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HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES VOL 1
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HOME - INTRO - REVIEWS - FEATURES - MYSPACE - BLOG - STAFF - CONTACT HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES VOL 1
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A-C D-F G-I J-L M-O P-R S-U V-X Y-Z
(1979) At a ground breaking ceremony for a new church, a huge cross towers behind the podium where a priest is blessing the site. The shadow of the cross falls across the ground behind the small stage. Where the cross is casting a shadow, the ground has turned black, as if burnt, and is smoldering. Later that night, a hand breaks through the dirt, pulling it’s owner to the surface. Rising from his grave for the first time in 30 years, a creature of the night returns to stalk the city of San Francisco. And so starts the 1979 TV movie VAMPIRE. Genre star Richard Lynch plays the 800 year old vampire, Price Anton Voytek, known in his day as the “Golden Vampire”. Lynch has always been a personal favorite of mine, with his raspy voice and his leathery face. Apparently due to the fact that in the 60’s, while on LSD, he set fire to himself in New York’s Central Park. Lynch was born to play the bad guy and the more evil the better. Here, he is elegant and courtesy. But he also shows us an underlying evil in his eyes that shows his true power. This power also shows in his confidence when dealing with his modern-day vampire hunters. He shows no fear of them, and makes sure that he puts the fear into them…if not for themselves, for ones close to them. His adversaries here are played by two other actors well known in the genre. E.G. Marshall plays a retired police detective, who remembers investigating a series of murders like the recent ones of mutilated bodies, drained of blood. Except that was 30 years ago. Marshall does a great job fitting into the Van Helsing type character. His partner is Jason Miller, probably most known from his role as Father Karras in THE EXORCIST. Miller plays an architect who teams up with Marshall after his wife is killed by the vampire. Also having a small bit-part is everybody’s favorite popular character actor / sleaze ball, Joe Spinell. I think the real power of this movie is because of Lynch and Marshall. Both give such realistic portrayals in their characters. Miller is also good, but tends to go a little overboard on some of the more emotional parts. This was a pilot for a possible new series. But for some reason, it was never picked up. That’s a real shame, since I would have loved to have seen where the series would have gone. But, this was very THE NIGHT STALKER was dead and gone, and years before Buffy would start slaying vampires. But like the NIGHT STALKER series, this movie stayed with the old-fashion vampire mythology. The plot even resembles parts of Stoker’s Dracula when Marshall and Miller are searching out for all his different resting places. Although the film sticks with most vampire trappings, the vampires themselves don’t have fangs, at least none that you see. They do seem to have that hypnotic power over their human prey. Since the film was made for TV, there’s not a lot of violence and I don’t believe you see any blood. This was released on video by MTM Enterprises, but has never been released on DVD, as of yet. We can all hope for a special edition, with maybe audio commentary by Lynch. Now that would be worth the wait. (1957) Years ago, when I was a young and dumber horror fan, I would resist getting into any newer sub-genre of horror movies. My reasoning at the that time was that there was already too much of the regular stuff that I hadn't seen, so didn't want to add to that ever growing list. Then a friend of mine, against my wishes, sent me a few tapes with some of the Mexican horror movies from the 50's. And after watching them, not only was I hooked, but I also seen the errors of my way. With so much great stuff out there, from all different countries, you really don't want to limit yourself. You will miss a lot. So once I was a devoted fan of the Mexi-horror films, like the other sub-genres, I sought out whatever titles I could find. The one of the first of these films was EL VAMPIRO (aka THE VAMPIRE). Like the rest of the Mexi-horror films, this film just seeps atmosphere. From a couple walking down the lonely and deserted road, with fog swilling about, to the creaking as the coffin lid slowly opens up to unleash the evil vampire, atmosphere is what these movies are all about. The main man responsible for all of these great Mexican horror movies is Abel Salazar. He produced and starred in most of the horror films that came out in the late 50's to early 60's. Another one was Germán Robles. He was wearing the cape and fangs (maybe the first screen vampire to have fangs?) a year before Hammer released Christopher Lee as the King of Vampires. But Salazar and Robles gave us plenty of entertainment with their films. Sometimes the acting wasn't the greatest, but their hearts and attitudes where definitely in the right place. And thanks to the awesome people at Mondo Macabre, they had released this film on DVD in all their typical wonderful glory. The film has both English and Spanish language tracks, as well as optional English subtitles. There is also special photo-novel version of the sequel, THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN. But the real highlight of the extras is a great 20 minute documentary on the history of Mexican horror movies. They start at the beginning with films like THE VAMPIRE, go through the films of EL SANTO, all the way to Juan López Moctezuma. Great for both beginning fans and old ones alike. This release is region 0 PAL DVD. In this film, Count Lavud comes to a small Mexican village to revive his dead brother. Seducing the owner of the house, under where his dead brother is buried in the crypt, his plans seemed not to be able to fail. Especially after the death of the woman's sister, who was a deeply religious woman. Arriving with the niece is doctor who is secretly there to investigate the strange things that have been going on. For beginning fans, this is a great place to start. If you are a fan of the old Universal films of the 30's, you can't miss with this one, or the many other Mexican horror films of that time. If you want to find out more about these early Mexican horror movies, check out this website: The Wonderful World of K. Gordon Murray. He was the guy who dubbed a lot of these films into English and had them playing on television here in the states. Because of this guy, a lot of people got to see these classic films that might not have otherwise.
