Much of Madness More of Sin

3 NEW RELEASES FROM TROMAVILLE

2012-02-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

THE PLACE WHERE MOVIE MAGIC LIVES

Greetings from Tromaville! Cyperpunk, classic horror stories and brutal games with deadly consequences are featured in three new Troma Team Video releases coming up in the next few months: Kill, Purge and Where Evil Lives.

Releasing in May is David King's smash "Ozploitation" film Purge. A must-see for lovers of cyberpunk, Purge takes place in a utilitarian, genetically engineered parallel universe. Layla, a BDSM mistress, just wants to fit in and be happy, but her nemesis won't let her. Check out http://www.purgefilm.com.au/ to find out more.

In Kill, six strangers, winners of a dream vacation contest, awake to find themselves terrorized by insane Tiki-men in masks and taunted by their deranged captors. It soon becomes clear than only one thing will save them: kill or be killed! Directed by Chad Archivald and Philip Carrer, get Kill on DVD in April!

Where Evil Lives, a buried treasure from 1991 directed by Stephen A. Maier, Kevin G. Nunan & Richard L. Fox Jr, consists of three 30-minute horror stories as told by Jack Devlin (Claude Akins). The stories feature a mass murderer, a vampire, and a modern day witch who helps the police stop a demented doctor. Where Evil Lives will be available in May.

Established in 1974 by Yale friends Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, Troma Entertainment is one of the longest-running independent movie studios in United States history, and one of the best-known names in the industry. World famous for movie classics like Kaufman's The Toxic Avenger, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, Class of Nuke'em High, Mother's Day and Tromeo and Juliet, Troma's seminal films are now being remade as big budget mainstream productions by the likes of Brett Ratner, Richard Saperstein, Akiva Goldsman, and Steven Pink. Among today's stars whose early work can be found in Troma's 800+ film library are Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Jenna Fischer, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Costner, Fergie, Vincent D'Onofrio and Samuel L. Jackson. Visit Troma at www.troma.com, www.lloydkaufman.com, www.twitter.com/lloydkaufman, and www.tromapast.tumblr.com.

The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol

2012-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

Available March 27th on DVD from BREAKING GLASS PICTURES

Breaking Glass Pictures has announced the March 27 release of the surreal, horror-comedy “The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol” (SRP $24.99). Director Aramis Sartorio takes viewers on a demented roller-coaster ride through the mind of a down-and-out actor forced to the edge where sanity and fantasy collide, where he must ask himself, "At what point do you give up on your dreams?”

'The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol' follows the disappointing life of struggling actor Tommy Pistol, who has turned his back on family and friends to pursue his dream of stardom. When he finally hits rock bottom, Tommy seeks solace in a penis pump and finds himself in a fantasy world where he pursues bloody vengeance against those who've put him down. What he doesn't realize is that his whole life has been leading up to the moment when he awakes to find that he's run out of second chances, and despite his regret, there is no going back.

10KBullets applauded its “willingness to go where very few horror films have gone before.” “Gruesome Death” has captivated viewers and made top horror films lists for 2011 as well as being named Best of the 2011 Pollygrind Film Festival.

The DVD release will come crammed with Special Features including director’s commentary, interviews with cast and crew, behind-the-scenes footage, a featurette of the first sketch comedy troupe from Queens, the “DJ Tommy Pistol” music video and “It Ate His Face” music video trailer, and a special featurette showcasing director Aramis Sartorio’s heavy metal band “Amorea”!

'Click here to check out our interview with Tommy Pistol himself, director Aramis Sartorio.'

Much of Madness/More of Sin Podcast #10

2012-01-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

We kick off 2012 with reviews for the 1990 killer baboon flick ‘Shakma’, 1973′s ‘Cannibal Girls’ from Ivan Reitman, 1978′s ‘The Fury’ from Brian DePalma, 2002′s ‘Spliced’ (a.k.a. The Wisher), the forgotten slasher ‘Moonstalker’ from 1989, and an underrated film from 1981 called ‘The Pit’.

We also cover Vince D’Amato’s ‘Catholic Cheerleaders for Satan’ from creepysixfilms.com and continue the countdown of our top 10 horror movies of all-time with #8.

Music by: 'Dead Girls Corp.', 'Hocico' and 'The Cramps'

'Click here to listen to Episode #10 at Horrorphilia.com'

Contact us: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

Follow us on Twitter: MoMMoSPodcast

From The Inside (2010)

2012-01-05T05:36:00.000-08:00

'If You Haven't Got Your Safety, You've Got Nothing...'

I've always been a fan of 70's exploitation films, especially revenge movies like 'The Last House on the Left' and 'I Spit on your Grave'. Since Tarantino & Rodriguez brought back 'Grindhouse' to the masses in 2007, we've been blessed with a ton of movies that have paid homage to many of my favorite low-budget films of the past. Jim Haggerty's 'From The Inside' does just that. Although not shot in the usual gritty retro style, it still manages to capture some of the feel of those old school drive-in classics.

One of the films strong points has got to be the writing. The story begins with our leading lady, Tally (Amanda Ladd). A bored young woman stuck in a miserable loveless marriage to a pathetic slob ...but a rich slob. One night, their house (in the middle of nowhere) gets broken into by a couple thugs and they kill Tally's husband. Before the thugs figure out what to do with the body, a young couple with car trouble comes knocking at the door. I know, it sounds like a simple plot. Well it starts that way, then the story takes a few unexpected turns. Since giving away the plot twists would ruin the movie i'll stop right there.

Another plus was the camerawork. Not only were there some pretty good looking angle shots, it's also nice to watch a low-budget film where you can actually see the actors during the night scenes. The audio, on the other hand, was a real problem. Like with a lot of indie films, I had to watch the entire movie with remote in hand. There's nothing worse than pumping the volume up in order to hear the dialog, then getting hit with a 'ScReAm!' loud enough to wake up the neighbors. I don't make movies, but for the life of me I can't figure out why this happens so often.

The acting was what you would come to expect from a lower budget film of this type. Although I did have a little problem with the actors movements. I don't know if they were being directed to over exaggerate or what, but they all seemed to be really 'hamming' it up. There was way too much arm movements during conversations and any time they had to run or fight it seemed very mechanical. At times, even normal walking and turning didn't seem natural.

Overall, I'd say 'From The Inside' is pretty fun flick, especially for you indie horror fans out there. It's far from perfect, but definitely a big step up from Jim Haggerty's first film, 2000's 'The Slasher' and has got me curious to go back and check out what I might have missed.

My Rating: 4 / 10

You can get your hands on a copy over at...

'Yellow Ape Productions'

Coming soon from... Maxim Media International

2012-01-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

Filth to Ashes, Flesh to Dust

Filth to Ashes, Flesh to Dust is being released on Blu-Ray February 7^th, 2012. This film features an award winning stunt and FX Dream Team. If you are a horror fan that is obsessed with serial killers like the Jigsaw Killer in the SAW Franchise, you will love this film and will pass it along to your friends!

Synopsis:

Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer, named Purge abducts the morally wayward. Once captured, they must face impossible choices in a horrific game of survival. The victims must fight to win their lives back, or die trying.

The connections between the characters as well as what motivates their actions gives a depth of dimension and heightened level of fear and emotion that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats begging for more!

"Click below to pre-order a copy on blu-ray or dvd!"

Episode #9 Is Alive! It's Alive!

2011-12-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

Horrorphilia's 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' 1st Annual Holiday Special

What better time than the holidays for all you horror fans to come get your 'Frank' on. Join us as we cover the 100-plus year history of Frankenstein films ...with reviews of Universal's 1931 'Frankenstein' starring Boris Karloff, Hammer's 1966 classic 'Frankenstein Created Woman' starring Peter Cushing, 1970's 'Dracula vs. Frankenstein' starring Lon Chaney, 1981's 'Frankenstein Island', Roger Corman's 'Frankenstein Unbound' from '90, the 1993 TV version of 'Frankenstein' starring Randy Quaid as the monster and a modern day version from 2004 starring Parker Posey & Michael Madsen.

We're also joined by the 'Mavens of Horror' who take on 1971's 'Lady Frankenstein', 1976's 'Terror of Frankenstein', the 1999 comedy 'Rock n Roll Frankenstein' and the 2009 Japanese splatter flick 'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl'.

We apologize for some of the background noise during the first 10-15 minutes of the show, Dr. Frankenstein was on the roof with Igor doing some repairs and messed with our antenna.

Music by: 'Alice Cooper', 'The Mansfields', 'The Edgar Winters Group', 'Oingo Boingo' and 'The Cramps'

'Click here to listen to Episode #9 at Horrorphilia.com'

Contact us: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

...check out all of the podcasts over at Horrorphilia.com

Don't Open Till Christmas

2011-12-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

on DVD from Mondo Macabro

Mondo Macabro, one of the most versatile independent video labels on the planet, has just signed an exclusive agreement with Danger After Dark for distribution. The first release of the new partnership will be UK slasher, Don't Open Till Christmas, fully uncut and featuring over an hour of bonus material, coming December 6th. I can't help but think that this is good news, Mondo Macabro has been fairly quiet this year, but the few titles they've released most recently have been fantastic, and hopefully this will usher in a new, more productive, era for Pete Tombs' and Andy Starke's amazing company.

DANGER AFTER DARK to DISTRIBUTE
MONDO MACABRO LIBRARY IN NORTH AMERICA

The holiday fun begins with ultimate festive DVD release:
1984's UK-slasher horror "DON'T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS"
re-mastered and completely uncut!

(New York; October 27, 2011) DANGER AFTER DARK is proud to announce that it will be the exclusive North American distributor for UK-based MONDO MACABRO, the film label dedicated to "the wild side of world cinema." To celebrate this momentous partnership, MONDO MACABRO presents the holiday release of "DON'T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS," the classic British slasher that was heavily cut at the time of its release - now re-mastered in HD and uncut for the first time ever with over 70 minutes of extras! The "ho-ho-ho horror" slays your DVD collection when it streets December 6, 2011 with a S.R.P. of $24.99. Check out the trailer here: http://vimeo.com/31094985

"DANGER AFTER DARK is excited to bring one of the premiere, specialty film labels into our distribution family, " says Derek Curk, President of Danger After Dark . "MONDO MACABRO's fearless dedication to finding, preserving and unleashing unconventional, provocative movies fits DANGER AFTER DARK's drive to provide an outlet for MONDO, to get their films to their very loyal fan-base."

"MONDO MACABRO and DANGER AFTER DARK have had a relationship for years and it's a great pleasure for us to cement that with a distribution deal, " says Andy Starke, President of UK-based MONDO MACABRO. " It's fantastic to have found a home at a company that is not only knowledgeable about cult, underground and alternative cinema - but are fans too"

Their first title sounds like a good one, too, and a bit of a switch from the mondo cinema they're accustomed to releasing. It's always nice to watch them branch out. Mondo Macabro is among the very best curated collections in the home video world. Here are some details on Don't Open Till Christmas.

"DON'T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS," directed by and starring Edmund Purdom, celebrates Christmas time in London - a season of good will to all men and full of joyous celebrations, quality family time and luxurious presents. This year, it's also time for a masked maniac to be let loose on the streets. His intended victims are chosen at random but they all have one thing in common: they are dressed in the flowing white beard and bright red robes of Santa Claus! With fourteen Santa Clauses already dead and only three killing days left until Christmas, the police are baffled as the horrific death toll continues to rise. From the producers of "Pieces" and "Slaughter High," this rarely-seen flick features very graphic and disturbing violence - including castration, mutilation - and some phenomenal nudity, courtesy of Pat Astley (Mr. Grace's nurse from "Are You Being Served?"). Suffice it to say, your holidays will never be the same again!

Much of Madness/More of Sin Podcast #8

2011-12-06T06:38:00.000-08:00

In this episode, we review Sean S. Cunningham's 1985 thriller 'The New Kids', the 1975 drive-in classic 'Trip With The Teacher', the forgotten 1981 demonic possession film 'Fear No Evil', the still unreleased 1982 slasher 'Hospital Massacre'(a.k.a. 'X-Ray') and the 2009 evil alien flick 'Creature of Darkness'. We also cover the independent horror/comedy shorts 'Thirsty' and 'Killer Kabbage'.

Music by: 'Riskay', 'Talking Heads' and 'The Cramps'

"Click here to listen to Episode #8 at Horrorphilia."

Contact us: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

...be sure to check out all of the podcasts over at Horrorphilia.com

Full Moon Halloween Sale!

2011-10-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Halloween is this weekend!
and we've got OUR CRAZIEST OFFER EVER:

Beginning Friday OCT 28^TH THRU OCT 31st at 11:59pm

ALL GIFT CARDS ARE 40% OFF!!!

And the MEGA $500 Gift Card is 50% OFF!

Just go to http://www.fullmoondirect.com

You can even enter this fun contest and WIN a $500 Gift card! TONS of film titles and synopses have been submitted. And there is still time to submit YOUR ideas, but you have to hurry. The contest ends on Halloween at midnight.http://fullmoonhorror.com/2011/10/25/9-crazy-film-ideas-submitted-so-far-you-can-still-enter-win-500/

Check out all the other fun stuff at http://www.fullmoonhorror.com – we post new content all the time! You gotta See the video and photo gallery from the FullMoonHorror.com Launch Party with Gary Busey and Tommy Chong!http://fullmoonhorror.com/2011/10/25/launch-party-preview-videos-huge-gallery-coming-soon/

...New Releases

PollyGrind Announces It's Winners!

2011-10-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

POLLYGRIND 2 JURY AWARDS:

Features: The Big 3

The Biggest Baddest Mother of the PollyGrind — The Bunny Game (Directed by Adam Rehmeier / Written by Rodleen Getsic & Adam Rehmeier / produced by Rodleen Getsic, Sarah Rehmeier, and Adam Rehmeier)
Best Horror Film - The Super (Written & Directed by Evan Makrogiannis & Brian Weaver / Produced by Alex Lugones)
Best Exploitation Film - Dear God No! (Written & Directed by James Bickert / Produced by James Bickert, Robin Gray, Olivia LaCroix, Nik Morgan and Shane Morton)

Best of the Rest:

Best Experimental Film - Zooey & Adam (Sean Garrity)
Best Action Film - 25K (Billy Chase Goforth)
Best Crime Film - Ratline (Eric Stanze)
Best Dark Comedy - The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol (Aramis Sartorio)
Best Documentary - Run Run It's Him (Matthew Pollack)
Best of Zombiepalooza - Ashes (Elias Matar)

Best in Categories:

Best Sound Design — The Bunny Game (Adam Rehmeier)
Best Director — The Super (Evan Makrogiannis / Brian Weaver)
Best Screenplay — Butterfly (Edward E. Romero)
Best Cinematography — The Bunny Game (Adam Rehmeier)
Best Editing - The Bunny Game (Adam Rehmeier)

Best in Acting:

Best Overall Individual Performance in a Film - Rodleen Getsic as Bunny in The Bunny Game
Best Overall Cast - Demetri Kallas as George Rossi, Lynn Lowry as Maureen Rossi, Ron Braunstein as Det. Sardusky, Manoush as Olga, Ruby Larocca as Karen, Edgar Moye as Andre, Brandon Slagle as Franny the Tranny, with David Francis Calderazzo, Bill McLaughlin, Raine Brown and Kathryn Zawiski in The Super

Best Actor — Aramis Sartorio as Tommy Pistol in The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol
Best Actress — Mandi Kreisher as Laney Darrow in Butterfly
Best Supporting Actor - Brett Hundley as Tommy Spioch in Frankie in Blunderland
Best Supporting Actress - Manoush as Olga in The Super
Best Cameo Appearance — Evan Stone as The Butterfly in Frankie in Blunderland

Best Use of:

Best Use of Nudity/Sexuality — Planet of the Vampire Women (Darin Wood)
Best Use of Violence/Gore — Sella Turcica (Fred Vogel)
Best Use of Music — Ratline (Eric Stanze)

Films with the Most

Most Outrageous — The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol (Aramis Sartorio)
Most Creative — Mondo Sexxxx: The Terry Kobrah Story (Logan Myers)
Most Innovative - The Earl Sessions (Ginnetta Correli)
Most Heart - The Girl Who Wasn't Missing (Shane Ryan)
Most Cool - El Monstro Del Mar (Stuart Simpson)

Shorts, Music Videos and Trailers:

Best Exploitation Short — Thy Kill Be Done (Greg Hanson / Casey Regan)
Best Action Short — Red Princess Blues (Alex Ferrari)
Best Crime Short — Dot Got Shot (Honey Lauren / Carlos Ramos Jr.)
Best Experimental Short - The Freight 4 (Ryen McPherson)
Best Horror Short - Acro-Love (Ron Rierson)
Best of Zombiepalooza - Axed (Joshua Long)
Best Dark Comedy - Killer Bra (Yakov Levi)
Best Music Video — Dirty Girlz by Dan Diamond featuring Mike E. Clark (Jimmie Gonzalez)
Best Fake Trailer — Wacko Jacko (Moe Irvin)
Best Real Trailer - Bettie Page Reveals All (Mark Mori)
Best Actor - Jakob Von Eichel as Sam in Damn Your Eyes
Best Actress - Brooke Lewis as Maura in Sprinkles
Best Director - All Flowers in Time (Jonathan Caouette)
Best Screenplay — Kitty Kitty (Michael Medaglia)

Audience Awards:

Favorite Feature — Dear God No! (James Bickert)
Favorite Short Film — Kuriosity Killz (Trey McGriff)
Favorite Music Video — Cemetery Pogo by The Secretions (Jonathan Morken)
Favorite Trailer — Electric (Crystal Stranger)
Favorite Special Showcase — Yakov Levi (Shorts: Shameless, Tasteless; Promos: Penisella 1 and 2)

Special PollyGrind Awards:

Bad Girl Award — Beverly Lynne as Janis Drake in The Atonement of Janis Drake
Ultimate Badass Award — Ezra Buzzington in Breath of Hate
Director to Watch Out For - Alex Ferrari for Red Princess Blues

Still Got It Awards:

Directing - Herschell Gordon Lewis for The Uh-oh Show
Acting - Camille Keaton in Sella Turci

PollyGrind

Stay tuned for the upcoming 'PollyGrind 2' edition of Horrorphilia's 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' podcast ...Coming Soon!

An Interview with Aramis Sartorio

2011-10-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

The man responsible for 'The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol'.

After his debut film, 'The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol', had me rolling outta my chair at the PollyGrind Film Festival, I got to shoot the shit with a guy that the horror world will definitely be hearing from in the near future ...Aramis Sartorio.

Jeff: Comedy definitely seems to be your forte. How long have you been at it?

Aramis: I did sketch comedy with four friends in high school. We were called 'Cheese Theater Productions' and I did it for 11 years. Everything I know I learned from doing that.

Jeff: The film is definitely more of a comedy than a horror film. Was the horror element always going to be a part of the film or was it added later on?

Aramis: I wanted to mix all the elements into it. Comedy, horror and drama. Comedy comes naturally first, but for sure it was going to be a horror movie.

Jeff: What kind of stuff did you grow up watching? Comedy? Horror?

Aramis: Both, I always needed them both to even me out. I'd watch something scary then pop in something funny right afterwards. That was my routine.

Jeff: You produced, directed, as well as starred in 'Tommy Pistol', what do you think is the most difficult of the 3?

Aramis: Producing was the most stressful. Trying to find the money to make it all happen was definitely the hardest.

Jeff: Which of the 3 do you enjoy the most?

Aramis: I know at the PollyGrind FF Q/A someone asked me that and I said writing. I thought about it more and now for sure I'd have to say acting. When I'm on point, it gives me such a high and such confidence. I feel unstoppable. I love acting. The others I feel I'm still growing into and learning more and more everyday.

Jeff: What was the most difficult part of getting this film made?

Aramis: WAITING!!! It was done on such a low budget. A lot of favors made it all happen. So when you're making a movie like that you just have to take what you get and just know you're going to finish it. I never would have accomplished it without my amazing, supportive, loving wife and the amazing crew. I knew no matter what I was going to finish it, but I couldn't predict when.

Jeff: You recently starred in Caleb Emerson's 'Frankie in Blunderland'. How did that project come about?

Aramis: I've spent a lot of time with Caleb because he edited 'Gruesome Death' for me. Marta Estirado was a huge fan of Caleb's cult movie 'Die You Zombie Bastards'. She wrote the script and asked Caleb if he would just read it and give feedback. Caleb did, he loved it and asked if he could make it. She said yes. So when Caleb was asking friends and casting for it, he asked me if I would be interested in playing Frankie. I said yes before he finished the sentence. The script found it's cast. Who ever read the script and didn't understand it, they passed on it. Their loss.

Jeff: There are some scenes in 'Tommy Pistol' that, for a lack of a better phrase, are pretty fucked up. Was there ever a moment during filming where you thought, "wait, this scene might hurt my chances of getting the film shown or more importantly getting a distribution deal"?

Aramis: Never, I went into this with one mind frame. If it's too much for you, then fuck off. At the time I was watching a lot of foreign horror films and I thought, why the hell are they getting away with the most fucked up kills I've ever seen and our US films suck. Lame and boring. I wanted to do something different, and just let it go. I think for my first film, if I was to hold back I would have been disappointed with myself. Also, whenever I told my wife Karen "Hey, what you think of this." If she said no that's too much, I kept it and made it worse.

Jeff: Anyone that has seen your film will agree that John Karyus' performance as 'Skanky' is truly incredible and wrong ...really, really wrong. Is there anything the guy won't do?

Aramis: God! I hope not, because I'm going to test him for sure in my spin-off movie called 'Skanky'. Writing that now.

Jeff: What's next for 'The Gruesome Death of Tommy Pistol'?

Aramis: No release date yet. Talking with a distribution company. Just looking for the best deal that won't bury it in a shitty library of movies and never come out. I need to spread it like wild fire. My goal is to be a CULT hit!

Jeff: What's next for Aramis Sartorio?

Aramis: Focus, focus and more focus. As much as I can. I'm hungry to do it all! Writing 'Skanky' and a few acting gigs for now. One thing at a time.

Jeff: Thanks again for taking the time to talk to us and I hope to hear from you soon for future projects.

Aramis: For sure I'll keep you posted and thank you.

Dear God No! (2011)

2011-10-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

"When The Blood Begins To Flow, Who Will Be Left To Scream..."

About the Film: The film follows an outlaw motorcycle gang known as 'The Impalers' as they wind down a tri-state rape and murder spree. After a gruesome battle with rival club, 'Satan’s Own', the survivors hole up in a secluded cabin in the North Georgia mountains. Taking advantage of what seems like easy marks for their depravity, the rough and tough 'Impalers' soon find themselves struggling to survive the flesh-eating killing machine that lives in the forest.

Director James Anthony Bickert’s biker/horror/sexploitation mash-up was shot entirely on Super 16mm film, using practical effects, and limited to technology of the era that the film is set in.

My Thoughts: I have to admit when the director and his crew came through the doors at the PollyGrind Film Festival, I was more than a little skeptical. You see they had spent a little time at the bar next door, so by time their movie screened I imagine they weren't feeling much pain. So how shocked was I when this movie absolutely stold the show, making it my biggest surprise of the week and a lock to score at least 1 or 2 awards when the festival winners are announced.

It didn't take much more than 2 minutes into the movie before I realized that the fun-lovin gang that Bickert brought with him to Vegas would be completely outdone by their on-screen personas. This movie has it all ...psychotic bikers, gun wielding strippers in Richard Nixon masks and of course, a bloodthirsty bigfoot. If you like sex and gore you'll find plenty of it here and for those of you who enjoy outrageous movie quotes (and who doesn't), they've got you covered there too. Jim Bickert's got himself a classic, even before the film's released. I must warn everybody that this flick is only for the cool kids. If you don't enjoy movies that are fun and you don't wanna have a good time, then stay away.

My Rating: 8.5 / 10

From the music, to the cinematography, to the look of the film itself (shot on 16mm), Bickert covered every base and created a true exploitation film. Go to facebook and 'like' the shit out of it and then wait patiently for the release date, which will be hopefully sooner than later. This would make the perfect first half of a double feature along with 'Hobo With A Shotgun'. Coincidentally, the same artist (Tom Hodge, a.k.a. The Dude Designs) was used to create both film's incredible movie posters.

I would just like to mention, among the many filmmakers at the PollyGrind who were generous enough to give away items (dvd's, posters, etc.) over the course of the week-long festival, James topped them all. Not only did he bring a shitload of his badass movie posters, but also 25 limited edition VHS copies of his film, made just for the PollyGrind, that he signed and numbered. I was lucky enough to snag #13 of 25.

***CONTEST*** We'll be giving away one of the posters in the upcoming PollyGrind edition of the 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' podcast in a few weeks. To enter for the drawing, e-mail us at: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com under the heading "PollyGrind Contest". We'll announce the winner during the show, which will be episode #8.

Get over to DEARGODNOMOVIE.COM for more info.

Be Back Soon!

2011-10-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks! Hangin' out at the PollyGrind this week, but I'll be back soon with a podcast covering the entire festival.

...at the 'PollyGrind' with Rodleen Getsic of 'The Bunny Game'.

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Podcast

2011-09-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Horrorphilia's 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' Podcast
Episode #7

Not a lack of sleep or even the common cold could stop us from bringing you episode #7 ofHorrorphilia’s ‘Much of Madness/More of Sin’ podcast. In this audio version of Horrorphilia’s ‘Be Kind, Rewind’ VHS reviews segment, we’ve got reviews for 6 forgotten films that haven’t yet made it to DVD in the U.S.: ‘Mongrel’ (1982), ‘Terror on Alcatraz’ (1987), ‘Spine’ (1986), ‘Run…If You Can!’ (1987),‘Sandman’ (1993) & ‘Crowhaven Farm’ (1970) …plus the new independent zombie flick, ‘The Final Night and Day’ from DefTone Pictures and we start the countdown of our Top 10 horror movies of all-time.

Music by: 'Bob Schneider', 'Blind Guardian' and 'The Cramps''

Contact us at theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

The Bleeding House (2011)

2011-09-16T02:32:00.000-07:00

"Grace Will Come To You."

Synopsis: A stranger (Patrick Breen) with mysterious intentions comes to stay the night at a secluded country home, but what he finds inside is a family torn apart by a violent past and a secret more deadly than he expected.

My Thoughts: The trick to making an effective slower moving thriller comes down to a few essential elements. The first and most important is an interesting story. A story that's not only original, but one that slowly reveals itself and keeps you guessing from beginning to end.

The second element is the acting, which is definitely one the strengths of this film. I thought the actors were well cast and their performances were somewhat believable.

Next is the mood. While I did like the film's eerie score and setting (you can never go wrong with a dark old house in the middle of nowhere), I thought the poor lightning in the outdoor scenes really took away from the effectiveness. This seems to be a common problem on smaller budget movies, so I guess we'll just write it off to a lack of funds.

Finally, there is pacing. A slow burning thriller can only be really effective when it's flame never goes out.
Unfortunately, this one went dark a few times along the way and lost my attention.

My Rating: 5 / 10

'The Bleeding House' does show some promise with strong performances and a sometimes eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately, the so-so storyline and the director's inability to keep my interest all the way through puts this thriller in my decent but forgettable pile.

You can purchase 'The Bleeding House' on dvd at newvideo.com.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Get your very own 2012 'Looks That Kill' Calender

2011-09-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

from 'Fat Foot Films'

Their Story

Fat Foot Films started with making a horror/comedy about humping zombies called "Mourning Wood". During the production we made a promotional calendar called "Looks that Kill" for 2009 to help raise funds and grow awareness for the small Massachusetts based production company. The 2009 calendar had an extremely short deadline and we only had 3 months to create, print and then sell it. Even with time against us, we were still able to make it a success.

This past October 2010, "Mourning Wood" premiered to a sold out crowd of over 300 people. In January 2011 we came out with our second film, drama/romance "Joy and the Apocalypse" which went straight to T.V. All of our projects have been done with nothing more than a deep love for what we do and donating our own personal funds. We are currently trudging full speed ahead on the newest Fat Foot Films creation, the “Looks that Kill” 2012 Calendar. This time around, we have more experience and better knowledge for creating the visions in our heads, and producing to you this amazing product.

Where's It Going and Who It'll Affect

Fat Foot Films wants to show you the beauty of horror, with gorgeous empowering females thrown into the macabre world of horror. The majority of funds raised will be dispersed to the printing process, which is the most expensive part of this project. The more funds that you all help us raise, the higher quality calendar we can provide to you as supporters and fans. We would also like to thank and give back to all of the people who made this project happen-the models, photographers, make-up artists, set designers and editors. They volunteered their time and energy, having no personal agenda but to help us bring this artistic collaboration to life, and we would like to promote and help them reach their dreams as well.

"click here to pick one up!"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Hider in the House (1989)

2011-09-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

"You Can't Lock Him Out. He's Already In."

Synopsis: Gary Busey stars as Tom Sykes, a psychopath who after being released from a mental institution, which he's been at since killing his abusive parents as a child, decides to move in with Julie & Phil Dryer (Mimi Rogers & Michael McKean). The only problem is they don't know he's there. As a child Tom would escape his parents abuse by hiding in the most remote areas of the house and now he seems to be back to his old tricks. This time building a secret hiding space in the attic where he can once again feel safe. While spying on the Dryer's, Tom becomes obsessed with Julie. He decides if he's ever gonna be a real part of the family he's gotta get Phil out of the picture.

My Thoughts: I'll be the first one to admit this movie is cheezy. The story is just ridiculous. I mean a 200 lb. dude walking around in your attic every night and they never go to check it out. They just blame it on the wind and later send an exterminator up there (who's never seen again, btw). Also, it's got a little of that Lifetime movie feel to it. There really is no reason why I should be telling anybody to watch this movie ...but I'm going to.

Gary Busey has got to be the only actor on Earth that could pull this shit off. It's actually a little sad, but I think this might be the role that he was born to play. The rest of the acting was pretty decent as well. Mimi Rogers is always the same (not great, not bad) and it was nice to see Michael McKean in a non-comedic role for once.

This movie reminded me a lot of 'The Stepfather'. The tone of the film, the kind of violence that was shown and especially the way the killer carried the entire movie. Don't get me wrong, 'The Stepfather' was a much better film and Terry O'Quinn did a better job as the deranged psycho, but then again they didn't have to work with this piece of shit script.

My Rating: 6.5 / 10

Gary Busey haters stay away from this one, otherwise it's worth seeing if you get the chance. So far it's only been released on region 2 DVD, but an old VHS copy will run you no more than $5 on amazon. I found one on ebay for a buck.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Rich's Reviews ~ I Saw the Devil (2010)

2011-09-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

"Evil Lives Inside."

'I Saw the Devil' deals with a serial killer named Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi), who meets his match. Soo-hyeon (Byung-hun Lee), the boyfriend of Kyung-chul's latest victim, sets his sights on finding her murderer before the police can. He then has planned a series of torture games for the killer, messing him up psysically in the process.

The film is very professionally made, especially the camera work. A couple of great scenes involved the killer murdering a taxi driver in a moving cab and an awesome fight scene in a greenhouse. Also, well acted by the entire cast. An outstanding performance by Min-sik Choi as the serial killer.

A great psychological horror film with its share of gore and violence. Keeps you interested throughout the story, however the ending is a bit disappointing.

'I Saw the Devil' gets an 8 out of 10.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Necronos: Tower of Doom (2010)

2011-08-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

"You Can Not Kill What Is Already Dead."

Synopsis: Necronos (Thomas Sender), one of the mightiest minions of the devil himself has come to earth to create an invincible army of the undead under leadership of barbaric demons, called Berzerkers. To achieve his goal Necronos needs numerous often very macabre and difficult to come by ingredients. So Satan sends him two assistants to achieve his goal - Goran (Timo Fuchs), a Blood Demon and footman loyal to Necronos as well as The Mighty Witch (Manoush) to locate the chosen one - a virgin witch.

My Thoughts: This has got to be one of the most difficult movies to review that I have ever come across. It's such a mixed bag, in every aspect of the film, that I don't know where to begin. You see what we have here is really a fantasy gore film, that at times seems like a slasher, and at other times almost feels like some of demented art film.While I do like the creativity that went into the storyline, the 2 hour run-time really took a lot of the flow out of it.

After getting through the first 10 painful minutes, in which the story was explained through a series of short clips of the past and extremely drawn out title card sequences, we finally get to the opening credits. Once that's over the film, now in present day, starts to pick up. The director (Marc Rohnstock) makes it pretty clear early on that he has no problems with nudity or extreme gore (which in my opinion is always a plus). Not all of the gore was great, but it had it's moments and believe me I've seen a lot worse.

If you could sit back and just take this movie for what it is, then you might be able to get something out of it. I for one can appreciate the obvious time and effort that went into making this film. This wasn't just thrown together in a week or two. So if you're into gore films and you're looking for something a little different then this medieval gore-fest from Germany might just be the movie for you.

My Rating: 5 / 10

Not at all a perfect film, but worth a watch. I can honestly say that I've never seen anything quite like it. In the often stale world of indie gore flicks, Lars and Marc Rohnstock definitely have their own thing going on and I'll be interested to see what they can come up with in the future.

Be sure to check them out at: infernal-films.com

"Click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Episode #6 Is On The Air!

2011-08-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

In the 6th episode of Horrorphilia’s ‘Much of Madness/More of Sin’ podcast, we review Broken Lizard’s 2004 slasher spoof, ‘Club Dread’ …the 1975 Cronenberg classic, ‘Shivers (a.k.a. They Came from Within)’ …1990′s ‘There’s Nothing Out There’ …the 1980 killer crab movie, ‘Island Claws’ …the 2008 British slasher, ‘Flick’ …and the 1986 cult classic, ‘Neon Maniacs’.

We also run down some of the new stuff that’s rumored to be in production and discuss the 2010 indie short, ‘Trilogy of Blood’ from Ruckus Productions.

Music by: ‘Bill Paxton (a.k.a. Coconut Pete)’, ‘Wir’ and ‘The Cramps’

Contact us at theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

Fright Night (2011)

2011-08-22T02:21:00.000-07:00

"You Can't Run From Evil When It Lives Next Door."

Synopsis: In this remake of the 1985 classic, teenager Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths in the neighborhood. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a self proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.

My Thoughts: I can go on and on about what was wrong with this movie, but just so I don't have to waste any more time on this 120 minute dud, I'll narrow it down to my 3 main complaints:

1: WHO CARES? - The 'new' Charley Brewster was one of the most uninteresting and unlikable main characters that I've seen in some time. It's nearly impossible to give a shit if anything happens to the guy, or his Mom, or his girlfriend, or any of his friends.

2: WE'VE SEEN IT ALL BEFORE - The CGI effects were mediocre at best and the kills were very unoriginal. Overall, pretty weak.

3: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? - They completely butchered the 'Evil' character. When I heard that Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka 'McLovin') was cast in this role, I thought he was the perfect choice for a 2011 version of 'Evil' Ed. He's got the geek thing down, he's a little weird and we know he could bring the comic relief. The problem is they didn't let him do what he does best. Instead, they had him deliver a few bad jokes, then made his character irrelevant to the story leaving the rest of the comedy to David Tennant (who was horrible in the Peter Vincent role). I'm sorry, but Peter Vincent and his wife giving each other the finger over and over isn't really that funny.

My Rating: 4.5 / 10

Believe or not, a pretty good performance by Colin Farrell is wasted here. My advice would be to spend your $11 or $12 on a dvd copy of the 1985 version, because the best thing about this one is that it's forgettable. Wait for redbox and if you're a big fan of the original ...wait even longer.

...and how could they not have played 'Come To Me' (the 'Fright Night' theme song) in this movie, shame on them. It's pretty obvious that the director (Craig Gillespie) wasn't too big of a fan of the original film and believe me

it shows on the screen.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Cry Baby Lane (2000)

2011-08-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

"Someone Wants To Meet You"

Synopsis: Andrew (Jase Blankfort) and his older brother Carl (Trey Rogers) enjoy listening to ghost stories that the local undertaker (Frank Langella) tells them. One night he tells the tale of a local farmer whose wife gave birth to Siamese twins, one being good natured while the other was clearly evil. The farmer, ashamed of them, kept the twins locked in their room. Eventually the twins got sick and died together, so the farmer sawed them in half and buried the good twin in a cemetery and the bad twin in a shallow grave near the house. Later, Carl and his friends decide to hold a séance in the cemetery where the good twin is buried, but they unintentionally awaken the bad twin instead. Gradually, he possesses nearly everyone in town and it is up to young Andrew to stop him.

My Thoughts: Okay, so the story of 'Cry Baby Lane' goes like this. Back in 2000, Nickelodeon decided to air a horror flick (that they produced) during their big Halloween weekend. Kids love to be scared on Halloween, right? So they got their biggest star at the time, Melissa Joan Hart (or 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch'), to introduce it and everything would appear to be fine. Until it aired that is. Apparently, parents were outraged by how frightening the film was, so they bitched about it, the network backed down (like they always do) and it's never been aired again on Nick or any other network.

Is this as scary as advertised? No, of course not. The problem Nickelodeon made was throwing the TV-7 rating on it. There is definitely images in this movie that could scare the crap out of a 7 year old. There's a lot of creepy crawlers and skeletons, but no gore. I think if they just played it safe with a TV-13, then all of the problems would have been avoided. It's not like the network was trying to build it up to help sales on a dvd release ...though maybe they should have.

The movie itself? Well, it's not too bad. The acting from the kids is no better or worse than you normally see on Nick or the Disney Channel. Frank Langella does a great job as the creepy undertaker, Mr. Bennett. The effects are decent enough, especially for a lower-budget TV movie.There's a pretty nice looking scene where a spider crawls out of a little girl's mouth and onto her tongue.

One thing I did like about this movie is that there's an oddness about it. It's not quite like any other horror movie that I've seen. I don't know if it's the story, the dialog or just the way the characters interact, but there's definitely something different about it. If anything I have to give the director (Peter Lauer) some credit for that. Also, I could see how if I saw this a bunch of times as a kid there could be some nostalgia for it. It's too bad Nickelodeon never gave it a chance.

My Rating: 4.5 / 10

Still no release for this one, but you can check it out on youtube before they pull it off again.

Watch It Here...

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Coming Soon... 'BILLY CLUB'

2011-08-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

Independent filmmaking these days is a scary thing! So we are looking to YOU to help support our next film and keep creative people making bigger and better projects!

About the film:

Billy Club is an independently produced horror film from directors Nick Sommer and Drew Rosas. This is a psychological thriller following in the footsteps of Halloween, Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In 2010, Rosas and Sommer created the instant cult classic Blood Junkie, pick up for distribution with Troma Entertainment. This summer they are teaming up again to produce their new film Billy Club, a haunting new vison in the realm of independent horror cinema.

"Click Here To Join The Club"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ The Guardian (1990)

2011-08-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

"Tonight, while the world is asleep... an ancient evil is about to awaken."

Synopsis: After stealing the baby that she had been hired to look after, for her Druid (tree worshiping) practices, Camilla (Jenny Seagrove) inquires about babysitting for Kate (Carey Lowell) and Phil's (Dwier Brown) son, Jake. She eliminates her competition for the position and quickly becomes part of the family. It appears they have found the perfect nanny for their son, until they begin to discover that Camilla might just have some special plans in store for baby Jake.

My Thoughts: The first thing that comes to mind after watching this movie is 'Why?'. Why would a guy, who directed one of the greatest horror movies of all-time ('The Exorcist'), even want to put his name on a movie like this? I guess we'll never know, but he wrote it ...so it's on him.

If you can get yourself past the dumb-ass plot, you're immediately hit with the boring-ass dialog. Then, if you stay awake long enough to make it all the way through, you're rewarded with some horrible special effects and an extremely predictable ending.

On the good side (if there was one), the acting was decent enough and at least we got to see some wolves fuck somebody up. Besides that, it's a total waste. I mean, come on ...Trees! We all know that Sam Raimi is the only one who can make a tree scary.

Friedkin made another return to horror with 2006's 'Bug', which makes it pretty obvious that the guy should give up on the genre.

My Rating: 3 / 10

Unless you happen to worship trees yourself, there's not a lot to like about this movie. The DVD is out of print and very expensive ($35 used on amazon.com), so I'd suggest skipping it or maybe catching it sometime on Showtime or Starz if you're really, really bored.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

My Pure Joy (2011)

2011-08-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Synopsis: The story follows a teenager named Adam. Introduced to horror films at a young age by his father, he had soon become obsessed with them. After his father's death, Adam takes his obsession to the next level by acting out the bloodiest scenes from his favorite slasher films on unsuspecting victims. When his life starts to fall apart, he decides to fix things by choosing his victims a little closer to home.

My Thoughts: Let me start by saying that the director (James Cullen Bressack) definitely shows some balls here, especially for it being his first feature film. This movie hits you with more gore, language and nudity than you'll get from 90% of the horror flicks being released nowadays. Plus, it also has a great WTF moment that forced me to rewind just to make sure that I saw what I thought I saw.

Some of the inexperienced actors weren't very good, although Alexei Ryan's performance as the psychotic teen, Adam, really stood out. The gore effects were decent enough in some scenes, but not so much in others. I thought the homage to the original 'Psycho' shower scene was really well done. However, the scene when Adam chops off the rapper's fingers ...well, not so good.

This movie could've been a lot better if it wasn't for the editing (or lack of editing). I understand that one of the hardest things for a director to do is cut out scenes that might have taken hours to shoot, especially for a younger director. Unfortunately, most of the time that's what it takes to improve the flow of a film. Cutting some of the longer dialog scenes and the repeated flashbacks would have really helped this movie.

My Rating: 4.5 / 10

This is a horror movie made by a hardcore horror fan for hardcore horror fans. The genre needs new young directors like James Cullen Bressack. Youth and inexperience isn't always a bad thing. It does lead to a lot of mistakes, but it also gives a director no fear of failure and that can lead to great things. This guy definitely seems to be on the right path and if he keeps his edge there's a great slasher flick in his future.

Psykik Junky Pictures

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Rich's Reviews ~ Simon Says (2006)

2011-08-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

"Time To Have Some Fun"

Simon Says is about twin brothers, one has psychotic tendencies and severely injures his brother when they are young children. The story takes place years later when the brothers are grown. Teens looking for a campground run into the twins, played by Crispin Glover, and soon get knocked off one by one. The teen characters consist of the jock, the stoner, the virgin, the slut and the smart chick.

Even though the characters all have been seen before, as well as the story, this movie works fairly well. The acting is above average. Crispin Glover was born to play this kind of role (of the odd twins). The gore is exceptional and the murders are creative. For example, the virgin girl gets it with a portable CD player shoved down her throat and the stoner is forced to smoke a giant joint.

Simon Says gets a 7 1/2 out of 10. It's good fun!

Horrorphilia's Much of Madness/More of Sin Podcast: Episode #5

2011-08-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

We're back with Episode #5 of Horrorphilia's 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' podcast. In this episode, we review the 1983 killer snake movie, 'Spasms' ...2003's direct-to-video sequel, 'The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting' ...the 1974 zombie classic, 'The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue' ...John Landis' 1992 vampire comedy, 'Innocent Blood' ...and both of the Dick Maas killer elevator flicks, 1983's 'The Lift' and 2001's 'The Shaft'.

We also run down some of the new stuff that's rumored to be in production and discuss Gris Grimly's 2007 indie short, 'Cannibal Flesh Riot!'.

madcreator.com

Music by: 'Hola Ghost', 'Iggy Pop' and 'The Cramps'

...e-mail us at theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

'click here to check out all of the podcasts at Horrorphilia.com'

The Gate (1987)

2011-07-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

"...Pray It's Not Too Late!"

Synopsis: Glen (Stephen Dorff) and his best friend, Terry (Louis Tripp), find that a gate to hell has opened when a rotten tree is removed from the backyard of Glen's house. When his dog dies and a friend of Glen's sister, Alexandra (Christa Denton), buries the animal in the hole, demons from an ancient civilization are released, seeking two human sacrifices to dominate the world. Glen, Al and Terry, who are spending the weekend alone in the house, fight to save their lives and close the gate.

My Thoughts: They just don't make'em like they used to. That's the first thing that came to mind after revisiting 'The Gate' after so many years. It could be just the nostalgia or maybe it's the beer, but I still really enjoyed this movie.

Since this movie's a part of my childhood it's hard to be 100% objective when rating it, so take that into consideration. I admit you don't get a lot of scary moments in this one, but it's still a really fun PG-13 horror flick. It's sort of a cross between the Goonies and the Ghoulies.

The story is fairly original and the director did a great job developing the characters, while keeping up the pace of the film. The acting was decent enough, especially considering the age of the main cast. We did get a little 80's cheeziness, but that's a big part of it's charm.

I also kinda dug the 80's style special effects. One image from this movie that always stuck with me was the scene where the zombie falls face first and explodes into a dozen little demon dudes. I was waiting for it and it didn't disappoint me. It was still as awesome as I remembered. Good stuff.

My Rating: 7.5 / 10

Overall ...if you haven't seen it, go rent it. If you collect 80's horror movies (or any horror movies), then buy it.

* a side note: After making this film, the director, Tibor Takacs, was offered the job to direct 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master', but declined because he wasn't given enough time to prepare his effects. New Line went on to hire Renny Harlin in his place and then delayed shooting by several months anyway. The good news is Takacs chose 'I, Madman' for his next project ...and that movie kicks ass.

* another side note: Actor turned director Alex Winter (a.k.a. Bill S. Preston, Esq.) has been claiming for years that a 3-D remake is in the works, but nothing has come of it. There were even rumors that Stephen Dorff was gonna be back to reprise his role as (a much older) Glen.

'click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com'

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Devilfish (1984)

2011-07-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. Shark: Rosso nell'oceano
"Sink Your Teeth Into Pure Terror"

Synopsis: Many questions arise when bodies begin to wash ashore along the Florida coast. Since the marks on the corpses don't lead to any known animal, scientist Dr. Stella Dickens (Valentine Monnier) suspects it's the work of an unknown life form and strives to catch it alive. It turns out, a group of scientists at the underwater-study institute have genetically created the 40 foot creature as a bio-weapon and it's been designed to reproduce by asexual means. She soon finds out that the company she works for is responsible and will stop at nothing to keep their secret from getting out.

My Thoughts: Originally titled 'Shark: Rosso nell'oceano' or 'Shark: Red on the Ocean', this long lost 'Jaws' rip-off from Lamberto Bava is a bit of a mess. I had no problem with the plot and the acting seemed passable, though it's really hard to tell with these English-dubbed Italian movies. The main thing that got under my skin was the terrible editing, something I have never noticed in other Bava films. I can only hope that this was just some bad American edit and the original film isn't as choppy. After all, different cuts of the film have been released in several countries under dozens of titles, such as 'Monster Shark' in Germany, 'Devouring Waves' in the U.K. and 'Jaws Attack 2' in Japan.

In addition to the crappy editing, the scenes with the 'Devilfish' were not convincing at all. Actually, all of the fish scenes were totally cheesy (and not in a good way). Bava and his crew obviously had no idea how to shoot underwater, though I did enjoy some of the out of the water gore effects.

One of those most interesting things about watching this movie was picking out all of the stuff that has been copied (or stolen) from it in recent years. The obvious one is the creature itself. It's the f%#kin' Sharktopus! Come on Bava, sue those motherf%#kers. Shit, I would. You know come to think of it, just about every movie that the Sci-Fi channel makes is based on this plot. The other noticeable thing was a few of the kills were lifted by Alexandre Aja for his 2010 'Piranha' reboot, which would have been a nice tribute if anybody even remembered this film.

My Rating: 4 / 10

Bava followed up this forgettable killer fish flick with one of the greatest horror films of all-time, 'Demons'. You can go ahead an argue that fact, but you'd be wrong ...so don't bother. Because he made 'Demons' (and even 'Demons 2', for that matter), we'll forgive him for this one.

I'd probably say unless you're really into those Sci-Fi channel killer fish movies, you should skip it. I would suggest watching anything else he put out in the 80's, like maybe 'A Blade in the Dark' or 'Delirium'. Plus, it's not available on DVD and used VHS copies are going for over $15 on amazon. If you're just looking for a laugh, check out the MST3K version on Netflix instant.

'click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com'

Frat House Massacre (2008)

2011-07-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

"Rush Week just became Death Week!"

Synopsis: This twisted horror flick, by Alex Pucci (director of 2005's 'Camp Slaughter'), follows the lives of Sean (Chris Prangley) and his little brother, Bobby (Rane Jameson). Bobby just graduated from high school and was all set for college where he was to pledge his big bro's fraternity, Delta Iota Epsilon, when his van was struck by a drunk driver and he slipped into a coma. He remained comatose until the exact moment another tragedy struck back at the frat house, this time to his brother, Sean. After hearing of his brother's death, a fully recovered Bobby goes back to school and pledges his brother's old frat in order to find out the truth behind Sean's death and punish those responsible. Well, it doesn't take him long to put his plan into action by falsely befriending the guilty frat brothers, led by their psychotic president, Mark (Jon Fleming), who's into extremely demented hazing rituals and has no problem disposing of a few unwanted pledges (not to mention what he does to the co-eds).

My Thoughts: Going by the film's title and after watching the opening sequence, there was no doubt in my mind that this was gonna be a homage to the slasher films of the late 70's/early 80's. Well, it kinda is ...I guess? As the movie went on I got a sense that I was seeing something else, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then about 20 minutes in, it hit me. This is a 1970's exploitation movie! ...and not just an exploitation movie, but an exploitation-revenge movie (my favorite kind). This film comes as close to cloning the feel of a true exploitation film (without spoofing it) as I've ever seen. The two main reasons for it has to be the acting and dialog, which most of the time was dead on (for what I think the director was trying to accomplish).

I must admit, after the bloody scene at the beginning and the awesomely cheezy disco montage used during the opening titles, the film lags for a bit. After that, something just clicked and it completely grabbed my attention. I liked how the director changed directions during the film, so even though you knew who the killer was gonna be you had no idea what was coming next.

I thought this movie was really well cast and everyone fit their role, basically the assholes played great assholes. The gore was also well done. Of course, cheezy at times, but fitting with the aforementioned theme. I also have to give a thumbs up to the music. Getting Claudio Simonetti of the legendary band, Goblin ('Deep Red', 'Suspiria', 'Demons'), to score the film just adds the movie's effectiveness. One negative, while I liked the film's gratuitous nudity, I could have done with a lot less man ass ...like how 'bout none.

My Rating; 8 / 10

I know most people will think this is complete garbage, but this movie isn't meant for those people. So I say, for lover's of old school movies like 'Massacre at Central High', 'Savage Streets' and 'Last House on the Left' ...this one's for you! A definite must see.

This film, made back in 2008, finally gets released on August 9th by Synapse films, but for those who can't wait you can pick up the director's cut dvd today from TLA releasing.

TLACult.com

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphila.com"

Livestock (2009)

2011-07-24T02:34:00.000-07:00

"Sit Back and Feed..."

Synopsis: A mysterious cult, known as 'The Pack', decide to promote one of their most loyal and hardest working members, Victor Corsi (Fiore Leo). Just as everything seems to be going Victor's way, his out of control underlings, who are growing tired of the monotony that goes along with following Victor's orders, make a foolish decision that can seriously effect his new position with 'The Pack'.

Meanwhile, two friends, Annabel (Johanna Gorton) and Tina (Christina C. Crawford) are getting ready for a big night. Annabel is preparing for a date with a guy she met recently online, while Tina has a meeting that she hopes will lead to a great career opportunity.

On this night, the lives of these three people will collide and the truth behind Victor's secret organization will be revealed.

My Thoughts: With his first feature film, Christopher Di Nunzio shows some promise. The indie filmmaker serves as the film's writer, director and producer. His story, though not original, has it's share of suspenseful moments. It throws a mafia twist on something we've seen before, Peter Medak's 'The Washingtonians' from the 'Masters of Horror' series comes to mind.

I think the film's biggest downfall is the inexperience of the cast. Besides Fiore Leo, who stands out in the lead role, the majority of the actors didn't seem qualified enough to handle what was needed from them. This really becomes a problem during the dialog scenes between the female leads. If this were the average slasher flick it would've been fine, but this film tried to pull off a lot of dramatic scenes that just weren't very believable.

The film does wrap up nicely and I did really enjoy how they decided to let the blood fly. The gore was well done for a lower budget film and got pretty extreme in the last few scenes.

My Rating: 3.5 / 10

I do give the director credit for trying to make more than just another hack'em up slasher. I would say that fans of indie horror might wanna give it a look. I'll be on the lookout for more from Mr. Di Nunzio in the future to see if he can step up his game.

You can pick up a copy on DVD at creepykidproductions.com.

LivestockTheFilm.com

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

2011-07-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. 'Attack of the Phantoms'
"Music & Mayhem at Magic Mountain"

Synopsis: The title pretty much gives away the plot of this 1978 NBC Saturday night movie of the week. Fed up with his lack of appreciation at the amusement park that he helped build, Abner Devereaux (Anthony Zerbe, 'The Dead Zone') plans to take over the park by turning the members of 'Kiss' into some sort of androids during the bands weekend of concerts at Magic Mountain.

My Thoughts: There's really no point in going on any further with the description of this movie. It has to be seen to be believed. If there was a bad movie hall of fame, this film would be a lock to get inducted. It's been said that the members of 'Kiss' were so ashamed of this movie that no one around them was even allowed to talk about it for years after it's release. I guess after the pink mesh half-shirts they wore on stage during the late 80's and Gene Simmons playing the role of a killer transvestite in that John Stamos movie this wasn't so bad. Not to mention 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels'.

So many stories have popped up about the making of this movie that they could write a book about it. Hell who knows, they probably already have. Most of the stories involve Ace and Peter's drug use during the filming, which led to Peter's lines getting dubbed by someone else and Ace's lines being reduced to a couple of noises resembling Curly from the 3 Stooges.

I absolutely love this film. The fact that all of the actors (and so-called actors) played it straight, even though the plot was so utterly ridiculous, help make this one of the greatest bad movies of all-time. This movie really deserves way more than just a short review. I'm definitely gonna have to include it somewhere down the line in one of my podcasts, because I can talk about this movie for hours. If you haven't seen it you should get your hands on a copy and don't worry there's no need to be a 'Kiss' fan to enjoy this disaster.

An inferior version, renamed 'Attack of the Phantoms', was recut for a European theatrical release in 1979. For obvious marketing reasons, most of the original score was replaced by songs from the bands recently released 'solo albums'.

My Rating: 9 / 10

This is a must have for lovers of extremely bad and cheezy movies. The original TV version had a very limited release from 'Cheezy Flicks' in 2005. The DVD's were pulled from the shelves because of copyright infringements, but you can still find some copies for sale on amazon.com for around $30. A 'Good Times Video' VHS copy will on run you about 6 or 7 bucks (used). If you're looking for both versions, 'Attack of the Phantoms' is included on the 'Kissology: Vol. 2' DVD boxset and will set you back around $30, but just over $10 for a used copy.

'click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com'

The Feed (2010)

2011-07-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

"There Is An Afterlife...And You Don't Want It."

Synopsis: The story involves a popular TV reality series, 'Ghost Chasers', which is preparing to begin it's fourth season on the air. To kick off the new season they've decided to broadcast their first show live from a historic movie theater in Pennsylvania, 'The Brenway'. Although the theater's current owner only claims to have witnessed some minor scares since inheriting the haunted movie house, it doesn't take the 'Ghost Chasers' crew very long before they get way more than they bargained for.

My Thoughts: 'The Feed' is what everyone really wants to see when they turn on one of those ghost investigation shows on the sci-fi channel. Basically, you finally get to see some freakin' ghosts. I'm not at all a fan of those programs or reality shows in general, so why did actually enjoy this? I liked the way the film's creator, Steve Gibson, set up the film by adding a documentary of the Brenway theater. This not only gave you a real idea of why the hauntings were taking place, but also in a way turned the theater into the film's lead character. Not to mention, I've always been a big fan of horror movies that are filmed in old movie theaters.

What separates this movie from the tons of other reality show horror films out there? Probably the way they decided to go at the reality angle head on ...commercial breaks and all. Adding the commercials to the 'Ghost Chasers' broadcast helped give the film an even more realistic feel and also adding a little comic relief to the otherwise 100% serious horror flick. Lloyd Kaufman's cameo as the personal injury lawyer, J.D. Woodley, was genius.

As far as the acting goes, you get the normal hit and miss performances that you'd expect in a lower budget film. It never got to the point where it distracted me from the story, which is the movie's biggest strength. I was impressed by how well-written and detailed they were with the theater's history, especially with the documentary at the beginning of the film.

One of the film's problems, which is something that couldn't be helped, were the scenes which involved the ghosts. I guess it's kind of a catch-22 for the director. In a movie like this, one of the biggest complaints is that they never show the ghosts enough. Because of that, I won't complain about how (in my opinion) they showed the ghosts a bit too much and took away from the film's suspense. You can't please everyone.

My Rating: 7 / 10

Overall, I had a good time with this movie. With the use of some good writing and a few fresh ideas, they took a not so original premise and turned it into a fairly original horror film. If you're into ghost stories and/or reality shows, you'll definitely have a lot of fun with this one. The 2-disc DVD is loaded with extras, including a behind the scenes look at their trip to Troma studios and the filming of Lloyd Kaufman's cameo.

www.FistInPostFilms.com

www.TheFeedMovie.com

www.facebook.com/TheFeedMovie

"check out more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

'GHOULIES' vs 'CRITTERS'

2011-07-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

HORRORPHILIA's 'MUCH OF MADNESS/MORE OF SIN' PODCAST #4

For our fourth episode, we've conjured up the 'Ghoulies' and squared them off against their arch-rivals, the 'Critters' for an epic battle between the two most successful "Gremlins' rip-off franchises. Will the 'Ghoulies' send their sworn enemies right back to outer space or will the evil space porcupines drop them into the fiery pits of hell where they belong? You can be sure that the blood will fly as Horrorphilia's Much of Madness/More of Sin podcast presents... GHOULIES vs CRITTERS

...we also discuss Ryan Convery's independent zombie-comedy 'Mourning Wood' from Fat Foot Films.

mourningwoodmovie.com

fatfootfilms.com

Music by: W.A.S.P., The Bloodhound Gang & The Cramps

Contact us at: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

Listen to Episode #4 here or at Horrorphilia.com :

Mourning Wood (2010)

2011-07-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

"A Very Very Different Kind Of Zombie!"

Synopsis: The unveiling of Dr. Jacob Pendelton's newest product, ShamPube, becomes a blistering catastrophe when it transforms the Slutton residents into 'humping' zombies. Now, it's up to an infomercial king, a used car salesman, four friends, and an array of peculiar townsfolk to join forces and stop the invasion. Prepare for the rise of Mourning Wood!

My Thoughts: I've always thought that horror-comedies were the toughest of all the horror sub-genres to pull off effectively. A good one is so rare that when I hear of one being released I tend to avoid it until I'm told otherwise (e.g. 2009's 'Doghouse'). Well, producer/director Ryan Convery and his crew really got it done here. I hope this doesn't make me sound like a total douche-bottle, but this was as much fun as I've had watching a zombie flick since 'Shaun of the Dead'. Yeah, that sounded kinda lame. F*#k it, it's still true.

There's really something to be said about the comradery between these guys. The sarcastic wisecracks and insults were as funny as the scripted jokes. Those wisecracks that seem effortless take guys years to perfect, not to mention the nonchalant reactions by the insulted friends. Believe me, I can call some of my buds a f*#kin' dickhole in front of their Mom and they won't even bat an eye. As a guy, I can appreciate that and in this movie it really shows.

In the 'making of' segment on the DVD's special features, Ryan emphasizes that anyone can make a movie and to just go and do it. I agree with that, though not everybody can make a movie like this one. This is no doubt a low-budget movie, but it was made by some very talented people. It was shot and edited extremely well, not to mention the sound and music editing was incredible. Also, I can't remember the last time I watched a low budget flick that didn't require me to adjust the volume level at least a hundred times during the movie. There's also some totally badass claymation that fits in perfectly during the opening title sequence.

My Rating: 8.5 / 10

This Ridiculously Twisted Zombie Flick Is For Fans Of Perverted Toilet Humor Only! If you're easily offended this isn't for you. Otherwise, if you're one of the cool kids, then I highly recommend it. Without this film I might have never known that trees didn't have vaginas. Links for 'Fat Foot Films' as well as the official 'Mourning Wood' movie site are listed below. You can watch it online for 99 cents or purchase the DVD for $12.99 (free S/H).

mourningwoodmovie.com

fatfootfilms.com

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"
.

Dahmer Vs. Gacy (2010)

2011-07-13T02:38:00.000-07:00

"The Two Most Infamous Mass Murders Battle For Top Spot"

Synopsis: The plot involves a secret government lab that apparently even the president doesn't know about. The scientists are using the DNA from some of history's most infamous serial killers (Dahmer, Gacy, Ramirez, Manson, Speck, etc.) in order to create the ultimate killers. After Dahmer and Gacy escape, it's up to a guy named Ringo (Ford Austin), a drunken hillbilly who's being trained by God (played by Harland Williams) to save the day. So he hits the road to hunt down the two killers, but first has to deal with his own inner-demons as well as fight off a gang of ninjas and X-13, the ultimate serial killer.

My Thoughts: I really hate it when I sit through a movie as bad as 'Dahmer vs. Gacy', then find out that it won a best picture award at some film festival. Okay, it was only the 'Bare Bones International Film Festival' in Muskogee, Oklahoma ...but still, c'mon! What the f*#k were the other movies these poor bastards had to sit through?

This film seemed to try to copy a typical Troma movie. Unfortunately, it has none of the Troma charm. Yeah, I said it ...Troma charm. Horror-comedies are pretty tough to pull off, so I guess I'll give the film's creators some credit for the effort. I just would've liked to have seen a few more of the gags in this movie actually work. They sure tried enough of them.

And as if the horrible jokes weren't bad enough, the director didn't help things with his constant use of choppy close-up camera shots. It was like watching an annoying 90 minute music video. Also, they could have at least hired on a qualified make-up effects crew. Even a terrible horror flick can be saved (a least a little) with a couple of decent looking kills.

My Rating: 2.5 / 10

I know a lot of us horror fans see a title like 'Dahmer vs. Gacy' and no matter how hard we try not to, we wind up watching it anyway. I do it all the time. Learn from my mistakes. Avoid it.

"click here to see the trailer"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Berserker (1987)

2011-07-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. Berserker: The Nordic Curse
"A Campfire Legend of Flesh-Eating Terror!"

Synopsis: According to an old Nordic legend, a Berserker was a bloodthirsty warrior who would feast on human flesh, forbidden a restful death and fated to be reincarnated in their blood kin. Six college students accidentally stumble across the Berserker legend while vacationing at a Rainbow Valley campground, an area settled by Norwegian immigrants. The camp is filled with rumors of a wild bear killing people in the area, including speculation about an old couple who recently got lost in the woods. Is it really a bear ...or is it something much worse?

My Thoughts: Wikipedia claims Berserkers are legendary Norwegian warriors who fought in a nearly uncontrollable trance-like fury. Most historians believe that they would work themselves into a rage before battle, but some think that they might have consumed drugged foods. The Berserkers were known for wearing coats made from the pelts of a bear during battle ...and in this movie, they also wore masks made from the bear's skull and used the teeth to rip open their victims.

Okay, so we have Berserkers, bears, vikings and bunch of annoying campers that are lost in the woods. Sounds like the makings of a great 80's slasher movie, right? Unfortunately, even a really badass premise can't make up for the awful execution of an inexperienced horror director (Jef Richard). The biggest problem I had was the film's pacing. It seemed like every scene would drag on about 10-15 seconds too long. I don't know if the goal was to reach 90 mins or what, but if they cleaned it up a little during editing and lost about 10 mins of useless footage it would really help.

The acting got really bad at times (even for a slasher flick) aside from horror movie vets, George 'Buck' Flower & John Goff who both brought their A-game. The gore was pretty cheesy and there weren't any memorable kills, just a bunch of bloody claw marks. We did get some boob shots, but nothing to write home about. Overall, it was watchable, I guess. It just didn't live up to it's potential. I still thinks it's a cool idea and could definitely use a remake ...a really low budget blood-soaked remake.

My Rating: 5 / 10

Released by Prism Entertainment in 1990. It's a surprising good transfer and unlike most of the 80's 'in the woods' slashers, the night scenes are really well lit. This one will run you about 20 bucks for a used copy on amazon. Is it worth it? Probably not, unless you sick f*#kers got some kind of perverted viking fetish or somethin'.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Be Kind, Review: The VHS Reviews ~ The Dark (1993)

2011-06-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

"It Will Consume You."

Synopsis: The story involves two men who are searching for the same thing: an ancient creature who lives beneath the surface of a graveyard and feeds on recently buried corpses. The first man (Stephen McHattie, 'Watchmen', 'A History of Violence') is a scientist who wants to capture the creature for its remarkable healing properties, believing that humans can benefit from it. The other man (Brion James, 'Blade Runner', 'The Fifth Element') is a former F.B.I. agent who is obsessed with killing the monster to avenge his partner, who years ago had been killed by the creature.

My Thoughts: A few weeks back on my podcast we reviewed a fairly unknown sci-fi/horror flick from 1979 called 'The Dark'. Well, here's an even lesser known sci-fi/horror movie called 'The Dark'. Made 14 years later (and no, it's not a remake), this Canadian creature feature stars a young Neve Campbell right before her 'Scream' & 'Party of Five' fame.

If you're in the mood for a good late night popcorn movie, you could do a lot worse than 'The Dark'. This low budget monster movie is without a doubt a homage to the creature features of the 50's. It's certainly no classic, but it does have a kind of b-movie charm (and a few funny moments) that keep it from getting boring.

The acting is just okay. Stephen McHattie who has shown off his great acting ability in other films (like 'Pontypool') is just average here. Maybe it was just me, but he seemed to be impersonating Lance Henriksen for some odd reason. The casting of Brion James was perfect in his usual tough guy role. Neve Campbell was a different story, but it was interesting to see her trying to play a cop. She couldn't have been much older than 18 or 19. I guess in a movie like this, what's the difference.

The make-up effects were much better than expected for a movie of this caliber. The creature, who tunneled around the cemetery looking for his next meal, was really creative. It looked like some kind of mutated rodent. The kills were pretty well done, although not much gore (after all, it was the 90's).

6 / 10

My Rating: 6 / 10

Not too bad for a 1990's low-budget Canadian horror flick. I'm surprised that this one was never released on DVD during the height of Neve Campbell's popularity (1998-2000). Since it wasn't, once again VHS is our only option. It was released by 'Imperial Entertainment Video' in 1994 and used copies are going for about 8 bucks on amazon.

"click here to see the trailer"

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Episode #3 Is Here!

2011-06-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

.......In episode #3, Jeff and Rich rundown the upcoming horror flicks that'll be hitting the theaters this year ...plus reviews of the 1976 drive-in classic 'Massacre at Central High' and the lesser-known slasher/comedy 'Evil Laugh'.

.Music by: Daniel Baldwin and The Cramps

...e-mail us at theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

"click here to listen to Episode #3"

...watch the trailers!

Stake Land (2010)

2011-06-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

The most dangerous thing is to be alive.

Synopsis: Martin (Connor Paolo, 'World Trade Center', 'Camp Hell') was a normal teenage boy before the country collapsed in an empty pit of economic and political disaster. A vampire epidemic has swept across what is left of the nation's abandoned towns and cities, and it's up to Mister (Nick Damici, 'Mulberry St.', 'World Trade Center'), a death dealing, rogue vampire hunter, to get Martin safely north to Canada, the continent's New Eden.

My Thoughts: It’s been a few years since director Jim Mickle’s last film, the ultra low budget ‘Mulberry Street’. You would think after such an impressive debut we would’ve heard from him again a lot sooner. Although far from perfect, ‘Mulberry St.’ showed Mickle’s true talent as a director.

In his second effort, Mickle kept the same group together, including co-writer/leading man Nick Damici and his talented cinematographer Ryan Samul. He also added a couple screen veterans this time around with Kelly McGillis ('Top Gun', 'Witness') and the extremely busy scream queen Danielle Harris ('Halloween 4/5', 'Chromeskull: Laid To Rest 2').

The strength of this film comes from the quality of the acting and the incredible camerawork, not so much from the story. I’m not saying I didn’t like the story because it did keep my interest, it was just nothing special. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before in just about every other lower budget post-apocalyptic movie. One thing that I could’ve really done without was the depressing narrator. The narrating thing is played out already and when you add that to the film’s overly dramatic score. It was just overkill. We get it, everybody’s sad.

As far as the horror stuff goes …the gore was really well done and there was a good amount of it, something that Mickle’s first film was dearly missing (most likely due to a lack of funds). The fight scenes were top notch with a few nice kills. I also thought the zombie look of the vampires was pretty cool.

My Rating: 7 / 10

Overall, I’d have to say I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was another solid effort from Mickle and his crew. Worth a watch.

"click here to see the trailer"

"click here for more reviews of 'Stake Land' at Horrorphilia.com"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Cliff Hangers! (1979)

2011-06-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

TV Series

I thought that this week I would take a break from my usual 'Be Kind, Rewind' reviews and give some love to the long-lost NBC series, 'Cliff Hangers!'. For those of you who have never heard of the show let me fill you in.

'Cliff Hangers!' was produced by Kenneth Johnson ('The Incredible Hulk', 'Six Million Dollar Man', 'V') and had a 10 week run on NBC in 1979 from Feb 27th to May 2nd. This terrific shortlived series attempted to revive the genre of movie serials in a made-for-TV format. Each hour-long episode was divided into three 15-minute segments featuring different storylines (a horror story, a mystery and a sci-fi/western hybrid). It's abrupt cancellation was based on two things. It had pretty low ratings, but this was mainly due to the fact that NBC never gave it a chance. They aired it on Tuesday nights opposite ABC's two power-house sitcoms 'Happy Days' and 'Laverne & Shirley', which were #1 & #2 in the ratings at the time. Also, because 'Cliff Hangers!' was three entirely separate shows, combined it wound up being the most expensive TV series to date.

My Rating: 8.5 / 10

The Curse of Dracula

starring: Michael Nouri ('The Hidden', 'Flashdance')
Stephen Johnson ('The Fury', 'S.O.B.')

Now living in California, Count Dracula (Nouri) is working as a college professor ...night school, of course. With his youthful appearance, suave demeanor, nice hair and job teaching European history, Drac doesn't have much trouble finding nubile young women to whom to deliver his bite. Still on his trail after all these years is the von Helsing family, now in the personage of Kurt von Helsing (Johnson), grandson of the original, and Mary Gibbons (Carol Baxter, 'A Chorus Line'), daughter of one of Dracula's victims.

Stop Susan Williams

starring: Susan Anton ('Cannonball Run II', 'Goldengirl')
Ray Walston ('My Favorite Martian', 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High')

News photographer Susan Williams (Anton) ventures all over the world on the trail of the conspirators responsible for her brother's murder and stumbles on a vast international conspiracy. Susan narrowly escapes death episode after episode.

The Secret Empire

starring: Geoffrey Scott ('The Morning After', 'Hulk [2003]')
Mark Lenard ('Star Trek: The Motion Picture')

In this homage to the cliffhanger serials of the '30s and '40s, 19th Century Wild West Marshal Jim Donner (Scott) stumbled upon a secret underground city known as Chimera while chasing a gang of robbers, 'The Phantom Riders'. Chimera is lorded over by an evil despot named Thorval (Lenard). Donner teams up with the resistance rebels in their effort to overthrow Thorval's cruel reign, while simultaneously investigating the gold robberies on the surface.

I really love the cheesiness of this series. I think if you just take it for what it is, a lot of you horror/sci-fi fans out there will enjoy it as well. I doubt we'll ever see an official release of this one. However, it's available for purchase at tvconfidentialdvd.com. I'm not sure about the quality, but it is available. In the meantime, you should check out on youtube.

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ The Hook Of Woodland Heights (1988)

2011-06-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

"Mason Crane....The Perfect Guest For Thanksgiving Dinner, Carving Is His Specialty."

Synopsis: We begin this late-80's slasher with a couple of teenagers, Tommy (Michael Elyanow) and Katie (Christine McNamara), who drive off into the woods to make out ...well, Tommy's there to make out. Now we cut to the Woodland Penitentiary, where a mental patient/serial killer named Mason Crane (Robert W. Allen) is in the process of being transfered from one cell to another. Mason murders the three guards and quickly high tails it to the nearby forest, coincidentally in the exact same direction of our two pre-occupied teens. He finds a BBQ fork, bends it into a hook and jams it into the stump where he's missing a hand and the rest you'll have to see for yourself....

Come on, it's only a half-hour long.

...and it's free on youtube.

"click here to watch it on youtube."

My Thoughts: I'm not sure if i'd say this falls into the 'so-bad-it's-good' category, but it definitely has it's share of WTF moments (like the 'clipboard kill'). The dialog and the acting are both pretty funny and the killer is fuckin' hilarious. It also includes some kick-ass 80's rock for all you over-the-hill metalheads out there. The short running time really saves it. If this was a full-length movie I doubt I could have even made it all the way through.

My Rating: 4 / 10

This was originally released on VHS in 1990 from Media House Productions with Michael Savino's other film, "Attack Of The Killer Refrigerator" (also on youtube). I noticed the creators of these forgotten horror-shorts are selling autographed copies on-line (now only available on dvd, of course) for the ridiculous price of $25. If you're up for a quick laugh, then check it out on youtube.

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Hunter's Blood (1986)

2011-06-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

"Out There, No One Hears You Scream"

Synopsis: Our story follows the father/son team of Mason and David Rand (Clu Gulager and Samuel Bottoms) as they head out to the Arkansas wilderness to do a little hunting with a few friends. After one of the hunters makes a wise crack to a waitress at a local bar, an altercation occurs with a group of backwoods inbreds (who of course don't take too kindly to city folk). The city boys win the fight, but not the war and the hunters soon become the hunted as their peaceful vacation turns into a fight for their lives.

My Thoughts: If we learn anything from this movie, it's that Clu Gulager ("Return of the Living Dead", "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2") is a bonafide badass. He basically plays the Burt Reynolds role from "Deliverance" (the film that this movie borrows the most from), but he does it like only Clu Gulager can. He's one cool motherf#%ker. The rest of the acting is average at best, besides a couple pretty good performances from Sam Bottoms (“Apocalypse Now”, "The Outlaw Josey Wales”) and the always creepy Billy Drago ("Vamp", "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.") who plays 'Snake', perhaps the craziest of all the rednecks.

The director (Robert C. Hughes, "Memorial Valley Massacre", "Zadar! Cow From Hell") does a great job in that he never tries to pretend that this is anything more than what it is ...a hillbilly exploitation movie. Because of that, the audience could just shut off their brains, sit back and enjoy a movie that could have just as easily been called, 'Attack of the Killer Rednecks'.

This movie has just the right amounts of action and cheesiness to make a good 80's exploitation movie. It's also probably a bit more of a slasher film than most of the other films of it's kind. I would say it's a cross between "Deliverance" and "Wrong Turn". It could've used some nudity and a little more gore, but I always seem to say that. Overall, "Hunter's Blood" makes for a fun hour and a half.

* note: This is Billy Bob Thorton's first role. The only problem is, if you blink you'll probably miss him.

My Rating: 8 / 10

Okay, maybe we've already seen this story a hundred times before, but I just can't help it ...I love me some crazy rednecks. This one's definitely worth a watch. Unfortunately, it still hasn't been officially released on DVD in the U.S., so VHS or bootlegs seem to be your only options (not that I condone the buying or selling of bootlegs). A used VHS copy will run you about $12 on amazon.com. I've also seen it up on youtube now and again.

"click here to see the trailer"

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

"Episode 2" Is Here!

2011-05-29T15:36:00.001-07:00

.......Our second episode features reviews of the 1979 horror turned sci-fi movie "The Dark", Umberto Lenzi's "Hitcher In The Dark", Dario Argento's 1987 classic "Opera", a long-lost anthology that has gone by many names that we'll call "Last Stop On 13th St.", the Butcher Brothers' newest release "The Violent Kind" and the 2002 horror/comedy "The Greenskeeper" starring former Major League pitcher John Rocker.
.......Music by: Lords Of Acid, Concrete Blonde and of course, The Cramps

_____ ...e-mail us at: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

"click here to listen to Episode 2"

...watch the trailers!

............""click here to see "The Greenskeeper" trailer"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Fright Night Part 2 (1989)

2011-05-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

"The Suckers Are Back."

Synopsis: It's been a few years since the events of the original movie. Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale, "Herman's Head", "Mannequin 2: On The Move") is now in college and has a new girlfriend. After the death of bloodsucker Jerry Dandridge, Charley has settled into life as a student and rejected his former belief in the existence of vampires. Although he's busy pursuing the affections of determined coed Alex (Traci Lind, "Class Of 1999", "My Boyfriend's Back"), Charley soon falls under the spell of the mysterious and alluring Regine (Julie Carmen, "In The Mouth Of Madness", "Blue City"). Even though everything about the woman screams vampire, her feminine charms -- and her claims of being nothing but an outlandish performance artist -- lead Charley to become her unwilling servant. Torn between Regine's enchantments and his loyalty to Alex, he once again looks for help from Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall, "Planet Of The Apes", "The Poseidon Adventure"), the washed-up horror show host who assisted him in the first time around. Soon, Charley, Peter, and Alex are facing off against a new coven of bloodsuckers led by Regine, who reveals herself to be the ancient sister of Jerry Dandridge.

My Thoughts: I've always been a fan of the original Fright Night. Effectively mixing horror and comedy is pretty hard to do and where as Fright Night might not be laugh-out-loud funny, I think it's never take yourself too seriously attitude delivered by it's incredible cast made it work somehow. You would think the fact that great chemistry being the main reason for the first film's success that a sequel with just two of the original cast members and a new director would be a complete disaster. You'd be wrong.

Fright Night Part 2 director Tommy Lee Wallace ("Halloween III", "Stephen King's It") replaces the first film's great chemistry with an eerier atmosphere and some great camera-work, and still manages to keep alive some of the spirit and fun of the original. William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall don't miss a beat bringing back their characters for a second go-around and the new cast of vampires add the comic relief that would have been missing after of the death of Charley Brewster's friend "Evil" at the end of the first film.

You might not have heard, but a Fright Night remake is scheduled to come out this summer. I would normally say sarcastically "oh great, another remake", but I think this one has some potential. First of all, I like their choices for the main cast: Colin Farrell as Jerry Dandrige (the vampire), David Tennant ("Dr. Who") as Peter Vincent, Anton Yelchin ("Charlie Bartlett", "Star Trek") as Charley Brewster ...and McLovin as "Evil" Ed Thompson. Also, I think it's the type of safe horror movie that the studios want to put out these days, so in this rare case it might actually work. You think???

My Rating: 8 / 10

Maybe the remake (coming out August 19th) will spark up enough interest to get this forgotten sequel re-released. I hope so, because as much as I like it I won't be paying $50 for a used copy any time soon. I've got my old VHS copy ...and those are even going for $15 on amazon.com nowadays.

"click here to see the trailer"

"click here to see the remake trailer"

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula (2009)

2011-05-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

"When Gangsters Meet Vampires, There's Bloody Hell To Pay..."

Synopsis: After their latest heist goes wrong legendary outlaw couple Bonnie & Clyde are on the run from the law and in need of fast money to fix up their companion who was shot during the robbery. Finding shelter in a small town they crash at the mansion of the notorious Dr. Loveless. When Bonnie & Clyde arrive at the Doctor's mansion they discover he has a secret. Deep in his cellar, the recently revived Dracula awaits ...and when gangsters meet vampires, there's bloody hell to pay.

My Thoughts: I've been patiently waiting for the release of this film for right around two years now. I mean, how can you have a better premise for a b-horror flick. Unfortunately, like most movies from my can't-wait-to-see list, I was a little disappointed with this one. There are a few really good performances ...well two. Former "Troma" stars Tiffany Shepis and Trent Haaga (writer of 2008's "Deadgirl") have great chemistry as Bonnie & Clyde and steal every scene they're in together. The problem is they're so much better than the rest of the cast (mainly newcomers) that it really stands out when they're not on screen.

We basically have two totally separate stories here that don't intertwine until an hour into the movie and when they finally do meet there's very little pay off. First, we have Bonnie & Clyde on the road after a botched robbery. With very few options, they decide to head to Clyde's friend Henry's place that's in the middle of nowhere. Well, it doesn't take long for Bonnie to get fed up with the less than plush accommodations and she doesn't mind letting Clyde know how she feels about it. A desperate Clyde conspires with Henry to rob a local moonshiner and his big city customer at the same time. When one of their crew gets shot during the robbery, Bonnie goes off to get help, but ends up at the mansion of Dr. Loveless (Allen Lowman, "Shadow Falls Memorial").

That brings us to our other story. While Bonnie & Clyde are doing their robbing and killing thing, we're also introduced to Dr. Loveless and his mentally challenged sister (who he keeps under lock and key with the help of an industrial strength shock collar). Dr. Loveless, who has some sort of medical condition that is never fully explained, believes that blood transfusions from the recently revived Count Dracula (Russell Friend) will cure him. That's pretty much when Bonnie shows up looking for a doctor, but gets bit by Dracula instead and we finally get a little bit of what the title promised us.

I'm not exactly sure what happened here. Maybe the director realized how weak the Dracula side of the story actually was and decided to emphasize the Bonnie & Clyde angle. If that was the case, he probably did the right thing. The Dr. Loveless/Dracula story seemed like a bad 'Full Moon" film ...a really, really bad "Full Moon" film. The Bonnie & Clyde story definitely makes this movie watchable and as great as the original premise was I think they would have been a lot better off if they just made a twisted b-movie version of Bonnie & Clyde and left Dracula out entirely.

My Rating: 7 / 10

Though it's still worth a watch, this movie had a lot of wasted potential. I thought this really could have been a classic. I do gotta give the director credit though, this is a big step up from his first feature, "Cadaverella" and if he keeps coming up with fucked up ideas like these I can see a b-movie masterpiece in his future.

"click here to see the trailer"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Blood Rage (1983)

2011-05-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. Nightmare At Shadow Woods
"Identical Twins With Brutally Different Personalities"

Synopsis: The film opens with twin boys, Terry and Todd, sneaking out of the back of their mother's car while she's making out with her boyfriend at the drive-in. Terry grabs an axe from the car before he leaves. The boys then come across a teenage couple, who are also making out, in the backseat of another car. Suddenly Terry begins hacking away at the teenagers as Todd looks on hopelessly. Terry quickly hands Todd the weapon and smears blood on his face, before the crowd gathers, framing him for the murder. Ten years later, Todd escapes from the mental institution. The news of Todd's escape, in addition to his mother's engagement, triggers Terry to go on another killing spree. Will Todd again be blamed, or will he finally be able to prove his innocence?

My Thoughts: I doubt there are too many people that would have this on their list of all-time greatest slashers, but still this forgotten gore flick does have it's moments. What this 1983 low-budget slasher lacks in overall acting, it more than makes up for in blood & guts. Unfortunately, the kills are pretty much the only reason to search for a copy of this hard-to-find film (well that, and the synthesizer-driven score ...oh, and the 80's haircuts).

The horrible performances are lead by former sitcom actress Louise Lasser and virtual no-namer Mark Soper, who are totally unconvincing throughout the entire movie. I've never seen her 70's sitcom "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman", but Lasser was completely horrendous here in her role as Maddy, the twins drunk and obnoxious mother. Soper was equally as bad playing both twins (Terry and Todd), although at least he had a couple funny one-liners during his killing spree. The scary thing is the supporting cast was even worse ...much, much worse.

Luckily, in a movie like this one a few good machete kills can make up for just about anything. Not only does this film include a dismemberment and a decapitation, we also get to see a chick get completely cut in two. The director leaves the camera rolling and is never in a hurry to cut away from the gore. Of course, most of it is pretty cheesy, but at least you actually get to see it.

* Note: Look for a young Ted Raimi who is selling condoms in the drive-in bathroom in the film's opening minutes. *

My Rating: 5.5 / 10

Overall, I thought this was a pretty fun slasher. Was it cheesy? Oh, hell yeah ...but in a good way. If you want to see the unedited version (and you do), then stick with the VHS version from Prism Entertainment (a used copy usually goes for about $20). There's also an extremely hard to find restored DVD version out there from Legacy under the title "Nightmare At Shadow Woods", but it's edited and very expensive (so don't even bother with it).

"click here to see a fan made trailer"

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

...The Madness Begins

2011-05-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

......Horrorphilia's Much of Madness/More of Sin podcast has finally arrived!

.......In this first episode, co-hosts Jeff and Rich review 1975's "Psychic Killer", Charles Band's "Skull Heads", the 1981 killer kid flick "Bloody Birthday", Lucio Fulci's "Demonia", the long-lost Native American slasher "The Ghost Dance" and the newly released "Scar 3D" (in 2D). Music by: Potent, Anthrax and The Cramps ...e-mail us at: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

***click here to listen to Episode One***

***click here to download Episode One on iTunes***

...watch the trailers!

Mother's Day (2010)

2011-05-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

"Don't Misbehave..."

Synopsis: After a bank robbery gone wrong, three brothers head for home, hoping their Mother (Rebecca De Mornay) can provide them with a getaway. The youngest brother, Johnny (Matt O'Leary), has been shot, and their back-stabbing former partner has gotten away with all the cash. But when the brothers get home, they find that all their stuff is gone and Mother is nowhere to be found: She lost the house months ago in a foreclosure. The new owners, Beth and Daniel Sohapi (Jaime King and Frank Grillo), and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers' unwitting hostages. Not long after, Mother arrives, along with the boys' sister Lydia (Deborah Ann Woll), and it soon becomes clear that Mother will do absolutely anything to protect her children. In one terrifying evening she brilliantly takes control of the situation and masterminds her sons' escape from the law. Sides will be taken, secrets revealed, and sins punished as the hostages struggle to make it through the night alive.

My Thoughts: Anyone who has been lucky enough to have discovered the b-movie masterpiece that is "Mother's Day" will tell you that they love it as much for it's absurdity than they do for it's violence and gore. So how does Darren Bousman's ("Saw 2-4", "Repo! The Genetic Opera") updated version compare to it's predecessor, even without nearly as much of the original's silliness and WTF moments? Well, pretty damn good actually.

The cast is incredible, especially Rebecca DeMornay as Mother. I gotta be honest, when I heard that she was chosen for this role all I could do was shake my head. I'll be the first one to say, she fuckin' nailed it. She's definitely a lot more demented than I gave her credit for, but I'm sorry I still can't get those "Risky Business" thoughts outta my head. Also, there's nothin' wrong with seeing Jaime King or Briana Evigan in another horror flick. But seriously, all of the acting was way better than I would have expected.

Darren Bousman did an amazing job telling the story with a good pace and never lost my attention (which is pretty easy to do). The kills and even some of the non-kills were pretty creative and really brutal. I mean, who doesn't wanna see a shotgun blast to the head ...so thumbs up on the gore. I think making this movie on an 11 million dollar budget is remarkable, especially with this cast. If they had to cut corners during production it certainly didn't show up on screen.

My Rating: 9 / 10

The 2010 version replaces all of the original's Troma weirdness with a more involved script, an experienced horror director and a great cast. You would think that taking out 90% of what made the original "Mother's Day" what it is would squash any chances of making this movie a worthy remake. I guess most of the time that would be true, but believe me this is an exception. They don't make'em much better, so when you get the chance, See it, Buy it!

BTW ...is it me or does anyone else wonder why everybody cheats on Jaime King in horror flicks. I just don't get it???

"click here to see the trailer"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Popcorn (1991)

2011-05-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

"Buy A Bag, Go Home In A Box."

Synopsis: Maggie (Jill Schoelen, "The Stepfather", "Cutting Class") has been having nightmares of a guru-looking man with a sacrificial knife chasing a little girl named Sarah. She doesn't seem that disturbed by the recurring nightmares as she thinks that they are unconscious inspiration for a possible film idea. She is one of the members of a fledgling film program at UC Oceanview taught by Professor Davis (Tony Roberts, "Amityville 3-D") who is eager to make a splash with the department so they won’t keep getting shafted in terms of budget, space, and resources. Class obsessive film nerd Toby (Tom Villard, "Parasite", "One Crazy Summer") comes up with the idea to have a horror film marathon featuring the triple feature MOSQUITO (in 3D), THE STENCH (in Arom-O-Rama) and THE ELECTRIFIED MAN (in Shock-O-Rama) with all of the original 1950's gimmicks included. With the help of film memorabilia collector Dr. Mnesyne (Ray Walston, "My Favorite Martian"), the group renovate the abandoned and soon to be demolished Dreamland Theater for the show. While setting up the gimmicks (a giant mosquito to fly above the audience, electrified audience seats, odors to be piped through the vents), the group find a reel of film marked “Do Not Open.” They run the reel and it is revealed to be an experimental film called “Possessor” featuring the imagery from Maggie’s dream and she faints. When she comes to, Professor Davis tells her that the film was made by a man named Lanyard Yates who had a film cult in the 70's where they took drugs and made avant-garde films. When his film was laughed off the stage, Yates responded with a follow-up called "Possessor", the final scene of which was the onstage murder of his family and torching of the theatre with the patrons locked in. Of course, his body was never found. When Maggie mentions Yates to her mother (Dee Wallace-Stone, "E.T.", "Cujo"), she tries to convince Maggie to drop out of the show and take a trip with her, but Maggie says that she can’t escape from something that’s in her mind. Later that night, her mother receives a mysterious phone call from someone claiming to be Yates who tells her to meet him at the theater. She goes and gets nabbed in the dark after the requisite voices, backlit silhouettes, and appearance of Yates on the theater screen. The next night at the show, Maggie thinks she sees Yates while taking tickets. As she searches the theatre for him with the help of her skeptical jock boyfriend Mark (Derek Rydall, "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge", "Night Visitor") and an equally skeptical Toby, someone starts bumping off the professor and students and taking on their identities (it is revealed that the killer has a secret hideout where he can make moulds of peoples faces).

My Thoughts: Sure this is a completely by-the-book slasher movie, but when everything's done the right way that could make for a really fun horror flick. Let's talk about everything they did right. The lead actress (or 'final girl') ...they chose the amazing Jill Schoelen, one of my all-time favorite scream queens. She gets a 10/10, no doubt. The setting ...a horror flick in an old movie theatre, what's better than that? Exactly, so 10/10. The 3 made-up 1950's movies (or 'stinkers') that they had playing at the theatre were hilarious, again 10/10. The music also worked perfectly, especially the reggae song they used during the theatre renovation montage. Well, at least a 9/10. Of course, the movie does have a few flaws. It's pretty cheesy at times and a lot of the acting isn't the greatest, but like I mentioned before when it's done right somehow it works ...and besides, it's a horror movie.

Oh, I almost forgot. The title ...Popcorn. It's perfect too. You're not gonna find a better example of a 'popcorn movie' than this one. This film definitely brings back good memories of seeing it on the big screen. Remember, this was made at a time when the slasher film was considered a dead genre, so for a movie as fun as Popcorn to come out and get a wide release at theatres was pretty rare.

My Rating: 8.5 / 10

This movie was actually released on DVD by Elite Entertainment in 2001, but is out-of-print and comes with a hefty $108 price tag on amazon.com ($44 for a used copy). Fortunately, there may be some hope for you Popcorn fans out there. Video Nasty productions is in the process of filming a documentary with some of the original cast members (click on the photo above). The plan is to include their documentary on Popcorn’s re-released DVD. Besides the movie and documentary, this “ultimate fan edition” DVD will come with a cast commentary, a collector’s booklet and a poster. It was set to be released on March 23, 2012. I think they might be having some money problems, but hopefully it works out. Go to popcorndoc.com for more info.

…For now, if the $44 DVD is too steep, you can always watch it on Netflix instant or pick up a used VHS copy for 5 bucks. Hey, it’s better than nothin’.

"click here to see the trailer"

"click here for more reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Bates Motel (1987)

2011-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

”Under New Management”

Synopsis: After being found guilty of various murders, including the poisoning of his mother, Norman (played by former Anthony Perkins stand-in, Kurt Paul) is sent to the state mental asylum. Once in the institution, Norman (who is apparently rehabilitated) rooms with a troubled young boy named Alex West (Bud Cort, "Harold and Maude", "Invaders from Mars") and they start a friendship that lasts nearly twenty years. After Norman dies, Alex inherits the Bates Motel that has remained vacant since the time of Norman's arrest. Alex heads to Fairvale, California where he meets Willie (Lori Petty, "Point Break", "Tank Girl"), a teenage runaway who’s been living in the empty house, and they decide to re-open the motel together.

My Thoughts: Coming off a pair of fairly successful “Psycho” sequels, Universal and NBC attempted to cash-in on the franchise with a spin-off TV series in 1987. Completely ignoring the storyline from Psycho’s 2 & 3, writer/director Richard Rothstein decided the show’s pilot episode (which premiered as a NBC Movie of the Week) would begin with Norman Bates incarceration in 1960.

Okay, this was obviously a bad idea from the start and the way it was carried out was just terrible. The idea that psychiatrists at a nut house would allow a serial killer to be a mentor to a troubled little kid is way too unbelievable. There’s also this unrelated side story, that doesn’t start until an hour into the movie, where this woman checks into the hotel and the whole thing turns into a really bad episode of Fantasy Island (which tells you what direction the TV series would have gone if it got picked up).

This poor excuse for a movie has none of the atmosphere of the other films. I realize it was made for TV and there were limits to what they could get away with, but this is so tame they could have aired it on a Saturday morning. Not one person gets offed the entire time and there isn’t even any decent scares.

The main actor (Cort) is so irritating and his performance is so bad that twenty minutes in you wish Mrs. Bates would pop out of her chair and stab him in the head. The funny thing is, as bad as he is, Lori Petty (who always plays the same annoying character) is worse. The two of them seemed to be in some kind of duel to see which one could act more retarded.

Anthony Perkins actively boycotted this film in interviews and television appearances in the months leading up to its premiere. He thought the film was an exploitative cash-in on Psycho 3, which he had directed less than a year earlier. Perkins felt that the continuity of the "Psycho" franchise had been ruined by the Bates Motel storyline. My guess is that he just demanded too much money, so the studio decided to kill him off and make the series without him. Perkins did, however, get the last laugh. When the pilot was aired in July of ’87, the ratings were so low that both Universal and NBC shelved the idea of turning the production into a TV series. In 1990, Perkins was brought back as Norman Bates to tell the story of his childhood in Mick Garris’ Psycho IV: The Beginning, which follows the storyline of the original films and disregards the Bates Motel pilot entirely.

My Rating: 3 / 10

Bates Motel has only been released on VHS in Sweden and Finland by Esselte Video. There’s a ton of bootlegs out there, most of which look like they’ve been copied and recopied 50 times over. If you really wanna see this crap no need to buy iy, just click the link below and watch it on youtube.

"click here to watch Bates Motel"

"click here to check out other reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

Repo Man (1984)

2011-04-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

"…It’s 4 A.M., do you know where your car is?"

Synopsis: Frustrated punk rocker Otto (Elimio Estevez, "The Breakfast Club", "Maximum Overdrive") who quits his supermarket job after slugging a co-worker, and is later dumped by his girlfriend at a party. Wandering the streets in frustration, he is recruited in the repossession of a car by a repo agent (Harry Dean Stanton, "Alien", "Escape From New York"). After discovering his parents have donated his college fund to a televangelist, he joins the repossession agency (Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation) as an apprentice "repo man". During his training, he is introduced into the mercenary and paranoid world of the drivers, befriended by a UFO conspiracy theorist (Olivia Barash, "Tuff Turf", "Fame"), confronted by rival repo agents, discovers some of his one-time friends have turned to a life of crime, is lectured to near cosmic unconsciousness by the repo agency grounds worker (Tracey Walter, "Batman", "The Silence of the Lambs"), and finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue concerning a huge repossession bounty on a 1964 Chevy Malibu driven by a lunatic government scientist, with Top Secret cargo in the trunk.

My Thoughts: The “cult film” tag is thrown out there way too often, much of the time undeserved. British filmmaker Alex Cox’s 1984 classic truly warrants that title. This fairly unknown low-budget sci-fi/comedy still holds up, even 27 years after it’s release.

Alex Cox’s debut is so full of strange characters and sub-plots that it’s a miracle it doesn’t completely fall apart half way through. I gotta attribute that to not only Cox’s script, but to the great acting from his more than competent cast. Harry Dean Stanton practically steals the show as Bud, a smooth talking low-life repo man who has done and seen it all. His scenes with Estevez are classic and are responsible for some incredible quotes like, "What are you? A fuckin' commie? I don't want no commies in my car … No Christians either!". Tracey Walter also has a hilarious scene where he explains to Otto about what he calls the “cosmic unconsciousness” and how flying saucers are really time machines.

Repo Man has as much sarcasm, dark humor and inside jokes as you will ever find in a film. I’ve probably seen it over a dozen times and I’m still picking up on things that I’ve missed. On my last watch, I just noticed that everybody who works at the repo yard is named after a beer (Bud, Oly, Miller, Lite).

…and how can I forget about the incredible soundtrack, which is includes the Suicidal Tendencies classic, “Institutionalized”. Not to mention, songs by The Circle Jerks, Black Flag and Iggy Pop. The highlight of the album has to be Burning Sensations cover of the 1976 Modern Lovers’ tune, “Pablo Picasso”. A song consisting of just spoken word lyrics over a “Peter Gunn” riff, that contains the lyrics: "Well some people try to pick up girls/And get called assholes/This never happened to Pablo Picasso/He could walk down your street/And girls could not resist his stare/Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole …not like you." The Repo Man soundtrack is practically a time capsule of L.A.’s hardcore/punk scene during the early 80’s.

My Rating: 9 / 10

This film falls into the must-own category. I don’t even know why I didn’t rate it a 10 out of 10. Don’t take my word for it, check it out on Netflix instant. A blu-ray version has yet to be released, but I definitely recommend picking up the collector’s edition DVD. It’s a high quality transfer with some great extras, including scenes from the network T.V. version that weren’t included in the original film and were left off the DVD’s original release.

"click here to see the trailer"

Lost Signal (2007)

2011-04-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. Dead of Winter
"If you would like to make a call. Please hang up ...and die again."

Synopsis: Kevin Healy (Al Santos, "Jeepers Creepers 2", "Killer Movie") and Tiffany Matthews (Sandra McCoy, "Cry Wolf", "House of Fears") head out to celebrate the New Year and a new beginning in their 7-year relationship. In the midst of the celebration the young couple decide to mark the occasion by experimenting with Crystal Meth. Unbeknown to them, town bad boy Randy Martin (Alex Boyd, "Karla") slips LSD in their drinks, setting into motion a night of life altering events which will leave one dead and the other forever scarred. The young couple leave the party and quickly begin to realize that they are not alone, or so they think. After a car accident the two run into the woods to escape their stalker, with no protection from the elements. Attempts to call for help are futile when they realize that their cell phone signal is lost. Alone in the woods with the delusions of being chased the couple slowly begin to turn on each other. On the verge of being rescued everything falls apart in this fast paced, psychological thriller, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats.

My Thoughts: This film's kind of a mixed bag. I liked the premise, although the execution was so-so. The acting wasn't bad for a lower budget feature. The two leads were pretty believable and actor/turned first time director Brian McNamara did a decent job creating a creepy mood when the couple was lost in the desolate forest. I know it's already been done to death, but I'm still a fan of horror flicks in the woods.

McNamara probably could have tightened it up a bit with some editing. The movie did seem to lag at times, enough to where I found myself dozing off in the middle. It did finish strong with some nice kills and a pretty dark twist ending.

I've read a few reviews that compare this to "The Shining", one even calling it a complete rip-off. I'd like somebody to please explain this to me because the movie I just watched wasn't even close.

My Rating: 5.5 / 10

Overall, it's a movie with a message that unfortunately drags a bit in the middle, but still not a bad rental. Oh, the message ...don't do drugs!

"click here to see the trailer"

Be Kind, Rewind: The VHS Reviews ~ Appointment With Fear (1985)

2011-04-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. Deadly Presence
"Trapped in a world where death is not the end!"

Synopsis: Our Story follows hard-nosed Detective Kowalski (Douglas Rowe, "Babysitter Wanted") as he investigates a series of brutal murders only to have his investigation lead him to an asylum inmate who is supposedly in a coma in a heavily-guarded monastary. Meanwhile, the inmate's dying wife hands over her baby to an unsuspecting teenager asking her to protect it from her husband. The inmate's döppelganger, who emerges from his cometose body, tracks down the teenager and her friends during a party at a house that's in the middle of nowhere ...of course

My Thoughts: Moustapha Akkad past away in 2005. He will be forever remembered as the executive producer for the original 8 films of the legendary "Halloween" franchise. In 1985, Akkad produced his only other horror film, a second rate slasher called "Appointment With Fear". While "Halloween" went on to become one of the most successful horror films of all-time (both financially and critically), "Appointment With Fear" can be considered the complete opposite.

Apparently, Akkad wasn't happy with what director Ramzi Thomas gave him, so he decided to have additional scenes shot and have the film re-edited. This led to Thomas having his directing credit removed from the film by the Directors Guild of America and replaced with the pseudonym "Alan Smithee". All of this makes sense after seeing this film. At times the story seems disjointed, which (as my Mom would say) is most likely caused by the film having too many chiefs and not enough indians.

The acting wasn't too bad, but the writing is so ridiculous that even Daniel Day-Lewis couldn't have pulled this off. Most of the characters seem to be half-retarded, e.g., one of the girls has a bum that lives (and sleeps) in the back of her pick-up. It's never explained??? That might be okay in a comedy, but this is far from that. Don't even get me started on the asinine dialog.

If there's anything positive I can say about this movie is that it has a pretty decent score, which is the only thing that brought any suspense to this forgettable film. I'd be interested to know how much they spent on this disaster. With all the production problems, I bet it's more than you might think. There's a good chance this is the reason Akkad went back to his bread & butter (the "Halloween" movies) and never tried any other horror films. After watching this, that could be a good thing.

My Rating: 3 / 10

As you might expect, this one never made it to DVD. You can pick up a VHS copy on Amazon for a few bucks, but I'd advise even hard-core 80's horror fans to skip this one.

"click here to check out the other reviews at Horrorphilia.com"

"Much of Madness/More of Sin" Podcast News

2011-04-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Could this be true? A Much of Madness/More of Sin pocast. No way!

It's true. God help us all. I'd like to confirm that the official Much of Madness/More of Sin podcast is officially in the works. It's in the early stages right now, so that's all I can really tell you. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, I expect the first episode to be ready to go by the first or second week of May.