The Editor (2014)
Originally published on the Horror 101 with Dr. AC blog 14 September 2015
Wet Hot American Summer set a high bar for genre parodies in that in addition to being a parody, it also acted as both a loving tribute to a very specific subgenre (early ’80s “summer camp” movies) and a respectable entry into that subgenre itself despite its bizarre humor. There have been a few similar parodies in the years since – Black Dynamite immediately comes to mind as one particularly successful example – but no one has come as close to replicating Wet Hot’s mix of parody and tribute as Canadian comedy group Astron-6. Starting out making brilliantly weird shorts and faux trailers, Astron-6 made their feature debut with Father’s Day, a film that does for ’70s revenge and exploitation films what Wet Hot did for those camp movies. But Father’s Day actually goes one better, tearing off into a macabre and unexpected direction in a jaw-dropping final act. The next film from the collective, Manborg, took on direct-to-video sci-fi/action films of the late ’80s and early ’90s and garnered a cult following of its own.
Their latest film, The Editor, finds Astron-6 focusing their crazed comedic energy on a new target: Italian exploitation cinema of the 1960s through the 1980s, from the Giallo films of Dario Argento and Sergio Martino to the horror films of Lucio Fulci and the Poliziotteschi films of Fernando di Leo and Enzo G. Castellari. The result may not be as unexpectedly outrageous as their previous feature, but that has to be at least partly because Astron-6 has become an established presence in genre circles thanks to their brilliant ability to identify, emulate, and/or send up the defining aspects of genre cinema. Additionally, it would be damn near impossible for anyone to out-weird the kind of films which they’re mimicking this time around, although they do their best to at least play on the same level of absurdity that defines the most nonsensical of those movies.
Ray Ciso (Adam Brooks) was one of the best editors in the world before he accidentally chopped off the fingers on his right hand in an editing accident. Now he’s been reduced to cutting together cheap exploitation movies with his beautiful assistant Bella (Samantha Hill) by day and returning home to his abusive washed-up actress wife Josephine (Paz de la Huerta) by night. One night two actors are murdered in the studio by a mysterious black-gloved figure, and Ray quickly becomes the top suspect for investigating detective Peter Porfiry (Matthew Kennedy). Porfiry strikes up a friendship with terrible actor Cal Konitz (Conor Sweeney), who is excited his co-star has been eliminated so his part in the movie can be bigger. As Porfiry is drawn deeper into the investigation following a home invasion by the killer, Ciso’s sense of reality breaks down. The bodies pile up and Porfiry learns that not all is what it seems: Father Clarke (Laurence Harvey) explains to Porfiry that in ancient Roman times, editors were considered gatekeepers to the netherworld. What began as a simple murder investigation may become something much more dangerous not only for the people working at the studio, but for reality itself.
The principal references in The Editor are Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” trilogy (City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, and The House by the Cemetery), the Giallo films that followed the blueprint established by Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace (black-gloved killers in long coats, beautiful people dying in horrible ways), and Dario Argento’s Suspiria (with its lurid, eye-searing Technicolor and inventively staged and photographed violence). Any viewer familiar with those films will immediately recognize their presence looming over The Editor, which pays respectful homage to the best aspects of those films while gleefully sending up the worst. The lighting and cinematography are carefully designed to call those films to mind, and even the sound has been completely overdubbed to occasionally comic effect – this isn’t so much a running joke as it is a sincere attempt to duplicate the style of Italian exploitation filmmaking, which was frequently done without using any on-set dialogue recording.
Directors Brooks and Kennedy strive to give the film a look that is reminiscent of their inspirations without attempting to pass the film off as a genuine artifact of the '80s, thankfully refraining from covering the movie in “film noise.” The result is an independent production that looks like a lot of thought and care went into how it was designed, which further helps The Editor stand out from contemporary genre pastiches. As with Father’s Day, however, Astron-6 fully commits to out-exploiting the exploitation films that inspired them. The Editor is awash in buckets of gore, with excellent practical effects for its sections in the “real” world and ridiculous makeup and effects for scenes for its film-within-a-film. This time around they farmed out some of the makeup and effects work to outside artists, who all acquit themselves admirably with some fantastic work. Anyone wondering if the overt sexuality of many Giallo films will be addressed should put their concerns to rest: there is plenty of male and female nudity on display, and one of the best running jokes in the film is the appearance of various scantily-clad and nude extras wandering around in the background of scenes for no compelling reason
But even while the jokes come fast and furious, The Editor has direct ties to some of its primary influences with an appearance from the legendary Udo Kier (who was in Suspiria) and music by Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti. It’s gruesome, over-the-top, and absurd, but so were a lot of the Italian films its creators clearly worship, and that fact works against the film as an outrageous parody – this is really only a shade or two more ridiculous than, say, Inferno – but positions The Editoras something closer to a new entry into the canon of those films.
Shout! Factory has given The Editor a great Blu-ray/DVD combo release, starting with great packaging (cardboard slipcase and reversible cover art with two of the film’s festival posters) and extending into some nice special features. The best of these are a full-length commentary with Astron-6 members Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, and Conor Sweeney (cinematographer Jon’Nathon Stebbe also joins them for a short time) and a 50+ minute behind-the-scenes piece entitled "Making Movies Used to Be Fun."
