126) Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #2...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"Is there a monster other than Godzilla?"

Director

Motoyoshi Oda

Cast
Hiroshi Koizumi - Shoichi Tsukioka
Setsuko Wakayama - Hidemi Yamaji
Mindru Chiaki - Koji Kobayashi
Takashi Shimura - Dr. Kyohei Yamane
Haruo Nakajima - Godzilla
Katsumi Tezuka - Anguirus

The Godzilla monster brawl is born in "Godzilla Raids Again."

This sequel to "Godzilla" was released in Japan in 1955 - just a year after the first movie. 

American audiences wouldn't get to see it in American theaters until 1959 where it was released under the title "Gigantis the Fire Monster."

I watched the Japanese version for this post. I haven't yet been able to find the American version, which features a young George Takei heard in the English dubbing.

Famed Kaiju director Ishirō Honda, who directed the first Godzilla movie and most of the others in the Showa era, didn't direct "Godzilla Raids Again." Motoyoshi Oda takes the director's chair as Honda was busy directing a movie called "Lovetide." 

Though quickly produced, this is truly the quintessential Godzilla movie. There's something about it that I enjoy more than the first film, and I love the first one.

Even though Godzilla is destroyed and reduced to skeletal remains that sink to the bottom of Tokyo Bay in the first film, he's back again.

Koji Kobayashi (Mindru Chiaki), a pilot for a fishing company, has to make an emergency landing on Iwato Island. He's rescued by another pilot named Shoichi Tsukioka (Hiroshi Koizumi) who's tracking a school of Bonito fish.

While both pilots are on the island, they witness Godzilla in battle with an unknown giant monster.

They manage to escape the island as Godzilla and this mysterious other monster submerge into the ocean.

The pilots make it to Osaka where they meet with Dr. Kyohei Yamane (played again by Takashi Shimura), from the first movie.

All of Osaka is still on edge from Godzilla's initial attack. The fear is there from the beginning of the movie.

Yamane shows them as well as his colleagues' footage of Godzilla's attack on Tokyo as seen in the first film. Yamane is also able to identify the other monster Kobayashi and Tsukioka saw on the island as an Ankylosaurus. They dub this prehistoric yet new monster "Anguirus."

They note how Godzilla was destroyed thanks to the oxygen destroyer invented by Dr. Swirizawa in part one. But the doctor is dead, and his oxygen destroyer is gone. 

I didn't catch any reference to how in the hell Godzilla came back, though? Rather, they claim killing Godzilla is hopeless. However, they take notice how he's also sensitive to light. Light pisses him off because it reminds him of the hydrogen bomb experiments that led to his creation, or mutation. So says the "experts." 

I have to say nothing works better at getting past a difficult plot point in a story than giving that hurdle the middle finger and moving on without it.

Anyways, Yamane and his scientist buddies come up with a plan should Godzilla ever return.

Since Godzilla hates light, they all suggest mandating complete blackouts throughout the city, so the monster won't head towards the light like a moth around a lamp. And while everyone has their lights off, Yamane wants to use flares offshore to lure Godzilla back towards the water.

The Japanese Air Defense Force fly off to search for Godzilla, which "experts" think will be futile as he could very well be hiding in a cave under the sea. Experts are great at killing hope.

Thankfully, the experts are proven wrong when Godzilla is seen heading towards the Kii Channel.

Godzilla takes on his first ever foe, Anguirus, for a
full-on brawl in "Godzilla Raids Again."

But Godzilla suddenly changes direction and starts heading towards Osaka Bay. Immediately the blackout policy is implemented, and the Air Force start dropping flares. Thankfully this works in luring Godzilla away from the shore, until some pain-in-the-ass escaped convicts overpower police, steal an oil truck, and accidentally crash into a refinery.

This collision causes a massive explosion and fire which catches Godzilla's attention. So, the monster starts heading back towards Osaka.

The only option left is for the Air Force to start attacking Godzilla with everything they've got.

And if things weren't bad enough with plans failing miserably, the flares attract Anguirus.

He makes his way to Osaka and starts picking a fight with Godzilla.

They bring their brawl straight into the city, and all hell breaks loose. They destroy pretty much everything, including the fishing company.

Godzilla finally kills Anguirus, and returns to the sea. But he's not quite finished yet.

News broadcasts start claiming that Godzilla attacked and sank a ship somewhere out in the ocean.

Tsukioka tries to help the Air Force locate the monster. And Kobayashi flies out to help Tsukioka.

The head of the head of the fishing company that Tsukioka and Kobayashi work for starts freaking out because should Godzilla kick up a fuss out there in the water, it can lead to huge financial losses for the company. The area Godzilla is heading towards is a prime fishing spot. 

When Kobayashi spots him on snow-packed Kamiko Island, Godzilla shoots his atomic breath at his airplane causing Kobayashi to crash into the mountain side and die. 

The impact causes an avalanche which buries Godzilla. The Air Force fly out to finish the job and make sure the monster is completely under ice. 

Haruo Nakajima dawns the Godzilla suit again. He portrays Godzilla through a majority of the Godzilla films.

His movements inside the rubber suit are masterful at making it seem the massive Godzilla has a lot of weight and mass to carry around as he fights Anguirus and trashes the city.

The fight scenes with Anguirus are done at high speed.

It goes without saying that this movie sees the first monster crazy enough to take on the "King of the Monsters" on screen. 

Anguirus appears again in later Godzilla movies - "Destroy All Monsters" (1968), "All Monsters Attack" (1969), "Godzilla vs. Gigan" (1972), "Godzilla vs. Megalon" (1973), "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" (1974) and "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004).

In "Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters" (2017) and "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" (2019), Anguirus's skeletal remains make an appearance.

"Godzilla Raids Again" certainly takes it time, despite the high-speed monster fights. It's not a slow movie. Rather, it's well paced, and I appreciate how producers are meticulous in telling another science fiction story with a serious tone centering on a 200-foot monster. I think they nailed it.

All things considered, and just like part one, "Godzilla Raids Again" accomplishes being a plausible movie. That is, the movie makes it easy to believe that if a giant monster like Godzilla were real, the reactions of the characters are reasonable and rational. Unlike other sci-fi monster movies of the 1950s, as well later Godzilla movies, the campiness isn't present in this sequel. 

The effects are a bit substandard compared to the first, but who really minds that? "Godzilla Raids Again" is both one of the best movie sequels, one of the best Godzilla films, and certainly one of the best sci-fi movies of the atomic age of horror. 

125) Godzilla, aka Gojira (1954)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza begins...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

Long before streaming and YouTube were a thing, a Godzilla movie was a rare and welcomed activity. A movie would occasionally air on television on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. I don't recall seeing Godzilla movies at the local video store. 

If my memory is correct, Godzilla movies were normally broadcast on the local Bay Area stations KOFY-TV 20 or KBHK channel 44. 

I can still hear the station jingle. "We've got what you're looking for! TV 20," followed by "Stereo" spoken in a whisper. Then, in case you didn't catch it the first time, they'd repeat the station identification. 

"KOFY, K.O.F.Y - Stereo T.V. twenty. San Francisco."
The afternoon sunlight would beam through the living room curtains against the back of our 1979 19" RCA color television with the rabbit ears and dials for brightness and contrast. Our first remote control had only four buttons. Volume up. Volume down. Channel up. And channel down. 

Godzilla would spring on the tube, rubber suit and all, and battle some other monster whose names I never knew until now. Mothra and King Kong were the exceptions. I knew who they were.

There may or may not have been a tub of gummy bears on hand depending on whether dad went to Price Club earlier in the week.

Back then, the only Godzilla movies I knew by title were "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962) and "Son of Godzilla" (1967). Anything else I might have caught on television I simply called "Godzilla." 

So, ever since starting this blog back in 2018, I've had plans to dedicate each Halloween season to a specific horror franchise. 

I did precisely that in 2020. I dedicated Halloween that year to the "Tremors" series when I was doing a podcast at anchor.fm/1000daysofhorror. Pardon my shameless self-promotion. 

I watched each of the movies in that series and recorded my commentary on each one.

I'm doing it again this year on this blog as I don't record on my podcast anymore. I'll post commentary on all of the Godzilla movies in the Shōwa era. I couldn't possibly do every Godzilla movie out there. That would take at least a year or two. I started watching and reviewing these Godzilla movies back in June, so this has been a labor of monstrous fandom. 

I hope to continue this throughout the Octobers in the future. 

What's the 'Shōwa Era?'

According to a 2019 issue of Life magazine, Godzilla issue, the "Shōwa" period was a political era in Japan ushered in at the rise of Emperor Hirohito. It lasted until the 1980s. So, the kaiju films (Japanese giant monster movies) produced by Toho Studios in Japan between 1954 to 1975 are known as the Shōwa series. There are 15 Godzilla movies all together in this era. Other monster movies produced by Toho Studios, such as the Gamera films, are also a part of this. 

According to wikizilla.org, these 15 Godzilla movies can be subdivided into three categories. The original "duology" from 1954 to 1955 includes "Gojira," and "Godzilla Raids Again." 

The "revival" films between 1962 to 1968 include "King Kong vs. Godzilla," "Mothra vs. Godzilla," "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster," "Invasion of Astro-Monster," "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep," "Son of Godzilla," and "Destroy All Monsters." 

The third subcategory is the Champion Series from 1969 to 1975 with "All Monsters Attack," "Godzilla vs. Hedorah," "Godzilla vs. Gigan," "Godzilla vs. Megalon," "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" and "Terror of Mechagodzilla." These are the titles I'll be posting about in time for Halloween.

A behind-the-scenes shot of director Ishirō Honda on
the set of "Godzilla," 1954. 

Since We're on the Topic

Starting in 1950, classic monster movies that brought in the freakiest from our backyards and European nations - Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, were pushed aside to reign in the atomic age of horror. 

Starting in 1950, and lasting up around 1964, movie producers began making pictures around giant monsters and mutant animals seen in movies such as "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," and "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." On top of this carnage, aliens began invading earth in films such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "Quartermass 2," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," and "The Blob." 

This is when Japan, a nation most familiar with the horrors of atomic catastrophes, gave rise to the King of the Monsters - Godzilla. 

Godzilla is greatly inspired by "King Kong" and "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms."

Unlike the rest of the atomic monsters before, Godzilla is written as a dark allegorical social commentary. Instead of stop-motion or filming real animals and overlaping the film, they stuck an actor in rubber suit.

Japan gave nuclear devastation a face. He's not a dinosaur. 

Director Ishirō Honda says in that same Godzilla issue of Life magazine, "If Godzilla had been just a big ancient dinosaur or some other animal, he would have been killed by just one cannonball. But if he were equal to an atomic bomb, man wouldn't know what to do. So, I took the characteristics of an atomic bomb and applied them to Godzilla."

The Godzilla franchise is easily one of the most overwhelming sci-fi franchises out there. There's a ton of Godzilla movies between 1954 to 2021. 

After the Shōwa period comes the Heisei era, starting with "The Return of Godzilla," also known

as "Godzilla 1984." 

It continues on until "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah" (1995). 

Up next, the Millennium era begins with "Godzilla 2000" (1999) and concludes with "Godzilla Final Wars" (2004). 

Despite how disappointing I think it is, I have to mention the 1998 American remake "Godzilla" directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Matthew Broderick. It's the first Godzilla movie made outside of Japan.

Toho Studios hated it and struck back with a new movie of their own, "Godzilla 2000." It had both a Japanese and American theatrical release. 

Since audiences generally hated this 1998 remake, the monster has been dubbed by various fans as "Gino" (Godzilla in name only).  

The folks over at Toho Studios started calling him "Zilla" claiming he's not worthy to have "God" in his name. He's even referred to in Toho's 2001 movie "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack." I love that title!

There's a scene in that film where the history of Godzilla is discussed among a bunch of smarty pants. One of the characters refers to an attack on New York City back in 1998 and mentions that the Americans think Godzilla was responsible. But he really wasn't. 

Burn!

The American remake spawned an animated show called "Godzilla: The Series" which served as a sequel to the movie. It ran for two seasons from 1998 to 2000, with 38 episodes plus two unaired episodes. 

Gino, or Zilla, or whatever you want to call him, makes an appearance in "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004). He attacks Australia and has a brief bout with the real Godzilla. That movie is a serious trip, to say the least. Reality means nothing in that installment. I really need to review that one someday.

The "MonsterVerse" period is where you'll find the recent Hollywood produced Godzilla movies, starting with 2014's "Godzilla" up to the monster rematch audiences waited 60 years to watch - "Godzilla vs. Kong" (2021).

During this period, Japan released "Shin Godzilla" in 2016. At the time, it was the first Toho produced Godzilla movie in 16 years. And it's a movie I really enjoy!

