31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 15: LIFEFORCE 1985 (SHOUT FACTORY)

A great sci-fi film.

Tobe Hooper directed this gem about a very sexy space vampire and her two male cohorts who are brought back to earth by an expedition that was investigating Halley's comet.

Steve Railsback in as astronaut with strange ties to the woman as she roams London infecting people with a strange disease. It seems that everyone she steals a lifeforce from will revive as a dessicated zombie who also needs a lifeforce from someone else. Soon all of London is overrun with zombies.

There is so much going on in this film it is amazing. Matilda May is the space vampire who goes thru most of the film naked, and that is not a bad thing. Peter Firth is Col. Colin Caine who is trying to find the woman and stop her. Frank Finlay is Hans Fallada a scientist who also wants to find the woman.

Lots of blood, monsters and scares are in this film, and I think it is the best of any film Hooper ever made. The blu-ray from Shout is gorgeous and the sound will knock your socks off!! They even have an interview with Mathilda May and a whole lot more. Highly Recommended this Halloween season. Oh, and did I mention Mathilda May is gorgeous and naked thru most of the film?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Tanya Roberts is 58, Lynn Lowery is 67, and Virginia Leith is 81.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 14: TWO HEADED SHARK ATTACK 2012 (ASYLUM)

I have revisit a film that is one of my personal favorites.

During the Halloween season I cannot help but go back and watch a lot of personal fave films of mine that have been reviewed here before. Yes I love this movie for several reasons.

Directed by the son of Fred Olen Ray, this thriller concerns a boatload of college students on a summer field trip whose boat breaks own and they find themselves stranded on a small island as well as being stalked in the water by a very large two headed shark!

The owner of the boat is played by Carmen Electra who always floats my boat anyway. As a matter of fact...well never mind..anyway most of the male students are jocks who just act ignorant, which is typical and the women are all lovely as hell. Brooke Hogan is Kate, one of the students and Charlie O' Connell is their teacher.

They also find the island is falling into the ocean and they soon will all be shark food. This film is done with the love and care that all low budget films should be done with. I like it because it makes no pretense as to what it is...a monster movie and it has all the right elements......beautiful locations, a bizarre monster and beautiful women.

Chris Ray does a good job directing and putting a little tension into the proceedings. Watch this movie and just have some fun. Oh yes, I mentioned I like this movie for several reasons and they are Carmen Electra in shorts, Carmen Electra in a bikini, Carmen Electra steering a boat, Carmen Electra in a tank top, Brooke Hogan in shorts and a bikini top....and well you get the idea.

Seriously, not bad if you know what it is and can take your horror with a grain of salt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Roger Moore is 86, Stacy Keibler is 34, Udo Kier is 69, and Dyanne Thorne is 70.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 13: SNAKE WOMAN 1961 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

Rare an interesting film.

Obscure little film about a doctor who injects his wife with snake venom as part of an experiment. She gives birth to a child and dies.

The story pick up about 20 years later when a detective is called into a small town after a series of strange deaths. it turns out a young woman lives in the marshes and her name is Atheris. She is beautiful and has the power to turn into a cobra quickly. The detective falls in love with her, but he soon learns the lesson in that.

Not a bad film from Sidney Furie and Orville Hampton's script is well done. This is a short 68 minutes and there are a few slow spots, but it oes hold your attention none the less. Susan Travers is Atheris, and John McCarthy is the young detective. I would recommend this film to any horror fan.

This is inclued on the set called Movies 4 You: Timeless Horror which also includes "Face Of Marble", "Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake" and "I Bury the Living".

GO FOR BROKE 1951 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

Excellent war film about Japanese soldiers fighting for the US in WW2.

Van Johnson stars in this film dedicated and about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team which was made us of Japanese men who fought on the side of the USA. Johnson's character is Lt. Michael Grayson, a man whose prejudice disappears when he discovers that his men are actually better soldiers than he is.

You get to know the characters very well in this film and it is no preachy like so many of these kinds of films can be. Some actual members of the 442nd appear in the film and the rest of the cast is rounded out by Lane Nakano, George Miki, Akira Fukunaga and Warner Anderson.

Lots of action as the men move from Italy to France and finally defeat part of the German Army. I liked this film a lot and Shout put this on it's Movies 4 You" Timeless Military Films collection at the last minute. The print is in good shape and looks ok and is very watchable, but I am sure some young people will bemoan the fact it isn't digitally remastered.

The other movies on the set include "Hell Raiders", "Lost Battalion" and "Tank Battalion".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Ashanti is 33, Marie Osmond is 54, Pamela Tiffin is 71, and Judi Meredith is 77.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 12: VAN HELSING 2003 (UNIVERSAL)

Took me 10 years to finally watch this.

A friend of mine wanted me to see this film, so I finally decided to see it and it isn't too bad for a modern film.

Hugh Jackman is Van Helsing, a monster hunter. The opening scene introducing us to Van Helsing has him in a fight with a monstrous Mr. Hyde. He finally kills the beast and then heads off back to the Vatican to get another assignment. he has to track down Count Dracula.

