GOODBYE, GERRIT GRAHAM

You could be somber and then silly, virile and then giddy. You covered all spots on the great, acting spectrum, establishing yourself as one of the top-drawer character actors of an appreciative generation. 

Your performance as the bawdy Beef in Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise may be my favorite of your visages, but there are so many to pluck and savor: Hi, Mom!, Home Movies (the latter two also for De Palma), Beware! The Blob (Son of Blob), Chopping Mall (Killbots), C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D., Tunnel Vision, TerrorVision, Child's Play 2, It's Alive III: Island of the Alive, Demon Seed, The Wasp Woman (1995), The Creature Wasn't Nice, Martians Go Home, Ratboy, The Philadelphia Experiment II, Strange New World, Walker, The Little Mermaid (Disney), Magic in the Mirror: Fowl Play, Big Man on Campus, National Lampoon's Class Reunion, National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins, Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare, Last Resort, Sidekicks, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, Used Cars, Stuart Saves His Family, The Annihilators, Bobbie Joe and the Outlaw, Cannonball, Night of the Cyclone, The Hatfields and the McCoys (1975), Pretty Baby, Soup for One, Greetings, Special Delivery, Frozen Assets, Old Boyfriends, Au Pair 3: Trouble in Paradise, My Girl 2, The Man with One Red Shoe, Stick It in Detroit, Shake Rattle and Roll, Likely Stories Vol 2, The Love Letter, Love Matters, The Break, One True Thing, Cove Road, Chaotic Ana, The Search for Animal Chin and This Boy's Life. 

On television's episodic side, you seized a lead in Just Friends (with Stockard Channing) and held recurring roles on Parker Lewis Can't Loose and Now and Again, in addition to cowriting two 1980s, Twilight Zone episodes (with Chris Hubbell), "Opening Day" and "Still Life," and starring in the series' "Welcome to Winfield," where you played Death. You also visited Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Future Cop, Weird Science, Whiz Kids, Tales from the Crypt, New Wave Theatre, Starkey & Hutch, The Rookies, Harry O, Baretta, Miami Vice, Diagnosis: Murder, Third Watch, The A-Team, The Young Riders, Sidekicks (derived from The Last Electric Knight), The Wonder Years, China Beach, Sledge Hammer!, Medical Story, St. Elsewhere, Law & Order, Civil Wars, Reasonable Doubts, Seinfeld, Davis Rules, Parenthood, Sugar and Spice, Dear John, My Two Dads, Family Matters, Dog and Cat, Throb, A Different World, Fame, Dallas, Dynasty, The Larry Sanders Show ... Laverne & Shirley, along with voice work for The Pink Panther, Gargoyles, The Tick, Bruno the Kid, The Critic, Dumb and Dumber and Fievel's American Tails. 

You knocked it outta the park so many times over, Mr. Graham, creating a ubiquitous presence that brimmed of consistent variance. (Heck, you even found time to compose for the Grateful Dead!) This is why you were respected. This is why you won't be forgotten. You made your chameleon-like uniqueness shine--a boundless trait that few could ever match, let alone brandish on such a vast, ceaseless level. ∞

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: NIGHT OF BLOODY HORROR/NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

I SAW RESIDENT EVIL (2026)

 

Director Zach (Barbarian/Weapons) Creeger has succeeded yet again, thanks to his "everyman" adaptation based on the famed, Resident Evil games. This isn't a remake of a previous, film adaptation, but a redesign of the concept's creepy, catch-and-grab formula.  

Creeger, who cowrote the movie with Shay (Army of the Dead/John Wick 3) Hatten, presents a young, medical-organ transporter named Bryan, played by Austin (Weapons) Abrams, who's dispatched to deliver a mysterious package to Racoon City Hospital, as a snowstorm mounts and a sweeping, Umbrella Company-launched, T-virus moistens one and all. In conjunction with these (pardon the understatement) maddening conditions, Bryan's ordeal plays out in "real time," as he slips through mishap upon mishap, embellished by over-the-shoulder shots and whenever it feels right, plenty of edgy, identifiable humor. (Bryan is rather like Bruce Campbell's Ash, though without the rubbery, epic-hero lampooning.) 

Lovecraftian/"Who Goes There?"/Alien-ish-assembling mutants comprise his prime obstacles, and these sickly specimens cement the story's George A. Romero, claustrophobic fuel, though mind you, the outside world is as suffocating as any blood-splattered chamber.

