Back After A Hiatus

SLITHER-2006-In this stupid comedy gore movie Michael Rooker is a bald red neck who turns into a slimy ALIEN/THE THING like creature with tentacles. He terrorizes a hick town and he turns one woman into a giant egg and she gives birth to a million slimy DEADLY SPAWN like slugs. They jump down residents throats and up their asses like in NIGHT OF THE CREEPS and then some of the dead come back to life as zombies.

It has some good SFX but it seems to rip off something from nearly every 80’s horror film especially Brian Yuzna’s SOCIETY. Gregg Henry is the foul mouthed asshole mayor. Nathan Fillion (from the short lived FIREFLY TV show) and Elizabeth Banks (Betty Brant in SPIDER-MAN) are the stars.

Writer/director James Gunn wrote both SCOOBY-DOO movies and did work for Troma which explains Lloyd Kaufman’s cameo as a drunk. Made in Canada.



THE BLACKBIRD-1926-In the Limehouse district of London, a daring thief The Blackbird (the great Lon Chaney) pulls a series of robberies.

When not plotting crimes he disguises himself as The Bishop, the misshapen proprietor of a rescue mission. Another thief West End Bertie (Owen Moore) becomes his rival not only for some stolen diamonds but also for the affections of dance hall singer Fifi Lorraine (Renee Adoree) in this MGM production directed by Tod Browning.

Chaney livens up the somewhat mundane story with his two characterizations but on the whole it’s the weakest (and least successful) of the Chaney/Browning collaborations (at least that I’ve seen. LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT is a lost film!).

The same year Chaney made another film for director Browning THE ROAD TO MANDALAY as well as the highly successful TELL IT TO THE MARINES.

Co-star Moore was a popular leading man (and singer) in his day who’s career dropped off when talkies emerged. He died of a heart attack in 1939 at 52. Lead actress Adoree came from the French stage. She’d become a star the year before in THE BIG PARADE opposite John Gilbert. She co-starred with Chaney in a later film MR.WU. Sadly like many other silent stars she died young (age 37) of tuberculosis.

Thanks for reading!