10/16/2021
Thankfully, we escaped the rain all night last night... and it was warm enough to sit outside our cars!
Here are some spoiler-free reviews from "Rob1" (found on Letterboxd .com):
One of the new guys I spoke to at length last night at the drive-in was named Rob, and I'm guessing these reviews (on letterboxd) are from him:
Cult of the Cobra
★★★★½
Seen as part of the HiWay Halloween Hell Night drive-in movie marathon
I'm giving this a 4.5 but I'm close to outright giving it a full 5. I admit I feel a bit silly saying that.
But this is a remarkable film.
It has echoes of 1930s horror in its efficiency -- no filler or unnecessary scenes.
It also foresees a future yet to come. Without giving too much away, this is a supernatural-oriented proto-slasher. 'Slasher' might be too strong a word for what happens here, but it is unlike any other 'body count' film I've seen from this era.
What's more, this film has nuance and characterization that you won't usually find in 80s slashers, and not in most 50s monster movies either.
Again, without giving too much away, I don't think there's a more nuanced and emotional portrayal of a doomed monster other than the original 'Wolf Man.'
Strong recommendation.
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The Shadow of the Cat
★★★★
Seen as part of the HiWay Halloween Hell Night drive-in movie marathon
A darkly comic delight. Seeing this with an audience was great. This was probably the biggest crowd-pleaser of the night (possibly tied with 'King Kong Vs. Godzilla').
At one point someone yelled out "I'm on 'Team Cat'!"
Agreed. Team Cat all the way on this one.
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The Black Castle
★★★½
Seen as part of the HiWay Halloween Hell Night drive-in movie marathon
Seeing this as part of a horror marathon, I was surprised to find this is more 'swashbuckling' than 'scares' -- but it was a pleasant novelty as a result! Got some 'Princess Bride' vibes (of course that movie and this one are drawing from a well of vintage chivalry/swordplay films, most of which I'm honestly not too knowledgeable about).
There are some horror elements, but they don't really arrive until the last third of the film. (Without spoiling too much, I'll just mention Corman's 'House of Usher'.)
I'd say it's worth going in relatively blind, like I did. This was a cool discovery!
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King Kong vs. Godzilla
★★★½
Seen as part of the HiWay Halloween Hell Night drive-in movie marathon
It's been a while since I've last seen this, and I forgot how much of the tone is outright comedy.
I also forgot how dirty both Kong and Godzilla fight in this! They both take some cheap shots at each other. Seeing that gave me a greater appreciation for how nasty Godzilla is in the recent remake -- it's actually kinda faithful to the original.
This was a delight to see on a big screen. Watching the scenes with Godzilla melting plastic model tanks -- on a big drive-in movie screen -- well.... it was pure joy.
