Throwback Thursday – To Wake the Dead by Richard Laymon

note: This is another blast from the past. I had totally forgotten about To Wake the Dead and honestly I don’t think I’ve checked out any of Laymon’s other books. I do remember really digging this one so I’m going to have to go looking for more. I mean it has been nine years since I read this one so it really is about time I get off my butt!

Amara was an ancient Egyptian princess that bore the bastard child of the god Set. In exchange he promised her eternal life, only I don’t think she thought it would be as a withered husk that could only come out when the seals locking her tomb were broken. Of course that is what happens and she makes good her escape leaving a wake of dead bodies behind her. All of this is done in search of her missing baby, or actually any baby will do. Our main characters are a police detective named Tag and his girlfriend Susan who is also in charge of the mummy exhibit so connections. In addition to the mummy we have a storyline involving some kidnapped people being kept in cages, a man that has a connection with the previous owner of the mummy, and some kids driving to Hollywood to escape their old lives and make it big. The three intersect at the end and as they all end up encountering the undead creature.

There is a lot going on in this book as the action jumps between the different characters and their plot lines. At first this was a bit off putting but once I got used to how the story was flowing, I had fun with it. This also helps to keep things fresh as I’m not sure focusing on any of the three would have made for a good book. Just to be clear I’m saying that because of a lack of material and not writing skill. There just wasn’t much meat on the bone of the individual storylines so it needs all three.

I don't normally mention gore when I’m writing a book review but here I will. There is a lot of nasty stuff in the book and Laymon has a gift in describing the mayhem to the reader. The mummy makes a mess of quite a few characters as necks are ripped open and eyes gouged out in bloody detail. But that isn’t all that there is. We also get a lot of sexual torture stuff with the captives in their cages including a nasty twist where the captors get what is coming to them. Additionally, throats are slit and necks broken that have nothing to do with the mummy and her violent goals. These extra bits of violence make for a bloody read.

Since I’m on the topic of violence and gore one thing that the book does nicely is make sure we know that no one is safe. We get characters established and come to like them only to have them killed off in disturbing and brutal ways. And the author has no qualms about killing not one, but two kids! Not many authors will take that step and kill of youngsters in their work.  Basically you don’t know who is going to go next and that made To Wake the Dead all that more fun.

I liked this book a lot. I had never heard of Layman until now and after one book consider myself a fan. He is an excellent writer who knows how to tell a story and I will be searching out his other books. I highly recommend this one.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Brooklyn 45 (2023)

This movie is set at the end of nineteen forty five as the world is winding down from World War II. Our characters are former operatives celebrating their first holiday home. Well sort of that is. Their host, Colonel Hockstatter, recently lost his wife to suicide and is tortured by it. Seems she thought their neighbor, a German woman, was a Nazi spy. But everyone ignored or dismissed her concerns which led to her slitting her own wrists. Another named Archibald has been accused of a war crime involving blowing up a room full of kids. We later find out it was under orders from Hockstatter. There are others including a patriot, Major DiFranco, and a former civilian interrogator named Marla who has brought her new husband Bob along.

Once they arrive in the… I guess you would call it a parlor or living room… Hockstatter asks to do a séance to contact his dead wife. Reluctantly they do so and sure enough the ghost responds. Unfortunately, the circle is broken and the door is left open which means the ghost isn’t going to let them go until some things are resolved to it’s liking. This leads to secrets being revealed, old hatreds uncovered, and even a little bit of torture. I can’t say any more without spoilers and I certainly don’t want to do that.

This is an interesting movie. When it popped up on Shudder I wasn’t sure what to expect. It looked like a ghost story, and it is, but there is so much more going on. While there is a supernatural element with a ghost coming back to finish a job it isn’t either for the good of all or even an evil act. What is interesting is that the wife’s spirit basically took the paranoia and hatred from life into the afterlife. It is very clear that is the case because the moment someone acts on it and gives the ghost what she/it wants they are free to go. Though honestly no one including the audience I think are going to feel a sense of satisfaction from what they just watched as it is unsettling. But I’m guessing that was the point so well done movie.

While I found the movie to be one of the best written genre flicks I’ve seen in a very long time there is little chance that a ninety minute long runtime would be sustainable set in a single room without some excellent performances. This cast is filled with working actors who bring a realism and believability to their characters which is critical to the Brooklyn 45 working and quite the trick given how based in fantasy the actual plot is. Other than Larry Fessenden and Anne Ramsey I didn’t recognize the names but all of them are excellent. The movie simply would work without them but with them and the excellent writing it makes for a good watch.

I have the feeling that Brooklyn 45 is going to stick with me for a while. If you are looking for a standard by the numbers horror/ghost story, then this isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you want a bit of drama and character studies along with the spooky stuff then you need to check this one out. I had fun with it, and I think you will as well.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Shivers (1975)

I spend a lot of my time here at the site reviewing new or obscure older movies. That is a conscious decision as I want to try and talk about stuff you guys have never heard of or seen before. It is way more fun for me and I hope is more useful for you readers. But every now and then I like to revisit and talk about an old favorite and Cronenberg’s Shivers is one of those movies. Please indulge me as I nerd out and if you haven’t seen this movie, you are in for a treat.

The movie opens with an advertisement for a high rise apartment building that sits on an island near the city. It has all the necessities for the community like a medical clinic and grocery store. Everything you need right at your fingertips without having to leave home. With that setting established we are treated to an older gentleman breaking down the door to an apartment and grabbing a young woman. After strangling her he tosses the body on the dining room table and does some impromptu autopsy action on her. After pouring something caustic into her chest cavity he slices his own throat with a scalpel. Now that is how you start a movie my friends!

Now onto the rest of the characters and story. We meet another resident of the building named Nicholas. He is having some issues with his stomach as he gets ready for work. On his way out he stops at the woman’s apartment and finds the bodies but instead of raising the alarm he goes to the office. We also meet his wife, Janine, when she goes to see her neighbor Betts (legit horror legend Barbara Steele!) to ask for some advice. She is concerned that he has been acting weird and Betts suggests talking to the facilities doctor. Here we meet Roger, the doctor, and his nurse/girlfriend Forsythe (the always awesome Lynn Lowry).

Dude has worm issues!

Lots of twisted stuff happens before we find out that man from earlier was experimenting on the woman. He wanted to create a parasite that would take the place of a failing organ creating a mutually beneficial situation. Instead, he created a monster that infected the host ramping up their sex drive to infect others. Yep, a sexually transmitted parasite that eats you from the inside out. No one and I mean no one does body horror better then David Cronenberg!

The story is interesting and unlike anything that I’ve seen before. The action kicks off right away with the door being broken down and the girl mutilated to stop the parasites. Then it quickly establishes the characters and lets us know what is going on. The cutting between the doctor’s investigation and the infection progressing in Nicholas lets us know exactly what is happening and what is likely to come for the characters newly infected. This tightrope is walked perfectly by writer director Cronenberg never lingering longer than necessary. It makes for an entertaining though disturbing watch.

On the subject of disturbing the body horror that comes with the idea of something physically infecting and hijacking a human being is itself twisted. But when you add in the sexual aspects of the infection it makes the movie even creepier. While it doesn’t get quite as in your face as the notorious characters in George Romero’s The Crazies (another Lynn Lowry flick) there is some nasty stuff hinted at in this movie. The father basically offering up his daughter was chilling without being too in your face. This is the kind of movie that explores ideas and horror that will get under your skin and make the audience uncomfortable in ways they maybe hadn’t expected. That is when director Cronenberg is at his best.

There isn’t a lot of what I’d consider gore in Shivers. There are some good gags with the worms coming out of the mouth but most everything is right off screen and implied. The most in your face effects work is the initial attack and suicide. I think that was a wise choice as it sets the tone for the movie and lets your imagination fill in the blanks of what you aren’t seeing. Most of the chills from this movie come from how it makes you feel and where your mind wanders instead of blood spraying in your face. I know that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it.

