NIGHTMARES (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

NIGHTMARES (1983) 

Label: Scream Factory 

Region Code: A

Duration: 99 Minutes

Rating: R

Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1), Fullframe (1.33:1) 

Director: Joseph Sargent

Cast: Cristina Raines, Richard Masur, Tony Plana, Veronica Cartwright, Emilio Estevez, Lance Henriksen, James Tolkan, William Sanderson

Nightmares (1983) is an horror anthology I caught on TV numerous times growing up in the '80s and loved it as a kid, I've always had a weakness for the anthology format, and even third-tier stuff like this got my horror heart pumping. I've long held onto my DVDR'd copy of the movie dubbed from a late night presentation on cable, as I refused to pay the ridiculous $100 plus dollar price tag the old Anchor Bay DVD was fetching on eBay for years since going out of print, praise be to Scream Factory for bringing this one to Blu-ray. 

Against what I've heard about the origins of this movie for years the commentary tells us it was actually a failed TV pilot for a new anthology series, and not merely unused episodes of the Darkroom TV anthology series. The movie begins without the benefit of a warp-around story, straight into 'Terror in Topenga', a nice moody slasher entry, featuring chain-smoking homemaker (Cristina Raines, The Sentinel) who insists on going out for cigarettes against the advice of her husband. Stopping off at the local corner store where she encounters a somewhat threatening attendant who frightens her. She leaves and discovers that she's about out of gas, and what a night to run out of gas, when an escaped mental patient is prowling the are. This is my favorite of the bunch, I like the simple set-up, the escaped mental patient angle, and Raines is always great. A local cop gets massacred at the top of the segment, which is decently gruesome, but this one operates on atmosphere and suspense for the most part, and does a damn job about it.

Up next we have video gamer J.J. Cooney (Emilio Estevez, Repo Man), a video game hot-shot obsessed with the arcade game The Bishop of Battle. The young punk has to hustle kids at the arcade to feed his obsession. His parents are down on him since his gamer obsession is seemingly ruining his life, some things never change. When his parents forbid him to go to the arcade he sneaks out and breaks into the arcade in the after hours to spend some quality time with his video nemesis, pumping quarters into the slot to get to that elusive next level. I can somewhat relate to this one, as a kid who loved the arcade with an obsession for the game Galaga, I would skip school to play it at the grocery store next to my house. I still have to stop and pump quarters into the damn game whenever I come across it. As a child of the eighties I loved the vintage video graphics on this one. Estevez would go onto star in Repo Man the following year, and the films shares a pumping punk soundtrack, each featuring the songs of punkers Black Flag and Fear!

In 'The Benediction' we have troubled priest (Lance Henriksen, Aliens) who leaves the church after the death of a young boy, the conflicted priest is travelling the desert alone with a jug of Holy Water to quench his thirst when he encounters a malevolent Chevy 4x4 which pursues him, nearly driving him out of his mind. This is an obvious riff on the better movies Duel and The Car but it pales in comparison, but director Joseph Sargent does a decent job with what he has, creating some pulse-racing chase scenes, one scene of the 4x4 erupting from beneathhe ground is fun, and seems to have been ripped-off from the Eurocult classic Psychomania (1973)!

The movie goes into the night on a whimper with 'Night of the Rat'. Here we have harried housewife Claire (Veronica Cartwright, 
Alien) who hears the sound of rats in the walls of her home. Her asshole husband (Richard Masur, License to Drive) refuses to allow his wife to hire a professional and chooses instead to lay down a few traps. The rat-invasion only intensifies, threatening the structural integrity of their home and the safety of their young daughter. This could have been a lot of fun ...and it is, but for all the wrong reasons. The poorly composited scenes of the monstrous (and telepathic) rat are just pathetic, but Cartwright and Masur are just fine in their respective roles. 

