Gross Movie Reviews #439

 

Sorority Party Massacre (DVD) – The film has several all-star cameos (Kevin Sorbo, Ron Jeremy, Leslie Easterbrook, Richard Moll) and starts off like a “Scream” film so I was in. prestige sorority girls get together at a mansion in Grizzly Cove every year to try and win the Fawson grant. But what the beautiful young ladies don’t know is girls have been going missing over the past 30 years without anyone noticing. But a suspended big city detective heads out to Grizzly Cove to check up on the boss’ daughter and stumbles upon the several disappearances that have gone unnoticed. It’s up to the big city detective to put all the pieces of the crimes together. The movie starts off like a fun lower budget slasher flick but fails in the second half to keep me or any other horror movie fan interested as I give it 1 star.

 

Lake Placid: Legacy (SyFy Channel/DVD) – It’s been 25 years since the events that occurred with the big croc. Since then the Black Lake area has been fenced off like Area 51 and not on Google maps! But a team of Eco-activists who just did their last event is challenged by a feuding group of eco-activists to make their way to Black Lake. So they do and break into the fenced off area surprised by the calmness of what was a “toxic spill event” according to the government. Once there they see the place is abandoned but no toxic spill took place here. But once they find the abandoned lab and dead bodies something is amiss and still there? Eventually the team finds out scientists were there to play god by doing stem cell research with a giant croc that is loose roaming the quiet waters of Black Lake. The buildup is a lot of fun and there is some blood but the sequel fails to finish off a great concept for a sequel this far into the series. It is better than the last couple sequels but could have been so much better as I give it 2 ½ stars.

 

Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (VHS/You Tube) – A fun TV movie from 1977 about poisonous spiders being shipped from Ecuador to the U.S. by Dr. Johnny Fever and Tom Atkins. These two guys get the idea of make big cash taking coffee beans from Ecuador and selling them for big cash in San Francisco. But as the coffee beans are being loaded spiders are also making their way onto the plane inside with the beans. To top it off the foreign military types won’t allow the pair to take off unless they have money so of course they let three people from Ecuador hitch a ride. They are the first ones to encounter the dangerous spider and the plane ride goes downhill from there. With nowhere to land they crash near a small orange picking community where shortly after they leak fuel and the plane is set ablaze. This causes the spiders to spread and attack the people of the small town. But the worst is yet to come when the spiders find the orange warehouse! If the people don’t find a way to get the spiders out safely, the big store won’t take the oranges and the town will go bankrupt. So after several deaths in the community the people figure out some kind of wasp can make the spiders freeze, immobilize, safe to pick up and get rid of… Hilarious as hell but a fun piece of TV movie history to watch as I give it 2 ½ stars.

White Goods (You Tube) – An independent film out of the UK from White Raven Films where a group of people show up to a mansion for spirits, magic, and a psychic. But a dude named ‘Rio Tard’ finds a box hidden in the basement and doesn’t remember what happened afterward. Strange things begin to happen as people begin to die as Rio apparently unleashed a demon with finding the box. The demon is killing anyone that Rio knows including a fucking dryer eating a person (thank you The Mangler). With it being from another country sometimes for me it loses something in translation? It has the blood, weird humor, and a demon but not the killer instinct of a demon film to enjoy? Reason I bring up maybe this horror film is not for me but a certain audience. Anyway still glad I got to watch as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars. You always get bonus points for appliances fucking people up. If anything great artwork for the DVD that will get horror fans interested. For more info: https://www.facebook.com/White-Goods-movie-978394265559408/

 

Meltdown (DVD) – A mid-90s Jet Li flick that some of you might know as “High Risk”. Jet Li’s character loses his family in a car bomb that he wasn’t able to defuse in time. A couple years later we see him as a bodyguard/stand-in for a drunken famous stunt man known as Frankie Lane. When an exhibition that has invited Frankie is taken over by terrorists Jet Li must fight his way in and save the day. Wall to wall martial arts action that will make you a fan of Jet Li’s work. Fun stuff folks as I give it 3 stars.

 

Werewolf in London (DVD) – An interesting Universal Picture where this was a precursor to 1941’s “The Wolf Man”. Apparently this flick came out in 1935 and people were not excited at all by it like “The Wolf Man” we all know and love. Plus this flick doesn’t follow all the werewolf movie myths we have come to know. Maybe this was the exception for the question in “The Monster Squad” about how to kill werewolf? Anyhow, a doctor is bitten in the forbidden mountains of Tibet while looking for a flower that only blooms in the moonlight. Goes back home and comes to find out he is changing and must go out at night to kill. But a competitor lets him in on a secret that the flower when in bloom can help the werewolf issue. Nowhere near as creepy and fun as “The Wolf Man” six years later but an interesting watch if you are a fan of the Universal Monsters and worth reading up on. I give it 2 stars.

Stephan Kora: A Monster from Irkutsk (DVD) – I have either found a new black metal band or Alex Wesley and Philip Brocklehurst have another crazy horror project straight out of Russia. A renowned author is forced to write a book about true crime, a serial killer named Stephan Kora to be exact. In order to write the book he must watch the films about Mr. Kora’s murders as Mr. Kora like to document everything. There isn’t enough alcohol in the world to help this author get through this task. Mr. Kora the serial killer was screwed from birth as his face was filled with tumors. This of course made everyone make fun and take advantage of Mr. Kora all of his young life until he decided to go his brutal killing spree. If you enjoy serial killer flicks or TV shows this will be a gory flick right up your alley as I give this short film 3 out of 4 stars. Need to find out more, track this dude down:  https://www.facebook.com/philip.brocklehurst.9

 

Front Page (DVD) – So a local (Pittsburgh) filmmaker Michael Migliore has started to work on a few projects. This short film of his is about a common man named Wilbur who is obsessed with making the front page of the paper and getting from under his mother’s curse. But no matter how many people Wilbur slaughters in the dirty streets or behind a Dollar Tree of Pittsburgh he cannot get the front page. The front page belongs to an unknown killer who is leaving bloodless victims everywhere. Wilbur is so concentrated on his task doesn’t see the girl Alexis he just picked up will be his undoing. I enjoyed the short film concept but wasn’t thrilled with the casting choices but overall a short film to build on as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars. For more info:  https://www.facebook.com/michael.migliore.9

 

Alexis (DVD) – Bloodless bodies are showing up around the streets of Pittsburgh and the police have no answers. Is it the work of a serial killer or a vampire? According to some crazed religious freak on public access news channel it’s a vampire. The work the killer has done has been nicknamed “The Downtown Drainer”. Alexis, an athletic boxer on the verge of making the Olympics is upset with this as she has concealed her identity as a vampire for many years. The only person that knows about her and supports her is Alexis’ girlfriend Laura who just happens to be a doctor who is trying to figure out a better way for Alexis to feed or survive in the long run. But Alexis has pain from the hunger of blood and tries to pick people who deserve it? But after an incident and a person close to the pair is killed by Alexis they choose to move out in the sticks to try to lay low and look like the normal girl/girl couple making things work. But a shitload of hurt comes down when the local redneck asshole shows up drained of blood in an alley and the Christian mayor calls in vampire hunters. I enjoyed the concept of “Alexis” being expanded but this film could have been edited down, including cutting out the three-way sex scene, added more blood, and leaving out the vampire hunters. I just feel Michael Migliore may have overthought this film leaving it less desirable than the interesting concept short film he made called “Front Page”. For that I give the feature 1 ½ out of 4 stars. For more info:   https://www.facebook.com/michael.migliore.9

 

Sicario (DVD) – A female F.B.I. agent (Kate) who is a bad ass has just been pulled to be a part of a D.O.D. mission. She is to observe and understand what is coming. She is to observe a team of experts who plan to fight against the Mexican cartels who just happened to tunnel their way into Arizona recently. She has the chance to make an actual difference as there has been a change at the highest level of U.S. government to try to stop or at least counter the latest actions of the cartels. Josh Brolin is a free spirited man who believes Kate can learn and understand what the government is trying to do here with the cartels. But then she introduced to a mysterious man, a hitman played by Benicio Del Toro who is very calm in what he does and kind of looks out for Kate at first. A deal has been made, lines are now blurred, and there isn’t procedure any longer, as its war! And the hitman is here to restore order by any means needed. Alejandro, the hitman is a Columbian hitman that is here in the U.S. to restore order. When Kate disagrees she finds out the hard way this isn’t the F.B.I. any longer. With this latest flick I have seen Del Toro has just made it into ‘my top 5 actors I want in everything’. This action flick about the cartels does not wimp out as it is cold hearted and fucking awesome as I give it 4 stars.

 

Strange Shadows in an Empty Room (VHS) – A flick from Canada (the Italy of the North) surprised me. This mid-70s flick is about a hard-nosed detective named Tony who is pissed and wants answers after his sister dies of a strange death in front of friends. So Tony begins looking into her college life and knocking on doors and does not like what he is exactly finds. But it gets a little more complicated when bodies begin to pile up that may be connected to her death. A bad ass murder/mystery movie that has a scene where a dude holds a knife to an infant to hold off Tony in a hospital. The film is a little rough around the edges and a little dated but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this “Dirty Harry” clone to its fullest as I give it 3 stars.

 

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

Don’t forget you can also hear Kyle Poling and me talking about horror flicks on a weekly basis on the Bloodbaths and Boomsticks podcast at: www.bloodbathspodcast.blogspot.com/ also available at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kyle-poling-2/bloodbaths-and-boomsticks?refid=stpr

 

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 for details.

 

See yinz at GROSSFEST! July 28, 2018! Go check out www.grossfest.com for all the details!