Bad Ronald (1974) I
don’t usually cover TV movies, but this one deserves its own category. Whether
you use 70s or today’s TV as a yardstick, it’s one twisted and bizarre ride.
Scott Jacoby stars as Ronald Wilby, a socially awkward high school senior with
an overbearing mother (Kim Hunter) who takes being over-protective to an
extreme. In a fit of rage, Ronald kills a neighborhood girl, and his mom does
what any rational parent would do – she conspires to hide the murder from the
authorities, and seals off a room in the house, which will serve as Ronald’s
secret lair. As the months wear on, and isolation takes its toll, he begins to dissociate
from reality, creating an immersive fantasy world (Ronald fashions himself as “Prince
Norbert” from the kingdom of Atranta).
Things go from bad to worse when his mother dies, and the house
is sold to another family, albeit with a secret feature (no one seems to wonder
why there are four bedrooms and only one bathroom). Ronald spies on the family,
and sneaks into the rest of the house while they’re gone. Meanwhile, as his delusions
continue to grow, he sets his sights on the family’s youngest daughter as his
princess. Jacoby creates a truly memorable, unsettling performance. Bad Ronald is a funny, creepy, and unnerving
experience, which might make you wonder about the history of the house you
think you knew. It’s well worth seeking out.
Note: Watch for a brief appearance by veteran character
actor John Fiedler as a realtor.
Rating: ***½. Available on DVD (through Warner Archive)
The Deathless Devil
(aka: Yilmayan Seytan) (1972) Turkish
director Yilmaz Atadniz’s mind-boggling action movie features dodgy effects,
choppy editing, horrible acting, yet I somehow couldn’t look away. Kunt Tulgar
(Hmm… I wonder why he never became a household name?) plays our hero Tekin, who
adopts an alter-ego as the superhero Copperhead. Unlike many superhero origin
flicks, his transformation is purely accidental. In an early scene, he’s confronted
with the fact that his father isn’t his real father, and that his true dad was
a crime-fighting superhero. Instead of going through the requisite
soul-searching and intensive training it would likely take to bring him up to
speed, Tekin spontaneously adopts the identity and crime-fighting skills of his
predecessor after donning the Copperhead costume (In this instance, I suppose
the clothes really do make the man). He’s assisted by an annoying sidekick in a
ridiculous Sherlock Holmes get-up (When he’s not mugging for the camera, he’s
ogling the women in the film). Add to the mix Copperhead’s arch-nemesis Dr.
Satan (Erol Tas) with a giant cartoonish mustache and a paunch, a cheap-looking
robot, and enough bargain-basement Bond (replete with some bootleg soundtrack
snippets) action for ten other movies, and you’ve got something special. This
is the stuff that other cult movies can only aspire to.
Note: Look for the Mondo Macabro DVD, which includes the
equally beguiling, yet entertaining Turkish wonder Tarkan and the Vikings (1971).
Rating: ***. Available on DVD
Devil’s Express (aka: Gang Wars) (1976) Warhawk Tanzania (no,
I didn’t make that up) stars as Luke, a martial arts expert. He unwisely takes
his coke-snorting friend Rodan (Wilfred Roldan) on a trip to Hong Kong to sharpen
his skills with the masters, and Rodan promptly steals an ancient amulet. This
sparks the ire of an ancient demon, who somehow makes his way to New York City,
where he wreaks havoc in the subway. The amusing premise is squandered, because
of sloppy story-telling, too many scattered plot threads to mention, and execrable
performances. Tanzania comes across as sort of a poor man’s Jim Kelly, sans
charisma and the acting chops. It’s almost worth wading through this confusing,
disjointed mess, if only to witness our gold jumpsuit-wearing protagonist
battle the demon. Another mild highlight is an appearance by Brother Theodore
as a deranged street preacher. This Kung Fu oddity might be worth a look if
you’re in the right mood. Just be sure to lower your expectations a notch, then
lower them another notch.
Rating: **½. Available on DVD and Amazon Prime
Saturn 3 (1980) Director
Stanley Donen’s (yes, that Stanley
Donen) sci-fi/horror hybrid tries to capitalize on the success of Alien, but the pieces don’t fit. Kirk
Douglas and Farrah Fawcett play Adam and Alex, an unlikely pair of researchers/lovers
on a remote research facility on Saturn’s moon Titan. Their idyllic existence
is shaken to the core when Benson (Harvey Keitel), a mentally unstable official,
arrives from Earth to monitor the efficiency of their operation. Things go in
predictably bad ways after Benson transfers his homicidal, paranoid persona to
his robot assistant, Hector, and the deranged automaton runs amok. To its
credit, Saturn 3 boasts a cool robot
and some imaginative sets. Unfortunately, it suffers from a poor story, clunky
cliché-ridden dialogue, choppy editing and inconsistent special effects. But
perhaps its biggest transgression is that Keitel’s dialogue is inexplicably dubbed
(in a monotone voice). It’s a complete misfire.
Warning: If you’ve seen enough movies that arbitrarily
introduce a cute pet, you can guess the fate of the dog in Saturn 3 – another good reason to skip this movie.
Rating: **. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Amazon Prime
No comments:
Post a Comment