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A.J. Dugger Reviews The Making Of Thriller

11/13/2019

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All was seemingly right in the world during 1983. Well, not exactly because I wasn't born yet. I'd like to think that the entire world sat around a campfire somewhere eating pork rinds and awaiting the arrival of the one they call “The Duggerman,” “Mr. TV-One” or “The Duggmasta.” But nope.

Instead, on December 2, 1983, the music world changed forever when Michael Jackson dropped his Thriller music video, which was actually a short film. Thriller was part musical and part horror-comedy. Prior to this project, music videos rarely had dialogue or a consistent plot. Michael's previous videos from the Thriller album indeed had minor storylines. He was stalked by paparazzi in the Billie Jean video. (Interestingly, based on Michael shushing Billie Jean's neighbor and her calling the cops on him, his character may not be telling us the truth about not being the kid's father). In Beat It, Michael arrives and saves the day by interrupting a gang fight. Instead of creating a blood bath, the real-life gangsters joined Michael in a dance. If only real life were that simple.

Thriller opens with a disclaimer. Back in those days, disclaimers were not a clever marketing tool. It really meant something BAD or DANGEROUS! People wanna see BAD things that are Off The Wall. So you naturally get curious and tune in.
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When I made a book trailer to promote my book, Southern Terror, I also used a disclaimer and Thriller-esque red letters and used audio of myself breathing. Well, it didn't turn out well for me.
 Anyway, long story short, Thriller opens in the 1950s. Michael and his girlfriend Ola Ray are on a date. Michael looks wholesome with wet hair. He's also wearing a varsity jacket, which shows he may be a high school athlete. Their car runs out of gas. Ola shoots Michael a flirty look and asks in a sexy voice, “Well, what are we going to do now?” Instead of doing what most horny teenage couples would do, the two walk through the woods looking for a gas station or help. Turns out the mild-mannered Jehovah's Witness Michael was telling her the truth. Michael asks her to be his girlfriend and gives her a ring. She gladly accepts both and even drops the “I love you,” bomb. (She moves fast! She DEFINITELY would have gave this dude some good lovin' when they were alone in that car).

The conversation suddenly turns serious. Michael takes a deep Jackson breath and gives her a wide-eyed stare. In his signature whispery voice, Michael tells her that he's not like other guys. The full moon reveals itself. Michael looks like he has to poop (badly) then he shrieks in one of those high-pitched Michael Jackson squeals and doubles over in pain. When he looks up, his voice has dropped several octaves and he has eyes like a kitty. His hair still looks good, though. Look at how it glistens. 


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Ola stands there screaming like a dumbass while Michael transforms into some type of half-man, half kitty creature. Ola FINALLY runs off after watching his transformation into a bloodthirsty beast. Michael chases her and randomly knocks over a tree. I don't know what that was about?

He ambushes Ola by jumping from a tree and then attacks her. Next thing you know, the audience realizes that Michael and Ola are watching this whole thing at a movie theater. Michael is enjoying his popcorn a little too much, while Ola is so terrified that she walks out of the theater. This is where the Thriller song kicks in and Michael playfully teases her as they walk down a dark smokey alley that looks like the one Bruce Wayne's parents were killed in.  ​
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​Before I go any further, I must note the chemistry between Michael and Ola. They interacted like a real couple. Michael was the confident, playful, somewhat immature boyfriend. Ola was the serious girlfriend who was entertained by her boyfriend's antics and loved him anyway. Because of their chemistry, I feel that Ola is easily the best “video girl” that Michael worked with.

Anyway, zombies emerge from their graves just after Michael and Ola skip past the graveyard holding hands like preschoolers.

Despite being slow moving, the zombies form a perfect circle and close in on our protagonists. Instead of “manning up” and protecting his woman, Michael is just as wide-eyed and terrified as she is and clings to her for protection. (I take back what I said earlier about Michael's character being self-confident).

Ola turns to her boyfriend to see that he is now one of the undead, and the zombies join him in a brilliant dance. (“Undead” Michael is astonishing as he opens the dance struggling to breathe and twitching)

Typical Ola watches the dance and FINALLY runs away....but into a creepy old house. Look, she could have at least ran back to the movie theater which was maybe a mile away but still full of people. But nope, she runs into a decaying house which was likely the only haunted-looking house on the street. The girl is a genius, I tell ya.

The zombies break into the house through the walls, the windows and floor. Zombie Michael breaks through a paper thin door and then the zombies close in on Ola. Turns out the whole thing was a dream, but just as Michael and Ola are leaving, Michael turns to the camera to reveal his yellow kitty eyes.
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​Now we're on to the Making Of Thriller.

The film crew were shooting in a Hispanic neighborhood called Union Pacific Avenue and someone in the press leaked that MICHAEL JACKSON was shooting a music video there. The documentary team interviewed some of the fans.  Many of the women talk about how sexy and gorgeous he was and what a great dancer he was. (I swear all the women wanted to bang Michael back then). One kid was brave enough to go under the security rope and do some MJ-inspired poplocking and circle gliding for us. I can't help but wonder if any of these people are still fans of Michael? 

Next we hear a woman's voice and then-- oh, that was Michael speaking! Michael's unnerving falsetto whisper was eerie during this time period. I understand that he wanted to keep a “child's voice” and maintain that high singing range, but this was ridiculous, especially knowing that his natural voice was not high like that. (Many have confirmed this, from Michael's ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley to his vocal coach, Seth Riggs, to his later producer, Teddy Riley to film director Spike Lee). Anyway, get used to hearing Michael's "man-child" voice  throughout the documentary.

So Michael called up American Werewolf In London Director John Landis (John was asleep in London when Michael called. It was 2 AM London time). The two talked about how they wanted to “bring back the motion picture shorts” and do something elaborate that had never been done before.  
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Michael's jheri curl never has a bad day. NEVER!!
​Michael was a huge fan of An American Werewolf In London because of the makeup effects and the fact that it was one of the first horror-comedies. In fact, it took over 10 years for Landis to make the movie because film studios would often respond by saying, “John, it's too funny to be scary,” or “It's too scary to be funny. What is this?”

Landis' warped sense of horror-humor is evident during Thriller. Given his high voice and lack of serious female companions, there were gay rumors that followed Michael from his late teens to around this time period. Landis played with this by having Michael say the line, “I'm not like other guys.”

And there's also the incident when the car ran out of gas and Michael decided they should look for help instead of making love. I read during the “Thriller Diaries” that Landis told Michael to look deep into Ola's eyes as he spoke the line, “You were scared weren't cha,” to make it "sexy." There's also the “See You Next Wednesday” line that was spoken off-screen, which is a line used in all of Landis' movies during the early 1980s.

But I'm getting off track here. After showing some of Michael's recent music videos like “Beat It,” “Can You Feel It” and a Jackson 5 performance of “Who's Loving You,” we move on to the makeup process. “It's disgusting, but it's brilliant!” squealed an excited Michael while observing Rick Baker's monstrous puppets and designs.
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To this day, I don't know why the hell Michael knocked over this tree. I mean, what did it ever do to HIM?"
​After a zombie montage with Michael's brilliant song Off The Wall playing, we watch Michael and Ola merrily skip past the graveyard and see John Landis direct the zombie actors as they rise from their graves. Landis is in his element here, encouraging the actors and even smiling and drinking a Coca-Cola. He even makes time to lift a squealing Michael over his shoulders and spin him around. Instead of delivering an “Attitude Adjustment,” “F5” or “Death Valley Driver,” Landis gently places the King of Pop back on his feet. (If you're a wrestling fan, you'll get that reference.)

Then we watch Landis direct Michael and the zombies as they smash their way through the house and close in on Ola Ray. “I don't wanna go through another door again. That was great!” Landis said after Michael broke and staggered through the door.

