Dee Wallace – born Deanna Bowers; December 14, 1949 – and also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress and ‘Scream Queen’. She is perhaps best known for her roles in several popular films, mainly in the horror genre. Her most widely-seen role is a starring role as Elliott’s mother, Mary, in the Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). She also played key roles in popular cult films The Hills Have Eyes (1977), The Howling (1981) and Cujo (1983), as well as more recent efforts including The House of the Devil (2009) and The Lords of Salem (2012). In total, she has appeared in over 90 television shows and 100 films.

Wallace was born in Kansas City. She attended Wyandotte High School, before attending the University of Kansas and graduating with an degree in Education. She briefly taught high school drama at Washington High School in Kansas City, in the early 1970s. She married fellow actor Christopher Stone in 1980, with whom she had one daughter, Gabrielle Stone, who has since forged a career in acting and film-making herself. She acted alongside Christopher in both The Howling and Cujo, as well as TV series such as CHiPs (on the set of which they first met) and The New Lassie. He sadly died in 1995 from a heart attack. Wallace has since married television producer Skip Belyea.

Wallace’s first film acting role of note was in 1975’s The Stepford Wives, in which she played Nettie the maid, a minor, one-line part but one which clearly caught the attention of casting directors. It was two years later, in Wes Craven’s seminal The Hills Have Eyes that, after enduring the usual audition process, she was cast as Lynne Wood, the mother of the family attempting to traverse the desert, with unfortunate cannibalistic interruptions. It’s an incredibly assured performance and, rather like a slightly more mainstream film she was shortly to star in, was an early indication that she was a go-to for the role of the reliable mother-figure in a film.

Though it was indeed to be 1982’s E.T. which would bring her the most widely-known of her roles, it was her appearance in Joe Dante’s The Howling, from the previous year which would cement her in the hearts and minds of horror fans, her starring role as Karen White becoming something of a benchmark for female characters in horror films, thoughtful and engaging, without the almost essential industry-standard lapse into running-away-from-a-killer-in-the-woods-and-falling-over. Contrary to popular belief, she is not beneath layers of makeup at the film’s Yorkshire Terrier lyncanthrope finale; this is an animatronic. Her sympathetic approach to the genre led her to being one of the most in-demand actresses for 1980s horror films, alongside Adrienne Barbeau.

It’s somewhat poignant therefore that even after her role in the blockbuster, E.T. that she soon returned to horror, this time in the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s Cujo (1983). The car-confined conditions of much of the film’s shooting, as well as acting alongside five St. Bernard dogs have left Dee to since comment that making Cujo was one of her most challenging projects; it is however a role for which she has won particular praise, not least from King himself who suggested she should have been considered for an Academy Award.

After an appearance in the revitalised Twilight Zone TV series, she next appeared, genre-wise, in 1986’s Critters, her only appearance in the franchise. Whether by accident or design, her periodical appearances in horror ensured she remained in horror fans minds without becoming an unbearable omnipresence. When the 1990’s reached a crossroads, unable to decide fully what direction horror should take, Wallace was happy to star in cheaper, schlockier fare, self-reverential without pouring scorn on an art-form which had treated her so kindly. Though her turn in 1991’s Popcorn is fondly remembered by some fans, Alligator 2: The Mutation (1991) and 1995’s Temptress did little to change the world but ensured she was never out of work and never pigeon-holed herself.

More significant work came in Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners (1995), though it was at this time she lost her husband. In 1997, Skeletons saw her working alongside Christopher Plummer and James Coburn, though this promised slightly more than it delivered. Though far from fallow, the remainder of the decade saw an increase in TV fare, the start of the 2000’s seeing a more concerted return to more familiar ground; 2001’s Killer Instinct, 2004’s Dead End Road, Headspace in 2005, Boo from the same year and Abominable (2006) all preceded her introduction to a new horror audience in Rob Zombie’s interpretation of Halloween (2007).

Wallace’s relationship with Zombie has proved to be not only productive but enriching, with Wallace hailing the director as one of the best she has worked with. They reunited again in 2012 for The Lords of Salem. Wallace’s acting career shows no signs of stopping, despite her other life as a life coach, public speaker and author of self-help books; in 2015 she is scheduled to appear in Zombie Killers: Elephant’s Graveyard and Death House, alongside a slew of similarly determined campaigners including Robert Englund, Michael Berryman, Barbara Crampton and Gunnar Hansen.

Daz Lawrence

Selected Filmography

1975 – The Stepford Wives

1977 – The Hills Have Eyes

1979 – 10

1981 – The Howling

1982 – E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial

1983 – Cujo

1986 – Critters

1991 – Popcorn

1991 – Alligator 2: The Mutation

1995 – The Temptress

1996 – The Frighteners

1997 – Skeletons

1999 – Deadly Delusions

2001 – Killer Instinct

2004 – Dead End Road

2005 – Scar

2005 – Boo

2005 – Headspace

2006 – Abominable

2006 – Voodoo Moon

2006 – The Plague

2007 – Halloween

2008 – Little Red Devil

2009 – The House of the Devil

2009 – The Haunted World of Superbeasto

2010 – Raven

2011 – Exit Humanity

2012 – The Lords of Salem

2014 – Haunting of Cellblock 11

2015 – Zombie Killers: Elephant'[s Graveyard

2015 – Death House

‘The dead shall rise and walk the Earth’

City of the Living Dead – Italian: Paura nella città dei morti viventi [translation: Fear in the City of the Living Dead], released in the US as The Gates of Hell – is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Lucio Fulci (Zombie Flesh Eaters; The Beyond; The New York Ripper) from a screenplay co-written with Dardano Sacchetti. It is the first instalment of the unofficial Gates of Hell trilogy that also includes The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery. The film’s haunting score is by Fabio Frizzi and was issued again as a vinyl album in 2013 by Death Waltz Recording Company.

The film stars Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Janet Agren, Antonella Interlenghi, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Michele Soavi, Venantino Venantini. Director Fulci makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Dr. Joe Thompson.

Plot teaser:

In New York City, during a séance held in the apartment of medium Theresa, Mary Woodhouse (Catriona MacColl) experiences a traumatic vision of a priest, Father Thomas (Fabrizio Jovine), hanging himself from a tree branch in the cemetery of a remote village called Dunwich.

When the images overwhelm her, Mary goes into convolutions, and falls to the floor as if dead. The police interrogate Theresa, but fail to heed her warnings of an imminent evil. Outside the apartment building, Peter Bell (Christopher George), a journalist, tries to gain entry to the premises but is turned away.

The following day, Mary is buried in a local cemetery on Long Island overlooking Manhattan and Peter visits her grave site. The gravediggers (Perry Pirkanen and Michael Gaunt) leave Mary’s half-covered coffin at the end of their work shift and leave. Soon, Peter hears muffled screams as he reluctantly leaves the graveyard. Using a pickaxe, he frees the screaming woman from her premature burial, but with the axe coming dangerously close to her head as it smashes through the casket lid.

Peter and Mary visit Theresa where she warns them that according to the ancient book of Enoch, the events Mary has witnessed in her visions presage the eruption of the living dead into our world. The death of Father Thomas, a marked priest, has somehow opened a door through which the living dead can enter and the invasion will commence on All Saints Day, just a few days away…

Buy on Blu-ray | Instant Video from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

” …with its nonsensical ‘plot’ randomly constructed according to the illogic of fear, and its grotesque emphasis on physical mutability, fragmentation and decay, it could just conceivably be the sort of disreputable movie the surrealists would have loved.” Time Out

” …City of the Living Dead’s narrative is bland and workmanlike, but it does at least plod along at a solid and continuous pace like the beating drum in Fabio Frizzi’s effective, minimalistic score. That score and every other aspect of the film really come into their own in the big finale; when the location of the portal into hell is discovered and Fulci’s direction is at its most stylish and lively, building up into a final shot that is perplexingly ambiguous.” Matt Shingleton, The Digital Fix

“While usual undead stylish Giannetto De Rossi isn’t along for the ride, these walking corpses are appropriately ghoulish and maggot infested. Their collective, grand rising occurs in one of Fulci’s best set-pieces: a dank, dark, cobwebbed crypt that exudes death. Whereas the barren wasteland of The Beyond is eerie in its vast emptiness, this is terrifying in its claustrophobia. Our characters here stumble into an eternal sea of visceral, violent death rather than a spiritual, soul-sucking demise.” Brett G., Oh, the Horror!

