KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE 1988 (FOX) BLU-RAY

A very welcome addition to Blu-ray.

One of the most original films I have ever seen come to BD and it looks great.

A meteor lands in the woods near a small town and it resembles a circus tent! The aliens are demonic looking clowns who have no trouble getting victims and encasing them in cotton candy cocoons.

The clowns looks very evil, and I guess that bothers a lot of people, but I like it. John Vernon is Officer Mooney, and he steals every scene he's in. His encounter with a clown at the police station is a highlight.

There are a lot of laughs in this great little film, and I still to this day find it to be one of the most original films I have ever seen. If you haven't seen this yet I recommend you pick up the Blu-ray and watch it. You siply can't go wrong with this film.

I wish more films were this creative and fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Angie Dickinson is 84, Antoinette Bower is 83, Ian Ogilvy is 72, Rula Lenska is 68, and Marilyn McCoo is 72.

THE SENTINEL 1977 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

Finally available in Blu-ray.

Sadly this film was not well received when it first came out back in the glorious 70's.

Cristina Raines stars as a young fashion model who moves into a wonderful Brooklyn apartment and soon finds bizarre things happening.

Her boyfriend starts an investigation. She, on the other hand talks to the lady who rented her the apartment. it's really a weird thing when she tells her how much she loves all of the people living there and then is told that she is the only tenet except for a blind priest on the top floor.

Chris Sarandon is the boyfriend who soon finds out that the apartment may be a gateway to Hell itself. There are some really genuine scares in here as well as some classic and disturbing make up from Dick Smith.

This film also boasts one of the most star studded casts in recent memory including Ava Gardner, Martin Balsam, Burgess Meredith, Eli Wallach, Christopher Walken, John Carradine, Arthur Kennedy, Sylvia Myles (in a role you'll never forget), Deborah Raffin, and Beverly D'Angelo (in another role you'll never forget).

I won't give anything away here, but you really need to see this great slice of 70's horror. The quality is magnificent from Shout, and it is easily one of the best releases of the year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Erika Eleniak is 46, and Jerry Lee Lewis is 80.

THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES 1962 (MILL CREEK) BLU RAY

The title pretty much sums up this Stooges comedy.

I had reviewed this movie a long while back on DVD and now Mill Creek brings it to us in a beautiful Blu-ray edition with two other Stooge films that will be appearing here shortly.

They travel back in time via a bumbling inventors' time machine to ancient Greece. there they are called "Gods" and are treated as such until they get into their usual messes, and then they find themselves fighting King Odius and his right hand man Hercules.

There are laughs a plenty as they pull their usual gags, which never seem to grow old. I still find myself laughing out loud at all the craziness. Hercules is played by Samson Burke and Quinn Redecker is inventor Schuler Davis who is such a nerd that he cannot see the advances made by a very lovely woman named Diane, played by Vicki Trickett.

I recommend this is you need a good laugh, and lets face it, we all do once in a while. Top notch fun with excellent picture quality.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Brigitte Bardot is 81.

THE DEVIL COMMANDS 1941 (MILL CREEK)

This is considered the best of Karloff's Columbia efforts.

Edward Dmytryk directed this thrilling story starring Karloff as Dr. Julian Blair, a man who is attempting to communicate with the dead via brain waves. When his beloved wife is killed in an auto accident he makes every attempt to communicate with her.

He join up with an evil phony psychic who begins to take control of everything and leads the kindly doctor down a path of body stealing and murder.

This is a very enjoyable thriller with Karloff in top form once again. Anne Revere is excellent as the psychic who turns Karloff to a life of crime and despair.

This is part of the Mill Creek set of 6 Karloff films from the Columbia library, and it's one that shouldn't be missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Shaun Cassidy is 57.

BEFORE I HANG 1940 (MILL CREEK)

Boris Karloff is once again a doctor who is misunderstood.

Karloff is Dr. John Garth who is on trial for a mercy killing. He is sentenced to be hanged in thirty days, but allowed to keep experimenting in prison under close guard.

His experiments concern stopping the aging process, and he is close to success. He experiments on himself after mixing the blood of a killer with his serum. Just after the injection his sentence is commuted to life in prison. His work goes on, but he soon finds that he has become a "Jekyll and Hyde".

The blood of the killer takes over and he is compelled to strangle people. This is rather reminiscent of the later Karloff thriller "The Haunted Strangler" which would come out 18 years later.

This is good stuff for horror fans and Karloff fans in general. Mill Creek brings us a top notch print from the Columbia library. I hope Mill Creek releases more of this kind of classic material. Recommended!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Linda Hamilton is 59, Olivia Newton-John is 67, Christina Milian is 34, Kent McCord is 73, Martine Beswick is 74, Lysette Anthony is 52, Victoria Vetri is 71, and John Zacherle is 97.

LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK 1972 (CHEEZY FLIICKS)

I found this by accident in Hastings and so I just had to pick it up.

Charles B. Pierce brings us this chilling docu-horror film based on a legendary swamp monster in Fouke, Arkansas called "The Fouke Monster".

This film was one I saw previews of back in 1972 and just those scared the hell outta me. This is a terrifying journey involving some of the actual people involved in the sightings of the monster. there are some genuine scares in this film, and the last 25 minutes are the best.

The Jaime Mendoza Nava score is timeless as always. The music for this film, except for the folk songs is also the music used in "Equinox".

I have always loved this film and I cannot recommend it enough. Don't listen to all the put owns, check it our for yourself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Michael Madsen is 57, Heather Locklear is 54, and Louisa Moritz is 69.

WESTBOUND 1959 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

Another classic western starring Randolph Scott.

This classic is one of seven film starring Scott that was directed by Budd Boetticher.

John Hayes (Scott) goes to Colorado in 1864 to help keep the gold shipments coming thru the stage line which in turn will help the North win the Civil War.

Hayes is met with quite a bit of resentment from people, especially his former friend and colleague Clay Putnam, played by Andrew Duggan. Putnam has an assistant named Mace who carries out most of his dirty work. Mace is not above killing anyone to keep the gold from the North.

This is a very good western, but then again Boetticher never did make a bad one and neither did Scott for that matter. The film works on many levels and will no doubt hold your interest. The rest of the cast includes lovely karen Steele, Virginia Mayo (as Scott's former lover and the wife of Duggan's character), and Michael Dante.

the standout performance in this film goes not to Scott who is always excellent, but to Michael Pate as Mace. Pate steals every scene he is in andd plays the head baddie very well. I never saw Pate in a bad performance either, and in this film he is given a chance to shine. His most remembered role as in the fantastic yet still unavailable horror film "Curse Of The Undead".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Stephanie McMahon is 39, Bert I. Gordon is 93, April Hunter is 44, and Joe Green is 69.

REMEMBERING "EL SANTO":....

Today is the birthday of the one and only "Santo" aka Rodolfo Guzman Huerta.

The Mexican icon was born on Sept. 23rd, 1917 and passed away on Feb. 5th, 1984 at the age of 66.

My first introduction to Santo was on late night television on WTCG in Atlanta when they ran a film called "Invasion of the Zombies" and for the first time I was a masked wrestler fighting an army of walking dead men controlled by a mad scientist. I was hooked from that point on.

There is not one Santo film that has ever let me down. He made some of the wildest, yet most unforgettable films I have ever seen. I guess I like the movies a lot because they combine my two loves of life, pro wrestling and horror films.

Santo never took off his mask even when not on the screen as to keep the legend alive and very real to his fans. He did take it off on a Mexican talk show on TV in 1984 and then passed away 10 days later from a heart attack.

I have a lot of his wonderful films on DVD and I treasure them. There is simply NOTHING like these films and that is what sets them apart. Once you have seen one of these you have to see more. In my opinion, "Santo and The Blue Demon Vs. the Monsters" is simply the greatest Mexican film ever made, and it shows Santo at his best.

Santo will always live in my memory and his legacy is still alive and strong thanks to his movies. If you haven't seen a Santo film lately, or ever, check them out and see what true entertainment is. 31 years after his death, he is still beloved by many, many people. VIVA SANTO!!!

MAN WITH NINE LIVES 1940 (MILL CREEK)

Very interesting Boris Karloff vehicle.

A medical researcher decides to visit the reclusive home of a scientist who experimented in cryogenics that disappeared in 1930.

Much to his surprise he finds the doctor frozen, yet still alive as well as the men he took to his house that wanted to stop his experiments.

Karloff is Leon Kravaal, the doctor that has conquered cancer by freezing people and thus killing the cancer. Roger Pryor is Dr. Tim Mason who thaws Kravaal and the others out in order to discover is Kravaal can complete his cure.

As usual human greed takes over and the cure is destroyed, so Kravaal decides to experiment on the recently thawed guests. Karloff's performance is one of the best of his career. He is actually a caring and very trusting scientist whose world changing cure has been destroyed.

