229) Deadtime Stories (1986)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part seven)

"You were expecting Janet Leigh?"

Director 
Jeffrey Delman

Cast

Michael Mesmer - Uncle Mike
Brian DePersia - Little Brian

Scott Valentine - Peter
Nicole Picard - Rachel
Matt Mitler as Willie
Cathryn de Prume - Goldi Lox
Kathy Fleig - Miranda
Phyllis Craig - Hanagohl
Melissa Leo - Judith "MaMa" Baer
Kevin Hannon - Beresford "Papa" Baer
Timothy Rule - Wilmont "Baby" Baer
Anne Redfern - Florinda
Casper Roos - Vicar

The 1986 horror comedy anthology flick "Deadtime Stories" wasn't my first pick for the seventh movie in this ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza. It wasn't even my third pick. It wasn't an option at all. But it became a pick because I couldn't access the movies I really wanted to watch and comment on, particularly "Deadly Friend" or "The Hitcher." The latter being my primary pick. However, "Deadtime Stories" fits this platform pretty well, all things considered. 

The movie tells three tales wrapped around the premise of an impatient uncle named Mike (Michael Mesmer) trying to get is sleepless and annoying nephew, Brian, (Brian DePersia) to sleep by telling him bedtime stories. Each story is more cynically twisted than the previous. 

The first story is called "The Black Forest." Peter (Scott Valentine - TV's Nick from "Family Ties") is sold as a slave to two witches who are cruel and, you know, witch-like. These two witch sisters are attempting to resurrect their third dead sister from the grave. So, they get Peter to do some pretty dark stuff against his will to help them bring back their dead sister. 

The second story, "Little Red Running Hood" is a low-budget and low I.Q. retelling of, obviously, "Little Red Riding Hood." 

The segment follows Rachel (Nicole Picard), who's supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood, who needs to pick up her grandmother's medication from a local drug store. She accidentally grabs meds for a werewolf instead. Hilarity ensues. Werewolf transformation takes place. Good times! 

The third segment, "Goldi Lox and the Three Baers" you'd think is self-explanatory. Basically, it's a much more off-the-wall and demented version of the fairytale. 

The "three Baers" - Beresford "Papa" Baer (Kevin Hannon), Judith "Mama" Baer (Melissa Leo), and Wilmont "Baby" Baer (Timothy Rule) - are actually three escaped mental patients. Their hideout is discovered by Goldi Lox (Cathryn de Prume) who is able to move objects through telekinesis. Rather than scare her off, the Baers keep her around as she is actually a murderer and Baby Baer has taken a liking to her. 

Matt Mitler as Willie in "Deadtime Stories."

It's amazing how this movie goes from slightly campy with a dominating dramatic horror tone to completely cheesy and stupid without care. It's like the movie gives up trying to be something at least somewhat significant. 

Honestly, I just don't care about this movie. This movie is satirical. While I do love satire, it still did nothing for me. It's style of satire is dryer than a librarian's sense of humor. And it's cringier than an "apology" from a sniffling Jimmy Kimmel. Ok...not that cringy. 

It's uncomfortable to watch beginning with the dirty-minded uncle who turns these stories into horrific versions of themselves, making characters like Rachel (i.e. Red Riding Hood) and Goldi Lox in saucy seductive characters. 

His stories are a mix of gore, sexuality, and mindless absurdity. Goldi Lox for instance is played absolutely absurd and pointless! Her telekinesis  makes the story feel all the more silly and overblown.
The movie took a while to grab my attention. Well, it grabbed my attention the same way a cheap souvenir does. It's interesting for a moment, and then remains dull once that moment has passed. 

The whole movie feels like some low-budget gimmick. It becomes an over-saturated dark comedy with a completely uneven feel. For some, its low-budget VHS horror charm might work, and that style does appeal to me. This one, not so much. You can see the absurdity increase moment by moment. 

The visual effects are gag inducing, especially in the first story. It's amazing that "Deadtime Stories" starts off looking like a movie that's half-way decent as far as quality goes and ends like a low-budget film school short with terrible camera work, over-the-top acting and nothing worth remembering. 

The whole thing is unreal and twisted. The writers knew this thing wouldn't be a big hit, so they just had fun being as ludicrous as they wanted. That much I can appreciate. 

"Deadtime Stories" is a cheap raunchy, blood-soaked trio of tales the likes of which a drunk uncle would likely share to whoever (if anyone) is listening. 

228) Day of the Dead (1985)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part six)

"Civil behavior is what distinguishes us from the lower forms. It's what enables us to communicate. To go about things in an orderly fashion, without attacking each other like beasts. Civility must be rewarded."

Director
George A. Romero

Cast

Lori Cardille - Dr. Sarah Bowman
Sherman Howard - Bub
Joseph Pilato - Captain Henry Rhodes
Terry Alexander - John "Flyboy"
Richard Liberty - Dr. Matthew "Frankenstein" Logan
John Amplas - Dr. Ted Fisher
Jarlath Conroy - Bill McDermott

Anthony Dileo Jr. - Private Miguel Salazar

When it comes to zombie movies, I feel this horror subgenre is stuck in a rut. Most zombie movies end up as slow as the zombies themselves. 

Seven or eight years ago, I started watching the series "Walking Dead." When I got to season five, I was  bored and my interest was gone. By that point, I found the series repetitive and ... repetitive. It also felt like it was out of ideas as to where else the storyline should go. I didn't even finish season five. I'm surprised I made it that far.

However, it goes without saying that the three best, and maybe the only best of all of zombie movies that I've seen are George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead (1968)," "Dawn of the Dead (1978)," and "Day of the Dead (1985)."  

I throw in the 1990 remake of "Night of the Living Dead," directed by Tom Savini, and "Zombieland" too, which is unrelated to Romero's zombie trio, among these well-made zombie flicks. Oh, and the "zombie-esque" movie I'll post about at the end of this year's thread. 

With "Night of the Living Dead" the world's end begins as the dead start rising from their graves. 

In the sequel, "Dawn of the Dead," the world is in the midst of collapsing. And in "Day of the Dead," the world has since fallen. It's everyone for themselves. 

I had previously watched "Dawn of the Dead" a few months ago to review but didn't get around to writing something up about it...yet. I'll probably watch it again. 

I feel like I should comment on "Night of the Living Dead" first. The original is an absolute horror classic in the truest meaning of the word. And Tom Savini's remake is a well made one. It's a true labor of zombie love filmed with respect for Romero's original movie. In fact, I made it a personal tradition to watch it every October either on or before Halloween. That, and "Trick 'r Treat" from 2007 are seasonal must-sees for me, kind of like watching "A Christmas Story" and "It's a Wonderful Life" during the holiday season.  

In this movie, the world has been pretty much overrun by the walking dead. 

The actual living seem to exist in small factions here and there. The story centers around a small band of survivors that live in safety (for now) in an underground bunker somewhere in Florida. 

Joseph Pilato as Capt. Rhodes in "Day of the Dead."

This group is composed of a few scientists, a couple soldiers, and a helicopter pilot. 

The scientists are headed by Dr. Matthew Logan (Richard Liberty) whom everyone calls "Frankenstein." They call him that because he's conducting experiments on zombies that the crew had previously captured and are keeping in a fenced in area within the bunker. His goal is to figure out how to control the zombies rather than destroy them. 

Logan's prime zombie subject is a living-dead guy he calls "Bub" (Sherman Howard).

