#49
Don’t Go to Sleep (1982) (1st viewing) d. Lang, Richard (USA) 93 min.
Superb TV chiller with the dark spirit of the 70s in its soul, happy to slap viewers’ expectations across the face and leave jaws plunging into their popcorn bowls. Dennis Weaver and Valerie Harper star as a couple recuperating from the death of their eldest child, but the recently deceased carries a grudge – branches of the family tree are soon being pruned with extreme prejudice. Robin Ignico plays the blonde haired Mary, visited by the ghost of her sibling, with Ruth Gordon and Poltergeist’s Oliver Robins among her prospective victims. The “watermelon” scene is the best shock sequence, while the bathtub sequence takes the honors for sheer prolonged suspense.
#50
Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby (1976) (1st viewing) d. O’Steen, Sam (USA) 100 min.
Devil fever was sweeping the nation in 1976, with The Omen keeping the turnstiles spinning, so it was no surprise to see this tedious, ill-advised sequel to Polanski’s Hollywood breakthrough rearing its ugly face on TV screens come the Halloween season. Despite an “all-star” cast of Ray Milland, Patty Duke, Donna Mills, Tina Louise, Broderick Crawford, George Maharis and Ruth Gordon (reprising her Oscar-winning role as Minnie Castevet), Anthony Wilson’s dum-dum script and 70s trappings drag this sucker to hell from the opening credits. A very young Stephen McHattie stars as the Woodhouse offspring, struggling against his Dark Lord birthright, with lots of goofy groovy musical numbers (Satan’s son loves that rock n’ roll).
Total Movies: 50
First Time Views: 50
Money Raised for Friends of Children: $507.50
I clearly remember watching 'Don't go to sleep' as a kid with my brother and sisters, and the water melon scene always stands out in my mind.
ReplyDeleteJaw on the ground when that happened. Amazing how they used to create real honest to goodness TV-horror. No disrespect to Buffy, Supernatural and the bunch, but this shite was skeeeeeeery.
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