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Retro Stephen King Interviews

October 28, 2015 No Comments

I was fascinated to discover some old Stephen King video interviews from the early and late 80s. It might only be of interest to S. King buffs like myself, but I found them incredibly interesting; getting a glimpse of the man he was decades ago and what he thought about writing, horror and his own fame.

He’s already a best selling author in these, but he definitely wasn’t the legend he is today. A lot happens in 20-35 years.

Dick Cavett Show

This one is for US residents only I’m afraid and I can’t embed it either. It’s a talk show featuring S. King, George Romero, Ira Levin and Peter Straub. If that doesn’t blow your mind, something’s wrong with you.

Master of the Macabre: A Conversation with Stephen King

Then there’s this 4-part interview from what I think is a channel from the Netherlands. Check out King’s pool and bitchin’ jukebox. Also if you wanna see King drive a truck and sing along to some rock tunes.

UMO Graduate Profile

Then there’s this profile on him from 1982. It’s in English, despite the title.

I know there are a bunch of others floating around, but these were my favorites. Let me know if  I missed any great ones.

Capsule Reviews: Among Friends, Dark Summer, Death Do Us Part

October 6, 2015 No Comments

Sometimes I watch bad movies and then forget all about them because they don’t even warrant a review. But they gnaw at me, these terrible things, and thus I review them months later, half-remembered and half-assed.

 

Among Friends

Utterly forgettable, not completely boring and unoriginal as hell. The premise is ludicrous. The plot as I remember it: A bunch of friends have 80s themed party but it turns out a maniac set it up to get their revenge of them. They proceed to reveal their darkest secrets (and oh boy are some of these people fucked up) while he murders/tortures them. It’s a bit like like Happy Birthday to Me but without the charm or the quality.

2 out of 5 Dark Secrets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Summer

Some dude gets cursed or possessed or something and him, his friend and the girl he’s crushing on try to save him. Oh yeah, I think he’s on house arrest because he was stalking some girl. Peter Stormare chews scenery as his probation officer and I wonder what kind of student loans he has that made him work on this. College is free in Sweden, so this is a real life mystery.

It’s like Disturbia, but not any fun at all. It’s boring and the ending sucks.

1 out of 5 Cursed Creepers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death Do Us Part

Do you like people yelling at each other in the woods? Do you enjoy watching a bunch of ”friends” who are mysteriously horrible to one another and seem to hate each other’s guts, yet they hang out constantly? Do you like telegraphed plot twists that make no sense? Boy do I have something for ya.

Some lady is getting married and she takes her friends and her SO’s friends to a cabin in the woods to celebrate. Someone starts murdering people. Nothing of value is lost.

1 out of 5 Wedding Dresses (1 point deducted for that ludicrous ending)

Hellions Review

October 4, 2015 No Comments

Ooph. Where to start. According to the marketing department, the director (Bruce McDonald), made a splash with his previous flick, Pontypool. I’m not sure that ”a big splash” is the word I’d use for Pontypool, but I won’t argue too much; I enjoyed it a lot.

Some of the same mad genius is in play here as well, but unfortunately, Hellions is an uneven affair. Probably more so than Pontypool was. And while Pontypool had a really original idea to prop it up (based on a book by Tony Burgess), there’s nothing like this here to save it from mediocrity.

It looks good, and that probably accounts for most of the hype surrounding it (that, and the poster. Look at that fucking poster!)

And I have to say, I was a bit let down. I was looking forward to liking this. Hellions manages to be at once both muddy and obvious. When it’s not beating you over the head with the motherhood/abortion angle, you’re getting nonsensical flashes of a parallel world, weird, budget special effects and lots and lots of screaming. It looks pretty cool, but ultimately doesn’t seem to serve any purpose.

The premise of the film is fairly simplistic, but somehow confusing. Just like the movie, I am now confusing the shit out of you. What I mean is that while the movie straight up tells you what is happening eventually, in the meantime you’re watching a girl run around her house, or/and a parallel universe, always screaming and crying at the spooky little kids that want her baby. And you’re always expecting something more to happen, some kind of twist that will tie this together, but it never comes. Or maybe it does:

The cop that shows up about halfway through is both out of left field and completely on the nose. This was the point when my opinion on the film turned from ”Okay, this isn’t that bad” to ”Why am I watching this.”

It has a slightly stronger third act, but I had checked out by then. Your mileage may vary however, and while that’s a given for any movie, I feel like this one might have its fans.

2 out 5 Creepy Halloween Kids

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