GASPetc.com :: Gruesome Art, Shocking Persons, et cetera

Just when all hope was lost for horror films, along comes a film that was well crafted and expertly paced, 1408. For once here’s a supernatural horror film that is not a Japanese remake or rip-off and it doesn’t contain a creepy girl with wet hair trying to scare you. Even if this genre isn’t your cup of tea, there is enough in this film to at least keep you entertained.

Directed by Mikael Håfström, who’s only American release was 2005’s Derailed, which was a much overlooked thriller that blew me away when I finally sat down to watch it. 1408 was originally a short story written by Stephen King for the book Everything’s Eventual with the screenplay written by Matt Greenberg (Halloween H2O) and Scott Alexander (Ed Wood). From what I can remember of the story, I felt that the writers did a great job of sticking with the original story, which is always a problem with Stephen King adaptations.

The film follows the story of writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack), who writes books about at various “haunted” accommodations around the world. Mike has never actually seen a ghost, nor does he actually believe in them, much less is his belief in an afterlife or god. While going through his mail, he comes across a postcard for a hotel called the Dolphin where the words "Don’t stay in 1408" are scribbled on the back. Intrigued, Mike tries to make arrangements to stay in this room, but he is told the room is not available. Armed with a team of lawyers with one phone call, Mike arrives at the Dolphin, only to be met by the manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) and escorted to his office to deter Mike from staying in this room. It seems the room has a history of deaths and suicides that is staggering to which both parties trade horror stories between each other recounting specific details. Mike is insistent to which the manager replies that the room is “Fuckin’ evil” and he is told that most people only last an hour in there, but it usually has a horrifying ending and he doesn’t want to clean up the mess. Eventually the key is given to Mike and he is taken up to the 14th floor by Mr. Olin, but that’s as far as he gets to the room. Once inside, Mike is let down to see that the room isn’t outwardly scary at all, but soon enough Mike finds out that this is no ordinary room and that’s when the terror begins.

The pacing is what sets this film apart from most, the story is told in bits and pieces without being dragged out and boring. Samuel L. Jackson is minimal and doesn’t detract from the film at all. Most people know how I feel about John Cusack, but for those of you who don’t know, I love everything he does. I’ve likened John Cusack’s acting to a warm blanket, I often identify with the characters he plays and he’s very consistent in his characterizations, but that’s not why I like this film. I like this film because it’s not stupid, it plays with its audience as much as the room plays with its inhabitants. I wasn’t horrified by a long shot, but there were some great tense moments as well as some fine startle scares. This film used everything in its arsenal to scare you and still had more and I admired the film for actually trying to scare the crap out of me. The visual effect were amazing, the ghosts appeared sort of like a TV transmission, which reminded me a lot of the effects on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride and I felt it was an inventive way to present the apparitions.

This was a fun and entertaining film with enough twists and turns to keep the audience going. I was glad to finally see a good horror film after many many crappy ones. Take the time to check this one out, you won’t be disappointed.

Director Frank Hennenlotter's ability to make us feel the 42nd St. atmosphere in his first film Basket Case so strongly that you could almost smell the combination of piss and cigarette smoke (among other things) all around you. The Bradley Twins, Duane and Belial, fell to their apparent deaths from falling from the neon sign of the Hotel Broslin. Well, they seem to be alot stronger than we thought as the gruesome twosome have survived their ordeal and ready for another bloody rampage in Basket Case 2, released by Synapse.

After killing off the doctors and father who forced an impromptu surgery separating Belial from Duane's (Kevin Van Hentenryck) side and falling to their demise, Ruth Smoller "aka Granny Ruth" (Annie Ross) and her niece Susan (Heather Rattray) accommodate the twins in helping them not only heal, but also to make them as a part of their community. You see, Granny Ruth houses freaks that are much like Duane and Belial. While this is going on, a tabloid reporter Marcie (Kathryn Meisle) snoops around to find the twins who caused the massacre in Times Square. All hell breaks loose with an ending that you will remember.

Hennenlotter, while losing the feel of 42nd St. in this sequel, makes up for it with sheer insanity and inventiveness though nowhere near as gory. Belial is much bigger and stronger, and in a weird twist, makes him a sort of sex object! Very good performance by Van Hentenryck as he just wrings every drop of looniness out of his character.

The DVD presentation is 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital Sound. Extras include one rather short, but interesting and entertaining, featurette and an even shorter interview with David Emge who played "Half-Moon". The colors are vibrant with no grain.

Basket Case 2 is one worthy sequel, but only if you are a fan of the first. Shame that more couldn't have been done with the extras as I'd love to know more about the film and a little something with Van Hentenryck couldn't hurt.

When I received this assignment from my editor I thought, Blood Monkey. What a scary premise. Not! I looked at the cover and said, “Is that F. Murray Abraham?” Why yes it is! Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, it says so on the cover. Poor F. Murray Abraham, your career has certainly taken a downward spiral from winning the highest honor bestowed on film actors to starring in a B horror film. How sad. The DVD cover features a band of explorers; Abraham out front, arm outstretched and already overacting. There’s also this, what looks like a baboon in the upper left hand corner with blood-stained teeth and scary red eyes. I’m now thinking that I really will experience the dark side of nature, it says so on the cover. Oooh, it’s part of the “Maneater Series”, now I know I’m gonna have fun. Turning the box over, I see that they have stolen the tagline from Alien and just switched the word space for jungle and apparently no one can hear you scream there either. So, originality is not their strong point, but the film IS distributed by Genius Products, so the film has to be at least smart. So now I’m ready to watch this; I pop in the DVD, hunker down with food and beverage, and wait for cinematic magic to appear. A spooky opening before the menu with red silhouettes of the cast is disrupted by a bloody gorilla which attacks the screen. Wait, a gorilla? Gorillas are not monkeys, they’re apes. If the film is about a rogue gorilla it should be called Blood Ape instead, nice goin’ Genius. Isn’t there already a movie about rogue apes? Oh yea, it’s called Congo, please don’t let this be a Congo rip-off. Still, I press on and press play.

