John F. Goff Movies
- 1972
Seedy newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is assigned the Las Vegas police beat by his boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland). A series of murders has been plaguing the Glitter Capital; the victims, all beautiful showgirls, have had the blood drained from their bodies. Kolchak can't understand why the authorities are so uncooperative as he probes the case. Nor can he believe the evidence he's gleaned on his own: There can't possibly be a Dracula-like vampire stalking Las Vegas, or can there? Adapted by Richard Matheson from a novel by Jeff Rice, The Night Stalker debuted January 11, 1972 - -and on that fateful evening, this thriller became the highest-rated TV movie up to its time, as well as an instant cult classic. The film spawned a popular sequel, The Night Strangler (1972), and a 1974 TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1973
- PG
In this modern-day western adventure, a jailed crook busts out after killing a deputy and with his two murderous brothers takes off down the road. The crooks then commandeer a church bus and perform other nasty deeds while trying to keep ahead of the law. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Peter Haskell guest stars as Major Edward Selkirk, an ex-Army officer who hopes to wreak a peculiar brand a vengeance against the military. Invading a stockade, Haskell frees two prisoners, then enlists them in a bold and painstakingly preplanned scheme to steal an Army payroll. With only a handful of meager clues at his disposal, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) must somehow second-guess Selkirk's battle plan before it can be carried out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Basically the final act of Peter Bogdanovich's Targets stretched to feature length (and without any redeeming subtext), this weak slasher thriller involves a psycho who stalks unsuspecting moviegoers with a variety of sharp implements, particularly a massive sword, during a drive-in screening of a cheesy western. This naturally leads to various scenes of necking patrons being shish-kebabbed with the weapon of choice. Although this might have been an amusing novelty when actually shown at a drive-in, it's just a dreary mess on home video, making the otherwise terse 80-minute running time seem like three hours. One trivial point of interest is the behind-the-camera participation of familiar "B"-movie character actor Buck Flower, who collaborated on the screenplay. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Barnes, Adam Lawrence, (more)
- 1976
The Earth is threatened when an alien organism, that has the potential to destroy all life, is released. A corrupt government tries to cover up the danger. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
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Two interesting figures in offbeat cinema -- director Matt Cimber (who was married to Jayne Mansfield and directed her final film before going on to a handful of expressive blaxploitation efforts) and screenwriter Robert Thom (who wrote Wild in the Streets and Bloody Mama) -- teamed up for this unusual portrait of one woman's descent into madness. Molly (Millie Perkins) is a woman who is haunted by vivid memories of abuse and molestation at the hands of her father, who was a ship's captain; now middle-aged, Molly is obsessed by the ocean and images associated with pirates and sailing lore, which fill her with both fascination and loathing. Molly dotes on her young nephews (Jean Pierre Camps and Mark Livingston) and often spins tall tales for them in which her father is a noble hero, but her sister, Cathy (Vanessa Brown), is not comfortable with her presence, and soon the boys are old enough to spend their time elsewhere. Single and lonely, Molly longs for a man, and is openly attracted to strong, burly types, but at the same time she bears a deep hatred for them, and sometimes murders and dismembers the men she lures into her home. However, given Molly's penchant for fantasy, how much of her story is real, and how much is the product of her twisted imagination? Shot in 1971 but not released until 1976, The Witch Who Came From the Sea was one of the first feature films for cinematographer Dean Cundey, who later went on to work with Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, (more)
From the time he was a high-school student in Lubbock, Texas until his tragic death at age 22 in 1959, Buddy Holly ignored the condemnation by townspeople and his conservative relatives and dedicated his life to the new music he became famous for performing: rock 'n roll. Gary Busey stars as Buddy Holly in this widely acclaimed big-screen biography and sings well enough on camera for the film's adapted musical score to win an Oscar. Among the classic songs by Buddy Holly and the Crickets which can be heard are: Oh Boy, That'll Be The Day, Peggy Sue, and Not Fade Away. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Don Stroud, (more)
- 1979
- R
Not exactly meant for intellectuals or feminists, this juvenile comedy-drama centers around the competition between a decaying, old-fashioned gas station and that of a sleek, modern version across the street. Neither Uncle Joe (Huntz Hall) nor his station are doing well. So niece June (Kirsten Baker) comes to the rescue, enlisting three buxom friends with names like April (Sandy Johnson) and January (Rikki Marin) who help fill out the rest of the calendar year, and occasionally fill up tanks when not disco dancing in the garage. Using the only weapons they have, the young women wear as little as possible to distract the competition, to attract customers, to distract the gangsters sent over to teach them a lesson, and to distract attention away from the script. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Baker, Dennis Bowen, (more)
- 1979
Bigfoot has managed to elude capture for nearly 25 years. One small town has made a cottage industry out of Bigfoot sightings and ancillary merchandising. All this may come to an end very soon, however. A local fat-cat businessman hopes to trap Bigfoot once and for all, so that he can get all the publicity gravy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lewis Teague directed this sly horror-comedy from a script by John Sayles, which plays off the old urban legend about the dangers of flushing one's pet alligator down the toilet. One such unlucky reptile is "Ramon," who survives in the subterranean cesspool by feeding on the steroid-saturated carcasses of dogs dumped there by chemical company researchers and eventually bulks up to the size of a Winnebago. When assorted sewage workers start disappearing into Ramon's massive maw, hard-boiled cop David Madison (Robert Forster), who has a history of unlucky partners, reveals a strong personal interest in the case. Deemed a jinx and a nutcase by his superiors, he's kicked off the force and must go underground (literally) to destroy the beast with the help of young reptile-expert Marion (Robin Riker). The witty screenplay is filled with clever references, eccentric characters and in-jokes aplenty (a style reflective of Joe Dante's Piranha and The Howling, both of which Sayles also scripted), which combines with decent effects and a good amount of suspense (particularly in the sewer scenes) to make this an entertaining romp overall. Highlights include Henry Silva's over-the-top performance as a misplaced big-game hunter who recruits urban "native guides" in his back-alley search for the elusive Ramon. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Robin Riker, (more)
Following the phenomenal box-office success of his seminal horror classic Halloween, director John Carpenter teamed up with producer Debra Hill for a second independent horror project, this time in the mode of an old-fashioned ghost story. The end result was The Fog, a spooky romp about a dark secret that returns to haunt the Pacific fishing community of Antonio Bay on the 100th anniversary of the town's charter. Carpenter sets the mood in the film's prologue, which features grizzled old sea salt Mr. Machen (John Houseman) spinning ghost stories for a group of local children. For his final tale, he recounts the legend of the Elizabeth Dane -- a ship which crashed 100 years ago against the very rocks upon which the children are sitting. Meanwhile, as the clock strikes midnight on the fateful anniversary of that disaster, eerie phenomena begin to plague the town as a dense fog bank creeps toward the bay. Seeming to appear from nowhere and emitting a ghostly glow, the fog surrounds a small trawler filled with drunken fishermen, who glimpse the vague outline of a decrepit sailing vessel before being brutally killed by shadowy figures brandishing hooks and swords. That morning, news of their disappearance is relayed to the town by Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau), owner and operator of the local radio station. The news reaches the wife of one of the fishermen, city councilwoman Kathy Williams (Janet Leigh) and local boy Nick Castle (Tom Atkins), who takes a trip out to the abandoned boat to investigate, accompanied by teenage drifter Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis). As the day progresses, a grim series of events paints a decidedly unpleasant picture of Antonio Bay's founders, and foreshadows the ghostly retribution that awaits the town's present-day residents. When Mrs. Williams visits local priest Fr. Malone (Hal Holbrook) about a benediction for that night's centennial ceremony, he relates a ghastly tale discovered in his grandfather's journal, which details the town fathers' decision to murder a group of lepers who had planned to build a commune outside of Antonio Bay. Just as the night's proceedings are haunted by the horrors of the past, the ghosts of the murdered dead have returned to seek symbolic revenge by claiming the lives of six townspeople, arriving amid the ominous fog bank which has completely engulfed Antonio Bay. Carpenter reportedly shot and inserted additional gory scenes after the original 'PG' cut failed to impress preview audiences. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, (more)
- 1980
Sporting narration and a theme song by country legend Waylon Jennings and starring Tom Wopat and John Schneider as Luke Duke and Bo Duke, The Dukes of Hazzard was a hit throughout its six-year run in the late '70s and early '80s. Also featuring Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke, the show showcased the ongoing adventures of the Duke brothers as they attempted to avoid the crooked local law enforcement and the sleazy Boss Hogg. Originally airing on February 29, 1980, Dukes of Hazzard: Mason Dixon's Girls found the duke boys teaming up with a traveling private investigation team to bring down a dastardly group of drug smugglers. The episode was originally intended as a setup for a spin-off series featuring the continuing adventures of the three private-eyes, but the idea never came to fruition. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- PG
This tuneful drama features the rock group Love Machine as it tells the tale of a record promoter hired by a crooked producer to fulfill affirmative action quotas. It is the hard-working, independent-minded promoter who discovers and develops the Love Machine, an all female group. The trouble begins when the group's lead singer is kidnapped and the promoter learns that his employer's label is really a front for the mob. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John R. Daniels, Gwen Brisco, (more)
Pia Zadora stars in an over-cooked melodramatic adaptation of the 1946 James M. Cain novel that is every bit as smutty and sleazy as Zadora's vampish character of Kady. The location of the novel has been switched from Appalachia to the barren lands of Arizona and Nevada in 1937. Stacy Keach plays Jess Tyler, a desert hermit who has spent years guarding an abandoned silver mine. Suddenly, Jesse is confronted by his very grown-up and sexy daughter, who, when she was a baby, had been taken away from him by his wife, Belle (Lois Nettleton). Kady, it so happens, hasn't come home for a family reunion -- she has just been dumped by a rich young man who is the father of her illegitimate child and whose family owns the very silver mine that Jess is guarding. Kady hopes to use her feminine wiles to seduce Jess and reopen the mine and extract the money from the earth that she feels is due her from the family. As if his seductive daughter walking around bare-breasted in front of him isn't enough, Jess must also deal with the sudden return of his older daughter, Janey (Ann Dane), who appears with Kady's son; Belle, who comes back to Jess dying of tuberculosis; and Moke Blue (James Franciscus), the man who stole Belle away from Jess years ago. Also squeezing his way into Jess's shack is Wash Gillespie (Edward Albert), the father of Kady's child, who now wants to marry her. Butterfly also features Orson Welles as Judge Rauch. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Pia Zadora, (more)
- 1981
- PG
In this comedy, a hotel becomes a chaotic place during the 1938 filming of The Wizard of Oz, when it is inundated with groups of midgets, secret agents, and Nazi and Japanese spies. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, (more)
Just as the singing star Bobbie Warren (Pia Zadora) finishes her act, she is clapped into handcuffs by police lieutenant Thurston (Telly Savalas) and jailed in a woman's prison until she tells them about her mobster boyfriend. Eventually, she gets out, but not unscathed -- she was raped while in prison -- and when she is back in Vegas, her life is in danger from the mob and a few hitmen. Car chases and other action-filled scenes ensue, while a romantic interest begins to develop between the singer and her bodyguard (Desi Arnaz, Jr.). Meanwhile, Lieutenant Thurston is heading for a final round-up with the nefarious mobsters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pia Zadora, Telly Savalas, (more)
In this routine, violent, and often trite female version of Conan, Hundra (Laurene Landon) is an Amazon whose tribe is slaughtered one day while she is away hunting, now it is up to her to find a suitable mate and begin to create a new tribe of little Hundras. Hundra's search takes her to a walled city, but before she finds the ideal male (he is a doctor), she has a lot of head-bashing and sword brandishing to do. Energetic but not exactly fast-paced, this may be an interesting film for feminists, or it may not. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurene Landon, John Ghaffari, (more)
In this mystery, a vengeful husband goes looking for the six people who tortured him and then killed his wife. The husband is a WW II vet and one of the killers is now a high-ranking German official. The plot is based on a Mario Puzo story. The film is also titled Seven Graves for Rogan. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Albert, Rod Taylor, (more)
Three children, who fear being put into a foster home after the death of their parents, take flight into the wilderness with their uncle. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
A cluster of unappealing college students (of the Friday the 13th variety) on a camping trip in the mountains of Utah find themselves stalked by a "berserker" -- a ferocious and legendary man-beast known to ancient Viking lore as a kind of cannibalistic shock-trooper who was kept in a cage, dressed in animal skins and brutalized until he became psychotic enough to strike fear into the heart of an enemy in battle. What exactly this devilish warrior is doing so far from the fjords is never really explained to anyone's satisfaction -- some kind of ancient Nordic curse is mumbled about, but that's it. Not much different than the standard slasher fare, even down to the masked killer who wears a huge bear-snout. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Alan Johnson, Valerie Sheldon, (more)
- 1987
- R
Somewhere amid the filmmakers' attempts to disorient the viewers of this film with the old movie-within-a-movie trick, it would seem they also got themselves completely lost in the process. The story opens with a false start, depicting an elderly woman being stalked by a faceless maniac (actually a scene from a retired special-effects artist's demo reel). The "real" story begins as the man's daughter (horror's head-spinning sweetheart Linda Blair) is waylaid by a band of hooligans en route to her dad's mountain cabin. This incurs the wrath of Blair's mutant brother, who lives in a hidden compartment within the cabin. As if that weren't enough, even more monsters from Blair's gnarled family tree show up for a lightning bonus round -- including Tab Hunter as a homicidal plastic surgeon. All is revealed (sort of) as yet another movie-within-a-movie, clear evidence of a writer in way over his head. Cable TV prints actually contained an additional twist ending, apparently for no reason whatsoever. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, Tab Hunter, (more)
- 1987
- R
Sergeant J.J. Striker (Charles Napier) is a hard-drinking cop who tracks down a serial killer that can seemingly repel bullets in this routine crime drama made in 1985. Sommers (Robert Zdar) kills prostitutes and paints Chinese symbols on his victims. Rene (Michelle Reese) is the hooker who teems up with Striker in an attempt to nab the killer. Gary Crosby plays an unpopular cop caught with a transvestite prostitute, with a bevy of beauties led by Tally Chanel and Ola Ray who play the ill-fated victims. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Napier, Michelle Reese, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Amy (Olivia Hussey) is a widow who is held captive by her insane Aunt Margot (Piper Laurie) in this predictably routine mystery. After she believes her husband has died, Amy is comforted by a group of society women with lesbian tendencies and is drugged when she goes to live with her aunt who tries to convince her she is insane. Amy begins to have nightmarish hallucinations and believes she sees the decayed remains of her late husband. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia Hussey, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1988
- R
An archaeologist has come back home with a priceless gem in his possession. However, it was ill-gotten and his life is in extreme danger. After he's killed, his widow becomes the mark of several treasure-seekers. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Eilbacher, Steve Railsback, (more)
