Let's see what's in the Culture Corner

Shades of Gray resident Queer Old Coot brings us another tip on how to behave to span the gaps between the bickering generations! (Click on the cartoon to see larger, more easily read version.)

Sarah did some scribbling...

 

In addition to the always-amusing Sarah's Scriibles, Sarah Andersen has brought us the excellent Halloweenish strip "Fangs". It's the story of true love between a vampire and a werewolf, and here's my review of a book collecting most (if not all) of them.

Fanny Friday!

Bullies get what they deserve in "Full Circle"

Full Circle (2016)
Starring: Michelle Shampton, Abby Main, David Schwering, Morgan Nash, and Cameron Gall

Director: Abby Main

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Three bullies (Gall, Nash, and Schwering) are set upon by a mysterious, blood-thirsty avenger (Main) after they pick on the wrong girl (Shampton).

"Full Circle" is another of those obscure student films that I've uncovered in the dark and dusty abandoned corners of YouTube. The story is structured like the original "there's a killer on campus"-type films where teens and twenty-somethings are brutally murdered... but you, as the viewer, can't help but feel like cheering the killer on because the victims are so reprehensible. There are a couple twists, however, that lifts this film above so many others of this type. 

There are some negatives here, though, and they mostly focus on lead actress Michelle Shampton. For about half of the film's running time, you'll think that she might be suffering from some mental disability because she seems abnormally cheerful. Eventually, we learn the real reason for her behavior and the issue is that Shampton was just going a bit over-the-top with her performance. In the scene where this becomes obvious, we actually get a look at proof that she actually is a pretty good actress. It's a shame that this appears to be the only film she was in. (This is true of all the cast members, actually.)

Another (nitpicky and personal) complaint is the artificial film "aging" artifacts that have been added to "Full Circle". Based on the overall look of the footage, I am guessing that it was originally shot with a digital camera and the desaturated to achieve the black-and-white look. It's done better here than in many other student efforts I've watched over the years, but adding streaks and other fake "old movie" flaws to the film is taking this a step too far. In my opinion, such effects should only be added to a film that its creators are trying to make look like it's from the "olden days" (which is not the case here), or the damage is so extreme that a claim can be made that it was "restored from footage recovered under desperate circumstances after it was nearly destroyed". The light "damage/wear-and-tear" touches to a film that's clearly set in the 1990s or 2000s are more distracting than anything else. Or at least it is to me.

Despite those two paragraphs of negativity, I feel this is a film that's well worth you time, if you like works of the "disgusting people get their due" variety. The fact that it has a couple plot twists that put it a little outside the norm makes it even better. So, take a few minutes out of your busy day and check out "Full Circle". (You might even be able to get away with watching it at work, since it's a silent movie and you just turn down the volume on the music!)

It's International Leggings Day!

There's a day for everything it seems... and today it the day when we are to celebrate and honor girls and women who wear tights! So here's Italian actress Claudia Cardinale showing off hers!

Halloween is coming...

... and Vampirella is getting ready!

Lugosi Stars in a Tale Love and Zombies

White Zombie (1932)
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Robert Frazer, John Harron, and Joseph Cawthorn
Director: Victor Halperin
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

When Haitian plantation owner Charles Beaumont (Frazer) becomes obsessed with the beautiful Madeleine (Bellamy), he invites her and her husband-to-be (Harron) to have their marriage and spend their honeymoon at his plantation. When he fails to win Madeleine's heart, he turns to his neighbor, 'Murder' Legendre (Lugosi) and asks him to use his powers to make zombies to recreate Madeleine as his love slave. Will Madeleine and the local priest (Cawthorn) unmask Legendre's evil and save Madeleine from a fate worse than death, or will they merely become yet another pair of zombies in Legendre's growing force of mindless slaves?


"White Zombie" has been described as the first zombie movie ever made. I don't know if this is true or not, but it is definately one of the best. It predates the flesh-eating blood-spattered cannibal zombies of George Romero, but instead relies upon traditional zombie myths and tales of dark sorcery to generate its chills. 

This is a stylishly filmed movie that features creepy performances by Lugosi and Bellamy, and scenes that drip with creepiness, as Legendre's mindless slaves work his sugar mills, and as a ghostly, zombie-fied Madeleine glides silently through the vaulted halls of Legendre' house. (The height of creepiness is reached when the depth of Legendre's evil is fully revealed and he gradually starts turning Charles Beaumont into a zombie as well.)

"White Zombie" is a must-see for fans of classic horror movies in general, and fans of zombie movies in particular. It is the one of the roots from which the horror genre sprang. Heck, the film should be required viewing for anyone who is currently making horror movies... if filmmakers chose to emulate a work like this, maybe we'd have more decent horror movies coming out.

But don't just take my word for it. Click on the embedded video below to watch this fabulous movie via The Screening Room that's part of my YouTube Channel!

Musical Monday in the Twilight Zone

As Halloween draws nearer, we bring you a nifty cover from that strange dimension, the Twilight Zone!

"Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring is a favorite in these parts (and this isn't the first cover of that fabulous 1980s tune that's been featured here), and while we can quibble with some of vocal presentations here, the video is just about perfect and John Cunningham & Crew give us an EXCELLENT version!

'Samurai' by Gene Day

"Samurai" is an early work by the great comic book artist Gene Day. It's equal parts elegant and spooky, making it great feature for our month-long Halloween-build up here at Shades of Gray! (Click on the pages for larger, more easily read versions.)

It's a Fanny Friday!