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518,587 | 8,239,592 | 183,649 | 8 | A strong , tense and gripping thriller | Sleazy , smarmy and arrogant New York City publicist Stu Shepard ( a bracing and bravura performance by Colin Farrell ) finds himself trapped in a phone booth by a cunning sniper ( splendidly voiced to skin-crawling sinister perfection by Kiefer Sutherland ) who wants Stu to come clean and confess to his indiscretions . Joel Schumacher's sharp , stylish , agile direction maintains a snappy pace throughout and wrings a lot of sweat-inducing suspense from Larry Cohen's clever , concise and witty script . Farrell effortlessly carries the picture with his remarkably brave and dynamic portrayal of a shady and amoral hustler par excellence ; he does an especially impressive job of making the initially unappealing Stu more likable as the story unfolds . The uniformly bang-up acting from a fine cast qualifies as a major asset : Forest Whitacker as rational , sympathetic Captain Ed Ramey , Radha Mitchell as Stu's loyal , loving wife Kelly , Katie Holmes as sweet aspiring actress Pamela , Keith Nobbs as naive eager beaver protégé Adam , John Enos III as hostile pimp Leon , and Pamela Jai Parker , Arian Waring Ash and Tia Texada as a trio of sassy hookers . Matthew Libatique's slick cinematography works wonders with a single confined setting , astutely capturing a palpable sense of claustrophobic tension and using split screen with genuinely dazzling results . Harry Gregson-Williams ' shivery , rousing score , the often wickedly funny dialogue ( " TV brings out the worst in people ; you will be fine " ) , the pleasingly tight'n'trim 81 minute running time , and the gritty , flavorful Big Apple atmosphere are all sound and on the money as well . A very solid and satisfying thriller winner . |
517,967 | 8,239,592 | 64,088 | 8 | A hysterically campy psychedelic 60's kitsch hoot | Sweet , innocent , but petulant young rich girl Lisa ( the cute Karin Mossberg , who sports a great funny accent ) doesn't get along with her new former stage actress stepmother Adriana ( a game performance by faded 40's leading lady Lana Turner ) . After her wealthy father Charles ( a solid Dan O'Herlithy ) dies in a boating accident , Lisa and her smarmy , gold-digging , conniving dope-head boyfriend Johnny ( a nicely slimy George Chakiris ; Bernardo in " West Side Story " ) decide to drive Adriana crazy by spiking her medication with LSD so they can get their greedy hands on her substantial inheritance . Tito Davison's heavy-handed direction , working from William Douglas Lansford's deliciously lurid script , milks the outrageously melodramatic plot for all its worth : we've got several wild anything-goes freak-out parties , lots of crazy far-out trip scenes , hilariously gaudy loud'n'tacky visuals , rapid-fire editing , and even a smattering of surprising gratuitous nudity . The admirably sincere acting from a sturdy cast adds immensely to the infectiously campy fun : Richard Egan as Adriana's concerned best friend Frederick Lonsdale , yummy redhead Pamela Rogers as Lisa's vampy , zany free-spirited gal pal Bibi , Carlos East as funky painter Lalo , and Regina Torne as the evil Queen Bee . Val Johns ' swingin ' groovy score , Gabriel Figueroa's bright , garish , splashy color cinematography , and the cool soundtrack ( the theme song " Lean on Me " is quite catchy ) are all suitably histrionic . A real wacky riot . |
517,913 | 8,239,592 | 74,768 | 8 | A totally disgusting and hence quite pleasingly scuzzy piece of Italian Nazisploitation trash | Ghastly medical experiments are conducted on the lovely young lady inmates in a secret SS love camp in order to create a superior race . The wicked , but impotent commandant Colonel Von Kleiben ( excellently essayed with suavely sadistic aplomb by Giorgio Cerioni ) has the testicles of handsome and virile stud soldier Helmut ( hunky Mircha Carven ) transplanted into his body . When Helmut discovers that he's been severely mutilated , he assists the female prisoners in revolting against their vile and vicious Nazi captors . Director / co-writer Sergio Garrone really wallows in the unflinchingly raw and graphic sleaze : there's a ripe abundance of gratuitous distaff nudity , a group shower scene , a debauched orgy , seamy soft-core sex , and even lesbianism . Moreover , Garrone delivers the in-your-face harsh and disturbing brutality with unsparing explicitness : women are electrocuted , bloodied and mangled bodies are incinerated in a large oven , a couple of gals have their uterusses surgically removed , and the testicle transplant is every bit as gross and sickening as it ought to be . One especially nauseating sequence occurs when a hapless lass gets boiled alive in a vat of scalding hot water and subsequently gets frozen when the water temperature is turned down to a freezing cold level . Another equally appalling set piece features a frail , naked and seriously wounded virginal waif being hung upside down on a pole and slowly bleeding to death . Nice supporting performances by Paola Corazzi as gorgeous blonde political prisoner Mirelle , Attilio Dottesio as noted master surgeon Dr . Steiner , Serafino Profumo as a gruff , savage sergeant , and Patrizia Melega as the dedicated , but lascivious Dr . Renke . Maurizio Centini's rough , unpolished cinematography , the laughably crude dubbed dialogue , the spare , shuddery score by Vasili Kojucharov and Roberto Pregadio , and the downbeat ending all further enhance the awesomely ugly fun of this perfectly foul , putrid and offensive lump of choice crass Nazisploitation junk . |
518,946 | 8,239,592 | 90,327 | 8 | A very good and effective 80's low-budget horror winner | Lovely Linda Brewster ( a warm and appealing performance by ravishing redhead hottie supreme Tawny Kitaen ) becomes obsessed with contacting the spirit of a deceased little boy with a Ouija Board . Linda finds herself in substantial peril when she encounters a malevolent spirit which plans on taking possession of her mind and soul . It's up to Linda's scruffy , skeptical blue collar boyfriend Jim ( an engaging performance by Todd Allen ) and her smart , slick college-educated former lover Brandon ( the equally solid Stephen Nichols ) to stop the evil supernatural force before it's too late . Writer / director Kevin S . ( " Night of the Demons " ) Tenney relates the scary story at a gradual pace , carefully crafting the suspense and ably creating likable and believable characters who are credibly grounded in an everyday world . Tenney wisely downplays graphic splatter and cheap visceral jolts in favor of drama and tension , delivering only decent dollops of mild gore , staging the ample shocks with a reasonable amount of skill and flair , and eliciting winningly sound and sincere acting from a fine cast ( Kathleen Wilhoite in particular contributes a wonderfully funny and quirky turn as a spunky eccentric punkette psychic ) . Moreover , both Roy H . Wagner's impressively glossy photography and Dennis Michael Tenney's spooky score further add to the movie's overall sterling quality . But what really gives this picture a big lift out of the rut is the surprising surplus of genuine heart and feeling evident in the strained , yet still strong friendship between Jim and Brandon , which brings a pathos to the picture that's both touching and refreshing . A modest , but surefire low-budget indie horror winner . |
518,219 | 8,239,592 | 74,775 | 8 | A really enjoyable Crown International Pictures crime caper romp | This on the money solid and enjoyable Crown International Pictures crime caper affair comes across like a cheerfully low-rent drive-in discount version of " Ocean's 11 . " Adding immensely to this film's already considerable entertainment value is the always charming and delightful presence of the divine Stella Stevens , who portrays the titular shady lady casino hostess with her customary winning blend of brassy firebrand panache and sassy sophisticated sexiness . Tired of her lackluster lot in life , Stevens plans on stealing a hefty multi-million dollar sum of cash from Circus Circus in order to make things better for herself . Helping Stella out with her daring heist are friendly security guard Stuart Whitman , rascally old high stakes gambler Jessie White , and the foxy salt'n'pepper distaff duo of Linda Scruggs and Lynne Moody . Standing in Stella's way is ruthless jerk casino manager George DiCenzo . Director Noel ( " Youngblood " ) Nosseck keeps the pace quick and the suspense well-maintained throughout . Moreover , the thrilling robbery itself is staged and edited with breakneck aplomb , there's a nicely funky theme song called " Gambling Blues , " Stephen Katz's sharp cinematography accurately nails the gaudiness of the Glitter Gulch in all its tacky day-glo splendor , and future big deal mainstream Hollywood feature composer Alan ( " Back to the Future , " " Predator " ) Silvestri supplies a splendidly snazzy'n'jazzy ersatz Lalo Schifrin score . Taut , involving and a definite must-see for Stella Stevens aficionados . |
518,602 | 8,239,592 | 434,964 | 8 | Good , silly and thoroughly enjoyable Japanese giant monster-on-the-loose fun | An atomic blast in the freezing Artic caused by a downed fighter plane awakens a gigantic upright walking , flying , fire-breathing ( and eating ! ) prehistoric turtle from its centuries of slumber . Naturally , said titanic turtle is in a very grouchy mood ; he proceeds to lay waste to everything in his lethal path and eventually does the almighty mondo destructo city stomp on Tokyo . When conventional methods for stopping the turtle prove ineffectual , scientists all over the world join forces to concoct a special plan for thwarting the behemoth beast . Boy , is this delightfully inane creature feature flick an absolute hoot and a half : Among the silly stuff to enjoy herein are the expected lousy dubbing , a derivative plot which blatantly imitates both " Godzilla " and " The Beast from 20 , 00 Fathoms , " choice dopey dialog ( " This Gammera is obviously an object of terror " ) , wonderfully hokey ( far from ) special effects , amusingly hammy or endearingly wooden acting ( Brian Donlevy as a gruff general , Albert Dekker as the pragmatic Secretary of Defense and Dick O'Neill as a grumpy ramrod general all sink their teeth into their roles with delectably juicy scenery-gnashing aplomb ) , a sickeningly sappy subplot concerning an obnoxious little boy who befriends Gammera , funny characters ( one whiny US senator looks like a dead ringer for Henry Kissenger ! ) , and , best of all , a supremely groovy surf-rock theme song complete with a rippin ' reverb guitar riff . Sure , this movie is admittedly quite absurd , asinine and juvenile , but that's exactly why I dug it so much . |
518,630 | 8,239,592 | 86,937 | 8 | A likable made-for-TV drama | Legendary late , great country singer Johnny Cash gives a typically fine and credible performance as legendary shrewd and redoubtable professional pool player William " The Baron " Addington , who calls it quits and only plays pool for charity because of problems with alcoholism . Addington gets back in the game to serve as a mentor to cocky , but promising newcomer Billy Joe " The Cajun Kid " Stanley ( amiable Greg Webb ) , who's really Addington's son . The pair play in several major league tournaments together . But Billy's cagey , shifty manager Jack Streamer ( a terrific Darren McGavin ) intervenes . Director Gary Nelson relates the engrossing plot at a steady pace and elicits sturdy acting from a bang-up cast . Cash and Webb have an engaging on-screen chemistry ; they receive sound support from Tracy Pollan as the brash , plucky Mary Beth Phillips , June Carter Cash as Addington's sassy ex-wife Dee Dee Stanley , Claude Akins as Addington's loyal pal Harley Medford , and Richard Roundtree as smooth , formidable champion pool player Frosty . Both John Lindley's slick cinematography and Brad Fiedel's melodic , alternately folksy and jazzy score are up to speed . As an added bonus , Cash even sings the cool country theme song . A nice little movie . |
518,828 | 8,239,592 | 67,162 | 8 | An extremely brutal , potent and unnerving 70's seriocomic crime sleeper winner | The 1930's . Spoiled and snotty wealthy heiress Barbara Blandish ( superbly played to prissy perfection by Kim Darby ) gets abducted by a vicious family of depraved and dangerous outlaws . Complications ensue when the infantile , yet lethal and volatile Slim Grissom ( a remarkable performance by Scott Wilson ) falls for Barbara . Barbara soon realizes that she will have to do whatever it takes to stay alive . Director Robert Aldrich , working from a tough and biting script by Leon Griffiths , expertly maintains a tense and sordid atmosphere throughout , offers a vivid , grimy and credible evocation of the bleak and desperate Depression era , stages the sporadic shoot-outs and startling outbursts of raw , bloody violence with his customary flair , and further spices things up with a wickedly funny sense of pitch-black humor . Moreover , Aldrich and Griffiths score bonus points for their admirable refusal to either sanitize or romanticize the clan of ferocious and frightening criminals in any way ; these folks are truly mean , scary and even downright grotesque . The thespians who portray this ghastly bunch all do sterling work : Tony Musante as smooth heel Eddie Hagan , Irene Dailey as fearsome , venomous matriarch Gladys " Ma " Grissom , Joey Faye as the jolly Woppy , Ralph Waite as the excitable Mace , and Don Keefer as the timid , laid-back Doc . Contributing equally fine supporting turns are Robert Lansing as shrewd , weary private eye Dave Fenner , Connie Stevens as brassy , cynical , dim-witted tramp singer Anna Borg , and Wesley Addy as Barbara's cold , disapproving millionaire father John P . Blandish . Better still , we've also got a strangely touching , albeit off-kilter central love story amid all the stark cruelty and unsparing unpleasantness . Gerald Fried's sprightly , rousing score , a jaunty soundtrack of vintage catchy 30's swing tunes , Joseph F . Biroc's sharp , polished cinematography , and the devastating downbeat ending all further enhance the overall sound quality of this supremely harsh , but still gripping and satisfying crime saga . |
518,387 | 8,239,592 | 71,535 | 8 | An excellent Spanish monster horror winner | In a small town by the Rhine river young women are being savagely butchered by having their hearts ripped out . Macho hunter Sirgurd ( nicely played by the hunky Tony Kendall ) is hired by the faculty of an all girls school to find and dispose of the killer , which turns out to be a lethal , but alluring sea siren of local legend called the Lorelei ( exquisitely embodied by the stunningly gorgeous redhead knockout Helga Line ) . Director Amando De Ossorio relates the compellingly offbeat story at a steady pace , does an expert job of creating and maintaining a spooky atmosphere , and stages the brutal murder set pieces with ferocious panache . Moreover , the grimly serious tone , Miguel Fernandez Mila's striking , picturesque cinematography , the nasty'n'ugly monster , a bevy of beautiful babes ( Betsabe Ruiz is especially delectable as an ill-fated bride ) , the breathtaking coastal scenery , Anton Garcia Abril's eerie , yet lush and melodic score , the solid acting from a capable cast ( the lovely Silvia Tortosa gives a fine performance as uptight Professor Elke Ackerman while Luis Barboo essays the role of the Lorelei's sadistic guardian Alberic with fiendish relish ) , and plenty of grisly gore further enhance the overall sound quality of this fun and worthwhile fright feature . |
519,140 | 8,239,592 | 60,228 | 8 | A hugely entertaining 60's fright feature treat | Cunning , deranged and sophisticated wealthy aristocrat Jason Cravatte ( superbly played with lip-smacking wicked aplomb by Patrick O'Neal ) gets apprehended by the authorities for murder . Jason escapes by cutting off his own hand and replacing it with a hook . He then goes on a grisly killing spree , specifically bumping off those folks responsible for his arrest . Suave wax museum curator Anthony Draco ( a fine and charming performance by Cesare Donova ) and his jolly partner Harold Blount ( delightfully played by Wilfrid Hyde-White ) investigate the case . Director Hy Averback , working from a sharp and clever script by Stephen Kandel , relates the engrossing story at a steady pace , ably creates a flavorsome misty and spooky 19th century period atmosphere , stages the shock set pieces with considerable flair , and further spices things up with a few amusing moments of witty humor . The sound acting from a tip-top cast qualifies as a significant plus : O'Neal positively shines as the delectably sick and sadistic villain , Donova and Hyde-White make for a very engaging amateur sleuthing duo , plus are are praiseworthy contributions by Laura Devon as Cravatte's unwitting fair damsel accomplice Marie Champlain , Patrice Wymore as alluring restaurant hostess Vivian , Suzy Parker as ravishing rich lass Barbara Dixon , Tun Tun as Blount and Draco's loyal midget assistant Senor Pepe De Reyes , a pre - " M . A . S . H . " Wayne Rogers as the amiable Sergeant Jim Albertson , Philip Bourneuf as the bumbling Inspector Matthew Strudwick , Jeanette Nolan as brash , gossipy old shrew Ms . Ewing Perryman , and Marie Windsor as classy brothel Madame Corona . Robert H . Kline's vibrant color cinematography gives the picture an attractive polished look while William Lava's graceful and melodic orchestral score hits the shivery spot . Better still , this film offers a few nicely perverse touches : Cravatte marries the corpse of his freshly strangled fiancé at the movie's beginning and plans on making a composite person out of the severed body parts of his victims . Why , we even get a lovably hokey William Castle-style " horror horn " and " fear flasher " gimmick kicking in every time something particularly horrific is about to happen . Good , ghoulish fun . |
518,581 | 8,239,592 | 86,971 | 8 | An effectively creepy and perverse low-budget 80's horror vampire sleeper | Sleazy and bored hubby Larry ( well played by Jimmy Stathis ) ain't too happy with his marriage to his neglected wife Robin ( a fine and touching performance by Clara Perryman ) . Larry decides to rent a creepy black room in a swanky Hollywood Hills mansion from the strange Jason ( muscular Stephen Knight ) and his equally odd , but alluring sister Bridget ( the strikingly lovely and exotic Cassandra Gaviola ) in order to put some much-needed pizazz back into his dreary love life . Larry uses the room to have sex with young ladies . Unbeknownst to Larry , Jason in turn drains the young women of their blood and shoots up their precious life fluid with a needle . Ably directed by Elly Kenner and Norman Thaddeus Vane ( the latter also wrote and directed the strictly so-so " Frightmare " ) , with solid acting from the entire cast ( Linnea Quigley has a nifty small role as a near victim babysitter towards the end of the movie ) , a compellingly bizarre and twisted story , a genuinely spooky atmosphere , several aberrant touches ( Jason and Bridget like to spy on Larry as he's doing just what you think with the girls he picks up ) , and a harrowing conclusion , this pleasingly offbeat , inspired and unjustly overlooked low-budget horror sleeper deserves to be both better known and more widely seen by fans of enjoyably deviant outré cinema . |
518,536 | 8,239,592 | 209,264 | 8 | A fun giant killer snake horror creature feature romp | The considerable box office success of the deliciously cheesy " Anaconda " not surprisingly inspired a rash of derivative , yet still enjoyable low-budget direct-to-video cash-in copies . These rip-offs include the none too shabby " King Cobra , " the exceptionally fine and intelligent " Komodo , " and this snazzy little over-sized mutant killer snake outing . Once again your standard unscrupulously ambitious scientist ( a neatly quirky and understated portrayal by the always excellent Robert Englund ) has created one hell of a fast , deadly , impossible to destroy genetically enhanced people-gobbling monstrosity , a vicious python which escapes from its cage and goes on the expected mankind-noshing spree in a tiny podunk hamlet . It's up to cocky ramrod government agent Parker ( sternly played by tight-lipped latenight cable fare topliner Casper Van Dien ) to eradicate the bloodthirsty beast before things get to out of hand . Proficiently directed by Richard Clabaugh , with slick cinematography by Patrick Rousseau , an effectively spare and moody hum'n'shiver score by Daniel J . Nielsen , and across-the-board sturdy acting from a uniformly solid cast , " Python " transcends the hackneyed plot by virtue of its uncommonly sound execution alone . The bright script by Chris Neal , Paul J . M . Bogh , and Gary Hershberger has fun playing around with the standard fright film conventions , with the saucy lesbian variant on the inevitable have-sex-and-die libidinous couple cliché rating as an especially nifty touch . Better still , the unusually well-drawn and plausible characters are firmly grounded in a certain gritty everyday blue collar reality , the crummy CGI effects are amusingly tacky , and the picture commendably takes its time carefully setting up a spooky tone in the opening first act before cutting loose with an increasingly jolting series of lethal lizard attack scenes . Sexy Jenny McCarthy vamps it up delightfully as the shameless town tramp . A barely recognizable Will Wheaton contributes a likable turn as a scruffy slacker dude . Veteran character actor Ed Lauter has a nice unbilled bit part as an ill-fated army airplane pilot . Compact and smartly realized , " Python " sizes up as a pleasing and up-to-par creature feature . |
518,489 | 8,239,592 | 67,148 | 8 | Give a hoot . Don't pollute ! | Mankind's constant thoughtless pollution begets severely dire consequences in the form of one Hedorah . Man , does Hedorah rate as one fabulously foul'n'freaky beast : this grotesque and unsightly gigantic mutant humanoid tadpole has glowing red eyes , inhales noxious fumes from smokestacks , drips disgusting acidic goop all over the place , and probably stinks worse than dirty old socks to boot . Luckily , the almighty Godzilla comes to the rescue . The expected monster fights scenes are shockingly brutal and drawn out : Hedorah drenches Gozilla in vile sludge while Godzilla tears out Hedorah's eyes and blithely destroys them ! The whole shebang concludes with Godzilla literally beating the crap out of Hedorah ! Wonderfully weird touches abound : a cute little kitten gets covered with ghastly gunk , wild'n'crazy hedonistic teenagers party hearty at a swingin ' night club to groovy psychedelic rock music ( said kids later decide to hold an ill-advised anything-goes bash at Mount Fugi ! ) , Hedorah leaves slimy skeletons of victims in its lethal wake , and there's these strange cartoon segments featured throughout . Better still , the heavy-handed anti-pollution message is articulated in the most clumsy and unsubtle way imaginable . The insanely catchy " Save the Earth " theme song in particular is a total riot ( choice lyrics : " Stop all pollution / That's the solution " ) . Director Yoshimitsu Banno treats the laughably ludicrous premise with utmost seriousness , thus ensuring that this film remains an absolute campy hoot from start to finish . |
