THIS MODERN NIGHTMARE

BLACK BOOK and BLACK CHRISTMAS

I saw Paul Verhoeven's new movie BLACK BOOK the other night. Most people who read this blog know full well who Verhoeven is. He was once a director of big Hollywood blockbusters like BASIC INSTINCT, ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL, STARSHIP TROOPERS and of course the much maligned (and unjustly so) SHOWGIRLS. A lot of people don't know that before he became such a big director in Hollywood, he was a respected art film director in his native Holland.

After working on the film THE HOLLOW MAN (starring Kevin Bacon), Verhoeven said that he had grown disillusioned with Hollywood filmmaking and went back to Holland. BLACK BOOK (its Dutch title is ZWARTBOEK) is his first film since he went back home.

BLACK BOOK seems almost like a classic Hollywood film of the 1940s, and at the same time has a very European feel to it. Classic Hollywood in the sense that it's a very straightforward tale of the Resistance in Holland during the Nazi occupation in World War II. And also in the fact that the lead actress, Carice Van Houten, has a strong old-Hollywood look to her. At one point, after she has dyed her hair blonde, a character comments that she looks like Jean Harlowe.

The European feel is mostly evident in the scenes where characters seem to be very comfortable with their nudity, something you rarely see in American movies anymore.

BLACK BOOK is the story of Rachel (Van Houten), who is Jewish and in hiding in a Dutch family's house when the story opens. She lives in a secret room in the attic which she only leaves for meals, and the father of the family demands she learn and recite something from the bible every day if she wants to eat, so it's not the most pleasant of circumstances.

On one of the rare times when she leaves the house to go sunbathing, a damaged plane overhead drops some of its bombs to lighten its load and blows up the house Rachel was hiding in. Suddenly homeless and vulnerable, she runs away with a sailor who she has befriended. They come into contact with a Dutch policeman who tells them he knows a way for Rachel and her family (who are also hidden, but she does not know where they are) to flee the country, but it will cost them.

Rachel goes to her father's lawyer and arranges for the money and the passage of her family out of Holland on a boat. It seems like an almost happy moment – Rachel’s family is finally reunited after months of hiding out, and they’re on their way to freedom, but it's all a trap, and a Nazi boat stops them and kills everyone on board (except for Rachel, who dives overboard and escapes). Afterwards the Nazis take all the money and jewelry off the corpses. It was just a money-making scam!

Back in Holland, Rachel falls in with the Resistance and dyes her hair (and her pubic hair in one memorable scene) blonde and changes her name to Ellis. She gets a job at the local Nazi headquarters as a secretary to a powerful officer, Muntze (Sebastian Koch), by first seducing him with some rare stamps (he's a collector) and then by sharing his bed. But the thing is, Muntze is a rare Nazi with a heart, and he does not want to kill anyone. As Rachel (now Ellis) gets to know him, she begins to fall in love.

Muntze shares his office with another officer, Gunther Franken (Waldemar Kobus) who Ellis recognizes as the leader of the men who shot her family. So there's a strong sense of tension whenever she's at her job.

Where Muntze is empathetic and doesn't want to execute any of their prisoners, Franken is ruthless and bloodthirsty. Meanwhile, Ellis must fool both of them and gain their trust as she spies for the Resistance. She even puts a microphone behind a painting in Franken's office.

The rest of the movie involves double-crosses and death, among both the Nazis and the members of the Resistance (you can't trust anyone). After various twists and turns, Holland is finally liberated from the Nazis, and yet there are more trials and tribulations because of Ellis's feelings for Muntze. She tries to prevent him from being killed during a Resistance ambush, and is thereafter seen as a Nazi sympathizer.

All in all, a very straightforward tale of WWII.

I had expected it to be a bit over the top, like Verhoeven's American films, but it was rather low-key. However, there is definitely a good reason to see this movie, and her name is Carice Van Houten. Remember that name. With her classically beautiful looks and strong acting (as well as a great singing voice which she gets to show off in a couple of scenes), she makes this movie all her own, and has made herself an actress to look out for. I thought her performance was exhilarating. There are already reports that she is being courted to be a "Bond Girl" in the next 007 movie. Not bad for a previously unknown (to America anyway) actress in a Dutch art movie.

