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Tuesday, October 16, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 16 Killer's Delight
Title-Killer's Delight
Source-Code Red DVD
Before finding this DVD I had never even heard of the movie. Made in 1978 this is one of the many proto-slashers that came out before Friday the 13th took the subgenre and exploded it into mainstream.
As I mentioned in my review of Blood Feast II,this was the other DVD I found while waiting in line. I saw the cover. Saw it was from Code Red and took a chance on it. It was cheap and I know that most Code Red stuff that goes out of print jumps up in price pretty quick. So figured I would get home check it's value sealed. Then if it wasn't worth a bunch open it up and give it a watch. Well turns out this is one of the early releases from Code Red and I guess there is enough supply to satisfy the demand for the DVD. Cause used copies are selling for about what I paid for it new. And sealed copies are at the most 10 bucks. Yep that means I am gonna open and watch it.
Set in San Francisco in the late 70s this movie was inspired by the unsolved Zodiac Killer murders and the then unsolved Ted Bundy murders. Seems like this movie didn't do much in theaters. Then was forgot about until it got retitled The Dark Ride during it's VHS release. Then got retitled again as The Sports Killer when it got released in syndication for TV airings.
Now Killer's Delight is less like the serial killer movies we have gotten in the last 30 years and is more like a 70s cop drama. The focus is on the two cops trying to solve the murders. And the killer is kept a bit mysterious for a good chunk of the film.
The cast is almost all people I don't know. Outside of 2. First up is Martin Speer.
Now while most horror fans won't know his name,they will remember him as Dee Wallace's husband in the original Hills have Eyes. And in this movie he is good. The other known actor/actress is Susan Sullivan.
I know she has been around for decades. I best know her as Kitty on Dharma and Greg.
The DVD has a decent amount of extras. We get some trailers. But the best extra is the commentary. With the director and a moderator. It is pretty informative and entertaining.
I wish Code Red had used a different cover. There is plenty of nice movie posters for this movie. Ones that don't make the movie look like a super sleazy piece of 70s exploitation. Which this film really isn't. Hell there isn't much in this movie that would have to be cut for it to air on TV today. And really it feels a lot like a 70s TV show version of an episode of Law and Order SVU than a late 70s slashers.
While I am glad I found and got to see this movie,mostly cause I love finding slashers or proto-slashers I have never seen,it isn't one I see myself watching often. Since I bought it I have watched it 4 times. 3 of the 4 times I watched it with the commentary.
Killer's Delight gets a C.
Monday, October 15, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 15 Zany Zombies Double Feature DVD
Source-Pop Flix DVD
Over a decade ago Dollar Tree got flooded with piles of public domain double feature horror DVDs. All of them from Pop Flix. And all of them had great cover images. The same image that is on the topside of the DVD.Each of these DVDs had a theme. With this one of course being zombie themed.
We get 2 films. Both of which are in the public domain and both of which are from the late 30s/early 40s. Now before watching this DVD I had heard of King of the Zombies. But had never seen it. Also I had never even heard of Revolt of the Zombies.
The only neat thing about the movie is Bela Lugosi's eyes from White Zombie are used for every zombifying effect in this movie. From what I can find online this started off as an official sequel to White Zombie. Then lawsuits stopped that. So a tiny bit of the script was changed and we got this turd of a film.
They get rescued and are told there is no radio on the island. But ships pass by often so they should be recused fairly soon. But Mantan knows something is up. And thanks to a helpful maid Mantan finds out the island is full of zombies.
Seems Dr Sangre is a secret agent and trying to get some vital info out of US military officer,who's plane crashed on the island before our trio's did. And he has a plan to use his army of zombies to take over the world.
The movie is 67 minutes and flies by. The cast is decent,with Mantan Moreland being the standout. The FX work is decent. And the film is a nice mixture of horror,comedy and spy drama.
Speaking of Mantan,he steals the movie. Before this I knew his name. But all I knew was he was an actor back in the 30s and 40s and he was stuck playing parts below his skills cause of how at the time non-white actors were treated in Hollywood. He is great in this. Being able to convey all kinds of emotions with out talking. Just with a facial expressions he shows his fear. In a way Mantan reminds me a bit of Buster Keaton. Another comedic actor that was able to make me laugh without saying a word.
King of the Zombies is worth seeing. With it being Public Domain there is piles of VHS/DVD releases. Plus you can find it on Youtube or even the Internet Archive. Hell it is worth tracking down this DVD release cause of King of the Zombies plus the great art on the cover and the DVD.
