Nightmare USA Films Discussion Thread

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I'm hoping to resurrect my reviewing of these soon... along with the multiple posts that I know you all know and love.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The Hearse (1980)

The PG rating is largely to blame for The Hearse's failings as a horror film, with the horror element being severely down-played resulting in what often feels like a plodding drama with soap-opera undertones.

PG horror can (and does) work, however The Hearse is unfortunately also plagued by a dull story, which on paper probably looked and sounded better than the result on screen... I mean, a film where a demonic hearse terrorises a young woman who has inherited an old house that is believed to be cursed by witchcraft; who in their right mind wouldn't want to see such a film...?!

What does pull the inanimate corpse of this film out of its grave a little are some semi-interesting dream sequences, plus the sound design, which is used to decent effect throughout. The Hearse (itself played by a 1951 Packard Funeral Coach) also looks the business, but is sadly given minimal screen time.

Unfortunately, what could have been a film in the vein of ‘The Car’ instead results in something where the PG rating terrifies more than the film itself.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher (1979)

A seedy slice of weirdness from director Ray Dennis Steckler, who brought us such greats as 'The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies'.

Here we have two independent serial killers; The Hollywood Strangler, who feels compelled to strangle the models he photographs, and the Skid Row Slasher, a porno bookstore owner who deals out stabbings to the local wino population when not peddling her brand of smut.

The film concentrates more on our tormented strangler, who certainly has issues when it comes to the female sex, and aided by his inner monologue strangles and chokes his way through a surprising amount of models without being suspected nor apprehended.

Aside from he internal monologue of our Hollywood Strangler, the film is largely dialogue free focusing mainly on the seedy set-pieces and flowing from one act of killing to the next with the usually filler stuffed in to bulk out the run-time a little. All the killing is merely the build-up to the point where our two killers finally meet, and this leads to a particularly uninspiring end to what is a essentially a pretty uninspiring film.

[Inspector Abberline]

Ray Dennis Steckler and uninspiring in the same review?Whats next Michael Bay makes great films ......

[gag]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Ray Dennis Steckler and uninspiring in the same review?Whats next Michael Bay makes great films ......

what micheal bay making a rubbish film. Who have thought eh!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The House that Cried Murder (1973)

Despite the fact that The House that Cried Murder (AKA: No Way Out / The Bride) feels a little like an overlong horror anthology segment, it still managed to entertain in certain respects and scrape itself more than an average rating - largely thanks to the ending, which certainly added a little oddness to what at first seemed to be a very 'by the numbers' affair.

Our neurotic bride Barbara is humiliated on her wedding day by new husband David after she finds him hooking up with his old flame Ellen during the after-party proceedings. After attacking him with a pair of scissors and fleeing the scene distraught and angry we flick forward in time to where Arthur has hooked up with Ellen and Barbara is missing in action.

The couple then start to receive weird phone calls and gifts reminding them of the fateful wedding day and proof that Barbara has returned and seems to be out for her revenge. As the happenings around their home get weirder, David confronts Barbara's father as to her whereabouts and to try and distinguish what is going on.

Clocking in at just over an hour, there is little to slow the pace of the film down here, and whilst the story seems a little too familiar, as mentioned above the ending isn't quite what you'd expect and is certainly worth sticking around for.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

It's been a while...

Human Experiments (1979)

A strange blend of women in prison film meets psychological shocker, Human Experiments doesn't delve into either of the aforementioned subjects as well or as thoroughly as other fare from around same period and instead decides to tread a tepid line between the two.

Linda Haynes gives a little lift to the proceedings as the wrongly imprisoned 'victim' who is subjected to torture and brainwashing at the hands of Geoffrey Lewis, himself portraying the unbalanced asylum doctor.

A curiosity for sure, but there isn't much here that you won't have seen before... except perhaps some entomological related shootings and light mashed potato torture.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I Dismember Mama (1972)

A classic victim of re-branding, originally titled 'Poor Albert and Little Annie' the film was re-named 'I Dismember Mama' to appeal more to the Grindhouse crowd circuit during the '70s.

Therefore, instead of an all-out hack up the family flick, we get a tale of a misunderstood youth with a chip on his shoulder in regards to his mama who he blames for his institutionalisation. That's not to say that Albert is in fact to be pitied; anything but, as he is a certainly a calculated and often deranged soul.

Aside from some blood-letting on Albert's escape from the asylum and some terrorising and murder of his mama's house-keeper, the film is a quite tame affair and concentrates more on the relationship between Albert and 'Little Annie' who is the house-keeper's daughter and whom he forges an unexpected bond with post killing her mother. This comes across almost as if Albert is trying to live out his lost childhood with Annie. Cue some strange almost 'date like' footage of the two cavorting around for the bulk of the film with Little Annie blissfully unaware that Albert has done away with her mother and the vendetta Albert has against his own dear mama often feeling like a sub-plot.

The notoriety that this film enjoys is however more down to the alternative title and some clever marketing (itself perhaps the truest 'exploitation' of all) rather than the content within.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Igor and the Lunatics (1985)

First thought: I am unable to explain why this film has a post-apocalyptic style poster when it is in fact about a hippie cult and their fanatical leader.

However this mild pondering aside, Igor and the Lunatics doesn't really gel at all well as a film so I guess they needed to market it any way they could. Troma seems to have 'remixed' the film, possibly in an attempt to bulk-out the running time by repeating certain key scenes either as flashback or part of the story told/seen from different perspectives meaning that if you actually look all the elements from the film, you begin to realise that nothing much really happens. Maybe they ran out of film and had to work with what they had... either way there isn't much to recommend about Igor and the Lunatics unfortunately.

Oh, a mannequin called Sarah is circular sawed to 'death' but you get to see this a few times during the film from a few different angles so it's hard to get too excited about it.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

It's been a while...

Human Experiments (1979)

A strange blend of women in prison film meets psychological shocker, Human Experiments doesn't delve into either of the aforementioned subjects as well or as thoroughly as other fare from around same period and instead decides to tread a tepid line between the two.

Linda Haynes gives a little lift to the proceedings as the wrongly imprisoned 'victim' who is subjected to torture and brainwashing at the hands of Geoffrey Lewis, himself portraying the unbalanced asylum doctor.

A curiosity for sure, but there isn't much here that you won't have seen before... except perhaps some entomological related shootings and light mashed potato torture.