Alienator

When does a once famed television actor know his career is over? When he appears as a drunken 'Commander' in a Fred Olan Ray movie. Long before 'Celebrity Boxing' or 'Dancing With the Stars', there were less elaborate ways to tell the world your career was over.

I couldn't resist the title. A play on Ridley Scott's 'Alien' and Arnold Whats-his-face's character, 'The Terminator'. Not only this, we have the once sober Jan Michael Vincent heading the cast - with his insert firmly planted in the middle of the back of the box, just above the blurb. He has his same, slicked back, and parted in the middle hairstyle - dressed in black and carrying a very fake looking gun. This is exactly what b-movie heaven consists of. I was only in the first realms of heaven, but after realizing this was a Fred Olan Ray production, I quickly elevated myself towards 7th Heaven.

"It's a futuristic fight to the finish when the commander of a space station prison (Jan Michael Vincent) takes on galactic arch villain Kol. (Ross Hagen) When Kol escapes, on the verge of execution, the commander has no choice but to unleash the Alienator - a ruthless android hunter with one unstoppable purpose: terminate Kol at any cost!

Kol's shuttle crashes on earth and the injured alien is befriended by Armstrong (John Phillip Law). But the Alienator is hot on his trail. She's determined to capture her prey - even if it means blowing away everything and everyone, that gets in her way."

What can I say? I love this movie. It's a complete waste of ninety minutes. We'll never get those minutes back, but isn't it worth it to see a drunk Jan Michael Vincent slur his lines in elaborate fashion?

Fred Olan Ray is the disputed king of low budget film making. Some people love him. Some people despise him. Whatever the case, he never takes himself too seriously, but he never uses the parody angle unless he really has to. 'Alienator', for the most part, takes itself as serious as a much bigger budgeted film. I don't think the crew even realized they were on a peanuts production that would be hitting the video shelves soon after. If they did, they simply didn't mind. Cheesy dialog. Cheesy costumes - Guns and weapons that looked like my nephews Nerf guns. It's all filmed with spaghetti strings and scotch tape, but I'll be damned if this matters.

Ex-female wrestler and bodybuilder, Teagan - looks like a cross between a female KISS groupie and Andre the Giant's love child. She sports a very skimpy two piece 'space suit', and tops a blond wig that makes Vince Neil's style look tame. I guess platinum blond hair and a Paul Stanley star around the eye constitutes being extraterrestrial.

I guess aliens don't have to worry about little things like gravity, or, do they? Kol, our galactic villain is ran over by a group of people traveling to their cabin in a winnebego. I guess the large band-like thingamajig around Kol's neck or silver space suit never set off any warning signs. They all agree to take him to the cabin and call for help. While there, the crew learns of what's happening. It's evident that a cruel and evil space prison commander has summoned the Alienator to do his bidding - whether or not earth as everyone knows it is destroyed in the process. Why should the commander care? He doesn't live on earth anyway. It's the equivalent of blowing up an entire house to kill one rat.

Even if you really don't like sci-fi films, 'Alienator' still has enough 80's cheese and charm to fill all the nooks and crannies. There a tacked on twist ending that will either make you shit and giggle, or fart and wriggle. If all this doesn't tickle your interests, watch it to feel sorry for Jan Michael Vincent or 80's scream queen PJ Soles. You'll be wondering how or why these people chose to capture their roles. It surely wasn't for the money. I guess some people really do have to eat - or - in Vincent's case, buy booze. I guess it WAS for the money.

Canadian Slashers #1

Video Blurb:
Prom Night' is a teenage thriller set in a big city high school. Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Nick (Casey Stevens) will be crowned Queen and King of the Prom and the excitement is evident. But a number of subplots threaten to disrupt the celebrations of the evening and eventually turn it into a night of horror.''

