In a bit of a twist, I’ve decided to opt out of doing a written review for David Cronenberg’s Canuxploiation flick Shivers and instead turn it into an episode of the podcast, “Stream Police”. Check it out here, it’s bound to get under your skin.

The Crazies (1973)

You may be more familiar with the 2010 remake of today’s entry and there’s a good reason, it’s a better movie. The remake, starring Timothy Olyphant who we all remember from the 2007 classic Catch and Release was more or less your typical zombie fair flick. The production value was decent and the scares were effective if not predictable. The original on the other hand? I’m not really sure how to categorize George A. Romero’s semi-docudrama disaster movie. Everything about this movie is chaotic, which is befitting considering the title.

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Don’t Look in the Basement (1973)

“To avoid fainting, keep repeating to yourself: ‘It’s only a movie.. it’s only a movie.. it’s only a movie..” I ended my Shocktober introduction with this infamous tagline. I always associated it with We Craven’s 1972 directorial debut, Last House on the Left, but apparently there’s more to the story. When Last House on the Left was released to drive-ins it was packaged as a double-bill with Don’t Look in the Basement, also occasionally titled, “The Forgotten“. Thus, in the laziest marketing move of all time both movies adopted the same tagline. How did I come to choose this obscure little shocker? I mean, I even went out of my way to change today’s planned entry (The Legend of Hell House) to this. I think it was a combination of its shared legacy with Last House on the Left, its premise, and the fact that I’d never heard a single word about it. Maybe that’s how things should have stayed.

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Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)

Whenever I hear the word “Giallo” I think of three names: Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Lucio Fulci. Bava made the classiest looking pictures in stark black and white, Argento made the most artistic films with a deeply rich palette and Fulci’s were neither. Fulci’s films were not classy, nor were they colorful, that is unless you count the color red. Lucio Fulci’s reputation is mostly that of a goremeister, if that word has yet to be coined I’m calling it. Fulci’s films often employed incredibly graphic death sequences brimming with nakedness and corn syrup. Zombi 2, aka Zombie, aka Zombie Flesh Eaters, aka Woodoo was Fulci’s 1979 international breakout and the film I most closely associate with the filmmaker. Though I’ll admit Zombi 2 is an entertaining midnight movie, it’s definitely a “leave your brain at the door so zombies can eat it” viewing experience. Zombi 2 was a fairly conventional zombie flick, so I never understood why Fulci was considered so important to the whole Giallo movement. But after Don’t Torture a Duckling I think I get it.

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