Tag Archives: 1990

Appuntamento in nero (1990)

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Scandal In Black was directed by Antonio Bonifacio, making his directing debut after doing second unit on several Filmirage movies including Convent of Sinners, Delizia, Top Model, Zombie 5: Killing Birds and Pomeriggio caldo. He also worked with D’Amato and this movie’s writer, Daniele Stropa, on 1994’s Sul filo del rasoio.

We start the movie with a flashback, seeing how Angela Baldwin (Mirella Banti, Tenebrae) was assaulted when she was young. Then, we follow her to an adult theater where she shows up dressed in a short red dress and ensures that she’s seen before she goes to the bathroom and emerges with her body covered with blood, the victim of another attack.

The fact that his wife has been raped at a porn theater doesn’t seem to make her husband John (Andy J. Forest) all that happy, as he’s a diplomat whose career is moving upward. He wants to get rid of her and already has a new lover, her best friend, supermodel Eva (Mary Lindstrom). Seeing as how she lives with them, this makes things convenient for John. They want to get married but don’t want a scandal, so they start calling Angela as the man who attacked her and threaten her life.

Angela has even more problems because she’s been spied on by not only her maid Rosie (Laura Piattella), but also the projectionist (Franco Citti) at the theater who had a camera installed in the bathroom. He watched her attack herself, slamming her face into the mirror and slicing in her own flesh. Man, that scene is really hard to watch as is the moment when he attacks her, which is watched by a strange doll, reminding you that this is a giallo. And that theater also has Italian adult star Marina Frajese as its ticket taker (thanks Euro Fever for spotting her) as well as a posters for Top Model, Error Fatale and…Tucker A Man and His Dream?!? They’re showing Monique Gabrielle in Emmanuelle 5 in case you’re wondering!

There’s also a wild saw attack on the man who raped Angela when she was young that really goes hard. Unlike so many of the 1980s gialli that don’t seem like they could hang with the wonderful films of the early 70s, this really does seem like it has the twists and turns to make it. Sure, it doesn’t look as good as those movies, but unlike so many of the safe 80s movies, this has no problem being sleazy. Well done.

Sensazioni d’amore (1990)

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Director and writer Ninì Grassia made around thirty movies, including Legittima Vendetta, Omicidio al Telefono, Innamorata and Gatta Ala Pari with Bruno Mattei. He also made a few movies with adult actress  Ileana “Ramba” Carusio (Gatta alla pari, Un grande amore) and the movies First Action Hero, Italian Gigolo and Provocazione fatale.

Elena Aloisi (Marisa Mell) has lost her husband and would like her son Renato (David D’Ingeo) to remain alive as well, as he’s suffering from a heart condition. She also wants him to marry Giulia (Barbara Blasko) and give her a grandchild, even if that might kill him. Or maybe not, because while he avoids sex with Giulia, he’s sleeping with Claretta (Federica Farnese) while his wife and Dr. Gianmarco Serra (Gianni Macchia) are also twirling the Dum-Dum while the medical professional should be concentrating on keeping her husband alive.

Renato’s heart gets better, so the wedding plans get more intense, all while the maid Lizzi (Emanuela Castiglionesi) catches him in bed with his other lover and ends up becoming his third conquest to stay silent. Somehow in all this, Elena dies and the wedding plans slow, all while Giulia’s brother Ernesto (Marcello Montana) forces himself on Claretta — he already did the same with another maid by the name of Elvira (Alessandra Antonelli) — which causes Renato to smash his brains out and then make love to Giulia while stabbing her with scissors. He runs to a farmhouse where he and Claretta are married and as they consummate their marriage just as he has a heart attack and perishes. She gets all of the family money and the baby that Elena wanted so badly.

As you can tell, this is just as much as erotic thriller — actually a softcore movie — as it is a giallo. The whole point of it seems to be the numerous encounters between the different characters and less the murders, but I mean, there’s a scene where our protagonist — I guess? — stabs his fiancee with both a flesh and metal knife, as they say.

Have I seen too many gialli? Probably.

Tales from the Crypt S2 E10: The Ventriloquist’s Dummy (1990)

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“Good evening, fear fans. You’re just in time. Contents: one ventriloquist’s dummy Hacme Novelty Company, Battle Shriek, Michigan. Oh, goody! Watch this, kiddies. You won’t see my lips move. You know why? I don’t have any! Well hello, Dickie. Would you like me to tell a tale from the crypt? No thanks, death-breath. Then how about sitting a little closer to the fire?!”

Directed by Richard Donner and written by Frank Darabont and Steven Dodd — wow, this episode is bringing the wattage, right? — “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy” stars Bobcat Goldthwait as Billy Goldman, a horrible amateur ventriloquist who saw the final performance of his idol, Mr. Ingles (Don Rickles) and Marty, which ended in a fire, Ingles losing his hand, his girlfriend being killed and the end of his career.

Billy invites Mr. Ingles to see him perform and he bombs. The elder artist lashes out at him, telling him that he’s horrible with no technique or ability to work an audience. Moments later, a woman who was seen with Ingles is found dead and Billy was covering the body with his coat. When Billy finds the man he has looked up to so much, Ingles is shooting morphine into his stump. Calling him a junkie and murderer, Ingles says that Morty is the one who hates women. The truth is that Morty is no doll. He’s a conjoined twin at the wrist and the morphine is all that keeps him from killing. Now that he’s taken so long to give him his medicine, Morty attacks him and then Billy, who makes a deal with him to be a star.

However, Morty is always a step ahead of the person calling him a dummy.

This episode comes from the story of the same name from Tales from the Crypt #28. It was writtem by Al Feldstein and William Gaines and drawn by Graham Ingels, who the Mr. Ingles character is named for.

This is a really great episode that is, as I said above, filled with talented people.

Tales from the Crypt S2 E9: Four-Sided Triangle (1990)

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Directed by Tom Holland, who wrote the script alongside James Tugend and Steven Dodd, “Four-Sided Triangle” is based on a story in Shock SuspenStories #17 that was written by Al Felder and William Gaines and drawn by Jack Kamen.

“She loves me; she loves me not. She loves me; she loves me not. Ah! What do flowers know about love anyway? Well, hello there boils and ghouls. Just getting in the mood for tonight’s tawdry tale a story of love and lurid lust in the dust. Sure to arouse the sickies amongst you to some heavy breathing. A tale I call “Four-Sided Triangle.”

George Yates (Chelcie Ross) caught Mary Jo (Patricia Arquette) robbing a store and has kept her a prisoner on the farm he owns with his wife Luisa (Susan Blommaert) as their slave. He harasses Mary Jo while his wife beats her with a cane. One day, while he’s trying to get Mary Jo to allow him to touch her, he ends up beating her with a bottle. The head injury she sustains causes her to hallucinate and believe that the clown-masked scarecrow in the field is her lover.

The injury has caused her to keep believing that the scarecrow loves her. Luisa mentions that they now have her for life, which makes George think that he can do whatever he wants to her. He also gets the bright idea to dress like the scarecrow, a plan that ends up destroying the evil scheme once and for all.

I really enjoyed this chapter. After all, Holland is an expert at telling horror stories.

KINO CULT 4K UHD RELEASE: Underworld (1985)

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The synthpop band Freur did the music for this, but they ended up getting better known when they took the name of this movie as their own: Underworld.

They’re not the only famous people who are part of this movie — also called Transmutations — that nobody really talks about. Clive Barker — yes, that Clive Barker — wrote the story and co-wrote the script with James Caplin. As for the lead, it’s Denholm Elliott — yes, Marcus Brody — as Dr. Savary, a doctor who has created a mind-controlling drug that he uses to keep an army of deformed sewer dwellers under his command. And the main reason, beyond Barker, that I chose this as my underground sewer movie? It has both Miranda Richardson and Ingrid Pitt in it!

But when Savary abducts high class hooker Nicole (Nicole Cowper, who went below the crust again for 1988’s Journey to the Center of the Earth) from her brothel, businessman Hugo Motherskille (Steven Berkoff, Octopussy) gets her former lover Roy Bain (Larry Lamb) on the case. Meanwhile, all these proto-Nightbreed creatures are doing monster cocaine to stay alive.

So how did this weirdo movie ever happen? George Pavlou wanted to direct a movie (he’d also direct another early Barker script, Rawhead Rex). Barker wanted to write one, so he put together a mash-up of mobsters, monsters, film noir and horror. The money people wanted something else, so they got it rewritten and Barker washed his hands of the whole thing. And then Vestron Video released it as Transmutations.

It looks great though! 1985 great, all blue color and billowy dresses and face paint and movie punk and you know, who cares if it’s kind of silly? Monsters in sewers kidnapping prostitutes who can enter your dreams with the power they get from magical powder? Sounds kind of wonderful, when you think of it.

This Kino Cult release has two disks. The UHD has a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision Master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. There’s also a new audio commentary by director George Pavlou, moderated by Stephen Thrower. The blu ray disk has a brand new HD master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative, the same commentary, the 103-minute Transmutations version, behind the scenes footage and an image gallery. You can get this from Kino Lorber.

Tales from the Crypt S2 E8: For Cryin’ Out Loud (1990)

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“I always wanted to play guitar but I could never quite master the fingering. So I won’t be a rock star. I’ll just have to settle for being a shock star. My groupies. Tonight’s little riff is rife with sex, death and rock and roll. Now, that’s entertainment! You’ll meet a putrefied promoter of pop with an ear for a hit. I don’t want to kill it for you. Let’s just say we come into the story just when his career is getting real hot!”

Directed by Jeffrey Price (the writer of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?; this was his only directorial job), who wrote this episode along with Peter S. Seaman (who wrote Wild Wild West, Shrek The Third and How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Price) and Steven Dodd, this is the tale of Marty Slash (Lee Arenberg), a promoter who runs off with all the money from a charity concert only to be blackmailed by a banker by the name of Ms. Kilbasser (Katey Segal) while fighting the voice in his head (Sam Kinison).

It also has Iggy Pop in it, which is fun. I wonder if Katey Segal wondered if she would be in any more projects with Sam after doing Married With Children with him just five months before filming this.

This is based on the story of the same name from Shock SuspenStories #15. It was written by Al Feldstein and William Gaines and drawn by Reed Crandall. That story has no rock promoter but everything else is similar.

Tales from the Crypt S2 E7: The Sacrifice (1990)

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“Eye of newt, bladder of cobra, and whisker of a rat. Oh! Hi, kiddies. I was just rustling up a sickening snack for a ghastly guest. Let’s see. I need the blood of a sacrificed goat. Whoops! It’s got to be a virgin goat. Guess you’re off the hook, Nellie. Tonight’s story is about a different kind of sacrifice: A sacrifice… made for love.”

Insurance agent James (Kevin Kilner) meets Gloria Fielding (Kim Delaney) to talk about her husband’s policy. This soon turns into him tossing that man, Sebastian (Don Hood) off a balcony for love. Or lust. Or the usual mix that motivates so many in these Tales from the Crypt episodes. The bad part, beyond murder, is that his boss Jerry (Michael Ironside) has been stalking Gloria for years as she’s his ex-girlfriend. In exchange for not going to the law, he starts getting Gloria whenever he wants. But maybe, just maybe, there’s a plan that James doesn’t know about.

Directed by Richard Greenberg (Little Monsters) and written by Steven Dodd and Ross Thomas (who wrote the book that St. Ives is made from), this is as much a film noir as a horror story.

This episode is based on “The Sacrifice” from Shock SuspenStories #10. It was written by Al Felder and Willam Gaines and drawn by Jack Kamen.

Tales from the Crypt S2 E6: The Thing from the Grave (1990)

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Directed and written by Fred Dekker, “The Thing from the Grave” starts happy when centerfold model Stacy (Teri Hatcher) and photographer Devlin Cates (Kyle Secor) fall in love. It doesn’t stay that way because her stalker ex Mitch Bruckner (Miguel Ferrer) kills him.

Crypt Keeper?

“Oops! Looks like you caught the old Crypt Keeper checking out one of his ghoulie magazines. Which gives you a little hint about tonight’s dead-time story. It’s all about the way some guys just die over a pretty girl. But don’t worry kiddies, if it starts to reek a little of rotten romance I think the title of our nasty narrative makes no bones about where it’s heart is really at. I call it “The Thing From the Grave.”

“The Thing from the Grave” is from Tales from the Crypt #22 and was written by Al Feldstein and William M. Gaines and drawn by Al Feldstein.

This has one of the craziest images in the show, as the undead Devlin pulls Mitch into the grave and buries them both. It’s also the first of three appearances by the sadly gone Ferrer would make on the show.

Tales from the Crypt S2 E5: Three’s a Crowd (1990)

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Directed by David Burton Morris, who wrote the story with Steven Dodd and Kim Steven Ketelsen, “Three’s a Crowd” is based on the story of the same title from Shock SuspenStories #11, which was written by William Gaines and Al Feldstein and drawn by Jack Kamen.

“Hello, party animals. Are you ready to bop till you drop? Dead, that is. Tonight, I’ve chosen a fiendish little tale from my hold of moldy oldies. We’ve been invited to an anniversary celebration of holy deadlock. You know, to love and to perish; for richer, for horror; in sickness and in stealth; till death do us part. This is one anniversary the husband will never forget.”

Richard (Gavan O’Herlihy, Death Wish 3) and Della (Ruth de Sosa) get invited to a cabin — the same one from The Great Outdoors — owned by their best man (Paul Lieber), but he’s sure that his wife is having an affair. They’re keeping a big secret from him. Want to know what it is? It’s his birthday. She also has another thing she’s not telling her husband. She’s pregnant with his baby.

Too bad he killed both of them.

Sometimes, this show can get pretty dark. At least the Crypt Keeper gets to wear a party hat.

VISUAL VENGEANCE BLU RAY RELEASE: The Wrong Door (1990)

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Ted Farrell (Matt Felmlee) loves a mystery. As a college student and singing telegram actor, he goes from creating an audio thriller into one of his own, as a gorgeous woman named Jennifer (Loreal Steiner) ends up near death in his car. Soon, her last boyfriend Jeff (Jeff Tatum) and his friend Vic (Chris Hall) are stalking him. Can he stay one step ahead?

Directed by the team of James Groetsch, Shawn Korby and Bill Weiss, this is a suspenseful story that is anything but a student film, even if it’s one made by students. Shot on Super 8, it seems to never stop moving or to get boring, always keeping the viewer guessing what happens next.

Plus, seeing as how it’s a movie about someone who tells stories with sound, it has plenty of audio design that moves the tale forward. Here’s to another great find by Visual Vengeance, who have perhaps their most ambitious animated menu to date and, as always, hours of extras.

 

A very rare regional horror thriller from the late 1980s video store era, The Wrong Door enjoys its first time ever on disc and a brand new 2K transfer from the original Super 8 elements.

This Visual Vengeance blu ray has a brand new director-supervised 2K transfer from original Super 8 film elements with extras that include two commentary tracks, one with directors Bill Weiss and Shawn Korby and a second with director James Groetsch and producer John Schonebaum. There’s also a new documentary Men Make Movie, If Not Million$, interviews with Groetsch, Korby, Weiess and actor Matt Felmlee; an interview with Chris Gore; an alternate director’s cut; two Super 8 shorts, Raiders of the Lost Bark and The Pizza Man, an episode of The Gale Whiteman Show; the original unedited Muther Video VHS intros; an image gallery; trailers; storyboards; a limited edition slipcase and door hanger; a reversible sleeve with original VHS art and a “stick your own” VHS sticker set.

You can get this from MVD.