The Omen (1976) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - June 25, 1976

In these United States, where this blog is currently housed, The Omen celebrates its 50th birthday today.

I remember being equal parts fascinated and unnerved by one of the countless advertisements for The Omen. It was the one where the shadow Damien casts is that of doglike figure, which I had no way on knowing at the time was supposed to represent a jackal (and Damien's birth mother). The more used alternate, of course, was Damien casting a shadow of cross that, because of the perspective, was rather conspicuously upside down (which means EVIL).

My only other memories are of flipping through the novelization and getting frightened by the black and white photos in the center. The same also applies for the novelization of Damien Omen II (1978).

I think I first saw the film when it made its network television debut. Because, at time of The Omen's theatrical release, my brother and I were considered far too young to see R-rated fare on the big screen.

Because this was a major theatrical release, The Omen had no double-feature in its indoor venues. However, at the Coliseum drive-in, where double-bills were essential to the point of being required, The Omen was well paired with 1973's The Legend of Hell House.
 

And those double-bills being shown on the adjacent screens were also pretty cool. 

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #77

Poltergeist (1982)

 

Land of the Dead (2005) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - June 24, 2005

That Eli Roth quote comparing the release of a new George A. Romero zombie film being something akin to the release of a new Star Wars film (in the year 2005, at least) was not all that far off the mark. Well, at least for me.

I took a vacation day just so I could see the very first matinee screening of Land of the Dead on its opening day, because I was really that excited about it. When the movie ended, I contemplated staying at the theatre and getting a ticket for the next showing. I kind of regret not doing so, but I had to get home and write a review for a now defunct webpage. So it goes.

Oh, and there was the whole needing to pick up my kid from school thing.

Reaction to the film was mixed, or course. I remember one message board comment describing the film as having a first and third act that were in dire need of a second. Something that might have to do with Simon Baker's character of Riley Denbo feeling a tad thin and underdeveloped when compared to the more colorful and more energetic characters that surround him.

The true standouts are John Leguizamo's Cholo, Asia Argento's Slack, Dennis Hooper's Kaufman, and Eugene Clark's Big Daddy. I also like the satirical flourish of having Big Daddy being surrounded by a zombie crew of this own.

While it may not have been the thunderous and energetic achievement I had hoped for, I still think it is makes for a solid entry. One that that showed Romero still had the vision and the creative ability to make something interesting and entertaining.
 

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #41

Outtake - Scene not included in the movie

In the original scene from Alien 3, prisoner Murphy becomes the first victim when he finds the Alien in the Abattoir just after it has burst from the ox. In the released version of Alien 3, Murphy is still the first victim of the Alien. But the Alien does not come from an ox. It bursts from his dog, Sparky.

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) / The 27th Day (1957) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - June 23, 1957

20 Million Miles to Earth tells the tragic tale of a Venusian animal brought back to Earth where, alone, confused, and scared, it is tormented by equally confused and scared humans. Although somewhat hampered by its paltry budget, the stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen is superb. The unnamed alien, known to fans as the Ymir, is so skillfully animated that it moves and reacts as if it were a living being and not a mere special effect.

This would be the first of three films that Nathan Juran would make with Harryhausen. The other two being the 1958 classic The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and 1964's First Men in the Moon.

The 27th Day is a movie I have the vaguest memory of seeing a portion of on television. It was a scene of a man being hit by a car. But that is all I remember of it.

The film was based on a 1956 novel written by John Mantley, who would go on to write a season two episode of The Outer Limits that was titled Behold Eck! Mantley also served as producer, perhaps show runner, for the television series Gunsmoke from 1965 - 1975, and is credited with writing 17 episodes and producing 240. He also produced and wrote the late 1970s series How The West Was Won. He also had some producing credits on the series The Wild, Wild West, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and MacGyver.

I was also surprised and delighted to learn that the film was directed by William Asher. A television workhorse, Asher credited as director on 102 episodes of I Love Lucy, a first season episode of The Twilight Zone titled Mr. Bevis, 131 episodes of Bewitched, and many, many more.

But I know Asher best for directing the queasy 1981 hagsploitation-themed slasher thriller Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker, which I saw on the big screen as Night Warning.
 

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #76

Poltergeist (1982)

Those hands belong to Steven Spielberg, who had a grand old time working with DIRECTOR Tobe Hooper.
 

The People That Time Forgot (1977) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - June 22, 1977

When I went to see The People That Time Forgot, on the big screen, I had no idea that it was a direct sequel to The Land That Time Forgot. I just thought it looked like a fun and exciting fantasy adventure.

Since this ad is from the San Francisco Examiner, I am going to focus on the screening in that region and leave the East Bay for when the daily clipping comes from the Oakland Tribune.

All the markets looked to have paired the film with the a reissue of At the Earth's Core, which just so happened to have been made by most of the same creative team responsible for The People That Time Forgot. Save for the absence of Milton Subotsky, as he and credited producer Max J. Rosenberg had parted ways and their Amicus Production company was no more. 
 

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #40

Outtake - Scene not included in the movie

Another of the original scenes from Alien 3 included this shot of an unsuspecting prisoner actually picking up the Alien in its facehugger form. The Alien has just burst from the dead ox strung up in the prison's Abattoir and is about to its first victim.

I might be in the minority here, or maybe not, but I do not find the Assembly Cut to be all that much of an improvement over the theatrical cut. Because a lot of the film's problems rested within the film's underdeveloped and unfocused script. That it needed a few more drafts to strengthen its characters and setting can not be ignored or denied.

 

Empire of the Ants (1977) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - June 12, 1977

Last year I clipped and shared the STARTS WEDNESDAY ad for Bert I. Gordon's Empire of the Ants that ran in the San Francisco Examiner. Now it is the Oakland Tribune's turn.

The other day the 7 disc Sangster Directs Hammer box set from Severin arrived in the mail. One of the film contained therein is Fear in the Night, which just so happens to feature star Joan Collins. Who played a vibrant and campy role in today's subject.

My reason for mentioning this factoid is that the Fear in the Night disc features a video essay titled Joan Collins: Queen of the Horror Film. Collins appeared in a lot of British horror films in the early seventies, the most famous being Tales from the Crypt, of course. 

Yet it seems this particular slice of b-grade cheese schlock was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Embarrassed and, quite possibly, infuriated, Collins would option her sister Jackie's novel The Stud and reinvent both her public persona and acting career. A decision that paid huge dividends when she was cast in the long-running primetime soap opera Dynasty.
 

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #75

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 Freddy's Revenge (1985)

While these publicity shoot images bled together over time, because there were just so many of them, I am somewhat unsure if the above image was taken for the second film in the franchise. It might have been, but I think it might actually have been taken during the production of the third film.

The Freddy make-up would change from film to film, depending on who was working on the make-up and what idiosyncratic flourish they wanted to give it at that time, and this looks more Dream Warriors than it does Freddy's Revenge. To me, at least.

But I could be wrong. That can and does happen. Like I said, New Line did a lot of these publicity shoots.