TMNT The Last Ronin and Last Ronin The Lost Years

 

Back what was it 3 years ago  ,might be longer,rumors started that Eastman and Laird were working on a new TMNT comic. Supposedly the final story. Having heard rumors of them working on something for decades now I just figuered nothing would come out of it.

Then months back I saw the hardcover collection of this series was out. Did some reasearch and learned a pile. Eastman does some art in this series. But Laird is just credited cause they are using like 4 pages of notes Eastman and Laird came up with back in 87. Yea what 3 years into the Mirage run. 

In the near future NYC is now controlled by Shredder's Grandson. And one lone Turtle is trying to kill this grandson. Appearing to be equipped with all 4 of the Turtles signature weapons. Then near the end of issue one we learn that not only is April O'Neil still alive but this lone surviving turtle is

SPOILERS BELOW

Michaelangelo. And with his brothers and father dead,and he thought Casey and April too,he is on a mission to finish the war between Master Splinter's clan and Shredder's.

After hearing this comic compared to a pile I love I went in very hesitant. Expecting to hate it. By the end of the first issue I was hooked. 

Most nights after dinner I clean the kitchen then try ,if I have the time, to sit at my bar and read for at least an hour. The night I started Last Ronin my plan was read an issue or two. 

Almost 3 hours passed and when I finished the book I hadn't realized that much time had passed. 

So the rest of the hardcover is Mikey telling us the story. How each of the other Turtles are gone. How he was sure April and Casey were dead,just Casey passed. Plus we see how he is constantly haunted by the ghosts  of his brothers.

Then that last issue..... Mikey manages to complete his mission. Got a bit dusty in the room right then folks. 

And I am thinking  ok this is over. It is all wrapped up. Nope we go back to the Turtle lair,where April and her daughter Casey Marie Jones live. Seems Casey Marie has used mutagen and is working on raising the next 4 Turtles. And as his final gift Mikey has left her Master Splinter's teaching manual.

Of course this series being a huge seller we were getting more.

And then we get the prequel/sequel series Last Ronin the Lost Years. The above is the version I got with a Walmart Exclusive cover,that spoils who the Last ROnin is.

Laird had nothing to do with this series. Eastman handles some art.

This show us what Mikey did after he lost his family. For a bit he just went into the wildness trying to die. Finally he goes on his hero's journey. And the one goofy fun loving silly Mikey becomes a force of nature. Even going blind,and that was wild,doesn't slow him down. 

And in the sequel parts we get to see the next generation of Turtles training and learning how to work as a team. One neat feature is this time each of them has a name that means ONE.

Lost Years is almost as good as the first series. And it like the first one was one were one night after dinner I planned on reading an issue and read the entire thing.

Saw that a new Ronin series is coming out. My plan is wait till it hits hardcover and grab that.

Bad Manners

 

TITLE-Bad Manners

SOURCE-Scorpion Releasing Blu Ray

Back earlier in the year hit up the Kino Lober fall sale and really was just grabbing various items that caught my eye. And this 1984 comedy did that. I had never heard of it. Just saw Martin Mull and Karen black plus a orphanage full of bad kids and figured it was worth the 5 bucks.

Piper gets taken by the cops to a orphanage. Where he meets Girl Joey,a tomboyish referee shirt wearing tough girl.Mouse,small freckled faced terror. The one black kid at the orphanage,known as (this is how the subtitles spelled it) Blacky. And this blonde kid that I think they were trying to say was a skater kid. 

This orphanage is ran by nuns and the flamboyantly gay dude from Airplane,who in this one appears to have a crush on one of the younger nuns.

Or lead kids get put in medatation room,aka the freezer,and using Piper's switchblade cut their fingers.With Mouse cutting his middle finger,and become blood brothers.

Mouse gets adopted by Martin Mull and Karen Black. Who are some super rich 80s era Yuppies.Mouse goes to live with them and meets their oddball kids. Up first is their son. Who appears ot only ever watch Shogun Assassin ,the movie,wears his hair like a samurai and thinks he is Japanese. And their daughter played by Kimmy Robertson from Twin Peaks.

Back at the orphanage the remaining lead kids decide to break out. Make this wacky plan to shut off the electric fence that surrounds the property. The plan works in a way. They escape. 

Making it to a bus station they figure out they need about 11 bucks a kid to take the bus to where Mouse is. While trying to steal a purse in the bathroom Girl Joey gets caught. And speaking of girl Joey,I know this actress from something later on in her career. Can't be arsed to go look her up. Guessing there is another Joey at the orphanage that is a boy.

Back at Mouse's new home he is being a holy terror. Like hiding in the shower with a poloroid camera. And taking pictures of his new sister naked. Yep if you ever wanted to see Lucy from Twin Peaks naked get this film.....

Our lead kids get enough money and hop a cab. Their driver is drinking beer. Which leads to our kids drinking beer on the ride. And a conversation you wouldn't get in a comedy aimed at kids now. 

Mouse tries to escape by hitching a ride with a biker lady. He is almost to the Orphanage,yep he rather be there than be Mull's kid,but gets arrested along with a biker gang. So off Martin Mull and Karen Black go to bail their new son out of jail.

Piper and the rest arrive at the house. Kimmy talks them into tying her and her brother up to teach "My parents a lesson." Piper and his friends FUCK UP this house majorly.

Mull and Black get back home withh Mouse. More wackiness happens. And the film ends with Piper and the rest of the orphan kids,including Mouse,driving off in Karen Black's Triumph.

Credits roll over postcard like shots of the kids in various tourist areas. Including Hawaii.

Besides a some trailers and the subtitles there is no extras. The film looked good sounded good.

So yea this is very much a way too late ripoff of Bad News Bears. Got dialogue that feels like it was cut from Bad News Bears.

This was cheap in the sale. $5 IIRC. Scorpion is gone,the owner passed in 2023. So this is Out of Print and I really do not see another label putting it out on 4k or putting it out again on Blu ray. 

Bad Manners gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 31 Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey

 

TITLE-Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey

SOURCE-Peacock Streaming and Scream Factory Blu Ray

Back within 3 weeks of this coming out in 2023 I had gotten a bootleg. Watched it late one night and thought ok this is not nearly as bad as expected. And that means it is one of the few ITN distributed movie worth seeing..

With Winnie the Pooh being public domain it isn't surprising someone made a bloody horror film out of it.

ITN for those that don't know is a group that mostly releases Spanish made and UK made horror films straight to DVD. I have seen at least 10 movies now from them and 2 are worth seeing.

So the plot... Christopher Robin is a kid in the 100 acre woods runs into the gang we all know from the books and or Disney stuff. But once Christopher Robin is grown and off to college one harsh winter the gang is starving. So Pooh talks them into eating Eeyore. After this they vow to never talk and go after anyone in the 100 Acre Woods.

Christopher Robin and his wife come back. And get captured. Then a group of 5 college girls show up. And one by one they are killed by Winnie and or Piglet,the others have passed it seems.

Some bloody kills some dumb kills. I do love the scene where Pooh pimpslaps half a guys face off. That is one oddity it is never really explained why Pooh and Piglet are superhumanly strong and like the Tick Nigh Invunerable.

Expected to bomb this made a good profit and a sequel and shared universe are in the works.

One warning wait on buying the blu ray/dvd of this. Right now that fucker is 20 bucks or so and the only extras is a barely 15 minute EPK and a trailer.

Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 30 Beyond the Door III AKA Amok Train

 

TITLE-Beyond the Door III AKA AMok Train

SOURCE-Joe Bob's Last Drive In on Shudder

So this years season of the Last Drive In was the first one since I got Shudder that I watched NONE of the episodes as they aired. And each week when I would go look see what was aired it was either stuff I have seen 100 times or stuff I didn't give a crap about.

Months back had been slowly working my way through each episode,and man some of them were rough,and started up Beyond the Door III. Yea I had heard about this late 80s Italian film. Not connected at all to the previous 2 Beyond the Door films. Thinking I saw this years back when a pile of us were working our way through the local mom and pop video stores horror sections. Remember nothing about that viewing. And from my research some releases of this movie in the US cut out most of the gore. Which would make this movie fairly forgettable.

College kids in Eastern Europe run into trouble. Hop a near by train to get out of the country fast. But this train is possessed and can so shit like leave the tracks to run over someone in a boat in a lake!

This is just pure 80s Italian gore and insanity. With that gore cut out the film is lacking the punch it needs. Acting is  pretty lackluster. Bo Svenson is the biggest name and he is barely in the film,as a teacher to the college kids. The plot is all over the place and doesn't really make sense. The films fast pace and the crazy gore are what makes this film so appealing.

Oh and that gore. Yea most remembered is when the one lady's head starts to split open then all her skin slides off. Which is a great practical gore effect. For me the two that stand out the most are when the train decapitates the lady in the boat on the lake. And when the one dude is hanging outside the train and gets impaled on a board hanging off a watertower.

If this had had the gore in it in that viewing decades ago,thinking it was 96ish,it would have been a hit. the 5 to 10 of us that would gather often to drink and watch b-horror loved gore and just heckling the hell out of movies. This would work for that perfectly.

The DVD is still easy to find for not a bad price,but seeing reviews claiming the picture is not great. The Blu Ray is OOP and a bit pricey. What Shudder has is the Blu ray.

Give this a watch on Shudder if you like Euro Horror and Gore.

Beyond the Door III gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 29 Wrong Turn (2021)

 

TITLE-Wrong Turn(2021)

SOURCE-Paramount Plus Streaming

Covered some of the previous Wrong Turns in 31 Days of Horror years before. Been wanting to see this reboot and when I added the Showtime addon to my P+ sub I saw it was streaming.

A bunch of college age young adults are hiking through rural West Virginia. They are warned many times to "Stick to the trail".

Of course they don't. And start running into multiple traps. Hell yea time to see some inbred cannibals attacking. NOPE. TWIST TIME FOLKS.

The family this time in the woods are more old English stuck in 1700s style folks. They kill anyone that enters their domain.

After the college kids get captured most die. But our lead lady manages to work out a deal to save her and her boyfriend.

Skip ahead a few months. Matthew Modine,remember him?,is the lead lady's father and he is searching for her.

He finds her. And through a bunch of stuff they manage to escape.

Skip ahead a few months. Our lead lady is entering her home and sees the leader of the woods family in her home. She agrees to leave with him,seems she is pregnant with his child. Credits start to roll. But don't stop the movie yet. Nope our lead crashes the RV and slaughters the evil West Virginia family. And the end.

Wow wasn't expecting this much of a change. But get why they did it. Keep hearing their might be  a sequel. Hope so.

Wrong Turn(2021) gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 28 Alison's Birthday

 

TITLE-Alison's Birthday

SOURCE-Shudder streaming service

One thing I have noticed is usually within a month of being released lots of cult/horror boutique label releases hit Shudder. Which makes it more than worth the low price for a year. What I pay for a year of Shudder is what two purchases would cost from a Boutique.

When Severin released their "folk horror" big boxed set I wanted to see a few of the films in the set and the documentary. But not wanting to drop 200 bucks I waited. Tried watching the documentary on Shudder and still haven't made it all the way through it. 

Earlier this year had someone tell me this early 80s Austrailian made horror was worth a watch. Alison's Birthday is almost a forgotten film. I had heard of it but never seen it until earlier this year. And out of the cast only person I knew was the  lead. Who IIRC was Mad Max's lady in the first film.

So needing a film to watch today put this on for my second viewing. Starts off with 3 teenage girls attempting to contact a spirt. One girl gets possessed and warns Alison to leave this place and make sure to never be  here on your 19th birthday. They crazy shit happens,wind blowing a shelf falls on the possessed girl. And Alison ends up leaving her home and moving away.

Skip ahead a few years Alison is almost 19. And she gets a call from her aunt and uncle.They want her to come stay a bit and celebrate her up coming birthday. And off Alison and her boyfriend head to the Aunt and Uncle's. Riding in what appears to be a street legal dune buggy. 

Once at the home Alison is reminded of just how odd stuff is. Like one area of the property she is reminded to avoid "cause there is snakes". And her aunt's ancient grandmother who rarely leaves her room.

This is a real slow burn of a film. While only being 1 hour and 30 odd minutes it feels longer. This isn't a flaw. But to people not use to how cinema had a slower pace a few decades ago I can see it being an issue.

We finally find out the Aunt and Uncle are druids. And they are planning on holding some kind of ritual when Alison turns 19. The boyfriend tries to prevent this from happening. But he fails. At the end the ritual causes Alison's mind to go into the ancient grandmother's body. And vice versa. And we end on alison in the old elderly body screaming.

Worth watching if you want a slow but decent religious horror. No real gore or much violence. Some nice camera angles and shots. 

Alison's Birthday gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 27 Critters

 

TITLE-Critters

SOURCE-WB DVD

Every so often I watch a movie and think I wish I hadn't already covered this for 31 days of Horror. Then go check my master list and realize I haven't. That is what happened with Critters. I was sure I  covered it years ago. Nope.

Set in a tiny town. A bunch of aliens,known as Krites,who are like deadly porcupine/hedgehog combos land. With two bounty hunters hot on their trail.

This simple premise that has been done before ended up birthing a franchise that has produced 5 films so far and a fairly large fanbase.

So what made this movie so memorable? What made it stand out from the onslaught of Gremlins clones in the mid 80s? One thing is the Chiodo brothers and their studio handled making the puppets/Krites. But it was how the film balanced that line between horror made for adults and horror kids can watch. Yea it has a PG13 rating. But there isn't much gore or extreme violence in the movie.

The cast ain't bad with Dee Wallace and Don Keith Opper being the stand outs. Now sure most reading this know who Dee is,But Don Keith Opper seems to be unknown unless you are a big Critters fan. His character of Charlie is the lynchpin that keeps this franchise going. 

Charlie starts off as the town drunk. Not far from rock bottom and only still surviving cause most of the small town feels for him. But by the end of the film he has a purpose. He will go off and hunt krites.

If you never seen it track down the first film and give it a watch. No clue where it is streaming currently. If you enjoy it find this 4 pack. Seen it selling as cheap as 7 bucks.

Critters gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 26 The Pope's Exorcist

 

TITLE-The Pope's Exorcist

SOURCE-Netflix Streaming

Saw the trailers for this film when it  hit theaters and thought meh might watch it in a few years. Then heard some good reviews so changed that  to OK will watch this when it hits streaming. Forgetting that now stuff hits streaming  5 weeks  after theaters.

Russell Crowe is the Pope's Exorcist. He is sent  to an old abby in  Spain. Where a  family has  moved.  They were trying to renovate the abby  ,so  they could sell it.  The work crew ran  off when  one of them  got burnt  by a gas leak. Then the woman's son gets possessed.

Was  expecting  your standard Exorcist  ripoff. But glossy and full  of  cheap CGI. Nope they gave us more than one twist.  A good chunk of the FX work looks practical or at least a practical base with some CGI help on top that.

Really really surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Not as good as Song of Solomon. But for me better than the Exorcist. OR at least this entertained me  more than  any viewing  of the Exorcist.

The Pope's Exorcist gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 25 Cannibal Apocalypse

TITLE-Cannibal Apocalypse

SOURCE-Kino Lober Blu ray

This infamous Cannibals in Atlanta Italian made fiim. And I finally got a good copy.

Start off with John Saxon over in the Nam War. His troop slaughters some enemies fleeing a cave. Then they find two PWOs. One who is Jonathan Morgan. 

SKip ahead and Saxon is back stateside. In Atlanta. Morgan calls him wantiing to go get a beer,but Saxon says he is busy. So Morgan wanders off to see a movie. Which is a Nam War film made by the same director as this film.

In the theater Morgan starts having flashbacks,and we are left to wonder if the movie's war scenes or the couple in front of him making out,trigger all this. Morgan freaks out and bites the woman in front of him on the neck.ANd boom we got cannibals on the loose in Atlanta Georgia.

Pretty sure first time I heard of this movie was on a list of Video Nasties. And I got vague memories of seeing this off a vhs. Which I am betting  was the cut for US version. Then next time I saw it was uncut in a not so great looking copy on youtube. This Kino Lober Blu ray looks great. So good that the Nam stock footage in the beginning really doesnt match up with the footage of Saxon and his platoon.

There is a commentary. An almost hour long documentary on the film. Plus some interviews. And trailers and stuff.

Really a loaded release for a film that I feel has been forgotten in favor of Ferox or Holocaust.

Cannibal Apocalypse gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 24 Ghoulies Svengoolie Airing

 

TITLE-Ghoulies

SOURCE-Svengoolie TV Airing from 2023

Months ago,think it might have been late 2022,Dish Network dropped MeTV. One of the few channels I watch. No big issue for me I pay for the FRNDLY app and it has MeTV. So I didn't miss Svengoolie.

Most years during 31 Days of Horror,over the last 10 years,I try to cover an episode of Sven's show. He almost always shows something owned by Universal. And I have used this as a way for me to cover older stuff.

Since FRNDLY has an unlimited DVR space I will sometimes have months worth of Sven episodes sitting on it. Back sometime in July I was off in some rural town filming wrestling. When I checked my phone during intermission someone had messaged me saying how SVen was showing Ghoulies II. I get home and check the DVR and yep GHoulies II and the week before was GHoulies .

Now years back I covered Ghoulies III. And enjoyed it. I remember seeing the first film when it hit home video and not really enjoying it. The poster and trailers made it out like a more horror less comedy version of Gremlins. The Ghoulies don't show up that much in this film and the non Ghoulie parts were just boring.

So Ghoulies is one of those longer running horror franchises where the first film is the worst in the run. 

Pretty much unless you feel like you gotta see every Gremlins rip off avoid this movie. Even Sven's bits before and after ad breaks can't save this turd.

Ghoulies get D-.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 23 Nightmare Sisters

 

TITLE-Nightmare Sisters 

SOURCE-VS Blu Ray

I have always been a big fan of the 80s era Scream Queens. And when I learned like Sorority Babes in the Slime Ball Bowl a Rama that Nightmare Sisters had Linnea Quigley,Michelle Bauer and my favorite Brinke Stevens I had to see it. No video store had a copy of the VHS. 

It wasn't until the film aired on the old USA Network Up All Night program that I got a chance to see it. And I had no clue then what I was seeing had new scenes shot just for the TV version.Glad I got this packed Blu Ray/DVD combo pack.

Brinke,Linnea and Michelle are the nerdy and/or fat sorority sisters. Stuck at the house while all the other sorority members are off with their boyfriends. Some nerdy guys from a near by frat come over. A possessed crystal ball,once owned by Dookie Flyswatter,enters the house. And evil spirts,succubi,enter the three nerdy ladies. 

Before they get possessed with a low budget the film tries to make the three ladies as unattractive as they can. Linnea gets fitted with some huge buck teeth. Michelle they put into a fat suit. Brinke has the simplest change. They toss some glasses on her. Put her hair back in a pony tail . And boom Nerdy Brinke.

After being possessed the girls are trying to kill not only the three nerds that came over but a few other members of the same frat.

I mentioned how the TV version had new scenes shot. The main thing replaced is a almost 15 minute long scene. All three ladies pile into a bath tub. Where while they are bathing,when they soap up their breasts squeeky balloon noises were added in post,the three nerdy frat dudes are outside peeking in on them. 

In the TV version they couldn't show this scene. But needed to replace it. So when it cuts to the girls now they are in lingere and playing with balloons!!! LOL. That is to explain the squeeky balloon noises when the boys are peeking in.

The Blu Ray looks great and sounds good. Both the TV version and the normal version. The only real extra,besides the tv version,is a commentary with the director and Linnea.

Nightmare Sisters gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 22 Sisters of Death(Creepy Koffee Movie time)

 

TITLE-Sisters of Death

SOURCE-Creepy Koffee Movie Time on Amazon Prime Video

Might have been last year or the year before I discovered Creepy Koffee Movie Time on Amazon Prime Video. It was a Horror Host tv show that aired in San Francisco for 5 seasons. Now they got a pile of the episodes up on Amazon Prime Video. When I first discovered them the episodes were free. Now it is 99 cents to buy an episode.

Creepy Koffee Movie time is hosted by Balrock and No Name. Balrock is a gargoyle and No Name is a ghoul. They live in a basement. And each week they show a horror film. Most episodes you got 2 or 3 alt rock ladies there dancing. Plus the house band the Deadites. And they will bring on a local comedian to tell a few jokes.All the episodes of the show on Amazon Prime are for films that are public domain or assumed to be. 

And this episode from season 5 the guys show the mid 70s cult classic Sisters of Death. A film that if it wasn't one of the few movies with Claudia Jennings this film would be forgotten.

Movie starts with a sorority doing their hazing. They are making the pledges play Russian Roulette. But someone has replaced the fake bullet with a real one.So one of the girls gets shot.

Skip ahead 10 years and now all the sorority girls are invited to a reunion. None of them notice as they get to the home hosting the reunion that the place is surrounded by a high fence that is electrified. 

And one by one the girls die. Until we learn who is behind all this. Being a horror film  of course one lady survives. Her and one of the guys escape. Then of course we get a twist ending that really doesn't make sense.

The movie is odd. It played theaters. But feels like a made for tv movie from the 70s. There is no cussing,no gore and surprisingly no nudity. Which is odd for a film with Claudia Jennings in the cast.

The host segments are great. Get a fairly funny stand up comedianne. A decent dance break where the Deadites play and the alt rock girls dance. Then near the end Annie Cruz shows up to offer some relationship advice.

I have always loved horror hosts. Since I first discovered Sgt Graves back in I am guessing it was 1980. And I like how Balrock and No Name keep this show skirting that "can we do this on OTA tv?" line. Did some research and it seems almost every season the show was airing there was at least one episode that got aired once and never aired again cause KOFY,the channel that aired the show,got a pile of complaints.

The host segments feel like it is 2am. Everybody just got home from the bar/club. And now to relax you all just want to sit there watching a cheap maybe shitty horror film and crack jokes.

By itself Sisters of Death is nothing really. A fun diversion but nothing most would watch again. But add in Balrock and No Name and it makes it much better

Creepy Koffee Movie Time Airing of Sisters of Death gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 21 Children of the Corn(original)

 

TITLE-Children of the Corn

SOURCE-Anchor Bay DVD

Who knew back in 1984 when this movie came out that it would turn into one of the longest running horror franchises of the modern era. Earlier this month I covered the recent reboot. And after watching it I realized I hadn't watched this original in a long time.

A couple break down in a small town. Where they notice there is only kids. Led by one child ,the kid sof Gatlin now worship He who walks behind the rows. Have killed all the adults and it looks like our couple will be next.

Before she was known cause of Terminator Linda Hamilton was in this. And you wouldn't know she would go on to become a big star,cause in CotC she is not good.

Really the only two in the film that do a good job are Malachi and Issac. Issac is the leader of the Corn Kids. Played by an adult actor who suffered from something that stunted his growth. He also came back for the 6th film. Then Malachi is so good. Tall and creepy looking. He is Issac's hitman and gets some of the best lines in the film.

The gore and FX work is ok. The film's low budget shows in  this part.

The Stephen King short story this is based on is pretty good. It is in the Night Shift collection. But it is just that a short story. Fleshing it out,or would that be padding it out,to a feature length film is part of the issue this movie has. The new stuff added into the film isn't that good.

It was close to 10 years before the first CotC sequel came out. And since then every few years we get another. 

