Movie Review: Freakshow Apocalypse (2007)

Okay, people. I need to come up with a new movie rating system. I’ve given films negative scores before (or zeros) but this flick has reached an all time low on my soulcrushometer. My buddy, Tony, suggested a ‘middle finger in the eye’ system. Unlike the hatchet rating, however, the more middle fingers you get, the worse the film is. Thank you, Chemical Burn, for opening a window to a whole new world of suckage.

Freakshow Apocalypse is vomited upon us by Matthew Broomfield (Director, Editor, Executive Producer, Sound, Set Design/Construction, Costume Design, Videography, Lighting, Grip, and he’s in one of the bands that provided music). I assume he wrote it but no writing credit is listed on the DVD and who could blame him? Perhaps he wanted to avoid the angry mobs with pitchforks and burning torches.

Movie Review: Castle Freak (1995, Blu-ray)

Stuart Gordon's splash onto the horror genre scene in the mid 1980's with the superb film incarnations of H.P Lovecraft's short stories, Re-Animator and From Beyond was truly a thing of beauty. They had scares, heaping doses of splatter and surprisingly fun bits of humor throughout the films. Both movies literally made genre fans slip and slide on the ooey, gooey genius of the horror icon.

Both From Beyond and Re-Animator were produced through Charles Band's Empire Pictures, these critical successes paved way to a nice solid career that led to other, different projects. One such project, with Charles Band again and his Full Moon Features Company was Castle Freak. After hitting both VHS and DVD this uplifting story about a slobbering, grunting, flesh-eating cretin living in a castle basement is now on glorious Blu-ray.

Movie Review: Basket Case III - The Progeny

Anyone who is a fan of truly bizarre cinema more than likely has checked out a film directed by Frank Henonlotter. Synapse Films has been one company to really put forth some fine releases of his films. Frankenhooker has seen a Blu-ray edition, Brain Damage was put out several years ago with all kinds of cool extras and Basket Case II made it's debut not long ago on DVD. It was only a matter of time that they got their hands on Henonlotter's second sequel and remastered it. Now all three films are available in the United States which should make admirers of wild story of Belial, Duane and all their gruesome hi-jinx cheer.

For those not versed in Basket Case lore, Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck, Basket Case II and III)  is on the move through the grimy underbelly of New York City. Along with his mysterious basket case and a stack of cash, Bradley has everything he needs to live day to day in the Hotel Broslin. All the dregs living in the Hotel Broslin have their suspicions of Duane and what is exactly living in that wicker basket. It isn't long before Belial, Duane's Siamese twin brother is revealed to the audience in appropriately bloody manner. Belial's not quite as nice as Duane but he does share some common toward the medical staff that cut the brothers apart. Finding the doctor and nurse that "disfigured" these two siblings and exacting some good ol' vengeance is the goal for both. In Basket Case II the surroundings change for Belial and  Duane, but the results continue to be the same as they cause chaos in their Aunt Ruth's freak friendly mansion.

Movie Review: She Freak (1967)

Directed by Byron Mabe

Starring Claire Brennen, Lee Raymond and Lynn Courtney

Claire Brennen stars as Jade Cochran, a discontented woman looking for a way out of her dead-end job as a waitress at a greasy diner. One day a carnival employee wanders into the diner and encourages Jade to take a chance and apply for a job, since the carnival happens to be passing through her town. Jade quits her job and is soon hired on, waiting on picnic tables and living the oh-so-glamorous carny lifestyle. She quickly discovers though, that she despises the freaks and human oddities that accompany the show. She has a fling with with Blackie, the ride superintendent, but wanting to get ahead socially she starts dating and eventually marries one of the carnival owners. The power and money she now possesses aren't enough to satisfy her though, and she is eventually caught cheating with the hired hand, which leads to her husband being stabbed and killed. This leaves her in charge and she soon makes her move to start getting rid of the freaks. the freaks aren't happy about this and some how end up turning her into some type of weird side-show oddity with a bulging eye and snake-like skin. (How this was accomplished is never explained.)