The Ghost (1963) : The Look of Boo Steele

Margaret (Barbara Steele) is the unhappy wife of the crippled Dr. John Hitchcock.  He has spent years researching both natural and occult remedies for the affliction thaya confines him to a chair.  He is convinced a regimen of poison followed by antidote will help, but only Dr. Livingston is shady enough to administer it. He's also having an affair with  Margaret, and she's fed up with her invalid hubby. Encouraging her Doctor beau to off her hubby, he only administers the poison. However, when strange occourances rattle the murderous pair, they begin to wonder if Dr. Hitchcock has returned as a vengeful Ghost.

Don't Go in the Lightning Bug's Lair #4 & #3: Don't Be Afraid of theDark (1973 & 2010)

Perhaps the most universal of the "Don't" titles is the rather parental advice, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. At one time or another, in our childhood or a particularly vulnerable moment of our adult lives, we have all been afraid of the thing that goes bump in the night. No matter if we thought it was a burglar or the boogieman, it still sends the heart racing and the stress level up to feel at the mercy of something unexpected in the inky blackness. Perhaps that's what makes both versions of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark so effective that they come in at numbers four and three on the Don't Go in the Lightning Bug's Lair Halloween countdown. The original, a made for TV film, and the remake, hewn under the watchful eye of  Guillermo Del Toro, are similar films that execute the basic plot with near equal competence, but each delivers a unique satisfying experience for genre film fans. So today, it's all treats and no tricks when The Bugg turns the lights down low for a double feature of miniature terror, so come along, don't be afraid, and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.  

Don't Go in the Lightning. Bug's Lair #6: Don't Go to Sleep (1982)

As the ghosts and hobgoblins of the Halloween season draw ever closer, one might find it harder to bed down for the night. This could be out of superstitious fright or it could be because the wee small hours are the best occasion for watching scary movies. Likely, for most folks, the sleepless nights aren't caused by the specter of a deceased sibling who may have returned for diabolical purposes. However, that's just the issue in today's film, the 1982, star studded, made for TV creepfest, Don't Go to Sleep. I don't know what was in the water at the TV studios in the 70s and 80s, but, while today's TV films are either laughably bad (Lifetime, I'm looking at you.) or bloated messes ballooned out to a mini-series format, there was a magic to many of the old TV gems. In the case of Don't Go to Sleep, it was definitely a dark magic indeed. 

The Laughing Dead (1989) What's So Funny About (Priest's Love And Aztec Resurrection)

I've seen movies with zombies. I've seen movies with mad scientists. I've seen movies with Priests that have lost their path. I've even seen movies where the Aztec people attempt to resurrect their culture. And I have seen plenty of movies where students on a field trip get menaced by any number of things. What I had never seen was a climax that boiled down to a basketball game that turns into a Ray Harryhausen style monster brawl, but that's just what The Laughing Dead delivered. Perhaps that's what happens when you get a Thai-American avant garde composer, poet,  and science fiction and horror novelist in the director's chair. Billed under a shortened version of his full name, Somtow Sucharitkul, in literary circles he would be known better as author S.P. Somtow. The first time director, writer, and star fashioned am intriguingly cheesy vision that both captured the flavor of early 80s horror fiction and the spirit of the cheapo horror feature. So come with me and let's have a few chuckles with The Laughing Dead.

Deadly Doll's Choice: The Manitou (1978)

We've all had those days. The no good, very bad days where we wished we stayed in bed. Those days when nothing goes right. Waking up late, missing your ride, and spilling coffee are all terrible ways for your morning to start, but is anything worse than the kind of day where you feel like a powerful Native American shaman is growing in a tumor in your back and preparing to burst forth on an unsuspecting world? Those are really, really the worst, but you know what's the best, Emily from The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense. Over the past few years, these movie swaps between the Deadly Doll and I have resulted in some of the strangest flicks I've ever seen, some real gems, my top trafficked review of all time, and some excruciating cinema that was painful to watch. No matter how I felt about the individual films, I always enjoy Emily's picks as they are often outside of my comfort zone. This month, however, she threw me a softball. Sure, she picked something bad, but I'm talking about some classic awfulness, the kind of stuff that would make Ed Wood, Jr. say, "Hey, that's great." It was the particular flavor of terrible that caused me to fall in love with cult cinema so many years ago, and, despite it's infamous reputation, I somehow had never seen it. So join me for this edition of The Deadly Doll's choice where someone is about to have the kind of terrible day I mentioned earlier when a Hollywood legend tangles with The Manitou.

