Tourist Trap (1979)

Aren't there any threads about this movie?!? I don't get it. There should be a few. I'm sure we have talked about it. I guess it must have been on the IMDB board.

I was just thinking, it makes sense to see this movie as drawing upon ideas from Carrie and Sybil, and as leading up to Motel Hell, and the Evil Dead movies. It has the telekinesis stuff from Carrie, and the split personality stuff from Sybil. Of course, in this movie it's a dude who has both gifts/curses, and the isolated rural setting sets it apart from C and S.

The isolated rural setting, and the general vibe of the Chuck Connors character(s) probably had some impact on Motel Hell. And, the stuff with the laughing mannequins HAD to be an inspiration for Evil Dead movies.

I don't know, sometimes I just like to try to place these movies in some kind of continuum, and think about where they stand in the sequence of all these movies being made.

Had to share.

Best Universal Horrors

Due to them being mentioned in the Shoutbox, top films

Frankenstein
Creature from the Black Lagoon
The Old Dark House
Bride of Frankenstein
The Man Who Laughs
The Invisible Man
Island of Lost Souls
Son of Frankenstein
Tarantula
Tower of London
Captive Wild Woman
The Black Cat
The Raven
The Climax
Mystery of Edwin Drood
Strange Confession
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Werewolf of London

So how about those Demons movies?

Like the Zombi series, most of these were retitled and actually have nothing to do with eachother.

1. Demons AKA Dèmoni (1985)

2. Demons 2 AKA Dèmoni 2 (1986)

3. The Ogre AKA La Casa Dell'orco AKA Demons 3: The Ogre (1988)

4. The Church AKA La Chiese AKA Demons 3 (1989)

5. Black Demons AKA Dèmoni 3 AKA Demons 3 (1991)

6. The Devil's Daughter AKA La Setta AKA Demons 4 (1991)

7. The Mask of the Demon AKA La Maschera del Demonio AKA Demons 5: The Devil's Veil (1989)

8. The Black Cat AKA Il Gatto Nero AKA Demons 6: De Profundis (1989)

9. Cemetery Man AKA Dellamorte Dellamore AKA Demons '95 (1994)


I've never see The Mask of the Demon or The Black Cat, and I'm not a fan of The Church or Black Demons, but the rest are all worth a watch. Demons 1 and 2 are the only ones that are related, and I consider them both minor classics, and Cemetery Man is an all time favorite of mine.

Remember the Muffin Monster, in 30 Days of Night?

Behold, the glory and the terror:
https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1900581237455991073

Eric Frank Russell, the writer

Anybody a fan of this guy? I used to enjoy at least a couple of his short stories, years ago (Alamagoosa, and And Then There Were None). I enjoyed his sense of humor, and he made me think. I'm thinking about getting back into his books.

Here, this is about And Then There Were None, which is NOT the Agatha Christie story at all, although I guess it has some common ground with it. It makes me think of Firefly and Serenity, in some ways. You could view what he talks about as libertarian, or progressive, or probably other labels. His style is so good-natured that it would be possible to just start discussions, rather than fights, by sharing and talking about his stories. Here, this is a selection from ATTWN, with some analysis and discussion of it.

Vivarium (2019)

I watched this the other day. I thought it was fairly interesting, and it's intended to get you thinking. I think the whole movie makes MUCH more sense if you really pay attention to the first two or three minutes (as is often the case).

It has to do with a young couple finding a home, and making it their own, for better or for (much) worse. I don't know how much I should say about it... just pay attention to everything you see and hear having to do with the birds in the first few minutes, and everything will make more sense, eventually.

One character is a real estate agent called Martin, which is prbably meant to make us think of the bird the "house martin," or very possibly of Martians, or, even better, of both.

I started watching it mostly because I've always thought Imogan Poots is cute. She doesn't really look too great in this though, her character is usually pretty miserable. I bet she, and the other actors, had fun filming it though.

So. Yah. Had to share.

Werewolf Films of 1981

This is a really good video, this guy did a great job on it. I almost just posted this in the shoutbox, but it really deserves a post that people can find easily and go back to again and again, if they want.

Girlhouse (2015)

Anyone here seen this film? I found it recently on Tubi by accident. Had never heard of it or of any of the actors in it. I don't want to say much about it yet in case no one has seen it, but I am curious what anyone who did see it thought about it. It's a slasher film, with homage to quite a few genre classics.

It's not a foreign film but a quick look around revealed that it's not easy to get a DVD or Blu-ray of it.

The 2025 Oscars

I didn't watch. No controversy? Lame. While I haven't seen the movie, I do want to see Anora because Sean Baker made some great films. He won best picture & director.

Nuke poll

Didn't there used to be an option to post polls here?

Anyways What country is gonna get the nuke next

Iran
Japan
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Taiwan

Ukraine

My vote is Japan


EDIT:
Suppose I should add Canada to the list as well or various central & south american countries.