Movie Review: One Man War (1990, Retromedia)

I knew better. I freaking knew better! After the debacle I put myself through with Dan Haggerty and Elves, I knew I should have stayed the hell away from One Man War (formerly Macon County War). The release from Retromedia looks as good as it possibly can but the disc is as light on special features as good ol’ Grizzly Adams is on willpower. I didn’t learn anything from my fellow Head Cheesers. I should have recognized the name Bret McCormick from Peggy Christie’s review of Repligator but, like always, I ignored the signs in front of me and put this freaking disc into the player and, subsequently, have had nothing but mush-mouthed thoughts of apathetically delivering lines, poorly done action scenes and a plotline that would make Doris Wishman snort in derision. Oh and the title… I’ll get to that later. Damn you, Dan Haggerty, damn you.

RUNAWAY NIGHTMARE Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo: Pre-order starts now!

Today we're beginning pre-orders for our limited edition (only 1000 pressed!), hand numbered Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of Mike Cartel's incredible outsider art/vanity film/exploitation masterpiece, RUNAWAY NIGHTMARE!

Easily one of the strangest films we've ever worked on, Cartel's unique vision is a mind-numbing blend of humor, surrealism and horror overtones, made over the course of two years and never officially released in its director's cut! Long only available through an unauthorized VHS release, complete with SOV topless insert shots (included on our disc as extras), we're very pleased to be presenting the film uncut and untampered with for the first time ever!

The special Limited Edition Blu/DVD is exclusively available through DiabolikDVD.com and VinSyn.com for $24.98. We highly encourage you to place your order through DiabolikDVD.com as they are the experts in exploitation fulfillment. Also, for pre-orders, DiabolikDVD does not charge until shipping, whereas we charge at checkout.

Movie Review: The Pawnbroker (1964)

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

“You people?” Sol Nazerman (Rod Steiger) says, schooling his youthful protégé, Jesus Ortiz (Jaime Sanchez) on the Jewish race’s relationship with money.  “Oh, let's see. Yeah. I see. I see, you... you want to learn the secret of our success, is that right? Alright I'll teach you. First of all you start off with a period of several thousand years, during which you have nothing to sustain you but a great bearded legend.

“Oh my friend you have no land to call your own, to grow food on or to hunt. You have nothing. You're never in one place long enough to have a geography or an army or a land myth. All you have is a little brain. A little brain and a great bearded legend to sustain you and convince you that you are special, even in poverty.

“But this little brain, that's the real key you see. With this little brain you go out and you buy a piece of cloth and you cut that cloth in two and you go and sell it for a penny more than you paid for it. Then you run right out and buy another piece of cloth, cut it into three pieces and sell it for three pennies profit. But, my friend, during that time you must never succumb to buying an extra piece of bread for the table or a toy for a child, no. You must immediately run out and get yourself a still larger piece cloth and so you repeat this process over and over and suddenly you discover something. You have no longer any desire, any temptation to dig into the Earth to grow food or to gaze at a limitless land and call it your own, no, no. You just go on and on and on repeating this process over the centuries over and over and suddenly you make a grand discovery. You have a mercantile heritage! You are a merchant. You are known as a usurer, a man with secret resources, a witch, a pawnbroker, a sheenie, a makie and a kike!”

Cinema Head Cheese Live at Phoenix Comicon 2014!

For the third straight year, Abnormal Entertainment will record live podcasts at Phoenix
Comicon!

Join us on Thursday, June 5 in Room 225a for four straight Abnormal shows!

Banned from iTunes: 5pm - 6pm

Myriads of Thought: 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Maskerpiece Theatre: 8pm - 9pm

Cinema Head Cheese with The Atomic Fallout Society: 9:30pm - 10:30pm

Keep an eye out for the Maskerpiece crew, as they'll be recording video all weekend.

Movie Review: Caesar & Otto's Deadly Xmas (2012; MVD Visual/Wild Eye Releasing)

...(...Christmas, in the Summer...heck, why not?? Christmas horror movies, in the Summer...oh, hell yes!! Besides, we did this last year, with 2012's "Christmas with the Dead", and as I recall, it was a deliciously chilling and comical hoot, remember??)...

