RIP CHRISTINE MCVIE 1943-2022

One of the best is gone.

Music is a HUGE part of my life. Nothing is better than music from 1955-1989 and I especially love the 70's and early to mid 80's.

Christine McVie was one of my favorite songwriters, singers and the group Fleetwood Mac is one of my top 5 favorite groups of all time.

McVie wrote some of Fleetwood Mac's greatest songs including "Don't Stop", "Everywhere" and "Little Lies". She was an excellent keyboardist and her first solo album entitled "Christine McVie" had the top ten hit single "Got A Hold On Me".

She was a huge inspiration for me and her songs helped cultivate my love of pop music. She passed away on Nov. 30th, 2022 at the age of 79.

HORROR HIGH 1972 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

One of the best releases for 2022!!

After many years of seeing retitled versions of this film and edited for TV prints I finally got the chnce to see this UNCUT and in all its glory.

Pat Cardi stars as high school student Vernon Potts, a student who is disliked by all of the jocks and bullied by teachers and even the school janitor.

Vernon is a chemistry genius who is working to develope a formula that will change people both mentally and phyically. After his test subject, a guinea pig named Mr. Mumps, becomes a savage killer and kills the janitors cat the janitor named Griggs (Jeff Alexander) beats Vernon with a flashlight and forces him to drink his own formula.

Vernon transforms into a hideous monster and kills Griggs by dumping him in a vat of acid. This is a very gruesome scene and one that was always cut from other prints. Vernon begins chamging whenever he is angry and he takes violent revenge on both his English teacher as well as his gym coach (John Niland) by cutting off fingers and a head and stomping to death with cletes respectively.

The film moves along at a very fast pace and all of the bloodletting is intact. This film was shot in Texas and stars many local actors and football players from the Dallas Cowboys.

Vinegar Syndrome has doen an excellent job with the 2k transfer and some great extras including an interview with Pat Cardi. The rest of the cast for this gem includes Austin Stoker as the detective investigating the murders, Rosie Hotolik as the young woman who tries to love Vernon, Chuck Beatty, D.D. Lewis and "mean" Joe Greene.

I can't recommend this enough as I consider it to be one of the best horror films ever made, Nope, it's not original by any means, but damn it's a LOT of fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Gena Lee Nolin turned 51 on 11/29.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Joe Dante is 76.

BELL FROM HELL 1975 (TUBI)

This interesting film has a sordid history with me.

All of my life I have been subjected to very poor quality copies of this movie and it really affected my opinion of it. Now TUBI has a beautiful print and I have to say, I enjoyed this twisted film.

A young man named Juan (Renaud Verley) is released from as asylum where he has been wrongly sent by his evil aunt Marta (Viveca Lindfors) so she and her three daughters could steal his money.

He comes back to the family home and gets a job in a local slaughterhouse. He quits the job after a brief time and when asked why he simply states "I've learned enough".

This leads to a bizarre game of cat and mouse between Juan and the four women. He bulids a mini version of the slaughterhouse in his basement and in time he manages to get all three of his aunts daughters into the room.

He plans to kill them just like cows and chains them up naked, but her cannot proceed. His moral compass just won't let him. There are several more twists to the film before the conclusion. I still believe something is lost in translation with the dubbing, but maybe it's just me.

I really like the bizarre quality of everything in the movie and while the slaughterhouse footage is real and gruesome it didn't bother me as much as othewrs I know who have seen this movie.

If you're looking for something a bit different you might want to check this out.

The rest of the cast includes Maribel Martin, Nuria Gimeno and Christina Von Blanc.

POLICEWOMEN 1974 (TUBI)

Lee Frost directed this very odd film.

Sondra Currie plays Lacy Bond, a young policewoman who joins up with an all female gang of drug runners in order to bring the gang down once and for all.

Now, while that simple plot like does not sound too bizarre, trust me, this movie is. I don't mean that in a bad way either. The gang is run by an elderly woman and her young stud lover who keeps the girls in line.

There is a lot of great 70's scenery in this film as well as kick ass action and nice looking women are everywhere. It's interesting to note that even with the films title, there are no actual policewomen in sight. Currie's character is actually a prison gusrd and her would be helper, Pam (Jeannia Bell) is a Federal agent.

The director and his co-writer on the film, Wes Bishop are much better known for such films as "The Thing With Two Heads" and "Love Camp 7" but this film stands on it's own. If you like a simple plot, beautiful women and plenty of ass kicking action, then this is for you.

There is a lot of humor in the film as well, but if you didn;t grow up in the right era you might not get it at all. The rest of the cast includes Tony Young, William Smith, Laurie Rose, Phil Hoover and Eileen Saki.

Check it out if you want. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

LOVE BRIDES OF THE BLOOD MUMMY 1973 (MONDO MACABRO) BLU-RAY

This was a new experience in viewing for me. The film has been lost for about 47 years and while I cheer any lost film being re-discovered, sometimes I have to wonder why I sit thru them.

I found this a very confusing film and can understand why it was lost. The plot has something to do with a 3000 year old mummy that is revived by a scientist and it creature enslaves the man as he goes out in search of blood and sex.

We get plenty of nudity and sex, but very little in the way of horror. There are two versions of this movie on the disc, and the "horror" version isn't much better.

With the chained up women this sorta reminded me of a Jess Franco film, but much worse. I can only recommend this if you want to see something that has been lost for decades, but if you're looking for a good movie, forget it.

The print has the title "Lips Of Blood". Watch at your own risk. I love Spanish horror, but this one, not so much.

GOLDENGIRL 1979 (KINO) BLU-RAY

It took me 43 years to finally see this film again!!

This has been touted as being a sci-fi film, but it is really a mixture of off the wall science and action. As a matter of fact, it's almost impossible to classify.

Gorgeous Susan Anton stars as Goldine, a young woman who has been "created" to be an Olympic star. She has been fed, conditioned and trained her entire life for the sporting event and her father has perfected her.

A reporter named Dryden attempts to do a story on her and finds much more than he ever could know. Goldine has a lot of pressure on her as there are many huge financial gains that will make men rich if she wins.

However, Goldine has a lot of second thoughts about what she is and what she is doing. While this movie may have seemed very odd in 1979. it fits right in with todays sporting nonsense including steroids and such.

I enjoyed this film as much now as I did in 1979. It's just different enough to be entertaining and Anton is simply gorgeous. I cannot figure out why she didn't become a bigger star.

The rest of the cast includes Curd Jergens, Nicolas Coster, Robert Culp, Ward Costello, Michael Lerner, Leslie Caron and Harry Guardino. This is well worth checking out if you want to see something different.

WELL DAMN IT

I signed off of this blog on September 30th and thought it would be the end, but alas, it isn't. I have received a ton of emails about this and I am somewhat humbled by the people who wanted me to continue. I actually had no idea so many people appreciated what I do. So, after thinking about it I came to the decison to keep this going on an infequent basis. I will only be posting movie reviews and final farewells. Thanks to everyone who took the time to write to me.