Challenge of the McKennas (1970)

Time for another western. The movie opens with the hanging of a man by some bad guys while his lady begs them to stop and cries beneath his swinging body when she is unsuccessful. Later another man stops by and helps the woman to her buggy, buries the body, and takes her to the nearest ranch for help. Turns out that ranch is her home but instead of being happy to see her the father, Don Diego, is annoyed that he buried the man on his land. Seems that Diego was responsible for his hanging because he didn’t approve of his daughter’s choice in boyfriend. The mysterious stranger Jones, played by John Ireland, quickly moves on and heads to town, but not until he annoys Diego.

In town Jones meets up with the local madam, Maggie, and runs afoul of Diego’s son Chris. Thru a series of escalating events including another rancher trying to win Diego’s approval in marrying his daughter by killing Jones, things get much worse. As the violence escalates, we also get more background to Jones, including why he can be so violent but still refuses to wear a gun. When he is finally forced to kill a man, all bets are off and things end quickly and rather bloody. 

I really liked this movie. First up John Ireland is fantastic as Jones, carrying most of the movie with his portrayal. He is rather mysterious in the fact that he keeps quoting scriptures, while casually tossing a bible away. He is also quick to anger and not afraid to use his fists or even threaten to use a pistol, though he never carries one. At least not until the end. Though the ending has him tossing it away in disgust as he realizes the folks around him forced his hand. Why is he like this? You know I’m not going to spoil that, especially since the story is slowly reveals that and gives the ending a real punch. I will say that it is very satisfying and is well thought out. I also liked that it isn’t a clone of the already iconic and much copied formula that most Spaghetti westerns were following by the early seventies.

I’ve already mentioned how much I liked Ireland’s performance. We also get another familiar face as Robert Woods, who I just covered in 4 Dollars of Revenge, plays a villain role here as Chris, the spoiled son of Don Diego. At first is seemed like he was going to be the foil to Ireland’s heroic Jones, but he is really manipulated by his father. He is so eager for his acceptance that it causes the violence and eventual deaths to occur. That was a cool twist. Woods is also a perfect blend of weasel and irrationally violent. He is good in the role.

The action sequences are exciting and range from a cool bit with some Molotov cocktails, multiple fistfights, and a climactic gunfight that while short is stylistically shot and immensely satisfying. There are a few spots where the stuntman standing in for Ireland is clearly obvious (it isn’t even close!) but that didn’t bother me much. Speaking of style this is also a beautifully shot movie with one of the highlights being the sun poking in and out from behind the hanged man’s body swinging on the rope.

There is a lot to recommend Challenge of the McKennas and I’m going to recommend that you track yourself down a copy. I think it is easy to find, but I hadn’t heard of it before finding it in my to watch pile. Though if it isn’t an Eastwood or a Van Cleef flick that isn’t too surprising. One of the reasons I’m doing this mini marathon is to correct that and find some new to me Spaghetti westerns. This one is worth finding.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Day of the Nightmare (1965)

Well now this is a movie… Recently I acquired a pile of Something Weird Video discs filled with oddball flicks. One of those was Day of the Nightmare. I figured it was about time to check them out and since this one was sitting on the top of the pile into the old DVD player it went. Yep, that is how I picked this one first.

Jonathon Crane is a painter who is using a Go Go dancer as a model. She boogies around topless before trying to seduce him. He isn’t into it because he is married but she keeps trying and eventually he ties her up and spanks her. Then there is a flashback that doesn’t make sense later, but I’ll get to that. In this flashback we hear a monologue of the time that this girl tried to kill his wife. We watch that “girl” get on a bus and sneak up on Jonathon’s wife while she is unloading groceries. Only it is painfully obvious that the “girl” in question is the actor in drag. Turns out he has mommy issues and maybe daddy issues which resulted in him having a psychotic break and developing a girlfriend that is actually him who tries to kill his wife. Um… okay.

Along the way we also get to see a swinger’s party, some lesbians making out in front of Jonathon for money, and lots of naked sixties ladies. This is all before he is eventually tracked down by a detective, played by John Ireland (what the Hell is he doing in this low budget sleaze fest?) and run over by a boat. How was this a flashback when he is telling the story to it’s bitter end which shows us his dead body floating in the ocean?

Yeah, this flick isn’t so much about the plot my friends. That is also why I mentioned the sleazy things above as Day of the Nightmare hangs it’s hat on shocking the audience with all the naughty stuff you normally wouldn’t see in a movie. At least in the sixties when this bad boy was made. It was a low budget movie that I’m certain was sold on the previously mentioned naughty stuff as well as having the main character a man dressed as a woman. In addition to not making a lick of sense the movie also has serious pacing issues. There are long stretches where not much happens and is a chore to get thru. Did it really need to be ninety plus minutes long? The answer is no.

The pacing issues aren’t helped by some things, like the swinger’s party, clearly being shoehorned in for shock value. This might have worked a bit when it first hit the drive-in circuit (trust me this didn’t play in “polite” theaters but likely fit into the passion pits of the Midwest) but in today’s “smut at your fingertips” internet world it falls flat. This is apparently the only credit for the director as well as most of the cast. It screams of a low budget exploitation flick that probably made the producers their money back. The only real mystery here is how the hell John Ireland signed on to make this? Then again, he isn’t on screen for most of the sleazy stuff so maybe he had no idea what he was appearing in. And I guess a paycheck is a paycheck.

Day of the Nightmare is a terrible movie that probably should have been left unfound and unsaved. But it is out there so if you trip over a copy my recommendation is keep on going right past it and save the ninety minutes of your life that you can never get back.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The House of Seven Corpses (1974)

I’ve never considered The House of Seven Corpses a zombie movie before. But after my most recent watching I realized that it is. Not in a world is about to end flesh-eaters kind of way, but in a more traditional zombie as a tool of revenge way. I’m adding this to the zombie marathon list.

This low budget horror movie follows the crew of a low budget horror movie as they shoot in a creepy old house with a history of murder. The credits play over a series of murders which tie into the graves located near the house. The groundskeeper, played by legendary actor John Carradine, warns them about shooting their project in the house. All of the deaths were related to the occult and he fears they are tampering with something they can’t possibly understand. In another bit of dialogue the character also lets them know that one of the graves is unmarked. That is important later.

So of course, the film crew ignores the warnings and keeps shooting the movie. Even after the lead actresses’ cat is cut in half and left on the front lawn! Well these things happen I suppose. To make matters worse when actor/writer/cameraman David finds a book of the dead and decides to not only read it but include some of the lines in the script. Repeatedly chanting from the book surely won’t have any negative effects, right? Well they do manage to summon a zombie from the graveyard who starts to kill the cast and crew. Why the heck was David so obsessed with the book? Well there might be a good reason…

I’ve always liked this movie. It has a creepy gothic vibe with the old house cloaked in darkness. While they have generators for the equipment to shoot the movie the power in the house is off. Wandering around in the dark using candles to navigate at night becomes a big part of the movie. We get some jump scares before the real ones and also some beautiful shots that establish the scale of the house which helps create a sense of isolation. Not only is the house in the middle of nowhere, but the cast and crew can even get lost in the mansion because of its size. I know that I just mentioned the sense of isolation but that plays heavily into the mood of The House of Seven Corpses. This is a slow burn that builds tension and paranoia until it ends in a final crescendo of violence and death.

Not a bad looking zombie.

In the previous paragraph, I mentioned beautiful shots. The camera is set at odd angles and creates a sense of unease. There are also shots using the stairwell where the camera is sometimes at a distance shooting from above or below when the scene is set on the staircase. This helps establish the size of the house and connects back to the sense of isolation necessary to make the climax of the movie work. I also loved the lighting where you have characters partially in shadow or see them come out of shadows while the other actors are in frame. It makes for a creepy movie.

