Movie Review: Motel Hell (1980, Blu-ray)

...ya' know?? For years, "Motel Hell" was a sort of a flavor-of-the-moment 'holy grail' film, for this ardent fright film fan. It was 1980...the year that this viewer 'crossed over', having just turned 17, and now able to, at least legally, partake in 'R' rated film fare, all by my butt-squirmin', horror-movie-lovin' lonesome. That year, of course, was overwhelmingly dominated by the splatter classic, "Friday the 13th", which was hacking and slashing it's way through enormously huge box office bank, much to the dismay of countless distractor critic reviews. For this undiscriminating genre lover, who had always kept a constant finger on the pulse of horror films, via magazines and TV snippets, even at a young age (...uh, without the aid of internet, might I add), this little upcoming, mad-looking oddity, called "Motel Hell", seemed right up my alley. Articles in Famous Monsters of Filmland and Fangoria, whetted my appetite for the film...a panning review of the film, offer by stuck-up critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, on their then-relegated-to-PBS 'Sneak Previews' show, only goaded me on, as far as seeking the film out...and a lovingly displayed movie poster of the film, hung up on the wall in my bedroom...scrounged up by my dad, who serviced a number of the local L.A.-based movie distributors at the time, only served to stir my imagination, as to what I might expect from the film, and at the same time, agitated my fearful sense of anticipation, whereby I would daringly ask myself, "...do I really want to see this??" Uh, dumb question...

......it's late, and Vincent Smith...a middle-aged farmer, juggling a renowned and successful smoked meat business, along with a roadside hotel... is restless. Finally, he gets up out of the rocker, seated on the hotel manager's porch, and giving the neon hotel sign the stinkeye (..."...damn flickering second 'O', in 'Motel Hello's got a dang short...gonna have to fix that...people liable ta' think that..."...), Vincent shrugs his shoulders, goes inside the office, grabs his hunting rifle, fires up the pick-up truck, and barrels down the road. Pulling off to the side, turning off the truck lights, and finding a hidden, inconspicuous spot, he looks across the dark fields, barely lit by the moonlight, and...Wait!! What's that, up ahead?? Taking careful aim, Vincent fires off a couple shots...

Movie Review: Evil Head (2012, Burning Angel Entertainment)

Directed by Doug Sakmann
Starring Tommy Pistol, Joanna Angel and Kleio
Run Time: 147 minutes

Okay, quick, without thinking about it too hard... what are your two favorite genre’s of movies? Okay, time's up... now if you said, “Horror & Porn” I’m here to tell you that you're not alone on this (and we’re probably the only ones who aren't lying to ourselves about it). These are two genre’s that allow us to indulge our inner-beast. To vicariously partake in the spilling of blood and... well, other bodily fluids.

Burning Angel’s Evil Head is the porn parody of one of our all-time favorite horror classic’s, Evil Dead, so it is first and foremost a porn flick, but manages to do something that nearly every other porno fails to do, and that's tell a cool and familiar story in a truly funny and entertaining way.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #119 - Road Head

As Kevin drove from Phoenix to Vegas, he decided to record a podcast into his phone. He talked about some of his favorite road movies, and a few favorites that involve Las Vegas.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com or tweet us @CinHeadCheese.

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Paul Schrader's "CAT PEOPLE" Collector's Edition Blu-ray and Daniel Haller's DIE MONSTER DIE Blu-ray - coming this Jan 21, 2014

SCREAM FACTORY™ PRESENTS

A Film by Paul Schrader

CAT PEOPLE

Starring Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard, Annette O’Toole

COLLECTOR’S EDITION BLU-RAY™

&

DIE MONSTER DIE BLU-RAY

Starring Boris Karloff, Nick Adams and Suzan Farmer

Directed by Daniel Haller

Leaps Onto Home Entertainment Shelves Everywhere on January 21, 2014

Pre-Order These SCREAM FACTORY Home Entertainment Collections Today!

It’s time to unleash our primal animal nature and succumb to the unbridled cravings for generous dose of suspense, unspeakable desires and good old-fashioned horror storytelling! On January 21, 2014, SCREAM FACTORY™ is proud to present the provocative 1982 thriller CAT PEOPLE Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™. Directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), this memorable cult hit is a remake of 1942 Jacque Tourneur horror noir classic. The all-star cast includes Nastassja Kinski (Tess, Savior), Malcolm McDowell ( A Clockwork Orange), John Heard (Prison Break, The Sopranos), Annette O’Toole (48 hrs), and features music by Giorgio Morotor (Top Gun, Flash Dance) with “Cat People” theme sung by legendary artist David Bowie. 

Movie Review: Sexcula (1974, DVD)

Review By: Rob Sibley

"She'll suck more then your blood!" reads the tagline in this little seen Canadian produced porn flick. Let me state up front I'm a sucker for these genre mash-up vintage porno's. The cover promises a lot, does it live up to it? Yeah... it kind of does. But the actual back story to the making of the film is much more interesting.

See this film has always been a sort of myth, not because of it's over the top sexual content (It's tame for retro porn). But it was a rare little title that nobody ever really saw. Sure they knew the name but few ever saw the flick.

