freakboy on film: BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS (1970)

 

I guess you could call me a Sweeney Todd fan.  I have experienced the stage musical twice and I enjoy the Tim Burton film, even though it doesn’t compare to the energy and thrill of a live performance.  So, I was intrigued and excited when I discovered Andy Milligan wrote and directed a non-musical version of the gruesomely amusing Todd tale.  Though, I would love to see Milligan on Broadway!  Can you imagine the corrosively crazy vibe his material would bring to The Great White Way?   

Anyhoo, my initial viewing of BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS was on a cheap DVD and it left me more than a little baffled.  I found the story to be more disjointed and confusing than usual for a Milligan film and I kept wondering if there was going to actually be blood in BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS.  I didn’t hate it, but I was disappointed. 

Then I experienced the posthumous “director’s cut” on The Dungeon of Andy Milligan box set and a scarlet veil was gradually lifted from my half-blind eyes!  There was more gore and I came to understand and even revel in the character-driven plot.  Milligan chose to focus less on the people being baked into pies and more on the relationships and romantic entanglements.  Seriously, it is best to have a working knowledge of the story before watching or you might get confused very quickly. 

 

Sweeney preparing dinner

In BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS, nearly everyone is unhappy in their relationship.  Sweeney Todd, besides giving customers a severely close shave to steal their expensive trinkets, has to deal with an alcoholic wife and a difficult showgirl mistress.  Never mind his relationship to Mrs. Lovett.  Maggie Lovett, besides baking Sweeney’s customers into scrumptious pies, has to deal with her invalid husband and a couple of debatably good employees.  Tobias Ragg, besides butchering Sweeney’s customers for Mrs. Lovett’s pies, has to deal with his demanding girlfriend and then make time to harass his coworker Johanna.  Johanna Jeffrey, besides being a shopgirl for Mrs. Lovett, has to help with taking care of Mr. Lovett while pining for her love Jarvis to return. 

Jarvis & Johanna crave an after-sex pie

Jarvis eventually returns and life seems happy for Johanna.  Well, until he flashes a piece of jewelry for his beloved in front of Sweeney.  Now Jarvis is missing and the community is becoming increasingly suspicious of two local business owners.  Seems like a lot of missing folk were last seen getting a trim from Mr. Todd.  It doesn’t matter that it has mainly been beggars, thieves and prostitutes disappearing.  They are still people.  Then there is talk about the declining quality of Mrs. Lovett’s pies.  Apparently most people are disgusted to find a chunk of human hair in their pie or even a woman’s breast popping out from under the crust.  Tobias has grown careless in his work, which leads to a power struggle between the three bloodthirsty butchers!  Who will live?  Who will die?  Who will be baked into a pie?  My hungry lips are sealed! 

There is nothing at all creepy about Tobias

BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS is one of Andy Milligan’s British films and, despite my initial reaction, he is in top form.  Unconventional pacing and editing, including the “swirl camera” to represent out of control violence. ✅  Personal rants disguised as overly theatrical dialogue. ✅  Corrosively cynical characters who are generally horrible to everyone. ✅  Occasional doses of acidic humor, especially when Mrs. Lovett helps a customer who wants a specific “part” in his pie. ✅  All of this adds up to a delirious, delectable low-budget grindhouse feast that only Andy Milligan could serve us. 

Only Mrs. Lovett knows what “part” he wants in his pie

He also served up some fascinating performances.  Jane Hilary gives the strongest performance in the film as the sly Mrs. Lovett.  Berwick Kaler sheds the sympathetically pathetic persona of his NIGHTBIRDS character to become believably creepy and repulsive as Tobias.  John Miranda is effectively domineering as Sweeney Todd.  Annabella Wood and Michael Cox as young lovers Johanna and Jarvis give the weakest performances, which makes sense in a Milligan film since love is often shown as frivolous, if not pointless.  Though I must give a special shout-out to George Barry as a drag performer who works with Sweeney’s showgirl mistress.  Corky will never win RuPaul’s Drag Race, but the character lights up the room and may be the kindest soul to ever grace a Milligan film. 

Corky gives sage advice and make-up tips

In conclusion…

Despite my less than thrilling first experience, BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS has steadily grown on me with repeat viewings.  That is one thing I’ve learned over the last couple of years.  The more times you watch a Milligan film, the more you come to appreciate and embrace his uniquely off-kilter vision.  Well, except for maybe SURGIKILL, but that’s another post for another time.  Anyhoo, if you are in the mood for some bloody British horror through the lens of a 42nd Street American grindhouse director, then pop in a beef pot pie and savor the flagrant flavor of Andy Milligan’s BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS! 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Click the pic ⤵️ for more Milligan! 

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My books & blogs… 

http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html

Reconstruction (a poem, of sorts)

Rip out my 

semi-good eye 

Dare to go 

deep inside 

Behind the damage 

from another time 

Pull out my 

corroded brain 

Hack it into 

jigsaw bits  

Piece it together 

as you see fit 

Creating a 

variation of me 

You can 

deal with 

____________

2023, John L. Harmon

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Click the pic for a video poem from a different time… ⤵️

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My books & blogs… 

http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html 

freakboy on film: CHRISTINE (2016)

No, this isn’t the Stephen King story about a killer car, but I was almost expecting it to be when my sister and I sat down to watch.  Our onscreen cable guide is notoriously awful at confusing movies with similar, or even not-so-similar titles.  I mean, several years ago we had to tune in to see if the Hallmark Movie Channel was really showing CANNIBALS IN THE STREETS, but that’s another post for another day. 

written by Craig Shilowich/ directed by Antonio Campos

As for CHRISTINE, my sister had been checking channels and asked if I had heard of this film from 2016.  I answered no and I asked what the synopsis said.  She told me it was about a TV reporter who commits suicide on air during a live news broadcast.  This was startling enough, but then my sister explained it was based on real events that happened in 1974.  I admit morbid curiosity is why I decided to watch, but I wasn’t prepared for what I experienced.

The plot follows Christine Chubbuck as she goes about her days and nights, no one fully aware of what is going on in her mind.  Besides professional frustrations and medical issues, she is obviously struggling with undiagnosed depression.  Her mother keeps referring to the “moods” Christine gets in, but doesn’t know how to help.  When coworkers try to reach out, she shuts them down.  It’s really difficult to watch this intelligent woman imploding and eventually succumbing to her internal suffering.  Even knowing how it ends does not diminish the emotional impact of her story.  

Rebecca Hall portrays Christine as a fully realized, complicated person.  Sometimes she is sweet and funny, but other times defensive and angry.  Then there are times she is so full of sadness that it hurts.  Especially when Christine is putting on puppet shows as a volunteer at a children’s hospital.  What starts out as uplifting turns into an unheard cry for help. 

I know this isn’t the typical type of film I typically review, but I felt Christine’s story might help someone suffering from depression.  Maybe someone will recognize themselves or someone else and begin to pull back from that edge.  Honestly, I saw some of myself in Christine with her “moods” and her tendency to shut people out.  I know these are things I need to work on.

In conclusion…

CHRISTINE doesn’t glamorize depression or suicide and doesn’t give easy answers.  It just shows you one person’s struggle and it’s tough to watch, but worth your time. 

CHRISTINE is currently streaming on NETFLIX. 

NOTE to U.S. Readers….

If you are contemplating suicide, or know someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call or text 988 to connect with a trained counselor. 

 

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  I have a couple of blogging challenges on the horizon, so my typical film reviews will return soon.

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My books & blogs… 

http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html 

To Dream of Laurie Partridge…

I sporadically caught reruns of The Partridge Family as a kid, but have never considered myself a fan of this pop music family sitcom.  I was more of a Brady Buncher, so it’s odd I would have a dream about Laurie Partridge, as portrayed by Susan Dey.   I mean, you’d think I’d dream of Keith or his Hardy brother from another show, but neither  Cassidy ever interested me.  

As for the dream I experienced in the early morning hours of January 2nd, I was in my late teens or early 20’s, sitting in what appeared to be a bedroom with Laurie Partridge.  She was dressed in the early 1970’s style and was eagerly trying to convince me to get high with her using a new weird drug.  I finally agreed because you can’t say no to Laurie Partridge.  

She passed me a hard cocoon-ish shell I could hold with one hand and told me to suck the creature out and spit it onto a paper plate.  Then she planned to mash the creature up and mix the remains with some substance.  We would then eat the result for our high, which, for some reason, made perfect sense to me.

So, I glanced inside and saw something dark and leathery.  Then I held the cocoon-ish shell between my lips and sucked it out.  The creature was alive and it felt like multiple little suction cups were clinging to the inside of my mouth.  Whatever it was couldn’t or wouldn’t simply be spit out, so I had to reach in and yank it free.  I plopped the dark leathery round creature, with its thick little tendrils, on the paper plate.  Just as Laurie Partridge was about to mash it up, someone knocked on the door.  She quickly covered the plate and hid it under a writing desk.  

That’s when I woke up, feeling rather unsettled.  My first thought was how horrifying it was to feel the creature clinging to the inside of my mouth.  I was relieved it’s the dead of winter, so hopefully this dream wasn’t brought on by a bug or a spider crawling into my gaping snore-hole.  Then I questioned the appearance of Laurie Partridge and who knocked on the door.  Was it Mrs. Partridge or the entire family?  Would I have gone tripping with the Partridges?  Lastly, I shook my head at the absurdity of the dream.  I would never allow a creature, even a gross one, to be killed just for a high.  No, not even for Laurie Partridge.

Anyhoo, I don’t know what this freaky dream means, but it’s one way to start the new year.   It’s definitely more interesting than the post I had originally been working on.  It was to be a list of things I hope to accomplish in 2023, so at least now I won’t be publicly embarrassed when I fail to achieve anything I have planned.  I’ll just be embarrassed to know everyone knows how deranged my dreams can get. 🤪

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words and Happy New Year! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  You probably already filled your 2023 reading list, but maybe you can squeeze in a few more titles…

📚