2015 Reading Challenge Book 068 1984

TITLE-1984
AUTHOR-George Orwell
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Nope
PRICE-$1

I will assume that most of yall reading this know what this book is about. So not going to bother with a half ass plot synopsis.

I first became aware of this classic when I was 8. One of my older cousins was in a local production of 1984. We went to see him,and the next day while at the library I checked out the book. Over the course of the next week I read the book. And really enjoyed it.

So years later I had started AP English,which was basically a literature class. And the first book we got assigned was 1984. Ever 3 weeks we got assigned a book. Along with the book the teacher gave you a packet of questions. With a page full of questions for each chapter. Quickly someone in the class discovered the questions were copied word for word out of Cliff's Notes. Wait do Cliff's Notes still exist? Anyway once word got out about how the teacher had stolen the questions out of Cliff's Notes every one ended up buying Cliff's Notes and not bothering to read the book. Since I had already read it before and really liked it I went ahead and re-read the book.

The teacher also had taken the time to not only get a copy of the film adaptation from 1984,but also edited out all the nudity and foul language. Yeah cause you don't want a group of 15 year olds seeing or hearing that vulgar stuff :P We watched it in class and because huge chunks of the film were missing every one else had no clue what was happening.

Well at the end of the 3 weeks we took a test on the book. With a bonus question worth 20 points. The teacher wanted us to convert the Declaration of independence into the new English of the novel. I watched as everyone else in the class spend almost the entire period trying to convert it over. I remembered that in my copy of the novel in the afterword the writer mentioned that the Declaration of Independence would translate into two words "Thought Crime". So while everyone else wrote paragraphs ,I wrote two words and made 120 on the test.

But yeah if you haven't read this book,and I am shocked when I meet people that didn't have to read this in either high school or college,go get a copy. Hell I am pretty sure it is in the public domain,so you should be able to find an e-book copy for free.

1984 gets a 4.86 outta 5.

31 days of Horror 2012 day 07

Last Man on Earth
1964
Last man on Earth/The Devil's Messenger double feature Digiview Entertainment DVD

Ever since I saw the original House on Haunted Hill one Halloween night when I was very young, I have been a fan of Vincent Price. So after seeing the Omega Man,and that cinematic abortion that was  I am Legend with Will Smith, I had to see the first film based on the classic Richard Matheson 1954 novel I Am Legend. Found this at Walmart in their selection of $1 DVDs.

It is 1968 and Vincent Price spends his days going out to get supplies and killing all the vampires he can find. And his nights walled up in his house hoping the vampires  can't get in and kill him. Filmed in Rome this black and white film has a very dream like feel and look to it. Mr Price does a great job in the lead. Which  is good cause the film is pretty much a one man show. While the film does change some stuff from the novel so far it is the closest to the novel any film has gotten. The cinematography really helps capture the loneliness that Vincent is suffering from. One day he sees a dog while out making his rounds. He chases after the dog and finds out there is other people out there . They are infected but haven't become vampires thanks to some vaccine. One of them goes back to his house with him. And when the others of her group show up she tries her best to keep them from killing Vincent. But it doesn't work. These other semi infected people finally impale Vincent with a spear on the altar in a church. With his dying breath he declares himself the last man on Earth. Last Man on Earth gets a B.

31 days of horror Year 3 day 31 fourth film

Last house on the left
1972
MGM collector's edition DVD

After hearing about this film for many many years,I finally picked it up when the first DVD came out. This was the first non-documentary,non-porn film from Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham. There are many many stories about how this film shocked the hell out of audiences back during it's original run. Supposedly this DVD has the most complete version of the film. It seems that lots of movie theaters would edit out scenes. Sadly there is a few scenes that are still missing,and some that have been found but have no sound.

Mari and her friend are on their way to see a concert in the city. They want to pick up some pot before they goto the show. So they ask this young guy they see standing outside a house if he knows were to get any. Well he tells them he has some inside. So they follow him inside and get attacked by the guys father and friends.

The next morning both girls are loaded up into the trunk of a car and Krug and his gang head out. The gang are all escaped convicts. So they are trying to make their way outta the state. Well the car breaks down,and none of them can fix it. So they take the girls and head off into the nearby woods.Mari happens to see that they aren't too far from her home.

Once they get deep in the woods Krug and company start to sadistically torture both girls. After some time they gut Mari's friend. Then Krug brutally rapes Mari and then carves his name into her chest. She wanders off into a nearby lake. So Krug shoots her in the head.

The gang goes and washes up at the lake and then changes into clean clothes. They goto the nearest house and pretend to be a group of salesmen who have broken down. Well the house just so happens to be Mari's home. Earlier on,while trying to escape Mari had given a necklace to Krug's son. After dinner that night the father spots this necklace and him and his wife head out into the woods. They find Mari's dead body on the shore of the lake. So they go back home. The dad starts setting various booby traps. What is it with Wes Craven films and booby traps? Then over the rest of the film the mom and dad kill the gang in some very vicious ways.

