Death by Video

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Maniac [1980] 

Directed By: William Lustig 

Starring: Joe Spinell (Frank Zito), Caroline Munro (Anna) and Tom Savini (Disco Boy)

Starting with a subtle nod to 'getting wood', the film starts as it means to go on. It comes off as deeply disturbing and immediately becomes visceral by dispatching the first victims in a typical serial killer fashion by slitting ones throat and strangling the other to death. Very much a nod to the Italian Giallo films that came before it. 

Where this seems to differ, is rather than having a mystery to unravel, the killer is the whole point of the story as we are treated to a front row seat to his continued insanity as he maims women whilst trying to justify his reasons. A fevered trip through a tortured mind, directed by Lustig and willfully enabled by the realistic SFX of Tom Savini.

It is still a slasher movie, but a more psychological take on the genre as we find out why the killer is taking lives and the more disturbing his actions, the more we are left to question his motives. Naturally each serial killer has a pattern to their killings, but Maniac is more focused on his behavior after each has taken place. With the victims scalps placed lovingly by hammer and nail, on an assortment of mannequins dressed just like the victims at their time of death.  

Joe Spinell comes off like a psychotic Ron Jeremy that has popped one viagra too many after trying to cope with some unknown trauma. So taking the scalps of nurses, prostitutes, and models seems to be sane behaviour in his eyes. He comes complete with a schnizophrenic inner monologue that likes to chastise him for his actions, especially when seeking comfort in the mannequins he is personifying inside his gaudy one bedroom apartment. 

In an attempt to be 'normal' he approaches a photographer (played by genre favourite Caroline Munro) that has inadvertantly taken a picture of him, and after stalking her at her apartment, she agrees to go out to dinner with him. Then despite the most uncomfortable lines uttered on a first date (you're most beautiful girl I've seen since my mom') she continues to see him until the dreaded moment she finally gets to meet her.

It all culminates at the grave of Frank's mother as he reveals to Anna that he used her to kill her friend and attempts to explain the cause of his continuing psychotic breakdown which has deep roots in the abuse suffered at the hands of his mother. Anna finally comes to her senses and escapes, leaving Frank wounded in the process. His final moments, as he bleeds to death in his apartment, are spent hallucinating as the mannequins of his victims come to life and rip him apart.

Maniac is based in an urban setting, proving once more than despite being surrounded by millions of people in the city that never sleeps, murder is still easy to commit. Influencing others to use New York as the seedy hunting ground as Lucio Fulci uses it twice, once in the final scenes of Zombie Flesh Eaters (the iconic scene where Zombies cross Brooklyn Bridge and again in New York Ripper. Not to mention Henenlotter's 'Basketcase' and even Lustig himself returns later to the city, serving to corrupt the image of law enforcement to put the fear into the innocent with Maniac Cop

The direction works incredibly well as it creates a sense of claustrophobia whenever 'Frank' goes in for the kill. It keeps such a tight shot on his victims and their struggle, it makes you feel like you are right there with them. Unless the attack is more dramatic, such as the demise of Disco Boy (played by Savini himself) as his head explodes thanks to well aimed shotgun shell. I can almost forgive the stereotypical slow motion build up to his death as it uses it in such a perfect way to lead to an inevitable demise at the hands of Spinell’s maniac. 

The vibe of the film is unsettling, as throughout the film whenever it’s focused upon 'Frank' all you can hear is heavy breathing, I'm not sure if this is just in his own mind or audible to those around him, but when mixed with Jay Chattaway's score, it succeeds in making each death scene more disturbing than the last. His score means that every half open door, or badly lit wardrobe could be yet another place for the psychotic Frank to hide away before he strikes.

Not until '86 will you have another film that so accurately portrays a serial killer from within, such as Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, Manhunter and a spate of other films improve upon the formula that Maniac so gleefully makes up as it goes along.

Apart from a few budget restraints which are skillfully avoided by featuring constant newspaper headlines to report Frank’s disturbing actions, and what was with THAT embarrassing photo-shoot montage that we are forced to endure.I felt as uncomfortable during that scene as Frank looked as he clutched his teddy bear! 

It is a fantastically made film that explores the psyche of a serial killer without the need to have detectives clumsily explain his motives, just proving that the most gruesome ideas can be realised in the cheapest way possible. Grim, sadistic and ultimately self-destructive. Frank Zito is the first true fictional serial killer that could really be living next door, waiting to strike.

Written by JJ.

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The Mutilator AKA Fall Break [1984]

Directed by: Buddy Cooper

Starring: Matt Mitler (Ed Jr), Ruth Martinez (Pam) and Frances Raines (Linda) 

For those expecting a classic slasher movie, this is a prime example as The Mutilator was made when studios started jumping on the Slasher movie bandwagon after the release of Halloween and Friday the 13th but it's almost impossible to explain the plot to the film without giving away the identity of the killer. To be unable to grasp the simplistic plot, you would have to remove both your eyes before viewing with a spoon, or if cutlery based eye gouging isn't your thing, just turn away from the screen for the film’s entire duration. 

After murdering his mother, and the most whimsical shotgun blast ever commited to film (imagine Kevin from 'The Wonder Years accidentily shooting his mom) the young Ed isn't implicated in her murder and years later, the only person who seems to hold a grudge is his father.  We cut to Ed, all grown up, now looking more and more like Jon Bernthal (better known as Shane from The Walking Dead). 

After some jovial references to his mothers 'accidental' murder by his so-called friends, you have a proto Stifler (from American Pie) named Ralph but plays his role as more of an asshole but with even shittier gags, another looks like Robert Rusler's long lost blonde twin who suffers from a distinct lack of charm (Rusler played Ron Grady in Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge) and even the actress playing the virgin looks painfully innocent to emphasise her role, I spent half the time confusing her with Angela from Sleepaway Camp.  

Ed is persuaded into locking up his now alcoholic father's cabin for winter, but stereotypically they use it as an excuse to party out at the beach. Fall Break here they come!

We're thrown head first into a very sitcom-esqe credit sequence that painfully recreates all those clichéd road movie gags complete with a theme song to fit the film's working title. I swear if I ever hear that theme again before I die, it'll be all too soon.

It hammers home that the father is out to kill his son via a series of flashbacks, so the audience are already aware of who the killer is, so the characters are the only ones surprised when they get killed. It turns out the dad, who in the right light can look a little like Robert Downey Jr, has chosen to set up his son and his friends to kill them one by one. 

Not a bad plan for an alcoholic mentalist!

The reveal of the true identity of the killer at the end is only a revelation to the main character Ed. So the audience just spends the films duration waiting for the obvious and outlandish kills to happen! 

The SFX created by Mark Shostrom, later to work on Evil Dead 2 and VideoDrome, when seen on screen is still visceral enough to get a shock when seeing it for the first time. Some of his work plays better when eluded to off-screen because the aftermath of an attack is where Shostrom shines, in particular Mike's death via a boat motor looks deadly, just a pity that the actor took far too long to die.

Most of the film plays out with first time actors, that make the banal dialogue seem forced and awkward. Throw in more extras that look like they've never been in front of a camera before, in some shots they throw a cheeky wink to the camera. Some tighter editing and quicker cuts would have made the film run smoothly but it seems that this was forgotten in post-production. Add a winding plot that borrows heavily from eighties teen flicks like Porkys but with half the naked flesh that the audience would expect from your average teen flick. 

The sinister music cues start to tip off the viewer that the killer is about to strike again, so much so it becomes routine. There's even moments when the score switches dramatically from light-hearted frolics to a tense atmosphere so quickly, it seems that some literally switched the tape in the deck.

If you enjoy your gore, there's some awesome deaths to watch but if you like your slasher movies free of corny dialogue and throwback seventies music, you're better off revisiting one of the original Friday the 13th films. But if you like laughing hard at the film and it's flaws, you'll be loving it.

Put it this way, there's no surprise that Buddy Cooper didn't continue his film-making career.

Written by JJ. 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Deathbyvideo

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Death By Video reviews Bad Taste [1987] 

Directed by: Peter Jackson 

Starring: Terry Potter [Ozzy] Peter O’Herne [Barry] Craig Smith [Giles] Mike Minett [Frank] and Doug Wren [Lord Crumb] 

Take a New Zealander with a disturbing obsession for gore, a virtual cast of unknowns and an idea about aliens using human beings for the latest intergalactic snack, and you've got Bad Taste. Literally.

Taking his cue from Special FX wizard Tom Savini, Peter Jackson, well known now for making the Lord of the Rings trilogy, started filming his own homemade shlock gore fest with himself and friends playing pretty much every role. It took nearly four years to complete but this is the film that made Peter Jackson a creative but unusual force to be reckoned with.

The aliens are led by an opressive figure called 'Lord Crumb', who is determined to make the human race the new exotic taste sensation to sweep the solar system, Crumb plus his hoarde of scummy 3rd class labourers replicate human form and 'farm' the town of Kaihoro, the name roughly translates from native Maori language as 'fast food revealing the fate of the townsfolk. As soon as the samples are tasted, Crumb expects demand to increase and before long a small town in New Zealand won't be the only victims on his intergalactic shit-list.

