31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 31 The People Under the Stairs

 

TITLE-The People Under the Stairs

SOURCE-Scream Factory Blu ray

Fool lives in  the ghetto. His mom is dying from cancer,and his family is about to be evicted from their apartment. Local rumor is this one house in  the area has a huge collection of gold coins. So Fool along withVing Rhames and another dude plot to break into the house steal the coins and not only pay the back rent they owe but get Fool's mom fixed up.

Once in the house they learn  shit is fucked. The entire house if boobytrapped. Their a pile of cannibals living in the basement. And the brother and sister,that call each other Mom and Dad, have a young teen girl named Alice. They refuse to let her leave the house.

Ving Rhames and the other guy get killed fast and the rest of the film is Fool trying to escape and find the gold. Assisted by Alice and Roach,a guy that lives between the walls.

Gory and dark and full of craziness this was way way better than I remembered. Sure I had seen it a few times back in  the day. Just been so long since I saw it I had forgotten huge chunks of the film.

Like how the brother spends a good part of the film runnign  around in a leather gimp outfit. Or how the Sister looks so much like my crazy aunt we don't talk too.

Feels like this is a forgotten  Wes Craven film. Sure his Elm Street films get talked about a pile,same with Last House on the Left and the Hills have eyes. But The People Under the Stairs I never seen much chatter about.

This blu ray is packed with extras. Looks great decent sound and I'm kind of glad I got it for a deal. 

The People Under the Stairs gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 30 The Monkey

 

TITLE-The  Monkey

SOURCE-Blu Ray

I was in jr high ,7th or 8th grade when my cousin passed me a copy of Stephen King's Skeleton Crew. His much older sister had given it to him and he wasn't into reading.  Now almost 40 years later the kid of Anthony Perkins has taken that short story and made it into a gory insane film.

Two boys find a wind up monkey in the closet. Their father left years ago and all they got of his is a closet full of stuff he brought back home from trips. Each time the Monkey is used someone dies. 

With the rest of the film one of the brothers trying to figure out a way to get rid of the Monkey and the other wanting revenge for their mother dying. The Monkey gets chopped up,shows back up. Thrown down a well and shows back up. 

Acting aint bad mostly. What makes this stand out is the absurd kills. Like the Rube Goldberg like one near the start of the film in a pawn shop. Or a later one with a wasp nest and a drugged up teen dressed as a cop.

The kills are great. But good kills doesn't make a full film. The Monkey gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 29 Clown in a Cornfield

 

TITLE-Clown in a Cornfield

SOURCE-Blu Ray

Back 10 or so years ago I saw Tucker & Dale vs Evil and loved it. Been waiting and hoping the director of that would do another horror film. He did.

Set in a flyover state,where the one main place folks work has burnt down we got that business mascot going around killing folks. A crazy clown known as Frendo.

New girl moves to town. Her mom is dead her dad is a doctor that had a breakdown. So no more ER doc in major city now he is a GP in a tiny dying town. She of course makes friends with the local outcasts. Who do a youtube channel with pranks. 

A major step down from Tucker & Dale vs Evil. Not a bad film. A decent modern slasher. The big difference is in  Tucker & Dale vs Evil the entire cast was stand out. This... Will Sasso,yep the fat guy from MadTV,is great. Totally playing against his normal type. But the rest of the cast goes from average to wait who are they related to to get this gig.

Clown in a Cornfield gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 28 Ticks

 

TITLE-Ticks

SOURCE-Olive Films Blu Ray

Feels like this was one of those early to mid 90s films that got a pile of coverage in Fango. I read up on it wanted to see it and nope no copies hit video stores in my area. Earlier this year Cody hooked me up with his old Blu ray of it. Letting me revisit a film I didn't see until at least the early 2000s.

Clint Howards super grow mix for his pot plants drips down  through the floorboards on some tick eggs. Thus creating the titular creatures. And we got a van full of troubled teens and their two handlers heading to a near by cabin.

Yea it is a standard creature feature plot. And if this didn't have great FX and an interesting cast I bet it would be forgotten.

We got some slimy oozy fx work. Great stuff that just makes you shudder a bit. Brian Yuzna an executive producer on this so that makes sense.

Then that cast. Besides Clint Howard as the pot farmer you get Alfonso Ribiro as a very against type character for him. Yep we got Carlton from Fresh Prince dressed and acting like he was a background extra in Wu Tang's Protect Ya Neck music video. Got an earlyish role for Seth Green as the normal nerd stereotype in b films. Then the always great to see Ami Dolenz. She had a smallish career playing a similar role in piles of B movies for about a decade.

Sure it feels a bit like scenes are missing. With some plot points not explained fully. A bit of research I learned there was a pile of added scenes. Like the Clint Howard super grow formula stuff.

Worth seeing. No clue if this blu ray is out of print,I know the Scream Factory release is.

Ticks gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 27 Woodchipper Massacre

 

TITLE-Woodchipper Massacre

SOURCE-Vinger Syndrome Blu ray

I heard about this SOV horror/comedy for years. Never saw the VHS for rent anyplace. Then got a rip of that tape. A low res Mpeg file that was 400 megs maybe. Tried to watch it but the compression made that vhs rip look horrid.

Then earlier this year was gifted two of Terrorvisions 3 blu rays for X amount blind boxes. After watched two other films put this on.

Take Dont Tell Mom the Babysitter is dead and add a woodchipper. Then make the budget about what was spent on 2 days of catering on the DTMTBID set and you got Woodchipper Massacre.

If you have no affinity for Shot on Video films skip this. It is a major time capsule of a short period of time where stuff like this could get on many video store shelves. Plus build a big enough following to get not only a loaded dvd release and this LOADED with extras Blu ray  release. Lots of Commentaries and BTS features.