There seem to be an awful lot of movies about World War II - it's become a film genre all its own - and not all of them are good. So I was a little hesitant to see yet another movie about Nazis and the Resistance. But BLACK BOOK is an interesting addition to the genre. First of all, it takes place in Holland, and I don't remember seeing a WWII film about that country before. Secondly, it's directed by Verhoeven, who may be on his best behavior here, but who is also a very accomplished director who knows how to tell a story. And thirdly, Van Houten is simply amazing. Expect big things from her. Remember, Verhoeven has discovered great cinematic beauties before. He's the guy who turned Sharon Stone into a household name.

(And I still say SHOWGIRLS was entertaining as all hell.)

******

I also finally saw Bob Clark's BLACK CHRISTMAS on DVD this weekend. This is part of a theme, because Clark died a few weeks ago in a car accident, and I've previously reviewed his 1974 classic DEATHDREAM.

BLACK CHRISTMAS (also from 1974) may be the most famous of his early horror movies, probably because it was recently remade. I'd actually seen parts of BLACK CHRISTMAS before, but never the whole movie all the way through, so I figured it was time I corrected that.
The plot is simple enough. A deranged killer breaks into a sorority house, hides in the attic, and takes his time killing some of the girls who are left behind during the holiday (most of the girls have gone home to see their families). The killer has contacted them before this - by way of obscene phone calls that have plagued the house for awhile. The killer says his name is "Billy" and his phone calls are pretty damn weird, where he speaks in different voices and seems to be totally wacko.

When one of the girls, Claire (Lynne Griffin) disappears, and her father (James Edmond) comes to the college to pick her up and she never shows up, he goes to the police, who are at first not very helpful, but grow more concerned as other deaths pile up.

The other “girls” include Jessica (Olivia Hussey), the sensible lead; Barbie (a young Margot Kidder - most famous as later being Louis Lane in the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN movies – and I have to admit she’s pretty hot in this movie!), who likes to drink too much and tell dirty stories; Phyllis (known as Phil and played by Andrea Martin of SCTV in a rare dramatic role) who is the more nerdy one; and house mother Mrs. Mac (Marian Waldman) who's always sneaking drinks and shouting for her cat. And the cop who investigates the case, Lt. Fuller, is played by genre icon John Saxon.

The movie is unique for its camera work (the killer is never shown, and the camera is often from his point of view in his scenes) and weird sound effects (the killer’s phone calls are downright weird and unsettling). This is one case where the killer actually seems frightening and totally unhinged. The fact that not much is explained actually works to the story’s benefit, building suspense. The identity of the killer is also a source of much suspense. Is it Jessica’s boyfriend Peter, who seems a bit unstable after a piano recital that fails to impress his professors, and who is angry that Jessica plans to abort their unplanned baby?

Bob Clark had a real talent for simple little horror flicks that were also very effective. It’s too bad he didn’t seem to be a big horror fan (he seemed to treat it more as a way to build his film resume), and later went on to comedies like the PORKY’S movies and the comedy/drama classic A CHRISTMAST STORY (1983) before turning almost exclusively to family films like BABY GENIUSES (1999) and KARATE DOG (2004) late in his career.

BLACK CHRISTMAS is a classic of its kind and a real pioneer, since it pre-dates another “mysterious killer” movie, John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN. Also, its famous “the phone calls are coming from inside the house” storyline was totally ripped off years later in 1979’s WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (which Bob Clark seems to feel both flattered and annoyed about in a Q&A session that’s one of the extras on the DVD).

The 70s horror films Clark made (especially this one, DEATHDREAM and CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS) are all worth checking out. They’re all very enjoyable and Clark had a very unique vision for these kinds of things.

I still think DEATHDREAM is the best of the bunch, though, even if BLACK CHRISTMAS has a bigger profile.

********

I'd also like to take a moment to recommend a new CD. It's called 5:55 and it's by Charlotte Gainsbourg. She's the daughter of two musical icons, singers Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, and she's an accomplished actress (most recently playing the love interest in the enjoyable film THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP) as well as a singer in her own right. Her music career began back at the age of 13, when she recorded a duet with her father, the French icon Serge Gainsbourg, on a song called "Lemon Incest", which caused a lot of controversy at the time.

On 5:55, Charlotte is backed by the French ambient band Air (who also did the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's film THE VIRGIN SUICIDES), and the results are simply sublime. With her fragile voice and the mostly piano-centered music, 5:55 is truly ethereal and beautiful, and one of the most interesting albums I've heard in a long time. I'd go so far as to say it's currently my favorite new album on my Ipod.

The version of her album I got was a more expensive Import. But it was recently released in a lower-priced domestic version in the U.S. So check her out.

