH: Corpse Mania (1981)

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Not all slashers are domestic, as we again test the “Is it giallo or is it slasher?” game with the Shaw Brothers-produced 1981 film Corpse Mania. It’s directed by Chih-Hung Kuei, who would go on to create the strange Curse of Evil and the “I don’t have a word good enough to properly convent the level of strange” film The Boxer’s Omen.

Inspector Chang is beginning to figure out that all of the dead bodies in his area all were visitors to the brothel of one Madam Lan and all fingers point to Mr. Li, a man who has already been jailed for defiling corpses, which really doesn’t seem like the kind of crime you get out of jail for due to good behavior.

Sure, you might know who the killer is from the moment the movie starts, but give this points for his bandaged get-up, inventive stalking scenes and not shying away from the gore, including a scene where the killer gets a corpse ready for, well, love and then admires it the more it draws maggots.

From real maggots crawling all over its actresses and astounding blasts of blood to a dummy thrown off a roof that’s so fake that Lucio Fulci would stand up and laugh out loud, this movie has it all. It’s fog and mood suggest a Hong Kong Blood and Black Lace if  Bava decided to take a break from all the sexualized violence to deliver a kung fu sequence.

You can watch this on YouTube.

2020 Scarecrow Psychotronic Challenge Day 9: Big Money Rustlas (2010)

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DAY 9. OG NETWORK: See something made after 2010 with no visible cell phones. No texting while watching this one!

Ah man, remember those great old days when the FBI was convinced Juggalos were a gang — which was no fun for them — and we weren’t worried about people standing back and standing by?

Look, if you don’t know the Insane Clown Posse, well…hmm. Where to begin?

Originally known as JJ Boyz and Inner City Posse, the group that would someday become known as ICP introduced supernatural lyrics to create what some call horrorcore. Their albums have all been concept in nature, telling the story of the Dark Carnival, a limbo beyond our reality where lives are judged. The Joker’s Cards that emerge are the albums of the band, designed to change the evil ways of the band’s listeners. Beyond just being a band, they’re a licensing juggernaut, even creating their own wrestling promotion and an annual event called the Gathering of the Juggalos.

So why not movies?

Here’s the thing — for a movie made by a rap group that dresses as evil clowns, I was totally expecting this movie to be horrible. And the truth is, I laughed out loud several times and was kind of awed home much it took from classic cartoons. Sure, it’s filthy as it gets, but there are moments of literal sidesplitting silliness.

Sheriff Sugar Wolf (ICP member Shaggy 2 Dope) has returned to Mudbug, the town of his birth, to find it in the grip of Big Baby Chips (ICP member Violent J) and his gang, which includes Raw Stank and Dusty Poot, who are played by Jamie Madrox and Monoxide of the band Twiztid. These evildoers have already killed Wolf’s father (Ron Jeremy) and brothers. Now, they sent assassins after our hero.

Then, amazingly, the movie takes a page out of Django, with Wolf’s hand being damaged — trust me, Franco Nero never had a gigantic cartoony hole in his hand that he looks through — and must learn all over again how to fight.

This film has plenty of actual actors in it, like Jason Mewes, Brigitte Nielsen, Jimmie Walker and Tom Sizemore, along with pro wrestlers liek Jimmy Hart, 2 Tuff Tony and Scott Hall.

Most of the characters in this film are the ancestors of the characters in Big Money Hustlas, another ICP film. They have said that at some point, a third movie — this time science fiction — would be made called Big Money Thru$ta$. I mean, one of the killers in this movie has laser beams for eyes.

I kind of love the idea that this movie is a spaghetti western that just so happens to have two characters that wear clown paint, which no one ever mentions throughout the entire film, along with plenty of moments of sheer anachronism.

This movie goes best with Faygo. Pour it directly over your head.

You can watch this on Amazon Prime.

SLASHER MONTH: Bells (1982)

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Also known as Murder by Phone, this Canadian slasher — of sorts — boasts an interesting pedigree, as it features actors like John Houseman and Richard Chamberlain, as well as a score by James Bond series composer John Barry.

The U.S. print of this — Murder by Phone — is 17 minutes shorter than the Canadian and international The Calling cuts. You’ll miss out on so much of a disgruntled phone employee using the phone lines — is he using a Captain Crunch whistle? Any phone phreaks reading this? — to kill people.

This will be part of my telephone-based drive-in horror night that I am curating, so…I guess stay tuned for that. These are the movies you never knew you wanted but here they are, calling and calling until you pick up. Consider this a not-as-good Scanners with Chamberlain looking very Gibb brother who is way too invested in solving this case. Gotta love the end freeze frame as he just has to answer that phone.

You can watch this on YouTube.

SLASHER WEEK: Terror In the Aisles (1984)

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Terror in the Aisles once was only available as a bonus feature on the Shout! Factory Halloween II blu ray, but now that it’s available on its own, I’m excited for other people to see it. It was a multi-watch on HBO for me when I was young. Even better, this played theaters!

Andrew J. Kuehn revolutionized movie trailers — he created the trailers for Jaws,  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List, Top Gun, the Indiana Jones movies and more — before he started producing and directing movies like Get Bruce and the remake of D.O.A.

There are so many scenes clipped into this film, which is hosted by Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen who are sitting with a crowd of fake moviegoers who react to the rapid-fire scenes as they come hard and fast. Instead of a laundry list of films — I mean, do you want to read 78 (91 in the network TV version) titles? — let me tell you the more interesting ones, like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Phantom of the Paradise, Suspiria, The Car, The Legacy, The Funhouse and, of course, the first two Halloween films.

For some reason, even though nearly every movie here was R-rated (Dawn of the Dead was released unrated), this film had to endure several cuts to avoid an X rating.

You can watch this on YouTube or order the new stand-alone blu ray from Shout! Factory.