International Premiere: September 1, 1978 U.S. Premiere: April 7, 1979
Written, Directed, and Edited by George A. Romero Cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, David Crawford, David Early, Richard France, Howard Smith, Daniel Dietrich, Fred Baker, James A. Baffico, Jese Del Gre, Randy Kovitz, Joseph Pilato, Pasquale Buba, Tony Buba, Tom Savini, George A. Romero Soundtrack: De Wolfe Music Library (U.S.)/Dario Argento & Goblin (International)
I know what you’re thinking.
I know exactly what you’re thinking.
Dawn of the Dead is a seminal horror classic with legions of fans around the world.
“Why on Earth would it need defending?”
Come with me, my friends, and I will show you (the walk is not far).
True, Dawn of the Dead is a Classic whether I say so or not. The story of four heroes (Stephen, Peter, Roger, and Fran) on a quest to survive the Zombie Apocalypse (brilliantly unexplained in the film), hunkered down in a lush suburban shopping center after escaping the ravages of Philadelphia (and also the undead), is as compelling as ever after the events of 2020 and onward; but while the film is undoubtedly punctuated by horrific violence, it has so much more to offer.
Dawn of the Dead fervently checks off the classic horror criterion of “How Would I Handle This Situation?” while simultaneously asking deep ethical questions on the level of great sci-fi, while also being, at its core, just kind of a fun adventure movie.
Honestly, if you were to hypothetically tone down the gore, Dawn of the Dead could easily be a Saturday Matinee you could watch with the whole family; not that I’m advocating for that sort of censorship, I’m just pointing out how surprisingly enjoyable of a film it is in spite of, perhaps, its reputation in some circles as nothing more than a gross-out geek show.
And that’s why I feel the need to “defend” it. Because Dawn of the Dead is not just a “good horror movie,” it’s an outstanding movie by any standard, and deserves respect on that level (“Film School” level, if you will).
If I have any criticisms whatsoever, it’s that some of the music choices in the U.S. Theatrical version feel a bit clunky, and there’s one aspect of the ending that I find puzzling, but overall it’s a wonderful movie from start to finish.
Oh, you thought we were done with kindertrauma after Willy Wonka?
We are in no way done with kindertrauma here.
Now, for clarity’s sake, the two films I’m talking about in this post did both play at the Mahoning Drive-In early this season, but not together (they were actually in separate double bills). I just thought it more fitting (and fun) to review them side-by-side.
Original Release Date: August 25, 1939
Directed by Victor Fleming Written by Noel Langley & Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf, based on the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe, Clara Blandick Soundtrack: Harold Arlen (music), E.Y. Harburg (lyrics)
Honestly, I didn’t much care for this movie.
Now, listen, much like Willy Wonka, The Wizard of Oz is so ingrained into pop culture that it doesn’t matter if I think it’s a classic or not; it simply is at this point. In fact, I’d say you should watch it once just because it’ll unlock a whole world of jokes and references for you, but that doesn’t mean you should feel obligated to thoroughly enjoy it.
Which is not to say I hated it. I really liked Frank Morgan as Professor Marvel/The Wizard; I actually wish he had more legitimate screen time (I know he pops up in a few other parts; don’t e-mail me), but I understand that would hold up the story.
I think my biggest issue is that the film seems to rely so much on the turn from “real world” sepia to “Land of Oz” technicolor to wow audiences that the filmmakers just didn’t think of entertaining people in the same way as other strictly black and white movies of the time. To put it more simply, The Wizard of Oz just doesn’t hold up for me; and I’ve seen enough other films from the Thirties that do hold up and that I would recommend (It Happened One Night comes to mind).
Beyond that, to draw another comparison to Willy Wonka, I don’t mind the musical numbers in that one, but I can largely do without them in Oz; which, I know, that’s the whole point of casting Judy Garland, but she’s also 16 or 17 trying to play younger, and that takes me out of it as well (I do feel bad for the awful things she went through in her career though, including this film, so don’t think me heartless there).
Much respect to Toto though.
Rating: ★★½ (out of five)
Original Release Date: June 21, 1985
Directed by Walter Murch Written by Walter Murch & Gill Dennis, based on the novels The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum Cast: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Sophie Ward, Fiona Victory, Piper Laurie, Matt Clark, Emma Ridley, Justin Case, Pons Maar, Bruce Boa, Denise Bryer, Sean Barrett, Brian Henson, Lyle Conway, Beatrice Murch, Mak Wilson, Timothy D. Rose, Michael Sundin, Stewart Larange, Stephen Norrington, Deep Roy, John Alexander Soundtrack: David Shire
Now, THIS is a beat I can dance to! (Ironically, there are no musical numbers in Return to Oz, which is a positive.)