DEATHDREAM and VANISHING POINT

So, in memory of Bob Clark who died recently (he also made A CHRISTMAS STORY, PORKY'S and the original BLACK CHRISTMAS), I figured I'd check out his movie DEATHDREAM (1974). Somehow this one had fallen between the cracks for me and I'd never seen it before. When Clark died, I decided to finally correct that and check it out, because it's always had a good reputation.

Well, it's worth looking for.

DEATHDREAM features Richard Backus as Andy, a soldier in Vietnam who finally comes home from the war. Only he's not quite right. He keeps to himself and sits in a chair all day. He won't say much. He won't eat much. His parents (including John Marley as his dad, Marley was the guy who wakes up with a horse's head in his bed in THE GODFATHER) figure the war just traumatized him. But what about the army guy who came to their house to tell them he died a few days before his return? Sure, they make mistakes. But then why does Andy go for long walks at night and seems a bit prone to violence (like killing the family dog), oh yeah, he also has to kill people and inject himself with their blood or else he starts looking old and moldy!

A very cool 1970s horror flick. I really dug it and thought Backus's performance as Andy was perfect! And it was probably pretty controversial at its time for its strange horror take on the Vietnam war (and the blood injection surely is a comment on how many soldiers at the time came back with drug habits - whenever he "shoots up" blood in the movie, his eyes roll up in his head and he looks like he just shot some heroin).

Other interesting facts:

DEATHDREAM's original title was DEAD OF NIGHT. Its name was changed when it was reiussed to theaters after its original run. Horror fans will recognize DEAD OF NIGHT as also the name of a cool 1945 film made up of several short stories, including a great one about a haunted ventriloquist dummy starring Michael Redgrave.

DEATHDREAM is the first movie that Tom Savini did make-up on. There's an interview with Savini on the DVD.

Writer Alam Ormsby also collaborated with director Bob Clark on the previous movie CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972), a cool low budget zombie movie with one of the best titles ever, and which is supposedly getting the remake treatment soon.

Supposedly Christopher Walken was also considered for the role of Andy. He would have been terrific in it, I'm sure. But Backus is pretty damn good, too. I think Backus is perfect as Andy.

I can't believe it took me so long to see this one. But I loved it.

****
I also watched the 1971 movie VANISHING POINT recently. For those who haven't seen GRINDHOUSE yet (and why haven't you??), Vanishing Point is talked about a lot in Tarantino's part (Death Proof) as being one of the best car movies ever. So I figured if Tarantino likes it that much, I should check it out.

I was never much into car movies in the 70s. I remember seeing a few like DIRTY MARY & CRAZY LARRY (1974) at the drive-in as a kid (man, do I miss drive-ins). But for the most part, when I thought of car movies as a kid, what came to mind were movies like SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and shows like DUKES OF HAZZARD, both of which I hated.

But there is a whole genre of films about cars that are very cool. From Monte Hellman's TWO LANE BLACKTOP to the classic car chase in THE FRENCH CONNECTION, there have been some real great ones.

VANISHING POINT is one of them. The plot is pretty simple. Barry Newman plays a mysterious guy named Kowalski (we never learn his first name). He was a solider in Vietnam. He was a cop. And then he just dropped out of society. All Kowalski seems to care about is racing. He races motorcyles, he races cars. His drug of choice, not surprisingly, is speed (both the pills and the forward momentum).

Kowalski drives a white Dodge Challenger (yep, just like the one they take for a "test drive" in GRINDHOUSE) from Denver to San Francisco. He has three days to get there, but he decides to do it in 14 hours. Unfortunately, the cops decide to throw a monkey wrench in his plans and chase him. They're wasting their time, though, because he won't stop and he won't pull over. So they increase the number of cop cars. And a high speed chase turns into a statement about one man's freedom to drive on the open road.

Kowalski meets some people along the way including an old prospector type who gathers rattlesnakes (Dean Jagger) and some hippies who help him out of a bind (one of them is a blonde chick who rides around naked on a motorcyle, played by Gilda Texter). And there's also Cleavon Little as Super Soul, a blind DJ who plays some great soul tunes and also, ironically enough, who acts as Kowalski's eyes as he listens to the police scanner and gives Kowalski tips on the radio about how to avoid them.

This movie has a real '70s vibe to it, and also a minimalistic existential/zen tone. In other words, it's my kinda movie. And if it sounds like something you'd dig, then you'd best check it out.

