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Schlock
The Banana Monster
USA 1973
produced by Jack H. Harris, James C. O'Rourke, George Folsey jr (executive) for Gazotskie Productions, Jack H. Harris Enterprises
directed by John Landis
starring John LandisSaul Kahan, Eliza Roberts, Charles Villiers, Harriet Medin, Gene Fox, Susan Weiser-Finley, Jonathan Flint, Amy Schireson, Eric Allison, Emile Hamaty, Joseph Piantadosi, Richard Gillis, Tom Alvich, Walter Levine, Ralph Baker, Belinda Folsey, Phillip Levine, Shirley Levine, Mary Cortiz, Ivan Lepper, Mitchell Tadross, Kevin Collins, Carl Stone, Tonda Marton, Neil Forn, Dana Sue Collins, Harry Goins, Gorden Brettelle, Norman Crawford, Robert E. Collins, Ian Kranitz, Jackie Bonnhein, Stuart Weiss, Patty Holcomb, George O'Hanlon jr, Bill Record, John Chambers, Forrest J. Ackerman, Laslo Benedek, Donald F. Glut, Jack H. Harris, Andrew Marton
written by John Landis, music by David Gibson, special makeup design by Rick Baker, special effects by Ivan Lepper
review by Mike Haberfelner
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There's a killing spree terrorizing the neighbourhood that leaves
Detective Sgt. Wino (Saul Kahan) baffled as the killer, who often kills in
large numbers, always leaves banana peels with his victims. Enter
professor Shlibovitz (Emile Hamaty) who's convinced that the culprit isn't
human at all but the missing link, vulgarly called Schlock (John Landis),
who has been frozen in ice for centuries but now has come back with a
vengeance. But Schlock isn't just the bad guy, he also has a gentle side
... as Mindy (Eliza Roberts), the klutziest blind girl in existence, soon
experiences - that said though, she just takes him for a weird dog to play
fetch with while Schlock's really drawn to her. Problem is, Mindy
eventually has her eyesight restored, and once she sees again, she's
totally freaked out by Schlock. And despite the town living in terror, her
mum (Harriet Medin) insists on the high school dance taking place as
planned - which can only lead to disaster of course ... Schlock,
the first feature by later comedy super-director with a track record in
horror John Landis, is ... well, not a perfect movie - but lots of fun all
the same. Basically, what the film's lacking is proper structure, as many
of the comedy skits seem to be placed rather and random and seem to be
interchangeable without changing the overall plot in the least, and some
skits actually stand in the way of narrative development. But that said,
these skits - like Schlock playing the piano, going to the theatre or
evenplaying fetch with Mindy - are also terribly funny. Plus the film was
a post-modern monster movie hommage/loving parody (with an emphasis on 50s
to 70s genre output) long before postmodernism even came into vogue with
genre movies. And then there's Landis' own performance as Schlock in Rick
Baker's awesome monster suit that gives the creature actual depth - and an
actual sense of humour. So yeah, don't expect a masterpiece maybe - but
also expect to be entertained to the fullest!
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Thanks for watching !!!
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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