Revolt of the Zombies was just flat out bad and boring. And not just cause of it being a film made 4 decades before I was born. But then King of the Zombies is a damn fun film. It flies by. Makes ya laugh and is one you could show to kids. King of the Zombies is so good it almost makes up for how bad Revolt of the Zombies is.
Zany Zombies gets a C.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 14 Blood Feast II
Source-Shriek Show DVD
Yep the final film the late HG Lewis made.Sadly in 2016 HG Lewis died.
I have been slowly over the past 20 years been trying to see all of HG Lewis's films. Even the pre-gore stuff. Somehow for years Blood Feast II eluded me. Every time I would think to order it it was out of stock. I never saw it in any store. And back in 2002 when this hit DVD I was in Best Buy and Circuit City at least once a week.
Then back right about the time it was going from spring to summer I found a copy. In an odd place. There is a bodega near a good friend's apartment. The kind of store that if they know you will sell you beer on Sundays,a major no no in MS. Well I had stopped there to grab a drink for my drive home. The line was long. While waiting in the line I started digging thru their cardboard bin of DVDs. I am guessing the DVDs come from a place that deals in overstock media. Cause you never know what you will find. And sometimes there is even Wii games mixed into the DVDs. So while waiting in this long line I found for cheap Blood Feast II and another DVD that is OOP.
Blood Feast II was made 40 years after the original Blood Feast. And it was HG Lewis's first movie since 1972's The Gore Gore Girls. Even though Lewis had done interviews and appeared at conventions I just assumed he was done making movies. Then in 2000 I started hearing rumors online that Lewis was gonna make another movie. And word was it was a sequel to one of the infamous Gore Trilogy.
I was hoping for a sequel to 2000 Maniacs,which we kinda got years later in the 2001 Maniacs remake/sequel. But instead we got a sequel to Blood Feast. Lewis's first and most famous film. And this isn't even the first time a sequel to that film was attempted. Back in the 80s the movie Blood Diner,a great cult classic horror/comedy,started off as a sequel to Blood Feast. And when you watch it you can tell it is suppose to be a sequel to Blood Feast.
The grandson of Fuad Ramses ,Fuad Ramses the third, returns to Miami.And reopens his grandfather's catering business.He is quickly hired to cater a sheriff's wedding. A Sheriff that knows what Fuad's grandfather did years ago. And is suspicious.
While cleaning up the store to reopen it,Fuad finds the statue of Ishtar that his grandfather had. Ishtar's spirit possesses Fuad. And sets him on the task to complete the blood feast ritual that his grandfather couldn't.
The acting isn't that great.But then the acting in the original Blood Feast wasn't good. The gore is actually pretty well done. And damn gory. About 8 minutes was cut from the film to get an R rated cut. Thankfully the DVD I found is the uncut version. What is odd is that even though it is modern day,lots of the people in the film dress like the cast in the original film from 40 years ago.
I was surprised that there is almost no extras on this DVD. I figured Lewis would do a commentary,since he has done them on most of his films that Something Weird Video has released. It would have been neat to hear his thoughts on making a film after so many years in retirement.
The film is enjoyable. But only if you like low budget gore films. The acting is a set above porn levels. The gore is better than I expected.
Blood Feast II gets a C.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 13 Ghosts,Goblins and Ghouls
Source-Classics Media DVD
I am always looking for collections of older tv shows,movies and cartoons. Most months I have a circuit of thrift stores,Dollar stores and junk stores I hit looking for this type of media. Back in the spring I had stopped at the local Dollar General to grab a drink and some milk. Saw they had restocked the DVD section and started digging.
I saw the cover,which is pictured above,and saw the 5 buck price and took a chance. I didn't look that close and didn't notice that besides Felix the Cat,Casper the Friendly Ghost and The Groovie Goolies this also has Ghostbusters and Mr Magoo.
Gonna break this down into segments based on the order on the DVD.
Casper,this seems to be a collection of the theatrically released and made for TV Casper shorts. We get two 22 minute long episodes. I have never cared for the old Harveytoon theatrically released Casper stuff,just a bit too bland for me. Before this I had never seen much of the made for TV Casper shorts. And honestly had only enjoyed the Casper cartoon that was based on the live action movie. The made for cartoon episodes in this collection aren't bad. Not only do we get Casper. But we also get Wendy the good lil witch and the Ghostly Trio. Sadly nothing scary or really spooky in the almost hours worth of Casper stuff on the disc.
Felix the Cat and friends is up next. While some of the old made for theaters Felix cartoons are pretty good,these are crap. I think this is that 80s era Felix cartoon But I am really not sure. Felix is one of those characters that has never worked for me. Outside of the NES game there hasn't been much Felix stuff I have enjoyed. And the two barely over 20 minute episodes on this disc don't do much to change my opinion on Felix.
Up third of Ghostbusters...the Filmation Ghostbusters. Yep this ain't the Real Ghostbusters. See back in the 70s there was a short lived live action show titled Ghostbusters. With Larry Storch in the lead. When the Ghostbusters film was made the studio worked out a deal to use the name. Then after it was a hit,Filmation started work on a Ghostbusters cartoon. So the cartoon based on the film added the word Real to it's title. Now the Filmation Ghostbusters was syndicated. I never saw it back then. Had seen the toys a few times. And a few clips from the show online. But this was the first time I saw a full episode. This Ghostbusters has 3 members. Two adult males and a giant gorilla.For being from 80s era Filmation the animation is pretty decent. We get 2 full episodes on this set. And it seems the story continues from each episode to the next. The first episode we get starts in the middle of a story,but it wasn't hard to get caught up. I enjoyed this enough that I am now looking for the rest of Filmations Ghostbusters.
4th up is the Groovie Goolies. This is another I had seen clips from and knew the theme song. But have never seen a full episode.We get 2 full episodes and well.... it is cheesy as fuck. Drac,Freaky Franky and Weirdo Wolfy live in a castle and are a band. The show is just a bunch of lame jokes. And even lamer songs. The animation is decent for 70s era Filmation.
And I do wonder if Archie maybe owns partial rights to the Groovie Goolies,since they started off on the Filmation Sabrina the teenage witch cartoon.
And finally we get 2 Mr Magoo shorts. No clue if these were made for theaters or TV..They follow the standard Magoo plot. He can't see for shit and gets into wacky situations cause of this. The two shorts are decent.
Ghosts,Goblins and Ghouls is a real mixed bag. The Casper stuff is very hit or miss. I did enjoy seeing Wendy the good lil Witch in a few. The Felix cartoons were bad. Ghostbusters was pretty good. Groovie Goolies,well it was nicely animated but that is all. And the Magoo shorts were ok. For me it is just barely worth the 5 bucks it cost me.
Ghosts,Goblins and Ghouls gets a C-.
Friday, October 12, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 12 Bad Taste
Source-Count Gore Devol's airing on Vimeo
Ahhhh Bad Taste,the first film and first movie I saw from a guy who is one of my favorite director,Mr Peter Jackson. I had heard about the movie thanks to Fangoria and a few horror zines I read. I was on my way home from school on a Friday. Had just spent most of Chemisty II class reading an article in Fangoria about Peter Jackson's newest film Dead/Alive AKA Braindead. A buddy had told me that this one video store had just gotten in a bunch of horror films. So I stopped by to see if there was anything worth renting. This store ,that I later found out got shut down cause it was renting bootlegs,never had more than one copy of any film. But they had a huge horror,sci fi and porn selection. Seriously I could find pretty much any horror film that was on VHS at this store. I went in and headed straight for the horror section. Saw the above image and grabbed it cause I knew it was a film I had been reading about for years now.
I got home. Put the tape into my VCR and right at 90s minutes I sat there with my jaw on the floor. I had seen gore movies before this. But none of them had as much comedy. Or were made on such a low budget. Then right at the very end the tape stopped and started rewinding. This is when I started to suspect the video store was renting out bootlegs. Almost none of the tapes you rented from them had the FBI warning or a bunch of trailers before the film started. A friend swears he rented some Euro softcore film from the same store and saw the Cinemax After Dark logo pop up a few times. So I was a bit mad that I didn't see the entire film. But really going back now I see that all I missed was the credits.
The plot is fairly simple. Aliens have come to Earth.They want humans to serve as the food in their intergalactic fast food places. And Peter Jackson and some friends are the Earth's only defense.
Mr Jackson shot this film over a long period of time. With himself and various friends playing all the roles. And sometimes not being able to shoot footage cause they were out of money. It was mostly made on the weekends.
What sucks is AFAIK it hasn't gotten a Blu Ray release in the USA. The legit DVD release doesn't look that great and is OOP. I figured once Jackson hit it big with the Lord of the Rings films,fuck I hate those movies,that all his previous stuff would get re-released on DVD. But that doesn't seemed to have happened.
Notice how I said legit DVD release. Somehow a few companies seem to think Bad Taste,which was released in 1987,is in the public domain. So it has shown up on a handful of those multiple horror movie sets. You know like 50 Chilling Classics on 10 DVDs for only 20 bucks. The versions of Bad Taste found on those sets looks worst than the bootleg VHS I rented back in 90 or 91.
What is even odder is early this year Count Gore DeVol aired Bad Taste on his Vimeo show. Count Gore is a horror host that used to be on TV in the DC area. And in the early 2000s switched over to being online. Every week or so you get a new film from him. And it is free to watch. I am guessing whoever picks the movies for his show saw Bad Taste on those PD horror sets and just assumed the film is PD. The print Count Gore used looks decent. It looks as good if not better than the officially released DVD. And hell it is free. Added bonus if you have the Vimeo app you can download videos off Vimeo to watch offline. Whenever I am making a road trip I always load up a few Count Gore episodes on my Tablet to watch while in the van going to what ever tiny town we are heading to.
I love this movie. But then I love all of Jackson's pre-LOTR stuff. Sadly it looks like the days of him making amazing horror/comedies is over. I thought after the huge success of LOTR Jackson would use that to get a big budget and make the best horror/comedy ever. But nope we got a decent but un-needed remake of King Kong. Then the horrible Hobbit trilogy.
Since the DVD is OOP and selling for too much if you want to see this goto Vimeo and watch Count Gore's airing of it.
Bad Taste gets a B+.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 11 The Blob(Original 1958)
Source-MeTV Svengoolie airing
Months back,I think it was in May I saw that Svengoolie was gonna air the original Blob. So I made sure to save that airing on the DVR. I DVR Sven every week. But usually end up just watching his host segments,mostly when it is films I don't care for. Or end up building up 10 or more episodes on the DVR and put them on when I clean the house from top to bottom.
As normal with when Sven airs a film he fills his segments with trivia about the movie.I knew that the lead male was Steve McQueen. But had no clue that the lead female was later Andy's love interest on the Andy Griffith show.
Now I have heard various people talk about how cheesy the original Blob is. And yea it is. But for it's time and being a indy film with a tiny budget it is way better than it should have been. The FX work is decent. But it wasn't until the remake from the late 80s/early 90s that we got to see a fully realized version of what the Blob could do.
Steve McQueen and his gal pal are up on a hilltop watching for shooting stars. They see one,and it turns out to be a meteorite. An old man pokes it with a stick and this glob what appears to be strawberry jelly comes out. And ends up eating the man.
The rest of the film is a 30 year old or older,suppose to be in his late teens,Steve McQueen trying to convince the cops and other adults that something is up. I do wonder why Steve got cast to play a much younger person. He looks like he is in his 30s. But then McQueen always looked about 30,even in his final years.The cops think this is all a prank the local teens are playing. So they do nothing until almost the end of the film.
There is 2 real setpieces in the film. The first is when the Blob attacks a packed theater. It is a bit after midnight and the theater is having a Spook Show!!!. So it is packed with teens and young adults. The Blob comes in thru the vents and attacks. This same theater still exists and will show the Blob once a year as a charity event.
The other big set piece is near the end,people are trapped in a building that the Blob has engulfed. And this is were we learn that the Blob hates the cold.
Honestly if you are under 30 and have already seen the remake skip this movie. It is one of those movies that is very of it's time. And I get the feeling that if McQueen wasn't in the movie it would be another forgotten 50s horror.
For being a lower budget indy film I was shocked at how good the colors looked. The red of the Blob stands out. The FX work is pretty good.With most of the mat lines and forced perspective shots not being super obvious. The acting isn't bad. McQueen of course is the best. But the one really goofy copy is pretty damn good too.
By it''s self the Blob is a average horror film. But add in the skits,songs and trivia that Svengoolie adds and it becomes much better.
The Blob gets a B.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 10 Horrors of Spider Island
Title-Horrors of Spider Island
Source-12 Creature Features Mill Creek DVD set
I had seen the creature from this early 60s West German made horror film many times on various Something Weird Video releases. And if this title interest you a lot get their release on DVD. It is loaded as most of their releases are.I on the other hand own the 12 movie Mill Creek Creature feature version. So it is just the same old print every one has used for years.
A semi sleazy night club own wants to fly a bunch of dancers from NYC to his club in Singapore. But during the flight the plane catches on fire,breaks in half ,then crashes but somehow the owner and the women don't die. We see them on a raft and they finally make it to an island.
Exploring the island they find a cabin. Inside is food and a spider web with a dead man hanging from it. Seems a prof has been working with uranium here. After figuring out how long the food will last them,one month I think is what they figure,the owner ends up out in the jungle alone. Gets bit by a giant spider and becomes this human-spider mutant.
