EEGAH! (1962) Blu-ray Review

Eegah! (1962) d. Arch Hall Sr. (USA) (90 min)

“Love Breaks the Time Barrier!”

Arch Hall Sr. produced and directed this deliriously delightful train wreck under the pseudonym of Nicholas Merriwether, and then cast himself in a major supporting role under another aka of "William Watters." One assumes this was done to not call attention to his relation to the film’s nominal star, Arch Hall, Jr., who zips around in his dune buggy, squints and smiles a lot from under his zany blonde pompadour, and croons a couple of tunes to his girl Roxy (Marilyn Manning, The Sadist) – usually with other girls’ names as the titles.

THE ZODIAC KILLER (1971) Blu-ray review

The Zodiac Killer (1971) d. Hanson, Tom (USA) (1st viewing) 87 min

Creating a movie about a serial killer while said serial killer is still at large and still very much active is a strange and exploitative notion indeed, but producer/director Hanson’s backstory further wrinkles the equation. The owner of a chain of slowly-going-bankrupt Pizza Man restaurants claimed (and continues to claim on the audio commentary track for the American Genre Film Archive aka AGFA’s blu-ray release) that his reason for the film’s genesis was that he hoped to catch the murderer, suspecting that the killer would not be able to resist the urge to watch his (or her) exploits dramatized on the big screen. It was a wild scheme, but it’s somewhat charming to believe - however unlikely - that altruism could actually coincide with exploitation.

Fool's Views Haikus (6/28 – 7/25)

Hey kids,

So, wow, even with the shift to the abbreviated (if no less challenging) seventeen-syllable format, finding the time to sit down and watch a flick or two has been quite the challenge over the last few weeks. However, I persevere. The horror, oddly enough, has been getting short shrift, which is what prompted my comment not too long ago which began with, “You know, I barely recognize my own life sometimes…”

However, thanks to Kitley’s Kryptic Army assignment, I managed to sneak in a pair from the godfathers of gore, a decent sampling of offbeat 70s fare, as well as an Oscar winner and Oscar winner-to-be (go ahead, bet against the Pixar – I dare ya).

As always feel free to throw in your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!