New Years Watch

Friday Gumbo-style Triple feature

Rock And Roll Movies session 4: Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park & Slade In Flame

A mad scientist (Anthony Zerbe) makes cartoon robots of the rock group (KISS), seen in a California concert.

Phantom flies and demons and spaceman and cats and stars dissociate in a dubbed TV movie world of amusement park excess. Robes and incredible hulk 70s TV villains face off against rock and roll. On The Air With Captain Midnight or Nick Zedds Geek Maggot Bingo may make a flickering light show companion to druggie brains high on attitude and philosophy.

A band's sudden rise to fame is beset with internal bickering and the double dealings of the music industry.

Kitchen sink realistic, Slade's lead singer is a gem. Rocking tunes. Fun. Very british,  A working man's song remains the same. Check out the album too,Slade is due for a Renaissance,  lead the resistance of these dirty jokers.

Tune In Tuesday: Surf Reality Movie of the Month Club Collection (Thrill Kill Video Club)

The New York underground performance art scene in the late 80's was teeming with unique talents. Enter Robert Prichard and Jennifer Babtist (both of CLASS OF NUKE ‘EM HIGH), who decided that the madness happening nightly needed to be preserved on videotape, under the moniker of Surf Reality. At the same time, genre favorite Matt Mitler (THE MUTILATOR, DEADTIME STORIES) was challenged to improvise a feature film in a single day. Prichard and Mitler, who were friends since high school, joined forces to shoot a series of one-day features on video, and so the Movie of the Month Club was born!

Thrill Kill Video Club: Four bored serial killers turn to shooting snuff movies and the Thrill Kill Video Club is born. Enter their looney upside down world of comedy, carnage, laughter and mayhem.

80s NYC shot on video homemade art. A under represented relic of another time, important to catalogue,preserve,  research,  understand and enjoy. Art for arts sake. Art for fucks sake. ACTORS Robert Prichard and Jennifer Babtist from Troma Movies and Matt Mitler from Slashers and Scifi Making there own microbudget movies, when it had been easier than ever before but not as easy as it would become. Free of pretension, but with big ideas. Around 45minutes. I have only watched  Thrill Kill Video Club So Far. I was obsessed with finding these movies for years after reading a interview with Robert Prichard, from toxic avenger and Class of nuke em high. They were impossible to locate until now. The story is more interesting then the movies unless your brain is illuminated by moon Magic. 1980s homemade movies your long lost punk bohemian uncle made and got left in a basement for over 30 years. It doesn't matter if transcendence is achieved through accident, lack of ability or conscious decision. The result is what matters. Keep your third eye open, and let the movies world take you in. It's gruff NYC on the surface,  but just below is a "high school theater kids" sense of play. A great case for the continued existence of physical media.

I do Declare Between The Buttons (UK) is the most underrated Stones album

.

I'm seeing em in may.

This Pic-Asso Painting is 100 years old.

Musical Back Pages

In 2023, I managed to make music with all three members of my rocking teenage combo from the mid aughts:

Me on guitar, Zag on Bass And Drums and Other Rhythms: 

https://thezagwanderers.bandcamp.com/track/track-3

Me on Guitar and Drum Programming,  Zirp on Bass:

https://m.soundcloud.com/larry-amazon/erroneous-thugs-the-post-modern-prometheans

Me On Guitar, Vocals, and Bass, Dave Herrera on Drums:

https://outerorderrecords.bandcamp.com/track/blinked-missed-it-rehearsal-by-pure-absurdity

Tune In Tuesday The prophecy

Evil angel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) has come to earth to strengthen his powers by claiming the wicked spirit of a psychotic veteran. The benevolent angel, Simon (Eric Stoltz), want to stop that from happening, so hides the man's spirit where Gabriel would least expect to find it: in a little girl (Moriah Shining Dove Snyder). Caught in a cosmic battle in which even Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen) plays a part, a liturgically minded cop (Elias Koteas) moves heaven and earth to protect the child.

Chris Walken as An Evil Angel Gabriel,This one Sells itself. Elias Koteas and Eric Stotlz make it a must see. As Time goes on 1990s Video Store Staples get more and more interesting. 

Dig it.

https://m.soundcloud.com/larry-amazon/the-glory-with-this-beast-instrumental

tune in tuesday: Fatal Games

The young athletes of Falcon Academy are training hard to earn their place in the nationals. But when these burgeoning sports stars start disappearing one after the other, Dr. Jordine and his team – who’ve started plying their athletes with new and untested performance-enhancing drugs – are baffled. Little do they realize that a javelin-wielding, tracksuit-wearing killer with a strong throwing arm and a deadly grudge against athletic excellence is on the prowl, picking off the Olympic hopefuls one by one. Whether they’re squeezing out a few extra reps in the gym, training on the field or clocking up some late-night strokes in the pool, nowhere is safe. As their numbers continue to dwindle, can the remaining athletes unmask the maniac before they’re disqualified… for good?!

Waited for years for this one to get a decent release, as it has up until now only been available on murky vhs. A enjoyable slasher reminiscent of graduation day. I spotted a frank zappa poster in one scene. Def worth it for the opening track "take it all the way".

Rock N Roll movies session 3: Hail Caeser & Heavy Metal

Caesar is a would-be rock star. But for now, he works at a pencil eraser factory. Soon he falls in love with the owner's daughter. In order to get her, he bets with the old man that he can make a hundred thousand dollars in six months.

Pretty Dumb and inconsequential,  but fun.

 You get a band that plays "rock" that sounds like then current smooth rnb, Judd Nelson as a inmate, robert Downey Jr as an ad axec and Sam Jackson as a mailman

Harmless fun nominally rock and roll picture. 

Based on the sexy science fiction cult comic, "Heavy Metal" combines extraordinarily stunning visuals, new wave music and a series of mindbending stories in a unique motion picture experience. The anchor of the film is an eerie green ball that magically transports us into a series of adventures in the past, future, and into the world beyond. Included are stories of the space super heroine, Taarna; the hard-boiled exploits of Harry Canyon, cab driver of the future; and the adventures of "Den:' who the green ball changes from an introverted teen into a macho hero. This groundbreaking animation extravaganza also use the voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty, as well as writers, directors, and artists from around the world.

Heavy metal is the stuff of hetero teen boys dreams, busty,  badass women almost always naked, hard rock soundtrack, rough around the edges animation,  a mix of horror, hardboiled detective story and sci-fi.  A movie that you can smell the potsmoke on

 Saw it at a revival screening years ago.

Rock and roll movies session 2 "Streets Of Fire & Rock and Roll Highschool

Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe), along with his gang of merciless biker friends, kidnaps rock singer Ellen Aim (Diane Lane). Ellen's former lover, soldier-for-hire Tom Cody (Michael Paré), happens to be passing through town on a visit. In an attempt to save his star act, Ellen's manager, Billy Fish (Rick Moranis), hires Tom to rescue Ellen. Billy and Tom, along with former soldier McCoy (Amy Madigan), battle through dangerous cityscapes, determined to get Ellen back.

A Rock n Roll Fable. Neon streets in the rain.

Questions of honor. Dazzling editing. an alternate 1950s/1980s. Eniigmatic. My favorite movie. 

A teenager (P.J. Soles) and her friends get even with their principal to music by the Ramones.

PJ soles greatest role. The Ramones at there best. Cartoon comedy. Rats with Mohawks.  Mary Woronov. Etched in Stone in the landmark mountain of teen movies.

tune in tuesday "shredder" 2001

At an exclusive, secluded North American ski resort up on Mount Rocky Summit, brutal slashing, severing and beheading on a group of teenagers are taking place ...

Snowboards will always scream 1990s to me. This post scream slasher is definitely microbudget, but the gore is plentiful and the premise right out of a,golden era slasher.nothing fantastic but you could do much, much worse for this genre and era

 Currently only available on dvd, Worth it for skiers,  the early 2000s curious and for some pretty decent self aware jokes. 

Cartoon Sunday

Tune In Tuesday: Rush Week (1989)

Tired of the bland assignments at her college paper, Toni Daniels (Pamela Ludwig) found much more newsworthy the recent disappearance of three gorgeous co-eds-and the school administration's silence about same. As she digs, however, she'll incur the wrath of the old-man-masked murderer responsible, and who's not interested in getting any press.

A light on slashing but still teeming with end of the 80s charm, some might be put off by the frat hijinks but the conclusion really packs a punch.A commentary By The hysteria continues podcast is the jewel in the crown. 

Fucked Up 90s: 1991: Ruben and Ed and My Own Private Idaho

Perhaps the ultimate in early 90s weirdness, I first saw this on VHS in  the early 10s. A lampoon on sales seminars,  frozen cat burials, and Crispin glover as Ruben. Check out the infamous letterman appearance,  years before the movie even came out.

A kind of 90s  Oliver twist with the young men being sex workers and there trash God fagin a bum named Joe. Has that overfried gen X mentality of not being able to care nor wanting too.

Saturday Matinee

Savage Satire Lampooning of Aristocracy featuring  false idols, Personality disorder,  songs, Jesus,  Jack The Ripper and Peter O'toole

Nothing else quite like this movie, at once early 70s on the street document filmmaking and odd fable, nods to rear window and stands alongside the landlord as early 70s example of middle and lower class relations in the city.

Sick sick 70s Sunday Roy Scheider/ William Friedkin Double Feature

Imagine the opening scenes of the exorcist for two hours.. A total Dad Movie.

The NYC documentary style of the early 70s flick is on full display here. Scheider and  Hackman write the book here on inner city cop performance on screen. 

Rock N Roll Movies session 1

For The month of December,I am doing sets of "rock and roll movies. 

Rock All Night (1957) directed by Roger corman

The Forgotten film in the trilogy of 1950s dick Miller roles directed by Roger corman. The others are of course  little shop of horrors and A bucket of Blood. This one is like a 1 set, 1 act play, a psychodrama disguised as a teen Rock n roll picture.  At barely over an hour, it features 50s Rock and roll, a send up of beat culture and a arresting performance by Dick Miller as the American version of England's "angry young man". Very much worth your time. On Tubi free with ads.

Rock And Roll High School Forever  (1991)

As much as I love the OG rock and roll high school,  something about this early 90s Corey Feldman starring straight to video affair hypnotizes, fascinates. A daughter of a witch whose eating habits include jello and fat from steak,  a teenage Rock and roll combo led by Corey Feldman, appliance worship,.About 10 times better than it needed to be and smarter than your average art house title. On youtube

..

Action Friday Continued

Action Friday

Tune in Tuesday #6 "Remote Control"

A video store clerk stumbles onto an alien plot to take over earth by brainwashing people with a bad '50s science fiction movie. He and his friends race to stop the aliens before the tapes can be distributed world-wide.

Director Jeff Leiberman made one of the best cult movies of the 70s with "Blue Sunshine " and made his idiosyncratic mark in the slasher genre with "Just before dawn". This 1988 entry is far less known/regarded. It is a unique,  campy and fun little nod to 1950s sci-fi and then current fads. Kevin Dilon is excellent as our lead, and the whole vibe is one of fascination at discovering some weird old sci-fi flick on a basic cable tv station at 3 am. 

Noirvember week 4: "Kiss Me Deadly" (screening)

A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".

I had the good fortune to catch this at a screening at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge.  One of the most brutal main Characters of any film noir, Mike Hammer here is a fascinating deconstruction of the hard boiled tough P.I. the movie comments upon the entire idea of the "Macguffin" as something that ought not to ever really be explained in stories, all that matters is that it gets our characters moving. A last act twist turns this into a almost sci-fi or even horror noir. One of the great films of the 1950s and A perfect way to cap off Noirvember.

Noirvember week 3 "Hangover Square"

A promising classical musician finds his life poisoned by a music hall dancer -- and by the strange gaps in his memory.

A fast paced and enthralling noir,  enhanced by a mesmerizing score by Bernard Hermann and a fiery climax,plus a very daring for its time scene were a corpse is burned in a guy fawkes day bonfire that still stuns. A underseen noir that deserves more attention.

Tune In Tuesday #5 "Rabid Grannies"

These little old ladies aren't baking toll house cookies anymore! Not since a mysterious parcel from Hell turned them into bloodthirsty monsters in support hose! When relatives eager to be included in their will drop by their spinster aunties' castle home to celebrate their birthdays, an outrageous combination of terror and laughs from the makers of "Surf Nazis Must Die" ensues.

If Luis Bunuel made a splatter film. This would be it. Social commentary,  gore to rival brain dead or bad taste, and a truly one of a kind vibe. The commentary from the guys at the hysteria continues podcast is worth the price alone. A stellar disc for a movie that is highly misunderstood. 

Noirvember week 2 "The Maltese Falcon "

The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette.

When I think of Film Noir,  I think The Maltese Falcon. Growing up my dad had a cheap cardboard and tin picture of Humphrey Bogart, framed in shadow, holding a gun

I knew that photo Before I even knew what a Movie was. I saw Maltese Falcon before I ever knew what a "film noir " even was.

 (Dad always called them "Detective Pictures ").

This is not only one of the best  film noirs, it's simply one of the greatest achievements in cinema.Watch it for Bogart, Watch it for the incomparable Peter Lorre. Watch it for its music, it's cinematography, its,vibe

 A best in class Detective picture.

Tune In Tuesday #4 Cthulhu Mansion

After a drug deal gone wrong, a group of punks attempt to flee a local amusement park by taking a mysterious old magician named Chandu (Frank Finlay; Lifeforce) and his beautiful daughter hostage. While trying to evade the police, the punks force Chandu to take them to his secluded mansion where they plan to seek refuge for the night and wait for the heat to die down. Unbeknownst to them, Chandu's obsession with the black arts and the occult has summoned an evil that not even he can control. As the house itself begins to terrorize and kill the trespassers, the survivors desperately attempt to uncover the horrifying secret to the mansion’s magical spells, along with Chandu’s own dark past...

Directed  by the incomparable JP Simon (Pieces) and with a definite early 90s Full Moon video feel, this one pleases with its outrageous creature effects, claustrophobic old dark house setting and sense of Eerie dread coupled with a gritty, home invasion plot. A criminally overlooked early 90s gem, perfect for a friday night beer and pizza watch.

Why I love my generation

I'm writing what would be a highly controversial post if anyone read my blog

Let me go on a bit about the virtues of my generation.

That would be millennial, uh mostly.

As all of you living, living dead and esp dead know, life is not that easy. You cannot draw a canonical line in the sand and say "here ends Gen X and here begins Gen Y" .us humans are funny like that, we are not math equations. 

I say this as a man born in the hallowed year of 1986, and I would hazard to say any "millenial" born in the 80s has a healthy streak of Gen X cynicism bred right in there fuckin bones. Double if you got Gen X Siblings or cousins.

How's this? My parents were Boomers! That is right, the fave hate of the Gen X.

As much as I love my Dad (rest Easy in Vallhalla,  King) and my mother who is the queen of the universe, I would never wanna be from there era. Three channels? No home media? Gas shortage? Fuck that. 

With that being said, I grew up with this kind of smirking adoration for my Gen X elders. You must not forget that the early 90s moved much,much slower than today.  What was huge in 1987 might only trickle down to a inner city kid by 1993, if at all. That's just how it was.

Its a strange thing,  to be old enough to remember a time before the internet  but young enough to see how it overtook the world. To respect on the one hand the healthy mistrust of authority by the preceding Gen X and hold out hope that the enthusiasm of the up and coming Zoomers is warranted (even if Gen X and Boomers keep thinking we are the same)

All in all I like streaming AND vinyl. I came up in the era of special edition CDs and TV On Dvd , I like ephemera. It's not better or worse than anything else, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Its my generation.

Fascinating little 80s Computer Curio "Interface "

It was Lou Diamond Phillips's first film role, as Punk #1. Primarily directed by Andy Anderson, Interface was a production of Anderson's film program at the University of Texas at Arlington. The film was scripted, acted, and initially directed entirely by UTA students.

Released by Vestron, it boasts a truly intriguing concept and a lot of no budget charm.

The film takes place on a fictional college campus. Davies, starring as a professor, discovers a secret society of masked hackers on campus; they seemingly kill his star pupil. Hobson attempts to uncover and neutralize the society, even as he himself becomes a suspect in his student's death.

I love 1980s portrayals of computers and hacking, and the underground activist, almost cult angle with the various ritual masks makes this one a can't miss.  Stream it on youtube.

Noirvember week 1 "I Wake Up Screaming "

This 1941 noir surprises with its moody camera and light work, wickedly sharp dialogue and a menacing streak of dark humor.

The plot concerns the old  "rags to riches" story, this time manufactured by our main suspect. When the beautiful blonde is murdered just as her star starts to rise, the police and audience must figure out who killed Vicky Lynn

One detail I loved was the use of the "somewhere over the rainbow" theme throughout the film. I don't see this one get talked of a lot, but it is a wonderful little Noir to kick off Noirvember.

Tune In Tuesday #3 "The Lamp"

from the back cover:

After a group of thieves decide to ransack the home of a strange, old Gypsy woman, murdering her in the process, they unwittingly free a vengeful genie named Jinn who has been held captive for centuries in an ancient oil lamp. Soon after, the lamp is acquired by a local museum. But as Alex Wallace, daughter of the museum's curator, decides to sneak a group of her friends into the museum after hours for a night of partying, she doesn't realize that Jinn is looking for a new 'keeper' and that Alex is the perfect vessel to carry out the genie's diabolical actions...

This one gets points for taking the "group of kids in an isolated location get killed off in creative ways 1 by 1" of the slasher movie and adds the twist of it being a evil Djinn, a giant, green glowing monster . It has a handmade charm and the death scenes are creative and the monster is spectacular,  not a lost classic by any means but a fun little genre effort for those that have seen the usual and want something a little different.  

Highly Enjoyable

Wednesday Double

Halloween

Tune In Tuesday #2: Halloween Double Feature!" Inn Of The Damned/Night Of Fear"

Both originally made for a Australian horror series called fright, both written and directed by Terry Bourke.

Satan bless the documentary not quite Hollywood.  It opened a world of Australian genre cinema to a generation raised on video store oddity, and it hit right as special edition blu rays were replacing dvds. 

This double feature from Terry Bourke features two segments originally made for Australian TV. Night of Horror, with its backwoods rural attack on a young blonde woman, prefigures the Texas Chainsaw,Massacre by two years. Itt is also a exercise in visual storytelling, it has no dialogue.

Inn of the damned is considered the first Australian horror western, taking place in 1890 and concerning a husband and wife who own an inn, who slaughter there victims as revenge for the death of there children.

Both movies feature excellent transfers and a wealth of extras, and are a great entry point into Australian Genre pictures of the late 20th century.  

More Halloween Horrorthon