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 2024 Day 26 Doll Face

 

TITLE-Doll Face

SOURCE-Echo Bridge Blu Ray/DVD Combo Pack

Over the close to 20 years I have lived in rural SW Mississippi I have gotten to know all the local cult and horror movie fans. Not that many of us locally so we all kind of know each other. There is one who I have had on the Asshat Podcast Youtube channel a few times. And a few years ago he did a review of this Doll Face movie. And thankfully I forgot his review.

Needed something to watch tonight and saw this blu ray/dvd sitting on the shelf. Upside down ,which is my shorthand for something I haven't watched. Knowing it was borrowed I put it on expecting who knows what.

Maralade is a young lady who just inherited a nice apartment from her Aunt who has passed. Only rules are she must keep the dolls the aunt collected from all over the world. And NEVER LOOK THE DOLLS IN THE EYES!

And for the next hour and 17 minutes you get just oddness. The lead lady never moves her mouth and at first I thought we were just hearing her thoughts. But the others in the film appear to hear them to. So I guess she was talking but her mouth didnt move?

Lots of scenes of her going to bed each night with a different doll. Or the odd Doll repairman that is also homeless and covered with tattoos. And the constant references to hangings and suicide by hanging.

Then about 15 minutes till the end the twist hits. A glorious Twilight Zone like twist. And if the film ended about 5 minutes earlier it would be a bit long but decent horror/cult film. Nope it goes on and stuff starts happening that makes even less sense than most of what happened before. 

So what is this twist? I imagine knowing the twist would really change the first viewing of Doll Face,which of not that long ago was streaming free on TUBi and FANDANGO AT HOME AKA VUDU.

SPOILERS 

The twist is Maralade is a doll. A human sized doll. That is why her mouth never moved!!!

END OF SPOILERS

Not worth buying,buddy that got it paid a buck at a pawn shop. But worth seeing at least once.

Doll Face gets a C-

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 Day 22 Die-ner(Get It?)

Title-Die ner (Get It?)
Source-Echo Bridge 10 movie DVD set

Remember just 3 years ago? Back when the $5 DVD bin at Walmart was packed with Echo Bridge and Mill Creek Horror multipacks. Lots of these packs I would buy to see one movie. Or I would buy one when I knew I was going on a long trip and would need a few things to watch.

The pack Die Ner is on I bought cause of one film. That film is Zipperface. A fairly obscure slasher from 1991. After watching and loving Zipperface the pack got put back on my shelf. Today I needed something to watch. So I grabbed a bunch of those multipacks and picked a film at random.

Die Ner starts off with Ken entering a roadside diner out in the middle of nowhere. Ken makes small talk with the waitress,in this small talk he reveals he is a serial killer. He then kills the waitress and the cook. He is about to leave when a arguing couple comes in. So Ken poses as the cook. Thinking he can cook their food. And either kill them or wait till they leave and leave himself.

But there is a twist,anyone that dies comes back as a zombie. So we got a serial killer along with an arguing couple who have to face off against zombies in a tiny rural diner.

The film tries it's best to blend horror and comedy. And manages to work about half the time. The acting is decent. It being a DTV horror I don't expect much from the actors and I got more than I expected. The FX work is pretty decent. Looks like it is mostly practical FX work.

What I find odd is outside North America this movie goes under a different title.

Yep at least in the UK Die Ner(Get It?) is known as KFZ Kentucky Fried Zombies. No idea why. Hell I don't even think the movie is set in Kentucky. The area the diner is in looks like desert country and I don't think there is any deserts in Kentucky.

Die Ner(Get It?) gets a D+.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 28 Double Feature Howling IV/Wolf Cop

Howling IV the Original Nightmare
Source-Echo Bridge Midnight Horror Collection DVD

Back in the early 90s I saw this late at night on Showtime. Enjoyed it. Then kind of forgot about it. 2 or so years ago I found one of those Echo Bridge released Midnight Horror Collection sets for $5. It was 8 movies and had Howling IV on it. I took a chance since I remembered liking Howling IV. This set is also the one where I got Vampegeddon.Which until recently was the worst pro-shot horror film I had ever seen.

