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Thursday, December 28, 2017
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Thursday, December 21, 2017
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Thursday, November 9, 2017
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 31 1922
Source-Netflix
Over at a friend's home helping pass out candy,she has Netflix and we are looking for a new horror film to watch. I read the description of 1922 and realize it is from the best Stephen King novella collection Full Dark No Stars.
So far ,before 1922 which came out Oct 20th 2017 ,2 other novellas from the collection have been made into films. Both are worth seeing. Big Driver has Maria Bello,Olympia Dukakis plus Joan Jett in an exrended cameo and was made for the Lifetime channel a few years back. Don't hold its made for cable tv origins against it. Then Good Marriage got a limited theatrical release,i caught it on DVD. Again it's worth seeing.
1922 is a career highlight from Thomas Jane. He is buried so far in his role of a 20s Nebraska Salt of the Earth farmer that I didn't believe it was the same guy I mostly remember from The Mist or The Punisher.
Jane's wife wants to sell the farm to a local factory. And then move to the big city of Omaha.Jane as Wilfred wants to keep working the farm and convinces his teenage son that they must not sell the farm and move to the big city.
Wilfred convinces himself the only way to keep the farm is to kill his wife. He talks his son into helping him. And they pull off a well thought out murder. But a streak of bad luck strikes.
The son gets his girlfriend pregnant. She just happens to be the daughter of Wilfred's best friend. The son and pregnant girlfriend go on the run. And become a Bonnie and Clyde style of robbers/killers.
Really this is so worth seeing that I am ending my plot summery there. The cast is good,with Jane being AMAZING! The cinematography is nice to look at. My only gripe is mostly cause I have read,and loved,the novella many times. In the novella we are left to wonder if there is any kind of supernatural elements to the story at all. The few ghosts/etc could be delusional visions of a man under major mental stress. In the film this is way less ambiguous.
Still 1922 is the best new horror film of 2017s Halloween season. And it gets an A.
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Anthology Horrors: Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Anthology Horrors: Trick 'r Treat (2007): Unless it's something I'm really interested in, I'm not the type of person who keeps up with any kind of in-depth movie news, ...
31 Days of Horror Day 31 Scream Queen Hot Tub Party
Source-Retromedia DVD
I was reading all the easy to find horror mags and zines in 91. So of course knew about this movie when it came out. I never saw it for rent at any video store. And refused to pay the going rate for something that was barely 50 minutes long. Finally in 2008 I found the pictured DVD at mall music store. It was clearance priced down to 10 bucks.
So what the Hell is SQHTP? Fred Olen Ray gathered 4 legit Scream Queens.
1.Michelle Bauer
2.Kelly Maroney
3.Monique Gabrielle
4.Brinke Stevens.
Plus for who knows why Roxanne Kernohan is the last of Scream Queens in this. From what I can find she seemed to do mostly small roles in big mainstream action or comedy films.
The plot is simple,the 5 women get invited to a house. A Ouija board is delivered and well that is all of the plot. The rest of the movie is either footage of on of the five stars from other Fred Olen Rey movies. Or newly shot solo footage of the stars. Until we get to the final scene where all the ladies get into a hot tub ,took long enough It is SCREAM QUEEN HOT TUB PARTY,and the 50 minutes is up. Film ends.
Each of the women gets a 5 or so minutes showcase scene. Brinke Stevens shows us how to take the perfect horror movie shower. Cause she starred in Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers Michele Bauer gives a demo on nude chainsaw safety.Ms Gabrielle does a striptease with annoying colored lighting. I honestly forget what Roxanne's scene is. And Kelli Maroney uses a bootleg SoloFlex while topless.
The DVD has a surprising amount of extras. A commentary with Fred Olen Ray,and some other guy. FRED reveals on the commentary why I could never find this for rent. It was never sold to and videostores. Mr Ray was a smart Fucker. This was sold mail order only and IIRC was 40 bucks plus shipping. To see it you had to buy it.
The DVD has a second film. Which was shot at the same house,and also has Michele Bauer. 1 Million Heels BC is more of an excuse for female nudity than SQHTP was. Bauer is a cave woman now in the Modern day. She sneaks into the house and ends up trying on lingerie with the two women that live in the house. Yea 1 Million Heels BC sucks.
If you are a fan of any of the stars of SQHTP this release is worth grabbing for 10 bucks or less. Scream Queen Hot Tub Party gets a D+ as a film. But a much higher grade if you are a fan of any of the cast.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966): I can recall first seeing A Charlie Brown Christmas some time when I was in late elementary school but when it comes to this one, I thi...
31 Days of Horror Day 30 Dead and Rotting
Source-DVD
3 idiots,one played by Trent Haaga, end up killing a local witch's cat. Turns out the cat is the witch's son. So she cast a spell that turns her into Debbie Rochon and gets her revenge on the 3 idiots.
IIRC this is from the era when JR Bookwalter was working with Full Moon. And while the film is low budget,Bookwalter knows how to make a decent entertaining movie with a low budget.
The acting is pretty good,with Rochon and Haaga being the stand outs. The FX work is well done.
