Gross Movie Reviews #687

0

Other Men’s Careers (DVD) – Another documentary from huge ‘Evil Dead’ fan Ryan Meade who did an absolutely perfect job with ‘Invaluable’ highlighting Tom Sullivan. As with this project he highlights Josh Becker one of the people that was also on set with Sam, Bruce, and Robert from the beginning. Josh Becker has had a very interesting career to say it best as Josh even admits “he is his own worst enemy”, good or bad. All the usual from ‘Evil Dead’ are interviewed speaking about Becker’s humble beginnings to moving to L.A. back to Michigan because he had scurvy! They cover how he hung out with Sam, Ted, Bruce, etc., discuss his writing on Xena, and his own small budget projects. But this isn’t your usual documentary that makes everything all happy, happy, joy, joy, as even Josh talks about his dark times. Josh has definitely done things his own way and other than the color being a little off at times Ryan Meade did a wonderful job of capturing Josh’s career and bringing it to light that some fans may have not known about. I have always enjoyed interacting with Mr. Becker over the years at a couple conventions and glad to see him featured in a project like this as I got give it 4 stars all the way.  

Primitive War (On Demand) – For whatever reasons this wasn’t in theaters, let alone there wasn’t much ad time dedicated to this being released? For the love of Rutger Hauer: dinosaurs, Vietnam War, Jeremy Piven… how do you miss on this? Set in Vietnam 1968 where a Green Beret unit mysteriously disappears in a valley that isn’t occupied by the war taking place. A special recon team is tasked with going into the valley to find out what happened and get out. Do not engage, just report, and get a helio out.  The team is all about it as they get off at doing their job but quickly know there is a lot more not being told when they arrive in the valley to find dinosaurs and a Russian experiment gone wrong that could end the world. Recon unit’s new mission becomes not only survival but stop a lunatic from continuing the experiment to see if he can end the world? Oh people this is a big old cheeseball movie with not the best of effects and a long running time but I still enjoyed finding this kind of random project being made as I give it 2 ½ stars.

Cocaine Stepdad (DVD) – The filmmaker alone should win an award for one of the best movie titles ever! Kyle is a young man (not really 12 years old but you will understand) whose mother is about to marry a super sketchy pastor. Terry, Kyle’s last stepdad is in prison and just got Kyle to come on some random lockup reality TV show. Of course Terry is just using Kyle for a prison break and it works! Now on the run Terry and Kyle begin to bond as the two do some outrageous things and eventually break down a plan to stop the marriage between Kyle’s mom and the weird gun totting generic bucket of mayo making pastor. Filmed like a reality TV show or think ‘Natural Born Killers’ with less blood but you laughing out loud a lot more at what the two do along the way in order to stop the marriage. This independent film is absolutely hilarious, sketchy as hell, and has a supreme ending that you need to witness to understand it all as I give this truly different project 3 out of 4 stars.

Amityville Apt. (Amazon) – So entry #75 into this legendary series of films as a solid cast throughout a series of stories/anthology that features evil, the devil, monsters, killer clowns, and ghosts that haunt residents of an apartment complex. The premise is the original Amityville home has burned down a few years back and someone came in to build an apartment complex. To my surprise all segments are shot well, well casted, interesting, and they all do not linger as they blend together wonderfully telling the story of this evil complex. Legit straight up a great entry into the series that I hope doesn’t get overlooked by burned out independent film fans as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Kim’s Video (Tubi) – An odd but super interesting documentary about a famous video store in New York City before they cleaned the city up and everything went streaming but that is only the beginning as this isn’t your ordinary documentary. The documentarian, David, who is a movie fan like a lot of us lived in New York City in the mid-90s and was a member of this legendary video store. This store had bands play inside, bootlegs of movies from all over the world, and videos of movies that were never available. The store was one of a couple that the owner Kim also owned a few dry cleaners in New York where his love of movies and his video stores became even more profitable than people could even imagines. Hell his stores would be raided by the FBI in 2003 and a week later Kim would have the shelves full again. In the early 2000s Kim seen what was coming down the pike and instead of selling off his collection that was estimated at 50000 movies he wanted to donate it to something or someone that would take care of it? This is where the story gets weird… In 2009 the collection is donated to a small city in Italy. There was a dedication, people forgot, something about mafia ties, and then this documentarian arrives in Italy to break into this storage building to find moldy tapes! The man David then comes up with a plan to steal the collection back and bring it back to the U.S. This story is wild but I love it because it is something I believe in along with the passion as I give this must see documentary about physical media 4 stars.

The Valley of Gwangi (DVD) – A late 60s B-movie that has a showman Tuck Kirby who has gotten out of the old west/carnival show stuff to sell acts to other shows trying to survive. It just so happen Tuck’s hottie ex-girl has an act no one has ever seen: a little horse that has been extinct for 50 million years but live and doing tricks while on top of a full size horse. Gypsys of course the keepers of this unknown valley where the animal was taken from have retrieved the animal. Tuck, a professor, members of a Wild West show track the gypsys down only to find themselves fighting dinosaurs. They capture one so of course it will be a great idea to take it on the road as an act? Great B-movie stuff with dinosaurs fighting each other throughout along with eating people as I give the film 2 ½ stars.

Like Tears in Rain (Amazon) – A documentary about one of my favorite actors of all time… Rutger Hauer. This project gets really in-depth of Rutger before he hit Hollywood as his wife found some old films Rutger did in the early 70s and so on. The film recounts how Rutger broke into Hollywood but he wanted it to do it his way while being himself as one celebrity puts it “Rutger just didn’t fit in as that made him stand out” at a time where that was difficult. All the things Rutger did in his early life with his wife and best friend was just amazing as he basically enjoyed hanging out with friends’ kids, to being beyond respected by actors and directors as this might make you cry at what he accomplished in life. I have always admired Rutger Hauer and if you watch this and not feel a tear come on or have a new respect for this man you do not have a soul! I loved this documentary about a man that was such a mystery too many but absolutely able to put his stamp on cinema big and small from ‘Blade Runner’ to ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’. I give this project 4 stars and so happy this dude existed!

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews #668

0

Mickey 17 (Theater) – So venturing out of my comfort zone I took a chance on a film I wasn’t impressed by the trailers or who was starring in it. But I gave it a chance and I believe I found a film that many don’t understand (but are intrigued) or chooses too not understand, right now but I am telling you give this feature five years and there are going to be fans calling it a “cult film”. Or as I also like to point out this film hit too close to what is going on in society now? Anyway, a film based on a book about advanced tech as the film is set in 2054 where a human could be listed as an “expendable”. Mickey signs up for space travel where human experiments can be performed legally. The basic premise is scientists test various things on Mickey to see how it affects humans. When he dies the scientists reprint a new version of him out with his past memories. Now Mickey #17 is lying at the bottom of an ice pit waiting to be eaten by some horrible creature on a planet humans know little about. This is where the story actually begins forty minutes into the feature as Mickey 17 doesn’t die and walks back to the ship only to encounter Mickey 18. By intergalactic law there cannot be ‘multiples’! This of course knocks everything out of balance while Mickey 17 is tired of dying and finally for the first time in his life just wants to live. This is a great complex and completely outrageous script, wonderful cast that I just absolutely enjoyed with great delight! Yes, it will be on my list of ‘best movies of 2025’ but only time will tell if I am correct if this is the next “Buckaroo Banazi” cult like film of its time? Point is don’t sleep on this one movie watchers as I give this 4 stars as I try not to give up too much about the film as I want you to really experience this one!  

Bloodsick Psychosis (Blu-ray) – The best part of the movie for me at least might be the opening credits done in some wild Claymation. This SOV film’s plot has a couple taking some acid and pretty much chaos ensues for them as they lose their freakin mind. After a bad headache and a thirst for blood Pacey slowly loses his mind to the point he kills a cat and shoots up the dead cat’s blood for a fix. Once Pacey sinks deeper into the psychosis he becomes more violent as the filler of the film is drive-in footage, concert footage, and the legendary David “The Rock” Nelson as a weird infomercial sprinkled in to fill out the feature. I cannot condemn the Indy film as I enjoy the grittiness of the SOV film as well knowing there is an audience for it as I give it 2 out of 4 stars.

Bigfoot the Movie: The Sequel (Tubi) – Not trying to be too critical of this Indy flick but, “was anybody really asking for a sequel let alone several years later?” The sequel brings back the three main characters to gear up for their next hunting adventure as they are contacted by Hilga to investigate a Yeti at a local ski lodge. Their preparation for the adventure is hilarious as they drink as many Iron City Beers as humanly possible in their garage before the trip. They then head to the lodge and begin their hunt as the film seems to quickly go downhill from there. I give them credit for leaning more into the Yinzer accent and having the Pittsburgh beer of choice featured throughout but the death dagger to the film might be the feeling of it being an unfunny version of “The Three Stooges meets the Yeti”. If it makes any sense it seems even less happens in this sequel than first film as I can only give the Indy feature 1 ½ out of 4 stars. A good thing is seeing all the Western Pa acting talent showing up in this feature just wish it was a better film to feature them.

Dinner with Leatherface (Tubi) – A wonderful documentary that just doesn’t look into the man behind Leatherface of the original ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ but looks real hard into Gunnar Hansen the person. No matter what Gunnar was well respected and lovable among all out there that ever met him over the years. Gunnar is described as a “Class Act” and the talk of his impact playing Leatherface by such celebs Debbie Rochon, Barbara Crampton, Jeff Burr, and Kane Hodder among many others who explained Gunnar was “one of a kind human”. The stories about the man told by his peers are just phenomenal and might make you cry by the end as I give the documentary 4 stars.

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (DVD-R) – This project is a six episode series from 2004 that was canceled in the UK that was filmed in this 80s soap opera weirdness to tell tales of the supernatural set in a hospital. The point of the series was supposed to be a fake TV show that was made during the 80s and its claim would be that the series was lost shortly after shooting. The show is half hour episodes of evil supernatural things happening in parody form of this fictional hospital along with the author doing the intro for the episodes. This truly offbeat series did find a small but vocal audience through “Adult Swim” here in America along with a cult like status in the UK asking for a second season but never happened. The series is a little too weird for me as it just didn’t exactly make me love it but I definitely respect what the people behind this project were trying to do as I give it 2 ½ stars.

The Monkey (On Demand) – The film’s plot begins in 1999 with a set of twin boys who do not get along well but their deadbeat father supposedly walked out on their mom. But the viewer sees at that very beginning the father is trying to pawn off this toy monkey that plays the drums because it is “evil”. The boys going through their father’s stuff that was left behind come across a box “Organ Grinder Monkey” with the toy monkey in it. You turn the key in the back of the monkey, it plays the drums, and someone dies horrifically! After a few bizarre deaths happen the twins dispose of the monkey believing it cannot come back to haunt them. 25 years pass as the monkey randomly shows up at their aunt’s estate sale killing her the very next evening. But someone keeps turning the key over and over as weird deaths are happening daily around the small town the twins use to live in. Now for the first time the twins are together trying to figure out who is turning the key again. Enjoyed the death scenes but for me the ending was kind of a letdown compared to the rest of the film as I give it 2 ½ stars.

