31 Days of Horror Day 01 Maximum Overdrive

TITLE-Maximum Overdrive
SOURCE-Blu Ray R

I first saw this film not long after it hit theaters.  I was already a Stephen King fan. But hadn't read the short story this film is based on. After seeing the film I got a ride to the local library to get the collection of short stories Trucks,that's the title of the story,was published in. And the entire next week in study Hal
 I read that collection.

Wow where do I start...this is the first film King directed.  And IIRC the only film he had directed.  Being a huge rock music fan King got ACDC to do the entire soundtrack to this movie. And it is a really good soundtrack.

Well enough rambling what is this film all about? A comet passes close to Earth. Somehow,this is never explained, this causes most machines to become sentient.

Our lead is Emilio Estevez.  A guy on parole who works at a truck stop. And the story is all about a bunch of people now trapped at the truck stop. All because a fleet of 18 wheelers have surrounded the place.The main villain is a huge 18 wheeler with a giant Green Goblin face on the front grill.

It looks like our cast is trapped. ..until the owner of the truck stop reveals that the basement is full of heavy weapons. Machine guns,grenades and even a rocket launcher. Sure this revelation feels very deus ex machina. And it is. But this is a turn your brain off film. One that is best enjoyed by watching with a big group of friends who are all getting shitfaced.

Few bits of trivia. The voice of Lisa Simpson, Yeadrly Smith has a big part as a newlywed who gets trapped at the truck stop. A pre-fame Marla Maples has a small part. Also in the 90s this was remade. It was a USA NETWORK original film. The remake was titled Trucks and has Timothy Busfield as the lead.

The Blu Ray pictured at the top was given to me by CodyLL. A few times a year Cody mails me packages full of movies.  He got the Blu Ray R of Maximum Overdrive at a con. And once he got the official Blu Ray release he gave me his old copy. If you look to the right I have a link to Cody's blog. Like myself Cody is a life long horror fan. And every day in October he is posting a review of a horror film. Go check his stuff out.

I have liked this film since I first saw it decades ago. And while it is nothing groundbreaking it is worth seeing. Maximum Overdrive gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror Day 27 The langoliers

Title-Stephen King's The Langoliers
Source-YouTube

I am pretty sure the last time I saw this was when it first aired back in 95. Found the almost 3 hour,looks like a DVD rip,cut on Youtube. And thought hell I need to rewatch this.

When it first aired I had read the novella it is based on. And wondered why a novella need right at 3 hours to tell the story.

The cast is a decent mix of tv vets that are average actors and one horrible misstep. The actress playing the King trope of somewhat psychic pre-teen,who is also blind,is almost as bad as the kid from House by the cemetery.

But the real stand out in this bloated,slightly hampered by a TV budget,film is Bronson Pinchot. He chews the scenes as the crazy real villain.

From what I can remember the movie follows the novella fairly close. With stuff added to the movie ,unneeded padding.

The Langoliers gets a C+

31 days of Horror 2012 Extra 12

Echo Bridge Entertainment gets shit on a bunch by online horror fans. They are well know for their packs of 8 films spread out onto two DVDs. Usually these packs can be found for $5. I keep hearing how the picture quality is shit. Well I have a pretty good TV and my cousin has an amazing huge LCD TV. I have watched lots of these Echo Bridge packs on both TVs and the picture looks pretty good. Plus you are usually getting 8 movies for $5. Which means you are paying around 63 cents per film. So I figured I would do some quick reviews of all the horror related Echo Bridge sets I have.

