Movie Review: The Slumber Party Massacre (Blu-ray)

Scream Factory has had their hand in the Blu-ray debuts of many of the classic slashers from the 80's. One such film that they've recently unearthed for a High-Def makeover is from the one and only, King of the B's, Roger Corman. Throughout Roger Corman’s career (most notably in the 70s and 80s), the legendary cult film producer and director has taken a lot of unwarranted abuse by critics and film-goers for producing too many films that portray women as just objects, that are best seen either naked or getting killed. To me that’s a bunch of crap. Few producers have empowered the female gender like Roger Corman has. Sure they get naked, and yes plenty have perished at the hands of Carnosuars and driller killers, but some talented ladies have actually been employed to do more, like direct, write and produce. The director of the Slumber Party Massacre is is actually a talented woman by the name of Amy Jones. That's my evidence, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Gloria Steinem! Now onto the movie!

Movie Review: The Mutilator (1984, Blu-ray)

Now that the busy season of the hubby’s business is over and October has wrapped up, I can get back to my reviews. And I’m excited to jump back in with a film from the most tubular of decades - the 80s!

The Mutilator (original title Fall Break) begins with the most unfortunate of events. Little Ed Jr. decides that the best birthday present he can give his father is to clean all his dad’s guns. We’ve all been there. Checking down the sight of a rifle and pulling the trigger to make sure everything’s clean and accidentally killing our moms, amirite?

Needless to say, Ed Sr.’s cheese slides a little off his cracker when he comes home to find his wife dead and his spawn responsible. 

Years later, Ed is in college and the relationship with his father is basically nonexistent. Until now. He wants Ed to close up the beach condo for the winter. And how convenient because Ed and his friends are on fall break (ahhh…now the original title makes more sense!) and have nothing to do. So why not help close up the place while enjoying time at the beach?

Because Ed’s dad is a fucking nut job and wants them all dead!! Particularly Junior, of whom he dreams about killing all the time.

Movie Review: Bloody Birthday (1981, Severin Films)

Thinking about having a kid? Want to expand your family so you can have more love in your life (and a lot of snot and poop from what I’m told)? That’s cool. Just don’t give birth on the night of a lunar eclipse. That’ll fuck your plans up but good.

Bloody Birthday begins with a trio of families birthing unto the world three kids - two boys and a girl. It’s also the night of a lunar eclipse. Isn’t that fascinating? Not really. And you’ll find out why.

The story jumps ahead ten years later to a young teenage couple making out in a cemetery. Um, what? The gal is worried about being seen “doing it” out in the open. Really, sweetheart? That's what you’re worried about? The boyfriend is nothing but accommodating so he leads her to an OPEN FUCKING GRAVE where they can bow-chicka-wow-wow in private. And then promptly die.

After the murders, the local Sheriff thinks discussing the travesty openly and honestly with a bunch of 10-year olds is the best thing to do. To be fair, a broken jump rope handle was found at the scene and personally I think they all look like they could have done it. And it soon becomes apparent that three of these kids are responsible.

"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

 

Movie Review: X-Ray/Schizoid (1982/1980, Cannon/Shout Factory)

Oh, how delightfully crazed and eclectically varied, was the cinematic reign once held by 'the little studio that could', The Cannon Group. From production to distribution...from relentless vigilantes to shuriken-welding ninjas...from fantastic fantasy-filled adventures to special effects-filled sci-fi spectaculars...from psycho killers to break-dancing 'boogaloos'...from sleazy big-studio knock-offs to Academy Award-winning respectables...Cannon Films...ambitiously led by the exploitatively entrepreneur-driven efforts of Menahem Golen and Yoram Globus...managed to hold their own quite well against the 'big boys' of Hollywood...their inception, their brief, albeit respectable studio run, their eventual downfall...all components in a most intriguing story, which in itself, would make for quite an interesting tale to tell (...and actually WILL, when the long-awaited documentary, "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films", is unleashed upon the public, sometime next year). And how equally delightful is the relevation that the fine folks at Shout Factory, has picked up a good number of titles from the Cannon Group library...culled from their direct film production efforts, to those of outer circle production sources...domestic and international...which, in their exploitatively idyllic wisdom, chose to represent and distribute. Never one to ignore a 'flavor-of-the-moment' movie trend, Cannon was, of course, quick to ride the late '70's/mid-to-late '80's 'splatter movie' bandwagon, with some of their own visceral & juicy productions and acquisitions...

