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Reviews
Creepshow (1982)
Fun Cinema
First off, Creepshow is nothing but totally pure,unadulterated fun cinema.There's something wrong with anybody that doesn't get a bang out of this.Directed by George Romero, and written by horror mastermind Stephen King, Creepshow is sort of molded after the old EC horror comics.
In my opinion, Creepshow is carried and made enjoyable mostly by two of its five yarns.Hal Holbrook does a fine job in "The Crate", which was the fourth out of the five yarns.
My two definite favorites of the bunch,though, are "Something to Tide You Over" and "They're Creeping Up on You".These two are the classics that make Creepshow really,really fun.Whenever this flick is shown on standard television, that last sequence is always omitted.In my absolute favorite story of the bunch, Leslie Nielson was Ingenious in "Something to Tide You Over", as Richard Vickers, a jealous husband who disposes of his cheating wife and her mate, Harry Wentworth, (Ted Danson) with much planning and in very,very unique fashion.I loved the guy in this film, he was just a treat! EG Marshall finishes things off in "They're Creeping Upon You"as a an uncaring, wealthy misanthrope who lives in a germ proof penthouse apartment but gets infested with cockroaches that seemingly cannot be traced to any source or gotten rid of.He even ends up finding roaches in a Raisen Bran-type of cereal he was consuming.This final segment also has Marshall firing off some cut-throat,yet comical remarks.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Night Caller (1985)
Thought-Provoking
Night Caller was a very riveting little episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents,-cleverly directed by John Byrum and very stirring.The plot centers around Betsy Van Kennon,(Linda Fiorentino) who is a recent divorcée moving into a new apartment in Marina Del Rey, set up for her by her ex-husband.
The music in this episode is very eerie,and plays very well to some of the chilling moments the viewer is treated to.A very intense mystery, and you are constantly wondering what is going to unfold next.This episode was adapted from a story by Gabrielle Upton.You are on the edge of your seat and guessing from start to finish.Solid performances from Fiorentino,Michael O'Keefe,Tony Bill, and guest star Stephen Davies chips in nicely as Detective Duane Calvin.
Columbo: Death Hits the Jackpot (1991)
Rip Torn is Brilliant
Wow.This has got to be one of my favorite mystery/detective thrillers of all time.(And not just Columbo titles)To say the plot of this is ingenious would actually be an understatement.I just fell in love with the storyline,everything.Rip Torn takes the character of Leon Lamarr and turns him into one of my most favorite villains ever.Torn was simply brilliant.Death Hits the Jackpot is all peaks and no valleys.
The costuming at the Halloween party was delightful, and the performance of Betsy Palmer was very solid.I could watch this countless times over and never cease to be amazed with the quality of this mystery, the cast, the subtle clues and tidbits of evidence, the whole package is right up my alley.I give it a 10 out of 10.
Magnum, P.I.: Of Sound Mind (1983)
Maybe my favorite episode
This specific episode is most certainly my favorite.In a nutshell, it was the costumes at the party that did it for me.Just loved it, as well as the outline of the plot.The will, the estate, the clever schemes of Wilson, a typical cheap-skate using money like the carrot and the stick.Roscoe Lee Browne was very, very good in this.But the best part was the costume party and the mystery.
The house, the antiques, the greedy,left-out family heirs,the plotting, scheming, all of that was fit in so nicely in this episode.The conclusion was poetic justice at its finest, just dazzling and highly well thought-out for a TV Series.But it's all about that delightful costume party to me.
Frenzy (1972)
High Quality Hitchcock
As a fan of these types of little gems, I might consider this some of Alfred Hitchcock's best work ever.It is difficult to compare this with The Birds, because it is a different type of suspense/chiller film altogether.To me, this masterpiece certainly has more than enough quality to put it on par with Psycho,and what's more is the acting is less wooden and several notches above it.No questions asked.I own it on video,and will never stop loving it.Hats off to Mr. Finch, but the late Barry Foster goes a long way toward taking this film and carrying it on his back for the latter half, and most certainly during its spine-tingling conclusion.Just an excellent work of art all the way around.My next step is to get it on DVD.
Eyes of a Stranger (1981)
High in Intrigue and also Atmospheric
As a horror-film fan who likes certain types of chillers, I would say this bit of work is solid in atmosphere and fairly gripping at times.The musical score is out of this world, and John DiSanti was brilliant.The directing by Mr.Weiderhorn was very creative and was at the near peak of perfection in capturing the mood and atmosphere of the stalk scenes.I found the conclusion somewhat anti-climatic, but most all else was captivating.This film arrived on the scene right at the high water-mark for slasher-chiller flicks,and it is easily lost in the clutter of all the other famous and even not-so famous films of this genre.Once again the music was delightfully scary.