Monday, August 18, 2014

Quick Update

As I may have stated in the past, I am a college student, and moved back into the dormitories within the last three days (or perhaps four, as it's past midnight here now).

Because of that, I've been spending a lot of time with friends, and not necessarily focusing on writing reviews. Within the next week, I am hoping this will shift, as I wish not to neglect this blog too much prior to October, in which reviews will be limited (I've mentioned this before also, and intend to explain in a future post).

I just wanted to let you all know the situation, and if you've taken a liking to my blog, fear not, as shortly, it should be getting back to being updated regularly.  

With regards,
Michael

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Review #29: "The Haunted Cell" - Lights Out (Radio Show)

Source: Archive.org
Length: 29 minutes
Air date(s): October 26th, 1938 and July 20th, 1946

Unlike my previous radio show review, I thought this one went pretty well. No doubt it could have been better, but for it's time period, I'm sure quite a few people were sitting on the edge of their seats.

This is narrated by one Maxie, and to begin, he asks the audience if they believe in ghosts. He claims to have a ghost story that will make our hair curl.

In the previous August, as Maxie was holding up a gas station, he was arrested by a "copper." Unfortunately, this is especially bad for him, as he killed a police officer, Ambrose Hogan, weeks prior. What makes it even worse is the now-deceased Hogan's partner is head of the interrogation.

After trying to get Maxie to confess, at first by forceful behavior, and then by beating him with a rubber hose (can you say police abuse?), Miller and his new partner, Johnny, decide they know what to do - through him in "the haunted cell."

As Miller and Johnny are walking Maxie to the cell, they explain that another cop killer, Skeeter Dempsey, who fired in the electric chair, lived in the cell they're being Maxie to. Whether it's an interrogation technique or not, they claim that Dempsey still likes the cell, and is often there.

Maxie doesn't believe in ghosts at this point, but once the two officers turn the lights off in the hall, leaving Maxie completely alone, it doesn't take long until Dempsey walks into his cell and speaks to him.

At first, Maxie believes it to be a gag, but when Dempsey turns the light on for him, Maxie sees that nobody is around him, causing him to faint.

When he wakes up, Dempsey continues speaking to him, consistently reassuring Maxie that he is in fact Dempsey. Maxie wants him to go away, but Dempsey denies his request, as he likes it there. Dempsey then tells Maxie that he's not spoken to anyone in two months, since George Brown.

Something clicks in Maxie's head; George Brown hung him two months prior, in this very same cell. Maxie freaks out again, but Dempsey tells him that he's not going to hurt him. Dempsey explained that Brown was going to get the chair anyways, and since Dempsey also got the chair, advised him against it, as it'd better to kill yourself and take your life into your own hands then it is for the state to do it for you. In a way, Dempsey explains, it redeems you just a bit.

Miller then walks in to check on Maxie. After turning the light on, Maxie gets further confirmation that Dempsey is who he says he is, as he sees no one around but Miller. Miller believes Maxie is cracking, but until he confesses, he's going to leave Maxie in the cell.

Four weeks pass - Maxie is still in the cell, though he's not scared as often as he used to be. In fact, he's gotten used to living with a ghost. Dempsey constantly tells Maxie that he should hang himself like Brown, but Maxie still refuses to do so, not wanting to die.

Finally, a conviction comes, and the jury find Maxie guilty of first degree murder, which comes with a mandatory death sentence. As Miller brings Maxie back to his cell, Dempsey whispers in Maxie's ear that there's only one way out now.

On the day prior to Christmas Eve, Dempsey tells Maxie that he knows for certain his execution will be the following night. He says he'll be with Maxie until the end, not that it will do much good; he won't be able to prevent any of the pain Maxie will feel.

Maxie then breaks down again, because he's always been a sucker for pain, and doesn't think he'll be able to take it. He then wanders aloud how much pain Brown felt before killing himself. Dempsey claims that it only took a minute, and the pain was minimal in comparison to the chair. In fact, the ghost goes as far as saying were he in Maxie's position, he'd definitely hang himself.

After hearing this, Maxie agrees that it'd probably be the best course of action, but doesn't have the guts to follow through with actually doing it, causing him much dismay.

Miller then comes in and informs Maxie of his death sentence, which is to take place the following day. For his part, Miller seems quite mellowed by this experience. He offers Maxie to get into contact with his folks, and a bottle of bourbon, claiming that while at the beginning, he wanted Maxie to fry for his partner's death, but now he regrets his viewpoint.

Miller apologizes to Maxie, though Maxie accepts that he has to die, and doesn't blame Miller for what's going to happen. One last time, Miller asks Maxie if he wants anything, and Maxie again says no. Miller tells Maxie that he'll be moved before too long to the state prison, where the electric chair is.

