The Big Doll House

 

A smorgasbord of exploitation and sexploitation, THE BIG DOLL HOUSE is a fun women-in-prison movie. While there is enough violence, torture, catfights, and nudity to satisfy the exploitation fan, the characters and story here is engaging as well. You get to know the six women in the cellblock and you want them to make their escape. There is some interesting social commentary on how women prison guards and wardens are just as violent as any men would be to each other. The women in this film also show themselves to be just as capable as men at firing guns among other things. They are three dimensional characters and not just exploitation fodder. While this upcoming spotlight is on Pam Grier's women-in-prison movies, she actually gets overshadowed at times in this movie. Judy Brown as Collier and Pat Woodell as Bodine turn in just as strong performances as Grier does here.

Synopsis: Beautiful female prisoners are abused in a Philippine prison until five of them plot an escape by taking the evil female warden hostage with reluctant help from two male fruit vendors.

The film starts with Collier (Judy Brown) being brought to prison for killing her husband. Pam Grier performs a song that plays over the opening and end credits. We get to know all of Collier's cellmates. Pam Grier, appropriately named "Grear," went to prison for being a prostitute and hearing too much information of a political variety that she was not supposed to hear. Harrad (Brooke Mills) a drug addict, killed her own baby. Bodine (Pat Woodell) has a boyfriend that is a revolutionary, making him wanted by the government. That being the reason why Bodine is locked up either for joining in his efforts or as a bargaining chip being held by the prison. Alcott (Roberta Collins) is another cellmate who hangs around Bodine. Ferina (Gina Stuart) is their other cellmate. Right away you understand the hierarchy. Harrad is the "bitch" of Grear's. A role that Collier inherits, making Harrad jealous later in the film. Grear for whatever reason will not mess with Modine. This is shown on the first night when the women all try to drown Collier in the squat hole and torture her thinking she is a spy. Bodine stops that from happening saying Collier is just a scared woman.

Judy Brown as Collier

The women are subject to torture from sadistic prison guard Lucian (Kathryn Loder). These methods include waterboarding, a snake being brought toward them, and being whipped. Bodine is tortured at one point as she gets a letter from her boyfriend, Rafael saying his camp has almost been found. Lucian demands to know where the camp is and Bodine doesn't tell. She is also put in a raised hotbox that is made of bamboo at one point. So the sadistic prison hardship is present in this film.

Pat Woodell as Bodine

The exploitation elements are here as well. Some of the women are naked when they are tortured. There is a shower scene, complete with all of the women being naked though there is not a plentiful amount of nudity here. Most of the women, save for a few seconds, are shown from the waist up and with their backs turned. Fred and Harry, played by Jerry Franks and Sid Haig, are two people who deliver produce to the prison. They bargain with the prisoners in various ways to give food. For instance, it is implied Grear has let Harry feel her up through the bars on many occasions. As only Sid Haig can he has some funny moments jokingly, if there is such a thing, about raping and getting with the women prisoners. Fred at one point responds to that and Harry says they will rape me actually and not the other way around. That statement rings true in a way when Fred sees Allcott in the shower. She later locks Fred in a room basically forcing him to have sex with her in a way that if the roles were reversed would be a problematic scene. It does show female sexuality in a way that a film in the 1970s would not usually show however. In that way it is progressive. 

Pam Grier as Grear

I do like that the film also shows some of the ways the prisoners pass the time in their cell. They are shown racing insects at one point. When they plan their escape Bodine tries to show them how to use a gun, basically showing them all the hand movements needed to eject and load the magazine and cock the gun. While this might be a stretch, I also had to think about how in OLDBOY the main character does shadow boxing and is a great fighter just because of that. So if it were unbelievable here that would be hypocritical. Grear and Allcott at one point also get into a catfight over Collier's freedom. They end up in the mud where Allcott wins the fight by making Grear submit and calls her "boss."

Roberta Collins as Allcott

SPOILER SECTION

The prisoners eventually coordinate their escape with Fred and Harry. Grear will have them get the front desk guard drunk and let Grear and Harrad out of their cell. Lucian wants to find out more about the escape and has them tortured. Grear had to let slip that there would be an escape to get more heroin for Harrad, though because she names no specific names or a plan she doesn't get the contraband anyway. This rears its ugly head when Harrad stabs Grear to death in their cell after she voices how jealous she is about Collier taking her place. This is not before Grear lets their cat out of the window, she has gotten a long metal wire into its mouth. The other three girls lure Lucian to a cell where a hot sauna is being used for their torture. They grab her and force her to open the door and save Collier from being tortured. They set a snake on Lucian who is killed. There had been a mysterious cloaked figure in the corner of the room watching the torture. This person is revealed to be the warden, Miss Dietrich (Christiane Schmidtmer). In the meantime the Warden had been having dinner with the prison doctor (Jack Davis) who had believed the women about the torture going on in the prison. The remaining women eventually get their hands on weapons and with the Doctor and Warden as their hostages try to make their escape.