The movie opens with a bad actor running through the jungle obviously being chased by something. He reaches his cohort, they ready their selves, and something slams into a crudely constructed cage and it is quite pissed. Of course it is, when you see through its perspective, everything is orange, I’d be pissed too. More bad acting, bad radio transmission, Abraham overacting, and whatever it is escapes. It’s a gorilla and it attacks and kills this guy. Again I’m gonna mention that gorillas are APES, but this is a B movie, so what did I expect Academy Award winning material? Yes, at least from one actor.

The film cuts to an airport luggage terminal where an expedition of grad students are preparing for their journey, but the way that most of them act, they just seem like your typical stupid college kid. One is filming a documentary of their journey into the wild. Hmm, this looks familiar…oh it’s not Congo at all, it’s Blair Witch with apes, I mean, monkeys and since this film is coming from Genius products, they should know. Cut to Abraham trekking through the jungle to reach what’s left of a bamboo cage, a bamboo cage? Didn’t they have the money for a real cage? It’s a fuckin’ gorilla, I mean monkey, how is a bamboo cage gonna hold a pissed off gorilla? Monkey, sorry my bad. Back to the “grad students” and more of their stimulating documentary footage while loading the small plane that will take them to experience the dark side of nature. While watching this giant pile of shit that is trying to pass itself off as documentary footage, I’d like to mention to anyone who thought Blair Witch sucked, that they should watch this movie. Comparably the kids in Blair Witch should have won an Academy Award themselves. By the way, I already HATE these “grad students” and I can’t wait to watch them die, so I at least have something to look forward to while slogging through all of this crappy acting.

After about 10 minutes, which seems like 2 hours, of watching these douchebags trek through the jungle, I think to myself, it must be easy to just wander around the jungle and find where you’re going. These people don’t even consult maps, they don’t have a GPS, it seems like they just know where to go. They’re PSYCHIC grad students, awesome! Oh wait, they’re following a “track”, even though no one is paying attention to where they are going. Maybe, they’re following a TRAIL instead, but the smart moody guy just said track so that must be it. After all, they are geniuses. While sitting here begging for the end, which I know is at least an hour away, I realize that this is not a B movie, it’s a Z movie and I curse my editor cause I know that he’s sitting at home with a beer in hand saying; “What a sucker.” But I perk up, cause Abraham is launching into his big monologue, at least I think its his big monologue, but anything can happen in this next hour and I’m hoping that this film gets at least a little bit better. Then Abraham says something in his monologue that just makes me shudder, maybe it’s me but I don’t think these lines are a coincidence. He’s referring to the jungle that they’re in as being the last great frontier, and he says, “..where no human being has gone before..” and continues with, “These days, you have to look to the skies and beyond…” now I know that whoever wrote this is a trekkie and that he wrote this part for Shatner. Now that explains everything, but Shatner is too big for this part, so poor F. Murray Abraham is taking parts that William Shatner doesn’t want.

After about another endless 15 minutes, I start wishing that I had some booze or I still did hard drugs and had some cause then that would make this film worth watching. Just when I’m about to slip into a coma, Abraham launches into another monologue and I’m instantly entertained, but it’s short lived and I’m back into the mire that is this film. When are these assholes gonna die? No more walking through the jungle, no more contrived situations, no more scenes of them sitting by the campfire, just DIE!

Then Abraham comes out of his tent with what looks like a gorilla skull and no one knows what it is. They pass it around the campfire inspecting it like some strange artifact. A team of anthropologists, at least I think that’s what they are, can’t tell that this is a gorilla skull, a very big gorilla skull, but that’s what it is. Not a monkey, like one of the characters says but no one corrects him, but a gorilla which is an APE. Anyone can tell what it is by looking at this skull, except a bunch of grad students who are here to study apes, that’s what the synopsis on the back of the DVD says, APES, but the movie is called Blood Monkey. This is not a horror movie, it’s a horrible movie and it’s sucking the life right out of me. You know, there’s a lot of shots of makeshift toilets, people going inside them, and random shots of toilet paper and I think to myself that this is a metaphor for this whole movie, it’s a giant hunk of stinking shit. Even the gore in this flick sucks shit. By the time people start dying, I’ve already been so lulled into a coma that I just don’t care, I just want this whole thing to end so I can get my life back.

Just when I thought I was going to go through this whole movie without any entertainment at all, the douchiest guy is “accidentally” shot by Abraham’s unintelligible henchperson and all the guy can say is ouch, like he just got hit by a branch, not shot several times by a high-powered rifle. I had to press pause cause I was laughing so hard. Thankfully because of this I was brought out of my coma long enough to enjoy his death by this mysterious “missing link” that looks like a gorilla, but is definitely not a monkey. This movie is endless, it plods along like a 90 year old woman with a walker nimbly inching their way down an isle at the grocery store that you can’t get by no matter how hard you try. When you finally see the creature, it’s this terrible CGI type of thing that is just a weird version of a gorilla.

This era that we horror fans live in nowadays, you know...the 'torture porn' era, is really starting to grind my cubes. First off, the Saw series, despite what many have said, is not torture porn. Yes, there's torture, but the only nudity so far in the series was in Part II. Anyway, the whole fad is finally dying out, but not before (and possibly the reason) Roland Joffé treated horror fans with his effort in the genre known as Captivity released by Lion's Gate.

Popular Paris Hilton-like wannabe fashion model (complete with tiny dog!) Jennifer Tree (Elisha Cuthbert) finds herself kidnapped from a nightclub and taken to a house where she and fellow victim Gary (Daniel Gillies) are subjects to many psychological tortures. It seems that the protagonist knows everything about them, their lives and what scares them most.

Captivity has earned many negative viewpoints regarding 'torture porn'. Personally, I found no torture and no porn. The film is repugnant on many different levels and at times hard to watch. Immediately, you don't feel for Jennifer as her character is a Paris Hilton carbon copy. Right down to getting wasted at a nightclub. This is only griping on my part. The film is just no good. There's plenty of blood, but we aren't led into why all this is going on. The real shocker of this whole thing is that the story is written by horror "legend" Larry Cohen. He should just go back to making giant alligator films.

