“Homicidal” (1961) directed by William Castle / Z-View

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Homicidal (1961)

Director:  William Castle

Screenplay: Robb White

Stars: Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, James Westerfield, Gilbert Green, Joan Marshall, Ralph Moody, ‘Snub’ Pollard, Hope Summers and William Castle.

Tagline: SPECIAL “FRIGHT BREAK” * There will be a special FRIGHT BREAK during the showing of “Homicidal.” Can your heart stand the challenge when the clock starts the COUNTDOWN?

The Plot…

A woman claiming to be Miriam Webster offers a bellman $2,000.00 to marry her.  She says that they can annul the marriage right after the ceremony.  The bellman agrees.  The next night they go to a Justice of the Peace.  After he performs the ceremony the woman pulls out a long knife and repeatedly stabs him to death.  The woman then runs off into the night.

The police quickly clear the real Miriam Webster (Breslin).  They learn that Miriam and her brother, Warren, are about to inherit a fortune due to their father’s death.  More murders will occur before the secrets that they are hiding will be discovered.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

William Castle was known for his gimmick films.  Three examples include:

  • The Tingler, he had small electric jolts and/or vibrators in some theater seats
  • Mr. Sardonicus, audience members were given glow in the dark cards to vote on the movie’s ending
  • House on Haunted Hill, a flying skeleton flew across the theater

For Homicidal, William Castle had a “Fright Break” prior to the ending of the film.  Audience members too frightened to stay for the end had 45 seconds (a timer appeared on the movie screen) to leave the theater. They would go to the “Coward’s Corner” in the lobby.  There they had to sign a certificate verifying they were indeed a coward.  Very few patrons took up the offer, but it was a great selling point.  THAT wasn’t the best gimmick of Homicidal.  SPOILER ALERT – it will be discussed below.

Homicidal cashed in on the success of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho which was released the year before.

Joan Marshall played both Emily and Warren. Emily was credited as Jean Arless to keep the movie’s gimmick a secret.  In order to convince William Castle she could play both roles convincingly, Marshall showed up dressed as a man for an interview.  She fooled them and won the part.

Homicidal (1961) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Festival of the Living Dead” (2024) / Z-View

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Festival of the Living Dead (2024)

Director: Jen and Sylvia Soska

Screenplay: Miriam Lyapin, Helen Marsh

Stars: Camren Bicondova, Ashley Moore.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

A group of teenage friends attend the Festival of the Living Dead which commemorates the 55th anniversary of the original zombie attack.  While at the festivals zombies, you guessed it, attack.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I enjoy a good zombie movie.  I tapped out of this one after 31 minutes.

Festival of the Living Dead (2024) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“Violence” (1947) / Z-View

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Violence (1947)

Director:  Jack Bernhard

Screenplay: Lewis Lantz, Stanley Rubin

Stars: Nancy Coleman, Michael O’Shea, Sheldon Leonard, Peter Whitney, Emory Parnell, Pierre Watkin, Frank Reicher, Cay Forester, Fred Aldrich, Frank Cady and John Hamilton.

Tagline: YOU READ ABOUT THESE CASES EVERY DAY!

The Plot…

True Dawson (Parnell) is a corrupt politician preying on working men and military veterans.  Undercover reporter Ann Mason (Coleman) has the goods to bring Dawson to justice.  As Ann makes her escape, she’s injured in a car wreck and develops amnesia.  If Dawson discovers Ann is the source, he’ll have her killed… and the clues are there.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although Violence is a run of the mill “B” picture, it’s interesting how the politics played out in the film could come from today.

Violence (1947) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“The Girl in Black Stockings” (1957) starring Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, Mamie Van Doren & John Dehner / Z-View

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The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)

Director:  Howard W. Koch

Screenplay: Richard Landau, based on the short story “Wanton Murder” by Peter Godfrey

Stars: Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, Mamie Van Doren, John Dehner, Ron Randell, Marie Windsor, John Holland, Diana Van der Vlis, Richard H. Cutting, Larry Chance, Gene O’Donnell, Stuart Whitman and Dan Blocker.

Tagline: One Will Die Tonight!

The Plot…

When a party girl is found brutally murdered, Sheriff Jess Holmes (Dehner) has no shortage of suspects. They include:

  • David Hewson (Barker), a LA lawyer on vacation
  • Beth Dixon (Bancroft), Ed Parry’s former personal assistant
  • Ed Parry (Randell), the paralyzed, wheelchair-bound lodge owner
  • Julia Parry (Windsor), Ed’s sister and caretaker
  • Norman Grant (Holland), a once-famous actor hoping for a comeback
  • Harriett Ames (Van Doren), Norman Grant’s much younger lady friend
  •  Joseph Felton (O’Donnell), a guest who just recently arrived at the lodge
  • Joe (Chance), an employee of the lodge

Sheriff Holmes has his hands full. More will die before the murderer is revealed!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Girl in Black Stockings was filmed on location at the Parry Lodge in Kanab, Utah.

Top-billed Lex Barker played Tarzan in five movies prior to making this.

Anne Bancroft would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress in a Leading Role five times, winning once in 1963 for her performance in The Miracle Worker.

Stuart Whitman and Dan Blocker appear in small roles.

The Girl in Black Stockings (1957) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Chief of Station” starring Aaron Eckhart – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Here we have the poster and trailer for Chief of Station starring Aaron Eckhart.

After learning the untimely death of his wife was not accidental, a former CIA Station Chief (Aaron Eckhart) is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko, Alex Pettyfer
Directed by: Jesse V. Johnson
Release Date: 5/3/24

“On the Line” (2022) starring Mel Gibson / Z-View

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On the Line (2022)

Director:  Romuald Boulanger

Screenplay: Romuald Boulanger

Stars: Mel Gibson, William Moseley, Alia Seror-O’Neill, Paul Spera and Kevin Dillon.

Tagline: There’s a Killer on the Line

The Plot…

Elvis Cooney (Gibson), late night radio shock jock finds himself with a caller who will kill Cooney’s family if Cooney doesn’t follow his directions on-air.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

On the Line sets up and interesting premise and follows through for the first hour and a half or so.  Then in the final minutes we are left feeling like we just watched the ninth season of Dallas.

On the Line (2022) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Dark Matter” – The Trailer is Here!

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Dark Matter looks like it could be a winner.

There are infinite realities. This is the one where Jason Dessen kidnaps himself. Based on the New York Times bestseller, Dark Matter premieres May 8. https://apple.co/_DarkMatter

Dark Matter is a sci-fi thriller series based on the blockbuster book by acclaimed, bestselling author Blake Crouch. The nine-episode series features an ensemble cast that includes Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi and Oakes Fegley. Dark Matter makes its global debut on Apple TV+ on May 8, 2024, premiering with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through June 26.

Hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade, Dark Matter is a story about the road not taken. The series will follow Jason Dessen (played by Joel Edgerton), a physicist, professor and family man who — one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago — is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the mind-bending landscape of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Crouch serves as executive producer, showrunner, and writer alongside executive producers Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl for Matt Tolmach Productions, and Joel Edgerton. Dark Matter is produced for Apple TV+ by Sony Pictures Television.

“Night of Terror” (1933) starring Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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Night of Terror (1933)

Director:  Benjamin Stoloff

Screenplay: Willard Mack, Beatrice Van, Lester Neilson, William Jacobs

Stars: Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Tully Marshall, George Meeker, Matt McHugh, Dave O’Brien and Oscar Smith.

Tagline: A mad murdering midnight menace!

The Plot…

A serial killer known as The Maniac is on the loose.  He was last seen near the estate where a rich man was murdered.  When the family comes together they learn they are heirs to the fortune left behind.  As family members turn up dead, survivors wonder if the killer is the Maniac or someone in the family attempting to get a bigger share.

How many will have to die before the truth is known?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although Bela Lugosi gets top billing, he plays a supporting character.

The best part of the film is after the mystery is solved.  The killer is caught. The Maniac is lying dead on the floor.  The family exits and we’re expecting “THE END” to appear.  But instead the Maniac gets up, walks close to the camera and speaks directly to the audience.  He warns them that if any tell how the movie ends he will find and haunt them! (Oh, and the Maniac isn’t the killer!)

Night of Terror (1933) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“The Roundup: Punishment” starring Don Lee – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Don Lee is back and we have the trailer and poster for The Roundup: Punishment.

IN THEATERS MAY 3.

During the investigations of a drug trafficking app, the Monster Cop Ma Seok-do (Don Lee) and his team discover a connection between the wanted app developer, who was killed in the Philippines, and a massive illegal online gambling organization. Meanwhile in the Philippines, Baek Chang-gi, a former elite soldier, has been controlling the Korean online illegal gambling market, terrorizing it with kidnap, assault and murder. His partner, the IT genius CEO, Chang Dong-chul plans an even larger scheme in Korea. To put an end to the escalating threat, Detective Ma expands the operation by proposing an unexpected alliance to Jang, and unfolds the biggest roundup mission to hunt down the criminals, collaborating with the cyber unit and Metro Investigations.

“Civil War” – The Last Trailer is Here!

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Civil War will get me back to a theater.  Looking forward to this.  Here’s the last trailer!

From writer/director Alex Garland and starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Cailee Spaeny.

CIVIL WAR – In Theaters April 12, 2024.

RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2024
DIRECTOR: Alex Garland
CAST: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Cailee Spaeny

“Apocalypto” (2006) directed by Mel Gibson

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Apocalypto (2006)

Director:  Mel Gibson

Screenplay: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia

Stars: Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Max Trujillo, Gerardo Taracena, Jonathan Brewer and Iazua Larios.

Tagline: No one can outrun their destiny.

The Plot…

When Jaguar Paw’s village is attacked, he manages to hide his pregnant wife and young son in a deep hole right outside their jungle settlement.  He then goes back to fight the attackers.  With overwhelming numbers, the attacking Mayans kill or capture every man and woman in the village.  The prisoners will be marched to the Mayan city.  The women then sold into slavery and the men publicly sacrificed.

Jaguar Paw is determined to escape, survive and get back to his family.  Odds are against it.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When people talk about Mel Gibson’s directing ability they usually mention Braveheart, Hacksaw Ridge and The Passion of the Christ.  Apocalypto should be included in that group.  It’s arguably the best film he ever directed.

Many of the roles in Apocalypto were performed by Mayans who had never acted before.

Apocalypto was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Achievement in Makeup (Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano); Best Achievement in Sound Mixing (Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell, Fernando Cámara) and Best Achievement in Sound Editing (Sean McCormack, Kami Asgar).

Apocalypto (2006) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Road House” (2024) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior & Conor McGregor / Z-View

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Road House (2024)

Director:  Doug Liman

Screenplay: Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry, story by Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry, David Lee Henry based on Road House by David Lee Henry, Hilary Henkin

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, B.K. Cannon, Joaquim de Almeida, Austin Post Malone, Lukas Gage, Dominique Columbus, Beau Knapp, Hannah Love Lanier, Travis Van Winkle and JD Pardo.

Tagline: Take it outside.

The Plot…

Ex-UFC cage fighter, Elwood Dalton (Gyllenhaal) is offered $5,000.00 a week to become head bouncer at the Road House beach bar.  A biker gang has been terrorizing customers.  Dalton reluctantly takes the job.  He then discovers that the bikers are pawns used by a drug runner who wants the Road House for reasons of his own.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Road House is Conor McGregor’s film debut.

Director Doug Liman keeps the action moving and the shots interesting.

Jake Gyllenhaal is great as the “keep it cool” character with a savage dark side once a line is crossed.

Conor McGregor is as over the top in the movie as he is in real life.  Let that sink in.

While not as good as the original, I enjoyed it more than most folks.  Road House (2024) currently has a 6.2 out of 10 rating at IMDb.  At Rotten Tomatoes it has 59% rating among reviewers and a 54% audience rating.

Road House (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.