Into the Dark: School Spirit & Pure

Author's Note: As most of you guys know by now, I have been working my way through both seasons of the Blumhouse/Hulu horror anthology series Into the Dark since last year, month by month. As you might also know, on account of COVID-19, the series was prematurely shut down before it could complete its current second season. 

As of this writing, I couldn't find any indication that production would resume on the final two episodes of that season. The only thing I do know is that the penultimate episode was entitled Tentacles, which sounds like a Creature Feature throwback, being as how that was also the title of a 1977 horror flick about a killer octopus. No word on if that is the case on the ITD episode, but, at the very least, it's probably a monster-themed entry of the series, I should think. 

Anyway, as I was only two episodes away from completing the first season of the show, I decided to go ahead and wrap things up, especially since we have no way of knowing when and if production on the second season will resume. They may just opt to cut their losses and skip ahead to season three, assuming the show will be renewed. I will keep you posted, but until such a time, here goes a review of the last two episodes of season one, beginning with...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: a victim of a prank gone horribly wrong returns years later to enact their revenge on all the "bad kids." (See The Burning, Terror Train, The House on Sorority Row, Urban Legend, etc.) Okay, how about this one: a group of high school kids with little in common are forced to attend weekend detention for doing something or the other wrong, where they are overseen by a grumpy, foul-mouthed authority figure who clearly hates kids in general, as their secrets come out one by one over the course of the afternoon. 

Are you with me? So, yeah, what we've got here is basically a horror version of The Breakfast Club. And yes, there was another horror film with essentially the same premise about a decade ago, called Detention, with a pre-Hunger Games Josh Hutcherson, which is WAY better and more original than this, despite the seemingly derivative origins. You should definitely check that one out.  

The reason being, it didn't just stick to the Breakfast Club format and went off in decidedly strange and unexpected directions as it went on. School Spirit does not, really, though it does have a few twists towards the end, most- if not all of which- longtime horror fans will see coming a mile away. That said, I've seen worse, TBH. 

So, here's the general plot-line, in more detail. Our main heroine is Erica (Annie Q., The Leftovers), a straight-A student who is sent to weekend detention for unspecified, but very serious reasons, according to the Vice Principal, Mr. Armstrong (Hugo Armstrong, of Christmas Nightmare, Fear the Walking Dead), who clearly doesn't want to be there any more than Erica, and not just for the obvious reasons, but because he's just gone through a nasty break-up. 

Joining her are the mostly usual suspects: the geeky Brett (Corey Fogelmanis, of Girl Meets World and Ma), outcast Lizzy (Jessi Case, of Mother's Day- the 2016 rom com, not the horror cult classics of 1980 and 2010, respectively), perpetual hoodlum Vic (Julian Works, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) and Russ (Philip Labes, of The Thinning: New World Order- interestingly, he was also in a horror comedy called School Spirits). 

Popping in to add to the body count- sad but true, and that's not a spoiler, because you can see it coming a mile away- is Erica's ex-BF, Jason (Jordan Austin Smith, of Alexa & Katie), a basketball player that still wants to get back together. So basically, you've got a place-marker for every Breakfast Club member: Erica is Clare (Molly Ringwald), Brett is Brian (Anthony Michael Hall), Lizzy is Allison (Ally Sheedy), Vic is Bender (Judd Nelson) and Russ, with an assist from Jason, is Andy (Emilio Estevez). And obviously, Mr Armstrong is Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason). 

Now, to be fair, it's not exactly the case- each character has a little something something going on that is different from their prior counterparts. Screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller (Golan the Insatiable, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie), with an assist from director Mike Gan (who also wrote season two's Crawlers, which is much better than this entry), do, to their credit, try to flesh out the characters in interesting ways, so that they're not just complete retreads of the Breakfast Club characters most of us all know and love. 

For instance, I liked that Erica wasn't as much of a goody-two-shoes as she initially seems- there's a lot more going on there than meets the eye, and I don't just mean the reason she's there in the first place, which is fairly predictable. What isn't is the type of person she actually proves to be, which is decidedly not what one would expect. This is a much-more layered character than one might think. Ditto the seemingly dorky/charming Brett, as her potential love interest. 

Now, don't get me wrong- it's not exactly reinventing the wheel here. As I said, School Spirit is nowhere near as good as the revisionist take of Detention, and it's certainly not a top-tier slasher, even in terms of the FX, which seem a bit too restrained at times, as if the filmmaker was afraid to really go for it. Don't get me wrong, there are a few good effects, notably a decent decapitation and even a double foot amputation, but overall, the episode just doesn't go for the jugular in a way that might have made a difference if all else failed. 

As such, it's basically a second-tier slasher, along the lines of something like Final Exam or maybe Silent Madness, though the denouement is nowhere near as bonkers and out of nowhere as it is in that somewhat underrated flick. But the acting is decent, especially the two main leads and the "adult in the room," Mr. Armstrong; and the writing and direction are steadfast and get the job done. But overall, it's just not one of the better entries in the series, unfortunately. 

Fortunately, I still had one more episode to go, and it was a good one to go out on, as it turns out. Unlike School Spirit, the season closer Pure is pretty original- though obviously not completely without precedent- there is, as they say, nothing new under the sun. But points for bringing to my attention, for better or worse, to a cultural movement, for lack of a better way of putting it, that I wasn't the least bit aware of: the so-called "Purity Retreat."

Yep, for those for whom a gay conversion camp wasn't gross enough, I give you the so-called "purity camp," which fathers and their daughters attend together, participating in various barf-inducing festivities, ending with a "purity ball" dance, culminating with the signing of a contract in which said daughters promise their fathers to remain "pure" (aka a virgin) until they are married, typically to an approved boy of the father's choosing. Can you say ick? 😨

Against my better judgment, I did look into the matter, thinking: there's no way this could be a real thing, right? Wrong. It's real, and it is very much a thing. I don't know why I'm surprised. That's Trump's America for you. Then again, to be fair- not that he deserves it- these things have been around for decades, as it turns out. Since at least the 80's, believe it or not, and it's every bit as disgusting as one might think, if not more so. You can read more about it here, but don't do it until you've seen the episode, as spoilers abound.

Here's the storyline: Shay (Jahkara Smith, aka YouTuber-turned-actress Sailor J, of NOS4A2 fame) is a teenager who just lost her mother and has finally been introduced to her father, Kyle (Jim Klock, Scream Queens, Massacre on Aisle 12), who didn't know she existed until her mother's untimely death, much to the consternation of his other daughter of around the same age, Jo (McKaley Miller, also of Scream Queens and Ma), who has done the math and isn't too happy about it. 

As a "bonding" excursion, the three all go together to the annual aforementioned Purity Retreat, with Kyle's hope that the experience will help bring them all closer. It's pretty rough going at first, but Shay is thrilled to finally have her father in her life, and does her best to get along with the thorny Jo. At first, Shay thinks that Jo resents her horning in on her father/daughter time, but it soon becomes clear that Jo isn't thrilled to be there, either, and isn't particularly down with the whole "chastity" thing and seems hellfire determined- emphasis on the "Hell"- to thwart her father's intentions at every turn, skipping out on the festivities and hanging out with local boys and generally fooling around and acting out, much to her straight-laced father's chagrin. 

Cue the fiery pastor in charge of the whole thing, Seth (Scott Porter, Prom Night, Why Women Kill), who walks around with a loaded gun 24/7, as he can use it to ward off evil and help keep every girl's virginity intact. He has certain dubious methods to achieve his goals, and if a girl dares to step out of line- even his own daughter, Lacey (Ciara Bravo, Big Time Rush, Wayne)- then he's more than prepared to do whatever he has to do to get them in lockstep again, including, according to rumor, putting them in the "box," a locked closet where the girls are forced to atone for their sins in the dark and aren't let out until he feels they've learned to straighten up and fly right. 

Meanwhile, the girls of cabin 4- including Shay, Jo, Lacey and Kellyann (Annalisa Cochrane, Heathers, The Night Stalker)- continue to act out, sneaking out to a nearby abandoned cabin to drink, smoke weed and party with local boys. At one point, Jo, who has become fascinated with the legend of Lilith, the "real" First Woman, suggests they try to resurrect her using a ritual she read about in a book in cabin 4.  

Lilith, aka the biblical Adam's first wife, before Eve, was allegedly thrown out of the Garden because Adam was jealous of her and told God that she had a love affair with an angel, a big no-no. Swearing she was innocent, God took Adam's side and cast her into Hell, this time fashioning a woman out of Adam's rib, Eve, that was naturally "inferior" to him, as she was made from Adam, not created by God using the same methods as he did to create Adam, aka from clay. And we all know how that all turned out. Whoops! 

Anyway, Lilith, according to legend, swore revenge against all men, and perhaps may have even encouraged Satan to tempt Eve in the Garden, leading to Eve and Adam being cast out of the Garden themselves. Jo, suspecting that Lilith may still have an axe to grind about the matter, hopes that Lilith will return and get them all out of this hellhole and all that it entails, and maybe help them get the upper hand against all these controlling men. 

Well, this being a horror show, I don't have to tell you that it works, but that Lilith (Tara Parker, aptly of My Crazy Ex and Death of a Virgin) can't take corporeal form without a host body, so she needs a willing volunteer to complete her return. Who will it be? Might new recruit Shay be the perfect host, for some "unknown" reason? (I put unknown in quotes because the reason's pretty obvious.) And might all of this come to a head at the notorious Chastity Ball? You better believe it. 

So, what we have here is kind of like a combination of The Craft and Carrie, but with a wholly- some might say "holy"- new approach to the material that keeps it from being a straight rip-off, a la School Spirit. That new approach makes all the difference- as does, I suspect, the fact that there's a woman director behind the camera, Hannah Macpherson (Sickhouse, T@gged). She also co-wrote the script and helped come up with the story- along with two Pauls, Fischer and Davis, who also wrote the story and the short, The Body, upon which the very first episode of Into the Dark was based, which Paul Davis directed both iterations of as well. 

