Chadwick H. Saxelid's Blog: Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggedy Beasties, page 18

Psycho III (1986) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - July 2, 1986
In addition to the underperforming Big Trouble in Little China, a second sequel to Psycho was also released to theaters and drive-ins across the United States on the fourth of July weekend of 1986.

And, just as was the case with the former, this was another that seemed to come and go from theaters before I returned from an overseas visit to my family. Which seems weird, as I saw Maximum Overdrive on its opening weekend, which was a mere two weeks later, while I was visiting friends in Dallas.

That being said, when I did finally get around to seeing Psycho III I found it to be an atmospheric and interesting close to what I have come to consider an unexpected trilogy of films. I also tend to ignore the contradictory nature of the film's final image, as it smacks of being something mandated by the studio so that a Psycho IV could be (and was) made.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #63

Dallas and his team devise a plan for disposing of the Alien: with an electrical rod, they will force the monster into an air lock and out of the Nostromo!

Although I have not watched Alien in some time, I have seen it enough times to know that Dallas and his team still believed they were dealing with a quart-sized creature at this time in the film. One they could capture by hand and either shoot out the airlock or freeze for later study.

This is just another example, or reminder, of how this trading card series stream-lined or altered the film's narrative for whatever reason(s).

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) - Soundtrack

Although ignored and dismissed by audiences, critics, and even its own production company at time of release, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter would survive to become a minor cult classic. One that, after I managed to catch up with it, became one of my favorite latter day Hammer Film offerings.

Randall D. Larson's liner notes for this limited edition release offers a detailed history of the film's genesis, production, and release, before focusing on Laurie Johnson's excellent score.
"The title sequence of any film," Johnson explains in the liner notes, "is really furnishing a house for a guest to come in to." No surprise that the film's Main Title serves as an auditory introduction to the film's narrative themes.
First is a rousing motif for trumpet that is countered by an energetic theme for violin. This melody characterizes Kronos's heroic purity and nobility. A second theme is then introduced. This darker and less melodic section represents the vampiric menace Kronos will be battling.
While those three themes serve as the foundation and backbone of the score, with variations on them weaved throughout the film, there is another that is pointed out that is worth mentioning. A low-end bassoon is used to create a rumbling texture that introduces and underplays during vampiric attack scenes.
This is a terrific score for a wonderful "little" movie that tried, but failed, to birth a new heroic horror movie icon. Which is too bad, because the potential displayed in this introduction is just breath-taking.

Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - July 1, 1986
Having recovered from the stinging rebuke of 1982's The Thing, John Carpenter suffered yet another stinging rebuke with the disastrous under performance of Big Trouble in Little China.

As much as I was looking forward to seeing this on the big screen, I was unable to. I believe I might have been overseas at the time, in Hong Kong, visiting family when it opened. By the time I returned to the United States, Big Trouble in Little China, having sunk like a stone at the box office, had vanished from theaters. So it goes.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #65

Missing
The "missing" poster was first posted in Burkittsville toward the end of October, 1994. Almost exactly a year later, it was redistributed with the discovery of the students' footage. "It's strange that (something) always happens in a fifty-year pattern," commented Bill Barnes, director of the Burkittsville Historical Society. "She (the Blair Witch) always surfaces, or something surfaces that leads to her..." 

At the Earth's Core (1976) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - June 30, 1976
The mid-to-late 1970s saw the release of a handful of science-fantasy adventure movies based on the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs. All of them starred Doug McClure and were directed by Kevin Connor.

Two of the films were produced by Hammer Film rival Amicus Productions. The Land That Time Forgot (1974) and, the subject of today's post, 1976's At the Earth's Core.

Today's subject would also be the last film from Amicus Productions. So it goes.

I don't think I actually watched At the Earth's Core, start to finish, until well into the 21st century. Better late than never, I guess.

Contemporary viewers can snicker and crack jokes about the dated rubber monsters and unapologetic artifice of the film's studio-bound sets, but that is also what gives this movie its ample character and charm.

If watching this film, which even at the time of its original release looked and felt hopelessly out of date, can warm your heart and make you smile, then congratulations. It appears your inner child is alive and well.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #62

The murderous Alien is loose on the Nostromo! It cannot be blown to bits, as its acid-like blood will eat through the metal of the tug. How, then can the Creature be killed? 

Cat National Parks Travel - A 1000 Piece Puzzle

28 Days Later (2002) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - June 27, 2003
2003 was not a good year for me. That having been acknowledged, I can say that the stateside release of 28 Days Later did allow me an appreciated escape into a world of apocalyptic and cathartic terror. What an exhilarating rush seeing it for the first time, on the big screen, was for me.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #64

Finding the Car
The only piece of evidence found by the police was Joshua Leonard's car, parked on Black Rock Road. "We checked the car over completely. Never found any clues with the vehicle," stated Burkittsville Sheriff Ron Cravens who conducted the original search. Cravens has been criticized, off the record, for his handling of the high-profile case by forces within his own department.

Having reached the end of the movie, the cards return to the deleted backstory elements cut from the finished film and that were used to market the movie instead.