Throwback Thursday: Dazed And Confused (1993)

“Just keep livin, man. L-I-V-I-N.”

1993 was a big year for me. It was the year that I entered my senior year of high school. It marked the beginning of the end of my life as a nobody in a small town in Louisiana. Flash forward nearly thirty years later and I’m still a nobody, but at least I’m livin, man. L-I-V-I-N. Some of the kids in the film Dazed and Confused were asking themselves many of the same questions that I was asking myself. I was a bit worried about what would happen to me after I graduated. I was on edge about the shape of our world. I wasn’t smoking pot, but I was wondering where I would end up in this mess we all call life. I believe that is why I identified so much with some of the characters in this film even though it took place on the last day of school in Austin, TX in 1976. Times were different back then but they were also very much the same. This movie spoke to me on a number of levels and the soundtrack was one of the best things to ever get laid down on a compact disc.

The film basically follows two groups of kids as they navigate their way through their final day of school. One group is comprised of junior high kids who will become freshmen in the fall and the other group is composed of juniors that are about to be seniors. The two groups collide with one another in many of the same ways that all high school and soon-to-be high school kids interact no matter the year or the decade. Their are numerous subplots running throughout the film but the primary focus is on upcoming ninth grader, Mitch Kramer, and future star quarterback, Randall “Pink” Floyd. Mitch wants to be cool and hang out with the older kids. He also wants to avoid the tradition of getting freshmen getting hazed by the new seniors. The boys are caught and spanked with paddles by the seniors, something that one of the seniors, Fred O’Bannion, delights in to an almost evil level. The girls are herded up and humiliated by their senior adversaries. As the night wears on, Mitch and his friends are caught and whipped to varying degrees of severity.

Pink wants to play football in his final year at school but he doesn’t want to sign a paper that states that he won’t engage in drinking alcohol, doing drugs, or do anything else that might cost the team a shot at the state championship. Some of his friends support him but others attempt to pressure him into signing the paper. He and Mitch cross paths after a brutal beating at the hands of O’Bannion on Mitch. Feeling sorry for Mitch, Pink invites him to hang out with him and his friends the rest of the night and then to go to a party at the moon tower. Along the way they and other students have crazy adventures that culminate in the party at the tower. We are introduced to numerous characters, many of which are played by actors who would go on to have massively successful careers. It all plays out with a constant soundtrack of seventies tunes that would eventually become classified as classic rock in the coming decades.

The film’s soundtrack included monster tunes from bands like Black Sabbath, The Runaways, KISS, Deep Purple, and Alice Cooper. A second album was released entitled Even More Dazed And Confused. It included tracks from artists such as ZZ Top, Head East, and War. The music featured heavily in the film as it was constantly present on the radio, the jukebox, the overhead speakers, or on an LP, just as it was and still is to this day in every teen’s life.

As already mentioned, the film featured a number of future film and television stars in their first or one of their earliest roles. Jason London starred as Randall “Pink” Floyd and Wiley Wiggins portrayed Mitch Kramer. Mitch’s sister, Jodi, was portrayed by Michelle Burke. Rory Cochrane portrayed the penultimate pothead, Slater, and would go on to star in another musically-loaded 90’s film, Empire Records. He has continued to work regularly, especially in television. Adam Goldberg played the neurotic nerd named Mike Newhouse who would end up facing off against a bully in the film. Goldberg has been a standout both in front of and behind the camera. He starred or guest starred on a number of television shows including Friends, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and The Jim Gaffigan Show. He also starred in a number of films including Saving Private Ryan and Zodiac. Joey Lauren Adams played Simone, Pink’s steady. She has had a long career that has included starring roles in numerous films and television shows including Mallrats, Still The King, and Chasing Amy. Parker Posey starred as the authoritative Darla. She terrorized the incoming freshmen. Posey has had a long career in both independent and mainstream films starring in movies like Superman Returns, A Mighty Wind, You’ve Got Mail, Blade: Trinity, Best In Show, and The Anniversary Party. Milla Jovovich starred as Michelle, the hippie/pothead who decorates to stolen statues to look like Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS. Her career would explode over the years in films like The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, the Resident Evil franchise, and The Fifth Element. Renee Zellweger had a very brief cameo as a girl participating in the freshmen hazing with Darla, but her career would explode as well with the Bridget Jones films, Cinderella Man, and other films.

