Hikmet Avedis, "The Teacher" (1974).

c. David Grim (taken 5/24/08)

Ok... there's a lunatic driving a hearse, running around spying on pretty girls, and keeping his belongings in a coffin on the floor of an abandoned factory. But wait... over here is a stunning 28-year old teacher seducing an 18-year old ex-student (and son of her best friend). These two threads converge in the 1974-drive-in classic, "The Teacher". Fun and games is had by all.

Anthony James, the actor who plays the aforementioned pervert (who has recently returned from soldiering in Vietnam) is truly deranged looking. In the opening shots his character is seen running around gleefully stalking his object-of-obsession. His presence right from the beginning foreshadows some obvious nastiness, and the resulting anticipation drives the viewer's interest throughout the movie. Still, the prospect of seeing lead female Angel Tomkins sans her hip 70's wardrobe is just as enticing, if in an entirely different way. In fact it's her qualities that ultimately make this film work. Had the filmmakers chosen a less desirable actress, this would not have been nearly as fun.

And watching this type of thing (when it contains all the necessary exploitative elements) is certainly fun. Add in a recognizable face (child actor Jay North of "Dennis the Menace" fame, who spends the majority of his spare time paneling the inside of his van), and now you have amusement AND context. The acting and dialog sometimes fail to rise to professional standards, but the opportunity to see situations presented in a manner well outside the cinematic mainstream, along with some well-placed nudity, makes it all seem somehow worthwhile.

I'm not going to fully summarize the plot here, mostly because with this kind of affair that kind of analysis is fully beside the point. Suffice it to say that there is some romance, creepiness, violence, and humor thrown into the blender. What makes this so worthwhile is the glimpse into an era that is now long-past and is in no danger of being replicated. If you want to develop some perspective about how our country has changed in the last 40 years (and much of it decidedly NOT for the better), then sit down with "The Teacher". After all, it's not just teenage boys who need this kind of guidance.

Joseph Ruben, "The Sister-In-Law" (1974).

c. David Grim (taken 5/4/08)

Here's something to get your mind off of whatever particular brand of winter blues you suffer from- "The Sister-In-Law". This flick gives you just about everything you could ask for. It's got a couple of fine looking, groovy 70's chicks with sass and style. Settings range from tree-lined country roads, to a swank Manhattan walk-up, to a truly opulent suburban McMansion in West Chester. There is plenty to marvel at including a lot of very odd artwork interspersed throughout.

The basic story includes the rivalry between a struggling writer and his castabout amateur philosopher brother (played well by John Savage, the only truly recognizable actor in the cast), and the inevitably tragic consequences. Savage comes home from his travels to find the titular character living with his parents during a time of marital separation. That would be cause enough for mild scandal, even if she did not intend on getting revenge on her wayward husband by sleepng with his younger sibling.

When the older brother makes the scene he eventually brings by his mistress, who promptly finds herself attacked in the pool by the wife. This follows a water-basketball match between the brothers that devolves into violence. Its good stuff, and sets off a series of events that results in the ultimate treachery. I won't spoil that by going into too many details, but if you are truly interested in seeing this due to my bare sketch of an outline, then you might not want to read any further.

What really distinguishes this potboiler from its B-grade kin is its script. It includes some delightfully quotable witticisms and rejoinders. At one point, the young buck is in a phone conversation with his brother and says, "I've had your wife and your mistress and I threw your heroin in a mountain stream". It's a defining moment and one that instantly elevates "The Sister-In-law" to classic status. Naturally there's a price to pay... but really, for that kind of cold dis, no price is too high.

Additionally, Savage's competence as an actor is overshadowed by his work on the score. His singing and composing efforts add something indelible to the proceedings. Listen carefully to the lyrics to get some insight into the thought process of the screenwriters, as well as a laugh or two. Throw in a cast of colorfully cheesy mobsters, and all the ingredients are in place for a well-spent hour-and-a-half in front of the tube.

William Wesley's "Scarecrows".

c. David Grim (taken 10/23/10)*

Lately I've been starting to catch up on the huge backlog of DVD's I bought over the years and never took the time to watch. Several different factors have led to this eventuality. Over the past year I have become extremely conscious of money, and I'm just not buying movies (and other pop culture detritus) with the same easygoing manner that I used to have. Usually I make a couple of bulk purchases from Amazon every year, but I didn't do it this year. Additionally, a lot of the video rental outlets that used to put interesting stuff on their pre-viewed shelves have since closed. And that's a shame.

