During a 6 year period, William Girdler managed to beat the odds and carve out a respectable position as an indie writer-producer-director within the exploitation area until his sudden death at the age of 30 while scouting locations for what would’ve been his 10th film…
It’s actually funny how the original Exorcist LP sold so well, considering Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” was merely excerpted, the first 2 tracks had sound effects from the film, and none of Jack Nitzsche’s bridge cues were featured…
After “The Exorcist,” it was open season on possession films, a sub-genre that ran a fairly fruitful and icky course for several years before zombies and cannibals became the new vogue. Many of these variations were quickly produced for fast cash, starring former silver screen greats (in this case, Mel Ferrer as the weak-willed father of Carla Gravina, Arthur Kennedy as the Friendly Priest, and wrinkly Alida Valli reduced to housekeeper status), and helmed by workman directors whose own careers moved from one craze – spies, car chase, westerns, Mafia epics – to the next, though “The AntiChrist” remains one of the better-produced possession epics, successfully holding its own for nearly two hours.
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After the success of “Deliverance,” director John Boorman was approached by Warner Bros in the early 70s to direct “The Exorcist,” the film rights for which they had just purchased. Finding the challenge of a film depending heavily on the performance of a child and regarding William Peter Blatty’s book as “tasteless, cruel and sadistic towards children”…
At this stage, Warner Home Video’s Blu-ray edition is the final say in special editions for The Exorcist, eclipsing the various DVD releases since the film was cleaned up and bolstered with salacious extras from the Warner Bros.’ vaults back in 1998, and expanded with…
Now Where Were We? Right. Let’s go back to LAST NIGHT (1998)
Don McKellar’s LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause in activities at KQEK.com
Gothic Steele: An Angel for Satan (1966)
Review of AN ANGEL FOR SATAN / UN ANGELO PER SATANA (1966), Barbara Steele’s last Italian Gothic, on Blu-ray from Severin Films
Spanish Giallo I: When a Cannibal is not a Cannibal, but When a Scream is Indeed a Scream
Severin Films showcases the work of Eloy de la Iglesia via two fine Spanish gialli entries: NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM (1973) + CANNIBAL MAN (1972)
ArtScopeTO 10: Interview with Abstract Painter Donna Wise
For my occasional podcast series ArtScope TO, Abstract Painter Donna Wise discusses her unique techniques, and working during the 2020-2021 pandemic.
Podcast: Jason Pichonsky on Restoring Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + PHOBIA (1980)
Alongside a podcast with CanCon film historian Jason Pichonsky are revised reviews of Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + John Huston’s PHOBIA (1980), both from KINO Lorber / Unobstructed View.
Podcast: ANNE WITH AN E composers Amin Bhatia & Ari Posner
Podcast interview with ANNE WITH AN E’s composing team Amin Bhatia and Ari Posner.
Assorted characters collide and interact in the lead-up to Earth’s demise at precisely midnight.
BR: Angel for Satan, An / Un angelo per Satana (1966)
Had Barbara Steele remained in Europe – especially Italy – during the early 1970s, she may well have appeared in giallo thrillers…
BR: Cannibal Man / La semana del asesino / Apartment on the 13th Floor, The (1972)
Cannibal Man has a palpable crime-drama feel – the events unfold after daily title cards – and one can sense Hitchcockian sensibilities…
BR: No One Heard the Scream / Nadie oyó gritar (1973)
After the grisly thriller Cannibal Man (1972), Spanish auteur Eloy de la Iglesia opted for a far less graphic thriller which is part giallo…
DVD: Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films, The (2014)
Produced and released around the same time as Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014), the approach by director Hilla Medalia is a more authorized chronicle…
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