It’s a shame that governmental satires remain relevant with cyclical predictability. The Crazies as a concept is as relatable today as it was in 2010 or 1973. Eisner understands that Romero’s foundation doesn’t have to be altered, only the presentation. Proper remakes reinvent; they don’t rehash. Watching Romero’s and Eisner’s versions of The Crazies paints a complete red, white, and bruised picture of how the government works for itself, not the American people. That’s because they’re two halves of a conversation about broken systems, neither movie stepping on the other’s lines when telling their stories. What is most fascinating about the film is its portrait of tormented psychology. Up against Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson gives an equally fascinating performance as a cop who ignores all evidence to the contrary and pursues his own dogged agenda hounding young Jimmy McNichol with accusations of being a closet homosexual. What is most intriguing about the film is the fact that it does not concentrate on the psychology of the psycho of the piece (Tyrrell) but rather on the psychology of the victim (McNichol) caught up in her schemes. The first like 5 minutes of this movie, a studio would never let me film what I plan on filming. So, mark my words, I guarantee you the first 5 minutes of this movie is going to be very controversial. But that’s not even the big kill scene. So, like that’s why I was like, I need to just make this movie on my own […] it’s too insane.” Thomas, Kevin (February 12, 2004). "Deathly delights vamp it up in a retro horror show". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 5, 2015. Tampering with Food and Drink: Cheryl poisons Billy's milk the day before basketball tryouts so he loses the scholarship and can be with her forever.

Det. Carlson, who is homophobic and racist and targets Billy and Coach Landers as potential suspects in the murder of Phil Brody and, much later, Cheryl Roberts because of his homophobia and not on any hard evidence. Not to mention he dismisses other (much more valid) theories proposed by Sgt. Cook, simply because they don't fit into his version of events. Is it that big of a surprise that when Carlson tries to kill him and Coach Landers, that Billy kills the man in self-defense? Given a regional release in Oregon in November 1981 through Comworld Pictures, the film expanded to other U.S. cities in early 1982, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. It was reissued theatrically in 1983 under the title Night Warning, under which it was subsequently released on home video. The film has attracted critical discussion for its early positive portrayal of a gay male character. Kabatchnik, Amnon (2014). Blood on the Stage, 480 B.C. to 1600 A.D.: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-442-23547-2. a b Conner, J. A. (January 14, 1983). "Battle for worst film of '83 has begun". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Santa Cruz, California. p.7. Tyrrell gives a frighteningly unhinged performance as Billy’s aunt. She’s intense and psychotic and, as the movie goes on, totally hawks the “sanity” seen in the opening 30 minutes like few other actresses can in similar roles. And the blunt brutality that echoes in the final arc of the screenplay written by Stephen Breimer makes for a twisted 90 minutes where anything can (and certainly does) happen. I mean, you suspect something is amiss by the freeze-framed smile as she clutches the young child in her arms, but what is unleashed – including the frenzied secrets – make for an unforgettable movie.

Every Car Is a Pinto: The car belonging to Billy's parents explodes after driving off a ravine into a river. AllMovie awarded it two-and-a-half out of five stars and labeled it "an especially unique entry into the slasher film cycle in the 1980s" based on its influences, the 1960s Gothic horror films. [24] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Unfolding deftly under Asher's direction, Night Warning combines darkly outrageous humor with persuasive psychological validity." [25] Variety called it "a fine psychological horror film" in which Tyrrell "gives a tour-de-force performance." [26] In Horror Movies of the 1980s, John Kenneth Muir rated it 3.5/4 stars. Muir called it "a true gem of the decade" and "the 1980s' most twisted, bizarre cinematic vision of motherhood." [27] The rest of the cast do decent work here as well. Jimmy McNichol is likeable enough as the male lead here, playing his part well. He has decent enough chemistry with Julia Duffy, who is also quite likeable here. A young but instantly recognizable Bill Paxton plays the school bully pretty effectively and Tom Landers makes for a pretty sympathetic gay character. Maria Lewis and Cooper Neal are, intentionally or not, rather comedic here and it's fun to see Britt Leach from Silent Night, Deadly Night show up in the film.

The film screened on The Movie Channel in the fall of 1983, [29] and was released on VHS through HBO Home Video under the Night Warning title [13] in 1985. [30] In the United Kingdom, the film was deemed a " video nasty" by the British Board of Film Classification and refused a video certificate in 1987 under the title The Evil Protege. [5] BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER is a film that i had heard about long before I actually got a chance to see it. I had heard some pretty crazy things about the picture but in all honesty, nothing you read can prepare you for what an incredibly strange picture that you're going to see. I've seen a lot of very weird and very surreal movies in my life but there's really not another picture out there like this one. Is that a good thing? Probably so because this thing is just so out there in so many ways.Mistaken for Gay: After it comes out that Billy's coach, whom he was good friends with, was gay, multiple characters assume Billy is his lover. And by the end, you’re not particularly rooting for either of them. Still, their chemistry on screen has you craving some resolution as their relationship gets messier and messier. Fruit Chan gives you just that, and a side of cruelty to go with it. Eisner nails the ruthless aesthetic of making a socio-political survival thriller in 2000s horror terms. There’s an unctuous malaise to 2010’s The Crazies that submerges audiences in a rural American nightmare. From start to finish, a sense of hopelessness keeps us on edge as David’s group marches towards their inevitable fates. Romero does well to represent the government as manipulative, incompetent fools who poison the country they’re meant to protect, which Eisner doesn’t need to do as heavily this time. Plenty happens between 1973 and 2010 that makes Romero’s assertions less and less fantastical, which lets Eisner lean into the utter inhumanity Ogen Marsh’s population endures as tax-paying collateral damage. On Billy's 17th birthday, Cheryl changes her mind about the scholarship, and asks Billy to stop by the television repair shop to have the shop technician, Phil Brody, come by to look at their set. That night, after Phil works on their television, Cheryl makes aggressive sexual advances toward him; when he refuses, Cheryl stabs him to death with a kitchen knife, which Billy witnesses through the window. Cheryl hysterically claims Phil tried to rape her.

a b Alexander, Chris (November 29, 2016). "In Praise of 1982's Night Warning". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019 . Retrieved February 13, 2019. I remember first encountering Dumplings during a time in high school when I had gotten into that genre of YouTube video that talked about “disturbing films”, something I’ve derided in previous articles on Horror Press; I stand by the opinion that 9 times out of 10, you will be disappointed when you see a film on those lists. And Dumplings , ultimately, is a very grotesque film that is undoubtedly disturbing, but it’d be a reductive descriptor. Because it’s freaky, bloody, and sometimes psychosexual expression is not so secretly a piece of political counterculture created by a Hong Kong visionary: Fruit Chan. Billy is trapped. And this is a narrative about how he gets out of his aunt’s prison. The film is bizarrely surreal as the aunt takes control of Billy’s life, isolating him from his friends, moving his room upstairs and, finally, surrounding him with a shitload of religious imagery in an attempt to turn him into the man she wants him to be. And the screaming as Billy learns more and more about the stranger that his aunt and primary caretaker will haunt for days after. Now, I say this because the 2004 film Dumplings by director Fruit Chan made me fall out of love with dumplings for months after I had watched it. It is a film that I will never forget and utilizes food on film to tell a bizarre, tragic story in a way very few have.The excellent cast is another strong feature of this movie. Bo Svenson is solid as a homophobic police detective. A young Jimmy McNichol is touching as an attractive teen desperately trying to have a normal life. The greatest of all though is Susan Tyrrell as one of the most demented villains you'll ever see! Also among the cast is a young Bill Paxton in one of his earliest roles. Deceased Parents Are the Best: Billy lives with his aunt because his parents died in a car crash. The plot would never have happened without this event. Except that it's a lie, because Cheryl is his mother, and she keeps his father's corpse in a Stalker Shrine. Dennis, Jeffery P. (2006). Queering Teen Culture: All-American Boys and Same-sex Desire in Film and Television. New York: Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-560-23349-7. High school senior Billy Lynch lives with his protective aunt Cheryl, who has raised him since infancy after his parents died in a car accident. A gifted basketball player, Billy is offered a chance at a scholarship to attend the University of Denver, but Cheryl dismisses the idea, assuming that Billy will stay with her to "contribute". At school, Billy is bullied by one of his basketball teammates, Eddie, who is jealous of Billy's close camaraderie with their coach, Tom Landers; meanwhile Julia, the school newspaper photographer, begins to take a romantic interest in Billy.