The Mike's Top 10 Favorite Spacemen and Spacewomen

Last week, NASA launched the last space shuttle they will ever launch.  I don't know about you, but that ticks me off.  I mean, who DIDN'T want to travel across outerspace when they grow up?  I know I did.  Now, I know that NASA plans to work on new ways to send people further into space, but doesn't it kinda chafe your bum that we haven't been there yet?

Thankfully, a lot of cool people have been to space on the big and small screens.  And thankfully, I can share ten of my favorites here.  So, let's hit it.

Oh. And - just to be difficult - I've decided not to include anyone from any movie or show whose title starts with STAR. (Sorry Chewbacca!)

10. Jason Voorhees - Jason X
(Played by Kane Hodder, 2001.)

After a near decade of skewering camp counselors, silly kids, mental patients, and New Yorkers - plus a shape-shifting trip to Hell - it was about time that the masked Mr. Voorhees got some rest.  But after about 500 years of rest, his old rage is back and he's got a cast of goofy space folks to dispose of.

Written by Drive Angry scribe Todd Farmer, Jason X is a huge departure from the rest of Jason's adventures - but I have to admit I kind of love its awful dose of cheese.  And, considering the likes of Alien were basically slasher movies in space...why not send the most well known slasher of the '80s into orbit? Makes sense to me.

9. Sgt. Pinback - Dark Star
(Played by Dan O'Bannon, 1974.)

Speaking of Alien, one of the men behind the classic film once gave a fun performance while battling another loosed alien menace.  Maybe he didn't have a H.R. Giger designed creature - and maybe he was actually wrestling with a beach ball with feet - but O'Bannon still managed to fight off a space demon.

Moreover, O'Bannon - who co-wrote the film with his classmate John Carpenter - offers some of the film's funnier non-bomb related moments.  Most enjoyable are the scenes in which he rants into his diary, showing a natural bit of charisma and the passion for sci-fi that would define his career.  Although O'Bannon and Carpenter went through what my mother would call "a falling out" after the film was released, it's safe to say that their one collaboration is nothing if not memorable.

8. Tom Servo - Mystery Science Theater 3000
(Played by Kevin Murphy, 1988-1999.)

I probably could have picked anyone from The Satellite of Love - except Joel, who annoys me - but there's something about Tom Servo and his gumball machine shaped head.  Plus, Tom Servo was the only of the group to make it through every episode of the series, so perhaps I'm rewarding him for his longevity.

And yes, I know a robot isn't necessarily a spaceman or a spacewoman. But it's my list, so laugh at the gumball bot.

7. Barbarella - Barbarella
(Played by Jane Fonda, 1968.)

Barbarella is one of those movies that is just kind of entrancing.  While a lot of the intrigue comes from the intergalactic scenery and the wacky adventures of all characters....a lot of the charm comes from Jane Fonda at zero gravity, too.

Aside from her looks, Fonda also manages to make the title character interesting with her willingness to be totally innocent in the role.  Well, it's either innocent or vapid.  Some days I'm not sure.  But she's awesome at whichever it is.

6. Korben Dallas - The Fifth Element
(Played by Bruce Willis, 1997.)

My life would not be complete without Bruce Willis movies, and this list would not be complete without The Fifth Element. I still recall being a teenager who had next to no interest in seeing this film in the theater - I only went because it seemed more interesting than Jurassic Park 2 - but it's become one of my favorite sci-fi blockbusters over the past 14 years.

Though the likes of Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, and (yep, I'm gonna say it) Chris Tucker steal most scenes in the film, Willis' cab driver turned hero in goofy clothes and with bleached blonde hair is the film's center - and he brings his a-game.  It might not be as good as Die Hard or as snarky as The Last Boy Scout - but those movies aren't in space now, are they?

5. Ellen Ripley - The Alien Series
(Played by Sigourney Weaver, 1979-1997.)

Sometimes you don't really have to defend the things you say.  Like when you say "Man, that Hitler guy was a dunce" or when you say "Grilled cheese sandwiches are pretty amazing".  And, after years upon years of loving the Alien films, I'm pretty sure that the phrase "Ellen Ripley is one of the all-time greats" falls into that category.

I suppose if I had to defend myself I could mention that I'm quite fond of Ripley's resolve.  Everyone lauds her for how aggressive she became in the second film, but even before that it was easy to see that this was a character who would stand for what's right and what needs to be done...and I dig that.  Good for you, Ms. Ripley.  May you never face an Alien menace again.

Oh, and bonus points for the cat love.

4. Captain Malcolm Reynolds - Firefly/Serenity
(Played by Nathan Fillion, 2002-2005.)

If only Fillion really got to play Reynolds for a full three years. He might be higher up this list.  Alas, the short reign of the Captain and the Browncoats left much to be desired.  None of that's his fault, of course...but it makes me sad enough to not risk ranking him higher.

I know it's become cliche and kinda uncool to be a browncoat, but I stand by the Captain still.  Reynolds nearly single-handedly got me interested in sci-fi and western cinema in a way I didn't expect...and he did so with a mix of compassion and brutality that made him the perfect hero on the edge of the 'verse.  I can dig it.

3. Stella Star - The Adventures of Stella Star (aka: Starcrash)
(Played by Caroline Munro, 1978.)

Because she's Caroline Munro.

2. Flash Gordon - Flash Gordon

(Played by Sam J. Jones, 1980)

The top two on our list are basically the two greatest dudes ever created on screen that aren't named Plissken or Balboa.  And it was near impossible for me to pick which belonged at #2 and which belonged at #1.  Alas, it was Gordon that checked in at #2, partially because he didn't play for the Packers and partially because he can be kind of a doofus at times.

Those minor flaws aside, I think it's safe to say that there are few heroes who are more heroic than Flash Gordon.  With his blonde locks and his too small t-shirt, Flash manges to woo both an intelligent New York woman and a space princess.  He manages to overthrow a Merciless villain, and befriends a future Bond...and he does it all in such style.  Why isn't he Number 1 again? Perhaps it's because Brian Blessed needs some of the spotlight too.

1a & 1b. Buck Rogers & Wilma Deering - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

(Played by Gil Gerard & Erin Gray, 1979-1981.)

While I intended to have Buck Rogers atop this list a few minutes ago, I decided that just wasn't right.  That quote about every good man and a good woman is always fun, and Wilma Deering needs to be represented here.  After all, she kinda kept Buck in check, didn't she?  

That said, Buck Rogers is kinda the ultimate dude.  He fights, he befriends robots, he has ridiculously cool hair - he does it all.  I mean, he got lost in time - but he still came out on the other side as a hero.  In fact, considering their similar fates, I think it's only fitting that someone out there needs to make Buck Rogers vs. Jason X.

And with Wilma on Buck's side, there's no way Jason stands a chance.

Evil Dead Remake....for real? Bruce Campbell tells The Mike to believe!

That's what internet rumors are saying...and that's what Bruce Campbell is saying.

After rumors started rolling around the internet (hey look, here's some of them!) I - knowing we've been down this path before - voiced some skepticism on Twitter regarding the project.

That "GroovyBruce" fellow? Well, according to Bruce-Campbell.com - it's Bruce Campbell.

And a bit later....GroovyBruce had some reassuring words for The Mike.....

So, do you believe?

Update - 7/12/11 - As is noted in Bruce's tweet (and now the title of the post) it's an Evil Dead REMAKE that is being produced.  And, today, Bloody Disgusting (after picking up our scoop on Bruce's tweet) found out that Fede Alvarez - not Sam Raimi - will be directing the low budget remake.

Alvarez got Raimi's attention with this short film, which is well worth seeing.

The Nesting

(1981, Dir. by Armand Weston.)

Do you assume that every horror movie from the early '80s that you've never heard of is a slasher movie? Or is it just me?

The Nesting, despite being released in 1981 and featuring one of those round-and-stabby-things-that-have-a-name-I-don't-know on its poster/DVD artwork, is not a slasher movie.  And since all I knew about the movie going into my viewing of it was a) it was directed by a guy who spent most of the '70s making "adult features" and b) I thought it was a slasher movie - well, let's just say I was a little unprepared for The Nesting. Thus, this definitely falls into the category of early '80s films that don't meet what I expected.  And that's when I call these films "an odd duck" to cover my tracks.

Anyway, The Nesting is certainly an odd duck of a horror film.  Did I mention that it's not a slasher?  Well, it isn't.  Robin Groves stars as Lauren Cochran, an agoraphobic writer who takes up residence in an abandoned country home so she can work in peace.  That plot in and of itself isn't too odd, except for the agoraphobia part.

Do you guys know about agoraphobia?  Well, I thought I did when I started watching The Nesting. I mean, I've seen Copycat at least a dozen times (severely underrated crime flick, that one), so I was pretty sure that Sigourney Weaver - who would never lie to me - had told me the truth about agoraphobia.  But as I watched The Nesting....I started to wonder.  And then, just to be safe, I had to look up a real definition of agoraphobia.

Now, I may be crazy - and maybe Ms. Weaver and her screenwriter weren't entirely honest with me - but that definition reads like Lauren Cochran would maybe not want to live in a secluded house where there's no help available except for one inept handyman who comes and goes as he pleases.  And it makes me feel like Lauren wouldn't spend like 60% of the movie going to visit random people as she investigates the house she moved into because she "felt like she'd been there before".  The early part of the film does show her walking around city streets and getting panicky and such, which fits with the disease's description - but her disease seems to come and go as the film requires it.

So, without the agoraphobia really becoming a key contributor to the film (there are moments that rival the likes of Let's Scare Jessica to Death, but they fade quickly), The Nesting needs something else to make it an "odd duck" that stands out from other haunted country home films.  And that's where the hooker stuff comes in to play.  Yep, without spoiling too much, I can tell y'all that the visions that seem to be haunting Lauren's country home are some old-school "madam"s.  So, with the help of her bumbling love interest, her doctor, and her landlord (played by aging horror icon John Carradine), it's haunted house mystery time for Lauren - who pretty much has the worst control over her emotions of all-time. I suppose that could be her agoraphobia speaking, but I kinda think she just was a really bad spaz.

Then again, acting doesn't seem to be anyone in The Nesting's strong suit, so maybe I misread the film.  But I am pretty sure that Graves' performance slips from "passable" to "holy cow, she's totally freaking out and it's hilarious" a few times throughout the film, particularly after a late film reveal when she has a bit of a breakdown.  The other performers are pretty middling as well - Carradine gets in a few good moments, but also goes over the top at times, but thankfully - like the director's other films - this film offers a lot to make up for its acting faults.