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: Psycho III (1986, Universal/Scream Factory)

...ya' know?? Horror film franchises are very much like that old game played around the campfire, on a crisp and chilly night...you know, the one where one person makes up a scary story, introducing characters and situations, and forging a few lines of imaginatively wrought creeps and scares. Then, the story is passed onto the next person, who weaves further development and intrigue into the initiated proceedings, taking the characters and situations into...depending upon the person...equally imaginative directions. And of course, the story is carried forth by the next person...and the next person...and so on...until the last person in the circle, who hopefully takes everything that's been literarily place onto the table, and ties everything together, into a reasonably gripping finale. Again, given the level of creativity and imagination amongst the participants of this little game, the story may well have it's share of embraceable high points, as well as it's lackluster low points. We, the devoted purveyors of horror cinema, have engaged many a chapter in numerous movie franchises...as far back as the Universal monster classics of yesteryear, up to and including the contemporary horrors of today (...the Freddy's, the Jason's, the Leatherface's, and so on)...which utilize this very method of storytelling, with similar high and low points, depending upon the storytellers involved. And without exception, considering that ONE certain horror movie franchise, genuinely contributed in the inception of those aforementioned, as well as laid the seed, in which a certain splattery sub-genre in the horror film realm was eventually conceived...well, my fine folks, shall we look no further than ol' Norman Bates himself, in examining such hand-over-hand storytelling evolution...hmmmm?? Come on...let's go around the corner, just over there...where it's dark.....

Movie Review: The Burning (1981, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

Review By: Rob Sibley

1981 was a monumental year for horror films and in my opinion. 81 saw the release of some of the best of the genre. Evil Dead was finally hitting theaters, American Werewolf in London was turning heads with it's ground breaking special FX and hybrid of horror and comedy. Jason Vorhees was rising up from the grave... well water for Friday the 13^th part II and Barbara Hershey was dealing with one rapey ghost in The Entity. Horror fans had a lot of films and it's various sub-genres to sink their teeth into in 81. But the biggest of all the sub-genres had to be the slasher film, some say Carpenter's Halloween started it, others say Black Christmas or Friday the 13th. I'm not going to involve myself in that discussion. But I will say without a doubt in my mind, Mario Bava's 1971 Italian classic “A Bay of Blood” got the ball rolling. Boy o boy that ball sure rolling in the 80's, it seems like every week a new slasher picture was hitting the multiplexes. Dousing the screen with enough blood & T&A to keep any warm blooded young man happy.

So many slasher films were produced back then that we still are discovering some of them to this day. Let me go back to 1981 for a minute, for the slasher film the year saw two huge sequels. Halloween II & Friday the 13^th part II. It also saw the release of such gems as Jeff Leibermans Just Before Dawn, Joe Zito's The Prowler, Tobe Hooper's The Fun House, My Bloody Valentine and many many more. Of coarse with such a large amount of films of the same ilk being released some of those are bound to sadly go a tad unnoticed. One of those films was the slasher classic “The Burning”. Featuring FX work by Tom Savini (Who famously turned down Friday 2 to work on this one) and stylish direction by Tony Maylam makes this one a cut above the rest.

Movie Review: Maniac (2013)

Review by John Beutler

Ya' know?? For a while there, I was worried...worried that this new incarnation of the uncompromisingly violent, brutal, perverse and grimy 1980 splatter horror classic, "Maniac", would suffer in much the same way as other attempts at making...or rather, remaking some of the more prominent and controversial '80's horror flicks (...like "Friday the 13th" and "Last House on the Left", for instance), in that the film would be newly rendered in what this viewer has previously & often termed as having a 'rustic slickness', which often tends to temper the overall tone of raw and visceral horror, notable in classics past. Well, I'm quite elated to say that this is not wholly the case, as the 2013 film, "Maniac" definitely exhues a most familiar, albeit slightly toned down and polished sense of dark, inner-city, back-alley filth and seediness...one of the aspects, which made the original film very uncomfortably irresistible to watch...though indeed, this new 'Maniac' definitely reflects a sense of higher production value, as compared to it's inspiration. That been said, the film...despite how respectably accomplished it looks, and how effectively the film unnerves and unsettles...DOES somewhat fail in ways that seem inevitable and unavoidable...in ways, which made the original film so alluringly embraceable...

