INTRODUCTION: A COMEDY TRAPPED IN UNIFORM Private Benjamin (1980) is a film built on a one-joke premise: what happens when a spoiled, pampered woman suddenly finds herself in the military? Unfortunately, once the film plays that card—early and often—it never figures out what to do with the rest of the deck. Starring Goldie Hawn in … Read More “Private Benjamin (1980) — A Premise With Promise, Derailed By Its Own Gimmick” »
INTRODUCTION: A DIFFERENT KIND OF SPORTS MOVIE There are films that focus on the glory of sport, and then there are films like Breaking Away (1979), which use sport as a lens to explore something much more human: class struggle, identity, and the painfully funny, often beautiful journey of figuring out who you are. Directed … Read More “Breaking Away (1979) — Pedaling Through Class, Identity, and Coming of Age” »
INTRODUCTION: LOUD, PROUD, AND UNFOCUSED The late 1970s gave birth to some of the most memorable cult films ever made. Some of them were genre-defining classics (The Warriors, Alien), while others achieved midnight movie status through sheer audacity or accident. Then there’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979), a film so loud, chaotic, and juvenile … Read More “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979) — A Sonic Mess with a Soles Highlight” »
INTRODUCTION: A ROAD TRIP TO NOWHERE There’s a peculiar breed of film from the late 1970s that tries to blend introspection with structureless storytelling—a sort of pseudo-European moodiness filtered through American self-help culture. Old Boyfriends (1979) is one of them. Directed by Joan Tewkesbury (best known as a screenwriter for Robert Altman’s Nashville) and starring … Read More “Old Boyfriends (1979) – A Meandering Therapy Session in Search of a Plot” »
INTRODUCTION: BLOOD, ANGST, AND A PROM TO FORGET There are few films as enshrined in the horror canon as Carrie (1976), Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel. It’s often credited as a masterpiece of psychological horror, a landmark teen tragedy, and a breakthrough for several actors, particularly Sissy Spacek. And for a … Read More “Carrie (1976) – High School Horror That Peaked Too Early” »
INTRODUCTION: THE ’90s LUST MACHINE SPUTTERS If ever there was a time when films could survive on nothing more than a couple of sex scenes, a shady psychiatrist, a thunderstorm or two, and some suspiciously well-lit lingerie, it was the early 1990s. This was the heyday of late-night cable erotic thrillers—where narrative came second, third, … Read More “Sins of Desire (1993) – A Softcore Sleazefest That’s All Sin, No Desire” »
INTRODUCTION: T&A AND TNT WITHOUT THE FUSE By 1991, the erotic thriller had splintered into dozens of B-movie subcategories: the steamy legal drama, the forbidden-affair-with-guns flick, and, perhaps the most shameless of them all, the “stripping-gone-wrong” genre. Legal Tender, directed by Jag Mundhra and written by Barry Roberts, dives headfirst into this last one and … Read More “Legal Tender (1991) – A Court Case of Cinematic Negligence” »
Inner Sanctum (1991) – A Lifeless Thriller That Flatlines on Arrival INTRODUCTION: THE SANCTUM IS EMPTY The early 1990s saw a flood of erotic thrillers washing over the video store landscape, most of them cashing in on the success of Fatal Attraction and the cultural frenzy leading up to Basic Instinct. It was a moment … Read More “Inner Sanctum (1991) – A Low-Budget Misfire Disguised as Erotic Mystery” »
INTRODUCTION: SEX, SURVEILLANCE, AND SNOOZE Back in the early ’90s, the erotic thriller was having its cultural moment. Fatal Attraction had shocked audiences just a few years earlier, and by the time Basic Instinct rolled around in 1992, the formula was well-worn: seductive women, weak men, voyeurism, murder, and moody saxophone music. Somewhere in the … Read More “Night Eyes (1990) – A Softcore Thriller with No Pulse” »
INTRODUCTION: A MISSED OPPORTUNITY PINNED BY ITS OWN SILLINESS In the strange hybrid universe of 1980s pop culture, wrestling was white-hot. Hulkamania was sweeping the nation, MTV was still showing music videos, and every kid on the block had at least one action figure in tights and boots. It was the perfect time for a … Read More “Body Slam (1986) – Star Power in the Ring, Script on the Mat” »
