Paul
Vegeta
Posts: 9,272
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Post by Paul on Apr 11, 2019 14:04:50 GMT -5
TIL Bruno Mattei made a cheap NoES ripoff in 89 or 90. Now gotta track down a copy of Night Killer. I'm surprised it isn't called Friday The 13th.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,467
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Apr 11, 2019 14:16:36 GMT -5
TIL Bruno Mattei made a cheap NoES ripoff in 89 or 90. Now gotta track down a copy of Night Killer. I'm surprised it isn't called Friday The 13th. In Italy Night Killer was marketed as a TCM sequel.
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Nr1Humanoid
Hank Scorpio
Is the #3 humanoid at best.
Posts: 5,511
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Post by Nr1Humanoid on Apr 12, 2019 17:48:03 GMT -5
The Midnight Hour 1985.
How have I never heard of this movie before? This was just plain fun. Highly illogical and absent any credibility but never boring for a single second.
If you like monsters there are plenty as the director is clearly a fan of 50's monster movies. A bunch of them and a bunch of teenagers even have an impromptu dance it would have taken weeks to rehearse.
The acting is great, with a wonderful mix of veteran and up and coming actors, the latter too old for their teen characters of course.
The girls get to be alluring and seductive without being over sexualized and the absence of gore does nothing to hurt the film. Of course, it is a TV movie.
The climactic action scenes are suspenseful and exiting without the need to be over the top.
Even the romance is moving.
I give it 4 denials of novocaine out of 5.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,467
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Apr 12, 2019 21:28:49 GMT -5
The Midnight Hour 1985. How have I never heard of this movie before? This was just plain fun. Highly illogical and absent any credibility but never boring for a single second. If you like monsters there are plenty as the director is clearly a fan of 50's monster movies. A bunch of them and a bunch of teenagers even have an impromptu dance it would have taken weeks to rehearse. The acting is great, with a wonderful mix of veteran and up and coming actors, the latter too old for their teen characters of course. The girls get to be alluring and seductive without being over sexualized and the absence of gore does nothing to hurt the film. Of course, it is a TV movie. The climactic action scenes are suspenseful and exiting without the need to be over the top. Even the romance is moving. I give it 4 denials of novocaine out of 5. Somehow I didn't see this until it hit DVD. Fun film.
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Post by DSR on Apr 15, 2019 16:32:35 GMT -5
Went to Steel City Con this past weekend and met Corey Feldman. He was very nice. I had him sign the bonus disc to the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise box set. (I'm saving FINAL CHAPTER in the hopes that I one day meet Crispin Glover).
The next Steel City Con is in August, and that one will have Sean Cunningham, Kane Hodder, and Kelly Hu. AND THEN the following weekend Kevin Bacon will be in town performing music as one half of The Bacon Brothers.
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,387
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Post by mystermystery on Apr 15, 2019 19:05:50 GMT -5
SHUDDER has been hosting the "Joe Bob Briggs Last Drive-In Show" series for three weeks now and I've seen:
C.H.U.D. -- Found it fun and fine despite the glaring budget issues including being unable to show the monsters much beyond hand shots.
Q: The Winged Serpent -- Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic use of a police procedural mixed with a monster movie.
and this week
Deathgasm -- A splatterfest of insanity that is a hodgepodge of other films with a New Zealand twist.
I've slept out on the second film every time so far because I am becoming an old man. But daggone, did I miss Joe Bob Briggs' style of presentation.
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Post by Jumpin' Jesse Walsh on Apr 16, 2019 10:07:13 GMT -5
My review of The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
The Town That Dreaded Sundown is an odd little addition to the early slasher canon. It’s got all the makings of a true crime chiller but everything from the aesthetic to the performances makes it feel more like The Dukes of Hazard. I will say it’s got more of a claim to the “based on a true story” thing than the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (though still factually dubious). But unlike TCM, it’s just not all that scary. Just a hard film to pin down, overall.
There are points where its true crime approach works pretty well. I do like the inclusion of a narrator and it makes me wish the film itself worked harder to look more realistic than it does. The extended scenes of violence are surprisingly effective. Unlike the films it influenced, there are no flash cuts or creepy background score. It instead prefers to give us a raw glimpse into the crimes. The murder of the couple on their prom night never once gives us time to catch our breath, meaning we have to watch their demise in slow, agonizing detail, culminating in an incredibly bizarre kill involving a trombone that needs to be seen to be believed.
Unfortunately, much of the film’s creep factor is undermined by spending an awful amount of time on portraying the town’s cops like idiots. Look, portraying law enforcement as unhelpful is obviously nothing new in horror movies, but the film loses a lot of its luster as a Serious Crime Drama when it suddenly shifts into buddy cop movie territory. As I stated earlier, the film could’ve benefited from a less polished look. TCM may feature over-the-top characters who willingly chew scenery and ham it up times a thousand, but it never losses sight of its gritty, documentary style that makes it seem like we’re watching something that actually happened. This film on the other hand doesn’t convince me. Even in its tenser moments, I feel like this all taking a place on a movie set where a director is standing by in the distance, ready to end the scene.