519,343 | 8,239,592 | 135,465 | 8 | An enjoyably clunky low-budget Crown International Pictures rip-off of " The Dirty Dozen " | How's this for a fresh , novel and interesting premise for a World War II action potboiler : Mighty macho foul-mouthed , cigar-chomping Major Stony Stonewall ( gruffly essayed by John Ericson ) , assisted by compassionate Lt . Jennifer West ( the appealing Karen Ericson ) and tough guerrilla fighter Paco Rodrigeuz ( likable Ramon Revilla ) , has to train four lovely young ladies - - terminally ill nurse Anna Oleson ( yummy Johanna Raunio ) , vengeful rape victim Sonya ( solid Lisa Lorena ) , libidinous convicted murderess Rose Carson ( fiery Nory Wright ) and brassy hooker Cindy Lee Dawson ( a nicely sassy'n'sexy Lynda Sinclaire ) - - for a desperate suicide mission which entails the women seducing and assassinating several top Japanese army officials who frequent a Filipino brothel . Sound pretty silly and ridiculous ? Well , it sure is just as laughably dumb and absurd as the plot suggests . However , there's a certain engagingly clunky charm to this admittedly cheesy'n'chintzy piece of ultra-cheap vintage 70's drive-in exploitation junk that's impossible to either dislike or resist . Cesar Gallardo's plodding ( mis ) direction , the ineptly staged action scenes , the generic film library score , the by-the-numbers hackneyed and predictable plot which blatantly copies " The Dirty Dozen , " a knock-down , drag-out barfight , a really funny training montage sequence , a decent smattering of nudity , a welcome appearance by the great Vic Diaz as a smarmy Japanese soldier , the crude , ratty , unpolished cinematography , a rousing last reel raid on the bordello , and the neatly ironic ending all ensure that this honey is an absolute cruddy hoot from stinky start to paltry finish . Good , tacky fun . |
519,378 | 8,239,592 | 67,141 | 8 | A very offbeat and interesting early 70's post-nuke sci-fi curio | An intriguingly spartan and offbeat avant-garde early 70's excursion into post-nuke sci-fi survivalist cinema centering on the obsessive Glen ( muscular , curly-haired Steven Curry ) and his more passive female companion Randa ( a sweetly disarming performance by the lovely , willowy Shelley Plimpton ) , a pair of guileless youths trying to eke out a meager existence amid the desolate ruins following an atomic war . After a wily , lecherous old magician ( a wonderfully rascally turn by Garry Goodrow ) visits Glen and Randa's camp and fills Glen's head full of tales about a great lost city , Glen and a now-pregnant Randa ( the magician impregnated her ) embark on a dangerous trek across the harsh , ravaged terrain to discover this great city that Glen first read all about in an old " Wonder Women " comic book . During their perilous quest Glen and Randa meet a friendly , doddering elderly man ( an endearingly crotchety Woodrow Chambliss ; Uncle Willie in the funky ' 72 made-for-TV creature feature favorite " Gargoyles " ) and Randa gives birth to a baby . Director Jim McBride ( who later helmed such better known big budget films as " The Big Easy " and " Great BAlls of Fire " ) skillfully uses an extremely plain , basic and unpolished no-frills cinematic style to plausibly create a vivid depiction of the banality and hopelessness of day-to-day post-holocaust existence , thus giving this bleak , albeit strangely haunting and affecting apocalyptic vision an unshakable sense of gritty , lived-in conviction . The bare-bones , but eloquent and sometimes wittily droll script by McBride , Lorenzo Manns , and Rudolph Wurlitzer ( who went on to write " Two-Lane Blacktop " and " Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid " ) relates with deceptive simplicity and straightforwardness a lyrically powerful parable with provocative religious allusions ( Glen and Randa's odyssey could be interpreted as Adam and Eve's fall from grace after leaving the garden of Eden ) about lost innocence and a futile search for an irrevocably vanished past paradise . Kudos as well to Alan Raymond's flat , spare , minimalist cinematography , which uses long , lingering , unedited takes , stately tracking shots , and elegant fade-outs to convey a wealth of striking visuals : the rusty hulk of a car with tree branches growing out of it , a horde of grimy survivors glumly rummaging through the rubble for cans of food , Randa ravenously devouring grass and worms , Glen savagely beating several fish with a stick , and the oddly poignant final shot of Glen and the old man drifting out to sea on a rickety boat are all indelible moments that stick in your memory after seeing the movie . A pleasingly quirky and truly novel one-of-a-kind experimental oddity . |
517,890 | 8,239,592 | 82,565 | 8 | A surprisingly bleak and brutal made-for-TV early 80's " ALIEN " clone | I must admit that I really like this jarringly harsh and downbeat made-for-TV " ALIEN " copy . This time the rugged roughneck crew of a remote off-shore oil rig are terrorized by a large , scaly , fanged , lumbering centuries old humanoid beast dredged up from the ocean floor . Sure , the plot ain't much , but Peter Carter's crisply proficient direction ( Carter previously gave us the superior and underrated Canadian " Deliverance " variant " Rituals " ) , the strikingly gloomy , fatalistic tone ( the first victim is a panicky guy who had a nightmarish premonition of the impending disaster ) , a terrific , rousing score by the chronically unsung Gil ( " A Cold Night's Death , " " The Ultimate Warrior " ) Melle , several shockingly brutal violent episodes which really test the limits of what you can get away with in a TV movie ( one luckless woman gets raped and dies giving birth to a brawny , fully grown man-sized monster ! ) , the unusually well-drawn and engaging characters , and the cool creature design by James Cummins and H . R . Giger turn this unassuming little number into a modest , but surefire winner . Chad Everett as the hard-nosed crew chief has the right tough stuff to cut it as a fine hero , while Joseph Bottoms , Jennifer Warren , Matt Craven , Lynda Mason Green and especially the ever-personable Rockne ( " Black Sampson " ) Tarkington are solid in sturdy supporting parts . |
517,912 | 8,239,592 | 86,967 | 8 | An enjoyably crummy earthbound " Alien " rip-off by the ever-reliable Fred Olen Ray | An entertaining , incredibly idiotic , and basically all-thumbs mid-80's earthbound " Alien " clone from the forever fumble-fingered Grade D dreckmonger Fred Olen Ray , who once again shows off his characteristic consummate ineptitude and flagrant disregard for anything remotely resembling professional film-making . Besides an obviously inebriated Aldo Ray delivering one of his single most horrendous performances as an irascible , constantly tongue-tied army general , Fred's then five-year-old son Christopher shambling about in a pitifully unconvincing rubber monster suit , a hilarious rockabilly ending credits theme song called " Rockabilly Rumble " performed by Johnny Legend and the Skullcaps , and plenty of Fred's patented crappy touches ( dreadful acting , some bloody , but phony gore , excruciatingly labored attempts at no-brainer lowbrow humor , a little gratuitous bare female skin , a smug smartaleck attitude which suggests that Ray might be churning out these cheapie clunkers strictly for the money , and dimly lit nighttime cinematography that's guaranteed to make you blurry-eyed ) , the key reason to give this supremely shoddy stinker a look-see is to watch remarkably buxom erstwhile porn actress Angelique Pettyjohn show off her amazingly ample breasts in a couple of almost literally eye-popping scenes . Now , what more could you possibly ask for in an admittedly el zilcho two-cent " Alien " rip-off ? Well , how about Fred in a quick cameo along with fellow partner - in - schlocky - celluloid - crime Donald G . Jackson ( he who blessed us with " Hell Comes to Frogtown " ) as a medic . Best and funniest moment : When the irate dwarf creature shreds an " E . T . " poster and stomps all over it in an angry jealous rage ! A deliciously cheesy hoot and a half . |
519,076 | 8,239,592 | 469,227 | 8 | The best of the " Camp Blood " slasher flicks | Ambitious Jessica ( foxy brunette Stephanie Mathis ) , rugged Russ ( hunky Phil Lander ) , sweet , kooky aspiring singer Kat ( adorable blonde sprite Erin Holt ) , scrappy tomboy Mel ( solid Denise Lorraine ) , and laid-back thrill-seeking rich guy Nolan ( amiable Adam Van Conant ) all volunteer for a reality TV show in which they have to spend a day at the notorious Camp Blood in order to win the $1 million dollar prize money . Sleazeball producer Tony ( a perfectly smarmy David Sobel ) hires slobby stuntman Griff ( an amusingly coarse Jeff Swarthout ) to scare the contestants . But the murderous the Clown ( creepy Alex Gordon ) shows up to do his nasty lethal thing once again . Writer / director Brad Sykes comes up with a surprisingly good and worthwhile third entry in the " Camp Blood " trilogy which proves to be a marked improvement on the previous enjoyably cruddy films : Andrew Gianetta's sharp , polished cinematography , the convincing make-up f / x , the steady pace , Terry M . Huud's eerie'n'funky syncopated score , the bleakly ironic surprise twist ending , a decent smattering of gratuitous female nudity ( Athena Demos as a hot brunette model bares her lovely breasts ) , the genuinely likable main characters ( Kat in particular is an absolute doll ! ) , a reasonable amount of grisly bloodshed , and the acceptable acting from an attractive bunch of unknowns are all uniformly up to speed . Sykes alas fails to generate any real tension , but that minor criticism aside this movie overall sizes up as a fun and satisfying slice'n'dice body count horror romp . |
519,418 | 8,239,592 | 86,980 | 8 | A hugely enjoyable Grade B sci-fi / horror comedy hoot | A mysterious alien virus which manifests itself as a deadly gust of wind transforms the local yokels in a sleepy small Texas town into pasty-faced bloodthirsty zombies . Laid-back photographer Jeff Rhodes ( a solid and engaging performance by Thom Meyers ) and his sweet newfound girlfriend Julie ( the adorable Laura Ellis ) do their best to stay alive and survive this harrowing ordeal . Writer / director Glen Coburn delivers a delightfully dry'n'deadpan tongue-in-cheek send-up of schlocky low-budget fright flicks that comes through with plenty of priceless gut-busting dialogue ( all-time favorite line : " You cut my beeping arm off ! " ) , broadly drawn redneck caricatures , and spot-on sidesplitting jokes about such worthy subjects as huffing nitrous oxide , kinky sex , racism , and gung-ho military fanaticism . Moreover , the make-up for the zombies is hilariously horrible and there's a few cool moments of gory over-the-top splatter which include a juicy decapitation , dismemberment , and several lovely shots of folks vomiting up uproariously unconvincing watery blood . The enthusiastic acting from a likable cast of mostly no-name amateurs further enhances the picture's considerable screwball appeal : Meyers and Ellis make for charming leads , Dennis Letts has a field day as brash ramrod General Sanders , token name Pat Paulsen contributes an amusing cameo as a preoccupied lecher President of the United States , plus there are neat turns by Robert Bradeen as the mean Uncle Joe , Kris Nicolau as nerdy Brit-accented doctor Jeri Jett , Chris Heldman as the amiable Deputy Sam , Big John Brigham as paranoid janitor Norman , Jim Stafford as the oafish Buford , and Billie Keller as the dotty Aunt Kate . The bleak and desolate Lone Star State locations add some tasty regional flavor to the infectiously wacky proceedings . The incredibly catchy'n'groovy 80's New Wave rock theme song seriously smokes . Chad D . Smith's purposefully static cinematography might be rough around the edges , but it does the trick all the same . A total riot . |
518,687 | 8,239,592 | 74,829 | 8 | A satisfyingly sordid & scuzzy slice of 70's Italian horror sleaze | Rino Di Silvesto's outrageously trashy and nonsensical nudity-ridden soft-core horror sleaze sensation stars gorgeous , voluptuous , stupendously buxom blonde hottie supreme Annik Borel as Daniella , a severely troubled young lass whose intense sexual repression causes her to believe that she's the reincarnation of a century-old lady lycanthrope who was burned at the stake . Daniella masturbates , dances naked at midnight under the moonlight , spies on her sister ( the equally luscious Dagmar Lassander ) while she's making love to her husband , tears out hubby's throat with her teeth , and winds up in a mental institution . While in the nuthouse Daniella befriends the resident lesbian nymphomaniac , kills the crazy slut , and escapes . Things perk up when Daniella meets and falls in love with a nice guy stuntman , only to have the decent dude brutally offed by a bunch of vicious thugs . Daniella tracks down the foul creeps and slaughters the whole scummy lot of ' em before being arrested by the police . Meanwhile a horribly redundant synthesizer score whines away on the soundtrack , the cinematographer indulges in queasy zoom-ins and Jess Francoesque super close-ups of people's eyes , and Borel disrobes with such alarming ( and greatly appreciated ) frequency that you wonder why the producers of this supremely scroungy schlock even bothered to provide her with a wardrobe . Di Silvesto fails completely to relate a coherent story with even a modicum of finesse or competence , but delivers such a teeming surplus of grotty gore and seamy sex that the virtually nonexistent plot really doesn't matter . Better still , the makers of this succulently scuzzy swill claim that it's based on a true story ! All in all , it's pretty sleazy and laughably preposterous , thus meaning that it's loads of stand-out up-front and unapologetically low-grade Euroslime exploitation fun as well . |
518,427 | 8,239,592 | 64,002 | 8 | A tad uneven , but still quite good | Arlo Guthrie's hilariously mordant 20 minute story song gets adopted into an affably whimsical , episodic , occasionally funny and ultimately quite downbeat and sobering free-form feature by director Arthur Penn that astutely captures the key issues and concerns of the 60's hippie counterculture : dodging the draft , smoking grass , getting hassled by the pigs , being persecuted by grossly intolerant , narrow-minded , repressive straight conformist squares , trekking all over the country to find your true self , and defying everyday social conventions so you can do your own thing , man . The rambling , just barely there plot centers on the winningly droll , breezy and irreverent Guthrie's pilgrimage through the counterculture , a bizarre , eventful , eye-opening journey of self-discovery that reaches its peak when Arlo gets arrested for illegally dumping trash , thus making Arlo ineligible for wartime service in the army due to his disreputable status as an unrehabilitated criminal ( the scenes at the army center are riotous , with M . Emmet Walsh in a gut-busting early role as the gruff Group W sergeant whose staccato motormouth way of talking renders everything he says incomprehensible ) . Police chief William Obanheim appears as himself and proves to be a hugely likable good sport by allowing himself to be the endearingly humbled recipient of a few right-on japes made about uptight authority figures . " Glen and Randa " ' s Shelley Plimpton has a nice cameo as a cute groupie who hits on Arlo at a party . The film's precise , clear-eyed portrait of the painfully gradual disintegration of flower power idealism and the cynicism and disillusionment that followed in its wake nowadays seems all too grimly true and prescient , with the volatile relationship between vulgar , boorish , obnoxious swinger James Broderick and his frustrated , irritated wife Pat Quinn ( they play Ray and Alice Brock , the owners of the titular restaurant ) brilliantly reflecting the turbulence and capriciousness of the period . Somewhat erratic and uneven , with a shaky tone that uneasily shifts between comedy and drama , this quirky , laid-back , naturalistic historical curiosity piece provides a lyrical and poignant time capsule of the 60's that for all its admitted imperfections nonetheless remains haunting and effective . |
518,697 | 8,239,592 | 94,642 | 8 | A wickedly enjoyable horror black comedy hoot | Six vacationing young adults who include the troubled Cynthia ( well played by Sarah Torgov ) are forced to land their plane on a remote sylvan island . They not only encounter the strict Pa ( a gloriously hammy performance by Rod Steiger ) and the equally stern Ma ( a delightfully batty , yet understated portrayal by Yvonne De Carlo ) , but also the oddball religious fanatics ' deranged and murderous " adult " children : infantile Fanny ( the extremely unnerving Janet Wright ) , brutish Teddy ( an excellent William Hootkins ) , and whiny Woody ( the ever-weird Michael J . Pollard ) . Capably directed by John Hough , with crisp cinematography by Harvey Harrison , a creepy tone , an eerie , harmonic down-home score by Alan Parker , a chilling conclusion , and such dark themes as incest , infanticide and necrophilia , this genuinely twisted little number really hits the pleasingly warped spot . Better still , the sharp script by Burt Wetanson and Michael Vines offers a wickedly nasty satire on traditional conservative old-fashioned family values . Steiger and De Carlo have a field day with their colorfully kooky roles ; Wright , Hootkins and Pollard are all likewise marvelously grotesque as their crazed offspring . Quirky and often quite funny in an admittedly off-center sort of way , this nifty little rural psycho romp is well worth checking out . |
518,586 | 8,239,592 | 265,459 | 8 | A chillingly plausible and absorbing thriller | Robin Williams gives a remarkably bold , subtle and stunning performance as sad and socially maladjusted convenience store worker Sy " The Photo Guy " Parrish . Sy has an unhealthy fixation on the seemingly perfect Yorkin family : loving mother Nina ( a fine Connie Nielson ) , faithless , neglectful husband Will ( the solid Michael Vartan ) , and sweet son Jacob ( adorable Dylan Smith ) . When Sy gets fired from his job and discovers that Will has been cheating on Nina , his idealized perception of the Yorkins gets destroyed and he goes off the deep end into total despair and madness . Writer / director Mark Romanek relates the chilling and arresting story with exceptional precision and assurance ; he does an especially expert job of vividly evoking a totally mundane and believable everyday working class reality which in turn makes the considerable suspense that much more powerful and gut-wrenching . Moreover , the central theme about violation of privacy and how loneliness can cause someone to go crazy adds additional resonance and even poignancy to the plot . Williams ' astonishingly complex portrayal of the creepy , anal and obsessive , yet tragic and pitiable Sy holds the picture together and keeps things engrossing throughout . Kudos are also in order for the sterling supporting cast : Gary Cole as mean and overbearing store manager Bill Owens , Eriq La Salle as diligent detective James Van Der Zee , and Erin Daniel as Will's fetching mistress Maya Burson . Jeff Cronenworth's sharp , sparkling cinematography and the shuddery , pulsating score by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Kilmek are likewise up to par . A superior thriller . |
518,013 | 8,239,592 | 71,471 | 8 | A compellingly offbeat and unsettling European horror thriller oddity | Hunky , blithely decadent wealthy swinging playboy Peter Crane ( an engaging performance by handsome and brawny Mexican super star and sex symbol Jorge Rivero ) has horrific visions of killing folks and freaky naked shrieking people . Kindly psychiatrist Dr . Stone ( veteran character actor Richard Conte ; mob capo Emilio Barzini in " The Godfather " ) places Paul in a hospital for observation . But the ghastly murders and disturbing visions continue . Is Paul responsible for the brutal mayhem ? Or is something more sinister going on ? Director Mario Siciliano , who also helmed a bunch of spaghetti Westerns and hardcore porno pictures , starts this intriguingly bizarre Spanish / Italian / Mexican horror thriller opus on a slow and spooky note , gradually developing an eerie and mysterious nightmarish oddball atmosphere that reaches a really intense and harrowing fever pitch in the gloriously off the wall final third . Stelvio Capriani's groovy score neatly alternates between smooth funky lounge music and wonky flesh-crawling creepiness . Vicente Minaya's crude , unpolished cinematography likewise adds considerably to the overall outré tone . Nice supporting performances by the lovely Pilar Velasquez as sweet , charming , fetching shrink Dr . Sarah Turner , Anthony Steffen as a hard-nosed police detective , Luis Latorre as Paul's fellow party hearty rich pal Robert , and Daniela Giordano as beautiful blonde babe Tanya . An engrossing and often unsettling fright flick oddity . |
518,344 | 8,239,592 | 90,293 | 8 | An excellent , exciting and underrated 80's medical science sci-fi / horror sleeper | In remote rural Utah a crisis situation transpires when a lethal experimental germ warfare virus gets loose in government Lab P-4 and causes the folks who become infected to degenerate into dangerous murderous raving lunatics led by Dr . Nielsen ( robustly essayed by Richard Dysart ) . Gutsy , but frightened security chief Joanie ( a fine and engaging performance by Kathleen Quinlan ) is trapped inside with the deadly deranged crazies . It's up to Joanie's take-charge sheriff husband Cal Morse ( superbly played by Sam Waterson ) and bitter , boozy discredited doctor Dan Fairchild ( the always great Jeffrey DeMunn ) to rescue Joanie before it's too late . Director Hal Barwood expertly crafts and maintains an intense , nerve-jangling tone throughout , keeps the pace hurtling along at a steady , speedy clip , and delivers an ample amount of shocks while relating the chillingly plausible story . Furthermore , the barbed , incisive and provocative script by Barwood and Matthew Robbins offers a pointed and trenchant critique of government arrogance and incompetence alike ( the government creates the problem and proves to be totally all-thumbs when it comes to properly rectifying it ) . Both Craig Safan's pulse-pounding score and Dean Cundey's polished cinematography are likewise up to par . The uniformly terrific acting from a bang-up cast warrants kudos as well , with especially praiseworthy work from Yaphet Kotto as ineffectual fed Major Connolly and G . W . Bailey as the bumbling nice guy lab employee who serves as the inadvertent catalyst for all the trouble . The fact that the main protagonists are a bunch of smart and capable adults rather than your usual array of dumb immature kids qualifies as another substantial plus ; it's a nice and refreshing departure from the standard teen-oriented horror fare prevalent in the 80's . An intelligent , absorbing and above all quite suspenseful little sleeper that's well worth checking out . |
518,320 | 8,239,592 | 196,185 | 8 | A perfectly stupid final installment in the enjoyably idiotic series | Lovable airhead Candy ( the adorably daffy Elizabeth Kaitan ) and her brassy rival Traci ( the delightfully sassy Raelyn Saalman ) run afoul of a gang of sexy , but nefarious bikini-clad bank-robbing strippers . Ramrod Internal Affairs detective Hank Grisham ( a perfectly jerky Brad Parker ) wrongly assumes that Candy was an accomplice to the robbery and sends her to jail . Meanwhile , the ever-frustrated Miss Devonshire ( essayed with trademark sidesplitting slow-burn comic aplomb by Jayne Hamil ) is fuming over the fact that the pompous buffoon commissioner ( Jay Richardson in excellent blustery form ) has forgotten their first wedding anniversary . Writer / director Rick Sloane works his customary engagingly witless no-brainer cinematic magic with a steady succession of amusingly lowbrow jokes on such utterly uproarious topics as strippers , women beating up men , tabloid TV shows , annoyingly perky bimbo cheerleaders , and phone sex hotlines . The lively and attractive cast have a ball with their broad roles : Kaitan and Saalman display an engagingly loosey-goosey chemistry as the fetching female leads , Honey Lauren is a tart treat as brash hooker Monique McClure , plus there are nice supporting turns by Chad Gabbert as the commissioner's nerdy son Irwin , Tamara Clatterbuck as yummy blonde Sophisticacia , Angela Castelli as scorching hot brunette Tease , Joanne Rubino as hardened felon Lactacia , Karen Knotts as chipper prison guard Mavis , and Mark Richardson as sleazy strip club owner Bojangles . Stephen Crawford's static cinematography is merely passable while both Alan DerMarderosian's zany score and Marky Desade's gnarly-thrashin ' theme song " Pistol Whipped " both hit the funky spot . The bank robbery sequence is hilariously horrendous ; the madcap ending is positively gut-busting as well . As an added bonus , both Kaitan and Castelli bare their beautiful breasts . A total dippy hoot . |
