Week of Saturday May 19 through Friday May 25, 2007

Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Devil's Den - 2006


Basically, a cheap remake of From Dusk to Dawn. But the very first thing that made me mad (and LOTS in this movie made me mad) was that there is WAY too little boobage for a topless bar. I mean, COME ON! How tough is it to get some real strippers to dance in the background to make it look realistic? Sheeeesh! And is it that hard to hire a decent special effects team, so you could have some decent gore effects? There's some decent wire work, but that's about it.


In fact, the only saving grace of this movie is Ken Foree. HE is good.


The commentary features the writer/prod/stunt corrd. Mitch Gould, Producer John Duffy, and Composer Jon Lee. No director? Where's Jeff Burr, and why does it say Andrew Quint in the credits? Bad signs, both. Jeff Burr (according to IMDB) did a ton of kids stuff, and Full Moon movies in the 90's. He should have learned enough from Charlies Band (see later in the week) to make a better movie than this. And you know you're in big trouble when one of the main actors is hired the NIGHT BEFORE principle photography starts.


An 18 day shoot, with the 2nd unit doing a LOT. More than you'd expect a 2nd unit to contribute. Another bad sign.


Other extras include a making of entitled Belly of the Beast. Only slightly less dull than the movie itself. The only other decent extra is a Blooper reel. Even this is dull and doesn't sound like any one's having fun, even the cutup clown. This must have been a nightmare experience, and that perhaps explains why there's no joy in this movie. Absolutely skip.


Monday, May 21, 2007
Sins of the Fleshapoids - 1965 (short)


I have no idea why this movie was in my queue, but it was ....... different. It looks like it was shot in Super-16, but the transfer is gorgeous. No dialogue, just narration. And you can sure tell this was shot in the sixties! How about those colors? The world sure was a more colorful place back then.


Now to the problems. Maybe I'm nickpicking, but if the movie takes place a "Million years" in the future, would they still have Clark Bars. And Wise potato chips. And since all he does is sit around eating and getting rubdowns by his beefcake robot. In fact, this movie is just STUFFED with gay stereotypes. So let the watcher beware.


The color is wildly off at time (guess whoever transferred this doesn't know about color correction and color balance) or maybe it cost too much. And the music is obviously lifted from something else (but no idea where).


Other extras include a couple of other shorts, including "The Secret of Wendal Samson. I have only one thing to say about this: WTF? Watch it and see what I mean. If I said anything, it would prejudice you. The other short is The Craven Slunk. Yet more WTF. I mean, why is she in the tub with all her clothes on?


Only for the curious and the truly esoteric-lovers.


Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Chainsaw Sally - 2004


The best thing about this movie are the cool folks here. First off, and coolest by far, Herschell Gordon Lewis! And Gore DeVol, and Gunnar Hansen (original Leatherface, and the priest dude in Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers.


Not an ounce of originality here, but fairly well done for all that. There were no subs, but there is a commentary with director and the actress who played Sally. Some technical, some behind the scenes, some in-jokes. I mean, don't get me wrong. It's an enjoyable watch. Just don't expect anything really novel.


Other extras include The Making of Sally, where we learn that the director is mainly a stageplay director, so he admits that the transition was hard. Cast and crew respectful of Herschell, so big points there. There's also a nice (although kinda short) interview of Gunner Hansen.


Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Doctor Mordrid - 1992 (part of the Charlie Band Box Set collection)


STARRING Jeffrey Combs - not some 5 minutes part, he's the GD hero here. Hell yeah! With simple but effective CGI, and some nice clayamation. And it's got Brian Thompson as the bad guy. I've liked him since Kindred: The Embraced.


Only extra is a behind the scenes which was actually the VideoZone from the VHS tape.


Still, I'm VERY happy to own this. I'm gonna try and get Jeffrey to sign this at Texas Frightmare Weekend.


Thursday, May 24, 2007
Meridian: Kiss of the Beast - 1990 (also part of Charlie Band Box Set)


Ahhhh, my favorite Grandma, Hilary Mason. And there's some nice boodage! The second 15 minutes are AWESOME! But overall, this is obviously a chick flick, with some nice boobage for the guys. There's a Behind the Scenes (again).


Friday, May 25
Pan's Labyrinth - 2006


Beautiful, awesome, dark and adult. It's dark, but not depressing. I love the stuff that director Guillermo del Toro does. Everything from Cronos and The Devil's Backbone to Hellboy. The guy is a genius. If you haven't seen all of the above-mentioned movies, stop reading and go put them on your Blockbuster or Netflix queue right now.

The commentary features just the director, and I have to say it's amazing. First off, he talks well, considering that English isn't his first language. Second, it's amazing how much I missed. Guess I'm not as observant as I thought. And finally, this is yet another class in film school's Philosophy of Cinema. Just a couple more of these and I'll have my credit.

This is absolute required viewing. Watch asap.