barcham_99 Reviews

Hollywood Canteen (1944)

An absolute TEN!

[10/10 · 30 March 2023]

How anyone can rate this lower than a 10 is beyond me. This movie cannot be rated as regular movies are rated. It represents an actual Canteen that operated just as the one in the movie did. What the stars did for service men and women deserves nothing less than a 10. In fact, it is beyond rating numbers as is this movie. If you are a fan of classic Hollywood, this is a must-see movie, and it will leave a smile on the faces of even the most disgruntled of viewer.

Bette Davis' contributions can never be understated. Nor can any of the stars, and that definition applies to each and every man and woman who gave their time to the Hollywood Canteen for they were truly deserving of being called a STAR.

I view this movie as a glimpse of history, it is well worth watching for any true film fan.

Boston Strangler (2023)

Very reminiscent of Zodiac, much better than the 1968 Tony Curtis movie.

[7/10 · 19 March 2023]

While I enjoyed this movie immensely, I found it very much to be a female-driven adaptation of Zodiac, except for the fact we have an admitted killer by the end. Like Zodiac, we have a journalist from a different department who decides to work a series of murders, the journalists are better at investigating the cases than law enforcement, we have the required mysterious phone calls and hang-ups, and even a segment where the journalist becomes afraid to enter a suspect's abode and basically runs away. The movie also focuses on the journalists' hunt for the killer, instead of the murders themselves. Which is very appropriate seeing as to this day we are still unsure whether DeSalvo committed all the murders or only some of them.

Now, don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy the movie. I only felt that I had seen it before, as Zodiac. If I had never watched Zodiac, I would have given this movie a solid 8.

Anyone picking on Kiera Knightly's accent really missed the entire point and I had no problems with her accent and found she put in an excellent portrayal, as did everyone in the film.

If someone is looking for a slasher film, better look elsewhere. You will not satisfy those urges here. If you want to see a movie that deals with the subject matter in a much more accurate way than the 1968 Tony Curtis vehicle, this is the one you need to see. I would have gladly watched another hour or so of this movie, say bring it to the same length as the Zodiac movie, to have the other similar murders and subjects explored more in depth, as well as a more in depth look at Albert DeSalvo himself.

This movie barely scratches the surface of the Boston Strangler murders, and of the man we have always considered to be the Strangler. Where the 1968 movie brought us mostly a fictional version of DeSalvo, this movie gives us almost nothing about the man at all. But it has given me the incentive to do more Internet research into this case, to discover the details that were left out.

I am glad I watched it, and did not find it to be a waste of my time as so many other movies today tend to be. But it could have been so much more that I was left unsatisfied at the end, like being served an excellent meal but only being able to have a couple of bites before it was taken away.

If you are interested in the case, this will be worth watching. I feel most people will discover information about the Boston Strangler that they did not know before. Go in with an open mind, and you will have it filled with information that will give you much cause for thought. In the end, the Boston Strangler turns out to be as much of a mystery as the Zodiac killer and Jack the Ripper long before both of them.

Dragon Seed (1944)

I was unable to get past the first 15 minutes

[1/10 · 18 January 2023]

Take my review for what it is worth as I am totally unable to watch this movie. It is actually playing on TCM as I write this review, and I was not able to get past the first 15 minutes. Seeing great actors like Hepburn playing Chinese characters is deal breaking for me. This is worse than blackface to me, because no actor who performed in blackface was pretending to be anything other than a white actor in blackface. These white actors are passing themselves off as Asian and that is unacceptable to me today, and to be honest I do not believe I would have felt any different back in the 60s when I was a young boy growing up.

Yes, I do understand the era when this movie was made, but I still cannot get past it. If it does not bother you, perhaps you will be able to enjoy the story. Personally, I cannot. Perhaps there is a studio or producer or director out there who would be willing to remake this movie with the proper actors starring in it. At least it would be a better project than another remake of a great movie or prequel or sequel that is really not needed. This is an error that really needs to be corrected. Is there anyone out there with the courage to do it?

Secrets of Playboy (2022–2023)

Absolute garbage.

[1/10 · 4 April 2022]

This was exactly what I thought it would be, total garbage. It is nothing but washed up Playmates who have no other way to make a living today, trashing Hefner now that he is not around to defend himself. I knew it would only be a matter of time before this happened, and I am sad that A&E, a once reputable network, has fallen so low as to put this on the air. This is something I would expect to find on TLC. In fact, this show made me take a deeper look into the programming on that channel and I will be removing it from my cable package as soon as I decide what to replace it with.

