Unseen Terror 2018: Day 15

During the 1950s, a young couple are subjected to anti-nuclear testing, which seems to work exactly as desired according to multiple scientists. Nine months later, and coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, the couple give birth to a healthy baby boy. Suddenly, the happy parents burst into flames, seemingly due to as one doctor puts it "spontaneous human combustion." Decades later, their child Sam is a fully grown man, and finds that he's occasionally suffering from random physical outbursts, which start to leave odd marks on his body. It doesn't take long for him to discover the truth behind his upbringing and creation, and he doesn't handle these revelations very well.



If there's one thing that can be said about the late, great, and sorely missed Tobe Hooper, it's that he was ahead of the curve. If we are allotted another statement, then I propose that it be this: he had a weird fuckin' filmography. Several days ago, I took a gander at the very odd science fiction/horror hybrid known as Lifeforce, which was his first of three projects released by the now-defunct low budget kings Canon Films (sidenote: there's an excellent documentary about them titled Electric Boogaloo available for streaming on Netflix). After all of those features made their way to theaters, he co-wrote and directed this little ditty, which was reportedly shot in a little over a month and sported a much smaller budget than ones previously given to him by other studios. Unfortunately, it bombed rather hard, but after twenty-eight years, does it warrant a status as say, an overlooked cult favorite?


My first observation of Spontaneous Combustion came with spotting Brad Dourif in the starring role. I've actually been a bit surprised by how many films he's appeared in over the past two years of this marathon (Death Machine, Grim Prairie Tales, Cult of Chucky, Graveyard Shift), and when I picked up the DVD rip of this from VHSPS, I did a rather amateurish thing by just glancing at the cover and the brief description, all while ignoring the cast and crew involved. To the surprise of basically nobody, he is in full-on "overacting Brad" mode. Subtlety has never exactly been the man's best friend in the field of big screen performances, but that's kind of why we like him. He does manage to calm down a bit halfway through the picture when he gets a chance to meet Melinda Dillon (A Christmas Story, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and things even start to get fairly emotional once he's settled down. Of course, you have to get past the really awkward accent that she seems unable to hold, but I digress. The character of Sam is easy to sympathize with, especially when you consider that in essence, he's a living, breathing nuclear weapon who has been lied to throughout most of his life and just can't understand what in the world is happening to his body.


Speaking of the body, Hooper manages to tap into something this time around that filmmakers such as David Cronenberg have often done: humanity's fear of decay. The idea that our bodies are rebelling against us, and we are unable to control these sudden actions that may or may not cause deterioration has always been utterly fascinating to me. True, there's a bit more cheese piled on top of this than in something like The Fly or even Akira, but it's handled fairly well here. These side effects do have a positive to them though, because we get to see Dourif run wild with the ability to control electrical fields and emit (somewhat cheap) pyrokinetic powers, which basically turn him into an X-Men character. Not since perhaps the last Grand Theft Auto video game have I seen this many poor bastards get set on fire (including John Landis in a brief, albeit fun cameo), with either Dourif unwillingly (or in the case of the third act, sometimes purposely) setting people ablaze. These horrific sequences come to a head during Spontaneous Combustion's final fifteen minutes, where Hooper must have felt obligated to inject steroids into his script. It is all very silly, and feels like a bit of an insult if you loved the sheer grittiness and mean factor that was found in his earlier flicks, but it's also immensely satisfying, and gives the creative team time to work on some nifty prosthetic effects and makeup.


From what I've gathered, there is a large contingent that seems to believe that Spontaneous Combustion is Tobe Hooper's last truly good or at least watchable motion picture. Though I have yet to lay my eyes on every body of work with his name attached to it (and would also argue for Body Bags to hold that aforementioned honor), I'd say that this is a fairly underrated work in the man's catalog. It does feel sluggish in parts, but more than makes up for any potential boredom with utter zaniness, absurd commentary on the notion of the "nuclear family," and the always wonderful Brad Dourif. I'd recommend it for people who have worn out their copies of movies like Firestarter and Scanners. Fun fact: when I was purchasing a DVD of this from the VHSPS people at Monster Mania (this makes the THIRD flick of theirs to appear on here, but not the last), I was completely unaware that it was available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Better yet, this early 90s relic is set to receive a limited Blu-Ray release on October 23rd from Sunset Films.



