Special Effects (1984)

2 / 5 June '10
Tagline: Mary Jean is just dying to get into the movies... She's about to get her wish.
Directed by: Larry Cohen
Written by: Larry Cohen
Actors include: Zoe Lund, Eric Bogosian, Brad Rijn
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Drama
Length: 103 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is a bottom of the barrel rip-off of Brian De Palma that has very little in the way of redeeming qualities. I was intrigued by this because I usually like Larry Cohen pictures, and I loved lead actress Zoë Lund in Ms .45. The thing was in that role she was mute...this is one of the only other roles she's starred in and with a voice it seems obvious why...she was not a very good actress. You will see her boobs many times, and watch her clumsily play two roles. She plays an actress who is strangled to death by the director of the film (it happens near the beginning of the film so I'm not wrecking anything). Her boyfriend looks guilty in the eyes of the Police so they focus on him. The thing is that the director video taped her death so he intends to use this footage to make his own film. Now they have the chore of finding a look-alike which of course they do quickly in order to shoot the rest of the scenes from the film. It's a lot like Body Double only a whole lot crappier from the bad music, stupid plot and neverending supply of dull moments. Very much not worth seeking out unfortunately, I really did think it would have been so much more.

Availability:  On DVD

Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

2.5 / 5 July '10
Tagline: What made you leave him, Cathy ... was it the way he made love, or why?
Directed by: Mark Robson
Written by: Larry Cohen
Actors include: Carol White, Paul Burke, Mala Powers
Genre: Thriller
Length: 108 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I was really looking forward to this as some talented filmmakers and so forth were at the helm here. The film is very nicely shot in San Francisco and I truly thought the concept was a good one. The story is about a young woman called Cathy who meets a young man, realizes he's mentally disturbed about the same time she finds out she's pregnant. She decides to have an abortion and tells the nutty father about it (big mistake!). Anyhow flash forward to later when she's met a new feller married and now with a baby and this is where the majority of the film takes place. The nutty fella turns up in her new life posing as a photographer and playing games with her. He wants to punish her and get revenge for the abortion but can she and her child be saved? What made this movie so awful was the actress playing Cathy, irritating, bitchy and whiny as heck, it's hard to feel bad for someone you hate. In fact there really wasn't much of anyone to try to root for in this, everyone was unlikable! The terrible theme song kept reoccurring (one of the worst I've heard yet), and most of the film dragged and dragged and was rather predictable. It's also the handling of the story was so overwrought and obnoxious it was difficult to even sit through. It's a shame because I feel this could have been something special if quite a few things changed.

Availability:  Not on DVD