31 days of horror Year 3 day 14

Basket Case

1981
Something Weird Video DVD


I have been a fan of Frank Henenlotter since I saw Basket Case 2 and Frankenhooker late one night in the early 90s. Since then I have searched out all the movies he has made. This is his first film. I saw it quite a few years ago but never got the DVD. But when I heard that most of the Something Weird Video DVDs were going out of print I tracked a copy down. Got it for $10 I think. And it is worth 3 times that price.


A young man goes into a sleazy NYC hotel. He gets a room. And we noticed that he is carrying a big wicker basket with him. It seems his twin brother lives in the basket. When they were born the basket living twin,Belial,was attached at the torso to his twin brother. Well their father gets some doctors to operate and remove Belial. And they throw Belial out in the trash. But the normal looking brother,Duanne, hears Belial's psychic cries for help. He goes and gets him. And when Duanne gets older he wants revenge of the doctors that separated him from his brother.


We get to see Duanne tracking down all the doctors. And then Belial killing them. And there is some great FX. Belial looks like a flesh colored lump of playdough. All of the kills are nice and bloody. And I am really surprised at what they manage to do on what is a very small budget.


The DVD,like most from SMV,is loaded with extras. We get a commentary with Frank,the producer and one of the actresses. A couple of trailers and TV spots. Outtakes and behind the scenes footage from Frank's personal collection. "In search of the Hotel Broslin" video short. Which has Frank and RA the rugged man walking around NYC taking us the all the various filming locations. This would be a lot better if RA wasn't there. He is very annoying. A nice gallery of Basket Case poster art and behind the scenes pictures. Two radio spots advertising the film. And two radio interviews with the actress Terri Susan Smith. So as you can see this DVD is loaded with extras. I know that recently Blu Ray release has come out ,I haven't gotten it yet. But I hope it ports over all the extras. Basket Case gets a B+.

31 days of horror year 3 TV Shows 01

American Horror Story
FX
Wednesday 9pm Central

For the past 4 months I have been seeing a series of strange previews for American Horror Story. The previews had a very David Lynch quality to them. Well I love David Lynch and horror so I knew I had to try out this show. Well last week on Wednesday it premiered. But since I hate watching commercials I recorded it to a DVD-r. And didn't watch it till late Sunday night.

We start off a few years ago ,with two red headed twin boys heading into an abandoned house. They are warned not to go into it by a young girl that has Downs syndrome. They enter the house and start breaking shit with baseball bats. But some unseen force attacks them and kills them.

We jump ahead some unknown amount of years. And Dylan Mcdermot and Connie Britton are in a car with their daughter. They are moving to a new town. They show up at the house they are wanting to buy and it is the one that the twins died in. The Realtor tells them that the last owners died in the house. But the wife loves the house so much they buy it. It is this huge Gothic looking house. The next day while the mom is removing some wallpaper she gets to meet the downs syndrome girl and her mom. The mom is played by Jessica Lange. And we see Ms Lange stealing something outta a box. We find out that Connie Britton had a miscarriage and right after it caught her husband cheating on her.So this move is kind of a way to start over.

We cut to the daughter in school and she is having problems with some of the other girls. They seem to want to pick on her and try to start a fight with her. Also it turns out that the dad is  a shrink .He is using one of the rooms in the house as his office. We see him having a session with a teenage boy. The boy expresses an interest in the daughter. And later on the two of them plan some revenge on the girl that is being mean to the daughter.

We also get to meet the woman that has been the housekeeper of the house for years. But for some reason when the husband is looking at her he sees this young smoking hot red head. Instead of the old wrinkly lady that she is. Well strange stuff keeps on happening. Like the husband and wife find a old gimp outfit in the attic. And one night after they have had an argument,someone shows up in the bedroom wearing the gimp outfit and he has sex with Connie. But we see that the husband is in the kitchen and is in some kind of trance. The episode ends with Connie telling Dylan that she is pregnant. Which he finds to be strange cause they haven't had sex in over a year.