518,302 | 8,239,592 | 113,858 | 8 | An enjoyably silly , gory and trashy retro 50's giant killer bug horror creature feature hoot | An enjoyably pulpy , trashy , competently mounted and energetically executed 50's style over-sized killer insect creature feature done with wonderfully sleazoid 90's type gore , nudity , profanity and general self-aware film buff fanaticism . An alien spaceship crashlands in a lake located nearby by a forest summercamp community . Bacteria from the spaceship infects the local mosquitoes and causes them to grow into hideous , butt-ugly , way lethal and voracious gigantic mutants who promptly develop an insatiable appetite for human blood . In short time lots of folks have been sucked dry , leaving the standard collection of mixed bag everyday schmo reluctant protagonists - - a hunky dude and his feisty girlfriend , a rugged , quick-thinking take-charge scientist , a constantly sniveling spineless clod , and a gang of bumbling criminals led by a portly , pony-tailed Gunnar Hansen ( Leatherface in the original " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre " ) - - to destroy the bugs before they multiply and feast on the entire human race . Made on a modest , but well-used spare change budget in Detriot , Michigan , directed with tremendous go-for-it gusto by Gary Jones , acted with comparably infectious aplomb by an enthusiastic cast , with several slam-bang stirring insect attack set pieces ( the sequence where an unrelenting swarm of flying mosquitoes attack a speeding camper especially smokes ) , a tasty plenitude of moist , squishy , blood-spilling and slime-slinging splatter , somewhat variable , but still funky special effects ( the giant rubbery insects are really cool ) , a nice smattering of winningly witty B-movie in-jokes ( a TV reporter named Allen Smithee , Gunnar wields a mean chainsaw in one scene , and there's a right-on raunchy send-up of the inevitable " have sex and die " backwoods fright flick cliché ) , a crackling forward-ho pace and a whole-hearted affection for gleefully junky $1 . 50 cheeseball horror cinema , " Mosquito " eagerly delivers a handy helping of good , gruesome , delightfully blunt and unpretentious straightahead dimestore monster fun . |
518,640 | 8,239,592 | 82,642 | 8 | A solid and provocative futuristic sci-fi / action car chase thriller | Following a lethal plague which has wiped out millions of people and a severe oil crisis that has caused driving to be outlawed , an authoritarian government has come into power and set up restrictive , rigidly enforced codes of proper conduct that have made individual freedom a thing of the past . Stubbornly rebellious former race car driver Frank Hart ( an appropriately stalwart and rock-like Lee Majors ) , frustrated with the fascist society he can't comfortably acquit himself to the stifling dictates of , decides to drive his red Porsche to the still liberated California , taking equally recalcitrant electronics whiz kid Ring McCarthy ( winningly played by Chris Makepeace ) along with him on a perilous trek across America's desolate abandoned highways . Shrewd regime toady Hawkins ( finely essayed to smug'n'smarmy perfection by George Touliatos ) assigns batty old ace Air Force pilot J . G . Williams ( a delightfully spunky Burgess Meredith , howling like a crazed bloodhound and clearly having a grand old time mugging it up ) to track Hart down and kill him . An on-target celebration of rugged individualism and a frightfully prescient pre-90's prediction of mass bureaucratic conformity taken to a hideously repressive extreme , " The Last Chase " really cuts it as a rip-roaringly exciting and effective futuristic sci-fi / car chase action thriller movie ode to " stand up to the Man and to hell with the System " status quo defying rebellion and independence . Director Martyn Burke ( who co-wrote the nicely thoughtful script with Roy Moore and C . R . O'Christopher ) , aided by Gil ( " Blood Beach , " " The Manipulater " ) Melle's jaunty , swelling score , keeps the pace rattling along at a crisp , steady tempo , occasionally pausing for moments of quiet introspection and character development which ensure that the film has plenty of heart to spare ( the rapport between Hart and McCarthy is especially breezy and appealing ) . Moreover , this feature's portrait of a seriously uptight , anal retentive , overly rule conscientious no-fun near future society has uncanny parallels to nauseatingly stuffy 90's political correctness , thus giving the picture a topicality and resonance that's sadly still quite timely even today . An extremely good , pleasingly provocative and rather scarily prophetic science fiction film . |
518,276 | 8,239,592 | 82,639 | 8 | A very cool early 80's rock'n'roll cult favorite | Fiery and insolent rebellious teenager Corinne " Third Degree " Burns ( a wonderfully raw and dynamic portrayal by Diane Lane ) is angry about the untimely death of her mother . So she convinces her reluctant sister Tracy ( the cute Marin Kanter ) and her equally surly cousin Jessica ( Laura Dern at her most adorable ) to form a rowdy all-female punk group called the Stains ( who look and sound like an unholy cross between the Shaggs and the Runaways ) . Despite having no real musical talent , the Stains still manage to get a gig as part of a tour along with the past their prime metal band the Metal Corpses ( they stink ) and the snarly punk outfit the Looters ( who seriously smoke ! ) . The Stains become huge stars because of their skimpy stage outfits , outrageous two-tone skunk hairstyles , defiant attitude ( their motto is " We don't put out " ) , and , most of all , extensive media coverage by opportunistic TV news anchorwoman Alicia Meeker ( delightfully played with lip-smacking relish by Cynthia Sikes ) . However , their moment in the spotlight proves to be fleeting when their loyal audience of adolescent girl admirers known as Skunks realize they've been had and turn on the band at a disastrous concert . Director and noted music producer Lou Adler , working from a sharp and abrasive script by Nancy Dowd ( who also wrote " Slap Shot " ) , offers a fiercely cynical and illuminating depiction of the more sordid aspects of the rock music business which include drug use ( one member of the Metal Corpses dies of an overdose ) , performing in seedy dives , mindless consumerism , and especially how the media can either make or break a band . This film further benefits from excellent acting from a fine cast . Lane delivers a positively electrifying performance full of rage and passion that holds the whole picture together . Ray Winstone likewise shines as bitter and cranky , yet wise and knowing punk singer Billy , who tries to be a mentor for Corinne without much success . Christine Lahti only pops up in two scenes as Corinne's neurotic and regretful Aunt Linda , but makes a strong and lasting impression just the same . Special kudos are also in order for Barry Ford , who gives a marvelously engaging turn as laid-back and philosophical Jamaican bus driver Lawnboy . Plus there's nice support from David Clennon as sleazy agent Dave Robell , Fee Waybill as washed-up rocker Lou Corpse , John Lehne as smarmy newscaster Stu McGrath , and E . G . Daily as a perky hotel maid . Appearing as members of the Looters are erstwhile Sex Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash . Horror scream queen Debbie Rochon makes her feature film debut an uncredited bit part as a Skunk . The gritty , yet polished cinematography by Bruce Surtees comes through with plenty of striking visuals and spot-on evocative shots of often dreary and grungy locations . A tad rough around the edges , but overall a really fun and rollicking blast of a movie . |
519,139 | 8,239,592 | 60,188 | 8 | An immensely enjoyable entry in the " Fu Manchu " series | Shrewd , ruthless and fearsome Chinese criminal mastermind Fu Manchu ( the impeccable Christopher Lee in peak villainous form ) kidnaps the beautiful daughters of the world's leading scientists and demands that they help build him a lethal death ray or else he will kill all of the lovely ladies . It's up to Fu Manchu's cagey and stalwart longtime nemesis Scotland Yard Inspector Nayland Smith ( nicely played by Douglas Wilmer ) to stop him before it's too late . Ably directed by Don Sharp , with an absorbing and eventful script by Peter Welbeck , a constant brisk pace , crisp , lively color cinematography by Ernest Steward , several exciting and well-staged action scenes , a rousing , spirited score by Johnny Douglas , a reasonable amount of tension , an admirably serious tone ( there are no cheesy one-lines or needless campy humor to get in the way of the story ) , and a stirring fiery conclusion , this picture overall really delivers the entertaining goods . Moreover , the solid acting from a sturdy cast helps matters a whole lot : Lee naturally excels as the deliciously wily and wicked Fu Manchu , Wilmer makes for a properly resolute Smith , plus there are sound supporting performances by Tsai Chin as Fu Mancho equally evil daughter Lin Tang , Marie Versini as feisty , fetching nurse Marie Lenz , Heinz Drache as hot-headed chemist Franz Baumer , Howard Marion-Crawford as Smith's competent partner Dr . Petrie , Rupert Davies as beleaguered scientist Jules Merlin , Kenneth Fortescue as the eager Sergeant Spicer , and Burt Kwouk ( Cato in the " Pink Panther " movies ) as Fu Mancho's loyal henchman Feno . A neat little flick . |
518,788 | 8,239,592 | 74,855 | 8 | A perfectly putrid piece of pure trash | Obviously made on the cheap to capitalize on the notorious " Mandingo , " this crassly pandering hunk of blithely rancid Italian sexploitation junk really pours on the sordid stuff with a commendable lack of taste and restraint : The evil arrogant white family who own and operate a lavish slave plantation spend a majority of the screen time engaging in hanky panky both each other and their various slaves . Director Mario Penzauti and screenwriter Tecla Romanelli cram this fetid filth with a teeming surplus of sizzling sleaze : we've got nasty rape , interracial copulation ( one white lady makes wild love to a muscular black stud while he's tied to a cross ) , copious female nudity , brutal whippings , vile degradation , lots of lurid soft-core sex , and a severely twisted tragic surprise ending that mixes elements of incest , murder and miscegenation in a questionable attempt at making a statement about the horrid inhumanity of slavery . Special kudos are in order for foxy brunette actress Paola D'Egidio , whose lusty and uninhibited portrayal of depraved and lascivious wicked bitch Rhonda positively burns up the screen . Moreover , Marcello Giombini's funky , throbbing tribal score hits the groovy spot . Maurizo Centini's fairly polished cinematography likewise does the trick . A satisfyingly seamy chunk of slimy swill . |
518,084 | 8,239,592 | 71,478 | 8 | A nifty supernatural shocker | The Gibson family are rich , decadent and dysfunctional . Youngest daughter Leila ( a convincing performance by foxy brunette Grace Mills ) is especially wild : her fiancé Richard practices the black arts and takes Leila to a debauched satanic ceremony . Pretty soon Leila starts acting strange : she says mean and spiteful things in a vulgar tongue , throws temper tantrums , and has severe seizures . Her mother Patricia ( ravishing Maria Perschy ) and sister Deborah ( hot blonde Maria Kosti ) are understandably worried . They call upon longtime friend Father Adrian Dunning ( excellently played by Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy in a rare good guy role ) to save Leila's soul before it's too late . Director Juan Bosch grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday world setting , which in turn gives the story a substantial additional credibility . Bosch earns bonus credit for handling the potentially lurid subject matter with admirable taste and restraint . Moreover , this film makes a strong and provocative point that mankind's flawed nature and immorality perpetuate the existence of evil ( Leila becomes possessed by the spirit of her deceased father who hand incestuous longings for her ) . The gradual build-up leads to an especially chilling and unnerving third act ; the climactic exorcism is quite tense and rousing . Francisco Sanchez's slick cinematography and Alberto Arguda's spooky funky-ripping score are both up to par . Nice ambiguous ending , too . |
518,800 | 8,239,592 | 833,098 | 8 | A very bleak and disturbing little shocker | A strange and lethal virus causes men to go insane and savagely murder women in a psychotic fit of religious fervor whenever they are sexually aroused . Scientists Alan ( an engaging performance by Jason Priestley ) and Barney ( the always excellent Elliott Gould ) try to find a cure while Alan's feisty wife Anne ( well played by the lovely Kerry Norton ) and spunky daughter Amy ( the solid Brenna O'Brien ) flee to the woods of Canada where it's still safe . Director Joe Dante , working from a bold and biting by Sam Hamm , delivers a chilling mix of stinging social commentary and unsettling doomsday end-of-the-world thriller that offers plenty of spot-on incisive stuff about religious fanaticism run dangerously amok , misogynistic male violence against women , and how mankind's own self-destructive nature will eventually turn on him . Moreover , Dante relates the gripping story at a snappy pace , maintains a grimly serious tone throughout , stages the jolting moments of brutal violence with unflinching explicitness ( an alarming psychotic outburst in a strip club is especially potent and upsetting ) , and adds a wickedly amusing line in pitch-black humor to further spice up the already tasty brew . Hummie Mann's spooky'n'shivery score and Attila Szalay's glossy , intimate cinematography are both top-notch . The acting is uniformly sound as well , with Linda Darlow a stand-out as sarcastic epidemiologist Bella . The surprise twist ending packs quite a punch . A praiseworthy sci-fi / horror winner . |
518,490 | 8,239,592 | 82,495 | 8 | A worthy follow-up to the outstanding original | This surprisingly solid sequel starts off immediately where the original ended , with poor Laurie Strode ( the ever-personable Jamie Lee Curtis ) being sent to the local hospital to be treated for her injuries . Naturally , the relentless Michael Myers ( an effectively eerie pantomime performance by veteran stuntman Dick Warlock ) continues to stalk Laurie . Wildly obsessive psychiatrist Dr . Loomis ( Donald Pleasence deliciously hamming it up with his usual rip-snorting brio ) comes to the rescue . Director Rick Rosenthal does a capable job of creating a palpably claustrophobic atmosphere , maintains a steady pace throughout , and stages the grisly murder set pieces with nasty aplomb ( gory highlights include a couple of throat slashings , a hammer to the head , and a needle through the eye , plus one victim even gets drained of all her blood ) . A strong bunch of actors and actresses acquit themselves well as the hospital staff , with especially praiseworthy turns by Lance Guest as a nice guy orderly , Leo Rossi as a crass foul-mouthed jerk ambulance driver , the lovely Pamela Susan Shoop as a sweet nurse ( Shoop also does a great topless scene ) , Cliff Emmich as a diligent security guard , and Ford Rainey as a weary old doctor . The hospital setting proves to be suitably remote and stifling ; there's a sense of isolation and vulnerability to the place that's genuinely unnerving . But what really makes this movie a sound sequel is the several ways it radically differs from the original : the tone is grim and morbid rather than spooky and moody , the violence is more graphic and plentiful , and there's even a chilling explanation provided for Myers ' personal vendetta against Laurie ( WARNING : Possible SPOILER ahead . She's his long lost sister , which makes Myers desire to kill her that much more scary and disturbing ) . The last third of the film makes for a harrowing ordeal and things wrap up on a beautifully haunting closing note ( the inspired use of " Mr . Sandman " helps out a lot here ) . Dean Cundey's typically polished and agile gliding cinematography rates as another substantial asset . Overall , it's a fine and enjoyable sequel to the superior ' 78 seasonal slasher classic . |
518,326 | 8,239,592 | 71,628 | 8 | An excellent and extremely effective British variant on your standard women-in-prison film | Adorable French model Anne Marie ( sweetly played by the charming and ravishing Penny Irving ) gets only a minor fine for exposing herself in public . Anne Marie meets mysterious , yet charismatic Mark E . Desade ( brooding Robert Tayman ) at a party . Mark takes Anne Marie to a hellish remote countryside correctional facility for wayward young ladies that's run by his strict mother Ms . Wakehurst ( a splendidly stern'n'steely Barbara Markham ) and blind , senile Justice Bailey ( a marvelously doddery Patrick Barr ) . Meanwhile , Ann's loyal gal pal Julia ( lovely Ann Michelle ) and her nice boyfriend Tony ( likable Ray Brooks ) try to find Anne Marie before it's too late . Director Pete Walker , working from an acrid and bitterly intelligent script by David McGillivray , takes a deceptively trashy run-of-the-mill chicks-in-chains exploitation plot and completely turns said premise on its ear by offering a wickedly barbed and incisive critique of the hypocritical religious ultra-conservative fundamentalist right who use vicious means to enforce the law while serving as self-appointed upholders of the moral majority . Moreover , Walker ably creates a potently grim and unsparingly harsh tone , depicts the brutal violence with admirable tact and restraint , and coaxes uniformly fine acting from a strong cast ( Sheila Keith in particular gives a genuinely chilling and outstanding performance as coldly sadistic prison guard Walker ) . Stanley Myers ' spare , spooky score , Peter Jessup's gritty , yet accomplished cinematography and the uncompromisingly bleak ending further enhance the overall sound quality of this supremely unsettling and superior shocker . |
519,183 | 8,239,592 | 82,464 | 8 | An enjoyably lightweight screwball goof of a seriocomic road movie delight | Kelly Johnson and Tony Barry are affably boorish and unaffected as a couple of aimless , disaffected , alienated everyday nobody ne'er-do-well blokes - - Johnson's a nutty , reckless juvenile delinquent hell-raiser while Barry's a dejected middle-aged loser who's just broken up with his wife - - who decide to make a cross country jaunt across New Zealand in a tiny stolen yellow rental car in this disarmingly modest and unpretentious seriocomic road movie delight . The misfit duo inadvertently become wanted fugitives and subsequent overnight criminal celebrities when they stiff a gas station attendant out of several bucks worth of fuel . During their wacky misadventures our scruffy anti-heroes pick up a daffy lady hitch-hiker ( the adorably vacuous Claire Oberman ) , cunningly elude the bumbling cops at every turn , and run into a fair share of eccentrics who want to eagerly capitalize on their newfound fame and notoriety . Director Geoff Murphy compensates for the hackneyed chase premise by coaxing funny , endearingly loose and zany performances from his uniformly excellent cast ( " The Quiet Earth " ' s Bruno Lawrence has a nice bit as a laid-back , pot-smoking chopshop owner ) , dynamically staging a few thrilling automobile stunts , keeping the pace swift and unflagging throughout , and neatly mining a winningly droll line in crudely amusing off-color humor . A marvelously mellow jazz score , beauteous backwoods locations , slick cinematography , and a plausibly downbeat , yet still satisfying ending round off this likably lightweight screwball goof of a movie . |
517,939 | 8,239,592 | 60,415 | 8 | Enjoyable fluff | Assured ace race car driver Dave Owens ( a likable performance by Frankie Avalon ) goes down south to compete in the local stock car races . Dave winds up at loggerheads with cocky reigning champion Sony Leander Fox ( a deliciously smarmy portrayal by Fabian ) . Moreover , Dave also starts running moonshine for sleazeball auto garage owner Charlie Bigg ( a nicely slimy turn by Harvey Lembeck ) . Director / co-writer William Asher relates the entertaining story at a snappy pace , maintains a breezy tone throughout , delivers a flavorsome evocation of the downhome setting , and stages the rousing vehicular carnage with considerable panache . Yummy blonde looker Julie Parrish vamps it up well as good-hearted young widow Martha . Nifty supporting contributions by the ever-adorable Annette Funicello as the sweet Jane , Chill Wills as jolly racetrack owner Big Jaw , Douglas Henderson as shifty federal agent Hastings , and Len Lesser as a genial hillbilly . The gritty and exciting racetrack footage is the authentic gnarly article . A couple of rough'n'ready fistfights are also pretty stirring . The cute claymation animation featured at the very start and end is a real hoot . Both Les Baxter's groovy swinging score and Floyd Crosby's sharp , bright widescreen cinematography are up to speed . As an added bonus , Frankie and Annette belt out a few catchy and charming songs . Better still , the characters even have a little depth to them . A fun flick . |
518,343 | 8,239,592 | 90,184 | 8 | An enjoyably dopey piece of 80's Crown International teen comedy trash | Lovely , perky , curly-haired and highly appealing brunette 80's flash-in-the-pan B-movie starlet Betsy ( " Out of Control , " " Cheerleader Camp " ) Russell gives a winningly spunky performance as Tomasina " Tommy " Boyd , a scrappy , willful , fiercely self-reliant spitfire hoyden automobile mechanic with a humongous crush on cocky race car driving dreamboat hunk Randy Star ( handsome , dashing Gerald Christopher ) . Egged on by her flighty , opportunistic aspiring actress gal pal Seville Ritz ( leggy , luscious blonde looker Kristi Somers ) , Tommy meets Randy at a jerky rich kid's ( Kirk Douglas ' obnoxious youngest son Eric in an unbearably grating thespic turn ) posh night party and , of course , the two fall a over teakettle for each other . The only problem is that male chauvinist Randy won't take Tommy seriously because she's a chick , so naturally the take no guff Tommy dares Randy to a high stakes souped-up auto race to win over his respect . Passably directed by seasoned trash exploitation feature hack Herb Freed ( who also graced us with the grim , unsettling , arrestingly off-kilter psychological horror sleeper " Haunts " and the atrocious teen body count slasher tripe " Graduation Day " ) and scripted in strictly off-the-peg adolescent comedy-drama formula fashion by Ben Zelig , this typically tacky and immaterial Crown International Pictures drive-in fluff covers all the necessary junky bases to qualify as a pleasingly silly serving of pure nonsense : a sizable number of nice-looking busty babes take their shirts off at regular 15 minute intervals ( besides Russell and Somers , we also have " Cavegirl " ' s eminently adorable Cynthia Ann Thompson as a frequently bare-breasted bimbo and cheesy horror scream queen Michelle Bauer in a ridiculous uncredited bit part as a topless tootsie in a flashy white Corvette ) , a heavy-handed " you go girl ! " stand-up-for-yourself feminist subtext , a generous smattering of witless lowbrow humor ( Ritz's audition for a TV commercial is a racy hoot ! ) , the best cornball motorcycle courtship scene since " Viva Kneivel ! , " cheap gay jokes , stupidly vulgar dialogue ( " Good night , little beep ! " ) , a horrible soundtrack full of generic , mechanically bouncy Top 40 hit tune soundalike songs ( the incredibly awful theme number boasts the following immortal couplet : " She's a road runner / She's a tail gunner ! " ) , an unforgettably hideous folks in tight , clingy leotards thrusting their pelvises to and fro to crappy disco music get down and boogie aerobic workout sequence ala " Flashdance , " and an utterly predictable grand finale all-or-nothing climactic car race . What's not to like about this charmingly shoddy 80's schlock artifact ? |
