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Category: Original Reviews

Responses to Peary’s “must see” movie reviews, as well as my own “must see” movie reviews up to and after 1986 (when Peary’s book was published).

Hi, Mom! (1970)

Hi, Mom! (1970)

Comments 1 comment

“I’d like to say hello to my mother, if you don’t mind.”

Synopsis:
When an aspiring filmmaker (Robert De Niro) convinces a producer (Allen Garfield) to hire him to take peeping-tom videos in apartments across the street, he ends up getting to know one of the women (Jennifer Salt) he’s been spying on, and they start an unusual dating relationship; meanwhile, De Niro is hired to play a cop in an immersive theater experience known as “Be Black Baby”.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Allen Garfield Films
  • Black Comedy
  • Brian De Palma Films
  • Movie Directors
  • New York City
  • Peeping Toms
  • Racism and Race Relations
  • Robert De Niro Films
  • Veterans

Review:
Brian De Palma’s direct follow-up to the success of Greetings (1968) was this humorous continuation of the adventures of veteran Jon Rubin (De Niro), the peeping-tom filmmaker from Greetings. As the movie opens, Jon is filming a tour of the truly decrepit apartment being shown to him by a manipulative, sourpuss super (Charles Durning):

We next see Jon re-engaging with the “smut peddler” (Allen Garfield) from Greetings:

… who produces adult films and is begrudgingly willing to give Jon a chance once he hears about his plan to violate the privacy of countless apartment dwellers by filming them. (A quick note here that all concern with ethics must be set aside while watching this film in order to go with the flow of its dark humor.) Jon’s crafty, deceptive “pick up” of a young woman (Salt) — with detailed plans to carefully “trap” her into performing on camera for/with him later — goes hilariously sideways, giving Jon a much-needed taste of humility.

Meanwhile, the extended sub-plot about a Black theater troupe attempting to provide white participants with an authentic taste of what it’s like to “Be Black Baby” in America is surprisingly hard-hitting (albeit hard to watch at times).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Robert De Niro as Jon
  • Jennifer Salt as Judy
  • De Palma’s creative riff on Rear Window

  • The bold “Be Black Baby” sequence

Must See?
No, but of course De Palma and/or De Niro fans will want to check it out. Listed as a Cult Movie and a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Obsession (1976)

Obsession (1976)

Comments 2 comments

“I don’t want anybody interfering with my private life.”

Synopsis:
A man (Cliff Robertson) devastated by the death of his wife (Genevieve Bujold) and daughter (Wanda Blackman) during a fatally botched attempt to pay ransom after they’ve been kidnapped travels with his business partner (John Lithgow) to Italy 15 years later and is amazed to meet a young woman named Sandra (Genevieve Bujold) who looks remarkably like his wife. He courts Sandra and brings her back to New Orleans with him, but events quickly take a dark turn for Robertson once again.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Brian De Palma Films
  • Cliff Robertson Films
  • Genevieve Bujold Films
  • John Lithgow Films
  • Kidnapping
  • Obsessive Love
  • Paul Schrader Films
  • Widows and Widowers

Review:
Critical and personal opinions remain heavily divided on Brian De Palma’s output, with some deriding his overtly realized homages to Hitchcock — in this case, Vertigo (1958) — and others appreciating the unique sensibility he brings to his work. This highly atmospheric thriller — scripted by Paul Schrader — is a mixed bag, offering plenty of tension and suspense but ultimately not quite delivering (IMO) on its promise. With that said, I’ll admit to being surprised at several key moments, and staying relatively invested until the odd but reasonable ending. Of special note are Vilmos Zsigmond’s dreamily diffuse cinematography, Bernard Herrman’s characteristically stylish score (the next-to-last of his career), and Bujold’s performance in dual roles that require much subtlety to pull off.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Genevieve Bujold as Elizabeth/Sandra
  • Beautiful on-location shooting in Florence
  • Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography

  • Bernard Herrmann’s score

Must See?
No, but it’s certainly worth a one time look. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Wedding Party, The (1969)

Wedding Party, The (1969)

Comments 1 comment

“Love is nice; marriage is not nice.”