Marie has been having lots of issues lately. So her and her husband go off to this tiny town for a nice relaxing vacation. But Marie keeps on seeing strange stuff. Like a nun that keeps appearing at odd times.

Of course this being part of the long running Howling franchise we know the town is full of werewolves. And slowly over the course of the film people keep disappearing. The local cops cover it up. But we know they got ate by werewolves.

I have only ever seen the first 5 Howling films. And this is the second best  of the ones I have watched. Been told it follows the book the  original film is based on. And is a much more faithful adaptation.

When I saw it as a teen the lead. Romy Windsor and the slutty shopkeeper Lamya Derval were what kept me watching. But now going back and watching it again most of the actors and actresses do a good job. The FX work is decent for what I assume is a low budget film.

Howling IV The Original Nightmare gets a C.

Wolf Cop
Source-Image Entertainment Blu Ray

Last year in early October got told by a good friend "You gotta see Wolfcop.I am sure you would love it." I checked and it hadn't been released yet. I threw the film on a flash drive planning on one night that month watching it. Then I just forgot about it.

Fast forward to February of this year. Was over at my lady's place.There was nothing on TV. And we wanted something to watch. I had a bottle of flash drives with me. So we picked one at random. And she saw the title "Wolf Cop" and said we had to watch it. Holy hell was it great. So as soon as it got a legit release I got the blu ray and have watched it at least 10 times since then. One cute tangent. I got a bit over a year old toy poodle named Maggie. Normally she pays no attention to anything on TV. But if I am watching Wolfcop and he howls she starts trying to howl. Of course her being a 5 1/2 lb lapdog means her howls sound more cute than terrifying.

The movie is about a cop in a small town.He becomes a werewolf and fights crime as Wolf Cop. Going as far as converting his police car into the Wolf Cop Mobile.

And yeah there is much more to the story besides the above. But this is one you really have to see. It walks the line perfectly between being a serious horror film and being  a comedy. The transformation FX are really really good. And look to be entirely practical FX work. The acting was 10 times better than I expected. And it seems to have been a huge hit. Sometime this previous spring it got added to Netflix streaming. And since that at least once every few weeks I get someone telling me how I must see the movie.

Wolf Cop gets a A.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 23 Dracula 2000

Dracula 2000
Source-Various Echo Bridge multipacks,really I own 8 copies of this movie thanks to the cheap Echo Bridge movie packs.

I can remember going to see some film in a theater and seeing the Dracula 2000 trailer for the first time. The trailer looked great. And it appeared to have a fun cast. So I went to see it when it came out. Ended up being very disappointed with the movie.

One of Van Helsings decedents has Dracula's body sealed up in silver coffin. Jennifer Esposito allows her shitbag boyfriend and his crew of thieves brake into Van Helsings shop. They see all the security measures put in place cause of the silver coffin. So figuring something that well protected must be very valuable they steal the coffin. And head from the UK to New Orleans with it. During the flight to NOLA one of the thieves,Hyde from That 70's Show,opens up the coffin awakens Dracula. And in the chaos the plane crashes in the swamps outside NOLA.

Honestly this movie is pretty much total shit.Only 3 things make it stand out a bit against all the other modern vampire films. First is the so called "brides of Dracula". They are the three ladies pictured above. I have always thought Jennifer Esposito was a pretty young lady,and Colleen Fitzpatrick AKA Vitamin C is also really pretty. Then there is Jeri Ryan. And I am sure what I am about to say will piss off plenty of Trekkies. But I have never found Ms Ryan to be a good actress or to be that attractive. Sure she has pretty big breasts. But her face looks like someone shaved Gizmo from Gremlins.She has less acting talent than my dead departed dog Peaches. And always has a look on  her face like she thinks she has to fart,but isn't sure if it is a fart or she has to take a shit.The second thing is the male cast of this film. Gerald Butler tries his best as Dracula and does an OK job. Jonny Lee Miller tries really hard in his role,but to me he was only good in one film and that was Hackers. And the final thing from the film that stands out. Is the theory it throws out that Dracula is actually Judas. And the reason why vampires are harmed to silver is because of the 30 pieces of silver Judas was given to betray Jesus. The rest of the film is pretty much your normal late 90s/early 2000s Dimension Films movie.

