(1972)
Dir - Steven Spielberg
Overall: MEH
This made-for-television film was the second full-length that Steven Spielberg had done and his third over all. Debuting on CBS on January 12th, 1972, Something Evil is one of the few straight horror outings for the legendary filmmaker and for genre, (and Christmas) fans, it features none other than Kolchak himself Darren McGavin in the lead opposite Sandy Dennis. The film may garnish more attention than other similar TV films from the decade merely due to Spielberg's involvement, but the director does show above average skills at regular intervals. There are some dynamic camera angles, moments of extreme silence, and one or two ominous visuals. None of this truly disguises the cookie-cutter narrative though, one of untold hundreds where a family moves into a remote house only for the woman to see all the supernatural occurrences and lose her mind while her husband is too busy at work to believe her. Since the most frightening thing that happens is some extreme wind blowing Dennis' hair around, it is probably more of a curiosity for Speilberg completists than horror fans.
(1974)
Dir - William Castle
Overall: MEH
At once, William Castle's final film Shanks doubles as both his weirdest and slowest. An experimental work in many respects, toying with fantasy elements and silent film aesthetics, it features the movie debut of Marcel Marceau in a dual role. Sans his famous Bip the Clown makeup, the legendary mime artist is both a mute and deaf puppeteer and a mad scientist, actually speaking dialog with the latter. It is partly a showcase for Marceau's pantomime, who is one of four actors to play live marionette. The movie also uses intertitles, an atmospheric graveyard set piece, a large Gothic mansion, and oodles of macabre visuals and situations, including one of the most utterly strange birthday parties perhaps ever filmed. All of the quirkiness is undermined by a borderline terrible plot and some of the most sluggish, meandering pacing imaginable. By the time a biker gang beyond randomly shows up in the final act, Castle's odd-ball schtick has well worn-out its welcome, and coherency has been lazily abandoned. Its daring quirkiness is appreciated, but as a viewing experience, it is quite necessary to watch the whole thing in fast-forward.
(1978)
Dir - Meir Zarchi
Overall: MEH
The quintessential "rape and revenge" exploitation movie, Meir Zarchi's I Spit on Your Grave had and continues to have one of the most notorious reputations of any film of its kind. On the surface, the thirty-minute rape scene could be the most gratuitous ever filmed, though this would imply that Zarchi was solely concerned with shocking and disgusting his audience for the mere sleazy glee of it. In actuality, the filmmaker was inspired by a real life event where he helped a woman in Central Park who had been brutally beaten and raped, only for her to be treated with indifference by the police. Combining that with the completely unassuming and stark presentation, (slow pacing, no musical score, no comic relief of any kind), one can make a reasonable argument that this is not a movie made to delight anyone, let alone sadists and depraved perverts. Everything is set up for the unleashed vengeance of Jennifer Hills, (Camille Keaton, in a performance that is brave in the truest sense) and no sympathies for the viewer lie anywhere else but with her. It is a statement of sorts, but unfortunately one that is so unpleasant to watch that it nevertheless becomes quite difficult to justify its existence.
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