After "Shin Godzilla's" release, some anime Godzilla films, produced by Toho Animation, came out - "Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters" (2017), "Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle" (2018) and "Godzilla: The Planet Eater" (2018). These animated stories, along with "Shin Godzilla" are part of the current Reiwa series.

I came across the animated films on Netflix. I started watching them but never finished.

Evidently, there's also three short films produced consecutively for GodzillaFest - "Godzilla Appears at Godzilla Fest" (2020), "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" (2021) and "G vs. G 2" (2021). 

Toho also had a Godzilla TV series called "Godzilla Island" in Japan. The series has 256 episodes, each approximately three-minutes long. It ran from 1997 to 1998.

So, all in all, according to mykaiju.com there are 37 Godzilla films. The number excludes the aforementioned short films and "Godzilla Island." I say there's really 38 if you count the always appreciated "Bambi Meets Godzilla." 

The Review

"To all our viewers, this is not a play or a movie. This is real, the most extraordinary story of the century."

Director

Ishirō Honda

Cast

Momoko Kōchi - Emiko Yamane
Akira Takarada - Hideto Ogata

Akihiko Hirata - Dr. Daisuke Serizawa

Takashi Shimura - Dr. Kyohei Yamane
Fuyuki Murakami - Dr. Tanabe
Haruo Nakajima - Godzilla

The horror genre often reflects the pains, perils, and anxieties of a generation. 

Godzilla's beginning is a personification, or rather a "monsterfication" of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. 

This first Godzilla film, called "Gojira" in Japan, is definitely one the greatest monster movies of the atomic age of horror/ sci-fi films. 

The atomic age reflects the period in history when atomic and nuclear warfare really became a scary reality in our world. As far as the genre goes, it marks the age of alien invasion and giant monsters or oversized animal attacks on the big screen. It was quite a change from Dracula, Frankenstein, and other such European monsters of the 1930s and 1940s. 

Nobody knew the horrors of atomic warfare more than Japan.

"Godzilla" was released in the U.S. in 1956 under the title "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." 

The version I watched for this post is the uncut Japanese version. 

In this movie, several ships are being destroyed while out off the coast of Japan. Officials are baffled as officials often are.

One ship in particular, a Japanese freighter called the Eiko-maru, is attacked by some unknown creature lurking in the sea. Officials send out another ship called the Bingo-maru to assess the damage and find any survivors. 

Unfortunately, it's also attacked. Officials are now baffled-er than before!

Later, a fishing boat that sailed out from the island of Odo is destroyed. Only one person survives. 

Also, the fish population is dwindling to near extinction. Fishing boats are coming up with little to no catches.
All this captures the press's attention, and reporters head to Odo to see what's going on. Officials are still just as baffled.
A villager explains all these events are due to a sea monster called "Godzilla" who's living in the ocean.
In the evening, a terrible storm hits the island of Odo. It not only destroys a news helicopter, it also lures Godzilla out of the water. 

He's briefly seen while he destroys homes and kills people and livestock. And then he ventures back into the water.
The residents of Odo flock to Tokyo demanding assistance and relief. Again, officials are just saturated in baffledness.
The Japanese government send paleontologist Dr. Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura) to Odo in the hopes his research will diminish their being so baffled. 

Godzilla makes use of his atomic breath
in the 1954 film "Godzilla."

Yamane finds giant radioactive footprints and an arthropod called a trilobite, which was thought to be extinct centuries ago.
Godzilla also decides to resurface and is spotted by the doctor and the villagers.
So, Yamane takes his discoveries, and a few pictures, back to Tokyo to present them to the nation's leaders. 

He estimates that Godzilla is 50 meters tall (or approximately 165 feet high) and is quickly evolving from an ancient sea creature to, basically, a land monster. He concludes that Godzilla is a result of underwater hydrogen bomb testing
As leaders and officials, in their baffled state of mind, debate over what to do about Godzilla and whether the general public should be notified, 17 more ships are taken down by the monster.
Godzilla soon finds his way into Tokyo, reducing it to a sea of flames.

While all this is taking place, Yamane's daughter, Emiko (Momoko Kōchi) calls it quits with her fiancé, Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata). Instead, her heart yearns for a ship captain named

Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada).
Ogata shows her Serizawa's project - a weapon called an oxygen destroyer.
The weapon destroys oxygen molecules in water which causes any living organism in the water to die of asphyxiation. Emiko and Ogata think this may be key to defeating Godzilla. But Serizawa thinks otherwise. 

What distinguishes the first Godzilla movie from the others I've seen is the amount of human emotion portrayed along side Godzilla wreaking his havoc. 

The audience is shown quite a bit of human suffering that's the result of the carnage wrought by a monster whose existence is a result of destructive warfare. There's quite a bit of realism in "Godzilla." 

Again, horror reflects the horror of real life, and that certainly includes suffering. The film was released in Japan just nine years after the atomic bombs were dropped. 

The shots and effects are fantastic and well done. Though Godzilla doesn't completely emerge until 45 minutes into the movie, the composition shows just how mammoth and towering he is. The model ratio and detail show how much great care and detail went into this movie. Producers wanted to make a truly memorable film and they certainly accomplished what they set out to do. 

The American version is heavily edited and altered, and stars Raymond Burr. The U.S. version is cut down to 80 minutes with different footage shot specifically for America audiences. All in all, both versions are rather different. To its credit, the America version maintains the message and the metaphor "Godzilla" is meant to be. 

The Japanese version I watched is 96 minutes long. The movie certainly takes it time. But when the carnage occurs, the movie doesn't hold back. 

This is certainly a film that gives the world Japan's point of view when it comes to the horror of atomic warfare and the cataclysmic destruction it leaves behind. 

Director Ishirō Honda has a cameo as a power worker, as well as Haruo Nakajima who wears the Godzilla suit in this movie. Nakajima plays a news reporter as well as an engineer.

He'll portray Godzilla 11 more times, his last time being in "Godzilla vs. Gigan" (1972). 

Najajima has played other monsters for Toho such as King Kong in "King Kong Escapes" (1967), Baragon in "Frankenstein Conquers the World" (1965), the Mothra caterpillar in "Mothra" (1961) Gaira in "War of the Gargantuas" (1966) and Rodan in "Rodan" (1956). He's listed as having various monster roles in the Toho movie "Space Amoeba" (1970).

I'll add here that Momoko Kōchi plays Emiko again in the 1995 movie "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah."

Steve Ryfle quotes producer Tomoyuki Tanaka in his article "Godzilla's Footprint" published in the 2005 issue of "The Virginia Quarterly Review."

"The theme of the film, from the beginning, was the terror of the bomb. Mankind had created the bomb, and now nature was going to take revenge on mankind," Tanaka says.

I can just imagine what Japanese audiences thought as they watched "Godzilla" on the big screen for the first time back in 1954, with the atomic bomb attacks still fresh on the nation's mind. It took Godzilla one film - his first film - to rightly claim the title of "King of the Monsters." All hail, the lizard king!

124) They Live (1988)

"The world may have blinded me, but the Lord has let me see."

Director

John Carpenter

Cast

Roddy Piper - Nada

Keith David - Frank Armitage

Meg Foster - Holly Thompson

Peter Jason - Gilbert

Raymond St. Jacques - the Preacher

Memes, clips, and all other types of references to John Carpenter's 1988 sci-fi thriller, "They Live" has consistently popped up on the internet for some time. 

I admit I had never heard of the movie until I started noticing this online attention approximately 10 years ago. Carpenter's movie certainly has a strong social message, or...call it what you will. 

Considering the current social political climate, where leaders don't bother with the hassle of hiding their political agendas these days like they did back in 1988, I'm not surprised. 

"They Live" has certainly gained a new large audience. Even as I write this, Italy just elected a new Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni (the nation's first female Prime Minister) who is quoted as saying in a 2019 speech, "They need us to be perfect consumer slaves." That about sums up the plot of "They Live." 

I don't want to be labeled a conspiracy theorist. Although, I will say it seems nowadays that the difference between a "conspiracy theory" and reality is at least six months. So, I understand why this movie has garnered a lot of attention, even today.

"They Live" is certainly no obscure movie. It has a lot going for it from John Carpenter directing, to its cast, plot, and the famous catchphrase spoken by the late, great pro wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in the lead role. 
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

The out-of-place and eccentric humor has echoed throughout pop culture ever since.

For instance, in the episode "The Haunting of Heck House" (1990) from the animated series, "Slimer and The Real Ghostbusters," Peter Venkman declares in one scene, "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ecto-plasm, and I'm all out of bubblegum."

On top of all that, there are some interesting Hollywood tidbits found in this movie. George Buck Flower and Norman Alden both appear in "They Live." These two actors also have small roles in "Back to the Future." 

And speaking of Ghostbusters, "They Live" utilizes Egon Spengler's "PKE Meter" as seen in the movie "Ghostbusters." While searching the news building for Nada and Frank, guards use alien communicators that are identical to the PKE meter.

The movie starts with a homeless drifter known as Nada (Roddy Piper) as he wanders into Los Angeles. He quickly finds a job at a construction site where he befriends a coworker named Frank (Keith David). 

Since Nada is homeless, Frank invites him to live in 

An alien disguised as human stands among
subliminal messaging in "They Live."

a shanty town that also operates a soup kitchen. It's all organized by a guy named Gilbert (Peter Jason). 

The town is across the street from a small Episcopal Church where a blind minister (Raymond St. Jacques) preaches. Nada saw this same preacher before, testifying on the street and claiming that "they" have recruited the rich and powerful among us to control humanity. 

During his first night in the shanty town, a bearded man takes over a TV signal and broadcasts from an undisclosed location. This mysterious face on the screen frantically states that secret television signals are entrancing people into a dream-like state, and that signal needs to be destroyed. 

"They are dismantling the sleeping middle class," he says. "More and more people are becoming poor. We are their cattle. We are being bred for slavery."

Those who catch this broadcast complain of headaches. 

The next day, Nada sees Gilbert and the blind preacher enter the church across the street. This piques his curiosity.

So, he sneaks over to check things out. Outside, it sounds like there's a service taking place with spiritual gospel music spilling through the windows. Inside, however, Nada discovers the music is playing over a loud sound system as a cover to what's really taking place in there.

In the basement, he finds scientific equipment and a lot of  boxes. 

Behind a false wall, there's even more boxes. 

He peeks through a hole in the wall and sees the T.V. hacker inside the main part of the church with Gilbert and the preacher. 

Nada keeps an eye on the church well into the night. But his vigil is cut short after a police raid barges in.

These cops destroy the church and demolish the shanty town. Clearly there's an agenda only the audience is in on.

Occupants try to flee. Some are arrested, and others manage to escape. Nada is fortunately among those who get away. The hacker and blind preacher are beaten mercilessly by cops.  

The next day, Nada goes back into the church to check out what the cops managed to do. 

While most of the building is gutted, the boxes behind the false wall are still there. 

He grabs one of them and takes off to a secluded alley far from the church. 

Nada opens the box and finds nothing but sunglasses. 

So, he grabs a pair and hides the rest of the glasses in a garbage can. 

When he puts the glasses on, everything he sees is monochrome. But what's more curious is that the glasses make subliminal messages visible. Everything around him has otherwise unrevealed messages to consume, reproduce, and conform. 

Surreptitious messages such as "Watch T.V.," "Do not question authority," and "Obey" are plastered everywhere, on just about every medium. 

Even currency has the message "This is your God" hidden underneath the ink. 

And what's more shocking, the glasses make some people appear as they really are - aliens. 

As Nada reacts to some of these aliens, they communicate to some higher authorities through their watches, describing him and indicating that he "can see." 

In one scene where Nada walks into a store shortly after putting on the sunglasses, an older woman accidentally bumps into him.

"Excuse me," she says in a condescending tone.

Seeing that she's an alien, he says "You know, you look like your head fell in the cheese dip back in 1957."

He then turns and sees a normal woman about to pay for her items. 

"You, you're okay," Nada says. "This one- real fuckin' ugly."

He then starts to get upset about what he's experiencing.

"You see, I take these glasses off, she looks like a regular person, doesn't she? Put 'em back on... formaldehyde-face!"

The cashier threatens to call the cops if he doesn't leave.

Roddy Piper as "Nada" in "They Live."

The alien speaks into her watch and says, "I got one that can see." Soon, all the aliens in the store are starring at him and speaking in their watches.

Within minutes, the cops show up. 

Carpenter certainly puts a disturbing, unforgettable face to the mysterious "they" (those really in control) so often blamed for all social ills and injustices. "They" conspire against us. "They" want discord. "They" are watching us. "They" want to divide and conquer. "They" need us to be perfect consumer slaves.

"They Live" is part 1950s sci-fi flick with flying saucers used as invisible surveillance, mixed with a dystopian storyline that's told with a lighter tone than most other dystopian films. The aliens are the most far-fetched aspect in the story. But, then again, leadership such as our own that hold beliefs similar to those of the aliens in the story aren't acting as humans should. They might as well be unsympathetic and malicious entities from some hell-scape. 