Doesn't sound too bad. Wrong. I don't hate this movie, but honestly, it's one of the more boring and dated entries in the slasher department. We start off with a now systematic scene involving a group of very young kids. They're playing a twisted version of tag that involves one kid being the victim and the remaining kids being the 'killers'. (Not that kids playing twisted tag is systematic, but the 'accident 10 years earlier' thingy)

A tall lanky, little girl runs throughout the corridors of the building, hiding from her pursuers as they chant (simultaneously) ,"The Killers are coming!". Finally, the little girl gets cornered by this group of devilish children and accidentally falls two stories from a window. We really wouldn't have a movie unless the kids decide to cover up her death and keep quiet the fact they taunted her until she fell. It's not as big of a secret as these kids think. Just as they speed away on their bicycles, a little boys foot steps into view. Yes, he knows what happened.

Just as one might have guessed, we go down the road eight/ten years. It's the day of the Prom. All is well, but we get quick edits to an unseen killer - marking out pictures of random kids an a high school year book with a tube of lipstick - Making eerie phone calls. Could it be the little boy that steps into frame to reveal that somebody knows?

There's not much to discuss in between. A few strange things happen. Jamie Lee gets spooked along with a couple other students. There's actually some hint of character development, giving prelude to the fact that Kim has an arch rival ,who'll evidently befriend a greaser punk just to use him for revenge against her. We almost get a ''Carrie'' subplot, which was basically a slap in the face if you ask me.

There's a good fight scene. We get a little comical relief in the form of a fat tub of lard who calls himself 'Slick'. He likes his herb and thinks he's John Travolta with the women. (Not that Travolta likes women) He does gain a few points for keeping his marijuana stash in an American History book. Aside from this, he drives a van!

Aside from a few comical sequences and a couple red herrings, there's not really much to report about. We do, however, get treated to the same disco song in a Jamie Lee's dance scene (for what seems like an hour) - and a half way decent fight scene involving Kim's brother (Alex) and the greaser punk I mentioned earlier.

The killer's choice of attire is less than to be desired. A black jumpsuit, accompanied by a boggin and giallioesque black gloves. He DOES like to use an axe, tho. To be honest, I don't know if the reveal of the killer was as plain as day or not. It may be just be me, but the whole film seemed like it was edited by a six year old.

Conclusion: The first of a series that would spawn three sequels. The first two sequels delve into the supernatural realm, while the fourth installment delves back into the straight slasher department. For the slasher completest, 'Prom Night' has got to be in the collection. It's as dated as you can get - but, sadly, it's worth it for the slasher cheese it feeds us.

Truth or Dare: and the Remake

Two days before the new year. I wonder what 2007 will bring us? More remakes of cinematic classics? Less originality than we already have?

I've come not expect much in future years. After all, I've read text-books written in the 60's that foresee a 1990's world where humans will be doing the bidding of robots, not the other way around. Whatever the case, it's suffice to say that most of the world has lost its originality. When looking back on my favorite things of the past, two things come to mind; Scary flicks and old school Metallica. As I do a total inventory on my life, I've sadly realized that not too many things have excited me over the years. I guess high expectations met with very low manifestations have caused this. Who knows? The thing is, the past really holds nothing for me.

Well, I take that back. A third of my waking life has had one foot in past tense, the other in the now. I've very rarely thought about the future, and it's really official to say that I probably never will. (on a grand scale)

I've come to the end conclusion that if watching nostalgic films from my youth brings me happiness, so-be-it. If sitting on my couch in my spare time, with an old vhs tape whizzing in my vcr gives me shits 'n giggles, so-be-it.

As my subtext, not very many things can tickle my fancy. Leaning back on cinema, (especially w films produced these days) just don't cut it. If looking forward to an original horror film these days was a protagonist to my well being, I'd be a sick man. I'd be waiting once or twice a year just to get half a high anyway. Why switch to a different drug when the drug you've been getting high on for years still does the trick?

I can think of about ten films throughout my childhood and teenage years that have made lasting impressions on me - Films that the memory thereof strike a chord withing the neocortex. A lot of classic films have lead me to where I'm at now in regards to my movie going experiences. One of the films that ranks on my totem pole of balls to the wall gruesomeness and gore is a 1986 no-budget shocker called 'Truth or Dare: A Critical Madness''.