Bub is his breakthrough subject as he shows huge signs of submission, capability, memory, and emotion. He's basically relearning how to be human. Bub is a sign of hope for the world's future. 

Meanwhile, the soldier-side of the group is led by Captain Henry Rhodes (Joseph Pilato). He's much more hostile, anxious and irate as he thinks zombie experimentation is a waste of time. It's also dangerous as he believes it could lead to a zombie attack. 

Tension between the two factions intensifies little by little. Once discipline collapses, Rhodes takes charge through intimidation and threats.  
Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille), who's studying the cause of the zombie outbreak, tries to be an intermediary, but Rhodes considers her a threat to his dominance and forces her, and all the other scientists, to submit to his "authority." 

In the midst of this turmoil, the zombies break loose from their enclosure. Now, the only options are to escape or die. 

I appreciate the fact that the movie doesn't cast any major celebrities. Doing so would steal the focus away from the apocalyptic plot. It also adds to the plausibility. Otherwise, the experience would be "that movie with the famous person fighting zombies."   

The story reminds me of the book "Lord of the Flies" but with scientists and soldiers working against each other, with completely different ideas on how to survive their isolation as zombies threaten their existence. 

It's hard not to think that with the previous movies about world domination (for lack of a better word) by zombies, with each movie depicting their advancement while survivors are forced underground where the dead people once were, this movie has its share of social commentary. Or maybe I'm just constantly looking for it in most of the horror movies I watch whether it's there or not. 

It took a while for something interesting to happen. There's a lot of exposition in the first half of the movie. The story saves the horror for the final act. And when it arrives, it delivers. A lot! The gore fest kicks off full force in the last 20 minutes.

"Dawn of the Dead" does the premise better. "Day of the Dead" is more for shock value. The characters know what to expect since the events in "Dawn of the Dead" which is a better movie. 

When it comes to Captain Henry Rhodes and his bad ass-ery, he epitomizes the standard qualifications to being a bad ass according to 1980's standards. One just needs to swear every sentence and shoot everything, or threaten to shoot. He masters it. 

Sherman Howard as 'Bub.'

"Day of the Dead" is a movie I have stomach-turning memories of from my youth. 

I grew up with three older brothers. Two of these brothers of mine loved horror movies like this. And I often caught glimpses or more of some of the movies they watched - "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Lost Boys," and this flick. I remember seeing them though I was much too young. 

I recall one particular afternoon after school, one of my brothers and few of his friends were watching "Day of the Dead" which they probably rented from the local video store. I distinctly recall the scene where Henry Rhodes gets torn in half by zombies. No doubt, my five-year-old face must have looked like it was trying to uninstall life as it witnessed this scene on the TV screen. 

My brother's friend, Chris, leaned over to me and said with some sympathy "Don't worry, Mike. It's only a movie." But that didn't help. He might as well have told me mayonnaise is a vegetable. The damage was done! 

That uncomfortable and sick image of Rhodes's demise, insides exposed and all, is forever burned in my head nearly 40 years later. 

I do need to mention that "Day of the Dead" is an entertaining showcase of  make-up artist Tom Savini's masterful special effects talent. He's great at it and it shows. Otherwise, the movie is a treadmill of waiting. That is, waiting to see the annoying characters die at the hands of the zombies, while the good guys get away!  

In this case, the movie doesn't disappoint. It does have an intensity about it, but it's not as strong and intriguing as the previous movie, "Dawn of the Dead" nor the trepidation, immediacy, and realism of "Night of the Living Dead." It tries to out-do the last movie, with some over-the-top action and gore. In that case, it also succeeds to a small extent. 

Characters are fighting among themselves while trying to protect themselves from the ravenous living dead. 

I think Romero carries on the suggestion that government, science, and military strength are only as strong as the people that are running these things. When they're corrupt, the whole thing stinks. 

227) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part five)

"I dreamed about a guy in a dirty red and green sweater." 

Director

Wes Craven 

Cast

Heather Langenkamp - Nancy Thompson
Robert Englund - Freddy Krueger
Johnny Depp - Glen Lantz
Amanda Wyss - Tina Gray
Nick Corri - Rod Lane
John Saxon - Lt. Thompson
Ronee Blakley - Marge Thompson

The 1980s! The Reagan years. Who ya gonna call? Be all you can be! Just say "no!" Where's the beef? The choice of a new generation. 

As I've mentioned a few reviews back, when it comes to horror movies, the 1970s saw a surge of realism in horror specifically, and in movies in general. 

Gone was the atomic era from the 1960s with space invaders and mutant monsters. Movies such as "The Exorcist," "Rosemary's Baby," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Halloween" gave horror real bone-chilling plausibility. 

Then the 1980s came and gave horror a surreal element though keeping the chill factor right were the 1970s left it. 

It seems 80s horror (generally speaking) has a mixture of, well, horror, plus fantasy and a smidge of comedy. In other words, the horror genre didn't seem to take itself too seriously in the 1980s. But it could still be nightmare-inducing. 

Some great franchises sprang up during this gnarly era. Child's Play. Friday the 13th. The Evil Dead. Poltergeist. Horror went from believability to a rise in gory creature feature stories that really hit what we fear. And in a lot of cases, campiness made a kind of comeback. This time, it was intentional. 

The perfect blend of fantasy and bloody gore is nowhere better depicted than in Wes Craven's 1984 iconic picture, "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Craven's movie added one more monster to the rogue's gallery of horror movie icons - Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund. 

I previously wrote about the sixth installment in "The Nightmare on Elm Street" series, called "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare." It's the first horror movie I ever saw in a theater, which is why I decided to review it before any of the other Elm Street movies which I'll get to later. I guess I was feeling overly nostalgic that day because part six is one of the worst movies in the series. 

Anyways, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" begins as children and teenagers living in the town of Springwood, Ohio are having terrifying nightmares. 

They're all dreaming of a horribly burned man named Fred Krueger who wears a red and green sweater, dirty brown hat, and a glove with razor-sharp knives who's hell-bent on killing each of them. 

And those whom Krueger kills in their sleep actually die. 

Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund in "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

One high school girl named Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is having nightmares as well with Krueger showing up. She learns that other teenagers at school, including her friends as well as her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) are all having the same reoccurring dream as she is. 

She presses her mother Marge (Ronee Blakley) and especially her dad, Don (John Saxon) who's a police lieutenant, about the man in her dreams. 

Of course, they're reluctant to tell her what they know and would rather she take dream suppressants and forget about these nightmares of hers. Obviously, that's not going to happen. 

Nancy is eventually told about a dark and grim secret the parents of Elm Street/ Springwood share. Years earlier, they hunted down and burned Freddy Krueger alive because he was a child murderer who escaped justice due to a legal technicality. 

His damned spirit has returned and is getting his revenge on those parents who killed him by killing their children in their dreams. That's where the parents can't save them. 

Once Nancy finds this out, she can either stay awake the rest of her life or face off with Freddy and destroy him somehow. 

Freddy Krueger sits on a high rising pedestal amidst classic creatures - Frankenstein, Dracula, and the I'll throw Leatherface up there, too. 

But Freddy Krueger is frightening in ways that other monsters aren't. He utilizes the ultimate vulnerability of his victims. Everyone has to sleep. There's no escape from sleep. And it's as desirable as eating and....other things. 

Sleep is when we're all the most helpless. And there's no escape in our dreams other than the hope of waking up just in time. 