The social commentary isn't very shocking, at least by today's standards. 

I've discussed cult films on this blog before, questioning whether specific films are actually "cult classics" or not. I've attempted to tackle that age old question - just what is a cult movie, anyways?

I'll add that "They Live" deserves to be a "cult classic." It feels like a "Twilight Zone" episode. Not necessarily any particular episode, but it has the right formula to be a segment on the show.

While Carpenter's warning message is loud and clear, the movie is a little flat and underwhelming as far as effects, acting, and action are concerned. The constant slow bluesy soundtracks gives the whole movie a feeling as though we're drudging through the story. It all adds some unwanted absurdity to Carpenter's movie and message.

The nostalgia, overall message, Carpenter's name, Roddy Piper's presence, and the five and a half minute long fist fight scene between Piper and David has given this movie the "legacy" it carries today. And, really, I wouldn't deny it that legacy. 

The movie deserves the following it has, and all the homages it has received since its release. Carpenter gets his point across, and it's a message that's not hard to swallow. There's a lot to take away from this movie. Just put on the glasses! Their "agenda" lies underneath the seductive glamour and constant flashes all around us. It's something "they" don't want you to see. There's some truth to that. 

In the meantime, I have been away from my blog for most of September. Despite my absence, I have actually been very active on this blog since June. 

October is just a few days away. And for me, that means it's Halloween season. I'm dedicating October 2022 to the Monster King, Godzilla! I have written up reviews for the first 15 Godzilla movies filmed between 1954 to 1975, collectively known as the Showa era. I'm calling this set of dedicated reviews, "Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza...For the Love of Godzilla. All Hail, the Monster King!" Those are coming in October!

 

123) Pumpkinhead (1988)

"Can't you stop this? Can't you call it off?"

Director

Stan Winston

Cast

Lance Henriksen - Ed Harley

Matthew Hurley - Billy Harley

John D'Aquino - Joel

Jeff East - Chris
Kerry Remsen - Maggie
Kimberly Ross - Kim
Buck Flower - Mr. Wallace
Florence Schauffer - Haggis
Tom Woodruff Jr. - Pumpkinhead

The late Stan Winston is a legend in entertainment. He's worked as a makeup artist for films such as "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1972), "Edward Scissorhands," "Terminator 2: Judgement Day," "Batman Returns" and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."

As far as horror movies go, he's worked on "Friday the 13th part 2," "Friday the 13th part III," Disney's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "The Entity." He's an absolute master at makeup effects. 

He also sat in the director's chair for Guns n' Roses' "You Could Be Mine" video as well as Michael Jackson's short version of the "Ghosts" video. 

Winston's directorial debut was the 1988 American horror creature feature "Pumpkinhead." 

I think his presence plays a role in the film's cult status. 

"Pumpkinhead" has spawned three sequels - "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" (1993), "Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes" (2006) and "Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud" (2007). There's also a documentary on Winston's directorial debut called "Pumpkinhead Unearthed" (2008). 

It has been years since I've seen this movie. In fact, it has been so long I couldn't remember if I had seen this in its entirety before. Now, I have for sure as I watched it the other night.

The movie starts in a small secluded cabin in 1957. A farmer named Tom Harley tells his wife and boy to wait inside while he goes to check on the horses and then lock everything up. Something wicked seems too close for comfort.

He sits by the fire with his wife while his son lays in bed, eyes wide open in fear and anticipation. 

Soon, a guy who's being chased by something or someone unseen stumbles up to Tom's front door, pleading and begging to be let in. 

But Tom doesn't want any part of this man's demise. He seems to knows who this man is and whatever evil deed he's committed. Tom yells at him through the door to leave as he must take care of his wife and son first.

Tom's son, Ed Harley, peeks through his window as the man at the door is attacked by a towering creature that's definitely not human. 

The movie shifts to present day. Ed (Lance Henriksen) is a widowed farmer raising a young son of his own named Billy (Matthew Hurley) who's about seven or eight years old. 

Ed operates a small general store alongside the highway. 

When he opens shop, a small group of teenagers pull up hauling dirt bikes in their pickup trucks.

Mr. Wallace (Buck Flower - "Back to the Future"), one of the locals, pulls in as well for supplies plus some animal feed which Ed accidentally left back at the house. 

He leaves Billy alone, telling him to stay in the store while he'll only be gone for a little bit to go grab Mr. Wallace's animal feed. 

Jeff East as Chris in "Pumpkinhead" (1988).

As he leaves, one of the teenagers, Joel (John D'Aquino) decides to ride his dirt bike around the hills behind the shop regardless of his buddies advising him not to. 

Billy's dog runs out of the shop at the sound of the dirt bike's engine. Billy, of course, chases after it. 

When he runs outside, Joel accidentally hits Billy with his bike at full speed, killing him instantly. 

Having just come out of jail, Joel doesn't want to get into trouble again,. So, he packs up his bike and drives off leaving Billy in the dirt. One of the teens named Steve (Joel Hoffman) stays with Billy until his father returns. 

And when Ed comes back and realizes what happened while he was gone, he picks up his son and takes him to Mr. Wallace's place. He assumes all the teenagers are responsible.

Ed knows that a witch lives somewhere deep in the woods who might be able to help his son. He goes straight to Mr. Wallace's place and inquires about this witch, but Wallace refuses to tell him where she lives. He gives Ed money for the feed and tells him to grieve and bury his son. 

Wallace's son, Chris (Jeff East), tells Ed exactly where he can find the witch. Chris even takes him partway to her lone dreary cabin surrounded by standing water and dank atmosphere.

When Ed walks into her dwelling, he doesn't need to tell her why he came. The witch, who's name is Haggis (Florence Schauffeer), already knows. 

He lays his deceased son down on a table. But the witch tells Ed that she cannot wake the dead. 

What she does offer is an opportunity to inflict revenge on the teens in the worst way possible. 

First he must dig up a corpse buried on a specific mound within an old pumpkin patch, and bring it back to her. 

Once that's done, she takes some of his blood and some from his dead son, and pours it on the corpse. It resurrects into a towering demon-like creature. She instructs this demonic entity to seek out the kids responsible.

She warns Ed to let this monster carry out the revenge he was summoned to perform. The creature will kill anyone, even Ed, who dares to stand in his way. 

Once it begins killing each teen one by one, Ed can feel each murder as it takes place. It leaves him twisting and writhing in pain. In turn, the monster can feel any physical harm that befalls Ed. 

