Day of the Animals (1977) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - May 25, 1977

One year after striking box office gold with Grizzly, director William Girdler, producer Edward L. Montoro, and stars Christopher George and Richard Jaekel gathered together to see if they might be able to milk more cash from the animal attack genre cow.

While Day of the Animals looks to have turned a modest-to-low profit at the box office, it did fall far short of collecting the impressive and sizable stacks of cash that Grizzly had raked in the year prior.

From my own admittedly skewed and imprecise memory, this movie came and went from local theatres and drive-ins without my noticing it. First time I saw it was when it debuted on television and I remember liking it okay. It held my 11, 12, or 13 year old attention, but it did not grab me like Grizzly had. So it goes.

As far as the co-hits keeping the film company on its opening weekend, the Alameda Showcase had it coupled with Embryo, while the Coliseum Drive-in had it with Grizzly. The Hayward 6 had Days of the Animals going solo, while the neighboring Union City Drive-In had it paired with Black Sunday. That would be the one with the blimp, not the Mario Bava movie. 

Richmond's Hilltop Drive-In also had it paired with Grizzly, while Pleasant Hill's Motor Movies Drive-In had it with Rooster Cogburn, of all things. Of all of those films, I think Embryo is the only one I have yet to see.

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #68

Fright Night (1985)

 

Madhouse (1974) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - May 22, 1974

Vincent Price plays a beloved horror icon attempting to restart his acting career after a stint in a mental institution recovering from a nervous breakdown. Bizarre occurrences and suspicious shenanigans soon have Price's character wondering if he is, in fact, truly stable.

I have only seen Madhouse once and, if memory serves, I spent most of its running time vacillating from feeling sympathy for Price's sad sack character and being frustrated that he could not see the obvious.

While it was not all that surprising to discover the film was based off a novel, because Amicus co-founder Milton Subotsky was an avid reader of all manner of genre fiction. I was tickled to learn that this film's 1969 source novel had been penned by Angus Hall, who would wrote the novelization of Scars of Dracula. Cool beans.

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #32

Datalog: Approx. 0:200 Hours, Day 3

I caught sight of Dillon trying to rescue Kevin. The Alien had a death grip on Kevin and was pulling him up into the air duct. Dillon grabbed Kevin's legs, attempting to pull him to safety in a warped game of tug-of-war. Dillon won. But Kevin was too badly injured. He didn't make it.

Alien 3 (1992) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - May 21, 1992

The excitement for Alien 3 deflated pretty quickly, once this muddled and downbeat film was unleashed on audiences eager for Aliens 2. Not whatever the hell this movie was trying to be.

While I did like and appreciate some of the creative swings taken by the project. It was also quite clear that the film's story and characters had not been worked out. Another draft or two of the script, ones that would have whittled down the cumbersome and indistinguishable supporting cast (and xenomorph fodder) to a more manageable and identifiable number, was in dire need of being hammered out.

Couple that with the mistrust both the producers and the studio had with their chosen director, David Fincher, which led to bothersome creative second guessing and tinkering that did far more harm than good. It comes as no surprise that the film was deemed a disappointing misfire.

But I still like it far more than whatever the hell Alien Resurrection was supposed to be. For me the Alien franchise remains a closed and ended trilogy.

Fright Flicks #67 - Trading Card #67

Day of the Dead (1985)

 

Alien (1979) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - May 20, 1979

San Francisco got an exclusive 'early' engagement. Meanwhile, in the East Bay, I had to suffer an eternity of eager anticipation for the movie to open in June and actually see it, I think, in mid-July. Worth the wait.

But it still seemed to take forever to finally get to see it...
 

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #31

Datalog: Approx. 0:200 Hours, Day 3

I could hear Jude screaming. But I couldn't tell where he was. The lights flickered and dimmed, leaving the main corridor very dark. All they had to do was lead the Alien to us. But with the poorly operating electronic doors and the miles of twisting passageways, anything could happen.

Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - May 19, 1976

The feature film debut of cult filmmaker Jamaa Fanaka, who would go on to make the Penitentiary trilogy starring Leon Isaac Kennedy. This film's biggest claim to fame is the memorable moment when Brother Charles strangles a man to death using his monster-sized penis. Really.

I'm sure there is a scathing social, cultural, and political statement being made at that moment, but did anybody bother to take it seriously? Could it be taken seriously?

I haven't seen any of Fanaka's films and, maybe, I should remedy that by watching Welcome Home Brother Charles or the first Penitentiary, at least. Maybe.

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #66

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors (1987)