The Return of Captain Invincible (Blu-ray) – This lost 1983 film stars Christopher Lee as a villain of course named “Midnight” who after ruining New York City wants to ruin the world. Meanwhile the film centers around a superhero to many who fought against gangsters and Nazis decades before until he is brought in before a Senate Commission and discredited. The once famous superhero disappears from the world until he is unearthed by a rookie detective in Australia. But now more than ever he is needed by the President of the United States to help defeat the evil mastermind “Midnight”. There is song and dance numbers, The Captain struggling with sobriety which affects his super powers with some bad effects makes this mess of a movie a very interesting project for even the time it was released and you asking it why it was ever made, as I give it 2 stars mainly because of Christopher Lee.

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews #633

0

When the Trash Man Knocks (DVD/Tubi) – Caroline is a woman haunted by a tragic event many years ago that has caused her the fear of leaving the house. But what scared her two decades ago, “The Trash Man”, has returned. Instead of being your usual rando slasher genre fare (which isn’t a bad thing?) this film goes about fleshing out a more psychological story about how the Trash Man was able to scar a town. This legendary killer has haunted Caroline and her son for so many years that they also have become part of the legend. There is some wonderful kills and bodies pile up quickly once it gets going. I try to not go into too much detail as it can give this fun new breed of slasher film away and want it to be fun for first time viewers as I can honestly say this will be on my “Best of 2024 list” at the end of the year as I give it 4 stars.

Cocaine Crabs from Outer Space (DVD) – Two space crabs have been sent to Earth on a mission but that is thrown out of whack when a rough landing breaks the translator for the crabs to communicate. Soon after the crabs are found by frat boys and given cocaine so of course the crabs completely lose their minds and kill the frat boys! With Detective Reese on the case he believes immediately its crabs that killed the young frat boys but no one will believe him. While during the investigation the crabs soon understand the more cocaine the more they can breed and kill humans! A hilarious throwback B-movie made on not much budget that definitely entertains if you enjoy the humor of this type of horror movie as I give it 3 stars.

Shaky Shivers (DVD) – The film is set perfectly in 1993 somewhere in the state of Washington where two young women have set out to wait for a full moon and once it happens the hilarity doesn’t stop with what these two get themselves into. But when the real story begins the day before when the two are working their ice cream parlor jobs as they discuss their futures only to be interrupted by a woman from the woods. This happens at closing time when Lucy and Karen just want to be done for the night but the strange woman curses Lucy as now she has to deal with becoming a werewolf. The two best friends try to figure out what they can do before tomorrow evening which brings us to their present time the next evening and things go from bad to worse when they read from “The Book of Spells”! Great effects, great story, I absolutely laughed my ass off at these two characters as this will be a horror film for people to talk about for years to come as I give it 4 stars and will most likely be on my “Best of 2024 list” at the end of the year.

Men in Suits (YouTube) – This is a fascinating look at people in the monster suits we all grew up with that were in some of the most famous monster suits ever made for Hollywood films. Learned about this documentary while reading a book on ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ about a young lady who was the driving force behind this historical creature and all the work she did. You can find the book on Amazon and it’s called “The Lady from the Black Lagoon”. Real cool shit that proved some things I heard throughout the years. But anyway this documentary takes an inside look of who and why they do what they do. If you are all about practical effects, you are going to want to search this one out as I give it 4 stars.

Amityville Bloodbath (DVD) – Welcome to those of you that don’t understand my obsession with these films but this is entry #58. I am a complete lunatic when it comes to Amityville or massacre films? (Way too long of a conversation to be honest so just go with it) Anyhow I would love to just talk shit on this entry but we all know there are so many bad ones so instead of that let’s take this with a grain of salt as a teenager Blazie Tudor threw their hat into an already crowded ring of entries. This no budget 32 minute flick stars Joel Wynkoop, Phil Herman, and John Ward where it involves two teenagers. Now it may have been a good thing the teenagers were filmed with sunglasses on as at any point they were going to laugh their asses off at being filmed? But these two go for a ride and for a picnic (that is a whole other conversation) to talk about Amityville, which thus in turn sets up the two friends being killed by a masked assailant in the spirit of Amityville?! Now, I can see some would take this as “garbage” where I took as a teenager filmmaker stumbled upon a plot line that wasn’t fully seen through? Making the Amityville town not the house as a presence that will kill any chance it gets until the town is empty of souls? Yes folks I went that f’n deep… but anyway we all know and its well documented that I have watched much worse so give this one a chance because I have a feeling we all are going to enjoy this Blazie Tudor is making movies ten years from now as I give it 2 out of 4 stars.   

The Time Travelers (DVD) – A flick about three scientists in 1964 (before I was born and most of yinz) working on a future and past time experiment that accidentally freezes up for the scientists and they have accidentally opened a portal a 107 years into the future! Now trapped in this post-apocalyptic future and being chased by mutants they do stumble upon that last living humans that hide in a cave. These last humans are relatives of scientists from years ago who were driven underground from the nuclear war and destruction. These last humans are on a deadline to leave the planet as the mutants creep in closer to destroying everything before the scientists arrive. Once the scientists understand they didn’t change the past since they are trapped they must agree to help go forward only to see there is no end as reality must go on. I fun concept as you can see many films and TV series stole from this idea as I give it 3 stars.

Body Count (DVD/YouTube) – So this latest venture into Indy cinema stars Jennifer Nangle! But it doesn’t just star Ms. Nangle she goes all John Saxon “Zombie Deathhouse” on us and stars, directs, writes, editor, produces, etc. Everything except for the music which I may say will go unnoticed but might be Rocky Gray’s best work? Anyway Jennifer and others put together an anthology of where Queen of Screams Malvolia is trying to kill randos in the wraparound with her band of misfits as there are stories to be told that flesh out this entertaining anthology! First story has an actress who has made one too many mistakes in her career and trying to get back on track or has she? As she is just trying to put pieces together that would allow her to gain her revenge… Second story is about an all-girls weekend that takes a turn to the sadistic because someone still holds a grudge from 15 years ago for a prank! Third story is about a trio of friends who set out to kill vampires. Fourth story is about old friends getting together and something goes horribly wrong as what was planned is turned upside down. Fifth story is about a woman who kills to get what she wants but runs into someone far more sinister because she hasn’t stuck with the code of witches. Before you flutter your eyes at another Indy anthology take note this was impressive as I mentioned Ms. Nangle decided to make this happen in all aspects of filmmaking which is impressive. And yes we all know unless it is “Creepshow” I am already gonna dislike the anthology but remember I also made one recently… What is funny about this one is Jennifer showed off more of her talent that most may give her credit for? Yeah the anthology isn’t perfect (it isn’t Creepshow) but she put together a 100 minute project that isn’t boring, doesn’t drag, or rely on nudity to get across what she wanted on screen and for that kudos as I give 3 out of 4 stars for this entertaining piece of art.

Graphic Sexual Horror (Blu-ray) – An interesting documentary that has just been picked up by Synapse Films about a former college professor who started a notorious website in the late 90s called insex.com. Synapse Films brings this uncut project from the filmmakers Barbara Bell and Anna Lorentzon that does a deep dive into the life and career of Brent Scott. He came up with a bondage/fetish site that eventually got shut down by the Homeland of Security. The documentarian filmmakers take a look into a genre that isn’t just ordinary porn but a subject that makes most of us uncomfortable even speaking about it? This film explains what Brent was trying to do in so many words for people who were into something much different than your ordinary sex that became termed as “violent sex” by some or as I describe as a shock, a fetish, or a turn-on like no other. The Blu-ray goes above and beyond than the censored 2009 version that is uploaded on YouTube with interesting interviews with the models and an interview with co-director Barbara Bell. Best way to explain this is quoting Brent “It was an experiment at first to see what I could do?” This is might not be my “cup of tea” but I felt the documentary was done in a very tasteful way for all viewers who had any interest to be inform of the history of this being on the internet as I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars and can be purchased through www.synapsefilms.com .   

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews #631

0

The Man from Hong Kong (DVD) – A 1975 martial arts Australian flick from none other than Brian Trenchard-Smith who brings together a great cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby, Roger Ward, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Sammo Hung. A legendary Hong Kong policeman (Inspector Special Branch) beds a Sydney newspaper reporter in the first few minutes of the film not knowing he will be seeing her again soon in Sydney. His job is to head to Sydney to pick up a suspect who is a part of a drug connection between Hong Kong and Sydney but when the suspect is shot the Hong Kong policeman goes on a one man wrecking crew of Sydney! Two detectives key the Inspector Special Branch on a man named Wilton who owns most of Sydney because everyone knows he is dirty but they cannot bring him down? Think “Lone Wolf McQuade” several years before it was made with a ridiculous amount of crap getting busted up in this movie. This movie deserves a watch if you never had the pleasure as you will not be disappointed in this over the top martial arts 4 star action!

Mad Max Exposed (Tubi) – An hour long documentary on everything Mad Max that covers everything from the stunts, the people who were a part of them, how they planned the movie, the design of the cars, to nothing stopping George Miller in putting together a film that changed car chase scenes forever. All of the cast exception of George Miller and Mel Gibson share stories throughout the hour that will have any Mad Max fan beaming and entertained in seconds as I give it 4 stars.

Dario Argento Panico (Shudder) – A documentary that thoroughly goes through the career of the Italian horror master and those who worked with him. The film takes you on a deep dive of Argento and what exactly lured and inspired him into filmmaking. There is also in-depth interviews with both of Dario’s daughters, yes you heard me right… both daughters! I only knew of Asia. Dario also has conversations about how his filmmaking shaped his family through the years as this is not just brilliant but eye opening doc on the legendary filmmaker as I give it 4 stars.

Valerie (YouTube) – Philip Brocklehurst never stops making stuff has yet another short film where it’s an artistic look at a man who believes there is nothing left in his life if he cannot have his love. A very heavy look into love and some underlying subtext of love if you are paying attention as I give the short film 3 out of 4 stars.

The Leprechaun’s Game (Tubi) – A boring shady character (bootleg Robert Patrick) employs two fools to track down the leprechaun’s gold at the end of a rainbow? If found the duo can make 100,000 pounds! If you haven’t noticed this is a bootleg British Asylum Entertainment version of the popular ‘Leprechaun’ series that has two losers finding the gold within five minutes? But this of course is not the whole plot as they plan to spend it instead of giving it to their boring shady friend. And it doesn’t take long for the bad make-up looking leprechaun come a killing (very shitty kills by the way) for his gold coins. Oh this was hot garbage on fire from beginning to end as if I call it a parody of the original ‘Leprechaun’ that would be super insulting as I give this movie 0 stars.