Freddy also blurs the lines of reality. It's all the more nightmarish for the teens of Elm Street since he uses this power of his to psychologically weaken them. 

He's intelligent. He's sadistic. And rather than dawning dark clothes and capes while lurking in the shadows, Freddy has a striking and intense appearance, and an actual personality (albeit an evil one). He makes dark jokes, mocks his victims, and has a twisted sense of humor. 

He's a demon who acts as a sort of punishment for the sins of teenagers. 

As the Elm Street movies progress, the nightmares become sillier and sillier. 

"A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" is mediocre. It tries to be another story stemming from part one, focusing on a new teenager. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" sees the return of Nancy and is pretty good for a sequel. It has some of the freakiest scenes and intense visuals in the entire franchise.

The movies go downhill beginning with "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master." It's dumb. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" is dumber. Part six, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare just wants to kill it all off as fast as it can. "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" from 1994 is... interesting. It's not terrible. And I think it was the direction the franchise should have gone immediately after part one. 

"Freddy vs. Jason" is only entertaining when Freddy and Jason are fighting. It's a bit cartoonish but it's actually not bad. I enjoyed, anyways. 

And the remake from 2010 with Jackie Earl Haley was simply bad. I think most audiences saw it out of curiosity. 

The terrible sequel problem originated with Freddy being both scary and adored. When the writing got away from Wes Craven, it seems other writers embraced the adored part of Krueger, and his image suffered for it. The frights were watered down. The campiness was blown up. And we got visions of Freddy sporting sunglasses, rapping, playing Nintendo (with a power glove no less! Remember those?) and trying to get the audience to laugh rather than scream. That's why "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" is much better than the sequels. 

Freddy Krueger comes right in the midst of hacking and slashing maniacal boogeymen movies (for lack of a better term) that sprang up towards the later 70s and spawned sequels through the 1980s. Of course, "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" are the most well-known among other such horror movies like "Black Christmas" for instance. 

With "A Nightmare on Elm Street," the camera work, amazing effects and nightmare inducing imagery, especially when Freddy first appears, are nothing short of renowned in the horror genre. 

The score, though, and Freddy's laugh sound like something from a local outdated Halloween attraction. 

Also, there's real and solid rival chemistry between Nancy and Freddy. Both are fantastic. Their's is as iconic as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, or Sidney Prescott and Ghostface, or Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lector, or even Van Helsing and Dracula. 

Nancy has a strength and fearlessness to her, well performed by Heather Legankamp, that Freddy can't contend with. She does something to Freddy that no one else has done. Arouse fear. There's nothing about her Freddy can take her on. She doesn't show vulnerability which he can use to destroy her. For what it is, the character of Nancy is believable as she goes from nightmare after nightmare, to doctors and sleep specialists, with parents in denial of what they unwittingly wrought. The children suffer the sins of the parents. 

Nancy doesn't succumb to weaknesses but embraces the fight or flight instinct because her friends are dying and she needs to get some friggin' sleep. She's no Ellen Ripley in "Alien" but she's on the same level as strong leading heroines of horror. 

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" doesn't waste time. It knows where it wants to go and has such a well-directed build up. 

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" blends psychological horror with the classic slasher genre. Both elements are equally necessary. The movie uses the blurred line between dreams and reality to its advantage and uses that trope extraordinarily well. That psychological element really laid a foundation in the horror which led to movies like "In the Mouth of Madness" (1994), "Event Horizon" (1997), and "Candyman" (1992). It reshaped the genre with its inventive storytelling and unforgettable villain.

226) House of Long Shadows (1983)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part four)

"It appears you're creating a mystery where there is none." 

Director
Pete Walker

Cast
Vincent Price - Lionel Grisbane
Christopher Lee - Mr. Corrigan/Roderick Grisbane
Peter Cushing - Sebastian Grisbane
Desi Arnaz, Jr. - Kenneth Magee
John Carradine - Lord Elijah Grisbane
Sheila Keith - Victoria Grisbane
Julie Peasgood - Mary Norton

Not to be confused with "House of Dark Shadows" from 1970, "House of Long Shadows" is a bit of an underrated and underappreciated horror/thriller flick from 1983.
The best thing it has going for it is that it brings big horror legends into one movie. It stars Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine. It also has Desi Arnaz, Jr. Lucy and Desi's kid. Is he still around?
This movie feels like one last big hurray for all these legendary horror stars.
The movie begins as a budding writer named Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) makes a $20,000 wager with his publisher that he can write an amazing novel in just 24-hours. He claims it can be a novel as respected as "Wuthering Heights." But like most writers (including myself) Kenneth has to get in the right frame of mind. So, to do that, he decides to dive into this project at the creepy Welsh Manor.
He arrives on a dark stormy night because of course it's a dark stormy night. And the place isn't empty as he was promised it would be. Lord Elijah Grisbane (John Carradine) and his daughter, Victoria (Sheila Keith) are still lurking around the place, maintaining it and all that.
Kenneth is irked -who wouldn't be - that he doesn't have the solitude he thought he would.

John Carradine in "House of Long Shadows."

What's worse is that as the night moves on, more people show up. Lionel (Vincent Price) and Sebastian Grisbane (Peter Cushing) -Elijah's sons - come by and stick around a bit.
Corrigan (Christopher Lee), who's interested in buying the manor, also turns up, as well as Kenneth's publisher's secretary, Mary Norton (Julie Peasgood). So much for a night of writing in solitude.
As everyone is now gathered under the roof, the Grisbane family aren't so open about why they're all there. But they soon reveal their purpose. They plan on setting their son/brother Roderick free as he's been living as a prisoner in his room for the last 40 years. He's been shut up in the house all that time after he seduced a 14-year-old girl, got her pregnant, and then murdered her when he found out she was expecting.
Some truths that need to be brought to light will be revealed this night, much to the shock and horror of the Grisbanes!
Right away, with all these big names of horror cinema (particularly Hammer Horror) in one movie, it doesn't feel like these highly respected actors are utilized to their full potential. Basically, Price, Lee, Cushing, and Carradine...and so he doesn't feel left out, Arnaz... are all in this one movie together, and this is what we get?
I wasn't blown away.
The story falls a bit weak, even as a tribute for such legendary actors and their craft. Still, having these actors work off each other in one horror movie is nothing short of legendary. I'd go as far as saying historical as far as horror films go.
Once the movie gets all these actors together, it feels as though it's trying to figure out what to do with them. It does take a moment or two to come up with a story. Once it does, the story gains some momentum and grabs my interest. However, as it progresses towards the final act, it starts to feel made up on the spot.
And then the story tries to wow its audience with a twist ending it thinks is clever. It goes so far as to have Desi Arnez, Jr's character uttering a line about how much he likes a twist ending as if to coax the audience into liking it, too.

Christopher Lee in "House of Long Shadows."