Audio/Video: Scream Factory offer two viewing options for Nightmares (1983), a widescreen (1.781) presentation or full frame, which is he framing I am most familiar with. Comparing the two I can now see that the fullframe is not open matte as I had always suspected, it is cropped on the right and left sides. The 1080p HD image is not exactly eye-popping, the image is soft and the colors are a bit on the muted side, but it is an improvement over my DVDR. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 offers decent fidelity, dialogue and score come through clean and the punk soundtrack on The Bishop of Battle segment are strong, optional English subtitles are provided. 

A bit light on the extras we have an Audio Commentary With Executive Producer Andrew Mirisch And Actress Cristina Raines moderated by blogger Shaun Chang of the Hill Place Blog who also moderated the commentary with Raines for Scream Factory's Blu-ray of The Sentinel. Mirisch and Raines offer a splendid track with Mirsch offering loads of information, but moderator Chang doesn't seem to have a lot of knowledge about the movie, more a super-fan of Raines, which is fine but he doesn't contribute a whole lot to the commentary. The only other extras are the fullframe theatrical trailer and two-minutes of radio spots. 

Special Features
- Audio Commentary With Executive Producer Andrew Mirisch And Actress Cristina Raines moderated by Shaun Chang of the Hill Place Blog 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins)
- Radio Spots (2 Mins) 

Not sure how this would watch with someone who didn't grow-up with it on TV as I did. As horror anthologies go this is a bit anemic on the gore and suspense, with the exception of the 'Terror in Topenga' segment, which I give high marks all the way around, a tight bit of suspense. A definite nostalgia enhanced recommend for me, glad to see this one become widely available again and at a reasonable price, now I can throw that DVDR in the trash! 2.5/5

Blu-ray Review: NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR (1985)

NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR (1985) 

Label: Vinegar Syndrome

Region Code: Region Free 

Duration: 93 Minutes 

MPAA Rating: Unrated 

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Jay Schlossberg-Cohen

Cast: John Phillip Law, Cameron Mitchell, Richard Moll, Marc Lawrence, Tony Giorgio, Ferdy Mane

What the fuck did I just watch? Oh sure you laugh now but when you watch you will ponder that very same question. Night Train to Terror (1985) is a horror anthology stitched together from the three separate unfinished films with a wrap-a-round framing device featuring God (Ferdy Mane) and Satan (Tony Giorgio) on a doomed train headed towards Las Vegas. En route to their final destination the two exchange stories of spiritual corruption and redemption, the fate of three people hang in the balance... and the most 80's new wave sounding band play the same song again and again, that song is a diabolically catchy tune. 

The strange vignettes begin with "The Case of Harry Billings" a man named Harry (John Phillip Law) causes an accident which kills his new wife, in the aftermath he ends up at an asylum where undergoes electro-shock therapy and is brainwashed by an evil doctor to go out into the world and seduce women, bringing them back to the asylum where they are raped and butchered by wierdo orderly (Richard Moll, Night Court) and sold to medical school as body parts. 

Next up is "The Case of Gretta Connors," wherein a young medical student Glenn (Rick Barnes)

watches a porno and falls in love with porn star Gretta (Meredith Haze), but her jealous ex-lover initiates them into a "death club" and are subjected to different near-death experiences including electrocution, deadly insects and an 2 ton swinging ball of death.

The third and final vignette is "The Case of Claire Hansen" featuring Holocaust survivor Olivier (Robert Bristol) whom tries desperately to convince a tough-nosed cop (Cameron Mitchell) that an ageless WWII Nazi ghoul is menacing the city, meanwhile a surgeon named Claire and her atheist husband James (Richard Moll again) are pulled into the shenanigans and gruesome hilarity ensues.

Watching Night Train to Terror unfold is like trying to remember a half forgotten nightmare or viewing of a poorly edited and dubbed Italian horror movie, it just doesn't make a lick of sense, you have a vague idea of what happened but you just cannot put the pieces together in a way that is coherent, and there's a good reason for that. Night Train To Terror (1985) was assembled from three separate movies and edited town to anthology length and stitched together with the God vs. the Devil wrap-around framing device with the new-wave performance thrown in.

