As I've long said in this space, I don't do an awful lot of promotion and/or reviews for the fairly conventional slasher movies.  It isn't that I don't like them; rather it's that they really fall a bit too traditionally into Horror, leaving me with little room to craft a 'hook' with which to either think about them or write about them with any degree of personal interest.  I don't mind giving them the occasional whirl on the DVD player if I can get my hands on them, so maybe -- maybe -- 1976's Massacre At Central High will get a bit of exposure soon.  I've read that it's coming down the pike fairly quickly with a September 13th release planned by Synapse Films, so I thought I'd share a little something something about what I know.

​Written and directed by Rene Daalder, the film was first given bold life up in the lights with its U.S. theatrical release on November 10, 1976.  From the looks of the release schedule on IMDB.com, it had a fairly limited window of opportunity to be seen by the world: there are only eight dates mentioned, with a few of them being specific to home video.  The feature film starred such folks as Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine, Kimberly Beck, Ray Underwood, and Lani O'Grady.  Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:

"A high school transfer student, pushed to the edge by a trio of brutal bullies, resorts to murder to reclaim the school from oppression, and later turns against the students wanting to fill the vacuum of their oppressors."

As is my custom, I'll be doing the copy-and-paste of the press release below.  Synapse Films provides a few more details worth considering, and I'm sure interested parties will surf the Information Superhighway to pre-order their copy at their leisure.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
​

For those who may’ve missed it, the lovely Tanya Roberts was one of the Hollywood actresses we said goodbye to in 2021.  It was reported by NBC News that the lady passed away from a fatal development of sepsis that grew out of a urinary tract infection, something that is apparently far more common than most folks think.  As I’ve always said, it’s sad to see anyone go, but – with these actors and actresses – we’re blessed that they leave behind a body of work that’s available to both remember their gifts as well as maybe find even a small bit of newfound respect for some of their lesser projects … and I do believe a flick like Sheena (1984) qualifies.
 
Released in late August, 1984, Sheena – or as it was initially advertised as Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle – wasn’t a remarkable film by any stretch of the imagination.  Critics were not moved to any great degree by its story, and – from what I can recall – it was widely panned for inferior performances paired with what viewers thought was ‘progressive’ nudity.  Though rated PG by the Motion Picture Association, the movie features Roberts’ body of assets in mostly what I’d call ‘modest glory,’ and I have a vague recollection that those more culturally in-the-know than I felt otherwise.
 
Still, Sheena hasn’t found cult status in much the way other films with similar goofiness and treatment have.  In fact, one could argue that it’s a forgotten film from the 1980’s, a time when cinematic Fantasy was experiencing a bit of a cultural renaissance thanks to features like Conan The Barbarian (1982), The Beastmaster (1982), and The NeverEnding Story (1984), along with many, many others.  So in the hopes of perhaps righting that cultural wrong, I thought it prudent to uncover a few things worth knowing about the film that may’ve passed all of us by.
 
The Finer Sex
 
Most assuredly, the studio intended to capitalize on Roberts’ sex appeal both in selecting her for the role as well as the marketing plans to woo potential audiences.
 
The one-time Charlie’s Angels turned heads in 1982 when she – ahem – came clean in what Playboy Magazine promised as “a knockout nude pictorial.”  Interestingly enough, the whole point of her appearance in the periodical was originally to ramp up the promotional campaign for 1982’s The Beastmaster in which she appeared opposite Marc Singer.  However, the interview and pictures didn’t appear until after that feature had been placed in theaters, so I’m inclined to think that the buzz she eventually created caught Hollywood’s eye and may’ve even led to her landing the job as ‘the female Tarzan.’
 
Roberts wasn’t the only sex symbol producers considered in their build-up to production.  While an HBO Making-Of short available on YouTube.com boasts over 2,000 actresses were considered, what matters most in this case is who were they.  Names bandied about include Raquel Welch, Bo Derek, Jodie Foster, Sandahl Bergman, Cheryl Ladd, Sybil Danning, Christie Brinkley, and Farrah Fawcett.
 
Indeed, that list proves one thing: sex sells.
 
A Historic Beginning
 
Those who remember the film typically refer to it almost entirely as “that Tanya Roberts” flick … but does anyone know the character’s actual legacy?
 
