For the Love of Laughter, Horror (and Hosts), and CHEESE!

S. J. Martiene

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed a good laugh, a good fright, and have been exposed to my fair share of bad movies.  Growing up with Bugs Bunny, The Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, Johnny Carson, The Dean Martin Roasts, and the endless one-liners from the ORIGINAL Hollywood Squares game show, I became quite skilled with the “aside”, sarcasm, innuendo, and just downright belly-laughing guffaws.  Oh yeah, I failed to include HEE HAW in that mix (along with too many other names and shows).  That show instilled its own kind of humor which is still with me to this day.  During my pre-teen and teenage years, I was fortunate to spend some of my movie-watching hours at the drive-in.  To this day, I can remember vividly some of the shock, schlock, and shivers.  I remember the taste and the smell of the popcorn, the anticipation of the Intermission Countdown, and the crackle of the speakers. All of these are wonderful memories indeed, and helpful to drown out the painful thoughts of the hometown drive-in that was destroyed to make room for a strip mall.

Accompanied with this outside-the-home movie enjoyment, we had our own TV Horror Host (The Fear Monger).  Between his Saturday night escapades, I was exposed to arguably the greatest TV decade EVER, particularly for the horror, suspense, and crime genre.  Seriously, with fare like Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The NBC Mystery Movie, Circle of Fear, and movies like The Legend of Lizzie Borden, Crowhaven Farm, Don’t be Afraid of the Dark, and Gargoyles how could I NOT love it!!  I still watch these on coveted DVDs today!!!  Ah the 70’s, full of highs and many personal lows, but little did I know that it would be nearly another 20 years of living before another show would cram EVERYTHING together for me in a nice, neat Cowtown Puppet Show package.

FAST FORWARD:  March 1992

So I went to school, went to work, had moved to South Florida where I would meet my future husband and we would start our family.  In March ’92, I was watching The Comedy Channel (Comedy Central’s first name), and I discovered something beautiful.  There was this guy, with two robots, in a spaceship theater, and they were TALKING through The Crawling Hand. It was love at first sight.  Whenever work and life schedule would permit it, I was watching this show.  Then, I noticed the show always ended with a salute to “The authors of the First Amendment and The Teachers of America” AND then it would say…”KEEP CIRCULATING THE TAPES”.  SO I started recording the episodes as often as I could.   And it is this show that I have taught my boys to love and that we are STILL watching a quarter-century later:  Mystery Science Theater 3000.

As many know, MST3K started as a local show in Minneapolis (KTMA) in 1989 and was the brain-child of comedian-extraordinaire, Joel Hodgson.  It revolved around a maintenance guy (Joel Robinson played by Hodgson) who worked for two nefarious characters, Dr. Erhardt (Josh “Elvis” Weinstein) and Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu), at Gizmonic Institute.  He was forced into a human experiment of watching painfully bad movies to break his spirit. Erhardt and Forrester thought that the success of this experiment would further their advancement in conquering the world.  Joel, getting lonely in space, created robots from things he found around the ship.  These robots would become his children, friends, and sparring partners and two of them would even accompany him into the theater to share his movie experiences:  Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot.

Josh Weinstein gave Tom Servo life during the KTMA year and the “official” Season 1 on Comedy Central.  Trace Beaulieu managed Crow T. Robot from the beginning until MST3K left CC to join The Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) in 1997.  All of them, along with Kevin Murphy (Future Tom Servo), Michael J. Nelson (future host), and Bill Corbett (future Crow T. Robot), Frank Coniff (TV’s Frank who replace Weinstein in Season 2) and many others added their own comedy touches within the writing of the show.  The humor would normally stay current with many pop culture references to the 60’s and 70’s (which I identified with completely).  Every once in awhile, there will be a topical political joke or pun that could get lost in future years.  The greatest thing about this show is that it was great at being an “EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLITICAL JOKESTER”.  What I mean by that is that the SHOW did not take sides, and I loved that so much.  I remember that is why I loved Johnny Carson because he railed BOTH sides of the aisle.  For this reason and because the show never strayed from what it was – three characters sitting and making fun of movies, it will likely remain a cult favorite.  And let’s face it, most of us have talked to our TV sets all our lives!!!   AND…they got to do it in a THEATER…..now THAT was cool.

Another element that endeared me to Mystery Science Theater was it contained many characteristics of the “Horror Host” movies so prevalent in my younger years.  I became acquainted with the opening segments and skits between commercial breaks.  As a kid, I always felt this broke the tension of the very SCARY movies being aired that night.  As an adult, I found these bits filled with dry humor and wonderful sight gags that I continue to use today.  The tribute to the Horror Host was quite evident.  There were mad scientists, invention exchanges, running jokes from episode to episode, cheap props, and the destruction of civilizations – all neatly confined on the bone-shaped ship called The Satellite of Love.  Of course, there was an Umbilicus that connected them to Deep 13 (The Mads’ Lair), but that is going to lead to some tedious detail about the show’s final years…and well…..JUST WATCH, okay?????  In addition, there were all kinds of visitors and intruders on the SOL over the years; from Demon Dogs to Nanites.  Even a quarter-century after its birth, MST3K is still gaining fans and getting DVD releases each year.  Not bad for a show that used broken pieces of a Hungry Hungry Hippo game and Millennium Falcon model as parts for the set.

Lastly, the show EMBRACED the bad movie.  Lord knows that if Hollyweird knows how to put out one product well, it is the cheesy flick.  Not all of the MST3K library includes the horror/sci-fi genre either, sometimes it would delve into the Action (MST3K #614 San Francisco International), Fantasy (MST3K #505 The Magic Voyage of Sinbad), Teenage Angst (MST3K #507 I Accuse My Parents), and the occasional Ed Wood or Coleman Francis film (because they deserve their own category, don’t they? ... hmmmm???).  Personally, I love the horror and science fiction genres the best; HOWEVER, many laughs are to be had at the expense of these other films, along with the short subjects that sometimes accompany movies who’s running times needed padding.  If you are a child of the 1960’s, you may remember actually viewing some of those short subjects in school.  Personally, I remember seeing Keeping Neat and Clean (MST3K #613 The Sinister Urge) in one of our Health Classes, AND I am pretty sure I also was lucky (ahem) to see The Chicken of Tomorrow (MST3K #702 The Brute Man). I’m sure there were many others too.  It’s a shame today’s kids are not exposed to these cinematic morsels, but MY BOYS ARE…. hee hee hee.  And no, don’t call CPS, it is NOT an enforceable offense – I've checked.