...so, how do you like your horror?? A straight up, balls-to-the-walls, over-the-top, freight-trained splatterfest, which give cause to want to take a shower, afterwards?? Subtle, creepy, unnerving and uncomfortable..the kind of horror that chills to the bone, even in a hot & sweltering movie auditorium, where the air conditioning is broken down (...oh, glory be, those good ol' bygone grindhouse theater days)?? Or do you relish a brand of horror that's darkly humored, with a deftly applied, mischievously severed tongue firmly in cheek...the kind of horror that elicits more a maniacal cackle, than a belly laugh, amidst the gratuitous bloodspray and the waywardly rampant rendering of free-flying flesh & limbs?? As far as the latter genre flavor, we've definitely seen some great ones...from Sam Raimi to Edgar Wright...from Don Coscarelli to Peter Jackson...and many others. Balanced comical moments, to temper the onslaught of scares, shocks and gore...laughing fearlessly (...or at least putting up a good front) in the face of gruesome, sometimes monstrous horror. Yes indeed, folks...in truth, and in a twisted way, horror is really not all that removed from comedy...in fact, one might say that they're complementary of each other, like the perfect ice cream, paired up with the ideal (...and blood rare) meat & potatoes. Point in case...

Movie Review: The Bone Snatcher (2003)

by David Hayes

Set in South Africa, this independent chiller is a little more than you would expect. Ambitious story tells the tale of a Canadian researcher called into the Diamond Mines of South Africa when a team of miners disappears. The Researcher and his team of Mine Security run into trouble when they discover that the recent disappearances are the result of an ages old African legend that, in order to physical humanoid form, needs the skeletons of the people he kills. Of course, skin, muscle, fat, etc. is of little use to the creature and is summarily devoured. Bone Snatcher benefits from a location seldom seen in horror today, the deserts of Africa, great to excellent acting, nice direction, well-written story and production. The flesh eating is well done, and the title monster is more than adequate (and more than most big budget fiascos). Sadly, the only way a wide North American audience would ever see this would be to put a major star in the cast and shoot it in Los Angeles.

Buy The Bone Snatcher on DVD

Movie Review: Wakefield Poole's Bijou

As a long time admirer of classic adult features I've come to really respect the work of the folks at Vinegar Syndrome for their ability to put forth an increasingly versatile catalog. There are some interesting adult oriented gems from filmmakers itching for re-discovery and it's important that there are some companies that can take charge in releasing these films in quality presentations. Directors like Carter Steven, Phil Prince, Henry Paris and Armand Weston are a handful of quality golden age directors that I've become fond of over the years - all who need their films brought back to the DVD and Blu-ray format. I'm going to add a new one to the mix in Wakefield Poole (Wakefield Poole's Bible). Wakefield Poole’s hardcore gay feature Bijou has just been released by the Vinegar Syndrome and, well…let’s just say it’s a unique experience.

Bijou opens innocently enough with an interesting mix of three different perspectives – a man driving his car, a mustachioed construction worker walking home from work and a woman crossing a street. The three all come together in not so fortunate circumstances with the driver striking the woman with his car. Our construction worker witnesses this event and promptly takes the injured and possibly dead woman’s purse.

Interracial Sex Havoc Part #4: 1976

We continue our journey through interracial sex in the movies, and this time we’ll take a look at films from 1976. Not all films included here are pornographic, but they had to have at least one interracial sex scene in order to qualify. For this chapter I wrote about plenty of golden age porn [a couple featuring John Holmes], a horror/porn hybrid, a musical/porn hybrid, a Martin Scorsese masterpiece, and more. So, enjoy!

Honey Pie (1976)

The beginning credits’ sketches bring to mind the sleaze paperbacks of the era. This film was directed by Howard Ziehm.

The first scene consists of a girl and a guy having sex in the morning. A bit later the girl leaves, inserts a vibrator in her vagina and takes a ride with a taxi. The taxi driver thinks that there’s something wrong with his fare meter, but in reality he’s listening to the noisy vibrator.

The second sex scene happens between an M.I.L.F. and a young guy. And the third scene is a lesbian one.

