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| 1986: The Las Vegas Serial Killer | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 29 2010, 07:54 AM (483 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Aug 29 2010, 07:54 AM Post #1 |
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A convicted strangler is released from prison on parole and heads to Las Vegas, where he begins a reign of terror by stalking and killing beautiful young women. Meanwhile, a pair of violent drifters hit town and begin a crime wave that mainly consists of robbery and assault; when one of the stranglings is blamed on them, their path and the path of the Las Vegas Strangler will cross – with deadly results. I gave the movie’s plot a lot more cohesion that it actually has. You’re welcome, Mr. Steckler. Ray Dennis Steckler (1938-2009) is one of my unsung heroes. Given a cheap camera as a teenager, he spent the rest of his life making cheap movies under a variety of aliases (he’s best known, perhaps, under his acting nom de plume, Cash Flagg). Cheap, yes, but actually quite professional (I’ve always been impressed by his setups and editing) and I have never seen a Steckler film that wasn’t brimming with entertainment (and pretty girls). Steckler made his directing (and acting) debut with Arch Hall, Jr. in the wacky rock & roll drama Wild Guitar (1962), and his string of credits includes The Incredibly Strange Creatures who Stopped Living and became Mixed-Up Zombies, The Lemon Grove Kids meet the Monsters, Rat Pfink a Boo Boo, The Hollywood Strangler meets the Skid Row Slasher, and a lot of other films with equally dumbfounding titles. Two boxed DVD sets of his work are available from Shriek Show, and it’s worth pointing out that you can’t buy two boxed sets of Orson Welles’ work, nope. The Las Vegas Serial Killer is a typical Steckler production, with stock music, dialogue dubbed in during post-production (so he films mostly reaction shots of people “listening” to the characters who are supposed to be talking), much random footage of local events such as parades and air shows, and – of course, ‘cause this is Vegas, baby – lots ‘n’ lots of titties. The film is more or less “narrated” by a radio newscaster giving updates on the search for the killer, and each update is repeated twice (hey, a lot of dead air to fill) which only becomes funnier as the film progresses. I’m just sorry that Cash Flagg himself isn’t in the film, although his presence is felt throughout the movie. The DVD includes two feature-length earlier “lost” versions of the film, both of which feature much of the footage that ended up in this one. These are the kind of movies I grew up watching, which’ll tell you all you need to know about MY formative years. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| toddgault | Aug 29 2010, 08:32 AM Post #2 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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You forgot the most important aspect of the late Mr. Steckler's work, the fact that he works without a script. According to the interview he gave on The Incredibly Strange Film Show, his films start out with a basic premise and then he just makes it up as he goes along as he gets new ideas or finds unused props he can incorporate into the film, which explains the bizarre plot twist at the halfway mark in Rat Pfink a Boo Boo which takes a left turn from being a stalker style suspense film and becomes s superhero parody. As for why he does this, he stated that since he always had so little money to actually make the films, it didn't make since to spend time working on a script when he couldn't afford to stick to it and then would never get to make the film. He was a true original. |
| Todd Gault..........Serial Buff | |
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| The Batman | Mar 17 2016, 03:15 PM Post #3 |
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LG, do you have the titles for the two boxed sets? I can't find them online, and I am...intrigued. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Mar 17 2016, 06:13 PM Post #4 |
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Midnight Movies Collection I and II. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| The Batman | Mar 17 2016, 06:15 PM Post #5 |
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Charter Member
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Thanks for the help, found them! |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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6:33 AM Jul 11