Waxwork II: Lost in Time

Waxwork II came bundled with Waxwork I and, thorough reviewer that I am, I watched them both. Ugh! That really wasn't necessary.

Plot: evil man creates waxwork scenes and traps people inside in order to get their souls. The details are truly forgettable but basically if he succeeds, evil rules the earth. He succeeds. Waxwork II deals with the consequences.

Oh yeah---there's time travel, too.

Bruce appears in one of the stories within Waxwork II. Look for plenty of slapstick--this is Bruce from the Evil Dead series: great timing and humor. "It's just a flesh wound." Worth renting and fast-forwarding to his scenes.

No Ted Raimi, but in that same story as Bruce, look for Counselor Troi from ST:TNG.

Eddie Presley

Bruce is seen for just a few seconds as an asylum attendant. You have to pay attention. In the second asylum scene, look carefully. Who is that other attendant next to Bruce?: Quentin Tarantino!

This was a sad but interesting character study of a burned-out Elvis impersonator, played (and written) by Duane Whitaker. I completely believed his character---it's nice when an actor is able to make you forget that they are acting. I thought his performance was strong. And although the ending is sad and it appears that Eddie does not succeed, the point of the movie seems to be that at least he tried and that counts for something---he tried to live his dream instead of staying stuck where he was financially successful but unhappy. Pay attention to the other losers in the film and notice that only Eddie picked himself up and tried again.

Ted Raimi appears and does not die horribly but is his usually goofy self. Hey, Ted!

Lunatics: A Love Story

Ain't that a great title? That's as far as I got as I couldn't find it.

Sigh.....

Ted Raimi stars in this one. I wonder if he dies horribly..........

Darkman

In which Bruce plays the "Final Shemp" (see "fake shemp")---he is the final face of Darkman in the movie. I enjoyed the dark, tortured look of Bruce's 10 seconds in the movie and found his appearance to blend smoothly with the atmosphere.

Keep comic books in mind when watching this movie. Yes, it has it's cheesy moments, but go with it. This movie is a comic book with elements of science fiction, comedy, action and love story. Frances McDormand and Liam Neeson give excellent performances. I'm also impressed by the actors who portray their characters as impersonated by Darkman.

Appearance by Ted Raimi who dies horribly. (A pattern?) I also suspect that one of the doctors in a scene is played by Ivan Raimi but am not sure as the part is not credited. (He sure looks like a Raimi---Ted is already dead and it ain't Sam.) Dan Hicks is an excellent hopping bad guy. Neal McDonough is credited as playing a dockworker but I missed him both times I watched this movie. Scott Spiegel also plays a dockworker whom I failed to identify. (He's listed that way in the credits.)

You've noticed by now in my posts that I reference many other actors than the featured one. In this case, it is because Bruce is part of a group of friends who frequently appear in or assist with each other's movies. I like that.

I enjoyed this movie enough to watch it twice this weekend. I'm only sorry that there wasn't a commentary.

Another gap....

I wasn't able to locate/watch the following which followed Intruder in the filmography:

"Generations": A soap opera.
Moontrap: Science fiction. Wahhhh! Walter Koenig was in this one, too!
Sundown--The Vampire in Retreat:
Wahhh! David Carradine was in this one, too!
Mindwarp: In which Bruce plays the lead in a post-apocalyptic science fiction movie.
Maniac Cop 2: Can you believe Netflix had Maniac Cop and Maniac Cop 3 but missed this one? What the...?

Intruder

In which our hero, Bruce, portrays a cop....in the last 60 seconds of the movie. Ah, well. Dan Hick stars (Evil Dead II) as well as Sam and Ted Raimi who both die horribly.

Act 1 contains some interesting camera work. I liked the wide shot of the store front, the framing of certain creepy scenes and the use of the "manager's window". The shot from the turning doorknob's perspective gets points for originality.

Act 2 I spent peeking from between my fingers due to extremely gory deaths. (I assume this as I wasn't looking. I'm making my assumptions based on: 1) previous lingering shots on dangerous equipment in Act 1 and 2) the screaming.)

Act 3 starts with the reveal of the true killer and ends, unexpectedly to me, with the innocent being punished.

Maniac Cop

Bruce plays Jack Forrest, a cop falsely accused of murder who is also lookin' good in a t-shirt and jeans!

You see, there's an ENORMOUS man in a cop uniform randomly killing people. A detective (greatly played by Tom Atkins---you should recognize him) figures out that the killer is actually a cop. In true creative fashion, the press dub him "Maniac Cop". Tah-dah!

Jack Forrest is falsely accused and therefore everything he does in this movie makes him look guilty. However, with help from a friend, Jack learns the true identity of the killer. There's a car chase (yay!--check out the cars spinning out of control for no reason and, of course, the obligatory "airborne vehicle" moment) and the killer is killed.

Or is he?

I used this movie to test out Sam Raimi's rules for a (horror?) movie. (I can't accurately attribute this one. I think I heard Bruce state these in a movie commentary but can't remember where):

1. The innocent must suffer: Maniac cop kills many, many innocent people.
2. The guilty must be punished: Maniac cop kills the men guilty of setting him up to be killed.
3. You must taste blood to be a man: Hmmmm. I think this took place when Jack found the police precinct littered with the dead bodies of police officers killed by the maniac cop. (He doesn't literally taste blood, but he does see it.) He stands up for himself in a more physical way-- up to this point, Jack has been just talking about his innocence. Now, he fights for it by punching one man in the face (his first act of violence in the movie) and threatening others with a gun who try to prevent him from . (No...it's not that he's violent, but rather that he is determined to prove his innocence and save lives.)

I think I've watched Evil Dead and Army of Darkness too much because every time Bruce's eyes got wide, I was expecting a scream.

7 points for spotting Sam Raimi in this one. (Uncredited)

Fans of Evil Dead 2 get 30 points for spotting Dan Hicks. (He's tough to spot.)