Friday night at the home drive-in: It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) by #EdwardLCahn

w/#MarshallThompson #ShirleyPatterson

In the distant future – 1973 – a rescue team is sent to find out what happened to the first manned flight to Mars.

“It has to kill us or starve and we’ve got to kill it or die.”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) must surely have been an influence on the makers of Alien (1979). There were others, of course. Planet of the Vampires (1965) is often talked about – and deservedly so. Shivers (1975) may have been another, less talked about inspiration. But watching It! The Terror from Beyond Space last week, all I could think about were the similarities to Dan O’Bannon’s (and Ridley Scott’s) masterpiece.  Continue reading

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

Poster for The Land Unknown (1957)The Land Unknown (1957) by #VirgilWVogel

w/#JockMahoney #ShirleyPatterson

Three men and a woman crash-land in a deep crater in Antarctica, where they find a prehistoric world.

“Lost and Terrorized in Prehistoric Time.”

#SciFi #Horror #Fantasy
#Dinosaurs
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I always loved movies about lost worlds and dinosaurs, but The Land Unknown (1957) is not a movie I remember seeing when I was  young. King Kong (1933) I remember, and I watched it whenever it was on TV. Later on I added King Kong (1976) to the regular watch list as well. It’s possible I saw The Land Unknown at some point, but if I did it didn’t make a lasting impression. Continue reading

Trash Or Terror Tuesday: The Forsaken (2001)

It’s time for #TrashOrTerrorTuesday

…when I examine a film that’s been languishing in my personal library to determine if it is #Trash or #Terror

– or more importantly, if it deserves to stay in my collection.

And so, out from the dusty shelves of #VHS tapes & DVDs comes…

DVD cover for The Forsaken (2001)

The Forsaken (2001) by #JSCardone

w/ #KerrSmith #BrendanFehr #IzabellaMiko #JohnathonSchaech #PhinaOruche #CarrieSnodgress
 
A young man hired to drive a car cross-country picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a vampire hunter.
 
“The night… has an appetite.”
 
#Horror #Vampires
#TrashOrTerrorTuesday

 

Somewhere along the way I picked up a DVD copy of The Forsaken (2001), knowing nothing about it. I recall being pleasantly surprised by it, so I added it to my personal library. Fast forward a few years, and I couldn’t remember anything about it. So, I figured I might as well put it to the #TrashOrTerrorTuesday test.

Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by it. The review on the front of the box compares it to The Lost Boys (1987), and that’s not a completely ridiculous thing to say, as it involves a gang of vampires and a relatively cool soundtrack. It even features a couple of songs by Nickelback before they took the world by storm (I know that some will say this is a minus, not a plus, but I will make no such judgment).

The cast features Brendan Fehr, who is from Winnipeg (my home town), where he appeared is a movie called Hand (1998). I should probably be featuring that one on #TrashOrTerrorTuesday, as it is undeniably trash (and not the good kind) – but unfortunately (I mean very, very fortunately) I do not own a copy. But seriously, if I did own a copy (and I might actually buy it for a decent price – what’s wrong with me?) I would probably have to feature it on #MadeInManitobaMonday. But I digress…

The Forsaken is a much better movie than Hand. It’s not as good as The Lost Boys, but who would expect it to be? The cast is solid – and that includes former Winnipegger Brendan Fehr. I should mention that Fehr has appeared in other movies I like, including Disturbing Behavior (1998), Christina’s House (2000), and Silent Night (2012). Most would probably know him from Final Destination (2000) and Roswell (1999-2002).

In The Forsaken, Fehr plays a vampire hunter who is searching for the vampire who once bit him (to stop himself from turning). He believes it might be one of the gang that he encounters with Kerr Smith’s character, Sean – who is trying to deliver an expensive car across the country and attend his sister’s wedding. Much violent action ensues…

So what’s the verdict?

The Forsaken (2001) is a moderate Terror. It has great action, some legitimate suspense, and a few moments that could be described as scary. There is fair bit of nudity – and some sexy vampire antics – as well, which perhaps adds a touch of Trash to the mix (but this is the good kind of Trash). All in all, I enjoyed The Forsaken quite a bit (for the second time), and I will be keeping the DVD in my collection.

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