Movie Review: Night Watch (2004)

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Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Starring Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valeri Zolotukhin, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, Yuri Ketsenko, Aleksei Chadov, Zhanna Friske, Ilya Lagutenko, Viktor Verzhbitsky, Dmitry Martynov

First off, let’s not get this confused with another foreign title with the same name, though that is usually called Nightwatch. That is a Danish film from 1994, that I would still highly recommend (just don’t watch the American remake). But the film we’re reviewing today is a Russian film from 2004, titled Nochnoy dozor, or Night Watch. Continue reading

Movie Review: Lugosi – The Forgotten King

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Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985, 2018)
Directed by Mark Gilman Jr. & Dave Stuckey

In 1985, with the early days of VHS tapes and video stores, there weren’t too many documentary titles out there, especially on horror movies or their stars, unless you count a few trailers collections. But I can remember coming across one title in particular that was on the shelves, Lugosi: The Forgotten King. Being an young and eager fan to learn as much as I can about the horror genre, especially one of its icons, I immediately rented it. Even though the running time was short, showed the audience a little bit more behind the man and really how much of a talent he was. Now, 35 years later, it is out on DVD in an updated version, through Operator 13 Productions. Continue reading

Movie Review: The Vengeance of Lady Morgan

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The Vengeance of Lady Morgan (1965)
Director Massimo Pupillo
Starring Barbara Nelli, Michel Forain, Gordon Mitchell, Paul Muller, Erika Blanc

There is something special about discovering a film that you had never heard of, especially when it came out over 50 years ago! Even better when it is an Italian gothic ghost story! At first, The Vengeance of Lady Morgan seems like your typical story about a ghost coming back from the dead for revenge, but it is quite different than what you’d expect from this genre, which for me, made it even more special. Continue reading

Movie Review: Monster! Martians! Mad Scientists! Horror in the Atomic Age!

Horror in the Atomic AgeI love documentaries on the horror / sci-fi genres, especially when you get to hear from the people that were directly involved with them. There are ALWAYS great stories that we usually never get to hear unless you catch one of them at a convention, or maybe an extra on DVD or Blu-ray. So when I first heard of this new 3-disc documentary called Monster! Martians! Mad Scientists! Horror in the Atomic Age!, it had my interests. When I discovered the price was only $15, I did have some doubts because it was so cheap, especially for 3 discs, but I figured at that price, it was worth taking the chance.

I’m glad I did!

The 3 discs are divided into time frame categories. The first one, entitled The Atomic Age, starts in the early ’50s and gives us a look back at that time and the films that were coming out. While this is about the movies, we get to hear and understand what was going on at that time period, with the constant threat of atomic destruction hovering over their heads, and how that effected the movies. The second disc, entitled A World Gone Mad, covers the second half of the ’50s with the big-bug movies, alien invasions, 3-D movies, and more. The last disc, called Fade to Red, covers the early ’60s and how times were changing, due to the Vietnam War, the Civil unrest, and how the films were reflecting that with more realistic gore and terror. Continue reading

Movie Review: House by the Cemetery Blu-Ray

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House by the Cemetery (1981)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Starring Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni, Giovanni Frezza, Silvia Collatina, Dagmar Lassander, Giovanni De Nava, Daniela Doria, Carlo De Mejo

The films that Lucio Fulci directed in the late ’70s and early ’80s made him a god to horror/gore fans. In the early days of VHS tapes, these films were always ones you’d rent over and over again. While he was already a successful filmmaker, directing films in just about every genre, once Zombie (1979) came out, followed over the next three years by City of the Living Dead (1980), The Black Cat (1981), The Beyond (1981), and House by the Cemetery (1981), New York Ripper (1982), he simply could do no wrong. And I still think that statement holds up today as well, since at least four of those titles still are considered classics today. And now, thanks to Blue Underground, we get a brand-spanking new 4K scan, along with second disc of extras, AND the complete soundtrack on CD, this is one release that is well worth double or triple dipping on. Continue reading

Movie Review: Color Out of Space

Colors out fo space posterColor Out of Space (2019)
Directed by Richard Stanley
Starring Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Brenden Meyer, Julian Hilliard, Tommy Chong, Elliot Knight

Like many horror movie fans, my first introduction to the works of H.P. Lovecraft was from film and TV adaptations, most likely from an episode of Night Gallery, even though at the time I had no idea where the story originally came from. That would come many years later. I think the first feature film based on his work that I remember seeing was the 1965 film Die, Monster, Die!, directed by Daniel Haller. Again, even though I had no idea who Lovecraft was, let alone that this was based on his work, I do remember the “zoo in hell” sequence scared the crap out of me as a kid! This film happens to be based on the same short story that this new movie is based on, The Colour Out of Space, which was first published in the Sept. issue of Amazing Stories, in 1927. And while this latest version doesn’t have a zoo, there is plenty of images within to give one nightmares. Continue reading

Movie Review: Dream Home

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Dream Home (2010)
Directed by Ho-Cheung Pang
Starring Josie Ho, Eason Chan, Norman Chu, Chu-Chu Zhou, Hee Ching Paw, Juno Mak, Lawrence Chou, Hoi-Pang Lo, Lap-Man Sin, Ching Wong

“In a crazy city, if one is to survive, he’s got to be more crazy.”

There are films that just seem to sneak by, getting a release on DVD but without much of a fanfare or announcement. Maybe because it came from Hong Kong, with no huge names attached to it might not have helped. Or maybe because there are so many films that come out each year, too many of them get lost in the multitude of titles. But it is a damn shame because it had been quite a while since I had watched a movie that had more quality kills in it, many I had never seen anything close to, and some even difficult to watch. So yeah, this one leaves quite an impact on the viewer. Continue reading

Movie Review: Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein

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Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (aka Drácula contra Frankenstein, 1972)
Directed by Jesús Franco
Starring Dennis Price, Howard Vernon, Paca Gabaldón, Alberto Dalbés, Britt Nichols, Geneviève Robert, Anne Libert, Luis Barboo, Fernando Bilbao, Josyane Gibert

DPoF posterI know it is hard for some fans to think of Jess Franco as a highly crafted filmmaker, but there are more than a few examples in his filmography to prove that. This, however, is not one of them.

The first time I saw this film was from the Wizard Video VHS tape, under the title The Screaming Dead, which is quite different when comparing it to the DVD of Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein. Right away you’ll notice that it is extremely cropped with most of the opening names in the credits being cut off on the sides. The film is sequenced differently as well, having some parts in there that are not in the DVD version! For the sake of sanity, I’m just going to talk about the DVD version from Image Entertainment back in 2006. Continue reading

Movie Review: The Hills Run Red

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The Hills Run Red (2009)
Directed by Dave Parker
Starring Sophie Monk, Tad Hilgenbrink, William Sadler, Janet Montgomery, Alex Wyndham, Ewan Bailey, Danko Jordanov

Tyler is a film student who is obsessed with a ‘80s horror film called The Hills Run Red. The film was pulled from release shortly after it premiered and none of the cast and crew has ever been heard of again. The director, Wilson Wyler Concannon (played by the always entertaining William Sadler), seems to be one of these crazy directors who think film is something more than just a movie. So Tyler sets out to try to find this lost film, making a documentary about the whole trip. Continue reading

Movie Review: Isolation

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(2005)
Directed by Billy O’Brien
Starring: Essie Davis, Sean Harris, Marcel Lures, Crispin Letts, John Lynch, Ruth Negga

Find this movie.  Watch it.  Simple as that.

Years ago, while paging through an issue of Fangoria magazine, there was a little spotlight on this movie called Isolation, that they seemed to give a high rating. I didn’t know anything about it, nor did I read any of the review, other than it had something to do with some quarantine on a farm, and figured it might be ‘inspired’ by the 28 Days Later theme. So I put it in my Netflix queue and later discovered just how wrong I was. Continue reading