Forest In Japan

 

 (the movie database)

THE FOREST-2016-Sara (Natalie Dormer) goes to Japan to find her twin sister who disappeared in a forest where people commit suicide. She meets a suspicious white guy (Taylor Kinney) and a local guide (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) who go with her to the woods. This not very spooky horror film directed by Jason Zada.

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“You're damaged merchandise and this is a fire sale!"

 

(imdb)

SCUM OF THE EARTH!-1963-Photographer Harmon Johnson (Thomas Wood aka Harry Kerwin) deals in porn. He watches dispassionately while his dumb assistant Ajax (Craig Maudslay Jr.) abuses model Sandy (Sandra Sinclair). The head of the ring is a slimy guy named Lang (Lawrence J. Aberwood) who forces Sandy to “recruit” new girls. She gets innocent college hopeful Kim (Louise Downe) to pose for Johnson. After a few shots, suddenly she's posing naked and being abused by Larry (Mal Arnold; Fuad Ramses in BLOOD FEAST), another of Lang's sleaze bag henchman. Later, Lang gives Kim a lecture where the camera has a close up of his mouth while he spats insults. At another shoot, Ajax attacks Kim and Johnson beats him to death with a baseball bat. Sandy stands in for Kim (who they sent away) and stands by Johnson, providing him with a witness that it was self-defense. The cops are alerted and Lang shoots Larry. The police chase Lang to a beach where Lang hits the water. Now trapped, Lang shoots himself. After Kim and Johnson say their goodbyes, the voice of director Herschel Gordon Lewis is heard warning against the scum of the earth. 

This black and white exploitation film was made just a few weeks after Lewis' infamous BLOOD FEAST (which lead actress Downe wrote the screenplay for). It's pretty cheap looking and reminded me of an Ed Wood movie (Wood made THE SINISTER URGE about a porn racket in 1960).

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Warren Chile Combo

 

 (imdb)

CURSE OF THE STONE HAND-1965-Jerry Warren took two Chilean horror films and combined them into this kooky anthology using an abandoned house for its connection.

The first story (filmed in 1946!) is based on the short story "The Suicide Club" by Robert Louis Stevenson. A heavily in debt man joins a gambling club with some very deadly rules. He finds himself in bigger trouble with his own life at stake. 

In the second story (filmed in 1945), a guy named Charles dominates the home life of his brother Jaime's fiancé, Ruth. When Jamie returns from school, he finds Charles has married her. A handyman (spliced in John Carradine) talks to his partner about a secret room in the basement. Meanwhile Jamie kisses Ruth and she admits she doesn't know why she married his brother. This isn't really a supernatural tale and the "Dorian Gray" like ending seems tacked on. 

Warren regular Katherine Victor also appears in some Warren added scenes.

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If You Could Read My Mind...

 (imdb)

THE MIND READER-1933-A carnival huckster (Warren William) becomes “The Great Chandra”, a phony fortune teller. He's assisted by Frank (Allen Jenkins) and Sam (Clarence Muse). He meets pretty unemployed stenographer Sylvia (Constance Cummings) and hires her as his secretary. They start to fall in love, even after she discovers his mind reading act is phony. In a town where fortune telling is illegal, he helps the local sheriff by predicting a jewel robbery (he sent it up!). Later a woman (Mayo Methot) accuses Chandra of ruining her life with his “predictions”. When she commits suicide, Sylvia decides to leave him. He gives up the racket for her and becomes a brush salesman in NYC. 

Frank, now a chauffeur, gets Chandra involved in a new scheme exposing cheating husbands with his “power”. He's very successful behind Sylvia's back but he accidentally kills a disgruntled husband with Sylvia right outside his office. Somehow, she's arrested and put on trial for the killing. Chandra hides out in Mexico, drunk and guilt ridden. He exposes his whole act in front of an audience. Then he goes back to NY, confesses, exonerates Sylvia and tries to divorce her but she sticks by him. Final line: “It sure is tough to be going away just when beer is coming back”. 

The Mind Reader was directed by Roy Del Ruth (PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE (1954)) who made the original version of THE MALTESE FALCON in 1931. His last feature film was THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE in 1959.

I Run To Death…

 

 

 (imdb)

THE SEVENTH VICTIM-1943-Mary Gibson (Kim Hunter in her film debut) leaves a girls school to look for her elusive sister Jacqueline (Jean Brooks; THE LEOPARD MAN) in NYC. In a Greenwich Village restaurant, the owners tell her Jacqueline rented a room but never used it. She convinces them to unlock the room. Inside she finds a noose and chair. She goes to the police and then a lawyer, Gregory Ward (Hugh Beaumont) who just happens to be in love with Jacqueline. August (Lou Lubin), a shady PI says he knows where Jacqueline is but when they investigate, he's killed. 

Later Mary sees 2 guys toting August's corpse on the subway. Ward has secret dealings with Dr. Judd (Tom Conway), under whose care Jacqueline seems to be. Things get very mysterious after this. Judd acts strange, Jacqueline shows up then disappears and it turns out Ward is her husband. Then local Poet Hoag (Erford Gage) says he'll find Jacqueline. Mrs. Redi (Mary Newton), the new owner of Jacqueline's cosmetic shop, tells Mary her sister is the one who killed August and warns her to leave town. Later sis reappears to explain things. This leads to a cult of devil worshipers, betrayal, forced suicide and an enigmatic ending. Isabel Jewel and Dewey Robertson are also in it. 

This dark and mysterious Val Lewton production was the directorial debut of Mark Robson (BEDLAM, ISLE OF THE DEAD) who'd make THE GHOST SHIP for Lewton the same year. Tom Conway (the real-life brother of George Saunders) played the character of “Dr. Judd” a year earlier in CAT PEOPLE. Some have theorized he's reprising the same role here although Judd was killed in CAT PEOPLE. Actor Erford Gage was unfortunately killed in WW 2 in 1945. In the middle 1950's Hugh Beaumont played the father (his first name was Ward) on TV's long running “Leave It To Beaver”.

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Back In The Bayou...

 

 (themoviedb.org)

THE LOUISIANA HUSSY-1959-Down in the Bayou, a dumb trapper named Jacques (Peter Coe) won't attend his brother Pierre's wedding because he's in love with the bride Lily (Betty Lynn). While out doing his thing, Jacques comes upon the mysterious Minette (Nan Peterson) who seems to have had a traumatic experience and says her rings were stolen. He takes her to town where the local doctor (Tyler McVey) kind of forces Pierre (Robert Richards) and new wife to take Minette in despite it being their honeymoon. Everyone thinks it's a big joke and laugh at him. Lily doesn't seem to understand Pierre's frustration. In fact, she seems more concerned about Minette's condition than her hubby's. The minute Minette wakes up, it's clear she's some home wrecking tramp. Within minutes of talking, she and Pierre are kissing passionately while Jacques watches from outside. Later she hooks up with Jacques. 

When Pierre & Lily visit Clay Lanier (Harry Lauter), they learn that Minette is really someone else. A flashback narrated by his manservant (Smoki Whitfield) tells how Lanier's wife Minette was driven to suicide by the fake Minette's antics. After Pierre prevents Lanier from killing fake Minette, the brothers reconcile and fake Minette gets away, looking for a new sucker. 

Dumb sleazy quickie with Coe miscast as the hot-headed Jacques. Director Lee Sholem had already made PHARAOH'S CURSE (1957), SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE PEOPLE (1951) and several “Jungle Jim” adventures.

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Bava's Last Bow

 SHOCK-1977-After leaving a mental hospital, Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi), still recovering from the suicide of her first husband returns to their old house with her new husband Bruno (John Steiner) and young son Marco (David Colin Jr.). At night while the couple have sex, Marco wakes up in his room and yells “pigs” several times. He asks mom “What is death?”. His hand turns ghoulish when he touches his sleeping mom. Bruno is a commercial pilot and is away a lot. As the story progresses Dora fears she is beginning to lose her sanity once again. Marco acts very weird and says thing like “I have to kill you,mama” and seems to be possessed by her late husband....or is it just in her mind? It's revealed later that Dora killed her late hubby in a drug fueled fury and Bruno hid the body in a wall. Dora kills Bruno with a pick and then after being attacked by furniture, slits her own throat. Marco has a tea party with his invisible dad.