Out in the woods, two friends see a married woman, one of them says “Watch what you’re doing” and the other replies “I’d like to do what I’m watching”, and so they decide to do her. She’s open for some double penetration and she’s the hottest person in this movie [Terri Hall].

In the fourth scene, two journalists (one guy and one girl) fuck in the office. The last scene is a BDSM one, in which a white girl is used by a black guy and another white girl. There are many toys used in this one, such as a vibrator, nipple clips, and chains.

Movie Review: The Blue Max (Blu-ray)

Reviewed By: Mike Heenan

Years before entertaining us all on the small screen as Hannibal Smith on the A-Team, George Peppard enjoyed a great career on the big screen with additions to his resume such as the Carpetbaggers, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and How the West was Won.   In the Blue Max, his role took his career on a different turn from the perennial pretty boy to the tough guy we’ve all come to associate him with.

Peppard plays German pilot Bruno Stachel, born into the middle class and destined for the trenches until he is inspired to greatness in the air in World War 1.  Most pilots were of a higher class and Peppard’s uncomfortableness with his upbringing is evident when questioned about his father’s background.  He emphasizes that his father ran a hotel with five rooms, but the rest of the pilots joke how he must have simply been a lowly janitor.  Stachel is on a quest to receive the Blue Max, an award given to pilots with 20 confirmed enemy downings of their aircrafts.  Several of Stachel’s early downings are questioned due to lack of witnesses and he arrogantly argues for the victory, even going so far as to go back to the scene of the crime for evidence.  Surely enough his tally of downings begins to rise as does his ego and his fellow pilots begin to become wary of him and his attitude.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #138 - Thunderbeard and Lightfart

Jeff is back with Kevin this week, and he goes into a slew of movies with Sam Peckinpah, Clint Howard, Clint Eastwood and more.

Reviews include The Lost Empire, Evilspeak, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Warm Bodies and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.

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: Jungle Blue (1978)

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HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD / RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR (Double Feature Blu-ray) Coming August 26, 2014

HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD:
When The Creeping Dead Devour The Living Flesh!

An accident at a chemical plant unleashes a horrific virus, and an elite SWAT team is sent to New Guinea to investigate. But when they arrive on the hellish island, they discover a plague of flesh-eating zombies as well as a beautiful female reporter who practices nude anthropology. Can the commandos survive this cannibal rampage, uncover a shocking government secret, and still find time for the occasional cross-dressing before the ravenous hordes of the living dead infect the entire world?

Directed by the notorious Bruno Mattei (THE OTHER HELL), this ‘80s Italian gut-muncher is infamous for its eye-popping gore, jaw-dropping dialogue and heart-stopping use of inappropriate stock footage. Also known as VIRUS, NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES and even ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH, HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD has been newly transferred in shocking High Definition from the original uncut and uncensored negative!

RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR:
Mutants Of A Nuclear Disaster!

In the year 225 A.B. (After the Bomb), a group of post-apocalyptic bikers discover an abandoned research laboratory filled with food, water… and thousands of rats. But these are no ordinary vermin; these are super-intelligent mutant rodents with a ravenous appetite for human flesh. Can a bunch of heavily armed but not-too-bright human scavengers survive a night of terror against the most hungry and horrific predators on earth?

Directed by the notorious Bruno Mattei (WOMEN’S PRISON MASSACRE), this hilarious Italian shocker is filled with over-the-top gore, bottom-of-the-barrel dialogue and attacks by what appear to be thousands of painted guinea pigs, all capped with a twist ending that must be seen to be believed. Also known as RATS OF MANHATTAN and BLOOD KILL, RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR has been newly transferred in flesh-ripping High Definition from the original uncut and uncensored negative!

Movie Review: Deep Tango (1974) and The Young Secretaries (1974)

Directed by Zachary Strong and Richard Kanter, respectively

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Both Deep Throat (1972) and Last Tango in Paris (1972) entered the American consciousness at roughly the same time. Last Tango in Paris was a dead serious drama about one man's existential dilemma and starred Acting icon Marlon Brando and was directed by world-class filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci. Deep Throat was a cheerful skin flick shot in around a week, actors culled off the sidewalk and was directed by nudie cutie veteran Gerard Damiano. What was fresh in the public's mind was that both films starred curly-haired brunettes (Maria Schneider in Tango; Linda Lovelace in Throat), and since both were rated X, people lined around the block to see all the rampant sex and nudity. Tragically, the film that had the most lasting impact on American culture and cinema was … Deep Throat, a pity.

