Tape Freaks Presents: January's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, January 3rd @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
December 26, 2017
January's Mystery Movie: First Clue
Clue #1: This month's 80s haunted house movie is QUITE a doozy.
Tape Freaks Presents: January's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, January 3rd @ 7:00pm, only $5!
Tape Freaks Presents: January's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, January 3rd @ 7:00pm, only $5!
December 6, 2017
December's Mystery Movie: Third Clue
Clue #3: Though this month's movie isn't our favorite that this director-actor pair produced (we've screened that one already), it is a special brand of uncategorizable weird that has earned it a permanent spot in our hearts.
Tape Freaks Presents: December's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, December 6th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: December's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, December 6th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
December 4, 2017
December's Mystery Movie: Second Clue
Clue #2: After getting fired off another project he was writing/directing, the director of this month's movie spent a week writing a shooting script and working on pre-production before running headlong into filming this strange little gem.
Tape Freaks Presents: December's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, December 6th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: December's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, December 6th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
December 1, 2017
December's Mystery Movie: First Clue
Clue #1: This month's movie was the first in what would become 5 team-ups for this actor director pair.
Tape Freaks Presents: December's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, December 6th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: December's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, December 6th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
October 31, 2017
November's Mystery Movie: Third Clue
Clue #3: This month's movie employed a crew member who would go on to do sound design and foley work for Amelie, Delicatessen, and six of the James Bond films!
Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, November 1st @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, November 1st @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
October 30, 2017
Canuxploitation: The Weird List
There's a ton of odd films that came out of the heydays of the Canuxploitation, mostly thanks to the enticing tax shelter the Canadian government had set up to boost their arts industry. Plenty of first time directors, film makers who wouldn't have gotten funding otherwise, and people who didn't have the first clue about how to make a movie all got their projects made utilizing that tax break, and some VERY odd films were gifted to the world.
The Peanut Butter Solution: As a kid, Tim caught this one on cable, and it creeped him out for years. Over those years, what he could remember from watching the movie made so little sense to him, he started to think he'd made the whole film up. But then, many years later, while talking to a friend about weird movies, The Peanut Butter Solution came up and they discovered they'd both had the exact same experience! But what kind of nonsensical movie could have driven two different people to believe they'd hallucinated an entire movie? The Peanut Butter Solution is about a young kid who gets coerced into investigating an creepy old haunted house. When he goes in, he sees something that scares him so badly [what he actually sees is never revealed to the audience], all of his hair falls out. Then a witch (or something) visits him at his home and gives him a magic recipe that utilizes household items to make a paste the kid must slather on his bald head at night in order to make his hair grow back. (The main ingredient is peanut butter, hence the title... I guess....) But something goes wrong when he makes the "solution" and the ratio of peanut butter to other stuff gets messed up. But that doesn't deter him from using the solution anyway! His hair does grow back and very quickly, but once it starts growing, it never stops. Soon has so much hair he must to do all kinds of wacky things to deal with it all, while his hair continues to grow at an alarming rate. This is about the time he's kidnapped by his art teacher. His teacher has kidnapped a bunch of other kids as well and has been cutting their hair to make magic paintbrushes that allow you to walk into whatever you paint with them. And that's just the start of the third act! If you're ever in the mood to watch the most inexplicable kid's "comedy" ever made, get your hands on this movie and marvel.
Cannibal Girls: This film was directed by Ivan Reitman (Stripes, Ghostbusters) and produced by his frequent collaborator Daniel Goldberg (Stripes, and The Hangover movies) as their first serious attempt at filmmaking. The idea was to shoot a horror movie for a few thousand bucks using the Canadian film incentives, take the film to Cannes (where they were guaranteed a screening as part of the film incentives), sell the movie for a profit, and then use those profits to make a bigger (and better) movie! They enlisted some improv comedian friends (Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin) and set out with a loose story of a young couple on a road trip who visit a restaurant on the outskirts of town run by a trio of cannibal girls. They shot for 9 days mostly improvising the rest of the story on set, figuring they could make it work in the edit. And that's where their plan went sideways... After the initial shoot, they had to re-shot multiple times in an attempt to hobble together a semi-coherent plot. Each time they re-shot, they ended up more in debt to the increasing number of investors, and to their print lab. As their screening date quickly approached, Reitman left for Cannes while (a very nervous) Goldberg continued editing the film. The hope was that Goldberg could get the last reels cut, printed, shipped, and delivered to Reitman before their scheduled screening at the festival. Unfortunately, when Goldberg finished editing the film, the lab tried to strong arm him into signing a contract that gave them distribution rights (the exact thing they were trying to sell in Cannes). It's lucky for Goldberg that they did this without knowing he had a third of the film still in his car, and he promptly told them he'd sooner drive his car, and the reels, off a cliff than hand them distribution rights. Somehow, Goldberg got the full film to Cannes in time for their screening, Reitman was able to sell off the distribution rights, they were just barely able to pay off the debt they racked up making this little flick, and were able to go on and make more films together. [There's a great interview with these 2 on the Blu Ray that is totally worth watching, there's far more to that story and it's all pretty interesting.]
PIN: A Plastic Nightmare: This is a story of a deeply disturbed boy (Leon), his sister, and their two very cold parents. Their father is a doctor who enjoys teaching the kids about anatomy using his full size anatomy doll "Pin" (short for Pinocchio). He uses Pin like a ventriloquist dummy, and because of this young Leon believes Pin is real. But, he also might believe Pin is real because he begins talking to Leon on his own (voiced by Jonathan Banks). Also not helping his delusions is Leon's extremely overprotective mother who won't let him be around other kids, so Pin is also pretty much his only friend. Obviously Pin starts telling Leon to start killing people, but that's not even the full weirdness of this, very strange and very dark, movie that blurs what's real and not for the audience the whole way through. (Fair warning: this might be a good weird flick, but it's also a movie that leaves you feeling pretty gross by the end.)
Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century: The Italian knock-off productions were always looking for a deal, so the Canadian tax incentives were obviously on their radar. And man, are we grateful they were! That's how we got this part King Kong, part Lassie all filtered through an Italian/Canadian lens epic that is Yeti. The titular Yeti is more of a gigantic guy with a beard and feathered hair wearing most of a gorilla suit who RELENTLESSLY communicates through wacky facial expressions and drastically shifts size from scene to scene depending on how he's being superimposed on screen. The Lassie part of this gem revolves around a young a mute boy, his sister, and their Lassie-looking dog who repeatedly comes to their rescue. There's also subplot with the millionaire who funded project thaw-the-Yeti ("scientist" thaw him from his frozen solid state using electric shock, an oscilloscope, and a helicopter) who's trying to capitalize on the Yeti through savvy marketing and cheap merchandising. This whole film is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds, and is on Amazon prime right now! See for yourself how off the wall this thing gets, we implore you.
Murder by Phone (aka Bells): This is a movie about killer phone calls. That's right, phone calls that KILL! Someone is calling people and playing a series of high pitched sounds through their phone that causes the person on the other end to go into a trance, convulse, and bleed from their eyes and face until lighting shoots out of their phone blowing them and everything else in the room to smithereens. Oh boy, is this a fun and ridiculous one!! There's a VHS rip up in its entirety on Youtube, you're welcome.
The Peanut Butter Solution: As a kid, Tim caught this one on cable, and it creeped him out for years. Over those years, what he could remember from watching the movie made so little sense to him, he started to think he'd made the whole film up. But then, many years later, while talking to a friend about weird movies, The Peanut Butter Solution came up and they discovered they'd both had the exact same experience! But what kind of nonsensical movie could have driven two different people to believe they'd hallucinated an entire movie? The Peanut Butter Solution is about a young kid who gets coerced into investigating an creepy old haunted house. When he goes in, he sees something that scares him so badly [what he actually sees is never revealed to the audience], all of his hair falls out. Then a witch (or something) visits him at his home and gives him a magic recipe that utilizes household items to make a paste the kid must slather on his bald head at night in order to make his hair grow back. (The main ingredient is peanut butter, hence the title... I guess....) But something goes wrong when he makes the "solution" and the ratio of peanut butter to other stuff gets messed up. But that doesn't deter him from using the solution anyway! His hair does grow back and very quickly, but once it starts growing, it never stops. Soon has so much hair he must to do all kinds of wacky things to deal with it all, while his hair continues to grow at an alarming rate. This is about the time he's kidnapped by his art teacher. His teacher has kidnapped a bunch of other kids as well and has been cutting their hair to make magic paintbrushes that allow you to walk into whatever you paint with them. And that's just the start of the third act! If you're ever in the mood to watch the most inexplicable kid's "comedy" ever made, get your hands on this movie and marvel.
Cannibal Girls: This film was directed by Ivan Reitman (Stripes, Ghostbusters) and produced by his frequent collaborator Daniel Goldberg (Stripes, and The Hangover movies) as their first serious attempt at filmmaking. The idea was to shoot a horror movie for a few thousand bucks using the Canadian film incentives, take the film to Cannes (where they were guaranteed a screening as part of the film incentives), sell the movie for a profit, and then use those profits to make a bigger (and better) movie! They enlisted some improv comedian friends (Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin) and set out with a loose story of a young couple on a road trip who visit a restaurant on the outskirts of town run by a trio of cannibal girls. They shot for 9 days mostly improvising the rest of the story on set, figuring they could make it work in the edit. And that's where their plan went sideways... After the initial shoot, they had to re-shot multiple times in an attempt to hobble together a semi-coherent plot. Each time they re-shot, they ended up more in debt to the increasing number of investors, and to their print lab. As their screening date quickly approached, Reitman left for Cannes while (a very nervous) Goldberg continued editing the film. The hope was that Goldberg could get the last reels cut, printed, shipped, and delivered to Reitman before their scheduled screening at the festival. Unfortunately, when Goldberg finished editing the film, the lab tried to strong arm him into signing a contract that gave them distribution rights (the exact thing they were trying to sell in Cannes). It's lucky for Goldberg that they did this without knowing he had a third of the film still in his car, and he promptly told them he'd sooner drive his car, and the reels, off a cliff than hand them distribution rights. Somehow, Goldberg got the full film to Cannes in time for their screening, Reitman was able to sell off the distribution rights, they were just barely able to pay off the debt they racked up making this little flick, and were able to go on and make more films together. [There's a great interview with these 2 on the Blu Ray that is totally worth watching, there's far more to that story and it's all pretty interesting.]
PIN: A Plastic Nightmare: This is a story of a deeply disturbed boy (Leon), his sister, and their two very cold parents. Their father is a doctor who enjoys teaching the kids about anatomy using his full size anatomy doll "Pin" (short for Pinocchio). He uses Pin like a ventriloquist dummy, and because of this young Leon believes Pin is real. But, he also might believe Pin is real because he begins talking to Leon on his own (voiced by Jonathan Banks). Also not helping his delusions is Leon's extremely overprotective mother who won't let him be around other kids, so Pin is also pretty much his only friend. Obviously Pin starts telling Leon to start killing people, but that's not even the full weirdness of this, very strange and very dark, movie that blurs what's real and not for the audience the whole way through. (Fair warning: this might be a good weird flick, but it's also a movie that leaves you feeling pretty gross by the end.)
Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century: The Italian knock-off productions were always looking for a deal, so the Canadian tax incentives were obviously on their radar. And man, are we grateful they were! That's how we got this part King Kong, part Lassie all filtered through an Italian/Canadian lens epic that is Yeti. The titular Yeti is more of a gigantic guy with a beard and feathered hair wearing most of a gorilla suit who RELENTLESSLY communicates through wacky facial expressions and drastically shifts size from scene to scene depending on how he's being superimposed on screen. The Lassie part of this gem revolves around a young a mute boy, his sister, and their Lassie-looking dog who repeatedly comes to their rescue. There's also subplot with the millionaire who funded project thaw-the-Yeti ("scientist" thaw him from his frozen solid state using electric shock, an oscilloscope, and a helicopter) who's trying to capitalize on the Yeti through savvy marketing and cheap merchandising. This whole film is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds, and is on Amazon prime right now! See for yourself how off the wall this thing gets, we implore you.
Murder by Phone (aka Bells): This is a movie about killer phone calls. That's right, phone calls that KILL! Someone is calling people and playing a series of high pitched sounds through their phone that causes the person on the other end to go into a trance, convulse, and bleed from their eyes and face until lighting shoots out of their phone blowing them and everything else in the room to smithereens. Oh boy, is this a fun and ridiculous one!! There's a VHS rip up in its entirety on Youtube, you're welcome.
October 29, 2017
Canuxploitation: Rituals
This mid-seventies horror film follows five alcoholic surgeons who go on a trip into the Canadian wilderness. Everything's fine and dandy until it becomes very apparent they're being hunted. But who (or what) is hunting them?
Rituals, also know as The Creeper (which is a FAR more fitting title), was marketed as a straight forward slasher, but it's more of a wilderness survival story. The campers are less tormented by whatever's hunting them and are more being forced to fend for themselves as they try to escape the wilderness. While trying to make their way to safety, they experience interpersonal conflicts, have to fight against nature, and are scared out of their wits, but almost none of that is due to their stalker intentionally striking fear into their hearts.This film's initial script also differed drastically from what ended up in the film. The script left audiences not knowing the identity of the killer at all but, the end of the film gives us the full on slasher reveal of a madman with a thirst for vengeance. Knowing that, the disjointed film makes more sense. However without that tidbit, the film feels inconsistent in tone to say the least.
However, where this film lacks in a number of areas, it makes up for that in grit. Rituals was shot entirely in chronological order in the real Canadian wilderness, letting the actors use the wear and tear of shooting in the wilderness show through in their performances. Not only that, but essentially everything that happens to the characters actually happened to the actors on set: the campers were really swarmed by bees, the filmmakers used deer heads from previously living deer, they really drudged through swamps, and really fought in the shallow waters of a river. This Canadian film crew definitely veered away from a classic hollywood production and produced a really intriguing (though confusing) horror film. Izzi Xiques is a regular contributor to the Tape Freaks blog, an illustrator, and lover of all things cinema.
