I, Madman – 1989, US, 89m. Director: Tibor Takács.
The Last Broadcast – 1998, US, 86m. Director: Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler.
The Phantom of the Opera – 1989, Hungary/UK/US, 93m. Director: Dwight H. Little.
I, MADMAN (1989) Bookstore clerk Virginia (Jenny Wright) begins having nightmarish visions of murder committed by a maniacal cut-up named Malcolm Brand (Randall William Cook), whose apparition emanates from an obscure paperback entitled “I, Madman.” These grotesque sights manifest into reality when a pretty redhead from Virginia’s acting class turns up maimed. Virginia’s cop boyfriend (Clayton Rohner) has a hard time believing her story, despite the fact more people are slaughtered in the same way as written in the book—including a homage to Rear Window in which a piano-playing neighbor gets his ear sliced off while Virginia helplessly watches. Brand’s ghoulish activities are the result of a Frankensteinesque experiment he’s performing on himself in order to find true love. In an overblown ending that makes little sense, a gremlin-like creature appears that resembles the demons from director Tiber Takács’s The Gate. That shouldn’t stop viewers from enjoying an otherwise good film filled with clever writing, interesting characters, and terrific makeup effects supplied by I, Madman‘s own villain, Cook. B+ (Currently streaming on MGM+.)
THE LAST BROADCAST (1998) A fly-by-night public access TV show’s hunt for the Jersey Devil results in the murders of three people—murders seemingly committed by a maladjusted psychic (Jim Seward). Through behind-the-scenes footage, courtroom transcripts, and interviews, the crimes are examined by a documentarian who questions whether Seward truly committed the murders, or if there was an unknown party stalking the victims. The Last Broadcast is often erroneously linked with The Blair Witch Project—an unfair comparison since Blair Witch was conceived years earlier, despite not getting a wider release until a year after this film was available. While the “found footage” aspect is the true connection between the two movies, The Last Broadcast is molded more in the mockumentary style that would shape many future low-fi horror vehicles. In that sense, the film succeeds—evocative images, sounds, and a brooding atmosphere help to give it an undeniably creepy vibe. Imperfect but effective, nonetheless. B (Currently streaming on Prime, Freevee, and Night Flight.)
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1989) Gaston Leroux might be credited as the inspiration behind this updating of his 1909 novel, but this Phantom of the Opera is nothing more than a splattery period piece made for the Freddy Krueger generation. Krueger himself (Robert Englund) stars as the title character, a fiendish serial killer named Erik Destler who lives in the catacombs under the London opera house, hiding his hideously mangled face—the result of a deal with the Devil gone awry—and writing music for his muse, and opera understudy, Christine Day (Jill Schoelen). Anyone who poses a threat to Day is immediately reduced to mincemeat at the hands of Destler, the first being a prima donna whose voice is rendered mute after the discovery of a skinned stagehand—her head is later found in the punchbowl at a costume ball. The majority of the plot involves Day’s rise (and fall) as an opera star, and Destler slowly removing his false nose and other facial extremities in front of a mirror—he uses the flesh from his victims. The makeup effects are gruesome and convincing, done with a good amount of detail by Kevin Yagher and his team. Englund is undeniably charismatic and brings a level of creepiness to the role, even if his performance is often hackneyed and Kruegeresque. The story rarely makes sense (a large chunk of the movie seems to deal with reincarnation), but the cast is good, the production polished, and the gore piled on. B– (Not currently streaming.)