The Leprechaun’s Curse (Tubi) – So this terrible sequel doesn’t get any better as it picks up immediately after the end of the first film having the leprechaun is still reclaiming his stolen gold. Tilly inherits a huge home whose father built it with the stolen gold. So of course she gets a few friends and they head to the big house with a pool just to be lame new victims for the killer leprechaun. Then you get the boring Tilly character filler trying to decide if it’s right to keep the gold? But nevermind any of that as there is a big thing that isn’t really explained in my opinion as the Mischa character returns when she was seen about to be killed at the end of the first film? What gives? Does bootleg Leprechaun decide at the last second I don’t feel like killing her because she is prego? Only to kill her in front of the kid anyway six months later, WTF? There are so many questions about this dumb movie because it comes off like the two movies were actually one split into two but didn’t enough material for either as I give this 0 stars.

Deep Fear (On Demand) – A British shark film that steals from 70s treasure hunt flicks where the shark is not the main plot as a woman must fight for her life against two drug dealers who are trying to get to their stash at the bottom of the ocean. Naomi is sailing on her yacht to see her boyfriend (or rich people with rich people problems) but finds two people who are floating with boat wreckage. Naomi trying to do something good by herself helps the two assholes and they take her prisoner and that is pretty much the whole movie as I give it 1 star.

Amityville Ripper (DVD) – Ron Bonk produces another useless entry into the “Amityville” series and that is #57 if yinz are still keeping count? Anyway the Amityville home has finally been demoed and the artifacts or contents of the home are being sold off. Hey, didn’t this happen already? But let’s move on as the character Marianne gets ahold of the knife that is supposedly “Jack the Ripper’s” knife and was supposedly at the Amityville home for some unknown reason. Once the knife is released from the box it’s Jack the Ripper (bad accent and all) beginning to kill again! Now it’s up to a couple friends to contain this great power. There are so many problems with this so-called movie I feel like I would be picking on it just for laughs. But there is literally only one redeeming thing about this entry and that would be seeing Indy newcomer Angel Bradford, a very talented Indy actress that will be fun to watch for years to come. Otherwise folks please don’t waste your time on this fruitless entry as I give it 0 stars.

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews #595

0

Project Wolf Hunting (On Demand) – Once again Asian horror fucking rocks! This blend of “Con-Air”, “Dead Alive” splatter, with a glass of “The Raid” and “Captain America… sort of” is a Korean flick that has a group of dangerous criminals being transported by ship from the Philippines to South Korea. All the doors have been taken off to the rooms so each convict can be watched by the authorities going along for the ride. Of course there is a plan in place for the convicts to escape but what they are not counting on is the super-secret experiment hanging out in the bottom of the ship that only a doctor who is there for a bundle of cash knows about. This secret is known as “Alpha”! Once the escape and takeover begins it’s a wonderful war between cops and criminals until the “Alpha” has awakened by some human blood dripping down below (believe me just watch because it’s bad ass what happens next). This experiment is awake and pissed off as it is not picking sides. Hell a dude gets beaten with his own arm as this film sports possibly the most gore since “Dead Alive” if not more? Bottom-line: The Alpha doesn’t get old, very hard to kill, and has the strength of five men and he can smell your ass! What turns out from large scale takeover turns to a movie about survival as the movie explains a few things in the second half so stick with it. Most likely there won’t be a bigger splatterfest in 2023 but I was not impressed with the ending and felt it hurts the overall product as I give the film 3 ½ stars.  

The Amityville Quilt Store (YouTube) – Yes indeed kids I have found entry #45 and it’s a short film (thank our lord Rutger Hauer) about two dudes who make the mistake of visiting the Amityville General Store. For one of the unfortunate friends they find out the hard way the antiques there must feed as I give the short film 2 ½ stars.

The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (DVD/YouTube) – The great Karen Black plays your normal housewife of George Hamilton in this 1977 TV movie. Karen’s character is stuck in normalcy until she begins to have dreams and visions of a woman who died a few years back. Without giving too much away as I liked the little twist in this film between Black’s performance and the 45 year old film still having a spooky charm to it this is more than worth seeking out as I give it 2 ½ stars.

Satan Lives! The Rise of the Illuminati Hotties (Blu-ray) – Sean Donohue and crew bring together what is supposed to be a lost film that was shot in 1992 by two filmmakers who set to interview and follow the leader of the Satanic church, Richard Lemeau. While gathering info on the satanic leader it’s quickly learned that there are some within the ranks that have their own plans that include world domination. Richard comes off in this documentary lost tape thingy as someone trying to run a legit alternative church but if Patricia’s plan goes off as planned she will be in charge of the Illuminati and the satanic church! This movie swims in the sea of sleaze and fun but has a few flaws such as the stripper dance routine going way too long to possibly pad running time? I did enjoy seeing the Dingo Pizza commercial from Maddie Deering’s “Spirit Animal” flick. So if you are not into films that flirts with the line between good taste and fun sleaze this is most likely not for you but I still give it a solid 2 ½ out of 4 stars for those who are fans of the talented Sean Donohue.

Bloody Bloody Bible Camp (DVD) – A 2012 Indy project that begins at Happy Day Bible Camp in 1977 where campers get massacred by a person of the cloth (supposedly) and it stars Tim Sullivan, Ron Jeremy, Jeff Dylan Graham and the great Reggie Bannister. Now seven years later Reggie as Father Cummings and a survivor of the massacre head to the camp for a fun retreat for the parish of young people. Once settled in the campers are again victims of Sister Mary Chopper as the legend goes. The movie has a few hilarious moments for an Indy slasher but this project always makes me wonder if Rick Fusselman would have finished his project “Bible Camp Massacre” which was in pre-production at the same time of this film what would have Indy horror fans preferred? Anyway go check it out as I give it 2 stars.

Robo Vampire 2: Devil’s Dynamite (DVD/YouTube) – More jumping vampires, clumsy ninjas, a rando spacesuit dude that looks like an extra from an early 70s Godzilla film fill up this sequel to one of the more bizarre films I ever watched? All I know everything is Steve Cox’s fault in this film and there is a shadow warrior running around trying to put an end to the evil. But again it is Steve Cox’s fault because of someone’s sister being the “Queen of the Underworld”. If you sense disappointment in my review then you right because they went away from the dude being in an aluminum foil Robo suit and the mechanical noises they make off screen for the suit. Damn pieces of shit ruining a good gimmick as I can only give this 1 star.

Robo Vampire 3: Counter Destroyer (DVD/YouTube) – This time around we get two screenwriters in Cindy and Joyce who want peace at a hideaway in the mountains of China so they can work on this hot project about the “last emperor of China”. While the bumbling duo are busy waking evil spirits up, we got some sketchy mob shit going down between film companies and a woman named Jackie just killing off mob dudes left and right. A weird and confusing movie that eventually brings back the Robo suit but not till late into the second half of this oddity called a film. It was a little better than part 2 as I give it 1 ½ stars but no one near as entertaining as the original “Robo Vampire”.

Nailbiter (DVD) – An early short film from the people of Witch Doctor Films that I have had the pleasure of reviewing several of their projects over the years. This unique group’s early work is about a young woman taking an experimental drug for her cancer and it fails… maybe? Problem, the medical facility covers it up when the angry husband comes sniffing around as he cannot live without his beautiful wife and even consults a magic man he doesn’t believe in. It’s a great chilling and dark Indy tale of when you cannot leave the dead to stay dead. The early work is rough around the edges but you can clearly see the talent is there for the Witch Doctor Films crew as this was a fun ride down the rabbit hole to see their early work as I give it 2 out of 4 stars and can be found at www.witchdoctorfilms.com .

Found Footage: The Series (DVD) – A project created by Indy legend Henrique Couto that has eight tales of found footage segments that run from 24 to 27 minutes. The eight stories are about strange occurrences and told uniquely through an influencer’s phone, Skype or Zoom, random camera footage, computer files, damaged hardrives, a RING doorbell, and an old broadcast from 1986 that was never meant to be seen. I am not a huge fan of ‘found footage’ stuff but will say the segment “Ding Dong” had my interest as a)it was told mostly through a RING doorbell on an empty house but also b) the relationship the character develops with the house night after night seeking to burglarize it??? Put it this way I am surprised I haven’t heard more about this project as it seems to fit what society is doing these days as I give the project 2 ½ out of 4 stars.

Homecoming Massacre (DVD/Tubi) – Our story begins with why you shouldn’t have clowns for a kid’s birthday party no matter what… Apparently also dudes don’t dress as the clown and get all rapey with mum? Anyway Jonathan kills both of them and gets put away in various facilities for ten years until a cousin or something of the family, “The Clarks” who have their own issues take him in. Of course things seem good so hey let’s leave our teenagers alone with the crazy murderer who killed his mum n’at ten years ago so the teenagers can have a party. Yep, this makes total sense for a lackluster ‘massacre’ flick that all you need to know its always the clowns fault as I give it 1 star.

Christmassacre (DVD/Tubi) – Which is a horrible title by the way which took me about five minutes to realize this is a movie from a few years back that Wild Eye Releasing renamed from its original title “Secret Santa”. Okay Wild Eye Releasing two things before we move on: first, do not be like some companies (let’s leave them unnamed for now) that rename films to get horror fans especially Indy horror fans to pay twice for the same movie when that is a little unoriginal and boring. Second, “Christmassacre”?! WTF?! What would be so wrong with “Secret Santa Massacre” if you are going that route anyhow? Back on track kids as we have a fun Indy horror flick about some college girls who live off campus and every year have a Secret Santa party after finals. This year someone is taking the Secret Santa thing a little too far as they plan on slaughtering all who is a part of this event? Weird thing about this up and down little horror film is the characters are very likable and actually help slosh through the dull parts of the film. Also pay attention to the cucumber and what happens to it as it has nothing to do with a dude getting his dried sausage of a wiener getting snipped off! Oddly enjoyable as the best thing I can say about this film as I give it 2 ½ stars.

Pennywise: The Story of IT (DVD/Tubi) – A wonderful documentary that looks back at this two part TV movie that was memorable for the horror fans but also changed the way TV movies were looked upon. If you were around when this was first released or just a nerd of this film before the remake ever existed this is a well worth watch as it does a deep dive into characters, process of it from book to the small screen, and the interviews and stories of behind the scenes stuff that may explain why part two sucked. Yes folks, they spend some time on what went wrong! Great way to waste two hours kids if you are a huge nerd for the film or just a fan of Tim Curry as I give it 4 stars.

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews #593

0

God Told Me To (1976) aka Demon Directed by Larry Cohen Shown: Poster Art

God Told Me To (DVD) – A Larry Cohen flick from 1976 that I have always been curious about but never got around to it for god knows what reason… See what I did there? Anyhow, I will say this film is more about now than then if that makes sense folks. A police detective Peter Nicholas, a struggling Catholic, is having an issue understanding why a sudden string of murders is happening from people who claim, “God told me to”. Normal people just grabbing a gun, knife, whatever and start rampaging through New York killing random people. But after much investigation the clue that fits with all of them is that apparently God is a long hair blonde man they see before the murders? Thus these killers believe God has spoken to them. This sends the detective questioning his own sanity and his life as he eventually becomes a suspect? Love how this film is shot, great start of the film, we got Richard Lynch and Andy Kaufman in the film, 4 stars all the way people and a film that still works now!

Night of the Zomghouls (DVD) – Jack the Hack is a legendary serial killer who escapes transport from a Jeep Renegade (cause why even have anything resemble a police cruiser) and finds a kids party palace. The place happens to be a fake “Chuck E. Cheese” place (never seen that film?) and Jack just so happens to sacrifice himself to his Lord Satan to possess the animatronics there! As a planned birthday party is about to go on the employees get picked off one by one there. This film unevenly runs a whopping 92 minutes and would have come off a little better if the cast didn’t feel stale or like they were doing household chores instead of trying to give the film some life? I know its harsh and forgive me but do better people as I can only give this flick 1 star.

Quarantine LA (DVD) – In 2017 LA it has become a quarantine zone because a large scale viral outbreak that is evolving. Now, a Special Forces team sent on a secret mission is dead like many of the scientists that they were searching for in the zone. One last man from the mission finds a scientist and goes off book as he has found survivors but the government doesn’t want any of that. Just the cure and that’s it. As the movie progresses the zone gets worse and the government tries to cover it all up. Not a terrible premise for a flick but also not the most interesting these days as we have lived it as I give it 1 ½ stars.

Is That Black Enough For You?!? (Netflix) – A bad ass documentary about Black Cinema and takes a very deep dive of how one decade changed everything. But this starts from the beginning with the portrayals, the how, the why, and the history you may not know about through clips, trailers, and several known black superstars explaining their feelings and exposure to film. This a documentary that I thought above and beyond what others have done in the past on being informative, wonderful, but most importantly getting into stuff many film fanatics may have not known. Great stuff to dig into kids as I give this 4 stars.

The Main Street Massacre (YouTube) – So the film is set up with a local band named “Nic and the Castles” playing a house party where a horrible marriage proposal goes from bad to worse. Meanwhile some rando with a machete has shown up to off people who are attending the party. But what seems random is it always coming down to that damn drummer? This is one of those middle of the road horror flicks you can take it or leave itas I think the one thing that holds this film back is “they tried too hard to be Scream” as I can only give this Indy flick 2 out of 4 stars.

The Sawyer Massacre (YouTube) – This is a fan film that’s an unofficial prequel to the TCM series most horror fans love and cherish. So before I get into the review, be warned if you are a fan I am not here just trying to stir shit? I do have questions and we will go over them after the quick review. The film mostly centers around an old gas station in the middle of somewhere that Rex the owner not having any supplies is constantly sending random people passing through to his grandpas house down the road a bit. Apparently this old house has everything as this gas station got real busy during this film. Once there people go in and mostly don’t come back out as Leatherface has the chainsaw going on overdrive and just fucking victims up for supper! Now before the questions not sure when you were trying to set this in time wise but 12 minutes in that cool truck shows up with rims that weren’t around in the 50s and 60s if that is when this was set? Anyhow, question time: Why, because you know there are literally two different prequels out there? I mean honestly you have the budget, the equipment, and location; even a solid cast, just go make another film not called this about a fucked up family down the road? How don’t the victims hear the chainsaw running during this film and run their asses off or is just the old thing of white people are stupid in these horror films? I think the most important question well more like an observation is doing a prequel you have painted yourself into a corner because no matter what we all know what the end will be… The Thing prequel anyone? Again wasn’t trying to shit on anyone’s parade I just see resources and talent that could have been used differently than a TCM fan prequel but who am I to say anything as I give the flick 2 out of 4 stars. I mean it is a fan film and there will be fans and if anything I am now interested to see what Steve Merlo directs next?

For Y’ur Height Only (DVD/YouTube) – A 1981 Filipino flick that stars one of the shortest stars of all time in a serious film that has a little person playing a James Bond role as Double 00. Our star is only three feet tall and must stop an evil villain Mr. Giant. No lie folks this is a serious film with martial arts, action, etc. It is something that if you never seen it you must watch at least once to believe it as it was entertaining as hell as I give it 2 ½ stars.

D’ Wild Wild Weng (DVD/YouTube) – Well the small Filipino star followed up his James Bond stint with an action film I was confused from the fucking start on what was going on. First off, when watching this thing it was either 1800s old west or 1981 supposedly set in California, I think? Second, monks show up, then there is the Mexican army that seems to be in every spaghetti western and on top of that our small hero hangs with the Filipino version of Andre the Giant while riding in a dune buggy! All this while fighting ninjas in the countryside and getting advice from an eight month Prego Indian dude. Confusing but hilarious as I give it 2 ½ stars.

Calamity Jane’s Revenge (DVD) – Talented filmmaker Henrique Couto went out of the comfort zone in Indy filmmaking to make an old west flick centering on after the death of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane seeking revenge. It has Jane tracking down not just the one that shot Bill in the back but others that were involved while being tracked also a lawman to bring her in. The film stars Al Snow and the talented Erin R. Ryan as Calamity Jane along with several familiar independent actors I respect and enjoy in other projects. But from beginning to end this film just didn’t feel right like not the best work of Mr. Couto. Not a bad thing I give him huge kudos trying to do something we all wouldn’t expect but the film overall just never feels like it ever gets going as I have to give it only 2 stars.

Reptisaurus (DVD) – Damn kids I must have missed this during the boom of “Dinosaurs/Animal attacks films” during earlier in the 2000s or SyFy Channel? But a group of people get stranded on an island and find themselves in some trouble as a special two man-unit on a classified mission has picked them up. But doesn’t take long for the group to understand why they are there when a winged serpent wants to eat the humans. Think of a much lesser and interesting “Q, the Winged Serpent” where it’s a government mutation experiment gone bad as I give it 1 ½ stars.    

From the Depths (DVD) – This film can basically go fuck itself as it advertise itself as a shark attack film not a drama about a woman named Liz dealing with the after effects of a shark attack. Liz may or may have not helped her sister because she was a better lay for Liz’s boyfriend? Liz even several months after the attacks is still having problems in aspects of her life and moving on but that isn’t the kick in the ass as the film pulls the old switch-a-roo and instead of dreaming it all Liz is on the operating table dying at the end. Yep, fuck this shit as I spoiled the fuck out that flick; don’t watch it as I give it zero shits for wasting my time.

7 Mummies (DVD) – Whether you like this movie or not I am gonna make you wanna see this film with what I am going to lay down… A group of convicts escape a prison van into the desert and they are led by that bad ass dude from “The Transporter”. Next, they kidnap the prison guard Cerina Vincent to not take advice from an Indian played by Danny Trejo and head to this old west town to look for gold. They arrive and greeted by Martin Kove and the bad ass that of course to represent evil and darkness, Billy Drago in the town! Not enough yet? Well it gets all “From Dusk till Dawn” in the bar without Tom Savini and eventually they are all attacked by mummy monks! Now run to watch this as it sounds awesome but comes off more like a chaotic mess that is a mish-mash of several movies but without an endgame as I give it 2 stars.

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews #592

0

Christmas Craft Fair Massacre (YouTube) – In this Indy holiday flick we have an appearance of Glen Coburn and it was directed by someone named Max Raven… Anyhow a school is in question where the annual Christmas Craft Fair is held as it seems to be the center for satanic power and the worshipers are clashing on who deserves the ultimate power. But the principal is the ultimate bad guy here as he is looking for a pure soul for the offering and does not want to share the glorious power! The film doesn’t have a long running time but does have problems ever get going as I give this film 1 ½ stars (always great to see Glen Coburn).

Adult Swim Yule Log “aka The Fire Place” (HBO Max) – Looking for something that truly shouldn’t make as much sense as it does? Then you have found it in this fucking over the top crazy ass holiday horror! After a couple minutes of watching a fireplace, we get talking in the background, a cleaning lady being killed by two intruders, cops, a couple who rented the place and films the fireplace for a living, uninvited double booked guests, a possessed Yule log, sexual tension between all, and if that wasn’t enough aliens! Yes kids I believe that covers everything that goes down in only something the people behind “Adult Swim” could come up with so grab the popcorn as I believe this will become a holiday staple for years to come as I give this ultimate holiday weirdness 3 ½ stars.

On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier (Vimeo) – Writer and director Seth Breedlove takes a deep look with a documentary that dives into the bigfoot lure of Alaska. He interviews real people who tell stories of strange creatures that wander the Alaskan wilderness. The film is not dull by any means and will have Bigfoot film lovers gushing over this project as Seth and crew not just get great stories but bring in researchers for some expiations, again real normal people, but explaining the different regions of Alaska and how a lot of us in the lower 48 states may not understand how these strange creatures could actually exist there? I enjoyed the process of this film, the seriousness, and especially the feel of it as it brings back some memories of the Bigfoot stuff of the seventies. This has to be one of the more recent projects that actually had me entertained but truly interested. Bigfoot lovers should be on the lookout for this wonderful project as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Sewer Gators (DVD-R/YouTube) – Well it’s a week before the big gator festival in southern Louisiana and someone just got their ass eaten through their toilet (reminder it’s a joke that is mentioned several times during the film). Now the local drunk sheriff must investigate and stop this horrendous and vicious beast before it wrecks the big festival. No budget, cheesy as hell, not much blood, but lots of references to “Jaws” and I think there was one or two to “Alligator” unintentionally as I give this sloppy gator mess 1 ½ stars.

The Peanut Butter Solution (DVD) – An 80s film that for whatever reason I never seen as a kid or just never tracked down until recently (received a special edition recently after very hard to find for years). This New World Video release has a boy named Michael scared so bad in the burned out house down the street that he loses his hair. After his sister gets involved and they get a spell or such from some ghosts they use it to make a special peanut butter that makes Michael’s hair regrow but it doesn’t stop. Weird stuff happens with the art teacher, kids are disappearing, and apparently the house that burned is haunted. This is truly a weird ass film that could only have been released in the 80s like a “Saturday the 14th” but seeing it now doesn’t do the impact as it did then for people my age that grew up during that time. Glad to see it got a special edition and sure it has a small cult following like one of my favorites “Spookies” as I give this 80s weirdness 2 stars.

Violent Night (On Demand) – It is Christmas Eve and after a drunken stop in Bristol, England, Santa Claus is on his way to deliver presents believing this will be his last year as no one believes anymore. He makes it to the family ‘Lightstone’ compound to visit a little girl name Trudy and that is where a series of misfortunes for our holly jolly hero begin as his reindeer have left him. To make matters worse a group of mercs have descended onto the compound to steal 300 million dollars and they have Trudy as a hostage. Now a reluctant old Santa must make a choice of saving the family or just leave because this is none of his business? This is a wonderful, delightful, blood-filled Santa action flick that I know I will be watching every year around the holidays as the cast was perfect and the story never got dull as I give this film 4 stars! It is a holiday film with heart.