The DVD presentation is 2.35:1 widescreen with 6.1 DTS-ES audio. Extras include two featurettes and deleted scenes. Lion's Gate gave this a pretty decent treatment, but you can't shine a turd.

Let's hope Captivity puts and end to all this 'torture porn'. Noone likes it and noone wants it.

Instead of giving a film an introduction, I have decided to give this intro to the upstart company Wild Eye. This recently formed DVD distributor is passing along to the horror lover some extremely rare made for television films from throughout the 70's. These films are naturally presented in full frame, and thanks to them, these films have been given a new life on DVD. The first film to be reviewed for this company is a little flick called Crawlspace (not to be confused with the 1986 Klaus Kinski film) and directed by John Newland.

Albert and Alice Graves (Arthur Kennedy and Teresa Wright) are a caring couple who care a bit too much as they allow a young homeless man named Richard Atlec (Tom Happer) to take refuge in their basement. For months, they feed him in the crawlspace that he stays in and worry about his every need all the while taking care of any chores that might be needing taking care of. Albert and Alice feel that they now have the boy they never had the chance to have. But the man has a suspicious history that they and the town starts to learn over time.

While the idea of an old couple actually taking in a homeless person, I would think especially during the hippie movement, that something like this wouldn't happen. But I guess there has to be a story somewhere in all this (story is adapted from a novel by Herbert Lieberman). Anyway, as hard to believe as the story appears to be, the performances are honest and real. Happer as Richard, for some reason to me, looks as if his role was the toughest to perform. He handled it in stride and put out the best performance of the film. This is more of a slight thriller than an all out horror film. The scares are of the barest of minimum, but for 1972 television, networks probably didn't want anything to get too serious. This is an enjoyable, if not slightly long to get the story going, film.

Give props to Wild Eye DVD for hunting this and other films like this (more to come I'm sure) down. A great deal of new distributors always want to break though releasing films that destroy barriers. This one is going in a different direction with made for television horror thrillers from the 70's. A nice addition. Crawlspace is a nice, though not overpowering start. Hopefully, this will work out in the long run.

Published in 1981, Stephen King told a story about a dog, a rabid St. Bernard to be precise, that terrorizes a mother and young son in a broken down car. As with all of King's work, Cujo became a bestseller. Big Surprise, huh? Anyway, Lewis Teague, who graced the horror fans with his decently made Alligator, helmed another animal going nuts film. That's why he, along with distribution by Lion's Gate, has re-issued Cujo in a 25 Anniversary Edition package.

While Vic Trenton (Daniel Hugh-Kelly) is away on some emergency business concerning his creation for advertising a kid's cereal he has an account with, cheating wife Donna (Dee Wallace) and their young boy Tad (Danny Pintauro) head to drop off their dying car to the town helping hand mechanic Joe Camber (the always intriguing Ed Lauter). Mr. Camber is the owner of Cujo - A big, fat St. Bernard who unbeknownst to everyone, has been bitten by a bat while chasing around a rabbit in a pre-credit sequence. As the car finally dies for good, and unaware that the Camber's have left for vacation, Cujo makes his appearance terrorizing Donna and Tad for days.

The most fearful thing about this film is that this can actually happen at any time and in any place. This is King's first story that had nothing to do with any kind of supernatural plot at all. That's what makes it more frightening. At times the camera angles Teague uses trick the viewer from what could be a POV shot and turn it into something else. The intensity is always high and unrelenting as Cujo almost appears to have radar whenever Donna tries to make the slightest move. Also, the film is highly claustrophobic. The car they're in is a compact, so with the amount of room after a while can seem stifling. The performances are solid all around with a special nod to Pintauro in his pre-Who's the Boss days for gutting out what could've broken down another child actor for sure.

The DVD presentation is 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Monaural Sound. Extras have bite too! A commentary and featurette fills out the DVD nicely. Though Teague does repeat himself in both features. Guess he just wanted to get his point across.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Cujo is the best King adaptation. And now with this Anniversary Edition, its going to take a hell of alot to change my mind. Worth your money!

In 1973, director Jeannot Szwarc created a film to capitalize on the success of the Roman Polanski classic Rosemary's Baby called The Devil's Daughter released by Wild Eye.

A young woman named Diane Shaw (Belinda Montgomery) meets a friend, Lilith Malone (Shelley Winters) of her recently deceased mother with the notion of helping her getting back on her feet. However Lilith, her chauffeur Mr. Howard (Jonathan Frid), and many others try to convince her that her dead mother made a pact with the devil, therefore becoming "the devil's daughter".

The performance by Winters is quite powerful from time to time and Montgomery as Diane zig-zags alot in her character. When realizing she is the daughter of the devil, she, after a night of screaming and crying, is remarkably calm and happy as if nothing happened. And when she confronts the situation, she does so very matter-of-factly. Sadly, Frid's character of Mr. Howard is stymied with him being a mute. Too bad for all those Dark Shadows fans out there. This being said, the film holds up well with some interesting lighting and early 70's film stock. Not to give away too much, the ending does deliver a jolt during a time when downbeat endings are scarce.

The DVD presentation is fullscreen and the sound could be better. The static is greatly heard in certain moments and the print is pretty bad. But considering this is a TV film from 1973 from a new distributor, well, I guess you could happy with it.

The Devil's Daughter is a surprisingly good and effective little horror film with a nice little chill at the end. Just accept it for what it is.

Raviv “Ricky” Ullman (Phil of the Future) plays David, a troubled teenager who’s brother just died. David’s parents, expertly played by Mark McClure (Jimmy Olsen in Superman ’78) and Lin Shaye (Magda in There’s Something About Mary), can’t handle David’s reckless behavior so they ship him off to Driftwood an “Attitude Adjustment Camp” for wayward boys. Diamond Dallas Page (Devil’s Rejects) plays Captain Kennedy the sadistic madman who owns and runs Driftwood with an iron fist. David soon learns a hard lesson about keeping his mouth shut and what is expected of him. He is housed with the Level 1 group, who happen to have the Captain’s apprentice, Yates (Talan Torriero from Laguna Beach). David is haunted by the spirit of a Jonathan (Connor Ross) who supposedly died while trying to escape. David realizes that the only way out for him is to find out what really happened to Jonathan.

Director Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs) does an amazing job of creating an interesting story in a very different kind of movie for him. Tim wanted to tell the story of the horrible things that happen behind the walls of these “camps” because a childhood friend of his was shipped off without warning to have his attitude adjusted. His friend made it out, but was changed forever. This was a story that Tim felt very passionate about and he knew it needed to be told.

Shot in 15 days, this film has many great performances, excellent camera work, and superb editing. Some of the “teens” were cartoonish caricatures of urban thugs, but I felt that if they were given more time, they would have hit the nail on the head. What they got was a really great independent film that is miles away from the comedy of 2001 Maniacs. The special effect for Johnathan’s face was quite creepy and well done thanks to the work of Vincent Guastini, who worked on such flicks as Dogma, Hannibal, Thinner, and Requiem for a Dream. The ghostly scenes were well shot and just creepy enough to make you see Jonathan around every corner, later that evening when you’re all alone.

I really enjoyed this film immensely and it was a lot better than I expected. I expected one of two things: a low budget hokey storyline or a brutal bloodbath that was barely watchable. Not that I don’t enjoy Tim Sullivan’s work, I just didn’t know what kind of movie this would turn out to be. Look beyond some of the acting and you’ll get to the meat of a great storyline that keeps you going straight to the end. Diamond Dallas Page was amazing in this film. He took to the role of the Captain with ease and really proved that he is much more than a wrestler, but a true actor. My wife wanted to watch this film because of Ricky Ullman, who is billed as Raviv to distance himself from his Disney persona. We both came away with rave reviews and I thought she was going to hate the whole thing. This is a definite rental and a viewing that you won’t regret. There are some excellent extras on the DVD as well that are worth a look-see. Heck, just buy the movie, it’ll be a classic down the road, cause I see great things coming from Tim Sullivan in the future. Well done!

Damn you Anchor Bay!!! Those in the horror community know very well how Anchor Bay milks and milks us for every penny by re-re-re-re-re-releasing their most popular titles. You just wanna wring their necks! I mean, how many times can a copy of Halloween be redistributed. So a few extras get added and another $15 gets sucked out of our wallets. With that said, here is yet another release of The Evil Dead. But this is The Ultimate Edition. Is purchasing this version the one you will want for good? Let's see.

I am not going to get into what the film is about. We all know by now. So let's get to the newly added goodies.

Disc One- Anamorphic widescreen presentation with featurette One by One We Will Take You: The Untold Saga of The Evil Dead. Outstanding look into the creation of The Evil Dead with the female cast and crew. Insightful and informative.

Disc Two- Full frame presentation with The Evil Dead: Treasures from the Cutting Room Floor. You knew it had to be out there somewhere and AB has given us a full 59 minutes of discarded footage and deleted scenes presented in cinematic order of The Evil Dead. The real meat is right here and breathtaking look behind the scenes of the film!

Disc Three- Ladies of The Evil Dead. This disc is dedicated to Linda, Shelley, and Cheryl in several different featurettes. Raimi's main whipping boy Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Tom Sullivan, and the ever unlocatable Hal Delrich all make appearances in these are liven up the party. I found myself literally laughing out loud watching these featurettes as all are creatively funny. As well, the other features from The Book of the Dead version have been transferred onto this disc.

Now for the bad news. The presentation of this film is not a very good transfer. The images are quite dark and a substantial difference from previous editions. This is a real shame. If you are like me, keep whatever edition you have and just enjoy the extras.

With that said, the extras in this set are worth their weight in gold. That is, until the next edition that will come out. The transfers of the film is really depressing. Just a shame that a set this good (and good looking) has a lackluster transfer. Also, another shame is we had to go through a dozen different editions to finally get what we should've gotten years ago. You'll hate yourself getting this, but you'll be thankful you did.

FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: OUTBREAK ON A PLANE
2007 ~ Director: Scott Thomas

Zombies, fast or slow, are running amok through cinemas over the past few years and there seems to be no signs of slowing down. I am not complaining one bit. I love zombies! Any true card carrying horror fan should be able to say they like at least 5 zombies flicks, whether good or bad. And there's plenty to choose from! From the colossal Night of the Living Dead in 1968 to the dreadful 28 Weeks Later in 2007. 2007 brought another zombie flick, though direct-to-video, with director Scott Thomas' Flight of the Living Dead and released by New Line Entertainment.

Dr. Bennett (Erick Avari) is a scientist who needs to transport special cargo to escape the CIA via a commercial airliner. Soon, things go from touch-and-go to downright mayhem when the cargo, which contains a contaminated body, reanimates and begins a hellride of terror when zombies start to devour the passengers and crew. And with the plane 30,000 ft. in the air during a hellacious storm, mankind hangs in the balance!

This film hits many marks on the nose. First off, you'll notice that there really is no star of the film. Everyone has an equal part in this film and their importance in the storyline. That's a comforting feeling knowing you'll never know who is going to make it out alive. Secondly, the FX are full of zazz. Gory, splashy bullet hits and intense audio that deserves to be played through your sound system for the full effect. Also the lighting is nice done and the editing is slick. Some of the performances are good, in particular Frank (Kevin O'Connor) as a convict whose smart assed comments toward his captor Truman (David Chisum) are refreshingly funny.

Now for the bad news. While the FX are good, the CGI looks like it was created through Mario Paint. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but not by much. Even the goddamn bullet hits are CGI! What the hell? Also, some of the characters are completely non-sensical. There's a golf player named "Long Shot" (Derek Webster) who is on the plane with his putter. Good luck getting that thing with you on any airline. But I guess the director thought it would be a good idea to give him some sort of weapon. Then there is a nun who doesn't move at all! Also, the zombies seem to have gained a power advantage by breaking through the plane floor with their bare hands with little to no effort. Since when does a zombie die when getting shot in the balls? Aiming for the wrong head dude!

The DVD is presented 1.85:1 widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Extras include 2 commentaries, gag reel, and trailers.