Woodchipper Massacre gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 26 Creepy Koffee Movie Time Last Call

 

TITLE-Creepy Koffee Movie Time Last Call
SOURCE-NovemberFire DVD

Months back I had heard NoName and Balrok were doing one last appearance,at a screening of a new documentary done about the Creepy Koffee Movie Time show. Short version CKMT was a weekly horror host show on KOFI TV in San Francisco. They aired old horror films and had on guests.

Once a DVD release of the Documentary was available I ordered one and have now watched it two times. First time was the night I got it. Went sat out on  the pier,it was dark and quiet and I had a blast. This second time was earlier today. 

CKMT Last Call covers in fairly decent amount of detail every episode of the show. Broken down  by seasons. With Balrok interviewing guest and the various ladies that were Cave Girls on the show. What are Cave Girls? They would have 3 to 5 each episode on the stage usually dancing along to whatever music the house band was playing.

One of the Cave Girls in the later seasons was former WWE Superstar Shotzi Blackhart. Who describes the show perfectly. And I can't say how she does or this post would get the mature content warning and as of writing the state I live in has decided I can't see mature content online without giving a copy of my photo ID.

Back to the show. I loved seeing how No Name evolved over the sseasons. All I have ever see is the first 5 seasons. Cause that is all that is out there streaming. There was 10 or 11 seasons total. With the later seasons seems like they got more films they had to license.

Sure this documentary would not mean much if you arent familar with the show. Me I'm a big fan. Seen most of the episodes from the first 5 seasons. Earlier this year read the fan book about the show. 

Creepy Koffee Movie Time Last Call gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 25 Swamp Devil

 

TITLE-Swamp Devil

SOURCE-Maneater Series Triple Pack DVD

I grew up seeing the 50s/60s and 70s creature features on  tv. Sometimes with a host sometimes not. Which is partially why when I find a pack like the  one pictured above for a buck I take a chance. Yea all three films are CGI crapfest made for SYFY channel. But sometimes they can be decent and sometimes you want the movie version of eating a dozen Krystals with cheese for dinner.

Swamp Devil has a young lady returning to the town where she was born. After her mother passed her father pretty much abandoned her. She gets a call saying her father is dying and she comes back to take care of him. The father is played by the only name in the cast,Bruce Dern.

Right when she arrives at the town a guy about her age welcomes her. She wonders how he knows her when she moved from the town when she was still fairly young. He is the son of the local diner owner. 

This takes a bit to get going. First kill happening around the 30 minute mark. And besides being pure CGI it isn't bad. Yea there is almost no blood. Really besides a few uses of the word fuck nothing in this would warrant a R rating. 

Over the course of about 90 minutes we learn that our lead's dad and some other guys beat a guy to death for a crime he did. And tossed his body in the swamp. Now his spirit possesses what looks like Groot and Swamp Thing had a kid that was a cut scene from a PS2 game. 

The acting isn't bad. The story is one you have seen before but done fairly well here. And for a low budget movie the CGI is decent, If there was a few more kills this would be one I would recommend to almost anyone that likes horror.

I do enjoy how early on the rules for the Swamp Devil are set. And then used to kill him at the end. Plus of course we get a teaser for a sequel.

Worth seeing,thinking this is streaming on TUBI or Fawesome for free. And if you like modern CGI creature features it is worth grabbing on DVD for cheap.

Swamp Devil gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 24 Beyond Darkness

 

TITLE-Beyond Darkness aka La Casa 5

SOURCE-Scream Factory Blu ray

Ahh Claudio Fragasso,while  Troll 2 is his best known movie it is my least favorite of the 3 of his I have seen now. Favorite is Night Killer,which I am sure I covered a few years ago during 31 Days of Horror,but Beyond Darkness is a close 2nd.

Take Poltergeist mix in The Exorcist a dash of Lucio Fulci's The Beyond and you get this early 90s cheese fest. 

We got a house that has something  in the wall that is calling to the young daughter Carol. Her slightly older brother is the kid from Troll 2. Their father is  Reverend,but wears a Catholic Priest style collar. The Troll 2 son gets taken to the other dimension. The dad and another Priest save him and you think it is over. Then you check the time left and there is still 40 more minutes. 

It's 80s,well came out in 1990,Euro Horror. Don't go in expecting much of the plot to make sense. You watch for the insanity and gore. Which this delivers on plenty.

So La Casa 5 is one of this films many alternative titles. Ghosthouse is La Casa 4,and from what I can find La Casa 1,2,3 are Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I was sure I had read that Night Killer was part of the La Casa series,which is somehow also connected to the TCM franchise.

Turn your brain off and just enjoy the film. This is exactly the stuff a pile of us was looking for in the mid 90s. Something to watch and laugh at and with.

Beyond Darkness gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 23 CrackCoon

 

TITLE-CrackCoon

SOURCE-Amazon Prime Video

Prime Video the streaming service I forget I have. Usually I go to it when whatever I want to see isn't on anything else. If Tubi is the Mom and Pop video store at 9pm on a Friday,Amazon Prime Video is that regional chain video store,mine was Homeport Video,they got 3 or 4 stores tops so you know if no other place has say Van Nuys BLVD one of the Homeport Videos will.

Wanted something fast and easy to watch. Saw the title and knew I had found the film. A new crack is out on the streets. To me it looks like someone melted down orange gummi bears. Whoever smokes this crack gets instantly violent and starts killing people.

Cut to 2 couples and a friend out in the woods. After getting to know them a bit we cut to a car with two drug dealers. They are delivering the crack to the two couples. Notice a cop car following them so in a blind curve throw their backpack of crack out the window. Then once the cops let them go they go to find the crack. But a raccoon has already ate all of it. Now it is a killer Crackcoon. His first kill is by biting off the dick and balls of one of the drug dealers.The rest of the film is the 5 folks at the house,the one living drug dealer and a sheriff and his burlesque dancer looking wife fighting of the killer CrackCoon.