We are fortunate today that Mystery Science Theater lives on through tapes, DVDs, and even is streamed through Netflix, Hulu, and shows can be found on YouTube.  Many of the show’s members branched out to do their own incarnations of MST3K in other ventures.  Joel Hodgson headed Cinematic Titanic which did live appearances and DVD releases.  They disbanded in 2013 as members (which included Frank Coniff and Trace Beaulieu) decided to do other projects.  Hodgson revived the old Comedy Central format of an MST3K Turkey Day celebration by running a humorous and heartfelt marathon on a YouTube channel on Thanksgiving Day 2013.  It was simply AMAZING!!!  The most successful spin-off has been the RiffTrax collaboration of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett.  The RT crew leaves NOTHING unscathed:  Shorts, serials, good movies, bad movies, blockbusters, or the blockbuster.  They utilize video-on-demand where customers have the option to download the movies to their own devices OR purchase DVD’s.  RiffTrax can also bypass excruciating “rights” purchases by just selling commentaries to movies most of can rent or readily acquire.  Do you know how much fun it has been to watch ALL the Star Wars movies completely riffed???  It is sheer joy, my friend…pure joy.

In conclusion, if you like to laugh and you don’t mind some of your precious little films getting stepped on, seek out Mystery Science Theater 3000, Cinematic Titanic, and RiffTrax.  DO IT!!  Do it NOW…..DON’T LOSE ANOTHER DAY!!!

www.mst3kinfo.com

www.cinematictitanic.com

www.rifftrax.com

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, or how a Little Plant named Audrey II took over the World!

THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) began when director Roger Corman was given temporary access to a set left standing from shooting A BUCKET OF BLOOD the year before.  Re-fitting the sets, Roger Corman shot the principle photography of LITTLE SHOP in two days and one night from a script penned by Charles B. Griffith who had also written A BUCKET OF BLOOD.  Originally planned as a spy thriller by Corman, Griffith wanted to do another horror comedy.  It was only after a night of heavy drinking that Griffith persuaded Corman to shoot Griffith’s screenplay about a man-eating plant titled The Passionate People Eater.  The film was cast primarily from Corman’s stable of stock players.  Dick Miller, who had played the protagonist in A BUCKET OF BLOOD was offered the lead role of Seymour Krelboyne but turned it down, opting for the smaller role of the flower-eating customer Burson Fouch, so Jonathan Haze was hired to play Seymour.  Charles B. Griffith played several smaller roles, with his father appearing as a dental patient and his grandmother as Seymour’s hypochondriac mother.

Seymour Krelboyne is a nebbish who works at a skid-row florist shop run by boss Gravis Mushnick (Mel Welles).  Seymour has a crush on co-worker Audrey Fulquard (Jackie Joseph), a sweet but naive girl with no idea of Seymour’s affections.  One day, after flubbing a flower order, Mushnick fires Seymour but Seymour persuades Mushnick to give him another chance by showing him a strange and unusual plant that Seymour has named the Audrey 2, much to the original Audrey’s delight.  Audrey explains to Mushnick that placing such an unusual plant in the run-down shop’s window might draw more ... or even some ... customers into the shop, Seymour is given the task of improving the drooping plant’s health.  Later that night, Seymour finds out the plant need human blood to sustain itself and, fearing the loss of his job and the added loss of Audrey, he feeds it drops of his own blood.  The plant thrives on this diet, which of course creates a difficult situation for Seymour.  Curious customers are lured to the shop to see this wondrous plant and for the first time, Mushnick’s making money!  The now-anemic Seymour learns from the plant (voiced by writer Charles B. Griffith) that it needs to be fed human flesh and, as a confused Seymour wanders beside some train tracks, in frustration he throws a rock which accidentally kills a man.  Guilt-ridden but resourceful, Seymour takes the body back to the shop and feeds the parts to Audrey 2.  This terrible act is seem by Mushnick who intends to turn Seymour over to the police but, in his greed, procrastinates.

Seymour develops a toothache and goes to sadistic dentist Dr. Farb (John Shaner), who forcefully tries to remove several of Seymour’s teeth.  Grabbing a sharp instrument, Seymour fights back and accidentally stabs to death the dentist then feeds the body parts to Audrey 2.  Enter two homicide detectives, Sgt. Joe Fink (Wally Campo) and his assistant Frank Stoolie (Jack Warford) who questions the visibly nervous Mushnick about the recent disappearances but they decide Mushnick knows nothing and depart.  By now, Audrey 2 has grown several feet taller and is beginning to bud as does Seymour and Audrey’s romance.  One night as Mushnick is staying with the plant while Seymour and Audrey go on a date, a robber (played by Charles B. Griffith) breaks into the shop and demands money.  Mushnick tells him the money is kept in the plant and, when the robber goes to look, he falls into the plant’s mouth and is eaten.  Seymour, depressed that his plant has been the cause of so many deaths, goes for a midnight stroll and is perused by a rather relentless streetwalker, whom he kills in desperation and feeds to Audrey 2.

Still lacking clues to the mysterious disappearances, Fink and Stoolie plan to attend a special sunset celebration at the shop during which Seymour will receive a trophy from a horticulturist society and Audrey 2’s buds are expected to open.  But when they do open, each has the face of one of the victims.  Terrified, Seymour runs from the shop with Fink and Stoolie in hot pursuit.  Seymour loses them in a junkyard and later returns to the shop where he grabs a knife and, leaping into the plant’s mouth, kills it.  When Audrey, Mushnick and the cops return to the shop, they see the plant begin to wither.  It’s one final bud opens and within is Seymour’s face which pitifully declares, “I didn’t mean it” before drooping over.  The End.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS 1960 trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amlXKaqk2jg

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was released August 5, 1960 as the second half of a double-feature with Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY and re-released a year later in a double-feature with THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH.  The estimated budget listed in The Internet Data Base is $27,000 but Corman remembers it as $30,000 and other sources place it’s budget as low as $22,000 to a high of $100,000.  No box office records exist for LITTLE SHOP but in his book How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime, Roger Corman states ““It was a let-down to make back the $30,000 negative cost with just a modest profit” and he didn’t copyright the movie, which has now gone into public domain.