However, I think the writers knew exactly what they wanted as the movie is a remake of the 1947 movie, "Seven Keys to Baldpate."
The main character of the original movie is also named Kenneth Magee, played by Phillip Terry. However, Mary Norton is called Mary Jordan, played by Jacqueline White.
Occasionally, I tend to space out for a moment during certain movies. I have a feeling I did that while watching "House of the Long Shadows."
I say that because the characters occasionally reference something that previously happened which I have no recollection of.
For instance, when the Grisbanes reveal that they've incarcerated their brother, Roderick, for murder in a room upstairs, Mary says she and Kenneth heard noises coming from that room. I honestly don't remember that happening. Other instances like that occur. Maybe I watched an edited version?
During the climax, Christopher Lee puts on an appearance and performance truly reminiscent of his performances as Dracula from back in his Hammer Horror days.
There's a scene in which Lee puts an axe to Vincent Price and hacks him to bits off camera - it's one of those scenes in which we see what's happening via shadows on the wall. It's the money shot as far as I'm concerned. It's an underrated yet legendary moment in horror movie history.
Later, Lee and Price pay each other insincere and snide comments which concludes with Lee calling Price a "bitch." I wasn't expecting that.
The writers clearly wanted to create something worthy of Price, Lee, Cushing, and Carradine. It poofs where it should wow. I loved watching these guys in one film. Unfortunately, the story falls short of thrilling and is anything but terrifying. Nor are the actors utilized to their full potential. Still, I enjoyed it namely for those same legendary actors. Thanks to them. "House of Long Shadows" does earn a spot in the "cult movie classic" category. As an homage to classic horror, it does garner respect and appreciation like one last get-together with the fellas - the legends, themselves!

225) Basket Case (1982)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part three)

"What's in the basket?"

Director
Frank Henenlotter

Cast
Kevin Van Hentenryck - Duane Bradley
Beverly Bonner - Casey
Terri Susan Smith - Sharon
Lloyd Pace - Dr. Harold Needleman
Bill Freeman - Dr. Julius Lifflander
Diana Browne - Dr. Judith Kutte
Joe Clarke - Brian O'Donovan
Kerry Ruff - The Police Detective

Writers and directors generally make creature features with the expectation that audiences will suspend reality to whatever degree those same writers and directors want them to. 

For those who don't know anything, a "creature feature" is a subgenre of horror and science fiction in which a monster or some hideous other-worldly creature is the main antagonist. Anyways, creature features normally don't bother much (if at all) with things like logic and common sense. Often, writers and directors decide to let their "creativity" (for lack of a better word) go wild. They simply "go with it" so to say. All that matters are things like shock value, grotesqueries, and the actual creature featured.  

That's definitely true with the 1982 horror creature feature, "Basket Case," from director Frank Henenlotter. I mentioned him in my recent review of his 1988 movie, "Brain Damage." 

Like most other creature features that rely mostly on shock and gag-inducing imagery, "Basket Case" left me wondering, "what the hell did I just watch?" Actually, two questions. That, and "why am I doing this to myself? Don't I love me?" Ok, three! 

The movie starts with some quack doctor, Julius Lifflander (Bill Freeman) as he's being terrorized by an unseen evil inside his own house. 

Beliel!

Whatever this thing is, it's intelligent enough to cut his phoneline and shut off the power before it finishes him off in a pretty gnarly way.

The story shifts over to Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) as he moves to New York City. He doesn't have much, but he carries around a large wicker basket with a lock. He looks like he's an unending quest for an open laundramat. 

Duane gets a crappy room in some dank and seedy hotel. One of his neighbors is this trashy street walker named Casey (Beverly Bonner) whom he befriends. 

Once he moves in, he has to feed whatever lives in this basket. He also talks to this thing all the time through telepathy. 

After one his neighbors, Brian O'Donovan (Joe Clarke) tries to break into Duane's apartment, Casey sees him in the act and warns Duane. He'd been peeking through Duane's keyhole after spotting him with a wad of cash. Brian, of course, will turn into a victim. That's pretty obvious. 

Later, Duane takes his basket to Dr. Harold Needleman's (Lloyd Pace) office for a consultation. He takes a liking to Needleman's receptionist, Sharon (Terri Susan Smith). The feeling seems to be reciprocal.

Needleman suspects Duane is involved in Lifflander's death from the beginning of the movie and tells fellow doctor, Judith Kutter (Diana Browne) about his suspicions. 

Later that night, Duane breaks into Needleman's office with his basket. He takes his mysterious creature out of that basket, which turns out to be his living grossly malformed once-conjoined twin brother, Belial. 

This brother of his kills Needleman mercilessly. 

When Duane and Sharon start getting close, Belial becomes immensely jealous and tries to take out anyone whom he sees as a threat to his brotherly relationship with Duane. 

Then gore ensures. Lots of it. 

This is one of the most quintessential creature-feature drive-in kind of horror flicks audiences would watch on a Friday night for an hour and a half just to absorb mindless horror entertainment and take their mind of reality for a little while.    

Kevin Van Hentenryke in "Basket Case."

"Basket Case" is one hell of a weird, messy, disgusting spectacle. It's a flakey cheese-fest of a horror movie that tries to make itself about the relationship between two brothers - one being murderous disgusting glob of tissue with arms, teeth and a face. But it's hard to appreciate that "touching" aspect because everything else is gore and horror. Oh, and there's screaming. Lots of screaming!

It's a trip, and I'd be lying if I said I hated it. I got exactly what I expected and had fun while watching.  

The acting is off-the-wall, and terrible. It's like watching a community playhouse put on a horror production. Honestly, who would watch "Basket Case" or any other monster flick for the acting? This movie goes from thriller to one big ripping, squirting movie. And the stop-motion special effects are hilarious. It looks like something from a first-year art or film school student. Wallace and Gromit have smoother stop-motion than this flick. 

What's crazier is that this trippy production somehow spawned two sequels - "Basket Case 2" (1990) and "Basket Case 3: The Progeny" (1991). Both sequels are directed by Frank Henenlotter. I'm curious about the audience members who wanted to find out what happens after the events in "Basket Case."

On the surface, "Basket Case" is a certified shlock-fest horror flick. Beneath that, it makes a respectable effort to tell a story of brotherhood. It's over-the-top in its delivery. 

It's a violent and gross experience for its own sake. In other words, it's very much a creature-feature of its time. 

224) The Howling (1981)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part two)

"A secret society exists, and is living among all of us. They are neither people nor animals, but something in-between."

Director
Joe Dante

Cast
Dee Wallace - Karen White
Robert Picardo - Eddie Quist
Christopher Stone - Bill
Patrick Macnee - Dr. George Waggner
Dennis Dugan - Chris Halloran
Kevin McCarthy - Fred Francis
John Carradine - Erle Kenton
Slim Pickens - Sam Newfield
Belinda Balaski - Terry Fisher
Dick Miller - Walter Paisley

The year 1981 was a great year. For starters, I was born in '81. That's a big gold star event for 1981. Don't argue! I know what I'm talking about. 

Also, a fair number of popular movies came out that year as well - "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Superman II," "Nine to Five," "Stripes," "The Cannonball Run," "Halloween II," "Escape from New York," and the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only." So, director Joe Dante's horror flick "The Howling" had serious competition at the box office. 

Not only was "The Howling" up against these movies, but it also competed against another highly popular werewolf movie that same year, "An American Werewolf in London" directed by John Landis. Yet, "The Howling" is no small or underappreciated movie. And it has an impressive cast that includes Dee Wallace, Robert Picardo, Patrick Macnee, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and of course "that guy" Dick Miller. 

This movie feels like it has a tinge of satire of the self-help therapy movement from the 1970s and 1980s. 

In this movie, Dee Wallace plays news anchor Karen White. A serial killer named Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo) who has been terrorizing L.A. happens to be stalking Karen. 

The story begins as she agrees to take part in a police sting operation which will have her meet Eddie at an adult theater. Gross!

Eddie indeed shows up and forces Karen watch a lewd film, the contents of which I won't bring up here. When she sees Eddie's face, she screams. That's definitely the que for police to enter, which they do and shoot Eddie. 

Karen is alright, but she somehow doesn't remember what happened. 

Her therapist, George Waggner (Patrick Macnee) thinks she and her husband Bill Neill (Christopher Stone) should take a trip over to a resort on a secluded island where he often sends his patients for much needed r&r, especially after a traumatic episode like she had. 

Robert Picardo as Eddie Quist in "The Howling."

So, off they go. This resort is filled with a lot of weird people. Some of them come across as too eccentric, especially this one girl named Marsha (Elisabeth Brooks) who's too much into some weird kinky stuff.  

It doesn't take long before Karen and Bill realize that the people they're relaxing with on this island are really a colony of werewolves. So much for relaxation.   

"The Howling" stands at a respectable spot among other werewolf movies. Joe Dante takes the werewolf story someplace else other than the typical tropes common in the horror subgenre. 

This movie is an imaginative deviation from the werewolf movies that precede it. I'm referring mostly to where the horror subgenre went after Lon Chaney Jr. portrayed the wolfman in 1941's "The Wolfman." 

In the typical werewolf movie, some poor dude turns into a werewolf when a full moon graces the night sky, and terrorizes everyone until someone figures out what's going on and tries to stop him. It's a storyline deeply ingrained in pop culture but gets repeated again and again.

As it's a Joe Dante movie, I get an impression that there's some social satire in "The Howling." I often pick up social commentary or simple satire in Joe Dante movies, but that's according to me. 

"Gremlins" has a slight hint of consumerism satire. "Small Soldiers" takes a bit of a jab at war movie cliches. "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" makes fun of the first "Gremlins." 'The 'Burbs'" ribs the "perfect" suburban atmosphere. "Matinee" satirizes how audiences love to scare themselves.

I don't personally consider Joe Dante's movies as being either hit or miss. Rather, I consider them big scores or small scores. 

The small scores have a tendency to grow on audiences over time, even if they flopped upon their initial release. In other words, Dante's not-so-successful movies somehow become cult classics, such as "Piranha," "Explores" or "The 'Burbs'." 

Of course, the big scores catch on quickly - "Gremlins," "Innerspace," and "Small Soldiers"...and "The Howling."  

Rather than having these monsters with insatiable appetites existing in the seediest and most perverse part of cities, they decide to live in seclusion away from everyone else, winding up as eccentric individuals in therapy groups. Dr. Waggner works to help them control their "inner beast" and his methods are hollow, cringy and dangerous.

Aside from being werewolves, their unbridled indulgence in their passions make them the undesirables among us. They don't belong in decent society. It's all portrayed with the seriousness of a thriller horror movie. 

Thanks to Dante, "The Howling" has originality that stands out among horror movies in general, and werewolf movies in particular. At times, it makes itself to be a seductive experience which isn't something I particularly go for. 

I love the premise that goes beyond the standard werewolf movie plot that there's a werewolf on the loose and everybody needs to run. No, there's a whole secret society of these weirdos. 

"The Howling" is a bit corny to today's standards, maybe. However, it transcends the standard kill-the-werewolf type of ending common in the subgenre. 

Plus, it has a great cast that audiences don't really see in other shock-fest creature features. Dante is a fan of classic horror movies, and classic movies in general so the inspiration is clear and evident in this movie. And the ending is fantastic! The ending alone strikes as a spoof towards media sensationalism, insinuating media puts more effort in entertaining audiences rather than informing them.  

The movie assumes audiences know all about the lore of werewolves. And really, who doesn't? It bypasses any explanation and goes right to the core of the story. 

While a lot of Joe Dante movies have at least a cameo from actor Dick Miller, Robert Picardo has been a common face in a good number of Joe Dante's movies such as "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," "Innerspace," "The 'Burbs," "Explorers," "Matinee," and "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." Picardo is great in this movie as the antagonist, and I just couldn't see the actor in this role. All I could see was the villain. He's intimidating in this picture! 

Anyways, the story in "The Howling" gradually builds up as it starts off with a whopper of a plot point. 

Dante kicked off his horror movie directing career with 1978's horror comedy "Piranha." He solidified himself as such a director with "The Howling." His popularity went from there, certainly skyrocketing even farther with "Gremlins." 

He also directed the 2009 dark fantasy horror movie, "The Hole" which doesn't get enough praise like his previous movies. But "The Howling" is a highly respectable launch for Dante. 

Though the movie has decent special effects plus a little stop-motion animation, some of the overall effects haven't quite aged well. 

"The Howling" uses the werewolf trope as a means of satirizing society's love of therapy and the non-stop "journey" to find oneself. It's quite the shock-fest creature feature. It's a certified classic!

223) Fade to Black (1980)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part one)

Introduction 

Imagine it's Friday night. Maybe it was a great week. Maybe it was one of the worst. It doesn't matter now. It's Friday! And staying in for the night sounds a lot better than going out. 

After work, you swing by the video store. It's Fall. Halloween is at the end of the month, and the video place has a great selection of horror flicks.  You look for movies you not only haven't seen but maybe haven't heard of either. You're deciding solely on the box cover, title, and the poorly written synopsis on the back of the box. So, you grab a couple videos. Tonight will be a double feature. Why not?  

You pick up some dinner as well. Pizza? Chinese take-out? A double cheeseburger, onion rings and an orange soda from Sparky's Burgers? You know... whatever. 

Once you get home and get changed, you pop in your first movie for the night (it's a VHS tape, by the way), turn the lights off and allow the fading evening light of the fall sky to barely gleam through the window before it's completely dark. Sit back. Take a load off. And now...our feature presentation. 

I love this time of year! One of the reasons being are these Halloween season reviews I started posting back in October 2022. 

Just as before, I like to "dedicate" each October to a series or thread of horror flicks. I started this trend of mine with the first 15 Godzilla movies. The following year, I watched all the "Leprechaun" movies. And last year, I gave my October to a true horror legend as I watched several Dracula/ Vampire movies. And now, this year, I'm going all 1980s horror! It's the decade I was born in. 

A lot of 80s horror flicks are ingrained in pop-culture. Others, not so much but they still have a cult following. I picked titles that I either find intriguing and have been meaning to get to. Others, I chose out of pure curiosity. 

While the horror genre in the 1970s entered a more authentic period with realistic movies that don't follow romantic leads amidst horrific or frightening scenarios, the genre seemed to throw levity into the mix along with a tad of fantasy once the 1980s came around. Well, dark fantasy. 

Movies like "The Shining" (1980) took the realistic supernatural element that movies like "Amityville Horror," and "The Exorcist" both released in the 1970s and gave it a more fantastical tone. No levity. It kept the realism but gave the supernatural element something more imaginative. 

However, levity crept into horror during the 1980s, even in the slashiest of slasher flicks. The movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street" from 1984 is a great example of where the 80s took horror. It gave the world one of the most iconic horror villains since the days of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster- Freddy Krueger. His horrific origin begins a child murderer turned dream demon, the Elm Street movies includes a smidge of humor which only intensify from sequel to sequel. 

Freddy is a terrifying and truly nightmare fueling entity who plays with his victims always with an intimidating quip starting with the line from the very first movie. "I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy." 

