Tag Archives: Brad Dourif

Gross Movie Reviews #714

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Gross Movie Reviews #714

Venus Die Trap (Tubi) – This independent project attempts to be an intentional B-movie old school style as it mixes old stock film footage with new stuff shot to fill in certain scenes. The story is pretty basic as it centers on a small town in North Carolina where a meteor has fallen to earth in the nearby woods. The residents quickly see weird things happening and blame the meteor out in the woods as venus fly traps have mutated then attack people! The fate of the community rests in the hands of an innocent botanist named Sally. The film has its moments, it doesn’t overstay its welcome on screen, it is a fun homage to movie stuff that if old enough your parents witness these projects at the drive-in as I give is a solid 2 out of 4 stars.

Blood and Rust (Tubi) – In small town Ohio a young man named Lamont believes he is doing the right thing by running his father’s diner and taking care of the transit homeless that wander through from time to time. But Lamont when alone believes he is just a hamster on a hamster wheel running to nowhere especially after he loses his father to a strange animal attack. Enter our other main character Belko the vampire hunter as Lamont learns the hard way vampires are in town to feed and take over. Lamont is all about helping to save this town as long as it helps the homeless and the sheriff doesn’t get involved as the sheriff gives Lamont a hard time. Little that Lamont knows this life changing event can finally help him get off that so-called hamster wheel of life? The concept and how I explain it makes the film sound a lot better than it is… I mean there is a great idea in there I just felt it wasn’t executed well as I give this project 1 ½ out of 2 stars.

Sonny Boy (Blu-ray) – What if I told you there is this bizarre project released in 1989 that stars Paul Smith, David Carradine, and Brad Dourif you would most likely say “I’m in!” To top it off let me just point out David Carradine does the main song and plays a woman in the film. Plus, Paul Smith owns a cannon that he uses to shit people with if they cross him? Those who have seen this understand and respect the bizarre beauty of this film. This oddity of a story begins in 1970 at a remote hotel where Weasel (Brad Dourif) steals a car unknowingly with a baby in back as he brings it to Slue and Pearl as they are a couple criminals who run a desert town with their wheeling and dealing ways. The couple, mostly Slue, raise the child in their bizarre wicked way to help them take down people who don’t agree with their antics. Years go by until the baby is a full grown adult and the small town has had enough of these criminals. This was a film that you would only hear stories of existing for years as I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bootleg tape many moons ago but now has a great cleaned up physical media copy that needs to be seen in order to understand anybody that has described this wild project! If you are a big movie buff and have not witnessed this you need to fix it right now as I give this project 3 ½ stars.

Invisible Shark (DVD-R) – Independent filmmaker Douglas Waltz is at it again with this wild idea that would make you think old school SyFy channel would have made three of these? No they didn’t as Mr. Waltz makes his David “the rock” Nelson picture where a small town sheriff and deputy are forced to believe there is a shark in their waters when a mangled body washes up on the beach. No one sees the attacks but they see the aftermath as this invisible creature attacks residents of Poloniaville! It takes some time but the police figure out because of the killer animal’s invisibility it doesn’t play by the rules of a regular shark which can work to their advantage of saving the residents. This project is truly wild and insane but this rough cut proves Mr. Waltz believes in giving viewers something wildly strange that they might be missing in their movie watching as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars.

Bone Sickness (Blu-ray) – This somewhat forgotten Indy gem from Brian Paulin in the early 2000s may finally get the credit and kudos it deserves as the movie has found new life in this new special edition. So Alex is a young guy who is terminally ill with a wife Kristen who will do anything to extend Alex’s life or cure him of his terrible disease. Alex’s best friend Thomas comes up with an idea of feeding Alex bone marrow from the recently departed believing this could help him as Kristen is okay with this too. Alex unknowingly is being fed this and begins to go through some sick and gruesome changes that do cause him hunger for blood, nevermind this causing the dead to rise. As Kristen and Thomas believe they were doing what’s best for Alex’s hunger and health, the film slowly turns into this dream-like zombie gorefest that goes way beyond the usual independent zombie stuff we are used to. Paulin’s project is bizarre, gritty, and an absolutely exciting gooey splatterfest that needs to be cherished. Feels like a crazy combo of Meat Market meets Fulci! Rewatching this movie made me appreciate how freakin good it is and many of the filmmakers out there need to watch and rewatch ‘Bone Sickness’ to understand you can do what you do with passion and little money… It can be done! This special edition that is so worth owning has a new commentary with Brian Paulin and Rich George, another commentary from Cult Movie Obsessives, a new location tour segment, and a featurette “The Morbid History of Bone Sickness” along with some of the older extras from the previous DVD from in the early 2000s. 4 out of 4 stars from beginning to end!

Amityville Bloodlines (Blu-ray) – Oh I have tracked more down as we go with entry #83 from the young filmmaker Blaize Tudor as he brings this sequel to his ‘Amityville Bloodbath’. The 34 minute film brings in a few independent vets we all know and love to tell the story of Dr. Trevor and his experiment “Skull Face” who has been let loose in Amityville killing all big and small in the town. Because of the curse or legacy of Amityville this evil experiment cannot be killed. Also after listening to some of the commentary from Blaize Tudor it helped me understand ‘Amityville Bloodbath’ as I see this as more of a ‘Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2’ thing of its not a remake but not a true sequel also? Confusing, I know but I believe the young man Blaize has stumbled onto something that he left a lot that could be done with this idea unknowingly? I saw Skull Face as more of the curse of Amityville that could go full serial killer or supernatural killer as this got away from the Amityville house in general… Skull Face could be a ghostly entity that continues the curse of the town? Maybe to make a little more sense so yinz don’t feel like I am completely insane, think “In a Violent Nature” as I give this project 2 out of 4 stars. Also too would like to point out it was cool to hear Blaize in his commentary be somewhat critical of his past project connecting to this as some independent commentaries try to beat into you they made the perfect project. 

Critter Collection Volume One (DVD) – Matthew Mark Hunter digs deep to give audiences eight short films of terror that deal with a boy being bitten by a cricket, a man being haunted by a roach in his motel room, a story about a giant centipede or Dinopede, a man collecting bugs and regrets the aftermath, two segments that were made nine years apart about a rat terrorizing a man, puppet bunnies fearing for their lives as one wants to leave the forest. So if you are not a fan of killer animals or bugs this no budget fun may haunt you as I give the project 2 ½ out of 4 stars.

Amityville Webcam (Blu-ray) – Welcome to entry #84 that has been floating around for a bit of time but getting to watch it on streaming or physical media form has only been made available recently. Premise of this entry into the series is about demons webcamming in their time off to play a role playing game where they are humans and deal with a possessed webcam. I give it credit for doing something different for sure but I believe it tells its story in 60 minutes and then just repeats for the next 40 minutes after. Again a solid different concept for the series but goes way too long. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a ‘Mt. Misery Rd.’ mess as I can only give this entry 1 ½ out of 4 stars.

Last + Last After All (DVD) – An animated 16 minute short film broken into two segments of a possible post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh. The first one is about a person who just recently woke up in this new wasteland only to find out they might be the last human alive. The second segment is an odd pair wandering the wasteland. I would love to say I enjoyed it but to me it felt incomplete? But also I am not a huge animation guy so I could be missing something as I give this 1 out of 4 stars.

Amityville Bed & Breakfast (Blu-ray) – Entry #85 literally goes in a direction I am surprised it took this long to get too? This entry into the series has two brothers buying the haunted property cheap because of unpaid taxes. Their challenge for their streaming house flipping show is to fix up the property to make it a bed and breakfast to help the community get rid of the so-called bad PR the house has had since the original murders. As the Beaver brothers progress into the project and weird things begin to happen immediately they learn through some documents that everything might not be supernatural? The Beaver brothers struggle to deal with the so-called fixer upper as the crew keeps disappearing and cash runs low but they get through it all to accomplish their task in this very entertaining entry into the series as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Amityville Easter (Blu-ray) – Oh entry #86 into the Amityville series goes in the weird but not totally unexpected direction as a group of influencers head to the Amityville estate at the edge of the Amityville community for an interview with a famous widow that could mean more subscribers and money for them. The property besides being owned by a widow was also the site of a famous murder by a deranged half bunny/half human killer. The influencers were only allowed to be present on the property if they would agree to the widow’s terms and all their equipment was turned over to the butler when they arrived but this group is desperate for content. As they spend the night there things immediately get weird for the influencers from seeing the widow looking very sexual (best way to describe it) and the female influencers made to do an easter egg hunt? All this just for an interview that is believed to be a big pay day unless the half bunny/half human can stop killing them all. This project has its moments and I give it kudos for just being odd from the start so if you need to see a rather weird entry into the series? Look no further as I believe this would be way better to watch with a group as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars.

Any comments or questions you can send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net 

Gross Movie Reviews #582

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L.A. Aids Jabber (Blu-ray) – A rare 1994 S.O.V. flick that some may know only as “Jabber” has been finally released uncut for independent film fans and packed with some interesting goodies for all to enjoy. Our story begins with a young man named Jeff Roberts who has been told he has contracted the disease AIDS. Not happy with the news of course, Jeff thinks suicide but after confronted by a social worker Jeff rethinks his death sentence? Tired, depressed, and jobless Jeff goes in a different direction with this news and makes a hit list of people he always felt done him wrong. So he figures why not and fills a syringe of his tainted blood so he can infect those on his hit list with it! Meanwhile, we have a couple of cops who are investigating the assaults and being told to keep this quiet so there isn’t major mass panic in the city. The film is gritty, grimey, touches on an uncomfortable subject (the fears of it) and how it was treated at that time, and has a great screwed up ending that will make this film the gem of the year for some and others not care for the subject matter. This film dealt with some uncomfortable stuff that I believe people still have a hard time today dealing with or talking about today which makes this an excellent weird flick to throw at someone when they say, “they have seen everything” as I give it 3 stars.

Cover-Up (DVD) – A 1991 action film that stars Dolph Lundgren as a journalist named Anderson who is covering a bombing at a U.S. Navy Base in Israel. Anderson believes there is a lot more to this story as he investigates and believes what he sees is not the whole story? Anderson having a couple of friends there in Tel Aviv tries to get what info he can get out of them but a high ranking military officer played by Louis Gossett, Jr.is stonewalling Anderson as everything is being blamed on a terrorist group “Black October”. The deeper Anderson gets the more of a scapegoat he is going to become as the military tries to keep quiet about a top secret package being retrieved from the base. But with it all being about starting a new war everyone is getting screwed over as long as its covered up what the original intention was? A fun back and forth action film that plays out more like a thriller in the end as I give it 2 ½ stars.

Sakura Killers (DVD) – Chuck Connors collecting a paycheck sends two Americans overseas to fight some ninjas! This is all because the ninjas in Japan have supposedly stolen a videotape on genetic testing that could change the scientific world? But these two Americans do not have the proper training to ensure their win in said fight with the ninjas so they must visit “The Ninja Master”… If this thing wasn’t finished in 1986 or before Dan Komarek was born I would swear he wrote this terribly absurd 80s ninja flick even the hardcore ninja movie lovers are going to have a tough time sitting through as I give it 1 star.

Wise Blood (DVD) – This 1979 oddity is from earlier in Brad Dourif’s career where I remember seeing a few pictures of his character in the movie but could never find the movie itself. Well recently one day just going through some movies that might interest me through some of the streaming sites I came across a listing for the film to play on a cable channel as it has been rereleased. Set I the late 70s where Hazel Motes comes back to his small town after a stint in the military only to find family and most of the town has moved to the big city. Not wanting to embrace his father’s preaching past Hazel decides he has found his calling preaching about the church without Christ? Nowhere near a horror movie but another example of why Brad Dourif is such a wonderful and interesting actor as I give the film 2 ½ stars.

Amityville Christmas Vacation (www.stevebuster.com) – That famous holiday/horror/love story plot has finally come to the Amityville series (entry #39 for those who are counting) in the form of Steve Rudzinski’s (Caroushell 1 & 2 fame) latest project. A familiar character from the “Steve Universe or Meowy Universe” in the form of Wally Griswold has won a random Christmas vacation trip to Amityville! Wally arrives at a bed and breakfast in Amityville that is the “second most famous haunted house” where a ghost named Jessica kills all who stay there. But this time it’s different as it the happiest time of the year, it is Christmas! And Wally and Jessica are having the time of their lives this holiday season. But there is an evil plan behind all of this and none of it had a ghost and a clueless detective falling in love in Amityville on Christmas? Move over Mark Polonia, Dustin Ferguson, Thomas J. Churchill, and Shawn C. Phillips just to name a few as Steve gives not just an entertaining entry into the endless series but hilarious entertaining energy of a story that will make you laugh out loud a few times. Steve’s intelligence behind the camera and his extremely talented cast not just poke fun at the series but also give the never dying series a watchable entry for the first time in several years as I have to give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars.     

The Kindred (Blu-ray) – This is one of those forgotten horror films of the 80s as it focused on a cool creature instead of a killer in a hockey mask. A great monster flick with a great VHS cover that was released in 1987 that I had a great fondness for as it was available in all the video stores during those few years but as the video stores disappeared so did finding this film. Now thank you to Synapse Films we get to see this remastered uncut version. This interesting monster story begins with Dr. Hollins, an older scientist who had a heart attack. Her son John who also is a scientist runs to her bed side only to be asked to go back to his childhood home and burn all the evidence of her experiments and Anthony…? The brother he never knew about. John and a few friends head to his mother’s home to find out her retirement have been busy and she dived deep into human hybrid experimentation and beyond. An old partner of hers, Dr. Lloyd wants in on the new discovery of what she was able to accomplish because he was banished by Hollins many years ago for his atrocities. Now John knowing Dr. Lloyd’s real intentions is trying to destroy what his mother worked for during her life as the human race is not ready. The movie looks wonderful but the biggie for this version is definitely the creature effects as we finally get to see Anthony in all his colorful glory for the first time compared to past VHS versions of this film. We also get a great documentary about how the film got made, never before seen behind the scenes creature effects, and a commentary. Most of all this great film finally got the treatment it deserved and just in time for a new generation of horror fans to discover a beautifully designed creature film that got lost in the shuffle of slashers at the time of its release as without no doubt this gets 4 out of 4 stars and can be found at www.synapse-films.com .

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No Rondos… But we do have four new shows for you!

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We have been gone for almost a month but we’re back!  Due to Kyle’s job being shut down for some time due to a tornado almost destroying the place that sends us supplies to operate and our audio hosting site having technical problems for the last week (Kyle suspects they are all drunk over at talkshoe.com)  we wanted to know that we are are still very much alive.  But for the time being you can stream or download the show from our site, but, they won’t be on Stitcher until the alcoholics over at talkshoe put down the bottle and get that intervention that they so very much need.  So untill that happens enjoy the 4 new episodes… cause we got god damn RONDO AWARDS to lose over here at bloodbaths and boomsticks central!
 
Thanks for listening and writing in and we will continuing to listen.  were gonna be around for a long time.

 

Kyle

This week we are dropping 4 new episodes due to our audio hosting site screwing up, and Kyle’s job has been destroyed for the time being by a tornado.  But that won’t stop us as we bring you and episode in which we talk about the return of a beloved horror series in CULT OF CHUCKY.  Aind the latest in the found footage horror in THE MONSTER PROJECT.  Also we read your questions and peruse the week that was.



(NOTE: episode 247, 248, 249, and 250 wont be streamable from our site nor on stitcher for the time being due to our audio hosting site being all jacked up.)

 

This week we are back with 2 more pieces of weirdo cinema.  The first being the cornerstone in a pretty decent franchise starring one of our favorite duded Andrew Divoff in WISHMASTER.  The second is a  strange trip of a flick directed by genre stalwart Jeff Lieberman in BLUE SUNSHINE.  Also we review the week that was, and answer your listener questions.  So download this or else your hair will fall out because of that time you dabbled in LSD in high school. 

 

 

This week we ask whe question… “WHATS IN THE BOX???” as we review 3 movies about weird mystery boxes in them (we’re really kinda running out of theme ideas here).  The first being this years movie that asks the question what if the final destination series fucked the Wishmaster series in WISH UPON.  Then we talk about a Jewish demon possession flick in THE POSSESSION.  And finally Kyle was dragged to the theater to see the latest in the saw series in JIGSAW.  Also we do the normal ramblings of news, listener questions and perusing the recent weeks viewing habits.  So download this show or Jigsaw will return from the dead for the 127th time.

This week we are celebrating thanksgiving like all the other american dullards are…. by celebrating Christmas a month early instead!  So we bring to you 2 Christmas fright flicks to  binge upon way earlier than you should.  First being this years BETTER WATCH OUT.  and the second being the remake to Bob Clarke’s all time classic in BLACK X-MAS 2006 cause Kyle says it’s awesome and everybody is wrong about it (just like  THUNDERDOME)!  We also do the normal rotation of what we watched in the last week, answer your listener questions, and get to some movie related news (Spoiler Alert, people get touched in the naughty bits).  So download this episode or that crazy grandpa from Silent Night Deadly Night will punish you!

 

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