Horror

Queen of Schlock! The Car

When I was a kid, I loved going to the drive-in movies. On hot summer nights, my parents would pile the four of us kids into the back of the old, white Pontiac station wagon and head off to Owen Sound’s Twin Drive-In Theatre (sadly, it’s no longer there). Mom would always have plenty of snacks for us, even though we would always beg to go to the snack bar. There would be a variety of Pop Shoppe soft drinks, salt and vinegar or plain potato chips, Whoppers, and sandwiches. To be honest, though tempted by the overcooked hot dogs and dry popcorn of the concession stand, we always fared better.

No matter how hot it was, we would always don our pyjamas before leaving for the twenty minute drive. Our parents would try to pick a double bill that had a kid friendly or as close to…. movie as a first feature, since most of the time we’d be sound asleep before intermission. That didn’t always work out as planned for them.

By the way, I wrote another blog about the Owen Sound Twin Drive-In Theatre a couple of years ago when I heard it was being torn down. https://lizzieviolet.com/category/owen-sound-twin-drive-in-theatre/

Now back to the story… I would have been ten years old when this happened and at this point, was generally immune to horror movies, since I had watched quite a few with my Dad already. Oh, the 1970s… such an innocent time. So… I’m not really sure why this movie bothered me as much as it did, however, The Car (1977) scared the crap out of me!!!

I’m sure by this point of the evening my parents figured the four of us were sound asleep. Little did they know, their eldest was wide awake and taking in every little bit of the movie, including the scenes where the car runs people over and the terrifying first person or maybe it was first demon view coming from inside the car. There was a point that I had to go to the washroom and was pleading with my Mom to take me. I was too afraid to go on my own. I mean, come on! We were in a drive-in theatre filled with cars! Normally, we would go on our own, again… the 1970s… Finally, my Mom relented and took me. She wasn’t pleased that she was missing all of the on-screen carnage. For quite a while after that evening, I would be occasionally startled by passing cars, especially while cycling. (You will understand when you see the opening scene) Eventually, I got over it.

Now, a little bit about the movie.

The Car is a 1977 American horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack, and Lane Slate. The film stars James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, and Ronny Cox, along with real-life sisters Kim and Kyle Richards (as Brolin’s daughters). It tells the story of an unmanned, self-driving mysterious car that goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the residents of a small town.

The film was produced and distributed by Universal Studios and was influenced by numerous “road movies” of the 1970s including Steven Spielberg‘s thriller Duel (1971) and Roger Corman‘s Death Race 2000 (1975). {source Wikipedia}

One other movie freaked me out and that was The Amityville Horror (1979), but, all that did was help me become obsessed with haunted houses and thunderstorms. Now that I’ve come to think about it, both movies starred James Brolin. Maybe, I was scared of James Brolin? Movies like The Duel (1971 – which I saw years later) Christine (1983) or Maximum Overdrive (1986) didn’t bother me, so why did this movie? I’ve been rewatching trailers and I still feel tense. Just look at the one below.

I’ve been rewatching movies that freaked me out as a kid and in most cases, they are now laughable… except for clowns… I won’t be rewatching movies with clowns, this one though, chills! We finally rewatched The Car and after viewing it for the second time in my life, I understand why it freaked me out. This movie gets right to it in the opening scene and I mean right to it! When we were kids we cycled EVERYWHERE and that was why the first scene got to me. Also, cars are everywhere, even in the middle of nowhere, there is bound to be a car. There is literally no escape from them in the real world or in this movie! There are even children being terrorized , which was another thing that upset me. One of the kids was my age (at the time). I really, really want you to watch this movie!