 The Midnight Horror Collection Volume 01
Pretty sure this is the first one I got. I had heard it was out and in the Walmart $5 bin. I wanted it so I could finally have a non-DVD-r copy of Meridian. But I looked for weeks and never could find it. Finally ordered it off Dvdempire paying $8. Then later that day went to Walmart and I saw a copy sitting on top the bin. So I grabbed that copy. Then canceled my order when I got home. The films on this one are.
The Legend of Sorrow Creek-Still haven't watched this one,but it is a 2007 DTV film.
Prom Night-This is a 1980 slasher with Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielson. Not a fan of the film.
Below-2002 WWII horror film produced by Darren Aronofsky. Haven't watched it yet.
I am Omega-A 2007 mockbuster of "I am Legend" from the Asylum. Fun time waster.
Charles Band's Evil Bong-Full Moon studios film from 2006. Funny but nothing amazing.
Meridian-Review of this is here. Meridian review from last years 31 days of horror.
Demonic Toys-1992 film from Full Moon Studios. Really funny and well done.
Decadent Evil-2005 Full Moon Studios vampire film. Not horrible,but I doubt I watch it again.



So outta 8 films there is 3 I know I will watch more than once,2 I haven't seen yet,and 3 I might watch again. Not a bad deal for $5

The Midnight Horror Collection Volume 04
Got this one along with volume 5 earlier this month for $5 total. So that is 16 films for $5. So 32 cents a film.
Now since I have just gotten both of these I haven't seen many of the films on them.
The Last Vampire on Earth-2009 DTV low budget Twilight rip off. Reviews on it are pretty bad.
Night Shadow-1989 werewolf film,the description on the back of the case sounds like "The Howling".
Kraken:Tentacles of the deep-2006 made for Sci Fi channel giant monster on the loose film.
Bloodlock-2008 DTV film about a house with a secret.
Blood Red Moon-2009 DTV Twilight rip off. Really bad. Skip this one.
Howling IV:The Original Nightmare-Fun but slow werewolf film.Adapts the first Howling novel.
Raging Sharks-2005 made for Sci fi creature feature with Corin Nemec and Vanessa Angel.
Vampegeddon-2010 DTV horrible vampire film. Will be reviewed later this month.
Well out of the 4 films I have seen off that pack. Only Howling 4 is worth seeing.

The Midnight Horror Collection volume 05
This is the other one I got with volume 4 for $5 total.
Live Animals-2008 torture porn,really bad skip this one.
Salvage-2006 Australian film,interesting premise that is dragged down by not so good acting.
Memory-2006 psychological thriller with Dennis Hopper and Billy Zane. Looks decent. Will watch it soon.
Wages of Sin-2006 film about an evil preacher. Tried watching this a few times and never make it far.
Roman-2006 psychological thriller. Directed by Angela Bettis. Worth paying $5 just for this film.
Mortuary-2005 film from Tobe Hooper. Not  one of his better films. But worth at least one viewing.
Skeleton Man-Really well done 2004 film. With Michael Rooker and Casper Van Dien. Worth a watch.
Bloody Mary-2006 DTV horror,some OK FX work and the acting isn't horrible.
So 3 bad films,4 great to OK ones,and one I want to watch but haven't seen yet. Worth grabbing for the 4 good ones.

The Midnight Horror Collection Bloody Slashers
This is the one from the Midnight Horror Collection that people look for. Cause it is the only region 1 DVD release of the 80s slasher Curtains.Again this cost $5 so each film was $1.25.
Hoboken Hollow-Dennis Hopper stars in this film. Still haven't watched it.
Secret of the Clown-Watched this one and it is just OK. Worth at least one viewing.
Room 33-Another I haven't seen.
Curtains-Heard about this film for years but could never track down a VHS of it. Well this DVD version looks like they ripped it from an ex-rental VHS. Fun slasher that makes this set worth tracking down.
Curtains is worth the $5. But I wish a better looking and sounding version comes out one day.

The Midnight Horror Collection Blood Predators
As always cost $5 so $1.25 a film.
The Vampire Conspiracy-A weird mix of Vampires and torture porn. Average film at best.
Fist of the Vampire-ECW's Blue Meanie and Darrian Cane star in this bad DTV Vampire flick.
Curse of the Wolf-ECw's Blue Meanie,Leaping Lanny Poffo and Darrian Cane in another bad DTV film.
Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned-No way the film can live up to that title.
Outta the 3 I have watched only one is worth seeing. Total dud of a pack.

The Midnight Horror Collection Charles Band Presents Puppet Master Volume 01
This time we get the first 3 Puppet Master films from Full Moon Studios. So 3 films for $5 equals $1.67 a movie. We get the first two films on one side of the DVD and the third film gets the other side all to it's lonesome.
Puppet Master-The original film that started one of the longer running franchises in horror history. Really fun film. With some well done puppet FX work.
Puppet Master 2-Nice sequel that is almost better than the original.
Puppet Master 3:Toulon's Revenge-A prequel this is my favorite of the series. Set in WWII Germany this one tells us the origin of the puppets.
Now I am a fan of this franchise so this set is totally worth the $5 for me.

 The Midnight Horror Collection Charles Band Presents Puppet Master Volume 02
This one has Part 4 on one side of the DVD. With 5 and 6 sharing the reverse side. Again $5 for the set so $1.67 a film.
Puppet Master 4-In this entry we get a new puppet Decapitron. And sadly the puppet FX aren't as good as the previous 3. But still worth watching.
Puppet Master 5-Pretty much part 2 of the 4th film. Fun time waster but not one of the better entries in the series.
Curse of the Puppet Master-The puppets have a new master. Who is a deep woods scientist. The puppets get revenge on their new master and at the end we get a new puppet added to the gang.
While these 3 films aren't nearly as good as the first three at this cheap price this set is worth picking up.

Sharks,Piranhas&Monsters 6 movie pack
Another $5 pack. So 6 films means each one cost 84 cents. 4 of these were made for Sci Fi channel films. While the other 2 are low budget films from the 50s and 70s.
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus-Asylum made cheese starring Debbie Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas. Really funny in it's so bad it's good way.
30,000 Leagues under the seas-Captain Nemo and friends have some adventures under the seas. Skip it.
Attack of the Giant Leeches-AIP 1959 low budget film. The giant leeches look like people walking around in sleeping bags. Fun but nothing special.
Beneath Loch Ness-Miramax made for Sci Fi channel film. OK watch if you are bored and have nothing else to watch.
Mega Piranha-Made for Sci Fi Channel film with Tiffany,the 80s pop singer. Really bad and really fun.
Piranha-1972 jungle thriller. Skip this garbage the print they use looks really bad.
Besides Mega Shark and Mega Piranha this set is a total let down.

Full Moon Triple Feature
 This set has 3 semi related Full Moon studio films. Again it cost $5,so that works out to $1.67 a film.
Demonic Toys-Fun fast paced film about killer toys. With Tracy Scoggins.
Dollman-Fun Sci fi film with Tim Thomerson. There is some well done forced perspective shots in this.
Dollman VS Demonic Toys-This has people from Dollman,Demonic Toys and Bad Channels. But too bad the film is boring. It is barely over an hour but fells much longer.
Well like Meatloaf said 2 outta 3 ain't bad. Worth grabbing for Demonic Toys and Dollman.

Full Moon Triple Feature
This collects the first 3 of the Subspecies franchise. I know there is a part 4 and another film that is a spin off. I saw the first 2 years ago on Showtime late at night.
Subspecies-Not bad early 90s low budget vampire movie. Good atmosphere.
Bloodstone:Subspecies II-Quickly made follow up,that isn't as good as the original but worth a watch.
Bloodlust:Subspecies III-Horrible film,don't both watching it.
Another pack that was $5 so each film is $1.67. The first 2 are worth that price. But part 3 isn't even worth a buck.

The Prophecy Collection Miramax Classics
This collects all 5 of the Prophecy franchise.Prophecy 1 and 2 share the same side of a DVD. With part 3 getting the other side. The parts 4 and 5 share the same side of a DVD.Now unlike every other Echo Bridge set I have bought,this one cost $7.50. So 5 films at that cost equals out to$1.50 a film.
The Prophecy-Saw this during it's short theatrical run. Had read about it for months in Fangoria when it was known as "God's Army". Walken gives a great performance. So does Eric Stoltz and Virgina Madison.
The Prophecy II-Walken returns and this film also has Jennifer Beals and the late Britney Murphy. Fun film that is almost as good as the original.It also has a small part for Glenn Danzig.
The Prophecy III:The Ascent-Walken is back for a third time. I know I have seen this before,but remember nothing about it.
The Prophecy:Uprising-No Walken this time. But we do get Doug "Pinhead" Bradley and the always lovely Kari Wuhrer. What I remember of the film is decent.
The Prophecy:Forsaken-Kari Wuhrer is back. And we also get Jason Scott Lee and Tony "Candyman Todd. Haven't seen this one so far. But all the reviews claim it is really bad.
This set is worth the price for the first 2 films at least.