One last criticism I have of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is that I just struggle to feel the stakes of it, but that’s not a problem with Return, because within the first ten minutes a ten-year-old girl is threatened with shock therapy if she doesn’t shut up about that gott-dang Land of Oz.
BOOM! I’m in!
And she’s an actual ten-year-old girl. She doesn’t have to play vulnerable; she simply is. That helps. Much respect to young Fairuza Balk, who carries so much of the film on her shoulders. As stated, Wizard of Oz is so iconic, it couldn’t have been easy to slip into the shoes of a character like Dorothy Gale after more than forty years of history, but I really appreciate the switch to a younger actress in the role.
Another difference between the “original” and Return is that while the ’39 movie was, to my knowledge, shot entirely on sound stages, large swaths of Return are actually filmed outside, which also helps give credence to the stakes, despite some quite fantastical moments.
I know one aspect of Return to Oz that many people find disappointing (or at least did when they saw it as children) is that Dorothy has a new traveling crew, while Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion are pretty much relegated to the sidelines, but I have to say that I love the new characters (especially Tik-Tok, the mechanical one man Army of Oz); not to mention that it probably would have been a less interesting sequel if it was just the same foursome again.
Also, the rest of the human cast is really solid, particularly Nicol Williamson and Jean Marsh as the heavies.
I’d be remiss though if I didn’t mention the visual effects, which were rightfully Oscar-nominated. Some are obviously quaint now after so many years, but many are still breathtaking (not a total surprise give that one of the supervisors was Zoran Perisic, who made Christopher Reeve fly in Superman I, II, and III). Even the stop-motion effects, which often don’t age fantastically, hold up fairly well.
One last shout-out I’ll give is to David Shire for the musical score. It may not be culturally iconic like “Over the Rainbow” but it serves the movie perfectly.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)
So, look, as I said, The Wizard of Oz is a classic no matter what I say. It doesn’t need me.
Return to Oz, on the other hand, has been a “cult film” all my life, and I think it deserves a bit more than that, so if you want to say I’m caping up for it, I’m proud to wear that.
I mean, I’ve defended Superman IV. You think I’m ashamed of Return to Oz?
What can I say? Between the pandemic and the 2020 drive-in season ending, I just haven’t felt much like writing the past six months, but now that the Mahoning’s got the Simplex projectors shining again, I’m going to try to find some rhythm.
Original Release Date: June 30, 1971
Directed by Mel Stuart Written by Roald Dahl, based on his novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and David Seltzer (uncredited) Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Julie Dawn Cole, Leonard Stone, Denise Nickerson, Nora Denney, Paris Themmen, Ursula Reit, Michael Bollner, Diana Sowle, Aubrey Woods, David Battley, Günter Meisner, Peter Capell Soundtrack: Walter Scharf (score), Anthony Newley & Leslie Bricusse (songs)
After nearly five decades of traumatizing children (myself included), I’m not sure there’s anything new that I can say about Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (even RedLetterMedia‘s done a review by now), but what is life if not exercising futility?
As the story goes, director Mel Stuart’s daughter read Roald Dahl’s book and wanted her dad to turn it into a movie. It wasn’t Stuart’s first feature film, he did have a couple under his belt already, but the vast majority of his experience to that point was in documentaries (honestly, I know it’s a sounds like a strange comparison, but the circumstances remind me a bit of William Friedkin directing The Exorcist, although he also had an important movie in 1971, and he also happened to work for Stuart and producer David L. Wolper on ABC’s 1966 documentary The Thin Blue Line).
Second only to the casting of Gene Wilder (who we’ll get to), Stuart’s direction is the lynchpin of the operation. For one, there was a severely limited budget for the kind of film being made, and he undoubtedly knew how do things in an economical way; but, artistically, his documentary background comes in handy in giving the movie any sort of legitimate grounding (which is severely lacking in the Tim Burton remake), particularly in the first act, in order the make the later fantastical elements more real (along with some wonderfully matter-of-fact dry humor).
But, of course, it’s Willy Wonka’s world, and perhaps no actor, not even “Sean Connery IS James Bond” (speaking of Roald Dahl…), has defined a character more than Gene Wilder in the titular role (sorry, Johnny Depp… Actually, no, I’m not sorry). It’s not my personal favorite film of his (that would be Silver Streak), but I’m hard pressed to say that it’s not Wilder’s best performance. He’s not even introduced until nearly halfway through the movie, yet he is instantly indelible; with charm, with wit, and with more than a bit of sarcasm, but, in the end, heart.
However, the biggest heart of them all is young Charlie Bucket, admirably played by Peter Ostrum in his first and only acting role (he went on to become a veterinarian). Not to say that the other kids and parents don’t do a fine job, but they really nailed it with his casting; it’s hard to imagine the film without him either.
