John’s Horror Corner: The Borrower (1989), a goofy B-movie replay of The Hidden (1987) about a body-swapping alien.
MY CALL: If you tossed a big bag of The Hidden (1987) into a low budget B-movie vat with a light sprig of seasoning from The Terminator (1984), this would be the cheesy-fun result. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Borrower: Seemingly the inspiration for this movie, The Hidden (1987) was much better.
A criminal among an insectoid alien race is sentenced to a punishment worse than death—he is remanded to a devolved (i.e., human) form and exiled to Earth. Like a socially awkward T-800 he learns how dress and behave from the people he meets on the streets.
From its cheesy opening exposition dump to the hokey opening credits scoring, you probably wouldn’t expect much from this movie. But right out of the gates we get a hammed-up transformation scene showing many transitional phases from disfigured man to slimy-clawed, pulsating face, head-exploding monster. Despite its humble budget, this B-flick swings for the fences. The movie isn’t particularly good, but it’s every bit as entertaining as it needs to be to keep the attention of a B-movie fan, and then some. Pulsating faces abound as our alien felon rips off and swaps one head for another… even the head of a dog!
Hot on his murderous trail is a tough detective (Rae Dawn Chong; Tales from the Darkside: The Movie). But we never really identify with the character—she just happens to be investigating the homicidal bread crumbs. So, the “protagonist” is basically the murderous, head-swapping alien. He may not be “good” or have a sympathetic cause, but we have no real hero at all. Rather we watch as our extraplanar felon encounters one hapless passerby after another, often rips off and commandeers their head, and continues to the next victim (including Tony Amendola; Annabelle, The Curse of La Llorona).
Unfortunately, after an energetically paced first half, the movie does the opposite of most horror—it slows down as if suddenly caring about resolving the plot. And while overall this movie is perfectly entertaining, I must admit that the drop in pacing and special effects definitely down-shifted my impression.
Anyone desiring truly over-the-top horror-comedy would agree that The Borrower is doesn’t hold a candle to Blood Diner (1987), Frankenhooker (1990) or Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh (1991). But overall, I think director John McNaughton (Wild Things, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) did right by B-movie fans.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #230: Final Destination 2 and Final Destination 3
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The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re continuing our Final Destination franchise coverage with Final Destination 2 and Final Destination 3. These sequels stepped up the gore, had no problem squishing teenagers (gnarly scene), and made sure that people never looked at logging trucks the same way again (that’s why we love them). In this episode, we discuss death’s design, angry workouts and terrible experiences at the tanning salon. 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 pod!
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John’s Horror Corner: Demonwarp (1988), the bizarre bigfoot movie that turns into a zombie movie but is actually an alien Sci-Horror movie.
MY CALL: This B-movie is just plain bizarre—not in tone or execution, but in plot and content. You should get a few laughs. MORE MOVIES LIKE Demonwarp: The Alien Factor (1978), The Being (1983), Alien Predators (1985), Mutilations (1986) and Demon Wind (1990) are all the right brand of bizarre. But if you want a more serious bigfoot movie, try Exists (2014) or Willow Creek (2013).
Likely attempting to cater to fanfare for Critters (1986), Night of the Creeps (1986) and The Thing (1982), this movie opens with an outer space shot of “something” entering Earth’s atmosphere. Almost immediately after, a bigfoot violently breaks into a cabin in the woods and kidnaps a young woman.
While searching for his missing daughter, a man (George Kennedy; Brain Dead, Creepshow 2, Just Before Dawn) crosses paths with some twentysomething weekenders.
In order (from most to least abundant) this movie features a bunch of booby nudity, shots of big furry feet walking towards victims, numerous bigfoot attacks, and a bit of head-twisted-off gore. But not only are there bigfoot attacks… there’s also zombie victims with an occasional dangling eyeball. So is this a Bigfoot movie or a Zombie movie? Apparently, BOTH!
Yeah, it gets weirder. Because all these zombie victims are working together to steal electronics in order to slowly build a spaceship (like in The Thing) and our surviving protagonist suddenly finds himself amid a zombie shootout as a topless sacrifice is taking place to appease a claw-handed slimy demon.
And then… there’s yet another topless sacrifice scene! Yeah, this movie really leans as hard on the boobage as it does on bizarre writing decisions.
The movie ends like a really bad, really weak, zombie B-movie. Not sure how we got there from the whole “bigfoot is really a shapechanging alien that creates zombie engineer builder drones” theme. But whatever.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #229: Final Destination (2000)
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The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re beginning our Final Destination franchise coverage by talking about Final Destination, the film that kicked everything off. We’re big fans of the series (except for The Final Destination), and we loved covering the entire Resident Evil franchise, so we’re at it again! In this episode we talk about decapitations, evil water and the intricacy of death’s design. 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 pod!
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John’s Horror Corner: The Rejuvenator (1988; aka, Rejuvenatrix), one of the better 80s B-movies you never knew existed.
