Scarecrow's Blog From the Darkside

The Theatrical Cut is no longer a necessary or even preferred Halloween 6 version although the Brother Cane song at the end will always be recommended by me, at least. But now that the Producer's Cut is quite available and no longer a difficult bootleg you have to seek out illegally, the Theatrical Cut more or less exists as an alternative to be shown on television. And the Theatrical Cut is what you normally see on AMC Networks, so the very dizzying, jarring editing and rough cuts here and there--leaving us with a confounding experience that I remember feeling frustrated seeing it in the theater with the trip home on a Sunday afternoon spent baffled and befuddled with what the filmmakers left us--continues every October to be what many Halloween series' fans see. This version also rubbed me the wrong way with how the character of Jamie is just discarded with great malice and disregard, while poor Pleasence, appearing one last time as Dr. Loomis, is parsed out in brief incremen...

This wasn't a strong viewing of "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" (1985). I do want to say I was crushing on Kim Myers something fierce. If Jesse wasn't gay, her Lisa would have been a major A+ for the guy. And she was loyal and dedicated to him. Big upside for a guy who she falls for. There's a scene where Jesse returns from the murder of Grady, a so-called friend--I never was quite sure they really were since they so often bicker and fight--with blood all over him, especially his hands, and Lisa doesn't shriek but remains right there willing to help him. And despite being a tragic mess in her cabana, Jesse not sleeping and definitely not recovered from the death of his S&M high school coach, Lisa still is willing to give her virginity to him. And she's laying there on the cabana floor letting him go down on her, and every time he rejects her kindness she seems that much more determined to save him. That's a girl worth her salt. ...

It was a later night viewing of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), my first since 2012, quite a dry spell since I last immersed myself in the nightmare world of "Fred Krueger, mom, Fred Krueger!" I had always planned this year to revisit the Freddy series, even considering the summer as an option. I'm glad it's been a while so I can return to the series without the fatigue I might have had ten years earlier. This series was very much a present visitor in my youth. The distance of eight years was a decision that I hope either brings greater appreciation or at least allows me to not feel so burned out. I've already cleared the first eight Friday films and six Halloween films, purposely waiting on the Freddy films until the summer. I think this was the right choice. I had a good time late Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning. I actually watched the first film Wednesday night in tribute to John Saxon, but I seemed to remember him being in "A N...

 Unfortunately because 2020 is such a fucking toxic clownshow and headlines are consumed by cities protesting and burning, politics causing people to attack each other ad infinitum, social media and mainstream media dividing us resulting in the citizenry going insane, and the pandemic pushing folks to the brink and beyond; Saxon's death went barely reported. It also didn't help that Regis Philbin died gobbling up even more of the attention, not to mention, death claiming another member of Fleetwood Mac. But to the horror community, we felt we lost a beloved figure much respected and admired. He was obviously perhaps best remembered for his two appearances in the Elm Street series and as a fighter who surprisingly walloped Bolo Yeung in "Enter the Dragon". And his appearance in a very important B&W giallo directed by Mario Bava early in his career, too. He was a journeyman actor, with handsome face and great screen presence. He didn't dismissively evaluate the ...

Tracy as Hyde in the 1941 version Revisited this one again tonight, and you can sure see MGM once again loading up the film with plenty of budget pizazz with all those period sets and A+ Hollywood talent, but the Hayes Code sure did a number on this one as did unfortunate miscasting. Victor Fleming, who sure made a name for himself, could definitely handle a big production, but sometimes impressive sets, flattering lighting, period atmosphere, and robust setpieces can't overcome Tracy's lack of charisma, intensity, or punch as either Jekyll or Hyde. And while the incredible 1931 film is not as shackled by conforming to decency and good behavior, more free to bend the rules in terms of London's dirtier, salacious, lustier, and base side, Tracy not sacrificing in the makeup chair nor summoning the depraved, sadistic, hideous Hyde as expected for the role is particularly difficult to overcome. Tracy would ride this failure out and recover but in terms of ill-advised adaptation...

Carolyn vows to get into the locked room in the basement that just might hold the answers as to what McGuire might have against Elizabeth while Roger assumes after a conversation with his sister about long overdue divorce proceedings and potential marriage to somebody else that she plans to marry Jason. McGuire traipses around the house like a Lord of the Collinwood estate already so Roger is quite sure if he can help himself to the home, cannery business, and accoutrements that come with Collins wealth then marriage is almost probable since Elizabeth won't stop him. Carolyn even confronts Elizabeth about the key to the basement room, planning to break into it if necessary. McGuire claims he might convince Liz to give over the key, as Carolyn in no certain terms throws down the gauntlet about getting him out of their lives one way or another. McGuire, still quite sure he'll be successful in getting his marriage, doesn't seem too concerned about Carolyn's warnings. Victo...

MGM channel had a double feature today of Price's classic Phibes films in the early 70s during his run of British horror before he gradually took breaks from cinematic features.  "The Abdominal Dr. Phibes" (1971) gave Price yet another memorable character for his impressive rogue's gallery, and this catalogue of horror triumphs is thick and heavy. What a career. I could see why this character is championed as one of his very best, some of my peers even placing it at or quite near the top.  Though Price doesn't ever talk with his lips, a mic hooked to his neck, releases his voice through a phonograph so we still get to hear him...not to hear him at all would have been very ill-conceived.  But his presence alone, behind a makeup that looks prosthetic and might even remind you of "House of Wax" when you see him reveal his true face to Joseph Cotten at the very end...Cotten must save his son from a surgical trap with acid gradually pouring through a curving ...

Another experiment, another monster, another Frankenstein failure, but, by the end, Dr. Victor, once a Baron, is plotting his next successful hopeful with yet another young surgeon/scientist/protege under his questionable mentorship. This time, the final time we see Cushing in the role, he's up to his mad science in a lab hidden in a lunatic asylum. Wearing an unfortunate wig/hairpiece, Cushing, having aged and thinned quite a bit after the death of his wife, seems perfect for Frankenstein at this point...weathered, withered, still obsessive, and just as stubborn and dogged. Briant was very careful, intellectual, deliberate and precise, with no overt reactions or explosive outbursts. The lovely but plained out and pouty-lipped Smith a traumatized and cherubic mute, whose lecherous, antsy alcoholic father is the director of the asylum tried to rape her, helps Frankenstein as an assistant. Frankenstein still has access to body parts thanks to the patients, often victims under suspici...

The Iconic Ingrid Pitt as Bathory inspired Countess Elisabeth Pitt supplanted her own horror legacy in two particular films for Hammer (the other film I hope to revisit tomorrow evening, "The Vampire Lovers") and one for Amicus ("The House That Dripped Blood"), certainly helped not only by her incredible screen presence, star power, sensuality, and charisma but also assisted by her voluptuous figure, not to mention, she's a sexual dynamo. I LOVE "The Vampire Lovers", probably because of its overt titillating lesbianism and it's connections to Carmilla, but wasn't sure about this film, "Countess Dracula" (1971), as I had read it wasn't near as good and marketed erroneously and deceptively. Countess Elisabeth Nadasdy is not a vampire, no relation to Dracula, and gains youth over and over through pure virgin blood by touch to her aged flesh (done through makeup that makes her look leprous). So she's more Bathory than Dracula'...

A break from the blackmail wedding subplot featuring McGuire and Elizabeth and return to the Barnabas/Maggie main story arc has Dr. Woodward promised a drop of Willie's blood by Barnabas. Willie is reluctant but Barnabas insists. Willie is surprised of this but Barnabas has a plan...swap the blood slides when Woodward's back is turned after a friendly request to see Willie's blood sample. Meanwhile Burke tries to ease Victoria's tensions while on a date at the Blue Whale, the talk of the howling dogs disrupting what could have been a relaxed, romantic evening. I couldn't help but remember the very first episode with these two meeting on the train and how things were so different at this point. Woodward is confused and perplexed by Maggie's blood results and disappointed by the results of the switched slide pulled off by Barnabas. Talking to Burke and Victoria later, he just can't shake how something inhuman infected Maggie. The episode will probably be best ...

Thirteen years before making his mark as a horror icon in "House of Wax", Price was second billed under Hardwicke in Universal's follow up to Whale's "The Invisible Man", many scholars and fans considering this his first true horror film. The special effects are a highlight, such as the rope tying up Napier's legs and a phone and cord pulled from receiver, a newspaper folding and unfolding, and especially the smoke trick by Kellaway identifying Price. But Price's voice, even as he isn't seen, is as much a star as the effects, with his Sir Geoffrey going mad for revenge against Hardwicke. While franchise films into the 40s started to decline in quality, functioning more as quickly made programmers to get into theaters at a speedy clip to make further profit for the studio, some of the early sequels were quite good and stock actors could be seen in multiple monster movies. This sequel was also such an example. November 2006 user comments Invisible ...

The head bashing of a Zen guru (with the statue of Buddha, for extra irony!) is the next case for Clive and Liv, while Major begins to feel health deterioration through a vicious cough and weakened physical state. Major is performing underwhelmingly through obstacle course training, each time out hit by paint pellets, resulting in his white helmet team being punished with five miles runs. Ravi is dealing with pride and jealousy, especially angry at the prospects of Blaine and Peyton (who he finally admits to being in love by episode's end), hoping to cure Major of his zombie disease through a serum. But Ravi needs Blaine to take the experimental serum to determine if memory will return so Major won't lose his. That would mean "old" Blaine returns along with his memory, leaving Seattle once again left to deal with a fresh onset of criminality.  The episode marks the return of Angus, Blaine's father, looking to start up a club with Don E...this is the beginnings of ...

We get Paul Stoddard's fate, laid out without tiptoeing, as McGuire runs through how he found Elizabeth in the living room near her husband's dead body 18 years ago, helped her hide away the body, and why he expects her to marry him or else her secret crime would be brought to light. She plans to call the sheriff but McGuire knows he needs her not in prison so he can continue to bilk her, with marriage the convenient way to do so without Roger hampering him, so he remind Elizabeth about her daughter. It will buy him time to fetch her, manipulate her into believing mommy is unwell, so she will question Elizabeth's emotional well-being...Jason needs Carolyn to reject Elizabeth's revelations about her father, that Paul didn't want her, that he was mean and cruel, with no desire for parental responsibilities. So when Carolyn resists Elizabeth's truth about her father, fleeing before the murder could be admitted, Jason could capitalize by lying about how Paul just lo...

Yep, Jason McGuire plans to blackmail Elizabeth into marrying him! That comes at the very last scene of the episode, but the gist of the story involves Dr Woodard hoping to get a blood sample from Willie, Willie rejecting Woodard's request outright with emotional insistence, Barnabas "agrees" to hopefully convince Willie to do so at Woodard's request, Woodard hoping McGuire will talk to Willie if Barnabas can't get him to give up a sample, Woodard venting about Maggie and Willie's blood and physical condition being similar and not understanding why their cells were so unusual, McGuire meeting Barnabas about Willie and his change in behavior particularly in regards to taking orders and doing labor, McGuire pondering to Barnabas about Willie's fascination with him and the portrait of Barnabas' "ancestor", and McGuire asking Elizabeth about Barnabas and what she knows about his back story and history. What we know and McGuire doesn't is just...

Baby-faced Hawkes, before character actor renown, in the relatively obscure '91 horror curio. John Hawkes just has that face. He's a bit more weathered and grey now. He's aged and has this maturity, a depth and gravity in his character actor grab-bag. Often in roles featuring characters from all strata of life, he's the go-to actor for a particular dreg of society or everyman, always leaving an impression. In Scary Movie, he is quite fresh off the bus, perfectly fit for this awkward, angst-ridden teen misfit suffering nightmares about a specter in skeleton mask, carrying a scythe, seemingly coming for him out of an all-consuming fog. The film is like folks out of the 80s, located in the 70s low budget, poverty row aesthetic, released in 1991. This felt to me like a 1979/1980 release, but the characters have 80s clothes, hair, and language. I was trying to find out if this was a late 80s film released after sitting on the shelf for a few years. It certainly reminded me o...

This episode, to me, is one of the series' most important and very turn the page . Just a list for you: Admiral Adama relinquishes command to Saul (secretly a skinjob! How's that for irony!) declaring his objectivity was lost due to Roslin being missing. With no President, and Adama refusing to listen to VP Zarek, Lee Adama and attorney, Limpkin (who assisted him in freeing Baltar) work to find a President in Roslin's absence. They ultimately decide Lee would be ideal, the Quorum would be fine with this and Zarek would agree. Sharon Agathon shoots and kills Cyclon Truce Six because of fear Hera would be taken from her; enraged at her act of violence and feeling betrayed, Admiral Adama sends her to the brig. Admiral Adama and Saul slug it out after Adams learns that Saul had been screwing around and impregnated Prisoner Six! A ship returns with a dead pilot and Admiral Adama sends a very limited set of pilots on a hunt for Roslin, locating a lot of wreckage including a Bases...

Made prior to "The Bride of Frankenstein", not long after his first big hit in 1931, Whale made his second of three masterpieces--some may argue his 1932 film, "The Old Dark House" is as well--with  the great (I use this right before his name practically every time I mention him, it seems) Claude Rains only seen at the very end on his death bed as the invisibility potion wears away. That distinctively rich voice, with degrees of madness up and down when his Dr. Griffin is wrecking shit or assaulting/killing folks for kicks (he causes a tragic train crash and sends a colleague off a cliff in a car to its fiery doom), Rains in bandages, a coat, and goggles gleefully torments and relishes the carnage he causes. When I picked up the Blu-ray Legacy set, I had forgotten just how many films are in the Universal series but the first is by far the very best and it's not even close. The special effects alone for 1933 are a marvel, as clothes and bandages come off to revea...

