Elevator to the Gallows

Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur Pour L’echafaud) (1958)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Louis Malle

Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Lino Ventura

From: Nouvelles Editions de Films

What a fabulous fictional feature film debut from Louis Malle. He was only 24 when he made Elevator to the Gallows; that makes 42 year old me feel like a putz as I never was responsible for anything great at that age. Then again, look at what Miles Davis did in his 20’s and early 30’s, including creating a groundbreaking soundtrack for this film that was done in a span of hours after he saw a few scenes and gathered a few musicians. That score was a key component in making this film a classic.

So is the plot; Maurice Ronet is having an affair w/ Jeanne Moreau; what misfortune for her that Moreau’s husband is his boss. Ronet decides to murder his boss and stage the scene as if it was a suicide (just like a case you’d hear on a true crime podcast); a black cat is seen and boy is that a harbinger of doom. Things happen that involve other characters & because of one moment, it affected more people than you’d suspect.

Heck, there’s even a young couple who many have described as “a French New Wave couple” who even motor around Paris for a few minutes. Their impact on the plot won’t be revealed; instead, I’ll be general and note that this was a dark, stylish, evocative tale which was constantly captivating and due to its incredible score, becomes a moody masterpiece. The scenes of Moreau strolling the streets of Paris at night against the backdrop of the score: le magnifique. Shame on me for not giving this a shot much, much earlier.

Seytan

Seytan (1974)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Metin Erksan

Starring: Meral Taygun, Canan Perver, Cihan Unal, Agah Hun, Erol Amac

From: Saner Film

Even by Tubi standards, I can’t believe they have this movie on their platform. After all, this is a Turkish version of The Exorcist that is such an uncredited clone, you hear Michael Oldfield’s Tubular Bells… at least a dozen times. If a movie stealing that song and the soundtrack from The Exorcist wasn’t sketchy enough, the print was obviously from a bootleg DVD, complete w/ subtitles that sometimes were jokey and took the piss out of the original Turkish dialogue! Then again, this is also on Fandor, so I can’t explain any of this.

In addition, I can’t explain how Turksploitation (yes, that’s what it’s colloquially known as) was a thing for awhile and featured films which ripped off famous productions from the West to varying degrees. Heck, the director of this-Metin Erksan-was responsible for actual serious Turkish films, including Dry Summer, which was restored by Scorsese’s World Cinema Project.

Of course, it was via Letterboxd that made me look at Seytan’s page and the subsequent discovery that it was even on Tubi to begin with. It was a priority to check out something I first knew of many moons ago. As for the plot: think of it as a 100 minute version of Friedkin’s classic except that we know less about Turkish Chris MacNeil (albeit, she was portrayed to be a much less likable character) and instead of Father Karras, the character is an author who wrote about Satan… oh yeah, almost forgot: instead of Pazuzu, the demon was Satan.

It was incredibly absurd to see a lo-fi version of perhaps the best horror film of all time. Because they slavishly copied a classic and did not bungle that presentation, for me Seytan was not awful. Rather, mediocre yet stammeringly weird is the term I’ll use instead. Turkish Regan wasn’t bad in her role and they found a scary voice to use while she’s possessed.

Tubi has exploded in popularity; the fact that it received a heavy advertising push this year is a big reason why but the popular films they have for free must be a big reason why when the other services require a monthly fee. Presumably there aren’t that many who use it for all the obscurities they have but that will be my chief usage of that platform.

 

Killdozer!

Killdozer (1974)

Runtime: 74 minutes

Directed by: Jerry London

Starring: Clint Walker, Carl Betz, Neville Brand, James Wainwright, Robert Urich

From: Universal Television

Not as much fun as you’d expect from “a Caterpillar bulldozer becomes a sentient killing machine after striking a long-buried meteorite” but it was still OK. I saw this as part of a YouTube stream where it was played after Shock Waves. Both were set on islands and featured killer 70’s synth scores (this one in particular from Gil Melle of The Andromeda Strain fame) yet the tones were markedly different. Shock featured a dark, creepy vibe while this was unintentionally hilarious due to the ludicrous premise and the runtime filled w/ middle-aged men bickering with each other.