Children of the Corn(original) gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 20 NOTLD 30th Anniversary edition

 

TITLE-Night of the Living Dead 30 Anniversary cut

SOURCE-DVD

I remember when this came out. Huge long article in Video Watchdog about how horrible all the added footage was. And how the new soundtrack was horrible. I skipped it.And for 20 or so years later I have never seen anyone defend this cut of the classic piece of modern horror.

What happened was John Russo went and filmed a few new scenes. Added a new soundtrack and hoped this version would be the one everyone bought. Nope. There was already a great cleaned up laserdisc of the original 68 cut. Word was out fast that that 5 buck VHS Aunt Nez got you for First Communion from Fred's Drug store is a better version.

So what is the added scenes. Mostly it shows the Beekman's diner massacre. You know where Ben came from before he got to the farm house. Then we get Debbie Rochon in some newsclips. And IIRC the new soundtrack composer shows up as some kind of hellfire and brimstone preacher.

So why did I buy this knowing it was total shit? In the small town I live outside if you want any film and it isnt a new release you gotta either get it online or hope one of the local thrifts or pawn shops has a copy. 

One pawn shop normally wants a buck for a dvd and 2 bucks for Blu rays. But the owners know me now and know when I come in I will spend at least 20 bucks. So they have told me "How about X amount of movies for 20 bucks." Which means sometimes I grab stuff just too hit that number that is X. 

I was in that pawn. Needed 3 more movies to hit the number,where I will get them for 3 for a buck. I saw NOTLD. "Oh if this has a cool cover I will grab it." Then saw it was the 30th  anniversary edition. 

Today was the third time I have watched it. First time was the night after I bought it. And after finishing it I was tempted to toss the dvd into the give away bin. Second time was after telling someone how bad it was,and they didnt believe me. Third was today.

3 strikes and you are out NOTLD 30th Anniversary DVD. Got a good idea who's Newtcrate this is gonna be added too.

NOTLD 30th Anniversary edition gets a F.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 19 If She Screams

 

TITLE-If She Screams

SOURCE-Echo Bridge Blu Ray

Sometimes you take a chance on a film. Yea I saw the Echo Bridge logo on the spine. But this was a Blu Ray/DVD combo pack for cheap. And the cover looked decent.

A young adult is talked into going up into North Cali. She needs money fast and can live and work on a pot farm. Of course we got people that come up and try to rob the pot farm. 

And from there it just keeps going more and more insane. It feels like the writer just kept trying to see how far they could go. 

This movie really feels like a demented movie serial. Or what if someone took the old Skywald comic story Saga of the Victims and made it into a film.

Sadly this is low budget. And the lack of a bigger budge hinders the film. The gore  sometimes is good and sometimes looks like crap you would seen in a SOV movie from the late 90s. The acting is ok but a few of the lead ladies appear to in their first acting job.

Now yea I did only pay 6 bucks for this movie. And I have now watched it 3 times. But really just go find this streaming on TUBI or FreeVee. If you like it go buy it. 

The blu ray looks and sounds good. No extras,not even a trailer. If She Screams gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 18 Sharknado

 

TITLE-Sharknado

SOURCE-Joe Bob's last Drive in on Shudder

Yea I have seen this many times. Was sure the year it debuted I covered it here. Nope.

Many years ago I heard that The Asylum,makers of many mockbusters,had a new film coming out in July on SYFY channel. Sharknado was the title. Looked and it was airing right around my birthday. Watched it and loved it. Each year for 4 or so every year in July was a new Sharknado film. The series ended and I just forgot about them.

Was back in July. Wondered what Joe Bob was airing and saw it was Sharknado. Sadly this isn;'t one of the better episodes of the Last Drive in. It is great they got the director of Sharknado to come on. But his audio is low and hard to hear. Darcy appears to be stoned and barely can form sentences.

How is the movie?  It is a blast. This being the first in the franchise it is way way more serious than the others. A hurricane is heading for Los Angeles. Ian Ziering runs a bar and wants to make sure his ex wife and daughter are safe. Exx Wife is played by Tara Reid.

The rest of the film is Ian,Tara,their kid and a few others trying to live thru a Hurricane packed with sharks. Wouldn't that make it a Sharkicane?

Yea the CGI is cheap. But for a low budget the film looks decent. The actors in the film that aren't known people are actually good. Like the lady that plays Nova. Never seen her in anything besides the Sharknado films. And she steals this first film.

I think part of the reason this film held so much appeal to me is as a kid in the late 70s I would see all the natural disaster movies and all the giant whatever creature attacks films with my dad. So this was a modern combination of those two sub genres.

This is the rare time that I would say skip the Joe Bob airing of the film. He adds nothing to it.

Sharknado gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 17 Black Friday

 

TITLE-Black Friday

SOURCE-STARZ airing off my DVR

So most weeks I will scan the Starz,Showtime,Encore and TMC channels see if anything is airing I want to see. Some stuff gets DVRed and watched fast. Some like this film sat on there for over a year.

In the Northeast at We Love Toys a staff is getting ready for Black Friday. Bruce Campbell is the store manager. Michael Jai White is the maintainece man. And Devon Sawa plays a disgruntled night crew member. Right before they are locking up Thanksgiving night the store is invaded by infected people. Not zombies,these are more like some kind of Lovecraftian,Dream Mythons not Cthulu Mythos,shit.If you get bit you turn into one. 

And the rest of the film is our store crew fighting off these demons and trying to escape the store. With an ending that leads to either a sequel or nothing.

Made in 2021 this film is already a bit dated. Black Friday sales aren't nearly the thing they were just 4 years ago. Too many people got use to online shopping over the years and the pandemic made that increase.

Well acted. Decent gore,most of it practical. And a fairly well done script. This is another modern holiday horror I will add to my rotation. Not much Thanksgiving films,even fewer horror ones. So nice to have another to watch.

Black Friday gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 16 Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout

 

TITLE-Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout

SOURCE-Terror Vision Blu Ray

The late 80s cult horror/comedy/parody finally hit Blu Ray. I have been watching a rip of the VHS for close to 20 years. This BLu Ray was made from the Betacam master. And you get the 480i made from that. Then a 1080i AI upscale of that rip.

What is the film? 60 minutes made to sell piles of VHS. Linnea does a spoof of the popular at the time Celebrity Workout videos. She exercises in tight outfits and we see clips from her various movies. During a slumber party a killer in a Reagan mask starts killing off Linnea's friends. And we learn how she stays in shape during the final twist near the end.

Loaded with extras this is a great release of what is an almost forgotten piece of Scream Queen history.Linnea was one of a handful of actresses that made b horror and sold piles of pics at cons. And we ended up with two DTV movies based around the idea that the fans of these Scream Queens would pay 50 bucks for an hour of them running around almost nude.

Those extras include recently done interviews with Linnea,the director and Mick Garris's wife,who was majorly involved in this film. The old commentary I am guessing from the DVD release. And  a new commentary.

This is a limited Blu Ray made for a small niche of fans. But for those fans it is a much wanted release.

Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 15 Children of the Corn 2023

 

TITLE-Children of the Corn 2023

SOURCE-RLJE DVD

So I lost count a bit ago on how many CotC films there are now. I didn't even know this one was out until earlier this year when a buddy was going through every film in the series.

Made in Austrailia in 2020 and sitting on the shelf until 2023,when it appears RLJE and Shudder got ahold of the film. This is a reboot/remake  of this long running franchise. So that makes what 2 remakes so far?

Teen comes out of cornfields. Tells little girl "Nothing ever dies in the cornfield". Then goes inside a children's home. Starts slaughtering the adults. 

Since the local cops think he is holding the kids hostage they pump in a gas to knock the killer out. Which kills all the kids.

Skip ahead a year or 2. We meet out lead. Bo,who is 17 and leaving the dying town in a few weeks. She tries to talk one of her few friends into leaving. But he has other plans.

Bo stumbles on a bunch of the younger kids playing in the cornfield. With Eden,the little girl from the beginning of the film,leading the kids. Eden is a huge fan of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland.

It doesn't take long before these kids have taken over the town. They put piles of the adults in jail. Gas a few others then bury then in a pit to feed the corn. We Red Queen Eden asking for "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

The various theories mentioned in the films before this come back. He who walks behind the rows,the corn mold from part 2. And unless my memory is faulty this is the first time we get a good long look at He Who Walks Behind the Rows.

Overall not a bad film. Better than about half the previous films in the series. And equal to a pile of the previous films. Not the best,that is still 2 or 4. And not the worst that so far is 7. 

Ok acting,the kids are all not bad. Decent gore,with a few shoddy CGI fx. And all the big action scenes are good,with the explosions in the end looking a bit shoddy.

Children of the Corn 2023 gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 14 Ghosthouse aka La Casa 3

 

TITLE-Ghosthouse AKA La Casa 3

SOURCE-Shudder streaming service

Ahh Italian made horror. How I have loved you since I was a kid. At Video Showboat and no Jason films are in,not in the mood for the newest Elm street,so I grabbed whatever cover caught my eye. 

Ghosthouse is a late era Italian made horror. From 88,it was made in the States. But feels soo so Euro Horror. The score,the nonsensical plot,the school play level acting and the GORE!

House is haunted. People goto house. They get kilt in bloody ways. 

Come on people it's Italian horror that is what you get. 

So La Casa 3? What is that about? Seems films get renamed for Italy. Like how The Horror Show is known as House III in most non English speaking countries,which is why in the US and UK there is no House III. 

Those out there that speak a bit of other languages know Casa means House. So Ghosthouse is another film that can lay claim to being House III.

While they aren't as good as the 70s Italian horror I do enjoy the various later 80s ones I have seen. This,Stage Fright and others have  a feel to them that I can't get from US horror.

Now I am betting this is a film that is out on Blu ray,and maybe 4k,from some Boutique label. Where you gotta pay 30 bucks to get the movie,10 of that for the fancy slipcase. Don't do that. Pay 6 bucks for a month of Shudder,watch this and other stuff. 

Ghosthouse aka La Casa 3 gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 13 Friday the 13th Part 6 Jason Lives

 

TITLE-Friday the 13th Part VI:Jason Lives

SOURCE-Paramount Blu ray

I was sure I covered this film years ago. Nope just a short 3 sentence thing when I covered all 12 Jason films.

Figuring most people reading this know this film well enough I don't have to do a through review of the plot. Not that I do that often anyways.

All the previous Friday the 13th films I saw in a theater with my favorite Uncle back then. Part 6 was different. The  Uncle that took me to many movies back then either had no kids. Or his kids were very very young and so he took me to see movies with him.

I remember seeing the tv ad for this movie. After part 5 I figured we would not get another Jason film. Everybody hated part 5. And the little bit I had read on it said Paramount was mad at how it was a flop,not sure how a film that made a good profit is a flop. But there was part 6. Subtitled Jason Lives. Does that mean that Tommy is gone I wondered?

Was sure one weekend after this hit the movie theater I would be there to see if with my fave uncle. Nope not sure how or why by a cousin who is like 5  months older than me talked his very strict very religious mother into taking us to the theater in the next town over to see this.

Bit of word about this cousin. From when I was born until I was 10 or so besides my parents I had no family living close to me. Besides a great Uncle,brother of my maternal grandmother. His wife and their 3 kids. Their 2 oldest kids were grown and gone from the house by the time I was 4 or 5. But their youngest son,named Jason,was basically my age. So often I would be dropped off at his house. Jason and I had almost nothing in common. Didn't really get along that well.And it didn't help that his mother babied the hell out of him. 

For example when he was a young kid,like under school age,if his mother was playing any game with him she would make sure that Jason won. Which lead to a few times at school where Jason didn't win something and either cried and/or got mad and acted up. 

It was right before school started in 86. Jason and I ,along with another friend,were about to start Jr High at a school we were not suppose to goto. Long story short we lived in the area where the JR high we should goto was known for having the worst teachers in the state. And it isn't like Mississippi is known for having good school. I had just turned 12 weeks before this. Not sure why but I was staying the night over at my cousin's place. We were up late ,no school the next day so his mom let him goto bed whenever he wanted to,saw the ad for part 6 and he tells me How he is going to talk his mom into taking him to see it opening night.

"yea right. Your mom won't let you see the previous films. Your mom grounded you for a month for saying butt. No way."

Then next morning while we are having breakfast Jason asked his mom and she said she would take him and me. OK cool I get to see the movie but sucks I have to go with Jason and his mom. I knew she wasn't gonna buy me a large soda and large popcorn like my fave uncle would.

We go. Aunt sat at the end of the row with Jason next to her. I left an empty seat between Jason and I. Everytime someone cussed she reached over and tried to cover his ears. During the sex scene in the motorhome she covered his eyes and told me to do the same ,I didn;t cover my eyes. After it was over ,still not sure why,she fussed at me for the movie. Guess either she thought going to see it was my idea. Or Maybe jason told her that. Who knows he had a bad habit of ratting me out for stuff I did or making up stuff to get me into trouble.

The entire ride home from the theater was just her telling me how the movie was horrible. And I should feel ashamed for wanting to see it. Never mind it was her son who asked to go see it and her that invited me. I would have been happy going with my uncle instead of an asshole cousin.

Thinking about it that was the last film I went and saw with Jason. And maybe the last time I spent the night at his place.

Ok so the film starts with our 3rd actor in 3 films to play Tommy Jarvis. Him and Horshack are heading to Jason's grave. To make sure Jason is dead.

Tommy digs up the coffin. Opens it up. Stabs jason with a piece of metal fence. Lightning strikes it and Jason LIVES.

Crystal Lake has been renamed. Tommy ends up on the run with the town sheriff's daughter helping him fight Jason. They end up drowning Jason at the bottom of Crystal Lake.

This while being the end of one trilogy in the Friday series,the Tommy Jarvis trilogy of films 4,5,6,it is also the start of the Jason is a zombie trilogy. 

Also after part 5 which was loaded with nudity and gore,Part 5 has a few characters that get introduced to just get naked and die not long afterwards,the MPAA was strict as fuck with this film. No nudity that I can remember.That sex scene I mentioned showed nothing. Not that much blood and/or gore. And by the 5th sequel in this long running franchise you want gore/blood and nudity. Matter of fact this films lack of nudity ended up causing myself and Jason to get in trouble.

Was not long after school started. So maybe a month after we saw the movie. Knowing almost no one at this school Jason was trying to impress some kids. He thought lying about seeing a naked woman would impress these kids,most of who lived in a part of the area that had cable tv so most of them had seen stuff like Porkys long before this. "Yea then they showed her breast and they were huge huh Double T?" Thinking I would back him up. "Jason they didn't show her tits. There was no nudity in the film!" He got mad,started yelling "I KNOW WE SAW TITTIES!" I told him we didnt and  "TO SHUT THE HELL UP DUMBASS" .  Betting him "Ok when it hits VHS I will rent it. And we will watch it again. If there is no titties you owe me 25 bucks. If there is I owe you 50 bucks. " he agreed.

Back then movies left theaters and it was sometimes over a year before it hit home video. Usually a film would hit HBO 6 months after it left theaters. Then few months after HBO it hit VHS. I was lucky one of my new friends had HBO and a VCR. So early the next year he recorded it for me. I got the tape. Told Jason "Look this Thursday tell your mom you need to come to my place to work on some homework. My parents will be at their bowling league. We can watch the movie."

We watch it,see I am right,and he gets mad tells me "I will give you your money but tomorrow at school don't mention I lost" See what I mentioned earlier about his parents making sure he won games. Having already made a decent group of friends by this time at the new school the next day once we got dropped off first thing I said to Brandon,Jesse and Donald was "Jason lost the bet. No Titties in the movie" Jason got mad called me "A lying bitch ass" took a swing at me and I stepped back. Pulled my fist back and was just about to punch him when the Principal ,Mr Weathersbee(yes that legit was his name) grabbed my fist. We got in trouble,cussing and fighting. But it was the start of the kids at school really starting to realize Jason was a douchebag.

Why is 6 so loved when it is missing two major factors in the previous films popularity? Cause this time we get not only a good story but also characters we care about. After 2 films we have come to know Tommy. We saw him as a kid lose his family and his mind. Then as a teen we saw him lose the closest thing he had to a new family and at the end of the film we thought he had went over the deep end and would become the killer in the next film. This time we get a grown Tommy. One who all he wants is to make sure Jason is dead. And one who after reviving Jason does all he can to stop Jason.

The new characters are also not bad. The Sheriff is a guy I remember seeing often on sitcoms of that era. The Actress playing his daughter I don't know from anything else.

I do find it odd that this is the one Jason film with no nudity. It is not gory. And it is still one of the best in the run.Just shows how getting a good script and good actors/actresses can really elevate a film.

Friday the 13th Part VI:Jason Lives gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 12 The Bogman

 

TITLE-The Bogman

SOURCE-DVD

I often end up watching low budget modern  horror. Could be I can't sleep so I look thru the 1000s  of horror films on TUBI or PlutoTV. Normally for every 5 bad ones you see you find one gem.

The Bogman was made over in Monroe LA. Set in the modern era,but made to look like an old VHS someone found recently,it is about a tiny town  in Arkansas. A town with a bigfoot problem.

A new family moves to this town. Dad and his two young  kids plus his new wife. Quickly we learn that The Bogman roams the woods near this new home. And two hunters get killed.

The local sheriff and his deputy are great. With the Deputy  standing out. Dude just feels legit. But then I have lived 90% of my life in the rural south. And known many people that were deputies in tiny areas. When they find the first victims of the Bogman their dialogue had my rolling with laughter.

Also want to point out how it appears most of the FX work in the film is  practical. Lots of fake blood. Some slight gore. And can't forget the fake boulders,one of which Bogman uses to bowl down some idiots.

For me the film really gets going when a pick up truck full of mercenaries shows up. Lead by Nash they look and act like that uncle we all have. The one that  uses "going hunting" as an excuse to sit in the woods smoking two packs of Marlboro reds and guzzling at least 4 Old Milwakee out of the can.

After a night with Nash,his crew and others fighting off Bogman.And us learning there is more than one Bogman. The film starts to wrap stuff up. Lots of people died. Lots got injured. And I got to see a really well shot low budget horror film.

The film came out early in 2023. Easiest way to get a copy is contacting "The Bogman Movie" page on Facebook. A dvd in your standard DVD case is 25 bucks shipped.

What surprised me is the acting. No one in the film is an actor you have heard of. But all the cast does pretty good. The lead family,the dad and step mom are really good. The two kids aren't bad. As I said earlier the deputy stood out. Perfect bumbling stumbing how the hell is this guy allowed to carry a firearm type guy.

So if you like bigfoot movies. Can dig on some low budget lo fi horror. Give The Bogman a watch.

The Bogman gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 11 X

 

TITLE-X

SOURCE-DVD

Yea in 2022 I heard about X,and it's prequel Pearl. Heard it was inspired by the original TCM. Already having seen and liked some of Ti West's earlier films I planned on seeing X. 

Then I forgot about it till one day earlier this year when I saw the DVD was $5. And the Blu Ray/DVD/Digital Copy of Pearl was like 13 bucks. Grabbed both and was gonna watch them back to back one day.

Ended up watching X one day. And Pearl was watched much later. 

Set in rural Texas in the late 70s X has a crew going to a farm. Where they rented the guest house. They are going to film a porno called The Farmer's Daughter.

But when the wife of the farm's owner sees what they are filming it awakens something in her. IF she doesn't get what she wants she will start killing.

Take the feel,look and even some exact camera angles and shots from the classic 1974 Texa Chainsaw Massacre,add in a dash of Tobe Hopper's Eaten Alive and you got X.

The FX work is good. The cast is better than expected. With Mia Goth doing well in her dual role. Yea Mia plays Maxine,the young porn star,and Pearl,the farmer's elderly wife. 

Besides just so many scenes where not only is the angle exactly lifted from TCM but the set and set dressing looks like it was lifted too,my only real complaint is the film is a bit too long. Ti West makes slow burn horror films. Look at House of the Devil. This one just needed a bit of editing.

Is it worth seeing? Yes. Is it some amazing groundbreaking film? Nope. It is a well done tribute/homage/ripoff of TCM. Nothing more nothing less.

X gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 10 Skinamarink

 

TITLE-Skinamarink

SOURCE-Shudder

Every few years it feels like a new experimental horror film comes out and divides the horror fandom. This years I am sure is Skinamarink. 

Somehow when this was on the festival circuit a good quality copy leaked and word of mouth blew it up into the MUST SEE horror film of early 2023.

I saw a few reviews that avoided spoilers. Stuff like odd and nightmare/dreamlike were used to describe the movie.

Looked of course Shudder got the streaming rights. So one day back in  late Feb I started the movie up. What felt like 10 hours later it was over. The film is only 90 odd minutes but that first viewing felt like it was at least 8 hours long.Didn't help that every 15 minutes I would pause the movie to see how much of this turd was left to watch.

As I was making up my list of 31 things to watch this October Skinamarink popped back up in my mind. "Give it a second viewing. Some movies majorly improve on repeat viewings."

That is what I just finished doing. The Film DIDN'T improve.

Shot for a really cheap price,and it shows,this is a Canadian indie film. The director kept a log of his nightmares and noticed a trend in them. So used that and made this movie.

You rarely see anyone in the film. When you do it is like a foot or their back. I can remember only one scene where we see someones face. 

Kevin falls down the stairs but is ok. A young brother and sister are sent downstairs and told to not come back up. After what could be hours or could be days one of them goes back up and finds their parents. They are sitting on opposite sides of the bed. Then after the kid closes their eyes the mother disappears.

That night,hard to tell if it is day or night,the kid hears their mothers voice calling from the dark hallway.

Stuff starts to disappear. Or gets moved around.

The ending solves or explains nothing and the turd of a film is over.

This is black and white. The sound is so low that even with my speakers cranked I could barely hear the dialogue. Best to watch it with subtitles on. Cause while the dialogue is low there is just odd sudden noises that are SUPER LOUD!

The camera shots are exciting things like a 5 minute shot of the upper corner of a room. While in the distant we can faintly hear cartoons playing on the tv.

Now I am one that loves odd weird movies. Lots of the time I rather a film not explain everything to me. Giving me a chance to figure stuff out using clues in the film and context. For example I love David Lynch and besides Dune have enjoyed everyone of his movies. But in Lynch's films you can feel there is a deep story being told. 

Skinamarink feels like oddness and being vague just to be odd and vague. Sure after seeing it the first time I went and read a pile of reviews explaining what the reviewer thought the film was about. Stuff like the death of your parents making someone no matter what their age feeling like a small child. To maybe the film is about the end of the world.

All I know is I have wasted a bit over 3 hours watching this pile of crap.

Skinamarink gets a D-

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 09 Terrifier 2

 

TITLE-Terrifier 2

SOURCE-Steelbook Blu Ray

Was a few years back I started hearing there was  a new gory clown horror film out there.  Did some research and this Art the Clown had appeared a few years earlier in a horror anthology called All Hallow's Eve. 

Last year in November I finally watched Terrifier. Thought it had good practical FX work. But needed more story and maybe better acting from some of the cast.

Also last year Terrifier 2 hit theaters. And people were shocked. GORIEST MOVIE EVER!!! Made people faint and throw up. 

Well yea,I hear shit like that and usually it is a big red flag. Telling me to avoid the movie. But kept hearing how good Terrifier 2 was. So early 2023 I bought this Steelbook release.

