[DISCOSUCKS...]

Hey y'all,

I recently caught up with an awesome '81 science fiction B-movie, Looker - hadn't seen it in a good while. Great gadgets, cold 80s neo-noir style, fantastic Barry De Vorzon electro score, disrobed Susan Dey....hey, lots to enjoy!

But something was bugging me throughout, a nagging familiarity.... and towards the end, it was actually a particular music cue which finally tipped me off.

So...I thought about it some more, and in doing a comparison in my head I found some very interesting points of similarity - I've grabbed a few stills to support my theory. Here goes (Halloween III screengrabs AT TOP, Looker screengrabs BELOW):

1. KUBRICK-SHINING STYLE DATE INTERTITLES (in the same font, no less):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075607494/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075741423/

2. HERO = THE MIDDLE-AGED SURGEON:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075653485/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075652025/

3. VILLAIN = THE SILVER-HAIRED PATRIARCH:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075606174/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075650975/

4. FINAL BATTLE FOUGHT = IN A TECHNOLOGICAL ARENA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075604014/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075739633/

5. AND THEMATICALLY, THE REAL VILLAIN IS...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075602474/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075647495/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075736503/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/104142265@N05/10075600664/

!!! What do you think? I actually found more similarities, but don't want to go all Room 237 on your asses
(I'll just honourably mention....the emotionless robotic henchmen in both carrying out the evil boss's plan, wearing suits/black gloves.)

I've also put this "evidence" together as a video with the music cues which tipped me off, if you want to compare those too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68h3EsswKUs

What I'm suggesting is....do you think John Carpenter and Tommy Lee Wallace were subconsciously influenced by Michael Crichton's techno thriller? Or was there just something in the water.....

[palmat]

You make a very convincing case without a doubt! Haven't seen Looker since the 80's but rewatched H3 recently. Regarding Carpenter and Wallace being inspired by Chrichton is up for debate. Personally I think it is more a "sign-of-the-times-kinda-thing". Growing up in the 80's there was a prevalent feeling and notion that TV and movies could be dangerous, especially video violence. And since VHS just exploded onto the home market I think many of the movies of that time tapped into the public's fears of what TV and video might do to us. Cronenberg's Videodrome explored similar themes as both Looker and H3, albeit in a very different tone and style. Anyhow, what do I know. You might be right...

[Whip Wilson]

I love the notion even if that's all it is. Nice work on the video by the way. Looker is one of my favorite films and while I own a 7" of Looker by Sue Saad on Warner, I'd donate a nut to whoever finds me the De Vorzon score in any format.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

@Mateo = I'll be coming for that left nut pretty soon dude!

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Ps. Not sure why I chose the left one - could be that I hear on the grapevine it's got mystical powers (like Layne Harvey's stache!)

[horseloverphat]

I've not seen this 'Looker' film before...so thanks for the pointer. It looks like it could be included with similar works like Network, H3, Videodrome, Truman Show and even They Live. I really like these types of film.

Disco...you've made some interesting and very relevant connections.


Coincidentally released the day before the Hallowe'en holiday and where Looker went up directly against Hallowe'en II. The model who gets killed in the opening (Looker) was actually DUBBED by Ana Alicia, who was Nurse Janet Marshall in Halloween II. Tawny Moyer is in BOTH "Looker" and "Halloween 2" (1981). She plays nurse Jill in Halloween 2 that gets picked up by Myers with the scalpel stuck in her back.

It is possible that both Crichton & Carpenter were influenced by writer Nigel 'remove my H3 writing credit' Kneale...but I only speculate.

How's this for pre-cognition...and ahead of the curve?

Kneale's first television work to be made in colour—although only a black-and-white copy now survives—the story was based in a future where the majority of the population are kept in a docile state by constant broadcasts of pornography and other low-brow reality television programming. The Live Life Show (They Live Life Show, lol) in which a family are watched twenty-four hours a day as they struggle to live on an isolated rural island, becomes a massive success, especially when a murderer is introduced into the set-up. (that sounds very Battle Royale)

The Year of the Sex Olympics has been praised for its foreshadowing of the rise of reality television programmes such as Big Brother (1999–present) and Celebrity Love Island (2005–2006).[61] The critic Nancy Banks-Smith wrote in 2003 that: "In The Year of the Sex Olympics [Kneale] foretold the reality show and, in the scramble for greater sensation, its logical outcome ... This is satire from a TV insider, but it mutates into something far more desolate and disorientating."


Sorry, I just went all Room 237 on yo asses.

[thehorror]

So happy I found this. I've been a long time big fan of Looker, but only just saw Halloween III a few days ago, and became instantly obsessed. Through the whole thing my mind kept going back to Looker: the music, the era, giant evil corporations, television as the medium....I googled the movies together expecting no hits whatsoever, and lo and behold you'd made the connection too! Loved your explanations- I hadn't even thought about the silver haired patriarch villains and middle aged doctor heroes. Glad to know I'm not the only one who thoroughly enjoys these two movies!

[thehorror]

@Mateo This guy seems to have isolated the Looker score...you can still hear a little bit of sound effects/dialogue, but it's the closest I've seen of the score thus far.

http://80ssoundtracksaor.blogspot.ca/20 ... orzon.html

[Whip Wilson]

[quote=39801]@Mateo This guy seems to have isolated the Looker score…you can still hear a little bit of sound effects/dialogue, but it’s the closest I’ve seen of the score thus far.

http://80ssoundtracksaor.blogspot.ca/20 ... orzon.html

[/quote]Looker and H3 are two ofnmy faves as well. I actually found that link a couple of years ago, my friend, but thanks all the same. I'd encourage anyone interested to seek it out themselves. Unfortunately the "gentleman" who started this thread already collected on my offer so...no soup for you!

[ironjaiden]

Wow, I've seen both films a dozen times and I never made the connection. There has to be some influence there. Especially given their proximity in release. Looker 1981, HIII 1982.

[hncreature]

Looker was a classic! The hand made OST of that is pretty great too -

[video]http://youtu.be/JGWyVWPXYao[/video]

I'm hearing vinyl pops but can't seem to find that it was on vinyl?

[Whip Wilson]

The song Looker by Sue Saad was released on vinyl.

[hncreature]

Check! Aaahhh...Sue Saad solo did the single...I was only seeing Sue Saad and The Next



...and bought...thanks Mateo!

[Whip Wilson]

My pleasure, HNC! I relish a cheap assist. That is the one I've got and it is a fun record.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Nice that this thread seems to have gotten a random bump!

Fyi guys...here's the handmade I did featuring Looker / C.H.U.D. in a mini-DVD style clamshell case!
(the one that cost @mateo his left baby-maker!

http://www.spintheblackestcircles.com/f ... eply-19591

[tonyandrewgiles]

I can vouch for the awesomeness that is ^^^

[Juiceycow]

After this was mentioned in the Tommy Lee Wallace interview in the Damn Fine Cast podcast, I had to track it down.

Watched it last night and loved it.
This era of 80s movie is becoming my favorite period esp ones with kickass synth scores. Lone Survivor, The Keep, Chopping Mall, Night of the Comet, Shock Waves...