The title is very deceptive as well. Nobody has nine lives here, but Kravall and his victims wake up in the year 1940 having lost 10 years. While watching this one sympathizes with Karloff's character and not with the others. They are a greedy and dim witted lot who want the good doctor arrested for murder and any other trumped up charge they can think of.

The print from Mill Creek is very good. I have never seen this film until this initial DVD viewing so I cannot say how it looked on VHS or any other DVD that may have been released.

Recommended thriller.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Paul Petersen is 70, Tom Lester is 77, Maren Jensen is 59, and John Ericson is 89.

COMING ATTRACTIONS.....

More good stuff coming to Blu-ray.

Kino has announced that they will release "The Black Sleep" on Blu-ray. There is not street date yet, but as soon as i find out I will announce it here.

Despite what many people say, I like this film and the Blu-ray is a welcome addition to my collection.

PSYCHO 1960 (THEATRICAL VIEWING)

TCM and Fathom brought this gem back to the big screen for it's 55th anniversary.

This is an undisputed classic when it comes to horror films. The idiots in Hollywood actually tried to remake this film, and it is simply one that cannot ever be done over.

You all now the story...Norman Bates runs a motel called the bates Motel with his invalid mother. Janet Leigh is a young woman who has stolen $40,000 and ends up being knifed in the shower in a scene that will forever live in movie history.

The theater I saw this in had very few people, and that is a good thing because there was no yaking teenagers, cell phones ringing. It was heaven actually.

Seeing this on the big screen was a once in a lifetime thing and what a revelation it was. The beautiful black and white photography was better than I have ever seen it, and the rousing Bernard Herrmann score was nothing short of epic.

If you get the chance I couldn't recommend this enough on the big screen. It is much better than any of the crap playing now and it actually tells a great story. The rest of the steller cast includes Very Miles, Anthony Perkins, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John Anderson, John McIntire, Simon Oakland, Frank Albertson, and Vaughn Taylor.

Again, an untouchable classic!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Catherine Oxenberg is 54, Debby Boone is 59, and Joan Jett is 57.

RIP JACK LARSON 1928-2015

The man who played the first Jimmy Olsen has passed away at the age of 87.

Olsen will always be known as Jimmy Olsen, cub reporter on the original Superman show of the 1950's. He landed the role in 1952 and was on the show until it went off the air in 1958.

Like so many actors, he found it hard to get roles because of typecasting. He retired from acting a few years later and concentrated on writing. He will live forever in our memories on Superman.

THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG 1939 (MILL CREEK)

Boris Karloff stars in this unique tale of vengeance and murder.

Karloff is Dr. Savaard, a doctor who is conducting strange experiments on bringing the dead back to life. Savaard is misunderstood by the authorities and when a test subject dies he is sentenced to die by hanging. Savaard vows revenge on those that have done him wrong, and that is where the crux of the tale lies.

His assistant manages to bring Savaard back to life and he traps several of the jury members and the judge in his home, and plans to kill them one by one. Savaards' daughter Janet has no idea what her formerly dead father is doing until she goes to the old house and discovers everyone is trapped there.

This adds a complication to Savaard's plans. Janet is played by the gorgeous Lorna Gray and it is always a pleasure to see her in any film.

If you get a chance you might want to check this out. It's a great Karloff performance and a great tale mixing murder and sci-fi together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Stephen King is 68, Rebecca Balding is 60, and Teresa Gimpera is 79.

THE LEGACY 1978 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

37 years after it's release I finally get another chance to see this film.

Five of the most powerful people in the world gather at a mansion to inherit a blood legacy and a sixth person named Maggie Walsh is also on hand, although she, at first, doesn't understand why she is there in the first place.

There are some very good and shocking scenes including a swimming pool turning to glass with a beautiful woman swimming in it. The woman is played by Hildegard Neil. Veteran character actor Charles Gray is Karl, and his death is the most grisly of all. Roger Daltry is on hand as a rock star who also dies.

The star of the show is the very beautiful Katherine Ross as Maggie. I have always considered Ross an under appreciated actress. Also I have always thought of her as one of the most beautiful women during the 70's who appeared in movies. her role is very good and she handles the role very well as the woman who is reluctant to accept her new "gift".

Sam Elliot is her long suffering boyfriend, Pete Danner. He goes thru a lot of hell for Maggie, and in the end both understand what is happening.

This is a superior shocker in my opinion with a screenplay written by Hammer vet Jimmy Sangster. This Blu-ray is very Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Sophia Loren is 81, Asia Argento is 40, JoAnna Cameron is 64, and Brinke Stevens is 60.