****

In other news, Johnny Hart and Brant Parker died this month. Parker was the writer for both the comic strips B.C. and The Wizard of Id. Parker was the artist for Wizard of Id. They died within 11 days of each other. Hart was 76 and Parker was 86. I actually hadn't read new installments of either comic strip in years (some newspapers don't carry them, unfortunately), but when I was a kid, and an aspiring cartoonist, I dug both strips a lot. These guys were icons in their chosen medium, and will be missed.

That's it for this installment. Until next time,

INFERNALLY YOURS,
~LLS

BOB CLARK, THE SHIELD & THE RETURN OF THE SOPRANOS

First off, director Bob Clark died this week. He's another director who started out making horror flicks at the beginning of his career. His movie CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972) is a low-budget zombie classic and is definitely worth checking out (it would have probably been a classic for the title alone). He also made the original BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) which recently got the remake treatment, as well as the highly-regarded Vietnam War zombie movie DEATHDREAM (also 1974).

Clark's career really took off when he made a little sexpoloitation comedy called PORKY'S in 1982. I saw it again recently, and it's a pleasant enough flick, and was a direct descendent of recent similarly-themed movies like AMERICAN PIE. PORKY'S seemed pretty racy at its time, I guess, but now it's incredibly tame and kind of sweet.

Probably Clark's best known movie is A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983), if only because it's shown a dozen times every Christmas on basic cable. There's a reason this movie has become a holiday favorite - although it didn't do too well at the box office when it was first released - and that's because it's just a terrific little film. Based on an autobiographical story by '50s radio personality Jean Shepherd, A CHRISTMAS STORY is about Shepherd stand-in Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) who just wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, and his dysfunctional family, led by the always terrific Darren McGavin as his father. McGavin was a real favorite of mine, because he starred in my all-time favorite TV show KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER (1974-1975), and A CHRISTMAS STORY is probably his second best role ever, after Kolchak.

Clark's later career wasn't as memorable, unfortunately, and included such films as the Sylvester Stallone/Dolly Parton romantic comedy RHINESTONE and those annoying BABY GENIUSES movies (not to mention something called KARATE DOG), but he made some really cool films before those and he'll be missed.

The saddest part is how he died. He was driving with his 22 year old son, Ariel, when they were struck and killed by a drunk driver. Father and son were pronounced dead at the scene. Clark was 67.

***

In less depressing news, this week heralded the return of two of the best shows on television. This past Tuesday, THE SHIELD finally returned to the FX channel (Tuesday nights at 10pm). It was great to see Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and the guys back in action.

Last season was pretty intense with Forest Whitaker (who recently won the Oscar for portraying Idi Amin in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) as Lt. Jon Kavanaugh, who is trying to nail Vic for killing a cop (see the first episode of Season 1, now on DVD). As Kavanaugh got more and more obsessive about bringing Mackey down, it got more insane (including Vic sleeping with Kavanaugh's ex-wife, and Kavanaugh getting witnesses to lie and planting evidence to nail Vic). Last season ended in the middle of things, so it was great to finally get back to it.

Of course the other big storyline last season was the death of Lem (i.e. Detective Curtis Lemansky, played by Kenny Johnson), a member of Vic's Strike Team, who was being pressured by Kavanaugh to give up dirt on Vic. Fearing he was going to spill the beans, Vic's right hand man Shane (Walt Goggins, who was also a cop in Rob Zombie's HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES) took matters into his own hands and got rid of Lem, by dropping a grenade in his car. Vic has no idea that Shane did the deed and has sworn to kill whoever killed Lem. So we'll finally see how that plays out this season, too.

As you can see, the show has a lot going on. And if you haven't gotten hooked yet, you really should give it a try. It's one of the best cop shows ever made.

Tonight marks the return of THE SOPRANOS for its last ever season (well, mini-season, it's only 9 episodes). As someone who has been hooked on the show since Day 1, I can't wait to see how things get wrapped up. The show's creator, David Chase, a real genius, and he has given us one helluva series. A big part of that is also because of James Gandolfini, who is nothing short of amazing in the role of Tony Soprano. I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job with that character.

Now if HBO would only tie up loose ends with a DEADWOOD TV-movie, which they've promised us, I'd be a real happy guy. DEADWOOD was maybe my favorite HBO show ever, and it deserves a decent denouement.

Until next time.

Infernally Yours,

~LLS

WELCOME TO...GRINDHOUSE!