The film’s popularity grew during the 1960-70’s with local horror hosts featuring it on their television programs.  Interest in the movie rekindled and it 1982, it became a hit off-Broadway horror rock musical called Little Shop of Horrors.  That later became a hit movie of the same title in 1986, directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin, Vincent Gardenia, James Belushi, John Candy, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest with Levi Stubbs, one of the original Four Tops singing group, voicing Audrey 2.  Packed with snappy musical numbers, written by Academy Award-winning song-smith Miles Goodman, and featuring energetic chorography by Jerry Zaks and Vince Pesce, the film became a moderate hit, garnering a box office of $38 million on a budget of $25 million but became a smash hit when released on home video.

LITTLE SHOP was nominated for two Academy Awards and one Golden Globe Award.  LITTLE SHOP also became the first DVD to be recalled due to content.  In 1998, Warner Brothers released a DVD that contained the approximately 23-minute original ending but it was in black and white without sound.  This angered distributor Geffen and the DVDs were pulled from store shelves within days and replaced with a second edition.  The discs that contain the original black and white footage are considered collector’s items, selling for as much as $150.00 on EBay.  But, the saga of LITTLE SHOP does not end there!  In 1991, it became the plot of a short-lived animated television show titled LITTLE SHOP in which a nebbish junior-high student named Seymour owns a man-eating plant named Audrey Jr.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS 1986 trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUC1nnZy3E8

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS which began as a little movie whose director has so little faith in its survival that he didn’t even copyright it has become big business.  It was announced in April 2009 that Declan O’Brien (“Sharktopus,” “Wrong Turn: Bloody Beginnings”) would helm yet another remake of LITTLE SHOP.  However, in an interview with Bloody Disgusting.com, Declan declared his version “won’t be a musical ... it’s will be dark.”  As of this writing, Declan’s version is still on the back burner.  On May 4, 2012, Warner-Brothers announced it’s in the planning stages of a remake of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and has hired “Glee” co-producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (“Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark” and MGM/ Screen Gems remake of “Carrie”) to write the script.  Mark Platt (“Drive”) will co-produce.  In addition, Variety reports that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES star Joseph Gordon-Levitt is circling the lead role of nerdy Seymour Krelboyne.  With the producer of Fox’s hit TV series “Glee” helming, it’s a safe bet that this version will be a restyling of the 1986 Frank Oz musical version.  No date has been set yet for the principle shooting schedule and no actors have yet been cast.

Five decades have passed since Roger Corman decided to use some old standing sets to film a quickie movie, and what a phenomenon that quirky, dark comedy THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS has become!  Lauded by film critics ... Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 91% freshness rating ... and laughed at by millions of viewers, it’s been released with a commentary track by Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Michael J. Nelson and in 2009 was released by Rifftrax with Nelson and fellow MST3K cast members Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.  Legend’s colorized version is also available from Amazon Video on Demand.  Apparently, there is no stopping the phenomenon that is THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

MSTjunkie

Junkyardfilm.com's Moldy Oldie Movie of the Month: LITTLE MURDERS

Title:  LITTLE MURDERS

Year of Release—Film:  1971

LITTLE MURDERS is a little-known gem of a black comedy.  Written by Jules Feiffer as a Broadway play, it’s directed by Alan Arkin (who also has a small role as a detective).  It stars Elliot Gould as an emotionally vacant “apathist,” Marcia Rodd as his overly aggressive, positive girlfriend, Vincent Gardenia as her often-hysterical father, Elizabeth Wilson as her platitude-spouting mother, Jon Krokes as her idiot brother and “introducing Donald Sutherland as the Minister.”

Albert (Gould), a once successful photographer who now specializes in taking photos of excrement, is being beaten by a gang of thugs outside the New York apartment building of Patsy (Rodd).  She tries to break it up and is rewarded by being beaten herself as Albert calmly strolls away.  Patsy escapes and runs after Albert, who explains that this happens to him all the time and he didn’t need help because soon the thugs would tire and go away.  It seems that Albert is so passive and non-aggressive that he cannot react to life.  Patsy sees this as a challenge and decides to show Albert how to be more positive.  In addition, she sees him as a man she can mold into the perfect husband.  Against his wishes, she courts him and he goes along because he finds her “comfortable.”

Despite his protestations that he hates all thing “family,” Patsy takes him to meet her folks.  In one of the movies best moments, Albert is quizzed by Patsy’s motor-mouth father (Gardenia) as Mom (Wilson) feeds the family and spouts endless platitudes such as “it’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness” during the all-too-frequent power-outages.  Mom shows Albert a photo album of her oldest son, a war hero, who was shot outside of a bodega.  The murder remains unsolved.  The younger brother is used more as comic relief as he giggles like a child and hides in closets.  Patsy decides to marry Albert.  He goes along with it with one exception ... there must be no mention of the deity at the ceremony.

After a long and fruitless search for a minister who will marry them under Albert’s directive (and an inspired scene where the couple are harangued by a justice of the peace, played by Lou Jacobi), they settle on Sutherland, a hippy Jesus-look-alike who marries them in a ceremony filled with pop-culture ideologies (and blatantly “outs” Patsy’s closeted gay brother).  The scene ends with almost the entire wedding party beating Albert and Sutherland.  Patsy, fed up with Albert’s non-reactions, goes home with her parents.  Albert, thinking the marriage is over before it even began, packs to leave.  Patsy storms back to their apartment and demands that Albert visit his parents in Chicago to find out why he can’t fight back.

Albert’s father (John Randolph) and mother (Doris Roberts) are a strange, emotionless, book loving and seemingly friendless couple who apparently never noticed Albert’s leaving home at age 17.  As he reads them the questionnaire prepared by Patsy, at first they spout theories from various books, then become bored and visibly uncomfortable and answer the remaining questions with a deadpan “I don’t remember.”  Albert returns to Patsy and promises to try to be the kind of man she wants.  They hug.  A stray bullet comes through the window, instantly killing Patsy!

