Chapter 32
THE SPRINKLER Chapter Thirty-Two
4.1.2026
Editor – Mykal - Content – Technical - Layout
Research & Editor – Mike - Content - Layout
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Chapter 32
A Monthly Film-First Dispatch
Psycho Studios (Phoenix)
Film Image of the Month
The Wolf Man 1941: This classic tale is one of our favorite Universal Monsters films. Great human condition story, great cast and groundbreaking effects for its time. The film is too short! Even a man who is pure at heart, and says his prayers at night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the moon is bright.
EDITOR’S NOTE
We are embarking on a new layout and content for our newsletter The Sprinkler. Mykal was instrumental with editing our previous format which had too many irons in the fire. This chapter and moving forward will include:
Film: New – Newer releases. Reviews.
From the Vault: Films from the 1930s through the 1980s. Retrospect.
VHS Corner: Talk about cool and obscure films that are available only on videotape.
Some TV: Looking at one to two current TV series, that resonate with us.
Music: This is about music that is directly linked to a film or films.
Psycho Studio’s Spotlight: We look at icons of the horror film genre; directors, actors and their fictious counterparts.
The Sprinkler evolves into something that packs more punch with less. We focus on our core strength and interest, film. We keep it interesting, unique and free from politics and the world at large. This month’s mood is one of appreciation, moving forward and creativity that moves us to success in 2026!
Mykal’s and my journey has been one of beauty, courage, strife and creativity at a level I never imagined we would achieve. We are here; this is our year! I want to acknowledge Mykal, and his brilliance with creativity and technology. He is an amazing young man and I’m proud to call him my son daily!
**We use the Psycho Scale when reviewing with a score, it is 0-Psycho (10) and these scores are real and true.
FILM
New Release
Scream 7 – 2026 Rated R – runtime 1h 49m
By the Numbers:
Budget - $45 million – Box Office $195 million
I can’t believe I just watched Scream 7! I can't imagine I'm saying that out loud. The February 2026 release has a runtime of an hour and 49 minutes. Rated R. I had low expectations given the fact of the way that they're redoing it and bringing back the old cast. Audiences have clearly liked it as it has grossed almost $200 million. After watching the film, that is truly gross to me!
A few notes; Sydney Prescott is married under the name Evans. She has a teenage daughter and a couple other kids we don’t see as they are with their grandparents. Her husband, get this is a police officer! The daughter does not look anything like Sydney. Oddly, throughout the film Sydney doesn’t talk about her history with her daughter and never has. Very odd for the story and tone of the movie. It is really stupid. A random note; Sydney and her husband have a house that happens to have a safe room. Sydney and her daughter run into the safe room to avoid Ghost Face but for some reason they leave the safe room to try to help the father who might be dead. So much of the film is that way, just dumb when smarter is right there! Theres homage to People Under the Stairs, with Sydney and daughter evading Ghost Face behind the walls of the house. How dumb! The movie has grossed almost $200 million on a $45 million budget, repeating that because I can’t understand it. It's just amazing to me the horror movies that make this kind of money and the movies are so average at best but terrible at worse. I find the movie to be terrible. The references to the first Scream could have been so cool. It’s how poorly those references are done that irks me! It’s not like paying homage or sharing an easter egg, it's just a fucking rip off. Courtney Cox doesn't even look like Courtney Cox anymore and something is wrong with her voice; I’m not making fun of her just stating facts. I would give it on the Psycho Scale a three for poor story, poor acting, poor dialogue and its awkward pace. I know how we started out where we mentioned it has grossed almost $200 million; that's a net of 150 million without us knowing the marketing budget. There's no chemistry between Sydney and her daughter. I don't even know what I just watched besides a terrible film. That's making a shit ton of money. Fucking A.
