Horrorclature

EATING RAOUL (1980)

October 3, 2023

Preface

I previously posted about EATING RAOUL but do not feel like I did the film justice, so I hope you enjoy this revisitation.

The 80s were an inflection point for deviant indie films, perhaps best encapsulated by John Waters and POLYESTER and HAIRSPRAY, but also surprise hits like EATING RAOUL. These were films that pointed the limelight on the disenfranchised folks living on the sidelines of society, especially those who were more sexually divergent and kinky.

Writer/director/actor Paul Bartlel’s piece is a brilliant work. EATING RAOUL is a perfect encapsulation of what indie films can be: they call out the hypocrisy of heteronormative people, of personal repression, but by having the protagonists — Mary & Paul Blank (yes, not a subtle surname. Also, the protagonist couple are played by mainstays Paul Barlet and Mary Woronov and retain their real first names for this work) — staged as a post-WWII TV version of couples, even down to the single beds.*

“Yet so popular with the broken and destitute.”

To quickly summarize: Paul & Mary are a very straight-laced couple, living in a building mostly inhabited by swingers. They have dreams of ditching their respective jobs as a liquor store employee and nurse in favor of opening their own restaurant. In order to do so, they have to raise $20K (later $25K) to buy the Victorian abode they want to house it.

Given their current jobs, they realize that’s not feasible. So, Mary posits herself as a dominatrix and they start murdering her clients and stealing their wallets to help fund their restaurant.

“And whatever they want to do? Stop if it draws blood.”

They start fretting about the security of their apartment and enlist the help of a security specialist, Raoul, who eventually shows his true colors as a thief. Mary becomes entwined with him, and matters escalate.

“I don’t mind paying cash for gash as long as it’s class.”

It is worth noting that EATING RAOUL did become somewhat of a mainstream hit, partially because of its sensationalism, but I like to think it’s mostly because of its wit and performances.

“We like B&D but we don’t like S&M. We met at the A&P but we don’t like labels.”

I cannot overstate what films like EATING RAOUL did for the youths of the 80s and 90s. These were eye-opening films that presented a completely different world, films that eschewed heteronormativity, films that allowed misfits like myself to feel seen and accepted, all while being enthralled and laughing the entire time and never shamed anyone, even the norms. Sadly, that era seems to be over, but like with everything, the pendulum will inevitably swing back.

“Mary, I just killed a man.”

“He was a man, honey. Now he’s just a bag of garbage.”

  • As someone who is 1) an extremely light sleeper and 2) as someone who has dealt with abuse so I’m always on high alert, I don’t love the visual shorthand of two beds as sexual repression, because sleeping in separate beds can actually be a great thing for all parties involved, however: the message here is succinctly conveyed.

PROM NIGHT III: THE LAST KISS (1990)

October 2, 2023

PROM NIGHT is one of those franchises where several of the sequels are better — or at least more interesting — than the original. The first PROM NIGHT is a rather by-the-numbers slasher centered around, naturally, prom night. It’s perhaps best known for a barely post-HALLOWEEN Jamie Lee Curtis as final girl Kim Hammond who has a rare nude scene, as well as Leslie Nielsen as Kim’s father. That said, it’s visually more striking than most slashers of its time.

HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT 2 is probably regarded as the best in the series, as it is far more inventive while having a sense of humor about itself. It has some fantastic set-pieces and stellar performances from Lisa Schrage as Mary Lou and Michael Ironsides as the cop investigating a series of murders.

However, I believe PROM NIGHT III: THE LAST KISS (PROM NIGHT 3 going forward) is woefully underrated. It goes full horror-comedy while managing to straddle both expertly. PROM NIGHT 3 continues the murderous, wanton adventures of one Mary Lou Maloney (Courtney Taylor) haunting the same high school, and she finds herself obsessed with Alex, an attractive school bum who has aspirations to become a doctor and marry Sarah (Cynthia Preston), his high school sweetheart.

Mary Lou has a sort of succubus quality to her, and Alex finds her irresistible, and the two fuck almost immediately. (Yes, this is a very horny film, even for a high school slasher.) Mary Lou becomes extremely possessive, using her somewhat vague supernatural powers to elevate Alex’s school standing while killing off anyone in the way of his dreams, or her obsession. Matters escalate, becoming more and more outlandish, culminating in what can only be described as a Ripley-esque confrontation.

The gory set-pieces are in the vein of Sam Raimi — there are a number of shots that ape the first-person racing camera perspective he leans on so much, although there’s one scene where Mary Lou is absolutely crashing through doors; windows shatter, and it’s incredibly effective.

The film still makes time to pepper in dialogue that you’d expect to hear in a dark comedy like JAWBREAKER:

“Alex, she wasn’t a person. She was a guidance counselor.”

They also utilize the high school’s PA system to intersperse quite a bit of irreverent, silly but pointed announcements.

Granted, despite receiving a theatrical release in the production’s home country of Canada, it does have that cheap video sheen to it. Nonetheless, the makeup is great, the effects above-average, and it’s a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, finding a copy of the original version of PROM NIGHT 3 can prove to be difficult. While the VHS version was the same theatrical edition Canadians watched, the U.S. DVD release was heavily edited. There’s a copy of the uncut version on YouTube that you can seek out, as this is not the kind of film that benefits from an ‘edited for content’ version.

“I don’t get mad; I bake.”

GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH (1990)

October 1, 2023

The first GREMLINS takes place in the sleepy town of Kingston Falls, home to young bank employee Billy Peltzer and his girlfriend and waitress Kate Beringer. Billy receives a cuddly creature named a mogwai as a Christmas present and he names it Gizmo. He is then given the following care instructions:

1) Keep the mogwai away from sunlight.

2) Don’t allow the mogwai to get wet.

3) Never feed it after midnight.

Predictably, almost immediately, both the second and third rules are broken, and which result in Gizmo quickly reproducing a number of twisted creatures that are the opposite of Gizmo’s cute and friendly demeanor. They quickly take over the town and matters escalate.

For years, film studio Warner Bros. wanted a sequel, as the first film was rightly a huge success, but Dante waited six years to make it, requesting and receiving full creative control, and he made the most of it.

GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH sees Billy and Kate in New York City, both working for billionaire Daniel Clamp who is the CEO of a wide-ranging company named CLAMP. Billy is a commercial illustrator while Kate has the far less glamorous job as a CLAMP tour guide.

Gizmo is brought into the CLAMP building by one of two twin CLAMP scientists. Billy discovers Gizmo thanks to hearing someone whistling Gizmo’s unique tune and he reclaims the mogwai. As you might suspect, Gizmo immediately gets wet and chaos ensues. Unlike the first film, apart from one scene, the gremlin antics take place solely in the CLAMP building. Also unlike the first film, Dante completely leans into his love of cartoons and slapstick and self-indulgent silliness — the film even opens with the classic Looney Tunes opening, complete with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

The ‘new batch’ of gremlins are absolutely bonkers and not nearly as cooke-cutter as the first time. The gremlin designs are absolutely wild and even include an ‘electricity gremlin’. There’s an entire KEY & PEELE skit about how the ‘Hollywood Sequel Doctor’ helps shepherd the unhinged the gremlins to life. You may want to wait to watch until the GREMLINS 2 credits roll, but it is classic KEY & PEELE.

“Okay, you guys know that none of that is going to be in the actual movie.”

All of that is in the actual movie.

GREMLINS 2 is certainly unbridled Joe Dante at the height of his powers and laser-focused on everything he loves. He even weaves in Christopher Lee and character actor and creative Paul Bartel (who will pop up again in a future Horrorclature post)! The creature effects by Rick Baker’s Cinovation Studio are absolutely mesmerizing, and feature a number of scenes that are as visually packed as a MAD MAGAZINE illustration!

Sadly the film flopped, which is a shame, but as demonstrated by the KEY & PEELE sketch it has found a cult audience, of which you can watch it and join the GREMLINS 2 admiration club.

Horrorclature 2023

September 30, 2023

When October rolls around I traditionally use my platform to extoll horror for 31 days.

This year I’m sticking to fun horror pieces, as opposed to extraordinarily traumatic horror films like RESURRECTION. Instead, I’ll be focusing on slapstick-y, winking, knowing, campy works that revel in the grosser aspects of humanity and the meat sacks we inhabit while still having a sense of levity.

In other words: 31 days of works that are meant to evoke laughter instead of tears, but are still enthralling in the way that only the horror genre can evoke.

Welcome to Horrorclature 2023.