The acting for the most part is utter shit, particularly Meredith Haze in the "Gretta' segment. Richard Moll who portrayed "Bull" in TV's 'Night Court in two of the tales, that was fun. His weirdo orderly in the first segment was super-sleazy, most of these tales have a some sweet sleazy moment, while the producers may have not crafted a decent film they new enough to throw in a lot of boobies and and some fun special effects. We get a fun array of cheapo gore, dismemberment and some awesome claymation stop-motion effects from the same guy who created the beast in Crater Lake Monster (1977) - the stop-motion wasp and gruesome meltdown are fantastic in 'Gretta' - a definite highlight if the movie. 

be prepared for some cheese and poor editing - the three films were hacked to pieces and from scene to scene do not expect continuity or logic to be part of the experience. 
Blu-ray: Night Train to Terror (1985) arrives on a dual format release from Vinegar Syndrome

with a brand new hi-definition transfer restored in 2K from 35mm element. Presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) for the first time on home video, the new transfer is quite an improvement over previous budget collection versions. There's some print damage and softness from time to time but this is a pretty solid presentation, colors are solid and the black levels are decent, not great. Vinegar Syndrome keep things pure with an image that doesn't suffer from grain scrubbing, there's plenty of film grain with some decent fine detail and the skin tones look natural. While there's some minor print damage throughout when you consider how previous versions  appeared this is pretty solid image from Vinegar Syndrome. 

The only audio options is an adequate English Language DTS-HD Master Audio Mono with no subtitle options. It's a pretty cheap film and the dubbed audio and canned effects will only ever sound decent at best, it sounds like the cheap production that it is. The bizarrely infectious new-wave tune "Dance with Me" sis damn hard to shake it once you've had a taste, you'll be singing it for days. 

The Blu-ray disc special features begin with an audio commentary track from The Hysteria Continues podcast crew and it's a fun one, they have a true appreciation of just how awful and awesome this movie can be and they drop a lot of trivia and production notes about the film and nuggets about the three films cut-up to make it. 

Another audio option is an interview with with Producer/Director Jay Schlossberg-Cohen moderated by Joe Rubin which runs for the duration of the film, it's pretty much a second commentary option without being scene specific - in fact it doesn't even get to Night Train to Terror until after the hour mark but Schlossberg-Cohen is character and quite a storyteller - it's all over the map but it makes for an interesting listen. 

The Blu-ray extras are finished-up with a theatrical trailer and for some less intrepid viewers this might be all they need ever see of this awful film, ha ha. The second disc is a DVD mirroring the exact same extras as the Blu-ray plus a few more.  Another neat bonus is the inclusion of the uncut version of the second entry "Gretta' sourced from a 1" master and it looks pretty good. Its an interesting watch to see the extended story play out, noticeably many of the effects shots and deaths are different and the insert claymation shots added to Night Train to Terror are missing. 

In addition to the inclusion of the film 'Gretta' there's a 30 minute audio interview with Assistant Editor Wayne Schmidt also moderated by Joe Rubin. Schmidt speaks in depth about his involvement on this film plus the movie 'Harry' which later became 'Scream Your Head Off' and eventually cut into one of the vignettes on this nutty anthology, it's a solid interview by Rubin who brings up a fabled black and white segment missing from the film. 

Special Features:
- Restored in 2K from 35mm elements
- Bonus feature film 'Gretta' (91 Minutes)
- Interview with Producer/Director Jay Schlossberg-Cohen
- Interview with Assistant Editor Wayne Schmidt (30 Minutes)
- Commentary track by The Hysteria Continues
- Theatrical trailer (2:40) 

Verdict: I love these obscure and often times junky movies that Vinegar Syndrome have been putting out on Blu-ray. Night Train to Terror (1985) is quite a nutter, a schlocky anthology crammed together from the corpses of three separate movies with a goofy wrap-around story. it's awful but it is certainly entertaining with a bizarre mix of nudity, claymation, awful acting, death clubs, Nazi vampires and God vs. the Devil on a train ride to oblivion, plus Vinegar Syndrome give this one some quality extras that help explain what lead to this disaster of a film. 2 Outta 5

Blu-ray Review: BLACK SABBATH (1963)

BLACK SABBATH (1963) 

Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD

Label: Arrow Video

Region Code: 2/B

Rating: 18 Certificate 

Duration: 132 Minutes / 135 Minutes 

Audio: LPCM Audio Italian and English with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Cast: Boris Karloff, Mark Damon, Jacqueline Pierreux, Michele Mercier, Lydia Alfonsi

Director: Mario Bava


The Maestro of the Macabre rarely did it better than BLACK SABBATH (1963), a pulse-pounding trio of suspenseful vignettes drenched in the macabre and dripping with fright, it all adds up to one fantastic horror-themed anthology and the UK's Arrow Video have a new 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD that's sure to please fans.

After a camped-up and creepy introduction from fright icon Boris Karloff we get the the lesbian-tinged thriller "The Telephone", an early Giallo entry and also Italy's first color horror film. Rosy (Michele Mercier) is a young Parisian woman,  a call girl, plagued by a series of menacing phone calls from her former pimp who's either just recently escaped from prison or reaching out to her from beyond the grave, it depends on which version of the film you watch. Fearful for her safety she reaches out to a former lady lover Mary (Lydia Alfonsi) who arrives shortly after to soothe Rosy's nerves. This is a fun one, confined to the basement apartment Rosy is a bundle of shattered nerves and just maybe Mary's not the great friend she's made herself out to be...

A great start to the film, watch both the Euro-cut and the AIP version of the film for some subtle differences, one offering something a bit more supernatural than the other. Loved the performances from the actresses, it doesn't hurt that they're both stunning Italian women either, Mario didn't just have an eye for the macabre he also had a keen sixth sense for unearthly attractive ladies, too. 

Fright icon Boris Karloff returns in a starring role with "The Wurdulak", a Gothic horror that takes us from the swinging 60's to 19th Century Russia where a young nobleman named Vladimir Durfe (Mark Damone) whom whilst travelling through the countryside happens upon the headless corpse with a peculiar dagger plunged through it's heart. Keeping the dagger he continues on until he stumbles across a small cottage seeking shelter for the night, by chance the dagger belongs to the patriarch of the family. Vlad is told that the patriarch Gorcha (Karloff) has been gone for the past five days having left in pursuit of a wurdalak, a corpses whom feeds exclusively on blood of loved ones. The concern is that he might return as one of the undead, the family members are distraught though the non-superstitious Vlad is skeptical. When Gorcha shows up on the doorstep just after midnight his creepy cold and appearance would seem to indicate he's not the same loving father who left five days earlier. This is a pretty fantastic short that plays out wonderfully, drenched in atmosphere and fog, a great exploration of the vampire mythos and quite creepy. Karloff is fantastic as Gorcha, a terrifying and creepy figure bathed in moody swaths of colored light, this film really uses the colored lighting and shadow play to the hilt, thick blankets of wafting fog, creepy Gothic ruins, and another one of Bava's trademarks, a real spine-tingler of a face peering through a window! This is definitely a top five vampire story though not the best of the bunch, that's up next. 

The final chapter of the trilogy "The Drop of Water" riffs heavily on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" as a Victorian era nurse (Jacqueline Pierreux) is called to the home of a deceased medium to prepare her corpse for burial, the medium apparently having died from a heart attack following a seance while conversing with spirits from the Beyond. Whilst preparing her corpse the nurse notices the attractive sapphire ring and pries it off her rigor mortised finger. Returning home the nurse is plagued by the sounds of dripping water and the buzzing of flies, and eventually the corpse of the medium appears to further terrorize her. The image of the dead medium is truly the stuff of nightmares, her contorted and waxy death face scared the bejeezus outta me as a kid and still sends a shiver down my spine to this day. "The Drop of Water" is fantastic, even Bava himself remembered the film as his greatest cinematic achievement and I would be hard pressed to argue, great stuff! 

The feature is concluded with more of the Boris Karloff wrap-a-round that takes the piss outta the film a bit. It's a nice bit of fun that pokes a finger in the eye of the serious chills we've just sat through featuring Karloff on a prop horse surrounded by men with branches of trees running around him to create the illusion of riding a horse, the artifice is revealed, it's a fun finale. It should be noted that the two version have a different running order, for the purpose of this review I watched the Euro version with the more impressive video quality. 

