July 30th Horror Trivia Watchlist

To all those who came here from the event or the Trivia FB page, welcome! I am Jay, one half of the horror trivia quizmasters and this is my humble blog. Here's a selected list of titles mentioned at the last event. Click on the titles to be redirected to their Imdb listing. Horror Trivia Night happens at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto. If you're in the area, come on down! Register here.

Drag Me To Hell (2009)

Day of the Dead (1985)

Trick or Treat (1986)

The Alpha Incident (1978)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Ready or Not (2019)

Zombieland (2009)

Nightbreed (1990)

Cathy's Curse (1977)

Dead Snow (2009)

Cold Prey 2 (2008)

30 Days of Night (2007)

The Boogens (1981)

Frozen (2010)

Abominable (2006)

Storm Crow May Trivia, What's My Name?

Black & Blue.

It would appear the parting comments of my last post willed this one into existence. Here be my thoughts on George Mihalka's 1985 film Eternal Evil aka The Blue Man.

When people start dying around him, director Paul Sharpe (Winston Reckert) begins to suspect his recent dealings with astral projection may have something to do it.

When I picked this up a few weeks ago at Cultland, I had no knowledge of its existence - at least as Eternal Evil - but I was very happy to add it to my collection of crusty Canadian horrors. This film was directed by George Mihalka, best known for 1981 slasher staple and Moosehead commercial My Bloody Valentine and he definitely flexes his creative muscles in this one. The camerawork is wild, with it floating everywhere, suitably conveying the out-of-body nature of the subject matter. I noticed a sequence early on remniscent of Argento's Tenebrae, but Mihalka - and DOP Paul Van der Linden - almost one-up him when the camera seems to detach and float away.

I was pondering how many horror films are about astral projection and there really are only a few - at least of this era - and that surprises me because it's a terrifying concept. I guess we were just wrapped up with your average ghosties around this time to complicate things further I guess. About halfway through, when Reckert & Karen Black were walking across a bridge, I realized I recognized it, recalling that I rode actually over this bridge during the Montreal Horror Express in 2019.

I've been here!

Eternal Evil is decent overall I'd say. It meanders in the middle a bit, but it does offer some surprises. I also appreciated when it veered into giallo territory, one scene involving a red raincoated figure in an elevator comes to mind. The climax may be a little leading, but the payoff is satisfying enough to recommend. Thankfully, Karen Black gets to Karen Black with decidedly more to do here than she did a decade earlier in the 1973 Montreal-lensed thriller The Pyx. I can also confirm that this movie is not a Blue Man Group origin story... I'm sure I'm the first one to make that joke, right?

That's it for now, I'm shortly off to my yearly sojourn to Montreal for the Fantasia Film Festival. Until then, stay safe, kiddies.

The CanCon Continues!

Yes, let's keep it going here. As you saw in my last post, I was able to procure a copy of 1976's Death Weekend which I've been meaning to watch for some time as I gradually make my way through Will Fruet's genre filmography. Here goes.

A weekend getaway for a womanizing dentist (Chuck Shamata) and his new girlfriend (Brenda Vaccaro) turns deadly when they are set upon by a group of ne'er-do-wells.

I thought this movie slapped. While it could be said that - much like 1977's Rituals is likened to Deliverance - Death Weekend is the Canuck version of Straw Dogs, I feel it goes beyond mere homage. True, the story beats are similar, but this movie has two main strengths that stood out to me, the first of which were the stunts. Starting off with some really good car stuff that rivals most of the tax shelter canon, we also get some solid boat stuff and a good body burn too. Oh, and as soon as I saw the summer house, I was immediately, “oh I've seen this place before!” It's Eaton Hall, but it's certainly not as remote now as it was here, you can probably see the roller coasters at Canada's Wonderland from its balcony now.

The highlight of this picture though, is Vaccaro as Diane. From the get-go it is apparent that she is no bimbo. She's headstrong and not one to be pushed around. Hell, even her voice conveys confidence. Despite being in an environment where is she is surrounded by creeps - even her date Harry peeps at her through a two-way mirror in her bathroom - she is almost never a damsel in distress. I'm actually quite shocked that this character and performance is not mentioned more when cinephiles talk about exploitation heroines.

Brenda Vacarro as Diane in Death Weekend

Diane is also smart and resourceful beyond 99% of the women who populate these movies. When she's hiding in the night, she throws on a dark coat to hide her white sweater. When she tries to make it back to the car, she stays low in the cover of the tall grass. And most importantly, when she inevitably finds the dead body of her companion, she doesn't scream out in surprise. These things all probably sound like common sense, but in the world of genre film, they are exceedingly rare. If Diane's behaviour had been held up as a benchmark, we could have avoided so many of the soon-to-be stereotypes the horror genre would get lambasted for over the next twenty years. But, I digress.

