B-Movie HoF II: The Sequel!

Another one I watched as a kid. I remembered it being decent and also one of the few comedic post-apocalypse films (another one that comes to mind is America 3000) I saw back then.

More spoilers than in my previous reviews but honestly the film is pretty predictable

Cherry 2000 (1987)

Sam lives in happy relationship with his Cherry 2000 robot. When this pre-war marvel breaks he's broken too and eventually hires a tracker to find himself a replacement from the old robot graveyard in the middle of the desert, far away from the civilization of Anaheim. Tracker, E. Johnson, happens to be pretty hot redhead and how things proceed shouldn't surprise anyone.


Cherry 2000 is your typical romantic adventure movie set in (kind of) post-apocalyptic scifi environment. It's like Romancing the Stone with robots, settings and factions that would fit perfectly in a Fallout game and reversed gender roles. It doesn't manage to build the romance too well but it's still kinda easy to ship them.

Other than the actual romance the writing is very uneven. Some of its "predictions" don't seem as absurd today as they must have been back in the 80s (like the legal agreement for a date with a detailed description of what's been agreed to) and it has sort of interesting and memorable villain. The world itself doesn't make any sense and the technical stuff related to Cherry 2000 is embarrassingly stupid.

Action is quite lackluster but the whole sequence with the crane is so hilariously silly that I can forgive other technical limitations. Johnson's car was pretty cool (and I'm not even into cars). Acting was quite mediocre but Melanie Griffith looked hotter than I remembered (for me the choice between her and Cherry 2000 would have been an easy win for the flesh).

I'm not going to say that this was a good movie but it surely had its moments. As basically a romance it's not really my cup of tea but it was moderately easy watch anyway.



I was about to write that this would be a post-apocalypse film that @Citizen Rules would like but then I realized it was his nomination Maybe I was right.

Good review @pahaK, that photo cracked me up too, ha!

When that scene came I instantly knew what people here will expect from me.

I don't even remember that scene, it's been awhile since I seen Cherry 2000.

Why cant you watch it in one sitting? its so damn awesome?

lol

Ok so I get this feeling that @Citizen Rules loves post apocalypic love stories


I wonder how well he knows me


I will ask you this question... if there was 2 new movies coming out this next weekend and 1) was about Rome.. the other 2) was a Bluehouse Horror film.. which would be my first choice?

Probably Rome, because everyone else would say the Horror film.

I love all types of horror except comedy horror... but I am fascinated with history... so yes... Rome.... especially if it has to do with invasions of Germany, Egypt and Britain... and well Rome itself...

I hadn't heard of either movie, but then I don't really keep up with new releases, so I never know what's new. It takes me some time to get to them, once they get to DVD then I can watch them.

it was hypothetical.

the only new history movies coming out soon are

Mary Queen of Scots
Robin Hood
Operation Finale (currently out and dying to see)

There are more.. but not many this year....

Aaaand boom goes the dynamite

@TYTD enjoyed that. Very nice.

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Suspect's Reviews

@TYTD glad you enjoyed The Child. Oh, and very nice video reviews - I like them being short and not overly analytical.

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This film feels like Escape from LA, in which a low budget story needed more money to convey the world these people inhabit. It started off rocky with the robot malfunctioning in the bubbles and water, I thought to myself...oh it's THIS type of movie. Then it went a more serious route and I found myself enjoying the post apocalyptic vibe.

I feel like the story was bunk. I want to see E. Johnson doing other work that doesn't involve finding this guys robot replacement. Boring.

I laughed when they said the year was 2017.

Not to bring back the ADR argument, but that's all I could think of whenever Melanie Griffith spoke. Took me out of it for many of her scenes. I don't get why people need to change the way cars operate just to make it seem futuristic. A joystick? Come on, that's not really practical. The film took awhile to get interesting, but once Melanie Griffith enters the scene it becomes rather enjoyable.

