Movie Review: The Scarlet Worm (2011)

Directed By Michael Fredianelli

Reviewed by Greg Goodsell

Print (Aaron Stielstra) is the local dandy is a woebegone California cow town circa 1907. A refined gentleman of taste, his only real creative outlet is in the mutilation of his victim’s bodies. For you see, our “hero” is the local hit man for kindly Mr. Paul (Montgomery Ford aka Brett Halsey, The Godfather Part II). His new assignment is to wipe despicable brother owner Mr. Key (Dan van Husen, Salon Kitty) who is given to performing crude abortions on his staff. Given the marching orders to burn Kley’s brothel down to the ground, Print is given amiable cowpoke Lee (Derek Hertig) to train in the fine art of etiquette, poetry and murder … but things become complicated.

Buy The Scarlet Worm on Blu-ray or DVD

"Battle Royale" Makes Its Debut In The U.S!!!

ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL FILMS IN HISTORY FINALLY ARRIVES!

BATTLE ROYALE

Available for the first time in North America on Blu-ray™, DVD and digital download on March 20^th from Anchor Bay Entertainment

Beverly Hills, CA – Battle Royale. A title that has shocked, thrilled and unnerved audiences. A film whose fiendishly simple premise has inspired many imitations, including the upcoming The Hunger Games motion picture. Based on the 1999 global best-seller by Koushun Takami, the futuristic tale first came to the screen in 2000, directed by the legendary Kinju Fukasaku. Authors, filmmakers and film fans the world over consider the film and its 2003 sequel Battle Royale II: Requiem sacred cinematic classics. And now, fans can own them on high-definition Blu-ray™ and DVD! 

Buy Battle Royale Blu-ray  and The Complete Collection Blu-ray

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #30 - We Love the '90s

Kevin and Jeff talk about their favorite crushes from the '90s, which leads Jeff into a review of the book Horror Films of the 1990s.

Jeff also reviews Fantasm, China and Sex and Heathcliff.

Kevin talks about She-Ra and Sons of Anarchy, and he explains how the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead changed his thinking.

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!

The First Annual Cheesies - The Best of 2011

While many sites are running down their lists of best films of the year, as we did, we also thought it would be a great idea to acknowledge some specific accomplishments that we saw in 2011. For an explanation of the awards listed, please check out Podcast #29. Our complete list of Cheesies is below. First off, we get to the top blu-rays, DVDs and short films this year.

Best Blu-ray Releases in 2011

In A Glass Cage (Cult Epics)

The Blood Trilogy  (Something Weird Video/Image Entertainment)

Intruder (Synapse Films)

The Women in Cages Collection (Shout! Factory)

Deep Red (Blue Underground)

Funhouse (Arrow)

Zombie (Blue Underground)

The Exterminator (Synapse Films)

Battle Beyond The Stars (Shout! Factory)

Holy Mountain (Anchor Bay)

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

One of the better issues of Fangoria's sister magazine Gorezone featured a very cool, detailed look from Video Watchdog’s Tim Lucas at the censorship on a slasher film that was yet be released at the time called Intruder. The late 80's saw a painful end to the glory days (and gory) of the slasher film, so as a fan of that subgenre, even though I had yet to see this very intriguing film - I was mortified. Subsequently, Scott Spiegel's film came out in a neutered version by Paramount that was minus literally all the money shots created by the FX wizards at KNB studio.

Buy Intruder Blu-ray/DVD Combo

UNCUT! UNCENSORED! UNHOLY! "Killer Nun" Arrives April 24th, 2012!!

Legendary Swedish sex bomb Anita Ekberg (LA DOLCE VITA) stars as Sister Gertrude, a cruel nun who discovers depraved pleasure in a frenzy of drug addiction, sexual degradation and sadistic murder. Joe Dallesandro (FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN), Lou Castel (A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL), Alida Valli (SUSPIRIA) and the luscious Paola Morra (BEHIND CONVENT WALLS) co-star in this notorious ‘Nunsploitation’ based on actual events that took place in a Central European country not many years ago!

Branded as obscene around the world and banned outright in Britain, KILLER NUN has been newly remastered from the original negative and is now presented with all its blasphemous sex and violence fully restored in sleazy High Definition!

Only from Blue Underground!

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #29 - The First Annual Cheesies and Best of 2011

Kevin and Jeff give out the first ever Cheesies to the best in film for 2011.

Kevin gives his MVP and Rookie of the Year to two very deserving recipients.

Jeff delivers his top DVD, Blu-ray and short films for the year, and the duo agrees on the best film of 2011.

We also induct the first member into the Cinema Head Cheese Hall of Fame.

