RIPPA Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 If anyone needs the sign up thread Back in a minute with our first review and then more this afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 PIECES (Juan Piquer Simón, 1982) IMDB ROTTEN TOMATOES AVAILABILITY VIA JUSTWATCH SELECTED BY @twiztor "it is a totally underrated slasher film (my personal favorite type of horror flick). It's not super obscure, so there's a good chance that whoever gets it has seen it before, but IMO it's worth watching again." REVIEWED BY @The Comedian So my selection is Pieces (1982). Heard of it, but never seen it. Apparently it's a Spanish giallo (amarillo?)/slasher flick. The director is Juan Piquer Simón, most famous for his follwoing film, Pod People. Yes, that Pod People. So in Pieces, will Simón do magic things like Trumpy, or will I end up declaring bluntly that, "It stinks"? We get a variation on the Halloween opening here, only in a very unconvincing 1942 Boston. Mom stumbles in on young Timmy putting together a jigsaw puzzle and singing "Humpty-Dumpty". She ain't too happy when the puzzle turns out to be a nudie pic though, so she flips out and commands the boy to get a trash bag so she can rummage through his room and toss his assorted filth. Instead of a bag, he brings an ax, then a saw, and you get the picture. Only Timmy's a bit older and smarter than Michael Myers was, because when the cops show up, he's hiding in the closet, playing innocent and mumbling something about a "big man". So instead of an institute for the criminally insane, Timmy gets to go live with his aunt. 40 years later, there's a serial killer loose, and we're straddling the line between slasher and giallo. Like the former, we know who the killer is; it's obviously grown-up Timmy. But like the latter, we still have a mystery; Timmy ain't Timmy any more, so we gotta figure out who he is. His first attack is to chainsaw a girl's head off on a college campus, which brings out a couple of detectives. One of the detectives is played by Christopher George, aka the guy that dies in comical fashion from a shuriken to the chest in Enter The Ninja (it's included in plenty of those "worst movie acting" youtube scene collections.) Before long a second girl gets cut apart, her torso taken from the scene. Pieces, get it? Jigsaws, Humpty Dumpty, anyway the second girl's boyfriend is Kendall, played by Ian Sera, Mr. "It Stinks!" himself. For whatever reason the cops bring him into the investigation, I don't know why. Nor do I know why the first obvious red herring suspect, Groundskeeper Willy..er, WIllard, gets caught literally red-handed, then is forgotten until later into the film. A female cop (who happens to be an ex-tennis champ) is put on the college staff, because famous people make the best undercover agents. And to round out the cliches, a nosy reporter wants in on the story as well. All this as more women get various body parts cut off. Eventually our ragtag bunch finds out who the killer is. And without spoiling too much else, I'll say this: just as Pieces opened with a nod to Halloween, it closes with a doff of the cap to Friday the 13th, as a story grounded in reality takes a bizarre last-second turn to the supernatural... Is it a bad film? Yes. But is it so-bad-it's good? Yeah, I can easily go there. I've liked worse movies. Hell, I love Dr. Butcher, and that makes this film look like The Shining in comparison. It's dumb in an endearingly cheesy way. Like the police profiler going out of his way to tell us he's not a medical doctor, then later showing up doing medical work. Or the street cops letting a college kid boss them around like he's their superior officer. Or the F'N KUNG FU GUY. Seriously, what was that?!? And then there's the ending...wow. Just remember one thing folks: the most beautiful thing in the world is smoking pot and fucking on a waterbed at the same time... EDITOR'S NOTES There is a full version up also on Youtube. Also - and @odessastepscan correct me if I am wrong - Pieces was an early early DVDVR Movie Club selection (like so early it was before I was running it) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 We used to bring the VHS machine over to Grandma and Grandpa's when I was a kid to hook to their old ass TV so I could watch rentals after everyone went to bed when we visited about once a month. Pieces was one of those and it was thoroughly enjoyed. Still one of the grossest, yet most "fun" slashers ever. Man did I watch some classics there. The House by the Cemetery, 2000 Maniacs, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (!!!)... Never caught once, either. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 THE COMEDY OF TERRORS (Jacques Tourneur, 1963) IMDB ROTTEN TOMATOES AVAILABILITY VIA JUSTWATCH SELECTED BY @odessasteps (I mean, honestly, who else would have selected this) REVIEWED BY @twiztor The plot centers around Mr. Trumbull (Vincent Price), an undertaker who has a drinking problem, a failing marriage, a failing business, and no qualms about killing to keep his business afloat. His business assistant is an Igor-type character Mr. Gillie (Peter Lorrie). Rounding out Trumbull's family is wife Amaryllis (Joyce Jameson) and father-in-law Amos (Boris Karloff). He selects as his latest victim Mr. John F. Black (Basil Rathbone), his landlord who can't wait to get rid of Trumbull. Hijinks ensue when Black refuses to die, despite being declared dead multiple times. Every actor in this film just puts in maximum effort, but ultimately Vincent Price is just FANTASTIC in this. He completely owns every scene that he is in, with only Basil Rathbone attempting to match his presence. Joyce Jameson's singing is the perfect balance of terrible and great. Lorrie as the ever suffering sidekick nails his role as well. Karloff's character doesn't do much, but he doesn't have to because he just oozes charisma. So many great gags in this. the cheapness of the funeral parlor (to name two: they continuously re-use the same coffin so they don't have to buy a new one; Trumbull offering his FIL "medicine" which is actually "poison") Thank you to whomever sent this pick. It is definitely not a movie i would have chosen, but i thoroughly enjoyed it. i see now that it didn't get the best of reviews upon release, which i can understand, but 50 years after, i had a blast with this. So much so that now i may have to check out the Raven, a previous film starring Price, Lorrie, and Karloff. EDITOR'S NOTE Yes the trailer does indeed drop "abundantly blessed" as code for big chest and I am so angry I never used that in a DVDVR I am posting these in roughly the order I am getting them so Twiztor wins the prize for getting his review in quick and having his movie reviewed quickly 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) Pieces is so great. The acting is so unbelievably unbearable but the ridiculous amounts of cartoon grade over-the-top slasher violence more than make up for it. I am not sure why people were so concerned about this movie and its potential evil influence on society. There is no danger of moral corruption because the levels of gore are so hilarious and the performances are so bad that there is no way that you can take this film seriously. It is almost comical how unintentionally funny this movie really is. Christopher George and Lynda Day probably take the award for being the worst actors ever that are also a married couple. Our slasher antagonist runs around a college town killing women with a goddamned chainsaw. Sure, Leatherface also had a chainsaw, but he killed people out in the middle of fucking nowhere in Texas. This guy runs around a college town killing women with a goddamned chainsaw. You'd think someone might hear something odd like.. I don't know.... screams and a fucking chainsaw running or some shit. You know why Billy from Black Christmas was such a successful college town psychopath? Because he murdered his victims QUIETLY~! Pieces may be the slasher movie trope codifier of Police Are Useless. It is a tragic thing when one day you find yourself nitpicking the logic of a Grade-Z slasher movie. You are indeed an old man. Edited October 5, 2022 by J.T. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 From what I read, Karloff was originally going to play the Basil Rathbone part, but wasn't up to it physically, so they switched roles. That's probably why he is relatively stationary in the picture. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiztor Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 31 minutes ago, RIPPA said: EDITOR'S NOTE I am posting these in roughly the order I am getting them so twiztor wins the prize for getting his review in quick and having his movie reviewed quickly hooray! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 The ironic thing about Karloff being in poor health at the time is he lived through most of the sixties and worked until the end while Lorrie was dead the following year. Basil Rathbone is the best. His characters were the embodiment of preening aristocratic contempt (Charles Dance would be his modern analog in my opinion.) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 If nothing else, Pieces is the only film I've ever seen that uses Brucesploitation as a jump scare... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I totally forgot about the random kung-fu scene in Pieces. Who wrote that shit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 8 hours ago, J.T. said: Christopher George and Lynda Day probably take the award for being the worst actors ever that are also a married couple. Oh my. So, so, so, so, so much. If it wasn't for the random goofiness those scenes would be like watching paint dry, and their solo bits still are. FYI it's "Lorre" not "Lorrie", and YES you need to see The Raven like yesterday if you dug that. The Raven is just flat-out hilarious period and I would recommend it to anyone. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Point Stance Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 On 10/5/2022 at 11:44 PM, J.T. said: I totally forgot about the random kung-fu scene in Pieces. Who wrote that shit? IIRC it was some sort of weird crossover with the producer (notorious chancer Dick Randall) getting double duty out of Bruce Le, the star of Randall's previous opus, Challenge of the Tiger. I'd hazard a guess that the two films were shooting more-or-less simultaneously, or maybe Le was in town for a production meeting (he has both co-director and co-writer credits on COTT). Both films were shot at least partially in Spain, and Challenge is every bit as amusingly shitty a Brucesploitation picture as Pieces is a great, shitty slasher. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 THE LAST BROADCAST (AVALOS/WEILER, 1988) IMDB ROTTEN TOMATOES AVAILABILITY VIA JUSTWATCH SELECTED BY: @The Comedian Representing South Jersey, my movie choice for Secret Satan is 1998'sThe Last Broadcast, a low budget film about public access conspiracy show hosts who go looking for the Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens and don't make it back out. Mostly ignored on it's release, it gained a bit of fame a year later when some other movie about filmmakers getting lost in the woods looking for a local legend blew up, and a few of the handful of people who saw TLB made claims of plagiarism. Which really isn't the case, as there's actually a lot different going on here from Blair Witch. REVIEWED BY: @J.T. The phenomenal success and critical acclaim garnered by The Blair Witch Project (1999) tends to make most people think that it was the wellspring of the now well-worn found footage horror genre. The honor of the first found footage horror film is undeniably the now infamous 1980 exploitation shocker, Cannibal Holocaust. However, there is also an underloved gem of a movie that preceded Blair Witch by nearly a year. That movie is The Last Broadcast. "The Last Broadcast" represents the work of of documentary filmmaker, David Leigh (David Beard), as he investigates the mysterious murders of Stefan Avkast (Stefan Avalos) and Locus Wheeler (Lance Weiler), the hapless hosts of a popular access cable television show called Fact or Fiction. The three men died under mysterious circumstances while working with self-professed psychic, Jim Suerd (Jim Seward). The deaths appear to have been the work of the legendary Jersey Devil. Suerd was the sole survivor or the incident and he was subsequently tried and found guilty of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. At the time of Leigh's documentary. Suerd had died in his cell under questionable circumstances while serving his sentence. The movie plays out more like a murder mystery than it does a horror film but the payoffs along the line are satisfying. The incidental music along with Leigh's deadpan narration effectively ratchet up the tension. The movie is the very definition of minimalist and I have heard some critics pan this movie's amateurish feel. I think that criticism is unwarranted because I feel that the unpolished feel of the movie makes it feel even more authentic. It is a grainy texture that The Poughkeepsie Tapes used many years later to chilling effect. The Last Broadcast certainly does not strike the optimum balance between polish and realism like NOROI: The Curse, Lake Mungo, or The Den, but these movies have benefited from the lessons learned from The Last Broadcast. It is one of the better examples of the creepy story told inside of a creepy story. There is a certain charm in its overall clunkiness and even though the ending will have you scratching your head, you will come to appreciate the delicious irony of how it relates to the movie as a whole. The Last Broadcast deserves a place of respect in the storied annals of found footage horror history. EDITOR'S NOTE JT typed up the entire IMDB page so here is that Spoiler The Last Broadcast (1998) Written, Directed, and Produced by Stefan Avalos & Lance Weiler Cast: David Beard as David Leigh, the filmmaker James Seward as James "Jim" L. Suerd, the accused Stefan Avalos as Steven "Johnny" Avkast, Fact or Fiction host Lance Weiler as Locus Wheeler, Fact or Fiction host Rein Clabbers as Rein Clackin, paranormal sound man Michele