“What Fulci gives us is a collage of images, some of which fit into the film’s story arc, while others simply add to the overall atmosphere of apocalyptic doom. So, a shower of maggots appears out of nowhere, a boy’s head comes into contact with an industrial drill and a woman vomits up her intestines.” Jamie Russell, Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema

Buy Book of the Dead from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

“The story does verge on the incoherent at times and certainly isn’t as neatly tied together as The Beyond or The House By The Cemetery, but has a rather more dreamlike quality to it. The build up to the slightly anti-climactic ending is somewhat surreal… Andygeddon

Buy Lucio Fulci Collection on Blu-ray from Amazon.com

“City of the Living Dead is saturated with technical exaggeration, teeming with oddball performances and high on its own outrageous contrivances. Elegant cross-fades and superimpositions add beauty, as do a handful of judicious, painterly details, like the petal seen dropping silently from the rose held by the catatonic Mary in her coffin. All these factors coalesce, and the film survives its thin story thanks to the eccentricity of its detail.” Stephen Thrower, Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci

Buy Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Buy City of the Living Dead on Arrow Video Blu-ray | DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Special features:

• Original Theatrical trailer
• Dame of the Dead
• Live from the Glasgow Theatre
• The Many Lives And Deaths of Giovanni Lombardo Radice
• Penning Some Paura – Dardano Sacchetti Remembers COTLD
• The Audio Recollections of Giovanni Lombardo Radice
• Audio Commentary with Catriona Macoll and Jay Slater
• Profondo Luigi – A Colleague’s Memories of Lucio Fulci
• Fulci’s Daughter – Memories of the Italian Gore Maestro
• Carlo of the Living Dead – Surviving Fulci Fear
• Fulci in the House: The Italian Master of Splatter
• Gallery of the Living Dead

Choice dialogue:

Bar owner: “A few beers and you fellows start seeing ghouls and devils all over the place.”

Cast:

• Christopher George as Peter Bell
• Catriona MacColl as Mary Woodhouse (credited as Katriona MacColl)
• Carlo De Mejo as Gerry
• Janet Agren as Sandra
• Antonella Interlenghi as Emily Robbins
• Giovanni Lombardo Radice as Bob
• Daniela Doria as Rosie Kelvin
• Fabrizio Jovine as Father William Thomas
• Luca Venantini as John-John Robbins (credited as Luca Paisner)
• Michele Soavi as Tommy Fisher
• Venantino Venantini as Mr. Ross
• Enzo D’Ausilio as Sheriff Russell’s deputy
• Adelaide Aste as Theresa
• Luciano Rossi as Policeman #1 in Theresa’s apartment
• Robert Sampson as Sheriff Russell
• Lucio Fulci as Dr. Joe Thompson
• Michael Gaunt as the Gravedigger #1
• Perry Pirkanen as the Blonde Gravedigger
• James Sampson as James McLuhan; Séance Member
• Martin Sorrentino as Sgt. Clay
• Robert E. Warner as the Policeman Outside Theresa’s apartment building

Buy Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook from Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘Going to grannies was never like this.’

Rabid Grannies – originally Les Mémés Cannibales [translation: “The Cannibal Grannies”] – is a 1988 Belgian comedy horror film written and directed by Emmanuel Kervyn. It stars Danielle Daven, Anne Marie Fox, Catherine Aymerie and Robert Du Bois.

The film was dubbed and distributed in the US on VHS and DVD by Troma Entertainment. Due to its unusual subject and title and its graphic scenes of gore, Rabid Grannies is one of the most infamous titles in the Troma library. A Blu-ray + DVD combo release is scheduled for March 10, 2015.

Plot teaser:

Two elderly sisters invite their wonderful nieces and nephews to a dinner party in celebration of the sisters’ upcoming birthdays. The one nephew who is not invited is the ostracized black sheep of the family whose devil-worshipping activities have resulted in his being removed from the sisters’ inheritance.

The rest of the guests are merely putting in time; they’re really just waiting for their aunts to kick the bucket, leaving them amply endowed via their respective inheritances. But, the nephew sends a party gift that turns the scene into a frolic of the macabre: the aunts turn cannibal and attempt to eat their guests…

Buy Rabid Grannies on Blu-ray + DVD combo from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“The gore is ok. I guess they have a “rabid” hunger to eat their family, but allegedly the Troma version did cut down some of the gore (begging the question of what’s the point?) The grannies eat, dismember, and throw body parts around. It is bloody, but more goofy than gory.” JP Roscoe, Basement Rejects

“Though hardly a great stylist, Belgian director Emmanuel Kervyn does a decent job of keeping things moving at a nice and bloody clip. Too bad the headache inducing British accents haphazardly dubbed into the film ruin most of the admittedly eye-catching visual atmosphere; turn down the volume, however, and at least the avalanche of special effects makes for a decent party film.” Mondo Digital

” …it takes forever to get going, and then when it does you don’t really get a lot of splatter to make up for it. Plus, the rest of the movie is little more than a repetitive series of disjointed gags; someone runs into a room, and gets killed by one or both grannies, followed by a few minutes of the various protagonists arguing, moving about the castle, and then the cycle restarts.” Horror Movie a Day

Wikipedia | IMDb

White Zombie was an American metal band named after the 1932 horror film. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band but is better-known for its later experimental heavy metal-oriented sound. The group officially disbanded in 1998.

White Zombie was co-founded by writer, vocalist and graphic artist Rob Zombie (later a solo artist and film director). Zombie’s girlfriend at the time, Sean Yseult, was the other co-founder. They then recruited Peter Landau to play drums. White Zombie’s first release, Gods on Voodoo Moon, was an EP and was recorded on October 18, 1985.

In 1986, the band started touring, making their live performance debut at CBGB on April 28, 1986. White Zombie released their second EP, Pig Heaven, that year.

In 1987, the band released their third EP, Psycho-Head Blowout. Later that year, the band released their first full-length album, Soul-Crusher, which was their first release to feature sound clips from movies in the songs and music samples, a trademark that would continue for the remainder of the band’s lifespan.

In 1988, the band signed to Caroline Records. Their second album, Make Them Die Slowly (named after the US release title of Cannibal Ferox), was released in February 1989. The album was a musical shift for White Zombie. While their previous releases had been strictly punk-influenced noise rock, Make Them Die Slowly had more of a heavy metal sound. This is also the first album crediting “Rob Zombie” instead of his previous stage name, “Rob ‘Dirt’ Straker”.

With J. G. Thirlwell of Foetus the band signed to Geffen. On March 17, 1992, White Zombie released La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One, the album which launched them into mainstream recognition.

The music video for the song “Thunder Kiss ’65” went into heavy rotation on MTV in 1993.

TV show Beavis and Butt-head began featuring their music videos, boosting the band’s popularity. By the end of 1993, the album had been certified gold. By the time the tour ended in December 1994, Zombie and Yseult had broken up, and La Sexorcisto had gone platinum. In 1995, Astro Creep: 2000 was released, featuring the hit single “More Human than Human“.

In 1996, an album of remixes was released under the title Supersexy Swingin’ Sounds. After making one last song for the 1996 film Beavis and Butt-head Do America, titled “Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks and Cannibal Girls”, White Zombie broke up in 1998.

After the breakup of White Zombie, Sean Yseult joined the surf rock band The Famous Monsters, and started playing bass for horror-themed band, Rock City Morgue. She also briefly played bass for The Cramps.

In June 2011, Rob Zombie told Metal Hammer magazine why the band split: “It had run its course. Success is a big thing that you can never plan for, because it affects everybody differently. I don’t want to blame myself or anyone else in the band — it’s just that the band didn’t work anymore. Rather than continuing on and making shitty records and having it all fall apart, I thought: ‘Let’s just end it on a high point'”.

Wikipedia

The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognised as the progenitors of the horror punk sub-genre, blending punk rock and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery.

Founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey by singer and songwriter Glenn Danzig, the group had a fluctuating lineup during its first six years with Danzig and bassist Jerry Only as the only consistent members – a trend which continues to this day. During this time they released several EPs and singles, and with Only’s brother, Doyle, as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement.

Buy Walk Among Us on CD from Amazon.co.uk

Named after the 1961 Marilyn Monroe film, the band stuck to the familiar template of riotous gigs and short, frenetic songs but embellished both themselves and the songs with classic horror imagery.

The revolving door of band members settled somewhat when Danzig was joined by Jerry Caiafa – his name-change was prompted by an early misspelling, to which he responded he should be referred to as “Jerry, only Jerry”. With Danzig on vocals, Only on his recently obtained bass guitar, they also featured Manny Martinez on drums – the lack of a lead guitarist necessitating Danzig to play electric piano to flesh out their sound. Martinez became one of many to occupy the drum stool, friction between new members and Danzig/Only and the rigors of touring forcing a succession of stick holders to flee.

By 1977 the band had recruited Franché Coma (born Frank Licata) on lead guitar, meaning Danzig could concentrate on both singing and developing his looming stage persona, whilst also ensuring the music became noticeably punkier and more aggressive. The position of guitarist also soon became vacant, with Coma replaced by Bobby Steele (later himself to form The Undead) and eventually settling on Only’s 16 year-old brother, Paul, who adopted the pseudonym Doyle.

Whilst their music later influenced many bands, their image had an even broader influence on fashion and style. By 1978, Danzig song-writing was taking many elements from horror movies, in particular many of the classic Universal films and 1950’s B-movies and science fiction. He began to appear onstage with skeleton designs on his clothing, whilst Only began to apply dark make-up and a hairstyle which became known as the Devil Lock, an extreme exaggeration of a widow’s peak – other band members also soon adopted this look.

Their place in rock lore was assured with the release of their single, “Horror Business” in June 1979, the cover of which featured the now almost omnipresent image of The Crimson Ghost, from the 1946 film serial. This simple but distinctive image became their logo and was soon featured on t-shirts, records sleeves, posters and a range of merchandise even Kiss would have been proud of. The skull also became the emblem for their fan club which was known as The Fiend Club.

Early support slots in New York for British punk rock pioneers The Damned promised much but breakthroughs were hampered by travel problems, poor organisation and the band’s habit of getting into fights at the drop of a hat. Early releases appeared on Mercury Records sub-division Blank Records, though the band later released recordings through their own Plan 9 label, named, of course, after the notorious Ed Wood film, Plan 9 from Outer Space. Whilst their first album proper, Static Age would not find a home until 1997 in its unabridged glory, their first full-length release to hit the shelves was Walk Among Us, the 1981 album release on Los Angeles-based Slash Records.

As the band’s image and sound became more widely known, the found themselves elevated to headliners, with bands such as the Necros in support. They continued to bait both audiences and unbelievers, their shows becoming must-see events, the spectacle onstage often spilling out into the hungry throng.

In 1982 they were arrested in New Orleans on charges of grave robbing while attempting to locate the grave of voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau, but bailed themselves out of jail and skipped their court date in order to drive to their next performance. The following year, before the release of their Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood opus, tensions between the band members reached new heights and by the time of their annual Halloween show, the situation became untenable, Danzig announcing to the audience that this would be their last show.

Danzig reappeared with a new project, Samhain, a far more heavy metal vehicle and featuring longer tracks and a more prominent role for the singer, who revelled in the new press adornment of ‘the black Elvis’. He would later release his best-selling work under his own name and regularly re-worked Misfits songs to fit in with his new style.

Buy Misfits “All-Ages” t-shirt from Amazon.co.uk

Meanwhile, Only and Doyle returned to New Jersey, an unlikely finding of faith leading to the formation of the Christian metal band, Kryst the Conqueror. When Metallica covered the Misfits songs “Green Hell” and “Last Caress” the band received more attention than ever, a new audience eager to find out who they were. The compilation, Legacy of Brutality was released, as was the long-lost Static Age, with Danzig re-dubbing much of the original recordings to avoid paying the parade of ex-members.

Only contacted Danzig about receiving a portion of the royalties from these albums’ sales, beginning a legal battle that lasted several years and involved other past members of the band. All of the Misfits material had been credited to Danzig, and though Only later conceded that Danzig had written nearly all of the lyrics and most of the music, he contended that he and Doyle “wrote 25% or maybe 30% of the music” and deserved compensation. Danzig, however, insisted that he had written all of the songs in their entirety and that the other members’ creative input had been minimal. Eventually Only ceased his pursuit of songwriting credits and sought the rights to use the Misfits name and imagery, including the now-famous “Crimson Ghost” skull face logo. In 1995 the parties reached an out-of-court settlement that allowed Only and Doyle to record and perform as the Misfits, sharing merchandising rights with Danzig. Collection II, a third compilation of Misfits songs, was released later that year.

The murk of the proceedings led to Only and Doyle (now Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein!) reforming the band – both Danzig and Damned singer Dave Vanian declined to take part, unknown Michael Emanuel (dubbed Michale Graves) stepping into Glenn’s tiny shoes – David Calabrese (“Dr Chud”) handled the drums. This new collective released the album American Psycho in 1997, an album which firmly divided audiences, many original Misfits fans declaring it all but heresy. Regardless, 1999 saw the release of Famous Monsters, perhaps their most accessible work (or at least their most mainstream). Of note, is the track, “Scream!”, which was accompanied by a promo video directed by George A. Romero.

Further incarnations and releases appeared, up to the present day, band members as luminary as Dez Cadena of Black Flag and Marky Ramone appearing. On May 6th, 2014, it was announced that Glenn Danzig had filed a lawsuit against Jerry Only claiming Only registered trademarks for everything Misfits-related in 2000 behind Danzig’s back, misappropriating exclusive ownership over the trademarks for himself, including the band’s iconic “Crimson Ghost” logo. Danzig claimed that this violated a 1994 contract the two had. Danzig says that after registering the trademarks, Only secretly entered into deals with various merchandisers and cut him out of any potential profits in the process. He said that Only has purposefully led, and continues to lead, merchandisers, including Hot Topic, to believe that they are legally bound not to accept licenses to exploit the Marks from Danzig or his designees. He said that through this, Only has caused merchandisers not to do business with him and has deceived consumers as to the source of the merchandise which bore the trademarks. Danzig said a vast majority of Misfits fans associate the band’s trademarks with the “classic” Misfits era of 1977–1983 and not with Only’s more recent incarnation of the band. Danzig feels that through these misrepresentations to merchandisers and consumers, he has been caused to suffer damages in excess of $75,000. The case was ultimately dismissed, with Central District of California Judge Gary Klausner ruling that Danzig failed to allege which terms of the 1994 agreement Only actually breached.

Despite this, Only remains hopeful that Danzig will eventually return to the band. Their influence can been seen and heard in all subsequent horror-punk bands, horror-core outfits and many psychobilly acts. Their Crimson Ghost logo appears in many high street retailers and, as with the Ramones logo, are often worn by people who have little idea of the band themselves.

