DISCLAIMER - My blog is an attempt to show respect to films some small minded, intellectually dishonest hipsters automatically label "bad". There is NO film I discuss here that I believe to be bad at all. The title of the blog comes from a discussion that took place some years ago when I was trying to explain the appeal of these films. The title is not meant to suggest I think these films are bad in the least. Remember - ART IS ART!
If you are a lover of genre films, you likely consider the 1970s to have been the greatest gift to cinema. The number of greats that come to mind when I think about that era and the seemingly countless classic films make me wish I could go back and experience it all again. But for all the giants that came out of that amazing decade, I always feel like one name fails to get mentioned as often as it should - Charles B. Pierce.
Pierce, Indiana born in 1938, wrote and directed several great pictures. But, perhaps his two best known and classic drive-in pictures, are The Legend of Boggy Creek and the truly spectacular The Town that Dreaded Sundown.
He began his career in Shreveport, Louisiana as a Television weatherman and afternoon kid's show host Mayor Chuckles (not unlike the late, great Briggs Gordon who portrayed Uncle Briggs on WSIL's The Funny Company in the 70s until the early 80s. A man who deserves an article as well). From there he moved into commercial work with an advertising agency that was quite successful. He took the success he had in commercial work and began a mockumentary style film about the Foulk Monster of Arkansas - a Bigfoot type of monster which had terrified the locals for a number of years.
In the 1970s, the topic of Bigfoot (or related creatures) was big business in books, television and especially genre pictures. In fact, Pierce's work was not the first Bigfoot themed movie of the 1970s. During the 1970s at the local drive-in you could enjoy The Legend of Bigfoot, The Creature from Black Lake, The Mysterious Monsters, The Capture of Bigfoot, and perhaps my all time favorite - Shriek of the Mutilated. A search for Bigfoot on Amazon Prime or Tubi indicates the topic is alive even in the 21st century with varying degrees of artistry.
Pierce returned to Arkansas in 1971, and inspired by the numerous stories he heard about a creature in the swamps near Fouke, he manage to put together $160,000 dollars of financing to shoot The Legend of Boggy Creek. With a small crew of high school students and a borrowed camera, Pierce shot the film between October 1971 and April 1972.
Pierce's film opened in the town of Texarkana and made almost 60K in three weeks before opening to larger territories across the US. When the film completed its initial run, it had racked up almost $25 million dollars and became the 10th highest grossing film in the United States in 1972.
Key to the thick tension of The Legend of Boggy Creek is the use of the mockumentary style of the film. I wouldn't go so far as to say the film is a predecessor of the found footage film, however the style is used in such a way one does get the feeling they are almost participants in the film and not simply observers.
Seeing this film at the old Star-Vue drive-in was a thrill. The movie unnerved me sufficiently as a kid I kept looking behind the car into the wooded area that surrounded the screen wondering what creatures lurked in the dark. Realistically, probably just neighborhood kids hoping to catch a free movie.
Pierce's use of locals for the picture certainly adds significant realism to the film. Much the same way the first 15 minutes of 1999's The Blair Witch Project did. Or, even to a greater extent, the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre two years later. I think it is a commonality in the great horror films - that exciting but horrifying feeling you are watching something you weren't meant to see which seems to make you implicated in what you are watching. It is there to a small extent in Psycho, but it truly ramped up in the 70s with pictures like Boggy Creek, TCM, and with the killer POV motif, Halloween.
Although the picture was released in 1972, but I don’t recall seeing it until 1975 or 1976. It was not unusual for films to make the drive-in circuit year after year, sometimes under different titles although that practice had declined significantly by the 70s. For instance, I didn’t see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Last House on the Left until the early 80s when those pictures would make the annual rounds. Of course, with interest in Bigfoot being almost unwavering until the end of the decade, the film would manage to rack up profits for much of the decade.
As much as I adore The Legend of Boggy Creek, Pierce’s masterpiece would be the 1976 horror/mystery The Town that Dread Sundown which he directed from a screenplay by Earl Smith (also with a role in the film). Part documentary and part conventional film, it tells the story of murder unsolved to this day in Texarkana. Over years of watching the film, I’m certainly not immune or unaware of some shortcomings. But the deficiencies are few and far between and are in no way sufficient enough to reduce the overall classic nature of the film.
This film can also boast some amazing acting from the entire cast which features Ben Johnson, Andrew Prine, Dawn Welles and Charles B. Pierce himself as Patrolman A. C. “Sparkplug” Benson. I may be a bit biased, but, I’ve always felt Pierce’s acting in the film is outstanding and he easily could have made a solid career as a character actor.
The film was successful enough, and ostensibly accurate enough, to generate a number of lawsuits from the families of some of the victims of the slayings. In fact, just the legal wrangling after the films success is wild enough to write an entire essay detailing the complaints and the results.The final sequence of the film is extremely well executed, and I think indicates the raw talent Pierce possessed. A talent that was not entirely unnoticed as Pierce moved to California for a time where he became an acquaintance and associate of Clint Eastwood.
Pierce continued to work until 1988 and declining health began to take its toll. Pierce died in 2010 at the age of 71 living in a nursing home the last seven years of his life. However, Pierce left a rich legacy of amazing film.
In fact, his work made a significant enough impression that 2014 saw the release of a “meta-sequel” also titled The Town that Dread Sundown. The film is unique in that Pierce film is discussed and is, in fact, being watched by the residents in the park as the film opens. It is an enjoyable film, but, one that is not altogether complimentary to a fictionalization of Pierce. I would certainly suggest viewing it, but, being familiar with the original will help you enjoy the film.
I hope, as time goes on, Charles B. Pierce is mentioned along with the other titans of drive-in cinema. Although his work was not as visceral as H.G. Lewis or Romero I think film historians will one day discover his influence is felt in film today. And I think every kid who got freaked out watching The Legend of Boggy Creek at the drive-in owes Mr. Pierce a sincere thank you.
DISCLAIMER - My blog is an attempt to show respect to films some small minded, intellectually dishonest hipsters automatically label "bad". There is NO film I discuss here that I believe to be bad at all. The title of the blog comes from a discussion that took place some years ago when I was trying to explain the appeal of these films. The title is not meant to suggest I think these films are bad in the least. Remember - ART IS ART!
In August 1969, followers of Charles Manson committed the brutal Tate-LaBianca murders. The sheer violence of the murders shocked people in the United States and around the world. The older generations, having fought in Europe and Asia, or worked in the factories to ensure a successful conclusion to the war, might have thought the world had gone to hell in a handbasket when the Beat Generation was on the rise. But, the hippies caused consternation for many. And it wasn't just the antics of the summer of love, or even the Manson murders that created anxiety.
A year prior to the Manson murders, a young couple was murdered in San Francisco and a similar attack occurred a year later, this time leaving one survivor. However, after the second attack, the killer phoned law enforcement to make them aware of the attack and to claim responsibility for the earlier murders. What followed was an extensive investigation coupled with bizarre phone calls and letters that opened with "this is the Zodiac speaking."
But, the violence of the era wasn't relegated to charismatic cult leaders and serial killers. Campus violence between students and law enforcement accelerated during the years 1968 and 1969 as the Vietnam War raged on and the Civil Rights movement gained traction. And in December 1969, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, an event where Hell's Angeles provided the "security" saw the death of Meredith Hunter. Hunter was stabbed to death while the Rolling Stones were on stage. This violent act affected both old and young. To the older generation, it seemed proof that the nation's rebellious youth had gone entirely mad. For the young, the violence at Altamont, so different from Woodstock, that it was perceived to be the death of the Woodstock nation.
While Hollywood, still under the sway of the Old Guard, was hardly a reflection of the concerns of both the younger and older generations, new voices were beginning to make their way into the Hollywood creative process. From 1955 until 1995, the more accurate mirror reflecting society was always the genre film. Perhaps, nothing explains the term exploitation better than the understanding that low-budget genre films were exploiting the fears of the nation by reflecting the concerns, trauma and desires of movie goers during this peak time in American low-budget cinema.
Into this turbulent and transitional time in the United States and the film industry enters David Durston, a Pennsylvania native who appeared on stage and radio, and then made the transition to television as a writer and producer. In time, Durston migrated from television to film, and with some pictures under his belt, he was contacted by the head of Cinemation Industries, Jerry Gross. At the time, Durston had written a screenplay he called "Phobia" based on a story he'd heard about a small village in Iraq where rabies had spread due to the attack of rabid wolves at a small school. Serendipitously, Durston was contacted by Jerry Gross, who asked Durston to make a film that "goes for the jugular." There was one caveat - the film could not have any vampires, werewolves, little green men, etc. Essentially, the film needed to be entirely original, not a retread of the same tired subjects that had consumed horror films for generations.
Durston embraced the opportunity to do something that had never been seen before and took Gross' "Go for the jugular" to heart. The Manson murders and the violence so prevalent in some parts of the country in mind, Durston rewrote the film Phobia to include a group of Satanic hippies, with Charismatic leader Horace Bones calling the shots. Phobia would be a four-week shoot in the mostly abandoned town of Sharon Springs, New York. The cast would include:
Horace Bones - Bhaskar Roy Chodhury (but credited on screen as Bhaskar)
Sue-Lin - Jadin Wong (but credited on screen as Jadine Wong)
Molly - Rhonda Fultz (but credited on screen as Ronda Fultz)
Rollo - George Patterson
Carrie - Lynn Lowry (but uncredited)
Pete Banner - Riley Mills
Syliva Banner - Arlene Farber (but uncredited)
Roger Davis - John Damon
Mildred Nash - Elizabeth Marner-Brooks
Doc Banner - Richard Bowler
Andy - Tyde Kierney
Dr. Oakes - David Durston
Let's look at some of the cast members before getting to the film's plot.
The extraordinary actor and dancer Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury died in 2003, and suffered a tragic fall on stage on October 25th, 1977 which resulted in his being wheelchair bound for the remainder of his life. I can't imagine making dance your life's work only to suffer that fate. There is a video you can find, which I believe is from the original DVD release of I Drink Your Blood, of Durston in Bhaskar's New York apartment watching the film. And while I feel Durston talks over him a bit, his voice sounded unchanged and he seemed to be happy.
Actress Jadin Wong died in New York city in 2010 but was working as late as 2006 when she appeared in Steve Martin's version of The Pink Panther. In addition to acting, she was a casting associate on Memoirs of a Geisha, The Pink Panther and Little Fockers. An impressive career that started as a dancer in 1939's Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation.
The actress Ronda Fultz plays Molly and she has this angelic face that seems so contradictory in the film. In the picture she is pregnant with Horace's child, although Horace seems to have little interest. Ms. Fultz also appeared in the film In Cold Blood, but made only one other film after I Drink Your Blood. I have found an article and a video, both from 2019 of interviews with her and I'm glad she is getting the attention she deserves Interview with Ronda Fultz On a side note, in the special edition Blu-ray, Durston notes that he got the actress to cry for a scene by making fun of her weight. I was dismayed to hear him say that, and say it with such little concern. I know some film fans idolize Kubrick, but I think the Kubrick treatment of degrading actors is not something that should be admired or appreciated, even if you believe the result on the screen is worth it. Ok - rant over.
Riley Mills who played Pete was born...and died in Los Angeles at the age of 42 in 2001. IMDB indicates this film and a single episode of Family Affair are his only acting credits.
Elizabeth Marner-Brooks would go on to appear in another cult classic genre film in 1983 when she appeared in The Deadly Spawn and is credited as Elissa Neil
And Alex Mann who portrayed Shelly and passed away in 2010 also maintained a profile in genre films appearing in pictures such as Microwave Massacre and Malibu High.
You may notice the writer/director of this picture also appears in the film as Dr. Oakes. According to Durston, the actor he hired arrived on set drunk and heart broken as his wife had left him. Sadly, Durston felt he needed to send him back as he was certain the actor would be unable to perform, and with no other options, Durston himself stepped in and gets the privilege of uttering a line that usually makes people chuckle, although Durston has noted he doesn't understand where the humor is in the line.
And, one young actress was not in the cast initially. Lynn Lowery arrived at Durston's office after casting had been completed. But Durston was so smitten by the beautiful young Lowery, he created the part of a deaf mute so that he could include her in the film without making changes to the screenplay.
To Durston's surprise, he was left alone by Gross and Cinemation management during the bulk of the shoot. However, after four weeks of shooting, Durston was called back to Los Angeles to meet with Gross and the rest of management. This suddenly put the film behind schedule. This meant two weeks of pick up shots at a farm in New Jersey instead of the original filming location.
The plot of the film is fascinating and shooting in a virtually abandoned town allowed Durston to create an oppressive isolation. The film opens with Horace Bones conducting a Satanic ceremony. Durston explained in interviews that he knew a lady who practiced Satanism and she told him about the ceremonies which allowed him to emulate the dark practice fairly accurately. During the ceremony, it is discovered that a young lady from town, Sylvia, is observing from the trees. We find out that she was invited by one of the group members named Andy. Horace is infuriated that Andy would invite an outsider to observe and members of the group attack her.
The next morning she is discovered brutalized (rape is only implied but never said) and barely able to walk by her little brother Pete and Mrs. Mildred Nash who runs the bakery in the dying town, mostly to provide goods to the construction crew working on the dam that will flood the town. She is taken home where her veterinarian grandfather looks after her. Mildred is convinced some of the construction workers building the nearby dam are responsible and asks her boyfriend Roger to help.
We find later that the cult members have taken up residence in the towns deserted and dilapidated hotel, and Sylvia's grandfather takes his shotgun to visit them and take revenge for what they've done to his granddaughter. However, Doc Banner lets the group get the better of him. He is beaten and is dosed with LSD. Pete comes to get his grandfather and by the time Pete gets him home, his grandfather is fully under the effects of the drug.
Pete has now seen this group attack both his sister and his grandfather and he determines he is the one who will settle the score. He takes the shotgun and begins to trek through the woods where he encounters a rabid dog. The dog charges to attack and Pete destroys the animal with a shotgun blast. Pete returns home and is asked by his sister what he has done and tells her he fired at a rabid dog. Later, Pete gathers supplies from his grandfathers office - rubber gloves and a large syringe. With these items in tow, Pete returns to the mad dog and draws a full syringe of blood from it.
The next morning Pete arrives at the bakery and tells Mildred that Sylvia won't be in today (she was raped and beaten maybe 30 hours earlier, was she really supposed to be in the next day?) but he can help with chores. Pete tells Mildred she may need to bake some more meat pies as the hippies will be in soon and will be hungry. Mildred agrees and when she returns to the back, Pete injects the goods on the counter with the blood of the rabid dog.
Just as Pete finishes, three of the group arrive and he sells them the tainted goods.
To see what happens next, you should check out the film.
Director Durston and star Tyde Kierney arrived at a theater to see the premiere of the film, but to their dismay they do not see the film Phobia showing, only a picture called I Drink Your Blood. As it turns out, possibly the most Hollywood thing that could happen, had happened. Gross had purchased film shot in Florida in 1964 titled Caribbean Adventure, a title used to hide from possible investors in the film that it was actually a zombie picture. The film was in the can by 1965 and was shopped around by different names such as Zombies, Zombie Bloodbath and Voodoo Bloodbath. All of the titles are funny if you've seen the film because, given its mid-60s production, it is likely one of the tamest zombie pictures ever produced.
So, in 1971 Jerry Gross purchased the film and retitled the film to I Eat Your Skin and also retiled Phobia to I Drink Your Blood so he could distribute the pictures as a double-feature (still prevalent at drive-ins and even many cinemas). Durston says he was livid, and, of course, who could blame him. But, the name change would almost be the least of Durston's worries.
I Drink Your Blood received an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. The first film to be given that rating based on violence alone. By the time the rating was given, Gross and Cinemation had shipped the film to hundreds of theaters and drive-ins. But, many cities and towns had civil codes that forbade the showing of X-rated materials at local establishments, so the theater owners were calling Cinemation and telling them they would not be screening the picture. In a legendary move, Gross and other members of the Cinemation board began to call and wire the exhibitors and told them to have their projectionist cut the film down as they saw fit to what they believed an R rating would be in their area. This resulted in two distinct outcomes. First - the film was screened and disaster averted. But secondly, it means at the time, there was essentially 500 different versions of the film. You could see the film in different cities, and also see a drastically different film. It wasn't until the film was restored in total for home video that people fully understood how much of the film had been removed to meet requirements.
As I wrap this article up, I'd like to make a couple historical points about this film.
First, as upset as Durston was at the title change, I suspect he may have been appreciative of later in life. Why? Well, the film is good. The acting is solid as is the story. The ability to shoot in a near abandoned town provides a sense of loneliness and dread. But, I don't think the film would be remembered the way it is now, at least not be genre fans. I've purchased the double-feature on different mediums several times, I have a favorite t-shirt with the double-feature one sheet on it and I even have a refrigerator magnet to remind me of this film every time I grab a beer. In fact, from the name change to the X rating to projectionist cutting the picture - all of this is a glorious reminder of a film industry long gone. When small companies would gamble on lesser known directors and stars and still, one way or another, manage to get those films in to drive-ins and cinemas. Eventually film makers were at least happy to get their films into the video stores, but with the demise of small studios and the Mom and Pop video store - that version of Hollywood is gone. And it is never coming back.
Finally, although I do feel like the name change and the initial X-rating give the film some genre cred, I feel like I'd be remiss if I don't revisit how the film reflected a kind of madness that many in middle America thought was becoming the norm rather than the exception. Keep in mind that the cult members getting rabies is not what made them evil, it only made them MORE evil. And - spoiler here - even the construction workers who fall pray to hydrophobia are not good hearted blue collar Americans; they were drunken perverts. Hydrophobia didn't make them sexually aggressive and violent, it made them MORE of what they already were. Sylvia, Pete and Doc Banner had to fight back in violence, but only because they were confronted by violence. Some will see young Pete as a hero, some a villain. But, I see a young man who did something dreadful not because he was dreadful, but because he loved his family.
DISCLAIMER - My blog is an attempt to show respect to films some small minded, intellectually dishonest hipsters automatically label "bad". There is NO film I discuss here that I believe to be bad at all. The title of the blog comes from a discussion that took place some years ago when I was trying to explain the appeal of these films. The title is not meant to suggest I think these films are bad in the least. Remember - ART IS ART!
Like a bad penny (RIP to the penny by the way) this blog keeps rolling back around. I think this may be the 3rd time I've dusted off the domain name. I've never retired from the blog because I lost interest in defending maligned or little known genre movies. Just sometimes life got away from me, usually because of my bad decisions. So, let's see how long before I screw something else up and the blog fades away again. Luckily, now that I've gotten old, I'm hoping the next time the blog goes into some kind of hiatus will simply be because I dropped dead.
From 1974 until 1987, a series of films were created predicated on the gimmick of being a standard broadcast day of a television station. This format meant the film didn't have to be a linear story but was a series of clips and skits somewhat similar to variety shows that were particularly popular in the 60s and 70s but with a bit of an edge. A similar approach would also be applied to late night television in 1974 with the premiere of Saturday Night (eventually Saturday Night Live) with Lorne Michaels ripping off Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
The first film I became aware of using this specific premise was The Groove Tube released in 1974, but unseen by me until the summer of 1978 when 11 year old me watched it at the Star-Vue drive-in along with Flesh Gordon. I'll just let that sink in for a bit but believe me it explains a lot about how I turned out.
Of course, four years later the brilliant minds that would give the world Airplane and Police Squad would produce The Kentucky Fried Movie. Another classic of the "broadcast day" genre, but perhaps a little less political (not entirely, it just isn't as pronounced) and of course, unlike the Groove Tube, it was Chevy Chase free. But, that can't be said of the film that dropped in between the two, and one I only became aware of in the last year thanks to the treasure trove that is Tubi Side note: Tubi is the online version of what the USA Network used to be in the mid-80s. A provider of bat shit insane media that gave us the likes of Commander USA and Night Flight. And not just the 80s. USA had classics like Up All Night, Duckman and Campus Cops. The network was a fever dream for someone like me. Hopefully Tubi won't suffer the same fate as the USA Network. Fuck, does the USA Network even still exist? And if it does...should it?
But, I digress.
The film that dropped in between The Groove Tube and The Kentucky Fried Movie was Tunnel Vision (sometimes noted as Tunnelvision). In tone and execution, the film has more in common with The Groove Tube than Kentucky Fried Movie...right down to a Chevy Chase cameo.
The film was written by Neil Israel and Michael Mislove. Israel would go on to write or direct some of the biggest comedy hits of the 80s such as Police Academy, Real Genius and Bachelor party, as well as the less known, but under appreciated Moving Violations, with John Murray doing his best to mimic his older brother Bill. And he did a damn good job in my opinion. Sharing co-director responsibilities with Israel was Brad Swirnoff, who directed only one other picture after this for some reason.
The film opens with a congressional hearing in 1985 to discuss the nationwide ramifications of the Tunnel Vision network. The network was denied permission by the FCC to air, but in a landmark Supreme Court case, Tunnelvision is allowed to broadcast free and uncensored. Evidently it is so appealing to the masses (after a rough decade for the United States) that people have simply stopped going to work so they can watch the network all day. This is to the chagrin of several US Senators, the two most prominent played by Billy Jack alums Howard Hesseman as Senator McMannus and Beans Morocco (credited here as Dan Barrows) as Senator Polanski.
The congress members begin showing a typical broadcast day for Tunnel Vision. And it is at this point, should you decide to view the film on Tubi, that I advise anyone with a thin skin or no sense of humor to turn it off and move on to something on the Hallmark channel, because shit is about to get real people. I pride myself on two things - my sense of humor and my sick sense of humor, and there are a couple of spots in this film where I said out loud (to myself...I live alone) "What the...". So, you've been warned. Don't come crying to me when you are presented with ideas or words you don't like. I didn't like some of the stuff I heard either, and I survived. I can't believe I have to write that, but these are the times we live in.
Because of the format of the film, it's a bit difficult to go into any serious details about a plot, other than to say the film is essentially being presented as evidence by the Senate committee about the generally deplorable programming of the network. And, of course, I don't want to spoil the laugh (or shock) you may get from many of the bits in the film. I can say that, in today's intellectual and political climate, there are at least three to four points in the film that make me surprised it is available to stream anywhere at all. Certainly the Dr. Manuel Labor Spanish class is a segment that could push buttons for some, but you have to admire the sheer gusto with which Ron Silver dives into the bit. The gimmick, performed by someone with less talent or middling comedic timing would make the sketch cringe worthy (well, cringier perhaps). And, the fact that at least one of those bits, the Ramon and Sonja "sitcom", was meant to be shocking and offensive at the time, as clearly indicated by the show's opening theme song, and that it was included nevertheless does go to show how we have regressed as a society in some ways (at least in our willingness to laugh at things that are offensive). Other bits showcase a television show about male pregnancy, a concept likely to not be undertaken by a comedy film today, a sitcom about Charles Manson called Charlies Girls mixing the Manson family with Charlies Angeles only a decade after the Manson murders must have caused some groans in the theater at the time. But, ultimately, that is what comedy does. Even to the extent that "too soon" is the payoff for some jokes or how the great Norm MacDonald would make people laugh at 9/11 jokes - "I walked through blood and bone in Manhattan looking for my brother...he was up in Northern Canada."
Moving on a bit as there is no distinct plot per se to discuss, let's look at the cast of this film, because it is stunning.
There are a number of future SNL and SCTV members in this film. From SCTV this film has segments that feature Joe Flaherty and John Candy. Strange to see John Candy so young and then realize that in less than 20 years he would be gone. But, both comedians make it abundantly clear why they are remembered today and likely will be for decades to come. Admittedly, Joe Flaherty does not always get the same attention as John Candy, but any comedy or Rush fan will always miss him.
Turning to the SNL side of things, there is the aforementioned Chevy Chase, playing Chevy Chase. No, I don't mean acting like a douche nozzle, I genuinely mean he plays Chevy Chase. He was probably paid for 30 minutes of work in blow and hookers. Playing Sonja in the aforementioned Ramon and Sonja is original "Not Ready for Prime Time" player Laraine Newman - who goes in hard in her portrayal of Sonja. Additionally, former Minnesota senator Al Franken and co-writing partner Tom Davis also provide some reliable laughs. I'm not a huge fan of Franken's politics or his time in the Senate, which is, nevertheless, an impressive position on anybody's resume regardless of which side you support, but he has always had proper comedy chops and I think to that regard his political career has overshadowed his comedy skill. But, he is(was?) a good comedian even when he was crapping on my side of the aisle. I mean, funny is funny. If you can't laugh at yourself then you're taking everything way too seriously.
But, it isn't just the future superstars in the movie that are impressive. Genre favorite and Joe Dante regular William Schallert is featured in a bit that was likely hilarious half a century ago and now feels just a little too close to home now. But, the beauty of his segment is that Schallert, already a seasoned Hollywood character actor, happily plays along. Kenneth Tobey did the same thing for Joe Dante a decade later in Gremlins 2, a film as self-referential as Tunnelvision.
So, if your skin is thick and you are looking for equal part laughs and groans of astonishment, I can fully recommend this film. As of November 2025, Tunnelvision remains on Tubitv.com so, if this short write up made you interested in the film, you can still catch it there until someone with absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever discovers its there...and then who knows.