Scream 7 was written and directed by Kevin Willamson. He wrote the first Scream and has been involved in several of the seven Scream films. I don’t expect horror films, or any film to be perfect. I love a good 6 or 7 on the Psycho Scale. I know it’s not on me to understand what the general public sees in a bad movie like this. To each his or her own. We can’t be wrong or right about a movie or book or music, it’s what moves us.
As Mykal stated, the beginning of the film with the STAB – SCREAM museum – Air BnB is the best part of the film. It’s a girl and a guy going to the house we see at the end of the first Scream. The house was converted to a horror theme. There are cool artifacts from the first film and lots of STAB images and references. The opening scene runs about 5-7 minutes and although better than the rest of the film it peters out at the close.
The music is cookie cutter, playing a few tunes from the first Scream. The blade sound seems to be even more exaggerated which is fitting for this movie.
There are so many scenes within the film that are lost, make no sense or a combo of both. I could list them all, but as Mykal would say, who cares? The film has plenty of blood, and gore. There is one notable kill that seems to be more fitting in a Terrifier film. Ghost Face takes a male character’s head and spikes it onto a beer tap as the innocents are held up in a bar. The valve from the beer tapper opens and blood and beer pour from the dead character’s mouth – it’s cool but doesn’t fit the tone of the film. Theres also non-stop cussing and no nudity that I recall.
We loved the first Scream, and Wes Craven the creator. I wanted so much more from the film, but alas it was not meant to be. As Mykal and I use as a motto – Smart and continuity sharp films don’t cost more!
What’s your favorite scary movie?
Me: Not this one!
Psycho Scale: 3 out of 10 for both films.Stick with the original!
FROM THE VAULT (1930s–1980s)
Let’s take a look at a classic horror film. We will kick off the third chapter under the new format with this amazing classic film:
The Creature from the Black Lagoon 1954 Rated G - runtime 1h 19m
Released in 1954 by Universal Studios, The Creature from the Black Lagoon is part of the Universal Classic Monsters Mount Rushmore.
There is something quietly eerie about rewatching Creature from the Black Lagoon, not because it leans on shock or excess, but because it understands quiet horror. It’s a G rated horror, and the only one I know I love. Released in 1954 during the golden era of classic monster cinema, the film does not use loud and senseless violence. There’s no gore. It moves through the murky waters that the creature lives in, patient and watching, allowing its horror to take shape beneath the surface before ever fully showing itself. I recall watching it for the first time on Nightmare Theater, Channel 18 in Milwaukee back in the day. It was a midnight showing. I remember how quickly the film seemed to come to an end and wanting more of the creature!
Directed by Jack Arnold, the story follows a group of scientists who travel deep into the Amazon in search of a prehistoric fossil. What they find instead is something living, something ancient, and something violent. The Gill Man, as it came to be known, is not just a creature feature monster. Arnold shoots the creature not as a dumb monster, but as a strange being caught between worlds, both curious and defensive, making every time we see the creature feel like there is horror and sympathy.
What separates this film from many of its counterparts is its atmosphere. The black and white photography is not simply what was done in the era, it becomes a tool. Light dances across the water, shadows stretch unnaturally across the jungle, and the surface of the lagoon becomes a barrier between two realities. That calm lagoon reminds me of Lake Placid. The underwater sequences remain some of the most incredible ever put to film, particularly the now iconic shots of the creature gliding beneath the surface in eerie synchronization with Julie Adams. The film has amazing pace and the underwater scenes almost seem like water ballet.
The creature itself, portrayed by Ricou Browning and Ben Chapman, is a masterpiece of practical design. Its look is both monster-like and strangely elegant, with a textured suit that feels alive even in stillness. There is weight to it, a physicality that modern effects often struggle to replicate. You believe this thing exists because it occupies space so convincingly. The practical effects throughout rock!
At its core, the film leans into a familiar idea but executes it at a high level. Man enters a place he does not understand, driven by curiosity and entitlement, and is confronted by something that refuses to be categorized or controlled. There is a quiet tension between science and nature running throughout, one that never feels forced but always present. The creature is dangerous, but it is also defending its world. That balance gives the film a layer of depth that elevates it beyond a simple monster story. It’s so interesting to me that this was an early eco-horror film before it was in vogue to talk about being kind to our planet.