Taken together, the commentary and “making of” paint a vivid picture of how these guys and their many friends and collaborators work tirelessly – and sometimes dangerously – to get their vision on the screen. As with Father’s Day, the Astron-6 guys did all their own stunts, including a high-speed car chase on back roads and a lot more time spent getting up closer to a running chainsaw than just about anybody would feel comfortable with.
Also included are deleted scenes (at least one of which was actually in the cut of the film that screened at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2014), goofy featurettes on the music and poster art, and a filmed introduction created to run in front of the movie at film festivals. The Editor proves once again that the gentlemen of Astron-6 are among the smartest, most uniquely talented, and hardest-working filmmakers on the international genre scene. Here’s hoping that the film’s home video release will help it find the audience it deserves – and that it helps Astron-6 get in front of and behind the cameras again as soon as possible.
Effects (1980)
Originally published on Film Monthly 25 August 2017
The restoration and preservation efforts from the collaboration of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) and Something Weird Video got off to a spectacular start with their Blu-ray/DVD release of The Zodiac Killer. These two entities have done much to save cult and exploitation film history, AGFA primarily working in acquiring and distributing film prints for theatrical exhibition and Something Weird traditionally focusing on home video releases. Together, their new home video imprint promises to bring some lost gems to a whole new audience and keep these films in circulation for a long time to come. Their latest release is a Blu-ray of Effects, a Pittsburgh-shot horror film from friends and collaborators of George A. Romero.
Lacey Bickel (John Harrison) has gathered a small crew at his remote cabin to shoot a horror movie. On hand are his former lover Celeste (Susan Chapek), an actress who seems to be annoyed that she’s not in front of the camera, Dominic (Joe P
ilato), an easygoing freelance cinematographer, bickering married actors Barney (Bernard McKenna) and Rita (Debra Gordon), and Lacey’s regular right-hand man Lobo (Charles Hoyes). Lacey also brings in some outside help from drug dealer Nicky (Tom Savini), whose introduction to the tight-knit cast and crew grates on Celeste and Dominic’s nerves. Spending so much time in such close quarters, the relationships between the cast and crew are already frayed. Meanwhile, in a mysterious “control room” another crew watches the action in the cabin on a set of monitors. Dominic reluctantly finds himself in the dangerous position of amateur detective–what exactly is going on here, and who is really running the show?
Effects, was the feature directorial debut of Dusty Nelson, who had some crew experience in the 1970s including working on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. The cast and crew included a number of people who worked with Romero on previous films and who would go on to work with him in later projects as well: Pilato unforgettably starred as the power-mad Rhodes in 1985’s Day of the Dead, Savini was a regular collaborator in front of and behind the camera doing makeup and effects work for Romero’s films, and Harrison composed the scores for this film, Creepshow (1982), and Day of the Dead. The collegial atmosphere of the earlier parts of the film is likely totally genuine: Effects, works very well as a portrait of the ups and downs of an independent film production before pivoting into much darker territory. Harrison and Pilato both give great performances, but Pilato really deserves special mention for creating and inhabiting a character who is so completely removed from his iconic portrayal of Rhodes. Dominic is a laid-back, good-natured guy who handles himself admirably when faced with a very difficult situation.
AGFA and SWV have given Effects, a 4K scan from the only surviving 35mm print of the film. Like The Zodiac Killer, the transfer is mostly focused on a presentation as close as possible to viewing the movie on film. Rather than painstakingly removing every imperfection in the print, Effects, looks beautifully ragged. It’s not a terribly worn print–and the color looks great–but the commitment to a filmic presentation is perfect for such a gritty low-budget horror film. Some horror fans might find much of Effects, to be dull, but the intense final act more than makes up for the less genre-centric “slice of life” portrait of life on an indie film set that makes up the first hour or so of the film. This is a sorely underseen classic that certainly deserves to be seen by a bigger audience, and hopefully this new Blu-ray will help make that happen.
El Monstro Del Mar! (2010)
Originally published on Film Monthly 28 February 2012
While the grindhouse nostalgia train keeps rollin’, Australian filmmaker Stuart Simpson has gone back further in time for his inspiration, to the exploitation and creature features of the 1950s and 1960s. El Monstro Del Mar! comes on like a hybrid of Russ Meyer and Roger Corman, and its opening minutes are so convincing that it’s almost a disappointment when the black & white film changes to color. Still, El Monstro Del Mar! has a distinct 60s flavor that helps it stand out from the direct-to-disc throng, and it’s one of the better recent imports from Breaking Glass Pictures.
Beretta (Nelli Scarlet), Blondie (Karli Madden) and Snowball (Kate Watts) are on their way to a sleepy seaside town where a friend has set up a hideout for them to lay low and wait for things to cool down after their last job. See, these ladies aren’t just fans of rockabilly music headed for the beach, they’re stone cold killers. Once they reach their destination, they are warned to stay out of the water, but only after they’ve been splashing around for a while. That night their loud partying annoys their wheelchair-bound neighbor Joseph (Norman Yemm), who sends his granddaughter Hannah (Kyrie Capri) to tell them to quiet down.
