Shudder Saturday: In Search Of Darkness: Part II (2020)

I was quite clear when I discussed In Search Of Darkness last year, a lengthy documentary about the horror movies of the 1980s. So many people loved it, and the only reason I can think of for that love is the shared affection for the genre, and a large helping of nostalgia. A lot of the contributors offered nothing more than the most basic opinions, there were very few films mentioned that weren't already very well known, and they angered me by crediting John Carpenter with that fine score for The Thing which came from Ennio Morricone.

Why would I dive into this sequel then? Well, I was hoping they might do better. 

The format is pretty much the same. You get a lot of the same selection of talking heads (some better than others, and some make you question why they were chosen for involvement in the first place), you get plenty of clips from the movies being discussed, and you get some attempts to contextualise individual entries within the bigger picture of what was happening to the horror genre throughout the decade.

First of all, although the titles picked here are generally a bit less "mainstream" than the titles in the first instalment, this still almost steadfastly refuses to dive into the really dark recesses of the video selections from the '80s. A whole section could have been dedicated to Gremlins rip-offs, but instead they're simply name-checked by Joe Dante, who gets to state that he doesn't rate Ghoulies, but considers Critters the best of the bunch that came out about that time. Every time the camera shows a number of movie posters (or I guess they are supposed to be video covers), you get to see some more obscure titles before it zooms in to focus on the next film up for discussion, which is most often one that most horror fans will be familiar with. And a horror documentary full of movie clips spending some time discussing a previous horror documentary full of movie clips - Terror In The Aisles - seems both meta and also completely unnecessary.

I won't try to list some of the many notable omissions, as that would just be too depressing, but things are saved this time around by some sections that allow stars to discuss their careers. You get Nancy Allen On Nancy Allen, Tom Savini On Tom Savini, Robert Englund On Robert Englund, and Linnea Quigley On Linnea Quigley. These, alongside a section that looks at the horror movie videogames of the era, offer up just enough insight and enjoyment to make this a better film than the first instalment. It's also bittersweet to see some on-camera contributions from the late, great, Stuart Gordon.

If you enjoyed In Search Of Darkness then you're bound to enjoy this. It's more of the same. If, like me, you were in the minority then this at least improves things slightly. I have no doubt that a third entry would be possible, and it would be the same yet again. And I'll be bemoaning the fact that we horror fans seem to be so easily pleased sometimes by stuff put out there with minimal amounts of care and real insight. 

4/10

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The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, adapting his own novel, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a good film with moments of greatness, helped enormously by a winning central performance from Logan Lerman as the main character. The fact that it ends up not as good as it could be stems from some tired cliches of quirkiness being trotted out, and also from one or two complete mis-steps (like having the cool kids who love cool music not be able to recognise the song "Heroes" by David Bowie - watch the film and you'll probably have the same expression of puzzlement and disdain that I had during that moment).

Lerman plays Charlie, a sensitive young man who doesn't really fit in with those around him at school. He enjoys reading and writing, and quickly finds out that he'll at least really enjoy listening to his new English teacher (Paul Rudd). He's also had some mental health problems, but whatever caused them is obviously going to be held back for viewers to discover as the movie builds to its finale. Anyway, Charlie starts to enjoy life a LOT more when he befriends Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson). That also leads to him becoming friends with a few of their friends, and it soon gets easier for Charlie to keep the good days outnumbering the bad days. But the situation probably can't stay so stable, especially when Charlie has such strong feelings for Sam.

Chbosky does fine with the structuring and feel of the movie. There are details teased out as things build up to the climax, and there's fine line between the comedy and the dark tension always running underneath it. He's helped by a good cast, but few of the supporting actors are as good as Lerman. Watson tries hard, and I suppose does a pretty good job, but I just can't accept her as the sexy, cool, free spirit that she's portraying here because, well, I've never found her sexy or cool. She may be both of those things, and I know that she's certainly the former to some people, but she doesn't ever seem that way to me, therefore her character is bearable but unconvincing. Miller does a lot better, but his character is another cliche, alongside Watson's quirky object of desire. Miller is the exuberant gay male, spreading around enough love for everyone while hiding a lot of his personal pain deep inside. Mae Whitman is great for almost every moment that she's onscreen, Johnny Simmons adds another good turn to his CV, and Dylan McDermott and Kate Walsh play Charlie's parents, the two may not have much screentime but still do well with what they're given. And horror fans will be delighted by the small role that Tom Savini has in the movie.


There's nothing new here, and that may be the biggest problem that The Perks Of Being A Wallflower has, but a lot of what IS here is done well, and I can't praise that central turn from Lerman enough. But, honestly, the other big problem is . . . . . . . . . what kind of cool kids don't recognise a great David Bowie song when they hear one?

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Perks-Being-Wallflower-Blu-ray/dp/B008OQ037W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1391897925&sr=8-4&keywords=the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower

Creepshow 2 (1987)

Following Creepshow was always going to be a tough job, but I'm pleased to say that Creepshow 2 holds up as a decent little sequel. It's not on a par with the greatness of the original movie, but there's something for everyone and the mix of horror drawn from comic tales is once again nicely evoked, this time with animated sequences in between each tale.

Slimming down from five tales to only three, things begin with Old Chief Woodenhead, which is all about a nice, elderly couple (played by George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour) who are sorely wronged. But their fates will be avenged. The second tale is my favourite of the three. The Raft, a tale of four young folk who swim out to spend some time on a raft and end up trapped by . . . . . . . . . something that looks like an oil slick but devours animals like The Blob. Last, but not least, comes The Hitchhiker, the tale of an unfaithful wife (Lois Chiles) driving home from her latest tumble between the sheets and hitting a hitchhiker (Tom Wright) in her haste. She drives off, but it turns out that the hitchhiker still needs a lift.

Based on stories by Stephen King, this was written for the screen by George A. Romero (with some uncredited help from Lucille Fletcher, apparently) and directed by Michael Gornick. It lacks the commitment to that gaudy E.C. Comics style that the original movie had but the crudely animated sequences linking each of the tales do enough to remind viewers of the thrill felt when encountering these horror tales for the first time.

The cast all do a decent enough job. This was the last movie role for Dorothy Lamour, and she and George Kennedy make such a sweet pairing that it's not the worst swansong she could have gone for. The stars of The Raft - Paul Satterfield, Daniel Beer, Jeremy Green and Page Hannah - are there to play second fiddle of the featured creature, and that's what they do. Lois Chiles is saddled with too many moments that have her filling out backstory by talking to herself during her drive, but Tom Wright fares better with the main line that he gets to repeat, catchphrase-like. Tom Savini appears, although he's pretty much unrecognisable, as The Creep and Stephen King is fun to spot as a helpful truck driver.

While it doesn't ever hit the heights of the first movie, this is still a lot of fun for horror fans and it just manages not to outstay its welcome. It's an easy watch, nothing more and nothing less.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creepshow-2-DVD-Domenick-John/dp/B003H9MXRE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380213121&sr=8-1&keywords=creepshow+2

 

Blood, Boobs & Beast (2007)

Don Dohler made movies for many years. I haven't seen any of them yet but they looked, from the many clips shown in this affectionate documentary, like very bad movies. So why do I now want to see them all? It's true that I have a constant yearning to seek out the bizarre and unloved movies many others go out of their way to avoid but there's something more going on here. Blood, Boobs & Beast shows some people who are making movies that try to include those three Bs in an attempt to make some money back and to keep making movies but it also shows some people who love trying to make great entertainment. They might fail spectacularly but they deserve your time and goodwill just for trying. This isn't low-budget film-making on display here, this is the NO-budget kind.

Don Dohler passed away in 2006 and this documentary, directed by John Paul Kinhart, stands as a wonderful testament to the influence that the man had. His films may not have a huge fanbase but they do have their fans. And as for his contribution to the underground comic scene and the homemade special effects fans, and also his sheer determination to finish projects, the results are quite impressive. But I'll let you find out more by seeing the documentary.

Art (though some may not wish to call it that) meets commercialism as Dohler and his long-time collaborators end up accidentally doing well enough to move beyond being "one hit wonders". The results are almost like Troma movies. With less money available. Yes, you can only begin to imagine the final product.

I've made a point of emphasising how much fun, and how bad, the movies are but I don't want to leave you with the wrong impression. Watching this documentary won me over almost from the very beginning and I'm now a fan of Don Dohler and desperate to pay money for his movies. If you want to dismiss him as some untalented hack then you can feel free to do so, but just listen to the high regard he is held in by the likes of friend and colleague Joe Ripple and, more surprisingly, people as diverse as Lloyd Kaufman, Tom Savini and J. J. Abrams. All of those people are BIG names in their respective fields so maybe you should take the time to investigate someone they think so highly of.

You might just end up becoming won over as quickly and easily as I was.

8/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Boobs-Beast-Nightbeast-Region/dp/B001IVFGZO

His Name Was Jason: 30 Years Of Friday The 13th (2009)

A documentary about the most enduring slasher icon of the horror genre, to date, and brought to you by the people who made Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, you'd expect something great here but you'd be mildly disappointed.

With some fun linking material provided by the great Tom Savini, His Name Was Jason provides an overview of each instalment of the Friday The 13th franchise with clips, comments from those involved and observations from fans of the series.

The big problem that this documentary has is it's short runtime. 90 minutes. 90 minutes to cover a franchise that includes even more than the Elm Street series, which itself managed to get a 4-hour runtime in documentary format, and has a wealth of backstory already well covered in numerous books. The fact that a lot of this documentary also feels like an advert for the remake/reboot doesn't help either.

There's still plenty of fun to be had here, with most of the usual suspects in attendance (Sean S. Cunningham, Kane Hodder, Betsy Palmer, etc), but when you stop to think of all the "behind the scenes" material that could have been included, the countless parodies and riffs and the marketing offshoots then you start to realise what a bit of a wasted opportunity it all is. And that's just the tip of the Crystal Lake iceberg.

6/10

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