Art is back from the dead. A late teens lady is working on her Halloween costume,think she is a valkyrie. There is long almost senseless dream scenes. Then near the end I realized OK either I missed something not seeing All Hallow's Eve or there was major clues in this film I didn't catch.

Now sure the film was gory. But far from goriest ever. But I guess we are what now 1 and 1/2 generations into this Horror is PG 13 and that is cool crowd...

I wanted to see if there was more to the film than I caught on that first viewing. Saw there is a director's commentary. Put that on and yep while some of what the director is saying is there in the film. Some of it is so buried and coded that I doubt most would notice it.

Anyways this was an improvement from the first Terrifier film. But I wanted a easier to understand story,and why the hell must all movies be 2 hours or longer now? This would have worked much better at a shorter length.

Terrifier 2 gets a C-

31 Days of Horror 2024 Day 08 I Married a Monster from Outer Space

 

TITLE-I married a Monster from Outer Space

SOURCE-Bootleg DVD-R from Layne619 Video Entertainment

First off shout out to CodyLL.Look over to the right and there  is a link to his blog. He is also doing 31 days of Horror and this year his theme is Universal Horror.

I can't remember where I first heard of this movie. Might have been one of the Crestwood House books or one of the other many many many horror/sci fi movie books aimed at kids.Really shocked none of these books show up often now with how ever-present they were when I was a kid. But  I know when I saw an image of the alien from this film I had to see the movie. But back then there was no streaming,no Cinemageddon hell there wasn't even say Youtube where you could at least go see the trailer or maybe find a vhs rip with Greek subtitles.Which is why it wasn't until the early 90s and when SCIFI channel started that I got a chance to see this cult horror/scifi classic.

It was airing late late one weeknight. I should have been in bed,having to be up at 730am for high school the next day.But nope was sitting there with my earphones plugged into my TV. Cause while I was told "you goto bed whenever you want. just be up in the morning for school" I knew that really meant "i'm not going to force you to turn off the light and lay there in the dark form 10pm till whenever you fall asleep. But also dont stay up all night watching movies." So gotta havee the earphones in so Mom didn't hear the TV. Loved the movie and wished I had set my VCR to record it. Just so I could watch it again. 

The plot isn' t nothing super original. Newly wed bride starts to notice her husband acting odd. And One night when lightning flashes she sees that his human form is a disguise and he is this hideous alien. Who to me always looked one  of the giant monsters from Inhumanoids. She started to do some investigating and we learn most of the married men in this smallish town have been taken over by evil aliens.The Aliens are mating with the Earth women to help keep their race from dying off. 

See a plot that was in I bet 100 pulps and old ass sci fi comics. It is the look and way this film was shot and sounds that makes it stand out. Thee look of the Aliens is unique for the time. Looking both creepy as hell but also toy-riffic.Reminder look and see if anyone has made action figures out of the alien from this movie.

Since seeing this over 30 years ago on Sci Fi Channel I wanted a copy. Never saw the VHS for sale or rent. Hell never seen the DVD for sale. Then last year CodyLL ,nice dude go read his blog,offered me this DVD-r I told him yes I wanted it. Sure it isn't a film I will watch every year. But it is one I don't think is legally streaming on any service. And a one I will want to see every few years.

I Married a Monster from Outer Space gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 07 Babysitter Massacre

 

TITLE-Babysitter Massacrre

SOURCE-EI DVD

Back last year in early December the infamous 42nd Street Pete did a big sale. Piles of DVDS,Blu Rays and other media for cheap. Had always seen the above image and said what the hell ordered 4 movies and 2 books.

So what did I get? A low budget tribute/homage to stuff like Slumber Party Massacre,Sorority House Massacre and other b horror movies.

It is Halloween night 3 early 20s women are staying at home waiting on some friends to get back from a party. They keep getting sent pictures of these friends covered in Blood. But it being  Halloween they just assume it is costume blood or a prank. Not knowing a killer in an all white mask is out killing.

Like the director says on the pretty decent commentary,you know what type of film you are watching cause 1 minute 30 seconds we get our first set of boobs. And from there until the end it is boobs and blood. 

The acting  aint bad for what is such a lower level film. Gore aint bad either. Really my only major complaint about this,and it is the same with lots of classic slashers,I know who the killer is  long long before the reveal.

Sometimes you just want to watch an almost brainless slasher that you have never seen and Babysitter Massacre fills that need really well.

The extras are decent. Two short films. A commentary. A talk with the directors from some film screening. All of decent length and containing interesting  info.

If you have already seen all the classic slashers and want something in that vein give Babysitter Massacre a watch. Just remember I don't think any actual babysitters get massacred in this movie.

Babysitter Massacre gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 06 The New York Ripper

 

TITLE-The New York Ripper

SOURCE-Blue Underground DVD

First off thanks to CodyLL for hooking me up with this DVD. Sure I had seen  it before getting this DVD. Hell first time I saw it was a bootleg VHS that I was told was a  rip of the rare Japanese laserdisc.

After the surprise world wide success of Zombi,Fulci  kept making gory horror movies. With New York Ripper becoming infamous for it's gory and just how dark it subject matter is. Well that and the murderer quacking like a duck. Yep the killer in this gory Giallo QUACKS LIKE A DUCK. And the killer isn't shitfaced drunk trying to piss on the side of the interstate,yes I know maybe 5 people reading this will get that super inside joke.

Beside the gore the only other thing this movie has going for it is all the shot on location stuff. Made in NYC in the early 80s this is a film that gives you a close look at how sleazy and grimy parts of NYC were back then. I love all the scenes of people going thru the 42nd street area of New York City. Odd I have been to NYC 3 times in my life. But the only two areas of the city I can name,and I knew of both long before I visited are 42nd street and the corner of 53rd and 3rd. The first of course was famous all over for being the sleazy captitol of the east coast. The latter because of the Ramones song Dee Dee wrote.

Now as you can see at the top of the DVD cover it says Special Edition. This is one of the weakess Special Editions I have ever seen. The film had already been released fully uncut in the US before this release. The only new stuff is a short interview with actress Zora Kerova,which is mostly subtitled. And a very very very short,under 6 minutes,extra titled NYC locations then and now. Oh and they got the films trailer. Which is a neat extra. There is some different dialogue in the trailer than from the film. The scene with the morgue worker describing how the killer mutilated someone has very very different words in tthe trailer when compared to the version in the film.

Ok yea this isn't even close to the best storywise film from Fulci. Pretty much the little story that is here is just to get us to the next kill. Heard some people call this the worst of Fulci's 80s work. Guessing they have never seen Manhatten Baby.

New York Ripper gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 05 Pledge Night(1988)

                              

TITLE-Pledge Night

SOURCE-Shudder

It was late October last year and I was wanting a horror film to watch. Wanted something I had never seen and was looking through the various movies on Shudder. Saw Pledge Night and took a chance.

As soon as in the credits I saw tha Anthrax had provided all the music I knew I was in for a good movie.

A Frat is doing hell week. A group of guys are pledging. One of the FRat brothers is acting like he is crazy,even stabbing another brother during dinner with a steak knife.  What the other Frat brothers don't know is the crazy brother is actually possessed by the ghost of Acid Sid. A pledge who was accidentlly killed in the early 70s. This pledge is played by Joey Belladonna,former lead singer of Anthrax. 

First half of the movie is Frat guys hazing the pledges. Making them pick up cherries with their asses off blocks of ice. Making the pledges think they  are eating turds or worms and other gross stuff. Then one pledge is taking a shit and out of the toilet comes ACID SID. Who the creators of the film wanted to become a slasher icon like Freddy. Cause Acid Sid looks like a hippie version of Freddy.

The second half is the pledges trapped in the frat house fighting off Acid Sid. Good gross deaths. One where Sid pulls out his own spine and chokes a pledge with it is great.