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Fun way to kill 2 hours.

[7/10 · 16 August 2021]

I found it to be a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and the first Mummy movie with Brendan Fraser. Nothing overly original, somewhat predictable, but lots of fun overall. There are a couple of twists that I honestly did not see coming, and the corny jokes were great, as was the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, both of whom I hope to see together again on film. You could definitely spend a worse couple of hours.

Friends: The Reunion (2021 TV Special)

They should have watched the Fresh Prince reunion before filming this one.

[7/10 · 28 May 2021]

I've been reading online reviews that say this was the best reunion ever done. Well I guess those people missed The Fresh Prince reunion of a few months ago. THAT one was the blueprint for how they should be done. While this show was very nice to see, and the segments with the cast members reminiscing together on the rebuilt set were excellent, and the segments where the creators of the show spoke about the casting and other details of the show were extremely entertaining, it fell short almost everywhere else.

Did we really need a 'fashion show' with Justin Bieber and Cara Delavigne? A video compilation would have been much better. There was no need for an audience at all. The Fresh Prince reunion did just fine without one and everyone on that reunion seemed much more at ease that way. The less said about James Corden the better. I don't believe he had yet been born when the show began and there was no reason for him to host it, or for any host at all for that matter.

Other wastes of time were interviews with irrelevant fans from around the world, as well as David Beckham and other stars who had nothing at all to do with the show. Do I really care what some boy band from South Korea, none of whom were born when the show was in first run, have to say about it? Fine, the one member of BTK who seems to speak English says the show is the main reason he did learn the language. Apparently the other members of the group were not so attentive as none of them seem to speak it.

I would have traded all of that for an extra few minutes with Tom Selleck and a few other guest stars who were totally overlooked, like Ross's ex-wives who received less mention than the monkey did. The things and people that were missing were incredible.

As for the cast themselves:

David Schwimmer was looking great but as I've seen him recently on his new TV show, his appearance was as expected. He seemed happy to be there and right at ease with everyone and Ross was right there waiting to come back out.

Jennifer Aniston was as beautiful as ever. Seemed very happy to be there, especially during the table read with David about Ross and Rachel's first kiss. :) What appeared to be a touch of Botox tightening up her face was a bit distracting, but she is still a beautiful, talented lady and I will watch her in anything she does.

Matt Leblanc was just hilarious. He slipped right back into character as if they had just finished shooting an episode. Of everyone, he has aged the most naturally and what seemed to be comfortably, making a few wisecracks at his own expense about his weight. He looked genuinely overjoyed to see everyone. He is still Joey and always will have that grin and laugh ready to come out.

Lisa Kudrow was his female counterpart. She looked like she had not aged a day and had never seen the tip of a Botox needle or a surgeon's scalpel. She also slipped right back into character, seemingly without even noticing.

Matthew Perry: Something was not right with him. He looked like he had aged more than everyone else, was very quiet, and his physical movements were off as well, he just did not look happy to be there. He starred in a reboot of The Odd Couple about 5 years ago but looked like he has aged about 15 years since then. I have read that he supposedly had dental surgery in the days before they filmed the show, but that does not account for his general behaviour. He did not seem to be at ease with everyone else at all. I certainly hope his health is fine and will keep my eyes open for updates on the matter.

Courtney Cox: Looked very happy, was having a lot of fun and genuinely seemed to enjoy being there. She has had just a touch too much plastic surgery on her face, however. I guess she just can't accept aging gracefully which is a shame as she is a naturally beautiful woman and has no need of any doctor's aid. Other than that, Monica will always be right there waiting.

Bottom line: Despite the problems, and there were a few, it was a pleasure to watch and all true Friends fans will wish it was an hour longer. At least. I suggest recording it on DVR and skipping through the pointless segments such as the comments from irrelevant people and the stupid fashion show. That should cut at least 20 minutes or so. I just wonder how much footage was left out to add in all that irrelevant stuff. Maybe they will release it on Blu-ray with a ton of cut footage. I would gladly spend the money to purchase it if they did. As it stands, I'm glad I watched it, glad I recorded it and will enjoy watching it again and again, while skipping through the pointless parts.

I Care a Lot (2020)

A 5 for Peter Dinklage, and ONLY Peter Dinklage.

