Maniac (1980)

1st View
Format: Blu-ray
Venue: Rivendell (Snow Day)

The Good: This is one of the few William Lustig films I had not seen. I was actually watching this in preparation for an interview with Mr. Lustig which should be posted on Cinematical this week. I'm an enormous fan of his and being familiar with his other works made watching this film all the more interesting. Maniac is far darker, and far more character driven than any of his other work and it really elevates the material to something that can't be readily dismissed as exploitation. Great performance by Joe Spinell, captivating story structure, and phenomenal makeup effects by Tom Savini.

The Bad: It is a gritty, gory film that forces you to empathize with a detestable human being. I can therefore understand how arguing its merits would be a tough sell.

The Weird: There was an attempt to make a sequel to this film and the proof of concept footage is a special feature on the Blu-ray.


Rating: 7/10 Atkins

Knock on Wood (1954)

1st View
Format: Netflix WI
Venue: Rivendell (Snow Day)

The Good: I'm really glad Laura, the roommate Toni and I had in Baton Rouge, introduced me to Danny Kaye via The Court Jester. The man is a comedic genius and his stuff is consistently funny even to modern audiences. Here, the delivery is just as sharp and the timing is perfect. This feels like what would happen if Kaye were dropped into a Hitchcock film. It's all about the wrong man in the wrong situation and having to deal with international espionage utilizing a MacGuffin.

The Bad: Not quite as tight as The Court Jester and could have benefited from one more musical number.

The Weird: It's weird to me that more people are talking about Danny Kaye's non-White Christmas fare. The guy is brilliant.




Rating: 7/10 Atkins

Asylum (1972)

Revisit
Format: DVD
Venue: Rivendell (Snow Day)

The Good: My favorite of the British horror anthologies and in my top three of any anthology horror film of all time. The individual segments are great and really clever, but the framing device manages to be just as creepy and captivating as any of the individual vignettes which is quite the accomplishment.

The Bad: Some minor missteps and pacing stalls.


The Weird: Those little robots with human faces are just plain bizarre.










Rating: 8/10 Atkins

Theater of Blood (1973)

1st View
Format: Netflix WI
Venue: Rivendell (Snow Day)

The Good: Campy but satisfying British horror flick with Vincent Price. Plenty of great kills and, yet again, Price seems to be the inspiration for Saw's Jigsaw; all his kills themed to his victims' transgressions. He even uses the "pound of flesh" theme used in Saw VI. The added gimmick of him being a washed up actor killing his harshest critics is a nice touch.

The Bad: It is quite British and, as such, gets exceedingly dry at points and the overall execution is not as strong as, say, The Abominable Dr. Phibes.


The Weird: There is this weird story device wherein Price's daughter disguises herself as a bearded/afroed man and takes part in the killings that is supposed to be a big reveal at the end...except it's painfully obvious from frame one because they insist on having her speak at length when she is in disguise. It would have been harder to deduce if the Bob Ross clone didn't clearly have a woman's voice.



Rating: 5/10 Atkins

Groundhog Day (1993)

Revisit
Format: Cable
Venue: Rivendell (Snow Day)

Watched this one again on February 2nd, fittingly enough, during a very serendipitous snow day. Work was cancelled due to rolling blackouts and freezing temperatures. It was bliss and I managed to squeeze in quite a few films that day. This is one of my favorite comedies that only gets better each time I see it.

Here's a not-so-serious article related to Groundhog Day that I wrote for Hollywood.com. Enjoy!

Rating: 8/10 Atkins