The Funeral Pyre #1 January 2022

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Issue #1/Jan 2022 I recently watched my newly acquired DVD of SPINE TINGLER!: THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY (2007). I paid a premium for it after years of waiting to find it streaming...alas for some bizarre reason, it wasn't. Anyway, if you are a William Castle nerd like myself, you will find this doc and the DVD extras to be enlightening...even if you are knowledgeable about the man. There are two big reveals for me; that Joan Crawford was a real pain in the ass (and somehow Castle hired her again after Straight Jacket) and all the behind the scenes and great photos from Rosemary's Baby. It all worked out for him though... You should seek it out for sure Fiend 'O' Meter 8/10 (You should also look into his autobiography, I read it twice.) ******************************* RED LIGHT (1949) with George Raft & Virginia Mayo is a nice little film noir about a man hell bent on revenge even at the cost of his own sense of being. Raymond Burr is the ex-employee who puts out a hit on Raft's priest brother (who survived a Japanese POW camp!) and Harry Morgan as the triggerman. Moves at a fast clip and has a ton of character actors throughout the run time. Looks amazing across the board. Fiend 'O' Meter 8/10 (it is on the You Tube...)

complex nature works against it...at times, it's like it doesn't know what kind of film it wants to be. Fiend 'O' Meter 7/10 (on Tai Seng DVD) ******************************* I was glad to have eyeballed a post @beatsandblood made on IG about this documentary I have been meaning to see. Get over to Tubi and catch KING COHEN (2017), a fantastic film on the life and films of film maker Larry Cohen. Nicely features Cohen himself, both his wives, many of his cohorts in film making (Fred Williamson was hilarious) and fans. The photos shown are amazing and the doc explains very well his trials and hurdles he needed to overcome to be a successful independent film maker. Inspiring across the board and happy this was made before his death. Fiend 'O' Meter 9/10 (PS my favorite Cohen film is Special Effects (1984) ) ******************************* “‘V/H/S/94’ Filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto Directing a Reboot of Steven Seagal Action-Thriller ‘Under Siege’”... How exciting that Hollywood dangles that carrot to an established filmmaker of note. It is a pattern that all film makers need to follow in order to “make it” in Hollywood. #LCD AF. Yawn.

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SAI CHIU aka 49 DAYS (2006) A Chinese ghost folklore film that starts pretty basic but by midway becomes deceptively complex. Husband leaves his wife and baby daughter to head for the big city to establish a medical herb business. One of his employees is jealous and lights the successful business on fire, killing many and the blame gets put on the Husband. He is to be executed but a very green lady lawyer is on the case to help. You need to pay attention to the chain of events afterwards as this one goes depressingly deep into a horror filled nightmare. It's ok but I think the

It is rare that I would ever talk about a Oscar winning Best Picture but when you are seeing the brilliance of MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969).... all you can do is gush. A 2nd time viewing after many years, this time taking in the severe art house visuals and letting them soak in. You can totally piece together the damage caused in Joe Buck's character throughout his young life. It makes you understand the naivete he expresses in the film. My beautiful late 60's NYC is shown in full effect. Modern film makers only wish they could make pictures like this.

Fiend 'O' Meter 10/10

THE BODY BENEATH (1970) is admittedly a film I was just curious about because the title was an off shoot of a book I just bought on British Film. Directed by Andy Milligan, it tells the story of a centuries old vampire clan who is looking to reinvigorate the “bloodline” by capturing a modern relative who is pregnant. It is cheaply made and looks amateurish at times. That said, there actually is an interesting story here with some fresh ideas (well in 1970, as these themes would be explored in more modern films such as UNDERWORLD (2003) ) which keep you watching. Can't say though I would ever see this one again. Fiend 'O' Meter 6/10 (currently on Xfinity On Demand in a nice jacked up full screen print, probably the best way to see this one.) ******************************* Always love to get opportunities to see old & rare Asian films restored and the Anthology Film Archives recently did a free online streaming series of the works of a director I do not know a thing about, HSIN CHI (Taiwan). Due to a lack of time that the series would be online, I only could see one of the films. I chose the one with the most exploitative title, THE BRIDE WHO HAS RETURNED FROM HELL (1965), only to find out in the end that it was not what I would have expected it to be. A boat is found wrecked on a beach with a man aboard dead & a pocketbook of a woman presumed thrown overboard. The woman was the wife of a wealthy man living nearby. A bit of a scandal that she was cheating...but he is not that affected as he is cheating too with another man's wife (?). It gets complicated. He hires a nanny for his small daughter that looks a lot like the dead mother. She is actually the dead mother's sister (!) Wait.... now she is falling for the man? But wait! Now they and everyone on the house think the spirit of the dead mother is there haunting it. Only a small child knows the real truth................


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