Episode 64: July Tubi Tuesday
Month: July 2023
In which the lads style up those mullets, dust off that leather, and head into the freefire zone to get larned some fine teachins.
Episode 63: Podferatu Ded Talk- Fear
:
Episode 63: Podferatu Ded Talk- Fear – Podferatu
In which Jorge and JT face their fears, forego their frights, and fracture their phobias (or funsies).
NEXT WEEK
New Feature: Tubi Tuesday!
LINKS
https://linktr.ee/podferatu
Skull logo by Erik Leach @erikleach_art (Instagram)
Theme: Netherworld Shanty, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
5 Adaptations Of Lovecraft’s “Colour Out Of Space”
This post is part of the Classic Literature On Film Blogathon
hosted by Silver Screen Classics.
Long and oft have I lamented (here and elsewhere) the difficulties of translating Lovecraft to the screen, specifically any scene involving any being so utterly beyond human comprehension that the merest glimpse of it results in despair and madness. Obviously there’s no way to sufficiently visualize so staggering a horror.
But that should in no way imply that all Lovecraft is unfilmable. Far from it. Frequently the terrors of the Elder Gods lie in the results of their presence on those around them. This is the kind of thing that happens in, for example, such Lovecraft-themed movies as Event Horizon and In The Mouth Of Madness.
Other times, the story as it is can work spectacularly on film, and a fine example of this is “The Colour Out Of Space.” If this isn’t my favorite Lovecraft story, it’s certainly in the top 3. It’s definitely one of Lovecraft’s finest cosmic horrors with its most unnerving quality being the idea that it invokes no cult rituals, no ancient evil, and no Elder Gods. It’s just speculative fiction at its finest and boasts 5, count ’em, 5 film adaptations, with nary a one being terrible.
Die, Monster, Die (1965)
This is not the most faithful adaptation, but it’s got its gruesome and creepy moments. An American scientist journeys to Arkham, England to visit his fiancée Susan Witley. There he meets her parents, Nahum and Letitia. Hmm. Letitia Witley. That sounds vaguely familiar, kinda like, oh I dunno, Lavinia Whateley? From “The Dunwich Horror?” Now just what did those zany lads over at American International Pictures think they were up to with all this haphazard mix-and-matching of storylines? The special effects are a bit dated as well, though Letitia’s (Freda Jackson) final transformation is a decent jolt. The obvious draw here is Karloff as Nahum, and his ending attack is right menacing despite the now hokey representation of Nahum’s radioactive glow.
SKULLS- 5
The Curse (1987)
Also not the most faithful version of events, but it does deal nicely with the some of the story details, like the improved crop growth (and what follows) after the meteorite hits. The movie also boasts a lil baby Wil Wheaton just after Stand By Me. This time the father is Nathan Crane (Claude Akins). A meteorite lands near the family farm, and madness ensues. It’s not a bad flick, but it’s not fantastic either. It does, however, contain one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve ever watched. Zack’s (Wheaton) mother is sewing and yammering semi-incoherently about, well, stuff. Zack notices her fingers are bleeding then realizes it’s because she’s sewing her fingers along with/into her darning work. Makes me shiver just thinkin’ about it. Oh, and John Schneider. Oh, and Curse II: The Bite has zero to do with this movie.
SKULLS- 3
Colour From The Dark (2008)
This is a surprisingly effective indie film out of Italy. This time everything is set in the WWII Italian countryside. Farmer Pietro and his wife Lucia accidentally release something that’s at the bottom of their well. Even better than The Curse, this version focuses effectively on the massive crops, subsequent poisoning, and ultimate madness brought about by whatever Pietro has released. Things go a bit off the rails in terms of Lucia becoming homicidal prompting devout Catholic Pietro to call for an exorcist. But overall not bad.
SKULLS- 4
The Colour Out Of Space (Die Farbe, 2010)
This is tense and effectively shot in black and white except when The Color itself is directly involved. Some argue that this is the best adaptation of the story ever made. It certainly bears all the hallmarks of being made by someone who’s a Lovecraft disciple. This time, a young American goes to Germany trying to find out what happened to his father, an American soldier who seemed to have just vanished. In the course of investigating, he stumbles upon the repercussions of a meteorite that had landed near a farm in the vicinity of a family the father may have had contact with. Between the oversized but poisoned crops, the bloated insects, and the weirdness of actual Color, this one takes a hold and won’t let go. Be sure to stick around through the credits because the accompanying footage does a fine job linking back to an important point made in the actual story
SKULLS- 5
Color Out Of Space (2019)
If you’re gonna have someone go insane and start doin’ weird shit because of exposure to some kind of weird shit from space that also makes weird shit start happening all over your llama farm, you could do a helluvalot worse than to have that someone played by Nicolas Cage. If you hold up Mandy as the gold standard of totally batshit Nic Cage crazy-8 bonkersosity, then Willy’s Wonderland and Color Out Of Space are neck and neck for an awfully close second. It’s a nice touch in terms of the meteor’s effect on the people around it, and there are some John Carpenter/The Thing/David Cronenberg/The Fly moments that, while not exactly canon in terms of the source, are truly god damn gruesome. What this version also handles spectacularly is the color and some of its other bizarro effects (i.e. more creepy as hell bugs like in Die Farbe).
SKULLS- 5
So there they are kids. My suggestion is have a read through the story (it moves fast), grab ya up a ginormous hunka produce, and snuggle in for some iridescent nightmares.
Episode 62: Movies From The Years We Were Born
Episode 62: Movies From The Years We Were Born – Podferatu
In which the lads discuss movies from the banner years that were 1965 and 1978!
NEXT WEEK
Podferatu Ded Talk: Fear
LINKS
https://linktr.ee/podferatu
Skull logo by Erik Leach @erikleach_art (Instagram)
Theme: Netherworld Shanty, Kevin MacLeod incompetech.com
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
What I Watched In June
6/4 Daimajin (1966)
Here’s another one that’s been on the list for some time now. For what it is, Daimajin is a cool little flick and not like your run-of-the-mill kaiju fare. The storyline is a little wonky, but from what I can piece together, a Great Demon God, both revered and feared by the nearby villagers, is kept at peace with an annual ritual. Well wouldn’t ya know it, there’s a coup. Power shifts. The deposed family is killed except for, wouldn’t ya know it, the two children. They grow up. There’s fighting. There’s intrigue. There’s torture. There’s supernatural stuff. Daimajin doesn’t really have is big moment til the last 20-ish minutes, but those 20-ish minutes are an absolute blast to behold.
6/4 Bog (1979)
More like Slog. For real, on of the longest 90-minute segments of my life. 1979 had quite a range. The year that gave us Alien and Phantasm also gave us Killer Nun (up next) and…this. Dynamite feeshin’ (like ya do) wakes up a swamp critter, the likes of which ya ain’t seen since, I dunno, The Horror Of Party Beach or From Hell It Came. There’s some great tentacle rasslin’ (à la Bride Of The Monster) with tentacles I could probably whip up at home with some nylons, pool noodles, and Mod Podge.
6/7 Killer Nun (1979)
Argento, Bava, Fulci, Mattei. If you like these guys and their style of giallo, check out this little nunsploitation shocker by Giulio Berutti. Not a bad movie at all really. Supposedly it’s loosely based on a real case, so take that with as many grains of salt as you see fit. Sister Gertrude (played Anita Ekberg and marginally more lenient than Nurse Ratched) runs a geriatric hospital. People, of course, start dying, and not just because they’re geriatric. I’d classify this as giallo, so there is, of course, a big (albeit fairly predictable) twist.
6/11 Demon Wind (1990)
How can I have gotten this far in my life without every having seen this? The MST3K-style cover art alone should have sold me on this long before now. And it’s a strong start: crucified body on fire. Sign me up. Sadly, this highwater mark is not to be maintained. Hamfisted effects, terrible acting, one stupid character decision after another, and dialogue so packed with cheese it could cover a flatbed fulla nachos. Still, there’s a good moment here and there, lotsa splattery gore, decent makeup, and some halfway decent Lovecrafty vibes. Fun fun fun fun fun.
6/14 Influencer (2022)
Dang. Nary a redeemable or even remotely likeable character to be found anywhere in or even near this one. Predictable, at times tedious, and a little appearance-based demonization.
6/16 Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets (2023)
It takes quite a bit to get to me these days, but good gravy Marie did I need a shower after this ‘un here. I mean, Rulon and Warren Jeffs and the FLDS, that’s pretty god damn bad, but they weren’t trying to manufacture a nation of righteous soldiers that would go out and attempt to rule aaalll of christendom. Sheesh.
6/23 Class Of 1999 (1990)
Jorge and I watched this for another Tubi Tuesday episode. That’s where we go through Tubi and write down 6 titles we come across that neither of us has seen. We write these on a 6-sided dry erase die, roll it, watch whatever comes up, and review it. Why Tubi? Funny you should ask. A) It’s free. B) Their horror selection is kicking a bunch of other services’ asses right now. As for the movie, first, I love the fact that in 1990 this was someone’s vision of teenagers a mere 9 years later. High schools have become ultraviolent to the point where some exist in freefire zones that the police won’t venture into. Funny enough, news crews will, no problem. Ultimately, we didn’t hate this. It has its fun moments. There’s a drug that gets snorted out of what looks like a AA battery. Things explode for no reason. Everyone looks like a rejected extra from The Lost Boys. Pam Grier is an evil robot (for the record, if an evil Pam Grier robot had rolled up on 1990 me and said menacingly that she wanted to “educate” me, I’d jump in the car).
6/23 Whisper (2007)
Kids are usually creepy, especially super-mature but small kids dressed like adults. So there’s that. Anyway, I watch a few horror reviewers on the YouTubes, and one of my go-to folks is Kainan Becker and his channel Ghost Pirate Entertainment. I’ve probably mentioned him before and no doubt will again since every month at least one movie I’ve watched is something I picked up on his channel. This is one of ’em, but as simpatico as his opinions and mine seem to be, this one for me kinda trips on the goal line. I was with it right up to the final payoff, and that was enough to bring the whole structure crashing down. To be fair, I’m never a fan of the kind of ending Whisper provided, so it may very well just be me. Would I say go ahead and give it a shot? Yes, for sure.
6/24 Black Mirror Season 6 (2023)
I for the most part liked this but find it the weakest season thus far. I’ve always considered Black Mirror to be a kind of high tech Twilight Zone, and it’s that technology edge that made the series so effective and unnerving for me. Everything that happens is predicated on one of the following:
-It uses technology we already have (National Anthem, Shut Up And Dance)
-Technology we already have could plausibly be used this way in the near future (Nosedive)
-Technology we don’t have seems extremely plausible (The Entire History Of You, Playtest, San Junipero)
So one of my major problems with S6 is that three episodes utterly abandon this up grounding in tech we’ve had up til now. Now, on one end, Demon 79 gets a bit of a pass because it just has such a grindhouse look now and then. Mazey Day leaves tech behind in a particularly egregious manner, to the point where I found myself saying out loud, “Seriously? This is where this one’s going? Really?” I won’t say more for those of you what ain’t seen it yet, but don’t get your hopes up. Joan Is Awful was okay enough I suppose, but multiple reality stuff makes my head hurt about as badly as time travel. A high point is Beyond The Sea which, whew, ain’t gonna give ya dancin’ feet.
Episode 61: June Tubi Tuesday
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