RAMBLINGS...

In years past on this little blog I always used to give a countdown of the best releases for every year, but I have not done that for I believe, two or three years now.

Times have changed and I have had so much going on there really isn't time anymore for that. This time I have just decided to share with you my favorite purchases for this past 12 months.

I know a lot of you have probably bought your own share of DVD and Blu-Ray movies. Here are the ones I purchased.

Revenge Of The Zombies (Kino) Blu-ray

Iron Fist: The Giants are Coming (Sinister Cinema)

Godzilla Minus One (Toho) Blu-ray

Back from The Dead (Kino) Blu-ray

Republic Pictures Horror Collection (Kino) Blu-ray

Sci-Fi Chillers (Kino) Blu-ray

Dr. Jekyll And The Wolfman (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray

Bloody Judge (Blue Underground) Blu-ray

Colonal March Of Scotland Yard (Film Chest)

The War Game (Sinister Cinema)

Bloody Pleasure (Sinister Cinema)

Claws Of Iron (Sinister Cinema)

The Beat Generation (Olive)

Spy With 10 Faces (Sinister Cinema)

Vengeance Of Dr. Mabuse (Sinister Cinema)

Casus Kiran Spy Smasher (Sinister Cinema)

Creature With The Blue Hand/Web Of The Spider (Film Masters) Blu-ray

Door To Door Maniac/Right Hand of the Devil (Film Masters Blu-ray

Time After Time (Warner)

One Step Beyond (Film Chest)

There is the run down. I hope you got some of the movies you wanted to see this year as well.

IRON FIST: THE GIANTS ARE COMING 1970 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Another Turkish delight.

Two Turkish secret agents named Enver (Enver Ozer) and Meral (Feri Cansel) seek out a mysterious dagger that is somehow tied to a huge Uranium deposit.

There are two groups os evil agents that want the material as well. One is led by a weird man known as Fu Manchu (Kayhan Yildizoglu). As usual with a film from Turkey, this is non-stop action and adventure.

There is never a dull moment while watching all the gangsters fight amongst themselves for the Uranium and then whe you throw agents in the mix it gets wild. Cansel is just one of the many beautiful women in this film. I am always reminded of her tragic death at the age of 39 whenever I see her.

If you like Turkish action films as much as I do, this is highly recommended and simply should not be missed. The print is not too bad and it is subtitled in English.

Check it out!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Barbara Carrera is 79.

MICHAEL CIMINO: GOD BLESS AMERICA 2022 (TUBI)

Caught this by accident the other day and was impressed.

I worked for Mike during the late 70's and I could always relate to his mindset.

This is a one hour documentary on the film career of Cimino. It covers everything from "Thunderbolt & Lightfoot" to "Sunchaser". This is a French made show directed by Jean-Baptiste Thoret who met Michael in 2010, and he put this together on one long road trip he and Michael made from California to Colorado.

In one hour this gives you a much better look at Cimino than anything else I have seen. I recommend this if you have an interest in this kind of thing. Michael had a lot of ups and downs in his career, but after "Heaven's Gate" Hollywood treated him like they treat everyone. He became nothing but a faint memory. Sad indeed.

It was on July 2, 2016 that Mike died and he still lives with me everyday. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eliza Dushku is 44, Russ Tamblyn is 90, Kelli Maroney is 64, Jena Sims is 36, Lloyd Kaufman is 79, and Jeff Lynne is 77.

THE TERRIBLE PEOPLE 1960 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A very well made Edgar Wallace thriller.

Joachim Fuchsberger stars as Inspector Long. A man hanged for robbery vows to come back from the dead to seek revenge.

People start seeing his ghost and die in gruesome ways. Long suspects something else and he quickly falls for a beautiful young woman named Nora (Karin Dor).

As the case gets more bizarre it seems Nora's life is in danger as well. I have to admit I have never seen Dor tied up so many times in one movie.

The climax brings us the typical Wallace twist, and it is a surprise. What I found very bizarre about this movie is the last 20 minutes are in German, which is the original langage of the movie. Why is it like that? I don't know.

This is a fast paced little thriller that keeps you guessing and it should hold your attention if you're a Wallace fan. Dor is simply stunning as usual.

The rest of the cast includes Fritz Rasp, Dieter Eppler, Karin Kernke and Elisabeth Flickenschildt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jon Voight is 86, Barbara Steele is 87, and Yvonne Elliman is 73.

RIP OLIVIA HUSSEY 1951-2024

The talented actress has passed away.

Hussey had a career that spanned over 50 years. She is probably best known as Juliet from the 1968 movie "Romeo And Juliet".

Olivia was a stunning beauty in her day and I was first captivated by her in the 1974 horror film "Black Christmas", a film which she carried.

Some of her other movie appearances include "H Bomb", "Jeasus Of Nazareth", "Cat And The Canary", "Virus", "Last Days Of Pompeii", "It" and "Save Me".

Olivia Hussey passed away on December 27, 2024 at the age of 73 from Cancer.

BLOODY PLEASURE 1967 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Very obscure and strange film from Argentina.

The plot itself is bizarre. It centers around a masked killer kidnapping beautiful women on the beach and then injecting them with heroine.

He then uses strange organ music to make them into zombies who do his bidding. The police are doing everything they can to find the killer, but they are always one step behind.

I won't reveal the ending as it is somewhat of a good twist, but I do have to admit that the mask and gloves the killer wears are pretty damn cool. He looks like a bigger version of the little monsters in the 1972 film "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark".

The director of this film, Emilio Vieyra also helmed the unforgettable "Curious Dr. Humpp" which still stands as one of the most bizarre fims I have ever watched.

One other odd fact is that the director of the classic 1964 horror film "The Flesh Eaters" was one of the writers of this film. I was rather pleased to see Jack Curtis co-wrote this gem.

I really recommend this unknown film. It moves along at a great pace and crams as much as it can into 70 minutes. This film also has plenty of beautiful women to admire. It's dubbed in English and the print is very good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Taryn Terrell is 39.

BLOOD AND DIAMONDS 1977 (88 FILMS) BLU-RAY

A top notch Italian crime film.

A man named Guido (Claudio Cassinelli) is sentenced to 5 years in prison for a robbery in which he was set up.

He gets out of jail and seeks revenge on those he believes set him up. On the way home with his incredibly sexy girlfriend Maria (Olga Karlatos) the bus they are on is attacked and Maria is killed.

Guido silently plots revenge He is after top crime boss Rizzo (Martin Balsam). This is an ultra violent film that holds nothing back. Rizzo insists that he had nothing to do with the set up five years past or the killing of his girlfriend, but Guido is a man whose already made his plans.

He and a friend intercept a diamond robbery that Rizzo has ordered. This really escalates things and we get a climax that really surprises the viewer. Guido, after getting more evidence realizes that Rizzo is innocent after all.

The final confrontation between Guido and Rizzo is not soon forgotten, and it is not what was expected. The one other aspect to this film is the beautiful Barbara Bouchet. Yep, she looks great in and out of her clothes.

This is a highly recommeded film that really delivers the goods and should not disappoint any fans of the genre. Go ahead and check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Bill Goldberg is 58, Barbara Crampton is 66, and Thea Trinidad is 34.

THE THIRD EYE 1966 (TUBI)

This very rare Italian shocker has shown up on TUBI, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Franco Nero stars as Mino Alberti, a young man who is going to wed the love of his life. However his domineering mother and his lovesick maid don't want this to happen.

The bride to be is Laura (Erika Blanc) and she decides to go see her sister. The maid, Marta (Gioia Pascal) cuts the break and oil line on the car and this results in a crash that kills Laura.

She also kills Mino's mother so she can have him all to herself. Mino is a very mentally unstable man anyway, and this pushes him over the edge.

He keeps Laura's body in his bed and brings other women home so he can kill them. Marta helps him hide the bodies and she thinks she is winning Mino over, but she is in for a shock.

Laura's twin sister shows up looking for her and Mino believes she IS Laura. Things get pretty twisted from this point on, as if they weren't already.

This movie was remade by Joe D'amato as a gorefest entitled "Blue Omega". If you get a chance to see this, I highly recommend you do so. It's a twisted little Black and White Italian thriller, and Blanc is always a pleasure to see.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO..

Trina Parks is 77.

CASUS KIRAN, SPY SMASHER 1965 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Oh my God what a movie this was!!

The movie runs about 70 minutes and as soon as the opening credits role there are several explosions and action that NEVER stops.

Spy Smasher (Irfan Atasoy) and his girlfriend Sevda (Sevda Ferdag) fight against a master criminal known as The Mask. The action is fast and furious as there must be 2 dozen fight fights and gunfights in this Turkish delight.

The print is not in good shape, but I am used to that and it doesn't bother me. Some movies just look better when they are battered and beaten.

Anyway, this is one of the best Turkish films I have seen. You have everything from masked heroes and villians as well as beautiful women, music numbers and even a stolen music track from many 1950's US Universal horror films!!

I highly recommend this as probably the best way to get 70 minutes of film entertainment. I guarantee you've seen nothing like this. Give it a try.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Barbara Mandrell is 76.

TEENAGE MOTHER 1967 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A Jerry Gross production.

This film was also directed by Gross who has many of the people from his film entitled "Girl On A Chain Gang" in this movie as well.

The film centers around a young girl who fakes her own pregnancy to get attention while at the same time a new teacher played by Julie Ange is trying to get sex-ed into a highly conservative, small town school.

No much happens, but the final 7 minutes of the movies consists of an actual birth of a baby, which is pretty shocking. This was very controversial back in the day.

The one scene that really stands out if when the kids go to a drive-in and see the movie "Girl On A Chain Gang". That scene brings back a lot of wonderful memories.

Also in the cast of this film is a very young Fred Willard as a gym coach. I kinda liked this movie, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Edwige Fenech is 76, and Donna Martell is 97.

CLAWS OF IRON 1951 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Ultra rare Japanese horror from the early 50's.

A soldier from World War 2 is bitten by a strange ape-like monster in the jungle.

A few years after the war he is found living in a church and teaching second grade children. He yearns for his old love and wants to see her again, but she thinks he is dead and he leaves it that way.

It is discovered that when he drinks alcohol he transforms into a hideous monster with sharp claws that kills anything that gets in his way. The man is then exploited by another on what appears to be a carnival show.

This is a very odd film and one that has been almost forgotten in time. The performances are very good and the creature make-up isn't too shabby either. It's also a detective story as well as a love story about a man who lost everything in the war and knows he will never get it back.

I recommend you check this one out for something very different. I couldn't find much on this movie online, but take my word for it...it's worth seeing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Joan Severance is 66, and Stefan Arngrim is 69.

VENUS IN FURS 1969 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A very trippy movie that fits in with the time just fine.

Jess Franco directed this oddity about a jazz musician named Jim Logan (James Darren) discovers a dead body washing ashore in Istanbul and he seems to remember her from the previous night.

Wanda Reed (Maria Rohm) is her name and after a bit she seems to return to life and seek revenge on those who murdered her. Jim falls madly in love with her much to the dismay of his girlfriend Rita (Barbara McNair).

It gets really surreal from here and you never know if you are watching Jim's fever dream or reality.

The ending explains it all I guess and you'll have to watch it to find out. I don't want to spoil it. There is some excellent jazz music in here and director Franco can be seen a few times playing with the jazz band along side Manfred Mann

The rest of the cast for this lushly photographed film includes Dennis Price, Klaus Kinski, and the gorgeous Margaret Lee.

When I first saw this movie I hated it with a passion...that was back in the 80's. Flash forward to 2024 and I seem to like it a heck of a lot. Check it out.

BEAST OF BORNEO 1934 (SINISTER CINEMA)

This was an odd movie.

The story is very simple and I guess it has to be since the running time is only an hour.

A crazed scientist needs a primate to experiment on so he can prove some of his bizarre theories. He organizes an expedition to the jungle to capture one, but things don't quite go as planned.

He finds his girlfriend falling for the expedition leader and so he arranges for him to be killed by a monsterous orangutan. That my friends, is the plot.

As usual for this kind of movie, there is a LOT of stock footage of animals. There isn't much more to add to this except to say, as I always do, it's something you might want to check out, but don't expect anything great.

VENGEANCE OF DOCTOR MABUSE 1972 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Very strange movie from Jess Franco.

Jack Taylor stars as Dr. Mabuse who is using a name of Farkas. This time Mabuse and his female assistant Leslie (Beni Cardoso) along with a Frankenstein-like monster Andros (Moises Augusto Rocha) are kidnapping women and using them in experiments to perfect a mind control ray.

This movie is really all over the place and makes little sense. However, there are gorgeous women and a great jazz score to keep you interested.

The ending seems very rushed and really doesn't bring the movie to a close. Taylor does a good job with his role, but it just seemed to be missing a lot of background. The Sheriff is really odd and played like a western, which isn't explained at all.

If you're looking for a time waster, this is it. You never know, you might like it. The rest of the cast includes Fred Williams, Ewa Stromberg, Gustavo Re, Monica Swinn, and Eva Garden.

The print is in widescreen and looks very, very good. It's in German, but has English subtitles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jenny Agutter is 72, Pamela Austin is 83, Angel Tompkins is 82, and Lucy Pinder is 41.

CAMP BLOOD 666 2016 (ALPHA)

Oh my God why did I watch this?

To be honest I watched it because of Tina Krause.

This Godawful "movie" is about a masked killer wearing a clown mask that has some magic powers. He kills a number of people while the police look for him.

A young woman named Betsy (Shoshanna Green) and her friend go looking for her missing brother who joined a Satanic Clown Cult. Good heavens what a goofy plot.

Oh well, this movie will steal 76 minutes of your life away. It's not well made and I understand there were 5 other movies in this series. I can tell you this will be the only one I ever watch.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Kristie Swanson is 55, and Elaine Joyce is 79.

ALMOST HUMAN 1974 (SHAMELESS)

High powered and sometimes shocking Italian crime film.

Umberto Lenzi directed this Italian gem that stars Tomas Milian as a totally crazy small time hood named Giulio who is despised by almost everyone on both sides of the law.

After a botched bank robbery and a wild car chase Giulio is beaten up by the men who hired him to pull off the job. He returns to his girlfriends' apartment. Her name is Iona and the character is well played by the lovely Anita Strindberg.

Giulio treats her badly, but she still loves him. He gets the idea to ht the big jackpot when he and two others plan the kidnapping of a young woman named Marilu (Laura Belli). She happens to be the daughter of a very wealthy man, and Giulio wants a big payoff.

During the kidnap attempt Giulio tortures and kills 5 people and this outrages Police Inspector Walter Grandi (Henry Silva) wo never seems to be able to prove it was Giulio.

There are a lot of shocking scenes in this film, but the most shocking was the killing pf the people at a private party and one of their small children.

Milian really goes over the top in his performance and this was only one of 7 films he and Lenzi made together. The ending is a flashback to the US made "Dirty Harry" films with Grandi taking things into his own hands.

This is a highly RECOMMENDED thriller that no Italian crime film fan will want to miss.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Victoria Pratt is 54, Trish Stratus is 49, Steve Austin is 60, Rob Van Dam is 54, and Leonard Maltin is 74.

THE WAR GAME 1966 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A hard hitting docudrama that EVERYONE should see.

Peter Watkins made this chilling anti-nuke film for the BBC, ut it was so well done and shocking that the BBC refused to air it and it went to theaters instead.

The horrors of nuclear war are very well presented in this black and white movie that once seen is never forgotten. I know everyone who reads this has probably seen this movie so no deep detail is needed.

In 1966 this was shocking stuff, and it still is, even though we have had "The Day After" and "Threads". Watch this and take it all in. This is not entertainment, but education.

One of, if not the best film of it's kind ever made. Director Watkins also made the effective "Punishment Park" which is also worth seeking out. I reviewed it here a few years ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Milla Jovovich is 49.

RIP JILL JACOBSON 1954-2024

Nurse Sherri Martin has passed away.

The talented actress appeared in many movies and TV shows in her 30 plus year career.

Some of her movies include "House Of Usher" the 2008 version, "Instinct To Kill", "Perfect Victims", "Policewoman Centerfold" and the movie in which she debuted and made horror history, at least with me "Nurse Sherri".

She starred as a nurse possessed by an evil spirit that kills patients at a hospital. Al Adamson directed. I love that movie.

Jill Jacobson passed away on Dec. 8, 2024 at the age of 70.

RIP GABRIELLA LICUDI 1941-2022

I have just now received news of her passing.

She may not be a household name to most American movie fans, but she did have some great roles in many fims.

She appeared in such TV shows as "One Step Beyond", "Ghost Squad" and "Edgar Wallace Mystery Theater".

Her movie appearances include "Candidate For Murder" and "Casino Royale". However her most famous role was as the alien in the 1964 gem entitled "Unearthly Stranger".

The beautiful Gabriella Licudi passed away on September 18,2022...just 4 days after she turned 81.