He arrives in Transylvania and wouldn't you know it, the village is terrorized by vampires and everyone basically exists to be killed by bloodsuckers. This brings me to the best part of the film, first the introduction of the Kate Beckinsale character Anna Valerious, who decides to help Van Helsing rid the world of the vampires, and secondly the Brides Of Dracula are nothing short of stunning. they could suck me anytime!!!!....lol.

Along the way he finds that Dracula is using the Wolfman and Frankenstein's monster for his own devious needs. The movie is sometimes too big for itself, but the striking imagery is unforgettable, especially the perpetually cold town in Transylvania. This movie was a critical disaster in the US but still made 300 million and is an ok homage to the Universal monsters of the 30's and 40's.

This movie helped accomplish one major thing however, it prompted Universal to release a large majority of their classic monster films on DVD back in 2004, of which I am eternally grateful. It also has made me want to be victimized by three luscious vampire women. See it if you haven't already, and get ready for a wild ride from director Stephen Sommers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Susan Anton is 63.

LOST BATTALION 1962 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

Philippine war film shot by Eddie Romero.

Kane Lynn produced and Romero directed this unconventional film about a beautiful young American woman who is captured by a band of outlaws on an island that if being evacuated during WW2. A small band sets out to rescue her.

Lovely Diane Jergens is the young woman in question and her character slowly falls in love with the man who rescues her. Leopold Salcedo is the man who risks everything to help Diane and her father as well as others as they try and escape the invading Japanese.

This isn't a bad film by any means and if you're a fan of WW2 films this will be right up your alley. This is included on the set entitled Movies 4 You: Timeless Military Film Collection. Also in this set is "Hell Raiders", "Go For Broke" and "Tank Battalion".

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 11: I BURY THE LIVING 1958 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

Odd but well made 50's horror.

Richard Boone stars as a man who runs a cemetery and soon finds he apparently has the power of life and death.

The map has black and white pins. If he puts black pins on the map then the person mysteriously dies and since this happens many times he decides that if he replaces the black pins with white ones, then the dead will return to life.

The premise is excellent and the acting is top notch with the music score adding a lot to the goings on. It's the ending that really lets the viewer down, and if by chance you haven't seen this movie yet, I won't spoil it. Everything is paced just perfect until the end when you will just sit and say... What??

This has been available on many PD labels over the years and now it is included on the Shout/Timeless collection entitled Movies 4 You: Timeless Horror which also includes "Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake", "Snake Woman" and "Face Of Marble". Check it out and see if you feel the same about the ending.

HELL RAIDERS 1968 (SHOUT FACTORY/TIMELESS)

Larry Buchanan war film.

I have read a lot of bad things about this film, but it's not as bad as everyone says. John Agar and Richard Webb are two soldiers who are part of an elite group of demolition experts who are assigned to blow up a building that contains secret papers that the Nazi's want.

Joan Huntington is Agar's lover and he tries to get her out of Nazi occupied territory but does not have much success. This is the only Larry Buchanan film that was part of a seven package deal that was not a horror film. It doesn't have action, but I did enjoy it as I do all Buchanan films.

I am probably the only one who is glad to see this released on DVD and it is part of a four film package called "Movies 4 You: Timeless Military Film Collection". Also included with this film are "Lost Battalion", "Go For Broke" and "Tank Battalion". Again, I liked the film and I stand by it.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 10: GORATH 1962 (DVD-R)

Rare and interesting Japanese sci-fi.

A meteor is on a collision course with the earth and it's up to a group of scientists to find a way to stop it. That is the premise behind this very well made Toho film directed by Ishiro Honda.

This was the Japanese language version and the giant Walrus scene was intact, but it only appears for a very few minutes and really takes nothing away from the story itself.

Kenjo Sahara and the always sexy Kumi Mizuno star and if you're a Japanese film buff you won't want to miss this if you can find it. This film has been screaming for a DVD release for years now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Jessica Harper is 64.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 9: FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE 1959 (SHOUT/TIMELESS MEDIA)

Thought I'd revisit this classic 50's shocker.

Edward L. Cahn directed this classic film about a man's family having to pay the price for a 180 year old voodoo curse. Eduard Franz is Jonathan Drake, a man who brother has just been killed and whose head has been stolen. Drake must find who is behind this before he becomes the next victim.

I love this film!! It is very low budget but a hell of a lot of fun. You have Henry Daniell as the villain who shrinks heads, Valerie french as the lovely daughter of Drake, Frank Gerstle and Grant Richards as detectives who find more than they bargained for and lastly you have the unforgettable Paul Wexler as Zutai, the servant of Daniell's character of Dr. Zurich, whose lips are sewn shut and who wears sandals made of human skin.

The movie is brisk and quick and never lets up. This is perfect for Halloween viewing and is now available again on DVD from Shout/Timeless on the series entitled Movies 4 You: Timeless Horror which also includes "I Bury The Living", Snake Woman" and "Face Of Marble".