Albert moves in with Patsy’s family and becomes comatose to the extent that the father has to hand-feed him, dress him and shave him.  The family has iron shutters placed on all the windows as non-stop gunfire sounds outside.  Arkin, a paranoid nervous wreck, is perfect in the small role as the detective in charge of investigating the murders of Patsy and Patsy’s older brother.  Arkin shouts to the family that the problems of the world are it’s passive citizens who are unwilling to deal with the reality of violence.  This rouses Albert  from his stupor and he goes out and buys a rifle and brings it back to the family.  They all take turns shooting innocent pedestrians from the front room window as the Mom sighs happily and says, “It’s so nice to have the family back together again.”

The boy-meets-girl story is as simple as it is dark and morbid.  It’s the era of a violent New York City...a time of brown water, frequent power outages and the Vietnam War.  Despair and paranoia filled the air.  Therefore, it only made sense that Jules Feiffer, noted cartoonist and writer would gather those feelings into one play.  However, Feiffer’s characters are so odd that his underlying intentions are unclear.  Alan Arkin brought those characters to life but seemingly left them to their own intentions and the results are often uneven and too broad.  According to a 1 January 1971 review, Roger Ebert claims Arkin said shortly after the film opened that he had only seen the movie once in a theater and was afraid to go again because he thought the movie was a flop because there was no pattern to the audience’s laughter.  People were laughing as individuals, almost uneasily, as specific things in the movie either touched them or clobbered them.  And that is the feeling most get while watching this.  One is left with a sense of isolation, with the humor feeling akin to laughing in a funeral home.  It feels wrong but it’s the only relief one gets from the uniquely offbeat but melancholy mood.

Fox released a DVD of LITTLE MURDERS in 2004 but finding a copy may be difficult and expensive.  It is available on Netflix.  So, if you are into pitch-black comedy that is well written, passably well directed and brilliantly acted, drop it in your queue.

MSTJunkie

Bobbie's Movies to Look For: TUCKER & DALE vs. EVIL

Title:  TUCKER & DALE vs. EVIL

Year of Release—Film:  2010

Two hillbilly rednecks, best friends Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) finally realize their life-long dream of owning a summer cabin up in the woods where they can drink beer and fish to their heart's content.  Stopping at a local gas station/general store, Tucker buys hardware and tools (ax, nail gun and nails, a scythe, hammers, chainsaw etc) while Dale spots a lovely collage girl who, along with her uppity college friends, are planning a weekend get-away in the very same woods.  Terrified of girls but encouraged by Tucker, Dale makes the worst first impression ever, causing the spooked collage kids to flee.  Unperturbed, Tucker and Dale continue on to their cabin.  Declaring the decrepit fixer-upper shack to be "Perfect!  Just needs a little dusting,” Tucker and Dale decide to do some night fishing.  Meanwhile, the snooty college kids decide to go skinny-dipping.  As the lovely college girl, Allison (Katrina Bowden) strips, she sees Tucker and Dale who are spying on her and she falls into the water, knocking herself unconscious.  Dale jumps in after her and, as Tucker pulls them both back into the boat, he yells "We got your friend" to her startled friends, who skedaddle in terror.  Murderous hillbillies have our friend!  What should we do!?!  Obnoxious, preppy Chad (Jesse Moss), who wants the lovely but dismissive Allison all to himself, decides they must rescue her at all costs.  Sending one of them back to town to get the sheriff (Phillip Granger), Chad attempts to organize the rest in an onslaught to save Allison.

 

By now, all of you hillbilly horror fans are thinking "Yeah, nothing we haven't seen before" and rolling your eyes.  Murderous hillbillies have been standard horror fare since the last dying banjo notes of DELIVERANCE (1972).  Mutant hillbillies in THE HILLS HAVE EYES.  Inbred hillbillies who live off the forest and the occasional and unlucky traveler in WRONG TURN.  The tribe of wild men living in the woods who take exception to intruders by slaughtering them in RITUALS.  But, with TUCKER AND DALE vs. EVIL, you'd be wrong.  Dead wrong.  Allow me to continue!

Bandaged Allison wakes up the next morning to see an ugly dog staring up at her and yawning.  Suddenly, the bedroom door opens and in walks Dale, carrying a breakfast tray.  Allison begins screaming, startling Dale who says "It's the pancakes!  She doesn't like pancakes!" and he leaves, slamming the door behind him.  A few minutes later, he returns with bacon and eggs.  Allison asks why she's here and Dale explains and they make each other acquaintance while playing a game of Trivial Pursuit, during which Dale shows surprising intellect and knowledge.  Meanwhile, outside the cabin, Tucker goes about his clean up by chainsawing into some fallen logs, one of which contains a beehive.  Unknown to Tucker, one of the college boys trying to rescue Allison is sneaking up behind him.  Badly bee-stung, Tucker, chainsaw still in hand, begins yelling and running.  The boy likewise begins yelling and running, thinking Tucker is out to do a Leatherface number on him.  He's wrong.  Dead wrong.

And so the deadly dance begins.  The college kids have the preconceived notion that all hillbillies must be ignorant, deadly backwoods killers bent on protecting their land from intruders.  And while Tucker and Dale aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, they come to the realization that the college kids have joined a suicide pact and that this must be the reason that they are killing themselves all over their new summer vacation home property!  The most hilarious part is there is no "bad thing" here.  The kids all off themselves through either their own stupidity or miscommunication.  All the gore that follows during that one bloody night is brought on by the notion that they must rescue Allison from the "bad guys.”  When in fact, Tucker and Dale are pleasant and polite, if not very smart, men who just want to go fishing and drink PBR.  But, frat-brat Chad is determined rescue Allie even if he has to kill her doing it.

Director Eli Craig, whose only claim to fame up to this point is being the youngest son of actress Sally Field, get his directorial debut with this highly entertaining hillbilly movie that knocks the Hick genre film a full 180 degrees.  He, along with co-writer Morgan Jurgenson, employ many horror and thriller film references (FRIDAY THE 13^th, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, FARGO) in this inventive script.  Labine and Tudyk are uproarishly hilarious as the bumbling country bumpkins.  Katrina Bowden as the lovely Allie, upon whom Dale has a serious crush, is compelling in her role as the sweet but at-first confused damsel in distress.  But it's not her distress but that of the preppy-turned-Rambo Chad that drives the bloody gore.  The rest of the cast were more or less disposable characters, as well they should be.  After all, aren't all college kids, bimbos and minorities disposable in the horror-gore genre?  Cinematographer David Geddes handles the tight interiors spaces of the shanty and the college kids van with inventive style and the exterior shots, supposedly set in West Virginia's Appalachians but actually filmed in Alberta, Canada, are skillfully done.