Buy Misfits skull t-shirt from Amazon.co.uk

Current members

• Jerry Only (Gerald Caiafa) – bass guitar (1977–1983, 1995–present), backing vocals (1977–1983, 1995–2000), lead vocals (2001–present)
• Dez Cadena – guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)
• Eric “Chupacabra” Arce – drums (2010–present)
• Jerry Caiafa II – guitar, backing vocals (2014–present)

Former members

• Glenn Danzig (Glenn Anzalone) – vocals, electric piano (1977–1983)
• Manny Martínez – drums (1977)
• Franché Coma (Frank Licata) – guitar (1977–1978)
• Mr. Jim (Jim Catania) – drums (1978)
• Bobby Steele – guitar (1978–1980)
• Joey Image (Joey Poole) – drums (1978–1979)
• Arthur Googy (Joseph McGuckin) – drums (1980–1982)
• Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (Paul Caiafa) – guitar (1980–1983, 1995–2001)
• Robo (Roberto Valverde) – drums (1982–1983, 2005–2010)
• Brian Damage (Brian Keats) – drums (1983) (died in 2010)
• Dr. Chud (David Calabrese) – drums (1995–2000)
• Michale Graves (Michael Emanuel) – lead vocals (1995–2000)
• Myke Hideous – Vocals (1998)
• Zoltán Téglás – Vocals (2000)
• Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) – drums (2001–2005)

Discography

Studio albums:

• 12 Hits From Hell (1980)
• Walk Among Us (1982)
• Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983)
• Static Age (1996)
• American Psycho (1997)
• Famous Monsters (1999)
• Project 1950 (2003)
• The Devil’s Rain (2011)

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

‘In space no-one can hear you scream.’

Not so on Earth, sadly, as game enthusiasts trying to play Alien on their Commodore 64 screamed in frustration. Although that said, I did manage to complete it on a number of occasions, but it did take some tense hours of game play, sat in the dark, knowing the sirens could go off at any second and my crew would be attacked by a badly animated 8-bit xenomorph.

Alien the computer game was released as a belated movie tie-in to the 1979 cult sci-fi horror in 1984, by Argus Press Software. It was released on Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computer formats. And despite its god-awfully basic graphics, and the aforementioned painfully difficult game play, it was one of the most heart-pounding atmospheric games that ever came out for the early 8-bit home computers.

The game follows the movie, in that at the beginning of the game a crew member (not always, but often Kane) gives “birth” to the alien. It’s then up  to the rest of the crew the player controls to move around the three levels of the Nostromo using the air ducts, attempting to isolate the alien and destroy it. Or blow it out of the airlock of the Nostromo, or as in the movie set the self-destruct on the ship and get away in the escape pod.

As with the movie one your crew is an android (not always, but often Ash). The android will at some point go haywire, and cause your crew additional problems. The rest of the crew will listen to your commands, as long as they are happy, but if they become anxious they will disobey your commands. And your crew will meet the alien and they will die. In fact when anyone first plays the game, it’s likely they will all die. Time and time again!

As you move your crew around the Nostromo, via the ducting they will encounter the alien, and very likely not survive it. It’s a tense game, with minimal graphics and even more minimal sound. You can hear the constant heart-beat of the crew members you command, the beep of the tracker (that sometimes Jones the cat sets off), and the opening and closing of hatches, and the piecing siren sound when you meet the alien. That makes you jump!

There was nothing else even close in atmosphere in gaming at the time. I would switch the light off and play it for hours, feeling a palpable tension in the room, as I had crew members search room after room for the alien, only to be caught by it in the ducting. I still recall almost jumping backwards off my chair the first time I saw it. Alien was a true classic of game play out-stripping the need for all singing and dancing graphics.

Richie Weird – This post first appeared on Weird Retro. Thanks to Richie for permission to re-post it.

Related: computer games | Alien: Isolation

‘Where there’s sex… there’s horror!’

Group 1 was a US film distribution company that specialised in sex and horror movies, many of which were European (mainly Italian) imports, throughout the 1970s. In 1977, they also acted as production company for an action/horror movie of their own, the Charles Band produced and directed Crash! 

The company – which also used the name BLC Services – was known for their lurid ad campaigns and they weren’t shy when it came to ballyhoo (for example, their releases were advertised as being in “blazing color” rather than merely color), plus blatantly misleading moviegoers with re-titlings, such as when they issued 1979 Australian psycho thriller Snapshot as The Day After Halloween – suggesting that it was a sequel to John Carpenter’s movie – and also as One More Minute.

And if the IMDb is correct, cheekily – or perhaps lazily – Group 1 re-used their promo artwork for Italian giallo Alla ricerca del piacere (1972), which they had issued as Amuck! for a later 1978 re-release of La mansión de la niebla (also made in 1972) as Massacre Mansion. Confusingly, Massacre Mansion has also been cited as an alternate release title for Alla ricerca del piacere. Please comment below if you can shed any light on the actual use of the Massacre Mansion title…

The company also distributed Mario Caiano’s sleazy Italian women-in-prison movie La svastica nel ventre (“The Swastika in the Womb”, 1976) under three different titles: Nazi Love Camp 27; Love Camp #27 and Living Nightmare.

Meanwhile, Meat Cleaver Massacre, which features a tacked-on introduction by Christopher Lee, also became Hollywood Meat Cleaver Massacre. Nothing to do with Group 1 but the film’s UK cinema title was Revenge of the Dead, whilst for VHS it became Evil Force.

IMDb

Monster Munch is a British baked corn snack although there have been variants with the same name in Ireland and France.

Monster Munch was launched in 1977 by Smiths (who also produced Horror Bags snacks). Originally called “The Prime Monster”, the decision was taken to rename the snack “Monster Munch” in 1978. Advertised as “The Biggest Snack Pennies Can Buy” – in reference to the large size of the crisps – each pack featured a different monster on the front of the packet.

The snack was supported by a “Monster Munch Club”, whose members received a “Monster Munch Munchers” membership pack which included a membership card, pen, several story books, and a story tape which included six “tall stories” and accompanying songs.

By the late ’80s there were four main monsters featured on the packaging, although originally a total of six featured in the advertising:

Monster Munch was available in a variety of flavours over the years including Roast Beef, Pickled Onion, Saucy Tomato, Bacon, Cheese & Onion, King Prawn and Salt & Vinegar. Pickled Onion has remained in the selection throughout the years, with Roast Beef appearing in almost every combination. By the 1990s the four main flavours available were Pickled Onion, Roast Beef, Smokey Bacon and Saucy.

The original Monster Munch used two different snack shapes, related to two of the Monsters. The shape known as a “monster paw” that is still used today has long been the subject of dispute over whether it represents a paw or, instead, the eye and lashes of a monster. The other represented the gangly, long-tongued pink monster: circular with two bumps on the top for eyes, protrusions on either side and a tongue dangling down. For a limited time in the early 1990s, there were also spider-shaped Monster Munch with a smokey bacon flavour.

A short-lived range of Monster Munch themed drinks – Monster Fizz – was available in the 1980s.

In 1995, the Monster Munch brand was taken over by Walkers who relaunched them with a range of four flavours and smaller crisps. The monster characters were also redesigned.

Since then, the range of flavours has changed several times, such as Cheesy replacing Spaghetti Sauce (and the Blue Monster being recoloured yellow). A wide range of Tazos, featuring images of the monsters, was produced, with one Tazo included in each bag.

In September 2008, Walkers re-launched Monster Munch, based on the original Monster Munch from the Smiths days. The crisps returned to their original larger size (now referred to as “Mega”), and the packs include retro designs based on the original packs, featuring three of the original four monsters.