The two biggest future stars in this film are obviously Ben Affleck as O’Bannion and the one and only Matthew McConaughey. Affleck co-starred with Joey Lauren Adams in a few Kevin Smith films but he would eventually become a major player in Hollywood as a writer, director, and actor. I wouldn’t dare attempt to list the number of films that he’s been in, directed, or written, but here are a choice few that I personally like: Daredevil, Justice League, Good Will Hunting, Argo, and Dogma. He has won Oscars, BAFTA awards, Golden Globes, and numerous other awards.

Much like Affleck, Matthew McConaughey has entirely too many film credits, awards, and accolades to list. Some of my favorite films that he was in include Sahara, Angels In The Outfield, Failure To Launch, and Interstellar. He also found success on the small screen in series such as True Detective and Eastbound & Down. In Dazed And Confused, McConaughey’s portrayal of Wooderson, the slightly older guy that hangs around with teens, is legendary. With countless quotable lines in the film (most of which were improvised), there are few places in this world where people haven’t heard “Alright, alright, alright” or “Just keep livin, man, L-I-V-I-N.” The character is one of my favorite in all of filmdom.

You seriously need to see this film if you haven’t already done so. It’s a coming of age tale that is as timeless as the music that plays throughout its runtime. Written and directed by Richard Linklater, it’s one of my favorite movies of all time.

Thanks for reading my post. My November Noise album review is coming up tomorrow!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Justice League 2021 Batman

“He’s never fought us. Not us united.“

I have a copy of Zack Snyder’s Justice League tucked away in my hall closet. I have yet to watch the film yet but had to get my hands on this Batman figure from the film. My life has been very crazy over the last few years and I have yet to set aside the time to watch the entire film. I did see the Joss Whedon edit of the movie and I liked it despite its many flaws. I’ll watch Snyder’s cut in the near future but, for now at least, let’s take a look at this Justice League 2021 Batman figure.

Right off the bat, sorry, I noticed that this figure appears to be a lot slimmer than the bulked up form of Ben Affleck from the film. It does look like his chin, however, and the overall design of the figure is amazing. This version of Batman has been one of my favorites ever since I first saw it in the original JL film released back 2017. The figure features amazing articulation except for the hip area where the crotch and thighs don’t quite meet up. The figure comes with the standard trading card that all of the figures in this line come with, a base, and a batarang accessory.

I really love the attention to detail on this figure. There’s a ton of textured parts on the mold. The highlight is Batman’s cape. It looks as if it should flow but it is soft plastic and keeps its look and feel. It’s simply amazing. In case you are wondering, the goggles are not removable but look really good on the figure. My only complaint is how the figure’s legs appear to be bowed. This might be unique to my figure due to packaging, but I do believe that it is how the mold was made and it looks sort of odd.

Above is a comparison shot of the 2021 version of Batman versus the 2017 Mattel Justice League Batman figure. The 2017 figure has brighter colors and more paint apps. The goggles are silver whereas the McFarlane figure keeps almost everything black. The Mattel figure is noticeably smaller than the 2021 figure as well. When comparing the capes, you can easily see that the Mattel cape has curled up over the years. The soft plastic cape on the 2021 figure looks like it will remain in place. There’s simply no comparison when it comes to articulation. The McFarlane figure easily beats out the Mattel figure in that aspect. Overall, the McFarlane figure is a major improvement over the 2017 figure, but that figure will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thanks for checking out my review. I’ll have a movie review tomorrow for Throwback Thursday and November Noise and a look at an album on Friday.

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Armored Batman

“I want you to remember, my hand, at your throat, I want you to remember the one man who beat you.”

