Every year since 2012 on this very blog, we have been doing Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween and for the ninth year we didn’t want to stop because what else do we have to do in these Covid times? Anytime, you watch a documentary on the slasher sub-genre of horror, the film I chose for today is always one of those that is mentioned or shown in every documentary and that film is Fade To Black which was written and directed by Vernon Zimmerman (Teen Witch) and released two years after John Carpenter’s classic Halloween. The film stars Dennis Christopher (Stephen King’s IT) as Eric Binford, as a shy recluse who is obsessed with Hollywood, but after being mistreated by so many he takes his obsession a little bit too far. The film also stars Tim Thomerson (Near Dark) as Dr. Jerry Moriarty, Gwynne Gilford (Masters Of The Universe) as Officer Anne Oshenbull, Norman Burton (Escape From The Planet Of The Apes) as Marty Berger, Linda Kerridge (Vicious Lips) as Marilyn O’Connor, James Luisi (The Rockford Files) as Captain Gallagher, Eve Brent (The Green Mile) as Aunt Stella, Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) as Richie, Peter Horton (Children Of The Corn) as Joey, Marcie Barkin (The Republic Of Two) as Stacy, John Steadman (The Hills Have Eyes) as Sam, and Morgan Paull (Challenge Of The GoBots) as Gary Bially.
I want to start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the film and thought it was kind of a different take at the time for a sub-genre that didn’t really have the established rules yet. There are however some issues that I did have with the film that I will definitely be discussing. One of those is what is the deal with Aunt Stella? Did anyone else pick up on the creepy incest vibes that she sends off when she says she will only give him money if he gives her a back massage? I just thought that was such a weird element to throw in their out of nowhere, but it helps establish his first kill which he emulates from the films he watches which is clever. There were a lot of moments where they didn’t do enough to really explain anything because I thought they could have done more with Tim Thomerson’s character who gets caught doing cocaine by the female cop, but she forgives him cause she wants to sleep with him. The other thing is I don’t understand how Marilyn doesn’t put two and two together figuring out that Billy was the same guy who walked in on her in the shower with the homage to Psycho and the photographer she sees later on. He looks exactly the same which struck me oddly. I understand that you don’t want to copy Halloween which they also pay homage to in the film, but everything needs to make sense and you need to tie up loose ends. I loved all of the kill scenes and the different ways he did it with some not being too horror like, but I also loved what Dennis Christopher brought to the table with his acting in the film. He definitely was the star of the film for sure and he nailed every emotion because you could feel his pain. Fade To Black is a really good film that is available on Shudder so check it out, but for now I am giving the film an B+ for a final grade.
This year we’ve been exploring films that I have never seen for a challenge that I have been doing for another blog. So, we’ve been exploring the Dirty Harry collection which stars the legendary Clint Eastwood (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) as Harry Callahan. For this week’s Ass Whoopin Wednesday film, we are checking out the fourth film in the series in Sudden Impact. Jennifer Spencer (Sandra Locke) and her sister were brutally raped by some men years ago, but the men never went to jail for it. Now years later, she is on the hunt for revenge which in turn grabs the attention of Harry Callahan (Eastwood). When things begin to heat up, he is forced on a “vacation” to Sao Paulo, California where he investigates the case in the small town that is linked to the crime in San Francisco. The film also stars Pat Hingle (Batman Forever) as Chief Jannings, Bradford Dillman (Escape From The Planet of the Apes) as Captain Briggs, Paul Drake (Beverly Hills Cop) as Mick, Audrie Neenan (Doubt) as Ray Parkins, Jack Thibeau (Escape From Alcatraz) as Kruger, Albert Popwell (The Enforcer) as Horace King, Wendell Wellman (Sommersby) as Tyrone, and the film was directed by Clint Eastwood. Before we get into the review of the film, let’s check out some stats:
So in our third Dirty Harry film, how did Harry Callahan do as far as the stats are concerned? As far as knockouts/kills, he has about 21 of them while there is still no origin story. I put down that he had no love interest because as far as the film went, it seemed that he didn’t have any and as far as we can see it was a one night stand (so that answers the sexual conquest question). I kind of dropped the ball on the hurt question because his good friend or partner is killed when he comes to visit and his new pet Bulldog is hurt as well and the big boss definitely gets what’s coming to him. I was surprised at first to see that Clint had directed the film, but then again why wouldn’t he t this point. This wasn’t his foray into directing anyways so it only seems natural at this point in the series. Callahan is still taking people out one by one and thee San Francisco PD an District Attorney still hates him for it. The film has plenty of action scenes to please any Dirty Harry fan, but it some of the shots of the film I love like the sequence when Harry comes back to save the day. I loved the look of that sequence which is why I chose it for my stats above. On a side note, I noticed that Albert Popwell has now played three different characters (A pimp, social activist, and a cop) in the series. I just thought that was a cool tidbit. I definitely enjoyed this one better than The Enforcer, but the first two are still gold. With that being said, I am going to go ahead and give this film four fists out of five for a final grade.
A couple of weeks ago, we started watching the Dirty Harry franchise for Ass Whoopin Wednesdays when we watched Magnum Force. Since HBOGO has most of the series, I figured why not watch the next film in the series entitled The Enforcer. This time around, our favorite hard ass cop Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) has to investigate a group of disgruntled Vietnam vets who are calling themselves The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force, but there are a couple of obstacles in his way. The police force is coming down hard on Harry for the way he does his job and they have given him a new partner in a female police officer which he is not all that happy to be working with. Together, they’ll have to unfoil the groups plans and save the mayor of San Francisco. The film also stars Tyne Daly (Cagney & Lacey) as Kate Moore, Harry Guardino (Any Which Way You Can) as Lt. Bressler, Bradford Dillman (Escape From The Planet Of The Apes) as Captain McKay, John Mitchum (The Outlaw Josey Wales) as DiGeorgio, DeVeren Bookwalter (The Omega Man) as Bobby Maxwell, John Crawford (The Towering Inferno) as Mayor, Samantha Doane (The Gauntlet) as Wanda, Albert Popwell (Sudden Impact) as Mustapha, Jocelyn Jones (Tourist Trap) as Miki, and the film was directed by James Fargo (Forced Vengeance). Before we get into the review of the film, let’s check out some stats:
As far as stats are concerned, these films are pretty straightforward so this will be an easy one to interpret. Harry Callahan only has 10 kills in the film, but they are definitely important ones. He has no origin story and he definitely doesn’t have a love interest (he respects his partner, but he’s not into her). His first partner in this film gets killed and spoiler alert, his new partner gets killed. The big boss is definitely defeated in the film and you’ll have to see how it’s done for yourself. The only thing I have an argument with is that I wasn’t that convinced about the antagonists of this film like I was in previous films. I just felt like they were a bunch of jerks who decided to get together and call themselves a militant group. My other thing is that Mustapha has to grow a set of balls because he gives up information way too easily. Who hasn’t stolen something from a Holiday Inn? Apparently, that is enough to get you to corporate with a cop in this film. Other than that, I enjoyed the social commentary on where this country was in 1976 with Women’s rights on the rise, they made it a relevant factor for the film and Harry had to stop being a neanderthal. There was one kill scene that bothered me because the blood splatter was obviously not real blood because it was too orangey if you catch my drift. Other than that, the film was pretty good. Not as good as the previous two, but decent. I am going to give this one 3.4 fists out of five for a final grade.
Moshpits And Movies 