Buggin' On Shorts: The Batman Complex

Here's a little tasty mash-up I found when I was perusing Topless Robot today, The Batman Complex. In a nutshell (get it, nutshell), Bale's Bruce Wayne is just a crazy Brit who think's he's Batman. Then Leonardo is out to Incept him, and between the miasma of scenes from The Machinist, the Batman movies, Inception, The Fighter, American Psycho, and one really nice surprise appearance. It's got a couple of editing hiccups where the movie seems off and a tad on the convoluted side, but I thought it was worth checking out. So here it tis', enjoy....

Now head over to Freddy in Space and see the other best video today, the trailer for a new Call of Duty : Black Ops map called 'Escalation'. You may ask why should you care? I did. I'm only a casual game fan at best. Here's why:Robert Englund, Michael Rooker, Danny Trejo, Sarah Michelle Gellar and George Romero, 'nuff said? Check it Out, and tell Mr. Boots the Bugg said hello.

Buggin' On Shorts: XYZfear - The Haunted House that Misfires

Hey folks. I was poking around for a short horror film to share with you folks when I ran across XYZfear. Apart from having a title that has nothing I can discern to do with the film, I found it to be a a pretty interesting short. The concept, a group of people scaring off patrons at their "haunted house", was both interesting and original, but after watching the video, I had to run it again because I was sure I missed something. Apparently what I missed was the two minutes they cut from the short to make it fit on YouTube. The two minutes that might have made the ending have some kind of logic to it.

So I decided to share it with you folks for two reasons. First off, I was entertained by the plot as well as the twist and better than average acting for a short. However secondly, I wanted to give film makers interested in sharing their short on-line this simple advice. Split your film up into two parts. Or three if you have to. If I can see the potential, but then get denied ten percent of the film's running time, it undoes all the fine work that went into your film. Still, XYZfear is still worth a look, and I do hope that someday I might stumble across the 12 minute version and figure out what in the world went on in the end of this thing.

Buggin' On Shorts: William Castle's Game Show -The Plot Thickens (1963)

While William Castle, the King of Gimmicks, is best known for his movies like 13 Ghosts, Straight Jacket, and The Tingler, he also dabbled in television. He directed many episodes of the '50's TV show The Men of Annapolis, produced the supernatural anthology series Circle of Fear in the early '70's, and he even created a game show. That's right you heard me right, a William Castle gameshow! Like most of his projects, The Plot Thickens is a high concept affair. A panel consisting of a real detective, an average contestant, a guest celebrity and Groucho Marx watch a ten minute mystery film, put the suspects from the film to question, and determine the perpetrator of the crime. If the detective and a contestant both get it right you win $500, but if the actors stump the gumshoe and a contestant gets it right, they win a cool thousand bucks.

Unfortunately, Castle's game show didn't make it to the air and only this pilot episode remains. It's too bad because it's a pretty entertaining show. Plus if you watch closely you'll see that the mystery in this episode was penned by Psycho scribe Robert Bloch and it featured James Callahan (Grandpa William Powell of Charles in Charge) as the assistant Arthur, Arthur Batanides (Officer Kirkland in Police Academy 4 through 6) as the fake Swami, Jack Linkletter (Host of Hootnanny) as the host (or D.A. as they call him), Jan Sterling (High School Confidential, The Human Jungle) as the celebrity guest, and Warrene Ott (The Phantom Planet, Undertaker and his Pals) as the bailiff in a cat costume.

This thing is as rare as it comes, and it wasn't even on YouTube until I put it up there. So check out Mr. Castle's The Plot Thickens and wish that we had shows like this to enjoy now instead of Minute to Win It or Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?


And come back tomorrow for the first Guest Post this month for Hitch on the Hump where the indomitable, vivacious Ms. Christine of Paracinema is going to have a real treat for us all! 

This show is the rarest of the rare, but I split it up into four bite size pieces and got it up on YouTube. Check it out now just in case it gets yanked.

Buggin’ On Shorts: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and 50,000 Zombies!

