Philippe Mora Movies

Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores Australia's hidden genre in this documentary that casually casts aside "official" film history to celebrate the demented genius of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and the exciting wave of little-known but supremely entertaining films that entertained adventurous Australian filmgoers throughout the 1970s and '80s. Every film student worth his or her weight in celluloid has seen Breaker Morant and Picnic at Hanging Rock, but what about the lesser-known gems that didn't make the film-school textbooks? In his forward to Tim Lucas' book Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, director Martin Scorsese states, "We have to keep resisting the idea of official film history, a stately procession of 'important works' that leaves some of the most exciting films and filmmakers tucked away in the shadows." In this documentary, director Hartley explores the films forgotten by "official film history" with the comprehensive eye of a true film buff. As a child watching such films as Snapshot and The Man from Hong Kong, Hartley immediately recognized how wildly disparate they were in tone and execution from the films that comprised Australia's traditional film library. Appearing like American genre films that just happened to be shot in Australia and cast with Australian actors, these so-called "Ozploitation" flicks flourished in the wake of relaxed censorship laws down under. Yet despite constant chatter about the "new wave" of Australian cinema, financially successful films like The Man from Hong Kong and Patrick that were popular both at home and abroad were never mentioned, sneeringly dismissed as "genre" films rather than Australian films. Perhaps in the wake of such successful Australian films as Wolf Creek and Undead -- and looking ahead to such films as the slasher shocker Storm Warning and the eagerly anticipated remake of Long Weekend -- curious filmgoers are finally prepared to discover what they've been missing all these years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A home movie takes a turn towards the fantastic when the director's children begin experiencing extraterrestrial events in this look at life beyond the stars from Communion director Philippe Mora. Soon after Mora turns the camera on is family, he is shocked to discover that his children claim to have seen aliens and U.F.O.s descending from the night sky. In the months and years that follow, Mora dives headlong into the world of extraterrestrial phenomenon, speaking with believers, charlatans, and experts in a mind-bending effort to discover the truth about life on other planets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Disgraced in a frame-up perpetrated by his fellow officers, abandoned by his wife for another and with only a radio-talk-show host to help him with his problems, policeman Joe Elkhart is angry and depressed about his life. It is the radio counselor who convinces him to return home to try and make amends, both to his wife, and to his partner. But what starts out as a simple quest for redemption turns into a complex nightmare for Joe when he finds himself entangled in a complicated and dangerous situation involving a super-cool FBI agent and an illegal drug tsar. Though the two lawmen are complete opposites, they agree to set aside all differences and solve the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This unusual comedy-drama, set in an experimental psychiatric institute, is a departure for genre director Philippe Mora, whose usual oeuvre is science fiction, horror, and low-budget action films. Rene Auberjonois stars as Dr. Sam Cohen, director of the Temporal Displacement Foundation. Cohen's highly-offbeat but well-funded mission is to treat psychotic patients whose particular dysfunction is the belief that they are famous historical figures, with the chief therapy being psychodrama, the reenactment of passages from that figure's life. Although he has some patients who believe themselves to be artists or religious icons (Mick Fleetwood as Pablo Picasso and Jesse Grey Walken as Jesus Christ), Cohen's star patient (Angus MacFadyen) believes himself to be Adolf Hitler. The clever, mentally ill genius has inexorably drawn several fellow patients into his delusion, including Tessa (T.C. Warner), who now believes herself to be Eva Braun. Enacting the part of Hitler's father, Cohen hopes for a breakthrough with the group. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The Hollywood wife of a noted paleontologist finds herself afflicted with an angry shaman's curse after her husband offends the magical man during a desert exploration in this off-beat comedy. As soon as the curse is sent, poor Pixie Chandler finds herself with an insatiable craving for raw fish, a liking for hanging in trees and a propensity for laying eggs. She is also beginning to change physically and if her husband Dick doesn't do something soon, she is going to become the film's title. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Whitley Strieber from his book about his alleged contacts with aliens, Communion dramatizes a story all the more compelling for the author's insistence that it is true, complemented by Christopher Walken's enigmatic performance as Strieber. The film begins in October 1985, as Strieber is living in New York City with his wife Anne (Lindsay Crouse) and son Andrew (Joel Carlson). He is hunting for new book ideas without making much headway. He spends his days pacing around his apartment, thinking out loud or videotaping himself as he improvises bits of dialogue. It is soon decided that a vacation is in order, so, with their friends Alex (Andreas Katsulas) and Sara (Terri Hanauer), the Striebers head for their cabin in Upstate New York. In the middle of the night, an illumination descends on the cabin and surrounding forest, causing Strieber to wake up abruptly. In the semi-darkness of the cabin, he is able to make out a long face with narrow, tear-shaped eyes quietly observing him from a corner of the room. The next morning, he has forgotten -- or been made to forget -- the whole experience. He even shrugs off Alex's and Sarah's concern about "seeing lights" outside their bedroom window, claiming to have slept through the event. Back in New York, it becomes evident to Strieber and his family that something unusual did happen. He begins to have powerful hallucinations, and, after an inconclusive medical examination, he is encouraged by his wife to seek professional help from psychiatrist Janet Duffy (Frances Sternhagen). During hypnotic regression therapy, Strieber's lifelong contact with the "visitors" is brought to light, as well as the details of his more recent encounters. Still unable to accept these revelations, he returns to the cabin alone and finally communicates with the visitors, discovering that, although they are unable to reveal their true identity, their purpose may be to act as agents of personal transformation for himself and for others. An interesting and uneven film, Communion is bolstered considerably by Christopher Walken, whose role in the film, though appropriate for the subject matter, quickly transforms into a thesis on his own eccentricities as an actor. ~ Anthony Reed, All Movie Guide

The brother of a slain werewolf newscaster joins the battle against a lycanthropic femme fatale in this sequel to 1981's horror/humor update. Shortly after the events of the original The Howling, Ben White (Reb Brown) attends the funeral of his sister, journalist Karen White (played here by Hana Ludvikova and by Dee Wallace in the original). There, he meets both Jenny Templeton (Annie McEnroe), one of Karen's colleagues, and Stefan Crosscoe (Christopher Lee), a mysterious interloper who claims the slain reporter was a newscaster. Providing videotaped evidence of the transformation -- and turning up to destroy Karen as her undead body rises from the grave -- Crosscoe convinces Ben and Jenny to accompany him to Transylvania to battle Stirba (Sybil Danning), an immortal werewolf queen. Along the way, the do-gooders encounter Mariana (Marsha Hunt), another lusty werewolf babe, and her minion Erle (played by Fearless Vampire Killers veteran Ferdy Mayne). Arriving in the Balkans, Ben and company wander through an ethnic folk festival, unaware that Stirba is off in her castle having sex with other werewolves and plotting their downfall. Eventually, the adventurers do battle with Stirba in an assault that involves disguised dwarves, mutilated priests, supernatural parasites, and surprise revelations. Howling II is variously known as Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf and Stirba the Werewolf Bitch. Director Philippe Mora, who previously helmed The Return of Captain Invincible, would return for Howling III: The Marsupials. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Surly conservationist Rutger Hauer makes it his life's mission to protect the eggs of the endangered bald eagle. Collector Donald Pleasence wants to appropriate a few of these eggs without invoke Hauer's terrible wrath. Pleasence hires mountain climber Powers Boothe to pose as a magazine photographer, the better to win Hauer's confidence and expedite the egg-poaching. But Boothe is soon converted to Hauer's cause, and with the help of storekeeper Kathleen Turner the two men thwart Pleasence's anti-eco deviltry. While the acting and plotline of A Breed Apart are unremarkable at best, the film is redeemed by the breathtaking location photography of Geoffrey Stephenson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tom Burman's innovative prosthetic special effects (used to greater effect in later horror films) are the saving grace of The Beast Within. The premise concerns a couple honeymooning in Mississippi. Caroline (Bibi Besch) is brutally raped by a hairy, sub-human monster and gives birth to a child named Michael (Paul Clemens), who appears normal until he hits his teens. At 17, Michael begins to feel strange, and his parents take him back to Mississippi to find out if his problems are related to Caroline's long-ago rape. Once in Mississippi, Michael transforms into a ravenous insect-like creature that roams the countryside, disemboweling innocent victims and feasting on their torsos. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Dennis Hopper plays the title character in this true story of a 19th-century Australian gold-digger who is pressed into a life of crime. A six-year stint in jail doesn't provide reform, but does introduce him to an Aboriginal partner-in-crime (David Gulpilil). The duo then proceed to terrorize the province of New South Wales with no lack of violence. The TV version was retitled Mad Dog. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

This British documentary uses German films from the Nazi era to reveal the workings and history of that regime. Among the more interesting footage put to use are home movies shot by Eva Braun in Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden. Other footage includes German propaganda films. These clips have been edited together so as to tell a story without the use of an omnipresent narrator. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide