mcdeavitt Reviews

Straight to Hell (1987)

Great movie, despite convention

[4 September 2001]

I know there are tons of folks who can't stand this film, some of my best friends groan when I suggest I pull it out of my DVD collection to play during one of our "Saturday Night With the Witches" movie-a-thon -- people who would rather watch the entire Evil Dead saga or Cannibal, the Musical over Straight to Hell.

I, however, find it to be a brilliant film. I think a lot of people don't get it. It's a very understated film. It's not an in-your-face shoot-em-up with Bruce Willis or Arnold killing everyone in sight. It's a total genre-f*** film -- take a bad gangster film, toss them into the middle of a bad western, and toss in a bunch of music that doesn't belong in the desert, and see what happens. Well, for me and my dubious tastes, it works quite nicely.

Give it a try, don't expect it to be a spiritually uplifting film or to bring you closer to Nirvana -- albiet, seeing Love get killed is a bit of a karmic moment for me -- just enjoy.

Dr. Caligari (1989)

Brilliantly Trashy

[29 August 2001]

This movie has all the tastelessness of an early John Waters film coupled with a Dali like surrealism. This is one of my favorite films of all time (which probably speaks volumes about my own mental health). It flaunts modern convention of cinema and social morays both, the doctor is both hateful yet strangely attractive, the way one might stare at a twisted corpse that has been run over by a train. It's horrific, yet we can't take our eyes off of it.

And of course it co-stars the late Fox Harris, known for his portrayal of the creator of the neutron bomb in Repoman as well as the cheesy lounge singer in Straight to Hell, along with a long string of other B-movies.

This movie is not for everyone, but everyone should see it, especially in large groups where you, the enlightened, can watch them and laugh more at their reactions than at the movie itself!

And by the way, Aunt Bea still gives me randy pants!

Chincilla, chincilla, chinchilla!