Movie Review: SHHHH (2018)

I understand the appeal of horror and comedy mashing it up. I also understand the absolute HATRED of the mixed genre, because it’s either very good or fucking awful. I’m gonna have to go with the latter for my review of this flick.

SHHHH stars James Henderson as Harris, a struggling film maker in Los Angeles (how original and unexpected.) While trying to make ends meet with his job at a crappy video store—do those still exist?—he spends most of his spare time, when not making movies, with his mom at the theater. They love to go see films together, even lesbian vampires feeling each other up and licking each other’s nipples. And while they do have fun, there’s always some asshole ruining the experience: the food wrapper crinkler, the guy on his phone the whole time, the talkers, the super tall people who sit RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU despite all the other empty seats...it’s enough to drive Harris to murder.

Movie Review: "House of Forbidden Secrets" (2013; Extreme Entertainment/Unearthed Films)

(…might wanna kick your feet up, an’ stay a spell…this one’s gonna be a mutha’, to wade through…but well worth the read, you can be sure…)

…ahem!! More than often enough, in reviewing genre films…especially those which engage even the quickest ‘wink-wink’ moments of nostalgia and throwback…this reviewer genuinely wishes that he had a deftly installed switch in the back of his head…an ‘on/off’ switch, which would ably disconnect the genre film geek part of his brain…yes, that dark, damp and cobwebbed corner of the mind that’s stuffed to the gills with even the most obscure trivia information about the countless cult & genre films he’s watched, and all the equally obscure settings, dialogue, storylines, actors, and characters played by those actors. That way, when an inspired filmmaker feels the necessity to exude those aforementioned ‘moments of nostalgia’ in a film…maybe perhaps dwelling on them more than need be…this ‘fright film fan’ could instead concentrate on the virtues and greatness of the film itself, and not be distracted by the cute little, chuckle-inducing ‘hey, isn’t that…??’ elbow nudges to the rib cage, which for all intent and purpose, at the very worst, might have been put there to merely help ‘sell’ the film…

…hey don’t get (me) wrong…I do appreciate those moments…but again, sometimes they tend to distract, and even take away from the overall mood and atmosphere of a film, depending upon the film…those ‘hey, lookie here!!’ moments, which often enough, prove ill-used, and invariably become wasted opportunities…

…OK, now hold that thought, at least for a moment…leave it simmer on the back burner…we’ll get back to it, soon enough, ‘kay??...

…uh, setting the way-back machine to circa late ‘80’s, who out there remembers flipping through the latest issue of Fangoria, or for the more maverick rag readers, the pages of Psychotronic Video?? Flipping past the mainstream articles, and scrutinizing those back pages of barely readable, 18-word classified ads, or on the rare occasion, those big ol’ colorfully splashy (…read ‘dripping with shades of heavy crimson, and slime green’) full page ads, offering…for an ‘eh’ moderate price…some of the most outrageous, albeit irresistible movie titles on good ol’ VHS tape, unheard of anywhere?? Anyone uncontrollably salivate over the deliciously icky and gruesome prospects of titles like “The Bloody Video Horror That Made Me Puke on My Aunt Gertrude”?? Remember “Bloodthirsty Cannibal Demons”?? “Sorority Babes in the Dance-a-thon of Death”, anyone?? How about “Robot Ninja”, huh?? “The Dead Next Door”?? And leave us not forget the insane and outrageous likes of “Prehistoric Bimbos in Armageddon City”, “Skinned Alive”, “I Spit on Your Corpse, I Piss on Your Grave”, and “Chickboxer”. Lucky for us insatiable gorehounds at the time…all the aforementioned and countless more, proudly & shamelessly ground out and put out there by underground distributors, like E.I. Entertainment, Suburban Tempe, SRS Video, and Video Outlaw…

…and ‘ground out’ is probably the more astute and poignant description, as just thinking back on these deliciously rendered gore-fests, this reviewer cannot help but recall dear ol’ Mom’s rusty, cast iron meat grinder, clamped to the kitchen cutting board, and grinding out that pick, fleshy-colored bologna spread sandwich meat, peppered with…well, bits of red pepper. Hey, as the old saying goes, ‘…meat is meat, and a man’s gotta eat’; the same can be said, as far as us appreciative, no-budget, shot-on-home-video movie gorehounds, especially during the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s…we, who would often snub our noses at the latest generic, cookie-cutter, assembly-line, big-screen mainstream horror flicks…bland, and relatively bloodless (…ah, golly gee whiz…not another Freddy or Jason flick)... that is, as compared to these wonderfully depraved, over-the-top, gore-slicked underground renegade cinema cheapies…

…(…uh, to the point, ‘frightfilmfan’…to the point!!)

