(1971)
Dir - George Lucas
Overall: GOOD
Compared to the block buster of all block busters Star Wars which would meld throwback pulp sensibilities with state of the art practical effects, George Lucas' debut THX 1138 is an unrecognizable science fiction counterpart whose shoestring budget brings a cold, dystopian future to contemplative life. An expansion of his 1967 student film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, this was the second feature produced by Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope company which was distributed by Warner Bros. and garnished the star power of a shaved-headed Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence. Done in a cold arthouse manner that is miles away from the popcorn-friendly spectacle of Lucas' later works, the then twenty-five year old filmmaker utilizes various San Fransisco locations to depict an exclusively indoors, Orwellian landscape where sexuality and reproduction are prohibited and only the most non-threatening of emotions are tolerated. Though the plot is rudimentary and predictable, plus the presentation challenging and deliberately paced, the attention to detail is impressive. Flowing camera work, montage-like editing, intimate close-ups, incessantly somber music, an all white jail cell, and contemporary factories, tunnels, hallways, and garages combine into the proper aesthetic of a robotic world of servitude that is stripped of humanity.
(1973)
Dir - Chester Fox/Alex Stevens
Overall: WOOF
More of an excuse to throw naked bodies and random cutaways at the screen than anything resembling an actual "movie, Massage Parlor Murders! is as embarrassing as Z-grade grindhouse cinema gets. The only directorial effort from Chester Fox and Alex Stevens, its dialog is as repetitive as the nudity, exemplified in the very first of an endless stream of pointless scenes where a schlub goes in for a massage from a pretty lady who both go back and forth with each other only for the guy to apologize, get dressed, and leave. This is shown in a continues shot that does nothing to advance the bare bones story that kicks off afterwards where a religious zealot starts murdering women who take their clothes off because the seven deadly sins or whatever. We also have the filmmaker's attempting a French Connection-style car chase, a random sequence where naked people are hanging out in an indoor swimming pool, montages of people walking around town, and two detectives occasionally remembering that there is a killer on the loose who they have to catch. Shot on location in Manhattan for clearly zero dollars, it is a seedy, no talent, insultingly useless bit of celluloid that even the most mentally ill of trash fans should find difficulty to defend.
(1978)
Dir - Bruce Kessler
Overall: MEH
Bruce Kessler directed three made-for-television movies in 1978 alone, two of which marked the last time that he worked in the horror genre. The first of these, Cruise Into Terror aired in February on ABC, has a crop of familiar television actors, (plus Ray Milland), and boasts a quirky premise about an ancient Egyptian evil hiding away in...the Gulf of Mexico? Sadly the small-screen presentation does not allow for much in the way of pizazz unless you count most of the women showing off their cleavage while playfully flirting with all of the manly crew and passengers on a cruise ship. Michael Braverman's script allows for plenty of time for such mild banter as it takes forever for anything alarming to happen to our cast of eventually stranded white people, (plus two minorities), and this unfortunately dulls up the proceedings. The superstition vs science arguing between Reverend John Forsythe and Milland's headstrong archeologist bleeds over into the other characters and once it hits the hour mark, the story even manages to throw Satan and a pulsating baby sarcophagus that gets Lee Meriwether all hot and bothered into the mix. The eerie and chanty score by Gerald Fried is a highlight, but otherwise this is too melodramatic and long-winded to recommend.
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