H!TITDS Episode #70 - The Toolbox Murders

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Hello! This is the Doomed Show 14 - The Demon

Finally! Hello! This is the Doomed Show is back from a short hiatus. Between illnesses and birthdays and whatevers, duders needed some time. But we're back with an episode on The Demon from 1979. You can listen or download right here.  Want to check out some older episodes? Then please go to the archives located right here yo. Anyway, enjoy the show. We are going to try very hard not to make you wait so long for the next one. Try. Very. Haaarrrrrd.

Guest Blog: Underrated and Underseen Slasher Films Part 3

The night Brad came home!

Part 1
Part 2

Hauntedween (1991)

Hauntedween and I were made in the same place. But don't hold that against it. Twenty years ago, little Eddie took tickets at his families' haunted house attraction. But what he really wants is to work inside scaring people. So one night he goes inside and accidentally kills a girl. Sorta. I mean it could happen to anybody. I can't tell you how many girls I have accidentally killed over the years. I can't tell you because my lawyer says, “Blah blah blah jail.” Eddie has the right idea in running away for twenty years only to resurface when a fraternity needs a killer idea to raise a bunch of money. Eddie has a good idea. Hauntedween will tick off a bunch of items on your slasher checklist and throw in a few new ones to boot, like Eddie killing folks in front of an audience who think it's part of the performance. I can't tell you how many people I have killed during a 'performance.' I can't tell you because my lawyer says... well, see above. Add it all up and you have a slasher that is a hell of a lot of fun. Hauntedween will be released soon on DVD chock full of extras and I'll keep you posted on the date. I recently did an interview with the director Doug Robertson so keep an eye out for that.

The Demon (1979)

The Demon and I were released the same year. I sense a pattern forming. At some point, it seems like two different slasher films slammed together and I don't mean that in a bad way. I know this film does not have a great reputation but I like it quite a bit. Cameron Mitchell is on hand to chew the scenery as an ex-military man/psychic who is trying to track down a killer that is not a human, more than a human, and also: human. See? There's bits of Halloween here as The Demon is one of the earliest post Halloween slashers around; it's pre-Friday the 13^th even. The thing (other than Cam Mitchell) that sets this one apart is that the characters aren't crazy annoying, they're quite attractive, and the stalking sequences are pretty good. I wonder if the film's crappy appearance on a slew of public domain horror film sets is part of why it is derided. Well if it is kiddos, you now have no reason to hate it based purely on that because VCI has recently released The Demon in a nice new DVD version that can be found on Amazon for thirteen bucks. But remember: Don't put your trash in my backyard. Because my backyard is full. (See what I did there? No?)

The Comeback (1978)

After recovering from a nervous breakdown, Pop star Jack Jones' wife wants a divorce. The thing is, she is dead and Jack is living in a haunted British manor while working on his comeback with Bosley from Charlie's Angels. Of course, someone in an old woman mask is killing folks close to Jack. Don't you want to see that? This review and recommendation is writing itself, y'all. The Comeback is directed by British horror superstar Pete Walker. Holly (daughter of Jack) Palance is in it. She also played the suicidal nanny in The Omen. That gave me nightmares. Why are you still here? Go watch it!

Terror (1978)

Perhaps the flipside of the British horror coin of Pete Walker is Norman J. Warren. In 1978 he made a special film called Terror. It has been called the British Suspiria. Now don't get excited by that. I mean there are some similarities but what you have here is a nice little slasher film that is colorful in a similar way to Suspiria. I mean it's not as eye-popping. But there is a flying car so it's just like Harry Potter. Scorpion Releasing has just put out a double set of this and The Devil's Men (A.K.A. Land of the Minotaur) that I recommend. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about Terror. But it's there. Believe me.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Brad, you idiot. This is underseen/underrated slashers. Everyone knows this one. Everyone. Well folks, I'll tell you who has undervalued this film: Me. I've seen it several times over the years and I am well acquainted with it's history and it's spot in every top ten horror list. I know Tobe Hooper. I'm very close to his Salem's Lot. Sometimes I have lunch with The Funhouse. I once spent an afternoon with Eaten Alive. I respected TCM but I never uh, liked it? Blasphemy! Heresy! Well, I watched it the other day and it clicked. The cinematography, the pacing, the set design, the sound design, all of it. It was like seeing it for the first time. What changed? I don't know. Why did I put it on the list? So you guys can know how stupid I am? Nope. I put it here because you, like me, may have a film somewhere out there that you didn't like. Maybe you didn't like it several times. Maybe it'll just click with you sometime.

-Brad Hogue

Screen Shot Grab Bag: Cameron Mitchell

Nightmare in Wax

Nightmare in Wax
Directed by Bud Townsend
Released: 1969
Starring Cameron Mitchell, Anne Helm, Scott Brady, Berry Kroeger, Victoria Carroll
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Studio: Mill Creek (Gorehouse Greats)

After being horribly burned by his girlfriend's jealous suitor/manager, actor Vincent Renard (played by Cameron Mitchell) takes over the job of curator at the local wax museum. He uses a special serum to turn the people he blames for all of his problems into living statues (and passing them off as his wax creations) or sometimes he just kills them. The cops get wise to Vincent's scheme and try and stop him before any more innocent people get hurt. Hey, who gives a flying f-

For better or worse, I will follow Cameron Mitchell (Blood & Black Lace, Maneater of Hydra) wherever he will go. In this instance, I am taking a big fall for my old friend. Nightmare in Wax is a sloppy half-assed snoozer from the same production company that farted out Al Adamson's Blood of Dracula's Castle. Oh look, the two films share the same writer too. If only I'd done my homework before. Now don't get me wrong, Nightmare is watchable enough but it delivers the pain. The script is as muddled as the sound and Mitchell's propensity to mumble through his scenes makes for a frustrating experience if you are actually trying to follow what is going on.

