Midnight Movie of the Week #124 - The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini

Don't look at me....I can't explain it either.

I might have been supposed to say SPOILER ALERT right then, considering that quote I just typed is the final line of The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini.  But anyone who's gonna be upset about spoilers for a movie called The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini isn't ready for The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini.   Heck, anyone who's planning on looking at a movie and going "oh, I didn't like how they did that scene" or "I think the tone could have been different when Monstro ripped apart the bars of his cage" isn't ready for The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini.  This is not one of them "thinking" movies.

I probably sound kind of silly, and I will continue to sound so for what is likely to be the rest of this article.  But there is something in my brain - something I, like the quote says, just can't explain - that tells me that The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is basically the greatest mindless movie ever made.  The part of me that's researched cinema of the '50s and '60s and knows that there were tons and tons of beach party/haunted house/haunted beach party movies that came long before this one - which arrived at the tale end of that cinematic "movement" in 1966 - should probably dismiss the movie too, considering it's derivative of a lot of movies that came before it.  But those parts of me just have to be content to shut the heck up right now. Because I've been in love with The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini for several years now, and they don't have the power to take that from me.

Just listen to this set up: A recently deceased rich old guy, Hiram Stokely (played by the late Boris Karloff) is woken from his coffin by his old lover Cecily, a trapeze artist/sex symbol who tragically lost her life in a circus accident.  She lets him in on the secret of his passing, but informs him that she's here to help him "get up there". To achieve that, he has to do one good deed within 24 hours - which he parlays into a gathering of his heirs at his old, allegedly haunted estate.  He can't leave the crypt - I guess that first day of being buried is kinda an incubation period? - but if Cecily can prevent his bad heir (a sinister guy named Reginald Ripper who's played by none less than Basil Rathbone) from getting the estate and help his good heirs gain the prize and his millions, then Hiram's headed to the pearly gates.

As the characters converge on the old haunted estate, a pool party - complete with band and musical numbers led by Nancy Freakin' Sinatra - breaks out.  A seance happens, a biker gang starts to scope the joint, and a couple of circus workers show up with a giant ape in the back of their truck.  Ripper's redheaded daughter, Sinistra, tries to use her assets to woo one of the young heirs, while the two less party-centric young heirs team up to try and find a positive solution to this night of terror.  As you would guess, a mild form of madness follows.

As the characters all race around the house, crashing into each other and their surroundings, Cecily's ghost from the title moves among them - invisible bikini and all - manipulating the surroundings and causing a lot of confusion for the less morally driven partygoers.  Primarily, this means we get to see a blue outline of Susan Hart - minus those areas that would have required a bikini - popping up on the screen and making some sort of silly thing happen.  Sounds childish? Yep. But it's so ridiculously fun.

And, knowing that no movie is truly complete without some man-in-gorilla-suit action, the carnival star known as Monstro starts to make his way through the house - all the way into the "Chamber of Horrors" where the film ends as the mayhem escalates throughout the last 20 minutes of the film.  I seriously want a guy in a gorilla suit in every movie ever, you guys.  I know that's ridiculous, but I dang sure want it...and you can't take that from me.  Guys in gorilla (or ape or orangutan or whatever they are) suits are ALWAYS welcome in my world.

If you can't have fun with The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, I'm just not sure I can talk to you right now.  It's basically like watching a live action version of Scooby Doo, except there's no stoner and dog and there's lots of girls in bikinis and there's goofy musical numbers and there's Boris Karloff getting hit on by a cute blonde who then becomes a ghost with no bikini.  And that's really all you need to know.  If you think that sounds like fun, you should probably check out The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini.  I can't explain why...but I know I'm right.  And that will help me to sleep well tonight.

 The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini kind of completes me.

The Mike's Top 50 Horror Movies Countdown: #40 - Phantom of the Paradise

Previously on the Countdown: Number 50 - Happy Birthday to Me  Number 49 - Prince of Darkness  Number 48 - House on Haunted Hill  Number 47 - The Monster Squad  Number 46 - Hellraiser  Number 45 - The Fog  Number 44 - Creature From the Black Lagoon  Number 43 - Zombie  Number 42 - Tales from the Crypt  Number 41 - Bubba Ho-Tep

Phantom of the Paradise

(1974, Dir. by Brian De Palma.)

 Why It's Here:

Because no list is complete without a little music, right?  Brian De Palma's rockin' take on two classic horror tales - The Phantom of the Opera and Faust, together again for the first time - isn't going to scare many viewers, but it's still got a devilish and macabre kick.  Other De Palma horrors have more horrifying tones - Sisters and Carrie probably should have been on this list, but if I had to pick one DePalma horror that I enjoy the most I'd lean slightly to the Phantom.

The Moment That Changes Everything:

From the moment the Caligari inspired backdrop to the Paradise's stage is shown and "Somebody Super Like You" begins to play, the Phantom's quest for love and revenge hits top speed and never looks back.  Also featuring the talents of Gerrit Graham's ridiculous Beef character, this sequence sets up the film's final thrills perfectly.

It Makes a Great Double Feature With:

I already mentioned the horror films that DePalma made around this, Sisters and Carrie, and it makes far too much sense to me to list them here.  All three films are radically different in story, but they feature early DePalma at his crazy best.  They also all have been Midnight Movie of the Week selections (Here's Sisters, Here's Carrie, and Here's Phantom) - and I'm still kind of debating with myself that they deserve this spot on this list too.

What It Means To Me:

DePalma's work has long been one of my strongest connections to the darkest side of cinema, with his always sinister and often perverse films always providing some dark thrills.  I guess I'm giving Phantom the slight edge over his other films just because it's a bit more rewatchable and because I'm a sucker for "re-imaginings" of famous horror tales.  Phantom of the Paradise always gets my toe tapping and a provides a few big laughs, all while bringing the battle between humanity and Satan to our attention in a unique way.  

Scream Week: This One Scene from Scream 2.

Discuss.

Predator - The Musical!

I'm not usually one to just post videos, but in honor of a) my most popular and controversial post ever, b) a former Midnight Movie of the Week, and c) one of my very favorite movies ever, I just had to share this amazing Youtube hit.  BEHOLD!

I know what I'm singing in the shower for the rest of eternity.

Midnight Movie of the Week #56 - Phantom of the Paradise

Man, when I started the Midnight Movie of the Week train rolling back in the day, I had Phantom of the Paradise on my shortlist of flicks to cover.  Somehow, it fell through the cracks until now.  Long before that, this film was one of the first two movies I ordered online when I was first learning of this newfangled Amazon.com website that had things for sale.  The other film was The Devil Rides Out - which was the first Midnight Movie of the Week.  Thus, these two movies are kind of like brothers in my mind.  At the very least, they're like an awesome Tango & Cash style power duo.

Personal mental connections aside, Brian De Palma's rock musical amalgamation of Faust and The Phantom of the Opera is certainly a one of a kind film.  Like many of De Palma's thrillers, there's plenty of "borrowing" going on throughout the film, and connections to Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Edgar Allan Poe - to name a few - have been made by others.  Plus, one of my favorite moments in the film - the opening of The Paradise - features a wicked background that has to have been inspired by German Expressionist cinema of the 1920s. It always makes my jaw drop.

But like I said: there's no denying that Phantom of the Paradise is as unique as can be.  De Palma's vision of the classic tales he pilfers comes at the viewer from several different angles, and there's a fantastic balance of comedy, horror, and drama throughout the musical adventure.  A lot of his power comes from the unique characters, none of whom seem to fit into Hollywood conventions.  The cast, led by character actor William Finley and songwriter Paul Williams (with assists from future Suspiria star Jessica Harper and favorite side character Gerrit Graham), doesn't carry big names; allowing each actor a bit of comfort in their own skin as the dark fantasy plays out.

(It's interesting to note that Finley, who had just co-starred in De Palma's fantastic psychological thriller Sisters, almost didn't have a role in this film.  Peter Boyle was attached to the film and was going to play the rock icon Beef, while Graham (who eventually played Beef) was scheduled to play the diabolical Swan, and Williams (who eventually played Swan) was scheduled to play The Phantom.  Williams balked at the idea of playing the Phantom due to his 5'2" height and position in the record industry, and Boyle was busy - possibly with Young Frankenstein(?) -  so all the trades worked out.)

The comedic aspects of Phantom of the Paradise are something I often overlook, though it's hard to really look at the film and take what it offers seriously.  While the film is full of contracts signed in blood and hints toward the presence of Old Scratch, there's certainly an satirical tone throughout the film.  Some of the humor is blatant - like De Palma's version of the shower scene - but there are a lot of moments where the dark side of the film and the comedic side come together in an awkward manner.  The final minutes capture this well, as it's hard not to laugh while the final twists are playing out and the film picks up a slapstick pace, but the viewer will probably have the rug pulled out from under them by the dramatic final moments. 

And there is also the music, which covers a wide range of tones and topics and seems to fit perfectly into each scene.  My favorite number might be Somebody Super Like You, which captures the high point that is Swan's grand opening, and leads into the silly Life at Last which presents the overcompensating masculinity of the Beef character, who is a very feminine fellow off stage.  The Hell of It, which plays over the end credits, is also a highlight in how it wraps up the film, and should help you leave the viewing with a smile on your face.

Phantom of the Paradise won't be mistaken for De Palma's most artistic work or his most subversive work (I'd probably place the dynamite thriller Blow Out atop both lists), but it's a great example of his quirky ability to capture the viewer's attention and it certainly shines as one of his most upbeat works, despite its connections to famous tragedies.  Despite some shortcomings, it's lived long for me as one of the most infectious bits of cult cinema to come out of the 1970s, and I can't think of a movie I'd rather watch - yes, even that other '70s cult rock musical - at a One Mike Midnight Dance Party*.

Oh, and Rod Serling does the freakin' opening narration!  What more do you need from a film????

(* - I don't know what a One Mike Midnight Dance Party would look like, but I'm sure it'd be AWESOME.  Right?)

The Return of Captain Invincible - Midnight Movie of the Week? FAIL.

(Note from The Mike: I intended for this movie to be my Midnight Movie of the Week. But, I watched the movie again and I find that...I don't really want to recommend it anymore. So, here's a few words and a video to tide you over until I can put together a Midnight Movie of the Week post that I'm comfortable putting the FMWL stamp of approval on. Happy viewings!)Between making his "my mother was raped by a forest beast and now puberty's bringing it out in me" epic The Beast Within and the unforgettably horrible "Werewolves have bispeciesal orgies?" sequel Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch, French-born director Phillipe Mora made one of the oddest musicals ever made. That film is The Return of Captain Invincible, which balances incredible goofiness with maddening stupidity, all while starring Alan Arkin as the down-and-out superhero due for a revival. I've known this wasn't a necessarily good movie for some time, but I don't think I realized until tonight just how incredibly awkward and borderline terrible Mora's musical adventure is.

To simplify the plot, Captain Invincible's story begins the same way The Incredibles would begin years later...with newsreel footage of the the hero's greatness and then the legal reasons behind his unfortunate demise. It seems Captain Invincible is now a drunk, living on the streets of Sydney, Australia (like the fellows behind Superman Returns, Mora knew it was far too expensive to shoot in New York, which is shown in stock footage when necessary), until a female police officer realizes his identity at the same time The President - who's just finished singing a song in which all the words are "bullshit" to his advisers - comes to ask him for one last favor. Invincible must now get sober and get his powers back, because there's evil out there that needs stopped.

That evil is presented in the form of Mr. Midnight, played by FMWL Hall-of-Fame Member Christopher Lee. Lee is pretty much the only good reason to watch this movie, aside from a couple of interesting musical numbers written by Riff-Raff himself, Richard O'Brien. I guess I should give a small bit of credit to Arkin, who does a fine job with what's offered to him. He spends most of the film on-screen with an incredibly uninteresting Aussie actress named Kate Fitzpatrick, whose blandness does the film no favors, especially considering she has no comic timing.

The Return of Captain Invincible tries really hard to be likeable. It does have a room full of killer vacuum cleaners, a gun made out of a giant plastic fish, midget dunking, and a lot of blouses being randomly ripped open. But it's poorly edited, lacks any interesting characters or performers, and just feels tedious at times.

But then again, THIS HAPPENS:



So yeah. Christopher Lee singing = awesomeness. That's really all I need to say. The world does need a shining hero, but this is completely not that hero. :(

Horror Quick Hits

Phantom of the Paradise
1974, Dir. by Brian De Palma.

Is that a Paul Williams PEZ Dispenser on the poster? It's a little old-fashioned if it is. *rimshot*

Anyway, Phantom of the Paradise has long been one of my favorite cult pleasures. You've got a master of uncomfortable cinema known as Brian De Palma directing a film that's 70's rock musical amalgamation of Faust and Phantom of the Opera. How the heck does that not rule?

What struck me again on this revisit of a film I've seen at least a half-dozen times is how...well, how good-looking Jessica Harper is. Wait, what? That wasn't it entirely. No, I meant to talk about this film's merits. Like how....good-looking Jessica Harper is.

Shoot.

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons I love this movie, from the music to the kills to the crazy performances of Paul Williams, William Finley, and (my personal favorite) Gerritt Graham as the unforgettable "BEEF". And of course, there's De Palma's wicked sense of style. But this time, I got nothin'. Because Jessica Harper is really good-looking.

(She sings well too. And the movie goes in The Mike's Legends Series.)

House on Haunted Hill
1958, Dir. by William Castle.

Here's another horror I've seen a few more times than I can remember, and one that's always brought a good time. There are few actors I admire as much as Vincent Price, and the odds are I'll check out anything that's got his name on the box. But the first thing that anyone interested in him needs to check out is this one.

From horror gimmick maestro William Castle, the original House on Haunted Hill is perhaps the definitive 1950s B horror film. It's a pretty simple strategy - a bunch of people get invited to big old house where a reclusive millionaire (that would be Price) has planned a party for his not-quite-loved wife. There are rumors of ghosts, locked doors, vats of acid...everything you're gonna need for a night of terror for five unsuspecting fools.

House on Haunted Hill is definitely among the corniest of horror films, but it does this as well as possible. The finale shows this a lot, and makes more sense when you know the gimmick Castle wanted to put with it in theaters, but it also wraps up the film's biggest asset - the story.

Most b-horror films have similar stories, as I mentioned above, but this one's put together greatly around Price's lead performance. There are a lot of questions asked and the characters' perceptions of reality play heavily into their fates. When it all comes together with a final explaination, the rest of the film gains added clarity.

Of course, I was was wrong when I called the story the film's biggest asset, for that is and always will be Price's honor. If you want to see the master of horror stars at work, this is the place to start. It's a Prime Choice.

The Beast Must Die
1974, Dir. by Paul Annett

Now this is a movie I'd love to write more about, but I don't dare want to spoil a minute of it for those of you out there. To put it simply The Beast Must Die is an Agatha Christie-esque mystery...but the killer's a werewolf.

Yeah, why didn't I think of that? It's bloody genius. (And it happened well before I was born.)

Calvin Lockhart stars as a survival obsessed rich man who invites six guests to his home where he intends to find out which one of them really is the moon beast that's been creating havoc across the land. The most famously cast guests include the great Peter Cushing, Bond baddie Charles Gray, and future Dumbledore Michael Gambon. The six join Lockhart's Tom and his wife Caroline for a weekend of terror.

Produced by the renowned Amicus studios that showed up to battle Hammer Films at the end of it's run, The Beast Must Die takes itself quite seriously, resulting in a pretty tense viewing experience. Lockhart is formidable in the lead, and I'm a little shocked I haven't seen him in more. Cushing stands out as usual, though he's less prominent than his picture on the DVD cover would lead you to believe. I also like the idea of the
"Werewolf Break" (an idea once used by William Castle, too), which gives the audience a chance to speculate as to who exactly our lupine killer is.

The Beast Must Die isn't necessarily a great movie, but it gains points all over the place for its ingenuity. Add in the great cast and the sharpness of the script, and you've definitely got a film that's a Prime Choice.

That's all for tonight, and I'm not sure I'll get to writing tomorrow. But a pair of hidden '80s cheeseballs are soon to hit the site, and I promise to have something good to say about them. Happy Haunting!

Repo! The Genetic Opera

2008, Dir. by Darren Lynn Bousman

Repo! The Genetic Opera is not the kind of midnight movie I generally seek out. Since The Rocky Horror Picture Show and (my personal favorite) Phantom of the Paradise rocked theaters in the mid '70s; there have been several entries in the midnight musical genre, but few that captured madness and inventiveness as those two films. Despite my preconceptions, Repo! managed to remind me fondly of those films, and put its own stamp on the midnight musical genre.

The Plot
Set in the always evolving "not-too-distant" future, our film opens with a comic book style rehash of the near fall of civilization due to genetic organ failures, and the savior that came to the world, Rotti Largo, founder of GeneCo - the company responsible for legal organ transplants. It also introduces us to the person who comes into play when those receiving organs don't pay up on time, the Repo Man. If you don't know how one would reposess an organ, this is the time when I should tell you that the director's first three films were Saw sequels. That should help you get the picture.

Rotti (played with surprising grace by Goodfellas' Paul Sorvino) is dying, and has to choose an heir to the throne from among his three children. The oldest, Luigi (The Devils Rejects' Bill Moseley), is a foul mouth with a violent temper. The youngest, Pavi (someone named Ogre from a band called Skinny Puppy that I've never heard of) steals the faces of others to hide his own disfiguration, and the last, Amber Sweet (played by....Paris Hilton...don't run away...please!), is addicted to cosmetic surgeries and the street drug Zydrate, which is an anesthetic for surgical pain relief (that is also extracted from the dead).

Across town we meet Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega) a seventeen year old girl plagued by "a blood disease" and her single father Nathan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Stewart Head)...who has hidden the secret that he is GeneCo's top Repo Man from his daughter all his life. Through flashbacks, it's revealed that Shilo's mother, who died during childbirth, was involved with both Rotti and Nathan, and now the dying "savior" wants to reconnect with Shilo and let her in on the truths of their twisted society.

The Good
When the film says it's an opera, it really is an opera. There are few breaks in the musical action, and every cast member takes part in the act. More impressive, they do so with great enthusiasm. Vega and Head are especially effective in the daughter/father scenes, especially as the film closes in on the finale; and they throw themselves into the musical numbers with little hesitation. Sorvino and Hilton get in some good licks, but the latter is primarily carried by the musicians of the cast. The biggest assets in the cast, however, are Sarah Brightman and Terrance Zdunich.

Brightman is most known for her on-stage work, including originating the Christine Daae role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (Brightman and Webber were married briefly, as well). Here she plays Blind Mag - the star of GeneCo's top entertainment event, the titular Genetic Opera. She's also involved in the past of Nathan, Rotti, and Shilo; and provides a crucial turn in the plot in her few scenes. She gets the film's most operatic musical number, and provides a foil to the corrupt family dynamics of the film.

Zdunich plays a more tertiary role as well, as the Graverobber who supplies Zydrate to addicts and serves as an overseer of the film's developments. He's crucial in educating Shilo to the dangers around her, and carries Hilton through one of the film's best scenes. Oh, and he also co-created the original play and co-wrote the film with Darren Smith (who gets onscreen to kickoff the opera festivities in the final act.)

The cast as a whole is largely responsible for the film's success, but a lot of credit must also go to Darren Lynn Bousman. I mentioned that his previous work was in the torture porn of the Saw series, and it's more than surprising to view how well he puts this film together on such a limited budget. He creates a lot of world for a film with so few resources (although the film seems a little staged at times), which keeps the film feeling like the sci-fi/horror epic that the money didn't allow.

The Bad
I spent a lot of time on the things I liked about the movie, but it's still a hard sell. As with all midnight movies, quality is relative, and the film has its fair share of questionable choices. It's definitely a movie that will hook some from the start and lose others immediately. It's an incredibly dark and violent film at times, and an almost Shakespearean tale at others. To say it's not a movie for the masses is an understatement.

I found Moseley to be the only member of the cast whose performance didn't fit the movie. And, outside of a few early scenes involving Vega and Head, I was caught up in the characters enough to forgive some of the more dramatic/overdone acting, which will not be easy for all viewers. Hilton's performance, which I found myself surprisingly not angered by, is one I could easily see drawing the ire of some viewers, as many of her scenes are among the film's silliest. Realistically, if someone isn't going in expecting a full-blast rock opera, they're going to probably have trouble dealing with the acting.

Also, it is easy to look at the film's world and draw parallels to other sci-fi films. In its ideas, Repo is not the most original film. I felt like the execution of these ideas, and especially the effort put into presenting them in a new manner made up for this, but it might fall on the other side of that line for others.

And, of course, the music is key. If you don't like it, you won't like the film...because it really is all music. Here's a snippet via a YouTube video for your perusal.

Random Moments

• I haven't talked about it too much, but there is a LOT of blood spilled and organs removed in this movie. Just making sure to mention that.
• Watch out for the creepy 3-D portraits of Shilo's deceased mother in their home. They're a little much.
• The opening of the final Opera features some truly random nudity.
• If you want to see Paris Hilton horribly disfigured, this is a good place to start.
• According to many reports I've read, there are upwards of 50 songs in the 97 minute film.

The Verdict
When I started this site and stated my principles, I mentioned that I, among other things, was looking for "films that dare to take us places that most people never really care to think about". Repo! The Genetic Opera does so with vigor, which is the most I can ever ask of a midnight movie. I don't know if it will catch on and gain any kind of cult status like the films I mentioned at the beginning of my review (though there sadly isn't enough of a Phantom of the Paradise cult), but the fact that it got me this interested in its world is a surprising victory. I won't be surprised to see many others falling under the Repo Man's spell, leading them to respect this inventive and tragic rock opera.

The Mike's Rating: Legends Series