Blu-ray: Arrow's Blu-ray offers the outstanding anthology in 1080p with a MPEG-4 AVC encode, the Blu-ray features both the Italian Les Trois Visages de la Peur version and the English language American International Pictures (AIP) version which is about three minutes longer in length. The European version boasts the more robust and pleasing image of the two, Bava's colors pops, fantastic shades of lavender, blue, green and red bathe the film, it's rich visual tapestry, one of Bava's best looking titles still to this day and the new transfer, particularly the European version, is fantastic. 

The European version features the Italian language  LPCM Audio with newly translated English subtitles and a Roberto Nicolosi score. AIP's version comes with English LPCM audio and optional English subtitles. Aside from the AIP version having been re-edited it also features a re-score from Les Baxter, of the two I prefer Baxter's more aggressive score with it's accentuating stingers, the Euro version is a bit more subdued but both are very nice, it's just a matter of preference. It should also be noted that the two version have a different running order, for the purpose of this review I watched the Euro version

The three disc set has some great special features beginning with an introduction for the Euro-version from UK film critic and Alan Jones (2:53). Also exclusive to the Euro-version is a great commentary with Mario Bava biographer Tim Lucas, whom typically offers a wealth of Bava-centic knowledge, his commentaries are reliably intriguing and this is no exception. A Life In Film – An Interview with star Mark Damon (21:01) features the one time 20th Century Fox contract player discussing his life in film and later career as a producer and distributor of film, some great stuff including his role in casting Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE which he passed on it, apparently the idea of an Italian Western was quite an odd idea at the time and his agent warned him against it.  My favorite feature on the set is Twice the Fear – A comparison of the different versions of the film (32:12) with a captioned, split screen comparison of the Euro and AIP versions of the films, showcasing the many variances ranging from subtle dialogue alterations to score and effects differences. For instance,  AIP version trims out the more direct references to lesbianism in "The Telephone", it's a great piece, and I would love to see a feature like this for the multiple versions of Ridley Scott's BLADERUNNER (1982).

Rounding out the features are  the International Trailer, US Trailer (2:23), Italian Trailer (3:18), black and white TV Spot (0:54) and a  Radio Spots (1:06). BLACK SABBATH gets a great set of features and a very fine AV presentation from Arrow Video, this 3-disc set is essential. Not included with the "check disc" sent to us  for review are the reversible artwork and collector's booklet featuring new writings from David Cairns, Tim Lucas and an interview Samuel Z. Arkoff. 

A flawless film in my opinion and a flawless edition, too. As of late the only detraction I can level against Arrows titles is that I am not a fan of the recent slipcase-style menu screens, I think they're rather ugly. Compare Bava's A BAY OF BLOOD with the menu screen from BLACK SABBATH and decide for yourself...

A BAY OF BLOOD Blu-ray menu with fantastic artwork. 

 vs. 

BLACK SABBATH Blu-ray menu screen with Arrow's slipcase-styled menu.

Special Features:

- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of two versions of the film; ‘I tre volti della paura’ – the European version with score by Roberto Nicolosi and ‘Black Sabbath’ – the re-edited and re-dubbed AIP version with Les Baxter score, on home video for the first time
- English SDH subtitles for English Audio and a new English subtitle translation of the Italian audio
- Audio Commentary with Bava biographer and expert Tim Lucas
- Introduction to the film by author and critic Alan Jones (2:53)
- A Life In Film – An Interview with star Mark Damon (21:01)
- Twice the Fear – A comparison of the different versions of the film (32:12)
- International Trailer (3:26)
- US Trailer (2:23)
- Italian Trailer (3:18)
- TV Spot (0:54)

- Radio Spots (1:06)
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Cairns, a comparison of the versions of the film by Tim Lucas and a substantial interview with AIP Producer Samuel Z. Arkoff on his experiences of working with Bava, illustrated with original stills and posters