Even "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" from 1974, a true product of the authentic period had a sequel in 1986 which made sure to follow that slight humorous element just a bit. Even the cover image of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" took a humorous jab at the poster of John Hughes 1985 teen comedy, "The Breakfast Club." It was morning in America during the 1980s so audiences could laugh a little while being terrified at what horror had to offer. 

With 1970s horror, it's all about the realism. With the 1980s, horror is truly character driven. So many horror icons were born in the 1980s - Jason Vorhees, Chucky, Freddy Krueger, Christine, The Predator, Beetlejuice, Slimer. 

In a few instances, 1980s horror resorted to over-the-top comedic plots and intentional campiness - "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" comes to mind first. All in all, 1980s horror gave audiences their good times back. Authentic horror from the 1970s may have gotten too heavy. I'm speculating, of course. 

So, here's this year's horror thread, "Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge!"

~

"I go to a lot of movies. It's my thing."

Director
Vernon Zimmerman

Cast

Dennis Christopher - Eric Binford
Linda Kerridge - Marilyn O'Connor
Tim Thomerson - Dr. Jerry Moriarty
Gwynne Gilford - Officer Anne Oshenbull
Eve Brent Ashe - Aunt Stella Binford
Norman Burton - Marty Berger
Mickey Rourke - Richie

I stumbled upon the horror movie, "Fade to Black" on a couple of streaming apps, including Hoopla. I've kept it on my mental list of movies to get to. 

The synopsis about a "shy, lonely film buff" pursuing revenge on anyone who has crossed him is what caught my attention. The "film buff" part particularly is very intriguing. Though many highly regarded, or at least very popular, horror flicks came out in 1980, this movie seems the most appropriate to start off with.  

I normally start watching movies for my October reviews in May, "Fade to Black" gave me the idea to review horror/thriller movies from the 1980s. This movie is precisely what I thought it would be.

It stars Dennis Christopher as Eric Binford who works at a film distribution warehouse somewhere in downtown Los Angeles. 

He's an annoying employee with a weird obsession for movies. Nothing like me, of course. This guy knows a lot of useless trivia about older flicks and constantly rambles about it to people who could care less. Again, totally nothing like me. 

He lives with his nagging Aunt Stella (Eve Brent Ashe) who's always on his case. She uses a wheelchair, and lives a bitter life as she used to be a beautiful dancer, but those days are gone. Now, she has to live with her weird nephew. 

Anyways, he's an easy target for tough guys and fellow employees. Eric crosses paths with a beautiful girl named Marilyn O'Connor (Linda Kerridge), an Australian model who's in town. Binford thinks she has a striking resemblance to Marilyn Monroe, whom Binford is obsessed with. He even mentally pictures her as Marilyn Monroe, along with a  fantasy of her singing "Happy Birthday" to him. 

Eric asks her out on a date, which she accepts. However, due to circumstances she can't control, Marilyn doesn't show up for their date. 

Since cell phones aren't a household thing yet, he thinks she's intentionally standing him up. Of course, that's not the case but Eric doesn't know that. 

This triggers something in his head. He's been pushed around and stepped on long enough. 

Eric starts taking on the personas of different movie characters sand seeks murderous revenge on everyone who has bullied him around. 

Dennis Christopher as Eric Binford in "Fade to Black." 

He definitely has Aunt Stella on top of his list as she previously destroyed his 16mm movie projector that he uses to watch these old films. He does her in her by pushing her wheelchair down a flight of stairs just like in the 1947 film noir "Kiss of Death" with Victor Mature and Coleen Gray. 

After Stella's funeral, Eric continues going around dressing as different film characters - Count Dracula, a mafia gangster, Hopalong Cassidy. His outfits may be cheesy, but his acts of revenge is pretty serious. 

Criminal psychologist Dr. Jerry Moriarty (Tim Thomerson) picks up on the M-O and is hunting Binford through L.A. 

There's a share of film parody in "Fade to Black" including a shower scene lifted straight from "Psycho" in which Binford sneaks into Marilyn's bathroom while she's in the shower, only to ask for her autograph.

The movie is haphazardly put together and tries to be something that'll catch on like the more popular horror movies of its day. As I mentioned in my introduction, it has a dramatic and realistic storyline with a taste of levity.

Aside from Eric dressing up as random movie characters and then going around seeking his revenge, there's little holding this movie together. 

It's weird, for lack of a better term. Somehow it still manages to be intriguing - barely. Themes of mental illness that goes unchecked, escaping reality, and immersion in fantasy are what hold to plot together. On the flipside, it's one big ode of classic Hollywood but with violence and blood. I'd say the acting is unsavory, but this doesn't feel like a movie one would watch to see amazing performances. 

Still, Dennis Christopher does put in energy and appears to be enjoying the experience in being in a movie like this. He tries to play a sympathetic character and succeeds for maybe the first act of the movie. That quickly fades to black once he begins playing dress-up. Dennis's character tries to recapture that sympathy at the end. It doesn't work! What does work is the creepiness. It carries on from the beginning and intensifies from there.
Honestly, Dennis plays it perfectly in that regard. His character fully immerses himself into the movies, creating an imaginary world, uncomfortable to watch. around him that's made up of the movies he favorites. Where ever he is, it's all he talks about. When he goes back home, he locks himself in his room and watches classic cinema on his film projector. The flickering lights of the movies mesh into reality. So, as a creepy horror flick, "Fade to Black" accomplishes what it sets out to do. I got to give it credit for that. 

Catching all the background movie posters is a trip, including obscure titles such as "The End of the World." That stars none other than Christopher Lee and is a much worse movie than "Fade to Black." 

Despite how weak it is, "Fade to Black" does show a fair amount of effort to be a worthwhile movie with something for audiences to take away. In some ways, it comes close enough that it barely gets a pass. It's the call-backs that really did it for me. While watching the first 20 or 30 minutes, I knew I recognized Dennis Christopher from something I had seen previously, but I couldn't recall where. Then it clicked. He plays adult Eddie Kaspbrak in the TV miniseries, "It" from 1990 based on the novel by Stephen King. 

The year after starring in "Fade to Black," Dennis went on to play Charles Paddock in the movie, "Chariots of Fire." 

Oh, and Mickey Rourke stars in "Fade to Black" as well. It's his third movie following "1941" and " Heaven's Gate." So, there's that. 

There's probably something to be said about, maybe, an underlying message about submerging ourselves in the artificial world of movies and television, which would translate today as social media. Reality versus fantasy. 

"Fade to Black" is very much a film about identity, loneliness, and the dangers of living through fantasy. Those are certainly elements relevant to today's world of AI and social media alongside film and television. News broke yesterday (Sept. 30, 2025) about the use of the first AI "actress," Tilly Norwood which is causing a lot of controversy even in Hollywood. No doubt Tilly is the first step towards where Hollywood will be in just a few years. As for audiences, and Eric Binford, it’s easier than ever to retreat into virtual or cinematic realities instead of facing difficult truths such as depression and isolation. There's consequences to that.

222) The Monkey (2025) - New to Horror

"It's just like life."

Director
Osgood Perkins

Cast

Theo James - Hal and Bill Shelburn
Christian Convery - young Hal and Bill
Tatiana Maslany - Lois Shelburn
Adam Scott - Capt. Petey Shelburn
Colin O'Brien - Hal's son, Petey Shelburn
Sarah Levy - Aunt Ida
Osgood Perkins - Uncle Chip
Rohan Campbell - Ricky
Danica Dreyer - Annie Wilkes

I haven't watched as many new horror movies this year as I have in previous years. I don't have the same sort of access to theatrical releases as I used to. I'm also watching too many other things to catch anything new that's streaming. And, honestly, not much has grabbed my interest. 