The movie was fun and certainly fits the B-movie criteria.

OK, so Night of the Creeps tries to be something and succeeds and fails simultaneously. It tries to be a cult hit and genre mixer. Where it fails is in the pacing and most of the teenage dialog. The film has stretches that seem like they belong in a drama, and a lot of the talk we get with the two kid leads is typical and predictable, annoying even.

But, and this is a big but...there is hope for this film. That is in a few well rendered moments with Jason Lively and his handicapped roommate. There are two instances where the drama element finds a little footing (since the length of the film, though short, feels somewhat labored) and that is when the roommate character divulges his disposition, and also when he records his dying intentions onto micro cassette.

Another saving grace is the inclusion of Tom Atkins as Bullwinkle Moose. He plays everything classy, sandy and completely detective noir - as a complete wisecracking bad ass, and when you hear about this film having fans, this is why. No one has looked much cooler than Atkins with an umbrella drink in his hand sporting a white suit.

There is clearly a lot of love for the old Universal vibe with Dekker's direction. He may not hit all of his marks, and he also may not be the world's best director by any means, but this B movie, to me, fits the bill perfectly because, although it is a joke movie so to speak, it also aims to be a sensation, and as sure as it fails it also brings with it that failure as an unintentional badge of honor. Sometimes the funny works beautifully ("screaming rike banshee! hee hee!"), and other times the funny is just grating (teen sidekick tries to be an old showman funny guy - as if he has a fake mustache and a pickle for a nose disguise). But one thing is for sure and that is the atmosphere is cozy and spooky in that old school way where you have just a few locations at night a lot of the time and some good natured antics brushed around the science fiction carnage.

For its time, Night of the Creeps was certainly deserving of its acclaim. Since 1986 this formula has been surapssed by leaps and bounds in terms of quality of writing and effects, but even still - there's only one of this kind of film, and that is THIS FILM.

I'm giving this a high mark despite my recent disappointment that it wasn't more clever or biting. It doesn't need to be. It's a B-Movie. It failed. I enjoy watching this movie fail because when it doesn't suck, it's glorious.

@TYTD...your reviews are top notch, as usual! I am a little sad you didn't like Hunter's Blood very much, I thought for sure you'd dig the lengthy build up of characters into the eventual bloodbath. It's rare I see solid acting and decent humor in a b picture of this type. But hey, to each their own..two out of 3 ain't bad, ha!

@Joel

Im still waiting..... I already watched yours!

THAT was very, VERY f@ckin cool!
Enjoyed that IMMENSELY

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The Beast Must Die (1974)

I dug the opening scene with the wild chase through the woods. Cameras everywhere high up in the trees, and implanted in the ground is listening devices...Overhead a spotter helicopter is following the running man. Perusing him is four identically dressed men with high powered hunting rifles...And controlling all of this man hunt is a mysterious figure in a James Bond style control room.

Hot damn! I thought I had stumbled upon a long forgotten James Bond 007 movie. Especially when the runner makes it to the estate manor with all the well-to-do people having tea.

I liked the set up of the film: the rich guy hell bent on killing one of his guest because he thinks they're a werewolf. And the mystery of 'spotting the clues, with a werewolf break' ha! William Castle would be proud.

The lead Calvin Lockhart was good at playing the character Tom...he was intense, determined and self righteous. I don't think he's a great actor but he had screen presences and held my attention. The rest of the guest were there for fodder, so we don't get much on them. I'd say the stand out was Pavel (Anton Diffring) the man in the control room. I've seen him in many different films. I could have swore he was an enemy agent in a Bond film once, but after looking up I see he never did a 007 film.

The estate manor was a cool place to film and I liked the 'guess the mystery' part of the film. I suck at guessing mysteries but I like to try! Peter Cushing really didn't do much in this, I'm not real familiar with his work but I though he might have a bigger role.

Some good stuff, that along with the early 1970s film, made for a fun watch.

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