Frank Miller’s 1986 four part mini-series, collectively referred to as The Dark Knight Returns, forever changed Batman, DC Comics, and the comics industry as a whole with its dark tones, ultra violent story, and grim outlook on the world. Over the years the tale has been adapted, integrated, or out-and-out ripped off of for numerous other comic stories, films, and animated movies. This figure from McFarlane, which appears to be loosely based on a mishmash of the comic version and the Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice armored Batman, is big, bad, and wonderful.

This guy is massive. He stands about an inch taller than most of the other figures in this line. He features thick armor plating that has scoring on it, two soft plastic shin guards, a codpiece, soft plastic shoulder pads, and an amazing soft plastic cape that looks like actual cloth. He also comes with two sets of hands, only one of which is clinched into a fist. The other hands are open and the right hand that comes attached to the figure in the box looks as if it should fit a gun. Sadly, no gun is included nor or any other accessories save for the collector card that comes with all of the figures in this line.

The figure is very bulky but thanks to the soft shoulder pads his arm articulation can be used to nearly its full range. The legs were extremely stiff on my figure and his legs are somewhat hindered when it comes to poseability. I basically have him standing straight up with his hands at his side on my desk. His feet have peg holes in them and also have the wonderful spikes from the comics in them.

My favorite thing about this figure is his helmet and the mouth mold. The helmet looks amazing and despite very little range of motion due to the armor, it still turns enough for decent poses. The mouth looks angry, as it should, and it stands out underneath the heavily armored cowl. The cape is another thing that I really like about this figure. It looks real.

Unless you are a stickler for comic and/or film accuracy, I definitely recommend this figure. What he lacks in articulation (due to the armor limiting his range of motion), he more than makes up for with his overall look. Throw in a weapon on some sort and this would be a perfect figure.

Thanks for reading my post. November Noise returns on Throwback Thursday and Friday of this week. Look for another Batman figure review tomorrow!

November Noise: Too Fast For Love, Mötley Crüe, 1981

“Cuz I’m alive……”

Mötley Crüe was the first “bad” band that I ever listened to as a kid. With their Satanic imagery, lyrics about rock staples such as sex, drugs, alcohol, and doing pretty much whatever you wanted to do as a youngster in the 1980’s, I was forbidden to listen to them. Because of this, I didn’t actually hear them until the mid 1980’s when I would go to my friend’s house and listen to them on cassette. I had a few bootleg tapes that I would make at my friend’s house. When I discovered music clubs like BMG and Columbia House, I was able to purchase my very own copies of the band’s albums and since my parents rarely checked what cassettes and CDs I purchased, I quickly amassed the band’s entire catalogue with the exception of one album, Too Fast For Love.

The original release of Too Fast For Love on Leathür Records.

Mötley Crüe quickly became my favorite band. I listened to their music nonstop. I learned the lyrics for all of their songs and would regularly try to imitate Vince Neil’s vocals. I wanted to look as cool as Mick Mars, rock out like Tommy Lee, and write lyrics and music like Nikki Sixx. It wasn’t until I got into college that I picked up a copy of Too Fast For Love. I immediately fell in love with it. As cool as Shout At The Devil and Dr. Feelgood sounded, Too Fast For Love sounded cooler. It didn’t have the polished sound that Theatre of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls had. Instead, it was raw, trampy, dirty rock and I loved it.

Elektra release cover.

The entire album has that raw sound that just screams out that a bunch of young and hungry punks put it together. Almost all of the tracks are punchy, in-your-face, and make you want to scream along with them. Some of the tracks pound on you like a high school bully. Those tracks include “Live Wire” and “Piece of Your Action.” Other tracks are slower paced but just as brutal like “Merry Go Round” and “Come On And Dance.” There’s also one reflective track on the album, “On With The Show,” which looks at the death of “Frankie” and the rise of Nikki Sixx. The title track is a pounding anthemic rocker and my favorite tune, “Starry Eyes,” is a perfect blend of poppy ballad and violent rock.

