Frank's Movie Log

Rob Zombie’s directorial debut. In the late 70s, four road-tripping college-age kids visit “Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters & Madmen.” Sid Haig plays Spaulding as a combination carnival barker and clown, with a memorable mix of crass humor and menace. When the kids inquire about the local legend of Dr. Satan, Spaulding directs them to a local house where they encounter an all-too-real demented family. Continue reading...

A faux true-crime documentary covering the drowning death of a teenage girl. The performances convince and the narrative piles twist upon twist with deft precision. Every revelation feels earned, even as the film inches closer and closer to Twin Peaks-style horror. Add a star if you’re a true-crime or documentary fan, but the style kept me at arm’s length though I appreciated the craftsmanship. Great surround mix.

In a psychiatric hospital several years after the first film, Ricky, the younger brother of the first film’s killer, recounts the events leading to his incarceration. He begins by re-telling the first movie. I knew going in that this entry recycled a ton of footage. Maybe this lessened the sense of feeling cheated. Regardless, I enjoyed this highlight reel of the first film’s sleazy bits. Continue reading...

Dorothy Mackaill plays a wealthy heiress who falls for an aviation engineer played by Humphrey Bogart. He’s developed a revolutionary new airplane engine but neglects his struggling company to romance her. Continue reading...

A Deliverance knock-off that outdoes its inspiration—at least for the first half. A group of doctors travel into the Canadian wilderness planning to hike out over several days. Where Deliverance showcased the river’s beauty and power, Rituals revels in the land’s brutality. The cinematography finds majesty in savagery as the doctors endure jagged rocks, boggy swamps, and flies. Tons of flies. These early sequences pay off when the doctors awake the first morning to find their boots missing. This proves the first incursion by an unseen assailant determined to torture and kill the group. Continue reading...

A dark farcical take on The Most Dangerous Game pitting America’s political extremes against one another. The biting satire takes no sides, and its nihilistic message—that only a sociopath can survive—resonated. It’s not without problems—an immigrant sub-plot makes no sense, and a certain actress’s reveal proves anticlimactic despite her terrific performance—but this film feels refreshingly dangerous. How else to explain one of my biggest laughs coming when a woman gets shot point-blank in the face?

A superior sequel to Scorpion’s Revenge that eschews overwrought plot in favor of a simple story comprising one long tournament interspersed with ninja fights and some great quips from Joel McHale. Bonus points for all the callbacks to the games’ special moves. Proof less can be more.

Vince Vaughn plays the Blissfield Butcher, a destitute serial killer who stabs a mousey teen played by Kathryn Newton with a magical dagger, causing the two to switch bodies. Continue reading...

While teaching a film course at Sarah Lawrence College, Brian De Palma devised a learn-by-doing curriculum. His students would write, produce, and direct a feature under his supervision. But as the project unfolded, the budget grew. Kirk Douglas came aboard to star and De Palma took over directing duties. The result harkens back to De Palma’s early farcical black comedies. Continue reading...

In a New York City overflowing with muggers, obscene phone callers, and murderous snipers, Elliott Gould plays a nihilistic photographer who finds himself pursued by flighty optimist Marcia Rodd. It’s a black comedy that never winks at the audience despite its ever escalating level of insanity. Continue reading...