freakboy on film: NIGHTBIRDS (1970)

What the hell has happened to me?  I’ve been reviewing cheesy ‘80’s flicks and starting a blog serial instead of compulsively blogging about Andy Milligan films!  Have I taken ill or developed a less freaky filmic taste?  Fear not!  My Andy Milligan obsession is still pumping and may have even jumped to a new level! 

I watched BLOOD (1973) last month on Tubi.  This shorter film was an enjoyably crazy mash-up of werewolves, vampires and man-eating plants, with an ending that made me grin despite knowing (hoping) exactly what was coming.  I also ordered a Region-Free DVD of NIGHTBIRDS from a sketchy website.  Don’t worry, I used a Visa gift card, but it was a waste of time.  The order didn’t go through, which left me with a problem.  How do I watch a film that I’m salivating to experience when it’s not streaming anywhere and not legitimately available as a Region 1 disc? 

Well, this freakboy threw caution to the wind and ordered a Region 2 Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack and gave the DVD a spin on my Region 1 player.  No luck there but I wasn’t surprised.  (Interesting side note, my dad’s player recognized the disc as a DVD but the picture flipped like an old-time TV set.)  Proving I’m not a quitter when it comes to something I am obsessing over, I used some of my stimulus money to order a Region Free DVD player (ARAFUNA) for around $30.  The contraption arrived and hooked up like a Region 1 DVD player and had a standard U.S. electrical plug.  It’s such a tiny thing that I am surprised it works at all, but it does.  So, I finally watched Andy Milligan’s NIGHTBIRDS...

written & directed by Andy Milligan 

“I feel like a vampire in the sunlight when you smile.” - Dee 

NIGHTBIRDS was somehow both everything I expected and nothing like I expected.  There is the usual Andy Milligan craziness with eccentric characters, quirky-raw dialogue and subplots that leave you scratching your head.  On the flip side is a deadly seriousness that quietly slips in and builds tension until the startling conclusion.  

NOT Dinkel & Cheryl from DARK EXCURSIONS

Dink is a 20 year-old man living rough on the streets when a woman named Dee swoops in to help.  She takes him to her small, dingy flat where a relationship soon forms.  They consider the squalid living conditions their castle, a safe place to be themselves with one another.  Slowly but steadily, the outside world begins seeping in between Dink and Dee, throwing their relationship off balance from kindness to controlling.  As the castle begins to metaphorically crumble from pain and cruelty, who will be left standing?  It’s an Andy Milligan film, so the chances aren’t very good for anyone.

Hold on tight 

Berwick Kaler exudes a damaged innocence in Dink, which makes it believable that Dee would trust him.  Julie Shaw crackles with underlying energy as Dee, which makes it easy to see why Dink would be attracted to her.  I must add that Elaine Shore as Dink’s friend Mabel brings a bittersweet eccentricity to the mix.  Throw in Bill Clancy as Dee’s suspiciously demanding landlord Ginger and this emotionally damaged tableau is complete. 

NIGHTBIRDS is a bridge between the claustrophobic drama of VAPORS and the gutter theatrical of FLESHPOT ON 42nd STREET.  Filmed in stark black & white, NIGHTBIRDS takes an unflinching look at how we hurt the ones we allegedly love.  It’s almost like a horror film, but instead of vampires or werewolves, reality is the monster out to get us.  The story is sometimes hard to watch, especially scenes involving a real pigeon, but it’s a must for Andy Milligan devotees.  

Oops, I forgot...

In conclusion, I have no regrets with my purchases.  The ARAFUNA Region Free DVD Player is easy for me to use and NIGHTBIRDS has pecked its way beneath my mind-skin.  Contrary to what I’ve said before, this London-filmed motion picture may be Andy Milligan’s masterpiece.  He visually finds beauty in despair and fuels the story with subtle intensity.  So, if you enjoy something uncomfortably different, and you can locate a copy, I believe NIGHTBIRDS is worth your time and effort. 