MY CALL: What a pleasant surprise! This is a higher quality B-movie for sure—especially the gooey special effects, acting and writing. I mean, if you wanted a fun gory B-movie night, then you’re in for a particularly well-made one! It’s like a lower tier Bride of Re-Animator (1989). MORE MOVIES LIKE The Rejuvenator: Closest would be something like Bride of Re-Animator (1989). Although they’re creature features, Blue Monkey (1987) and Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor (1990) come to mind as pleasant B-movie surprises in terms of special effects quality and tolerable filmmaking. But if you want more science-gone-wrong horror, go for Demon Seed (1977), Altered States (1980), Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986) or Mimic (1997).
No longer landing her coveted leading roles, wealthy aging actress Ruth (Vivian Lanko; The Refrigerator) finances the research of a scientist (John MacKay) working on a serum for eternal youth. Displeased with his progress, she insists he perform a de-aging operation on her regardless of how incomplete his rejuvenating serum may be. So, ignoring some rather alarming revelations on their lab rats, they proceed with the operation.
Medical research in this movie is a heck of a thing, and this plot strangely feels like a combination of Demon Seed (1977), Re-Animator (1985) and Death Becomes Her (1992). After the operation Ruth appears 30 years younger, vibrant and covetous of the privilege. To maintain her youthful serum, a steady supply of fresh brains are required. Not sure what could ever go wrong there.
Meanwhile, the single lab rat exposed to the serum has become monstrous. Because apparently medical research standards in this movie suggest that a single lab rat exposed to a drug for a matter of seconds is indicative of readiness for human trials. LOL. That is, until it mutates and grows and gets really ugly.
Coming as no surprise, Ruth awakens one evening looking like a pulsating, demon-voiced, slime-glazed hag in need of her fix. Upon subsequent transformations she becomes yet more monstrous (a familiar trend; e.g., Mausoleum), next appearing as some Victorian-wig-sized brain-headed mutant. And later, she develops into a gangly rheumatic Pumpkinhead (1988)-clawed polydactyl troll with a Mars Attacks! (1996) Medusa head.
Our next plot development is that “living donors” provide more potent serum. So naturally, Ruth hits the streets and goes brain hunting. The stakes increase and build to the disgustingly awesome melting/decomposing death scene.
For an 80s flick with no stars, no DVD release, and a no-name director, this really wasn’t bad at all! I really enjoyed the monster special effects and gore, the writing and acting were far more serviceable than expected (nothing clunky, wooden or phoned-in; actually quite proficient), and most importantly I enjoyed the movie! In fact, even though it’s no Dream Warriors (1987), it’s quite rewatchable on a sort of “fun B-movie” level. It’s also totally straight-faced serious. So it shouldn’t be associated with the likes of Necromancer (1988), Brain Damage (1988), Slugs (1988) or Creepazoids (1987). It’s more like a lower tier Bride of Re-Animator (1989).
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John’s Horror Corner: Cthulhu Mansion (1992), a haunted house B-movie capturing none of the magic of H. P. Lovecraft.
MY CALL: Just another weak, cheesy B-movie that felt a decade older than it actually was. But sometimes that’s exactly what we want, right?
MORE MOVIES LIKE Cthulhu Mansion: Watch Lord of Illusions (1995) instead. But if you want more Lovecraftian movies/adaptations, go for The Unnamable (1988), The Unnamable 2: The Statement of Randolph Carter (1992), The Resurrected (1991), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Lurking Fear (1994), Dagon (2001), Dreams in the Witch-House (2005) and The Dunwich Horror (1970). And although not specifically of Lovecraftian origins, his influence is most palpable in From Beyond (1986), Prince of Darkness (1987), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), The Void (2016), The Shrine (2010) and Baskin (2015)—all of which are on the more gruesome side to varying degrees.
This uber-basic color-by-numbers 80s horror starts when a group of twentysomething criminals (incl. Melanie Shatner; The First Power, Subspecies II-III) on the run take hostage the carnival magician Chandu (Frank Finlay; Lifeforce) and his daughter Lisa (Marcia Layton) in their mansion.
The acting is terrible; the writing is worse; and whereas the premise is quite simple, the “story” is incomprehensible. A low point was when Chandu read from an occult book with “Cthulhu” written on the cover—you know, so we all know it’s magical and evil. Or was it when we learned that the carnival performer lived in a mansion? And why, other than those two tidbits, is this called Cthulhu Mansion? Other than some haunting evil presence, it didn’t feel Lovecraftian at all despite claiming to be adapted from the work of H. P. Lovecraft.
The special effects are really weak and forgettable. Some giant monstrous hands pull a woman into a refrigerator (dumb, but I giggled); a guy drowns in a blood shower (annoyingly dumb); another turns into an slimy gooey pseudo-zombie (maybe the highlight of the movie); a lumpy cyst-covered mustard demon (always entertaining, I suppose); stop-motion creeping vines (weakest attempt ever at ripping off Evil Dead); and lame telekinetic haunted house shenanigans (really dumb).
Written and directed by Juan Piquer Simón (Pieces, Slugs, The Rift), I certainly expected better. Not “good.” But a tastier kind of cheese than the random aimless cheese that was this B-movie. Bit of a spoiler—not that it could possibly matter for this movie—but the “big reveal” of the story basically makes Cthulhu Mansion a poor man’s Lord of Illusions (1995).
This movie is not good at all. But it’s a decent “bad movie night” kinda’ flick.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #228: The Quick and the Dead
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The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re talking about the 1995 cult classic The Quick and the Dead. Directed by Sam Raimi (Drag Me to Hell, The Evil Dead, Spider-Man 1-3), this western features a plethora of gun fights, explosions and A-list actors such as Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lance Henriksen, and most importantly, Keith David. In this episode, we discuss bullet strength, great hats and why we wouldn’t want to be a spectator at a gun fighting event.
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 pod!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #226 and #227: True Lies and the 1990’s Action Movie Tiers
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The MFF podcast is back, and this week we have a double-header for you! We’re talking about the 1994 classic True Lies AND we’re breaking down the 1990’s action movies into layered tiers. If you are a fan of action movies from this decade, you are in luck, because we cover a lot of them! In this episode, we discuss the greatness of Bill Paxton, horse chases and whether or not Face/Off is a “great” action film.
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 pod!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune In, Podbean,or Spreaker.
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MY CALL: Judge this movie by its special effects and you’d probably call it weak or hokey or typical average forgettable 80s-ness. But the special effects don’t help this film—not even a little. It’s the wowing set design, the solid writing, the performances and characters with substance, the compelling story and atmosphere, and the mood-building score that transcend this film beyond most horror of its era. MORE MOVIES LIKE Prince of Darkness: For more scientists getting too close to evil dimensions, try From Beyond (1986) or Event Horizon (1997).
Victor Wong (Tremors, The Golden Child) recaptures his lightning-in-a-bottle mysticism we came to love in Big Trouble in Little China (1986) as a zealous physics professor seeking to prove a metaphysical hypothesis. The Yin to Wong’s kooky Yang, Donald Pleasence (Phenomena, Halloween 1-2/4-6) emanates the all-too-familiar air of a priest who seems to know something is gravely amiss before his constituents of the cloth.
Together these unlikely two investigate an ancient cylinder of swirling green ectoplasm entombed by a secret religious faction beneath a time-condemned church. Professor Birack (Wong) assembles physics graduate students Catherine (Lisa Blount; Dead & Buried, Nightflyers, Needful Things), Mullins (Dirk Blocker; Poltergeist, Night of the Scarecrow, Cutting Class) and Walter (Dennis Dun; Big Trouble in Little China); a radiologist (Anne Marie Howard; The Collection), a microbiologist (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson; Darkman Neon Maniacs), a biochemist, Kelly (Susan Blanchard; They Live), Dr. Leahy (Peter Jason; In the Mouth of Madness, Congo, Alien Nation, Arachnophobia), an ancient scripture theologist (Ann Yen), along with members of other departments.
Unlike most horror that attempts and royally fails to make credible scientists of its protagonists (e.g., Nightwish and even Mimic), these students feel like thoughtful intellectual characters rather than horror movie victims. They have different backgrounds and specialties even within physics, instead of coming off as schlocky experts of “all things physics,” or worse, all things science.
Challenging their understanding of faith and science, preliminary tests of materials on the corroded cylinder suggest it predates man by millions of years and that the church had kept its secret for the last two thousand years. Translations of ancient texts identify the cylinder’s contents as the son of Satan. And contact with its contents corrupts absolutely to the whims of evil.
Judge this movie by its special effects and you’d probably call it weak or hokey or typical average forgettable 80s-ness. Alice Cooper (Dark Shadows, Monster Dog) leads a group of perhaps possessed, murderous homeless people that behave like cult fanatics. The murderous hobos provision unimpressive death scenes that will hardly raise a brow. Really, neither does the infectious measure of shooting streams of water from mouth-to-mouth to spread the infection of inherent evil.
The best of the effects are towards the end with the flayed woman hosting the Prince of Darkness. But the special effects don’t help this film—not even a little. It’s the set design with its wowing underground cathedral, the solid writing which kept me intrigued, the performances and characters with substance, the compelling story and the awesome atmosphere…
Written and directed by John Carpenter (John Carpenter; In the Mouth of Madness, They Live, Halloween, The Thing), the score casts the looming atmospheric shadow of The Thing (1982). And like The Thing (1982), the story unfolding between the special effects and death scenes is every bit as engaging (and more) as the horror itself—thus transcending most horror of its era.
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The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re celebrating our 225th episode by talking about Tombstone. Every 25th episode, we discuss a Kurt Russell movie, and Tombstone was picked by our followers on Facebook (like our page!). We absolutely love Tombstone, so we did way too much research in order to educate you on the production (you will love it). In this episode, we discuss mustaches, gun fights and Kurt Russell being awesome. 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 pod!
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Movies, Films & Flix 