The film was financed by a very slick producers basically took advantage of a little tax loophole were after investing in a picture they'd get back anywhere from 40-100% of their investment.

Movie Review: Female Teacher Hunting (1982, Nikkatsu/Impulse Pictures)

 ...despite having ventured overseas, visiting several of the more exotic Asian cities...Thailand, Singapore, The Philipines, Japan, and what-not...and as such, had a chance to e-e-e-eagerly partake of...to put it mildly, some pretty 'wild, edgy, unbridled and over-the-top' cinema and live-stage erotica, promiscuously accented with a most decisively Asian flavor (...i.e., you haven't seen anything, until you've been to Phuket and Pataya Beach, in Thailand), this seasoned viewer must admit to a bit of a 'what the...?' feeling, when afforded the opportunity to check out one of the classic steamy Nikkatsu pieces, offered by distributor Impulse Pictures (...an offshoot of Synapse Films)...some of who's tantalizing offerings have been reviewed previously, in this venue. After all, Impulse's opening logo montage of archival Nikkatsu productions...flashing quick shots of sexual savagery, rape and fetish-tool accented debauchery...as is the supposed 'norm' for this genre...viewed in the comfort's of one's safe, domestic abode...especially as far as one who favors an age of erotica, more keyed to the domestic classic '70's...well, might tend to unnerve one, and make one wonder, '...man, what the heck have I gotten myself into?' However, in engaging one of the latest Impulse Pictures releases...namely the 1982 Nikkatsu-produced 'arouser', "Female Teacher Hunting"...it seems that with my very first foray into this genre, I was let off easy, with a relatively contrived and emulative, though a bit putting off, 'pink' excursion (...whew!! That was close...!!)...

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #118 - It's All Good

Kevin works solo yet again, but he brings a pile of goodies to the show. In fact, he only brings good things.

He talks about getting over the Breaking Bad hangover with Boardwalk Empire, the loveable sweetness of Derek, the retooled Dredd, living through The Purge and two football themed phone apps that get you into the NFL spirit: Madden 25 and NFL Runner.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com or tweet us @CinHeadCheese.

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Movie Review: The Millennium Bug (2012)

Reviewed By: James Byron

The Millennium Bug takes place on December 31st 1999, when we were all worried about everything crashing and the world in chaos. The Haskin family is seeking refuge from the Y2K chaos by taking the family in a jeep to the mountains. Just so happens that Roger Patterson has been hiking through the forest in search of a species that is spawned once every 1000 years. Soon they will all meet a crazy hillbilly clan that lives within the woods.

You have to salute the heart of this film. Part The Hills Have Eyes and part the 50′s monster films. This film was done by a first time director and he did not use any CGI. The film starts off with Byron and Joany Haskin taking a trip to escape the world and the Y2K with his daughter Clarissa (played by VH1 Scream Queen contender…Christine Haeberman). Things go awry when they are going to bed in their tents and they are abducted, the whole while we get bits and pieces from Roger who is looking for this creature that is underground.

Movie Review: Night Train to Terror (1985, Vinegar Syndrome)

...getting right down to the nitty gritty, when discussing a rather unconventional genre film, like the 1985 horror anthology flick, "Night Train to Terror", this viewer cannot help but recall a poignantly applicable line in the 1987 Steve Martin-starring comedy, "Roxanne", where at one point, the Cyrano de Bergerac-inspired character Steve plays, crudely describes his character's rather large nose, and says something like, "...it's not the size of the nose that's important; it's what's in it, that's matters". A fitting metaphor, to be sure, considering that "Night Train to Terror"...this totally batshit crazy insane 'trilogy of terror' is basically culled from keenly edited (...ha!!), easier to digest (...double 'ha'!!), Reader's Digest versions of longer and, for the most part, wholly negligible horror-themed feature films (...well, actually...two feature films, and the footage of one unfinished film), including "Scream Your Head Off", "Cataclysm" (...aka "The Nightmare Never Stops") and "The Death Wish Club" (...aka "Gretta"). Horror anthologies are typically a mixed bag, anyways, but in this case, throw in some whacked-looking stop-motion animation...a rather striking and respectable amount of gore...humorously irreverent and irrepressible character actor Richard Moll (...1986's "House", 1982's "Sword and the Sorcerer"), here, doing the 'Karen Black/Trilogy of Terror' thing, by having unrelated multiple roles in the film...some rather arcane, cross-banter, 'good versus evil' dialog, bridging the stories together...not to mention some of the most cheesiest, brainless and tortuously infectious '80's style music video sequences, and you've got an off-the-charts and over-the-top excursion into horror anthology insanity, which tosses in everything, including the kitchen sink...and you know something?? Well, I'll be damned...how about that?? In a weird way, this actually works!!!

Nekromantik Coming to Blu-ray from Cult Epics!! Plus a Jorg Buttgereit Appearance For a Rare Screening of the Class-ick!

JORG BUTTGEREIT IN PERSON, OCT. 24TH
FOR A SPECIAL 35MM SCREENING OF HIS HORROR CLASSIC

NEKROMANTIK

AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE EGYPTIAN THEATER, THURS, OCT 24,
AND IGNITES KICKSTARTER FOR FIRST HORROR FILM IN TWENTY YEARS!