[5/10 · 20 February 2021]

Well it started out fine but by the time she drove into the lake, I started to wonder if she had been some kind of super spy earlier in her life because there is no way any normal person would have survived that interrogation, drugging and having alcohol pumped down her nasal passage and managed to escape the sinking car. Just because she is a conniving witch does not make her some kind of survival expert. Anyone in her position would have folded when the lawyer approached them and been smart about it.

As for the basic story, all the Dinklage character needed to do was to send some people into the care facility at night, extract his mother and if necessary burn the place to the ground. Why either of the female leads were left alive was a total mystery to me.

Totally unrealistic and it could have been done so much better. What a waste of talented people.

Yesterday (III) (2019)

Would have been an 8.5 if Kate McKinnon was not in it.

[7/10 · 19 April 2020]

I loved the film from beginning to end and thought it was imaginative and very uplifting and put a huge smile on my face during such trying times of this pandemic. I gave it a 7 and would have lifted that to at least an 8.5 or a 9 if not for Kate McKinnon doing her usual tired schtick in her role that was totally unnecessary in this movie. My only other hitch with the movie is that the actual cause of the change in history is never really properly explained, this could have been handled a touch better. But other than that, it was very well executed and justice was done to the music. Himesh Patel is a talented singer and should be commended for his craft and a very good actor as well who made the character believable in every way. Lily James was magnificent and brought her character to life. I thought everyone other than the aforementioned Kate McKinnon did a great job. Edit her out of the movie and you have a nine.

I won't go into too much detail so not to spoil the movie for anyone but I must add a small spoiler here and my reaction to it.

My heart almost came to a complete when John Lennon opened the door. My eyes instantly welled up with tears on the spot. The portrayal was beyond anything I could have expected and a total shock to me to see the man I have considered my life long hero long gone brought back to life. Thank you. Words cannot do this justice. Whatever other faults I can find with this movie, they are all forgiven and I give it a personal TEN.

If you are a Beatles fan in even the smallest way, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. If you are a John Lennon fan, make sure you have tissues at the ready.

The Invisible Man (I) (2020)

Predictable from the beginning to the end.

[6/10 · 21 March 2020]

Nothing in this movie surprised me. It seemed to take forever to get going and I found it very formulaic. I was able to predict what was going to happen with very little effort.

The standard questions and problems apply here... how is it that every scientist who is a little on the warped side seems to be a fantastic fighter and in great physical shape in these films? Have writers ever spent any time near anyone in just about any scientific field? They aren't exactly gym rats or martial arts adepts, they spend all their time working on their projects. Think Big Bang Theory instead of Bruce Lee. But here we have a mad genius who is also a great fighter as well as an expert in psychological manipulation. Amazing how he found time to create his fantastic suit!

Was ANYONE surprised when she opened her portfolio only to find it empty? No? Didn't think so.

The sister's fate is so obvious that Stevie Wonder could see it coming, and once again we have someone in a movie falling dead as soon as the knife cuts across her throat. In reality, there would be so much arterial spray that people on neighbouring tables would have it all over themselves, and she would take minutes to bleed out, not die instantly as if she was shot in the head.

Was anyone surprised part 2: Cecilia is PREGNANT! The only surprise was that it took so long to get the news out. There needed to be a reason to keep Adrian from simply killing her to get revenge, that would have made for a much shorter and most likely more enjoyable film, and his wanting to be a father at any cost was the key to that. No matter that he was incredibly rich, lived in a fantastic home, was very good-looking and could probably have had his choice of women at the snap of his fingers, he wanted the one who did not want him. Even though from the beginning she seemed to be as stable as a bowl of Jello in an earthquake. Go figure.

Then there is Cecilia's ineptitude. During the major escape/attack scene in the facility, 'Adrian' is about 30 feet away from her in a suit that is flipping on and off, and she is maybe a foot away from a guard's gun but just lies there yelling and only grabs the gun after he has shot one more guard and taken two others out and is running away. I will not even mention the incompetence of the guards. When she does finally catch up to him, like usual the bad guy takes three or four in the chest and keeps coming. Hasn't anyone in these movies ever watched one of these movies? Usually the bad guy is wearing body armour. Go for a head shot, especially when you have a stationary target or the bad guy hits the ground. But no, lets just take chest shot after shot while the guy keeps coming. I felt like screaming at the screen HEAD SHOT!!!!! And then came 'was anyone surprised part 3': the big reveal when the mask came off, which was a surprise to no one still awake.