Rewatching it now, the film holds up not because of nostalgia, but because of its style. It does not over explain, it does not rush, and it does not water down its central idea. It trusts the audience to watch the water, and to feel the unease creeping in from below. In a genre that often leans toward excess, Creature from the Black Lagoon remains a reminder that what is unseen, or only partially seen, can be far more powerful. And that music!
Psycho Scale? We refrain from sharing that with the Classic Vault. I will say it is: classic, influential and brilliant!
This is one of the foundational Universal horror films along with Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Wolf Man.
A must watch and rewatch for all horror fans! This is one of our favorite classic or otherwise horror films of all time!
When you hear that incredible music playing it’s foreboding tones, stay out of the water!
VHS CORNER (Available only on videotape)
I remember vividly, the trips to the small video rental stores. F Blockbuster! We will share some cool tales about those excursions to the celluloid palaces of yesteryear in future chapters.
Boarding House 1982 Rated R – runtime 1h 57m
Budget is listed at $10K. Box office is unknown.
This VHS only horror film was completed in 1982 and released in multiple years with different cuts.
This film is a trip beyond words. It starts up with really funky credits; this was 1982. Almost kind of looks like they were done in DOS, if we remember that operating system. This film supposedly has three different cuts to it. The one I'm watching is 87 minutes and there is supposedly a couple of more that are longer including one that I heard is an excess of 160 minutes. Outside of the credits, the film is opening up with somebody at a computer. They are typing and it is in that green colored font DOS used. There is a sound for the typing and letters represented on screen. It gets pretty annoying after a while. Theres blipping after every letter and word that's being typed out. I figured we're in for a treat! The excessive typing is sharing events; there was telekinesis suspected at this house, the Boarding House. There was a suicide at the house and that was 10 years ago in 1972. We hear some really weird eerie music and there is what looks like some sort of mass in different colors, brown and red that's across the screen. Is this an entity or just dirt on the lens? The colored blurb or entity is covering the house, which leads us to the backyard of this so-called boarding house. Some guy was yelling very awkwardly and he appears to be dead in the pool. I would hate to have to skim him out!
Garbage disposal? I’ve seen this lately in a couple of old movies where someone's got their arm in the garbage disposal, cause it's not working. Of course, the disposal turns on and it chews up their arm! I can never stick my hand in a garbage disposal, ever! There is a hip looking guy from the early 80s; he was given a set of keys and we can only assume that it's for the boarding house. We are now inside a sanitarium. The edits are really wildly done. My notes are scattered like the edits of the movie. A hypodermic needle is being shown with what looks like a red liquid in it. It turns out that the red liquid was Thorazine. A nurse has a manila folder in her hands that she's just handed over to a shadowy figure and now she's undressing for no known reason. There is awkwardly heavy breathing, and all we can see is the nurse who was undressed to her underwear and it appears that she is committing suicide. We see black gloved hands, but no other parts of the person. She is being forced into killing herself by some entity and it resonates with the fact that at the beginning in that DOS script, it said there was a suicide in 1972. We come across an assistant at the sanitarium and he stumbles across the woman who was forced to commit suicide. The entity reaches out to him and we see the black gloves pulling his insides out and he's dead too. Wow! We are back in the front of the house that was shown at the beginning of the movie. The hip guy who got the keys is walking up to the house and there is an Amityville Horror sound of buzzing flies. What we are seeing and hearing is that the guy that got the keys to the house ran an ad to have girls come and live at the house. They call it a boarding house but it’s just a regular single-family home in a residential area.
There are about a half dozen women that show up immediately to live in the Boarding House!
There is some really funky low-level rock 'n' roll being played right in the film. The credits state that John Wintergate directed, wrote, did the music and starred in this film.
The guy who got the keys is now at his office and he has stripped down to just his underwear – which looks like leopard print women’s panties. He’s chanting and we can hear the entity’s voice mumbling something. The guy through his chanting appears to have the power of telekinesis as he moves a plant off his desk and made a very funky face. A drunk guy with a funky hat comes into his office and makes a reference to Milwaukee! The film moves at an uneasy pace and some of that must be due to the weird editing. This is a B movie or maybe a D movie?
We see that very quickly six women have moved into the boardinghouse. I know the title of movie is boarding house but it's a residential neighborhood and a residential home!
The almost constant music being played underneath is distracting.
We keep hearing random sounds and see random clouds of color that we have to assume it's some sort of entity.
Of course, no movie like this would be complete without a creepy landscaper; there's a landscaper that's in a leather jacket and army vet clothes. He's got a terrible limp and odd sunglasses with a funky hat. The landlord, as they're calling him who was given those keys to the boarding house decided to throw a big party to break in the house. The girls are excited. One of the girls knows a band that might be coming over and there's a random private detective that was hired to find one of the girls. The movie is all over the place and the editing is very weird. The detective was in the bathroom, dropped his watch into a partially filled tub with water. Tried to get the watch out and then the entity drops a hairdryer in it and electrocuted the detective!
One of the women was in bed in the house, she was frightened by something and started screaming and then the next edit she's out in a graveyard! The movie literally doesn't make any sense.
A highlight of the film is the screaming; the women can really scream well! I think of the movie Body Double when they're trying to get the girl to do a scream as the body double and the scream is terrible! Randomly they're tying in this guy that looks like a poor man's James Brolin, who hired the private detective who was electrocuted. He just showed up at the boarding house and he was there to find this girl that the detective found. The girl that he was looking for just had a flashback of a sexual assault with the Jame Brolin type. After the flashback she just reaches out to the random guy’s hand and said it's nice to see you again. This movie is insane. you can't make this stuff up; well, they actually did. One of the girls was almost shot by another one of the girls who has started to practice telekinesis! She learned it from the landlord. She missed hitting the girl but hit the girl’s pillow instead with the bullet. The landlord asks what happened and he says we gotta get out of here! The edit shows the landlord and the girl that was almost shot at the beach making out in the next scene. While they were making out, we see those black gloved hands again, and the gloved hands knocked the guy out with a rock. The girl that was almost shot is bleeding from her mouth and eyes; we assume it’s from telekinesis. She’s awkwardly walking into the ocean and we don't see her anymore. Quick edit away from the beach;
a random white van has pulled up and the girl yells out to the passengers. We hear; hey everyone the guys are here! There the guys in the band for the party and they're all going to hang out at the pool. This movie is pure insanity. The black gloved hands are back and this time they're holding a little black kitten that was one of the girl’s pets. The hands kill the kitten in graphic fashion. The landlord said no pets and they tried to make a joke about it. We move to the landlord in the shower with one of the girls who had gotten yogurt all over her face in an earlier scene. They are having sex in the shower as the gloved hands kill the kitten with a hammer, wow.
Due to the edits, it's really hard to tell a lot of times what's going on. Clearly one of the girls must be the one that is doing the black gloved hands and using telekinesis! They're showing one of the girls running on railroad tracks. It's a pretty big railroad yard and there's no way that would be right by the boarding house!
We fast forward to the party and at this point we just want the movie to end. The sun has set; the gang's altogether and now they're smoking weed. We got the band. Girls and an entity! Some girls are eating bananas in a sexual way. That’s how random this movie is. One of the girls is singing a song in front of the band, evidently, it's their new single and it's just as bad as the rest of the movie!
We are nearing the end of the film with police officers coming to the party. The entity made one of the police officers shoot himself. We see the landscaper creeping around, could it be the landscaper that is killing everyone? The landscaper is killed by the entity! The entity is going after a girl that's in the kitchen and kills her. It’s just a rampage now between the entity with the black gloved hands. The special effects in a couple of places with blood when it is coming out of the eyes and mouth are the best practical effects in the whole movie. As improbable as it is; they're showing us that one of the girls is in touch with the entity. She's been helping kill everyone and protect the Boarding House. She just removed the heart out of some guy's chest. The movie hits a crescendo with the landlord, and one of the girls who has been practicing telekinesis teaming up against the other girl who was actually the entity! They are able to crush the entity with their telekinesis. Naturally, at the very end of the movie, there's an update that is ominous in the DOS program with the terrible beep beep at the end. Holy shit Batman!
This is a must watch for all B horror movie fans! It is weird, poorly done and still more entertaining than the film weapons!
This would have been a perfect Saturday night video rental; the movie is literally insane!
SOME TV
We will focus on smart dramas, twisted thrillers - comedies and horror.
Seinfeld – NBC Network – 1989 – 9 Seasons
Last month the TV Spotlight was on Curb your Enthusiasm. We felt it only fitting we would follow that up with Seinfeld!
Seinfeld remains one of television’s most iconic comedies, largely because of the influence of Larry David. While Jerry Seinfeld was the on-screen anchor, it was Larry David’s perspective that defined the show’s voice. Larry’s approach rejected traditional sitcom structure in favor of observing the smallest details of everyday life and pushing them to uncomfortable and often hilarious extremes. Larry David, along with Jerry Seinfeld created a show about nothing. They even incorporated the concept within the series as Jerry and George pitch the idea of a show about nothing to NBC, very Larry David.
The oddities of everyday life is best seen through George Costanza, a character widely viewed as an extension of David himself. George’s insecurity, dishonesty, and constant self-sabotage created a blueprint for comedy built on truth rather than likability. This shows itself even more in David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm with David delivering the messaging better than George ever could. The humor did not come from growth or being redeemed, but from watching characters double down on their worst character flaws.
The way the series was laid out mirrored the philosophies of David and Seinfeld. Episodes layered multiple storylines that collided with precision, turning minor social grievances into full scale comedic payoffs. Dialogue followed the same pattern, with characters breaking down trivial moments as if they carried real weight. The result was a rhythm that felt both natural and heightened at the same time. The show is brilliant and still holds up 30 plus years later.
What set Seinfeld apart most was its refusal to soften its edges. There were no lessons, no meaningful change, and no emotional reset. That decision, driven by Larry David, gave the show its identity. It was not just a comedy about nothing; it was a comedy about how people actually behave when no one is forcing them to be better. When no one is looking, and of course when people are watching. There are many politically incorrect moments in the series, but at the time period the series was released that term was not in the public’s vernacular.
The season finale which was an extended length episode is it’s one weak spot. Larry David jokes at his expense several times about that final episode in Curb, and even employs the idea of a Seinfeld reunion. David was producer, writer and George Steinbrenner’s voice for seven of the nine seasons. David sited stress over wanting every episode to be perfect as to why he stepped away before the last two seasons were in the can. David did return to write the finale. Jerry Seinfeld took the idea of observation from his hugely popular stand-up act and infused with Larry David’s peculiar take on day to day life and they created a TV Sitcom for the ages. A show about nothing, yeah right!
Few TV series have taken frustrations and exposed them in an honest and awkward fashion like Seinfeld! Well, except for Curb Your Enthusiasm.
