I watched a few YouTube flicks this weekend. First up was this mid seventies thriller starring Yvonne DeCarlo of the Munsters. Though I think calling it a thriller is a stretch due to the lack of thrills.
A group of people are taken to an island for the reading of a will from a relative that supposedly died, or something like that. Honestly, the plot was kind of hard to follow and was more confusing than anything else. Anyway, they figure out that their dead relative had stashed a lot of gold somewhere on the property, so they set about to find it. A mysterious killer begins to stalk them one by one, and they desperately attempt to find out who the killer is before they become the next victim. While the movie makes use of creepy music, most of the kills happen off screen, with the dead body being discovered later. The film is badly acted, the deaths are mostly dull, and it features one of the lamest, but also unintentionally hilarious fights I’ve seen between two fools who are karate chopping each other back and forth. The ending is a nonsensical mess, with a “twist” that doesn’t work because by that point, you have no idea what’s going on, who certain characters are, nor do you really care. This flick could’ve benefited from a less confusing plot, more colorful dialogue, better filmed murders, and more interesting characters. DeCarlo, who has the best screen presence, is the first to die. Hopefully she received a decent paycheck for starring in this. The film was allegedly shelved by its distribution company, never receiving a theatrical or home video release, and now that I’ve watched it, I can see why.
The next flick was a bit more interesting. 1980’s Phobia is a Canadian thriller about a psychiatrist who’s conducting a new therapy where he’s attempting to cure 5 patients of their phobias.
Dr. Peter Ross (Paul Michael Glaser of Starsky & Hutch) is conducting his phobia study with 5 convicts, providing each with therapy that exposes them to their worst phobia, in an attempt to cure them of it. He does this by putting them in a room with a large screen that shows images of what they’re most afraid of. His most advanced patient, a woman with agoraphobia, is ready for the next step. He has her go out into the city and onto a crowded train for a while. Afterwards, she’s to find her way back to his home, where he will meet her there and they can discuss her progress. After dropping her off at the train station, he’s reminded by his cleaning lady what day it is, and he remembers that he has hockey practice, so he goes to the rink and tells the housekeeper to have his patient wait for him when he returns. The woman gets to his home, but then gets killed by a homemade bomb that was meant for the doctor. The police now must work to uncover who the killer is before there’s another victim.
The acting is decent, with the storyline playing out like a made for TV mystery. The therapy the psychiatrist uses to rid his patients of their fears reminded me of the therapy in Cronenberg’s The Brood, where that doctor pushed his patients too far, resulting in a bad outcome. The murders in this film are mostly tame, and the identity of the killer, as well as the motive offer a twist, though it’s not that big a surprise if you pay attention. It wasn’t as dark as I was expecting, but it’s still an ok flick.
The final flick in my trilogy was Rottweiler aka Dogs of Hell, a very cheesy romp about a pack of killer dogs.
The military breed and train a pack of Rottweiler dogs to kill, in the hopes of using them to carry out missions. A transport truck that’s carrying them crashes, causing them to escape near a small vacation town. After a few people are slaughtered by the dogs, the sheriff of the town, Hank, works with the local doctor to figure out what killed the victims. A scientist that worked on the project overhears the military officers talking about the truck accident, so he heads to the town to find the dogs. He meets the sheriff and tells him about the project. Now Hank has to fight to protect his community from these killer canines.
The movie was originally shot in 3D, and you can tell, as there are several scenes where things seem to go towards the screen, including an early one where the sheriff is shooting darts while sitting at his desk. The town is filled with colorful characters, many reciting corny but memorable dialogue. The kills are bloody and fun, getting better as the film progresses, including someone falling through a skyline, and a car flying off the road and blowing up. The entire flick is cheesy and entertaining, with the climax including a big fire, a ridiculous knife fight, and a few shots of fake dog heads being blown apart by guns. Rottweiler aka Dogs of Hell is an entertaining b-movie. All of these flicks are on YouTube, from two channels called 42nd Street Cult and 42nd Street Films Grindhouse, which showcase old grindhouse and exploitation films.
Comments
Post a Comment