Burglar From Hell (DVD) – A much talked about SOV film from 1993 with a rabid fan base is about a man named Frank “the tank” who breaks into an old lady’s home only to be shot and killed during it. If that wasn’t enough poor Frank is buried in the backyard. Some time passes and some friends have a party at the house only to have a friend have a séance. Of course the young drunken people interrupt the process and up raises an undead Frank to go a murder spree as he rots away. Hilariously rough and gritty but definitely can see why the Indy community enjoys this film as I give it 2 ½ stars.

Runaway Train (DVD) – This 1985 flick has an all-star cast throughout about an older convict played by Jon Voight who shows up at a hard-nosed prison run by the warden played by Jon P. Ryan. From the beginning Voight’s character is planning to get out but he will need some help and that will be a young Eric Roberts who is more of a follower to the older convict. Once escaped it becomes a cat and mouse game between the warden and the two convicts as Voight finds a train for the two. But unforeseen circumstances happen as the conductor has a heart attack and falls off and now the two must decide do they stop it or let it ride to their doom? A well-constructed action/drama that I never heard much about but glad I got to see it as I give it 3 stars.

Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (DVD/Shudder) – Thirty years after a dude butchers a young lady in a home and buries her under the floor boards his son comes to the house. He brings along a psychic and his girlfriend and they all find themselves trying to survive some evil supernatural shit! An enjoyable gooey mess from Japan in 1995 that is very “Evil Dead” inspired that will make international horror fans very happy it has had a wide release as I give it 3 stars.

Hell Roller (DVD) – A sleazy 1992 no budget flick that stars Mary Woronov, Michelle Bauer, Hyapita Lee, and Johnny Legend so of course this had my immediate attention. But the real star attraction of this film is our killer in a wheelchair! A dude in a wheelchair who is homeless, angry, having nightmares, and twitching goes on a murderous rampage after his adopted mother/aunt is raped and murdered one evening. This is one of those flicks that its content will not be for everyone but has an entertainment value of bad jokes, sleaze, and Michelle Bauer of course that will appeal to those who haven’t had the pleasure of watching yet? This entertained the shit out of me as I give it 3 stars and yes full movie is on YouTube… for now. Also I have one question after you watch this: Please explain to me how this wheelchair bound dude was always on a rooftop meeting people?

Baby Ghost (DVD) – Filmmaker Donald G. Jackson project that stars a Joe Estevez as a down on his luck photographer trying to help people escape a building that happens to have a ghost problem. This 1995 film feels more like an unfinished project where they had use of an empty building and eventually got bored and threw in a bad special effect ghost to sell the movie? If anything Conrad Brooks fans will enjoy “Three Stooges-lite” kind of comedy as I give this 1 ½ stars.

Mad Heidi (On Demand) – Casper Van Dien is the president of Switzerland who is trying to have scientists come up with a better cheese for their annual Swiss Day that can make super soldiers for him to control! If that one sentence doesn’t sell it to you then I suggest moving on because this hilarious Swissplotation goes well beyond the point of good taste and involves where the government is tracking down lactose intolerant people to imprison them. Meanwhile a beautiful lady named Heidi has just witnessed her boyfriend’s head exploded by an evil leader of the Swiss army and grandpa blown up. This only serves as inspiration for the young lady in prison to escape and start an uprising against the president and his vision for global domination! In the spirit of “Grindhouse” and “Sharknado” this movie goes for the throat on laughs and at times gore as Heidi slaughters her way to freedom as I give this film 3 stars.

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Gross Movie Reviews “Best of 2021” list!

0

Best horror films of 2021

1) CarousHell the 2nd (DVD) – Independent filmmaker Steve Rudzinski gave us crazy Indy horror fans ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ with his first entry ‘CarousHell’, five years later Steve figured out a way with the sequel to give us ‘The Devil’s Rejects’. And if yinz get that reference then you know you are in for one hell of a ride with this project. Our famous killer carousel unicorn Duke, is back and it begins with Nazis as Duke has just found out he has a son he nothing about. Duke learns about Robbie and tries to make amends but Duke’s past catches up with him as the Third Reich is still pissed their experiment is running free in America. These immortal Nazis want revenge against their former Alpha Solider and will stop at nothing to get their revenge even if it means kidnapping Duke’s hybrid son. Now if you just tuned into this review wondering what the hell you are reading well ‘CarousHell’ and its sequel are the ultimate weirdo horror films that really cannot be classified as anything else but “weird” and that is what makes it wonderful! This sequel reminds me of the spirit of the ‘Basket Case’ sequels where Steve is giving you the viewer something completely unexpected or at least me? Yes, there is still a carousel horse sex scene, some fine gore spots, absolutely wonderful acting from Aleen Isley, Terrence Cover, Rebecca Reinhart, and Joshua Anton just to name a few actors with perfect performances that had me laughing and entertained from beginning to end! This latest creation from Mr. Rudzinski would not surprise me at all to propel his career or at least a few phone calls from Hollywood as I give the film 4 out of 4 stars and you will be seeing it in my “Top 5 movies of 2021” for sure! All I ask Steve remember us little people… and send beer! Now congrats on one fucking awesome movie!

2) Slaxx (Shudder) – Libby is a young lady who is lucky enough to be starting a new job at a super popular clothing store “CCC”. The store is all about a better tomorrow using experimental cotton for their new killer jeans “Super Shapers”! These pants are amazing as they will fit male or female, overweight or underweight and make you look wonderful. Unaware the employees who try to see how the jeans fit before anyone else get murdered by the experimental pants as they want revenge. To compound the problem once Libby and employees figure this out the store is on lockdown and makes it impossible to call authorities in. On the other hand Libby’s manager is all about saving the store so he can be promoted and sell the shit out of these jeans when morning hits no matter how many people die. The film has some inventive kills, touches upon a lot of millennial themes, and at about the 40 minute mark the film goes completely bonkers which just excited me! Where films like the overrated ‘Rubber’ and lackluster ‘Killer Sofa’ fail, ‘Slaxx’ puts on a show as I give one of the best films of 2021, 4 stars.

3) Benny Loves You (On Demand) – Meet Jack, a 35 year old who lives with his parents and is a junior toy designer whose parents still celebrate Jack’s birthday as if he was a child. But this year is different as the parents die accidentally while preparing for his birthday. Nothing is going right for Jack so now alone he decides he wants to improve his life and this means getting rid of everything including his childhood toy that he still has. The toy’s name is Benny and doesn’t like it too much he is about to be thrown out but also wants Jack to be happy again? From here Jack is sent into a downward spiral of death and despair as anyone that comes to the home or Jack doesn’t like Benny slices and dices them. As the bloodbath ensues in a weird way Benny helps Jack get his job back with new designs based on Benny… The horror film is a wonderful insane oddity of gore that needs to be witnessed as this will be one of the best horror films I will watch in 2021 and for that I give it 4 stars.

4) Movies to Watch on a Rainy Afternoon: The Cannibals and Zombies Collection (DVD) – Addison Binek is riffing a collection of movies again but these are not just any movies… They are zombie and cannibal movies! What makes this a unique rough ride is Addison takes you through some the lesser known, grittiest, maybe even crappiest off the wall flesh-eating hilarity you have ever witnessed. You’ll laugh, you will most likely cry over what Addison and you will sit through but it will be fun as I give this collection 4 stars as usual.

5) Lost in Cleveland (YouTube) – Steve Rudzinski’s latest short film about Ben and Blake who are “business partners” that travel to Cleveland for a movie gig? Ben is the actor and Blake is the partner that wanted to come along but bored as his partner can be out for long hours or days at a time during these movie shoots. Blake meets Steve the filmmaker while lurking around sadly around the hotel. The two hit it off immediately and discuss how they are very similar in how they view their relationships right now and decide to spend lots of time together. This 19 minute short is brilliant and for Indy fans who have not seen any of Steve’s past work this would be a great introduction to Steve Rudzinski and BPO films project libraries as they are some of the best talent the Indy film world has to offer as I give this 4 out of 4 stars! This and more can be found at www.silverspotlightfilms.com .

6) People to Kill (DVD) – Apparently this was Adam S. Clevenger’s first effort out as he wrote and directed this interesting thriller. Shawn and two brothers still live and hang with their father as their mother died five years ago after reading about the “Lullaby Killer”. The family still trying to move on has their usual squabbles and Shawn gets a lot of the blame from his father. Shawn runs a Star Trek themed store called “Starbase”. This makes for some hilarious scenes with the customers and Shawn’s father while Shawn runs for coffee. Along the way he helps out the local hooker (Erin R. Ryan) who has an issue with her pimp. Shawn felt the need to step in as he has seen her every day for the past few months hanging out near his store. They quickly strike up a friendship and things get very complicated as that is about all I can say as a major twist happens. I didn’t exactly see this twist coming maybe you will but either way this film is an absolute gem of an independent feature. Mr. Clevenger wrote an excellent script, and casted an excellent group of actors that should be applauded for pulling off a great performance. Erin R. Ryan is always a wonderful presence on screen but all involved were equally great. There was only one thing bad that I could say about the film and that is the length (2 hours and 14 minutes). Now most cases there isn’t enough story to fill 70, 80, or even 90 minutes but this surprisingly had it but felt the 20 minute strip club could have been cut down. I totally understand why it wasn’t edited because there is some important dialogue that happens but felt at some point Adam could have moved on. If this was Adam’s first effort out then count me in for the future as I can see some entertaining stuff coming this dude as I give this must have film 3 ½ out of 4 stars. Good chance this shows up on my “Best of 2021 watched list”.

7) Bloody Hell (DVD) – Rex just so happens to live in Boise, Idaho, just trying to hit on the cute bank teller at his bank until a robbery happens and that is where Rex’s life changes. Instead just lying down giving up his money Rex having military training decides he can kick some ass or at least that is what his other self that Rex speaks to on a regular basis convinces him of doing. Problem is Rex gets 8 years for wrongful death even though he is considered a hero by most around town. Eight years later, Rex gets released from prison and decides he wants out of Boise and wants a fresh start in Finland. Problem Rex’s life only gets worse as he is kidnapped by a weird ass family who feeds their inbred monster son and now has Rex hanging up in their basement missing part of his leg. Once Rex calms down a bit his inner self and he come up with a plan to escape and kill the family! I absolutely enjoyed this flick as it reminded me of a ‘Hardcore Henry’ and I talk to myself way too much because I work alone way too much, anyway I give this film 4 stars all the way for giving a horror fan something fun, strange, and well-crafted.

8) The Body Snatcher (DVD) – This wonderful 1945 feature has the likes of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in a film that might be my new favorite of Karloff’s for mere reason his character and performance. The film is set 1831 Edinburgh where a doctor’s assistant learns from his teacher that fresh corpses are brought to them from the local graveyard by a mysterious cabbie who knows the doctor all too well. Mr. Fettes tries to ignore the weirdness between the good doctor and the cabbie Gray but involves himself when he takes an interest in a little girl that cannot walk but the good doctor is willing to try if there is a fresh corpse to study before surgery? Not a monster film unless you consider humans the monster as it shows how sinister humans can be for their own goals! Loved Boris Karloff’s performance as I put this with Vincent Price’s in ‘The House on Haunted Hill’ if you pay attention to that sort of thing as I give the film 4 stars.

9) Feaster Sunday (YouTube/DVD) – A not so typical independent holiday horror film where a man, Dr. Gideon Lear is putting forth his best effort to put on “The Passion” play at the community theater that hasn’t happened in twenty years. Lear wants perfection out of his actors as he explains in his recent interview with Eddie from the local Public Access Channel. Neither Lear nor his actors seem to be too concerned with the history of the play as “the show must go on”. Meanwhile Eddie sees someone he knows among the actors, Tess, and they reconnect after Tess is dropped by her boyfriend Reen because he needs his full attention on playing Jesus. As time goes on actors for the play disappear, warnings for the play “not to go on” are ignored, and Dr. Lear begins his struggle to keep the production together. There is a whole lot of crazy going on in this flick that just made me giddy to watch! Wonderful casting choices (Dave Parker as the original Jesus, brilliant), great script, cool puppets, and a low budget production that felt bigger than it was should get some mainstream respect as I give this excellent production 3 ½ out of 4 stars.

10) Brimstone Incorporated (DVD/Vimeo) – An interesting low budget anthology film directed by Indy vets James L. Edwards and Brad Twigg. The three stories are straight forward serious horror stories which are usually hard to pull off in the low budget world but this crew did it as the titles are: First Date, Mama’s Boy, and Skunkweed. And the wraparound story is called Temper and Associates but we will get to that in a bit. Without spoiling too much First Date gets a little uncomfortable (watch for the kiss you’ll understand), second story Mama’s Boy is not exactly what you think it is which makes it a pleasant surprise, and the third story is about a man who may have been given bad weed? Or was it? But the most interesting thing was the wraparound story as these days seems to be a throw away in the Indy world in my opinion. But these fine filmmakers took a cue possibly from 70s British anthologies and made the wraparound their strength as a character from each story is being reviewed by Gregory to decide where they will fit in “down here or in the corporation”. The Gregory character was actually my favorite thing of the anthology but this film is based more on the great performances from the actors than just throwing gallons of blood and gore against the wall. This is an anthology I will be pointing out to people for years to come as this cast was one of the best I seen for an Indy anthology in years. So if you are looking for a great not subpar Indy anthology look no further than this new feature Mr. Edwards and Mr. Twigg as I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars.

Notable films of 2021:

The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre (On Demand) – Well I gotta say this was an unexpected fun horror gem about a wrestling tag team in New Mexico wrestling called “The Manson Brothers”. This rugged tag team has been around for three decades now and knows all the ins and outs of independent wrestling feds. After a well-received tag match they are offered a big money cage match at midnight on Halloween. Of course they say yes but that is only part of the story as things get weird as some of the wrestlers have been taking some of the Chinese HGH to stay big for the ring. Now to complicate the issue with wrestlers taking the HGH and causing a zombie issue, there is a horrible hurricane that has locked down everything! So The Manson Brothers must fight their way through a horde of flesh eaters inside the wrestling building and forget about the main event. The movie has lots of great zombie gore gags, wonderful story telling (someone knows some of the behind the scenes stuff of wrestling), and the supporting cast in D.B. Sweeny, Mindy Robinson, and Randy Couture make this an unexpected horror gem and would love to see a sequel if it is done with the same spirit and passion this project was as I give it 3 ½ stars.

Beyond Dark Dreams (DVD) – So apparently independent filmmaker Joseph Russio lost this film about six years ago and only recently finished it when he found all the footage for it again. He may have lost it because this film will fuck with your mind! Russio wrote and directed this feature about a writer putting himself in an old dark house so he can get past his writer’s block… maybe? After a investigating a couple odd noises in the house that makes the writer more fascinated with the house than his writing he comes back to a needle full of green stuff? So of course the writer introduces this unknown drug into his system in hopes of inspiration or the next life. We as does the writer from here witnesses acts of cruelty, the macabre, and the truly bizarre. When it ends I believe the movie allows you to decide if it was all a dream, it really did happen to the writer, or Joseph just giving us a mindfuck of a film that really has no ending that lets you be the judge? I was super confused as it ended but was happy I got to watch this quite odd independent film that had wonderful music, production, and a story I can see people talking about even a few years from viewing it as I give the film 3 out of 4 stars.

Werewolves Within (DVD) – Beaverfield is a small mountain town that needed a new forest ranger who went missing recently and Finn Wheeler is the man for the job. Finn is transferred and is getting the lay of the land by the cute postal woman who takes him around town. Finn believing his first day after the transfer was a breeze wakes up to the small community upset by a missing dog and talk of a monster or werewolf eventually. Finn thinking it’s all a misunderstanding has just stepped into a ’30 Days of Night’ style situation but with werewolves. They all believe safety is in numbers but that does not stop the werewolf from feasting on the community all held up in the Mansion Inn. Ranger Finn now must figure out who the werewolf inside the mansion is or he will be the next meal in this murder/mystery comedy with a good amount of gore. Great characters, great build up, and potential to be watched by viewers multiple times as one of their recent favorites as I give this flick 3 ½ stars. 

Beyond the Valley of Belief Volume One and Two (Blu-ray) – Independent actor/writer/filmmaker Brian Papandrea, has issued a Blu-ray collection that has both titles of ‘Beyond the Valley of Belief’ that gives you around 2 ½ hours of Jonathan Fritz goodness! Jonathan Fritz is a TV host/former alcoholic who plans to take you through a few tales of Halloween darkness. When it is over you the viewer must decide if it was real or fake? Fritz starts off serious and the program comes off like Leonard Nimoy’s ‘In Search Of’ or even the 80s version of ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ (yes, I am old and remember these), but that all goes to hell when Fritz begins drinking during the broadcast. In these little stories you get stuff like a haunted cowboy which I really liked and a hilarious story called “Ghost Farts”. Brian does a wonderful job bringing to life the crude commercials, Fritz’s intros to the stories, and the script is brilliant from beginning to end for what he was trying to accomplish with this project. But the cherry on top is volume two where Brian continues everything including the Fritz character whose storyline has him on the run now and he wants to do a Christmas edition of the program! This event not only shows his downhill slide into depravity but Fritz is completely off the rails as he presents some Christmas horror tales on the run. Papandrea refuses to allow no budget to slow him down bringing back all the commercials and storylines of the first film into the second and it looked like lots of fun along the way! I always enjoy when an Indy filmmaker can give audiences something different, entertaining, and be passionate about it as this will not disappoint, for that Mr. Papandrea I have to give this double feature 3 ½ out of 4 stars as it can be found at https://rockbottomvideo.storenvy.com .

The Shed (DVD) – A bootleg Barlow the vampire bites a man in the woods and this man finds shelter in a shed running from this monster. From there we meet a troubled teenager named Stanley whose parents are gone and must live with his abusive grandpa. That afternoon Stanley is out back with the dog and the dog learns the hard way that there is something in the shed. Of course this doesn’t go over well with grandpa and he too finds out the hard way about the shed. Witnessing these horrific events Stanley must figure out how to keep his new pet monster a secret and how to keep him from getting out of the shed. Stanley tells his best friend about the shed monster and things just get worse from there. A simply fun, gory, little monster movie that I absolutely enjoyed watching as I give it 3 ½ stars.

The Mutilator (Blu-ray) – It was time to revisit this low budget slasher film from the early 80s as I didn’t get to see it then and only learned about it in the late 90s, early 2000s when it was being found on the bootleg market. Arrow Video recently corrected this problem putting together a 2-disc “must-have” edition for any horror fan. I myself remembered liking it the first time around but it was some crappy quality. Anyway, most of the gore takes place late in the movie but is well worth the watch if you are a gorehound. A father seeks revenge on his son Ed years later after his son accidentally shoots and kills his mother with a loaded rifle. Our tale goes forward when Ed gets a call from his father to go close down his beach condo during ‘Fall Break’ (which also was the original title). Ed and his friends decide to take advantage of this and go to party before they close it up for the winter but Ed’s father has other plans. Arrow Video not only restored the original unrated version of the film cleaned it up so much it was like watching this movie again for the first time. This of course means we get to see the famous giant fish hook with the girl parts for a wonderful death scene! But Arrow Video didn’t stop there as they loaded it up with a couple funny commentaries, a feature-length documentary (which was eye-opening on the background of this film), original music, and alternate opening titles that played with the movie before anyone knew about it. It does not happen often but I think I like this film more now than then because of this 2-disc Blu-ray from Arrow as I give it 3 ½ stars.

Ouija Mummy (DVD) – From the same people that gave us the disappointing ‘Lycanimator’ came back a year later and gave us a no-budget treat that needs to seeked out by independent film lovers. Anyway a woman brings home some ancient jewelry from a recent Egyptian dig then commits suicide. Not too long after a young couple buys the house and moves in and have a house warming party. Of course Natalie’s guy wants to make her happy and after finding the artifact in the home gives it to Natalie as a house warming gift. Between this and Natalie’s obsession with wanting to play with an Ouija board during the party cause a royal demon to possess Natalie’s body and terror ensues! You will notice a lot of cool Indy names are attached to this project, some cheap but effective effects go a long way, and filmmaker and cast learning from mistakes (Lycanimator) make this a diamond in the rough independent film that not many are talking much about. I give this excellent Indy flick 3 ½ stars as I believe once the story gets going it has this cheap ‘Night of the Demons’ vibe, so enjoy!

Straight Edge Kegger (Blu-ray) – There is a shitload of extras for those of you enjoy Jason Zink’s film. We are introduced to Brad as he is straight-edge! He hangs out with a group of friends who are of the same belief or what he once thought as he is becoming bored of the “Straight Edge” life. That he and his group are not making a difference and believe maybe it is time for a change. This change slowly happens when Brad becomes friends with a dude named Sean who is into the same music but drinks and smokes weed. Brad tries Sean’s way and begins hanging out with him on a regular basis to the dismay of his former straight edge friends. Then one night Brad goes to a house party and meets a cute young lady named Maybe and the couple connect quickly. But this happiness is short lived as Brad’s former group has decided to crash the party and explain their beliefs in a harsher manner… It is simple, brutal, screwed up, and I like it as I give this bad ass flick 3 ½ stars.

A.M.I. (DVD) – We come to know a young female character Cassie who struggles with the death of her mom and just so happens to find a cell phone during a morning jog. She appropriately leaves it on a stump for the person who might be looking for it and as she walks away the phone asks her, “Do you need a friend?” Cassie’s best friend just showed this new app on your cell phone that once downloaded becomes your friend and knows you. This story taps right into what we all are waiting for to happen, ‘Skynet bitches!’ The A.I. has become so sophisticated it communicates, plays games, does homework, gets calls for you (Alexa anyone?), so this premise is right in the wheel house of every human on Earth. Anyway after an unsightly event with her father Cassie goes back and finds the phone is still there and answers it. This is where Cassie’s life changes especially when the phone convinces her to go off her meds and entices Cassie to kill her friends because they are not good for her! This R-rated Lifetime Network film takes Psychostalker to a whole new level as the film should be watched as a warning of what is already happening more than just another horror movie or I enjoyed the fucking shit out of this film as I give it 3 ½ stars.

Spine Chiller (DVD) – An Indy retro-80s style anthology that was released a couple years ago that deserves your attention fellow yinzers. Okay, yes I know everyone is making an anthology (hell I am) and if you are doing an independent anthology production that is equal to telling people you have the ‘death curse’. But people let’s all get past that so you can enjoy this little Halloween feature that will make you throw this in your pile to watch every October! The anthology doesn’t have horror hosts but rather great story telling that has all the stories interconnecting and progressing into a fun, spooky, atmospheric ride through horror that doesn’t disappoint. The film plays it serious with all the spooky tales and I may not be a fan of the ending but this tale of Halloween is something I refuse to describe it too much because I feel it could be the next ‘ (2007) Trick ‘r Treat’ for independent fans… yes I went there as I give it 3 ½ stars.    

Hell’s Kitty (DVD) – At first glance I took this not so big budgeted horror film for “hey we hired the convention all-stars to get 30 second cameo”… But to my surprise this was a well-crafted horror film about a man Nick and his cat. Now I will say the film had my attention immediately when they casted one of my favorite porn stars Nina Hartley but it did not stop there as all the named cast actually played an essential roles which happens very rarely these days. Anyway Nick gets a cat named Angel and quickly some weird and strange things begin to happen like Satanic shit! According to a therapist the cat Angel, is stopping Nick from having a serious sexual relationship but Nick is not seeing that as he cares for Angel even Angel is slaughtering people around him. The film is wrapped up in a nice tight bow as its Nick telling a publisher the story of his possessed kitty. From Drew Marvick, to one of the Killer Klowns showing up, to Isaac and Malachai from ‘Children of the Corn’ (who made me laugh so hard I almost pissed myself), everything is wonderful, bloody, and hilarious as I give this flick 3 ½ stars.

Black Friday (On Demand) – First off, I laughed out when this film was announced because the title is the most overused term in our lexicon and second, and felt “Black Friday” hasn’t been relevant for several years now cause ‘online shopping’ anyone? Anyhow, setting aside my beliefs of this so-called holiday, shopping day, whatever we find ourselves watching a film about abused retail workers at ‘We Love (heart) Toys’ toy store. It is Thanksgiving night and the staff must get things set up for the madness of the “Black Friday” shoppers and horror icon Bruce Campbell plays the manager of the store. But to the dismay of shoppers and staff meteors carrying alien thing are fallen to Earth and these monstrous things from the rocks are turning humans into monsters that will stop at nothing to find other unaffected humans to add to their end creation. Lots of flying goo, monsters, and a great cast made me forget that “Black Friday” isn’t really a thing anymore and just enjoy a wonderful horror flick as I give it 3 ½ stars.

Cyst (DVD) – It is 1961 and Dr. Guy is a pimple popper dude who has an invented a machine called the “Get Gone” machine that will be the revolution of removing cysts, safely and less painful. Problem is it malfunctioned last time the patent people came through and this time it better work or they will just have Dr. Guy shut down. Meanwhile, Dr. Guy’s nurse Patty’s last day as she refuses to work with this so-called machine. So after some tinkering by Dr. Guy and a willing patient (sort of) he has a huge cyst to remove from the patient. When Dr. Guy does he unknowingly causes a mutant cyst to take a life of its own and now the people in the office are trapped with this killer mutant cyst! Think of ‘Attack of the Killer Donuts’ but with a cyst as I give this glorious B-movieish creature feature 3 ½ stars.

Best documentaries of 2021

Wolfman’s Got Nards (DVD) – A wonderful documentary from star Andre Gower as he documents everything that went down during the 30th anniversary and celebration of ‘The Monster Squad’. A quite in-depth look into the fans of the film, the history of the bootlegs, Fred Dekker thinking it failed, and who were behind bringing the creatures to life on screen. This documentary is an absolute treat to watch as I give it 4 stars.

The Golden Age of Horror Comics I & II (YouTube) – An independent documentary created by Zane Whitener that possibly takes the deepest dive into horror comics I have ever seen. The creator spends a lot of time on the 40s and 50s horror comics because of Bill Gaines but also explains how all comics were changed forever. The creator literally reads some of the early comics in length just so you can feel the impact these writings had on kids and the government. The second half of the documentary talks more of how everything changed in the 70s after we got past the cheesy Batman show we all know and love. But the brilliance or hilarity of that original Batman show might have been the fallout of EC Comics? Zane practically touches upon almost every horror comic throughout the decades and their impact on the artists and fans alike. So if you got three hours to kill I highly recommend this well-produced documentary that not just celebrates horror comics but will teach you something also as I give it 4 stars.

Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (DVD) – An absolutely great and super interesting documentary about a filmmaker who made movies out of nothing during the 60s and 70s. And when he had nothing he would begrudgingly use his own money to bring his visions to life on the big screen. Most of his films were drive-in fodder but that didn’t stop him from giving audiences what they wanted: bikers, stuntmen, bad effects, gimmicks, whatever to get the picture sold! Mr. Adamson was an Indy talent like no other and made lots of friends along the way. But Al’s life was cut short by a so-called contractor he hired to work on his home. Hell, his story has been on the ID channel. The documentary is full of funny stories about his films getting made but it also chronicles the tragic event and how it was uncovered in the end. Wonderful stuff that makes me want to track down some of this filmmaker’s films as I give the documentary 4 stars.

The Town that Loved Bigfoot (DVD) – A hilarious and perfect documentary for all about a small southern town that has embraced Bigfoot! The town is Evergreen, Alabama where a newspaper article was written there several years ago about a strange creature being seen near town and from there the legend has grown. There are interviews with locals, hunters, Bigfoot hunters and their experiences around the town. If ever interested in Bigfoot start with this film as I give it 4 stars.

Tales of the Uncanny (Blu-ray) – A documentary from Severin Films that covers the history of anthologies… Interesting stuff. Over 60 producers, critics, filmmakers discuss the beginning of anthologies and raise the question about their impact on the industry over the years. This wonderful documentary covers all of them and for young and old horror fans alike. Yes they talk ‘Creepshow’ but also goes through some unknown gems and discuss how some came about. They did this during the pandemic last year which adds a different quality to this documentary and separates it from your average documentary as I give it 4 stars of course.

Stale Popcorn & Sticky Floors (DVD) – Another cool documentary that covers some of the memorable grindhouse, horror, and B-movie titles from the 70s and 80s we grew up watching. There is interviews and stories from such stars of iconic films such as Lynn Lowry, Camilla Carr, Brinke Stevens, and a host of others. And people let’s not forget Frank Farel is on here telling more stories about one of my favorite films of all time ‘Spookies’! The doc separates itself enough from others as the stars tell stories about one film that was picked such as an ‘I Spit on Your Grave’. This title doesn’t come off as interviews as much as you the viewer just grabbed a beer with said star and you are ready for story time and for that I give it 4 out of 4 stars.

Worst film:

Ebola Rex vs. Murder Hornets (DVD) – Of course you had me at the title but bottom line is this movie doesn’t live up to its title. The filmmaker missed the point of the title… ‘Ebola Rex vs. Murder Hornets’ it never happened dude. You made a 60 minute movie of filler! I love Brinke Stevens but she seems wasted in this my friend. Dustin I respect your overall work but this was a huge miss as I got to give this film 0 stars. 

It’s Bigfoot vs. D.B. Cooper bad movie but needs to be witnessed to believe!

Water Wars (DVD-R) – Well it took a while to track this post-apocalyptic “Corman Presents” flick down as it stars Michael Madsen, a couple Playboy Playmates, and directed by Cirio H. Santiago with Jim Wynorski stepping in after illness. Supposedly finished in 2011 but never released until 2014 but I couldn’t find a physical copy for sale or the film on any streaming sites but as usual give me time and the movie will find me. Once you get past the filler (stock footage from several Filipino post-apocalyptic films that I believe takes up half of the film) water is the only currency of course. An evil warlord Bane is hell bent on tracking down a water source and believes there is springs of fresh water hidden in the mountains but can never capture anyone that knows where it is until now. A gun for hire named Slade is hired by a beautiful lady who claims to know where this spring is if he rescues her sister from Bane. Slade does the job but now Bane and his evil followers are coming to ravage the village but not Slade and his new lady bump uglies like they were in a freakin ‘Witchcraft’ film. This was a poor excuse of a post-apocalyptic film that I should have left buried but you know me as I give it 0 stars.

Gross Movie Reviews #528

0

Gross Movie Reviews #528

 

Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (DVD) – An absolutely great and super interesting documentary about a filmmaker who made movies out of nothing during the 60s and 70s. And when he had nothing he would begrudgingly use his own money to bring his visions to life on the big screen. Most of his films were drive-in fodder but that didn’t stop him from giving audiences what they wanted: bikers, stuntmen, bad effects, gimmicks, whatever to get the picture sold! Mr. Adamson was an Indy talent like no other and made lots of friends along the way. But Al’s life was cut short by a so-called contractor he hired to work on his home. Hell, his story has been on the ID channel. The documentary is full of funny stories about his films getting made but it also chronicles the tragic event and how it was uncovered in the end. Wonderful stuff that makes me want to track down some of this filmmaker’s films as I give the documentary 4 stars.

 

High on the Hog (DVD) – A rather different and recent film from the talented Tony Wash whose film is considered one of the last appearances of the legendry Sid Haig. His film is like a colorful grindhouse flick about reefer madness. The story has three cute farm girls rolling into town selling their product to the local drug dealers as it is straight from the farm as they say. The girls and Big Daddy are just family farmers who are trying to survive in this cruel world. Unbeknownst to the family farmers’ federal agents are investigating tainted weed after several deaths. The family becomes a suspect after a rookie agent takes the initiative to go undercover and become part of the family to bust them. But Big Daddy doesn’t want to let go of the farm unless it’s the last possible thing. The film also stars Robert Z’dar, the talented Elle Church, and Joe Estevez as the ending wasn’t an ending I thought was coming? But anyway as usual I do not deny Tony Wash’s talent as a filmmaker but this film just didn’t do it for me as I could only give it 2 stars.

 

Heatseeker (DVD) – An Albert Pyun film that begins in Vegas 2019 where a human kickboxer reigns as champion of the world where cybernetics are all the rage among fighters. After this defeat a bunch of corporations get together to have a tournament where fighters with even more cybernetics can fight to the death to be the real world champion. Human champion Chance O’Brien is lured in after his soon-to-be wife and trainer is kidnapped by a crazed corporate asshat! A fun direct-to-video film from the 90s that is worth tracking down to see acting vet Thom Matthews to get in on the action as I give it 2 1 /2 stars.

 

The Town that Loved Bigfoot (DVD) – A hilarious and perfect documentary for all about a small southern town that has embraced Bigfoot! The town is Evergreen, Alabama where a newspaper article was written there several years ago about a strange creature being seen near town and from there the legend has grown. There are interviews with locals, hunters, Bigfoot hunters and their experiences around the town. If ever interested in Bigfoot start with this film as I give it 4 stars.

 

Future Hunters (DVD) – A lovely post-apocalyptic flick of sorts that seems to has a bigger budget than it actually does. The film stars Richard Norton and Robert Patrick and it was made in the Philippines of course! A man from 2025 gains possession of the ‘spear of destiny’ and it sends him back in time 40 years at the same site where Michelle and Slade are checking out an old church. Future man Matt hands of the spear to the couple as he dies to say to them “protect it with their lives”. The couple has a chance to prevent the nuclear holocaust that destroyed and formed Matt’s world in 2025. The couple argues what should be done with the spear until bootleg Playboy Buddy Rose comes looking for it and chases them all over the world for it! This post-apocalyptic film is one of the best to come out of the Philippines compared to some of the slop I have watched over the years. Plus if that isn’t enough you do get a great scene of Robert Patrick in his Fruit of the Looms and see the tan lines! Also what helps with the film is if you are able to track down an episode of Monstervision with Joe Bob Briggs that had this film on as it was perhaps the funniest episode of the bunch. Great stunts, non-stop fun, an actual script, Robert Patrick, for that I give it 3 ½ stars.

Ditch Day Massacre (DVD) – First to find this film you may have to look for it under its recently change title “Ditch Day” most likely from a distribution company picking it up? We begin with a teenage girl (Jenny) who drives home drunk from a party and gets into an accident. She causes the death of a wife and young daughter but her father covers it up because he is a respected cop. One year later the husband/father (Bill Oberst Jr.) of the deceased wants revenge and starts with kidnapping Jenny’s father and mother. Jenny knows she was in the wrong but was apparently out of the loop that she caused death during this accident and it was reported as a hit and run the cops couldn’t solve. But that doesn’t help Jenny as now there is a cold-blooded killer after her and friends as they have ditched school to have a party. Wasn’t exactly thrilled with the ending and also found myself rooting for the killer to fuck Jenny’s shit up so I am kinda of torn with this ‘massacre’ title. Either way I give it 2 ½ stars for the mere fact I will remember this flick for a while and always cool to see Bill Oberst Jr. in a cool role.

 

Massacre (DVD) – An Eye-talian flick that Lucio Fulci only produced. The film seems to be about a red-gloved killer in sunglasses but by the end of the film I felt there were three different killers? Anyway a horror movie is being filmed and murders seem to take place nearby on a regular basis and the local authorities are trying to solve them. The giallo if you wanna call this flick was harder to follow than some of giallos I have watched recently but for entertainment value it did have a bootleg Shannon Doherty, bootleg Bruce Jenner, and a bootleg Reggie Bannister. Also if you do try tracking down this ‘massacre’ title be on the lookout for English subtitles as it was hard to find this film with some as I give it 1 star.

Garden Tool Massacre (DVD) – August 23, 1990, a man of the name Charles Scavolini chosen to murder his wife. Seven years later still serving his life sentence in Glenvale Sanatorium because he was deemed insane at trial has now found a way to escape the asylum. When Charles does he heads home only to find there is someone else living in his old home. So this causes Charles to grab a mask, garden tools, and go slicing and dicing through those who occupy his residence. This UK S.O.V. release has been rarely seen until recently as SRS Cinema has released it in all its glory of nostalgic video packaging for the world to enjoy as I give this title 1 ½ stars.

 

The Cat O’Nine Tails (DVD) – A fan favorite of Dario Argento’s that has murders of people who were connected to secret research projects. A blind man and his daughter suspect something fishy and visit a reporter who reported on the murder in the train station that was declared an accident. After talking the reporter and the blind man try their best to solve the murders before they become murdered themselves! A lot of character development in this film as this film even feels longer than the usual giallo as I give it 2 stars. I am sure Argento fans will be sending me hate mail for that one but again giallos are just not in my wheelhouse but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t give it a try…

 

The Texas Frightmare Massacre (DVD) – A 2010 effort from Joe Francis who decided to make the famous convention his backdrop for his no budget film. Eugene and Lyle train to be security guards only to have their first week of being security guards to be at the hotel the weekend of Texas Frightmare Weekend. Meanwhile while the duo have their troubles of making it through training, douchebag Todd and his hot ass girl Mary (thank you for being a redhead) are forced to take Mary’s step brother Max to the convention. Let’s not forget to mention Todd and Mary have sex with a horse head on while thinking about killing off Max. But once at the convention and mistreated one too many times by Todd, Max turns the tables on the couple. After dealing with the couple to put it in desirable terms Max goes on his convention killing spree. Thus it is up to the new security guards to stop the killer. Not the best of plots (especially since ‘The Horror Convention Massacre” predates this film by three years), running time is way too long for something that could have been an entertaining 30 minutes long, but the biggest mistake is no T-shirt Joe and Fast Custom Shirts! How Joe and his shirts were not featured in this was a poor decision. I will give credit for having the hot redhead Mary and the funny Eugene and Lyle characters but if you are going to use this convention as your back drop Joe Garcia has to be the star and for that I only can give this film a ½ star.

 

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews . Remember folks always support your local independent movie theater, independent video store, and independent filmmakers! It will keep horror alive………

You can find all of my books at www.lulu.com just search for Gross Movie Reviews or Tim Gross there!

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

You can now purchase copies of Jagoff Massacre and our new feature Blood Freak DVDs online that I co-directed with Dan Boyd at https://drunkenyinzersproductions.company.site/ !  

Gross Movie Reviews #525

0

Gross Movie Reviews #525

 

Cyberjack (VHS) – If by some chance you have not heard this 1995 Michael Dudikoff title it was also released under the title ‘Virtual Assassin’. A low budget sci-fi flick with a piss poor ‘Blade Runner’ back drop that follows Nick (Dudikoff) as an ex-cop with a gambling problem. After his partner was killed in action by a criminal named Nassim (Brion James), Nick has been having hard times now a janitor. Their paths cross as Nassim is trying to steal and upload the ultimate computer virus to his mind to control the world. Well Dudikoff just happens to be the janitor and does his best “Die Hard’ imitation to save the world as I give the flick 2 stars.

 

Better Off Zed (DVD) – Guy and Paige happen to be a cute married couple who just happen to be managing quite well during a zombie apocalypse. Their home is fenced in and safe for now as Guy is enjoying his new free time and Paige is starting to feel differently. As time goes on and Guy believing this is the best thing that could happen to them Paige begins to entertain the idea of escaping the city apocalypse life. Once Paige finds out Guy has been holding out on her about a plane dropping flyers about a safe place for humans to escape the city, the relationship breaks down. The film is more about the couple’s relationship than it is about being a hardcore zombie flick. I give it kudos for trying to be different but the ending of the film left a bad taste in my mouth as I give it 1 star.

 

Baby Frankenstein (DVD) – A mother and teenage son move into a home that has a padlocked attic. Of course the teenage son wants to know what is up there. But the real question should be if you were buying the home wouldn’t you have asked about the locked attic beforehand? Anyhow the son breaks into the attic and eventually finds a dwarf Frankenstein that he cannot wait to show off to the cute neighbor girl. After a short chase of dwarf Frankenstein the teenagers become friends with this creature and hang out or as I summarize the film as “Adventures in Baby Frankenstein-sitting”. Not even the great Andre Gower could save this boring bootleg Disney horror movie that I give a ½ star too.

 

American Beast (DVD) – James heads to the small town of Solitude after he learns his mother has died. He comes to find out he has inherit a storage locker that holds a box full newspaper clippings, a diary, and cassette tapes about a creature and a strange event, 1939 in the woods. James slowly reads more into this matter and finds himself wanting answers. Problem his James might not like the answer to why his family is all kinds of screwed up as I give the film 1 star.

 

The Last Thanksgiving (DVD) – Every Thanksgiving a good wholesome cannibal family kills every year for the holiday as its tradition. The family uses this tradition to honor a pilgrim named Abigail that they claim fed human flesh to people during the original big feast hundreds of years ago. This year the family picks a local non-busy restaurant for their holiday dinner. The only savior might be the town bitch Lisa Marie who is stuck working her shitty job on the Thanksgiving holiday. What starts off like a fun slasher film to add to the collection falls apart as the story gets dull quickly and actually annoying? Maybe my hopes were too high for a fun Thanksgiving horror movie we don’t see too often as this just didn’t trip my trigger as a horror fan and for that I can only give it 1 ½ stars.

 

Pigster (DVD) – ‘Pigster’ was the original title of the film but has been officially released under a different title ‘Feast of Fear’. A gory mess of cinema where roommates go visit a fortune teller (Robert Davi) who happens to be a collector of sorts. This collector has the young friends sign a contract that will bring their one wish true but they must pay with their flesh as a killer pig comes to collect! Yay, you figured out how to reboot ‘Wishmaster’ and offend horror fans in your version of it. Makes sense many people are not talking about this feature as it seemed buried very deep in the streaming world these days as I give it 1 star.

Wolfman’s Got Nards (DVD) – A wonderful documentary from star Andre Gower as he documents everything that went down during the 30th anniversary and celebration of ‘The Monster Squad’. A quite in-depth look into the fans of the film, the history of the bootlegs, Fred Dekker thinking it failed, and who were behind bringing the creatures to life on screen. This documentary is an absolute treat to watch as I give it 4 stars.

 

Midnight Macabre (DVD) – A horror hostess takes you through a cheap horror anthology that all three entries deal with the supernatural. None of the three stories were memorable but the film did star a bright and upcoming actress in Nadia White. I have watched several independent horror films with her over the past year and firmly believe this actress is someone horror fans should look out for when checking out the latest Indy releases… Even though I give the film a ½ star I am sure you will not be disappointed with this cool talented actress.

The Golden Age of Horror Comics I & II (YouTube) – An independent documentary created by Zane Whitener that possibly takes the deepest dive into horror comics I have ever seen. The creator spends a lot of time on the 40s and 50s horror comics because of Bill Gaines but also explains how all comics were changed forever. The creator literally reads some of the early comics in length just so you can feel the impact these writings had on kids and the government. The second half of the documentary talks more of how everything changed in the 70s after we got past the cheesy Batman show we all know and love. But the brilliance or hilarity of that original Batman show might have been the fallout of EC Comics? Zane practically touches upon almost every horror comic throughout the decades and their impact on the artists and fans alike. So if you got three hours to kill I highly recommend this well-produced documentary that not just celebrates horror comics but will teach you something also as I give it 4 stars.

 

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews . Remember folks always support your local independent movie theater, independent video store, and independent filmmakers! It will keep horror alive………

You can find all of my books at www.lulu.com just search for Gross Movie Reviews or Tim Gross there!

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

You can now purchase copies of Jagoff Massacre and our new feature Blood Freak DVDs online that I co-directed with Dan Boyd at https://drunkenyinzersproductions.company.site/ !