Last Seen 70s/80s Movie

[Tommy Jarvis]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

You mean Sergeant Brodski from Jason X?

Yup.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Originally Posted by FryeDwight

DAWN OF THE DEAD....so much has been said, but You still came up with solid observations that make Me want to check it out again, in all three cuts I have!

Thank you for those kind words. Enjoy the rewatch.

Now that I think of it: zombie movies like Dawn could go well with beef jerky or licorice. What do you think?

[Tommy Jarvis]

A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 ★★★★½

- Please, God.
- This... is God.

People like referencing the more silly, one liner filled sequels, before pointing out that the original was genuinely scary. And I can only concur with the last part. And I love Freddy's sense of humour.

Wes Craven shows his genius in the genre. He wastes no time before grabbing you by the back of the neck. First with the fingerknives - one of the scariest and most intriguing weapons in horror. It just looks so cool and menacing and efficient at the same time. Everyone who saw this wants/wanted one. Full disclosure: Yours truly has a plastic replica at home as well.

Then with Tina's first nightmare. Proving that the danger can come from literally everywhere. Only letting up for small portions of time. Allowing the viewers to catch their breath before taking it away again.

The kills are all compelling and intense. You are drawn in and you feel for the characters. Even for Rod. He may be a jerk, but you don't want him to die nonetheless. Tina's death is still as scary as ever and I will never get tired of the death bed. Especially hearing the backstage stories, with Heather Langenkamp cheerfully reminiscing on how rickety everything on the set was. Making it even more impressive that they managed to make it work as well as it did.

The humor that colours the sequels is far away here. The closest thing to funny bits are the cassette bit with Depp and the hallpass moment. Or a dude looking like eighties Bill Hader reading Shakespeare. Speak up, man. We can't hear you over your shirt.

A must see for any horror fan. Hands down.

Tenebre 1982 ★★★★½

Dario Argento is a genius and this is a masperpiece.

His unique mix of beautiful imagery and exciting music immediately draw you in. Making you think that in the ideal world, you can walk down the street with an Argento soundtrack playing, with the same level of cool as Travolta did in Staying Alive.

The story like with many Giallos is a rather complicated murder mistery with a few red herings thrown in to keep you guessing.

But that's not really what you are there for. In order to fully enjoy an Argento-film, you must be completely immersed: in the music, in the gorgeous imagery, in the beatifully filmed kills,...

Daria Nicolodi once again delivers a great performance, though she did not have as much to work with as in, say, Deep Red. She still outshines the actor playing Peter Neal, though. And it has John Saxon as (a bit of) a shady publisher. What's not to love about that?

Well recommended.

[Tommy Jarvis]

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge 1985 ★★★½

I remember that I was not as enthusiastic the first time I saw this one. Not to say that it was really bad. I think it was after I had seen some of the later sequels. Perhaps I missed the creativity of the kills and Freddy's humour back then more. Did the theme not resonate with me? Maye that too. Maybe I did not get it back then.

One of the things that struck me during this rewatch was how "down to earth" Freddy was in this one. No puppets on strings or Freddy worms, the fingerknives do more than their fair share or slashing and stabbing. Also, the line between the dream world and reality seems more blurred, with things like the toaster catching fire or the exploding bird. And of course, there's Freddy coming into the real world during the pool party. With Lisa's dad flipping burgers and playing Benny Goodman. Would a reboot feature a soup nazi-reference? No burgers for you! Haha.

Of course, there is the much discussed gay undertone of the film. From the very start, there are hints at Jesse being "different". Starting with the line "why can't he wake up like other people?". And we should not forget all the Schneider-scenes. Or the Grady-scenes.

We see Jesse struggling with what's happening. Sometimes explicit - he often expresses his fear and his confusion at what is going on - and sometimes more with facial expressions and body language, showing all sorts of conflicting emotions. Good job by Mark Patton there. In hindsight, some of the images in ANOES 2 can also serve as a metaphor for things like inner demons and self hatred.

The parents were a good metaphor for the eighties. The mother inadvertently makes him feel worse, but at least she's trying. The father, on the contrary, is one of those old-timey stern father types. Not saying things are perfect now, but I doubt many people would want to go back to that.