With its creepy domed country house (What's the word for something that looks like a boob? Because this house is to that word as The Washington Monument is to phallic.), the nearby pond, and the bevy of hooker ghosts, The Nesting is filled with some unique visuals and a couple of characters meet very unique demises that should prove pretty memorable in the long run.  There's a lot of silliness involved in these proceedings, which - along with the acting - makes it very hard to take The Nesting seriously, but I found myself being forgiving as the film wrapped up.  I'll take a middling haunted house film over a middling slasher any day of the week, and The Nesting at least kept me interested - even if all my preconceived ideas about the film (slasher, porn-ish, confined to one space) were proven wrong.

Recently restored by the cult movie lovers at Blue Underground and available on home video for the first time in years, The Nesting can now be seen in all its original glory once again.  It's a departure from what you'd expect - think The Changeling, but a bit sleazier and with horrible acting and a silly final act - but it's worth a viewing if you're a fan of the way movies used to present a haunting.

Midnight Movie of the Week #79 - The Fly

Utilizing a device that's generally restricted to film noir of the '40s or Oscar winning dramas, Kurt Neumann's 1958 classic opens with a character admitting to the murder of the title character.  She's not just a character either, she's the man's wife - a timid middle-aged redheaded woman played by Patricia Owens.  And, naturally, the person she offers her confession to is none other than Vincent Price - because that's what you do in a movie like The Fly.

Now overshadowed by its Cronenberg-flavored remake, the first film about a man/fly hybrid reminds me that dark and dreary was a part of sci-fi cinema long before the 1986 version offered a bleak and disgusting look at teleportation gone wrong.  Neumann's film opens with the reminder that a man is dead, accompanied by a shot of his smashed body in a factory press, and sets us up to quickly realize that this woman may die - at the law's hand - due to this. Her only help comes in the form of Vincent Price, a police investigator, her maid (played by Kathleen Freeman - who went on to portray 'The Penguin' in The Blues Brothers!), and her bumbling son, who catches flies for fun.  Seriously kid....you're a nerd.  In a bad way.

(By the way, check out Vincent's suave nightwear!  It's after midnight, and he's sitting at home looking like that.  Can you spell PIMP?)

Then the film, continuing to dance around the traditions of schlock that were prevalent in the '50s, goes into flashback mode and takes us back to the experiments of the now deceased husband.  His name was Andre Delambre, and he's one of those dudes who's completely devoted to SCIENCE in all ways, because SCIENCE - not your annoying wife or your dweeb kid - is like totally what's gonna save the world.  We see him experimenting with some sort of teleportation device, and everything is cool in his lab - until he randomly decides to test on the family cat.  Which was really adorable, and now I'm mad at him.

Undeterred after his poor fluffy cat seems to become a ghost, Andre decides that it's a good idea to test on himself - and you know where things go from here.  Suddenly we've got a half man/half fly in a lab and a half fly/half man in the garden, and poor Helene is left hunting the house and shouting orders about the "fly with a white head" that's on the loose.  And the police - and 'The Penguin' - just stare at her like she's crazy.  Not a fun predicament.

Unlike other sci-fi of its era - like, for example, The Blob - you can see that The Fly has a bit of a mean streak.  I've already mentioned its initial dose of smashed scientist and its murder investigation, but some of the more interesting scenes in the film involve the fly-headed man in the lab trying to explain his predicament to his wife.  The character's descent into madness - which was obviously the key to Cronenberg's remake - is handled quite well here.  A scene in which the late Doctor types out his jumbled thoughts shows off his fading mental state, and the degeneration of the character continues even further.  He becomes more violent in his motions and is a little creepy as the proceedings go on...except for the fact that he's a man with a fly's hand and head that looks kinda silly.

Also silly - but still creepy as all heck - is the ending.  It's iconic now, and has stuck with me since I was a young Mike.  Yet, upon this rewatch, I was taken aback once more by how mean the thing was.  It's telling that the film's epilogue didn't stick with me at all, but the dark images from that final scene were embedded in my brain for a couple of decades.  So the next time someone tells me that old-school horror and sci-fi doesn't have the edge that modern films could get, I might point them away from my beloved Blob and toward this version of The Fly.  It's the rare film that wasn't content to fit into what was expected at the time, and the result is an inventive shocker that's still worth seeking out.

Hobo With a Shotgun

(2011, Dir. by Jason Eisener.)

I really didn't think I'd be a big fan of Hobo With a Shotgun.  Yeah, I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking 'Hey, uh, The Mike....you know that Hobo With a Shotgun is kinda like a movie totally made for people like you, y'know?"  And you'd be right.  But the hype machine on this one made it seem like the Titanic.  Too much hype, too much talk of goodness, too much "Wow, you've never seen anything like it!"...and I simply couldn't believe there wasn't gonna be an iceberg that would sink it before it reached my heart.  It was too good to be true.

Now lock up your pawn shop, fill your shopping cart, look out for bears, and lend me your ears...because I'm her to tell you that I, like a fool, was completely wrong.  Hobo With a Shotgun hits the screen exactly as advertised, and the film you'll be seeing just might blow your mind. 

