Damien: Omen II (1978)

Death by glare

By: JWBM

"Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate." - Daniel 11:31

With the second installation—to take on the teenage years of Damien—we get a change of pace with all new actors, but one, and some fresh faces in the filmmaking crew. Lessened is that relentless, dark and looming atmosphere from the first film, and in its place is an attempt to go for more everyday realism to establish some background of the characters. Some major themes here are politics, severing ties, and mastering a fight to the death without throwing a punch.

One portion of the tale shows the upbringing of Damien under the wing of his rich and powerful uncle, Richard, who spearheads Thorn Industries—a sort of global powerhouse with hands in this and that—along with an almost humanization of the Antichrist while he attends a prominent military academy and finds out who his true friends and enemies are. I felt that was a clever move to give a slight pull and tug dynamic to what's just conceived as an embodiment of evil. Though if pushed deeper—instead of hovering around the surface—this story could have burrowed under your skin, and remained a permanent scar when thinking of the personification of the son to darkness. For a movie about Damien, it should have focused more on him rather than using this as a pedestal for things to come. There's still shreds of life to him, and some different hues and shades. Though it doesn't seem to last long and resorts back to stoic looks, and a that-person-knows-too-much-and-must-die film.

What becomes its undoing is that it feels like a sequel instead of a stand alone film. It turned "The Omen" into a franchise with a predictable formula. One you can count on, sure, but not one that will surpass anything the first established already. It works in areas to put you in the moment from the acting to the generous score—with a return from Goldsmith to pull a few more spellbinding variations—but in other areas it feels a somewhat stale echo to the past. It was a tough balance to strike, in that the story expands on itself, and at the same time attempts to go for more horror and shocks. At points it loses its sense of mystery when it steps out in the open: fighting in the hallways with unparalleled powers, or answering back smugly in the classroom as if everyone around is a lesser being. It felt more to sell you the allure of it all, then pull the rug out from under when you realize how much of a monster he's grown up to be. It's also conflicting seeing this, in that the audience is repeatedly told who he is, but by the time the characters catch up to realize what's going on, the impact of it at that moment is lessened.

The film generates a particular modus operandi: a sort of Antichrist pyramid, so to speak, that establishes who's where in the pecking order. If you find yourself at the bottom, you'll soon get a haunting visit from a raven—with Latin chanted theme to set up the inevitable—which is a sure trip to the casket in more than one piece. As horrific as the deaths are, they still come with easy to guess certainty of who's going to get an early demise, or, on the other hand, who's in conspiracy with the dark side. It turns a potentially gray film, into a black and white one. Guess the more low-key and practical way of making every opposing person inconspicuously deaf, dumb, mute, or blind isn't as entertaining.

Rating: 6/10

Director: Don Taylor (The 5-Man Army, The Island of Dr. Moreau)
Actors: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Lance Henriksen
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

When a victim gets their day

The '70s saw an emergence of films with individuals taking matters into their own hands from "Straw Dogs," "Dirty Harry," "Deliverance," "The Last House on the Left," "Thriller" to "Death Wish" about the justice system being too lenient or not being readily available in the most extreme of cases. Citizens weren't trusting "The Man" or those other two-faces that were supposed to be protecting and serving rather than beating and discriminating.

"I Spit on Your Grave," aka "Day of the Woman," involves drawn out rape and excessive humiliation to amplify that point. By the time it's ready for payback, few are questioning whether its means were justified. It makes sense within the narrow realm of the movie, though its black and white, open and shut delivery doesn't always do itself a service because it leaves little to debate or expose deeper layers. Not to mention, it's such an over-the-top set of scenarios that a viewer might just assume it unlikely and move on. Did she ask for it? Certainly not. Was she justified for what she did? With the extent she went through most would say yes I'd imagine. The film lacks subtlety to go either way with those questions and instead clunks a viewer over the head with its delivery, which makes the experience somewhat basic and straightforward and lacking in challenge. The simple directorial approach has a tendency to show rather than tell, but instead of being more interpretive it feels stripped down to the bare essentials: rape and revenge. The first is depicted with some realism in the way power and domination plays a part in the debasing act. The second is purely cinematic in the way it transitions so easily, not to mention with little question and without a hitch. Everything else with the picture leaves little in between. To its credit there are a share of scenes that are memorable for better or worse and it can keep one's attention glued for the duration even when only one aspect happens at a time.

A young and confident woman from New York City named Jennifer Hills rents a summer house by the edge of the river in a remote area a few hours away. She wants the peace and tranquility to write a fictional novel but finds bigger trouble in the thought to be quaint setting with three bored delinquents and their mentally handicapped, tag-along friend. They carry a sense of entitlement, so when turned down they don't just only take but make a point to degrade this city girl supposedly struttin' her stuff. There's nothing erotic or pleasing to be found here for the viewer, just a purely senseless violation of another person in a lonely, desperate state and setting while the audience helplessly watches on for at least a good 30 minutes. Jennifer even has the slow and agonizing walk of shame back, where you think the antagonists are going to collect their thoughts and feel guilty for what they've done, but then proceed to amp up the carnage like they were just getting warmed up. It went from a spur of the moment action to something far more dark and depraved. It feels like a firm decision was never made as to whether they're supposed to be mirroring real people or just making pure cinema villains that are only ever seen on the big screen. The end result gives a little of both: a minimal outline of their lives, but with actions that don't always line up in the way that they seem to go beyond the explanations shown or given.

The performances of the male characters went from being your typical rowdy bunch to missing all relating points the way they're so over-the-top and know exactly what they're doing. It seemed instinctual and predatory to the point of animalistic. The main actress Camille Keaton doesn't shy away from what the film puts her through. She's dragged into the mud over and over again. Some scenes she's standing fully nude with dirt and grime all over. Or in another instance she's being picked up and manhandled with forceful weight on her tiny frame. The Jennifer character has more to reveal at first, in that an independent woman tries to mark her territory and go about her life but has others taking advantage of her outgoing personality when her guard is down. The portion where the revenge takes place starts to lose relating points in that her cold and determined motivations are kept to herself for the sake of cinematic surprise rather than getting to know how she actually ticks. The only area shown for reflection is the repercussions on the victim's family. Otherwise, it makes her stone-face demeanor seem just as equally unfeeling and depraved as her tormentors. Yeah, violence begets violence and no one is the winner. But it causes the film to unfold as a blatant formula: we all meet, you relentlessly torture me without putting up a fight, I torture you without putting up a fight so you could look shamed and humiliated too, the end. Any questions?

This is a daring film for its day, but due to a shallow script doesn't transcend itself to be more than a go-for-the-throat exploitation piece. The biggest command the picture has and why it's lasted so long is that it doesn't hold back in its cruelty. Even completely dehumanizing stories made by sensationalist papers to bring out fear skip out on at least some details. This is essentially the gratuitous nitty gritty that's left out to get even more under one's skin. The camera angles are fully framed without trick photography, that way little is missed. By not including a score but just sound effects made the movie more effective to put one in the direct moment. Rape doesn't need a theme song, now does it?

"I Spit on Your Grave" purposely tries to aggravate and entice a viewer by using a mentally challenged guy, by having no police presence, by having no remorse or regret except from getting caught, by including a former Marine as if it was a cause and effect, by including slightly older guys who should know better, and then by having one of them married with kids no less! The more contradicting faults about the antagonists the better to rile a viewer up, otherwise the constructive arguments that might come about are primarily from the watcher. The filmmakers went in with a message about a female victim getting her day, demanded you paid attention with gross travesties, but then skipped over making a productive point for others, which leaves the audience satisfied in one way on a superficial level but emotionally set-up and manipulated on another. This just feels like a straight set up for a revenge film with simple characters strategically moved around to get the biggest reaction. Decent for what it advertises but otherwise you won't get more out of the experience unless you put in more effort for where the filmmakers didn't.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Meir Zarchi
Stars: Camillie Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols, Gunter Kleemann
Link: IMDB

Last House on the Beach (1978)

3 criminal men, a nun and a group of virgins at the beach

"Last House on the Beach" is an Italian made thriller about three sadistic bank robbin' guys who need a place to hold up from their latest heist. And where else do they pick for their several day lay over from the law? Why some "random" tucked away beach house with none other than a nun heading a group of all female students innocently practicing for a stage play. You know, just the thing deviant kidnappers dreams are made of.

The biggest underlying theme here is if an ordinary group of people, as well as someone of the "divine" cloth, who's ultimately human underneath, is capable of bringing out their inner vengeance to reap on their captures what they sowed. The nun angle one can imagine was a scolding hot topic for someone from the homeland of Catholicism in their collective borders. Similar to earlier Giallo mysteries presenting the finale with a priest holding the knife must have been a real whopper of a shake up to the daily hail Mary spoutin' folks that have unwavering traditions and rituals ingrained in them from the moment they take a first breath. With other movies that present a question it usually lingers after it ends, this, however, directly asks and answers which limits some of the challenge.

The violence comes and goes, there are moments when the kidnappers give break and others when it's let loose such as boredom leading to drinking, drinking leading to groping, and groping leading to raping. There's blood and nudity, yet it isn't relentless or always in the audience's face compared to other exploitation films. Which leads me to believe that the filmmakers were balancing out the shocking physicalities as well as the ominous underlying question that was also asked in its precursors "The Virgin Spring" and "The Last House on the Left": Could a citizen give an eye for an eye if the tables reversed, or turn the other cheek and forgive and forget? The idea is if a thought to be untouchable clergy woman could, so could you.

What's in its favor is the film was shot well for its genre type with a crisp wide angle lens that doesn't always need to zoom or move around a lot as a result. A share of this has random, funky, larger-than-life, rock-tinged music inserted that doesn't always add to making the claustrophobic environment smaller or the situation any more terrorizing. Though they slowly escalate their lusts and push and prod the women into feeling backed into a corner. There was a strange, if a little too stylish for its own good scene that stood out from the rest. It involves a series of chaotic voices that stream overtop of a sleazy, upbeat hard rock number while two of the goons rape one of the young woman from behind in ultra slow motion and with a randomly painted face. There is another surreal one with a scenario similar to "Night Train Murders" with an even larger object forced into a victim--all in slo-mo again with exaggerated, contorted facial expressions in uncomfortable close ups to make a viewer feel every agonizing inch.

The events skip around the several day episode to get to the meat of it, though the pacing still feels somewhat sporadic, causing the film--despite some memorably heinous scenes--to not always be consistently gripping or tension filled. At a few points they step outside to break the single environment archetype of being trapped in a house, though even with Bolkan's subtle acting as the nun and Ray Lovelock's charming looks and dangerous demeanor, this isn't as gripping as it could have been. The bad guys are, well, simply bad guys with few things on their minds. A few areas break the molds of what you would expect a criminal to act like, such as one being a good natured looking drop out of college or another being a pervert who reads Faulkner. The women whisper their escapes but get easily pushed around like the filmmakers wanted in order to lead up to their main agenda towards the latter part of the film. A balance wasn't always struck to give a solid relation between the characters or their plight, causing the audience to look about impassively and make their own loose assumptions.

Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Franco Prosperi
Stars: Florinda Bolkan, Ray Lovelock
Link: IMDB

The Mountain of the Cannibal God (1978) - Part 1 of 3: Westerners in the Wild Trilogy

You never forget the taste of human flesh

"The Mountain of the Cannibal God" is an action adventure film intertwined with intrigue, shock and candid looks at nature and those closet to it. This is far from other films that share the tag as this goes for realism rather than fantasy or heroism, is a party pooper when it comes to fun, and is steady with violence and gore to appease a depraved fan of horror compared to someone looking for a safe and easy ride in the jungle.

This is going for a documentary feel with an intimate look at how beautiful and cruel the wild can be. A group of brave westerners with some natives are assembling a trek to this mysterious, remote mountain in New Guinea. When the urbanized natives steer clear and give warning even if it means saving someone, take heed. Though the party members are tightening their boots and stuffing their packs with purpose no matter the peril. But maybe that's because they have their own hidden motives to drive them forward or that cannibals are just things for the imaginative daydreamer. Just maybe.

There's credible tension between the characters as they battle the terrain and encounter deadly animals, along with experiencing inquisitive peaks into odd customs and superstitions along the way. A big sensationalist draw here is there are non-simulated animal vs animal and man vs animal attacks. Its stark and unnecessary realism will be argued from here to the moon, but it ultimately creates an environment where no one is safe and it could be your turn at any moment, so best to keep a blade handy and one eye open when you sleep.

Time is taken with "Cannibal God" to pace the story and build up surprises. The atmospheric and sometimes downright uncomfortable music leaves emotion on the screen like another appendage of the actors. This is structured so the audience feels the tension as much as the performers do in the moment it's occurring. It gives the film a sense of believability over other Mondo cinema that falls short of maintaining that the events taking place could actually happen. Compared to "The Great Alligator" and "Screamers/Island of the Fish Men," this is by far the best in the Sergio Martino, as I like to call it, "Westerners in the Wild Trilogy" starring the late Claudio Cassinelli due not only to a bigger budget but most importantly a more refined focus.

Rating: 8/10

Director: Sergio Martino (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail)
Stars: Ursula Andress, Stacy Keach, Claudio Cassinelli
Link: IMDB


Facts from the Black and Red:

- Cannibal derives from the Spanish word "caníbales" for the Carib people.

- Michael Rockefeller--son to former NY Governor/Vice President Nelson Rockefeller--mysteriously disappeared in 1961 in the New Guinea area while researching a tribe called Asmat that were known for cannibalism and headhunting.

- Survivors from Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in 1972--after running out of their only food and with nothing to hunt or gather in the cold climate--ate the flesh of their dead friends for sustenance.