The Comeback

The Comeback Directed By Peter Walker. Starring Jack Jones (1978).

          This February Netflix has gotten in a whole new slew of rare flicks from two forgotten or reviled filmmakers: Peter Walker and Jess Franco. This one is by British psychopath Peter Walker who's been glorified in pages of Deep Red, but not that many people are aware of his work. I enjoyed Frightmare and House Of Whipcord somewhat, so I'm game to check out this mess, lets see what happens. 

          Gale, searches her husand's art deco apartment and instead finds loud seagull shrieks, a flash of a powered wig and blammo her hands are hacked off!

          Popstar extrodinarre: Nick Cooper is all set to record at a Lon Chaney looking creepy old shack by his manager, is he grateful? Nope!
          In Real life Nick Cooper (or Jack Jones) is a croony singer, whose records I've seen in every thriftstore in America and he later appeared in Goodfellas. 

         He cruises out to the cottage only to be met by Mrs. B, the actress who played the sour faced cannibal mom in Frightmare, so I can tell she's involved somehow. He's planning on isolating himself in the old house and formulating his next brilliant record, but he starts hearing odd voices and strange weeping in the night. David Doyle (Charlies Angels) plays his sleazy manager Webster and they both talk about how awful his dead wife was for his career (or his Comeback)! 

         Poor Gale, Cooper's ex wife periodically rots as maggots pulsate under her skin, she reminds me of the suffocated girl sitting in the window that no one ever finds in Black Christmas.  

Cooper goes out on dates with his new fling and they discuss his ex during dinner (maybe he should visit his apartment to see if she's there)!

         Then Harry, Nick's right hand man and even sleazier breast obsessed friend almost gets to the apartment but flies start popping out of the keyhole and he turns back. 

Baby flies are crawling from my eyes!

           Maniacal echoey laughter starts haunting Nick as he sees a vision of his dead ex wife. She only sporadically haunts him and The Comeback is partially a ghost story, but mostly a steady paced slasher. Later on the killer strikes again and stabs Harry in the elevator, while Nick has sex in a car with his blonde girlfriend, Ahh the life of a popstar! Then again almost everyone barges in on closed doors and treats him like a child, so its not all peaches and cream. All the afore mentioned creepiness is getting in the way of the perfect pop record, no wonder they all ended up in thrift stores! The final act winds down into psychoanalytical tedium and it seems that Webster is to blame for all of Nick's problems, but not so fast there bub!

          The color scheme and production design are top notch and the pacing is steady but never dull, a good entry into the career of Peter Walker for beginners.  

          The ending is pretty incredible as the screenwriter injects an ultra conservative message against the dangers of suggestive rock and roll and even a nod to Edgar Allen Poe! Highly Recommended.

Do I hear seagulls?

WATCH HERE