Instead, Hannah reluctantly ends up partying with the girls and waking the next morning with a killer hangover. But a hangover and a disappointed grandpa are the least of Hannah’s worries now: something in the water that has slept for the last 15 years has been awakened, and it’s hungry for human flesh. As townsfolk start disappearing, the lethal ladies find themselves in the position of reluctant heroes, unwillingly drawn into a showdown with an ancient sea creature that is more than happy to eat any living creature that happens to get in its way.
El Monstro Del Mar! is a lot of fun, but even with its slim running time of just over 70 minutes, there’s not quite as much “Monstro” as one might expect. Despite a few sequences sprinkled through the film, the monster is never shown in all its stop-motion glory until the finale– true to many of the films that inspired Monstro. Also, the Russ Meyer aesthetic carries over to the actual amount of nudity on display. In other words, if you’ve seen Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, you’ll know what to expect, but anyone thinking this is going to be a non-stop parade of naked ladies is going to be sorely disappointed. Writer/director Stuart Simpson mostly keeps the content of the film true to its 1960s inspirations, although the gore seems imported from another highly influential 60s filmmaker: Herschell Gordon Lewis. When it comes to violent scenes, Simpson doesn’t skimp on the red stuff. El Monstro Del Mar! is a good time, and fans of bad girls, vintage monster movies and buckets of gore should not miss it.
Erik the Conqueror (1961)
Originally published on Film Monthly 12 September 2017
The Blu-ray era has been very kind to the legacy of legendary Italian director Mario Bava. Even in earlier home video formats, Bava’s incredible eye for striking compositions and color palettes has been obvious. But Blu-ray has led to some major restorations of some of his best work, including Arrow Video’s releases of The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Blood and Black Lace and Kino Lorber’s releases of The Whip and the Body and The House of Exorcism among others. Until now, however, none of Bava’s peplum films have made the jump to HD. Arrow’s new release of Erik the Conqueror (1961) makes a solid case for bringing the master’s other “sword and sandal” epics to Blu-ray as soon as possible.
The film opens with the English army led by treacherous Sir Rutford (Andrea Checchi) massacring a village of peaceful Vikings in hopes of expelling them from the island forever. In the confusion of the battle, the sons of the Viking king are separated: one is returned to the land of the Vikings, the other adopted by Queen Alice of England (Françoise Christophe) to be raised as her own son. Twenty years later, Eron (Cameron Mitchell) is a high-ranking Viking warrior and next in line to be king himself–so long as he can keep secret his affair with Daya (Ellen Kessler), one of the kingdom’s vestal virgins. Erik (George Ardisson) is named Duke of Helford and sets off with all the ships of England to conquer the Vikings. But Rutford still has his eye on the throne, and sends a spy to sabotage Erik’s mission. The paths of the brothers cross again and again, but will they learn the truth in time to avoid a tragedy? Or have Rutford’s machinations already insured his victory?
Erik the Conqueror was “inspired” by Richard Fleischer’s 1958 film The Vikings starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis as Viking brothers–Curtis’s character is even named “Eric.” But while The Vikings was an American studio film distributed by United Artists, Erik the Conqueror was produced on a much more modest scale in Italy. Bava makes up for the lack of the kind of sweeping location shooting that helped make The Vikings a success by turning the land of the Vikings into a surreal underworld. It is introduced during a ceremony in which the vestal virgins dance before the execution of one of their number who broke her vow of chastity: she and her lover are strung up on a raised platform adorned with skulls while the virgins dance before a massive tree bathed in lurid purple light. While there are no overtly magical elements in the film, Bava’s approach here is very much like his work on Hercules in the Haunted World. He uses imaginative and outrageous lighting and staging to mask the film’s comparatively meager production values, and does so to great effect.
The film itself is highly entertaining, with Cameron Mitchell giving a fiery and compelling performance as Eron. Despite the title of the film, Eron feels like the principal character here. Erik is much less interesting, although how much of
that is weaker writing and how much may be Ardisson’s blandly handsome presence is up for debate. There is quite a bit of action, including opening and closing battles on a surprisingly large scale. Anyone looking for historical accuracy will obviously want to look elsewhere, but for a rousing action epic with top-shelf cinematography and direction Erik the Conqueror is an excellent film on its own merits. Arrow Video has restored the film in 2K from the 35mm camera negative, and as with their previous work on Bava’s films it looks spectacular. Here’s hoping Hercules in the Haunted World and Knives of the Avenger are next in line for Bava on Blu-ray!
Evil Things (2009)
Originally published on Film Monthly 16 September 2011
Evil Things opens with a title card indicating that what you are about to watch is a tape of evidence in the investigation of five missing college students. If that is the case, then apparently the FBI has decided to add a soundtrack, fade-outs, and footage from multiple cameras to the “home video” depicting the last few hours those students were alive. In short, despite some good ideas, Evil Things refuses to play by the rules of the “found footage” style of horror film, which is too bad since the film’s setup is promising.
The Unrepentant Cinephile Page 23