The Crackcoon looks like a stuffed animal. It's attacks are mostly offf screen then we see the damage,which is normally some decent looking gore. Acting wise the cast goes as bad as "PLease shut up and die cause you are not a good actor" to "Hey you might be able to get a bit part on Law & Order SVU one day."

Big Dumb Fun and I loved it. I wouldn't buy it on blu ray or dvd. I doubt I watch it again. But I don't hate I spent time watching it.

CrackCoon gets a  D+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 22 Monster from Green Hell

 

TITLE-Monster from Green Hell

SOURCE-The Film Detective Blu Ray

Sure I saw this as a kid on the local horror host show. But watching it now I really remembered nothing about it.

A rocket is sent into space. On it is some wasps. They get exposed to radation and the rocket falls back to Earth. Landing in a part of Africa dubbed Green Hell. Cause of the hellish jungles. A group of scientests go to investigate after rumors of giant monsters attacking,plus they need to find stuff that was on the rocket.

Made up of piles of stock footage this was a popular film on various horror packages in the days when syndicated movie packages were big on broadcast tv. Either the film was public domain or assumed to be cause it appeared on so many horror shows.

Mostly black and white,with a short bit of color towards the end,this is from near the dying days of the US cycle of giant "FILL IN THE BLANK" on the attack films. 

This is barely feature length,runs 71ish minutes,and feels much longer. Part of that is the giant wasps attacks are spaced so far apart in the film. The big climax,our heroes finding the wasps nest happens about 10 minutes before the ending. 

Monster from Green Hell is a film that is mostly remembered cause of it's great title. And well for me cause I heard the Misfits song Green Hell so many times over the decades.

Now while the film ain't great,this blu ray is amazing. The film looks great. We get a commentary from comic great Stephen Bissette. Plus the 4:3 and 16:9 versions of the film. Huge thanks to Cody for giving me this blu ray.

Monster from Green Hell gets a D+.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 21 Silent Night Deadly Night 5 the Toy Maker

 

TITLE-Silent Night Deadly Night 5 The Toy Maker

SOURCE-Vestron Video Blu Ray

Back when this hit home video the neighbor across the street told me a bit about it. Back then,had to be early 92,all I had seen was the first 2 films in this now 6 film strong franchise. This 5th film  sounded insane and I wanted to see it. No video store we rented from  had it and after a bit it faded from my memory.

Skip ahead and Lionsgate puts out 3,4,5 all on a dvd set. I grab it watched 3 and  4 and just never watched 5. Then Vestron puts out a 3 pack but this time on  Blu Ray and adds some extras.

After being  in a bad accident our lead's young son has stopped talking. She takes him to the locally ran toy store,Petto's Toys. Ran by Mickey Rooney,who was one of the folks that protested the original SNDN film. When in the store they meet Petto's creepy son Pino. And legit first few times I heard them say Petto I thought they said Pedro.

Seems Mickey and Pino make killer toys and are a bit nutty. By this entry in the series you just want good kills and maybe a small connection to the previous 4. We get both.

Clint Howard is back as Ricky,he played this part in the 4th film. This time he is a mall Santa. The kills are just fun. Got a electric larva toy that enters a guys mouth and burrows out his eye.The best is the kill near the end. Left with a babysitter our young boy is put to bed. The babysitter goes to another room to get laid. And Mickey releases a pile of toys. Got a robotic arm,that  crawls onto the bed and gropes the boyfriend. Got a pile of soldiers and tanks,that fire bullets. And a odd looking kitbased Batmobile armed with spikes and buzzsaw blades. 

By the end we learn Pino is a robot. Who then dry humps the lead lady. And after his death we get an ending that hints there is more than one Pino.

So Pino  is short for Pinchicco. Petto's first name is Joe...Joe Petto. This is a twisted Pinochio tale. 

Nothing amazing but the kills help elevate it above other DTV horror from the early 90s. 

And yes Jeff Monson,the neighbor that told me about this film decades ago,this was "Worth seeing just for the robot guy dry humping the mousey mom."

Silent Night Deadly Night 5 The Toy Maker gets a C+.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 20 Amityville The Evil Escapes RIFFTRAX

 

TITLE-Amityville The Evil Escapes

SOURCE-Rifftrax Live Blu Ray

Oh Amityville. Over the many years of 31 Days of Horror I have covered some of the Amityville movies. And I did see this one,part 4,back in the day at a friend's home. Really didn't remember much about it.

Was recently at a junkstore. Saw they had a pile of Rifftrax Blu rays so grabbed a few.  I was thinking this was the Amityville about the doll house,I get all the ones after part 3 mixed up. Nah this is the start of the haunted items leave the Amityville House and go fuck with other people.

A lamp from the infamous home is sold to an old lady. Who cuts herself on it and dies from this. So the lamp gets shipped to her sister. A sister that has her daughter and the daughter's three kids living with her. The daughter is Patty Duke,yep by 1989 Patty was down to doing made for TV horror sequels.

The Made for TV budget and restrictions show. Besides the one kill from a garbage disposal there is almost no gore,and I have read that kill was cut on the tv version having been restored on home video. So you get stuff like a parrot appearing in a toaster oven. Or the old lady cutting her finger on the lap and then the finger looking like it has gangreen.

This is not a good film. It is the kind that decades ago we would have rented,sat there chugging beer and cracking jokes. Which is ,minus the chugging  beer,what the Rifftrax guys do.

Appears the only other blu ray release of this is in a out of print Vingar Syndrome boxed set. It's not worth what that set is going for now. Betting you can find this Rifftrax version fairly cheap. And it takes a D+ movie and majorly improves it.