While episode 242 focuses on Dr. Woodard and a frustrated Burke (Sam is still obviously distraught over Maggie's disappearance) having a conversation about her odd blood, Elizabeth confronted by brother, Roger, about curious, worrisome withdrawals of disconcerting sums is also given some focus. Because of Barnabas and Maggie's excellent ongoing central story arc, McGuire's blackmail plot of Elizabeth had been cooled down considerably. I have to be honest in that the blackmail plot just really isn't all that significant to me but that isn't because Patrick doesn't make a great heel. He's devious, scheming, unavoidably opportunistic, taking advantage of Elizabeth's past to supplement his greed and desire for power. It's pure soap opera. But I'm just more interested in the Gothic soap. Barnabas is just dominant on the show. I imagined fans of the time watching this being disappointed. Burke and Woodard kvetch about the blood's mystery and bringi...

Seeing Major on 15 year old ice skating hopeful brain is the bees bees. Buckley speaking teen girl is just too good. Not finishing iZombie since the country went to hell as Seattle and Washington State seem well on their way towards a no-police state makes for very fascinating viewing. There is one moment where Clive uncomfortably watches Liv prepare a chili dog meal with the fifteen year old's strict father's brains as Ravi looks over at him and says, "The New Normal". I wonder how the CHAZ/CHOP would have faired against the zombies. I almost believe they'd fit right in. Maybe Blaine could have become their leader. Blaine sure was clever enough to outwit the current mayor I imagine. While Cavanaugh investigates the death of little Wally and his murdered family, seemingly on a course for checking out Filmore/Graves, pondering why a military contractor would be interested in Max Rager energy drink (the adult victim worked for F/G and had a Supermax drink in his poc...

Price walks about the dreaded mansion where he invited folks to stay alive overnight for $10K. His wife (Ohmart) and a doctor (Marshall), are lovers looking to see him dead so they can cash in, not realizing Price knew what they were up to. Cook, Jr. "rents" the house out to Price and he never fails to talk constantly about the murders in it, even involving those he knew, and those among him sort of shrug and eye roll him off. Cook, Jr. has that face and delivery that consistently entertains me...his ghosts claims and ooga booga remarks are done with such wonderful sincerity. Eventually Price nearly strangles him, tired of his presence, warning him to knock it off! The creepy caretakers (one of them "floating"), a severed head, fake rope suicide, rope trick where it moves "on its own", guns in little caskets, skeleton puppetry, blood pooling on ceiling and dripping on hand, and plenty of frightened shrieking. Countless viewings of the film in, Price always...

Price sure did solidify his status as a horror icon in the 50s before even working for Corman in the 60s. I don't think I have gotten to Price in my 2020 "campaign to remark one last time on the classics that made me the horror fan I am today." Timing was great today as Turner Classics had several films with Price and two were on my mind not too long ago...House of Wax (1953) and The House on Haunted Hill (1959). Before Carolyn Jones was a Munster she was a giggly blond looking for a rich husband in House of Wax, a victim of scarfaced Price, reeling from nearly being burned alive, hoping to secure the right face and form for Joan of Arc. I always have a hard time watching Price's waxworks go up in flames. As each figure melts and burns, it's like bearing witness to murders. Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts) setting the place on fire for insurance, genius wax sculptor, Henry Jarrod (Price) trying and failing to prevent him from torching all his hard work. Fights over the...

***I made a critical error in the editing stage erasing written content. Will be updating later.*** Using the DECADES Independence Day lineup, after suffering disappointment in myself for a lack of incentive--and just feeling bummed out by my country's downward spiral--I am hoping I can summon some enthusiasm and interest in continuing Twilight Zone into the week after.  Saturday July 4th 8:30PM ET THE TWILIGHT ZONE - A GAME OF POOL "Championship pool player Fats Brown returns from the grave for one last game."  *I appreciate this more and more each viewing. It's on a lot of marathons and rightfully so. Klugman as the obsessive pool player yearning to "be the best" while Silverman's restrained and austere spirit of Fats offering him the life and death challenge to prove himself are the only players and no one else is needed. These two hold their own in this lowly pool hall in some ungodly hour of the night. Fats tries and fails to convince Jesse he shoul...