…during that time, skilled, inspired and able bodied maverick filmmakers like J.R. Bookwalter, Donald Farmer, Mike Stanley, Joe Castro, and David DeCouteau were stamping out delectable chunks of micro-budgeted cinema…long on story concepts, and short on production values & special effects, even though these latter minimizing and economical attributes were often times part of the ‘charm’ of these films. And proudly, or perhaps shamelessly standing tall above the rest…daring to dethrone the likes of George Romero, Herschel Gordon Lewis…even the ‘godfather of gore’ himself, Lucio Fulci…there was the ultimate, grand pooh-bah master gore-meister of cheap horror cinema, amongst the hallowed motley crew of independent filmmakers listed above...you guessed it, folks…Mr. Todd Sheets…

…what interesting about Todd’s body of work (…leaving the vast filmography to you readers…that’s what IMDB is for, right??), especially his earlier stuff…say, the window between the mid ‘80’s, and just short of the millennial turn…is that, for the most part, it seems his approach to the horror genre was actually not all that far removed from that of classic ‘70’s porno films, in the sense that, instead of lingering explicit sex scenes, the lingering focus was on the economically rendered, albeit quite splashy gore effects…which, for us die-hard gore fans at the time…hey, there was aba’solu’bly nuttin’ wrong wit’ dat’!! And like those classic ‘70’s pornos, which entertained and lightened things up with an engaging storyline to thread together the enticing and explicit ‘bump ‘n’ grind’ moments…Todd’s no-budget horror flicks gave us similar ‘breather’ moments as well, unravelling some pretty damn cool story ideas, and even often times mixing up the genres, a bit…

…zombies (…especially)…and vampires…and demons…and werewolves…oh, my…and every other supernatural entity under the sun…nary a genre was left untouched by Todd, but what made things more intriguing, storywise…that is, once you gleefully squeegee-slicked the gore from your eyeballs, and look past the basics…was that he would throw in an unexpected ‘wrench in the works’, to shake things up…a little government/military conspiracy, perhaps…some feral/survivalist street gang interaction, to be sure…a smidgen of drug-induced DNA cross-breeding, shall we. How about embracing a bit ‘o’ time travel, for good measure?? And the eyeball-rolling, chuckle-inducing nods to other films, both within the pronounced genre, as well as outside the genre…well, those are exhausting and countless, in Todd’s brand of filmworks…

…(…uh, just where the hell are you going with this, Beutler…sigh??)…

…OK, for the most part, the varied acting in Todd’s films was sub-standard…sometimes even less than that…and the overall production values were bottom-of-the-barrel…but hey, this was all forgivable, negligible, and all part of the charm, amidst this particular brand of renegade cinema from filmmakers like Todd…the whole of which clearly looked like it was approached that way…in rampant, unlicensed, renegade, maverick, guerrilla fashion…hey, just get the shot, and run like hell. And for us devoted fans…well, did we care?? Oh, hell no!! Just liberally splash us with the gore, Niagara Falls style, and we’ll shower later, ‘kay??...

…but then…hey, people have to grow up, sometime…right?? Point in case…

…Jacob Hunt probably can’t help but letting loose an inner sigh of relief; trying to get his life back on the straight path, he finally gets past the job application approval process, and meets with the building superintendent of the Shadow View Towers, a converted commercial office building, where he would dutifully assume the post of night security. Soon after having been given the cook’s tour by the building’s maintenance attendant, Jacob is introduced to some of the evening’s remaining tower’s office residents, which at that time, was restricted to a small group of people, preparing to conduct a séance, for the purpose of contacting a departed relative…

…despite being creepily put off by the intended arcane proceedings, Jacob is nonetheless talked into participating in the séance by Cassie and Hannah…the two attractive, albeit darkly garbed hosts of the group, who are leading the gathering through the séance proceedings…a group which included a local television crew, assigned to cover a televised story on Cassie and Hannah’s unique and arcane business activities…

