Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 31: Mako Wish Foundations, Remora Blakes, and Shark Riding
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Jay and Mark are joined by Robert Lamb (@7lambpodcasts on Twitter) to discuss “Unsure Shooting,” the 31st chapter on the Deep Blue Sea DVD. In this episode, they discuss riding sharks, clipboards, blood smelling, and the filmography of Nicholas Sparks. Enjoy!
Please make sure to check out all of the 7 Lamb podcast at www.7lamb.com
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 344: Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Plutonium and Bathroom Fights
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The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re discussing the 2018 action classic Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames and Vanessa Kirby, the film focuses on what happens when an evil villain (with lots and lots of resources) wants revenge on Tom Cruise. Fallout is a massive action film that deserves its 97% Tomatometer score and huge box office, as it’s wildly ambitious and features some beautiful stunts. In this episode, we discuss running protagonists, bathroom fights, and Cliffhanger. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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John’s Horror Corner: Feast (2005), a sloppy gorefest “siege horror” comedy gushing with a great cast.
MY CALL: This creature feature is a fast-paced, exciting, disgusting and incredibly fun gorefest with cool monsters and a great cast. How could you go wrong here? MORE MOVIES LIKE Feast: For more wild “siege horror”, go for VFW (2019), Howl (2015), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) or Legion (2010).
Our story takes place in a little bar in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the southwest. Meeting our cast of victims is like an energized videogame trailer featuring a stat block complete with nickname, occupation and life expectancy described in snarky candor. Our introductions are rich with troped-up irony and feisty menace as we are shown this motley crew including an elderly prostitute, veteran, motivational speaker (Henry Rollins; He Never Died, Wrong Turn 2), teen troublemaker, rough biker (Diane Ayala Goldner; Halloween II, The Collector, Hatchet III), jerky criminal (Jason Mewes; Scream 3), old and wise (Clu Gulager; The Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, The Initiation, From a Whisper to a Scream, Piranha 3DD), young and dumb, tough single mom, and a beer delivery guy (Judah Friedlander; Sharknado 2, Cabin Fever 2).
The dialogue is funny and the characters’ presentation is very engaging. After a little happy hour with this bunch of charmers a rugged, bloody stranger bursts in warning of the Hell to come in the form of man-eating monsters. With the first death occurring at minute 13, you could say the pacing is as quick as the witty script. People are screaming, panicking and getting shredded in no time. So they barricade the bar, trapping themselves inside.
As if taking snaps from the Evil Dead playbook, the deaths are tremendously bloody with comical gouts of gore dousing frightened patrons. The on-screen depictions of gunshot wounds, flash lacerations, dismemberment and decapitation are solid work, with the monster even thrusting its claw straight through a midsection in chunky style. There is a baby monster skittering around like a skinned, tweaked out ewok; a projectile vomit scene fire-hosing a patron in green goop; the eyeball-yanking scene was just plain mean; a pinata-like head-splatter; and the monster penis scene… well… things get gross and weird. In fact, there are more than a few awkward monstrously sexual scenes.
And once we see the monsters unobscured, they’re pretty cool! They’ll remind you of the monsters from many movies. So they’re not exactly original-looking—just another generalized toothy-mawed demon thing—but very well done. I loved these fiends and their offspring.
This movie is REALLY a lot of fun! And no, I don’t mean that in some awesomely “bad movie” way. The dialogue and characters are worth it alone, but then there’s the gorehound-pleasing offal being cast about constantly. And unlike Wrong Turn 2 (2007), in which Henry Rollins was the only actor carrying his weight, everyone in Feast brings something tasty to the table. All the characters are good, and they all have good lines, good scenes, good moments, and worthy death scenes.
Director John Gulager (Feast II-III, Piranha 3DD) rocked this disgustingly awesome movie. It’s so slimy, sloppy, goopy, sticky and gross. This one’s a keeper!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 343: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and John finish up their “Dream” series by discussing A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox and Danny Hassel, this 1989 film focuses on the final battle between Freddy Kreuger and Alice Johnson. In this episode, they discuss dream babies, practical effects and swimming pools. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 30: Chonky Sharks, Rusty Metal, and Plot Device Tentacles
Jay and Mark are joined by Meg Hyland (meghyland on Instagram) to discuss “Come to Mama,” the 30th chapter on the Deep Blue Sea DVD. This is the famous scene in which Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) finds what happens when she meets her mutated-creation in the open water (nothing good happens…). In this episode, they discuss rusty metal, faulty masonry, corn syrup, and plot device tentacles. Enjoy!