Verdict: A fantastic horror-themed anthology from the maestro of the macabre Mario Bava, it's still one of the most consistent and enjoyable anthologies in all of cinema, a timeless nuggets of classic fright and suspense. After the proto-slasher A BAY OF BLOOD (1971) this is my favorite Bava film, Arrow's definitive 3-disc edition deserves some serious praise. 4.5 Outta 5 

DVD Review: CHILLER - The Complete Television Series (1995)

CHILLER - The Complete Television Series (1995) 

2-Disc DVD

Label: Synapse Films 
Duration: 265 minutes
Region: Region 1 NTSC
Audio: English Dolby Digital English 2.0 Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Frame 
Directors: Lawrence Gordon Clark, Anthony Horowitz, Glenn Chandler 
Cast: Nigel Havers, Martin Clunes, Sophie Ward, Kevin McNally

Synopsis: The television series Chiller was a five episode horror anthology that aired in the UK in 1995. Presented here for the first time in the U.S., these supernatural shockers feature malevolent spirits, a brutal serial killer and a haunted house set in contemporary England. Starring many of Britain’s leading actors like Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, TV’s Coronation Street), Martin Clunes (UK’s Men Behaving Badly), Sophie Ward (Young Sherlock Holmes) and Kevin McNally (Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series), this compelling collection will leave you chilled to the bone!

I grew up on a steady diet of American TV anthology series beginning with vintage TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, the fantasy adventures of AMAZING STORIES, MONSTERS, the schlocky TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE,  HBO's EC Comics inspired TALES FROM THE CRYPT right up through to Showtime's MASTERS OF HORROR series. I definitely have a soft spot for the format, it was a treat to dip my toes into what the UK had to offer with the recent release of HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR from the legendary horror studio and now with this, a short-lived five episode horror anthology series broadcast in the UK in 1995 and now on DVD for the first time ever in the US from Synapse Films. Let's check out the episodes...

PROPHECY (52:55) A group teens hold a séance in the basement of a London café for shits and giggles but to their surprise they each receive a prophecy of their own deaths. Five years later, the fatal prophecies begin to come true in a very FINAL DESTINATION sort of way, this one was a good bit of fun, a great season opener with each of the character dying off in fun  and often bloody scenarios. Our main character Franny is trying to get to the bottom of the death curse before her ticket is punched, along the way she takes up with a man named Oliver and realizes that his son Edward is somehow connected to the tragedies. Some nice deaths and suspense here including few vehicular deaths, a grisly elevator ride, and some occult elements including spooky seances. The finale really ratchets up the tensions as the forces good and evil face off, while the script wanders a bit this one was quite entertaining with a strong cast.

TOBY (52:15) When Ray and Louise Knight lose their unborn son Toby in a car accident they are crushed, but when Louise discovers she’s pregnant again things seem to be on the upswing. However, a routine scan reveals she is not actually pregnant, the depression following the miscarriage seems to have spurred a hysterical pregnancy exhibiting all the physical signs of a baby being on the way, it's certainly an oddity, she even goes into labor which produces not a child but blood. Afterwards she is haunted by the incessant cries of a child emanating from her empty nursery, she even begins nursing this ghost child leaving her befuddled husband thinking she's gone nutters, but has she really? This one had some good creepy moments but fell a bit flat following the quite good first episode. 

HERE COMES THE MIRROR MAN (52:44)  This third episode features a newcomer social worker searching for a troubled, young homeless man named Gary who's plagued by a naughty friend named Michael whom may or may not be a demon force, either way he encourages Gary to commit murderous acts, at one point pushing our social worker's predecessor in front of an oncoming truck. This was a nice psychological thriller with strong performances, the ending is telegraphed pretty far in advance of the conclusion and the story is a bit subdued for my tastes but a decent episode nonetheless.

