Review: Massacre at Central High

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Massacre at Central High
Directed by Rene Daalder (d. 2019)
Brian Distributing Corp; Synapse Films; MVD Entertainment
87 minutes, 1976 / 2022
www.synapsefilms.com
www.MVDVisual.com/
High school bully films are a nice subgenre of thrillers and possible violent (did I mention bullies) murder tales. This theme is more common in Japan where there are strict social rules in instructional institutions, such as was in England in the 19th Century (e.g., Tom Brown’s School Days), but that is another story. This film was obviously a launching pad for the likes of cult release, Heathers (1988), which has a very similar revenge theme. There are differences between, for example, this film and Heathers in that the latter is a vicious comedy and the former a vicious drama.

I don’t know why this subgenre tend to group the bully social construct as a three- or foursome, but that is true here. Perhaps this release set the pathway? The leader of the baddies is Mark (Andrew Stevens; at one time I could honestly say, in the words of the SoCal punk band VOM, “I’m In Love With Your Mom”). His cohorts are Bruce (Ray Underwood; d. 1993), blond and really tall Paul (Damon Douglas; d. 2006) and Craig (Steve Bond). From the opening shot of them walking side-by-side down the narrow school corridor, like it was theirs, gives all the indication you need for who and what they are. And we see their behavior right off when the run into the film’s hippie rebel, Spoony (Robert Carradine), who is wise and sharp-tongued, but seems to get away with much.

Darrel Maury

We quickly meet the hero/anti-hero of the piece, in the form of transfer student David (Derrel Maury). The baddies are out to groom him to be one of “theirs,” as David was friends with Mark at a previous school. However, David has flirted with Theresa (Kimberly Beck), who unknowingly is actually Mark’s girl. Okay, enough with the exposition, since we now have all the main characters (though I’d like to give a nod to Rambeaux Smith, aka Cheryl Smith, who plays secondary character, Mary; d. 2002).

While it is obvious that these guys are no good, but the film take the wise choice to escalate their actions in steps. At first, they “just” harass and intimidate, but as the story progresses, they get more aggro, justifying the actions/reactions to come. One nearly amusing deed they take is to knock books off several library shelves onto nerdy Arthur (Dennis Kort). Thing is, there is something these goons, who obviously do not read library books, do not realize; the Dewey Decimal System. To put the books in order, just follow the numbers. Anyway, tensions mount between the turdettes and David, when the latter starts helping those who have been injured by his – er – pals.

Andrew Stevens, Kimberly Beck

Another interesting choice is that these bozos – well, conflicted Mark anyway, really wants David to join rather than rebel. Mark’s friends are not so keen, and they actually have a say. In many bully films, the main bad guy is king and the rest are his followers, but here, while Mark is the alpha male, he is surprisingly thoughtful at times and not just a bully cliché. Yet, he is still pressured by the rest of the crew.

The shift in the story, where it escalates, is a series of three events (which I will not describe; no spoilers). By the third, as my grandmother would say, “Enough is enough” (speaking of which, one of the characters, Jane, is played by Lani O’Grady, who would go on to “Eight is Enough” fame, and even has the same haircut here as in the TV show; d. 2001), and the revenge aspect of the story starts, and it becomes more, if a tad predictable (i.e., you know when something is going to happen, just before it does).

Damon Douglas, Ray Underwood, (Maury), Steve Bond

One of the common themes of the bully movie, is it usually turns into a violent revenge scenario, and then goes a step further and there are some times where the bullied become the new bullies. For example, Mark was bullied and then became one himself. With the absence of this hierarchy, the school turns into a Lord of the Flies situation, with past victims demanding their due and wanting influence in whatever form over the others.

This is where the film gets political, as each faction has its own social focus (misinterpreted social justice, rich vs. poor, intellect vs. brawn, brawn vs. intellect, etc.). Well, David’s to the “rescue,” like Christian Slater in Heathers.

