Fifth Dimension becomes part of the team for new movie - The Criminal Audition.

Go on, be honest. Let's forget for a moment such piddling and minor considerations such as ones personal morals and doing what is right and decent - but If I was to ask you whether you had ever wanted to commit some serious crime - maybe even kill someone, but the prospect of getting caught was the sole overriding deterrent. Well, I would put money on that fact that there would be quite a few of you out there in Internetland who would own up and say that you had had such immoral thoughts.

Now before my legal department, having now been released from their period of detox, read this blog piece and have a collective heart attack envisioning months of expensive litigation action and potential visits from Her Majesties Police force - I feel that I must go on record now and say I definitely have never ever ever ever had such thoughts of criminal activity....nope never.....nah ah......Scouts honour and all that.

Of course crime is wrong and a bad thing in any society (well that's what it says in the Newspaper, today). However, what might you do if you were desperate enough to have to commit some crime, but the one thing, the only thing, stopping you was the possibility of getting caught? If there was someone else available to take the rap for your crime (that's some type of criminal speak out on the streets, you know), and what's more, they were even willing to take the said rap, would that then be enough for you to commit the crime? An even more interesting question might be - would you take the rap for someone else, spend some time in jail perhaps (bearing in mind the chance of sharing a jail with someone who may be intent on initiating his own particular conjugal relations) and receive financial reward for doing so?

What we are talking about i terms of the concept for this film is the fact that crime could really pay, both for those wishing to escape punishment for committing an illegal act and for others who would gain financially for accepting the blame of that other persons act. Interesting, very interesting. I couldn't possibly comment as to what I would do given the choice...........

So when I heard a few days ago about the Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the production of a new Independent British movie, The Criminal Audition, which deals with some of those somewhat difficult (or for some, maybe easy) questions, I was intrigued. In fact I was so intrigued, that after making a few twitter enquiries, I happily found myself in the role of Marketing Executive for the production - which was nice.

However, before a blog article once again (I said it before you thought it) all becomes about me, let me tell you a few things about the proposed film and the campaign behind it. However, if my role does crop up on occasion, well I can't be held accountable for that. I mean, it's not as If I actually concentrate on what I'm writing in these pieces.....

"The Criminal Audition follows a crime organisation who specialise in keeping their wealthy clients out of prison. The Organisation finds someone, usually down on their luck and desperate, who is willing to frame themselves for the perpetrator’s illegal activities in exchange for large sums of cash. For some, crime really does pay.

Having been willingly framed for someone else's crime, Ryan Gunning finds himself drawn back into the criminal underworld almost as soon as he is released. The organisation who put him in prison wants him back.... but this time, as one of them. "

I have to admit that I just love the concept of The Criminal Audition, it's what drew me to the production in the first place. I don't just throw myself and the services of my website and blog at everyone I'll have you know. I do have standards, no, seriously, shut up, I do have standards.

Not only is the concept exciting, there promises to be a veritable plethora of talent involved, both in front of and behind the camera. For example, it involves the man responsible for the marvellous Indie adventure film Extinction, that not only had it's world premier earlier this year at Fright Fest, but far more importantly was reviewed in advance by this very blogger. Adam J Spinks (I still don't know what the J stands for) was the director of the said project (which was excellent btw if you can't be bothered to search through this blog to read it....well who would really blame you? So no worries, no offence taken). Adam is involved with The Criminal Audition, this time in the role of producer/writer. 

The directors chair will be filled by Sam Gridley, who has gained experience in British comedy, such as Peep Show, Samuel has worked in script analysis and development for the script service Script Boutique and latterly Amber Entertainment. Whilst writing and developing short and feature films along with TV mini series under his Drugstore Candy Pictures banner Samuel directed his short film Take the Long Way Home which featured emerging star and EastEnders regular Maddy Hill.

As yet there isn't too much news about cast members, but apparently that will be the Marketing Executive's job (whoever the heck he is) to let you know about such updates regarding news in that area.

The Indiegogo campaign for making sure that this project is as effectively high-concept as it can be began only earlier this week and will close on December 20, 2014, and hopefully in the process achieving it's aim of raising the required £15,000 target.

But pray tell, Mr High-flying la de da Marketing Executive, just what will this money be raised for? I hear you ask. Well I'll tell you.

The money raised for this project, if I had my way, would be used for Luxury limousines for me to travel to and from the local shop in my village, a brand new fully stocked wine cellar, every single new Apple product I can get my hands on and a years supply of red roses to send to Helena Bonham-Carter.

Sadly for me, the producers are insisting that the money will instead be spent on the unavoidable costs associated with film production, these include: rental of production equipment, location fire fees, make-Up, effects and production design, production insurance and the always expensive post production costs.

As with any crowd funding campaign, there are a suitably enticing ranging of perks and goodies available for those fine people willing to part with their hard-earned cash in order to help the team reach their funding target. These perks start out with a shout out on Twitter, then range on through exclusive behind the scenes stills of the film production, to spending a day on set with the team, to gaining an IMDB credit as associative producer, or maybe even go further and gain a place on the credits as an executive producer. The choice is yours. Unfortunately, I've scrutinised the film's Indiegogo page (the link details are below) quite a few times now and as yet haven't been able to find the section that refers to the building and fully stocking of my new wine cellar. I'm sure that's just an oversight on the producers part.

Over the next weeks and months there will be regular updates via this blog, my website and my associated social networking connections regarding the production of The Criminal Audition, eventually culminating in full reviews and interviews from yours truly.

The Criminal Audition website can be found at http://criminalauditionmovie.com/

You can access The Criminal Audition Indiegogo page RIGHT HERE

The Facebook page can be located at HERE

You can even send The Criminal Audition team a tweet type thing, their handle is @crimaudition

The Last Man on Earth (1964): A movie brought to us courtesy of the Movie & Music Network

When it came to making my second review choice from The Movie & Music Network  it was actually a perfectly easy decision, in fact I made it in a split second. That may sound something of a bold statement when you consider that their library is a veritable bloggers delight with 6000 titles (500+ horror and SciFi flicks) and 53 channels. It is also something of a bold statement in regard to my notoriously acute knack of being indecisive when it comes to making a decision regarding which movie to watch next. As a result, NOBODY ever accompanies me to the DVD store.