The ending was problematic as well when it comes to timing. How did she get in the suit, cut his throat, run back, get out of the suit and then walk back in time to see him die? Suddenly Cecilia has become a quick change artist. We also need to consider that she never really had any time to learn how the suit actually worked. And learning how to walk and move in a suit where she herself likely could not see her own limbs would have taken some practice. I don't know, maybe it is the suit itself that turns scientists and lawyers into killers with Jason Bourne like skills and also makes the wearer instantly know how the suit works, if the wearer can figure how to even turn it on.

But hey! At least Adrian took a more realistic length of time to die from his slit throat. The only realistic thing in the movie. And Cecilia really pulled herself together from a total wreck to turn into a calm, cold-blooded killer in a few days or weeks. Incredible.

So to summarize, the movie seemed to take forever to get going, was very predictable, and seemed to never want to end. But she walked away with the suit, so I guess we will have a sequel coming along eventually. Oh joy! LOL!

Birds of Prey (2020)

Terrible title, movie is a fun watch.

[7/10 · 7 March 2020]

Not knowing what to expect, I was more or less a blank canvas going into this movie. By the end, I had enjoyed myself and while it was a little too much on the 'women good - men bad' train that seems to be going around these days, it was tolerable. My biggest gripe with the film was even bothering to include Birds of Prey in the title, the movie should simply have been called the Emancipation of Harley Quinn. The phrase 'Birds of Prey' only comes into it at the very end of the movie and even then it is nothing more than a throw away line, not even enough to set up a stand-alone Birds of Prey movie, not that I could see much of a demand for one.

But the movie is fun, a great afternoon filler at matinée or cheapie Tuesday prices. It's difficult to shake the feeling that so much more could have been done here with the concept and this was a wasted opportunity.

Spenser Confidential (2020)

Lukewarm Spenser for Hire reboot

[4/10 · 6 March 2020]

Anyone old enough or familiar with the Spenser for Hire television show of the 80s will have trouble watching more than 10 minutes of this poor rehash of the concept. Robert Urich and Avery Brooks had more class in their discarded fingernail clippings than these guys have in their entire bodies. Avery as Hawk was an incredible character with unmatched class, and he exuded POWER from every pore. His character was spun off into his own series, A Man Called Hawk. Brooks was so identified with this character that his Deep Space Nine's Capt. Sisko was quickly turned into Hawk from the lacklustre original character he portrayed.

Urich was the perfect Spenser, intelligent, well-read and a great cook among other qualities. If it seems that this is more a review of the TV series than the movie, well I guess that is because people would be better off watching the TV series than yet another tepid big screen rehash of a loved series that should have been left alone. Hollywood seems to be totally bereft of new ideas, and this is one more time they have gone back to the television troth to find something. For some reason, they have yet to learn their lesson as not one TV show rehash has been successful to date. Not one conversion to film has been able to capture the original spirit of the television show and this is just one more failure.

The John Larroquette Show (1993–1996)

10/10 For Season 1

[10/10 · 4 September 2019]

Like the title says, this gets a 10 based on the first season alone. This series was ahead of its time and too controversial for network television of the day and would be WAY too controversial for the sterile TV networks today. But it would be perfect for a premium cable station such as HBO, Showtime or Starz to take on. They would be able to give this dark comedy the justice it deserved. For those not fortunate enough, or too young, to have caught it during the original run, you can watch most episodes on YouTube.

The first season of the series was the most open and honest show on television, nothing was taboo, everything was out front. From alcoholism to drugs to crime to prostitution to race problems, they covered everything without putting a veil over it. Until the second season when everything changed. But for one season, one shining moment, there was a show on television that showed the dark underbelly of humanity with no apologies but at the same time, showed that redemption was possible for anyone.

Oh yeah, one more thing... Gigi Rice was SMOKIN'!!! She was like Christine Sullivan with an edge, allowing her hidden sexuality to be free.

What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018)

A nine for a documentary on a series I rate as a 7!

[9/10 · 2 September 2019]

I enjoyed the documentary more than I enjoyed the series. It was great to see recent interviews with most of the cast, and they did a very nice job going into the background of the show. I disagreed with a number of the statements made during the documentary, such as being the first show with a serialized story line as Babylon 5 did it first and did it better. Then again, when it comes to space station series, Babylon 5 leaves DS9 in its dust. DS9 is just too clean, too perfect, like most things in the Star Trek universe. It just annoys me to see Ira take credit that is not due him or DS9, but Ira is a pompous ass anyways.

