The Pick: Cat People

As we make our way through Shocktober, this week we take a look at a horror movie of sorts (or perhaps an “erotic fantasy”) with the 1982 remake of Cat People. We discuss how effectively the film expands on its horror-noir inspiration and whether director Paul Schrader was the best person to bring this source material to the screen. But mostly we rag on John Heard and how ill-equipped is to be the leading man in a film that needed someone a little more sexy and charming (our apologies to the memory of Mr. Heard). Continue reading →

Shocktober Day 4: Beyond the Door

Beyond the Door (1974)

It’s funny that I rewatched the OG Exorcist the day before I watched Beyond the Door. Funny, because I had no idea that this Italian possession film was not only an Exorcist ripoff, it was actually sued by Warner Bros. for copyright infringement and lost. Well, at least it’s a good movie–wait, it isn’t? Oh god, is there any value in watching this cheap cash-grab in the year 2023? Stick around to find out.

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Shocktober: Ninja III: The Domination

Ninja III: The Domination (1984)

Did you ever see the parody short film Kung Fury? It’s an over-the-top homage to 1980s action movies that has a martial artist detective take on robots, mutants, dinosaurs, and, of course, Hitler, all in the name of revenge. It’s a lot… but also not actually as far from what was really coming out back then as you might think. Ninja III: The Domination, the third and final entry in a anthology series from the legendary low-budget production company Cannon Films, is so relentlessly Eighties you might not actually believe it. Let me tell you about it! And I promise, nothing I write will be an exaggeration, this movie doesn’t need that.

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Shocktober Day 2: The Devil’s Rain

The Devil’s Rain (1975)

This marks my first foray into this year’s Shocktober, and as far as devil or possession-themed movies, this one has about as much as you could ask for. It’s got a creepy Satanic cult, people melting, ritual sacrifice, a shirtless William Shatner screaming, a future real-life cult member (in a young John Travolta), and a technical advisor credit for Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey. It’s absolutely the kind of batshit film you look for if you’re parsing through the weirder corners of ’70s cult films. However, if you were looking to worship at the altar of great story-telling or well-defined characters, well, you came to the wrong church. Continue reading →

Shocktober Day 1: The Devils

The Devils (1971)

Welcome to another year of SHOCKTOBER on Mildly Pleased! This year’s theme is POSSESSION! You know it’s a good one because I’m using all caps! Why possession? Dude, look around you. A new Evil Dead came out this year, Talk to Me became A24’s highest-grossing horror movie, The Pope’s Exorcist is a thing, and so on. So, we got a few weeks of classics, cult classics, and a few movies that would probably be better if they were left buried. But hey, man, this is Shocktober, which means we’re digging ’em up! Because the power of Christ compels us to!

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The Pick: Blue Thunder

We’re rollin’ in with another episode of The Pick, this one aimed at the helicopter-fueled action flick Blue Thunder from 1983. We discuss pretty much every aspect of its modest cultural imprint, including its short-lived TV adaptation, as well as our fondness for its stars, Roy Scheider and John’s good friend Malcolm MacDowell. Weirdly enough, it’s a movie that wasn’t specifically chosen for it being its 40th anniversary this year, but more because it just seemed like the kind of weird semi-forgotten oddity that we were destined to review. Continue reading →

Colin’s Favorite Albums of Summer 2023

Well, the leaves are turning, things are getting spooky, and it’s thankfully no longer a million degrees outside every goddamn day. Though this summer felt like a pretty good one for music, I didn’t get around to reviewing really any new albums over the course of it. So before we turn our eyes toward Shocktober around here at Mildly Pleased, I figured I’d take a look back at some of the stand-outs from a summer that often felt like it’d never end. Continue reading →