Written and Directed by Don Coscarelli. Starring Angus Scrimm, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury, Michael Baldwin, Kathy Lester and Ken Jones.
Plot: a teenage boy, his brother and some friends face off against The Tall Man, a mysterious grave robber with an arsenal of terrible weapons.
When I talk about the plot, I’m speaking in the loosest of terms. The plot is strange to say the least. The Tall Men pretends to be a girl and lures men to graveyards and after – or during – sex, he kills them. Why he actually gets into it first is a little pervy, but whatever. Mike (Baldwin) sees too much of one of these encounters and is chased by The Tall Man, so he brings his brother Jody (Thornbury), in on it. They also have a friend named Reggie (Bannister) that helps them out.
I don’t really know how to address this movie completely without telling you about the whole thing. You see The Tall Man has these little people monks as slaves and they kill for him. There’s a portal to this red world they find. We think that’s where the little monks come from. Jody and Mike keep splitting up, which never works out for anyone. The movie made me physically tired. And of course, there was that ending. The ending everyone hates, while at the same time a lot of people love the movie even though I swear they didn’t understand the shit anymore than we did. In the end, it turns out that this whole thing has been Mike’s dream. Jody died weeks earlier in an accident and ever since then he’s been having nightmares. And Reggie is his caretaker now. WTF!!!
Still, there were some good points to it. There were boobs, likable characters and a nice amount of innovation for the now-infamous little, silver balls of death. It also had an amusing script, a happening soundtrack and it was overall hysterical, although not all the time on purpose.
DJ actually liked it a little more than me, but neither of us are recommending this to everyone. If you’re a die-hard horror fan, you should probably give it a watch just to say you did. Otherwise, stay away. It’s far too strange to comprehend.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
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