Review #1,443: 'Monster (Humanoids from the Deep)' (1980)

B-movie super producer Roger Corman has been called a lot of things over the years, usually by those opposed to his special brand of gore-and-boobs exploitation which was specifically designed to get those teenage behinds in seats and the profit margin tilted just enough in his favour for the next low-budget project. But say what you will about Corman - who is still active in the business at the age of 96 - the guy certainly knew what he was doing. Having viewed an early cut of Barbara Peeters' Monster (Humanoids from the Deep), he felt that it was fat too tame to compete in a marketplace that was beginning to be dominated by slasher flicks, so brought in another director to add more sex and violence. The result is now a cult classic, but also one that feels like two films awkwardly spliced together into one.

In the small fishing village of Noyo, the salmon are disappearing from the waters and tensions are mounting between the local fishermen and the Native American community. The arrival of a canning corporation sees the tension increase even further, as the Natives will lose their fishing rights should the cannery open. Tasked with keeping the peace is Sheriff Jim Hill (Doug McClure), who can see the argument from both sides but sees his patience tested by angry fisherman Hank Slattery (Vic Morrow). The answer to everybody's problems appears to arrive in the form of Dr. Susan Drake (Ann Turkel), a beautiful biologist who announces that, through the magic of genetic engineering, the local waters will not only be replenished with more salmon than ever before, but they will be bigger, faster and tastier. As it turns out, the lack of salmon in the water is the least of the sheriff's problems. After a fishing boat mysteriously explodes, dogs turn up dead and mangled, and the local women start being sexually harassed by slimy green humanoids from the deep.

With slasher movies rapidly becoming teenagers' preferred choice in the drive-ins and fleapit cinemas usually targeted by B-movie producers, Corman turned to a variety of genre classics for inspiration. The obvious inspiration is Creature from the Black Lagoon, but you can also see Jaws, Alien, Corman's own Attack of the Crab Monsters and even It's Alive in there, and this mixture of old and contemporary lends further to this feeling that you are watching multiple films at the same time. Monster can never really decide if its a town-in-peril drama with an environmental message, or a straight-forward rubber-suited-monsters-attack-scantily-clad-teenagers horror picture. Much of the movie moves at a slow pace, setting up a narrative that ultimately proves inconsequential when the deliriously over-the-top climax arrives and the town is set upon by a small army of the rapey creatures. Admittedly, the climax is a hell of a lot of fun, but it comes so later that it fails to make up for haphazard storytelling that came before. A special mention must go to the monster costumes which, although clearly men in suits, are suitably repulsive, if far from scary.


Directed by: Barbara Peeters
Starring: Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Vic Morrow, Cindy Weintraub, Anthony Pena
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,227: 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980)

As argued by Dante and Randal in Kevin Smith's slacker classic Clerks, the question of whether A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back is the better movie is one of cinema's most popular debates. Episode IV's introduction to George Lucas' world of aliens, droids and intergalactic war struck a chord with audiences back in 1977, and continues to do so today. It is a fun good vs. evil story that only touches upon the spiritual elements of the 'Force' that we now know so well, and on the vastness of the universe it is set within. Personally, I have to agree with Dante's argument that Empire offers a darker and richer experience, which not only develops the series' mythology even further, but paints its characters with far more layers than seen before.

We no doubt have George Lucas' lack of involvement in the film's development for that, as the witty script by Leigh Bracket and Raiders of the Lost Ark scribe Lawrence Kasdan keeps the action both exciting and with consequence, as well as maintaining a firm grasp on the characters' complicated relationships and personal roles in the expanding story. Director Irvin Kershner, who took over after Lucas bailed following a troubled pre-production, also brings the best out of the actors. Empire really transformed what was an interesting idea drawing inspiration from classic sci-fi serials and the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa into the billion-dollar beast it is today. These films are now so deeply rooted in our culture that it's almost difficult to classify the original trilogy as mere movies, they have now become something else entirely.

After succeeding in blowing up the Empire's planet-destroying Death Star, the Rebels, led by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), are hiding out on ice planet Hoth while the evil Darth Vader sends out trackers throughout the galaxy in the hope of tracking them down. Smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) wants to repair his ship and get back to his old ways with trusted Wookiee friend Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), but that doesn't prevent him from flirting with Leia (Carrie Fisher). When they are eventually spotted and the planet is attacked, the film does what most sequels do nowadays and splits everybody up. Han and Leia must escape through an asteroid field with the Empire in pursuit to seek refuge in Cloud City with old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), while Luke seeks out Dagobah to learn the ways of the Force from Jedi master Yoda (Frank Oz).

Even though I have seen this movie countless times, the arm hairs still stand up when John Williams' fantastic score kicks in during the opening crawl. From the on, Empire delivers a relentless assault of riveting set-pieces and iconic moments, from the attack on Hoth which still stands up to most modern blockbusters, to the gob-smacking twist at the climax now so routinely, and lovingly, spoofed. It also takes Darth Vader to a new level of villainy, as the helmeted Sith lord relentlessly pursues the young man he feels is strong in the ways of the Force, and brutally takes out any of his own underlings who make the mistake of failing him. It's certainly dark, but it's easy to forget just how exciting and engrossing it is also. Ending at an incredibly low point for most of the good guys involved with only a sliver of hope on the horizon, I can't imagine how much fans were left wanting more back in 1980 as the credits rolled. It will always be superior to A New Hope in my book, but you can't have one without the other, and both are damn near perfect.


Directed by: Irvin Kershner
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,113: 'Cruising' (1980)

Dogged by protests from the gay community over what many believed to be a negative depiction of their subculture and a final cut having to be hacked of a whole 40 minutes in order to secure an R rating, it is no exaggeration to say that William Friedkin's Cruising was one of the most controversial films to be released in the 1980s. Based on the novel by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, the project only interested Friedkin (after initially turning it down) when a man named Paul Bateson admitted to murdering members of the S & M community, having dismembered their bodies and tossed the remains into the nearby Hudson River. Friedkin worked with Bateson. a radiologist, on the set of The Exorcist (1973).

These murders are alluded to in Cruising, and ambitious cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is the man tasked with going undercover in the 'leather boy' community after a university professor is found tied-up and stabbed to death. Burns is young and handsome, and fits many of the victims' physical descriptions, and so is hand-picked for the job by police captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino). At first uncomfortable with a world where men openly 'cruise' for sex and wear different coloured handkerchiefs to signify their sexual preference, Burns nevertheless immerses himself in the role, deliberately keeping his wife Nancy (Karen Allen) in the dark about his work. As more victims turn up, the pressure on Steve to find the killer before they find him starts to affect him psychologically, especially when he starts to embrace the lifestyle.

Although there is still a stigma attached to Cruising 30 years after its release, the film has aged well. Claims that the film is negative and homophobic in its portrayal of the gay lifestyle seem somewhat misguided. While this is certainly a dark, pessimistic film, it never feels like the film is trying to convince you that what you are seeing is emblematic of the gay community as a whole. The scenes of writhing, sweaty men dressed in leather in the various clubs Burns frequents feel observational and free of judgement, with many real clubs and patrons employed for these moments. The friendship Burns chalks up with gay neighbour Ted (Don Scardino), who is in a fiery relationship with boyfriend Gregory (James Remar), represents gay life outside the S & M scene.

Controversies aside, the missing 40 minutes Friedkin was forced to leave on the cutting-room floor by the MPAA leave many questions unanswered. Cruising often feels like two-thirds of a complete film, with Burns' inner struggle with the stress and danger of his work, as well as the effect it starts to have on his home life, feeling particularly underdeveloped. With Burns inner psyche still a relative mystery at the end, the ambiguous ending is rather frustrating. Still, with no sign of the missing 40 minutes even existing anymore, Cruising works incredibly well as a mood piece. It has a grimy texture to it, as did many films to come out of New York in the 80s. Even if you aren't impressed by the twists and turns at the climax, the film still manages to crawl under your skin. It is also incredibly well performed, especially by Pacino, who was making some of the finest films of his career during this period.


Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Don Scardino, Joe Spinell
Country: USA/West Germany

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,027: 'Death Ship' (1980)

Take one look at the poster of Death Ship and its tagline 'those who survive the ghost ship would be better off dead!', and you can pretty much guess what you're in for. Death Ship is a run-of-the-mill, low-budget horror featuring a killer Nazi ship that feeds off blood and manages to lure some unfortunate genre archetypes on board for 90 minutes of rambling shenanigans. The one major plus that perhaps makes the film stand slightly above others of its kind is the presence of two genre legends - George Kennedy and Richard Crenna - both no doubt looking for an easy pay-day but lightening the mood nonetheless.

Grumpy and socially awkward Captain Ashland (Kennedy) is making his final voyage, transporting a ship full of dull socialites and holiday-makers around while his second-in-command Trevor Marshall (Crenna) waits patiently to take the reigns. When their ship is suddenly struck by a ghostly black freighter that blurts out warning messages in German, only a few survivors escape with their lives, drifting out to sea and eventually finding themselves on board the mysterious vessel. The group find nobody alive on board, and when the annoying lounge act Jackie (a young Saul Rubinek) is seemingly drowned by supernatural forces, it quickly becomes apparent that this is no ordinary ship.

The injured Ashland gradually becomes obsessed with taking command of the freighter, mocking Marshall for his lack of leadership qualities and developing a sudden fondness for the Third Reich. The scenes between Kennedy and Crenna, two strong leading men in their heyday, are when Death Ship is at its most enjoyable. Kennedy hams it up no end, but this only adds to the fun. Sadly these moments are few and far between, and the obvious lack of funding forces the movie to resort to endless scenes of inane chattering, gloomy shots of the ship's interior, and some terrible stock-footage where you can barely tell what's happening. One scene of Victoria Bugoyne trapped inside a shower spurting blood is undoubtedly memorable but inspires some unintentional laughs, but that is slim praise for a film that ultimately bores.


Directed by: Alvin Rakoff
Starring: George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso, Sally Ann Howes
Country: UK/Canada/USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #798: 'Contamination' (1980)

Eager to cash in on the faux-sequel success of Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) - which was dubbed Zombi 2 in an attempt to dupe audiences into believing it was the sequel to George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978), Italian director Luigi Cozzi released Alien Contamination on the back of the success of Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). The similarities between Contamination (as it was named in the UK and on the infamous 'video nasty' list) and Flesh Eaters are quite striking - they shared the same production building, they both star Ian McCulloch, and they are both pretty bad.

When a large and apparently empty ship pulls into New York Harbor, obnoxious NYPD lieutenant Tony Aris (Marino Mase) steps in to investigate. Soon enough, a dead, mangled body falls out of a cupboard, and the rest of the crew are discovered in a cramped space, all dead. The ship is transporting a large quantity of strange eggs that, when heated, explode, releasing a deadly fluid which causes anyone it splashes on to explode. The military call in Colonel Stella Holmes (Louise Marleau), who links the eggs to a recent mission to Mars, where astronaut Hubbard (McCulloch) returned claiming to have seen a nest of alien eggs only to have his claims dismissed by fellow astronaut Hamilton (Siegfried Rauch).

The main problem with Contamination - and there are a lot of them - is that the film is so carelessly put together in an attempt to blend various successful genre tropes of the time, that it neglects to offer any kind of explanation or logic to the alien's plan. The eggs burst, killing anyone near, but don't hatch and therefore increasing the alien population on Earth. In fact, there's only one 'cyclops monster' who overlooks the eggs. Add to the mix an increasingly sagging middle section in which very little happens apart from dull exposition, the film becomes confusing and nonsensical. The exploding bodies offer a little light humour as the actor's bloated mechanism is clearly visible, but this just adds to the air of tragedy, as it tries to desperately cash-in on the success of Alien.


Directed by: Luigi Cozzi
Starring: Louise Marleau, Ian McCulloch, Marino Masé, Siegfried Rauch
Country: Italy/West Germany

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #737: 'Nightmare City' (1980)

Of the countless Italian-produced zombie movies that came out in the late 1970's and 1980's, many of them can easily be labelled the worst of the lot. Nightmare City, a silly, gun-and-knife-wielding zombie attack movie directed by hack Umberto Lenzi, is certainly up (or down) there. With it's bland, beardy lead, nonsensical story, lazy plot devices and extremely dodgy make-up, Nightmare City is very bad indeed. But it just manages to squeeze a toe hair over the so-bad-it's-still-bad-but-bearable line and raises a few titters with it's ludicrous execution, and can also boast that it's not quite as bad as Zombie Creeping Flesh (1980).

'American' news reporter Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) travels to the airport to await the arrival of a scientist, whom he is to interview following a recent nuclear accident. When the plane arrives, it is surrounded by the military when no-one responds or opens the door. After a brief stand-off, the plane opens it's doors and dozens of bloodthirsty zombies pile out and attack the soldiers with guns, knives, bats and teeth. Eager to report the outbreak, Miller is halted by General Murchison (Mel Ferrer), who wants to hush the incident to save face. When his television station is attacked during the filming of some disco aerobics programme, Miller must find his wife and escape to the countryside.

Looking between a mixture of an out-of-date potato and a used teabag, the zombies here are much more human than your traditional Romero zombies, using weapons, moving at pace, and even clearly taking some sadistic pleasure when slitting a throat and carving a woman's breast off. As the film plods on, at a breakneck pace that somehow still manages to be boring, the make-up department seem to lose interest in the 'new' zombies and simply smear their faces with some dirt. But if Lenzi deserves credit for something, it's in keeping the violence inventive. There's eye gouging, stabbings, exploding heads and blood-drinking, and the fact that the gore looks absolutely crap makes it all the more fun.

The other familiar Lenzi traits are there, recognisable from his large collection of bizarre giallo such as Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972), Spasmo (1974), Eyeball (1975), and Cannibal Ferox (1981). This means lots of boobs. Every female attacked by the zombies seem to have their tops torn off. Didn't nurses wear bra's back then? We also the obligatory wrinkly has-been actor (Francisco Rabal - who made three films with Luis Bunuel) fondling a beautiful European model scene. It's quite despicable film-making if taking seriously, which you simply can't, you can only try and enjoy this for what it is, a film designed to make money by spilling some blood and showing some skin. But even that is hard, as when the film finishes with a 'twist', you feel like you've had 90 minutes of your life snatched away from you in some cruel joke. Pure dread, but it's earned an extra star through sheer audacity.


Directed by: Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter, Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Francisco Rabal
Country: Italy/Mexico/Spain

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #593: 'The Octagon' (1980)

A film that could be easily summed up as simply ninja terrorists and the sexual allure of Chuck Norris' hairy mammoth-chest, The Octagon is a standard martial arts actioner, involving a conspiratorial group of, well, ninja terrorists. Chuck Norris is Scott James (although I was convinced after Norris stated his character name that he was in fact Scotch Eggs), a martial artist who stumbles upon the organisation that is secretly training a hard-core team of terrorists in a camp of unknown location. He has to infiltrate and bring down the clandestine operation before they begin "terrorising". I'm guessing that ninja terrorists would work ridiculously as they would waste all that time stealthily and silently getting into targets, only to make a whole lot of noise on their way out: it just seems reductive to me.

