My Favorite Era of Movies [1967-1982]

Fade to Black [Vernon Zimmerman, 1980] - This was a fantastic first time watch and hidden gem of a horror film. It's about a shy classic cinephile who has really no social graces to put it lightly, who after being constantly emotionally and mentally beaten down by his aunt, coworkers and people he comes across, snaps. Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is obsessed with classic Hollywood and obsessively watches Humphrey Bogart films, Marilyn Monroe films (which comes into play later) and dresses up as certain characters when he goes out to see them at old retrospective theaters. I've seen people talk about this as a slasher but that is very inaccurate. While it does have a body count, although small, the kills are not stylized but rather fitting in the way the character begins to twist in his mental breakdown. Mickey Rourke plays a small role in this. The nature of the film with being homages to Hollywood of old, the kills are quite inventive and reflect that theme. I don't want to spoil much of this film as I think people should really check out. Is it essential of it's era? No not really but it's a great hidden gem to check out. Vinegar Syndrome put out a great restoration of this on blu-ray. GREAT.

Dead & Buried [Gary Sherman, 1981] - Another great horror film that fell through the cracks. Although, I'd say this is a bit more well known than Fade to Black. This is set in a small coastal town in which several grisly murders are being committed by a large group of the townsfolk. The new sherriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) begins to investigate these murders but is finding out one thing that's incredibly strange, the corpses have come back to life. This is an incredibly atmospheric film that I think would fit in as a great double bill with John Carpenter's very underrated coastal horror film, The Fog. A great performance in this was from Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka), who plays a funeral director/coroner. Robert Englund also plays a small role in this. There are some particularly nasty kills. Not Fulci level gore, but still pretty grisly. What makes this film really awesome is the atmosphere and the paranoia that's being ratcheted up in this tiny town. I don't think it's essential but I highly recommend this. It's available on Amazon Prime for streaming and Blue Underground put this out on blu-ray. GREAT.

Requiem for a Vampire [Jean Rollin, 1972] - So this was something else. Not much of a narrative structure to this but more of a mood piece. Rollin called this his pure masterpiece as he drew it from his subconscious and had no real concern for plot. While this is not on the level of a Bunuel, Lynch, Jodorowsky or Fellini when it comes to surreal, dream logic films but honest for a trashy, softcore, arthouse horror flick, you can do a whole lot worse. This is my second Jean Rollin flick. The "plot" can be boiled down to, 2 young ladies dressed as clowns are in a car chase and their driver is killed so they hike through the French countryside and find their way to an abandoned Chateau behind a cemetery. In the Chateau, they encounter the last of the vampires. From there, you get some softcore action, blood drinking and lots of nudity. It's not long so it doesn't overstay its welcome. Check it out if you like the weird side of cinema. RESULTS MAY VARY.

Suspiria [Dario Argento, 1977] - An absolute classic Italian horror film by the way of a Grimms Fairy Tale. A series of grisly murders begin as an American comes to a prestigious German ballet academy that may or may not be tied to something more sinister. While it can be said that Argento's films place more emphasis on style than coherent storytelling or complicated plots, I think his visual style is so strong in his very best films that it can overcome any plot related short comings. In this one, I don't think the plot is very poor as it's very quite simple. Girl comes to new school, murders happen, slight supernatural shenanegans happen and we get a resolution. The score to this is incredible. I have an old Anchor Bay special edition that has a CD of the soundtrack that was done by the band Goblin. I highly suggest checking it out! The color schemes in this from the reds to the blues and greens are incredibly striking and I would put it up there with some of the best visual films of the time period in which there are many. The kills in this are quite great and dip into the giallo territory that Argento was quite well versed in. It's hard to talk a ton about this as it's so well acclaimed. EPIC!



Tenebre [Dario Argento, 1982] - Probably my favorite Argento flick. While not as colorful and stylized as Suspiria, this does have a load of style to it from the cinematography to the score. I actually find the score to be far more unsettling in this. It has an almost nursery feel to it (along with some great 80s synth as well) while really grisly murders happen which makes it very unsettling. While an American writer is in Rome on a book tour for his latest murder mystery, Tenebrae, a series of murders of beautiful women that happen to mimic the murders in his book. This has a great cast. Anthony Franciosa (A Face in the Crowd, Across 110th Street, Death Wish II) plays the author Peter Neal. Giuliano Gemma (The Leopard) plays Detective Germani. The legendary John Saxon plays Bullmer, Neal's agent. With any self-respecting Italian horror, there's a whole bevy of beautiful Italian women from Daria Nicolodi (Suspiria), Mirella D'Angelo (Caligula), Veronica Lario, Ania Pieroni (House by the Cemetery), Eva Robins (in a particularly lurid scene on a beach with some high heels that Quentin Tarantino had to have loved) and others. While this isn't as vibrant in colors as Suspiria was, this film really showcases white. From the interiors to the sand on a beach, Argento really showcases this so that it can contrast with all the blood that will be sprayed. Oh yes, the arterial spraying in this with a murder that involves an axe (I won't give anything else away), rivals the very best that old kung fu flicks had to offer. It's quite the sight! While this is late in the Italian giallo cycle which really peaked in the early to mid 70s, this is highly recommended and at the very least, one of the best of Argento's filmography. Looks like it's streaming on AMC+ and Shudder. Synapse Films also released a great blu ray of this. EPIC!

American Grafiti [George Lucas, 1973] - I've always been a fan of the "hang out" and "set in one night" films and this is a prime example of this. A set of newly graduated teenagers hang out for one more night on town before going on with adulthood. One of the film's biggest strengths is how awesome the soundtrack is. With the inclusion of Wolfman Jack over the car radios, it really ties all of the disperate stories together as all the cars to the carhops are tuned in to the station. The next strength are all the awesome 1950s and early 1960s cars. While this film is set it one very particular time in history, this still feels pretty universal of the feeling of being on the cusp of adulthood and wanting to still have that last bit of being carefree as a teenager right before having to become a responsible adult and the bittersweet feeling once it's over, if it's registered at all. While Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused is my favorite of this genre, this is a great inclusion. If you like hang out films with fun characters and awesome soundtracks, check this out! GREAT.



Enter the Dragon [Robert Clouse, 1973] - In my opinion, one of the very best action films of the 70s! I think this is a reasonable guess that this is most people's first Bruce Lee film as it was mine. I also remember watching Fist of Fury not long after this. I haven't watched this in quite a few years prior and this really holds up for me. The pacing in this does not let up one bit. Bruce Lee is set in to take part in a martial arts tournament on an opium lord's island (who also came from the same school that Lee's character did) as well as spying on the goings on in support of a foreign agency along with many other fighters around the world. This also has really great support from John Saxon and Jim Kelly (Black Belt Jones) as well as Bolo Yeung (Bloodsport) as one of the big bad goons for the opium lord (played by Kien Shih). The fight scenes in this are what carries this film and they deliver! This is available on HBO Max to stream. EPIC!



Evil Dead [Sam Raimi, 1981] - The ultimate horror rollercoaster of a film! The premise is as simple as it gets, a bunch of young college friends travel from Michigan to a creepy cabin in the Tennesse hills. They find an old Necronomicon and shit goes wild from there! The Raimi brothers along with Bruce Campbell saw how successful horror films were, they watched them at the drive-in to see how they were made and took their shot at the genre. To say it was a success is an understatement! Bruce Campbell made for the best inversion of the final girl trope that has already been cemented in horror films up to this time. It was a great combination of terror and slapstick comedy. There has always been a fine line between slapstick and horror and this melds both. Not a whole lot more to say that hasn't been written a million times for this film. EPIC!