What was the last movie you watched? Part 2

[emielaen]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[KaijuDude1992]

7/10



7/10



7/10

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Blues Brothers

 

[DrWho42]

the hyperboreans (2024)

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Frodo]

DRACULA ( 1979)

Dracula , directed by John Badham, has received a bit of re-appraisal in the decades since it's release .

From what I understand , the film was originally met with mixed reviews , and didn't capture the 1970s public's imagination ,the way the Studio had hoped .

At the same time , 1979 was overrun with Vampire and Dracula themed films and TV , with the remake of Nosferatu, Love At First Bite, a Dracula spoof starring George Hamilton, The Telefilm Vampire starring Richard Lynch, and of course, the iconic Salem's Lot , which in itself pays tribute to Dracula .

Additionally , Jack Palance and Louis Jourdan had both played Dracula in TV movies in the Seventies, and of course, Christopher Lee had reprised the role numerous times from the 50s into the 70s .

So, it's not difficult to see how this version could get lost in the shuffle and be inevitably compared to the dozens of other Dracula films and TV in the 1970s .

In the Decades since Badham's Dracula , there seems to be much more of an acceptance, and praise, for what Badham attempted to achieve .

This version of Count Dracula, leans into the romantic, and seductive version of the character , which has became more common in the decades that followed , particular with Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker 's Dracula in 1992.

Badham's film is still uneven overall imo, and I think Coppola's version is much stronger overall in terms of narrative and characters .

Still there are things about it I like about Badham's film.

I really like Langella's version of a Suave, Charismatic, and Charming, Dracula .

Langella's first appearance even gives me Batman 1989 Vibes of Keaton's Batman's first appearance in that film.

Langella insisted on abandoning the trademark fangs, and red eyes for his version , and one's mileage may very on that creative choice .

Bela Lugosi will always be my favorite version of the character , but for the type of Dracula Langella is playing, he's good.

 

[Ash J. Williams]

The first one is Bio Zombie.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Murder Rock (AKA Murderock, AKA Murderock: Dancing Death ~ 1984)

Riding the wave of Fame and Flashdance, director Lucio Fulci set this giallo in a New York performing arts school. Someone is bumping-off nubile young dancers as they bump, grind, and gyrate in the hopes of... fame. All we see of the killer is black-gloved hands, a dark coat, and their weapons of choice - a chloroform pad to render the victim unconscious, and a long hatpin to slide very slowly into their heart.

As usual there are numerous red herrings and misdirections. Olga Karlatos (of eye-piercing fame in Fulci's Zombi 2/Zombie Flesh Eaters) is the head of the dance academy, whilst genre regular Ray Lovelock is a drunken male model/failed actor trying to help ID the killer. In fact, although this was filmed in New York, practically the whole cast is Italian - and those who aren't are from elsewhere in Europe. It's noticeable how little blood there is - especially for Fulci (maybe as a reaction to the hostile reception his The New York Ripper received a couple of years earlier). What there is is a sea of legwarmers - the go-to accessory for every female dancer/aerobics enthusiast of the 1980s (popularised by Jane Fonda - whose workout videos were mostly bought by guys...). It's very T&A heavy, including nudity, and the dance routines are sweatily provocative. But there's art here too; the use of strobe/intermittent lighting during kills, the audible heartbeats of the victims as the hatpin slides into their chests, abruptly ceasing as the pin finds its target - it's very effective. Music is provided by Keith Emerson (of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer).

Murder Rock tends to get overlooked as a 'lesser Fulci', but as a prime example of 80s cheese I can't help but like it. 7/10