If you are interested in watching other movies about murderous cars, check out this article. https://www.treehugger.com/horror-films-featuring-villainous-motor-vehicles-4863697

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Queen of Schlock! The Man From Planet X

I’m a sucker for b-movies with aliens in them. Generally, they are a really good laugh. The aliens are generally entertaining and the story… well… there usually isn’t a great one. Either way, they are a lot of fun. When I found The Man From Planet X, I thought I’d found myself another bad b-movie, but to my surprise, it was actually pretty good. It held my attention for the entire movie (meaning I didn’t pick my phone up to scroll) and trust me, that fact says a lot about a movie.

The Man from Planet X is a 1951 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced by Jack Pollexfen and Aubrey Wisberg, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, that stars Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, and William Schallert. The film was distributed by United Artists.

A scientist is monitoring a mysterious “Planet X” that has entered our solar system and is now near the Earth. A spaceship from the planet lands and a space-suited humanoid emerges who speaks in musical tones. The alien makes contact with a small pocket of humanity in an isolated, fog-shrouded Scottish moor. Meanwhile, the scientist only wants to exploit the spaceman’s specialized knowledge for his own selfish ends. (source Wikipedia)

There is action, some sciency stuff, a love story… there is always a love story and of course a groovy looking alien. Even the space ship was well designed. Don’t expect any top-notch special effects here. It’s the 1950s and they are pretty cheesy.

Do yourself a favour and watch this movie. It’s currently streaming on YouTube, but who knows for how long.

Check out this blog post with a really in-depth break down for the movie. There are spoilers so you may want to wait until after you’ve seen the movie. https://scifist.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/the-man-from-planet-x/

Here is the movie. Enjoy!

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Queen of Schlock! Giant Lizards and Spiders OH MY!

I love, love, love Lizards (all reptiles and amphibians actually) and spiders! As a matter of a fact, we have a few house spiders that keep the fruit flies at bay. Thank you spiders! However, not everyone can deal with one or either of those things. That folks is why they continually show up in horror movies!

As a kid, and to my mother’s dismay, I was constantly picking up frogs and snakes. On several occasions I tried to bring them home. I was really intrigued by them. My sister, on the other hand, was terrified of snakes and being the jerk kid I was, I once threw a green grass snake at her. She STILL brings it up to this day. I can still hear her screams.

Below are my favourite killer lizard and snake b-movies. For fun I threw in a few killer snake and killer frog movies.

The Giant Gila Monster

Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

Reptilicus (1961)

Tarantula (1955)

Earth vs The Spider (1958)

Sssssss (1973)

The Snake Woman (1961)

Frogs (1972)

Venom (1981)

Oh and don’t worry, I didn’t forget the biggest lizard of all, Gojira! AKA Godzilla!

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Queen of Schlock! Killer Flying Stingy Things

A little bit of Lizzie trivia: I’m terrified of hornets and wasps. Yes. Yes I am. I’m not allergic to them. Bumble Bees don’t upset me, but the other ones, especially, the yellow jackets, send me running in a panic. I’m also a wee bit paranoid about killer bees. Why? When I was a kid, I had really super long hair, as in, past my butt long. One hot summer afternoon, I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to do. I decided to raid the raspberry bushes. My mother told us to stay away from them because we would pick them clean! (they were delicious, of course, we would)

Me being the rebellious child decided that nothing was keeping me away from those delightful, fresh, sweet berries and I figured, no one would see me, so… why not take a chance. As I was greedily picking away and shoving them in my mouth, I seemed to have disturbed a hornet nest. Several of them flew at me and one somehow managed to get itself stuck in the back of my neck. I panicked… it panicked, we all panicked. It wasn’t a good time. When a stingy things panic… they sting you, a lot! Because wasps and hornets don’t lose their stingers, they can do that. Needless to say, I ran screaming into the house, my father killed the hornet and then had to deal with all of my stings.

Most people will avoid the things that scare them all together, including movies about them. Not me. Well… except for clowns. NOPE. No thanks! I gotta say though, if you are afraid of something, watch a really bad b-movie about it. You will be laughing so hard, you will forget your fears. Unless… clowns.

At least we somehow avoided Murder Hornets until now.

