(1980)
Dir - Barbara Peeters/Jimmy T. Murakami
Overall: MEH
Financed by Roger Corman's New World Pictures, (who allegedly added more gore and titties after production wrapped), Humanoids from the Deep is a very mediocre version of a multitude of movies that came before it. If you throw a monster design based off of Creature from the Black Lagoon, the plots of The Horror of Party Beach and Piranha, some lame, racially-driven rape subtext, and strip virtually all of the humor away from it while pretending that you are making a legitimately exciting, bloody, booby-displayed horror movie, then this is the result. Wherever the fault lies, be it the thoroughly unoriginal script, bored actors, or bland direction, the movie just is not any fun. Furthermore, something as silly as this desperately needs to be more fun. Taken as seriously as it is, all of the potential camp is squandered and for a movie with rather good creature effects from the legendary Rob Bottin and plenty of sleaze to go around, none of its would-be strengths are utilized enough. It is not terrible, but it is highly forgettable and that is a shame for such promising trash.
(1983)
Dir - Tom McLoughlin
Overall: MEH
Sadly, television/B-movie director Tom McLoughlin's debut One Dark Night while genuine in its design and most likely in its intent, is a casualty to its own fumbles. The script is certainly formulaic, but it is not altogether without some merit. Combining a teenager-hazing premise with that of some vague, occult nonsense and set primarily in a wonderfully vast mausoleum at night, it is clever enough on paper to warrant some fun chills. For whatever reason though, the choice was made to forgo putting actual actors in zombie make-up and the corpse-ridden finale is rather embarrassingly silly. It is pretty impossible to make a bunch of Halloween dummies seem menacing and played to be frightening instead of schlocky, it does not achieve its intended goal. On top of this, the acting is for the most part rather lousy. Adam West is only in a handful of scenes yet he still manages to ever slightly ham-up his lines and when a bunch of teenage girls are witnessing the undead very slowly rise from their caskets, you would think that they would look a little more terrified or excited than if they were just watching golf on TV. The movie also takes way, way too long in setting up its finale showpiece and because it is accidentally underwhelming once it hits, well the whole thing is kind of a swing and a miss then.
(1986)
Dir - Fred Walton
Overall: GOOD
Easily better than most of its unfortunate kind, April Fool's Day would have been another lame entry in the dominant slasher sub-genre of the 80s due to the handful of tropes it blindly follows, if not for the nifty trick it eventually pulls off. Before the last ten minutes lay everything out, the strong cast certainly helps from the get-go, making the characters actually believable for a change and even the obnoxious ones do not push it too much, inevitably coming off rather likeable. While this alone is practically a miracle, the plot's ultimate reveal, (while as incredibly far-fetched as any), does boast a genuinely refreshing and enjoyable outcome, one that several other hundred-odd slashers could have benefited from taking a page or two from. Beverly Hills Cop screenwriter Danilo Bach then deserves a significant amount of credit here along with director Fred Walton who plays everything appropriately straight for the ending to really work. Riding such a razor-thin line like it does, it is very difficult to be on board with it from beginning to end since if you hate slasher movies, (as many people probably should), you will be aggravated by much. Yet if you love slasher movies, then the piss being taken out of them may rub you the wrong way. In any event, this is easily preferable to others that offer no such rug-pulling.
No comments:
Post a Comment