Letting a woman direct and contribute to the story was a smart move, as this could have gone wrong in all sorts of ways it doesn't, thanks to Macpherson's able direction, which features just the right amount of cringe-inducing material while stopping short of dipping into exploitation territory. Not that there's anything wrong with some exploitation flicks, mind you- some of my favorite films fall into that category- but for this particular material, yeah, it makes a difference that it doesn't fall into that category. I mean, the main premise does a lot of the heavy lifting for Macpherson, anyway- you really don't need to double down on it by pushing it too far. 

Macpherson strikes the perfect tone, and I'm not sure a man could have in quite the same way. My guess is most men would have taken things a little too far. And with this particular material, that's just not what you want. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are great, female-friendly directors out there, so anything's possible, but given the story at hand, and the current socio-political climate, it just seems like a wise move to go this route with a female director at the helm. (See also last month's Culture Shock review.)

All of that said, is it scary? Not really. I mean, neither are The Craft and Carrie, for that matter. Horror movies don't have to make you jump out of your seat to be effective. Granted, this one features several examples of the ever-dreaded "jump scare," which I find more annoying than anything else these days, but it really doesn't need them to get under your skin. The icky subject matter does all that for the viewer, or at least this viewer. I was far more creeped out by the bits with the fathers eyeing and caressing their daughters in photos and on the dance floor than I was by Lilith popping up out of nowhere, let me tell you. 

I don't have any kids myself, but I like to think the worst I might do is put a little fear of God into any boys that came their way, not try and control my daughter's chastity, which is just gross. Obviously, such is not the case here. These men take things to the next level, to say the least, and naturally, pay the price for it. 

Part of me kind of wanted a Scanners-style blow-out at the end, but that's probably just because I'm knee deep in Cronenberg territory right about now, lol. It's not that kind of horror movie- the emphasis is on making you uncomfortable, not awe-inducing special effects. Mission accomplished on that front, because I was cringing throughout, let me tell you. 

Pure is a great way to end my journey through the first two seasons of Into the Dark. My only regret is that it will likely be the last for a while, on account of the Coronavirus. We may never get those last two episodes. The producers of the show may decide to cut their losses and just get on with the third season. We shall see. 

Until then, while School Spirit may be a bit of a bust, save maybe the clever, forward-thinking ending, Pure is definitely a keeper, and a must-watch for fans of the show, especially if that plot description makes you both fascinated and trepidatious. You won't be disappointed, I assure you. The cast, the direction, and everything on the whole totally works, making it one of the best of the series to date. By all means, check that one out. 

Well, that about does it for my look at Into the Dark for now. If the show returns, so will the reviews. Until such a time, let me know what your own personal faves were. Mine were The Body, Treehouse, All That We Destroy and Pure from season one, and Pilgrim, My Valentine and Good Boy from season two. I also loved the two Pooka episodes, which may well be my favorites overall, especially the last one, Pooka Lives! 

I'll be back next week with a look at what I've been watching lately, movie-wise, and, of course, the latest entry of my ongoing series, The Cronenberg Chronicles, with a look at one of his earliest masterpieces, Rabid. Join me then, and thanks, as always, for taking a little time to check out my stuff! 😃

The Cronenberg Chronicles, Pt. 6: The Lie Chair & The Italian Machine (1976)

Author's Note: As Cronenberg fans know, we're pretty close to the director's heyday at this point, which means we'll be getting to the biggies very soon, so hang in there if you haven't been as familiar with some of his more obscure efforts. Once we get past Fast Company, things will really start to move and improve, I assure you. 

The following entries are among Cronenberg's most obscure efforts, so I don't expect many of you to have seen them. As such, I feel compelled to offer you some links to the shorts at hand, so that you're not going in completely blind, as there will be spoilers. Both shorts are under thirty minutes, so it's a pretty minor commitment of your time. 

You can watch The Lie Chair here, and The Italian Machine here. (Sorry for the subtitles on the latter- it was the only version readily available in English.) Enjoy! 😎

                       


After Shivers became the highest-grossing Canadian film up to that time, one would think that writer/director David Cronenberg would have been able to write his own meal ticket moving forward. One would be wrong. In his case, success came at a high price. 

After critics viciously tore the film to pieces, the film proved so controversial that its worth was actually debated in Canadian Parliament! Even crazier, Cronenberg was unceremoniously booted out of his apartment for violating the so-called "morality clause"- only in Canada. 

Perhaps needless to say, this did not go over well with Cronenberg's wife, Margaret, who had just given birth to his first child, Cassandra. As a newly minted father, he needed work, and he needed it fast, and yet, in spite of the enormous success of his last film, no one was particularly inclined to work with him, on account of all the controversy, even though he had another project, Rabid, good to go. While his producers on Shivers, aka Cinépix Film Properties, liked the script, securing financing proved elusive at first. 

In the meantime, what with his having to move and a newborn child to attend to- both of which cost money to do, obviously- Cronenberg needed work, and fast. As before, he turned once again to Canadian television for gainful employment. Peep Show was a short-lived anthology series, which ran for one season of sixteen episodes. The show supported up-and-coming Canadian talent, leaning towards experimentation, though perhaps not so much as another show Cronenberg worked on, Programme X. 

                     Not to be confused with the British cult comedy series of the same name

Cronenberg directed two episodes of the series, including the lesser-known and even lesser-seen The Victim, which I know very little about and wasn't able to track down a copy of online. It was based on a story written by actor-turned-writer Ty Haller, whose acting credits include the likes of Dr.  Frankenstein on Campus, The Groundstar Conspiracy, One Minute Before Death, The Babysitter (with William Shatner, John Houseman and Patty Duke- it's not bad- you can watch it here) and, most hilariously, Overnight, about an out-of-work actor that takes a job on a vampire-themed porno!   

The short was the last of the series to be shot, and starred longtime character actor Cedric Smith (Millenium, Witchboard III, Bless the Child), who would go on to appear in Cronenberg's Fast Company, as well as Friday the 13th: The Series, which Cronenberg would also direct an episode of. 

It also featured Jonathan Welsh (City on Fire, Agency, The Surrogate) and Janet Wright, of the 1987 cult horror favorite American Gothic (the movie, not the TV show), the remake of Rollerball and the Jessica Biel horror flick The Tall Man. That's about all I got on that one, but feel free to let me know if you know more and I'll add it in. 

The other episode Cronenberg did was another adaptation, the darkly funny The Lie Chair, this one by writer David "Dave" Cole, a longtime TV writer best-known for the paranormal detective series Seeing Things; the long-running E.N.G. (which also featured Jonathan Welsh) and Street Legal, as well as the cult favorite Due South, which he also co-produced. The Lie Chair was his first produced effort for the small screen. 

The story revolves around a couple, Neil (Richard Monette, of Prom Night II, who looks a bit like a young Michael Sheen) and Carol (Susan Hogan, Phobia, Disturbing Behavior, The Butterfly Effect 2), whose car breaks down in a rainstorm, forcing them to seek help from a nearby residence occupied by two decidedly strange old ladies, Mildred (Amelia Hall, Coming Out Alive, Iceman) and Mrs. Rogers (Doris Petrie, Funeral Home, Ticket to Heaven). 

While Mildred is initially hesitant to let them in, she finally acquiesces on one condition: that the two take part in the charade of acting as if they were Mrs. Rogers' grandchildren, who were supposed to be there, but were held up by the storm. It seems Mrs. Rogers is getting on in years, and is apparently senile, and Mildred swears she won't be able to tell the difference. While Carol is reticent to go along with the scheme, Neil is completely onboard, especially once they discover it's unlikely that they will be able to get help with their car until morning.  

Be that as it may, Carol blows the whistle on the whole operation, only to find that, according to Mrs. Rogers, it's actually Mildred that's the senile one, and that it's she, Mrs. Rogers, that goes along with Mildred's scheme to make her happy, as, in fact, Mrs. Rogers' grandkids are long since dead, having perished in an awful accident. (By this point, wily longtime horror fans will likely begin to see where this is all going.)

That's not all the weird goings-on. After Mildred tells them there is no phone to call for help earlier, the couple is shocked to hear one ring- apparently the promised mechanic checking in to let them know he won't be able to help until morning. And yet, when Carol tries to use the phone herself, it's deader than a doornail. 

Later, the couple are approaching a door when they hear children laughing and talking inside, but when they open the door, it's only Mildred there, who tells them about the titular "Lie Chair," which is a chair in which Mrs. Rogers' late husband used to tell fairytale-esque stories and white lies, and would allow his grandkids to do the same when they sat on it. 

In addition, the couple suddenly find themselves knowing things about the house that they couldn't possibly know, such as the location of pajamas in a drawer and the like. Have they been here before? Might they actually BE Mrs. Rogers' long-lost grandkids? And if so, are they even amongst the living anymore? I'm sure you can figure it out yourself, but the answer is obviously no. 

That makes this tale a variation of the old "ghosts that don't know that they are a ghost" story, which was among those featured in the much-beloved Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark series. Typically, these ghosts are bound to a specific locale and can't leave, which is part of what leads to their confusion and/or self-delusion. (See also The Turn of the Screw, The Others, The Orphanage, American Horror Story, et.al. for variations on this theme.)

While the short has a few relatively effective moments, it's hampered by the extreme low-budget look, which is very much akin to a play shot-on-videotape or an old-school soap. Or, if you prefer, a really low-rent porn, lol. The acting is fine overall, but it's really stagey, and doesn't feel at all like a Cronenberg film whatsoever. However, Cronenberg would go on to work with Hogan again on The Brood, and Petrie was in the Scanners spin-off, Scanners II: The Takedown, which Cronenberg was tangentially involved in, and she was also in a couple of episodes of the aforementioned Friday the 13th: The Series, so there's that. 


