This edition is brought to you by a discussion I had with a friend about Wicked Stepmother, which I can't say I've seen. Somehow, though, I find the fact that Bette Davis's last film was a Larry Cohen schlockfest a little amusing and a LOT depressing. It's Bette fucking Davis, y'all! Even though by the time this film rolled around (1989) she'd already been dead for seven years but didn't yet realize it...I don't know, she deserved better. Of course, as I said, I've never seen it, so it could be an amazing film for all I know. There are conflicting stories as to why Davis only appears in part of the movie; quoth the imdb trivia:
According to Ms. Davis, she was so disgusted by the script that she demanded it be rewritten, and left when the filmmakers refused. The script was then reshaped to explain her absence. Larry Cohen says Davis had to leave for New York for medical reasons and that she later claimed she left because of the script because she was worried she wouldn't be able to get another job if people thought she was in too bad health.Yeah, that poster for It's Alive with the hand emerging in a sinister fashion from the bassinet is the one that absolutely terrified me when I was a wee bonny lass. Effective poster, I guess!
Is that a bassinet? I don't know from baby accessories and accoutrements.
Note the lack of posters for last year's Captivity (written by Cohen), because...fuck Captivity.
Yeah, that poster for It's Alive with the hand emerging in a sinister fashion from the bassinet is the one that absolutely terrified me when I was a wee bonny lass. Effective poster, I guess!
ReplyDeleteChange “lass” to “lad” and you took the words right out of my mouth.
LOVE the *Q - The Winged Serpent* poster! Awesome. And Michael Moriarty is so amazingly amazing in that film.
ReplyDeleteThere's gotta be a good poster for *God Told Me To* out there somewhere
Still one of the weirdest moments in home video watching was putting that movie in and unexpectedly seeing Andy Kaufman, in police uniform, go on a shooting spree.
I think the IT'S ALIVE poster must be one of the best of all time. I'm not sure the movie itself is as frightening or provocative. I remember the paperback found it's way to our home when I was a child. I would stare at that image and imagine the most heinous things attached to that claw hand. Plus the tag line "There's only one thing wrong with the Davis baby..." Is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI love "You have the right to remain silent... FOREVER" as the tagline for Maniac Cop, buut they just went and reused the exact same tagline for the sequel? What a cheat! They should've gone with "Anything you say can and will be used against you... IN HELL!"
ReplyDeleteSidenote: I've really enjoyed adding the phrase "In Hell!" to the end of every sentence this week.
And then for Maniac Cop 3, they could've had "You have the right to have an attorney present... as you die!" Or something such.
Miranda rights rule!
Yeah, that poster for It's Alive with the hand emerging in a sinister fashion from the bassinet is the one that absolutely terrified me when I was a wee bonny lass. Effective poster, I guess!
ReplyDeleteChange “lass” to “lad” and you took the words right out of my mouth.
Change "lass" to "lad" and "poster" to "video store box" and you took the words right out of my mouth.
I'm pretty much an Larry Cohen ignoranus. Maniac Cop ruled and Black Caesar was badass (aside from the less-than necessary rape scene). The El Condor and Hell Up in Harlem look equally badass.
But Q & The Stuff definitely makes me want to catch their respective flicks most, image-wise.
I'm not sure if it is the poster, or just the title or what but I really want to see "The Stuff" now.
ReplyDeleteAlso I'd like to second your "fuck "Captivity"
and crap, I was just finally getting over being angry about Veronica Mars getting canceled.
I've had a copy of The Stuff sitting on a shelf for years and never watched it; I think I just might have to make tonight that very special night. Thanks for taking the burdensome decision of what to do tonight right outta my hands, Stacie!
ReplyDeleteMy mom was pregnant with my little brother when we saw It's Alive at the drive-in. She was freaked for weeks. I love that movie & it always makes me think of my brother.
ReplyDeleteI remembered Q and The Stuff being so much better than they actually are until I saw them again last year :P The Stuff still has a special place in my hear though. And, yes, fuck Captivity.
ReplyDelete@ja- have you seen Psycho Cop 2? lol. Its chock full-o-awesome one liners.
I was first introduced to Larry Cohen by a positively intriguing poster I found rummaging around the West Hollywood Book Fair. The title of the film was "Bone" and it featured a large black man holding a rat. The tagline was "Love him before he loves you." It just so happened Bone was playing a couple weeks later along with God Told Me To. And seriously- Bone is one of the best films I've ever seen. Yaphet Kotto and Joyce Van Patten tear it UP!
ReplyDeletewes - Sheepishly I must admit I haven't seen either Maniac Cop parts 1 or 2... off to my queue I go!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a copy of the Stuff... I love that movie.
ReplyDeleteNo love for "God Told Me To"? Tsk, tsk.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1020/381663.1020.A.jpg
ReplyDeleteGOD TOLD ME TO!!!!
SERIOUSLY!!!!!!
Abduct Captivity, tie Captivity up, torture Captivity and then fuck it!
ReplyDeleteFolks, cut me some slack. I did a search for the God Told Me To poster and nothing came up save the shitty DVD cover. Anonymous, however, came through and I appreciate the link. Apparently anonymous feels very strongly about this film, as is evident by all the caps and exclamation marks.
ReplyDelete"Yaphet Kotto and Joyce Van Patten tear it UP!"
Best endorsement of anything EVER.
Usually, Larry Cohen's name on stuff means that there's something decent to it - for CAPTIVITY, I wonder exactly how much of his original script remains in the final product.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't checked out any of the films, go immediately to your video store and/or your Netflix queue!
More Cohen goodness - he created the show THE INVADERS which will be out on DVD in a few months.
Cohen is one of those writers / directors that comes up with great premises ("a dragon lives on top of a skyscraper!...Killer babies!...A dessert that kills people!") that make you want to run out and see them, but when you do, realize they were better premises than films.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to love his work, but have yet to.
ja - No, no, Not Maniac Cop 1 & 2. Psycho Cop 1 & 2 lol. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107894/) And please, for the love of god, dont watch those.
ReplyDelete"You have the right to remain dead. Anything you say can and will be considered very strange because you're dead."
That poster for The Stuff is pretty cool. I remember the video box for that one from when I was a kid. Man, now I really want to see it.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who loves that poster for Body Snatchers:The Invasion Continues? It's soooo creepy.
killer yogurt... i wish i'd been a fly on the wall when he pitched that one.
ReplyDeletecohen's aren't particularly great, but they have an odd charm i can't quite place my finger on. one thing i really like is that he almost always includes funny and honest commentary tracks on his movies. his tracks are often more entertaining than the movie itself...
and wes... your tagline made me laugh loudly, which scared my dog.
Oh, and, yep, that's a bassinet.
ReplyDeleteHey GOD TOLD ME TO is fantastic! I love it and the Blue Underground version on dvd is well worth it. Here in the UK we love it for the shot of the mothership which is actaully a craft from the Jerry (thunderbirds) Anderson TV Series Space 1999! and it's got a space jesus in it...
ReplyDeleteActually, wasn't Andy Kauffman in "God Told Me To"?
ReplyDelete@Chris Cooke...
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's pretty jarring when you see that the 'aliens' are actually Moonbase Alphans...
which would make GOD TOLD ME TO a really weird episode of SPACE:1999, probably.
Yeah, I remember the scene that poster from Q is based on. Great dialogue.
ReplyDelete"Hi! I'm Q! Or that's what folks around here call me, haha... Anyway, I was just about to tuck into this woman here. Shall I fetch you one? It's no trouble, really! Oh, yeah, this is my skyscraper. No, no, it's not bad is it? Only thing better than the penthouse is the roof, I always say!"
Mind you, that's just the draft the poster was based on. I think Cohen revised it later.
-Jonathan
Excellent work on a subject dear to me. While the It Lives Again poster is fine, it's the VHS cover - featuring most of a birthday cake - that really stuck with me from my rental shop days.
ReplyDeleteA too-small pic here.
Heh... you think the poster and video cover for It's Alive are creepy...
ReplyDelete... you should have caught teaser for the flick they were showing on television back in the '70's.
I was pretty horror'd-boiled even then, but this thing gave me the complete willies:
http://tinyurl.com/36uxk4
Watching it even today gives me chills where I don't normally get chills.
Probably the best trailer for a horror film I've seen to this day.
It's Alive was rated PG? Ah, the old days, before PG-13 horror.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous
ReplyDeleteappreciated your response:
"Yeah, it's pretty jarring when you see that the 'aliens' are actually Moonbase Alphans...
which would make GOD TOLD ME TO a really weird episode of SPACE:1999, probably."
But after just a couple of weeks didn't EVERY episode of Space 1999 just go utterly bonkers!?