cinema history class: the house by the cemetery (1981)

   As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Fulci Month (Week 4)
Movie: House by the Cemetery (1981)
Directed by Lucio Fulci

Plot:

A researcher moves to the New England house formerly occupied by his colleague. And he gets more than he bargained for. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

First, the bad. I couldn't stand the kid. He seemed looked sort of like a cross between a demented version of Robbie Rist, rendered as a porcelain doll. And dubbed with a really annoying voice that doesn't sound right.

But other than that, this was a really great piece of the genre. Fulci is often referred to as the Godfather of Gore*, and he had definitely perfected it by the time he made this. The graphic shots of injuries are exactly the kind of thing that come to mind when I think of slasher films. It doesn't have the same kind of beauty that we saw in The Black Cat or A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, which we saw recently. The cinematography was good, but it was grittier than in the other films -- which works well. Going along with it, the music by The Goblin fits in well.

The plot was, arguably, too subtle. There were several lines that seemed to me to go nowhere, that Keith explained after the film. I'm kind of torn, since it would have been nice to understand these plot subtleties. But I also appreciate it when we don;t get hit over the head with things. Maybe a little more explicitness would have been in order.

I was really impressed by the way the ending played out. It had just enough vagueness to leave us all debating what exactly happened.

Ratings

Me: 9.5

Bob-O: 9.5

Christina: 10

Dave: 9.5

Ethan: 10

Joe: 10

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*Though, admittedly, Herschel Gordon Lewis is the first name most people associate with that title

wilko in mourning?

Wilko has developed this habit of crying over fuzzy toys.

In the video above, it's a bunch of feathers that had been tied to the end of a stick. Sometimes it's a fuzzy glove. Sometimes it's a sock.

Sometimes she'll hunch over with the toy between her front paws. Sometimes she'll carry it around. But she keeps meowing miserably. And she'll do it for a long time. I started the video above about a half hour after she started.  And she continued long after I stopped recording.

I have to wonder if she had a kitten who died?

cinema history class: the black cat (1981)

   

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Fulci Month (Week 3)
Movie: The Black Cat (1981)
Directed by Lucio Fulci

Plot:

A psychotic cat is killing people in northern England. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Before starting the film, Keith told us that the role of Professor Miles was originally intended for Peter Cushing. Cushing, however, turned it down because of Lucio Fulci's well-earned reputation for gore. The role went to Patrick Magee instead. I was disappointed by that revelation, thinking that it was a missed opportunity for Cushing to work his magic. But after all is said and done, I'm glad that Magee got the role. His gruff demeanor and gravelly voice were perfect for it. And I actually can't really imagine Cushing and his suave sophistication in the part.

As always, Fulci delivered on some beautiful shots, and the soundtrack is haunting. So this is an extremely atmospheric movie, and very engaging.

Where it comes up short is in exposition. The cat's motivation is never really explained well. Keith helped fill in the blanks. And the exposition in the trailer actually offers more explanation than the movie did -- which leads one to believe that there was an explanation that got cut out of the film as released. I also found some confusion in the way the movie seemed unsure of whether it was exploring some kind of science-based concept or something more supernatural. In the end, it included both, which kind of muddled things.

Still, even with those issues, it's hard to get over what a beautifully shot film this was.

Ratings

Me: 8.75

Christina: 8.1

Dave: 9.7

Ethan: 10

cinema history class: lizard in a woman's skin (1971)

  

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: Fulci Month (Week 2)
Movie: Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)
Directed by Lucio Fulci

Plot:

Carol Hammond (Florinda Bolkan) is having a series of vivid dreams about drugs, orgies and murder. But she awakens to find herself in the center of a real life murder investigation. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

The big strength of Lizard is its beauty. Lucio Fulci had a remarkable knack for beautiful shots. And Lizard is a series of great shots. In that way, it was a joy to behold. As a related note, a lot of the early scenes reminded me of the old TV show, Space: 1999 which, despite its myriad flaws, had some incredibly gorgeous scenes.*

Where it suffered was in the convoluted plot. In some ways I was reminded of Massacre Time, which we saw a week earlier. As I noted in my post about MT, there was a huge a-ha moment which explained a lot. Watching Lizard, I kept expecting the a-ha moment that would offer clarity. But that moment never came, and I was left frustrated. Well, to be fair, there were some minor a-ha moments. But none of those provided the kind of satisfaction I was seeking. Related, the plot is a little too clever (or convoluted, depending on how charitable I'm feeling) for its own good. And it tended to drag a bit too long.

Which is not to say that it wasn't entertaining. Just that it could have been better.

One note about the trailer above: It appears to be for Schizoid. But that's the same movie. In some countries it was released under that name. I think Lizard in a Woman's Skin is a better title.

Ratings

Me: 7.5

Dave: 9.5

Ethan: 8

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*Sadly, Space: 1999 was often incoherent, so its beautiful visuals often came in service of stupidity.

happy tunesday! "mary ann" by dr. feelgood

 

It's been quite a while since Dr. Feelgood, one of my favorite bands, put out a new studio album of new material. And now the Facebook arguments begin.

I say that because of the band's history. At this point the group has spent more than half of its life without any of the original members who made it famous. They were formed in 1971, but by the mid 1980's, frontman Lee Brilleaux was the sole original member. At that point the band had become Brilleaux and an occasionally changing lineup backing him. That changed when Brilleaux died in 1994.

After Brilleaux died, two of the members got together with another former member, hired a new frontman (Pete Gage, who was subsequently replaced with David Kane) and soldiered on. The group has been much more stable since Brilleaux's death, but albums have been less frequent. There have been three studio albums of new recordings since then: On the Road Again (1996), Chess Masters (2000) and Repeat Prescription (2006)*.

So, on Facebook groups I often see debates about whether, post-Brilleaux, the band's claim to the name is legitimate -- and whether they are worthy of the name. I stay out of those fights -- as I try to stay out of most fights on Facebook. In the case of this fight, the band is, officially, Dr. Feelgood. And they are, from what I can gather -- though I have not seen them perform live, a damn good R&B group.

At any rate, they have a new studio album, Damn Right!, coming out next month. From what I have read, it consists of all new material. Including this gem, "Mary Ann."

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*And it's worth noting that two of these albums were, arguably, gimmick releases. Chess Masters was a collection of songs from the old Chess Records. Repeat Prescription was a collection of new renditions of the band's old material.