So many movies ... so little time ...

On this day in 2024 (in Germany), audiences in attendance of the Berlin International Film Festival were treated to the theatrical premiere of Meanwhile On Earth.  Written and directed by Jérémy Clapin, the film starred Megan Northam, Dimitri Doré, Sébastien Pouderoux, and others. 

According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"A 23-year-old girl is contacted by an unknown life form claiming to be able to bring her older brother, who disappeared during a space mission, safely back to Earth."

For the record:
To the film's credit, Meanwhile On Earth earned a wee bit of praise from screenings on the film festival circuit.

ExtraExtra Alert:
In late 2024, I received complimentary streaming access to Meanwhile On Earth (2024) from a distributor in exchange for review coverage on SciFiHistory.Net.  Interested readers can find my review right here.

-- EZ
​

So many movies ... so much to celebrate!!!

On this day in 1964 (in Italy), audiences were treated to the first theatrical engagement ever of War Of The Zombies (aka Roma contro Roma).  Directed by Giuseppe Vari from a story by Ferruccio De Martino, Massimo De Rita, Piero Pierotti, and Marcello Sartarelli, , the Fantasy/Thriller starred John Drew Barrymore, Susy Andersen, Ettore Manni;, and others. 

​According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"A fantastic yarn about a plot to conquer the world with an army of zombies!"

-- EZ

So many movies ... so much to celebrate!!!

On this day in 1964 (in the U.S.), the big city of Houston, Texas played host for an exclusive theatrical premiere event for the screen Fantasy named The Brass Bottle.  Directed by Harry Keller from a story by Oscar Brodney and Thomas Anstey Guthrie, the film starred Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden, and others. 

​According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"An architect buys an antique brass bottle that contains an ancient genie who's determined to fulfill his new master's every wish."

-- EZ
​

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“The soul of a young girl with telekinetic powers and her mother become the prize in a battle between good ETs and evil ETs.”
 
An old college film professor of mine love to say: “There are cult films, and there are C-U-L-T films.”
 
While I’ll admit to being mostly confused by his sentiment at the time, I’m much older – and I like to think ‘wiser’ – today, and I think what he was trying to suggest was that some pictures – in their inception – set out to earn offbeat statis while others find themselves with such an imprimatur over time.  Because flicks are a combination of the efforts from hundreds of people, the skills of all involved obviously vary; and it remains the responsibility of those at the top – i.e. the producers, the director(s), and the screenwriter(s) – to push every piece of the narrative in one thematic and aesthetic direction.  When that happens, it’s safe to suggest that C-U-L-T status can be applied to the finished product because everything – from the script to the talent to the many technicians toiling behind-the-scenes – is properly synthesized into a cohesive whole.
 
Put simply, these rare efforts should be easily identified as C-U-L-T right out of the starting gate.  There’s little about them which appears conventional, and everything therein has been conceived just a bit off-center.  Mind you: performances and details are still allowed to vary from person-to-person, set-to-set, and/or scene-to-scene, but there’s no escaping the fact that everything wrapped up in the total running time is imbued with the same curious flavor or hums to the same mystical undercurrent.  Critically, you cannot separate one from the other and preserve the story as presented because doing so thwarts the feel intended by the storytellers.  It’s this fusion that makes truly C-U-L-T films a cut above ordinary cult films … if that makes any sense.
 
The Visitor (1979) opens with an obviously dated special effects shot of an old man – Jerzy Colsowicz (played by John Huston) – looking like a Jedi Knight surveying the open, dusty plains of Tatooine.  (See Star Wars from 1977.)  A few moments later, a storm rolls in from over the horizon; and a young girl is suddenly plunged front-and-center in the midst of an unexpected snow storm.  As she fades into the background, Jerzy watches her vanish into the midst, seemingly now ‘informed’ – with Jedi mind vision – of a significant task lying ahead of him.
 
Almost immediately, the film cuts to the scene of a blonde Christ figure lecturing a group of bald, monk-like children about the forgotten history of Zatteen.  (Think ‘Satan’ and you get the picture.)  Apparently, this mysterious evildoer from the stars escaped his original world and exiled himself to Earth, where he immediately went about the dark business of passing along his seed to hundreds of men and women of our planet, all in hopes that eventually a child can be born that will either wreak havoc or kinda/sorta herald his return.  As fate would have it, Zatteen was killed long ago – by his rival Yahweh – but his spirit has returned in the form of a young girl named Katy Collins (Paige Conner).  Finally, Jerzy arrives to this ‘monastery,’ and he’s now on a mission to bring the child back to the stars where she belongs.
 
One needn’t be a rocket scientist to notice right away that The Visitor is clearly grounded in Biblical lore, but – within moments – it goes into overdrive.
 
Essentially, young Katy is kinda/sorta envisioned as a contemporary version of the AntiChrist (or thereabouts), though we soon learn that she’s hell bent (snicker snicker) on getting her mother Barbara (Joanne Nail) to bring her a brother into this world and perhaps it’s he who is really intended to foster in the whole downfall of man from scripture.  It also becomes clear that Barbara’s current suitor – Raymond Armstead (a young Lance Henriksen) – is also operating from a similar agenda as he’s been selected by a shadowy group of suited men (think ‘the Illuminati’) to impregnate the good lady Collins and bring about the Apocalypse at their bidding when Katy and the unborn male engage in incestual coitus.
 
As the dust settles on this rather elaborate set-up, it becomes obvious that there’s not one but two clandestine organizations battling out control of Earth’s destiny, each side rather obviously representing ‘Good’ and ‘Evil.’  Into this heady mix, writer/director Giulio Paradisi throws a greater deal of additional fodder, such as Katy’s physic powers, the manipulation of history (and sports!) by secret cabals, corporate conspiracies, extraterrestrial visitations, alien abductions, and – ahem – angry birds.  It’s clear that Paradisi and his co-screenwriters’ fascination and love of films such as The Bad Seed (1956), The Birds (1963), The Exorcist (1973), The Omen (1976), and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) seep into the story over 100+ minute running time, almost as if they all sat around a table in a writer’s room trying to figure out exactly how to plug every sequence they wanted to mirror from these other features into their final product.
 
Now, that fact alone might turn a good number in the potential viewing audience off; but there’s still more worth discussing though I do try to avoid spoiling any significant factors.  Suffice it to say, Franco Micalizzi’s sometimes moody and sometimes bombastic score has to be heard to be fully appreciated; Ennio Guarnieri’s occasionally frenzied cinematography needs to be seen to be understood; and Franco Vanorio’s contributions as art director give everything captured within a texture that feels as invasive as it might curiously wholesome.  Every conceivable aspect to The Visitor could be studied because – lo and behold – it might mean something or, contrarywise, might mean nothing: art is subjective, and each of us hears or sees or experiences a film differently.  But when so much that should be ordinary is given extraordinary display, then there’s no denying something deeper was likely intended by proxy.  What exactly it might mean is up to each of you, so you’re encouraged to figure that out.
 
But the central tenet of Good versus Evil does come to a head in the last reel, and – dear Lord in Heaven above – it, too, is the kind of thing that defies description to a degree.  What Katy and Raymond thought they could accomplish at this late a stage kinda/sorta escapes explanation, but the two are determined to extract their collective vengeance on Barbara, especially if it’s the death of her.  Jerzy shows up in the nick of time – with an army of curious do-gooders – and achieves balance, though it likely won’t be anything anyone in the audience was expecting … much like the entire picture as a whole.
 
The Visitor (1979) (aka Stridulum) was produced by Brouwersgracht Investments.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been handled by the fine folks at Arrow Films.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readings that the provided sights and sounds are really impressive, especially considering the age of the flick.  (Yes, there are sequences with some obvious grain and – ahem – a few of the “special effects” sequences aren’t as “special” nor as “effective” as they could be, but they work well for the time and place.)  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  The disc boasts an audio commentary, some archival talent interviews, and a few visual essays; and all are definitely worth the time.  (The commentary meanders a bit in a few spots, but – ahem – so does the film so just be patient.)
 
Recommended, but this one will likely always find only a cult audience.
 