Pulaski as Michelle "Shelly" Monarch, data retrieval expert Tom Brunt as Thomas "Tom" Branski, Fact or Fiction video engineer Mark Rublee as Clair Deforest, video editor for the prosecution A.D. Roso as Detective Anthony Rosi, lead investigator Dale Worstall as Dr. Dale Orstall, Jim's child psychologist Vann K. Weller as Vann K. Waller, forensic pathologist Sam Wells as Sam Woods, film and television director Jay MacDonald as Jay McDowell, web designer Faith Weiler as Joyce Dryer, Jim's landlady Marianne Connor as Mary Brenner, TV reporter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 South Jersey Represent At least 50% of my public school field trips were to heavily wooded areas where an old piney dressed like a park ranger would tell us stories about the Devil. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Among other things, The Last Broadcast was prescient I think in noting the dangers of internet anonymity all the way back in 1998... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) Spoilerized for your protection! The thing I love most about The Last Broadcast is what the total film represents. Spoiler Once you realize that the documentary filmmaker is the killer, it suddenly dawns on you that this fucking genius has been using his day job as the vehicle to spy on the investigation and find out how close the cops are to catching him! The film is also a collection of the serial killer's trophies. Every time he watches his own movie, he can reexperience all of the murders he committed in one viewing for repeated gratification. It's fucking awesome! Edited October 10, 2022 by J.T. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Also, as either an alternate or concurrent interpretation: Spoiler He's got that Walter White arrogance to him, so even though he can't come out and admit that he's the real killer, he can't stand Jim Suerd getting credit for his murders either... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 After reading the spoilers I want to watch that. Strange that more/too much information would do that, but hey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 (edited) On 10/8/2022 at 12:32 PM, The Comedian said: Also, as either an alternate or concurrent interpretation: Reveal hidden contents He's got that Walter White arrogance to him, so even though he can't come out and admit that he's the real killer, he can't stand Jim Suerd getting credit for his murders either... That and: Spoiler once Shelly, the data retrieval expert, tells the filmmaker, David, that she's onto something during one of her interviews for the documentary, she practically signs her own death warrant. It is depressing if you think about it. She's so excited about being on the verge of solving the case and clearing Jim Suerd's name, but little does she realize that she's talking to the man whose mission is to make sure that the truth of the murders never sees the light of day, and he is more than willing to kill Shelly in order to silence her and destroy the evidence. I don't think you get stuff like Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, or Netflix's Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story without films like Last Broadcast or Man Bites Dog. People are grimly fascinated by stories told from the murderer's perspective. Last Broadcast is a pretty important film, IMO. Edited October 10, 2022 by J.T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 TUMBBAD (Rahi Anil Barve, 2018) IMDB ROTTEN TOMATOES SELECTED BY RIPPA I found Tumbbad on several "Top Underrated Horror Movies to Stream" lists. (It is on Amazon Prime). I mean you don't really expect to see the words Hindi-language period horror film. It is also under an hour and 45 minutes, so it instantly gets my seal of approval. There are a lot of memorable visuals (though the most memorable might have nothing to actually do with the movie at all.) Side note - it wasn't my first choice for selection but more on that at another time. TEASE~! REVIEWED BY @Curt McGirt Whoa. This one is a corker. I've seen few films as visually sumptuous as this in awhile, not to mention as tightly wound while at the same time languid. I mean it is an hour 45, but once it puts the hooks in (and it does that early) it's got you. And there are a few things to "get" you in this one, in more ways than one. The film opens with what appears to be a mythological tale, and in retrospect reveals a lot of stuff but you don't have to remember a bit because when you recognize the callbacks you'll love it. Vinayak is a child in pre-revolution India out in a dire village called Tumbbad. It always rains there and basically what we have is a haunted village, which has an ancient geezer living there with his daughter, Vinayak and his