Amityville The Evil Escapes gets a B-. Only the Rifftrax version without that it is a D+.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 19 The AGFA Horror Trailer Show

 

TITLE-The AGFA Horror Trailer Show 

SOURCE-AGFA Blu Ray

I've always loved trailer comps and this one is one of the best. Set up like you are at a drive in and watching almost 90 minutes of trailers and ads for Drive in consessions. The trailer selection is really good too. With some of these trailers making total shithole films look worth seeing. Fear No Evil is one I had never seen and now got on my must see list.

If it was just that this would be a great buy. But nope there is more. First a commentary on the feature. Filled with info. Then a second feature. That focuses on late 80 thru late 90s SOV and DTV horror. I was impressed by how good some of these trailers in this second feature look.

Really a good trailer comp needs not the same 40 trailers we have seen many times before. And a good pace. This one does both.

The AGFA Horror Trailer Show gets a A.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 18 David "The Rock" Nelson Collection Vol 1

 

TITLE-David The Rock Nelson Collection Volume 1

SOURCE-Saturns Core Blu Ray

In the late 90s I was buying all the genre film mags. Stuff like Video Watchdog,Phantom of the Movie's Videoscope,Cults Movies and of course Alternative Cinema. It was in the latter two I started seeing ads for David the Rock Nelson films. Stuff like the Devil Ant or Conrad Brooks vs Werewolf. The films looked horrible and the one review I saw for one of them called it "the worst shit I have ever seen." I really wanted to see one. Back then it would have ran me almost 30 bucks with shipping to get one of these films. So I wasn't gonna bother.

Skip head 20+ years and now a partner label of Vinger Syndrome put out this collection. Which not only has Conrad Brooks vs Werewolf and Son  of the Werewolf  but also two of the Adventures of Janet films.  If it was just all that I would have grabbed it but maybe waited for a sale. Saturns Core also includes an almost hour long documentary on David The Rock Nelson. Yea I gotta get this. I pre-ordered it.

Who the fuck is David The Rock Nelson? A military vet who loves old monster movies. So using a vhs camcorder and super low budgets he makes these odd as hell films. And has gotten a fairly big cult following.

And how are the films? They are some of the worst films I have seen. But not the bad films that are boring and make you want to turn them off. Nah these are the kind that are horrible but stil entertaining in their horrible ways.

You get David The Rock Nelson  running around in rubber masks playing more than one character. The audio appears to be recorded using the camera's built in mic. Errors and flubs are left in.  Plus most of the films  are way longer than needed.

The films feel like shit I would start and never finish. Back in the early 90s when we got our first video camera. Gather some friends,have no script and after 1 day of filming no one comes back. But with David the Rock Nelson manages to finish his films and gets them out to the "fans".

David's love for monster movies shows in  his films. And that is part of their appeal. Feels like most of us horror fans born before 1990 had a phase where as a kid we love monster movies. 

David The Rock Nelson Collection volume 1 is a solid C.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 17 Frogman

 

TITLE-Frogman

SOURCE-Terror Vision Collector's Edition Blu ray

This is something I normally would have watched before buying.  Being not only a modern low budget horror film but also found footage. But also I like supporting smaller media labels and Terror Vision is a tiny label. So when I was in Walmart and saw this I took a chance.

Starting off in 1999 a family is on vacation and the son captures on video,for a fleeting second,a giant frog/man looking thing. Skip ahead 20 years and everyone claims the Frogman footage is fake. But the now grown kid is sure Frogman is real. So he takes a buddy and this girl he has been in love with for years up to Loveland Ohio to film a documentary about Frogman.

I know ,I know,sounds so much like Blair Witch Project. And the first bit being set in 1999 really makes this feel like a Blair Witch ripoff. Slowly we see that while this is inspired by Blair Witch it takes a different turn.

SPOILERS
----------------------------

First off we see the Frogman in this fairly clearly. And then we got the part near the end. Which gives this a Lovecraft vibe. Seem the residents of Loveland worship Frogman.

------------------------------------------------------

SPOILERS OVER

Now I've never been a huge found  footage fan.  I don't hate it but so many films that use this gimmick don't do it right.  Frogman does.  Like how not everything is framed right or even captures in the camera's view. Making this really feel like footage 3 folks in the woods shot when they were scared for their lives.

This Blu ray is loaded. Got a commentary on the film. Then a pile of BTS stuff. Plus a bunch of short films from the same director,some of which also have commentaries.  

Betting this is streaming on one of the Free Ad Supported TV apps like Tubi or PLutoTV. And if it is and you like found footage and regional folklore this is totally worth seeing. I am happy with my blu ray and feel it is worth the 20 bucks it cost me.

Frogman gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 16 Heart Eyes

 

TITLE-Heart Eyes

SOURCE-DVD

There has been more than a few attempts at creating a Valentines Day horror franchise. My Bloody Valentine,which got a remake and both it and the OG are worth seeing,you got Valentine from what 20 years ago. It gets crapped on but I enjoyed it. Now we got Heart Eyes.

The past few years a killer has been targeting couples on Valentines Day. The last kill a ring with J.S. engraved on it is found. Our lead,Olivia Holt,is feeling down. And gets mistaken for being part of a couple. So Heart Eyes targets her. The cops show up and cause the man she is with has the mask and knife and his intials are JS he is taken in.

Rest of the film is Ms Holt trying to figure out who the killer is. Which ends up being a neat twist. And of course there is a mid credits scene.

Fairly bloody for a theatrical release with decent acting this was way better than I expected. My biggest issue is this is another film that would work better at 40 to 60 minutes. I wish there was a weekly horror anthology tv show where shorter works could air.