GERMAN ANGST

GERMAN DIRECTOR JORG BUTTGEREIT CELEBRATES THE 2014 SPECIAL EDITION DVD AND BLU-RAY RELEASES OF HIS CLASSIC HORROR FILM NEKROMANTIK WITH A SPECIAL 35MM PRINT SCREENING AT THE EGYPTIAN THEATER, AND LAUNCH OF KICKSTARTER TO PRODUCE FIRST HORROR FILM PROJECT IN TWENTY YEARS,
GERMAN ANGST!

*JORG BUTTGEREIT IN ATTENDANCE OCT. 24!*

Cult Epics celebrates a special October 24th 35mm print screening of Jörg Buttgereit's classic NEKROMANTIK at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles in anticipation of their new transfer of NEKROMANTIKin a Special Edition feature his first short film HOT LOVE, The Making of NEKROMANTIK, Jörg Buttgereit film trailers, featurette, and the isolated soundtrack from the film.

Jörg Buttgereit will appear at the Oct. 24th screening of NEKROMANTIK, bringing other short films along with him, during BeyondFest at the Egyptian Theatre, and also appear Saturday, October 26th at the Housecore Horror Film Festival in Austin, TX, in conjunction with the fundraising for GERMAN ANGST, an extreme horror film collaboration of Jörg Buttgereit (Nekromantik, Der Todesking) with Andreas Marschall (Tears of Kali, Masks), and Michael Kosakowski (Zero Killed). A long, hard walk down the dark alleyways of contemporary Berlin in stories of love, sex, and death, beginning production in January 2014.

Movie Review: "20ft Below: The Darkness Descending" (2014; Blue Dragon/Vertical Entertainment)

...yeah, yeah...I know; go ahead and say it..."...sheesh!! Another Danny Trejo flick??" Well, far be it for this viewer to diss ol' Danny...clearly the hardest working character actor, working today, as well as the most formidable, reputable and dynamic...even in his most minimal presence, in some of his films. And yet, far be it for this viewer, in beating a dead horse, with repeated commentary about that very thing; in brief, just check out Danny's work to date, over at the IMDB website...what he has done, what he is presently doing, and what still waits in the wings (...your jaw will assuredly drop). Anyways, 'nuff said about that, right??...

...speaking of 'wings', this viewer cannot help but appreciate having initially viewed a screener of Danny's latest direct-to-video entry, "20ft Below: The Darkness Descending"...once again, he's headlining, but making minimal presence, here; the advance screener comprised of just the disc, bearing the cover art, as depicted here, and did not include anything else...and for anyone out there, haunting the dollar-rental obelisk, just outside their local convenience store, 'anything else' might well be manipulatively deceptive, as "20ft Below..." is most assuredly something different...dare I say, something perhaps better, on a genre or exploitation film level, than what is seemingly promised in the sensationalist synopsis, on the DVD cover, which this viewer was later privy of (...yep, bought this one outright, myself). In short, there's no denying that this Trejo entry has bite, but at the same time, it also has something important to say...and to the fine advertising folks, who scribbled the synopsis, this viewer cannot help but say, "...hey, let the film stand on it's own merit, OK?? A respectable force unto itself, the film didn't need any help from the sensationalist peanut gallery..."...

Blue Underground Presents Limited Theatrical Release of William Lustig’s MANIAC COP 2

You Have the Right to Remain Silent…FOREVER!

Blue Underground is bringing a 2013 DCP Restoration of director William Lustig’s MANIAC COP 2 to theaters this fall in advance of its upcoming Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack release. Featuring a brand-new 4K High Definition transfer from the original camera negative and new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, this MANIAC COP 2 DCP is the definitive presentation of the action-packed cult-horror favorite!

Movie Review: Octaman (1971)

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Directed By Harry Essex

A group of cynical, drunk marine biologists (of which include such old Hollywood standbys such as Pier Angeli, Kerwin Matthews, Jeff Morrow and Buck Kartalian) stumble about the Mexican countryside investigating a new amphibious mutation, which is the result of radiation “leaking all over the world.” The life-size mutation is the dreaded Octaman, a part octopus, part human monster that walks on land. An early Rick Baker creation, the Octaman has a perpetually frozen face and sounds like someone sucking soup through a straw. There a re a series of haphazard encounters with the creature until our fearless scientists get sick of his ugly ass, whip out their trusty 45s and plug him full of lead. The poor, pathetic (and unarmed) Octaman stumbles and keels over dead, landing face first in a shallow, stagnant pond. Two seconds pass and then the words THE END flash on the screen.

Movie Review: Halloween XXX (Smash Pictures, 2011)

Reviewed by: James DePaolo

Jim Powers is to porn what Alfred Hitchcock is to suspense. When you think of the porn industry, you see directors that are on the cutting edge of how to take their fan base into this fantasy land that we watch on screen our deepest fantasies and perverted thoughts are acted out for us. You had to know it was a matter of time that the porn parodies would start to target horror films. While back in the day, we had films like a porn version of Re-Animator and Exorcist, I always felt that those were so lame and just uninspired. Last year, Evil Head showed mainstream horror fans that they should be more open to porn, and a ton of mainstream sites (ours included) had that film in their top films of 2012.