To be as precise as possible, Sheena was the original symbol of girl power for a generation of comic book readers.  In fact, she was the very first female comic book character who was given her very own title – Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle – all the way back in 1938.  (What this means, folks, is that Sheena is an intellectual property older than the much-revered Wonder Woman, who is often thought of as the first big comic book breakout.)  The jungle lady is the creation of Will Eisner and Jerry Iger, and Eisner is on record as crediting H. Rider Haggard’s novel She (1886) as their inspiration.
 
In a 1984 interview with Starlog Magazine (June issue), Sheena producer Paul Aratow sounded off on the importance of honoring the character’s legacy with just the right story for her silver screen debut.  Though he ended up being separated (to some degree) from the production due to studio pressures to craft something a bit more commercial, Aratow ends the piece by clarifying that he always saw Sheena as a role model for young girls to idolize.
 
I’m not sure the studio felt the same way.
 
A Real Movie Princess
 
As is often the case, a great deal of effort to craft legitimacy in the world of cinematic Fantasy gets lost in the production shuffle, but the movers and shakers intent on delivering Sheena up in the lights did go out of their way to bring as much authenticity to the feature as possible, including shooting for five months in Kenya and even hiring a real-live princess as part of the cast.
 
Elizabeth of Toro – or as she is known internationally as Princess Elizabeth of Toro – was born in 1936 to the royal family of Tooro Kingdom within Uganda.  In her youth, she was the only black student at the Sherborne School For Girls in London.  As the third African woman to be admitted to the University of Cambridge, she eventually graduated with a law degree and went on to become the first woman of East Africa admitted to the English Bar.  Besides serving as a politician, a lawyer, and a model, she was cast to serve as a female Shaman who helps instruct Sheena herself in her magical and mystical ways of communicating with animals of the jungle.
 
In a 2011 interview with NewAfrican Magazine, Elizabeth admits that she was never impressed with the film’s script, but she admired what the producers had done with the central character.  “Sheena expressed a certain truth, a certain reality, namely, that an indigenous culture, a way of life, had suffered an assault at the hands of an alien one,” she said.

​-- EZ

The uninformed merely suspect that Sheena (1984) was little more than a jungle Fantasy film that grew out of some creepy old man's mind of what men wanted to see in an alternate take of the Tarzan mythos, but that would be far from the truth.

In reality, Sheena -- aka Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle -- grew out of the minds of comic book storytellers Will Eisner and Jerry Iger when they created the property for her very own ongoing story from the Golden Age Of Comics.  Truth be told, peeps: Sheena is an older character than is Wonder Woman, so let's just agree that she's been around.  Also, it bears mentioning that -- historically -- Sheena was the first comic book character to ever be given her own book, so there's more to her than meets the eye.  Besides the books, she was brought to life in a live action TV series in the 1955-1956 season starring model Irish McCalla as the Queen herself.

But back to the movie ...

Directed by John Guillerman, this 80's incarnation cast former Charlie's Angels star Tanya Roberts as the orphan raised in the wild to eventually serve as the land's protector.  Ted Wass, Donovan Scott, and Clifton Jones were also hired for key roles in the script from David Newman and Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:

"Sheena grew up in the African wild, raised by a mystical witch woman. When her foster mother is framed for a murder Sheena is forced to flee, helped by her ability to talk to animals and her knowledge of the jungle."

Alas, reviews were not as flattering as Roberts was in the bikini -- I'm only human, folks -- so the feature came and went pretty quickly.

It bears mentioning that the property could be considered ripe for another adaptation at some point in the future.  It did enjoy a bit of popularity in the early 2000's when actress Gena Lee Nolin gave it new life in a syndicated TV version.

​-- EZ

There are others -- probably countless others -- who enjoy 1985's Enemy Mine far more than I do.

Again, folks, don't get me wrong: it isn't a film I dislike.  As I try to maintain a level of consistency in talking about film, I can only speak to whether or not a feature connected with me ... and despite all of director Wolfgang Petersen's best efforts in there it just didn't resonate beyond a one-time viewing ... though I recently gave it a rewatch to see if I felt differently.  (Alas, I didn't.)  I love the performances and production detail.  I think it's definitely a film worth recommending.  It just doesn't mean all that much to be on a personal level.

But Petersen leaves behind an incredible career for students and fans to celebrate.

Before Enemy Mine, the man put himself on the genre map with bringing the fondly-remembered The NeverEnding Story to audiences worldwide.  Then, in 1995, he dabbled with Science Fiction again (mildly) with Outbreak, the story of Army doctors trying to get a plague under control in the United States.