It should be noted that the original release of the album and the Elektra release had a few differences. “Stick To Your Guns” was completely removed from the Elektra release and the song order was altered as well. Also, there’s an intro found on the Leathür Records release of the title track that is omitted from the Elektra release. The original Leathür album is still out there but very hard to find. Luckily it was also released as part of the Music To Crash Your Car To Volume One collection in 2003.

I highly recommend this album to fans of hard rock, heavy metal, and glam. It’s raw and simply amazing. I’ll have another album review next Friday. Thanks for reading!

Throwback Thursday: KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (1978)

“Ack!!!”

Friends, family, and regular readers of this blog are aware that I am a huge KISS fan. I’ve heard pretty much every track that they’ve released, watched all of their videos, and spent countless hours watching and listening documentaries, interviews, etc. with the band. The one thing that I haven’t done is watch KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park. That fact changed a couple of weekends ago. I finally sat down and watched the film, known mainly for its bad acting, wonky special effects, and overall cheesiness. That’s pretty much what the film is and I won’t argue with anyone about that but I did find a few redeeming things about it.

Briefly, the film’s plot is that an amusement park engineer attempts to use his animatronic creations to ruin the KISS concert at the park and to ruin the amusement park in general. The engineer, named Abner Devereaux (Anthony Zerbe), doesn’t seem to have any other plans other than getting revenge on the park’s manager for cutting funding to his animatronic projects and KISS for being paid money out of his pot to perform at the park. He doesn’t even seem to want to take over the world. It’s a somewhat odd plot but it does give Ace, Peter, Gene, and Paul just enough of a situation to use their magical powers granted to them by four talismans.

The acting is pretty bad. Even Zerbe, who has given many excellent performances over his career (Papillon, Star Trek: Insurrection, Matrix films, and The Young Riders), delivers a rigid and lifeless performance. Out of the four members of KISS, Gene and Peter appear to just be going through the motions (Peter’s voice was dubbed by Michael Bell). Paul looks like he is trying really, really hard to be a serious actor and not doing a very good job of it. Ace seems to be having a blast and not really caring if he looks good or bad on camera.

The special effects were pretty lame. You could see cabling in some of the scenes where members of the band or their adversaries were flying or jumping extreme distances. The lasers and flames also looked pretty cheesy. Stunt doubles were easily seen in many parts of the film as well.

Produced by Hanna-Barbera, fans of that company’s cartoons (and sharp-eared fans of Star Trek) will recognize many of the sound effects used in the movie. Each member of the band was given special powers. Gene blew fire and had super strength. He also had a very annoying reverberating voice. Paul had a star-laser that emitted from his eye and he could read thoughts as well. Ace could also shoot lasers and had a power punch. I’m not exactly sure what Peter’s special powers were except possibly that he had super strength and was (by Hanna-Barbera standards) a brilliant hand-to-hand combatant.

Not Ace.

Despite all of these misfires, the show did have a couple of things going for it. Number one, KISS was on top of the world at the time and their concert performances (even though they were lip-synched) in the film were great. Even when the band poses as the animatronic doubles that Devereaux makes of them to sing an alternate version of Hotter Than Hell entitled Rip & Destroy, the track still sounds pretty awesome. Secondly, seeing Ace laughing it up, Paul being very serious and sincere with his performance, and Gene and Peter chewing their way through the film gives the movie a certain charm. It should be noted that there was a lot of trouble going on within the band itself despite their popularity, part of which was evident in the release of the band’s iconic four solo albums just one month prior to the film’s release. If nothing else, the film proves to be a harbinger for the fallout that was to come after albums like Dynasty and Unmasked.

I’m not going to tell anybody to watch this film. It’s a personal decision that’s based mainly on just how much of an interest you have in KISS. I love the band, love the film despite all of its shortcomings, and will probably watch it a few more times. It’s nothing amazing, but it’s still very fun.

Thanks for heading down memory lane with me today. I’ll see you again real soon.

November Noise

Who wants to rock?

