Flicks: Life Force (1985)

All naked space vampire chicks is evil? Now that is just flat out ignorant.

Life Force (1985) is a British Vampire-Apocalypse film, directed by Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre in '74) and a stand-out in the often arduous genre (John Carpenter's Vampires, 31 Days Of Night) of vampire movies. The movie sets the standard for later Apocalyptic films like 28 Days Later and Zach Snyder's Dawn Of The Dead (2004) by using amazing effects, great second unit direction of immense crowds and referencing the otherworldly nature of Ridley Scott's Alien (1979).^[0]

Life Force features the incredibly well-cast 20-year-old Mathilda May, a ballerina from the age of eight who won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire de Danse of Paris in 1981 at age 16. Mathilda stars as the evil space vampiress with-no-name who sets her sights on sucking the life out of Earth starting with the hapless Col. Tom Carlsen, played by Steve Railsback (Alligator II: The Mutation and Col. James Vise from Fox's The Visitor from 1997-1998).


Come 'ere and give your Space Momma a big smooch, whydontcha?

The movie, which draws heavily on the tried and true sci-fi tradition of Earthlings vs. Evil-invading aliens, delivers on many levels. The movie takes it's title from the method in which the space vampires feed. By using practicals of vampire corpses/victims combined with a lighting and film effect the movie illustrates the vampiric voodoo that drains humans of their souls. These unwary souls are rendered in a kind of low-voltage blue lightning and snacked on by the space vampires and their thralls.

NOTES:
[0] = Life Force's script was in fact written by Alien (1979) writer Dan O'Bannon from the original novel Space Vampires by Colin Wilson. O'Bannon's credits included Total Recall, Alien, Aliens, Alien: Resurrection and AVP: Alien vs. Predator.

References:
IMDB, Life Force
Horror Movie A Day, Life Force
Movie Moses, Lifeforce (1985) Tobe Hooper

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Flicks: The Legend Of Hell House (1973)

In capitalist setting of Hell House, you haunt house.

Acclaimed author Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man) wrote the novel and screenplay for The Legend Of Hell House (1973) starring the impeccable Roddy McDowall (Planet Of The Apes, Fright Night).

Matheson's writing talents capitalized on suspense and isolation to shock American audiences. Besides writing books, Matheson also wrote a total of 14 Twilight Zone episodes including Nightmare at 20,000 Feet starring William Shatner and Steel featuring Lee Marvin. In the novel and in the screen adaptation for Hell House, Matheson sets his sights on the more traditional genre of supernatural horror.

Hell House concerns the demonic spectre of a twisted mad-man reputedly roaming an eerie, isolated mansion - the scene of a brutal massacre. Two psychic mediums (Roddy McDowall and The Food of the Gods's head bitch Lorna, Pamela Franklin) are promised a small fortune to seek out the presence of this evil and drive it away. The hang-up is: Roddy and Pam begin to suspect that that evil force is very much alive and well.

In 2010, Richard Matheson was inducted in Sci-Fi Hall of Fame while Alan Hume (Star Wars VI: Return Of The Jedi and Lifeforce), Hell House's director of photography passed away at the age of 86.


References:
Wikipedia, Richard Matheson
Wikipedia, Legend Of Hell House
IMDB, Legend Of Hell House (1973)
Science Fiction Hall Of Fame, Richard Matheson: 2010

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Actresses: Tura Satana

And on the eighth day, The Lord made Tura. Amen.

Tura Satana was born in 1935 as Tura Luna Pascual Yamaguchi in Hokkaido, Japan to a Japanese silent film star father and a Cherokee circus performer mother. Today, she is known chiefly for her role of Varla the wild female gang leader in Russ Meyer's cult classic Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill (1965).

Her infamous "bad girl" role often obscured the sweet, wise and beautiful person that her friends and fans adored. Sadly, Tura passed away in the biggest little town on Earth, Reno Nevada, on February 11^th of 2011 of heart failure.

In her acting and modeling career, Tura was known for her feisty stand-out performances in a lackluster B genre. Tura as Varla defined all similar roles portrayed in films such as H.G. Lewis's Gore Gore Girls (1968) to Michelle Pfeifer's Cat Woman in Bat Man Returns (1992). Arguably, Varla was the role that Tura was born to play.

Tura's childhood shaped her into a self-reliant, sexy and talented actress. She lived a difficult and arduous life that too often defined by bad luck, racism, vicious attacks and car crashes.

As part of US WWII policy towards Japanese-Americans, her entire family was forcibly relocated from Chicago to Manzanar Detention Center outside the desert town of Lone Pine, California when Tura was in elementary school. The Yamaguchi family re-settled in Chicago after the war ended in late 1945.

In Chicago, after being raped as a young girl by a group of five men Tura, learned martial arts as a coping mechanism. Her attackers were never prosecuted. Over the next 15 years, she claims to have tracked down each rapist and enacted revenge.

"I made a vow to myself that I would someday, somehow get even with all of them," she said years later. "They never knew who I was until I told them."

Because of the rape she was sent to reform school. There, she fought against a group of girls that attacked her because of her Asian heritage. The bullying stopped when she beat up a group of 5 girls up. She was expelled from the reform school and returned to parents in the west side of Chicago.

In 1948, when she was 13, Tura married 17-year-old John Satana. The arranged marriage would last less than a year. She would bounce across the country for the next two decades as a burlesque dancer until meeting Russ Meyer who was casting for his next film.


Tura Satana as the wicked Varla in Russ Meyer's cult classic Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill! (1965).

Several factors in this film would make Tura a star. The movie was shot in the Sonoran desert. Much like Lone Pine, it was a barren and lonely landscape. This had to have stirred up nothing but bad memories for her to work with. She had a dynamite body, dance experience and martial arts training which meant not only could she do her own stunts but Tura looked like a million bucks doing them.

After making The Doll Squad in 1973 Satana was shot by a former lover. The shooting would effectively end her career in film. She worked at an LA hospital and as a 911 dispatcher until in 1981 her back was broken in a car accident. She spent the next two years in and out of hospitals, having two major operations and approximately 15 others.

In 1980, Tura married a retired L.A. police officer and had two daughter together. They remained married for 20 years until her husband died in October 2000. Tura Satana was still extremely active on the convention circuit where she enjoyed being deeply loved and respected by her fans.

In 2010, TURA!, a documentary by Varla Films/Me and Ben Productions about Tura's life and work is scheduled to be released.

References:
Wikipedia, Tura Satana
The Official: Tura Satana
Mad Mad Movies, Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill! (1965)

Flicks: The Colossus Of New York (1958)

There's no party like a giant killer robot party. Or, is there?

Midway through this forgotten sci-fi classic the Colossus From Queens (aka the extra tragic Dr. Jeremy Spensser) announces to the World of Man: "It will be necessary to get rid of those ... humanitarians first. You understand? We - must - eliminate - the idealists..."

Never were truer words ever spoken than by the daring Midtown-Ravaging-Manbot! The Colossus of New York (1958) was directed by Eugène Lourié (Art Director for Shock Corridor (1963)) on a shoestring and a script courtesy of Willis Goldbeck who was part of the writing team for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).


The Colossus Of New York was the first monster to be both Rhyming and Stealing.

Ol' Doc Jeremy, prior to his accident, was the 1950's World's Authority on developing a new food product - one that woulda saved the Earth from famine due to overpopulation. After the accident, his father William, a brilliant brain surgeon, de-brains Jeremy's body in secret before it's eventual burial. Later, he reveals his de-braining activities to his other son, Henry, keeping Jeremy's brain on life support and hoping to encase it in a colossal robot body. What could go wrong?

The result is a lumbering Manbot who is one handsome sumbitch - large, strong and very, very hostile. The Colossus also develops a unique kind of heat/microwave eye beam that he uses to incinerate many a mouthy New Yorker - who, in retrospect probably had it comin'... another classic film!


References:
IMDB, The Colossus Of New York (1958)
TCM, The Colossus Of New York
Monster Movie Music, Colossus of New York

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Flicks: Black Samson (1974)

Dontchu know, Jack? These streets is for jive-ass turkeys!

Director Chuck Bail unleashed two beautiful gems of blacksploitation onto an unsuspecting American public, both in the mid-70's: Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold and the Mafioso ass-whompin' Black Samson (1974). Black Samson stars small screen TV giant Rockne Tarkington vs. Vernon Wells (Commando (1985), Jack Palance Look-a-Like Contest Winner of 1986, and Wez from Mad Max 2).

What is not to love about the cat? According to the film, he's mean, clean and rules the scene. You manlings can't beat that, not with a giant stick. Or ... can you? See, Mr. Black Samson is a club wielding street vigilante who is "big with his cat" (a caged lion who prowls Samson's club - er bar), "big with his mama" played by the foxy hellcat Connie Strickland (Bummer (1973) and Centerfold Girls (1974)) and "big with his stick" which he uses to whomp the ever-lovin' Bejesus outta smack pushin' mobsters left and muthafuggin' right.

Damn straight.


References:
IMDB, Black Samson (1974)
IMDB, Charles Bail
William Smith.com, Black Death
1hr 18min, Blaxploition Meltdown

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