While the myth of Troy gets very near to Fantasy, I'd have to give him major props for managing to somehow deliver one of the most relatable versions to the silver screen in 2004.  Though I thought Brad Pitt was a bit of curious casting, the ensemble never faultered, and it remains a watchable experience as well as one worth the time for professors to share with their students in mythology class.

Alas, none of us lasts forever, but thank goodness that we'll always have these works to treasure.  A good movie is like a good friend, something that sticks with you through thick and thin, and is always worth spending another evening with.

Thought and prayers are extended to the fans, friends, and family of Wolfgang Petersen.

​-- EZ

Well, well, well ... I don't care what any of you say, I think that if a Critter -- or a Crite, is it? -- sinks those teeth into you, then it's gonna hurt.  Bigly.

On this day in 1991 (in the big ol' U.S. of A.), a little something something called Critters 3 expanded the whole Critters universe, paving the way for the eventual release of Critters 4.  (IMDB.com reports that these two features were shot simultaneously and involve a cliffhanger between the two features.)  Directed by Kristine Peterson, this one's story is credited to Rupert Harvey and Barry Opper while David J. Schow earns marks for completing the screenplay.

Perhaps the film's greatest claim to fame -- as fate would have it -- is that it serves as the big screen theatrical debut to one young lad named Leonardo DiCaprio, a future Oscar winner and -- ahem -- Global Warming alarmist (I said what I said).  Others in the cast include John Calvin, Aimee Brooks, Christian Cousins, Joseph Cousins, and Nina Axelrod.

Here's the plot summary as provided by our friends at IMDB.com:

"The tiny fur ball aliens that will eat anything or anyone set their sights on a Los Angeles apartment tower."

Beyond just the facts above, I really couldn't say much about the wider Critters universe of films.  I haven't seen this one -- I believe I've only watched the first -- and I generally don't like stepping into waters when I'm uniformed.  I do see that -- a few years back -- the people at Shout Factory released the entire collection of Critters films on Blu-ray; maybe at some point in the future I'll partake of it and find I have plenty more to say about these hungry little things.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

Fantasy films enjoyed a great cinematic resurgence throughout the 1980's, most of this newfound popularity owed to the Arnold Schwarzenegger starring Conan The Barbarian (1982).  However, at the time of Conan's filming, there was another project already in the pipeline.  Though The Beastmaster lacked Arnold's star power to give it legs at the box office, it did originate from the pen of scribe Andre Norton: her 1959 Fantasy novel "The Beast Master" served as the foundation for the muscled-yarn of a man in somewhat telepathic communication with the animals.

(For the record: Norton has spoken on-the-record to express her dissatisfaction with her novel being so closely associated to the first film.  In fact, Norton demanded that her name be removed from the original prints, even though the film's director has spoken fondly about his inspiration from her novels.  Ouch.)

​Director Don Coscarelli worked on the screenplay to adapt the ideas from the Norton book for the silver screen.  Marc Singer was cast as the hunky lead, and he was joined by John Amos, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn, and Rod Loomis in key roles.  Here's the film's plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:

"A sword-and-sorcery fantasy about a young man's search for revenge. Armed with supernatural powers, the handsome hero and his animal allies wage war against marauding forces."

Though I've read that, initially, The Beastmaster really only enjoyed modest success at the U.S. box office, the film surprisingly developed a strong cult following over the years from TV and pay cable broadcasts as well as a healthy interest from the home video crowd. 

Because mankind never quite knows much less understands how these things work, The Beastmaster -- as its own property -- continued to survive well after that first motion picture even in spite of its best middling effort.  Nearly ten years after the first film was in theaters, audiences were treated to Beastmaster 2: Through The Portal Of Time (1991), thus morphing it from a stand-alone feature to a full-bodied franchise (yes, pun intended).  In 1996, Marc Singer suited up (well) again (in loincloth, presumably) for Beastmaster III: The Eye Of Braxus for a Fantasy telefilm.  Lastly, there was a syndicated TV series which brought in Daniel Goddard to assume the mantle of Dar (erm ... loincloth?) that ran for an adventurous three seasons.

I guess it's safe to say that there's no keeping a good BeastMaster down.

​-- EZ

​In this space, I’ve mentioned before that my real introduction to the martial arts films of the 1970’s took place in the early 1980’s.
 