Next up is Rick Baker introducing us to the werecat transformation, which I imagine was the toughest part of making Thriller. “I actually was trying to talk him about of it. But he wants to do this. I don't know why,” said Baker.

First, they made a cast of Michael's face to use as a reference to design the monster. They glued latex bladders to his face to make it look as if Michael's face was actually stretching and changing. (These were hidden under the mask and makeup).
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"I'm Not Like Other Guys"
​We watch Baker and his team put the finishing touches on the werecat mask. I felt bad for Michael when they put the kitty contacts in. Back then, they didn't make the soft contact lenses that they do now. Those contacts they inserted in Michael's eyes felt like glass, and he said in a voice-over that after 15 minutes they start “aching and paining.” The singer compared the eye drops to someone putting tobacco hot sauce in your eyes.

One funny part is watching Michael slowly back away from his own reflection when he first saw himself in the full werewolf mask. He was scared of himself!!

The next funny part is hearing Michael squall like a strangled kitty during the filming of the werecat transformation scene. Thank God Landis and the editors overdubbed Michael's girlish screaming with the much deeper, anguished growls from David Naughton in “American Werewolf.”

Then we meet Michael Peters, the somewhat eccentric choreographer. “Ba-dah! Ba-dah!” he sings as he teaches the dancers the routine. We watch Michael and Michael create the dance, which is quite interesting. Landis also offers input, reminding the dancers that they will be wearing hideous and uncomfortable zombie makeup as they dance their asses off.

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​Michael Peters proves a good point when he points out that the dancers in this video were professionals and had trained in dance their whole lives. Michael was already a polished performer but fit right in and had an uncanny knack for instantly catching the beat. I don't think Michael gets enough credit for that. “I guess it's just something you're born with and you can do,” Michael whispered in a voice-over narration. 

We then watch Michael's mesmerizing performance of Billie Jean on Motown 25 from earlier that year and see the worldwide preview of the moonwalk. (The dance had been around for decades but wasn't recognized by the masses until Michael did it).

Ola and Michael practice their “Thriller Walk” and discuss the script. I actually wish they had included footage of them rehearsing their lines. I don't know why, but my favorite scene in Thriller is the opening one. Like I said, Michael and Ola had this chemistry that just seemed so...real.

via GIPHY

​The next highlight is Michael fouling up his scare jump from the air. He landed wrong and goes, “BAM!” in a Minnie Mouse voice, and Landis promptly yells “Wrong!” which cracked up the crew. Landis then shows Michael how to do the stunt correctly. As a kid I always wondered where Michael jumped from during that scene. When I saw The Making of Thriller, it answered so many questions.

We see a brief scene of the editing process. Let me just say that the music they were considering using for some of the Thriller scenes was just plain terrible. I'm glad they chose the soundtrack that they did. They dodged a bullet there.

The last scene is Landis tickling Michael. It's uncomfortable to watch, but only because I'm ticklish myself so I felt Michael's pain.

via GIPHY

Off The Record

​I still watch The Making Of Thriller often. In fact, it's the very reason I started to enjoy horror movies because the documentary goes into great detail on the makeup and overall process of making such a movie. I also wrote a horror-comedy book called Southern Terror which did quite well. More information on that here. OK, that's shameless book plug #2.

Michael released other documentaries for his short films but this one is easily the best. In This Is It, for example, the viewer is more like a fly on the wall. Michael is never interviewed himself in This Is It, but he helped narrate the Making Of Thriller. His input is what helped the documentary.

Michael was in his prime in 1983, and this is the very Michael Jackson that some people don't want to let go of. THIS is the Michael Jackson that moonwalked into absolute megastardom. Plus, the songs played throughout the documentary from Thriller and Off The Wall show just how great his music was at that time.

Michael wasn't portrayed as weird here..just talented, curious, soft spoken, and well, normal. This was months before the Pepsi commercial burn and the other incidents that eventually took him down a dark path. If you want to remind yourself why people loved Michael Jackson so much in the first place, watch The Making of Thriller.

Check out my review for Moonwalker!!

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State Of Shock: A look back at the Victory Album

10/14/2019

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Everyone remembers the The Jacksons Victory Tour. The Don King-promoted tour was the last tour by The Jackson brothers. But why don't we hear much about the Victory album? There were several reasons why the album didn't do as well as it should have. Here, I'll dive into the music itself and why the album was not the smash people expected. Well, here is the primary reason. Yep, the man singing to himself in the mirror in the picture below.
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Regardless of what Michael did or didn't do, 1984 was the year of his Purple Rival, PRINCE. The film and soundtrack to Purple Rain took off that year. There were plenty of other successful artists in 1984. Culture Club and many other artists topped the charts at one time or another. But just as Michael dominated 1983, Prince had his turn in 1984. The record-buying public preferred Prince over a last minute cash grab album by the Jacksons, especially since Michael wasn't heavily involved.
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The music on Victory is during the time of transition from live instrumentation to digital. While the electric guitar was still greatly respected, many of the songs here feature heavy synths and digitally programmed drums. However, many respected musicians play on this album including Toto's drummer Jeff Porcaro, bassist Louis Johnson and drummer Jonathan “Sugarfoot” Moffett. Similar to Prince's Purple Rain (the album that completely overshadowed this one) Victory represents a fusion of rock grooves with the emerging '80s synth sound that would dominate the music scene during the following years.

Where's Michael?

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Aside from Prince topping the charts, another reason for the album's relative failure is the lack of Michael Jackson. This was the time when Michael was at the absolute peak of his fame, and fans were disappointed to see that he wasn't involved much with this album. And, given the fact that Michael revealed in interviews that songs like Liberian Girl were written around this time, it is obvious that he secretly held on to some of his best materials for BAD while contributing weak, weepy tracks like Be Not Always for this album.

Aside from said track, every song Michael participated on was pretty good. Torture goes back to the old Jackson 5 format, with Michael and Jermaine trading off as a duet while Jackie provides his shaky falsetto adlibs at the end of the song. Wait is the opposite, operating as a Jackie Jackson vehicle while Jermaine and Michael bless the songs with closing adlibs.

State of Shock is Michael's hard rock duet with Mick Jagger, the lead singer of The Rolling Stones. This could be viewed as the less successful sequel to Beat It. While playing around with some of my music software, I discovered that Michael lowered the pitch of his voice several octaves when singing the line, "State of Shock." So there you have it. The deep, husky voice singing the chorus is Michael's voice pitched down. Again, this was when the technology to do these things were new and the brothers were experimenting. 

The last song to feature Michael is The Hurt, which, right under Torture, is the best song on the album for me. Michael's signature falsetto is instantly recognizable during the background harmonies.

What amazes me is that although Michael obviously didn't put his heart into this album, his voice was at its most pure at this time. Thriller Michael preferred to soar in his high tenor rather than growl and snarl, which gradually became his vocal trademark in the coming years. Even though the music was pop, this album marked the end of “soul” Michael, who wouldn't return until the New Jack Swing tracks on Dangerous (1991) and a few songs on Invincible. (2001)
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But the lack of Michael is not entirely a bad thing . Ever wonder how talented the other brothers were on their own? This is what makes the album very revealing.

Jackie is probably the most passionate songwriter in the group right under Michael and it shows on how strong his songs are. He co-wrote Torture and composed the song Wait, both of which are strong album openers.

Randy's solo contribution to the album is One More Chance, which is a very memorable ballad full of pretty synths and background vocals. Little sister Janet later covered the song.

We Can Change The World is Tito's chance to shine. It's a tough song, but very much of its time.