Synopsis:
A young man (Charles Pfluger) and his two groomsmen (Robert De Niro and William Finley) arrive at the island estate where Pfluger will marry his sweetheart (Jill Clayburgh) — but Pfluger soon develops cold feet, and his friends must help him figure out what to do.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Brian De Palma Films
  • Comedy
  • Jill Clayburgh Films
  • Robert De Niro Films
  • Weddings

Review:
Made five years before Brian De Palma’s breakthrough success with Greetings (1968), The Wedding Party was a reasonably polished student film project completed by De Palma and his classmate Cynthia Munroe with support from their professor, Wilford Leach. It’s very much an experimental product of its time, clearly influenced by the French New Wave, Mack Sennett’s Keystone Kops, classic romantic comedies taking place at an elaborate manor (like The Philadelphia Story), and other cinematic favorites (i.e., Pfluger and his pals dance to “Singin’ in the Rain” at one key point). It received highly mixed reviews upon its release from mainstream critics, with Howard Thompson of The New York Times referring to it as “fresh and funny” but Andrew Sarris of The Village Voice calling it a “broken-legged farce” that “isn’t very funny”. Unfortunately, I land closer the latter sentiment: I appreciate the earnest, cinephilic attempts at creativity and humor, but ultimately find it all tiresome. It’s notable for featuring a VERY young Jill Clayburgh and Robert De Niro in their first feature films (chronologically speaking).


Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Evidence of innovative direction and cinematography


Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re a De Palma completist. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Fury, The (1978)

Fury, The (1978)

Comments 5 comments

“They took my son away from me. They needed him — so they just took him.”

Synopsis:
A young woman (Amy Irving) who discovers she has terrifying telekinetic powers is sent to the Paragon Institute for training, and soon learns she has a “psychic twin” (Andrew Stevens) who has been kidnapped by a nefarious government agent (John Cassavetes) and is being “looked after” by a beautiful caretaker (Fiona Lewis). Meanwhile, Stevens’ grieving but determined father (Kirk Douglas) enlists the help of his girlfriend, a Paragon nurse (Carrie Snodgress), in helping Irving escape from the institute to help find his son — but what cost will this bring to all involved?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Amy Irving Films
  • Brian De Palma Films
  • Father and Child
  • Horror Films
  • John Cassavetes Films
  • Kirk Douglas Films
  • Supernatural Powers

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this “stupid, complicated, unforgivably bloody Brian De Palma film, scripted by John Farris (from his novel)” has “too many characters, the acting is mostly wretched, the dialogue’s a joke, the picture has no ending… and — except for a couple of times when the background around Irving impressively changes to reveal what she’s thinking:

— the direction is terrible.” He argues that De Palma “uses slow motion too often, and has a tendency to circle his camera around tables where characters have conversations, calling attention to rather than disguising the banality of the chatter”:

— but “of course, the most objectionable thing about this film is the extreme violence (with emphasis on blood spattering in all directions).” While I’m in agreement with Peary that this film is a disappointment on just about every count — it can’t begin to compare with De Palma’s previous film about another girl with telekinetic powers — it seems to me that fans of this type of fare may not be so disturbed by the violence and bloodshed.

I’m most distressed by how much obvious care went into production values and special effects for a film that simply doesn’t lead anywhere interesting. The opening sequence on an Israeli beach is action-packed but insufficiently explained:

… simply positing numerous faceless “Arabs” as rampantly murderous killers. Next, 61-year-old Douglas — cast simply to bring a big name to the flick — gets to show off his strength and agility in a series of cat-and-mouse scenes (including a harrowing car chase):

… that are simply silly and don’t add anything to the storyline. Irving is sympathetic and tries her best in a role that lets her down:

… but Stevens is an utterly unlikable “protagonist” who we don’t especially feel driven to see rescued from his plight. Snodgress and Lewis’s roles as supportive sex partners (Snodgress to Douglas, Lewis to Stevens):

… are poorly written, and several other supporting characters simply disappear at a certain point. Definitely feel free to skip this one.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Amy Irving as Gillian
  • Fine cinematography


Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

Prom Night (1980)

Prom Night (1980)

Comments 2 comments

“I’ve always been really sorry about it.”

Synopsis:
Six years after a group of 11-year-old kids (Brock Simpson, Leslie Scott, Karen Forbes, and Joyce Kite) accidentally cause the death of their bullied friend (Tammy Bourne) during a brutal hide-and-seek game, a mysterious masked killer begins plotting the demise of each of the teens (Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin, Joy Thompson, and Marybeth Rubens) as they prepare to participate in a disco-themed Prom Night. Meanwhile, the dead girl’s sister (Jamie Lee Curtis) — who is dating Stevens — is about to be crowned Prom Queen, but must deal with the wrath of Stevens’ spurned ex-girlfriend (Martin), who has enlisted the help of a local tough (David Mucci) in seeking revenge.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Horror Films
  • Revenge
  • Serial Killer

Review:
This immensely popular Canadian slasher flick was clearly inspired by numerous previous hits, including Carrie (1976) (with its emphasis on prom-night-gone-wrong), the disco-fever of Saturday Night Live (1977), Jamie Lee Curtis’s popularity in Halloween (1978), and the kill-one-teen-at-a-time plotline of Friday the 13th (1980). On its own merits, Prom Night is unexceptional, but meets expectations in terms of offering up plenty of frights and gore. Interestingly, it served as direct inspiration for the spoof horror flick Student Bodies (1981), which similarly features an odd-looking janitor (here played by Robert Silverman), a high school principal (here played by Leslie Nielsen!), spooky phone calls to victims, and a host of potential suspects.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Atmospheric cinematography

  • Effective use of flashbacks

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re a fan of slasher flicks.

Links:

Monster Club, The (1981)

Monster Club, The (1981)

Comments 3 comments

“There’s nothing sadder than the tender-hearted grief of a monster.”

Synopsis:
After drawing blood from the neck of his favorite horror story writer (John Carradine), a vampire (Vincent Price) takes Carradine to a disco club for monsters, where he explains various types of monster-hybrids by telling the following three tales: a “shadmock” (James Laurenson) hires a beautiful woman (Barbara Kellerman) as his secretary, and is heartbroken when she allows her abusive boyfriend (Simon Ward) to bully her into theft; the son (Warren Saire) of a vampire (Richard Johnson) and human (Britt Ekland) is shadowed by a local constable (Donald Pleasence) hoping to drive a stake into Johnson’s heart; and a filmmaker (Stuart Whitman) scouting locations for his next horror movie stumbles into a village of ghouls, including a sympathetic “humegoo” (Lesley Dunlop) who tries to help him escape.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Britt Ekland Films
  • Donald Pleasence Films
  • Episodic Films
  • Horror Films
  • John Carradine Films
  • Roy Ward Baker Films
  • Vampires
  • Vincent Price Films
  • Writers

Review:
This affectionate homage to Hammer Studios’ episodic horror films such as Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) is decidedly hit-and-miss, but beloved by those who remember it with nostalgia from their early 1980s childhoods and appreciate seeing cinematic icons Price and Carradine together on screen. The first and third stories told by Price are reasonably spooky, with director Roy Ward Baker managing to evoke some empathy for their monster-protagonists. Unfortunately, all scenes showing musical interludes at the “Monster Club” are pretty atrocious, as are the costumes of the club’s attendees.


Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • John Carradine and Vincent Price
  • Good use of comic/cartoon passages
  • Some spooky, atmospherically filmed sequences

Must See?
No, though Hammer Films fans may have some nostalgia for it — and I think Price fans will also be curious to check it out once. Listed as a Sleeper in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Inferno (1980)

Inferno (1980)

Comments 5 comments

“There are mysterious parts in that book — but the only true mystery is that our very lives are governed by dead people.”

Synopsis:
A poet (Irene Miracle) living in NYC writes to her brother (Leigh McCloskey) in Rome, telling him about a mysterious book she’s purchased from a vendor (Sacha Pitoëff) about three “mothers” ruling the Earth. Soon both Miracle and McCloskey are on the hunt for more evidence, putting their own and others’ lives at risk.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alida Valli Films
  • Dario Argento Films
  • Horror Films
  • Serial Killer

Review:
Dario Argento’s follow-up to Suspiria (1977) was this disappointing horror flick with a nearly nonsensical “plot” but (of course) plenty of atmosphere and colorful sets. As Stuart Galbraith IV writes in his review for DVD Talk, the film’s “stylishness comes at the expense of coherence”, making it hard to follow (or care about) any of the characters — who, as noted by Stomp Tokyo’s reviewers, “no matter how obvious it is that their lives are in danger… just keep doing whatever they were doing until they die.” The most baffling and disturbing sequence (among many) involves a cat-hating man who’s eventually eaten by rats; while we can’t help feeling he’s gotten his just desserts, it’s deeply unpleasant to watch him. Watch for Alida Valli in a thankless supporting role that does her no favors.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Colorful, atmospheric sets and cinematography

Must See?
Nope; you can most definitely skip this one. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Full Moon High (1981)

Full Moon High (1981)

Comments 1 comment

“I know all about werewolves and their little problems.”