October 28, 2017
November's Mystery Movie: Second Clue
Clue #2: One of the editors of this month's movie went on to be a sound designer for multiple world famous nature documentaries including March of the Penguins and Winged Migration.
Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, November 1st @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, November 1st @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
October 27, 2017
Canuxploitation: Canadian Slashers!
The slasher boom of the 80s had a huge impact, including a huge influence on our neighbors to the north Here are 7 classic slashers that came out of the Canuxploitation boom.
My Bloody Valentine (1981): A lot of Canuxploitation movies try to hide how Canadian they are, but this movie lets it's Canadian-ness shine. It's shot in Nova Scotia, set in a rural coal mining town and all the actors sport pretty thick accents; it's very Canadian. But it's also a really fun slasher flick featuring a killer equipped with a gas mask and pick axe! When it was originally released, the MPAA cut approximately 5-9 min out of the film to get it to an R rating cutting all of the kills out. Thankfully the gore bits were reassembled for a release in 2009, with only one kill still missing due to the deterioration of that section of film. (My Bloody Valentine also features a closing song that will defiantly stick with you for while...)
Prom Night (1980): This is a cheap cash in on the success of Halloween, so much so that they got Jamie Lee Curtis to star in it! This one always felt pretty forgettable and boring to us, but honestly we've only seen it a couple times on a really bad VHS copy so maybe there's more to it that we're missing. Though, it does feature a ridiculous disco soundtrack that prompted a number of critics to dub this a cross between Halloween and Saturday Night Fever!
Terror Train: Another Jamie Lee Curtis movie! This one gets a lot less love than Prom Night, but we feel this one's superior in many ways (you can check out our previous gushings about it here). This one's shot by John Alcott (long time Kubrick Cinematographer) so the movie looks amazing and is surprisingly flush with creative lighting and camera work. It's all shot on a train, which could get dull pretty quick, but the filmmakers incorporate stuff like unique masks used by the killer, Vanity in a leading role, and an on-train magic act preformed by none other than a young David Copperfield, so there's hardly a dull moment! Scream Factory put Terror Train out on Blu-ray, it's well worth picking up to see this flick in all it's glory.
Curtains: This unique slasher revolves around a movie director (played by John Vernon) who convinces his long-time leading lady that, in order to properly research her next role, she must be briefly (and covertly) committed to an asylum. However, his actual intentions are to just leaver her there forever. While she's desperately trying to escape the asylum, he holds additions for new lead actresses at his secluded estate, where masked killer picks them off one by one. This is a really interesting movie, but it's also a disjointed mess, and it's likely because of all the production problems. The crew shot 45 min of film before production stopped for a rewrite, and they didn't resume filming for over a year. The director, Richard Ciupka, wanted to make an art-house horror film, but producer Peter Simpson (who produced all 4 original Prom Night movies) wanted a more "marketable" film. Ciupka left the project when production shutdown, had his name removed from the film, and insisted the director credit go to the fictional director in the film, Jonathan Stryker.
Happy Birthday to Me: A pretty straightforward mystery-slasher, but also a really fun one! That's likely due to the fact that it was made by the veteran director J. Lee Thompson. Though, Thompson had never directed a straightforward horror movie before, he had directed multiple Planet of the Apes films as well as the original Cape Fear. After filming this horror gem he directed a bunch of Charles Bronson movies for Cannon films, but we're glad he took a stab a the horror genre when he did!
Black Christmas: Made four years before the original Halloween, this horror classic spawned countless holiday slasher films. This film also came almost a decade before director Bob Clark made his other holiday staple: A Christmas Story. This classic also features a star (and going to be star) studded cast: Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Martin, Keir Dullea, and John Saxon just to name a few! This is also the first feature film to use the "calls are coming from inside the house" trope, and one of the first to use POV shots from the perspective of the killer to obscure their identity from the audience. We could go on and on about this one, it's one of our faves inside and out!
My Bloody Valentine (1981): A lot of Canuxploitation movies try to hide how Canadian they are, but this movie lets it's Canadian-ness shine. It's shot in Nova Scotia, set in a rural coal mining town and all the actors sport pretty thick accents; it's very Canadian. But it's also a really fun slasher flick featuring a killer equipped with a gas mask and pick axe! When it was originally released, the MPAA cut approximately 5-9 min out of the film to get it to an R rating cutting all of the kills out. Thankfully the gore bits were reassembled for a release in 2009, with only one kill still missing due to the deterioration of that section of film. (My Bloody Valentine also features a closing song that will defiantly stick with you for while...)
Terror Train: Another Jamie Lee Curtis movie! This one gets a lot less love than Prom Night, but we feel this one's superior in many ways (you can check out our previous gushings about it here). This one's shot by John Alcott (long time Kubrick Cinematographer) so the movie looks amazing and is surprisingly flush with creative lighting and camera work. It's all shot on a train, which could get dull pretty quick, but the filmmakers incorporate stuff like unique masks used by the killer, Vanity in a leading role, and an on-train magic act preformed by none other than a young David Copperfield, so there's hardly a dull moment! Scream Factory put Terror Train out on Blu-ray, it's well worth picking up to see this flick in all it's glory.
Curtains: This unique slasher revolves around a movie director (played by John Vernon) who convinces his long-time leading lady that, in order to properly research her next role, she must be briefly (and covertly) committed to an asylum. However, his actual intentions are to just leaver her there forever. While she's desperately trying to escape the asylum, he holds additions for new lead actresses at his secluded estate, where masked killer picks them off one by one. This is a really interesting movie, but it's also a disjointed mess, and it's likely because of all the production problems. The crew shot 45 min of film before production stopped for a rewrite, and they didn't resume filming for over a year. The director, Richard Ciupka, wanted to make an art-house horror film, but producer Peter Simpson (who produced all 4 original Prom Night movies) wanted a more "marketable" film. Ciupka left the project when production shutdown, had his name removed from the film, and insisted the director credit go to the fictional director in the film, Jonathan Stryker.
Black Christmas: Made four years before the original Halloween, this horror classic spawned countless holiday slasher films. This film also came almost a decade before director Bob Clark made his other holiday staple: A Christmas Story. This classic also features a star (and going to be star) studded cast: Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Martin, Keir Dullea, and John Saxon just to name a few! This is also the first feature film to use the "calls are coming from inside the house" trope, and one of the first to use POV shots from the perspective of the killer to obscure their identity from the audience. We could go on and on about this one, it's one of our faves inside and out!
October 26, 2017
Canuxploitation: Food of the Gods II
Usually when I write up movies each month, I spend a considerable amount of time researching each film. That's partly because I don't trust myself to remember all movies I watch accurately, but it's also partly so I don't retrospectively impose too much of my personal interpretation onto the film. But the sequel to Food of the Gods is one I have very strong memories of, and I've decided that this is the writeup where I'm going to lay those memories out unfiltered.
Who I was when I watched this film: I didn't start watching horror movies until I was in my late teens. Up until then I didn't know they ranged from silly to absolutely terrifying, so I had avoided them pretty universally. But once I knew there were fun ones out there, I went all in. Those were the heydays, and the height of that was when Tim and I (and our other friend Tim) would rent piles of horror movies from Discount Video, including one Food of the Gods. I can honestly say I remember nothing from that movie, save for the fact that we discovered there was a sequel, and that we DESPERATELY needed to see it.