If you don't know the tale behind this Hobo, allow me a minute to recap.  Way back in the dark ages of 2007, Robert Rodriguez was on the promotional trail for Grindhouse and hosted a competition in which directors could enter their own fake trailers for exploitation flicks.  The winner of said competition would get a chance to play as part of Grindhouse - even if it was only in some Canadian theaters.  The winner of that contest was a trailer by a few Canadian filmmakers called - you guessed it - Hobo With a Shotgun.  The popularity of the trailer grew, Machete happened, and suddenly director Jason Eisener was making a full film out of his trailer - and had cast Rutger Hauer in the lead.  It's the stuff that dreams are made of.  Demented and twisted dreams - but dreams nonetheless.

The story of the actual film is pretty simple. A nameless Hobo (Hauer) rolls into a decrepit town that's ruled by a criminal and his spoiled sons, helps a hooker with a heart of gold, finds out the law isn't going to stop them, and takes matters into his own hands.  (And by matters, I mean a shotgun.)  The film does allow the Hobo a few slow moments to throw out a dramatic anecdote or two - moments that Hauer, reaching back to the skills of his Blade Runner and The Hitcher days, dominates with ease - but the blood splatter to minutes on screen ratio is kind of astronomical.

Among other things, Hobo With a Shotgun's got decapitation, shotguns to the crotch, stabbings with skates, blowtorchings, neck sawing, the use of a toaster as a weapon, and snap bracelets.  Then again, the snap bracelets don't really play into the violence of the film, but there's a moment when our hooker with a heart of gold (played by Molly Dunsworth) snaps one onto each of her wrists - and instantly makes me want to fall in love with her.  I mean, who doesn't miss snap bracelets? Those things were one of the Top 5 things to come out of the '80s, easily.

Speaking of the '80s, Hobo With a Shotgun certainly mimics the great decade well.  Particularly tubular is the musical score, which is credited to three composers - Adam Burke, Darius Holbert, and Russ Howard III.  I'm not sure why it took three dudes to come up with this musical score - but if that's what it takes to make the film sound so good, I'm all for every film having three composers.  The music reminds of films like Carpenter's Escape from New York, and really kept me interested during the action sequences.  The film also offers a lot of visual treats, with Eisener and crew using sharp colors to light most scenes, giving the film a retro look as the gold, blue, and even pink tints of the film add to the unique feel of the proceedings.  And I'd be ashamed if I didn't mention that there's also some decent humor mixed in to the film.  A newspaper headline that read "HOBO STOPS BEGGING, DEMANDS CHANGE" had me laughing loudly and heartily for several minutes.

You're probably not going to watch Hobo With a Shotgun for the music or color palette or the snap bracelets or the surprising supporting turn by Dunsworth, but these were the touches that really sold the film to me.  Anyone can make violence happen, and most can make violence inventive.  We've all seen that, and I didn't care to just see it again.  Thus, I'm more than ecstatic that Eisener, Hauer, and the rest of the cast and crew went out of their way to bring more to the table, because each scene in the film made me increasingly certain that the people behind this film cared about what they were doing and knew what it took to do it well. The resulting film is more than a pleasant surprise - it's one of the most fantastic genre films I've seen in years.

Midnight in The Twilight Zone - An Independence Day Top 10

Might as well face it, I'm addicted to lists.  I KNOW.  But you know what? It's the 4th of July...and the SyFy Network, in a rare brilliant move, has been doing a Twilight Zone marathon all day.  THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE TO GAIN!!!!

In the midst of the awesomeness, a few fine Facebook finks started listing off their Top 10 favorite Twilight Zone episodes...and I wanted to too.  So, off the top of my head - and armed with the knowledge that I still haven't seen enough episodes of the best series ever - I came up with 10 favorites and ranked them and am now gonna share them here.  Let's rock.

(By the way, all of these episodes are on Netflix Instant Watch, and I've been told most of the series' eps are available on YouTube. Happy hunting!)

Number 10 - Dust (January 6, 1961; Season 2, Episode 12)

When I started my rarely revisited Midnight in The Twilight Zone series a while back, Dust was the first episode I covered.  It's never been recognized as one of the classics of the series, but I've always found it to be an interesting take on how we cope with death.  Were it not for a dose of fate late in the episode, this story of a Old West town on the day of a hanging wouldn't even make the TZ...but that's the beauty of some of Serling's best stories.

Number 9 - Time Enough At Last (November 20, 1959; Season 1, Episode 8)

Burgess Meredith, who appeared in plenty of Twilight Zone eps, gives his most memorable performance in this classic.  I think we can all relate to the character who really just wants time alone to enjoy their hobbies, and this episode reminds us that what we want isn't always what is best for us...or anyone else. 

Number 8 - Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up? (May 26, 1961; Season 2, Episode 28

Many of my favorite TZ episodes seem to have a common theme of people being pitted against each other and letting human nature take over.  Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up? gives us 9 characters in a diner...and then tells us one of them is a Martian.  The rest is up to them.  With one of the series' best twists, this is a pretty simple episode that keeps me grinning every time.

Number 7 - Eye of the Beholder (November 11, 1960; Season 2, Episode 6)

I gotta admit, at this point it's impossible for me to see this episode without starting to laugh about the Saturday Night Live spoof of it that featured Pamela Anderson.  But when judged on its own accord, this might be the series' most well put together episode from a visual standpoint.  I used to think the reveal came a little too early in this episode, but the extra discussion of the story's message adds to the impact on the viewer.