…when, during the séance, sudden unnatural and unexplained phenomenon take place in the ensuing proceedings, it becomes clear to everyone…especially Jacob…that the expectations of the séance clearly took a sharp turn towards something more sinister, and that the supernatural happenings gave cause for the event to be shut down. After having escorted certain members of the session to their vehicles, Jacob returns to his duties…only to find that the night’s attending residents of the building, not to mention witnesses to the séance, having disappeared, one by one…only to be later found, either brutally slaughtered and disemboweled, or sauntering silently in the darkness, in a menacing, zombified state…

…quickly, and with fearful desperation…coordinating with Cassie, and checking video surveillance footage, in an effort to find out what could possibly be going wrong, Jacob finds himself right smack in the middle of unearthly evil and sinister forces taking place; an ethereal door, separating reality from a dark and hellish nightmare fantasy, appears to have been opened, unleashing a cadre of demons, bent upon enacting a decades-old vengeance from beyond the grave…and at the center of this seemingly indomitable whirlpool of evil incarnate and gore-drenched death…the ghost of a corrupt and revenge-driven priest, as well as the unveiled sinister history of Shadow View Towers, as it once was, decades before…

…now, being an eagerly awaiting and devoted fan of Todd Sheets, recalling as far back as his early filmmaking days, this reviewer was understandably put off at having not seen anything from the guy, after the turn of the century, thinking that perhaps he’d taken early retirement, or had just given up filmmaking altogether; later, it was suggested and confirmed that his hiatus from filmmaking was, for the most part, due to near-fatal health reasons. Regardless, as the old saying goes, ‘absence does make the heart grow fonder’, and news of the pending ‘House of Forbidden Secrets’ production, with Todd back at the helm (…with this review of “House…” herein, being five years or so tardy, as Todd has since gone on to even bigger and greater acclaimed productions, like 2016’s “Dreaming Purple Neon”, 2017’s well-received werewolf flick, “Bonehill Road”, and as of this review, he’s just putting the finishing touches on his much-anticipated entry in the ‘killer clown’ sub-genre, called “Clownado”) was quite literally deemed a gift to his fans. And a ‘gift’ it was, as “House of Forbidden Secrets”, up to that time, proved not only one of Todd’s best films to date, but one of his most accomplished, and most mature…

…with the film lovingly and respectfully dedicated to the late, great Lucio Fulci, Todd’s visual approach to “House…” was not only an inspired and brilliant marriage between his own unique style and Fulci’s, but overall, the look of the film very nicely captures a good measure of the very essence of late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s Italian cinema, as a whole, and yet the film itself still manages to play out a distinct wardrobe of it’s own diverse and singular identity…being it’s own ‘animal’, so to speak…rather than assuming some kind of knock-off or copycat. Oh, those brilliantly cool and eerie color contrasts…the battered ‘ruins’ of a grave-like unearthly underground, obscured by modern-day contemporary structure…the sepia shaded flashbacks…the hollow, blacken-eyed living corpses, that just creepily stand there, heads bowed, bodies shifting slowly, disconcertingly left to right and back again (…that is of course, until once gets too close)…the inescapably grim conclusions…all that and more, proving quite clever, inspired and respectful nods towards classic Italian horror. And in further exuding and adding to that style and inspiration, viewers should note that that Todd actually managed to port the eerie and haunting musical talents of acclaimed composer Fabio Frizzi for the soundtrack of his film…Frizzi, who’s own contribution to the chillingly melodic sounds of classic Italian horror cinema, to this day, remains but one music-masterful yardstick, by which many others are still measured…in effect, a great collaboration…

…and yet, surprisingly enough, the one Fulci-inspired element which…even as far back as many of Todd’s early visceral and graphic efforts…it appears that herein, he seems to have held back a certain measure...but not too much...is the gore effects. Not that there aren’t any effective and startling special effects moments in “House of Forbidden Secrets”…no siree, Bob!! (…a chorkle here, for those who get it!!). Why, there’s entrail-stringing body-halvings, and face-rippings and decapitations a-plenty here, amongst other icky moments of gore-dripping mayhem…hey, don’t think for a moment that ol’ Todd’s gotten soft. However, unlike much of his earlier work, for the most part, he doesn’t overly dwell upon these moments, this time; though quite striking and unnerving, the effects in “House…” seem more restrained, in favor of letting the overall style, story and performances assume equal, if not prominent interest, intrigue and focus. And for a film like “House…”, this approach genuinely made for a much better film…

