Monday, September 26, 2011

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN / AIP - 1970

Welcome to Monster Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. A serial killer's on the loose in London, he drains the victims of blood, and, he's as strong as five men! That's the headline for this wild and crazy flick from producers Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, producers of films like THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS, THE SKULL, DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS, THE TERRORNAUTS, THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE, TORTURE GARDEN, ASYLUM, I, MONSTER, MADHOUSE, AT THE EARTH'S CORE and THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN!

The very cool music is by David Whitaker, David had 20 composing credits for titles like DON'T RAISE THE BRIDGE, LOWER THE RIVER, HAMMERHEAD, DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE, VAMPIRE CIRCUS, OLD DRAC, THE PLAYBIRDS and THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER. He also has 7 soundtrack credits.

Since it's Monday, that means our fuzzy little Dungeon helper and button pusher, Ralphie The Tarantula, is present and is ready to start our Eariffic Soundclip. So, push the big red 'GO' button located directly in front of you, now, Ralphie! Here's... SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN!

What bothered me the most about this flick when I first saw it is this poor athlete here! All he remembers is jogging in a park somewhere, with both his legs attached!..

And, do you think his nurse even cares?!!.. Hell no, she don't, she's got work to do!!

Vinnie plays Dr. Browning, he's part of secret military operation in the process of creating an army of super humans...

Victims are showing up at the morgue with the blood drained from their bodies, although, looks like her blood's all there to me! This is the R rated version.

Back to this guy, here's what he discovers the next time he wakes up!..

Blackwater decides to get in on the action...

I'd get in a lot of trouble if I used any other caption but this one!

British chicks are daft!

I mean, see what happens when the bird puffing the fag hooks up with super boy, that doesn't look like sex!

Peter Cushing's role required only one day's shooting, and, he's never even seen with Price or Lee.

Sooooo... Drizzle, drazzle, druzzle, drome, time for this one to come home!..

Man, kinda' rough week... Guess I'll just take a little ol' nap... Can't play checkers any more, anyhow!

The police dude helps the chick get wired for sound!

Chickie hooks up with the suspected killer, but, he proves to be super evasive after being cornered by a ton of policemen!

When he's eventually captured, they handcuff him to his sportscar's bumber to prevent him from getting away.

He pulls his hand off and heads for Dr. Browning's place, where he jumps into a big pit of acid! This bobbie finds out the hard way that the liquid is actually sulfuric acid, not water!

After the hand is taken back the lab, it tries to get away while being inspected by the doctors.

Lots of freaky junk goin' on around here!

In Browning's lab, they're preparing for another transplant operation.

Good guy, Dr. Sorel, tries to stop Browning and finds out that he's dealing with another super human!

At the end, we get to see who the big boss is, it's Chris Lee as Fremont!

Dr. Browning is no longer needed, and, like a good trooper, he lies down in the acid pit when ordered to by the boss...

A very cool poster to end the show with!!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

THE DAMNED - Bernard/Jones - "Black Leather Rock" (1963)

This film has got me all messed up! "The Damned" was released in the U.S. as "These Are The Damned," and it all starts off with this stomping 'George of the Jungle' sax driven "Black Leather Rock" to slap you around, and kick you when you're down! The music was written by Hammer musical kingpin James Bernard in a rare non-orchestrated outing for him! The lyrics were written officially by writer Evan Jones, with the unofficial help of director Joe Losey. I have not been able to track down who is actually doing the vocals!

Where in the Hell is this going? "Lurking Unseen Evil?" Well, kind of, but not quite! More like concussions and weird conclusions!

"Never seen a clock tower before?"

Found floating around in nether-space by TedMo, "These Are The Damned" is one of the most interesting films you might never get a chance to see before the hammer comes down! Multiple issues! Multiple!!

First off, to go along with the insane and driving music is, The Set-up! "Smash, Smash, Smash, Crash, Crash, Crash!" Macdonald Carey is Simon Wells, an American tourist who fell for it! "These Are The Damned" is arguably the strangest film in Macdonald's long and distinguished career, unless you want to include "Tammy And The Doctor." Maconald finished his career as Dr. Tom Horton in the TV soap opera "Day Of Our Lives" from 1965 to 1993!

It's a convoluted affair, and Simon actually falls for the sister of the ringleader of the gang that beat his ass! They take off together with the gang of Teddy Boys in hot pursuit!!

The quite lovely Shirley Anne Field is Joan! It just so happens that Joan feels trapped in her existence and doesn't really mind running off with the old dude on his boat! Shirley Anne has had a long career, and is still working it today! She's been in some pretty cool flicks like "Horrors Of The Black Museum," "Peeping Tom," "Beat Girl," and "Man In The Moon" just to scratch the surface!

The other main couple that the film focuses on is an artist Freya Neilson played by Viveca "Bell From Hell" Lindfors, and her stiff uppercrust boyfriend Bernard, as played by Alexander "The Phantom Strikes" Knox!

Simon and Joan have made it to an isolated home where she knows the owner is away most of the time, and they consummate their new found love on borrowed sheets! They hear a car pull up, so they sneak out the back way!

The artist Freya Neilson was the person who lived here, and Joan's brother King, shows up soon thereafter! The role of the commandingly jealous, overbearing, and probably incestuous brother is none other than Dungeon fave Oliver Reed!

King, what a perfect name for Oliver Reed, and his boys are on the chase! This is a killer shot!

Heavily pursued by the gang in the dark, Joan and Simon find themselves someplace where they shouldn't be! Suddenly it feels like they're in an Alfred Hitchcock movie!

Maybe the title of this film should have been "Damned If You Do, And Damned If You Don't" because that's where it seem like it's going!

Over the fence, and off the cliff, and into the freezing ocean water, Simon and Joan, pursued by King find themselves rescued and in a cave with a bunch of children all the same age who all feel like they have ice in their veins. King reels back after touching one of the children and exclaims "They're Dead!"

King is just a little dense, and despite everything that has happened, his main motivation is still to kick Simon's ass!

The children have a very strange existence that includes constant monitoring by bad boy Bernard and his government pals, and normally no contact with the outside world until the three strangers came into the picture!

This is no run of the mill crap, this film was made to make you think!

Since Simon and Joan have no effing clue what's going on, they promise the children that they are going to help them!!

Up to this point, the only parents the children know are the video images of Bernard and his cronies always falsely reassuring them, but the kids are all right, and starting to think for themselves, and are planning an escape! That's the shadow of one of Freya Neilson's sculptures in the shot with Bernard's head!

Now's a good time to have a blood thirsty guy like King around!!

Even old Simon gets in on the action!!

After finally getting out into the fresh air, Joan and one of the little girls are starting to think there's hope for a new life!

Simon sez "What? Why? WHY?

Bernard and Freya can not see eye to eye! Is there room in the world for both free thinking art and complete government control? Doubtful!

The kids were all radioactive, and everybody that has come in contact with them for any amount of time is going to die! They were supposed to be the hope of the future!

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??