HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS 1964 (MILL CREEK)

Pretty well made sword and sandal epic.

Marc Forest stars as Hercules in this fun little film. After Mongols attempt and fail to take Cracow they then change their plans and kidnap a beautiful heir to the throne and hold her.

Hercules comes to her rescue and topples the Mongols and Genghis Khan's plans. This is pretty much the plot, but if you like sword and sandal films you'll enjoy this.

Forest is always good in these kinds of movies and it is interesting to see Ken Clark as Kubilai, the right hand man of Khan.

Good film and it moves at a very good pace. You'll not be bored.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Christopher Walken is 73.

COMING ATTRACTIONS.....

Shout Factory has announced a great lost film coming to Blu-ray!

The 1973 gem entitled "Boy Who Cried Werewolf" is scheduled for a July, 26, 2016 release date.

I have been waiting a LONG time for this to finally be released in some format here in the US.

URSUS IN THE VALLEY OF THE LIONS 1962 (MILL CREEK)

This is actually the second film in the Ursus trilogy starring Ed Fury.

After his village is destroyed Ursus is sent away as an infant by his parents and he ends up being raised by lions. This sets up the story well.

Alberto Lupo is Ayak, a tyrant who has heard of a mysterious strongman living with lions and so he sends his men out to capture him. It becomes apparent that Ursus is the future leader of the kingdom Ayak is ruling now and he will not allow this to happen very easily.

There is a lot of action in this film and the print I saw was in black and white, but still very watchable. The plot is pretty thin, as is usual with these kinds of films.

Not a bad way to kill 90 minutes. especially if you are a muscle popper fan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Warren Beatty is 79, John Astin is 86, Dana Gillespie is 67, and Greta Thyssen is 83.

NIGHT OF THE DOOMED 1964 (SEVERIN) BLU-RAY

Classic Italian horror thriller with Barbara Steele.

I was first introduced to this film in the 80's when I bought a VHS tape from Sinister Cinema. It immediately captured my attention due to Barbara Steele who looks as beautiful as ever and due to the sadistic nature of the film over all.

Over the years I have seen many different versions of this film and had always heard of a longer cut than the 84 min. print I was accustomed to. in 2003 Retromedia released a very good quality 100 min. print and I picked that up immediately, and have been very pleased with it.

Now Severin has released a BEAUTIFUL 104min. print on Blu-ray!! Steele is a young wife who is caught cheating by her sadistic husband. He chains both in a dungeon and slowly tortures them for their indiscretions. They both die and he cuts out their hearts and burns the bodies.

The good doctor then marries his wife's sister so he can keep his hand in the family will. His plan is to drive her insane with the help of his gorgeous housekeeper played by Helga Line. Needless to say, the dead wife and her lover come back to life seeking revenge, which they get in a very serious way.

There is some stark imagery in this film that one will not forget too soon. In case you haven't seen this film I won't give too much away here. The film is also known as "Nightmare Castle" and "Faceless Monster" and probably some other titles as well, but the title of this post is the title that appears on the screen.

Steele is excellent as usual and here she has a dual role of cheating wife and blonde sister. Also starring with her are Helga Line and Paul Muller. These three are easily some of the most familiar faces in Euro horror. Severin has also included "Terror Creatures From The Grave" and "Castle Of Blood" on this disc and tons of extras.

No Barbara Steele fan should be without this triple threat disc.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Lucy Lawless is 48, and Elle Macpherson is 54.

TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE 1965 (SEVERIN) BLU-RAY

Terribly underrated Barbara Steele horror film.

An attorney arrives at an old castle in 1911 after receiving a letter for a man who is already dead. There he meets two sisters who warn him that the castle is cursed.

Walter Brandi is the attorney and Barbara Steele and Mirella Maravidi play the sisters. How is the castle cursed you ask? Well it seems like the sisters' father, Jeronimus Hauff cursed the five people who conspired to kill him and he has summoned plague carrying corpses to rise from their tombs and claim the lives of these five people.

The terror is mostly off camera but is effectively handled. The gruesome make-up for the plague is well done.

This is an eerie and very gothic thriller that has somehow been overlooked by a lot of people. The image quality is as good as I have ever seen it on this Blu-ray. It played on a double feature back in 1965 with the great "Bloody Pit of Horror".

This film is part of a three package DVD from Severin which also includes "Night Of The Damned" (aka Nightmare Castle) and "Castle Of Blood" both of which will be reviewed here soon.

The entire DVD is excellent and ANY Barbara Steele fan will want this in their collection. The disc also contains an interview with the Queen Of Horror as well as interviews with several other actors, trailers, and featurettes about the films. You simply cannot ask for more than this.

Highly Recommended and well worth the price.

FIEND 1980 (RETROMEDIA)

A Don Dohler gem from Baltimore.

This interesting little film stars Don Leifert as a mysterious man named Mr. Longfellow who happens to have to kill people in order to maintain looking human.

Why does this happen? Well it seems that an entity called a "Fiend" has entered a grave in another town and reanimated the corpse of "Mr. Longfellow". The fiend lives in the body and is able to move around and observe the human race.

This film is always interesting and has some rather shocking tings such as the un-shown murder of a young child an the somewhat grim ending.

Dohler made some really wonderful little low budget films in the Baltimore area, and this is paired with another classic entitled "The Alien Factor" on a double feature disc from Retromedia.

To me anyway this is top notch regional film making and shouldn't be missed by any low budget film fan.

The performances range from good to bad, but that is totally expected in films like this, but who really cares? Watch it and enjoy it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Quentin Tarantino is 53, Mariah Carey is 46, Talisa Soto is 49, Julian Glover is 79, Michael York is 74, Stacy Ferguson is 42, and June Wilkinson is 76.

DONOVAN'S BRAIN 1953 (KINO) BLU-RAY

A very well made early 50's sci-fi film.

Lew Ayres stars as a doctor who is summoned to help try and save the life of a man involved in a plane crash. He dies and it turns out the man was a very wealthy and cruel man named William Donovan.

Ayres character of Dr. Patrick Cory uses this chance as a way to further his experiments so he takes the dead man's brain and keeps it alive in a special tank. His wife Janice (Nancy Davis) does not approve, but goes along with the experiment anyway. Gene Evans is Dr. Schratt who helps Cory, but again reluctantly.

Over time the brain gains power and starts to possess Cory who "becomes" Donovan and continues his nefarious business affairs.

I like this film a lot and always have. it is one of many adaptations of the Curt Siodmak story, and to me it is the best one. I was both surprised and happy to see Kino bring this out on Blu-ray, an I have never seen it look better than it does here.

If you like 50's sci-fi, then I can easily recommend this little gem that also stars Steve Brodie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Diana Ross is 72.

SCALPS 1983 (RETRO MEDIA) BLU-RAY

This is a limited 2000 disc printing so you'd better get yours soon.

One of my all time favorite films from the 80's finally makes it to Blu-ray. Directed by Fred Olen Ray, this fun little thriller focuses on five college students who travel to an ancient Indian burial site to dig for artifacts.

The spirits that live there are not keen on the idea and they do what they must to stop the diggings. One of the students becomes possessed by the spirit of an Indian named Black Claw who proceeds to kill several members of the expedition.

One of the female students named DJ (Jo-Ann Robinson)has a deep connection with nature and she tries vainly to warn of the impending evil, but as you can tell nobody listens.

The scalpings are well done for the modest budget as are the other death scenes. The often cut rape scene is included and it was culled from a mediocre tape source as you can see the picture quality really diminish.

As usual with Ray films there are some great genre actors and this film is no exception. Caroll Borland Forry Ackerman and Kirk Alyn make appearances. Alyn's is the most memorable, especially at the end.

This film has such a sordid history and has been thru so much shit, it's a miracle it's even around anymore. There are some extras on this disc including a 22 minute look back at the film with Ray and two of the actors in the film. There is also a short film called Scalps 2: J Returns which is unauthorized, but somewhat fun to see.

I am VERY happy Retro Media released this again on Blu-ray. I hadn't seen it for years, but it always sticks in the back of my mind. In my opinion it's one of the best films of the 80's!! Period!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

RIP RITA GAM 1927-2016

The actress who appeared in such films as Mohawk has passed away.

Gam was a very glamorous actress whose appearances in films always brightened them up.

She starred as Herodias in the classic film "King Of Kings" along with Jeffrey Hunter and other films such as "Klute and "Sign Of The Pagan".

Her most famous role in my mind was as the Indian girl Onida in the western classic "Mohawk" with Scott Brady. She was 88.

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK 1956 (SONY)

After a really shitty day at work, this is the kind of movie I like to put on.

Bill Haley and The Comets star in this classic 1950's rock n' roll film as a band in a very small town that is discovered by a band manager who likes the sound and how the kids dance to it.

The manager, Steve Hollis, played by Johnny Johnston falls for a young woman named Lisa Johns who happen to dance with the rock band. He promises her and the band will make it big, but runs into trouble when a former flame and business rival Corinne Talbot blackballs the band because of Steve and her wanting him to marry her.

Steve goes to his friend Alan Freed and with his help the band breaks into the bigtime.

As you can tell the plot is very simple and straight forward, but who cares, it's the music that counts. Haley and the Comets do classics such as "See You Later Alligator" "Rock Around The Clock", Freddy Bell and The Bellboys and Tony Martinez also appear.

The Platters sing "Only You" and "The Great Pretender" which are two of the greatest songs ever made. The rest of the cast includes Alix Talton as Corinne, John Archer, Alan Freed as himself, of course and Lisa Gaye as Lisa Johns. I have reviewed this before, but it has been many years and I may have said the same thing in that review, but I will say it again. Lisa Gaye is absolutely one of the most beautiful women to EVER grace the silver screen. Every time she is on camera the entire movie changes.

This is the kind of movie that just puts a different mood on me and has me going back to a much, much simpler time an it is very relaxing. If you like 50's rock, this is the film for you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

William Smith is 83.

THREE HEADED SHARK ATTACK 2015 (ASYLUM)

What can I possibly add to that title?

Chris Olen-Ray makes another multi headed shark movie. Yes after Two Headed Shark Attack, we now have this film that tries to do it one better.

A mutated three headed shark travels coastal waters and eats people. It apparently feeds on pollution as well and that makes the monster more angry. At least that is what I believed was going on when I watched this film.

Danny Trejo actually cuts off the middle head of the shark with a machete (of course) but the interesting thing is three head grow back in it's place! This makes for an interesting monster. Rob Van Dam and the lovely Karrueche Tran are also in this film.

This is a typical low budget thriller from The Asylum. It's not original by any means, but if you empty your mind you will enjoy this little film. I recommend this if you have nothing better to do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Corinne Clery is 66, Barbara Rhoades is 69, and Lori Williams is 70.

RIP PETER BROWN 1935-2016

Very recognizable actor in hundreds of films and TV shows has passed away.

Most people remember Brown from the TV show "Lawman" as Deputy McKay for 156 episodes. Brown was also on such TV shows as "Laredo", and "Days Of Our Lives" plus countless others.

I remember him most however from "Foxy Brown" as a very interesting villain. His career spanned almost 40 years in front of the camera. He was 80.

THE BEES 1978 (CHEEZY FLICKS)

Not too bad of a film, in my opinion.

John Saxson, Angel Tompkins and John Carradine star as scientists who are fighting an invasion of deadly killer bees that are slowly taking over the United States.

It seems the bees were smuggled in by a corporation and have now gotten loose. The corporation will stop at nothing to keep the bees going because they think they will make millions. What happens is that huge swarms of bees start killing many people.

Carradine is killed by assassins and this leaves Saxson and Tompkins to carry on the fight. it seems to be a losing battle until Saxson and Tompkin make actual contact with the bees. They discover that the super intelligent bees want to rule the world and will allow man to live with them!

Directed by Alfredo Zacharis, the same man responsible for "Demonoid", this is a fun thriller if you just don't take thing too serious, and it does have a rather interesting ending.

I ordered the Blu-ray edition of this film and they sent the wrong one, but what the hell. I really don't mind. I hade never seen this film before and wasn't disappointed. I would recommend it, simply because it is fun in a very goofy way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

William Shatner is 85, and May Britt is 83.

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES 1965 (KINO) BLU-RAY

Mario Bava classic looks terrific on Blu-ray.

Barry Sullivan stars as the commander of a spaceship that has landed on a strange planet in order to rescue the men and women of another ship that has crashed there.

Upon landing they suddenly start fighting amongst themselves, then as suddenly as it started it stops. They fin their companions dead and bury them. Soon the dead astronauts arise from their tombs and stalk the living.

It seems their bodies have been taken over by alien beings who are also stranded on the planet and will do anything they have to in order to escape.

This is a very colorful Bava film with a good use of bizarre colors and lighting. The film looks fantastic on the Kino Blu-ray and Bava fans will not be disappointed. Yes, I have reviewed this before, but the Blu-ray brings a whole new look to the film. Recommended!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Jill Schoelen is 53.

QUEEN OF BLOOD 1966 (KINO) BLU-RAY

A great Blu-ray release!

Roger Corman produced this little gem of a film that I hadn't seen for many, many years after I owned a few VHS copies of it back in the 80's.

Basil Rathbone heads a scientific organization that receives a distress signal from a distant planet's spaceship after it crashes. He assigns four astronauts to check for survivors. They find one survivor, a mysterious green skinned woman who doesn't talk, but does turn out to be more than they bargained for.

John Saxson, Judi Meredith, Dennis Hopper and Robert Boon are the four people who find their lives threatened by the new blood drinking alien passenger played by Florence Marley. It's Judi Meredith who actually stops the creature in a most unusual and unique way. Look for Forry Ackerman in a small role as well.

I always liked this film, but as I stated above I never had much of a chance to see it for a while until now, and this presentation looks fantastic. I have never seen the film look so colorful and clean.

Kino has done an excellent job with this somewhat obscure Roger Corman sci-fi film and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it to anyone who love science fiction, especially from the 60's.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Kathy Ireland is 53, and Steve Borden is 57.

ULYSSES AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES 1962 (MILL CREEK)

Now this is a fun film.

Ulysses has offended the Gods by blinding the Cyclops so they send Hercules to capture him.

Georges Marchal is very good as Ulysses and so is Mike Lane as Ercole which is really Hercules and not a son of his, but this is getting confusing so I will stop that discussion here.

Anyway, Ulysses burns up the ship Ercole had him on and the two become shipwrecked on a strange island inhabited by a weird cult of Birdmen and their sexy leader played by Dominique Boschero. They escape a certain death and soon find that they are alike in many ways.

Soon however they face a tyrannical ruler who leads a race of very ugly Neanderthal Men an they have to defeat them as well. This entire film is fun and there are some remarkable scenes in it. One very well done scene involves Ulysses and a huge stone slab that might kill him. Excellent scene indeed.

Again, I recommend this film for any Sword and Sandal fan. Not to be missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Ursula Andress is 80.

SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD 1961 (MILL CREEK)

Gordon Scott is Maciste but called Samson in the dubbed version.

This is a fun little sword and sandal film in which Samson fights to save an Asian Princess from an evil despot.

There is plenty of action and adventure including Samson saving several people who were going to be beheaded by a wicked looking contraption attached to a chariot.

The princess is played by Yoko Tani who made a lot of films but is probably most remembered for her role in FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS.

Direction for this gem was given to Riccardo Freda and it is handled well as usual. This was made in 1961 but released here in the US in Dec. 1962, which if I may say so myself was a damn good month and year.

If you like this kind of film, I would recommend it. An odd mixture of Italian sword and sandal film and Asian action. The print from Mill Creek isn't bad, but the color does leave a little to be desired.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Vanessa Williams is 53.

FURY OF ACHILLES 1962 (MILL CREEK)

Gordon Mitchell stars as Achilles in this interesting sword and sandal film.

This film takes place in the 10th year of the Trojan war and there is a deep division in the Greek camp.

While Achilles is out fighting the war, Hector played by Jacques Bergerac plots to go against Achilles in battle and take his troops with him.

Needless to say, the division does not go as planned. Achilles always finds himself defending for his life until the final showdown with Hector.

The many battle scenes are well done and it is very odd seeing Bergerac with a dubbed voice that doesn't sound French! The print from Mill Creek is as expected. Some day I will get to see these in full widescreen...well I can hope anyway.

If you're a sword and sandal fan I recommend this film to you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Kurt Russell is 65, and Laurene Landon is 59.

SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED 1974/GARDEN OF THE DEAD 1972 (RETROMEDIA)

This is a very interesting double feature.

I don't usually do both movies in one review, but I make the exception here simply because I want to. The first film on this disc is SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED from 1974. Michael Findley directed this little gem which, since I first saw it has always been a personal favorite of mine.

A group of college students make preparations with their teacher to take an expedition into the woods along Hudson Bay to find an elusive Yeti creature that seems to be living in the area. before they leave they attend a party in which one of the people tells a mysterious tale of the last expedition which ended in disaster.

The man leaves the party with his wife and then attempts to slit her throat!! I will get back to this scene later. As the movie progresses the students catch glimpses of what they think is a white yeti monster, and one by one the students are killed, all but one.

This one student, the teachers favorite is kept alive in order that he may join the weird cult of cannibals to which his teacher belongs. Turns out the yeti story is just a ruse to get "fresh meat" for an annual feast.

This film is a wild ride from start to finish. This print from Retromedia does finally have the song "Popcorn" by Hot Butter which is great but the print has a huge splice in it and we actually never get to see the death by toaster scene which is considered a classic.

Other than that, the print is actually the best quality I have seen of this film. Now, lets move onto the co-feature.

The next film on the disc is GARDEN OF THE DEAD from 1972. This is an obscure film that actually played with "GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE" on a double bill back in the day.

The film concerns a group of convicts that sniff fumes from experimental formaldehyde and then attempt an escape, only to be killed by the guards.

They rise from the dead and seek revenge against the guards and the warden. They use garden tools to exact their revenge. I had never heard of this film until a few years ago and that is odd for a film to pass me by from the 70's.

The film is also very short as it runs 58 minutes. I liked the film, and the print from Retromedia is ok. I like the scratches and such as this makes it all the more "real" as far as watching old movies goes. It doesn't look all cleaned up.

It will hold your attention, but there are a few slow spots even in it's brief running time. All in all this was a very good way to spend a few hours, and I would recommend this to any horror fan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Jerry Lewis is 90, and Erik Estrada is 67.

THE VALACHI PAPERS 1972 (MILL CREEK)

An often overlooked Charles Bronson film.

Bronson stars as Joe Valachi, a small time hood who rises to a top mob position.

He has agreed to testify against the Mafia and must fight to stay alive in prison. He tells his story to Ryan, a prosecutor who is trying to nail a top mob figure named Vito Genovese.

There is plenty of violence within the mob itself and Valchi is right in the middle as he is hired to be the driver for Genovese. He is finally arrested and the story comes full circle as Valachi testifies on national TV about his life ion the top crime organization in the world.

Jill Ireland, Gerald s. O' Loughlin and Joseph Wiseman round out a great cast for this effective crime drama. Again, this is another film in the six film set called "Tales From The Prison Yard" from Mill Creek.