Trailer Tuesdays: Inseminoid

Here's a trailer that I think bridges the gap between what I posted yesterday and what I'm posting tomorrow. Enjoy!

A Bad Robot Mystery.

Two months ago, Bad Robot surprised everyone with a trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane. Just as they did with the original Cloverfield, they were somehow able to shroud the entire production in secrecy – a feat that becomes more and more impressive with each passing year.

Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in an underground bunker after being saved by a man named Howard (John Goodman) who tells her that the world above them has ended.

10 Cloverfield Lane is an interesting beast because it's a hybrid of two separate ideas. The project began in 2012 as a script called The Cellar, which was later re-appropriated to fit into the Cloverfield universe. I'll talk more about that later, but right now I want to focus on the piece's biggest strength.

You've probably heard about how great John Goodman is in this, and I agree. Howard can be added to his long list of memorable characters. He's an unsettling presence throughout that you never really feel comfortable around because you are never quite sure if his behaviour is malicious or just plain awkward. As solid as Goodman is though, I also feel that Mary Elizabeth Winstead deserves just as much praise. She is one of a few actresses that can not only balance vulnerability and strength, but always remain grounded and relatable while doing it. Her role here just further cemented her place as one of my favourite actresses working today. The third player in the film, John Gallagher Jr. as Emmett, is also great as the intermediary between the two.

Howard (John Goodman) & Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in 10 Cloverfield Lane.

With the help of the confined setting, director Dan Trachtenberg created some real tension here. After cutting his teeth on a decade's worth of commercials, this was a very competent debut. Given the piece's intimate tone, I'm very impressed he had the confidence to let his actors do a lot of the heavy lifting. I used to religiously watch a Web show Trachtenberg was on for many years, so it puts a smile on my face to know he's now finally achieved the things he always talked about doing.

I was also happy that the trailer (I only watched the first one) didn't give away as much as it seemed to. While it is true the name Cloverfield, which implies a somewhat problematic expectation of the grandiose, does fly in the face of the straightforward character piece presented in the trailer, I do think they can co-exist. Regardless of where the story eventually goes though, I think there were some major improvements made from the original script, the best of which being the character of Michelle. She was a much better realized character here, which is in part due to rewrites, but mostly Winstead, the only actress who was ever considered for the role.

To sum up, 10 Cloverfield Lane probably won't knock anyone's socks off, but it is a solid thriller that I feel gets most, if not all, of the important things right.

Look! Up In The Sky!

This week's VHS intro is a fairly deep cut, Comet Video.

I always think it a shame when there isn't a catchy jingle accompanying the visuals for these things. Comet was a smaller sub-label of the much more well known - and infamous - Continental Video. Comet distributed some of H.G Lewis' more notorious flicks like 2000 Maniacs and Blood Feast. As you saw, this intro was taken from my copy of Terror on Tape.

Though it is strange that my cover says “Studio One”, a company I could find no info about.

Anyway, I will attending Fright Night Theatre all weekend, so check back next week to hear of my exploits.

Trailer Tuesday: Emelie

Not a vintage trailer today, but one I wanted to post last weekend, but was prevented from doing so by some little Microsoft gremlins.

I saw this last April at Tribeca and it's a pretty taut thriller with great performances. Emelie released last Friday in select markets, so be sure look out for it. For a spoiler-ish interview with star Sarah Bolger over at Shock Til You Drop, click here.

Oh, and Happy International Women's Day!

Ain't Technology Grand?

I had a sudden computer issue yesterday that prevented me from doing my usual news post, but I'm back online now and will be getting you back to your regularly scheduled programming shortly.

The Nevada Broadsword Massacre.

Okay guys. Be sure to buckle up because I've got a doozy for you today, Ray Dennis Steckler's 1971 (even though the title card says 1980) horror rodeo Blood Shack.

“There is a legend about this valley. A tale carried across the winds of time. A legend strange and sinister. The legend of The Chooper.”

This movie. Whoa. Just. Whoa. I don't even know where to start, so I guess the beginning is as good a place as any. Blood Shack opens with a car that looks like it drove right out of a twenties gangster film pulling up to an old ranch. The girl insists she's gonna stay in the haunted shack, so her two friends fuck off and leave her there. The trusty caretaker Daniel (Jason Wayne) then comes over to give her the whole “The Chooper's gonna get you” spiel.

She takes no notice and stays the night, overstepping that line between brave and stupid. She promptly gets offed by a screaming assailant awkwardly brandishing a sword. At least, I think so, it was very dark. It actually reminded me of my first grainy VHS viewing of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre where the night scenes were pretty much unintelligible. I guess that's why every other Chooper attack happens in daylight.

Seriously, could someone teach him how to use that?

Contrary to that little gem above though, Blood Shack is mostly just a combination of footage from a rodeo and two little girls playing around on set. Although, I do have to admit there is something adorable about watching a five-year-old relay exposition in child speak. I can't imagine it would have made any more sense coming from an adult. And oh my God, the narration. There are films that use this device as a crutch; and then there's Blood Shack. Steckler even found the need to narrate scenes that were completely unnecessary. For instance;

“Peanuts. That's what they named the pony. She was just about the prettiest thing you ever saw. If ever you wanted to see two happy kids this was it. Sugarplum, their adopted puppy, seemed to like their new friend. Margie took to riding Peanuts almost immediately. These kids really know how to enjoy life in the–” WHAT THE FUCK AM I WATCHING RIGHT NOW?!

Narration even ends the piece.

“So-and-so's dead. I don't know what I'm going to do. I think I'll just worry about it tomorrow. If tomorrow ever comes.” THE END

This came as a surprise to me because it hadn't even reached the hour mark by this point. I was, of course, grateful in that it was like the last day of school when your teacher let you out early, but what the fuck?

After viewing this, I turned to Imdb and it offered so much clarity. Blood Shack was apparently shot on short ends, which explains the string of one take wonders that involve cowboy hats getting blown off actor's while delivering dialogue and floundering fisticuffs. Oh, and they only had two lights. That explains the darkness of the first kill scene.

I discovered Steckler also gave us the infamous The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher. Then it all made sense. Steckler just loves narration, as that aforementioned movie doesn't have one spoken word of dialogue in it.

Not this movie's first rodeo.

Perhaps the craziest thing about Blood Shack was that to sell it to drive-ins, Steckler had to add fifteen more minutes of rodeo footage to it. That works out to like, a third of the movie! Fuuuuuck me.

My crusty VHS wasn't helping, but this movie just looks like an antique. Apart from every car in the picture looking way older than when they shot this, even the score seems vintage. Most of it feels like it was plucked from one of those 16mm PSA's I used to watch in grade school, “Timmy, make sure you look both ways before you cross the street!”

So in closing, I can't really say this is even a movie in any real sense, but I also can't deny that I was entertained/fascinated. If only all bad movies were less than sixty minutes long.

Trailer Tuedays: Inferno

I'm in the mood for something bat-shit crazy this week. Maestro?

The hilarious thing is that this trailer makes about as much sense as the actual film does. And I love it. Inferno is the gift that keeps on giving. Due to its dreamlike narrative, I can never wrap my head around it in any real sense, so the details eventually fade. That's why when I revisit it every five years or so, it's like I'm watching it again for the first time. Except for the opening “pool” scene and the Central Park sequence. Who could ever forget those bits?