You were right on the first part. I usually love me some bad TCM Underground flicks, but "Death by Boredom" would have been a more apt title. The acting's passable, there's a nice film stock and color scheme (can't imagine viewing all of these lush reds in black and white), and the groovy retro soundtrack helps... but there's been a whole lot of nothing going on.
shareYeah, I just watched the movie. I did not get bored with it and yes some good parts and some pretty bad scenes. You have to be able to fill in the blanks with this movie or you will end up confused.
At the end when Jake is able to seduce the hot witch chick and finds the body in the bag is not bad. Just remember when a chick wants to tell you a story, just ignore her and make love to her and you will not end up in plastic bag with your blood dripping on the closet floor.
Incubus is on now. 1965.
An evil spirit plots to snare the soul of a courageous and good man.
Dir: Leslie Stevens Cast: William Shatner , Milos Milos , Allyson Ames .
Thanks for the Update, I recorded it on my DVR.
It's a horror film I never heard of before.
I watched it last night having DVR'd it the night before. I had tried to watch it while it was getting recorded and saw enough of the tail end to be interested. So I rewatched it early yesterday and I actually really liked it. It reminded me of the early seventies (when I was a kid) with the outfits and the hairstyles on the men. Also the scene in the office was hilariously realistic and reminded me of my first office job. I did not understand how the witch was actually able to kill with her bare hands but it really does not matter. I also thought the last scene with her trying to tell her stupid story that apparently puts her in a trance that makes her hands super strong and the guy being rude and saying I don't want to hear any story was extremely funny and realistic. Kind of reminded me of some awful dates I've had. Anyway I think if you give it a chance and some time (I kept rewinding if I missed something) it ends up being a little bit of a hidden gem. And the witch is super pretty.
Ann Jardin
I thought the witch did the only good acting job, and perhaps Jake, but everyone else was wooden as heck, like someone's family were rounded up, and filmed in their home for a couple of weeks. The early 70s were when I was a preteen and this looks like a movie of the week from that time period stylistically. The story just didn't make a whole lot of sense, truly, but the terrible acting was what made it, for me, more like a parody of bad horror movies than a real, good one.
shareActually I thought that the bad acting added to its realism. I think this movie was actually ahead of its time. Like a precursor to the horrible reality shows we have nowadays. How more wooden than the Kardashians was the acting in this movie? To me it was not really supposed to be a horror movie but a parody of the seventies a decade full of bad everything: hairstyles, clothes, you name it.
Ann Jardin
Caught it also. It strongly reminds me of an Andy Milligan film. It was even shot in Staten Island like many of Milligan's offbeat movies. The title is awful and unmarketable. "Revenge of the Witch," "Witch's Massacre" or some exploitative jive like that would have helped sell it. Miss Leverington brought an attractive yet unsettling presence to the show.
share"Caught it also. It strongly reminds me of an Andy Milligan film."
Yes, I was not really prepared for how dull this turned out to be. I would actually have enjoyed one of the Milligans more than this. My standards are way below low for TCM Underground, but still. Hard to believe the same guy wrote White Line Fever and Heart Like a Wheel.
Underground Has never shown the hard-core grindhouse films and TCM like most cable stations repeats the same films. They never follow-up with requests on their website but that's not unexpected. Overall, they still come up with an obscure weirdie like Death By Invitation now and then.
shareCount me surprised DEATH BY INVITATION ended up on Turner Classic Movies. I just finished watching an old VHS release of this film for the 2nd time, but this is the 1st time I've come to the IMDb to look it up.
DEATH BY INVITATION was released on video in England in 1984 by 'Market Video'. I snagged a copy of it via a trade; I sent a video-collecting friend from England a U.S. tape and he sent me 'Death By Invitation'. It's like a lot of low-budget early '70s movies: Slowly-paced and has a lot of dialogue to make up for the fact there was no money to film any action sequences. Further, in typical 'old-time' video company label fashion the running time given on the Market box art is way off. Those old video companies didn't care much about putting accurate run times on the sleeve art. It says "running time approx 90 mins Colour". Not even close. Runs just over 78 minutes, which includes the 4% PAL-format VHS speed-up.
I will say that if you're in the right mood for this pile of weirdness you'll stay interested until the end. And dig that scene in Peter Vroot's office where the two guys are trying to talk over the LOUD Muzak! Gave me a few chuckles both times I've watched the movie.
> I wonder if someone asked Shelby Leverington in the present day if she remembers the Indian tribal story she told what she would say . . . :) (She'd probably tell them to piss off!)
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Another weird movie that had a video release in England circa 1984: DEATH BED - THE BED THAT EATS! I've seen it was released on DVD here in the U.S. a few years ago, but somehow a video label in England called PORTLAND got hold of a workprint of 'DEATH BED' and put it out. > The credits to the film were not finished on said workprint and apparently neither was the music score. There's some music in the movie, but I guess there were intentions of having more music over various scenes than what appears on the PORTLAND tape.
I cracked up for about 5 minutes over that scene where the musak kept getting louder and louder. Just killed me!
I was getting really annoyed with this "did you ever hear about the southern indian tribes?" spiel that she had going on? I was happy when Jake basically ignored her and just started screwing her. Yeah, please, shut her up!
The acting was horrific and the plot, while promising initially, was a mess. I loved the beginning: it kind of reminded me of that Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things kind of filmmaking of the early 70s with the stop/slo-mo filming and eerie, crazy music and colors/cinematography. Loved the locations of the shoot and those early 70s clothes and house decorations. Hilarious blast from my past...
Yes. This is very atmospheric and leaden with bad acting and slow developemnt.
...but it also remindes me greatly of the film 'Last House On the Left', particularily the second half....and that came out a year later...wonder if Wes Craven saw this movie?
It does have some of that same feeling, so it wouldn't surprise me. Wes has always had some alternative thinking going on, so...
sharewell, it cant be ALL bad---TCM is showing again tonight... it is starting out pretty annoyingly, but i'm not expecting much from it, so i wont be disappointed.
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