HAPPY NATIONAL FRANKENSTEIN FRIDAY 2022

 

FAREWELL, JULES BASS...

Thank you from the bottom of our conjoined hearts, Jules Bass, for all the animated joys you directed and produced.  

There are so many, too: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Rudolph's Shiny New Year; Frosty the Snowman; Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July; Santa Claus is Coming to Town; A Year Without Santa Claus; The Little Drummer Boy; Pinocchio's Christmas; The Hobbit; Return of the King; Jack Frost '79; Flight of the Dragons; Peter Cottontail; Easter Rabbit; Leprechaun's Gold; The Strangest Man in Town; The Last Unicorn; and that once underrated gem that became a creepy cult-classic, Mad Monster Party?, not to mention those towering, live-action spectaculars, King Kong Escapes (based on your Saturday-morning staple, The King Kong Show) and the gritty and thunderous The Last Dinosaur, helmed by the gritty and thunderous Richard Boone. 

As you fueled the imaginations of both young and old, you also dispatched annual, family viewings that linked generations in the best possible ways, through one sentimental year to the next.

Beyond any doubt, the fables that you and your partner, Mr. Rankin, forged will never subside, for wonderment and sentimentality can never die, especially when the artistry springs from such a huge and sharing heart. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2022

SNAKE'S VAMPIRE ESCAPE: EIGHTH TOWER SNEAK PEEK

Hey there, Plissken fans! Enjoy a sneak-peek portion of my Snake story in Eighth Tower's online mag at 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/michael-f-housel-73542959

"Snake Against the Vampires: Escape from Pueblo de Sangre" will appear in full in Eighth Tower's Dark Fiction #5. It occurs a year after Escape from New York, and as one may infer from its title, borrows from yet another John Carpenter movie for its adversarial angle. 

Curator Raffaele Pezzella is compiling this Carpenter-inspired edition, and Sarah Walker (a contributing author) is editing. 

This anthology looks like another thematic triumph, so why not get a wee post-apocalyptic, head start from Mr. Pezzella and yours truly? "Snake Against the Vampires" is guaranteed to get your antihero appetite locked and loaded, and your horror vibes spiked and shivered.   

HAPPY BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY 2022

 

I saw Black Adam...

DC/WB's Black Adam, directed by Juame Collett (Jungle Cruise) Sera and written by Rory Haines, Adam Sztykiel and Scharab Nashorvani, is molded like Marvel/Sony's Venom pictures: a villain-by-tradition is made a hero, but in this instance, a sky-high, Dirty Harry one, at that.  

  

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson fills the role of the titular catalyst in a way that will please fans of the Shazam! comic-book series, even if (again) Black Adam, aka Teth-Adam, isn't motivated like the nefarious, comic-book rival of Captain Marvel (yeah, I'm using the original name; so, sue me). Black Adam even teams, albeit by cynicism and restraint, with the Justice Society, though only after Viola Davis' Amanda Waller is thwarted in his takedown.

Our intransient Justice Society consists of Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate; Aldis Hodge's Hawkman; Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher; and Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone. Sara Sahi's Isis-to-be, aka Andriana Tomaz, also lends significance to the adventure, though she's far from her modern-age comic-book persona (or Joanna Cameron's 1970s, television visage) for this ride. (The Lara Croft-ian trailblazer even has a son, played by Bodhi Sabongui, and a brother, played by Mohammed Amer, who make the most of the action with relatable humor.) Oh, and there's no hiding it now; the after-credits do, indeed, sport a super (ahem) cameo. Care to venture who?

Anyway, getting to the plot, Black Adam emerges from his Kahndaq tomb to fight an eventual, satanic-looking antagonist, Marwan Kezari's Sabbac, aka Ishmael Gregor. Our (anti)hero has his hands full. As Cap Marvel and Black Adam draw their powers from noble (though flawed) gods, Sabbac pulls his from the worst of the worst: a well-balanced antichrist, for the lack of a better description, made all the more hellish per a maddening, ancient crown.  

All fantasy-flick villains wish to rule the world, but Sabbac is content just to harness neo Kahndaq. Though his humble craving isn't unique, it's the execution that matters, and in this instance, Sabbac is rotten-to-the-core enough for audiences to root bigtime for Black Adam and his costumed compatriots.

Black Adam's lightning (pun intended) pace never steals from the ensemble, and the exploit is well emoted, with Johnson as charismatic as ever. The same can be said of his top-drawer costars, who gleam with strength and empathy, each becoming who he or she is supposed to be. (On special note, Lorne Balfe's determined score makes all their pursuits ascend with heaven-bent flair.)

Black Adam is the right, "getrdone" shot in the arm for a time hampered by philosophical lassitude and militant corralling. This movie is, therefore, an allegorical gesture to set our cultural confines free, demonstrating that there's nothing wrong with slugging it out to ensure virtue prevails. I like that adage. I like that Black Adam supports it. If you hold a practical view of our current culture (and an ardent wish to return to a lawful creed), so will you. 

PIN-UP TIME: NORMA BATES--MOTHER!

ROMERO'S DAWN OF THE DEAD: 3-D SPLATTER

George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1979) is one of the greatest sequels ever made. As a masterful reply to the writer/director's Night of the Living Dead, it presents an allegorical statement on manic consumerism through mass, zombie infestation (centered at Pittsburgh's spacious Monroeville Shopping Mall), and like its stylish predecessor, it oozes at every turn with garish, EC charm. 

Now, thanks to Regal Events, Dawn's original, theatrical cut returns to the big screen in eye-popping 3-D, and that means effects-maestro Tom Savini's groundbreaking carnage has never been more gut-wrenching.

Dawn is also a character-driven tour de force, thanks to Romero's insightful view of the (in)human condition, and its adept thespians add all the more depth to the plague's beleaguered principals: Ken Foree as Peter Washington, Scott Reininger as Roger DeMarco, David Emge as Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews, Gaylen Ross as Fran "Flygirl" Parker and Mr. Savini as biker-gang intruder, Blades.  

Dawn's score, composed by Goblin and Richard Rubinstein, is an additional reason why the movie has secured its modern-baroque classification. It sounds like a living nightmare, as much as it looks like one, but against all logic, this zombie epic amuses, scares and uplifts at the same time. But then that's Dawn in a nutshell: fun and profound in the most diverse ways, as any classic adventure (horror or otherwise) should be. 

Join Dawn's latest big-screen onslaught this October 28, 29, 30 and 31. It's certain to make one's Halloween a fulfilling, flesh-munching feast to rival 'em all. 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: THE HILLS HAVE EYES/ALICE SWEET ALICE/FRIGHT

THE PHANTOM & CREATURE MEET

They're back! Two of Universal Studios' classic terror flicks return to the big screen this Halloween via Fathom Events: Arthur Lupin's The Phantom of the Opera (1943) and Jack Arnold's The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).  

This combination is a tad unique, in that the movies sport juxtaposing styles, but at the same time, their double-feature aura ideally demonstrates Universal's macabre variety.

The Phantom stars Claude (The Invisible Man) Rains in the lead as Erique Claudin, accompanied by Nelson Eddie, Susana Foster, Edgar Barrier and Fritz Lieber, among other superb cast members. 

Operatic Technicolor is the order of the day for this remake, which set the pace for other Phantom productions, in particular the 1962, Terence Fisher/Hammer adaptation, as well as Andrew Lloyd Weber's sumptuous stage production. 

Phantom 1943 shouldn't be compared to the 1925, Lon Chaney/Rupert Julian classic, and that's okay. This one more than holds its own with ample, tragic panache.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon, in contrast, is a black-and-white triumph (originally shown in 3-D), flaunting wondrous, underwater sequences and a cast that's every bit as impressive as Phantom's. 

As such, we're given Richard Carlson, Richard Denning, Julia Adams, Ginger Stanley (as Ms. Adams' athletic double), Whit Bissell, Antonio Morena, and as the Gill-man, the towering Ben Chapman (on land) and superstar-swimmer Ricou Browning (submerged). 

Millicent Patrick's Gill-man design is an absolute gem to behold and acts as a regal reply to Jack Pierce's long-line of Universal monster makeups; and keep in mind, the big screen can only bring out the Creature's features with superior depth and breadth.

Though The Mummy/Bride of Frankenstein, Fathom double bill from earlier this month caused some controversy by injecting added sound effects and musical inserts to the movies, one can only wonder what "enhancements" might await The Phantom/Creature set, but just having these two biggies beamed again inside an official playhouse should be a tremendous treat. 

The Phantom/Creature revival will hit Fathom Events October 29th. Check local listings for time and place.