Vinegar Syndrome has culled two authentic pop cultural items for their latest flesh-colored double feature Blu-Ray with Deep Tango, a San Francisco-lensed hardcore feature that is a hilarious mash-up of Deep Throat and Last Tango in Paris, and The Young Secretaries, a Los Angeles soft-core tale of office politics.

You'll Sweat Blood! "Death Spa" Splatters Blu-ray and DVD This Summer from Dark Sky!

NEWS ON THE OFFICIAL RELAUNCH OF THE GORGON BRAND WILL BE ANNOUNCED EARLY SUMMER 2014!

Peter Walker's "House of Mortal Sin" and "Home Before Midnight" Coming Soon to Blu-ray!

Kino Lorber and Redemption are pleased to announce the release of two more cult classics from British exploitation filmmaker Pete Walker:HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT, a serious look into an illicit affair between a songwriter and an underage fan, and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN, about a corrupt priest who uses his power for his own sinister gain.

Continuing their tradition of releasing the best in European horror and cult classics in new HD transfers, with informative special features, Kino Lorber and Redemption bring HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN to Blu-ray on June 17th, individually priced at $24.95 each. Both Blu-rays come packed with bonus features that will offer something new for long-time fans of these films, including interviews with Pete Walker by horror film expert Elijah Drenner and, on HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN, an audio commentary with director Pete Walker and Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic.

These two films from this master of British horror and exploitation join Kino Lorber and Redemption's other releases of Pete Walker films on Blu-ray, including DIE SCREAMING, MARIANNE, HOUSE OF WHIPCORD, SCHIZO, THE COMEBACK, and - most recently -FRIGHTMARE and THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW.

LAKE PLACID Collector's Edition lands on Blu-ray July 8.

SCREAM FACTORY™ PRESENTS

A Pulse-Pounding Suspense Thriller Written by David E. Kelley and Directed by Steve Miner

LAKE PLACID

Starring Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda and Oliver Platt

COLLECTOR’S EDITION BLU-RAY™

Featuring All-New Interviews with Actor Bill Pullman, Filmmaker Steve Miner and More!

INVADES HOME ENTERTAINMENT SHELVES EVERYWHERE

OWN IT ON JULY 8, 2014 FROM SCREAM FACTORY™

Pre-Order This Highly Anticipated SCREAM FACTORY Home Entertainment Release Today!

You’ll never know what bit you… It has existed prehistoric times and was worshipped by ancient cultures.  It can kill a man with one crushing bite!  This summer, one of the world’s oldest creatures has found a new home.  Written by David E. Kelley (Ally Mcbeal, Boston Legal) and directed by Steve Miner (Halloween H20, Friday The 13th Part 2), LAKE PLACID stars Bill Pullman(Independence Day, The Grudge), Bridget Fonda (Jackie Brown, Point of No Return), Oliver Platt (X-Men: First Class, TV’s Fargo) and Brendan Gleeson (Troy, The Village).  Brimming with heart-racing suspense and thrills, this bloody terrifying tale of man vs. nature and survival also co-stars Betty White (The Golden Girls) as the cantankerous Mrs. Bickerman. On July 8, 2014, SCREAM FACTORY™ will unleash LAKE PLACID COLLECTOR’S EDITION Blu-ray™, featuring insightful bonus content and all-new interviews with director Steve Miner, actor Bill Pullman, production designer John Willett and more. This definitive home entertainment release also contains a collectible cover featuring newly rendered artwork, a reversible cover wrap with original theatrical key art. A must-have for loyal fans, movie collectors and horror enthusiasts to complete their entertainment library, LAKE PLACID COLLECTOR’S EDITION Blu-ray is priced to own at $29.93 SRP.

