THE ASTRAL FACTOR / INVISIBLE STRANGLER

THE ASTRAL FACTOR (aka Invisible Strangler/1978). Director: John Florea.

Roger Sands (Frank Ashmore) is a psychotic who murdered his unloving, self-absorbed mother and while in prison has developed the ability to enter the astral plane, become invisible, and escape. Once out, he runs about strangling women who remind him of his mother and/or who testified against him. Lt. Charles Barrett (Robert Foxworth of Prophecy) is the chief detective on the case, assisted by Holt (Mark Slade); both do a fairly miserable job of protecting the victims, but the killer is highly unusual. The Astral Factor isn't a very good movie, its chief interest being its bizarre C-list cast: Stefanie Powers is Barrett's nutty girlfriend; Elke Sommer is one of the potential victims; Sue Lyon is Sands' mother; Leslie Parrish [Missile to the Moon] and Marianna Hill are two other victims; and Cesare Danova and  Percy Rodrigues also have small roles.  Elke Sommer [Deadlier Than the Male] actually gives a pretty good account of herself as a nervous lady all alone in a big mansion waiting for Roger to show while the cops stand by. The film meanders terribly but there is some suspense at the end. The scientific/paranormal aspects of the script are pretty much muddled.

Verdict: The poster is much better than the movie. **.

PROPHECY

Talia Shire, Richard Dysart and Robert Foxworth

PROPHECY (aka Prophecy: The Monster Movie/1979). Director: John Frankenheimer.

Dr. Robert Vern, who usually works in the ghettos of Washington D.C., accepts an assignment to do a survey for the Environmental Protection Agency in the timber lands of Maine, where a dispute is raging between the Original People [Indians] and factions in the lumber industry. Not only does Vern discover that the natives are being seriously affected by something in the area, with an alarming number of still-births and deformed babies, but he suspects a huge mutant creature has already resulted from toxicity caused by the sawmill on the river. To make matters worse, his wife Maggie (Talia Shire) hasn't yet told him of her pregnancy, but she's eaten the same fish the Indians have; it contains a poison that "jumps the placental barrier" and lodges in the fetus. Then that monster comes a'calling ... David Seltzer's paperback novelization of his own screenplay for Prophecy was released several months before the film came out, and it was such an excellent horror novel that monster movie fans awaited the movie with anticipation. The trouble is, there hasn't been a more disappointing monster since The Giant Claw. The FX people came up with a mere lumpy and unconvincing disfigured bear instead of the creature described in the book or depicted in the movie's poster, something that bore traces of every step of the evolutionary ladder. But despite this serious deficit, Prophecy is not a complete waste because the story pulls the viewer along, the acting is solid, and the movie has genuine suspense in good measure. Along with Foxworth [Falcon Crest] and Shire, Richard Dysart [The Thing] is notable as a lumber man and Armand Assante [Human Target] scores as a militant Native American known as John Hawks. In real life methyl mercury poisoning did have very adverse effects on Indians in Canada, though so far no monsters have been sighted. John Frankenheimer also directed Seconds and other first-rate movies. NOTE: You can read more about movies like this in Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies.

Verdict: Good in spite of itself. ***.

FALCON CREST Season 3

FALCON CREST Season 3. 1983. CBS-TV.

This nighttime soap opera continued to be very entertaining for its third season, and netted star Jane Wyman a well-deserved Emmy for her role of ruthless, if somewhat human, Angela Channing. This season introduced two new major characters, only one of whom would prove long-lasting: Cliff Robertson was brought in to play Chase Gioberti's cousin, Michael, and Laura Johnson was cast as Maggie Gioberti's younger trouble-making sister and ex-call girl, Terry. Many scenes were devoted to the [literal] trials and tribulations of Angela's daughter, Julia (Abby Dalton), both in and out of prison, and a battle over a race track that Richard Channing (David Selby) wants to build. The sinister secret organization, the Cartel, rears its ugly head and makes trouble for Richard and his new personal assistant, Pamela (Sarah Douglas), and there's an ugly custody battle for little Joseph, the son of Cole (Billy Moses) and Melissa (Ana Alicia). Although more "moral" than his half-brother Richard, Chase (Robert Foxworth) proves to be a bit priggish  and hypocritical, and at times almost as "it's my way or the highway" in his attitude as his Aunt Angela, while both he and Maggie (Susan Sullivan) develop serious health issues [all of which are dispensed with rather quickly]. Terry and Angela's likable if odd daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) struggle for Michael's love, but it's really no contest. In other developments Angela's lawyer Philip (Mel Ferrer) has quite a few tricks up his sleeve, and handsome sheriff Dan Robbins (Joe Lambie) gets more to do than in previous seasons, as does Chao Li-Chi as Angela's very helpful manservant. There's skulduggery regarding the late Jacqueline Perrault's (Lana Turner) will and rather hateful background, and more intrigue surrounding Chase's doctor, played by Ron Rifkin of Alias. Other guest-stars include Pat Crowley as an anesthesiologist, Ken Tobey as a family court judge, Geoffrey Lewis as a boyfriend of Julia's, and Whit Bissell as a businessman who is threatened by the loathsome Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) during the custody hearing. The most hilarious scene has the nutty Julia going to confession [talk about the blind leading the blind!] and the most tiresome storyline has to do with a kidnapping late in the season. The performances are all pretty solid, with Robertson doing a good job as Michael, but Wyman as Angela definitely rules the roost. Dalton is okay delineating the twists and turns of her weird character, but ultimately she's just not that impressive.

Verdict: This soaper continues to be much fun. ***.

DAMIEN: OMEN 2

Elizabeth Shepherd and a malevolent raven

DAMIEN: OMEN 2 (1978). Director: Don Taylor.

In the first sequel to The Omen, the devilish little boy is now 13 and living with his "father's" brother Richard Thorn (William Holden), Thorn's second wife, Ann (Lee Grant), and his son by a first marriage, Marc (Lucas Donat), in the suburbs of Chicago. Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is surrounded by Satanists who are anxious to reveal to him his identity and his destiny. At first Damien is rather horrified by these revelations, but he seems to grow into the role with relative ease. The movie doesn't tackle any of this on an intellectual level (which might be impossible in any case) but functions primarily as a slick thriller with some exciting and gruesome set pieces as the devil, represented by a black crow or raven, disposes of anyone who might be a threat to Damien (although it seems like definite overkill if not paranoia in certain cases.) A snoopy reporter (Elizabeth Shepherd) is attacked by the raven and blinded, then hit by a semi in one well-handled if brutal sequence. A doctor (Meshach Taylor) is cut in two during a horrific elevator "accident." But possibly the most disturbing and effective death scene has Thorn's colleague Bill Atheron (Lew Ayres) disappearing under the ice during a hocky game on the Thorn's frozen lake; this is a particularly powerful sequence. The performances from the entire cast are on the money, which certainly helps the audience to suspend disbelief in the absurd goings-on, and it all moves fast so there's no time to wonder what these Satanists expect to get when Damien, the trickster, takes over. Scott-Taylor is excellent as Damien; Lucas Donat, great-nephew of Robert Donat, is quite good but apparently only made this one movie. Other well-known names in the cast include Robert Foxworth (Falcon Crest) as one of Thorn's ambitious employees and Lance Henriksen [Alien vs. Predator] as an instructor at Damian's military academy. Nicholas Pryor makes an impression as the terrified curator Charles, as does Sylvia Sidney as Thorn's disapproving (of Damien) sister, Marion. The movie benefits greatly from a terrific score by Jerry Goldsmith, who recognized that while The Omen was a chiller, the sequel is a thriller, and scored it appropriately. Followed by The Final Conflict. Director Taylor was originally an actor in such films as The Girls of Pleasure Island and I'll Cry Tomorrow. Most of his directorial assignments were for television.

Verdict: Well-produced, entertaining, and energetic hokum. ***.

FALCON CREST SEASON 2

The cast of Falcon Crest

FALCON CREST Season Two. 

Jane Wyman is back as the ruthless matriarch and vineyard owner Angela Channing in the second season of the night-time serial Falcon Crest. This season introduces Richard Channing (David Selby), who is the illegitimate son of Angela's late husband, and who comes to the valley to pretty much get even with everyone, and take over a newspaper. Meanwhile there's some question as to the paternity of the child being carried by Melissa (Ana Alicia), who is married to Angela's grandson, Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), but who slept with Angela's nephew, Cole (Billy Moses). Cole's parents, Chase (Robert Foxworth) and Maggie (Susan Sullivan), develop problems after Cole is accused of murder and Maggie works on a screenplay with a Lothario producer played by Bradford Dillman. Lana Turner makes a few appearances as Chase's continental mother and old foe of Angela's, whose two daughters -- Julie (Abby Dalton) and Emma  (Margaret Ladd ) -- have serious issues of their own, while Chase's daughter, Vicki (Jamie Rose), gets involved with a married man played by Roy Thinnes [The Invaders]. Frankly, the first half of the season isn't as entertaining as season one, but it picks up in the second half when the gang seems to be stalked by a ruthless killer who wants to get rid of anyone who might uncover his or her identity [which does indeed turn out to be a shocking surprise]. Some of the revelations and character reversals during the season finale are kind of suspect and silly, but the cliffhanger is a classic of its kind. Wyman is marvelous, never descending into chewing the scenery [a la Joan Collins on Dynasty, albeit she did it entertainingly], and most of the other cast members are swell. Guest stars include E. G. Marshall in a fine turn as Richard's adopted father, Joanna Cassidy as an older woman who falls for Cole, and Anne Jeffreys as a married girlfriend of Angela's lawyer, Phillip (Mel Ferrer). During their arguments Chase often throws Maggie's turn as a screenwriter in her face -- you wish just once she'd remind him of how the entire family was uprooted so he could pursue his dream of owning a winery, so what's the problem if she wants to pursue her own dream of writing a screenplay? It's amusing the way Richard imagines he'll be accepted by Angela when he's her husband's bastard. Choa Li Chi (who plays the similarly named servant Choa Li-Chi) is given more to do this season.

Verdict: Occasionally ridiculous, but a well-mounted and generally absorbing soaper. ***