Twilight Zone: The Movie

Watching Twilight Zone: The Movie has always come with one great big caveat, can you enjoy the movie knowing that three people lost their lives during an accident on set? It's not an easy thing to get past. If you are able to set that aside for an hour or two, there is still plenty to enjoy in the movie. Sure, it's pretty well impossible not to think about the accident during the film's first segment. Directed by John Landis, "Time Out" is the story of an angry racist who gets to experience what it's like to be on the other side of bigotry and hatred. The second segment, "Kick the Can," directed by Steven Spielberg, doesn't quite fit the tone of the rest of the movie but is helped by Scatman Crothers' endless supply of charisma. The movie really kicks into high gear in the back half, with remakes of two all-time classic Twilight Zone stories. "It's a Good Life," directed by Joe Dante, pairs a lot of Dante's favorite cartoons and character actors with some memorable special effects from Rob Bottin. And finally, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," directed by George Miller, which features John Lithgow (in a role originally played by William Shatner) as a man desperately trying to convince his fellow passengers that there's a gremlin on the wing of their plane. The movie also includes appearances from Albert Brooks, Dan Aykroyd, Vic Morrow, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Cartwright, Dick Miller and narration by Burgess Meredith.

Rating: 74%

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Fun Fact: Steven Williams, who played a bar patron in the first segment, also played Creighton Duke in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and a tree trimmer in Better Off Dead.

The Little Shop of Horrors

In an effort to keep his job at the flower shop on skid row, Seymour Krelboined brings in a strange plant he's been growing at home. The plant, dubbed Audrey Jr., proves to be a big hit, bringing customers into the shop from all over. There's only one problem, the plant feeds on human blood. The Little Shop of Horrors is a morbid little comedy from Roger Corman. It's probably best known today as the inspiration for an off-off Broadway musical and the film adaptation of that musical, directed by Frank Oz. Corman's original version was filmed quickly and cheaply, naturally, which gives it a theatrical vibe. Jack Nicholson briefly appears in the film as a masochistic dental patient. 

Rating: 60%

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Fun Fact: Audrey, Seymour's co-worker (not the plant), was played by Jackie Joseph. Not only did Jackie Joseph play Mrs. Futterman in Gremlins and Gremlins 2, she also played Tackleberry's mother in law in Police Academy 2 and 4.

The Terror

A mysterious woman lures a young soldier to the Castle von Leppe. The castle holds many secrets. I'm not sure how else to explain it. The Terror isn't really a plot-heavy movie. Most of the film was shot over a couple of days on the set of The Raven. They didn't have much of a script to work from, so a lot of the movie is just characters walking around the castle. Several directors filmed additional scenes for the movie with Roger Corman tying everything together at the end. Well, I mean, he tried to tie it all together. An attempt was made. We can all agree on that.

Rating: 55%

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Explorers

In his dreams, Ben sees the layout of a strange circuit board. Using a sketch of the circuit board, Ben's genius friend Wolfgang is able to create a machine that generates an electromagnetic bubble. Together with their new friend Darren, the boys build a spaceship and set off on an adventure that takes them out of the suburbs and beyond their wildest imaginations. Directed by Joe Dante, Explorers is a science fiction fantasy adventure film. Ben and Wolfgang are played by Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix in the feature film debuts. Rushed into production and released before it could be properly completed, Explorers isn't entirely successful. It feels very much like a movie trying to recreate the vibe of E.T. But, like many of Joe Dante's other films, Explorers has since gone on to find a cult audience.

Rating: 62%

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Fun Fact: Jason Presson, who played Darren, also played one of the yogurt shop employees in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

The 'Burbs

Ray Peterson can't seem to enjoy his vacation. He becomes obsessed with the strange lights and sounds coming from his neighbor's house. Nobody on the block seems to know anything about Ray's neighbors, the Klopeks. On the surface, they seem to be a quiet family who keep to themselves. But, buried just below the surface, something truly strange might be going on. Joe Dante's The 'Burbs is an absurdist comedy with a Twilight Zone edge. In his first role as a father, America's Dad Tom Hanks leads a terrific cast that includes Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman and Henry Gibson. The 'Burbs has a great sense of scale. The whole movie takes place on one street and yet everything is given a grand sense of significance. The movie's dialogue is snappy and all of the main characters are unique and well defined. The 'Burbs is an excellent showcase for Joe Dante's comedy and horror sensibilities.

Rating: 78%

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Fun Fact: A couple years before he played Hans Klopek in The 'Burbs, Courtney Gains played Malachai in the original Children of the Corn. 

Innerspace

After losing everything, disgraced aviator Tuck Pendleton joins up with some scientists for a top secret miniaturization project. Everything goes well until a group of rival scientists steal the miniaturization technology. In order to keep him from falling into the wrong hands, Tuck gets injected into the body of Jack Putter, a neurotic hypochondriac. With the threat of a dwindling air supply hanging over their heads, Tuck and Jack have to team up with Jack's ex Lydia to recover the stolen microchips so that they can get Tuck out of Jack and back to his normal size. Though far from perfect, Innerspace is a real gem. The special effects hold up incredibly well and the performances are excellent. Martin Short is in top form here, his timing is incredible and his physical comedy is amazing. There are even a few stunts in the film that are reminiscent of Jackie Chan's work. The movie might have benefitted from some tighter editing and the score is pretty weak overall. Even still, Innerspace is definitely worth a watch.

