For lovers of movies from the silent era to modern day with an emphasis on horror, sci-fi, exploitation, WIP, westerns and anything of the fantastic and bizarre. THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO BOB WILKINS, GEORGE ROMERO, ALAN FREED ,ROGER CORMAN, CAROLINE MUNRO, JOHN FREDRIKSEN, JOHN ZACHERLE, CLEO MOORE , ROSALBA NERI, ERIKA BLANC, FEMI BENUSSI, SHIRLEY CORRIGAN, ROSANNA YANNI, MIRTA MILLER and, of course, CASEY KASEM.
Peter Lupus stars as Hercules who again fights to free innocent people from injustice and slavery.
There are some interesting moments in this weird little film and watching Lupus club soldiers to death with a huge club is one of them.
Helga Line makes the film worth watching as she look gorgeous as ever in every scene. The plot, as stated above is pretty simple and straightforward.
Interesting to note that this film opened on Christmas day in 1964 in Italy. Check it out and you might enjoy it.
Frank Gerstal stars as a mad doctor hired by an elderly woman who wants her brain transplanted inside the body of a sexy young woman.
Three woman are brought in for the experiment and one has he brain replaced with that of a house cat!! This makes for some really bizarre scenes of a woman acting like a cat.
Marjorie Eaton is the elderly lady who wants to be young again. Judy Bamber is the sexy woman that Eaton wants to have her brain transplanted inside.
A totally bizarre film with some truly memorable scenes that are not soon forgotten. Aka Monstrosity.
After being attacked by a mutant lizard man as a child, a man haunts the beast for all of his life and finally captures him.
The monster is put on display but escapes and causes havoc. This plot is very much like "Revenge Of The Creature" but with few differences.
The CGI blood effects are terrible as is usual with these kinds of films anymore, but the creature costume is nice. The acting isn't so hot, but one cannot expect it to be.
This is a fun film, but it could have been so much better. The ending leaves a sequel open for the making but so far no takers. harmless fun.
Reason is probably best known for such horror films as "Voodoo Island" and "King Kong Escapes".
He is the younger brother of Rex Reason. He was 84.
17 episodes comprise season 2, and one can tell the quality of the show was dropping, but there are still some gems in here.
SOLDIER 9/19/64...Michael Ansara is a soldier from the future who knows nothing but killing who is transported to a more peaceful time.
COLD HANDS WARM HEART 9/26/64...William Shatner is a young astronaut who returns from Venus an finds he is unable to keep warm.
BEHOLD ECK 10/3/64...The fate of Earth is in the hands of a two dimensional creature that can only be seen with special glasses.
EXPANDING HUMAN 10/10/64...A consciousness expanding drug give a man superhuman abilities.
DEMON WITH THE GLASS HAND 10/17/64...Robert Culp stars as a man who is pursued by alien assassins while seeking the key to his true identity. An excellent show!!
CRY OF SILENCE 10/24/64...Eddie Albert is a man who, along with his wife, a besieged by animated tumbleweeds. A favorite that my mother told me about when i was very young.
INVISIBLE ENEMY 10/31/64...Adam West stars as an astronaut who finds terror on Mars when he is sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the previous party.
WOLF 359 11/7/64...Patrick O' Neal is a scientist who reproduces the atmosphere of a distant planet with frightening results.
I ROBOT 11/14/64...Ray Bradbury short story about a robot being tried for murder.
THE INHERITORS PART 1 11/21/64...Robert Duvall is an investigator on the case of four men who have been invaded by a mysterious alien intelligence whose plans are unknown, but whose power is very real.
THE INHERITORS PART 2 11/28/64...The conclusion to one of the best episodes ever aired for this show. I won't spoil it here for those that haven't seen it.
KEEPER OF THE PURPLE TWILIGHT 12/5/64...An alien being endangers the world when he trades his knowledge for emotions.
THE DUPLICATE MAN 12/19/64...Ron Randall stars as a man who duplicates himself in order to destroy a menacing monster.
