31 Days of Horror Day 19 Goosebumps 3 pack thriller set

TITLE-Goosebumps 3 pack Thriller

SOURCE-Schoolastic DVD

When Goosebumps hit TV back in the fall of 1995 I watched it a few times. But that was  a period of time when I didn't watch much TV. What I saw of the show I enjoyed. And the few times I caught reruns of the show on the Fox Family channel I really enjoyed the show. But it is a show that I kind of forgot about. Which is odd cause I have always loved horror anthology TV shows.

Over a year ago I was at a junkstore in town that I hit up every month. This place had at the time a great selection of VHS and a decent selection of DVDs. I was looking through the VHS and the owner of the store came over to tell me that he had a box full of DVDs he had just got. "The ones with red paint on the spine I am asking $1.50 each. Or if you buy 6 or more you can have them 2 for a buck." I dug through the box and found a bunch of stuff. But the highlights are dvd pack pictured above. 

This pack  is a repackaging of the older Goosebump DVDs. So you get 2 to 4 episodes of the TV show per DVD. Earlier today I was wanting something to watch. And I wanted it to be something short. That way I could watch an episode or two between doing laundry and taking care of cleaning the house.

The first DVD I put in my blu ray player was the Night of the Living Dummy DVD. This was one of the discs that only has 2 episodes on it. They are two of the most popular episodes. What I don't get is from what I can find there is 3 episodes of the Goosebump TV show dealing with Slappy,Who is a evil ventriloquist dummy,but this DVD is missing the first episode where Slappy appeared. The disc starts with Night of the Living Dummy II.Amy's dummy,named Dennis,keeps literally losing his head. So her parent gets her a new dummy. This new dummy is Slappy and of course all kinds of crazy things start to happen once Slappy is in the house.This isn't a bad episode and it is one I have not seen before. 

The other episode on the DVD is Bride of the Living Dummy. In this episode 3 kids and one of the kid's doll,named Mary-Ellen, see a show with famous ventriloquist Jimme O'James. Jimmie's dummy is of course Slappy. At the show Slappy sees and falls in love with Mary-Ellen. Not long after the show Slappy shows up at Mary-Ellen's owner's home and of course strange things start to happen. Both episode are pretty good. But I do wish they had included the first appearence of Slappy.

The next DVD was titled Say Cheese and Die. Like the first DVD this is another disc with just two episodes on it. I did some research and when these DVDs first came out they were retailing for 20 bucks each. That is a bit high for what amounts to a bit over 40 minutes of programming. 

Like the Night of the Living Dummy DVD this DVD has two episodes that are connected. Up first is the titular episode. Greg Banks and his friends Doug and Shari sneak into an old abandoned house. They find an hidden cabinet and in this cabinet find a odd looking very large old fashioned camera. They take a picture using the camera and learn that the camera not only takes pictures of the future but also causes bad things to happen. I remember an episode of the Friday the 13th TV show that had a similar premise. Of course that show was a bloody show made for adults. But this Goosebumps episode is actually a bit scary. And is one that I bet frightened a few kids.

The other episode on the DVD is the sequel to Say Cheese and Die.This episode is titled ,and I love how much thought and effort was put into this title,Say Cheese and Die...AGAIN!!! LOL Greg does an oral report on the evil camera he found in the previous episode. His horrid teacher, Mr Saur,gives Greg a F on this report cause he doesn't believe Greg. So Greg has to find the camera. And like before bad things start to happen. This episode isn't nearly as good as the other one on the disc. A big part of that is Mr Saur isn't a good actor.

The final DVD in this pack is titled Monster Blood. Thankfully unlike the other two DVDs this one has 4 episodes on it. So you get 1 1/2 hours of Goosebumps goodness. The first episode is titled of course Monster Blood. Evan is forced to visit his odd Aunt Kathryn. In her home Evan finds a dusty can labeled Monster Blood.The green and slimy goop in this can is starting to grow. Will Evan be able to stop the Monster Blood from taking over the home? This episode is one I remember seeing back when Goosebumps was airing on Fox Kids afternoon line up of shows.