At a construction site on an island “off Africa,” workers are picked off one by one by “Dozer.” The story is largely what you expect: most everyone disbelieves that their bulldozer becomes a sentient killing machine, the characters weren’t bad but were rather forgettable, some have regrets about their past, most of the kills from Dozer made the workers look like dopes due to “hiding” in a stupid spot or just standing there like that scene w/ the steamroller in the first Austin Powers… yeah, that happened and it always made me laugh.

Regrettably, there aren’t enough chuckles (intentional or not) to make this a camp classic even if there are some golden moments. The familiar faces-Clint Walker, Neville Brand, Robert Urich-could only do so much with those characters or when the enemy is a loud, slow-moving machine who surprisingly gets the jump on them more than once. My complaints aside, there are no regrets in finally experiencing this infamous piece of schlock; it wasn’t a miserable experience, after all.

Shock Waves

Shock Waves (1977)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Ken Wiederhorn

Starring: Peter Cushing, Brooke Adams, Fred Buch, Jack Davidson, John Carradine

From: Zopix Company

“Aquatic Nazi zombies” was quite the niche that this film filled. Of course I’ve known of this motion picture for years; how could you forget such a premise? Yet it wasn’t until last night that I experienced Shock Waves. It was on YouTube via a channel which streams their own double features; many of those streams aren’t archived any longer, for probably obvious reasons. That’s why I watched it live last night; the other half of that double header will be discussed tomorrow; those two movies shared more in common than I first realized.

The film actually has an in media res opening w/ Brooke Adams. From there are flashbacks to the rest of the movie. A group of people on a ramshackle boat operated by salty captain John Carradine run aground on an island inhabited by Peter Cushing… and those aquatic Nazi zombies. To clarify, they aren’t the slow-moving, lurching zombies of Romero fame. Rather, they are undead villains that were designed in World War II to be “super soldiers”, so yes their movement isn’t of the lurching variety.

Verbal bombs could be dropped on the plot or its pacing, for sure; Shock Waves can be quite languid at times. Be that as it may, the movie has great atmosphere so there’s never not a mood. By far the highlight was an AWESOME 70’s synth score from Richard Einhorn of The Prowler fame. Sure, the characters are mainly stereotypes (such as the abrasive A-hole always yelling at everyone) and their behavior can be idiotic too often. Even then, the scenery-either The Bahamas or the southern rural areas of Florida-becomes eerie & haunting on its own. Furthermore, the aesthetic of the zombies themselves was well-realized.

The wide range of ratings just from my mutuals, re: this movie is not a surprise. Plenty won’t be able to vibe with this yet some love it to death. Me, the score that slaps played a big role in my enjoyment.

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

Runtime: 115 minutes

Directed by: Michael Cimino

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis, several famous faces in small roles

From: United Artists

This is a certainly a 70’s movie; I won’t elaborate upon what I mean. What I will elaborate upon is that I was a fool for not checking this out years sooner. After all, it’s the debut film of a famous (or is that infamous?) director, stars a pair of great actors, has George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis in key supporting roles, and turned out to be even more emblematic of the decade than what I was expecting. The film is on the Criterion Channel only for the month of September and for once I didn’t wait until the very end to stream a movie.

Bridges (Lightfoot) steals a SWEET early 70’s Trans-Am and literally almost runs into Eastwood, who the viewer later discovers is named Thunderbolt for good reason. They develop a bromance as they are being chased by George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis. All I’ll reveal is that bank robberies are a plot point, the leading quartet are all a delight with their performances/how they interact w/ each other, and there are plenty of darkly humorous moments which worked for me.

For at least one reason, I was reminded of 1973’s Scarecrow-another film well worth seeing-as the opening was the characters randomly meeting each other, and their subsequent friendship. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot becoming buddies is really the crux of the film; various shenanigans happen but them hanging out is the focus. Various familiar faces appear in small roles: Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, Burton Gillam, Bill McKinney, Vic Tayback, Dub Taylor-but the focus is on the lead quartet, who are all superb.

