The very talented actor George Segal just left us. Segal was a good dramatic actor as well as possessed of comedic timing. Segal had a long career and certainly will be missed. I include a clip from “The Terminal Man”, an adaptation of a Michael Crichton book. This was a harrowing look at science and technologies meant for good potentially having a disastrous and deadly side effect.
Miners uncover a piece of preserved dinosaur tail that ends up thawing in a scientific research facility. That ends up being an awful turn of events. The small bit of flesh soon grows and regenerates a complete dinosaur! The resilient reptile. Very soon, a full-fledged rampaging beast is on the loose and begins laying waste to the Denmark countryside where the tale takes place. There are bits of this fantasy film that I find actually enjoyable. There is a travelogue of sorts that appears near the middle of the film that highlights some of the festive night spots and activities [More]
A very strange film courtesy of director Curtis Harrington. This film is by turns ambitious, clumsy, inspired, dull, beautiful, ugly, and creepy in atmosphere. Harrington compiles, at times, an epic space adventure that involves our world and the inhabitants of another planet. It seems that Earth has detected an interstellar message that aliens are headed toward our planet to establish a meeting of the races. It is soon discovered that the aliens were waylaid enroute and crashed on the planet Mars. Earth dispatches a rescue mission to assist the downed craft. Our astronauts recover one living specimen but soon regret [More]
What the heck? It’s getting nearer to Halloween. Take a look at some of these pictures which all show an abnormal subject!
I was looking at the Phantasm (1979) trailer and I noticed actor Angus Scrimm, who played ungodly ghoul “The Tall Man” in this series, and “rocker” Gene Simmons of KISS band fame seem to share a few common traits. Check out Phantasm, the movie, and see if you can name a few similarities. Just thought of another one! Both are curators of an interdimensional collective of freaks! Heres the Phantasm trailer link: http://youtu.be/nJojkFFUsdo
Assemblage of concert footage features Pink Floyd in concert playing “Sheep”. This song appeared on their release “Animals”. The Pink Floyd concert experience was a mixed media event with film clips and visuals projected onto a massive screen, lasers, a light show, and huge props reflecting song subject matter. Here we witness a very saturated color film of the performance and hear the rich aural textures of synthesizer (Richard Wright), processed guitar (David Gilmour), reverberating vocals (Roger Waters) and driving drumbeats (Nick Mason) intermixed. Trippy to say the least. Nice use of vocoder near the end of this clip.
Two of Hollywood’s most beautiful stars at the time, Kevin Costner and Madeline Stowe, engage in an illicit affair in this Tony Scott directed film. The scorned husband of Stowe, Anthony Quinn, uncovers the truth and orchestrates an unremittingly grim beat down upon the two lovers. Shockingly violent and ugly, this is a movie plot conjured out of nightmares and grim fantasies. There are no hero saves the day moments in store, just a final, sickening realization within the main characters that maybe it would have been better to have just stayed the course and avoided the ruination of their lives that [More]
Another sad passing. This time it is Keith Emerson. A maestro and master of the keyboard instrument if ever one existed. His bands included The Nice, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, 3, and The Keith Emerson Band. Emerson fully integrated the newly emerging performance synthesizer into his already stellar piano and Hammond organ on stage arsenal. A true virtuoso and legendary performer, Emerson’s style and compositions will continue to influence far into the future. Seek out other clips on you tube and marvel.
Found another lovely article. This one is about blood sucking nasties lurking in our lakes, seas and oceans. The victim of this attack was able to secure samples of these parasites. Our authorities haven’t figured out what the things are yet but I’m sure their findings will be most interesting. See the article below: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/australian-teens-feet-bloodied-by-mystery-sea-creatures/ar-AApASFb?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp To further get into the skin crawling mode, check out this glorious trailer for the whacked out science fiction/horror hybrid, “The Flesh Eaters” from 1964. You will notice certain similarities….
Multi-instrumentalist and revolving UFO member MVP, Paul Raymond, passed away recently. Raymond played keyboards and guitar in many different iterations of UFO and had a memorable participation in The Michael Schenker Band. A very reliable addition to any band, his energy and enthusiasm will be missed in the music world.
Dependable British leading lady, Diana Rigg, is dead at 82. Rigg made a splash in the ’60’s as heroine Emma Peel in the iconic TV series, The Avengers. I have a fondness for her performance in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969) where she temporarily became Mrs. Bond to George Lazenby’s James Bond. Also did good work as crazed thespian Vincent Price’s daughter in “Theatre of Blood” (1973). She will be missed.
Wes Craven, creator of Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream directed this ’80’s science fiction horror film for television. The money must have been right. The movie is a clear cut example of good folk versus evil folk and it has a somewhat annoying 1980’s sheen to it. Robert Urich relocates his family to his new work site and residence. It turns out that the influencers in the community all belong to a fashionable country club. Low and behold, the country club harbors a malignant force that guarantees success or failure in the suburban, gated community that the family moves [More]
We mention the sad departing of the guy who wore “The Creature From The Black Lagoon” costume UNDERWATER for that great Universal monster series. The underwater sequence where the Creature mirrors the movie heroine’s movements is basically a well-choreographed ballet. Pretty amazing. We thank you, Ricou, for your great contributions to the moving image!
Tony Todd was recognized for his roles in the horror franchises “Candyman” and “Final Destination” and my personal favorite “Night of the Living Dead” (1990). Tony has recently passed away. Tood gave a strong performance as Ben in the 1990 “Dead” remake. Thrust into a nightmare scenario, Ben attempts to figure out how the dead have suddenly reanimated and why they are trying to eat the living. Pretty grim stuff. Ben and Barbara occupy a remote farmhouse and attempt to zombie proof the place and ensure their survival. Todd is very good in the part. R.I.P., Mr. Todd.