Sid Haig as Harry

Fred and Harry are threatened into driving them away. They gun down many guards in the process. They all show their capability at loading and shooting guns. The next morning in the woods they are surrounded by authority figures. Bodine is gunned down, after all ready receiving a bullet wound the night before. Allcott is shot but not before she burns gasoline leaking out of the truck that explodes and kills the Warden. Collier escapes and finds a ride. The person driving however says Miss Collier we've been looking for you all day and we're looking forward to taking you back to prison. That is a typical exploitation ending, though the line is dubbed so I choose to believe she continued her escape and the driver was just a random person. I would have done that ending more positively, but this is a 70s fleapit movie after all. I knew Pam Grier would be great in this but all of the cast members here were on her level. Sid Haig is hilarious and charismatic as usual. 

Rating: 8/10

Trivia: Director Jack Hill named the warden Dietrich, after producer Erwin C. Dietrich. Apparently he had a bad experience with that producer who forced him to make a film in Switzerland. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wySaMB3KSzs

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pam+grier+big+doll+house

Village of the Damned (1995)

 

The first 20 plus minutes of this film remind you of John Carpenter's ability to make you feel you are in a small scale apocalypse. This is one of his best openings. After the children are conceived this movie falls off a cliff. After the apocalyptic opening this movie becomes the least interesting film Carpenter has ever made. There are many decisions that would have made this movie more interesting and none of them are made. The children in this film start evil, and end evil. There is no in between, no reason why these adults shouldn't just try to kill them right away. There is no explanation as to why the mothers, who immaculately conceived these children, want to keep them either. A lot of the actors feel like they are in different films, making it harder to invest in any of them. There are fleeting moments and some merits to be had. Christopher Reeve acts well and his scene of confrontation with the children is one of the better moments. George Buck Flower also has a memorable moment and brings some energy to this film that otherwise has the energy of a sloth. The widescreen cinematography in northern California looks nice and provides a nice setting. That being said, of all the films of Carpenter's I've seen this is my least favorite. Even THE WARD was more exciting to watch than this was. 

The opening to this film oozes atmospheric supernatural horror. The aerial shots and the kinetic camera movements through the mountains. One of Carpenter's better scores from his late period work to increase the ambience. I like seeing all the different characters we will see in the movie. This is exactly the way Carpenter would start a lot of his other films. Long credits, fundamentally explaining the story to come, and establishing the atmosphere through music and images rather than a lot of exposition. I enjoyed seeing the town fair and seeing these houses in this small but dense town. Once again no one makes more framable widescreen images than Carpenter. The moment where Christopher Reeve and Michael Pare's characters see each other at the gas station and know each other was a nice touch as well. People in smaller towns often do always know each other and that made it feel more real. There are aspects of the blackout and aftermath that are enjoyable. The practical effect of the man who gets grilled to death is one of the better effects and scarier images in a movie. It is also a great sci-fi film setup.

From here the movie really stumbles. The dreams these women have look and feel nonsensical because there is no explanation as to what makes them want to keep these babies. Once they have them the film never says whether or not they are growing up faster and there is not enough of the parents being concerned about their children not emotions. Some aspects of Carpenter's filmmaking history would suggest this "cut to the chase" approach can work. There are many of his films where romance happens quickly. In THE FOG and PRINCE OF DARKNESS men and women introduce themselves to each other and in the next scene we see them lying in bed. That approach can work, but this film has so little interest or conflict that not developing the relationships with these children and their parents feels like a missed opportunity. 

A look at Lindsey Haun as Mara and the glowing eyes that the children show when they are using their powers.

The idea of the children in this film not having empathy or emotions actually makes them less scary. When they go into psychokinesis mode all the film really shows is them staring with some orange or green contact lenses in their eyes making one of the adults do something to hurt or kill themselves. It would have been more enjoyable if these kids had some personality. It would be more scary if they were doing it on purpose rather than some kind of base reaction to being hurt or threatened. It makes every adult interaction where they show emotion or do the slightest wrong by accident around these children too predictable. BLOODY BIRTHDAY is a film with mischievous killer children. There is a scene where one of the kids poisons a cake and tricks one of the main characters into giving the adults a cake that isn't actually poisoned.  Nothing like that ever happens in this film. Everyone seems to think these kids are evil. There is no conflict with any parents wanting to love their kids or trying to get them to feel emotion.

The only hints of conflict in this film that do have some payoff are with the character of David (Thomas Dekker). David shows more emotion than the other kids. One of the kids' mothers, Melanie (Meredith Salenger) had a child that was stillborn. All the kids have a different person that they bond together with except for David. There is a touching scene where David talks to Alan about the death of his wife, Barbara, whom Mara forced to commit suicide with her psychic powers. They hold hands at the graveyard. The conflict with David could have been stronger if Michael Pare's character would have been left alive at the beginning of the film. There would have been more of a chance David would have broken away from the other children sooner. Linda Kozlowski, as Jill, gives one of the better performances in the movie as her genuine love for David and the conflict she feels about him taking the side of the other children comes across on screen. 

CROCODILE DUNDEE's Linda Kozlowski gives a standout performance as Jill

Some other highlights for me include the scene where George Buck Flower goes into the classroom and threatens the kids. His death is one of the most memorable as he drives his truck into a nice miniature model gas tank for an explosion. The scene where the national guard and police show up at the end and and are forced to shoot each other is a well done action scene. Again this shows that the children aren't that scary because that is a scene of action rather than something scary. The children using their powers in this reminds me more of X-MEN and less of CARRIE. The difference is in CARRIE, the characters actually had some personality. Carrie as a character was more interesting and unpredictable than all of these kids. The suspense scene with the bucket at the prom in that film is more suspenseful than any of the scenes where the children use their powers in this movie. I also enjoy the scene where Alan finally confronts Mara about what the children actually are. They have an interesting showdown where Mara talks about only wanting to survive and Alan comes back at her saying that not being able to feel anything makes us superior. 

Carpenter mainstay George Buck Flower gives a committed performance as Carlton, the school janitor

The heart of this film really is in the relationships between the characters of Jill, Alan, and David, and how they all oppose Mara. Mark Hamill as the minister and Kirstie Alley as Dr. Susan Verner feel like they are in different films. Kirstie Alley especially gives a wooden and stiff performance. The film does talk about different reports from different places where miraculous pregnancies have happened and children without empathy are born. This resulted in those town's complete destruction. The idea of Susan being able to hide the stillborn child from them for so long is an interesting idea on the surface but the film never develops the mind-blocking ability enough. Susan just says she can block her thoughts and we are supposed to with it. Later Alan develops the same ability and we just see a brick wall that is supposed to represent his thoughts. 

Chrisopher Reeve as Dr. Alan Chaffee

SPOILER SECTION

The children have killed most of the parents at this point. The townspeople lead a lynch mob, FRANKENSTEIN style with torches and are forced to immolate themselves. The children then force the national guard and police to shoot each other. Alan resolves to destroy them, though he wants to make David safe by creating a distraction. He blocks off his thoughts long enough to bring a bomb into the vicinity of the children, hidden in a suitcase. David rebels against Mara so he and his mother can leave. Alan explodes with the bomb, killing the children. 

I enjoyed aspects of this movie. Had the conflict with David been developed a little more I may have even been able to enjoy this enough to say it was average. The static nature of this film makes it really dull. The children never go through any changes. The adults know these children are evil, yet take way too long to decide to do anything about it. That could have worked if there was more conflict with them not wanting to kill or harm their own kids and trying to break through to them more. There are not enough interesting elements within the sci-fi elements to create anything there either. Linda Kozlowski shows great emotional range. Christopher Reeve gives a committed performance in his last one before his horse riding accident. The opening 20 minutes or so fit Carpenter's ability to create atmosphere to a tee. I enjoyed the mid-90s look as well. Apart from that this is a pedestrian effort, bereft of thrills, suspense, and not enough creativity. 

Rating: 4/10

Trivia: This film was shot at John Carpenter's second home in Inverness, California. There was vandalism on the set as the locals didn't enjoy the attention. It soured Carpenter on living in the area. Parts of THE FOG were shot in the area as well. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSIRK3MtIQ4

Clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-HZzW_NS88&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqpFSivVo5OFgimF9KBDeU41

Memoirs of An Invisible Man

 

Anytime a movie has something that has not been before is a good measure of the filmmaking craft and how entertaining it is. There were moments with the special effects involving invisibility where there were things I have never seen before. The idea of being invisible hampering someone's life, instead of giving it merits is an interesting concept to explore. I found this movie endlessly entertaining, despite some of its shortcomings. As this film was rewritten by John Carpenter after Ivan Reitman stepped down you can see the shortcomings in the writing and the clout that Chevy Chase had in the decision making process. The film isn't quite funny enough to be a comedy. It isn't thrilling enough to be the mistaken identity thriller it seems to be trying to be at times. This could have been even better if the film committed more to some of its elements. It is nonetheless ambitious and entertaining. 

Synopsis: Nick Halloway (Chevy Chase) is an average businessman who undergoes an extraordinary change when an experiment gone awry turns him invisible. Government operative David Jenkins (Sam Neill) discovers Nick in his see-through condition at the scene of the accident and arranges for him to be taken into custody, but he escapes. As Nick tries to find out more about his strange situation, he receives aid from Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah), a pretty acquaintance who helps him avoid capture.

I like that the film shows the ingenuity of the special effects right away. The film starts with Chevy Chase as Nick Halloway in a recording studio telling his story. We see a pencil up in the air, a piece of bubble gum that he blows on while invisible. The film has many effects of this caliber, one of my favorites being a scene where you see him on the opposite side of the mirror holding a phone and you see the reflection of just the phone in the air. One decision this film made is still showing Chevy Chase on screen despite his invisibility. That probably has more to do with the production company wanting to keep him on screen as much as possible and the bottom dollar, though I did enjoy his physical presence. It differs from the original THE INVISIBLE MAN in that way. In that film Claude Rains is never seen until the very end of it. Rains' voice dominated that film. Chevy gets some noir style voiceovers in this but his physical presence reigns supreme over that element. 

Chevy Chase as Nick

Nick is a member of high society and his friend George Talbot (Michael McKean) introduces him to Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah) at an exclusive country club they like to go to. I did enjoy the set up of this eventual romance. Nick and Alice start having a conversation about things they do and don't like and next thing they are in the bathroom making out. Alice and Nick agree to go out a different day as she says she has something else to do that night. It is a funny moment when they sneak away from George and his wife and Nick says he thought they were just finding a way to get out of the situation and Alice says she actually does have somewhere to be that night.

This might be the best Daryl Hannah has ever looked.

Hungover, Nick nearly falls asleep during a lecture from a chemical company he is required to be at. He leaves to go to the sauna and take a nap. While this is happening a lab tech spills his drink on some equipment. Instead of the building exploding half of it turns invisible. Resulting in an interesting visual effect when it is seen. Nick is turned invisible by this accident. Shady CIA operative David Jenkins (Sam Neill) tries to corner Nick by surrounding him. Nick at first goes along with the idea but changes his mind when the CIA agents talk about studying him and Jenkins says he can't let him leave. Nick fights them off and flees.

How cool does that partially invisible building look?

The next parts of the film are the funnier parts and the parts that explore the hindrance of invisibility. Nick has to knock out a man and pretend to be drunk in order to get into a taxi. This results in him having to use his hands to open the man's mouth when talking and using his hands to give him the money. Nick eventually appeals to Dr. Wachs, the man giving the presentation at the chemical plant, for help. When Nick goes to meet Dr. Wachs at a college that is when we see him in classic invisible man garb. When he starts to reveal himself however Jenkins' men corner him and he has to escape as Wachs is shot and killed. 

Nick's invisible man getup

The second half of this film has some great scenes of using invisibility to spy on people. I love it when Nick went into CIA headquarters to spy on Jenkins and his men to see what they were saying about him. It was fitting for his character to reveal himself to Jenkins and by yawning and cracking his bones. Jenkins attempts to recruit him. Nick, however, does not want to kill people and holds Jenkins at gunpoint so he can get away. The next invisibility spying scene is equally interesting and fun. Nick goes to stay at George's summer home. There are some fun moments before his friends show up. Nick calls a food delivery person and asks him to leave the food on the table and go. The delivery boy ends up looking for stuff to steal prompting Nick to say something and have the man leave in horror. 

George eventually shows up with his wife and Alice and a new friend, Richard (Gregory Paul Martin). There is a fun moment where Richard gets a little too aggressive with Alice in bed and Nick, unknowingly to Richard, punches him. They all have moments talking about Nick as they know he is the one who broke in because of the drinks he has bought. Again, much like the scene of spying on the CIA agents this is another scene I enjoyed because you don't see things much like it. This is like being able to know who your true friends are by knowing what they say behind your back. 

SPOILER SECTION

Eventually, Nick's loneliness and love for Alice make him want to reveal himself to her. He does so after calling her to the beach house. After Nick starts taking clothes off to reveal his invisibility Alice faints. Alice agrees to help Nick and go away with him. Nick is planning to have Alice buy stocks for him so they can make money. They agree to flee to Mexico. There are some funny moments when Alice keeps grabbing food for Nick. Alice stays at the house when the others leave. Jenkins and his men take a helicopter to the house after monitoring George's phone calls that mention Nick.

How Nick looks after Alice puts some makeup on him. Another great image of many from this movie.