From just this first episode I am majorly impressed by the show so far. The acting is good. The girl with downs syndrome really impressed me. Connie Britton is an actress that I have enjoyed almost anything she has done. Plus she is a great looking lady for being as old as she is. Dylan McDermont I haven't seen in much but he does a good job in this episode. This will be a show I make it a point to not miss each week. The camera work and general strangeness of the show is a nice effect. American Horror Story episode 1 gets a A-.

31 days of horror Year 3 day 13

Satanic Yuppies
1996
Tempe Video


Now this is kinda of a cheat. Thanks to stuff I couldn't have predicted I didn't get a chance to watch a horror film today. So this is a review of one I saw a few weeks back. Back in the late 90s I was getting almost every magazine that dealt with cult movies. In the pages of Alternative Cinema I found out about a movie that was coming out soon to VHS,it was called Evil Ambitions. But it had been originally titled Satanic Yuppies. It seems someone had told the company that made the film,that movies with Satan in the title were hard to sell to Mom and Pop video stores in the south. Which is strange,I have lived 90% of my life in the deep south,and back when you could still find a Mom and Pop video store they always had the stuff that Blockbuster didn't. And I saw plenty of VHS with Satan or some variant in the title. Well back in 2006 Tempe video got the makers to re-edit the film and they changed the title back to Satanic Yuppies.


We start off with a cult doing a ritual. And for some reason there is random cut aways to a busty naked blonde playing with a snake. Well the next day the body is found in a park by the Ohio river. And reporter for one of the Cincinnati papers is there. You can tell this reporter is based off Kolchek. He even copies some of Daren McGavin's mannerisms.


Well the movie keeps showing up this cult sacrificing women. And the reporter trying to solve the mystery. Turns out some politician is the head of the cult. And big surprise he is a Republican.


Well the reporter gets kidnapped by the female leader of the cult. Who is played by Amber Newman. And at the very end Satan is summoned. And the makeup effects on him are pretty good. Well the woman they have for him turns out to not be a virgin. No big surprise she is a pretty blonde with big gazongas. So he kills the Republican douche bag,and sends 3 of the other cult members to hell. The only funny part of the film. Is this one cult member,who looks like a shorter fatter Undertaker,while being sent to Hell is headbanging his ass off.


The DVD has 2 extras. A commentary with the directors,writer,producer,and a bunch of the cast. And it is OK. Plus a 10 minute "Action new 93" piece that is looking back at the Satanic Yuppies murders. This is very lame and isn't worth watching. Really the entire film,besides the one cult member headbanging his ass off while being sent to hell,isn't worth watching. I wish I hadn't bought this DVD. Satanic Yuppies gets a F+. The + is for the headbanging cult member.

31 days of horror year 3 day 12

Drive Thru
2006
Lionsgate 4 pack



I had heard about Drive Thru about 4 years ago. So when I found a 4 pack with it,Creep,Boys eats girl and Tamara for $5 I grabbed it. All I had really heard about the film was it was pretty bloody. And it was one of the few modern slashers that is worth seeing. Now I have always loved the slasher genre. This might have to do with me being born in the mid 70s. So when I first started going to see horror films in theaters or renting them,most of what was coming out was slasher. Plus being a huge fan of Texas Chainsaw Massacre,which I still saw is the first and best slasher ever,didn't hurt.


We start off with a car full of wiggers who are ordering some late night food at the local Hella-Burger. After waiting for awhile to get their food one of them enters the store and sees the mascot,Horny the Clown. Horny proceeds to kill all four of them.


Then we cut to Mackenzie,who is in high school and throwing a huge party cause her parents are outta town. We get to meet her circle of friends. And find out that there is some secret her mom has been keeping from her.


Well one by one most of her friends are killed. And finally Mackenzie gets her mom to reveal the secret. This gives her a clue to who has been dressing up as Horny and killing not only her friends,but the kids of people her mom was friends with in high school.


Drive thru never takes it self to seriously ,which is perfect for the film. Horny is a great visual,very creepy looking. And most of the acting is decent. There is a pair of stoner kids that way overact. But then I have noticed in most films people playing stoners overact. The mystery to Horny's identity isn't hard to figure out. But the various kills make up for the few mistakes in the film. Drive Thru gets a C+.

31 days of horror year 3 Comics 01

Walking Dead Compendium volume 1

For years I kept hearing about this great horror/zombie comic. But for some unknown reason I never bothered picking it up. Fast forward to last year,and The Walking Dead season 1 had just finished airing. And I loved the TV show. So I went searching for trades. I found this trade which reprints the first 48 issues of the comic. And it was only $35 with shipping.

Now first off I will be spoiling stuff. Not only in the comic but maybe in the TV show. The comic and TV show are very much alike for the first 5 issues of the comics. But in issue six we get the first of many jaw dropping scenes. Rick is out in the woods hunting with his former partner Shane. And Shane has been banging Rick's wife. Well Rick's son has followed them and sees Shane pointing a gun at his dad. So Carl shots and kills Shane.

Well over the next 7 volumes the group of survivors travel around trying to find a safe place to live. First off they find a gated community. And spend the night there,but discover in the morning that this area is infested with zombies. And they barely manage to escape. Next off they find a farm and end up staying there for a short while,but things go to shit and they end up having to leave. Then they are on the road again,almost out of gas and food. When Andrea is out in the woods hunting and discovers the perfect place for them to stay.

She finds a high security prison. They get in,find that some of the former prisoners are now living there. And they manage to kill off all the zombies inside the prison. Well the prison is well stocked with food and weapons. So the group decides to stay there. Well it turns out that one of the prisoners isn't who he says. We get some deaths. Then they see a helicopter crash not too far away from the prison. So Rick and a small group go out to investigate. They end up getting captured by a group from a nearby town. And we get to meet the big villain of this chapter of the comic. The Governor,who is a psychotic madman.

Well Rick and the group finally escape and get back to the prison. And they prepare for when the Governor will be attacking them. We find out that Rick's wife is pregnant. She has no idea if the kid is Rick's or Shane's. She has the kid,and everything seems to be going great for our band of survivors.But then the Governor attacks the prison with a tank. And while the group of survivors is escaping Rick's wife and his new child are gunned down in front of him. So the trade ends with Rick and Carl running off in total shock.

There is so much I love about this comic. The artwork is amazing. It being in Black and white adds so much to the story. The artwork is very moody and fits the story. The interaction between the group of survivors is well done. And most of them talk and act like real people. If you have seen the TV show and enjoyed it,this is a great way to get into the comic for a cheap price. The Waling Dead Compendium Volume 1 gets a A.

31 days of horror Year 3 day 11

The House on the Edge of the Park


1980

Brentwood "Tales of Terror" 10 movie pack



Back around 2000 for X-mas my favorite aunt got me 3 of these Brentwood 10 horror movie packs. Sure most of the times the movies are old VHS rips. But it was a good cheap way to check out some films.I first heard about House on the edge of the park back when Video Watchdog was reviewing the classic film "Funny Games". I knew that David Hess starred in it and Ruggero Deodato directed it but that was all I knew about it. I was really surprised when I threw the DVD and the film was a great looking wide screen print. I have since learned it was ripped from a Laserdisc release.



We start off in some big American city. David Hess breaks into a car and proceeds to rape the woman in the car. Funny piece of trivia this lady is/was David's wife. Well we cut ahead some amount of time. And Anne Belle and this guy are having car trouble. So they go to the closest garage. It is quitting time,but they talk David and his mentally retarded buddy ,Johnathan Morgan,into fixing the car. So to thank David and Jonathan they invite them to a party they are going too.



They arrived at the party,which is held in a house on the edge of a park. And meet all the various people. Hess starts flirting with Belle and follows her upstairs. While the guys talk Jonathan into playing poker with them. Well David manages to sleaze his way in Belles panties. And once he is finished banging her he comes back downstairs to check up on his buddy. Well he realizes that the guys have been cheating at poker and they are making fun of Jonathan. This pisses Hess off and he whips out his trusty straight razor. He proceeds to terrorize and brutalize all the people at the party.



From the research I have done this film is known for how brutal it is. And it is a brutal film. We get one scene of Hess stripping the neighbor girl,who is suppose to be about 15,naked. Then he starts cutting her nude body with his straight razor. The various party guest seem at various times to get the upper hand but Hess always stops them. Finally we get the ending. Which has a very strange twist that I don't want to spoil.



Now if you enjoyed Hess's performance in Last House on the Left or Hitchhike this is the next film of his you should see. If Hess hadn't been killed at the end of Last house this would make a perfect sequel. House on the edge of the park gets a B.

31 DAYS OF HORROR YEAR 3 EXTRA 1

Friday the 13th film series reviews


OK as an extra feature this month I will be taking one of the big four slasher franchises and once a week doing quick reviews of each film in that franchise.

Friday the 13th started back in 1980. Created by Sean Cunningham and Victor Miller. The series ended up producing 8 films with the Friday the 13th title. All of which were done by Paramount. They then sold the series to New Line who 3 entries. But none of the New Line entries were called Friday the 13th. Then in 2009 a remake of the first 3 films was made.

Friday the 13th-The original in the series and it is structured more like a murder mystery than a slasher. Surprisingly there isn't that much gore in this one. And the jump scene near the end is one of the best scares in the entire series. B+.

Friday the 13th part 2-Made the next year after the original was such a huge success for Paramount. We get an adult Jason that runs around with a 'tater sack on his head. Jason's look seems to be inspired by "The Town that dreaded sundown". And a few of the kills are inspired by the Mario Bava masterpiece "Twitch of the death nerve". The gore factor is up compared to the first film. And besides a kind of wonky ending this film is better than the original. A.

Friday the 13th part 3 in 3D-Another year another Friday sequel. Thanks to the 3d fad this film is one of the more unusually ones in the series. But really the film only works if you get to see it in 3D. The 2D version is pretty bad. The picture looks very fuzzy and the over abundance of stuff being thrust at the camera gets boring very quickly. Well this time Jason is back at Crystal Lake killing off teens that have sex and/or do drugs. We do get the introduction to Jason's now iconic hockey mask. And some good gore in the 3D version. The one kill where Jason squishes the head so hard the eyeball flies out at the audience is great in 3D but not so good in 2D. If you get a chance to see the 3D film print don't pass it up. The 3D DVD and blu ray are decent but don't compare to seeing the actual 3D film print. The 2D version gets a D+. The 3D version gets a B.

Friday the 13th:the Final Chapter-Made in 1984 this was suppose to be the last of the series. They managed to get Tom Savani back to do the FX work. Plus the cast is better than the previous sequels. You get a very young Corey Feldman,and a great Crispen Glover appearance. There is more gore in this one than the last two. And the acting is a whole bunch better. This is actually my favorite film in the series. A+.

Friday the 13th part V:A New beginning-Well since part 4 made a nice profit Paramount went ahead and did another sequel.I am pretty sure this one has the highest body count of all the Paramount entries and the most nudity. The behind the scenes stories on this film are legendary. And seem to all involve massive amounts of cocaine. Lots of fans hate this entry cause Jason isn't in the film. But if they could open up their narrow minds they would realize this entry is one of the better ones. B.

Friday the 13th part VI:Jason Lives-This is the first one of the series I got to see. Somehow my cousin convinced his super religious mom to take the two of us to the theater to see it. This is one of the better written entries in the series. With some well developed characters and some great kills. Plus this is also the start of what I call "Zombie Jason".B+.

Friday the 13th part VII:The New Blood-This one was made 2 years after the last entry. Originally Paramount wanted this to be a Jason vs Freddy film. But arguments over distribution kept that from happening. So instead we get Jason vs a Carrie ripoff.Part VII is mainly known for 2 things. It is the first time Kane Hodder plays Jason. And it was the entry that had the most cuts,I have heard it was submitted to the MPAA 8 times before they managed to get a R rating. I have never really cared much for this one. Mainly cause the lady playing the Carrie rip off isn't a good actress,even by slasher movie standards. C-.

