31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 14: CREEPSHOW EPISODE 3 2019 (SHUDDER)

Two very different stories are presented in this episode.

The first tale is called "All Hallows Eve" and it's a bizarre one about a group of five young people who go trick or treating and find that they are met with hostility and abject fear.

It's a head scratcher until you find out what the young folks are really after and who they really are. Not too bad of a tale.

The second tale is called "Man In The Suitcase" and it is bizarre. A yung man brings home the wrong suitcase from the airport only to find a man inside of it who spits gold coins out of his mouth everytime he's in pain.

Things get really out of control when his roommate and his girlfriend get a little too greedy. Easily the most bizarre episode of the series so far, both of these tales seemed more fit for "Tales From The Darkside".

Still, an entertaining way to spend 45 minutes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Udo Kier is 75, Stacy Keibler is 40, and Dyanne Thorne 76.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 13: BENEATH LOCH NESS 2001 (ECHO BRIDGE)

I have seen this movie sitting in many, many stores I have been in, but I have never bothered to pick it up and watch it.

My roommate (yes indeed, she feeds my habit) picked this up and brought it home so I figured I'd give it a shot. Patrick Bergin stars as Blay, a man who is slowly pulled into a hunt for an aquatic monster living in Loch Ness.

Lysette Anthony also stars as Elizabeth a former lover of Blay's that accompanies him on his quest. The plot is pretty straight forward and offers nothing new to the genre.

The actors do what they can and there are several huge plot holes that are never closed and the monster is a cheap looking special effect, but believe it or not there are some parts of this movie that are fun.

I always enjoy seeing Lysette Anthony and found her to be the best thing about the film, but she does seem a little out of place. I admit also that when watching the movie I wasn't even aware that the actual story had ended until the closing credits came on the screen.

The ending is that abrupt and bizarre. I can think of better ways to kill time, but if you have nothing better to do have at it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ashanti is 39, Pamela Tiffin is 77, and Judy Bamber is 83.

RIP ROBERT FORSTER 1941-2019

One of my favorite actors had passed away.

Forster started his career in movies in 1967 in the film "Reflections In A Golden Eye". I never saw a film on TV show he was in that I didn't enjoy his performance.

Some of his many TV appearances include "Tales From The Darkside", "Gibbsville", "Magnum PI" and "Nakia" in which he starred in the title role.

He also was prolific in movies such as "The Delta Force", "Satan's Princess", "Alligator" which is my favorite film of his, "Jackie Brown" a film in which he was nominated for an Oscar and "Hotel Noir".

Robert Forster passed away on Oct. 11th, 2019 at the age of 78 from brain cancer.

RIP ESMERALDA BARROS 1945-2019

Beautiful actress from Brazil has died.

Barros starred in many genre and action films from the time her career started in 1965 until it ended in 1985.

Some of her roles occured in such films as "Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die", King Of Kong Island", "Voyage To The End Of The World", Djamgo's Cut Price Corpses" and "The Devil's Wedding Night".

She passed away at the age of 74. I do not have an exact date of her passing however.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 12: MEGA SHARK VS. GIANT OCTOPUS 2009 (ECHO BRIDGE)

It's been 9 years since I last wrote about this movie on the blog, and it's been the same length of time since I actually saw this movie.

Well, I figured I'd visit this again since my roommate bought this disc at a dollar store, which is probably where it belongs. Debbie Gibson stars as Emma MacNeil, a scientist who witnesses a giant Megalodon and a giant squid escape their icy prison with some melting polar icebergs.

The two monsters go their separate ways as the octopus heads for Tokyo and the Megalodon preys on the pacific ocean. After thousands of deaths around the world from these monsters, the governments of Japan and the US decide that these monsters must be destroyed at all costs.

The scientists devise a way to get the beasts to come together and hopefully kill each other in an epic battle. Yes, this is a very simple plot and it's ok as far as monster movies of the 21st century go.

There are some bizarre and unforgettable scenes in this film including the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge by the shark who is angry and decides to have some lunch. This scene is done very quickly and you don't get to see much, however the greatest scene in the film is where the shark jumps out of the ocean and actually takes down a jet airliner!!

I have to admit even my suspension of disbelief was stretched to the max on this scene. I do find the movie fun, and that is what counts I guess. My roommate kept thinking it would be better if Godzilla would show up and take care of everything. She might be right.

For mindless entertainment, this movie will fill the bill very nicely and it was good to re-visit this after so many years.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Deborah Foreman is 57, Susan Anton is 69, and Robin Askwith is 69.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 11: CURTAIN CALL 1951 (MILL CREEK)

More "Lights Out" fun, this time starring Otto Kruger.

Kruger stars as Carlton Dane, a famous actor coming out of retirement after the death of his wife which everyone believes was a suicide. He is coming out of retirement because his beautiful daughter is becoming an actress as well.

The act in a play together and she is a major success. Dane seems to be having trouble dealing with her sudden fame. This causes problems that only get worse until the ironic, but not surprising ending.

This is not too bad of an episode and I have always enjoyed the work of Kruger. This is included along with the other television episodes I have been writing about over the past few days on a disc set entitled "Monster Movie Mix" but as all the others, it isn't a monster movie, but it was good to see this episode again.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 10: COOL AND THE CRAZY 1957 (DVD-R)

Fun little JD film from the 50's. It's not a horror film, of course, but I included in my 31 Day Of Halloween because it's a pretty cool film...no pun intended.

Scott Marlowe stars as Bennie Saul, a young man who enters a high school and completely turns things upside down for everyone else.

He proves himself worthy to a group of young punks and then he begins to do what he does best, sell marijuana and get the students hooked on it. Another young man named Jackie (Rickard Bakalyan) find Bennie funny, but knows there is something wrong with him.

Bennie gets some of the students hooked on drugs, but then is fired by the main pusher in town and has his supply cut off. Bennie resorts to murder by the final reel and all ends badly for most everyone involved except for Jackie and the young woman he has met named Amy (Gigi Perreau).

This is a fun little time waster directed by William Whitney and well worth your time. The rest of the cast includes Dickie Jones, Ken Plumb and Robert Hadden as the ill fated "Cookie".

This isn't available on DVD here in the USA and my copy is a beautiful print I recorded off of AMC many years ago. Recommended!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 9: RATTLERS 1976 (FROLIC)

I reviewed this movie a couple of years ago after seeing a TCM showing and I really liked it.

This was on DVD from Something Weird and now it's on DVD from Frolic on a double feature with "Shivers" and I found myself revisiting this film and enjoying it just as much if not more.

Before the opening credits we are treated to a scene where two young boys are savagely attacked and killed by rattlers in the desert.

It seems that the snakes are turning very aggressive and more dangerous thanks to the US Army dumping chemicals in a deserted mine shaft and the local police call in a noted herpetologist Dr. Tom Parkinson (San Chew) to investigate.

He and his assistant Ann Bradley (Elisabeth Chauvet) slowly discover the terrible truth and find themselves fighting both the snakes and the US Government who wants to keep the chemical dump a secret.

The snake attack scenes are fairly well handled and the movie does move along at a good pace despite what you may read from other reviews. Some even claim this is a TV movie, but it isn't. It had plenty of theatrical release.

The quality is good on this DVD, but not perfect which is a good thing because movies like this aren't meant to be seen in 4K upgrades anyway. They are meant to be seen in a drive-in quality from back in the day.

I would indeed recommend this nifty little thriller for late night viewing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Michael Manna is 48.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 8:SHIVERS 1975 (FROLIC)

The David Cronenberg classic is available on DVD and I didn't even know it.

I have only had this on a DVD bootleg I made from a VHS print for years. The quality here isn't bad at all and I really am glad it's available.

The story centers around Starliner Towers, a hotel complex on an Island off the coast of Montreal. The opening scenes of a doctor fighting with a young woman and then knocking her out, taping her mouth, stripping her and then cutting open her stomach before cutting his own throat pretty much set the tone for the entire film.

He has created a sexual parasite that is out of control and is spreading fast among the residents of the complex. The parasite causes them to act out wild and violent sexual acts while it spreads, and there are some pretty shocking scenes in this film.

The doctor for the complex, a man named Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton) has his hands full as he tries to stop the parasitic disease from taking over everyone including his girlfriend played by Lynn Lowery.

As I mentioned there are plenty of over the top scenes of people infected acting like sex crazed monsters and there are also some pretty memorable gore scenes including the infamous plier pulling scene involving an infected man named Nicholas (Alan Migicovsky) and a visitng doctor named Rollo (Joe Silver).

Barbara Steele also is in this and her scenes in the bath tub being attacked by the nasty parasites is a gem as well as how she spreads it around after being infected.

This is simply a no brainer on the must see list for any horror fan. Once seen it is never forgotten. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Olive Sturgess is 86.

31 DAY OF HALLOWEEN DAY 7: CREEPSHOW EPISODE 2 2019 (SHUDDER)

The second episode of this great horror series continues to shock and entertain.

The first tale is entitled "Bad Wolf Down" and concerns a platoon of US soldiers caught behind enemy lines during WW2. They take refuge in an abandoned police station and fins two German soldiers ripped to pieces and a young French woman locked in a jail cell.

Things take a much darker tone when she tells them she is a werewolf and wants to die. Soon they are surrounded by Germans and devise a brilliant but totally twisted way to get out of their predicament.

This story really reminded me of the great old EC comics I grew up on and the ending is a hell of a kicker.

Story number 2 is entitled "The Finger" and it combines horror, very, very dark humor and gore. A man named Clark who collects "found" objects finds a finger in an alley of Los Angeles.

The finger slowly begins to grow until it becomes a strange monster that starts taking care of Clark, such as bringing him the ripped out tongue of the bill collector who keeps nagging him, the body of his ex wife and finally the severed heads of both is rotten to the core children.

The scene where Clark uses a sledge hammer to beat the severed heads to a pulp is something not forgotten!! This story is so over the top, that is entertains to the max.

Once again the stories are top notch if you like this kind of thing, which I do very much. DJ Qualls performance as Clark in "The Finger" is spot on. He establishes himself as insane from the first few minutes and his talking directly to the camera is priceless.

If you get the chance and haven't seen the second episode, please do. I think you'll be very surprised.