If that wasn't enough, there are definite rumbles, as it were, from across the pond that the Network's content is tripling in the next few months and is available on Roku, online, iOS, Android, etc. 

No, in actual fact the reason was simple for my unusual nifty decision making. Let me enlighten you.

I once met Vincent Price, albeit briefly, in London in the late 1980's, as he was eating alone in a Restaurant just a couple of tables away from where I was sat. He was old (well at least he seemed to be to this young man) and, as it transpired, not far away from departing from this mortal coil, as I seem to remember hearing of his death only a year or two later. However, it was clear from the short time I spent in the same room as him that he was still as charismatic as ever. He didn't really do anything untoward, there were few signs of his legendary speaking voice, but he had a glint in his eye that essentially made it quite clear that he seemed to know something that the rest of us didn't. Though if truth be told for some reason there didn't really seem to be anybody in that restaurant who knew who he was, well except for me. Either that or they were being very polite..... But I was probably any actor's idea of his worst nightmare - because I was a fan. A huge fan.

I was truly an admirer of his work, and if truth be told, I still am. I had probably first come into contact with him as an actor through his early appearances in some flickering black & white B-movie horror flick, but it was a certain Roger Corman adaptation that I had seen at a special showing at the cinema just a few years before that had cemented him into my consciousness. His captivating and mesmerising performance in the The Fall of the House of Usher had stayed with me for the first moment in the cinema, and again when seeing it on a recent video release (yes kids, I said video. I know, that’s so 20^th century).

So there I was, attempting to enjoy my meal and the company of the gorgeous lady I was with at the time, but doing that ‘trying not to look but making it completely obvious that you are looking’ look. It is safe to say that the man certainly had an aura about him, that is for sure. There was also more than a flash of barely concealed humour if you looked closely into his eyes.  I know this because I did a potentially foolish thing, potentially a very, very foolish thing - because at one point I decided to go up to him and say hello.

Now before my reader decides to say “How rude, to walk up to someone and interrupt their meal”!! – easy tiger. I had the good grace to wait until I saw him call the waitress for his bill and then went (with all the naive optimism that I had at that age, and probably still have) up to the man himself, apologised for interrupting him and promptly proceeded to blather on about how much I loved The Fall of the House of Usher and my other absolute favourite of his, The Last Man on Earth (1964). And do you know what? He was graciousness personified. It would probably make for a far more entertaining anecdote if I was to say that he flew off into a tantrum, rose from his seat in a fit of rage for bothering him and then chased me out of the restaurant while swinging his chair violently at my head. But he didnt.

I’ll be honest, except for blurting out just how much I loved his performance in The Last Man on Earth much of what I said to him I simply can't remember, indeed, I was so nervous that I certainly didn’t take in what he said back to me. However, what I can remember is that he smiled and that he talked to me for a couple of minutes recounting how difficult he found filming with and Italian film crew in Rome.....and he shook my hand. I was in dreamland afterwards. 

So when I noticed that The Last Man on Earth (1964)  is included in The Movie & Music Network's library - I was immediately taken back to spending those few minutes with that wonderful man and realised that I had no choice but to write about the film too. If nothing else, It had been many years since last seeing the movie, I was fascinated to see whether my love affair with it had stood the test of time.

The Last Man on Earth is the first of the four movie adaptations of Richard Matheson's Classic 1954 Sci-Fi/horror novel, I am legend, concerning a post-apocalyptic world after disease has all but decimated the human race. As far as the two most famous of those other adaptations, Charlton Heston's The Omega Man (1971) and the appalling mess that was Will Smiths I am Legend (2007), neither have stood the test of time. I loved The Omega Man back in the day, but it hasn't worn well in its 40 years since conception. The Will Smith debacle hasn't worn too well either, but that's probably due to it being complete pants in the first place on its initial release. The fourth, and much less known adaptation, I am Omega, is a 2007 direct to DVD release and something that as yet I haven't seen, though what I do know is that it is the only one of the four not to credit Matheson as having anything to do with the project.

The story of The Last Man on Earth takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which the human race has all but been destroyed by a plague that has ravaged all before it, or at least, nearly all. For in the story we witness a single surviving man, Robert Morgan, battling against the now infected creatures that were once human but who now resemble a sort of drunken Zombie-like state. During the day Morgan spends his hours killing the creatures, acquiring supplies and then killing more creatures. At night he hides in his house, barricaded in, for that is when the hoards of infected come out.....and they are trying to get to him.

This, as previously mentioned, is the first of the adaptations of Matheson's book. Written in 1954 it is difficult to over-emphasise just how influential this one novel has been, and still continues to be, in creating a very contemporary view of vampires and Zombies which is a million miles away from the classic Gothic treatment of such creatures that had gone before. By providing a scientific medical reason for the conditions, specifically a virus, I am Legend has formed the core foundation of modern post-apocalyptic worlds ravaged and empty of normal human existence. From The Night of the Living Dead to The Walking Dead, the influence of Matheson's masterpiece is clear for all to see.

At first glance, one could be easily be mistaken in the belief that The Last Man on Earth is but a chea and quickly put together adaptation of a great story. To be honest, the film's production was troubled and prolonged, for a number of reasons. The budget was minuscule, filming took place in Rome with an all-Italian film crew, and Matheson himself who was co-writer of the screenplay became so disillusioned with the director's style, subsequent re-writes and of the most important decision for his story, the one to have Vincent Price cast as the lead character.

In fact, Matheson disagreed so much with those final two issues that he made moves to have his name removed from the film's credits and replaced with a Pseudonym. Writers, eh?

One could certainly empathise with his view towards the directing of the film, as it is no doubt one of the noticeably weaker elements, particularly in some of the set-pieces where the action and pacing could have been far more energetic. To some extent also, one could understand his reticence towards Vincent Price, who had the reputation of over acting to the point of cliche in a good deal of his B-movie roles that often required nothing more than a few maniacal laughs and grandoise physical gestures. Even after the film was completed, Matheson still refused to accept Price's performance as anything but a negative. However, in this specific matter, he was very very wrong.

Vincent Price would have probably told you that his career was full and rewarding, after all, it brought him fame, riches and a place in cinematic immortality as of one of the stalwarts of classic horror. 

Yet I've always felt that he was a prisoner in terms of his career, a victim of the success that certain of his qualities, such as that wonderful manic laugh, brought to the fore. He was a much better actor than that narrow legacy suggests. In truth, the role of Robert Morgan in The Last Man on Earth is perhaps his greatest ever performance, and one that really must be seen to be believed. He could have chewed up the screen with his trademark tricks, but instead what he provides is a genuinely emotional and intense portrayal of a man tortured by the loss of his family and alone in a crazy post-apocalyptic world. His sad and tortured voice-over throughout the film conveys perfectly his desolate, repetitious and almost hopeless existence. You really have to see the performance of a man who knew he was far better than ever given credit for, as he gives a  beautifully restrained and richly textured turn as the man that does indeed become the legend.

Yes, as I've alluded to, there are some faults with this film. The direction is indeed something of a weak affair and due to the lack of production funds, the attention to detail is somewhat lacking in a few key areas. While Rome substitutes quite authentically for Los Angeles, the look of a place that is supposedly three years into the effects of the post-apocalypse is less than convincing. There is for example a distinct lack of overgrown grass and vegetation in a city that simply looks far too clean and looked after.

The major deviation from the book is also a problem. For example, in Matheson's original narration, the vampire/Zombies are fast moving monsters of mayhem, far more resembling the creations seen in the excellent 28 days later. However, in this film we see the creatures as far more languid and shuffling in their movements which in turn formed the basis for the shuffling, mumbling, drunk-like monsters created by the likes of Romero et al. Consequently, the infected here in The Last Man on Earth lose something of their chilling gravitas as they stumble languidly about in their suits and ties.

However these are but minor negative considerations in my opinion. The film is easily the best of the four versions of the story, staying much truer to the original narrative (Morgan even refers to himself as now becoming the legend) and paradoxically has aged far better than The Omega man which was made a good ten years later.

What we have here is a movie that certainly belies what I could imagine what original intention of the producers was, to put together a cheap quick film for the teen Sci-Fi & horror masses. Instead, either by luck or design, the makers produced a beautiful emotionally layered film that is full of genuine emotional impact. Despite its low budget, it looks both stunning and suitably desolate.

However, if nothing else, you must watch this to see an actor surpass expectations, not only from possibly himself, but in the eyes much of the general public. Vincent Price was quite simply never better than as The Last Man on Earth.

I said earlier on in this piece that I was interested to see if the film had stood the test of time on a personal level. Well, let's just say that the film resonates as well for me today as it did the first time I say it many, many years ago.

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But hey - don't just take my word for it!. Because thanks to the most wonderful people at the Movie & Music Network, you can watch The Last Man on Earth for FREE!

You don't need to subscribe to view it - but you never know, after having yourself a sneaky little peak the rest go the Library then it may well be a good idea to do so!

Click RIGHT HERE to watch the movie and let me know what you think!

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Horrorstör - a novel by Grady Hendrix

Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire - spooky...but not as spooky as Ikea

There is real horror almost everywhere we look. Though I suppose it really depends on what one's definition of 'horror' is, indeed, we are all very different in how the aspects of that word affects us. For example, I'm sure that we all have a personal selection of demonic places and buildings which never fail to give us the heebee geebees, such as churches, a cabin in the woods, an empty mansion, a psychiatric hospital and the castle on the mountain top. No matter where they are, Amityville, Salem or The Overlook hotel, the list is an extensive one.

For me, there are certain places which tend to be just far more ordinary and everyday mundane places, the prospect of which never fail to fill me with cold dread when I know that they are near. For some reason, near the top of my 'all-time personal top ten hits of fear' are those furniture & lifestyle department stores. They scare and depress me in equal measure, especially IKEA, I bloody hate IKEA.

If you were to ask me why exactly I despise such places, well to be honest I would be at a loss to explain why. It's not as if I have some childhood memory of being lost on the maze of such a place, or that there's some other psychologically repressed experience which is responsible. No, I simply just despise them. The insipid quality of their products that we don't really need, the clever manipulative psychology of store layout design for optimum purchasing possibilities aimed at the unwitting consumer, the god-awful music that accompanies one around or maybe it's the smell of the calorie & salt infested food that awaits you at the end. It could be any of those reasons... There are probably more. I've often thought that there was something unworldly and evil that threatens in those places. I really have.

A couple of weeks ago, In what turned out to be another busy week at 5D HQ, I received an email request to read and review a brand new novel - Horrorstör. In all honesty I was about to respond with a polite "sorry, but no" as I was already in the midst of putting together two other blog pieces and so finding the time to read a book (yes, a full book, some of us do that sometimes) would pose something of a problem with my other plans of eating and sleeping. However, my dear reader person, I'm sure that you know me very well by now and that you know fine well I simply cannot resist something different and interesting - especially if I can combine it with my quite astonishing knack of self-absorbed musings.....hey don't knock it, it's a talent if nothing else.

This something different and interesting thing came in the form of a delightful haunted house story of a very contemporary nature, indeed, a very different kind of haunted house story from the usual fare, and a million miles from Amityville or The Overlook hotel.

As horror in some ways seems to becoming ever more mainstream (yes, Walking Dead people and characters with a particular American horror story, I'm looking at you) some of the classic sub-genres have been feeling the pinch, as it were. It could be argued (and I'm sure that there are plenty out there who would jump at the chance of arguing with me) that some of these genres, the haunted house theme is a prime example, have over time become stale and predictable in the eyes of the contemporary Zombie and Vampire horror audiences. Yes, yes I know that the humongously grossing Paranormal Activity series may disagree ever so slightly with this exquisite doctoralesque thesis - but found footage isn't exactly fresh and invigorating horror any more, is it?

In a nutshell, Horrorstör author Grady Hendrix takes this stale and predictable genre of horror and attempts to jump-start it into a fresh, contemporary setting........Retail. I kid ye not.

"It was a perfect system, precision-engineered to offer optimal retail functionality in all 112 Orsk locations across North America and in thirty-eight locations around the world.

But on the first Thursday of June at 7:30 am, at the Cuyahoga Orsk (Location #00108), this well-calibrated system came grinding to a halt....

.......Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Columbus, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring wardrobes, shattered Brooka glassware, and vandalized Liripip sofa beds—clearly, someone or something is up to no good.......

To unravel the mystery, five employees agree to spend a long dusk-till-dawn shift at the store, unaware of the darkness that awaits them.

As the night unfolds, the employees discover that Orsk was built on the site of a nineteenth-century prison whose warden believed that he could cure the minds of inmates using punishing physical labour and constant surveillance.  Is there a link between the old prison and the inexplicable activity in the store?  During the night the employees learn the true nature of their workplace—and they encounter horrors that defy imagination."

Courtesy of the fine people at Kew Publicity

A haunted house horror story set in a department retail store that has an uncanny (sic) resemblance to a certain chain of furnishing stores originating from Scandanavia - surely this cannot work? Well I have news for you, it does.....big time.

I'll talk about the plot and characterisation, and other such minimal essentials in just a moment, because I want to mention the the book's secret weapon - the way it is designed.

If anybody would have told me in advance of the concept of how the book was to be fashioned, namely to resemble as closely as possible a retail catalogue - complete with the requisite sections of product information and corporate speak - I would have said the idea was superficial novelty and would do nothing except distract the reader away from the plot. I would have been so wrong, because the packaging concept is genius - that's the only suitable word for it. 

The IKEA, sorry, ORSK catalogue-look has quite obviously had a huge number of hours spent working on the design, courtesy of Andie Reid. This attention to furniture store hell detail doesn't stop at the cunningly deceptive cover (which looks the epitome of suitably banal decor but in actuality hides some eerie signs) but also in the book's interior which is full of customer information maps, product order forms and examples of the company's operational ethos towards both customers and employees - "The hard work makes Orsk a family, and the hard work is free" being one of my favourite descents into corporate banality-speak.

Perhaps the greatest design success comes in the form of examples at the beginning of each chapter in selections of the truly awful and vapid styles of furniture (you know exactly what I mean) with their equally turgid and pompous names given to the various pieces. You know what? I may have stumbled onto one of the reasons why the likes of IKEA (and ORSK) give me the shaky chills to the extent that they do - it's those bloody pretentious Scandinavian names that probably don't mean anything at all in English - in fact, they are probably some form of Swedish in-joke at our expense. Yes that's right, that KJerroskip bookcase is actually called the 'tosspot' bookcase. They're laughing at us.

Depressing furniture to suit a depressing lifestyle.....kill me now

This makes for a beautifully genuine feel to the book as Reid’s cleverly authentic diagrams take centre throughout the story as it progresses along an increasingly break-kneck speed. The really clever element that is introduced is that as Horrorstör becomes ever more chilling and horrific, so do the designs as they slowly morph from the basic and depressingly unembelished furniture we are often faced with in these places to ever more elaborate devices of torture. It is an inspired book design.

However, I don't want you to be under the assumption that Horrorstör succeeds purely on the basis of the design, because it succeeds on a number of other levels too - and those areas tend to be pretty important as horror story-telling goes....you know, decent plot, genuine chills etc etc.

The easy paced writing at the beginning of the story provides a good amount of time to familiarise ourselves with the various members of Orsk 'scooby-gang'. One note of slight negativity in this area was the slightly insipid quality of the lead character, Amy whose personality I felt is slightly less developed and subsequently under written in terms of the empathy and connection we are supposed to feel for her in her plight. This happens not just as an employee of a retail store that she clearly despises, but also in the trials that await her when she confronts the real horror of her existence. 

Far more satisfyingly portrayed is the character of the extremely tense and uptight Basil, the corporate face of Orsk complete with his collection of David Brent-esque shallow and cliched phrases. Basil is given free rein to constantly bring elements of dry comedy to proceedings with his endless corporate platitudes to his staff, before and after the sinister events become apparent. For example, his straight-faced response of "That reveals a flawed understanding of Wardrobes" to Amy's mocking that she should start on her climb up promotion ladder at Wardrobes , is priceless.

Now this is furniture I can relate to!

The rest of the 'scooby gang', Ruth Anne together with the ghost-hunting wannabes of Matt and Trinity work very well together as the dialogue between the group is continuously punchily, humorous and at times, biting  - not only between the individuals, but in the thinly disguised commentary on the suffocating philosophy of retail corporations.

If the dialogue is at times punchy and bordering on rapid-fire, then so too becomes the plot, as the group spend the night in the store to investigate the problems of apparent vandalism that have been occurring in the wee small hours. Before we know it we are being transported upon a roller coaster of a ride as the story quickly becomes ever darker, sinister and for some, lethal. For the odd reader, this breakneck speed into the nights events may lead to a feeling that some sequences may be underdeveloped. However, I would disagree with such motives as the ever-more gruesome torture set pieces are written with more than enough style and gusto to satisfy most horror aficionados. 

I had my doubts that a concept such as Horrorstör (both in design and plot) could actually work, so i'm glad to say that I was wrong. For what we have here is a multi-layerd story which pokes fun at both retail superstores with their banal ethos but also at those of us that fall for the soulless nonsense of the products and the corporate principles behind them. Not only that, but some of the clever and manipulative psychological tricks that all retailers use are deftly considered - believe me, I've studied some of the methods that these business use and quite frankly they are mischievously clandestine and something which the general public are blissfully unaware just how they are being manipulated. Hendrix cleverly incorporates some of these techniques into the narrative which succeeds very nicely in adding a completely unexpected, and deliciously contemporary extra level of chill.

More than that though, Horrorstör is a thoroughly intelligent, enjoyable, unsettling and satisfyingly chilling slice of horror fiction that may well breathe new life into an ailing genre. I may well go back to The Overlook hotel.....it's far safer there than at Orsk.

About the author:  Grady Hendrix is a writer and journalist, and co-founder of the New York Asian Film Festival. He once worked answering phones for a para-psychological research organisation, and currently works for Orsk, Manhatten.

There's a bit of an Halloween offer going on at The Movie & Music Network.......

The good people at The Movie & Music Network have a rather dandy Happy Halloween offer on at the moment in regard to their online streaming library of goodies.

For the next 72 hours, if anybody uses the promo code HALLOWEEN-5THDIMENSION when subscribing then you will be getting their network for only $4.99/month, for three months….......

Now I know that my mental calculations can be rather pants at times - but essentially that means you have 3 days!

I am genuinely not just saying this, but the current library on offer is fabulous, if personal illness this week hadn't meant time off my day-time job and consequently, no blogging, I would have been writing about the classic Vincent Price dystopian movie, The Last Man on Earth. I watched this stunning film again only last week, after a break of some years, on The Movie & Music Network - believe me, it is as powerful as ever. That review is coming next week - whether you like it or not!! The point is that it took me an age to work my way through the plethora of great movie title choices before I decided on this take on the 'I am legend' story (and in the process, well and truly kicks the arse of Mr. Will Smith's version).

Quite simply, The Movie & Music Network is a veritable bloggers delight with 6000 titles (500+ horror and SciFi flicks) and 53 channels. If that wasn't enough, there are definite rumbles that the Network's content is tripling in the next few months and is available on Roku, online, iOS, Android, etc.

Lets face it, the deal is SPOOK-TACULAR and TERROR-IFIC right?........Thank you very much. I'm here all week.

So remember - don't forget to use the promo code HALLOWEEN-5THDIMENSION when subscribing then you will be getting their network for only $4.99/month, for three months…....... 

Fragments of Fear - A Multi Media Horror Series + Interview with Francoise Pascal

FIRSTLY - THE INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN BIT....

It's been another busy week here in the Fifth dimension secret bunker with a number of blog articles on the go - I know, I'm either a slave to my art or a self-serving superficial attention seeker.....probably both, methinks. There was however, one particular project which came my way this week that certainly peeked my interest (even more than my usual state of peeked interest - which to be honest is usually rather peeked, as it were). 

This increased peek came in two parts; firstly it concerned an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign for a horror related project, Fragments of Fear, which was particularly interesting for a number of reasons (more of that in a moment); secondly, it also gave me the chance to chat with an actress who appears in the said programme, and also just so happens to be one of the main formative influences on my teenage years, if you know what I mean.

To begin with though, I want to talk about Fragments of Fear. I have actually been intendin to run a piece on this project since It first came to my attention some while ago, but you know me, at times I have the attention span of a newt and so am easily distracted by any manner of shiny Sci-Fi & horror related material. As a result Fragments has been on my ever growing 'to do' list.....but now internet land, beware. I'm ready. 

The reason that I'm ready is because it's quite refreshing when something new & slightly different is being attempted when it comes to the horror genre. I don't know about you, but to be honest I'm feeling slightly jaded at times with the plethora of remakes, re-imaginings or whatever name you want to give something that at best lacks any sense of innovative creativity, at worst is a money grabbing franchise creating lazy piece of derivative tripe (yes, Wicker Man & Texas Chainsaw remakes, I'm looking right at you!). So a project that is trying to be fresh, innovative and making use of new writing ideas and talent within the horror genre can only be a good thing. 

My Facebook friend, Richard Gladman - yes, THE Richard Gladman, as in the editor of Space Monsters Magazine - quite possibly the finest sci-fi/horror themed magazine on the go in the UK today, is one of the team behind Fragments. They have recently began an Indiegogo campaign to raise the necessary funds required to make this project match their exciting and innovative plans.

You've got something on your face....no to the left...yep that's it

"Well that's ok, Stuey", I hear you say, "but you do actually need tell us what this Fragments of Fear thingamajig is all about". Well I'll leave it up to the producers to give you a brief synopsis of what It's all about.

"Fragments of Fear is a multi-platform project showcasing the best in contemporary horror from new and established writing talent. Over each episode, a series of other worldly narrators lead the viewer through tales of terror, horror and suspense, offering a dark and disturbing take on 'Story Time' meets 'Tales from the Crypt'.

Guest starring Caroline Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me, Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Maniac, Dracula AD 1972, The Last Horror Film), Francoise Pascal (The Iron Rose, Burke & Hare, Incense for the Damned, Mind your Language) Dani Thompson (Serial Kaller, Axe to Grind, Convention of the Dead) and Billy Chainsaw (Cry Wolf, Strippers vs Werewolves, Frightfest TV)  our objective is to create a multi-platform experience  in order to bring contemporary horror writing to a new audience"

I told you that it sounded good eh?

So what we have is not only a television broadcast featuring certain icons of film and TV , in addition each episode will become available for streaming on the Fragments of Fear website, providing a global audience reach.  According to Richard Gladman, Fragments Of Fear intends to help build an online community dedicated to all forms of creativity in the horror genre. This will centre around their website and forums, where like minded people will meet other writers, editors, composers, artists, actors, directors and producers. 

It is as much a social experiment in creativity and networking as it is an open source storytelling community. All the original assets for the show will be made available to their community, and the most outstanding work created will be fully championed by the Fragments team.

The ever gorgeous Caroline Munro

It is the producers hope that by providing a home for, and support from fans of story telling and horror, that they will enable amateurs and professionals alike to experiment, create and enjoy unique content that can evolve into something extraordinary. 

Through contributing to the campaign its hoped that people can help make real a genuinely innovative and exciting project. Filming has been taking place for some time on the first season season one, with over half of the stories filmed already. The team is now intent on completing the filming of the remaining episodes and investing in the all-important post production process.  The funding acquired through the Indiegogo campaign is also essential to creating the interactive website and ensuring that the project reaches its full potential.

There are a bundle of incentives and rewards for helping & contributing to this venture. To find out more then visit the Indiegogo crowd funding page for Fragments of Fear which can be found at RIGHT HERE

The Fragments of Fear Facebook page can go found RIGHT HERE 

If you you want to follow them on Twitter, well you can vie their handle at @FragmentsFear

SECONDLY - THE INTERVIEW WITH THE ACTRESS BIT........

I'll be honest, this whole Fragments project would have peeked my interest purely on its own merits. However, what well and truly sealed the deal was the knowledge that two of the guest stars of Fragments of Fear were a couple of women that achieved nothing short of cult status (and lived within the fantasies of untold men) as actresses since the 1970's. Of course I'm talking about the very lovely Caroline Munro & Francoise Pascal.

One of the highlights since beginning this blogging lark has been the chance to communicate directly with amy of the creative individuals involved. This week I was incredibly excited to be able to chat with a woman who played something of a central role in this teenage bloggers existence. - I'll leave it at that.....hopefully she doesn't find that thought too overwhelmingly creepy.

Francoise Pascal

So for those of you poor folk (especially the guys) who missed out on Francoise Pascal the first time around, here is a very brief synopsis of her career (borrowed in part, ok, in whole) from the piece on the Fragments of fear Indiegogo page) - and believe me, this following excerpt doesn't even come close to encapsulating this remarkable woman's life and career.

"The career of one of the most beguiling leading ladies has been an adventurous one that has taken her from being in the centre of Swinging London in the mid sixties, to cult status as a model and actress in the seventies. 

As well as starring in the hit UK sitcom Mind Your Language, Francoise co-starred with Peter Sellers in There’s a Girl in My Soup, appeared in classic horror films The Iron Rose, Burke & Hare and Incense For the Damned and spent two years in Hollywood on the daytime soap The Young & The Restless. She recently published her autobiography, As I Am, and is currently filming a BBC sitcom pilot."

Q) If it's ok with you, I 'd to talk just a little about a couple of things that you've done that readers of the Fifth Dimension might be interested in. To begin with just how did a young girl from the Island of Mauritius find her way into the entertainment industry of the swinging 60's?

A) Good question! Since I was a child I dreamed of being an actress and since childhood I played at make believe in front of a mirror. When I came to the UK I was 12 years old, there the opportunities presented itself and I knew that one day my dream will come true and it did. What I would do with that dream was up to me and no one else.

Q) The classic Incense for the Damned (1970) starring Peter Cushing had a notoriously troubled production before its release. Is it true you had a small part in a certain scene from it?

A) Yes. The film was very boring and the producers and Director had decided to spruce it up a bit. So they asked if I could help the film, I did not refuse. The most seen scene in a film was my scene and the film had no meaning really. The funniest moment is when I am stabbed at the end of the scene and then they cut to Cyprus with a girl dead on the rocks, she totally looked different from me. I could not stop laughing at the stupidity of the Director and producers, who think that people would not notice. They did and never underestimate the public.

Q) The movie, Burke & Hare (1971) is regarded amongst some as something now as a horror classic. What was the experience of filming in it?

A) It was when I was doing Incense for the Damned that Guido Cohen Twickenham Film Studio Executive saw me and said that he found his Marie in Burke & Hare. I loved filming the film but I was not very good in the film as it was my first real movie as the star of the film along with Derren Nesbitt, Yootha Joyce etc and the great characters in the film that had years and years of acting under their belts. I was so green. The one scene that I did where there was a fire in the brothel. I actually went through one in real life in 1971. So yes to me it was a frightening scene, as for being a horror, I think it was a funny historical film, I don't think Vernon Sewell, the Director  wanted to make a horror film as such, yes there were moments when you jump out of your chair but I did have a chuckle through the film though!

I think that the world you're looking for is 'yum'

Q) A particular favourite of your films for me is The Iron Rose (1973) - What are your memories of making that film and working with director Jean Rollin?

A) Ah now you are talking. A film that I am extremely proud of. I was not Rollin's original choice, I think he wanted Brigitte Lahaie to do it, matter of fact she had a small walk on part in the film.  This was to be the master piece of Rollin, he sank all his money in that film, I was not paid a lot as I accepted a pay cut but the script was good and besides it was MY film and I was determine to do the best of my acting ability.  I did and I loved working with Rollin. He did something to me that no other Director did, he WORKED with me not against my ideas and my imagination. He was always ready to listen to my ideas. I liked that in a Director.  Rollin was a visionary and his vision of La Rose de Fer was from a short story that he wrote years before and wanted to make it as a film. The story was called La Nuit du Cimetiere (The night of the Cemetery) roughly translated.  The actor who played opposite me did not like Rollin, hence I carried the film on my shoulders so I had to make good. I am particularly proud of the review I had. For example:

Nothing to see here....move along please.

'Key also is the performance of Francoise Pascal, who has a perfect enigmatic allure - as well as a perfect, highly desirable sexual presence - that believably conveys to us the dichotomy of her emotions. Believable as reluctant to enter the cemetery, we're equally drawn to her decision to make love to the boy not only in the crypt, but later in the open skull-and-bones pit. Why does she do it? Who knows? But Pascal's highly charged sensuality, nicely shaded by a tentative, hesitant fearfulness (epitomized by Rollins' smart move of costuming her in an innocent - and tempting - school girlish pleated tweed skirt) has impact enough to convince us that something, however inexplicable, is driving her on'.

Very proud of this and several more like it.

Q) Nowadays, The Iron Rose is seen as something of a gothic doom-ridden classic, yet it was critically mauled on release. Why do you think that is?

A) It was critically mauled when it was released because Rollin's audience did not expect a love story with a twist. They wanted gory, vampires etc. That is the reason. His critics were disappointed and yet they did not even see the film. They were told by others. Despicable really! I remember going to Paris with my then boyfriend Richard Johnson to the opening of the film. The boos that the film received was very disappointing for Rollin. His public did not want him to change. The poor man lost all his money in this film. I felt so sorry for him!

Q) How does it feel to know you were the object of many a young males fancies who saw you on screen?

A)  You know I cannot really believe it as I loved being famous but I never realised that I was the subject of many a young man. I was amazed when I was told by numerous fans these days that they owed me their teenage years. Unbelievable. What can I say.... I wasn't there but then I was in their sitting rooms every week on a Friday night. 
    

Q) What drew you to the Fragments of Fear project in the first place?

A) I did the Fragments of Fear to help my friend Richard Gladman who again like Rollin has a vision for his work. I love it when I meet visionaries, the Director on Fragments too had great vision how to film it! I enjoyed narrating and acting the words at the same time, it brought me to a different level of acting. Fab day filming Fragments.

Q) I've read you say that you're completely different in it - what do mean by this?

A) I am different because I act as a demented nun and as The Green Fairy. As I said before, it brought me a different level in acting. 

Q) Have you filmed any sections yet and if so, what was it like after not being in front of the camera for a little while?

A) It was just wonderful. I loved it. It felt like I never left it. Such great atmosphere on the set.  Also the crew were inspiring to me, it takes a happy film set to bring an actor to do their best.

Q) What does the future hold for Francoise Pascal?

A) Oh I don't know....I was just thinking before you asked me to do this interview that I don't really think the business want me any longer.  I feel like a use by date and my dates were passed in the 80s. I do have a film to do with Richard Gladman again called GIRLFORCE and a TV series called For the Love of Ella a six part series where I play a different role in every episode. I am looking forward to those works. I am despondent of today's programme on TV there are so many Reality shows and so little dramas and so many of us are out of work because of that. My future is bleak though. Then I look at it as being at an age that people do not really want to see an ageing actress of 65 parading like a 25 years old. I am living my life like my old friend the late Lynda Bellingham says enjoy life in between before you die.

I would sincerely like to thank Francoise for responding to my request for an interview so quickly and then providing her honest, illuminating and entertaining answers. The interview itself barely scratches the surface of this woman's remarkable life and career, so for more information about her life, her films, and books then you can visit her website RIGHT HERE

Now all I need to do is get interviews with the lovely Caroline Munro and Dani Thompson...."cough"......"ahem".....if only I knew someone that could arrange that....."cough"........Richard Gladman.

The Doomsday Machine (1972): A movie brought to us courtesy of the Music & Music Network

People often talk about where they were when they heard about the death of John F. Kennedy, the news that the twin towers had been hit, or when the first man walked on the moon. Let's face it, it always makes for a good conversation piece. I'm sure that in years to come there will be similar conversations about another historic event, perhaps in hushed revered tones that will never fail to inspire impressionable young people and leave them open-mouthed in joyous awe. Of course I'm talking about people remembering exactly where they were when they read my very first review based upon the brand new partnership and friendship between The Fifth Dimension blog and the Movie and Music Network. 

Now I'm not saying that this first review from the selection of films available on the Movie & Music Network is exactly on a par with a landing on the moon or the assassination of a President in terms of historical landmark events........but by golly in my mind it's pretty close. In the dim and distant depths of what passes for this blogger as reality I genuinely foresee discussions that revere, discuss and analyse this, the first of the reviews, much in a very similar way that The Beatles first album is still talked about some 50 years after the event. In my mind, it's that important. 

If you don't know, Movie & Music Network are an online subscription service, providing their members with access to motion pictures, television, music documentaries, music-related content and other audio visual entertainment ("movies & TV shows”) streaming over the Internet to certain Internet-connected TV's, computers and other devices.

The network has thousands of movies but of course it's the Sci-Fi, Pop Culture, Horror, and Retro film channels that specifically caught this bloggers greedy eyes! Be warned - some of the material is genuinely cutting-edge and in some cases, controversial stuff! - Of course, for many of us, that doesn't really constitute a warning, much rather a great big incentive! 

What is also important to note, is that whilst the selected reviews from the Movie and Music Network will now be something of a regular event, it doesn't mean to say that I'm going to be a cheer leading flag-waving all things are wonderful with each movie type of reviewer. No, they will be honest reviews, scouts honour and all that.

After all, anybody that has read any of my previous blog articles (sadly for you guys, there are hundreds of them) will know that 'impartiality' is my middle name. Well actually, It's Andrew, but you know what I mean .....besides which, the image of me waving any sort of flag whilst wearing a cheerleader uniform is probably far too much to bear for any right minded person. Though if anyone was to name a fair price for that then just let me know....

I must admit that my first choice from the veritable plethora of titles available on the network was somewhat random in nature. In essence, I wanted to choose something that I had never seen before and without any preconceptions. The result was literally to select the appropriate channel on the network (the Sci-Fi Station seemed the obvious first choice) and simply point arbitrarily at the screen. The result was a film called The Doomsday Machine (1972) - and blimey, what a first choice it turned out to be.

When the opening scene of a movie features someone throwing a cat over a wall in order to distract a guard dog - well, lets just say that the signs for what is in store for the rest of the movie are pretty much lit up in bright neon. Essentially, this is a crazy mixed up psychedelic patchwork of visuals, disjointed plot and occasionally incoherent dialogue, all of which that has to be seen to be believed. In other words, I enjoyed every (well nearly, every) minute of this totally bonkers movie experience.

However, before I go any further, here's a taster of the plot for The Doomsday Machine.

"In an effort to further explore the galaxy, the United States is hours away from launching a manned mission to Venus. But when a Chinese plot to destroy the Earth is uncovered, the U.S. teams up with the Soviet Union to replace members of its all-male crew with women. Now, it’s up to the crew of Project Astra to keep the human race alive and thriving."

This is a movie that has something of a multiple split personality, it has a very authentic 1950's B-movie Sci-fi feel flowing through the narrative, a lovely vibrant kaleidoscopic 1960's visual look to it and finally something of a 1970's style voice-over and credit sequence. It is all in all, an enjoyable but at the same time a rather confusing and fragmented experience - and there's a very good reason for that.....

Now listen closely as I will explain this only once: The production of The Doomsday Machine had in fact first began some years earlier in 1967 with its original titles alternating between Doomsday +7 and Armageddon 1975 and was directed by Herbert J. Leder (who also directed the fabulous It! just the year before in 1966). The production featured a cast of several well known character actors of the period (keep your eyes peeled for a pre-M*A*SH BJ Mike Farrell as a smiling newspaper reporter. 

