I'm starting to really like TCM. They show an array of classics, of course, but also slip in some really bizarre movies. And I'm not just talking about Forbidden Planet at 2 a.m. (Leslie Nielsen vs. a rampaging id in a hokey sci-fi reimagining of The Tempest! You should see this one if you haven't already.)
No, I'm talking about stuff that's just really really strange.
First up, the one I saw most recently: 1959's The Brain That Wouldn't Die. A mad scientist type gets in a car accident that decaptiates his fiancee. What's a groom-to-be to do except for flee the scene, head in hand, sit the head in a tray of mysterious serum and ignore the head's pleas to "let me die!" while scouring beauty pageants for replacement bodies! But that's not the weird part. The weirdest part is the fact that the serum gives the fiancee's head some psychic powers, including telepathy with the monstrous thing locked in the closet. Man, this movie is just incredibly strange. But don't just take my word for it; check out the trailer! And then there's the other movie I saw a couple of weeks ago. Blood Freak. This movie is so bizarre it makes The Brain That Wouldn't Die look like St. Elmo's Fire. So there's this transient biker dude who falls for a good churchgoing girl but is of course tempted away by her slutty drug-addled sister.
Well, to make a long story short, he winds up as a homicidal maniac with a turkey's head who drinks a lot of blood. Also some guy breaks into the action and comments on it, Greek-Chorus style, at random intervals. Oh yeah, and that guy smokes a lot.
Finally Turkey Boy turns human again and everything is okay, except for all those people he killed. Again, the trailer kinda says it all, except for this: this movie is like some weird piece of folk art populated entirely by amateur actors. And these "actors" really make you realize how good even a bad professional actor like Keanu Reeves is. There is a certain amount of craft and skill involved in being even remotely convincing on screen. And the people in this movie simply don't have it. It's the kind of thing you watch with your mouth hanging open the whole time, unsure if this is a joke you're not in on, or a joke the filmmakers aren't in on.
No, I'm talking about stuff that's just really really strange.
First up, the one I saw most recently: 1959's The Brain That Wouldn't Die. A mad scientist type gets in a car accident that decaptiates his fiancee. What's a groom-to-be to do except for flee the scene, head in hand, sit the head in a tray of mysterious serum and ignore the head's pleas to "let me die!" while scouring beauty pageants for replacement bodies! But that's not the weird part. The weirdest part is the fact that the serum gives the fiancee's head some psychic powers, including telepathy with the monstrous thing locked in the closet. Man, this movie is just incredibly strange. But don't just take my word for it; check out the trailer! And then there's the other movie I saw a couple of weeks ago. Blood Freak. This movie is so bizarre it makes The Brain That Wouldn't Die look like St. Elmo's Fire. So there's this transient biker dude who falls for a good churchgoing girl but is of course tempted away by her slutty drug-addled sister.
Well, to make a long story short, he winds up as a homicidal maniac with a turkey's head who drinks a lot of blood. Also some guy breaks into the action and comments on it, Greek-Chorus style, at random intervals. Oh yeah, and that guy smokes a lot.
Finally Turkey Boy turns human again and everything is okay, except for all those people he killed. Again, the trailer kinda says it all, except for this: this movie is like some weird piece of folk art populated entirely by amateur actors. And these "actors" really make you realize how good even a bad professional actor like Keanu Reeves is. There is a certain amount of craft and skill involved in being even remotely convincing on screen. And the people in this movie simply don't have it. It's the kind of thing you watch with your mouth hanging open the whole time, unsure if this is a joke you're not in on, or a joke the filmmakers aren't in on.
