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
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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.

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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.