Once gone, Dempsey speaks again to Maxie, informing him that a length of rope is under his bed, so he wouldn't need to try to use his belt, should he decide to commit suicide.

We then end with Maxie's narration.
Maxie: Well ... there ya are. That's your ghost story. You believe in ghosts now?
You don't? Well, ya oughta. You see, I took Skeeter's advice. I hung myself. I've been dead six months.

The ending is pretty spooky and effective, but as a whole, I didn't find the episode amazing. If Dempsey had waited a bit longer to speak to Maxie, I felt the suspense would have lasted a bit longer. But no, as soon as Miller leaves Maxie along, Dempsey immediately begins to speak to him.

Really, I wish the ghost was more threatening than conciliatory. While at first Maxie was being haunted, as he got used to it, the power of the episode short of drained away. Miller's apology was nice, as we find he does have a conscious, but he didn't really play as huge as a rule as I thought he would in this story.

This was much easier to enjoy, though, because I was able to find a transcript of the episode online here. There was no missed words due to audio issues or hysterical women. It's a nice, clear-cut, transcript, and it went a long way to ensure I could fully deem this an accessible form of media.

That said, aside from the beginning, and the chilling ending, this story was lacking the something that makes it special. I enjoyed it more than "The Organ," but I'm still waiting for that amazing radio story.

My rating: 7/10


- Michael

Review #28: "Love is a Lie" - Friday the 13th: The Obsession (Episode 3)

*A quick correction prior to my actual review. I got into contact with the creators of this series shortly after I posted my review over Episode 2. As it turns out, this was not intended as a series. It was created as a feature film, but it could not have been in as high quality as it is now if it was kept in that format, so the creators decided to cut the film into portions (i.e. episodes). This explains why the pacing may seem a little off - there are various movies in which the action doesn't really begin until halfway through the film. Friday the 13th: The Obsession happens to be one of them.

I do apologize to the creators for this mistake. In my defense, I generally trust IMDb with all things related to movies and series, and they have Friday the 13th: The Obsession listed as a series, which is an error on their part. I will continue to review this as though it is a series, but I will refrain from criticizing any issues in regards to pacing.*

Source: Vimeo
Length: 15 minutes
Air date: December 2nd, 2011



This episode, despite it being longer, is virtually purely a character-driven episode, not that it presents a problem. Just letting you all know that action (insofar as Jason is concerned) is not this episode's strong point.

We begin on the "date" between Amy and Stephanie.


They converse about Amy's ex-girlfriend, Stephanie's inexperience with actual lesbian couples, and why Stephanie is "running away" from her boyfriend. Though not a surprise, as it turns out, her ex-boyfriend is a controlling dick, and treated her far more like property than an actual person.

Not enjoying the grim conversation, Amy offers Stephanie the chance to leave and get smashed, which they do.

Next time we see them, they are both overly drunk (and very good at acting, truth be told). They stumble into Amy's room, barely able to walk.


They flirt with each other, both drunk off their ass. Before too long, they kiss each other, after Stephanie blurts out she's never felt this close to anyone before.


Though it's not seen, it's implied they later have sex, leading Stephanie to be bothered and confused when she leaves later that night, asking herself, "What the fuck did I do?"

At home, she's taking a shower, and has a small breakdown, but she's jerked out of it when she believes she hears a noise in the house. 


She calls for her sister, Carrie, but she gets no reply. She goes back to her shower, though now likely nervous. It is at this point we are welcomed with a "To Be Continued."


So, because this wasn't made to cater the audience expecting a series, the fact that it's wholly character-driven will play no part in my rating.

I think Amy and Stephanie make a cute couple (regardless of whether or not Stephanie is actually a lesbian), but the make-out scene does bother me a bit, given they were both drunk. Obviously, neither party can give consent when drunk, so Amy should have been a bit wary about bring Stephanie home with her. She was drunk too, of course, so I don't know how much one can really blame her.

I'm hoping this does not destroy their friendship - if Stephanie can accept her feelings for Amy, perhaps it'll turn out fine, but I'm not positive how good their chances are.

Given that Stephanie and Amy are the only two characters on-screen in this whole episode, I've exhausted my talking points. I believe I've said this twice before (and been wrong both times, so I can cross "oracle" off my career list), but I'll say it again to cover my bases: I'm guessing that things get going on the horror side of things this upcoming episode, because I'd like to see some horror sometime soon.

Still, this was a pretty decent episode, and I hope for the best in regards to our characters.