Robert Carradine

Along with the original theatrical trailer, a TV and radio spot, and a still gallery, the main extra is “Hell in the Hallways,” a Making Of featurette created for this Blu-ray (42 min; 2020). While it follows the pattern of so many Making Ofs (cast interviews, getting the roles, crew interviews, anecdotes, impact on culture), this one is pretty interesting because – especially the actors – seem really engaged when they talk about their experiences. Also, what is fun, is that they dissect specific effect scenes that are quite amusing. Worth the watch.

There are some aspects of the film worth noting (and I am not the first), there is no official authority figures present through the whole story, except for the last scene. There are no teachers, administration, parents or police. That was a stylistic choice for which I approve, although it makes no sense that classes would continue after so many acts of violence in such a short period of time. And the fact that they go on with Prom? Wow.

But the most egregious thing about the whole film has to be the theme song, “Crossroads,” sung by Tommy Leonetti, is just plain gawd-awful. Lyrically, musically, and vocally, it is just horrendous. It is so bad, and was hated so much by the director, he refused to watch the film for 30 years. For myself, I worked in a movie theater as an usher and had to stay inside the main room my whole shift. If I had to hear this song three times a day, five days a week, I would have torn my ears off.

For  film of this sort, and the date of its release, there is no surprise in the amount of nudity (kudos to Beck). However, there is a nice level of gore that was unexpected, and pre-CGI. I also liked that while it was predictable on who would die, I was surprised by some of the survivors.

Even through some stilted dialogue and ‘70s style acting, this film is a cult classic. It is easy to see why,

IMDB listing HERE 

Review: The Man From Earth

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

The Man From Earth (aka Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth)

Directed by Richard Schenkman

Falling Sky Entertainment / MVD Visual

87 minutes, 2007 / 2018

https://manfromearth.com/mfe/

https://manfromearth.com/mfeh/

www.facebook.com/ManFromEarthHolocene/

www.mvdvisual.com

The Man From Earth, which was released a decade ago, is a cult film with a very subtle touch. It is essentially an ensemble cast sitting around at a cabin in the woods and discussing how one of them, named John Oldman (David Lee Smith, who looks a bit like Jon Hamm, known from CSI: Miami), is a 14,000 year old Forrest Gump (as opposed to a 2,000 year old Mel Brooks), who has managed to be involved in some key historical moments.

Like My Dinner With Andre (1981), it relies more on the content of conversation than on physical action. It is deep and philosophical, and that’s what is intriguing about it. It garnered enough favor that a sequel has been release ten years after the fact, and it was this release which the Blu-ray cover announced, but upon opening the disc itself was the original 2007 film. That gives me the chance to catch up.

Both these films share the same director and some of the cast. Jerome Bixby, the writer of the first film, died in 1998 before the release of the original; Bixby was infamous among some circles for writing the likes of It! Terror From Beyond Space (1958; Alien is obviously based on this), one of the most infamous episodes of “The Twilight Zone” (“It’s a Good Life” in 1961, in which 5-year-old Billy Mumy has the ultimate power of life and death), Fantastic Voyage (1966), and a quartet of episodes of the original “Star Trek” (including oft referenced “Mirror, Mirror”).

David Lee Smith

There is a lot of dialog to digest among these eight characters as they ponder the possibility of a “caveman” still being alive after all these millennia. There are a few points that I think pushes the boundary of credulity – even in these circumstances for sheer historical coincidences (hence the Forrest Gump mention) – but still makes for interesting ideas. Though I can certainly see theologians getting upset with some of the topics, it’s nicely thought provoking. Certainly it can create some nice after-the-film dinner conversations.

Part of what makes this worthy of a watch is that all but one of the characters – including Oldman (no, not Gary) – is a university professor, and yet the discussion never descends into what I (and others) call academia-speak. While it doesn’t talk down to the audience, it certainly is accessible yet remains provocative.

John approaches this group with his can a person live 14,000 years premise very early on, so I’m not giving anything away by stating this, but at the same time, the discussion both ranges and rages along for the rest of the film, for which I will not give spoilers. Topics include history, the rise of social constructs, geology, genealogy, theory and religion, of course. Like I said, this is heavy in volume of words, and because nearly all of it takes place either in or just outside a somewhat isolated cabin in California, this has been made into a stage play more than once (perhaps The Man From Earth: The Musical!?).

Luckily, this is a pretty damn solid cast that holds credibility. Funny thing is, some of them have been in one form of “Star Trek” or another, and the filming site just beyond the cabin is where Kirk fought the Gorn (Alligator guy), though not in an episode written by Bixby. It was also the set to the cable show, “Big Love.” But I digress…

Tony Todd

As I was saying, there is some mighty talented actors here, including the Candyman himself, Tony Todd, who plays an anthropologist named Dan; I actually think he does the best acting job among some huge talent. Also standing out is William Katt as archeologist Art, best known for the show “Greatest American Hero,” the male lead in Carrie (1976), and I particularly liked him in the television production of Pippen: His Life and Times (1981; yeah, I like musicals, so shoot me). He plays an angry professor with a soul patch that obviously has some issues with his own aging, and who doesn’t like his ideas challenged; he also creepily brings along his much younger girlfriend/student, Linda (Alexis Thorpe). Others are an art history theologian prof, Edith (Ellen Crawford, who you might remember as an RN in “E.R.”), psychologist Will (easily recognizable character actor Richard Riehle), the snarky Harry (John Billingsley, also easily identifiable from “Star Trek: Enterprise,” though I will always remember him for the 2000 series, “The Others”), and historian Sandy (Annika Petersen). As I said, a strong ensemble. With this much dialog, it would have to be, or fail.

While I might have a quibble or two, especially about the said historical coincidences, considering how much talking goes on in a very small space, I feel it’s well written because in 87 minutes, I never once got bored. Okay, I acknowledge I’m a bit of a history / science / sociology nerd, but it goes beyond that. It’s a border-line Sci-Fi story without aliens, space crafts, computers, or even electricity, yet touches on Sci-Fi themes more through the temporal and the spatial aspects of the story.

William Katt and Alexis Thorpe

My biggest issue with the film deals with the nature of modern technology. For example, If John Oldman keeps changing his jobs and names every decade, how does he get the high-power professor jobs without an SSN (Social Security Number), a CV with no references, and what about taxes? In modern culture, it is impossible to be a professor without a relatively recent degree from a reputable university, and earning one in the 19 Century does not count as “recent.” He would have to be published… a lot… especially if he’s “walking away from a tenured position.” It isn’t like one could just go to Monster.com and find a prof position. And unlike the previous 14,000 years, people are now easily tracked by computers (even in 1998 when it was written, never mind 2007 when it was filmed). I’m married to a prof, and have my own higher degree in Media Theory, so I know. As much as I enjoyed the film, and I really did, I had trouble getting over this piece of modernity.

John Billingsley and Annika Peterson

There are lots of extras. To start off is a full length commentary with director Schenkman and actor Billingsley. It’s a mostly interesting mix of mythology, anecdotes and technical goo-gah. Schenkman takes us through all of that, and Billingsley, playing a Loki (original myth, not comic) trickster, seems to be there to trip him up through distractions with bad jokes. While it keeps it from getting boring, it also feels a bit chaotic. I’m glad I listened (with the captions on), but it took a bit of patience. Then there’s a second commentary with executive producer Emerson Bixby and Sci-Fi scholar Gary Westfahl. Emerson is Jerome’s son, and he had a strong hand in the writing of the film, so it’s not just second-hand information. I have to say I wish every commentary was like this one: informative without just being a series of data, or full of snarky remarks. The topics covered, which include Jerome’s work on the likes of “Star Trek” resonate throughout. Emerson was also involved in the shooting as Jerome had already passed on by that time, so there are also backstage anecdotes. This commentary was top-notch.

There are 21 different languages options, not counting the second English (for Hard of Hearing) selections. But so far, this is only the beginning of the extras, as most Blu-rays tend to be swamped with them: Next is the 88-minute documentary from 2017, “The Man From Earth: Legacy.” It starts with how the story and script was created, then how the cast was assembled, that is mixed with interviews with six of the eight actors and the director (all and more who get to express opinions and tell stories throughout the documentary). Further on there was filming stories, the sound, the music composition, and then the pre-release at a Comic Con. The last third of the doc is about how the film became popular through piracy, with both practical and theoretical positives and negatives about that. I have trepidations about Making Ofs that are nearly as lengthy as the main feature, or in this case a minute longer. Seems like hitting an ant with a sledgehammer, but that’s just me. There’s definitely some repetition that could have been excised here, but it’s interesting to watch, once.

Ellen Crawford and Richard Riehle

The rest of the extras are period pieces from around when the film was shot. “From Script to Screen,” is a behind the scenes period featurette that lasts 2:10. For the 3:50 “Star Trek: Jerome Bixby’s Sci-fi Legacy,” again, three of the actors had been on “Trek” before, for which they and other cast members discuss the importance of “Trek” (and “Twilight Zone”) in their lives. “On the Set,” which lasts 4:00, is more of the same behind-the-scenes with interviews. The 2:10 “Story of the Story” is on-set interviews with the cast discussing what the story posits.

Following is the original 2007 trailer, two trailers for the sequel, a photo gallery, and a 4:54 Restoration Demo showing the differences between the pre-HD original was remastered for the 2017 re-release on Blu-ray.

Last up is a micro-short film (30 seconds) called “Contagion” that was produced by Schenkman and Wilkinson, and stars William Katt that is just the right amount of gross. It looks like it was made for the 2017 release, though I can’t find it on IMDB.

The Man From Earth is a very strong looking film. Again, a tight space with a relatively large cast for its size, it never gets too claustrophobic. Plus the lighting, editing, camera shots all work to the higher final product. All these elements make it the cult sensation it became. Perhaps at some point I will get the chance to see the sequel. I’ll let ya know.

Review: The Devil’s Carnival

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

The Devil’s Carnival

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman

Cleopatra Records / Blah Shank Productions / Empire Film & Entertainment Group / Execution Style Entertainment / MVD Visual

56 minutes, 2012 / 2018

www.thedevilscarnival.com

www.cleopatrarecords.com 

www.mvdvisual.com

Don’t let this film’s short runtime fool ya, there is a lot to unpack in this Blu-ray and DVD twin package, including that it’s a horror musical, which I’ll be getting to, but let’s start with the plot proper.

There’s three interlocking tales based on greed/ego, blind trust (via lust is my interpretation) and grief/suicide, mixed with the telling of Aesop’s Fables. That’s the basic premise, but there is just so much going on at the same time. The carnival is the entranceway to hell, and each person coming through is tested to get to the next step, making sure not to break any of the “666 Rules” (a song reminiscent to a twisted version of “Seasons of Love” from Rent; yeah, I went there).

Shot on a set in the open California desert (i.e., outdoors) in the middle of winter (Jan), this plays out more like a garish – err – play than just a movie, though it’s obviously not just a filmed performance. It’s deeper than it looks at first glance. And in that glance there is garish red and green lights, harlequins, clowns, a little person, and a ticket master (as opposed to the actually evil Ticketmaster service) who reminds me of a twisted Fagin (Dayton Callie; he was a regular on both “Deadwood” and “Sons of Anarchy”).

Dayton Callie

One of the stories involves a man named John (Sean Patrick Flanery, who played Indiana Jones on the 1990s television version) who is fitfully depressed, thereby taking the step to end his life. Another is about a woman, Ms. Merrywood (Briana Evigan, the lead from 2008’s Step Up 2: The Streets), who is an unrepentant thief and narcissist, leading her to meet the cops with a weapon, sending her on her way south; the last is a married woman, Tamara (Jessica Lowndes, from the “90210” reboot, and a professional singer/songwriter) who is guilty of having really bad taste in men, such as her abusive husband, who takes matters into his own hands when she won’t obey. All three end up with tickets to the carnival and have to work their way through it. The problem they faced in life is also those they need to work on in the post-living.

Terrance Zdunich, by the writer of the film and its music and plays a very interesting looking Devil, does not take the obvious road when it comes to the songs. Yeah, “666 Rules” is kinda catchy, but most of the music is dense, off-beat and dissonant, and sometimes lyrically hard to make out; thankfully there are captions.

Jessica Lowndes

Everyone in the film seems to be having fun doing it, and there are some “names” in the cast, such as Alexa PenaVega (from the Spy Kid series), musician Emilie Autumn, and Bill Moseley (from House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects). The film is definitely dark in tone – though not overwhelmingly so – but that’s not surprising considering Darren Lynn Bousman also directed the likes of Saw II through Saw IV.

Not only are the songs odd, but so is the whole production, and again, that’s meant complimentary. For example, rather than filling out the film to the usual 90 minutes, Bousman kept it where it was supposed to be, even if it fell to under an hour. I wish more filmmakers could figure out that shorter may work better than a forcefully filled-out longer release.

This is a smart and brave film. It goes in a direction that one usually would imagine any piece of cinema with money behind it doing (this cost under $200K) but not only does it work, but it obviously was geared for the cult audience that followed Bousman and Zdunich with their earlier film, Repo: The Genetic Opera (2008). They took a live version of that show on the road, and it was quite successful with people dressing like the characters. They did the same with this film, with equal success. What it made me think of in style (though not spiritually the same) is the cult and extremely hard to find (but worth it) Dr. Caligari (1989).

                                                                                                                              

Alexa PenaVega

Being a Blu-ray and DVD combo, you just know there are going to be hours and hours of extras. For example there are three full commentaries. The first is with Bousman and Zdunich and is worth the listen to hear about the background behind not only the actual filming, but all the stuff that went on around it from creation and on. The second is with Evigan, Autumn, and a very loud Flanery. For this one, egos reign, so everyone talks at the same time and it’s hard to get much out of it, other than Flanery’s mind is in his pants. I couldn’t make it through this one, giving up pretty early on at 10 minutes. The third and final one is a Repo reunion, with Bousman, Zdunich, Paul Sorvino, Moseley, ohGr (aka Ogre; also a musician, who was in Skinny Puppy), and PenaVega. It’s a bit noisy and chaotic with that many people at once, usually a mistake in my opinion, because with the exception of Sorvino and PenaVega who have distinctive voices, it’s hard to tell who is talking, and again, lots of overlap.

The next extras section is the documentaries. First up is the 49:41 “The Devil Made Me Do It: The Making of The Devil’s Carnival.” It’s mostly interesting interviews with cast and crew, with some footage from the film and even more behind the scenes shots. While it could easily have been half the length, it still wasn’t boring, just that parts were redundant from the commentary.

Terrance Zdunich

Next is “A Devil of a Time: The Devil’s Carnival Road Tour” at 31:17, which explores two “tours” the film did around the US with members of the crew and cast going to each show and doing talks and signings of shirts, CDs and posters. Many of these members are interviewed and discussed being on the road. These tours were held in 2012, and helped pay for the next film in what is probably going to be a series (see the last paragraph below). And as a sidenote, it was great seeing a brief interview with Miss Hannah Jinx/Minx (konichi wa!), who has since retired from acting and her YouTube channel.

The last documentary is “The Devil’s in the Details: The Special Make-up and Prosthetic Effects of The Devil’s Carnival,” which lasts 13:45. This one focuses on Vincent Caustini, who handled the special make-up F/X.

Another group of extras is five different forms of trailers from the film, including two for the live show and an extended dance sequence with Emilie Autumn fluttering around what appears to be a dressing room.

                                                                     

There was a sequel in 2016, Alleluia! The Devi’s Carnival, which I have not yet seen, that picks up where this one left off, but with a more mainstream cast, such as Paul Sorvino again, Barry Bostwick, David Hasselhoff, and Jesus…I mean, Ted Neely. Most of the cast of this film also returned. If this did become a series, that would be cool as hell.