518,763 | 8,239,592 | 71,647 | 8 | Peter Fonda's interesting and ambitious , if pretty flawed low-budget sci-fi end-of-the-world effort | Peter Fonda's second directorial effort following the excellent feminist Western " The Hired Hand " makes for an extremely atypical and hence compelling post-holocaust sci-fi survivalist message movie related in the form of a subtle , very serious and pertinent ecological parable concerning mankind's selfish , self-destructive nature and careless depletion of natural resources at the expense of our planet's well being . Twelve young scientists ( a gawky , scrawny , long stringy-haired then unknown Keith Carradine among ' em ) travel to the future to the year 2044 in order to avoid an impending apocalypse and start civilization afresh . The group hike across the dry , arid , desolate rocky terrain , bicker amongst themselves , discover a tribe of retarded third generation post-nuke survivors , and gradually go crazy , eventually degenerating into total murderous barbarism . Although marred by an awkward opening third , wildly erratic acting from a largely amateur no-name cast , occasionally tiresome and over-deliberate draggy pacing , and a few pretentious moments , this still oddly haunting , engrossing and quietly unsettling low-budget curio intelligently makes an important statement about the possible grim destiny of our increasingly callous and environmentally wasteful society . Peter Fonda's spare , low-key , suitably grave and understated direction ably creates a chilling mood of stark despair and horror , while Bruce Logan's pretty , picturesque cinematography offers a dazzling array of lovely , sun-blasted visuals , Thomas Matthiesen's terse , thoughtful , quite novel and idiosyncratic script presents a cogent dire warning future shock scenario with stunning clarity and concision , and Bruce Langhorne's eerie score mines a fine line in spooky'n'shuddery atonal rhythms . Not a complete success , but a nice , admirable , appealingly sincere and well-meaning addition to post-holocaust science fiction cinema just the same . |
518,471 | 8,239,592 | 289,438 | 8 | An immensely enjoyable and effective Spanish horror winner | Six teenagers go to an old remote abandoned school where 27 years ago a horrible massacre took place for a night of fun and pranks . Instead the kids run afoul of the vicious crazed security guard ( excellently played with supremely creepy menace by Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy ) who committed the nasty killings . Director Carlos Gil relates the intriguing story at a brisk pace and does an adept job of creating a compellingly spooky and mysterious atmosphere . The witty script by Tino Blanco and Mercedes Holgueras offers a clever and inspired blend of slasher and supernatural elements that keep the viewer guessing to the very end . The slick cinematography by Fernando Arribas makes expert use of light and shadow . David San Jose's moody score likewise does the trick . The attractive and appealing young cast all contribute lively and engaging performances , with especially praiseworthy turns by Carlos Fuentes as ringleader Ramon , Olivia Molina as the panicky Maria , Zoe Berriatua as obnoxious joker Jordi , and Carmen Morales as spunky goth chick Sandra . The murder set pieces are every bit as bloody and brutal as they ought to be . Terrific whammy of a surprise dark ending , too . A solid and satisfying shocker . |
518,141 | 8,239,592 | 51,622 | 8 | A nifty 50's sci-fi / horror classic | Brilliant , hearty , but obsessive scientist Andre Delambre ( an excellent performance by David Hedison ) creates a teleportation device . Things go awry when his genes are crossed with those of a common fly , thereby resulting in a grotesque humanoid insect monster . Andre's loyal and loving wife Helene ( superbly played by the lovely Patricia Owens ) desperately tries to help him out , but his humanity starts to fade as the days wear on . Director Kurt Neumann , working from an absorbing and intelligent script by James Clavell , relates the arresting , if wildly implausible story at a steady pace , maintains an admirably serious and sincere tone throughout , and elicits uniformly fine acting from a first-rate cast . Hedison and Owens are outstanding in the leads ; they receive sound support from the ever-suave Vincent Price as Andre's concerned brother Francois , Herbert Marshall as the smooth Inspector Charas , comic actress Kathleen Freeman in a nifty change-of-pace straight part as housekeeper Emma , and Charles Herbert as Andre's sweet son Philippe . The vibrant color cinematography by Karl Struss makes exquisite use of the widescreen format . Paul Sawtell's lush , rousing orchestral score really hits the shuddery spot . The special effects are quite good and convincing . The revelation of the fly head atop Andre's body still packs a punch today ; ditto the now legendary ending scene with Andre's head on a fly's body pathetically screaming " Help me ! " while trapped in a spider's web . Moreover , this film gains considerable dramatic power from the fact that at the plot's core is a genuinely tragic and poignant love story . Although a bit slow and talky by modern standards , this picture overall is still worthy of its classic status . |
518,340 | 8,239,592 | 491,005 | 8 | A nifty killer animal horror flick | A flock of ravens contract mad cow's disease and turn into vicious carnivorous beasts who attack the populace of a sleepy small town . A handful of folks who include the stalwart Police Chief Wayne Merkle ( a solid Sean Patrick Flanery ) , amiable physician Doc ( winningly played by Rod Taylor ) , and recovering alcoholic school bus driver Clyde ( the excellent Stephen McHattie ) do their best to survive this harrowing ordeal . Director Sheldon Wilson , working from a smart , tight script by Benjamin Sztajnkrycer , relates the absorbing story at a steady pace , maintains a serious tone throughout ( there's a refreshing absence of any silly humor ) , and effectively builds a considerable amount of suspense . The tense gradual build-up of the opening act eventually culminates in an especially harrowing and exciting last third . Moreover , the ravens are genuinely creepy , the explanation for the birds ' violent behavior is both plausible and topical , the CGI effects are surprisingly decent and acceptable , and there's a handy helping of grisly gore ( the mangled victims of the bird attacks look pretty nasty ) . Nice supporting performances by Kristin Booth as Wayne's caring wife Cynthia , John Ralston as superstitious Mennonite farmer Oskar , Michelle Duquet as friendly diner owner Betty , Ashley Newbrough as mean teen Doris , Gray Powell as eager deputy Stan , Vladimir Bondarenko as strict farmer Jacob , Megan Park as Oskar's sweet daughter Gretchen , and Wendy Lyon as perky police dispatcher Luanne . Both John Tarver's polished cinematography and Steven London's shuddery score are up to speed . An enjoyable fright feature . |
518,639 | 8,239,592 | 426,459 | 8 | Good'n'gory Grade B horror monster splatter fun | Your standard motley assortment of folks in a small remote tavern find themselves under attack by a ferocious family of foul and deadly carnivorous subhuman monsters . That's basically it for the admittedly skimpy plot , but luckily what we got here is a pleasingly straightforward and unpretentious rough'n'ready Grade B low-budget fright flick that gets right down to exciting brass tacks and delivers a handy helping of the lowdown funky'n'junky goods with infectiously full-throttle brio . Director John Gulager keeps the breakneck pace nonstop throughout , creates a reasonably tense and creepy atmosphere , and pours on the graphic gore with joyously gruesome abandon ( both limbs and heads get torn off , plus one dude has his noggin crushed like a giant squishy grape and the horrible beasts even eat a little boy ! ) . The game cast have a ball with their generic stock parts : Balthazar Getty as an arrogant loudmouth pool hustler , Navi Rawat as the tough , gutsy heroine , Henry Rollins as an inane , ineffectual motivational speaker , Duane Whitacker as a redneck lout , Jason Mewes as himself ( he gets bumped off early in the action ) , Judah Friedlander as a pathetic dorky loser , Josh Zuckerman as a spunky cripple , Krista Allen as a scrappy waitress , Jenny Wade as a perky bar maid , and Clu Gulager as a craggy , weary bartender are all a great deal of fun to watch . Moreover , the cool monsters ( thankfully not CGI ; instead they're guys in nifty elaborate suits ) , Thomas L . Callaway's sharp , gritty , lively cinematography , the brash humor ( the snappy character bios are hilarious and the startling monster sex scene is a raunchy hoot ) , and Steve Edwards ' spooky'n'shuddery score are all on the money excellent . Good , trashy low-grade horror creature feature fun . |
518,370 | 8,239,592 | 48,696 | 8 | A hugely enjoyable 50's giant monster on the loose sci-fi / horror romp | Kindly scientist Leo G . Carroll creates a remarkable special nutrient which makes animals grow to alarmingly large sizes at an accelerated rate . A giant spider escapes from Carroll's lab and goes on the rampage . It's up to Carroll , affable country doctor John Agar and spunky , fetching lab assistant Mara Corday to figure out a way to stop the over-sized killer arachnid before things get too out of hand . Capably directed by 50's sci-fi / horror master Jack Arnold , with a bright , witty script by Robert M . Fresco and Martin Berkley , a steady pace , a booming , ominous score by Henry Mancini , lively and engaging performances from a solid and charming cast ( Nestor Paiva is especially strong as the cranky no-nonsense sheriff while a then unknown Clint Eastwood has a nice cameo towards the end as a jet fighter pilot ) , nifty special effects , sharp , moody photography by George Robinson , a splendidly spooky atmosphere ( the strikingly stark panoramic shots of the bleak , arid , desolate desert landscape have a wonderfully eerie feel to them ) , fine make-up by Bud Westmore , and several rousing sequences with the titanic tarantula wreaking havoc , this vintage 50's creature feature kick overall rates as a great deal of straightforward and unpretentious monster movie fun . |
519,433 | 8,239,592 | 74,914 | 8 | Not your standard lowbrow sexploitation fare | Handsome and dashing British airline pilot George Taylor ( a solid portrayal by Guiseppe Pambieri ) gets beat up by thugs after a wild night in Hong Kong . George meets and falls in love with the sweet and virginal Dr . Emy Wong ( a fine and charming performance by the lovely Chai Lee ) . George regains his health and goes back to work . When Emy fails to hear from George for a lengthy amount of time , she succumbs to despair and becomes a prostitute . While director / co-writer Bitto Albertini does indeed deliver a satisfying amount of the expected tasty nudity and steamy soft-core sex , this film is anything but your routine wallow in leering sleaze . Instead it's a surprisingly thoughtful , touching and tragic love story between two well drawn and highly appealing characters ( Chai as Emy Wong is especially radiant and endearing ) . The picture starts out bubbly and cheerful , but the tone radically shifts into a more grim and harsh mood about two thirds of the way through . Emy's descent into vice after she falsely assumes that George has abandoned her is bleak and upsetting ; ditto the remarkably sad and heartbreaking surprise bummer ending . Granted , the narrative is certainly melodramatic , but never too silly or trashy . Moreover , the sex scenes are quite tasteful and even genuinely erotic . Notorious Italian porn star Ilona Staller has a nice sizable supporting part as George's jealous and uninhibited secretary Helen Miller . Guido Mancori's polished cinematography offers many strikingly gorgeous shots of the exotic locations . Nico Fidenco's funky , throbbing score hits the groovy spot . Worth a look for those seeking something different . |
518,925 | 8,239,592 | 74,924 | 8 | A very solid and satisfying 70's " don't go down to Dixie " redneck exploitation flick | Scruffy , mischievous smartaleck Detroit drifter Eddie ( rangily personable beanpole Stephen McHattie ) and his sweet , plucky gal pal Cam ( a winning performance by the ever pert and appealing Kay Lenz ) witness a murder committed by a growly , profane , corrupt , vicious , irritable , just flat-out no-count and reprehensible cracker sheriff ( a stand-out scurvy portrayal by Lonny Chapman ) . The couple go on the lam ; Chapman and his hilariously inept deputies give hot pursuit . While the compact script by David R . Osterhout and William Norton offers nothing new and the story never springs any fresh surprises or novel twists , this film nonetheless still sizes up as a really solid and satisfying affair . In other words , the trite narrative gets redeemed by the briskness and vibrancy of the commendably spirited and unpretentious execution . Directed with galvanizing aplomb by Charles S . Dubin , further energized by Donald Peake's exuberant banjo-plucking , pile-driving country swing score and Charles Correll's splendidly agile , mobile , crisply handsome and polished cinematography , jam-packed with more auto-wrecking , metal-smashing , cars smacking into each other and flipping over in glorious slow motion vehicular carnage than you can shake a rusty tire iron at , and topped off with nice acting from the immensely likable leads , plus nifty cameos by Eddie Albert as a friendly , sympathetic lawyer , Will Geer as a crusty , snappish , nasty old oil baron , and the ubiquitous Dick Miller as one of Chapman's pernicious flunkies , " Moving Violation " tears ahead with such speedy breakneck velocity that it ultimately comes through as a giddy slice of dynamically enthusiastic Southern-fried demolition derby cinema . |
518,528 | 8,239,592 | 280,802 | 8 | An entertainingly inane jungle adventure camp hoot | A group of college student anthropologists and a rival team of no-count treasure hunters run afoul of a lethal tribe of primitive cannibals led by an evil witch doctor while checking out a dangerous jungle on a remote island . It's up to feisty'n'fetching Tarzanesque jungle babe Jelita ( ravishing brunette fox Lydia Kandou ) to keep everyone alive . Man , does this delightfully batty and berserk jaw-dropper possess all the right wonderfully ridiculous stuff to qualify as a real four star serving of deliciously cheesy schlock : we've got energetic direction by Danu Umbara , a constant brisk pace , hokey mild gore , a funky , thumping , syncopated score by Gatot Sudarto , plenty of outrageously wild and violent over-the-top fight scenes , laughably lousy dubbing , broadly drawn characters , vibrant , colorful cinematography by Bambang Trimakno , a protracted car chase , inept overuse of strenuous slow motion , a hilarious tribe of grunting ape-like untamed savages , and tacky ( far from ) special effects . Alas , the obligatory smidgen of gratuitous female nudity is optically fogged , but thankfully we still have a gaggle of good-looking gals running amok in skimpy fur two piece bikini outfits . Overall , this film possesses an infectiously kitschy charm that's impossible to either resist or dislike . A total gut-busting riot . |
518,852 | 8,239,592 | 74,967 | 8 | A satisfyingly sleazy 70's hicksploitation outing | Sweet Cathy Phillips ( well played by the lovely Deborah Raffin ) and her sassy best gal pal Diane Emery ( a winningly brash and spirited performance by the fetching Lynne Moody ) are a couple of California college students who experience car trouble while driving cross country in the deep rural south . The pair run afoul of evil small town Sheriff Danen ( a deliciously nasty portrayal by Chuck Connors ) , who gets the ladies sentenced to thirty days time on a harsh prison work farm where the conditions are positively hellish and inhumane . Director John Llewellyn Moxey does an expert job of relating the grim , yet gripping story at a constant brisk pace , effectively creates a dark , bleak , gritty downbeat atmosphere , and stays true to the uncompromisingly sordid and depressing tone to the literal bitter end . The trashy script by Jo Heims offers a neat and engrossing blend of elements from both the women-in-prison and " don't go down to Dixie " redneck exploitation sub-genres . Better still , the seamy plot covers all the essential scuzzy grindhouse bases : we've got rape , lesbianism , a handy helping of tasty female nudity , savage whippings , pedophilia , and racism . The sound acting from a top-drawer cast constitutes as another significant asset : Raffin and Moody make for excellent and engaging leads , Connors has an absolute ball as a supremely slimy and hateful no-count crooked lawman , plus there's fine supporting turns by Ralph Bellamy as a kindly , but corrupt judge , Tina Louise as mean prison guard captain Greer , Robert Reed as smarmy pervert Superintendent Dancer , Della Reese as wise , hard-bitten veteran con Sarah , Lana Wood as wicked guard Smitty , Fionnula Flanagan as the equally vicious guard Dulcie , and Kim Wilson as scared , vulnerable teenage inmate Emiline . Charles Bernstein's twangy , flavorsome countryish score hits the harmonic spot . Frank Stanley's slick cinematography likewise does the trick . A nice'n'grimy slice of Southern-fried sleaze . |
518,480 | 8,239,592 | 51,654 | 8 | A fun 50's horror flick | Huge murderous behemoth Vargas ( hulking Buddy Baer , the brother of Max Baer of " The Beverly Hillbillies " fame ) terrorizes a small California country hamlet . The frightened townspeople believe Vargas is the reincarnation of an infamous Spanish Conquistador who was killed in the mountains many years ago . Folksy anthropologist Dr . Frederick Cleveland ( excellently played by Morris Ankrum ) , his fetching daughter Janet ( the really charming and attractive Sally Fraser ) , and affable local Wayne Brooks ( an engaging portrayal by Edward Kemmer ) run into Vargas during an expedition into the woods . Director Richard Cunha maintains a steady pace throughout , does a good job of creating a pretty eerie atmosphere , and stages the shock scenes with a reasonable amount of aplomb . Cunha's sharp black and white cinematography , the pleasingly trim 77 minute running time and Albert Glasser's roaring full-tilt orchestral score are all on the money solid . Nice supporting performances by Bob Steele as stern , no-nonsense Sheriff Parker , Gary Crutcher as nice guy Charlie Brown , Jolene Brand as Charlie's sweet gal pal Ann , and Billy Dix as crazy doomsayer Indian Joe . The legendary Jack ( " Frankenstein " ) Pierce did the crusty make-up for Vargas . An enjoyable romp . |
518,987 | 8,239,592 | 74,975 | 8 | An excellent 70's drive-in biker flick | A rowdy and scruffy , but basically decent and likable biker gang stop off in a small Southern town . They are immediately antagonized and put in jail by the browbeating local yokel cops . A brutish deputy rapes a teenage girl and blames it on the bikers . This in turn begets a chain of harsh and vicious violence with grievous consequences for the cops and bikers alike . Directed , written , edited and photographed in an effectively blunt'n'basic no-frills scrappy fashion by William Dear and Thomas Dyke , this extremely raw and compelling low-budget vintage 70's exploitation nugget packs a very strong and lingering wallop . Michael Nesmith's groovy-rockin ' score , the rough , grainy , unpolished cinematography , the appealingly naturalistic acting from a game no-name cast ( the real life motorcycle club the Scorpions from Detroit portray the biker gang ) , several nifty folkie songs on the soundtrack , the fabulously profane dialogue , a few nice 70's period touches ( for example , there's a dart board with Richard Nixon's face on it on a wall in a bar ) , and a potent and provocative subtext about uptight middle America's gross inability to tolerate anyone who boldly defies the repressive toe-the-line straight-arrow conventional conformist norm all combine to give this picture a wonderfully ragged and cynical edge . The outbursts of violence are properly ugly and shocking , with high quality splashy squib work and strikingly stylized use of strenuous slow motion ala Sam Peckinpah . The climactic graveyard shoot-out rates as a definite exciting highlight . The astonishingly bleak and downbeat ending concludes the whole affair on a truly haunting and resonant note . |
518,545 | 8,239,592 | 71,565 | 8 | A wonderfully wild'n'wacky beastbash | Evil apelike alien invaders unleash a titanic lethal robot Godzilla so they can destroy Japan . It's up to the Big G and fellow behemoth beast King Caesar to stop the towering automaton . Director / co-writer Jun Fukuda offers a ridiculously convoluted plot that speeds along at a nonstop snappy pace . The jumbled script serves as a cheerfully sloppy and nonsensical potpourri of bits and pieces from a diverse array of sources : the pernicious extraterrestrial primates are directly cribbed from " Planet of the Apes , " with a dab of " The Mysterians " - style megalomania and " Kung Fu " - inspired chopsocky tossed in for good measure ; one of the human heroes is an ultra smooth James Bondesque Interpol agent , and the climactic confrontation between MechaGodzilla and Godzilla uproariously parodies Sergio Leone's marvelously drawn-out gunfighter duels in his spaghetti Westerns . The fabulous mondo destructo city stomp sequences and vigorously rough'n'tumble monster fight scenes are both the authentic gnarly article . Moreover , we even get a fair amount of grisly gore ( the enormous creatures bleed what looks like detergent whenever they're cut ) . Plus , you just gotta love the laughably dog-like King Caesar ; his huge floppy ears alone are simply adorable . Masaru Sato's swingin ' funky'n'jazzy score , the cruddy ( less than ) special effects , and Yuzura Aizawa's slick , agile cinematography add immensely to the infectiously delirious fun . An absolute hoot . |
518,178 | 8,239,592 | 109,895 | 8 | A shamefully unsung camp crap classic | The lovely , yet lethal Alexandra ( stunning statuesque blonde beauty Stacie Randall , who looks absolutely smashing in a tight black leather outfit ) must find a magic amulet so her evil demonic master Faust can cross over into our dimension . It's up to fearless , rugged cop Jonathan Graves ( likable Peter Liapis ) to stop her . Meanwhile , two pitifully unfunny " comic relief " dwarf gnome creatures run amok in Los Angeles . Seasoned veteran schlock exploitation expert Jim Wynorski relates the supremely inane story at a brisk pace and takes none of this foolishness remotely seriously . The cast struggle gamely with the silly material : the adorable Barbara Alyn Woods as sassy , fetching police captain Kate , Raquel Krelle as tart , sexy hooker Jeanine , Bobby Di Cicco as Graves ' bumbling , excitable partner Scotty , Peggy Trentini as alluring museum curator Monica , and Ace Mask as the jolly Dr . Rochelle . Mark Stevi's puerile cookie cutter script , an amusingly lowbrow sense of no-brainer humor , Chuck Cirino's bouncy cornball score , the two dwarf guys sporting obvious cheap rubber Halloween masks , J . E . Bash's plain cinematography , no tension or gratuitous female nudity to speak of , and the tacky ( less than ) special effects all further enhance the overall delicious cheesiness of this prime slice of celluloid Velveeta . An entertainingly brainless piece of lovably lousy dreck . |
