FRANKENSTEIN'S CASTLE OF FREAKS 1974 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Dick Randall directed this very off the wall but fun film.

Rossano Brazzi is is Dr. Frankenstein who is trying to restore life to a hulking monster he has found and all the while the villagers are fighting off a Neanderthal Man who is terrorizing the countryside. Do you follow that?

An actor with the unlikely name of Boris Lugosi is Ook, the caveman!! Michael Dunn is a perverted dwarf that is dismissed from the castle for fondling a dead body and he seeks revenge by having the caveman kidnap Frankenstein's lovely daughter, played by Somonetta Vitelli.

There is also some nude bathing by gorgeous women and you have sexploitation gold my friends, as well as one of the most bizarre films you will ever see. This is an episode of Elvira's Movie Macabre and she does have some fun with this film, but even without her this film is a hoot and well worth seeing.

I wonder what ever became of Boris Lugosi??

THE DEMON 1981 (MILL CREEK)

Weird movie that sometimes really strikes a nerve.

Cameron Mitchell stars in this bizarre film about a demonic killer that makes people face their real fears before killing them. Mitchell is a psychic who is hired by a couple to find out what happened to their kidnapped daughter, after the mysterious killer made off with her.

The killer stalks people randomly and the movie really takes an unexpected turn when the man who hired Mitchell is killed and then Mitchell is himself killed by the man's wife who shoots him between the eyes!!

If you like disco music you get to hear part of the 1980 hit by Lipps Inc. entitled "Funkytown" and if you like bizarre movies you might enjoy this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is 94, Tsai Chin is 76, Dian Parkinson is 68, Sandy Descher is 67, and Rex Reason is 84.

MAN IN THE ATTIC 1953 (MILL CREEK)

Excellent mystery film starring Jack Palance.

Palance is a man who rents a room in a small boarding house and the woman running the place soon starts to suspect he is Jack The Ripper.

Francis Bavier is the woman who suspects him. He falls for a lovely dancer and singer named Lily Bonner played by Constance Smith.

The plot builds up nice and slow and Palance does his usual fantastic job. The ending is very interesting as Palance is never actually caught and it is never proved he was Jack, but you know better after watching. A good film, well directed and the period costumes and sets are outstanding as well.

WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON 1973 (SHOUT FACTORY)

This is an episode of Elvira Mistress Of The Dark as she hosts this weird and very bizarre movie.

A Washington reporter is sent to Hungary and while there he is bitten by a werewolf and when he comes back to Washington he begins to change into a werewolf during the full moon and terrorize the city.

The bizarre part is when he escapes from a guard and runs into the basement of the White House and finds a dwarf doctor working on a Frankenstein monster and begins licking the mans face!! Totally bizarre and really has nothing to do with the film.

Only Moses Ginsberg who directed this could tell us why that scene is in the film. The doctor is played by Michael Dunn and the werewolf is played by Dean Stockwell. This is a good film for what it is and has a twisted but fun ending you just knew was coming if you watch this.

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO....

Gena Lee Nolin is 41.

ELVIRA MISTRESS OF THE DARK 1988 (IMAGE)

The always sexy and funny Elvira finally gets a movie of her own....and it's a winner.

Elvira gets word that her Aunt has passed away and left her something in her will. She hopes it will be monet so she can escape showing old horror movies on TV and go do a stage show in Las Vegas.

Needless to say she only inherits a dilapidated house, a dog and a recipe book. One of her relatives wants the recipe book for unknown reasons and soon Elvira finds herself accused of witchcraft in a small New England town and is going to be burned at the stake.

Plenty of good slapstick humor and one liners from Elvira and a great performance by Edie McClurg as Chastity Pariah. Highly Recommended!!

MAN FROM PLANET X 1951 (MGM)

Director Edgar Ulmer helms a classic early 50's invasion film.

Robert Clarke and Margaret Field star as two people who are trying to stop an alien invasion on the Scottish moors by an alien who is waiting until his planet comes closest to Earth and then will guide his other ships here.

William Schallert is Dr. Mears, a baddie who tries to force the alien to give up it's secrets and pays for it. The sets are very minimal and the budget is very low, but Ulmer knew how to handle this and he does his usual excellent job directing on very small sets.

One of the earliest "invasion of Earth" mvies and one of the best. Recommended!!

BIRTHDAY WISHES TO....

Ed Harris is 62, Joe Dante is 66, and James Karen is 89.

COMING SOON

Time again for my year end countdown of my favorite releases on DVD. This year will include Vampires, Godzilla, Meathooks, The NWO, Opium, Hairy Monsters, Bondage and Brooke Hogan plus sexy as hell Carmen Electra.

The countdown starts on Dec. 8th and concludes on Dec. 29th.

MORONS FROM OUTER SPACE 1985 (MGM)

Three aliens crash land on Earth and become major media celebrities.

Not one thing about US or British life escapes being lampooned much to the chagrin of both Hollywood and the British press. Hollywood killed this Mike Hodges film because is it dead on about how we Americans carry everything to extreme.

The humor is dark and the ending is a little sad since one alien gets left behind, but this film really hits the nail on the head. If you get a chance, check it out, it's available from MGM on their Midnight Movies label.

I will not say too much more as I will let you discover the film for yourselves. Recommended!!

WOMAN IN GREEN 1945 (TREELINE)

Excellent Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.

In this thriller Holmes investigates the deaths of several women who each have a finger severed off. Lovely Hillary Brooke is the woman who is a suspect in these crimes, and she is good to watch as always.

Henry Daniell is Moriarty who is behind this diabolical plot. Holmes and Watson slowly track the maniac thru London and the ending is pretty cool. If you like Holmes mysteries, then you'll like this film.

This is one of the many Holmes mysteries made by Universal that is actually in the public domain.

THE SHUTTERED ROOM 1967 (WARNER)

Sexy Carol Lynley and Gig Young star as a couple who come to a small New England town to see and live in the house the woman lived in as a young child.

The house is supposedly haunted as several strange murders have occurred there and the blame is put on a creature. This is based on a story by HP Lovecraft and August Derleth, and it works very well.

Oliver Reed is a man who lusts after Lynley and is angry because the house was supposed to be his.Flora Robson turns in another fine performance as Aunt Agatha, who knows the secret of the house.

I found this a most enjoyable thriller and well worth the time to watch, and I will say it again...Lynley is hotter than hell in this pic. Wow!

MONSTER A GO GO 1965 (SYNERGY)

A film guaranteed to give you the Whim Whams!!

Well that's what one of the tag lines for this gem says. I know the last entry was Blood Freak, and now I am following it up with this film, but I hope I haven't lost what little followers I have.

I admit this is a guilty pleasure. An astronaut crashes back to earth in a small 3 foot space capsule and emerges a 7 foot giant!! Yep you read correctly. He goes around killing people for no reason I can determine and soon the hunt is on.

The movie just kind of stops and makes no sense what so ever and has a lot of scenes that never really connect. The film was started by Bill Rebane and the finished by Herschell Gordon Lewis, and brother does it show. There are several scenes that really stand out in my mind such as the scene where the monster strangles a man and we get a good close up the victims tongue and mouth as he is being killed....the truch driver helping the under sexed female get her car started and the phone ringing that is done by an off camera voice!!!

Never in the history of cinema has there ever been a film like this. It is amazing that it has a huge following 47 years after it's release. The disc from Synergy has a pretty cool interview with Rebane, two short Rebane dance films and a booklet reprinting the article that Scary Monsters Magazine did about the film. Finally, who couldn't like a film where a music group called the Other Three sing the title tune and have a lyric that goes..."you may be from beyond the moon, but to me you're just a goon..."?

Highly Recommended junk food on film.

BLOOD FREAK 1972 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

Oh my God!!! The greatest Thanksgiving Day turkey movie ever!!

Steven Hawkes stars as Herschell, a former Vietnam vet who is looking for a job in Florida. Well he stops and helps a very attractive Christian woman and she introduces him to her dope smoking sister and her burned out friends.

The woman is played by Heather Hughes and her gorgeous, dope smoking sis is played by Dana Cullivan, and she is very easy on the eyes.

Herschell is given a job on a turkey farm and is fed a turkey with chemicals that when mixed with the drugs he has already taken turn him into a turkey headed monster that must consume the blood of drug addicts to stay alive!! He even goes "gobble gobble" while killing or making out with his girlfriend!! yes you read that comment correctly.

