Happy Halloween!... and GROWING BOY

Well, we survived the hurricane here at Junta Juleil, but it's sort of put a damper on all things Halloween.  Far more time was spent watching news reports and stockpiling water/peanut butter/beer than was spent watching CAT'S EYE and HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and BASKET CASE– though rest assured, time was made for those fine films.Anyway, speaking of horror films, I have a new one that debuts tonight at the First Annual Spooky Fest in Bushwick, Brooklyn– it's called GROWING BOY, and promises to frighten and appall.    It stars Joe Stipek...

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Theatrical Halloween Happenings in NYC!

For our New York City-based brethren:  there are a number of Halloween-related performances that I must bring to your attention: On October 26th & 30th:•DANCE MAYHEM: A GRINDHOUSE BALLET From David F. Sloan, Esq. and the Love Show comes an action-packed homage to the gritty films that Hollywood didn't want you to see. Combining the ballet and jazz infused choreography of underground favorite Angela Harriell with the pop and lock b-boy style of street dancer Nobuya Nagahama, Dance Mayhem tells the tale of a louche nightclub, owned...

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Junta Juleil's Guide to Melancholy Horror

What is "Melancholy Horror?"  I think it's my favorite horror sub-genre, at least for the moment.   It's sort of difficult to describe, and I may be the only one actively trying to define it, but here goes: I'd say it's a sub-genre of especially artistic horror/thriller/supernatural drama films that fill half of you with genuine scares, and the rest with a genuine sadness– or at least a sense of overwhelming alienation.  They routinely begin and/or end with a tragedy, often of an accidental, non-supernatural variety.  They were...

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Coming soon... Junta Juleil's Guide to Melancholy Horror

It's a subgenre I've been meaning to define for years– but it involves the 1970s, and a certain fever-dream feeling, a feeling of sadness and dread...

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Only now does it occur to me... CHILDREN OF THE CORN

Only now does it occur to me...  that the true highlight of CHILDREN OF THE CORN is not the weirdo kiddie preacher performance by John Franklin, nor the frequent corn-cobbin' crucifixions, nor the hideous pacing.  It is the unusual (and ultimately sort of sad) battle that pre-TERMINATOR Linda Hamilton wages against her own dignity in the following clip in which, á la some pocket of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, time itself seems to slow until it stops.  We feel your pain, Linda.Though, I also feel as if she could have easily snagged a nomination...

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Film Review: MANHATTAN BABY (1982, Lucio Fulci)

Stars: 2 of 5.Running Time: 89 minutes.Notable Cast or Crew:  Written by Elisa Briganti (1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS, ZOMBI 2) and Dardano Sacchetti (DEMONS, THE BEYOND).  Starring Christopher Connelly (PEYTON PLACE, BENJI), Laura Lenzi (THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULES II), and Giovanni Frezza (that damn kid from THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, THE NEW BARBARIANS, and A BLADE IN THE DARK!).  Music by Fabio Frizzi (THE PSYCHIC, ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND).  Cinematography by Guglielmo Mancori (SPASMO, FUZZY THE HERO, RUN MAN RUN).Tag-line: "Little...

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FRESH PISS at the PollyGrind Film Festival in Las Vegas

FRESH PISS, a heretofore unreleased short film of mine, is making its debut on October 12th at the PollyGrind film festival, a paean to underground cinema in Las Vegas.  For fans of Junta Juleil in the area who'd like to see it, it'll be screening at 10:20 p.m. at Theater7 and tickets are available here. The film is described thusly:  "A nasty little scene, set in a cesspool. A nefarious, masked man hires two fun-loving, Thunderbird-swilling hobos to assist him in a specialized task."  It's dark, political, and features a...

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Film Review: CON AIR (1997, Simon West)

Stars: 4.5 of 5.Running Time: 123 minutes (director's cut).Notable Cast or Crew:  Nicolas Cage (WILD AT HEART, VALLEY GIRL), John Malkovich (EMPIRE OF THE SUN, DANGEROUS LIAISONS), John Cusack (BETTER OFF DEAD, ONE CRAZY SUMMER), Steve Buscemi (KING OF NEW YORK, MILLER'S CROSSING), Ving Rhames (PATTY HEARST, JACOB'S LADDER), Dave Chapelle (BUDDIES, 200 CIGARETTES), Rachel Ticotin (TOTAL RECALL, FALLING DOWN), Danny Trejo (KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS, DEATH WISH IV: THE CRACKDOWN), M.C. Gainey (LOST, FATAL BEAUTY), Doug Hutchison (LOST, THE...

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