Retro Movie: Mr. Holland's "Fright Night"

When people talk about their favorite vampire films of the 1980s, The Lost Boys tends to be the first one that pops up in a lot of discussions. I really enjoy director Joel Schumacher’s MTV-styled horror opus, but for my money, the best vampire tale of the 1980s is Fright Night. The film tells the story of Charlie Brewster, a teenager whose favorite TV show is the horror movie showcase, Fright Night, hosted by actor Peter Vincent. When Charlie discovers that his new next-door neighbor is a bona fide vampire, no one believes him, and he turns to Peter for help. Peter is initially reluctant to help Charlie, and thinks he’s crazy. The actor eventually realizes Charlie is telling the truth, and helps him battle the evil nosferatu, who has kidnapped Charlie’s girlfriend Amy, and plans to turn her into his vampire companion. Can our heroes defeat this powerful creature of the night and save Amy?

Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale

Writer-director Tom Holland initially came up with the idea for the movie while working on the screenplay for 1984’s Cloak & Dagger. He conceived it as a variation on the “boy who cried wolf” concept, but couldn’t figure out how to make the central idea work, until he came up with the Peter Vincent character, someone a teenaged horror fan would logically go to with his wild tale of the vampire next door. Holland lobbied to direct the project, and thanks to his success as a screenwriter on films like Class of 1984 and Psycho II, the studio gave him the chance to take the reins for the movie. Fright Night is an enjoyable combination of thrills, chills and humor, thanks to Holland’s excellent direction, marvelous special effects work, and a terrific cast.

William Ragsdale (who later starred in the TV series Herman’s Head) is quite good as Charlie, the  young horror film fan thrown into a world where the terrifying things he watches on screen are very real. Amanda Bearse (soon to be featured on Married…With Children as Marcy, the Bundys' neighbor) is equally effective as Amy, and Stephen Geoffreys is a standout as “Evil” Ed, a nerdy kid who gets more than he bargained for when he comes up against the supernatural. There’s also solid work from Jonathan Stark, Art J. Evans and Dorothy Fielding in supporting roles. But Fright Night truly belongs to Roddy McDowall as washed up actor Peter Vincent (a character named in honor of Peter Cushing and Vincent Price) and Chris Sarandon as the coolly evil Jerry Dandrige. McDowall’s wonderful performance, and his natural chemistry with Ragsdale and the other young actors in the cast, is a standout, as is Sarandon’s top-notch work as the handsome, seductive, yet never less than frightening vampire.

Fright Night is a masterful blend of horror and comedy. Holland’s script neatly balances the horror and humor aspects of the story. The story sticks with some of the conventions of previous vampire tales, while giving others a new spin. The movie is never quite a full-on comedy, though there are some funny moments along the way. The vampire elements of Fright Night are treated with deadly seriousness, and the film succeeds at being an outstanding straight ahead horror tale. The first-rate special effects are by Richard Edlund, who also worked on the original Ghostbusters. There’s also some superlative cinematography by Jan Kiesser. The only thing that dates the movie a bit are the clothes and some decidedly 1980s style tunes on the soundtrack. 

Fright Night was followed by a sequel, Fright Night, Part 2, though only William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall returned for the follow-up. Holland and Sarandon were working on the original Child’s Play (1988), at the time and Bearse and Geoffreys were also busy with other projects. The movie was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, and featured Julie Carmen as Jerry Dandrige’s sister, who seeks revenge on Charlie for her brother’s demise. A remake of Fright Night, starring Anton Yelchin, David Tennant and Colin Farrell as the vampire, was produced in 2011, and featured a cameo by Chris Sarandon. That film spawned a direct to video sequel, 2013’s Fright Night 2: New Blood. A planned third film in the original series has been rumored over the years by Holland, but has never materialized. If you’re looking for a solid vampire flick for your creature feature movie night, the original Fright Night is an excellent choice. Here’s a link to a trailer for a video release of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfuIcuezkUw.

Calling The World: Powerful Poetic Voices

Few literary genres can touch the heart, energize the soul and challenge the mind like poetry. If you’re looking to hear some truly moving and inspiring words from some talented writers, there’s an extraordinary new way to discover the work of nine celebrated poets. Calling The World is a collaboration between The Poetry Society of America and Saint Flashlight, two wonderful organizations dedicated to sharing the words and experiences of poets in new and exciting ways. This exhilarating project is an audio anthology of poems that includes works by Pablo Neruda, Mónica de la Torre and Kwame Dawes, among others. The poems are read by a wonderful group of performers, including Jane Hirshfield and Billy Collins. 