The 2025 movie "The Monkey" did, though. It's odd-ball premise and being based on a short story by horror writer Stephen King is what grabbed my interest. I just didn't catch it in theaters when it was released back in February, but I found it streaming on Hulu. 

Speaking of new horror releases grabbing my interest, the new "Conjuring: Last Rites," which was released yesterday (September 5) snatched my interest as well, mainly because I read Robert Curran's book "The Haunted" about the Smurl family which the movie is based on. Otherwise, those "Conjuring" movies are more misses than hits in my opinion. The only one that I found entertaining was "The Conjuring 2" from 2016. The first one was too over-the-top for me. And the third, "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It" from 2018 was...honestly...I don't remember what I thought about it outside of simply not liking it much. Now, I'm getting off topic. 

Anyways, movie makers seem to continue taking interest in the obscurer-er writings of King. I've seen adverts recently for an upcoming horror movie called "The Long Walk" based on King's 1979 novel of the same name. 

By "obscurer-er" I mean older stories by King that haven't gotten the big screen treatment. The last King adaption to hit the big screen was, as I recall, "The Boogeyman" back in 2023. 
Frank Darabont and Jeff Schiro happened to adapt King's 1978 short story "The Boogeyman" into a short film back in 1982. Darabont would later direct three other more well-known Stephen King movie adaptations - "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Mist," and "The Green Mile." 

King had a Renaissance around the time "It" was released back 2017. A surge of King story to movie adaptations began popping up - "Doctor Sleep," "The Dark Tower," "In the Tall Grass," "1922," "11.22.63." to point out a few titles that released either theatrically or on streaming apps around then.  

I wrote about that back in 2018 as I checked out 10 not-so-remembered movie adaptations of King's works from the past. 

1) The Mangler
2) Riding the Bullet
3) Mercy (Based on King's short story "Gramma.")
4) Dolan's Cadillac
5) Quicksilver Highway
6) The Dark Half
7) Disciples of the Crow & The Boogeyman ("Disciples of the Crow" is based on King's "Children of the Corn")
8) Segmented Stories - ("The Moving Finger," "Gramma," and "Word Processor of the Gods.") 
9) Cell
10) Desperation

King's short story "The Monkey" was first published in Gallery magazine in 1980. A revised version is included in King's collective 1985 book "Skeleton Crew." 

In this movie, Petey Shelburn (Adam Scott) tries to leave a mechanical wind-up monkey that plays a drum, at an antique store. He's nervous and desperate to get rid of it. He warns the store proprietor not to allow the monkey to strike its drum. As he does, the monkey's hand comes down on its own and strikes its drum which causes an unfortunate and deadly accident to occur. 

Petey ditches the scene but not before torching the monkey. He then leaves his wife Lois (Tatiana Maslany) and their two young sons, Hal and Bill (both played by Christian Convery) for the rest of their lives.
Hal is the more sensitive of the two boys which brings on the wrath and anger of his brother, Bill, the more rebellious of the two. 

They both find the monkey unscathed among a collection of items their father collected from around the world as he worked as an airline pilot. 

They wind it up of course, and it does its mechanical performance. 

Later that evening, as their babysitter (Danica Dreyer) takes them out to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner, she suffers a terrible accident that causes her to lose her head. This begins a chain of deaths through unusual freak accidents which occur each time the monkey is wound up and plays its drum. This includes the sudden death of their mother due to a sudden aneurysm. 

The babysitter's name, by the way, is Annie Wilkes. If you know, you know. Paul Sheldon would definitely know. So, there's that weird callback. 

Anyways, Hal and Bill are forced to live with their Uncle Chip (Osgood Perkins) and Aunt Ida (Sarah Levy) who are both more or less decent people.  

Christian Convery in dual roles as Bill and Hal Shelburn.

After the death of Uncle Chip who dies thanks to the monkey, the twins decide to seal the monkey in its box and dump it down a well. 

Now an adult, Hal (Theo James) has never been able to completely forget about the toy monkey. Nor has he kept in touch with Bill (also played by Theo James). Bill relentlessly bullied his brother in their youth so it's no wonder Hal prefers to avoid any communication. 
While dealing with a custody issue over his son Petey (Colin O'Brien), his Aunt Ida...yep...has an accident. It's a very, very, very unfortunate freak accident. 

Hal's paranoia turns quickly into reality as the monkey mysteriously returns to his life. And with it, an undesirable reunion with Bill. 

While the name Stephen King brings stories such as "Carrie," "The Shining," and "It" to most minds, off-the-wall horror stories (for lack of a better term) like "The Monkey" aren't anything new for King. When he's not taking the dumb side of dumb arguments on "X" in his old, crotchety age, King is still writing insane fiction. And evidently people are still making movies out of his not-as-popular works.  

This guy wrote about a possessed laundry-folding machine in the short-story, "The Mangler," a town inhabited by the ghosts of dead rock n' roll legends in "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band," a haunted Polaroid camera in "The Sun Dog," and deadly wind-up novelty teeth in "Chattery Teeth." 

If King can come up with stories that mix horror with outlandish plots, and still be taken seriously, what's stopping me from actually writing some of the weird ideas I've had for stories. And I do have a few.  

I'll add that his book "Pet Sematary" is the scariest book of his I've read. And his short story "The Moving Finger" was the creepiest. 

When it comes to the term "dark comedy," this applies to "The Monkey" in the truest sense of both words. 

Some of the ol' Stephen King tropes are including in "The Monkey." There's the Maine location. Most of King's stories are set in Maine. There's also a father who left when he ran out for some cigarettes.

And an insane premise sitting on top of something deeply (to some degree or another) psychological. Maybe it's drugs that arouse these weird plots? No accusations, of course. Seriously, what is "scary" about "The Monkey" and these other weird stories? In this case, it's the premise of unbelievable realities that dissolve boundaries. It's beyond the protagonist's control. In fact, the main character is at the mercy of some evil thing. And evil doesn't have mercy. It doesn't reason, either. Nor does it have any willingness to even try. 

"The Monkey" has the feel of a classic campfire horror tale. Only an active imagination eager to scare could conjure up a story about a deadly supernatural wind-up monkey that plays a drum. Add some ridiculous gore and really grotesque ways to die, and it quickly becomes a dark comedy in the truest meaning of the term "dark comedy." 

What I found most haunting was how well the face changes on the toy monkey without actually changing. The production quality of making the monkey have expression without changing its facial structure was absolutely masterful. I'm guessing it was either lighting or altering the color shades on its face that made its expressions go from innocent, to cunning, to evil and raging as it stared straight on with wide open staring eyes that never move. 

Director Osgood Perkins certainly has a twisted sense of humor. "The Monkey" manages to be a great fright-night popcorn flick gorefest. It's over-the-top and it knows it's over the top. And the underlying theme of family and forgiveness in the most difficult time gives the movie some actual substance.

Otherwise, the movies' insane. It's crazy. It's practically puerile. I was invested from beginning to end. 

221) Brain Damage (1988)

"This is the start of your new life, Brian. A life without worry or pain or loneliness. A life filled instead with colors and music." 