Number 6 - Mirror Image (February 26, 1960; Season 1, Episode 21)

Vera Miles is seeing double in this episode of The Zone, which I've always thought was a little more abstract than many of its counterparts.  While many of the series' sci-fi turns involved invaders or time travel, Mirror Image deals with something a little more relative, and leaves a lasting impression on the open mind.

Number 5 - The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (March 4, 1960; Season 1, Episode 22)

When I was in high school, our Language Arts teacher would have us read these short plays in class and act them out in the 12 foot by 12 foot class room.  It was juvenile, but hey - so's high school.  Anyway, one of the plays was about a neighborhood in which the neighbors all decide a new person on the block is odd and get mobby and start throwing stones.  I don't remember the full story, all I really remember is that I played the neighbor who finally stood up at the embattled house and shouted "Throw the next stone at me neighbors, I live here too!"  I botched the line the first time, but (with prompting) I got an ovation on the second - and it was kinda a great moment that reminded me that standing against the crowd is often a good thing.  Seriously, it was one of the few moments in school that I actually remember teaching me something.  That teacher deserves a plaque or something.

Anyway, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street kinda covers a similar situation - but ponders what might happen if there's no one who will stand up and shout something sensible.  Perhaps the series' most thought provoking tale.

Number 4 - Spur of the Moment (February 21, 1964; Season 5, Episode 21)

A young woman is tormented by the haunting vision above in one of the best episodes of the latter seasons.  This shrieking woman might be the most haunting vision from the whole series to me, and the Richard Matheson penned episode is another great reminder of how our decisions can haunt us.

Number 3 - To Serve Man (March 2, 1962; Season 3, Episode 24)

Though it's only Number 3 on my list, this is probably the one episode I'd pick if I had to show someone who'd never seen the show what The Zone is all about.  It's got aliens, it's got the twist, it's got boatloads of narration.  It's also got Richard "Jaws" Kiel, which is an outlier, but is awesome.  Oh, and it's so good that it's still randomly getting mentioned in stuff like Madagascar.  That's just random, but it proves something.  To Serve Man = Classic.


Number 2 - Nothing in the Dark (January 5, 1962; Season 3, Episode 16)

This story of an old woman who's terrified of death and a young injured policeman (played by a young Robert Redford!) is probably the one Twilight Zone episode that completely threw me for a loop when I first saw it.  I'm not even sure what I was thinking the ending would be, but then it happened - and I was like Sixth Sense shocked.  Wasn't until I saw it a second time that I even caught the final discussion (which changed the tone of the episode completely), because I was too busy arguing how the heck they could do that. (Who was I arguing with, you ask? Myself.  I was arguing with myself. It tricked me THAT well.)

Number 1 - The Howling Man (November 4, 1960; Season 2, Episode 5)

It's one of the more out-of-place and uncharacteristic episodes of the series, but this cautionary tale about the evils in our world has my heart every time.  The three leads give such passionate performances that it's easy to get caught up, and the big reveal - which is followed by a sly final touch - is one of my favorite images in the world.  I've already written about this one once, but it bears repeating that this is one of my favorite horror stories ever.

Three Doses of Polanski

Quite frankly, Roman Polanski is one of the most talked about directors of film this side of Alfred Hitchcock.  You couldn't pay someone to make up the Roman Polanski story.  You could go find some hack Hollywood screenwriter (like Paul Haggis) and tell him to write a story about a Polish kid who survived the holocaust, became a famous film director, went to Hollywood, married a beauty, got her pregnant, found her murdered by one of the world's most famous psychopaths and his minions, made more famous movies, sexually abused a 13 year old model, became a criminal, then fled the U.S. and lived on the lam for 30+ years while still making movies....and that hack screenwriter would look you in the face and say "You're crazy, that story could never happen".  And yet....IT DID.

While it would be fun to sit here and ruminate about the man and his life, my heart's always been stuck on one simple question: "Why are we still talking about this guy?"  From what others have told me, it's partially A) because he's kinda creepy and infamous, and partially B) because he's made some really unique movies.  And I've always been more interested in Type B individuals than Type A individuals.

Thus, I revisited three of Roman's most famous works this weekend...and now I'm gonna hit you with some random thoughts on each of them.  My hope is that I'll cover a few more of his films in the near future, but let's start with these three heavyweights.

Repulsion

My horror blogging role model, Andre of The Horror Digest, once did a far better job of discussing what goes on while watching Repulsion than I ever could.  (Also, I stole the above image from her, because it was one of my very favorite moments in the film.)  While I'm not sure I'm as wildly in love with the film as she seems to be, I have to admit that this movie got inside my head pretty easily this time around.

(I suppose this is the part of the post where I mention that my previous attempts at watching Polanski weren't always positive.  I've always believed very strongly in the idea that someone's ability to open their mind to unknown possibilities is a fluid part of their personality, and that things like age, experience, and education - among others - can change their perception of the things they see on screen.  That was a confusing sentence.  What I'm trying to say is that I think there are movies you "get" and movies you "don't get", and that sometimes you suddenly get a movie that you previously didn't get.)

I first saw Repulsion several years ago on a cheap DVD from Netflix.  It was one of those awful transfer with a watermark that reminded you which awful public domain company made the DVD - though I actually don't remember which company it was now, ironically.  I knew there was something unique about it, but since I was unable to make out all the details of the images and the sound was crap...I basically wrote the movie off for dead.  It's already difficult to understand anything about Repulsion's plot, having to make out the images and the words made the film simply too much of a chore.

But then a few positive reviews and a Criterion re-release happened and, voila, Repulsion and I sat down together one more time.  And this time I was intrigued.  There's so much odd stuff going on inside the film - which can be quickly summed up as "hot blonde in Europe is sexually frustrated and begins to go crazy in her apartment" - and (when the transfer allows it) it's one of those flicks that you can just kind of watch and hear and not try to make any sense out of.  Realistically it's a movie that will make you go 'Wait, WHAT?" repeatedly, but at the same time you still kind of feel for Catherine Deneuve's lead character as she slips in and out of control.  She does silent and crazy well, and Polanski surrounds her with events that support her frantic actions.

Also, I have to give the movie mad, mad props for Polanski's decision to set certain scenes to raucous and loud jazz music.  There's this musical term that's common in jazz, a word called "cacophony", that describes music that puts things that aren't harmonious together to create a discord, and that's exactly what Repulsion is about.  None of its parts really fit together, but there's this strange and chaotic poetry to it all that keeps me engaged in it anyway.  It's in my head now, and I'm glad it got there.

The Fearless Vampire Killers

Like Repulsion, this was a flick I had seen before and not really cared too much about.  Unlike Repulsion, another viewing didn't change my mind too much.

The Fearless Vampire Killers is really a fantastic idea, and Polanski does a fine job of evoking the feel of a Hammer Films Production.  He tells the story of a bumbling vamp hunter (Jack MacGowran, who would go on to play the memorable Burke Dennings in The Exorcist) and his bumbling assistant (played by Polanski himself), who end up in the middle of snowy Transylvania pursuing a beauty (Sharon Tate, who Polanski soon married and who became Charles Manson's favorite victim) who's been captured by a unique Count and his many followers.

The spoof movement in cinema hadn't really happened yet when Fearless Vampire Killers hit screens in 1967, which makes it no surprise that this film feels a little clunky in its execution.  It might be the most well shot comedic parody ever filmed - there are plenty of scenes that look like a shinier version of a Hammer Film - but the story's tone is just a bit off.  It's hard to mistake Polanski's bumbling about the screen as anything but a spoof, but other portions of the film are seriously dark.  Worse, a lot of those parts are just a bit dull.

The final act definitely improves upon the rest of the film, and the last few scenes are quite iconic on their own.  But it's still too little, too late for The Fearless Vampire Killers, which really isn't funny enough to make an impact aside from its visual treats.

Rosemary's Baby

And then there's Rosemary's Baby, which really needs no introduction.  To horror fans, this is one of the true heavyweights.  In fact, it's a heavyweight to plenty of film fans, living on as one of the rare horror films to be recognized at the Oscars (a screenplay nomination and a supporting actress win for Ruth Gordon).  But the one thing I seem to forget from time to time is that Rosemary's Baby isn't just a well-made film; it's also a ridiculously thought provoking film.

Though it's 136 minute runtime could provide a chore for most modern horror fans that are used to getting their thrills in 90 minutes or less, there's very little in Rosemary's Baby that doesn't get the mind rolling in one regard or another.  Even early film scenes, like the one pictured above in which Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her husband Guy (John Cassavettes) eat dinner and then matter-of-factly "make love" are drawn in a manner that gets us wondering what the things we're seeing mean.  You will of course know that something is going to change for the worse at some point in the film, but these random everyday events get us onboard with the characters quickly and put us in their life.

Truthfully, it's not far into the film that even a first time viewer will go "Y'know, Rosemary's on to something here", but this viewing did a great job of reminding me how little we really learn about Rosemary's predicament before the shocking finale.  I don't want to go all spoilery here, but most of what we're told throughout the film is just a bit off of what we actually find out.  It's not the biggest twist in the world, but it's a very sly move by Polanski's script.

When we get to the final scene, it is impossible for me to understate how much this thing gets under my skin.  We know what the characters might be throughout the film, but we don't really see how odd they are until Rosemary walks us into that final room and we see it all through her eyes.  There are still plenty of unanswered questions in our brain as we see what she sees (Most notably: where did they get an Asian Satanist and why is he taking pictures like a tourist?), and Polanski and crew do right by not answering them all for us.  After what we've been through with Rosemary, it would be completely unfair for everything to be wrapped up so briefly and simply.  We need that little bit of leftover unease as we leave this film, it is what makes the film a true classic.

After all, there's often more to think about than what we see.  It's true about Polanski's life - more on that in a shorter future post - and it's certainly true about the man's films.  A weekend with these three offerings from the director has certainly gone a long way to reminding me of that.

How PJ Soles (Totally) Changed The Mike's Life

When you're young, it's not always easy to foresee how the people you cross paths with will effect you in the long run.  As a teenager, one often focuses on the easy answer, lets that unwritten high school class system take over, and doesn't give much thought to the people that aren't like them.  I know those of you that know The Mike believe he is a wise and enlightened man, but I was once caught in that rut too and I didn't always realize that experiencing people who weren't "like me" wasn't always a bad thing.

But since teenage The Mike was a nerd who just sat around watching movies whenever he could - and one who lived in rural Iowa - his interactions with people who weren't like him happened really only happened through the safety of a protruding glass screen. And when I say "people who weren't like me"...I basically mean popular people.  Or cool people.  Or the people who were interesting enough to be featured in a movie.

(Anyone else remember back when television screens protruded?  Man, THOSE WERE THE DAYS!)

There were a lot of popular and cool people who taught The Mike life lessons from that box, and one of the key people that he met through that screen was a young woman by the name of PJ.  He first came across her in a decidedly un-horror manner, as she portrayed one of two military policewomen/love interests in the Bill Murray comedy Stripes.  That film was always a favorite to watch with my father, but Soles honestly was only a small part of the film's charm.  I will give her credit in one regard, however, because I always found her more likeable than her on-screen cohort, Blade Runner femme fatale Sean Young (SPOILER ALERT: Finkle is Einhorn.)

But Stripes was not the film that made PJ Soles a permanent fixture in my life.  That distinction, of course,  belongs to John Carpenter's Halloween, which needed less than 100 minutes to become permanently entrenched in my mind as my favorite horror film.  While I was certain about the film's killer and the hero and the heroine all being folks that I was quite interested in, I couldn't quite figure out what was up with that one loud mouthed cheerleader.  Now I realize: I was a bit foolish to dismiss her so easily.

Looking back, I realize that Soles' Lynda was, in a way, as much a part of the film's success with me as anything else.  It was the outlier.  While everything else, from the direction to Donald Pleasence's performance to Jamie Lee Curtis' squeaky clean image, was clearly defined and neatly placed.  At the time I thought that the film, in total, was carefully structured, adhering to a strict set of rules about the people in it.  And I see now that Lynda was the wild card.  She was not only a victim, she was the representation of chaos at work in the film.  I know what you're thinking - "Wait...isn't the escaped mental patient/mass murderer the chaos at work in the film?"  Well, yes, he is.  But to the viewer, he's a known quantity.  Heck, I'd already seen Scream by the time I saw Halloween, I knew what Michael was.  Lynda - she was something completely new to me.

None of that would be possible without Soles' natural charisma.  Though it's been said that Jamie Lee was more like Lynda in real life, you'd never expect that Soles was actually the girl on set who was opposed to smoking cigarettes on screen.  And while the character was designed to be annoying, there was something about Lynda that was surprisingly human.  Being a teenager at the time, I couldn't help thinking that this girl - who totally bugged me with her repetitive use of certain words and wasn't really a sympathetic character - was one of the most realistic characters I'd ever come across in horror.  Soles didn't take Lynda over the top, she just made her a teenager.  Even 20 years after the film and in the middle of Iowa, I could instantly picture Lynda as a character in my school - and all Soles needed to do was act naturally.

I didn't get it at the time.  I was too young, too goofy, and too oblivious to the real world around me.  I knew that Lynda was something different, but it didn't click for me for a while.  Over time, I realized that most of Halloween - and later (to me) Carrie and Rock 'N Roll High School - existed in a world that was foreign to me, but PJ Soles' turn as Lynda was a rare turn that created an imperfect character who had a place in my world.  She was an extravagant character sure, the likes of which you wouldn't expect in your everyday life.  I wasn't sure about her then, but I soon realized that her flaws made her feasible.

 Now, as I look back, it's easy to realize that Soles' work in the last half of the 1970s created some of the most interesting teenage characters put on film.  They were not the kind of people I'd expect to like in real life, but they were the kind of people who make life a bit more interesting.  Meeting Ms. Soles through that TV screen got me thinking about the people I may dismiss or shy away from in life.  And it got me thinking about the good that could be found in them too.  Maybe it's not a total victory for Mike-kind, but PJ Soles shook the pillars of my cinematic experience.  Because of that, she lives on today as one of FMWL's favorite people.

The '80s Horror Month at FMWL Wrap-Up Post

Man, it seems like just yesterday I started FMWL's '80s Horror Month...and it's already ending.  I've got mixed feelings about this.  Part of me feels like there's sooooo much out there I didn't get to cover (Truth be told, there is - I'm far from an expert on the decade's offerings), but part of me is incredibly grateful to have it over. 

Allow me to explain that last part.   I must admit, I had slightly devious intentions when I started '80s Horror Month.  In fact, I decided to do '80s Horror Month because I had an idea for a post brewing near the end of May, and I wanted to convince myself that this idea that was circling my mind was wrong.  This idea, in no uncertain terms, was the idea that I wanted to write a post about why I think that '80s Horror is Overrated.

I was in a mood, I guess.  But when I slowed myself down and really thought about it, I realized that it simply wouldn't be right to make such a post.  First of all, calling anything overrated is a silly and childish statement that implies that the writer understands others' opinions AND can judge their worth.  And I don't want that at FMWL.  Second, and most importantly, I couldn't possibly say such a thing about the decade as a whole.  There are far too many things I love about the decade; the statement just wouldn't be true.

So, let's break it down a bit.  Here's a list of what and who, in my mind, are the winners and losers of '80s Horror Month:

Humperdink!

WINNER: Fright Night - Checking in at #2 on the list of my Top 31 '80s Horrors, I kind of expected a backlash against the film being ranked so high.  Alas, the half dozen or so commenters who commented all had good things to say of it.  I'm glad, because it might be my favorite thing that is both horror and extraordinarily '80s.

LOSER: A Nightmare on Elm Street - In retrospect (yes, a whole month worth of retrospection later), I'm kinda feeling silly for not putting Wes Craven's original shocker on the list.  I hate the tacked on ending so much, but there's a lot of great things going on in it.  At least I put Dream Warrirors, which offers better Fishburne, breasts, and Dokken, on the list....right?

Also a winner...Jameson Parker's mustache.

WINNER: John Carpenter - It's no big surprise, considering he's my favorite living director, but Carpenter placed three films in the Top 10 of the countdown. I regret nothing, even as I recognize that I must be Prince of Darkness' biggest fan.

LOSER: George A. Romero - He's an icon, but after Creepshow his horror output took a steep dive in my book.  Perhaps his style was better suited to the pre-slasher era, or perhaps he was always just a little too cynical for the masses.  Whatever the reason, Day of the Dead has never wowed me...and I'm not sure if I'd say he's made a good horror film since.

I love this neighborhood!

WINNER: Tommy Jarvis - I had already planned to speak briefly of my love for what I call the Tommy Jarvis Trilogy (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter through Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI) in a post on sequels. But, Enbrethiliel (of Shredded Cheddar) took over while I was on vacation and closed the case. She made my point official - Tommy Jarvis is the best thing about the Friday the 13th movies. (Well, except maybe Banana Girl...)

LOSER: Jason Voorhees - Jason, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. I like you. I like you a lot. You've got an iconic look, you're intimidating, and you're inventive. I understand the appeal of you being you. My sister got me a bobblehead of you with movable arms as a surprise addition to my birthday gift, and I was like fist-pumping psyched.  It's just that....well, I don't know how to tell you this, but....your movies....they aren't very good. Sometimes I have fun with them, but they're not substantial.  Except for the Tommy Jarvis trilogy, I can't tell them apart. So....sorry you didn't make the Top 31 list.  Wanna hug it out?

WINNER: The Initiation - Speaking of slasher films, I got a chance to revisit this one while I was on vacation and being antisocial.  I never wrote about it, because I was on vacation, but I'm kinda convinced this is one of the better slasher films out there. It's got a lot of stuff I dig, including:

• Clu Gulager and Vera Miles as adult leads.
• Daphne Zuniga, who's a total babe.
• That doofus from Remington Steele who was always jealous of Pierce Brosnan and tried to get in Stephanie Zimbalist's pants.
• Sorority house hijinks, complete with initiation games (Like, duh...did you read the title?)
• A final act that's set in this crazy shopping center/giant tower.
• A weird "I was raped once, now I want to have sex while a killer's on the loose" moment.

So yeah, The Initiation.  Deserves some love.  Check it out.

LOSER:  Happy Birthday to Me - One of my favorite slasher films on a personal level, and yet I'm pretty sure I didn't mention it all month.  I have a relatively good excuse, though. Last June 9th, I used it as Midnight Movie of the Week.  This Jun 9th, the MMOTW pick was Bloody Birthday.  Hmmmm, what is it about that day?

That's not the way to get a-head in life!

WINNER: 1987 - In a bit of a surprise to me, 1987 dominated my list of favorite '80s horrors.  How much domination, you ask? Well, of the 31 films that made the list, a whopping EIGHT were released in 1987.  In comparison, the two closest years (1982 & 1983) each put four films on the list.  Like I said.....DOMINATED.

LOSER: 1981 - A lot of people call 1981 one of the greatest years of horror ever.  But I only ended up with three films from that year on the list.  Sure, two of the three ended up in the list's top four....but I kinda expected more. 

WINNERS: The Guest Bloggers - Though I spent most of the month on that list I keep talking about, the highlight of the month for me was having five fine folks jump in and help FMWL out while I was on vacation.  They are (in no particular order) Syrin of My Own Little Corner, Dod of The WGON Helicopter, Marvin the Macabre of The Montana Mancave Massacre, the aforementioned E of Shredded Cheddar, and Andreas of Pussy Goes Grrr.  And they are also all awesome.  In fact, I'd say they saved '80s Horror Month, and I owe them a large debt of gratitude.

LOSERS: People Who Don't Like Lists - I know, I got carried away.  I mentioned that I was kind of excited that this month was ending...because I'm ready to write some reviews again.  I got way too lost in lists this month.  Sorry.

WINNERS: The Midnight Movies of the Week - The MMOTW list has always been my baby at FMWL, and I gotta say I loved the additions I got to make to it due to '80s Horror Month.  Dead Calm was a triumphant revisit, Bloody Birthday is high class sleaze, and The Hidden was as much fun as I've always thought it was.  Adding in F13 Part VI, which has its charms...I'd say '80s horror month provided some great choices.

I could probably go on all night, but the most important thing I realize as I look back at '80s Horror Month - and '80s Horror in general - is that it's really freakin' exciting that so much '80s goodness has survived to be analyzed - even if it's analyzed poorly - more than 20 years later.  There are ups and downs, but the fact of the matter remains that most of the decade's offerings are a sort of horror comfort food.  Even if they're not my favorites, films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th helped shape where the horror genre was going, and I'm convinced that I kind of have to give them my respect. 

The '80s were a great and powerful force, my friends.  I may not be entirely sad to see them go - there are other things on FMWL's horizon that demand my attention - but I hate to watch them leave. Be well, '80s Horror.  Wherever you go, remember that you've got a friend at FMWL.

Just don't trust Samantha Phillips!