Review: Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

When we last left The Abominable Dr. Phibes, he had just finished up his killing spree before relegating himself to a state of suspended animation. Thanks to a long awaited alignment of the planets, it’s now time that Dr. Phibes Rises Again!

Vincent Price reprises his role as the mad Dr. Anton Phibes, still searching for a way to revive his wife, Victoria, from the dead. This time around, he has to get his hands on a papyrus scroll that was stolen from a safe in his now demolished mansion. The scroll leads the way to an underground tomb in Egypt which is reputed to house the River of Life, whose flowing waters will not only bring Victoria back, but also grant them both immortality. His suspicions that the scroll was taken by Darius Biederbeck (Robert Quarry, Count Yorga, Vampire) are confirmed as he eavesdrops outside and hears Biederbeck’s nefarious plans to extend his own life. Now, Phibes must once again put his murderous talents to work in order to gain possession of the scroll.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again. like its predecessor, is a wonderful mix of over the top horror and black comedy (the first murder alone in which a man is dispatched in quite an unexpected manner given the circumstances, actually made me laugh out loud–with the film, not at it) and Price again plays the titular role to perfection. Price is one of those actors that was born to inhabit these larger than life roles because he possessed the ability to ground his characters in reality, no matter how insane the plot of the film.

To be honest, more of today’s horror films and TV shows could stand to learn a few lessons from the Dr. Phibes films. While some have been able to successfully combine visceral horror and dark comedy (2014’s Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead and almost any season of American Horror Story immediately come to mind, though the latter of the two sometimes takes itself a little too seriously as it nears season’s end), others largely fail in at least one of the two, refusing to commit fully to pulling out all the stops.

At any rate, Dr. Phibes Rises Again is a worthy successor to The Abominable Dr. Phibes. It retains the inventiveness of the original’s revenge based murder spree without seeming too familiar or derivative, and all tongues remain planted firmly in cheek throughout the entire film. The warped doctor may or may not have found life eternal (watch the film to see his fate), but hopefully these two films will thanks to future generations.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again grade: B-

Review: Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

Renowned photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is known for taking pictures drenched in violence and dripping with sexuality. Mars suddenly develops the ability to see through a serial killer’s eyes as the killer picks off her associates and acquaintances one by one. Aided by Lt. John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones), Mars must determine who is responsible before she suffers the same fate. Is it her driver, Tommy (Brad Dourif, Child’s Play), her agent (Rene Auberjonois), or perhaps someone else close to her? In the Eyes of Laura Mars, everyone is a suspect and none are to be trusted.

Directed by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back), Eyes of Laura Mars can’t completely be considered a typical “horror” movie, though it does contain elements of a slasher film. It’s more of a thriller with a supernatural bent thanks to John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), whose spec script became his first big studio movie. The audience has no idea why Mars has this odd link to the killer because it’s never explained anywhere in the script–something that’s a bit detrimental to the film overall. Usually, I relish the fact that stories omit any sort of background. In Carpenter’s Halloween, it’s never revealed why Michael snapped as a young boy or even years later and that makes the movie even more terrifying. However, in the case of Eyes of Laura Mars, I would have preferred at least a brief mention as to how and why Mars developed this ability (for example, perhaps it was an accident or some sort of psychological reason). It certainly would have fleshed out the character a bit more at any rate.

Eyes of Laura Mars isn’t a terrible film, just somewhat ordinary. I recall seeing ads for it on TV back in 1977 or so and it seemed to be one of those “taboo” movies like Looking For Mr. Goodbar that were far more adult in nature than I was allowed to watch. By today’s standards, it’s positively tame and cliched (catch any episode of American Horror Story and you’ll see many more lurid images).

Eyes of Laura Mars is very similar to When A Stranger Calls in that it’s more of a police procedural than a genre film and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure that it was titillating to moviegoers in the late 70s when times were a lot simpler and this material was a little more groundbreaking, at least for a major studio film. It has a grittiness about it that’s reflective of New York in that era, using the seediness of the dirty streets and dilapidated infrastructure to make everything just a little more menacing.

The film is worth a glance if you’re looking for a decent thriller, but it will be tough to keep an open mind as there are literally hundreds of other films out there that are a great deal more taut, interesting and far more effective.

Eyes of Laura Mars grade: C+

Review: Scream Queens-“Pilot” and “Hell Week”

If I were writing this review in 1995 (when the flashback of the series’ opening scene is set), I might be pretty excited about Scream Queens. After all, it’s a snarky, satirical look at the sorority life mixed with a little serial killing (courtesy of the Red Devil).

The only problem is that it’s 2015 and everything about this series has been done much better over the past 25 years, beginning with the horror film classic, Scream, and continuing all the way through the modern day with the TV anthology series American Horror Story (at least the spectacular first season anyway). There is literally no new ground Scream Queens breaks and that’s kind of disappointing when you consider the talent behind the show.

Scream Queens is the latest series courtesy of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, the forces behind such popular shows as Nip/Tuck, Glee, and the aforementioned American Horror Story. Like their previous offerings, they populate Scream Queens with a pretty solid cast including Lea Michele (Glee), Emma Roberts (American Horror Story: Coven and Freak Show), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and a host of other talent comprised of both up and comers and veteran actors. Their biggest coup was scoring the original “scream queen” Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) as Dean Munsch, whose main goal is to close the sorority (or at least be a thorn in their side).

