Movies I Watched in October, Part 1

I had grand plans for delivering more timely, more frequent movie reviews on this blog, but of course I blew the deadlines on that plan. So here, for October at least, is the multi-review roundup you've come to know and, I dunno, love?

Before Melvin Van Peebles became a legend by producing/directing/writing/starring in the no-budget independent film classic “ Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song,” he made this would-be comedy that was produced by Columbia and written by Herman Raucher, a guy best known for the decidedly white movie “Summer of ’42.” I don’t know what the script of this one was like originally, but by the time it hit the theaters (and left soon after) it was one of the strangest movies ever to come out of Hollywood. That’s not because of the premise, which is admittedly a little odd, but nowhere near as odd as the movie itself: A white insurance agent (played by African American comedian/actor Godfrey Cambridge) wakes up one morning to discover he’s turned black (and, incidentally, looks a million times more convincing than he did in the opening scenes, when Cambridge is wearing a white guy makeup). Naturally, this being 1970, this does not go over well with his wife (Estelle Parsons), his boss ( Howard Caine, best known as Major Hochstetter  on “Hogan’s Heroes”) or pretty much every other character. It’s a strange premise, but not necessarily a bad one, and certainly one ripe for satire. Unfortunately, Peebles directs the entire film with a combination of sheer incompetence and infuriating artiness, leaving me wondering which bits of mis-staged action and awkward framing were intentional and which were simple mistakes. Even worse, Cambridge, who is low-key and excellent in movies like “The President’s Analyst” and “Cotton Comes to Harlem” is terrible here, overacting in almost every scene and making his character so obnoxious you don’t care what happens to him. On top of all that, the movie never finds a tone, wavering between slapstick comedy, grim satire and overheated drama. It’s worth watching – both for the sheer strangeness of the premise and the car crash quality of the execution. As a bonus, you can also have fun spotting such memorable performers as Mantan Moreland (of a million old movies), D’Urville Martin (of a million blaxploitation movies), Emil Sitka (of a million Three Stooges shorts), Paul Williams (of a million things in general) and Erin Moran (of “Joannie Loves Chachi). "Watermelon Man" isn't good in any sense of the word, but it is endlessly fascinating.


Impressive, ambitious sci-fi thriller from Duncan Jones, who brought us the excellent “Moon,” the less excellent “Source Code” and the much, much less excellent “Warcraft” (I’m assuming – I haven’t seen it). Here, Alexander Skarsgard plays Leo, a mute bartender trying to find out what happened to his partner. Naturally, this takes him deep into the seedy underbelly of this future city (which owes a certain debt to a certain movie named “Blade Runner”) and leads him to some pretty disturbing discoveries. It’s smartly made and features a rare villain turn from ultimate nice guy Paul Rudd, but the plot never quite gets going and things take an unnecessarily creepy turn toward the end. Great world-building, though. So good, in fact, it feels like the first episode of a series.


The only story in this trilogy that anyone talks about is the last one, and that’s for good reason: The first story (shy teacher Karen Black is really a witch) and  the second story (two women played by Karen Black are really one woman) are dull, predictable and barely worth watching. But that third story – Karen Black is attacked by an African doll  – is great, a genuinely scary, fun, tense exercise in nasty violence and well-staged terror. No wonder people still talk about that segment more than 40 years after the TV movie originally aired. By all means, check it out – and don’t feel bad about skipping the first two sections.


Another fondly-remembered anthology, it's never as boring as the first two tales in “Trilogy of Terror” but also never hits the heights of the third. Written by Stephen King, directly by George Romero and inspired by the classic EC horror comics, it’s mostly comedic, never scary and (sad to say) probably not quite as good as you remember. The solid cast includes Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Stephen King and other game folks, but they’re overacting so much they come across as cartoon characters (which, come to think of it, was probably the point.) My pick for the best story? The one where E.G. Marshall  really, really hates cockroaches …. And guess what happens to him!


It’s great, obviously. An all-time classic. Showed it to Allie (who liked the “Shining” sections of “Ready Player One”) and though she admitted it was “scary,” she wasn’t terrified by any means. She was, however, very surprised by how Scatman Crothers’ elaborate rescue mission back to the Overlook ends. (I wrote a lot more about “The Shining” here , if you’re curious.)


Rewatched this William Castle cult classic for the Halloween season, and though I love most of it for its wonderful patented Castle cheesiness, I was disappointed by the fact that it doesn’t so much end as just come to a stop. Still, Vincent Price is great (of course), the tingler monster is cheap but fun and the plot, which involves a creature that grows on everyone’s spine, LSD, a movie theater and several bickering couples, is never not interesting. I just wish it had an ending.

I’ve seen it before, and I watched it again mostly because (a) there’s that new remake out and (b) I never got around to watching my sweet, sweet Synapse Films Blu-ray. Boy, am I glad I put this one in the player. The gorgeous picture and booming soundtrack of the Blu-ray reminded me what a mind-blowing cinematic experience “Suspiria” is, and the fact that it barely has a plot is, as they used to say, a feature and not a bug. Director Dario Argento aims directly at the center of your brain, bypassing logic and character development and grabbing you with visuals and a legendary score (courtesy of Goblin). It’s impossible to pick a favorite scene – Jessica Harper’s arrival in German is breathtaking even though nothing much happens, and the elaborate first murder is justifiably praised for its colors and staging – but this time around, I really admired the long, tense chase through the school that suddenly ends in a room full of razor wire. Does it make even the slightest bit of sense? Of course not. Is it incredible? What do you think? By the way, that poster doesn't lie: The ending of the movie is slightly less jaw-dropping than the rest of the film ... but only slightly.

Up next: Cronenberg! Polanski! Some classic noir! And two really disappointing horror movies!