Our next episode is a sequel to Monster Blood,and it is titled More Monster Blood. Gotta love how creative the show is with their titles.Evan is heading to Atlanta Georgia to meet up with his parents. Having thought he took care of the monster blood in the previous episode,he is shocked when he finds out the monster blood is on the plane he is traveling on. Overall this is a way better episode than the first monster blood episode. 

Up third is the episode How to Kill a Monster.Clark and Gretchen are visiting their elderly grandparents. The grandparents are mostly harmless,but a bit forgetful. So the elderly couple forget to warn their beloved grandchildren about the monster locked in the upstairs part of the house. Now I haven't seen that many episodes of Goosebumps.I am guessing I have seen maybe 15 or so. But this episode is the worst I have seen. The premise is pretty decent. But the two kids are horrible actors. And unlike most  episodes of Goosebumps the effects in this one are really bad. They look like the FX work in a really bad Chris Seaver film. I kept expecting Teen Ape to show up. I would say skip this episode.

The final episode on this last DVD in the pack is The Girl Who Cried Monster.Our lead,Lucy,loves to tell monster stories. Then she encounters a real monster,Mr Mortman the local librarian. And to make it even worse her parents invite this monster to dinner.I wasn't expecting much from this episode. Then was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Lucy is a fairly good actress. And Mr Mortman is really really creepy. The Girl Who Cried Monster is a great way to end this DVD.

So I got 10 episodes of Goosebumps. Spread across 3 DVDs. Out of the 10 there is only one episode that isn't worth watching. And besides that episode the only other major complaint I have is not getting the episode with the first appearance of Slappy. Really for how cheap I got this set these are minor complaints. I looked on Amazon and you can get this set brand new for under 10 bucks. Which is a good deal. If you have kids that are into horror this is a great affordable DVD set to get. There is nothing so scary in any episode that would frighten a kid. But the episodes are creepy and worth seeing.

Goosebumps 3 pack thriller DVD set gets a solid B.

31 Days of Horror Day 18 Frankenstein

TITLE-Frankenstein
SOURCE-Universal 100th Anniversary Spotlight Collection DVD

I am just going to assume if you are reading my 31 Days of Horror reviews you have seen or at least know the plot of Universal's first Frankenstein film. In 1931 this film that is considered a classic of the early days of talkies was released.

Directed by the great James Whales and it is adapted from a play,Frankenstein is the second film in what is called the Universal Classic Monsters series of films,the first was Dracula. While this wasn't the first time Frankenstein was made into a film,there is a silent film version made by Edison Studios,the Universal Frankenstein is the film that most people think of when you say Frankenstein.

I can't remember the first time I became aware of Frankenstein and this film version but I do know the first time I saw it. I was 4 years old and my favorite Uncle and his wife were moving to Brownsville Texas. My mother and I had traveled out there with them to help them get moved into their new place. And every day after my Uncle got home from work,he was working for border patrol, he and I would watch Ultraman on TV. One day while watching Ultraman a ad aired letting us know that Friday night the channel was airing Frankenstein. My Uncle was pretty happy to hear this news and I was uber happy cause I was going to get to see a film that my Uncle was telling me "Is a classic horror film that everyone should see."

My memory of seeing Frankenstein for the first time are a bit foggy, hey it was over 40 year ago. But there is a few parts that I clearly remember. Like the first time we see Frankenstein's Monster. Yep Frankenstein is the name of the scientist that created the creature that is now known to most people as Frankenstein. The other part that sticks out in my memory is when the monster is being tortured by Fritz. That scene scared me as a kid and even now when I watch it the scene gets under my skin.

Frankenstein is far from my favorite of the Universal Classic Horror films. But it is much better than The Mummy or Dracula. A big part of that is unlike Dracula Frankenstein does not feel like someone filmed a stage play.

While this isn't Boris Karloff's first role it is his breakout role. Before this Karloff was acting part time and doing other odd jobs to make ends meet. Boris manages to communicate so well without talking and under the heavy make up.

Dwight Frye is soooo great as Fritz. Best known for playing Renfield in Universal's Dracula,Frye is an amazing actor. Sadly a bit over 10 years after playing Fritz Dwight died from a heart attack. Back when I was a young child whenever I read books on the Universal Classic all the talk was about Karloff,Bela Lugosi and Lon Channey Jr. Which is a shame cause while those three are good to great actors Dwight Frye was a one of the kind talent. One who could take any role and make it into something special.

The DVD this film is on is a pack of 4 of the Universal Classic Horror films. You get Dracula,Frankenstein,Bride of Frankenstein and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I got this DVD about 5 years ago. I realized that I didn't own many of the Universal Classic Horror films on any home video format. Saw that Amazon had the four pack for a really cheap price,I think it was 10 bucks. So added it to my Amazon wishlist and that year for Xmas the Uncle who I saw Frankenstein with as a kid bought me the DVD set.

The Frankenstein DVD appears to be the same DVD as the first release of the film on DVD. I am guessing Universal had a bunch of leftover copies of the four films in the pack.So they whipped up some new packaging to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Universal. Each of the films is loaded with special features. Frankenstein has some great special features. There is "The Frankenstein Files How Hollywood Made a Monster" a well done documentary about the film and the making of it. Boo! which is a short film from Universal. Boo! is best known in the modern era for containing some footage from a few films that are lost now. The best of all the special features is the commentary. This commentary is by Rudy Behimer. It is loaded with all kinds of info. A good percentage of this info is stuff I had never heard before. Considering I have been reading about Frankenstein since I was a young child I was really surprised that the commentary contained stuff I hadn't heard before.

I do wonder how these Universal Classic Horror films would work for kids today. When I first saw the film it was over 40 years since it came out and to my young mind it felt so odd and just different from the films I had already seen. So I am guessing that to kids today this film that is getting close to being 100 years old might not hold their attention at all.

If you are a fan of horror cinema and haven't seen the Universal Frankenstein you really should go watch it. Thankfully now it isn't hard to see this film uncut. For decades various parts of the film were cut. Like during the creature's creation scene the Doctor say's how he now knows what it is like to feel like God. Not wanting to offend people this line was cut out of the film. The other part of the film that was cut from the film is the part when while wandering the country side the monster runs into a small child. This young girl shows the monster how to toss flowers into the pond and they will float.  For decades this scene ended around this point. Missing was the part where the monster throws the little girl into the pond thinking she will float like the flowers and the young girl drowns.

Universal's Frankenstein isn't the most faithful adaptation of the novel,for me that would be the 70s made for TV Frankenstein the True Story. But what is changed is still good. And most people now know the story of Universal's Frankenstein instead of the novel's story.  Just like how in the novel the monster looks pretty much like a normal human and can even speak fairly well. But cause of how popular Universal's take on Frankenstein is the flattopped green skinned inhuman looking creature that can barely speak is what pops into most people's minds when they hear Frankenstein's Monster.

Frankenstein gets a B.

31 Days of Horror Day 17 The Ranger

TITLE-The Ranger
SOURCE-Shudder Streaming Service

Earlier this year on the great Rock Shock Pop forum I had a fellow movie nut tell me I had to see The Ranger. I added it to my watchlist on VRV and figure "OK I will watch it in  a month or so." A month turned into 2 months and all of the sudden it is way later and I am looking for something new to watch. Remembered The Ranger and started it up.

2 couples are at a punk rock show in a big city. The boyfriend of one of the couples has gotten a huge amount of some new drug. Their plans are sell this drug and use the money to move to a better place. But during the middle of the show the cops stage a raid.

The girlfriend of the guy with the drugs gets cornered in a deadend alley by the cops. Thankfully her boyfriend shows up in time to stab the cop to death. The 2 couples steal a girl's van and head off into the woods. Seems the girlfriend grew up in the woods and still has a cabin out in the middle of nowhere.

On their trip to the cabin they find out the girl that owns the van was asleep in the back. By the time they get to the cabin we now know all the 5 leads fairly well. You got the guy with the drugs and his girlfriend. A gay couple and the other girl.

Seems besides the girlfriend none of the others have been outside the big city ever. So they have no clue how to behave and all when out in the country. After the others did a bunch of stupid shit the girlfriend  has had enough and blows up.

And this is when the shit hits the fan. The girl who's van was stolen gets shot. The kids run off to the van to find it missing. So they split up into two groups.

This is when the crazy park ranger attacks. Seems he is connected to the girlfriend's past. But that connection is kept a secret until near the end of the film.

Yep it's another teens out in the woods being stalked slasher. But this is an oddity. Set in the 80s,but made in the last year or so. It manages to avoid lots of the tropes that 80s slashers had.

The 6 leads are all pretty decent. The FX work is really good. Some of it looks to be CGI,but most of it appears to be practical effects. I was surprised at how well this film was made. Went in expecting a low budget film barely above the level of a SYFY original.

The Ranger gets a B.

31 Days of Horror Day 16 Spaced Invaders

TITLE-Spaced Invaders
SOURCE-DVD rip on Youtube

Yep I can hear yall saying "But Spaced Invaders isn't a horror movie!" and you are right. But it is set on Halloween day. So it qualifies.

Back in late April 1990 I went to the local movie theater to see a film that until maybe a month ago I had forgotten about. Then I heard  the film reviewed on a cult movie podcast. Which made me want to see the film again.

A group of fairly dumb Martians intercept a rebroadcast of Welle's infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast. They assume this means the Martians are finally invading Earth and this group of space morons heads to Earth to help out.They land in Big Bean Illinois. It is Halloween night and of course all kinds of wacky stuff happens.

I love how this film manages to blend comedy and sci fi into a almost perfect mixture. By the time this came out I was in my teens. And I can't remember what about the movie caught my attention so much that I had to see it in a theater.

The moron Martians are of course the best part of the film. Each of them has a very distinct personality. And they got great voice actors to play the parts. I love the one Martian that sounds just like Jack Nicholson. And the Martian named Pez is another favorite of mine. With how well thought out each of the Martians personalities are I am shocked this film never became a cartoon. With crap like Dumb and Dumber and other unfunny movies getting cartoons why couldn't we have gotten a Spaced Invaders cartoon?

The cast is all pretty much great. With only 2 real well known people in the cast. First up you have Royal Dano. He plays the elderly farmer who's land the Martians land on. To me it feels like Royal is playing the same part he played in the 80s Sci Fi/Comedy cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The other known member of the cast is a really young Ariana Richards. She is best known for being one of the kids in the first Jurassic Park film. In this movie she has just moved to Big Bean. And  her and her group of friends end up helping out the moronic Martians.

But even though the two I just talked about are the only known actors in the film the rest of the cast is damn good. With the kid who is in a duck outfit stealing the entire film. His comedic timing is off the charts and I wonder why this kid hasn't done more and bigger roles.

After listening to the podcast that was discussing Spaced Invaders I went to see how much a DVD of it would run me. Seems I got lucky. Spaced Invaders just recently got a re-release on DVD. Before this re-release used copies of Spaced Invaders on DVD were selling for upwords of 50 bucks. Now that the new release is out the prices have settled back down. There is also a blu ray release. Which I have ordered. But it didn't come in yet. So I did what I always do when I want to see a film and do not have a copy in my possession..I searched Yotube. And someone was nice enough to have uploaded a rip of the first dvd release.

Every year in my 31 Days of Horror I try to have at least 1 or 2 things that people can watch with their kids. I started doing this back in 2009. Because back then every year I would go spend part of October with my cousin.  At the time she had a 8 year old son and another that was 4. During the day while the oldest kid was at school I would watch movies with her 4 year old. He knew I was into what he called "scary movies" and would want to watch some with me. But he was scared very easily. So I would bring stuff like Ernest Scared Stupid or The Willies. That way him and I could watch and enjoy a "scary  movie" and he wouldn't end up with nightmares. That formerly 4 year old cousin is now a teenager. And I haven't spent October with him and his family in 5 years now. But odds are good if I was down there right now he would be sitting on the couch next to me,eating some popcorn and laughing his ass off at Spaced Invaders.

Spaced Invaders isn't a great film. But it is a fun movie. One that should have at least a decent sized cult following. Maybe one day one of the many cable channels will start airing it multiple times in October and turn it into a family cult favorite like Hocus Pocus.

Spaced Invaders gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror Day 15 Witchcraft 16 Hollywood Coven

TITLE-Witchcraft XVI Hollywood Coven
SOURCE-TubiTV streaming service

A few years ago I learned that a company had gotten the rights to the Witchcraft franchise and was making a new film. So I waited and waited to hear more news on Witchcraft 14. Then a bombshell piece of news dropped...the new company was going to film 3 Witchcraft films back to back! FUCK YEA we are going to get 3 more subpar horror/softcore porn combo films.

So I kept checking Netflix and all the other places I rented/bought dvds from. And never saw Witchcraft 14 for sale or rent. By early 2019 I had given up on seeing these 3 new Witchcraft films. Not sure why I love this franchise so much. All the films are shit. But still for some unknown reason I feel the need to see and own every film from the series.

Earlier this year I was looking for a new horror film to watch. Looked through the selection on Netflix and Hulu and it was mostly crap. So I started looking at the free streaming services. Hoping maybe one of them might have a hidden gem. Then on TubiTV I saw Witchcraft 16 Hollywood Coven. I figured since the previous films were rarely connected I could watch 16 before seeing 14 and 15 and not be lost...I was wrong.

Witchcraft XVI Hollywood Coven is set on a low budget horror film set. A crew is making Crystal Force 12.Crystal Force was a attempt by Vista Street to make another franchise like Witchcraft. But we only got 2 Crystal Force films. But in the reality of this film Crystal Force is a long running series.

The film starts off like most of the Witchcraft films since part 10,with a pre-credits sex scene. Yep get to see some boobies and ass before we even know who is in the film. After what feels like 20 minutes of the most boring softcore sex scene I have seen the credits start. They go on FOREVER and feel like who ever created them was a huge fan of the tv shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed.

After the credits the story proper starts. A crew of people is making a low budget horror flick. And somehow by making the film they bring back the spirits of some long dead witches...WHAT THE FUCK! Witchcraft XVI is ripping off the plot of Witchcraft 11. But instead of a communtiy college production of Macbeth we get a low budget film crew making a shitty horror sequel.

Then when I thought the film couldn't be anymore shit they figure out a way to be shittier. Two of the crew members are having a date. So they go to watch Crystal Force 9. And we get footage from Witchcraft 11. And it isn't just say 30 seconds to a minute of  reused footage. Nope we get most of Witchcraft 11's pre credits sex scene. Then it skips ahead to the polterguiest attack scene from near the end of 11. To make this part of the film even more horrid it cuts back to the two crew members watching the film. And the male actor well...he is the worst actor I have seen in low budget horror. No emotion. Very little facial expressions. Plus it appears he is reading his lines off cue cards being held just off camera.

The rest of the film is 5 minutes of plot followed by 10 minute long badly shot and acted softcore sex scenes. The FX work in the non-sex scene parts is bad. I swear we did better FX work back in 92 when I got my first camcorder. Hell we had better actors.

Witchcraft XVI Hollywood Coven gets a F.

31 Days of Horror Extra 02

Ahh The Walking Dead...a great comic and a really good TV show. As yall might know the comic ended earlier this year. So I figured why not do a piece on one of the best comic series of the modern era.

I wasn't reading many comics when TWD started. Sure I went to the comic shop every week. But I had been cutting back on my monthly comics. The first issue came out and the comic shop owner  told me about it. I figured "Why bother reading this. Odds are good it will last a year then get cancelled." So I skipped the chance to get the first issue of the biggest hit Image Comics has ever had.

Skip ahead to 2008. I was listening to every episode of the Comic Geek Speak podcast. And they would review the trades of  TWD. Listening to these reviews I got very interested in the comic. But at the time didn't have a comic shop near me. Plus no bookstores near me. So once again I didn't start reading the comic.

The TV show starts. And I was hooked. Right after season 1 was over I found the Walking Dead compendium trade. A massive tome that reprinted the first 50 or so issues. I got it on sale for 30 bucks. Ordered it and the day it came in I went out to my back porch and sat there for 6 hours reading. The next day I made the long trip to the nearest comic shop and bought the next trade following the compendium. Yep I was hooked. So hooked on the series that I actually started a pull list at the comic shop,first time I have had one since 2001. And every month would drive almost 2 hours round trip to get TWD.

A few years later I am at my local Walmart and see they have the second Compendium. And for some reason it is stocked with the kids books. Even though there is a big "FOR MATURE READERS" warning on the COmpendium. I see a lady stocking the book area. Bring the COmpendiun over and show her that they might not want to stock this in with the kids books. She moves them to a different area. Weeks later I see they are back with the kids books. I ended up talking to the store manager and get told "It's a comic all comics get stocked in the kids section." I show the manager the violence and stuff in the book that makes it not for kids. But they refuse to move the book. Skip ahead a few days. I am in the book section killing time and I hear a lady at the returns counter screaming "YOU SOLD MY 9 YEAR OLD SON VIOLENT PORNO!" I look over and she is waving a copy of the second compendium at a very confused elderly lady working in returns.

I love the comic. I love how Kirkman manages to create characters that feel so real you get upset when one of them dies. And how he usually manages to create storylines that flow naturally and make sense.

The TV show...well I go through periods of loving and and times were I just feel like the show is spinning it's wheels. For example I really enjoyed the first season. But the second season was so boring I almost gave up on the TV show. Hell the season that aired in 2018/2019 I never even finished. It's not that that season was bad. Just it feels like the writers had enough story for 10 episodes then added filler to make it be more episodes. I know what happens in the last 3 episodes of that season. And still have them sitting on my DVR. But I doubt I watch them,

But back to the comic. Kirkman has said for years now that he had the end of the comic already planned out. It was going to end with issue 300. So when in issue 192 Rick Grimes died  I figured that his son Carl would become the lead and we would get a bit over 100 issues with a grown Carl as the main. Hell Kirkman even had covers created for issues 194 and 195. He even solicited those issues. Then the day before issue 193 came out the news broke that 193 is the final issue. This news was a shock to most people.

Honestly I haven't read the last 4 issues of The Walking Dead comic yet. Not cause I think they will suck. But more cause I love this series so much I don't want it to end. And in my mind until I read the final issue the series isn't over. It has been hard to avoid spoilers. But somehow I have.

Now that it is over I will say what I have read,pretty much the entire series minus those final 4 issues,is one of the best horror comics to come out since EC folded. Every time it looked like Kirkman had written himself into a corner he figured out a ingenious way to get out of that corner.

The TV show is good. But it feels a bit neutered. Maybe cause the network it airs on is afraid to do certain things. Like how in the comic at the end of the prison arc Lori,Rick's wife,and her daughter Judith are shot and killed. In the show Lori died giving birth to Judith. And Judith is now the only member of Rick's family left on the show. Some of the stuff that was toned down I understand. Like how Negan's abundant use of profanity is cut way down in the show. In the comic most of the time when Negan is speaking the word fuck is used at least 4 times. In the show so far he hasn't said the f-word once. But then there is stuff in the show that goes beyond the comic. The best example is Glenn's death. In the comic it is brutal and shocking. In the show it is 10 times more brutal. Might be cause it isn't just still images. Might be cause while in the comic I liked Glenn on the show Glenn was my favorite character.

One last thing before I wrap this up. I know so many people that aren't into horror/zombies but they love The Walking Dead. Like my mother. She has never liked zombie movies. And hates gore. But every week she watches Walking Dead and she even watches the spinoff show. She gets mad when the season ends. Just cause she knows she is going to have to wait months to find out what happens next.

So goodbye to one of the best horror comics ever. Thank you to Robert Kirkman and everyone else that worked on the comic.

31 Days of Horror Day 14 The Twilight Zone(1980s revival)

TITLE-The Twilight Zone
SOURCE-Airings on MeTV

Ahh yes the 80s revival of The Twilight Zone. I had seen some of the original Twilight Zone episodes but this mid 80s revival was my first good exposure to the series. I watched it every week when it was airing on CBS. Sadly when the show entered syndication for it's third and final season no channel I got carried it. So until MeTV picked it up I hadn't seen any from that final season.

Out of those first 2 seasons there is 3 episodes that stand out for me. The first is based on a Stephen King short story.Titled Gramma and it was part of the first season. During season 1 each episode was 1 hour long. So you would get 2 or 3 stories an episode. Gramma was part of the 18th episode of season 1.It first aired on Valentine's Day 1986. The screenplay was written by the late great Harlan Ellison. Which is a shock since Ellison had already had some very bad experiences working on TV shows.  A young boy is left at home alone to take care of his senile gramma.  Of course there is something we wouldn't expect with Gramma and the ending of this episode has the classic O'Henry style twist that Twilight Zone is well known for.

The next episode that stands out is titled Profile in Silver. This episode aired in March of 86 as the first half of the 20th episode.It has a history professor who goes back in time to witness the assassination of JFK. JFK's death is prevented. And we see how JFK living causes the future to be horrible.

The third episode is the second part of episode 20. Titled Button Button and based on a Richard Matheson short story with Matheson doing the screen play.Mare Winningham and Brad Davis are a married couple. Who are always having money problems. Then one day a box is delivered to them. It is a plain simple wooden box with a button on the top. The next day a strange man comes and explains to them that if they press the button 2 things will happen. They will be given 200,000 bucks. Plus someone they don't know will die. With money being tight the couple debates over pushing the button. And finally the wife presses it. The next day the  strange man returns. Gives them the 200,000. And tells them "Now I will give the box to someone you don't know." Implying that if the next people that get the box press the button Mare and/or Brad will die. If this sounds a familiar that is cause in 2009 Richard Kelly,best known for Donnie Darko,released a movie based on the same short story. This movie is titled The Box.

Now sure this 80s revival of Twilight Zone gets shit on. And it has more crap episodes than the original series did. It might be because I saw this show as a kid and nostalgia is clouding my judgment.It might also be that I have seen every episode of the original run of Twilight Zone many many times. Anyways I love the 80s Twilight Zone. And think the best episodes from it stack up to the best episodes of the original run.
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Ok that's enough rambling from me. If you are interested in seeing this somewhat forgotten show it airs on MeTV Monday through Friday at 11:30pm central. Plus all three seasons have been released on DVD.

Twilight Zone(80s revival) gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror Day 13 Return of the Living Dead part 2

TITLE-Return of the Living Dead Part II
SOURCE-Laserdisc rip on a DVD-R

Return of the Living Dead is one of my top 5 horror films. It was the perfect blending of horror and comedy. So when Part 2 was announced I was really excited. My Uncle and I went opening night. After the film was over we were both very disappointed.

The Trioxin gas once again escapes in Louisville,and I am guessing with the way the first film ended this movie is not connected to it outside of the title. And of course with the gas escaping that means the dead are coming back. With a thirst for brains.

The other big clue that this film isn't really a sequel to the original is two of the main cast from the original return. But in this film they are playing totally different characters. James Karen and Thom Matthews are the ones that return. But instead of being dopey but fun guys who work in a medical warehouse they are now grave robbers.

