Midnight Sun

 

 (alchetron.com)

SPACE INVASION OF LAPLAND-1959-A group of scientists investigate a meteor crash in the mountains. Erik (Sten Gester), a womanizing doctor takes a liking to Diane (Barbara Wilson), the niece of Erik's older colleague, Dr. Wilson (American actor Robert Burton). After a long period of skiing, dancing and singing, Erik, Diane and Dr. Wilson visit the crash site. They find the remains of some dead reindeer and a giant footprint. The men take a plane to check out the meteor and Diane is a stowaway. While they are off scouting, something attacks and wrecks their plane. They discover it's not a meteor at all; it's a spaceship! Diane and Erik ski for help but Diane crashes and hurts her knee. 

Meanwhile, another scientist finds something moving in the spaceship and is killed. Diane and Erik find a cabin for shelter but an avalanche destroys it (with Erik inside). Diane flees the scene when a big hairy giant with fangs, shows up. Somehow, Diane survives all night being out in a snowstorm, only to be captured by the furry alien in the morning. At the crater site, she meets some pointy headed aliens in hoodies. She screams and faints. The giant shows up in a village and wrecks the new plane Dr. Wilson has! A Lapland posse is formed and, with torches and on skis, they follow the monster back to where he's holding Diane. The Laps set the creature on fire and kill it. Diane is saved. The aliens leave, their true purpose for the visit unknown. 

This film has a rather sordid history in the US as schlock director Jerry Warren got a hold of it, cut it drastically and added John Carradine as an on-screen narrator in a version called INVASION OF THE ANIMAL PEOPLE (it used to play on TV's “Chiller” here in NYC occasionally in the '70's). It's commonly called TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN but the version I saw had this other name. 

A Swedish American black and white co-production, it directed by American low-budget filmmaker Virgil Vogel (THE MOLE PEOPLE (1956)) and American screenwriter Arthur C. Pierce (THE HUMAN DUPLICATORS (1964)).

Lapland is region that spans 4 countries: Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. Only Sweden and Finland have a region within their borders called as such.

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Death Horse

 

 (imdb)

DEATH RIDES A HORSE-1967-A small boy watches as some bandits murder his father, mother and sister (who they also rape). He notices certain things about them: a tattoo on one guy, a scar on another, etc. A mysterious figure helps him escape after his house is set on fire. 15 years later, the boy named Bill is now a grown man (John Phillip Law) seeking revenge on the gang led by Walcott (Luigi Pistilli), a banker. He gets help from Ryan (Lee Van Cleef) who's also after the gang because they double crossed him and he went to jail. It also turns out that Ryan was the one who helped Bill out 15 years before. When the gang kidnaps Bill, Ryan comes to his rescue. During a sandstorm in a Mexican village, the duo get their revenge. The two nearly have a showdown but Bill (who knows Ryan saved his life) rides away. 

Not bad spaghetti western directed by Giulio Petroni who was the assistant director on ISLAND MONSTER (1959) with Boris Karloff.

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Triple Threat

 

 (imdb)

TEXAS, BROOKLYN AND HEAVEN-1948-The only reason I watched this innocuous romantic comedy is that William Castle directed it (he also has a cameo) and Audie Murphy made his film debut as a copy boy. 

In Texas, Perry Dunklin (Diana Lynn) thinks former small town newspaper writer Eddie Taylor (Guy Madison, in his fourth movie) is a gangster but he just wants to go to NYC and finish his play. The ever-annoying Lionel Stander, Margret Hamilton, William Frawley, Irene Ryan and Academy Award winner James Dunn are featured in various roles and Herb Vigran, Dewey Robertson and Jesse White have bits. 

It's based on a novel but some contend that the title was thought up first and then the plot worked around it. The film also features a view of The Texas School Book Depository at Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.

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Let's Swing!

 

THE YOUNG SWINGERS-1963-This old fart owns a building that houses the popular The Vanguard club. Her niece Vicki (Molly Bee) gets a job as a waitress and falls in love with singing owner Mel (Rod Lauren; in THE CRAWLING HAND the same year). His friend Pete (Larrs Jackson) does a crazy song, “Watsui Rock”. His other friend Fred is played by Gene McDaniels who does 2 great songs. After The Sherwoods perform Hoyt Axton's “Greenback Dollar” and Vicki does a boring ballad, the club burns down. Vicki thinks her aunt (Jo Helton) did it but Mel proves it was an electrical fire and the aunt builds them a new club. Everybody sings and twists by a pool in the end. Ray Dannis, later in THE UNDERTAKER AND HIS PALS (1966) is a butler. 

The team of director Maury Dexter and screenwriter Harry Spalding (THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH (1962)) made two “Beach Party” like movies the next year. Molly Bee was a Grammy nominated Country-Western singer who's also in HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (1967).

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Horror In The Philippines

 

 (imdb)

THE TWILIGHT PEOPLE-1972-Matt Farrell (John Ashley) is forced on to an island ala Dr. Moreau run by Juan Pereira (Eddie Garcia). He wants to use Farrell to create a new species of human beings. Pereira's experiments aren't very successful as he has a lot of animal creatures in cages. Things go bad for the doc when his daughter Neva (Pat Woodell) decides to help Farrell escape after disposing of Pereira's bi-sexual, drug addict second in command Steinman (Jan Merlin). Neva escapes with some animal people, a bat guy (Tony Goselvez), an antelope man (Ken Metcalfe) and a panther woman Pam Grier). Steinman musters some troops to go after the escapees while the manimals fight and act crazy. Neva tries to teach them manners. Permo (Kim Ramos), an ape man, tries to rape her. Meanwhile, Farrell captures Pereira. The panther girl kills some of the guards but goes crazy, even attacking wounded antelope man. Eventually, all of the mutants are killed except for the bat guy who kills most of the bad guys except for Pereira who's killed by the most horrible mutant, his wife and first failed experiment. (like in THE SHE DEMONS). 

This crazy low-budget shot in the Philippines horror tale was directed by the prolific Eddie Romero (BRIDES OF BLOOD (1968)) between BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT (starring Ashley) and THE WOMAN HUNT (starring Ashley and Woodell). 

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Welcome To A Nightmare

 

 (imdb)

MONSTER DOG-1984-Rock star Vincent Roberts (Alice Cooper) goes to his old hometown to shoot a music video. A grumbling sheriff tells Vincent and his group to watch out for some wild dogs that killed some locals recently. Then in a real drawn-out scene, the sheriff and deputy are killed. After the group accidentally run down a dog, a crazy, bloody old man says they will all die. They arrive at an old house but the caretaker is missing. At night, one of the women, Angie (Pepita James), is terrorized by the bloody man and everyone else is dead and Vincent is a werewolf. But of course, it's a dream. The dream doesn't sit well with Vincent because 20 years before his father was killed by the townspeople because they thought he was a werewolf. During a video shoot, the dead caretaker crashes onto the set and lands on Angie. Then stupidly the rest go to check upstairs and leave Angie alone. She walks away in a trance. Meantime, a bunch of dirty, grimy townspeople plan on killing Vincent because they think he's a werewolf. (Things haven't changed much since his father's time...) They take his friends hostage and the dumb ass leader accidentally kills Angie. While Vincent hunts down the killers, the others are killed by wild dogs. A gigantic demonic dog does show up. After everyone but Vincent, his girlfriend Sandra (Victoria Vera) and Mary Lou (Jose Sarsa) are killed, they almost escape but the monster dog is in the backseat of their car and it kills Mary Lou and attacks Vincent, who crashes the car. The bloody man (Vincent's dad?) shows up to say “we have a new king who will live in the house of death forever”. Vincent seems to take the bloody man's place and starts to transform into something but Sandra shoots him. It ends with most of the movie shown as part of Vincent's rock video (??). 

There are two original Cooper songs. This production was shot in Spain by Italian director Claudio Fragasso who was once an assistant to Bruno Mattei. He later made TROLL 2 (1990). Cooper (whose voice is dubbed) agreed to do the movie because he was told it wouldn't play outside Spanish speaking countries. Except for Cooper on the lead role, there's nothing to separate it from any number of horror movies made in the mid-'80's.

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Yes!

 

 (imdb)

YES MADAM-1985-Inspector Ng (Michelle Yeoh) reluctantly teams up with hard ass Scotland Yard detective Carrie Morris (Cynthia Rothrock in her film debut) to investigate some murders in Hong Kong. It's related to some microfilm that 2 dumb brothers Stepilsi (John Sham) and Aspirin (Hoi Mang) stole from a motel room. They and a third brother Pandopen (director Hark Tsui) are trying to raise money to buy a house for their father (Sammo Hung!) who's in an old age home. Meanwhile, a hit man chases them hired by a pipe smoking mobster boss Tin (James Tien) who wants the film.

 I didn't like the freeze frame ending or the terribly cheesy '80's synth score. Despite a lot of good fights, bloody shootouts and killing, there's a lot of comedy courtesy of director Corey Yuen (THE TRANSPORTER (2002)).

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