The only reason I watched this film this year is because of a friend.He is known mostly online as thefuckerfromhell or just Fucker for short. And this is one of his favorite films. So since I own so many copies of it I thought I would give it another chance. And I doubt I ever watch this again. I also own 1 of the 2 sequels to this. But I haven't watched it yet.

Dracula 2000 gets a D-.

31 Days of Horror Day 25 Venom

Venom
2005
Echo Bridge 20 Pack DVD

Another of those hey it's 20 films for $5 packs. Venom caught my eye cause of the setting.Set in the bayous of Louisiana,Venom is a fairly fun and well done voodoo movie.

A woman has a suitcase full of snakes. That are possessed. One of them attacks and possesses the driver of a tow truck. And he hunts down a group of young adults.

The FX work is really good. The story and acting are well done. I really have no idea why this film isn't better known.Maybe it is because the only "name" in the cast was Bijou Philips.

I have always been interested in films dealing with voodoo. And this film doesn't disappoint.Plus with it being in a 20 pack of films that cost me $5. I only paid a quarter for the film. I wouldn't mind a DTV sequel to this film. But it has been what 10 years since this came out and we haven't gotten one yet.

Venom gets an A-.

31 days of Horror Day 21 Shaded Places

Shaded Places AKA The Giving Tree
2000
Echo Bridge 20 film dvd pack

Got this pack for $5 last year. Was looking for something to watch and saw this had Christina Applegate and Molly Ringwold.The cover and description make this out to be a horror film. But instead we got a bad rip off of the Big Chill.

A group of high school friends reunite one weekend at a house out in the middle of nowhere. The first night there Applegate kills herself. And the rest try to figure out why.

It took me 4 tries to watch this movie. It is so dull I keep falling asleep. Thankfully the 20 movie pack only cost me $5. So I paid what a quarter for this piece of shit.

Shaded Places AKA The Giving Tree gets a F+.

31 Days of Horror Day 17 Castle Freak

Castle Freak-R rated cut
Echo Bridge Entertainment DVD
1995

I saw this not that long after it hit VHS back in the mid 90s. Just another film that proves the morons that repeat over and over how "NO GOOD HORROR CAME OUT IN THE 90s" are full of shit Boz. I had been wanting to re-watch this film.The above pictured pack was $5. So I got 4 films I didn't own already,The Reflecting Skin,The Faculty,Immortality and Castle Freak.

Somewhat based on the classic HP Lovecraft short story The Outsider. We get a good mid 90s Full Moon film from Stuart Gordon. Having seen a few "adaptations" of Lovecraft from Gordon,I went in expecting something entertaining.

Now sure I saw this back in 95,but I remembered almost nothing about it. I remembered Jeffrey Combs having a wreck that blinded his daughter. The Castle Freak looking decent. And a weird scene between Combs and a hooker.

Pretty sure I saw the uncut VHS years ago. And really no clue if that version is out on DVD. But this R rated cut was pretty bloody. The Freak still looks great and I was surprised that Barbara Crampton plays the mother.

So really if you see this pack for $5 grab it. You got 3 good films, and watchable films. Castle Freak R Rated cuts gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror Day 05 Children of the Corn II:The Final Sacrifice

Children of the Corn II:The Final Sacrifice
1993
Echo Bridge DVD

Coming out almost 10 years after the original,this film was kind of a surprise to me. I had heard nothing about it. And was surprised when I walked into the Forts Lake Homeport video store and saw it for rent.

The surviving kids from the original are being moved into a nearby town. Terence Knox,of Tour of Duty fame,is a reporter who comes into the area to do an article on what happened. He also has his alienated teenage son with him.

I do like the quickly dropped sub-plot which tries to say that fungus on the corn is causing all the craziness. And most of the FX work is fairly well done. When the kid that replaces Issac as the corn cult leader gets possessed by He who walks behind the rows,we get treated to some now very dated looking computer FX work.

Another thing that stands out about this film is Christie Clark,who played Carrie Brady for years on Days of our Lives,has a big role.She becomes Terence's son's love interest.

The kills are all fun. With the one where the Corn Cult kids cause a house to fall on an elderly woman being the best of the bunch.

Children of the Corn II:The Final Sacrifice gets a B-.