But I have had fun seeing some of the stuff I have been saving for a "rainy day". I've been going through the whole run of McSweeney's DVD magazine of shorts entitled Wholphin. My friend and I will get together and I'll pop in the disc with no idea about what we'll be seeing. the accompanying hint of being on a voyage of discovery is fun. I'd recommend the series without reservations, especially since all of the volumes are still readily available at reasonable prices.

The season has also prompted me to watch a horror film I've been sitting on for awhile. "Scarecrows" was made in 1988 by William Wesley- a man who has made exactly two feature films over his career. It involves a group of bank robbers in paramilitary gear who hijack a plane and then parachute into a rural area once one of their number attempts a betrayal. they spend a lot of time hovering around a mysterious backwoods house that has been 'abandoned', and running around a spooky cornfield while trying to catch up with their erstwhile colleague. Obviously there are a number of scarecrows placed haphazardly throughout the landscape.

"Scarecrows" definitely has quite a bit of cheese to choke on. The acting is pretty bad, the writing is disjointed and often sophomoric, and the editing leaves a lot to be desired. The atmosphere, much commented upon in the Amazon reviews I initially read about the movie, was actually sort of tainted by poor lighting and the sense that the actors were running around a remarkably small set. Yet there was still something about this flick that kept me from being pissed for having eagerly awaited its release on the DVD format, and spending the 80 minutes (or so) to actually watch it.

I'm not exactly sure how to characterize Wesley's intention. There is more than a little suggestion of ol' fire-and-brimstone Christianity in this script, and in the visual symbolism. The Golgotha-like placement of the crosses that hold the scarecrows is a bit ham-handed, but it makes the viewer suspect there is a bit more concept in all of this than in your typical 80's slasher. Some folks might be put off by the lack of concrete answers and explanation for the odd events that occur throughout, as well as the complete evasion of any attempt to explore an origination story for the monsters. But others will simply marvel at the cheap special effects that somehow give the impression that the filmmakers want to make you shrink away in disgust.

* Not that I ever feel particularly compelled to draw a strong connection between the posts and the images here... but today they share very little in common.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

c. David Grim (taken 8/28/10)

If you've ever watched Abel Ferrara's 1992 feature "Bad Lieutenant", you'd likely agree that a re-make would be silly, and a sequel gratuitous. If you came across a DVD case advertising "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" that featured Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendes on the cover, there's a good chance you'd probably assume that it was unnecessary hackery... and continue your search for some foreign art house or indie title. Or alternatively you might assume that an action-packed night with such a cast met your requirements for thoughtless entertainment. You'd be wrong to base your actions on any of these preconceptions.

Against all proper expectations, one of the world's greatest living film directors made "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans". Werner Herzog has made some of the most challenging and high-concept films of the last half-century. Indeed he has built a reputation employing the most intense actors (such as the infamous Klaus Kinski), and achieving the most incredible cinematic feats (such as building an apparatus to carry a steamship over a tropical mountain). Why would he muss about with the legend of a B-movie cult hit centered around the hammy performance of a barely-contained Harvey Keitel? I guess the best answer to that is that old chestnut- Because He Can!

Sure, Herzog does concern himself with matters of great import. Man vs. nature, obsession, delusions of grandeur, and something called "ecstatic truth". But that doesn't mean that he can't do it with an American cast and setting (including such luminaries as Brad Dourif, Michael Shannon, Val Kilmer, and Shea Whigham) . In fact, the post-Katrina landscape makes sense as a Herzog locale. And the increasingly disconnected Cage seems an obvious choice for a Herzog "protagonist". Ultimately the story of a cop becoming increasingly unhinged and singlemindedly pursuing his goals without concern for conventional morality or methods is absolutely within the purview of this distinguished auteur. Just have a look at his earlier films for the proper context.

But what is surprising about Herzog's depiction of a man unravelling is the eventual outcome. As modern day movie-watchers we have been trained to expect a specific set of consequences when a character's decisions become more and more erratic. Herzog has never shied away from thwarting expectations. The awful beauty of his cinematic choices delivers exactly what we might seek when we choose to watch one of his films. Yet we are never on firm ground when we assume that we can anticipate the destination. That's what makes viewing a Herzog product so damned scintillating. And this one is certainly no exception.