"i can't see a bloody thing in this silver foil, er, I mean, Spacesuit"

Unfortunately for our friend, Herbert J, the film was left unfinished, whether that whether is was due to funding issues or some other production problem, nobody really knows - or seemed to care. At least that was the case until the rights to the film were bought some years later in 1972  - however there was the small fact that the original cast members and extensive film sets were no longer available. 

Are you still with me?......Good.

So, we find ourselves in 1972 where the rights had been 'snapped up' by producer producer Harry Hope and he, together with director Lee Sholem, were given the unenviable task of finishing the film in as little time as possible. This, it seems, wouldn't be too much of a problem for Mr Sholem, for his nickname in Hollywood of "Roll 'Em" Sholem" identified him as someone whose idea of filming tended to treat style as distinctly second best to speed and efficiency. The fact that he directed more than 1300 shows without ever going over schedule I think says everything. If all that wasn't enough then it also seems that 'both productions' also used a miss-mash of stock NASA and left-over studio footage to fill in some of the gaps. Uneven? Well only a lot!

And yet, And yet.....it still makes for a largely enjoyable cinematic experience. Yes there will be some that say that the final segment, which is quite obviously the lazy and somewhat botched attempt to add an ending (yes 'Roll 'Em', I'm looking at you, matey) dilutes what up to that point had been a confident exercise in character development (albeit, b-movie character development). And yes, some of those people will also point out to a plethora of inconsistencies and illogical sequences throughout the film. However for me, these problems don't retract from the experience of watching a movie like The Doomsday machine, on the contrary, they add to the experience.

"Now now, Puss - you won't come to any harm...honest"

For a start there's that scene with a cat - holy moly, it's pure cinematic gold and worth the whole film in it's own right. I would cheerfully sell a close relative or two to have had the chance to be a fly on the wall of the discussion between the writer and director when deciding the best way for a secret agent to distract a sentry and his guard dog.

"What about a piece of meat thrown over the wall, boss?"...

"Nope, it's been done...and its boring"

"What about a piece of fish, boss?"

"No! - too smelly!"

"Er, Chicken?...."

"Enough with the food!!!"

"I know, I know - The undercover spy throws a live cat over the wall and then we cut to the sound of dog chasing cat, then the noise of dog catching cat.....and while all this is happening, the spy gets over the wall!....For some reason, that's never been done before!"

"Brilliant!!! - Lets film it now.....somebody find me a cat!!"

I tell you, that opening scene alone is cinematic gold dust.

There will be some people out there in Internet land who will say that watching this film is a complete wast of time due to its miss-mash style. Nonsense I say! - this is film is complete fun! It's never going to be a 2001: A Space Odyssey, lets not kid ourselves about that, but its no Plan 9 from Outer Space, either.

"Trust me, I know Vulcan mind-melds"

For the first three quarters of the film, we are presented with a genuinely enjoyable 1950's science fiction feel to proceedings in terms of the story's theme, production and dialogue. You only have to think of classics such as 'The Day the Earth stood still' and "When Worlds collide' to find yourself savouring the earnest flavours of that decades concept of what made good Sci-fi. 

You can add to that some distinctly 1960's ideas of good guys and bad guys as the previous incumbents of cinematic villains, those naughty Russian Commies, had now been supplanted by more contemporary pantomime villains, those naughty Chinese Commies - boo hiss!!! All you then have to do is throw in a nice dystopic angle where the future of mankind now rests with a couple of beefcake astronauts and some quite frankly drop dead sexy female astronauts and you have a sure fire recipe for success. Now if only the male astronauts would lose a little of that 1950's & 1960's misogynistic attitude towards women, I mean, it's not as if one of NASA's finest might try to rape one of the female crew.....what?.....oh heck.

"Captain, I'm not sure if Green is my colour...."

Visually too the film looks wonderful with its infusion of vibrant psychedelic colours for the interior scenes within the rocket. In truth, while watching this the other afternoon with a rather fine glass of red wine I almost found myself drifting along in the rich vibrant colours of oranges, greens and red. It WAS just wine, I assure you.

Talking about alcohol, The Doomsday Machine could also come with it's very own drinking game - not that I'm advocating alcohol consumption of course, perish the thought.  But for some reason, be it the chaos of the production, money or just plain ineptness, the spaceship Astra seems to constantly change in appearance. I counted at least four occasions when it changes completely into another ship - and quite honestly there could be more. So I propose that when you watch it, do so with a group of friends, and each time you notice that the spaceship has changed you should then down a shot. What could possibly go wrong?  It's all very strange - perhaps the use of other ships from previous productions was used on order to save money. Believe me, playing 'spot the different ship' is utterly enjoyable - try it, you'll love it....with or without the shots to down along with it.

The cast react after reading the rest of the script

Yes the film could be described as akin to a confusing mess at times, the final act where it is more than obvious where the 1972 filming began lets the film down in a major way - in fact I have never seen a more inept cut and paste job in a film. This in turn leads to a somewhat unsatisfying ending for some people, and where presumably "Roll 'Em" Sholem" simply ran out of ideas or money....or talent. I however found the ending to be curiously appealing in it's own enigmatic and ambiguous way - in fact I would go as far as saying that I liked it.

I mean this quite sincerely, The Doomsday Machine really has everything, Russian accents that suddenly disappear, Sexism in space, colourful computers, flimsy spacesuits, morphing spaceships and some seriously earnest dialogue .....oh, and don't forget the cat! - believe me, it's a joy of an intergalactic ride!!

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But hey - don't just take my word for it! (lets be honest, whoever does?!). Because thanks to the most wonderful people at the Movie & Music Network, you can watch The Doomsday Machine for FREE!

You don't need to subscribe to view it - but you never know, after seeing the rest go the Library then it may well be a good idea to do so!

Click RIGHT HERE to watch the movie and let me know what you think!

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If I was you I would subscribe to the Movie and Music Network - Right now!