Week of Sept 10 thru 16

September 10, 2006

Gore and More Box Set

Disc 1

The Pyx – 1973

Boy, it doesn’t look good for this series when the first movie in a set is a terrible transfer. Poorly framed, the credits run off both sides of my widescreen display. All the background conversations are not translated, and there’s no subtitles. Since this movie is Canadian, this must be Quebec.

Wow, Karen Black as a Heroin-addicted whore and Christopher Plummer as a Detective. Nice casting. But for a box set entitled Gore and More, this must be the More, as there’s no gore here. And what’s with the Chipmunk’s singing Gregorian Chants? Is the soundtrack being run too fast, or did they think that record was a 45 instead of a 33 1/3? (There’s a reference kids today won’t get)

In the end, this is a murder mystery. Phewi!

Werewolf in the Girl’s Dormitory – 1962

This was one of the very first movies I bought when I started collecting DVDs (#14, bought in 06/16/2002. See what keeping a database of my movies does. For the curious, you can peruse my ever growing collection at http://www.intervocative.com/dvdcollection.aspx/DirkMaster )

They do a fair job of throwing you off the track of who the werewolf is. But, there’s no gore here either. So that’s 2 out of 10 so far. However, this is not a terrible movie. The scene where the guy who turns into the werewolf is chained to the wall, and has to watch helplessly as his girlfriend is attacked by a dog is pretty disturbing, and well done.

The Werewolf vs The Vampire Women – 1971

This is one of the Spanish movies where Paul Naschy plays Waldemar Daninsky, the werewolf. This movie starts off with a kinda funny idea. Surgery to remove 2 silver bullets to see if the man really was a werewolf. Bad idea.

I’ve seen this one too. This was in the 180^th DVD in my collection (Tales of Terror 10 Movie Set). This and the previous title are classic Drive-In fare, and if you haven’t seen them, grab one of these multi-sets. Plenty-o-fun.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Don’t Look in the Basement – 1973

I saw this movie at the theater. If 1973 is the right release date, then I would have been 16. Seems like I was younger, ‘cause it really disturbed me. I got it VERY early in my collection (that’s how big an impression it made on me), #9, in Evil Places Box Set, in 1/29/2002.

Acting is actually pretty good. Special Effects are actually uneven, but there’s plenty of blood, which is more than some of the other titles can say.

Disc 2

Night Train to Terror – 1985 – aka Nightmare Never Ends

I’ve seen this one as well, in #219’s Deadtime Stories. It’s kinda funny that I’m watching these movies that I’ve seen before. Normally, I never do that. Hell, I have 247 movies in my Netflix queue, so even on the 5 out at a time, at 25 movies a month, it would take 10 months to see them all if I never added a movie or bought a movie or rented one from Blockbuster. My list of movies that AREN’T available from Netflix presently sits at 888! So revisiting movies isn’t what I normally do. But several podcasts do it all the time, so I thought it would be interesting to let myself rewatch the ones in this set I’ve already seen, to see what that’s like. And I’ve come to a conclusion. The kind of movies I like, really don’t support a second viewing. :->

This little piece of 80’s trash comes complete with a big hair band singing a song that you will perform a lobotomy on yourself to get out of your head “Everybody’s got something to do, everybody BUT YOU!” (Yeah, I know, now you hate me because I’ve reminded you of it. Sorry)

This is an anthology of stories tied together with Satan and God riding a train, deciding people’s fates. It has 3 things going for it. Richard Moll, John Phillip Law (Diabolik in Danger: Diabolik!) and boobage! The story that they decided to release as its own movie entitled the Death Wish Club is Awesome! Nice, gory deaths. A guilty pleasure, this one.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Drive-In Massacre – 1976

This is one of the movies that I wanted this set for. Unfortunately, the transfer is TERRIBLE. Easily the crummiest looking of all the movies in this set so far.

It is, however, nice and juicy. And it has Buck Flowers. Buck is one of those guys who you will see and say “Hey, it’s that guy!” 132 movie credits and he wrote this one as well as having a small part. His very first movie is a classic sexploitation flick that SWV has released that I really love entitled Dirty Mind of Young Sally. Greatness.

