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