GAMERA VS. JIGER 1970 (MILL CREEK) BLU-RAY

This Japanese gem is also known as Gamers vs. Monster X.

An ancient stature is removes from a place called Wester Island (the opposite of Easter island) and transported to Expo 70. This causes a giant monster named Jiger to appear and start destroying Japan.

Jiger injects Gamera with it's offspring and puts him out of commission while the destruction continues. This leads to a rather graphic scene of a real elephant having a huge infection cut off of it's trunk. This footage is shown as military officials decide what to do to help Gamera.

Once again you have children who are much smarter than scientists and top military officials, and even though these films are geared towards children, I always find this an annoyance.

The Blu-ray looks fantastic and all I can say is that it's not as bad as "Gamera Vs. Viras".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sean Connery is 87, and Tom Skerritt is 84.

LORELEY'S GRASP 1973 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

Great little Euro-horror finally comes to Blu-ray.

Amando De Ossorio directed this very interesting horror film based on the legend of a creature called "The Loreley", which is a mythical creature that feeds on human hearts.

When a series of brutal murders occur in and near an all girls school, a professional hunter is called in to find the creature responsible and destroy it. The hunter, Sigurd (Tony Kendall) has his hands full with the gorgeous students and the monster.

One day he meets an absolutely beautiful woman running thru the nearby woods named Lorelei (Helga Line). She seduces him and wants him to become her eternal partner in life. Sigurd knows she is the monster, but he does have strong feelings for her.

At night she turns into a scaly lizard monster and steals the hearts of her victims. The Blu-ray has this movie looking better than I have ever seen it and I can only thank Shout Factory from bringing this little gem out.

As usual in Spanish horror, there is nothing but beautiful women, most of whom get naked at one point or another and this is always a plus in my book.

This is paired on the disc with one of my favorite films of all time "Night Of The Sorcerers" which will be reviewed here at a later date.

The rest of the cast for this thriller includes Silvia Tortosa, Josefina Jartin and Loreta Tovar. A highly recommended release that every horror fan should see.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Vincent McMahon is 72, and Connie Mason is 80.

JUDEX 1963 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Excellent French action/sci-fi film.

This is a very well made film, that I cannot see anyone not liking. A corrupt banker receives a note telling him he must give his fortune which he has acquired thru many illegal business transactions back to everyone he stole from or face the consequences.

The note is signed by the mysterious "Judex". He refuses and is drugged and kidnapped by Judex and held in a secret place. Everyone thinks the banker, Favraux is dead. In captivity Judex spares his life when his lovely daughter, Jacqueline (Edith Scob) refuses the inheritance.

In the meantime the former governess Diana Monti (Francine Berge)kidnaps Jacqueline to get the banker's money.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this film and it does keep your attention and keeps you guessing. Judex is played by Channing Pollock, and he does a very good job indeed.

The print from Sinister is subtitled in English and looks pretty good. many claim that this is director Georges Franju's best film, and it may be, but I also really enjoyed his other French thriller called "Eyes Without A Face".

If you haven't seen this film, I think you should. Highly Enjoyable.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Honor Blackman is 92.

THE DRACULA SAGA (1971) SINISTER CINEMA

I remember this movie from a VHS rental store many years ago.

A young woman who is pregnant and her husband travel to her grandfather's castle. Her granddad turns out to be Count Dracula who is hoping the baby will continue the bloodline.

The woman, Berta (Tina Sainz) gets weaker and weaker and her husband grows concerned. The other family members in the castle are beautiful women. The most beautiful one, Munia (Helga Line) seduces the husband, Hans (Tony Isbert) and he too is changed into a vampire.

The other women are Xenia, played by the always gorgeous Maria Kosty and Irina played by Cristina Suriani. All of these women would be very hard to resist under any circumstances.

Anyway, I liked this film a lot and found it to be very interesting, even though the plot is not original by any means. There is a lot of ample female bodies on display and some gruesome violence towards the end of the film.

The print from Sinister is very good, and I have been meaning to pick this up for some time, and finally, of course, did just that. Fans of Euro horror will have much to like with this movie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Patty McCormack is 72, Clarence Williams III is 78, and Eve Torres is 33.

RIP JERRY LEWIS 1926-2017

One of the kings of comedy has died.

Jerry Lewis will always be remembered for his MDA Telethons which ran for many, many years, but movie fans will also remember him for some pretty comical movies.

Lewis starred in such gems as "Visit To A Small Planet", "Pardners" and "The Nutty Professor" and many more. In some comedies he co-starred with Dean Martin and the two just clicked. It was movie magic much like Abbott and Costello.

The movie that introduced me to Lewis was "The Sad Sack" from 1957. One of the last comedic geniuses has died. Lewis passed away in Las Vegas at the age of 91.

THE GOLEM 1935 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Well made film done in France.

The Golem,a huge statue made of clay by a rabbi is said to come to life in times of deep trouble.

When the persecution of Jews becomes too much,a young woman brings the stature to life and it proceeds to destroy the evil empire and all of those connected with it.

This is a simple story and a remake of the 1920 film of the same name. There are some brutal scenes. at least for the time of torture and Jews being fed to the lions.

I am not sure where Sinister got their subtitled print, but sometimes there are no subtitles and at other times they appear on the screen way before the actual words are spoken. So, I turned them off and just enjoyed the movie in it's original French language.

The print quality is very good and I would recommend it for fans of obscure 30's horror.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Paul Hampton is 80.

GAMERA VS. VIRAS 1968 (MILL CREEK) BLU-RAY

The fourth in the series, and I have to say it's one of the worst films I have ever seen.

I have seen this film once before and I decided to give it another try on the Blu-ray, and holy shit, the film is even worse than I recall. Another 82 minutes of my life I will never get back.

Aliens come to Earth and attempt to take it over with the help of their giant squid-like leader, Viras. Two annoying as hell children and Gamera come to the rescue.

I have patience for a lot of low budget films no matter how bad they are, but good God, this one really taxed my patience. The acting by everyone all around is pathetic and I have never been as tired of children as I was watching this drivel.

Nothing bothers me more than seeing children portrayed as geniuses and adults as blithering idiots, and when watching a monster fight, these two annoying boys won't shut the fuck up and keep yelling instructions to Gamera!!! Nothing makes me want to stick sharp pokers in my ears more than that.

I found myself watching this and constantly checking my timer to see how much longer it had to run. That my friends, is a bad sign. After the first three films this is a hell of a let down. I told a friend after watching it I wanted to poke out my eyes as it was that bad.

I have never felt this way about any low budget film, but everyone has his or her breaking point, and mine has been reached with this turgid giant turtle junk. I will be reviewing the other Gamera films on Blu-ray, and I don't think there was another one worse than this, but I could be wrong.

I wouldn't recommend this film even to my ex-mother-in-Law let alone anyone reading this blog, but is you're a masochist you might enjoy 82 minutes of painful film watching.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Jill St. John is 77, Diana Muldaur is 79, Debra Paget is 84, L. Q. Jones is 90, Darby Hinton is 60, and Lilian Garcia is 51.

ENTER THE DEVIL 1973 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Very interesting thriller shot in Texas.

People are being killed near a small desert community near the Mexican border, and a local sheriff investigates.

He is helped by a Leslie (Irene Kelly) a beautiful researcher who is writing a book on cults. Both discover that a weird religious cult is in the area conducting human sacrifices.

The local Sheriff is killed after seeing the group burn a Mexican woman alive. There are some pretty effective moments in this gritty film. I do suspect there were some parts either trimmed or cut out to secure a PG rating, but I can't be sure.

However, I would not let that deter you from seeing a unique regional film that is eerie and effective.

The print from Sinister is somewhat ragged, but that actually adds to the charm of this kind of film. It's available as a single feature or part of a Drive-In Double Feature with "Garden Of The Dead".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Shane Briant is 71.