And, while overall Drive-In Massacre is a pretty terrible movie (acting is all over the place, and the plot is so ludicrous as to be silly), the ending is perfect. Cheesy and exploitive. I loved it.

The Bloody Brood – 1959

What this black and white drug movie is doing in here I will never know. Its ONLY redeeming feature is Peter Faulk as a bad guy. It’s only his second movie, and he’s a beatnik killer/drug dealer. Otherwise, this movie is duller than watching paint dry.

Disc 3

Bad Taste – 1987

Watching this gory, bloody, disgusting celebration of a flick, it’s hard to believe that the man behind it (and staring in it) would go one to win an Academy Award for making the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and would be given the reigns (and over $200 MILLION dollars) of the King Kong remake. Yes folks, this is Peter Jackson’s first movie. Made on weekends over 2 years, and then finished with a grant from the New Zealand film commission (who, after seeing it, probably demanded their money back, unless they had a GREAT sense of humor).

Don’t get me wrong, I love this movie. But then, I like movies where the hero’s head is cracked open from a fall and he has to keep stuffing little bits of brains back in, and strapping it shut with a belt. Or where aliens share a big ol’ bowl of yak. Obviously, however, this is not for everyone, and I’m SHOCKED (SHOCKED, I TELL YOU) that it is included in a set like this. How can this movie have lapsed into the public domain? Obviously Peter wants it to be. But that is so far from what folks in America would do, it boggles the mind.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The Driller Killer – 1979

I have a special edition DVD of this that I bought back in 2004, so I’m really surprised to see it in a collection like this. However, the transfer is terrible, like a bad dub from a VHS copy. I wonder if you can sell the rights to a specific transfer, and that’s why this one was cheap?

Anywho, I had forgotten much of this movie. In fact, I couldn’t remember it’s ending at all. Now, after re-watching it, I remember why. It’s dull. Since it’s about an artist, I keep expecting it to homage Color Me Blood Red, but it never does.

Scream Bloody Murder – 1973

I just saw this one on Aug 20 as Claw of Terror in the Retromedia Entertainment’s Blood-o-Rama Shock Festival. That’s too recent, so I’m skipping this one. If you want, you can scroll up just a couple of weeks, and see my comments there.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Cult of UHF #7 – Death of a Ninja – 1984

My youngest son wanted to watch a movie with me, so I keep several of these excellent webcasts burned to DVD handy for just an occasion. This one was so awful, he lost interest in a half hour, and left. But I struggled through it valiantly. It can, however, be summed up quiet simply: BLAH! Terrible dubbing, lackadaisical fighting, washed out colors, and DULL DULL DULL.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 E514 – Teenage Strangler

One of four discs from set 10. This was a reward to myself for sitting thru Death of a Ninja. I have never seen this episode, so that makes it a double special treat. And then, to my utter surprise, these’s an extra on the disc. The bonus featurette Poopie II!!! Those who know anything about MST3K know that the Poopie videos are the bloopers/outtakes from the “between movie” skits. And are especially beloved of fans. So this perfectly cleansed my palette from the mud soup that was Death of a Ninja.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Gojira – 1954

The original Japanese release of Godzilla, minus all that Raymond Burr nonsense. Obviously, this has English subtitles, as the soundtrack is in Japanese. This is MUCH darker and grittier than I remember. Also, I didn’t remember that the Oxygen Destroyer that plays such a big part in Godzilla vs Destroyer started off here. That’s VERY cool.

There’s also an excellent Story Development Featurette.

This is a must see if you like Godzilla at all. It’s very interesting that initially, there was no personality, no redeeming characteristics, and no survival. This was a dark parable against nuclear weapons. Ken Bob says Check it out!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

The Incubus – 1981

Here is yet another movie that I have no idea why I but this in my queue. The photography is gorgeous, but the plot is indecipherable.

But there is some EXCELLENT gore 45 minutes in. If you like gore, get this one and slug your way through this mess. Also, the ending is actually surprising and very nice. So it’s worth the first 30+ minutes of mind numbing confusion.

(Sorry, had company tonight, so only one movie with no extras at all on it).