Tuesday's Overlooked Films: King of the Ants (2003)

Stuart Gordon's early films, especially his H.P. Lovecraft adaptations RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND, showed an ability to juggle potentially dark material with humor, which prevented the material from ever appearing too nasty and also allowed the films to enjoy a certain amount of crossover success. By the early years of the 21st century, however, Gordon's view of the world seemed noticeably darker, with him preferring bleak character studies of desperate people to lighthearted monster movies. This is especially evident in his adaptation of Charles Higson's novel KING OF THE ANTS.

When crooked real estate developer Ray Matthews (Daniel Baldwin) and his cohort Duke (George Wendt) need someone to tail and then murder a District Attorney who has evidence against them, they choose Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna), an amiable enough guy who makes ends meet by drifting from one odd job to the next. Sean is, as Duke says, an ant - someone who goes about his life doing insignificant things until he dies and is replaced by someone just like him. After Sean performs the hit, Ray decides to tie up loose ends by killing Sean. He's unable to do this, however, since Sean has hidden the D.A.'s evidence as insurance against just such an event. Thus begins an ever increasing battle for dominance between Sean and Ray.

KING OF THE ANTS is a film that asks just how far someone will go in order to survive. Sean goes from a nice guy who paints houses for a few dollars to illegally following someone to murder for hire to multiple murder, all in the name of his own self preservation. Not only can Sean justify everything he does, but in taking ruthless revenge on those who tried to use him he finally finds what he's good at. By pushing Sean too far, Ray and Duke have awakened a monster willing to do anything in order to preserve his self interests. 

KING OF THE ANTS is a grueling film, especially during a protracted second act sequence where Ray tries to dispose of Sean without killing him by turning him into a vegetable. This part of the film is extremely hard to watch. There are a few missteps, most notably Sean's romance with the D.A.'s widow (Kari Wuhrer), which strains credibility and doesn't really add anything to the film.  For the most part, however, KING OF THE ANTS is a tense, well acted and often brutal portrait of a man discovering the monster within himself. It's not necessarily a fun night at the movies but those who are up for it will most likely find it a rewarding experience.

For more overlooked films and a/v visit Todd Mason's blog 

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Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Surf II (1984)

Possibly the dumbest comedy to be released in a decade dominated by dumb comedies (and I mean that in the most loving way possible), Randall Badat's SURF II is worth sitting through mostly to witness the finest cinematic moment of Eddie Deezen. For over three decades Deezen has been playing pretty much the same role - a nerd, kind of like an even more socially awkward Jerry Lewis, complete with slicked back hair and pocket protector, who there mainly to be mocked by the rest of the cast. Usually Deezen is limited to cameo appearances but in SURF II he gets to take center stage.

SURF II opens with a California seaside town being mildly annoyed by the mutilation deaths of two surfers. Local law enforcement Chief "Don't call me Chef" Boyardie (Lyle Waggoner) has the beach dusted for prints and deduces that a maniac is on the loose. It turns out he's correct since deep in his undersea lair beneath the local oil refinery, evil genius Menlo Schwartzer (Deezen), unhinged since being the butt of cruel practical joke, is planning his revenge against the town's surfers. Menlo plans to flood the town with Buzzz cola (the soda that also cleans drains and strips the paint from battleships) which turns whoever drinks it into garbage eating punk rock zombies. He's assisted by Sparkle (Linda Kerridge), who depends on Menlo's treatments (which involve sticking her head into what looks like a giant waffle iron) to keep her beautiful. It's up to brain dead surfers Chuck (Eric Stoltz) and Bob (Jeffery Rogers) to discover the plan and stop it before it ruins the big surf competition.

