Survival of The Sequel

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD-2009-This is an off shoot of George Romero's last "dead" film (DIARY OF THE DEAD) as some stupid renegade National Guardsmen who appeared briefly in DAIRY are the focal point of this weird story. On Plum Island off of Delaware, two stereotypical Irish clans feud over how to deal with their un-dead brethren. The one leader Seamus Muldoon has the other leader Patrick O'Flynn banished from the island. After some inventive zombie deaths and arguing the soldiers (with a young smart ass just called "Boy") meet up with O'Flynn and return to the island.

After more in fighting they try to make a zombie eat a horse. There's a lot of talk in between zombie encounters but I really didn't know what to make of it all. This is by far the most disappointing Romero movie ever! 

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Harrington/Hopper

NIGHT TIDE-1961-A lonely sailor named Johnny (Dennis Hopper) roams a seaside carnival. He goes to a Jazz club (where Jim Horn plays the flute in a combo) and meets Mora (Laura Lawson) who plays a mermaid in a local act run by Capt. Murdock (Gavin Muir). Mora also seems disturb by an old woman who follows her around. Johnny learns from the merry go round proprietor's daughter (Luana Anders) that Mora's last two boyfriends were found dead. After the two meet several times, Murdock warns Johnny that in fact Mora is part of a race of mermaids and some day they will come to reclaim her. 

Later he visits an old fortune teller (the always ancient looking Marjorie Eaton from MONSTROSITY/THE ATOMIC BRAIN) and has a dream where he's kissing Mora and is suddenly wrestling with an octopus. This haunting,dream-like fantasy is done very well but some might be disappointed by the conclusion. 

This was cult director Curtis Harrington's first full length feature (he also wrote the screenplay). His next (not counting VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET) QUEEN OF BLOOD also featured Hopper.

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The Great Morgan

THE GREAT MORGAN-1946-Character actor Frank Morgan (who played the wizard in THE WIZARD OF OZ IN 1939) plays himself in this unusual MGM musical comedy. Morgan is tired of being an actor and getting no respect so he decides to produce his own movie. This seems to really be a compilation of MGM shorts and musical segments. A Pete Smith short "Badminton" and one of John Nesbitt's "A Passing Parade" shorts are shown in their entirety. Other performances are cut scenes from other musical productions and include a tap dancing Eleanor Powell, The King Sisters, Tommy Dorsey and Virginia O'Brien (she's also in THE BIG STORE with The Marx Bros.). It's all kept together by having Morgan and the studio head (played by Leon Ames) watch it. The funny gag ending involving the famous MGM lion is pretty good. It was the only movie directed by Nat Perrin who began his film career writing gags for early Marx Bros. movies and did the screenplays for the Abbott & Costello movies KEEP 'EM FLYIN' and PARDON MY SARONG. 

Originally made only to be shown in Europe for some reason, it was once considered a lost film.

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Hammer In India

THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY-1959-This black and white Hammer production takes place in India in the 1830's when the country was still under British control. Capt. Harry Lewis (Guy Rolfe who starred DR. SARDONICUS the next year) investigates the disappearance of caravans belonging to the East India Company. The culprits are The Thuggees,a murderous cult that worship the god Kali and strangle their victims with "the sacred cloth". 

It's fairly gruesome for the time with eyes burned out,severed hands, torture and Lewis staked to the ground while a cobra attacks. Alan Cuthberson is the pompous Captain who's actually in charge and Roger Delgado (the first Master on the original DR.WHO) has an un-credited role. Director Terence Fisher made THE MUMMY,THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH and THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES the same year. Screenwriter David Zelag Goodman later wrote STRAW DOGS,LOGAN'S RUN and other high profile productions. 

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Shark Bait

OPEN WATER-2003-A couple (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) leave their hectic life to take a vacation in the Bahamas. While scuba diving they are left behind in the water after a the crew screws up the head count. The rest of the movie has the two trying to survive while sharks draw closer. 

This unusual movie is not really a horror film as it was sometimes advertised. It's also not made like a typical Hollywood commercial release either. The director/screenwriter Chris Kentis (and his wife) financed the movie and filmed it over a period of 2 years. There are no CGI effects. Those are real sharks (much of the budget went to a professional "shark wrangler"). You might find it a little tedious at first but it builds to an excellent climax. And be sure to watch the credits! It's based on a true incident. Kent had made one film before this called GRIND in 1997.

Note: I just found out there is an OPEN WATER 2!(Everyone probably knows that already!)

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The Exiles

THE EXILES-1961-This documentary style drama depicts 12 hours in the lives of some American Indians living in a rundown area of Los Angeles. One character Yvonne sadly reflects on her life, pregnancy and marriage to Homer her unemployed husband who spends most of his time drinking with his friends,fighting and hitting on women while neglecting her. Most of the main characters expound on their lives past and present and their feelings and needs. It's well done and honest but bleak. At the end as the sun raises one character says "Let's do it again tonight!". Director Kent MacKenzie only made a few documentaries after this. He died in 1960.

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Why This Title?

KILLER ELITE-2011-This is not a remake of the Sam Peckinpah movie (although it came out around the same time as the STRAW DOGS remake). It's based on a novel called "The Feather Man". 

Jason Statham is Danny, an ex-member of Great Britain's Elite Air Service who gets back into things when his mentor Hunter (Robert DeNiro) is kidnapped and held hostage by a military renegade (Clive Owen). To save Hunter's life he must kill three assassins. It's an overly complicated drawn out action outing that Statham is typically associated with and basically proves three time Oscar winner DeNiro will do mostly anything late in his career. Also with Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbajie (from TV's LOST),Dominic Purcell (also in the STRAW DOGS remake) and Yvonne Strahovski. This was Gary McKendry's first full length directorial effort.

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