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: Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)

Getting and staying healthy is a big deal in the United States. Apparently, it's starting to become an issue in Australia as well. Australian businessman Joe Cross is a guy who is overweight and out off shape, and he's ready to change that with a simple diet that consists purely of juice. He's looking to shed pounds and his medications. Joe suffers from an affliction that causes rashes all over his body. In his trek across America, the place he fell in love with food, he runs into Phil Staples, an obese truck driver who suffers from the same disease.

Buy Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead on DVD or Watch It Instantly

Movie Review: Audition (1999)

Directed by Takashi Miike

Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiini and Tetsu Sawaki

Audition starts off with the main character Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) sitting with his wife while she lies on her deathbed. She passes away and he is left to raise his young son alone. Years pass, his son is nearly an adult and will soon be leaving home, and Aoyama seems to have gotten over the death of his wife. But he is lonely and with some coaxing from his son he comes to the realization that he might be happier if he took a wife. Not quite sure how to go about this, he consults with his movie producer friend and they come up with a pretty ingenious scheme for finding him a wife. A fake movie audition, where they line up 30 women to audition for a movie that will never be made, with Aoyama choosing the girl he feels is the right fit for him. He becomes entranced by one of the girls, Asami (Shiina) after reading an essay she writes for the audition. He immediately strikes up a relationship with her and soon discovers that his deceit is nothing compared to the skeletons Asami has in her closet. What plays out is a top notch thriller that slowly builds up to a fantastic horror show. The scene where Aoyama finally gets up the nerve to call Asami on the phone is just plain creepy, the phone is ringing, Asami is sitting quietly on the floor of a run down apartment and as the camera pans out we see a large canvas sack on the floor behind her, there is something inside it, and its moving. Asami smiles and picks the phone up.

Buy Audition on DVD or Watch It Instantly

Movie Review: Life in a Day (2011)

Life in a Day is an interesting experiment in filmmaking. On July 24, 2010, Ridley and Tony Scott asked people around the world to film their days and submit it through YouTube. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world responded, and the footage was cut together to make a documentary. There are interesting stories, and we see the mundane details of many lives.

Buy Life in a Day on Blu-ray or DVD

Subjects were asked to answer five questions, such as "What's in your pocket?" or "What do you love?" The answers were sometimes interesting and sometimes seemingly useless. We see segments of the lives of cancer patients, poor third world residents and even a reporter in Afghanistan. There is a montage of people waking up and going through morning routines. Couples fight on camera. People deal with their existence in philosophical ways.

Movie Review: Troll Hunter (2010)

Directed by Andre Ovredal

Starring Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg and Knut Naerum

A group of college students, camera in hand, are investigating a string of suspicious deaths in the bear population in the wilds of Norway. The wildlife department, and local hunters are convinced it is the work of a poacher and the students believe they have found the culprit it a mysterious loner who ventures out nightly into the woods in his tricked out Land Rover. Only after following him into the woods one night, what they discover is that the mysterious loner is not a poacher at all but a former Army Ranger who has been hired by the government to keep the wild Troll population in check.

Buy Troll Hunter on Blu-ray or DVD

Save Big on Breaking Glass Pictures and Vicious Circle Horror DVDs and Blu-rays!

BGP is offering horror fans a $6 discount off the already reduced price of each horror title in the catalog of films. This discount will bring consumers DVDs and Blu Rays for close to the wholesale price!  It’s as easy as going to the Breaking Glass store www.shop.breakingglasspictures.com choosing as many horror titles as your heart desires and then using the code horrorholiday readers will receive $6 off of each already discounted title.  This opportunity will not last forever so be sure to take advantage of it while you can.  And be sure to have a horrifying holiday!!


Be sure to tell 'em Cinema Head Cheese Sent ya!

Movie Review: Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976)

Directed by Richard Lerner

Reviewed by Greg Goodsell

Everybody remembers that 1979 hymnal to anarchy and teenage rebellion Rock ‘N’ Roll High School. In that film, rock-loving students team up with the Ramones to eventually blow up Rydell High School. Now … imagine a film where the high school is blown up at around the halfway point, and there’s a riotous chase around a golfing course, a shopping mall, the giant Brontosaurus sculpture as seen in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1986) involving a villainous school nurse and some stoned and pregnant cheerleaders. If that doesn’t whet your whistle, the film features a very young David Hasselhoff as “Boner,” stumbling drunkenly through the action in the same manner that would later endear him to YouTube watchers! Are you ready to sign up now?

Buy Revenge of the Cheerleaders at Amazon UK!

Movie Review: Murder Obsession (1981)

Since Raro Video's USA hub has started releasing various Italian cult and art house fare throughout the past year, the Italian based DVD company has seen a steady stream of solid releases. The crime films of Fernando Di Leo, Federico Fellini’s Clowns and even obscure gems such as The Overcoat are now available for the home video market for region one genre fans. Why not mix in bizarre euro-trash/ giallo like Ricardo Freda's wild thriller Murder Obsession to this mixture of titles?