...the remote!

(Side Note: The late Andy Milligan is still not through with me.  Yes, that means more are coming.😉)

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  Click the pic below ⤵️ to release a different NIGHT BIRD...

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Click a pic ⤵️ to view other MILLIGAN posts...

HAUNTING STURGEONS: Chapter Two

Previously in this blog serial...

(Click here to read Chapter One) 

Now the HAUNTING continues...

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    I am sitting in my two-door hatchback, taking one last glance at the serene beauty of Lake Pontoon in the rear view mirror.  There is a sensation of leaving a piece of myself behind as I pull away.  A fragment of innocence lost by growing up in the shadow of tragedy.

WELCOME TO STURGEONS 

Population 2,622 

The Good Life Begins And Ends Here! 

    I pass the colorful display, nearly identical to the original one, but this sign isn’t just a marker for the city limits.  It’s a reminder that I am entering old but new territory.  The population decrease tells the story of destruction, even while the town’s morbid slogan remains unchanged, as if nothing ever happened.  I wonder why no one has defaced this piece of contradiction.

    A residential area unfurls around my car as I consider what I would like to do to the sign.  Suddenly, familiar houses, with a tree or two in nearly every yard, catch my attention.  I circle the block and gaze at my reconstructed old neighborhood.  It looks so much like I remember, but something is different.  Something only obvious to people who lived here ten years ago. 

    The trees are young, just like the houses and buildings of Sturgeons.  What little remained standing after the destruction was completely leveled.  The remnants torn down and hauled away so life could begin anew.  An entire town resurrected from the ground up so all who fled could return.  Some did.  Some didn’t.  Some couldn’t.

    I continue slowly driving through the streets, remembering wanting to move back to Sturgeons when rebuilding was complete.  My parents said it was too soon, that the memories of Tommy were too raw.  They said a lot of things.  Things about what happened to Tommy.  Things about the lawman.  Even things about Eddie, but it didn’t matter.  I was just a kid without a choice, but I have one now.  Maybe more than one.

    A burst of siren rattles me out of my thoughts as red and blue lights flash in the mirrors.  I anticipated a police greeting because no one enters Sturgeons unobserved.  Besides residents peering from behind curtains, it’s standard small town practice for officers to keep watch for out-of-state plates.  Trying to stay focused, I pull over to the curb and stop, expectations twisting me up inside.

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The HAUNTING continues in...

  

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

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The Collective Eye interview for August is on...

👁 

(click the pic ⤵️)

HAUNTING STURGEONS: Chapter One

 Previously in this blog serial...

(Click here to read the Prologue) 

Now the HAUNTING continues...

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    I am standing as still as the surface of Lake Pontoon, its secret depths stretching out before me.  It has been ten years since I last stood here and the warmth of the late afternoon summer sun takes me back to that deceptively simple time.  A time when I was 11 years-old and my brother was still here.  

    It was a few days before his disappearance when Tommy and I visited the lake.  We were standing barefoot by the water’s edge, skipping stones and talking about weekend plans.  He always had plans, but he seemed eager to share something specific.

   “Don’t tell Mom and Dad or I’ll toss your sorry ass in the lake, but I’m sneaking out early Sunday to meet Tracy for a sunrise breakfast on Stickler Hill.” 

    “Why would you go there?  The woods are haunted.” 

    Tommy rolled his blue eyes at my belief.  “Stickler Woods isn’t haunted, but it will be once Tracy and I are done with it.  She wants our first time makkn’ it to be memorable.” 

    “Making breakfast?” 

    “Makin’ sex, dumbass.” 

    “Oh,” I said, skipping a stone. 

    “What about you?  Hangin’ out with Eddie again?” 

    “Yup.  We’re gonna catch a movie on Saturday and then go camping in his backyard.” 

    “You know, Jimmy...” he started.  Tommy was never at a loss for words, but for some reason he was struggling.  “Tracy’s been telling me some things about her cousin.” 

    “What about Eddie?”  I stared at my brother, daring him to say anything negative about my best friend.

    Tommy knew better than to cross that line.  He just shook his head and skipped his final stone, “Never mind, Jimmy.” 

    The memory fades and I stand alone, gazing across the tranquil water.  I imagine being that stone traveling over the surface, causing ripples with each impact.  Ripples spreading and colliding with one another until not a single area of Sturgeons remains undisturbed.  

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The HAUNTING continues in...  

Click to read

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

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I’m in the process of remodeling my online home.  Click the pic ⤵️to check out my progress.

HAUNTING STURGEONS: Prologue

The following is the first installment of HAUNTING STURGEONS.  It is a sequel to my blog serial from 2013.

(Click here to catch up or refresh your memory of DARKENING STURGEONS) 

All I can reveal is this new story is set 10 years later.  Now, without further ado, let the HAUNTING begin...

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What do I remember about the day my hometown was destroyed? 

I remember chaos and panic. 

I remember the traffic jam of fleeing humanity. 

I remember my grieving mother attempting to surround our car in a bubble of calm. 

I remember my grieving father bursting that bubble in a fit of rage at the sight of the lawman striding through the vehicular madness. 

I remember watching my father leave the car to gather a group of men and all of them following the lawman. 

I remember my mother softly telling me to lie down in the backseat and not to worry before leaving me alone in the locked car.

I remember the growing fear, the escalating noise and knowing for a fact not everyone would get out alive.  

I remember silently making a promise to return to Sturgeons one day, for myself...

...for Tommy. 

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The HAUNTING continues in...  

click to read

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

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New Month! 

New 👁! 

New Interview! 

A Haunting Question

What do I remember about the day my hometown was destroyed? 

~a new blog serial~ 

Click here to begin reading! 

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Yes, the sequel to DARKENING STURGEONS is finally happening! 

So, catch up or refresh your memory of Sturgeons with the original 2013 blog serial by clicking the pic...(and then following the link at the end of each chapter) 

Unless you prefer an ebook to a series of blogposts...

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

And stay tuned! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

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The Collective Eye for July is still open...

freakboy on film: BLIND DATE (1984)

 

This is not about a Terminator looking for love.

(written by Nico Mastorakis & Fred Perry / directed by Nico Mastorakis)

I’m not sure if Prime Video recommended BLIND DATE because I’m visually impaired or because I’ve previously watched ‘80’s cheese.  Either way, I knew I was going to slide on my Mad Scientist Glasses to see what I would see. 

What did I see?  

Well...

I could clearly see Jonathan Ratcliff is a skeevy stalker.  After spotting blond bombshell model Rachel, he convinces himself that she might really be an old girlfriend who was attacked and institutionalized.  During one of his stalking excursions, Jonathon watches Rachel making out with a man in a car.  The man spots Jonathon and chases him through the woods.  Suddenly Jonathon is on the ground and then in the hospital with his eyes bandaged. 

How many fingers am I holding up? 

I paused the film and asked my sister what happened.  Jonathon ran into a tree limb or something and now he’s blind.  This is why I wear safety (dance) glasses when I’m out after dark.  So, I unpaused and could see Claire, Jonathon’s coworker/bedroom buddy/girlfriend, worrying about him as he deals with his newfound blindness.

Gaze into my eyes.

One of the most realistic moments in BLIND DATE happens when Jonathon, completely frustrated at his lack of sight, grabs his stick and ventures outside alone.  In the early days of my chunk of vision loss, I experienced a similar need to do an everyday thing by myself.  Thankfully, my frustrated walk didn’t end with me being accosted on a subway platform by a goofier version of The T-Birdsfrom GREASE & GREASE 2.  My sister theorized that the three guys were just bored, rich, white kids pretending to be a 1950’s gang.  She was expecting them to pull out switchblades and start dancing. 