Rating: 71%

(Image from Wikipedia)

The Premature Burial

The first two films in Roger Corman's Poe cycle had been moneymakers for American International Pictures (AIP), but a dispute over the profits prompted Corman to go independent for The Premature Burial. Leaving AIP meant that Corman couldn't use Vincent Price, so Ray Milland was cast in the lead role. As the story goes, the heads of AIP came to set on the first day of shooting to wish Corman well and to let him know that they had bought out his financiers, putting his film back under the AIP umbrella. The Premature Burial is stylistically similar to Corman's previous Poe pictures: lots of fog, a suspenseful score and the expressive use of colors. Ray Milland is quite good in the lead role, it's honestly hard to picture Vincent Price playing the part. The movie has a nice slow build and a great third act.

Rating: 68%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Piranha

Piranha isn't trying to hide the fact that it's a Jaws rip-off. Just one look at the poster and it's undeniable. Having said that, other than the poster and the basic premise of killer fish, Piranha doesn't really take all that much from Jaws. It doesn't feature any sharks, stock footage or bootleg John Williams sound cues. Piranha follows its own Cormanesque B-movie path. It's loaded with practical makeup effects, car stunts, boat stunts, underwater sequences and tons of screaming extras. With genre vets like Kevin McCarthy and Barbara Steele bringing some gravitas to the proceedings and Corman regulars Dick Miller and Paul Bartel rounding out the cast, Piranha stands head and shoulders above your average Jaws rip-off.

Rating: 78%

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The Howling

Dee Wallace plays a television news anchor being stalked by a serial killer. After a particularly intense encounter with the killer, her therapist recommends spending some time at his secluded resort in the country. The locals seem a little odd and there's plenty of howling in the woods at night, but surely these things are unrelated. Or are they? They are. Very much so. The Howling is a Joe Dante movie through and through. Expect to see Dante regulars like Dick Miller, Robert Picardo and Belinda Balaski alongside Hollywood ringers like Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine and Slim Pickens. Heck, there are even cameos from Roger Corman, Forrest J. Ackerman, Mick Garris and John Sayles. The effects from Rob Bottin look pretty good, but there are definitely a few effects sequences that don't hold up. I'm looking at you, poorly animated fireside man-to-wolf transformation sequence.

Rating: 68%

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A Bucket of Blood

Awkward busboy Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) wants nothing more than to fit in among the beatniks at the Yellow Door Cafe. His first attempt to win them over with his art ends with his landlady's dead cat covered in clay. His "sculpture" Dead Cat becomes a hit with the freak scene, but Walter's rising profile comes with a rising body count. After Walter debuts his second piece, Murdered Man, some people begin to suspect that Walter's lifelike sculptures might just be a little too lifelike. Made in the late 50s, A Bucket of Blood is a charming little B movie from Roger Corman's early period with American International Pictures. Made quickly (and cheaply), the movie has a morbid sense of humor about itself and features a great performance from Dick Miller. In his 50+ year acting career, Miller would go on to play characters named Walter or Walter Paisley more than a dozen times, but A Bucket of Blood has been, so far, his only lead performance in a film.

Rating: A Bucket of Fun%

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Gremlins 2: The New Batch

In the commentary for Gremlins 2: The New Batch, director Joe Dante describes the film as an "unnecessary sequel." Apparently, after the massive success of the first Gremlins film, Warner Brothers desperately wanted to cash-in with a sequel. Dante originally turned down the opportunity to direct the second film, but agreed to come on board a number of years later after he was given carte blanche and a budget roughly three times that of the original. What he gave Warner Brothers in return is quite possibly the most Joe Dante-ish film he's ever made, touching on virtually all of the directors trademarks (Looney Tunes, actors from the 1950s, Dick Miller, cameos for his other Roger Corman-era contemporaries, etc). The movie never takes itself too seriously, occasionally breaking the fourth wall and taking several opportunities to mock the original film. While it's not a movie that I get the urge to revisit as often as the original, I'm not sure that it would've been possible to make a better follow-up to the first movie.

Rating: Take That, Leonard Maltin%

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Night of the Creeps

Night of the Creeps (directed by Fred "Monster Squad" Dekker) is a real hodgepodge of a movie, it's sort of a zombie movie with hints of buddy comedy, slasher homage, college hijinks, "nerd gets the girl" fantasy, grizzled cop pastiche and 1950s-style sci-fi/horror. While that might sound like a jumbled mess, the movie is actually coherent and enjoyable. Basically, it's the story of some experimental alien slug parasite things that land on Earth in the 1950s. They infect some douchey frat guy who is subsequently cryogenically frozen for 30+ years until our nerdy heros release him from stasis in order to get into a fraternity so one of them can impress a sorority babe. The slug things start infecting people on campus and its up to the nerds, the hot chick and a mentally unstable cop to save the day. Now tell me, who can't relate to a story like that?

Rating: Screaming Like Banshees%

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Matinee

Matinee is a comedic coming of age story set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the glory days of the B movie. John Goodman plays Lawrence Woolsey, a stand-in for classic B movie mastermind William Castle, who shows up in town with his new monster movie, Mant, and a boatload of gimmicks. Matinee blends together a lot of elements from 1950's and 1960's American culture (cold war paranoia, juvenile deliquency, teen culture, etc.) which muddies up the time frame a bit, but doesn't distract from the movie as a whole. Matinee is Joe Dante's love letter to the bygone era of the B movie.

Rating: 90%

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