Full Circle

Just a quick note to post about a webseries that recently hit the YouTubes. My filmmaker buddy Darryl Shaw, who has been kicking it in Japan for the last few years, just premiered his new web-series The Hounds of Asterisk. The first two eps are now up.

Now, puppy ownership may not sound all that malevolent, but if I know Darryl, things are about to get fucked up right quick. The “full circle” part of this equation is that within my 2013 short Lively, I had footage from one of Darryl's past works Garlic Bread Man vs Superbo Lasagna Man playing on the television. Well, responding in kind, in episode 2 of HoA, Darryl has Lively playing on the tube. It's just like the back-and-forth Raimi & Craven had going back in the day!

Anyway, enjoy! 

Evil is a Strong Word.

My intention to see out February with a final serial killer flick was thwarted by the fragility of analog media so TBD on that one. That meant I had to pivot to the next VHS off the pile, and another one from my recent jaunt to that antique warehouse, in Burt Kennedy's 1974 movie Evil in the Swamp.

A traveling photojournalist (Stacy Keach) picks up a young hitchhiker (Tim Parkison) and after taking him home to his family finds himself trapped in their company.

This will be a shorter one folks, as this was pretty plain. Keach was good in this role, maybe not as memorable as his turns in Road Games and The Gravy Train or even Class of 1999, but he steered the shp in what is a fairly straightforward and pedestrian script. Evil in the Swamp was painfully PG, and only real horror I experienced was from watching Keach absolutely cook his Chevy driving over all that uneven ground. Also, his red eyes on the coverbox are not my camera, they actually look like that for no discernable reason at all.

It was of no surprise to me to discover this originally aired as a Movie of the Week on ABC as All The Kind Strangers. A more apt title and the family in this story was by no means evil. Misguided, yes. Neglected, absolutely. And sure, they may have offed a couple of people and hid their cars ala Texas Chainsaw, but it didn't seem like there was anything intentionally malevolent going on. The television nature of it would explain why something so blasé would be able to land names like Stacy Keach and Samantha Eggar, who really didn't get to do much here. Maybe I'm overvaluing them I dunno.

Samantha Eggar & Stacy Keach in Evil in the Swamp.

Director Burt Kennedy was a seasoned pro who worked mostly on westerns, and with the help of two(!) cinematographers banged this out pretty workmanlike. At the end of the day, Evil in the Swamp just isn't all that memorable. The teleplays from my childhood in the early eighties seemed way more lurid and nightmare inducing, Don't Go To Sleep and Deadly Lessons come to mind. However, I'm not going to knock it too bad, this movie is surely not the first TV movie that got renamed and repackaged for video store shelves. Oh well, onto the next!

February Horror Trivia Watchlist

To all those who came here from the event or the FB or Instagram 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.

Iron Lung (2026)

Slaxx (2020)

Children of the Corn (1984)

The Children (1980)

Village of the Damned (1960)

Children of the Damned (1964)

Bloody Birthday (1981)

It's Alive III (1987)

The Bad Seed (1956)

The Good Son (1992)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

The Ruins (2008)

Fantasy Island (2020)

Shock Waves (1977)

Dead Calm (1989)

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)

Island of Lost Souls (1932)

Tremors (1990)

A New Addition

Hey all! I added a new piece to The Brain museum this weekend.

This piece is courtesy of Chris of Bavbusters. He 3D prints all kinds of movie creatures and when my buddy Schwartz sent me a link to this listing, I knew it must be mine. Less than two days later, it is now holding court in my living room.

Check out his Instagram @bavbusters, you won't be disappointed.

R.I.P Tom Noonan 1951-2026.

I was sad to hear about the passing of Tom Noonan this Feb 14th. He was a genre giant, not only in stature also in the roles he left behind.

R.I.P Tom Noonan 1951-2026.

As a filmmaker and actor, he played in dozen of films and television shows, including memorable roles in The Last Action Hero, Robocop 2 and Heat. He had terrific range, as evidenced in his turns as Frances Dolarhyde in Manhunter as well as the Frankenstein monster in The Monster Squad. His screen presence will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Tom.

Stop Me If You've Heard This One.

Next up is a movie I'd never heard of until my jaunt to the flea market last month, in Turi Meyers' direct-to-video effort Sleepstalker: The Sandman's Last Rites.

A serial killer dubbed The Sandman (Michael Harris) rises from the dead after his execution to go after the boy that got away. 

So there is a lot of sand in this movie. I mean, it's about a dude named The Sandman, but they really doubled down, nay tripled down, on the sand angle. The entire opening takes place in the desert and while the credits unfurled, I wondered if I hadn't put my tape of Dust Devil in by accident. No, I thought. This guy traipsing through the dunes didn't look nearly as cool as Robert Burke did. But I digress. One thing that did pump me up during this very sedate opening was the appearance of Gary Tunnicliffe's name. At least the effects would be good, right? RIGHT?

Shortly after, Jimmie Olsen and his wife get murdered by some weird serial murderer who recites nursery rhymes as he sprinkles sand in their eyes. For reals. However, before he can kill the son, the cops arrive and off him. Then, it eventually becomes apparent that this movie is really just NOES or Shocker or The Horror Show or The First Power, with a psycho using supernatural forces to come back from the dead to kill again. Which is fine, except Sleepstalker is not anywhere near as cool as any of those other films.

How many movies did you say have this plot?

While this movie does a have a whole bunch of fun supporting characters (which is at least an improvement over last week's title The Rain Killer), Ken Foree & Michael D. Roberts among them - man this would've been quite the dud without those two cats - the above the line cast are kind of mediocre. Michael Harris as The Sandman can't hold a candle to Mitch Pileggi or Brion James, and the lead Jay Underwood is severly lacking in charisma. Kathryn Morris as Megan is decent and pretty much the only one who gets to do a cool stunt at the very end of the movie.

This is not the look of a leading man.

I can't help but feel that the Sandman, which let's face it is ripped off from Marvel Comics, should be a lot cooler than it actually is. Despite the fact we get treated to some sweet nineties CGI for the times that real sand won't suffice, the character itself has many weaknesses, including sunlight, water and fire. Sure, he can fit through a keyhole, but that seems like a lot of disadvantages.

I could go on about some of the implausible subplots, like our whitest of whitebread hero's attempt to win a Pulitzer with a tell-all book about life on the streets, but it's really not worth the effort. Is this movie the worst ever? No, it's mildly entertaining, and may have been what got Meyers the gig directing Candyman 3 down the line, but I'd also say your time could be better served watching (or rewatching) those aformentioned titles instead. Or catch some Z's. Do want you want, I'm not your mom! Anyway, check back next week for my last serial killer yarn of the month.

Seek Shelter

Okay, here we are, another VHS Friday. This one is the 1990 serial killer thriller The Rain Killer.

A hardened cop Capra (Ray Sharkey) & an FBI agent Dalton (David Beecroft) attempt to track down a serial killer who strikes when it rains.

Hope you like that cover, because this pseudo-giallo was damp as fuck. I remembered the cover, which is why I picked it up in the first place and figured I'd seen it, as it would have come out during my tenure as a video store jockey, but I didn't remember thing one about it as it was unspooling. Though, of course, it could just be due to its super forgettability. But, let's break it down.

At the hop, I was met by some welcome sax and piano from Terry Plumeri (who a year later would score One False Move, one of the most underrated movies of the nineties) and watched some precipitation-bathed kill scenes for which I was onboard. However, then the energy just drained out of the movie, like water down an old rusty pipe.

Praying to the Rain God.

Perhaps the most prohibitive thing about it was the pacing. I mean, the movie starts off with three kills right away and then nothing for like an hour. In the interim, we had a lot of cop stuff and a thirty-minute obvious red herring setup that did nothing, except check the full frontal nudity box for whoever was keeping track at the production company.

The Rain Killer doesn't have anything to latch onto. The relationships, whether it be the frenemy duo of Capra & Dalton or the unsexy romance between Capra & Adele (Tania Coleridge), are just awkward and uninteresting. I re-watched Jeff Hathcock's Night Ripper last weekend, and say what you will about its quality (or lack thereof) there is at least something pure about it. This was shiny and wet, but far from appealing. And oh God, that sex scene in the living room... I wager zero blocking went into that scene. It's like they forgot they had to shoot it and just “banged” it out in one take before they hit the lights.

Ray Sharkey getting his Corey Hart on in The Rain Killer.

Michael Chiklis appeared as Capra's partner, but I found myself distracted by his headwear. As in plural. He had a new sports cap every few scenes - Chicago, New York, Boston, San Fran, like pick a team, man! It must have been intentional and a running joke on set, because if not, that continuity person needed to find a new line of work.

So anyway, once we finally limped to our conclusion, there's never any real explanation as to why the dude was killing chicks in the rain. Or how it was raining every day for two solid weeks in LA anyway. Like that doesn't happen normally, right? The Rain Killer cannot hold a sprinkle to last week's Relentless, which had a better cast, better banter, better set pieces, shit this director couldn't even make a car chase look interesting. I had to struggle just to pull a decent fucking GIF.

Anyway, I'm done with this movie. Hopefully, the next one is better. Have a good weekend and great Friday the 13th, kiddies!