A small-town syndicated television station had clearly purchased an assortment of foreign import motion pictures that were heavily seeded with – I say this with no disrespect intended – all things ‘chopsocky.’  Drunken Master this, Bastard Swordsman that, Invincible Demons the other.  Honestly, the titles were occasionally so damn bizarre I’d stick with it just because I wanted to know definitively how ‘the wife of the Deadly Master Beggar’ truly played into the plot.  The station would run these things on Sunday afternoon – I think under the banner of ‘Kung Fu Theater’ – and I couldn’t help myself but be swept away in some of the most captivating fight choreography ever put to film.
 
Granted, there wasn’t an awful lot of it that I loved.  The stories were pretty loose, and they often resembled one another in terms of narrative structure, much like the U.S. Westerns of a certain era did.  Still, they were wonderful diversions from chores – and a good reason to put off homework for a few hours – so they kept my interest just enough to stay tuned.
 
So I may’ve seen Flying Guillotine Part II (aka Palace Carnage) back then.  I know I’ve seen the dreaded ‘flying guillotine’ before – I have memories of a mild variation of the weapon – so I didn’t go into this viewing entirely unprepared.  Yes, it’s a bit of a silly weapon when you think too long about it, but for me I think that’s the beauty of these bygone flicks: they worked best when you didn’t dwell on them and, instead, just got lost in all of the visual spectacle.  Audiences certainly did back in their release in the native countries, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary 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 my final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the product packaging:
“To fight against the evil emperor’s reign of terror, outlaw rebel Ma Teng joins a group of female freedom fighters; however, she soon finds herself embroiled in not just a battle with enemy forces but also with the group leader’s torn family loyalties …”
 
In all honesty, there’s a bit more plot to Flying Guillotine Part II than one might find in a standalone entry.  (No, you need not possess working knowledge of the first feature involving said weapon to step into this one; the script for this installment gives you everything you truly need to know.)  But if you set aside some of the other family relationships tied up in here – along with some of the internal palace shenanigans – you’re still left with what starts out, churns along, and ends up being a film of heavily choreographed showdowns between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

That’s what I mean when I imply that there’s little to distinguish so many flicks of this era from others with the notable exception being fighting styles (of which I’m no expert whatsoever) and the weaponry.  In that regard, these flying guillotines are pretty incredible concoctions, giving the user the ability to decapitate any opponent by lassoing them with what looks to be an oversized cooking pot lid lined with heavily serrated blades.  The end result once the head is trapped within?  Why, it’s lopped right off, damn near bloodlessly!
 
Dick Cheney is salivating.
 
Naturally, some hero eventually masterminds a means with which to thwart such a vile weapon, and that’s wherein the whole ‘Part II’ comes into narrative play: the evil Emperor demands that his armorer re-design the guillotine in order to outsmart this new rebel, leading to the development of the – ahem – double flying guillotine (patent pending).
 
If you think therein starts and stops the film’s creativity, then you’d be amiss.  At one point, Guillotine II felt like a near non-stop assault on the senses, with fights coming quickly one right after the other; but the pace does grind down just a bit in the second half when the tale truly shifts to one founded more on palace intrigue than the usual fisticuffs.  Also, once the double flying guillotine gets introduced, our film’s hero must go back to his own drawing board and spend time figuring out a way to best this new version.
 
Before is said and done, however, heads do roll – just the way directors Kang Cheng and Shan Hua intended.
 
Flying Guillotine Part 2 (aka Palace Carnage) (1978) was produced by Shaw Brothers.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated by the fine folks at 88 Films.  As for the technical specifications?  Again, I’m not a trained video expert, but I found the sights and sounds of this Limited Edition Release to be very, very good: there are a few sequences with some very obvious grain, and I suspect that’s tied to the source material.
 
As for the special features?  Well …

• The case comes with a cardboard slipcase/sleeve with original Hong Kong poster art.
• The limited edition includes a two-sided poster art which also ties in with the slipcase advertising.
• The limited edition includes a collector’s booklet with film stills and an essay by Barry Forshaw.
• The disc includes the film’s original theatrical trailer.
• Lastly, there’s an audio commentary provided by Asian cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema that – to put it mildly – is simply far too animated to glean much effective information (for those who like to learn things more than trivia).  They’re both far too excited, speaking much too quickly, and talking over one another too much of the time for my tastes.  It’s great that they’re thrilled … but I learned very little other than the fact that they’re thrilled.  Disappointing.