The film starts with a cry for help, a vision of the Queen and a call put out for the 'The Boys'. Before long they are knee-deep in alien corpses as the kills start to mount up, in more and more unusual ways. The first being my personal favourite as a Boris Johnson-alike has his brain explode in a shower of ketchup and offal, even later being devoured by a hungry 'Robert', played by Peter Jackson himself.

Jackson ended up playing two key roles. First of all Derek, the unhinged lunatic part of the team sent to repel the alien attack by AIDS, the unfortunate acronym used for the government agency who send the team in to investigate, and Robert, Crumb's right hand man. Derek comes off as a one man army, with a bottomless napsack, a mentality for torture and an unfortunate lack of balance that leads to his near death, but despite falling head first off a cliff, he survives by saving whats left of his brains with anything nearby, making him look like a combat ready Doctor Who from the Tom Baker era. His sanity is constantly being questioned as at one point he forces alien brains into his own for no apparent reason.  

You can see how it inspired others as Derek uses one unlucky alien bastard to shoot others through the stomach as this was recreated for Rodrieguez’s From Dusk until Dawn [1996]. Bad Taste still has the upper hand as Derek mimics the noises of the machine gun. Throw in some pop culture references to both Monty Python and The Beatles, with the shocked look on the face of the Paul MacCartney cut-out getting the most attention as it gets splattered with blood and intestines in Derek's modified morris minor. 

Over-exaggerated action sequences punctuate the films final third, as Ozzy, Barry and Frank battle the aliens on their home turf, determined to give these intergalactic bastards the glowing middle finger and send them packing, all the while accompanied by a rocking eighties metal soundtrack.  

Those looking for the purest example of a cult movie will find it in Bad Taste, and thanks to it’s influence, no one can longer make a film in New Zealand without blowing up an unsuspecting sheep. The only downside now is that the effects do look a little dated still the enthusiasm bleeds through and the comedy is still as dry and as relevant as a horror movie can be where the only agenda is nothing more than gross out horror. You will understand why Jackson was considered New Zealand's answer to Sam Raimi and The Evil Dead. Ultimately giving you the reason why this film was 'banned in Queensland' and more than likely probably still is.

I just hope that in some alternate universe, Derek stormed their home planet and used his chainsaw to turn them into the latest taste sensation. In the words of our insane hero, 'Suck my spinning steel shitheads'.... I wonder if we'll ever see a Bad Taste II?

Written by JJ.

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Death by Video reviews The Blob [1988] 

Directed by: Chuck Russell 

Starring: Kevin Dillon [Brian Flagg] Shawnee Smith [Meg Penny] Donovan Leitch Jr [Paul Taylor] and Jeffrey Demunn [Herb Gellar] 

From the beginning, starting with the establishing shot of the Earth and the long takes of the desolate town credit sequence, it has a very strong 'Carpenter' theme which lends to the films more serious tone. As with any remake, it almost wants to take a step away from the feel of the original and make it more unique, the original relied on a lot of exposition to deliver the scares whereas the remake strides purposely in the influence of the horror master to create a SFX laden horror classic. To begin with, it feels that all it's missing is Carpenter's name above the titles.

But remember, it isn't one of Carpenter's, this is one of the few sci-fi remakes that tries to tread new ground with an old idea. Changing dialogue and exposition for gore and special effects. Chuck Russell, previously known for directing one of the better Nightmare on Elm Street sequels, 'Dream Warriors' [sorry Wes, it definitely ranks above 'New Nightmare'] Chuck took the original film, defaces it with a neon purple sheen and throws it into the eighties movie blender to come up with a fresh take on the fifties creature feature.

Co-written by the now infamous Frank Darabont, the tone, the score and story have all been flipped to give the films preposterous subject a darker side, I just hope that he was responsible for the films greatest gag, the worlds first slow-burning condom joke! All the stereotypes are there, the jock, the joker, the rebel, played by the ever enigmatic Kevin Dillon, who proves that licking a cop can get you thrown out rather than thrown in jail; the cheerleader, a youung Shaunee Smith, now better know for being one of Jigsaw's first victims and eventual co-conspiritor in the Saw franchise.

Realism is key, gritty, banal shit that the characters have to do to ground the film in reality as much as possible. But when it changes gear to full on terror, it goes balls out! The contrast of the film is from grey monotony to purple fueled red gore as yet more fodder is found for the purple people eater.