Soon, Ed starts feeling remorse for taking his fury out as far as he did. So, he does what he can to stop it and prevent any further killing from taking place regardless of Haggis's warnings. 

Initially, the movie struck me as just another creature feature, but with some originality. This time, I made sure to watch until the end. After letting it settle a moment, I recognized a little depth to the story. There's more substance here, story-wise, than other creature features. In other words, it's not a completely mindless slaughter fest of a horror flick. There's a little something to take away from the movie. 

Seeing Ed lose his young son in an instant is difficult to watch. It's a strong bond that's severed by the stupidity of one teenager. 

And to add salt to the wound, that teen decides to flee.  

On top of that, Ed bears the weight of guilt on his shoulders as he left Billy alone in the store while he made a quick trip back home. 

That aspect isn't mentioned, but it doesn't need to be. Lance Henriksen acts with his eyes and facial features. Guilt is a very reasonable conclusion to come to watching his performance. 

I found Tom's way of grieving curious. He doesn't lose it like one would expect. He goes straight to rage and revenge in the darkest way possible, as though he knew beforehand that those mindless teenagers would cause harm in some way or another. 

The story leaves me with the idea that revenge is an evil thing. A person has no option but to tap into a dark place in some way or another to inflict vengeance on another. Even Batman chooses to work in darkness while carrying out vengeance in Gotham City.

Lance Henriksen as Ed Harley.

It never ends with the complete satisfaction one thinks they'll obtain. 

"Pnmpkinhead" depicts this moral well enough. It has a folktale feel to it. 

The story is based on a poem by Ed Justin.

"Keep away from Pumpkinhead,
Unless you're tired of living,
His enemies are mostly dead,
He's mean and unforgiving,
Laugh at him and you're undone,
But in some dreadful fashion,
Vengeance, he considers fun," as part of the poem goes.

To the movies credit, the actors seem to take their roles with a tone of seriousness.

Mayim Bialik ("Big Bang Theory") has a small role as one of the Wallace kids. According to IMDB.com, this is her first film role. 

The overall tone changes quickly from dry and sunny to the dank backwoods atmosphere laden with fog and uncertainty. This doesn't happen when Billy dies. It seems to occur once Ed  decides to turn to evil for revenge. 

The monster itself is memorable and easily recognizable. He bears a constant grin as though he's enjoying the vengeance he's called upon to inflict.

I appreciate the vulnerability Pumpkinhead carries. While his conjuring comes at a permanent price for the conjurer, it's demise also comes at the same type of cost...for Ed. 

Horror writer Stephen King does something similar in many of his stories. There's a solution, but that solution either comes in a way that the protagonist doesn't want or expect. That solution comes with damage, whether physical, mental, or both for the protagonist. 

"Pumpkinhead" isn't obscure but doesn't seem to stand among other, more prevailing horror movies of the decade. Still, it deserves audiences' attention. 

122) Mothra (1961)

"Those fairies aren't human. They're merchandise."

Director 

Ishirō Honda

Cast

Hiroshi Koizumi - Dr. Shinichi Chujo
Frankie Sakai - Zenichirō Fukuda
Kyōko Kagawa - Michi Hanamura
Ken Uehara - Dr. Harada

Jerry Ito - Clark Nelson
Yumi Ito and Emi Ito - The Shobijin


There's a majestic fantastical persona that surrounds the Japanese kaiju (monster), Mothra. It largely distinguishes her from other Japanese monsters such as Rodan, King Ghidora, Anguirus, and even the King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla.
The giant moth is certainly one of the more popular Japanese monsters after Godzilla. Mothra is just as much a household name.
The 1961 film "Mothra" produced by Toho Studios - the company that gave us Godzilla - and directed by legendary kaiju movie director, Ishirō Honda, introduced the world to the humungous and magnificent Lepidoptera on the big screen.
Mothra appears in several later films, the next being "Mothra vs. Godzilla" (1964).
She also appears with Godzilla in "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964), "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" (1966), "Destroy All Monsters" (1968), "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" (1994), "Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (2001), "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." (2003), "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004), and "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" (2019). She is also in the series "Godzilla Island" (1997-1998).
But that's not all! Mothra also has her own set of films - "Rebirth of Mothra" (1996), "Rebirth of Mothra II" (1997), and "Rebirth of Mothra III" (1998).   

This introduction to Mothra begins with an expedition to Infant Island which has become radiated due to atomic tests performed in the surrounding waters.
The natives are therefore introduced to civilization outside of the island.
However, one businessman attempts to exploit the island natives, which pisses off the god they worship. 
Off the coast of Infant Island where Rolisican atomic tests are conducted, a boat is caught in a typhoon and runs aground onto the radioactive island. Rolisica is a fictional country in the movie, located between Eastern Asia and Europe, and meant to be an inoffensive reference to both the United States and Russia. Its capital is New Kirk City. I groaned out loud.

Anyways, four sailors are found by a rescue party. None of them test positive for radiation sickness which the sailors attribute to a specific berry juice the natives gave them to drink.
This story breaks in the Japanese newspapers. News reporter Zenichiro Fukuda (Frankie Sakai) and photographer Michi Hanamura (Kyōko Kagawa) come on scene by infiltrating the hospital to interview the sailors.
Meanwhile, a joint expedition between Japan and Rolisica, lead by the greedy and self-absorbed Clark Nelson (Jerry Ito) from Rolisica, heads over to Infant Island. A radiation specialist named Dr. Harada (Ken Uehara) accompanies Nelson on the trip along with an anthropologist named Dr. Shin'ichi Chūjō (Hiroshi Koizumi). Fukuda, being the great reporter he is, sneaks on board their boat as a stowaway. 

Mothra hatches from a coccoon built
underneath a broken Tokyo Tower in "Mothra."

While exploring Infant Island, the crew finds a symbol carved in a rock that looks like a radiating cross. They later find that this symbol, written in the native language of the islanders, means "Mothra."
Chūjō separates from the group and becomes entangled in a vine that begins to twist around and overtake him. He's rescued by a pair of female twins who stand just a foot tall.
When he gets back to the crew, he tells them what he witnessed, and refers to these twins as the "Shobijin" (small beauties).
The Shobijin make their presence known to the entire crew to tell them they want the island spared from any further nuclear testing.
In his greed, Nelson attempts to kidnap the Shobijin but is dissuaded by the natives brandishing weapons and ready to attack him to defend the twins.
When the expedition returns to the mainland, they don't tell anyone what they experienced.
Nelson, however, returns to Infant Island and kidnaps the twins, brings them back to Japan, and forces them to perform as a stage act for his own profit. They plead for their release, but Nelson refuses to let them free. They're too profitable.
So, through telepathic singing, the twins call on Mothra for help. The natives back on Infant Island also beg their god, Mothra, for her aid. At this stage, Mothra is a giant egg.
The egg hatches, and Mothra in larva form, emerges and swims to the mainland to find the twins and punish their kidnappers.
The twins warn Nelson that she's coming and that people will be hurt because he won't let them go.
Of course, he doesn't believe them. 