In case you haven't figured it out, there was never a SURF I. If you find that funny (like I do) then you'll probably enjoy the film. As the plot synopsis makes evident, a coherent story isn't the top priority here. The film is mostly a collection of incredibly stupid jokes, sight gags and surfing stock footage. In the middle of all this is Deezen, having a blast playing his version of a Bond villain and clearly relishing his chance to create an actual character instead of performing his usual walk-on  schtick. It's also nice to see Linda Kerridge, who spent most of her short career playing Marilyn Monroe lookalikes, doing something a bit different. Honestly, this movie seems so desperate to please, throwing so many different elements at the screen, that it's almost impossible not to find something to like here. Not only do you have the unbeatable combination of surfers and zombies but where else are you going to find Eddie Deezen, Lyle Waggoner and Eric Stoltz in the same film? 

For more overlooked film and a/v visit Todd Mason's blog.

 

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: THE EYES OF ANNIE JONES (1964)

Reginald Le Borg's THE EYES OF ANNIE JONES is a strange little movie that never quite figures out what it wants to be. Part mystery, part horror film and part romantic drama, its many elements never mesh into a cohesive whole but it still manages to be a fairly interesting programmer despite itself.

The film revolves around Geraldine, a heiress to a paper fortune who has disappeared en route to Spain. The police suspect foul play since if anything happens to Geraldine her fortune is set to pass to her philandering, irresponsible brother, David (Richard Conte). David and his dotty Aunt Helen (Joyce Carey) enlist the help of Annie Jones (an impossibly young looking Francesca Annis), a troubled youth from the local orphanage who Helen believes has psychic abilities, to help in the search. Along with David's wife Carol (Myrtle Reed) the group heads off to Geraldine's house so Annie can "absorb her aura" find some answers. The only problem is that Annie is only too happy to have a break from the orphanage and is in no hurry to find the missing heiress. She also has set her sights on forty-something year old David, something he seems quite pleased with.

The biggest problem with the film is that is doesn't follow through on any of its plot elements. I won't give it away, but Geraldine's fate is revealed very early in the film, eliminating the mystery and leaving the characters to spin their wheels as the discover things that the audience already knows. The film tries to generate suspense by introducing the possibility that Annie psychic powers aren't real, but we see her demonstrate them early in the film so it's clear that she has at least some abilities. Plus, her abilities have very little, if anything, to do with the ultimate resolution of the mystery. That leaves the domestic drama, which is the least interesting plot element, yet ironically is the most successful. A lot of the movie's 73 minutes are devoted to showing Annie as a neglected girl jealous of the finer things in life and David as a sleazy playboy who doesn't have any problem cheating on his wife while she's still in the room. It's fun to watch them interact.

The film's a mess but there's something about it that still makes it watchable. Part of it is a game cast having fun with the ridiculous material. Another is trying to guess where the film is ultimately heading. It's like the filmmakers took every conceivable plot element they could think of, threw it into a stew and hoped for the best. The results may not be exactly good, but they're still pretty entertaining.

For more overlooked films and a/v go to Todd Mason's blog. 

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Walk Proud (1979)

Every now and then a wave of synchronicity flows through the corridors of power in Hollywood, resulting in competing films with the same basic subject matter released within a few months of each other. Hence, dual films about crashing asteroids (DEEP IMPACT and ARMAGEDDON), Robin Hood (although Fox blinked and sent its Patrick Begin starring ROBIN HOOD to TV to avoid competing with ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES) and this years Snow White inspired MIRROR MIRROR and SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN. In 1979 the hot topic was street gangs, with no less than four films dealing with the subject. At the top of the heap is Walter Hill's THE WARRIORS along with the seldom seen BOULEVARD NIGHTS and SUNNYSIDE, starring John Travolta's talent-impaired brother Joey. Rounding out the quartet is the oddest film in the bunch, Robert L. Collins' WALK PROUD, which won instant admission into the Camp Hall of Fame due to its casting of the very white teen heartthrob Robby Benson as a Chicano gang leader.

