(1971)
Dir - Steven Spielberg
Overall: GOOD
Though it later received a theatrical release, the full-length debut Duel from Steven Spielberg maintains a reputation as one of the better ABC Movie of the Weeks from the 1970s. Richard Matheson penned the screenplay based off of his own semi-autobiographically inspired short story of the same name and it is in a way a gimmick film, taking place in real time and essentially featuring one character, minimal dialog, minimal music, and an unseen, unspeaking villain. While some of Dennis Weaver's internal monologuing comes off as a bit unnatural, it is necessary in fleshing out the bare bones story and giving us an insight into his increasingly desperate situation. The California dessert landscape is a character unto itself, representing a sense of lawless, vacant abandon where a psychopathic trucker can wreak havoc without any worthwhile aid coming to his victim. Spielberg is the real star of the show though, maintaining a Hitchcockian grip on the audience who is left second guessing various subtle moments along the way.
(1973)
Dir - Richard Blackburn
Overall: GOOD
The sole, full-length directorial effort from Richard Blackburn, Lemora, (Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural, The Legendary Curse of Lemora, and Lemora, Lady Dracula), is a highly crude yet imaginative, coming of age vampire film with a strange, singular presentation all its own. The frequented metaphors of vampirism representing blossoming womanhood, independence from the sins of your parents, the rejection of societal norms, and the unshackling of religious repression are all present. Performance wise, it is all over the place with laughable accents, dialog, and line readings with half of the cast coming off wooden while the rest are as over the top as can be imaginable. Blackburn struggles with the pacing during the middle of the movie and the makeup effects are only a notch above what could be expected from a twelve year-old shooting something on super 8 film with their friends. Atmospherically though, it is unwavering in an eerie, fairy-tale manner. Almost the entire film takes place at night and everything is bathed in unearthly blue light with interjections of animal growling, spooky music, and gospel singing. It is a curious juxtaposition of elements to be sure, yet a rewardingly interesting one as well.
(1977)
Dir - Michael Winner
Overall: GOOD
One of the numerous occult horror films of the 1970's was Michael Winner's mostly engaging adaptation of Jeffry Konvitz' novel The Sentinel. The most noticeable element is the large and highly recognizable supporting cast which includes Burgess Meredith, Ava Gardner, John Carradine, Eli Wallach, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger, Beverey D'Angelo, William Hickey, and Jerry Orbach. So many past and future A-listers in a primarily silly genre movie makes for a fun spotting game while viewing, which is good in that the first two acts are a little slow to get things under way. The more creepy supernatural bits, (including a rather odd birthday party for a cat and the demonic, freakshow ending), are a lot of fun though, even if they never become particularly frightening. In this sense, it is not profoundly disturbing as say Rosemary's Baby or The Exorcist which clearly influenced it, but for harmless and goofy gates of hell merriment, it suffices better than most.
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