31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 31: HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH (UNIVERSAL)

Unfairly torn apart by people who simply cannot see this for the original film that it is.

This movie is about a man named Conal Cochran who runs Silver Shamrock Novelties, a toy company who is also a warlock intent on killing all of the children of the US and around the world on Halloween night via some strange Halloween masks and a television signal along with part of Stonehendge.

What a concept for a movie!! Tom Atkins and Stacy Nelkin are two people who are trying to stop this from happening. Dan O' Herlihy turns in an unforgettable performance as Cochran.

There are plenty of gory shocks and some horrible scenes of snakes and bugs coming out of the mouth of a dead child...disturbing images indeed. If you're looking for something different this is the ticket, and it's very scary viewing for Halloween time. Recommended!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 31: HALLOWEEN 1978 (ANCHOR BAY)

The epitome of Halloween horror movies. This was once the highest grossing independent motion picture in history, a title it well deserves.

Jamie Lee Curtis stars as Laurie, a virginal babysitter, who along with two of her friends from school are terrorized by a crazed killer named Michael Myers. Nothing about this movie is bad an that goes for sets, acting and music.

The music is by John Carpenter the man who also directed this film and got a career out of it. It is both effective and moody and sets the tone perfectly. God, if only filmmakers today could do this good.

Sexy P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis, and Donald Pleasence make an excellent supporting cast. MUST SEE VIEWING FOR HALLOWEEN NIGHT!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: DOCTOR OF DOOM 1963 (BEVERLY WILSHIRE)

Fun little horror film from Mexico about a pair of gorgeous female wrestlers who take on a mad scientist, his henchmen and his monster Gomar as well as a supre strong female wrestler with the brain of an ape inside her noggin.

Sexy as hell Lorena Velazquez and Elizabeth Campbell are Gloria venus and Golden Rubi, two women who fight to destroy a mad scientist who kidnaps women for his brain experiments.

The movie is nothing but fun and you get lots of wrestling action, monsters, sub plots and gorgeous women...what more could you ask for?? Recommended!!

AMERICAN TOP 40 THE 80'S

This weekends edition of AT 40 the 80's takes us back to 11/1/80 when AC/DC said "You Shook Me All Night Long", Roger Daltrey was "Without Your Love", Willie Nelson was "On The Road Again", Cliff Richard was "Dreaming", and Barbara Streisand was a "Woman In Love", plus so much more.

Listen to AT 40 the 80's on WMGN 98.1 in Madison, WI. It starts at 11AM and ends at 3PM Mountain time this sunday.

AMERICAN TOP 40 THE 70'S

This weeks' edition of AT 40 the 70's takes us back to 11/4/72 when America took the "Ventura Highway", Hot Butter had "Popcorn", Leon Russell walked the "Tight Rope", Helen Reddy said "I Am Woman", and Rick Nelson went to a "Garden Party" and so much more.

Listen to American Top 40 the 70's this weekend at 8AM to 11AM Mountain time on KRVI 92.9 from Lake Charles, LA or 8pm to 11pm Mountain time on WMGN 98.1 in Madison, WI.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: PHASE IV 1974 (LEGEND FILMS)

Michael Murphey, Nigel Davenport and Lynn Frederick are three people fighting the collective intelligence of millions of ants who, after a solar disturbance begin to wage war on humans.

This has an almost documentary style to it and that makes it even more terrifying. Saul Bass directs this with total control and a flair for the unusual. This movie is very obscure but thankfully Legend Films brought it out on DVD, and even n ow it's still hard to find.

Killer bug movies are usually the same, but this time a movie takes a totally different approach, and the ending will really make you think. I love this film. Highly Recommended sci-fi.

RAMBLINGS

Sept. 27th, 2012 is a day only morons could love. It is the day that a "performer" named Lil Wayne was said to have surpassed Elvis Presley with the most charted hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Lol...Lil whats his name couldn;t make a pimple on Elvis' ass. Rap is garbage and requires absolutely no talent, just brainless mind rot. Lil whats his name will NEVER equel ANY performer. He is gutter trash, like all rap musicians are. ELVIS IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE KING!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: MESSIAH OF EVIL 1973 (MILL CREEK)

One of the most original horror films I have ever seen!!