Benson, complete with brown contacts, bandanna and what looks like shoe polish smeared all over his body, plays Emilio, second in command of the Aztecas, the toughest gang in Venice, California. In fact, the Aztecas are so tough that they are able to intimidate a robbery witness by staring him down through the reflective side of a two way mirror. However Emilio starts to question his loyalties to the gang when he falls for Sarah (Sarah Holcomb), a wealthy girl from his school. Thus begins not only a tender love story but a meeting of two cultures as Emilio lectures Sarah on Chicano pride with Elton John songs playing in the background (since nothing says Chicano pride like Elton John) and Sarah introduces Emilio to her parents while on an outing on their boat (since all white parents are wealthy enough to own boats yet still send their daughters to schools populated by gang members). It's not long before Emilio's divided loyalties run the risk of having him "jumped out" of the gang, a process that may leave him friendless and physically broken.

By all rights this movie should be terrible and it is laughable in a lot of ways, but everyone involved seems so earnest that it becomes possible to ignore some of the more ridiculous aspects of the story. It's true that Benson is terribly miscast but he tries really, really hard to pull it off and almost succeeds. It helps that he's surrounded by actual Chicano character actors like Pepe Serna and Trinadad Silva who try their best to make Benson look authentic. Benson even sings the film's end credit theme song, "Adios Yesterday" (with lyrics written by his father, Jerry Segal). He also has extremely nice chemistry with Holcomb, a promising young actress who should've had a much bigger career but ended up a Hollywood casualty after supporting parts in ANIMAL HOUSE  and CADDYSHACK. Her sad story can be found here. Most of the film's faults can be attributed to the weak script by veteran novelist Evan Hunter and Collins' direction. Collins shoots the movie in a very flat, uninteresting way which makes it look like a made for TV film, not surprisingly since most of his experience is in television. 

By far the mildest of all the 1979 gang films in terms of its depiction of gang violence, WALK PROUD is much more successful as a romance than a gang movie. That should have worked in the film's favor when THE WARRIORS and its ilk were pulled from theaters following reports of increased violence and vandalism at theaters where they were playing. But instead of marketing it as a romance Universal pulled the film, making it very hard to see prior to its VHS release and adding to its terrible reputation. In truth, the film is no better or worse than dozens of other teen romantic dramas made at the time (many of which starred Benson). It's by no means a great (or even very good) movie but there are much worse ways to spend a lazy afternoon.

For more overlooked film and AV check out Todd Mason's blog.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

Those of us who grew up before the heyday of cable TV or home video may remember all too well that when we wanted to see a movie we either had the choice of catching it during it's theatrical run or be forced to see it compromised on television years later, interrupted by commercials and often cut to ribbons by censors. Thus it was a minor miracle when pay television channels began to appear in the 1970s offering uncut and uninterrupted movies at home. Xan Cassavettes' documentary Z CHANNEL: A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION details the rise and fall of one of the most influential of these channels, Los Angeles' Z Channel.

Z Channel was one of the first regional pay cable networks. It premiered in 1974 (one year before HBO went national), serving the heart of Los Angeles' film making community. Its programming was a mix of the usual new films straight from their theatrical run and older catalog films. It was an instant success due to its novelty and lack of competition. However, Z Channel didn't hit its stride until 1980 and the arrival of brilliant yet trouble new programmer, Jerry Harvey. Harvey was a lifelong film buff and occasional screenwriter (his one produced screenplay was the Monte Hellman western CHINA 9, LIBERTY 37) who programmed the channel to appeal directly to other film buffs, showcasing director and star retrospectives and going out of his way to show worthwhile films that might otherwise have flown under the radar. He published a monthly programming guide that contained essays often critical of the films shown on the channel because he wanted viewers to make up their own minds regarding a film's quality. Most notably, Harvey was adamant about films being shown in their director's approved versions, making Z Channel one of the first channels to show widescreen films letterboxed. Harvey was also responsible for allowing Michael Cimino to reconstruct his version of HEAVEN'S GATE, allowing for a critical reevaluation of that notorious flop. 

However Jerry Harvey had a dark side and it proved to be the channel's undoing. Harvey had had a lifelong history of mental illness and had flirted with the idea of suicide (his two sisters had also taken their own lives). While he appeared to have his condition under control, a perfect storm of negative circumstances in 1988 proved too much for him. In despair over direct competition with HBO and Showtime (which limited his access to films), a meager operating budget and a sale to Group W (who, using Philadelphia's PRISM pay service as inspiration, planned to supplement Z Channel's movie lineup with local sports), Harvey took his own life as well as the life of his wife, Deri. The channel continued but its guiding force was gone and it disappeared soon thereafter.

While it's impossible to think of Jerry Harvey without thinking of his final days, it's also impossible to underestimate the impact that he and Z Channel had on home movie viewing. Today, unedited, commercial-free movies in their correct aspect ratio are always within reach. That's in large part thanks to Jerry Harvey, who put his love of film ahead of his concern for the bottom line, thinking that enough like-minded people would want what he was offering to make it worthwhile. It's not an exaggeration to say that Harvey changed the way we experience movies at home and Z CHANNEL; A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION is a fitting tribute both to the man and his love of film. 

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Girl Hunters (1963)

When Mickey Spillane's first Mike Hammer novel, I, THE JURY, was released in 1947 it became an instant success, selling over six million copies. Spillane's novels continued to resonate with the public, eventually selling over 200 million copies worldwide. It was inevitable that Mike Hammer would make the jump to motion pictures, which he did in 1953 with I, THE JURY starring Biff Elliot as Hammer. After three films starring three different actors playing Hammer (Elliot, Ralph Meeker and Robert Bray) and a television series starring Darren McGavin, director Roy Rowland decided to go right to the source for his newest Hammer film, THE GIRL HUNTERS: who better to play the iconic detective than Spillane himself?

THE GIRL HUNTERS, based on Spillane's 1962 novel and written by Spillane, Rowland and Robert Fellows, doesn't waste any time with character introductions, assuming (probably rightly) that any audience for the film would already know all they need to about the main players. The film begins with Hammer literally hammered, having gone on an apparently years-long bender brought on by the disappearance and probable murder of the love of his life, his secretary Velda. When Hammer hears a deathbed confession by a murder victim that hints that Velda may still be alive, Hammer sobers up with the intention of rescuing Velda and dispensing justice on anyone who harmed her. Hammer follows a trail of bodies to the beautiful widow of a anti-Communist crusading senator (Shirley Eaton, who of course is unable to resist Hammer's charms) and an elusive band of Communist agents with plans to take over the world. Hammer soon finds himself the target of master assassin The Dragon, who he must defeat in order to save Velda and make the world safe from those dirty commies once and for all.

 

The plot is pretty ridiculous, engaging in equal parts sex, violence and red baiting, but that turns out to be the film's biggest strength. The loonier the story gets the more it diverts attention from the problem at the center of the film: the gimmick casting of Mickey Spillane as Mike Hammer.  Spillane gets the tough guy attitude down but he's just not a professional actor and it shows. Many of his line readings are flat (especially the voice overs) and he's quite deficient in the screen presence department. It's pretty funny to see this overweight, heavy drinking (Hammer is referred to several times as being a recovered alcoholic but he always seems to have a beer in his hand) middle aged man be irresistible to women, especially Eaton, who is several times out of his league. Luckily, the film surrounds Spillane with some real pros, most notably Lloyd Nolan as an FBI agent who pretty much just sits around and drinks while waiting for Hammer to crack the case. And before you get your hopes up, the long awaited reunion with Velda never comes. The film seems to forget all about her in favor of an exciting, violent (at least for 1963) climax. Maybe in the next film.

There were plans to film Spillane's next Hammer novel, THE SNAKE, again with Spillane as Hammer but perhaps wisely those plans fell through. THE GIRL HUNTERS would prove to be the last on-screen Mike Hammer adventure until 1981 when Kevin Dobson played him in the TV movie MARGIN FOR MURDER. There would be one more big screen Hammer feature, 1982's I, THE JURY starring Armand Assante, before Hammer returned to television played by Stacey Keach beginning in 1984. Today THE GIRL HUNTERS is thought of, if at all, as a curiosity.  It deserves a slightly better reputation than that. It's a fun, oddball little movie and the casting of Spillane gives it some novelty. Incidentally, this wasn't Spillane's first movie appearance. In 1954 he starred as himself alongside circus owner Clyde Beatty in the bigtop mystery RING OF FEAR, also for producer Robert Fellows. I haven't caught up with that one yet but I plan to soon.

For more overlooked film and a/v visit Todd Mason's blog.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)

Tom Schiller was part of the original writing team for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and stayed with the show for eleven years. During that time as part of his occasional "Schiller's Reel" segment he was given free reign to write and direct short films starring the SNL cast which became famous in their own right, most notably "Don't Look Back in Anger," featuring an elderly John Belushi dancing on the graves of his castmates (ironically made just four years before Belushi became the first SNL cast member to die). In 1984 Schiller was given the opportunity to make the leap to features with NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, a bizarre mix of comedy and fantasy which also serves as an homage to the type of classic Hollywood films that Schiller often paid tribute to in his SNL shorts.

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER takes place in an alternate reality New York City designed to evoke the 1930s (although it's set in the present day) where, after a crippling transportation strike, the Port Authority has taken control of the city, installing a totalitarian government complete with strict immigration laws and P.A. announcements signaling the beginning and end of each work day. Into this insanity comes Adam Beckett (a pre-GREMLINS Zach Galligan), a wanna-be artist who after failing a Port Authority issued art aptitude test is given a dead end job as a sentry at the Holland Tunnel. Because of his acts of kindness towards the city's street people, Adam is adopted by an Illuminati-like cabal of homeless folk who live under the city. The leader of the group (played by veteran character actor Sam Jaffe in his last role) explains that they control every aspect of people's lives everywhere except one place - the moon, which has been turned into a shopping destination for senior citizens under the control of the U.S. government. So Adam boards the next bus to the moon (complete with complementary Lunartinis and on-board entertainment by Eddie Fisher) in order to free the people of the moon, find his purpose in life and meet Eloy, the moon girl of his dreams (Lauren Tom).

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER is every bit as quirky as it sounds and while quirky can also mean irritating in this case it means inventive. The film is so imaginative from the very beginning that by the time Adam boards a bus to a moon populated by hula dancing moon ladies it really doesn't seem like that much of a leap. I get the feeling that Schiller must have thought he wouldn't get the chance to make a second feature (at least with as much creative freedom) so he'd better cram all of his ideas into this one. It also helps that the film is cast with lots of well known actors (Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Imogene Coca, Mort Sahl) that help to make the surroundings less strange. The film is shot is beautiful black and white (which turns to color during the Illuminati and moon sequences) and Schiller makes the most of a meager budget by incorporating stock footage from silent and early talkie films in place of building expensive sets. It's all topped of by a wonderful Howard Shore score that evokes B films of the 1930s.

 As can probably be expected for a film of this nature, it's had its share of distribution troubles. The film went unreleased by its distributor, MGM, perhaps not surprising given their financial problems at the time and the utterly noncommercial nature of the film. However, it has also never had a release on any home video format due to elusive "legal issues." It's surfaced occasionally over the years at special screenings and it had at least on European TV broadcast.  Bill Murray in particular has been a vocal cheerleader for the film and has shown up to help publicize screenings of it whenever possible. Hopefully the film will eventually be able to clear its legal hurdles so it can find a wider audience. It's a fun, lively little film and one that could never get financing from a major studio today. It's a shame that the only convenient way to see this film is via a cruddy bootleg and it would be wonderful if a quality, legal version were to finally be made available.