Obviously, as a gun for hire on the project, technically it isn't a "real" Cronenberg project, but his previous foray into TV, Secret Weapons, which was also written by someone else, absolutely was, so that's a bit of a letdown. My point being that you can totally feel Cronenberg's presence and involvement all around on that one, but not so much on this one. Still, it's an interesting footnote to Cronenberg's early work that worth seeing at least once, I suppose. 

Fortunately, his final project before he was able to finally start shooting his next movie Rabid, The Italian Machine, is pure Cronenberg from start to finish, I'm happy to say, even if it treads somewhat unfamiliar territory overall- at least to a point. But those familiar with Secret Weapons, Fast Company and even Crash, to a certain degree, will notice some themes and tropes that will be readily apparent. It was created for yet another Canadian anthology series, Teleplay.

It seems that Cronenberg was a bit of a gearhead back in the day, which led him to befriend Lionel Douglas, a fellow biker and writer that also was notorious for selling drugs and getting himself into trouble on a regular basis. The two went to University together, and one day, Lionel, who moonlighted as a photographer, told Cronenberg a story about an artist who bought a Ducati SuperSport motorcycle (aka the "Italian Machine" in question), only to display it as a work of art, rather than use it for what it was for- riding. Lionel couldn't believe his ears, and mused that someone should liberate the vehicle from the artist and put it to its intended use. 

Cronenberg loved the story and set to writing his own variation of it, incorporating Lionel as a character, albeit highly exaggerated, and, as was his way, taking things to much further extremes. Reportedly, many of the other characters were also based on some of the colorful bikers and gearheads that Cronenberg interacted with back in the day. (See here for more.)

Unlike The Lie Chair, which you'd never guess was directed by Cronenberg unless you knew it going in, The Italian Machine is pure Cronenbergian madness from start to finish. The characters are gleefully over-the-top and often quite Lynchian before that was really a thing- his debut feature, Eraserhead, wouldn't be released until the following year, 1977. So, I suppose it's sort of proto-Lynchian. However, J.G. Ballard's novel Crash, which Cronenberg would go on to adapt as a film, was indeed released in 1973, so that may well have had some influence here. 

The film is filled to the brim with insane scenarios, from Lionel's flip-out, in which he can only be made to calm down by strapping him down in a chair and having headphones forced on him, into which sounds of motorcycle engines gunning are blared into; to the bit at the artist's house, in which coke is sniffed with abandon- which I imagine didn't crop up on TV too often back then- as Lionel fetishtically drools over the aforementioned Ducati as it sits in the middle of the living room.

Witness also the "man as art" thing- which is to say, a man, Ricardo (Géza Kovács, who also crops up in Scanners and The Dead Zone, as well as having a recurring role on the Canadian cult TV favorite Orphan Black), in the artist's employ that is simply meant to sit around and be admired as a work of art himself! Sounds kind of like something Andy Warhol would get up to.

The artist also willfully encourages his wife to have an affair with a friend of one of the mechanics, while he watches on in admiration, even insisting that they carry on as a sort of "couple" after the relationship comes to its obvious conclusion, sex. Yep, needless to say, these are all some decidedly weird people all around. Like I said, both Cronenberg and Lynch fans alike will find much to love here.

Reportedly, the film was originally sixty minutes in length before the head of the CBC edited it down to its current, 27-minute length. I can only imagine what got cut out, but I'd love to see it. Maybe Cronenberg will allow it to come out uncut, the way he finally relented on his early work being released on DVD and Blu-Ray. Probably not, but one can dream. But if what I saw in this version is any indication, there's probably some wild stuff on that cutting room floor, to be sure. 

The film stars Gary McKeehan as Lionel, with whom Cronenberg would go on to work with in both Rabid and The Brood. He's a real treat here, chewing up scenery like its going out of style and acting generally like a maniac throughout. If the real Lionel was even half as crazy as this one, I'm sure he was a real handful. I love the bit in the van where he nearly gets in a wreck while musing about going after the artist with lasers! 

Likewise, the guy who plays the eccentric artist, Mouette, actor Louis Negin (also in Rabid, as well as the cult favorite, Pontypool), is a real piece of work, character-wise. Even before you actually meet him, you have an idea of what he will be, and Negin manages to surpass even those wild imaginings. Honestly, these two characters are worth the price of admission alone. 

The rest of the cast is admittedly more subdued, but of course they are in comparison to the other two leads. It's like saying Brad Dourif and Jack Nance aren't quite as nutty as Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. Well, duh. But they're still quite a cast of characters nonetheless, and even more impressive, manage to seem really lived in and real, in spite of the short running time.  

The rest of the cast includes Frank Moore- who would go on to work with Cronenberg as one of the leads in Rabid and was also in Food of the Gods II, Blood & Donuts, Devil in Me and the recent Syfy series Killjoys- as Fred, Lionel's right-hand man, who points the guys in the direction of artist Mouette; Hardee Lineham (The Dead Zone, Storm of the Century, Survival of the Dead) as Bug, another of the gearheads; Chuck Shamata (The House by the Lake- bottom pic above, that's him on the right- Welcome to Blood City, Clown) as Reinhardt; and the aforementioned Cedric Smith as Luke, who was also in Cronenberg's Fast Company, another racing-vehicle-centric effort.