Calling The World: Illustration by Monica Ramos

Calling The World was initiated in part as a response to the feelings of loneliness and isolation caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The experiences and emotions people have felt as a response to the pandemic are wide-ranging and unprecedented. Now, more than ever, people need to feel a sense of community and togetherness. The array of voices and life experiences heard in this moving anthology feature a wide range of perspectives from all around the world, including locations such as Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. 

The unique visions of these gifted poets help us realize that we all have things in common, and that our cultural differences shouldn’t separate us, but bring us closer together. Poetry Society of America Executive Director Matt Brogan, and Molly Gross and Drew Pisarra of Saint Flashlight are the guiding lights behind Calling The World. They’re dedicated to making poetry more accessible to all, allowing readers and listeners to experience poetry in new and exciting formats. Both organizations have been involved with previous projects that bring art and poetry to everyday spaces, including the Poetry Society of America's Poetry in Motion program, presented with MTA Arts & Design, which placed poems on New York City public transportation vehicles, and Saint Flashlight’s Movie Marquee Poems project, which repurposed unused cinema marquees in Brooklyn's Park Slope area by adding original haiku by contemporary poets to them.

I encourage you to listen to the work of the gifted poets featured in the Calling The World audio anthology by calling (212) 202-5606. You might have heard of the band They Might Be Giants and their "Dial-A-Song" line that was popular in the 1990s, but in this case you can "Dial-A-Poem." Your day, and your spirit, will definitely benefit from hearing the passionate voices of these amazing artists. It's a unique and powerful experience. For more information on the Poetry Society of America, please visit https://poetrysociety.org/, and to check out Saint Flashlight, go to http://saintflashlight.com/.

Batman's Alfred "Pennyworth" Begins

One of the longest running characters in the Batman mythos is Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's loyal and resourceful butler. Debuting in Batman #16 in 1943, the character was actually killed off by DC Comics in Detective Comics #328 in 1964. He was later resurrected and has been re-imagined several times since the “Dark Knight” comics era of the 1970s and 80s. Alfred has been played by Alan Napier (on the classic 1960s TV series) and by Michael Gough, Michael Caine and Jeremy Irons in various big screen films. Now, Bruno Heller tells the story of Alfred’s younger years and early adventures in Pennyworth, an EPIX network series. Executive Producers Heller and Danny Cannon also worked on Gotham, a Fox television series that served as an origin story for James Gordon. That show also featured a young Bruce Wayne, as well as some unique interpretations of several classic Batman villains. On that series, Alfred was played by actor Sean Pertwee.

Jack Bannon & Ben Aldridge

Pennyworth is set in an alternate history version of Britain in the 1960s, where zeppelins take to the skies, and televised executions are the norm. While the Queen still rules, there are two factions vying for control of the government, the fascist-leaning Raven Society, and the mysterious No Name League. Alfred Pennyworth is an SAS veteran haunted by his wartime experiences. He and his friends (and fellow veterans) Deon and Wallace plan to start a private security company. Alfred crosses paths with Thomas Wayne, an American agent, and Martha Kane, a photographer. Thomas and Martha are working for the No Name League, and trying to prevent a coup by the Raven Society. Alfred is caught in the middle as these groups battle with each other, and ends up suffering some personal losses as a result. He'll need to use all of his wits and strength in order to survive.

The series is stylishly filmed, and the show is a fast-moving combination of 1960s spy films and old-fashioned conspiracy thrillers, with a bit of the Batman mythology and real life figures such as Aleister Crowley thrown into the mix. The cast is first-rate. with marvelous performances from Jack Bannon as Alfred, Ben Aldridge as Thomas Wayne, Jason Flemyng as Lord Harwood, the leader of the Raven Society, and Emma Paetz as Martha Kane. Singer Paloma Faith is impressive as the villainous Bet Sykes, and Danny Webb makes a strong impression in a supporting role as a local crime lord. Most of the series' ten episodes are written by the show's creator Heller, who in addition to Gotham, also brought The Mentalist to television.

The great thing about the series is that while it involves a character that's central to Batman's story, it’s not really beholden to the larger Dark Knight mythos, and charts its own course. In a way, it's sort of an "Alfred Begins." Pennyworth is a colorful, entertaining and enjoyable series. How can you not love a show that names its episodes after famous British actresses and singers like Marianne Faithfull and Shirley Bassey? If you're a Batman fan, you'll enjoy this look at Alfred's early years. If you're not a Dark Knight devotee, don't let the Batman tag steer you away from this enjoyable and action-filled series that’s pays homage to Bond flicks, Hammer films, and military thrillers in equal measure. The first season of Pennyworth is now available on demand and a second season is due in 2021. Here's a link to the trailer for the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYc3LXqEyhg.