Director
Frank Henenlotter

Cast
Rick Hearst - Brian
Jennifer Lowry - Barbara
Gordon MacDonald - Mike
Theo Barnes - Morris
Lucille Saint-Peter - Martha
John Zacherle - Aylmer

I had my review for the 1988 comedy horror "Brain Damage" saved for the Halloween when I post 10 or more reviews during the season that follow a specific theme or series. 

After watching it and organizing my opinions, I decided to post it now and watch something else in its place. I already watched and reviewed another movie from director Frank Henenlotter for October, so I decided to post this commentary now. 

The first thing that came to my mind after watching "Brain Damage" is that it's definitely an experience. I'm sure if I thought long and hard enough, I could come up with a cleverer way to say that. But that's really the most accurate description. "Brain Damage" is really an experience. In other words, I doubt I'll ever forget I saw this movie. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. 

The movie starts with an older couple about to feed a platter of brains (gross, I know) to some unknown creature they're keeping in the bathtub. They're really excited about feeding this thing and making sure it's happy. 

That joy dies a quick death when they find this mysterious creature is missing. They panic and frantically try to find it. They're both so agitated that they begin to convulse in a seizure. They foam at the mouth, and everything. 

The story then shifts to Brian (Rick Hearst). Brian is leading a relatively normal life and lives with his brother, Mike (Gordon MacDonald) in the same apartment building as that older couple. He also has a beautiful girlfriend, Barbara (Jennifer Lowry) and I'm assuming a decent job as well. Things aren't extraordinary with Brian, but life is generally good. 

One night, just before he and Barbara are about to leave for a concert, Brian suddenly feels sick. 

He insists Mike take Barbara out instead while he rests from whatever's ailing him. 

So, they go out and leave Brian home. Lying in bed, Brian starts having some really trippy hallucinations.

Aylmer! And this thing talks.

Obviously, things are worse than he realizes. A parasite has somehow attached itself to Brian and causing these hallucination by inserting a needle-like appendage from its mouth into the back of his neck. It's injecting him with a fluid that goes straight to his brain creating a euphoric pleasure mixed with visions of colors and lights. 

Once Brian gets off his high and snaps back to reality, he takes the parasite off his neck and has a conversation with it.

It happens to speak perfect and distinguished sounding English. No joke! So, it introduces itself to Brian. 

It promises to give him more of his "juice" to create those euphoric feelings and tantalizing hallucinations. All Brian has to do is allow him to continue feeding on him from the back of his neck.

So, Brian agrees. 

The parasite tells Brian to go for a walk to where ever he wants to. This walk is likely the best walk he's ever had. 

During these parasitic trips, Brian doesn't speak coherently and doesn't realize what's going on around him. When the fluid and good feelings wear off, he doesn't remember anything. 

Of course, he's addicted to all this. Meanwhile, Mike and Barbara are worried about him and try to intervene. 

That older couple from the beginning catch on that their parasite attached itself to Brian. 

The husband (Theo Barnes) confronts Brian to try to get the parasite back. They had been feeding it animal brains before it escaped and found someone else. 

He tells Brian that the thing is called "Aylmer" and his "influence" can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Though they want Aylmer back, Brian isn't so willing to let him go. 

Aylmer ultimately wants to eat people. Once Brian figures out the parasite is using him to get to innocent victims, ultimately killing them, he realizes how deep and out-of-control this situation has gotten. So, he tries to free himself from Aylmer and his euphoric juice. But he can't. The withdraw is too hard to overcome by mere willpower. 

No doubt it's obvious this movie is an off-the-wall allegory regarding drug addiction, or any kind of addiction, really. 

According to Jon Towlson's book, "Subversive Horror Cinema," Henenlotter was inspired to make "Brain Damage" from his own addiction to cocaine. That's certainly no surprise. 

Rick Hearst in "Brain Damage."

"The film is about the joys and perils of addiction, in whatever for that may take. 'This is the start of your new life,' Aylmer promises Brian at the start of their liaison, 'a life without worry or pain or loneliness.' The fact that Brian's life is already good at the start - he is affluent, with a good job, an apartment on the Lower East Side and a girlfriend - speaks to the hedonistic appeal of cocaine to young people like Brian during the late 1980s." (Towlson, 186).  

"Brain Damage" doesn't strike me as a glorification of drug use, or addiction in general. The movie is called "Brain Damage" after all. 

Brian is depicted as enslaved to this thing on his neck, which I'd say is an accurate depiction of sin in general - enslavement to our vices and lower passions. 

The nitty-gritty of the addiction theme is spot on despite how off-the-wall it comes across. The devil, or Aylmer, knows where and what his victim's weaknesses are, and he presses them hard.  Pure will power doesn't completely help. Man needs grace. And Aylmer has absurdity itself as something to hide behind. Brian would be hard pressed to tell someone the parasite on his neck talks to him, and be believed. 

When Brian relies on his own power and limited strength to break himself from the addiction and its strong pull as he suffers withdrawal, Aylmer tells him, "Ready to beg for it, Brian? Ready to crawl across the floor and plead for my juice? No? Not yet? Well, give it a few more hours, Brian. Whenever you want the pain to stop, I'll be here. Whenever you want to stop hurting, you come to me. When the pain gets so great you think you're turning inside-out, just ask for my juice." 

Aylmer talks like a figure of reason, as it forms articulate sentences and arguments, trying to encourage Brian to allow it to feed. 

When Brian succumbs to the urges, Aylmer goes from "sympathetic" tempter to Brian's accuser, saying he can't break free now. He's fallen too far. 

At one point when Brian meets a girl at a club during one of his parasitic trips, Aylmer entices Brian with illicit sexual thoughts and contact with her just so it can feed on her brains, too. So, temptation, obviously, plays a big part in the movie's theme. It's blatant at times. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend "Brain Damagae." 

I mean, Henenlotter also directed the 1990 black comedy, "Frankenhooker" so sexploitation seems to run in his films. He also wrote and directed the black comedy "Basket Case" and its sequels, "Basket Case 2" and "Basket Case 3: The Progeny." Henenlotter seems to love a bit of gag-inducing gore! 

Kevin Van Hentenryck makes a cameo as his character from Henenlotter's "Basket Case" which I'll be posting a review for this October. 

"Brain Damage" is a trippy flick that oddly works as the off-the-wall dark comedy it is. It's as though the writers were more concerned with enjoying themselves and going with whatever came out of their mind when coming up with this flick. Who cares about line delivery or how ridiculous the whole thing becomes. They certainly wanted to entertain in the oddest way no matter how absurd it is by the end. 

It's a gory, cringe inducing creature feature at its best. Silly, surreal and repulsive. I went along for the ride all the way through. And the dialogue isn't any different. The lines definitely match the tone of the movie. 

"Why are the stars always winkin' and blinkin' above? What makes a fellow start thinkin' of fallin' in love? It's not the season; the reason is plain as the moon. It's just Aylmer's tune! What makes a lady, of eighty, go out on the loose? Why does a gander, meander, in search of a goose? What puts the kick in a chicken, the magic in June? It's just Aylmer's tune! Listen, listen, there's a lot you're liable to be missin'. Sing it, swing it, any old place, and any old time. The hurdy-gurdies, the birdies, the cop on the beat. The candy-maker, the baker, the man on the street. The city charmer, the farmer, the man in the moon, all sing Aylmer's tune!" 

As social media says all the time, now that I've seen it, I can't unsee it.