I recently compiled a bunch of my posts, edited them and added some bonus illustrations then made a zine. You can now read Terrible Movie Nights #1 in a handy paper format. It's for the sale in the newly created Store. Check it out!
I was at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, OR this April where I debuted the zine. While there I made my first trip to the Goodwill "bins" which is a Portland thrifting institution that I had never experienced. Just my luck, I found a ton of awesome horror VHS and I bought all I could carry. The next couple of months should be fun as I work my way through.
Watched May 5, 2013
1987
Starring: Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, Lisa Schrage, Louis Ferreira.
It begins in 1957, at the prom. Mary Lou (Lisa Schrage) has a steady date, her boyfriend Bill. While he goes to get some punch, Mary Lou heads behind the bleachers to make out with Buddy. She talks to Buddy while they grind on each other about how she is only dating Bill because he's rich. Bill goes looking for Mary Lou, overhears this and pulls Mary Lou off Buddy. Bill is pissed that Mary Lou is cheating on him but she doesn't seem to care either way. The terrible Mary Lou is crowned prom queen, as she is onstage Bill throws a stink bomb he found in the bathroom at her. Instead of stinking up the place, the fuse ignites her gown and she quickly goes up in flames. No one tries to put her out, they just watch her burn to death.
Flash forward 30 years, we meet Vicki (Wendy Lyon), a good christian girl who happens to be dating Bill's son, Craig (Louis Ferreira.) Bill (Michael Ironside) is now the principal of the high school where Mary Lou died. Vicki's conservative parents are allowing her to go to prom but they don't have money to let her buy a new dress. She checks out the drama department's prop basement to see if there's something she can wear. While in the basement she finds a trunk and she opens it to find the crown, cape and sash from the 1957 prom queen. Somehow Mary Lou's spirit was captured in this trunk, now that it's open she's out for revenge.
The first kill scene is one of my actual fears realized. In the art room, Jess (Beth Gondek) tries to pry a gem off the prom crown which activated Mary Lou's anger. Jess begins to be terrorized by the spirit of Mary Lou. She is thrown all around the room then brought closer to the paper cutter. I have always been afraid of cutting off a finger on one of those things. But, instead of being decapitated by the paper cutter, Jess is hung by Mary Lou's coronation gown then thrown out the window. It is thought to be suicide because Jess just found out she was pregnant.
Vicki is a pretty popular girl and she is running for Prom Queen already. With Mary Lou haunting her and trying to take over her body, she begins to have weird episodes and nightmares. Vicki has a lifesize carousel/rocking horse in her bedroom that comes to life in a really gross way. We see Vicki fully naked for awhile in the gym change room as she stalks her best friend then crushes her inside a locker. There are several other great kills as Mary Lou takes revenge on other people that stood in her way.
Finally Prom Night comes around and Vicki is totally taken over by Mary Lou, she is sure she'll win prom queen. The theme of prom is late 80's neon and it looks great. Josh (Brock Simpson) is the school computer nerd, who is my kind of dreamy spaz and he has set up a computer voting system for the prom queen. The other popular girl tried to bribe him before to make sure she won but he couldn't be bought, but then she blows him and that was his real asking price. Vicki/Mary Lou was the real winner but he changes it to the other girl. Vicki/Mary Lou will have none of that and she changes it back for her to win and electrocutes Josh through his computer. I was bummed.
Vicki/Mary Lou is announced as prom queen. Bill knows what's up and shoots Vicki several times to destroy the spirit of Mary Lou. Instead Mary Lou's burned body bursts out of Vicki's corpse and goes from being totally decrepid to restored. She keeps killing everyone but then someone (Craig I think) places the crown on her head and it traps her back in the trunk. Vicki isn't dead after being shot 3 times, so she and Craig escaped into a car, but the song Hello Mary Lou begins to play on the radio and you know that it's not over.
What a treat! This movie had so many great surprises and gross scenes. It doesn't have much to do with the original Prom Night movie, but that doesn't take away from it's splendor.
Watched April 21, 2013
1983
Starring: Leif Green, Jim Greenleaf, Scott McGinnis, Jon Gries, Corinne Bohrer.
Nerdy Eugene (Leif Green) has just gotten a job at the arcade working the snack counter. All the teens in town love hanging out in the arcade, partially because of all the great games and partially because it's managed by young, hot Jefferson (Scott McGinnis). Patsy (Corinne Bohrer) is a perfect young valley girl who loves the arcade, but her dad Mr. Rutter (Joe Don Baker) thinks it's a den of filth and sex. Mr. Rutter is trying to shut down the arcade with the help of his two nitwit assistants. It comes down to a city council meeting to figure out if they can shut down the arcade. So many of the teens really love it and they don't have any other place to hang out. The city council doesn't really do anything but Jefferson challenges Mr. Rutter to a video game. If Mr. Rutter wins, Jefferson will shut down the arcade but if Jefferson wins they'll keep it open. Mr. Rutter can have anyone play for him and he chooses King Vidiot. King Vidiot (Jon Gries) is an awesome punk who's obsessed with the arcade. He doesn't want it shut down, but Mr. Rutter promises him and his female posse mini-motorbikes and he just can't say no.
Jefferson hasn't been able to play any video games since he lost his virginity with his girlfriend and her dad walked in on them. His girlfriend was forced to move away and he whenever he looks at a video screen he sees the dad's angry face. McDorfus (Jim Greenleaf) is a fat slob who is always at the arcade and is the best player around. He is chosen by Jefferson to take his place during the challenge. Mr. Rutter's henchmen learn this and kidnap McDorfus so Jefferson is forced to play during the big showdown. Jefferson rises to the challenge and starts out strong but towards the end King Vidiot is winning. At the last minute, McDorfus frees himself and shows up to win the big battle of Super Pac Man. The arcade is saved and all the teens rejoice.
I love valley girls so Patsy was great for me, every word out of her mouth was fantastic. This
movie falls firmly into the T&A teen sex comedies of the 1980's but
with the added bonus of video games. You get to see boobs right away and continually throughout the movie. No one actually has sex, but there is a working
hot tub inside a van. The soundtrack is alright but I wish they would have used some of the Bruckner and Garcia video game songs, they wrote Pac Man Fever and many others. The DVD that I watched was still pretty poor quality with the lighting being really dark most of the time. I did enjoy it but I think if I had seen it when I was a teen I would have loved it.