 (imdb)

This Italian production (it played in the US under the title BEYOND THE DOOR PART 2) was the last film directed by the great Mario Bava with some help from his son Lamberto, who co-wrote the screenplay. Nice little possession-ghost horror movie that looks great (the elder Bava was also the uncredited cinematographer) and manages to tie up everything nicely (well kind of anyway...). 

Son Lamberto went on to make his own horror films. Lead actress Daria Nicolodi wrote the screenplay for the Dario Argento horror movie SUSPIRIA the same year (they were a couple for many years but never married). Italian horror vet Ivan Rassimov plays Dora's doctor.

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Andy's Not Dandy

CARNAGE-1984-A newlywed couple, Carol (Leslie Den Dooven) and Jonathan (Michael Chiodo) move into their new house where three years before a husband killed his bride and himself on their wedding night. Weird things happen. A gas stove goes on by itself, kitchen utensils move around and a phone hangs itself up. There's useless scenes of a mother and daughter talking about marriage and pregnancy. Then Rose (Lola Ross), the new housekeeper is terrorized by the laughing ghost of the dead bride. She tells Rose to leave and begins to strangle her. Rose winds up comatose but wakes long enough to cut her own throat. 

After more useless talk about marriage, two would he burglars break into the basement and are confronted by the insane laughing blood smeared bride ghost. 

One burglar has his hand cut off (typical Andy Milligan cheesy sfx) and the other is strangled and disemboweled,although there's little blood. The next day (?) two couples come for a housewarming party. While one guy can't seem to take a shower, his wife is visited by the ghost bride. Later at the party a rug mysteriously moves causing one woman to fall and get glass in her arms. Then a guy is electrocuted in a bathtub and the next scene is his church funeral. When Jonathan's secretary stops by, her head is chopped off. Then a priest tries to help but gets a neat cleaver in his head. In the end the ghost couple make Carol and Jonathan commit murder/suicide the way they did. 

I don't mind low budget horror movies with bad acting and cheesy sfx but this movie has so much talk unrelated to the plot that it’s ridiculous and boring! Filmed in Staten Island by writer/ director Milligan.

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Chan In Jolly Old England

CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON-1934-Paul Gray is found guilty of murder and sentenced to die. His sister Pamela (Drue Layton), her boyfriend Neil (Ray Milland) and mutual friend Geoffrey Richmond (Alan Mowbray) try to prove his innocence but to no avail. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) happens to be in London after helping solve another case, and the trio hook up with him. When Neil is forced to admit he thinks Paul really is guilty, Pam breaks their engagement and goes off to Geoffrey's estate. Chan thinks he can help and follows her. He meets a whole bunch of upper class twits who could all be suspects. After a suspicious acting groom Lake (John Rogers) commits suicide Chan proves to stupid police Sergeant Thacker (EE Clive) that it's actually murder. It's apparent that most of them resent “a foreigner” in their midst but Chan exposes the murderer, saves Gray and makes sure Pam and Neil are reunited. 

Director Eugene Lorde went on to make more in the series and also co-directed CHARLIE CHAN'S COURAGE, now a lost film, the same year. Followed by CHARLIE CHAN IN PARIS.

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Wish The Batteries Would Die

NIGHTLIGHT-2013-Even though their friend has just committed suicide, a group of young people (idiots waiting to be killed) decide to spend the night in a forest where other suicides have occurred. They use flashlights and cameras. After a lot of running around everyone starts to die and a demonic creature of some kind seems to be the culprit. Once again there's nothing to a movie like this. It's helter skelter camera work, yelling and no resolution to the story (which there wasn't much of in the first place). And it took two guys (Bryan Woods and Scot Beck) to write and direct it....

Filmed in 2013, it “escaped” to DVD and cable in 2015.

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Amicus

THE PSYCHOPATH-1966-In this Amicus production (written by American Robert Bloch) a lawyer is crushed to death by a car and a doll resembling the victim his found with him. An inspector's (Patrick Wymark, in THE SKULL by the same director the year before)) investi-gation leads him to suspect American Donald Loftis (Canadian actor Don Borisenko) and his English girlfriend Louise (Judy Huxtable). Her father is played by Alexander Knox. Murders by poison, strangulation and acetylene torch follow. It all has to do with a doll obsessed wheel chair bound woman (Margaret Johnson) and her "Norman Bates" like son (John Standing) and her husband's suicide. Despite being almost blown up the inspector finds the real culprits. It's well directed by Oscar winning cinematographer Freddie Francis but there's a lot of talk and you know immediately who's the killer once the character is introduced. A weird freak out ending saves the whole thing!

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It Played at Cannes!

FROM WITHIN-2008-Weird THE RING/THE GRUDGE inspired nonsense set in a town run by religious fanatics. They once killed a woman thought to be a witch and now a rash of suicides have occurred. A young girl named Lindsey (Elizabeth Rice; later in the TV show MAD MEN) tries to discover the truth with the help of the accused witch's son (Thomas Dekker; TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNORS CHRONICLES TV show)  and his stupid cousin (Kelly Blatz). A curse seems to be killing everyone. The best part of this is the interesting twist ending. The director Phedon Papamichael has done more work as a cinematographer. 

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They Got The Clap!

DAMAGED LIVES-1933-The great Edgar Ulmer made this cautionary exploitation drama a year before his horror masterpiece THE BLACK CAT. 

Donald Bradley, a young businessman (Lyman Williams) gets a venereal disease from a one night stand with a woman he meets at a party. He gets married to his fiancee, Joan (Diane Sinclair) and passes it on to her. 

He visits the famous doctor Leonard (Murray Kinnell) who gives him a tour of patients who have long term disabilities from the effects of untreated VD. Madness, blindness, body sores are some of the results. Their family doctor (Jason Robards Sr.) tries to cheer them up but then he won't even let his young son kiss Joan. After she tries to commit suicide and take hubby with her they realize everything will be ok (the medical treatment cure them will take two years) and they live happily ever after. It's based on a French play. 

You can read more about the author of the play here:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Brieux

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Star Wars, Where Is Thy Sting?

STARSHIP INVASIONS-1977-After some strange looking aliens abduct a farmer (he looks like he could be one of the 3 Stooges) and he has sex with a woman on the ship (not shown!), we are introduced to Prof. Duncan (Robert Vaughn) a serious, easy going UFO investigator. His wife (Helen Shaver) thinks he's becoming obsessed with his research and says that UFOs “are such bizarre things”. Christopher Lee is Captain Ramses, an alien leader from the planet Alpha paving the way for a “massive migration” of this race to invade Earth before his planet's sun explodes. He talks by telepathy, which is a good thing since he looks like if he had to speak the lines he'd break out laughing! 

The group abduct a woman and stick a big needle in her. Later they all wind up dead. Ramses visits “The League of Races”, a group of different space aliens whose headquarters is in The Bermuda Triangle. They even have an intergalactic whore house! Most of the league aliens look like normal humans in funny clothes but some have round bald heads. Ramses and his small crew take over the base and plan on wiping out Earth inhabitants through a beam that makes everyone kill and/or commit suicide. The alien league fights back however and enlists Duncan to help stop Ramses' deadly plan. 

 There's a lot of low budget effects, some unintentionally funny interview segments and a couple of wobbly saucers but the acting is played straight. Some very funny looking robots make an appearance too. It was filmed in Canada by director-writer Edward Hunt who later made THE BRAIN. 

The soundtrack by Gil Melle' (NIGHT GALLERY, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, 6 MILLION DOLLAR MAN) is an interesting mix of orchestra pieces and electric piano driven Jazz. 

The same year Lee played an alien in the similar END OF THE WORLD, was in the big budgeted AIRPORT '77 and was on-screen narrator of MEAT CLEAVER MASSACRE. Among other things in 1977, Vaughn was the un-credited voice of the computer in DEMON SEED.

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3 By Franco

Filmmaker Jess Franco is a prolific, enigmatic director. If you think Woody Allen and Robert Altman made a lot of movies, well Franco leaves them both in the dust.

At his peak in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s his most exploitative films usually feature murder, blood, a wild jazz score, nudity and many of the same cast members. Occasionally he’s gotten some name stars to appear in his films.

In 1962 he created a horror character called Dr. Orloff who would reappear in many future films. Even Orloff’s servant Morpho showed up in other films (at least in name)! But his films suffered from low budgets, rushed filming, bad dubbing, censors and Franco’s insistent use of zoom senses. He used numerous pseudonyms and several versions of one movie were sometimes released for different countries! Some sources claim hardcore sex scenes were even added to some versions! Much of his output seemed obsessed with The Dracula Legend (and vampires in general), sadomasochism and lesbian love scenes. He’s still going strong today making films with names like KILLER BARBYS VS. DRACULA and BAD DAY AT THE CEMETERY but his output has decreased considerably. The following three movies were all made around the same time in 1971. This was the year after Franco made a fairly competent version of DRACULA and the imfamous EUNGENIE...AND THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION.



SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY-1971-A scientist working with hormones and embryos (it almost sounds like stem cell research!) is rejected by 4 of his colleagues. He can’t accept the rejection and goes crazy, eventually committing suicide. His wife (Franco regular Soledad Miranda) takes revenge. She seduces the three men (Howard Vernon, Paul Muller and director Franco himself) then stabs and castrates them. The fourth is a woman who she also seduces then suffocates with a pillow. Later she drives off a cliff with her dead hubby beside her. The story isn’t much but this is a Jess Franco movie so there’s a loud jazz score to keep you interested and everyone wears bright clothing.



VAMPYROS LESBOS-1971 –This is the cult movie Franco made around the same time as SKIE and it seems to have the same musical score. Nadine, the daughter of Dracula (Soledad Miranda again) sets her sights on Linda who seeks the help of Dr. Seward (Franco regular Dennis Price) because she thinks it’s all a dream. Nadine and another woman do a nude erotic dance twice. The nude scenes of Nadine and Linda probably caused a stir at the time but I’m not sure if this was even released in the US in 1971 ! Paul Mueller and Franco are also in it.


THE DEVIL CAME TO ALAKASA-1971-This is a more typical Franco mess…er…movie. A scientist and his wife have a legendary stone that among other things can kill people exposed to it. Fred Williams (Jonathan Harker in Franco's production of DRACULA the year before) plays a Scotland Yard detective who investigates. He’s aided by another agent (Franco) and eventually helps and falls in love with an undercover government agent (Miranda) who’s posing as a stripper.

Meanwhile, a wheelchair bound Lord (Walter Rilla) and his mysterious servant (Howard Vernon) lurk in the background. Lots of people are killed in the confused plot that is hampered by bad dubbing and editing. Also the characters do and say things that I wasn’t really sure were intentional humor or not! Miranda was killed in a car accident soon after this was completed (maybe before as the ending seems tacked on).

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Bad Girls

SO YOUNG SO BAD-1950-CASABLANCA's Paul Henreid stars as Dr. Jason, a psychiatrist sent to a girls reform school to help out. He runs into a lot of bureaucracy and is hindered in his progress to help the troubled girls by the uncaring staff. Catherine McLeod plays Ruth, a social worker who resents Jason's presence. He and Ruth have a heated debate on a moving merry go round! Mike Kellin has a few brief shots as the operator and some seem to think a guy selling balloons looks a lot like Phil Silvers! Jason tries to expose the sweat shop like conditions and ignorance of Mr. Riggs, the idiot who’s in charge. At one point, the girls sneak a rabbit into the school and a matron stomps it to death! The girls then riot and set fire to the school. As punishment some of the girls are hosed down like Charlton Heston in PLANET OF THE APES! Later Jason kind of blackmails Riggs into letting him run the school his way. He does do a lot of good but when the evil matron punishes one of the girls by cutting her hair, suicide, deception and an inquiry that could lead to Jason's dismissal follow.

It’s an earnest low budget little movie but the most interesting thing about it really is that it introduces three actresses who went on to famous careers: Anne Jackson, Ann Francis and Rita Moreno! Director Bernard Vorhaus also made THE AMAZING DR. X.

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