Lords of Salem.
Watched this again. Perhaps too early as its more a midnight movie. A noble failure from Rob Zombie that he 'saved' in editing, this is still a decent mood piece and when things start really going off the rails in the last third it actually becomes quite good. Zombie certainly knows how to frame a shot and deliver some great imagery, its a shame he hasn't nailed the structure with this one.
It! Terror beyond space.
Aside from Planet of the vampires this is one of the other major influences on Ridley Scott's Alien. A rescue team pick up an astronaut stranded on Mars, convinced he has killed the rest of his crew. However as the voyage continues they discover an alien creature has stowed away and has begun killing off the crew. Solidly made 50's B movie with a decent level of tension. Hard science buffs may cringe at stuff like the crew discharging firearms in what is essentially a large metal box, but its entertainingly daft and looks great on Blu-ray.
X: The man with the x-ray eyes.
Moving into early 60's sci-fi/horror this one is somewhat more profound as an obsessive scientist named Xavier (played by Ray Milland) discovers a drug that can sharpen his eyesight to see everything. As a result he loses everything else to the point of wandering the desert with profound spiritual revelations.
Well crafted stuff from Corman this was originally meant to be about a Jazz musician who experiences this through experimentation with drugs, however Corman worried about censor issues so made it about a mad scientist instead. The drugs parallels are pretty clear and ironic given this was the start of the 60's and in a few years we would be getting films like Easy rider, The trip and.....
Pysch-out.
Made 1968 as the hippie movement was overripe and about to burst, this far out exploitation picture from AIP and Dick Clark has Susan Strasberg playing a deaf innocent looking for her brother (played by Bruce Dern looking like a wrecked Christ) in the centre of the Hippie movement in Haight-Ashbury. There she encounters a group of musicians led by Jack Nicholson who help her navigate the scene in order to find her brother. Along the way they get help from Dean stockwell who looks astonishingly high.
What first appears to be a love letter to the Hippie movement grows increasingly and alarmingly like a warning of what is to come as the film gradually seems to morph into a very bad trip. Given that its not long before Manson and Altermont then this might be the high watermark Hunter S Thompson discussed in Fear and loathing in las vegas. Certainly the night time street scenes seem to have an uncomfortable sense of Danger and Strasberg's innocent abroad begins to get more alarmed by what she sees.
The film is still a product of its time and anyone's enjoyment will really depend on whether they can hack any of the 'far out grooviness' and psychedelia on display. As a time capsual for a place not that far off but seemingly a million miles away however, its worth a watch.
 |