Buy Murder Obsession on DVD

Ricardo Freda use to work a lot with the late-great Mario Bava (Bay Of Blood, Blood and Black Lace, Black Sunday) - and it certainly shows even right after the opening credits. Freda's Murder Obsession has an odd mix of gore, gratuitous flesh, uber creepy incest and awful hair that makes this slice of sleaze a total surprise at how entertaining it truly is.

Movie Review: iCrime (2011)

Directed by Bears Fonte

Reviewed by Kenny B.

So here's an indie film that uses the MTV formula to tell the story of a Midwestern girl finding her way to the big city of L.A. Carrie (Sara Fletcher) the Okie noob gets a job working for a website called Echo Report and is trying to protect her cousin Stefy from a sex tape going public. But that plot line is just one of many going on in this movie, and depending on your own personal level of A.D.D. That's either going to enhance or detract from your viewing experience here. (Personally for me there was just way too many different things going on in this one). Anyway, in order to help save her cousin, Sara is trying to expose the internet sensation Jordan as a fraud, by proving she is in fact an actress and not the innocent school girl she plays online. In doing this she must deeply immerse herself in the lies, deception and betrayal of the L.A. Scene. She may make a name for herself in doing this, or she may become the next Hollywood murder victim.

Buy iCrime on DVD

Movie Review: Catch .44 (2011, Blu-ray)

After analyzing the talented cast assembled for Aaron Harvey's Catch .44, I became really excited to watch this unorthodox crime-thriller. First off, you have action icon Bruce Willis (The Diehard Trilogy), Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland, Fast Times at Ridgemont High), character actor extraordinaire Brad Dourif (Child's Play, One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) and the smoking hot, Malin Akerman (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle) as the lead. I don't know much about writer/director Aaron Harvey but boy he sure does have some nice talent for an independent production. Does this translate to a great film?

Buy Catch .44 on Blu-ray, DVD or Instant Video

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #28 - The Ghosts of Interview Past

As we close out the year, Kevin introduces some of the interviews from the earlier days of the podcast.

Kevin interviews the director, writer and star of the cult hit The Room, Tommy Wiseau.

Lacey Paige interviews Hanger director Ryan Nicholson and Maniac Director Bill Lustig.

Jeff interviews three cult legends: Mink Stole, Kitten Natividad and Lance Henriksen.

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

Click on any of the links above to listen to the entire original episodes!

Movie Review: Horror of the Hungry Humongous Hungan (1991)

Directed by Richard Gardner

 

Starring Joseph Miller, Brenda Moyer and David Yoakam

Every once in a while you just get lucky, and this weekend was one of those times for me. While scouring through boxes of other peoples cast-off crap at the local swap-meet I found this dvd, covered in dust and what I hoped was just coffee stains. On closer inspection I saw that it was a Troma film from way back in the day, the title was brilliant and I decided to roll the dice with my last 3 dollars. The girlfriend and I sat back a few evenings later without too many expectations and were rewarded with one of the most awesomely bad movies ever made. I know awesome when I smell it and this flick was as fragrant as a freshly picked rose that was just pissed on by a rat-terrier.

Movie Review: Groper Train: Wedding Capriccio (1984)

Directed by Yojiro Takita

Starring Yukijiro Hotaru, Yoshima Kai and Matsubara

Reviewed By Kenny B.

Pink Eiga Films gave us this softcore comedy/mystery about a detective trying to find a rich industrialists daughter while his assistant tries to avoid an arranged marriage by hooking up with a rich but eccentric composer who likes to compose symphonies on his Casio calculator. Both the composer and the detective happen to share the same hobby, groping women on the subway. In an amazing coincidence the composer also turns out to be the son of the industrialist. Meanwhile,the daughter turns up dead and the detective has to now find her killer. Kuroda, the detective, is like an inspector Clouseau type, but the comedy here is very much on the weak side. In fact, there's not much of a comedy o rmystery in this comedy/mystery. From what I am lead to believe the Groper Train series was pretty popular in Japan, inspired by all the real-life groping that was going on at the time.

Buy Groper Train: Wedding Capriccio on DVD

Movie Review: The Summer of Massacre (2011)

Directed by Joe Castro

Starring Brinke Stevens, Nick Principe and Cleve Hall

Of all the sub-genres of horror, the slasher film has always been one of the most popular. The problem with slasher films is the fact that there are so god damn many of them floating around out there and 99% of them are just plain horrible movies. Each one a copy-cat version of the last. I am sure from a film making standpoint, it would be quite a daunting task to come up with something fresh and original.

Buy The Summer of Massacre on Blu-ray or DVD

When I got The Summer of Massacre it came with a description sheet which included a nice list of awards this movie has racked up, apparently they managed to set a world record for most kills packed into one movie......and my mouth began to water. It had been a long time since I'd seen a great slasher movie and I was ready to be blown away.