Friday The 13th At The Home Drive-In: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) by #RobHedden
w/ #TiffanyPaulsen #KaneHodder

Jason Voorhees stalks a ship full of high school grads heading to New York City.

“The Big Apple’s in BIG trouble!”
“The city that has seen it all ain’t seen nothing yet!.”

#Horror #Slasher #FridayThe13th
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn
#FridayThe13thAtTheHomeDriveIn

I remember Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) hitting the big screen. I was working part time in a restaurant, and one of the other cooks went to see it. He told me it was so bad it was hilarious. I didn’t know if that was a compliment or an insult – but I didn’t really care, because I had more or less stopped watching after Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning (1985). I hated that movie when it first came out. And I wasn’t too fond of the idea that Jason had returned in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), either. I loved Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) and thought ti was a perfect ending for the series… I’ve probably already said this in my other Friday the 13th posts, so I’ll cut this short. I grew to love ALL of the Friday the 13th movies – some for different reasons than others. And Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is no exception… Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Monster from Green Hell (1957)

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Poster for Monster from Green Hell (1957)Monster from Green Hell (1957) by #KennethGCrane

w/#JimDavis #RobertGriffin #JoelFluellen

“The mammoth monster that terrified the Earth! Too awesome to describe! Too terrifying to escape! Too powerful to stop!”

“Atomic mutations with an appetite for flesh!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

A lot of the running time of Monster from Green Hell (1957) is taken up by stock footage and scenes taken from Stanley and Livingstone (1939). Even so, Monster from Green Hell is a wonder, and a delight, and a must-see for fans of #NotQuiteClassicCinema – but perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself… Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Kronos (1957)

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Poster for Kronos (1957)Kronos (1957) by #KurtNeumann
w/#JeffMorrow #BarbaraLawrence

An alien robot ravages the countryside intent on absorbing Earth’s energy.

“PLANET ROBBER TRAMPLES EARTH…STEALING ENERGY FOR OTHER WORLDS!”

“The Most Incredible MONSTER of All Time!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I saw Kronos (1957) on late night TV when I was young – and it’s tempting to believe it was on my favourite weekly showcase of old black and white monster movies, Not Quite Classic Theatre. But by the time I stumbled onto Kronos, Not Quite Classic Theatre had already gone to that great TV show graveyard in the sky… or, rather, off the air. One of my local TV stations decided to try their hand at a similar format, and I believe they called it The Killer B. I don’t think The KIller B lasted more than a few weeks, which is too bad because with Not Quite Classic Theatre gone, I really could have used something to take its place.   Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Terror in the Haunted House (1958)

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Poster for Terror in the Haunted House (1958)Terror in the Haunted House /
My World Dies Screaming (1958) by #HaroldDaniels
w/#GeraldMohr #CathyODonnell

A newlywed is terrified when her husband brings her to live in the old house she’s been seeing in her nightmares.

“The first motion picture in… Psycho-Rama! The fourth dimension! Subliminal communication!”

#Horror
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I was excited to see Terror in the Haunted House (1958) last week because it appeared to be a haunted house movie which I had never seen before. I noticed that it was also known as My World Dies Screaming (1958), but I didn’t think anything of that (other than that it was kind of a cool sounding alternate title). When the movie began, I was immediately in haunted house heaven as a woman’s voice started speaking overtop of black and white images of an old mansion in the country: Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Terror from the Year 5000 (1958)

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Poster for Terror from the Year 5000 (1958)Terror from the Year 5000 (1958) by #RobertJGurneyJr
w/#WardCostello #JoyceHolden

A female from the future arrives seeking males to rejuvenate her doomed race.

“From Time Unborn … A Hideous She-Thing!”

”Hey, this thing’s radioactive. It’s hotter than a firecracker.”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema

Terror from the Year 5000 (1958) is one of the movies I referred to last week, when I noted that it was sometimes paired with The Brain Eaters (1958) as a double bill. I mentioned that I had never seen Terror from the Year 5000, and vowed that I would have to to track it down and watch it. Well… that’s exactly what happened. I should probably also note that I predicted that Terror from the Year 5000 would not be as good as The Brain Eaters. Was I right? Sort of… but it’s a little more complicated than that…  Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Brain Eaters (1958)

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Poster for The Brain Eaters (1958)The Brain Eaters (1958) by #BrunoVeSota
w/#EdNelson #JodyFair #LeonardNimoy

Parasites from the centre of the earth take control of people’s minds.

“Crawling, slimy things terror-bent on destroying the world!”

“What are the parasites, where do they come from, what do they want from us?”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

It’s been a long week, and I’ve barely had enough sleep. I feel like the brain eaters have gotten to me. And what I mean by that, is that I feel like my brain is gone, or mostly gone, or not functioning properly. That’s what I would expect the brain eaters to do to a person; literally eat their brains. The brain eaters in The Brain Eaters (1958), however, don’t seem to do that. No, they seem to take control of the person’s brain, and by doing so, take control of their body. So, shouldn’t the movie be called The Brain Controllers, or The Body Controllers, or… something like that?  Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)

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Poster for I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) by #HerbertLStrock
w/#WhitBissell #PhyllisCoates

Professor Frankenstein creates a hulking teenager from the body of an accident victim – and it goes on a killing spree.

“Body of a boy! Mind of a monster! Soul of an unearthly thing!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

As I may have mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Blood of Dracula (1957). Not sure why it appeals to me so much, but it does. Nostalgia plays a big part, I’m sure. But there’s also something about it that just works for me. It was made very shortly after I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957), and was meant to cash in on the former movies’s success. Well, guess what? I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) was also rushed into production because of I Was A Teenage Werewolf, and both movies were produced by Herman Cohen. They were also sent out together as a double feature. So how is it that I never saw I Was a Teenage Frankenstein before last Friday? Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)

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Poster art for The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)The Hideous Sun Demon (1958) by #RobertClarke
w/#PatriciaManning #NanPeterson

Due to radiation, a scientist becomes a murderous lizard when he’s exposed to sunlight.

“The Blaze Of The Sun Made Him A Monster!”

“Thermodynamic horror from outer space!”

“Whiskey and soda mix, not whiskey and science.”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Hideous Sun Demon (1958) was produced, directed, and cowritten by its star, Robert Clarke. Technically, he co-directed (according to the IMDb) with a guy named Tom Boutross, but it looks like Boutross didn’t ever direct much else (just some TV episodes many years later), so I will assume that Robert Clarke was pretty much in charge on the set. Most of Boutross’ credits were as an editor, and he edited The Hideous Sun Demon, in fact. So perhaps he influenced the finished product so much that Clarke credited him as a co-director. Who knows? Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Bride and the Beast (1958)

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Poster for The Bride and the Beast (1958)The Bride and the Beast (1958) by #AdrianWeiss
Co-written by #EdwardDWoodJr
w/#CharlotteAustin #LanceFuller

A newlywed in Africa reveals, through hypnosis, a previous link to her husband’s pet gorilla.

“Human prey of a giant gorilla on her wedding night!”

“Please Don’t Tell What Happens To The Bride!”

#Horror #EdWood
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I would have liked to work at a video store. I mean back when I was a teenager, or young adult. I got my first job (not counting a paper route) when I was 16, and it was in a restaurant. At first, I mainly washed dishes, cleaned tables, and swept and mopped the floors. Eventually, I worked my way up to operating the cash register and cooking. After two or three years I switched restaurants, and continued cooking. It was while I was working at a third restaurant, that I finally hit the wall. I was tired of getting cut and burned and going home smelling like grease and smoke. I was also tired of the abusive behaviour of my bosses. Nowadays, they would call that third restaurant a “toxic work environment” – and it really was.

By chance, that horrible place was right across the parking lot from a Jumbo Video store. I used to rent movies there all the time. It was great because it was open 24 hours. No matter what time of night you had the urge to watch an obscure slasher film, or cheap action movie, you could be sure to find one there. I may have talked about this place before…

Store front of Jumbo Video at night.

 

One day after work, I was waking home past Jumbo Video when I noticed a sign in the window: Help Wanted. It was like a bolt of lightning hit me. I hated my current job. Why not work at a video store? Continue reading →

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Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Killer Shrews (1959)

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Poster for The Killer Shrews (1959)The Killer Shrews (1959) by #RayKellogg
w/#JamesBest #IngridGoude

A maniacal scientist transforms tiny shrews into giant, man-killing beasts.

“Ravaging beasts feed on human flesh!”

“They had to eat 3 times their body weight each day… OR STARVE!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

When I was a kid, I watched The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985) every Friday night. I suppose it wasn’t far off from being an early version of a  Friday Night at the Home Drive-in. There’s something about that show that feels like each episode in a mini-drive-in movie. The kind about cool cars and moonshine and corrupt Southern sheriffs. I suppose Macon County Line (1974) and Jackson County Jail (1976) might be examples of a sort. In any case, I loved watching the Dukes outwit Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane week after week. I thought the two actors who portrayed those lovable villains – Sorrell Booke and James Best – were a brilliant comedy team, like Abbott and Constello or Bert and Ernie (I was a kid, remember). I enjoyed watching their comedic mishaps as much as Bo and Luke’s victories – maybe more. Continue reading →

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