After
the success of ‘Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things’, director Bob
Clark was offered the chance to make another horror film by some
Canadian investors. ‘Children’ star Alan Ormsby whipped up a screenplay
inspired by a mix of the classic ‘Monkey’s Paw’ short story and the
Vietnam War, and as luck would have it some genuinely good actors signed
on. The result was a serious but entertaining horror film that still
holds up quite well today, despite its budgetary limitations.
Andy (Richard Backus) is killed in Vietnam. When
his family gets the telegram, however, his mother refuses to accept the
death of her son. Somehow, her belief that Andy is still alive brings
him back. But while Andy’s physical body appears unscathed at his
family home later that night, something inside of him is missing. Andy
is now cold and sadistic, at one point strangling the family dog in
front of a group of children. His internal decay also begins to
manifest itself externally, and the only way to prevent it is to shoot
up with fresh human blood.
This could easily have been just as cheesy as
‘Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things’, but because the actors and
director treat the screenplay with seriousness, it works. Clark and
Ormsby use the conventions of the horror film as the framework for
something deeper, yet at the same time never hit you over the head with
their message. It’s there is you want it, but you can still enjoy this
as just a good, scary horror movie. Great ending, too.
Backus is perfectly cast as Andy, and both Lynn
Carlin (from Cassavettes’ ‘Faces’) and John Marley (from ‘The
Godfather’) are excellent as Andy’s parents. Even the smaller parts are
well cast. It’s also amazing how much Clark has improved as a filmmaker
from ‘Children’ to this. Certainly some of that is due to the budget,
and as Clark readily admits a lot of it is due to Ormsby’s excellent
script. But Clark’s style seems to have solidified with this film. You
can tell this is the same director who would later make ‘Porkys’ and ‘A
Christmas Story’.
The DVD of this title from Blue Underground is, as
usual for this company, excellent. The print isn’t perfect, but
compared to the murky VHS versions that have been the only way to see
this movie for years, it looks stunning. There’s also some great bonus
features, including separate commentaries from both Clark and Ormsby
(which honestly could probably have been combined into one track, as
both tracks have lengthy passages of silence), and a short interview
with Tom Savini, who was Ormsby’s assistant for the special effects.
Worth at least a rental for the casual horror fan, and if you’re a true
fanatic you’ll want to add this one to your collection. (Bob Ignizio)
Go
rent this now, before some creatively bankrupt producer in Hollywood gets
the bright idea to remake it with an English speaking cast. This is an
excellent suspense film that doubles as a coming of age story. It kind of
reminds me in of ‘Stand By Me’ minus the schmaltzy nostalgia. Michele (Guiseppe
Cristiano) is a young boy who discovers another young boy being held
captive in a pit outside of an abandoned house where he and his friends
play. Michele is just starting to develop a sense of morality, as we learn
early on in a scene involving a race to the abandoned house where he could
allow a female member of his group to suffer humiliation, but steps in to
prevent it. Michele may not do the right thing right away, but we can tell
that he’s trying. He has a conscience. Things get more complicated when it
appears that Michele‘s father may have something to do with the boy in the
pit.
‘I’m Not Scared’ does an excellent job of building
suspense and of showing the moral journey of its protagonist. There’s not
much “action” in the modern Hollywood sense of the term, but the story has
plenty of natural momentum. Unless you absolutely need to see violence and
chase scenes, you won’t be bored. The movie also has a great look to it.
The camera captures some truly beautiful scenes of the Italian countryside
that look more like paintings than shots in a film. Those bright, sunny
moments are contrasted with scenes of ugly darkness in the pit where the
kidnap victim is imprisoned. Perhaps the contrasts are intended to
differentiate the carefree world of childhood with the sometimes frightening
transition to adulthood and responsibility. But hey, you don’t have to give
a rat’s ass about symbolism to enjoy this movie. It’s just a good, well
acted, intelligent film. Check it out. (Bob Ignizio)
This
is a love letter to Italian cinema from one of the greatest
Italian-American filmmakers of all time. Scorcese takes you on a
journey through 4 decades worth of Italian cineman (the late thirties
through the early sixties), and also through his own childhood growing
up in New York. Primarily, Scorcese focuses on the films of Roberto
Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, Frederico Fellini, and
Michelangelo Antonioni. One certainly can’t complain with the directors
Scorcese has chosen to showcase, but at 4 hours long, one wishes he had
found more room for a few others. For instance, Scorcese mentions
loving Italian fantasy films and epics, but this entire genre rates only
about ten minutes, while individual films by Rossellini get twice as
much time. Mario Bava, the master of Italian fantasy, only rates a
mention for being an assistant director to Rossellini. And while seeing
scenes from some of these movies while Scorcese explains his love for
them certainly made me want to see them for myself, I wish he hadn’t
revealed quite so much, including the endings to several films. In the
end, what should have been a great introduction to Italian cinema for
the uninitiated veers too much into analysis for those who have already
seen these movies. I still enjoyed watching this, and I think most
people with an interest in world cinema would enjoy it as well, but it
doesn’t quite work as intended. (Bob Ignizio)
Independent filmmaker
J.R. Bookwalter once said that "...movies should come with details about
their budget, format, and schedule emblazoned on the packaging. If the
movie is bad, we might respect it a little more. And if the movie is
good, everyone will be impressed!" These words kept running through my
mind as I watched "The Risen", Sub Rosa's latest offering in the direct
to video market. Many people I know would take one look at the
videotape used to shoot the movie, the inexpensive special effects, and
the sometimes uneven acting by the supporting players and declare the
movie awful. However, once you look past the micro-budget allotted to
the filmmakers and give the movie a real chance, then ‘The Risen’ turns
out to be an enjoyable piece of entertainment.
The basic plot setup
is as follows: a secret government space project in 1962 accidentally
opens the Earth up to a visitation by a very, VERY nasty alien life
form. Witnesses are silenced, a cover-up implemented, and everything
stays peaceful until the present day. That's when a rogue CIA agent
named Jack Alder has discovered the secret and plans on opening up the
earth to visits by the bad space nasty to make himself a lot of money.
How the two tie together isn't really explained, but we can forgive
that. Anyway, the alien arrives a bit early and proceeds to munch on
the local populace. About 20 minutes into the movie we're introduced to
Slade Hunter, an ex-special forces commando who's investigating his
brother's murder. Seeing as that he got offed because of the alien
stuff in the first place, Slade is poking around in alien country, and
of course gets sucked into the whole thing.
Director Eric Szmyr
does multiple tasks on the film (as is often the case with these
micro-budget features), playing the role of Slade Hunter, designing and
doing the FX for the creature, and sharing writing, producing,
photographing, editing, and directing duties with Brandon Bethmann.
While I am dubious about co-directing credits (the whole "too many cooks
spoil the brew" type thing), the two do a good job here and the film
doesn't lack for it. In fact, this is a far better movie than it has
any right to be. The script is well written and the dialogue is
believable, the lead actors are quite competent, and the editing is well
paced. All together these elements serve to draw the viewer in and keep
one watching until the fiery conclusion. Sure, some of the supporting
cast could stand to be better, but these micro-budget productions can't
be choosy when it comes to casting bit parts. The fact that the leads
do such a good job is fantastic for this budgetary level. Science
fiction is difficult to do on such a meager budget, but this movie
manages to do it well. The Risen combines good writing with great
editing and acting to deliver a taut, well paced action adventure that
keeps you engaged to the end. I really enjoyed this film. The Heathen
Hippy gives it four severed heads. (Taliesin Govannon)
After
the success of ‘Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things’, director Bob
Clark was offered the chance to make another horror film by some
Canadian investors. ‘Children’ star Alan Ormsby whipped up a screenplay
inspired by a mix of the classic ‘Monkey’s Paw’ short story and the
Vietnam War, and as luck would have it some genuinely good actors signed
on. The result was a serious but entertaining horror film that still
holds up quite well today, despite its budgetary limitations. 
Go
rent this now, before some creatively bankrupt producer in Hollywood gets
the bright idea to remake it with an English speaking cast. This is an
excellent suspense film that doubles as a coming of age story. It kind of
reminds me in of ‘Stand By Me’ minus the schmaltzy nostalgia. Michele (
This
is a love letter to Italian cinema from one of the greatest
Italian-American filmmakers of all time. Scorcese takes you on a
journey through 4 decades worth of Italian cineman (the late thirties
through the early sixties), and also through his own childhood growing
up in New York. Primarily, Scorcese focuses on the films of Roberto
Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, Frederico Fellini, and
Michelangelo Antonioni. One certainly can’t complain with the directors
Scorcese has chosen to showcase, but at 4 hours long, one wishes he had
found more room for a few others. For instance, Scorcese mentions
loving Italian fantasy films and epics, but this entire genre rates only
about ten minutes, while individual films by Rossellini get twice as
much time. Mario Bava, the master of Italian fantasy, only rates a
mention for being an assistant director to Rossellini. And while seeing
scenes from some of these movies while Scorcese explains his love for
them certainly made me want to see them for myself, I wish he hadn’t
revealed quite so much, including the endings to several films. In the
end, what should have been a great introduction to Italian cinema for
the uninitiated veers too much into analysis for those who have already
seen these movies. I still enjoyed watching this, and I think most
people with an interest in world cinema would enjoy it as well, but it
doesn’t quite work as intended. (Bob Ignizio)
Independent filmmaker
J.R. Bookwalter once said that "...movies should come with details about
their budget, format, and schedule emblazoned on the packaging. If the
movie is bad, we might respect it a little more. And if the movie is
good, everyone will be impressed!" These words kept running through my
mind as I watched "The Risen", Sub Rosa's latest offering in the direct
to video market. Many people I know would take one look at the
videotape used to shoot the movie, the inexpensive special effects, and
the sometimes uneven acting by the supporting players and declare the
movie awful. However, once you look past the micro-budget allotted to
the filmmakers and give the movie a real chance, then ‘The Risen’ turns
out to be an enjoyable piece of entertainment. 