Heart Eyes gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 15 The Substance

 

TITLE-The Substance

SOURCE-MUBI Blu Ray

Kept hearing about this movie for what felt like the last half of 2024. Saw the Blu ray and grabbed it. Then it sat in the unwatched pile for months. Only to be watched 3 times in less than a week recently.

Demi Moore is an aging actress. Who is now the host of a morning workout show. She gets let go cause of her age and find out about a black market drug that might help her regain that youth she needs to succeed in Hollywood.

Take the great body horror of the early Cronenberg films and add in a  much higher budget and a big name cast and you got The Substance. 

Demi finds out about a substance that will cause her to create a younger copy. Who feeds off Demi's older body for a week. Then Demi takes over for a week. 

The film has so many damn levels it is working on. You got your basic Young vs Old. Each viewing it feels like I find another level or something I didn't notice.

The FX work is amazing. The withered old crone hag monster thing Demi becomes near the end is pure nightmare fuel. The cinematography has your eye always drawn to what the director wanted to to focus on. Even the sound and music is well chosen.

One thing I thought would be an issue was the length. The film is a bit over 2 hours 20 minutes. So I expected it to drag some. Nope. Wasn't until about 15 minutes from the ending that I was thinking damn how much longer this got.

Worth seeing and if this blu ray had more extras I would say worth owning. The Substance gets a A-.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 14 Exit 14

TITLE-Exit 14

SOURCE-CineDigm DVD

When out thrifting any horror dvd I havent seen and dont own that is 25 cents or less I will normally grab. Got a tote full of this stuff. And I try to once  a week grab one or two films out of that tote and attempt to watch them.

Generation X knows that Friday nights you had it on whatever channel Dukes of Hazzard was on. And John Schneider was the co lead on that show. Now he works with CineDigm making piles of Christian films down in South Louisiana. Exit 14 is one of the few horror films this group  has made.

On spring break a group of College kids stops at a store. A store right off the supposedly supernatural Exit 14. This store is ran by Tom Sizemore,which makes me think it is either a front for a coke ring or Tom really was running the store when the production company stopped in to piss and grab some snacks.

Their SUV dies,they get picked up by a tow truck and the driver,Tom again,offers for them to stay at his home that night. The college kids get told about a woman that died. Then  they get drunk and summon her spirit. Which of course causes stuff to go all spooky.

Also known as Devil's Doors and  being released in 2016 this is below the level of those Tubi Original horror films. Imagine a modern Full Moon movie. Now take out the nudity and gore and humor. And slash the budget in half. 

Avoid this turd. Now time to go put it in a box to mail to CodyLL.

Exit 14 gets a F.

 

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 13 Clowntown

 

TITLE-Clowntown

SOURCE-ITN DVD

Yep another DTV film from ITN (The International Turd Network). This time it isn't a UK or Spanish film, nope this was made in the US.

A few friends are on their way to a concert. Get stuck in what appears to be an abandoned town. Then learn roaming bands of clowns took over the town. This film was made 10 years ago when there was all those "creepy" clown sightings. 

The acting is what you expect from a low budget DTV horror. FX work ain't bad. The clowns look creepy. Like legit creepy. 

What sucks is now so much crap is coming out that decent stuff like this gets lost in the sea of shit. Yea Clowntown ain't amazing. But it is better than most of the horror crap filling up streaming services like Peacock,Tubi,Fawesome,PlutoTV,etc.

Most years for 31 days of horror I try to work my way through my huge stack of unwatched dvds/blu rays/4ks. This had been sitting in that stack for at least a year. Having been found for a buck or less. 

It is one that you find it streaming give it a watch. One of the better ITN films and I was surprised.

Clowntown gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2024 Day 12 Two Headed Shark Attack

 

TITLE-2 Headed Shark Attack

SOURCE-Blu Ray

I kind of miss how 10 years ago you knew most Saturdays on SYFY channel you got a new movie. Mostly CGI filled creature features. But they would be fun watches with a room full of folks.

Somehow back then 2 Headed Shark Attack missed my attention. Even after seeing on the sadly short lived show Monster Man how the shark was made I still didn't bother watching it.

Skip ahead to late last year. Was on  my way to see someone, stop at one of the many Dollar Generals in the deep south to grab a drink. And like always dug through their selection of dvds and blu rays. Found the above pictured double feature for 2 bucks new sealed. Thinking it might be a bit before I watched it. Here almost a year later I am watching it.

Now most of these SYFY originals would get a name or two for the cast. This time we got 3, Charlie O Connel,Jerry's brother, Carmen Elektra and Brooke Hogan... Yea the Hulkster's daughter who tried to be a singer then in wrestling then in films. Failing at all three.

Charlie is the Captain of a semester at sea ship. Brooke is one of the students. One who as a kid got terrorized by a shark so is afraid of water. Carmen is pretty much here in the film as eye candy.

Their ship gets damaged and taking on water. But off in the distance is an atoll. So they load up in two skiffs and head to the atoll. Which is where we learn there is a shark with two heads that patrols the water off the atoll.

Mostly the shark is CGI and looks ok. There is a few scenes with a puppet shark that looks good. It was these scenes I saw on Monster Man.

Not that much gore really. Very little nudity and foul language. Really not much had to be cut to air this on SYFY. 

One thing that caught my eye is Fred Olen Ray's son Christopher directed this. Nice to see he is following in his dad's footsteps. Maybe we will get Evil Toons 2 soon.

The blu ray is bare bones. Got the movie and that is it. But it looks good sounds good. And for 2 bucks for 2 films I feel like I got my money's worth.

2 Headed Shark Attack gets a C-

Nancy Wins at Friendship TPB

 

TITLE-Nancy Wins at Friendship

SOURCE-Andrews McMeel Publishing TPB

Now I have heard of the classic comic strip Nancy. Even read it here and there. Then earlier this year found the above pictured collection cheap at a junkstore. Grabbed it and like most comix it sat in the need to read stack. 

Then recently I started reading it to kill time,got all into it and finished it in one sitting. 172 strips total. Covering a good chuck of the year 2020. So we got Nancy and Sluggo going to school online. And lots of stuff about the school robotics club.

Plain simple art that I am sure makes this a fairly easy strip to produce,with a story that is deeper than it appears. Lots of call backs ot earlier stuff. Lots of surreal elements.

Now I doubt I would pay cover price for another collection of Nancy strips,but for the 3 to 5 bucks I dropped on this one I am very happy.

Nancy Wins at Friendship gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 11 Fun Size

 

TITLE-Fun Size

SOURCE-Paramount Blu Ray

Last year in October it was laundry day and I wanted something to watch while doing laundry. Checked and TUBI thought I would enjoy Fun Size. Looked it up "Ok Nickelodeon movie that is rated pg13." Bit over 90 minutes later and I was looking to see if this had a home media release.

It is Halloween night our lead Wren,played by Victoria Justice, is ready to go out for Halloween. Having been talked into going to a big party by her best friend,who is played by Jane Levy. Then right after making her Dorthey costume from Wizard of Oz Wren learns her mother is going out to a party that night and Wren has to take her lil brother trick or treating.

Now the brother hasn't talked since their father has died. And the kid is a bit odd. Going out with the kid in a Spiderman costume,Wren and Jane,who is dressed as slutty catgirl ,are having fun. Until the brother gets lost. So the rest of the film is these 2 ,teaming up with two guys they goto school with,trying to find the missing little brother.  

Sounds like a simple plot. One you could see in many films aimed at kids and young teens. What made this one stand out is it being PG 13. Early on Wren mistakes another kid in a Spidey outfit for her brother, the kid refuses to go with her and pulls down his mask. Calls Wren a bitch and runs off. Then you got her friend who is just uber horny. Or the scene where a metal giant rooster falls on a car and proceeds to hump the car.

Ya while Nick was known as the kids network that pushed the envelope some, think You cant do that on TV or Ren and Stimpy,this goes way past those. It kind of feels like a 80s teen comedy that got cut enough to get a pg 13.

Seems this bombed badly. The reviews I have found online for it are mostly parent complaining cause their kid heard some cussing. It's a PG 13 movie folks. I enjoyed it. And am gonna add it to the normal October rotation.

Fun Size gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 10 Satan's Cheerleaders

 

TITLE-Satan's Cheerleaders

SOURCE-VCI Blu ray

Now this is one I have heard about for years. But always skipped buying it. Then "The Movie Castle" on youtube covered it, go check them out give them a sub, and I had some extra cash so ordered the VCI Blu ray.

Ahh the 70s where the demand for stuff to fill the drive ins meant we got cheap low budget big dumb fun films like this. The smallest cheerleader squad I have seen, really they got 4 members, is on the beach. The football team shows up. One of the cheerleaders goes off with a jock. And the cheerleading coach and football coach argue.

Seems the head janitor of the high school is as Satanist. Which means we get a creepy scene, the one that gave this film an R rating, with the janitor rubbing his pentagram while watching the cheerleaders changing clothing in the locker room.

Stuff happens and we end up with the cheerleaders in a rural area vs Satanists. One of whom is Lily Munster. Then a twist ending that is just odd.

Like I said big dumb fun. None of the cast besides the 3 we know from other films are good. Really no blood,no gore, very little foul language. If not for the scene of the janitor polishing his pendent while seeing tits this would get a PG.

This blu ray is fairly loaded. Get two commentaries. 2 copies of the film, one is the original scan before they cleaned it up and another that is cleaned up. And you get it on Blu ray and DVD.

Satan's Cheerleaders would be perfect as the second or third film on a double or triple feature at a drive in in the rural south.

Satan's Cheerleaders gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 09 Frankenstein's Daughter

 TITLE-Frankenstein's Daughter

SOURCE-The Film Detective Blu ray

Over a decade ago I discovered a horror podcast and through their forum met a pile of fellow horror fans. Piles of them I am still in touch with, even now when that forum is long gone and none of us have bothered with the podcast in a long time. One of those folks is CodyLL. We talked a bit on the forum and I realized we had a pile in common. So at least 3 times a month we will chat on the phone for a few hours. And when Cody is clearing out his movie collection he will hook me up with stuff from it. That is how I got today's film.

I was 5 when I discovered that one of the channels we got on the tv had a guy showing horror films each Saturday night. And I was allowed to stay up and watch it. Sgt Graves was the host's stage name. He was a dead soldier from the Civil War. And his tag line ,which he said before each ad break, was "Don't touch that dial or I WILL HAVE TO BITE YA!" We got 2 movies each Saturday and I would have the VCR set to record both. There was no way I could make it through both films. The first one started at 1030pm and was over at 1230am. It was rare I made it through the first film all the way. Normally I would see half fall asleep. Then the next morning after we got back from Sunday Mass I would watch my tape and see both films.

That is how I first saw Frankenstein's Daughter. A low budget indie horror film that came out in 1958. And is either public domain or assumed to be. And ever year I knew I would see Frankenstein's Daughter at least once that year on Sgt Graves.  I loved it. 

Which means months back when Cody mentioned he had a copy and was getting rid of it I of course said I wanted it. 

Few nights after I got the Blu ray in I couldn't sleep. Put the film on and wow forgot how much fun I had as a kid watching this. Watched it twice that night. First time with the great Tom Weaver commentary. A commentary that one of the first lines was "I saw this as a kid which is the perfect age to see it" and yes Mr Weaver you are right.