Below are a few of my favourite movies with stingy things in them. As always, if there is a link to a full movie, it will be included below.

The Swarm (1978)

The Deadly Bees (1967)

Killer Bees (1974)

The Bees (1978)

The Savage Bees (1976)

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

This Girl Needs a Break

I’ve decided to take the month of August off from blogging… sorta. I’ve been going steady since lockdown began and am having a bit of blogging fatigue. I started out doing daily posts and then moved to 3 times a week. Doing all of that was great for my creativity and quite a feat. But… my fingers and brain need a bit of a break, as well, I’m needing time to concentrate on my next novel. What does that mean… I will continue Queen of Schlock every week, but Bat Adventures and Redheads Writing in Cafes will be on a break.

Queen of Schlock! X: The Man With The X-ray Eyes

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Roger Corman. Yes. Oh well, I’m going to say it again! I LOVE ROGER CORMAN! One of my all time favourites is Little Shop of Horrors. I’ve watched the 1960s version, many, many times. That is followed by Masque Of The Red Death, Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Terror, Dementia 13 and Creature from the Haunted Sea! However, I have a new favourite to add to this remarkable line up! X: The Man With The X-ray Eyes!

X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes is a 1963 independently made color science fiction-horror film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Ray Milland. The film, written by Ray Russell and Robert Dillon, is notable for featuring comedian Don Rickles in a straight dramatic role. Veteran character actor Morris Ankrum makes an uncredited appearance in his final role. American International Pictures distributed the film in the fall of 1963 as a double feature with the Francis Ford Coppola-directed horror thriller Dementia 13. (source Wikipedia)

Would I ever have loved to see that double-bill when it came out! Sheer perfection! Right from the opening scene I was hooked by the story and the premise of what was to come. There is also a wonderful surprise of how good Don Rickles is playing the bad guy! He is the sleeziest of the sleezes and does an amazing job!

Ray Milland was brilliant as Dr. Xavier. A man determined to find success in his X-ray eye drops. Nothing, even the possibility of losing his mind was going to stop him from completing his experiment, even going as far as using himself as a test subject!

Personally, I don’t think I would want X-ray eyes and after watching this movie I definitely don’t. You can see through everything. Which means if you were to look up, nothing would protect your eyes from the sun and your eyes and brain would melt. No thank you!

Along with Ray Milland, this movie also has a very talented and often recognizable supporting cast.

I highly recommend this movie! At the moment, you can find it on YouTube! Below is the link.

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Redheads Writing In Cafes: Why I’m obsessed with thrifting & making my own clothing!

(except when it’s from my bedroom)

I was asked recently why I love making my own clothing (I get asked often) and this led me down a rabbit hole of all of the whys including why I thrift or go antiquing rather than buy anything new. Oh and of course why I will repair things, until they are literally falling apart. One reason, it’s in my blood, the other, well, there are many and you will need to read on.

My Mother Made Our Clothes We grew up poor and with a growing family and no extra money to buy things such as clothing for her growing children, my mother had to rely on hand-me-downs or making clothing herself. Like myself, my mother was taught the basics, but is mostly self-taught when it comes to sewing. Not only did she sew our clothing, she self drafted patterns AND would use what ever material was available to her. Discounted ends of bolts, old dresses, sheets… she was beyond crafty! Along with sewing our clothing, she knit us lots of outfits as well. I know this brought her a lot of joy and was a creative outlet for her.

Creative Outlet I have always been a creative person. Growing up my mother always made sure I had art supplies, writing journals, yarn and fabric at my disposal. Since she didn’t have time to do art herself, she made sure that her children could. Out of the four of us, I am truly the creative one. Along with doing art (mostly drawing) Sewing, knitting, crochet and cross-stitch helps my mental health. You heard that right, it helps with your mental well-being. While I am working on projects, I can go off into a meditative state. When I am done, I calm and in many cases have been able to work out problems and issues that were irking me.

Thrifting vs Buying New Many people want to participate in ways to help the environment beyond recycling and composting, but don’t always know how to do that. Thrifting rather than buying new actually makes a huge impact, especially in regard to clothing. Did you know that fast fashion contributes to Climate Change because of how much of it ends up in landfill! Check out this article! When you thrift vs buy new, you are not only helping the environment. you may come across some vintage gems that are generally better quality than much of what we buy today. Not to mention, I have found basically brand new small appliances at my local Value Village!

Antiquing falls under this category as well. I love, love, love going antiquing. It’s like going on a treasure hunt for me. We have a few favourite spots, but I’m always looking for new places to go. I love walking up and down the aisle, trying to find that one particular item or take a chance and see if I find something I wasn’t actually looking for. I always make sure to love in every corner just in case something has been hidden away.

You Save Money That’s right folks! You save money! That alone should get you excited about thrift stores!

Do you thrift? What do you look for when you do?

Queen of Schlock! The Best-Worst Movie Monsters

Monsters, monsters and MORE monsters!!!

One of the reasons I love watching b-movies is because of the monsters. If I’m lucky, the monsters will be bad, really bad. Laughable bad. I alway hope all the hopes for this and when I get my way, you will hear me squeal. One of my all time best-worst b-movie monsters has to be the garbage bags with suckers glued on looking monsters from Attack of the Giant Leeches. If you’ve seen this movie you know exactly what I’m talking about! I have a great appreciation for Roger Corman movies! This one is close to my heart for sure and to be honest, when we make our own b-movie, I may be looking to his ingenuity as inspiration!

I have great appreciation for b-movie makers. Most had little to no budget and either had to put together sets and costumes out of nothing or reuse them from other movie productions. Sure they aren’t Tim Burton level in all of the cases, but they are monsters… maybe just not scary ones.

There are so many other best-worst b-movie monsters, here are my favourites! (no specific order) What is your favourite best-worst movie monster?

The Killer Shrews (1959)

The Green Slime

Day the World Ended (1955)

The Giant Claw (1957)

The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

Robot Monster (1953)

Night of the Blood Beast (1958)

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

The Creeping Terror (1964)

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

The Alligator People (1959)

Octaman (1971)

Killers from Space (1954)

Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Redheads Writing In Cafes: Why I Love Silent Movies

As a child I spent many hours hanging out with my Great Grandpa Bill. I’ve mentioned him before since he is someone who influenced me as a writer. He was an incredible story teller and someone who didn’t shy away from telling spooky ghosts stories to me. He knew that they wouldn’t frighten me, rather intrigue me. I am so incredibly thankful for the time I spent with him. There was another thing that I fell in love with because of him and that is Silent Movies.

Because of my Great Grandpa, I have been watching Silent Movies since I was a kid. Back then I was fascinated by them, but it wasn’t until I became an adult and started rewatching them, did I really learn to appreciate the craft and dedication that went into making those masterpieces of art!

Over the years I have also been working on a Silent Movie script of my own. I’ve also, been reading about incredible female scenario writers such as Frances Marion, Anita Loos and Gene Gauntier for inspiration on how to write a good Silent Film. I highly recommend reading this article if you want to know more about them. These incredible women are another reason I am drawn to Silent Movies. Women shaped the beginning of Hollywood and the Silent Film industry. If you want to learn more about women who were scenario writers, producers and directors, this is a great resource.

Two other resources I highly recommend are the documentary and the book called Without Lying Down. It is the story of Frances Marion and the beginnings of Hollywood. The book is much more in depth than the documentary, but you should give both a go!

Living in Toronto we are blessed to have many rep theatres and most of them show Silent Movies. Once we are out of pandemic jail, we will be returning to them to show support and to enjoy silent movies. We are also incredibly lucky to have The Toronto Silent Film Festival. It had to be rescheduled to late Fall this year and we can’t wait to attend the screenings.

