FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

SALLY THE ZOMBIE CHEERLEADER'S SCHOOL OF HORROR (WITH MELEVILL): THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH

 

For Halfoween and Walpurgishnacht, Sally the Zombie Cheerleader's School of Horror presents an ultra-low-budget, Roger Corman biggie from 1960, shot entirely in Puerto Rico, The Last Woman on Earth. The main feature (culled from a pleasing black-and-white, television print) is hosted not only by Sally, but Puerto Rico's sexy, redheaded devil, Melevill, aka Melanie Ramos of Neo-Pulps Publishing. 

Last Woman was written by Robert Towne, a Hollywood legend who directed and acted in a smorgasbord of movies and television shows over several decades, but above all, is revered for having scripted a ton of top-line entertainment, including Corman's adaptation of Poe's The Tomb of Ligeia, Roman Polanski's Chinatown, Jack Nicholson's The Two Jakes, Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible redux, John Woo's Mission: Impossible 2, as well as contributing to the original versions of The Outer Limits ("The Chameleon") and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ("The Dove Affair").   

For the story's post-apocalyptic scenario, Towne (under the moniker, Edward Wain) plays Martin Joyce, a lawyer who competes with Antony Carbone's businessman, Harold Gern, for the affection of the latter's wife, Betsy Jones-Moreland's Evelyn. (For the record, some consider Last Woman an unofficial companion piece to Ranald MacDougall's The World, the Flesh and the Devil.) 

Sally and Melevill make a great, comely tag team, each taking turns sharing humorous and edifying segues on this Corman epic. The combination is, to say the least, flavorful, as well as easy on the eyes.  

Catch this great, Patreon, cohosted show and come away with a whole new appreciation of one of the best, little ol' end-of-the-world extravaganzas ever conceived. 

https://www.patreon.com/cw/SallytheZombieCheerleader?fbclid=IwY2xjawRkaAFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFuVEZKc1FoV2d4aVl1S3hXc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpuiQxOuQpmWJ9Ao_gp9h-6-oWjPKc2TBtL_jRZcK6i6tCVY9H1QDwFWBt2a_aem_iqJ4ZCDPns-ffp-ZyOXE3g

WISE WORDS:

 

I SAW THE RULE OF JENNY PEN

Having access to Shudder allows me to catch productions that have eluded my local theaters. The Rule of Jenny Pen is one such case in point. It's a movie I'm grateful to have experienced.

Directed by James Ashcroft, who co-wrote with Eli Kent (based on a short story by Owen Marshall), Jenny Pen plays like a non-supernatural Bubba Ho-Tep, with heavy margins of Magic, underscored by Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Misery, with the sad surrealism of The Amusement Park and the anxious hope of "Kick the Can."

It tells the plight of Judge Stefan Mortensen, played by Geoffrey Rush, who has a stroke while sentencing a pedophile. He's shipped off to a care home, where he's to recuperate (though it's implied he may become a permanent fixture). Along the way. the wheelchaired judge detects strange behavior from one of the residents, a presumed dementia patient, Dave Crealy, played by John Lithgow, who clings to a baby-doll puppet called Jenny Pen (named after a once popular singer). 

During the afterhours, Mortensen witnesses Crealy using the puppet to taunt his roommate, George Henare's Tony Garfield, a former rugby player, who (thanks to Crealy's sinister prodding) "rules" the poor man with mortifying demands. Crealy, aware that the judge has witnessed the assault, turns on him. This leads to a series of back-and-forth scenarios of reveal-and-conceal, with Mortensen's accusations either ignored or scorned by staff, all due to the Crealy's infantile guise, even as he continues to toy with the facility's other inhabitants. 

Though the story is both clever and engaging, Jenny Pen's performances raise it to a mesmerizing level. Rush's Mortensen may be quarrelsome, but he's also caring and determined enough to earn empathy. Lithgow, meanwhile, has a tour de force as Crealy, swinging from despondent innocent to full-scale sadist, referencing some of his prior villains (in particular of Dexter, Raising Cain, Buckaroo Banzai, Ricochet, Blow Out and Cliffhanger) for a spellbinding blend. Hanare balances the two, as a man who wishes to evade trouble, but only becomes further shackled from his fear, his performance quite tender in those moments when Mortensen implores him to take a stand.   

In the end, Jenny Pen unveils the underbelly of people's facades and the ghastly tactic of gaslighting (making good folks feel bad about themselves). It depicts the utter despair of trying to make others see what's obvious and despite the blaring evidence, having such dismissed. In Jenny Pen's case, Mortensen and Garfield (much like Elvis and JFK in Bubba Ho-Tep) must take matters into their own hands. It takes courage and principle for them to strike back, and their need to do so becomes so riveting that one can't help but cheer them on. 

There's much to identify with in this psychological, terror tale. If one holds a penchant for this type of behavioral study, Jenny Pen is one to seek, and be assured, once found, its message will haunt one forever.  

CLAYFACE: A TWILIGHT ZONE VARIANT?

There's been much said about the Tom Rhys Harries-helmed, James (Speak No Evil) Watkins-directed Clayface trailer this past week, with conjecture landing on just how it might coexist within Batman's legacy without Batman featured. 

There's little doubt that the movie will lean on body-horror tropes, though I imagine Clayface, aka Matt Hagen, will come to adapt a more subdued methodology for his physiological stunts, if only for the sake of inconspicuous survival, which brings to mind a fascinating, first-season, Twilight Zone episode. 

Scripted by Rod Serling, from on a tale penned by George Clayton Johnson, and directed by John Brahm, "The Four of Us Are Dying" introduces a man with the uncanny ability to change his features by mere thought. For quite a spell, this Twilight Zone concept struck me as a viable blueprint to incorporate Clayface into a serious ("grounded") track of Caped Crusader cinema. 

However, even before associating Serling/Johnson's novelty with Batman, I believed that "The Four of Us Are Dying" could work on its own accord, as a movie, novel or series. For the latter, it might hold a Fugitive/Run for Your Life/Then Came Bronson structure, with its morphing lead traveling from town to town, city to city, maybe even nation to nation for some cause or another. Perhaps our bold shapeshifter would do so for no other reason than to broaden his horizons. 

I can only guess what Clayface might entrail. I'd like the "Four of Us Are Dying" approach, though, and the trailer does insinuate such. I just find it peculiar that others haven't detected the obvious. 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: FOOD OF THE GODS/JOSEY WALES/LOGAN'S RUN

 

SALLY THE ZOMBIE CHEERLEADERS' GUIDE TO HORROR: THE NIGHT EVEYLN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE

Sally the Zombie Cheerleader sure knows her cinematic giallo, and she details a death-laden stand-out for her Guide to Horror: 1971's The Night Eveyln Came Out of the Grave. 

Eveyln was directed by Emilio P. (The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) Miraglia and stars spaghetti-western veteran Anthony Steffen, along with Paola Natale, Marina Malfatti, Erika Blanc, Enzo Tarascio, Joan C. Davis ... and Umberto Raho. It includes the vengeful spirit of an unfaithful wife, the lusty lure of redheads and a sadistic aristocrat's consequential descent into eerie paranoia, all capped by a clever, curveball twist. 

There's much to learn about this lurid favorite, and Sally wastes no time layering on the facts and trivia, including the lowdown on the movie's many re-edited versions.

Be sure to attend this enlightening, giallo-gleaned class. You'll come away with an academic appreciation of why Evelyn Came Out of the Grave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8LVeRtgr_g