Thursday, October 31, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 31: VALLEY OF THE ZOMBIES 1947 (KINO) BLU-RAY

This is a very fun movie.

The story revolves around a cloaked killer named Ormand Murks (Ian Keith). It seems he was sent to an asylum by Dr. Rufus Maynard (Charles Trowbridge) and died there.

He has come back to life and needs a lot of blood to survive. He claims he learned this in the "Valley Of The Zombies" where voodoo rites are practiced.

Keith chews up every scene he is in. This is probably the most interesting villian ever to appear n a Republic production. Murks kills Maynard and frames Maynards assistant, Dr. Terry Evans (Robert Livingston) and his girlfriend Susan Drake (Lorna Gray) for the crime.

Terry and Susan must try to prove their innocence. This is a very short film running only 56 minutes, and once it starts it never has time to slow down and neither does the viewer.

The presentation from Kino is simply beautiful for a movie this age and I hope there are more of these low budget horrors coming to Blu-ray.

The rest of the cast for this highly recommended movie includes Thomas Jackson, LeRoy Mason, Wilton Graff and Charles Kane. See this movie!! After all you have sexy Lorna Gray and a villian named Ormand Murks...what's not to like?

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: THE BAT WHISPERS 1930 (VCI)

Creaky but somewhat entertaining "old dark house" thriller from 1930.

I heard a lot about this movie and decided to finally check it out. Chester Morris stars as Detective Anderson, a man called to investigate a murder at an old mansion that may have been committed by criminal mastermind "The Bat".

This is a standard thriller from the day with a bit of comedy thrown in. The maid, named Lizzie who screams and carries on so much gets very annoying and it way too over the top.

The story plods along and there are some very obvious minitures shown here, but I can forgive that. The ending is a good twist for the time the movie came out.

Morris is very good in this early role and it's always good to see him in anything. This is also the movie that, according to legend, gave Bob Kane the inspiration for "Batman".

If you get the chance you might want to check this out. Director Roland west does the best he can with the material he has.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 29: TRAGIC CEREMONY 1972 (DARK SKY)

I found this to be a very well made film from director Riccardo Freda.

The film centers around 4 young people who run out of gas while driving their dune buggy in a downpour. They stop at a mysterious little gas station and the owner refuses to give them gas without money or ID.

He sets his eyes on the lovely Jane (Camille Keaton) and decides to give them just enough to get to town. However this only gives them enough to get to a mansion.

At this mansion they meet Lord Alexander (Luigi Pistilli) and his wife lady Alexander (Luciana Paluzzi). They welcome the strangers and make them feel at home. Soon Jane wanders into a black mass ritual while in a trance. She is rescued by the three men and a bloodbath ensues.

Over the next few days they all meet violent deaths until the final outcome is revealed. I liked the twist at the end and Keaton, along with Paluzzi steal the show.

I am surprised this film isn't better known because it's a great little film with some mild gore, beautiful women and a damned good story.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Gabrielle Union is 52, Kate Jackson is 76, and Ana Foxx is 36.

Monday, October 28, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 28: LEMORA: A CHILDS TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL 1973 (SYNAPSE)

A great movie that still to this day, seems highly ignored.

Cheryl Smith stars as Lila Lee a young woman whose father is a gangster. In the opening scene we see him killing both his wife and her lover with a machine gun and then driving off into a mysterious place where he is attacked by ghouls.

Lila is adopted by a minister and his church. We never learn his name but we certainly know he has an unhealthy desire for Lila. One day she receives a mysterious note from a woman named Lemora (Leslie Taplin) saying that her father is dying and wants to see her one last time before he passes away.

Lila leaves in the middle of the night and takes a strange little bus toa weird place where the first thing she sees are monsters running thru the woods, and those same monsters kill the driver played by Hy Pyke.

Lila meets Lemora and things get really weird as the young woman wants nothing to do with Lemora and her minions.

The ending of the film is a nice, but unexpected surprise in whcih the minister also gets his cumuppance. The entire vibe of this film is different from anything I have seen before.

Director Richard Blackburn has made a very unique and bizarre horror tale told from the prospective of a young girl who really has no purpose in life until the very end of the movie.

If you haven't seen this movie you should. I really recommend this and it goes perfectly with the Halloween season.

Sunday, October 27, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 27: REC 4: APOCALYPSE 2014 (SONY) BLU-RAY

The final film in the series, and it's not too bad.

This picks up where the second film ended and the invading SWAT team that is going to explode the entire apartment complex manage to rescue Angela Vidal (Manuela Valasco), who of course, was the young reporter trapped in the film in the first film and dragged to a supposed death.

She is taken aboard a huge ship in the middle of the ocean and a team of scientists run tests on her to see if she is infected. They find she isn't and Vidal is introduced to several people on the ship including a smart nerdy guy named Nic (Ismael Fritschi) who has her TV camera and is trying to get the data off of it.

We discover that Vidal was infected by the creature in the cellar of the building. It transferred a huge parasite into her body, but the tests prove it is no ,onger in her.

Soon all hell breaks loose on the ship as a contaminated monkey is set loose by unknown person or people and it starts the cycle over again.

Vidal and Nic soon find themselves fighting for their lives on a ship full of zombies. There are several twists and turns which I found very interesting, and this is probably the goriest one of the series.

The series comes to an end with this one although it is an open ending. If you like the others in the series you'll like this one as well.

Saturday, October 26, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 26: DOOR TO DOOR MANIAC 1961 (FILM MASTERS) BLU-RAY

This movie is also known as "Five Minutes To Live" and I have talked about it before, but it has been a while.

This film has finally been remastered by Film Masters, and it looks very, very good. They have included both the TV version and the theater version which contain a small amount of extra footage.

This is a very underrated film and has a lot of negative reviews, but hey, I enjoyed it. Johnny Cash is an insane criminal named Johnny Cabot.

Cabot is hired by Fred Dorella (Vic Tayback) to be a part of his small town bank robbery. Cabot is orderd to hold the wife of the bank vice president hostage in order to get him to allow a $70,000 robbery to take place.

The woman, Nancy Wilson (Cay Forester) is basically unhappy in her marriage, but she discovers from the sadistic acts of Cabot, that her life really isn't too bad.

Her husband Ken (Donald Woods) is forced to give into the robbers' demands. However things do not work out well for Dorella at the bank after he is recognised by an employee.

Everything falls apart and things turn out badly for Cabot after he attempts to kidnap the Wilsons' son played by a very young Ron Howard. The child manages to pull a fast one on Cabot and bring about his demise.

The performances all are very good, and I just don't understand all the tearing apart of this movie, but I guess it isn't for everyone.

The Blu-ray presentation is very good nd I'm glad this film finally got an improvment. Recommended!!

Friday, October 25, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 25: REC 3: GENESIS 2012 (SONY)

Not too bad of a film.

The first two films in this series knocked my socks off and now I finally got to see the third installment.

This film centers around a wedding ceremony between Koldo (Diego Martin) and his gorgeous bride Clara (Leticia Dolera). During the party after the wedding one of the members of Koldo's family, who was bitten by a dog that he thought was dead, starts killing off the party gores by biting them.

In no time flat, the party is turned into a bloodbath as people start becoming zombies faster than you can say "George Romero".

Everything descends into chaos as Koldo and Clara fight for survival against a horde of demonic zombies who cannot stand the word of God.

This movie answers several questions never answered in the first two movies, and the dog referred to is the animal from the first film that was put in quarantine.

The ending leaves it open for another film, which there was, and I will be talking about that one very soon. This is a great and fast moving film that never stops once it starts. The opening title appears on the screen 22 minutes into the movie!!

As a horror fan I can easily recommend this to others. Have at it.

Thursday, October 24, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 24: THE CHILD 1977 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

It has been many years since I first saw this bizarre little film.

I believe movie takes place in the 1930's or 40's but I can't be sure. It's a twisted tale about a young housekeeper named Alicianne (Laurel Barnett) who comes to a rural home to take care of a child named Rosalie (Rosalie Cole).

Right away we discover that Rosalie is a problem child who seeks revenge on those that she believes are responsible for the death of her mother.

How does she do this? Well she has some special friends that are walking corpses. By the end of the movie Alicianne and a farmhand find themselves very outnumbered in a final showdown with the walking dead.

Now, I have a ton of questions that the film never answers such as how is Rosalie able to raise the dead, what has her life really been like and how many people has she killed with her friends?

I don't like or dislike this movie. It's what I call a guilty pleasure, because it makes no sense and never really comes together. The leading lady is Laurel Bennett and her acting career lasted only 3 years.

She is an attractive woman, but she cannot this movie on her own. If you get the chance and have never seen this, you may want to check it out. The ending is wild and leaves the viewer wondering what has happened.

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

RIP RON ELY 1938-2024

The actor who made Tarzan famous on TV during the 60's has passed away.

Ely's screen career began in 1958 with his role in the movie "South Pacific" and then he was also in "Fiend Who Walked The West" the same year.

His career hit it's stride when he won the role of Tarzan in the TV series that ran for two years 1966-1968. He was the TV Tarzan I grew up with.

He appeard in many other tv shows after Tarzan including "Wonder Woman", "Marcus Welby", "Matt Helm" and "Sheena" just to name a few. Ron Ely passed away on September 29, 2024 at the age of 86.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 23: HOUSE THAT WOULDN'T DIE 1970 (TUBI)

This is a TV movie from 1970 that I hadn't seen since it's initial broadcast 54 years ago.

Two women, Ruth Bennett (Barbara Stanwyck) and Sara Dunning (Kitty Winn) buy a new farm house and soon find it's haunted.

There are two ghosts from the Revolutionary War that remain in the home because of a violent crime. A kindly man named Pat McDougal (Richard Egan) tries to seduce Ruth and they actually become very good friends.

One strange thing after another happens and Pat is possessed by the spirit of a man and Sara is possessed by a femal spirit. It turns out that the man killed the woman and her lover and then buried them under the house, thus the house is haunted by all the evil restless spirits.

I love TV movies of the 70's and this one I found to be very entertaining. I have to admit I didn't remember much of it after five decades.

If you want to see it it's streaming on TUBI and in my opinion, if you're a horror fan, it's well worth you time.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 22: LAS VEGAS STRANGLER 1968 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

Now this was damned weird.

This movie is also known as "No Tears For The Damned" and with either title this film is one of the most bizarre I have seen in a long time.

It has been thought lost for over 50 years, but thanks to VS it has resurfaced.

Gillian Simpson stars as a bar hooker named Lori who dreams of of a better life. Along comes handsome Jeff Murray (Robert Dix) who sweeps her away and marries her.

The trouble starts when Jeff is gone every night and won't touch Lori. Jeff's mother played by June Drake is very happy that Lori is neglected. Things get even more twisted when we discover that Jeff is a killer who strangles whores and homosexuals, and in the case of the women he cuts off part of their very black hair with a huge pair of snippers.

It appears that Jeff's mother made him dress like Little Lord Fauntleroy until he was a teenager and this has driven him over the edge. Lori is disgusted when she follow Jeff one night and sees him making googoo eyes with the male piano player.

Everything comes to a quick climax and the movie seems to just stop. It has no end title card or anything...it just stops.

Now this is one strange film and it was written by Oliver Drake and his wife June. They also brought us the all time classic "Mummy and Curse Of The Jackyls".

I really think you need to see this and experience regional cinema at it's strangest. The rest of the cast includes John "Bud" Cardos, Ewing Brown, Jackie De Witt and Perry Dell.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Suzanne Snyder is 62, and Catherine Deneuve is 81.

Monday, October 21, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 21: SPECTERS 1987 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

Strange late 80's Italian horror.

The thread bare plot involves a digging that somehow releases a demon who starts haunting and hunting the members of the party which is led by a US professor named Lasky (Donald Pleasense).

You don't see the demon until the final 10 minutes and you barely get a good look at it.

I didn't really understand a lot of what was going on but at least I had Trine Michelsen naked in a few scenes and that made it a bit better. I also really enjoyed seeing Erna Schurer in a small role. That brought back some great memories.

I was hoping for a better film and was disappointed. It just seemed all over the place with the horror angle and then Michelsen's character who was dating a member of Laskey's party.

If you're a fan of later Italian horror you might get a kick out of it. I can't say I didn't like the movie, but I was let down. The ending is what one would expect for any horror film of the era.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 20: MUMMY'S REVENGE 1976 (TUBI)

I talked about this film 6 years ago when I received the disc from Sinister Cinema. This is what I said and it will cover most of what I want to say.

Spanish horror film starring Paul Naschy as an evil Egyptian ruler returned from the dead.

Naschy is Amenhoptep, an evil despot who rules under torture and death. He is soon overthrown and buried alive as a mummy. His mind is still active and will remain so.

Flash forward 3000 years and his tomb has been uncovered by a Prof. Nathan Stern (Jack Taylor) and is soon to be put on display for the world to see.

A stranger named Assad Bey arrives back in London when the mummy arrives and while passing himself off as a writer he is actually bringing Amenhotep back to life via blood sacrifices of virgins.

I like this film a lot and it does have it's moments. There are scenes where the mummy crushes a man's head and later smashes several faces to pulp.

Naschy does a very good job as the Mummy and it's always a pleasure to see Helga Line in ANYTHING. Here she plays the role of Bey's helper Zanufer, and yes she is hotter than hell.

This also seems to be a Naschy title that is always overlooked by most, but holds up very well today and is just as entertaining as anything else the man ever made.

If you want a good time for 90 minutes, check this one out.

Now, that is exactly what I wrote 6 years ago. I wanted to add that this is probably the absolute best quality print I have seen of this movie and highly recommend you check it out on TUBI streaming. It's another great Spanish horror film!!

Saturday, October 19, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 19: WEB OF THE SPIDER 1971 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Not to shabby of a remake of "Castle Of Blood".

If you've seen the earlier version you know the plot.

Anthony Franciosa stars as Alan Turner, a newspaperman who takes a bet that he can spend the night in a haunted castle. He is taken there by the castle's owner and Edgar Allen Poe (Klaus Kinski).

Once there Alan meets a beautiful woman named Elisabeth Blackwood (Michele Mercier) who is the sister of the owner. Alan falls in love with the delicious Elisabeth, but soon learns the terrible truth.

There are others in the castle as well and Alan learns that all of them, including Elisabeth a dead and come to life one night a year a re-live their murders and the murders they committed.

Antonio Margheriti has remade his own film from 6 years earlier and did a good job with it, as usual. I'm not sure why he remade it, but it works no matter what.

Mercier makes a very sexy female character here and she exudes a very different character than Barbara Steele in the original. That's a good thing however.

The rest of the cast includes Peter Carsten, Silvano Tranquilli, Karin Field and Irina Maleeva.

I really liked this Italian horror film and recommend you check it out as well.

Friday, October 18, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 18: SANTA CLAWS 1996 (E.I. INDEPENDENT)

There is good and bad with this bizarre film from John Russo.

This shot in Pittsburgh "thriller" seems to be a combination of horror and soft core adult film. The plot concerns a beautiful "Scream Queen" named Raven Quinn (Debbie Rochon).

Raven is going thru a bad divorce and having problems keeping her children away from her acting as she is an actress who makes low budget horror film.

An obsessed fan named Wayne (Grant Kramer) seems to be her only friend, but we the viewer already know this isn't true. Wayne starts killing a few people in Raven's life, mainley at work. Wayne wants Raven only for himself.

There isn't much to the plot, but there are plenty of nice looking women dancing around naked and I believe this was done to pad this film out to 82 minutes. Otherwise it would have only been an hour.

The main reason I watched this movie was because of Rochon. She was/is one of the hottest women to ever appear in low budget cinema and I actually thought about casting her in a film of mine around this time, but I just couldn't get the money together.

Russo isn't much of a director here which isn't a shock. There is one scene where Rochon has just finished up a promo with her director played by Bill Hinzeman and you can actully hear director Russo say "we gottta clean up the cables so nobody trips on them".

I have heard directors in the background of movies before, but this is painfully obvious. Watch this only if you're a Debbie Rochon fan. The rest of the cast includes Dawn Michelucci, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, and Mary Beth Boyle.

Thursday, October 17, 2024

RIP ROGER BROWNE 1930-2024

Argoman has passed away.

Roger Browne may not be too familiar to most of you, but he did appear in many great movies.

His most famous role for people here in the US was "Argoman: The Fantastic Superman" which is a great and fun film.

Some of his other film credits include "Killer Looks", "War Of The Robots", "Women In Cell Block 7", "Karzan", "Samoa, Queen Of The Jungle", "Hercules And The Princess Of Troy", "Password: Killa Agent Gordon".

Roger Browne passed away on October 11, 2024 at the age of 94.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 17: LEPTIRICA 1973 (TUBI)

This is also known as "The She-Butterfly".

This is a wonderful TV movie from Yugoslavia that perfectly captures folk-horror images and traditions in it's brief 64 minute running time.

An unemployed loser named Strahinja (Petar Bozovic) wants to marry a very beautiful girl named Radojka ( Mirjana Nikolic) but her father refuses to allow it as he cannot stand the young man and feels he is worthless.

Strahinja agrees to take a job at the local flour mill, which has been the place of four mysterious killings in the past and nobody will work there anymore.

The locals say it's haunted by Vampires. While that turns out to be true, it's the final twist at the end that makes you shake your head.

I won't say anymore except that this is a good little film and beware, it will drag in a couple of places, but not for long. Again, this is a prime example of folk-horror, and hopefully with it streaming it willl become much better known.\

The scenery is beautiful and captures the spirit of the movie very well. The print is subtitled in English. Check it out!!!

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 16: THE PREMONITION 1976 (TUBI)

Now this was one weird movie.

Sharon Farrell stars as Sheri Bennett a young woman who, along with her husband Miles (Edward Bell) adopted a child five years before and everyone seems happy.

One day at school Sherri sees a mysterious woman staring at her child Janie (Danielle Brisebois). This is when the trouble starts. The mysterious woman is Janie's biological mother who has been released from a mental hospital, and is obviously still crazy.

The woman, Andrea (Ellen Barber) is staying with a circus clown performer named Jude (Richard Lynch). Both plan to kidnap Janie, but their plans do not go as expected.

Both of these characters are insane and we find out that Jude is way more insane than Andrea. Jude kills her and he manages to get his hands on Janie. I won't say too much more, but this is a film that has all but disappeared and really needs to be seen by mystery and horror fans.

It takes off in several different direction with no explanation, but it still manages to satisfy. The rest of the cast includes Jeff Corey, Rosemary McNamara and the gorgeous Chitra Neogy.

I recommend you see this. You will NOT be disappointed.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 15: HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON 1970 (IMAGE)

Powerful Mario Bava film.

Stephen Forsyth stars as John Harrington, a wedding dress designer. In the first 5 minutes of the movie we hear John in the narration telling us he is a crazy murderer who enjoys killing women.

He has to keep killing women until he unlocks a repressed memory from his childhood. His marriage to his wife Mildred (Laura Betti) is not a happy one, but she refuses to give him a divorce.

The police suspect john of the murders we haven't seen, and one Inspector Russell (Jesus Puente) fights to prove John is a killer, but every time he comes close, John seems to have good luck and gets away.

John manages to kill his wife, and then n an interesting turn thr film becomes outright horror as her ghost haunts his every move. This bizarre film moves along at a breakneck speed to a climax that is very fitting for the material.

The others in the cast include Dagmar Lassander (wow), Femi Benussi (wow...wow), Antonia Mas, Luciano Pigozzi and Gerard Tichy.

This film has been avalable for years on various formats and is also available on streaming. It's Bava, it's Italian and it has Lassander and Benussi in it. What more could you ask for??

Monday, October 14, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 14: DR. JEKYLL AND THE WEREWOLF 1972 (MONDO MACABRO) BLU-RAY

This is yet another movie I have written about several times.

Mondo Macabro finally managed to get this released on Blu-ray and it makes my favorite Paul Naschy film look better than ever.

Naschy stars as Waldamar Daninski once again. This time he rescues a very beautiful woman from an attempted rape by three men who also killed her husband.

The woman is called Justine and is essayed by the incredibly gorgeous Shirley Corrigan. She takes him to London where she introduces Waldarmar to Dr. Henry Jekyll (Jack Taylor) who is the grandson of the famous doctor.

Henry believes that he can cure Waldamar. Jekyll's assistant Sandra (Mirta Miller) is jealous overt he fact that Henry still loves Justine and thereby sets out to destroy everything.

In case you haven't seen this, I won't say too much ore on the plot, but it's a wild one. Some of the set pieces are unforgettable such as the elevator scene where Daninski is stuck and changes into a monster, the disco scene and many more.

There were no less than four different versions of this movie released in 1972. What we have on this great presentation is the "clothed" Spanish version which contans no nudity and then we have the "export" version which contains all the nudity and some extra violence.

The export version is culled from the original negative and other sources to make the best possible print. It's dubbed into English and is the version I prefer.

The Spanish version is subtitled. I guess I prefer the export version because it's the only one I ever saw, and seeing Corrigan topless as well as the other Spanish beauties is alway a plus.

This came out several months ago, and if you haven't already done so, I think you should really check it out. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Udo Kier is 80, Stacy Keibler is 45, and Cliff Richard is 84.

Sunday, October 13, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 13: FATAL GAMES 1984 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

I actually found this to be a fun slasher film.

A mad killer stalks an athletic school where young people are training for the Olympics.

This is very much like the movie "Graduation Day" but I found it to be more entertaining. The killer uses a javelin as a murder weapon and in this movie he goes after both men and women.

As is so usual in these kinds of movies, some of the characters are nothing but annoying and others are the kind you'd like to know. The movie is a swift 88 minutes and the presentation on the Blu-ray is nothing short of amazing considering the other prints I have seen of this.

I will say the casting director knew how to pick very sexy women for the roles. The cast includes Sally Kirkland, Lynn Banashek, Teal Roberts, Spice Williams-Crosby, Melissa Prophet, Angela Bennett, Lauretta Murphy and Nicholas Love.

If you haven't seen the movie I can't say too much without destroying the very twisted ending, but when you see it you'll know where they got their idea from, and I believe they used it very well. I never saw it coming...lol.

I recommend this little thriller and hope it slowly becomes better known after this release from VS. It deserves better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ashanti Douglas is 44, Demond Wilson is 78, and Judy Bamber is 88.

Saturday, October 12, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 12: ILYA MUROMETS 1958 (IMAGE)

Another fine adventure/fantasy film from Russia.

Any fan of fantastic cinema has seen this film under the US title "Sword And The Dragon" which was very entertaining, but this is the original Cinemascope version and it blows the other away.

Ilya Muromets (Boris Andreyev) is a man with legs that don't seem to work. He helps some lost travelers and they give him a potion that makes him walk again.

He immediately sets out for adventure and prove to his King that he is a great warrior. Along the way he encounters a wind demon that he easily overcomes, fights Tugars and then a weird being known as The Noid, a huge man-like being that reminded me of a balloon or something like that.

During the course of the film Ilya is framed for a crime he didn't commit but finally gets out of jail and helps his kingdom finally defeat the Tugars once and for all.

The dragon is still impressive for the mid 1950's but come to think of it the entire damned movie is impressive. Communist Russia had some very talented actors, actresses and movie people in general.

Everything in the film looks so "fantasy" like and it really works well. This is a magical film and one that should be seen by anyone who appreciates solid entertainment.

The film is in Russian, but has English subtitles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Deborah Foreman is 62, Susan Anton is 74,and Robin Askwith is 74.

Friday, October 11, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 11: REPULSION 1965 (CRITERION) BLU-RAY

An all time classic.

Very simply put, this is a story of madness coming to the surface.

Beautiful Catherine Deneuve stars as Carol Ledoux, a very quiet and somewhat disturbed woman who lives with her older sister and works as a manicurist.

Carol is repulsed by men and even more so by the thought of one touching her or kissing her. For this reason she hates her sister boyfriend. Her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux) decides to go on a trip with her boyfriend Michela (Ian Hendry) and this, of course leaves Carol alone.

She slowly decends into madness as she imagines cracks in the walls getting bigger and hands come out to grab her. She dreams of a man raping her and she never leaves the apartment. She kills a young man who kicks in her door and then she also kills the landlord who comes to collect the rent and then wants more from Carol.

The bodies are hidden in the apartment as Carol slowlt goes insane. I find this movie to be one of the best horror films of it's time, and of this time to be honest.

The images Carol sees and dreams of are the stuff of nightmares and madness. This woman really has some problem let me tell you. The rest of the cast includes John Fraser, Patrick Wymark, James Villiers and Reneer Houston.

I cannot recommend this enough. This is a MUST see.

Thursday, October 10, 2024

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 10: THE BLOODY JUDGE 1970 (BLUE UNDERGROUND) BLU-RAY

It has been a while since I saw this movie, and I just had to pick it up on Blu-ray.

The look of the movie is a great improvement over the old DVD release and so is the 4K-UHD version, of course. Call me what you will, but I bought this for the somewhat perverse but alluring package.

I consider this to be one of Jess Franco's best movies. The story surrounds one Judge Jeffries (Christopher Lee) who uses the justice system to satisfy his own sexual and political whims.

This is based on a real character in British history and in some cases Franco stayed true to history, others he went off on wild tangents, but this is to be expected.

There are some excellent scenes involving the war going on at the time. The movie veers many times into witch hunting and it is the many torture scenes that have made this movie famous.

After all you have incredibly sexy women like Diana Lorys, Margaret Lee and Maria Rohm in various state of undress and being tortured, and that is considered cinema gold.

The rest of the cast includes Leo Genn, Hans Hass, Jr., Maria Schell, Peter Martell, Howard Vernon, and Serena Vergano.

If you haven't seen this, give it a try. I really think you might like it. It has everything a movie like this should have and you can tell Franco had some money behind him on this one. The Blue Underground presentation is nothing short of spectacular.

Lastly, the print has the title "Night Of The Blood Monster" on it, but "Bloody Judge" is much better.

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

RIP ELISA MONTES 1934-2024

The beautiful Spanish actress has passed away.

Montes made many, many movies and TV shows in her 55 year career.

Some of the movies you might remember her from include "Samson And The Mighty Challenge", "Eric The Viking", and "Django The Honorable Killer".

Her beauty was really on display in such fare as "Island Of The Doomed", "99 Women" and "Girl From Rio" which are the three films she is most remembered for by US audiences.

She had quite a career and I loved her in everything I saw her in. Elisa Montes passed away on October 8th, 2024 at the age of 89.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 9: BEAKS 1987 (TUBI)

I found this to be fun...stupid but fun.

A gorgeous reporter named Vanessa Cartwright (Michelle Johnson) is given a story she really does not want to cover. Who can blame her, it's a story about a farmer being attacked by his chickens!

Before long she and her cameraman Pete (Christopher Atkins) learn that large flocks of birds are attacking all over the world. This leads to some great slow motion attacks by birds and close ups of them pecking and tearing skin as well as eyes out of their sockets.

This is a movie that was sold in Italy as being a sequel to the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds"!!

It has an abrupt ending as all of a sudden the attacks stop as Vanessa makes a plea to people over international TV that we must all live in harmony with nature.

Just then director Rene Cardona, Jr. throws us a curve by having us hear all minds of buzzing in the backgound as I can only assume it's bees, or maybe flies...who knows.

It's always good to see Michelle Johnson in anything, and she does make this very watchable. If you wanna have some fun then check this movie out.