After Creepshow 1 & 2 this week, I thought I'd give a few more horror anthologies a go.
It wasn't until I got to the 2nd of the 3 segments that I realised that I must've seen this film some time in my childhood. I bloody loved every minute of it.
The first section, "The Gas Station" is fantastic. John Carpenter takes us back to Haddonfield (the home of Michael Myers), in a film that isn't so far removed from Mr C's signature slasher movie. There are cameos from Wes Craven and a very young looking Sam Raimi. The wonderful Buck Flower even makes an appearance. I found the premise creepy and it was interesting to see the prowler/ maniac on the loose plot, played out so well. High tension reigns throughout. A miniature marvel of a horror film.
Carpenter's 2nd, "Hair" is a macabre and darkly humorous take on body horror. Stacey Keach is tragically fantastic as a guy suffering from thinning hair. The sheer flaccidity and desperation in his character makes his comic turn so tragic. For fuck's sake it also stars Sheena Easton and Debbie Harry!!! Just inspired casting.
Oh... and I forgot to mention DAVID FUCKING WARNER!!! The man. The legend. He has truly magnificent hair and plays the smug doctor very well indeed.
The final part, "Eye", directed by Tobe Hooper feels very familiar plot-wise. A baseball player (Mark Hamill) loses an eye in accident and undergoes a transplant which all leads to deadly ends. Friggin' Twiggy plays his wife, Charles Napier, his team manager and there's even a cameo from Roger Corman! To my mind it's the weakest of the 3 stories but not by much at all. When Luke Skywalker starts to receive visions with his newly transplanted eye things take a turn for the batshit crazy. Just brilliant.
All three segments are linked by John Carpenter who does a very hammy job of the whole "Crypt Keeper" thing. I kind of like his performance. He's looks like a cancer riddled Beetlejuice.
All in all. I much MUCH prefer this to the Creepshow films. The original idea was that Showtime was to create a horror series much in the same way as we have Masters of Horror now. It's a shame that their own shortsightedness means that Body Bags: The Series is such a sorely missed opportunity.
Watch it. It's fucking aces!