Now, the mad genius behind The Babysitter series and countless other series jumps into a porn parody of Halloween. I think this film could also get non-porn fans to warm up to porn. Like all Jim Power films, I feel porn and the fantasy world he creates takes a back door to the comedy element. This film has an odd sense of humor that you just know the people behind the film are fans of this film and loving doing this parody. Sort of like the original film, Michael Myers kills his slutty older sister, and like the film 15 years later he escapes the hospital and comes home. Now, comes the twist, Laurie this time around is a schoolgirl that Michael seems to be lusting after.

Movie Review: Snuff (Blu-ray)

It's quite possible that I'm in a small minority, but at the oh-so tender age of eleven years-old I discovered a synopsis in the Encyclopedia of Horror Movies for Roberta and Michael Findlay's notorious Snuff --in of all places, the public library. Here is where the exploitatively sleazy allure of Snuff peaked my interest the most as it appeared to be one of the most shocking films ever produced with some absolutely golden taglines that include: "A film that could only be made in South America, where life is CHEAP!" or this one "The Bloodiest thing that ever happened in front of a camera!!!" and finally " The picture they said could NEVER be shown!".

Blue Underground debuted Snuff (Slaughter, American Cannibal) on DVD several years back in barebones fashion with some very interesting packaging that made the DVD look like they didn't put it out and someone else had taken it upon themselves to. Amazingly, Snuff is now on Blu-ray from the folks at Blue Underground. The companies’ name is now on the cover; it has a high-def upgrade and is loaded with some neato extra features that might add some explanation to the history of Snuff.

Movie Review: 4 Dead Girls (aka 4 Dead Girls: Soul Taker, 2012)

Directed by  Mike Campbell and Todd Johnson

Movie Review by  Greg Goodsell

Hi everyone! It has been brought to my attention that horror film fandom is definitely missing a feminine voice, what with Lianne Spiderbaby and Michelle Clifford in hiding – and for very good reasons – and to this end, I have offered my good friend BAMBI HERSHBERGER to review the new, female-oriented horror film 4 DEAD GIRLS, aka 4 DEAD GIRLS: SOUL TAKER. Take it away, Bambi!

Okay, so like there are these four girls, these four college students, they luck into buying this really cool three-bedroom house for cheap off campus. They are: insufferable goody two-shoes Lily (Katherine Browning), her sleep-around friend Bianca (Tiffany S. Walker), Lily's lesbian sister Lori (Ashley Love) and Lori's lesbian lover Pam (Leah Verrill). It's a really cute house – they have a candelabra from Bed, Bath & Beyond that costs a cool $59.99 in the living room – and they move in. Oh, yeah, there's this guy (Mike Campbell) who is the landlord, a real, creepy guy who probably hangs out at parks and pays little boys to pull their pants down –  yeah, he's that creepy, who is this “Soul Taker,” a Naluso Chito – who really is a figure in Choctaw mythology, I looked it up on Google so it must be true – who has lured girls to the house before and has taken their souls. He wears this Grim Reaper outfit that you can get at Partytime! Stores with the skull cut out that you can get for $40. He says stuff, “I must have your soul,” and stuff like that and then he sucks them out of the poor girls with video effects.

Movie Review: Halloween III - Season of the Witch (Blu-ray)

I'm that guy. Seriously. There are only a couple of us out there, but I really enjoyed Halloween III: Season of the Witch. If you don't agree, you can take a hike.

The most substantive argument against this film is the fact that Michael Meyers did not appear and the storyline went in a completely different direction. As a little history, Golan and Globus, who owned the rights to the Halloween franchise, decided to depart from the Michael Meyers goodness because they felt that the slasher theme had become played out. They felt there wasn't much left to do with the sub-genre and would just be another tired 'killer with a knife' film. You have to admit, by 1983 the slasher genre had become repetitive and derivative and other types of -ive words. The Mutilator, the lesser Friday the 13th sequels (until, sadly, Corey Feldman revived it), New Year's Evil, the Silent Night, Deadly Night sequels... the list is endless. Until filmmakers like Wes Craven hit the scene in, the slasher was tired. You can imagine what tirelessly killing co-ed after co-ed would do to one's ambition. It's tiring. And those masks? Stuffy.

TV Review: American Horror Story: Asylum (Blu-ray, 2012)

Genre based Television shows really seemed to make a push for audiences wanting horror, sci-fi and fantasy in the comfort of their own homes during the late 50's with shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Outer Limits, Night Gallery and of course Rod Serling's masterful series The Twilight Zone. Presently some of of the top shows on TV are - at least for this horror fan - are well produced, acted and written genre shows. Along with The Walking Dead, one of the best more recent shows is FX's superb American Horror Story.

