The Devil’s Rain!
From the “you kind of have to watch it once” category, here’s The Devil’s Rain.
Starring William Shatner and Ernest Borgnine (!!!), The Devil’s Rain was released in 1975, and you’d never mistake it for anything other than a ’70s horror movie. It was literally and figuratively dark, dismal yet cheesy, and produced on the cheap. It even had the depressing twist ending — a real hallmark of the era.
I have seen this one, but all I really remember is the ending, which has become somewhat famous for its… erm… over-the-topness. Otherwise, this is just your run-of-the-mill “satanists secretly run the town” story, with the added bonus of Actual Satan being part of the festivities. (Not really, but Borgnine’s character came pretty close.)
It’s the kind of movie best served late at night when you’re waiting for the NyQuil to kick in.
Monster in the Closet!
Never saw this one, but it sure sounds promising. Monster in the Closet is a Troma movie from ’86, and while I’m generally apprehensive about Troma movies (not throwing shade; they just aren’t my style), this flick looks like a winner. I mean, if my Google Image Search was any indication, it features a monster that looks like a man-sized Rancor.
Since it’s a Troma film, you can expect it to be more than a little campy. Enjoy!
(Also, kudos to this vid for having the least interesting thumbnail in YouTube history.)
Lapti Nek!
Just a shorty for tonight, which I’m posting super early because by the time anyone reads this, I’ll be out and hopefully drunk.
This is the official music video for Lapti Nek — that weird song from Return of the Jedi — which actually got some airplay on MTV back in ’83.
Of all the changes Lucas made to the original trilogy, I think modifying the Lapti Nek sequence may have been the most shortsighted. (Well, no, turning the sarlacc into a giant Audrey II was worse, but this came close.)
The original version was just so much better suited to the tone of Jabba’s palace, and it was a way better song, to boot.
This music video is a modified version of the scene from the movie, which used additional shots to make it more self-contained. I love it. The Star Wars soundtracks were my first CDs (really), and I used to listen to Lapti Nek like it was a regular pop song. This gained me no new friends, of course.
Happy Friday!
Beast Wars!
Even after so many years, I’m still completely in love with Beast Wars. It’s IMO the best of all the Transformers shows and movies, superbly written and with so many awesome characters. It helps that the show — which at first seems maybe a tad mundane — manages to work in some truly mind-blowing twists as it rolls forward.
Here’s the first episode, which is good for sure, but doesn’t really hint at just how good the series would become later. I haven’t written nearly enough about Beast Wars over the years, but trust me on this one: You should definitely buy the DVDs and definitely watch the whole series.
