VIOLENT MIDNIGHT 1963 (DARK SKY)

Del Tenny strikes again.

A mad killer is loose in a small New England town and a local artist who is also a Korean war vet is suspected. Lee Philips is the vet named Elliot Freeman and Dick Van Patten is a police detective who is on the case.

James Farentino is a local hood who also falls under suspicion. Richard Hilliard directed from his own screenplay and Del Tenny produced this made in Connecticut thriller. If you like murder mysteries you should like this little low budget gem. lots of twists and turns an a very good ending. the cast is rounded out by Sheppard Strudwick and Jean Hale.

X THE MAN WITH THE X RAY EYES 1963 (MGM)

Another classic Roger Corman shocker.

Ray Milland stars as a scientist named Xavier who uses a special eye drop to make him see thru things...the experiments produce disastrous results.

Milland turns in a great performance as a man tortured by his wanting too much from science and lovely Diana Van der Vlis is his assistant who tries to help him. Don Rickles turns in a very sleazy performance as a carny barker who uses the scientist for his own schemes and Harold J. Stone is another scientist that Xavier accidentally kills.

This film has one of those great ending that leaves your jaw on the floor, at least that is how I was effected when I saw this for the first time. Highly Recommended horror film.

BLACK TORMENT 1964 (REDEMPTION)

POST NUMBER 3000!!!!!

Highly underrated horror thriller.

John Turner gives a great performance as a Lord who returns to his home with a new wife, played by Heather Sears, and finds that he is suspected of several brutal murders and rapes.

There are dozens of twists and turns in this well made film and it's a must for any horror fan. It's a shame this film has been so neglected as it is one of the best of it's kind. The fine cast is rounded out by Francis DeWolff, Patrick Troughton, and Edina Ronay.

NIGHT CALLER FROM OUTER SPACE 1965 (IMAGE)

Unusual British sci-fi.

John Saxson stars as an American scientist in England who along with two other scientists discover that a meteor that has landed is actually a device for allowing an alien from Ganymede, the 12th moon of Jupiter, to come to earth and kidnap women to help them repopulate their world.

Maurice Denham and Patricia Haines are the other two scientists and it's interesting to note that Haines, the leading lady is killed about 2/3rds into the movie. The alien is weird looking and very soft spoken and this movie plays like a film noir most of the time.

Shot in black and white with nice use of shadows and lighting and very good direction from John Gilling. Good for Sci-Fi fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Anthony Zerbe is 77, David Hedison is 86, and Joan Staley 73.

RIP ALAN O' DAY 1940-2013

One of the 70's most prolific songwriters and singers has passed away at the age of 72 after a battle with brain cancer.

O'Day wrote great hits for such groups as the Righteous Brothers, single performers like Helen Reddy before making his own number one hit "Undercover Angel" in 1977.

One of the songs he wrote for the Righteous Brothers was the 1974 hit "Rock N' Roll Heaven" which is one of my all time favorite tunes. Who can ever for get the lyric which goes "If you believe in forever, then life is just a one night stand. If there's a rock n' roll heaven then you know they have one hell of a band."

A true lover of the 70's and all it had to offer, I am saddened by this passing, but a rich musical legacy lives on. RIP Alan.

THE DEATHMASTER 1971 (RETROMEDIA)

Rarely seen vampire film.

Robert Quarry was the Associate Producer as well as the star of this film about a vampire that takes over a hippie commune and begins a reign of terror.

The vampire, named Khorda reminds me of Count Yorga, especially when he laughs. The film is a real 70's cultural piece and I ploe it that way. I remember the times very, very well. A young man named Pico suspects Khorda of wrong doing, and so beings a battle between the living and the dead.

Pico is played by Bill Ewing and his fellow vampire hunter is none other than character actor John Fiedler as Pop. The cast is rounded out by Bobby "Monster Mash" Pickett, Brenda Dickson and gorgeous Betty Anne Rees. Simply a wonderful horror film and directed by actor Ray Danton who also helmed "Crypt of The Living Dead". A huge thanks to retromedia for making this long unseen film available.

THE MANSTER 1959 (MILLCREEK)

Wow, what a movie!!

Peter Dyneley is a reporter in Japan who is unknowingly given a serum by a mad doctor. This serum changes the man into a very violent killer with a heavy sexual appetite. He soon grows another head on his shoulder and finally the evil breaks out as he splits into two separate beings.

This is a much darker film than most people know as you have a very mad doctor who seems perfectly normal to everyone, his ultra sexy assistant played by gorgeous Terri Zimmern who apparently used to be a prostitute, the brutal murder of several people including a Monk and a sexual monster plus a basement lab where the doctor keeps all of his failed human experiments.

Made in 1959 and released here in 1962, this is a can't miss horror film that really delivers the goods. Don't listen to all the trash talk about this film, it's far better than any production made today.

GRAVEYARD OF HORROR 1971 (IMAGE)

Strange but interesting Euro horror.

A man conducts experiments on himself that don't go as planned and it turns him into a lizard monster that must feed on human corpses.

The monster is seen briefly at the end and it does look pretty cool. It reminds me of a Blood Island movie. The plot is sometimes very confusing and it is all over the place, but it is interesting if you stick with it. Recommended Euro horror, but not for everyone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Diane McBain is 72, and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka is 70.

GALAXINA 1980 (MILLCREEK)

Strange sci-fi comedy film.

The crew of an interstellar spaceship is sent to get a valuable crystal. The female robot is played by Stratten, whose life was cut short at the age of 20 by a violent and crazy boyfriend.

The director also helmed "The Incredible Melting Man". The comedy is sometimes strained, but Avery Schreiber as capt. Cornelius Butt is sometimes very, very funny.

Stratten looks great plays her part well. There is a good "Alien" spoof and some interesting life forms such as a rock eating prisoner and an alien that Capt. Butt coughs up and it thinks he is it's mother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

William Grefe is 83.

CHAINED HEAT 1983 (PANIK HOUSE)

The all time classic WIP film!

Linda Blair stars as a young woman thrown into a corrupt women's prison run by John Vernon, a warden who has a hot tub in his office. Stella Stevens is the police Captain who will resort even to murder to save her skin and Sexy as hell Sybil Danning is Ericka, one of the toughest bitches ever to be in prison.

This movie features plenty of nudity, abuse of women and sexual escapades to keep even the most jaded viewer happy. In other words, this film has it all. Danning looks fantastic, Blair is sexy, especially in her nude shower scene and we even have Tamara Dobson as another inmate who wants to kill Danning.

The superb cast is rounded out with Henry Silva, Nita Talbot, Louisa Moritz and Jody Medford. Panik brings us the uncut 98 minute version that has never been released in the US and it's a beautiful widescreen print to boot. Very Highly Recommended!!

SPIDERS 2013 (MILLENNIUM)

Tibor Takacs strikes again.

A Soviet space station particle crashes into a New York Subway and soon the city is over run with deadly giant spiders. The Government tries to cover it up of course and the eggheads want to keep some of the spiders alive.

If you have a fear of spiders you may not like this film, but for all others this is recommended. I hate spiders myself but love movies like this and other films that follow a similar theme. Patrick Muldoon is a subway director caugfht in the middle of the spider invasion as he tries to save his wife and child from both the spiders and the military.

The spider effects are well done and this film will not disappoint horror film fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Megan Fox is 27, Debra Winger is 58, and Yvonne Craig is 76.