31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 30 Dracula Unleashed DVD game

Title-Dracula Unleashed
Source-Interactive DVD Game

Somehow this FMV game passed me by until about a week ago.I owned a Sega CD back in the day,but had never heard of this game until someone supplied me with a rip of the DVD release.

Using FMV and onscreen choices this game tells the story of Alexander Morris. As he comes to London to investigate the death,that happened 10 years ago,of his brother Quincy. By choosing the right things at the right time you can manage to defeat Dracula and win the game.

The acting is pretty decent compared to other FMV games of the era. The interface is well done. And overall the game isn't bad. I doubt I play it more than once a year. But it is a nice way to kill time.

Dracula Unleashed DVD game gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 29 Psycho IV

Title-Psycho IV
Source-DVD

Pretty sure I have seen this installment of the Psycho franchise more times that any other film in the series. It  went straight to cable. And I caught it's first airing on Showtime. For years I had a VHS with Psycho IV and Meridian AKA Kiss of the Beast.

Norman is out and free. He is married. He calls into a talk radio show,hosted by CCH Pounder. And started to tell all his history. So we get to see how Norman was as a child and teen. All the torture his mother did to him. Plus why he killed her.

Thru out the film Norman hints he is ready to kill again. With CCH and the rest of the radio station crew trying their best to talk him out of this. And the reveal as to why he wants to kill again is a big shocker.

Since this installment in the franchise went straight to cable it isn't as well known as the other 3.For a long time it was hard to find the VHS and wasn't out on DVD. I was pleasantly surprised when I found the above pictured DVD set for $5 a few years ago.

Psycho IV gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 28 Svengoolie MeTV airing of SSSSSSSs

Title-Sssssss
Source-Svengoolie airing on MeTV

Since I have to wait on someone to upload the episodes I am way behind on Svengoolie.So when I got home earlier tonight I was looking for something to watch,and something that while I had seen it before it had been a long time. Saw the dvd-r of the Svengoolie's recent airing of this show and threw it into the blu ray player.

Dirk Benedict becomes the local snake expert's lad assistant. The Doctor starts shooting him up with chemicals,saying they are to help if he gets bit by a snake. Of course we know this will cause Dirk to transform into a snakeman.

Lots of real snakes in this.According to one of Sven's segments there is only one scene with a fake snake.The acting is pretty good. And over all it is a fun way to waste 2 hours. The only big fault with the film is the non-ending.

Sssssssssss gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 27 Pop Punk Zombies

Title-Pop Punk Zombies
Source-Kings of Horror Youtube stream of Pop Punk Zombies

Last year I got clued in on the Kings of Horror Youtube Channel. They post at least 3 indy horror movies a week. And it is thanks to their service that I have gotten more people to see the "greatness" that is Vampeggedon.

Earlier I was wondering what I was gonna watch for today. Found a flash drive that I had filled up months back with various horror films off the Kings of Horror channel. Realizing I haven't watched a zombie movie in a good bit I started Pop Punk Zombies.

The film starts with our very Clerks-like leads eating lunch. The twitchy,I am guessing he is suppose to be on speed ,waiter sells them two tickets to the upcoming Vicious Vegans show.They end up going to the show and surprise the bands gimmick of being zombies isn't a gimmick. It is real they are zombies.

Going into the film I kept in mind this was a low budget film. The acting was a bit better than I usually get in indy horror. The effects are decent.And the film moves at a decent pace and never gets boring.

Pop Punk Zombies gets a B.

2016 Comic Challenge 259 Tales from the Darkside #02

TITLE-Tales from the Darkside #02
PUBLISHER-IDW

Found issues 2 and 3 today.Which works out nice cause it a two part story.Same creative team as issue 4 also.

The schlub of man has since a young age had odd things happen to and around him fairly often. When we meet him he is getting fired from his current job. On his way home  his car breaks down. But he gets offered a ride.

Seems there is a connection between some experimental pregnancy drugs from the 70s and a bunch of now adults who randomly warp reality while having a seizure.And this man driving the car offers our lead a chance to stop the seizures.

The lead of course takes the offer to stop all the craziness.Goes to the foundations main office.But as he is getting put to sleep there is a hint that maybe he was lied to. And maybe this "dark version" of himself that he sees while in the seizures will instead be in control all the time.

Yep this is a damn good horror comic.The art is good and adds to the story instead of distracting from it. The writing and dialogue are also pretty good.

Tales fro the Darkside #02 gets a Buy!

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 26 Doctor Death Seeker of Souls

Title-Doctor Death Seeker of Souls
Source-Scorpion DVD

This is one of those early 70s horror films I had read about for decades. Seeing short reviews of it in piles of horror cinema reference books I owned/read.But I never saw the VHS,if it got a release on VHS,for rent at any store. It wasn't until a few years back when Scorpion Releasing put it out on DVD that I finally got a chance to see a film I had been curious about for years and years.

And well... I was kind of disappointed. It is kind of your typical early 70s supernatural horror film. Something that you would see second or third bill at the drive-in. Speaking of the drive-in the kill at the drive-in in this film is the best part of the entire film.

