Razorback (1984) Music
video director Russell Mulcahy made his audacious feature film debut with this
stylish tale of man against nature. An American TV journalist (Judy Morris) travels
to a remote Australian town for her animal abuse investigation, where she’s met
with hostility and indifference from the locals. After she vanishes without a
trace, her fiancé flies out to find the answers, and finds himself face to face
with a virtually unstoppable beast. Razorback
might be described as Jaws on the
outback, but that’s selling it short. The film has a flavor all its own, thanks
to a script by Ozploitation auteur Everett De Roche (based on a novel by Peter
Brennan), which raises the exploits of an oversized killer boar to mythical
proportions. Dean Semler’s (The Road
Warrior) stunning cinematography transforms the barren landscape into
something from another planet, using red filters and exploiting the odd shapes
of the desert terrain to great effect. A gore-streaked pet food plant, incorporating
various critters scavenged from the wasteland, becomes a character itself. This
film would be a great double feature with Wake
in Fright, and likely crush any aspirations of visiting the outback.
Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray (Region B) and DVD
Something Weird (1967)
This aptly named wonder (which inspired the eponymous video distributor) from
low budget filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis contains the requisite stilted
dialogue and cheap sets that Lewis is known for, but never fails to entertain.
After an unfortunate run-in with a downed powerline, Mitch (Tony McCabe) ends
up with a disfigured face, but is endowed with psychic abilities. He encounters
a hideous witch (Mudite Arums) who can restore his appearance for a steep price
– he’s bound to be her lover forever. She disguises her own appearance as his
attractive young secretary (Elizabeth Lee), while he helps authorities search
for a killer. One of the film’s highlights is a trippy orange-tinged LSD scene,
simulating Mitch’s dalliance with LSD. If you’re tired of the same old stuff,
give this a watch.
Rating: ***. Available on DVD
Terror Street (aka:
36 Hours) (1953) Dan Duryea stars as Major
Bill Rogers, an American pilot on furlough in England. He returns to the flat
that he shares with his wife (Elsie Albiin), only to discover that she’s left
him. He tracks her down to another flat, where he finds her dead, and he’s the
prime suspect. Now he has 36 hours to evade the authorities and solve the
mystery before he’s arrested by British police or declared AWOL by the Air
Force. He crosses path with dangerous con man Orville Hart (John Chandos), who’s masquerading as a government official.
This example of Hammer noir (a co-production from Anthony
Hinds and Robert L. Lippert) is well paced, with an excellent performance by
Chandos as the heavy and a satisfying conclusion in a shady import shop.
Unfortunately, the film suffers from an unsympathetic protagonist who bullies
everyone in sight, including a good-hearted social worker (Gudrun Ure). Rogers seems
more interested in clearing his name than experiencing any semblance of grief
over the death of his estranged wife. It’s worth a peek.
Rating: ***. Available on DVD
The Hunger (1983) Catherine
Deneuve stars as Miriam Blaylock, a centuries-old vampire. She resides in New
York with her husband John (David Bowie), who begins to undergo rapid aging. As
John fades away, she takes interest in Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), a
young gerontologist. Deneuve is good as the seductive, enigmatic Miriam, who
grooms Sarah to become her new life partner. It’s too bad the rest of the film succumbs
to an excess of style instead of substance. The
Hunger toys with the intriguing concept of vampirism as a cure for aging,
but it’s far too interested in focusing on its self-absorbed characters and
slick visuals. If nothing else, it’s a pretty looking exercise, and Deneuve is
radiant in a role she seemed born to play.
Rating: **½. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Amazon
Video
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