Killjoy (2001) His Brother Killroy Wasn't Here.

This certainly didn't kill my joy, but I can't say it enhanced it. Urban horror flicks are a varied lot with Candyman, a story mined from a British author, sitting atop a heap that includes Blackenstein, an installment of the Leprechaun series, and at least two films featuring Snoop Dogg. Suffice it to say that the bar is set pretty low. So perhaps that's what makes Killjoy, a serviceable slasher with an all African American cast, seem like a diamond on the rough. In actuality, it's more like costume jewelry. If you were missing it after a party you'd be mad about it, but you wouldn't frisk your friends and neighbors to try and get it back. Killjoy tries to make all the right moves, but it’s like seeing a clown hit someone with a pie and thinking it’s hilarious. It’s funny, but it’s been done to death.

The Legacy (1978) Sam Elliott’s Supernatural ‘Stache

When I was picking out a Sam Elliot movie for Movemeber, I wanted to stay away from a lot of the obvious choices. So that meant that The Big Lebowski and Road House were stricken directly from consideration. I then looked to his Westerns where his mustache is always large and in charge, and despite having found one that stars Elliott with the mustachioed Tom Selleck called The Shadow Riders, it still wasn't really what I was looking for. I wanted something that I would enjoy watching and my wife would as well. For, if there is one thing I know for sure, it is that, should I shuffle off this mortal coil, there is a fair to middling chance that my wife might then take up stalking Sam Elliott in her spare time. Last night she said, and I quote, “Sam Elliot is the hottest brunette of all time.” This both spared my feelings (as she still considers my ever darkening hair to be blonde) and sent shock waves through the likes of Josh Brolin and Clive Owen who both thought they would be up for top honors. The film I eventually landed on was an obscurity from 1978 called The Legacy, and it was described to me as an “erotically charged thriller”. With the idea of erotic Sam Elliott in her head, my wife and I sat down to The Legacy last night, and at least one of us walked away happy (there was a shower scene after all.)

Deadly Doll’s Pick: Scarecrows (1988) And Nary a Mrs. King in Sight

Welcome once again friends. If you've been keeping up with my reviews this month, then more power to you, but also, you may know, that today is the last regular review that will appear on The LBL until the Halloween night is over. That’s because starting tomorrow its all about The Bigger & Badder Halloween Top 13. That’s right 13 days of giant monster, colossal creature, and enormous animals will take over The Lair, but before I let that happen, it’s time to let someone else take over my viewing habits. That’s right it’s time once again for the old film swaparoo with my good pal Emily of The Deadly Doll’s House of Horror Nonsense. This months incredibly creative theme was Horror movies, and so for my part, I chose for her to watch Waxworks, the movie starring  Zack Galligan with 100% less Gremlins and 100% boobs, and in exchange, Emily chose for me the 1988 action-horror film Scarecrows. So come along as I see whether Scarecrows scared the stuffing out of me or if it’s nothing to crow about.

The Innkeepers (2011) We’ll Leave the Spectral Light on For You

Two years ago, when I reviewed Ti West’s House of the Devil, I gave the film a 4 out of 5 and praised the director for his period setting, even tone, and use of suspense despite my wish that a little more had been held back. Since that time, I haven't heard much from the one time savior of horror since. I intentionally missed out on Cabin Fever 2 as West was loudly displeased with the film, and unlike everyone else in the horror reviewing world, somehow I have yet to see V/H/S so I can't comment on his segment there. In one way it is promising that West hasn't started turning films out meat grinder style to cash in on the cachet of his name while he can, but I have wanted to see what West had in store for a his next, non-sequel vision. As I am always running behind on new releases, I'm just getting a chance to catch up with the answer to my wonder, West’s The Innkeepers. Combining comedy and horror effectively while still playing around in the 80s horror format that West so clearly loves, he delivers another stunningly deep entry into the horror genre. To discuss the film today, I will be dealing in some spoilers, but rest assured I will let everyone know before I go there and deploy my patented Bugg method for spoilery secrets. So come with me on a trip with Mr. West to a small Connecticut town and the Yankee Pedler, the setting for The Innkeepers.

Death Spa a.k.a Witch Bitch (1989): Feel The Burn!

