Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the finest Beatles albums, and sadly, it’s also the name of this campy story starring 1970s music icons like The BeeGees, Peter Frampton, Billy Preston, Earth Wind & Fire, Alice Cooper and Aerosmith (as the Future Villain Band singing ‘Come Together.’)

As much as I wish to declare this musical an abomination, there is something strangely good about it. The only thing The Beatles have in common with this film is the music. The film—a loose concept story of Billy Shears and his band hitting it big and leaving the wholesome town of Heartland and Shears’ girlfriend Strawberry Fields behind. Heartand is taken over by Mr. Mustard. Strawberry goes to find Billy and the band to help save the city. There’s some horrible plot to destroy decency and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Watching and listening to Frampton and Co muck about in crazy tight pants and colorful half-opened shirts is nuts! There is no actual dialogue spoken—it’s all sung and sometimes badly. (See aforementioned Earth Wind & Fire singing ‘Got to get you into My Life’.) George Burns narrates the film. The acting is, well, this is The BeeGees and Peter Frampton we’re talking about here. It’s awful too. The skateboards, the hair, the sad special effects… well, it’s awful and therein lies the charm.

The cast—no matter how wooden—is fun to watch. Barry and Maurice Gibb are hysterical. Steve Martin pops up for ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’—utterly nonsensical and oddly charming. You don’t who or what to expect. Barry Gibb singing my personal favorite ‘A Day in the Life’. Billy Preston pops up shooting sparks, singing ‘Get Back’ and zapping Peter Frampton. Hearland City Hall looks strangely familiar—like the museum in the remake of House of Wax.

As I see it, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is hysterical. The randomness (Frampton and Steve Tyler ‘fight’ it out, the brothers Gibb rescuing the chick) and poor acting is funny enough to watch because of the people in it. A cult film if there ever was one.

Girly (1970)

Mumsy, Nanny (Pat Heywood), Girly (Vanessa Howard), and Sonny are a perfect family—a perfectly evil family who lure unsuspecting men into their expansive mansion for role-playing games. Refuse to play by the rules and the new playmates are quickly dispatched to ‘play with the angels’. When Girly and Sonny’s newest friend (Michael Bryant) decides to play by his own rules, the entire household becomes topsy-turvy.

This oddly grisly cult film from the 70s is just weird. Like a train wreck, you can’t look away. Girly isn’t particularly gory despite horrific deaths—it’s the incestuously creepy relationships of the ‘perfect family’ and their Stepford Wives ways that freak this viewer out. Mumsy is clearly the head of the house with her weirdly little ticks. Nanny is obediently subservient. One gets the sense that she’s more than a nanny. Girly is this stunningly beautiful woman who lives in baby-doll gowns and schoolgirl uniforms with pouty lips and heaving chest. Sonny is cruel hateful boy despite his years. Both children sleep in cribs. This perfect family adheres to a whole other set of psychopathic values.

As I see it, Girly--perhaps better known by it’s UK title: Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly--is perfectly ghastly. Reminiscent of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, the film is a must for any horror-film fan.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

How about you pretend not to read this and I'll pretend I didn't see it.  DEAR GOD!  MY EYES!!  OH!!  MY EYES!!

Piranha 3D (2010)

Combine the bloodshed of storming the beaches of Normandy found in Saving Private Ryan with Girls Gone Wild on location at Panama City Beach and Jurassic Park and you’ve got Piranha 3D.

Flesh bounces, jiggles, glistens, fillets, tears, and bleeds unmercifully in the abomination. Let’s just say director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes remake, High Tension, Mirrors) goes for broke blurring the line between camp, porn, and bad taste in this rehash of Joe Dante’s 1978 cult classic.

As I see it, just know you are going to see a movie where it is appropriate to yell ‘that’s what she said’ at the screen after every sentence. You’re going for gratuitous nudity, innumerable deaths, and campy humor. You’re going to have blast despite shoddy special effects and nonexistent plot.

Ghostbusters (1984)

After Drs. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are kicked out of the university, the trio goes into business exterminating poltergeists and supernatural pests of all planes. Discovering their first client (Sigourney Weaver) lives in the penthouse that seems to be the gateway from some hideous evil means the ghostbusters must stop a coming disaster of biblical proportions.