…as far as ‘performances’, the standouts in this lil’ bitty horror excursion…we have Antwoine Steele…a regular in Todd Sheets’ film repertoire…as our hapless security guard, Jacob, who…well, he’s the one for us to relate to, in a sense…cautious, but curious…and probably just naïve, vulnerable and willing enough to stick the big toe out there, to test the waters…but perhaps not quite savvy enough to back the truck up, when the shit really hits the fan. And there’s Nicole Santorella, as the darkly attractive psychic medium, Cassie…the single mother, with a sort of shoulder-shrugging attitude of ‘…eh, it’s a living’ attitude, as far as her chosen and rather unconventional vocation…and who in having found herself the convenient, albeit inadvertent channel for releasing the evil forces that plague the tower residents, fearfully finds herself alternately repelled at the ghastly proceedings that ensue, yet also compelled and irresistibly drawn into the phenomenon…

…for a Todd Sheets’ film, a good part of the supporting cast will illicit some genuine surprise, delight…and in some regrettable instances…well, let’s just say unnecessary distraction from the gripping atmospheric chills that “House…” has to offer. Genre favorite Lew Temple (…last best seen as Psycho-Head, in Rob Zombie’s “31”) is onboard here, as our less than virtuous albeit blood-thirsty & vengeful  priest, Elias, who is responsible for kicking things into high gear, as far as the unspeakable horrors that unfold. George Hardy is unmistakenly spot-worthy (…and “Troll 2” has way too infamous a reputation, for ol’ George not to be recognized here) as Bruce, the building superintendent…even going so far as to spout a famous movie line of his. Ari Lehman (…yes, that’s right…lil’ dinghy-tipping Jason himself, from the original ‘Friday the 13^th’) clocks in for a quick cameo, and then…gone…WHOOSH!! Actress Dyanne Thorne…ultra-rarely seen since her ‘70’s exploitation days as ‘Ilsa’, still manages to illicit a venomous air of alluring malevolence and villainy, as Greta, the madam of a covert house of ill-repute, which directly plays into the film’s macabre proceedings. And last, but not least…not to mention, managing to freakin’ break up the progressively intensifying intrigue and tension, abounding herein, a cameo by the riotous Lloyd Kaufman, as an alky-sloshed and ranting grandfather, here doing the ‘entertaining grandfather’ thing right, in babysitting his granddaughter…at least, ‘right’ in the eyes of us fright film fans…

…ya’ know?? Once again, in further noting and doting over Todd Sheets films, this reviewer feels that in his devotion and embrace of the horror film genre, part of what has greatly enriched his overall appreciation of the genre, is having taken Todd’s deliciously visceral films into that fold…and although, much like disco (…yes, yes...sigh...I was a minority of one, amongst my peers, in embracing disco, back in the day; we all have our faults, right??), one can watch Todd gore-drenched brand of films, only so long…though, admittedly, again like disco, this fright film fan does blow the dust off Todd's blood-slicked lot, from time to time. The good thing about this…with regards to “House of Forbidden Secrets”, Todd has wonderfully achieved a freakin’ awesome balance between his visceral style, and his ability as a director to tell a story & create atmosphere. It’s a film that might well play best for those unfamiliar with Todd’s work, as well as those seeking out a great example of accomplished, albeit under-the-radar, independent horror cinema…that is, without getting one’s slickers too slick and saturated with the gooey stuff…

…for the more seasoned horror buffs…well OK, maybe the cameos and moments of nostalgia do take away from the scares, the atmosphere and the more gruelling moments in the film, a bit; that hardly explains why this fright film fan has…well, let’s just say that, despite how long the film has been available, I’ve watched it almost as many times as any Fulci flick...eh, go figure, right??...

...nope, ain't nuttin' ta' see here...nuttin' ta' see.....uh, WHAT?? Are you freakin' kidding me??

(NOTE: ...this review is primarily based upon the content of the original crowdfunded Blu-ray, issued back in 2013; with great reception and applause, the film has since been picked up by Unearthed Films)...

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Movie Review: Graduation Day (Blu-ray / DVD Combo)

With the Troma classics Sugar Cookies and Lust For Freedom currently available from Vinegar Syndrome the company has recently taken on one of the more well-known slashers of the early 1980's in Graduation Day. Troma did release Graduation Day several years back but it left much to be desired to say the least.  In the hands of Vinegar Syndrome though, improvement is inevitable, especially with the fact that it's making it's a Blu-ray debut in a combo pack from the genre DVD and Blu-ray producers.

Graduation Day was actually a spawn off the success of John Carpenter's Halloween as were many slashers from the era (The Burning, Friday the 13^th, The Prowler, just to name a few.)  The story surrounds a sudden death of an athlete and a series of murders that follow immediately after the young track star's death. When the deceased girl's sister, Anne (Patch Mackenzie, It's Alive III: Island of the Alive) arrives in town for her funeral the bodies begin to pile up of her peers in a variety of ways. Could Anne be taking some revenge kind of revenge on the students? Could it be the gym teacher played by the great Christopher George (City of the Living Dead, Enter the Ninja) or could it just be some random psycho with a blood-lust the killing of college kids?

Movie Review: Sugar Cookies (1971, Blu-ray)

When most reflect on the vast film resume of legendary cult film and B-Movie pioneer, Lloyd Kaufman the first films that really come to mind are the ones that truly put his company Troma Entertainment on the map, The Toxic Avenger and The Class of Nuke-Em High. Joel Reed’s Bloodsucking Freaks and Charles Kaufman’s Mother’s Day certainly opened some eyes a few years earlier but none can really top the fanfare of those nuclear waste horror/comedies from the mid 1980’s. Kaufman did do quite a bit of work on films in the 1970’s before his emergence in the 80’s, and it wasn’t so much horror either, it was in soft-core and adult movies. In 1973 he penned and produced Theodore Gershuny’s erotic thriller Sugar Cookies starring genre lovelies Lynn Lowry (I Drink Your Blood, The Crazies) and Mary Woronov (Eating Raoul, Death Race 2000). Troma released Sugar Cookies a few years back on DVD but have now joined forces with the impressive up ‘n’ comers at Vinegar Syndrome for a Blu-ray release.

The rather disturbing opening scene of Sugar Cookies involves a movie director named Max Pavell (George Shannon) who forces his young actress, Alata (Lowry) into a violent sexual game (which includes the fellating of a revolver). The result does not end well for the beauty. Being the cunning slime he is, Max is able to make it Alata’s death look like a suicide. Even with this happening, the show must go on for Pavell and his partner Camila (Woronov). Although Camilla plays a little with Pavell, her heart is really with her dead lesbian lover Alta. Camila starts to audition various girls for new erotic films and comes across Alta’s doppelganger, Julia (Lowry, again). Getting back at Pavell becomes the plan for Camila with Julia now in the fold.

Movie Review: Teenage Catgirls in Heat (1994)

I bought this film years ago when a nearby Blockbuster Video closed (#sorrynotsorryyoucocksuckers) because I thought Joe Bob Briggs did commentary on it. Turns out his little blurb on the cover was as involved as he got in this copy. *sad trombone* But since I’ve adored JBB since his Movie Channel days, I decided to watch it anyway. Let’s just say I was seriously unimpressed.

BUY IT HERE!

Teenage Catgirls in Heat is a comedy (Christ, I hope so) brought to us by the Troma Film folks. It opens with an old lady talking to a cat statue moments before she commits suicide. The statue then calls out to all the cats in the area to heed her commands and sacrifice themselves in order for them to become human so they can mate with human men, kill said men, and then give birth to the Great Litter.

Cut over to Ralph, hitching a ride in the back of a pick up truck, and reveling in his new found singlehood. At the height of his happiness a cat darts out in front of the truck. As it swerves, he’s shaken loose and left on the side of the road in the now sudden nighttime (read: shitty blue light filter). Lucky for him the ‘cat’ is now a beautiful naked girl.

