Halloween 2020: October 14th

Species (1995)

I was talking earlier in the season about how, in the nineties, movie studios reinvented B-movie premises as big budget special effects-driven productions. No movie sums this up better than “Species.” The premise, of a horny female alien killing and screwing her way around L.A., could've been made by New World Pictures in the seventies or eighties. The movie was even produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., the guy who shepherded the “Friday the 13th” franchise throughout the eighties. Instead of being a down-and-dirty exploitation flick, “Species” was a 35 million dollar studio movie with then-cutting edge CGI, a plum July 7th release date, and a cast full of recognizable faces. Yet, even in the irony-poisoned nineties, audiences had a hunger for trash, which made “Species” a box office success.

“Species'” credibility begins and ends with its opening set-up, where S.E.T.I. receives blueprints and genetic codes from extraterrestrial intelligence somewhere out in the void of space. Earth scientist uses this DNA mapping to create a series of human/alien hybrids. One of these embryos grows at a super-fast rate into a teenage girl code-named Sil. Inevitably, the government deems Sil too dangerous to keep around and decide to gas her. The girl escapes and goes on the road, quickly metamorphosing into a beautiful adult woman. A team of experts – tracker Preston, empath Dan Smithson, anthropologist Dr. Arden and biologist Dr. Baker – are assembled to track down Sil before she completes her goal: Procreate with a human male and become pregnant with yet more deadly human/alien hybrids.

“Species” wears its influences on its sleeve. The premise brings any number of horror movies about predatory females to mind. A sequence, where an alien spin-off of Sil gets loose in the lab, was probably inspired by “The Thing.” The most obvious predecessor is “Alien,” of course. Especially in the last act, when you have a band of heroes crawling around shadowy, underground tunnels while carrying flamethrowers and avoiding a barb-tongued monster. The movie admits this connection by getting H.R. Giger to design the monster. Granted, Giger's bio-mechanical eroticism is well-suited to a creature meant to be attractive, fearsome, and from another planet. She even shoots tentacles out of her oversized nipples! The shots we get at the practical Sil puppet, writhing and growling but beautifully detailed, are among the film's highlights. The brief shots of the monster's alien mating habits, glimpsed in flashing nightmares, are the film at its most artistic.

As derivative as “Species” is, that doesn't stop it from being pretty fun. There's too much entertaining sex and violence in the movie, sometimes in the same scenes. Such as when Sil's offs an unworthy male during a French kiss by thrusting her tongue all the way through his skull. The nudity is plentiful but, somehow, never comes off as too sleazy. Director Roger Donaldson, previously of “Cocktail” and later of “Dante's Peak,” makes the movie look as slick as possible. As a monster movie, it gets more ridiculous as it goes on. (Which also correlates, perhaps not coincidentally, with how much shitty CGI it uses.) There's multiple goofy jump scares. The characters make many dumb decisions, such as the guy who sleeps with a randy woman right after pursuing a deadly alien temptress. The finale features a terrible baby monster, lots of Frank Welker-provided growls, an exploding head, a dumb-ass one-liner, and a ridiculous last-minute pondering about human nature. If you doubt “Species'” fidelity to the B-movie tradition, it even concludes on an “Or Is It?” note.

Even though “Species” is a dumb exploitation flick, one is tempted to read into what it says about sex and women in the nineties. Screenwriter Dennis Feldman conceived the script in the late eighties. One can't help but assume that “Species” was born of AIDS-era anxiety. This is a movie that preaches for being more choosy with your sexual partners, as a late night hook-up can lead to death. Yet “Species” is more characteristic of contemporary films like “Disclosure” or “Basic Instincts,” conservative snap-backs to third-wave feminism. A key sequence has Sil, totally nude, leaping into another woman's car. The other woman assumes her to be the victim of some sort of sexual crime and takes her in. This leads to the driver being tied to a bed and later exploded in a car. Jeez, you just can't trust those females that are pretending to be in trouble! Another one of Sil's victims is a Nice Guy who actually wants to wait to have sex, doomed by a woman more interested in Doin' It than polite conversation. More than anything else, “Species” is condemning aggressive female sexuality.

“Species” just narrowly avoids being horribly sexist thanks to a sympathetic performance from Natasha Henstridge. She adds the subtle implication that Sil doesn't even want to be a lusty killer. That she is driven by an animal nature she doesn't even understand. Henstridge was the new-comer in a cast made of beloved character actors that are way too good for this material. Such as Ben Kingsley, slumming it in the role of the head of the operation. Forest Whittaker plays a ridiculous character with just the right touch of empathy, even if he's given the goofiest dialogue. Alfred Molina is definitely enjoying the schlocky material. Michael Madsen, during the very brief portion of his career when Hollywood was trying to turn him into a star, brings a certain level of gravelly gravitas to Preston. He has good chemistry with Marg Helgenberger, even if their romantic subplot could not be more out of place.