518,831 | 8,239,592 | 51,665 | 8 | A fun 50's rock'n'roll romp | Legendary 50's rock disc jockey Alan Freed's last and best movie with Freed not only starring ( he gives perhaps his most comfortable and engaging performance here ) , but also producing as well . Freed plays wise , kindly , worldly mentor to an eager beaver orphan ( and failed choirboy ! ) who needs Freed's endorsement to make it as a big-time rock star . Granted , the trite rags-to-riches central story ain't much ; ditto the nondescript direction , drab , static cinematography , flat TV movieish production values , and very basic editing . However , one doesn't evaluate this type of golden age of rock feature on either its technical finesse or narrative expertise ; it's simply how smokin ' the music is that's the chief concern . Fortunately , said music really cooks . Chuck Berry exudes his customary suave confidence belting out the stone cold aces classics " Johnny Be Goode " and " Memphis , Tennesse . " Adorable Jo-Ann Campbell happily chirps the saucy " Mama Can I Go Out . " The Flamingoes bring down the house with the raucous party platter " Jump , Children . " Harvey pleasantly croons the catchy , charming " Don't Be Afraid of Love . " The Cadillacs goof it up something silly on the funny Coasters-style novelty numbers " Jay Walker " and " Please Mr . Johnson . " Rockabilly giant Eddie Cochran does a killer rendition of the stupendously boss " You Better Know It . " Richie Valens moans outrageously through the socking " Ooh My Head . " Lead actor / singer Jimmy Clanton , an affably boyish Louisiana-born lad with a strong bluesy rasp of a voice , commendably holds his own amid this fantastic wealth of remarkable musical talent : the snazzy " Ship On a Stormy Sea , " the dreamy " Don't You Know , " the lovely " Angel Face , " and the pretty , swoony ballad " Once Again " are all first-rate tunes . And the flick's disarmingly effervescent evocation of the nifty 50's rock milieu definitely hits the sweetly nostalgic spot : the kids are decent and clean-cut , the adults tolerant and understanding , the songs all possess cheery , upbeat messages , there's nary a trace of irony or cynicism to be found throughout , and even notoriously jerky skinflint Chuck Berry almost succeeds in coming across like a nice guy ( ! ) . |
518,956 | 8,239,592 | 71,569 | 8 | A very charming and enjoyable fantasy adventure romp | Brave sailor Sinbad ( an engaging performance by John Phillip Law ) goes to the island of Lemuria in search of the mystical Fountain of Destiny . Assisting Sinbad on his perilous journey are the badly scarred Grand Vizier ( solid Douglas Wilmer ) of Marabia , ravishing slave girl Margiana ( a positively enchanting turn by the gorgeous Caroline Munro , who looks smoking hot in skimpy outfits ) , loyal crew member Omar ( the always excellent Aldo Sambrell ) , and a helpful oracle ( an unrecognizable Robert Shaw under extensive make-up ) . Out to thwart Sinbad is wicked and powerful black wizard Prince Koura ( superbly played by Tom Baker of " Dr . Who " fame ) , a surprisingly complex and strangely sympathetic villain who needs to find the Fountain of Destiny to regain his youth . Director Gordon Hessler , working from a witty script by Brian Clemens ( who also gave us the terrific " Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter " ) , ably creates a charming magical atmosphere and maintains a steady , if occasionally rather sluggish pace throughout . Ray Harryhausen's wonderfully lifelike and expressive stop-motion animation creatures include a tiny winged flying homunculus who spies for Koura , a ship's wooden siren masthead which comes dangerously alive , a sword-wielding six-armed Kali statue , a ferocious gigantic cyclopean centaur , and a golden griffin who fights the centaur in an especially exciting set piece . Ted Moore's rich , vibrant cinematography , Miklos Rozsa's lush , rousing , spirited score and a perfectly pitched sincere tone of awestruck wonder further enhance the overall superior quality of this immensely enjoyable fantasy adventure delight . |
518,695 | 8,239,592 | 430,239 | 8 | A solid and enjoyable horror monster flick | An ancient lethal and powerful humanoid creature ( Matt Jordan in a gnarly monster suit ) of local Native American legend gets freed from its mountainside cave prison and goes on a bloody rampage in the woods . It stalks and torments troubled forest ranger Danielle St . Claire ( a strong and sympathetic performance by the lovely Cerina Vincent of " Cabin Fever " ) , whose grief and guilt over the recent untimely death of her best gal pal Julie Cassidy ( a winningly perky turn by Miranda Frigon ) attracts the evil beast's sadistic attention . Director Steven R . Monroe maintains a steady pace throughout , effectively creates a spooky and gloomy atmosphere , and piles on the nasty gore during the brutal kill scenes . Better still , there's a thoughtful aspect to the script by Richard Christian Matheson , Thomas E . Szoilosa and Stephen J . Cannell which adds a welcome and refreshing element of poignancy to the story . Vincent effortlessly carries the picture with her excellent and affecting portrayal of the touchingly tragic heroine ; she receives fine support from Dominic Zamprogna as her concerned , likable boyfriend Justin Rawley , Greg Kean as friendly fellow ranger Rick Bailey , and Eric Schweig as wise college professor Joseph Riverwind . The engaging main characters , Jon Joffin's polished cinematography , a nice soundtrack of pleasant pop-rock songs , the breathtaking sylvan scenery , and Corey A . Jackson's eerie , rousing , flavorsome score all further enhance the overall sound quality of this nifty little shocker . |
518,680 | 8,239,592 | 86,873 | 8 | An excellent and enjoyable comic vehicle for both Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin | The spirit of uptight dying rich spinster Edwina Cutwaters ( superbly played by Lily Tomlin ) gets accidentally transferred into the body of swinging bachelor lawyer Roger Cobb ( Steve Martin in fine and inspired form ) . The two radically opposite personalities are forced to share the same body until they can get wacky swami Prahka Lasa ( a delightfully kooky Richard Libertini ) to put Edwina's soul into the body of shameless and conniving slut Terry Hoskins ( a deliciously naughty portrayal by the lovely Victoria Tennant ) . Director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson devise an ideal showcase for the major comic talents of both Martin and Tomlin : The original wild and crazy Steve performs plenty of frantic physical humor with amazing skill and agility while Tomlin brings a genuinely moving pathos to the initially unappealing character of the sad and repressed Edwina . Better still , there's a good deal of genuine heart and warmth amid all the zany slapstick , with the two main characters becoming more endearing and sympathetic as the story unfolds . Roger Cobb in particular is a likable eccentric who talks to his beloved dog and aspires to be a jazz musician . Martin and Tomlin do sterling work in the lead roles ; they receive sound support from Tennant , Libertini , Jason Bernard as Roger's loyal , laid-back blind saxophone player pal Tyrone Wattell , Dana Elcar as amorous law firm head Burton Schuyler , Michael Ensign as prissy lawyer Mr . Mifflin , Madolyn Smith as Roger's fiery fiancé Peggy , Eric Christmas as Terry's cranky stableman dad Fred , and Selma Diamond as Roger's sunny secretary Margo . It's a real treat watching Martin and Tomlin bounce off each other ; sidesplitting highlights include Roger getting Edwina to help him go to the bathroom ( priceless line : " How dare you say penis to a dead person " ) , Edwina spoiling Roger's attempt at making love to Terry , and the wonderfully exuberant final scene . A total hoot . |
518,322 | 8,239,592 | 82,516 | 8 | A hugely enjoyable heist action film | The best , most successful and entertaining heist movies are the ones that roll up their sleeves , spit on their hands , and promptly get down to thrilling brass tacks with topmost immediate urgency and a refreshing lack of momentum-killing pretense . This crackerjack number sure does the above cited correct thing in a neatly taut , streamlined and economical manner thanks to Stuart Rafill's proficient direction and a laudably terse , padding-free script . Four desperate , engagingly scruffy and nervous unemployed blue collar schmoes - - rugged macho man James Brolin , agreeable go-along-to-get-along nice guy Bruce Davison , funky black smartaleck Cleavon Little and excitable worrywart Chick Vennera - - go to South America to rob a sexy $5 million from casually ruthless drug lord James Coburn ( who's fine in a juicy villain role which allows him to radiate calmly malevolent menace from every laid-back evil pore ) . Of course , the caper doesn't go off without any foul-ups occurring : Little and Vennera are nabbed by Coburn's flunkies while Brolin and Davison run afoul of a comically inept bandito gang led by the ever-hammy Anthony Quinn . Okay , so the basic premise isn't terribly original . Fortunately , the swiftly efficient execution , lots of spot-on sassy humor , perils aplenty , and the uniformly sound acting fully compensate for the admittedly trite story . The vastly underrated Brolin once again proves he's got the essential rough'n'tumble stuff to cut it as a sturdy action lead , Davison , Little and Vennera lend expert support as Brolin's plausibly reluctant and out-of-their-element pals , erstwhile Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner further compliments the already pretty jungle scenery as the token feisty extraneous babe , and Ernest Borgnine contributes a funny cameo as a bluff illegal arms dealer . Trim , rousing and well worth checking out . |
518,110 | 8,239,592 | 64,177 | 8 | An excellent and intelligent thinking man's science fiction thriller | Brilliant electronics genius Dr . Charles Forbin ( a strong and charismatic performance by Eric Braeden ) creates Colossus , a powerful and super-intelligent computer that's devised to regulate America's defense systems . Colossus instead gets in touch with its equally potent Russian counterpart Guardian . The two computers plot to take over the world . It's up to Forbin and his crack team of scientists to concoct a way of stopping Colossus before it's too late . Joseph Sargent's able direction , working from a smart and provocative script by James Bridges , not only wrings plenty of tension from the arresting premise , but also relates said story in a taut , involving and above all convincing manner . The superb acting from a top-drawer cast constitutes as another substantial plus : Susan Clark as Forbin's loyal assistant , Gordon Pinsent as the amiable president of the United States , William Schallert as a CIA director , Dolph Sweet as an army colonel , and George Stanford Brown , Robert Cornthwaite and James Hong as computer experts . The late , great Paul Frees supplies the creepy , droning , tinny voice of Colossus . Gene Polito's sharp , agile cinematography , Michel Colombier's rousing , rattling score , Albert Whitlock's terrific special effects , and a chillingly downbeat ending are all up to speed as well . Back in the early 70's this film was quite ahead of its time . Today it remains a still timely , pertinent and even frightfully plausible cautionary tale about the perils of artificial intelligence run amok . |
519,108 | 8,239,592 | 71,589 | 8 | Marjoe Gortner excels in this hugely enjoyable made-for-TV Western | Former real life child evangelist Marjoe Gortner gives a solid and engaging performance as Ernie Parsons , a shrewd gunslinger who's forced to assume the identity of a dead minister in order to elude being captured by an angry posse . Parsons winds up in a dusty little hamlet where the cowed townspeople are under the cruel reign of evil powerful despot Mr . Ross ( a wonderfully wicked David Huddleston ) . Director Daniel Petrie , working from a clever and witty script by William Bowers , keeps the offbeat narrative lively and engrossing throughout . Richard C . Glouner's handsome , agile photography , George Aliceson Tipton's rousing , flavorsome score and several exciting gunfights are all likewise up to par . The bang-up cast constitutes as another major plus : Estelle Parsons as a feisty widow , Pamela Sue Martin as Parson's sweet pretty young thing daughter , Slim Pickens as a rascally old coot , Geoffrey Lewis as a formidable rival gunfighter , Jon Lormer as the local undertaker , and Jeff Corey as the ornery posse leader are all uniformly excellent . A really fun and satisfying little made-for-TV sagebrush flick . |
519,124 | 8,239,592 | 55,505 | 8 | An excellent Hammer thriller | Sweet , fragile , but resilient wheelchair-bound cripple Penny Appleby ( a beautifully warm and touching performance by the lovely Susan Strasberg ) goes to France to see her father at a remote seaside villa . Alas , her dad turns out to be away on an errand . Penny starts to see the corpse of her father all over the place . However , her kindly stepmother Jane ( well played by Ann Todd ) insists that he's still alive . Has Penny lost her mind ? Or is someone trying to drive the poor girl mad ? Ably directed by Seth Holt , with a clever and compelling script by Jimmy Sangster , a genuinely spooky atmosphere ( the scenes with the father's dead body are pretty creepy ) , handsome black and white cinematography by Douglas Slocombe , sturdy acting from a super cast , a properly shivery score by Clifton Parker , a gradual , yet steady pace , and one doozy of an unexpected surprise plot twist towards the very end , this tidy and absorbing thriller keeps the viewer guessing right to the stirring and startling conclusion . Strasberg simply shines in a rare substantial starring role ; she makes for a charming and sympathetic heroine , cuts loose with a few great full-throated screams , and , of course , looks absolutely gorgeous throughout . Moreover , there are fine supporting contributions by Ronald Lewis as affable chauffeur Bob and Christopher Lee as mysterious , concerned physician Dr . Pierre Gerrard . A solid and satisfying winner that's well worth seeing . |
519,101 | 8,239,592 | 71,593 | 8 | An unusual and engrossing made-for-TV Western | Rugged Steve Forrest gives a properly steely and stalwart performance as James Devlin , a tough , cynical gunfighter who after miraculously surviving a hanging decides to dedicate his life to doing good instead of bad . Devlin comes to the aid of Carrie Gault ( the engagingly spunky Sharon Acker ) , a feisty widow who's being pushed around by evil land baron Lew Halleck ( a smoothly hateful Cameron Mitchell ) . Director Michael Caffey makes the most out of Ken Trevey's interesting script ; he coaxes fine acting from a solid cast , maintains a snappy pace and compellingly mysterious mood throughout , and stages the thrilling shoot outs with a reasonable amount of flair and skill ( the final confrontation between Devlin and Halleck is especially tense and exciting ) . Keith C . Smith's polished cinematography gives the movie a plausibly dusty , gritty look while Richard Markowitz's spare , spooky , stirring score likewise hits the spot . Popping up in nice supporting roles are Dean Jagger as a kindly lawyer , Will Geer as a nutty , rascally old ranch hand , Rafael Campos as a naive young priest , and Hank Worden as a chatty , friendly old geezer . An offbeat and intriguing allegory on fate and redemption , " The Hanged Man " is well worth checking out . |
518,990 | 8,239,592 | 90,169 | 8 | An enjoyably silly car chase action romp | Few studios could rival Cannon back in the 80's when it came to cranking out slickly mounted give the audience what they've paid to see action / adventure potboilers . Sure , their films were usually pretty empty-headed and utterly lacking in originality , but they delivered the goods just the same in an admirably precise and economical manner . " Thunder Run " is a solid example of Cannon's winning formula : it's simple , basic and to the point . Forrest Tucker in his final film role affably portrays Charlie Morrison , a crusty crackerjack gear-gammer and Korean war veteran who's hired by crafty government agent John Ireland to haul a load of plutonium freight across a long , lonely stretch of Nevada desert backroads . Naturally , there's one immense hitch : a lethal band of nuclear terrorists led by a sensationally slimy Alan Rachins want to steal the plutonium , so Morrison , assisted by his loving grandson Chris ( likable John Shepherd ) , stacks the odds more in his favor by building himself an almighty , heavily armored , tank-like 65-foot 18-wheeler supertruck called " Big Thunder . " Gary Hudson's vigorous direction ensures that this tightly efficient B-picture chase thriller storms along in a pleasingly straightforward and single-minded manner akin to Morrison's truck : we've got a ceaseless rapid-fire pace , gritty , here's-dirt-in-your-eye ground level camera-work by Harvey Genkins , amusingly dopey adolescent sex hi-jinks ( a klutzy stringbean electronics whiz kid dweeb does just what you think with a gorgeously slinky blonde babe ) , an incessantly pounding score by Jay Levy , frequent bright yellow explosions , a terrifically trashy hard rock soundtrack , engaging characters ( Jill Whitlow of " Night of the Creeps " fame is especially endearing as Chris ' sweet girlfriend ) , a few lovably cheesy gimmicks ( would you believe outrageously garish , camouflage-painted Volkswagons equipped with rocker launchers ? ) , and , most importantly , more wild , careening , knock-you-out-of-your-seat frantic and exciting piston-pumping car chase action than you can shake a tire iron at . Okay , as far as creativity is concerned this puppy's admittedly low on gas , but it still rattles along with a certain rousing streamlined momentum nonetheless . |
518,882 | 8,239,592 | 90,149 | 8 | Beware of the killer mutant Nutriaman ! | One of the all-time worst and thus most oddly enjoyable " cheap rubber suit monster on the loose " nickel'n'dime low-budget fright flicks to crawl out of the bayou and slither its moronic way onto celluloid . The trite , more prosaic than a Sunday picnic story deals with your standard bunch of enthusiastic , but unethical scientists who inject a nutria - - a too cute to easily stomach kind of swamp vermin that's basically a cuddly rat - - with human hormones , which naturally results in a murderous mutant man-rat beastie ( actually , it's just some luckless chowderhead chump in a very obvious and shabby fur-covered creature costume ) with a decided lack of hospitality towards homo sapiens . The hideous bloodthirsty thingofabobbit goes on a nasty killing spree , bloodlessly butchering assorted no-account moonshiners , beer-swilling hillbilly hunters , and meddlesome government folk around Poacher's Cove in Houma , Louisiana like it was open season on stupid people . Pretty soon a bunch of perpetually plastered redneck sportsmen and a crack team of three Vietnam vets who always wear black sunglasses and sullen scowls on their camouflage painted faces go venturing into the murky , pungent backwoods with guns cocked and tempers flaring , eager to bag themselves a misshapen humanoid fiend . Sound good , pardner ? Well , good it sure ain't , although Joe Catalanatto's all-thumbs direction , the wooden acting by a no-name cast ( Who the heck is Billy Holliday ? ) , the connect-the-dots dead simple plot , a uniformly annoying array of one-note cardboard characters ( Claudia Woods is especially irritating as nutty ol ' swamp hag Sally ) , several choice idiotic moments ( e . g . , two trigger-happy hicks accidentally blast the living tar out of a hapless hunter they mistake for the monster ! ) , and the general air of all-out inanity and ineptitude make this unmitigated stinker of a picture modestly appealing and entertaining no-brainer good ol ' boy creature feature fun just the same . |
518,606 | 8,239,592 | 67,206 | 8 | An enjoyably inane piece of 70's drive-in fluff | This enjoyably goofy'n'duffy piece of 70's drive-in fluff centers on a six woman outlaw gang who prey on hapless backwoods motorists . The gals are owned and trained by the amiable , scruffy , pleasantly mellow Manson-like Benson ( shaggy hairball Norman Klar ) , a charismatically breezy anti-establishment type who wants to raise enough money to purchase a bus so he and his female family can go to California . Naive , pregnant teen runaway Maggie ( the lovely , busty , lusty blonde fox Misty Rowe , who was a regular on " Hee Haw " and played Marilyn Monroe in Larry Buchanan's tawdry biopic " Goodbye Norma Jean " ) joins the loose , fun-loving , law-breaking bunch and winds up fighting with possessive , rabidly envious and clinging iceberg bitch Diana ( statuesque brunette Linda Avery ) over who's got exclusive dibs on Benson . That's about it for the admittedly flimsy story and frankly who cares about some fancy-schmancy plot ? In its place there's sunny cinematography , lots of roadside robberies , a generous sprinkling of gratuitous nudity , sexy chicks in skimpy apparel ( Rowe in particular looks mighty enticing in a skimpy mini-dress ) , the inevitable skinny-dipping scene , a rowdy pot party , catchy folk-country songs grooving away on the soundtrack , some trashy melodrama ( Maggie gets raped by a sleazy jerk and has a miscarriage ) , charmingly dated hippie slang ( " Far out ! " ) , a couple of catfights , a playfully amoral tone , and absolutely no pretense to get in the way of the giddy tongue-in-cheek silliness . Sure , it's dumb , pointless and meandering , which basically means that it's a sweetly stupid grindhouse relic from the halcyon heyday of exploitation cinema and hence a most entertaining source of undemanding no-brainer fun . |
519,292 | 8,239,592 | 373,900 | 8 | Absorbingly sordid trash | 1978 , Los Angeles . Lovely and charming psychiatrist Dr . Samantha Stone ( well played by the gorgeous Brittany Daniel ) interviews nervous and scared suspected serial killer Kenneth Bianchi ( a strong and compelling performance by Clifton Collins , Jr . ) in order to determine if he's sane or crazy . Director / co-writer Chris Farber relates this engrossing story in a deliciously flashy'n'trashy style which creates a considerable amount of raw energy and crackling intensity . Farber's unapologetically seamy and nasty rub-your-nose-in-the-gutter sensibility may not be subtle , but it does give the picture a lurid vitality that's both exciting and arresting in equal measure . Moreover , there's a vivid and credible evocation of the wild anything-goes hedonism and amorality of the 70's . For example , Samantha is the total opposite of a squeaky clean goody-goody two shoes heroine ; instead she's a completely uninhibited swinger who smokes pot and participates in crazy drug'n'sex orgies . Daniel and Collins , Jr . are both excellent in the leads , with Collins , Jr . in particular a stand-out with his frightening portrayal of raging psychosis and seething misogyny . The supporting cast is likewise solid and praiseworthy : Lake Bell as Samantha's brassy District Attorney best friend Jillian Dunne , Bret Roberts as Samantha's scuzzy dope dealer boyfriend Jack , Tom Wright as the hard-nosed Detective Bryant , and Mike Haggerty as Bryant's equally gruff partner Detective Smith . Tomas Arana makes a brief , but still memorably chilling appearance as the coarse and slimy Angelo Buono . Eliot Rockett's gaudy , dynamic cinematography keeps the camera constantly moving throughout while Ryan Beveridge's moody score further enhances the overall edgy tone . As a nice added bonus , the luscious Daniel bares her beautiful body a few times . A pleasingly tawdry wallow in the celluloid sewer . |
