Showtime series “Escape at Dannemora” directed by Ben Stiller
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Scream and Scream Again, At the Drive-In, "Escape at Dannemora," Cold Sweat.
Scream and Scream Again
Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing—a triple threat for Gothic horror? Not exactly. This 1970 production tosses them into a police investigation of a serial killer, foreign intrigue, a car chase involving a vampire, softcore violence porn and a plot to genetically engineer a master race. It also has cool club scenes featuring British band Amen Corner. Scream and Scream Again’s refusal to stick with any one genre raises it up a notch.
At the Drive-In
In rural Pennsylvania, the Mahoning Drive-In became a thumb in Hollywood’s eye with its single screen, 35mm format. Run by a Boomer and a pair of Millennials, the drive-in has become a mecca for cinema buffs and an example of how a contemporary digital strategy (social networking) can be used to support an old medium. The award-winning documentary testifies to the enduring love for tactile experience (celluloid) in the face of an all-too virtual reality.
“Escape at Dannemora”
In 2015, two convicted killers escaped from a New York penitentiary, aided by a prison employee with whom they were having sex. The story and its characters are given room to develop in this Showtime series. Effectively dramatized under director Ben Stiller, “Escape” stars Patricia Arquette as the prison employee, a small-minded small-towner whose relations with the inmates make her feel as if someone cares. Dead-eyed Benicio del Toro and gentle Paul Dano play the prisoners.
Cold Sweat
The first glimpse of violence in Cold Sweat (1970) is an old western flickering on TV—perhaps a comment on the staged mayhem to follow. Cold Sweat stars pre-Death Wish Charles Bronson as an American living in southern France until his past catches up with him. Several scenes are cleverly shot, but standouts include Liv Ullman as Bronson’s long-suffering wife and James Mason as an American sociopath with a Southern accent clad in yachting togs.