By the way, this was one of the few horror movies my parents ever saw on a date. I remember my mom – not really a fan of these kind of flicks – was not impressed, while my dad just put on a dirty smirk whenever he was asked about what he thought of the film. It's definitely funny to think about how, if “Species” had come out only five or seven years earlier, it would've been made for half the budget with none of the stars, less flashy special effects, and definitely more gore. Even in its current form, the heart of a trashy B-movie beats within. And there's a certain amount of fun to be had from that contrast, as its clear everyone making the movie knew exactly what it was. [7/10]

The Blood Beast Terror (1967)

When Hammer Productions added blood and cleavage to classic stories of gothic horror, they create an undeniable formula. Considering the long-running success Hammer would have with this combination, it's not surprising there were various imitators. Amicus, who took a similar approach to the omnibus feature, is the most famous one. However, there were even more Hammer knock-offs than that. In the sixties, a company called Tigon British Film Productions would briefly come to fame with flicks like “Witchfinder General,” “The Beast in the Cellar,” and “The Creeping Flesh.” Tigon would attract a lot of the same stars while contrasting against the more famous studios in a number of interesting ways. Such as in “The Blood Beast Terror,” a star vehicle for Peter Cushing.

Mysterious deaths are plaguing London. Young men are being killed, seemingly slashed up by a wild animal but strangely drained of their blood. Inspector Quennell of Scotland Yard is dispatched to investigate. The only clue is a collection of strange scales, which seem to be from a moth. He brings these to Dr. Mallinger, an etymologist with a beautiful daughter who has recently returned from Africa. Yet Mallinger acts cagey whenever Quennell presses him for details and flees to the country side. Quennell discovers a body in Mallinger's lab and, using a vacation with his also beautiful daughter as an excuse, follows to the countryside. The bloodsucking murders continue there and soon becomes apparent that some sort of massive insect is responsible.  

There's a key moment about a half-hour into “The Blood Beast Terror.” Quennell attends a student play about a mad scientist who is trying to revive dead flesh. As the actor drags a young lady onto the slab, the camera looks down at her bloody cleavage and torn dress. The play is troubled by technical errors too. This appears to be a rather direct jab at the competition at Hammer. Which is sort of funny. Yes, “The Blood Beast Terror” does seems to be striving for a more subtle breed of monster movie. The titular blood beast is kept off-screen for most of the motion picture. The film certainly features far less sex appeal and violence than Hammer was making popular at the time. Yet, no matter how much Tigon wanted to set themselves apart here, “The Blood Beast Terror” is obviously indebted to Hammer too. So it creates an odd back-and-forth in the movie's psyche.

The lack of monster action and titillating thrills has made “The Blood Beast Terror” unpopular with fans. Yet, I'll admit, the movie does scratch a certain itch for me. Long stretches of the film are devoted to Peter Cushing investigating the murders. As a mystery, the film isn't very involving, as it's apparent who is responsible for the killings very early on. (Not to mention anyone watching the movie knows it's about a giant, killer moth.) However, Cushing counts for a lot. For example, when he runs into the cliché role of a joking coroner – the kind who eats around the corpses – he responses perfectly with deadpan befuddlement. Watching Cushing dig into clues, bouncing off the various supporting characters, is fun just because he was such a professional. Honestly, the more laid-back scene where the inspector is just kind of enjoying his time in the countryside are fun too. I guess I like spending time with stuffy old British dudes. Or at least this one stuffy old British dude.

As resistant as the movie seemingly is to reveal its moth monster, eventually it must capitulate. Granted, I was a bit surprised by the reveal of the insect beast's exact nature. This isn't just a movie about a giant moth but a humanoid moth-beast. As a fan of a certain West Virginian cryptid, that was a reveal I enjoyed. The special effects are not very convincing, which is probably another reason why the movie keeps the beast off-screen for so long. It's a shaggy suit with big reflective eyes and drooping wings. Yet I still like the monster enough to be disappointed with how easily the movie dispatched it. “The Blood Beast Terror” definitely ends on a bit of an obvious note.