518,968 | 8,239,592 | 82,509 | 8 | A real funky blast from the 80's past | Made right before the buzz-crushing ultra-conservative religious right backlash against the gloriously loose'n'libertine permissiveness of the 70's took hold , this wonderfully wild'n'raucous animated sci-fi / horror / fantasy anthology film gleefully wallows in excessive graphic violence , crass leering objectification of the amply proportioned female form ( buxom ladies only , please ) , and a wickedly funny line in cheery low-brow humor . This movie sure ain't politically correct - - and that's exactly why it's such a hugely enjoyable blast from the funky early 80's past . An evil glowing orb called the Loknar ( the supremely sinister and velvet smooth voice of Percy Rodriguez ) spreads its malign influence throughout the decades and galaxies . First tale , " Harry Canyon " - Cynical cabbie Harry ( marvelously voiced to weary perfection by veteran character actor Richard Romanus of " Mean Streets " ) gets involved with a sexy young lass in a bleak and rundown futuristic New York . Second yarn , " Den " - A nerdy teenager ( affably voiced by the late , great John Candy ) winds up on another planet where he's transformed into a bald and brawny behemoth . Third romp , " Captain Sternn " - Sleazy scoundrel Captain Sternn stands on trail for his many heinous indiscretions . John Vernon scores strongly as the angry voice of the prosecuting attorney . Fourth opus , " B-17 " - A very creepy and gruesome World War II zombie outing . Fifth vignette , " So Beautiful and So Dangerous " - A couple of wacky aliens and their goofy robot buddy abduct a sassy hot Jewish chick . Harold Ramis and Eugene Levy are hilarious as the Cheech and Chong-style stoner pilots of a giant smiley face spaceship . Candy once again is a delight as the voice of the charming and amorous robot . Sixth outing , " Taarna " - A lethal and lovely mute warrior woman mixes it up with a vicious horde of nasty marauders . Boy , does this picture rate highly as the ideal guy flick : we've got a fantastic roaring rock soundtrack ( Cheap Trick , Black Sabbath , Devo , Grand Funk Railroad , Nazareth , Blue Oyster Cult , Journey , Stevie Nicks and much more ) , plenty of sidesplitting sophomoric humor , stunningly voluptuous and often naked women , a handy helping of gore , a nice smattering of soft-core sex , a blithely breezy'n'carefree tone , and no pretense whatsoever to get in the way of the infectiously trashy fun . The strikingly stylized and varied animation is suitably vivid and garish throughout . Elmer Bernstein's lush majestic orchestral score likewise hits the spot . A real cool treat that's wholly deserving of its cult status . |
518,706 | 8,239,592 | 71,611 | 8 | A nifty little 70's made-for-TV " danger on the road " suspense thriller | While driving across lonely , misty , rain-streaked California backroads en route to Santa Barbara to visit her sister , nice middle-aged lady Clair ( Cloris Leachman ) decides to give handsome young hitchhiker Miles ( Michael Brandon ) a lift to San Francisco . Unbeknownst to Clair , Miles is really a volatile and dangerously unpredictable psychopath who's eager to get out of town as fast as possible because he just murdered his shamelessly flirtatious harlot stepmother ( a memorably smoldering cameo by enticing brunette hottie Sherry Jackson of " Bare Knuckles " and " The Mini-Skirt Mob " ) . Meanwhile , gruff homicide detective Henry Darrow gives dogged chase . Tautly directed by Gordon ( " Scream and Scream Again " ) Hessler , with a jittery score by Gil ( " A Cold Night's Death " ) Melle , a pleasingly terse and to the point sense of streamlined narrative economy , and an especially harrowing conclusion , this gripping and suspenseful made-for-TV " danger on the road " thriller does the trick with spot-on satisfying brevity and effectiveness . Moreover , the performances are uniformly sound : Brandon delivers a genuinely chilling and convincing portrayal of the frighteningly unstable Miles , Leachman is excellent as usual ( and at the time was acting in a slew of TV movies in both lead and secondary roles ) , and the ubiquitous Cameron Mitchell pops up as a helpful police captain . Tight , tense and absorbing , " Hitchhike ! " is well worth picking up . |
517,922 | 8,239,592 | 51,226 | 8 | An enjoyable 50's zombie horror picture | A zombie captain and crew guard the treasure of a sunken ship . A motley assortment of scavengers risk their lives to retrieve the fortune in diamonds hidden inside the vessel . Competently directed by Edward L . Cahn , this endearingly hokey low-budget horror flick moves along at a reasonable clip and offers a fair amount of creepy atmosphere . The underwater scenes are especially tense and gripping . The excellent cast of familiar 50's B-movie faces adds greatly to the silly fun : Gregg Palmer as hunky , stalwart diver Jeff Clark , Allison Hayes as the snippy Mona Harrison , Morris Ankrum as the sage , friendly Dr . Jonathan Eggert , Autumn Russell as the sweet Jan Peters , Joel Ashley as the gruff George Harrison , Marjorie Eaton as the wise Grandmother Peters , and Gene Roth as Sam the chauffeur . Benjamin H . Kline's dark , moody cinematography and Mischa Bakaleinikoff's shuddery'n'spooky score are both solid and effective . An entertaining fright feature . |
518,133 | 8,239,592 | 90,564 | 8 | A very cool and enjoyable 80's teen gang romp | Class of 1984 meets " High Noon " and subsequently gets transposed to the blighted , crime-ridden East Los Angeles ghetto area in this really solid and effective teen gang opus . A vicious street gang called the Cobras holds a reign of terror over Lincoln High School . Stand-up , no-nonsense tough guy Jeff Hanna ( a commanding and believable performance by " My Bodyguard " ' s hulking Adam Baldwin ) quits the Cobras and decides he wants to live a normal , peaceful life . Alas , Jeff incurs the formidable wrath of savage , vengeful Cobra leader Cinco ( a perfectly vile Danny De La Paz ) when he refuses to take a dive for Cinco during a surprise police drug bust . So Cinco vows that he's gonna clean Jeff's clock but good come 3 : 15 after school , clinching the odds that Jeff will definitely show up for this lethal rumble by beating up Jeff's sweet newfound girlfriend Sherry ( an endearing turn by the lovely , cuddly Deborah Foreman ) . Granted , the plot provided by Sam Bernard and Michael Jacobs ' blunt , no-frills , just cover all the necessary bases and nothing more script doesn't offer any fresh insights or novel twists on a timeworn Western-style big showdown premise . However , Larry Gross ' precise , straightforward direction , Gary Chang's neatly percolating score , Misha Suslov's slick , smoothly gliding cinematography , a refreshing lack of pretense , and a thrilling finale with Jeff opening up a king-sized dose of raw , bloody hurting on the Cobras more than compensates for the dearth of originality . Plus , the supporting cast is totally up to snuff : " Benson " ' s Rene Auberjonois as the school's manipulative Machiavellian principal , Ed Lauter as a cynical , world-weary cop , Wings Hauser as Sherry's overprotective jerk dad , Mario Van Peebles as a black gang leader , 80's horny teen regular Scott McGinnis in one of his standard smart-mouthed wiseguy roles , Joseph Brutsman as Jeff's loyal nerdy pal Marvin , and future " Showgirls " hottie Gina Gershon as a snarly Cobra gang moll . All in all , this flick's certainly punchy and violent enough to make the grade as a satisfying item . |
519,341 | 8,239,592 | 90,567 | 8 | A terrifically tough and sleazy thriller | Successful self-made married businessman Harry Mitchell ( a superbly steely performance by Roy Scheider ) has an adulteress fling with sweet'n'sexy young stripper Cini ( the gorgeous Kelly Preston ) . Harry's blackmailed by a trio of scummy low-life hoods - - sleazy porno theater manager Raimy ( a splendidly slimy John Glover ) , antsy strip joint owner Leo ( well played by Robert Trebor ) and crazed pimp Bobby Shy ( a frightfully intense Clarence Williams III ) - - who have videotaped his affair with Cini . When Harry refuses to pay up , the hoods kill Cini and make it look like Harry did it . This in turn ignites a dangerous battle of wit and wills between Harry and the hoods . Director John Frankenheimer , adopting a tough script based on Elmore Leonard's gritty crime thriller novel , expertly maintains a steady snappy pace , delivers plenty of gripping tension , and effectively creates a compellingly seedy'n'sordid atmosphere . The leads are all uniformly excellent , with stand-out supporting turns by Ann-Margret as Harry's bitter neglected wife Barbara , Vanity as brash jaded prostitute Doreen , and Lonny Chapman as Harry's loyal business partner Jim O'Boyle . The tight'n'twisty plot keeps viewers on their toes throughout . The wickedly profane dialogue , Jost Vacano's glossy cinematography , Gary Chang's stirring score , the harshly amoral tone and the rousing conclusion are all likewise on the money as well . As an added bonus , both Vanity and Preston take their clothes off . A very strong and satisfying little number that's well worth checking out . |
518,308 | 8,239,592 | 75,035 | 8 | An enjoyably tacky lump of Italian sci-fi / horror cheese | Your standard " Frankenstein " esque mad scientist messing around with ill-advised covert bacteriological war experiments premise gets clumsily crossed with a similarly hackneyed crazed killer on the loose story with a dash of that old reliable standby of the deadly plague which could wipe out thousands of folks if it isn't nipped in the bud right away in this energetically cheesy and entertainingly slapdash grab-bag Italian sci-fi / horror thriller . An accident at a top secret government lab turns a professor into a hideously malformed , murderously deranged and seemingly indestructible humanoid beast with scraggly hair , an ugly , bloated , pus-oozing , skin-peeling boil-like face , superhuman strength , a horrid wheezy moan of a voice , and a decidedly antisocial sanguinary disposition . Worse yet , Mr . Unsightly Dementoid Freakshow has a highly lethal and contagious degenerative disease which forces anyone infected with said ailment to bag other people for their precious blood . Naturally , the ghastly mutant goes on a grisly killing spree in Great Britain , attacking a libidinous teenage couple doing just what you think in the back of a car , a lovely young blonde lady in the middle of taking a shower , the audience in a movie theater watching an asinine comedy , a plastered out of his skull drunk , and , best of all , even a priest ( yes ! ) . It's up to two-fisted man of action David Warbeck ( who carries himself here with the same stolid austerity he brought to such Lucio Fulci flicks as " The Beyond " and " The Black Cat " ) and fetching femme doctor Janet ( " Eaten Alive , " " The Gates of Hell " ) Agren to stop the pitiably grotesque monster before things get disastrously out of hand . Sure , the basic plot is anything but original or inspired , but handy helpings of frequent violence , a grimly serious tone , Gionanni Bergamini's spirited direction , an unerringly fast and steady pace , and the wildly eventful narrative ensure that this baby remains a satisfyingly schlocky affair from start to finish just the same . |
519,057 | 8,239,592 | 71,237 | 8 | An enjoyable 70's redneck drive-in comedy / drama winner | Arkansas , 1933 . The Prohibition era . Serious Othar Pruitt ( a fine performance by Paul Koslo ) and his more easygoing buddy Dewey Crenshaw ( a wonderfully engaging portrayal by Dennis Fimple ) are a couple of moonshine runners who find themselves involved in a bitter and deadly territorial feud with the no-count rival Woodall clan who are lead by ruthless and vicious patriarch Rufus ( a neat'n'nasty turn by Seaman Glass ) . Director Charles B . Pierce and screenwriter Earl E . Smith ( who also has a sizable role as the gruff sheriff ) not only offer a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the desolate , yet still beautiful rural region , but also show a genuinely moving warmth and affection for both the place and the people that populate it . For example , the Pruitt family are depicted as basically decent and honest folks who are forced to make and sell bootleg whiskey out of complete financial necessity . Moreover , Pierce relates the engrossing plot at a leisurely , but still steady pace , tosses in a few amusing moments of good-natured humor , and stages the sporadic action scenes with reasonable aplomb ( the climactic showdown between the Pruitts and the Woodalls is especially tense and exciting ) . This film further benefits from bang-up acting by a uniformly tip-top cast : Koslo and Fimple make for likable leads , the always great Slim Pickens almost steals the whole show as folksy Grandpa Pruitt , and a pre - " Charlie's Angels " Jaclyn Smith is delightfully spunky as tough , feisty hick chick Sally Frannie Tatum . Tak Fujimoto's sumptuous cinematography uses slow motion to occasional striking effect and fills the screen with often breathtaking panoramic shots of the gorgeous sylvan area . Jaime Mendoza-Nava's spirited , harmonic score and the tuneful soundtrack of catchy hillbilly songs both score a bull's eye as well . A nice little movie . |
519,307 | 8,239,592 | 125,015 | 8 | A solid & satisfying Al Adamson blaxploitation crime / action outing | Late , great grind-house trash movie-maker Al Adamson takes a stab at the blaxploitation genre - - and , surprisingly , the net result rates a cut or so above the norm , meaning that what we got here is a genuinely solid 70's drive-in black action opus . Former gridiron great Timothy Brown ( whose other B-picture credits include " Bonnie's Kids , " " The Dynamite Brothers , " the Filipino women-in-prison potboiler " Sweet Sugar , " and the third Cheri Caffaro " Ginger " feature " Girls Are for Loving " ) ain't half bad as rough'n'tough streetwise Las Vegas cop Kicks Carter , who's determined to get the goods on a fancy hotel operation which serves as a front for all kinds of illicit and illegal activities ( gambling , bribery , gun-running , prostitution , y'know , the usual spit - in - the - face - of - both - the - law - and - morality kind of nasty stuff ) . The villains of this particular piece are an enjoyably vile pack of vicious down'n'dirty subhuman vermin : the ever-dependable Russ Tamblyn slimes it up delightfully as Ziggy , a brutish , loutish , obnoxious loan shark and nightclub manager ( check out the scene where Ziggy gleefully beats a guy up with a sledgehammer and then crushes the dude's legs by running them over with a car ! ) ; Darlene Anders oozes coolly understated menace as the motel's evil , predatory lesbian owner , and J . C . Wells shows substantial smooth , slimy , sinister style as Guido , a bald , flinty , very business-like gangster who specializes in selling ill-gotten firearms . On the fetching femme side we've got the supremely sexy'n'slinky Tanya Boyd of " Black Shampoo " and " Ilsa : Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks " fame as a feisty , snoopy TV reporter and love interest for Kicks . And then there's Al's always welcome space cadet wife Regina Carrol , looking unusually haggard and worn-out , but still acquitting herself passably as a melancholy lounge singer ( Carrol even belts out the unexpectedly lovely and heart-rending downbeat ballad " No More Mail Until Tomorrow " ) . Under Al's uncharacteristically proficient direction ( Adamson , by the way , can also be briefly glimpsed playing blackjack in a casino during a nifty montage sequence ) , " Black Heat " measures up as a perfectly agreeable and diverting little low-budget number : we've got typically sharp and crisp cinematography by the tireless Gary Graver , Paul Lewison cuts loose with a righteously grooving , get-down happening jazzy soul score , the gratuitous sex , profanity and violence level is suitably ample and explicit ( the movie hits its scuzzy highlight when a disgusting bunch of greasy , grinning slobs cheerfully gang rape luckless compulsive gambler Jana Bellan after she loses a poker game to them and doesn't have any money to cover her loss ) , the action set pieces are pretty smoking ( Carter and Ziggy's final no-holds-barred fisticuffs confrontation in a junkyard definitely hits the stirring spot ) , and both the hip , slang-ridden dialogue ( the word " dig " is said a lot ) and especially the gaudy , tacky , eye-wateringly ugly 70's clothes are every bit as laughably dated and ghastly as they ought to be . Granted , " Black Heat " sure ain't another " Shaft , " but overall it still qualifies as an above average cops-and-criminals crime / action programmer from our ever-reliable Grade Z schlock flick pal Al . Rest in peace , Mr . Adamson . |
519,325 | 8,239,592 | 135,204 | 8 | A very strong and disturbing 70's porno roughie gem | Short , blandly handsome Jason Carns , a seemingly ordinary and unassuming nice guy next door type gone horribly bug crazy wrong , gives a frightfully plausible performance as lowly security guard Eddie , who gets his twisted deviant carnal kicks by pretending to be a Los Angeles police officer who joyfully browbeats , manhandles and elicits unpaid sexual favors from street hookers while wearing a fuzzball uniform and driving around in a phony cop car . One day Carns witnesses a housewife ( bewitching brunette Linda Harris ) in the act of killing her no-account husband ; this in turn causes the already seriously nuts Carns to go further around the bend and succumb to depraved delusional fantasies in which he has his sadistic way with Harris . From its shocking opening sequence depicting Carns cruelly taking advantage of a frightened prostitute to the electrifying final face-off between Carns and Harris ( complete with jolting rape and an exciting last reel automobile chase ) , this harsh , aggressive , fiercely confrontational psycho sickie roughie porno from the late , great Lee Frost profoundly scares and unsettles , spewing forth 84 harrowing , brutality-ridden minutes that are jam-packed with plenty of nerve-jangling full-throttle dementia and perversity . Frost's blunt , no-nonsense direction , the eerie , ethereal score set to a pounding pseudo-disco beat ( said score also boasts a haunting recurrent whistled theme ) , the flat , unpolished cinematography which adroitly captures the plain , plodding rhythms of mundane everyday life , the authentically lurid L . A . locations , several jarring visualizations of Carns ' savage power trip fantasies , the mean , hard-hitting dialogue , the frequently quite startling all-out nasty rough sex tableaux , and the unusually strong and credible acting from a mostly no-name cast ( the sole familiar faces are skinflick starlets Rene Bond and Uschi Digard as massage parlor girls , plus longtime Frost collaborator Wes Bishop as a detective and legendary exploitation producer Bob Cresse as the massage parlor owner ) are all uniformly tops . Moreover , the film's hard , gritty , almost unbearably razor-sharp edge digs deep into the darkest , most base and disturbing wacko recesses of the human psyche . Hell , this unbeatable outing even possesses a commendably daring and provocative subtext : The flagrant abuse and mistreatment of power and authority , with especially revealing insights on role playing and how men use sex as a means to an end for totally controlling and dominating over women . |
518,265 | 8,239,592 | 71,282 | 8 | A genuine oddity | Peter Weir made his directorial debut with this truly bizarre and unique blackly humorous multi-genre pastiche that's a compellingly novel and singular blend of horror , Western and sci-fi conventions mixed together into a jarringly offbeat whole . A pleasant , mild-mannered American tourist ( a sweetly amiable performance by Terry Camilleri ) finds himself trapped in a remote backwoods Australian hamlet after he narrowly survives a car crash . The naive , gullible yank soon discovers that things are not exactly quite right and okay in the deceptively sleepy burg . For starters , that car crash wasn't an accident ; it was deliberately staged by the resourceful and enterprising townspeople who eke out a living by salvaging car parts from wrecked vehicles . Then there's a resident mad scientist who's fond of experimenting on car crash survivors , turning the hapless folks into mute lobotomized imbeciles called " veggies . " And the local drag-racing teenage hooligans are getting increasingly out of control , carousing about in their lethal , garishly made-up cars ( one sports spikes all along its body like a porcupine ! ) until the wee hours of the morning and making a real nuisance of themselves . The town's friendly , but ineffectual mayor ( winningly played by John Mellion ) offers Camilleri the plum job of parking superintendent in a desperate attempt to restore law and order . The quirky , imaginative script by Weir , Keith Gow and Piers David ingeniously uses the oddball premise as an ideal springboard for barbed social commentary on the perils of cross country traveling , the very modern dangers the automobile poses to quiet everyday life , how isolated communities cut off from the rest of civilization can easily degenerate into barbarism and lawlessness , the extreme measures impoverished people will resort to in order to get by in life , and even a wacky generation gap conflict pitting uptight , disciplined , morally rigid adults against rowdy , uninhibited nihilist youth . Weirs ' direction is precariously pitched between the grimly horrific and the darkly facetious , boldly maintaining an uneasy tone which keeps the viewer constantly off guard and gives the irregular proceedings a potently unsettling weirded-out edge . John McLean's grainy , luridly grungy cinematography allows the Australian outback to take on a scary , nightmarishly surreal aura while Bruce Smeaton's sometimes dissonant , more often strangely jaunty rock-tinged score adds substantially to the pervasively unnerving nuttiness . An authentically grotesque and intriguing one-of-a-kind curio . |
518,649 | 8,239,592 | 82,816 | 8 | A solid and seriously underrated sleeper | Loosely based on Vicki Lawrence's notoriously trashy country story song , this unexpectedly amiable and engrossing dramatic feature about ordinary small-time dreamers who aspire to greater things in life makes for a perfectly nice and affecting character-oriented slice-of-everyday-life affair , specifically centering on how going for the gold in life takes a lot of courage and determination . Dennis Quaid portrays his part with a winningly scruffy , roguish charm ; he's a reckless ne'er-do-well womanizing hellion striving to make it big in Nashville as a country singer . Kristy McNichol is likewise on the money , radiating her usual spunky appeal as Quaid's headstrong , ambitious and highly precocious 16-year-old sister who acts as Quaid's manager and does her best to keep her wayward brother in line . The duo's major league plans go astray when Quaid runs afoul of belligerent sticksville town sheriff Don Stroud . Quaid , Stroud and McNicol all give fine performances , but it's Mark Hamill who takes the acting honors with his shockingly good turn as the decent , sympathetic state trooper who befriends McNicol and falls in love with her . Director Ronald F . Maxwell shows a lovely , uplifting sure feel for these hugely endearing commonplace individuals , depicting their mundane lives and go-for-the-glory aspirations without the slightest whiff of cheap sentiment or condescension . Moreover , the country music score totally cooks , with both Quaid and McNicol contributing a few surprisingly up-to-par tunes ( yes , they both sing - - and extremely well , too ! ) . Granted , this flick ain't without its flaws : the meandering opening third starts off pretty shaky and the tragic ending is abrupt and dissatisfying . But overall this unjustly overlooked picture rates as a real sleeper . |