Friday the 13th part VIII:Jason takes Manhattan-This is the final one made by Paramount. A group of high school graduates are heading on a cruise to NYC and Jason tags along. Most of the film is set on the ship going to NYC. And once they do get to NYC most of those scenes were actually filmed in Vancouver. Behind part V this is the other entry that most fans seem to hate. I enjoy it for how cheesy and bad it is. We do get one of the best kills in the entire series. Jason is on a rooftop fighting a boxer. The boxer punches Jason about 10 times to no effect. Then Jason hits the boxer one time and knocks his head off. This is the second time Kane Hodder plays Jason. And also is the first movie Kelly Hu was in.B-.

Jason goes to Hell:the final Friday-After part VIII bombed Paramount sold the series to New Line Cinema. This entry was released on August 13th 1993. This is another part of the series that most of the fans hate. Since lots of Jason's back story has never been explained ,the writers tried to do it in this series. We find out how Jason keeps coming back no matter what is done to him. This entry was cut to shreds for the theatrical release. But it was quickly released on VHS and Laser Disc in a uncut version. The uncut version is filled with gore and pretty fun to watch. B+.

Jason X-Set many many years in the future this entry has been nicknamed Jason goes to space. It was made as a way to keep the Jason character in the peoples minds while the much talked about Jason Vs Freddy movie was being made. For some reason after the film was finished it was shelves for awhile. During this time bootlegs of it hit the Internet. This might be the reason the movie didn't do shit at the box office. The gore is decent and the acting isn't horrible. C+.

Freddy VS Jason-Fans had been wanting this film for years. And the ending of Jason goes to hell hinted at it. So finally in 2003 we got it.This film divides the fan base. Some love it some hate it. I actually enjoyed it. The gore FX was pretty good,and the acting isn't bad. Sadly Kane Hodder didn't get to come back and play Jason for a fourth time. But at least we got Robert Englund as Freddy. A-.

Friday the 13th Remake-After Freddy vs Jason ,there was talk about a sequel to that film. But it never happened. So in 2009 a remake of the first 3 films was made and released. It came out the day before Valentine's day that year. So far outta all the remakes of the classic slasher franchises this is the one I enjoy the most. Sure the fans complain about Jason running,which he has done before. And about him setting traps and having an underground lair. But like all good entries in the Jason series we get some good kills,a decent amount of nudity,and a few jump scares. B+.

31 days of horror year 3 day 10

Head of the Family


1996

Koch Vision DVD



I have been a fan of the Full Moon line up of films for many many years. Sure they turns out some bad films. But for every 2 bad ones you get 1 great film. Sadly they seem to put out nothing but crap now. I had heard a little about this film in Fangoria. So when in 97 I found the tape at a video store clearenced out for $2 I had to pick it up. And I have actually held onto that tape for years now.



Lance runs the local diner/grocery store. And is having an affair with Loretta. Loretta is played by the gorgeous Jacqueline Lovell. Who it seems quit acting about 8 years ago. She has a similar look to Kelly Bundy era Christina Applegate. Loretta wants to leave her husband,who is this big biker kind of guy. But is afraid of what he would do to her if she left him. Well one night after Lance and Loretta have snuck off to screw,Lance sees something that clues him in that the Stackpoole Family is stranger than people thought.



Well the next night Lance goes to the Stackpoole mansion. And tells them he won't let the cops now about how they are kidnapping people,if they will kill Loretta's husband. They do this. But Lance gets greedy and goes back and demands money every week or he will tell the cops. See the Stackpooles are a family of freaks. You got one who is all muscle and no brains. One who has enormous eyes and had super vision and hearing.One female that is drop dead gorgeous but dumber than my dog. Then you have Myron who is basically a big head. He is the so called head of the family.



Well the Stackpoole clan gets tired of Lance's shit and they kidnap both him and Loretta. He is strapped to a chair in their in house theater and made to watch as Loretta plays the lead in a play about Joan of arc. Well Loretta managers to escape and all the Stackpooles besides the big dumb muscle bond one die. So Loretta marrys him to get her hands on the fortune the Stackpoole family has. But right after the wedding we see her new husband talking and it is Myron's voice.



Like most Full Moon Features movies,this one has plenty of nudity and some decent gore FX. What makes this one stand out in my head is the acting from Ms Lovell. She has a great sense for comic timing. And I get the feeling that she hadn't have done a small amount of porn early on in her career she would have made the move from B movies to mainstream features. The DVD has a decent amount of extras. The two best are teh commentary,with the actor who played Myron doing it in character. And the promo for the never filmed sequel,Bride of the Head. Head of the Family gets a B.

31 days of horror Year 3 Day 09

Slaughter High
1986
Lionsgate 4 film pack
Uncut version

Until 2004 I had never had heard of or seen Slaughter High. But I found a divx rip of the uncut VHS. Well after watching the film I wanted to get it on DVD. But at the time it wasn't out on DVD. Then back in 2007 or 2008 Lionsgate released the uncut version on DVD. Which is nice,but it looks like they used a VHS as the source for the DVD version. So the picture and sound aren't that great. But it is still watchable.

We start off 5 years ago. And the popular group of  kids plans an elaborate trick to play on Marty. Marty is the school nerd and is played by the late Simon Scuddamore. And their trick backfires and Marty gets set on fire. And the popular kids don't get punished for this prank.

Fast forward to the 5 year reunion. It is April 1st. And all the popular kids have been invited to a reunion at their old high school. Well the school hasn't been in use for a few years. They go inside and one by one are killed by someone wearing a jester's mask. Their is some great gory kills. Like one guy drinks a can of beer,and the can is filled with acid instead of beer. One lady,played by Caroline Munro,ends up taking a bath in what turns out to be acid. We find out that the killer in the jester's mask is Marty and he is out for revenge.

Now this isn't one of the better written slashers. Lots of plot holes and just plain dumb stuff. But the kills are great and it is always great to see the lovely Caroline Munro. The DVD has a kind of neat extra. It is a subtitle track that you turn on and it gives you all kinds of behind the scenes info about the film. Pretty neat feature I wish was used on more films. One strange fact about this film is the guy who plays Marty commited suicide not too long after the production of the film was wrapped.Slaughter High Uncut Version gets a B-.

31 days of horror Year 3 day 08

Toolbox Murders
2004
Lionsgate DVD

This is Tobe Hooper's remake of the 70's film. Now since Lifeforce I have not cared for most of Tobe's films. But this one is a return to form for him. It has that same creepy vibe that all good Hooper films have. I had been wanting to see it and had added it to my Netflix queue. But I ended up finding it in the Walmart $5 dump bin. So I took a chance on it. Figuring that for $5 bucks if I didn't like it ,I could give it away to someone.

The film starts off with Sheri Moon Zombie heading back to her apartment. And once she gets in it she is attacked by someone wearing a full face ski mask. The killer brutally kills her. We jump ahead a few weeks and a new couple is moving into the apartment complex. The wife is played by Angela Bettis. Who is a great actress but she is way too thin. She is so thin she looks like she is suffering from anorexia. Quickly she meets her next door neighbor. Who is a musician and has a abusive boyfriend. She hears the woman screaming. It seems the killer is attacking the musician lady with a nail gun. But once the cops arrive the musician lady isn't in her apartment. Well this happens a few more times with Angela hearing stuff and calling the cops. But by the time they arrive nothing is there.

One day while doing laundry Angela meets up with this older man that has lived in the complex since it was first opened 70+ years ago. He starts telling her some of the history of it. And she goes down to the courthouse to do some further investigation. She finds out that the man that designed the complex had ties to various occult stuff . And the strange symbols she keeps seeing all over the complex are mystic runes. Well after some more adventures she finds the killer's hiding space and he starts chasing her all over the complex.

I really enjoyed this film. When I first saw it I had never seen the original The Toolbox Murders. Now I have and really the films don't have much in common. Most of the kills are impressive. The nail gun kill is very well done. The acting is over all pretty good. The DVD has some deleted scenes,a trailer and 2 commentaries. The first commentary has Tobe Hooper and the two writers. The second one has the producers. So for the $5 I paid I got a great deal. Toolbox Murders gets a B+.