Reading up on the film it was made extremely cheap in 88. Sat  on the shelf until a limited DTV release in 1990. And in the early 2000s started developing a reputation online as a "forgotten slasher". It is fun. And worth seeing if you have Shudder. But I am not gonna pay the 25 to 30 bucks the Blu ray costs.

Pledge Night gets a B-.

31 Days of Horro 2023 Day 04 The Amusement Park

 

TITLE-The Amusement Park

SOURCE-RLJE Blu ray

Yea I saw this what was it now 2 years ago when it debuted on Shudder. Wasn't that into it. Neat to see a lost Romero film but nothing about it stood out to me. Waited forever for it to hit Blu ray. Then saw it was going to be like 25 bucks. Nope not paying that much for a film that is barely an hour.

Then late one night the host of Exploited Cinema clued me in that Amazon had it for 15 bucks. That is the right price grabbed it. And since then watched it a pile.

The film was made for some church group to help the elderly. And it is horrific. Very metaphoric stuff. Seeing old folks sell their treasured possessions for a few tickets so they can eat and ride stuff in the amusement park. And how the richer old folk get it much nicer.

Betting when George Romero handed this in the group that comissioned it were surprised. Cause it feels nothing like any PSA or PUblic Service film I have ever seen.

Thankfully this release is packed with extras. commentary,piles of longish features. And just all kinds of stuff.

Worth seeing if you are a Romero fan. But don't go in expecting Of the Dead no think more Season of the Witch or Knightriders.

The Amusement Park gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 03 Dementia 13

 

TITLE-Dementia 13 Director's Cut

SOURCE-Vestron Video Blu Ray

Yep the first full movie from famous director Francis Ford Coppola. I first heard about this movie in some horror film reference book back in the early 80s. By the late 80s I found a cheap VHS copy,not knowing back then that the film was in the public domain. Grabbed this and wasn't that impressed. But that vhs looked and sounded horrible. Plus I for some reason was thinking this was going to be a proto-slasher.

This movie is one that even if it wasn't directed by someone who went on to become one of the most acclaimed directors of the last 50 years it would be remembered. Really the story feels like something out of EC's Crime Supense Stories comic. A widow is trying to convince her dead husband's family that he is still alive. She does this during the yearly memorial to the brother's dead sister who drown. But this time there is an ax carrying nutjob roaming the area.

Having had seen this movie at least 20 times before getting the blu ray,when I first put it on I put on the commentary. Which is the only extra on the disc. This commentary has Francis Ford Coppola. Great and very entertaining commentary. 

It wasn't until my 3rd viewing of this blu ray,which happened today,that I saw how cleaned up this print is. I was use to Dementia 13 looking like ass. Washed out image,bad contrast levels and the sound was always bad. This time it looks pristine. Sounds great and really feels like how it did when I finally saw a good cleaned up print of Night of the Living Dead 68.

Also want to point out how this is one of the cheapest Vestron Video Blu Rays out there. I do like what Vestron is doing,putting out cult movies on nice Blu rays.But hate how for their first 10 or so releases they were wanting 35 bucks a movie. Now you can find them for 15 or so new. And Dementia 13 was 8 bucks new.

If you have never seen this movie or only saw those scratched up PD prints that were everywhere for years go look on Youtube or Archive DOT Org and find this director's cut. I have no clue what was put back in or removed for this director's cut. For me this Blu ray is worth owning cause not only is this a really good movie but this is the best it has ever looked. If you are already a fan of the film track down this blu ray. Too many companies don't want to release PD films on Blu Ray,well too many don't want to release them if they remastered the prints. Since the film is PD that means once you remaster it anyone can take your cleaned up print and release it for free. 

Dementia 13 gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 02 Tombs of the Blind Dead

 

Title-Tombs of the Blind Dead

Source-Blue Underground DVD 

So until I discovered Grey Market vhs dealers I had never heard of the 4 Blind Dead films. At a few cons had Sumguy dealer trying to sell me a "Japanese Laserdisc rip in SP MODE  I swear! Only 30 bucks" I never bought a copy. Then BU put out a boxed set of all four. And caught it on sale for 35.

Released in 1972 Tombs of the Blind Dead is a Spanish-Portuguese film. Based around a legend of Tenplar Knights coming back as blind,because birds ate their eyes,skeletal ghouls/Zombies.

Sure the film is extremely slow paced. And the modest budget shines in a few scenes. Plus the best version is subtitled.  Which makes it a film I have to be in the right mood to watch. 

The good things are the film looks amazing. Lots of location shooting.  And a stunning cast of brunettes,that the Templar Knights stalk and kill.

Last time I looked Shudder had this movie. Which is a cheap way to try before you buy. Cause while the tension and Horror is similar to NOTLD68,the pacing feels more like some 50s b pic.

I do enjoy each film in this slice of Euro Horror. Tombs is my favorite of the 4. Tombs of the Blind Dead gets  a B.

31 Days of Horror 2023 Day 01 Leprechaun in Space

 

TITLE-Leprechaun 4 aka Leprechaun in Space
SOURCE-Lionsgate Blu ray
Yep the mostly shit upon 90s horror frachise. And this is the most shit upon entry in the series. But it is my 2nd favorite film in this series.

When the first Leprechaun film came out I loved it. Saw it in a theater. Then not that many months later it was airing at least once a week on Showtime. Sure now it is mostly remembered for being an early role for Jennifer Anniston,for me I find it to be a fun and interesting horror film. Sure my generation grew up with leprechauns as a kind of mystic creatures that are all fun and wackiness. But going back to the Irish legends that created the  Leprechauns you will see they were evil tricksters. And Leprechaun brought the creature back to it's roots,kind of like how Wishmaster took  the Genie/Djinn and made that back into the evil trickster demon it started out as.

After Leprechaun 3 being set in Vegas it was time to change up the scenery some. The plan was with part 3 to end the franchise. And since 3 didn't do well at the box office it appeared that was the end. But the home video market saved the franchise. Seems Leprechaun 3 was a huge hit on home video and cable.  So a couple of years later,and from what I can find going direct to video,Leprechaun 4 was made.

Now I had no clue this film was happening. Mostly because I had stopped reading Fangoria.  It was around Thanksgiving and like I had many many times before at that time of year I was up in rural Mississippi for a week. Visiting friends of my parents. Normally I hated going up there cause they had just an antenna for tv. But they had just got DISH Network. So knowing this in advance I brought with a stack of blank VHS. And spent 9 days recording a pile of movies off the various movie channels they got.

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Dad and his buddy were home at lunch from deer hunting. Mom and her friend had went to town to shop. I saw Leprechaun in Space listed as airing  on TMC . Turned it on and had a blast watching it with dad and Tony. We sat there drinking a few beers and just laughing.

Directed by Australian director Brian Trinchard Smith ,pretty sure he also directed the 3rd film,Leprechaun 4 is pretty much Aliens. But with Warwick Davis as the killer Irish midget in place of the Xenomorphs.

Our group of Space Marine track down the Leprechaun and kill him early on in the film. Then one marine decides to piss on the corpse of the title villain. We see a green  spark go from  the corpse up the piss stream and assuming it enters the Marine' penis.

Back on their ship this marineis hooking up with Debbie Dunning,yep the lady that replaced Pam Anderson as the Tool Time Girl on Home Improvement. They are having sex when Leprechaun explodes out of the  male marine's dick and now we got the midget killer loose on this space ship.

We are never told how the Leprechaun gets from Vegas to Space. And while the timeline of the Leprechaun films is all over the place,I am just assuming this film happens way way in the future.  But really I don't care that we aren't told how we got from the ending of the 3rd film to this film.

By this point in the franchise all I want out of the films is some decent gory kills. And some decent laughes. Lep in space provided this. A bonus is it has that kind of odd 2000 AD way of sc fi  that I have noticed Brian Trenchard Smith  puts  in most of his films.

Leprechaun in  Space aka Leprechaun 4 gets a B+