Much like The Walking Dead,  American Horror Story stretches newtork censors to the the limit with it's very adult horror that would put even pay networks on their heels. Could we have it any other way?? No way! Now with the third season on the horizon, the second season will be making it's debut on Blu-ray, and while it changes things up a bit by getting away from the story of the Harmon family, something creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk wanted to do from the beginning American Horror Story: Asylum loses none its power to disturb and frighten.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #117 - Jason vs. Kevin

Kevin goes it alone this week, but he brings plenty to the table. After completing the second half of Crystal Lake Memories, he decides to go in depth on the latter films in the Jason Voorhees saga. He talks about Kane Hodder's involvement in the series and why replacing him in later movies is part of tradition, the good and bad of the franchise and why he's decided to finally watch the reboot.

Kevin also explains why you can't watch a movie with a kid who has already seen it and why you should watch the BBC/Netflix series Derek to see a different side of Ricky Gervais.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com or tweet us @CinHeadCheese.

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TV Review: Femme Fatales: The Complete Second Season (2013, DVD)

Review By: Rob Sibley

It's 2 in the morning, you can't sleep, your getting tired of infomercials for the George Forman Grill, The Shammy, Joel Osteen won't shut his religious yap so what do you do? You need a midnight snack for the brain so you flip to cinemax and what might you find? The incredibly sexy, pulpy second season of Femme Fatales. A guilty pleasure by all means, it's pure junk food for the brain and it's damn entertaining.

Femme Fatales is an anthology TV series, each episode usually features a hot chick in over her head. All this leads to her usually sleeping with 1 or more partners, popping the top whenever she can and she usually ends up with a gun in her hands. This is pulp at it's finest. This is a show that knows what it is, it's purpose is to entertain... not to enlighten. I previously reviewed season 1 of the show and found it to be satisfying but it was a little to bi-polar for my tastes. The season season is more focused and what's nice is they brought in many favorite B-movie actors for cameos. Some of these B-movie gods include Eric Roberts (an A-movie actor in my books), the infinitely handsome Casper Van Dien (Still trying hard to regain his Starship Trooper days of glory) and fuck even the Stuntman himself Steve Railsback shows up. This time though he's not dealing with soul sucking vampires or the tyrant known as Peter O Tool. Oh yeah and Vivica A. Fox shows up to class things up a bit.

Movie Review: Antiviral (2012, Alliance/IFC Films)

...uh, ladies and gentlemen...if you please, let me ask you something. Just how far would you go...in whatever way, shape or form...to embrace your favorite celebrity?? Would you merely follow their media exploits, published in tabloids, or broadcast on the exploitative TMZ?? Would you instead wait hours in line, just for a celebrity's autograph?? (...ahem, with hand raised...been there, done that) Would you pull them aside, upon chance or planned encounter, and snap a quick and spontaneous, albeit annoying (...to them) paparazzi shot?? Would you dare sneak into the celebrity's house, just to sleep in their bed...drink their orange juice, in the 'fridge...use their toilet?? Would you go so far as to spend your life's savings on a complex surgery, which would make your nose look like your favorite celebrity's nose?? Doctors have coined a genuine name for such blatant obsession...call it 'celebrity worship syndrome', or as definition serves, 'an obsessive-addictive disorder in which a person becomes overly involved with the details of a celebrity's personal life'...and admit it or not, just about everyone engages this syndrome, whether it be to the smallest degree (...i.e., 'I really like that person's music; it's a favorite of mine, and I listen to it, whenever I can'), or to a level much more grandiose and disturbing (...i.e., '...uh, like, I've had this plastic surgery, see...to alter my entire body to look like my favorite celebrity, as well as legally having had my name changed to match his/hers, and because of this, I, um...I have had a legal injunction issue against me, forbidding me to come within 100 yards of him/her')...

Movie Review: Ninja III: The Domination (1984, Blu-ray)

There was a time around the mid-1980's when the ninja sub-genre ruled theaters and cable television. My biggest exposure to Cannon Films' ninja output usually came late at night when the parents were asleep and graphic violence won over Skin-amax. The films that made the biggest impact on me as a kid were the awfully dubbed but infinitely awesome Franco Nero classic Enter the Ninja and the gory Sho Kosugi vehicle Revenge of the Ninja. For some reason the recent Scream Factory release of Ninja III: The Domination evaded me much like the mysterious silent assassins. It's out now on a Blu-ray / DVD Combo pack, and oh boy, is it a bit of a departure from the other films mentioned.

Cannon regular Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja) directs this tale of demonic possession, aerobics and flying shurikens. A ninja storms a golf course on a desert and proceeds to murder everyone in his way. Bloodying Polo's left and right, the seemingly unstoppable killer is brought down by police in a furious onslaught of flying bullets. The cops finally do him in... but is he really dead? 

Christine (Lucinda Dickey, Breakin', and Cheerleader Camp) is walking near where the ninja took his final stand against the cops and becomes overcome by his spirit. She takes his shiny ninja sword and becomes thoroughly captivated by the blade that she has to takes it back to her aerobics studio to show off to the girls like it’s a new Gucci. It isn’t long before Christine becomes a one woman wrecking crew as she inherits all the abilities of the ninja – including his thirst for vengeance against the law that took him down. 

Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012, Well Go USA Entertainment)

...Shanghai, in the 1930's...a most uneasy and tumultuous, though in a way, adventurous time in Chinese history...has often been favored, as a most compelling and lucrative setting in many Asian-produced films, released in the past several decades...and in perusing the archival pages of Shanghai's unstable and violent, albeit opportunist history, during this time, it might well be understandable, as to why this particular era readily made for a most interesting and exotic locale, for film. The area itself was often embroiled in power struggles...both of international intrigue, as well as within it's own social cache; with Shanghai divided between Chinese and European factions, and gambling, prostitution & opium smuggling being the underground order of affairs, violence and corruption took a ruling hand. Corporate and governmental underhandedness became as prevalent as the growing cliques of warring, territorial gangsters, whose embrace of fame, power and riches helped to usher in a great and overpowering measure of lawlessness amongst the social masses, who were grossly divided...with the rich and powerful living it up, as if there was no tomorrow, and the underclass firmly held down in submission. And all of this, right on the cusp of Japan's formidable bid for occupation of Shanghai, and it's surrounding areas...in what would be an unflinching, no-holds-barred assault, which would change the very foundation and history of the area...

Movie Review: Halloween (35th Anniversary Edition, Blu-ray)

When John Carpenter and Debra Hill unleashed the original Halloween on moviegoers in 1978, horror would never be the same. The success of Halloween brought on hordes of rip-offs - even the equally lucrative Friday the 13th series was a cash-in. This amazing feat in independent cinema a testament of the magic created by the team of those talented young filmmakers and actress, Jamie Lee Curtis. I don't know how many times I've seen it but I do know I've seen Halloween on just about every format. The latest Blu-ray release of Halloween has some nice little upgrades on quality on the previous release - but is it worth the upgrade?

Halloween hits the viewer instantly with a fantastic opening P.O.V showing a young Michael Myers lurking around his house, grabbing a knife and slowly going up the stairs where he goes to off his very naked sister. This is a textbook way to open a horror movie in my opinion. It is horror, right? Carpenter is aware of what he wants do - and that's to scare the shit out of you.

Movie Review: Twixt (2013, Blu-ray)

Oh, boy. You know, there's always something suspect about a movie when a list of talented people is attached, yet you never hear of it until the screener shows up on a straight-to DVD/Blu-ray release. Okay, when Val Kilmer is the lead in 2013, you can be suspect, no matter where it shows up. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy in spite of his being the worst Batman that will ever be. (Sorry, Affleck haters, he'll be one of the better choices for the role.) Seeing that Bruce Dern and David Paymer are in the movie is encouraging, though they're hard working actors, and I don't think they turn down much. Not to mention that Dern can be a bit hammy and over the top at times. Elle Fanning is still getting her sea legs behind her sister's fame. The one odd duck on this list is Francis Ford Coppola, who wrote, produced and directed Twixt. He's made some legendary and brilliant films, including The Rainmaker, which I think is one of Matt Damon's best. I'll be honest, I didn't even realize it was his movie until the end credits rolled. This looks like a horror geek's first movie. I'll explain why.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #116 - So Many Monsters

Kevin and Jeff discuss the recent Rapture Horror Expo and all of the interviews that The Gorram Nerd Hour's Jacob O'Neal was able to get. They also talk about sharing Godzilla with the next generation.

They also review the horror docs Room 237 and Crystal Lake Memories as well as the 35th anniversary release of Halloween, the wild and crazy Snuff, the Coppola vampire drama Twixt and the robot vs. monster battle that is Pacific Rim.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

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FEARnet Goes Global With Its ‘Expedition Fear’ Friday Night Block Highlighting Genre Favorites From Around The World, And Featuring Exclusive Content From Fantastic Fest Starting October 18

While FEARnet has always made a point to highlight the best in worldwide genre titles, the Network is putting extra focus on overseas scares with the addition of the “Expedition FEAR” Friday night block—two international films, every week, at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. “Expedition FEAR” entries in October showcase some of the best talent from around the world—topped off by celebrated [REC] creator Jaume Balagueró’s shocker TO LET on October 25—giving genre fans a chance to experience many foreign gems that they may have never seen or heard of before.

Beginning October 18, the films will come packaged with exclusive wraparound content—shot at the 2013 Fantastic Fest and made specifically for FEARnet—highlighting the best of the independent horror cinema scene. The interstitial content features roundtable discussions on topics such as a First-Time Directors panel with Evan Katz (CHEAP THRILLS) and Randy Moore (ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW); a Foreign Genre Films panel with Katrin Gebbe (NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN) and Tamae Garateguy (SHE WOLF); an American Independent Cinema panel with Joe Begos (ALMOST HUMAN) and James Bykrit (COHERENCE); an Indie vs. Mainstream panel with Jesse Cook (SEPTIC MAN) and Ben Wheatley (A FIELD IN ENGLAND); and a Film Critics and Bloggers panel where Sam Zimmerman (FANGORIA), Ryan Turek (DREAD CENTRAL), Brian Collins (BADASS DIGEST), and FEARnet’s own Lawrence Raffel, Sarah Shannon, and Alyse Wax discuss the films they saw at Fantastic Fest, and why the festival is important for both the genre and the audience. As a bonus, the Network will also air an exclusive one-on-one interview with Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League.

Movie Review: Room 237 (2013, Blu-ray)

The Shining  is without a doubt one of the most influential films of our time. It's not only all over pop-culture, to many, including myself it’s a fantastic film. That doesn't mean it’s without its detractors - including the creator of the best-selling novel Stephen King. Director Stanley Kubrick is a fascinating cat and what he was going for with his vision of King's baby seems to have brought questions to some that think there is some deeper meaning into certain scenes and shots.

Rodney Ascher's Room 237 basically gathers up several folks who have some interesting and some completely ludicrous hypothesis of The Shining cut together over many of the most well known scenes, such as when Danny is lost in the labyrinth or when Jack locked in the cooler. One of the participants examines a scene when the characters are in the walk-in pantry and our large container of Calumet Baking Powder showing in Indian had some big significance to Kubrick's "hidden message". This did nothing for me and felt like The Shining expert was really reaching for stuff.

BRINKVISION RELEASES THE UNCUT GERMAN CANNIBAL DINER ON VOD AND LIMITED EDITION DVD ON OCTOBER 15TH!

CANNIBAL DINER

WINNER BEST FOREIGN FEATURE AT HORRORQUEST FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER AUDIENCE AWARD FRIGHT NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL

BrinkVision releases the uncut version of the German blood and boobs film, Cannibal Diner on Limited Editon DVD and VOD on Oct. 15th! Cannibal Diner stars The film stars Alexandra Lesch, Kristiana Rohder (Miss Universe Germany 2010), Lara Baum, Alexandra Jordan, Violetta Schurawlow, Indira Madison, Dominik Schneider, Jessica Klauss, Mike Zick, Celina Klemenz, and Heiko Rohde. It features music by Demonboy, Alien Vampires, and Sonic Thrill.

Movie Review: The Initiation (1984, New World/Arrow Video)

 ...alright, folks!! Let's see a raise of hands out there, whose partial joy of one's bygone high school years, was spent hanging out with friends, at the local shopping mall. With a hand elatedly raised high, yes, this viewer most assuredly engaged in this adolescent ritual...a demandant after-school prerequisite...a cartel of your best buds, or on some nights, just your best gal...a mass invasion of the food court...checking out the record stores and game shops...emptying a pocketful of quarters, obliterating asteroids, saving monkey-enslaved princesses and chomping on ghost-guarded power pills, at the arcade...and seeing the latest blood-spattered horror flickage at the multiplex. In a time when one's first taste of splattery cinema was the one-two-three punch of the original "Halloween", "Dawn of the Dead" & "Friday the 13th", and the onslaught of horror films to come, was just short of emphasizing a preponderance of holiday-based horrors (...jeez, didn't any holiday miss the ravages of horror filmmakers?? Oh wait...hey, how about that?? Arbor Day wasn't touched...horror filmmakers, take note), the idealist possibility of horrible horrors at a shopping mall weren't fully and wholly considered (...even after the siege of Romero zombies), especially after the more reflectively exuberant fun of hanging out at the mall was joyously upheld, with a certain little comedy ditty, in and the about the area of fictional Ridgemont High. That all changed, in the excellent '80's, when even a wayward and nocturnally covert jaunt at a shopping mall or department store proved to be quite horrific...even deadly, in notables like 1984's "Night of the Comet", 1986's "Chopping Mall", 1988's "Hide and Go Shriek", 1987's "The Outing" (...oh, OK...that was a museum, not a mall), as well as a quaint and underappreciated little whodunit slasher entry from 1984, entitled "The Initiation"...

Movie Review: The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue (2013)

As part of a Halloween challenge put forth on a horror board I follow, I'm trying to watch at least one horror movie a day. And because of that, I began flipping through the Netflix offerings and settled on something I probably wouldn't have if I didn't need to fill a quota. As it turns out, I'm quite pleased with my choice.

The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue is an independent horror comedy brought to us by Mike Bradecich and John LaFlamboy of Big Tree Productions. These writers/directors/actors star as the Mugg brothers, Marion and Jarmon, who have inherited an apartment building from their late mother. Being completely inept in every way, the brothers lose all but 4 of the tenants due to lack of heat, gas, and other necessities required to live comfortably. Granted, Jarmon has pirated electricity from the church next door but somehow that's just not getting it done.

For those left behind, there's a bit of an issue with their pets: they keep disappearing. Jarmon and Marion contemplate the issue the same way they approach every conflict or problem in their lives: they go to the bar. When they return to the building after getting their drink on, the boys witness a strange man-like creature stealing a Yorkshire terrier through the narrow mail slot of one of the apartments.

Well, now, that's not normal.

Movie Review: Prince of Darkness (1987, Blu-ray)

It's been twenty plus years since I begged my mom to purchase Prince of Darkness on pay-per-view so I could watch it on our murky tube TV. Seeing that it has now made its debut on Blu-ray in a special edition from Scream Factory - a company no stranger to bringing John Carpenter's best to the digital format - should please anyone looking to see this very versatile director at his finest.

When some scientists and college students decide to take their teachings and studies to another level after being given information by a priest (The legendary Donald Pleasance, Halloween) about a mysterious green liquid being stored in vat they jump at the chance at finding out its significance. Once they all get set up in the church with various devices that assist in detecting any sort of activity they become trapped by a horde of psychotic homeless people led by rock icon Alice Cooper.

Movie Review: The Amazing Adventures of The Living Corpse (2013, Blu-ray)

The Living Corpse bursts from the ground, and with a cavalcade of other zombies, he attacks a small house. Inside are a woman, her son and her daughter. The Living Corpse dispenses with the woman and the girl, and as the boy is about to fall to other zombies, he calls to The Living Corpse. The boy wants him to remember that he is his dad. LC does, and he saves his son. That's when the military shows up to rescue the boy, Taylor. Taylor is taken to a boys' home, and LC spends the movie trying to find him with the help of a demon lord and his gargoyle sidekick.

Movie Review: Wither (2012, Artsploitation Films)

 ...ya know?? This viewer gets a fairly good kick out of eager and ambitious young filmmakers who, over the years, have attempted to inspirationally emulate the unconventional and amiably engaged quirkings, which have long set the standard...the alluring bar, as far as embraced genre and cult films. It's a filmmaker's exercise, not unlike that of trying to marry specific chemicals together in a science experiment, based solely on the success of what has been seen before, rather than adhering to a concise list of chemicals, and their concise measurements. Tip the scales on one or more of the elements, to the greater or to the lesser, and the whole outcome might well change...sometimes for the better, and unfortunately, at times, for the worse. Such is the case, as far as director Sam Raimi's unflinching and visceral 1981 horror classic, "The Evil Dead", and the resulting 'homages', alternate takes...and let's face it...knock-offs and copycats, over the ensuing years; after all, some very interesting...and well, at the very least, very peculiar things have been done with the old 'awakening an evil, while in a secluded cabin in the woods' scenario. Most can site the obvious...2012's "Cabin in the Woods", 2002's "Cabin Fever", and of course, the recent remake of the Raimi classic. However, who out there, has seen the emulative 2010 horror oddity, "Primal"?? Or how about the clever and surreal, albeit relatively gore-tame 1990 effort, "Demon Wind"?? And who genuinely remembers the insanely crazed, creepy and bizarre 1970 horror entry, "Equinox", which predates 'Evil Dead' by a decade?? Some, quite memorable...some, quite forgettable...and some, rather under-appreciated. And with the recent homage to "The Evil Dead"...a 2012 Swedish import, simply titled "Wither"?? Eh, Monty Hall...I'm afraid we're gonna have to take (...trap) door number two, on that one, please...

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #115 - Caleb Bacon and Greg Sestero

Kevin shares clips from this month's episodes of Just Asking, a monthly interview show from Abnormal Entertainment.

First, he talks to Caleb Bacon. Caleb hosts the podcast Man School and writes for the TBS series Sullivan and Son.

Next, Kevin talks to The Room star Greg Sestero about his new book The Disaster Artist, which follows his path from joining the cast of The Room to touring with the film and Tommy Wiseau.

You can click these links to listen to the full interviews with Caleb and Greg.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com or tweet us @CinHeadCheese.

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Movie Review: Django Prepare A Coffin (Blu-ray, 1968)

Review By: Rob Sibley

For one of the first times I decided to give a film a blind watch without knowing anything about it. I'm a huge Spagetti Western fan and I've seen dozens of films titled Django and besides some gems such as "Django Kill... If you live shoot" most of them are pale imitations of Sergio Corbucci's classic 1966 Django. Everyone from Takashi Miike to Tarantino has tackled a Django picture.

So judging a book from it's cover I noticed this particular film starred Terence Hill of the Trinity films fame and the many flicks he made with Budd Spencer. He's a solid actor but sure has starred in a number of clunkers.

Second it was directed by Ferdinando Baldi who whelmed two films I really enjoyed. The solid Western Texas Goodbye with Franco Nero and the sleazy gem Terror Express. The composer on this picture was Gianfranco Reverberi who scored the fantastic Edqige Fenech flick, A Policewoman on the Porno Squad. Last but not least Arrow Video was releasing the film, on Blu-ray no less so I went into this with high hopes. Was I satisfied with the final results?

Pollygrind Film Festival: Cross Bearer and The Cemetery World Premiere News

The team behind the two Adam Ahlbrandt indie features making waves this fest season (Cross Bearer, a gritty arthouse slasher, and The Cemetery, a possession tale coated in ultra-violence) have announced their joint world premiere at the cutting-edge cult mash up Pollygrind Film Festival (theatre7, 1406 S. 3rd St, Las Vegas, NV 89104). In only its fourth year the fest had already gained accolades for spotlighting rising directors and premiering multiple features each year thus far. Named one of 2012s 25 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee by MovieMaker Magazine, Pollygrind dishes out $30,000 in prizes, but also offers selected filmmakers the ultimate brass ring- a relationship with legitimate distributors, who attend the event in order to sign new features.