A woman, played by Marianne Hill goes to visit her father who has disappeared from a small California seaside town after leaving some very strange notes behind.

She meets a trio of people, a man and two women played by Michael Greer, Joy Bang and the gorgeous Anitra Ford as well as a wino named Charlie played by Elisha Cook, Jr. Things get ever weirder as she finds some of the people standing out on the beach with lit fires and staring up at the sky.

Needless to say she finally meets her father and learns the truth about him and the town she is staying in and it isn't pleasant. Seem the people are slowly mutating into fleash craving zombies because of a curse made many years ago.

There are several standout scenes in this film including Joy in a theater playing a movie entitled Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye and Anitra in a grocery store and an albino truck driver and his beach rats. All shocking indeed and images you will not soon forget.

Highly Recommended for sheer terror, unique plot and originality. Wow!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: LIVING DEATH 2006 (GENIUS)

Kristy Swanson stars as a woman married to a sadist who likes to bring women home and take them to his attic full of medieval torture devices.

She grows tired of this and plots to kill him with his lawyer whom she is having an affair with. They don't succeed and he comes back for revenge.

I like Kristy and always have and in this film she is good, but there are no good characters in this film and you really have to say everybody gets what they deserve. The ending is not what I would call shocking, but you know they were expecting to do a sequel soon.

This isn't a bad film and it is a good way to pass 90 minutes for some Halloween thrills. It does contain some gore, but not much.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: HAUNTED RANCH 1943 (GAIAM)

I love the merging of two genres such as this. Horror and western.

This is the 20th movie in the "Range Busters" series and it deals with bad guys who pretend to be ghosts in order to scare people away so they an look for hidden gold.

The Range Busters are John "Dusty" King, Max Terhune and Dave Sharp and the three of then decide to investigate the mysterious goings on. Glenn Strange is the leader of the baddies and does his part well as usual.

This is a fun 57 minute B western and very light entertainment for horror fans. Good fun and recommended!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 29: FACE OF FU MANCHU 1965 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

This is the first of five Fu Manchu films starring Christopher Lee as the super villian.

In this film Fu wants the Black Hills Poppy formula which will kill millions of people, and he actually uses it on a small town and kills 3000 people!!

Lee plays Manchu perfectly and this movie really shows you what an evil pulp character Sax Rhomer had in mind. Tsai Chin is Fu's lovely and sadistic daughter Lin Tang and Nigel Green is Fu's enemy, Nayland Smith.

The action is all pulp and fun as hell. The supporting cast includes Howard marion Crawford as Dr. Petrie sexy Karin Dor, Walter Rilla and Francesca Tu as Lotus. Highly recommended action for Halloween.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 29: THE BLOB 1958 (GAIAM)

Onec again this film gets my highest recommendation ever!! This is the film that started me as a horror fan back in 1965 when it scared the crap out of me on TV.

Steve McQueen stars as a teenager who must convince the people of a small Pennsylvania town that a monster is loose in the town. The acting is good for the most part and the effects of the Blob are top notch for such a low budget production.

McQueen does a good jab as well as Aneta Corsaut as his girlfriend, Earl Rowe as the head of Police and Olin Howlin as the first victim of the blob.

Recommended if you want a good time this Halloween, and you gotta dig that theme song by the Five Blobs written by Burt Bacharach.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Beautiful Gabrielle Union is 40, and Kate Jackson is 64.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 28 : HIDEOUS SUN DEMON 1959 (GAIAM)

Robert Clarke stars as Gilbert McKenna a scientist who is exposed to radioactive rays and turns into a reptile monster everytime he is exposed to the sun.

This is a 50's gem!! Clarke gives an excellent performance but the character he plays is very hard to side with as he continually brings on his own problems. The reptile costume is very cool.

Patricia Manning is the woman who loves McKenna, but cannot get him to see the error of his ways. Manning is an attractive actress and it would have been nice to see her in more things.

Very low budget but fun with the monster killing cops and killing a rat in a very disgusting scene (gotta love it). Clarke once told people that the reason he looks like he wet his pants in the one scene where the monster terrorizes a group of children is because the costume was extremely heavy and it was pushing 100 degrees outside. Ahh the hazards of low budget filmmaking.

Highly recommended horror film from the late 50's.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 28: THE SNAKE PEOPLE 1971 (GAIAM)

One of four films Boris Karloff shot scenes for in Hollywood shortly before his death.

An evil scientist controls an army of what I can only describe as crazed snake worshippers and flesh eating zombies. All of Karloff's scenes were shot in Hollywood and the rest of the film was shot in Mexico City.

This is a bizarre film that sometimes fails to make sense, but Karloff is always a joy to watch and there is an actress named Tongolele (aka Yolanda Montes) that dances with snakes. Something about her is very appealing to me, but I don't know what.

Anyway, this is a recommended fun little thriller if you're so inclined.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

The luscious Christie Hemme is 32.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 27: TRILOGY OF TERROR 1975 (DARK SKY)

In the days when TV had something to offer besides Kim Kardashian and Honey Boo Boo there were television movies of the week, and during the 70's there were a lot of horror tales on TV. This is an all time classic.

Karen Black stars in three tales of terror involving a witch, a woman with a dual personality and a young women stalked by a Zuni fetish doll. The episode sare all good, but the Zuni fetish episode remains an all time classic in TV terror.

The little bastrad has extremely sharp teeth, makes a hell of a lot of noise and it relentless in his quest to kill. When I first saw this I was terrified and those feelings are still with me to this day.

If you want to be scared this Halloween watch this film with the lights off. Highly Recommended Dan Curtis directed film.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 27: BLACK SUNDAY 1961 (KINO)

The debut of director Mario Bava is simply a masterpiece of terror and filled with Italian gothic.

Lovely Barbara Steele has the dual role of a Princess named Asa Vajda and an evil witch who returns to life along with her servant. John Richardson is Dr. Andre Gorobec who fights to save Asa from the witch.

Filmed in beautiful black and white, this film is full of great scenes including the horse drawn carriage slowly moving thru the foggy forest and the decomposed body of the witch returning to life and also the stick in the eye treatment for killing vampires!!

One of the best films of it's kind ever made and the Kino print is flawless ans beautiful. Very Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Lara Parker is 75, and Jayne Kennedy is 61.

COMING SOON....

Finally....the first movie I ever worked on is coming to DVD from Criterion. The 1979 epic Heaven's Gate is slated for release November 20th.

This has been on DVD before from MGM, but the Criterion release promises to be spectacular. This film deserves to be seen the way it was intended. The term "bomb" has been thrown around this film for 30 years and it is totally unwarrented.

A big thanks to Criterion for FINALLY getting this film out and if you're so inclined I think you should check it out.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 26: THE GREEN SLIME 1969 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

Yes, I have reviewed this before on this blog, but it fits into my Halloween recommendations. I have never been so pleased with a film than I am this one.

This movie was a personal favorite of my mother's and it is that way with me as well. It seems that an asteroid is on a collision course with earth and must be destroyed. The astronauts that are sent to destory it do so, but little do they know that they have broughut back a very small trace of a mysterious green substance that was on the runaway asteroid to begin with.

Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel and gorgeous Lucianna Paluzzi star in the Japanese/American co-production. The monsters are multi eyed tentacled creatures who electrocute their victims, and soon they have infested the entire Space Station named Gamma 3.

I admit I love this film and so much so I have even bought the exihibit manual given to theaters and have managed to get many other items associated with this little gem. Fun is the only way to describe this film and Warner does an excellent job finally brining it to DVD in widescreen and a damn near perfect print. Highly Recommended!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 26: BLACK SABBATH 1964 (GAIAM)

One of the best horror films ever made bar none. This version is the US version with the stories in a little different order.

Mario Bava directed this chilling collection of three supernatural tales hosted by Boris Karloff. Karloff had said that filimg the intriductions to these stories was some of the most fun he ever had on a film set.

The first story is "Drop Of Water" based on a story by Checkov. A young woman steals a ring from a dead witch and soon finds the witch seeking revenge. This story really creeps me out and the witch is hideous looking. The image of her floating towards her victim with arms out stretched will forever live in my mind as a high terror moment from when I firat saw this film.

The second story is "The Telephone" based on a story by F. G. Snyder. A very sexy young woman played by Michele Mercier receives several phone calls from a man who is supposedly dead. Michele makes this well worth watching and it shows whata Bava can do with an average story.

The third and final tale is "Wurdulak"based on a story by Tolstoy. Boris Karloff is Gorca, a man turned into a vampire and who preay on those he loves most. Mark Damon also stars in this highly horrific tale which takes gothic horror to new levels.

In the Italian version "Telephone" was first, "Wurdulak" was second and "Drop Of Water" was third. I have seen the Italian version and the stories are in a better sequence, but the US version I am talking about here is still an excellent treat for horror fans. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO.....

Jaclyn Smith is 67.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 25: FURY OF THE WOLFMAN 1972 (FRONT ROW)

Paul Naschy stars as Waldemar Daninski, a man bitten by a werewolf who is then cursed to change into a wolf.

The plot is pretty confusing and some of this film was used in the much better "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror". Some scenes don't match up and sometimes the dubbing is awful.

However, I did enjoy this Spanish horror film with multiple werewolves and sadistic female scientists and I am a huge Naschy fan. This is very fast paced even if it is hard to follow the story.

These kinds of films are perfect for Halloween viewing.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 25: PANIC 1980 (MILL CREEK)

This Italian shocker concerns an accident in a lab that causes a scientist to mutate into a flesh eating monster.

David Warbeck is a cop investigating strange murders in a small town. After more murders occur the military quarintines the town to decide if they want to nuke it to keep the contamination the monster spreds in check or not.

This is a bizarre but rather fun film that is really maligned by most people. I liked the pacing and the monster. It's a good chiller for a rainy afternoon during the Halloween season.

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO.....

Katy Perry is 28, Ciara is 27, and Gale Anne Hurd is 57.

RIP CANDY JOHNSON 1944-2012

The actress and dancer who appeared in such great films as Pajama Party, Bikini Beach, Muscle Beach Party and Beach Party has passed away at the age of 68. As of this writing I have no information on the cause of her death. We have lost the most energetic go-go dancing woman in the world.

RIP NORMAN GRABOWSKI 1933-2012

Actor Norman Grabowski aka "Woo Woo" Grabowski in the classic film Sex Kittens Go To College has passed away at the age of 79. Grabowski appeared in many films and was also an acclaimed hot rod builder.

His other film appearances include The Big Operator, Girls Town, The Beat Generation, High School Confidential and many more. He will be missed!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 24: FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE 1959 (MGM)

This easily is one of my top 20 horror films of all time!!

A family curse that states all of the male members of the Drake family will die at the age of 60 seems to be coming true and the bodies are all headless in this fun and somewhat gruesome shocker directed by Edward L. Cahn.

Eduard Franz stars as Jonathan Drake, a man who is trying to discover what is happening to his brother and himself. He believes they are cursed by a centuries old voodoo curse.

Henry Daniell is the very evil and sinister Dr. Emil Zurich, who is much more than he seems, lovely Valerie French is Drake's daughter, Grant Richards is the police Lt. called into the case of bizarre murder and Paul Wexler is Zutai, one of the scariest villians in cinema history with his lips sewn shut and his very sharp tool for cutting off human heads.

Very highly recommended thriller, especially for Halloween.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 24: VOODOO ISLAND 1957 (MGM)

Boris Karloff is a man who uncovers hoaxes that is hired by a wealthy developer to investigate the disappearence of several of his workers on a supposed voodoo cursed island.

This is a great little movie that seems to have fallen into the cracks of cinema history. The terrific music score and the lush scenery, plus a top rate cast make this a real winner in the creepy sweepstakes for Halloween.

There are voodoo curses and dolls, man eating plants and other horrors awaiting the people who go to the island. The rest of the cast includes beautiful Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vye, Elisha Cook, Jr., Rhodes Reason, Jean Engstrom, Friedrich Von Ledebur and Adam West.

One of my favorite horror films of the 50's, this is a winner you don't wanrt to miss.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 23: THE SKULL 1965 (LEGEND FILMS)

Legend Films brought this to DVD a few years ago and it was such a pleasure to see this film after so many years. It used to turn up on channel 42 in Richland, Washington almost every month, then it vanished.

Peter Cushing stsra as a collector of rare items who comes to own the skull of the Marquis DeSade, which is possessed by an evil spirit. It them makes him kill and steal.

There are some pretty memorable scenes of murder and nightmare dreams and a great use of color. The supporting cast includes Micheal Gough, Christopher Lee, George Coulouris, Jill Bennett, Patrick Magee, Patrick Wymark, and Anna Palk. Excellent frights for the Halloween season.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 23; THE WOMAN EATER 1959 (IMAGE)

This obscure little film about a tree that eats women and then that in turn makes a serum for raising the dead star George Coulouris as a man who brings just such a tree to England.

He proceeds to experiment by feeding it various women in order to extract the serum. Sexy as hell Vera Day arrives for a job and he hires her only because he wants her lovely body for himself, and who can blame him?

His housekeeper turns jealous and then all hell breaks loose. This is a very obscure but interesting and fast moving film made on the cheap. The tree monster is pretty cool and this isn't a bad way to spend little over an hour. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Sam Raimi is 53, 'Weird Al' Yankovic is 53, Coleen Gray is 90, and Jasmin St. Claire is 42.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 22: SILENT NIGHT BLOODY NIGHT 1974 (MILL CREEK)

A man inherits a mansion that was once an asylum and strange murders begin taking place at the old house.

Ted Gursheny directed the wonderful Mary Woronov in this tale of a mad killer on the loose. Patrick O' Neal is the attorney who stops by the house with his sexy mistress and both are chopped up with an axe.

Plenty of gory deaths ensue as everyone tries to find out who the killer really is. The supporting cast includes John Carradine, James Patterson and Walter Abel. This is a strange and well made film that I think deserves a better reputation than it has. Good Halloween viewing.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 22: ADVENTURE AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 1965 (XENON)

This is an excellent little horror film from Mexico. A man and a woman are attacked by strange creatures in a cave and a scientist goes in search of the creatures.

There are a lot of cool monsters in this little film including cyclops monsters and a few other suprises. This film isn't subtitled, but who cares. The story is very easy to figure out.

Kitty de Hoyos is easy on the eyes as the assistant to the scientist. If you like South Of The Border horror as I do, you'll love this film. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Catherine Deneuve is 69, Joan Fontaine is 95, Suzanne Synder is 50,and Annette Funicello is 70.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 21: DRACULA AD 1972 (WARNER)

Interesting film from Hammer that brings the evil vampire Count Dracula to modern London of 1972.

What a great movie this is...you have Stoneground singing their hit "Alligator Man" and you have two of the sexiest actresses ever in Stephanie Beacham and Caroline Munro and then you have gorgeous Marsha Hunt whom the Rolling Stones wrote a chart topping hit entitled "Brown Sugar."

Christopher Lee is back as the Count and Peter Cushing is Van Helsing. Helsing tries to save his sexy grand daughter from becoming a bride of the Count after a young man named Johnny Alucard bring the evil monster back to life.

Don't listen to all the ridiculous bad press about this wonderful little film, watch it and decide for yourself.My God, it has Caroline Munro whom I still consider to this day to be the sexiest woman on the planet!! I loved it!! Recommended!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 21: STING OF DEATH 1966 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

I had always wanted to see this William Grefe film and in 2001 I couldn't believe Something Weird decided to put this out on DVD. My wife back then, now sadly my ex wife even brought the DVD to where I was working when it arrived on Oct. 2nd, 2001.

A deranged man turns himself into a Portuguese Man O War jellyfish monster and kills people off the coast of Florida. This is truely one of the most bizarre movie monsters ever.

The color is beautiful and SW really released the most beautiful print of any movie in their extensive library. The women are all simply beautiful as well and the scenery is perfect.

John Vella is Egon, the man/monster and Valarie Hawkins is the woman he loves but cannot have. The supporting cast of lovely women includes Sandy Lee Kane, Deanna Lund, Lois Etelman, and Blanche Devereaux.

If you get a chance see this movie, it is highly recommended for horror fans looking for something a little bit different.