Movie Review: Terror Train (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

Revenge themed horror surrounding nerds and bullies became a huge part of genre films in the 70’s and 80’s. For example, Massacre at Central High sort of stands out as a movie early on that pushed forth this often fun narrative that brings a rooting mentality to many viewers (Hell, I’m a nerd..Just not the smart kind).  The 1987 slasher Slaughter High also comes to mind as a highly enjoyable (though stupid) nerd on the rampage flick.  Roger Spottiswoode’s Terror Train nails down the same template while it not as serious in tone as Massacre at Central High nor as goofy as Slaughter High – it really captures a happy medium. Now it’s available for the first time in a special edition Blu-ray/Combo Pack from Scream Factory so now you can see Jamie Lee do her best to evade a geek for 90 minutes.

Terror Train begins in fairly cruel manner as our embattled nerd is being tricked by a group of college kids thinking he's going to get laid. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Alana Maxwell, a lovely and very innocent co-conspirator who gets mixed up with a prank that ends up with the nerd necking with a corpse wrangled by the evil medical students. I don’t know about you, but I’d be pissed! Years pass (as they always do in slashers) and he’s back for blood-soaked revenge on this group of douche-bags.

Movie Review: Death Valley (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

Shout Factory’s Scream Factory label have made a big statement lately with their efforts in putting out some of the finer horror flicks produced in the 80’s and 90’s and giving them the red-carpet treatment on Blu-ray . One film that I’m quite happy to see available for the first time on Blu-ray is Dick Richard’s slasher flick Death Valley. I watched bits and pieces of Death Valley when it would pop up on HBO or cable back in the mid 80’s and it always creeped me out. Being a youngster at the time I never could finish it because the lead character was my age and was being hunted by a psycho-killer. I was so frightened of “Strange Danger” and all that bullshit little kids were fed that something like Saturday The 14^th was a better option. It’s a few decades later and I must say, I’ve watched it all the way through (with my security blanket) and Death Valley takes Stranger Danger to a whole level.

Movie Review: Bloody Bloody Bible Camp (2012)

I said it back when I reviewed The Frankenstein Syndrome, and I'll say it again. I don't pander. If a friend makes a movie that I don't like, I won't review it. I'd rather say nothing than lie. That being said, I was very excited to see our own David Hayes in Bloody Bloody Bible Camp. The cast includes Reggie Bannister, Ron Jeremy and Tim Sullivan, and that, plus the crazy title are all a horror fan really needs to get into a movie like this. As proud of this as Dave and director Vito Trabucco are, I knew it had to be good. Not only was it funny and ridiculously gory, it was a perfect love letter to classic slasher flicks.

Bloody Bloody Bible Camp AVAILABLE on July 27th!

Bloody Bloody Bible Camp will be available July 27th via Cable ONDEMAND in the U.S. and Canada and on digital VOD via iTunes, Vudu and Amazon!

Following its VOD premiere, Bloody Bloody Bible Camp will be available on DVD throughout rental and retail locations across the U.S. 

The Limited Edition Retro 80's VHS will release This October exclusively through http://www.cultmoviemania.com/!

For more information, visit the official movie website for Bloody Bloody Bible Camp at: http://www.bloodybloodybiblecamp.com/

Or download it directly from iTunes at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/bloody-bloody-bible-camp/id541320251

BLOODY BLOODY BIBLE CAMP had it's North American Premiere on May 5th at Texas Frightmare Weekend in Dallas and also screened at the Phoenix Comicon on May 25th.

Upcoming screenings include: Kansas City - Czar Bar - Slaughter Movie House - Aug. 6th, San Antonio - Horrific Film Fest - Sept. 1st, Atlanta Horror Film Festival - Sept. 28 - 30th, Pittsburgh Horror Realm Convention - Sept. 21 -23rd, Miss Misery's Days Of Terror Sacramento Horror Convention - Sept. 28 - 29th, Flint Horror Con - Oct. 20th... more screenings to be announced.

Synopsis: It's 1984 and a group of young, horny, out of control Christians led by Father Cummings (Reggie Bannister) are spending a fun filled weekend at the Happy Day Bible Camp. All ignore the warnings from the local folk of the grizzly murders that took place 7 years prior by a sadistic crazy nun. Is Sister Mary Chopper (Tim Sullivan) dead or is she just waiting for backsliding Christians to commit sins of the unholy, and will Jesus (Ron Jeremy) need to lend a hand to save the day? Bloody Bloody Bible Camp also stars Indie-Horror Favorites David C. Hayes, Jeff Dylan Graham Elissa Dowling & Ivet Corvea.

iTunes Download: http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/bloody-bloody-bible-camp/id541320251
BBBC Website: http://www.bloodybloodybiblecamp.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloody-Bloody-Bible-Camp/112626158782009?ref=ts

Michael Myers goes Blu! Anchor Bay Entertainment debuts HALLOWEEN 4 and HALLOWEEN 5 in high-def on August 28th!

