cult film freak: KARI MICHAELSEN TOTALLY STEALS 'SATURDAY THE 14TH'

Written by James M. Tate / 1/09/2016 / No comments / eighties , kari michaelsen , paula prentiss , richard benjamin , roger corman , severn darden

KARI MICHAELSEN TOTALLY STEALS 'SATURDAY THE 14TH'

1/09/2016 | No comment

Kari Michaelsen in Saturday the 14th year: 1982

In LOVE AT FIRST BITE, a popular comedy that took the vampire genre by satire, Richard Benjamin played Dracula's psychologist, and in SATURDAY THE 14TH, he steals his house… Well not exactly...

Bathtub Creature

Part of an inheritance, Benjamin and real life wife and movie partner Paula Prentiss, as the extremely typical John and Mary, get a fixer upper that, wanted desperately by Jeffrey Tambor's mopey, melancholy Dracula and his Gothic wife, looks like it’s been through hell – and it has, literally... For most of the netherworld is unleashed within...

This thanks or no thanks to a "Book of Evil" the curious young son, Billy, opens up, conjuring all types of nostalgic monstrosities – from the Universal Pictures canon and beyond: Within the first thirty minutes, anything and everything is possible, including the best scene involving teenage daughter Debbie taking a bath that, while she’s preparing, completely unaware, has a shark’s dorsal fin rising up and down from the bubbles.

Kari Michaelsen

Kari Michaelsen who played the oldest daughter on the sitcom GIMMIE A BREAK, and entered another creepy manor in a stand-out episode of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, gets the Janet Leigh treatment, eventually battling The Creature (from The Black Lagoon). Little does she know, it’s all her brother’s doing…

SaturdayScore: ***

But the most in-the-dark is Benjamin’s John, oblivious as his family dodges various spooks or, in his wife’s case, turns into one – a bite on the neck renders Mary pale and potentially eternal, giving her more chance to shine comically than her husband, remaining the thankless lead throughout.

The Creature from the Bates Motel

Despite the film's title serving up a built-in punchline, this New World Picture, produced by Roger's wife, Jule Corman, isn't a parody of the slasher genre ala FRIDAY THE 13TH… In fact SATURDAY THE 14th covers (or uncovers) just about everything else: With monsters looking a tad more expensive than you'd see wandering an afternoon theme park, and sporadic bits of creative animation, it’s a fun ride that loses spontaneity and purpose once Van Helsing arrives: While Severn Darden is a fantastic cult actor, his overbearing presence slows down the party: For when a last minute bash is thrown to “warm” the house, everything goes to pot, making one yearn for more creative Hitchcock tributes – also including Prentiss being attacked by Bats, BIRDS style – instead of the filler barrage of kooky nonsense that needn’t be there at all.

KARI MICHAELSEN SATURDAY THE 14TH KARI MICHAELSEN SATURDAY THE 14TH

The best thing about this Saturday the 14th Creature screen cap is the bathroom picture: a lady up close, but further back it looks like an octopus

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Tags : eighties , kari michaelsen , paula prentiss , richard benjamin , roger corman , severn darden

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