Doctor Death Seeker of Souls gets a D+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 25 Swamp Thing

Title-Swamp Thing
Source-Uncut first release MGM DVD

Yeah I know the cover above isn't the cover on the DVD,but it looks so much better. I got lucky 6 years ago and got the uncut first release of the film for $5. The first DVD release in the States was of the R rated cut,which mostly got the R cause of a few instances of nudity. Some parent complained,cause the back of the DVD case said PG.

Alec Holland is a scientist way out in the swamps of Louisiana. And he is working on a top secret new chemical. He finishes it about the time Alice Cable comes to visit. When Anton Arcane shows up. He wants the formula. A fight breaks out and Alec ends up covered in the new chemical and out in the swamp. And it is assumed he has died.

But he didn't. He comes back as the plant creature Swamp Thing. The rest of the film is Arcane trying to capture Swamp Thing,and Swamp Thing and Alice falling in love.

Now I remember this film kind of bombing,but it did good enough to get a sequel years later, Then a TV series that lasted 3 or 4 years on USA. One good thing that came out of this film was with a Swamp Thing film in theaters DC wanted a Swamp Thing comic on the stands. So the Saga of Swamp Thing title started. Which in a bit less than 2 years later got taken over by Alan Moore and became one of the best comics to come out from the big 2 in the 80s.

Swamp Thing gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 24 Tiny Toons Night Ghoulery

Title-Tiny Toons Night Ghoulery
Source-VHS rip

As far as I know this is the only Tiny Toons special to never get released on DVD.I never saw it back when it came out so getting a decent looking VHS rip of it was a nice find.

The Night Ghoulery title should let you know that this is a homage/parody of the old Rod Serling Night Gallery show. So this is an anthology. With a bunch of short stories with the various Tiny Toons characters showing up.

The stories are fun.The animation looks great. And over all it is funny.

Tiny Toons Night Ghoulery gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 23 Stephen King's It

Title-Stephen King's It
Source-VHS

Recently started going thru my stacks of VHS. Some of them are labeled some are not. So been kind of interesting seeing what is on these various tapes. On one tape was a recording of when some channel aired the tv mini series Stephen King's It a few years ago.

Ahh It,this was one of my most anticipated adaptation of a King novel. Maybe 2 years before the mini series premiered I had read the novel. And was wondering how they would be able to keep it true to the novel and still air it on broadcast TV.

Set in the town of Derry Maine,It is about an evil entity that feeds on children. Every so many years It kills a few children then disappears again. Until it meets up with a special group of children. This group is made up of all the outcasts at the local elementary school. And thru the bond they share they managed to kill It. Or so they thought.

They grow up and one by one move away from Derry. With only one of them staying behind.Now they are approaching middle age and find out that It is back. So can this gang of now adults manage to stop It?

This aired over 2 nights. Each night it was 2 hours with commercials. The first night covered the half of the story when they were kids. And the next night covered the last half when they are adults. It is surprisingly gory for a network TV mini series. And thanks to the great acting from Tim Curry It is packed with scary moments. Even having to tone down some parts of the novel didn't hurt the mini series too much.

What hurt it was how they handled the final battle with It. In the novel it gets very metaphysical. And has a bunch of connections to King's Dark Tower series of novels. In the mini series It is revealed to be a giant spider. Which our gang defeats. Yep a giant spider. I get that it would have been hard to recreate the battle from the novel. But they could have done something better than Hey it is is a giant spider.

Stephen King's It gets a C+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 22 Halloween Resurrection

Title-Halloween Resurrection
Source-DVD

Yeah I know this movie sucks. But if you have been reading my blog everyday this month you will know I dedicated this years 31 Days of Horror to Brandon Lee,no not the actor. Brandon was the biggest fan of this entry in the long running Halloween franchise I have ever met. And earlier this year he asked me to include it in my annual October horror movie reviews. So Brandon sir,this one is for you.

At the end of H20 Jamie Lee has killed Micheal,by cutting off his head. Well seems that isn't what happened. Somehow Micheal switched places with someone and Jamie killed an innocent man. Not long after this film starts Micheal comes and after 7 entries in his part of this franchise manages to kill his sister.

After that Micheal heads back to Haddonfield. And some stupid TV producer has gotten the amazing idea to set a reality show in the Myers old home.So we get Micheal stalking and killing the annoying types you see on most reality tv shows.

Hell the only reason I own this film is to complete the franchise. I have only watched it 4 times now. The first time was not long after I bought the DVD. Then watched it a second time cause it had a commentary,which is decent. About 2 years ago Brandon asked me to watch it again,and to keep in  mind all the things he loved about the film. I did and still didn't care for the movie. And the final time was so I could do this review. The acting ranges from horrible to OK at best. The FX work is pretty good. Hell it is the best thing about the film.And while I am not a huge fan of the Halloween franchise,honestly I enjoy the first,3rd and 4th films.But I don't hold them in as high a regard as lots of the horror community.

Well Brandon you got me to watch this horrible film again sir. No idea if you even know I wrote this review. But if you do I hope you enjoyed it. You are missed sir.

Halloween Resurrection gets a D-.

2016 Comic Challenge 258 Tales from the Darkside #04

TITLE-Tales from the Darkside #04
PUBLISHER-IDW

If I am remembering right,these issues are based on Joe Hill scripts for an never produced updating of the classic syndicated horror anthology TV show. Joe Hill gets credited for script and Michael Benedetto gets a Adaptation credit.The always great Gabriel Rodriguez gets the art credit.

