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Re-Animator movie poster featuring Herbert West with glowing green syringe 1985

Artist’s Blog #166 – Re-Animator (1985)

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Re-Animator blends gore, suspense, and humor in a way that’s surprisingly well-balanced. Jeffrey Combs plays Herbert West, a young medical student with an obsession for conquering death. His experiments involve a glowing green serum that can bring the dead back to life. What really stood out was how Re-Animator never went too far into camp or over-the-top effects. Some examples are the headless Dr. Hill “holding” his own severed head and the fake doctor disguise. Re-Animator embraces its practical effects in a way that makes the horror feel more visceral. And let’s not forget one of the best uses of a receipt spike in cinema history. That scene alone will change how I look at those things forever. Re-Animator has just enough comedy, mixed with just enough well done but not excessive gore, and horror themes that it’s almost perfect.

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“Tura Satana as Varla in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”, “Iconic scene from Russ Meyer’s cult classic”, “1965 black and white exploitation film still”, “Go-go dancers in desert setting”, “Vintage muscle car from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”

Artist’s Blog #165 – Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

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My introduction to Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! was at a Kate Nash concert in North Carolina. Kate had TVs on stage playing what I’m pretty sure was this movie. The vibe fit — a bold, women-power flick that felt right at home before her performance featuring her all-female band. Even if you’ve never seen it, anyone familiar with offbeat cinema has at least heard of this movie. It’s a staple in the world of weird, cool films. There’s a shop downtown where I live that has a poster from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, which I think is authentic, on display. It is marked “Not for Sale” too. Rob Zombie sampled from this classic film in his song “Thunderkiss 65” among others. You can read more on this here. I said all that to say that I had been exposed to Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! long before I had seen it.

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Daughters of Darkness movie poster featuring Delphine Seyrig, 1971 cult classic vampire film promotional image, Delphine Seyrig as Countess Bathory in Daughters of Darkness

Artist’s Blog #164 – Daughters of Darkness (1971)

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Central to the film’s impact is the portrayal of the vampire’s manipulation and psychological prowess. Unlike traditional vampire tales filled with blood-drinking and caskets, this movie focuses on the countess’s ability to seduce and control people. Delphine Seyrig’s performance as the countess is nothing short of mesmerizing; her voice and mannerisms exude an allure that’s both hypnotic and unsettling. Her character’s seductive and manipulative nature draws others into her web, turning them against each other and bending them to her will. For fans of the vampire genre, you will recall that in Bela Lugosi’s role as Dracula we see him glaring at the young woman at the opera and convincing her to do his will with this stare alone. To be direct, it’s this power of the vampire that Daughters of Darkness seems to focus on.

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Poster of "Murder in a Blue World" (1973), 1973 sci-fi thriller "Murder in a Blue World" movie poster, "Murder in a Blue World" film poster featuring pop art design, Vintage poster of "Murder in a Blue World" with dystopian imagery, "Murder in a Blue World" movie poster highlighting 1970s aesthetics

Artist’s Blog #162 – Murder in a Blue World (1973)

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The story follows a nurse (Sue Lyon, best known as Kubrick’s Lolita), who’s wrapped up in some questionable scientific experiments and happens to be a serial killer. Meanwhile, the dune buggy gang goes around breaking into homes and committing violent crimes. Ironically, one of the members gets ostracized and becomes a witness to the nurse’s crimes. The government is trying to “fix” violent criminals through experiments — yet another nod to A Clockwork Orange. The tables turn when a dune buggy gang member is nearly killed by his old crew. Surprise – guess who is his nurse? One of the eeriest scenes involves her wheeling this now paralyzed man down a long, empty hallway, talking to him in that calm, soothing voice while he’s completely helpless and classical music plays. It’s pure psychological horror—being trapped, knowing something terrible is coming, and not being able to stop it.

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Artist’s Blog #161 – The Stuff (1985)

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The ‘80s horror scene gave us some wild, offbeat gems, and The Stuff is one. This is a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously but also doesn’t go full parody. It sits in that weird, sweet spot where it’s self-aware but still plays its premise straight. And what a premise it is: a mysterious, addictive substance is bubbling up from the earth, and people just start eating it. The Stuff begins with an old man stumbling upon some white goo seeping from the ground. And what does he do? The most logical thing in the world. He sticks his fingers in it and eats it. The opening scene sets the tone for the entire movie. The Stuff is not going to give you deep character arcs or airtight logic, but it also does not try to trick you into thinking it is some serious thriller either – that sweet spot.

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Deep Red movie poster featuring Dario Argento's 1975 giallo horror film artwork

Artist’s Blog #160 – Deep Red (1975)

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At its core, Deep Red plays out more like a murder mystery than a straight-up horror film. The pacing is slow, almost methodical, as the story drops subtle (and sometimes misleading) clues to help the audience figure out the killer’s identity. This was problematic for me though. The clues didn’t quite make enough sense to follow – that’s not necessarily a bad thing because it keeps the film feeling dreamlike. I mean that you feel like you’re watching a puzzle unfold without being able to put it together yourself. I find often that it’s hard to articulate my thoughts on this stuff. Mayen, even though unlikely, I watch Deep Red again one day and pay more attention to these clues.

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Dario Argento’s Phenomena movie poster, Jennifer Connelly in Phenomena film, Phenomena 1985 horror movie scene, Italian horror film Phenomena promotional image

Artist’s Blog #159 – Phenomena (1985)

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The final ten minutes are a wild shift. You can almost see where the story is going, but it goes way off the rails. It turns into this chaotic mix that made me think of Child’s Play, Friday the 13th, and Candyman all wrapped into one. You’ve got the heroine in a boat, the boat explodes, and then she’s in the water with this deformed kid who looks like a young Jason Voorhees. And somehow, while she’s in the boat this deformed kid has a spear but can’t land a single hit on her? It’s the same thing with Chucky – how was that doll ever a threat? You’d just punt him across the room or shoot him and it’s game over. The whole sequence is insane, but it works because it leans into the madness of Phenoma’s story.

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Karate Girl 1973 film poster, Turkish movie Karate Girl, Karate Girl movie scene, 1973 Turkish film Karate Girl, Karate Girl film still

Artist’s Blog #158 – Karate Girl (1973)

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Karate Girl really mirrored later American marital arts movies from the ‘80s. The film followed the standard martial arts formula with a revenge tale that required a skill set to be learned. Also, there’s a training montage and Karate Girl’s is worth touching on because it is terrible to the point of comedy. A training montage foreshadows the infamous death scene that has garnered attention online. The montage itself is unintentionally hilarious, featuring the protagonist strengthening her grip by lifting a small boulder with a stick and cord, all set to incongruous Indian-style music. She rapidly progresses from a white belt to a brown belt in mere seconds, a process that would realistically take years. The sequence drags on, lacking the brevity of typical ‘80s montages. On a side note, there’s a great female led martial arts movie called Firecracker – read my blog on this gem here.

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Satan in High Heels movie poster, 1962 film poster, Vintage movie artwork, Retro cinema poster, Classic film promotional image

Artist’s Blog #157 – Satan in High Heels (1962)

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There’s one character in this movie that stood out to me, and it wasn’t the main character. Her name is Sabrina and she is played by Sabrina (which is odd – no last name?). Her character is another of the “entertainers” that perform at the club featured in Satan in High Heels. I say entertainers in quotations because I don’t find these shows very fun. This club was not the kind of club we have today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not campaigning for a lot of the places we have or things we do, I’m just saying I don’t see this place as being fun. It’s a bunch of well-dressed men sitting around tables sipping wine or whiskey with their wives watching these attractive ladies sing Frank Sinatra-type music. While pieces of this are fun, together it is not my cup of tea…or whiskey.

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The Exorcist 1973 poster featuring Regan MacNeil and iconic stairway scene, Retro horror movie poster of The Exorcist, classic 70s art, Linda Blair as Regan in The Exorcist iconic pose, Original artwork from The Exorcist movie poster, 1973, Close-up of Regan in classic horror film The Exorcist

Artist’s Blog #156 – The Exorcist (1973)

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First, I want to pat myself on the back here and say that I have saved this review for a special occasion. This blog marks 3 years in a row of weekly entries. You may not care but, I’m proud of myself. Now, on to what matters – my thoughts on The Exorcist. I think this movie calls itself the scariest movie ever made and as far as I’m concerned, it’s right. There has never been a film that terrified me like The Exorcist. We’ll discuss this further but Evil Dead was the other. I’ve grown out of some of the creepiness but, The Exorcist holds a special place with me. Grab your priest and a crucifix and let’s go help set Regan free – read on for my thoughts on The Exorcist from 1973.

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