As most of you know, I am of course an amazing psychical specimen and I put fitness above almost all else. While I've never been named Mr. Universe, it is only my own modesty that keeps me from competing on that level. Of course, while I'm sitting around pumping iron, I like to take in as many flicks as I can to keep the old adrenalin pumping. So while I was doing some stuff today that makes Paul Ryan's workout plan look like it was for girls, I popped on my headband and popped in the 1989 flick Death Spa, which on my copy was billed as Witch Bitch. Under either title, it's a surprising gem of a film that made me really feel the burn in my horror muscle. So break out you leotards and get pumped up for Halloween. 

Absentia (2011) Absence Makes the Heart Grow Colder

Absentia is a film that I started to watch a dozen or more times before finally making the plunge. I don’t know if it was the generic looking art of a screaming woman being dragged away or the legalese sounding title which looked out of place on a horror film, but it just didn't seem like the kind of horror that would appeal to me. However, after hearing about it for a while, and Netflix’s relentless campaign to suggest it to me, I relented and I am glad I did. There seems to be a new wave of horror that combines the bone chilling and the supernatural with a hefty dose of human drama. Stories of longing or loss pervade these films, and while some succeed in the balance (Exit Humanity), others (I’m looking at you The Tall Man.) feel more like a bait and switch than horror fare. While Absentia takes some time to get rolling, it is a film that manifests some genuine emotional moments nestled neatly with the notes of a creepy creature feature.

The Lair Interview: Grave Encounters 2 Director John Poliquin

Last Monday to kick off October, I got an early look at Grave Encounters 2. Well, back then I told you it wasn't the last you would hear about the film this month, and I’m back today with that other part. I was lucky enough to get a few minutes to sit down and ask questions of John Poliquin, the first time director at the helm of Grave Encounters 2. So read on, and find out a few things about the movie, a little bit about John, and what Wall Street could have to do with it all.

T.L. Bugg: You took over directing duties from The Vicious Brothers with Grave Encounters 2. What was your approach to the sequel and did it remain a collaborative effort?

John Poliquin : Yeah, yeah, it definitely was. They were on set every day most days, actually they were on set every day but  they were editing in a room. So they were involved from pre-production all the way until delivery. So it was definitely collaborative. My approach was basically I wanted to maintain the style and a lot of the vibe and what worked on the first film but bring my own style to the second film. New but familiar was really what I wanted so it felt fresh but still like a Grave Encounters movie.

Grave Encounters 2: Because ‘Graver Re-Encounters’ Just Didn’t Have the Same Ring

Hello folks, and welcome to October. Let me tell you, I’m super excited for Halloween this year. It’s my favorite time of year, as I am sure it is for many of the LBL’s readers, and it just so happens that I have an incredible way to kick off the month. What I’m talking about is an early look at Grave Encounters 2. You may recall my review of Grave Encounters which I paired with the classic British spookshow Ghost Watch for an article I cleverly titled Grave Encounters on a Ghost Watch. The first Grave Encounters focused on Lance Preston (Sean Robertson) and his band of Ghost Adventuresque paranormal hunters who stumbled into an abandoned asylum which was filled with actual ghosts. Through the found footage film, we see the team gets picked off as time and space begin to have no meaning in the supernatural vortex in which they have stepped. In other words, it was one of my favorite movie conceits, ghost hunters find more than they were bargaining for.

Destiny Turns on The Radio (1995) If Only I Would Turn Off the Movie.

There are many reasons that I don't normally walk out of a movie. First off, I am all kinds of cheap. So if I spring for a movie ticket, chances are good that I'm going to stay. Secondly, I can generally find something to focus on with any film that will get me through a bad one. Some actor, set designer, or a cinematographer will do something to keep involved. Lastly, there is generally a specific reason I make the trip to the Multiplex. It may be to review a film, tag along with a friend to see something I don't necessarily find to be my cup of tea, or because it has an actor I like in it, but there is always a reason. That being said, I have walked out of one film in my 36 years. Today, I'm going to relive those painful memories as I watch the film that drove me down aisle. So anchors away and fate be damned as Destiny Turns on the Radio for the second time in my life. I don't know what karmic debt I am repaying, but I should be even after one and half lifetime viewings of today's "classic".

