Movie Review: Don't Look in the Basement 2 (2015, Horror/Terror; RDM Pictures/Legless Corpse Films)

...for most avid cult film fans, public domain movies...the amassed number of which tends to rise and fall, like some unstable stock market entity, based upon...on one end of the spectrum, occasional, flavor-of-the-moment interest in the film's renewal...in-between, a whole lotta stale, albeit tasty cheese...and on the other end, total lack of interest, whatsoever...are, for lack of a better term, 'embraceably negligible' classics. Recognized classics, to be sure...but negligible, in the sense of the now-invariable ho-hum standard that they once set...many of them set on the path to obscurity, once relegated to mere truncated late-night TV viewing, and now, generically found on countless multi-movie collections (...these days, a la 'Echo Bridge' and 'Mill Creek', just to name a couple of the 'majors', in the venue)...

...Alas...Forlorn. Abandoned. Forgotten (...eh, nudge, nudge)...

...and yet, some...given an attentive study of a numerous select few...seem hardly worthy of the misfit, nary-hand-waving, matter-of-fact abandonment and ignorance, which coins a large number of those films...with certain and resignated finality, relegated to the 'public domain' category, and as such, have been underliningly rallied and championed by their equally eclectically select fan bases; and let's face it: knowing that certain films are, in fact, public domain...well, is genuinely jaw-dropping, upon close examination (...in a revelating 'for instance', it's probably no secret that the grand pooh-bah 'holy grail' of all flesh-gnashing zombie flicks...yes, director George Romero's immortal 1968 horror classic, "Night of of the Living Dead" is indeed one of them...sliding in and out of the public domain realm, all the time...Go figure, right??)...

Movie Review: Anna: Scream Queen Killer (2013)

Chemical Burn Entertainment. When that popped up on the screen I couldn’t help rolling my eyes and shuddering in disgust at the same time. My last experience with this production/distribution company brought me Piranha-Man vs. Werewolf Man. I still have nightmares... But once this flick got rolling, I was pleasantly surprised at its quality. Well, maybe ‘pleasantly’ is too strong a word. I didn’t vomit, let’s put it that way.

Anna: Scream Queen Killer is about Anna (duh), a well known horror actress who’s been called to audition for some upcoming work. It starts out normal enough - she works through several scenes calling for her to be infected by an alien virus, to become a vampire, be trapped and afraid, etc. But each scenario the director asks for becomes more and more twisted and sexual. She’s also required to remove more clothing each time. Though obviously uncomfortable, Anna continues to comply in hopes of getting the job.

As the audition process drags on (and on and on…), it seems the director just wants to get his rocks off but for Anna, the lines between reality and make-believe begin to blur.

The Ultimate Blu-ray Release of "Blue Sunshine" is Now Available From FilmCentrix!

Unexplained acts of violence and murder are occurring in Los Angeles, all with a couple of strange similarities: the killers have suddenly gone bald and are somehow connected to a drug known only as ‘Blue Sunshine.’

When Jerry Zipkin (Zalman King) is wrongfully accused of murdering 3 women whose real killer was his best friend, Frannie (Richard Crystal), another victim of Blue Sunshine, he sets out to clear his name and discover the secret behind the mysterious substance. With the cops hot on his trail, Zipkin carefully elludes capture, while he unravels the mystery, leading him into the secret world of political coverups and deadly scientific studies, where death and mayhem lurk around every corner.

FilmCentrix and legendary director, Jeff Lieberman (Squirm, Just Before Dawn), proudly present this 1977 horror classic in a brand new, director approved 4K restoration, made from the original 35mm camera negative. The ultimate trip!

Movie Review: "The Bandit" (2016, Documentary; Miles End Films/CMT)

...hey, no doubt about it...it was a little '70's drive-in-flavored flick, with some rather big cohones...er, rather big ambitions. Pretty much snubbed as mere exploitative dreck by just about every studio who laid eyes upon the script...yes, even by A.I.P., of all places...hell, even by the very studio that eventually, albeit reluctantly picked it up for production...and surprisingly (...considering his previous few films of similar ilk, playing the likes of 'Gator' McKlusky, W.W. Bright, or simply Lewis, from "Deliverance"), it was even resigned and relegated as virtually unreleasable by the film's proposed star, who called the script 'ridiculous', suggesting that no one, absolutely no one would buy into it (...though, with the added 'what-the-hell' notion of 'well, OK...if you can get the money and the studio, I'll do it'). Clearly, a gamble for the film's untried director...this pretty much unknown,  recklessly seasoned, albeit capable stuntman, albeit with 20 years of experience, having executed some of the most dynamic falls, crashes and fist-fights set to film, and still managing to walk away from it all, relatively unscathed. Indeed, a gamble for even the film's aforementioned 'star' who put his own reputation and superstardom on the line...nay, not for the money, not for the fame, not even for the experience...but for his dearest and most devoted friend, who's abilities, though not necessarily the project, he had the utmost faith in, even as everyone else was suggesting...no, outright insinuating that he couldn't do it...

Movie Review: The Hawaiians (1970)

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Directed by Tom Gries

The first film adaptation of the sprawling James Michener novel, Hawaii was the epic of the same name in 1966 (see my previous review here). That entry concentrated on the influence of American Christian missionaries on native islanders in the early 19th Century. The Hawaiians, which followed in 1970, would concentrate on the impact of Chinese and Japanese migrants arriving in the tropical paradise at the turn of the century. Presenting a wide diorama of various cultures struggling for dominance in an enchanting land, The Hawaiians maintains an intimate narrative while thoroughly entertaining its audience.

Preeminent American screen star Charlton Heston stars as Whip Hoxworth, an irascible seaman eager to leave his business of transporting Chinese immigrants – who are essentially “indentured servants,” or “slaves” to keep the bustling island's capital of Honolulu running. Among whip's latest batch is the shrewd Mun Ki (Mako) who plans to make the at-first slovenly and unappealing “mountain girl” Nyuk Tsin (Tina Chen, the film's true star) into a first-class prostitute. But as history proves, there are lots of variables, and in short order Nyuk Tsin becomes Mun Ki's “wife.” The Hawaiians then focuses on Nyuk's journey from a hapless victim to a strong-willed, industrious woman who galvanizes the large family she starts with Mun Ki into prosperity – in spite, or perhaps because of the limitations placed upon her as a low-caste Chinese woman.

Cinema Head Cheese: Podshort! - Suicide Squad (2016)

Kevin and the Maskerpiece Theatre crew discuss the latest addition to the DC cinematic universe that includes some comparison to the Arrow-verse.

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Cinema Head Cheese: Podshort! - For All Kings by Anthrax (2016)

Kevin reviews the latest release from the thrash metal icons.

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Cinema Head Cheese: Podshort! - Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016)

Kevin is joined by the Maskerpiece Theatre crew for a longer podshort about the best new show on Netflix.

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Movie Review: Bestseller (2016)

We all know that I can be a sucker for a single location film. The ability for a filmmaker to take a single location, invest it with enough malice (in this case) that allows a small cast to take us on a rollercoaster ride, and let the audience go. Bestseller, to a large extent, succeeds in that regard. There are classic examples of the genre, like Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin’s  Wait Until Dark and, more recently, The Strangers. What Bestseller has going for it is a sympathetic lead, a remote location and some very effective cinematography. Much like early John Carpenter’s work, the actor blocking and camera combine for an effect that allows us to immerse ourselves in Ann’s plight. These strengths, periodically through the film, also become the few instances that hold Bestseller back from its true potential as a thriller.

BUY IT HERE!