Chadwick H. Saxelid's Blog: Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggedy Beasties, page 32

Body Double (1984) - Soundtrack

Body Double would be the fifth collaboration between writer/director Brian De Palma and composer Pino Donaggio. While the movie itself is something of a delirious and self-indulgent De Palma fever dream of silliness, sleaze, and suspense, Donaggio's score for the film contains two of my all-time favorite pieces by the composer. Emphasis on pieces.

The first, and most recognizable, would be Telescope, of course. "A lilting vocal siren song weaves through this cue," Jeff Bond writes in his liner notes. "De Palma evidently found this music so integral to the film that he tracked it into a number of later sequences that focus on Scully's obsession with Gloria."

Second is a low pulsating synthesizer suspense underlay that, in this release, shines brightest on the track Detective McClane, Please! My reason(s) for loving it are most likely do to it sounding, to me, like something John Carpenter and Alan Howarth might have done at that particular period in time.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - April 15, 1983

Despite my not being all that well versed in Ray Bradbury's literary output at the time, I was nonetheless very excited and intrigued by both the premise and promise of this film adaptation of Something Wicked This Way Comes.

That excitement was the result of my reading several articles about the film in both Fangoria and The Twilight Zone magazines. The former featured a stellar interview with Bradbury, conducted by Lawrence French, that described a sequence that had a "train magically [transform] itself into a standing carnival. Steam from the locomotive develops into tents and cages, which house all kinds of strange creatures." [Fangoria #27, Pg. 28]

My mythical-god, that sounded so cool. I also remember reading a description about a spider's web being transformed into a ferris wheel, which might have appeared in The Twilight Zone. I cannot fact check that memory, though. Because I no longer have the June 1983 issue that features the coverage. So it goes.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #36

 

The Medusa Touch (1978) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - April 14, 1978
47 years ago today the telekinesis-themed thriller The Medusa Touch opened around the San Francisco Bay Area. While I have a foggy memory of sitting in a movie theater and being unsettled by the plane being forced to crash into a building, I know that I did not see the movie itself until it aired on the CBS Late Movie on August 25, 1982.

Although I found it to be somewhat tad talky and slow for after midnight viewing, it nonetheless held my interest all the way to its ominous, albeit grin inducing, ending.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #38

Night Visitor
The students were awakened in the middle of their second night by strange thrashing sounds, distant noises that seemed to surround them. Heather, followed by 16mm camera-carrying Josh, ventured into the darkness and called out, "Hello?" There was no reply. "All I could think of was, I gotta get it... I want it on sound, I want to see it on 16," Heather told an apprehensive Mike the following morning. 

Frederick the Literate - A 1000 piece puzzle by Buffalo Games

 

Death of a Unicorn (2025) - Movie Review

"Now give me the horn."

The arrival of Elliot (Paul Rudd) and his estranged daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) at the Leopold Family Retreat is delayed when their car strikes a unicorn. Reluctant to admit to injuring and then killing a supposedly mythological being, Elliot tries to keep the evidence hidden.

But the unicorn is not dead. It awakens, is discovered, and... well, let's just say things go from bad, to very bad, to nightmarish... 

When asked, via text, of what I thought of Death of a Unicorn, I responded, "Pretty good, but not great." There was a lot of stuff about it that I liked, but there were also crucial things that I just could not connect with.

As far as the stuff I liked goes... I thought the casting of every member of the Leopold family was spot on. Richard E. Grant, Tea Leoni, and Will Poulter play the most loveably detestable of human beings. Watching them walk over, talk over, and gaslight everyone around them was equal parts hilarious and infuriating. I loved hating them.

Jenna Ortega is tasked with holding and nurturing the emotional heart of the film, as well serving as both a greek chorus for the audience and a frustrated Cassandra within the film itself, and also does an excellent job.

Writer/director Alex Scharfman also did his homework regarding unicorn mythology and drew inspiration from The Unicorn Tapestries. I also give a nod of thanks for this, as a visit to The Cloisters in New York City has now been added to my bucket list.

That was the good, now, unfortunately, I must turn my critical eye to Paul Rudd's Elliot, which is where I failed to connect with the film. I don't know if it was the writing, or the performance, or, most likely, both, but I just did not like or root for Elliot at any point during his supposed redemption arc. What is missing are glimpses or hints of any self-awareness or self-loathing behind Elliot's smarmy and sycophantic behavior and machinations.

I did not see, much less believe, Elliot's supposed slow and painful journey to reconciliation with Ridley. If I had, then I would be singing praises for Death of a Unicorn. Instead, the most I can about it is that it was, "Pretty good, but not great." So it goes.

Anaconda (1997) - Newspaper Ad(s)

Two ads for Anaconda that appeared in the San Francisco Examiner when it opened. 

San Francisco Examiner - April 11, 1997

I wanted to see it, but was unable to until it was released on home video. So it goes.

San Francisco Examiner - April 11, 1997

One of my favorite Siskel & Ebert reviews was the one they did for Anaconda. The twinkle in Gene Siskel's eyes, and that goofy grin that spread across his face, when he said, "I give it thumbs up for Jon Voight and the snake, how's that for film criticism!?!"

Yes, Siskel and Ebert could be sticks in the mud regarding b-cinema. But when a delightful piece of entertaining 'trash' did manage to grab their hearts, or tickle their fancies, they would be as gleefully enthusiastic about it as the 'good' stuff.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #35

 

Body Bags (1993) - Soundtrack

When John Carpenter performed live at the Fox Theater in Oakland, way back in 2016, a playlist of recordings from his various soundtracks was broadcast over the sound system while the crowd filed in and took their seats.

One of those selections just so happened to be The Coroner's Theme, from the Body Bags soundtrack. Although Carpenter and company did not play it live, I did appreciate that it got acknowledged before the band walked onto the stage. 

Body Bags was the first of two score that John Carpenter would compose with Jim Lang. The other would be for In the Mouth of Madness, which is a subject for another post.

The music created to underplay the segments The Gas Station and Eye are solid, albeit unremarkable, offerings. The highlights, for me, are The Coroner's Theme, of course, and the tracks Brain Trouble and Long Beautiful Hair. The latter two being lighthearted jazz adjacent tunes that underplayed my favorite segment of the anthology, Hair.