Okay. So people who know me know I've been waiting for this movie for a long time. The problem with something that you anticipate that much is, it's almost impossible to live up to your expectations. So I'm not going to start this out by saying that GRINDHOUSE is the best movie I've ever seen, or even that it's Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino's finest hours.
But it sure is a fuckin lot of fun.

As someone who has been kind of a rabid fan of 70s exploitation films for just about ever (everything from blaxploitation to shock cinema to horror to sleaze to everything in between), I look upon this time period with much fondness. For me, the 1970s were the last true golden age of cinema. The Hayes Code that kept movies "clean" was dead and buried. Hell, even porno was taking a shot at becoming legit, with movies like DEEP THROAT and DEBBIE DOES DALLAS racking in the cash at the box office. But even mainstream Hollywood movies back then were a little bit off - there was a strangeness, a sense of "anything goes" that permeated all of the art forms back then. And those people who just remember the 70s and being all about disco and platform shoes have very limited memories.

The thing is, though, because I was a just a kid, and because I didn't live anywhere near Times Square or any of the other cool real grindhouse theaters of the time, I had to wait until the 80s and a little thing called the videotape before I caught up on a lot of these terrific fuckin movies (unless I was able to catch some in the "normal" theaters or hacked-up copies on late night TV), and obviously I missed something by elimating the seedy atmospherics and seeing them in my living room.

But, clearly, I'm not alone with my love for the time and the feel of movies back then. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino share my passion. And so they've done their best to recreate the time period. The feel. The vibe. And they've done a pretty good job of it.

Warning Number One: GRINDHOUSE is over 3 hours long. It is not a series of short films, like episodes of The Twilight Zone. Each director has churned out a full-length 90-minute movie (the preferred running time of 1970s schlock, before movies got bloated and filmmakers forget how to edit). There's even some fake movie trailers in between by people like Rob Zombie and Eli Roth.

In fact, it all begins with a trailer for a little movie called MACHETE starring the always cool Danny Trejo. You'll recognize Danny from tons of movies where he's played bikers and hard-asses (including THE DEVIL'S REJECTS) and even though it's just a trailer, Danny doesn't disappoint. MACHETE looks fucking amazing, and by the time it's done, you'll wish it was a real movie (rumor has it, it might just happen). And that's just the appetizer.

For the first full course, we begin with PLANET TERROR by Robert Rodriguez. And while it's no SIN CITY, it certainly is one hell of an amusement park ride. With appearances by everyone from Josh Brolin (who looks an awful lot like a young Nick Nolte here) to Bruce Willis to Naveen Andrews (Sayid from LOST), super hot Marley Shelton, Tom Savini, Michael Parks and even Tarantino himself (as "Rapist # 1), to name just a few of the familiar faces that pop up in GRINDHOUSE, we're treated to Rodriguez's fresh twist on that old staple, the zombie movie. This time around, comandeered chemical warfare gets loose in the air and turns the people of a sleepy town into boil-infested drooling freaks. In the middle of it all is Rose McGowan (who you might recognize from the TV show CHARMED, although I know her better from kick-ass little movies like Greg Araki's DOOMED GENERATION) as Cherry Darling, a go-go dancer ("Don't call me a stripper") wanting to change her life, and Freddy Rodriguez (best known from the HBO show SIX FEET UNDER) as Wray, one of those enigmatic Billy Jack types who knows his way around a gun or a knife (and if you don't know who the fuck Billy Jack is, then you need to go to the video store and upgrade your education!)

Cherry and Wray don't have much direction in life, but they sure find it fast when they're besieged by pus-dripping zombies! This movie is one helluva thrill ride and it doesn't let up from start to finish, and features the famous scene (from the trailers/commercials) where Cherry, who has lost her leg to hungry zombies, gets a machine gun jammed into her stub instead and goes on a shooting spree.

Rodriguez has it all down! From the grainy-looking film stock to part where the film seems to burn before our very eyes for a moment to the "missing reel." Everything about his film looks right and feels right, and at the end of the showing I saw, it got big applause. PLANET TERROR was pure, dumb fun, but it paid off by being exactly the kind of wild-ass film people were there for.

Then we got to see more insane trailers, which in their own way were as clever and as much fun as the full-length movies. The amazing "Werewolf Women of the S.S." by Rob Zombie (starring Udo Kier, Sybil Danning, Tom Towles, Bill "Otis" Moseley and Sherie Moon!); the extremely funny "Don't" by Edgar (Shaun of the Dead) Wright, and the very clever "Thanksgiving" by Eli Roth.

And then we got to Quentin Taraninto's DEATH PROOF.

At first, DEATH PROOF seems like a totally different animal. The film stock is crisp and clean (as opposed to the scratched, grainy retro look of Rodriguez's film), the movie seems more grounded in the real world, and there's lots of dialogue. DEATH PROOF takes its own sweet time getting to the point. But once it gets there – it's worth the fuckin ride. Because what Tarantino is doing is building, layering. His movie is more complex, and for that reason its ending is even more satisfying.

This time we get Kurt Russell as "Stuntman" Mike. He's past his prime, he's a little heavy, and he wears a jumpsuit. But he still has his perfect hairdo, and he still has that Kurt Russell charm. Even if it does have a kind of creepy overtone to it here. And as DEATH PROOF goes on, you realize that this character is light years away from Snake Plissken (you'll see exactly what I mean), which is funny, since "Snake" (from John Carpenter's classic ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK) was the character that made Russell the indie icon he's become, and is most probably why he stars in DEATH PROOF.

Stuntman Mike is a sinister muthafucker, but he's not a one-note character. He's a serial killer, but he doesn't use a butcher knife, he uses a specially-reinforced stunt car. And crashing that car just might be the only thing that gets him off (as one character theorizes).

But the movie does not begin and end with Stuntman Mike. The other characters are solid, too, and they're mostly women. And while some are helpless victims, others refuse to go without a fight. Just some of the "gals" include Rose McGowan (again), Rosario Dawson, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Zoe Bell and Vanessa Ferlito.

There are several moments when there's a real Russ Meyer vibe to DEATH PROOF. Sometimes, it's just a shot of woman dancing in front of a jukebox. Other times, it's….but that's another story.

Let's just say that Tarantino's entry may not be as flashy and outrageous as Rodriguez's at first glance, but when you make it to the end, you'll be cheering just as much. Because that ending scene of DEATH PROOF is a real shot of fuckin adrenaline to the heart.

And I loved it.

Is it tough sitting through a three hour movie, even if it is really two fun flicks and some special treats in between? Sure. I have a bad knee and toward the end it was aching like hell. But it was worth it. And I'm telling you, it will be one of the rare times when you feel like, finally, you got your money's worth.

Now what are you waiting for?

(A special thanks to "Stuntman" Mike Marano)

ODDS AND ENDS

Nothing really happening on this end. The next big movie is going to be GRINDHOUSE, but that doesn't come out until next week. So I thought I'd wrap up a few odds and ends.

TWO OBITS

Two cool people died recently. One was Larry "Bud" Melman. His real name was Calvert DeForest. He was a short, chubby guy who some people described as a "nebbish." He was a pretty goofy fellow and was a regular on David Letterman's NBC show "Late Night with David Letterman" (which aired from 1982 to 1993). Back then, Dave was creative and edgy and used to have a lot of eccentric people on the show, probably because he couldn't get the big-name celebrities. I used to time the Letterman show every night on my VCR and watch it then next day after I got home from work. It was through this show that I found out about people like Harvey Pekar (whose amazing comic book about this life, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, was made into an Oscar-nominated movie a few years back) and New York performance artist Brother Theodore.

Larry used to be a file clerk (like Pekar) before Dave found him. Then he transformed into Larry "Bud" Melman who was pretty much a "kitchen sink performer" who could fill in for anything Dave needed him for. Whether it was to announce a skit, represent "Melman Bus Lines" or introduce the world to "toast on a stick" – Larry Bud was just this goofy character who came on made people laugh. I loved the guy.

He was kind of a cult figure and also made appearances in tons of low-budget movies like "Waitress!" and "Freaked" and appeared on shows like Pee-Wee's Playhouse. He even appeared in a Run DMC video (he was a security guard in the video "King of Rock")!

When Letterman hit the big time and got "The Late Show" on CBS in the '90s, he pretty much forgot about the eccentrics and oddballs who were such a staple on his NBC show. Instead, he started to finally get the big name movie stars, and his show entered the mainstream. To tell you the truth, I don't watch Letterman much anymore (although he's a hundred times better than Jay Leno), but I really miss the oddballs who made "Late Night" such a terrific show.

Larry Bud was one of them.

He was 85. He'll be missed.

The other recent death of note was Roger Watkins. He directed a little gore movie in 1977 called LAST HOUSE ON A DEAD END STREET, about a guy who gets out of prison and decides to take his anger out on society by making snuff movies. When he and his cohorts crash a party populated by rich, decadent types, all hell breaks loose. It was a small, low-budget film but is still widely regarded today as a cult classic. He also starred in it.