Ravenous (Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle), a film by Antonia Bird, debuts on Blu-ray June 3 from Scream Factory

SCREAM FACTORY™ PRESENTS

A Film by Antonia Bird

RAVENOUS

Starring Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones, John Spencer, Stephen Spinella, Neal McDonough and David Arquette

UNLEASHES FOR THE FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY™!

AVAILABLE IN STORES EVERYWHERE ON JUNE 3, 2014

Pre-Order This Highly Anticipated SCREAM FACTORY Home Entertainment Release Today!

“Over-the-top energy, gore and style.” – LA Weekly

Inspired by twisted tales of cannibalistic survival like the real-life Donner Party, cult terror feature RAVENOUS graphically depicts a twist on an old cliché: You are who you eat. Directed by the late Antonia Bird (Priest), this unnerving cult thriller stars Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3, Prometheus), Robert Carlyle (TV’s Once Upon A Time), Jeremy Davies (Lost, Saving Private Ryan), Jeffrey Jones (Deadwood, Sleepy Hollow), John Spencer (The West Wing), Stephen Spinella (MILK, Royal Pains), Neal McDonough (Captain America: The First Avenger, Band of Brothers) and David Arquette (Scream 4). The film has steadily and deservedly grown a large following over the last fifteen years. Beyond its darkly comic take on gruesome subject matter and some fantastic scenery and cinematography, RAVENOUS features a unique, quirky soundtrack by acclaimed composers Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn. The two contributed compositions separately, collectively serving up a musical stew combining 19th century American folk instruments, electronic sounds and orchestral flourishes; a romantic past filtered through an anxious present.

Movie Review: Tin Can Man (2007)

Directed by Ivan Kavanough

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Peter (Patrick O'Donnell) is a working class schmoe with a boring office job. His non-committal girlfriend has rebuffed his recent marriage proposal. One evening, while he listens to Depression Era jazz there is a knock at the door of his gloomy apartment. An unctuous weasel-like man (Michael Parle) asks to his use Peter's phone as “there has been a terrible accident” (shades of A Clockwork Orange!). Taking Peter's phone in the hallway, he roars with malefic laughter. Returning Peter's phone, the overbearing gentleman makes inane chit-chat until he reveals the inevitable: There was no terrible accident, and he's there to whisk Peter away for an evening of horrible adventure …

The two pay a visit to Peter's drunken sot of a father. The man ingratiates himself to tipsy old dad, but then announces that Peter must accompany him to the restroom in order to hold his penis. Ordered out by the seething father, the man suggests to Peter that he should just up and put his father out of his misery.

Movie Review: House in the Alley (2012)

Written and Directed by Le-Van Kiet

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Bad decisions, young marriage and capitulating to the irrational demands of our loved ones – and NOT some spooky orphan children provide the real horror behind Vietnam’s House in the Alley. As the film ably demonstrates, arbitrary phantoms have little impact on an already disastrous situation stemming from a MOST dysfunctional marriage.

Our hero Thanh (Son Bao Tran) is a young, spineless jellyfish in his twenties who takes a most immature wife, Thao (Thanh Van Ngo). Working as a supervisor in a factory that his mother owns and manages, Thanh and Thao buy a spacious home (the home in the alley of the title). Thao suffers a bloody, hysterical miscarriage in their new home's bedroom. In order to facilitate his Thao's grieving process, the husband agrees to have the coffin of their miscarried child prominently displayed in their bedroom. BAAAAAAAAAaaaaad decision.

Movie Review: Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape (2010; Nucleus Films/Severin)