Undoubtedly, The Visitor (1979) is one of the most bizarre experiences I’ve ever enjoyed on film.  The script clearly is an amalgamation of various screen influences from Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror – Star Wars, Close Encounters, The Birds, The Bad Seed, etc. – to the point of practically copying scenes done elsewhere and yet somehow – almost magically – the end result still manages to stand on its own two legs.  Granted, it still has characters and sequences that don’t quite make perfect sense; but that’s also the charm of the whole affair, leaving you to make of those pieces what you will.  However, I’ll stop short of dubbing writer/director Paradisi’s effort as an homage to those earlier works (as I’ve read some insist it is) because, respectfully, it wanders into too many different directions to seriously have been intended as some loving tribute to genre cinema. 
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of The Visitor (1979) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“After an innocent man is executed in a case for which he was not responsible, a Scotland Yard superintendent finds himself investigating the murder of his key witness.”
 
The pursuit of justice has fueled a great number of pictures, especially some of the better Film Noirs to emerge from Hollywood.
 
What many have found so interesting about a handful of them is that justice is rarely black-and-white.  In other words, the best Noirs have dealt with individuals who’ve had to seek out and explore some kind of restitution – personal or otherwise – by following their own codes of conduct.  In the process, they try to do right, but they’re not opposed to – shall we say? – bending a few conventional rules here and there if and when the circumstances require it.  They might rough up a suspect.  They might plant a bit of evidence. They might even point the cops in the wrong direction so that they can operate freely away from judgmental eyes.  And – in the most extreme cases – they might even serve as judge, jury, and executioner all rolled up in one.
 
The Verdict (1946) opens in those fragile moments after a verdict has been judiciously carried out: Superintendent George Edward Grodman (played by the great Sydney Greenstreet) listens as the bell tolls overhead, signaling that the death sentence of a murderer he sent to the gallows has been carried out.  However, upon returning to his office days later, Grodman is shocked to learn that a key witness has turned up with an alibi that would’ve proven the man innocent.  As a consequence, he’s summarily stripped of his position; and his arrogant and self-serving assistant – Superintendent John R. Buckley (George Coulouris) – is promoted to Prosecutor.
 
Forced into retirement after thirty years, Grodman decides to pen his memoirs of time in public service; and he enlists the assistance of long-time associate Victor Emmric (Peter Lorre) – a newspaper caricaturist – to provide artwork for the tome.  Before the two can get themselves focused on the collaboration, an all-new murder takes place in the very block where they live; and the pair find themselves thrust into the center of this development which slowly begins to grow into a crime with no solution.  How could a man be murdered inside a locked room with no means of entry or exit?  Indeed, Grodman decides he will solve the caper if it’s the last thing he does!
 
Indeed, it’s this set-up that drew me – as a viewer – into the whole sordid affair which involved a lothario Arthur Kendall (Morton Lowry) and local showgirl Lottie Rawson (the fetching Joan Lorring), suggesting that the case might be somehow tied to the man’s philandering nature and the scorn of a woman earned.  The problem, though, is that Kendall’s identity as it ties into the case that Grodman botched turns out to be the clue everyone forgets as the procedural unfolds – including Superintendent Buckley – and this is the crux upon which the script from Peter Milne (based on Israel Zangwill’s novel) revolves.  Without spoiling it (which I generally avoid), let’s just say that this case becomes Grodman’s most personal effort in more ways than one.
 
The Verdict is the kind of story that only works because the audience has little to no way of predicting who committed the crime because, thematically, that would spoil the entire point of the picture.  Because of this, the resolution might come across as more than a bit contrived since clues aren’t additive to answering any significant questions.  What remains is a puzzle – one reasonably well delivered by director Don Siegel – but it’s also a quandary that might feel a bit toothless in the last reel as an authentic mystery.  As a melodrama?  Sure, that works!  As a Noir?  Of course, it’s in keeping with the genre!  But … as a mystery?  Well … not so much …
 
While the picture is modestly entertaining and boasts some great work by Greenstreet and Lorre, I can’t help but wonder if it would be entirely forgotten had lesser talent been cast in the lead roles.  Siegel’s work in bringing all of it to life is equally impressive, but there’s no escaping the fact that inevitably answering the seminal ‘whodunnit’ removes any bit of freshness or originality to the whole shebang because it reeks of contrivance along with some somewhat forced twists and turns viewers are slogged through along the way.  Yes, it concludes with the obligatory sense that justice has been served; and yet there’s no escaping the fact that the audience might feel a bit swindled for having spent 90 minutes waiting for a denouement of such artifice.
 
The Verdict (1946) was produced by Warner Bros.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been handled by the fine folks at Warner Archive.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that the provided sights and sounds are quite good throughout: there’s a flatness to some of the exterior studio shots – the streets are shrouded with fog – but it isn’t anything disastrous.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  The disc boasts some other entertainment from the era – cartoons and a few radio dramas – but nothing that’s directly tied to the main film.
 
Mildly Recommended.
 
As big a fan of classic films as I am – especially dark melodramas and Film Noirs – I’ll still admit to finding not all that much to love about The Verdict (1946).  It’s good but a bit theatrically contrived in spots.  While expertly made and compellingly set-up, it inevitably feels a bit flat even though a central character achieves a measure of redemption … not that that was much of a surprise, either.  I mean … that was the point of the story, so kudos for sticking the landing, I guess.  Still, fans of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre should definitely check out their work here; and I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that Joan Lorring also turns in a wonderfully spunky supporting role here.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Verdict (1946) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​

As long as there have been video games, there has also been opportunists who’ve seen the prospect of adapting those winding stories into motion pictures or television shows.
 
And … why not?  Like any good franchise or established and successful intellectual property, there’s already an audience who might be easily wooed to make a trip to the cineplex to see the latest and greatest video sensation brought to life on the silver screen.  In fact, 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie damn near created a zeitgeist all of its own, earning a mind-bobbling $1.36 billion in ticket sales globally while also laying down an all-new (gold) yellow brick road in merchandising tie-ins.  Granted, not every attempt has broken the bank to that astonishing level; but the potential is there if storytellers can produce something those initial players are willing to see expanded.  Who can blame a studio – Hollywood or independent – from taking a stab at greatness?
 
Of course, none of this happens without intrinsic risks.  For example, all of the bells and whistles that ignite a player’s imagination in the game may not exactly translate into ‘peak cinema,’ and I’m thinking that might be the case herein with 2026’s The Mortuary Assistant.  A first-person experience created by DarkStone Digital, the game pits players against the dark forces surrounding a haunted mortuary where the undead and demonic forces are always on the watch for a new soul to possess … namely you!  In pursuit of a happy ending, you must identify the corpses possessed and complete a kinda/sorta exorcism in order to get out alive; and the film from director Jeremiah Kipp follows the same basic narrative structure, pairing up watchers with the central Rebecca Owens in theatrical format.
 
Still, what starts out rather promising ends up being downright tiresome and befuddling for a fair number of reasons, the single greatest of which is the script from Tracee Beebe and Brian Clarke relies far too heavily on its unreliable narrator.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Follows Rebecca Owens, a mortuary science graduate who takes a night job at River Fields Mortuary. What begins as a routine job soon turns sinister as she faces terrifying supernatural forces.”
 
Meet Rebecca Owens (played by Willa Holland).  A year into her sobriety, she’s finally found herself in a good, livable place.  Though her sponsor, Kelly (Keena Ferguson Fraiser), is apt to remind the young woman how quickly addicts are prone to relapse, she’s also supportive to the fact that Becca seems to be on the right track.  Indeed, she’s completed an internship at a local mortuary under the guidance of Raymond Delver; so, presumably, things are finally looking up for the lady.
 
However, what started as a career simply working with the dead turns out to be something vastly more complicated.  In the scope of a single evening, Becca discovers that Raymond and the mortuary are actually a place of increased spectral activity, the likes of which represents a battle between the forces of good and evil.  Secretly, the man has mastered the high art of combatting these dark lords; and he’s quietly been preparing for Becca to join him in waging the conflict against the underworld.  Before the night is over, she’ll not only grapple with a pervasive spirit but also learn a thing about herself and the tragedy of her youth that ties her directly to the conquest in more ways than one.
 
Now, I’ll grant anyone reading that the premise for both Assistant’s game and film sounds impressive.  Horror films especially get great mileage out of pitting the right and the wrong against one another, and director Kipp similarly stages the set-up for his chilling affair with great poise.  Essentially, the first thirty minutes to Assistant is almost entirely atmosphere and foundation building; and it’s definitely good enough to make viewers believe they’re in for something special.  However, once Becca exits her tutorial stage and enters discovery, Assistant – as a film – begins to fall apart with each successive development.
 
This isn’t to say that the resulting film isn’t spooky in any regard because the jump scares and constant creepiness (especially of the morgue which keeps losing power in the midst of a storm outside) are effective.  The problems entirely surround the fact that Becca’s own existence is plagued repeatedly by visions of increasingly questionable veracity.  Is that stiff dead, or is it not?  Did she just cut herself, or was that only her imagination?  Is her long-dead father walking around the dark interiors, or is that, too, something her wayward mind is manufacturing?  While we’re shown that the dead aren’t exactly deceased, she’s busy doing other stuff tied to either the voices in her head or the hallucinations that – ahem – may or may not be taking place.  (Again, some are, but it’s strongly suggested that many aren’t.)  Distinguishing between Fantasy and reality becomes damn near impossible, and Assistant seems complacent staying in that broken gear.  All the way up until the closing scene, the audience questions everything from Becca’s point of view; and – sorry, folks – that’s just so way to win over those of us who haven’t played the game.
 
Unfortunately, I’m adding Assistant to that growing number of games-to-films that squander an otherwise fabulous proposition on faulty storytelling.  The inability to distinguish authenticity had me downright hating the second half, wasting an interesting performance from Holland; and I suspect those who stumble into this one without knowledge of the game might feel much the same.
 
The Mortuary Assistant (2026) was produced by Creativity Capital, Dread, DreadXP, Epic Pictures, and Traverse Media.  A quick search of Google.com indicates that the picture will be available in a limited theatrical run beginning on February 13, 2026, with a streaming launch to follow on Shudder effective March 27, 2026.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that the film offers a high degree of practical, in-camera trickery with a respectable number of jump scares: all of it both looks and sounds exceptional.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  As I viewed this one via streaming, there were no special features under consideration.
 
Alas … this one is Hard To Recommend, though it might offer cursory appeals to established fans of the intellectual property.
 
Bluntly, there may very well be an audience for The Mortuary Assistant (2026); but, alas, I can’t imagine it spreading all that much beyond the crowd who’ve come to both know and love the world and premise of the 2022 video game that serves as its inspiration.  My trouble with it – coming aboard entirely uninitiated with the project – is that the central story lacks any compelling hook with which to draw me in.  While the idea of playing some game and learning how all of these pieces go hand-in-hand toward some resolution, the flick is a confusing and meandering mishmash of events all evolving from the frayed, hallucinogenic existence of an unreliable narrator.  As such, I felt torn between reality and Fantasy far too much of the time, with the young hero’s struggle being completely lost in translation.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Epic Pictures provided me with complimentary streaming access to The Mortuary Assistant (2026) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​

So many movies ... so little time ...

On this day in 2019 (in Germany), The Golden Glove enjoyed its first presentation ever when it was screened for audiences of the Berlin International Film Festival.  Written (in part) and directed by Fatih Akin, the film starred Jonas Dassler, Vasiliki Georgina Pseimada, Christine Jensen, and others. 

​According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"A serial killer strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s."

For the record:
As well as garnering some positive attention from the 2019 German Film Awards, The Golden Glove enjoyed a bit of praise from screenings on the film festival circuit.

-- EZ
​

So many movies ... so little time ...

On this day in 2015 (in Germany), One & Two enjoyed its big time theatrical debut when it was first screened for audiences in attendance of the Berlin International Film Festival.  Written (in part) and directed by Andrew Droz Palermo, the film starred Kiernan Shipka, Timothée Chalamet, Elizabeth Reaser, and others. 

According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"Two siblings discover a supernatural escape from a troubled home, but find their bond tested when reality threatens to tear their family apart."

For the record:
To the film's credit, One & Two earned a wee bit of praise from a screening on the film festival circuit.

-- EZ