The Children of the Corn Collection Miramax Classics
Collecting Children of the Corn 2,3,4,5,6 and 7. This set was the first time part 2 came out on DVD in region 1. I found it in the Walmart $5. The DVD case is orange and that caught me attention. Now before buying this I had seen parts 2,3,4,5 but had not seen 6 or 7. So 6 films for $5 works out to 84 cents a film.
Children of the Corn II:The Final Sacrifice-I remember enjoying this when I saw it years ago on VHS. But watching it now it fucking sucks. The FX work is pretty shoddy and really there isn't that much of a connection to the first film. I do wish they had explored the corn mold causing craziness angle more.
Children of the Corn III:Urban Harvest-A inner city couple adopts two brothers from that wacky corn cult. So we get killer corn in the city. Good FX work and a inventive plot.
Children of the Corn IV:The Gathering-Children of the Corn IV review from 2010 .
Children of the Corn V:Fields of Terror-6 college kids take a wrong turn and run into those wacky corn cult kids. Strange cast in this one you got Alexis Arquette,Ahmet Zappa,Eva Mendez,Fred Williamson and David Carradine.Better than part 2 but not as good as 3 or 4.
Children of the Corn 666:Isaac's Return-Children of the Corn 666 2011 review
Children of the Corn VII:Revelation-Still haven't watched this one.
So we get 4 good films.One I haven't seen and one stinker. But this is easy to find for $5 so worth getting.

The Hellraiser Collection Miramax Classics
Before this set came out it was hard to get Hellraiser III on DVD. It had been released years ago and had gone out of print. Another $5 bin find. So once again it is 84 cents per movie. Containing Hellraiser 3,4,5,6,7 and 8. I am a huge Hellraiser fan so grabbed this as soon as I saw it. Even though I already owned 3,5,6 and 8 on DVD.
Hellraiser III:Hell on Earth-This film gets unfairly shit on. Sure it isn't as good as the original. But I enjoy it much more than the over praised piece of shit that is Hellraiser II Hellbound.
Hellraiser IV:Bloodline-The last of the series to get a theatrical release it was held up for a long time after filming was finished. With another director coming in and re filming lots of scenes. Horrible film that totally shits on the story set up in the Hellbound Heart novella that spawned this franchise.
Hellraiser V:Inferno-Another one that seems to get shit on by fans. "Pinhead is barely in it!" is why most say they don't like it. Well he gets almost as much screen time in this as he did in the original. Fucking amazing film and my second favorite in the series. It is like a dark,sexy and twisted Twilight Zone episode.
Hellraiser VI:Hellseeker-Hellraiser 6 2010 review
Hellraiser VII:Deader-This one started off as a non-Hellraiser film. Then Dimension films bought the script and had some small parts with the Cenobites added to make it a Hellraiser film. Not that good. But not horrible.
Hellraiser VII:Hellworld-Another entry that didn't start out as a Hellraiser film. But was changed into one when Dimension films bought the script.Slightly better than part 7 but not by much.
This is worth grabbing for parts 3,5 and 6.

Well lets see 13 DVD sets reviewed. 30 good films out of a total of 67 films. Total cost for 67 films is $62.50. So less that a buck a movie. So really these Echo Bridge packs are a decent value.