Before he gets a chance to talk to her, the neighborhood cat finder, Warren, tears down the road and chases Ralph up a tree. You see, Warren has this homemade radar thing that picks up on cat signals. He assumed the large signal he recently picked up was from a bunch of severed cat heads in Ralph’s back pack. 

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: "Rewind This!" (2013; Filmbuff/MPI Media Group)

...wow!! How so very far, we've come, in such a short period of time, with regards to society's embrace of the home video venue. Heck, in the not-too-distant past, this viewer fondly remembers a time when conceiving the possibility of actually building a personal movie collection, was a pipe-dream fantasy, exclusively realized and relished by the much more well-to-do, who had the financial resources, in maintaining a temperature controlled warehouse, chock full of multiple-reel feature films, on the standard filmstrip format (...at the time, my father, who serviced the Hollywood business community at the time, would often snag distributor movie catalogs in his ventures, which advertised the storage and rental of these multi-reeled films...and we'd waste countless hours and longing sighs...marking and dog-earing the catalog pages...dreaming of the unheard-of actuality of owning a home movie collection). Not too long afterwards, the short-lived war between Beta and VHS (...shhh!! Don't tell anyone, but this viewer actually eschewed Beta, altogether, as an introductory home video format, in favor of the stylus-based CED disc format, before succumbing to VHS), with the latter format, winning out in the end, gave way to a veritable boon, to prospective film collectors, as far as selection, as well as an embrace of the awesome artwork on the tape boxes, large and small...cut-to-fit and clamshell...which often rivaled the original theatrical release poster art of the film, if any...

...and of course, just as films on VHS became fully complacent (...or 'disposable', as director George Romero was once quoted, in saying), with both ardent collectors, as well as the mainstream public, merely wanting to watch the occasional movie, along came the digital format, with DVD giving way to BluRay and online digital download. But that's getting way too far ahead of ourselves; it is that phenomenon of the VHS format, which has exuded an extraordinary longevity...totally unexpected, by the initial purveyors of the format...a 'phenomenon' which, amazingly enough, has refused to die, in light of video store closures & rampant online accessibility...and herein, the focus of which is informatively celebrated, in "Rewind This!"...

Movie Review: The Toxic Avenger - The Japanese Cut (1986)

Troma’s classic The Toxic Avenger really needs no introduction – it’s a classic. Not only is it one of the best cult films ever made but it's a special film that truly put Troma on the map after about 15 years of churning out horror and exploitation. 

You know the story: Melvin, the 90-pound weakling, falls into a vat of toxic waste and instead of melting, turns into a limb-ripping, head-splattering superhero. It’s politically incorrect and has something to offend everybody. That’s the charm, and the reason it appealed to folks all over the world - including the people of Japan who embraced this film like a Kaiju. Troma has now released a rarely seen alternate Japanese version so fans can enjoy a little extra Toxie.

Movie Review: Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector (2013)

Reviewed by: John Beutler

Directed by: Dan Kinem and Levi Peretic

Well, I'll be damned!! I'm not alone, in this obsession!! This viewer was recently elated to discover not being so much the misfit, as had originally thought!! I can now proudly peruse through my precious (...ooooo!! My precious...my precious!!) and treasured collection of rare & artfully boxed VHS videotapes, hang my head high, and know that I belong to a much bigger 'brotherhood'...a subtly growing brotherhood, which has remained stubbornly steadfast, in embracing and preserving the long-thought-dead VHS format. Yes, folks...I can now openly sing the praises, and revel in my fellow collectors' collective appreciation and passion, after having recently partaken of the amusingly spotlighting documentary, "Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector"...

