31 Days of Horror 2015 030 MGM Midnite movies quadruple feature

Yep 4 films in one day. Last year around October I found 13 or so of these MGM Midnite Movie double feature DVD sets for cheap. $3 new IIRC. The plan was to watch some of them for last years 31 days of Horror. But that didn't happen.

Konga
Source-MGM Midnite Movie DVD

From 1961,this giant ape movie was a low budget ripoff of King Kong. And honestly this movie sucks ass. Bad acting and FX work.

Really the only good thing to come out of this was Charlton's Konga comic series.A series that has some very nice Steve Dikto artwork.

Konga gets a D-.

Yongary
Source-MGM Midnite Movies DVD

Made in South Korea this mid 60s giant monster on the loose film was sent straight to TV by AIP. And while it is much much better than Konga. It still isn't good.

Well that means this double feature DVD is now worth the $3 I dropped. Oh well,win some lose some.

Yongary gets a C.

Mephisto Waltz
Source-MGM Midnite Movies DVD

This turned out to be a interesting Satanic horror film from 1971. Alan Alda is a failed musician who know is a music journalist. And after interviewing a reclusive pianist,Alda becomes possessed by the pianist's spirit.

There is plenty of Satanic horror films from the 70s,and this one is pretty damn good. I never see anyone talking about it. Which makes me wonder how many people have actually seen it.

The cast is nice,besides Alan Alda you also got  Jacqueline Bissett. 

Mephisto Waltz gets a B.

The House on Skull Mountain
Source-MGM Midnite Movies DVD

This is one the earliest 70s Blaxploitation horror films. A woman is dying and sends for 4 family members. They all show up to her home,which of course is on Skull  Mountain. And find out all kinds of crazy stuff. While being chased by a hooded skull monster.

The only cast I knew was the guy that played Lamont on the Jeffersons. And Michael Landon's best friend on Little House on the Prairie. But the other members I didn't know did a good job.

Seeing the film was rated PG I was expecting something kind of tame and boring. I was wrong. If this had come out in the 80s it would easy get a PG 13.

The House on Skull Mountain gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 29 Double Feature The Green Inferno/Forbidden Transmission Halloween episode

The Green Inferno
Source-VOD

Been hearing about this film since 2012. And really wanted to see it. I have seen pretty much all of the well known Italian made cannibal films. And wanted to see what a life long horror fan like Eli Roth would do with the concept.

A group of college kids go down to Peru to protest the destruction of the rain forest. They are on their way home when the tiny plane they are in crashes. And they end up captives of the local cannibal tribe.

If you have seen stuff like Cannibal Ferox or Cannibal Holocaust,imagine a version of that with a much bigger budget. Better acting and Roth's trademark moments of comedy to relieve the tension.

The FX work is damn good,well besides the CGI ants looking a bit wonky. The acting was much better than I expected. And the camera work is great. I was shocked at how colorful the film is.

Before seeing it I had read lots of non spoiler reviews that hated the film. And really hated the mid credits scene. I do not see why people hate this movie. After 4 films people should know that going into an Eli Roth film what to expect. He has a formula and it is used in this film. As for the mid credits scene,well to me it makes sense and sets up a sequel.



The Green Inferno gets a B.

Forbidden Transmission Halloween episode
Source-Digital files sent to me by the creator of the show

Forbidden Transmission was a two season public access tv show. Created by the Skeleton Farm group.Who are known for creating some of the best video mixtapes.

I had found 2 or 3 episodes almost 10 years ago. And loved them. Then met the creator of the show on a horror forum. Asked him if I could buy both seasons off him. "Hey how about I just make a torrent of every episode?" Which was fine with me. So I have had them sitting on a flash drive for a few years now.

Well after Green Inferno I wanted something short to watch. Saw there was an Halloween episode. And like all the others I have seen this was a blast. We get a few music videos. Clips from various Public Domain horror films. And even the short animated film that inspired the modern Halloween classic Trick R Treat.

Forbidden Transmission Halloween episode gets a B+.

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 27 Double Feature The Return of Dracula/The Vampire

The Return of Dracula
Source-MGM Midnite Movies Double Feature flipper DVD

Ok this was released in 58. And I can see why I had never heard of it before grabbing this set.Last year found like 15 of these MGM Midnite Movies double features. All brand new for $3. So grabbed them. Been throwing them on as background noise. But I see the title Return of Dracula and it is from MGM I gave it my full attention.

Which was a mistake. This fucking sucks. Dracula leaves Europe and comes to Califorina. Pretending to be a distant cousin of this one family.

Really the only thing that makes this stand out at all is at the end we get a bit of color. The film has been b/w all the way through. But in the final kill we see red blood. A neat touch in an otherwise boring as hell film.

The Return of Dracula gets a D.

The Vampire
Source-MGM Midnite Movies Double Feature flipper DVD

From 57 here is another vampire flick. But with a twist. Instead of getting bit by a vampire ,our lead vampire is created by a doctor that accidentally takes some special Bat pills. So  a bit of a science fiction twist on your typical vampire.

But like Return of Dracula this one neat feature is all the film has.Well that and that it is only 76 minutes long. I can handle a low budget kind of shitty movie much better when it is an hour or maybe a bit over that tops.

The Vampire gets a D+.

Even at the $3 I paid this set is a dud. Only reason I can see to own it is if maybe you got nostalgia for either film.Or you want two "scary" films you could show young kids around Halloween. Nothing in either that say a 5 or 6 year old now couldn't handle.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 26 Bloody Pit of Horror

Bloody Pit of Horror
Source-Something Weird Video DVD

I have been hearing about this mid 60s Italian made horror film for decades now. All I knew about it for years was Jane Mansfield's husband was the lead in it. Then once I got online there was a guy,and I can't not remember his posting name,that at every horror forum I found he was posting there and used a pic of Hargertiy's Crimson Executioner as his avatar.

After all these years I finally decided maybe I should see the film.Threw it on my Netflix queue and kind of forgot about it. A week or so ago it had made it's way to the top of my list. And one lazy Sunday I sat down to watch it. But after about 10 minutes I got bored and spent the rest of the film online doing various things. So I figured I should get the movie a second chance. And this time give it my full attention.

A photographer and a group of models are off to do a photo shoot at abandoned castle. They get into the castle and find out the owner is still there. At first he is gonna kick them out. But changes his mind. Telling them they can stay. But are not allowed to go down to the dungeon.

Of course this means they go down to the dungeon to take pics of some nice looking models wearing almost no clothing. Which pisses the owner off. So he assumes the mantel of the Crimson Executioner. And over the course of the rest of the film kills off all but two of the group. Those two end up tricking him and he dies in one of his own traps.

Honestly most horror from before 1968 is hard for me to get into. The pacing and acting usually just doesn't work for me. And this film has those two faults. I can totally see why it has a cult following. I am sure if I had seen this as a kid I would love it. But seeing it for the first time as an adult and after seeing lots of much better Euro-Horror it is just dull to me.

Bloody Pit of Horror gets a D+.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Franchise review Piranha

A few years ago I did short reviews of every film in various horror franchises. And to me a film has to have at least 4 films to be a franchise. So I was thinking "What is a franchise I don't hear lots of talk about?" And after realizing not only I don't want to re-watch all 13 entries in the Witchcraft franchise,I also only own about half of them. Then a few days ago I got ahold of a film that I had forgotten about. Yep got the mid 90s remake of Piranha.

Starting in 1978 with the Roger Corman produced Jaws rip off. Piranha now has a total of 5 films in the series.

The first one I saw years ago late at night on one of the local UHF channels. Where genetically engineered WAR piranhas get released.And they end up in a water resort where carnage happens.

Going back a few years ago when Shout Factory released a great DVD of this film I found it really fun and entertaining. It is very much a 70s low budget horror. But I love that type of film.

3 years later in 81 a sequel hit the silver screen. Directed by James Cameron,in what was his first theatrically released film.Besides some flying piranhas,yeah they can fly in this one. The FX work is decent.But truthfully this is the worst film in the franchise. Just proving to me once again unless he is ripping off old episodes of Outer Limits,that Cameron is a hack and one of the most over rated directors of the past 100 years.

And now we are up to the film I just finally got a copy of. Back in the mid to late 90s Showtime had a weekly Roger Corman Presents show. Where each Saturday you got a new Corman produced film. Really this is pretty much a straight remake of the late 70s original. But it has a neat cast. You got William "Greatest American Hero" Katt,Alexandra"Christine" Paul,Soleil Moon Frye AKA Punky Brewster and in her debut role Mila Kunis. Yeah I was surprised when I saw her. Doing some research it seems this did get a DVD release that is out of print.

In 2010 Piranha was remade for a second time. This time in 3D. And what a fun film this is. You get right at 1 1/2 hours of hot women,gore and a dash of comedy. This time it is set during Spring break in a town on the edge of a huge lake. The cast is pretty fun. You got the almost always good Elizabeth Shue. Christopher Lloyd pretty much playing his Doc Brown role from Back to the Future.And Jerry O'Connell as a sleazy as fuck Girls Gone Wild director.

Then in 2012 we got what as of this post the last film in the franchise. Piranha 3dd,which from what I can find got a very limited theatrical release. And I can see why. This movie is kind of a mess. It uses any excuse to show boobs or blood. And besides David Hasselhoff playing himself the rest of the cast is crap. This and the Flash TV show are what proved to me that Danielle Panabaker lost all her acting talent once she grew up.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 25 Dance of the Dead

Masters of Horror Season 1 Episode Dance of the Dead
Source-Anchor Bay Blu Ray

When this first aired I missed it. I recorded it and didn't see it for at least a month. All the reviews I read were calling it horrible and "another dud from one hit wonder Tobe Hooper". Now I believe Mr Hooper has had way more than one good film. So when I did sit down to watch it I was ready for it to be horrible or be great.