 

Set to be shown in limited theatrical locations beginning Sept 30 and currently available on Video on Demand, this comedy-horror film deserves an official DVD release.  And although I am including a youtube link to the official Redband trailer, I caution those who are planning on seeing TUCKER AND DALE vs. EVIL to refrain from clicking on it because the trailer shows most of the sight gags that make it work so well.  TUCKER AND DALE vs. EVIL will kill 'em with comedy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFFh25DmPNU

Enjoy!

MSTjunkie

Junkyardfilm.com's Moldy Oldie Movie of the Month: BURKE AND HARE

Title:  BURKE AND HARE

Year of Release—Film:  2010

Up the close and down the stair,

But and ben with Burke and Hare.

Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief,

Knox, the boy who buys the beef.

—19th-century Edinburgh jumping-rope rhyme

 Any student of macabre history knows the true story behind Burke and Hare and their yearlong murder-spree in Edinburgh in 1827 that left 17 people dead.  William Burke and William Hare, poor con men who immigrated from Ireland, learned that Dr. Knox of the prestigious Edinburgh Medical College needed cadavers for his anatomy lectures and they were all too eager to provide them for the cost of £10 each.

Their preferred method of dispatch was to first get the intended victim drunk, and then cover the victim’s mouth and nose until they died of suffocation (this method of murder became known as “burking’).  Burke and Hare’s last victim was Marjory Docherty whose body was discovered by boarder Ann Gray who reported her ghastly discovery to the police.  By the time the police arrived, Burke and Hare had already delivered the body to Dr. Knox.  An anonymous tip sent the police to Dr. Knox’s classroom where the body was under-going dissection.  The doctor, along with Burke and Hare were arrested but the doctor was soon released.  Hare was offered immunity from prosecution if he confessed and agreed to testify against Burke.  He did and Burke was publicly hanged on Jan. 28, 1829.  Ironically, his body was sent to the Edinburgh Medical College for public dissection.  There is no information of what became of Hare.

 “This is a true story.  Except for the parts that aren’t.”

 So begins BURKE AND HARE (2010) with Simon Pegg as William Burke and Andy Serkis as William Hare with Tom Wilkinson as Dr. Knox.  Bill Bailey plays the hangman who tells us this grim story of murder for profit while he dispatches the latest criminal and sells off the body to the highest bidder from two warring Edinburgh teaching colleges.  The law at that time decreed that only executed bodies could be used for dissection, pitting Dr. Knox against his rival, Dr. Monro (Tim Curry) in competition for legally obtained cadavers.  Enter Burke and Hare, two dim-witted but likeable con men trying to make a living in the mean streets of Edinburgh while William Hare’s dipsomaniac wife, Lucky (Jessica Hynes), runs a low-class boarding house.

One evening, the two Billies return home to find Lucky angry that one of her boarders has died owing her £4 rent.  She orders the two men to get rid of the body before it begins to stink up the place.  Bundling the body into a herring barrel, they decide to dispose of it by dumping it off the wharf.  But first, a dram wouldn’t hurt so, parking the barrel outside, they enter a local pub.  There they over-hear a man discussing a newly passed order that gives Dr. Monro sole ownership of all executed bodies, leaving Dr. Knox with none.  And Dr. Knox, who usually pays £3 per corpse, would probably pay double that now.  Pleased with the thought of not only getting rid of this body but also making some much-needed money, the two roll it on over to Dr. Knox’s house.  Dr. Knox is delighted and informs the pair that should they come across any more unfortunates, he would willingly take them off their hands for a handsome fee!

 Lucky, delighted by the money, drinks her way through two bottles of wine and then informs her husband and Burke that another boarder has died owing rent.  But, going upstairs, they discover that Old Joseph (Christopher Lee) is not dead, only dying.  They decide to help him along his way and sell his body to Dr. Knox.

 Now we get to the “Except for the parts that aren’t” section of the intro.  Dressing as dandies, the two Williams go to a local gin mill where Burke instantly falls in love with the curvaceous Ginny (Isla Fisher), a part-time prostitute and dancehall girl with dreams of the legitimate stage.  In order to make her dream of an all-female version of MACBETH come true, Ginny needs a sugar-daddy and Burke, who is passing himself off as a wealthy medical supplies salesman, seems a likely patsy.  So, in order to fund Ginny’s dreams, Burke, with Hare in tow, begins reducing the slum population of Edinburgh one resident at a time.  Meanwhile, an officious but diminutive Captain Tam McLintoch (Ronnie Corbett), alarmed by the upsurge of missing persons reports, begins his investigation.  And the Doctors Monro and Knox crank up their rivalry, vying for the King’s Royal Seal in a competition to see who can further medical technology in anatomy.

 BURKE AND HARE is director John Landis’ first theatrical release in over a decade and his first “across the Pond” since AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981).  And it’s proof that he has not lost his sense of black humor.  From a screenplay by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorecraft, this movie delights the audience with wonderful sight gags (the scene where Paul Whitehouse is pushed down the stairs is priceless!) and never loses its pacing.  The scene where Jessica Hynes has a “eureka moment” inventing funeral parlors is hilarious!  The period costuming and sets harkens back to the old days of Ealing Studios, where it was shot.

In an Oct. 20, 2010 interview with UK’s The Telegraph, John Landis is quoted as saying, “It is a very delicate balancing act that we need to do in the movie because really these two were horrible men, really evil, but we’re aiming for a very, very black comedy, and to make it work we need the audience to like them.  We’re turning these psychopaths into romantic leading men.”  Landis succeeded in that quest!  Bolstered by a fine supporting cast of British comedy icons that include Ronnie Corbett, Tim Curry, Bill Bailey and Reese Shearsmith, Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis shine in the lead roles.  Is it a perfect comedy?  No.  Sometimes the black humor crosses over to knockabout pantomime and schoolboy jokes.  But, over-all, this movie never loses sight of what it’s aiming for.  Not yet released in the United States, it truly deserves an official DVD release.  With a John Landis commentary track, please!

 Enjoy!  And I know you will!

 MSTJunkie

Bobbie's Essays: “Somewhere in Time and Space”: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Experiment Continues on

Mention MST3K in a room full of people and at least half of them will begin long, convoluted and sometimes heated discussions, as the other half either listens with rapt attention or flees the room.  Why?  Because anyone who is a MST-ie—as fans of the show call themselves—is obsessively seeking to enlighten those uninitiated to this comedy/fantasy world.

It all began in 1988 at a tiny Minneapolis UHF Station KTMA-TV when Jim Mallon approached the station manager with the idea of a new live-hosted show he'd dreamed up with comedian friend, Joel Hodgson and jack-of-all-trades, Kevin Murphy.  Because the station had a two-hour opening on Saturday mornings (but was short on funds), the station manager was intrigued.

Cobbling together a makeshift spacecraft set (dubbed the Satellite of Love or SOL for short) and roping in actor/ puppeteer Trace Beaulieu and a young music composer, Josh Weinstein, they came up with a concept.  Beaulieu and Weinstein would play two evil scientists called the Mads who shot a man into space and forced him to watch bad movies while they, living in Deep 13, would monitor the results.  In order to assuage his loneliness, Joel built two robots, Crow T. Robot (voiced by Beaulieu) and Beeper (later the name changed to Tom Servo and voiced by Weinstein).  They, along with Joel, would watch the movies and make quips (called riffing by fans) about them.  Clips from THE GREEN SLIME and a comedy skit by Joel were shot and shown to the station's owner, who approved it.  Mystery Science Theater 3000 was born!

Thanksgiving Day, 1988, saw the first show, INVADERS FROM THE DEEP, air.  Unsure of the audience's response, a phone number was flashed across the bottom of the screen and viewers were encouraged to call.  The next day, the entire phone answering machine tape was filled with calls!  Some callers castigated Joel for talking over the movie but most callers were excited, with one demanding "More!  More!  More!”  Happy to have a hit, the station's owner decided to make it a weekly show and for the next 13 Saturdays, Joel and the Bots (as fans call the robots) entertained fans with such titles as GAMERA vs. BARUGON, TIME OF THE APES and SST DEATH FLIGHT.  Because the running time of these and other movies was so short, the experiments were padded using ’shorts’, which, in these early days, were usually old serials like Commander Cody.  Fans ate it up!  The demand was so great, the show's run was expanded from the original 13 episodes to 21.

As the KTMA days came to a close, MST3K's creators approached Comedy Central, a fledgling cable channel, with a 'best-of' tape of the show and it was picked up.  The concept, along with the sets, changed.  No longer ad-libbed, head-writer Mike Nelson was added and Weinstein was replaced by Frank Conniff (as TV's Frank).  Murphy took over as Tom Servo's voice and puppeteer.  The show's popularity grew along with it's fan base and 11 more episodes were added to the original 13 ordered.  MST3K became Comedy Central’s signature show for the next seven seasons.  In 1993, MST3K won the prestigious Peabody Award for "producing an ingenious eclectic series.”  Between seasons 6 and 7, MST3K also filmed a theater-released movie titled THIS ISLAND EARTH, which was not well received by the show's fans.

However, storm clouds were forming on the show's horizon.  Trace Beaulieu, who's played the Mad Dr. Forrester and voiced Crow, left at the end season 6.  He was replaced by writer Mary Jo Pehl, who played Dr. Forrester's mother, Pearl Forrester.  Then, in the middle of season 5, Joel left the show.  Various reasons were given from his dislike of being on-camera to disagreements with producer Jim Mallon.  His exit was written into the show and, after watching a Joe Don Baker movie titled MITCHELL, Joel escapes the SOL, headed for Earth.  The Mads then send a dim-witted janitor named Mike (played by head-writer Mike Nelson) as a replacement subject.  Thus began what has become known as the Joel vs. Mike wars that flamed on for years on the Internet fan-based groups.  When Comedy Central announced the cancellation of the show, the Internet fan-based groups started a successful write-in campaign and in 1996, the show was picked up by the Sci-Fi channel.

Again, changes to the format were made.  Pearl became the head-Mad and, along with her idiotic sidekicks BoBo (a talking ape played by Murphy) and Observer (Bill Corbett as an alien who carries his brain in a dish), she torments Mike and the Bots by chasing after the SOL in a rocket-powered VW bus!  In addition, Corbett took over as Crow's voice and puppeteer.  Sci-Fi, true to it's name, demanded that MST3K focused on science fiction movies.  This also marked the beginning of the end for the 'shorts, the last being ROBOT RUMPUS with Gumby.

Thus began a four-year ride through outer space with Pearl, BoBo and Brain-Guy chasing along after the SOL and forcing them to watch terrible movies and under-go strange experiments.  However, as all good things must come to an end, the show was finally cancelled in 1999.  But, this wasn't the end for our MST crew!  Joel went on to produce and star in a HBO special titled TV WHEEL and continued to perform stand-up comedy.  Mike joined with Kevin and Bill to release four more bad films under the cover of THE FILM CREW, wrote several well-received humor books and released commentary tracks to horror cult classics such as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.  Mary Jo went back to doing stand-up and was featured on The Women of Comedy DVD.  July 2008 saw Mike Nelson create Rifftrax, an on-line movie voice-over of riffs.  Joel, along with Mary Jo, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff and Josh Weinstein started a countrywide theater act called Cinematic Titanic, in which they riff bad movies to enthusiastic live audience members.

But—I told you that to tell you this!  A decade after the show's cancellation, MST3K fans still abound.  Their Internet-based groups still hum with spirited discussions about the show and in-person meet-ups are well attended.  Show traders still keep 'circulating the tapes' and, now, the DVDs. Best Brains and now SHOUT keep releasing the shows on DVD.  How did this cow-town puppet show with zero budget grow to become such a phenomenon!?!  It certainly had nothing to do with the movies they showed!  Take for example a little gem titled MANOS: HANDS OF FATE.  Badly acted with an implausible plot and script, why in the hands of one actor with two puppets does it become a hit still discussed to this day!?!  MITCHELL, which was bad enough to drive Joel to abandon ship, would be recognized by any fan hearing the words "Any movie with 'wok-a-chicka wok-a-chicka' in it is okay by me.”  From bad creature flicks like GAMERA and GIANT GILA MONSTER to bad sci-fi movies such as TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE and SPACE MUTINY to gritty little crime dramas TORMENTED and KITTEN WITH A WHIP to Shakespeare's HAMLET, all were fair fodder to this wise-cracking threesome.  Their secret?  Treating these horrible movies with respect and humor.  And, treating their loyal audiences as one of themselves.  We were included in their little game.  Comfortable in the knowledge that 'the right ones will get it'.  And that we were them!  Fans felt as though they were part of a larger cause.  Some even went so far as to emulate the show with fan-created on-line shows of their own.

I will not get into a 'best of' and 'worst of' lists because what's one man's meat is another man's poison.  While TEENAGE STRANGLER may cause one fan to beat his head against a wall, another fan will argue it as comic genius.  Mention MST3K's last experiment DIABOLIC and some will defend its choice while other's will argue that the logical choice would have been THE CRAWLING EYE, Comedy Central’s debut MST3K, thereby creating a closed circle.  Ask any fan which was the first show they saw and they will tell you.  Often, it had such an impact on them that they can, and will, recite riffs from it.  Do I have my favorites?  Of course!  We all do!  So, to the crew of the Satellite Of Love and Deep 13, thank you for ten years of laughs, of Turkey Day marathons and MST Hour shows.  Thank you for continuing on with your live performance and your commentaries, your tours and your gentle good humor.  And, to borrow from that enthusiastic fan of decades ago, we fans say "More!  More!  More!"

MSTjunkie

DVD Review: THE LANDLORD

Title:  THE LANDLORD

Year of Release—Film:  2009

Year of Release—DVD:  2010

DVD Label:  Tempe Video

The third independent film up for review this month is Emil Hyde’s 2009 Horror-Comedy THE LANDLORD, written by Hyde, and starring Derek Dziak, Rom Barkhorder, Erin Myers, and Michelle Courvais.  The story concerns Tyler (Dziak), a Chicago landlord who runs the subdivided townhouse his sister Amy (Courvais) inherited from their parents, along with a pair of problem tenants.  However, these aren’t your normal difficult tenants.  It seems that Tyler’s parents were Satan-worshippers, and the tenants in question are a pair of demons named Rabisu and Lamashtu (Barkhorder and Lori Myers).

Though the pair leave Tyler alone, in part because they need his assistance, the same does not hold true for his human tenants.  The demons feed on human flesh, and the buildings other inhabitants are their primary food source.

Of course, this results in multiple missing persons cases, and almost constant police interest in the young owner of the property.  They’re convinced that Tyler is responsible for the disappearances, and only the lack of evidence, and the fact that Tyler’s sister is a police detective, have kept him free from arrest so far.

For his part, Tyler hates being in ‘partnership’, so to speak, with the evil beings, yet knows of no way to free himself of these bonds.  Rabisu, the male demon, is easy-going enough, at least for a flesh-eating angel of Hell who runs up Tyler’s credit cards with frequent purchases on the Shopping Channel.  Lamashtu however, better known as “… the queen of demons,” is another matter entirely.

Amy is no help in dealing with the two, as she has her own hands full.  Not only is she taking bribes from a gang of vampires in order to conceal their activities, but she and her partner Warren are carrying on an illicit affair.  Tyler is resigned to continue as always, as a virtual slave to the demons, until Donna (Erin Myers) moves in.  Suddenly, the landlord finds that he has a reason to challenge the demons, setting in motion a titanic struggle for the life of the innocent young woman.

The is the debut film for writer / director Hyde, and while there’s no confusing this film with a major studio production, it certainly is a good beginning for the young man.  IMDb.com lists the estimated budget for the movie at $22,000, and anyone who can produce—and distribute—a decent movie for less than the price of a new Chevy should certainly have a future in the business.  The script is good—not great, but it serves the purpose, and the plot manages to hang together.

The cast is adequate—they do well enough with the material they’re given, and, while no one truly shines, both Barkhorder and Courvais stand out from the crowd.  Barkhorder has a fine comedic delivery that works well with his character, and Courvais turns in the most convincing performance of the ensemble.

Fans of low-budget and independent film understand what they are in for when they pop a movie like THE LANDLORD into the player, and not only are they tolerant of its weaknesses, they actually find them enjoyable—as did I.  What many consider flaws, fans of the form see instead as “quirks,” the idiosyncrasies that make such films unique and memorable.  If you count yourself among the latter, then look for THE LANDLORD.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

DVD Review: HATCHET (Unrated Director's Cut)

Title: HATCHET (Unrated Director’s Cut)

Year of Release—Film: 2006

Year of Release—DVD: 2007

DVD Label: Lion’s Gate Home Entertainment

Everyone who’s into film dreams about getting a bunch of buddies together and making a movie of their own. Adam Green and his friends actually did that, in a process that began with two guys going to New Orleans and surreptitiously shooting footage for a trailer while on a swamp tour; it ended with a kick-ass old-fashioned Unstoppable Slasher movie that involves some of the biggest names in Horror.

Set in New Orleans, the story revolves around two buddies in town for Mardi Gras, Ben and Marcus. (Played very well by Joel David Moore and Deon Richmond) They separate from their friends to go investigate a haunted swamp tour, and wind up as part of a group consisting of an older married couple; a “producer” shooting a girls-gone-wild type video and his models, who conveniently flash their considerable assets at every opportunity; a mysterious local girl; a Chinese tour operator; and our two heroes.

The tour boat winds up sinking in a part of the bayou that’s closed off, supposedly due to the presence of an undead boogeyman by the name of Victor Crowley. Crowley, the deformed son of a bayou fisherman, burned to death years before as a result of a Halloween prank. Now, he haunts the bayou, killing anyone who lingers near the burned-out shell of his home.

The story is adequate for the purpose, and borrows freely from such Horror standards as the FRIDAY THE 13^TH movies and the HALLOWEEN films. Still, it’s done well, and the viewer doesn’t come away with the feeling that it’s just a rip-off of better movies. First-time director Adam Green demonstrates a thorough understanding of the genre, as well as a grasp on how to mix the comedic and horrific elements of the plot into a (mostly) seamless whole.