This is worth at least a rental for any horror fan looking for a fun way to kill 1 1/2 hours.
Dead and Rotting gets a B.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Disney: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Disney: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): You're probably surprised that this isn't an installment of Stuff I Grew Up With and, when I think about it, it is amazing that I ...
31 Days of Horror Day 29 The Children
Source-Troma YouTube channel
A bus load of young children drive thru a toxic cloud while on a field trip. This causes their fingernails to turn black and their touch burns.
So you get lots of scenes of kids hugging their parents. Then the parents burning up and huge yellow clouds.
Our heroes discover that the only way to kill the children is to chop off both hands.
Our lead's wife is pregant. She gives birth and the final scene we see the baby's fingernails are black.
Sadly the print used looks rough. But is watchable.
The Children gets a C+
Saturday, October 28, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 28 Black Magic (1944)
Source-DVD rip on YouTube
Before this film I had never seen an entire Charlie Chan film. Sure I knew of the Chinese detective and had seen his ups Hanna Barbara cartoon. Thanks to a few parodies I even knew some of the tropes in the Chan film series.
Black Magic was from after the series went from Fox to Monogram. Going in I knew since it was a Monogram film it would be low budget. There is a reason Monogram was considered one of the Poverty Row Studios. Black Magic is also the only Chan film with a decent amount of spooky/horror elements.
At a seance, attended by Chan's daughter Francis, a ghost appears and someone is shot and killed. Charlie is called in to help solve the murder.
Normally in the Chan films Charlie is assisted by one of his many sons,IIRC Charlie mentions having 14 kids,but in Black Magic we get the one film in the series that his daughter is his assistant.
We get a ghost,2 spooky seance, a skeleton,hypnosis and a disappearing bullet. Oh and someone jumping to their death off a skyscraper,while hypnotized.
Running a bit over an hour this was a fun way to pass the time. And I was surprised how much was packed into a short time.
Black Magic gets a B+
Friday, October 27, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 27 The langoliers
Source-YouTube
I am pretty sure the last time I saw this was when it first aired back in 95. Found the almost 3 hour,looks like a DVD rip,cut on Youtube. And thought hell I need to rewatch this.
When it first aired I had read the novella it is based on. And wondered why a novella need right at 3 hours to tell the story.
The cast is a decent mix of tv vets that are average actors and one horrible misstep. The actress playing the King trope of somewhat psychic pre-teen,who is also blind,is almost as bad as the kid from House by the cemetery.
But the real stand out in this bloated,slightly hampered by a TV budget,film is Bronson Pinchot. He chews the scenes as the crazy real villain.
From what I can remember the movie follows the novella fairly close. With stuff added to the movie ,unneeded padding.
The Langoliers gets a C+
Thursday, October 26, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 26 Gingerdead Man 2 Passion of the crust
Source-Echo Bridge DVD
I assume the first Gingerdead Man made a decent profit cause Full Moon has made 2 sequels and a crossover film with the Evil Bong franchise.
Set on the set of a low budget film. Our evil cookie shows up and starts killing people. So not that different from the first film.
Gary Busey didn't come back to play the Gingerdead Man. And with the film happening on the set of a low budget horror film we get bombarded with lots of inside movie nerd jokes.
The acting is kind of crap. But thankfully the FX work is decent.
Gingerdead Man 2 gets a C.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Stephen King Cinema: Cujo (1983)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Stephen King Cinema: Cujo (1983): As cheesy and over-the-top as that old DVD cover is, I had to put it here rather than the theatrical poster, as I normally do, because it ...
31 Days of Horror Day 25 Horror Hall of Fame
Source-VHS rip on Youtube
While I saw and loved the early 90s Horror Hall of Fame TV specials, until a few weeks ago I didn't know that in 1974 a one hour special with the same title was broadcast.
Hosted by horror legend, not long after his long run with AIP,Vincent Price. This hour long special isn't bad. We get clips from various horror films. And a decent line up of horror genre vets. People like John Astin,Frank Gorshin and John Carridine.
The special feels like a tv version of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Lots of cheesy jokes and puns. Overall it is entertaining. But I doubt most people under the age of 30 would enjoy this.
Anyways if you want to see this search YouTube. There is a few uploads of it on the site.
Horror Hall of Fame gets a C.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 24 Devil Dog the Hound of Hell
Source-VHS rip on Youtube
This is one of those films where I had been hearing about it since I was young. Mostly from older cousins that saw it when it aired Halloween night 1978 on CBS.
Richard Crenna and Yvette Mimieux are the parents of those 2 kids from Disney's Witch Mountain series of films.
The family adopts a puppy from a roadside fruit seller.
Too bad this dog is possessed by a demon and had incredible powers. Like the ability to force the dad to shove his arm in a running lawnmower. Or the dog's being able to build a shrine to Satan in the attic.
The dog steals all but the father's soul. To get them back Richard Crenna has to touch the dog in the eye with a sacred symbol he got from Ecuador.
The movie is just batshit insane. And entertaining. Decent cast. Too bad the FX work is low budget looking.
Devil Dog gets a B+.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Maniac (1980)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Maniac (1980): Why? Just why? When it comes to a good number of the cult classic horror films made from the 1970's on, I often credit two sources t...
31 Days of Horror Day 23 Mirror,Mirror
Source-DVD rip on Youtube
I got the Anchor Bay DVD of this, I think it is a boxed set of all 3 or 4 films from this forgotten 90s possession franchise. But it is packed up,so I found a rip on Youtube.
Give a tiny theatrical release Mirror,Mirror was a minor cult horror hit thanks to VHS and it airing fairly often on various cable movie channels. I first saw it in early 91 on Showtime.
Megan,played by Rainbow Harvest, has recently lost her father . Then her mother moves them from Los Angeles to some rural town. Megan looks like a bad clone of Wynona Ryder in Beetlejuice. She gets picked on and then get possessed and gains powers from a evil mirror. So kind of a goth chick Carrie.
Megan's lead tormentor is genre vet Charlie Spradling. A stunning brunette,who did lots of work for Full Moon and Roger Corman. Imagine a just a talented Kari Wuher. But instead didn't know the right people so got stuck in the early 90s DTV Horror Scream Queen.
The always entertaining Karen Black plays Megan's mother. She was in a slew of 90s b horrors. Plus the great William Sanderson has a decent sized role.
Honestly this isn't worth paying what the out of print DVD sells for. But as a free view off YouTube it wasn't bad.
Mirror,Mirror gets a C.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Last House on the Left (2009)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Last House on the Left (2009): Unlike a lot of the horror remakes that flooded the theaters throughout the 2000's, this one, from everything I'd heard when it ca...
31 Days of Horror Day 22 Halloween 5
Source-Anchor Bay DVD
Set almost a year after part 4,we see how Michael survived the mine explosion. And how it has effected Jamie and her family. Jamie is mute now and is psychically connected to her Uncle Michael.
Sadly Ellie Cornell dies early on in the film. And Ellie's best friend takes the lead. Plus we get the first appearance of The Man in Black.
Sadly after part 4 being a big hit at the box office,this movie was a huge bomb.
Halloween 5 gets a C+.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
31 Days of horror Day 21 Leviathan
Source-Encore Suspense airing
In the late 80s there was a rash of undersea sci fi/horror films. The three most remembered one's are The Abyss,Deepstar Six and Leviathan.
While The Abyss had that hack James Cameron behind it,and one of the few of his films worth watching, Leviathan has Stan Winston doing the FX work. Plus a cast full of genre actors. People like Peter Weller, Ernie Hudson, Amanda Payes and others.
After finding the wreckage of the Russian deep sea vessel Leviathan ,our leads go explore it. They find some liquor,which a few of the crew consume.
Turns out this liquor is infected and the people that drink it start to mutate. And cause of a nearby hurricane the crew can't be evacuated for 12 hours.
This is a fun b horror. Feels a bit like Alien mixed with The Thing but set underwater.
Leviathan gets a B.
Friday, October 20, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Last House on the Left (1972)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Last House on the Left (1972): This is one of a few movies that are generally considered to be absolute masterpieces in both the critical and fan community but, when I f...
31 Days of horror Day 20 Lucifer Season 1
Source-Warner Bros DVD
Having read the Sandman comic that Lucifer spun off from I had an idea of where I thought this TV show would go. Turns out I was very wrong.
After abandoning Hell,Lucifer now runs a popular night club in Los Angeles. After seeing a pop star get murdered our lead feels something changing in him.
In the 13 episodes in season 1,we see Lucifer slowly changing. He becomes a consultant for the police. All the while having to deal with an angel that wants to get our lead back in Hell.
The main cast is pretty good. The plots are decent. And I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the show.
Lucifer season 1 gets a B+.
Thursday, October 19, 2017
31 Days of horror Day 19 Halloween 4
Source-Anchor Bay DVD
After the bad box office performance of Halloween 3 it was years before we got a sequel. Michael survived being burnt,and is back. He is after Laurie's daughter.
While not as stylish as the first film,this is a decent sequel. Danielle Harris is great as Laurie's daughter. Ellis Cornell is good as the sister. And the late Donald Pleasense is as great as always.
Overall this is a fun sequel. With a fun cast and a well done ending.
Halloween 4 The Return of Michael Myers gets a B-.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Directors: Alfred Hitchcock. The Birds (1963)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Directors: Alfred Hitchcock. The Birds (1963): Although I kind of knew who he was before, mainly because of his association with Psycho and the notoriety of that film, this was my true ...
31 Days of horror Day 18 Alien Covenant
Source-Blu Ray
After seeing the trailers I was excited to see 8th film in the Alien franchise. Ended up missing it in theaters. So waited for it to hit Blu ray and rented it from Netflix.
Going into the film all I knew was it was a prequel to the original film and Covenant was going to explain the origins of the xenomorphs.
I have seen the film 2 times now and still am not sure what the xenomorphs origins are. I think they might be nanobots,but I am not sure.
Outside of Danny McBride nothing in the film is worth a shit. Instead of answering all our questions all the film does is raise even more questions.
