June Movie: Planet of the Vampires

[Tabonga | 2,533]

22 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Alright then, I nominate Prayer of the Roller Boys starring Corey Haim and Patricia Arquette.  Under cover Corey infiltrates a rollerblade gang pushing drugs in a dystopian future.

YouTube's got a decent rip 

 

 Heh - I have that on laserdisc - one seriously bizarre movie.

[Brickman | 4,216]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@Tabonga @Murray @JamesRobot @fox @Brickman come on slackers

Mine got selected last month so I think we are going with the rule that everyone gets a selection then we can start again once everyone that wanted to nominate a movie got a selection. Share the love  and variety  

Also great to see @Tabonga joined the club. He always has interesting tastes and facts.

Edited June 3 by Brickman

[Tabonga | 2,533]

55 minutes ago, Brickman said:

Also great to see @Tabonga joined the club. He always has interesting tastes and facts.

Thanks!

Glad to be on board.

 

[Murray | 2,490]

12 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@Tabonga @Murray @JamesRobot @fox @Brickman come on slackers

Haha, ok, how about a post-apocalyptic dualing mech film with Danny Kamekona?

 

[Tabonga | 2,533]

28 minutes ago, Murray said:

Haha, ok, how about a post-apocalyptic dualing mech film with Danny Kamekona?

 

 These two were also done by Charles Band and his Full Moon production company.  The European releases both listed them as Robot Jox 2 - they aren't really sequels since other than mechs they don't share anything.

 

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,971]

Hmm, I'm honestly not sure if I still have Robot Jox.  I sold off a bunch of my valuable blu's during the pandemic.

[G-type | 2,836]

I'll keep the poll open through Friday. Here's links to all of the movies, you are always welcome to watch and discuss any of the nominees, but please also try to watch the main movie.

Riki-Oh (The Story of Ricky) -1991

A cartoonishly hyper-violent adaptation of a manga, set in a prison.

Planet Of The Vampires - 1965 (possible double feature: Queen of Blood -1966)

Trippy and atmospheric. Was an inspiration for Ridley Scott's Alien.

Battle Beyond the Stars - 1980

Roger Corman capitalizes on the popularity of Star Wars. Where James Cameron got his start (and met producing partner, Gale Anne Hurd).

Prayer of the Roller Boys -1990

Under cover Corey Haim infiltrates a rollerblade gang pushing drugs in a dystopian future.

Robot Jox - 1989

Stuart Gordon's stop motion mech fighting movie

Edited June 4 by G-type

[Reed Rothchild | 9,971]

I couldn't help it and already watched Riki-Oh again last night. 

I voted Rollerboys, but I'll end up watching all of them.  Even BBtS which I don't much care for.

[Tabonga | 2,533]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I couldn't help it and already watched Riki-Oh again last night. 

I voted Rollerboys, but I'll end up watching all of them.  Even BBtS which I don't much care for.

 

 

Heh - when Corman ripped someone off he picked the pocket of best - nothing second rate about Kurosawa.  

[G-type | 2,836]

final call for votes

 

@SilverspoonGaming @Gloves @JamesRobot @fox @Link

[Gloves | 12,290]

Voted.

[JamesRobot | 6,049]

Also voted

[Tabonga | 2,533]

2 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

Also voted

[Reed Rothchild | 9,971]

Watched it.  Realized I had seen it years ago, but it was a nice refresher.  Pretty entertaining; probably somewhere in the top half of the Bava films I've seen.  Granted, I still like Black Sunday and Black Sabbath more, but this was at least more coherent than a lot of his 70s output.

Make no mistake though, this may be a very obvious inspiration for Alien, but that movie is clearly far superior, and much better paced.  And has more actual horror elements.  But this is a nice little companion curio.

[G-type | 2,836]

This was new to me and I liked it. Loved the colors, the omnipresent fog, the strange leather suits that wrap around their neck and jaw. The undead looked creepy. The spaceship sets were a little sparse... too much open space, not enough gizmos. Interesting how Dan O'Bannon returned to this well for Alien AND Lifeforce. When they came across the ancient giant skeleton I immediately thought of the space jockey...

[JamesRobot | 6,049]

I "watched" it and immediately fell asleep last night.  Nothing against it, I'm just old and that happens more frequently than I'd like to admit.  I'll give it another go this week.

[Tabonga | 2,533]

36 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

I "watched" it and immediately fell asleep last night.  Nothing against it, I'm just old and that happens more frequently than I'd like to admit.  I'll give it another go this week.

 Heh!  One problem I have always had with Italian movies (horror/fantasy/scifi*) is that they are usually much more style than substance/depth and the often incongruent translations/voice dubs  leave a not terribly watchable "hot mess".  

This one was of that ilk - the visuals were super fab for the time but this film has never really engaged my attention.

*The road warrior post apocalypse ones were the worst - populated by dune buggy type vehicles that performance wise would have trouble keeping up with a pedal car.

 

Edited June 12 by Tabonga

[PII | 2,043]

14 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Italian movies (horror/fantasy/scifi*) is that they are usually much more style than substance/depth

This is often true with Atmosphere being emphasized over plot/character development in a lot of old Italo-Films.  In this case it probably helps to be a film nerd as it's a good example of getting the most out of the least.  Considering it had a budget of only $200k:

Restricted by a low budget, Bava was unable to utilize many opticals, so nearly all of the film's extensive visual effects work were done "in camera". Miniatures and forced perspective visuals are used throughout, with much colored fog adding atmosphere but also obscuring the sheer cheapness of the sets.^[7] Bava explained: "Do you know what that unknown planet was made of? A couple of plastic rocks — yes, two: one and one! — left over from a mythological movie made at Cinecittà! To assist the illusion, I filled the set with smoke."^[8] According to Tim Lucas, the two plastic rocks were multiplied in several shots by mirrors and multiple exposures. The planet's exterior sequences were filmed on an empty stage obscured by mists, table top miniatures and Schüfftan process shots.^[8]

[Link | 2,887]

My first thought was appreciating the set design and practical effects. Definitely the movie's strongest suit, as often so in these things. 

I also liked the mystery aspect;

Spoiler

it's much briefer here and largely reserved for a twist ending, but questioning who is still human or not reminded me of The Thing/From Another World. 

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,971]

I watched Prayer of the Rollerboys and Queen of Blood as well.  Just need to rewatch Jox and BBtS

[Tabonga | 2,533]

26 minutes ago, Link said:

My first thought was appreciating the set design and practical effects. Definitely the movie's strongest suit, as often so in these things. 

You would probably like this if you haven't seen it.

Also directed by Bava it is a strong contender for the best of the Italian peplum films. (Of which there were a plethora.)

[PII | 2,043]

I also watched "Prayer Of The Roller Boys" about 3 seconds after it was first suggested.  Prolly woulda voted for it if I hadn't been so quick to view it.  Corey Haim and a Rolleblade gang; what more incentive does one need?

Edited June 17 by PII

[PII | 2,043]

 

 

Edited June 17 by PII

[Tabonga | 2,533]

On 6/17/2024 at 1:26 AM, PII said:

 

 

Killian's Irish Red.

[PII | 2,043]

4 hours ago, Tabonga said:

Killian's Irish Red.

Good call, shoulda thought a that!