Looking back, very few experiences have I remembered as I do the first time watched 'Truth or Dare'. I was no more than nine at the time. From that tender young age, I was never able to find another copy of this flick. Not until recently have I been able to sit down to viewings on my on time. My mother-in-law actually picked this movie up for my wife and I for a dollar - with the original vhs artwork - still in great shape.

Mike Strauber is an unstable business man. He comes home in his gold Trans-Am and finds his wife in the bed with her boss. Of course, Mike doesn't take this lightly, going on a spree that would leave carnage and absolute destruction in his wake. Kids being violently ran over. An old women being battered with a mid-evil style mace. Old men being dared to cut off their hands while screaming in agony. A retarded guy being dared to stick a live grenade in his mouth.

Tim Ritter (director) was on nineteen years old when this movie was released. I would imagine that his main objective was to pile as much carnage, gore, and sheer violence into one film as he possibly could. I'm not sure of any subtext (if any). Ninety minutes of nothing but scenes of mayhem - Strauber going in and out of mental facilities, each time, being released in worse shape than before.

Tim Ritter obviously knew that during the time this film was released, the video market was a gold mine. I'm not sure about 'Truth or Dare', but even straight to video movies could sometimes gross millions. Jumping on the STV bandwagon has proven to be a career for Tim Ritter.

I got in touch with Tim a few days ago. He was kind enough to answer some of my questions about some of his films. One thing that really surprised me was he stating that a remake for 'Truth or Dare: A Critical Madness' is well underway. He stated that it was an almost sure fire thing, and that one day, we'll be seeing a modern day version of the 80's cheesy-shock-fest. I've never been excited to see a remake (except for Zombie's Halloween remake), but I can't wait for this one to come into fruition.

Here's the MySpace page for the upcoming remake: (copy and paste in address bar)
Http://www.MySpace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.profile&friendID=42260806

Here's the url for Tim Ritter's official website:

http://www.timritter.com

In recent times, I've come to somewhat of a conclusion about a horror movie hero of mine. Of course, Tom Savini is everyone's hero, but for a lot of people, Savini is a prick. Sorry to be so blunt. I could have used some of the other words people who have visited him at conventions have used. I was taken aback by one of the articles I read about him on dontdatehimgirl.com - (Look it up)
I've heard first hand accounts from women who have blatantly called him "sleaze buckets'', ''bastards'' , ''womanizing creeps'' - And this is putting it lightly. Now, whether or not Savini is either of these things is irrelevant. Of course, when it comes to our favorite horror movies, the truth is stone, and the stone says that Savini is a legend (a fallen legend, maybe). The one thing I do not agree with is Tom's alternate personalities. From my experiences, one minute Tom is a nice guy who's willing to share a story he shared eighteen million times. At other times, he seems distant and simply acts like he doesn't even want to be at conventions.

I understand Tom's been in the business for a long time - answering the same fifteen questions over and over and over and over, but I've got a few words for Tom: "Suck it up, sucka!" The convention goers pay your ticket. They put food on your table and allow you to be a washed up f/x guy from the 80's.
While a ''washed up f/x guy from the 80's'' isn't a polite way to describe Tom Savini, let's try to stick to the truth as much as possible.

It's 1985 - Tom Savini is at the pinnacle of his career. He's finished work on some of the most mind numbing prosthetic special f/x ever constructed - which are seen is George Romero's 'Day of the Dead'. He just stepped out of the box with Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead, into the filthy 80's - with Sean Cunningham's 'Friday the 13th'. There's a slew of other slasher films on the horizon - ''Maniac'', ''The Prowler'',''' 'The Burning'' - leading up to his reprisal as f/x man in Joseph Zito's supposed last installment in the Friday the 13th series -''The Final Chapter'.