The blob 'tends to dissolve and eat people from the inside out. It uses its acidic fluid to distort its victims as it kills them. Another subtle nod to Carpenter's 'The Thing' as the creature seems to have a disturbing sense of humour as it takes the sex equals death horror movie cliché to the next level as it kills a guy about to take advantage of a passed out girl, proving once and for all when purple tentacles start shooting from every hole in her face that definitely means no!

The film wears its influences on its sleeves, from the genetic traits of the creature by way of acidic  bodily fluid (a subtle nod towards Alien) and the way the creature absorbs the victim and controls their body to take out the next (borrowing from Carpenter's version of 'The Thing') and the odd surprise moment of Roger Corman-esque tentacle attack! At one point Dillon accidentily inspires the plot to 'I know what you did last summer by brandishing a meat hook in a freezer compartment. That said it still isn't above taking pot shots at slasher movies by the film within a film that features a chainsaw weilding hockey-mask wearing homicidal maniac!

Apart from the odd moment of dubious green screen action, some diabolical cartoonish tongue effects throughout the films finale, and some sneakily used strobe lighting to cover up some terrible stop-motion effects for the creature, it is a well written take on the creature feature. By the time you hit the films finale however the story begins to wane, as if it cannot decide which genre it wants to be a part of whether its horror, action or a dark comedy. When it does finally put its heart into its chosen genre it succeeds but the flip-flopping from one to the other leaves you a little disorientated. Especially when the homely, naïve cheerleader unexpectly goes full Ripley and starts weilding a M16 assault rifle like a life-long NRA member.

And the twist in the tale is that the blob isn't an alien creature from beyond the stars. Outer space, yes. Alien. No. As it's revealed, as ever by the sinister scientists sent in to help the townsfolk, that it is a product of a man-made biological warfare experiment controlled by the american government.

Even though it contradicts itself at times, I still love that it flips the typical movie convention of 'save the girl, save the world' to the cheerleader saving him and the whole town. Nearly.

The Blob was never going to be a classic, but I promise you it'll absorb you more than you think.

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Death By Video Reviews The Stuff [1985] 

Directed by: Larry Cohen

Starring: Michael Moriarty (David ‘Mo’Rutherford) Andrea Marcovicci (Nicole) and Scott Bloom (Jason)

I'm sure everyone remembers the original release of The Blob? It had Steve McQueen dispatching a giant killer blob from outer space. That film was all about communisn, as if the giant red alien thing didn't give it away. The Stuff however rages about capitalism, rather than letting the alien substance just flat out kill the general public, corporate america is packaging the damn stuff and allowing it to brainwash anyone cares for a certain creamy dessert, begging the question are you eating it or is it eating you?

The ex-eff-bee-eye agent cum anti-hero is good old Dave Rutherford who comes complete with his own self-perpetuated catchphrase, ‘The name's Mo Rutherford, they call me that 'cause when people give me money, I always want mo' If this flick was ever to be remade, Matthew McConoughy could mail in a sleazier version of Wooderson from  'Dazed and Confused' with all the charm of deceased George Bush Jr. 

Any character that needs to have a pissing contest with a woman over the size of his limosine must have some serious self-esteem problems!

His methods are pretty hollistic in style (eat your arse out Dirk Gently) as he conveniently happens to be in the right place at the right time. Through his bumbling detective work we meet Nicole (a Tamsin Grieg lookalike with a distinctly horrific eighties hairdo) who seems to exist purely to inspire lust in 'Mo' and to drive him finally take some action. Or as she spends most of the movie doing, screaming, falling over or burning Mo's face off in an attempt to save him from the stuff.

Every good anti-hero needs an idiotic sidekick, Mo's comes in the form of Jason, a bumbling shaving cream eating, big eyed, boy wonder that ends up doing things that'll only make you scream at the screen in frustration! The kid gives the worst green screen performance ever committed to celluloid.

From plastic headed zombies to casually drunk company executives, there's no one that Mo can't take on in the name of reclaiming human kinds own choice in pudding. But despite it's mind control properties it seems that it only has one flavour, Vanilla. Couldn't they have stuck in a chocolate flake or something?

The aftermath of each attack by the creature comes off like the unsightly remains of a night spent in the company of the Staypuft marshmallow man, but the film does nothing but follow the b-movie structure that Cohen is so lovingly paying homage to. With every brainwashed character portraying a pure definition of a happy consumer, each one of them becoming a walking, talking advertisement for the stuff. 

For any fan of the eighties creature feature, especially those with origins from outer space, The Stuff is a must, and once you have a taste, enough is never enough! 

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