This brings me to my only real issue with the movie. I don’t know if it is the editing or if they moved the sequence of events around but there is a huge flaw in The House of Seven Corpses. You will have scenes set late at night, the characters even mention the time of day. And then they will be walking around outside in broad daylight! This is most obvious in the climax of the movie. The zombie climbs out of the grave and shuffles to the house in the dark. The director and David stroll to get shots of the graveyard a few minutes later and it is daytime. Back to the house it is night. Back to the graveyard for a big reveal day. This repeats a few times. With the care that was put into the rest of the movie this is a mindboggling error.

That one big flaw doesn’t ruin The House of Seven Corpses for me. I still think there is too much going on in its favor. I recommend it.

© Copyright 2017 John Shatzer

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for me to talk about one of my favorite movies of the ‘80s. I discovered Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat on VHS and it was one of the first legit tapes that I bought for my collection. The movie has everything you could want and stars a plethora of genre actors. David Carradine, Bruce Campbell, Deborah Foreman, M. Emmet Walsh, and John Ireland are just a few familiar faces you will see. If that cast doesn’t get you excited you aren’t a horror fan. But before I gush too much let me discuss the plot.

Best VHS tape I ever owned!

David and Sarah bring their daughters to the town of Purgatory so that he can fix an issue with the production of a blood substitute he has sold Count Mardulak. The Count, played by the always awesome David Carradine, owns the town and is hoping to revitalize it with the new factory. Or so he says. The truth is the town is populated by vampires hoping to break away from their old lives of hunting and being hunted. Thus, the creation of the factory and the production of the blood substitute. There are complications when Mardulak’s second in command, Jefferson, decides to build his own army of vampires to destroy the town and the factory. One of his co-conspirators is Shane, who is in love with Sarah and has his own agenda to win her back. And if that isn’t enough for you there is also a Van Helsing in town looking for the Count!

This is another great movie that has only in the last few years been given a proper release on DVD. The story is a solid mix of horror and comedy wrapped into a nice western package. There are some scary looking vampires, bat/human hybrids, some transformation scenes, and plenty of fangs. The obsession that Shane has with Sarah also leads to a creepy bit with him straddling her naked on a bed. Mixed in with the horror are some very funny lines, the bumbling Van Helsing played perfectly by Bruce Campbell, and an amusing umbrella kill. And while it is set in modern times we still get cowboys, shootouts, horses, and of course the showdown where two vampires draw on each other at high noon, or I guess midnight…

I’m not going to rehash all the dialogue that I enjoyed, but I will mention one bit. When Jefferson and Mardulak are having their big showdown and the Count out draws him Jefferson is surprised. To which the count replies, “Did you really think we were the same age Pilgrim?” Not only is that a reference to John Wayne, but Jefferson is dressed as and probably was a Pilgrim. Come one that’s funny! Speaking of comedy there is a lot more going on than just witty one liners. The highlight of this has to be Campbell and his ability to do physical comedy. From dumping more sand out of his shoe than it possibly could have held to being unable to navigate a simple wall, to the hollering and flailing when he is “converted” this is comedy gold.

Comedic gold!

The end of Sundown has a nice twist. Spoilers Mardulak is actually Dracula who changed his name because he got too famous. Even though he beats Jefferson it is actually a cross erected quickly by David and Sarah that save the day. Jefferson and his followers are toast, while Mardulak and his are unaffected. He sheds a tear and announces that they have been forgiven. This might be the first time that Dracula is the hero of a movie. I can’t think of another.

Watch Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat. It is worth your time and money. It fits nicely with any of director Anthony Hickox’s flicks like Waxwork I and II or Warlock: Armageddon. This guy made some damn good horror movies over a five-year period.

© Copyright 2017 John Shatzer