What happened when we watched it?: We hadn't a clue what kind of specifically strange adventure we were in for when we rented this inexplicable sequel, but what stands out in my memory the most from watching this, is how we changed the title after seeing it to Food of the Gods: part Bobby. This movie is literally a movie about a toddler named Bobby that grows to a monstrous size and terrorizes his increasingly hapless creators. Very likely the inspiration for Honey I Blew Up the Kid (or at least the inspiration for the screenplay Disney ripped off to make the aforementioned movie), because as far as I can remember, it's absolutely not about rats; it's about Bobby the gigantic toddler.
Ok fine, I'll look it up to see what's what: Oh boy... I CLEARLY need to revisit this flick, as the stills I found around the web feature loads of stuff I don't recall. Were there actually rats in Food 2, or were those just flashbacks to the previous film? When was there so much carnage, how could my memory be so clouded by the giant toddler that I forgot about the gore? So, I'll have to watch this one again, but until that day (and likely after as well), this will be Food of the Gods: part Bobby to me.
Who I was when I watched this film: I didn't start watching horror movies until I was in my late teens. Up until then I didn't know they ranged from silly to absolutely terrifying, so I had avoided them pretty universally. But once I knew there were fun ones out there, I went all in. Those were the heydays, and the height of that was when Tim and I (and our other friend Tim) would rent piles of horror movies from Discount Video, including one Food of the Gods. I can honestly say I remember nothing from that movie, save for the fact that we discovered there was a sequel, and that we DESPERATELY needed to see it.
 |
| Oh the horror!! |
 |
| Like what's happening here? I DON'T REMEMBER PEOPLE MELTING! |
Ok fine, I'll look it up to see what's what: Oh boy... I CLEARLY need to revisit this flick, as the stills I found around the web feature loads of stuff I don't recall. Were there actually rats in Food 2, or were those just flashbacks to the previous film? When was there so much carnage, how could my memory be so clouded by the giant toddler that I forgot about the gore? So, I'll have to watch this one again, but until that day (and likely after as well), this will be Food of the Gods: part Bobby to me.
October 25, 2017
November's Mystery Movie: First Clue
Clue #1: This month we're screening a Canuxploitation-horror flick!
Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, November 1st @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: November's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, November 1st @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
October 3, 2017
Third Clue: October's Mystery Movie
Clue #3: The director of this month's movie wrote the story for one of Tim's other favorite 80's genre mashing movies.
Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, October 4th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tim's Birthday: Movies Tim Has Insisted Izzi Watch part 2
Another guest writing spot by Izzi Xiques, this is a continuation from her previous list post you can check out here.
Tim has introduced me to so many films this past year, I had to make another list! Some of these I was more reluctant to give a shot, but eventually gave a shot...
Chopping Mall (1986): A film where the poster completely misrepresents the film, this is actually about killer robots and man's reckless fascination with automation. This turned out to be an extremely fun (and very 80s) representation of the "future" of technology with an amazing ending battle sequence and explosion!
Clue (1985): Every time Tim suggested watching this movie, I wasn't really interested. The thought of a movie based on a board game really turned me off, but Tim was SO dead set on showing me this film he actually tricked me into watching it by playing this saying we were going to watch something else! RUDE!... However, I have to admit that this board game move has become one that I quote almost daily. “Flames...flames...on the side of my face!”
Miami Connection (1987): As far as I am concerned this a film is a testament to non-filmmakers and what they can achieve outside the Hollywood system. Y.K. Kim made a terribly fun film portraying the power of synth rock, friendship and martial arts, and it honestly such a fun film that it’s shocking to me it was lost in a garage for two decades. Thanks to the Drafthouse for unearthing it and showing the world how wonderful motorcycle-riding cocaine-peddling ninja can be. So bad, and yet so so good.
Tremors (1990): Another film Tim wanted me to see that I was resisting. All I knew was that I didn’t like Footloose or big worms but somehow this film took those things and made them into a really fun movie! [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the very first time Izzi has admitted that she liked this film! But we knew she loved it when we watched it because when Kevin Bacon's character kissed the woman he'd been flirting with the whole movie, she let out an involuntary "awwww".]
Tim has introduced me to so many films this past year, I had to make another list! Some of these I was more reluctant to give a shot, but eventually gave a shot...
Chopping Mall (1986): A film where the poster completely misrepresents the film, this is actually about killer robots and man's reckless fascination with automation. This turned out to be an extremely fun (and very 80s) representation of the "future" of technology with an amazing ending battle sequence and explosion!
Clue (1985): Every time Tim suggested watching this movie, I wasn't really interested. The thought of a movie based on a board game really turned me off, but Tim was SO dead set on showing me this film he actually tricked me into watching it by playing this saying we were going to watch something else! RUDE!... However, I have to admit that this board game move has become one that I quote almost daily. “Flames...flames...on the side of my face!”
Miami Connection (1987): As far as I am concerned this a film is a testament to non-filmmakers and what they can achieve outside the Hollywood system. Y.K. Kim made a terribly fun film portraying the power of synth rock, friendship and martial arts, and it honestly such a fun film that it’s shocking to me it was lost in a garage for two decades. Thanks to the Drafthouse for unearthing it and showing the world how wonderful motorcycle-riding cocaine-peddling ninja can be. So bad, and yet so so good.
Tremors (1990): Another film Tim wanted me to see that I was resisting. All I knew was that I didn’t like Footloose or big worms but somehow this film took those things and made them into a really fun movie! [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the very first time Izzi has admitted that she liked this film! But we knew she loved it when we watched it because when Kevin Bacon's character kissed the woman he'd been flirting with the whole movie, she let out an involuntary "awwww".]
October 2, 2017
Second Clue: October's Mystery Movie
Clue #2: We have made reference to this movie at every Tape Freaks screening since moving to the Trylon.
Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, October 4th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, October 4th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tim's Birthday: Movies Tim Has Insisted Izzi Watch
Another guest writing spot by Izzi Xiques!
Back when I met Tim and Colette of Tape Freaks, I was about to start studying film at MCAD. Little did I know classes would start much sooner than I thought. While I was pretty well versed in lots of genres of film, I hadn't really dipped my toes into horror or the stranger side of film. So In honor of Tim’s birthday I’ve made a couple lists of my favorite films that he was particularly excited to share with me over the past year.
Suspiria (1977): This is among some of the first films Tim was excited to show me when he found out I hadn't delved into the Italian horror classics. Argento ability to portray murder with vibrant and jarring imagery really shines in this one.
Death Spa (1989): When Tape Freaks screened this one at the MOA, I wasn't living in the state yet so Tim was really excited to show it to someone new again. From the cover art, Death Spa looks like one of those films you expect to run down every single 80s slasher trope by the numbers, but this little weird horror ended up being extremely complicated and dramatic. Definitely a hidden gem in the horror genre that I'm glad I've been able to see!
The Fly (1986): This is a film I didn’t even know existed, and that's weird, because I LOVE Jeff Goldblum. But now that I have seen it; I love it. Watching this film play out was both shocking and completely satisfying. You can read a sort of play by play of my experience watching it because Colette wrote about watching it with me for the Tape Freaks Remakes month.
The Beyond (1981): This is the first Italian horror film Tim showed me and the first I had ever seen! It really left me wanting to dive into the genre head first. Though this film, it isn't the easiest to understand, by the end you don’t really care. It keeps you interested throughout with fantastic imagery, unique gore, and an ending that I personally will never forget.
Back when I met Tim and Colette of Tape Freaks, I was about to start studying film at MCAD. Little did I know classes would start much sooner than I thought. While I was pretty well versed in lots of genres of film, I hadn't really dipped my toes into horror or the stranger side of film. So In honor of Tim’s birthday I’ve made a couple lists of my favorite films that he was particularly excited to share with me over the past year.
Suspiria (1977): This is among some of the first films Tim was excited to show me when he found out I hadn't delved into the Italian horror classics. Argento ability to portray murder with vibrant and jarring imagery really shines in this one.
Death Spa (1989): When Tape Freaks screened this one at the MOA, I wasn't living in the state yet so Tim was really excited to show it to someone new again. From the cover art, Death Spa looks like one of those films you expect to run down every single 80s slasher trope by the numbers, but this little weird horror ended up being extremely complicated and dramatic. Definitely a hidden gem in the horror genre that I'm glad I've been able to see!
The Fly (1986): This is a film I didn’t even know existed, and that's weird, because I LOVE Jeff Goldblum. But now that I have seen it; I love it. Watching this film play out was both shocking and completely satisfying. You can read a sort of play by play of my experience watching it because Colette wrote about watching it with me for the Tape Freaks Remakes month.
The Beyond (1981): This is the first Italian horror film Tim showed me and the first I had ever seen! It really left me wanting to dive into the genre head first. Though this film, it isn't the easiest to understand, by the end you don’t really care. It keeps you interested throughout with fantastic imagery, unique gore, and an ending that I personally will never forget.
October 1, 2017
Tim's Birthday: Soundtracks Tim Likes Better Than the Films They Come From
Tim doesn't like to trash talk movies, but sometimes the worst movies have one element you can enjoy separate from the film itself: a great score. Here are Tim's top five scores he likes better than the films.
Cannibal Holocaust - Riz Ortolani: This is a movie that we're glad we saw, but would be fine never seeing again. (We also don't recommend it to anyone who isn't a horror completest.) The score however, is always in heavy rotation around the Tape Freaks household! It's so strangely beautiful that friends who hear it often think that they need to run out and see the film. But unless you're excited for a gross, mean spirited horror movies that murder multiple live animals on screen, skip the film and pick up the dreamy soundtrack instead.
Beyond the Black Rainbow - Sinoia Caves: This is a movie that could have used a more ruthless editor. It's beautifully shot, has fantastic atmosphere, and the score is amazing but, that's about all there is to this almost 2 hour film. The score lends rich beefy analog synths in an authentic late 70s/early 80's sci-fi style to a film that doesn't really deliver on any of those fronts. (Which may have been why we were so very disappointed with this film, because we were sold on this film from hearing the score in the trailer.)
Mainac - Rob: Tim never made it all the way through this re-make (personally, I never even gave it a shot) though he attempted a couple times, it's not really his kind of horror movie. (The original isn't really up our alley either to be honest.) But this is another staple in Tim's heavy rotation soundtracks, it's moody 80s-style synth goodness is exactly Tim's cup of tea.
New York Ripper - Francesco De Masi: Another mean spirited and gross movie that Tim's seen and doesn't intend to revisit. But this movie's funky jazz score is such a perfect embodiment of the gritty NYC streets of the 70s that it's almost impossible to dislike. (This is also one of my favorite albums to listen to while biking... SO GOOD!)
Only God Forgives - Cliff Martinez: Nicolas Winding Refren is a director that we like less and less, but this film might have been responsible for the abrupt end to Tim's enjoyment of Refren's films. The movie looks really nice but, it's also a seriously pretentious mess. Thankfully Martinez score is a blissfully enjoyable experience without the film!
Cannibal Holocaust - Riz Ortolani: This is a movie that we're glad we saw, but would be fine never seeing again. (We also don't recommend it to anyone who isn't a horror completest.) The score however, is always in heavy rotation around the Tape Freaks household! It's so strangely beautiful that friends who hear it often think that they need to run out and see the film. But unless you're excited for a gross, mean spirited horror movies that murder multiple live animals on screen, skip the film and pick up the dreamy soundtrack instead.
Beyond the Black Rainbow - Sinoia Caves: This is a movie that could have used a more ruthless editor. It's beautifully shot, has fantastic atmosphere, and the score is amazing but, that's about all there is to this almost 2 hour film. The score lends rich beefy analog synths in an authentic late 70s/early 80's sci-fi style to a film that doesn't really deliver on any of those fronts. (Which may have been why we were so very disappointed with this film, because we were sold on this film from hearing the score in the trailer.)
Mainac - Rob: Tim never made it all the way through this re-make (personally, I never even gave it a shot) though he attempted a couple times, it's not really his kind of horror movie. (The original isn't really up our alley either to be honest.) But this is another staple in Tim's heavy rotation soundtracks, it's moody 80s-style synth goodness is exactly Tim's cup of tea.
New York Ripper - Francesco De Masi: Another mean spirited and gross movie that Tim's seen and doesn't intend to revisit. But this movie's funky jazz score is such a perfect embodiment of the gritty NYC streets of the 70s that it's almost impossible to dislike. (This is also one of my favorite albums to listen to while biking... SO GOOD!)
September 29, 2017
Trailer Trash: The Lineup
Some of you asked for it, some of you didn't even know you needed it, but here's the list of trailers played during Trailer Trash: Reanimated! Thanks to our lovely projectionist John Moret, this was his first stab at splicing a Trailer Trash together and he did fantastic! This show is tons of work, but seeing a crowd have that much fun is a pretty sweet pay off if you ask us.
