TIKI CULTURE

A Collection of Fun Old Scary Movies for Halloween

The Halloween Season is a very busy one for Ole Tiki Chris P. I’ve been going bananas decorating every day for our big Halloween bash, and have been too beat to lay down some groovy stories. So I’m cheating a little…here’s a kool post from last year with some great movie ideas. Tomorrow I’ll post two new horror flicks and a couple of drink recipes too!

If you’re into old movies, I don’t have to speil about the wonders of the original Dracula, Frankenstein & Wolfman. You’ve probably seen them, or they’re already on your list. So here’s a few creepy flicks that may have escaped your radar…some you’ve heard of, but maybe never got around to witness. Some you’ve probably never heard of, but take it from this kat, they’re fun to watch and might even give you the heebee-geebees. I’ve included the IMDB link so you can get more info. So here goes, in no particular odor (I mean order. Damned spellchecker.)

The Haunting (1963) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057129/
One of the first ghost stories I ever saw as a kid, this black & white thriller sets three unsuspecting volunteers in a secluded, creepy mansion with a scientist conducting an experiment on sleep deprivation. Secretly the well-intended scientist believes the mansion to harbor spirits, and his volunteers have been selected for their apparent sensitivity to the spirit world. The spirits come. It’s krazy. A well-crafted movie from a well-written book, you’ll want to watch this one with the lights off and some spiked hot chocolate.

The Uninvited (1944) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037415/
Ray Milland leads this Noir thriller centering around a haunted house on the English coast. He and his sister move into the lovely old home only to find there are skeletons lurking in every closet. A well-written and well-acted movie, this one is at the top of my ghost movie list.

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/
Jack Nicholson at his craziest/finest. Stephen King may have hated this adaptation, but there’s no denying this is one of the creepiest, scariest, most disturbing movies ever made. From blood pouring out of the elevators to butchered children to eerie music from a not so distant past, The Shining will leave you with chills and craving for more. The sets of the Overlook Hotel are so evil and creepy looking that the hotel itself becomes one of the main characters (as intended). Even the opening credits are scary!

A Bucket of Blood (1959) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052655/
Beatniks, jazz, pretty girls and ‘innocently’ unintentional murder for the sake of art. This early Roger Corman film is as dark as dark comedy can get. Creepy, BW & even an actual bucket with blood in it. This is one of those movies where you’ll be saying “They got away with THAT in 1959?”

House of Wax (1953) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045888/
No Paris Hilton, but plenty of Vincent Price at his best. Murder, wax and insanity. Need I say more?

Mark of the Devil (1970) (aka Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065491/
Hot 60’s European chicks getting tortured as witches. Amazingly realistic and gory for the time, the plot centers around Inquisitors using their power to satisfy their sadistic lusts. Pretty damned disturbing, actually. The American version is dubbed pretty well, so you don’t have to read subtitles. Lots of torture devices, dirty villagers, and torture of pretty medieval women that borders on a snuff flick. Don’t let the kids near this one.

Young Frankenstein (1974) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/
It’s not easy to pull off a really great spoof of a really great movie, but they really nailed it with this one. Mel Brooks in his heyday with Harvey Korman, Peter Boyal, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn, a cameo by Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder at the reins. Wilder plays the grandson of Victor von Frankenstein. He refuses to believe his grandfather’s work had any merit until he visits the ‘old country’ and finds his journal. When he decides to try the experiments himself, hilarity ensues. Shot in black and white with the same techniques as movies from the 30’s (and with some of the same sets as the original “Frankenstein”) this flick is timeless, with great gags, great writing, and Teri Garr looking like a real honey.

The Exorcist (1973) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/
Speaks for itself. If you ain’t seen it, see it. It’ll blow your mind. Scary, evil, disturbing. Interesting note: Max von Sydow played Father Merrin, the old priest. He was only 43 at the time. He also played the role of Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and Director Burgess in Minority Report (2002). Talk about a career!

The Changeling (1980) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/
Probably the best Ghost Story I’ve ever seen on film. George C. Scott stars as John Russell, a music composer who moves to a secluded vintage mansion outside of Seattle, hoping for some peace and quiet. What he gets are strange noises, visions, and visitations. As he unravels the mystery he gets drawn deeper into the web of the strengthening spirit. I don’t want to give anything else away! This has been one of my favorites from when I first saw it as a kid. Even though it was released in 1980, it has that old 60’s-70’s production style that makes it even creepier than any of the newer flicks can go for. Sure, new movies have great effects, but when they’re too slick they just don’t have that gritty creep factor.

Ghost Story (1981) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082449/
What happens when you get Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks and John Houseman together in their retirement years? A very creepy ghost story, that’s what. Add Patricia Neal, Alice Krige and a 50 year old bloody secret and you’ve got the makings of a very spooky film. 80’s production values are laughable, but if you can get past that it’s a fun flick to watch.

Christine (1983) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085333/
“She’s Death On Wheels” was the movie’s slogan. Another Stephen King adaptation, this time by John Carpenter. Nerdy teenager finds a beat to hell ’58 Fury “That’s uglier than he is”, spends all his time fixing it up and driving it, all the time becoming possessed by the demon car. It follows the book fairly well, but the way Carpenter translated the story to the screen has become legend. There’s even a Christine Car Club dedicated to restoring and preserving ’58 Plymouth Fury Christine clones (and a few real movie cars). With no computer graphics to help them, 25 Plymouths were used in the film, with about 15 of them being destroyed (which brought car guys like me to tears). It was later said that many of the destroyed cars were junkyard dogs anyway, didn’t run, didn’t even have engines, and were just painted rustbuckets used for the shots. A little Trivia: When my family and I went to see this in the movies around Christmas, 1983, we drove to the theater in my father’s ’64 Caddy. When we came out, people were pointing at his finned car and yelling, “It’s Christine!”…even though it was powder blue and didn’t look anything like a Fury! A few years later my Dad and I bought a ’59 Plymouth Savoy (with a ’58 front end on it) with the intention of making a Christine Clone. Turns out the motor was shot, and it was too much trouble to do it so we sold it back to the guy we bought it from for the same $200 we paid for it.

TikiWeen!

If you’ve followed TLT or The Retro Tiki Lounge on Facebook for very long, then you know that Halloween is my favorite season of the year. I have a big, krazy party and decorate the whole house like a haunted attraction. This year’s theme is “Ghosts of Tiki Island,” in keeping with the story of the book I’m currently writing, “Murder on Tiki Island.” Since the house already looks something like a Tiki bar from the 1940s, it’s turning out to be a very easy theme to decorate.

So I’m turning the house into Tiki Island Resort, complete with Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar, The Hukilau Ballroom and The Moai Coffee Shop. It’s going to be a fun party…as long as I can keep these damned kittens off of the decorations!

Weekend Drink Recipe: The Red Death

With Halloween only a few weeks away, I thought I’d slide you kids some spooky juice. Here’s a recipe for a concoction monikered

The RED DEATH

1 oz Amaretto
1 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz Sloe gin
1 oz Southern Comfort
1 oz Vodka

Shake everything up in a shaker and strain over rocks in a very tall glass. You can make it redder for you Halloween party by throwing in a couple of drops of red food coloring.

BOO!

-Tiki Chris reporting from Haunted Tiki Island

Creature Double Feature Movies for Mod Movie Monday: Satan’s Cheerleaders, 1977 and Cheerleader Camp 1988

It ain’t often I recommend a move I haven’t seen yet…but I truly dig Satan’s Cheerleaders, and needed another cheerleader horror flick to complete this week’s duo. I searched around and found a flick that looks like it will be a 10 on the cheesy, so-bad-it’s-good meter: Cheerleader Camp. So kats & kitties, without further ado, here’s

Satan’s Cheerleaders from 1977

and Cheerleader Camp from 1988

What can be better than watching dim-witted cheerleaders get partially naked and wind up dead?

Satan's Cheerleaders

How about them being victimized by a Satanic Cult-leading Lilly Munster? I first came across Satan’s Cheerleaders after discovering “The Cheerleaders” sort-of-trilogy from the ’70s. Satan’s Cheerleaders wasn’t part of it, but continued the cheerleader movie tradition in a very wicked way. It’s one of those late-70s, low budget movies where you just know the cutest girl was given and extra fifty bucks to do a topless scene. It features John Ireland and Yvonne De Carlo along with a small part by John Carradine, along with a bunch of jailbait that will make you wish the cheerleaders at your school were really like them. The special effects aren’t very special, and the movie doesn’t take itself very seriously which makes it lots of fun to watch. Poorly written, poorly acted, who cares; the girls are hot and you’ll be screaming at the ridiculousness of it all!

Cheerleader Camp

Now this other flick, Cheerleader Camp…Haven’t seen it yet but I know it’s going to be a blast. It’s got a rating of two stars on IMDB which insures its absurdity. But how could you not enjoy a movie with Leif Garret and Teri Weigle (the porn star) from 1988? I would imaging the cheerleaders are loose and wear leggings even in the summer. Reviews point out that there is plenty of flesh and plenty of blood, and the plot is so bad you’ll have it figured out in the first five minutes…so you can sit back and enjoy the ’80s silliness without worrying about a plot!

Food & Booze: The cheerleaders at my high school drank Peppermint and Peach Schnapps, so I’d say take a shot every time someone gets slashed. Or your can try this recipe for

The Bloody Cheerleader

1 oz  Peach Schnapps
1 oz  Coconut Rum
1 oz  Silver Rum
Cranberry Juice

Fill a tall glass with ice and add the shots of peach schnapps and rums. Stir lightly, the way you’d softly touch a cheerleader on the third date, then add the cranberry so it looks like blood gushing in. Garnish with a cherry, of course.

For food, I’m thinking camp stuff…hot dogs, burgers, pop corn, fries, maybe grill the dogs over an open fire. Finish things off with Devil’s food cake, of course. Or Devil Dogs. Or Deviled eggs. You get the idea.

Here’s the trailer for Satan’s Cheerleaders:

And for Cheerleader Camp (AKA Bloody Pom Poms, of course)

Lilly Munster trying to be evil

- Tiki Chris reporting from the alter concealed behind the wall of the Tiki Bar.

Tiki Lounge talk, you’re Halloween Headquarters for spooky movies all through October.

Note: For the bloodiest, most disgusting murdered teenage cheerleaders ever put on mainstream film, see House of 1000 Corpses.

Creepy Mod Movie Monday: The Car, 1977 and Christine, 1983

“Good evening, and welcome to a private showing of two movie automobiles, displayed here for the first time. Each is a collector’s item in its own way - not because of any special artistic or engineering quality, but because each captures in chrome and steel, suspends in time and space, a frozen moment of a nightmare.”
If Rod Serling worked for Tiki Lounge Talk, this is how he’d introduce these next two flicks. For our Creature Double Feature this week, we present

The CAR, 1977 and

CHRISTINE, 1983

I picked these two movies to play together for the obvious reason: They’re both about possessed cars that go around terrorizing and killing people. There’s a big difference between the two movies though - Christine is actually a really good movie, while The CAR is probably one of the worst movies every made (I say this with a smile), but still fun to watch and make fun of. So what if the acting, story, writing and effects suck. It’s got a kool car customized by Chuck Barris in it.

Christine, Stephen King’s best seller presented by the 80’s master of horror John Carpenter features a custom red 1958 Plymouth Fury and a dorky kid named Arnie who fixes her up. The love he pours into restoring the classic car is returned by her as she runs over anyone who does him (or her) any injustice. Great shots of the car, the Hemi engine, the 50’s two-tone interior, and people getting crushed. This was all done with hydraulics and special effects long before the computer age came along with CGI. They used over 20 different cars for the film (several were kept in pristine condition and are still alive today, owned by members of the Christine Car Club). The movie strays from the book but is still scary and fun.

The CAR could have easily been called ‘The Trainwreck” for its absolute awfulness. But damn is that car kool! It’s worth watching just to see the CAR roll down the highway. It’s modified Lincoln Mark III with what seems to be a red-tinted windshield, and is driven by the Devil himself. It just drives around killing people for no reason. Kind of like the Devil goes for a Sunday drive.

Back to the good movie. CHRISTINE is a great flick on many levels. When we first see her, she’s all shiny and new at the Detroit plant and already starts causing trouble. Then we see her 20 years later, rusted & busted up, sitting in a field with a For Sale sign on her. This kid Arnie goes ape for the car and shells out $250 clams for her (in 1978 dollars) and proceeds to fix her up, even though he’s broke and the only car-fixing skills he has are what he learned in a high school shop class. How does he do it? Easy - the car fixes herself. Then she goes and kills people. Then she fixes herself up some more.

My Take: If you’re a regular reader you probably know that I grew up around classic cars, fixing them up, selling them, driving them. I can’t tell you how many times my Dad and I slammed on the brakes when we saw some POS car rotting away in a field with a For Sale sign on it. I can’t tell you how many times we brought cars like that home with us, paying anywhere from nothing to 1500 smackers depending on the ride. We even had a 1957 Plymouth Savoy with a 1958 front clip on it - very similar to Christine, except it was baby blue and was a four-door sedan. Unfortunately none of them ever fixed themselves up (or killed wise asses).

As for The CAR, after watching the flick back in the late 70’s I remember my father saying he was going to buy a ‘69 Mark III and customize it to look like the car. (He was good with fiberglass.) We never did get around to it but did customize my 1953 Chevy Belair with 33″ fins and extra grill teeth. Close enough for jazz.

Food & Booze: They drink something called “Iron City” Beer in Christine, I think. I suppose just the cheapest off-brand beer you could find will do. For The CAR, you’re going to need something stronger. How about a RED DEVIL?

1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Amaretto
1/2 oz Southern Comfort
1/2 oz Sloe Gin
Orange Juice
Ice

Fill a tall glass with ice and build the drink from the bottom up in the order listed so the lime juice sits on the bottom. Top off with OJ. This drink is strong as hell (get it?), but not very red. Not sure why they call it a Red Devil. You can add some red food coloring to it to make it redder.

A last note on Christine: When my family and I went to see this in the movies around Christmas, 1983, we drove to the theater in my father’s ’64 Caddy. When we came out, people were pointing at his finned car and yelling, “It’s Christine!”…even though it was powder blue and didn’t look anything like a Fury! A few years later my Dad and I bought the ’59 Plymouth Savoy (which I mentioned above) with the intention of making a Christine Clone. Turns out the motor was shot, and it was too much trouble to do it so we sold it back to the guy we bought it from for the same $200 we paid for it. Kind of wish I still had that car today. But that was 24 years ago. Damn.

Here’s the trailer for Christine:

-Tiki Chris reporting from the screaming room (I mean screening room) at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar.
Tiki Lounge Talk: Your Halloween Headquarters for spooky movies.