Really, girls, the film should have been called "Escape Of The Puppet People," not "Attack." The actors, full sized and not, were wooden and inanimate; even John Hoyt, as the mad puppeteer, David noted, gave a lackluster, one-note performance. Quite the contrast to Robert H. Harris' mixture of pathos and evil in "How To Make A Monster," which I think the filmmakers here were going for but failed.
But wait! The surprise of the evening was that "Sventoonie" actually turned out to be better than "Svengoolie." Audiences are catching on to this show, so instead of telling what film is to be deconstructed, clues are offered. The one for this past week was "Organ Failure." I thought it might be something having to do with body parts, like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," or "The Prowler," aka "Rosemary's Killer." But lo and behold, it was "Carnival Of Souls."
Girls, if you have just seen the deconstruction, you get a taste of what you are missing. Candace Hilligoss--who made only one other film, 1963's "The Curse Of The Living Corpse"--plays a repressed, Midwestern spinster, who goes on a joy ride in a car with a group of rather butch looking lesbian girls. Maybe she cannot make up her mind. Actually, this is partially true, because the car goes off a bridge, into the water, but she seemingly emerges, muddy and dripping wet, as a survivor. She spends the rest of the film, wandering between reality and not, haunted by a pavilion--
Here it is, darlings! Isn't if fascinating and beautiful, simultaneously? This is where the titular event takes place, and every time I see it, I am reminded of Fellini and "Follies." I am telling you, at some point, this will be turned into either a musical or a ballet.
Mary (Candace Hilligoss) gets caught up in the carnival, where she is chased onto the beach and then.....well, you tell me. You are all smart cookies, girls, I think you can figure this one out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
According to Sventoonie, this film influenced David Lynch and George Romero. You can see that from the souls, and the characters of John Linden, the sleazy tenant, who is always putting the make on Mary, and who was played by Sidney Berger, then the head of the Drama Department, at the University Of Kansas. Most of the film was shot in Lawrence, Kansas, on a budget of $33K, while the pavilion was shot at Saltair, just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, where Mary had gone to become a church organist. The perfect spinster profession, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then there is Frances Feist, as the landlady, Mrs. Thomas, another scene stealer. With her looks, had she lived beyond her death in 1981 (she was born in 1930, so she died young) she would have been a shoo-in to appear in "Blue Velvet," in 1986, or "Mulholland Drive," in 2001.
But wait! Take a look at these pictures. The one in color is Mariclare Costello in her famous rising from the water scene, in John Hancock's 1971 debut, "Let's Scare Jessica To Death," which starred Zohra Lampert as Jessica, but Mariclare stole the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looked at together, there is no question "Carnival Of Souls" influenced "Let's Scare Jessica To Death."
Girls, if you liked the deconstruction, you would love the entire film. It scared me at the age of twelve. Too real for me, then, I suppose.
And next week, just to tempt you, do not miss the 1957 classic 'The Deadly Mantis." It has one of the greatest film posters of all time, which I would like on one of our walls. It is a hoot, darlings! Wait till you see it go for the Washington Monument! Too bad it doesn't pay a visit to D.C. today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I tell you this in advance, because David and I will be unable to view it in real time. We are seeing "The Music Man" this Saturday (I will give you girls a full report!) and then dinner afterwards, so we will watch the movie at another time.
Look out for "The Deadly Mantis!"
"Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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