Hey, I didn’t write this nonsense! 

After that weirdness, a doctor offers Jonathon the opportunity to see again, but only in computerized outlines.  There’s another catch, of course.  If the doctor implants the computer chip, Jonathon will lose all chances to regain his eyesight.  You see, the doctor claims there is no physical reason for Jonathon’s blindness, other than stupidity and voyeuristic pocket-pool, so this is a huge risk.  I honestly don’t know if I would take the chance, but Jonathon does. 

One day I’ll meet a man who isn’t stalking me. 

Now only seeing life as vague digital sketches, with the aid of a Sony Walkman, Jonathon goes right back to stalking Rachel.  Somewhere along the way, he witnesses a murder.  This leads to a chase scene up a lot of stairs to the roof.  Somehow Jonathon doesn’t trip or fall and I call shenanigans. 

Not only can Jonathon run around like he has 20/20 vision, he can also drive a car without even getting into a fender bender.  Plus, while his computer chip/Sony Walkman doesn’t allow him to read, he can now decipher a cursive handwritten note just by tracing the pencil marks with a finger.  He accomplishes all of this without any practice whatsoever!  At this point, I was rooting for the serial killer to kill everyone in the film. 

Oh, did I forget to mention the serial killer?  Well, feeling like someone was flipping channels to a different film, there are multiple scenes where an unknown assailant stalks and kills dark-haired women.  No gore is shown because it’s really just an excuse to expose breasts.  Eventually, these two eye-rolling plots merge into a single ridiculous one.  The serial killer and Jonathon, failing to see eye-to-eye, face off for Rachel’s life near a swimming pool.  The male serial killer is running around in a Speedo, which is only fair after all the gratuitous boob shots.  #equality 

BLIND DATE is a quintessential 1980’s flick.  Music, sex, glamour, computers, Atari video games, yuppies, Velcro shoes.  Honestly, some of it is so ‘80’s that it almost feels like a modern movie trying to capture the essence of the decade of excess.  Though I hope Jonathon’s hairstyle was a very short-lived phenomenon. 

Just say no to bad hair.

 

Joseph Bottoms, as Jonathon, is kind of believable as a creep stalker turned blind man, but fails to convince as a blind man turned action hero.  Kirstie Alley, as Claire, is easily the best actor in the bunch.  Too bad her character disappears for a large chunk of the film.  Lana Clarkson, as Rachel, doesn’t have much to do other than to look pretty and be stalked by our “hero”.  James Daughton, as Rachel’s boyfriend, is serviceable, but all I kept seeing was the “grain episode” of the 1974 PLANET OF THE APES television series.  Keir Dullea, as the doctor for Sony laboratories, is unfortunately forgettable.  Oh, and heads up to STAR TREK geeks, Marina Sirtis turns up as a victim of the serial killer. 

Counselor Troi offers more than empathy. 

As if all this wasn’t enough, my sister mentioned there was something during the ending credits about Jonathan Ratcliff returning in RUN, STUMBLE, FALL.  I immediately questioned if this happened, so I had to check IMDb.  For some unimaginablereason, this sequel never materialized, but we are living in the age of reboots, so there’s always a possibility. 

In conclusion, I could easily see that BLIND DATE isn’t a great film, but I was somehow entertained by its preposterous plot, even as I was groaning and calling shenanigans at every turn.  The film moves right along and is good for a cheesy slide down a 1980’s tech-thriller rabbit hole.  However, I must give it an A for effort.  I mean, a blind action hero is a fantastic idea.  It just could’ve been done better, and maybe have a title that makes sense with the plot.

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

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  a different post about a different blind date... 

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-blind-date.html

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Part poetry...

Part autobiography...

Completely BENT...

Take VISION BENT on a blind date! 

book - getbook.at/VisionBent 

ebook - getbook.at/VBebook‬