I think that I have made it very clear from the start that I dig this movie a lot. Just in case you weren’t already sure though I’m highly recommending you check it out. There is a newer release of this movie on Blu-Ray from Lionsgate that is filled with some cool extras and has a wonderful transfer. That is what I watched for this review and am glad to have finally upgraded my old VHS clamshell. It is worth the upgrade for sure.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The Beast Below (2022)

If you are a frequent reader here at the site you will know that on occasion I like to stroll into my local big box retailer and browse the shelves for a title that grabs my attention. Honestly, this never works out in my favor but is a fun exercise and reminds me of being sold a bill of goods back in the old mom and pop VHS store days. On a recent Friday evening I did just this and found The Beast Below. The cover claimed this was Tremors with a lizard instead of a worm. Okay movie lets see what you’ve got. 

Things kick off with some guys in the desert hunting lizards. The tables are turned on them when we see them get hunted by what appears to be a giant lizard. While we only see the arm at this point the cover of the DVD sort of gives it away. Then we are introduced to Kao, a popular singer who has bailed on his producer/manager to start a new phase of his career. What does this have to do with a lizard monster in the desert? Well, he gets framed for drugs and is forced to return home in disgrace with his cousin for the funeral of his grandfather. His business was drilling for water because, you guessed it, they live near the desert. 

Now comes the fun part. Another local, a woman named Fon, is sponsoring a contest with a large cash prize. Find water for their town to use and win money. Since Kao is hard up for cash, being disgraced and all, he enters the contest so he can finish his new record. There are a bunch of other teams each with what I’m guessing is supposed to be unique themes (I think there are some hippies or druggies… not sure). All that noise gets the monster’s attention and then shenanigans happen. Spoilers… in the end everyone lives happily ever after. I mean except for those horribly killed by the monster. 

I wanted to like The Beast Below. It has a giant monster lizard and I think some of the comedy lands. The characters are likeable enough and if you understand that the movie is leaning heavily into being a bit silly then it all sort of works. But the movie is far too long at two hours and thirty minutes. For some reason the movie decides to take forever establishing the main character of Kao with flashbacks and an intro that keeps us from the monster stuff until we are almost thirty minutes into the story. Yeah, it takes that long for the characters to meet up with the monster lizard in a movie that is all about a monster lizard! And I don’t mean they are hiding the creature from us while folks are getting picked off. Nope this is a bunch of talking, funeral planning, and other unnecessary padding. 

I didn't hate the creature effects

Even when we do get to the monster there are even more flashbacks to let you know why Kao and his love interest Fon don’t get along. Let me be very clear… I DON’T CARE! I signed up for a lizard eating folks and that is what I want. Even when it does chow down on the locals, we find out that a bunch of them are just stuck to a wall in the monster’s nest for a snack later. Come on guys give me some mayhem and death here!

The monster is brought to the screen with CGI and for the most part is solid. There are a few shots that were a bit cringey but mostly it is okay. There is zero gore as the camera always pulls away from the gooey stuff as it is about to happen. But I’ll cut them some slack as this I think was leaning more into comedy then horror. Plus, when they do try to show us a couple of payoffs with heads off and bodies split it is all CGI and looks bad. 

Honestly, I could have dealt with most of my complaints if the story were tighter and the pace was picked up. As a viewer when I have less time to think about what is wrong with a movie the better chance there is that I like it. For me, the pacing and length of what should have been a much simpler monster movie is what kills any chance of enjoyment with The Beast Below. I should have left this one sit on the store shelf. 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The Evil (1978)

I have been having just an awful time watching new to me movies recently. I needed to cleanse my palette and have vague memories seeing The Evil years ago on a local horror hosted show. I remember really digging it so figured it might just be what I was looking for.

A man named C.J. Arnold and his wife Caroline, a doctor, are looking for a place to open a clinic. Not sure if it is for mental health or addiction but their intentions are good. Sadly their choice in real estate isn’t. They end up at an abandoned mansion with a bit of a history. The locals have legends about the man who built it and at various times have wanted to tear it down. The audience has also already seen the caretaker cleaning the place up and getting torched by a furnace that has a mind of its own. So, this is not a good place.