They go to Mexico but eventually Jenkins tracks them down. There are some interesting action scenes here. The agents have some kind of thermal or infrared goggles that allow them to see Nick. Anytime it rains his outline also becomes visible. They are on a train to Mexico when they are once again intercepted by Jenkins and his men. Nick eventually jumps off a bridge and survives. Alice is kidnapped by Jenkins and his men. Nick agrees to an exchange where Alice goes free. George helps during the exchange by going into the phone booth pretending to be Nick. A chase ensues where Jenkins and Nick eventually meet on a roof. Nick fakes out Jenkins by holding his clothes up and Jenkins falls to his death. Everyone thinks that Nick is also dead. Singleton, Jenkins' boss, lets Alice go. Nick eventually surprises her and they flee to Switzerland. We see Nick is skiing by just seeing his clothes. A pregnant Alice greets him on the mountain. 

I enjoyed all of the different things in this film that I had never seen before. All of the floating objects and different invisible things in the same shot with real things was cool to see. Nick using his invisibility for spying was interesting. There are some funny moments throughout, though not many laugh out loud moments. The closest anything came to being that funny was when Nick scared the delivery boy at George's house. This film would have been better if it had committed to something. It never has anything close to exciting as the plane chase scene or the Mt. Rushmore scene you would see in NORTH BY NORTHWEST. That is the type of film Carpenter was trying to make. Chase not committing fully to the comedy is another aspect where it misses a bit. Sam Neill is a delight. Neill is normally a more intense actor and here it just looks like he is having fun. In the hands of another director Jenkins probably would have survived at the end but I can see Carpenter injecting more darkness into this by having him fall to his death. I did like the idea of exploring the loneliness of invisibility. 

I wish Nick would have gone through more of an arc. Every adaptation of the INVISIBLE MAN features a character becoming stronger or becoming crazier as a result of their affliction or ability. Nick starts out as a sleazy and charming stock analyst and basically ends the film as such. The only reason the villains come after him is he reveals himself to Alice and she eventually gets kidnapped. The movie could have been better if it explored his vulnerabilities even further. He seems content to just live in George's summer home. That whole thing feels like a subplot right out of a comedy film. I would've liked to see Nick pushed even more to the brink. Have him contemplate revenge or something by having the agents kill some of his friends or something. Maybe force him to kill someone somehow and see how he deals with that. This movie is entertaining but could have been even better. The funny and unique moments really help keep it engaging throughout. I do wish Carpenter would have done more of these director for hire gigs as STARMAN is my favorite film of his and this is not quite as good but similarly entertaining. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Trivia: John Carpenter has stated that this is his least favorite of all the films he's directed, and is the film he "hates thinking about the most". One reason was because of the constant studio interference that didn't allow Carpenter much creative freedom. Carpenter also called Chevy Chase "a director's worst nightmare" and "nearly impossible to direct", also saying the same about Daryl Hannah. According to Carpenter, Chase would complain non-stop about the film's tone and hated wearing the special effects, often prematurely removing his makeup and ruining hours of filming. At one point, Carpenter broke a clipboard in half over his knee in a fit of rage when Chase removed his makeup mid-take. Carpenter said that Chase and Hannah were "immune to any punishment from the studio, and they knew it, so they walked over me and everyone else on set and essentially told us we'd be replaced if we had any problem with them...it was like working with your boss's snooty children who would tattle on you if you didn't bend to their every will." Despite this, Carpenter ended up bonding and seeking comfort in Sam Neill over the troubling production and the two became close friends, with Neill agreeing to work with Carpenter again on In the Mouth of Madness (1994).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104850/trivia/?ref_=tt_ql_3

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4qLE7gRmfI

Clips: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=memoirs+of+an+invisible+man+clips

Walking Tall: Final Chapter

 

Aided by Jack Starrett's direction and a more experienced performance by Bo Svenson, the final film in this trilogy really walks tall. The drama of the first one is brought back in a meaningful way. The action scenes are better and have more stakes. The second film really only had one great dramatic scene. Svenson inhabited the role naturally but never really had to perform as much as he does here. The continuity is great. Even bringing back characters and storylines from the first film. The second film seemed to be searching for drama. This film generates an interesting conflict by having Buford have to run for reelection and losing. He not only has to cope with his losing, but not being able to do anything about the crime in town and not being able to get a new job. The last act of the film is eerily meta and allows audiences to say goodbye to this hero in a tragic yet satisfying way.

Synopsis: The film is about Sheriff Buford Pusser's (Bo Svenson) final years after retiring from the police in 1970, as he tries to make amends with his family and friends. The story includes Pusser continuing his work as sheriff, taking on a moonshine runner who abuses children, and busting up bars. The film also includes a meta element where Pusser gets to see a film version of his life, and the story ends with his suspicious death in a car accident in 1974, which the film links to his war on corruption.

Jack Starrett, whom many people will recognize for playing evil Deputy Art Galt in FIRST BLOOD, directed this film.

The film starts with stock footage and recreation of the scene from the first film where Pauline was shot. Buford is now on a vengeance trail against John Witter (Logan Ramsey). However, Buford's two leads can do nothing to testify against Witter. Pinky Dobson, from the last film is paralyzed. His girlfriend, also a loose end from the last film has recanted her statement implicating Witter. 

