1990's The First Power is a modern noir film in which a Los Angeles cop searches for, and finds, the Pentagram Killer. An anonymous tipster helps him reel in the bad guy, but it turns out the executed man was a Satan worshipper. Now they have to contend with a spirit who can inhabit other living people. Just when you thought the problem was solved, up springs one that's even worse.
No prisoner has been put to death in California for nearly 20 years, so there’s no telling how many future Satan spirits are currently residing on Death Row. I'm guessing a lot, probably.
The critics had few kind words for the film's sloppy logic, but the people who keep the movie business humming had plenty of dollars to plunk down for admittance to the show. They say the late rapper Eazy-E liked the film, so there's that. Gotta have some entertainment when you get tired of feuding with Dr. Dre.
Black Sea Gold is a Bulgarian winery where red and white wines are sold under the name Pentagram. If you can navigate their website, then you know more about the Bulgarian language than I do. I think the wines are fairly inexpensive, but the shipping has to be a killer.
In 1987's Prince of Darkness, a container of liquid is found to be, basically, Satan in a bottle. The Bad Genie. Instead of three wishes, you get three ways to be taken to the dark side.
The film was written and directed by John Carpenter, and had Donald Pleasance in the lead role as a priest. The liquid devil has been floating in that container for seven million years, kept secret by the Church. When the decision is made to keep it away from the Vatican, it's brought to Los Angeles. Thanks a lot.
The scribes hated the movie. One writer said it deserved, like Satan, to be shut up in a canister for seven million years. Instead, it now lives on Prime Video.
Australia's Coward and Black Vineyards makes a Cabernet Sauvignon called The Black Prince. Unlike Satan, it is said to offer a nose of blackberry pie with soft, supple tannins, for $35.
If you speak Italian, you may know 1975's Deep Red as Profondo Rosso. The only Italian I speak is "più vino, per favore," and I can say that only because I just googled "more wine please" in Italian.
Deep Red (Imma stay in my English language lane) stars David Hemmings as a musician who investigates a string of murders. Don't ask me why a musician is doing a cop's job. I just hope the cop isn't playing a sax on a street corner somewhere.
It's one of those things that strike me about Italian film. Weird happenings don't draw anyone's attention. Arguments about unrelated events seem to pop up out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. Anytime a car is moving, it's like a chase scene. And even if it's called a giallo film, it's still just a slasher flick to me.
It may be just a slasher flick to me, but it was a regular War and Peace to someone. The original script reportedly ran more than 500 pages. I'll pause here for the audible gasp from every studio reader in Los Angeles. Never fear. Writer/director Dario Argento cut it down to a mere 321 pages. Despite the heft of that screenplay, the movie clocks in at just over two hours running time. That must have made a mess on the cutting room floor.
Cascina Cà Gialla Barolo is a full Nebbiolo, deep red wine from Piedmont. If you're lucky, maybe you'll find a Black Friday deal with the $35 price "slashed" to $30.
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