I’m sure there’s some people out there who would try to make the argument that this is a forgotten classic, but it’s really not. At its worst, it’s too slow and makes an ill-advised attempt at comedy. But, hey, at least it doesn’t leave us walking away empty-handed. You can see how later slashers were influenced by this. Jason Voorhees briefly adorned the killer’s look and it even got a shout-out in Scream. Not too shabby for a film that can’t decide what the hell it wants to be.
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Post by Jumpin' Jesse Walsh on Apr 20, 2019 22:43:47 GMT -5
My review of Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
Clocking in at only 62 minutes, Attack of the Giant Leeches doesn’t waste our time so therefore I won’t waste too much time in reviewing it. It’s not like there’s much to say about it, anyway. It’s got everything you could expect in a Roger Corman quickie, though perhaps not the most fun example. There are cheap-looking monsters partially made out of trash bags, a musical score taken from another low-budget film, a male lead who’s essentially a bootleg version of whichever dude who was ruling the box office at the time, etc. Check, check, and check.
I do find its whole take on backwoods life in the Everglades to be kinda hilarious, as everyone here who isn’t Ken Clark or Jan Shepard is either a hillbilly, scumbag, or some combination of both. Funnily enough, it rests its drawing power on Yvette Vickers, a minor celebrity at the time who posed nude in Playboy. As a result, the film is advertised in the same way 2005’s House of Wax would later be, which is “Watch horrific things happen to the hot blonde.” And it offers just that. Horrific things do happen to the hot blonde. Can’t say it doesn’t deliver what it promises.
And, of course, like virtually every ‘50s sci-fi horror film, they find a way to work in some commentary on Cold War tensions by speculating if the leeches are a product of radiation from Cape Canaveral. Speaking of the monsters, they’re a little hard to make out. Maybe it could just be blamed on poor photography or something, but I can’t figure out the full form of these creatures. It’s clearly some dudes under the trash bags and suction cups. That much I do know.
Anyway, this is pure B-movie stuff, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s kinda like a cheeseburger you’d get off the Dollar Menu at McDonald’s⎯nothing fancy, goes down quick, and even if it’s not the most satisfying thing you’ve ever had, you got your money’s worth.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,467
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on Apr 21, 2019 10:38:48 GMT -5
Thanks to the Last Drive In with Joe Bob I kinda want to stay home on Fridays now.
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Nr1Humanoid
Hank Scorpio
Is the #3 humanoid at best.
Posts: 5,511
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Post by Nr1Humanoid on Apr 27, 2019 17:46:56 GMT -5
Q The Winged Serpent. 1982.
Ah, yes, the glorious Larry Cohen strikes again. Providing top notch, low budget entertainment.
This film just can not lose in its casting with Michael Moriarty, Bill himself, David Carradine and the one and only Richard Roundtree. Moriarty especially give one hell of a performance, unlike anything I have seen from him before.
The photography of a lost New York is super nice to watch with lots of sweeping views you will not get to see anymore.
The stop motion is fantastic, except the humans and, though not as in much supply as I expected, the gory bits are pretty cool in all their cheezy glory.
It is definitely a man's picture, with poorly a developed love interest and a pair of breast that served no purpose beyond titliation.
I would say it is time for a remake but Roland Emmerich and his Godzilla story pretty much handled that already.
There really is nothing to complain about with this movie, a definite 5 hatching eggs out of 5.
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Post by DSR on Apr 29, 2019 11:55:02 GMT -5
THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD (1957) is a pretty standard issue sci-fi/monster film of the era, with its focus on white coated scientists and military men and a very dry opening narration. The story goes that an earthquake creates an opening in a long-unknown cave at the bottom of the Salton Sea, allowing a giant ancient mollusk-like creature to come to the surface and wreak havoc upon local swimmers. Naval Intelligence is on the case to try to stop this creature and any of its brethren from hatching from their eggs. The early portion of the film bears a few similarities with Spielberg's blockbuster JAWS, like young lovers going swimming only for the boy to disappear while the girl gets taken by the unseen monster, the local sheriff shutting down the beach only for somebody else to come along and argue with him, and the corpse of one of the monster's victims rising to the surface of the water reminds me of the famous head popping out and scaring Richard Dreyfuss. The film, as I mentioned, is pretty by-the-numbers. Our leads are all straight-laced and bland, but there's a few characters in the margins, like an operator who is always on the phone with her mother or a morgue attendant who keeps his lunch cool in the storage units normally reserved for cadavers. The early goings of the film have some tension as the monster is hinted at rather than seen, but we'll see him in full view before the halfway point, we'll get a long explanation of what's going on from a boring scientist, and the A plot will disappear for a bit so we can establish a romance between a Naval Captain and a secretary. The film's okay, but I'd rank it lower than THEM! or ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS.
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Post by DSR on May 3, 2019 21:19:04 GMT -5
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Post by DSR on May 9, 2019 10:03:42 GMT -5
On this date 39 years ago, the original FRIDAY THE 13TH debuted in movie theaters, introducing the world to Camp Crystal Lake, the vengeful Mrs. Voorhees, and her deformed son. CELEBRATE THIS IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM!
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Post by DSR on May 9, 2019 22:03:50 GMT -5
THE INCREDIBLE 2-HEADED TRANSPLANT (1970) - At the end of this past October, I watched and reviewed THE THING WITH TWO HEADS. That film is a racially-charged spiritual sequel to this film. Albert Cole (BAY BAY!) plays Manuel, a murderer and rapist who escapes a mental asylum. John Bloom plays Danny, an over 7' tall farmhand, strong as an ox but mentally handicapped as a result of an accident as a child. Bruce Dern plays Dr. Roger Girard, a gifted surgeon conducting head transplantation experiments on animals, but with the ultimate goal of providing new bodies to intelligent people with physical disabilities. Also on-hand are Pat Priest (the second Marilyn Munster) as Dr. Girard's wife and Casey Kasem as a colleague. Manuel's attack on the Girard household results in Manuel getting shot and Danny catatonic. Dr. Girard sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conduct a human trial of his research. Unfortunately, the result is that Manuel wakes up after the surgery with a brand new body capable of killing people with his bare hands. And Dr. Girard will make increasingly immoral decisions to keep his secret experiments from becoming public knowledge, even AFTER the two-headed man escapes and attacks people! Dern always has at least a slightly unhinged look in his eyes, which works well with his unscrupulous character. Cole plays an unrepentant sleazeball well. In addition to beautiful Pat Priest, there are other attractive women that suffer at the hands of Manuel. The film is a low-budget piece of schlock, but it's reasonably well-acted and a lot of fun, not unlike it's successor WITH TWO HEADS.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,467
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on May 10, 2019 0:23:43 GMT -5
Was busy all weekend and most of the week,so just saw that the newest Joe Bob's last drive in aired
WOLFCOP & HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER......
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,387
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Post by mystermystery on May 12, 2019 18:48:04 GMT -5
Did an audio review for Netflix's Blumhouse's Thriller. {Spoiler}I didn't like it that much.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,467
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on May 13, 2019 4:08:59 GMT -5
I got Shudder last month,so been trying to watch Joe Bob's Last Drive In show. 2 weeks ago he showed WOLFCOP and Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer. This past week was Contamination and A girl walks home at night. At the end of the newest episode Joe Bob mentioned that the new episode would be 2 very extreme horror films. Keep hearing he is showing Cannibal Ferox and Fulci's The Beyond!
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Post by DSR on May 15, 2019 21:13:35 GMT -5
Got an email today from Severin Films regarding the Blu-Ray release of NIGHT KILLER, the previously mentioned Italian NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET rip-off film, which was titled TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3 for some reason:
Some folks expressed interest in it, thought I'd give a heads up.
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Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,467
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Post by Ultimo Gallos on May 16, 2019 2:07:53 GMT -5
Thx.
Insomnia flared up last night. Watched Joe Bob's Last Drive In airing of Ti West's House of the Devil on Shudder.
Seen House a few times before. Really enjoy it and like how different it was from most of what was coming out at that time.
Joe Bob raved over and over about the soundtrack and other music and sound work.
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,387
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Post by mystermystery on May 19, 2019 0:12:02 GMT -5
Haven't posted in a while so here's some random thoughts:
Watched the Joe Bob's Last Drive-In presentation of THE STUFF last night. Larry Cohen was fantastic, y'all. That film is a weird little tromp of satire and good horror effects.
Saw the New Twilight Zone's episode "Not All Men" and enjoyed its Men's Only Purge nonsense.
The Shudder Exclusive THE RANGER is a decent throwback slasher film with a good Punk soundtrack if you're into that. Throws in a bit a weird in the third act but is overall okay for a one-time viewing.
DEADBIRDS is a fantastic Civil War based horror film that I really enjoyed. I wish Simon Barrett had more success because I think he's a talented writer.
Rewatched the original CLOVERFIELD. Still decent for a found footage movie. Not the best of that genre but a good representation.
ALL THAT WE DESTROY is one of the best Blumhouse INTO THE DARK presentations and has a real good "let your imagination fill in the blanks" quality to go with a really well told story. Good Sci-Fi developed horror.
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