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.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Monday, May 30, 2022
RIP BO HOPKINS 1938-2022
A great character actor has passed away.
Bo Hopkins appeared in hundreds of TV shows and movies in his 54 year career.
From "The Virginian" to "Gunsmoke", "Wild Wild West", "Mod Squad" and many others, Hopkins was a very familiar face on the small screen. He also made a lot of memorable motion pictures including "White Lightning", "Nightmare At Noon", "Tentacles" and "American Graffitti".
I remember him most from the 1984 horror film entitled "Mutant" in which he played a small town Sheriff that had to fight off an invasion of zombie monsters createwd in a lab.
In his every role he brought a different kind of light to the character. They just don't make actors like Hopkins anymore. He passed away on May 28th, 2022 at the age of 84.
A GAME OF DEATH 1945 (KINO)
A very good remake of "The Most Dangerous Game".
Robert Wise directed this tale about a man who survives a shipwreck and ends up on a lonely island.
The mans name is Don Rainsford (John Loder) and he is a big game hunter. He discovers that a man named Erich Kreiger (Edgar Berrier) is living on the island and has a couple of guests...Ellen Trowbridge (Audrey Long) and her brother Robert (Russell Wade).
Krieger is also a big game hunter and he tells Rainsford that he has found the perfect game to hunt on the island. Well if you know the story then you have already guessed his "game" is people.
Rainsford soon finds himself along with Ellen, being hunted in the jungle. However, Rainsford is no fool and he has more than one trick up his sleeve.
This isn't anything new, but it is well made and the cast does an excellent job. Audrey Long is simply ravishing and it's a shame her career wasn't longer in films. The film looks great on the DVD from Kino, and I do recommend it.
The rest of the cast includes Noble Johnson, Gene Roth, Robert Clarke, and Jason Robards, Sr.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Ruta Lee is 87, Stephen Tobolowsky is 71, Jennifer Ellison is 39, and Jake Roberts is 67.
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Saturday, May 28, 2022
MASTER OF THE WORLD 1961 (KINO) BLU-RAY
It had been a long time since I saw this movie.
When I was about 8 or 9 I had this on a Castle Film 200' sound edition and never saw it until it was on TNT many years later.
Kino turned out this beautiful Blu-ray edition a couple of years ago, and I finally got a chance to pick it up, and I was not disappointed.
Vincent Price stars as Robur, a man who has invented and built a huge flying ship call the Albatross. With this weapon he hopes to stop all wars around the world circa 1868.
He shoots down a hotair balloon with four people on it and takes them aboard his ship. They are a government agent named John Strock (Charles Bronson), arms dealer Prudent (Henry Hull) , his daughter Dorothy (Mary Lambert) and her boyfriend Phillip (Dave Frankham).
Robur has a strong dislike for Prudent as he deals in weapons of war. Strock is more conservative and tries to understand Robur. In the meantime Robur bombs and sinks several war ships as well as dropping bombs on warring factions in Africa.
The tour that the characters and we get of the Albatross is both fascinating and fun. It's really a marvel of science, and one can easily believe it's real if you get into the movie.
As the story progesses Robur becomes more and more obsessed with his mission which can only end in disaster. The movie is well shot and moves along at a great pace. Price and Bronson steal the show.
The script was written by Richard Matheson from a novel by jules Verne. If this is your cup of tea, check it out.
Friday, May 27, 2022
RIP ANDRA MARTIN 1935-2022
The beautiful actress passed away on May 5th, 2022.
Her film career lasted only about 4 years, but what an impact she had. This gorgeous red head appeared in such TV shows as "Hawaiin Eye", "Roaring 20's", "Tales Of Wells Fargo" and many more.
Her few movie roles were in such films as "A Fever Of Blood", "The Big Beat" and her best known film is the all time horro classic "The Thing That Couldn't Die" in which she was her sexiest best.
Andra passed away at the age of 86.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Lee Meriwether is 87, Linnea Quigley is 64, Natalya Neidhart is 40, and Eric Bischoff is 65.
Thursday, May 26, 2022
WITCHHAMMER 1965 (SINISTER CINEMA)
A very well made Czech horror film.
This is a movie much like "Witchfinder General" and just about as disturbing.
A small community decides to call in a witch finder since they believe that people are practicing witchcraft. We know this can only lead to trouble.
The man they find is crazed for power and before you know it everyone in the town is accused of witchcraft, and then the trials begin. There are a few disturbing images of torture and what it can do to people.
This is a beautifully shot film in black and white even though it was released in 1970. If you've seen one of these kinds of movies, you've basically seen them all, but it seems like everyone of them has something slightly different to offer.
This ends on a very downbeat note as the witchfinder knows he has risen tothe top of his "profession" and can now move on to other places and destroy many more lives. In fact the end credits tell us that he lived a good long life and even got married.
I liked this movie, but as usual it leaves one with a down feeling after the viewing. So my recommendation is watch it, then put on a 50's sci-fi monster movie to clean yourself off with.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
HAUNTING OF MUFFIN BAKER 2006 (RETROMEDIA)
This is also known as "Ghost In The Teeny Bikini" and I completely forgot this is on my resume of films I worked on.
The beautiful Christine Nguyen stars as a B movie actress named Muffin Baker. She and her director boyfriend go to the mansion of her late, rich uncle for the reading of a will.
A scheming lawyer is trying to get the money and a ghost (Nicole Sheridan) is trying to help Muffin. There isn't a lot of plot here as is usual for this kind of Fred Olen Ray film.
However, that is made up for by the lovely women in the cast who wear very little. That is about all this film has going for it, but if you're a Fred Olen Ray fan you'll want to seek this out.
The rest of the cast includes Evan Stone. Rebecca Love, Stren and Eric Spudic. Check it out if you're so inclined.
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Monday, May 23, 2022
CEMETERY OF TERROR 1985 (TUBI)
A very strange film indeed.
Hugo Stiglitz stars as Dr. Cardan, a man who has been thru a very unusual kind of hell.
He helped bring an end to the life of a mad killer and now he fears if the body isn't cremated quickly it may come back to life as the killer was a Satanist.
Before he has a chance to do anything a group of teenagers steal the body from the morgue and perform a satanic ritual just for the hell of it. Well, this brings the killer back to life and thus begins the terror.
The corpse starts going on a killing spree by ripping his victims to shreds. He even manages to raise all of the dead in the local cemetery, and these beings also try to kill the kids.
There is quite a bit of running and screaming mixed in with the gore effects, which were handled by Ken Diaz, a gentleman I worked with way back in 1979.
The movie has a rather unique ending, at least I think so. If you're looking for weird Mexican gore films, this may be the one you need to see first. I believe there were others, but I haven't seen them.
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Saturday, May 21, 2022
COBRA WOMAN 1942 (KINO) BLU-RAY
This is a movie I searched for for a long time until Kino released this gorgeous Blu-Ray.
Maria Montez stars as twin sisters. One good, one evil, of course. The good one is named Tollea and as the movie opens she is going to marry a handsome man named Ramu (Jon Hall).
However, before the wedding can take place she is kidnapped and taken back to where she was born....an evil place called Cobra Island. She has been brought back by her Grandmother as Tollea is the rightful ruler of Cobra Island.
The people feel that she could make the island a better place to live than her evil sister Naja who is ruling over the people and their lives with an iron fist.
Ramu and his friend Kado (Sabu) set off to Cobra Island to rescue Tollea. Both are captured and sentanced to death by Martol (Edgar Barrier). After several escapes and recaptures Tollea confronts her evil sister.
Naja falls out of a window to her death and Tollea replaces her just in time to stop the execution of Ramu and Kado. This is a very beautiful film and the color is better than anything I have ever seen.
It's mindless entertainment as are all the Hall/Montez films are, and it never disappoints. Kino did an excellent job with this film and it's well worth a look for those who like adventure and romance films.
It's VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and a no brainer for buying.
Friday, May 20, 2022
GOG 1954 (KINO) BLU-RAY
This film was restored to it's original 3-D format and it looks better than ever.
Richard Egan stars as Dr. David Sheppard of the OSI (Office Of Scientific Investigation). He has been called in to investigate a series of bizarre murders in a secret underground lab.
The scientists own devices have been coming to life by themselves and killing the creators. The first victim we see is Dr. Hubertus (Michael Fox) as he is frozen to death as well as his female assistant. Gruesome to say the least.
These strange incidents keep happening as Sheppard tries to unravel the mystery as quickly as possible. They soon discover that whenever one of these incidents takes place their radar picks up a plane or rocket flying at 80,000 feet over the base.
The master computer called NOVAC has been compromised and this is what is allowing the infiltration to take place. The climax involves Sheppard and other fighting two great looking robot named Gog and Magog who are being used to tamper with the radiation rods.
This is a great film no matter how you look at it. The restoration is gorgeous and it looks great in both 3-D and 2-D. It took the 3D Film Archive a very long time to make this release a reality, and it was worth it.
On the disc is an interview with director Herbert L. Strock from 2002, and he has some very interesting stories of the making of the movie. This has been out for a number of years, but if you haven't picked it up yet, you should.
It's a great sci-fi classic that deserves another look. The rest of the cast includes Herbert Marshall, Constance Dowling, John Wengraf, Philip Van Zandt and William Schallert.
Thursday, May 19, 2022
THE BIG CAPER 1956 (TUBI)
A great little crime film from United Artists.
Rory Calhoun stars as Frank Harper, a small time crook who is out to score a big payday, but he needs help.
He goes to a man named Flood (James Gregory) who, along with his wife Kay (Mary Costa) is on vacation and trying to get out of the crime game. However, the offer made to him by Harper is too good to resist.
Harper wants to knock off the bank near an army base when the payroll comes in and is worth about one million dollars. Flood sends his wife and Harper to the small town a few months ahead of the robbery to get set up in the community as a young married couple.
Harper buys a gas station and he and Kay settle down. Harper has a thing for Kay and vice versa. They fall in love and both start having second thoughts about going ahead with the crime. Flood arrives and he has others who have joined him.
This sets up a great climax with Kay and Harper going against Flood and his men. This is a neglected film noir thriller that has sadly fallen between the cracks.
All of the actors are very good in their roles with Mary Costa a standout. My God she was beautiful. She just turned 92 on April 5th. The other standout is Robert H. Harris as an booze addicted bomber named Zimmer who is always sweating like a horse and begging for a drink.
If you haven't seen this film, you should. I found it by accident and watched it after I came home from work one afternoon. A VERY ENJOYABLE film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Monday, May 16, 2022
GIRL ON A CHAIN GANG 1966 (FILM DETECTIVE) BLU-RAY
A simply "must see" movie.
For many years I have owned a blurry bootleg of this movie, and now it's been given a beautiful Blu-ray treatment from Film Detective.
Jerry Gross directed this classic tale about three civil rights workers who get caught in the small southern town by a very crooked Sheriff's Department.
They are framed, arrested and thrown in jail by Sheriff Sonny Lew Wymer (William Watson) in his film debut. There has never been a more corrupt Sheriff in any other movie. The two men of the group, Ted Branch (Ron Segal) and Audie Dixon (played by an uncredited actor) are shot and killed by the sheriff and his men in a prison break set up.
The woman with them is Jean Rollins (Julie Ange). The sheriff rapes her in jail and they set up a kangaroo court and sentance her to 90 days at a "correctional" farm where black males are chained together and forced into slave labor.
Of course, everyone wants Jean and the sleaze ball who runs the chain gang is determined to make her his own. It really doesn't help that Jean is very attractive.
This is a very depressing film on many levels and the court sequence has to be seen to be believed. The jusy of 12 consists of one man who represents all 12 people, and the judge is a drunken bum who yawns during the trial and has a great way of saying "order in the court".
Jean manages to escape with one of the prisoners and all does not end well for Sheriff Sonny. This black and white gem was actually filmed on Long Island, but it passes for the south, and it's done very well.
If you think you've seen it all, this movie will give you a little bit more. Julie Ange is a standout and quite a looker. It's about time this film was brought out to the public, and I cannot recommend it enough.
A shower might be good after the film, but you gotta see it!!
Saturday, May 14, 2022
FEMALIEN: COSMIC CRUSH 2020 (FULL MOON)
It's Sunday morning about 4AM, I'm up as usual and I come across this. Wow!!!
Soft core sex in space about sums it all up. Let me try to explain. A beautiful, mad professor named Dara'Tel Quenthosz (Denise Milfort) and her students are spece explorers and they land on a distant planet and fall under the spell of something called a Thanagarian Pleasure Pod.
Two other female aliens, Maxy Prime (Kira Noir) and Gabby Minx (Lilly Fairchild) arrive to investigate and help rescue the professor and her students.
This is as deep as the plot gets. You do get to see beautiful women in various stages of undress, and that is always a plus, but that does not always make a good film.
The effects are not too hot, but that is not a surprise as this is a Full Moon production. I did enjoy Kira Noir in this film and it's good to see her doing mainstream film, no matter how low budget they are. I have seen her bondage films, and they are also good for what they are, but this at least gives her a new opportunity.
If you're looking for 90 minutes of total mindless movie, this is it.
Friday, May 13, 2022
WILCZYCA 1984 (TUBI)
Known as She Wolf in the USA.
This is a very rare film from Poland and it's quite a treat.
From the opening scene of crows pecking at the flesh of a dead horse kind of sets up what this movie has in store. It's very bleak.
The winter setting also helps set the tone for the movie about a man named Kacper (Krzysztof Jasinski) who returns home to find his wife has been unfaithful to him and has also attempted to kill the baby she was giving birth to.
She has so many internal injuries she passes away after telling Kacper how much she hates him. She has also been dabbling in witchcraft and as a result Kacper's brother insists that her drive a stake thru her corpse, which Kacper refuses to do.
He soon finds himself hunted by a rather large wolf and the spirit also takes over the body of Countess Julia (Iwona Bielska) whom Kacpar is protecting while her husband is away.
This causes Julia to sometimes change into a huge wolf monster that terrorizes the countryside. Kacpar is determined to stop it.
The movie moves along at a deliberate pace, slowly building to the horrorfying conclusion which will please those with an appitite for gore. But after that comes an even better payoff and an abrupt ending.
I stumbled on this rare film after Tubi had it in my "Recommended" list. It's subtitled in English and has some great set pieces. The cold and snowy countryside is perfect for this kind of a film.
I recommend this for horror fans, but be warned this is not an action film...it's a slow burn horror tale.
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
BEYOND EVIL 1980 (TROMA)
This is an odd little film, and it does have some charm.
John Saxon and the gorgeous Lynda Day George star as a couple who move into a huge mansion and find in haunted by the demonic ghost of the woman who used to live there.
The spirit wants to take possession of George's character of Barbara Andrews. Her busband Larry is slow to find out what is going on until it is almost to late to stop it.
The effects are of a low quality and they hamper the film a bit, but hey, when one has a low budget, one doesn't have many choices. Lynda looks stunning as she is slowly possessed and that aspect of the stopry is handled very well.
There are some great scenes including an accident on a construction site that crushes a man to death. This is hardly a new concept for a movie plot, but it does move along well and the score by Pino Donaggio is very good. It fits the movie well.
The rest of the cast includes Michael Dante, Mario Malino, David Opatoshu, Janice Lynde and Chuck Hicks.
If you're looking for nothing but fun and a few chills, then this is for you, if not you'd better skip it. Did I mention Lynda looks great!!!???
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)