I mentioned Straw Dogs before - it should also be said that Diane has a thousand per cent more agency than Dogs' Amy ever did - but there are also shades of Craven's Last House on the Left, if you swap out the keystone cops for some drunken gas station attendants. The distributors obviously clocked it too, as it was released as the similarly titled The House by the Lake in some markets.

Anyway, I'm pretty chuffed that Death Weekend lived up to the hype. I'd be interested to know how such a grounded and gritty start somehow morphed into pictures like Spasms & Killer Party just a decade later. If only Fruet wasn't such a recluse, I could find out! Check back next week for my thoughts on George Mihalka's Eternal Evil aka The Blue Man.

Cultland!

The VHS Renaissance continues, my friends! I was fortunate to visit a wonderful new establishment aptly called Cultland on the weekend!

Here is just a taste of the marvels within!

I, of course, could not go home empty handed and came away with these two Canadian corkers.

Visitation is currently by appointment only, but if you live near Hamilton, Ontario, you can book a time by going here. You won't be disappointed, as it is literally like stepping into a time machine. Just remember to be kind and rewind!

HCD!

Welcome To Dog Island.

Hey-o! I did it, four weeks, four CanCon flicks! Again, you'll have to forgive that I don't own the VHS, it's not for lack of trying because this is one I've been meaning to watch for a while; Paul Lynch's 1982 joint Humongous.

Six young people get stranded on an abondoned island only to find that are not alone - and whatever it is is hungry.

Truth be told, I probably would have sought this out sooner if I knew it was Canadian. I guess I expected it to be spelt “Humoungous” eh? Seriously though, Paul “Prom Night” Lynch directing and Anthony “Thrillkill” Kramreither producing is enough pedigree for me to partake. So, our movie begins on Labour Day 1946 and it got me thinking that not many - if any - horror films take place on that holiday. I guess this was the era where every slasher - which I guess this objectively is - had to take place on a special occasion.

I didn't get to dwell on that for long, because I was hit with a particularly grody and drawn out rape scene and subsequent dog mauling. Fun. Then it was present day and we meet a bunch of aloof teens(?) who go boating for some reason I can't remember. Among them, is Joy Boushel as Donna, but unfortunately she doesn't get to do much expect rub blueberries on her tits and get verbally abused by her dick boyfriend. No matter, in a few year's she'd get to be in that iconic “be afraid, be very afraid” scene in The Fly. Boushel may have only been in a handful of films, but she sure made an impression. Anyhoo, after picking up a random dude Dead Calm-style, the aforementioned dick boyfriend gets wasted and crashes the boat by doing what he was expressly told not to. 

I think the character who probably should've been the Final Girl of this picture was Carla (Janit Baldwin), but she unfortunately disappears during the climax and is literally tossed aside. She had good energy and reminded me of a mix of Andrea Martin and Sam Hanratty (Young Misty from Yellowjackets). She deserved better, and perhaps Baldwin knew that too because she soon quit acting and became a fashion designer. Maybe that explains why she was half-wearing her lifejacket for a bunch of scenes. She was a trend-setter!

Joy Boushel (left) & Janit Baldwin in Humongous.

I don't know if I have a bunch more to say about this movie. It sadly falls into the trap of low-budget movies where you spend a lot of time watching the characters walking and searching, searching and walking. I'm assuming it was also the budget that caused half of the death scenes to be off-screen. I mean, I get it, a lot of the original Friday the 13th kills were off-screen too, but that had more than six characters. Humongous is pretty much a cross between Madman and The Unseen with the climax decidedly lifted from Friday 2. However, since those guys pilfered heavily from Bay of Blood I can't really scold Lynch now, can I?

“You've done your job well and Mommy is pleased.”

I don't want to harp on the actual Final Girl of the picture, Sandy (Janet Julian) as she is perfectly fine. I got some Jess Harper vibes from her and she does stab the big bad in the dick with a No Trespassing sign so... points for that. It may not be as badass as the throat fisting finale in Just Before Dawn, but what is, really? I can tell you what isn't badass though. When our so-called hero Eric (David Wallace) sharpens a big stick down to a point and then proceeds to use it like a bat.

I hope you enjoyed CanCon June and here's wishing you have a happy Canada Day! Raise a Moosehead and think of your favourite flick from the Great White North!