In examining the arguably  warranted reasons for hanging onto these cherished relics...Is it merely because of certain out-of-print-and-now-ultra-rare-and-obscure film titles not yet released in a digital format (...just gotta quest myself a copy of the herein featured and suggested, ultra-rare and never-heard-of title, "Tales from the Quadead Zone", which several of the collectors in this documentary, pridefully gush over themselves, in possessing in their collections), and now worth tens, even hundreds of dollars?? Could it possibly be the exclusive-to-the-format, beautifully unique and artistically striking artwork on the video boxes, themselves (...my personal favorites, being amongst the exquisitely rendered, artfully original, old Wizard Video big-box tapes)?? Might it perhaps be the surprising durability of the format, itself (...especially those seemingly indestructable, clunky, back-breaking, 90-pound, top-loading machines), as opposed to the easily scratched and thusly, viewing-hampering digital format?? Or maybe it's for the outright nostalgic feel of the format (...those pops, scratches and dropouts surprisingly enhanced many genre movie titles, countless rented and played...almost giving the look and feel of grainy, well-worn 'grindhouse' prints), which many of us movie lovers/collectors remember oh so well. In general, it quite possibly comes right down to the fact that VHS was definitely the dawn of technologically collectable fantasy fulfillment, as far as regularly watching uncut and uninterrupted movies at home, in a format which afforded oneself the opportunity to building one's own personal movie collection. At any rate, no matter the reason, all such views and facets...and more are amusingly & candidly bantered about herein, by a colorfully enthusiastic, select group of characters, who appear most unswervingly dedicated to the cause of salvaging, embracing and proudly upholding the still-embraceable virtues of films rendered on the widely considered obsolete, albeit clearly still-to-some, quite alluring VHS tape format...a format not necessarily, exclusively and collect-ably embraced by merely the film content of the tape, itself...as this amusing documentive study reveals...

The "Return Of Nuke 'Em High" Poster Unveiled!!

December 5, 2012, New York, NY - Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment is proud to unveil the official theatrical poster for the latest Troma Team production Return to Nuke 'Em High, directed by Lloyd Kaufman. The poster was created by Justin Osbourn of Slasher Design.

Movie Review: Father's Day (2011, Troma)

Directed by Adam Brooks

Starring Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy and Conor Sweeny

Being a fan of Troma flicks for over 25 years now, one thing I have learned to live with is the fact that I will inevitably have to wade through twenty horrible films by them before I find that one gem. (And that's being generous) In other words, being a Troma fan is like having a heroin-addicted best friend, one I can pretty much always count on to steal from me and break my heart over and over again.....and yet I just never seem to have the heart to kick to the curb.Now with that being said, I highly recommend you drop what your doing, go out and get your hands on Troma's Father's Day. To say this movie is fun is an understatement, to say its fucked up and completely inappropriate on about a hundred different levels is pretty accurate. To say its a Troma movie is almost beyond belief.

Movie Review: Mother's Day (1980, Blu-ray)

Charles Kaufman’s notorious film Mother’s Day is finally here, on Blu-ray, via Troma and Anchor Bay! After a couple of years of being pushed back, Troma took the popular nasty to Anchor Bay to assist in distribution. It’s not something Troma does often, as they do handle the majority of their films but this comes as a very welcome decision because it’s an important film from the 80’s slasher cycle.

Abbey (Nancy Hendrickson), Trina (Tiana Pierce) and Jackie (Deborah Luce) are a trio of city slickers looking to vacate the congestion and all-around craziness a big city embodies. The gals decide to be one with nature and head out into the woods for a little rest and relaxation. What the girls don’t know is that near where they set up camp we have a couple of loony brothers (Bill Ray McQuade and Frederick Coffin) and their hard to please mama (Beatrice Pons).

Movie Review: Produce Your Own Damn Movie (2011, Troma)

Directed by Lloyd Kaufman

Starring Lloyd Kaufman, Roger Corman and Hershel Gordon Lewis

At one time or another, each and every one of us has watched a great horror movie and wondered how cool it would be to make one ourselves. And we've all watched stinkers that were so horrible we were certain we could of done it better had we been the one sitting in the directors chair. Modern day B-movie icon ( and master of turning shit into a cash profit), Lloyd Kaufman is no dummy, he knows this, and in the process of coming out with yet another straight-to-video release he has inadvertently created what could be one of the most important, informative and cost effective tools available, for helping aspiring film makers succeed in their dreams of creating a movie of their own.

Movie Review: Hack Job (2011)

I know it's tough to make an independent horror film. I've been a part of that process. Horror is the one genre that people will watch at the no budget level, so it's where most people seem to start. The problem with this is that it stacks the horror section with crap, floor to ceiling. Hack Job starts off acting like it intended for this movie to be pure shit, but I don't believe it. I think it really was supposed to be good, and the filmmakers took an easy out.

Buy Hack Job on DVD

Our filmmakers start off by killing an indie art film director. They complain that horror doesn't get its due. They go on for the rest of the movie proving the naysayers right. The duo gets a script from Satan that's supposed to be the greatest horror film ever. As we find out, the three stories in the anthology turn out to be fairly worthless.

Troma Upcoming Releases: Kill, Purge and Where Evil Lives

Greetings from Tromaville! Cyperpunk, classic horror stories and brutal games with deadly consequences are featured in three new Troma Team Video releases coming up in the next few months: Kill, Purge and Where Evil Lives.

Releasing in May is David King's smash "Ozploitation" film Purge. A must-see for lovers of cyberpunk, Purge takes place in a utilitarian, genetically engineered parallel universe. Layla, a BDSM mistress, just wants to fit in and be happy, but her nemesis won't let her. Check out http://www.purgefilm.com.au/ to find out more.

In Kill, six strangers, winners of a dream vacation contest, awake to find themselves terrorized by insane Tiki-men in masks and taunted by their deranged captors. It soon becomes clear than only one thing will save them: kill or be killed! Directed by Chad Archivald and Philip Carrer, get Kill on DVD in April!

Where Evil Lives, a buried treasure from 1991 directed by Stephen A. Maier, Kevin G. Nunan & Richard L. Fox Jr, consists of three 30-minute horror stories as told by Jack Devlin (Claude Akins). The stories feature a mass murderer, a vampire, and a modern day witch who helps the police stop a demented doctor. Where Evil Lives will be available in May.

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #26 featuring David Valdez

Jeff and Kevin welcome Klown Kamp Massacre co-writer/director David Valdez to the podcast for a great conversation.

They talk indie filmmaking, the importance of having a good team and what's next for the crew.

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

Click on any of the links above to purchase at Amazon.com and support Cinema Head Cheese and Abnormal Entertainment!

Movie Review: Klown Kamp Massacre (2010, Troma)

by James DePaolo

Plot - May 1991, Edwin went to Klown Kamp, his dream was to be a clown. One night during his comedy act, the unthinkable happened someone's cell phone went off, and his act bombed. So, Edwin went on a killing spree. Now 15 years later, Klown Kamp is back open on Bonzo Ranch. All these young unsuspecting people go to the klown boot kamp to try and little do they know Edwin's still alive and he wants them all to pay for what happened to him.

Buy Klown Kamp Massacre on DVD

Movie Review: Not Another B Movie (2011)

We've seen so many of the "Not Another" movies since Scary Movie set the stage for the modern parody. Unfortunately, none of them have been good. This time around, we get a different film crew, or video crew, or even VHS crew, possible, taking the title and trying to run with it. I'm sure this isn't any part of the series that is forced upon us every year or two in theaters, since Troma released it. The cast includes Reggie Bannister, Ed Asner, David Faustino, Joe Estevez and Erin Moran. In spite of all of that (ahem) talent, this movie is completely unwatchable.

Buy Not Another B Movie on DVD

Troma's "Class of Nuke 'Em High Part IV" in Production!

October 13, 2011 - New York, NY - Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment, Inc. is proud to announce that Troma's Class of Nuke 'Em High franchise will have a new installment filmed in Spain with a Spanish cast and crew, produced by Mushnik's Entertainment in collaboration with Chaparra Entertainment (both based in Barcelona).

Buy the original Class of Nuke 'Em High Trilogy on Blu-ray or DVD 

Movie Review: Stripperland! (2010)

I really don't think it matters where you are geographically - everybody has a strip club story. Whether you're the guy who hits Scabby's Caberet by the airport once every few months or the fool who drops hundreds weekly in Ginger and Destiny's g-string while getting ten minute lap dances. It all ends the same. Sure, you may get a snail-trail on each knee from the gals but what does that do for you in the grand scheme? Nada. You’re just lighter in the wallet and more than likely yanking your crank later to Red-Tube until you burst blood vessels in your melon. Either way, whether you’re stripper addict or a regular joe the "stripper" is a fascinating creature. Why not combine strippers with the undead? Sean Skelding felt it was prudent to do so by creating the trashy top-less flesh-eating terrors in Cheezy Flix's Stripperland! Does this not sound like a recipe for craptacularness? Let’s have look see!

Buy Stripperland! on DVD