Even the rural Montana setting is a standout; there’s plenty of lovely mountain scenery to gawk at along with the time spent in a city (Great Falls) or small towns. What a debut for Michael Cimino, who directed his own script. In an ideal world he would have directed more films like this but alas… it’s a relaxed yet always enthralling picture which also made me opine for Eastwood & Bridges doing more movies together.

The Nun II

The Nun II (2023)

49% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 114 reviews)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: Michael Chaves

Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, Bonnie Aarons

From: New Line Cinema

I wasn't expecting to see a cosplayer at a screening of this Wednesday evening, but there you go. To clarify, on that night I saw A Haunting in Venice then this film back to back; it saved me a trip to a cinema and back. As it's been out almost a week when I saw the film, a young woman dressed as a regular nun (rather than Valak) was quite the surprise. Unlike a lot of film fans, The Nun was a good time for me; it was mainly due to the strong Gothic vibes rather than the plot. 

It turned out to be wise to read the Wiki article on the first film before seeing this; it's not a regular habit but was needed on this occasion. I didn't have the time to give it a second viewing and even if II presents a Cliff's Notes version of the first due to the presence of two key players from the original returning, that refresher was still needed.

This time, the setting is late 50's France. Valak has returned, but thankfully so has Taissa Farmiga. She is asked again to stop this threat, this time with Storm Reid who literally tags along with her despite only being a student in a nunnery. Plenty of time is spent at a boarding school for young girls (IRL an actual abandoned church in France which made for a great setting) as that's where Valak ends up. Revealing much more would... be a sin, but is it a surprise to reveal that the boarding school has a gaggle of mean girls who bully a teacher's daughter?

Plot-or specifically, plot progression-can be questioned, along with some moments that are implausible even by the standards of The Conjuring Universe. The Gothic atmosphere isn't as strong, although it's still present and there are some nice aesthetic vibes. What impressed me the most were the scares; from memory-and hearsay from others-they were a noted improvement over the first; that's what many who hated the original were praying for, anyhow. There were some fine horror setpieces. Overall, I had a good time; seeing a young woman in a nun's habit was only the cherry on top of the sundae.

A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice (2023)

78% on Rotten Tomatoes(out of 121 reviews)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Branagh, Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Amir El-Masry, Michelle Yeoh

From: 20^th Century Studios

Not the film I was expecting to be my 3,000th (!) reviewed here on Letterboxd, but that's OK. At least it's a big theatrical release, a continuation of a franchise that been fine (it has never risen to the level of greatness, but thankfully has never turned into a disaster either), and features several famous faces. There isn't as many as in Orient and Nile; at the same time, it must have been a relief for Kenneth Branagh that unlike Death on the Nile, this did not have multiple people in the cast engaging in controversial behavior. In addition, I was able to see this last night as at various AMC locations they had an Early Access screening. Every attendee received both a lobby card and of all things, a luggage tag. Luggage plays no role in the film but I could still use that sometime in the future. If only it could be an actual trip to Venice, Italy...

If you liked the first two, you'll probably concur w/ that opinion concerning this mystery featuring Branagh as Hercule Poirot... although, the tone is overall darker than in the first two. For those wary of the horror elements because it's a genre you just don't care for... for almost everyone it won't be soil your pants terrifying. It's still appropriate for this time of year: a cursed building (a palazzo, to be exact), a séance held on Halloween, weird sounds, a young woman who died the year before, and Poirot of course being a skeptic yet he starts experiencing what seems like supernatural elements...

To be a little more specific, Poirot is a now-retired, old bitter ex-detective who is brought out of retirement by author pal Tina Fey to watch the séance and try to figure out how medium Michelle Yeoh is faking it. Not everything is as it seems, and I won't expand upon that thought. It's a handsomely-mounted production shot on location in a suitable palazzo where an intriguing mystery is presented—I don't regret the theatrical experience, in other words. The darker tone led to a more introspective look at the character and the effect his trauma mixed w/ his brusque manner has had on his life. Thus, that is why this gets slightly higher marks than the first two movies.