freakboy on film: PILLION (2025)

My sister noticed this film listed on HBO and read the synopsis to me.  Much like FLESHPOT ON 42ND STREET on TCM back in 2020, I knew I had to watch PILLION!  It didn’t hurt that one of its stars is Alexander Skarsgård, and he might be at his sexiest here. 

Colin is a young Englishman who lives with his father and cancer-ridden mother.  On a blind date at a pub set up by his mother, Colin spots a tall drink of biker leather named Ray.  After paying for Ray’s snacks while getting another round for his blind date, Colin suddenly has a date for Christmas Day, or night, rather.  This first festive back-alley holiday date includes Colin being ordered to literally lick one of Ray’s boots and then to stay on his knees to satisfy the biker’s Christmas wish.  Who says romance is dead? 

This first date wakes up a submissive kink in Colin and he eventually begins living with Ray.  This arrangement includes Colin fixing all the meals, sleeping on a rug on the floor at the end of Ray’s bed, having his head shaved and being one of the naked offerings at a biker potluck picnic.  One reward for behaving like a good little submissive is a wrestling sex session, which is more about Ray’s physical pleasure than Colin’s.  Is it now obvious why I had to watch this sometimes twisted film?

After a personal tragedy, Colin begins wanting an emotional connection.  In an act of compassion or sympathy, Ray allows Colin to share his bed.  This seeming softness is short-lived and soon it’s back to the rug.  Disappointed, Colin works up the nerve to request a day off where they act like two people in an equal, loving relationship, but will Ray give-in or will Colin have to remain a 24/7 submissive?  

Harry Melling,  grandson of the 2nd Doctor Who Patrick Troughton, brings a sympathetic innocence to Colin even as he engages in very non-innocent activities.  Alexander Skarsgård, brother of Pennywise Bill Skarsgård, infuses Ray with intense sexual magnetism and a believable demanding attitude.  The rest of the cast is great, but top honors must go to Lesley Sharp as Colin’s mother Peggy.  She is full on believable as a loving parent who is also understandably concerned about her son’s new relationship, even as she is dying.  The scene where Ray joins Colin’s parents for a meal is priceless in its mixture of humor and pain.  

Writer/directer Harry Lighton balances both pain and humor with brilliant results.  There were times I found myself chuckling, but I wasn’t sure it was supposed to be funny.  Then again, how could the wrestling scene not be funny with Tiffany’s cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” playing front and center?   I became so curious if the source material for PILLION, the book “Box Hill: A Story of Low Self-Esteem” by Adam Mars-Jones, is also equal parts humorous and painful that I ordered a copy.  As if I don’t have enough to read! 

I confess that I don’t fully understand this type of arrangement.  I mean, I can wrap my head around paying someone for a weekend of being a dom or a sub, but a full-time relationship boggles my mind a bit.  However, if the participants are willing adults who completely understand what is expected, then embrace your kink and go for it. 

In conclusion… 

I enjoyed PILLION because the characters felt realistically written and performed.  Plus, it is truly a unique kind of love story.  So, if you’re looking for a different way to celebrate 🏳️‍🌈Pride Month🏳️‍⚧️, grab a lock or a key and get kinky with PILLION! 

SIDE NOTE: 
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of pillion is “a motorcycle or bicycle saddle for a passenger.”

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. The character of Ray gave off a vibe that reminded me of the Wendy’s man I blogged about earlier this year.  Click the pic for more about him…👇

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Celebrate 🏳️‍🌈Pride Month🏳️‍⚧️ with my queer books available in various formats from Amazon…
📚 

I sold my soul for Doctor Who, but ended up on a Freaky Muppet Jonas trip instead!

Fine! 

I did it! 

I was weak and backsliding, like Carrie’s fanatical mom, and subscribed to Disney+ so my sister and I could finally catch up on Doctor Who!  

Have we been watching Doctor Who though? 

Nope.

We immediately started watching The Muppet Show (1976-1981).  It may even be funnier and more outrageous than we remembered, and it also proves Disney doesn’t have a clue what to do with these wonderfully sardonic, violent, sexual and irreverent characters in the 21st Century!  My only concern is being triggered with nightmarish childhood flashbacks when we get to the episode horrifyingly featured in An American Werewolf in London (1981)! 

Next we were going to watch Bride Hard (2025) because it stars Rebel Wilson.  Ugh, it was so painfully unfunny that we gave up after 10 or 15 minutes.  Instead, we watched Freaky Friday (1976), the one with Jodie Foster, who is always worth watching, and we still enjoyed this classic.  Sure, allegedly savvy, modern audiences might find the original dated now, but you just can’t beat the absolute charm of the opening credits!  I learned from Gill at Realweegiemidget
Reviews that “I’d Like to Be You for a Day” is sung by stars Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster! 

Then, I guess to prove my sister and I are not stuck in the past, we started watching and actually finished A Very Jonas Brothers Christmas Movie (2025).  For the sake of this post, and to take away any boy band blackmail power from Dave of My Gay Opinion, I confess that, for a very brief moment in time, I listened to the Jonas Brothers and may even still have one of their CDs.  So, of course we had to watch their Christmas movie.  The plot is completely ridiculous, but some terrifically funny guest stars, such as Will Ferrell, Laverne Cox, Andrea Martin, Billie Lourd and Randall Park kept us entertained.  However, I kept thinking the movie needed less singing and more of whatever this is…

What happens on the Jonas plane, stays on the Jonas plane!

In conclusion…
Maybe for such a fun, trippy Disney+ experience, my soul was worth the price of admission…so far!

 
Now on to Doctor Who and more of The Muppet Show!  

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  A Pennsylvania reader’s feline companion is eager to check out my Dawson’s Creek parody! 

📘 

freakboy on film: THE TERRORNAUTS (1967)

Should we really search for life out there in the deep, dark, perilous universe?  I mean, if we can’t get along with each other, what makes us think we will play nice with an alien species?  Never mind that the outer space aliens might be just as war-hungry as us.  This doesn’t stop three scientists from trying to reach out and touch E.T. by forming Project Star Talk, which sounds more like a celebrity psychic hotline from the 1990s than a search for alien life.

Calling occupants of interplanetary hair salon!

The aliens wait to send a signal until funding for the project is about to be pulled just to make skeptics more skeptical.  When the scientists reply, they are greeted by having the Project Star Talk building abducted with them inside, along with a fussy auditor and a boisterous tea lady for comic relief.  What do the aliens want with these five humans?  You’ll have to watch to find out! 

THE TERRORNAUTS, despite sounding like horror, is a fun blend of serious and silly sci-fi written by John Brunner and directed by Montgomery Tully.  In some ways, it’s more DOCTOR WHO than the Peter Cushing DOCTOR WHO films.  Plus, there’s a robot who looks like a cousin to Robot from the classic LOST IN SPACE series. 

Who’s a good robot?

In conclusion… 
I ordered THE TERRORNAUTS from Vinegar Syndrome just for The Hammer-Amicus Blogathon V, hosted by Gill of Realweegiemidget Reviews & Barry of Cinematic Catharsis, with no regrets on my part.  I enjoyed this Amicus production for its fast-paced storytelling, its retro sci-fi vibe, and that wonderfully awkward robot.  If you like your science fiction a little less serious, then THE TERRORNAUTS may be the film for you! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 
P.S.  November is my birthday month, so it’s the perfect time to crack open the fantasies of my deranged mind… 🎈📚 

channel freakboy: DOCTOR WHO: VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (2007)

It felt like fate or destiny or a big ball of timey-wimey coincidence when Rebecca of Taking Up Room announced THE TITANIC IN POP CULTURE BLOGATHON.  Earlier this year, I revealed to the 4 or 5 readers of this blog how much I love James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster TITANIC.  Since my heart already went on and on and on about one of the most loved and hated Titanic tales, how else could I participate?  The answer crashed into me just like the Titanic crashed through the walls of the TARDIS in the opening scene of the VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED 2007 Christmas episode of DOCTOR WHO.   

The Doctor had just said goodbye to companion Martha Jones when what appears to be the doomed 1912 luxury liner rams through his space-time machine.  After becoming a stowaway, The Doctor quickly realizes he isn’t on the original Titanic, but rather a spaceship replica currently visiting Earth.  I guess our savage, war-hungry race is of interest to hoity-toity alien vacationers.  These vacationers include a supposed expert on Earth culture and history, a rich entrepreneur, a spikey little reddish person, and a joyous couple who won tickets through a lottery.  The Doctor takes a shine to most of the vacationers, but his attention is primarily on a cocktail waitress named Astrid Peth.  Astrid took this job on the Titanic so she could visit alien worlds.  After The Doctor makes her alien sky dreams come true with a quick trip to Earth, the Titanic is hit by a meteoroid storm.  This collision causes the Titanic to begin sinking in space, hurtling directly towards Earth. 

Now The Doctor must guide Astrid and the surviving vacationers through the severely damaged ship to the bridge so he can take the helm.  This task becomes complicated when the information robot angels, meant to help passengers, begin turning into malfunctioning killing machines.  Was the meteoroid impact really an accident?  Will The Doctor rescue the survivors?  Will Titanic sink into the Earth and wipe out all life when the nuclear engines set the sky on fire?  Will the robot angels fly? 

VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED is, in my opinion, one of the best DOCTOR WHO Christmas specials and it would be a good introduction for the uninitiated viewer.  The Doctor is between companions, so it’s almost like a fresh start.  There are a few brief references to past episodes, but nothing vital to the central Titanic plot.  A new viewer will get to know The Doctor and how this space-time traveler responds physically and emotionally to sometimes impossible situations.  Another great thing about this episode is the viewer really gets to know the other characters as The Doctor leads them through the Titanic.  Tragically, this means it hurts when some of them die along the way.  The overall plot is more reminiscent of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) than James Cameron’s TITANIC.  

Writer Russell T. Davies turns in a script that is simultaneously fun, scary, amusing, tragic and touching.  David Tennant as The 10th Doctor gives a dazzling performance full of humor and pathos.  The character of Astrid Peth is so down-to-earth and relatable that it’s easy to forget she is portrayed by the “Princess of Pop” herself, Kylie Minogue.  Nope, she doesn’t sing, which helps make Astrid feel so real that the viewer will root for her to be The Doctor’s next companion.  Add the rest of the strong supporting cast and director James Strong, and you will have the perfect sci-fi Christmas present to make you feel all the feels!

In conclusion…
Whether or not you’re a Whovian and/or a Titanic completist, VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED is a gem to be enjoyed at Christmas or anytime of the year! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Click a pic for more DOCTOR WHO… 💙 

Photographic Ghosting...

Maybe it's the music I've been listening to or the television I've been watching, but my mind has been on death lately.  This is why I asked my sister if she knew where the copy of Aunt Louise's ghost photo was stored.  She did and I was eager and nervous to see it again after all these years.

My thoughts of ghosts and an afterlife have always been with a skeptical stance.  Even at the age of 6 or 7, the notion of spending eternity in mansions of gold with my entire family didn't sound appealing.  I often imagined, especially at bedtime, that my soul would be set free upon death.  Maybe I would be able to drift through space and see everything.  Yeah, my childhood view of an  afterlife may have been influenced by DOCTOR WHO, but I still like the idea.  Maybe that's why The Beatles' Across the Universe is on my funeral playlist.

It was the early 1990's when my sister and our mom told me that Aunt Louise had a ghost photo.  I knew Aunt Louise was eccentric on a good day, so I was extremely skeptical.  My sister and our mom understood this but claimed it was a compelling image.  Even with their opinion, I  had doubts.  I imagined a glare or smudge on the photo, so I had to see this alleged ghost with my own eyes.

I tagged along the next time my sister and our mom visited Aunt Louise.  She was a loud character who barely stopped talking to take a breath.  Honestly, she exhausted me, but it was nice not having to think of things to talk about.  Aunt Louise kept the conversation going and going and going.  I waited for a rare silent moment and verbally jumped in to ask about her ghost photo. 

Aunt Louise was thrilled that I asked and went to fetch the photo.  I began mentally steeling myself to keep from laughing at what I assumed would be a ridiculous sight.  Aunt Louise returned and explained her daughter took the photo and they believed the ghost was that of a recently deceased relative.  When she handed me the Polaroid, I was seriously startled and expressed interest in a copy.  Aunt Louise would later have a copy made for me, which I let my mom have for safe keeping.

               (a photo of the photo that's a copy of the Polaroid) 

When my sister, these many decades later, got out the copy of Aunt Louise's ghost photo, I was expecting my memory to not match the image, but it does.  I recalled Aunt Louise sitting at a table with a phantasmagorical shape beside her.  I remembered there was the impression of a head floating nearby and what appeared to be an arm or hand resting on her shoulder.  I distinctly recalled the cigarette in her hand, but it appearing unlit.  This fascinating photo continues to send my skeptical mind reeling.  Is the apparition simply cigarette smoke swirling around?  Did an error during the developing of the original Polaroid create the hazy image?  Could the floating human shape actually be a ghost?  I wasn't certain then and I still don't know. 

Maybe that's why I call myself a skeptic.  I'm neither a full blown believer nor a completely cynical denier.  I fall somewhere in between.  I have doubts, yet, I truly hope the monster (her name is Nessie) is cascading through the Loch, that Bigfoot (his name is Daryl) is stomping around the U.S. Northwest, that aliens are commuting to Earth for probing, in-depth research and that ghosts are hanging around watching us...well, except when we're naked.  

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. A different post about a different ghost...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2018/11/freakboy-on-film-ghost-story.html 

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My books & blogs...

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

freakboy on film: DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. (The 2nd Great Hammer & Amicus Blogathon Edition)

Thank you to... 

Barry of Cinematic Catharsis 

http://cinematiccatharsis.blogspot.com/ 

and 

Gill of Realweegiemidget Reviews 

https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/ 

...for bending their rules of time & space and allowing me to participate in The Second Great Hammer And Amicus Blogathon! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Outside TARDIS makes me geek out.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY PERSONAL TIME & SPACE WITH DOCTOR WHO...

I am a longtime Whovian.  My first Doctor was the Fourth Doctor.  My favorite classic Doctor is the Second Doctor.  My favorite contemporary Doctor is the Ninth Doctor.  My favorite classic companion is Sarah Jane Smith.  My favorite contemporary companion is Donna Noble.  My favorite baddie is the vicious, violent race of mutants called the Daleks, which is why I'm blogging about...

DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. 

                                    1966

                Screenplay by Milton Subotsky  

                   Directed by Gordon Flemyng 

My initial viewing of this big screen version of DOCTOR WHO was in the middle of the night on Turner Classic Movies.  I was entertained, but found the whole experience very bizarre.  That might be because I was watching in a hazy landscape of reality and sleep.  Subsequent, more awake viewings have acclimatized me to this non-canonical take on the classic British television series. 

Inside TARDIS is a bit cluttered.

The plot is a variation of a six-episode First Doctor story.  Dr. Who and his companions travel to Earth's bleak future and discover the humans, at least the ones who haven't been exterminated, have been enslaved by the Daleks.  Now it's up to our intrepid heroes, along with a band of resistance fighters, to figure out the Daleks' nefarious plan and stop them.  

Donna Noble's future grandfather and a non-canonical Doctor.

Peter Cushing makes for a decent Doctor and he seems to be having a jolly good time.  Maybe he was happy to take a break from Hammer horror.  Jill Curzon as Louise doesn't seem to have much to do other than going where the men go, but at least she isn't screaming at the sight of every Dalek.  I guess that's 1960's style progression for you.  Roberta Tovey plays Susan, Dr. Who's granddaughter, as a curious, precocious sweet kid.  Her biggest contribution to the plot is causing a pile of rubble to bury TARDIS, their space-time vessel, preventing their immediate escape from 2150 A.D. 

                            Nice going. Susan!

I must give special mention to Bernard Cribbins as policeman Tom Campbell.  His character, an accidental passenger aboard TARDIS, provides comic relief among the death the Daleks are raining down upon humanity, but it's what the actor would do in the future that I must note.  Over 40 years later, Bernard Cribbins returned to the WHO universe, this time very canonical, as Donna Noble's grandfather Wilfred Mott.  This filmic-television connection is why I enjoy DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. so much.  

Bathtime for Dalek is always a struggle.

In my mind, Tom Campbell becomes susceptible to time and space anomalies after his adventure with Dr. Who and company.  He eventually slides into our dimension, changes his name, gets married and eventually has a granddaughter named Donna.  Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but it helps me overlook the differences between the series and this film, along with the preceding film, DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS, also starring Peter Cushing.  (Look for a post from a fellow participant in this blogathon for more on the first film and televised differences.) 

The Daleks EXTERMINATE my alternate dimension theory.

In conclusion, DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. may not be the best example in the long, iconic history of DOCTOR WHO, but it's a fun, occasionally silly sci-fi romp for all ages.  Plus, one can never have enough Daleks, right? 

Dr. Who, Louise and Susan wave farewell to the Doctor Who film franchise.

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  I'm blogging about other films based on television series this month.

Here's a story...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2019/06/freakboy-on-film-brady-bunch-movie.html 

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My books & blogs...

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