Movie Review: The Devil Incarnate

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El Caminante (1979)
Directed by Paul Naschy
Starring Paul Naschy, David Rocha, Sara Lezana, Ana Harpo, Blanca Estrada, Silvia Aguilar

El CaminanteRecently released on Blu-ray from Mondo Macabre under the title The Devil Incarnate, this is noted as being one of the writer/director’s favorite films. But for those expecting the usual horror outing from Naschy, with vampires and werewolves, you might be a little disappointed. If you’re looking for a very unusual horror/comedy, one that had a very deep and personal meaning to the writer/director, then you might find yourself very intrigued by it. While I really did enjoy it, I sort of felt sad that its creator was ever in that dark of a period in his life, of not trusting many people in the business around him.

In his autobiography, Memoirs of a Wolfman, he stated “I wrote El Caminante in a very special frame of mind. Life had dealt me several harsh blows and I had gained a pretty negative impression of people. For me personally, friendships had been a lamentable disappointment. I knew all about betrayal and lack of loyalty and apart from my family – my parents, my wife and two sons – I didn’t believe there were many things worthwhile in this filthy rotten world. Later on three people appeared in my life who I consider true friends. However, the cry of anguish from the bottom of my soul which found expression through this movie is still valid today.” This film was made almost 40 years ago, and like Naschy wrote in his book over 20 years ago, the way society is still today, this message still rings true. Which again, is a pretty sad statement.

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Movie Review: Scalpel (1977)

Scalpel coverScalpel (1977)
Directed by John Grissmer
Starring Robert Lansing, Judith Chapman, Arlen Dean Snyder, David Scarroll

Nothing like the ’70s to have a movie with some creepy father lusting after his daughter! And Robert Lansing does a stellar job in the role too! Not sure if that’s a compliment or not.

Lansing stars as a plastic surgeon who has a daughter that has been missing for over a year. She just took off and nobody seems to know where she went. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she witnessed him killer her boyfriend after he was watching them have a little sexual romp. So right off the bat, we see how seedy this guy is. After his father-in-law dies, leaving his estate to the missing daughter, he comes up with a plan, right after coming across a stripper who’d been beaten beyond recognition. Good thing he’s a plastic surgeon, huh? After a skillful operation, he has changed the face of this poor girl to look just like his daughter. Of course, when the real daughter shows up, things get even more weird.

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Movie Review: Basket Case

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Basket Case (1982)
Directed by Frank Henenlotter
Starring Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner, Robert Vogel, Diana Browne, Lloyd Pace, Bill Freeman, Joe Clarke

Something amazing seems to happen when Arrow Video and Frank Henenlotter come together for a release of one of his films. When I got their release of Brain Damage (which happens to be my personal favorite of his films), there were so many great extras that those alone make it worth picking it up. And this release of his first feature film is just the same.

Basket Case is the simple story of a two brothers who seek revenge on the doctors that separated them. Okay, so one of them, Belial, is a deformed Siamese twin that never fully developed that was growing out of the side of the ‘normal’ brother, Duane. Belial is kept in a large wicker basket that Duane carries around. They arrive in New York to find the last of the medical team on their list. But of course, everyone reading this already knows the story because you’ve already seen this flick, most likely more than a couple of times, right? If not, then this is one title that is a necessary requirement in your horror education.

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Movie Review: Cat O’ Nine Tails

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The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971)
Directed Dario Argento
Starring James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak, Pier Paolo Capponi, Horst Frank, Tino Carraro, Rada Rassimov, Aldo Reggiani, Carlo Alighiero

This has always been my favorite of Argento’s Animal Trilogy. Even though the reveal at the end of the film doesn’t have the big “It’s You!” payoff that a good thriller might have, this is a giallo after all so it comes down to many other things. But having a blind puzzle maker as one of the main protagonists is something that I’ve always thought was a cool idea, and Malden does an excellent job here.

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Movie Review: Don’t Torture a Duckling

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Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Starring Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian, Irene Papas, Marc Porel, Vito Passeri

I can still remember when I first got hold of a bootleg copy of this rare (at the time) Fulci film. This was at a time in my career as a horror fan that I only knew Fulci from his gore films such as Zombie, The Beyond, and such. So it was quite a surprise seeing something so different than what I was used to. Plus, it also showed me just how a skilled craftsman Fulci was before he became known for just his gory films. This is a grim tale of a small Italian village where someone is killing young boys. Several people seem suspicious, some are even accused and bad things happen. Fulci shows us a darker side of humanity, while still being able to weave together a great little giallo.