In the end, not only does the movie still hold up some five decades later on its own merits, its cultural impact is undeniable. From The Office to Futurama and beyond, Willy Wonka is one of the most referenced films of all time (not to mention the ever-enduring meme); though I’m not sure how many folks would have guessed that in 1971, as it struggled to break even at the box office in its initial theatrical release. But, as happens with certain properties, it found new life on network television screenings, and, later on, home video rentals.
So, I saw all three of these in a row at the final night of Camp Blood VI at The Mahoning Drive-In Theater. I was excited because I’d never seen any of them, and I was hoping to find a gem, which I kind of did, but, well, let’s just get into it.
Original Release Dates: August 23, 1982 (Spain) September 23, 1983 (US)
Directed by Juan Piquer Simón Written by Dick Randall and Roberto Loyola Cast: Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Frank Braña, Paul L. Smith, Edmund Purdom, Ian Sera, Jack Taylor, Isabelle Luque, Gérard Tichy Soundtrack: CAM
“PIECES: It’s exactly what you think it is!” reads the brilliant tagline, and, I suppose it is, but, I guess I was hoping for something…a little more?
To be fair, it’s not the worst slasher movie I’ve ever seen, but it is one of the dumbest. Others have argued that Pieces is some sort of self-reflexive horror comedy, but I absolutely refuse to give it that much credit (it’s certainly no Slumber Party Massacre, I tell you what). I think the stupidity is exactly what it is on its face; nothing deeper. If you want to argue “so-bad-it’s-good,” that’s a different discussion (I still disagree), but clever? No.
And, frankly, the “Tower of Babel” method of filming without sound and dubbing in voices later does this movie no favors either (there are other films I haven’t minded it on, but it sticks out like a sore thumb here).
Also, they really get no mileage out of their Boston setting. I mean, I realize the film was a Spanish production largely shot in Madrid, but why even bring Boston up? Just set it in “The Town” like Frisky Dingo.
The kills, to say one positive horror movie thing, are pretty well-executed (and grisly), and overall the movie is just weird and interesting enough for me to not totally throw it in the trash, but I don’t exactly recommend it either.
And that’s all I have to say about Pieces.
Rating: ★★½ (out of five)
Original Release Date: October 9, 1981
Directed by Joseph Zito Written by Glenn Leopold and Neal Barbera Cast: Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Lawrence Tierney, Farley Granger, Cindy Weintraub, Lisa Dunsheath, David Sederholm, Bill Nunnery, Thom Bray, Diane Rode, Bryan Englund Soundtrack: Richard Einhorn
I never really thought about it before, but a major trope of slasher movies is a prologue in the past. Friday the 13th, Halloween, even Pieces, they all begin their stories years earlier, as does The Prowler, but what separates it from the others is just how much it leans into the period.
Frankly, I was a little disappointed The Prowler didn’t take place entirely in the 1940s, because the introduction is arguably the strongest part, at least visually.
However, it doesn’t entirely shoot its wad up front. The titular prowler is a striking antagonist, and the movie provides a lot of legitimate tension (in addition to some brutal kills courtesy of Tom Savini). The problem overall is that it’s more than a bit sleepy, and I found the conclusion pretty unsatisfying (honestly, this sentence could double as my review of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, also directed by Joseph Zito).
Still, I like Vicky Dawson and Christopher Goutman as the leads (seems a shame that they didn’t have more prolific acting careers), and (especially compared to Pieces) the film makes good use of its location (Cape May, NJ apparently doubling for Avalon, CA).
It’s just not particularly special.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Original Release Date: November 10, 1976
Written and Directed by Rene Daalder Cast: Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine, Kimberly Beck, Ray Underwood, Steve Bond, Damon Douglas, Rex Steven Sikes, Lani O’Grady, Dennis Kort, Cheryl Smith, Jeffrey Winner, Tom Logan Soundtrack: Tommy Leonetti
Man, so this was… “surprise hit” would an overstatement, but it was undoubtedly the most interesting film of the night.
In contrast to, say, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, where the “teenagers” are at odds with their adult overlords, Massacre at Central High doesn’t even show a non-student until the very end of the movie. It’s a bit of a heightened reality, but not totally detached either. I’d say it’s like if American Graffiti and The Mechanic had a baby (no surprise that Massacre at Central High was an influence on Heathers).
The movie certainly features some creative kills, but to me the primary strength of the film is Derrel Maury as David. The role itself is reasonably well-written, but he does plenty of work himself to offer a compelling performance, and he and Kimberly Beck (future star of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter…is there an echo in here?) have good chemistry. I wish I could say the same for Andrew Stevens as the other lead; it’s just not his finest hour. Thankfully there are some other highlights in the supporting cast (including Robert Carradine).
As I said, it’s not great, but it’s unique enough to see once.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
So, yeah, it wasn’t the greatest night of horror in my life, but at least it was all new to me, and at least I was among friends. That’s the real win.
