Father Fritz

 

 (imdb)

JAWS OF SATAN-1981-In a small Alabama town, Evelyn, a modern-day witch (Diana Douglas) tells a disillusioned priest Father Tom (Fritz Weaver), the devil is after him. Meanwhile, a satanic snake slithers around killing people. A local doctor (Gretchen Corbett) calls in a herpetologist (Jon Korkes, a terrible actor) to look at some toxic corpses. The priest consults his monsignor (Norman Lloyd) who clues him in on what's happening. A crazy cursed druid is to blame, an ancestor of Tom's. 

The whole story is kind of murky and there are some unintentional laughs. This is one of the few feature films directed by Bob Claver, a busy TV director. It also features Christina Applegate from TV's “Married With Children” in her first role.

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Italian Horror

L’OSSESSA-1974-Danila (Stella Carnacina) an art historian/painter helps with the restoration of an ancient odd sculpture made of wood that depicts a man being crucified. Her boyfriend Carlo(Gianrico Tondinelli).wants her to move in with him but she can't seem to give up living with her parents. At a party she sees mom having sex with her lover (while dad is in the other room playing cards). She goes to the place where the statue is being kept so she can finish her painting. While there the statue comes to life, turns into a human, tears off her dress and screws her. The place goes on fire but it's all a dream. She calls Carlo for help. He lectures her then takes her home. Walking around in the dark she hears footsteps and her name being called. Chanting voices overwhelm her to orgasm. Mom and dad return to find daughter in full sexual arousement. So much so she comes onto dad (“There's no such thing as incest. It's an invention of the priests”). He slaps her a couple of times to bring her out of it. 

Their doctor suggests a trip to the country. So mom, dad, daughter and Carlo head out for a nice drive. Along the way they get a flat. Wandering around she meets a guy (with an out of control mustache) who’s restoring murals in an old structure. When she looks around she discovers a guy nailed to the cross laughing maniacally. Some extremely pale faced women seem to be getting ready for a human sacrifice. One of them bids her to drink a mug of “fertile sustenance” and then the crucified guy jumps off his cross and nails her to it! This too seems to be a dream/vision/illusion as she wakes up in bed. When their doc can't explain the bloody holes in her hands and feet he calls in some eggheads who agree an exorcism is needed. Their priest thinks it's too big a job for him so they transfer her to a convent where a real exorcist can do his thing. She goes kicking and screaming and later escapes and runs through the deserted streets. Eventually the priest performs the exorcism and Satan (Ivan Rassimov) appears. She tries to seduce the priest and when he is aroused he leaves the room and whips himself. A second exorcism seems to do the trick but he dies. 

This Italian production has it's moments but occasionally drags. Director/writer Mario Gariazzo also made EYES BEHIND THE STARS, an alien encounter movie that played a lot on late TV in the '80's. 

L'OSSESSA is also known as ENTER THE DEVIL and THE EERIE MIDNIGHT HORROR SHOW.  

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More '50's Madness!

THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE-1958-In this crazy, creepy Universal International horror film a young woman named Jessica (Carolyn Kearney) works on her Aunt Flavia's farm, mostly divining for water. One day while searching for a well she discovers an ancient chest buried by Sir Francis Drake. Gordon Hawthrone (William Reynolds) shows a lot of interest in the chest (and in Jessica) and thinks it might be a valuable artifact. Flavia (Peggy Converse) thinks only about it's monetary value. Gordon leaves to fetch archaeologist Julian Ash (Forrest Lewis). Meanwhile two ranch hands the mean Boyd (James Anderson) and the dumb but powerful Mike (Charles Horvath) decide to open the chest and take whatever is inside. To their surprise, instead of gold or jewels they find the still alive head of Gideon Drew an evil satanist with special powers. It immediately makes Mike kill Boyd. In a flashback we learn that Gideon (Robin Hughes) was so powerful no one could look him in the eye without coming under his control. Only a special medallion could control him (Gordon found it earlier and gave it to Jessica to wear around her neck). For his heinous crimes a Galleon Captain (Thomas B Henry) has him beheaded with his head put in a separate grave from his body. Back in the present Gideon's head makes Linda (Andra Martin), another woman staying at the ranch, his slave (she puts his head in a hat box). Later it takes over Jessica, changing her whole personality and making the others dig up Gideon's body. When head and body are reconnected it seems like the small party is doomed but the medallion destroys the foul one in the nick of time.

THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE was one of two feature length films producer/director Will Cowan made 1958. The other was a rock and roll story called THE BIG BEAT which featured several actors from THTCD. They were his only features. Before that he made many musical subject shorts. For a guy who had directed Nat King Cole, Herb Jeffries and The Mills Brothers I'd say Cowan did a hell of a job with THING, even providing an eerie flashback. Making a horror film must have been his ultimate goal because it's the last thing he did movie wise. He died in 1994. 

Star William Reynolds had been in CULT OF THE COBRA and THE LAND UNKNOWN and later co-starred in THE FBI on TV. Co-star Carolyn Kearney was in many TV shows in the 50's and 60's including the very memorable episode of THRILLER called “The Incredible Doktor Markesan” with Boris Karloff and Dick York. James Anderson usually played an outlaw in westerns but had been in Arch Obler's FIVE and gave a good performance in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD a few years later. Of course Robin Hughes is fairly terrifying as the severed head. Hughes showed up in many films around this time THE MOLE PEOPLE, THE MAZE, DIAL M FOR MURDER, even an uncredited role in the Bowery Boys comedy PARIS PLAYBOYS! But to a lot of THE TWILIGHT ZONE fans he'll always be remembered as the Devil incarnate in the episode “The Howling Man”.

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Busy Weekend-Quick Review

TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL-1981-John Woo made this good vs. evil horror-comedy with part of the story-line borrowed from BEDAZZLED a year before PLAN JANE TO THE RESCUE.

Ricky Hui (also in PLAN JANE) is Bruce, a pop singer/songwriter who makes a deal with the Devil's henchman (Stanley Tong) to become a star. Needless to say nothing turns out right and a priest (Paul Chun) tries to help him out. There's a lot of whacky comedy and well choreographed fights.

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Philippine Horror

DAUGHTERS OF SATAN-1972-In this Philippines shot horror film, a guy (Tom Selleck) brings home a painting of three witches. His wife Chris (Barra Grant) resembles one of them and seems bent on suddenly killing him. She toys with a dagger when his back is turned and almost suffocates him with some burning gas. A doctor (Vic Silayan) tries to convince hubby that his wife is possessed. The picture comes to life and shows the witches actually being burned at the stake. Later Chris is hung topless above some spikes and whipped by the head of a coven.

There's too much talk and the acting by the two leads isn't very good. The ending is dumb too. It does features Vic Diaz, a comedian who played villains in many Philippine productions. Director Hollingsworth Morse made very few movies but did lots of TV episodes including F-TROOP, HR PUFNSTUF and MARCUS WELBY.

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Rock and Religion

THE WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER-1962-Rock god or sinner? 

Bored insurance salesman Clarence Hilliard (Timothy Carey) quits his job to write a book. That doesn’t work out so after seeing a rock band perform (the musician looks like he’s 12 years old) he decides to start his own group and throw some bible thumping in besides. He stands on street corners with his faithful friend Alonzo (Gil Barreto) and gets some followers (one of them is Titus Moede, later in some Ray Dennis Steckler movies).

He forms a kind of cabal with a bunch of nitwits to devise a plan (“Let’s be different. Let’s not hate anybody”). He seduces an old lady for money then dons a phony goatee and plays some numbers with his band (it’s very noisy) and shakes and yells like he’s having a fit. He preaches a loony kind of Nietzsche like philosophy that man is the only god and his followers run riot in the town. After his followers start calling him “God” the devil (who also narrates) visits him and convinces him to enter politics (“Just get rid of your guitar, Clarence”). He starts “The Eternal Man’s Party” and a montage of scenes depict how he’s corrupted by sex and power while campaigning as “God” Hilliard. After he loses the election it all goes down the drain and he cracks up, loses his family and blasphemes God. In the finale the devil as a snake is super-imposed around his body and the screen turns red negative!

For years I read all sorts of stuff about this movie. Michael Wheldon of “Psychotronic Video” fame gushed over it many times. It is entertaining. If more people get to see it (TCM showed one night at 2 AM) it could become the "PLAN 9" of the21^st Century!

Star Carey (a familiar and weird character actor who had scenes in the bigger budgeted films HOUSE OF NUMBERS and CONVICTS 4 the same year) wrote, produced and directed. It’s badly edited and some of the acting is quite funny. In his scenes before he becomes “God” Carey seems like he’s drunk. Paul Frees is the voice of Satan.

Frank Zappa wrote and performed the theme song and some incidental music is also obviously his (some of it sounds like his “Holiday In Berlin”, a theme he used many times over).

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Silent Magic

THE MAGICIAN-1926-Interesting and macabre silent film that seems to be a trendsetter for future films in the same genre. It’s based on a Somerset Maugham novel of the same name.

When a famous surgeon Dr. Burton (Ivan Petrovitch) saves the life of Margret (Alice Terry) with a spine operation, they end up falling in love. Enter Dr. Haddo (THE GOLEM’s Paul Wegener), a medical student (?; he seems kind of old!) who's searching for a way to create life in his laboratory. He finds an ancient book of magic that says he needs “the blood of a maiden” to succeed. Guess who he sets his sights on? He uses hypnotism to control Margret and shows her an incredible scene of hell (tinted red with a pan pipe playing Satan). Wegener is down right frightening as Haddo (said to be based on English occultist Alastair Crowley).

The film was adapted and directed by Rex Ingram who had had a very successful career in Hollywood with his versions of THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE, SCARAMOUCHE, BEN-HUR, THE PRISONER OF ZENDA and others. 12 of them co-starring his wife Alice Terry. He would make only 4 more and retire. He died in 1950. His wife would also retire at the advent of sound. Wegener returned to German and acted another 22 years and died in 1948. Director Ingram should not be confused with actor Rex Ingram from CABIN IN THE SKY and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD.

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