Alien Covenant gets a F+.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Hammer Time/Werewolf Flicks: The Curse of the Were...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Hammer Time/Werewolf Flicks: The Curse of the Were...: This, in all likelihood, was the first Hammer movie I ever learned of, as it was talked about in the Crestwood House monster book about th...
31 Days of Horror Day 17 The Fear
SOURCE-Source One DVD
Back in the mid 90s most of my weekends were spent drinking with a group of friends while we watched piles of DTV horror movies. We had a mutual friend that managed the local Blockbuster video. So we got free rentals. One of those times we rented The Fear. Which is a movie,like Witchouse,that I forgot about until I got the DVD release.
Richard is training to be a shrink. So he sets up a weekend of fear therapy. Which is meant to help a bunch of friends learn how to handle their phobias.All is good until Morty,a wooden mannequin,comes alive and starts killing people.
Now this is a low budget DTV horror,so don't go in expecting amazing FX work. The acting is pretty decent. The FX work is decent. And I guess this movie did pretty good. Since a sequel was made.
I liked the idea of a mannequin being the killer. And the work put into the mannequin costume is pretty damn good.What I didn't notice until this watching of the film is horror rap group Gravediggas has a song on the soundtrack. Back when this came out I had no idea who Gravediggas were. But now I do.
The Fear gets a C+.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Children of the Damned (1964)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Children of the Damned (1964): While my memory of when I first learned of Village of the Damned is hazy, I'm fairly confident that the first time I heard of this fi...
31 Days of Horror Day 16 Scream Blacula Scream
FORMAT-Orion VHS
A sequel to Blacula starring Pam Grier sounds great. Too bad it is a boring mess of a film.
Pam is the chosen one of a voodoo cult. But another member thinks they should be the chosen one. So they bring Blacula back to life.
And voodoo vs vampires is a neat idea that hasn't been used much. This film has a decent cast. All the blame for how boring it is has to be laid on the script.
Scream Blacula Scream gets a D-.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Village of the Damned (1960)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Village of the Damned (1960): I'm drawing a complete blank in remembering when I first heard of this film. I can remember seeing a trailer for what I think was the ...
31 Days of Horror Day 15 The Visit
FORMAT-Universal Blu Ray
Months back a buddy gave me a milk crate of Blu Rays. Lots of comedies I will never watch. But a few decent films in the crate. I had never heard of M Night's The Visit before getting the Blu Ray. And so far I have liked one M Night film.
A lady sends her young teen children off to her parents' home. All so she can go off on a cruise with her new boyfriend. The kicker is the lady hasn't seen her parents in 15 years since she married the childrens' father.
The kids get there and decide to film the entire visit. Shit starts to get "creepy". And then whammo at the end we get a stupid as fuck twist. Now the kids have never seen their grandparents. And the mother never sees them,she just sends the kids off. The twist is the people pretending to be the grandparents are killers. Meh.
It has taken me 4 viewings to make it all the way thru this shitty film.The pacing is horrible. The twist isn't bad,but it doesn't make up for how crappy the rest of the movie had been.
The Visit gets a F+
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958): Once again, I have to refer back to the book, Monster Madness , in order to talk about my introduction to this film. I may have read about...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Hammer Time: The Abominable Snowman (of the Himala...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Hammer Time: The Abominable Snowman (of the Himala...: Aside from film, television, and video games, one of my other major interests has always been the study of the unknown, particularly crypt...
31 Days of Horror Day 14 Creature from the Black Lagoon
FORMAT-Universal DVD
This was the 3rd of the Universal Classic Horror films I saw. The local UHF channel aired it late one Saturday night. I ended up staying up all night to see it at 3am. Plus Creature is pretty much always tied with The Wolfman as my favorites of the Universal Classics.
A small boat of scientists and others go out in search of a fishman. They find one,who is male and falls in love with the one female on the boat. The woman gets kidnapped by the Creature and the rest of the crew have to save her.
Fairly standard plot that since this came out in 54 has been copied many many times.What makes this version stand out is many things. The acting is much better than you would normally get in a genre film of this era. The Gillman suit looks amazing. And while this DVD is missing this the film was originally released in 3d. I got lucky back in the mid 2000s and saw a theatrical screening of the 3d version.
Creature from the Black Lagoon gets a A.
Friday, October 13, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 13 The Dead Want Women
FORMAT-Full Moon DVD
Last year for some reason the local Dirt Cheap got in 2 huge bins of this DVD. I guess they were not selling so the price quickly dropped to 50 cents. Sure modern Full Moon isn't always worth watching,Killjoy,but for 2 quarters I took a chance.
Back in the 20s with the invention of the sound era in cinema a former high profile actress loses her job. She freaks out and kills a bunch of people at her huge mansion. Decades later a realtor,who looks like she might be a porn star,goes to the place to see about selling it. And now the dead are back and they want women!
This it total modern era Full Moon cheese. They get a semi name actor,Biloxi MS native Eric Roberts,who is on set maybe 3 days. Then they get whoever else they can afford.The FX work is hit or miss. Sometimes it looks really good,other times it looks like they got the makeup at the local Dollar Tree. The acting is your normal modern era DTV level. The best of the cast is the obvious Fatty Arbuckle guy.
The Dead Want Women gets a D+
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: She-Wolf of London (1946)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: She-Wolf of London (1946): Let's get this out in the open from the start: despite what the title would have you think, this is not a female take on Werewolf o...
31 Days of Horror Day 12 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
FORMAT-20th Century Fox DVD
Somehow for years now I have never owned the Buffy movie. Not sure when it was but I found the above pictured set for cheap. I had tried reading the season 8 comic. But stopped after it just turned to total shit,and this was long before the reveal of the big bad was and what their motivation was.
Kristy Swanson is Buffy Summers. A cheerleader that finds out she is from a line of woman that fight off supernatural evil. I am sure most people reading this know the basic plot of Buffy. Honestly while I do love the TV show,I hate Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy and find Buffy the worst character and the most boring on the show. But Kristy Swanson as Buffy in this movie is so damn good. The film isn't amazing. It is really cheesy and of it's era. But Swanson shines thru.
Buffy the Vampire Slayers gets a B.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Vampire Flicks: The Return of the Vampire (1943)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Vampire Flicks: The Return of the Vampire (1943): Finally, we have an entry in this marathon that's not a Universal movie! Aren't you happy? In any case, the first time I became aw...
31 Days of Horror Day 11 The Ghastly Ones AKA Blood Rites
TITLE-The Ghastly Ones AKA Blood Rites
FORMAT-Something Weird Video/Image DVD
Before watching this the only Andy Milligan film I had seen all of was Guru the Mad Monk. Which I had obtained on some cheap PD collection of 50 Horror movies.The film was low low budget but entertaining.
I had grown up hearing how bad Milligan's films were. And how they were the worst movies to ever get a theatrical release.Sometime in the late 90s/early 2000s Video Watchdog did a 3 issue long review of all of Milligan's films and peaked my interest in seeing them. Back at that time the only way was to either find long out of print VHS releases or pay 20 bucks and wait 3 weeks for a grey market VHS copy. Thankfully now lots of Milligan's horror films are out from Something Weird Video and other companies. I think there is even a few of Milligan's films out on Blu Ray.
3 couples go to the wives dead father's house. If they spend 3 nights in sexual harmony they will inherit a bunch of money. But of course there is someone running around killing people. The killer wears a cloak and puts an X on the victims before killing them in fairly gruesome ways.
The DVD is packed with extras. Trailers for what I assume is most of Milligan's horror output. A commentary on The Ghastly Ones by actor Hal Boske. Then two versions of the film Seeds of Sin. One is a workprint and the other is what got a theatrical release. Plus a trailer that contains scenes that aren't in either print.
The Ghastly Ones gets a B+
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944): I knew virtually nothing about this film when I first saw it other than its mere existence, thanks to the index in the back of that book, ...
31 Days of Horror Day 10 Piranha DD
FORMAT-Anchor Bay DVD
Yeah a few years ago I did a short review of this when I covered all 5 movies in the official Piranha franchise. Since then I have watched Piranha DD at least 3 more times.
The movie is stupid as fuck.Danielle Panabaker,yep all the talent left her after Sky High it seems,and this bald comedian fucker I know but can't remember his name are co owners in a big water amusement park. The bald fuck adds an adult only area,fills it with hookers and strippers and it looks like the park will be a huge hit and manage to stay open.
But then piranhas from 3D show up and people start to die. Yeah we never get a resolution to the ending of the film before this. All we learn is the town around the lake is a ghost town now.
While the original was filled with fart humor and abundant topless women,this one triples the amounts.The gore isn't as good. But the part with the piranha being stuck in a woman's vagina and biting off this guy's dick was fairly well done.
Ving Rhames comes back for a small role. Yep he survived the previous film.The dorky guy from the League and the previous film is back as Ving's care giver.
This bombed. I think it might have played 200 theaters. The dvd isn't in 3D.I have never seen a home video 3D release of this film. But yeah was barely worth the 4 bucks I got it for.
Piranha DD/3DD gets a C.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Invisible Man (1933)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Invisible Man (1933): Like the Mummy, the Invisible Man was one of the classic monsters that I never had much interest in when I was a little kid. In fact, unli...
31 Days of Horror Day 09 Color Me Blood Red
FORMAT-Something Weird Video/Image Blu Ray
Got this great and cheap pack of the Blood Trilogy on Blu a few years back. But never really paid much attention to Color me Blood Red.I might have watched it 2 times,and both times got bored and turned the commentary on,which is amazing,but more on that later.
The film has a crazy artist using his blood,and blood from others,to paint. Imagine Bucket of Blood with the gore taken up to 11.Out of all of Lewis and Friedman's collaborations this is the most boring of the ones I have seen.
So yeah a stinky movie,but the other two on the set are great and both have great commentaries. And Color Me Blood Red has a amazing commentary. I knew before listening to it that Dave Friedman and HG Lewis split years ago and always wondered why. The commentary on this set reveals what sounds to me to be the honest answer.
Looking around online you can get this for about 7 bucks plus shipping. If you are a horror fan and can handle gore this is one of the best Blu Ray Horror releases so far in the history of the format.
Color Me Blood Red gets a D-.But with the commentary on it rises to a B.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 08 In the Land of the Cannibals
Source-Russian R0 DVD
Sometime in late 2006 I got lucky and found the Russian Region Free DVD release of this Bruno Mattei. Wanting to see more cannibal madness from one of my favorite lower tier Euro Horror/Sleaze directors. I had avoided the few reviews that were floating around. So went into this just knowing it was a cannibal film by Mattei that was made cheap in the Phillipines.
Back in the 60s thru 80s lots of Italian made horror movies were just ripoffs of bigger US films. With piles of Jaws and Dawn of the Dead ripoffs floating around. This time Mattei rips off Predator. Replace the Predator with a group of cannibals and you got In the Land of the Cannibals.
Thankfully to make up for the ripoff plot the FX work is at least practical. And looks pretty good.The people playing the cannibals look like real cannibals. And our soldiers aren't totally horrible in their roles.
In the Land of the Cannibals gets a C+
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Movies That Suck/Franchises: Universal's Original ...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Movies That Suck/Franchises: Universal's Original ...: According to the book, Lon Chaney Jr.: Horror Film Star, 1906-1973 , a critic from the New York Times had this to say about the ending of ...
31 Days of Horror Too Much Horror Fiction
Author-Richard Laymon
Earlier this year I was given around 200 horror fiction and non fiction books for free. I had heard about Laymon's debut novel for years. And was so happy to find a copy in the boxes of books.
A mother gets a phone call warning her that her ex-husband has just been released from jail. Since he was in jail for assaulting their teenage daughter,she quickly packs up some stuff for her and the daughter and heads north.
Their car breaks down in a tiny town in the woods. After find out it might be a few days before the car is running again,the two ladies get a room in the only lodgings in town. Find out about the local tourist trap called the Beast . And worry about what the ex-husband might do if he finds them.
I have read 5 or 6 novels from Laymon before this. And damn he managed to top The Woods are Dark,the uncut version,the beast of the Beast House is nasty as fuck. The pacing of the book is like a great 80s B horror movie.
The last 22 pages are an orgy of violence. And when I thought it was all done Laymon takes a dark turn and the last 3 pages were total WTF moments.
Not for the faint of heart ,but The Cellar is one of the best debut horror novels I have read. Now I need to read the rest of this,from what I can find online,3 book and one novella series.
31 Days of Horror Day 07 Robo Vampire
Source-Video Asia DVD
I had heard about this Robocop vs hopping vampires movie since the mid 90s. Been wanting to see it for years,but never could find a copy for sale. Then earlier this year I had stopped to get gas at a local bodega. While waiting in line I saw a bin of cheap DVDs. Saw a cover that said Kick Ass Heroes. And saw the above image of Robo Vampire on the cover. It was only 3 bucks so grabbed it.
Found out while watching the film that this is just 2 films mashed together. One is a typical kidnapped film. The other has a guy who gets badly hurt and rebuilt as a bootleg Robocop. And he is the one that fights the hopping vampires. The vampires are being used by a huge drug cartel as protection.
Made by Godfrey Ho,best known for all the cut and paste ninja movies of his that got VHS releases in the early to mid 80s,Robo Vampire is a cheap hack job. The Robocop ripoff looks like a guy walking around wearing those shiny silver covers you put up in your car window during hot days. The vampires are mostly people in cheap masks. Hell the guns you see in the film usually have some kind of fireworks in the muzzle to make it look like they actually work.
At 3 bucks for 4 films I paid like 75 cents per film. And Robo Vampire is more than worth that 75 cents. Sure it is cheesy. And it looks like someone just took a VHS and ripped it to DVD. And it appears to be a VHS that was played a bunch of times. This is a great film to just sit back with some friends,have a few drinks and laugh at it.
Robo Vampire gets a C.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...: Note the drawing of Lon Chaney Jr.'s real face underneath the image of Kharis. I always remembered this title above those of all...
31 Days of Horror Day 06 Come out and Play
Source-Flatiron Film Company Blu Ray
I am always surprised at the indie films I find at my local Dollar General. The above pictured Blu Ray I found for $3 at Dollar General months ago. Read the back and thought "Hey this sounds like Who Can Kill a Child"
And yep it is a remake/ripoff of Who Can Kill a Child? They just change the setting to Mexico. And thankfully made the movie a lot shorter. The original was 2+ hours IIRC and dragged. This is 86 minutes and flies by.
Simple plot. A couple go on vacation to Mexico. And the husband wants to goto a tiny island off the coast since it will be less crowded. They arrive and see no one. Finally finding out that the kids of the island have killed off all the adults.
It is a good idea for a horror movie. And even though I seem to be one of the few that has seen and hated Who can Kill a child,I love this ripoff/remake.
Come out and Play gets a B+
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...: Why the hell is this called The Mummy's Tomb when, a), there is no tomb, and b), it doesn't even take place in Egypt? Why not The...
31 Days of Horror Day 05 Species
Source-MGM Blu Ray
I had actually forgotten about this mid 90s sci fi/horror film. But months back got it as a gift. Seems Dollar General has copies for cheap.
Natasha Henstridge is a alien human hybrid that escapes.So Ben Kingsley sends out a team to capture her. Natasha is genetically programmed to reproduce with the best of the human species. So the film is this team chasing her and she tries to get pregnant.
Back when this came out all the talk about about how hot Henstridge is and how she is naked many many times in the movie. And that talk kind of over-shadowed how good this film actually is.
Species gets a B+.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...: For a long time, I was under the impression that I had seen either this film or one of its sequels when I was a little kid, as I remembe...
31 Days of Horror Day 04 Night of the Living Dead 1990
Source-Columbia Tristar DVD
The Tom Savini directed remake of the 68 classic that started the modern zombie genre. There really isn't many major changes to the script,outside of how different the character of Barbara is.
The acting is pretty damn good. Tony Todd is great as the lead. The late Tom Towles is also good. But Patricia Tallman stands out as Barbara. Instead of the mostly catatonic lump Barbara was in the original in this remake she is a take charge force of nature.
The FX work,which sadly got cut down to get a R rating,is pretty decent. I do wonder if this remake would work better for me if it was in b/w.Might have to try that out next time I watch it.
The ending is a big change. Barbara gets out of the farm house. And is part of the posse that comes back the next day. Sadly Ben,Tony Todd,has been bitten and comes out of the basement as a zombie.
About 4 years ago I got to meet Ms Tallman and asked her at least 20 questions about this film and Knightriders.She was super nice and seemed to really enjoy talking to the various fans at the con.
Night of the Living Dead 1990 gets a B-.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Franchises: Universal's Original Mummy Series. The...: I'll start this off by saying that the Mummy has never been a monster that really interested me in any of his guises, be it the more p...
31 Days of Horror Day 03 Disney's Tower of Terror
Source-Disney DVD
Found this last year in October. Had never heard of it,but by looking at the back seems the film was made to promote the Tower of Terror ride at Disneyworld.
With the film having Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst in the cast I figured I would get a average or slightly above average horror movie for tween and kids. Nope,I instead got a boring film. A film so boring it has taken me 4 times to get the entire movie watched.
Guttenberg is a reporter who finds out about supposedly haunted elevator and goes to check it out with his niece Dunst. The plot is as bland and boring as it sounds. Guttenberg is horrible as the lead and Dunst isn't much better.
Disney's Tower of Terror gets a D-.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Poe Cinema: Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: Poe Cinema: Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932): Although it was featured in the Universal Horror documentary that I saw when I was eleven, I didn't remember this film, since I was m...
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Old Dark House (1932)
Cody's Film, TV, and Video Game Blog: The Old Dark House (1932): If you've read any of my past reviews of classic 1930's and 40's horror films and 50's monster movies, you'd know that...
31 Days of Horror Day 02 Count Gore De Vol's Creature Feature White Zombie
Yeah I know pretty much every horror fan over the age of 25 has seen or owns on some DVD multipack that well meaning aunt gave ya for X-mas the movie White Zombie. And yeah the print used is kind of shitty. It is watchable,and way way better than the horrible 5 buck VHS I bought at K&B Drugs when I was 12.
But it is October,it's a Monday and what better way to start the week than a horror classic starring Bela Lugosi. And it is hosted by one of the best of the modern Horror Hosts Count Gore De Vol. For years now on a regular schedule the Count has been releasing horror films new and old to Vimeo. So why is the Count one of the best of the modern Horror Hosts? Many many reasons,but one of them catapults him to the top.
Speaking of the movie it has been reviewed in every form of media too many times. So besides pointing out a few personal highlights I am mostly gonna stick to reviewing the Count Gore parts.
About halfway thru the film we go back to Zombie Cheerleader and Count Gore. She is trying to teach Gore a cheer.
Zombie Cheerleader has dressed Gore up as a cheerleader.The Count is horrible and the show is over.
White Zombie is a classic and while it being public domain means it is freely/cheaply available for everyone that also means there is piles of horrible prints floating around. One final kinda neat thing is if you use the Vimeo app you can download any video on Vimeo for offline viewing. I have started stockpiling episodes of Count Gore to watch during long car rides.
White Zombie gets a B+ Count Gore De Vol and Zombie Cheerleader get a B.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
31 Days of Horror Day 01 Witchhouse
Source-Full Moon DVD
Back when DVD was just starting to invade video stores I rented this movie. All I knew going in was it was from Full Moon. I watched it that time and kind of forgot about it. Then 3 years ago I found a boxed set of the first 3 Witchouse movies. So grabbed it and discovered that the movies were not as bad as I figured.
7 teens are invited over by their odd classmate Elizabeth. What they don't know is Elizabeth's ancestor Lilith is back from hell and wants revenge. For being murdered 300 years ago.
By the time this came out Full Moon was almost dead. So I was surprised at how good this turned out to be. Sure it is low budget and doesn't have the best cast of actors.
The plot is alot like Night of the Demons.But just on a low budget with not as good FX work.
Witchouse gets a C-.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Monday, August 28, 2017
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Bucky O'Hare issue 05
Ahhh Continuity Comics....higher prices,better paper and colors. Sometimes amazing art...but always late as fuck. Seriously most titles from Continuity came out less often than Archie's current horror titles.
Anyways time to check out Continuity's biggest licensed title. They only had 2....Captain Power and the big,lol,hit Bucky O'Hare.
The 5th and so far final issue of Bucky was published around spring 1992. I love the Michael Golden cover. Bucky was created in the very late 70s by Mr Golden and famous GI Joe writer Larry Hama. In 1984,sometime in the spring, Bucky first appeared in one of Continuity's comics, Echo of Futurepast. Which was a anthology title. Sometime in the early 90s, I am betting it was 91,Continuity gave Bucky his own title.
In 1991 Bucky was being positioned to be the next Ninja Turtle breakout kids franchise. There was a syndicated cartoon,that I have been told was huge in the UK. Speaking of the cartoon,let us check out the inside front cover of Bucky issue 05.
There is a ad for 3 VHS tapes of Bucky cartoons. Priced at only 12.95 each. Seems like these VHS are the only US releases of the cartoon in any form of home media. Some kind of rights issue is preventing a Region 1 DVD releases.
One thing I have notice about Continuity Comics is outside of their 2 licensed titles you do not see outside ads. Every ad is for Continuity Comics and Neal Adams. So after acquiring a large stack of Continuity issues I saw the following ads many many many times.
Anyways time to check out Continuity's biggest licensed title. They only had 2....Captain Power and the big,lol,hit Bucky O'Hare.
In 1991 Bucky was being positioned to be the next Ninja Turtle breakout kids franchise. There was a syndicated cartoon,that I have been told was huge in the UK. Speaking of the cartoon,let us check out the inside front cover of Bucky issue 05.
One thing I have notice about Continuity Comics is outside of their 2 licensed titles you do not see outside ads. Every ad is for Continuity Comics and Neal Adams. So after acquiring a large stack of Continuity issues I saw the following ads many many many times.
Yep make sure to subscribe to Continuity. With most of the titles a 6 issue subscription would last you 3 years. Also love that there is a Bucky subscription in the final issue of Bucky.
The hero above is Megalith,no need to worry no one remembers Megalith. Every Continuity Comic I have seen has this ad. Look at home whoever wrote the ad copy stresses all the few good parts of Continuity.
Ok now it is time to show why I have kept this comic. I have been Michael Golden fan since his Micronaughts run.
Sorry for the glare, I was not using my good camera. But look at that gorgeous double page spread. And the art in the rest of the book is just as good.
I guess when this was published they didn't know it was the final issue. Mostly since... well... here is the final two pages.
Got a to be continued box on that final page. From what I kind find it seems Larry Hama has wrote another multi issue long Bucky story. It just so far hasn't been drawn.
This is a old ad. By the time this comic came out the cartoon was over and the toys were starting to disappear from the toy store pegs.
The final page in the comic is an a ad for the Bucky graphic novel. That comes in 3 editions. A limited to 200 copies slipcovered signed and numbered hardcover. The above minus the slip covet and not limited to 200 copies hardcover. And your standard soft cover.
It would have been great if Bucky would have become the huge hit it was trying to be. The story is pretty good. And the art in the comic is amazing. The pieces of the cartoon I have seen is fun and well made. The 2 or so of the action figures I have owned were high quality. Plus I keep hearing that the Bucky O'Hare NES game is a classic.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Tour of Duty The Complete Series DVD review
PUBLISHER-Mill Creek Entertainment
Months ago I found this 11 disc set for around 10 bucks new. Having seen what I thought was the full series back when it originally aired I grabbed the set ready to revisit a show I had enjoyed years ago in my youth
Airing weeking on CBS starting in the fall of 1987,Tour of Duty is as far as I know the first US weekly drama about the Vietnam War. At the time this was a hot topic again thanks to the success of films like First Blood and more so Platoon. Being made for broadcast TV of course the show had to be toned down some. But the writers and other people working on the creative end managed to work in a few neat ways of the restrictions of being aired over the public airwaves.
Now of course not long after buying this set I found out that GETTV is airing the show Mon thru Fri. Not that big a deal since I got the set cheap.Speaking of cheap....
After watching all 3 seasons of 58 episodes I discovered that I never saw the third season and don't think I saw the last half of the second season. Maybe the show changed nights and was on against another show I watched,I really don't know. After the first few episodes I realized that I am guessing thanks to music rights a lot of the songs in this release have been changed. Back when it was airing I clearly remember lots of hits songs of the era the show happens in being used. In this release it is changed to very generic rock music,that in quite a few scenes takes away for the show.
Even will all the negatives,the cheap packaging and changed music,I still really am happy I found this set. Sure I could just watch it every day on GETTV,but then I would have to sit thru commercials and only see 1 episode a day. I watched all 58 episodes of this series in a bit over 2 weeks and had fun revisiting a sadly kind of forgotten 80s drama.
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