Savini is on a roller coaster ride. Money, women, more gigs than he could shake his stick at. Rounding the corner from his last Friday the 13th job, he lands make up f/x guy on 'Day of the Dead' - rounding the corner and heading almost straight into Tobe Hooper's complete opposite sequel,'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2''. (Which is my top 5, btw)

Tom's burning the midnight oils. Gaining gig after gig, keeping the partnership and friendship alive with George Romero. Even going into Romero's lackluster sleeper,'Monkey Shines', all is good in the world of Tom Savini. He's on top of the world. The computer generation has yet to burst into full bloom, but the slasher and gore craze WAS dying down, and so was Tom Savini's credits.

Over the past fifteen years, I'd be really hard pressed to find a worthy credit with Savini's name attached. Does 'Bloodsucking Pharaoh's in Pittsburgh'' constitute a notable hand in the cookie jar? I'd hardly think so. "Killing Zoe' and ''From Dusk 'Til Dawn''. - We'll let these two be his reprisal of sorts - living the life he lead in his 80's pinnacle, but only for a short time.

'Sex Machine',while hardly a bad character, is nevertheless a character in one of the bigger and most popular movies of the nineties, 'From Dusk Til Dawn'. Whether it gives room for greatness is another story, although, you have some fans who thinks 'Sex Machine' is pure and simply ''the shit''. They may be right. I'm not a big fan of Tarantino, so, a biased judgment would probably hinder my thoughts on 'Sex Machine' and his fabled 'cult' status'.

The more posts I type, the more it seems as if this blog is a catalyst to bash people. This isn't the case. For the most part, if Tom Savini wants to fornicate and have illegitimate children, thats fine by me. People have sex and one of the consequences of sex is children. Those pesky kids! Every time I visit Tom's page, there's a new addition to the family. Before you know it, Tom's going to have all the Universal monsters running around in his home, with all the damsels of distress coming to pick them up on Sunday. Just joshing,Tom.

My main objective for this post isn't to dwell on Savini's faults. Lord knows, I have my faults. I do things that would make Tom cringe. If I were to tell him what's on my mind, he'd surely never bring himself to sit in front of a table with pictures of himself on it again. He'd call it quits for good. My main objective is to blurt about Tom's lack of interest when it comes to fans.

Tom is human. I understand this. He gets shit pains like everyone else. I'm not going to mention child support payments. He gets sad, angry, and even horny when he sees a barely 18 yr old girl swoon in his presence. Human, indeed.

All this aside, it's time for Tom to just call it quits if he can't tolerate the public. I know that if I don't like my job, it's not my customers fault. (Although, I truly don't have customers, per-se, but client el. See, I'm even ahead of Tom. Of course, I'm kidding)

If he's burned out on 'How did you stick the arrow through Kevin Bacons neck in 'Friday the 13th'' or ''How did you rip Rhodes in half in 'Day of the Dead?', it's just time to stop. Stop lowering yourself by appearing in movies such as ''Zombiegeddon''. Can any good become of a film where one of the characters involved is a satire on Jesus Christ? People can say Savini's career is as good as it ever was....Let me correct you! "Wake up sucka!" - Anyone who appears in Zombiegeddon isn't living his/her dreams, I'll tell you that.

It seems to me that the real world has forgotten about Tom. I've been lead to believe that Tom won't go WGA. If so, it's his own fault he has no legit gigs. All the muck and mire still won't sway my opinion on Tom in regards to his cinematic work. Some of his work is, and will always remain 'unbeatable'- although, there's many better works out there than Tom's 'mediocre' works. If that makes sense.

Bottom line: If you don't like kids running around in awe of you, give it up. If you can't take one last teenager in Manson make-up calling you 'God', give it up. Find a different career. You're 60 now. It's time to take it easy and sip on Iced Tea with the rest of the crew at Shady Pines.

Like I said, I love Tom, but he needs to become more tolerant of the public. I'm not saying he's an asshole at every convention, but in situations like this, when you agree to take the job, it's not your time anymore, it's the fans. Don't tread on the fans.

Does Tom deserve this kind of rhetoric? Rhetoric can be defined as what occurred throughout this thread, or, Rhetoric can be defined in Tom's case as ''Are you going to buy the damn picture or not?"