This all sounds like a mixed bag. You might be able to forgive its shortcomings with its moments of coming through and visa versa. This is an enjoyable film for what it is. You can do worse....but you can to better.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this movie and I loved it. Made for only $24,000 and shot over a period of 6 years, this film delivers in many ways that big budget pictures can not and many times doesn’t even look like a low budget picture.

The story of an Asian assassin, Frank Ng (Dharma Lim), who unknowingly takes a job that he could not possibly finish alone, killing the leader of vampires that inhabit the underground of Chinatown. This leader being so impressed by Frank and instead of killing him decides to curse Frank by killing everyone who ever comes in contact with him. Frank teams up with a ragtag group led by Uncle Ping (Ben Wang), the best character in the whole movie, and they seek out the vampire’s lair in hopes to destroy the leader and save themselves from being killed because of Frank’s curse.

Beautifully shot, although some scenes were a little too dark and very well written, I was thoroughly entertained. Great gore and awesome action kept the story driven and fast paced. Look for a scene with our very own Bruce Millet as Jenkins the hitman.

While still looking for a distributor, you can read about the films progress by visiting http://www.godofvampires.com. I can highly recommend this movie to any horror fan, I was personally blown away by every aspect of this movie and when you realize how long it took to shoot, that drives the point even more that this film is better than any horror offering Hollywood has put out in many years. Support independent film, see God Of Vampires any way you can.

In 2005, writer/director James Gunn surprised horror faithful with a fine homage to the slimy horror films of the 1980's with a little film called Slither. The film had high marks for nailing moments in just the right areas to give us a fond remembrance of a time that has sadly passed us by. Thought we'd never see it again, that is, until director Adam Green (a local around these parts) hooks up with his love of 80's horror in the form of Hatchet, thanks to Anchor Bay.

Set in New Orleans, twenty-something Ben (Joel David Moore) along with friend Marcus (Deon Richmond) leave the Mardi Gras and set sail on a tour boat of the haunted swamps. They, along with and older couple, a videographer with 2 young ladies showing off their hot bods, and a loner, come across the soon-thought-to-be abandoned home of serial killer Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). As the tour guide has stranded their tour boat on a reef, they crew must find their way back to civilization. However, the group finds themselves dying extremely violent deaths one by bloody one. Is it Crowley or someone's idea of a sick joke? Either way, one of the guests is ready to take care of whoever killed her brother and father.

Green has taken an idea and stretched it out to lengths that while has been done before, also looks refreshingly new and exciting. What's really unbelievable is that, for the most part, you actually care about the characters. Not because they last long enough where you can understand their character, but because they are human. They react the same way one would react in certain situations and not someone who looks like they're reading from a script to keep the dialogue funny in the most terrifying moments. The dialogue can be funny at times, but the fear Green introduces us to outweighs it. The gore FX are really kick ass and there is one death scene in that has now ranked in my personal Top 5 of all time (you'll know it when you see it). Green's love of 80's (not just in horror) definitely shows in the casting. John Buechler, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Robert Englund, and even Deon Richmond (Kenny from The Cosby Show) all are in this as well as Joshua Leonard and Mercedes McNab backing up the 90's horror area. The performances throughout is even though appearances by Todd and Englund are a bit short. Just to have these guys in this is an accomplishment enough.

Not to give away too much, though it shouldn't come as a shock if you're watching an homage to 80's horror, the director has made no bones about it. There will be a Hatchet 2. Despite that fact, I kinda wish that he gave the ending with a bit more of a punch. The ending was a bit of a hanger-on.

DVD presentation is widescreen 1.78:1 with Dolby Surround 5.1. Extras are big with an audio commentary, making of, featurettes, gag reel, and a trailer. The blacks are sharp and the reds are vibrant. No grain and just beautifully shot.

Next to Neil Marshall, Adam Green is the freshest breath of air for the horror genre. He does love the genre and it clearly shows. Mr. Green has done extremely well with his sophomore effort. One can only guess what he comes up with next!

Clive Barker is a true master of horror. His Books of Blood and drawings are straight out of a maniac. His look of horror is quite original that can rightfully sit along other visionaries like Kubrick, Hitchcock, Lynch, and Argento. But Barker also tackles directing. While, in my own personal opinion, he isn't as accomplished, he did bring forth his own creation (novel of The Hellbound Heart) to bloody life with Hellraiser in 1987. And now, 20 years later, Anchor Bay has re-issued a 20th Anniversary Edition.

Larry Cotton (Andrew Robinson) and new wife Julia (Clare Higgins) move into a new house along with Larry's daughter Kirsty (Ashley Lawrence). At some point earlier in Julia's life, she meets up with Larry's brother Frank. A man who loves pain with pleasure and seduces Julia. Frank also has a mysterious box which gives him all the pain and pleasure he desires and meets with The Cenobites. Creatures who place whoever solves the box to hell...never to return. Frank somehow escapes them and comes back to life through an accident Larry had moving into his new house. Skinless and in need of blood to make him whole again, Frank coerces Julia in doing his bidding so he could be with her again. All hell breaks loose when Kirsty is thought to be opened by The Cenobites.

The film has garnered quite the following and its easy to see why. The visuals that Barkers lays on us are some of the most original (for its time) ever in a horror film. Its a complex horror upon first viewing. It's too bad the film has been somewhat watered down thanks to needless sequels. Forget about those and concentrate on the original. Possibly the ultimate in masochistic horror and also made Pinhead (voraciously played by Doug Bradley) a household name in the horror community.

The DVD presents us with an Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound. Brand new extras include 3 featurettes with actors and composer. Also carried over from previous releases include audio commentary, trailers, TV spots, storyboards, still gallery, and DVD-ROM's.

This is the ultimate release of Hellraiser and I think even Anchor Bay will be hard pressed to enhance on this version. A must have for any horror fan!

I am not the biggest Eli Roth fan. I find him pretentious and a man who really buys into his own bullshit. He's smug and thinks he's better than any of the other new hot shot directors (him and Rob Zombie). Difference is that Zombie can put out a decent film. Roth has yet to do that, in my opinion. Though I will admit that his second film Hostel, was much better than his first, Cabin Fever, by leaps and bounds, it is still a piece of shit. Roth went back behind the camera to film Hostel Part II for Lion's Gate.

