Two Creature Features, Two Directorial Debuts!

The decorations are up at Michaels, right? Halloween candy is on sale at Vons? Okay then, we’re in the clear. Full throttle into the spooky season!

Ti West is on the tip of everyone’s tongues these days, with X and now Pearl in theaters. So, I figured C&C could cash in on his good name and feature his debut feature creature flick, The Roost (2005). Shot on grainy, deteriorating 16mm, the film follows four friends that get stranded on a farm in the middle of nowhere on Halloween night. They end up disturbing some evil bats, causing all hell to break loose. We've all been there.

It has a lot of what you’d expect for a low budget horror movie. Except one major difference. And that’s Tom friggen Noonan as the awkward ghoulish host for this midnight movie. There may nothing scarier than Noonan in Manhunter, but I’m a sucker for horror hosts. There’s just something so cozy and nostalgic about them. Top that off with an ultra brief cameo by Larry Fessenden, and this one is worth a watch. Even if it's just to see where Ti West got his chops. 

Next up is The Being (1981), the first flick by Jackie Kong, and starring — believe it or not — Martin Landau. It's about a radioactive mutant that terrorizes a small town in Idaho. While feeling very 80s, it's also a fun throwback to monster movies of the past. How did Landau manage to land this? Well, even the man himself has to pay the bills. And really, how can you go wrong with a movie where part of the plot is a conspiracy involving potatoes???

So is Jackie Kong the Queen of Creature Features? Honestly, I don't know. This is the first movie of hers that I've seen, but I plan on watching more. Some say The Being rides too heavily on the coattails of Alien. But if being derivative is a disqualifier, say goodbye to 90% of horror movies and nearly all the great Italian knockoffs. Easter egg! This movie takes place around the day our lord and savior rose from the dead (freaky!), so if you like it, you've got a new holiday movie to watch with the fam. 

Extras:
A horror comedy by Jackie Kong:
Blood Diner (1987)
And two more by Ti West on Tubi:
The House of the Devil (2009)
The Innkeepers (2012)