MUSIC (That collides with film)
Maximum Overdrive 1986 – 9 Tracks
The Maximum Overdrive soundtrack is unique on many levels. For starters, at the time Stephen King listed AC/DC as one of his favorite groups. This led to an interesting collaboration between King and AC/DC. Maximum Overdrive is not only a hard charging movie; it is also the only film King has ever directed. Taking the use of a band’s songs to use in a film was common place by the 1980s, King took this a step further. Not only were there songs by AC/DC layered within the movie, AC/DC also did all the instrumental music that is played underneath the entirety of the movie. The film has its flaws from the cast, dialogue and pace; the music outshines many scenes or some would say adds to the film. I think the use of the music and songs was brilliant and something that occurred many times in the 80s, not sure how often it has happened in the subsequent four decades. Stephen King appears at the opening of the film, standing at an ATM as the machine calls him an ASSHOLE. We hear AC/DC’s guitar chords begin to flood the audio track and the movie takes off from there!
At one point in the movie a waitress is beside herself after the machines have gone crazy and started to kill people, she starts to scream We Made You, We Made You! A great tie-in to the first track on this great rock soundtrack: Who Made Who
Track Listing Who Made Who
by AC/DC
1. Who Made Who
2. You Shook Me All Night Long
3. D.T. (Instrumental)
4. Sink the Pink
5. Ride On (feat. Bon Scott)
6. Hells Bells
7. Shake Your Foundations
8. Chase the Ace (Instrumental)
9. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
Psycho Studios Take:
Not just a soundtrack, this is AC/DC wired straight into the circuitry of Maximum Overdrive. From a rock n roll standpoint one of the best overall soundtracks in modern film history.
Mykal and I listen to and build playlists on Spotify Premium
Psycho Studio’s SPOTLIGHT
Terence Fisher
The Architect of Hammer Films reimagined Universal Classic Monsters
Terence Fisher was the driving force behind the reinvention of gothic horror in the mid 1950s, elevating the genre from its earlier theatrical roots into something more vivid, psychological, and cinematic through his work with Hammer Film Productions. Terence, along with Hammer Films were able to acquire the rights and work with Universal Studios to reimagine their classic monsters. Films like The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, Fisher introduced audiences to a richer, more dangerous version of horror, one defined by lots of color, especially the striking use of blood red, shadow-filled interiors, and characters driven by obsession and moral conflict rather than simple good versus evil. There were sexual overtones in the Dracula films not seen before. Terence’s collaborations with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee helped cement a new tone where monsters were not just frightening, but seductive and deeply human in their portrayals. Terence propelled both Cushing and Lee into household horror names. Rather than relying on the monsters as freaks, Fisher favored restraint and atmosphere. He allowed tension to build through character, setting, and deliberate pacing, proving that horror could be both artful and commercially compelling. In doing so, he created a blueprint that continues to influence modern filmmakers who seek to balance style, substance, and storytelling within the genre. The music within his films drove the action and was instantly recognized on the first note. Hammer Films heyday was the mid 1950s into the late 1960s. I recall going to see all the Hammer classics when I was a kid to early teens. We thought the films were new releases, rather than being re-released as they were. Terence Fisher respected dialogue as much as the look of his films and the action within them.
CLOSING THOUGHT
We refrain from speaking to politics, religion and the strife across the globe. Film has been an incredible connection and enthusiastic distraction, hobby and life pursuit. 2026 is Psycho Studio’s year, and we look forward to sharing thoughts, experiences and the like. We will pull the curtain back and review our progress, our amazing intellectual property (IP) as well as the special journey we are on. We wish everyone a positive 2026!
The written word is the basis of everything; most important is the idea, then the dialogue.
Terence FisherEND
Mykal and I shared this credo with one another a couple years ago; it was poignant then & surely is today!
Be cool to one another
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We have thoroughly enjoyed writing this newsletter each month for the last 29 months. We will continue with our unique voice in a sea of sameness and will do so through 2026 with a newly streamlined format. Less is more!
Mykal and I wish everyone a cool February! Be safe and stay psycho! We would love to hear from our audience. Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcome!
Email us at - psychostudios66@gmail.com
Reach us at our website: www.psycho-studio.com
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The Sprinkler is dropped on the first of each month.
Mike & Mykal - Psycho Studios Phoenix – 4.1.2026
Thank you, Psychos! Chapter 32