EyeAskance

A gorgeous young film industry upstart is pecking around in a stock footage archive, and stumbles upon an old *** loop which prominently features a pre-famed celebrity TV personality. The film is latterly stolen, ensuing in a mystery packed with ***, political intrigue, and, naturally, enough jiggling ta-tas to circle the globe.

As neo-noir trash of the bra-and-panties variety goes, this ultra-rarity is unexpectedly watchable. Nobody of sound mind would ever call it legitimately GOOD, obviously, but it should well-appease enthusiasts of *** who hate explicit *** scenes, and the castmembers are attractive, never mind that most of them couldn't act wet in a swimming pool.

Recommended.

And so, our time had come. We all knew that one day the sun would expand in a supernova ***, taking with it all the planets in the solar system, and every living thing on Earth. Then...the announcement came. Armageddon was upon us. Chaos erupted in the streets as frantic people sought shelter in underground bunkers, desperately hoping they might survive the inevitable. Many found comfort with family and friends, others converged in churches to pray and repent. But not this guy. As the night sky turned into a white-hot blaze of blinding light, I was tuned in to Turner for a special end-of-the-world military band rendition of NEARER MY GOD TO THEE. It was a glorious sign-off...but it needed some cowbell.

A group of three young couples decide that a seemingly abandoned mansion outside of town might be a fun place to get some kicks. There, they exchange spooky stories about the home's previous occupants, and how each met their grisly fate. The youths sing, dance, and drink the night away, but things may not be quite as they seem. Strange situations transpire, and the fun dissolves rapidly into chaos.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this largely unnoted little curio. The rudiments of production are fairly well supervised, and the key players perform with surprising gusto. That being said, it's quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. It has sprinkles of different genre trappings...comedy, mystery, horror...but it fiercely defies an orthodox genre designation. I'd opine that it's chiefly rooted in the early 70s counterculture film ethos...not exactly psychedelic enough to call it a "head" film, but certainly an experimental project with zero mainstream ambition, and quite emblematic of the decade's running-naked free spirit. There's also an iterant musical ostinato which is hard to shake off. I've had it in my head for days.

Did I enjoy SPOOK? Ehh...I'm not entirely sure, but I did find it intriguing. It might require a second watch, but for now, I'll just sum it up with "different".