Film Review: I, MADMAN (1989, Tibor Takács)

Stars: 3.8 of 5.
Running Time: 89 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Starring Jenny Wright (NEAR DARK, ST. ELMO'S FIRE), Clayton Rohner (APRIL FOOL'S DAY, JUST ONE OF THE GUYS), Stephanie Hodge (BIG TOP PEE-WEE, EVOLUTION), and Randall William Cook (who also did the visual effects and stop motion on HIGHWAY TO HELL, GHOSTBUSTERS, FRIGHT NIGHT, Q: THE WINGED SERPENT and won three Oscars for Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS). Written by David Chaskin (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY'S REVENGE, THE CURSE). Directed by Tibor Takács (Hungarian-born director of THE GATE, METAL MESSIAH, and the SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH TV movie).
Tag-line: "Spend the night with a madman."
Best one-liner: "It makes Stephen King read like Mother Goose!"

When you've been a horror fan as long as I have, it can become difficult to find vintage gems you haven't already seen. You sift through a lot of straight-to-video nonsense, and, sadly, it's often not even "so-bad-it's-good." You make it through a lot of movies that not only lack star power, they even lack "character-actor-power." While reading about visual effects legend Randall William Cook (because of the excellent HIGHWAY TO HELL), I decided to take a chance on I, MADMAN, where he not only did the visual effects, he stars as the villain (!).

I, MADMAN was pitched to me as the story of a bookworm whose voracious consumption of horror novels leads to a blurring of reality (sort of a proto-IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, at least in the abstract), as the villain of these books begins to pursue her in real life.

It sounded intriguing, self-reflexive, and artistic, but also a bit like a feature-length episode TALES FROM THE CRYPT (which is not a bad thing, necessarily). And it's my pleasure to report that this is while it's not quite a masterpiece, it certainly lives up to its pitch.

Jenny Wright (of NEAR DARK) plays Virginia, our heroine. She has a Joan Cusack/Gillian Anderson vibe and was fairly ubiquitous throughout the 1980s, though she hasn't appeared in much at all since 1992's THE LAWNMOWER MAN. As a bookstore employee who loves scary novels, her performance taps into the nostalgia/cozy feeling of curling up with a good book and entering another world, like THE NEVERENDING STORY (for horror fans).

All of the scenes set at her bookstore also feel nostalgic and extremely lived-in, 

 

and her co-worker (played by the hilarious Stephanie Hodge)

does her best to steal every scene she's in.

The director, Budapest's own Tibor Takács, imbues the film with true style. He views Los Angeles through a very European lens, romanticizing all the rundown 1950s apartment buildings and decor, and presenting an extremely stylized vision that, in my opinion, owes a great deal to the films of David Lynch, particularly BLUE VELVET.

This could easily be a screencap from BLUE VELVET, or RABBITS



WILD AT HEART hadn't even been released yet, nor BARTON FINK, if we want to include the Coens

Fetishized vintage lamps, peeling wallpaper, creepy bellhops, flickering lights, beckoning darkness... it's all here!

As the books begin to bleed into reality, we have the aforementioned Randall William Cook playing a character who's equal parts Dr. Moreau, Jack the Ripper, Darkman, and The Shadow... and he embarks on a series of giallo-style murders

across this David Lynch-ian/Edward Hopper-verse. They're formally very effective, employing vivid lighting, surprising visuals, and Sam Raimi-style camerawork. 

There's a track-zoom down this hallway that feels straight out of EVIL DEAD

 

Virginia's policeman boyfriend, "Richard" (Clayton Rohner, a real Jeff Fahey-type)

becomes more instrumental to the plot at this point, though, thankfully, it never truly veers into a police procedural. I won't reveal how it proceeds from here, though I will say there is some unexpected creature work from Randall William Cook (very similar to his FRIGHT NIGHT monsters)

 

 

with that dreamlike, uncanny feel that can only be achieved by a stop-motion master.

 

In a weird bit of trivia, the legendary author and screenwriter Bruce Wagner has a cameo as a sinister piano player, only glimpsed from afar (again, very Edward Hopper via REAR WINDOW), who always plays late into the night.

(You've probably seen some of Wagner's films––MAPS TO THE STARS, WILD PALMS, SCENES FROM THE CLASS STRUGGLE IN BEVERLY HILLS, or A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS––but I also must shout out his novels, like I'M LOSING YOU or THE CHRYSANTHEMUM PALACE; he has a spiritually twisted vision of Hollywood/L.A. as a perverse, feudal New Age cult dystopia and he always manages to shock and engage his audiences.)

 

Finally, I must address one of my longstanding cinematic rules: I've often said "it's not an action movie unless they blow up a gas station," and "it's not a horror movie until you're in the microfiche room," and I'm happy to report that by the latter criterion, this is indeed a horror movie. 

I'm introducing two John Carpenter films in Brooklyn, on 10/14 and 10/18!

In collaboration with Infinite Good Times Movie Club and their October series "The House That Carpenter Built," I'm going to be introducing two film screenings this week, both in Brooklyn, NY at Lucky 13 Saloon. On Wednesday, October 14, I'll be introducing the second half of a double-feature––BODY BAGS––at 9:45pm (the evening begins with THE FOG at 7:00pm). Then, on Sunday, October 18th, I'll be introducing IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS at 3:00pm. You can RSVP for the screenings online, for 10/14's THE FOG/BODY BAGS here, and for 10/18's IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS here. 

Film Review: HIGHWAY TO HELL (1992, Ate de Jong)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 94 minutes.
Tag-line: "If there's one thing worse than dying and going to Hell, it's not dying – and going to Hell."
Notable Cast or Crew: Chad Lowe (Rob's brother), Kristy Swanson (DEADLY FRIEND, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), Patrick Bergin (SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, PATRIOT GAMES), Adam Storke (MYSTIC PIZZA, Larry Underwood in Mick Garris' THE STAND), Jarrett Lennon (CHEERS, FREAKS & GEEKS), Richard Farnsworth (THE STRAIGHT STORY, MISERY), Lita Ford (of "The Runaways"), Anne Meara (FAME, THE DAYTRIPPERS), Jerry Stiller (SEINFELD, HAIRSPRAY), Ben Stiller (REALITY BITES, EMPIRE OF THE SUN), Gilbert Gottfried (ALADDIN, BEVERLY HILLS COP II), Kevin Peter Hall ("The Predator" in PREDATOR, "Harry" in HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS). Special Effects by Randall William Cook (FRIGHT NIGHT, THE THING, Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS, GHOSTBUSTERS, POLTERGEIST II). Matte paintings by Rocco Gioffre (BLADE RUNNER, ROBOCOP) and Mark Sullivan (KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE, THE PHANTOM MENACE). Cinematography by Robin Vidgeon (HELLRAISER, NIGHTBREED, THE FLY II). Written by Brian Helgeland (MYSTIC RIVER, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL). Directed by Ate de Jong (DROP DEAD FRED).
Best One-liner: "When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!"

HIGHWAY TO HELL... where have you been all my life? Shot in 1989 and dumped straight-to-video in 1992 (after a limited release), it took a long time for this wacky little horror-adventure-comedy to find its much deserved cult audience. 

A twisted retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth glimpsed through a "what-if-Tim-Burton-and-Clive-Barker-made-LITTLE-MONSTERS?" lens, Dutch director Ate de Jong dives into the material with visually inventive flourish (think Sam Raimi or Richard Rush) and a goofball sense of humor (imagine MAD Magazine with a Euro-arthouse cool factor).

 

Here, our Orpheus and Eurydice are two road-tripping elopers, played by Chad Lowe and Kristy Swanson. 

Despite a prolific television resume, Chad Lowe never managed to match his brother Rob for relevance, though his performance here is certainly likable and persistent. As "Orpheus," it's mostly his journey and therefore he gets the most screen-time. Kristy Swanson's late '80s star had been on the rise, between DEADLY FRIEND, FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, MANNEQUIN 2, and HOT SHOTS, though mostly this film places her in in a series of "distressed damsel" scenarios. I can't help but wonder if this film would have found greater purchase with more charismatic leads, somewhere in the vein of Nic Cage/Christian Slater/Woody Harrelson or Jennifer Jason Leigh/Winona Ryder/Bridget Fonda. That being said, Lowe and Swanson do a serviceable job, and they do manage the feeling of two naïve waifs unexpectedly encountering the depths of hell.

Their Route 66 honeymoon road trip is interrupted by a demonic state trooper (C.J. Graham, "Jason" in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 6) who is part Freddy Krueger, part Cenobite, and part THE HILLS HAVE EYES. 

 

Naturally, he has the vanity plate "DAMNED." 

Using "hand cuffs" that are literal, zombified hands (the first of the film's many visual puns and sight gags)

 the demonic trooper kidnaps Eurydice and takes her through a portal to hell in the Arizona desert.

Taking advice from "Last Chance" gas station owner Richard Farnsworth, Lowe's Orpheus decides to enter the portal to Hades himself and save his fiancée.

It's a nice bit part for the pathos-exuding Farnsworth (Oscar nominated for David Lynch's THE STRAIGHT STORY), who also tells Lowe he's got "the wrong car for this kinda road." [Devotees of THE STRAIGHT STORY, which came out in 1999, will note that this weirdly foreshadows an aspect of that film, where Farnsworth's character, against all advice, drives a ride-on mower cross-country to see his dying brother!]

So Lowe's Orpheus blasts through the hellmouth (in a very BACK TO THE FUTURE-inspired moment) and finds himself in a surreal desert afterlife, somehow equal parts AIRPLANE!,  MAD MAX, and HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN.

(I believe that the sole purpose of his red 49ers cap is to reference Harry Dean Stanton's desert wanderings in Wim Wenders' PARIS, TEXAS.)

 

There are many incredible set-pieces during Orpheus' journey through Hades, and while I wouldn't dream of spoiling them all, I'll set the scene with a few:

Picture it: Pluto's Donuts, a perverted post-Americana 1950s diner that becomes a Stiller family affair, with Anne Meara playing Medea (as a diner waitress),

her husband Jerry Stiller, playing an insistent customer (and dead highway patrolman)
 

and their son Ben Stiller, playing a whiny line cook (in the first of two roles).

 

The visuals throughout are extremely detailed and inventive, and there's a PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE kind of claymation beauty in even the corniest moments. 

 

 Next, consider Hoffa's, a hellish casino

where Genghis Khan (Ben Stiller again), Cleopatra (sister Amy Stiller), and Hitler (Gilbert Gottfried, of course) 

 whine about the poor service, while the table next to them is reserved for 

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, martial law enthusiast Imelda Marcos, apartheid brute P.W. Botha, and... Jerry Lewis. This is probably the best illustration of what kind of tone this movie means to convey; in fact, your mileage may vary (on the road to hell). Which is paved with:

 

I admire the inspired, wacko choice to have hell's civic infrastructure run by an unsettling army of Andy Warhols

 who pave hell's roads with a conveyor belt of screaming, freshly deceased victims.

 

Along the way, we witness advertisements for Styx beer (see: best-one liner, above)

and, through the magic of Rocco Gioffre and Mark Sullivan's gorgeous matte paintings, glimpse Hell City and its notorious traffic jams. 

 

 

As Lowe's Orpheus continues his descent

 

 

 (damn, they actually got permission to shoot in Antelope Canyon!) 

he meets a rogue's gallery of characters and cameos, some of whom bear mentioning. Former Runaway and solo artist Lita Ford appears as a hitchhiker:

 

seven-foot-tall character actor Kevin Peter Hall (PREDATOR, HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS) plays a creepy, eyes-sewn-shut Charon:

 

Adam Storke plays sort of rebel prince from hell (seen here acting alongside Kristy Swanson's statement vest):

 

and the deliciously deranged Patrick Bergin (I once did a deep dive into how thoroughly his performance steals the movie SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY) who appears first as a suspiciously earnest "Satanic Mechanic"

 

and later, in a turn, as a nearly Willy Wonka-ish take on Old Scratch.

 

Oh, and did I mention that this thing has the best depiction of Cerberus in film history?

 

So hitch a ride on the HIGHWAY TO HELL: stop-motion monsters, desert madness, post-apocalyptic Americana, and an exquisite, cult movie tone. You'll be left wishing that Ate de Jong had been given greater opportunities in Hollywood to wield his particular brand of zany-satirical creativity. (Though, we'll always have the oeuvre of his fellow Dutch satirist, Paul Verhoeven.)