With Thirty-One Days O’Horror officially done for 2021, I’ve decided to dial things back a bit for the month of November. I’m going to have a few action figure reviews, film reviews, and other general genre related posts, but each Friday during November I’ll be highlighting one album from some of the bands that I listened to as a kid with my Tunes feature. This Friday I’ll be taking a look at one of Mötley Crüe’s classic albums, Too Fast For Love. I haven’t decided which other bands that I’ll be reviewing for the rest of the month, but rest assured that I’ll be looking at some of the newer releases from bands as well.

My Throwback Thursday posts for November are going to be music related as well, focusing on everything from films centered around music and/or bands to classic album art and all sorts of other things. I hope that November Noise proves to be just as popular as Thirty-One Days O’Horror. If it is, I’ll do it again next year.

Oh, and speaking of next year, one of the things that I’m finally committing to post about is all of KISS’ studio albums. I haven’t decided when I’ll post them, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do. I’ll probably review two of them each month since they released twenty studio albums and the four solo studio albums. This is going to be a massive undertaking for me as I haven’t sat down and listened to all of the studio albums track for track in a long time.

Thank you for supporting my blog over the years. In late December I’ll be doing my normal yearly roundup. I don’t have anything specific lined up for December just yet, but I might highlight a few Christmas movies like I’ve done in the past. I have really big plans for my blog next year…….if a few things fall in the right order. Until then, thanks for your continued support.

Thirty-One Days O’Horror 2022: Reign of the Scream Queens!

2022 Is All About The Ladies!

Whether they graced the screen in one film, one franchise, or across decades of horror films, certain women have always risen to the top of the horror genre. In 2022 I will look at thirty-one of the most famous, most memorable, and most beloved scream queens from horror.

From Heather Langenkamp to Neve Campbell and Jamie Lee Curtis to P.J. Soles, I’ll be taking a brief look at the films that put these ladies on the scream queen map and how their careers fleshed out before and after their iconic horror appearances. If you’d like me to focus on a specific actress, let me know who they are and why I should focus on them.

Oh, and don’t think that I’m only going to focus on the good girls. There are plenty of bad girls from horror films that deserve the title of scream queen as well such as Felissa Rose as Angela Baker in Sleepaway Camp and Tiffany Shepis as Patrice in Delta Delta Die! Some of them even hop the fence from goody two shoes to bad, bad girl!

I hope that you’ll join me next year for an amazing look at scream queens. Who knows? I might even nab a quick interview with one of them!

Next year is gonna be a scream!

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

“I’ve harmed nobody, just robbed a few graves!”

Hammer Horror entered the world of color with 1957’s The Curse Of Frankenstein. Not only that, Hammer introduced classic monsters to a whole new generation of horror fans. The film would prove to be a huge success and would quickly be followed by a number of sequels and other monster films, many of which would feature Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee facing off against one another.

The film is a loose adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel. In the movie, Peter Cushing stars as Baron Victor Frankenstein, a man condemned to death for the murder of his maid, Justine, who also happens to be his secret lover. Hoping to convince someone of status that he is innocent, he requests an audience with a local priest. From there, the story flashes back to a young Victor. He is the sole controller of his family’s estate and hires a scientist, Paul Krempe, to be his tutor. The two form a strong bond and they begin experimenting on bringing the dead back to life. After a successful test, Victor plans to piece together plans to create new life, something Paul is staunchly against.

As Victor slowly spirals into madness, Paul remains at the estate in order to protect Elizabeth, Victor’s cousin and future wife. Victor begins buying body parts and eventually resorts to murder in order to get a suitable brain for his creation. Paul attempts to stop him multiple times but is put off by Victor’s threats to harm Elizabeth. Victor succeeds in creating a new life, but it proves to be a brain damaged specimen that has a murderous temper. Paul finds himself facing not one, but two enemies, the monster and its creator. Can he defeat them both? Check out The Curse of Frankenstein and see for yourself!