My rating: 8/10



- Michael

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Review #27: Vampire (1979) - Television movie

Vampire, despite the unenthusiastic title, is a very solid television movie from 1979, originally intended to be a pilot to a never-developed series (much like 1973's The Norliss Tapes). Regardless, this was quite a good film, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Source: YouTube
Length: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Number of Ratings from IMDb: 190
Country of Origin: USA
Director: E.W. Swackhamer [Night Terror, Vampire, Bridge Across Time]



We begin with the erection of a cross, to dedicate the site of Saint Sebastian's Church. The speaker also thanks the audience for their continued support of the whole Bryant Park Development Project.


He also thanks John and Leslie Rawling, a married couple, both architects, for their vision of this neglected part of San Francisco.


Their plan is to build a community of churches, schools, and apartment homes in this forgotten portion of the city. After a lengthy prayer in order to dedicate the cross to the development project, a man whom the camera focuses on is about to leave, but he then notices something.


Where the shadow of the newly-erected cross is hitting, the ground appears to be peculiarly emitting a smoke-like vapor. Before he can explore this phenomenon further, however, a woman pulls up and yells for him, as they'll be late for a baseball game if they don't hurry. The man, whom we now know as Harry, gets into the vehicle and they drive away.

Now sundown, in San Francisco:


Beneath the cross, emerging from the smoking ground, a figure appears, and from here on out, the lives of those seen above will not be the same.



About a month pasts, and we find ourselves amongst a social gathering/party hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings, the aforementioned well-to-do architects. A common topic of interest is the recent murders the city has been facing. The bodies are drained of blood, and the police force is baffled.

Not all is bad, thought - Nicole DeCamp tells Leslie about a man she's recently meant, one Anton Voytek. They meant a month ago, according to Nicole, and while at first it was purely business, they began a romance, bringing a new light into Nicole's life.

Leslie and Nicole
A lawyer, Nicole fondly states that life with Anton was better than she could have previously imagined life to be. She then introduces Leslie to Anton, and we meet to wonderful fellow.


Anton greets Leslie with glee, smooth-talking her insofar as she can barely take her eyes off of him. He compliments her art collection, and even names the model in a nearby painting, shocking Leslie, and she and her husband, despite research, have not been able to discover the model's name. Nicole pulls him away before too long,and they make their way to leave the party, Leslie walking with them.

Leslie walks Nicole to her car while Anton speaks with John, confessing that he came to the party in order to speak with him. He claims he's involved in a project that he believes John and his wife would be enormously intrigued in. John is interested in hearing about it, but states that his hands are pretty full already, with his work in the Bryant Park Project. Anton interrupts, and invites them to a ballet later on, which John accepts.


Later that night, Leslie and John reminisce about their past, amazed that they came from so little, yet moved up to where they are now. After a passionate embrace, they go back to bed.


After the ballet, which Anton unfortunately was unable to attend, Nicole pitches Anton's project idea to them, stating it to be a short-term project.

The Highdecker Estate was house built on the land now known as Bryant Park. The family disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the late 1930's, and over the next 40 years, the house fell into ruins. Before it became dilapidated, however, a wealthy European family, fleeing from the Nazis, bought it, though they never made it to America. The family, Nicole informs John and Leslie, is Voytek's. Eight centuries of heirlooms and treasures were smuggled out of Europe and hidden beneath the house, in extensive tunnels and basements.

Simply put, Anton wants to get those treasures back, and requires the help of the two architects. 

According to John and Leslie, however, some problems are present. The cost would be enormous, getting clearance would be overly difficult, and even if they could unearth the location of the lost treasures, they believe the weight of the earth and rubble would have destroyed them.

Nicole tells them that money would not be an issue - Anton has a lot of wealth, and would have no problem paying for the best in the field. She also gives a list of partial buried treasures for them to look over. The list includes long thought-lost works of Donatello, Botticelli, and da Vinci.

As the three go out for a sandwich, John tells his wife that they might as well give it a try, eager to unearth those treasures.


The following day, I believe, John is going over rough plans with his employees to begin digging out the tunnels. Leslie and another woman come in, and inform John that if Nicole's list is correct, the findings would turn the art world on it's head. More so, each of the paintings on the list were looted throughout the centuries. Leslie hasn't told Nicole, afraid to sound as though she's indicated that Voytek's family has all of these stolen paintings.

Meanwhile, they found the right location, and an excavation is underway.



Not only are paintings being found either. After moving a painting, one of the workers stumble across a skull, a necklace crucifix next to it.



Before the coroner can take it away, Harry, who is on the work site, comes up to talk to him. 


Harry Kilcoyne, who we now know is a former police officer, takes an interest in the cross, claiming he placed it on his ex-partners neck before he disappeared around 1946 and 1947. After Harry asks, the Coroner allows him to take the crucifix with him. 

In a storage facility, John informs a friend that the estimated value of the unearthed collection is well over 25 million dollars. We then learn that Voytek is likely to be arrested because of the nature of the paintings, many of them being stolen and looted in the past. John never wanted it to come to his arrest, but it's now out of his hands.

John is also told about the remains found at the site. They belonged to a Precinct Captain who retired from the force in the 1930's to become a priest, who in fact founded the original St. Sebastian's Church. 

Voytek, unaware that a warrant is out against him, comes by the storage facility, and is immediately arrested for conspiracy to commit grand theft. He is less then pleased, telling John that he trusted him, and he shall be repaid.



He is bailed out before long by Nicole, but before he so much as thanks her, Voytek literally runs all the way back to his apartment, in perhaps one of my favorite sequences in the film (due mainly to the background music). He gets back to his apartment just in time, by the looks of him, as he is literally smoking.

The following day, John is speaking with Nicole - she defends Voytek, and due to her experience as a lawyer, understands that controversy is very common upon finding old artwork. She claims the litigation due to the recently unearthed treasures will keep her busy for years. John tries to get her to see reason, and ask herself how much she truly knows about Anton. She just replies that he should trust her, and goes on her way.


At the Rawlins house, Leslie is dressed up, and ready to go meet John and some friends, when a doorbell sounds out, and to her surprise, it's Anton Voytek. After he's invited inside, Anton claims he wanted to try and rekindle their friendship, assuring Leslie that he'll talk to Nicole, who's friendship with Leslie has been strained of late.

He then pulls Leslie into a passionate kiss, who at first tries to overcome his hypnotic charm, but is unable to.


From here on out, the film takes a drastic turn.

John comes into his house, looking for his wife, but instead finds her corpse. Leslie is now dead.

John is now a different man. A friend of his, Christopher, talks with him, telling him he's got two tickets to paradise, and they can spend as long as they need away from there. 


John, not really hearing his friend's offer, states (in a pretty amusing delivery, mind), "He killed her and mutilated her and nothing is being done about it!"

Christopher states that they've been through this: Nicole vouches for Voytek, and according to her, he never left his apartment the night of the murder. John still isn't listening, and later that day, in fact, goes into his apartment, probably to kill him, but is scared away when he sees Voytek beginning to come out of a coffin.

The police pick him up, and Christopher gets him to accept his offer of staying over at his place. As they walk by, Harry watches them leave.


Common consensus is that after his wife was murdered, John's become nuts, according to a police officer speaking to Harry.

During another montage after John gets out of the police headquarters, we see him learning to accept the fact that his wife is gone, and more so, he begins to read up on vampires, now convinced that is what Voytek is. Outside of Voytek's apartment, John raises a crucifix to his window.


While Harry is conversing with the Captain who's working on the recent murders, they're interrupted by another officer, letting the Captain know that John has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital after "flipping out." Listening curiously, Harry hears that John took crosses and wooden stakes to Voytek's apartment. Harry decides he wants to speak to John, and goes off to the hospital to meet him.

John is restrained and muttering for his cross, clearly drugged out of his mind. Voytek decides it's a good time to pay his old friend a visit.


Now in his room, Voytek taunts John, claiming it was so easy, yet passionate, to kill her. He leans over the immobile John, and is about to kill him.


Suddenly, Harry bursts into the room, his gun drawn. Before his can shoot, however, Voytek exchanges a few words with him, and then jumps out the window, leaving Harry to exclaim "Mother of God!"


Afterwards, John is over at Harry's apartment. And they talk. Over both having recently lost their wives (Harry's wife died of cancer two years prior), and the evil they are both facing.


Harry tells John about his ex-partner, Maurice. In 1939, they were assigned to homicides committed in the Bryant Park area - the victims' throats torn out, though no blood found at the crime scenes (much like the recent murders). Maurice, always a religious man, believes they were after a vampire. He retired early, and entered seminary, forming St. Sebastian's Church two years later, a "stone throw's away" from the Highdecker Estate.

Harry went off to fight in World War II, and when he returned, Maurice had completely vanished. Harry believes that Maurice knew Voyket (or whatever alias he was using at the time) was at the Highdecker, and went to face him in a showdown of sorts. Voytek, according to Harry, must have brought down the Estate on the both of them, burying him and killing Maurice.

John then tells Harry about Voytek's hypnotic stare, knowing it is the last thing his wife ever saw. He then claims he wants to kill Voytek, and Harry agrees, stating that they should join together in this task, believe that separately, it would be impossible, but combined, they may very well succeed. A knock at the door jolts them both, but it's just a neighbor of Harry, Andrea, and her son, Tommy, who Harry babysits while she's working.


Later, once Tommy is asleep in the guest room, John and Harry are discussing the history of Voyket, and tactics to destroy him.


According to a book John has been reading recently, Voytek could be as much as 700 years old, which shocks Harry once he hears it.

Harry believes that their vampiric adversary probably has five or six sanctuaries around San Francisco. Harry wants John to check in with casket companies in the morning, to look for individuals who have made large purchases. If they can find that out, they then track down each individual coffin. If Voytek is in one, they kill him, but if he's not, they make the coffins unusable, eventually ensuring he only has one or two coffins left to sleep in, making it easier to track him down.

John warns Harry that Voytek may very well use Andrea and her son against him. Thinking through this, Harry states that Tommy's due to visit his father, who lives in Arizona, next week, and theorizes that he can convince Andrea to send him off the following day.

Once Andrea returns from work, John offers to carry him to her apartment. What happens next is a mystery.

According to the person who uploaded this video onto YouTube, a five-minute portion had to be removed due to a "visual copyright claim." I already described how utterly ridiculous this is here

So I don't know what happens in this five minutes, nor can I find a full synopsis online, and thus I really have no idea what occurs. I'll try to make sense of it with the following scenes, when possible, but I apologize for this inconsiderate restraint placed on me by the company who "owns" the movie.

The plan they set forth the previous night is now in play. Harry goes to his church and stocks up on bottles of Holy Water. Andrea sends Tommy off to his father (probably due to the unseen event). Harry then has a friend of his make wooden stakes for him. John researches caskets, and finds that Voytek (using the name of one of his previous victims) attained five coffins from a casket company.

He shares this with Harry while eating lunch at a restaurant. They were all delivered, according to John, to a house on Howard Street. John wants to go immediately to the house, but Harry believes that none of them would be there, and that it was just a shipping point.

They check it out regardless, and find a coffin in a dusty room. John prepares himself with the hammer and stake, while Harry holds out a cross.



Upon opening the coffin, however, John gets a shock - in the casket is his wife, Leslie.


Having difficultly, Harry offers to do it for him, but John declines, saying he must be the one to do it. Harry begs of him to hurry, as it is almost sundown. John waits too long, and as her eyes open, Leslie talks to him once again. He almost succumbs to her sweet words, but with a shout from Harry, he brings the hammer down, killing the vampire that was once his wife.

After burying her, they begin to make their way to the workplace of Andrea, wanting to pick her up before Voytek can get to her. To ensure she stays safe while working, Harry tells John that he has an old friend of his keeping an eye on her.

This safeguard doesn't help much, as Voytek enters the club and dispatches with Harry's friend in the men's restroom.



After work, a friend of Andrea's tries to get her to come to a party, hosted be a friend, with her. Andrea takes a rain check, stating that she has to get back home. Her friend says that she's making a mistake; the man is young, loaded, and even has a limo waiting to take her to the party. Andrea sees this and gets excited, deciding that she can get in with her friend, and just ask the limo driver to drop her off at her apartment after her friend is dropped off at the party.

While Andrea is looking over the perks of the limousine, Harry and John drive by the club, and Harry learns that his friend, a private investigator, has been killed, his neck snapped. They drive back to Harry's apartment, hoping that Andrea is there safe.

When the arrive, after determining Andrea is not in her apartment, Harry picks up his ringing phone - it's Voytek. 


Voytek tells Harry that he indend to touch and kill Andrea, and she will love every moment of it (Voytek is quite fond of taunting his prey). He then hangs up, the last thing Harry hearing is Andrea's screams.

Dispirited, Harry has the demeanor of a man who is giving up. He only snaps out of it when John tells him that Voytek must have someone else working for him, making arrangements for him, as he cannot do anything himself during the daytime. John suspects Nicole.

Nicole, who once could stand up for herself, is not weak and small, almost completely controlled by Voytek, whom she feels a deep love for despite the way he treats her.


After being shouted at by John a bit, though, she gives in, and gives them the files she has on Voytek's properties. John tells her to move out immediately, and leave all of the madness behind.

They now know where all of his coffins are: The Nobhill Apartments, the Mill, an old Brewery, a theater, a place down the coast a bit, and the last, a property up in Mendocino.

The Apartments, they believe to be empty, as that is the location John already went to twice to go after Voytek. They've already been to the theater, which is where John killed his vampiric wife. The problem lies in the property in Mendocino - if they need to get all of these locations searched today, as Mendocino is a three hour drive from San Francisco, they have a very short timetable.

But they have a plan, and they have the locations - they just need to find Voytek, before he kills Andrea. Hopefully, with this information they now have, they will succeed in their aim.


Vampire is a fantastic television movie, although I do wish a television station had picked this intended pilot up. Because it is an intended pilot, much like 1973's The Norliss Tapes, the conclusion is open-ended. I can't hold this against them, really, but I cannot pretend I'm not a bit annoyed.

Overall, though, the film is really damn solid. After the wife was killed, it took a far different route than what I expected of the film. The team-up between John and Harry was a very good one, I felt - two people with similar tragedies in their background, yet slightly different personalities. In fact, the scene in which they were preparing for their journey together (Harry having stakes made for him, and John searching for the casket) was one of my favorite combination of scenes in the movie. I thought they worked well together, and the team-up, as a whole, was charming.

Anton Voytek was a very threatening force, which perhaps his most terrifying scene being in the psychiatric hospital, as he's about to kill John. The whole history behind the Highdecker Estate, and it's relation to Voytek, was interesting also, I felt. Also, the whole conversation between John and Harry about how they intend to proceed was great, as I generally don't see that much non-action in a vampire film, yet it didn't feel unnecessary whatsoever.

Also worth mentioning is the music - it was absolutely excellent in many scenes, really setting the tone in some of them. Very atmospheric, and really helped the movie along.

This film is now out-of-print; no DVD or Blu-Ray version has yet to be released. VHS copies of the film can be bought from users on Amazon here, and raredvds.biz is offering VHS-rips (on DVD-Rs), though I will add, it's more expensive then it has to be, and it's not exactly what I would consider legal. Still, there's only so many options when a film is out-of-print.

This was a fantastic television movie, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who tends to enjoy the 1970's television movies. It's definitely worth a watch, especially since it's as forgotten as it seems to be. The cast (Jason Miller, E.G. Marshall, Richard Lynch, and a cameo by Joe Spinell) is great, despite the occasional hammy line delivery by Miller (who played John).

I highly recommend this film, though just don't expect a closed-book conclusion.

My rating: 8.5/10



- Michael

Copyright Laws and Out-of-Print Movies (A Rant)

I just finished a film that I will begin a review on immediately after this is posted. The film is television movie Vampire, from 1979. A very solid film, I was having a good time until I saw this in the description of the YouTube video I was watching it from:
"Had to edit out 5 minutes starting at 10:35 because of visual copyright claim"
This film is out-of-print at the moment. It has had no DVD or Blu-Ray release, though you can find in on VHS, and you can buy illegal VHS rips on DVD if you know where to look. How can a company have a visual copyright claim on a film, yet not allow any way for an interested party to buy the film legally?

Personally, I have zero respect for copyright laws. I watch movies from various sources, as you may be able to tell. Dailymotion, YouTube, Vimeo, and others are some main ones I've used this far. For short films it's not generally a problem, because directors or actors often upload the movies themselves onto these various sites, making it completely legal. Fan films are much the same.

The problem arises with feature films, television movies, and straight-to-video films. Generally, when a movie is uploaded onto YouTube (either as a whole or in parts), it's illegal. It may not be illegal to watch the upload, but it is illegal to upload the film, as far as I can tell. I've watched many films on many sites, knowing full well they were uploaded on those sites illegally, because I don't give a damn.

If I had to legally watch every film I've seen, many of them would have had to be bought, or I would have had to wait for them to air edited on television (unless stations like TCM or IFC aired them), assuming such movies would ever be aired, I would be shit out of luck. I would have no way to legally watch all the horror films I've seen without buying them on various formats such as VHS or DVD (I don't buy Blu-Ray).

I would have to be rich. I would have to buy these movies without seeing them beforehand to test out whether or not I even want to buy them. It's utterly ridiculous.

You should not have to be rich to watch movies. I have no problem using sites like Putlocker or Sockshare, or any other like-site, to watch a movie. The only reason I do not link to the movies I review is because I don't have the time to go back every day to make sure each link is still up. I fully support uploading movies online if you are able, because I don't believe I need to spend a thousand dollars just to watch more obscure movies.

This is not to say I don't buy DVDs; I do. Generally, though, I like to watch a movie first before I buy it. Same with music (although I generally pirate music far more often then I buy it). I don't mess with torrenting movies, mainly because I don't know how, but if I have to torrent an extremely obscure movie to watch it, damn right I'm going to, and I support the right for others to do the same.

To have a copyright claim on an out-of-print movie (such is the case with 1979's Vampire) should be a crime. It's not logical whatsoever in any way.

In short, I do not respect copyright, and I do not believe people should have to be wealthy to sit back and enjoy obscure films. Screw copyright laws - I do not respect them, and I will not follow them. If you want to, that is your choice, but I don't, and will continue to ignore them in everything I do.

- Michael

Monday, August 4, 2014

Review #26: Curse of the Faceless Man (1958) - Feature film

Curse of the Faceless Man is a late 1950's snooze-fest. The movie itself is not terrible, but it's quite a dull film to watch, even with the short running time. The film had promise, I feel, but it didn't quite live up to expectations, which is a real shame.

Source: Dailymotion
Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Number of Ratings from IMDb: 332
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Edward L. Cahn [Creature with the Atom Brain, The She-Creature, Zombies of Mora Tau, Voodoo Woman, Invasion of the Saucer Men, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Curse of the Faceless Man, Invisible Invaders, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake]





The very first thing about this film that stands out in this film is the narrator - he explains the history of Pompeii, of how the civilization was wiped out by a volcano, and how countless people died. In present-day Italy, workers are excavating the area, looking for artifacts of the past. One worker finds a gold jewel box.


Along with something else.


A body encrusted in stone, which is then carefully removed from the ground.



We then cut to this place - a museum, in which Dr. Paul Mallon and Dr. Carlo Fiorillo meet up with each other.


From left to right: Mallon and Fiorillo
Fiorillo tells him about the events of the previous day: during an acquaintance's (Dr. Emanual) expedition, a 2,000-year old body is found. He also states to Mallon than he's "not even sure the body is dead," which Paul immediately questions, as it is such a ludicrous claim to make. Fiorillo saw the body earlier that day in Emanual's lab, and states he cannot tell if he (the body) is really dead.

Fiorillo called Paul because as Paul's expertise is tissue culture, Fiorillo wants him to test the substance found on the body (a rocky residue). Dr. Fiorillo also tells Paul that his daughter, Maria, will also be assisting him.

And speaking of the Devil...


Dr. Maria Fiorillo and Dr. Enricco Ricci arrive. Before entering the museum, it is two things are made clear: (1) Maria had a past relationship with Paul, and (2) Enricco is not happy Paul was called in (jealousy, I'd wager). Once inside, Dr. Carl Fiorillo explains that along with a body, a small box was found, containing valuables, such as jewels, and more mysteriously, a bronze medallion.


Maria stated that she noticed Etruscan writing on the medallion, to which Paul claims the Etruscans died out by the time of the Roman Empire. Carlo corrects this: Some survived, and the bloodline lived on into the Roman Empire.

Meanwhile, whilst the four are conversing on the Etruscans and the Romans, the body, or faceless man, is being transported via truck to the museum. Apparently, the body got rather bored during the drive, and decided to strangle the driver, leading him to crash.


At the museum, Dr. Ricci asks if the medallion can to translated, to which Carlo replied that Dr. Emanual is currently doing so, and once he's done, he'll turn over the contents of the box to the museum. A call then comes through, informing Carlo that his driver, Tony, has been in a crash and died.

At the crash scene, Maria laments the death of Tony, who's always been a reliable driver. Paul vocally wonders about the wound on the back of the head, causing the death. Paul also informs Maria that he is now engaged, surprising her, as she had not heard.

Dr. Emanual then comes onto the scene, meeting up with them all.


He wishes to discuss the medallion, but only in private, out of earshot of the Italian police. They then depart back to the museum. Once there, Dr. Emanual claims that the reason for his secrecy is due to the fact that one man is dead already, and more will perhaps join him. He then reveals what the medallion said.


As you can see (and hopefully read), it is a letter written by one Quintillus Aurelius (whom throughout the remainder of this review, I will refer to as the more terrifying Faceless Man), stating something about a curse, and how he will come back to life once the Romans are no more (he's late). Paul's skeptical that this had anything to do with the death of Tony. Ominously, Emanual states that he believes the body is still alive. Cue suspenseful music as Ricci then brings the Faceless Man in.



After a quick examination of the body, Paul notices blood on the right hand of the creature. Emanual believes the blood to be from Tony's would, annoying Paul, who doesn't believe in any curse, and chalks it up to possibly the immobile body striking Tony after the crash.

Paul swings by his fiancee, Tina Enright, and we meet one of the last important characters of the film.


She's an artist - a painter. And during the day, she painted a most peculiar image.


After telling her about his day, Tina confides in him that she had a dream last night: a body was found in an excavation, explaining in detail about the box found with it, and later how the stone body killed a driver of a truck. Most troubling, in Tina's nightmare, the Faceless Man was trying to get to her. After hearing a truck driver died much the same way she saw in her dream, she demands to go back to the museum with Paul, where he has to be anyway to be questioned by the police.

At the museum, Inspector Renaldi informs them all that it's conclusively been proven that the death of Tony was not an accident.


Paul and Tina arrive, and Tina's introduced to everyone. Tina acts strangely upon seeing the body, prompting Inspector Renaldi to question her, but before he can ask too much, Paul interrupts, and informs Renaldi about the blood found on the hand of the body. Renaldi, however, believes the killer to be younger than 2,000 years old.