VIY
aka VIJ (1967) Apparently this film has been one of those titles that everybody has been looking to find for years. Somehow I must have missed out on these discussion, since I had never heard of it. But since it has recently been released on DVD, and it’s been getting rave reviews on the internet, I figured I should see what all the fuss is about. And man am I glad I did. The story is pretty simple. A young man who is a seminary student has a run in with an old witch. She climbs up on his shoulders and rides him like a broom, flying over the countryside. Afterwards, he beats her to death, at which time she turns into a young girl. Once he returns to the seminary, he finds out that a rich landowner’s daughter on her deathbed had requested his presents. Once he gets there, not only has she just passed away, but also it’s the girl whom the old witch turned into. The grieving father demands that he spend three nights with her in the church reading prayers. This where the film really kicks in. The special effects used in the film are for the most part very simple, but yet are very effective. It reminded me a lot of the German films of the silent era. The makeup for some of the demons that appear looked like twisted images from somebody’s nightmare. The film does take a little time to get going, but once it does, it’s one of those films that you can watch over and over and still get the same enjoyment, if not more, with each viewing. The DVD is in great quality, with some awesome animated menus. You can play the movie with English subtitles, or have the English dubbed audio, although sometimes what is said isn’t exactly what the subtitles are reading. It also features three short Russian silent films on the disc. They are THE PORTRAIT, THE QUEEN OF SPADES, and SATAN EXULTANT. All are pretty entertaining, but THE PORTRAIT is extremely chilling, especially for anyone who had thought of paintings coming to life. I would highly recommend this film to any fan of great cinematography, style and effects. And of course, if you are a student of the horror genre, then this simply is a must see. You won’t regret it.
VIRGIN WITCH
(1970) One could wonder just how bad could a witchcraft movie be when it has tons of gratuitous nudity in it, and that’s just during the opening credits. At least, that was my first thought when I started watching this film. I soon realized that was probably the reason for all the nudity early on. The makers of this film knew how bad their movie was, so they put all this nudity there to keep you at least through the opening credits. Two young sisters runaway from home, off to London, one with hopes to become a professional model. The one sister gets a modeling job, and her and sister go out to the country for the photo shoot. The lady who runs the modeling agency is not only a lesbian, but also part of a coven of witches. The one sister, who apparently has some sort of second sight or something, decides she wants to join the coven, while the other sister is too afraid. Okay, so you have lesbians and witches, right? How could this be bad movie? Well, while the witches have sacrifices, they don’t actually kill anybody, just implying. Pretty lame. It seems that the only reason for the rituals is so that the head priest can have sex with the new member of the coven (not a bad job, if you can get it). So if you’re looking for a good witch movie, don’t look here. If you just want to see a bunch of naked women . . . hell, you might as well just watch a Franco film. At least there you’ll get some sort of enjoyment from the movie. (1958) While I was never a big fan of the first film, THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Maybe since the title character is more of a monster in this one, or at least looks like one. Or maybe since he's not running around yelling, "I DON'T WANT TO GROW ANYMORE!". But if you enjoyed the first one, then you will enjoy this one as well. Taking place shortly after the first film, truckloads of food are disappearing on the way through Mexico. When they recover the last truck and driver, they find both in bad shape. The driver is delirious, screaming in terror, while the truck has been smashed. Not to mention the giant footprints found near the truck. Sally Fraser plays the sister of Glenn Manning, the title character. She's convinced that her brother didn't die at the end of the first film, especially since they couldn't seemed of have found his 60ft body. Kind of hard to miss that, don't you think? So she goes down to Mexico to investigate herself. I love the way they show the government works even back then, as far as anybody taking responsibility. Congress says it's not their responsibility, but check with the Department of Medical Research. And then they say check with the Health and Welfare Department. And then of course, they turn it back over to Congress. Nice to see that things haven't changed since then. Like the first one, there is a lot of unintentional humor here. My favorite line in the film is when Sally, along with a couple of guys from the Army and a scientist discover a huge footprint. The scientist states that the man who made this footprint would have to be 60 feet tall. Sally pipes in, "Glenn was 60 feet tall!", as if there might be another 60 foot giant running around! What a hoot. One other unique item in this movie is the brief color footage at the end of the film. Once the giant Manning decides to end it all and grabs the high tension wires, the film turns to color, as the sparks fly! AIP was doing that with a few of their films, such as in HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, which came out the same year. It's a nice little surprise for the audiences. Granted, these types of films have been made fun of by the likes of Mystery Science Theater, and deservedly so. But that doesn't mean that they're still not entertaining. At least to some of us. I think the special effect work that Gordon did on this film worked out much better than the previous film. Maybe it's the little kid in me, but I really enjoyed this film. It made me laugh and it made me yearn for those Saturday afternoons with my face glued to the small black and white TV watching whatever monster movies were going to playing that day. And as much as this film may be laughed at or made fun of, especially by today's standards, if you were to look at how much the film cost to make, and how much money it actually made, some people might be very surprised. The first COLOSSAL MAN movie made close to a million dollars in the first 6 months. And remember, that was in 1957. Lions Gate Home Entertainment released this on a double feature DVD, along with another B.I.G. classic, EARTH VS THE SPIDER. No extras, but for the price, it's definitely worth adding to the collection. (2006) Most low budget films that we see are usually not that great. Sure, there might be a lot of passion and desire there, but if there's no talent, it can get pretty bad. But we're always willing to give new ones a try. So when we sat down with this new film WATCH ME, we honestly weren't expecting that much. So it was a nice surprise to find a film that was made with some real talent. The camera work was really enjoyable and very fresh for a low-budget film. The film makers really took the extra time to do some nice camera set ups, which can really highlight what we are watching. It really is noticeable. It takes the film up to a higher level than one that obviously looks like someone was filming with their video camera. The acting was also pretty good. Not great mind you, but effective enough. Most of the low budget stuff can be painful to watch. But here, they found some decent actors that really came across as real people. And then the music here is also pretty effective which adds even more to the atmosphere. Nicely done. Another nice touch the film had was the ambiguity of the story. Not too much was explain as to who this ghastly visitor was. There were a few clues given, or what might have been clues, but they are never explained or gone into further. So it was nice to see something where they didn't go overboard trying to explain what their movie was about. The one big flaw here was the storyline. It wasn't the most original, taking a lot from the J-Horror genre over the last few years. From the cursed email attachment to even the ghost that appears after you watch it to do some nasty things to you. Since this was made in Australia, we're not sure if this is going to turn up on DVD over here in the States. But you can check out the official website for the movie HERE.
(1977) Originally titled IL GATTO DAGLI OCCHI DI GIADA (THE CAT WITH THE JADE EYES), the American re-title of this film is completely inaccurate of what the film really is about. Not that this was the first time this happened in the movie world before. They seemed to be trying to go for a slasher look and feel, which this movie is nowhere even close to that. What we do have here instead is a pretty good thriller, where someone is out on a killing spree. But are all the victims connected, and if so, how? Just when you think you know what’s going on, they come up with something different. This is definitely not your typical killer-on-the-loose film. Someone actually took the time to come up with a pretty interesting and intricate plot. That is something that you don’t see too often anymore. Of course, another thing you don’t see too often is when someone is killed by having their face pressed down on a hot pot of food cooking in the oven. I have to give them points for originality there. Another real highlight of the film for me was the music. It reminded me Goblin’s work at that time. It really gave it that feel of Italian films of the 70’s. That would make a nice soundtrack cd. But the only disappointing part of this movie is the print used for this DVD release from VCI Entertainment. In the past, VCI has put some out some incredible looking releases, such as CITY OF THE DEAD. So I had expected the same quality in this release as well. But that was not the case. Instead, what we get is a print that looks like was taken right off the videotape. Very grainy, very dark and nowhere near what a DVD movie should look like. If they didn’t want to go through the cost and trouble of re-mastering the print, then they shouldn’t have bothered putting it out. While the packaging lists the film as widescreen, when compared to the Thorn EMI video tape, it looks like they just cropped the top and bottom. There doesn’t seem to be any extra footage on the sides, just the missing footage on the top and bottom. The DVD is a little bit sharper quality of the videotape, but not by much. I will give them credit on the animated menus. Those are pretty cool. Of course, when you see how much work was done on them that just makes you more disappointed when you see the print quality. We can hope that their other upcoming releases, such as HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, CROCODILE and KISS OF THE TARANTULA as not as bad looking as this one is. Also on the DVD are some Italian horror film trailers, the original 30 second and 60 second radio spots, and an Antonio Bido bio, who you can see in a small cameo as the dancing director, pictured on the right here. (1976) A naked woman with a dirty body dances rhythmically while eventually growing fur on parts of her body as a narrator talks about a werewolf woman! Some flame bearing villagers soon interrupt the proceedings and start chasing this creature around a wooded area. One unfortunate soul gets axed in the head by the psychotic she wolf. Some screams lead us to believe it was all a bad dream by Daniela (Annik Borel). She imagines herself to be a reincarnation of an ancient ancestor, whom we allegedly viewed in the prologue. Her father is worried about her condition, as is her sister (Dagmar Lassander). When Daniela spies her sister and brother-in-law making love, her psychosis acts up (along with a full moon) and she lures said brother out in the open for a quick shag. That sex session turns out bad when Daniela goes for the jugular and promptly throws the poor slob over the side of a cliff! A quick edit and Daniela is now in a hospital for the mentally disturbed. She gets a visit by her sister which turns ugly (again) as she spouts some profanities at her, in an inspired nod to Elke Summer from HOUSE OF EXORCISM. A nymphomaniac (!) helps Daniela escape, but not before getting scissors jammed into her neck! A few victims later, Daniela eventually finds love and peace in the arms of stuntman Luca. However their romantic bliss is soon interrupted by 3 rapist thugs who kill Luca. Daniela goes into rape/revenge mode and sets out to destroy the trio before regressing back into her lupine from (psychologically that is) in a sequence that echoes the opening flashback/dream. Whew, this oddball tale of sex and sauce has a little bit of everything, but director Rino De Silvestro can only sit back and watch leading lady Annik Borel go crazy in a performance that must be seen to be believed! She rips out throats and rips off her clothes with the best of 'em, and it appears as if nothing will stop her from delivering the most over-the-top actions ever spied in a horror/sexploitation film! To Silvestros credit, he avoids a cut-and-paste werewolf pastiche, and opts for a more believable tale of lycanthropy, by presenting it as a mental disorder of the mind. To hammer the point home, we get countless scenes of doctors and cops explaining this dilemma to us whenever the action slows down. But hey, those looking for sleaze and gore won't be let down, since this one delivers up the goods in spades, and that's really the bottom line here, despite the somewhat heavy handed story. When Shriek Show put Werewolf Woman out on DVD domestically, they delivered the full uncut version (all prior US VHS tapes, known under a myriad of titles, were missing some sexy stuff) but they cropped the picture on all four sides, leaving out important visual information. Over in Japan, the Trash Mountain Video label released the film uncut, and properly framed, but decided to digitally fog two instances of lower abdominal pubic hair (boo!). The Raro label out of Italy just put out another version of Werewolf Woman on DVD, in a version that looks to be definitive. Any way you slice it, Werewolf Woman is one of those movies that is never easily forgotten, and for those looking for something off the beaten path will be wise to check it out pronto! Review by Dave Kosanke
(1971) This is one of those famous cult titles that we all remember reading about or seeing mentioned in some reference book. What a great exploitation title, huh? Right there you have two different types of exploitation movies together...bikers and monsters! What more could you ask for? I do have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the film, only because I was expecting what the title states....a gang of werewolf bikers terrorizing the countryside. Turns out there's actually only two werewolves, and only one actually gets on wheels. And that is only briefly at the end of the movie. Instead, we have more of a standard biker flick with a horror twist thrown in. But since when did exploitation movies deliver 100% of what they’re ads promised? And is that a bad thing? Not at all. But what they did deliver here is still an entertaining little movie about a biker gang roaming the west, that run into little trouble when they come across a strange monastery. Filled with robed monks who are worshipping big Lou, they just might have met their match. They think they're pretty tough and evil, they find out they're wrong. Adam and his gang The Devil’s Advocates, seemed to be your typical biker gang, looking for fun and thrills, thought they do seemed to do a lot of hugging....When their mystic member Tarot tells them he can show them "where it's really at", they end up at this monastery. The robed figures come out of the place, carrying bread and wine for the bikers, who gladly partake in the communion. But after passing out, the monks start the real fun. Adam’s main squeeze is drawn to the worshipping and does a freaky naked snake dance for the monks. A very memorable moment in 70’s exploitation filmmaking if there ever was one. Once the bikers start to wake up and realize what’s going on, they raid the monastery, beat up the monks, and take off into the night. Things seemed to be back to normal until the next night. Something attacks two of the members in the middle of the night, tearing their throats out. Was it some wandering beast in the desert, or was it the evil that Tarot warned them about? The leader of the monks, simply called One, is played by Severn Darden. Though you can’t really see his face that clearly, he’s a very recognizable character actor from the 70’s, especially on TV. Here, he plays this cult leader with all the zest of a Shakespearian actor playing Hamlet! The biker gang is made up of very realistic looking actors, some of which are stunt men. Stephen Oliver plays the leader, Adam. One of the highlights of the film for me, was somewhat of an accident. They needed a guy to play this gas station attendant that the bikers come to and take the gas. The director found this old guy, who was not an actor, but had no problem giving these bikers a mouthful. Watch for the scene, since this guy is hilarious. One of the great things about this release is that Dark Sky (with some involvement from Blue Underground, since the commentary is moderated by David Gregory from BU) has tracked down the original director and writer of this film to do an audio commentary for the DVD. Who would have ever thought that this movie would ever get a DVD release, let alone being able to hear the director and writer talk about the movie! Director Michel Levesque and writer David M. Kaufman produce a commentary that is informative and very entertaining. Hearing these two reminisce about the film and the making of it is like hearing a history lesson from the days of exploitation filmmaking. Some of the stories are priceless. The other special features include trailers (for both WEREWOLVES and THE LOSERS) and radio spots and a photo gallery that shows some great posters and lobby cards from the movie. Very nice. Dark Sky Films has done another great service to the genre in releasing this DVD. Once again, here is another obscure title that might have been lost. But they have done a great job with this release. While the film is still a little dark in some spots, compared to the video release of the movie, the difference is literary night and day. Directed by J.S. Cardone We didn’t get the chance to see this film during the After Dark Horrorfest last fall. But after seeing the trailer online, it peaked our interests. This film is the story about a small mountain town that is haunted by some children that were killed in a mine accident back in the early 1900’s. From the prolog, we learn that a group of children were left to be buried alive in the shaft at the start of a cave-in. The miner’s owner was found not guilty of any wrong doing in the accident. And so starts the vengeance of the dead. Now we have always enjoyed a good old fashion ghost story. We don’t need to have the in-your-face scares, as along as you have a good ghost story. For example, films like THE FOG (of course the original), THE CHANGELING, or even another After Dark Horrorfest film Nacho Cerda’s THE ABANDONED, show a great example that if you have a classic type ghost story, with a some chilling moments, the payoff will be there. And in WICKED LITTLE THINGS, director J.S. Cardone almost does that. Lori Heuring plays a recently widowed woman who arrives at her late husband’s ancestral home in the mountains with her two daughters. Her plan is to make a fresh start after her husband’s lost a long battle with an illness. But once they get there, there are strange things a foot. There’s the creepy neighbor who is marking their front door with fresh blood. And then there’s noises at night, and little dark figures moving about the forest at night, dragging pickaxes and shovels behind them. Cardone does do a very good job of creating some great atmosphere in the woods at night, with the fog bellowing in through the trees. How could you not, right? But he still has the creepy feel needed for a ghost story. The vengeful ghosts don't care who gets in their way to appease their thirst for blood. He also has a pretty good back story on how these title characters became what they are. The cast also does a great job here. Heuring gives a strong performance of a mother on the edge of a breakdown, desperately trying to keep her remaining family together. Scout Taylor-Compton plays the daughter, who is not too happy about moving way out in the middle of nowhere, also does a good job. Geoffrey Lewis has a small but memorable role as a local handyman who is doing a few repairs on their house. He's always fun to watch. But the real standout performance here is Ben Cross. I almost didn't recognize him, with the half-rotted teeth and the scruffy look to him. Cross plays the 'crazy' neighbor who seems to know what is going on. The audio commentary has director Cardone and the lead actress Heuring. At one point, Cardone doesn't seemed to want to consider this is a horror film, which I don't understand how you can have movie about zombie children and not consider it a horror movie. But that's just me. But besides that, they do have some interesting stories about working in Bulgaria, where this was filmed, and with working with the little kids who play the zombie/ghosts. But, I did have two small problems with the story. The first one is that the ghost children are more zombies than ghosts. They feed on flesh, both human and animal. Now, they did look pretty cool, with their black eyes and dirt and blood stained faces. But mixing in some zombie lore with the typical ghost story just didn’t cut it with me. I will give them credit from trying something different. But I am one that prefers his ghost stories pretty traditional. And I just don't think mixing ghosts with zombies worked that well. At least not here. But here's where the reasoning came in. This was the film that Tobe Hooper was originally attached to, called ZOMBIES. According to the audio commentary, Cardone wanted to do something a little more like the classic "children horror" stories, creating more of a "dark fairy tale". But I think if they would have just dropped the whole zombie aspect of it would have made it better, and more to what it seems like Cardone wanted. The other thing that bothered me was the very ending. Slight spoiler here, folks, but nothing major. In traditional stories, the ghosts are haunting for a reason. Once the “wrong has been set right” or whatever that is causing the unrest is corrected, the ghosts pass on and are at rest. But in here, once the wrong has been righted, the ghosts still remain. Granted, they don’t seemed to be pissed off as before, but they’re still there. Now these are minor complaints, and really didn’t take out any enjoyment I had with the film. But I did want to mention it. I think they were trying to do something different and it just didn't work out, as far as I'm concerned. But with those complaints notwithstanding, I do think that Cardone has done a worth while job here and is definitely worth your time. (1964) I don’t remember if it was due to a review I had read, but for some reason, I had always thought this film to be one of those poverty row pictures, featuring Chaney Jr. who would appear in just about anything just to keep working. And this shows that even a well seasoned student of the genre like me can completely misjudge a movie, just because of what they may have read or heard. I had been in the mood for some older B&W films, and thought that since I had never seen this film, now was a good time as any. Especially now that it finally got a DVD release (thanks to MGM’s Midnight Movie series). But what I wasn’t expecting was to find just how much I really enjoyed it. Director Don Sharp had many plenty of films in the genre. He worked with Hammer Studios the year before this movie on KISS OF THE VAMPIRE. He also went on to do RASPUTIN: THE MAD MONK for Hammer as well. Other titles in his horror resume are CURSE OF THE FLY, DARK PLACES, and even PSYCHOMANIA. But for this film, he sure must have been inspired by watching some of the films coming out of Italy around this time, specifically Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY. There are quite a few scenes in foggy cemeteries, with the figure of a hooded witch standing there. So you can see a strong Italian influence here. And that is not a bad thing. Lon Chaney Jr., while doesn’t have a lot of screen time here, sure makes an impact when he is on the screen. As the bitter old Morgan Whitlock, whose hatred for the Lanier family comes out in every one of his actions. Their families have been feuding for centuries, and Chaney plays the inborn hatred towards this family as if he himself was the one that was wronged. But it wasn’t him. It was an ancestor who was accused of being a witch and buried alive, over 300 years ago. Now that some of that land where she was buried is being re-developed, indirectly by the Laniers, the 300 year-old grave is disturbed. And so she sets out to get her revenge. Sharp does an excellent job of setting up beautiful night time landscapes with the shrouded fog creeping in. He gives us shots of the old cemetery, with the decrepit tombstones, and slow camera pans across the foggy sets, only to settle upon the feet of a hooded figure standing there. Nicely done. There are some other familiar faces in the rest of the cast. Hammer fans might recognize Diane Clare from PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES. Unfortunately, she is about as flat here as she was in that movie. Jack Hedley had also worked for Hammer, but mainly in a couple of their non-horror films, such as swashbuckling THE SCARLET BLADE and prison war film THE SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND. He also was in Hammer’s dark comedy THE ANNIVERSARY, starring Bette Davis. Yvette Rees plays the resurrected witch, Vanessa Whitlock. Though she is silent, her looks make up for that. With her shrouded robe and the help of some eerie lighting, she comes across as one scary lady. She went on to work with Sharp again in CURSE OF THE FLY. If you’re looking for a nice creepy black and white film, you will enjoy this one. Sure, it’s no comparison to Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY. But it’s definitely a lot better than you might have thought, or read about as in my case. Since it was released in a double feature DVD release, with the price tag pretty low, I’m sure it will be well worth your investment to add this to your collection. Or even enough for you to rent it and give it your 90 minutes. (1962) This is another treat from the Mexi-Horror genre. But this time out, we have a hybrid of sorts as far as the plot goes. The movie starts out with your typical ghost revenge story, but then moves into the mad scientist theme. But yet the story follows through both conventions quite well. The film starts out with a brief history of witchcraft and of those who practice it. This opening sequence, which features some interesting artwork, was cut from the K. Gordon Murray print. We then learn from this magic mirror, that a young woman is going to die...by the hands of her husband. The young woman's godmother, a practicing witch and also the housekeeper, tries to save her goddaughter, but it's no use. As predicted, she is poisoned by her husband. Some time later, the husband returns with a new wife. But the godmother has not forgotten and plots her revenge. And hear is where the plot turns. Going beyond the normal ghost revenge movie, after the new wife is badly burned, the husband, who is also a doctor/scientist, says he can fix her disfigurement. But for this process, he needs the bodies of young women. It was a nice treat to see this film blend two different types of horror themes. Especially since most of the Mexican horror films are more in the traditional sense, with ghosts and vampires and such. But here they take the plot down a sharp turn into something similar to Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE. Not to mention doing a really nice job about it as well. The one thing about these Mexican films of this time, for the time, they are more graphic than what viewers in the states were use to. The makeup is a little bit more graphic, and so is the subject matter. In one scene, the hands of a woman's corpse are removed to be transplanted. We see the dead body being moved, with her arms ending at bloody stumps. Nice. Another high point of these films are the special effects. Granted, today they may seem a little dated to some people, but for the time, they are done rather well. And I think some of them still hold, even today. There's one scene with some smoldering flowers that is a very cool effect. Remember folks, these were made over 40 years ago. This is the second release from CasaNegra Entertainment, who has done us fans a wonderful service. They have re-mastered the picture and sound from a newly restored vault elements, giving us a print that has to be the best looking one we've ever seen. These are also the uncut versions. So if you are used to seeing the versions that were re-edited and dubbed by K. Gordon Murray, then this is even more a special treat for you. This disc also contains an audio commentary by Frank Coleman, founder of IVTV. Unlike the CURSE disc, the commentary carries throughout the film, giving quite a bit of history about the film. You can also hear in the film in the original Spanish dialog with English subtitles, or the English dubbed track. There is also cast and crew bios, poster and still gallery, and an essay on the director, Chano Urueta. And once again, the atmosphere here is just incredible. That is what captured my passion for these movies right from the beginning. This is one film that you could actually watch with no dialog and still enjoy what you're watching. If you're fans of the old black and white Universal films, than you will enjoy these. If you are a fan of these movies, then you have to get these new DVDs. It will be like you're watching them for the first time. If you've never seen these, then now is your chance to really discover a whole new sub-genre.
(1970) “The Manic Magician Whose Monstrous Tricks Actually Work!” “Scenes So Far Beyond Any You’ve Ever Seen That No Description Is Possible!” I have been watching gory movies for many, many years. I’ve seen some pretty gory and disgusting stuff, from the Japanese GUNIEA PIG series, to Peter Jackson’s BRAIN DEAD, and tons of the Italian zombie movies. So I was pretty surprised (and amazed) that a film made back in the early 1970’s was actually putting my gag reflexes to work. The plot, once again for a H.G. Lewis film, is very simple. Montag the Magnificent performs grisly acts of violence upon a volunteering female member of the audience. One lady is cut in half with a chainsaw, while another has a metal spike driven through her skull, and her brains pulled out. Of course it is all an illusion, and the young women return to the audience unharmed. But then later that evening, those same young women are found dead, with the same injuries that they suffered at the hands of the twisted magician. The acting is either bad or over the top. The storyline is minimum. But that’s not what we’re watching a H.G. Lewis film for are we? We want to see the gore! And Lewis doesn’t hold anything back with this one either, giving us just what we want…and more. The gore sequences seem to be different in this film than previous films such as BLOOD FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS. Instead of a just a limb being gruesomely cut or ripped off, the sequences in WIZARD go on and on, with organs being pulled out of the stomach, or brains being pulled out of the side of a young women’s head. And the camera never leaves the image. Never cutting away, just showing all the gore in all its bloody glory. Another different theme for Lewis here is that we the viewer are not really sure what is going on in the movie. Is what we see happening real? And with the ending, we are never really sure. I enjoyed the fact that Lewis didn’t really try to explain the ending of the movie, or the whole movie for that matter. It’s just there to shock and disgust you, which is just what I’m sure Lewis and company set out to do. WIZARD OF GORE was released on DVD by Image Entertainment, under the Something Weird moniker. Like all of their Lewis releases, it includes audio commentary by Lewis, as well as a trailer. Once again, the commentary by Lewis is very entertaining, and also very informative. Lewis gives some great insight as to the making of these films during that era. Not to mention all the little antidotes. If you’ve never experienced on of H.G. Lewis’ movies, this might be one you want to start with. But as the warning message states, it is far beyond what you have probably seen before. If you’ve got a weak stomach, don’t even try it. But otherwise, it comes highly recommend. (2003) The makers of WRONG TURN set out to make a throwback to the films of the 70’s, and they did just that. Granted, originality was not the main course of the day, but the film is done so well, that it doesn’t affect the outcome of the movie for me. The story is simple. A group of guys and gals get stuck on a back dirt road in the middle of the mountains of West Virginia. How they get stuck is kind of a mystery, which we discover the truth behind it soon enough. As most of them go to find help, they come across more horrors than they ever thought possible in this day and age. I was amazed at some of the gore that they had gotten through on an R rating. The scene where one of the girls is laying on the table with her leg and arm cut off is something that I would could not believe that not only was it in the movie, but the shot was dwelled on in two different scenes. Was the MPAA sleeping through this? The movie does a great job of building suspense, as well as keeping your heart pumping during the chase sequences. There are also a few good surprises in there, one in particular that caught me totally by surprise. Stan Winston and company has come up with some terrifying new characters, with this inbred, cannibalistic mountain men. Somewhat based on the Sawney Bean legend, which inspired other classic movies like HILLS HAVE EYES, there is a small family living in the mountains, away from normal society, that have been living on their own terms for years and years. Feeding off travelers who by unfortunate chance come across them, or fall into their traps. These are not creatures from your nightmares, but ones that will give you them…especially when traveling through the mountains of West Virginia. Like Stan Winston mentions during one of the documentaries, “JAWS” kept you out of the water. This movie will keep you out of the woods.” The DVD has plenty of extras to keep you busy. It has four different documentaries, which total around 20 minutes worth of really interesting stuff. The only complaint I could give was that there seemed to have a lot of credits on each of the featurettes. For example, for one of the featurettes is only 4 ½ minutes long, and 1 minute of that is the credits. But trust me, that is the only real complaint I could have for this. One of the featurettes is about the star Eliza Dushku, one is about Stan Winston, and the other two are about the making of the film. There is also a Deleted Scene section, which only has 1 deleted scene, but then has some dailies of one of the first kill sequences. This is pretty cool to see just what goes on behind the camera when making a film. There is also audio commentary with director Schmidt, and actors Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku. Schmidt seems to talk most about the aspects of the film, like the behind the scene stuff, and what went into making it. While Dushku and Harrington tend more to joke around a bit. While it appears that the commentary was recorded at the same time, there are times when it doesn’t. Or at least maybe it was recorded over a couple of different sittings and then edited together. But in either case, it’s still a good commentary. Plus, I also have to give Stan Winston some credit. He usually can’t be on camera without bragging about how great he is, and how many Emmys and Oscars he’s won. But in one of the featurettes, they actually make a little fun of his bragging. So I need to give him a little credit for letting them take shots at him. Plus, I also give him a lot of credit for still loving the horror genre, and wanting to still continue to work in it. Not like these others that have made some big time films and leave the horror genre to do ‘real films’. So if you were able to see this in the theaters, I’m sure you’ve already picked up the DVD. If you haven’t, I would recommend it highly. It’s a great movie, that can be enjoyed over and over…especially certain sequences…like the arrow in the…oh well…you’ll find out. (2007) We really enjoyed the first WRONG TURN movie. Sure, it was a little lacking in the originality department, but they still delivered a good movie. And with this direct-to-DVD sequel, the same really applies. If you’re looking for something completely different and something new, then you have taken a wrong turn. But if you’re looking for a fun movie that has great quality kills with some over the top gore, then you will enjoy this movie. The main plot here is a group of people involved in a new reality TV show out in the deep mountainous woods. Right there, that normally would be something that would make me turn it off. I hate those types of shows. But after the about the first half hour, once the basic plot is set up, that whole thing is left behind and it becomes a simple story of a group of people fighting for survival. Once again, our cast runs into a group of a family of inbred hillbilly cannibals. Are these the same ones from the original film? Could be. Does it matter? Not really. But what counts is that they are just as vicious and scary as in the original. Ken Kirzinger, who rose to fame in the horror genre for playing Jason in FREDDY VS JASON, plays the leader of the cannibal clan. And he does a pretty good job showing that the toughness of his character can come through sometimes with just the look in his eyes. For a sequel, most of the characters start out as very stereotypical, but they don’t stay like that. The writers did a good job take the storyline in different directions that the viewer would think is going to happen. It was nice to see a slight change than the usual. Henry Rollins is so well cast as the host of this survival-type reality show. Usually in movies, he casted against type. Meaning that he’s not cast as the muscular tough guy. Not in this movie though. He plays an ex-military man who looks like he could swallow gun powder and shit a grenade. So anytime he’s on screen, he’s fun to watch. For a first time director, Lynch proves that he can deliver the punches for a horror movie. It might also help that he is a horror fan himself, and really enjoys making this kind of movie. It’s just a shame that there aren’t more people like that in Hollywood. But the main reason for this movie really is the gore. And there is plenty of it. You’d think this was made back in the 80’s, before the MPAA got wind of how much blood had been sneaking under their noses. While the gore in the original WRONG TURN might be a little more finely tuned, you will not be disappointed with what we have here. There's plenty of the red stuff flying, along with many, many body parts. The DVD comes with a great little featurette showing the behind the scenes stuff, with interviews with most of the cast and crew. There is also 2 different audio commentaries, one with director Lynch and actors Rollins and Erica Leerhsen. The other one is with the writers. Both give a good insight to different aspects of the film. So the bottom line is that for a sequel that was made to go straight to DVD, it's a pretty damn entertaining movie. It's perfect for some friends getting together to watch some bloody fun! |