...and to think that we've had it bad, here in the States, with regards to an established movies rating board, and it's effect on horror films, or even the whole of motion pictures, itself; well actually, if one gets right down to it, it isn't necessarily the viewers who have it bad here...it's the film makers, and their desire to get their uncut and unexpunged 'vision' out for the genre-favoring public to see (...though, in favor of the filmmakers, their 'vision' is often eventually realized and seen, upon home video release, giving the avid and indiscriminant viewer a choice between the rated and the unrated). The domestically based MPAA ratings board has gone through a whole spectrum of transition, since it's untried 1922 inception...it's staunch, disciplined and assumedly morally driven members...reputably considered a responsible and morally sound lot...yet, often going back and forth and back again, from easy and liberal, to strict and militant. One cannot help but view the more contemporary archival evidence of the past, in taking an overview of this transition, and be quite taken aback...from a day when an imported Dracula film, exuding blatant images and concepts of sex, immorality, drunkenness, lesbianism, atheism, the domineering/surrendering of religion by/to the forces of evil, grave violation, church desecration, and downright violent imagery of blood-gushing death, dismemberment and impalement, garnished a 'G' rating (...circa 1968, Hammer's "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave"...don't believe me?? Check out the movie's page at IMDB. A misprint, you say?? Now check out the back cover of the home video)...to today's ratings board atmosphere, where mere cigarette smoking can make the difference between a 'PG' and 'PG-13' rating, and the difference between a 'PG-13' and "R' rated movie is sometimes dependent upon how many times the word 'fuck' is used in the film. Hypocritical, you say?? As the great Al Jolson once said, "...you ain't seen...or in this case, 'heard' nothing yet!!" Let's take a trip across the seas, to our neighboring continental British counterpart, shall we?? You just ain't gonna believe this...

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.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #137 - Kent Stand It

In the wake of a slew of exciting Marvel movies, and with the upcoming Justice League series, Kevin watched Man of Steel, and he has plenty to say about it. Prepare for spoilers.

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

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Movie Review: In the Blood (2014)

There seems to be a genre of action films in which the main character used to be some tough badass, and right as they're turning a new leaf to become a kinder, gentler them, someone they love disappears, and they have to return to their former badassery. In the Blood is no exception. In a flashback to start the movie, young Ava is taught how to be tough by her dad. She's also taught to be an emotionless stiff with a mind for killing. Really, it's what any dad would do. Look for my daughter the robot in a few years. Anyway, we come to present day, when Ava is about to walk down the aisle and marry Derek, the son of a wealthy douchebag (Treat Williams) who assumes that Ava is nothing but a gold digger. This might have to do with the fact that the happy couple met in drug rehab.

The couple weds and heads off to an exotic Caribbean vacation to a house owned by Derek's family. At a local restaurant, they're befriended by a young guy named Manny, who promises to take the couple ziplining. I'm going to let you guess what happens next. Got it yet? Come on, it's not that hard. There you go. Something goes wrong on the zipline. Derek's hook snaps, and though Manny tries to save him, he crashes through the trees, breaking his leg. For some reason, the ambulance drivers won't let Ava ride along, and she loses them on the way to the hospital. This is when, as the kids say, shit gets real.

Movie Review: The Flesh and Blood Show (Blu-ray)

Reviewed By: James

This slasher is about a theatrical group that is hired by some anonymous person and sent to this theater to rehearse while there is someone kills them off one by one. Pete Walker is very inspired in this film by Agatha Christie and mixes it with a little visceral horror to make a slow moving but at times very effective little film. This film really seems to revel in sexploitation and gives you some softcore goodies that most perverts like me will smile, but delivers some decent horror that also will keep that smile. This slasher is about a theatrical group that is hired by some anonymous person and sent to this theater to rehearse. While there someone is killing them off one by one. Pete Walker is very inspired in this film by Agatha Christie and mixes it with a little visceral horror to make a slow moving but at times very effective little film. This film really seems to revel in sexploitation and gives you some softcore goodies that most perverts like me will smile, but delivers some decent horror that also will keep the smile on our faces. 

Dan Curtis' Dracula Coming to Blu-ray May 27th from Dark Sky Films!

Academy Award winner Jack Palance stars in this terrifying adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel Dracula, written for the screen by sci-fi/horror master Richard Matheson (The Twilight Zone, I Am Legend, Duel) and produced by the legendary Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, Trilogy of Terror, The Winds of War). Palance (City Slickers, Batman, Shane, Contempt) is Count Dracula, whose centuries-old existence is threatened after he attacks the lovely Lucy Westenra (Fiona Lewis, Dr. Phibes Rises Again), and her fiance (Simon Ward, The Tudors, Young Winston) calls in famed vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Nigel Davenport, A Man for All Seasons; Mary, Queen of Scots) to investigate.