The Hurt is a good song piloted by Randy, but he was the wrong brother to sing it. It should have been sang by Michael, or at least Jermaine or Jackie. Hell, I almost think their father Joseph could have sang it better. I understand that Randy wanted to maintain that ethereal, whispery Jackson sound, but he can't pull off a good falsetto cry like Michael. This was a missed opportunity.

Body is the Marlon Jackson version of Wanna Be Startin Somethin. It's a decent enough song, but it's great to see him try. He doesn't necessarily disappoint, but when you're on the same album as your brother Michael, you're automatically gonna get compared. This makes Marlon's effort dead on arrival.

The videos are quite strange. Torture is the best, despite the absence of Jermaine and Michael. The song actually told a decent, sinister story despite the lead singers of the song being absent.

The video for Body? Eh, the less said about it, the better.

​State Of Shock was the album's biggest hit, but it was never performed on the tour and there was not a video filmed. Michael was only going through the motions here to get his family off his back. Soon after the tour wrapped in December 1984, Michael co-wrote We Are The World with Lionel Richie, then got to work on Captain Eo for Disney.

​The Victory album has become almost a footnote in the Jacksons legacy, but the album is not terrible.
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Justifying Off The Wall

9/24/2019

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Photo courtesy of guardianlv.com
Falsetto is a very popular tool, especially in soul music. Legends from Marvin Gaye to Prince to Michael Jackson have among the most recognizable falsetto voices in music history. 

Every man has the ability to pull off a falsetto, which is a manipulation of the vocal cords to expand your vocal range. 

But in this era, it is not considered "masculine" to use this part of the human voice. This is a real shame, because some of the best male singers in history (Freddie Mercury, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, etc) were known for their high soaring vocals.

In 2002, there were four major questions before Justin Timberlake dropped his first solo album, Justified.



  1. Could he make it without his N'Sync buddies?
  2. Could he succeed in his attempts to create true R&B grooves?
  3. Could he nail almost an entire album using the airy falsetto sound, a technique he rarely attempted with N'Sync?
     4. Was he still crying over Britney? 

That last one is a half joke, but was a real concern to some people at the time, believe it or not. Ahh, good ole' 2002. 

I'll briefly review my favorite Justified tracks, but I will first go on record as saying that I've always had a soft spot for this album.

The reason? It sounds like the 2002 version of Michael Jackson's classic Off The Wall album. A 21 year-old Michael Jackson released Off The Wall in August 1979 and it generated several hits including “Don't Stop Til You Get Enough,” “Rock With You,” “Off The Wall” “Girlfriend” and “She's Out Of My Life.”


Just as Justin was taking big risks with Justified, Michael was doing the same thing when he recorded Off The Wall. He was experimenting with his songwriting and attempting to create his own sound, one that was different from the sound he had with his brothers, The Jacksons. All of the Michael Jackson trademarks we eventually came to know and love (the hiccups, the falsetto, the growling) all came to the forefront on this album.


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Workin' Day And Night

​With Quincy Jones producing the project and songs written by Michael, Rod Temperton, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Tom Bahler, Off The Wall had no chance of losing.

Despite this, Off The Wall was Michael's first adult solo album and his teenage solo albums at Motown didn't do well. A lot was on the line here. Looking back at it now, I can't see Off The Wall being a failure. But back then, it looked like somewhat of a possibility, especially considering Michael's one attempt at becoming a movie star failing with The Wiz just two years prior.

The influence of Michael's sound is all over Justin's album. The lush grooves and melodies of the songs strongly recall the sound of the Off The Wall album, and, just as Michael did, Justin developed a habit of sliding his voice into a crying falsetto over the instrumentation.

As I alluded to earlier, falsetto is considered a real crack in masculinity. But the good news is that a lot of women are attracted to that form of vulnerability, which is why Smokey Robinson and Prince could seduce basically any woman they wanted. A  good falsetto vocal could express a wail of hurt that a baritone never could. It's amazing how such a soft and quiet voice generates real power with women and record sales. 

Michael used the falsetto sometimes throughout his career, (Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Butterflies) but Justin took this one part of Michael's sound and expanded on it, using it twice as much as his moonwalking idol.

Michael used to layer his background vocals, which resulted in him sounding like a small choir of twin brothers, some with higher and lower voices. Throughout the album, Justin delicately stacks his background harmonies the same way.

Quincy used his "Killer Q Posse" to record Off The Wall. The Killer Q' Posse consisted of John "JR" Robinson on drums, Louis Johnson on Bass, Greg Phillinganes on keyboards, Bruce Swedien as the engineer and Rod Temperton as the head songwriter. The Neptunes used the digital technology available to them to record the Justified songs, but they still played real instruments enough to give the songs an authentic funk feel that I'll elaborate more on later.

Justin and the Neptunes had been listening to Off The Wall and Thriller very carefully. They understood the Michael Jackson sound of those albums.

I also have to point out that the Neptunes originally wrote some of these songs with Michael Jackson in mind, but his then-manager rejected them, so the songs instead were recorded by Justin and Usher.


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Justin eagerly borrowing Michael's jacket AND his sound.


​The Tracks

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​Senorita:

A brilliant hybrid of latin and funk soul, punctuated by Pharell Williams' live drumming and the use of a live trombone. The melodic melody to the bridge of the song (“When I look into your eyes, I see something that money can't buy...) is a real play out of the Rod Temperton songbook. The falsetto harmonies during that part strongly recall Michael Jackson. 

Like I Love You:

The album's lead single. It's a standard catchy pop tune. Again, Pharrell adds some real funk to the track by playing live drums, and the song is driven by guitar. The grooves of the song may stay with you when it's over. But again, it's those Michael Jackson influences that make it stand out. Justin explodes into his “Michael Jackson” voice during the bridge. “I JUST WANNA LOVE YA, BABEH!!" Justin also incorporated Jackson-esque harmonies as his background vocals.


Last Night:


While Justin showed the Jackson influences in spurts on the previous songs I mentioned, he went all-out on this one. I could so easily hear Michael singing this song. “Remember girl when I was your maaan.”  The Michael-Meter is exploding here. There's nothing bad I can say about this track. It's one of my favorites.


Cry Me A River:

The Neptunes produced the majority of the tracks on the album, but it was Timbaland who was behind the boards for Justified's biggest hit, “Cry Me A River.” It's a dark track, haunted by Timbaland's thumping beat and beat-boxing. Legend has it that this song was written about a certain lady named Britney Spears. Certainly, this song was a hint of what was to come on Justin's future albums, as he and Timbland would collaborate almost frequently and this overall sound became more of a focus.


Rock Your Body

This was one of the Neptunes-penned songs that was supposed to go to Michael Jackson for his “Invincible” album but instead wound up here. It's another song that strongly mimics the post-disco sound and melodies of an Off The Wall era song. I initially liked it, but it got overplayed. However, here is a great recording of Pharrell teaching Justin the bridge of the song.
Nothin Else:

This is my personal favorite on the album. The Neptunes took BIG inspiration from Stevie Wonder here. This groove and overall song structure is 110% 1970s' era Stevie Wonder. What makes it even BETTER is that Justin vocally borrowed from Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson. Justin's smokey tenor rides the grooves during the versus but eventually gives way to the wailing falsetto as the song grows. To me, the song is a nice cross between “I Can't Help It” from Off The Wall and Stevie Wonder's “Blame It On The Sun.”

Also, the demo for the song is available online. It was originally sung by an artist named Latrelle. Justin was able to manipulate his falsetto to match her note for note, including the background vocals. Impressive that he was able to emulate the demo for a female singer. 

Still On My Brain:

Another favorite of mine. Justin rides the song in a quiet falsetto but lets loose at the end. He sounds a lot like Michael, (especially the "crying" at the end) but I'm used to it by now. It's a great ballad...very relaxing to listen to.