They simply do NOT make movies like this anymore!! Blood Freak is a film you MUST see to believe. If you want a movie that will not disappoint, this is the one. Way too many things happen to actually list here in this short review, but you have to see this film. I watch it every Thanksgiving along with the Giant Claw for a turkey day movie feast and so should you, you won't regret it.

ALIEN FROM L.A. 1988 (MGM)

Sexy Kathy Ireland gets the starring role in this film about a young woman searching for her missing father and finding a civilization under the earth.

Such is the premise for this bizarre yet very watchable film. Ireland talks in a squeaky voice and portrays the nerd very well, but the closing shot of her in a very skimpy bikini is something everyone would remember.

William Moses is the man who lives in the underground world who falls for Ireland, and the rest of the cast does a good job with their roles as well. The movie was not very successful upon first release, but has attained a small cult following due to Ireland and director Albert Pyun.

MGM put this out as part of their excellent Midnight Movie line, and if you can find it you might want to give it a look. This is kind of a cross between "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" and "Blade Runner".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Mark Lester is 66.

THE UNHOLY 1988 (LIONSGATE)

Boy, did this film disappoint.

A priest must battle a demon that kills sinners while they are sinning. This had the potential and the cast to be a good film, but I have to admit I was not happy with this film at all.

It moves way too slow and there are many scenes that make no sense, and this isn't good in an entertaining way, this is just plain bad.

Ned Beatty, Hal Holbrook and Trevor Howard cannot save this film. Every once in a while there comes a film that really bores me, and this is one of them. See it at your own risk.

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS 1971 (MGM)

Dan Curtis directed this interesting little film based on the popular tv show.

David Selby, in his film debut plays Quentin Collins, who, along with his new bride Tracy, played by Kate Jackson, making her film debut as well, arrive at Collinwood Manor and suddenly strange things start to happen.

The vengeful spirit of a witch named Angelique starts to try and possess Quentin. She is played by the very sexy Lara Parker. This is a strange film and many series regulars show up in different parts than what they played on TV.

This is the 94 minutes cut of the film and while many people aren't happy that MGM didn't turn out the 129 minute version, we should be thankful we at least have this version to finally see on DVD. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Christina Applegate is 41, Kathryn Grant is 79, Darlanne Fluegel is 54, Noel Neill is 92, and Beverly Washburn is 69.

CHOPPING MALL 1986 (LIONSGATE)

Fun little sci-fi romp from 1986 directed by Jim Wynorski.

A group of young people are trapped in a mall after closing by three "killbots" who are brought to life when lightning strikes to Mall. These robots are supposed to protect the mall and stop intruders, but they instead have a mind of their own.

Kelli Maroney and sexy as hell Barbara Crampton are just two of the people trapped by the killer robots. There are some pretty cool effects here and one girl gets her head blasted off!!

There are small roles by Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov as the Blands and Dick Miller as Walter Paisley. Movies back in the 80's were always so much fun, and this is a prime example. Recommended!!

THE VINEYARD 1989 (IMAGE)

James Hong stars as Elson Po, a wine grower who seems to have been around forever.

A group of young actors are invited to the island and along for the ride is a young man doing a news story on Po, who snoops around and finds out some very odd things.

It seems Po is eternal as long as he mixes the blood of women with other special chemicals and drinks it every once in a while. Karen Witter is a sexy young actress whom Po wants as his bride and Michael Wong is the young man doing the investigating.

Plenty of horror pulp images such as walking dead men, women chained up in a dungeon, aged demons and so forth. Not a bad film and it was also directed by James Hong as well.

PSYCHO 1960 (UNIVERSAL)

This is the grand daddy of all horror films!!

Alfred Hitchcock directed the all time classic thriller about a psycho named Norman Bates that murders people who stay at his small motel because his mother doesn't like him to talk to strange women.

This movie has lost none of it's punch over the year despite having been remade and ripped off for years. The shower scene will always be the best filmed horror scene ever and Universal put an "R" rating on the DVD box which is rubbish.

If you have not yet seen this film...see it soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Debra Lamb is 49.

RIP LARRY HAGMAN 1931-2012

The man most famous for playing JR Ewing has died at the age of 81 after battling cancer.

For 14 years Hagman played JR Ewing, the evil ruler of an oil empire on the show Dallas.

His break came in 1965 as he got the a starring role on the show I Dream Of Jeannie along side Barbara Eden. He also directed a horror film called Beware The Blob back in 1972.

A true talent and a man who will be missed.

HANDS OF A STRANGER 1962 (MILL CREEK)

Strange film and a good concept.

James Stapleton plays a pianist whose hands are crushed in a bizarre accident and a doctor transplants the hands of a gangster onto the man. Lovely Joan Harvey is the sister of the pianist and at first she is against the operation and the doctor who did it, but she slowly comes around to acceptance.

The man kills people in various ways while under the influence of the new hands, and this brings in the police who question the doctor and all involved with the case. Paul Lukather is the doctor who performs the surgery, Larry Haddon is the detective on the case and Irish McCalla is a nurse and finally you have a young and sexy Sally Kellerman as a young woman killed by the maniac.

Sometimes overly talkative, but none the less entertaining.

CLASS OF 1999 (1990 LIONSGATE)

Mark Lester, who directed Class of 1984 is back at it again.

Root teachers have secretly been placed in a school where the police never go and people die on a daily basis. They are meant to control the children, but something goes terribly wrong and they begin killing students randomly.

Pam Grier, John Ryan and Patrick Kilpatrick are the three robots who take the law into their own hands and start a turf war between two rival gangs in the hopes they will kill each other off. Malcolm McDowell is the principle and Stacy Keach is the creator of the robots.

This is a well made and enjoyable film with plenty of action and a good social commentary on US society in general. Recommended!!

IF ONLY DEPARTMENT....

If only Boris Karloff were alive today he would be celebrating another birthday. All horror fans will ALWAYS remember him and his legacy. Boris Karloff 1887-1969

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Miley Cyrus is 20, and Robert Towne is 78.

RIP DEBORAH RAFFIN 1953-2012

Actress Deborah Raffin who starred in such films as God Told Me To, Death Wish 3 and Nightmare in Badham County has died from leukemia at the age of 59. She also ran an audiobook company with her husband. Her talent will be missed.

THE COLD 1984 (MILL CREEK)

An odd and disjointed film, but and interesting one.

Bill Rebane directed this film about a group of three millionaires who gather people into a house and offer them one million dollars if they can survive their worst fears.. it seems like part of this film is missing and there is a lot that goes on unexplained, especially the ending.

This isn't to say the film is uninteresting, it isn't. I enjoyed it and found the acting to be about normal for this kind of movie, but I do wish I had a back story with it to help explain several things.

THE DISEMBODIED 1957 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

This is an excellent example of great 50's exploitation horror!!

Ultra sexy Allison Hayes is Tonda, the leader of a voodoo cult who tries to make a photographer fall for her using black magic and murder.

Hayes does a great job especially when gyrating to jungle drums and voodoo rites. My god, when I was a kid I was entranced and now I am even more so at my age now. Paul Burke is the man she wants and John Wengraf is her husband who also is trapped by her murderous voodoo magic.

The print from WA is excelletn and in widescreen to boot. The film has NEVER looked better and I highly recommend it for any horror fan or any fan of Hayes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE AND TO THE FIRST TWO LOVELY LADIES MENTIONED IN THIS BIRTHDAY POST, ALL I CAN SAY IS I ENJOYED WORKING WITH BOTH OF THEM. Scarlett Johansson is 28, Jamie Lee Curtis is 54, Mariel Hemingway is 51, and Robert Vaughn is 80.

DEMONS OF LUDLOW 1983 (MILL CREEK)

Filmed in Wisconsin thriller from Bill Rebane.

A small town gets an piano for it's community church from a man in England, and it turns out that the item, when played, brings ghosts and demons to life to extract revenge on those that cut a man's hands off years ago.

Odd plot, but done very well with some genuine scares and some not bad effects for a film like this. Not a bad little ghost film and the actors all handle their roles well and the piano also bleeds and bounces around!!

Recommended horror film for regional horror film buffs.