Michael Myers is back, and he’s never looked better. On August 28^th, Anchor Bay Entertainment revamps two of the most iconic horror films to ever grace the big screen with Halloween 4 and Halloween 5. Coming to Blu-ray with all new HD transfers and over an hour of both archival and newly created bonus features, Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 both hit retail with an SRP of $24.99.  Pre-book is July 25th.

Halloween 4

He had maimed 16 people to get to his sister.  He was shot and incinerated, but still the entity that Dr. Sam Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) calls “Evil on two legs” would not die. Tonight, Michael Myers has come home again…to kill! This time, Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris, Halloween 5, The Last Boy Scout) – the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode – and her babysitter Rachel (Ellie Cornell, Halloween 5, House of the Dead). Can Loomis stop Michael before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece?

Movie Review: Chromeskull: Laid to Rest II (Blu-ray)

I've always had a serious itch for slasher films. The masked-psycho has always been fun so it was only natural that I'd dig Robert Hall's ultra-gory slasher Laid To Rest. Well, Chromeskull is back - he's brought along his nifty knife, inventive kills and plot holes galore that made the first such a sadistic thrill. I love this shit!

Buy Chromeskull: Laid To Rest II Blu-ray or DVD

In Chromeskull: Laid To Rest II, Chromeskull ( Nick Principe ) has somehow miraculously survived an acid attack that took him by surprise in the first film. He's in bad shape, but he's still breathing. It also appears that our killer who really had no background to speak of in the original film is the head of what is called "The Agency". What "The Agency" does is pretty much a mystery. One of Chromeskull's pals, Preston ( Brian Austin Green, Beverly Hills 90210 ) is among his most loyal associates. Preston however, has something else up his sleeve with Chromeskull on the mend.

Movie Review: Slaughter High (1986, Arrow Video)

There were few films towards the end of the “slasher cycle” during the late 80’s that really carried the wonderfully mindless splattered spirit of the earlier classics from the decade. Popular “bodycount” films like the first four Friday the 13th movies, The Burning, My Bloody Valentine and Happy Birthday To Me may have been devoid of strong acting performances and a sound narrative but they sure as hell were fun to watch. The creativity of the deaths were huge in these movies. The lousy slashers at the time didn’t follow the formula. George Dugdale, Peter Litten and Mark Ezra’s Slaughter High (AKA April Fools Day) attempted to follow what it was that actually worked for those movies : Gory deaths, graphic nudity and Harry Manfrendini. Ok, Harry only worked on the Friday the 13th films, but you know what I mean. It's really a mix that's hard to beat for genre fans Arrow Video has put together their own release that, to say the least, is a good answer for the paltry Lionsgate DVD from a few years ago.

Buy Slaughter High on DVD at Amazon UK

80's Slashers "The Funhouse" and "Slaughter High" Debut on Blu-ray and DVD from Arrow Video this July!

The word ‘classic’ is certainly one that is overused, especially in respect to cinema, but in the case of Tobe Hooper’s memorable teen-slasher, The Funhouse, the term is definitely justified. Now, this highly regarded shocker is coming to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, packed with extras and featuring a stunning, brand new transfer of the film in glorious High Definition.

Buy The Funhouse Blu-ray at Amazon UK

Reportedly the project that was responsible for Hooper having to turn down directing duties on ‘E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial’, The Funhouse is that rarest of cinematic treats - a genuinely fun and creepy horror film. From its inspired opening sequence that pays homage to both ‘Psycho’ and ‘Halloween’ in the same breath, to an excellent cast that includes Elizabeth Berridge (Amadeus), Shawn Carson (Something Wicked This Way Comes), Miles Chapin (The People Vs. Larry Flynt; Howard The Duck) and Wayne Doba (Scarface; Almost Famous; Monkeybone), along with cult favourites William Finley (Phantom Of The Paradise; The Fury; The Black Dahlia) and two-time Oscar nominee Sylvia Miles (Farewell My Lovely; Midnight Cowboy), and special make design by six-time Oscar winner Rick Baker (An American Werewolf In London), The Funhouse is an unmissable delight for horror fans.