Set in the near future. After some kind of biological war. Our lead is a teenage girl. She works at her mother's diner. And one day meets some older boys. Who invite her to come out partying with them that night. They want her to come with them to the city and goto a club. But of course her mother doesn't want her to go.

She ends up going. The club they goto is ran by Robert Englund. Who using electric shocks causes zombie like people to "dance" on the stage. We find out these "zombies" need blood to live. And the two boys that brought our lead to the club have been providing that blood to Robert. Then a dancer comes out who our lead girl knows. It is her older sister. The one her mother had told her had died.

Our lead ends up confronting Englund about this right around the time her mother shows up to drag her back home. We find out that the sister got hooked on hard drugs,they are everywhere in this near future. So the mother pretty much killed her then sold her undead body to Robert Englund. The film then skips ahead some time. We are back in the club. Our lead is a scumbag like the two boys that took her. And now her mother has become the new lead dancer at the club.

I have always enjoy post apocalyptic fiction. And this film is kind of a new spin on that.Pretty sure this is based on a short story. I need to track it down and see how much is cut or changed in the episode. I do understand why people might not have liked this episode. Coming after 2 or 3 really good episodes it is a a very different type of horror. And lots of the online horror fans seem to either parrot what certain horror podcasts say or for some reason legit believe the only good film Tobe Hooper has done was Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Dance of the Dead gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2015 Day 24 Population 436

Population 436
Source-Mill Creek Where Evil Lies DVD set

Made in 2006 sometime in 2008 I was flipping channels and saw the last 10 minutes of this film on one of the movie channels. I liked what I saw and pulled up the onscreen info. Saw that Fred Durst was one of the main stars.Thought to myself "Well Limp Biscuit was total crap. I kind of doubt Durst is a good actor. I will just skip this movie."

Then it was late last year. I saw the Mill Creek Where Evil Lies set in the $5 bin.I looked at the back to see what 6 movies made up the set. Saw Population 436 and another that sounded decent. So I grabbed the set. But like what happens lots of time when I buy these cheap multi-film sets I end up throwing it on my shelf and never watching it.

I had no idea what I was gonna watch for my movie today. Then I remembered Population 436. Threw it in and was surprised at how good the film is. Jeremy Sisto is the lead. A man that works for the government. And is sent to the town of Rockwell Falls. To learn why the population of the town has stayed at 436 for over 100 years.

He gets to the town and it is like Mayberry come to life. With Fred Durst as a meathead Andy Griffth. Actually honestly Durst does a damn good job as the town Deputy. I haven't heard of him doing any more acting. Which is kind of sad cause his acting is way better than his singing.

Over the course of the films 1 1/2 hour running time we start seeing more and more how the town is just a bit off. Then in the final 20 minutes we learn why the town is so peaceful and why the population has stayed the same for so long.

The film is a nice blending of a mystery and a horror film. And isn't super gory or violent. Hell I am not really sure why it got an R rating. If you know someone that loves a good mystery this is a film they would enjoy.

Population 436 gets a B-.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 090 Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1

TITLE-Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1
AUTHOR-Clive Barker
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-Free,was a gift.

I have owned at least 5 copies of this book. From the various US published paperback editions. To at one time a very nice UK published hardback that contained every volume of the Books of Blood. Well I lost them all over the years. So last year for X-mas I got this UK hardcover as a gift. I love how Barker did the dust jacket artwork.

After an introduction from Ramsey Campbell,we get the first story.

The Book of Blood,where a fake psychic gets attacked by spirits and has a bunch of stories carved into his skin. This is fairly short. And in the final Book of Blood we get a sequel to it. And these 2 stories were the inspiration for a halfway decent film adaptation a few years back.

The Midnight Meat Train,When I first read this story back in the mid 80s I was shocked. It feels like Barker wanted to write a splatterpunk style story. And he wrote a damn good one. Quite a few years ago this story was adapted into a damn good movie.

The Yattering and Jack,Set around X-mas. This is one of Barker's mixtures of horror and comedy. A lower level demon has been assigned to torment Jack. But keeps failing. Pretty sure this was made into an episode of Tales from the Darkside.

Pig Blood Blues,is a fun story set at a bordering school. Which reminds me a bit of Evilspeak.

Sex,Death and Starshine,goes back to Barker's theater roots. And has a nice EC style twist at the ending.

In the Hills,The Cities-My second favorite story in the books of blood. A couple is off in Eastern Europe. They get lost and stumble upon two warring villages. But instead of normal modern warface,the villagers strap themselves into 2 giants.That fight each other.

Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1 gets an 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-.