Cat's Eye (1985) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - April 7, 1985

Another movie that I missed out on seeing on the big screen whilst living in Hong Kong. But I don't think I missed out on anything all that special, as this anthology film lacks that charm and creative zest that made Creepshow so entertaining.

Director Lewis Teague (Alligator, Cujo) does what he can with the material, but there is only so much that could be done with the first two yarns. Quitters Inc and The Ledge. Both were taken from the Night Shift anthology, yet neither were all that well suited for the cinematic screen. The first leans way too heavily into camp comedy, while that latter fails to generate the high stakes levels of stress the situation calls for. So it goes.

It is all redeemed with the final story, though. Because The General does manage to capture some of the comic book energy that pulsed throughout Creepshow, when the titular cat does battle with a nasty little breath-stealing troll in order to save the life of an endangered girl. It is pure fun and only makes the previous yarns suffer all the more in comparison.

If you haven't seen Cat's Eye, my advice is to just skip to The General.

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #51

Day of the Dead (1985)

Insert your own Timothée Chalamet snark comment about ballet and opera here.

While I am no fan of opera, I do enjoy going to a ballet every now and then. So there. Proof that I gots me some culture and shit...

They Came from Within [Shivers (1975)] - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - April 6, 1976

I have a very vivid memory of being deeply and profoundly unnerved and grossed out by the poster for They Came from Within when it was displayed at the Alameda 3 Theatre. What was up with that dark, murky bathwater. Was it dirty? Was something in it? Was the water itself alive? I was deathly afraid to find out.

Those questions would be answered when, while living in Hong Kong, I was able to finally see the film, under its original title: Shivers. By this time I had seen both Scanners and Videodrome on the big screen, the former being my formal introduction to David Cronenberg, and Rabid on home video. I had also read the essay about Cronenberg by Martin Scorsese that had been published in Fangoria. So I knew what Shivers was all about.

Despite all that advance cultural and critical knowledge, I was still good and rattled by Shivers. It was cold, weird, and disturbing as only David Cronenberg seems capable of being. I loved it then and love it now.

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #15

Datalog: Approx. 0:1000 Hours, Day 2

I was confined to the infirmary after telling Andrews about the Alien; he thought I was crazy. I didn't want to tell Clemens what I knew - not yet. We were spending quite a bit of time together and I rather enjoyed his company. I didn't want him to think I was insane.