519,184 | 8,239,592 | 114,070 | 8 | A good deal of enjoyably cheesy low-budget direct-to-vid horror fun | Okay , stop me if you've heard this one before . Your usual bunch of scientists doing morally dubious and ill-advised experiments in a secret subterranean laboratory create a super-strong brain-eating mutant named Thor ( handsome , muscular Dan Blom , who's actually quite good ) who gets loose and goes on a destructive rampage . Fortunately , the always reliable Lance Henrikson as a bitter , cynical doctor who quit the project a few months ago arrives back on the scene to help save the day . Strangely enough , Henrikson brings along his estranged , rebellious smartaleck metalhead son ( a then unknown , pre-stardom Giovanni Ribisi , who's every bit as obnoxious as you think ) , lusty hottie daughter ( the luscious Natasha Wagner , looking mighty fine in skimpy shorts ) , and the daughter's libidinous tool of a boyfriend ( the supremely irritating Adam Solomon ) . Swell dad , eh ? I think you can basically fill in the blanks as to what happens next . All kidding aside , this nifty little low-budget direct-to-vid horror item manages to be a great deal of enjoyably cheesy fun . It's directed with considerable rip-snorting verve by Joe Gayton , with a spooky , rousing , rattling score by J . Peter Robinson , dark , claustrophobic cinematography by Fernando Arguelles , funky make-up f / x by Image Animation , a cool lethal humanoid creature that's both scary and pitiable , and a nonstop breakneck pace . The solid cast do their best with their stock roles : tall , leggy , statuesque brunette beauty Claire Standsfield tackles her Ripley-like two-fisted tough chick heroine part with tremendous lip-smacking gusto while ubiquitous character actor John Diehl jerks it up nicely as the overbearing team leader . Bonus points are in order for the freaky and startling unexpected monster nightmare sequence . Granted , we're not talking work of art here , but this snazzy B-horror flick does the trick just the same in a pleasingly brisk and efficient enough manner . |
518,786 | 8,239,592 | 71,268 | 8 | A nifty 70's made-for-TV flick | 1958 . The sleepy small Southern town of Clarksburg . Evil Sheriff Roy Childress ( the almighty Vic Morrow in peak nasty form ) cracks down super hard on speeders by forcing said offenders off a cliff to their untimely deaths on an especially dangerous stretch of road . Childress meets his match when cool young hot rod driver Michael McCord ( a splendidly smooth and brooding portrayal by Martin Sheen ) shows up in town in his souped-up automobile with the specific intention of avenging the death of his brother ( Sheen's real-life sibling Joe Estevez in a brief cameo ) . Director Richard T . Heffron , working from a taut and intriguing script by Richard Compton ( the same guy who directed the 70's drive-in movie gems " Welcome Home , Soldier Boys " and " Macon County Line " ) , relates the gripping story at a brisk pace , neatly creates a flavorsome 50's period setting , and ably milks plenty of suspense out the tense game of wit and wills between Childress and McCord . The uniformly fine cast helps a lot : Sheen radiates a brash James Deanesque rebellious vibe in the lead , Morrow makes the most out of his meaty bad guy part , plus there are excellent supporting performances by Michelle Phillips as sweet diner waitress Maggie , Stuart Margolin as a folksy deputy , Nick Nolte as amiable gas station attendant Buzz Stafford , Gary Morgan as Buzz's endearingly gawky younger brother Lyle , Janit Baldwin as sassy local tart Sissy , Britt Leach as stingy cab driver Johnny , and Frederic Downs as the stern Judge J . A . Hooker . The climactic vehicular confrontation between Childress and McCord is a real pulse-pounding white-knuckle thrilling doozy . Terry K . Meade's sharp cinematography , the well-drawn characters ( for example , Childress became obsessed with busting speeders after his wife and kid were killed in a fatal hit and run incident ) , the groovy , syncopated score by Luchi De Jesus , and the beautiful mountainside scenery all further enhance the overall sound quality of this superior made-for-TV winner . |
518,548 | 8,239,592 | 456,630 | 8 | A genuinely spooky and unnerving Japanese horror shocker | Aspiring young actress Nagisa Sugiura ( winningly played by the lovely Yuki ) gets a role in a movie about a terrible mass murder which happened at a remote hotel thirty-five years ago . Intense director Ikuo Matsumura ( an excellent performance by Kippei Shiina ) takes the cast and crew to the hotel to shoot the picture . Nagisa starts to see ghostly visions of the people who where killed in the massacre ( the little girl with the doll is particularly frightening and memorable ) . Director / co-writer Takashi Shimizu relates the absorbing story at a gradual , yet steady pace , offers a compelling behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of a picture , and does a masterful job of creating a spooky and unsettling atmosphere . Moreover , the grimly serious tone becomes increasingly dark and nightmarish as the plot unfolds , with an especially harrowing last third which culminates in a stunningly downbeat surprise ending . In addition , Shimizu deserves kudos for downplaying graphic gore and cheap jump scares in favor of mood and story ; this is one of those slow-burning horror movies that requires quite a bit of patience on the viewer's part , but comes through with a positively gripping and terrifying pull-out-all-the-stops white knuckle conclusion . Kenji Kawai's eerie , shivery score and Takahide Shibanushi's fluid , graceful cinematography further enhance the flesh-crawling creepiness of this supremely scary and effective Japanese horror winner . |
519,007 | 8,239,592 | 78,960 | 8 | A pleasingly sleazy 70's cheerleader romp | The 70's cheerleader teen sexploitation sub-genre receives an appropriately sleazy send-off with this satisfyingly tacky effort . The plot is slight , but serviceable enough : three bitter disgruntled former high school football star athletes along with one jock's dippy younger brother and a ruthless lesbian school nurse abduct a bus full of beautiful bimbo cheerleaders . Okay , the story ain't much and the film itself plays out as more of a tense , straightforward suspense thriller rather than the expected goofy innocuous comic romp , but the flick's exemplary trash picture credentials alone make it a worthy addition to this nifty sub-genre . Producer William Osco previously cranked out numerous porno features and later made the enjoyably atrocious toxic waste monster clinker " The Being . " Jason Williams , the star of the immortal X-rated sci-fi outing " Flesh Gordon , " portrays the hunky head kidnapper . " The Hills Have Eyes " survivors Robert Houston and Janus Blythe are reunited here . " Penitentiary " series star Leon Isaac Kennedy appears acting under the alias Lee Curtis as a disc jockey ( in real life Kennedy worked as a disc jockey prior to embarking on an acting career ! ) . The cheerleaders are played by such scrumptious , often undraped seasoned junk flick veterans as Kristine DeBell ( star of the hard-core fairytale offering " Alice in Wonderland " ) , Elizabeth Halsey ( the dirty soft-core musical version of " Cinderella " ) , Wally Anne Wharton ( " Up in Smoke " ) , Lenka Novak ( " Coach , " " Vampire Hookers " ) , Tracy Ann King ( a . k . a . Marilyn Joi , " Hammer , " " The Kentucky Fried Movie " ) , and Janie Squire ( the skinny-dipper who gets munched at the start of " Piranha " ) . Jeff Werner's capable direction doesn't skimp on the good stuff : there's more gratuitous nudity than you can shake a pom-pom at , lots of gleefully gross lowbrow humor ( the cheerleaders tie all their panties together so they can trip one of their abductors ! ) , a splendidly stinky pseudo-disco score , a tasty lengthy topless beauty contest , pot smoking , hideously bad soft-rock songs , garish cinematography , and an absolute dearth of taste , subtlety and artistic refinement . In short , it's a solid piece of blithely low-grade and hence quite entertaining schlock . |
519,215 | 8,239,592 | 131,449 | 8 | A nicely eerie and effective 70's teen revenge drive-in horror outing | Poor Susan ( excellently played by the lovely and beguiling blonde beauty Suzanna Ling ) . The comely , but weird misunderstood misfit teenage girl lives with her undertaker father in a mortuary . She has an unnatural affinity for spiders . Susan catches her shrewish mother cheating on her father with her dad's own brother . Susan kills her mom by putting a tarantula in her bed . She also sics her lethal arachnid friends on other folks who rub her the wrong way ; said victims of her dangerous wrath include a bunch of local hooligans who break into the mortuary to steal a coffin and Susan's disgustingly incestuous and lecherous uncle ( a superbly sleazy Eric Mason ) . Directed in an effectively blunt and basic manner by Chris Munger , " Kiss of the Tarantula " makes the grade as a creepy and effective low-budget 70's grindhouse scarefest thanks to Phillan Bishop's eerie synthesizer score , credible acting from a solid no-name cast , an arrestingly brooding rustic atmosphere , a grimly serious tone , Henning Schellerup's gritty photography , a wickedly startling surprise twist ending , and several genuinely unsettling spider attack murder set pieces ( the sequence where a handful of libidinous kids doing just what you think in a parked car at a drive-in get assaulted by the spiders is the definite flesh-crawling icky highlight ) . A shamefully neglected and hence underrated teen terror tale that's well worth seeing . |
519,384 | 8,239,592 | 71,186 | 8 | An effectively creepy 70's made-for-TV killer kid horror flick | Gawky misfit teen Ronald ( a truly spooky and unnerving performance by Scott Jacoby ; the gimpy magician in " The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane " ) accidentally kills a bratty little girl . He's subsequently hidden in a secret room of an old Victorian house by his sickly , smothering mother ( a wonderful portrayal by " Planet of the Apes " film series regular Kim Hunter ) in order to avoid being arrested by the authorities . Mom dies and a new family - - father Dabney Coleman , mother Pippa Scott , and their three hottie daughters Cindy Fisher , Cindy Eibacher and Lisa Eibacher - - move into the swanky and enormous abode . Ronald loses his grip on reality and disappears into an elaborate fantasy world created by his own warped overactive imagination . One fateful day he comes out of his clandestine hideaway hole to terrorize the hapless adolescent lasses when the parents leave for the weekend . One of the all-time classic 70's made-for-TV horror psycho thrillers , " Bad Ronald " ' s extremely fantastic and far-fetched premise is made reasonably credible and totally compelling by journeyman TV show veteran Buzz Kulik's capable direction ( along with his episodic TV show credits , Kulik also helmed the enjoyable Burt Reynolds private eye picture " Shamus " and the underrated Steve McQueen action vehicle " The Hunter " ) . Fred Karlin's effectively eerie score and a top-rate cast make this feature a cut above average TV movie fare . Popping up in especially nice bits are John Larch as a shrewd homicide detective and John Fiedler as a friendly real estate agent . Yeah , this film is fairly preposterous , but thankfully Jacoby's unforgettably creepy and disturbing character keeps the show gripping and harrowing right down to its thrilling climax . Jacoby's role as a murderously messed-up teenage nerd deserves a place right alongside " The Bad Seed " ' s Patty McCormack and the Udvarnovsky brothers from " The Other " in the All-Time Scary Killer Kids Hall of Infamy . |
518,329 | 8,239,592 | 385,218 | 8 | A hilariously ridiculous cheesy hoot | A bunch of sadistic college frat jerks tie fragile diabetic Sam ( scrawny Caleb Roehrig ) to a cross in a corn field . Sam nearly dies and subsequently resurrects a lethal evil scarecrow ( hulking Steve Worley ) who proceeds to brutally butcher a handful of party hearty kids frolicking on the beach during spring break . It's up to token nice guy Jack ( affable Matthew Linhart ) and his sweet girlfriend Beth ( luscious Samantha Aisling ) to stop the scarecrow before it's too late . Writer / director Brian Katlin concocts one uproariously ludicrous excuse for a horror flick : we've got crummy acting from a lame no-name cast ( Ken Shamrock is especially terrible as ramrod Coach Ramsey ) , a roaring soundtrack of silly rock songs , a few dumb false scares , largely obnoxious and unlikable characters , glaring day-for-night continuity errors aplenty , one dude belts out a horrendous acoustic ballad around a campfire , a protracted volleyball game , a handy helping of tasty gore ( an impalement on a bamboo pole rates as the definite gruesome highlight ) , and a ham-fisted ending that tries for tragic pathos ( ! ) . The scarecrow makes for a truly laughable monster : he lumbers about in broad daylight , whistles off-key , and even runs over a hapless lass with a pick-up truck . Zoran Popovic's bright , sunny , shaky cinematography , Collin Simon's generic ooga-booga spooky score , and several hot chicks in skimpy bikinis further enhance the campy fun . As an added bonus , both busty blonde Lisa Robert and cute brunette Tara Platt bare their breasts . An enjoyably tacky kitsch hoot . |
519,304 | 8,239,592 | 49,128 | 8 | Roger Corman's extremely solid & engrossing 50's sci-fi end-of-the-world debut feature | Legendary B-movie pioneer Roger Corman made his sturdy directorial debut with this particularly prescient low-budget post-nuke end-of-the-world sci-fi survivalist item , a nifty little programmer which serves as an extremely basic , but still efficient exploitation cinema prototype for many similar features which followed in its influential wake . A motley group of people - - a rugged , self-reliant scientist father ( burly Paul Birch ; the pernicious extraterrestrial in Corman's fantastic ' 57 knock-out " Not of This Earth " ) and his comely teenage daughter ( the lovely Lori Nelson ) , a stalwart true blue heroic geologist ( dashing Richard Denning ) , a vicious strictly looking out for himself mob hoodlum ( a perfectly hateful turn by Michael " Touch " Connors ) and his brazen dime-store floozy ex-stripper moll ( superbly played to the bold'n'brassy hilt by bosomy blonde broad Adele Jergens ) , a sweet , boozy elderly gold prospector ( amiably doddering Raymond Hatton ) and his faithful burro companion , and a gradually going crazy scar-faced half-man , half-mutant fellow ( a twitchy Jonathan Haze ; the hilariously meek milquetoast protagonist in Corman's cheapskate black comedy horror gem " The Little Shop of Horrors " ) - - hole up in a remote mountainside bunker immediately after a nuclear war occurs . The eclectic bunch bicker and quarrel with one another over the ever-diminishing supply of limited resources while a huge , ugly , crusty-skinned mutant with telepathic powers , a carnivorous appetite for human flesh , three googly eyes , a gnarled head with horns on top , three-clawed fingers and toes , and a most unpleasant demeanor ( 50's monster movie make-up expert Paul Blaisdell in an outrageously funky and messed-up suit ) stalks the surrounding woodland area with the intent of abducting the luscious , eminently nubile and thus desirable Lori . Although by today's standards it comes across as really slow and talky , with very little action and a noted emphasis on the increasingly tense interplay between the desperate characters , " The Day the World Ended " all the same still makes for an engrossingly seedy and rough-edged nickel'n'dime doomsday romp . Corman's lean , no-frills straightforward direction treats Lou Rusoff's unusually thoughtful , literate and intelligent script like a tightly constructed acting ensemble piece , with the uniformly sound performances by the tiny , able cast creating a good deal of the film's grungy , cut-to-the-bone effective suspense and relentlessly bleak tone . Jock Feindel's grainy , unadorned black and white cinematography gives the flick a spare , cramped , uncomfortably claustrophobic look while Ronald Stein's eerie , understated , unobtrusive score makes especially unnerving use of the always spacey sounding theremin . The admittedly absurd-looking mutant beast detracts somewhat from the otherwise nicely maintained scruffy verisimilitude , but nonetheless makes for a very cool and suitably menacing monster . The film also deserves praise for its frank , level-headed depiction of how people would act in the event of such a cataclysmic disaster ( some would rise nobly to the challenge while others would devolve into savage , greedy animals ) , the colorfully drawn characters , Corman's sharply observant , non-judgmental point of view , its atmospheric handling of the desolate , mist-shrouded forest location , and an ambiguously " happy " ending . Overall , this modest trend-setting outing rates as pretty solid , if scrappy two-cent fun . |
518,083 | 8,239,592 | 71,225 | 8 | A solid vintage 70's blaxploitation romp | Wise old numbers king Nate Williams ( affably portrayed by legendary blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon ) reigns supreme over a gritty ghetto urban jungle . Nate makes shrewd pimp J . J . ( well played with fiery aplomb by Rod Perry ) his righthand man . J . J . in turn declares war on evil white heroin drug lord Tony Burton ( a smoothly hateful Don Chastain ) . J . J . enlists the aid of passionate black militant leader Diablo ( essayed with fierce gusto by Damu King ) to rid the neighborhood of smack . Writer / director John Evans delivers plenty of snappy , profane dialogue , a decent smidgen of gratuitous nudity , and occasional outbursts of exciting action ( a wild karate fight between two women rates as the definite stirring highlight ) . Nice supporting performances by Diane Sommerfield as J . J . ' s sweet girlfriend Yvonne , Duncan McLeod as corrupt , on the take cop Lt . Joe Sterling , Tony Burton as Nate's loyal , volatile body guard Sonny Spyder Brown , John Alderman as wormy , stuttering dope pusher Cockroach , and Anny Green as Tony's sassy blonde moll Honey . Jack Steely's rough , grainy cinematography , the well-drawn main characters , and the soulful groovin ' score by Phil Moore and Martin Yarbrough further enhance the funky fun of this enjoyable blaxploitation item . |
519,034 | 8,239,592 | 71,224 | 8 | A pretty nifty 70's blaxploitation private eye flick | Towards the end of his career Jack Arnold , a very efficient director who gave us such classic 50's creature features as " It Came from Outer Space , " " The Creature from the Black Lagoon , " and " Tarantula , " teamed up with former football star turned top 70's blaxploitation film headliner Fred " the Hammer " Williamson for a pair of movies , producing the amiable , if unremarkable Western " The Black Bounty Hunter " and this refreshingly breezy , clever and highly entertaining 70's black action variant on your standard 40's film noir down-at-the-heels private detective yarn . Williamson displays a charming combination of dry , self-deprecating humor and relaxed , easygoing self-confidence as Shep Stone , a cheap , affable , and forever in debt erstwhile Los Angeles cop turned private investigator . Stone's so hard-up for cash that he uses a bar as his business office and just barely makes ends meet doing penny-ante low-paying minor cases that the police don't want to bother with . While pounding the pavement for one of these deceptively simple gigs ( Stone's trying to find some guy's runaway teenage daughter who's hiding somewhere in Hollywood ) , Stone finds himself elbow deep in a complex , dangerous , seemingly bottomless criminal plot which includes a flipped-out Jesus freak religious cult , assorted deadhead hippie dopers , a sordid porno ring , a priceless missing gold-tipped cane that belonged to a legendary silent movie star , a nefarious underground drug smuggling operation , and an ever-growing number of fresh corpses . While lacking the wickedly playful , mischievous ingenuity of Robert Altman's masterful " The Long Goodbye " or the haunting , unremitting pessimism of Arthur Penn's beautifully bleak " Night Moves , " " Black Eye " nonetheless still makes the grade as a highly successful hip'n'flip 70's spin on 40's mystery suspense thrillers . Arnold's capable direction keeps the pace moving at a nice , steady clip , punctuated with sporadic exciting mano-a-mano bare knuckle fight scenes and excellent use of various colorfully seedy L . A . locations ( the rundown abandoned amusement park at the film's conclusion is especially effective ) . The script by Mark Haggard and Jim Martin supplies a goodly amount of fairly complicated and often genuinely surprising plot twists . And the expected array of quirky , rough-around-the-edges secondary characters are an interesting oddball bunch , with particularly notable turns by Rosemary Forsyth as an alluring , powerful lesbian model agency owner ( Forsyth has the picture's best line , boasting to Stone when she first meets him , " I'm a whole lot of woman " ) , Teresa Graves of " Get Christie Love " TV show fame as Stone's loyal bisexual girlfriend ( the film's casual , nonjudgmental depiction of both Foryth's unconventional femme fatale and Graves ' equally atypical gal Friday is one of its strongest assets ) , and Bret Morrison , who did the voice of radio's " The Shadow " in the 40's , as a smugly sleazy porno filmmaker . All in all , it's a modest , yet surefire winner . |
518,450 | 8,239,592 | 71,216 | 8 | Good , sexy , trashy 30's Depression-era set 70's drive-in exploitation fun | Tough and gutsy Texas widow Wilma McClatchie ( a splendidly brassy'n'sassy Angie Dickinson , looking mighty fine in her early 40's and frequently out of her wardrobe ) and her two equally feisty hottie daughters - - the sexually precocious Billie Jean ( adorable blonde sprite Susan Sennett of " The Candy Snatchers " ) and dim-witted Polly ( pretty brunette cutie Robbie Lee of " Switchblade Sisters " ) - - embark on a wild'n'rowdy crime spree in 30's Depression-era America in order to escape hard times . Accompanying the lovely ladies are charming , but cowardly con man William J . Baxter ( the ever-hammy William Shatner sporting a hilariously hokey Southern accent ) and ill-tempered bank robber Fred Diller ( the hunky Tom Skerrit ) , who happily jump in the sack with the willing wanton women in between breaking many laws . Directed with tremendously rambunctious gusto by Steve ( " An Eye for An Eye " ) Carver , jam-packed with a pleasing plenitude of car chases , shoot outs , cuss words and tasty gratuitous nudity ( even Sally Kirkland as a local harlot and Joan Prather as a snotty heiress the gang abducts doff their duds and bare their beautiful bodies ) , further enlivened by a ceaseless forward-ho quick pace , a rousing hillbilly bluegrass score by David Grisman , a cheerfully irreverent tone , and nifty supporting turns by Royal Dano as a profanity-spewing preacher and the always terrific Dick Miller as huffy fed Bonney ( a sly homage to " Bonnie and Clyde , " methinks ) , " Big Bad Mama " supplies a handy helping of joyous down-home trashy entertainment that's a true treat to watch . |
519,172 | 8,239,592 | 78,924 | 8 | The Bionic Benji , or , the Six Million Dollar Mutt | Eager electronics whiz Brian Foster ( a likable performance by Wesley Eure of TV's " Land of the Lost " ) creates a computerized watchdog called C . H . O . M . P . S . ( an acronym for Canine Home Protection System ) for his boss Mr . Ralph Norton ( nicely played by Conrad Baain ) , whose home security business is floundering . A rival company hires a pair of inept criminals to get their grubby hands on C . H . O . M . P . S . ; said task proves to be easier said than done . Director Don Chaffey relates the endearingly dopey story at a constant brisk pace , maintains an amiably silly and lighthearted tone throughout , and stages the goofy slapstick gags with considerable flair . Moreover , the game cast mug it up with infectious aplomb : the adorable Valerie Bertinelli as Brian's sweet fiancé Casey Norton , Chuck McCann as klutzy crook Brooks , Red Buttons as McCann's equally bumbling partner Bracken , Jim Backus as evil CEO Mr . Gibbs , Hermoine Baddeley as nice old biddy Ms . Foster , and 60's AIP exploitation feature regular Larry Bishop as smarmy , duplicitous suit Ken Sharp . Best of all , the titular pooch is a cuddly delight : C . H . O . M . P . S . jumps through fences , walls and windows with amazing agility , performs acts of exceptional strength , runs faster than a deer , and even does a few nifty martial arts moves . A subplot about a hulking neighborhood hound named Monster supplies a few extra belly laughs ( Monster is voiced by some uncredited guy with an appropriately deep , growly voice ) . The groovy animated opening credits sequence , Charles F . Wheeler's glossy cinematography , and Hoyt Curtin's funky , pulsating disco score are all solid as well . A cute little kiddie flick . |
518,712 | 8,239,592 | 71,200 | 8 | A hugely enjoyable horror werewolf murder mystery thriller treat | Cocky wealthy big game hunter Tom Newcliffe ( a deliciously ripe slice of fat'n'juicy ham by Calvin Lockhart ) invites five folks to his posh island retreat : urbane werewolf expert Dr . Christopher Lundgren ( the always terrific Peter Cushing ) , jolly rake Paul Foote ( robust Tom Chadbon ) , pompous Bennington ( smooth Charles Gray ; Blofield in " Diamonds Are Forever " ) , classy pianist Jan Jarmokowski ( solid Michael Gambon ) and Jan's luscious girlfriend Davina ( lovely Ciaron Madden ) . Also on the island are Tom's foxy wife Caroline ( sultry Marlene Clark of " Night of the Cobra Woman " ) and staunch surveillance expert Paval ( the ever-suave Anton Diffring ) . Tom suspects one of his guests is a werewolf . But which one is the deadly and bloodthirsty beast ? Briskly directed with considerable flair and style by Paul Annett , with a clever script by Michael Winder , a divinely soulful 70's funk score complete with groovy wah-wah guitars and hip'n'heavenly horns by Douglas Gamley , sharp , slick cinematography by Jack Hildyard , an incredibly hysterical " werewolf break " that's narrated by some plummy-voiced guy , and lively acting from a game ensemble cast , this baby rates as a crafty , offbeat and exciting fright feature lycanthrope variant on Agatha Christie's " Ten Little Indians . " My sole complaint is that the werewolf alas is pretty unconvincing and disappointing ; it's obviously just a large furry made-up dog . That quibble aside , this picture still provides a great deal of immensely entertaining fun . |
518,894 | 8,239,592 | 395,630 | 8 | A gloriously ghastly gut-buster | Cunning and deadly foreign beauty Linda Allen ( a hilariously atrocious performance by Rene Harmon , who sports an adorable heavy German accent ) arrives in Los Angeles to track down the evil mobsters who tortured and murdered her sister . Meanwhile , the mobsters try to find a tape with incriminating information on it . Plus Linda has to deal with both a nasty pimp and a crooked FBI agent who intends on killing her . Boy , does this deliciously dreadful doozy possess all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a real four star stinkeroonie : exceptionally inept ( mis ) direction by James Bryan ( the same cinematic genius who blessed us with the similarly shoddy " Don't Go in the Woods " and " The Executioner , Part II " ) , uniformly terrible acting from a lame no-name cast , clumsily staged action scenes ( the car chases , shoot outs , and especially the rough'n'tumble martial arts fights are all uproariously awful ) , a hopelessly muddled and meandering narrative , a simply astounding kinky swinging sex party ( Rene suggestively sucks on celery stalks with a certain remarkably sensuous aplomb ) , poorly recorded post-sync dialogue , and a handy helping of gratuitous female nudity that's largely provided by dumpy and unattractive ladies with a few too many miles ( and pounds ) on them . The legendary Liz Renay , looking aged , pasty and chubby , pops up in all her sexy and uninhibited fortysomethingish splendor as a stripper who bumps and grinds for all its worth in a seedy nightclub . Max Reed's shaky'n'scratchy cinematography gives this tacky flick an appropriately ratty look . An absolute cruddy hoot . |
518,903 | 8,239,592 | 129,532 | 8 | I can't get enough of these blithely stupid flicks ! | Okay , I'll admit it . I'm a definite fan of the " Vice Academy " series . Granted , these films are cheap , cheesy and unapologetically low-brow trash that are utterly bereft of any artistic merit . And that's precisely why I dig ' em so much . One doesn't watch a " Vice Academy " feature looking for profound insights concerning the human condition . Instead you watch these flicks strictly for fun . And that's okay by me , man . Wicked insatiable green-haired nymphomaniac Malathian ( broadly essayed with unrestrained hammy panache by Julia Parton ) escapes from jail and goes on the rampage . Meanwhile the dippy Candy ( the ever-adorable Elizabeth Kaitan ) and eager Samantha ( likable Rebecca Rocheford ) help the persnickety Miss Thelma Louise Devonshire ( delightfully played to uptight perfect by Jayne Hamil ) with her upcoming marriage to the pompous police commissioner ( the hilarious Jay Richardson ) . Writer / director Rick Sloane pours on the cheerful idiocy with his usual shameless abandon ; this time we get suitably asinine jokes about such always uproarious subjects as electrocution , elderly strippers , and women beating up men . Steve Bigharat's bright cinematography makes this picture look more polished than previous entries . That awesomely cool-wailing theme song " Pistol Whipped " and Alan DerMardesian's hard-groovin ' score hit the funky bull's eye . The cast portray their parts with tremendous go-for-it enthusiasm : Kaitan and Rocheford display a pleasant chemistry , Steve Mateo is engaging as studly lunkhead mechanic Anvil , and Chad Gabbert nerds it up something dweeby as the commissioner's geeky sci-fi fan son Irwin . The disastrous climactic wedding ceremony rates as a genuine tour-de-force of classical farce at its most brilliant and sophisticated . Better yet , both Parton and Kaitan expose their exquisitely enormous breasts . All in all , it's another radiant comedic gem . |
517,947 | 8,239,592 | 281,048 | 8 | An eerie and interesting Indonesian supernatural horror shocker | Poor teenager Tommy isn't having a good time of it . His mother just passed away at a tragically young age . Tommy starts seeing a ghostly white apparition of her unrestful spirit . He also experiences scary nightmares of an evil devil cult . Plus a couple of close friends of the family meet brutal untimely ends . Could it be mysterious new housekeeper Darminah who's behind the freaky and troubling events that have befallen Tommy and his family ? Director Sisworo Gautama Putra does an expert job of ably creating and sustaining a powerfully eerie and unnerving otherworldly atmosphere . Moreover , Putra does a totally convincing job of evoking a thoroughly believable mundane everyday reality that's ripped asunder by bizarre and inexplicable supernatural phenomenon . Better still , Putra keeps the pace slow , yet steady throughout , uses violence in a shocking , but restrained manner and gradually builds up a tremendous amount of harrowing tension before pulling out all the stops with a genuinely terrifying conclusion in which all hell quite literally breaks lose . This film even offers a rich , colorful and illuminating depiction of a fascinatingly different culture and its strongly held religious beliefs . An extremely solid and satisfying foreign fright feature . |
518,237 | 8,239,592 | 117,435 | 8 | A very fine and exciting change-of-pace action winner | Josh ( an outstanding performance by Troy Sostillio ) and Paul ( affable Henry White ) are a loving , affluent , five years going strong homosexual couple who are on the verge of adopting a child . On the day of the big event Josh stops off at a grocery store and witnesses a mob hit ( Edmond Sorel as the brutal , taciturn hit-man Victor brings a ferocious , blistering intensity to the role that's pretty hard to shake ) . Afraid to tell Paul about what he saw ( he doesn't want to ruin their chances of gaining custody of a kid a meddlesome third party wants to take away from them ) , Josh , who's been running away from confrontation his entire life , does his best to forget about the whole incident . Naturally , things don't go as planned . The mobsters go after Josh ; they kidnap Paul so they can get to him . So Josh , aided by closeted gay undercover cop Steve ( a superbly anguished Stewart Groves ) , finally takes a stand for the first time in his life , facing up to the fearsome gangsters in a harrowing do-or-die final . More than just some dreaded cheesy gimmick affair ( y'know , the first real gay independent action picture ) , " Raising Heroes " gains considerable strength from the fact that the protagonists ' homosexuality is treated in a refreshingly candid , nonjudgmental , matter-of-fact manner . Still , the film doesn't take place in a sugarcoated fantasy world . Society's bigotry towards and inability to accept homosexual couples as feasible parents is confronted head on , although the movie thankfully never becomes bogged down in this pertinent social issue to the point where it degenerates into some preachy heavy-handed pro-gay tract . The gay angle is instead organically woven into the story and remains a small , yet relevant part of the narrative . What really gives the film its distinctive edge is the remarkable warmth and affection displayed by the leads : Sostillio's playful , rather indecisive Josh and White's solemn , more adamant Paul come across as a touchingly credible and appealing couple , thereby adding a sweet , delicate poignancy to the movie that's all too lacking in most mainstream action efforts . Douglas Langway directs with crisp , breakneck style and elicits fine , convincing performances from his able cast . Stephen Schlueter's lively hand-held cinematography is likewise impressive ( the scene where the camera goes flying out a window and nearly hits a trash can is especially striking ) . Langway's tight , snappy editing and Fractured Cylinder's driving industrial score also hit the bull's eye . The sharp , intricately written script ensures that the story stays believable and engrossing throughout , smartly adhering to the foolproof concept of placing ordinary characters in an extraordinary situation where the only choice they have is to fight back or die . Only the somewhat erratic pacing leaves something to be desired : The movie starts out strongly , sags a bit in the middle , then kicks back into powerhouse high gear for an explosively violent and exhilarating climactic 20-minute shoot-out that's sure to knock the wind out of your sails . All in all , this very solid and satisfying debut feature is well worth checking out . |
519,051 | 8,239,592 | 51,381 | 8 | A fun 50's sci-fi romp | Kindly , but sad and lonely doll maker Mr . Franz ( an excellent performance by John Hoyt ) shrinks some folks to miniature size so he cam have some company . His latest victims are affable salesman Bob Westley ( 50's science fiction film regular John Agar in fine form ) and sweet secretary Sally Reynolds ( a charming turn by lovely blonde June Kenney ) . Bob , Sally and four other diminutive people try to find a way to get out of the clutches of the benign , yet deranged Franz . Director Bert I . Gordon relates the engrossing premise at a steady pace and maintains a generally serious tone throughout . George Worthington Yates ' surprisingly thoughtful script offers a poignant portrait of how loneliness can drive someone crazy . This film further benefits from solid acting by a sturdy cast : Hoyt brings a moving blend of pathos and sympathy to his credible portrayal of Franz , Agar and Kenney make for highly engaging leads , plus there's bang-up support from Jack Kosslyn as the hard-nosed Sergeant Paterson , Michael Mark as friendly puppeteer Emil , Marlene Willis as spunky , adorable teenager Laurie , Ken Miller as the laid-back Stan , Laurie Mitchell as the sassy Georgia Lane , Scott Peters as the easygoing Mac , and Gordon's adorable daughter Susan as a cute girl scout with a broken doll . Ernest Laszlo's crisp black and white cinematography does the trick . The roaring dramatic score is likewise up to par . The huge props and sets are quite good . The special effects are pretty decent , if a tad on the chintzy side . Moreover , this movies delivers a few amusingly campy moments : Laurie serenades Franz with the catchy song " You're My Living Doll " and Georgia takes a bath in a big coffee can . An enjoyable picture . |
518,570 | 8,239,592 | 117,380 | 8 | A very enjoyable superhero vigilante flick | Ex Special Ops government agent Derek Leigh ( an excellent performance by Maxwell Caulfield ) vows revenge on evil drug lord Damian Bandera ( a splendidly nasty Trevor Goddard ) after Bandera murders his wife and son . Leigh assumes the identity of the Jaguar , a just and heroic crime fighting superhero who's patterned after drawings by his son . Directed with surprising style and panache by veteran straight-to-video exploitation picture expert David DeCoteau , with slick , kinetic cinematography by Howard Wexler , a constant steady pace , a funky , rousing , syncopated score by Jeff Walton , a cool animated opening credits sequence , and plenty of rousing rough'n'tumble action set pieces , this flick certainly delivers the immensely entertaining B-movie goods in a pleasingly snappy and straightforward manner . Caulfield makes for a strong and likable protagonist ; he receives fine support from Linda Blair as perky , sympathetic detective Cody Johnson , Tom Badal as Cody's ramrod partner Roger Reed , Paul Bartel as helpful weapons master Toymaker , John Fujioka as tough martial arts instructor Tanaka , Stacy Keach as Derek's gruff former superior the Commander , Paul Regina as uncooperative government agent Randall Bentley , Vincent Klyn as scumbag dope pusher Sonny De Pazos , and Fiona Hutchison as Derek's loving wife Karen . A fun little romp . |
518,955 | 8,239,592 | 71,413 | 8 | A nicely twisted 70's killer kid horror gem | A bus bound for a mental institution containing a quintet of psychologically unbalanced and murderous children runs off the road and goes tumbling down a cliff , killing the driver in the process ( this opening scene is quite jarring and splendidly staged ) . The deadly brats survive the accident and take refuge at a swanky winter resort run by the mean , irascible , browbeating Papa Doc ( a deliciously dour Gene Evans , a longtime favorite of Samuel Fuller who was in Sam Peckinpah's last two Westerns " The Ballad of Cable Hogue " and " Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid " ) . Pretty soon the killer kids go on a rampage : they junk the guests ' cars , cut the power lines , and begin to violently off Papa Doc's arrogant , decadent , back-stabbing clientèle ( a lady gets set ablaze after being drenched with gasoline , another hapless lass has piranha dumped in her bathtub , that sort of ghastly stuff ) . This thoroughly sick and therefor most compelling psycho thriller marked the impressive debut of promising horror movie one shot wonder Sean MacGregor , who proved with this creepy , unique and wickedly warped humdinger that he could make one hell of a fright flick ( MacGregor's sole other horror picture credit was writing the story for the eerily offbeat rural Devil worship chiller " The Brotherhood of Satan " ) . The astonishingly brutal scene where the terrible tykes beat their psychiatrist to death with chains , hammers , knives and even a pitchfork attests to this claim ; this excruciatingly elongated sequence makes artful and unforgettably potent use of both grainy black and white still photographs and painfully amplified sound effects . The other murder set pieces aren't nearly as ferocious , but since they're perpetuated by smiling , seemingly harmless and innocent kids they still pack a serious wallop just the same - - and all are punctuated with strangely startling freeze frames . John Durren's barbed , deeply judgmental script possesses a conspicuously angry and borderline hostile sense of moral outrage . There's a deep-seated disgust for the pervasive amorality , hedonism and narcissism that was a true hallmark of the 70's which in turn gives this feature an additional biting resonance . ( Durren also acts in the movie as Ralph , a sweet , guileless , retarded handyman who the other adults mercilessly mock and push around . ) The cast deserve appraisal as well , with especially solid work from Sorrell Booke ( Boss Hog on " The Dukes of Hazzard " ) as a meek , peevish physician and Joan ( " Act of Veangeance , " " Grizzly " ) McCall as the only decent grown-up . 70's teen idol Leif Garrett is surprisingly good as one of the nefarious little rugrats . Odd , often jolting and extremely twisted , this funky little sleeper stands out as one of the best entries in the always worthwhile and enjoyable killer kid horror sub-genre . |
518,116 | 8,239,592 | 196,486 | 8 | An enjoyably atrocious horror splatter short | Todd Sheets rates highly as one of my favorite directors of extremely awful and amateurish , yet enthusiastic and hence oddly entertaining micro-budget Do-It-Yourself out-of-the-mainstream indie horror schlock . Well , this is one of Todd's early shorts and , of course , it's quite terrible , but still really funny and enjoyable just the same . A deranged hillbilly father and his equally demented hick son brutally butcher any folks who are unfortunate enough to venture into their remote neck of the woods . This baby possesses all the right wrong stuff to qualify as an endearingly abysmal piece of nickel'n'dime horror splatter junk : we've got pathetic acting from a lame no-name cast , fumbling ( mis ) direction , laughably lousy gore ( grisly highlights include an axe dismemberment , a throat being ripped out with a claw hammer , and a baseball bat bludgeoning ) , tinny sound , cruddy eye-straining shot-on-video photography , cardboard characters ( the wacko rednecks in particular are incredibly broad caricatures ) , a wafer thin story , a paltry clichéd script , and no suspense to speak of . Only the inspired use of catchy and spirited bluegrass music manages to impress , with bonus points added for including the catchy ditty " Rollin ' in My Sweet Baby's Arms " on the soundtrack . A hilariously horrendous hoot and a half . |
518,012 | 8,239,592 | 78,976 | 8 | A hilariously horrible all-star Canadian disaster hoot | This uproariously absurd Canadian disaster ( semi ) epic centers on an unspecified metropolis ( Chicago ? New York ? Los Angeles ? ) catching aflame after a bitter oil refinery worker ( grossly overplayed by Jonathan Walsh ) pours fuel in the city's sewers that in turn gets set alight by two welders working in said sewer ( ! ) . Next thing you know the whole city becomes an incendiary inferno and people are getting fried left and right . Trapped inside a hospital in the middle of the blaze are dull doctor Barry Newman ( whose once smokin ' hot career promptly ran out of gas following his sterling portrayal of Kowalski in the car chase cult classic " Vanishing Point " ) , haggard-looking nurse Shelley Winters ( who suffered a heart attack during " The Poseidon Adventure " and meets a similar abrupt fate here ) , and corner-cutting mayor Leslie Nielsen ( who also got killed during " The Poseidon Adventure ; " who was the casting director on this flick ? ) . Trying to contain the fire and save countless human lives is stern , no-nonsense fire chief Henry Fonda ( the President in " Meteor " ) . Clumsily directed with an appalling lack of skill and finesse by Alvin Rakoff ( who went on to fumble with the equally inept " Death Ship " ) , with a totally implausible script co-written by none other than Jack Hill , this admittedly awful picture still counts as a great deal of cheesy fun thanks to terrible acting from a noticeably embarrassed Hall of Shame Faded Name cast ( Ava Gardner is pitiful as a boozy , bitchy TV news anchorwoman ; ditto James Franciscus as a harried television station manager ) , poor special effects ( both the miniatures and matte paintings are laughably pathetic ) , and hilariously horrendous dialogue ( groan-inducing gems include " Try talking to a surgeon about compromise during an open heart operation " and " Don't die on me for Christ's sake " ) . The single most unintentionally sidesplitting scene occurs when a drooling , deranged old bag gets turned into a human torch and cuts loose with an incredible high-pitched scream as she runs down a flame-engulfed street . And remember folks : " It can happen to any city anywhere ! " |
517,998 | 8,239,592 | 366,526 | 8 | A worthy recent entry in the long-running series | Two tiny twin fairies advise wise old scientist Dr . Sinichi Chujo ( nicely played by Hiroshi Koizuma ) to stop the repairs on the severely damaged MechaGodzilla . Their warning goes unheeded . Godzilla wakes up in one of his usual grouchy moods and heads towards Japan with the specific intent of trashing Tokyo . Mothra comes to mankind's rescue , but proves to be no match for the Big G . It's ultimately up to MechaGodzilla to defeat the brutish behemoth . Director Masaaki Tezuka relates the story at a constant brisk pace , maintains a refreshingly serious tone throughout , and stages the plentiful exciting action sequences with rip-roaring flair ( the long and protracted mondo destructo monster fight scenes totally smoke ) . Better still , there's a mean'n'lean straightforward quality to the narrative , with very few lulls and a huge amount of wild'n'rousing action ( Mothra's newly born larvae even join in on the battle against Godzilla ! ) . The human characters are genuinely engaging and well acted , with especially winning performances by Noboru Kaneko as eager beaver young mechanic Yoshito Chujo , Miho Yoshioka as feisty pilot Azusa Kisaragi , Mitsuki Koga as the cocky Kyosuke Akiba , and Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro Otsuka as the adorable psychic singing twin fairies . Kudos are also in order for Michiru Oshima's stirring , majestic score , Yoshinori Sekiguchi's glossy widescreen cinematography , and Eiichi Asada's often stunning special effects ( Mothra in particular is a strikingly graceful and beautiful giant creature ) . An excellent movie . |
519,113 | 8,239,592 | 86,571 | 8 | A sweet , lovely and underrated early 80's low-budget science fiction gem | Burnt-out , reclusive folk singer Bobby Sinclair ( an excellent performance by the always fine Robert Carradine ) and kindly psychic Iris Longacre ( nicely played by the fetching Cherie Currie of the Runaways ) free a trio of bald , mute , diminutive extraterrestrials - - Gamma ( Dov Young ) , Beta ( Joshua Oreck ) and Delta ( Christian Morris ) - - from a top secret army base run by cold-hearted military jerks and help the little guys get back to their home planet . Deftly directed by Mike Gray ( who also wrote the intelligent script and previously penned the outstanding screenplay for " The China Syndrome " ) , with terrifically vivid and engaging performances from the two exceptional leads , unusually well-drawn characters , plenty of touching heart and warmth , and a neat synthesizer score by Tangerine Dream , " Wavelength " makes the grade as a shamefully underrated and overlooked low-budget sci-fi gem . Keenan Wynn contributes a marvelously cantankerous turn as crusty old prospector Dan , plus there are nifty bits by Robert ( " Parasite " ) Glaudini as coolly pragmatic scientist Dr . Wolf and Bobby ( " The Supernaturals " ) Di Cicco as Bobby's good friend Marvin Horn . Pleasant , quirky and simply lovely ( the scenes with Bobby and Iris helping out the aliens are very moving and endearing , with the sequence where everyone chills out around a campfire qualifying as the definite delightful highlight ) , this unsung sleeper deserves to be better known and more widely seen . |
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