The charm of Ghostbusters lies in its simplicity. Unpretentious but authentic, Ghostbusters perfectly combines key elements for success. Dialogue, character development/casting, scoring.  It’s spot-on.

Bill Murray and his dead-pan delivery are priceless. As Venkman, the lady killer parapsychologist, he kills with highly quotable one-liners throughout the film. Aykroyd plays the naive straight-man with his scientific jargon. Ramis, the silent partner, gets a few one-liners of his own amid an otherwise dour shift. The chemistry between these three is unbeatable. Supporting cast including Weaver, Annie Potts, Rick Moranis, the eventual ‘token black’ ghostbuster played by Ernie Hudson, and the dick-less EPA inspector all add layers of interest and humor.

The combination of director Ivan Reitman and writers Murray/Ramis (I forgive you for Stripes) is tight. Reitman paces Ghostbusters well, keeps it from jumping the shark, and reigns in our cast without harming them or the film. The special effects, while dated, are charming and add another layer to love. The culmination of the Stay-Puft marshmallow man is great. (Apparently, I’m the only one left who didn’t see that coming.) Equally fun is Weaver’s evolution to David Bowie.

After viewing Ghostbusters for the first time, it is remarkably easy to see why the film continues to pervade pop culture 20+ years later. This is a film that makes you want to watch. As I see it, Reitman has made an absolute classic worthy of your love and mine.

31 More Days of Horror: Grindhouse: Planet Terror (2007)

I’ve heard a few people this film called many things. ‘Awesome’ and ‘instant classic’ come to mind. Allow me to call it something too. I’m leaning toward ‘ridiculous’ or ‘insulting’. Writer/director Robert Rodriguez channels his inner Quentin Tarantino to create a self-aggrandizing homage film.

Everything about this biohazard zombie film is intentional—the crappy dialogue, the B-movie look, the melodrama, the bloody splatter and gore—it’s all supposed to be an awesome artsy send-up to the 1970s horror gems. Planet Terror is one unintentional disappointment. The film is neither entertaining nor inspired. It’s just a God-awful mess.

Incessant blood spurting is only the tip of this revolting iceberg that includes heads exploding like water balloons, random events that include some type of dismemberment—it’s all death spiral of stupidity. The film has an air of obnoxiousness that deflates any attempts at humor. The gritty nature should work for the film but instead further emphasizes the inadequacies of production.

Rodriguez and is ilk must enjoying beating off to this bullsh!t as I can’t see that Planet Terror serves any other purpose. Bruce Willis—I’m calling you out. Much like Samuel L Jackson in Snakes on a Plane—your role here is enough to make me boycott every film you’ll ever do again. It’s disgusting that you try to add some validity to this mess. Shame on you!!

In order to be successful a film of this nature must have purpose and not run scatter-shod. It is all too apparent that Rodriguez had no plan of action or rather he threw it to the wind. Regardless, the end product is torturous rubbish that I wish never to have witnessed. To think this insipid mess-terpiece actually has a market offends me and should be considered an affront to the true masters of the form. Planet Terror is a nasty hack job that should be avoided at all costs. With no redeeming qualities—none—zombie aficionados owe it to themselves NOT to see this movie.

31 More Days of Horror: Child's Play (1988)

Chucky doesn’t get enough respect in my book. If you’re like me, you can remember the very first time and the way that creepy little ankle biter murdered with glee. Good Guy Doll, my @$$.

The opening sequence with a killer (Brad Dourif) transferring his soul into the doll is succinct enough. Mom buys doll despite not really being able to afford it because her son Andy wants one SO BAD!! Then the horror begins.

Right from the start, with the babysitter being stalked in the apartment and ultimately pushed out the window that overall-ed kid scares the begeezus out of me. Still does. Andy is the only one that realizes his doll is alive.

Kudos to director Tom Holland for making a smart movie. Sure, Chucky is a doll, but he’s also a cunning little sh!t and Holland toys with us. Most of the film, we the viewer, see little things that creep us out. The sequence with Andy’s mom and the batteries—I’ll never forget. She walks over to the table, discovers Chucky doesn’t have batteries in him. Look out! That sinister smile—that cackle—Chucky’s murderous rampage has already begun.

Child’s Play is a straightforward flick whose wheels threaten to fall off at any moment. Though we have some dicey bits, ultimately, the film balances solid scares with humor (intentional or not). See this; but don’t bother with the sequels.

31 More Days of Horror: Willard (2003)

Hypnotic opening credits are just the beginning to this atmospheric and moody creature feature. Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a shy, but psychotic soul whose only friends are rats. When Socrates is murdered, Willard seeks revenge on The Man.

Deceptively simple, Willard doesn't rely on gore to score. Instead we are introduced to an introvert who has discovered a rat infestation and turns it into a true friendship with beady-eyed buggers. In seeming thanks for his friendship, Socrates and Ben are willing to do his bidding.

One element makes this movie: Crispin Glover. With untold emotionality, Glover is perfectly creepy. Those steely eyes, that sadistic gleam, those twitches, that hunch--it chills the soul.  His evolution from sick boy to masterful freak is a brilliant play.

Willard's revenge is ultimately directed at his cruel boss, Mr. Martin (R. Lee Emery). Martin berates and dehumanizes Willard at every turn. Embolden by Willard's lack of defense {Glover's slow simmer is palpable} Martin continues to bully until Willard is forced to turn to Ben. Ben {the rat, mind you} views this opportunity to cement his role in Willard's life and exacts his pound of flesh from Mr. Martin on Willard's behalf.

Every other element is a compliment to Glover. The modest production is dark and aged. Macabre, if you will. Willard is just a bizarre, cultish film with an ending to die for. It's revolting and fascinating all at the same time. Ultimately, the film works on two levels: as a black comedy or an allegory--you decide. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

31 More Days of Horror: George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (1985)

It's no secret.  Zombies are my favorite.  Vampires pale in comparison; they are distant second.  What is it that makes zombies so deliciously wonderfully?  I think it's George Romero's fault.  Last year, I reviewed my favorite Romero film.  Here's another one.

Writer/director George A. Romero pulls the morality card in Day of the Dead. Surviving in an underground bunker is a remnant of society, cleanly split between scientists and soldiers. The scientists are desperately trying to find a solution for a country overrun by the undead. The soldiers want them all dead. Everyone is on edge, infighting threatens to kill them all.  Then the zombies invade.

Romero's take a different angle with this one and it works beautifully.  He effectively builds the terror throughout the bunker with its claustrophobic feel and fringe scientists.  Throw in the zombies and off we go.  The pace is monotonous; it builds a sense of morbid paranoia within the viewer's own psyche.

 The beer-swilling, crazed, bullying soldiers that seem to get more thrills terrorizing the civilians are just the beginning. The scientist--the only normal one bunch in the bunch--isn't. There is just enough creep--the whirly-bird pilot, crazy-eyed scientist and Bub--to make the film worthwhile.

Day of the Dead contains a perfect gore to scare ratio that is both campy and disgusting. The exploration of the morality of zombie deaths comes to the cusp of annoyance, but the humanizing of Bub is an emotional angle that I didn't see coming. Thankfully, the zombie-fueled mayhem begins just in time.

Just like his others, Romero's Day of the Dead successfully stands on its own merit.

31 More Days of Horror: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The hype has past; film-goers have moved on. Now is the time to see The Blair Witch Project. The film is simple in its execution, therein lays its success. The film reminds us of that which is scariest—what we don’t see.

One very driven film student, Heather, drags two buddies along to document the story of the Blair Witch; who according to legend is behind the countless murders and disappearances spanning decades. Grab your gear. Let’s go camping!

The amateurish nature of the film is its best feature. Shaky-cam! Surprisingly, it’s not annoying, but enhancing. With this film, you must listen—not see. Listen to wind blow, the leaves crunch, and the faint noises in the background. The occasional revelation further cements that something is out there, but what? It’s an intangible malevolent being that scares you sh*tless.

Our trio isn’t stupid, just goofy. But as the situation quickly gets out of hand, they are clearly ill-equipped and the death spiral begins. Turning on one another, bickering, it’s not until Josh’s teeth are discovered that the group reunites.

Nothing prepares you for the final stand. And as you yell the cardinal rule {don’t go in there!}at the helpless duo, the film ends. Nice.

