The Pit (aka Teddy) movie review

I watched The Pit for the first time many years ago after purchasing a used VHS copy from a video store when those two things were still the norm. Back then, DVDs were just starting to take over as the favoured format to watch a movie and video stores would often sell used VHS copies in their inventory to make room on their shelves. Out with the old, in with the new.

As I was browsing through the selections that were for sale, one in particular, caught my attention. The art on the cover is what attracted me to it. It's a different version than the official movie poster but it still grabbed me.

The original poster depicts a young boy with a bowl style haircut, clutching a teddy bear with glowing eyes and he's kneeling in front of a large pit. A pair of hands are shown belonging to someone apparently trying desperately to claw their way out from whatever horror awaits them at the bottom. We get a hint with the image of a creature's hand hauling down the potential victim and three sets of glowing, ominous eyes. Fittingly, it was titled The Pit but it was also known as Teddy. The latter was obviously in reference to the teddy bear but could also be a nod to the sheer teddy that the babysitter immodestly wears in view of a curious boy.

The cover alone was enough to make me buy it. It is said to never judge a book by its cover but I never paid attention to that when it came to VHS box art. Some of the best horror movies I've ever watched were the ones I rented solely based on the cover art. When I say best, I mean that in the obscure, low-budget, so-bad-it's-good b-movie sense.

If the art wasn't enough, reading the synopsis on the back of the cover would seal the deal and convince me that I had to have this horror movie.

Corner Gas: The Movie

Having been a fan of Corner Gas the TV series, I don't know how I'm only finding out about this with only three days left in its Kickstarter campaign. The goal has already been achieved but there are still some stretch goals they would like to reach. If you're a fan, you might want to chip in some gas money.

Cap'n Video: A Canadian Vidiot

Now available on iTunes!! https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/beauty-day/id598555144

Beauty Day poster by Mike Mitchell

BEFORE THERE WAS JACKASS... BEFORE THERE WAS TOM GREEN...

THERE WAS RALPH ZAVADIL.

His cable access television show, The Cap'n Video Show, ran from 1990 to 1995, spawning a small but loyal cult following. Each week Ralph performed a series of idiotic and occasionally dangerous stunts, challenging the sensibilities of his small Southern Ontario audience. With the advent of the internet and reality television still years away, his unique brand of gross-out stunt comedy was truly ahead of its time. All it took was a broken neck for him to get noticed.

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If you haven't seen this documentary, I highly recommend watching it. It's entertaining, well shot and the music selections are great. Film Junk host and first-time director Jay Cheel gets off to a great start in his feature film debut. Zavadil is entertaining whether he's just being himself or acting as his zany alter ego, Cap'n Video. Part of the film follows him around as he prepares to come out of retirement for the 20th anniversary of The Cap'n Video Show. It's interesting to see how he still uses his old video-recording equipment rather than update for the new digital media world.

Lots of laughs and touching moments. 5/5 stars.


If you live in the U.S., you can watch the movie on Hulu for free.

Beauty Day is now available on Hulu!! Please watch, share, and enjoy! YEEWWWOOOOO!!!!! http://t.co/TdzmQJ3pbo
— Beauty Day (Film) (@BeautyDayDoc) December 17, 2013

Psycho Pike Sighting!

behind-the-scenes fish food

Psycho Pike has been spotted!

OK, this clip could already be seen on the Where is Psycho Pike?? Facebook group but somebody was nice enough to post it on YouTube along with three other clips from the film. You may recall that I previously wrote about the long-lost Canadian b-movie.

I'm not giving up on the fight to get this obscure film a proper DVD release so the fact that there are others out there who know about it is a good sign.

Still, we need more people getting the word out. Let's find that fish!

Save Psycho Pike!

Paddle vs. Pike (from Cottage Life magazine)

If you've never heard of the movie Psycho Pike, you can hardly be blamed. That's because the film has been lost for twenty years. How's that for obscure? Were it not for the excellent Canuxploitation, I would never have known about this "Canadian cottage cult classic" as its director once described it.

The film was shot in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada in 1992 with Sky Lake portraying the fictional Lake Shippagew. Wiarton is most famous for hosting the annual Wiarton Willie Festival, celebrating Groundhog Day, similar to Punxsutawney Phil. For reasons not entirely clear, the movie disappeared from public view almost without a trace. The only evidence of its existence seemed to be an old article in Cottage Life magazine on the making of the movie which is spelled as Psychopike. After that, it was the one that got away.

Psycho Pike is about a group of cottagers that are terrorized by a vicious fish which has gone mad as a result of toxic waste being dumped in the local lake.

While I'll admit that the plot sounds like a cliché, run-of-the-mill mutant monster movie, the film's mysterious history has aroused my curiosity. Yes, it's a low-budget horror flick. Yes, we've seen killer fish before, namely Jaws and Piranha. However, being denied the opportunity of seeing this film is similar to being told you can't have something. Even if it's something you don't desire, once someone tells you that you can't have it, you want it all the more. Not that no one would desire Psycho Pike but you get my point, don't you? What I mean to say is, I would have loved the opportunity to see it and judge for myself. If it's no better than a B-movie, so be it. Who doesn't love a campy B-movie, anyway?

All is not lost though, even though I said it was. Remember when I said the movie disappeared without a trace? That's not entirely true.

It is possible to watch Psycho Pike by way of a screener copy if you're resourceful enough. Even though any kind of copy would be better than nothing, what I'm more interested in is an official DVD release of the film. Aren't you? If you answered yes, quit talking to yourself and read on.