The first time I watched this short, it didn't quite have an effect on me, but this time around, I really loved it. I have a Japanese import DVD of this and The Lie Chair called David Cronenberg Shorts, the cover of which can be seen at the top of the article. Another version of it can be seen in the pics above. Both are still fairly readily available. I think the first time I watched it I liked The Lie Chair more, mostly because it was more horror-adjacent than The Italian Machine. 

But now that I've become more acquainted with quirkier fare, like the work of David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Quentin Tarantino and the like, I actually prefer the latter short more now. I think I just didn't get it the first time, but now, I totally do, and I just love it, and really do wish it was twice as long so I could spend more time with all the wacky characters at hand. 

It's also features a very cool house, as seen above, and it's filled with wonderfully verbose and extremely quotable dialogue, so much so that I'm surprised that it isn't talked about more. I'm guessing it's because, until YouTube came along, it wasn't as readily available. I mean, like I said, I had to buy an Asian import bootleg DVD to see it myself back in the day. 

My favorite line, spoken by Mouette (but of course), is the following: "In the electronic age, the machine becomes a work of art." Shoots back his wife, noting Ricardo, their live-in model: "And in the age of automation, human beings become works of art." Such Cronenbergian observations, and not too far removed from some of the ethos of his future work, notably Videodrome, with its talk of "The television screen is the retina of the mind's eye. Therefore, television is reality, and reality is less than television."

The Lie Chair is pretty skippable in retrospect- you can barely tell Cronenberg directed it, perhaps more so than anything else he's ever done. But The Italian Machine is definitely a keeper and an absolute must for Cronenberg fans, even if you're only a moderate fan that hasn't seen everything he's done. It's a lot of fun, eminently quotable and filled to the brim with bizarro scenarios and strange characters. You're definitely gonna want to check this one out, trust me. 🚴😎

Join me next time for the cult classic Rabid, one of the best of Cronenberg's early works, if not THE best. I'm looking forward to reviewing it for you all. Look for it sometime next week, hopefully, along with a round-up of what else I've been watching. See you then! 😁





    

Flashback Friday: I Drink Your Blood (1970)

Author's Note: Hello all- sorry for the brief hiatus- it was my mom and my niece's birthday, respectively, and, in lieu of a proper gift (money's tight, obvi, and I'm still unemployed), I offered to help with some various chores around the house (including, to quote Pavement, a "Date with Ikea"- mad respect for those who have had to go through all that 😵) and we had a (socially distanced, mostly masked, slightly Cronenbergian) cookout and so forth, so I've been mad busy. 

My mother already thinks I'm crazy for investing as much time as I do into something I'm not getting paid for- aka this blog- and she may be right, but I've got to do something to keep the crazy away after being locked up for so long. Whatever works, right? Anyway, apologies for all of you patiently awaiting the next installment of "The Cronenberg Chronicles"- it's coming... eventually, lol. Until then, here's a look back at an oldie-but-goodie...

I first saw this one back in the day on VHS, before buying a copy of my own, via the company Something Weird, I do believe- remember them? It's one of those movies that people either write off as ludicrous or love with a fiery passion. It's the literal definition of a "cult" film, with an emphasis on the cult part, as in it revolves around one.

I Drink Your Blood was written and directed by David Durston, a US Army vet- he served in WWII- who segued into acting briefly, before deciding he was better off behind the camera, for the most part- though he would occasionally take small roles in his own films. He started off producing the musical TV series Your Hit Parade, before turning to writing and directing for the well-respected anthology drama series Playhouse 90 and the sci-fi series Tales of Tomorrow, all in the 50's.

His first film as a writer and director was Felicia in 1964, which marked the motion picture debut of famed actor Raul Julia, of the Addams Family films. Sadly, the movie never received a theatrical release, but he fared slightly better with the exploitation flick The Love Statue, which purports to be the 1st such film to tackle the perils of LSD use. It revolves around a nerdy guy that falls for a snooty cabaret dancer and later fears he might have murdered her after a wild three-day acid trip finds him waking up to see she's dead. 

Around five years later, he got the green light for this film, which was inspired in part by the then-recent horror classic Night of the Living Dead, to which there is a nod in the film- if you look closely on the wall at the pie shop, you can see an ad for it in the background- as well as the also-then-recent Manson Family murders. (Note the scene where one cult member scrawls "Pig" on someone in blood- a direct reference to something the Family did for real, as seen above.) 

Durston combined those two influences with the subject matter of an article he read about an attack by rabid wolves on an Iranian schoolhouse, which resulted in the schoolteachers and kids inside being infected with rabies themselves! After researching the story, as well as consulting a specialist, who showed him pictures of kids affected by rabies that were locked in cages with foaming mouths, Dunston thought it would be perfect for a horror film.