Well this was short,80 something minutes,and the creature looked decent for the era. I swear I have seen some of the women in other "films" Something Weird Video has put out on DVD/VHS.
Horrors of Spider Island gets a D+.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 09 Mr Sardonicus
Source-MeTV Svengoolie airing
Last year I reviewed at least one film that Svengoolie was showing. But back then I didn't get MeTV. For some reason even though I get most of the Jackson channels on DISH,they didn't give us MeTV. Then back in March they added MeTV to our lineup. So each week I would go see what Svengoolie was airing and sometimes DVR it.
Since there is only one TV in the house with a DVR I am lucky if I get maybe 4 hours a week to watch what I have DVRed. I have built up a bunch of episodes of Svengoolie to watch. Was trying to decide which one to watch and realized while I have seen pieces of the film and read a decent amount about it I do not think I have ever seen all of Mr Sardonicus.
Released in 1961 Mr Sardonicus was directed by William Castle. Who was known for how most of his films had gimmicks. Like the skeletons that would fly around the theater on wires during House on Haunted Hill. Or 13 Ghosts ghost viewers. With Mr Sardonicus they had the punishment poll. As you entered the theater you were given a card. With a glow in the dark thumb on it. Near the end of the film Castle would appear and ask if the audience thought Mr Sardonicus should be punished. And you gave a thumbs up or thumbs down. Castle would pretend to count the votes then would show the ending the audience had voted for. Now Castle swore that he had filmed two endings. But so far the only one that has been proven to exist is the one were Sardonicus gets punished.
The plot is simple a doctor gets summoned to a remote castle. In a made up Eastern Euro country. And over the course of the 1 1/2 hours of the film odder and odder things happen. The owner of the castle,Mr Sardonicus,wears a full face mask at all times. There is two reasons for this. One is so when his face is revealed near the end it would shock the audience. The other is cause the actor playing Sardonicus,Guy Rolfe who is best known for being the Puppet Master in Puppet Master III,could only wear the makeup for an hour without it causing him pain.
So what does Mr Sardonicus look like........ Well let me warn you he is pretty hideous.
Mr Sardonicus gets a B.
Monday, October 8, 2018
31 Days of Horror Day 08 Anthropophagus
Source-Midnight Video VHS
Also known as The Grim Reaper,Anthropophagous is an infamous film from Italian director Joe D'Amato. It is a movie that has suffered from being censored many times in various countries. In the States the first release ,known under the title Grim Reaper,was heavily cut. I had heard for years about all the stuff that was cut.
Then in the mid 90s at a con I found someone selling copies of Midnight Video's full uncut version of the movie. Midnight Video used many sources to make what was the first fully uncut version in English. The main source was a Japanese VHS release.So lots of the film on this VHS has Japanese subtitles on the bottom of the screen. But even that Japanese VHS was missing two scenes. The first is a pre-credits of a couple being attacked on a beach,which sadly is in French with no subtitles. The other scene is from near the end of the film. It is the famous ending shot of the killer eating his own disemboweled intestines,which supposedly was only ever released on a hard to find VHS that came out in Venezuela. The only other scene in this version that wasn't in the Grim Reaper release is when the killer kills a pregnant woman then eats her fetus.
A group of young adults are on a cruise in their yacht during the summer. They agree to take a young American woman to a Greek island. They get to the island and there is no one there. And the telegraph line has been cut. Our young adults leave the pregnant member of their group on the boat and go explore the island.
On the island they find a young blind girl. Who keeps telling them about an evil presence on the island. One by one the leads are attacked and killed by the title killer. Played by George Eastman aka Luigi Montefiori. Who is the son of a wealthy family. He got shipwrecked on the island.Becoming a cannibal after eating his wife and son.
It seems Midnight Video spent right at 3 years assembling their cut of this movie. Most of this version is made up of footage from the previously mentioned Japanese VHS. For some reason that VHS had audio in French. So the people at Midnight Video took the video from the Japanese VHS and married it with a English soundtrack. I admire all the work they did back then. In the days before we had easy to get audio and video editing software doing stuff like that was very hard to do and very very time consuming. Of course since this VHS came out there has been a few DVD releases. All of which now make this VHS look like crap. But back in the mid 90s this was the best you could do.
Honestly Anthropophagus is worth seeing if you are interested in late 70s/early 80s Italian gore movies. And thanks to Youtube you don't have to spend a bunch of money on the movie. I paid IIRC 30 bucks for the VHS. And I bet the DVD was about that price when it came out.
Here is the trailer. It isn't safe for work. But it does give you a good idea of what the film is about.
Anthropophagus gets a C+.
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