THE MAN WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS (52:56) When a a professional skeptic of the paranormal moves to the countryside and into a supposed haunted property with his wife and daughter, they find themselves the victims of unexplained events. As a matter of professional integrity the skeptic scoffs at the notion of an actual paranormal explanation and seeks to discover the true culprit but his stubborn quest strains his marital relationship and puts his family in harm's way. Strange happening include maggot infested fowl for dinner, chandeliers falling, doors locking, dead pets and a masked apparition, all dealt with in a very dry and British detachment. There's some great suspenseful elements here but the pace of the story is quite languid, however, a fiery finale nearly makes up for that despite not following up on a bizarre sexual attack that takes place earlier in the episode.

NUMBER SIX (53:15) The series finale is a pretty great atmospheric chiller with occult elements that opens with a fog-laden chase through the woods, right away you know your in for a treat - this was my favorite episode of the lot.A small Yorkshire town is plagued by a child killer whom has taken the lives of five children from the area, the deaths seem to be connected to an ancient Druidic area of the woods nearby. A young boy at school is haunted by dreams of spooky schoolmates telling him to "play with us" and indeed there are some strange goings on at the schoolyard. Meanwhile the boys father, a cop, and sets  about to solve the mystery before his son falls victim. This one had some nice red herrings,   suspense and loads of atmosphere plus a haunting finale, good stuff. 

DVD: Unfortunately there are no special features or cool episode introductions like we saw with the HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR release, those were very cool and contextualized each episode and something similar here would have been appreciated. The menu is very basic, you get a play all option or an episode index that features the episode title and air date.

All five episodes are presented in their original British broadcast versions and in the original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The image is here is pretty grainy, somewhat murky and even a bit noisy, the series was shot on 16mm and transferred to video, it's not the most pleasing video you will see but it's quite serviceable. The English language Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 audio is also decent, a bit muted at times, but quite listenable and easily discerned.

Verdict: After Synapse's fantastic HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR release I was primed for more UK TV horror anthologies but I found this one rather dry, some decent bits of suspense and mystery but lacking overall the thrills and exploitation of the Hammer series. CHILLER is not too shabby, fans of Brit TV suspense and mystery might find more to love than myself but for me nothing here screams for a re-watch despite some enjoyment first time around. 2.5 Outta 5 

  

DVD Review: THE THEATRE BIZARRE (2011)

THE THEATRE BIZARRE (2011)

Label: Image Entertainment
Region: 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 114 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen (2:35:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Directors: Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Douglas Buck, Jeremy Kasten, Karim Hussain, Richard Stanley, Tom Savini
Cast: Udo Kier , Guilford Adams, Suzan Anbeh, Lindsay Goranson, André Hennicke, Kaniehtiio Horn, Lena Kleine, Catriona MacColl, Victoria Maurette, Virginia Newcomb, Debbie Rochon, Tom Savini, Melodie Simard

When Enola Penny (Virginia Newcomb) enters a derelict theatre she is enraptured by a bizarre series of six anthology vignettes introduced by a creepy marionette character (Udo Kier, Mark of the Devil) and a cast of eerie automatons creations.

Up first is the Lovecraftian tale "The Mother of Toads" directed by Richard Stanley, the director of Hardware (1990) and Dust Devil (1992). The segment features Italian horror icon Catriona MacColl who appeared in many of Lucio Fulci's films including The Beyond (1980). An American couple Martin (Shane Woodard) and Karina (Victoria Maurette) are touring the French Pyrenees when by chance they encounter a witchy woman named Mere  (Catriona MacColl, The City of the Living Dead) who lures Martin, an anthropologist by trade, to her countryside villa with the promise of the fabled Necronomicon. Once the young man is is alone with her he discovers she  is quite more than she at first appears. It's a well-crafted creeper and the seduction of Martin by the aged witch is quite unnerving and it only gets more grotesque when he wakes up next to something quite a bit more severe than a horny witch. The gooey low-budget creature effects are pretty great, the anthology starts off strong with what turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. It's great to see Stanley back directing horror his aforementioned early 90's features were among the decades brightest and darkest entries. The short features gorgeous settings and great cinematography accentuated by Dario Argento-esque lighting and an atmospheric score that brought to mind Goblin at moments. The piece really has an Italian horror feel to it, definitely a short that left me hungering for more from Richard Stanley, this was a great Lovecraftian tale rich with occult symbolism.