(And She Said), Take Me Now:

This one had to grow on me. It's the shameless Michael Jackson impression that finally won me over. In fact, this may be the song where he basically overdosed on his Michael pill. Speaking of Michael Jackson, his sister Janet provides some whispery vocals on this song. Like I said regarding Cry Me A River, you can hear glimpses of JT's future releases on these Timbaland-produced tracks. Given it's electric funk sound, this song would not sound out of place on JT's follow-up album, Future Love/Sex Sounds.


“Let's Take A Ride.”

I like this one a lot, too. It's melodic and memorable. It's great riding music for the car.
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Off The Record

Some people may not like this album because Justin was apparently possessed by the ghost of a 1979 Michael Jackson when he recorded it. But that's exactly what I like about it! It also boldly goes into the direction that the previous N'Sync album, Celebrity, teetered on with songs like Gone.
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Justified is not one of my favorite albums of all time, but it brought back a sound I thought I'd never hear again. 

No one will take the King of Pop's throne, but Justin did a decent good job reminding me of Michael's earlier adult sound; a sound that faded and became mechanical as the years went by.
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A.J. Dugger Reviews "Moonwalker."

8/11/2019

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With the exception of Thriller, Michael Jackson's biggest visual masterpiece was Moonwalker, a music video anthology with a loose plot about Jackson saving the world (and three homeless children) from a drug dealing maniac played by a screeching Joe Pesci.
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Moonwalker was my favorite movie as a kid and to this day I never get tired of watching it. It isn't meant to be taken seriously as a movie; just another vehicle to showcase the talent and magic of Michael Jackson during his prime. So, come “rock with me” as we enjoy the bumpy thrill-ride that is Moonwalker.

via GIPHY


The movie begins with blaring synthesizers and the movie logo shown over an endless crowd of Jackson fanatics as he begins performing one of his biggest hits, Man In The Mirror. This footage was taken from performances during his BAD world tour from 1987-89, and Michael was certainly in his prime here. What I don't like about watching Michael Jackson performances during this time were the constant fan reaction shots. With every spin, every grunt, every crotch grab, etc, the camera zooms right in on fan reactions. People were passing out left and right. Not just young teenage girls, but grown men, too. Michael had that kind of power over people in his time. During their time, Elvis Presley and The Beatles had the girls swooning too, but this was something else. And in lots of different countries.
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The movie then transitions into animations and brief music video snippets of Jackson's long career up to that time. There's Jackson 5 footage, leading up to Jackson's more recent successes with Off The Wall and Thriller. But when we finally get around to the BAD video, we see the video being re-enacted by children, led by a snarling Brandon Adams as Michael, and R&B singing group “The Boyz” playing the "menacing" Wesley Jones gang from the original video. This was all in good fun, and Adams certainly had the moves down.
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Michael being escorted from the smoke by Miko Brando (son of Marlon Brando) and his real life bodyguard from his J5 days, Bill Bray.
After the performance is over, MJ and his guards are walking in the basement of the subway and MJ scoffs when his bodyguard says that his pet monkey, Bubbles, is wearing a PRINCE t-shirt. I am honestly surprised that there is a Prince reference in this film. MJ and Prince were musical rivals at the time, but rarely mentioned each other in public.

Emerging through a random fog outside, MJ and his posse have returned to their normal adult selves. Michael was sporting his black, leather-clad and buckled outfit from the BAD video.

I have to point out that by this time, MJ no longer resembled the same guy we saw in the “Thriller” video a few years prior. Sure enough he had the same whispery voice and mannerisms, but there was also new self-confidence, a new nose, a noticeably brighter skin shade (around this time, his skin disease was beginning to reveal itself) and his jheri curl had grown into a long, wavy mullet shag. But the fans on a nearby tour bus (much like his real life fanatics) didn't give a damn. It wasn't long before the King of Pop was spotted. “MICHAEL JACKSONNNNNNNN!!!!” a young boy shouts out. Those two words ignited a frenzy and everyone on the bus ran out to chase our giggling star.

The chase leads to Michael hiding in a costume store and picking out (of all things) a BUNNY WABBIT costume?!!? The same guy who transformed into a bloodthirsty “werecat” creature and dancing zombie in Thriller decided to bypass the scary costumes and went for the bunny wabbit? You'd think he'd try to scare his stalkers. Sometimes I can't figure Michael out..

Anyway, he casually strolls out of the costume store and the authorities fall for the disguise, one even saying, “It's just a stupid rabbit!”

Before leaving, Michael gets their attention with a whistle and then taunts them by doing some of his signature dance steps before hopping on a bicycle and speeding off. (I still can't figure Michael out. He must have enjoyed the thrill of a chase. This would have been his chance to get away peacefully and quietly).​

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I never trusted Spike...there's something sneaky about his eyes. To this day I think he had SOMETHING to do with Michael's death. I just can't prove it yet.
The chase continues as his bicycle instantly transforms into a motorcycle and we segue into a music video for the underrated Michael Jackson song Speed Demon, which fits in with the narrative. Not long after a brief cameo by Pee-Wee Herman (who was also at the height of his fame at the time) Michael gets his obsessive fans arrested by a giant police officer for speeding.
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Afterward, Michael arrives at a concluded area near a cliff and attempts to abandon his bunny wabbit suit there, only for it to spring to life and challenge Michael to a dance-off. This was a fun exchange, with the bunny (Spike) matching Michael move for move until Michael does a spin effect that makes Spike's eyes bulge in surprise. But Michael can't celebrate his victory for long because he is harassed by a cop who points to a sign that says this.
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Michael whimpers something about dancing with Spike, who has now vanished, leaving it to look as if Michael was just crazy and dancing by himself in a secluded area. Instead of demanding a ticket, the cop demands an autograph instead. When the cop leaves, Spike's big head emerges from the nearby mountain, getting a big warm smile from Michael.

Now the actual “movie” part of the movie rolls in. Three homeless children, Sean (Sean Lennon, real life son of John and Yoko Ono) Katie (Kelley Parker) and Zeke (Brandon Adams, who appeared in the BAD remake earlier) are spying on Michael from the rooftops as he emerges from his town house. I honestly don't know the purpose of this part, as Michael kind of poses around doing his best to look pretty. Vanity moment, perhaps?​

via GIPHY

A shooting star then whizzes by (a concept we'll see throughout the film) and Jackson's spidey sense is tingling. The look on his face resembles 2Pac flashbacks as he is apparently gunned down by a group of foot soldiers led by Joe Pesci, known as “Mr. Big” in the film.
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But before Mr. Big can brag, he realizes that there is no bloody corpse laying on the ground full of pancake makeup...only the shot-up remains of Michael's fancy cashmere coat. The thing was covered in bullet holes. These guys REALLY wanted Michael dead for some reason. Next thing you know, we witness Jackson's shadow sprinting in the distance and see him running for his life, his face full of fright and pretty.​

via GIPHY

We have a flashback to a recent time when Michael was playing with the three kids and their goofy dog, Skipper. Suddenly, Skipper grabs their soccer ball and takes off into the deep woods somewhere. Michael, being braver than I'd imagine, was curious about what was in the area so he and Katie decided to explore and look for their pup. At one point they come across a hidden door with a huge tarantula doorbell. Katie tries to pull away, but MJ gently forces her to come inside with him. Without mentioning names, I will say that someone was too afraid to go in there on his own, I see.

Once inside the spider-infested lair, we discover Mr. Big screeching about how he wants to take over the world and get children everywhere high on drugs so he can make a fortune. He has an obsession with spiders, so maybe he was going to use them as his enforcers? The plot didn't explore this. Anyway, a tarantula crawls on Katie, she screams and gives away their hiding spot, and Mr. Big points and yells “DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!!” MJ and poor Katie are marked for dead, obviously.

This brings us back to the present where Michael is again being chased. The visuals of MJ sprinting in the shadows throughout the smoke and buildings is actually pretty cool, especially with the foot soldiers shining their bright flashlights everywhere. However, Mr. Big's high pitched screeching voice is constantly barking orders at his crew. And with Katie constantly screaming “MICHAEL!!” at him from the rooftops, I am seriously surprised that she didn't give away his location to the bad guys.

After MJ was somehow able to outrun slobbering, booty-munching Dobermann Pinschers, he found himself backed into an alley with no escape. That shooting star whizzes by again. Although he makes a face as if he needs to have the explosive bowel movement of a lifetime, Michael instead squats and transforms into a car. (Yes, you read that right).

"Turbo Michael" as I call him in car form, easily out-speeds his pursuers. In the meantime, Katie has reunited with Zeke and Sean at a haunted, abandoned jazz club called Club '30s.
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The trio hide outside the club when they hear a car pull up. Katie goes into a trance when she sees the shadow of the car transform into Michael. Michael enters the club and everyone stops and stares. Evidently, Michael has gone back into time. The men are decked out in zoot suits, while the women are also dressed according to the 1930s. One person slowly grabs a gun (Why does everyone want to shoot Michael in this movie?) Another person whispers “Watch him.” The room is quiet and everyone keeps staring at our hero. Is this because Michael is a black man in a club in the racist 1930s? Well, I guess not considering there are other black people there, as well as an Asian woman who appears to run the place and subtly stalks Michael throughout the segment. (Seriously, she's always somewhere following and watching in the distance). Michael threatened a dance move (He didn't learn his lesson after almost getting arrested earlier) and then flips a coin into the juke box, which starts his new single at the time, the sinister, bass-driven Smooth Criminal.
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Throughout this segment, Michael escapes an ass-whooping after blowing pool-ball dust in an on-looker's face, and blows another man away with a gun upstairs. The dance routines just get better and better, only momentarily interrupted by a random orgy with no sex. I guess they were attempting to resurrect Annie? I don't know, but I do know I don't wanna spend too much time talking about it.

via GIPHY

The party is interrupted when Mr. Big's soldiers arrive with their guns. Mr. Big kidnaps Katie, and MJ for some reason shoots up the club with a machine gun. Of course he is immediately ejected from the building for attempted murder, only to run into a frantic Zeke and Sean. The camera zooms in on Michael's face as he boldly says, "We'll see what I can do....we'll see." His eyeliner, makeup, frail body and small voice betrays any hope of Michael portraying a tough guy, but I like that he gave it his best shot. It's still damn funny, though.

A trap door separates Michael from his young friends and he is soon cornered by Mr. Big's cronies. Mr. Big arrives holding on to Katie and tries to inject her with drugs. Michael again tries his damnest to be a tough guy. But he is swiftly beaten up by one of the foot soldiers. 
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Michael summons up all of his vocal strength and yells out, "LEAVE HER ALONE!!" in a man-child cry so strong that it shatters glass lights and gets everyone to slowly back off, including those booty-munching dogs from earlier in the movie.

The sky now begins to resemble the one in a Ghostbusters movie, but as Michael sits up he begins to undergo another Thriller-esque transformation.
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Well, his hair is still perfect. You gotta give him that much..
He slowly transforms into a robot and blasts away all of Mr. Big's warriors. Mr. Big, being the only somewhat clever evil character here, escapes into some big control room hidden in the mountains. As he makes his escape, "RoboMJ" transforms into a futuristic airplane of some sort. The airplane has a brief battle with Mr. Big and then blows him to smithereens. 

Long story short, Michael disappears from earth for a while but is "summoned" by Katie's lucky star she found on the ground. Michael returns to the children giving hugs and love, and then takes them backstage to a concert where he'll be performing. There, the foursome are reunited with that damn dog Skipper (who NEVER returned their soccer ball, mind you) and Michael goes on stage to perform his dazzling rendition of The Beatles' hit song, Come Together, full of epic crotch shots and pelvic thrusts. 

From there we get to the ending credits, which is another personal highlight for me. Ladysmith Black Mambazo have to be the hippest, most soulful old men on the planet. They don't even need music to make you dance. I used to beg my granddaddies to join these guys but they sadly never did. Anyway, leave it to Michael to leave you entertained during the end credits.

Off The Record


​Michael Jackson will always be one of my heroes. I will not speak on whatever personal problems he had, but the man was a creative genius. The songwriting, the dancing, the singing, the flash, the style, the clothes, everything. He was what a true superstar should be. And during this time, how the hell could you NOT be a Michael Jackson fan?

Having said that, this isn't a movie to take seriously. I don't think he was going for an Oscar or anything. This was just a chance for us to see him doing the things that he did best. And this was also one of the last times we saw a fun, almost carefree version of Michael. His later appearance on The Simpsons was probably the the last time he ever mocked himself and showed his "fun" side. After 1993, things went downhill fast, but one look at Moonwalker shows how amazing this man was.

9 out of 11 of the BAD songs are featured throughout Moonwalker. BAD was released when I was almost two years old, so it (and Dangerous) were the albums I grew up with. Moowalker and the music from the BAD album are nostalgic for me. This was the Michael Jackson I constantly mimicked when I was a kid.

And hey, it's still a fun movie to watch and highly entertaining all of these decades later. Could Beyonce, Kayne West or Chris Brown put together something as fun as this? You tell me...
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What went wrong with Michael Jackson's Invincible

8/6/2016

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I'll never forget riding in the car with my mother in the fall of 2001 and hearing You Rock My World for the first time. Michael Jackson hadn't released a new single in a long time, and we had to really listen hard to make sure we were fooling ourselves. But there is no mistaking Michael's voice.

I liked the groove of the song...it reminded me of Michael's earlier music from back in the day. I remember feeling excited....the King of Pop was back!! I was also excited when, a few weeks earlier, Michael made a surprise appearance with N'Sync at the Video Music Awards. Michael had also been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame earlier that year as a solo artist. It seems he had been easing his way into a comeback, and now things were official with a new single out.

I'll never forget sitting down after school and listening to the album from start to finish for the first time. Early on in the experience I was really enjoying myself. I remember thinking to myself, "This is another Dangerous!"  The album is front-loaded with R&B and street songs, which gradually give way to the pop tracks during the second half.

Once Butterflies hit radio waves, I'll never forget my sister and so many of my high school buddies saying this exact sentence; "Michael sounds black again!"

To be fair, Michael never entirely abandoned his R&B and Soul roots, but he no doubt paid more attention to the pop universe after Thriller launched him into supernatural orbits. So I can definitely understand why so many black people I knew were saying that. Invincible appeared to be a long-awaited return to form for Michael.

But the album as a whole left me somewhat disappointed. I've never quite got in tune with this album, and after listening to it in its entirety the other day for the first time in probably two years, I realize what the problems are.

via GIPHY

The You Rock My World  Short Film

I remember the premiere of most of Michael Jackson's videos, and You Rock My World was no exception. While it was entertaining, it wasn't anything we hadn't seen from him before. With his fedora and recycled dance moves, the video resembled a modern remake of Smooth Criminal. Chris Tucker is my favorite comedian and he had great chemistry with Michael, but that's the only fresh thing about the video. Marlon Brando makes a cameo but he's only on screen for a few seconds and has one line. My feelings then are the same as they are now; Michael was capable of producing something much better and more original. With each album Michael re-invented himself and set the bar higher. But this time he failed to do so.
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A Cover Album??


​At the time, I thought this was an album of all-new Michael Jackson material. But this is only half true; while Michael's voice being on the tracks was new, many of the tracks themselves were not. Here are a few examples..