We also see the budding (b)romance between Jesse and Grady. Two buddies giving each other shit and hanging out. The subconscious effect on the viewer? Not sure. Side note: say what you will, but Grady has a bitching taste in music.

Lisa is more than the supportive girlfriend. She does the detective work on Freddy and she manages to keep the exposition short and sweet. Good on the screenwriter and Kim Myers there. That said, she does stick with Jesse until the very end, encouraging him to defeat Freddy in the end. Side note: If Kim Myers was really cast to look like Meryl Streep, it would in hindsight be funnier if her character was called Sophie. Maybe throw in a subtle nod to Sophie's Choice. Anyway.

All these things make me all the more interested in seeing Pattons documentary Scream, Queen. See and hear his version of the events. How much did Robert Rusler and Kim Myers know at the time? How did they handle that knowledge? Is Marshall Bell in this one? What's his story?

Final note: the grandmother-line keeps getting funnier every time I hear it.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Duel 1971 ★★★★

A good illustration of the type of movie that gets by on the mistery. It starts off relatively normal, with an argument between the main character and his wife. Thus giving him the motivation to get home asap.

Then it goes south quick. The main question being: why? What did he do to deserve this? What did he do to irk this truckdriver? And how come all he does only ends up making him look crazier? A plot that somehow paved the way for Rutger Hauer's moment of glory in The Hitcher. Who woulda thunk it?

The tension works well, though I remember the ending being more somber when I watched it the first time.

Well worth a watch. Even if only because it's the debut of one Steven Spielberg.

Deep Red 1975 ★★★★★

Argento's masterpiece starts off with jazzcats. Great.

Then, like the best freejazz, it goes off the rail and off the chain in amarvelous way. The kills – especially the first one – are filmed within an inch of their lives. The horror maestro always finds a way to add an echanting beauty to everything he films. As gruesome as what you see may be.

The two leads take the cake. David Hemmings as the stylish, yet sometimes immature Mark Daly (if he were real, could he be on The Daily Show? Bah dum tss) and Daria Nicolodi as the feisty, energetic Gianna Brezzi. She knows what she wants and when she does, she goes for it, not taking no for an answer. Her boisterous laugh only makes her all the more adorable.

Since this is an Argento-film, one can not go without mentioning the breathtaking soundtrack by Goblin. Groovy, awesome, automatically sweeping you up in the atmosphere of the scene. Leaving you wondering wether they used a theremin (probably) and how some bits were echoed in a Quentin Tarantino-film. Then again, with Quentin Tarantino-film school being a thing, what is not echoed in his films?

This never gets old and I loved it.

[DeadbeatAtDawn]

The Manitou, 1978. 6.5/10

Directed by William Girdler






Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, 1971. 6.5/10

Directed by Roy Ward Baker





Hatchet for the Honeymoon, 1970. 8/10

Directed by Mario Bava

[FryeDwight]

Originally Posted by Tommy Jarvis

Thank you for those kind words. Enjoy the rewatch.

Now that I think of it: zombie movies like Dawn could go well with beef jerky or licorice. What do you think?

I would have to go with licorice...Red of course!

HOT DOG:THE MOVIE (1984). A goofy comedy in a decade that was fun of them with a "Snobs VS Slobs" plot and skiing being the crux of it.
Goofy it may be, but there are some funny parts, amazing skiing stunts and plenty of 80's T&A , especially provided by PLAYBOY's Shannon Tweed (11/81) and Crystal Smith (09/71). **1/2

[Tommy Jarvis]

Scream Blacula Scream 1973 ★★★★

From what I understand, this falls into the blaxpoitation genre, with a black Dracula, appropriately called Blacula.

I like what they did with the main character. You can tell it still relates to the classic Lugosi portrayal of the iconic vampire and Blacula speaks the posh English of a wise man. Not unlike Vincent Price's better moments.

That said, they do put on some different nuances. In my opinion, using voodoo to bring the vampire back to life was a very nice touch. The surrounding also mentions small tidbits of African culture and heritage, which adds to the story, making it more believable. Though I have to admit that I did not understand (most of) these references.

One scene that particularly struck me was the clash between Blacula and the pimps. When he tells them that they are “making their sister into a slave”, welll... there certainly are more subtle metaphors. But it is also a part of his character, noted in his protectiveness over Lisa, portrayed by Pam Grier.

Just like I was struck by the storyline in the beginning about the power hungry “heir” who wants to be the leader by any means necessary. Which ends up being his undoing. Now he has to live as Blacula's underling, a Smithers to his Burns. That does, however, also bring one of the funniest moments in the film when he is all mopey because he can't see himself in the mirror.

Pam Grier is stylish as always and William Marshall does a great job, portraying Blacula as a distinguished gentleman. Especially at the end, with a sole look conveying despair, betrayal and heartbreak, all at the same time. Great stuff there.

Recommended for fans of Vincent Price, vintage horror and blaxploitation.

De kollega’s maken de brug 1988 ★★

This movie is based on a Belgian tv series that was very popular in the late seventies and early eighties. The story centers around a group of public servants who don't really do much and thus have a lot of time to loaf about. That gives the chance to focus on the dynamics between the characters, resulting in a tone sometimes similar to what Ricky Gervais later did in The Office.

The story in a nutshell: a prankster puts a note about a day off strategically, knowing that the person responsable will probably forget to read it. He does so and everyone shows up on the day off. Once they find out, they want to leave, only to find that both the elevator and the stairs are out of order for different reasons. Ie, they're stuck until someone frees them.

It's a typical eighties-film, by which I mean that it has not aged very well. The story is not as captivating as it used to be and upon this rewatch, some of the characters seemed to be (a lot) meaner than I remember them being. Also, for a show considering itself dramady, it has quite the bit of drama (a marriage falls apart, a metoo incident occurs) and very little to laugh at. Apart from the scene where the two pranksters argue after a long dinner about who is more chablis-terated.

A document of its time. No less, no more.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Demons 1985 ★★★★½

The perfect load of outrageous, gory, fourth wall breaking fun. Every minute of it is a veritable feast for a horror fan. With Natasha Hovey as (what looks like) a great final girl and Bobby Rhodes as a badass pimp.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Prom Night III: The Last Kiss 1989 ★★★★

I was looking for something silly and stupid and boy, did this deliver.

The concept? The closest thing that I can think of is: imagine if the blowjob dream scene from Ghostbusters came alive and was stretched into a 90 minute Prom Night sequel. What would that be like?

You would end up with a main character having sex with a ghost and then waking up naked, wrapped in the Stars and Stripes for no apparent reason. Or the inexplicable POV shot of a character being buried.

That should give you an idea of where this movie is heading, complete with a silly plot, funny and creative kills and hilarious dialogue. For one, listen principal Weatheroff's odd speech. He has nothing on Lassard. Or the main character calling his parents in the best “they're not even trying”-phonecall I have heard in a long time.

It should also be noted that the script was probably written by someone who clearly has (more than a few) frustrations about his time in school. What with lines like “Who will miss another science teacher?” or “It was not a person, just a guidance counselor.”

One more thing that struck me: a sequel to Prom Night only works up to said prom when they are over half way through. The prom itself is only the last 20-25 minutes, complete with a Guns n Roses knockoff, the zombies clapping for the Prom King and Queen and the death of tonight's Artie Ziff.

Well recommended for those in the mood of something they can cackle their ass off at and not take it too seriously. Because, hey... if you want something dumb, then at least have something that does dumb well.

Piranha 1978 ★★★½

As much as it is a cult classic in its own right today, Piranha started off as one of the many Jaws-knockoffs that the late seventies spawned. It makes no bones about it with among others the computer game in the beginning. Or the crooked business man replacing the Jaws-mayor. A suit with anchors on it? I would not put it beyond him. Would you? Much like its "muse movie", it also shows no mercy towards children.

That said, better well stolen than poorly made up. And this one does have qualities. The kills get more and more gruesome and bloody as the story continues. Some of the beats of the genre, like the scientist making the heroic sacrifice, are actually well done. Or the scarety cat kid ending up saving people.

And let's not mince words, the bit where the main characters try to get the raft to shore in time was genuinely scary. The piranhas eating away at the chords, the logs breaking off and floating away one by one,... Good stuff. The decisive sequence, though tension filled as well, even looks a bit pale in comparison.

Two thumbs up. Or at least as far away from the water as possible.