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Movie Review: The Ghoul (2016)

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The Ghoul (2016)
Directed by Gareth Tunley
Starring Tom Meeten, Alice Lowe, Rufus Jones, Niamh Cusack, Geoffrey McGivern, Paul Kaye, Dan Renton Skinner, Waen Shepherd

This was a tough one, folks. I really wanted to like this. And there is a part of the film that I loved how it starts, moving you down a certain path, only to make you question if what you thought was going on was really correct. I know that sounds strange, but without going into details of the plot and giving anything away, that is as descriptive as I can get. The film is about mental illness , or delusions, or just a person having a hard time dealing with what is, or what he thinks is, happening in his life. And we’re not really sure right along with him. I would almost say that is a part that I like about it, but at the end of the picture when the credits start to roll, you realize that you still have no idea what you just watched or what the hell happened for the last ninety minutes. And for me, that was the real disappointment.

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Movie Review: Suspicious Death of a Minor

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Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975)
Directed by Sergio Martino
Starring Claudio Cassinelli, Mel Ferrer, Lia Tanzi, Barbara Magnolfi, Gianfranco Barra, Patrizia Castaldi, Adolfo Caruso, Roberto Posses

There were a few things that got my attention right away when this disc came in the mail. First and foremost, it is directed by Sergio Martino, who has made more than a few films that I have really enjoyed over the years. I mean, let’s face it…the man is a god when it comes to the giallo! Secondly, it would be the first of five times that Claudio Cassinelli would appear in one of Martino’s films, before dying in a tragic helicopter accident. My first introduction to Cassinelli’s work was in Martino’s Island of the Fishmen (1979), co-starring Richard Johnson and Barbara Bach. He always seemed to have fun playing the good guy and did it well. So he’s always a welcome site for me when he appears on screen.

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Movie Review: Plague of the Zombies

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Plague of the Zombies (1966)
Directed by John Gilling
Starring Andre Morell, John Carson, Diane Clare, Alex Davion, Jacqueline Pearce, Michael Ripper

In a small Cornish village, strange happenings are a foot! Some sort of deadly disease is creeping through the town and the local doctor is clueless as to what is the cause. He sends a letter of distress to Sir James, his former teacher, for assistance in this grave matter. Cutting short his vacation, Sir James travels to the village with his daughter to see if he can be of any assistance, but has no idea the evil deeds he is about to uncover there.

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Movie Review: Monsters

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Monsters (2010)
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Starring Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy

Right off the bat, we need to get one thing perfectly clear. If there ever was a film that was miss-titled, this would be it. Yes, there are monsters in this film, but it is a very, very small part of this film. It is basically just the background for this simple drama. Which I wouldn’t have had as big of a problem with it had the film been called something like Finding Love…While Some Monsters Roaming Around. But when you call the film Monsters….I kind of expect some..I don’t know…maybe some monsters….maybe a LOT of monsters. The actual working title for the film was Far From Home, which I think fits a lot better. And for the other argument, yes…I get it that WE are the monsters. Still doesn’t change my previous thoughts.

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Movie Review: The Ghost of Frankenstein

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The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
Directed by Erle C. Kenton
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Evelyn Ankers, Janet Ann Gallow, Barton Yarborough, Dwight Frye

There are certain movies from our childhood that still hold a type of charm over us. Ones that when watching it as an adult, even though the film might have flaws, or just isn’t the best, it still is able to recreate the same feeling it did upon that first viewing, all those years ago. The Ghost of Frankenstein is one of those for me. I still consider the original 1931 Frankenstein film one of my favorites and a much better film, but for some reason, I’d probably be more likely to sit down and watch Ghost on some afternoon than the original. Maybe because watching the original, I view it more like an adult, but with Ghost, it makes me feel like a 14 year old kid again watching it on my 13-inch black and white TV. That was when I first got to see this and I can still remember sitting there in my room, eyes glued to the little television set.

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