Silent Sundays is a monthly series held at The Revue. We rarely miss a viewing. It is really well curated and I’ve seen films that are new to me, as well as ones I have enjoyed many times.

The Fox in The Beach neighbourhood of Toronto also hosts Silent Movies regularly along with other fun classic movies.

There are a few blogs I regularly check out and you should too!

Movies Silently https://moviessilently.com/
Silentology https://silentology.wordpress.com/?wref=bif
The Hollywood Revue https://hollywoodrevue.wordpress.com/category/silents/
Meet Me at the Soda Fountain https://meetmeatthesodafountain.home.blog/?wref=bif

I can’t leave you without letting you know what my top favourite Silent Movies are. These are in no particular order. Where I can, I post links to full movies. Enjoy!

Metropolis (1927) (this is a gorgeous HD copy)

Girl Shy (1924) This is one of my all time favourite Harold Lloyd films. This is a really clean copy of it.

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) This is a restored version, but with the German title cards. There are other versions with English, but I highly recommend you watch this version.

Our Dancing Daughters (1928) This is such a wonderful movie and Joan Crawford steals the show! I’m so grateful to my fellow swell dame Heather Babcock for introducing me to it.

City Girl (1930) F.W. Murnau is one of my all time favourite film makers and you will understand when you see City Girl. It was also one of the last Silent Movies, as Talkies were all the rage at this point.

Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) The film stars the beloved Louise Brooks. The title cards are in German, but you can find English subtitles.

City Lights (1931) This film is truly the last of the Silent Movies. It really speaks to The Great Depression of the 1930s and I personally feel it is relevant with what is happening right now. The full movies can be seen over on Netflix.

The Last Laugh (1924) This is another favourite F. W. Murnau film! It also has German title cards, but you can find English subtitles.

I’m sure a few of you were wondering where the Silent Horror Movies are. Do not fret!

Nosferatu (1922) The creepiest and best of all of the Dracula movies! I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve seen it.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) is absolutely wonderful and the special effects are pretty awesome for the times!

What are some of your favourite Silent Movies?

Queen of Schlock! Let’s Begin With B-movies!

What is your favourite b-movie? Is it a classic or is it current? 

Every time I am asked those two questions, the first movie that ALWAYS pops into my head of Plan 9 From Outer Space. I can’t help it. It’s so awful, it’s actually genius. Oh and if this is your first time reading my blog, hi, I’m Lizzie, I’m a wee bit obsessed with bad b-movies, well… let’s be honest, all b -movies. I figured it was time to do an ongoing, weekly series about it!

There are a lot of reasons that I love this movie. My number one is Ed Wood Jr. did anything and everything to get the movie made, including not so cutting edge special effects. Can you see the strings?

I often rewatch his movies when I feel like I’m not motivated to finish a project I’ve started simply because I never feel like it is good enough or I feel like walking away from art altogether. Ed Wood Jr., never gave up and he got his movies made!

Then there is Vampira! How can I pass up a movie with my favourite ghoul! Seriously, she is beyond spooktacular! Along with the ghouliest ghouls of all, there is homemade sets using anything available, actors who can barely restrain themselves from laughing, (I’m not kidding, once you see it, you can never unsee it) a cast of well known b-movie actors that you will see in multiple Ed Wood Jr. Films and Bela Lugosi!

BELA LUGOSI! Sadly, this would be his last role as he died while they were filming the movie.

Okay! Okay! I will give you a hint, Joanna Lee has some issues with holding in her laugh during many scenes that take place inside the ‘spaceship’. You are welcome, now stop yelling at me!

Plan 9 From Outerspace is just one of many b-movies I will be writing about. I hope you will join me on my b-movie journey and it will be quite a journey because I watch A LOT of b-movies.

For your viewing pleasure, this is where you can view the movie in it’s entirety. Give it a watch and let me know what you think.

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!