I am back in the city after a few days in the Valley.
It was an unexpected trip. There was an urgent pressing matter at the family house that required my attention. That was dealt with on Friday afternoon, so I spent the next nearly two days running errands, spending time with my mommy, and resting.
One thing you may not know about me is that I enjoy cheap ass horror movies. Back in the day, I had a fairly large collection of vhs movies, and I gave most of them away a couple of years ago. But at the last minute I decided to keep the horror films. You may also not know that more than a few of these ultra-low budget movies have never been released on dvd, probably because there is no compelling financial reason to do so. If people don't know that a particular movie exists, and therefore demand it be released in a digital format, then it probably won't be.
I decided to leaf through those horror films this weekend. My fingers alighted on something called "Forever Evil". It came out in 1987. Don't ask me how I got this movie; I have no idea.
When my mother moved out, I acquired a free standard definition television here in Halifax from someone who was either giving it away or taking it to a recycling depot. I got the tv and transported it to my mother's and hooked it up in such a way that the one set of inputs can be used to play a tape, a dvd, or even a thumb drive containing videos through a media player. When I did that I discovered that the tv had a built-in vcr as well. I haven't made the full jump to an HD life because of the existence of these rare, shitty, vhs movies, by the way.
I proceeded to watch the film, which turned out to be just as trashy and low quality as one might possibly imagine. I know that high budget movies in the 1980's could look pretty good; but these guys had virtually no budget, and it showed.
People who don't know what they're talking about, often discuss acting as if they did. I have taken an acting course or two, so I can at least state that acting is not an easy thing to do, and that it can be an extremely subtle thing, or broad and showcasey. I have a lot of respect for actors and what they do; I am a cheap date in that sense because as long as I can accept the actor in the role, then I am probably not in a position to gauge how well the actor is essaying the role beyond the fact that I am not saying "oh, come on!" too often. You're probably not in that position either. Be honest.
There are scenes where the actors are reacting to what others are saying and doing, which is the professional thing to do. There are interesting dollops of dialogue and exposition here and there, as when the older cop is talking about meeting a fellow war veteran and each knowing that the other was a veteran without saying a word to each other. But there are all kinds of scenes when I'd swear that the actors were reading cue cards, and others where the special effects were so cheap that they would insult Edward Wood, Jr.
I finished watching the movie this morning. Upon my return to the city, I read the imdb page about the film, which in turn pointed me to this website that discussed in great detail the production of the film. I read it through this evening and suggest you check it out as well, as it gives you a good idea how a low budget can often be a challenge as much as a hindrance. The director is passionate about this film, without losing sight that it is not a good one.
There is an honesty about these crappy movies. I don't want to watch them every day or even that often; but I often enjoy myself when I do. I view them for what they are, an honest attempt to entertain. Even when/if they fall short, I can at least appreciate the attempt.
Just don't get me started on these earnest Hollywood films that are all about the same thing. Like this one. These are the truly shitty movies you don't need to see.
Time for bed. Since it isn't December 1st, 2018, I have to work tomorrow.
See you Monday!!
Bevboy
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