Mitchell chews the scenery in an eye-patch while reliable TV actors Anne Helm (as our big haired heroine), Scott Brady (as the gruff detective), and Victoria Carroll (as the ditzy go-go dancer) get some hilariously banal dialogue to spout off during uninspired scenes. The occasionally skewed camera angles, garish lighting (I thought this was in 3-D for a few moments there), and out-of-focus fun can't make up for how dull Nightmare in Wax truly is. Cameron Mitchell kisses a corpse several times and wrestles with an actress's head poking through a prop table (looks painful) so I had a few laughs.

Quotes

"If I can't have you the right way, I shall have you... another way."


Gaze into my good eye.


Let the healing NOT begin.


Tell all the hep cats I'm back for revenge and stuff.


...and boy are my arms tired.


Vinnie, let me save the movie. PLEASE!


Give me that bass if you want to live.


Why won't Mr. Bava return my calls?


Yay, I got to move!


Hardy har har heartbreak at the expense of the viewer.

Bloody Movie

I'm a little sad after watching Bloody Movie AKA Terror Night and it's a little hard to be coherent about it. If I had turned it off after an hour, I would be okay. That's around the time where the first ending happens. Then the shit goes on for another 25 minutes where an entire scene of Shakespeare's Othello is performed. Not joking. I am totally serious. After an opening scene where a duder is tied to a tree and a moving vehicle and then ripped in half, I didn't expect things to go quite so sour. (Who am I kidding? If this had been Italian, I would think it was genius. DOUBLE STANDARD!)

The prolific and terrific John Ireland stars as Lance Howard, an old time movie star who will stop at nothing to protect his fortune. When a gang of useless college students (I think) show up to explore his 'deserted' mansion and make off with his loot, Howard begins dispatching them in the violent styles of the roles that made him famous. Shit, I just realized this movie has three fucking endings. What the hell is that about? Anyway...


Actual dialog from this scene:

Jo: "Oh yeah? Up yours!"
Angel: "Oh yeah? Up yours!"
Jo: "Up yours!"
Angel: "Up Yours!"
Jo: "Up yours!"

The cameos:







There a number of cameos in this flick: Alan Hale Jr.("Gilligan's Island"), Dan Haggerty ("The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams"), B-movie legend Aldo Ray, and my favorite goofball: Cameron Mitchell. Unfortunately, Mitchell doesn't show up until near the end (the second one) and gets about two minutes of screen time. However, he does make the most of it by hamming it up as a disgruntled detective.



There were three actors in Bloody Movie from Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama so I think I set my expectations way too high. I'm glad I got see Carla Baron once again. She plays Lorraine in this film, a woman whose single greatest talent is coitus interruptus. Michelle Bauer gets a ridiculously long nude scene. Another oddity: trash directors David DeCoteau and Fred Olen Ray are in the SPECIAL THANKS section of the credits.



So yeah, this dumb ass flick has gore (some good, some lame) and gratuitous nudity but trust me, I suffered for it. Cheesy metal and boobs for sure but there's also way too much exposition. Thanks for explaining the details of that land deal, Grizzly Adams. That's entertainment!



Related

Here's a better review of Bloody Movie

Maneater of Hydra

Maneater of Hydra
AKA La Isla de la Muerte
Directed by Mel Welles
Released: 1967
Starring Cameron Mitchell, George Martin, Elisa Montés, Rolf von Nauckhoff, Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, Kai Fischer, Hermann Nehlsen
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Studio: Shout! Factory

A group of tourists travel to an island to see its exotic botanicals. There they meet Baron von Weser (played by Cameron Mitchell), a reclusive scientist studying rare horticulture and experimenting with crossbreeding dangerous varieties of plants. One of the Baron’s creations is draining the blood of human beings (through a small hole in their cheek) and the tourists are dying one by one.

Mel Welles, the genius behind the inexplicably amazing Lady Frankenstein directs this junky little number. The lame and predictable dialogue is goofily dubbed and the storyline is totally generic monster movie pseudoscientific hokum. The worst scene in the movie features all the characters shouting about who or what is to blame for the recent killings. Most importantly however, Maneater of Hydra has a beautiful mansion, an exotic locale and a windstorm that never seems to let up.

Our cast of characters is headed up by total spazzoid Cameron Mitchell (a man who inspires great love and hatred in me) of Blood and Black Lace and Minnesota Clay. Cora Robertson (Czechoslovakian actress Kai Fischer) is a hot bag of cleavage in heat. The lovely and sweet Beth is played by Elisa Montés who would show up in Jess Franco’s 99 women. The most irritating character is the shrill and terrible Myrtle Callihan who shrieks and complains about everything. Trust me on this one: she should have been the first to die.

While Maneater of Hydra is strictly non-essential viewing (thanks mostly to some dull bits), it’s still a good time for a very boring Sunday afternoon (or a Saturday with a head cold (which is how I viewed it)). The way the creature sucks blood from people is pretty disgusting and the animated opening titles are just splendid. Plus, the climax is quite outrageous and very bloody.

“It looks like a cucumber but it tastes just like meat! Perfectly extraordinary!”

“I’m sorry but you were about to touch my giant… gardenias.”



While this film’s sketchy European origins (both Spain and Germany) are a big draw for me, I just had to get my hands on this DVD due to the presence of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. The presentation on this disc contains Elvira’s original hecklings from her “Movie Macabre” show. I consider it nothing short of a miracle that Shout! Factory DVD has released these amazing pieces of cheesy nostalgia. Even though Maneater of Hydra looks like garbage (full frame and full of scratches), I can’t see how restoration would help this horror dud in any way. Be sure to get the double feature with the excellent Spanish film The House that Screamed on the other disc.