Throughout the years there have been several limited edition flavours available. A Baked Bean flavour was made available in 2003 for Comic Relief. A Vanilla Ice Cream flavour was released in 2004, and was received with mostly negative reaction. There were also variants that could turn the consumer’s tongue a different colour. This usually meant the tongue was turned blue, though a variant that could turn the tongue either blue or green was available for a time.

A Product Called “Mega Monster Munch Webs” was sold for halloween 2013 and came in a bacon flavour.

Wikipedia | Image thanks: The Cobwebbed Room

Murder Collection is a 2015 limited edition (just 499) picture disc vinyl collection of Claudio Simonetti’s reworking of Italian prog rock band Goblin’s recordings for Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), Suspiria, Tenebrae, Dawn of the Dead, Roller and Phenomena. A Rustblade press release describes the recording as “slightly sweeter”. Listen for yourself via the link below:

You can buy Murder Collection via Rustblade.

The Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture is a 1989 American horror film directed by Dwight H. Little (Freddy’s Nightmares; Halloween 4; Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid), from a screenplay by Gerry O’Hara (The Mummy Lives) and Duke Sandefur, based on Gaston Leroux‘s novel of the same name. The film was produced by Menahem Golan and Harry Alan Towers.

The film is a gorier version of the classic 1910 tale, and has A Nightmare on Elm Street ’​s Robert Englund playing the Phantom, plus Jill Schoelen, Alex Hyde-White, Bill Nighy (Shaun of the Dead; Hot Fuzz; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), Stephanie Lawrence and Molly Shannon (Hotel Transylvania; Scary Movie 4 & 5).

Plot teaser:

Christine Day is a young Broadway singer in New York City auditioning for a show, who comes across an old piece of music written nearly 100 years before by an unknown musician named Erik Destler.

Destler, it seems, had made a pact with the devil (perhaps unintentionally) so the world would love his music. The catch was Erik’s face would be left horribly disfigured forever. Once Christine sings his music for an audition, she is hit with a sandbag. Thus follows a presumed flashback into the past roughly around 1881, where she was the star in the London Opera House. There, she is coached by a mysterious “Phantom” who will do anything to make his protégé a star, even if it means murder. Christine soon finds out that her teacher is in fact Destler, whom she comes to loathe…

Buy on Blu-ray from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

” …much of the film seems to be squarely aimed at the slasher crowd. The gore is amped up, with much emphasis placed on Erik’s gruesome murders (including stabbing, flaying and decapitation) and stitched together face – in this version, the result of the Devil’s touch, following a pact in which the composer offers his soul in exchange for the world loving his music. From the outset it’s very clear that this is no low-budget affair. It’s all shot beautifully…” Michael Rose, Mysterious Universe

“Can’t really fault the effects, they were pretty good throughout the movie, the plot was the standard plot for Phantom, though I did think that missing out the big chandelier scene probably let the movie down somewhat.  That being said, however, it feels a lot more faithful, at least in spirit, to the original novel, the Faustian element is very present through out and it’s more macabre approach is a lot more entertaining than the romanticised version in the musical.” I Spit on Your Taste

“Like most Cannon Films, the ideas and situations on this version of Phantom of the Opera are so ludicrous that they end up being funny. For example on this version of Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom actually sells his soul to the devil so he could become famous; the twist comes when the devil gives him his fame, but burns his face as well. Oh and the ludicrous angle? The devil is a midget? Okay, not enough craziness? How about having The Phantom have intercourse with a whore to release his sexual frustrations with Christine? And that’s without counting all the gory deaths, of which there are many…” The Film Connoisseur

Cast:

• Robert Englund as Erik Destler/The Phantom of the Opera, a disfigured homicidal musical genius who is in love with Christine Day
• Jill Schoelen as Christine Day, an innocent and sweet soprano
• Alex Hyde-White as Richard Dutton, a businessman, opera patron, and Christine’s lover
• Bill Nighy as Martin Barton, the Opera’s manager and Carlotta’s boyfriend
• Stephanie Lawrence as La Carlotta, the pampered, spoiled leading diva; a bratty and selfish woman
• Molly Shannon as Meg (New York)
• Emma Rawson as Meg (London)
• Terence Harvey as Inspector Hawkins
• Nathan Lewis as Davies
• Peter Clapham as Harrison
• Yehuda Efroni as The Rat Catcher
• Terence Beesley as Joseph Buquet
• Mark Ryan as Mott

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘They’ll get you in the end!’

Ghoulies is a 1984 US comedy horror movie. It was to be directed by Charles Band, with special effects by Stan Winston (the two had previously collaborated on Parasite) but ended up being directed by Luca Bercovici with special effects by John Carl Buechler and his company Mechanical and Makeup Imageries Inc. It was released theatrically by Empire Pictures in March 1985 and was a surprise success on home video thus spawning three sequels. The film’s original title was Beasties.

The film stars Peter Liapis (The Stepdaughter), Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Scott Thomson, RalphSeymour, Mariska Hargitay. Bobbie Bresee (Mausoleum; Evil Spawn) has a minor role as a temptress.

Buy Ghoulies + Ghoulies II on Blu-ray from Amazon.com

Reviews:

You’d think that by saving their appearance for the 3rd act that they’d go all out, but instead we get one attack by a clown doll of some sort (with a Ghoulie inside it), a couple of dwarfs, and even a full grown woman with a giant tongue, who turns out to be the real (hey wait a minute, did Dream Warriors actually rip this movie off?). Said villain is actually our hero’s father, who tries to kiss his son for some reason I wasn’t interested in exploring. Even when it seems like they’re about to do something cool, they don’t – there’s a scene where everyone has gathered for a dinner party, and the Ghoulies are actually SITTING ON THE TABLE, but no-one notices them, because they all have sunglasses on.” Horror Movie a Day

“The script for Ghoulies, written by Luca Bercovici and Jefery Levy, does contain a few instances of cleverness (it’s brimming with movie references, from Rosemary’s Baby to The Ten Commandments), but there’s just not enough here to warrant a recommendation. How this managed to spawn three sequels is beyond me, though the ghoulies themselves are enjoyably campy.” Reel Film Reviews

‘The set design is wonderful, with the Graves Estate looking suitably overgrown and creepy, but with a refreshing Beverly Hills feel that sets it apart from your average Scooby Doo haunted house. There aren’t a lot of stand-out kills to comment on, but the bit with the clown doll is definitely one of the coolest sequences in the film.’ Adventures in Poor Taste

IMDb

‘New York has a new problem.’

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is a 1989 slasher horror film written and directed by Rob Hedden and starring Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves and Kane Hodder.

It is the eighth film in the Friday the 13th film series, and deals with Jason Voorhees stalking a group of high school graduates on a ship en route to, and later in, New York City. It was the last film in the series to be distributed by Paramount Pictures in the United States until 2009. The film grossed $14.3 million at the domestic box office, making it the second lowest-grossing film in the series.

Plot teaser:

A year after Tina Shepard’s deceased dad chained Jason to the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake, two graduating high school students are aboard on a houseboat. Jim tells his girlfriend Suzy the legend of Jason Voorhees; the supernatural while aboard undead psychopathic killer before playing a prank on her with a hockey mask and a fake knife. The boat sails over some underwater cables, which electrify Jason’s corpse and cause his resurrection. He sneaks on board and stabs Jim with a harpoon barb before impaling Suzy.

The next morning, the SS Lazarus is ready to set sail, bound for New York City with a graduating high school class, chaperoned by biology teacher Charles McCulloch and English teacher Colleen Van Deusen. Jason sneaks on board and kills rock star wannabe J.J. with her guitar before hiding in the bowels of the ship.

