Recent Viewings, Part 2

[indianasmith]

HALLOWEEN AT AUNT ETHEL'S (2020)  I had actually seen this one before, but it's a classic, cheesy, suspend-all-disbelief-and-roll-with-it bad movie.
Aunt Ethel is a nasty old lady who kills kids on Halloween and bakes them into Halloween candy (apparently her "pickled chocolates" are loved by all).  Why the police have never come after her is explained by "well, she burns the bones and eats the flesh so no body, no evidence."  So three brave teens decide to take Aunt Ethel down once and for all, all while making out and getting nekkid periodically. The finale is . . . well, probably the only original thing in the movie.   In the words of Instagram: "I didn't say this movie was good, I said I liked it!"

[lester1/2jr]

Summer School aka Mag Wheels (1977) - This isn't the Mark Harmon one. If you liked "The Van" (1977) I would definitely recommend this. I sort of liked "The Van" for it's authentic, slice of life portrayal of more innocent days gone by and yadda yadda, but it was more of a time capsule than a movie. This one is written and directed by Bethel Buckalew, who directed Sassy Sue and other Something Weird delights. It's more hard drive-in than grindhouse, though.

The "hot new girl in town" immediately p**ses off the lead cool guy's girlfriend and basically starts World War 3 in this ridiculous California beach town. It's a lot of pranks, rivalries, and guy- girl drama occasionally broken up by kids hooking up and smoking pot together. I liked the footage of the skate park and also the gang of lesbians who show up and save the main girl all the time. "Aww man, they're lezzies".

It was seemingly designed to be the opener on a summer drive-in bill and it succeeds at that. As an actual movie, it's a bit of a chore to get through, though. They are in the titular school for about one minute at the very end.

I'll go 3.75 /5

As a background movie, it would be higher.

[indianasmith]

My Saturday double feature, courtesy of Tubi TV:

THE BUNNY MAN (2021) - A guy in a giant white costume kills a bunch of people as a desperate sheriff tries to stop the slaughter.  UGH!  This movie was so poorly lit I couldn't see what was happening half the time, there was ne explanation or backstory about the killer and his motives, and I kept going to sleep.  Dull, poorly written drivel.  1.5/5

BIKINI SHARK (2025) - Pure B movie gold!  Truman Sullivan, a clothing designer who turns out expensive women's swimsuits, cuts corners and weaves toxic fibers into the fabric, which cause painful rashes on the victims and also draws massive sharks that can swim on dry land to come after anyone wearing them.  So Truman goes insane and begins sacrificing women to the sharks, believing that he is saving the rest of humanity from becoming shark bait.  Which makes sense to him, because he's addicted to sniffing the toxins from the swimsuits.  While it lacks nudity or explicit gore, this film makes up for it with some of the most painfully awful dialogue in history, like this gem:
"You need to stop sniffing those bikinis, Truman!"
"The bikinis are TRUTH, mother!"
Awful beyond words, so bad that it exhibits a kind of dreadful grandeur.  And sharks.   4/5