31 days of horror Year 2 day 6

Children of the Corn IV the Gathering-Dimension DVD

This is the second of the series to get released straight to video. Starring a very young Naomi Watts and Karen Black ,CotC IV seems to be completely unrelated to the previous entries in the series. But it has been revealed that in a deleted scene we find out the connection to the previous 3 films. Naomi is a young woman who is coming back to her hometown to help take care of her mom. But when she gets there she finds out over night most of the kids started suffering from a high fever and now seem to be possessed. It seems the spirit of a murdered child preacher,Josiah, has possessed them. The possessed kids assume the names of children from Josiah's time and try to bring Josiah back from the dead. It seems in the deleted scene we find out that Josiah has another name "He who walks behind the rows". Now I haven't seen all of the Children of the Corn films,I don't think I have seen 5 or 7. But this one is the best so far. The story is pretty interesting,the acting is way better than it has been. And the FX are really good considering how low the budget had to be. CotC IV earns a B+.

31 days of horror Year 2 day 3

Pet Sematary Special Collectors Edition-Paramount DVD

Found this for $5 the other days and realized that I not only didn't own it but haven't seen it in almost 20 years. Sat down and watched it earlier today,and besides the horrid acting from Denise Crosby,the film holds up pretty well. Mom,Dad and two kids move to a new house somewheres in the backwoods of Maine. Just after they get settled in they meet the next door neighbor,Fred Gwynne, and he shows them the local pet sematary. Well after a few days the Mom and both kids go to visit her parents,and while they are gone the family's pet cat gets run over by one of the many 18 wheelers that speed down the road at all times of the day. Fred tells the husband about a special cemetery that were if you bury something it will come back to life. So Fred and the dad go bury the cat there. But when the cat comes back it has changed. Even the daughter notices this when she gets back. Time passes and one day while the whole family is having a picnic,Gage the little 2 year old son ends up running out into the street and getting hit by a speeding truck. So of course the Dad goes and digs up his dead body and reburies it in the "special" cemetery. Gage comes back but now he is pure evil. The special effects are great practical effects. The story is good,and the acting besides Ms Crosby is very good. Pet Sematary gets a A.

31 days of Horror year 2 day 1

Christine-Encore Drama airing

I actually had planned on watching either Frankenhooker or Header today. But about 30 minutes after I woke up I noticed that Christine was airing on Encore Drama. I realized I haven't seen this movie in over 20 years. Arnie and Dennis have been friends for many many years. Then Arnie buys a beat up Plymouth Fury. Pretty quickly Arnie goes from being a nerdy little guy to being a cooler version of John Travolta in Grease. A couple of guys from the high school don't like Arnie and sneak in one night and totally destroy the car. Arnie sees this is and is devastated ,but we see the car repairing itself. A few minutes later Christine,Arnie's car,is hunting down the guys that damaged "her" and kills them all off. I had read the novel this is based on about a year or so ago. So that version of the story was fresher in my mind. And really the book is much better. In the film there really isn't a reason for Christine being able to repair "herself" or all the other supernatural abilities the car has. But in the novel you find out that the car is possessed by the spirit of it's former owner. But the film is still a fun way to pass some time and gets a B.

31 Days of horror Day 9

Stephen King's Desperation

Source-Lionsgate DVD release

Desperation while not one of King's better novels was still a enjoyable read. This is a Made for TV adaptation of that novel. It starts with a couple who are driving a car across country. The lady of the couple mentions that the car and most of the stuff in it are her sisters. They get pulled over in the desert by a cop,Ron Perlman. He ask to search the car and they agree to the search. While looking in the trunk he discovers a bag of weed. So he arrest both of them and puts them in the back of his patrol car. While on the ride to the nearest town,the cop starts saying strange words and making very strange sounds. Then he coughs and blood sprays outta his mouth and hits the windshield. Once they get to the town,the couple notices that there is no one in the town. The cop pulls up to the jail and takes them inside. Inside they meet a family of 3,mom dad and son. After some quick thinking they manage to get outta the jail and are slowly making their way outta town when they start to realize that all is not as it seems. I was actually surprised at how much gore was in this since it was Made for TV,IIRC it aired on ABC. Overall the acting is good,and it follows the novel pretty closely until the very end. Then there is some changes from the novel,but they seem to mainly be because of budget reasons. Overall it is a solid B+.