Synopsis:
When a high school football player (Adam Arkin) travels to Transylvania with his father (Ed McMahon), he’s turned into a werewolf. Twenty years later, he returns to his high school and attempts to get help from a pretty vegetarian (Joanne Nail) in filming his transformation so he can get caught.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alan Arkin Films
  • Comedy
  • Elizabeth Hartman Films
  • High School
  • Larry Cohen Films
  • Werewolves

Review:
This “no budget werewolf comedy” by cult director Larry Cohen — best known for helming It’s Alive (1974), God Told Me To / Demon (1976), and Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) — was originally meant to be a comedic take on I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), but turned into its own cheesy brand of juvenile satire. Unfortunately, the humor on display here is exceedingly silly, and will only appeal to a certain type of audience member. With that said, I enjoyed all interactions between Arkin and Nail, whose plucky can-do horniness reminded me of Elizabeth Banks’ character in The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005).

Watch for Alan Arkin (Arkin’s real-life dad) in a bit role as an “insults-based” therapist called in to try to help.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Joanne Nail as Ricky
  • A few mildly amusing lines: “Someone has broken in, and I may not like him.”

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless it sounds like your cup of tea.

Links:

Hunger, The (1983)

Hunger, The (1983)

Comments 2 comments

“You said forever — never ending. Do you remember?”

Synopsis:
A centuries-old vampire (Catherine Deneuve) seeks a new partner (Susan Sarandon) when her current companion (David Bowie) finally caves in to old age.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Catherine Deneuve Films
  • David Bowie Films
  • Horror Films
  • Lesbianism
  • Susan Sarandon Films
  • Vampires

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary argues that this “disappointing, pretentious horror film set in contemporary New York” eventually “becomes downright stupid and repulsive”, noting that Tony Scott’s “direction is stylish in the wrong way” and that “the picture comes across as an exotic commercial or sexy music video”. He points out that in this “vampire chic”, there is “loads of sex, including the much publicized lesbian scene between Deneuve and Sarandon,” but he writes “it’s so tiresome that the whole thing should have been in Polish” (!!!). He ends his review…

(SPOILER ALERT)

… by positing that “the trite, horrible scene in which all of Deneuve’s former lovers rise from their coffins and revolt against her is the worst horror-movie finale since the ghost attack in The Sentinel.”

I’m less disappointed by this highly stylized cult vampire flick than Peary obviously is. While some aspects of the screenplay — i.e., nearly everything taking place in Sarandon’s laboratory — are insufficiently explained, the overall mood is (appropriately) one of sensuous horror amidst grandeur and deception. Deneuve and Bowie are perfectly cast as (nearly) ageless vampires who live for seduction (and classical music), and Sarandon is both sexy and believable as a doctor strangely attracted to Deneuve. The ending works okay for me, though (again) I wish some elements were explained more clearly, and I’m not sure what to make of the (deliberately?) ambiguous coda. Meanwhile, Denny Jaeger and Michel Rubin’s score makes excellent use of music by Ravel, Schubert, and Delibes (I’m a sucker for his “Flower Duet”).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Catherine Deneuve as Miriam
  • Susan Sarandon as Sarah
  • David Bowie as John
  • Highly atmospheric cinematography and sets

  • Good use of NYC locales

  • A fine musical score (borrowing heavily from classical music)

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended if you’re interested.

Links:

Fright Night (1985)

Fright Night (1985)

Comments 2 comments

“I have a vampire living next door to me — and he’s going to kill me if I don’t protect myself.”

Synopsis:
A teenager (William Ragsdale) who is convinced that a pair of vampires (Chris Sarandon and Jonathan Stark) have moved in next door struggles to get his girlfriend (Amanda Bearse) and annoying best friend (Stephen Geoffreys) to believe him. They humor him by going to visit the “vampire-killing” host (Roddy McDowall) of a TV show known as “Fright Night”, asking McDowall to convince Ragsdale that his fears are unfounded — but are they?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Horror Films
  • “No One Believes Me!”
  • Roddy McDowall Films
  • Vampires

Review:
This affectionate homage to Hammer Studios’ horror films of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s starts off on a somewhat corny note, but builds to an appropriately gruesome conclusion. Sarandon is sexy, seductive, and scary in the lead villainous role, perfectly cast as a sultry vampire who can easily charm his way through life; it’s not hard to see how/why:

(MINOR SPOILER ALERT)

… both Geoffreys and Bearse ultimately fall under his spell.

Much less convincing is McDowall, who displays only a couple of different expressions throughout the film, seemingly stuck in a perpetual state of shock and disgust (and his terrible hairpiece is awfully distracting):

To the film’s credit, it’s highly atmospheric, and features a number of pretty spectacular special effects for the time. It was followed by a sequel, a remake, and a sequel to the remake, and has maintained a small cult following — but it isn’t must-see viewing for all film fanatics.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Chris Sarandon as Jerry
  • Atmospheric cinematography

  • Fine special effects and make-up

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look if you’re curious.

Links: