Collector's Corner: Star Wars

Christmas themed content has never been a page-view lure for this blog. Last year was an exception, as I sprinkled all kinds of content in miscellaneous blog posts, but this year I wisely took a break from writing about the same ole/same ole, just sort of covering a few films but not a lot. I think trying to top the successful 2017 wasn't necessary. I didn't even watch Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) this year, opting for the sequel with Eric Freeman, notorious (and popular) for his heightened expressionistic "performance art". The over-emoting and wretched dialogue Freeman is saddled with (as well as the hilarious violence, such as the infamous "death by umbrella" and a special thank-you from a near-rape victim when Ricky runs over her nasty beau repeatedly with his jeep) give the sequel an over-the-top boost despite its excessive use of footage from the first film. This has all been covered ad-nauseum. I have written about both films, quite frankly, as excessively as Eric's facial reactions. As have so many other people. My first time watching the sequel was when I came home from working at a grocery store in perhaps 1995 or 1996. It was rented by my siblings on VHS. They were taken aback by it and I was unfamiliar with the first film's infamy. When I rented the Anchor Bay (out of print and once a highly collectible and sought after item) double feature from Netflix, I wasn't impressed by either film. I guess I failed to see the camp value--well, value is loosely used in this case--a bit too critically serious. While I can't rate either film highly, I recognize their "embarrassment of Z-movie riches". How they are a product of their time--another cliche phrase used by us far too often--and remain 80s bad-movie icons. Their ties to the season, however twisted they are, allow these to be "alternative viewing experiences" for those perhaps not as festive or "into being merry". Whatever the case, I typically watch them earlier in December. But I had a mission to watch as many of the Christmas icons as I could--It's a Wonderful Life & Miracle on 34th Street were first time views for me--so the seasonal horror sort of took a back seat. And it isn't like I haven't watched these damn things over and over, year after year in December. Just the same, Freeman made his way onto the flat screen again this year...Edmund Purdom's film, which I bought on DVD this year, didn't get such a luxury.