The main thing that caused this film to be so disappointing is the comedy is too heavy. Were as the first film was really good and having comedic and horrific moments,part II is mostly played for laughs.

After establishing in the first film that the only way to kill these zombies is to destroy their entire body,in part 2 we learn you can kill them by electrocuting them.  Which seems to be in the film so at the end they can do a really lame Michael Jackson joke.

The FX work is pretty good.The soundtrack isn't nearly as good as the first film. The music in this isn't bad,but that first film has one of the best soundtracks ever in a horror film.  From what I can find this film bombed pretty hard. And that is the major reason why it was a long time before we got part 3 in this cult series of films.

Return of the Living Dead part 2 gets a F.

31 Days of Horror Day 12 Evil Sister

TITLE-Evil Sister
SOURCE-Tubi TV streaming service

I had forgotten about this late 90s horror/softcore porn mixture. Back in the early 2000s I got one of those Brentwood 4 horror films for cheap packs. Evil Sister was the only film on the set I managed to finish. Then earlier today was flipping through the horror films on Tubi TV and saw Evil Sister. I remembered it not being that great but put it on anyway.

After spending 15 years in a mental hospital a lady is released into the care of her sister and her brother in law. But the lady is part of a Satanic cult. And for some reason is trying to harm her sister. Towards the end of the film the lady manages to get the sister to stab the husband to death.

That is basically the plot. As I mentioned previously this is a horror/softcore porn combo. So there is lots of scenes with the redhead sister,the one that was released from the hospital,naked or having sex. Hell there is a sacrifice scene that is thrown into the film just as a reason to show more nudity.

There is so much about this film that is odd in  hindsight. Like how there is a sequel but it appears that no one from this film came back for it.Or how the one sister,the blonde,went from acting in low budget films to working behind the scenes on all those arguing bitches reality shows that are clogging up every cable channel. Yep stuff like Little Women of Atlanta or Bad Girls Club. The Evil Sister appears to have done nothing besides this film. Or should I say has nothing but this film listed on her IMDB. I swear I have seen the Evil Sister before in hardcore porn.

Pretty much Evil Sister is one of the last films in the now pretty extinct genre of horror/softcore porn. Back before access to hardcore porn was so easy. And teens could talk a parent into letting them rent something like Evil Sister or WitchCraft 11 Sisters in Blood.

Evil Sister gets a F+.

31 Days of Horror Day 11 Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S

TITLE-Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S
SOURCE-Disney DVD

Nope that is not a fake or photoshopped DVD cover.  A year or so ago Disney channel greenlit a Zombie themed high school set musical film! What is odd is I never see much talk about this. Just the oddity of Disney making something like this feels like perfect clickbait for some subpar horror site.

I learned of the film when a major Disney nut I know bought it. Then forced me to watch it.....

Set in a world where Zombies are real,but it's cool they wear a device that makes them not crave brains. In this world the zombies live in one part of town and got crappy schools etc. But they are intergrating the zombies into the Human schools.

The guy on the cover is a football playing zombie. The only one on the team. He is the son of famous actress Cathryn Manheim. And is fairly well known for a steller run on Dancing with the Stars last year. The cheerleader on the right is best known for playing the teenage daughter on American Housewife. She is hiding a secret. Her hair is actually this odd white color. So she wears a wig to hide this.

Of course being a Disney film the two leads fall in love. The Zombie football guy figures out a way to override his zombie control device and uses this to lead the football team into a majorly winning season.

Well it is a musical. And the songs are horrid. With the worst being the movie theme. That is 4 minutes of the same 3 lines being repeated over and over and over and over and over again. If you are brave look it up on Youtube. That song will be stuck in your brain for weeks.

Sure this film wasn't made for or aimed at me. But the best kids/teen media will include stuff to keep the adults watching interested. And it was so hard to keep my attention focused on this movie.

Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S gets a D+.