Of course Norris gets an entourage collected on his way. From Lee Van Cleef's mercenary to Art Hindle's young martial artist with a case of premature penetration (that's not supposed to be euphemistic), but of course, as suggested by the appearance of his fur covered chest, one flash of this (in almost any Norris vehicle) sends the women giddy. It seems that just previous to any final battle in the action genre of this period, the hero will use his visual tool (here, of course, the suspect, revealing chest), and the usually younger female character will throw herself at him sexually, a cliched catalyst that empowers the machismo of the hero into ultimate battle.

Whilst wholly generic, the acting is inevitably dull. In an early scene the trainees of the oriental organisation are being shown the fighting techniques of the ninja, scythes and swords are shown penetrating watermelons. One trainee says glibly, with the characteristics and delivery of a red-neck on his tenth bottle of moonshine: "It would be a lot better it they used real people". To which is relied with: "They will". For some bizarre reason, when I sit down to watch any late '70's or '80's standard action film, I seem to believe that I am going to enjoy it. That somehow these films are fun and exciting. However, every time I convince myself of this, the film I watch is so incredibly dull. Perhaps it is simply that my movie watching habits have changed since being a wide-eyed youngster, and that these films were always awful. Maybe I will re-watch one from my youth that I will enjoy... Here's hoping, but it ain't this one.


Directed by: Eric Karson
Starring: Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, Lee Van Cleef, Art Hindle
Country: USA

Rating: *

Marc Ivamy

Review #508: 'The Shining' (1980)

Stanley Kubrick's films are consistent in creating indelible images; from the sexualised bare foot, being caressed in the title sequence of Lolita (1962); the ominous sight of the black obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); or the mechanical device holding Alex's "glazies" open in A Clockwork Orange (1974), his utter devotion to the image, its composition, complexity, and depth of meaning, leave his films plastered on your memory (Kubrick began his career as a still photographer for Look Magazine in New York). 1980's The Shining left the spectator with some of the most iconic and memorably haunting images in horror cinema (and in general cinema); the Grady girls, serene but disturbing, standing in the hallways of the Overlook Hotel; the blood gushing from the opening in the lifts doors; or Jack's face starring penetratingly through the axe-damaged door announcing, "Here's Johnny!" amongst other memorable imagery. Kubrick's meticulous approach to cinema, in all of it's forms, not only gave the world beautifully constructed images, but he also explored his subjects with such masterful detail, that his body of work reveals further complexity on repeat viewings - quite a unique ability.

Kubrick has a capacity to take a genre (previously a science fiction film in 2001..., a black comedy in Dr Strangelove... (1964), or historical epic in Spartacus (1960)) and strip it of it's overt conventions. Kubrick took a conventional ghost story, with all the visual trappings of the genre, and created a psychologically complex and enigmatic cinematic experience. Stephen King's novel of The Shining (published in 1977), is explicitly mystical in it's approach; for example, topiary animals within the grounds of the hotel come to life to chase characters. The film hides its secrets. What we do know within the film's space is that Danny (Danny Lloyd) - the young son of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), who has taken a job at the Overlook hotel, - has some extra sensory power, referred to by Scatman Crothers' Dick Hallorann as 'The Shining' (which is more explicitly explored in the longer US version - something I will come back to). It is eluded to when the Torrance family are shown the grounds of the hotel in the "Closing Day" sequence, that the hotel was built on ancient Indian burial ground, but never really expressly developed further, and also one incident involves supernatural intervention, but is an inescapable plot point.

Kubrick expressed an interested in the subject of ESP and the paranormal, specifically in psychic ability, in an interview with Michel Ciment, and it is this aspect of the story that creates the films many ambiguities. Is it specifically a "haunted" house, or are the psychic abilities of Danny (and possibly Jack?) creating psychic chaos, the rupturing of historic trauma? At the start of the film Jack is interviewed by the manager of the hotel (Stuart Ullman), and he is informed of an horrific event that occurred some years ago. The Grady family were hacked to death by the father/husband Delbert (Philip Stone), who had previously occupied the halls of the hotel, in the same employment position. Jack informs that his wife (Shelley Duvall) would be delighted with this history, being a "confirmed horror addict". Perhaps an apparition of Grady appears to Jack (he only sees "ghosts" when he is facing mirrors), to inform him of his families dysfunction. Is this a ghostly manifestation of the former janitor? A psychic memory brought on by Jack's own extra sensory ability? Or has isolation (or even cabin fever) gripped the increasingly anguished, and frustrated writer ("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"), and his own reflection has become a psychological transference of an historical narrative about the hotel? 

