The Devils's Rain (1975)

After taking a slight break from movies and the blog for a couple days, I decided that it was time to fins something mindless to watch. After searching Shudder, I settled on the 1975 cult flick The Devil’s Rain.

Plot/ A bunch of Satanists in the American rural landscape have terrible powers which enable them to melt their victims. However one of the children of an earlier victim vows to destroy them.

The 1970s were such a different time, especially in movies. One of the biggest movements was the fear of Devil worship that overtook every part of culture from movies, to music, and even gaming. This movie clearly falls into the heart of that movement. Complete with a tremendous cast featuring Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, William Shatner, Keenan Wynn, and, even John Travolta. The storyline is interesting although some of it is incoherent (especially the opening sequence), and while the schlock-filled effects do not hold up in any way, watching all of the bodies melt is a fun (and surprising) twist I did not expect. Of course, watching Ernest Borgnine transform to a goat was complete cheese and while interesting, the storyline was a mess, but those flaws only add to the schlock factor. In the end, this is not a technically good movie and there are many flaws, but it is fun. If you are into 1970s B-Movie cheese, give it a shot. It is entertaining and fun.

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

There is nothing like kicking back and having a scary movie night, especially when I do not have to get up for work in the morning. With that being said, it is also an awesome treat when I can find something holiday related, and that was the case tonight, as I decided on the 2015 Christmas themed anthology, A Christmas Horror Story.

Plot/ Interwoven stories that take place on Christmas Eve, as told by one festive radio host: A family brings home more than a Christmas tree, a student documentary becomes a living nightmare, a Christmas spirit terrorizes, Santa slays evil.

There is nothing better than horror movies centered in and on the Christmas holiday. Personally, I love watching some good horror this time of year, especially because I have some time off work and time to spend diving into some projects. This one is much better than I expected with just enough blood and gut splattered in with the four stories to make it fun. Plus, it has William Shatner playing a drunken radio host, what could be better. Yes, some of the dialog is awkward and the acting is uneven, but that does not truly destroy this one in any way. In the end, this may not be the best of the genre, but it is a decently intertwined anthology that makes for a solid Christmas horror flock. If you are in the mood for something darker this Christmas, give it a shot.

Kingdom of Spiders (1977)

 

Kingdom Of The Spiders

The films of the 1970s and 1980s are such a breath of fresh air in comparison to the new CGI entries that populate the movie landscape. This especially evident in films that involve insectual plagues running over society. Remember those flicks, they had ants attacking, killer bees attacking, and even spiders attacking. Of course, many of these films were created to “instruct” the populace on what to do when and if these monsters attacked. Fortunately, these fears were never realized and the movies fell by the wayside.

Today, January 19, William Shatner’s 1977 Kingdom of the Spiders will again gain popularity with a fresh special edition DVD release by Shout! Factory. As one of the more memorable films of this genre, the rebirth is justified. Shatner plays a small town veterinarian that discovers a giant problem when his town is overtaken by a giant swarm of pissed off eight-legged beasts. True, calling them beasts may be extreme, but the way they devour the local cattle, it may be justified. OK, back to this, the spiders turn their attention to town once the local cattle just do not satisfy their cravings.

I accidently stumbled across this movie a couple weeks ago on Encore and was amazed at how relevant the movie seemed today. Incredibly, it seems to have stood the test of time, providing just as many chills today as it did when I first saw the movie 20-some years ago (well closer to 30, but I am trying not to age myself). Shot before computer animation and CGI, the effects in this movie may not wow those that have grown-up in this modern age, but they are very realistic for the time. Well, they should be, they were real spiders, creeping and crawling. That thought alone still makes my skin crawl and shiver throughout the film.

More importantly, this movie has much more character development than many of the animal rampage films of the era and it definitely plays to a larger audience. With solid performances and a sound script, a strong combination of actors and with the use of real spiders, this movie has every element needed stand the test of time. It does just that and more, surviving when other films of the same origin fail miserably.

Shot on a low budget (roughly $500,000 with $50,000 going to spiders), the film occasionally feels campy and made for television. However, with a variety of grisly scenes and the random appearance of an exposed female breast, it definitely was more than television would allow (even in the less conservative 1970s). In all, Kingdom of Spiders is the total package and remains the best spider invasion flick ever made. That being said, I would not run out and pay full price ($19.99) for this special edition DVD, while the movie is great finding it at a bargain price would be greater (Amazon has this for as low as $1.99 used )!