Richard Matheson concludes his adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles with the final episode, The Martians. It brought the miniseris to a close on 29 January, 1980. The Earth is dead. But Wilder (Rock Hudson) returns to see if there are any survivors. Despite the charred appearance of the Earth in space, it seems…
Tag: makeup
Get Smart (1969) – Physician Impossible, The Apes of Rath, and Age Before Duty
Physician Impossible first aired on 21 November, 1969. It was written by Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell. Early in the day, while working undercover, Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) shoots and injures a high profile criminal, Big Eddie Little (Henry Corden). Later, when he goes to visit 99 (Barbara Feldon) and the twins in the hospital,…
Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) – Kevin Yagher
Kevin Yagher was so upset with how Miramax recut and handled his Hellraiser sequel. They changed the narrative, removed character and narrative moments, and he couldn’t get his version of the story to the screen. The result is not great, it’s not exactly horrible, but it could have been a damn sight better. The story…
Horror in the High Desert (2021) – Dutch Marich
This one started out solidly enough, but by the time it ended, I was wondering how it spawned a number of sequels. The last fifteen minutes of the film, the real found footage part of the story, is shoddy at best. The story follows a series of talking heads, as they attempt to delve into…
Splash (1984) – Ron Howard
Splash remains a magical, enjoyable and funny experience, though some of it hasn’t aged as well as it could have. What it does have is able direction by Ron Howard, wonderful comedic turns by Tom Hanks, John Candy and Eugene Levy, and a beguiling role for Daryl Hannah. It’s a fun little love story that…
Get Smart (1966) – The Amazing Harry Hoo, Hubert’s Unfinished Symphony, and Ship of Spies: Part 1
Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) teams up with Hawaiian detective Harry Hoo (Joey Forman) to track down his old enemy, The Claw (Leonard Strong) in The Amazing Harry Hoo. Written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, this episode was first broadcast on 12 March, 1966. The episode is a little problematic in that you have a…
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004) – Episodes 1
On October 17, 2004, eighteen months after that heartbreaking ending to the series, Farscape returned to screens. The Peacekeeper Wars was a two night miniseries written by series creator Rockne S. O’Bannon and David Kemper. Brian Henson directs the first feature length episode that sees John Crichton (Ben Browder) and Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black) reassembled,…
Terrifier (2016) – Damien Leone
Let’s get this out of the way, Art the Clown is a very cool creation, and a very deadly mime. That being said, the narrative around the character and the way the film is shot left a little to be desired. Trapped in a rough script, the film is luridly garish, but its uninspired cinematography…
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) – Charles Lamont
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello make their final Universal Monster movie with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. I’m not sure if I think this one is better, worse or equal to Meet the Invisible Man. I do know that Meet Frankenstein is their best. This time out, the pair are a couple of would-be…
Demons (1985) – Lamberto Bava
I am long overdue in coming to the Demons series that sees Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento working together to deliver a non-stop gorefest hinged on the flimsiest of plots. The plot isn’t the point, even the characters aren’t too important coming across as little more than stereotypes, instead it’s all about the practical and…
The Mind Reels 