brother and their grandmother. We open to Mom masturbating the old goat which is pretty gross. Clearly she's impoverished and desperate to take the kids and leave, and finally gets the chance to after he croaks. Unfortunately, there is a legend about an ancient treasure hidden in the definitely haunted mansion in the haunted village that he owned. Vinayak is, to a tee, a sociopath, even at a young age. He's a liar and his personality is encapsulated by greed, which even he admits too later -- that he doesn't have a single good personality trait (tellingly, the smile and look in his eyes on his adult face are so crooked you'd have to beat them straight with a hammer). Anyway, the family manages to escape after some extremely intense scares involving great practical effects and a theme in this film, the constant fluctuation of light, with constant rain and smoke and great darknesses shot through with flame. There is no fluorescent in this film, and in fact barely any sun. Nobody has electricity, it's backwater India FFS. That's the first of three parts. Second is Vinayak returning to seek the fortune in the mansion whereupon he seems to claim it. Third and finally we see him grooming his son to take on the family fortune and the responsibilities that entail. Can't give away any more than that. At its essence the film is a parable about greed and the suffering that follows in its wake. Vinayak is a callous operator, owing money to the local landshark before coming into his sudden riches. He beats women and children and seems like such an utter sleaze, but you can't help but watch him and try to unlock the puzzle of his treasure and what's really going on. There also is a puzzle at the core (literal core) of the film as well and it's quite interesting and almost like a fairytale in and of itself. The Big Bad down there is represented with some excellent CGI that's as gross as the real stuff on display, so gore fans are thoroughly represented. Trust me, some of the stuff in here is repulsive as hell. And along with that the focus is mainly the slow unraveling of the story and the bleak, scary isolation of the pre- and post-Gandhi India in which this takes place, full of beauty but also deep, deep horror. EDITOR'S NOTE YES! Curt brought up the image I mentioned! Good Lord... I almost didn't get past the goat masturbation. There is supposedly a sequel in the works but who knows if/when that will happen 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 The exact opposite scene from that of Mom jerking off her father in law is the one where her and the two brothers are running up the hill and they reach the summit with this camera sweep from above. The scenery is so lush and beautiful, if it were lit with actual sun it would be like a drone shot of an Irish hillside or something from Lord of the Rings, but it's muted. The lighting keeps the beauty inside. It has a brilliant effect. It took them years to make Tumbbad and I hope the sequel never comes to be to be perfectly honest. The writer/director first came up with the story in 1993 when he was 18 and it took him shootings, re-shootings, and the development of new technology to make it. I'd rather it stay as a diamond in the rough and see what Mr. Barve can come up with instead. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 53 minutes ago, RIPPA said: EDITOR'S NOTE YES! Curt brought up the image I mentioned! Good Lord... I almost didn't get past the goat masturbation. Me forgetting the word "old" in front of goat makes this even funnier and more disturbing 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 I can easily see goat spunking being part of weird ritual to invoke Pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 (edited) RVA has a surprisingly large Hindi community and there are a lot of first run Hindi movies that get shown in the two movie theaters near mid-town. I went to see Tumbbad after hearing some positive buzz about it from one of the Indian contractors at Defense Supply Center - Richmond and yeah, that goat thing nearly sent me home early. I managed to make it through the entire movie and it was worth my matinee cash. Jesper Kyd co-composed the movie soundtrack with famed Indian music composition duo, Ajay–Atul. Most people remember Jesper from his video game soundtracks, notably games from the Hitman and Borderlands franchises as well as Freedom Fighter. Edited October 11, 2022 by J.T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 There’s one Regal in Delaware that used to always have at least 1 Bollywood movie every week. I think I went once to see an Aishwarya Rai film that was subtitled in English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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