If the title sounds very similar to Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, that's not coincidental. The distributors at the time changed the name of the film to cash in on the notoriety of Craven's film. I much prefer Watkins's original title of THE CUCKOO CLOCKS OF HELL, even if I have no idea what it means.

Watkins made a bunch of other films, including some "adult" fare, but he'll always be remembered for LAST HOUSE. He was only 58.

TWO BOOKS

I don't review books here very often. Even though I write fiction, I feel more comfortable reviewing films. But every once in awhile, I read a novel or story collection that really impresses me.

Back when I was a kid, maybe eight or nine-years old, I had some weird "Paint By Numbers" set of "Monster Portraits." I don't remember a lot about them, except that it was kind of like being a mini version of Lovecraft's Pickman. One of the pictures I liked best was called "The Ghoul." Some crazy-looking monster among graves. I did some research back then and learned that a ghoul was a creature who ate dead bodies. Kind of an interesting concept, and I'd always thought about doing a story about a ghoul. But now I don't have to. Brian Keene did it for me.

His new novel is called GHOUL (available now, from Leisure Books). For those who don't know, Brian Keene is the same guy who gave us the zombie novels THE RISING and CITY OF THE DEAD, and he was one of the people who was instrumental in the current "revival" of the zombie genre. But GHOUL is not a zombie book. It's a coming of age novel about three 12-year old friends in the 1980s, Timmy, Doug and Barry; their joys and miseries (mostly the result of their parents), during one particular summer; and a certain corpse-eating ghoul who lives in the graveyard near where they all live (Barry's father is the groundskeeper).

There is obviously a nostalgic aspect for me, since the kids grow up in the 80s and there are lots of references to comic books and music of the time. But that's only part of the appeal of the book. It takes a lot more than nostalgia to win me over, and Keene does it with well fleshed-out characters who seem like real people, and one firecracker of a story. Brian has a talent for conveying emotions in a realistic way, and there's a scene of Timmy talking to a girl his age, Katie, and it's first love for them both, and they hold hands for the first time, and it really worked for me. It didn't seem sappy at all. There are several moments like that in GHOUL.

I really found myself getting sucked into this book, and I think it's the best thing Brian Keene has written so far. I really dug this one. So if you're interested in checking him out, GHOUL is a good book to start with.

In other book news, I just picked up a copy of Cormac McCarthy's new novel THE ROAD, which just came out in trade paperback. I'd been wanting to read this one for awhile. McCarthy is a really interesting writer who has written some very gritty and violent novels set in the old west ( BLOOD MERIDIAN and ALL THE PRETTY HORSES are two of the most well-known). THE ROAD is a departure though, and involves a father and son on a road trip in a post-apocalyptic future.

I haven't read the book yet, but I mention it here because THE ROAD is the very first book I have ever bought that had the words, "OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB" on the cover. I thought I would never buy a book that Oprah endorsed, and it was a weird feeling. McCarthy isn't the kind of author you'd expect her to choose. But hey, if it means tons of book sales for Cormac, then I'm all for it.

When I finally get around to reading it, I might post something here. But it could be awhile. I've got a huge stack of other books to read first.

TWO BANDS

Every once in awhile, I kind of "rediscover" older bands. Either I haven't listened to them in awhile, or I only had one or two albums and then suddenly get the urge to seek out more. This happened about a year ago with the Talking Heads. It's one of the joys of having an Ipod. I listen to music a lot when I'm commuting to work, and I've rediscovered a lot of bands I love by listening to albums that I haven't heard in a long time.

Two bands that I've been listening to a lot lately are Mission of Burma and Killing Joke.

Mission of Burma is a Boston band that started in 1979, during the whole punk movement. They made a bunch of singles and one full-length album (Vs. in 1982) and then they broke up and the members went on to do other things. Despite this, they had an amazing reputation and were considered kind of the standard to aspire to for a lot of bands. Their influence can't be overestimated. In 2004, Mission of Burma reunited and put out a really good album of new material called ONoffON and it was like they didn't miss a beat. Even though they hadn't recorded in over 20 years, they sounded just as good as ever, if not better.

Their newest album, THE OBLITERATI, came out last year, and they didn't make my top 10 list last year because, frankly, I didn't listen it to it very much. I kind of came across it recently on my Ipod and gave the new album a listen – and got instantly hooked on it. I've been listening to it a lot since. Great stuff. I'm sorry I wasn't able to rave about it in my year end list.

