The Bloody Pit #97 - TERROR IS A MAN (1959)

I welcome artist Mark Maddox back to the show and we take a trip to Blood Island to survey the territory. TERROR IS A MAN (1959) is the first of what would become a series of Philippine produced horror films featuring monsters and bloody (for the times) violence. While the later films were colorful sleaze-fests this movie was shot in stark black and white with its horrors being moodier rather than grotesque. Not that the film skimps on horror thrills but, while it is pushing the outer edge of what was permissible in the 1950’s, it is still a more restrained tale than would come later.

Mark and I cut into this variation on Wells’ ‘Island of Doctor Moreau’ searching for the best parts and throwing out the worst. We disagree on a few elements with me decrying lip gloss and high heels while Mark makes the case for a shortened running time. But we agree on how much the film is improved by the recent HD release on Blu-Ray. This film has spent decades being presented to viewers in terrible prints on sub-par video releases that made it difficult to pay attention to the often excellent qualities onscreen. Now it’s possible to see the movie in a crisp, clear version that allows all the fine work done to be appreciated. Of course, it also allows us to focus on the less well-done aspects too. But this is a film that falls much more on the positive side than the negative and I will keep insisting on that until Mark shuts up!

We don’t stray too far off topic but if there are any odd side roads that you think we should travel down further in the future please let us know. The podcast email address is thebloodypit@gmail.com or we can be reached on the show’s FaceBook page. Thanks for listening and we’ll be back soon!

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The Green Slime Retro Action Figure

A friend alerted me to this upcoming toy release and I have say - WOW! It's the Green Slime toy I've always wanted but never thought would exist outside of my fevered imagination. Monstarz will be putting this out in October and if you pre-order it before February 1st the shipping is free. And did I mention the price is only $19.99? Needless to say, I've already put in my order. 

Read the details here! 

What I Watched in December

KNIVES OUT (2019) is as deliriously entertaining a locked door mystery as I have ever seen. It moves cleverly from whodunnit to why-dunnit to how-dunnit and then back through each of those variations with smooth efficiency until the joy of watching such a well-crafted story is nearly overwhelming. The entire cast is excellent from top to bottom with my one complaint being that I wished for just a few more moments for Jamie Lee Curtis to shine. I suspect the eventual deleted scenes on the Blu-Ray will scratch that minor itch. Highly recommended!

Unlike a lot of horror film fans, I’m not against remakes of classic movies. I don’t think most remakes are very good but when they are well made, I’m happy to have a new film to enjoy. This is the second time BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) has been remade and the 2019 version takes a very different tack compared to the earlier films. All three movies place the potential victims as the most interesting characters in the story but this variation goes out if its way to center their problems in the 21^st century. As with the touchy subjects underlying the situations in the original film (abortion, misogyny) this new movie puts real world concerns (sexual assault, casual sexism) at the heart of the motivations for the villainous actions. Smartly, the script also allows the victims to fight back in ways that demonstrates how women can and should work together to battle less bloody examples of these problems. With less violence, I would hope! This is a film that I think will grow in my estimation in the coming years once I’ve been able to rewatch it in better circumstances than my less than perfect theatrical viewing. I wish theaters would turn up the volume a bit with movies that spend a lot of time using subtle sound design to enhance the scares.

The List  

THE GUN THAT WON THE WEST (1953) – 5

BATTLE OF ROGUE RIVER (1954) – 6

KNIVES OUT (2019)- 9

THE LAST OF MRS. CHEYNEY (1937) – 7

KEEP’EM FLYING (1941) – 6

THE CHILL FACTOR (1993) – 4 (terrible supernatural horror that wastes a good setting)

MIRACLE ON 34^TH STREET (1947) – 8

ASSIGNMENT TERROR (1970) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964) – 6 (rewatch via MST3K)

SANTA CLAUS (1959)- 6 (rewatch via RiffTrax)

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) – 6

THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES (2018) – 7

TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950) – 7 (rewatch) (Christmas tree rustlers!)

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) – 10 (rewatch on Blu)

BLACK CHRISTMAS (2019) – 7

TRAPPED ALIVE (1988) – 4 (lame horror tale)

THE KILLING HOUR (1982) – 7 (murder mystery with a psychic twist)

SANTA CLAUS – THE MOVIE (1985) – 5 (fairly mediocre after an interesting start)

ATTACK OF THE MAYAN MUMMY (1964) – 4 (Jerry Warren mangles a 1957 Mexican film)

Know Your Mythical Monsters and Deities

Trailers From Hell - THE NAKED SPUR (1953)

The great Allison Anders talks about the fantastic Anthony Mann western and gets right at the reason it is so effective and affecting. 

Anthony Mann's Westerns

Last night I was channel surfing for a few minutes and saw that one of the movie choices was Anthony Mann's MAN OF THE WEST (1958). A watched it for a little while and was reminded of its high quality and was taken with the urge to find a partner to watch all of his westerns for future podcasting. I think I'll have to do that sometime later this year just to scratch my itch to learn and talk more about Mr. Mann's excellent film output.

A list of his westerns shows how impressive his body of work is in the genre. 

WINCHESTER 73 (1950) 

BEND IN THE RIVER (1952)

THE NAKED SPUR (1953) 

THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955) 

THE FAR COUNTRY (1954) 

THE TIN STAR (1957) 

And there are more that I haven't even seen yet. Add to this his brilliant Noirs and his fantastic historical epics made in the 60's and Mann may just be one of the greatest Hollywood directors of all time. Maybe a new series for The Bloody Pit focused on his career is needed? I certainly need to make more people aware of his excellent film THE TALL TARGET (1951). 

If you haven't seen MAN OF THE WEST do yourself a favor and spend the 99 minutes. You won't regret it. And don't watch the trailer first- it ruins some of the story's surprises that are best left discovered as the film plays. 

Trailers From Hell - SHAFT (1971)

The great Bill Duke talks about the classic SHAFT (1971)!