The movie was received negatively by most critics of the time, especially those in the United Kingdom. General movie audiences loved the film and it was a major financial success for Hammer. Much like the success of Frankenstein (1931) for Universal Studios, The Curse of Frankenstein provided the monetary kick for Hammer to create more films based on classic monsters as I mentioned earlier. The movie also began the lifelong friendship of Lee and Cushing. Although the duo had performed in other films prior to Curse, this was the first film where they actually interacted with one another. They were almost exclusively rivals in Hammer films, but the pair were best friends in real life.

The film had a great cast. Many of its stars would continue to appear in Hammer films. Cushing did a superb job as Victor Frankenstein. His descent into insanity was extremely subtle, almost unnoticeable at times, but you could see in his eyes that he was going mad. Christopher Lee’s role as the creature was limited to a few grunts and moans and one scream, but he did a great job nonetheless. Hazel Court, who would go on to appear in The Man Who Could Cheat Death for Hammer and a number of other films for other companies. She portrays Elizabeth in Curse and does a very good job. Robert Urquhart portrayed Paul in the film and was perfect as Frankenstein’s foil. Valerie Gaunt portrayed the poor Justine in the film and she did a wonderful job. She would appear with Lee and Cushing again in Dracula (Horror of Dracula in the USA).

The film’s sets were simply breathtaking. Frankenstein’s laboratory was a work of art, especially the device that he and Paul built in order to bring life back to a dog and would eventually be used to birth the creature. Frankenstein’s estate and the paintings used for the road to it in the beginning of the film were amazing.

This wasn’t Terence Fisher’s first Hammer film but it was his first Hammer film in color. It certainly wouldn’t be his last. He became the company’s go-to director for Gothic horror and would continue directing Hammer horror films, many of which would star Cushing and/or Lee. He kept the pacing of Curse at a nice clip and did a wonderful job of keeping the film interesting.

I really loved this film and I’m glad that I picked it for my final movie during my Thirty-One Days O’Horror focusing on Hammer films. I hope that you have enjoyed my journey through Hammer Horror and I can’t wait to do it all again next year. In fact, I’ve already selected my area of focus for next year and it will be revealed…….tomorrow! See you all again real soon!

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

“There is evil in the world. There are dark, awful things.”

Hammer gets groovy with Dracula A.D. 1972. The film was Hammer’s attempt at modernizing the classic Dracula theme that the company did so well with in a Gothic setting. The updated version still featured the two masters of Hammer horror, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, in the roles that put them on the map. Lee donned his cape as the dreaded Count Dracula and Cushing slid comfortably back into his role of Van Helsing albeit as a grandfather this go round.

The film opens in 1872 with Dracula and Lawrence Van Helsing battling one another atop a horse carriage. As they fight, we also see a young man on a horse following the duo. The battle come to a head whenever the horses pulling the carriage get loose and the buggy crashes, mortally wounding Van Helsing and Dracula. As Dracula’s body dissolves, the young man collects the count’s ring and some of his ashes. The film then jumps ahead to 1972 and we are introduced to a swinging group of young twenty-somethings. Among them are Jessica Van Helsing, the granddaughter of Lorrimer Van Helsing, an anthropologist and occult specialist who often assists law enforcement on special cases that involve possible witchcraft or occult elements.

An enigmatic member of the young group named Johnny Alucard convinces the rest of them to join him for a black mass-styled ritual at St. Bartolph’s, a deconsecrated church that also happens to be where Lawrence Van Helsing is buried (and some of Dracula’s ashes were buried as well). The ritual occurs one hundred years to the day after the death of Van Helsing and Count Dracula. The group becomes intensely frightened by the ritual, especially whenever Alucard “baptizes” one member of the group, Laura, with blood. The young adults run out of the abandoned church. They leave Laura, who has become hysterical, and Johnny behind. Soon enough, Johnny removes a stake from the ground in the cemetery and Count Dracula arises. He drains Laura of her life. On the next day, Johnny attempts to convince his friends that the entire ritual was a joke, but when Laura’s body is found and Lorrimer Van Helsing’s services are requested by Inspector Murray, things become very, very serious. More of Jessica’s friends die, some become vampires, and Van Helsing goes on the hunt. Does he save Jessica? Will any of the youngsters survive? Find out in Dracula A.D. 1972!