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John’s Horror Corner: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), the origin story of the iconic killer.
MY CALL: Featuring one of my favorite depictions of Leatherface, this is also among my favorite TCM movies. Incredibly gory, abruptly brutal, and unrelenting in its indecency. MORE MOVIES LIKE Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning: Well obviously you should have already seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), and then perhaps Texas Chainsaw 3-D (2013) and Leatherface (2017). Then there were the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and the ultra-zany sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), though I was not a fan of Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990). From there I’d suggest Wrong Turn (2003), House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Wolf Creek (2005), The Hills Have Eyes (2007) and Charlie’s Farm (2014).
FRANCHISE SIDEBAR: This is a prequel of the 2003 remake of the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). It is only directly linked to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003).
Many viewers found The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) to be needlessly mean shock cinema. But I always found it truly appropriate for the inherently cruel story and characters. They were meant to be insidious psychopathic cannibals, right? So following in the same shocking vein, this prequel opens with a viscerally graphic birth scene complete with a slimy animatronic fetus on the floor of a slaughterhouse. That visual alone ought to inform you if this film is for you. Clearly, it’s trying to push the limits of the 2003 reboot.
The unsightly baby is rescued from an offal dumpster and taken to the old Hewitt house; the opening credit sequence is littered with visuals of lacerated flesh and the sounds of wet chunks of meat being squeezed between fingers; and the language describing Thomas “Leatherface” Hewitt (Andrew Bryniarski; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Mother’s Day) is not just culturally insensitive, but brutal.
In current day 1969 two twenty-something couples are driving across the country. After a car accident, Bailey (Diora Baird; Night of the Demons, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days), Chrissie (Jordana Brewster; The Faculty), Eric (Matt Bomer; American Horror Story, The Sinner) and Dean (Taylor Handley; Bird Box) are picked up by the sheriff and taken to his home. A glowing example of psychopathy, “Sheriff Hoyt” (R. Lee Ermey; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Rift, The Frighteners, Up from the Depths, The Watch) takes every opportunity to rattle our senses as the most vile entity we meet in this story. Leatherface is an animal, but Hoyt is a true monster.
The pacing is strong. True to its 2003 and 1974 source material, this movie’s violence is jarringly abrupt and abundant. From roadkilled cow and dispatched bikers, to hammer homicide and peeling off entire faces, the action starts right away and takes few breaks from shocking us. For example, Leatherface’s hammer game is strong in this movie! Not since Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990) have I seen someone so brutally hobbled, making bone meal out of a poor guy’s knees.
This Leatherface is also among the grossest (although not so perverted as in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), with a degenerative skin disease and his arms seem perpetually discolored in dry oxidized blood. He’s always sweaty, he’s always filthy, and his presence feels the most menacing of any TCM film (1974-2017).
We see heads get blown apart, horrendous beatings, someone getting chainsawed in half, legs are amputated on screen, and skin get flayed before our eyes. We also enjoy (I think) the most chainsaw deaths and attacks of the entire franchise from originals to reboots. Personally, I’d say director Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, Battle Los Angeles, Wrath of the Titans) did well by TCM fans, and his amped up brutality really just seems to follow the trend in TCM movies leading up to this.
This movie is a blast for gorehounds! I haven’t seen 2003 recently enough to say for sure, but this and 1986 might just be my two favorite TCM movies.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast: Episode 342: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and David Cross (of the Award Wieners Movie Review Podcast) discuss the 2003 film The League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen. Directed by Stephen Norrington (Blade), and starring Sean Connery, Shane West and Peta Wilson, this bonkers film tells the story of what happens when a bunch of literary “superheroes” battle a technology advanced army of super jerks. In this episode, they discuss giant submarines, gross invisible people, and an underappreciated vampire. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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The Little Things: A Solid Throwback Thriller From John Lee Hancock
Written and directed by John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side, The Founder), this psychological thriller asks interesting questions, and it will be neat to see how audiences react to the experience.