Three American women, Beth (Lauren German), Lorna (Heather Mattarazzo), and Whitney (Bijou Phillips), befriend Axelle (Vera Jordanova), a beautiful model they were drawing, on a train through Rome. She invites them to a party where certain people associated with the Hostel.... a murder-for-profit business where our three ladies become the victims to high paying American businessmen who need a little excitement in their lives.

Now you might think that this film is a carbon copy of the first film. You'd be right. But this one is not only made better, the dialogue works, and you actually feel for the characters (particularly Lorna). Roth has both his hands in this one and it shows. The gore quotient is outrageously high and could be the bloodiest film ever to get a wide release. The "Countess Bathory" scene is not only original, but also cringe-worthy. It will make your skin crawl. Plus, look for the awesome Ruggero Deodato and Edwige Fenech cameos!

The presentation is Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound. The extras are plentiful with three (!) commentaries, deleted scenes, three featurettes, an International Television Special, gag reel, and a radio interview with Roth.

My opinion hasn't changed on a personality level. He's still a douchebag. But he is getting better as a director and Hostel Part II is his best film yet. I'm glad because I was about to give up on the guy. I guess there is hope for the world after all.

From the people that brought you the incredibly stupid Blood Monkey, comes a terrifying vision for boredom, In The Spider’s Web. As part of the “Maneater Series”, this film tells the tale of a group of backpackers, one of which is bitten by a spider and is taken to a village where someone could “save” her. Little did they know they would stumble blindly through the dullest movie I’ve seen since Brokeback Mountain. Lance Henrisksen couldn’t even save this movie, he plays Dr. Lecorpus, a strange man with a serious thing for spiders.

I figured when I started watching this essay of banality that this film would eventually turn out to be a story of the evil doctor who is creating some weird human-spider type thing, but I was wrong. Instead he’s using spider venom to induce a comatose state so he can steal their organs and sell them on the black market. WHAT? Where did this story come from? Why use spiders? Also there’s this guy that runs around with a bad spider’s web over his face that is supposed to be Henrisksen’s brother and that storyline goes nowhere. I would have thought that the doctor was trying to help his brother in some way, but there is no explanation of why this character exists in the first place. When they finally reveal his face at the end, you would expect some sort of spider head on the guy and that wasn’t it at all. This movie made no sense and was another waste of my time, although I did fall asleep three times only to realize I didn’t miss anything.

The words to describe this movie are: arid, dull, drab, boring, lifeless, tedious, exhausting, monotonous, flat, vapid, stale, bland, vacant, stupid drudgery. In the press release they make this movie sound like it’s incredible. To quote the release: “…a battle of man-against-man and man-against-nature that few will survive.” The only thing that won’t survive is your ability to stay awake. Watching snails fuck is more exciting than this movie and it takes less time as well. I beg you to stay away from this piece of crap because it will just over an hour and a half of your life away that you won’t ever get back.

Set in the rural Appalachian community of Mount Raven, Georgia... presided over by Sheriff Grady (Gary Busey) we find this almost Sci-Fi channel like thriller. Thats right, the mountains, Gary Busey... and a six-hundred pound, 12-foot long Bengal tiger. People in town start being reported missing and against normal procedure Grady is on the hunt. Bodies... well, body parts start showing up and after a few kills they find out what the predator is. I don't want to give away too much but throw in the storyline of Jaws here, replace shark with tiger and you have 60% of the movie. Also, there is a sub-plot with some religions backwoods family who think its a religious omen and try to help it.

Bottom line, I've seen much worse... but I've also seen much better. If you like movies like Jaws, Alligator, Lake Placid, and other movies like this you might get a kick out of the movie. Or if you want to see what Gary Busey has been up to give it a shot.

There aren't a lot of shots of the tiger itself which is fine... but it seems like every new scene has a couple body parts left over after a fresh kill (must be the hungriest tiger EVER!!!).

Blasphemy, that's what it is! Pure, unadulterated blasphemy! How dare today 'cinema' not only green light a remake of House on Haunted Hill, but a sequel as well? I guess money makes the world go around. It is things like this that makes my head go around. Why mess with an undeniable classic such as House on Haunted Hill with a senseless sequel that everyone knows isn't going to cash in? Well, director Victor Garcia and Warner Brothers think so with the film Return to House on Haunted Hill.

An ancient idol has been searched for by college professor Dr. Richard Hammer (Steven Pacey) for many, many years. Thing is that the idol has been housed in an asylum where the spirits of the past have stayed and haunted. Enter Ariel Wolfe (Amanda Righetti), whose sister was murdered by Demond (Erik Palladino) and his gang of thugs for not releasing information about the idol. Desmond stands to make a good chunk o' change for it. Ariel, her boyfriend Paul (Tom Riley), and the professor are trapped inside the house with said thugs when it goes to automatic lockdown. The spirits are the cause of Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt (Jeffery Combs), who basically tortured his patients. And everyone is dispatched in very violent methods.

Simply said, the film sucks worse than a $3 whore with meth mouth. The characters are poorly executed and the storyline has way too many plot holes. Even the presence of the gorgeous Cerina Vincent and the amazing Jeffery Combs can't save this one. The gore FX, despite the use of some bad CGI, are very splashy and gory. The death scenes are interesting (probably next to the Final Destination franchise for originality) Pure gorehounds will love it, but those looking for horror will find themselves quite empty handed as any tense moments are shot down by music video-style editing. With that, it just looks lame. You'll be thankful that this dreck lasts only 81 minutes.

The DVD presentation is widescreen with Dolby Digital Sound. The extras include a confessionals gallery, deleted scenes, a featurette, and a Mushroomhead video.

Enough is enough. This is just a bad flick and these need to be stopped fast. Films like this give horror a bad name. Cerina Vincent doesn't even get naked. And isn't that more than enough reason to see any film she's in (except Cabin Fever). Pass.