It sound as if I particularly believe all the rumors. To tell you the truth, all the rumors spread by women are probably false. Well, not all of it. He probably did hit and run, but it sure wasn't rape. I'm sure there were no special promises either - only promises these women conceived in their own demented minds. So, with a hint of siding with Tom, I'll do it. I'll step across the fence and say that there will certainly never be another one. Another Tom Savini, that is. I never said anything about another illegitimate child.

Class reunion Massacre

"This third thumb is great for party gags."


''Teee-Heee. Uhh.... I was just....uh...fooling around with your make up kit."

"Examine your soul. It's to blame for the body's evil ways! It's the soul that pays!" Evidently, The Redeemer was conditioned by an elite group of murdering priests - hellbent on taking matters into their own hands.

A vigilante priest. A religious man fed up with immorality. A man calling himself 'The Redeemer' - Spouting out moralistic rhetoric with clinched fist and sweaty forehead. A killer. A murderer. A man who murders coincidently with their 'evil' deeds MANY years before Kevin Spacey did it in Se7EN.

What am I talking about amidst all the mumbo jumbo? I'm talking about a 1976 proto-slasher that did a lot of this first.

'The Redeemer: Son of Satan!" - which was later released on video as 'Class Reunion Massacre'....

Even before 'Prom Night', this movie depicts some unknown specter cutting up year book pictures of his future victims. He later puts together a faux class reunion in which our soon-to-be's are invited to attend this class reunion at their old high school.

Before all murders start to happen, and before we even go near the school gates, the victims are given some screen time - sort of a teaser of why these people (in The Redeemer's eyes) deserve their impending dooms by his grizzly hands.

A lawyer, a lesbian (gasp!), a vain movie actor, a supposed 'harlot', a woman who likes to shoot pigeons for sport, a glutton - These people comprise the faux class reunion with no clue of their impending doom.

To give a film a review in the state of mind I'm in right now would not constitute fairness, so therefore, I'll shy away from piecing everything together in order. I'll stray from one side of the field to the other and cover a multitude of random scenes that will pretty much tie any loose strings that would otherwise be evident in a full review.

A boy rises from a quarry - fist raised in air as in some triumphant stance. Ok. The same kid (whose clothes dry really fast) soon catches a church bus that takes him to what looks to be a small baptist church.

It just so happens that the kid is a member of the choir, and that a lot of his peers seem to dislike him for some reason. The kid never speaks a word, but endures a bully who confronts him with the dull blade of a knife.

Cut to: Rabid preacher. He's doing his daily fire and brimstoning - while wonderful edits gives us glimpses of the Redeemers sinning six. Most seem like normal people, with one thing in common - They all seem to have problems like everyone else, and are all invited to their tenth year high school reunion.

Upon arriving, there's no cars. No one except our ill fated six.

They quickly catch up on old times and make their way into the school.

What follows is quiet original in regards to the slasher film. It's kind of like a 'Ten Little Indians' rendention, but with a lot of added gloom and doom. They make their way into the cafeteria where an elaborate set up of food, music, and disco balls awaits them. Everyone is wondering where all their ex classmates are, but the glutton is mezmerized by all the food - "Who cares! Let's eat!"

He grubs his greasy little hands into the banquet, testing out everything from whipped cream to oysters. Wondering why no one has arrived, John the lawyer tries to call the owner of the seemingly abandoned school. There just so happens to be a pay phone that actually works. He reaches the operator, but then the lines go dead.

They make their way back to the cafeteria where everyone is having a seemingly good time. 'The Harlot' wants to go outside for some reason. She tries to find the janitor who let them in before. (which was actually the redeemer in disguise. He just so happened to kill the real janitor and place is body face first on a desk.)

They finally catch on that the real janitor is dead when they find him with maggots coming from his gunshot wound.Everything comes together when they realize they're locked inside the old school with no way out. One can guess what happens next.

Or crazed preacher roams the school, killing each of the remaining victims in disguises that fit their supposed immorality. A clowns mask for the supposed make-up wearing harlot. A suit and tie for the lawyer - sporting a gun. A made up thespian on the schools stage for our conceited actor that involves a large sword through the head. A hunters uniform and a shotgun for our woman who likes to kill live birds. The glutton gets fried (or baked) like all the junk he stuffs down his throat. We don't get to see what happens to the lesbian. I guess he brutalized that carpet munching lezzi so much that the censors wouldn't allow it. Who knows.


One things for sure, you'll never see another movie quiet like 'Class Reunion Massacre'. An errie feel throughout the whole movie keeps one on the edge, not knowing what's going to happen next - Gloom and doom by the truck load - A sinnister haze seems to infiltrate the viewing space.

This particular film did a lot of things first. It deserves more credit than it got, and I'm happy to see that there's an upcoming dvd release of this with loads of features. (Maybe)

I've actually spoken with TG Finkbinder (The Redeemer) many times, conducting two interviews along the way. The most recent interview can be found on this great slasher site:

http://www.hysteria-lives.co.uk - Just click the interviews section.

In a nutshell, this is one of the better slashers ever made. I think the whole immorality tale turns people away. Many, after finally watching it a few times more, find it to be an absolutely wonderful little slasher. You will too.

This question has been burning heavily within my twisted psyche as of late. I finally had the pleasure of actually sitting down and watching the 'Killer Extras' dvd that comes with the Friday the 13th box set. One thing that I noticed right off the bat was everyones willingness to talk. Most of the participants interviewed seemed to hold their Friday' status with semi-high regards.

It was a welcomed pleasure to see a now aged Betsy Palmer talk about her stint as machete carrying psycho-mama. I giggled at the Friday 3 commentary. Larry Zerner (Shelly) has certainly changed in appearance, but his voice and jolly attitude are unmistakable. I was thrilled to see a few of Jason's victims speak about their experience of actually being maimed by one of cinema's most horrific made men.

While a lot of the extras are great, there were still a lot of loose ends. I still think there could have been more interviews or a commentary here or there. Aside from wrangling up a review for the whole box-set, I'll get to why I was so bothered by the whole thing. It's not a bother in the carnal sense, but more of an annoyance. I've always considered Warrington Gillette Jason. His 'performances' in Friday the 13th part 2 has always been amongst my favorites (with CJ Graham from part six stealing the prize), but not until recently, have I found out that the ONLY scene Warrington Gillete was in was the scene where a deformed Jason crashes through the window.

Well, if Gillette didn't do the remaining scenes, who did? Steve Dash (short for Daskawsiz) did. In almost every scene where Jason sports the pillow case, it's Steven Dash. Why Warrington Gillette got credit as playing Jason is beyond me. What really bummed me out was the fact that Gillette went on and on about how tough of a shoot it was. If one didn't know better, they would have thought he was present throughout the entire shoot!

I think it would have been a manly gesture to admit that he primarily only did one major stunt throughout the entire film. He gilded the lily enough to not actually admit he was a one stunt wonder, fooling the best of us with piling on the icing real thick. I would imagine that Gillette has used his Jason status in a lot of places. There was even one magazine article on him sometime back that read, 'Jason Goes To Wal Street '. There's also his own personal website - Jason2kills.com that shows him holding a platter with someones severed head on it. It seems as if our ex-Jason is now some sort of Wal Street big whig - severing monetary investments and decapitating inside trading.

This post may sound like a 'Warrington Gillete Bashing Page', but I assure you, the Gillete Bashing Headquarters is located at the home of Steven Dash. To be honest, I'd be mad myself. I would imagine Dash has tried to sue Paramount without success. Afterall, no one can defeat Jason. All this aside, Gillette is the nicest man on earth. A constant smile and a willingness to tell you as much as his knowledge will allow.




The picture to the left (which I swiped from CAMPCRYSTALLAKE.COM) is a pic of the REAL Jason from Friday 2.

Rumor has it, Steven Dash is quiet angry about the whole ordeal of only being credited as 'Jason's Stunt Double'. It's a fun story among message boards about how Dash, (at a convention that also hired Gillette for appearances,) was giving Gillette a bad rep about how he couldn't even do any of the stunts that were called for in the script in Friday the 13th part 2. It's said that Gillette just shrugged off the incident and stated something comical about the situation.

Any film fan knows that throughout the late seventies and eighties, the slasher craze set forth to overtake governments and ransack young minds. During this time, slasher films flooded the film pool - blood, tits, and gore was the order of the day, starting a trend that would burn like a beacon for six years, before slowly fizzing out to burnt embers.

In this period, a number of lesser known slasher films escaped through the sewers of celluloid. Whether by shoddy distribution or marketing campaigns, films like 'The Burning', 'Just Before Dawn', and 'The Final Terror ' slipped through the cracks.

'The Final Terror' stands alone in the sub-genre - not because it strays away from clichéd formulas, but because of the number of survivors at the end of the film. Usually, we have a group of young people being stalked by some unknown specter, stealthy and brutal. We usually have one surviving heroine at the end, who defeats the proverbial monster by will and grit. 'The 'Final Terror' isn't much different than a lot of cookie cutter slasher movies, except for the fact that there at least five survivors at the end.

Our moss covered killer manages to snuff at least two of our group of forest rangers while doing the nasty. Upon finally realizing they're being stalked and slashed, the remaining (rather large) crew ban together taking things into their own hands. They do exactly as they should - being logical and examining other possible scenarios. They don't split up and get hammered one by one while one goes for help and the other 'stays put'.

While being somewhat cheesy - the way the survivors paint up their faces and use twigs and leaves as camouflage, is kind of comical, but, in all reality, was the smart thing to do.
It almost turns into some minimalist army film - an ex Viet Nam squad leader ushering commands to our surviving troops. Zorich is a no holds barred woodsman. He's right at home in the woods - communing with nature and ingesting forest primeval amongst wild psychedelic mushrooms and marijuana.

Again, spawning from Friday the 13th, we have a film about a boy with a mother complex. Egger is a disgruntled bus driver taking a load of forest rangers into the woods. From the get-go, Egger has problems. He's edgy and grumpy, and tries to sway Mark from allowing their trip into the woods, (which by all means was a chance for him to get some free time in the woods with his girl.) Nothing that's deserving of the fates they got.

Shift: Fade from white ....

Anyway, this post isn't a base for a review, but for one of the actors in the film. It's pretty much well known what happened to the rest of the actors, but what ever happened to John Friedrich? (Zorich)

Playing the army minded woodsman in 'The Final Terror', Friedrich also had some other memorable roles in such films as 'The Boy in the Plastic Bubble', and 'Joey' from the adapted cinematic 'masterpiece', 'The Wanderers'.

'The Final Terror' is Johns last noted movie/tv appearance. After this, he simply just seems to disappear. There's been rumors of Friedrich becoming a surgeon. There's talk of him becoming co-star Ken Wahl's live-in gardener. There's rumors of Friedrich dying of AIDS - A young star having so much going for him, then, capooey! But does this constitute a basis for AIDS?

My wife also thinks the AIDS theory is the most logical, which, in terms, actually is. But, I'd like to think positive and go with the doctor theory. Hell, even the gardener theory is better than an AIDS related death.

Stepping back into the world of 'The Final Terror' for a second; John Friedrich portrayed a man with some hidden issues. A marijuana dependent being, who definitely carried some baggage home with him from the jungles of Viet Nam. He's a loner - sitting alone in the back of the bus while the rest of the crew makes asses of themselves up front singing a cheesy rendition of 'Three Blind Mice' - which incidently was an alternate title for 'The Final Terror'

He taunts the bus driver in a confrontational spat on the way to their destination - giving prelude that Egger comes from an old mental institution by making him the brunt of a joke in front of everyone. Deservedly so, leaning on the opening sequence of the movie. He's a take charge kind of guy, and gave a lot of presence to the film. He holds no qualms on demeaning women , and saying what's on his usually ill tempered mind.