Set in modern day California Dr Oliver Frank is wanting to do experiments like his grandpa did. Dr Frank is a failure with women, so he normally experiments on them. 

The lady to me looks more like a werewolf than a Frankenstein's monster. Either that or she looks like she was prom queen at Sontag High School 1956.

See that looks more like a Frankenstein's monster. And the makeup on the creature is great but has one flaw. The creature is a female. But it is obvious the monster is a male.

This is a good example of a film I looked forward to seeing as a kid and I enjoy it now cause of the old memories. I put this Blu ray on and I can see and hear SGT Graves. I get flashbacks to the Hoffman Furniture ads. 

Frankenstein's Daughter gets a C-

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 08 Fright Night II

 

TITLE-Fright Night 2 New Blood

SOURCE-Unrated FOX Blu Ray

I had skipped this thinking it was  a sequel to the remake. And really felt like Fright Night didn't need a remake. Then was at a Dollar General, found this sealed for 4 bucks. Figured worst case keep the digital copy and sell the dvd and blu ray and make my 4 bucks back.

So instead of a sequel to the remake we get another remake of the original. Yea stuff is changed. It is updated for modern day. And now the lead vampire is a female. But this is Fright Night just slightly changed.

The biggest changes is the abundant nudity and blood/gore. Like piles of nudity and gore. Got a blood bath scene that is loaded with both.

The stand outs are the lead vampire, never seen this actress in anything else. But she commands your attention when she is on screen. And the new Evil Ed. Who looks like the old one just fatter.

Worth seeing but keep in mind this is a remake.

Fright Night II New Blood gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 07 In a Violent Nature

 

TITLE-In a Violent Nature

SOURCE-DVD

Every year there is a few horror films that play the festivals and usually hit home video in October. This film along with Late Night with the Devil was the two this year that got my attention. And thankfully they appeared on SHUDDER fast. I watched both and loved them. So bought them on home video.

Shot as if a cameraman is almost always following our Killer In a Violent Nature is a neat spin on the well worn Slasher sub genre. 

A group of young adults are in the woods. One of them picks up a necklace and this causes our killer to come back and start trying to find this necklace. Plus killing anyone in his way IN A VIOLENT NATURE!

Amazing kills like really amazing kills. That didn't feel the need to go into extreme gore territories like some films did,Terrifier 3. Decent acting from the cast. Plus a gimmick that works and isn't something that has been done a pile.

If you have already seen all the classic and modern slashers In a Violent Nature is one to track down. 

In a Violent Nature gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 06 Croczilla

 

TITLE-Croczilla

SOURCE-Echo Bridge DVD

The four bonus movies promised on the cover and PD horror films you already got on other sets. This is one you buy for CROCZILLA and CROCZILLA only.

A croc farmer sells his giant croc to a shady resturant owner. The owner plans on cooking it and selling it. But Croczilla escapes before this can happen. She is ready to lay eggs.

On her path she eats a lady's purse that has 1 million Euros in it. Which is why in China this film is known as The Million Dollar Crocodile. Oh yea this is China's first big budget creature feature. Costing 4.5 million US.

So word gets out about the purse with the money in it in Croczilla,and we get the lady after it. The resturant owner and a cop. Plus Croczilla's original owner. Tagging along is a kid that became friends with Croczilla,yea like Gamera.

Only really one on screen kill,and it isn't that bloody. The CGI Croc looks good. For 2012 this looks better than most of those SYFY Saturday night creature features. You know stuff like Mega Shark vs Crocasaurus and Meth Gator.

The acting appears to be good,the dubbing is not great. Lots of bad accents and all that. I could see  some people finding the dubbing to be a bit offensive.

Nothing amazing but still a decent way to pass an hour and a half. 

Now the drawback to this release. Got 5 movies on one DVD. Croczilla is majorly compressed. The picture always looked a tad out of focus. Like when you first wake up in the morning and everything is a bit foggy. Nothing major. The sound was simple 2 channel stereo.

Now I want to find a decent Blu Ray of this. I can see myself going back and watching this again.

Croczilla gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2025 day 05 Late Night with the Devil

 

TITLE-Late Night with the Devil

SOURCE-DVD

Last year near the start of October on a whim I bought a few dvds of newer horror films. Late Night with the Devil was one I kept hearing about. 

Watched the DVD,with the commentary going,as I did laundry one day. Yea I'm weird and will do stuff like first time watching a  movie put on the commentary.

Then way late in October it aired on Joe Bob's annual Halloween special. Watched it again,and Joe Bob had on the lead actor. Fuck this is good.

So today wanted something to watch saw the DVD on the shelf,put it in the player and yea this is damn good.

Our lead is a late night tv show host in the mid 70s. He is trying his best to beat Johnny Carson. After his wife dies from lung cancer his contract about to end on Halloween night 1977 he does a show that he hopes will get him the ratings he needs to keep the show going.

Starts off with a psychic coming out on the show. Cold reading the room and using the normal cold reading tricks. This kind of bombs. Then a former magician comes out shows how the Psychic did the cold read. 

But now the Psychic isn't feeling good. And he ends up projecting vomiting black bile. Rushed off to the hospital and dies on the way.

The next guest is a parapsycologist and her current patient. And young teen girl who is the only survivor of a Satanic Cult.

The teen girl is strapped to a chair and on live tv the demon appears in her. And yea I was like ok this is decent but why was everyone raving about it at this point.

The film does a great job recreating how 70s tv looked. And the BTS footage is a nice touch.

Now the magican is back out. Takes the co host of the show hypnotizes him and the audience and shows that this is how the demon appeared.

Nope,all through out the film many mentions are made of our lead going to "the Grove". Yea Bohemian Grove is part of the plot of this film.

The Demon takes over the little girl. She starts killing everyone in the studio. And our host survives.