For those who don't really know the story, Stephen King was never really a fan of Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his novel The Shining. He always claimed it to be a "Rolls Royce with without a big engine". If history has taught us anything, its that King adaptations are always met with a half/half in popularity. While King doesn't like it, there are many horror freaks who consider it not only the best horror film adaptation, but Kubrick's best work as well. I wonder how King feels about the re-issue of one of his own greatest stories, The Shining, courtesy of Warner Brothers in a 2 DVD set.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a former teacher turned writer, has been accepted to look after the winter months at the Overlook Hotel along with his wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd). Some time after getting settled, Jack starts suffering from some serious cabin fever whilst Danny is overcome by the history of Room 237 and Wendy is losing all control of everything. Danny has a very special power known the Overlook's head chef Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), who also has it. With this power they are capable to transfer thoughts by using their minds. Hallucinations of twins girls and bartenders by Danny and Jack just exasperate the situation till Jack completely loses his mind with a violent rampage.

Personally, I feel The Shining has gotten somewhat of a raw deal over the years. It's one of the more atmospheric films released by Hollywood and while it doesn't strictly adhere to the book, this is a great little fright story. Forget about the TV remake made about 11 years ago. Nicholson makes the film absolutely riveting! His performance is insane and memorable. Hell, I even have a "Heeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" tattoo on my back! But there are solid performances all around. The Overlook itself, however, is the real star of the film. Amazing that the film was shot on a set rather than in an actual hotel.

The DVD presentation is quite good as it has 1.85:1 ratio with Dolby Digital Sound. The extras are the true selling point with a commentary, 3 featurettes, Vivian Kubrick's making of documentary (a carry over from the first release), and a trailer. All of this sounds really cool, and while Nicholson is in a featurette (!), he talks more about Kubrick than he does about the film. Maybe because he is finally mellowing with age and doesn't want to talk about the hyper side of his acting abilities. The same can be said for the audio commentary. The duo speak more of Kubrick (which, I might add, isn't not a bad thing at all) than they do about the film itself. There's enough books and biographies on Kubrick, but let's talk about the film!

Warner Bros. put together a nice package and should be commended by giving it a widescreen transfer. And the extras are cool enough for you to sit through them, but you'll find yourself asking, "Is that all?" at times.

We have...
* Dr.Arcane, an evil scientist/industrialist obsessed with genetic engineering, super weapons, and destroying Swamp Thing.

* Swamp Thing, a one time scientist that survived a lab "accident" and was mutated into the Swamp Thing.
* Jim Kipp, who had a troubled childhood in Philadelphia. When he moves to the swamp, he is the first to befriend Swamp Thing. He also quickly runs foul of Arcane.

* Will Kipp, who is Jim's half brother. He comes to Houma upon Jim's disappearance, after a plea from Jim for him to come and help. He also had a troubled background in Philadelphia. Shortly after he arrives he also befriends Swamp thing.

This is the First 22 Episodes as they were intended. When an attempt on Dr. Alec Holland's life leaves him consumed by deadly chemicals and fire, the swamps of Louisiana transform him into a superhuman creature known as Swamp Thing. Based on the legendary DC Comics character and starring Dick Durock, reprising his title role from the popular Swamp Thing feature films. The Series follows the creature that was once a man and his quest to regain his humanity, ridding the swamp of evildoers along the way. Beware the wrath of Swamp Thing!

I actually really Like the series. I loved the comic as a kid and have good memories of the movie as well. Its not perfect... and is pretty cheesy at times but what else could honestly be expected?? I won't get too involved because I think if you are interested in this series you will want to buy it regardless. The series is good, and for 1990-1993 the series came out pretty rad. The fx are decent and the acting is pretty good. maybe the one lacking element is the fighting between Swamp Thing and the mutants or henchmen. I would guess that suit wasn't very easy to move around in never mind fight in. I'd say if you think you want to see this go for it... but keep in mind, I am also a Swamp Thing fan so I might be a little biased.

Mutants, super powers, evil geniuses, half naked girls, cheesy lines... its a hell of a lot of fun. Two seasons worth!

Tales from the Crypt, through its past history, has brought us so much glorious gore and fright that sooner or later it had to come to an end. And that is where we are at now. Thanks to Warner Bros., we have sadly hit the end of the road with Tales from the Crypt Season 7.

As usual, the 13 stories are good and the gore is plentiful. Standout episodes are Horror in the Night, Kidnapper, Report from the Grave, and Ear Today...Gone Tomorrow. There's even a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig in Smoke Wrings. TFTC ends their run with a very good season and is the best since Season 3.

As usual, The Cryptkeeper lays us out with his onslaught"er" of bad puns and jokes. But you just gotta love it! TFTC would have been what it was without him and was the anchor of the series.

Unfortunately, the thing that brings down the rating on this set is what plagued previous sets; that being the extras. Here there is a virtual comic book. Oh well, at least we have the episodes, right?

Like I said, this is their best season in a while, so I suppose it all evens out in the end. Just wish there was more.

Rod Serling, the mastermind behind The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, made science fiction, horror, and fantasy available to viewers each week from 1959-1964. Always ending with a twist reminiscent of a story from Tales from the Crypt, Serling's ability to scare and shock viewers came second nature to him. And the stark B&W photography played an immense part of the overall ambience of the show, giving it that uber-creepy feeling of eeriness. Then in 1983, four directors joined together to make an anthology. Four directors-four stories based on the Twilight Zone. Title? Twilight Zone: The Movie of course. And finally, though courtesy of Warner Bros., this much troubled film comes to DVD. But is it worth the wait?

The first segment, directed by John Landis, is the most controversial of the bunch, not to mention the only original story in the film. Involving a fiercely bigoted man named Bill Connor (Vic Morrow) who feels that he isn't getting what he deserves in America because he is an American. When leaving a bar after bitching to his friends about how much minorities have it better than him, he finds himself stuck in Nazi Germany, the South, and Vietnam, then finds himself treated like the minorities he so despises. A truly terrifying ordeal that noone should be subjected to. Chilling and frightening for all the right reasons....and for the wrong reasons as well. During filming, Morrow and two children were instantly killed when a helicopter stunt crashed into them and turning the copter as a human cuisinart; decapitating Morrow and one child and crushing another. Footage can be found on youtube if you care to search for it. Landis was charged with manslaughter and sued $200 million. Landis was acquitted of all charges.

The econd segment, directed by Steven Spielberg, gives us aging Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers) as a new resident of a retirement home who gives some of its residents the ability to become young again with a magical game of Kick the Can. The story is oversweetened with little kids as they try to understand what to do now that they are young. Obviously Spielberg has no understanding of what the true meaning of what TZ really stood for. Too cute for its own good.

The third Segment, directed by Joe Dante, involves a school teacher Helen Foley (Kathleen Quinlan) tricked by young boy Anthony (Jeremy Licht) to take him home. Anthony's "family" takes very good care of him for he has very special powers to do or have whatever he wants. Fueled with good performances by Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) and the always excellent Kevin McCarthy, this segment has its moments and not-so-subtle references to Tex Avery. Good, but not great - better than the dreck that Spielberg put out. Look out for Bill Mumy. He is the original kid in the original story as a patron in a diner!

The fourth segment, directed by George Miller, is by far the best. John Valentine (fantastically portrayed by John Lithgow) is a writer who is a sweat-drenched passenger on a plane in the middle of a horrible storm. During the flight, Valentine looks out the window and sees someone...or something hacking away at the engine on the plane's wing. Hysterical and causing serious panic, he does anything and everything to prove that there is trouble afoot. I have often said that Lithgow's performance should be placed somewhere in the top 5 in horror history. He shows us the utmost fear of anyone frightened to fly. And the "thing" on the wing of the plane is still creepy as hell!

Narrated by Twilight Zone veteran Burgess Meredith, he gives the film a true feeling of the original Twilight Zone. Sadly he only uses "blah, blah, blah....the Twilight Zone" only twice. Using that line gives each story a true feel of hopelessness. Maybe that's why segment's 1 and 4 use it. Segment's 2 and 3 end with too much happiness.

The DVD is presented in a widescreen format and the only extra is a teaser. Too bad considering a film shrouded in so much controversy gets a bare bones release. That said, that is what brings the quality of the DVD down. Well, that and Spielberg's segment. Luckily, you can always skip over it. But who knows....in this world of re-issued DVDs, we might get another release of TZ: The Movie, but don't hold your breath.

If anyone has been taken a slight gander over at the Scallywagz portion of the site, you'd see that Cannibal Holocaust is one of my favorite films ever made. The sheer 'honesty' of the film along with the violence and just a plain great story makes it one that will never leave your mind. The idea of The Blair Witch Project has borrowed greatly from this. And sooner or later, in the era of remakes, some assbag will think of remaking Cannibal Holocaust. Well, someone did....sort of. Thanks to director Jonathan Hensleigh and Dimension, I have that opportunity to review Welcome to the Jungle.

According to a true story, Michael Rockefeller, one of the most powerful men in the world, took a trip in 1961 to New Guinea and was never heard from again. Enter Mandi (Sandy Gardiner), Colby (Callard Harris), Mikey (Nick Richey), and Bijou (Veronica Sywak). Two couples who are on the verge of solving one of the biggest mysteries by traveling to New Guinea. Taking a pair of cameras with them, they embark on a journey to the jungle where they become encompassed by cannibals. The film simply shows us their film and what happened to them.

A blatant rip-off of Cannibal Holocaust, nuff said. Though fairly tense at times, the execution seems to be held back. Not to mention the violence as it is extremely low. There isn't even any gut munching!!! How can you have a cannibal film with any cannibals eating anyone? The cannibals themselves look silly and very non-threatening. Though the director was upset at the comparisons between his film and Cannibal Holocaust, I'm sure he couldn't have been as bad as Ruggero Deodato was taking it. Welcome to the Jungle even has its own 'money shot', along with CH's girl-on-the-pike scene.

The DVD presentation is widescreen and in Dolby Digital Sound. Extras include a commentary, featurette, deleted scene, and a trailer.

Bear in mind that this isn't the real remake of Cannibal Holocaust. Sadly, that is coming up sometime in the near future. The audacity to make this film will seriously piss off a few die hard fans of the greatest cannibal film of all time. After seeing this, I can understand the need to see this. Just really don't expect too much.

Plenty of horror fans, including yours truly, were rather shocked and pleasantly surprised when the Rob Shmidt directed Wrong Turn came out in 2003. The story was simple enough where a group of young attractive people get stranded in the woods where a cannibalistic clan of inbred hillbillies stalk to kill. Fast forward to 2007, the cannibalistic clan of inbred hillbillies still live in the area and still living their lives. Now they have a whole new slew of campers to kill. Welcome to Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, directed by Joe Lynch, thanks to 20th Century Fox.

Colonel Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins) is the host of the ultimate reality show Apocalypse. Where contestants must survive in the elements to win the grand prize. Unbeknownst to anyone involved with the program, the inbreeds are knocking off the contestants and crew in nasty ways. And now, as everyone starts noticing that the game has gone too far, all are fighting for their very lives!

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a real surprise to see that even though the homage's to 70's horror is starting to take a dip in popularity, there's still enough in it left to churn out a decent, if not flawed, sequel. The acting is okay, with Rollins milking the 'Colonel" role with all he has, and dialogue is not totally clichéd. Characters are as standard as you could get (the slut, smartass, athlete, etc.). Death scenes are a shade above interesting and gory, with the first death scene is a real eye opener. Director Joe Lynch has a knack for telling a decent story (yes, there is a story!) and getting some excitement going in said story where you might think it'll just fall flat.

The DVD presents us with a widescreen 1.78:1 ratio with Dolby Digital Sound. Extras include 2 commentaries, 3 featurettes, and a trailer. Great color scheming with natural hues of brown and green. The reds and blacks are sweetly held up as well.

Lynch did a fine job with a film that, for the most part, could've been a complete disaster. Alas, he came through decently with a couple of bumps here and there. Nothing to get excited about, but the gore quotient will definitely whet your bloody appetite!