LAS MUJER MURCIELAGO 1968 (VCI)

Revisiting a Mexican classic.

I reviewed this a couple of years ago and watched it again recently. My opinion hasn't changed about this movie at all. I still love it.

Gorgeous Maura Monti is a young woman who is actually a crime fighter called "The Batwoman" in this very fun Mexican film. She finds herself battling a mad scientist working from a ship called "Reptilicus".

What is he working on you may ask? Well he is trying to create underwater monsters from people he has his assistant kidnap. He succeeds, but is caught by the Batwoman and has his face scarred with acid which sets him on a path of revenge against the beautiful crime fighter.

The film isn't dubbed into English, but you won't need it to figure out what is happening. The colors of this film are plush and it is always good to see Monti in a bikini. Directed by Rene Cardona, this 1968 horror outing should please any fan of the genre.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

James Darren is 80, Bernie Casey is 77, Nancy Sinatra is 76, and Boz Scaggs is 72.

LAS LOBAS DEL RING 1965 (VCI)

Interesting non horror film from Mexico.

This is the third and final film featuring Elizabeth Campbell and Lorena Velazquez as the wrestling women. In this film they do not battle supernatural monsters, and so I assume this film has a limited appeal.

Although this film isn't dubbed into English you really don't need it. It seems like a gang is attempting to take over the wrestling business and are not above murder to obtain their goals.

This is an interesting film which follows the same plot as all the films where the women meet monsters, but like I said, it gangsters this time and a group of very evil women.

There is some comedy in this film including a running gag in which a woman constantly kicks and beats her husband until at the very end when he gets his revenge. Velazquez is sexy as always and any film with her is well worth seeing. You will also notice that Campbell slips into speaking English in one scene involving the kidnappers.

If you like Mexican wrestling movies this is probably for you, but again, if you're looking for monsters forget it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Anna Kournikova is 35, Tom Jones is 76, Mick Foley is 51, Pamela Susan Shoop is 68, Gary Kent is 83, and Sally Todd is 72.

TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE 1966 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

This is the fourth and final film in the great Arrow set.

Previously I have reviewed "Operation Titian", "Portrait In Terror" and "Blood Bath" and now I come to the final film that ties everything together.

This little gem stars William Campbell as an artist in California that is also a vampire. When the original version of the film entitled "Blood Bath" was released to TV it was found to be too short so footage had to be shot to pad the film out.

Now I don't mind a little padding, but there is one scene in here that is totally boring and as far as I am concerned unnecessary. That is a five minute ballet scene shot on the beach with an actress that is supposed to be Linda Saunders, but looks nothing like her and has an entirely different body type.

Anyway, there are several new scenes including a long murder scene and several minutes of footage from "Operation Titian" put back into this film and re-dubbed. This makes the film run about 77 minutes and that was acceptable for TV back in the day.

I remember this film being run a lot on KCPX TV in Salt Lake City and I knew immediately when I saw it that something was very different about this film. Now thanks to Arrow all four of these unique films are available on one 2 disc set. Also in the set if a visual essay by Tim Lucas which runs longer than some of the movies. It's a fascinating look at one of the most bizarre movie histories ever.

The prints all look fantastic and should please fans of the genre. One of the best releases of the year so far.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Robert Englund is 69.

BLOOD BATH 1965 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

William Campbell stars in this interesting Roger Corman mishmash.

Campbell is Antonio Sordi, an artist in California who paints pictures called "Dead Reds Nudes" and they sell for quite a bit of money.

He is involved with a young woman named Dorean played by Linda Saunders however he never lets her up in his studio and will not make love to her.

It turns out that Toni is a cursed man from his ancestors and he can turn into a vampire at will and kill people. He does this a few times in the film and then dips their bodies ion wax and keeps them inside the studio.

This is the another film that uses footage from "Operation Titian". It was co-directed by Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman and has one of the most interesting histories of any film ever made.

It's a good film, at least I like it and this is a version I had never seen before. This is the version that played with "Queen Of Blood" on a double bill in 1966. The brief running time of 62 minutes caused this film some trouble when sold to TV, so it has one more incarnation, and that is on tap for tomorrow.

The quality of the film on Blu-ray is excellent and I highly recommend this little gem which also stars Sid Haig, Jonathan Haze and Sandra Knight.

PORTRAIT IN TERROR 1965 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

I reviewed this a few years ago and now it has finally turned up on Blu-ray.

William Campbell and Patrick Magee star in this somewhat bizarre crime film which is a recut and rescored version of the film reviewed yesterday entitled "Operation Titian".

Ronald Stein composed the score which if familiar to most of us as the tracks used in the film "Dementia 13". The plot is still basically in tact. A young artist is involved in the murder of an elderly man and a valuable painting turns up missing.

The body count piles up and a police inspector is hot on the trail of the murderer. Magee is a mysterious man who dresses in white who is also a suspect. The beautiful Dubrovnik scenery is always a plus in this film, and scenes from this nifty thriller turned up in two horror films from Roger Corman, and those will be reviewed here in the coming days.

The Arrow Blu-ray of this film is a very welcome addition to any collection. I have never seen the film look better and the beautiful black and white photography really shows thru on this disc.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Keith David is 60, and Bruce Dern is 80.

OPERACIJA TICIJAN 1962 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

Rare thriller now available on Blu-ray.

William Campbell stars in this obscure crime thriller. He plays a young artist in Dubrovnik who becomes involved in the murder of an elderly man and a missing painting.

Patrick Magee is Dr. Morisijus, a mysterious man dressed all in white who arrives in the small coastal town with a US diving team.

A police inspector is on the trail of the murderer and a young woman is also involved. This is not a bad crime thriller, and it was nice to see this for the first time via Arrow's blu-ray.

This movie on it's own is good, but it has one of the most bizarre histories of any film made. Thanks to Roger Corman, this film, or should I say scenes from this film were used in three other features, and those we will get into here in the coming days.

If you enjoy crime films, I would recommend this one. Rare indeed.

COLOSSUS AND THE HEADHUNTERS 1963 (MILL CREEK)

Kirk Morris returns as Maciste.

In this weird outing Maciste helps a small tribe escape from their island which has been destroyed. They sail to another island across the sea and find themselves caught between two warring tribes.

One group is ruled by a beautiful woman named Amoha and she is their Queen. The other is a tribe of headhunters ruled by a mad man who wants to rule on the throne of the other tribe with Amoha beside him.

There are plenty of battle scenes and lots of stock footage from "Fire Monsters Against The Son Of Hercules". This is actually a very fun film if you have nothing better to do. Of the thousands of sword and sandal films made, these are the kind I grew up on.

I can easily recommend this little gem.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Nikki Cox is 38, Sally Kellerman is 79, Susan Hart is 75, Allen Jones is 38, and Velvet Sky ( Jamie Szantyr)is 35.

KRAMPUS 2015 (UNIVERSAL)

One of the most bizarre films I have ever seen.

A friend of mine wanted to see this film and even though it's a modern film I said "what the hell harm can it do" and so I watched this twisted little film.

A young boy who family is totally dysfunctional finds his Christmas ruined and he throws his letter to Santa out his bedroom window. This somehow causes a Christmas demon to appear at his home.

Strange things start to happen when the power is cut off at the home, a very bad blizzard envelopes their neighborhood and his big sister goes missing when on her way to her boyfriends home. Things only get worse when the missing girl's father goes to look for her with his brother and one is bitten by something under the snow.

The house is suddenly attacked by weird monsters including evil elves, a monster teddy bear, an evil Christmas angel, demonic toys and killer gingerbread men!! The gingerbread men are hilarious and what happens to them will bring laughter to you.

I have read that some people didn't understand the ending, but it's simple enough. The Krampus itself is an interesting creature that is the exact opposite of Santa.

I kinda liked this film. The characters are not very likable, but then again in modern films none of them tend to be. Recommended for people who want something a little different.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Robert Powell is 72, and Misty Rowe is 64.

THE WHITE WARRIOR 1959 (MILL CREEK)

Steve Reeves epic from Warner Brothers.

Reeves is Hadji Murad, a 19th century Chechen chieftain. In this film he is leading his people in a fight against the Russian Czar.

Riccardo Freda brings great direction skills to this film that is a really lavish production full of great battle scenes, dancing and costumes.

Reeves handles the role perfectly and his character finds himself in many battles, especially to save his love during the exciting climax. Cinematography was handled by Mario Bava and it shows even though this film has never had a very good release. I wish I could get to see a pristine print.

This film is based on a book by Leo Tolstoy and that book is his real life adventures when he fought with the Russian army in Chechnya to suppress Chechen guerillas.

A fine piece of film making that should please the fans of the genre.