PETS 1973 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

A surprise release on Blu-ray that I discovered via a review on DVD Drive-In and from an email sent by Vinegar Syndrome.

This was part of a VS sale they called "Half Way To Black Friday Sale". There was a limited number of these DVD/Blu-ray combos and I, of course, had to get one as I love this film.

It was released a few years ago on DVD from Code Red and this is a great improvement. There are no original elements left but this release was made possible using multiple 35mm archival prints, and I must admit I am very impressed with the results.

Candice Rialson is a gorgeous young woman named Bonnie who, from the opening frames of the film, is in for hard times. The film opens with her riding with her very abusive brother (Mike Cartrel). She escapes from him by getting three black men to jump him and beat him up.

The next morning she meets up with a lovely woman named Pat. Pat is looking to steal money for food and both women meet a man named Dan who owns a fancy car and a small dog. Bonnie and Pat talk the man into giving them a ride. Pat pulls a gun on him and the make him drive to a secluded area and tie him up.

Pat steals the car and drives to Dan's house to steal money while Bonnie guards Dan whom she rapes and both get satisfaction from it. Pat throws Dan's dog off of a cliff and then runs out on Bonnie.

Wondering farther Bonnie meets Geraldine Mills (Joan Blackman) who is an artist. She convinces Bonnie to move in with her so she can paint her portrait. After a while Bonnie grows bored as there is never a man around. Geraldine has her own desires for Bonnie, but Bonnie needs a man. When one breaks into the home Bonnie keeps him in her room for a night, and when Geraldine finds out the next day she cold bloodily kills the man.

Bonnie is heartbroken and goes to the home of a bizarre art collector named Vincent Stackman (Ed Bishop) and soon becomes part of his bizarre zoo of animals. Stackman tricks Geraldine into coming over and intends to whip and control her as well. Stackman believes women should be kept as pets who are taught to obey men.

Well needless to say Bonnie turns the tables on both of them and locks them in her former cage and takes off in Stackman's car. She picks up a male hitchhiker and drives off and then the movie ends.

This is a film that absolutely defines the exploitation genre. Rialson made her speaking role film debut and really shows everyone how it's supposed to be done. She comes across as brassy, naive, cunning and sexy. Very few actresses ever had the sex appeal Candice did and when she takes off her top...well....need I say more.

Director Raphael Nussbaum who really didn't want to direct the film pulls it off very well. The print looks as good as can be expected under the circumstances and there are not the huge splices that appeared in the Code Red print. It's not perfect, so I am sure the "fanboys" will complain, but this is the BEST presentation of this film we will all probably ever see.

The rest of the cast includes K.T. Stevens, Berry Kroeger and Brett Parker. My burning question is why did lovely Teri Guzman who is excellent as Pat only make two films? There is not much about her listed anywhere as far as I can find. And what can I add about the incredibly sexy Candy Rialson? A talented woman who left the business in 1980 and never returned. She sadly passed away on March 31, 2006 from liver disease at the age of 54 and I don't think she ever knew what a huge impact she had on a lot of us and what a huge fan base she really had/has.

A top release of the year, and if you can find it BUY IT!! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES 1976 (WARNER)

Excellent western directed by it's star, Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood is Josey Wales, a man trying to raise a wife and son after the Civil War. One day, out of nowhere comes a group of men called "red legs" who kill his wife and son and leave him for dead.

Wales joins another group hunting them down. The group gets most of the job done and then decides to quit since the war is long over and they accept a peace settlement from the US Government. All surrender except Josey Wales, who wants everyone associated with the murder of his family to pay.

Josey sees his friends killed in an ambush set up by the Union Army, and that sets him off. He rides into the camp an kills almost everyone. The news spreads fast and Josey is labeled a killer and has a huge price put on his head.

On his adventure Wales meets up with an Indian named Lone Watie (Chief Dan George) who joins him on his mission. It seems everywhere Wales goes, people end up dying since he has a price on his head.

"Wales eventually settles down with a rag tag group of people including a woman named Laura Lee (Sondra Locke), Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams), Grandma Sarah (Paula Trueman) and a few others. His past catches up to him and the final showdown takes place between the small group and the people looking to kill Wales.

This is an excellent example of a great western. Eastwood stars and also directed, which he shows he has considerable talent for both. The film has some great comedic moments between Eastwood and Chief Dan George and also contains some of the best action sequences ever in a western film.

A Highly Recommended gem.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Malcolm McDowell is 75, and Richard Thomas is 67.

DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS 1963 (ARTIFLIX)

This is another film I reviewed a few years ago.

I love this film and have never been able to understand why the rights holder has never allowed this to come out in a remastered version. Frm what I understand the rights holder has spent the last 5 years "working" on getting this remastered....lol.

This print isn't really that bad and it is the proper aspect ration. The story, as you all know centers around a meteor shower that blinds almost the entire world.

As if that isn't enough, man killing plants called Triffids are running loose as well. These are pretty cool looking monsters and have always been a favorite of mine.

Howard Keel is Bill Masen, one of the last people who can see and slowly he meets up with others who can see and they must all work together to fight for survival. There is also a sub plot about two people stranded on a small island. These scenes featuring Janette Scott and Kieron Moore were shot when it was discovered that the film as it was only ran 57 minutes.

There are many scenes in this little gem you'll never forget including the Triffids attacking en masse a home where Keel and many blind people are staying after it has been invaded by convicts, also the Triffids dissolving at the lighthouse.

This will always be a favorite of mine, and for some reason I doubt I will ever see a Blu-ray release of this film in my lifetime. It's a shame some of these rights holders are idiots, but then again what do I expect. However, enjoy this film if you get the chance, it's a true sci-fi classic.

RAMBLINGS....

Well, there is good news for horror fans, specifically fans of George A. Romero.

Legendary film maker George Romero had a HUGE impact on all of us and this past weekend at the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, PA a beautiful bust of Romero was placed in the mall.

It's about time, and below is a cool pic of it. Long Live the Romero legacy!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Adrienne Barbeau is 73, and Dawn Wildsmith is 55.

SCREAMING MIMI 1958 (SONY)

It has been about 30 years since I saw this obscure little gem.

This is one of the oddest films I have ever seen. It is a combination of film noir, horror suspense. Anita Ekberg is stunningly beautiful as always in her role as a woman named Virginia.

Virginia Wilson is attacked while taking a shower by an escaped mental patient. The man is shot and and killed by her half brother and Virginia is in a state of shock and sent to a mental hospital for rest.

Her doctor, named Greenwood (Harry Townes) becomes infatuated with her and begins to control her every move until she is completely under his control. She begins her life again as an exotic dancer named Yolanda Lang and Greenwood becomes Bill Green, her manager.

Things get complicated when Yolanda is attacked by a mysterious "ripper" that stabs her. A reporter, Bill Sweeney (Phillip Carey) investigates and finds a connection between Yolanda's attack and another earlier attack that killed a dancer named Lola Lane.

Slowly but surely Sweeney unravels the bizarre story. The directing chores on this film were handled by Gerd Oswald and one of the producers was none other than Harry Joe Brown, who handled all of the excellent Randolph Scott westerns of the 50's.

There are many highlights in this gem including the exotic dance Ekberg does in an extremely sexy outfit and in shackles and chains. Yes the dance numbers are something I will never forget and what can I possibly say about Ekberg. I have always loved the woman and it's easy to see why she ruled the screen in the 50's. Simply delicious. The title refers to a statue that plays a key role in the murders.

If you like film noir , horror or suspense films, you should really check this out. Oh, did I mention Anita Ekberg is in this? The rest of the cast includes Gypsy Rose Lee, The Red Norvo Trio and an uncredited Betsy Jones Moreland.

VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA 1960 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

Finally!! Another of my favorite films comes to Blu-ray.

I have had my bootleg DVD made from a recording on TCM for years, and now it has finally come to Blu thanks to Shout.

This fun little film centers around a group of beautiful female dancers who are staying in a small village. The problem is that the village is being plagued by bizarre deaths.

In the opening moments of the film a young woman working on a farm is victimized by a hideous bloodsucker and shortly after she dies. One day a couple of the dancers and a boyfriend of one of them stumble upon a castle said to be uninhabited. They run across a stunningly beautiful woman called Countess Alda (Maria Luisa Roland) and her servant Herman.

One of the women is attacked by the same vampire that attacked the farm girl and this starts the terror for all the young women in the dance troupe. The Countess and Herman are both hideous vampires seeking new blood.

The relationship between Herman and the Countess is a bizarre one indeed. Herman drinks the blood of young women then lets the Countess drink blood from him which in turn makes him a grotesque monster that the Countess shuns.

This is one of many vampire/dancer horror films made in Italy during the heyday of Italian horror. It's also the best in my opinion. The women are all extremely beautiful and built more like strippers than ballerinas, but who's complaining? The vampires are grotesque and the ending is pretty cool indeed as the bloodsuckers melt in sunlight.

The film looks great as the print was taken from the only surviving elements. Shout has done an excellent job bringing this forgotten gem to Blu-ray. The film comes with a choice of Italian language or English dubbed. Subtitles are also available as well as a great photo gallery.

Now, there is one extra on here that is probably one of the best I have ever seen. This point was brought up on another website review as well and I will also bring it up. The extra I am talking about is a 10 minute Super 8 version of the film from the long gone Ken Films Company. Young people today have no idea how good they have it when it comes to home entertainment.

This is a good look at how we from my generation used to have to enjoy classic horror. These films were available at K-Mart and I used to own hundreds of them. The films at first were silent and subtitled in either 3 or ten minute versions. Young "fanboys" always bitch and complain about every little thing and yet they have the best of everything. "Fanboys" have been spoiled and I even read a bunch of bitching about this title before it was even released!!

Anyway, it was a wonderful trip down memory lane watching this 10 minute version! I used to own the 3 minute version and thought it was so cool and it was years and years before I saw the film again on TNT's "Monster Vision" and recorded it. At last it has come to Blu-ray and is a contender for release of the year. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Elizabeth Hurley is 53, Andrew Stevens is 63, and Luciana Paluzzi is 81.

EVIL OF DRACULA 1974 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

The final film in the "Bloodthirsty Trilogy" from Arrow and the final feature from it's director.

Toshio Kurosawa stars as a teacher named Shiraki, who arrives at an all girls school to teach psychiatry. The principle who runs the school strikes Shiraki as bizarre when he tells him that his wife died in a car accident a few days ago and he is keeping her body in the cellar to see if she returns to life.

After a few terrifying incidents Shiraki meets three beautiful young women who attend the school. Before too long one of the is victimized by the vampire and her two roommates stay behind to tend to her after all the other girls have left for vacation.

The terror grows from there as Shiraki attempts to protect the girls and at the same time kill the vampire and his minions.

I enjoyed this film a hell of a lot. The story is well done, the atmosphere is dripping everywhere and the women are lovely as always. The film moves quickly and there are a few surprising scenes of nudity and graphic gore, but hey I'm not complaining.

The movies looks better than ever and if you get a chance to pick up the trilogy on Blu-ray do so. Yes, I know most people only know Toho for it's Godzilla films, but they made some great horror films. I can't help but feel however that Toho itself never really stood behind these films because of the kind of movies they were.

The director Michio Yamamoto spent the rest of his career doing TV work, and this was his last feature film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Marilyn Hanold is 80.

LAKE OF DRACULA 1971 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

Great movie making indeed.

This is another great effort by director Michio Yamamoto. Our story opens when a coffin is delivered to a small Japanese lakeside community and out of that coffin comes a dark evil.

A young doctor, Takashi Saeki (Choel Takahashi) suspects that several of the deaths in the small town have been because of a mythical vampire, but nobody believes him, except a young woman named Akiko Kashiwagi ( lovely Midori Fujita).

The vampires in the film as far as the females go are both sexy and alluring in a way that is keen in Japanese cinema...meaning the white faced ghost look with a lot of sex appeal thrown in, if that makes any sense.

The vampire who is responsible for the deaths is an interesting mixture of hammer films and eastern culture, which is what makes these films so damn good in the first place. Shin Kinshida does an excellent job as the bloodsucker. The print quality is excellent and the film is presented in it's original Japanese language with English subtitles.

A good basic plot and some well used simplicity makes this a winner from Arrow. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

James Darren is 82, Nancy Sinatra is 78, Ursula Buchfellner is 57, and Boz Scaggs is 78.

THE VAMPIRE DOLL 1970 (ARROW) BLU-RAY

I have waited a very, very long time to see this and the other two Japanese vampire films from Michio Yamamoto, and now thanks to Arrow I have beautiful prints of each film.

Toho did far more than Godzilla films and it's a shame that that is all American audiences are really familiar with. I love and crave Japanese cinema, and this film is a perfect example as to why.

A beautiful young woman named Keiko Sagawa (Kayo Matsuo) goes to search for her missing brother who has disappeared after going to an old house looking for his girlfriend Yuko.

Keiko and her friends find much more than they bargained for when they stay at Yuko's home and her mother tells them that Yuko is dead. During the night Keiko sees both Yuko and her boyfriend walking around like ghostly white images.

This sets up some excellent mystery and terror that only the Japanese can do. Yamamoto made three of these films and every one is an excellent example of horror. There are some images in here that once seen are not forgotten.

Toho didn't use many of there actors from Godzilla films and the likes to make these movies, but the acting is still very well done by a cast of people I am not familiar with except a couple. The "ghost girl" images in this film have long been a part of Japanese culture and Japanese horror films dating back to the 50's and maybe farther.

The most enjoyable thing about this and the films like it, is that is crosses cultural boundaries. Here there are no crosses and holy water to fend off the evil as in most western vampire and ghost films. The sets are magnificent and the cast really makes you believe what you're seeing.

My hat is off to the lovely Yukiko Kobayashi in her role as the dead Yuko. She does give one some chills. If you haven't ever seen this movie I recommend you get the "Bloodthirsty Trilogy" set and see an entire different world of Toho. Yes the giant monster movies are great, but these are just as good in a world all their own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED release and a good contender for release of the year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Tom Jones is 78, Pamela Susan Shoop is 70, Anna Kournikova is 37, Mick Foley is 53, and Gary Kent is 85.