COUNTERWEIGHT 12/26/64...An alien being unleashes fear and panic aboard a simulated space flight.
BRAIN OF COLONEL BARHAM 1/2/65...Anthony Eisley is a cripple and very bitter man who agrees to let his brain be put inside a robot for experiments in space flight. Grant Williams and Martin Kosleck also star.
THE PREMONITION 1/9/65...The first episode of the show I ever saw. A man and his wife are caught in a bizarre time dimension where everything stand still.
THE PROBE 1/16/65...An alien space probe captures a cargo plane flying to Tokyo.
Anyone watching these can tell that the quality was falling, but they all still make entertaining shows to watch from a golden era in TV.
Randolph Scott stars as a bounty hunter who is escorting criminal to be hanged, but all the while allowing the man's brother to catch up so further justice can be served.
James best is the criminal named Billy John and Lee Van Cleef is his brother Frank. Along for the ride with Scott's character of Ben Brigade are two other men who want the bounty on Billy John, Sam Boone (Pernell Roberts) and Whit (James Coburn in his movie debut).
Karen Steele is the widow of a station master murdered by Indians. The small party is stalked by Billy John's brother as the Mescalero Indians. Frank finally catches up and there is a showdown between himself and Ben. I don't want to spoil it if you've never had a chance to see this film, but the climax will surprise you.
Budd Boetticher directs again with gusto and all of the actor do a fine job. This is a text book on how to make an enjoyable film. I have actually had some modern day audience members tell me the film is too short to be a real movie. Wow, 73 minutes of grand entertainment is judged on length instead of contents!! I see there is a review ion IMBD that says pretty much the same thing I just said.
Don't miss this top notch entertainment that Sony put out on DVD in a beautiful set which includes 4 other Scott titles.
20....CRY DANGER (OLIVE)...One of the best film noir's ever made was brought to DVD in Blu-ray format and has never been better.
19...AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT (SCORPION)...The first slasher film with a killer Santa was directed by David Hess and written by Alex Rebar...another rare gem brought to Blu-ray.
18...GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER (KRAKEN)...My favorite 70's Godzilla movie got a great Blu-ray treatment from Kraken and it was a total joy.
17...NIGHT OF THE COBRA WOMAN (SCORPION)...Marlene Clarke stars as a woman who turns into a cobra. Marlene always looks hotter than hell in this classic exploitation film from Roger Corman.
16...JERRY WARREN COLLECTION VOL. 1 (VCI)...This collection includes "Man Beast", "Wild World Of Batwoman" and "Curse Of The Stone Hand". I must be the only fan of these, but I was very happy to see them come out after waiting for years.
15...KING KONG ESCAPES (UNIVERSAL)...Another great giant monster Blu-ray release. Kong fights his mechanical double and I drool over Mia Hama.
14...UNITED WE SLAM:THE BEST OF THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH (WWE)...The highest rated wrestling VD set this year features many matches from the various GAB cards from the days of WCW.
13...MASTER OF HORROR (SINISTER CINEMA)...This long unseen gem that all of us monster kids had only seen pictures of in Famous Monsters finally comes to a VD release via Sinister Cinema, and it was worth the wait. A great, undiscovered gem.
12...MANEATER OF HYDRA (SINISTER CINEMA)...Cameron Mitchell stars as a man who raises of plant that needs blood to survive. This is a gorgeous widescreen print of this long lost gem. Thanks Greg Luce.
11...WRESTLING WOMEN VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY (VCI)...Spanish language version of the Mexican classic about two gorgeous babes fighting an ancient mummy and a curse.
Next week I will look at the 10 best for the year 2014.
Lance Henriksen is a man who runs a small store in a very small town and takes care of his young son as well. One day a group of wild teens come by and in a freak accident the young boy is killed.
Sick with grief and anger Henriksen goes into the swamp and evoke a demon called Pumpkinhead which will kill all the teens one by one.
The demon is a terrifying creation and is shown quite a bit. Once seen it isn't forgotten so easily. Winston does a great job directing his first film.
Henriksen gives a great performance as a man driven to desperate means in anger then realizes he has gone too far. The Blu-ray release is perfect for any horror fan, and a huge thanks to Shout for putting this out with a ton of extras as well.
As many people know, this is, in my opinion, the greatest sci-fi film to ever come out of England. And to see it on Blu-ray finally is a dream come true.
Brian Donlevy is Prof. Bernard Quatermass, a no nonsense scientist who has sent a rocket into space. It crashes back to earth and only one person has survived. The survivor is Victor Caroon, played by Richard Wordsworth. His portrayal of the astronaut who has been taken over by an alien life form is priceless.
Quatermass really has no feelings for the man except to discover what has happened and continue with the experiment. Finally the alien takes over completely and it look like a tentacled mass. The mass settles in Westminster Abbey where Quatermass must find a way to destroy it.
The tension between Quatermass and everyone else is brought to light in an excellent portrayal by Donlevy. The music and settings make for a completely enjoyable film that any self respecting film fan should see. The film looks magnificent on Blu-ray, and now I can only hope Quatermass 2 will be released soon on Blu.
Easily one of the best releases of the year!
Every year I have to put this film on my blog here. I love it!
The plot is overly simple as Martians kidnap Santa from the North Pole and have him make toys for martian children. He does so and has the help of two Earth children also kidnapped by the Martians.
Santa finally gets away after a few misadventures, and the Martians discover they have their own Santa in a Martian named Dropo. The spirit of Christmas invades Mars and all is well.
I support this film 100% as nothing but the entertainment it is supposed to be, and it still outranks ANYTHING seen on TV today that is suppose to be for children. And hey, you gotta love the theme song "Hooray For Santy Claus" written by Milton DeLugg.
Shout brings these two Amicus classics to Blu-ray in stunning transfers. Tales consists of five tales from Bill Gaines original EC Comics.
In the first tales entitled "And All Through The House", Joan Collins stars as a young woman who kills her husband for his insurance money, then finds herself stalked by a killer dressed as Santa.
In "Reflection of Death" Ian Hendry is a man who leaves his wife for a mistress and then has a traffic accident. He returns home after the accident and finds a few things have changed, including him.
Peter Cushing stars in the third story entitled "Poetic Justice" as an elderly man who life is ruined by a very rich man who wants him out of the neighborhood. Cushing looks frightening as an eyeless corpse.
Segment 4 is "Wish You Were Here: which stars Richard Green and Barbara Murray as a couple who wish for too much in a take off of "The Monkey;s Paw". A very grisly episode.
Nigel Patrick stars in "Blind Alleys", a tale about a ruthless man who runs a home for the blind like a Nazi camp until the residents decide to take a most unusual revenge.
This is an excellent film an the Blu-ray presentation makes it even more enjoyable.
Shout also brings us Vault Of Horror, a classic Amicus film that is finally seen in the USA totally UNCUT. Daniel Massey and his sister Anna Massey star in the first segment entitled "Midnight Mess" about a man who travels to a very odd small town to find his sister. When he does he kills her and then finds that the entire town is run by vampires. We finally see the scene where the vampires have stuck a tap in Massey's neck and have fresh blood on tap. Gruesome and unforgettable.
The second tale is "The Neat Job" which stars Terry Thomas and Glynis Johns. Thomas is a neat freak whose wife just cannot seem to learn his ways...until she kills him. More uncut horror in this segment.
Curt Jergens and Dawn Addams stars in "This Trick'll Kill Ya" as two magicians who kills a young Indian woman for her magic rope, only to fin a very magical revenge awaits them
Michael Craig stars in "Bargain In Death" about a man who plans to fake his own death and collect insurance money, but things don't go as planed.
The final tale in entitled "Drawn And Quartered". Tom Baker stars as an artist who uses voodoo to get revenge on the art critics who stole money from him.
It was a true joy to see this film uncut for the first time, and I cannot recommend this Blu-ray double feature enough. There are three different versions of Vault in this collection. One of the best releases of the year and well worth the wait.
Whitelaw acted in many, many films and TV shows over the years, but is probably best remembered by people like me for such appearances in "Flesh & The Fiends", "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", "The Omen" plus many others.
She died of natural causes.
John Carradine stars as a boat captain whose small boat is caught in a strange supernatural event and hit by a mysterious ghost ship. The passengers are forced to swim to a small island.
Once there, they find a very run down hotel inhabited by a strange German man played by Peter Cushing. They soon discover that he is a former Nazi and has been in seclusion waiting to bring his Nazi army back to life. The zombies do come back and start killing the survivors one by one.
The scenes where the zombies rise from the water are excellently handled by director Ken Wiederhorn. They are scenes you won't forget. The cast also includes beautiful Brooke Adams as the only survivor in a rather ironic and bizarre ending, Luke Halpin and Don Stout.
The Blu-ray is very impressive looking and this is easily one of the best releases of the year.
Scott stars as a man who is returning to Texas and stops in an small town called Agry where he is robbed and framed for murder.
He is also caught between a feuding family that is out to take anything they can get. Tol Avery is Judge Simon Agry, a crooked judge who wants to hang a young Mexican man who killed in self defense.
Craig Stevens is Abe Carbo, the only one who seems to know what is going on and has a very level head about things.
The rest of the cast includes L.Q. Jones, Barry Kelly and Manuel Rojas. This western actually has plot enough for two films and borders on a film noir. Great stuff indeed from director Budd Boetticher.
Gardner produced such series as "The Rifleman" starring Chuck Conners as well as a ton of my favorite horror and crime films.
Some of the films he produced include "Without Warning" a 1952 film noir, "Return Of Dracula", "Flame Barrier" and "Monster That Challenged The World"
A wonderful and rich legacy is what he leaves behind.
30...MARTA (SINISTER CINEMA)...This long sought after film finally comes to light from Sinister. Sadly the print is missing a few nude scenes of the luscious Marisa Mell, but it is all we have now and Sinister should be commended for bringing this to light again.
29...WCW GREATEST PAY PER VIEW MATCHES (WWE)...A great Blu-ray release featuring some of the best matches from the great WCW and featuring such talent as Sting, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and many more.
28...GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND (KRAKEN)...Godzilla and Angorus battle Gigan and aliens for control of the Earth. A surprise Blu-ray release, but a very welcome one.
27...KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (UNIVERSAL)...Another great Blu-ray release in the middst of "Godzilla Mania" during the past year.
26...LAS MUJER MURCIELAGO (BATWOMAN) (VCI)...A good Spanish language only release featuring a sexy heroine in a bikini and mask fighting a mad doctor intent on creating an underwater race.
25...COUNTESS DRACILA (SYNAPSE)...Excellent Blu-ray release of the Hammer classic starring Ingrid Pitt and a woman who bathes in the blood of women to stay young.
24...SANTO AND THE RIDERS OF TERROR (VCI)...Another great Santo film, but this is a bit different as it is more western than horror.
23...GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER (KRAKEN)...Godzilla fight Ebirah on a small island in this interesting Blu-ray release from Kraken, a small company with good taste.
22...MONSTEROUS DR. CRIMAN (SINISTER CINEMA)...top notch Mexican horror film that actually started the genre south of the border. This is a beautiful subtitled print.
21...JENNIFER (KINO)...Rare late 70's film about a young woman with deadly powers that is pushed too far. Thanks to Kino, this obscure thriller sees the light of day.
Well that wraps up this week's countdown. Please feel free to comment or drom me a line telling me what you liked for the past year. Next week we open the top 20....
I reviewed this one a few years ago, and I have just recently re-watched it. If you have seen Marins other films from back in the 60's featuring the same character you know pretty much what to expect.
The evil gravedigger is released from prison after 40 years and moves to the slums with his followers in order to continue looking for the perfect woman to bear him a child. Ze finds a lot of victims to choose from, but after putting the women thru a series of brutal tortures he is still disappointed in what he finds.
There are many disturbing images in this film. Marins has lost none of his power to shock an audience. Back in the 60's his films were met with a much different attitude simply because audiences had never seen anything like it before. There are scenes of sadism which no American director would ever do, and when Ze visits what I assume to be Hell, it is astonishing.
I have seen the Marins films and like them all. To see this film in Blu-ray is an experience you will not forget. I cannot recommend this film enough. If you have seen it you might want to see Marins' other films including "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul" and "Tonight I'll Possess Your Corpse".
Barbara Steele stars in this film about a reporter who takes a bet from Edgar Allen Poe that he cannot spend the night in a castle that is reportedly haunted. He is dropped off and told if he can survive the night he will win an get a lot of money.
Georges Riviere is Alan Foster the man who spends the night in a castle filled with terror. Barbara Steele is Elisabeth Blackwood, a mysterious young woman who falls for Alan. Soon he finds that the castle in haunted by the spirits of people who have died violently and must re-live their deaths every year on Nov. 2nd.
There is some great atmosphere in this Italian chiller and the music is always a favorite of mine. It turns out Steele is dead too, but she tries to help Riviere escape.
Solid and scary entertainment that is top notch no matter what time you watch it. Highly recommended for any horror fan.
As usual, there is a lot of bad press about this film because they used Dachshunds in rat costumes to make the monsters and people just cannot get over that. Hell, it better than most of the CGI junk I see today.
Sam Groom is Paul Harris, a regular guy pulled into a web of horror when the woman he is dating, who happens to be a city inspector, uncovers the fact that rats got into some contaminated grain and have grown to the size of small dogs and are killing more and more people.
There are a few very well done scenes in this film and I noticed that the Blu-ray disc has "Night Eyes" as the title, which is the original name of the film before it got changed.
This film has been neglected over the years and yet it is one of the better 80's horror films out there so I was glad to see Shout finally giving this film it's due.
the rest of the cast includes Scatman Crothers, and Lisa Langlois. If you're so inclined, check it out.
In this film Scott is Bart Allison, who, along with his friend Sam arrives in a small town on the day of a wedding. The wedding is for town boss Tate Kimbrough.
Allison makes no bones about his dislike for Kimbrough, and we soon learn that Allison holds Kimbrough responsible for the death of his wife years before. After they break up the wedding the town have both Allison and Sam cornered in a local livery stable.
Sam is shot in the back after he is told he can leave safely, and this leads some of the townspeople to rethink their position. This is an excellent and very tight western with Scott as the meanest character he has played in sometime. He is vicious and vindictive and Scott plays it very well.
Budd Boetticher directed an the cast is top notch and also includes Noah Beery Jr. as Sam, John Carroll, Richard Deacon, Andrew Duggan as the Sheriff, Valerie French (who looks simply stunning in this film), Bob Steele, and Karen Steele who always looks goo an steals every scene she is in.
This is one of a series of films produced by both Scott and Harry Joe Brown. Great entertainment here and one that shouldn't be missed by any western fan.
This final film finds the Gill man still being hunted after he escaped from captivity in Florida. Scientists still want to study him and they again manage to capture him, but in an ensuing escape he is burned very badly.
After some emergency surgery, the scientists find a layer of human like skin underneath and then attempt to make the gill man more human.
The experiment fails as the gill man kills a few people and then walks out into the ocean to disappear forever. We really never know of he lives or dies. The scientists have him breathing with lungs instead of gills and we do see in one scene that he cannot breathe underwater any longer.
This is not really a bad third despite what some have said. The cast includes Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, sexy Leigh Snowden, and Gregg Palmer.