Heaven Can Wait

Heaven Can Wait is a great song, and it was nice to hear Michael return to an urban R&B sound, which he gradually abandoned over the years. This is my favorite song on the album, particularly his growling and pleading during the climax. I view this song as a sequel to The Lady In My Life from Thriller.

I liked the '90s feel of the track. With Teddy Riley producing, it sounded like it wouldn't be out of place on a BLACKstreet album.

But thanks to the internet, I now I know why it sounds like a BLACKstreet song...it originally was!! Here is a link to the demo. There's not much difference between the BLACKstreet version and Michael's.

Butterflies

Aside from You Rock My World, Butterflies is likely the most popular song on the album. It wound up being a hit without a video, which says a lot about the strength of the song. Butterflies was released as a single at the perfect time and should have been promoted better. During the fall of 2001, the neo-soul sound was replacing modern R&B. Maxwell, Angie Stone, Jill Scott, D'Angelo and others dominated radio waves. Floetry, another popular neo-soul act, wrote the song. With its Bacharach-era horn arrangements and Michael's confident voice soaring in falsetto, Butterflies was a winner. 

But like some of the other songs here, it's basically a cover song. Floetry's original demo of the track is not too different from Michael's version. If you really listen, you can hear some of Marsha Ambrosius' original background vocals and adlibs still intact on Michael's version.  

Whatever Happens

This would have been another surefire hit and in my opinion should have been the lead single. No one would have expected a track like this from Michael Jackson, and it would have been a brilliant surprise track for a comeback. Carlos Santana is the featured guitarist here and was on top of his game. What a missed opportunity! 

The song tells a nice story of loyalty between two lovers. I love the latin grooves and guitar showmanship of Santana, but I'm no fan of Michael's singing here. All he does is growl, snarl and stutter through the track.

​But the song is another cover song, and like Butterflies, it sounds almost spot on like the original version. They basically just added Michael's voice and Santana on guitar.


​Break of Dawn


​Another favorite of mine. These are the kinds of R&B ballads we'd been missing from Michael. One can't help but notice how age and time have affected Michael's voice and style. 43 year-old Michael sung this differently than the 23 year-old Michael would have, but that's not a bad thing. The song was recorded in a low key, giving Michael's voice plenty of space to shudder, hiccup, float, growl or whatever else he attempts to convey. The song is a tropical groove. Like an older Jackson ballad (Liberian Girl) we're greeted by birds at the start of the song.

Dr. Freeze is my personal favorite producer to work with Michael. The three songs they collaborated on, (Break of Dawn, Blue Gangsta and A Place With No Name) are all among my favorite Michael Jackson songs of all time. Freeze has a knack for melodic grooves and patterns that repeat themselves and hook you in.

On each song they collaborated on, Freeze sang the background vocals and did so in a thick, choral way that added more depth to the songs. (Freeze said in an interview that Michael loved Freeze's background vocals so much  that he just left them as is)

But unlike the other demos, this one came a long way. Michael and Freeze actually put in some work here and completely reworked this song...the only remains of the weird demo are the chords.




​Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen


​On Invincible, there are times when Michael ends up sounding like a guest singer on his own album. There are only two songs written and produced by Jackson alone - Speechless and The Lost Children.

R. Kelly, Babyface, Rodney Jerkins, Teddy Riley, Andre Harris and Dr. Freeze all make contributions to this album, and as a result the Michael Jackson magic gets lost at times. For starters, Michael started having other people singing background vocals with him. Those signature Michael Jackson harmonies are solely missing on this album; You Rock My World may be the only song where he sung all the vocals.

We only get a signature "Hee-Hee" one time on the whole album, and that was on the song, Privacy. The different producers and writers on the album were leading Michael in different directions and it was as if he wanted to please all audiences so he allowed them to have their way. The result is an uneven collection of songs, especially on the second half of the album.

When you reference Michael's earlier solo albums, you'll notice that he worked best with just one producer. This is why Off The Wall, Thriller and BAD were so consistent as albums- the tracklists were shorter, and Michael was able to establish a set sound with Quincy that flowed throughout those albums.

Hiring all of these outsiders was a mistake. You Are My Life is easily the worst song Babyface ever wrote in his life. How the hell did this weepy song make the album? The R.Kelly contribution, Cry, is a blatant remake of Man in The Mirror, right down to the repeating "Woo!"s at the climax of the song.

Break of Dawn was a brilliant song, as was Butterflies. I can't help but feel that if Michael worked solely with Dr. Freeze or Andre Harris, the entire album would have maintained the sound of those songs. That's the album we thought we were going to get, and the album we needed.
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via GIPHY

Timing


​Timing is everything, and the bottom line is that they took too long working on Invincible. Each of the Rodney Jerkins tracks already sounded outdated by the time the album was released.

The digital bouncy beats produced by Jerkins sounded just like the material he was producing in the late '90s for artists like Joe, Destiny's Child, Brandy, etc. You Rock My World was recorded in October 1999, and you can tell by listening to it. By 2001 when it was released, the song was already two years old.

Also, Rodney and Michael were attempting to mimic the sounds that Timbaland had been using during the late '90s and early 2000s. The sharp hi-hat patterns on Heartbreaker are the same ones heard on the Jay-Z song Jigga What?​ Likewise, the "burping" bass effect on Heartbreaker was borrowed from Pony by Ginuwine. (Both songs were produced by Timbaland). But again, by 2001, Timbaland had already long moved on from that digital percussive sound. 

R&B had changed by 2001 and the neo-soul sound was taking off, which is why Butterflies was one of the few songs on the album that sounded current at that time. Invincible (especially the Rodney Jerkins-produced tracks) would have fared much better if it had been released in 1999. 


via GIPHY

What I liked


​While Invincible is MJ's most flawed album in my opinion, that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot to like about it. Michael's last true R&B albums were Off The Wall and Thriller (although both albums had their pop moments). Some of the songs on Invincible (particularly Break of Dawn, Heaven Can Wait and Butterflies) were the most soulful we've heard him since those albums. This was the closest thing to a pure R&B album we had from Michael since Thriller. 

I like how Michael tried new things vocally on this album. An obvious example being the song 2000 Watts, where Michael's voice is oddly pitched noticeably deeper. To this day, fans disagree about whether his voice was digitally deepened as an effect for the song or if Michael naturally sung it that way. Regardless, it's a standout moment. Michael's crying falsetto on Butterflies is another. These are vocal surprises no one expected. 

Speaking of vocal surprises, Michael's speaking voice also underwent a temporary change around this time. His voice on the intro to You Rock My World is not the childish whisper we're used to hearing from Michael. He also spoke with a more resonant voice in the music video. If this was a ploy to realistically embrace a new audience and appear less weird, I think it was an admirable attempt. The elusive Peter Pan persona was not winning people over in the 2000s.

You Rock My World wasn't a bad song, and it was a nice modern twist on the sound Michael had when he worked with Quincy Jones. The structure of the song and the way he sung it reminds me of Remember The Time, however. 

Speechless is another album highlight. Because he wrote and produced the track by himself, it is one of the few "pure Michael" moments on the album. We needed much more of this.

Speechless and Butterflies remind you that the man could still sing. Both songs (especially Butterflies) showed that Michael still had the same falsetto voice that accompanied the lush grooves on Off The Wall and Thriller.

Speechless opens in acapella, a rare treat for a Michael Jackson album. As his adult career went on, Michael become more a dancer who sang rather than a singer who danced. Some of these songs are a good reminder that although he adjusted his style as he aged, he could still sing as good as anybody.

More so than the music, Invincible reminds me of exactly what was going on in my life at that time. I was in the 10th grade, learning how to drive, and I had my first date just days before the album dropped. America was still recovering from 9/11, and Chris Jericho had just finally won "the big one" by defeating The Rock at WWE No Mercy.

Even though overall the album disappointed me, it reminds me of what life was like as a 15 year-old during that breezy fall of 2001.
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Salvage (2006)

12/6/2013

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Disclaimer: This review does contain spoilers.

Salvage (originally titled Gruesome) is one of my favorite horror stories of this era. It was written and directed by the film-making brothers Joshua and Jeffrey Crook and was released straight to DVD in 2006. The movie stars Lauren Currie Lewis as Claire Parker, a 19 year-old who gets murdered over and over again in an endless loop by some weird guy named Duke Desmond. I don't know why, but that name is really funny to me. Say it out loud for yourself. Duke Desmond. 

I probably would have never come across this movie if my wife hadn't bought me one of those Horror Movie Collections in the $5 bin at Walmart. You know, those horror collections featuring low budget movies? Of the movies in the collection, Salvage was the only real winner and the rest were forgettable. It's not on the level of recent horror movies like The Ring, Drag Me To Hell or Insidious. But it does not deserve to be in the $5 bin where no one will find it. I can see what the Crook brothers were trying to accomplish. And I have to give them credit. In this writer's opinion, they pulled it off. Or at least to the best degree they could during filming. I think they did a decent job, especially considering this was their first horror film.

"The Only Thing Real Is What You Feel....."

PictureThe Bad Ass Duke Desmond!!!!
Claire is reliving the same day over and over again. No matter how she tries to avoid it, she is viciously murdered by the evil, red-headed Duke Desmond. (Chris Ferry) Once she's killed, she wakes up at the conclusion of her graveyard shift at                                                                                           the gas station.

I personally like storylines like this one. To me, Salvage is a low-budget cross between A Nightmare On Elm Street and an episode of Tales From The Crypt called Whirlpool. The Elm Street comparison comes from the fact that Claire is always haunted by Duke. Duke doesn't have the powers and creativity of Freddie Krueger, but he's insistent on murdering her and never fails to succeed. Tales From The Crypt is one of my favorite shows. In an episode from Season 6 called Whirlpool, a woman is in an endless loop where she is always gunned down by the police. It doesn't matter how much she tries to avoid it; the story ends with her laying in a pool of her own blood courtesy of the cops. Once she dies, she wakes up and relives the nightmare again. Salvage has the same concept.

One of the fun things about Salvage is the music. Apparently the producers couldn't afford the real Evanescence, so they hired a sound-a-like band named Devola. Their lead singer sounds eerily similar to Evanescence's lead singer, Amy Lee. Don't believe me? Watch the following scene from the movie and listen to the music starting from 6:00 onward.

Now, how long did it take you to yell out "Evanescence!!!" Devola already had a similar sound, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until the lead singer confirmed my theory with her Amy Lee-esque vocals. 

Now back to the movie. Chris Ferry does a good job as the badass Duke Desmond. (Gawd I love that name!!) He's creepy and a bit slow, but insistent on killing you. To elaborate, when I say "slow," I mean both mentally and physically. Mentally, the guy isn't all there, but he isn't rushing for the kill either. The few times Claire outsmarts him or prolongs her lifespan, it doesn't bother Duke because he knows he'll get her eventually anyway. To me that's the scariest thing about Duke. You and he both know that he's going to kill you and there's nothing you can do to stop him. So Duke decides not to break a sweat and enjoys watching Claire lose her mind as he patiently pursues. If Duke was after me I'd whoop his ass. I interviewed and sparred with former Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier's son Marvis, so I know a thing or two about smashing you on the chin with a left hook. But Claire is more vulnerable, being a 105-pound girl and all. And with her boyfriend constantly getting killed before her, she's always left alone with Mr. Desmond to meet her horrible fate. Damn. 
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Claire being dragged to her bloody death by the Bad Ass Duke Desmond..
Claire's boyfriend Jimmy (Cody Darbe) is the film's comic relief. I'll tell you two specific things that had me laughing out loud. Throughout the film, he's obsessed with banging Claire's best friend Jen (Jessica DeLong). In one of his earliest scenes he revealed his desire for a three-way between them. Later on, when Claire and Jimmy investigate the home of the badass Duke Desmond (there goes that name again) Jimmy suddenly decides to take a dump. Really? So this guy is repeatedly murdering you and Claire over and over again, and you want to take a dump in his house? Well, Jimmy paid for it as he was murdered by Duke on the toilet. 

Other than Jimmy, there's not much to laugh at in this movie and that's what I like. The movie attempts to be real horror. The suspense throughout is pretty good. Why is Duke repeatedly killing Claire? Who is he? Is he dead? Is Claire really dead? Why does Claire's mom stand around in the basement in the dark like a moron? (I'm serious...she does this quite often). What are the police hiding? What's going on?

We finally find out in the end that "Claire" is really Duke, being punished for all eternity for his sins. He murdered Claire and Jimmy, so he takes the form of Claire and is murdered by a demon version of Duke over and over, each time feeling the horrific pain that Claire felt. It's not a hard twist to figure out because clues are scattered throughout the movie.


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Don't let the bathtub image fool you. Unfortunately there's no female nudity in this film.
After watching the movie for the first time I was confused by a few things. Like, what were the creepy things jumping around whenever Claire wasn't looking? My best guess is that it was demons lurking around, disguising themselves as Claire's associates. Also, when Duke was stalking Claire, why did he open his mouth really wide? What was the purpose of that? And, in the film's climax, it looks like demon representations of Claire and Jimmy were standing behind demon Duke as he prepared to kill the real Duke. Their mouths are hanging open too, as if ready to take a huge bite out of a Big Mac. Look at the picture below and let me know what you think. If anyone knows the answers to these questions let me know. 
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Looks like Claire and Jimmy in the background..
I heard the film was made with a budget of $25,000. Some of the cast members took on traditional crew roles. For example, Lauren Currie Lewis (the star of the film) did hair and makeup. But like I said earlier, the low budget made things more fun. After all, isn't it more fun listening to a band attempt to sound like Evanescence than hearing the real thing? Little things like that interest me and make films like Salvage stand out. The movie takes itself seriously as far as the plot and acting go, but the technical problems lighten things up and make it more enjoyable in a sense.

All in all this wasn't a bad film. You've got a villain with a badass name (Duke Desmond). You also get background music from a very Evanescence-inspired rock band and a decent amount of suspense. To me, the movie was interesting throughout. In each of Claire's "lives," you know that Duke is going to somehow catch her and rip her face off in her basement, but you don't know how they will arrive at that screamish moment. It's different each time. Furthermore, Claire's death is one of the most brutal I've seen in any movie. Someone pinning you down, cutting you around your face and then violently ripping it off??!! You scream and scream and scream your final screams as loud as you can but no one can hear you because you're in a basement? That's horrific and very sad because Claire seemed like a nice girl and didn't deserve to die, especially like that. Geez. But that's a good horror story for you. You're supposed to walk away feeling disturbed.


Also, Lauren Currie Lewis is very easy on the eyes. Because of these factors, I have to give Salvage 6 out of 10 stars. Far from a masterpiece but it doesn't deserve to be overlooked the way it is. Check out the trailer for the film below.

****** Six Stars Out Of Ten
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The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare

11/18/2013

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Being a longtime horror fan, one of my favorite all-time horror flicks has to be greatly under-appreciated film, The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare. Well, it's not the original nightmare as the title suggests. It's actually a remake of the 1981 film, The Howling, directed by "Gremlins" Director Joe Dante. That film was based on the book, The Howling, by Gary Brandner. This movie, however, is a closer adaptation to the novel.

As a kid I didn't know what it was about this movie that kept me interested. No matter when it came on TV, I tuned in despite seeing it hundreds of times. The movie went straight to video in 1988 and was panned by nearly every critic known to man. It's a bad film but to me, a very enjoyable one.

The plot is simple enough. A stressed out writer named Marie Adams (Romy Windsor) is having hallucinations and nightmares about a creepy wide-eyed nun and a wolf-like creature. (Random pairing, I know). Under the advice of her doctor, she and her husband Richard retreat to a cottage in the small, isolated town of Drago to clear her mind for a few weeks. The few people in the town are strange. There's the sheriff, who walks and acts as if there's a stick up his ass. Next, there's local store owners Mr. and Mrs. Ormstead. (The latter is a little too proud of her role as the town gossip). There's also Eleanor, (Lamya Derval) a strange but flirty and attractive artist. Early in the film we also meet Marie's agent Tom, whom Marie is having an affair with. (Gasp!!) Naturally, Richard is disapproving of Tom, especially when Marie tried to insist that he sleep over. Apparently Richard isn't into threesomes. 


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As the story progresses, things happen as they do in every movie. I mean, what kind of movie would it be if nothing happened? Highlights include Marie's cute poodle disappearing (later discovered murdered), strange howling in the woods every night, Marie finding a damn paw print on the cottage door, (WTF??) and random ghosts appearing in the house and telling Marie to get the hell out. (Though she never takes the hint). Also, everyone in the town seems to know everything that goes on involving Marie and Richard, especially that damn nosy Mrs. Ormstead!!

A former nun and fan of Marie named Janice (Susanne Severeid) shows up unannounced at the cottage. Apparently the mute nun with huge eyes that Marie had been sexually fantasizing about was actually a fellow nun and friend of Janice. (OK, so Marie wasn't sexually fantasizing about the nun. It's not that kind of movie. LOL!!! But, she was haunted by her. That's the truth). 

The nun, Sister Ruth, disappeared from the convent and was found in Drago by the Sheriff. She was out of her mind and ill, muttering the words, "We're all in fear." Huh, so I guess she could talk. But anyway, Sister Ruth starved herself to death. Janice renounced her Nunship (is that a word?) and went to Drago to find out what happened to her fallen wide-eyed friend. 


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"Have you seen Whoopi Goldberg or the rest of the cast of Sister Act?"
Together, Janice and Marie work together like a clumsy Batman and Robin to get to the bottom of things. In the meantime, a couple hiking in the woods is briefly taken in by Marie and find themselves devoured by a werewolf almost immediately after departing. I find it annoying when movies bring in certain characters just to die. The hikers were the token throwaway characters in this story.

Now, this happens midway through the film and the werewolf that mauls them isn't even shown. Blood and gore is kept to a minimum. What's worse? This werewolf attack happens during broad daylight!  Everyone knows werewolves are nocturnal and controlled by the full moon. So what gives? The filmmakers are breaking serious tradition here. I guess they figured they could get away with it because the howling creatures aren't confirmed to be werewolves just yet in the film. 

Anyway, things keep progressing and eventually the mysteries behind the town, the ghosts, and Sister Ruth are all explained. I don't want to provide too many spoilers but I'll list some of the pros and cons of the film.

Pros

Epic Transformations

In my opinion, this movie has the most memorable werewolf transformation ever filmed. When I think of werewolf transformations this is what pops in my head first. I like it because it's a bit different. Rather than Richard undergoing a painful transformation right before your eyes, his skin literally melts off, his bones break, and he sinks into the ground as the town werewolves emerge from the shadows and chant  "Satan Calls You!"  His bones change shape down in the puddle created by his melted skin and he reforms as a bloodthirsty werewolf. I liked Makeup Artist Rick Baker's work in An American Werewolf In London and Michael Jackson's Thriller, but the werewolf transformation here will still be fresh in your mind after the closing credits because nothing like it was ever done at that time. It may not be the best werewolf transformation but it's my favorite.I don't see how this scene was not considered epic at the time. Check it out for yourself.

Cheesy 1980s' Music

I was born in the 1980s, so naturally I have an appreciation for the music of that era. The music you hear in this movie is pure '80s. It's full of blaring synthesizers, rock guitars and programmed drum kits. In fact, some of the songs on the soundtrack sound like they could be rejects from Prince's Purple Rain album. (Review coming. Don't worry). The film's theme song is Something Evil, Something Dangerous composed and performed by Justin Haywood, lead singer of The Moody Blues. Come on. Don't tell me you're not feelin' this track.

Pure Horror.....Kinda

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Too many movies nowadays combine comedy and horror. Jennifer's Body was a perfect example of that. It had the potential to be a chilling film but the constant jokes drowned out any chance of it being scary. The Howling 4 doesn't have any jokes. It attempts to take you for a ride and terrify you. It would succeed but there are things I'll mention later that distract you from suffering any real fright.

In the end the film is unintentionally funny but it tried to be horror. That's something I appreciate. It's OK to combine horror and comedy sometimes but today it has become a trend and true horror is increasingly becoming a lost art. 


Cons

Cheesy, Dimwitted, Idiot Characters

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My cons aren't really cons per se, but minor annoyances that take away from the horror in the story. To put it bluntly, the characters are downright silly by today's standards. Look at Richard, the male lead. Richard tries to be a tough guy, but he has horrible '80s hair. Combine that with his dry, monotone voice and tight blue jeans, and you have a non-charismatic clown. For my female readers out there, is this the kind of guy you'd want protecting you in a dark alley, let alone a cottage surrounded by bloodthirsty werewolves? No wonder Marie was having an affair with Tom, who had much more personality and came across more realistic. Makes me wonder why she married that dud Richard in the first place? 

I'm not finished ranting on Richard yet. Throughout the whole film, he has this murderous stare in his eyes. (Yes, the same stare he has in the picture above). He's so wooden and quiet. Every time I watch the movie I expect him to suddenly stab Marie to death yelling, "Die you stupid, stupid bitch!" But it never happens. 

Marie is likable but not the brightest crayon in the box. When a stranger appears on her doorstep saying she's a fan, Marie invites her in for coffee without hesitation! Fans can be creepy and dangerous. Did Marie not learn anything from the tragic death of John Lennon? (sighs) The two lead characters have their misgivings, but the whispery townspeople do have a reserved creepiness about them. They are clearly withholding information from Marie. Are they murderers? Werewolves? Ghosts? Vampires? The suspense works and is a big part of the pacing, which I'll get to now.

Pacing

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Many fans and reviewers said the movie dragged and I can see why they say that. The first werewolf attack happens midway through and we don't even see the wolves that much until the climax at the end. But I enjoy the ride.There's a lot of suspense and the characters are (unintentionally) very amusing, so it's a fun journey to see Marie getting freaked out by random ghosts and watching Richard's character get more and more robotic by the minute. The clueless characters, backed by the synthy 80s' music make the movie very enjoyable. And when we do see the werewolf transformations it is a nice payoff, though some of the werewolves look like normal wolves with glowing red eyes. I assume that this is when the filmmakers ran out of money. But some of the wolves, like wolfie here on the right, looked pretty vicious.

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"I'll ask you AGAIN. Have you seen Whoopi Goldberg and the cast of Sister Act? I believe I'm in the wrong movie. Thank you."

Final Thoughts

This movie is far from great but I can see what they were trying to accomplish. You could say it falls into the "So Bad It's Good" category. If you're running short on late night comedies to watch, this one would make a great substitute. I'd rate it 6 out of 10 because it's always entertaining to watch.
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    Award-Winning Journalist A.J. Dugger III

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    A.J. Dugger is an Award-Winning Television and Print & Media Journalist.

    He appears as a crime analyst on the TV-One crime series, For My Man, and is the author of four books: Black Journals,  the horror anthology SoUtHeRn TeRrOr, the mystery crime thriller Who KILLED Joel Larson? and The Dealers: Then and Now, the sensational story of his mother and uncles' career as a funk band.

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