The Dead Want Women (2012): The Living Want Chicken and a Nap

Mars might need ‘em, Mel Gibson might claim to know what they want, and Neil Diamond might know that a girl will be one soon, but when it comes to women, the dead want ‘em. That is if you take the title of the newest Full Moon feature at its word, and if you cant trust a paragon of virtue like Charles Band, then I don’t know what this world is coming to. I suppose it's coming to be the kind of place where you can go out on a sidewalk and rent Full Moon’s newest feature, The Dead Want Women, exclusively from a movie vending machine with a rather color specific name. I’m still not completely sold on the concept of DVD vending, but striking an exclusive deal with a rental company like this is exactly the kind of forward thinking that has kept Charles Band making and producing movies for years. Are they all good? Rarely. For every Parasite Band has directed or Re-Animator he’s produced, there’s three Evil Bong films (seriously three?), a Leapin’ Leprechauns, and a Beach Babes 2: Cave Girl Island waiting to fill the void. What I had to know, on this week where we’ve all been watched over by the “super moon”, was if Full Moon had done something super or if this moon was waning.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012): Nic Cage is el Fuego

The last time we saw Nic Cage here at The Lair, everyone's favorite over-actor (that's not William Shatner) was on the run from the devil after escaping Hell in 2010's Drive Angry. What a difference a couple of years makes.... And a sequel for that matter. This time instead of avoiding Old Scratch, he's pursuing a headlong course right at him in the surprising sequel to 2007's Ghost Rider. After the fist film flopped, and for good reason, there was little hope that Cage could spin the character into a franchise, but with a pile of taxes to be paid, Cage has taken to appearing in a lot of unexpected films in the last few years. Somehow, he got Marvel Comics to go along with the idea for a second go at Johnny Blaze, enlisted the directors of Crank, signed on the scenarist of the Chris Nolan Batman films, and, perhaps most shockingly, made a movie that is pretty dang fun. I know this kind of tips my hand, but Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is the type of film that is going to divide people right down the middle. One group will love the over-the-top acting and action, and the other might feel a little pissed. Hopefully not flaming pissed, but more on that later.

Yellowbrickroad (2010): Where The Dogs of Horror Howl

I'd been thinking about seeing Yellowbrickroad for some time now. After all, The Wizard Of Oz is one of my favorite movies of all time. So I couldn't pass up a chance to check out a horror film based out of L. Frank Baum's magical world. The 1938 classic film is not without it's own share of eeriness, and don't even get me started on how freaky The Wiz is. While I had no idea which direction Yellowbrickroad might take with the film, I was seriously hoping for some flying monkey action. Sadly, there's no wildlife on display, winged or otherwise, but there is scarecrow and a group of travelers on a journey to seek a legendary place. While none of it amounts to a horse of a different color, Yellowbrickroad still manages to shine in the dull world of modern horror.

Graveyard Disturbance (1986): Lamburto Bava Cracks a High Life with the Low Dead

I was a teenager once. I did lots of stupid things. However, if you base what teens like to do on what their movie counterparts take part in, then its logical to think that there's a point in every one's life where hanging out in a graveyard sounds like an incredible idea. There are so many films that start out with that premise, but I don't think even in an adolescent state any amount of booze, loose women, or desire to prove myself non-chicken would get me to hang out in a cemetery all night. I'm not saying I would expect anything to happen, but there's no reason to tempt fate. Almost as scary as a night in a graveyard is the idea of horror on television. While there have been a number of successes like Masters of Horror and American Horror Story, often horror feels de-fanged on the tube like the series Fear Itself. So when I heard that today's cemetery themed film by Lamburto Bava had been made for an Italian TV series called "Brivido giallo" (literally translated as "Thrilling Yellow"), I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a mixture of Bava's Demons, Scooby Doo, and, sadly, much of the reserve you would expect from a television terror.

Ritual (2002): Nobody Voodoos Baby in a Corner

Let's take a moment to talk about Jennifer Grey. Alright, who am I kidding? I mostly watched this film to get to talk about Jennifer Grey. Sure there's a Tales from the Crypt connection I could have played up to make myself look cooler, but let's be honest here, Ms. Grey was an extremely important part of my youth. When Dirty Dancing came out, I was eleven years old, and Jennifer's scene in the water with Patrick Swayze practicing lifts, well, it holds a special place in my heart... or my loins. It wasn't my sexual awakening,  I can thank Bryan Adams' 'Cuts Like a Knife' video from 1984 for that particular milestone, for Raquel Pena (who also appeared in Micheal Jackson's Billie Jean) and not the Master of the Canadian Power Ballad. Now that we've got the first over-share out of the way, there was something magical about watching Frances 'Baby' Houseman rise from the water in her extremely wet, skimpy, tight, white tank top. Yes, entirely magical... Sorry, got distracted there. Since then, I've been a fan of Ms. Grey's despite the fact that she literally cut her own nose off to spite her face. So when Netflix rolled out Ritual on Instant Watch, the almost final installment of the Tales from the Crypt trilogy, and I noticed that Jennifer carried top billing, I knew I was going to have to check it out. (And folks, the tank-top.... it's back!)

Blood Creek (2009) Blood Donation Month Begins with Schumacher's Blood Magic Nazi (Nipples Not Included)

Hello folks, and welcome to the first review of 2012. As you may have noticed from the Lair's new duds, I'm celebrating National Blood Donation Month this January. Every movie I talk about this month will either have 'Blood' (or a derivation thereof) in the title or have some other equally sanguine connection, but I'm also going to put my money where my mouth is. Sometime this month I'll be going to donate blood, something I've never done before. The Red Cross appointed January National Blood Donation Month in 1970, and I think it's a great way to start the year by giving a bit of yourself after the gluttony of the holiday season. So along with enjoying a month-long tribute to the ooey-gooey red stuff, I hope that some of you consider heading down to the blood bank and parting with a pint. Now enough of this seriousness. We have a Joel Schumacher movie to talk about today.

Ol' Joel has gotten a pretty bad rep these days, and if I put nipples on Batman, I'd expect to have one myself. It's easy to forget that Schumacher also directed The Lost Boys, Flatliners, and, my personal favorite, Falling Down without an accessory nipple to be found. Even so, I've put off seeing his 2009 return to horror, Blood Creek. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Schumacher's most straight forward foray into the horror genre. Blood Creek stars future Man of Steel Superman Henry Cavill as every-man paramedic Evan Marshall. Evan is haunted by the disappearance of his brother Victor (Prison Break's Dominic Purcell) during a West Virginia camping trip they shared. When Victor unexpectedly returns one night, Evan follows him without question back into the countryside on a quest for revenge. Victor's captors turn out to be prisoners of a greater evil, Richard Wirth (Micheal Fassbender), a blood magic practicing Nazi who has harassed the power of a Nordic rune buried under a barn. With the ability to raise the dead to do his bidding and a desire to develop a third eye during the coming lunar eclipse, Wirth stalks the brothers looking for a final blood sacrifice.

If the plot of Blood Creek sounds convoluted and loaded with mythos, it is to an extent, but, from the first few minutes of the film which introduce how Wirth came to the farm family, the film kicks off and never lets up. While there are several expository scenes to stitch together the suspense and horror sequences, Schumacher keeps the film's pace at a breakneck speed. Even so, the characters still feel fully rounded. Apart from the one or two most minor characters, it seems that the script and actors pulled the material far above the stock slasher material it could have become. The only hindrance to the film's success is some dodgy CGI special effects. Thankfully the worst of these moments doesn't come until the very end of the film. While it left me with a sort of sour taste in my mouth, had it been placed earlier, I surely would have been pulled right out of the film. The greatest benefit that the film has is the base script. While I understand that Schumacher made a number of changes to the screenplay, then called Town Creek by David Kajganich, they seem to have worked out making Blood Creek one of the most successful, original modern slasher films.

The linchpin that the film hangs on is the two main performances. Henry Cavill is an actor I've enjoyed ever since his turn on Showtime's The Tudors. Before I watched Blood Creek, I was a bit hesitant about his casting as Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Having seen him in a more action oriented role that also delved into the pathos of his character, I'm really ready to see what he does as the last son of Krypton. Cavill infuses his character in Blood Creek with a real presence played out through subtle actions and a real sense of an internal life. There is an innocence to his character, and it makes for a perfect counterpoint to Fassbender's Nazi Wirth. Fassbender, known for his roles in 300 and X-Men: First Class, is more darkly evil here than I've seen him play before. While he's hidden beneath layers of makeup (and m.i.a. from the proceedings until halfway through the film after the short prologue), he makes a hell of an impression once he gets going. Fassbender makes such a thing as a warlock, Third Reich loving, blood drinking, zombie controlling, serial killer seem utterly believable. These two performances are what really make Blood Creek rise above the level of middling modern horror.

Plus the film is bloody. While there's a bit of CGI grue that brings down the average, there was plenty enough of the sanguine vita being spilled to please my inner gorehound. While there are some rough spots, Blood Creek is a film from a Hollywood director who clearly knows what he's doing, and he had enough sense to leave the nipples out of it. I hope you enjoyed this first post in National Blood Donation Month, and I have lots of interesting titles in store all month long. It should be a bloody good time for all, and hopefully I won't turn into Gene Shalit due to all the half ass wordplay. Well if that happens, you're sure to see my giant mustache here first. So join me back here all January and see what happens.

Bugg Rating