 
Recommended.
 
As I said above, I was never so much a fan of traditional martial arts films as I was a basic consumer, but I can see some strong reasons to recommended Flying Guillotine Part II.  First, it follows the basic formula.  Second, it ups the ante on what was possible with one of filmdom’s most creative weapons.  Third, it has a frenetic energy that never quite lets up (except in a few key places).  While it might not be deserving a repeat viewing (so far as this consumer is concerned), it has the goods to be in your video line-up.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at 88 Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Flying Guillotine Part II (1978) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and 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 kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for my 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 citation:
“Lost in a remote part of Eastern Europe, Sam is a foreigner, searching for his biological father Lagzdins where a minor road accident leads to a chance meeting with a pig-farmer’s daughter, who captures him and making a slave on the farm.”
 
If you find that synopsis a bit awkward – maybe even a bit foreign – then you’re likely beginning the journey with Sam (played by Kevin Janssens) on the right foot: he’s lost in this Bizarro countryside, and he curiously finds himself with only two (somewhat) friends to speak of and with … the lovely pig-farmer’s daughter Kirke (the fetching Laura Silina) and a wayward piglet searching for freedom and independence that somehow – magically – speaks his language … or a close facsimile … or is it all just Sam’s imagination?
 
What helps writer/director Aik Karapetian’s film keep moving is the fact that it’s all composed with narration: a kindly, old, omniscient voice guides the audience on its way through the cinematic highs and lows of Samuel’s travels, happily providing more than a bit of narrative context for those who might be missing the finer points.  Like a good travel guide, the narrator sets up this somewhat chaotic and merry myth, all the while highlighting almost exactly what the audience needs to know about this odd assortment of rural townies who are all little more than one executable search warrant away from incarceration.  It’s a damn good thing there are no police in the area!
 
Like with any good fairy tale, viewers are encouraged to not take this all that seriously, even though there’s more than a copious dribbling of violence, blood, and bondage to keep them distracted.  Sam, in fact, spends much of the film looking like a farmhand extra in the most inappropriate BDSM porn perhaps conceived; but it’s all meant to be so lyrically lighthearted – yes, even the torture sequences – that there’s no fear of his authentically being harmed.  Well, harmed to death, that is.  He’s certainly battered, bruised, and bludgeoned, yet it’s all in the service to the magic of romance … which he inevitably finds and fulfills, though he’s unsure what to make of it all come the ending … as perhaps are we.
 
Still, you can’t dismiss Squeal’s charm.
 
Sam is meant to be anyone.  He could be you.  He could be me.  With better abs, though.
 
From the big city, he finds himself the proverbial fish-out-of-water – the ultimate stranger in a strange land – once he arrives in the distant landscape.  Though he’s on a quest, it isn’t one he won’t abandon given the right circumstances; when a forced union with Kirke, her father, and a drove of pigs presents itself, Sam will eventually come to understand that he can even look past imprisonment and forced servitude when it gives him purpose, something the script leads us to believe has been missing from the man’s life up to this point.  As a character, he proves that perhaps the best foot forward into any of life’s biggest adventures is the one that stumbles into it; personal safety be damned when it comes down to matters of the heart overwhelming the machinations of the mind.
​

And aren’t we all just going through this thing called life trying to find our purpose?
 
Despite a whole lot of reasons to dislike Squeal, it’s a film that’s hard not to embrace; and that’s a testament to Karapetian’s direction, his ensemble’s winning performances, and the overall tone of the journey.  Indeed, the cinema has seen a tale told through the eyes of a pig before – rather famously in 1995’s Babe – and I’m sure that association between these two films was deliberate.  Though they’re clearly constructed from two entirely disparate drawing boards, they could take place in the same universe … one being intended for children and the other (Sam’s) serving as the adult counterpart.  Imagine that Babe grew up and found itself in a David Lynch film, and you get the idea.
 
Indeed, it’s all oinks and slop until maturity sets in.
 
My one major quibble – you knew I’d have at least one, didn’t you?  As the film moves forward, it becomes increasingly difficult to bury Silina’s beauty under her drab clothing and dirty make-up.  The actress has the face of a fashion model, so those of us watching closely at the outset can kinda/sorta guess the trajectory of her character: she’ll deliberately grow outwardly more lovely as she and Sam are drawn together.  That predictability definitely works against the story here but given where it all winds up I’m uncertain if Karapetian had any other choice.
 
Squeal (aka Samuel’s Travels) (2021) was produced by Mistrus Media and Polar Bear.  Publicity materials report that the film will enjoy a limited theatrical release in the United States along with digital play available on August 19th, 2022.  As for the technical specifications?  Clearly, no expense was spared in bringing this occasionally delightful and sometimes comical film to life, though I found a few of the night-time sequences to be a bit too dark (photographically) for my preferences.  Minor quibble but still honest.
 
Recommended, but …
 
Don’t expect to make too much of Squeal beyond its obvious fairytale allusions being deconstructed when running headfirst into reality.  Yes, yes, and yes: the symbolism, analogies, and metaphors of this pigs vs. peasants yarn might be rich beyond compare, but it’s still important to remember that fairy tales – in the end – aren’t real, as even writer/director Karapetian proves with his closing scene focused on Samuel’s inevitable quandary.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Good Deed Entertainment provided me with complimentary screening access to Squeal (2021) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

​-- EZ

Oh, the things we do for science!  And for love!

Well, well, well.  Much has been written about writer/director David Cronenberg's use of body horror throughout his professional career; but -- for what my opinion is worth -- he's never been as accessible as he was when he crafted his legendary remake of The Fly.  From an entirely scientific point of view, he rather deftly constructs a parable chiefly centered around the moral 'be careful what you wish for' and then layers on the prosthetics to ample supply.  As others have remarked, yes, it's quite gross in its depiction of a man transforming into a man-sized fly -- along with all of the insect's rather disgusting traits -- but also retains a curious wholesomeness as it relates to the central couple's love story.  Stranger things have happened.

Though I could be wrong, I think The Fly also really gave actor Jeff Goldblum his first really big break-out opportunity to show the entire world what he was capable of as a talent.  The story evolves so carefully across its 90+ minutes, and Goldblum's performance does as well ... but all the time there's this wide-eyed innocence playing as a curious undercurrent ... almost like a child losing its innocence as it descends (or is that ascends?) into the most bizarre adulthood imagineable.  So very, very tragic.

​Geena Davis also gave a fabulous breakout performance.  Like Goldblum, she was given a series of understandable and achieveable 'beats' to follow in an arc that viewers could understand and empathize with.  The lovebirds last moments together are indeed heartbreaking, and Science Fiction has worked very hard to copy such intensity even today.

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

"A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong."

As studios are sadly compelled to do, the suits pushed for a sequel based entirely on the success of the original.  As happens for me, I only have a vague recollection of watching it, thinking all the while about the power of the original truly being squandered by a cash grab.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

From the files of virtual obscurity today comes a little something something: on this day back in the year 1983 (in the U.S.), Prisoners Of The Lost Universe broke out of their oppressive cell and ran wild.  Well, cinematically, that is ...

Though I'm not completely certain on this point, I have a vague recollection of quite possibly seeing this one either on television and/or video back in the day.  I say that because its top three stars -- Kay Lenz, Richard Hatch, and John Saxon -- were acting giants for those of us who trafficked in genre projects at that time, so I would've sought this one out in whatever venue possible.  Hatch, of course, was put onto the SciFi/Fantasy map in the role of 'Capt. Apollo' from the original incarnation of Glen Larson's Battlestar Galactica; and I knew the lovely Kay Lenz from any variety of TV projects.  John Saxon?  Well, if you don't know the name John Saxon, then you just lost your Fanboy Card: you can turn in the sombrero on your way out the door.

Written (in part) and directed by Terry Marcel (also of 1980's Hawk The Slayer fame), the film also starred Peter O'Farrell, Ray Charleson, and Kenneth Hendel.  According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"Three people are transported into a parallel reality, where they find they must use modern technology, but medieval weapons, in order to save the citizenry from a murderous warlord."

IMDB.com reports that the film was chiefly produced by the pay cable network Showtime, and it aired on it for this release.  (That's likely where I saw it.)  The site also states that it did screen theatrically in other nations of the globe, so perhaps that's why this thing might have a small cult following.  I did a search on the Information Superhighway, and I did find that there's a very, very, very pricey collectible-style DVD release of the title, so I'm guessing it may have the appeal for those in-the-know.  IMDB.com also states that the movie was 'riffed' by the knuckleheads at Rifftrax.com, so there's that, as well, for folks who wish to partake.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