The Shining has that Kubrickian sense of ambiguity and imagistic beauty. Along with the beautifully composed shots, the camera itself becomes a haunting, and hypnotic character in the film. The Shining was one of the first films to utilise the recently invented Steadycam (Kubrick of course, went for the source and employed the inventor, Garrett Brown, to operate the camera), which gave the almost constantly moving camera, gliding through the labyrinthine corridors of the hotel. Another indelible image came from this (a now commonplace technique), the camera at a low level, following Danny on his tricycle, moving over wood and carpet, creating an in-camera sound that serendipitously produces impending horror, it's rhythmic pattern evoking fear - we are waiting for those Grady girls around every corner Danny takes.

The use of sound is always an important inclusion to a Kubrick production, and the most important part of this is music. Kubrick is the master of marrying music and image. He worked with composer Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, and they contributed the main theme, but much of the music was recorded from composite parts of musical pieces by the like of Ligeti and Bela Bartok. The layering of these esoteric compositions, creates throughout the film, absolute terror. The nerve-inducing strings shrill and scream in opposing juxtapositions, and the power of the sound, music and image are elevated when unified. This beautiful combination has led to the film being often cited as one of the greatest "scary" films of all time (Martin Scorsese named it one of his top 11 scary films). The author of the source novel, however, was not happy with the changes made to the narrative, and subsequently all of film and television adaptations of his work, were subject to his control. 

I was surprised to discover only around a month ago, that the version that I grew up with, and was released in Europe, was shorter than the US release. In fact a whole 30 minutes was absent. So I did watch the US version (as well as the "UK" edit), but found it to simply include some rather long scenes, largely dealing with unnecessary exposition involving Danny's relationship with "the boy who lives in my mouth" as he refers to his abilities, and with Jack's recent move to cold turkey after a drunken incident which resulted in violence towards his son. All of this exposition is not at all needed, as they are revealed more implicitly in later scenes. It was after the release in North America that Kubrick was aware that the film was not successful. Therefore, Kubrick re-edited the film, and released it to other territories in the shorter version. This was Kubrick's preferred version, and I have to agree with him. It is a far tighter film, and devolves a few overtly "ghostly" images, including a silly dinner scene with skeletal guests that Duvall sees towards the climax of the film.

The Shining is for me, one of the top five horror films of all time. It's mysteries, ambiguities and atmosphere culminates in a film that is genuinely terrifying. The experience of fright, horror, and fear is exacerbated on repeat viewings. This was the first time in many years that I watched it, and I was scared more than ever before. It's a richness of cinema that makes Kubrick the absolute master of every subject, any genre, and possibly everything that he touched. The very nature of the hypnotic stylistics of this film would leave me to associate it's mesmeric pace, and the camera's ability to hold its subject for long moments, with David Lynch's debut feature film Eraserhead (1977), which was an even more surreal inclusion to the horror genre. I have read that Kubrick saw the film, and was impressed, and The Shining was his next film. I believe Eraserhead could have been an influence - but this is speculation of course. With or without any conjecture of influence, The Shining is an incredibly rich cinematic experience, and has been furnished with many varying and interesting theories. The films ambiguities will be the subject of debate long after we all have disappeared, and that enduring quality means, for me at least, that Kubrick was (and is) the greatest filmmaker to possibly ever work in the medium.


Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Country: UK/USA

Rating: *****

Marc Ivamy

Review #505: 'Night of the Demon' (1980)

James C. Wasson's Night of the Demon (not to be confused with the 1957 Jacques Tourneur "classic" of the same name), is undoubtedly one of those films that would have been lost into the ether of forgotten trash, had it not been for moral crusaders involved in the ludicrous video nasty furore in the early 1980's. Of course, the likes of Mary Whitehouses' lobbying group, 'The Festival of Light' - along with MP Graham Bright, - would have only seen the "nasty" and gruesome shots from the accused films. Seeing a series of gore scenes from 79 films would surely grate on anyone (even someone who likes gore movies), and reading these outside of the context of the narrative fundamentally alters its meaning. In this low budget gore film, there are some significantly gruesome dismemberment and bloodletting - in one scene a motorcyclist has his penis ripped off whilst taking a leak at the roadside.

Night of the Demon is practically a slasher film (prevalent in the horror market at the time), in its approach of the infamous myth of the Bigfoot - or Sasquatch. Professor Nugent (Michael Cutt) takes a group of students to the wild wilderness of America, in search of the beast, who is suspected of being the culprit in some gruesome deaths. The films use of the flashback device is a simple technique used to fit as many kills in as possible. Nugent orates the history of the horrific deaths; each 3 to 6 minutes previous events are show in detail. Interviewing a local eccentric, they are guided towards a mysterious hermit woman, affectionately known as Crazy Wanda (Melanie Graham), and the myth of Sasquatch takes on a satanic edge, involving sexualised rituals, and offering of virgins. It's a bizarre inclusion to the narrative, but one that does eventually bring some obvious, silly, but semi-interesting ramifications - a kind of explicitly fantastical stereotyping of the redneck American "outback" of films like The Texas Chain-Saw Massacre (1974), or The Hills Have Eyes (1977).

Whilst overall the film is substantially awful, there are some technically accomplished - or at least effective - sequences. In the opening a man has his arm ripped off by the monster, the camera zooms onto the stump at the shoulder, the blood pours out, and as the title, Night of the Demon, emblazons the screen, the blood has filled a foot print in the mud of Bigfoot. It's an incredibly simple, but effective idea. Later a pair of girl guides are attacked, the beast bangs the girls together, as they stab each other with the knives in their hands. This incredible scene has the editing spirit of the shower scene from Psycho (1960), and cuts in some very gut churning shots of knife penetration.

Night of the Demon does have a few accomplished moments, but the film is generally a very haphazard production, with lamentable narrative drag, and incompetent performances (but it's preposterous to even criticise acting abilities in films like this). Of course, as you would expect also, from low budget horror, the monster - man in a suit - is stupid, looking like Chewbacca with a shaved face and an afro, and they save that beautiful reveal (sic) for the climax of the film. With all these bad elements, I have to say that it is not the worst of its kind. Night of the Demon offers some unintentional laughs, and possibly even some intentioned. Taking the gore scenes out of context would lead to some questioning of the film - some of the special effects are very well done for such a minuscule budget - but it is possibly far too amateurish to be absolutely convincing, but would certainly not damage the mind of any spectator.


Directed by: James C. Wasson
Starring: Michael Cutt, Joy Allen, Bob Collins
Country: USA

Rating: **

Marc Ivamy

Review #451: 'Forest of Fear' (1980)

Another one of those horror films that has more alternate titles than it has ideas, this zombie movie uses the moral standpoint of the anti-drug governmental policy for its main premise. A group of young people are growing their own cannabis plants in a remote area of wilderness. A strange and cheap looking government body, arranges a toxic chemical crop spray, to eliminate these plants. However, the secretive chemical used, turns its victims into flesh eating aggressors.

After this event, of course, various groups of campers are attacked, eviscerated and left in parts around the forests. The groups are filled with generic characters with uninteresting stories. The opening moments of the film is intriguing and slightly dramatic, but this moment of interest is short-lived, as it simply falls back into the standard zombie film of the time - and of course the trend for the zombie increased again in the 21st century, but this wave was indisputably horrific (in the sense that almost 90% of output was awful).

It was obviously a project made from the heart, with passion at its centre, as director Charles McCrann also wrote, edited produced, and even played the lead role of Tom Cole. This passion does show, despite the shoddy production - and you have to give someone a little credit for at least attempting to realise their dream. With a slight ecological message within the plot, it is absolutely not the worst of its kind, but not enough for a thorough recommendation. Also alternately known by Bloodeaters and Toxic Zombies (amongst others), we at least have a denouncement of right-wing governmental policy amongst the grue, lame zombie attacks and distressingly annoying screaming women.


Directed by: Charles McCrann
Starring: Charles McCrann, Beverly Shapiro, Dennis Helfend
Country: USA

Rating: *

Marc Ivamy

Review #442: 'The Island' (1980)

Oh, Peter Benchley, did you ever write a narrative that didn't involve the ocean in some manner? Well, no! After the huge success of his fishy saga, Jaws (both book and the massively superior film), his output was generic to say the least. The Deep (1977) was a story of deep sea divers, Hunters of the Reef (1978), is self-explanatory, and The Beast (1996), also incredibly obvious. And here, The Island, is a story of the high seas, of quasi-seventeenth century pirates, living in obscurity in modern-day Bahamas. A promising opening sees a crew of boat-dwellers being attacked, with all the gruesome and graphic horror of axes plunging into heads (reminiscent of the opening of John Carpenter's The Fog (1980 - Review #268) - but without the supernatural elements).

The opening sequence turns out to be a spate of mysterious "boat" disappearances, much like the Bermuda triangle enigma. Blair Maynard (Michael Caine), a New York journalist (of "Limey" origin), sets out for the island of Navidad with his son Justin (Jeffrey Frank). After a dramatic entrance to the island, they charter a boat for a father-son fishing trip, where they are kidnapped by pirates, headed by John (the always watchable David Warner). The son is bizarrely indoctrinated into the gang immediately, and he becomes instantly suspicious of his father (?). Did daddy not take you to Disneyland? Typical civilised children!

It's a pretty banal affair that becomes tiresome and predictable. Warner does bring his usual charm to the screen, but even he struggles with a tedious script. His pirate gang is littered with familiar faces (Dudley Sutton, Frank Middlemass, Don Henderson), and there are even some relatively humorous dialogue. For example, after the boarding of a boat, the female pirate, Beth (Angela Punch McGregor), asks what the white powder on the floor is. Blair answers: "It's medicine called cocaine." Beth: "What does it cure?" Blair: "Insecurity." However, this does not save a dubious affair, despite some competent direction from Michael Ritchie, who had previously worked on The Candidate (1972).


Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Starring: Michael Caine, David Warner, Angela Punch McGregor
Country: USA

Rating: **

Marc Ivamy

Review #438: 'Cannibal Holocaust' (1980)

Arguably the most infamous, controversial, and shocking of the video nasties, Ruggero Deodato managed to infuse a horror sub-genre flagging from over exposure, into a powerful piece of pseudo-documentary cinema, that still horrifies, traumatises and disgusts modern audiences. Italian genre cinema has always had a tendency towards imitation, and the cannibal sub-genre was one that was specific to the country, and by the mid 1970's was already dying a death. Deodato had made one previously, Last Cannibal World (1977), and he was pushed into making a "sequel" which he was reticent to do. However, after some time, he agreed, and seems to have taken the opportunity to actually comment on some very interesting observations on popular culture at the time.

Another sub-genre exploded and created a huge batch of imitators, the Mondo cycle started in the 1960's with Paulo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti's Mondo Cane (1962). With its use of documentary techniques, they delighted audiences with graphic depictions of exotic, bizarre, and archaic practises and incidents. However, as the market became flooded with imitation, the practices used to get the increasingly shocking images became questionable - these aggressive techniques even infiltrated news-media in the decade. What this means is that the creation of sensationalist stories (within the media and this cycle of pseudo-documentary/ethnographic expose), were often manipulated by the filmmakers, who would exploit the situation to make the story more interesting - exploitation which culminated in often horrific violence towards other humans. It is this element of pugnacious, and hostile form of reportage that inspired Deodato's new cannibal movie.

The film could be said to be a two part structure. In the first we follow Harold Monroe (Robert Kerman), a New York professor, is lead into the Amazon jungles in search of a group of filmmakers who had disappeared some time previously. Here the group encounter a primitive cannibal tribe, and discover film cans, left behind. The second half of the film focuses mainly upon the screenings of the shocking footage captured by the ill-fated documentary makers. From this "found footage" the professor, television producers, and us film spectators are shown the increasingly hostile tactics used to get shocking and scandalous images of an apparent primordial tribe of viscous people. But what it fundamentally highlights is the possibly more horrific nature of modernity, as it uses violence for the purpose of entertainment and procurement of profit, and it is this barbarism that becomes the four-person teams demise, and catastrophic deaths.

A contentious issue with the film is the very real killings of animals on the screen, and this coupled with the special effects of human death, creates a disjointing juxtaposition making it appear entirely realistic. The woman who has been placed onto a stake which protrudes through her mouth appears very real. These juxtapositions also created much of the controversy surrounding the project, and even lead to the director being accused of killing the cast. Even in its native Italy, the film was accused of being a genuine snuff film. It is no mistake that Deodato was able to use realist film vocabulary techniques to offer a complete experience - he had worked as assistant director on several of Roberto Rossellini's films (the master of Italian neo-realism). The film was inevitably banned in almost every country, and vilified as grotesque exploitation. But this claim is to completely miss the point of the film.

The impact of this film still can be seen today. Whilst it is now belatedly getting the kind of critical acclaim that it deserves, it still has the power to agitate and appal anyone who watches it - it even manages to horrify some more fanatical gore-hounds. Besides this, the influence of the film can still be seen to this day. In 1999, The Blair Witch Project, arguably lifted Cannibal Holocaust's main premise, and the found footage concept is being exhaustively used to this day (Cloverfield (2008), TrollHunter (2010) and Chronicle (2012) to name just three). At last in the UK we are able to view the film in its entirety, and whilst the film is genuinely horrific, the importance of the uncut version will suggest that the "meaning" can be fully explored. It is an incredible achievement of horror cinema, and should be seen by everyone (well, I wouldn't show it to a child - even though I saw a version at a young age). Powerful, important cinema, with an incredible amount to say about the savagery of our modern times.


Directed by: Ruggero Deodato
Starring: Robert Kerman, Carl Gabriel Yorke, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen
Country: Italy

Rating: *****

Marc Ivamy

Review #430: 'Maniac' (1980)

Released during the flood of slasher films after the successes of Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), this grittier, New York-set film, is closer to a character study (like the proceeding, and superior Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)), than the more fantastical killers of most stalk and slash fare. Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) represents the lone killer, preying on young, vulnerable (and incredibly stupid) women, and procures their scalps to dress his "flat-mates" (a collection of dress shop mannequins). He has many of the character traits of previous screen villains of this ilk, such as Norman Bates - Frank clearly has a mummy complex that manifests itself through audio flashbacks, illustrating a youth cradled with violence. Frank's raison d'etre here is quite simple, if slightly unnerving. He seems to be attempting to reconstruct the image of his mother onto these fibre-glass entities.

The story was written by Spinell himself (a man who could previously be seen in such classics as The Godfather (1972), Taxi Driver and Rocky (both 1976)), and his performance is fantastically sweaty and creepy. Being set in the grim New York, it is impossible to separate it from the real life killings of David Berkowitz (more commonly known as Son of Sam), and one scene particularly highlights these murders as an influence. A disco couple sit in a parked car (the male is played by Tom Savini, who also created the gruesome special effects), copping off, when a shotgun fires and Savini's head explodes to bloody effect.

What differentiates this from much of the films in the saturated sub-genre market is its realism, and sense of filth. But besides the more horrific elements, it even manages both pathos and even some very black humour. In the scenes in Frank's flat, he talks incessantly to the mannequins, and this becomes his downfall in an absurdist, paranoid finale. But perhaps what the film mostly left me with, was that 20th century society creates these kind of monsters due to isolation. We are continuously separating ourselves from the idea of community, locking ourselves within walls and minds. Perhaps a lesson should be learnt from the damaging effects of our capitalist consumer society.


Directed by: William Lustig
Starring: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Marc Ivamy

Review #405: 'Cannibal Apocalypse' (1980)

On a rescue mission in Vietnam, Norman Hopper (John Saxon) is bitten by two of his old drinking buddies Charlie (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) and Tom (Tony King) who are trapped in a pit and are feasting on the flesh of a charred Vietnamese woman when they are discovered. Back home, Norman is haunted by his memories, and has a strange urge to bite people. Charlie calls Norman after recently being released from hospital and wants to meet up, but before Norman can act, Charlie manages to kill some people and finds himself cornered and barricaded in a mall. Soon enough, more people are infected with this strange virus that seems to cause cannibalistic urges.

Another cannibal/zombie cash-in that was riding the wave caused by Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) and George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978), Cannibal Apocalypse attempts to blend the two horror sub-genre's but ends up being a bit of a mess. I never thought I would say this, but there is too little cannibalism, and certainly no apocalypse. There are brief moments of horror surrounded by long moments of police procedural and our flesh-hungry heroes running through sewers. The one saving grace is John Saxon, recognisable from many B-movie turd-fests, he provides a welcome familiar American face in this mainly Italian production from horror and western 'legend' Antonio Margheriti. Yet the film is entertaining enough to waste 90 minutes of your life on, and thankfully avoids being as unpleasant as other cannibal entries such as Cannibal Ferox (1981 - also starring Radice).


Directed by: Antonio Margheriti
Starring: John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner, Giovanni Lombardo Radice
Country: Italy/Spain

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #378: 'Zombi Holocaust' (1980)

A common occurrence with film titles, particularly in the international horror genre, is that many territories have different names - this film is on our grindhouse project list as Doctor Butcher M.D., but is also (exhaustively) known as: Island of the Last Zombie; Medical Deviate; Queen of the Cannibals; and even Zombie 3. The version of this film had the original Italian title. And boy is it a standard, generic cannibal/zombie film. After a series of strange mutilations and amputations in hospitals, a team make an expedition to the East Indies, in search of the answers to the strange ritualistic symbol left at each "murder".

The film is essentially two previous Italian schlock movies, Slave of the Cannibal God (1976) and Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979), combined. The team encounter what turns out to be a "crazy" doctor who has been experimenting on the dead local cannibals, manipulating them to his power. It's not a particularly memorable inclusion into a very crowded market. There are some effective gore sequences, but it doesn't at all save a very tired, predictable, and often clumsy narrative. There is one piece of dialogue that amused me, that occurred towards the beginning of the film, after a hand has been severed and stolen from a body used for medical education. A conversation between two medical students goes as follows: Student 1: "I bet it was you who chopped that hand off". Student 2: "Why would you say that?" Student 1: "Well, didn't you say you needed a hand to help you study?"


Directed by: Marino Girolami
Starring: Ian McCulloch, Alexandra Delli Colli, Sherry Buchanan
Country: Italy

Rating: **

Marc Ivamy

Review #375: 'The Boogeyman' (1980)

Like many horror films back in the 1980's (and even today), The Boogeyman takes its influence from John Carpenter's landmark in horror, Halloween (1978). While Michael Myers was the physical embodiment of the 'boogeyman' legend (I say legend, but it is more a term given to whatever scares little children at night), Ulli Lommel's shockingly shit video nasty goes the extra mile and adds a supernatural spin to the story in the shape of a haunted mirror.

The quite effective opening has a young girl and boy spying on their slutty mother as she seduces a man with a stocking on his head. They are spotted, and the man ties the boy to a bed while they have sex in another room. The girl cuts him loose with a large knife, and the boy then uses it to murder the man. Years later, the boy Willy (Nicholas Love) is mute, and the girl, Lacey (Suzanna Love), is psychologically troubled by the events of her childhood. Her psychiatrist Dr. Warren (John Carradine, looking like he's hoping nobody will notice his presence in the film) advises her husband Jake (Ron James) that she should go back to her childhood home to confront her demons. She does, and while there she sees the man wearing the stocking in the bedroom mirror, which she smashes. Jake pieces together the mirror and takes it home, when strange deaths start occurring.

Yes, this is as daft as it sounds. Horror movies have long made killers out of strange things (tomatoes, clowns, a house), but a mirror that influences suicides? Mmm. It's one of the strangest choices for a killer 'bad guy' I've come across in horror since the strangely likeable Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977). If anything, this at least separates it from other mundane entries into the slasher genre, but the film struggles along trying to juggle a story a sibling connection, psychological torment, and standard stalk-and-slash. There is a half-decent death involving a 'long kiss', but apart from this, it is instantly forgettable.


Directed by: Ulli Lommel
Starring: Suzanna Love, Ron James, Nicholas Love, John Carradine
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie