Halloween 2020: October 16th

Berserk! (1967)

The circus is a source of fascination for filmmakers, especially those working in the horror genre.  It's not too hard to see why. The circus is an inherently strange place, where human curiosities work alongside regular looking folk and animals are trained to do extraordinary tricks. (And in the modern age, we're all too aware of the cruelty that goes on behind the scene to make these things happen.) It doesn't take a lot to exaggerated that absurd quality into a source of horror. Early in her career Joan Crawford starred in “The Unknown,” a surreal classic of psychological horror that just happened to be set in the circus. At the opposite end of her career, Crawford would return to the three ring environment for another macabre tale. “Berserk!” was the famous actress' second-to-last picture, another entry in the psycho-biddy subgenre that dominated the latter portion of her life.. 

Monica Rivers is the ringmaster at a traveling circus, tasked with keeping the performers in line and making sure everything operates safely. That trust is shattered when a tightrope walker is gruesomely strangulated before an audience one night. In fact, Rivers uses the publicity around the death to attract more attention to the circus. Soon, other violent deaths occur, causing a detective to step in. Some members of the circus wonder if Monica herself is the killer. Suspicion is cast on other performers – the new tightrope walker that romances Monica, the overly friendly dwarf, the petty and jealous magician's assistant, Monica's teenage daughter – as the detective tries to locate the true killer before they strike again.

“Berserk!” was sold as a psycho-biddy movie, and certainly falls in with that subgenre, but Crawford doesn't act too unhinged throughout most of the film. Instead, “Berserk!” is more like a prototypical example of the slasher movie. This is a film built around a series of outrageous, relatively gory death scenes. A guy is hung as the opening credits play. Michael Gough has a railroad spike hammered through his head. Someone lands on a bed of spikes and a magician really saws a woman in half. Most of the red stuff is kept off-screen but the focus is still on who will be offed next and what elaborate way they'll die in. A scene where Crawford is stalked through the circus grounds is also reminiscent of future stalk-and-kill movies. Considering a detective is snooping around, and there's a few shots from the killer's perspective, you could even say “Berserk!” is a giallo of sorts.

When not centered on murder, “Berserk!” passes the time with the everyday drama you'd expect to see at a circus. Or, rather, an exploitation movie version of what behind-the-scenes life at a circus is. So we see includes trashy sights like a catfight breaking out between the magician assistant – played by Diana Dors, the "British Marilyn Monroe" – and Crawford's daughter. Or otherwise peculiar moments like a song-and-dance number featuring the bearded lady, the strongman, the human skeleton, and the dwarf. Mostly, “Berserk!” pads its runtime out with lots of footage of circus stunts. Which are, admittedly, pretty entertaining. Where else are you going to see footage of poodles pushing a cart or leaping through hoops? Or a bearded lady giving tips on the best way to groom her beard?

It's all pretty campy and a reliably entertaining cast helps hold it together. Joan Crawford is delightfully bitchy as Miss Rivers. This is a woman, hardened by life, who absolutely refuses to compromise on what she wants. It's the kind of part Crawford excelled in. Though his role is brief, Michael Gough is more than able to match Crawford's acerbic wit tit-for-tat. Robert Hardy provides a nice mix of observant and buffoonish as the detective, who may or may not know more than he lets on. Judy Geeson, in the first of her many horror roles, is suitably vulnerable as Crawford's put upon daughter. (It must also be said that she and Dors also provide plenty of eye-candy, in the revealing circus outfits they wear.) 

The Blu-Ray I have of “Berserk!” is a double feature disc with “Strait-Jacket.” It's a fitting pairing and not just because both movies star Crawford. Both “Straight Jacket” and “Berserk!” are predecessor to the slasher movie. Both films see Crawford exorcising her real life mommy/daughter drama. Both movies end almost the exact same way too. “Berserk!” isn't as good as “Strait-Jacket.” Its psycho-drama isn't as engrossing. Its color cinematography is not as compelling as “Strait-Jacket's” moody black-and-white photography. Generally speaking, Jim O'Connolly – who would also direct “Valley of Gwangi” and “Tower of Evil" – is not the schlock expert William Castle was. Nevertheless, “Berserk!” is absolutely entertaining enough to justify the 93 minutes you'll spend watching it. [7/10]

Species III (2004)

While “Species II” was not successful in theaters, one suspects that it found an audience on video and cable television. A movie with that much gore and nudity was bound to appeal to teenage boys and their horny dads. We can assume this to be true because a third “Species” movie was produced specifically for the direct-to-video market. Six whole years after the last one, Frank Mancuso Jr. would will “Species III” in existence. The film would premiere on Sci-Fi Channel in 2004, with all the titties and rubber intestines cut out, before the intact edition would arrive in video stores a month later. 

“Species II'” picks up minutes where the last one left off. Dr. Abbot drives the ambulance containing Eve just as her belly swells and she gives birth to Patrick's child. The off-spring is female and the doctor endeavors to raise her as his own, naming the girl Sara. After Sara comes of age, her murderous desire to breed kicks in. Meanwhile, other half-human/alien hybrids are still out there. Each one, with weaker genetics than Sara, are dying quickly and need to breed. Abbot teams up with a biology student named Dean to try and continuing studying Sara's genetics. But can either of them trust the deadly hybrid woman?

“Species III” attempts to move the series in a different direction. The setting is shifted to a college campus. Photogenic frat boys make up most of the supporting cast. As you'd expect, there's a sequence where horny college boys try to pick up Sara. The change from laboratories to dorm rooms is an obvious, more-than-desperate attempt to make the series more appealing to young people. Yet even that feels largely like a compromise on the behalf of director Brad Turner and writer Ben Ripley. The idea of making Eve's off-spring more human in personality, raised by a loving parent, directs a large portion of “Species III's” story. It seems like the female aliens have only gotten more sympathetic as the “Species” has gone on, with Sara being set-up as an anti-hero of sorts.

I say “seems” because “Species III's” plot is a jumbled up mess. Abbot is killed early in the film by a random male alien, who is killed off after that scene. Patrick's dying off-spring seem like they will be intrinsic to the plot but their involvement is short-lived. Another female alien hybrid is introduced halfway in, through an extremely dumb internet-dating subplot. Sara's goals and personalities seem to change from scene-to-scene. Characters – like Dean's buddy, a federal agent, a rival professor at the college, or a conspiracy-spouting driver – waltz into the film at random intervals. Did I mention a nuclear reactor is pivotal to the plot too? “Species III” is both far too invested in its own mythology and also ignorant of information established in previous installments. Sometimes, it feels like the film was making up everything as it went along. Other times, it feels like a season of television condensed into a single feature.

I will pay 'Species III” one compliment. Most of its special effects are practical. There's less shitty CGI here than in the second film. (Presumably because they couldn't afford it.) There's even one kind of cool gore effect, when Sara slices a security guard in half length-ways with her tentacles. The look of the monster has been significantly simplified and doesn't resemble H.R. Giger's design much anymore. Director Turner utilizes too much shaky-cam during the action scenes. So, even if the practical make-up is semi-decent, you never get a chance to admire it. If you're watching “Species III” for the sleaze factor, there's a number of nudity and sex scenes. Even in that regard, part three is way less interesting than one and two. One fucking scene occurs in a filthy gas station bathroom, which is hardly an erotic setting.

Did I mention “Species III” is two hours long? Why is the direct-to-video sequel longer than either of the theatrical movies? When you care so little about the characters or the story, the pacing naturally drags horribly. While the second “Species” was repugnant, the third is simply extremely fucking boring. It doesn't even have any value as a sleazy, gory exploitation flick. No movie about an alien nympho should be this incredibly dull. Even fans of the “Species” series, who I assume have pretty low standards, have rejected this one. “Species III” is a infuriating combination of lifeless and convoluted that mostly just irritates and bores. [2/10]

The Outer Limits (1995): Afterlife

When “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” were rebooted in the eighties, someone surely had the idea to revive “The Outer Limits” as well. For whatever reason, it took until 1995 for a new version of the classic sci-fi show to reach airways. The nineties “Outer Limits” would air on Showtime, allowing the show to include nudity and violence. (Though edited editions of the episodes would show in syndication.) The new “Outer Limits” would play for six seasons, lasting far longer than the original series, and discard the monster-of-the-week limitations of the original show. Because of that, not too many episodes qualify for a horror marathon though many still do. 