Then we get the twist ending. It is strongly hinted the host sold his soul to the Devil to get ratings. And one of the prices of this was his wife was a sacrifice.

Fucking amazing film. I got vague memories of seeing a few late night talk shows in the late 70s. Mostly nights I was being babysat.  The sets,clothing and hairstyles look right to me.

Late Night with the Devil gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 04 MaXXXine

TITLE-MaXXXine

SOURCE-Blu Ray

Few years ago pretty sure I covered Ti West first 2 films in this trilogy,X and Pearl. I loved X and enjoyed Pearl. So once I saw MaXXXine had hit home video I ordered a copy.

Maxine aka Mia Goth is in 80s era LA. Working in porn still. The Night Strangler is loose. Maxine is trying to get a part in aa horror film. Puritan II,a sequel to a infamous video nasty.

After getting cast in Puritan II Maxine starts being followed by a asshole played by Kevin Bacon. And starts getting odd messages and even a VHS.

Take 80s LA Porn Scene. Mix in the Hollywood of that time. Add in the Satanic Panic and you get a love letter to 80s Hollywood and its culture.

Best part is unlike so many films I see set in the 80s this looks like how the 80s were. Not how people that were not born back then think it looks. 

Great soundtrack,good FX work. And the cast is good. Bobby Carnivalle is great in his part. 

This feels in a way like an 80s version of Once Upon a time in  Hollywood. Just minus the way over long length,and Tarentino's need to put feet on the screen too much.

MaXXXine gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 03 Hotel Translyvania

TITLE-Hotel Translyvania
SOURCE-Blu Ray

Yea I had heard of this franchise. Seen pieces here and there. But until last year in October I had never seen it. Found it cheap at a junkstore.

Dracula is about to celebrate his daughters 118th birthday. She wants to go out see the world. And he is trying to prevent that. While also running the famous hotel for monsters.

All is going ok,Dracula lets Mavis go to a nearby village. That is a facade on the level of the fake town in Blazing Saddles. The villagers are just hotel zombies in masks. 

A human male makes it to the hotel. And the rest of the film is Dracula hiding that this guy is human,claiming him to be a cousin of the Frannkensteins. And Mavis falling in love with the human.

Well animated. Fairly quickly paced and funny,Hotel Translyvania is one of those kids films that the adults forced to watch it will enjoy.

The voice cast is pretty good. Got Adam Sandler as Dracula. Selena Gomez as Mavis. Normally I'm pretty good at figuring out celebrity voices. In this I was horrible. With only Sandler and then the great Steve Buscemi as the werewolf being ones I figured out before the ending credits.

Blu ray looks and sounds good. Got a bunch of extras including a original short with Bigfoot.

Worth grabbing and watching.

Hotel Translyvania gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 02 The First Omen

 

TITLE-The First Omen
SOURCE-BLU RAY

When this came out I planned on seeing it opening night at the local theater. Got there too late and it was sold out.

Waited on it to hit home video. And months after buying it watched it late one night. And now after a second viewing I got an idea where this falls in the franchise for me.

Set before the original film,which is such a great film,this tell us the origin of the child that became Damien.

1971 a young Nun to be from the States goes to Rome to work at a orphanage. There she ends up bonding with a young orphan that has issues.

Margaret is this young Nun. Who goes out to a local disco with a fellow nun to be. Margaret meets a guy,is dancing. Blacks out and finds out way later she was raped in a Satanic ritual.

Seems to make the faith of the church strong a sect in the church has started bringing about the birth of the Anti Christ. 

Margaret learns she is pregnant. And after an attempt to abort the fetus she is captured by the sect. Tied down and gives birth to two kids. A boy and a girl.

The boy of course is Damien. We see him being taken to the hospital to be given to the couple that will be his parents. And the other child is a girl. 

The film ends with Margaret and the girl living way out in the countryside. Then get found and learn that Damien is alive and someone is after the girl.

The FX work in here was damn good. Yea lots of CGI but it worked. Seems one scene that shocked me some is a bit cut down. Originally the film got a NC 17. So a scene where a demon arm comes out the vagina of a woman was cut down.

Acting wise this was good. No one in it I really knew from much. And some times the accents were a bit hard for me to decipher. But that is why i normally watch most stuff with subtitles on.

As far as where this ranks in the Franchise? Above 4,the remake and 3. Equal to 2 and not as good as the original.

The First Omen gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2025 Day 01 Casper

 

TITLE-Casper

SOURCE-DVD

30 years ago this film came out. I saw the trailers and figured it would bomb. Nope was a big theatrical hit and a huge home video and cable hit.

Cathy Moriarty has just inherited a huge old mansion up in Maine. With Eric Idle she travels there to see what can be done with it. Finds it is haunted by not only Casper the Friendly Ghost but also The Ghostly Trio.

After trying a few things to get rid of the Trio,including cameos from Father Guido Sarducci and Dan Ackroyd as  Ray the Ghost Buster, Casper sees therapist for ghosts on TV. After seeing the therapist daughter,played by Christina Ricci,Casper is in love and makes sure Cathy knows about this ghost therapist.

Once they get to the house Ricci and her dad try to work with the Ghostly Trio. And Ricci starts getting to know Casper. Learns his past,how he died and that Casper's dad made a machine that will make a ghost living again.

This is just a fun family comedy that has light horror elements. Moriarty and Idle are great in their roles. Ricci shows that even back in her teen years she was a great actress. 

The FX work on the ghosts is pretty good. It holds up now 30 years later.

Seems like to most under 40 if they know Casper it is cause of this film,it's many sequels and the spinoff Saturday Morning cartoon. Which hey that is fine. Those old Casper cartoons and comics I doubt would hold much appeal to modern kids. They didn't have much for my generation back in the 70s.

Casper gets a solid B.