Jennifer (2005, TV movie) or, Carnal Desires

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The horrifically deformed face of the titular character makes up most of this poster for Dario Argento's Jennifer

 

Police officer Frank Spivey one day shoots a man who is about to murder a young woman. The woman is horribly deformed in her face, and she has some bloody urges, but Spivey is nevertheless seduced by her.

 

Jennifer is written by writer/co-star Steven Weber (The Outer Limits (1999, TV-series)), adapted from a 1974 comic book story by Bruce Jones (Alien Encounters (1986)) and Bernie Wrightson (Gargoyle (1985)) from the anthology Creepy, and directed by Italian master filmmaker Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage/L'uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970)). It is the 4th entry in the first season of Mick Garris' Masters of Horror TV anthology series (2005-06.

As an Argento fan might hope for, Jennifer is both transgressive and eerie. Jennifer has carnal desires in more than one way: SPOILER She eats a child, a cat, a teenage boy and that's not even all! The prosthetic special effects are made by the master in the craft, Howard Berger. There is typically disturbing music from Claudio Simonetti (Violent Shit: The Movie (2015)). And Weber is great as Spivey, but apart from him the acting is a bit dry, and the story has its holes. But Jennifer is definitely an above average TV movie and among the best of the mostly lacking Masters of Horror output. 

 

Related posts:

 

Other Masters of Horror TV movies: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Fair Haired Child (2006, TV movie) - Malone turns out another weak Masters of Horror TV movie 

Dance of the Dead (2005) - Hooper's ugly Masters of Horror nonsense
Chocolate (2005) - Flavors, visions and eroticism in Garris' TV movie thriller
Deer Woman (2005) - Landis and son's solid Masters of Horror entry 
Cigarette Burns (2005) - Carpenter burns out in weird, tiresome TV movie    

Haeckel's Tale (2006, TV movie) - Another bland Masters entry 

Pick Me Up (2006, TV movie) - Cohen's so-so Masters of Horror entry

Imprint (2006) - Venture far, far abroad with Miike's hard-to-watch Masters of Horror entry

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005, TV movie) - Coscarelli violently opens the Masters of Horror ball

Dario Argento: The Phantom of the Opera/Il Fantasma dell'Opera (1998) - Argento's Leroux adaptation is a kicker mostly for stout fans 

Demons/Dèmoni (1985) or, Cinema of Death! (co-writer/producer)

Top 10: Best horror movies 

Inferno (1980) - Argento's satanic, New York-set nightmare masterpiece 

Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death! (co-composer)

The Cat O'Nine Tails/Il Gatto a Nove Code (1971) - Solid genetics-themed giallo murder puzzle 

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage/L'uccello Dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970) - The great debut giallo of Dario Argento

Documentary about Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2002) - Bio. doc. of Dario Argento 

 

 

Listen to some of Simonetti's score for the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV movie

= Uncertain

[Jennifer premiered 18 November (Showtime channel, North America) and runs 58 minutes. Shooting took place in British Columbia. Argento returned with Pelts (2006, TV movie), a segment of Masters of Horror's 2nd season. Weber returned in Will & Grace (2005-06). 6.6k+ IMDb users have given Jennifer a 6.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Jennifer?

Hamburger Hill (1987) - Irvin's take on the futility of the US Vietnam War

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Conflicting notions of war and purity gas up this nauseating poster for John Irvin's Hamburger Hill

 

We follow a battalion of soldiers, who are sent back to the Vietnamese A Shau valley, where they spend about 10 days and countless lives on taking a fortified ridge known as 'Hamburger Hill.'

 

Hamburger Hill is written by James Carabatsos (Heroes (1977)) and directed by John Irvin (The Dogs of War (1980)), based on the actual 1969 Battle of Hamburger Hill during the American Vietnam War.

It is a very fine film, which is focused on the US soldiers, their bordello visits, partners at home; their conflicting emotions and experiences of support and the opposite from the foreigners around them. Debuting Dylan McDermott (Edison (2005)) and several others in the young cast act well.

The narrative is actually to the weak side, and the concluding epilogue poem is an inauspicious deciding note to end on. But Hamburger Hill lives well before these minor asides: As a story of how the war's excuses dwindle, as its madness is condensed and intensified around the taking of one single small mountain. It is a handsome and well-scored (by Philip Glass (The Lost Ones (1975))) production.

 

Related post:
 

John Irvin: The Dogs of War (1980) or, Mercenaries in Africa!

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 14 mil. $

Box office: 13.8 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain, but likely a big flop (projected return of 1.14 times its cost)

[Hamburger Hill premiered 28 August (USA) and runs 110 minutes. Irvin worked on several documentaries in Vietnam in 1969. Shooting took place from October - December 1986 in Washington DC and in the Philippines. The film opened #5, behind holdover hits The Stakeout, No Way Out, Dirty Dancing and fellow new release The Fourth Protocol, to a 3.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 13.8 mil. $. The international gross numbers are regrettably not public online. If the final gross was around 16 mil. $, which is not unlikely, the film would rank as a 'big flop' with a projected return of 1.14 times its cost. Irvin returned with Next of Kin (1989). McDermott returned in The Blue Iguana (1988). Hamburger Hill is fresh at 100 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hamburger Hill?

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) - Brooks wrongly castigated last directorial effort

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The classy-fun poster for Mel Brooks' Dracula: Dead and Loving It

QUICK REVIEW:

Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula (1897) and its adaptations into cinema are the basis of this spoof.

Dead and Loving It is a warm-hearted crazy-comedy from some of the old guys in the profession: Master co-writer-director/producer/star Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles (1974)) and Leslie Nielsen (Airplane! (1980)). Especially Nielsen's aura of comicality and Brooks' verbal comedy make the laughter roar here, while Peter MacNicol (24 (2007), TV-series) as Renfield is a bit tame.
The film contains lots of gags and fun, and it gives the Dracula world a serious squeeze in the butt. It is co-written by Brooks, Rudy De Luca (Silent Movie (1976)) and Steve Haberman (Life Stinks (1991)), and directed by Brooks as his last film in that role.
Dracula: Dead and Loving It is simply fun!

Related review:

Mel Brooks: Blazing Saddles (1974) or, The Black Sheriff of Rock Ridge

Try not to be amused while watching the trailer for the film here - I dare you!

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 10.6 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertainty
[But certainly a big flop, and probably even a huge flop. Dead and Loving It was met with contempt by critics at home, (its Rotten Tomatoes critics' average is just 3/10), and audiences stayed away from this otherwise undemanding serving. Only few foreign figures are out, (the film made 0.4 mil. £ in the UK, 148k paid admission in France, 16k in Portugal), which makes it impossible to determine the film's final commercial result. - How did it do in Germany, and in South America, for instance? That would be interesting to know. It was a sorry end to Brooks' career as a filmmaker, - but at least audiences today don't wholly agree with the harsh critics of '95: Dead and Loving It has an IMDb score of 5.7.]

What do you think of Dracula: Dead and Loving It?