The Little Things focuses on the unlikely partnership between Deputy Sheriff Joe “Jeke” Deacons (Denzel Washington) and Sergeant Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), as they hunt down a serial killer who has been plaguing the Los Angeles area. Deacons is an old-school officer who relies on instinct and experience when investigating, and Baxter is a tireless worker who is smart enough to ask Deacons for help (which says something good about him). Together, they patrol Los Angeles in their quest to prevent more death, which leads to a man named Albert Sparma (Jared Leto), who may-or-may-not be a suspect. From there, nothing will be spoiled, just know past secrets are uncovered, and the two men get much more than they bargained for.
The Little Things does a solid job observing the cost of doggedly pursuing a goal. Like Hancock’s prior films such as The Highwaymen, which focused on the Bonnie and Clyde manhunt, or The Founder, which centered around the worldwide expansion of McDonalds (and the amount of hours it took), Hancock seems to enjoy writing and directing films about characters who follow their pursuits. Also, whether it’s bravely hunkering down at the Alamo (The Alamo), or becoming a major league pitcher late-in-life (The Rookie), Hancock loves determined people, who occasionally suffer (or die) while pursuing their ideals.
Hancock wrote the script for The Little Things in the 1990s, and says he only had to change about 5-10% of the script to make it work for modern day audiences. His refusal to change certain elements kept the project in limbo, and the wait paid off as Hancock was able to direct, and bring in an incredibly talented cast and crew of Oscar winners. There’s an embarrassment of riches in this production, and it’s a treat to watch three Academy Award winning actors (Washington, Malek, Leto – who all have much different acting methods) flexing their acting skills in the same room (designed by Academy Award nominated production designer Michael Corenblith).
The cinematography by John Schwartzman (The Rock, Jurassic World, A Simple Favor) is excellent, as it focuses on shadows, leading lines, and long takes, to create an oppressive world in a sprawling city. The visual palette is interesting to watch, and almost follows a pattern that you may-or-may-not notice as the movie progresses. Throw in excellent costume design by Daniel Orlandi (Logan, Ford v. Ferrari), and a solid score from Thomas Newman (1917, Bridge of Spies), and you have a prestigious looking and sounding film that will be incredibly polarizing.
Conclusion – I enjoyed The Little Things, and can’t wait to see the reaction to John Lee Hancock’s film. He fought to keep it as is, and we’ll see if his dogged approach pays off with critics and audiences.
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MY CALL: Definitely a contender for best 2020 horror film. Spell’s story and delivery express the DNA of three influencing films admirably while preserving its own tone and stylish originality. MORE MOVIES LIKE Spell: The Skeleton Key (2005) and Get Out (2017).
Still haunted by echoes of his childhood trauma, Marquis (Omari Hardwick; Power) has taken himself far from the home of his youth and far in life. He has exceled professionally, financially, and in building his own family. But upon the passing of his father, Marquis is summoned back to Kentucky to handle the estate.
From our introduction to Marquis’ workplace to family issues at the dinner table, the common cultural theme of race is placed firmly in mind. But soon race matters less, and culture itself and social class conjures conflict as Marquis nears his remote Appalachian origins.
Flying his family in his tiny private jet through a lightning storm, Marquis awakens disoriented and injured in the home of traditional Hoodoo practitioner Eloise (Loretta Devine; Urban Legend, Crash). As rural as rural gets, Eloise has no telephone and no care for money. So keeping him captive against his will poses no challenge out in the woods.
Eloise lives in a microcosm forgotten by time and governed by local mysticism. She is devout in her ways and will not be defied. Her family clearly has plans for Marquis, but only his greatest fears can divine what those plans may be. The more time Marquis spends in her house observing her and hearing her doctrines as gospel, he likewise learns more about her, the house, the local folk of this Appalachian woodsy hamlet, and her deceptions. But what about his family…? What happened to them after the crash?
At times I felt this movie flew too close to the sun. The concepts are amazing and the characters are wonderful, but I often felt some of the scenes and events needed more development. I’ll leave it at that and add that I still really enjoyed it. In fact, despite my nitpicking, this may have been the best horror film of 2020.
To compare this film to two other films I adore: the writing is good but doesn’t quite hold a candle to the recent work of Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us), nor does the atmospheric dread ever match the very high marks of The Skeleton Key (2005). But a page is admirably taken from Peele’s book and well-executed with respect to cultural tension. And in terms of intensity, I have three words for you: the nail scene! Let that notion simmer in your head… I won’t spoil it.
I felt the superstitious mysticism of Hoodoo was played short with respect to The Skeleton Key (2005). But still, it was played well! We had voodoo dolls (Bugatti), divination bones, alchemical powders and magic… and while I may criticize, The Skeleton Key’s(2005) cultivates dread based on superstition and the fear that magic just may actually exist. Whereas Spell weaves heavily its dread based on the terror of perceived magic and the need to somehow overcome it!
I want to be very clear. I liked this film a lot. So when I say it “fell short” of The Skeleton Key (2005) and Get Out (2017) in various respects, it should not be taken as negative criticism. But rather as compliment, that I would compare it to two top notch films I hold so highly. Director Mark Tonderai (The House at the End of the Street) has brought us a very good film! Definitely a contender for best 2020 horror film, our story and delivery express the DNA of three influencing films admirably while preserving its own tone and stylish originality.
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MY CALL: Less classy than Fulci’s The Black Cat (1981), but definitely more bonkers, this is yet another Italian adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s story. But really, we find basically none of Poe’s work in this movie outside of the lone warning of a black cat. Probably best left for fans of 80s Italian horror for its haphazard storytelling and zany effects. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Black Cat: For more movie adaptations of The Black Cat, go for The Black Cat (1981; Gatto nero), Two Evil Eyes (1990) and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990). Fans of this wacky endeavor would likely enjoy more Fulcian gore in the form of City of the Living Dead (1980; aka Paura nella città dei morti viventi, The Gates of Hell), The Beyond (1981) and The House by the Cemetery (1981), which form Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy; and then Zombie (1979) and Demonia (1990).
Director Luigi Cozzi (Contamination, Starcrash, Paganini Horror) just might be taking even more liberties with Edgar Allan Poe’s story than even did Lucio Fulci (The Black Cat, City of the Living Dead, Zombie), which would make this second Italian adaptation of the story even more bonkers than Fulci’s first. This is as haphazard and bonkers as Italian horror comes, complete with occasionally terrible dialogue.
The colorful lighting and windows of the opening sequence cast an Argento-like giallo theme as we find Anne (Florence Guérin; Bad Girls, Bizarre) starring in a production of The Black Cat on her film set. But this film is clearly no passion of Anne’s, since she is so flattered when her husband Marc (Urbano Barberini; Gor I-II, Demons) offers her the lead in his new film. The role is of the witch Levana, the Mother of Tears from Dario Argento’s Suspiria de Profundis. Anne’s Black Cat co-star Nora (Caroline Munro; Maniac, Slaughter High, Don’t Open Till Christmas) desperately wants the role of Levana.
From the time Anne learns of her upcoming role of Levana (from 1980’s Inferno), she is haunted by the witch. Levana’s toad-like skin is covered in dense cysts from head to claw, and she spews green goop all over Anne. These nightmares are over-the-top ridiculous, and often when any sort of action or tension transpires it is accompanied by obnoxious mood-killing rock music.
It is at the estate of Marc’s intense film producer Leonard (Brett Halsey; Return of the Fly, Demonia) that we first see a black cat. But really, the black cat scenes are totally phoned-in and offer no substance to this already shoddy movie. There just happens to be a black cat and most of the deaths have nothing to do with a cat. To that point, occult professor Esther (Karina Huff; Voices from Beyond) warns that Levana is the most powerful witch to ever live. She admonishes our filmmakers only to die shortly thereafter in a rather spectacular chunk-spewing abdominal explosion. Among other special effects are writhing insect larvae (rotoscoped into Levana’s stationary face), a television explodes intestines and green slime, and Levana’s gross face and hands.
I feel the strong need to go on record. This is NOT a clever spin on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. The fact that there is a sentence about black cats and witches using them as vessels does not forgive this most curious yet deliberate misnomer. Because of that, I’m comfortable saying this movie is stupid. I’d place it no better than 4th place among Black Cat movie adaptations, or maybe tied for 3rd with The Black Cat (1981), which also took some liberties but was clearly about a damned cat! Two Evil Eyes (1990) did a more satisfying job of it, whereas Tales from the Darkside: The Movie’s(1990) take on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat is untouchable in its greatness.
The end of this movie horrendously boring. But truly, fans of zany Italian horror will likely enjoy this. That said, it’s not getting my recommendation. Not when there are three better Black Cat movies.
Movies, Films & Flix 