Final Women

I had been trying to get my hands on Fade to Black for years before it finally popped up free on Amazon Prime. I was so excited! But did it meet my expectations when I finally sat down and watched it? Actually, for the most part, yes. Fade to Black is a lot more character driven than I expected. It's also fairly competently shot and well acted. Clearly, a lot more thought was put into it than I first expected. I also couldn't help but love the main character, Eric (Dennis Christopher, adult Eddie Waspbrak from the original It), a geeky film buff, who in today's world would have a popular blog and possibly even a career in Hollywood (his makeup effects are phenomenal). However, in 1980, he's just a lonely, bullied nerd, who seems to provoke outrageously angry reactions from almost everyone he encounters. Yes, he does eventually turn serial killer, but it's still hard not to feel sorry for the poor guy, who's been kicked around by nearly everyone in his li...

I woke up this morning to the tragic news that Dick Miller had passed away two days ago on January 30. Dick Miller was one of those wonderful character actors. Rarely a leading man, he excelled in smaller but crucial roles and elevated each and every movie he was in. He had particular success in the horror genre, and frequently worked alongside genre stalwart, Joe Dante. He will be greatly missed. Some of his most memorable roles include: Gremlins (1984) Chopping Mall (1986) Rock 'n' Roll High School  (1979) He also blessed us with appearances in Premature Burial, A Bucket of Blood (a rare starring role), Piranha, The Howling, Night of the Creeps, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, and Burying the Ex, along with many other genre projects. In 2014, a documentary about his life and work titled That Guy Dick Miller   was released, and it is available for free with Amazon Prime. If you're fan, you can't miss this stellar documentary abo...