A picture and autograped 8X10 I got from Bo Svenson at Chiller Theatre in April of 2024

There were many emotionally satisfying moments in this film. There were also a lot of moments that seemed like natural reactions and conversations. Seeing Buford get angry at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after they say they have no evidence to implicate Witter felt natural. Svenson has a great acting moment early on where he breaks down at his wife's grave and cries and says he regrets ever running for Sheriff because he lost her. Later, when he loses reelection his father comes to tell him while he goes fishing with his kids. Another great natural feeling scene. Luan, another character brought back from the first film, is played by Maggie Blye here. Her and Buford's relationship was interesting in the first film as there seemed to be this will they or won't they aspect to it. You get the feeling that Buford would have taken an interest in her if he wasn't married. Him and Luan have dinner at one point in this movie and she confesses her love to Buford by saying that while she was a hooker she dreamed of a man who could help her out of that situation. Buford tells her that is too soon. Another quick transition happens and they laugh it off when she asks if she was the best informant he ever had. Those natural dramatic moments really add some pathos to this film. 

Bo Svenson returns as Buford Pusser.

The action and the consequences of it are better as well. Buford beats a man named QQ with his club after catching him beating his son. Buford, a father himself, takes offense to this and decides to treat him how he treats his son. QQ's lawyer later accuses Buford of police brutality and is a big reason why he loses his reelection bid. There are some great dramatic scenes in the second half. Buford seems more relatable when he talks to his friend Lloyd (Sandy McPeak) about how he can't get a job. Buford and his secretary Joan (Libby Boone) have a conversation about how Buford can't even bring himself to visit the courts. This is relatable to anyone who gets a new job and does not want to go back to the place they worked before, especially if they left on a bad note or just didn't like working there. Buford eventually gets into a fight with QQ and Udell again. They want to press charges on Buford and no one stands up for him except for Lloyd. This film is packed with poignant scenes like this where it shows the political aspect of how people can become too accustomed to the good things someone can do and forget so soon. The best action scene is when Buford finds out that Witter has opened a new prostitution and gambling joint called the THREE DEUCES. Buford visits and tries to give Luan money to leave her job there as a sex worker. Men working for Witter notice Buford and Luan talking and they torture Luan to death. Buford goes back to the joint and beats everyone up and burns it down. That is a better action and fight scene than anything in the second film. 

SPOILER SECTION

The last act of this film is quite meta. Buford gets a call from a Hollywood producer who wants to make a movie about his life after watching the news. Buford agrees to the movie and in a sorrowing scene has to watch the sequence where his wife is killed in the theater. In true to life fashion Buford is even offered the part to play himself in the next movie. Buford's new car malfunctions and crashes after some of Witter's men see him at the meeting with the producers. His daughter Dwana later finds him and weeps over his body. Witter's boss puts out a hit on him as soon as she starts talking about more business opportunities in McNairy County now that Buford is dead.

Once again the continuity from the previous films is strong. Characters and actors come back to play the same roles. It was nice to see Bruce Glover again as the Deputy. Buford's father is played by Forrest Tucker, replacing Noah Beery. Dawn Lyn and Leif Garrett return as Buford's kids. While the last act of the film drags on a little bit, specifically the scene at the fair, that is just how 70s films sometimes went. I found this to be paced about the same as the second film but the drama and action was better. Svenson got to flex his acting muscles more, both literally and physically. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Trivia: The real Buford Pusser was stated to play himself in WALKING TALL: PART 2, something this film emulates in a meta way. The last film was less violent because the company wanted the film to avoid an R-rating. This film is much more violent and you can see the difference. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD9XJE3jlYU

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlCDThCwYvk

The Ward (2010)

 

The latter half of John Carpenter's directorial career has been thoroughly criticized. Sometimes deserved, other times too excessively so. Carpenter never lost his eye for talent. From casting Jamie Lee Curtis in HALLOWEEN and Kurt Russell in many of his early films to getting people like Amber Heard, Sydney Sweeney, and Jared Harris to star in this. He still can shoot widescreen with ease. He can still make a hallway look eerie. What I think he lost along the way was creativity and not having the right people around him. Without Debra Hill to help him write female characters, without Dean Cundey as his cinematographer, and without Tommy Lee Wallace as his production designer and editor, Carpenter feels lesser than the sum of his parts. This film has a $10 million dollar budget, all takes place in one setting, yet I found nothing memorable in how it looked. Some of the more interesting aspects of it are things that were done in horror films earlier in this century. Namely SESSION 9 and IDENTITY.  I can't put all of the blame on Carpenter for this as the source material he was working with was weak. 

Synopsis: Kristen is committed to a psychiatric unit where it seems an angry spirit of a former patient is haunting the girls who are being treated there. Kristen makes desperate escape attempts after the staff ignore her warnings about the spirit.

The film has a modern digital look to it. Yet from the IMDB page I think it was shot on film. That helps with the throwback look as this film is set in the 1960s. The clothing and the different look of the cars helps that. What doesn't help that is the CW casting. Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, and Lyndsy Fonseca are all beautiful to look at. I can't help but think I was watching a SUPERNATURAL episode though. Early on there were some great camera shots including a crane shot up the asylum building. Another wide tracking shot from a different room showing Kristen walking around. 

The other girls in the psychiatric hospital are Sarah (Danielle Panabaker), Emily (Mamie Gummer), Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), and Zoey (Laura-Leigh). While these characters are all shown to have different traits, none of them are particularly interesting or memorable. Sarah keeps trying to get one of the guards to go on a date with her, basically trying to seduce him so she can be free of the asylum. Iris likes to draw. Zoey is paranoid and likes keeping a stuffed animal. Emily is a wild-child. She likes to sing and yell annoyingly at random times. 

From Top to Bottom: Lyndsy Fonseca, Danielle Panabaker, and Amber Heard. All of them appeared in films made around this time.

Jared Harris is an interesting actor, playing the interesting character of Dr. Stringer. He believes he can help cure Kristen and the other girls using hypnotherapy. The other nurses favor electroshock therapy whenever the girls' mental problems arise. One aspect of this film I think could have been elaborated on more was the treatment of the people who were committed. Kristen is repeatedly asked to take pills, put through electroshock therapy and physically restrained in many ways, including a straitjacket. The nurses seem to disagree with Dr. Stringer's methods yet nothing really comes of that. The way the employees at the psychiatric hospital treat all the subjects only benefits the plot at the time, rather than being something to explore. 

Before I go into the spoiler section, because it will be hard to talk about this film much more without doing so, I wanted to talk about some other things I liked. There are some great kills. One involving a lobotomy, and one awesome throat slit. The score by Mark Kilian and THE NEWBEATS had an interesting theme with the human vocals. The score during the action and chase scenes however sounds like stock music. While the mystery to this film was incredibly predictable, I was still curious to see how it would all tie together. If more time was spent establishing an atmosphere instead of trying to be so fast paced like a wooden roller coaster with just the drop and no anticipation, it would have been a lot better.

SPOILER SECTION

Kristen keeps seeing visions of a disfigured girl named Alice (Sydney Sweeney). Eventually it is revealed that Alice was a patient at the hospital, and the other girls killed her. At the same time, Kristen also keeps having nightmares about a girl being tied up in a basement with a man coming in. This style of revealing a little more with each flashback may have been something Carpenter took from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. As all of the other patients are killed around Kristen, she eventually finds herself in Stringer's office reading the case notes. Stringer explains that the dreams she keeps having are of Alice, who was abducted at age 11 and continually assaulted by a man. To cope with this trauma she developed dissociative identity disorder, creating all of the other patients as different identities. Kristen is a new identity developed to fight back against Stringer's treatments trying to bring Alice back. 

A young Sydney Sweeney plays the younger version of Alice. Pictured here with John Carpenter.

Now Carpenter did not write this film. Michael and Shawn Rasmussen did. That should be noted because Carpenter was executing what he had for source material. There could have been better attempts to create atmosphere by slowing down the rapid pacing on his part. Yet, there were so many things that could have been better within the writing. The beginning of the film is obvious. Kristen burns down the place where Alice was abducted. You know Kristen has been to this hospital. You know that everyone there knows who she is even if the film doesn't say it. As soon as you see the older people in the window you know they are Kristen's or Alice's parents. Now technically every girl is Alice, which in its own way is a problem because it makes all of the other characters irrelevant to me. None of them are developed except for basic traits, so we never route for any of them to overtake Kristen or be left alive. I would have enjoyed knowing these characters more to create more sympathy for them when they lost one way or another. Other than some things that look different and the outdated treatment methods this film doesn't feel like it needed to be set in the 1960s either. I found myself curious about where the mystery would go, even though I could see it coming. I didn't hate this film, or even dislike it. I am more disappointed by the missed opportunities to make it better in a lot of ways. While the characters, story, and atmosphere were just interesting enough to get me through one viewing, I don't see any reason to watch this one again. 

Rating: 5/10

Trivia: The black and white film seen on the TV the girls are watching is TORMENTED from 1960. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftNvTUGH1W8

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eraYBv1JWZQ

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+ward+2010

Walking Tall Part 2 AKA Part 2: Walking Tall

 

Plays like a parody of the first film, upping the hixploitation elements. Think of the difference in tone from ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE to DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. This is similar. The family drama elements that gave the first one higher stakes are eschewed for more crime scenes. The villain is more cartoonish. Buford Pusser goes from crime to crime in this film as if this were a Eurocrime movie. The action scenes, maybe due to less of a budget, and less dramatic stakes are not as good. The quantity of them makes up for the of lack quality to still keep the film exciting at times. Bo Svenson inhabits the character of Buford Pusser well. There is a reason why the real Buford Pusser wanted Svenson to play him. Contrasting with Joe Don Baker who actually had to perform in the first movie, Svenson seems like he seems becomes this character effortlessly. The continuity for a sequel made in 1975 is surprisingly good. Many actors returning from the first film still made it feel like it could be in the same world.

Bo Svenson replaces Joe Don Baker as Buford Pusser in this film

Synopsis: Sheriff Buford Pusser continues his one-man war against moonshiners and a ruthless crime syndicate after the murder of his wife in late-1960s Tennessee. 

I was excited by the quantity of the action scenes in this movie. Most of them though are quick and lack the dramatic heft of the first film. Anytime I get to see two actors who I enjoy getting into a fight in a movie I always enjoy that. Seeing Bo Svenson fight Frank McRae for however brief a time was fun. I wish the film would have explored more of Buford using his want to fight crime as a way of dealing with his wife's death. The best dramatic moment in the film actually happens when Buford loses one of his best friends and Svenson shows some great dramatic acting in that scene. I also enjoyed him showing off his martial arts skills. You see him do one hell of a kick when Buford and his men raid yet another illegal moonshining operation. 

A picture and autograped 8X10 I got from Bo Svenson at Chiller Theatre in April of 2024

The cartoonish aspect of this film lies in the villain, Witter (Logan Ramsey) hiring multiple men, and a woman to try to deal with Buford. There are many scenes of him just sitting around, smoking a cigar and telling people what to do. He hires Stud Pardee (Richard Jaeckel), and Pinky Dobson (Luke Eskew) to kill Buford. He also hires Marganne Stilson (Angel Tompkins) to seduce him. None of these plans work. Buford gets into multiple car chases with Stud, one of them ending in Stud getting into a crash and Buford pulling him out of the burning car when he gets the information he requests. Marganne does manage to get him to a secluded location but Buford had all ready been one step ahead of her looking into her police record and finding out she was using an alias. He sees the would-be assassins through binoculars and calls for them to leave on his bullhorn. Dobson is eventually found by Buford and the police before trying to escape on a boat. A great stunt is when his boat is flipped over by an embankment in the water, sending Dobson flying to his death. While all this is going on Buford responds to more crimes, including chasing a man in the woods who ended up working for a rich townie. Buford also pulls over a log truck where he finds out alcohol is being hidden in the logs for illegal distribution. 

I enjoy how much Buford seems to have a leg up on these criminals. I do wish though that this film would have shown the more vulnerable side to the character we see in the first film. The first film showed Buford not being aware of basic rules of the law such as Miranda rights. He gets shot, beat up, and outsmarted at times. This film shows him to be infallible up until the very ending shootout. I did enjoy how this connected to the first film with the government agents asking him if he could identify who killed his wife, and later finding out the ties between Witter and the assassins from the first film. I do wish some themes could have been elaborated on more. The townspeople seem to have united support for Buford yet he expresses multiple times that he is worried. That is why he decides to respond to the first call involving Frank McRae even though Obra usually handles most of the crime involving black people and black bars in the town. There is a conflict with his father that disappears after one scene when Buford arrests one of his friends. Things like this could have been used to create more drama in the film. Instead Buford just responds to yet another crime independent of the main story. I think that the scene of him taking apart Pardee's car trying to find contraband was an influence on a similar scene in 2004's WALKING TALL.  

As I mentioned before, the continuity of this film is appreciated. Bruce Glover, Leif Garrett, Dawn Lyn, Lurene Tuttle,  and Noah Beery Jr. all return from their roles in the first film. Walter Scharf returns to compose the score and the movie keeps the somber and moving string theme of the first movie. Replacing Felton Perry as Obra is Blaxploitation mainstay, Robert DoQui. While I could have used the same compelling drama as the first film I still enjoyed the decent pace of this film, being 15 minutes shorter than the first. It was never boring and I enjoyed seeing Bo Svenson just effortlessly play this part. The car chases are exciting and I enjoyed how they went from both roads to more rural areas. I watched this on Youtube on a VHS print and it made me feel like I was watching it on TV in the 1970s which is how I feel it should be watched. 

Rating: 6/10

Trivia: Buford Pusser was originally going to play himself in this film before his death in a car accident. Both actors to play Obra in the first two films, Felton Perry and Robert DoQui appeared in all of the first three ROBOCOP films together.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwAf1kdo4Y

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlCDThCwYvk