Evils of the Night

I don't understand this.  I watch all kinds of movies.  Always have, since I was like 6yrs old.  And somehow this film, Evils of the Night managed to escape me all these years.  How the hell could I have missed it?  Had I seen this when I was a kid/teenager I would have worn out the VHS tape.  But now, thanks to the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome I don't have to worry about that as they have just released the DVD combo pack,


Ok, so how cool is this.  The film stars Tina Louise from Gilligan's Island, Julie Newmar from Batman, and John Carradine from like everything made in the 60s and 70s  They are Alien Vampires who need fresh teenage blood to stay young. Luckily for them there is a wooded camp like area where all the horny teenagers go to, as they say "Make it"  Yes that "IT" does mean sex.  It also means lots of nudity.  In fact the first like 30min of this movie plays out almost like a soft core porno. But that's ok.


Now it turns out that these evil Alien Vampires not only have a lot of beautiful nurse vampires they also have hired a pair of really dumb mechanics to kidnap these kids while there having sex.  They sneak up on them knock them out, or in some cases kill them and drag them back to the Alien Base which happens to be disguised as a Hospital. 


If that does not sound awesome enough the film is also packed with a good amount of gore.  The really nice "splattery" type that was a staple of 80s films.  And to make the sex scenes more believable they even have adult film star Amber Lynn cast as one of the teenagers.


As with all there releases Vinegar has sparred no expense and loaded this set with the following features:


• All extras on both formats
• Region free Blu-ray and DVD combo pack
• “Alien Blood Transfusion” – video interview with director Mardi Rustam
• Alternate feature length TV edit
• Isolated score by Robert O. Ragland
• Extensive outtakes (25 minutes)
• Work-in-progress theatrical
• TV spot
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH Subtitles


This film is the epitome of sleazy, horror, 80's Drive-In movies.  Like I said the horror/Sci-Fi element of the aliens.  Horror fans love gore and vampires.  And lots of 80s sex scenes.  This film really and truly does have it all.  Perfect for a late night film with friends.  I cant recommend it enough.  The audio and video transfer are spot on.  Its actually one of the cleanest blu rays I have seen in a long time.


So to sum it up, Alien Vampires, nudity, sex, gore.  I don't think I need to say much else except buy this one.  Its a must have for any collection


Overall 4 out of 5 stars!!

Tales of Dracula

I love the Universal Monster movies, even the shitty ones. There all great to me, I grew up watching them and now I get the enjoyment of introducing them to my son. I always wished they would make current ones, but not use cgi and big actors. I love the old back and white for films like these.

Luckily director Joe Demuro has a love for these films. He has, through years of hard work, made a beautiful homage to the classic monster films with his glorious Tales of Dracula. Presented in beautiful black and white, and using not only practical effects, but miniature shots as well. My son and I were actually lucky enough to be watching this at night during a thunder storm which added to the mood.

The story centers around Count Dracula. We get a voice over and flashback sequence to Van Helsing killing Dracula's bride. We then flash forward to and meet a young girl named Iiona, she's going out for a walk and plans to meet her father later at the local Tavern/Inn. As she walks off a man approaches her father and asks directions to Dr. Frankenstein castle. His name is Creighton Reed. He explains that he hopes Dr. Frankenstein can help him. He is pointed in the direction and heads off.

Meanwhile Iiona, still walking in the woods trips and gets knocked unconscious. We flash forward to that night when Creighton arrives at the tavern. The place is locked up as everyone in town is afraid to go out at night. He learns that Dr. Frankenstein is out of town but that his daughter just arrived and is up at the castle.

As this is all going on Dracula rises and decides to take Iiona for his bride. He bites her and leaves her in the woods where she is found the next morning sick. Her father and Creighton take her to Dr Frankenstein's. They are met by his daughter Victoria, who decides to take Iiona's blood and inject it into the Frankenstein monster.

This doesn't sit well with Count Dracula as he likes his bloodline pure.  This sets him off on a course for revenge. Ohh yea, I forgot to mention that the help Creighton needs from Dr Frankenstein is to cure him of being a werewolf. So what we end up with a battle of the classic monsters.

This film was a blast. Like I said I was lucky enough to not only watch it late at night but also cursing a storm. This is a perfect homage to the classic films of old, and highly recommended to any fan of the horror genre



Overall 3 out of 5 stars.

The Ones Below

The fine folks over at Magnolia Home Entertainment have just put out a new British thriller from Director David Farr and starring David Morrissey, who for all my horror fans yes, was The Governor on TWD.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this film when my wife and I turned it on last night but I must say it didn’t take me long to become emotionally vested in it.

It’s the story of 2 couples who share a Flat.  They don’t live together keep in mind.  It a downstairs apt and an upstairs apartment.  The creepy couple live in the downstairs apartment hence the title The Ones Below.  Both couples are married and expecting their first child.  They strike up a friendship and our upstairs Dwellers, Kate and Justin invite our downstairs couple Jon and Theresa over for dinner one night.  You can tell the later are slightly off to say the least.

The following is not a spoiler so don’t be alarmed when I say due to a unexpected mishap Theresa slips down the stairs and loses her baby.  They of course blame Kate and Justin and after an argument tell them they are going back to Germany to grieve and will return when they can be happy for the birth of their child.

Months go by, Kate has her child, and one morning when going out for a stroll with the baby they notice Jon and Theresa have moved back downstairs.  The two couples reconcile and Theresa even offers to help babysit for Kate whenever she needs a break.

As this is a psychological thriller and not a family drama things take a turn for the worse right away.  Kate beings to suspect Jon and Theresa of sneaking into their home, doing things to the baby, and at one point even breaks into their house to look around. 

Of course all of this behavior make Kate seem crazy.  Is she crazy?  Are they Evil?  That I will not spoil.  But I will say this film had one of the best and most original thought of endings I have ever seen.

The cast was fantastic.  Everyone was perfect for their parts.  Like I said it did not take me long to become emotionally vested in their characters and their respective plights.  The directing was top notch and everything moved along at the perfect speed and built fantastically to the climax. 

If you enjoy a good suspense movie I highly recommend you pick this one up.

Overall 4 out of 5 stars.

Massacre Up North

Massacre Up North is a little SOV film from 2001 that has developed a bit of a cult following over the years.  Shivers Entertainment recently picked this little treasure up and have released it finally on DVD for the 15^th anniversary. 

It’s the story of Leslie and Patrick.  When they were kids camping Leslie was playing in a tent while his dad was making Kabobs.  When the flame gets to high he flings back sending one of the kabab’s flying into the tent Leslie is in.  He doesn’t really do anything, neither does his wife.  They basically and unemotionally watch it burn.

We see that Leslie has suffered 3^rd degree burns on his face leaving him slightly deformed.  He has to wear a mask to school, and as kids are cruel they torment him.  Finally he just snaps.  He kills his mom and dad, a group of kids in a hotel after prom, he even burns down an entire frat house full of people having a party.

We flash forward to the present and see Leslie running his uncles hardware store and living in his parent’s old house.  His brother is now the county coroner and Leslie has just received ownership of the hardware store as his uncle is retiring.  So when your insane and have a hardware store what do you do?  You go on a killing spree of course.

And as I mentioned, his brother is the coroner so guess who gets assigned to help catch the killer.  Don’t worry his brother has no clue i's Leslie.

This film is a great watch.  It took me back to the days of when I would go to the local Blockbuster and find those straight to video films they only got 1 or 2 copies of.  I haven’t watched an SOV filmed in this style in quite a while so it was a great time.  

Tons of gore for the horror fans out there and the scenes where Leslie is a kid do make him a slightly sympathetic character.

Overall 3 out of 5 stars

Dead End Drive-In

Dead End Drive-In is an original film to say the least.  I saw it back on late night cable when I was much much younger.  I instantly fell in love with it due to the punk rock look and feel.  At the time I had no idea really what I was watching I just knew it was unique and different.  I saw that Arrow was putting out a collector Blu Ray and decided to jump right on it.  And like with all my Arrow releases I am happy I did.

Dead End is set in “The Near Future” economy is totally crashed and random gangs have caused massive crime waves all over the country.  The most valuable thing at this time is cars and car parts.  The government decides to control these gangs, and roaming punk kids in a modern concentration camp way.

They begin working with Drive in Chains, They surround them with electrified fences and allow no cars on the long path to them.  Kids go in to watch a film and their cars are sabotaged so they cannot leave.  The cars are slowly striped and sold off for parts and the punks who own them are stuck there as they cannot escape.  Most of them however don’t really mind.  They are fed junk food all day, given drugs of their choice, and watch exploitation movies on the drive in’s big screen. 

In fact some homeless people just go, knowing what the place is for simple shelter and food. The main plot follows a new punk named  Crabs and his Girlfriend as they become trapped in the Dead End Drive-In and try to escape.  Problems arise when she begins to accept and even grown fond of the drugged out lifestyle.

As this is an Arrow release they once again go over the top with the special features

  Brand new 2K restoration from original film materials

  High Definition (1080p) Presentation

  Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

  Audio commentary by director Brian Trenchard-Smith

  The Stuntmen, Trenchard Smith s classic television documentary on Grant Page (Mad Max, Road    Games) and other Australian stunt performers

  Hospitals Don t Burn Down, Trenchard-Smith s 1978 public information film told in pure  Ozploitation fashion

 Theatrical trailer

If you’re a fan it’s a must have as it’s a gorgeous print of this classic film.  If you have never seen it its definitely worth getting.  It’s an amazing that that is not only a personal favorite of mine, but of Quinten Tarentino as well.

Overall 4 out of 5 stars

Female Prisoner Scorpion

Arrow is quickly becoming the go to company for great collections.  And let me tell you Female Prisoner Scorpion is at the tops of there list of great releases.

The female scorpion in question is  Nami Matsushima.  She gets framed by a cop she is dating and sent away to prison for a crime she didn't commit.  She is abused, tortured, you name it.  She does however manage to escape and seek revenge on basically everyone.

The second film in the series is actually my favorite.  Nami is back in prison.  As she has become sort of a legend to the other prisoners the warden orders her raped in front of the other inmates.While being transported with other prisoners she, along with the others escape into a small village complete with potential hostages.  This takes the violence, and also the acting to an entire new level.  This is probably my favorite women in prison film to date.

In the 3rd film Nami is still on the run and hiding out with a small time hooker who is having sex with her own brother, who, if that wasn't bad enough, is also retarded.  If the cops hunting her her aren't bad enough she has to contend with the local Yakuza who run the brothel her friend works at.

Finally we come to the last film in the series.In what I have to say is a very weak entry.  Nami has fallen in love and is betrayed.  She is sent back to prison yet again and placed on death row.  Sure its a nice ending for the series but it lacks anything we have seen in the previous instalments.

This set is loaded, and a must have for an fans of exploitation films.  This is all the special features this box set is loaded with

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited Edition Blu-ray collection (4000 copies)
• Brand new 2K restorations of all four films in the series presented on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD
• Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) for all films
• Optional English subtitles for all films
• Double-sided fold out poster of two original artworks
• Reversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
• Booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Chuck Stephens, a brand new interview with Toru Shinohara, creator of the originalScorpion manga and an archive interview with Meiko Kaji by Chris D. illustrated with original stills

FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION

• Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid)
• Shunya Ito: Birth of an Outlaw, an archive interview with the director
• Scorpion Old and New, a new interview with assistant director Yutaka Kohira
• Theatrical Trailers for all four films in the series

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41

• Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kier-La Janisse
• Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Shunya Ito
• Designing Scorpion, a new interview with production designer Tadayuki Kuwana
• Original Theatrical Trailer and Teaser

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE

• Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kat Ellinger
• Shunya Ito: Directing Meiko Kaji, an archive interview with the director
• Unchained Melody, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the career of Meiko Kaji
• Original Theatrical Trailer and Teaser

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701’s GRUDGE SONG

• Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts)
• Yasuharu Hasebe: Finishing the Series, an archive interview with the director
• Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Yasuharu Hasebe
• They Call Her Scorpion, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the film series
• Original Theatrical Trailer

Overall 5 out of 5 stars.  A must have

Microwave Massacre

Boy where does one start with a title like Microwave Massacre.  It sure is catchy that's for sure, with some great cover art as well.  The film however, is actually more of a slapstick comedy.

Its the story of Donald, a shluby no respect kind of guy who is married to Mary a normal wife who is trying to spice up her marriage via gourmet cooking.  She constantly tries making new fancy recipes that unfortunately for her Donald finds disgusting.  If that wasn't bad enough his co workers and Friends give him lots of grief about her cooking as well.

One day poor Donald has enough and during an argument kills Mary.  He needs to stash the body so he does like the title implies.  He decides to cook her in the microwave.  Well when you go this far all you have left to do it see what the corpse tastes like, and that's exactly what Donald does.  And guess what he likes it.

Not only does he like it but so do his co workers.  He enjoyed it so much though that now he has to go out and find other victims to cook in his microwave leading to a few over the top gore scenes as well as over the top laughs.  The gore is about a low budget as one can get, but it works in the context of this film quite well.

As this is an arrow release not only do you get an immaculate transfer but it comes loaded with special features as well.

Brand new 2K restoration of the original camera negative

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray (Region A) and Standard Definition (480p) DVD (Region 1) presentations

Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Brand new audio commentary with writer-producer Craig Muckler moderated by Mike Tristano

Brand new making-of featurette including interviews with Muckler, director Wayne Berwick and actor Loren Schein

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork

First pressing only: fully-illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower

If your a fan of Evil Dead Style tongue and cheek humor and gore do yourself a favor and pick this up

Overall 3 out of 5 stars!