If, God forbid, you’re anything like me, upon seeing Ian Cooper’s The Manson Family on Film and Television, you might think, “Are there really that many movies about Charles Manson to merit a whole book?” The short answer: No. But if the scope were expanded to include those projects that were inspired by the Manson … Continue reading The Manson Family on Film and Television
One of the last features to showcase ailing Boris Karloff and his iconic work, Targets is a long-admired, rarely seen treatise on the old-school way of moviemaking as the new school leads the way. It also predicts, sadly, the way well-armed gunmen will undertake thrill-killing by any means necessary — an entertaining blueprint, if you … Continue reading Targets (1968)
Did Jayne Mansfield really join Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan? Was she its high priestess? Did the two have an affair? The documentary Mansfield 66/67 poses these questions, yet offers no definitive answers. Clever title aside, it skims along the surface level. Pegging itself as “a true story based on rumour and hearsay,” the film … Continue reading Mansfield 66/67 (2017)
I’ve not seen Anthony DiBlasi’s 2014 film, Last Shift, so I’m uncertain why he felt the need to remake it. I’d be shocked, though, if the original were as accomplished and spiderweb-sticky as Malum. At the Lanford Police Department, it’s the first night for rookie officer Jessica Loren (Jessica Sula, 2016’s Split). At her request, … Continue reading Malum (2023)
In 1981, my fifth-grade homeroom teacher postponed class to warn us about a clown seen around Oklahoma City school playgrounds. “If he offers you candy or stamps with cartoon characters on it, don’t take it!” she said sternly. “It’s laced with acid.” We were scared straight, plus downright scared. Children, parents, teachers and authority figures … Continue reading Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries