Movieline Online

Screenwriter Lem Dobbs sums up the significance of Elvis’ performance in Flaming Star (1960) quite succinctly as “the path not taken.” Rather than coast by on his good looks and a rousing theme song, Presley was determined to change the course of his acting career in this his first movie role after returning from the Army. Playing the “half-breed” younger son in a frontier family, the character of Pacer Burton afforded him the opportunity to actually emote alongside his fellow actors rather than just shake his hips. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the sort of performance audience’s had in mind for the King of Rock n’ Roll. Directed by Don Siegel, one of the few noteworthy directors Presley ever worked with, Flaming Star deals with the uncomfortable issue of racism packaged in a comfortable western format. The Burton family’s idyllic Texas range life is torn apart when a savage attack by a Kiowa Indian tribe upon their neighbors stirs up bad blood. Pacer and his full-blooded Kiowa mot...

Call it bad luck, bad karma or just bad timing; some folks never get the credit they deserve. Arch Oboler began his career with a breakout success on the 1936 radio program Lights Out , a weekly horror play that aired on NBC at midnight which allowed for much more edgy content. Oboler parlayed that success into a career in Hollywood and hit the jackpot again in 1952 with Bwana Devil , the first color 3D film that unleashed a tidal wave of imitators. But these accomplishments never made Oboler a household name, despite the fact that many of those inspired by his ideas and innovations (Rod Serling and Stephen King among them) did just that. Perhaps because Oboler, although quick to spot a trend, never took full advantage of the film medium. 1966’s The Bubble is a perfect example, shot with a new 3D technology that allowed for much simpler filmmaking techniques (and set the standard for every 3D film for the next 30 years), but burdened with a storyline that is a poor match for the ...

The Vanishing (1993) was blasted right out of the gate for simply attempting to replicate the eerie appeal of the original 1988 Dutch version, even though both films were directed by the same man, George Sluizer, who restages the story with a big-name cast, one major new character and a Hollywood ending that had critics crying foul. With a couple of decades of perspective, one can afford to be a bit more unbiased. And the truth is, the American version isn’t just bad by comparison, it’s bad all by itself. After a lover’s spat, Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland) and Rita (Sandra Bullock) pull in to a busy truck stop to refuel for their road trip. Rita, however, never comes back to the car. Years later, Jeff is still racked with guilt about her disappearance and obsessed with getting closure. His loyalty (and haggard appearance) wins the sympathy of a pretty waitress, Rita (Nancy Travis), who soon becomes his first follow-up relationship. Meanwhile, the film introduces us to Barney Cousin...

After debuting Demons and Demons 2 on Blu-ray in an exclusive steelbook format, Synapse Films has released a slightly less collectible but equally spectacular looking pair of stand-alone editions that epitomize the gonzo ‘80s Italian horror aesthetic. Produced by Dario Argento ( Suspiria ) and directed by Lamberto Bava (son of Mario), you won’t find a more silly, sick and visually slick double feature of Euro-splatter anywhere! Just don’t expect it to make any sense. At this point in his career Argento had drifted into a pattern of disconnected imagery tied with the loosest of narrative threads, designed more like Fangoria photoplays than linear stories. And apparently he developed Demons and its sequel along the same lines, packaging both films with a prefabricated heavy metal soundtrack built around some outstanding make-up effects by Sergio Stivaletti. There’s a screenplay in here somewhere, but it’s practically non-essential. Demons begins with a disfigured servant of Sa...

Shock Waves has been lying undiscovered in the cult movie ocean for decades, much like the undead Nazi soldiers in the film itself. Even Blue Underground’s original 2003 release on DVD didn’t generate the sort of attention the film deserved for creating a fever-dream atmosphere quite unlike any zombie film before or since. But with zombies still firmly in command of our movies, TV and video games, director Ken Wiederhorn’s prune-faced corpses are rising from the depths in a brand-new Blu-ray edition that’s destined to win over new fans. Shipwrecked on a small island off the Florida Keys, a group of tour boat passengers and her crew search for shelter in an abandoned hotel only to be greeted by a former German SS commander (Peter Cushing) who tries to scare them off. His warning, however, comes too late as some sort of natural disaster has awoken his troop of super soldiers just offshore. Now these unstoppable killing machines are stalking everyone on the island, intent on draggi...