Clue (1985)

Wadsworth (Tim Curry) the butler is our host for the evening.  Alongside Col. Mustard, Prof. Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), Miss Scarlett (Lesley Ann Warren), Mr. Green, and Mrs. Peacock, you must investigate the creepy mansion to discover who killed Mr. Boddy and live to tell it all.

Inspired by the Parker Bros camp, Clue is a goofy whodunit that is suprisingly solid.  The humor is smart, swarmy, and often slap-stick.  Tim Curry leads an emsemble cast that makes the movie incredibly fun.  Madeline Kahn is a hoot!  The hectic pace keeps everyone on their toes.  Add dialouge that works on several levels and you've got a gem.

As I see it, Clue is a melodramatic riot!  It's a perfect blend of 80s cheese.  I loved every minute of it.

The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)

Every now and then a film comes along that is more pretentious than even I can stand. I shall defend 2001: A Space Odyssey to the death as there is method to Kubrick's maddening classic. This movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, I will not.

David Bowie stars as Thomas Jerome Newton, a humanoid alien, who comes to Earth in search of water for his own planet. Infinitely smart, Newton employs patent lawyer Oliver Farnsworth (Buck Henry) and turgid genius Nathan Bryce (Rip Torn) to execute his numerous start-up companies all with the intent of funneling money towards his return trip home. That is where the story ends and the frail, enigmatic Newton becomes enraptured of human vices.

The Man Who Fell to Earth is guilty of unending pretension that wastes quality cinematography and intriguing concepts on opiate fiends. I daresay how else could you enjoy this vapid psychedelic mess without the assistance of illicit drugs?!

The film is a series of poorly executed edits that unsuccessfully meld the alien and the human. Studded with numerous sexual encounters that needlessly assault the senses and overwhelmingly odd chain of events, this film is dumbfounding.

David Bowie is brilliantly weird and upsetting as the eccentric Newton. His features suit the role perfectly. Equally weird, but not in the brilliant way is his whiny drawling mistress Mary-Lou (Candy Clark). I'd rather bleed from the ears whilst listening to Michael Bolton and Kenny G duet than endure her again.

As I see it, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a disjointed, tedious and self-important film. Billed as a sci-fi cult classic, the film falls flat unlike Bowie's oft-engorged member found here.

J4T: 0 stars

Alice's Restaurant (1969)

Inspired by the 18 minute song by Arlo Guthrie, Alice's Restaurant is a meandering piece of hippie Americana that I cannot, in my right mind, recommend to general audiences or cinephiles. This is a true niche film that celebrates a generation. Alice's Restaurant, for the uninitiated, is the story of Arlo and his unorthodox way of avoiding the Vietnam War draft.

The film unfolds as a seemingly random series of events. Here's the gist. Long-haired hippie Arlo visits Alice for Thanksgiving. As a favor, he takes a VW Microbus full of trash to the local dump which happens to be closed for the holiday. In turn, he finds a ravine (already filled with rubbish) and tosses it all there. Paraded about as the scourge of society, Arlo's littering charge leads him to be declared 'unfit for service'.

Arlo Guthrie narrates the very embodiment of a generation. When viewed in context, Alice's Restaurant is very much a socio-political statement from a generation filled with hope for a better tomorrow. But if viewed otherwise, the film is tired, dated, and downright slumber-inducing.

As I see it, Alice's Restaurant is better known as a song, not a movie. But the film could easily stand alongside Easy Rider as a voice for a generation.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Journalist Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his lawyer, Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) go on a three day road trip from L.A. to Las Vegas in a drug-addled stupor. Sounds fun, right?!

WRONG!! Terry Gilliam directs this weirdly random comedy that centers around Duke and Gonzo tripping on a seemingly endless supply of drugs from acid to ether. As of fan of Gilliam's odd brand of humor and Johnny Depp's filmography, I expected to enjoy this unusual combination.

WRONG!! Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is self-indulgent nonsense that wasted, fortunately, only twenty minutes of my time. If there was something to 'get', I didn't 'get' it. I suspect there wasn't and Depp's performance wasn't brilliant enough to make me care. Sorry, Johnny.

Gilliam's trademark visuals are there, but alas, the film isn't even fascinating like a train wreck. I could look away and I did.

As I see it, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the ultimate WTF. Uninspired and unpleasant, you'd have to be drugged out of your mind to enjoy this messterpiece.

Friday the 13th (2009)

Jason Voorhees strikes fear in the soul of every movie goer. The villain of the 1980's hack 'n' slash phenom has had quite an evolution {or so I've been told.} I have avoided all of the sequels to the original because nothing can beat the way that movie made me feel. Then along comes Marcus Nispel's 're-telling'...

Most successful horror films contains three elements: nubile flesh, high body count, and an ending wide open for sequels. I expected one thing from Nispel's Friday the 13th: to be entertained. You, Constant Reader, have no idea.

Nispel begins our body count right out of the gate. You're not settled in before the film 'reboots' as 'Mother' is beheaded back in '80. Fast forward, present day, and cue young attractive group of campers ripe for killing. Fast forward, six weeks later, Clay (Jared Padalecki) begins searching for his sister, Whitney (Amanda Righetti) who has disappeared. In turn, he meets another ill-fated group of attractive young people lodging near Crystal Lake.

The story is nothing profound--suffice to say, you know it. Let me tell you why this re-imaging works. Nispel takes the best elements and with a few tweaks, slams them into the audience. The original back story is allowed to set the tone, but he quickly turns Jason into a smart and capable hunter.

Friday the 13th has one gear--high. Moving at a nice clip, the pacing is edgy and terse. Jason doesn't lumber; he moves with sadistic purpose. Thrilling and suspenseful, the movie is unrelenting even during the mandatory comedic banter and copious sexual escapades.

Go look somewhere else for spoilers. While each horrendous {predictable} death has a unique flair, there is no particular WTF moments that stands out. There is freakishly methodical undertone in each situation as Jason dispatches his conquests from this world. A few continuity problems aside and you've got a solid horror film on your hands.

Friday the 13th is an enjoyable, if predictable remake. With a young cast to die for, a demented protagonist, and the unrelenting inevitability of death, Friday the 13th is worth the investment.

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Post Script {01.15.09} ~ Two viewings and here is my ultimate arguement... As I see it, your enjoyment of Friday the 13th depends on which camp you're in. As modern day horror feature, there is nothing new here. Quite frankly, it's not particularly inspiring and while the kills and thrills are great, walk out of the theatre and it's forgettable. For fans of the genre, Friday the 13th will play more as an homage than a remake--for that reason you shouldn't miss it.

The X-Files: I Want To Believe (2008)

As a fan of the long-lived series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new movie from Chris Carter. Years after the series had ended, longer still since David Duchovny left, I was eager to see two things: How would the film stand up and how awesome could it be?

X: I Want to Believe is pitch-perfect. The film plays just like a classic episode of the series and fits beautifully. It works as a solid sci-fi movie for casual fans and as a big screen addition to the cult favorite. That said, X: I Want to Believe doesn't have the spectacular special effects, groundbreaking discoveries, or much that furthers any of the story lines from the series or the 1998 film other than 'will Scully and Mulder ever get together?!'.

Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have exceptional chemistry onscreen years later. They are a perfect partnership and this movie makes me miss them something awful. As Mulder, Duchovny uses his deadpan humor and boyish optimism we remember as foil to Scully's scientific matter-of-factness. Supporting cast members include Billy Connelly, Amanda Peet, and Mitch Pileggi. Unfortunately, Director Skinner takes a complete back seat to everything else.

Chris Carter's all too heavy hand is present so it all feels good--familiar. Well told, nicely executed, the film is solid thriller. Still, the X-Phile in me wanted more. More alien abductions, conspiracies, crop circles, and Donnie Faster.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a must see for fans of the best sci-fi series ever. It's not everything we've been waiting for, but it'll do.

The Hunger (1983)

Naming an 80's vampire flick usually results in one answer: The Lost Boys. The Hunger is often overlooked cult gem that's, shall we say, for adults.

Sensual and seductive, The Hunger stars Cathering Deneauve as Miriam Blaylock, an elegant, beautiful woman who shares her luxurious lifestyle with her husband John (David Bowie). Miriam is immortal--a vampire. John is not; life immortal for him is a curse. 300 years later and aging rapidly, John is cursed. Aware of the flaw in the human existence, Miriam sets her sights on a new lover, a promising Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon).

Surprisingly, Tony Scott is at the helm of this 80's piece and boy does it scream 80's. Thankfully, the story rises above it's dated settings and is quite riveting. The film is beautifully shot, almost ethereal. Scott creates a dream-like setting.

French actress Deneauve is stunning. She's elegant beyond words. Bowie is a nice compliment. Susan Sarandon with that awful 80's shag is sufficient; but there's a nagging feeling that her character could have been so much more with the right actress.

Still the film is solely Scott's vision and it is a stunning one. The use of color and the sumptuous classical score that oddly enough begins with Bauhaus' famous song "Bela Lugosi is Dead". The Gothic feel of the film is pitch-perfect, but it's the camera that elevates a dragging plot into something sublime.

The Hunger is a beautifully stylized film that's completely underrated. Bloody, erotic, haunting and cool, this film is a credit to the genre. It's truly a shame it's not better known.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

You either love or hate Monty Python's brand of humour. I don't think there is any middle of the road for the likes of John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle. The Meaning of Life is no different.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is unabashedly raunchy and offensive. The original kings of insult comedy, Cleese, Palin, Idle, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam take great liberties to offend everyone and everything. From the opening stabs at Roman Catholics to the closing strains of death, The Meaning of Life has you covered.

Through a series of sketches, the comedy team take on the various stages of life and maximizes them for the best laughs. These laughs, however, are often sight gags complimented with dry British humour.

The Meaning of Life is best suited for those who are well rounded in the genre of British comedy. Fans of Are You Being Served? or the more recent Little Britain should give it a go. If you're not a fan, you will find The Meaning of Life utterly pointless.

High Fidelity (2000)

Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is the unassuming owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store that is less about selling and more about not selling out. In the store, he and his two employees Barry (Jack Black) and Dick (Todd Louiso) trade barbs with one another, argue about music and the finer things of life--relationships, movies, sex, sleep even. With his last breakup as inspiration, Rob copes in the only way he knows how--top five lists. Recounting his top five breakups, Rob soon discovers more about himself than anything else.

High Fidelity is an indulgent geek film that is so ridiculously inane, it's quite enjoyable, even from a female perspective. John Cusack is unexpectedly funny, but it is supporting Jack Black and Todd Louiso (?) that really steal the show. Barry is such an elitist--a true music snob. I can relate. Tim Robbins is hysterical as the girlfriend stealing neighbor.

The dialogue could have been lifted from any numerous conversations you or I've had. Strangely, it's comforting that they actually made a movie about this lame stuff. High Fidelity comes across as real--that sound cliche, but the characters never get too quirky or too smart for their own good. Seriously, I recognize people within these characters--it's ridiculous!

High Fidelity, I don't want to oversell it, but it's a casual comedy of universal importance. No matter your dorkdom preference (music, movies, comics, quantum physics), this movie somehow validate those late-night Waffle House conversations.

THX 1138 (1970)

In the 25th Century, emotion is a crime. In a world where society controls all behavior through drugs, holographic TV broadcasts sex and violence, and a robotic police force maintains the law, factory worker THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and roommate LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie)decide to live. THX stops taking his drugs and falls in love with LUH. After unauthorized erotic behavior with THX, LUH becomes pregnant. THX is jailed for his behavior. Upon meeting SEN 5241 (Donald Pleasance), the two set out to escape. Meeting hologram SRT and finding LUH are just stops along the way to freedom.

Regardless of the history and following behind George Lucas' student project turned Francis Ford Coppola's produced feature THX 1138 is a fore-telling of what was to come from Lucas. His now iconic stylings that are raw and undefined; but the true aesthetic from the now-famed director shines clearly.

THX 1138 is not a mainstream film and I cannot recommend it to anyone save for those genuinely intrigued by what makes Lucas tick. It has shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey both in tedium and sterility. The film's strength is found in the visual aesthetic, not the story.

A young and bald Robert Duvall as THX is simply amazing. He depth of performance is remarkable in such a rigidly controlled universe. In contrast, Donald Pleasance's SEN is less assured. Where is Maggie McOmie now?

THX 1138 is an altogether different film experience; it's art house fare from a brilliant up and coming director. In 2008, though, it is an homage to the cinematic and technical brilliance of George Lucas.