Overall, fans of the series will love this documentary, regular Trek fans will as well, just a little less. DS9 fans who are also Babylon 5 fans, will hate the pomposity of it but enjoy it nonetheless.

One thing that must be addressed is the scenes from the show that are presented in HD. They make a great case for the entire series to finally be released in HD, it would be a massive success on Blu-ray. Other than Babylon 5, this is a series I would love to have this in my collection in magnificent Blu-ray, even with all the faults the series had.

A little note for Ira and company... when writing a space battle between space battle ships equipped with weapons that are able to target and destroy each other from thousands of kilometres away, there is no reason to have them all within a mile or two of each other, crashing into each other like a demolition derby. Sure, it looks impressive but it is totally unrealistic. It's not the Battle of Britain. Just a thought.

Roswell, New Mexico (2019–2022)

Tries too hard and fails in every aspect.

[4/10 · 16 January 2019]

Looks like they did their best to hit all the current required PC character traits. Turn one of the original characters gay? Yup, we have the new Michael, the first gay alien. Put a woman in a position of power? Yup, female sheriff. And our first view of Isobel is while she is in sexy black lingerie riding a guy who turns out to be her husband, while he is handcuffed to the bed.

There is no reason for the shooting at the beginning, no witnesses to the event to add drama as in the original and they use the tired old cliche of having a massive power surge that blows out the lights when Max saves her life. Guess he won't be doing that very often during the series as it is quite noticeable.

Then they go on to reveal that our friendly aliens seem to know quite a bit about their origins, including the cave that holds their transport 'eggs' so there will be no drama in watching them as they hunt for their origins and slowly discover things which was pretty much the entire first season of the original series. And how no outsider has ever found that cave which seems to be too obvious to have been overlooked by hikers and amateur alien hunters is beyone me. Michael seems to have quite a collection of alien artifacts in his less than secure trailer as well.

Then we have ICE hunting illegals because, hey, what's a better cover for a huge covert space alien operation than a hunt for illegal aliens.

The first episode reveals a trio of aliens so inept and insecure that I can't imagine how they've lasted this long without being discovered. Oh yeah! Did I mention that Max is a deputy sheriff now? Well he is.

So now our trio consists of brooding, introverted deputy Max, sex crazed married Isobel who's husband is somehow totally clueless and emo, emotional, gay Michael to round out the stereotypes.

I will keep watching for a few episodes just to see how they manage to keep from being discovered, captured and dissected before the 4th episode or so. LOL

Tomb Raider (2018)

A 6 for Alicia, a 4 for the rest

[6/10 · 9 December 2018]

This finally came around on my movie channel last night so we sat down and watched it. I have no idea how closely this follows the recent game release so I'm reviewing this as a stand alone movie only.

It started off decently with the 'Fox run' idea to introduce the character and explain why she was working as a bike courier. But that idea, rehashed from Dark Angel was only a sign of things to come, one stolen idea after another.

They steal from King Kong with the mysterious island surrounded with impenetrable rock shoals and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by bringing a diary back to the enemies and following a list of instructions to get through a booby trapped cavern. And the easily predictable 'revelation' at the end as to who her real enemy is was right out of more movies and comic books than I can be bothered to list.

It lacked all the fun of the Angelina versions, especially the first which remains, IMHO, the best video game movie ever made. It is very obvious they expected this to kick off a new franchise by making it a from scratch origin film but I doubt there will be any demand at all for a sequel. I have no interest in another hero fighting against her own family's evil corporation.

And I'm not bothering to get into the many ridiculous things like the ship being crewed by only one man with Lara's help, who should lack even the slightest idea of how to help pilot a ship. What was the point of the restaurant at the beginning with the young man who was afraid to ask her out?

It's worth a watch for Alicia Vikander fans and for Tomb Raider die hards, but you would be better served by watching the original Tomb Raider followed by Last Crusade and then playing your favourite game version.

Magnum P.I. (2018–2024)

Just say no.

[4/10 · 27 September 2018]

I wanted to give this remake a fair shot but when I saw the title of the opening episode I knew they were trying too hard and that it would never make the grade. A little tip for anyone wanting to reboot a well respected series that was loved by millions of viewers... don't make the first episode a shallow remake of one of the most loved episodes of the original series and do it so poorly. The episode 'Did You See The Sunrise?' was one of the most important of the original series run. To turn it into this weak, feeble imitation was a disgrace. In general, this series has already destroyed two Ferraris, which I believe is two more than were ever destroyed in the original series entire run.I guess they are trying to get the shallow Fast & Furious audience. In the original series, no one had ever met Robin Masters while in this series they all seem to be very familiar with him on a personal basis.This removes a large part of the mystery element of the original series. Making Higgins a woman is both a cop out to political correctness and an attempt to provide Magnum with a potential partner preventing him from becoming a horn dog in these dangerous METOO times we live in where the original character may have spent much time fighting back against harassment allegations. Strangely, they retained the two Dobermans including the trimmed ears and tail which are now considered to be animal abuse. That actually surprised me. You will notice I barely touch on the story itself and the reason is that the story is beyond thin and basically worthless.It had as much kick as a shot of vodka diluted in a bucket of water. You know there's vodka in there but you can't taste it. Who knows? Maybe the audience of today who never watched the original series will enjoy this, I cannot for the life of me see how, but they seem to watch remake after remake and rehashed ideas without complaining so anything is possible. Will I watch it again? I doubt it. I may, out of morbid curiosity, check in now and then to see what their final total of destroyed Ferraris is by the end of the show's run, but that's about it.

Counterpart (2017–2019)

Fringe 2018?

[6/10 · 24 January 2018]

I'm marking this as containing spoilers as it does where Fringe is concerned, not where Counterpart is concerned. So feel free to read on if you have already seen Fringe or never plan to.

Strangely enough, I recently started watching Fringe on Blu-ray as I received it as a gift and never caught the final two seasons during it's run. Next thing you know, I come across an ad for Counterpart and thought this was going to be a reboot or something. As much as I love to watch J.K. Simmons in just about anything, and I think he is the best part of this new show, I will have to give it a few episodes to see if I can get Fringe out of my mind when I watch.

One big difference between the two is that on Fringe, the alternate world was not revealed until well into the series and here we know about it from the get go. Overall, I prefer Fringe so far but as I said, I'm willing to give this a chance for a few episodes and will be back to add to this review either at the end of the first season or if I give up on it. Whichever comes first. :)

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Very disappointing.

[2/10 · 8 October 2017]

Seeing as it was the pilot episode, I was prepared to forgive a lot. But not THIS much. A long distance mind meld? Purple Klingons who speak like they have marbles in their mouths? Holographic communication equipment? An adopted sister for Spock who has never been mentioned in the multitude of episodes from multiple series featuring either Spock or Sarek who can do the Vulcan nerve pinch? And then to top it all off, some kind of trial before a tribunal, the members of which are in shadow, hiding their faces which was more like something out of the evil empire in Star Wars than the fair and honourable Federation of Planets we have come to expect. No witnesses to this trial, no lawyers, no audience. Unbelievable.

And I have not bothered to touch upon the terrible acting from everyone involved. If the Klingons take so long to say something, a crew of snails would make decisions faster and blow them out of space. And a small stature human female held her own in hand to hand combat with a top Klingon warrior? GIVE ME A BREAK! Thankfully as I live in Canada and already have the Space Channel in my package I do not have to pay extra to watch this abomination. I have not watched the 3rd episode and will most likely wait for all episodes to air before streaming them at my leisure without commercials. At least then I will be able to fast forward through the worst parts.

I gave it 2 stars out of 10 only because it carries the name STAR TREK.

House of the Black Death (1971)

I've actually read the book!

[8 September 2009]

Unfortunately I can't comment on the movie as I have never seen it, but I just thought I'd let people know that yes, it is based on a book! The book is the Widderburn Horror and from what I've been reading here, it's considerably better than this movie.

I had always felt that it would make a good movie so I did a search on it and ended up here only to be sadly disappointed. If someone would do it properly, I still think it would make a fine movie. The book has it all, witchcraft, devil worship, werewolves - actual transformation into a wolf, not some horror film monster, and a family of witches going back centuries that could be the inspiration for Anne Rice's witches in the Witching Hour. Not to mention a story of unrequited love.

Considering how old the novel is, there is no indication of the time period and it could still work very well if it were set in the present day. If anyone is interested, you can find the book on amazon, used of course. It's the Widderburn Horror by R.Warner-Crozetti aka Lora Crozetti. As far as I can tell, it's the only book she ever wrote and it seems that it was meant to be the first of a series but never went any further.

Considering all the remakes being produced today that are pointless and inferior to the original, this is one book that cries out for someone to do it properly.