Ok, maybe there's not 50,000 zombies. There's more like four, but that didn't stop Simon Pegg and Nick Frost from teaming up for this spin off of Frost's BBC show 50,000 Volts. The regular show features Frost interviewing a number of actual guests on how to avoid getting bitten by a komodo dragon, how to survive parachute failure, or any number of fatal incidents. However for this DVD extra, Frost called in his Spaced co-star to tackle the zombie issue a year before they paired up in Edgar Wright's film Shaun of the Dead. While Frost plays himself, the erstwhile interviewer, Pegg appears as Dr. Russel Fell, zombie hunter from the Cantonberry Institute for Zombie Dynamics. After introducing Nick to zombie basics, Dr. Fell runs down the basics of zombie survival.

Number One:

Number Two:

Number Three:

All fine advice for sure. Once they've gone over the basics, it's time for Nick and the Doctor to put what they've learned into practice with a group of real zombies and real weapons.

Then after a quick review of everything we've learned. (Plus the bonus fact that Walls Stop Zombies)....

....the two walk off hand in hand never to be seen again except in several movies and any other time anyone can find an excuse to get the two of them together.

Talking about 50,000 Zombies doesn't really do it justice. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Frost and Pegg once again prove why their names will someday be spoken along side of great British comics like the Pythons and the Goons. You don't have to take my word for it. While 50,000 Zombies hasn't ever been released officially stateside, it can be found all over YouTube. For your viewing pleasure I decided I would include it here for you folks to check out.



Buggin’ On Shorts: Sam Raimi’s Clockwork (1978)

Heya, folks. I had so much fun with short films over the holidays I decided to make it a semi regular thing. So here and there look out for installments of The Lair’s newest feature, Buggin’ On Shorts. Why is it called that? I have no clue. I was the first thought that popped in my mind and I went with it. Today’s short is one I’ve wanted to see for a long, long time. While Sam Raimi might have embroiled himself in the Spider Man franchise (1 out of 3 ain’t bad), an all female western (which I like personally), and a baseball movie (Seriously? WTF?), over the years, when it gets down to brass tacks, Sam’s a horror guy, and that had to  start somewhere

Raimi made his first film in 1977 with the campy mystery It’s Murder featuring a young Bruce Campbell, and there was literally no looking back from there. Raimi’s third film Within the Woods (also with Campbell) is one I’ve seen many times, and I always enjoy seeing the potential he put forth in these early films. Today’s short was Raimi‘s second short film, Clockwork, and when I say short I mean short. While It’s Murder runs over an hour and Within the Woods clocks in at 32 minutes, Clockwork only makes it barely past the 6 minute mark. That’s not to say it doesn’t pack a punch, and show off Sam Raimi’s very first cinematic moments of horror.

The film stars Cheryl Guttridge as a woman returning home, and future writer/ producer/ Intruder director Scott Spiegel as a psycho killer coming to get her. Why? No time to say, and I mean literally. With no dialog at all the in the short, Raimi pulls out all the stops from  the strange, disconcerting soundtrack to clever movements of the camera that hint at the Sam Raimi who would helm Evil Dead not more than three years later. Clockwork,  filmed before Within the Woods, was as Bruce Campbell says in If Chins Could Kill “a test”.

The test would lead to a prototype (Within the Woods) which would eventually lead up to a finished work (Evil Dead). Without these six minutes, there is no way of telling if Sam Raimi would have ended up directing one of the biggest franchises in the world, if Bruce Campbell would have appeared in all those Old Spice commercials, or if Scott Spiegel would have directed Hostel III (Hey, Scott. You can’t win ‘em all buddy) So that about wraps it up for today. If I go on much longer it’s going to take you folks more than six minutes to read this, and that doesn’t seem fair. So I hope you check it out and let me know what you think, and until later this has been me, T.L. Bugg and I’ve been Buggin’ On Shorts.

Christmas Shorts: Rare Exports Inc - How to Trap and Train a Father Christmas

As the feature length telling of Rare Exports has hit the theaters this year, lots of folks have probably seen this two videos, but they are definitely my favorite new addition to the yearly Christmas viewing list.

Christmas 'Hitch on the Hump' Shorts: Santa and the 10th Avenue Kid (1955)

First things first, this will the be first Hitch on the Hump post about something that the Master of Suspense was not directly involved in making. Last week, I talked a little about the Christmas episode of his eponymous television show that Hitch directed. This one he did not, but this strange teleplay by Marion Cockrell comes across today like a prehistoric version of Bad Santa. Cockrell penned eleven episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents along with a handful of the Adam West Batman series, and here she was paired with journeyman TV director Don Weis. So you might wonder where Hitch is this week, well I think Alma has him helping with preparations for Christmas Dinner. Next week Hitch on the Hump will return full length and fully Hitch, but until then enjoy this episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. 

