The Oracle (1985)

Review taken from dvddrive-in.com


THE ORACLE (1985)
Director: Roberta Findlay
Shriek Show/Media Blasters
The name "Roberta Findlay" will usually draw up three distinct genres when it is uttered among fan circles: roughies, porno and horror. Three of the most loathed film genres were all well-frequented by Findlay during her 25-year stint as a director and cinematographer in New York City. However, Findlay admits in the disc's extras that she despises horror films and thinks the only good one she's ever seen was ROSEMARY'S BABY. The influence is obvious throughout THE ORACLE, which also is very reminiscent of THE SENTINEL and THE TENANT, two other apartment-bound supernatural horrors of the 1970s. Unfortunately, with little passion for the genre, Findlay can't possibly hope to compare to those films and the result is a pretty boring little shocker which surprisingly saw a theatrical release back in 1985. Shot back-to-back with the much superior TENEMENT (Roberta's non-porno masterpiece), Findlay's schlock classic hits DVD courtesy of Shriek Show and is a toss-up for fans of Findlay and horror films in general.

After an elderly psychic dies in her apartment, a happily married couple, Jennifer and Ray, move in and discover her left-over Ouija board (except Findlay couldn't get the rights so it's a huge blue hand with a pen that writes on blank sheets of paper!). Jennifer is contacted through "The Oracle" by a dead man who was murdered by his gold-digging wife and her henchmen. The spirit of the murder victim continues to haunt her, destroying the apartment and giving her bad dreams, until she finally realizes the only way to get rid of him is to solve his murder.

Jam-packed with bad performances, goofy attempts at spook horror, lousy gore effects and a lethargic pace, THE ORACLE is one of Findlay's least-enjoyable films. Sure, those elements may sound like a surefire good time to be had by bad film fanatics, but the lack of passion behind them. Most of the film is a soap opera with Jennifer and Ray's marriage falling apart because he thinks she's crazy. It's better than Findlay's BLOOD SISTERS, but that ain't saying much. There is some good photography throughout the film, typical of cinematographer Findlay, Argento-esque gel lighting schemes, and the great New York location work is also wonderful to see, especially during the opening scenes during Christmastime. There is more male beefcake in the film than female cheesecake, which is interesting, but there is no sex to keep pervs interested. The gore is infrequent, but there are some cheesy moments worth savoring: the building's superintendent imagines ridiculous little glob monsters all over him, so he stabs himself to death (!); a monster pulls the head off a guy who tries dumping the Oracle in the garbage chute; a mirror explodes sending shards of glass into the body of an assassin; and a nasty acid-to-the-face sequence. The best part of the film is the gender-bending foul-mouthed murderer/ess who gorily dispatches of a prostitute (the scene is very similar to another scenario in Bill Lustig's MANIAC) and pops a balloon Robert Walker-style in a city diner (which might be the same one featured in Martin Scorsese's AFTER HOURS!). The actress, Pam LaTesta, looks and acts like Pat Ast, just not as over-the-top!! In this 94-minute film, there are about 25-30 minutes of interesting material which will keep you glued to the screen. This is one of those films that makes the fast-forward button a gift from God. Use it, don't be afraid...

The fullscreen transfer seems to be the accurate framing for the film, much as Findlay's previous TENEMENT was presented on DVD. There are few moments of dirt or hairs on the print, and the colors are usually vibrant and good-looking. Considering the film was shot in the 80s on cheap film stock, it looks surprisingly good. The mono audio is unfortunately quite weak; you'll have to crank the volume to hear the dialogue.

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089735/ 

 http://rapidshare.com/files/104964048/thrcl.part01.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104967043/thrcl.part02.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104969829/thrcl.part03.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104972875/thrcl.part04.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104976341/thrcl.part05.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104980134/thrcl.part06.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104984269/thrcl.part07.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/104996896/thrcl.part08.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/105012938/thrcl.part09.rar
 http://rapidshare.com/files/105018308/thrcl.part10.rar 

Password:

 mikeysmovies