FIRST HALF:
WALK DON'T RUN SNIPE
FIRST HALF:
WALK DON'T RUN SNIPE
COMING SOON WOLVES
UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL
CLOAK AND DAGGER
THUNDER RUN
SPACE RAIDERS
YOR THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE
BEASTMASTER 2
GHOST WARRIOR
SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON
UNBEATABLE DRAGON
AMERICAN NINJA 3
LINK
PROPHECY
XTRO
THE MANITOU
PROPHECY
SQUIRM
THE DAY THAT TIME ENDED
TIMERIDER
ELIMINATORS
7-11 COKE ADVERTISEMENT
COWBOYS IN BRAZIL SHILTZ AD
GOOD GUYS MEET AT THE SNACKBAR COWBOYS
SECOND HALF:
GRINDHOUSE COMING ATTRACTIONS SNIPE
ATARI / KOOL CIGARETTS AD
CLONES
SCANNERS
ASYLUM
MILLOF THE STONE WOMEN
SCARS OF DRACULA
CREEPSHOW
RETURN TO HORROR HIGH
PROM NIGHT 3
DEAD HEAT
VICE SQUAD
GATOR
JAWS 3D
GODZILLA VS MEGALON
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
HYPERSAPIEN THE PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER STAR
THE TERRORNAUTS
GREEN SLIME
FLESH GORDON
DUNGEONMASTER
UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL
CLOAK AND DAGGER
THUNDER RUN
SPACE RAIDERS
YOR THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE
BEASTMASTER 2
GHOST WARRIOR
SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON
UNBEATABLE DRAGON
AMERICAN NINJA 3
LINK
PROPHECY
XTRO
THE MANITOU
PROPHECY
SQUIRM
THE DAY THAT TIME ENDED
TIMERIDER
ELIMINATORS
7-11 COKE ADVERTISEMENT
COWBOYS IN BRAZIL SHILTZ AD
GOOD GUYS MEET AT THE SNACKBAR COWBOYS
SECOND HALF:
GRINDHOUSE COMING ATTRACTIONS SNIPE
ATARI / KOOL CIGARETTS AD
CLONES
SCANNERS
ASYLUM
MILLOF THE STONE WOMEN
SCARS OF DRACULA
CREEPSHOW
RETURN TO HORROR HIGH
PROM NIGHT 3
DEAD HEAT
VICE SQUAD
GATOR
JAWS 3D
GODZILLA VS MEGALON
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
HYPERSAPIEN THE PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER STAR
THE TERRORNAUTS
GREEN SLIME
FLESH GORDON
DUNGEONMASTER
September 28, 2017
First Clue: October's Mystery Movie
Clue #1: This month's movie is Tim's pick, and he's picked a pretty sweet genre mashing movie to screen for us!
Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, October 4th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
Tape Freaks Presents: October's Mystery Movie at the Trylon Cinema, Wednesday, October 4th @ 7:00pm, only $5!
****Purchase advance ticket here****
September 26, 2017
Trailer Trash: Re-animated
We're VERY excited to have Trailer Trash re-animated at the shiny new Trylon theaters! Tickets are a bit more this time around, but this show doubles as a fundraiser to cover the Trylon's building costs from their epic re-model. And in true Trailer Trash tradition, there are two screenings (7:00 & 9:00), so come early or come late, but come see all the weird stuff we can fit on to six reels!!
Trailer Trash: Re-Animated, at (the newly gussied up) Trylon, Wednesday September 27th @ 7 & 9pm, $12 (all ticket sales going straight to the Trylon!)
September 5, 2017
Third Clue: September's Mystery Movie
Clue #3: This months movie was filmed as a standalone horror flick, but the distributors decided to change the title to infer it was a sequel to a better known, and totally unrelated, movie.
>>>THIS MONTH'S SHOW WILL BE AT DIFFERENT LOCATION!! Read on to find out more!<<<<
>>>>THE TRYLON IS IN THE MIDST OF A REMODEL SO OUR SHOW IS TEMPORARILY ON THE ROAD!!! Come check us out this month at the community room in the Carleton Artist Lofts! <<<<
Tape Freaks Presents: September's Mystery Movie at the Carleton Artist Lofts community room, Wednesday September 6th @ 7:00pm. Suggested donation $5
>>>>THE TRYLON IS IN THE MIDST OF A REMODEL SO OUR SHOW IS TEMPORARILY ON THE ROAD!!! Come check us out this month at the community room in the Carleton Artist Lofts! <<<<
Tape Freaks Presents: September's Mystery Movie at the Carleton Artist Lofts community room, Wednesday September 6th @ 7:00pm. Suggested donation $5
Back to School: Return to Horror High
Another guest writing spot by Izzi Xiques, this time as a joint effort with Colette, because this movie is SO flippin' confusing...
Return to Horror High right off the bat is misleading as it has absolutely nothing to do with the Horror High that came out over a decade before. But that's only where the confusion starts, I actually had to watch this film twice to try and decipher what the hell was going on.
As much as I can figure out, the plot is basically this: in a high school abandoned because of a murder spree in which the killer was never caught, a production company is shooting a film based on the murders, and as you'd expect the cast and crew start getting picked off by an unknown killer. Now, you might think "obviously the murderer is back”, but it’s not that simple. At least I don’t think it's that simple, because this movie is so confusing that I don’t even know if it’s simple or not. [Spoilers ahead, I think???] The story is told through a series of flashbacks within flashbacks, movies scenes within the film and dream sequences, and because of all these layers, you start to question what's flashbacks and what's present day. You'd think that would be pretty apparent, but it's not in ways you couldn't possibly imagine.
The film opens with police investigating the death of an entire film crew. A detective and some officers are getting the gory story of what happened by questioning the lone survivor (the screenwriter) and we are pretty quickly thrown into a flashback. The flashback is mostly there to set-up who's who in the production crew. The film's producer keeps forcing the screenwriter to write in more sex and boobs, one of the actors is dropping from the production to take a better gig, the director is frustrated with everything, and actors and crew keep hanging out in inexplicably dark corners of the school far away from everyone else. Once the murders get going, it's hard for the crew to distinguish between the special effects and people who have been murdered. But it's not just the people in the film who are confused by what's "real" and what's part of the film production.
Things start getting really confusing for the audience when a scene (complete with full cinematic coverage and editing) suddenly ends when someone yells "cut". It turns out that scene was being shot by the film crew, and we were watching it play out as though it were the finished product. And, if that wasn't confusing enough, later on in the film an a different fully-cinematic scene turns out to have been a dream sequence! (There's a final element of confusion to this flashback salad, but it's a total spoiler. Let's just say that it leaves you wondering even deeper what's "real" and "fake", even though it was clearly intended to give the viewer a more concrete idea of what was what.)
The conclusion to this who-done-it horror doesn't give much clarification either, but let’s just say there is a javelin throw, a bunch of dead brides, a twist you couldn't see coming if you tried, and a teen pregnancy. There's also a tease for a sequel that never came.
 |
| Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!!! |
The film opens with police investigating the death of an entire film crew. A detective and some officers are getting the gory story of what happened by questioning the lone survivor (the screenwriter) and we are pretty quickly thrown into a flashback. The flashback is mostly there to set-up who's who in the production crew. The film's producer keeps forcing the screenwriter to write in more sex and boobs, one of the actors is dropping from the production to take a better gig, the director is frustrated with everything, and actors and crew keep hanging out in inexplicably dark corners of the school far away from everyone else. Once the murders get going, it's hard for the crew to distinguish between the special effects and people who have been murdered. But it's not just the people in the film who are confused by what's "real" and what's part of the film production.
Things start getting really confusing for the audience when a scene (complete with full cinematic coverage and editing) suddenly ends when someone yells "cut". It turns out that scene was being shot by the film crew, and we were watching it play out as though it were the finished product. And, if that wasn't confusing enough, later on in the film an a different fully-cinematic scene turns out to have been a dream sequence! (There's a final element of confusion to this flashback salad, but it's a total spoiler. Let's just say that it leaves you wondering even deeper what's "real" and "fake", even though it was clearly intended to give the viewer a more concrete idea of what was what.)
The conclusion to this who-done-it horror doesn't give much clarification either, but let’s just say there is a javelin throw, a bunch of dead brides, a twist you couldn't see coming if you tried, and a teen pregnancy. There's also a tease for a sequel that never came.
But even though this trashy 80’s slasher is actually the most complicated and confusing film I’ve ever seen, I highly recommend watching it. If not for any other reasons than it's peppered with awkward (and nonsensical) sex montages, features a young George Clooney and a Brady Bunch daughter all grown up, and was shot by pretty decent cinematographer (Roy H. Wagner). At least you can say all of those things make sense!
September 3, 2017
Back to School: Deadly Eyes
We wrote this up for our eco horror theme a few years ago (check out that post here), and although it's not really a movie about school, it's got one particular school element that stands out.
 |
| Breaks into his house so he'll discover her like this. Dudes LOVE when you break into their homes... right? |
I don't know who was responsible for those decisions in this film, but I would LOVE to thank them in person. It's not everyday you get to see men behaving appropriately when it comes to minors (on screen or otherwise) but when I do see it in film, it makes an impression. Makes you wonder what kinds of impressions are being imprinted when the opposite is portrayed... *
 |
| But is this dude actually deserving of all that lady attention? Not particularly... but it's Canada, eh? |
*JK, we totally know.
September 2, 2017
Second Clue: September's Mystery Movie
Clue #2: Most of the character names in this month's movie are references to well known genre directors.
>>>THIS MONTH'S SHOW WILL BE AT DIFFERENT LOCATION!! Read on to find out more!<<<<
>>>>THE TRYLON IS IN THE MIDST OF A REMODEL SO OUR SHOW IS TEMPORARILY ON THE ROAD!!! Come check us out this month at the community room in the Carleton Artist Lofts! <<<<
Tape Freaks Presents: September's Mystery Movie at the Carleton Artist Lofts community room, Wednesday September 6th @ 7:00pm. Suggested donation $5
>>>>THE TRYLON IS IN THE MIDST OF A REMODEL SO OUR SHOW IS TEMPORARILY ON THE ROAD!!! Come check us out this month at the community room in the Carleton Artist Lofts! <<<<
Tape Freaks Presents: September's Mystery Movie at the Carleton Artist Lofts community room, Wednesday September 6th @ 7:00pm. Suggested donation $5
September 1, 2017
Back to School: Swinging Cheerleaders
This one's probably furthest in tone from the movie we're screening, but we watched it recently and it's too weird not to fit into the theme!
The plot unfolds something like this: A squad of cheerleaders at a small college are holding tryouts for a new member! Unwittingly, they fill the position with an under cover campus reporter who's looking to write an expose on the damages cheerleading can have on society at large. But, as you'd probably guess, she's gonna have a change of heart before the end of the film and everyone will end up friends.
Nudity and commentary: This movie is mostly just an excuse for boobs on screen, but there's some weird commentary and role juxtapositions thrown in for good measure. The star football player for instance is intelligent and emotionally well rounded (even though he's using and cheating on his cheerleader girlfriend). The dude hippy is a misogynist in feminist clothing, and is ultimately (and thankfully off camera) a rapist. The cheerleaders themselves are a diverse group: there's the gal who's trying to lose her virginity, the one who's got the aforementioned statistics professor in her side pocket, the undercover reporter, the daughter of the dean, and the one we only saw three times outside of the locker room. They operate in the team as individuals, they hold conflicting opinions, and each character has an arch of sorts (except the one we never saw), but the most surprising one was Lisa, the gal who was banging her professor.
Lisa: She ends up being the key to uncovering the gambling plot when her (totally married and WAY older) professor boyfriend brings her along one night while he picks up gambling-winnings at some local bars. This night on the town also tips off the professor's wife who pays Lisa an intense visit instructing her to find her own man. But, that threat isn't what makes Lisa leave her gross boyfriend. First Lisa goes to her friend to discuss her new problems (inadvertently tipping her friend off to the gambling ring) so she can work out what she should do. In the end Lisa does leave the professor, but on her own terms and without making her decision to leave him about him. She tells him that she needs to figure out who she is, and that she can't do that with him in her life. That character frankly has more agency than most modern (and fully clothed) female characters in comedy or romance flicks (not to mention a black women in an overwhelmingly white cast). Her character's arch was interesting and well rounded, and frankly took this weird little flick to a more watchable level.
Starts a titty movie, ends abruptly: This movie starts off a straight up titty movie, but about half way through, the nudity is completely dropped. And then it suddenly becomes this slapstick comedy where the star football player (I don't think they even mentioned what position he played) is kidnapped by mob goons because he won't throw the game. But the cheerleaders save the day! They rally the rest of the team to save the star player, bring him back to the game, have a pep-talk in the parking lot, and cut to a cheerleader jumping in the air –freeze frame– credits. No joke. It's so abrupt and unexpected it made a movie I might recommend, to a movie I would TOTALLY recommend.
"That lady!" moments with: Rosanne Katon (Motel Hell, St. Elsewhere, Full House, and Playboy Bunny), and Colleen Camp (Election, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Clue!).
The Director: Jack Hill was the reason we watched this movie, he wrote and directed Coffy and Foxy Brown!
Bonus fact: Swinging Cheerleaders makes an appearance in the Errol Morris documentary, The Thin Blue Line. The subject of the documentary's alibi includes having watched part of this movie at the drive-in the night of the murder.
The plot unfolds something like this: A squad of cheerleaders at a small college are holding tryouts for a new member! Unwittingly, they fill the position with an under cover campus reporter who's looking to write an expose on the damages cheerleading can have on society at large. But, as you'd probably guess, she's gonna have a change of heart before the end of the film and everyone will end up friends.
Plot twist: Our undercover reporter and the star football player uncover a plot by the football coach, the statistics professor, and the dean to rig an entire season of football so they can throw the last game and make out like bandits!
Nudity and commentary: This movie is mostly just an excuse for boobs on screen, but there's some weird commentary and role juxtapositions thrown in for good measure. The star football player for instance is intelligent and emotionally well rounded (even though he's using and cheating on his cheerleader girlfriend). The dude hippy is a misogynist in feminist clothing, and is ultimately (and thankfully off camera) a rapist. The cheerleaders themselves are a diverse group: there's the gal who's trying to lose her virginity, the one who's got the aforementioned statistics professor in her side pocket, the undercover reporter, the daughter of the dean, and the one we only saw three times outside of the locker room. They operate in the team as individuals, they hold conflicting opinions, and each character has an arch of sorts (except the one we never saw), but the most surprising one was Lisa, the gal who was banging her professor.
Lisa: She ends up being the key to uncovering the gambling plot when her (totally married and WAY older) professor boyfriend brings her along one night while he picks up gambling-winnings at some local bars. This night on the town also tips off the professor's wife who pays Lisa an intense visit instructing her to find her own man. But, that threat isn't what makes Lisa leave her gross boyfriend. First Lisa goes to her friend to discuss her new problems (inadvertently tipping her friend off to the gambling ring) so she can work out what she should do. In the end Lisa does leave the professor, but on her own terms and without making her decision to leave him about him. She tells him that she needs to figure out who she is, and that she can't do that with him in her life. That character frankly has more agency than most modern (and fully clothed) female characters in comedy or romance flicks (not to mention a black women in an overwhelmingly white cast). Her character's arch was interesting and well rounded, and frankly took this weird little flick to a more watchable level.
 |
| This is from the opening credits, but the closing stills are recycled from the opening so, you get the idea! |
"That lady!" moments with: Rosanne Katon (Motel Hell, St. Elsewhere, Full House, and Playboy Bunny), and Colleen Camp (Election, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Clue!).
The Director: Jack Hill was the reason we watched this movie, he wrote and directed Coffy and Foxy Brown!
Bonus fact: Swinging Cheerleaders makes an appearance in the Errol Morris documentary, The Thin Blue Line. The subject of the documentary's alibi includes having watched part of this movie at the drive-in the night of the murder.
August 30, 2017
Back to School: Suspiria
We've written up Suspiria before, it's really a striking movie to watch, but's it's also about one of the worst school experiences you could POSSIBLY have...
First night: Suzy Bannion flies from America to Germany, immediately takes a cab to the campus of her new dance school only to be left standing in the pouring rain and the dead of night pounding on the school's door while being refused to be let in. While attempting to enter the building, another student flees the school, nearly knocking Suzy to the ground, and runs straight into the woods. Defeated and confused, Suzy takes her cab back into town to find a hotel for the night.
Later that night: Pat (the fleeing student) has found refuge at another student's apartment in town; but unfortunately for her, it's no sanctuary. While trying to collect herself in the bathroom, Pat hears noises outside the window, and what happens next is one of the more cinematic (but still bloody) kills in the horror genre:
First night: Suzy Bannion flies from America to Germany, immediately takes a cab to the campus of her new dance school only to be left standing in the pouring rain and the dead of night pounding on the school's door while being refused to be let in. While attempting to enter the building, another student flees the school, nearly knocking Suzy to the ground, and runs straight into the woods. Defeated and confused, Suzy takes her cab back into town to find a hotel for the night.Later that night: Pat (the fleeing student) has found refuge at another student's apartment in town; but unfortunately for her, it's no sanctuary. While trying to collect herself in the bathroom, Pat hears noises outside the window, and what happens next is one of the more cinematic (but still bloody) kills in the horror genre:
The school year only get's better from there: Suzy returns to the school the next morning only to discover what she witnessed the night before were the last moments of her classmate's life. Suzy eventually teams up with her dorm-mate to investigate the increasingly suspicious reactions from the school's staff, as the students disappear/turn up dead at an increasingly alarming rate.
Recommended for: Anyone attending art college, studying abroad, or attending school in New England...
August 29, 2017
First Clue: September's Mystery Movie
Clue #1: The theme for this month's movie is Back to School! This month we'll be covering those lovely films that take place in high school (and sometimes middle school) that get usually get things hilariously wrong.
>>>THIS MONTH'S SHOW WILL BE AT DIFFERENT LOCATION!! Read on to find out more!<<<<
>>>>THE TRYLON IS IN THE MIDST OF A REMODEL SO OUR SHOW IS TEMPORARILY ON THE ROAD!!! Come check us out this month at the community room in the Carleton Artist Lofts! <<<<
Tape Freaks Presents: September's Mystery Movie at the Carleton Artist Lofts community room, Wednesday September 6th @ 7:00pm. Suggested donation $5
>>>>THE TRYLON IS IN THE MIDST OF A REMODEL SO OUR SHOW IS TEMPORARILY ON THE ROAD!!! Come check us out this month at the community room in the Carleton Artist Lofts! <<<<
Tape Freaks Presents: September's Mystery Movie at the Carleton Artist Lofts community room, Wednesday September 6th @ 7:00pm. Suggested donation $5
August 2, 2017
Horror in the Woods: The Burning
Another round of Tape Freaks guest writing by Izzi Xiques:
This 80s slasher takes place at a summer camp where a former camp groundskeeper (Cropsy) was the victim of a prank gone seriously awry many years before. What was the said prank? The campers thought it would be HILARIOUS to wake Cropsy up by tossing a flaming skull into his cabin. For some reason they weren't expecting Cropsy (or anything else) to catch on fire, but that's exactly what happened! Five years later, horribly disfigured and garden shears in hand, Cropsy's begins his quest for revenge against a backdrop of POVs shots, continuity errors, and adults portraying teenagers.
One of the fantastically gory highlights of this film is a massacre scene that takes place in broad daylight, in a canoe, with a bunch of teenagers. We're treated to fingers getting chopped off (fully in frame), someone getting garden shears through the neck, and blood basically exploding out of campers. It's glorious. And, that particular scene was what got the film on the UK's “video nasties” banned list!
But as much as the special effects bring to this film (thanks to a young Tom Savini's reluctance to do the Friday the 13th sequel) the score brings that much more. Personally, I consider the main theme of this film to be nothing other than classic. The score was composed by Rick Wakeman, who's name you might recognize for a number of reasons, but the most notable reason would be he was the keyboardist for the band Yes. (Which should give you an idea as to how fantastic this score is, I mean, classic prog rock meets 80’s slasher score? What more could you want!?)
This film is also notable for it’s pre-stardom cast, writers, and producer. We get treated to baby Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter (for a brief second). But this film was also what launched the Weinstein Corporation! Bob and Harvey both had a hand in writing this slasher (and Harvey produced) and it was the very first film project they collaborated on.
This film also has often been brushed off as a Friday the 13th rip off, but it was apparently written before Friday was released, and was based off of a classic campfire tale that circulated around the east coast about “Cropsey” a maniac who was reported to have murdered children in a wooded Staten Island. That makes this movie all the more creepy and that much more worthy of it's cult classic status!
This 80s slasher takes place at a summer camp where a former camp groundskeeper (Cropsy) was the victim of a prank gone seriously awry many years before. What was the said prank? The campers thought it would be HILARIOUS to wake Cropsy up by tossing a flaming skull into his cabin. For some reason they weren't expecting Cropsy (or anything else) to catch on fire, but that's exactly what happened! Five years later, horribly disfigured and garden shears in hand, Cropsy's begins his quest for revenge against a backdrop of POVs shots, continuity errors, and adults portraying teenagers.
One of the fantastically gory highlights of this film is a massacre scene that takes place in broad daylight, in a canoe, with a bunch of teenagers. We're treated to fingers getting chopped off (fully in frame), someone getting garden shears through the neck, and blood basically exploding out of campers. It's glorious. And, that particular scene was what got the film on the UK's “video nasties” banned list!
But as much as the special effects bring to this film (thanks to a young Tom Savini's reluctance to do the Friday the 13th sequel) the score brings that much more. Personally, I consider the main theme of this film to be nothing other than classic. The score was composed by Rick Wakeman, who's name you might recognize for a number of reasons, but the most notable reason would be he was the keyboardist for the band Yes. (Which should give you an idea as to how fantastic this score is, I mean, classic prog rock meets 80’s slasher score? What more could you want!?)
This film also has often been brushed off as a Friday the 13th rip off, but it was apparently written before Friday was released, and was based off of a classic campfire tale that circulated around the east coast about “Cropsey” a maniac who was reported to have murdered children in a wooded Staten Island. That makes this movie all the more creepy and that much more worthy of it's cult classic status!
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