I selected “Afterlife,” from season two, largely because it starred Clancy Brown and had a kind of cool premise. Brown plays a soldier that revealed a war crime committed by the U.S. military. As punishment, the government frames him for a murder and sticks him on death row. After closing his eyes in the gas chamber, the man awakens in a high-tech lab. He has been selected for a top secret test, in which he will be injected with recently discovered alien DNA. If he survives the ordeal, he might regain his freedom. The extremely painful transformation sees his physical appearance changing, as well as the addition of new abilities. The now human/alien hybrid escapes, leading the military to chase him down. 

Was every episode of the nineties “Outer Limits” as preachy as this one? The script lazily reiterates its themes constantly. Even as he undergoes more of a transformation, Brown repeats that the military can't take his humanity away. He gets into screaming matches with his general leader, restating that his soul is worth more than his honor. After he escapes, the now-mutated soldier makes sure not to kill anybody, as his integrity is that strong. “Afterlife” ends in the clunkiest way imaginable. If the audience somehow missed the obvious moral, the narrator outright states that humans don't act very humane some times. Clancy Brown is a great actor but the material here brings out his blandest, hammiest side. The best thing about “Afterlife” is the streak of body horror apparent in the soldiers' transformation. Even that wears out its novelty quickly. The finished alien make-ups are about the level of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and aren't too impressive. [5/10]

Building Sites Bite (1978)

It seems like, in the seventies, British school children were always getting themselves killed in the most unlikely of ways. This necessitated the creation of yet more horrifying Public Information Films. 1978's “Building Sites Bite” sought to warn kids about the dangers of playing in abandon homes or construction sites. An aunt brings her son, Ronald, to visit her sister. She says Ronald is going to grow up to be an architect. His cousins, Paul and Jane, are incredulous. They imagine a sci-fi scenario where they can zap Ronald into various building sites. Each time, Ronald suffers a ghastly fate, being killed in another gruesome accident. Each time, Paul and Jane resurrect him and repeat the test until he finally gets the point: That abandoned buildings or constructions zones are no place for children to play. 

“Building Sites Bite” is not as relentlessly grim as “Apaches” or “The Finishing Line.” A degree of humor is introduced, to add some levity to the repeated deaths. In the early scenes, Paul and Jane's parents are clearly none-too-pleased to see Ronald's mom. She's obviously the kind of house guest that always overstays her welcome. Once the imaginary scenario begins, Paul and Jane provide commentary on Ronald's misadventures. They repeatedly chastise the boy, calling him “stupid” on multiple occasions, as he stumbles into yet another horrible demise. That Ronald can return to life after every death certainly removes some of the gravity from the short. The sci-fi trappings – the command center Paul and Jane operate out of, the wooden shed that transports Ronald TARDIS -style – adds a whimsical touch absent from the more severe Public Information Films I've watched. 

Yes, I believe there is a deliberate element of dark humor to “Building Sites Bite.” By the time Ronald slips into a lake, the rising bubbles slowly ceasing, the audience can't help but chuckle darkly. Yet most of the proceeding accidents here are certainly disturbing. As Ronald chases after his dog, he gets buried in mud, crushed by bricks, run over by a dump truck, and cracks his head on a protruding pipe. The make-up effects are as realistic and gory as any contemporary horror movie. The bubbling flesh on Ronald's hand after grabbing a live wire is especially vivid. Even if “Building Sites Bite” has a far wackier tone, each violent death is blunt and startling. You just never expect to see horrible things happen to kids. Which I guess is exactly the point. Like “Apaches,” “Building Sites Bite” ends by reminding viewers of real life accidents that killed real life children. The ambition that made that PIF and “The Finishing Line” works of art is not present here, “Building Sites Bite” being more an educational film. Yet it still has a certain power to horrify. [7/10]