He then hypothesizes that whomever the killer may be is after the contents of the box found with the body. Renaldi then asks that the museum remain closed to the public until the killer is apprehended. As soon as he leaves, Tina recites to everyone what she told her fiance earlier.


She then asks permission from Carlo to continue sketching the subject from the museum, but he declines, unsure if it would be safe or not. It doesn't make a difference, because later that night, after awakening from another nightmare, Tina, while in a trance-like state, goes over to the museum and begins sketching (evidently, despite the fact their closed to the public, and it's very late at night, the museum doors were not locked).


She's so engaged in her cathartic sketching to notice the stone man becoming a bit more lively, beginning with his head turning to the side. Before to long, he decides he's been still long enough, and wants to stretch his legs by going after Tina.


Tina then screams and faints. A night watchman rushes in, and tries to stop the Faceless Man, but gets knocked aside. Grabbing a broach from the same chest the medallion came from, the Faceless Man places it on Tina's chest, and then becomes immobile once more, just before Dr. Fiorillo and Dr. Fiorillo (Carlo and Maria), who live in the museum) can make it to the room.

Maria announces the watchman dead, and Tina in shock. Before Maria can telephone Paul, Carlo laments the deaths, and the curse as a whole. Maria believes what the Inspector believes, though - thieves are after the contents of the box found with the body. Unconvincingly, Carlo concedes that his daughter may be correct. Paul is then telephoned. 

As Carlo is studying books, looking for information about the broach placed on Tina, Tina is "laying between the vague twilight of the past and the present," unaware of what is going on in her surroundings. 


Maria and Paul wonder about what put Tina into shock - Paul states once she snaps out of it, they'll find out. One thing is for certain, though: At the moment, Tina is out of commission, and she stays that way for the next 15 minutes or so.

A heated discussion between Paul and Carlo follows, and once Tina is taken back to her apartment, still in shock, the movie begins to pick up a little.


But not by much. I've found this film extremely hard to review. Exactly why, I'm not sure, but I just could not get into the mood to fully review this. The movie itself is not bad, though the downsides do overcome the positives. I apologize for my lack of a fuller synopsis (I generally like to review up to the last 10-20 minutes of the film; I just got halfway through this one), and I will work hard to ensure it doesn't happen again.

This film is much like The Mummy - it's a slower pace, deals with content of historical nature, and only have one or two scenes which stand out. The pace, I feel, killed this film. The plot is not an uninteresting one, but when little happens until halfway through the film, and what happens even then is tepid and dry, the plot sort of falls short of saving the film.

I am in college at the moment, and one of my minors is history. I say this to show that I have no disdain for the subject. I feel it's important to look back at past events, to ensure lessons have been learned and mistakes will not be made twice. The problem with bringing the subject into a horror film is that it can leave the film feeling dry. If they had toned down on the history just a bit (and the damn narration, which I'll get to currently), it would have been far more palatable. 

The aforementioned narration gets really old really quick. I'm not sure why the filmmakers decided to use that tactic, but I don't deem it an attractive one. If it was used only in the beginning and the end, it would have been corny, but still okay. It was used throughout the film, though, and rarely brought any relevant points to the table.

The film was not without it's positives. I felt the cast of characters was strong (albeit a bit cliche). Carlo, Paul, Maria, Enricco, Emanual, Tina, and the Inspector all played a role of some importance in the film, although I felt that Enricco should have had a few more scenes. Seven characters is not a bad amount, and better, I feel, to the mundane and typical "man and woman" character types in older films. At least to me, it stood out.

The Faceless Man was not a terrible monster. Sure, it's a bit of a ripoff of the Mummy (and I'm sure the creators knew that), but it's not a bad attempt whatsoever. A bit laughable, nowadays, but arguably, the monster is at least unique. 

I cannot, in good faith, defend this for much longer, though. In all regards, this is no worse than many pre-1960 films. I do have to say, though, in terms of 1958 and 1959, this would be quite low on my list. 

Now, the director of this, Mr. Cahn, did direct two movies I've seen and enjoyed, those being It! The Terror from Beyond Space, and Zombies of Mora Tau. If this film had more of the feeling that those films shared, it would have been a far less excruciating time for me.

Maybe I am being unfair. Maybe this particular viewing experience was hampered by other factors I am unaware of. Due to that possibility, I will rate this film with generosity in mind, and in the future perhaps, this will be in need of a re-watch.

My rating: 5.5/10 



Another blog written on the same film. Far more detail, but be prepared for a longer reading time. I'd recommend it, though.

Hope this finds all well,
Michael