Exploring Nimue's Arthurian Origins

Katherine Langford in Cursed

There have been myriad retellings of the story of King Arthur throughout the years, on the big and small screen, as well as the printed page. From the visually stunning, brilliantly over the top theatrics of John Boorman’s 1981 film Excalibur (a personal favorite of mine) to gritty tales like Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur (2004) and more light-hearted television series such as the BBC produced Merlin, fans never tire of seeing adventures that are set in Arthurian times. There’s even been a graphic novel entitled Camelot 3000, which merged the legend of Arthur with a futuristic science-fiction tale. One of the more recent re-imaginings of  the story is the 2019 novel Cursed, written by Thomas Wheeler, with illustrations by comics legend Frank Miller. The story focuses on Nimue (known as the Lady of the Lake in many versions of the tale) and her quest to free her race, the Fey (fairy folk) from persecution by the Church, while discovering the secret behind the mystical powers she possesses, which seem tied to the mystical Sword of Power, aka Excalibur. The book is a female-empowered tale very much in the vein of The Hunger Games and the Divergent series. Thanks to its success with readers, it was inevitable the novel would be turned into a film or television show, and Netflix recently premiered a series based on the book.

The show is an enjoyable riff on the oft-told tale. Cursed takes the familiar trappings of the legend and re-configures the story into the origin of Nimue, who interacts with many of the familiar faces from Arthurian lore, including Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, Percival and Uther Pendragon. Many of these characters are portrayed quite differently than the ones we’re used to from previous iterations of the tale. For example, Arthur is a young mercenary, Gawain is one of the Fey, and Uther (who’s not Arthur’s father in this series) is a petty, self-important, power-hungry monarch. Even Merlin is not quite the powerful sorcerer we’re used to seeing in previous versions of the story. He’s an anguished, haunted soul, who’s wracked with guilt over his past actions, but still trying to manipulate events to influence the future of mankind.

Part of that future involves Nimue, who will learn that she has a greater destiny than she ever imagined. When her village is attacked by the Red Paladins, military-style forces sent out by the Church to purge the land of the Fey and other magical beings, Nimue leads the survivors on a journey to find sanctuary. She will learn (some of) the secrets of her past, and find that her destiny, and that of the Sword of Power, are inexorably linked. She’ll also discover that Merlin, Uther, The Church, Uther, and other interested parties (including a warrior named Cumber the Ice King) are all vying to possess the sword for their own reasons. There are political and religious manipulations, fierce battles and magical confrontations throughout the series, which is well-directed and visually striking. As for the cast, Katherine Langford (of 13 Reasons Why) is very good as Nimue, Gistaf Skarsgard is impressive as Merlin, and Peter Mullan (who played Jacob Snell on Ozark) is excellent as Father Carden, the leader of the Church’s vicious Red Paladin forces. There are also solid performances from Daniel Sharman and Bella Dayne in supporting roles that may figure prominently in future seasons.

Cursed is an effective, female-centric version of the legend of King Arthur. The series may evoke memories of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s iconic novel The Mists of Avalon, which was itself adapted for television as a miniseries in 2001. But Cursed stands on its own as a diverting, entertaining, and clever re-invention and re-interpretation of a classic tale. There are more entries in the book series planned, so it’s a fairly safe bet that Netflix will continue the television show as well. If you’re a fan of Arthurian tales, the show is worth a look. Here’s a link to the trailer for the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLTdy6PfotA.

Pollack & Mitchum Meet "The Yakuza"

Can you imagine a story about the Japanese mob directed by Sydney Pollack, who helmed such classic films as The Way We Were, Jeremiah Johnson, Tootsie, Absence of Malice and Out of Africa? It happened in 1975, when Warner Brothers released Pollack's The Yakuza. This intriguing, moody thriller stars Robert Mitchum, Brian Keith and Ken Takakura. Mitchum plays Harry Kilmer, who had been stationed in Tokyo during the occupation following WWII. An old friend of his, George Tanner (played by Keith) asks Kilmer to help him rescue his daughter from Tono, a yakuza boss who has kidnapped her. It turns out that Tanner has been selling guns to Tono, and something has gone wrong. Kilmer heads to Japan to meet with the yakuza boss. Once there, he reunites with an old flame, Eiko, and her brother Ken. Since the post war days, Ken has resented Kilmer, although he doesn’t know why. Kilmer will eventually discover the truth behind Ken's hatred.

Ken Takakura & Robert Mitchum

Kilmer needs Ken’s help in contacting and dealing with the yakuza, as Ken used to work for them. But everything is not what it seems. Tanner is keeping secrets from Kilmer about his true dealings with Tono. Ken’s brother, a yakuza advisor, tries to help our heroes, but things escalate even further. Tanner's daughter is rescued, but that's not the end of the story. As Kilmer and Ken get closer to the truth, a chain of events put in motion by Tanner’s actions affects all of their fates. Kilmer finally finds out why Ken has always disliked him, a secret which dates back to when Kilmer had helped Eiko survive in the days after WWII. Mitchum is very good in the lead role, and the fine supporting cast features familiar character actors Richard Jordan, James Shigeta and Herb Edelman. Brian Keith is quite effective as Tanner, an atypical role for him.

The Yakuza is a stylish, well made film that feels somewhat leisurely paced by today’s action film standards, but is well worth a look. The story is a meditation on honor, keeping the promises you make, and dealing with the fallout from the secrets you keep. It’s much more than a shoot ‘em up movie, though there is quite a bit of gun and swordplay in the film. The screenplay is by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne, from a story by Leonard Schrader (Paul’s brother). The wonderful score is by jazz great Dave Grusin. It's one of director Pollack’s more unusual films, but I think it’s one of his best. Interestingly enough, he made this movie right around the same time he helmed the classic espionage thriller Three Days of The Condor, with Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. The Yakuza is available on disc and for online viewing on some sites, such as Amazon.

The Yums Yums Brightly Colored "Pop!"

Cover Image Courtesy Rum Bar Records

If you're in need of some positive vibes and cool music this summer, look no further than For Those About To Pop!, the latest release from The Yum Yums. If you could bottle up the unbridled energy and sheer enthusiasm the band shows on this record, you could use it to light up the world! The Norway based band’s phenomenal new record features a delightful mix of pop, rock, glam and bubblegum meshed together to create a sparkling collection of tunes that you'll be happy to have stuck in your head. The album kicks off with the pulsating title tune, which is nothing less than the band's mission statement, celebrating the delights of the "three-chord pop song," and a dedication to those fans who understand the sheer joys of listening to rockin' pop music.

For the next thirteen songs, the band snap, crackle and pops their way through a delicious collection of candy-coated confections. Songs such as "Baby Baby" and "Can I Come Over" neatly balance pop, punk and rock. The dazzling "Can't Get Enough of Your Lovin' and "She's Got Everything" may even make you double-check to see if your music device has morphed back into a transistor radio! The Yum Yums breezily genre-hop between power pop, rock and punk. There are touches of 1960s and 1970s pop and bubblegum, a hint of 1990s era pop-punk bands like Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World, and a definite homage to the three-minute rave-ups of The Ramones, who were themselves self-professed bubblegum fans. Just listen to the introduction to "Let's Go Crazy" to see what I mean.

This is a truly enjoyable, smile-inducing record that celebrates the joys of listening to music on the radio in "Summertime Pop" and the singer's day-glo colored love for his best girl on "Bubblegum Baby." Sunshine-dappled tunes like "Lie To Me" and "Crush On You" just beg for you to sing along, while you're also digging the scintillating guitars, thrilling drum beats and incandescent vocals. The uber-talented line-up of The Yum Yums includes lead guitarist and vocalist Morten Henriksen, guitarist-vocalist Gunnar Vrontveit , and drummer Ulf Ramone Bendicksen, along with several of their talented friends, including Christian Jacobsen on keyboards and Havard Eldsaunet and Stine Bendiksen on bass. These guys are so good, they could make the members of classic power pop groups like the Rubinoos, Shoes and the Raspberries green with envy!

For Those About To Pop! is a phenomenal album and a marvelous, loving valentine for power pop fans everywhere. Once you hear it, I guarantee you'll be longing to seek out the band's other releases, which are equally as enjoyable as this one. For more information on For Those About To Pop! and the terrific music of The Yum Yums, head over to the site for Rum Bar Records by following this link: https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/for-those-about-to-pop. To hear a couple of the fantastic songs from the album, follow these links to check out the bouncy "Can I Come Over" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0IDbhO-QFo, and the sugary "Summertime Pop": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkOCgxtvQMA. Remember, "the pop will never stop!"

"War of the Worlds" Through The Years

A Martian craft from the 1953 film

H.G. Well’s 1898 novel War of the Worlds has enthralled and fascinated readers ever since it was first published. The thrilling story of an invasion from Mars set the standard for the many tales of alien contact (and conflict) which followed in the science-fiction genre. The book has been adapted several times over the years, including the famous 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre, which panicked some listeners who thought it was an actual account of an invasion from Mars. There’s also the classic 1953 film version produced by George Pal, a 1988-90 TV series which starred Jared Martin, and Steven Spielberg’s 2005 remake featuring Tom Cruise, which was produced in the aftermath of 9/11, and whose stark tone was influenced by those horrible events. The 1978 album Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, featuring Richard Burton, David Essex and Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, is a cool rock opera retelling of the story. Recently, there have been two newer adaptations of the tale, a BBC produced mini-series set in the nineteenth-century time period of the novel, and a modern-day re-imagining featuring Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern, which aired recently on the EPIX cable network.

Most fans consider the 1953 film version of the novel to be the definitive re-telling of this classic story. The rights to War of the Worlds had been held by Paramount for years, and at one point, Cecil B. DeMille had plans to work on a cinematic adaptation of the book. Eventually, George Pal, who had produced the successful science-fiction films Destination Moon and When Worlds Collide, took on the project. Former cinematographer Byron Haskin was brought on board to direct the film, and relative newcomers Gene Barry and Ann Robinson were selected to star in the movie. Barry plays Dr. Clayton Forrester, a nuclear physicist, and Robinson co-stars as Sylvia Van Buren, whom Forrester meets while investigating what is at first thought to be a meteor which has crashed to Earth. The duo are catapulted headlong into a strange and harrowing situation when several more of these objects arrive. The “meteors” turn out to be alien ships from Mars, and similar objects have landed all over the world. It’s the beginning of an invasion, and the Martian ships weave a path of death and destruction across the Earth. No weapon or force seems to be able to stop them. The fate of the world hangs in the balance. Is this the end of humanity?

The film is exciting and suspenseful. Haskin’s direction is solid, and he keeps the action moving at a crisp pace. The script by Barre Lyndon updates the action of the novel to the present day, and the change works beautifully. We’re able to relate to Clayton and Sylvia’s experiences, and we see the terrifying events of the alien invasion through their eyes. The cast, aside from Barry and Robinson, is full of character actors and familiar faces, including Les Tremayne, Jack Kruschen, and Robert Cornwaithe, who appeared in the 1951 classic The Thing. Ann Robinson later reprised the character of Sylvia Van Buren in the 1988-90 TV series, which was set after the events of this film. The special-effects (which won on Oscar) are first-rate, and are still quite impressive. The cool, sleek design of the Martian craft and their powerful death rays, the marvelous sound effects, and the excellent matte work all combine to create a stunning vision of the indestructible Martians and their devastating power. Like a pair of other well-regarded films that followed, Forbidden Planet and This Island Earth, it’s obvious that War of the Worlds was produced on an “A” budget, unlike the many sci-fi movies that followed in the later years of the decade. The movie also clearly influenced many modern day big budget sci-fi thrillers, including the 1996 epic, Independence Day.

Cover for The Criterion Collection release

War of the Worlds was produced with great care and attention to detail by George Pal, and it shows. The movie holds up remarkably well, and is still an engrossing and exciting tale. It’s one of Pal’s best films, along with his other Wells adaptation, 1960’s The Time Machine. The movie has recently been issued on Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection. The film has been re-mastered in high-definition using an original Technicolor print as a reference, and this release also features a new 5.1 mix of the soundtrack. The excellent array of extras includes an informative commentary by director Joe Dante, movie historian/collector Bob Burns and the late Bill Warren, who wrote the definitive study of 1950’s science-fiction films, Keep Watching The Skies, as well as a vintage audio interview with George Pal, an audio recording of Orson Welles’ radio broadcast, and a brief interview Welles conducted with author H.G. Wells. There are also some wonderful featurettes, which include interviews with members of the cast, as well as the talented team who worked on the film’s restoration, including Ben Burtt and Craig Barron. If you’re looking to own a copy of the film, this disc is a must-have. For more info on this excellent disc from The Criterion Collection, follow this link: https://www.criterion.com/films/29942-the-war-of-the-worlds.

War of the Worlds has been re-interpreted and re-invented by several generations of artists since H.G. Wells first released the novel in 1898. But for kids of a certain age, the 1953 film will always hold a special place in our hearts. Here’s the original trailer for the 1953 version of War of the Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_DUxdhdSyk. For more on Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, the rock and roll version of the novel, head over to CultureSonar, and check out my story on the album by following this link: https://www.culturesonar.com/war-of-the-worlds/.