Welcome back to BAD MOVIE MONDAY! Today’s demented doltish detritus is DAY OF THE ANIMALS. It’s a 1977 eco-horror movie starring Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, and Leslie Nielsen that is best described using two words: Jaws Wannabe. You see, after the success of the 1975 blockbuster imitators sprung out from under every rock trying to copy Spielberg’s film. Usually using ten year old scripts that had been previously rejected. In fact, these movies were so omnipresent that Christopher George starred in TWO of them. This one and the previous year’s GRIZZLY.
Interview with “Brightwood” Director Dane Elcar
Recently, we reviewed the indie horror film “Brightwood,” a stirring mix of horror, science fiction, and relationship drama about a couple who go jogging and find themselves trapped on a trail to nowhere. “Brightwood” is a debut feature from director by filmmaker Dane Elcar, who based his film on a short he directed in 2018. The film has been on the festival route lately, winning Best Sci-Fi Feature at Another Hole in the Head, Best Editing (and runner up for Best Director, Actor and Supporting Actor) at HorrorHound, and will now screening as part of both Panic Fest and Salem Horror Festival later this month.
Mr. Elcar took time out to talk to us about his first feature film, and what inspired such a bizarre genre film.
“From: Season Two” Packs in More Terror and More Nagging Questions
We were granted access to Episodes 1 through 5 of “From” Season Two from MGM. Mild Spoilers abounds.
With the brand change, and the penchant for studios to cancel their series, lately fans of “From” have been aching for news about a second season. Thankfully, MGM granted fans of the high rated horror series a second season and for better and for worse, it offers up mostly the same neat twists, turns, and terror, but there are even more nagging questions that are propped up for the audience. Some fans might love this, and some might be turned off, immediately.
Martha (2019)
Director Christopher Haydon’s short film is both a compelling drama, and a rather captivating mystery. In its own way it’s a horror movie, but more a horror movie about loneliness, isolation, and repetition. The entirety of “Martha” is meant to be cryptic, as Haydon begins the film on a single scene of a woman sitting in a hall with a single red balloon.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003): 20th Anniversary Edition [SteelBook] [Blu-ray/Digital]
Rob Zombie making his own horror films was only a matter of time. The rocker turned filmmaker has always implemented horror movies in to his music and general content, so “House of 1,000 Corpses” is a culmination of all that creativity. Suffice to say I wouldn’t particularly call “House of 1,000 Corpses” a masterpiece. It’s rough around the edges, and often times feels like a film school project more than a feature film. But there’s no denying Zombie has a real love for horror. Even more he has a real love for the characters he’s created, all of whom are a beautiful hodgepodge of various pop culture facets.
Air (2023)
Director Ben Affleck’s latest is a movie that is about as niche as you could ever dream up. It’s a movie with appeal, sure, but appeal to only a certain subset of audience members. For those hoping for a strong character based drama with conflict, and twists, and laughs, “Air” is unabashedly void of any of the aforementioned. In its place is an unofficial ode to corporations that lures us in with the gratuitous eighties nostalgia. Hey, remember Dire Straits? Remember Hulk Hogan? Oh man, wasn’t “A Team” a good show? Remember Nike? The shoe–not the heinous sweatshop labor accusations.
The Bootleg Files: See Ya Later Gladiator
BOOTLEG FILES 828: “See Ya Later Gladiator” (1968 animated short with Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzalez).
LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It seems to have fallen through the proverbial cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at the moment.
Fans of the Looney Tunes animation series will probably wince upon learning which film is in the spotlight in this column. “See Ya La Gladiator” has the sad distinction of being the last (and perhaps the least) of the theatrically produced Looney Tunes animated shorts featuring the classic-era characters – in this case, the severely mismatched pair of Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.
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