The film is helped along in large part to the casting of a couple of genre veterans in small roles, and one, Kane Hodder, in a major role as Crowley. The experience and fan appeal that Robert Englund, Tony Todd, and Hodder bring to the production overcomes the admittedly miniscule star power of the lead cast.

If writing these reviews has taught me anything, it’s which distributors know how to package a movie for DVD release, and which don’t. Lion’s Gate Home Entertainment definitely belongs in the former category. I’ve yet to see a poorly-done DVD from them, and their discs are usually so well-done that I can’t help commenting on that fact. HATCHET is no different, and even the most jaded videophiles should be pleased with the quality of this release.

This disc has a full range of Special Features, including commentary tracks, interviews, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the original trailer that gave the film it’s start. The best of these features is ANATOMY OF A KILL, an in-depth examination of just how one of the movie’s signature “kills” was conceived and carried out, without the use of CGI… and without a visible cut in the film! The scene in question is one of the best in the film, and knowing how it was done only makes the viewer marvel more at the ingenuity of the filmmakers.

Another feature worth watching is the genesis of the film, from Green’s childhood nightmares to finished movie. The story of how a small group of friends came together with a dream of making a good, old-fashioned Horror Film, and succeeded, is inspiring to those of us who share similar dreams.

Though it got scant attention from the mainstream press, the Horror community really sat up and took notice of HATCHET, conferring several important awards upon it. I can only agree with that recognition, as it’s easily one of the best movies of the year; certainly the best shot independently, for less than $15 million or so.

Of course, it does have flaws… every movie does. But given the limitations the filmmakers were working under, these flaws aren’t any real obstacles to enjoying the film. They’re the same problems you’d encounter with virtually any Low-Budget movie, and true fans of B-Grade Horror Films won’t be bothered by them.

Still, I wouldn’t pay full price for it, not that there are many movies that I would go full boat on. Fortunately, I found my copy in the $9.44 Bargain Rack at Wal-Mart. I have no qualms about going a ten-spot on an impulse DVD purchase, and believe me, I wasn’t disappointed. I don’t think you will be, either.

DVD Review: VIRGINIA CREEPERS: THE HORROR HOST TRADITION OF THE OLD DOMINION

Title: VIRGINIA CREEPERS: THE HORROR HOST TRADITION OF THE OLD DOMINION

Year of Release—Film: 2009

Year of Release—DVD: 2009

DVD Label: Horse Archer Productions


[Ed. Note: If you happen to be a host of such a program, and would like to see it reviewed here, please contact me at unimonster64@gmail.com.]

Though the Horror-Host phenomena of the late ‘50’s through the ‘70’s was a national one, it’s readily apparent that some areas of the country were more receptive to the concept than others. Chicago was a hotbed of hosts, as was Cleveland, Ohio. The Midwest in general seemed more eager to accept the idea of the Horror-Host than most of the country, with the possible exception of the South. And of the Southern states, Virginia had perhaps the richest history of Hosted Horror shows. A new documentary from Horse Archer Productions [http://www.horsearcherproductions.com] explores that history, and looks at the future of Horror-Hosting in the Old Dominion state.

VIRGINIA CREEPERS: THE HORROR HOST TRADITION OF THE OLD DOMINION is the work of long-time friend of the Crypt Sean Kotz and co-producer/director Christopher Valluzzo. Hosted by Mr. Lobo, the host of the nationally syndicated Cinema Insomnia, currently on air in Richmond, Virginia, this is an affectionate memoir by Virginians, for Virginians. But that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that those of us from the rest of the country who love the Horror-Host tradition can’t take from this—in fact, that’s one of the film’s strengths. Not all of us come from a place with such a thriving legacy of Hosted Horror shows, yet all of us can relate to the way the Hosts and the fans connected in such a personal way. Hosts were more than middle-aged men in fright wigs and make-up; they were our escorts through the stygian darkness, lighting the way with humor and a friendly presence. These might not have been our Hosts, but we recognize the archetype, and the kindred spirits who called them their own.

From Virginia’s first Host, Jonathan, of Nightmare Theater on Roanoke’s WSLS-10, who debuted in 1958, to Karlos Borloff, the modern-day host of Monster Madhouse, on Fairfax Public Access (FPA-10), virtually every Host of the Dominion state is examined, through archival footage, photographs, audio recordings, and interviews—dozens of interviews. Most of the interviewees are the Hosts themselves, and those who were closely connected with the productions. Many are the fans who still have vivid recollections of watching their favorite Host or Hostess decades before. All convey the impression that, whatever else may have been happening in the state at that point in time, it has always been a hospitable climate for the Horror-Host. Though the documentary has a two-hour run-time, it seldom drags. The large number of Hosts covered insures that the film moves briskly from one to another, leaving little excess time to slow down the pacing. The music is a definite selling point for the film, as it adds a lively background mood to what could otherwise be a rather dry series of interviews.

The disc does have one flaw worth noting, though it is more of an issue with the DVD, rather than the film itself. That flaw, a significant one to the Unimonster’s tired old ears, is the lack of either subtitles or closed-captioning. The closer I get to the half-century mark, the less tolerance I have for low audio levels. While a person with normal hearing would doubtless have no problem with the lack of such amenities, they are bothersome to me. These are minor flaws, however, and don’t do more than cause a minimal distraction from the viewer’s enjoyment of the film.

One caveat is in order before I give this disc my enthusiastic recommendation. As long-time readers are aware, the first incarnation of the Unimonster’s Crypt was my regular column at Sean Kotz’s Creaturescape.com, and I still consider Sean a good friend in the horror community. One of the Hosts that are featured in this documentary is Count Gore De Vol, another good friend and someone who kindly reposts my rants and tantrums at his site. Some may wonder if the close involvement of two friends of mine has influenced my recommendation in any way, to which I respond, “Of course it has!” That by no means detracts from this documentary, from how much I enjoyed it, or from the validity of that recommendation. If you’re someone who shares the Unimonster’s love of Hosted-Horror shows, then you owe it to yourself to visit http://virginiacreepersmovie.com and decide for yourself.