Fukuda, Hanamura, and Chūjō try to rescue the twins without success. The newspaper Fukuda reports for writes a story that Nelson is holding these small twins against their will.
He threatens a libel suit against the paper and the Rolisican Embassy even comes to his aid.
The larva, meanwhile, survives attacks by military forces while swimming towards Japan. It even takes down a cruise ship along the way.
Mothra finally arrives in Tokyo, and spins a cocoon. Japanese forces attempt to incinerate the cocoon but Mothra still emerges.
The people of Japan are pissed at Nelson for holding onto the twins. So, he's ordered to release them, which he finally does.
He secretly sneaks off to Rolisica, but Mothra immediately flies over to New Kirk City to find the twins, destroying cities along the way.
In true Toho fashion, "Mothra" is made as an epic picture like many of their other monster movies.
While the movie has a rather serious tone, some elements are cartoonish, such as Nelson. He's obviously the villain of the movie as he laughs maniacally whenever he reveals his dastardly plans. He's a little over-the-top as he's driven by greed, and is unmoving and unsympathetic. To Jerry Ito's credit, he makes the audience love to hate his character.
It's worth noting there are several Mothras throughout the kaiju films from Toho. While Mothra is often referred to as "she" in some movies, there have been male Mothras as well.
The majestic nature Mothra possesses carries over into the films she appears in with Godzilla. I think that's part of what makes her as popular and well-known as she is among the rogue's gallery of Japanese monsters.

The pacing of "Mothra" is smooth as they build up to Mothra's ultimate appearance little by little, until the final act of the film. It adds to the epic nature of the entire picture. 

The models, while clearly models, are still truly impressive. The time and effort that surely went into them deserves all the "ooohs" and "aaahs" they must have got back in 1961.
The film is one big introduction to this "monster." 

In a very loose way, Mothra is kind of like Frankenstein's monster in that she's not a ravenous creature who destroys and devours like any other monster would, compelled by some animalistic hunger or driven by an unseen evil. She seeks revenge, but her wrath isn't unreasonable. Mothra is on a rescue mission.
"Mothra" is an entertaining movie, though it really takes its time getting to what audiences want to see - Mothra in all her colorful glory answering the prayers of the natives and gaining revenge on the greedy.
The movie succeeds telling an epic story rather than showing a giant moth destroy everything in sight for an hour and 41 minutes.

The movie holds up in being a truly unique monster film among the rest from Toho.

I'm currently writing up reviews for the first 15 Godzilla movies, known collectively as the Shōwa era (1954-1975), which I'll be posting throughout October. I started back in June. At this point, I'm a little more than halfway done. I wanted to throw this review for "Mothra" into that mix but I simply couldn't wait. So, what the hell.

121) La Maison Ensorcelée - The House of Ghosts (1906)

Director

Segundo de Chomón

It recently occurred to me that I need to watch the 2014 horror film "The Babadook" again. 

When I saw it back in 2015, I watched it primarily for its scare and horror factor, but left not feeling very satisfied. Since then, I've come across a lot of praise for "The Babadook," directed by Jennifer Kent. While I love the premise of the movie, I admit I certainly missed something. The movie doesn't rely on jump scares and thrills. There's a lot of substance within. 
Film critic Glenn Kenny, writing for rogerebert.com, called this movie "...the finest and most genuinely provocative horror movie to emerge in this still very-new century." So, yes...I need to watch "The Babadook" one more time.
A 2014 article from shutterstock.com cites 10 films that "Scared 'Babadook’ Director Jennifer Kent Into Filmmaking." Among those titles is a French silent film from 1906 titled "La Maison Ensorcelée" or "The Bewitched House" according to Google translate, directed by Spanish film director Segundo de Chomón. It's also known as "The House of Ghosts." 
The film is approximately six minutes long, but there's a lot happening within those few minutes. It's considered one of the earliest films set within a haunted house. 
The movie opens with three travelers - two men and a woman - walking along a river trail in the woods before they stumble upon a small house.
Lightening strikes the house three times before the façade transforms into a face.  
When the three travelers barge into the house, all sorts of typical ghostly activity takes place. Their baggage begins moving on its own. A painting of a nature scene on the wall comes to life as some kind a demon appears within the frame. This is likely the most notable moment in the short film. 

The furniture starts disappearing. Their wardrobes emerge from their bags and begin dancing around. And ghosts begin to take on physical manifestations. 
Despite all these paranormal shenanigans, the trio stick around. When they set a table to have some food, a knife takes on a life of its own and starts slicing up meat and bread by itself. Also, an unseen force begins to pour each of them a cup of coffee. When their meal is ready, the food along with the table disappears. 
The longer they stay, the worse things get. When they retire to bed, the entire house rocks back and forth cause the bed to slide from wall to wall. They all hide under the blanket in a huddled ball.
The rooms stops rocking, and the demon that appeared earlier in the painting looms over the bed.
It picks up the lodgers still wrapped in the blanket, plays around with it for a moment in an act of torment, and places them in a tree back out in the woods. 
Similar to an earlier horror film I discussed called "House of the Devil" (1896) from Georges Méliès, "The House of Ghosts" is more of a showcase of special effects than it is an actual story. The story is secondary. It's there to support the effects, which were certainly very novel at the time. They're the foundation for later cinema. 

And the effects still succeed in impressing. Some, of course, are very simple. The film cuts to depict furniture suddenly vanishing. And the use of stop motion depicts unseen forces manipulating mundane objects.
What's truly impressive about the stop motion is the fluidity of how things move. In particular, the knife that slices through sausage, and cuts the bread by itself, is stunning to watch. The fluidity of this animation is impressive.  
The final slice of the sausage tries sliding itself off the plate and makes the knife chase it around the table. 
Once it succeeds, a linen napkin nicely rolled up in a napkin ring climbs out of a coffee cup, then out of the ring, and unrolls itself to wipe off the knife blade before rolling itself back up, sliding back into the ring, and finally back into the cup. 
The napkin later does this again in order to sweep the breadcrumbs into a nice pile and onto the floor. Effects such as these still amaze. The attention to detail in these effects, and the way they add to the frantic tone of the picture is great.

I'm not surprised Jennifer Kent names "The House of Ghosts" as one of the horror movies that inspired her into film making. So much so, she evidently included the film in a scene in "The Babadook." 

Such camera work and optical effects are very similar to the works of Georges Méliès. 

"The House of Ghosts" mixes paranormal horror with comedy seen in the actions and demeanor of the three characters. Segundo de Chomón mixes his comedy style with fantasy in his 1907 film, "Hôtel électrique." He also utilizes a lot of stop motion in that film as well. 

It seems he uses film splicing or overlapping in "The House of Ghosts" to pull off the effect of making the painting spring to life with the image of a demon. It's very similar, if not identical, to a movie he filmed in 1906 called "A Funny Shave" which I've seen on a variety of silent film and public domain YouTube channels.  

"The House of Ghosts" is truly a foundational picture that stands out among the rest!

120) Wrinkles the Clown (2019)

"That's what's awesome. He's real!"

Director
Michael Beach Nichols

Cast

Benjamin Radford - himself
D.B. Lambert - himself
Unidentified - Wrinkles the Clown

I walked into this horror documentary thinking it was fictional. And I use the word "horror" in the loosest way I can. The term that's often used for fictional documentaries is "mockumentary." 

Evidently, this story is real. Or, I'm the most gullible movie viewer out there. 

The release of Stephen King's "It: Chapter One" in 2017, which centers around a group of kids taking on an otherworldly being that takes the form of a child-eating clown named "Pennywise" sparked this surge of interest and popularity in maniacal and frightening clowns. 

Morons across the nation started dressing in clown costumes to try and scare innocent people. 

Some of these idiots even brandished knives and such turning their pranks into matters of public safety. And yet, somehow, it's not as odd as it ought to be in today's society.

It reminds me of the time when Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" was released in 2003. Suddenly, everyone became fans of pirates. I'm not referring to the modern day Somali pirates. Rather, I mean the classic 16th and 17th century swashbuckling kind of pirates. It's a fad that lingered less and less as more pirate movies were released.

But scary clowns existed years before Wrinkles the Clown, and even Pennywise from 2017. Serial killer John Wayne Gacy turned out to be a true monster who liked to dress as a clown. The movie "Poltergeist" (1982) had that freaky clown doll scene. Musician Tiny Tim played a scary clown once in "Blood Harvest" (1988). Clowns even came from outer space to take us over in the legendary film masterpiece that is "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" (1988). And in 2003 the world was introduced to the loveable clown, Captain Spaulding, played by the late Sid Haig in "House of 1,000 Corpses." 

It seems the 1980s really introduced freaky clowns to the horror genre. 

The documentary "Wrinkles the Clown" dates the frightening clown motif as far back as the early Punch and Judy puppet shows which has roots in the 16th century. 

The film documents the story of a character performed by an unknown "artist" in Naples, Fla., whom parents can hire at a cost to potentially scare their unruly children into better behavior. 

Wrinkles first came on the scene through a YouTube video in 2015. 

In a video titled "Wrinkles The Clown Caught on CCTV" a young girl is seen sleeping as the drawer under her bed begins to open.

A clown - Wrinkles - soon climbs out and just before he scares the unaware child, he reaches for the camera and the video ends. 

This is where the documentary starts. Once Wrinkles is introduced to the audience, filmmakers interview a man living in a mobile home who claims to be the infamous clown. His identity is anonymous. 

This man is a 65-year old retired veteran, divorced, and is a Rhode Island native. 

Though he wears his costume to frighten misbehaving children, he otherwise seems like an average guy. He doesn't act macabre in the least outside of playing Wrinkles. Rather, he comes across as a guy who found a "creative" way to make a buck.  

Stickers appeared around Florida with the clown's name, face and phone number - (407) 734-0254. They were stuck on lamp posts, mail boxes, street signs, bathroom stalls, anywhere they'd fit. 

Though the clown was interviewed on local news channels, and even talked about on late night shows like "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon"  Wrinkles' true identity remained a mystery. 

Other YouTube videos of Wrinkles emerged on YouTube, including one with him hiding in someone's backyard to scare another child. In the video, the clown eventually enters the house before the video ends.

We soon find out midway through the documentary that this retired veteran living in the mobile home isn't really Wrinkles. Rather, his real name is D.B. Lambert who was hired by the real Wrinkles to be his alter-ego, who himself is an alter ego of another anonymous person. 

The real, real man behind the mask is interviewed in the darkness of anonymity. He admits that the YouTube videos, including the one with the clown hiding in the girls bed drawer, are staged productions. The entire Wrinkles act is one big art project concocted by a performance artist.

Calls flood Wrinkles' cell phone. Some are lucky enough to actually reach him. The rest just go to his eerie voicemail. 

I called the number myself and, sure enough, I got the voicemail of Wrinkles the Clown. I even typed his number into spydialer.com. The name Santiago Jadaly came back as the owner of the number.

By the end of the documentary, Wrinkles the Clown is like a local legend whom people might run into on Halloween night. Though he looks frightening with his dark eyes and rubber mask, his demeanor, New York accent, and his willingness to pose for pictures makes him anything but threatening. He's like a fun Halloween decoration.

One question that arises in the film is the ethics behind hiring someone to terrify your children, or threatening kids with a call to Wrinkles.

He doesn't physically harm them. It's all a scare.

Personally, I think it is cruel. There's surely other means to properly handle an unruly child than parents calling a stranger in a clown suit for the sake of making kids think he'll kill then if they don't shape up.

Anyways, this documentary is what it is. It certainly touches on the fear of clowns among children, and it ties in with what the horror genre is - entertainment with the intention to terrify. 

One person in this movie makes the comment that by calling Wrinkles, you're inviting him into your life. The question that the film poses is "why." 

What are Wrinkles' true motives. Money? Fame? Popularity? Thrills? Or does he really think he's performing a community service? 

In the end, Wrinkles says, "Our individual minds are such humongous places and the places that you can go can be some of the darkest deepest depths of just awful terribleness to some of the most enlightening beautiful places. It's just interesting to see where people decide to go in their mind because at the end of the day they're the ones taking this very small information about Wrinkles the Clown and deciding which way to take it." 

As the film suggests, maybe the negative parts of Wrinkles will die off over time, and maybe the fun parts of Wrinkles will live on.