Maybe I need to learn how to save my money and just be patient....



…….nah. Besides, tomorrow we have to talk about some other trash I picked up from that convention!

Unseen Terror 2018: Day 7

In the old west, two travelers happen upon each other. One is on his way to meet with his wife for a romantic reunion, while the other is a bounty hunter carrying a body so that he may reap the $2,000 reward that has been put out. To pass the time, the men decide to try and one up another with eerie tales.



I apologize that today's review may be rather short. I'm still under the weather, and have two lengthy overnight shifts scheduled at my store, of which will likely leave me temporarily exhausted. Still, I refuse to fall behind this year, and given how quick of a watch this one is, I'm not letting any roadblocks stop me just yet.


Grim Prairie Tales can be summarized in one breath: Darth Vader and Chucky sit around a fire and regale one another with mediocre horror fables that make those found in Are You Afraid of the Dark? look frightening in comparison. It's actually a damn shame that this picture isn't about Brad Dourif and James Earl Jones, because their interactions and exchanges of dialogue are so friggin' great. I'm of the mindset that thinks it's utterly bizarre to see the former play a "straight" man in ANY picture, while the latter has been made up to look somewhat unrecognizable (though his booming voice is nigh impossible to disguise). They're making the best of lines that most performers could never deliver without sounding utterly ridiculous, and god bless both of them for it.


As fun as the narrative may be, the "tales" themselves are remarkably dull. Our first one, which boils down to Native Americans getting revenge on an evil white guy, feels like something that would be submitted for a short film festival and forgotten about the next day. Number two revolves around a random man assisting a seemingly pregnant woman, and sports the most peculiar (and "WTF"-worthy) twist of the pack. The third is probably the most interesting and mature, but that's only because it has no supernatural ties and is focused on someone being forced into participating in a lynch mob. Our final segment, where a gunslinger believes he is being haunted by someone he previously shot, has a ton of potential (and an actor who is dead ringer for Tim Roth), but feels very rushed and ends with a bit of a whimper.


In the world of horror anthologies, Grim Prairie Tales is among the weakest. Despite a small handful of fun moments and some great chemistry between Jones and Dourif, it just doesn't have enough pizazz to warrant an immediate viewing. Hopefully someone will just cut all of the scenes involving the two most well-known performers into one short film on YouTube, so that you can otherwise avoid this entirely. As it stands, there is no legal way to obtain this collection, and unless you feel like spending a good chunk of change on a VHS tape, you are likely going to have to visit a bootleg booth at your local convention like I did (shoutout yet again to the VHSPS guys).



Tomorrow, I feel as though we're owed a solid slasher flick. So, let's stay outside and set up camp, shall we?

Unseen Terror 2017: Day 9

It's the year 2003, and the ultra-powerful corporation known as Chaank Armament are under fire from the press and the public for their controversial project known as "Hard Man," which strengthens mere fighters and soldiers to almost superhuman levels through cybernetic enhancements. Unfortunately, the latest experiment with the procedure has gone awry, with many innocent lives having been lost due to a malfunction by its deranged creator Jack Dante, whom some within the company want to be let go as soon as possible. A large portion of Chaank's employees are fearful that the backlash and negative publicity will cause them to lose several contracts, yet there are those, such as new Chief Executive Hayden Cale, who would actually go to great lengths to see these changes implemented. After a series of events leaves Jack unemployed, the mad architect unleashes a secret invention of his: a towering, murderous monstrosity nicknamed "Warbeast," which is comprised of metal, gnashing teeth, sharpened claws, and pure malevolence.



That plot description for Death Machine, a 1994 cyperpunk/thriller/horror film sure does sound alluring, doesn't it? After all, I can dig the idea of a robotic, hulking piece of metal that is controlled by an egotistical scientist with delusions of grandeur. Plus, as an added bonus, we have the director of Blade sitting in the big chair.....wait, didn't he go on to direct The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as well? *readjusts note* Ahem. As I've learned over the years, however, a good concept and idea doesn't necessarily guarantee a quality picture. This is all the more true when your script is seriously intent with shoving in as many references and nods to other Science Fiction properties as it possibly can and if you just can't keep up an exciting pace. But more on that later.


Initially, I was not aware that actor Brad Dourif, who is making his second appearance for Unseen Terror this year, was actually the top billed performer for Death Machine. Sure he is playing a villain, but those instances where the bad guy receives a larger screen credit that the rest of his colleagues is a rarity in cinema these days (one that comes to mind for me is Tim Burton's Batman). I certainly was relieved to see his scraggly-haired, smarmy, psychotic hide show up though, because he does the best job that he possibly can to ensure that you don't fall asleep or wander off. It won't go down as one of his more well-known roles, but for purveyors of comically bad over-the-top acting, it's always a delight to see him in even the crappiest of movies. The only other slightly recognizable faces in here are Richard Brake (the lone standout of last year's fairly hideous 31), who desperately needed more screen time than most of his cohorts, and a then-debuting English actress named Rachel Weisz, who at the age of twenty-four, does show signs of her future potential considering that she appears for a grand total of about ten seconds. Disappointingly, most of the main cast just seems far too content on attempting to ape our aforementioned Child's Play alum, and instead come across as trying far too hard to be bad or shaken up.


Thankfully, what isn't bad are the technical aspects of Death Machine. Considering that this wasn't  exactly gifted with a wide release into cinemas, the set designs and special effects are fairly okay. The titular beast looks surprisingly good, resembling sort of an Alien Queen-meets-cybernetic Tyrannosaurus Rex hybrid. It's one of the cooler-looking creations that I've seen pop up on here in quite some time. The film also has a certain mucky, bizarre look to it, giving off the impression that this version of 2003 (or the "Near Future" according to the opening scene) must absolutely stink to live in, as it is overrun with big corporations and a disregard for human life or safety. But those positives could be Death Machine's only non-Dourif aspects worth praising, as it gets stuck in the mud by clinging on to the choice of utilizing "movie worship" a little too much. Don't get me wrong, I can get some amusement by seeing that a trio of activists are named as obvious nods to Aliens and Evil Dead, and Brake's character is named "Scott Ridley," but when you have moments which seem like a direct ripoff from the former motion picture, as well as a showdown between two machines of comically different proportions, you just start wondering why you aren't watching one particular flick from the late 1980s instead or whether Roger Corman was secretly involved in the production. And for Lemmy's sake, you really aren't being subtle whatsoever when one of your executives is named John Carpenter. If you really want to see properties which wear their influences on their sleeves but don't constantly shove it in your face, go watch The Cabin in the Woods or Stranger Things. Worse yet, the moments of silence or inactivity that litter most of the second half (i.e. when Dourif isn't planning to sic his pet on the hapless group) don't really add as much intrigue as they should, which ultimately leaves you feeling a tad bit bored until the Warbeast comes calling.


In the end, there isn't a great amount that's worth salvaging from Death Machine. True, it does sport a solid-looking "monster" and Brad Dourif turns in a wonderfully unhinged performance like usual, but the movie is too reliant on nostalgia and hoping that you won't just choose those other films in the genre that it clearly loves oh so dearly over their one instead. As of now, you can purchase a rather cheap copy of the movie over on Amazon, but that seems to be about it for availability. I have serious doubts that this will ever see even a halfway-decent release on Blu-ray, especially since it's been reported that director Stephen Norrington was rather dissatisfied with the final cut and the flick has undergone several changes on the home video market since then because of it.



Better yet, if you just want to save your hard-earned cash, you can watch the best scene in the movie below.

Tomorrow, my love of horror and professional wrestling clash in one giant, bloody bonanza! But will I get swerved?