Beyond Bryan, there are several others involved. We get Paul Walker Hauser's Carl and Zach Cherry's Dave, a couple of bumbling, Umbrella higher-ups; Kali Reiss' Pauline, an Umbrella security officer; Molly Daisy's little, infected girl and Johnno Wilson's Sheriff Max, who comes upon Bryan early on, after our devoted emissary strikes Andrea Milternova's Deadite-like woman with his car. 

Though the story stays basic throughout, the intersecting characters put steam in its stride, much like those of any given, Romero movie, where even the supporting players resonate. However, some may miss the stylized spunk of Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich's high-contrast passages. This Resident Evil, despite its fast, lean pace, is driven more by a subdued palette, coupled with the escalating dread of The Walking Dead and 28 Days/Weeks/Years Later.

Furthermore, though the redux has Creeger's fingerprints all over it, it doesn't embrace those crafty, shifting reveals that distinguish his other horror movies. Again, his Resident Evil abides by a tiering, beat-the-clock narrative, akin to The Setup, High Noon, Three O'Clock High, Rope and Running Time. Depending on one's disposition, that may be good or bad. (In addition, the story springs an inconclusive ending, which may trigger a comparable, controversial effect, though it also invites a sequel.) 

For giving its customary premise a new spin, I believe Resident Evil (2026) is, indeed, good, or at least a timely, raw-nerve example of the "infected" genre, which makes it rather relevant, considering the updated, COVID narrative that now populates the news.

If one desires a solid, pre-Halloween sojourn, this one should do the trick. If one is a Resident Evil fan, whether of the games or the prior movies, there's still enough tradition installed in Creeger's restart to hit the mark; so why not give his bold revision a generous, biohazard shot? 

HAPPY BATMAN DAY 2026 (9/19)

 

I SAW JUSTIN HAYWARD AT THE KESWICK

I had the profound pleasure of seeing Justin Hayward at the quaint Keswick Theatre in lovely Glenside, Pa on Tuesday evening (with my brother, Fred, our friend, Ken, and his son, Nick), as part of Hayward's Story in Your Eyes/Stories Live Tour. To say the least, it was a spellbinding experience. 

Hayward and his ultra-talented bandmates performed a haunting queue of his best (though, in truth, all of his tunes, whether Moody Blues-based or beyond, are the best). The superb lineup included "Nights in White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon," "Question," "Meanwhile," "You and Me," "Lovely to See You," "Living in the Land of Make Believe," "In Your Wildest Dreams," "I Know You're Out There Somewhere," "The Voice," "Voices in the Sky," "In My World," "Say It With Love," "Living For Love", "The Day We Meet Again," "One Lonely Room," "Out and In," "A Minute Ago," "Forever Autumn" (from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds) and of course, "The Story in Your Eyes." (Hayward also engaged in a cordial, question-and-answer session midway through the concert, giving the proceedings a welcome intimacy.)

I saw the Moodies at the Spectrum in Philly in October 1986. I have strong, fond memories of that event. I will now have strong, fond memories of this one.

BTW: For souvenirs, I purchased the below featured T-shirt and cap: stylish, commemorative collectibles that I'll forever treasure. 

I thank you, Mr. Hayward, for the sublime impact you've had on me and so many fans over these many years. God bless you, sir.🙏

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES & BEAST OF BLOOD

 

SALLY THE ZOMBIE CHEERLEADER'S SCHOOL OF HORROR: HORROR HOTEL, AKA THE CITY OF THE DEAD

Sally the Zombie Cheerleader's School of Horror dishes up one of the great folk-horror flicks, known as Horror Hotel (to Americans) and The City of the Dead (to the Brits). 

Christopher Lee leads this Lewton/Bava-esque opus, playing an occult professor whose prize student (Venetia Stevenson) visits a coven in Whitewood, Massachusetts. (Pssst! The "city" is cursed due to a witch burning in 1692. Indeed, devil-pact mayhem and vengeful comeuppance are assured.) 

Sally reveals fascinating facts on director John Llewellyn Moxy's menacing vision, which was scripted by Milton Subotsky, who (along with Max J. Rosenberg) was a significant force behind Amicus' popular, horror anthologies. Sally also offers a clever comparison of Horror Hotel to its 1960 competition, Psycho: a coincidental but impactful overlap that's hard to shake once one sees it. (And as a nifty bonus, the presentation is underscored by pop-up, liner notes, which rival even those of VH1's tuneful heyday.) 

This is one class that can't be skipped, for Sally (assisted by SkeleKat and her demonic-duo dolls) is dead set on making her fond fleshies experts in the fine art of witchcraft or at least have them possess the means not to become sacrificial lambs.

One can attend Sally's illuminating, Horror Hotel/The City of the Dead dissertation at ... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecukDj--Oew