VENOMOUS 2001 (TUBI

Fred Olen Ray strikes again.

This film starts with a terrorist attack on a lab where several of the experimental snakes escape. A few tears later in the quiet town of Santa Mira Springs there are several snake attacks.

The local doctor, David Henning (Treat Williams) is shocked when all of these people die from what appears to be much more than a regular snake bite. It seems more like a plague.

He calls his estranged wife Dr. Christine Henning (Mary Page Keller) for help and everything gets sidetracked by the military. Before too long the entire small town is in quarantine and all communications are cut off.

David and his wife discover a massive government coverup as the snakes were part os a research project only the military knew about. They are infected with radioactive isotopes and therefore very, very deadly.

It turns to a race against time as the government decides to destroy the entire town rather than let the secret get out. I liked this film a lot, and I was suprised to see all of the negative comments about this film.

It's much better than anything made today and it moves along at a great pace. I would recommend this.

The rest of the cast includes Rick Hurst, Andrew Stevens, Nicole Nieth and Christal Chacon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

David Cronenberg is 81, Eva Longoria is 48, Lisa Farringer is 77, Lisa Langlois is 65, and Magda Konopka is 81.

GHOST TOWN LAW 1946 (TUBI)

Good God, I haven't seen this since I bought the VHS tape at K Mart many, many years ago.

This was a nice trip down memory lane. Two Marshals are killed and the Rough Riders are called in on the case.

This is the 5th in the long running movie series, and it's a great way to kill one hour. The Rough Riders investigate and find the gang has a gold mine with tunnels running under a ghost town.

As is usual with this kind of B western there sre plenty of fist and gun fights and horse chases. The Rough Riders are portrayed by Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Raymond Hatton.

Watching these movies brings a flood of nostalgia for me, and I always enjoy them. If you like B westerns, I highly recommend this. A good way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

THE GREAT BUDDAH ARRIVAL 2018 (TUBI)

This was an odd one, and I still have no idea what to ake of this.

This is a remake of a 1934 Japanese film about a huge Buddah coming to life and walking thru Nagoya City.

It all sounds pretty good, but the execution of this film leaves a lot to be desired. The original film is forever lost having been destroyed in WW2, and this film is all we have.

The Buddah walks thru the city causing mass destruction, but I think the movie concentrates more on people that the "monster". Having genre vets such as Peggy Neal, Akira Takarada and Akira Kubo in the cast make this a bit better, but I think it could have been so much more.

It runs just under an hour, and that makes me wish they had picked up the pacing just a bit. It's on TUBI, so check it out if you so desire. Who knows, you might like it more than I did.

RIP ERIC CAMEN 1949-2024

Another musical talent from the soundtrack of my life has passed away.

Eric Carmen was a member of the Raspberries in the early 70's and had some great hits such as "Go All The Way"

Later in the 70's he branched out omn his opwn and had several smash hits including "All By Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall In Love". His career continued in high gear in the 80's with "Make Me Lose Control" and "Hungry Eyes" from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack.

Carmen died in his sleep on March 11, 2024 at the age of 74. A music legend from my past and such good times listening to him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Barbara Feldon is 91.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Nancy Kovack is 89.

KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK 1950 (TUBI)

Excellent film noir that is just a little bit different.

Evelyn Keyes stars as Sheila Bennet, a young woman who has just arrived back in New Yrok from Cuba where she has picked up some hot diamonds for her boyfriend Matt Krane (Charles Korvin).

Sheila has what she thinks is just a headache from the trip, but it turns out to be smallpox. Once this is learned by medical officials the entire city is out hunting for Sheila after the federal agent following her loses her trail.

Everyone she comes in contact with is getting sick and it soon seems like the entire state of New York will become infected.

This movie is loaded with tension and fear as the crisis mounts to huge proportions and both medical and federal workers grow more frantic by the hour.

In its 75 minute running time this film offers more tension and thrills than many movies made in this day and age. The top notch cast also includes William Bishop, Dorothy Malone, Lola Albright, Barry Kelly, Carl Benton Reid, Whit Bissell, Art Smith, Ray Roberts and Connie Gilchrist.

A great movie that shouldn't be missed by any fan of American cinema.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Chuck Norris is 84, Cynthia Brimhall is 60, Shannon Tweed is 67, and Sharon Stone is 66.

RIP JEAN ALLISON 1929-2024

The very prolific actress has passed away.

Her name may not ring a bell, but when you see her face you'll know who she is.

She appeared in many, many TV shows such as "Have Gun, Will Travel", "M Squad", "Restless Gun", "One Step Beyond", "Adam 12", "Emergency" and "River Boat".

Her only horror film was a starring role in the wonderful film entitled "The Devil's Partner". She poassed away on February 28th, 2024 at the age of 94.

TALES TO KEEP YOU AWAKE SEASON 2 1967/68 (TUBI)

Well season 2 runs shorter in the number of episodes, but they are very good indeed.

They are all in glorious black and white until the final episode of the season which was made in 1974. I'll explain at the end of this episode list.

THE NIGHTMARE 10/20/67... This is an excellent tale about a small village under seige from a series of strange vampire-like killing. There is some slight gore in this episode which is a first. A great twist ending.

THE PAW 11/3/67...This is a variation of the tale "The Monkey's Paw". This tale has been filmed many times before and after, but none quite as good as this one.

THE SEER 11/17/67...A string of suicides is baffling the police, but one man thinks they are being caused by invisible beings who don't want people to know they are around.

THE RETURN 12/15/67...Fantastic EC comics style tale about two nephews who are afraid that they will be cut out of their uncles will. A very well done episode that pays off in the last 30 minutes.

THE RAVEN 12/29/67...This is, of course, based on the tale by Edgar Allen Poe, but has the main character as Poe himself as they try to make this an autobiography. Well done however.

THE PROMISE 1/26/68...Again we go into Poe territory with a story about an evil man who makes his niece promise not to let him be buried alive.However after much abuse she gets a most delicious revenge.

THE HOUSE 2/9/68...The Countess Alaja dies and many years later her great grandson comes to live in the mansion which everyone believes is haunted. A great ghost story and a great ending. This is how it should be done.

THE TRANSPLANT 3/15/68...Bizarre tale about a future society where transplants are the norm, and anyone who is against it or doesn't want it, it treated as an outsider. One man decides to stay himself as an individual and pays the price. This is an episode that is very reflective of the kind of thinking we have in 2024.

That ended the second year but they show did have one episode in 1974 entitled The TV.

THE TV 7/4/74...A man finally gets to buy a TV and he becomes obsessed with it. He loses his job, never leaves the house and his wife and kids become afraid of him. Things get really weird when they start hearing things in the room and the man says things are coming out of his TV.

This is an excellent series and every episode is a standout on it's own. Season 3 followed in 1982.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Trish Van Devere is 83.

DRAGON SHOWDOWN (THE MAGIC SERPENT ) 1966 (TUBI)

I re-visited this movie and am very glad I did.

I said in my last review many years ago that I am tired of seeing this movie in subpar editions and with dubbing that is not in sync with the film. Well that finally changed.

The versionn I watched on streaming was widescreen and in original Japanese language with English subtitles. In ancient Japan a ruler who is good is killed by a man who wants to rule the kingdom himself.

The rulers son is rescued and raised by a man who teaches him special powers and abilities. When he grows up he learns who he is and vows vengeance on the evil rulers.

There are some pretty wild scenes in this epic including beheadings, a giant dragon, a frog monster, a giant flying bird and a huge black widow spider. All of these monsters play a vital part in the end of the movie.

It's a wild ride that never slows down and keeps the viewers interest for 90 minutes. I don't want to go into much detail here as I think you should see this for yourself and decide if you like it or not.

I recommend it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Cynthia Rothrock is 67, Micky Dolenz is 79, Kathy Shower is 71, Silvia Tortosa is 77, and Carole Bayer Sager is 80.

ANGEL OF DEATH 1986 (TUBI)

This strange film was helmed by both Jess Franco and Andrea Bianchi, so that tells you what to expect.

A Jewish commando unit that is tracking Nazi's stumble upon the infamous Joseph Mengele (Howard Vernon) living in an enclosed mansion where he conducts experiments on people and still trying to perfect the master race.

They discover as well that they must fight thru his army of guards in order to get him and bring him to trial, and this proves to be much harder than they imagined.

There is a lot of gunfights and bloody death in this movie, as is to be expected with both directors handling the chores. I will give the film credit in that it never bored me and it did move along ok.

The rest of this Eurocine productions cast includes Jack Taylor, Christopher Mitchum, Fernando Rey, Suzanne Andrews, Dora Doll, Shirley Knight and Helena Garret.

If you're a fan of Eurocine films, I think you'll like this. They made Euro-trash at it's finest.