When I heard Bat For Lashes “What’s A Girl To Do” over the opening scene, I was pretty excited because it’s a terrific, woefully underplayed song (with a pretty eerie video to boot). Even the first few minutes provide an interesting hook–a sorority girl gives birth in a tub while her sisters abandon her to go back to their party and jam while chasing Waterfalls. When they return, the baby is alive but their sister has bled out and died.

Scream Queens then switches gears to modern day where Chanel (Emma Roberts) abuses her closest sorority sisters while bashing heads (figuratively, not literally…yet, anyway) with Curtis’ Dean Munsch. Toss in a slew of pledges, some egotistical frat boys, the new girl Grace (Skyler Samuels) and her overprotective father (Oliver Hudson), and the “nice guy” barista/school paper editor (Diego Boneta) looking to dig up dirt on the sorority, and you’ve got a pretty large cast of characters to service in an hour long show. The good news is that a majority of these characters have a lot to do.

The bad news is that it’s been done before.

As “Hell Week” began, my wife asked me how many episodes Scream Queens has overall.

“Too many”, I replied.

Save for some interesting scenes (the killing while texting was mildly humorous), Scream Queens seems mired in a past that has long since vanished (oddly enhanced by an 80’s soundtrack). I can see where all involved are approaching it with a “tongue in cheek” attitude and that’s definitely the way to go with a series like this. However, there’s nothing of any substance here to keep viewers (at least this one) entertained on a weekly basis. To think that this show has enough steam to make it to a half dozen episodes is wishful thinking, but it’s slated to have more than double that!

Because Scream Queens borrows from every trope in the book and fails to truly put an interesting spin on them, these queens amount to little more than peasants eking out a hoarse whisper.

Scream Queens grade: D

Review: ‘American Horror Story: Coven’

Let me begin by saying that the American Horror Story series is arguably the most fun hour of television. Throughout its first three seasons, the series has incorporated moments of high camp, scenes of intense gore, twists aplenty, and some of the best performances by the entire ensemble. AHS has continually pushed the envelope, especially for a series on a cable network, and is groundbreaking because it paved the way for other series which feature intense imagery and high concept stories (at best, NBC’s Hannibal and at worst, FOX’s The Following). At this point, it’s hard to find a better group of actors who relish their roles and put 100% of their energy into selling a concept as much as the company on AHS and I look forward to the scenery chewing every week.

Since the third season, entitled American Horror Story: Coven, premiered back in October, it’s been a joy to watch.

That said, the parts of AHS: Coven were better than the whole.

When the season began, it started off promising. In New Orleans, a witches’ coven masquerades as an upscale academy for young girls, one of whom will eventually become the next “supreme” and usurp the aging Fiona (Jessica Lange) as the new leader. Under the tutelage and guidance of Fiona’s daughter, Cordelia (Sarah Paulson), select students (played by Taissa Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Jaime Brewer and Gabourey Sidibe) would develop their powers until one proved themselves worthy as the new “supreme”.

Then, in the rich tradition of AHS, things got increasingly weird and interesting. The resurrected spirit of a saxophone playing serial killer known as the “Axeman” (Danny Huston) was let loose upon the city; the girls created a Frankenstein monster out of a college frat boy (Evan Peters); and antagonists Madame Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) and voodoo queen Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) were tossed into the mix to create even more friction.

And that’s not even scratching the surface of the multiple storylines AHS: Coven tried to juggle this season, which also featured a minotaur, witch hunters, and the spirit of a powerful voodoo deity, Papa Legba (Lance Reddick).

The big problem with AHS: Coven was that, unlike the previous seasons, many of the stories either became convoluted or hit dead ends at various points during the season. There really was no big showdown between Fiona’s coven and the powerful Laveau. The wealthy and powerful witch hunters were barely fleshed out and disposed of rather easily, considering they were looked upon as a force to be reckoned with early on. And everyone came back from the dead which undercut any tension there might have been among those vying for the title of “supreme”.

Overall, the individual episodes were lavish and stylishly shot (thanks to the array of directors, with Alfonso Gomez-Rejon particularly nailing it with every effort) and beautiful to look at. Add to that the fact that each and every actor delivered sparkling, crafty dialogue until it crackled and came alive, making each performance and character memorable (hell, I would love to see a Papa Legba series!). Finally, I admire that each season (and AHS: Coven particularly) focuses on female empowerment, allowing these very talented actresses to shine. More often than not, there aren’t enough quality roles for women on TV, but AHS creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk ensure that there are plenty of opportunities to showcase their craft each and every year.

Though there are a lot of things I loved about AHS: Coven, it ultimately proved to be unsatisfying, allowing really only one character (Cordelia) to have any sort of arc and even that seemed a bit forced, especially in the finale, “The Seven Wonders”. The season seemed to be less of a coherent narrative and more of a “What oddity can we toss in to stretch the story?”. The latter worked well in previous seasons but the story remained compelling throughout AHS: Murder House and AHS: Asylum; the oddities only added to the fun rather than act as a distraction.

I’ll definitely return for season 4, but I hope the writers are better able to focus on more substance to complement the style.

American Horror Story: Coven grade: C-

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