Despite it's obvious flaws, I still had some fun with “The Blood Beast Terror.” What can I say, sometimes all I need is a lovable classic genre star, some mildly involving atmosphere, and a goofy monster for me to enjoy myself. I don't blame the monster kids that turn their noses up at this one. Peter Cushing himself was no fan of the film and considered it the worst of all his many credits. Which I think is a little unfair to “The Blood Beast Terror,” if only because it has a certain novelty factor that is absent from, say, the more lackluster Frankenstein or Dracula pics Hammer made. Let this be the softest of recommendations from me. [7/10]

Monsters: The Offering

I wasn’t around during “Tales from the Darkside’s” hay-day but I do have some memories of its spiritual successor series, “Monsters.” Sometimes without even knowing it. I can recall being young and, while channel-surfing, catching sight of a very creepy image on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was some sort of slug-like monster kneeling over a man in a hospital bed, pushing some sort of appendage towards his face. I clicked away quickly but wondered for years what I had just seen. I assumed it was a movie but, while researching “Monsters” for this year’s Blog-a-Thon, I realized it was an episode of this show. Reruns of “Monsters” were in heavy rotation on the Sci-Fi Channel in the nineties. After watching “The Offering,” I have no doubt that this is what I saw.

Lewis awakens in a hospital bed following a car wreck, badly concussed. By chance, he’s in the same hospital as his mother, who is currently receiving radiation treatment for her aggressive cancer. While walking into her room late at night, Lewis sees a horrible monster implanting a slug-like creature into his mother’s body. His doctor thinks he’s hallucinating but Lewis comes to believe that cancer is the result of extra dimensional beings feeding on the human body. He becomes determined not to let these “cancer vampires” consume his mother.

I don’t know much about “The Offering’s” writer, Dan Simmons, but I suspect this story was highly personal for him. The pain Lewis feels for his mother, as expressed by an affecting monologue delivered by actor Robert Krantz, is wrapped up in too much emotion not to be. That emotion elevates an episode that would probably be rather stilted otherwise. Long portions of “The Offering” are devoted to Lewis talking with his doctor, played by an avuncular Orson Bean. The scene where Lewis grabs a radioactive isotope from the chemotherapy machine probably strains belief. Still, the Lovecraftian central premise — that otherworldly beings are all around us but it takes a specially stimulated brain to see them — is very clever. The cancer vampire, a giant slimy maggot held up by spindly arms, has to be among “Monsters’” grossest creatures. The scene where we first see it is still pretty creepy. By approaching its real world topic with the proper sincerity, and combining it with the right actors and some squirming effects, “The Offering” becomes a scary, oddly powerful half-hour of television. [8/10]

Apaches (1977)

A few years ago, I reviewed “The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water,” a British Public Information Film. These were basically the British equivalent of Public Service Announcements. They were government commissioned short films designed to inform children about dangers they may encounter in their day-to-day lives. The shorter ones were shown on TV during commercial breaks while the longer ones were usually played in schools. The difference between American PSAs and British PIFs is that they were made by experienced filmmakers and were often, frankly, disturbing in their content. Some PIFs were so unnerving that they essentially became short horror movies. “Apaches” is, by far, the most notorious of the PIFs. After years of traumatizing British school children, it was released on DVD in 2010 so it could traumatize kids all over the world.

“Apaches” follows a group of six grade-school kids. They sneak onto a rural farm in order to play a game of cowboys and Indians. As they blissfully go about their adventure, each one is horribly killed by a common accident. One kid falls off a moving truck and is crushed by the wheels. Another slips into a slurry pit and drowns. The kids drink paint thinner, are crushed by a falling gate, or crash a tractor after dislodging the handbrake. Director John Mackenzie, who would go on to make “The Long Good Friday,” depicts each accident with grim starkness. After every death, we see the child's school desk quietly emptied by their teacher or their now empty bedroom cleaned up by their despondent parents. “Apaches” is narrated by a boy describing a “boring grown-up party,” that is eventually revealed to be a wake for one of the dead kids. The film concludes with a list of names, real life children who died in similar accidents.

If it wasn't already apparent, “Apaches” is utterly chilling. Not because it's especially gory but because the presentation is so grim. Such as when we simply hear the child who drank poison awake in the middle of the night, screaming in agony. Or the look of quiet shock on the kids' faces after the first accident. The anticipation of violence is such that anytime a truck or piece of farming equipment is on-screen, your stomach starts to tighten up. The lack of music or constant cuts to their parents' grief makes the horrible aftermath of these deaths all the more apparent. The film perfectly captures how little children talk, goof around, and play in real life. The young actors all give totally convincing, naturalistic performances. Which makes the violence all the more distressing. 

Some see “Apaches” as a dark comedy of sorts. Which is an understandable reaction, as the film depicts a world where seemingly any interaction means death for a kid. More than one review describes it as a cross between “Peanuts” and a snuff film. To me, “Apaches” unavoidably feels like a horror movie, sternly depicting everyday terror with candid commitment. I can't imagine how a parent would react to a motion picture like this. If I was a kid watching this in 1977, not only wouldn't I play on a farm ever again, I wouldn't even look at a fucking farm again. Whether Mackenzie intended it or not, he created an intensely unnerving motion picture regardless of how old you are. [9/10]