(2001)
Overall: GOOD
Answering the question of what Plan 9 from Outer Space would be like if it was a deliberate comedy and was directed by somebody who knew what pacing was, independent filmmaker Larry Blamire established his 1950's B-movie spoofing aesthetic right out of the gate with his debut The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. There is a level of brilliance to Blamire's work here as he has essentially crafted something that is impervious to negative criticism as any "flaws" in the production are entirely there by design. Perhaps the only complaint one can lodge at the movie is that besides the fact that it is in back and white, it is clearly shot digitally and lacks both the editing and cinematography of the Z-grade, drive-in cheapies that it is modeled after. Not that flawless, throw-back authenticity matters though as the stock music, grade school play production values, juvenile plotting, wooden performances, and over-explainy dialog is non-stop hilarious. Often times, movies like this can lean too far into mere stupidity where the jokes fail to land under a forced presentation. Thankfully though, Blamire concocted just the right amount of dumb here and it ultimately surpasses itself as a mere parody since even people who are completely oblivious to the films that it is lampooning can easily laugh out loud the entire way though.
(2007)
Overall: GOOD
Essentially the same exact shtick except not in black and white, Larry Blamire's Trail of the Screaming Forehead is a stupendous follow-up to The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. For this round of 1950s-set, B-movie buffoonery, the cast is much larger, the plot is more ambitious as well as arguably even more stupid, there is a title theme song that makes more than one appearance, and it adds film noir cliches into its "scientists doing science" ones. James Karen, Dick Miller, and a very last minute Kevin McCarthy join the fun in minor cameos, yet most of the heavy lifting is once again handled by Cadavra's cast who are just as tuned-in to Blamire's hilariously straight-faced spoofing as before. Much of the dialog still has character's repeating the same words in each sentence, but there is a bigger meta emphasis where they often comment on how nonsensical it all is, letting the audience in even more blatantly on the fact that this is seriously not-serious business. Basically, if you are not laughing immediately at a premise like an alien race of silly putty trying to pass off as foreheads, (while simultaneously, scientists do science about what mysteries the forehead truly holds), then this is probably not your cup of goofball tea.
(2008)
Overall: GOOD
Spoof filmmaker extraordinaire Larry Blamire continues his momentum from the previous year's Trail of the Screaming Forehead with an equally infections sequel to his debut, deliberate anti-masterpiece The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra with The Lost Skeleton Returns Again. The whole gang is back with several of them playing identical twins to their deceased characters which is just one of many specific genre gags that is lampooned with abandon. Characters repeat the same words in each sentence to such a point this time that an entire subplot involves Alison Martin's Queen of the Cantaloupe People learning "the art of the double negative". Various other word play antics are hilariously unleashed again and every performer plays things as stiff as a board for a consistent, ninety-minute in joke of ridiculousness. Speaking of which, three different purposely cheap looking creatures show up once the unnecessarily large assortment of characters enter the Valley of the Monsters at which point the movie switches to color to further emphasize the wonderfully low-rent visuals. It all follows Blamire's now well-established style to a tee so for those that are already on board, this delivers exactly what one would gleefully expect.
(2009)
Overall: GOOD
Dark and Stormy Night, (the forth full-length, old school genre spoof from Larry Blamire), goes back a few more decades from his previous, 1950s sci-fi farces. This one is a delightfully absurd old dark house send-up with all of the reading of the will, mysterious hooded figure, gorilla for no reason, washed-out
bridge, hands coming out of bed frames, and dozens of other tropes properly in tow for a large ensemble cast of characters to both partake and make fun of along the way. As usual, a great deal of the humor stems from ridiculous dialog full of cliches that Blamire dissects with a microscope, often times dragging out particular phases as if he is wringing a wet towel for every bit of goofy moisture allowed. The cornball tone is obviously intentional so the more groan-worthy it gets, the more Blamire and his dedicated team of players can be applauded for their commitment to such silliness. Particular highlights are Andrew Parks prattling on as a dandy Englishman, Daniel Roebuck and Jennifer Blaire as two banter-trading reporters, Susan McConnell as a batty, family stowaway with a Scottish accent, Allison Martin as a howling mystic, and Blamire himself as a seemingly aloof "random motorist". It certainty helps if those watching are familiar with the bygone era being lovingly lampooned here, but even for the uninitiated, it delivers the sillies quite effectively.
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