Christmas Shorts: Santa Gets Animated In 4 Great Christmas Cartoons

Since I haven't talked about any cartoons so far, I thought I would talk about several today. First up I have a Castle Films 1946 adaptation of The Night Before Christmas. This one cheats on the cartoon angle a bit by mixing it up with live action, but I really love how it's put together.

Here's a real favorite from the Disney catalog, Pluto's Christmas Tree. I've rarely seen the whole cartoon, but in the early '80's it was often included in some of the compilation Christmas specials that used to air on The Disney Channel. Getting back to the cartoon itself, this one not only features Mickey's dog pal Pluto, but also future Rescue Rangers Chip and Dale. 

The only heroes at Christmas aren't just Santa and Frosty. There's also plenty of room for Batman. (Hey Nolan. How about this for the plot of Dark Knight Rises.)

The last selection is one I barely rememeber from repeats when I was a kid, but it definitely was meant for the generation that grew up with Star Wars. Here's A Cosmic Christmas from 1977. 

Christmas Shorts: Axe Massacre (2008): Santa Trades Ho-Ho-Ho for Axe-Axe-Axe

When I stumbled across this one I had pretty low expectations. The killer Santa field is pretty crowded, and a Christmas horror short that didn't mention its holiday affiliation in the title left me a bit uneasy. However when the title cards announced, The Holiday Classic....

I was somewhat intrigued. After all, there was festive holiday lettering. As the film started, with a father and mother arguing over who was going to take their boy on Christmas, I wondered if they had enough time to get this going in twelve minutes. However when this guy showed up....

...and offed the crazy mom, I wondered why Jack Skellington in Ray Bans was killing people. With only about four minutes left in the film all there's time for is sneaking into the house....

...and as I assume killing everyone else in the vaguest, least gory ways possible. I assume Jack/Santa Killington offed everyone including the kid. Why? I have no idea.

The best shorts create a good story arc quickly and execute it, but Axe Massacre surely only deserves a lump of coal. Christmas slasher fans will want to check it out if they insist on being completest, and luckily it can be found in whole at Youtube.

Christmas Shorts: A Christmas Treat (1985) - This is Why You Better Watch Out

Making it's debut in 1985, when he was still struggling as Production Assistant, future 2001 Maniacs director Tim Sullivan cut his teeth on A Christmas Treat,a short and sweet holiday horror entry. There's little I can tell you about this one because it's only four minutes long, and I would hate for you folks to be reading longer than watching. All I'll say is that there is a good reason that your parents want you to stay in bed on Christmas night!

Christmas Shorts:Lobo's Paramilitary Xmas (2002) -The Main Man vs.The Man With The Sack

For those of you not familiar with the DC Comics character Lobo, imagine, if you will, if Mad Max was a biker from space with the attitude of a WWE wrestler and the politeness of Charlie Sheen on a date with a porn star. That gets pretty close, but still doesn't explain who the intergalactic badass is. Lobo's Paramilitary Xmas Special (2002), based on the comic one shot of the same name, was directed by Scott Leberecht. At the time, Leberecht was a film student and scraped together a budget of $2,400 for the project. The director, who had previously worked in visual effects on films like Spawn and Flubber, has since directed a few other shorts, but is slated to make his feature debut in 2011 with the sensitive vampire tale Midnight Son. Lobo's Paramilitary Xmas Special also stars Andrew Byniarski, best known to horror fans as Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot. It's a real shame that his best known character only emotes with grunting and power tools because Byniarski really brings Lobo to life.

I'm going to include a couple of pictures here, but better yet, I've found the whole shebang to embed here. If you have any doubts about checking it out, let me give you the final selling point, the plot. Lobo is hired by The Easter Bunny, who is tired of being second best, to take out Jolly St. Nick. You can't tell me that doesn't make you want to press play!

Christmas Shorts: A Junky's Christmas (1993): William Burroughs' X-Mas Fix

Playing out like a Rankin Bass special broadcast to mugwumps, William Burroughs The Junky's Christmas is a small, strange entry into the world of Christmas cinema. Based on a 1989 story from Burroughs'collection Interzone, the story had previously been adapted into audio format on the album Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales. Some strange partnership between Francis Ford Coppola and VH1 film allowed directors Nick Donkin and Melodie McDaniel (Tori Amos' video "God", Madonna's "Secret") to make this stop action short featuring new narration of the tale by the beat writer. If you're a fan of William's, or enjoy stop motion animation I encourage you to check this one out.  I have a few screenshots to share with you, and then you can find the whole film from youtube at the bottom. Make sure you stick around after the main story ends for a short holiday meal with Old Bull Lee where he cuts the turkey with a switchblade.

Christmas 'Hitch on the Hump' Shorts: Back for Christmas(1956)

I'm going to pretty much let this classic episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents speak for itself, but the story, based on a John Collier story first published in 1939, speaks volumes. I encourage everyone to check out the episode and then read this article from the Senses of Cinema blog written by Hitchcock author Ken Mogg. He digs way deeper into the TV show in this article than anyone I've ever seen. Christmas isn't the main theme of the show as much as a plot point, but it is one of the only Holiday-ish offerings from the Master of Suspense. Well there's this Bodega Bay ornament....

Anyway, enjoy the episode and I'll see you back here next Hitch on the Hump for one more Christmas surprise. 

Christmas Shorts: Carol For Another Christmas (1964): Rod Serling is the Dickens

In 1964, Rod Serling, coming off the fifth season of his popular television show Twilight Zone, penned this retelling of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. In Carol for Another Christmas, sponsored by Xerox and produced in association with the United Nations, Daniel Grudge (Sterling Hayden) is a wealthy industrialist, but he has never gotten over the death of his son (Peter Fonda who was cut out of the completed film) in World War II. He steadfastly calls for the United States to become an isolationist state, and, oh yeah, he doesn't seem to care about Christmas very much either. As you may guess Grudge is visited by three ghosts, The Ghost of Christmas Past (Steve Lawrence), Christmas Present (Pat Hingle), and Christmas Future (Robert Shaw) before he changes his wicked ways and professes a love for a united world. Along the way he also crosses paths with Eva Marie Saint, Britt Ekland, Peter Sellers, and Ben Gazarra. Basically it's the stuff that Glen Beck's nightmares are made of, and that might explain why it was never re-aired and never released to the public in any kind of fashion.This production is also noteworthy of being the first and only time that director Joseph Mankiewicz (Sleuth, Guys and Dolls, All About Eve) worked in Television.

While I got a chance to see the completed thing, I couldn't find any video to embed for you folks so here's a number of screenshots to give you a taste of what it was like.

The Past

Grudge is taken by the Ghost of Christmas Past to visit the rubble left behind from the bombing of Hiroshima. Grudge watches as his past self struggles to deal with the horrors of children effected by the bomb including a group of girls who sing even though their faces have been burnt away.

You don’t want to get involved you’ve got to give back the 20th century if you can find some chump to take it. And isolation, I’ve got news. That went out with gas light and fifty cent steaks.”

The Ghost of Christmas past

The Present

Pat Hingle (perhaps best remembered now as Commissioner Gordon in Tim Burton's Batman) as The Ghost of Christmas Present puts the screws on Grudge taunting him with a feast of food while confronting him with the world's starving masses.

The Future

The dystopian nightmare that Grudge's future features the few remaining bands of humans scrapping with each other to keep alive. The group that The Ghost of Christmas Future shows Grudge is headed up by the Imperial Me (Peter Sellers) who advocates total irradiation of all other groups and then each other until there is only one individual is left alive. The last rational person alive, Charles (Percy Rodriguez), Grudge's former manservant, is shot to death when he tries to talk sense into the raving crowd.

We are the individual me’s and we must carry our glorious philosophy through to its glorious culmination. - Imperial Me (Peter Sellers)

After seeing the error of his ways, Grudge returns home, professes his love of the United Nations to his nephew Fred, and intending to treat his staff with more respect, takes his morning coffee in the kitchen with them. (I hope he didn't strain himself with that grand gesture.) The big payoff comes at the end as Sterling Hayden sits there thinking about what an asshole he used to be while the credits roll.

Overall, I quite liked Carol for Another Christmas, but I can see where the heavy handed liberal message would have probably prevented it from becoming a time honored Christmas classic. However, fans of Christmas movies and Rod Serling should definitely try and track down a copy when they can.