Killing Joke started in England, also in 1979. I remember getting their first (self-titled) album when I was in college, mostly because of their dirgey song "Requiem." I liked them a lot, but didn't buy many of their albums, and while I dug a single they did in 1985 (off the Night Time album) called, ironically enough "Eighties" I kind of lost track of them. Until 1994, when they released the album PANDEMONIUM. I saw their video for the album's single "Millenium" on the alternative music video show on MTV back then, 120 Minutes, and immediately sought out the album. It's been one of my favorite singles ever since.

Killing Joke was one of these weird groups where they started out with kind of a hard sound, then went through a period mid-career where they got very commerical-sounding in the late '80s, which is probably why they kind of fell off the map for me. PANDEMONIUM was the album where they got back to their gritty roots, and has the hybrid punk/metal sound that I loved so much from their early days.

Last year they came out with a new album called HOSANNAS FROM THE BASEMENT OF HELL (which I mentioned in a previous column as an album that should have made my top 10 list for 2006), which is another one of these CDs that I didn't listen to very much at first, but I've been listening to it more and more these days. The new album might be their rawest sounding one yet, and I absolutely love it. So I went back and bought a lot of their previous albums (excluding their two most commercial ones). I've been listening to a lot of their back catalog these days, and enjoying the hell out of the albums I'd missed along the way.

ONE MOVIE REVIEW

I haven't seen a lot of movies the past few weeks, but I picked up the new DVD of John Cameron Mitchell's 2006 movie SHORTBUS. Mitchell is the guy who previously gave us the play and movie of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2001), which was a musical send-up of the glam rock period (inspired by musicians like T. Rex and David Bowie), featuring a German transsexual diva named Hedwig (played by Mitchell) who had a botched sex change operation (hence the title). It was a lot of fun. SHORTBUS is not a musical, but Mitchell continues to take risks and deal with controversial subject matter. This time, he made a movie with real (i.e. hardcore) sex scenes.

This isn't the first time this has been done. There have been several recent films, mostly French, that have included real sex scenes, including Patrice Chereau's INTIMACY, Catherine Breillat's ANATOMY OF HELL and Michael Winterbottom's NINE SONGS, to name a few.

Mitchell's movie is an interesting independent film about a group of people who meet at a New York sex club called Shortbus, where anything goes. This includes James (Paul Dawson) a former street hustler and Jamie (PJ DeBoy), a former child star, who are known to the Shortbus clientelle as "The Two Jamies." James is a filmmaker working on a secret film that is kind of a video suicide note which he intends to leave to Jamie once he finally offs himself. In the meantime, the gay couple invites a third guy, Ceth (Jay Brannan) into their relationship.

The Two Jamies go to see a couples counselor/sex therapist, Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) who admits to them that she has never had an orgasm. They invite Sofia and her husband Rob (Rapheal Barker) to Shortbus. Sofia actually seems to bloom at the club, and befriends a dominatrix, Severin (Lindsay Beamish), who is unable to feel. The two of them try to help each other out. Little does Sofia know that her husband Rob also has private sessions with Severin, including whips and bondage. It seems there are things he likes that he doesn't feel comfortable asking Sofia for.

As you can see, SHORTBUS is kind of a soap opera involving gay and straight couples. The film has a mostly benevolent tone, and the club itself is shown to be a pleasant-enough, safe place where people can go to get in touch with their sexual issues, overseen by the club's host, Justin Bond (as himself), who reminds me a bit of the MC character from CABARET.

Even a potential stalker, Caleb (Peter Stickles) is shown to be harmless and have a warm heart when he finally gets James alone. So there are no villains here.

Despite the sex scenes, SHORTBUS does not come off as pornography. Most of these scenes are short, and this is an "art film" after all. The story and the characters definitely take top priority.

While I didn't think SHORTBUS was an amazing movie, I thought it was a daring one (for these conservative times), and all of the characters are fairly likeable. If you enjoyed HEDWIG or if this sounds interesting to you (obviously, with the explict straight and gay sex scenes, it's not for everyone), then you should check it out. The DVD is unrated.

***

One final note. I have two new reviews on the horror movie website DVD RESURRECTIONS (http://www.dvdresurrections.com/). Just check out the reviews for GHOUL SCHOOL and THE WITCHES HAMMER.

Until next time...

Infernally Yours,

~LLS

3/31/07