Set in the present day "A Window Opens" starts off with your typical suburban teenage girl.She is driving home,gets distracted by her phone. Looks up swerves to miss a man that suddenly appeared in the road.Which causes her to plow into her new neighbor's mailbox.

Doing the right thing she goes and knocks on the door. Tells the parents about the mailbox. And quickly gets asked to babysit the two children,who's eye never leave their tablets.

With the base now built,we get a modernization of that classic Twilight Zone episode where a young Bill Mummy was wishing people into the cornfields.The twist is whatever the two evil looking kids draw on their tablets screen appears.

Yeah now I gotta track down all the previous issues of this series.Plus see if there is a trade out or about to come out.

Tales from the Darkside #04 gets a buy.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 21 The Fly

Title-The Fly
Source-Blu Ray

Yep the Cronenberg remake of the classic sci fi film. I first saw this at a young age. And loved it. Had kind of forgotten about it till one night while talking to a buddy that is a huge Cronenberg fan. Went looking for the DVD and found I could get the Blu Ray cheaper than the DVD.

Jeff Goldbloom is a scientist who is trying to make teleportation a reality.After a few failed attempts he gets brave and tries to teleport himself. What he didn't know is a common household fly is in the teleportation pod with him. So it's DNA gets mixed in with his. And the rest of the film shows the horrible consequences of this.

Of course since this is a David Cronenberg film it has to be about body horror. That is the main theme in most of Cronenberg's films. The acting  is damn good. And this is the best Geena Davis has ever been. The FX work is soooooooooooooooo damn good. I have a strong stomach,but there is a few scenes in the film that make me want to vomit.

The Fly gets a A+.

2016 Comic Challenge 257 Charles Burns' Black Hole

TITLE-Black Hole
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics

I am pretty sure I reviewed the first issue of this series earlier this year. Got a copy of the collection of all 12 issues and been reading it over the past few days.

Holy fuck. I have been a fan of Charles Burns for a long time now. And this is the best thing I have read from him.

Really it is hard to explain this series. The bare basics is a virus is out. It only seems to infect teens. And if you get infected it causes your body to mutate. Some get lucky and have a mutation they can hide. The others end up living out in the woods.

But there is so much going on under the basic plot. Lots of stuff I am still trying to puzzle out.I am thinking this virus is really what all of us go thru the first time we have sex.But then it might be the stuff we all feel as teens,how we don't fit in and feel like we are a totally different species.

The great black and white artwork is stunning.Where as Frank Miller used this style of b/w art to recreate the mood of film noir,Burns seems to be using it more as a way to get you to focus more on the story. Not that the art is bad,hell it is better than 90% of the crap that is coming out from the big 2.

Black Hole gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 256 Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook

TITLE-Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook
PUBLISHER-Avatar

Ok now I see why I never see much talk about the Avatar remake based TCM comics. They all  seem to follow the same plot.

This time instead of Krug and company it is a car with some women and a hippie. Same carnage. Looks good.But after reading it once you don't wanna read it again for a bit.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook gets a pass.

2016 Comic Challenge 255 Red Circle Sorcery #06

TITLE-Red Circle Sorcery #06
PUBLISHER-Red Circle/Archie Comics

Back in the mid 70s Archie tried to spread out into other genres of comics. So they started this horror anthology series.

Under that gorgeous Gray Morrow cover is a bunch of well drawn and well written stories. And for a comic published by Archie,even if they used a separate imprint and the Archie name is no where on the title,get pretty graphic for the era.

If you enjoy horror anthologies this series is worth tracking down. Seems every time I find an issue it is $5.Which considering how hard to find these issues are isn't a bad price.

Red Circle Sorcery #06 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 254 The Walking Dead #159

TITLE-The Walking Dead #159
PUBLISHER-Image

Halfway done with the Whisperer war and shit is starting to get really good.

The group that got attacked last issue is surrounded by Whisperers and zombies. Negan goes after Beta. Then out of no where Lucille breaks. Which causes Negan to have a breakdown. Thankfully Beta is injured and the Whisperers retreat.

Back at Hilltop Carl finds out from his new woman some secrets about the Whisperers. And if she is telling the truth ...well our gang of regulars are fucked.

Back on the battleground Dwight breaks the group up into 4 groups. Their plan is to divide the herd of Whisperers and zombies. Dwight managed to silently kill one of the Whisperers.And the issue ends with Dwight putting on the Whisperers zombie skin.

I love how this story is so very different than the All Out War story. Less big action scenes and the Whisperers seem to be the biggest threat our regulars have faced so far.

The Walking Dead #159 gets a A.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 20 Bates Motel

TITLE-Bates Motel
Source-DVD

When this first aired in the mid 80s I eagerly awaited the premiere of this TV show pilot. Watched it the night it aired and kind of forgot about it. Years later I thought "Hell I should track down a copy." And all I could find was one of those way over-priced burn on demand DVDs. No way was I paying 20 bucks plus shipping for a burnt disc. Then one day I found a pack that had Psycho 2 thru 4 plus this movie. It was only 5 bucks so I grabbed it.

Bud Cort gets sent to a mental hospital years ago when he was young. While there he becomes best friends with Norman Bates. So when Norman dies he leaves Bud the Bates Motel in the will. So Bud gets out and decides to reopen the infamous hotel.

The first hour or so of this pilot is all about Bud along with Lori Petty reopening the hotel. While this part isn't horrible,it is boring as fuck. They could have cut this down to 30 minutes and it might help.

Then of course the hotel opens. A lady checks in. And the last 30 minutes of this feel like the second episode of this failed series.She is gonna kill herself. But then the redhead from Head of the Class walks into her room. And we get this very Twilight Zone like story.

Really unless you are some mega Psycho fan that must see everything connected to that classic original avoid this movie at all costs. Sure that DVD I got cost me $1.25 for the film. And it isn't worth that much. It is odd cause I find Bud Cort and Lori Petty to be pretty good talents. But they can't keep this movie from being so boring I had to keep fighting off sleep while watching it.

Bates Motel gets a C-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 19 Nickelodeon Frightfest

Title-Nickelodeon Frightfest
Source-VHS rip

Recently got a pack of various animated horror/Halloween related specials. Never heard of this VHS before.But after googling the cover and seeing it had 3 cartoons I enjoyed on it I threw it in to watch.

Up first was Rugrats. Never seen this episode before,in it Angela is telling the babies about Halloween and how they can get Reptar candy bars. The Pickles have set up a tent in their backyard. And trick or treaters go into it to get candy. So the babies see this and of course misunderstand it. Overall it was a pretty entertaining episode.

The second cartoon was Doug.Which is one of the Nicktoons I watched every episode of. In this one Skeeter and Doug go trick or treating. Then end up at a haunted house attraction. Overall the episode was neat but nothing special.

To wrap it up we get the episode of Ren and STimpy with the haunted house. Pretty sure this is one of the last episodes before John K got kicked off the show. And for me it is one of the worst of the run with him at the helm.

Now if this tape was just those three episodes I wouldn't bother tracking it down. But inbetween each episode we get to see lots of horror/Halloween based Nick Bumpers. Most of which I haven't seen since the early 90s.

Nickelodeon Frightfest gets a B+.

2016 Comic Challenge 253 Clive Barker's Nightbreed vol 01

TITLE-Clive Barker's Nightbreed vol 01
PUBLISHER-Boom Studios

This collection of the first 4 issues of Boom's Nightbreed series turned out way better than I expected. The art is damn good and the writing is well done.

The head of Mideon is giving Boone a tour and history lesson. Through this we learn the backstory of Peloquin,the porcupine lady and a handful of others.

I only read an issue or 2 of the old Epic published Nightbreed series. And really it wasn't that good. This series seems to be more connected to the film and novella than the old series .

Clive Barker's Nightbreed Vol #01 gets a buy.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 18 The Craft

Title-The Craft
Source-Columbia Blu Ray

This is another film I point out to everyone that claims "There was no good horror coming out in the 90s."Maybe one day that fallacy will die.

A new girl has moved to town. And quickly she hooks up with a trio of witches. At first they are just doing small time magik. Like changing the color of their hair. They discover that now that they have 4 members they have access to much much more power.And of course too much power in the hands of some teenage girls might cause problems.

This is an odd film. In that 2 of the main cast I do not care for. Those would be Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney. For me Neve has never been a good actress and Tunney always looks bored. But thankfully the under-rated Fairuza Balk steals the film.

The Craft gets a A-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 17 Stir of Echoes

Title-Stir of Echoes
Source-Epix Drive In Channel Airing

Back in 1999 2 different ghost films came out.One of them was a huge hit and became one of the most talked about horror films of the late 90s,and the other got kind of forgotten. The film that was a hit was The Sixth Sense,a film I do not like. The film that was forgotten is Stir of Echoes.

Kevin Bacon and his wife are a working class couple. At a party Bacon's sister in law hypnotizes him. After he starts getting flashes of the future and the past. Seems there was a mentally challenge teenage girl that disappeared in his neighborhood a few years ago. So Bacon is trying to figure out if the girl is dead or whatever.

Normally ghost films kind of bore me but this one is a major exception.The acting is damn good. The FX work is damn good,and the story is compelling.

Stir of Echoes gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 16 Splatter Farm(DVD edition)

Title-Splatter Farm
Source-Camp Motion Picutres DVD

After having heard about this movie for years I finally saw it a few years back. An Aunt got me the dvd for x-mas. Didn't realize until I watched it with the director's commentary that the DVD version is missing scenes that were in the hard to find VHS release. The Polinia Brothers claim the VHS release was a rough cut. Plus they didn't have permission of some of the people in the cut scenes.

Shot on VHS back in the late 80s,Splatter Farm was a film that I heard so much talk about when I doubt most of my friends had even seen it. Released by Donna Michelle video the vhs was hard to find back then and now if you do find a copy it cost close to 100 bucks for the vhs.

As far as the DVD it is easy to get cheap. And loaded down with more than enough extras to make up for getting a slightly different edit of the film. Not only is there the previously mentioned directors commentary. But also right at an hour of their short films,which have an optional director's commentary. And a featurette where the two brothers travel back to where they filmed Splatter Farm.

The movie...well it is OK for what it is. Which is a low budget shoot on video movie that was made by two brothers in their teens with an off the shelf VHS camcorder. Some of the gore effects are pretty good. And it is barely over an hour long.

Splatter Farm(DVD edition) gets an C+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 15 Thir13en Ghosts

Title-Thir13en Ghosts
Source-Warner Brothers DVD

While the original William Castle 13 Ghosts isn't a great film,it is one that is well remembered cause of it's interesting Ghost viewer gimmick. So when I heard it was being remade I got curious. Sadly there was no Ghost Viewers handed out when you saw this remake in a theater.

Tony Shalhoub is a widowed father. Who is having money troubles,but somehow is still able to afford a live in nanny. He is told his uncle has passed and left him a house. So Tony and his family head to this house.

When they get there they find out the house was made to house 13 ghosts. There is 12 in there already. And by the end of the night one more will be added.

This film looks great. The FX work by the KNB studios is well done. The acting is hit or miss. Shaloub does a decent job with what appears to be a kind of crappy script. But Shannon Elizabeth as his daughter is horrible.

Another thing is I wish they had given us more details about the 12 ghosts. Sadly this isn't in the film. But there is an extra feature on the DVD that gives you plenty of history on each ghost.

Thir13en Ghosts gets a C+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 14 Audition

Title-Audition
Source-Ventura DVD

A few years back when I was doing a weekly podcast one of the main co-hosts and I planned on doing a month of Takashi Miike films.We covered Ichi the Killer and Visitor Q. But it stalled out after that. So while I had a copy of Audition I didn't watch it.And now after watching it I can say that Miike rarely makes a film I like.

An older gentleman is lonely. So to help him find a new lady his friends get him to host a fake audition for a movie. He meets this one lady that he hits it off with. But something about her seems to be a bit off. And by the end of the film he learns what is off about her.

Where as Ichi was packed full of 5 minute outbursts of amazing violence followed by 20 minutes or so of boring crap,Audition is mostly boring build up to the last 20 minutes or so of the film.

I get why this film has a big following. But for me it is a case of to little way too late.

Audition gets a D-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 13 Lords of Salem

Title-Lords of Salem
Source-Anchor Bay DVD

Sherri Moon Zombie is a recovering drug addict and a radio DJ. She gets a mysterious package in. In it is an album. After playing the album shit starts to get weird.

This was Rob Zombie's 5th live action film. Which never played anywhere near me so I had to wait on it to hit DVD to see it.It was worth the wait.

The story,which is hard as fuck to figure out,means very little in this film. Inspired by lots of 70s Euro-horror this is a film all about the visuals. Sure there is a story,but it is the visuals that you should be paying attention too.

It shows that Zombie is a big Euro-horror fan. While watching it I was constantly thinking "OK here is his Argento shot,look now it is a Fulci shot. Wait was that a Matei shot?" And I have notice the people that didn't like this film usually are not fans of Euro-horror.

Lords of Salem gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 12 Shock'em Dead

Title-Shock'Em Dead
Source-Academy Entertainment VHS

I grabbed this VHS cause I knew the film wasn't out on DVD and I doubted it would hit Blu Ray.Then about a week at the most after I bought the VHS I see that a Blu Ray was getting released. Oh well the tape cost me 50 cents.

Angel is the nerdy guitar player for the band Spastic Kolon. He can't ever get a girl. Then he meets up with the Devil and gets offered a deal. All he has to do is give the Devil his soul and he will become a rock God.

So of course he takes the deal. Then finds out that once he is back on Earth he has to kill someone fairly often to stay alive. Between this and his issues with his old bandmates Angel has his hands full.

Before grabbing this VHS I hadn't seen this movie since it hit VHS in the early 90s. Back then I rented it cause of Traci Lords. This was not long after she left the adult film industry. And as part of her trying to change her image she refused to do any nudity. Doesn't matter there is piles of other women in the film willing to do nudity.

Shock'Em Dead gets a C-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 11 Silent Night Deadly Night 3 Better Watch Out!

Title-Silent Night Deadly Night 3 Better Watch Out !
Source-IVE VHS

This is the last of the Silent Night Deadly Night franchise to have any connection to the previous films.Ricky survived being shot in the last film. Now he is played by Bill Mosley and has what appears to be a clear plastic salad bowl on his head. But Ricky is in a coma. So is doctor brings in a blind psychic woman. And somehow her presence causes Ricky to come out of his coma.

After a great first film,and a dumb but fun second film,part 3 is a major letdown. It isn't so stupid it is entertaining like part 2. It isn't near as sleazy as the original. The only thing that makes this movie stand out at all is the cast. Besides Bill Mosley as Ricky,you got Robert Culp as a cop. Plus a young Laura Harring in what I think is her first major acting role.

Silent Night Deadly Night 3 Better Watch Out! gets a D+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 10 Prom Night 3 The Last Kiss

Title-Prom Night III The Last Kiss
Source-IVE VHS

Sure I own this on DVD,got the pack with parts 3 and 4. But the version of 3 on that pack is the edited for TV version. As far as I know the only way to get Prom Night III unedited is either the above pictured VHS or you will have to track down the hard as hell to find Australian released DVD.

I was surprised to see that this film is actually connected to the second film. Which is a bit odd since part 2 had almost nothing to do with the original.

The film starts off with Mary Lou escaping hell. She goes back to her old high school. And uses her good looks to get a dumb teen to help he hide all the bodies. And there is plenty of bodies cause Mary Lou keeps killing people.

It is obvious that whoever wrote this movie was a fan of the Elm Street series. Like Freddy after part 3,Mary Lou makes horrible jokes after each kill. And the entire film has this dream like feel to it.

So is it worth tracking down the VHS to see this movie the way it was meant to be seen?I saw yes. This is the second best of the Prom Night franchise,with only part 2 being better. Just go in expecting a horror/comedy and you are good.

Prom Night III the Last Kiss gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 09 Bone Chillers Art Intimidates Life

Title-Bone Chillers Art Intimidates Life
Source-Buena Vista Home Video  VHS

This is the other Bone Chillers VHS I mentioned a few days ago. Like the previous VHS  it has 2 full episodes of this short lived and forgotten show.

Art Intimidates Life is the first episode of the series.After quickly setting up the premise of the series it gets right to the plot of this episode.Something has happened and whatever anyone draws comes to life. Which isn't a good thing when you have a student that loves to draw horrible monsters.

Up next is Mummy Dearest. Which is the fifth episode of the series. During the school play our 4 leads have to fight off a mummy. There is some decent makeup FX done on the mummy.

Overall this tape is decent. It isn't as good as the other I reviewed days ago. But still if you find it cheap it is worth grabbing.

Bone Chillers Art Intimidates Life gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 08 Misery

Title-Misery
Source-New Line Home Video VHS

When I hear people talking about how there was no good horror coming out in the 90s until Scream,Misery is one of the first films I mention. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her role as Annie Wilkes.

Months back I found a semi local store that still has a huge amount of VHS. Most of it seems to come from a few of the now closed local video stores.Plus it seems like I am the only person that comes in looking for VHS. I was trying to kill some time while waiting on someone,so went into the store just figuring I would look around for 20 minutes find nothing and leave. But fairly quick I saw that they must have restocked their VHS shelves. So that 20 minutes of looking around turned into about an hour of digging thru boxes and looking all over shelves for VHS.I had thankfully brought my laptop with me that day. So I went and grabbed it.Pulled up my list of all the movies/tv shows/etc I own and discovered I didn't own Misery. With the cheap prices the store wants for VHS I grabbed it.

Based on one of Stephen Kings best novels,Misery is the story of a writer and his number 1 fan.James Caan plays Paul. A writer who feels trapped. He has a series of best selling romance novels. But he is tired of that genre and wants to branch out. As is his tradition he goes way up in the mountains when he is writing the first draft of a new novel. He finishes the novel and is on his way back to his home when his car goes flying off the road.

When he wakes up he is in a bed. Seems Anne Wilkes,his NUMBER 1 FAN,found him. And  has him at her home until the snow clears enough for her to take him to a doctor.Thankfully she is a nurse so can help him heal.

She ends up reading his newest novel and reacts badly when the lead,Misery,dies. And this is when her evil side comes out. The rest of the movie is a cat and mouse game between our two leads. How far will Anne go to make sure Misery isn't dead? And will Paul ever be able to escape this lunatic's home?

This is one of the movies based on King's novels were I saw the movie first. Really there is only two major changes between the novel and the film. In the novel there is full chapters of the Misery romance novel. Having never read much of that genre I have no idea how well King goes about capturing the feel. To me it read like I expected a romance novel to read. THen the other change. In the film to make sure Paul can't escape,Anne takes a sledgehammer and smashes Paul's ankle in. Were as in the book I am pretty sure she cuts one of his feet off, Then uses a hot iron to cauterize the wound.

Misery is a damn good film. Caan should have been nominated for a best actor Oscar. And in my eyes the film should have gotten nominated also.The look of the film is bleak. It so perfectly captures the feel of being snowed in that even when I watch this during the summer I feel a bit cold.This is also one of the few King films that non-horror fans seem to enjoy.

Misery gets a A.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 07 Bone Chillers Back to School

Title-Bone Chillers Back to School
Source-      VHS

This was a short lived TV series. Airing on ABC Saturday mornings for only one season. At the time I didn't watch it,thinking it was gonna be a bad rip off of the Goosebumps TV show. Years later once I learned that Linda Cardellini was one of the main stars,plus that the show was based on a series of novels,I decided to try to find some episodes.

I searched for years and never saw any rips floating around. After having given up on seeing this show,I was in a junkstore a few towns over from where I live. It was spring and this place had no A/C. The bottom floor was hot,but I took the chance and went up into the upper story. Where it felt like standing in front of a roaring fire. But up there I found the above pictured VHS,another VHS of Bone Chillers,plus 2 WWE VHS. IIRC I paid a buck for each tape.

So enough blabbering on to the review. The series is set at Edgar Allen Poe High. And Linda is one of the four leads. All of whom are freshmen.This tape has episodes 2 and 3 on it.

Episode 2 is titled Teacher Creature. It is based on book 6 of the series. A new teacher at school gets turned into a frog monster after accidentally eating some toxic frog eggs.

Episode 3,Back to School,is the better of the two episodes.This one is based on book 3. Fitz is tired of the horrible cafeteria food. So stops eating it.Then once all his friends start to love the food he knows something is wrong.

From watching these 2 episodes I saw that the show isn't that much like Goosebumps. Sure they are both horror tv shows aimed at pre-teens.But unlike Goosebumps,which was an anthology show,Bone Chillers has the same cast and every episodes is set around Edgar Allen Poe High.

After getting this and another Bone Chillers tape I went looking to see if there was anymore. There is one more that I don't have. Sadly it seems to be a bit more hard to find than these two. Used copies of the two I found sell for 3 or 4 bucks. The one I am missing starts at 15 bucks and sometimes hits as high as 30 bucks.

If anyone knows where to get the rest of the episodes please let me know. If whoever owns this series is reading this,PLEASE RELEASE THIS ON DVD!

Bone Chillers Back to School gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 06 Teen Wolf

Title-Teen Wolf
Source-Goodtimes VHS

Yeah I know the film is more comedy than horror,but I watched this movie a few months back for the first time since I am guessing about 1989 and felt like including it as part of the 31 Days of Horror.

Michael J Fox is on his high school basketball team. They  suck and all he wants is to be special. To have something about himself that makes him stand out.

So once he discovers he is a werewolf he becomes the most popular teen in the area. But do the people really like Mr Fox or is it just the novelty of the wolf that keeps people around?

First off I was kind of surprised at what all they got away with since the  film has a PG rating.Pretty sure by the time this movie came out the PG-13 rating existed. Teen Wolf is filled with lots of sexual humor,with Styles' shirts being full of sexual inuendo. There is a few scenes dealing with drug use. Then finally there is the reason why I got this on VHS instead of DVD. In the very last scene as Teen Wolf celebrates his team winning the big game to the left of Mr Fox's head you will see a guy standing there. He has his pants unzipped and his penis is hanging out of his pants. No joke. From what I can find this went unnoticed until sometime in the early 2000s. And every release since then has that scene digitally edited.

Teen Wolf gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 05 Something Weird Video Extra Weird Sampler

Title-Something Weird Video Extra Weird Sampler
Source-Something Weird Video/Image DVD

I have always enjoy collections of movie trailers. Lots of the time the trailer is better than the film. And growing up seeing stuff like Mad Ron's previews from hell,or whatever that tape was titled,and other collections like them I feel in love with the idea of a tape or DVD jam packed with piles of horror/cult movie trailers.

The above pictured disc has over 100 trailers on it. Which works out to 4 hours IIRC of stuff to watch. I first heard of this collection when IIRC Borders got in a bit of trouble because of it. Image/Something Weird Video made a special edition for Borders,the only difference I know of is that version has the Borders' logo on the front cover in the bottom right corner. The deal was if you bought one Something Weird Video dvd from Borders you would get a copy of this trailer collection for free. Well in some Borders stores if you bought any DVD they gave you a copy of this collection. Well some kid ended up with a copy. And since lots of the trailers on this collection are for R rated or Unrated films the kid's parents raised a stink and Borders just pulled all the copies.

Since I had no Borders near me I ended up buying a copy off Amazon. Brand new it was 4 bucks. Which it was totally worth. Many a nights I have thrown this into my player and fell asleep listening to the various trailers.

Sure not all the trailers are in the best shape. But that doesn't matter to me. Just getting to see trailers for films like Asylum of Satan or Please Don't eat my Mother,which is a softcore porn version of Little Shop of Horrors,is worth having a  few trailers look a little beat up.

Something Weird Video Extra Weird Sampler gets a A+

31 Days of Horror 2016 Film 04 Cabin Fever Remake

Title-Cabin Fever
Source-VOD rip

Yep I have now watched this shitstain of a film 2 times.Still wondering why the fuck anyone thought we needed a fairly close shot for shot,word for word remake of a film that came out right at 14 years ago.

I figure if you are reading this you know the plot of the original Cabin Fever. All I noticed that was changed was a few scenes happened in different places. And small things like the pancakes kid is wearing a mask in this version. Or Paul has sex with what was Cerina Vincent in the original,this time in the kitchen instead of one of the bedrooms. Also Deputy Winston is now a woman. Yeah that is pretty much the only differences I noticed.

The gore is halfway well done. The acting is not good. And the film is just un-needed.

Cabin Fever remake gets a F+.

2016 Comic Challenge 252 Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special

TITLE-Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special
PUBLISHER-Avatar

The short time that Avatar had TCM and a few other modern horror franchises there was so many good horror comics that came out.It seems like no one read most of this stuff.

This special is pretty much TCM meet Last House on the left. We get a bootleg Krug and company vs the Remakes Chainsaw family. Good levels of gore and fun homages a plenty.

Brian Pulido wrote the issue and Jacen Burrows did the pencils and  inks. The art was nice. Burrows has a good mix of pretty standard stuff that explodes in displays of gore.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special gets a buy.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Film 03 Savage Weekend

Title-Savage Weekend
Source-Blu Ray

This is kind of a forgotten proto-slasher from the early 70s. I had never heard of it. Then on one of Mill Creeks 50 horror films in one huge boxsets I discovered it. This battered cropped and what I found out later on severely cut film caught my attention. And now thanks to the above pictured Blu ray you can see this oddity in it's original theatrical version.

Set in what I am guessing is upstate New York,a group of 5 young adults from the city go on vacation. Were after the gay member of this group gets the best of a bar full of rednecks,we find out that mentally challenged handyman Otis,William Sanderson in a very early role,has a history of violence. And not long after this we get a series of strangely shot and scored kills.And these kills are fairly bloody and for the early 70s halfway graphic.

