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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

An odd little flick containing some cartoonish performances, an experimental synthesizer soundtrack score, some gloriously nostalgic examples of early ’80s fashion and decor, and a few lines and deliveries that are so goddamn bad they’re hysterical. Yeah, I liked this film. 😝

Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

Okay, so maybe he’s got some small emotional issues that are getting in the way of him having a normal and healthy lifestyle, but who amongst us doesn’t have a few?

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

Dr. Gale meets with police detectives Sgt. Hatcher (played by Ben Frank) and Lt. McCabe (played by James Westmoreland), the latter of which becomes a love interest for Dr. Gale later in the film.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

He’s a real fan of Dr. Gale though. He not only stalks and tortures one of her therapy patients, he even murders one of his victims while he’s live on the phone with Dr. Gale during her broadcast. Now that’s dedication!

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

Kirk Smith regularly listens to and contacts Dr. Lindsay Gale (played by Flo Lawrence), a psychologist with a call-in radio show and private therapy practice. He uses the name Ramon and does a horrible impersonation of a Hispanic accent when speaking to Dr. Gale.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

His modus operandi is simple: strangle to death, then sexually abuse the corpse. I appreciated learning that Nicholas Worth consulted a criminal psychologist to help him research his role as Kirk Smith, and he improvised a lot of his dialogue.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

This film wastes no time taking us into the world of a depraved stalker and serial killer named Kirk Smith (played by Nicholas Worth). He’s also a Vietnam vet, amateur bodybuilder, and talented porno photographer. Dude’s got skills!

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

This was one of the movies included on the section 3 Video Nasties list due to obscenity, but not prosecuted. It was shot in eighteen days around Los Angeles, and the scenes of our killer prowling the L.A. streets were filmed without permits.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 17h

Movie of the Day:

Don’t Answer the Phone! (1980)

* This film was released in the US on February 29, 1980.

* The working title of this film was The Hollywood Strangler.

* Don't Answer the Phone! was directed and co-written by Robert Hammer. It was the only film of his career.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 23h

On October 14, 1985: Iron Maiden released the live concert album, Live After Death, on EMI Records in Europe and Capitol Records in North America. It was recorded at Long Beach Arena, California and Hammersmith Odeon, London during the band's World Slavery Tour.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 23h

Another excellent episode. I listened on my morning commute and cheered (well, in a 5am kind of way) as Magister Bill broke down how a Satanist can be political while their religion remains very much apolitical- an elementary concept that somehow still remains beyond the grasp of some.

a black dog laying on a couch looking at a yellow tennis ball

ALT: a black dog laying on a couch looking at a yellow tennis ball

media.tenor.com

Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

All in all it was a halfway decent film as far as modern horror goes. Some parts were rather formulaic and predictable with their Jordan Peelesque appeal and ludicrous story development, but others were quite creative. I loved the ‘Faceless Fantasies’ component of the story.

Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

Throughout much of the film, I felt like I was watching Eminem star in The Visit (2015). That’s not as much of a judgement as it is an observation. Pete Davidson was actually adequate in the role of Max, though it honestly could’ve worked with just about anyone in the part.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

He also repeatedly hears horrifying screaming coming from the fourth floor and traveling through the vents in the ceilings to the floors beneath. It ultimately gets the best of him and he makes his way to the fourth floor where he sees way more than he bargained for.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

Max eventually befriends some of the residents, but he also experiences bizarre nightmares about them entering his room at night, wearing odd masks, and even killing him.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

His first day on the job proves interesting to say the least. While making his daily rounds for trash collection, Max quickly discovers that not all of the guests at Green Meadows are exactly what he was expecting.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

He’s given specific instructions about his daily duties, given a key that will open almost every room in the home, and he's expressly told to stay off the fourth floor as those patients need special care and are thus off limits to Max. Easy peasy. What could possibly go wrong? 🤷

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

In order to keep him from attaining a criminal record, Max’s foster father works out a deal that will require Max to move into Green Meadows retirement home and act as superintendent in order to pay off his debt to society through community service.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

Well he was in it alright, and I watched it. He plays Max, a foster child whose older foster brother took his own life, leaving Max spiraling into some bad habits as a graffiti artist who’s been arrested for vandalism.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

Okay, so my first instinct was, “I’m actually going to watch a movie with Pete Davidson in it?”

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 1d

Movie of the Day:

The Home (2025)

* This film was released in the US on July 25, 2025.

* This film was directed by James DeMonaco, best known for having directed the first three films in the Purge franchise.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 2d

On October 13, 1957: Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra introduced the Ford Edsel in an hourlong TV special.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 2d

Eyes of a Stranger borrowed and cobbled together bits creative fragments from Rear Window (1954), Wait Until Dark (1967), Halloween (1978), When a Stranger Calls (1979), and other great films.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 2d

Interestingly, the recurring theme in the soundtrack has a piece that sounds so much like the theme from Tales from the Darkside it’s ridiculous. However, this score was composed by Richard Einhorn while the ‘Tales’ theme was composed by Donald Rubinstein over two years later.

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Vasuri 🧐 @vasuri.bsky.social · 2d

There was one particular development in the story that I really liked a lot but I’ll refrain from commenting on it in case any of you decide to check this one out. It was an unexpected turn and I could easily see many people not liking it at all, but I was quite fond of it.

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