The film begins with a cult leader, Horace Bones (an effectively nutty Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury) performing a Satanic ritual in the woods, as local Sylvia (Arlene Farber) watches on in horror. Bones catches her and sends two of the cult members after her, who subsequently rape, beat and leave her for dead. 

The next day, she emerges from the woods very much alive and goes back to town to tell everyone what she saw, with help from little brother Pete (Riley Mills) and local bakery owner Mildred (Elizabeth Marner-Brooks), who escort the traumatized girl to her grandfather's place, the town doctor, Doc Banner (Richard Bowler). 

Horrified, Mildred seeks help from her boyfriend, construction worker Roger (John Damon), who doesn't take her seriously at first. Meanwhile, the hippie cult's van breaks down, forcing them to stay in town. Lucky for them, the town is mostly vacant, as it's due to be demolished soon, so they take up temporary residence in an abandoned former hotel. 

Eventually Doc Banner realizes that the hippies are responsible for what happened to his granddaughter and unwisely goes to confront them for their actions. Bad idea. They likewise beat him up and, to add insult to injury, dose him with LSD, which goes about as well as you might think. Observing all this is young Pete, who hatches a plan for revenge when he sees a rabid dog and shoots and kills it. 

Then he goes and gets a syringe from Doc Banner's place and fills it with the blood of the dead dog, which he subsequently injects into some of Mildred's pies, which he then sells to the hippies! You know, that old plot. Gee, can't Hollywood ever come up with anything original? Lol. 😆

Needless to say, further mayhem ensues, with the hippies eventually literally foaming at the mouth and going on a violent rampage, killing anyone who gets in their way, and occasionally infecting others as well, which is where the zombie-style antics begin. Their only Achilles' Heel seems to be an inherent fear of water! (Shades of the wonky-if-enjoyable M. Night Shyamalan flick Signs.) Because of this, Dunston's original title was Hydrophobia, or later, simply Phobia. 

However, producer and CEO of the exploitation film company Cinemation Industries, Jerry Gross, who bankrolled the film and who would later produce the legendary Blaxploitation flicks Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and The Black Godfather and distribute the animated cult classic Fritz the Cat, had secured the rights to a film called I Eat Your Skin (aka Zombies), and thought Phobia would make for a great double-feature, albeit with a different, more appropriate title for such a pairing: I Drink Your Blood. 

Shooting for the film took about eight weeks, and it was shot on location in Sharon Springs, New York, a former spa town-turned-ghost town. As such, they had access to a lot of abandoned buildings, including a hotel due to be demolished soon. Given that fact, Durston had the permission to trash the place, which he and the cast and crew took full advantage of, practically demolishing it themselves. 

Everyone concerned in the cast performed their own stunts, and locals so feared what they were seeing that they reported Durston to the cops, telling them he should be replaced or even arrested, as he was endangering his cast and crew!  

However, no one was badly hurt- save the chicken in the opening scene, that is (fair warning, animal lovers)- and young Mills, who sprained his ankle crossing the creek in one scene. Contrary to what some think, though, the rats featured were not harmed. 

Instead, in addition to the live rats obtained for the shoot, Dunston secured some dead ones from a nearby lab and painted them the same color as the ones in the film and put fake blood on them. Some of the live rats would later get their own close-ups as the stars of the ratsploitation flicks Willard and Ben. 

The film would go on to obtain one of the very first "X" ratings for violence alone, but Gross was able to secure regular theatrical release by allowing theatre owners to re-edit the film themselves and cut out anything they deemed too offensive, which is pretty unheard of. As such, there were all manners of different versions of the film available, with each featuring varying degrees of violence. It did eventually secure a R-rating, however, in time, with the proper level of cuts to the violence involved.

The same goes for home video- the first version I saw of the film was wildly different from the more recent one I watched, which featured multiple endings tacked on that were shot but not used in the original cut of the film, no matter which version one saw, as well as all the extensive violence put back in the film. 

The two "new" endings include a confession from Pete to the cops for his role in the whole nasty affair, which they laugh off as nonsense, causing Pete to storm off in anger; and a bit after the big climax in which a bedridden Mildred is (spoiler alert!) shown to also be infected with rabies and attacks her boyfriend, which is considerably darker than the original ending, obviously. 

This is the version known as the "Director's Cut" and the one more readily available on DVD and Blu-Ray. The latter also features a commentary, interviews with the cast, trailers and radio spots, as well as two bonus features: the aforementioned I Eat Your Skin and Dunston's follow-up feature, Blue Sextet, which also features star Chowdhury. I don't have this version as of yet, but I'd definitely like to pick it up for the bonuses alone. 

The film was a modest hit, particularly on the drive-in circuit, though its reputation has grown over the years, with critics responding more favorably as the film has been reassessed. It has also proved a solid seller on home video, and has never been out of print, which is rarer than you'd think with certain cult items, some of which have never seen the light of day on home video, or have yet to be released on anything but VHS. 