Now this DVD is packed with extras.We get a commentary with Fred Lincoln,Marc Sheffler and the late David Hess. The documentary Celluloid crime of the century,a few deleted scenes. And then the footage I mentioned before that has no sound. I keep hearing people,mostly the generation after me,talking about how they don't like the film. And how it is so bad and not worth a shit. Well I gotta say the first time I saw it I was shocked. The various torture and rape scenes are extremely brutal for the time they were shot. Plus the film has this look to it that makes it look more like you are watching some one's twisted home movies. Last House on the Left gets a B+.

31 days of horror Year 3 day 14

Basket Case

1981
Something Weird Video DVD


I have been a fan of Frank Henenlotter since I saw Basket Case 2 and Frankenhooker late one night in the early 90s. Since then I have searched out all the movies he has made. This is his first film. I saw it quite a few years ago but never got the DVD. But when I heard that most of the Something Weird Video DVDs were going out of print I tracked a copy down. Got it for $10 I think. And it is worth 3 times that price.


A young man goes into a sleazy NYC hotel. He gets a room. And we noticed that he is carrying a big wicker basket with him. It seems his twin brother lives in the basket. When they were born the basket living twin,Belial,was attached at the torso to his twin brother. Well their father gets some doctors to operate and remove Belial. And they throw Belial out in the trash. But the normal looking brother,Duanne, hears Belial's psychic cries for help. He goes and gets him. And when Duanne gets older he wants revenge of the doctors that separated him from his brother.


We get to see Duanne tracking down all the doctors. And then Belial killing them. And there is some great FX. Belial looks like a flesh colored lump of playdough. All of the kills are nice and bloody. And I am really surprised at what they manage to do on what is a very small budget.


The DVD,like most from SMV,is loaded with extras. We get a commentary with Frank,the producer and one of the actresses. A couple of trailers and TV spots. Outtakes and behind the scenes footage from Frank's personal collection. "In search of the Hotel Broslin" video short. Which has Frank and RA the rugged man walking around NYC taking us the all the various filming locations. This would be a lot better if RA wasn't there. He is very annoying. A nice gallery of Basket Case poster art and behind the scenes pictures. Two radio spots advertising the film. And two radio interviews with the actress Terri Susan Smith. So as you can see this DVD is loaded with extras. I know that recently Blu Ray release has come out ,I haven't gotten it yet. But I hope it ports over all the extras. Basket Case gets a B+.

Revenge of the nerds Panty Raid Edition DVD

Revenge of the Nerds Panty Raid edition

Now since I figure that everyone reading this blog has already seen the film I will mainly review the DVD and all the extras.

Revenge of the Nerds has been one of my favorite comedies since it first come out. Somehow I convinced my parents to take me to the theater to see it opening night. And then I would rent it over and over when it came out in video cassette. Plus it was one of the first VHS I ever bought. So years ago I got the DVD release of it that had both part 1 and part 2 on the same disc. But there was no extras. Well a few years back I started hearing rumors about a special edition of the first film coming out soon. Well it happened to come out at a time when money was very tight for me so I didn't get it. But then fast forward a few years,and I was walking through Walmart looking for some DVDs to get to watch at work that night. And I saw that they had the Revenge of the Nerds boxed set. Which had all 4 films.Plus the first film was the special edition Panty Raid version. Well I got to work that night and once the elderly man I was taking care of went to sleep I put it on.

The DVD is loaded with all kinds of extras. First off we get a commentary with the director,Robert Carradine,Curtis Armstrong,and Timothy Busfield. Which is a great commentary with all three of the nerds telling behind the scenes stories. Then you get a series of deleted scenes. Most of these scenes deal with Stan Gable's nerd brother.And there is also a scene from when the Tri-lambs went to Vegas.  But we find out on the commentary that the Vegas plot line was dropped. You also get some trailers and stuff. But the big surprise is they have the unaired Fox tv pilot. I had heard about this pilot for years but figured I would never get a chance to see it. It is a 30 minute sitcom. And they condense the Tri-Lambs down to just Louis,Gilbert,Booger and Wormser. Well after watching it you can see why the pilot wasn't picked up. It is super lame. But has a few interesting cast members. Robbie "Cousin Oliver" Rist is playing Booger and Julie McCullough,the former playboy playmate and who was on Growing Pains for a few seasons,is one of the Delta Phis.

Now the movie to me is a comedy classic. And no matter how many times I watch it I end up laughing my ass off. And when you add in all the great extras you end up with the best DVD any fan of the movie could ever want. Revenge of the Nerds Panty Raid edition gets an A+.