The rest of the crew in the film are fodder. In a nutshell, 'The Final Terror' is a good, if not depressing film that will leave you in a 'certain' mood for the rest of the day. Zorich's untimely death is kind of funny, considering his army background and his knowledge of homemade booby traps. A simple push from a large log and he breaks his neck. Not a very glorious death, but the film itself isn't very glorious either. More of a gritty outlook on survival, doused with the ever so evident truth of death and how it can weave itself among us through people and places we take for granted.

Now, I'm through with 'The Final Terror' for a second, although, future posts on the subject are merely incidental. So, again, what happened to that John Friedrich?

Horror Holidays

Two more days until, Black Christmas.

I received the critical mass re-issue through the mail almost three weeks ago. It came out of the blue. I was already having a bad day, but this little snail mail surprise was certainly a welcomed event. Not to actually grade the dvd on merits and detractions, but the picture quality surprised me. Not in a good way, however. The quality certainly wasn't bad - especially for a film released in 1974. It was free of most of those tiny black squibbles and other grainy elements, but its was obvious that not much time was spent on repairing those saturated colors.

Now, the re-release isn't a bad one. Critical Mass has released a version of this before - if not two. I think the only thing that's changed since then are the updated interviews and commentaries. There were a few of the stars that made it back for rehashes, with different templates to go by - Hussey, and a deranged Margot Kidder. We are also treated to a narrative by easygoing police captain, John Saxon, but I think the most welcomed returns had to be that of 'Sergeant Nash' ( Doug McGrath) and 'Clair Harrison (Lynne Griffin ).'

Both stars have held up pretty well over the years, although, Griffen looks like an eccentric old lady - Her hair tied in what looks to be a bun. She definitely has lost those shy-girl charms over the years, but her input on the dvd was a welcomed gesture.

I wouldn't swear on it, but I'd say that for a third release (maybe), and especially a third release so close to the second one, this was to cash in on the remake of Black Christmas, due out, well, on Christmas. I don't know how black it will be on Christmas, but I'll probably have to wait and see it after the new year. As much as I hate remakes, (especially remakes of true classics) I'll still see it.

I know the target audience these days is the same as a film of its ilk in the 70's and 80's - Mostly tweenagers (the years in between ), but the attention span has certainly dwindled away to something of non-existence. The 1974's classic outline would really make way for viewings better suited to 40 year olds, so, the impact and sheer perverseness of the movie has lost steam since all the violence we see even on the small screen these days. Like 80% of teenie-kill films in the 80's, Black Christmas '74 follows a certain pattern the film itself started.

Halloween became most popular for doing it, but BC '74 certainly inspired it. It's well known that in the mix somewhere, directors Bob Clark, and, Halloween's John Carpenter, collaborated on a few ideas which eventually lead to what we've gotten. Black Christmas is also one of the first movies to exploit a holiday theme. Silent Night Bloody Night also did this in the same year. It's a very disturbing film in its own right.

I read somewhere that religious groups are trying to stop the film from being released on Christmas. (The remake) This makes me laugh, not because I'm against Christians and what they stand for, I'm not, but for the fact that these same religious groups are promoting one of the most pagan characters in history...Santa Clause

Anyway, whether or not Black Christmas 2006 will even tip the firm iceberg of Black Christmas 1974 doesn't even hold a light to itself. It's completely irrelevant since the film itself is basically just wearing the same jump suit as Black Christmas, but has a completely different person wearing it.

It's also suffice to say that the the internet has helped/hurt the classic horror film. The internet allows thousands of films every year to be released (and some to have theatrical runs) - films we would have never gotten if not for it. This is a double edged sword, because with the internet popularity of horror and other review sites, remakes, wanna-be filmmakers , and every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a camera is making films. Bad films.

I have an online friend who lives in the United Kingdom. They have already gotten to see Black Christmas 2006 (Which has a completely different ending than the US version) and he didn't seem dissatisfied with it - and he's the king of the slasher film. I'm sure he went in not expecting too much, and ultimately wasn't disappointed.

So, we'll have to see, but until then, I'm going to be giving Black Christmas '74 a run in the privacy of my own home - me and the wife.