A fun episode from the director of Highlander. Catherine O'Hara plays an ambulance-chaser who's been arrested for a minor issue with her license plate while driving through a small town. It's pretty obvious from the outset that the wacky courthouse she finds herself in is going to damn her for her sins, but the journey is plenty amusing. I especially like the way each courtroom is more expressionistic than the last, with the final room containing an impossibly high judge's bench set at the narrow end of a long room.
Tales from the Darkside 1.14: "Snip, Snip" (1985) directed by Terence Cahalan
Carol Kane and Bud Cort ham it up as Satan-worshipers who fight over a winning lottery ticket. And if that don't sound at least a little interesting, I don't know what else to say.
Before the main movie, Jack, Casey and I played the zombie board game Last Night on Earth. They pitted their four hero characters -- a drifter, the sheriff, a high school jock, and a farmer's daughter -- against my zombie horde. To win, they needed to kill 15 of me before the sun set and I needed only to kill two of them (or wait for the sun to go down). While the zombies don't have a lot of choice in what they do each turn -- basically, walk slowly towards the heroes -- the heroes get to move into buildings to search for weapons to use against the zombies. Luckily for the zombies, though, you need a bit of luck with the dice in order to kill a zombie for good. Anything less and they are merely "fended off," free to shamble after more brains another turn. It was fun. I ended up eating both the jock and farmer's daughter with my zombie army, but not before losing eight of my rotters to revolver fire. We'll have to try some of the other scenarios that came with the game next time.
Black Sunday (1960) directed by Mario Bava
I can see why this made an impact back in 1960. It's gothic horror very much in the tradition of the Universal monster classics, but with the horror amped up a bit. So, while there is an old castle, a curse of some kind, and townsfolk with torches like any Dracula or Frankenstein from the 1930s, Bava also mixes in spiked face masks, hot brands searing flesh, a gross skeleton body on a witch, and stakes through eye sockets. For the time, this was pretty strong stuff.
Now, it's a little harder to appreciate. It is beautifully shot. I'm having trouble thinking of a better visual example of gothic horror than this (unless Rebecca counts). However, the plot is nothing particularly original and none of the characters are particularly memorable outside of Asa. But, I suppose that describes a great many Italian horror movies, doesn't it?
Carol Kane and Bud Cort ham it up as Satan-worshipers who fight over a winning lottery ticket. And if that don't sound at least a little interesting, I don't know what else to say.
Before the main movie, Jack, Casey and I played the zombie board game Last Night on Earth. They pitted their four hero characters -- a drifter, the sheriff, a high school jock, and a farmer's daughter -- against my zombie horde. To win, they needed to kill 15 of me before the sun set and I needed only to kill two of them (or wait for the sun to go down). While the zombies don't have a lot of choice in what they do each turn -- basically, walk slowly towards the heroes -- the heroes get to move into buildings to search for weapons to use against the zombies. Luckily for the zombies, though, you need a bit of luck with the dice in order to kill a zombie for good. Anything less and they are merely "fended off," free to shamble after more brains another turn. It was fun. I ended up eating both the jock and farmer's daughter with my zombie army, but not before losing eight of my rotters to revolver fire. We'll have to try some of the other scenarios that came with the game next time.Black Sunday (1960) directed by Mario Bava
Now, it's a little harder to appreciate. It is beautifully shot. I'm having trouble thinking of a better visual example of gothic horror than this (unless Rebecca counts). However, the plot is nothing particularly original and none of the characters are particularly memorable outside of Asa. But, I suppose that describes a great many Italian horror movies, doesn't it?
The "Spiked Face Mask" thing (and the way it's, uh, applied) really struck a nerve for me. But other than that memorable moment, I agree that the rest of the film is a bit of a letdown, if very beautiful (Bava was always pretty good at the visual stuff...)
ReplyDeleteThe "Spiked Face Mask" thing (and the way it's, uh, applied) really struck a nerve for me. But other than that memorable moment, I agree that the rest of the film is a bit of a letdown, if very beautiful (Bava was always pretty good at the visual stuff...)
ReplyDeleteI just love love love Black Sunday. But then again, I'm a sucker for gothic black and white atmosphere. It would probably be the most visually gorgeous horror film ever made if Bava didn't also make Blood and Black Lace and Black Sabbath.
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