pearce
@pearced
They pay me in woims. Books, music, movies and politics. One-time President of the VUW Muppet Club. Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai, Aotearoa. Ngāi Tahu. He/him.
Not impressed with the selections made by those luvvies at the Penthouse for "Cult Cinema." A cult movie is something outside of the mainstream, a movie that does things its own way, which most people don't like but the people who do, really really REALLY like it. Not a universally beloved classic.
How come nobody ever talks about Simon, King of the Witches (1971), which I'm confident I will rewatch at least once every five years for the rest of my life? More character study than horror movie, it's anchored by a literate script by Robert Phippeny and a charismatic performance by Andrew Prine.
Pass it along - please let us see your pfp in its full sized glory. Nancy comic by Ernie Bushmiller where Sluggo decides to become a beatnik.
It's May 3, so Happy Dracula Day to all who celebrate! Here's the cover of one of the less-known Draculas in my collection.
Here's the definition of "blurb" from the Penguin Books website. I would expect that Britain's biggest publisher knows what it means in the UK. www.penguin.co.uk/about/compan...
At the start of his prepared statement, Luxon listed the things he believes he was elected to do. He hasn't actually done any of them. So when he said, "That is what I'll keep doing," did he mean keep not doing them?
Just spotted a copy at Aro Street Video in Wellington. Turns out it was a specifically New Zealand release rather than an Australian import, that's rare! It puts Freaked in the same category as William Friedkin's Rampage, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Death Bed: The Bed That Eats.
Clifton Terrace Car Park, run by WCC, no longer takes cash. The website still claims that they do as of this morning. The only reason I used them, instead of the slightly cheaper Wilson one closer to my work, is because I could pay cash. I do not like this transition towards a card-only society.
From the linked article. They could make a lot more of this. E.g. asking "if those previous bills were so vitally important, why did you abandon them once the headlines dried up?"
Let me throw in one very late recommendation, well outside of the '80s - Loop Track (2023). A very twitchy inexperienced tramper (writer/director/star Tom Sainsbury, usually a comedian) becomes even more paranoid than usual in the bush. Best to know nothing more about this one. Very very low budget.
6. Jack Be Nimble (1993). This is unique. Alexis Arquette stars, with a flawless Kiwi accent. It's a wild Kiwi Gothic tale of abuse in foster care, weird gore, a genuinely frightening set of four spooky sisters, weird sibling relationships. Bruno Lawrence pops up again in a very different role.
I'm out of '80s recommendations that aren't cheats! Next of Kin (1982) was made in Australia when the Kiwi writer/director teams couldn't get it funded here, and Dead Kids (1981) is Auckland standing in for Galesburg, IL with an American cast & crew. They're both good but not very Kiwi.
5. Mr. Wrong (1986) A woman buys a car haunted by a murder victim, and is also menaced by a stalker. This one is as much about how some men make life terrible for women as it is conventional horror. The director sells & rents it on her Vimeo page. vimeo.com/271792174
4. The Lost Tribe (1984) - this one isn't really a recommendation but if you liked the isolated, atmospheric bush element of Bridge To Nowhere, this has lots more of that. But it's way too long and nowhere near eventful enough.
3. Bridge To Nowhere (1986). I gather you've already seen this, in which bushman Bruno Lawrence (definitely THE 1980s Kiwi actor) wants revenge on some kids. This one really sells the isolation of being lost in the bush.
2. Death Warmed Up (1984). Truly weird movie combining mad science, revenge killings, zombie mutants, a post-apocalyptic vibe, plenty of gore, etc. I canyon say it's good, but it's unique.
1. The Scarecrow (1982), based on a Kiwi Gothic novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, this is the closest we get to Ray Bradbury with a rural coming-of-age tale that has a razor killer lurking. The storytelling is a bit wonky but there are some good atmospheric parts. Not quite a slasher.
The Battle of Algiers is justly getting some attention because of being featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's latest, but writer/director Gillo Pontecorvo's next film Burn! is also well worth a look.