This is a somewhat slowly paced film. But for me it was never slow enough it got boring.Every 7 minutes or so something was happening to keep me interested. I am betting Sanderson took some of this Otis role and used it when he was on the 80s sitcom Newhart.Also of interest is that Yancy Butler has a small role in this as one of the 5's daughter.

Since this blu has come out I am starting to see an increase in interest in this fairly fun,but a bit slow proto-slasher.

Savage Weekend gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Film 02 The Curse

Title-The Curse
Source-VHS rip

I remember hearing bits and pieces about this film when it came out. But I never saw it for rent at any video store I belonged to. After a few years of hoping one of the local rental places would get it in I just gave up.  It wasn't until last fall that I tracked down a copy. Sure it was  a VHS rip,but it looked decent and I wasn't about to shell out the price of a DVD when I had no clue if I would enjoy the film.

The plot is pretty much a modernization of the HP Lovecraft story The Colour out of Space.At a farm owned by Sheriff Lobo from BJ & the Bear a meteor lands. And it quickly disappears and ends up draining down into the water supply.

At first this seems to be a good thing. All the fruit and vegetables on the farm are huge. But Lobo's stepkids keep talking about how the water taste funny. And then the mother starts acting strange. Like when she is darning a sock and ends up sewing the sock to her hand.

The FX work in the film is pretty good. The acting is damn good. And earlier this year Curse  and Curse II came out on a nice looking Blu Ray from Scream Factory.

The Curse gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Film 01 Transylvania Twist

TITLE-Transylvania Twist
SOURCE-VHS

I use to always get this horror/comedy mixed up with the horror/comedy Transylvania 6500.With the passing of Angus Scrimm I have been trying to watch every film he was in. And managed to track down a copy of this movie.

What we get is a parody film in the style of Airplane or Naked Gun. Not in the style of the Scary Movie series. So the humor doesn't rely way too much on the audience going "Oh yea I remember that film."

The cast is what saves this film from being just another small release late 80s horror movie. You got Teri Copley as the lead. Angus Scrimm playing the Tall Man again. And in a nice touch Boris Karloff shows up. Using footage from what I assume is the Terror.

I have no idea how hard finding a copy of this film would be. But I wouldn't pay more than $5 for it. While it is funny. It is nothing that you should make a huge effort to get a copy of.

Transylvania Twist gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2016 Intro

Hi everyone. As long time readers of this blog know,pretty much every year I watch 31 horror movies/tv shows in October and post a review each day. Most years I start planning out what films/tv shows I am going to watch as early as spring.

But this year ...well around that time a friend of mine passed. Brandon "Fucker from Hell" Lee was his name. No this isn't Bruce Lee's son. Brandon AKA Fucker was a person I met 6 years ago on a horror forum. At first all of us there figured he as mid 20s. Mostly based on the films he watched liked. It wasn't until he posted a link to a video on Youtube that we learned that Fucker,his name on the forum was The Fucker from Hell,was at the oldest 16.

Unlike most people his age he had a passion for horror. And he wasn't satisfied by the stuff coming out at the time to the theaters. He was going back and watching older stuff. Which is rare for someone his age.

Over the next 6 years I got to know Brandon fairly well. Like myself ,he was also up all night. So many times at 3am him and I would be chatting about whatever we had saw recently.

A few years ago he started doing his own version of 31 days of horror. But instead of written reviews he did them as videos. Fucker wasn't afraid to go against what most horror fans thought. Plus his passion for cinema of any genre kept growing.

The last time I talked to him,we were suggesting films for the other to do during the 31 Days of Horror. He seemed to be really excited to do more video reviews and was in the middle of trying to watch 900 movies in the year 2016.

About a week later I had just gotten home. Was out on my porch eating dinner and checking my email. When I saw a message from a mutual friend of Brandon and I. It seems that the day after I talked to Brandon he died. He was 21 or 22. I still do not know the cause of death. All I have been told was it was sudden and unexpected.

When Brandon died the online horror fan community lost a great person.Sure he was a bit odd. But I gotta admire him for many reasons.Like how he refused to illegally download or stream a movie. In his mind doing that was being disrespectful to everyone that worked on that film. Think about it how many people in their early 20s have never watched an illegally obtained film? I am betting it is a tiny number. As I mentioned before Brandon sometimes had views on horror that went against the horror hivemind. Like how he didn't get why people hated the remake of Psycho. "It is a shot for shot remake of the original. So why would anyone love the original and not also at least like the remake?" Then there was his love of Dimension films. One of Brandon's favorite horror films was Dracula 2000. He loved all three films in that series. But the first one was his favorite of the three. Or how he was one of the few people I know that enjoyed Halloween Resurrection.Not to long after Brandon had passed I was talking to his mother. And she mentioned how he loved that movie so much he kept a poster of it hanging over his bed. So it was the first thing he saw each morning.

This years 31 Days of Horror is my tribute to Brandon. Every year since I have known him he would read each review as it appeared online. Then would talk to me about it. Debating on various things in each film. And I looked forward to seeing what he had to say about the films I watched.I am gonna miss not hearing his thoughts on whatever films/tv shows I review this year.

RIP Brandon "The Fucker from Hell" Lee,I hope that where ever you are you got a steady supply of new films to watch. You were truly one of a kind sir. And anyone that got to know you feels the loss of you not being around anymore.