Despite a somewhat awkward title and some very dated music, this film is one of my favorite Lee/Cushing Hammer films. Lee chews his way through each and every scene and Cushing bleeds cool at every turn. Christopher Neame, who plays Dracula’s disciple in both the past and in 1972, is full of charisma. He was perfectly cast as Johnny Alucard. Stephanie Beacham does a fine job as Jessica Van Helsing. Michael Coles is excellent as Inspector Murray, a role he would reprise in The Satanic Rites of Dracula along with Cushing and Lee. While Jessica would also appear in that film, she would be played by Joanna Lumley instead of Beacham.

The majority of Hammer fans seem to dislike this film or find it to be too silly to be a truly good movie. It’s my opinion that those folks are wrong. This is an enjoyable Count Dracula/Van Helsing film that stands on the strength of the performances of Cushing, Lee, and Neame. Oh, and Tim Burton is a fan so there’s that!

Thanks for checking out my post. Tomorrow is the final day of Thirty-One Days O’Horror! Let me know what you think about this film or any other film that I’ve reviewed in the comments section.

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Charlie Boy (1980)

A Different Type Of Fetish

A young couple trigger a terrible spell in Charlie Boy, the sixth episode in the wonderful Hammer House of Horror anthology series. The episode’s “horror of the week” is voodoo and comes in the form of an African fetish doll. The episode is genuinely creepy and manages to build up a decent amount of suspense.

The story opens with the death of a young man’s uncle and then moves along to the young man, Graham, and his wife, Sarah, arriving at the deceased uncle’s home to collect their inheritance, the uncle’s art collection. They decide to sell all but two pieces of the collection. Graham chooses a favorite painting from his youth and Sarah selects an African fetish doll that she nicknames “Charlie Boy.” While driving home with the doll, the couple encounter an angry driver that attempts to harm them in a fit of road rage. After they get home, Graham playfully asks “Charlie Boy” to off the driver and while he stabs the doll, the driver is stabbed in real life.

With money in hand from the sell of the art collection, Graham and Sarah decide to talk with Graham’s cousin, Mark (who received the bulk of the estate as part of his inheritance), and their mutual friend, Phil, a film director, about finally starting up their own production company. Mark has other plans, however, and this angers Graham. Graham then goes home, stabs the fetish doll with a knife, and Mark dies in a terrible riding accident the next day. Graham and Sarah begin to piece together what they believe might be happening as more people die. Graham reaches out to the art dealer for help and finds out that he must burn the fetish doll in order to end the curse. Not only are Phil and the family housekeeper, Gwen, in line to die as a result of the curse, so are Graham and Sarah. Will Graham be able to successfully destroy “Charlie Boy” or will the evil doll finish its wicked curse? Watch Episode 6 of Hammer House of Horror to find out!

The cast of this episode is excellent. Graham is portrayed by Leigh Lawson, who has acted on stage and screen and directed as well. He has a child with Hayley Mills and is married to the famous model, Twiggy. Sarah was portrayed by Angela Bruce. Bruce has appeared in numerous television shows over the years but I’m pretty sure that my readers will know her from her work on Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 (audio drama), and Red Dwarf. Michael Culver guest starred as Mark, the cold-hearted son of Graham’s uncle. Culver is best known to my readers as Captain Needa in The Empire Strikes Back. He has had a prolific career in supporting and recurring roles on both the screen and the stage. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her role, Janet Fielding (Tegan from Doctor Who), guest stars as a worker on one of Phil’s film projects who answers the phone.

This was a fun episode. The fetish doll was creepy and the finale was amazing even though it was a bit predictable. The episode reminded me of a ton of other genre shows and films including Final Destination and Trilogy Of Terror. I also enjoyed seeing all of the actors from other science fiction properties, especially those that I love. Check out this episode. I believe that you’ll enjoy it.

As always, thanks for checking out my post! We are just two days away from finishing off Thirty-One Days O’Horror!