A Taste Of Evil (1971)

3 / 5 Jan '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: John Llewellyn Moxey
Written by: Jimmy Sangster
Actors include: Barbara Stanwyck, Roddy McDowall, Barbara Parkins
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Considering this was a '70s made-for-tv movie that was written by Jimmy Sangster and produced by Aaron Spelling productions I thought this would be a winner! It's not, in fact it's a rehash of so many films seen previously and this particular retelling is very dry. It's about a young girl who is raped, then put in an asylum because she's in a catatonic state and has sever trauma from the accident. We catch up with her as she's coming home to stay, though she doesn't seem particularly well. See she keeps seeing her Stepfather dead in various places which is tormenting her to say the least. She also has an over-the-top nutty Mother (Barbara Stanwyck) does provide some campy laughter but not a heck of a lot else. I don't want to give more away in case you do want to watch this but let's just say I was underwhelmed. It did have a tidy conclusion and it made clear sense at least!

Availability:  Currently unavailable anywhere

The Plumber (1979) aka The Mad Plumber

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: The Australian New Wave Has Come
Directed by: Peter Weir
Written by: Peter Weir
Actors include: Judy Morris, Ivar Kants, Robert Coleby
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 77 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So it would appear that The Cable Guy was entirely ripped off from this one. The big difference being that Jim Carrey in his film was just obnoxious, the plumber in this film was disturbing. A couple are adjusting to their relatively new apartment and their new situation (the wife has decided to stay home and study for a bit while the husband works). When the wife is home alone she gets a knock on her door from the plumber, he just needs to check her pipes you see. Next thing you know he's claiming the pipes are rotted and need to be replaced. Before long he's mentally tormenting her in her own home and the bathroom has turned into total destruction. He's writing song lyrics in her shower and performing in her bathroom, watching her change and various other creepy things. Just watching him interact with her is extremely uncomfortable. It's actually a relatively well made film and it was really short (77 minutes) but originally it was shot for tv. Still it packs quite a punch, and well it would make most people think before answering the door to a plumber!

Availability:  On DVD

How Awful About Allan (1970)

2 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Curtis Harrington
Written by: Henry Farrell
Actors include: Anthony Perkins, Julie Harris, Joan Hackett
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Talk about being underwhelmed, I mean one would think the combination of Curtis Harrington, Aaron Spelling and Anthony Perkins would spell success but instead it spells as boring as hell. Perkins plays Allan, a fellow who feels partially responsible for an accidental fire that kills his Father and scars his Sister. Allan even goes temporarily blind from the incident because of stress I think is the explanation (that makes no sense). Allan is finally released from the asylum to his Sister's care, only she doesn't seem the most happy to have him there. She's just looking for an excuse to get rid of him he figures. Matters aren't made any better by a mysterious boarder who is staying at their place. Allan thinks this boarder is trying to kill him, and seems to appear rather insane. It's a made-for-tv movie and mercifully short but still it felt like nothing ever happened until the very end and by that point I didn't really care. Talk about underwhelming clap trap, it just seemed lazy and uninteresting, it's too bad because I think this could have made for a decent film if some major changes occured.

Availability:  On DVD

Scream Pretty Peggy (1973)

4 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Gordon Hessler
Written by: Jimmy Sangster, Arthur Hoff
Actors include: Ted Bessell, Bette Davis, Sian Barbara Allen
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Pretty darned entertaining although entirely derivative of two movies specifically A Bucket of Blood and Psycho but it's still good fun. The story is about a girl whom they call pretty Peggy (though I think that's quite an exaggeration), she needs a job and is interested in sculpture. When she finds a low paying house cleaning job working for a semi-famous sculptor named Jeffrey and his unusual elderly Mother (Bette Davis playing that role she plays in horror films). Peggy is desperately throwing herself at Jeffrey and eagerly trying to please the family, but his Mother keeps trying to get her to quit. Peggy soon starts to suspect something isn't quite right when she sees someone moving around in the forbidden rooms over the garage. Also when a Man turns up looking for his missing daughter who used to work for the family, she gets suspicious. It's pretty satisfying even if quite predictable, but for a made-for-tv movie it's pretty stellar.

Availability:  On DVD but I'm not sure how common it is

Weekend Of Terror (1970)

2.5 / 5 Jan '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jud Taylor
Written by: Lionel E. Siegel
Actors Include: Robert Conrad, Carol Linley, Lee Majors
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 74 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This was a rarely seen made-for-tv "thriller" involving a kidnapping gone wrong. It's very light weight and it was rather cheesy considering what they could have made from the plot. Some kidnappers capture a girl, but accidentally she dies during an attack. They then end up kidnapping a similar looking girl and two nuns and holding them hostage. See they need to trick the fellow into paying the ransom and then they can make a getaway before they realize they were given the wrong girl. It's tolerable but certainly missing pizzazz or danger really, it never gets tense or even that interesting, you pretty much know exactly what is going to happen throughout. Oh well there are definitely worse films you could be stuck watching, I just wouldn't run out and try to find this one if I were you.

Availability:  Not on DVD currently

Crowhaven Farm (1974)

3 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: A chilling tale of vengeance from beyond the grave.
Directed by: Walter Grauman
Written by: John McGreevey
Actors include: Hope Lange, Lloyd Bochner, Paul Burke
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Drama
Length: 74 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is a made-for-tv film and it truly does feel like one, it's very tame and talky but it's entertaining enough to get to the end of at least. Hope Lange plays Maggie Porter, a Woman who has just inherited Crowhaven Farm. She reluctantly goes there with her Husband Ben and she starts feeling deja vu. She also hears crying out in the woods and suffers from visions of witches which causes trouble with She and Ben. They couldn't conceive so when a 10 year old girl called Jennifer ends up in their care they decide to take her in. Something doesn't seem quite right with her, she seems rather fond of Ben but not so much of Maggie. Things get stranger still when Maggie learns that she is finally pregnant. The actors actually do a very fine job, and they are the real reason to bother with this one. Otherwise it's a bit mundane and predictable but it's not all that bad either. Not frightening but they at least provided a reasonable story. Not the worst of it's kind, but not the best either, worth watching on tv one day perhaps.

Availability:  On DVD