USA horror

Invitation to Hell

invitationtohell

Invitation to Hell (1984)

The Winslow family has relocated so that Matt, the dad (Robert Urich), can start his new job at an electronics corporation called Micro-Digitech. His special talent with electronics will be applied to a new spacesuit the company is developing. This heat resistant spacesuit is equipped with a deadly laser, a flamethrower, and sensors that can detect whether or not a being is human or not. Hmm, I wonder if that will come in handy later?

The Winslows have a beautiful home in an idyllic neighborhood but things aren’t all that they seem. Jessica Jones (Susan Lucci), director of the Steaming Springs country club keeps encouraging Matt and his family to join. But this is no ordinary country club. The membership fee is very reasonable; it will only cost you your soul! Matt is able to resist the temptations of Steamy Springs but his dumb family are a bunch of selfish twits who don’t know any better. Now he has to put on a friggin’ spacesuit and go save them.

Released only months before A Nightmare on Elm Street destroyed the world, Invitation to Hell is one of Wes Craven’s best failures. Like his pitiful Deadly Friend, this cheesy and incredibly dated made-for-TV movie bears absolutely no resemblance to other Craven classics like Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. I’m just now discovering a bunch of these little televised gems from Craven’s body of work for myself and so far I’m not regretting it at all.

Screenwriter Richard Rothstein (who went on to write Universal Soldier) did most of the damage so I guess it really doesn’t matter who directed this thing. The plot is laughably generic and the camp value hits great heights once Matt’s family gets possessed by demons. The goofy special effects (mostly fog machines, lasers and matte paintings) are never very impressive but are a helluva lotta fun, especially in the film’s not-so-climactic climax.

Oh man, the cast is like so totally awesome. Robert Urich, super macho badass of the century, plays something of a wimp in this one. Matt takes way more shit than he should but makes up for it with a few blasts from his laser gun. Joanna Cassidy (of Bladerunner) plays his sweet but materialistic wife who turns into a vicious vamp once she gets possessed. Soleil Moon Frye is so adorable as their daughter, Crissy, especially when she starts talking in that demonic voice. The shit is priceless. Even Joe Regalbuto (always good at playing a sleazeball) and the friggin’ amazing Kevin McCarthy (of UHF and The Howling) are also in this one. Yet it is Susan Lucci who steals the show as Jessica Jones (sounds like a porn name), the megabitch from hell.

All of you fabulous purveyors of silly 80s crap, need to get your hands on Invitation to Hell. This little throwaway TV blunder is pretty dang awesome if you’re willing to let it steal your soul for a little while. The super sweet ending proves once and for all that only love can conquer the forces of evil. No, I’m serious. Without love, evil country clubs will take a hot steaming demonic dump on your family. Especially your children. Is that what you want? A bunch of Satan’s excrement on your kids? Fine, be that way.

“We are the winners. We have to get rid of the losers.”

Haunting Fear

hauntingfear

Haunting Fear (1990)

Victoria Munroe (Brinke Stevens) is haunted by horrible nightmares particularly those involving premature burial. Her husband Terry (Jay Richardson) is more worried about paying off his loan shark and banging his secretary Lisa (Delia Sheppard). Victoria blames Dr. Carlton (Robert Clarke) for the death of her father and is haunted by visions of her dad being buried alive in her dreams. Meanwhile, Terry’s loan shark (played by Robert Quarry) sends his enforcer (Jan-Michael Vincent) posing as a police detective to keep an eye on the house in case Terry tries to skip town without paying.

Dr. Carlton calls in Dr. Julia Harcourt (Karen Black), a paranormal psychologist, to examine Victoria. Using hypnotherapy, she uncovers that Victoria was buried alive by her husband in a previous life. In order to get a hold of her dead father’s money and house, Terry and Lisa decide to use Victoria’s past life trauma to try and scare her into having a heart attack. What they don’t count on is Victoria going completely insane and going on a stabbing binge with a butcher knife.

Well, color me surprised. I wasn’t expecting Haunting Fear to be this good. I have now learned never to underestimate Fred Olen Ray. It’s not my fault though. Have you ever seen Biohazard? The quote from Edgar Allen Poe, the simple opening credits that look like a classic 70s horror film, and Chuck Cirino’s perfectly pretty and haunting score, instantly convinced me this was a different film from the usual Ray insanity. Production values are modest but not rock bottom and the film is cut and shot excellently. There’s as much atmosphere as there is hokey bullshit in the script and things just sort of balance out. To fill in the gaps, there’s sex and even a little gore.

Ray regular Jay Richardson is such a great sleazebag in this movie. I can’t help but like the guy even though he is the scum of the earth. He and the lovely Delia Sheppard have a couple of love scenes that are ridiculously violent. It’s a love scene but oh yeah, they beat the shit out of each other. Karen Black (The Day of the Locust) rocks the Loretta Swit wig and the pink lipstick but she just seems kind of annoyed during her scenes. Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) makes a spirited cameo as a mortician. Jan-Michael Vincent is pretty good in this though he does seem a little out of place. His character has mixed up motivations (to say the least) but he does try to save the day. Alas, it is just too little, too late.

This really is Brinke Stevens’ (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama) movie. She knocks it out of the park as Victoria, a woman haunted by her dreams and who begins to lose her mind when those dreams start bleeding into the waking world. When she finally goes off the deep end, get the hell out of her way. Once her character comes back from the edge (I’m trying to not to say ‘brink’ here) of death, it is quite a transformation and well worth waiting for. When Stevens is in her crazy makeup, she channels Myrna Fahey in House of Usher but cranks it up a couple of loony notches.

Haunting Fear is a twisted and cruel little horror movie that works because it manages to be equally trashy, horrific, and fun. Instead of rushing through things or being half-assed, Fred Olen Ray puts a great deal of care into the production. There are moments of subtlety and patience to allow Brinke Stevens to do something great with her character and it pays off big time. Is this a cheesy B-movie? Sure. Does it meet the requirements for junky late night cable filler? You know it does! But more importantly, this movie is a prime example of how awesome flicks can seemingly come out of nowhere and, for those of us who love the genre, be our instant classics. I’m already nostalgic for Haunting Fear and I just watched it yesterday.

“What a fortunate turn of events. I think this calls for a hot tub session… of some kind.”

Fan, The

fan-1981

The Fan (1981)

Renowned film and stage actress, Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall), is making her Broadway debut and is also still settling in after her divorce from Jake (James Garner). So she has very little time to notice the letters of an obsessive fan named Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) which are growing increasingly frightening. Breen quits his record store job in order to focus entirely on his growing “relationship” with Ross. He begins violently assaulting anyone close to her in order to make her take notice of him. Against the wishes of Inspector Andrews (Hector Elizondo), Sally flees to her beach home until word of Breen’s apparent suicide and a chance at a new start with Jake brings her back to the city and to her Broadway show. Unfortunately for Sally, stage-fright isn’t the only thing she has to worry about on opening night.

This 1981 thriller isn’t to be confused with the Snipes/De Niro disaster of the same name. No, The Fan starring Lauren Bacall is a disaster all its own. Edward Bianichi’s directorial debut is a clunky one (he didn’t direct another feature film for a decade) with several inspired moments. Cinematography by Dick Bush (Laughter in the Dark, Twins of Evil) is technically astounding and the film’s final shot is breathtaking. The incredible Pino Donaggio composes another excellent score for The Fan. Even the cast is top notch and the writing is decent enough to hold the film together. All the right pieces for a classic film are in place but something went wrong here. Let’s investigate, shall we?

Michael Biehn (Aliens, The Abyss) is quite convincing as Douglas, the obsessed fan. He nails the psycho part perfectly. Lauren Bacall is excellent as the sheltered and naive Sally Ross who thinks that she has seen it all. As Sally’s situation becomes more and more dire and her friends turn up either dead or horribly injured, Bacall convincingly transforms her character into a dynamic person with more on her mind than bumping into her ex-husband at a party. James Garner and Lauren Bacall’s chemistry as a divorced couple works quite well but when their relationship starts to blossom again, it just doesn’t float. Hector Elizondo is perfectly cast as Inspector Andrews. A standard cop character in anyone else’s hands, Elizondo easily breathes life into his minor role, often stealing scenes from the rest of the cast.

What is with the late 70s/early 80s obsession with Broadway? The scenes where Sally Ross is preparing for her musical debut are just fine because they are rehearsals and meant to be rough around the edges. But once her act hits the stage near the end of the film, take cover. Lauren Bacall cannot sing and her wonderful screen presence does not translate to a Broadway musical performance. Its’ just plain bad and I can only assume that the musical scenes are meant to be completely serious.

Another problem with the movie is the absence of gore and the inability of the director to stage a decent death scene. Now don’t get me wrong, there is quite a bit of blood shed and even a pierced jugular thrown in for good measure but the film is lacking that hard edge that a trashy ’81 thriller desperately needs. The most stilted and awkward moments in the film (other than the Broadway bits) come during the violent scenes. The attacks on Sally’s friends feel overly cautious. It may have been a studio imposed censorship (nice going, Paramount!) or the director holding back but they just aren’t very shocking at all. Bianichi can easily build tension but when it all comes to a head, I feel cheated.

The Fan is definitely an interesting watch but the filmmakers’ and the studio’s lack of confidence in the film really shows. Some of the film is shocking and sleazy while some of it is very tame where it shouldn’t be. The stalker phenomenon may be completely played out nowadays but if one watches this with 1981 eyes (don’t ask me what those are) then The Fan still manages to be quite frightening and tense through much of its running time. If nothing else, watch it for that final shot.