Girls of the Big House (Republic Pictures, 1945)
Splinter (Magnolia Magnet, 2008)
I liked this little sci-fi horror flick - kind of a variation on The Ruins. I think it might end up getting programmed into this year's Crazy Movie Weekend: Halloween Horrorfest 4!
Battletruck (New World Pictures, 1982)
This is another fun Mad Max ripoff - but actually filmed in that neck of the woods - New Zealand, in this case. It was picked up for Stateside release by Roger Corman's New World Pictures, and subsequently had some footage used in Jim Wynorski's entertaining Hollywood Boulevard II. And here's a funny side note - check out the director's name above. The poor guy must have been razzed to the point of going insane. The name is pronounced Coke-liss - and in fact, that's now how he spells it - Harley Cokeliss - just trying to keep the people seemingly commenting on his anatomy to a minimum.
Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
Craig, I too really enjoyed Splinter, once I got past some of the worst 'shakey cam' I've ever seen. The Ruins got a re-watch recently, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I did originally - I think I was too 'close' to the novel when it initially released. Big fan of Battletruck! Never noticed the directors name before... but now I can't un-see it!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked The Ruins more the second time - I really like both the novel and the movie. Sorry about that whole unable to unsee thing - I think Battletruck was the first time I saw it onscreen - and I was laughing about it then. Glad he found a solution.
DeleteI've heard some good things about Splinter and want to check it out sometime. Girls of the Big House should be fun, as it always interesting to watch old WIP flicks and to see how the same basic elements that show up in all of them (right up to stuff like Chained Heat) are used within the confines of the movie standards of the time. And its got Virginia Christine, who was the Folgers Coffee Lady and was in The Mummy's Curse (with that unforgettable resurrection scene).
ReplyDeleteI had missed Virginia among the cast up there - love her and her Nordic accent. And you're right - her Universal Mummy movie is well worth a watch - and one day I want to try to explain how they sunk into a swamp in the Northeast in the previous film and turn up in a dried-up Louisiana swamp in that movie...
DeleteSlightly confused: Splinter similar to The Ruins? I thought it's more of a The Thing variation.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's got stuff that gets under your skin - not that close in the end I guess - I can see your Thing analogy.
ReplyDelete