Though Gross went on to much success, also including distributing such cult fare as Zombie, The Boogey Man, Blood Beach, I Spit on Your Grave and the notorious Mondo Cane and Faces of Death documentary series, Durston did not repeat his success with this film in subsequent efforts.

After Sextet, he did the decent Stigma, featuring a pre-Miami Vice Philip Michael Thomas about a different kind of virus- this one sexually transmitted- but had to resort to hardcore porn to make ends meet after that. Even then, he stumbled, as one of his such films, Manhole, was blocked from release after one of its stars landed a role in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape from Alcatraz.

His reputation was further sullied by his association with not one, but two suspicious deaths, one actress Carol Wayne, best-known for her numerous appearances on the Johnny Carson Show and popular game shows like Hollywood Squares, who drowned in the ocean after being seen arguing with Durston at their hotel in Mexico; and the other actress Diane Linkletter, who committed suicide by jumping out of her apartment window in Hollywood while Durston was present.

As Durston was known to be homosexual, he wasn't really suspected of being involved with either death, as those who were involved with the lovely ladies romantically might have been, but the optics weren't great, obviously. Funnyman Art Linkletter, Diane's father, thought that LSD was the culprit, as seen above, though no drugs were found in her system. Cult director John Waters would go on to dramatize the latter death in his short film, The Diane Linkletter Story, shot the day after her death. 

Durston made his last film in the late 70's, but was trying to stage a comeback with a modernized remake of this, his biggest hit, with cult favorite Sybil Danning (seen above) set to produce and star, in the 2000's. But the project ultimately fell apart when Durston took ill with pneumonia, which eventually claimed his life, sadly, in 2010. He did, however, live long enough to see his best-known film be reassessed by modern critics as a cult gem that deserved a second look, so there's that. 

The cast was mostly made up of unknowns, as per usual for a low budget feature, but there are a few notable names in the mix. Jadin Wong, who plays Sue-Lin, was a former dancer who cropped up in the likes of The King & I, before turning to proper acting, appearing in Year of the Dragon, Skin Art, China Girl and the Steve Martin version of The Pink Panther. George Patterson, who played Rollo (that's him in the above pic in the middle), was also in the cult classic God Told Me To. 

Elizabeth Marner-Brooks, who played Mildred, was also in the horror flicks The Deadly Spawn and Dogs from Hell, aka Rottweiler, both under two different names! And Arlene Farmer, who played Sylvia, was in The French Connection and Slumber Party '57, alongside a young Debra Winger, as well as several other films produced by her then-husband Jerry Gross, such as Teenage Mother and Female Animal.  

Faring decidedly better were Tyde Kierney (top pic on the left), who made his motion picture debut here as Andy. He went on to a solid career, landing roles in such solid flicks as Stand & Deliver, Internal Affairs, In the Line of Fire, Casino and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas; and Alex Mann, who played Shelley, was an exploitation regular who appeared in the likes of Malibu High, Microwave Massacre and Invasion of the Love Drones, as well as working with drive-in movie legends like Joe Sarno (Passion in Hot Hollows, Wall of Flesh, Abigail Lesley Is Back in Town), Michael Findlay (Take My Head, Funk) and Doris Wishman (Keyholes Are for Peeping, Satan Was a Lady). 

But far and away the most well-known face in the film is cult actress Lynn Lowry, who isn't even credited for her work here. I discussed Lowry at length just recently in my review of Shivers, so I won't go into depth in this review, but you can go here for more on the lovely actress, whose work is well-worth a look, and most of which provides her with much more of a showcase than she gets here.

Durston met Lowry and liked her look, so he cast her in the film based entirely on that, not even bothering to write her a proper character, really. Her defining characteristic as Carrie is that she is mute, so Lowry doesn't speak a word in the film. However, she does get what is easily one of the most notorious and best scenes in the film, when, after being infected with the virus, she longingly eyes an electric carver, which she then uses to cut off the hand of a woman that takes her and another of the hippies in after the latter is injured. Whoops!  

I Drink Your Blood isn't really a diamond in the B-movie rough, TBH- the acting is mostly amateur hour, the FX are pretty unconvincing, and the plot is silliness defined. And yet, there is something about it that is low-key charming in a low-budget NOTLD knock-off sort of way. It also influenced one of the people Durston himself was inspired by, with Romero later making The Crazies, which shares some similarities with this film's plot, as does the aforementioned Shivers (plus Cronenberg's Rabid), both of which also feature Lowry, so better things came from the film in the long run, so we can at least be thankful for that.

For all its faults, though, I really like the film, and its aged better than one might think. I like how diverse the cast is, and I think the additional "Director's Cut" endings definitely help matters, as does the uncut footage, even if the effects are a bit subpar. It may be goofy in places, but it's also a lot of fun in spite of its many faults. If you like this sort of thing, which is to say low-budget gore-fests, you can't really go wrong with this one. Even when the film goes wrong, it's oh-so-right, lol. I say definitely check it out, for sure. 😈