That night, after a boxing match, a young boxer who lost to champion Julius Gaw is killed when Jason slams a sauna rock into his abdomen while Rennie, searching for her dog Toby, discovers prom queen Tamara and Eva doing drugs. McCulloch nearly catches them moments later and Tamara pushes Rennie overboard, suspecting she narced them out. She then uses video student Wayne to record McCulloch in a compromising situation with her, but rejects Wayne’s advances afterward. Tamara is killed by Jason when she goes to take a shower.

Rennie begins seeing visions of a young Jason throughout the ship, but the others ignore the deckhand’s warnings that Jason is aboard. After more killings, the ship finally reaches New York City…

Buy Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

‘ … Jason Takes Manhattan is competent and professionally made, but in a TV-movie way. There is no tension and the shocks are all well telegraphed. Harry Manfredini’s score is replaced by nondescript synthesizer chords and bland rock songs from unknown bands. Fans of the series are likely to be highly disappointed although its good to see Kane Hodder donning the mask once again.’ Jim Harper, Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies

‘The whole appeal of putting Jason in a metropolitan city was that it was something different for him – I’m not sure why people seem to forget that a ship was a new environment as well. This gave him many new implements to use (sauna rock! guitar! antenna!), a wealth of victims (Jason gets one of his highest on-screen kills counts in this one – and his 2nd biggest overall after Jason X, since a ship full of anonymous students is sunk), and a welcome change of scenery…’ Horror Movie a Day

‘Perhaps the series nadir … took a fun idea – putting Jason Vorhees in New York City (the joke being that he fits in) – and had it scuppered by budgetary limitations; most of the film takes place on the boat journey there.’ Teenage Wasteland: The Slasher Movie Uncut

Buy Teenage Wasteland at Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Buy Crystal Lake Memories on Blu-ray + DVD combo from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Cast:

• Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees
• Jensen Daggett as Rennie Wickham
• Scott Reeves as Sean Robertson
• Barbara Bingham as Colleen Van Deusen
• Peter Mark Richman as Charles McCulloch
• Martin Cummins as Wayne Webber
• Gordon Currie as Miles Wolfe
• V. C. Dupree as Julius Gaw
• Kelly Hu as Eva Watanabe
• Saffron Henderson as J.J. Jarrett
• Sharlene Martin as Tamara Mason
• Alek Diakun as Deck hand
• Warren Munson as Admiral Robertson
• Tiffany Paulsen as Suzie Donaldson
• Amber Pawlick as young Rennie Wickham

Buy Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood from Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb | Animated gif courtesy of Beware The Horror Blog

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is a 1988 slasher horror film directed by John Carl Buechler (Troll; Cellar Dweller; Ghoulies III) from a screenplay by Manuel Fidello and Daryl Haney.

It is the seventh instalment in the original Friday the 13th series and the start of the Kane Hodder era in which he repeated the role of Jason Vorhees three more times. The other leads are Lar Park Lincoln, Kevin Blair, Susan Blu, Terry Kiser (The Offspring).

Plot teaser:

Shortly after the events of the previous film, seven-year old Tina Sheppard witnesses her father abusing her mother, and runs out onto the lake in a boat. When her father tries to retrieve and apologise to her, Tina’s latent telekinetic powers awaken and she accidentally collapses the dock on him, causing him to drown.

Ten years later, Tina and her mother return to the lake at the request of her doctor Dr. Crews in order to face her fear and trauma over the death of her father. Crews tries to incite Tina to use her telekinetic powers through constant persuasion and manipulation, though under the guise of psychiatric care, he plans to exploit Tina’s gifts. After a particularly disturbing confrontation, Tina runs out to the docks and believes she senses her father’s presence in the lake. She uses her powers to resurrect him, but instead accidentally frees Jason Voorhees from his imprisonment…

Reviews:

‘The New Blood certainly moves briskly from one violent set piece to the next; as a result of Buechler’s emphasis on narrative momentum, however, the underlying themes, such as they are, never have an opportunity to breathe. With the victims made even more generic than usual this time around, the result is more or less the kind of slasher film the series’s many detractors accuse films in the genre of being as a whole: an empty-headed slaughterfest, with a bit of negligible human interest to offset the nihilism.’ Kenji Fujishima, Slant Magazine

‘Although the role of Jason isn’t exactly Shakespeare, Hodder turns in a great performance as the hulking, heavy breathing zombie killer.John Carl Buechler’s special effects are great, even though they were heavily edited by the MPAA. Hodder and the special effects are the main reasons to watch the film, since the rest of the cast sleepwalk through their parts and the dialogue is frighteningly dumb.’ Jim Harper, Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies

‘The makeup design this time around is absolutely stunning, and shows an attention to detail that has hitherto been completely absent from any aspect of the Friday the 13th series. Jason really does look like he’s spent a good ten years rotting at the bottom of a lake. His clothes are little more than soggy rags, his skin is greenish and slimed with putrescence, and his bones are visible wherever they lie close to the surface— his ribs, spine, kneecaps, and shoulder blades. It’s when his mask comes off during the final clash between him and Tina that the makeup team’s workmanship really comes to the fore, though.’ 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

Buy Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Censorship:

Several explicit scenes of gore were cut in order to avoid an X rating, including: Maddy’s death, who originally had a sickle jammed through her neck; Ben’s death, which showed Jason crushing his head into a bloody pulp; Kate’s death, which showed Jason ramming her in the eye with a party horn; the original VHS and DVD versions only show a full view of Jason as he aims towards her face, but quickly cuts to another scene before revealing the blood and gore gushing from her eye; we see Eddie’s head hit the floor; a shot of Russell’s face splitting open with a large blood spurt; Dan’s original death had Jason ripping out his guts; Amanda Shepard’s death originally showed Jason stabbing her from behind, with the resulting blade going through her chest and subsequent blood hitting Dr. Crews;

Dr. Crews’s death showed Jason’s tree-trimming saw violently cutting into his stomach, sending a fountain of blood and guts in the air; Melissa’s original death had Jason cleaving her head in half with an axe with a close-up of her eyes still wriggling in their sockets. The boxed set DVD release of all of the films and the single deluxe edition have all these scenes available as deleted scenes in rough work print footage, however the deluxe edition features more additional footage than the boxed set.

Buy Deluxe Edition DVD from Amazon.com

Ghanian hand drawn poster

Cast:

• Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees
• Lar Park Lincoln as Tina Shepard
• Kevin Spirtas as Nick
• Susan Blu as Amanda Shepard
• Terry Kiser as Dr. Crews
• Susan Jennifer Sullivan as Melissa
• Elizabeth Kaitan as Robin
• William Butler as Michael
• Staci Greason as Jane
• Jon Renfield as David
• Jeff Bennett as Eddie
• Heidi Kozak as Sandra
• Diana Barrows as Maddy

Body Count:

Documentary:

Wikipedia | IMDb

In the wake of the phenomenal box office success of Jaws and Jaws 2 a worldwide fascination with sharks developed rapidly. Whilst Universal Pictures lawyers’ made sure that many cinematic Jaws pretenders – such as Italian copy Great White – were soon legally dead in the water, they couldn’t prevent a plethora of media interest in sharks in general via newspaper articles, books, and magazines.

Lurid and grisly accounts of attacks by the “blood-thirsty demons” (yes, sharks), plus masses of “explicit pictures of murderous sharks” were the mainstay of many of the publications that infested magazine racks. The following are just some of the many sharksploitation mags that proliferated in the late 70s and early 80s:

Shark films on Horrorpedia

We are indebted to Spoiler II for inspiring this post via the Horror Films Books and & Magazines forum,

‘The screams you hear may be your own!’

The Demon – also known as Midnight Caller - is a 1979 South African slasher film co-produced, written and directed by Percival Rubens (Survival Zone; Sweet Murder). It stars Cameron Mitchell, Jennifer Holmes (Raw Force), Craig Gardner and Zoli Marki.

The Demon was released direct to video in the USA on March 1st 1981 by Thorn EMI. On April 28, 1983, the film made its US television debut through Gold Key Entertainment. It was released in the USA by S.J. Interntational Pictures in 1985 under the title Midnight Caller. The film has since become public domain, and has been released on DVD several times.

Plot teaser:

Fourteen year-old Emily Parker (Ashleigh Sendin) is kidnapped from her rural home and murdered by a faceless, heavy-breathing maniac. Later, the maniac hitchhikes to the city with a gregarious truck driver (John Parsonson). The maniac kills the truck driver, steals his cash, and takes up residence at a hotel in Johannesburg’s Doornfontein neighborhood.

Two months later, Emily’s parents — frustrated by the failure of law enforcement officials to either locate Emily — enlist in the help of Bill Carson (Cameron Mitchell), a retired Colonel in the U.S. Marines who now works as a freelance psychic detective. Joan Parker (Moira Winslow), the distraught mother, needs to know whether Emily is alive or dead — but the angry Mr. Parker (Peter J. Elliot) is preoccupied with bloody revenge, and aggressively implores Col. Carson to find the man responsible. Carson gravely intones that the entity they seek is “an aberration of the species. Something hallucinating evil” — and warns the Parkers that it would be best if they didn’t find him!

Meanwhile — for reasons left unclear — the maniac decides to fixate on a young, American pre-school teacher named Mary Jones (Jennifer Holmes), who shares a bungalow in Johannesburg’s Saxonwold neighborhood with her 18 year-old cousin, Jo (Zoli Marki). Mary first sees the elusive maniac lurking outside her classroom — disappearing and re-appearing in the fog — and later, spying on her at the mall.

When not stalking Mary, the maniac holes up in his hotel room — doing push-ups, growling, and tearing up girly magazines. He also prowls Johannesburg’s Hillbrow district at night, attacking various women…

Buy The Demon on DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

‘There’s minimal gore due the fact that the nutjob’s method of murder is to put a bag over the head of each victim and asphyxiate them. We can’t escape the scriptwriting shipwreck of the character development parts, which are snooze-inducing, and they seem to have let Cameron Mitchell loose on the quaaludes before he turned up on set. Does this make The Demon a total waste of space? Well funnily enough, no. We may be somewhere off Halloween with what we have here, but there’s enough in the extremely cute actress, remorseless assailant and idea that a place in the world exists called Boobs Disco to have kept me engaged.’ Luisito Joaquín González, A Slash Above…

‘ …The Demon seems like two movies with different plot lines spliced together. In any case, the film was clearly influenced by Halloween with its ambiguous killer whose face is hidden and who wears a brown leather jacket and gloves with razors on them. There’s at least one unexpected development in the movie, but most of it is over-familiar. That’s too bad, because The Demon isn’t badly directed and has some good scenes, although the ending is a mite dragged out.’ Great Old Movies

‘There is absolutely no plot structure in this film. There is no explanation about the demon, who he is, what he does, and why he does it. He just terrorizes a town and kills people that cross his path. The Parkers are a poorly structured family and things are just cut off to the point that there is no explanation whatsoever, especially the way it ends.’ Caponomics

Cast:

• Cameron Mitchell as Col. Bill Carson
• Jennifer Holmes as Mary Jones
• Craig Gardner as Dean Turner
• Zoli Marki as Jo
• Peter J. Elliot as Mr. Parker
• Moira Winsow as Joan Parker
• Mark Tanous as Bobby
• George Korelin as Dr. Stuart
• Vera Blacker as Mrs. Stuart
• John Parsonson as The Truck Driver

Wikipedia | IMDb

¡Vampiros en La Habana! – English title: Vampires in Havana – is a Cuban animated film directed by Juan Padrón. Released in 1985, the film features trumpet performances by Arturo Sandoval. A sequel to the film, called Más vampiros en La Habana, was released in 2003.

Plot teaser:

Joseph Amadeus von Dracula, known as Pepito to his friends, is a trumpet player in 1930s Havana who spends his time away from the bandstand dabbling in quasi-terrorist plots to overthrow the Cuban government of dictator, Gerardo Machado. He is unaware that he is really a vampire, and that his uncle, Werner Amadeus von Dracula, the son of Count Dracula, has been using him as a test subject for a formula that negates the usually fatal effects of sunlight.

A Chicago-based crime syndicate and a group of vampires with members from several countries in Europe have both learned of the formula and wish to possess it for different reasons—the Chicago group to suppress it and thus maintain their monopoly on indoor, artificial beach resorts, and the Europeans to market it as “Vampisol.” When Pepito learns of his true heritage (and his uncle’s wish to give the formula away to vampires everywhere) he becomes the target of a multi-pronged manhunt, leading all parties involved on a wild chase through some of the seediest neighborhoods of Havana…

Reviews:

‘The animation and sexual themes at work in the film make the Ralph Bakshi comparisons inevitable. These elements also stand to make some viewers less comfortable because the idea of innocuous characterizations was not a part of the crafting here. Generalized ethnic phenotypes are taken to the extreme and female characters spend as much time naked as clothed. If you are looking for all inclusive apolitical and moral content then this is one cartoon you should steer clear of.’ Bloody Good Horror

‘It’s all very hip, with takeoffs on gangster-movie types and Latin lovers, but the animation is nothing special and many of the jokes are standard crash-and-splat stuff. The exceptions, such as the toasts drunk in vintage O-Plus blood, tend to be repeated. The freshest turn shows an audience of cartoon figures being scared by human beings on a movie screen, and the ending, when Pepito sings out the secret formula over Radio Vampire International, has a happy beat. The 14- to 16-year-old crowd may not get the anti-capitalist message, but they might be tickled by the fangs.’ Walter Goodman, The New York Times

‘There is a lot of political subtext to be found in ¡Vampiros en La Habana!. It’s not the type one mulls over, or the type that spurs one on to some sort of political course of action. Instead, the political commentary in ¡Vampiros en La Habana! is of the cheap and easy variety. Cuba is a tiny little island that just wants to get by and it is caught in the games being played between the European and American powers. The film makes this obvious in its first ten or so minutes, and it repeats this commentary for the rest of its run time. Maybe the commentary is true, but that doesn’t make the commentary poignant or well done.’ Bill Thompson, Sight on Sound

Wikipedia | IMDb

The Dead Pool is a 1988 American action film directed by Buddy Van Horn, from a screenplay by Steve Sharon. It stars Clint Eastwood (Tarantula; Revenge of the Creature) as Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan. It is the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry film series, set in San Francisco, California.

The story concerns the manipulation of a dead pool game by a serial killer, whose efforts are confronted by the hardened detective Callahan. It co-stars Liam Neeson (The Haunting), Patricia Clarkson and features Jim Carrey, each of whom eventually went on to greater film fame.

Plot teaser:

Fame finally catches up with Harry Callahan. His testimony against crime kingpin Lou Janero puts the mobster in prison and Callahan on the cover of a San Francisco magazine as the city’s ace crime fighter. Callahan discovers he has been assigned a partner: Asian American, martial arts-skilled partner Al Quan (Evan Kim). They are then assigned to investigate the death of rock singer Johnny Squares (Jim Carrey), killed in his trailer outside a meatpacking plant during filming of a music video for a slasher film directed by Peter Swan (Liam Neeson).

Later, Dean Madison, Swan’s executive producer, is shot and killed during a Chinatown restaurant stickup. Harry and Quan see the holdup and rush to stop it; Harry manages to gun down all of the robbers inside the restaurant, except for one who manages to escape out the door but is subdued by Quan’s expert martial-arts skills. When they examine the dead producer’s belongings, they discover a list in his pocket with Harry and Johnny Squares’s names on it. It turns out that the dead producer and Swan are carrying out a “dead pool” game in which participants try to predict celebrity deaths, either by natural causes, old age, or as a result of working in dangerous professions. In a turn of events, another celebrity on Swan’s list, movie critic Molly Fisher, is stabbed and killed in her condominium, by an intruder claiming to be Swan…

Reviews:

‘The movie just tries too hard.  Be it the shooting of Neeson’s movie with Jim Carrey playing a metal rocker or the cameos of Guns N’ Roses (the movie uses their song Welcome to the Jungle), the tone is way too light.  The most laughable scene in the movie looks like it is straight out of a Naked Gun movie and it involves a way too long car chase between Harry and a remote control car.  The chase goes on and on and it is possibly the best remote control car ever (that thing is fast!)’ JP Rosecoe, Basement Rejects

‘The best thing about The Dead Pool is the best thing about almost all of Clint Eastwood’s movies: The film is smart, quick, and made with real wit. It’s never just a crude action movie, bludgeoning us with violence. It’s self-aware, it knows who Dirty Harry is and how we react to him, and it has fun with its intelligence. Also, of course, it bludgeons us with violence.’ Roger Ebert

‘ …the weakest and last of the otherwise classic series. My main gripe is the 80’s style gloss it has to it. There is nothing remotely gritty or disturbing about it, which is what made the other films work. That 70’s, almost documentary style suited Harry Callahan and it’s all sadly missing from this film. That’s not to say it’s a terrible film, there are enough one-liners to make it entertaining…’ Eion Friel, The Action Elite

Wikipedia | IMDb

Jack’s Back is a 1988 American horror film directed and written by Rowdy Herrington (an electrician on Humanoids from the Deep; A Nightmare on Elm Street and Nightflyers). It stars James Spader (Wolf) and Cynthia Gibb.

Plot teaser:

In Los Angeles, a young doctor is suspected when a series of Jack the Ripper copycat killings is committed. However, when the doctor himself is murdered, his identical twin brother claims to have seen visions of the true killer…

Reviews:

‘Jack’s Back was written and directed by Rowdy Harrington, who pays adequate homage to the requirements of the thriller, especially in a couple of truly shocking moments. But he’s up to something more than a routine shock movie here. He has taken the trouble to make three-dimensional characters, and paused here and there to provide scenes that make the characters seem real and complicated, instead of just pawns in a movie formula.’ Roger Ebert

‘ …so dull it leaves you plenty of time to marvel at how a plot can be this rickety, how a production can look this shabby, and how the first-time writer and director Rowdy Herrington could borrow a story with so relentless a grip on our imaginations and in no time at all declaw it.’ Caryn James, The New York Times

‘An angry black police captain? Check. A scene set in a porn shop/strip club for no reason? Check. Lots of jazzy sax? Check. Then we have some “oh, the 80s” details, like a guy in a hideous pink and blue pastel shirt giving our hero some grief, and people smoking inside the mall… it’s possible that the only way to enjoy anything about this movie is if you have an appreciation for how silly the 80s were.’ Horror Movie a Day

Choice dialogue:

Cop: “This isn’t Twilight Zone, Sam. This is real life!’

Cast:

• John/Rick Wesford – James Spader
• Chris Moscari – Cynthia Gibb
• Sgt. Gabriel – Jim Haynie
• Dr. Carlos Battera – Robert Picardo
• Dr. Sidney Tannerson – Rod Loomis
• Jack Pendler – Rex Ryon
• Scott Morofsky – Chris Mulkey
• Anchorman – Mario Machado

Wikipedia | IMDb

Pyasa Shaitan – which translates as “Thirsty Devil” is a 1984 Indian Hindi horror film directed by actor Joginder Shelly (Son of Dracula) who also stars. It also features Kamal Haasan (as the vampire), Madhu Malhotra, Shobha Lata and Beena Banerjee.

The film is apparently a re-edited version of the 1978 Tamil film Vayanadhan Thamban with added scenes of Joginder Shelly as The Devil and a rape scene featuring Beena Banerjee.

Plot teaser:

Shaitaan (Joginder) needs to sacrifice seven young women so that he can attain immortality.

He stumbles upon a man (Kamal Hassan), who had been worshipping Satan himself for many-many years. The man has grown old and also wishes to stay young forever. Shaitan signs a deal with him, granting temporary youth at first, that will become eternal after the sacrifice of the 7th and last young woman…

Reviews:

‘There is such a steady assault of disconnected strange shit in this movie that it flirts with becoming a surrealist masterpiece. Even when they’re having a lovey dovey musical number, they’ll splice in second-long shots of the hairy demon waggling his head and tongue and dancing around with galaxies spinning behind him and red and green lights flashing everywhere. And then they’ll show you a picture of a marmoset, and there will be some lightning, and that demon will wiggle his fingers and yell at you for a few minutes. The entire thing is pretty mind-blowingly awesome.’ Teleport City

Wikipedia | IMDb | We are grateful to khayaal_e_yaar for some plot details.

Scream – also released as The Outing – is a 1980 slasher horror movie written, directed and co-produced by Byron Quisenberry. It stars Pepper Martin, Hank Worden, Ethan Wayne, Ann Bronston, Julie Marine and Woody Strode (Kingdom of the Spiders).

The film, which had the working title Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker, was released on 1st January 1981 by Cal-Com. In the US, it was issued on VHS by Vestron Video. Media Blasters released a DVD of the film in 2010 under its Shriek Show label. The release included a widescreen transfer, an audio commentary by Byron Quisenberry, a TV spot, and a theatrical trailer. Code Red also distributed the film on DVD, as a double feature with The Barn of the Naked Dead.

Plot teaser:

A group of twelve friends on a river camping trip decide to spend the night in an old ghost town. Unfortunately, an unseen killer begins to dispatch them one by one. On the first night at the stroke of midnight, three of the group are killed in rapid succession. Allen is found hung; his friends Rod and John both hacked by a cleaver. In the morning, the nine survivors try to leave, but find their three rubber rafts slashed apart by someone (or something) forcing them to spend another night at the ghost town…

Reviews:

‘ …Scream was just too slow for even my forgiving tastes. If the action between the downtime was even remotely interesting, I’d find reasons to praise the film. But again, the film’s major flaw is its attempts to be mysterious. What/who is the phantom thing at the end? What is the meaning of the clock and statues at the beginning? What is the meaning behind the painting? Precious time…perhaps a minute to two minutes… is spent lingering on these images. Surely they mean something? Maybe? Maybe not.’ Oh, the Horror!

‘More often than not, we see a weapon or other implement hanging on a wall, we see an unseen hand begin to remove it, and then we see a dead body — that’s it. The bloody weapon might get hung back up. We might see some smoke in the darkness. We might see a long-distance shot of the corpse. And then again, we might not see any of that. One thing we definitely don’t see much of, though, is the person actually getting killed. There’s next to no gore on display here, just as there’s no T&A to make things at least dimly interesting, either.’ Trash Film Guru

‘If you actually can get through the seemingly-endless scenic and nighttime shots (of which there are many), you may find yourself bouncing on the couch in a laughter fit. One character stares out a window for what seems like hours (the camera pans outside and spends about 3 minutes of screen time fading from one outdoor shot to another) only to finally turn towards the camera and state that he needs a beer.’ Retro Slashers

‘So where does Scream go wrong? Minus those 10 minutes of creepiness, the entire film is a bore and a chore to sit through. All the kills happen off camera and when you have films like Friday the 13th and company showing explicit gore, this film seems very underwhelming.The acting is mediocre to okay. The only stand out performer is veteran actor Woody Strode who has a rather awkward dialog sequence that attempts to explain the plot.’ The Cinema Sideshow

Choice dialogue:

“Stop! Please stop, haven’t we had enough pain?”

Filming locations:

Lake Piru, California

Wikipedia | Thanks to The Cinema Sideshow for some images