Movie Review: "Red Flag/Rubberneck" (2012; Tribeca Film/Cinedigm)

...whether the endeavor proves successful, or garnishes failure, it's actually sometimes interesting to see a filmmaker attempt to concoct feature films in his or her repertoire, under different...sometimes drastically different genres. The act of trying out something outside of one's normally assumed genre...like putting on an alternate overcoat, in a style totally unexpected...for whatever reason...self-arrogance...boredom...creatively wanting to get something off the chest...confidence in one's self, in working out of the norm...it all goes right down to, it's a matter of 'if you are going to do this, you better get it right, or you'll alienate your core audience" (...although there have been countless directors, who have done this very thing, one cannot help but call attention to one of the latest, Kevin Smith, and the mixed results of his break from the norm, "Red State"). However, given a fledgling filmmaker's tendency to do this...to try on different genres...one cannot help but think that the director isn't really sure what he or she wants to do or say, and conjecture inclined, might lead to believe that he's/she's letting the criticism and/or acclaim for his work, drive that filmmaker toward what he or she may prove best at...and yes, ironically, this is in a world where seasoned and untried filmmakers seem to want to strive to break away from their norm, do something that's unconventionally original and different...something deep inside, which they want to say, or a vision, which they want to show...damned be the critics, in the interim...

...oh, Hollywood!! You're so...odd...

...but then, so is this very much contrasting pairing of independents, the humorous "Red Flag", and it's dramatically tense co-feature, "Rubberneck"...both produced, directed and starring actor, and now filmmaker Alex Karpovsky; and yet, while very much odd, this two-fer may not be as opposingly different, as the premises might suggest...

Movie Review: "Dead Shadows" (2012; DC Medias/Section 5/Shout Factory)

...for this ardent viewer of cult and genre films...well, sometimes it almost seems that he's seen it all. Heck, are there really any more original ideas, out there?? It's gotten to the point where this devoted auteur of oddball cinema can spot a concept film, coming from miles away. It's no wonder, one cannot help but think that all of the great core concepts have been used up, and all that there's left, is a melding of concepts....'this', crossed with 'that', with a smidgen of 'this, over here'. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I truly wish that I was a fly on the wall, in one of those darkened studio executive board rooms, watching some young and enthusiastic writer, wildly acting out a concept, in front of a gaggle of stiff-suited, stogie-puffing, poker-faced executives...trying to convince them to invest their interest and monetary resources, in what the writers believe is a great idea for a movie (...and to be quite honest, being an aspiring writer myself, I would genuinely want to be on the writer's end of this scenario, as for the most part, they're on the deckplate level, like all of us, and as such, they seem to have a finger on the pulse of what audiences would want to see; most studio execs, given their opportunity to put in their two cents worth, idea-wise, seem driven foremost by money, and as such, think that they know what movie watchers want...coupled with what they believe will bring in the big bank...and for the most part, time and time again, both motivations fail to mesh as irreadily as their mis-matched concepts, and in the end, more than often, they tend to be wrong)...

"Curtains" Terrorizes Blu-ray and DVD this July!

SOMEONE IS WAITING, SOMEONE IS WATCHING...

CURTAINS
AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY AND DVD JULY 8!

AND THE CURTAINS PART!

John Vernon (CHAINED HEAT, National Lampoon’s ANIMAL HOUSE) and Samantha Eggar (THE BROOD, THE EXTERMINATOR) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.

A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra”, and these women are just dying for the chance to play her! Stryker’s last star, Samantha Sherwood (Eggar), is so determined to get the part, she committed herself to an asylum to prepare for the role. Unfortunately for all, a crazed killer in a disgusting “hag” mask is viciously murdering everyone one by one. Who will survive the final curtain call?

Lovingly re-mastered in 2K resolution from original vault materials virtually untouched for over 30 years, CURTAINS makes its high-definition world premiere from Synapse Films. 

Special Features:

• The Ultimate Nightmare:
    The Making of CURTAINS                               Retrospective
• Audio Commentary with Stars
    Lesleh Donaldson and Lynne Griffin
• Audio Interviews with Producer                     Peter R. Simpson and Star
    Samantha Eggar
• Theatrical Trailer
• New 5.1 Surround Remix