The pair persist and bring some friends including a recovering addict named Felicia, a jokester named Pete, and a professor named Raymond. Along with others they get about setting up generators and cleaning up the massive structure. Things are already creepy as Caroline keeps seeing what appears to be a glowing orb that seems to try and communicate something to her. There is also a German Shepperd that goes a bit nuts and attacks his owner. But it gets bad when C.J. finds a cross covering a door in the floor of the cellar.

Guys if you find a cross being used to hold something closed leave it alone! He doesn’t and people start dying. Eventually we are down to just a couple of them when they fall into the doorway in the basement and meet the devil, played by the legendary Victor Buono. Do they survive the encounter? Is the devil freed to play havoc in our world? Will they get their security deposit back with all the bodies upstairs? These and more questions are answered before the end credits roll.

I’m happy to report back that this is every bit as much fun as I remember. During the seventies the devil was big box office with movies like Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen, and even drive-in fair like The Devil’s Rain. Not only do I not hesitate to include The Evil with those flicks, but I think it is every bit as good as those. Sure, it is a bit goofier when we finally see Buono but as he argues and does battle with our good guys notice how he slowly transforms showing more demonic features. That sort of attention to detail is why I dig this one.

Victor Buono kills it as the Devil!

The movie is paced well with the house and getting trapped inside by the forces of evil happening quickly so they can get to the good stuff. It starts off with weird camera angles, whispers and odd sounds but escalates into folks getting tossed around rooms by unseen forces. When the deaths start they come at us fast. While not overly explicit we do have a couple electrocutions, a couple people burn up, another gets tossed off a balcony, and there is even a table saw run across a hand. You see just enough to make it cringeworthy without being gory. For what is basically a haunted house type flick it all fits into a nice entertaining package.

I’ve already mentioned Victor Buono, but the rest of the cast is solid as well. Andrew Prine (Grizzly) is the professor. He is always solid when he shows up in movies like this and here is no exception. Our leads of C.J. and Caroline are portrayed by Richard Crenna (First Blood) and Joanna Pettet (Casino Royale) respectively. It was also to see Lynne Moody (Scream Blacula Scream) make an appearance.

This is a great cast. You give these folks a good script, which we get with The Evil, and it makes for an awesome way to kill ninety minutes. I highly recommend checking this one out. It is available online for free so there is no reason not to.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956)

We see a woman collecting water from a river, which we later find out is the Amazon. She hears a strange noise and is then attacked by a strange looking feathered creature with claws. Later we see a plane land and a man is taken to her body. He owns the plantation where the killing happened and is there to see why all his workers have left. Seems that the natives are scared and have returned to their villages upriver to avoid the monster. This is important later. His name is Rock Dean because I suppose it is a cool name.

Rock then goes to see his father at a club where we are treated to a dance number. Then we get back to the business at hand when Rock tells them he is going into the jungle farther than a white man has gone before to retrieve his workers. We also meet a lady doctor, Andrea Romar, who wants to go with him because the headhunters have a medicine that will cure cancer. Um… going looking for headhunters seems like a bad idea but okay. After some arguing she forces the issue by hiring his guide and making him take her along. The guide’s name is Tupanico, which is also important later.

There is then a lot of footage of animals as well as some stock footage because there is more than one that isn’t native to the Amazon Jungle. Oh yeah, I totally forgot to mention that this was shot on location in Brazil. That is surprising since this sort of movie was normally shot on studio backlots. But that also means they seemingly fall in love with the various shots of the characters walking thru the beautiful scenery. Because not much else happens. Eventually we find out that there is no monster but instead Tupanico was dressed in a costume to scare his people, he is a headhunter in disguise, back home and away from the plantations. See I told you that was important.

Most of the movie is walking and canoeing.

I’ve been “bait and switched” by a movie poster! I thought I was getting into a monster movie but instead I got something much different. Curucu is nothing more than a lame adventure travelogue that is mostly characters walking or canoeing along with some animal footage tossed in to show us the amazing sites they are seeing. Damn it movie you sold me on some monsters and I got nothing! If the movie had at least been a decent adventure flick I suppose it would have been fine, but nothing happens. There is little to no actual story here beyond them walking.

I could complain about the creature being a lame costume, but it is supposed to be a lame costume. It has a very Scooby Doo vibe to it except not as much fun. The cast is headlined by John Bromfield who looks to have been mostly a “B” Western actor. I’d never heard of him before and based on this movie I can sort of see why. What did catch my attention and made me want to watch this was our female lead. Dr. Romar is played by the lovely Beverly Garland who most fans will recognize from flicks like It Conquered the World, The Neanderthal Man, and The Alligator People. Trust me those are much better flicks than this one though that bar is very low. Here she is given nothing to do other than stare at things and scream when a native sticks their face out of the bushes.

This was such a disappointment. I hadn’t even mentioned yet that it was written and directed by Curt Siodmak who was responsible for flicks like Donovan’s Brain, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, as well as some of the classic Universal stuff like The Wolf Man and The Invisible Man Returns. Not sure what happened here but it wasn’t good. I can’t recommend spending your valuable time on this movie which is a bummer.

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Cosmic Sin (2021)

I knew that this was going to be a bad movie before I ever popped it on. This flick is best known as the movie that earned Bruce Willis a Razzie for worst performance that was later revoked when it was revealed that he was suffering from medical issues that affected his speech and memory. But how bad could it be? And was it really such a terrible performance?

The movie opens with a crawl about humanity colonizing space and the inevitable conflicts that those early colonies had with each other. One of those conflicts was resolved by a general dropping a “Q” bomb on a planet wiping out tens of millions of folks. What is a “Q” bomb? I guess it makes a black hole and destroys everything in the nearby solar system.

Now we move to a couple about to get busy on an uninhabited planet. Aliens show up and this first contact goes poorly. The surviving crew is brought back to Earth for interrogation but has been infected and controlled by the aliens. They go on the attack and the military eventually kills them all. The disgraced general played by Willis is recruited on a team that is teleported out to the last known location of the aliens. With them they take another “Q” bomb to wipe out the enemy. There is some back and forth about morality before they shoot it into a portal that wipes out the aliens killing the entire race. So much for morality I suppose.

First things first. Willis isn’t the reason that this movie sucks. His performance isn’t even all that bad. I mean it is flat and he delivers his dialogue without much effort but knowing what we know now it all makes sense. The truth is he is barely in the movie enough to impact it at all. Apparently, he was on set for a couple of days and was paid a couple million bucks for his time. That said the movie is terrible it just isn’t his fault.

The story is complete and utter garbage. We have an interesting idea where the military has in place a plan that is executed on first contact with an alien race. If it is a positive for the human race then everything is fine. If it goes badly then we murder them all. While that sort of overly simplistic agenda might be somewhat accurate to how humanity would respond (we do sort of suck if we are being honest) it makes for a terrible science fiction story. I kept waiting for some sort of message or really anything clever but nope. It went badly so genocide time!

Well fellas... I hope the checks cleared!

The execution of the plot doubles down on the suck. You get random characters that appear and disappear throughout the movie. There are some familiar faces in addition to Willis like Frank Grillo, Lochlyn Munro, and Costas Mandylor. They clearly weren’t all available on set on the same days as they rarely share scenes together. This I’m guessing was the primary reason that the story feels so disjointed and choppy.

There is also a lack of budget getting in the way. We do get some CGI spaceships but at times they look downright awful. The crew is teleported to the planet, so we don’t any actual scenes set in a ship, the camera just goes zipping by them. The aliens possess human beings, so they saved some cash there by just having folks dressed in black being the invaders. I guess that means after the aliens take them over they go change into matching outfits before assaulting the remaining humans. A lot of the action takes place on a nearby planet aka. the woods in Georgia where this was shot.

Terrible story, misspent budget, bad editing forced by cast members not being available for the entire shoot all ends up making Cosmic Sin a complete waste of time. Oh, and that damn title. If it is meant to imply the destruction of an entire alien species is supposed to be some underlying message of it being shameful or sinful, then maybe don’t give the aliens lines like “either you destroy us or we destroy you.” They clearly want to wipe out the human race so what the hell is this supposed cosmic sin? This one is trash and you can skip it.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer