HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN 1976 (KINO) BLU-RAY

Disturbing film from Pete Walker.

The movie opens with a young woman killing herself without explanation. Then we cut to a beautiful young woman named Jenny Welch (Susan Penhaligon) who happens upon an old friend named Bernard Cutler (Norman Eshley) who has become a priest.

One night Jenny goes to the church and confesses her sins to another priest named Xavier Meldrum (Anthony Sharp) who acts strange around her.

Meldrum takes it upon himself to help Jenny and that is where the terror begins. He kills two men that she knows as well as others. He also terrifies Jenny to the point where she thinks she is losing her mind.

When watching this film I noticed how all of the characters are naive and totally helpless in any situation. This makes Meldrum's job of killing so easy. The police, doctors, friends, family...none of them believe that a priest could be a killer and when he almost kills Jenny in a hospital, it's her that is removed as a problem, not Meldrum.

The movie works on many levels and it really worked with me when I saw how stupid the characters were in turning a blind eye to Meldrum and his insanity.

It's a good movie and one that horror fans should like. The Blu-ray presentation is stunning indeed. The rest of the cast includes the gorgeous Stephanie Beacham, Sheila Keith, Hilda Barry, and Mervyn Johns.

Check out this film and I think you'll like it. The ending is a shocker.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Dustin Rhodes is 56.

RAMBLINGS...

Thought I'd take time to spotlight whom I consider to be a very underrated actress...the one and only Ziva Rodann. One of the sexiest women to ever grace the big and small screen.

I was first introduced to the actress when I was very young and saw her in "Pharaoh's Curse" which has, since then, always been a favorite.

Of course, as a child I was more interested in the monster, but over the years as I watched more movies and TV shows I became very enamoured with this dynamic and talented woman.

During the VHS boom I managed to catch Ziva in many films such as "Private Lives Of Adam and Eve", "College Confidential", "3 Nuts In Search Of A Bolt" and many others.

By this time I was a 20 something movie addicted guy and I just really fell in love with her. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about Ziva that rings my bell so to speak.

Over the years I have managed to collect a lot of the films and TV shows she has appeared in such as "Batman", "World Of Giants", "Perry Mason", "Have Gun, Will Travel", and many more.

Ziva Rodann was born on March 2, 1933 in Haifa Palestine, now known as Haifa Israel. She worked in a lot of what people call "B" pictures such as the aforementioned "Pharaoh's Curse", "Tattered Dress", "Macumba Love" and so much more. She even made a handfull of films for Albert Zigsmith thanks to her contract with Universal.

Sadly for fans like myself she moved back to Israel and retired in the late 60's.

I am much older now, but she still gets my engine running when I see her smouldering good looks and hear her wonderful accent. So underrated and yet so damn sexy. They simply don't make women like Ziva anymore.

As far as I have been able to determine, the lovely Ziva is still with us at the age of 92.

WRONGFULLY ACCUSED 1998 (WARNER) BLU-RAY

This is a great spoof of "The Fugitive".

Leslie Nielsen stars as a violinist named Ryan Harrison who is framed for murder. He finds himself hunting a one armed, one legged, one eyed man whom he saw do the killing.

This is the usual slapstick which Nielsen became famous for in his later acting career and there are too many scenes to describe here that made me laugh out loud, but you just gotta see the hospital scene with the gun.

Of course it reminds the viewer of "Airplane", "Naked Gun" and such, but it is hilarious and well worth a watch. I must also mention that Richard Crenna play a sheriff named Fergus Falls and is extremely funny.

Of course there are beautiful women in abundance here and in this film we have Kelly LeBrock and Melinda McGraw, both of whom are very easy on the eyes.

If you want a good laugh see this film. I'd never watched it until now and it came as a very pleasent suprise. The rest of the cast includes Michael York, Sandra Bernhard, John Walsh, Chick Hearn and Lamb Chop.

As with all of these kinds of movies...once seen not forgotten

EFFECTS 1979 (SYNAPSE)

Strange little film shot in Pittsburgh.

Dusty Nelson directed this effort whcih surrounds a small film crew that is making a horror movie.

Lacey Bickel (John Harrison) is the brains behind the film and the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur as the horror film slowly becomes a snuff movie.

There are a lot of very familiar faces in this film such as Tom Savini, Joe Pilato, and others you may recognise from the Pittsburgh movie scene of the late 70's and early 80's.

It's a slow movie, but the story is very well done and it takes the viewer into territory never explored in movies up until this time. Harrison's character of Bickel is a bit creepy, especially the scene where he shows other crew members what may be a real snuff movie.

Effects works on many levels and is a must see for horror fans. It's rare because of a bad distribution deal, but at least it's been put out by Synapse and is also available on streaming.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lisa Todd is 78.

BARQUERO 1970 (KINO) BLU-RAY

Not too shabby of a film.

Lee Van Cleef stars in this excellent adventure film as Travis, a man who runs a riverboat for a living across one of the deepest parts of the river.

One day a gang of killers lead by Remy (Warren Oates) slaughters an entire town to get gold and a huge shipment of rifles. Heand his gang need to get across the river and a small townis just across the river.

Travis refuses to let Remy and his men cross because he knows what kind of man Remy is. This leads to a very intense standoff between the squatters in the small town and Remy's men.

There is a lot of gunfights and Oates gives a damned near perfect performance as Remy. He and Van Cleef play off each other very well and it makes the movie extremely enjoyable.

The entire cast actually works very well, and that cast includes Forrest Tucker (a great role), Kerwin Matthews, Mariette Hartley, Marie Gomez, John Davis Chandler and Armando Silvestre.

I highly recommend this movie for western fans and fans of Warren Oates. Top notch.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Robin Wright is 59, John Schneider is 65, and Suzanna Love is 75.

NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD 1975 (SEVERIN) BLU-RAY

Well done horror from Leon Klimovsky.

This Spanish gem surrounds a dying young aristocrat named Catherine (Emma Cohen) who is unhappy with everything in life.

After a visit from a stanger named Rudolph de Winberg (Carlos Ballesteros) she slowly becomes drawn into a weird society of vampires and their rituals.

This has some great set pieces including the dead rising from their tombs and killing a large part of the population of a small village. Some of these attacks are macabre as hell.

Rudolph is a cursed man who does not appear to enjoy his eternal life anymore and the ending of this movie reminds me a LOT of the 1972 thriller "Blacula"....believe it or not.

This is a rare and very enjoyable Spanish horror film that has not been seen much and should be. The rest of the cast includes Mary Paz Pondal, Viky Lusson, Rafael Hernandez and Tota Alba.

I cannot recommend this enough to horror fans. It's a treat.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Yvonne Lime is 90.

I MISS YOU HUGS AND KISSES 1978 (SEVERIN) BLU-RAY

Odd and neglected crime film shot in Toronto and based on a true incident.

The plot is fairly simple. A man who escaped from Communist Hungary in 1954 and went to Canada has become very, very successful. His name is Charles Kruschen (Donald Pilon).

He meets and marries a beautiful model named Magdalene (Elke Sommer) and all seems well, but Magdalene falls out of love with Charles and he turns his attention to a young woman named Pauline (Cindy Girling).

Magdalene plots to kill Charles, but it never works out because she is killed in a very graphically shown murder that is a little disturbing.

Charles is arrested and tried for the crime in which he is found guilty. This is one very depressing movie all around. People just can't be happy, and they are always trying to ruin other lives. Gee, that sounds like real life today.

I recommend this film for something a little different. I know a lot of people say it isn't a good movie, but that again is only an opinion. I happen to like this movie, and Elke always looks good. I guess that is why her murder scene is so disturbing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Billy Dee Williams is 88, Roy Thinnes is 87, and Judith McConnell is 81.

TOMBSTONE CANYON 1932 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Ken Maynard stars in this weird and wild western with a lot of horror elements.

The movie starts with Maynard and his horse Tarzan walking thru a desert canyon and then he is accosted by several men whom he doesn't know.

A masked phantom dressed in black appears and helps Ken out. The phantom's screams are something to hear believe me. After the gunfight where the villians flee, Ken meets a lovely young woman named Jenny Lee (Cecilia Parker) who is also a pretty good shot with a rifle.

There is a mystery as to who Ken really is as he doesn't know himself. The plot veers into some horror elements and it moves at great speed in it's 59 minute running time.

The climax is very well handled and really catches your attention. I refure to give anything away. Maynard is in top form here and comes across as a nice guy who has stepped into a situation he has little control over.

I hadn't seen this since I had a VHS tape many years ago. However, I never forgot this film...that is how effective it is. HIGHLLY RECOMMENDED!!

The rest of the cast includes Bob Burns, Sheldon Lewis, Frank Brownlee and Lafe McKee.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Michael Moriarty is 84, Jane Asher is 80, Roger Davis is 86, and Agnetha Faltskog is 75.

NARCO MEN 1968 (TUBI)

I didn't find this film as bad as others.

I have not read many good things about this film, but I figured I'd give it a try, and was entertained. The movie does not stand out from any other of it's kind, but I liked it.

Tom Tryon is Harry Bell, a former intelligence officer that was set up by drug ealers in the past and has spent 3 years in prison. Bell is contacted by a top Italian gangster to get back a shipment drugs that were hijacked in the Mediterranean.

During his worldwide investigation, Bell runs across a beautiful young hippie chick named Jill(Lorenza Guerrieri). He uses her as part of his plan to get the drugs and Jill is very honest and up front about everything including the fact she has fallen in love with Harry.

Bell is a troubled man who never smiles, and has a lot of inner hatred towards everything. Jill slowly, very slowly starts to break thru to him, but the job he is on is all he is interested in at the moment.

Harry manages to get the drugs after many battles and the ending of the movie was a downer for me. I did not expect what happens to Jill. She is the only real likeable character in the movie.

This Italian made crime film was entertaining for me, but as I said, it doesn't stand out from any others. I have only seen Tryon in one other film and that was the 1957 sci-fi film "I Married A Monster From Outer Space". He seemed the same in that movie as he is in this one.

Oh well, check it out if you're so inclined.

FIVE SAVAGE MEN 1971 (GENEON)

A very well done western written and produced by actor Richard Bakalyan.

This is also known as "The Animals" and it stars Keenan Wynn as Pudge Elliot, a man we first see on a stagecoach in handcuffs and accompanied by a Sheriff.

Also on this coach are two women, Emily Perkins (Peggy Stewart) and Alice McAndrew (Michele Carey). The coach is attacked by four men and everyone is killed except Alice. The men take her with them, and Elliot claims her for himself.

They tie and rape Alice and in the morning they decide to leave her as buzzard food. Watching all of this take place is an Apache indian named Chatto (Henry Silva). He takes Alice with him and takes care of her.

Over time Alice and Chatto become very good friends and he teaches her how to ride and shoot. She wants him to help her take revenge on the men who raped her, and he does.

The end of the film is a shocker as far as movies go, but for some reason I saw it coming and it's probably because I have seen too many movies....lol.

I won't give it away, but it made me wonder if the title referred to the five men who rape Alice or the posse led by a Sheriff played by John Anderson.

In any event, I really recommend this movie. The print I saw was beautiful and in widescreen. The rest of the cast includes Joe Turkel, Pepper Martin, Bobby Hall, Peter Hellman and Michael Carr.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eric Braeden is 84, and Lamberto Bava is 81.

NEW MEXICO 1951 (TUBI)

Well made western that seems forgotten.

Lew Ayres stars as Capt. Hunt, a young officer who believes there can be peace between the Indians and the white man.

The movie opens with President Lincoln (Hans Conried) making a peaceful pact with Indian Chief Acoma (Ted de Corsia), much to the shagrin of Judge Wilcox (Lloyd Corrigan).

Lincon is soon assassinated and a tyrant Colonel named McComb (Walter Greaza) breaks the pact with Acoma and has him arrested and two of his warriors killed.

Hunt and Acoma are friends but Acoma arranges to be broken out of jail and his wariors kill McComb. Hunt and some men go after him and soon find themselves in a battle for survival.

To make matters worse, Wilcox has given the go ahead for a stagecoach to head west carrying a beautiful singer named Cherry (Marilyn Maxwell). They too find themselves fighting for survival as they are attacked by a war perty.

This movie moves along at a brisk pace and runs only 70 minutes or so. The cast is very good and you really begin to feel for both sides in the war. None of them are there because they want to be.

Nothing ends well for anyone by the time the movie ends. If you're a western movie fan I recommend this obscure gem from the early 50's. The rest of the cast includes Andy Devine, Robert Huntton, John Hoyt, Jeff Corey, Raymond Burr, and Donald Buka.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lindy Booth is 46.

RIP SIAN BARBARA ALLEN 1946-2025

The very underrated actress has passed away.

Sian made a few film appearances and had many TV roles. Some of the series she had roles in were "Ironside", "Hawaii Five-O", "Adam-12", "The Waltons".

Her movie roles included a couple of genre films "Scream Pretty Peggy" and "You'll Like My Mother". A fresh faced and beautiful woman who always brightened the screen.

Sian Barbara Allen passed away on March 31, 2025 from Alzheimer's. She was 78.

QUEENS OF EVIL 1970 (MONDO MACABRO) BLU-RAY

One hell of a bizarre adult fairy tale.

Ray Lovelock stars as a young man named David who helps a man with a flat tire on the road and then discovers the man put a nail in the front tire of his motorcycle.

He then sees the man killed in an accident and stops by a secluded house in the woods. He meets three beautiful women living there. Liv (Haydee Politoff), Samantha (Silvia Monti) and Bibiana (Ida Galli) and extremely beautiful and everyone of them seduces David at some point.

The women appear and disappear whenever they want and even though David suspects something isn't right, he stays with them. This is a very slow burn film, and David finally learns his fate with the women, and they aren't what they appear.

This movie has been sadly neglected when in reality it's an exceptional piece of Eurotrash that really needs more exposure. I found this movie without even looking for it, and when I saw it was Italian horror I HAD to get it.

This one just flew under my radar as it has been out on Blu-ray for almost 4 years and it's still available on Amazon. All I can say is get this film and enjoy something very, very unique.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Aliza Gur is 81, and Heather Young is 80.