Up next  from director Buddy Giovinazzo (Combat Shock) is a twisted tale of demented love and betrayal "I Love You". Axel (Andre Hennicke) is a pathetic and insanely insecure man pleading for his cheating lover Mo (Suzan Anbeh) to stay with him despite her painfully honest admissions of infidelity which she lays bare on the table in a series of promiscuous flashbacks. This one is heavy on dialogue but we get a satisfying and twisted finale that delivers the goods. 

"Wet Dreams" from Tom Savini follows a douche-nozzle named Donnie (James Gill) who steps outside the bounds of  marriage to Carla (Debbie Rochon) regularly but he is haunted by castration anxiety nightmares of emasculation and towards that end seeks the help of a psychiatrist named Dr. Maurey (Tom Savini). Turns out Donnie is sticking it to the psychiatrist's wife on the side and you have to imagine that a head shrink, when provoked, is capable of some dark and twisted shit. Tom Savini also directed the remarkable Night of the Living Dead (1990) remake but has done very little since that has stuck with me, my least favorite of the bunch but there's some revenger fun to be had here with gory special effects gore from the Toetag Pictures crew. 

Douglass Buck's somber "The Accident" deals with the aftermath of a motorcycle accident witnessed by a mother (Lena Kleine) and her adolescent daughter (Melodie Simard). It's a gorgeous looking film and has a tenderness to it that sets it apart from the other dark-hearted tales, the young girl's questions about death to her mother was quite touching and maybe a bit misplaced on this anthology.

Enough about a innocent young girls questions about mortality, let's get back to some squirm inducing eye-gore with Karim Hussain's "Vision Stains" a rather unique vision of terror indeed as a young woman (Kaneihtiio Horn) mortally wounds street walkers, junkies and the homeless and as they lay dying inserts a needle into their eyes withdrawing the ocular fluid and then injecting it into her own eyeball - fans of Fulci's infamous eye-gore will just love this, some very nasty effects work going on here - it will have you squirming in your seat for sure, just nasty. The transference of ocular fluid sets of a series of memories in her own brain and she hurriedly scrawls the life memories of each of her victims into a journal, a weird addiction and compulsive .

The last of the vignettes is a candy-colored nightmare of gluttony and lust from David Gregory entitled "Sweets". Estelle (Lindsay Goranson) and Greg (Guilord Adams) are engaged in some bizarre fetish that involves mass digestion of confectionery delights to the point that it's just gross> When the two attend a party hosted by Mikela Da Vinci (Lynn Lowry, Romero's The Crazies) things get even more bizarre, a beautifully filmed and shocking bit of nastiness right here.  

DVD Special Features:
- Audio Commentary for each Segment with the exception being Douglass Beck "The Accident"
- 'Shock Till You Drop' Interviews with Gergory, Giovanizzo, Kasten (38:21) 
- Behind-the-Scenes (7:45)  
- Theatrical Trailer (1:35) 

Verdict: What attracted me to this film at first was the return of Richard Stanley to the horror genre - now that's something to get excited about right there and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of all of these dark vignettes.  Not all were of the caliber of Stanley's Lovecraftian "Mother of Toads" but each was well-crafted, interesting and stylish, very few anthologies fire on all cylinders, that's just the way of the anthology but The Theatre Bizarre makes for some artfully disturbing viewing from start to finish, impressive stuff. (3.5 Outta 5) 

Blu-ray Review: CHILLERAMA (2011)

CHILLERAMA (2011)

LABEL: Image Entertainment
REGION CODE: A
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 120 mins
AUDIO: DTS-HD MA 5.1
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
DIRECTORS: Adam Rifkin, Joe Lynch, Tim Sullivan, Adam Green
CAST: Adam Rifkin, Sarah Mutch, Owen Benjamin, Richard Riehle, Joel David Moore, Ray Wise, Kane Hodder, Eric Roberts, Lin Shaye
TAGLINE: The Ultimate Midnight Movie!

I don't know about you but I just get pleased as punch whenever I hear about a new horror anthology coming down the pipeline. The omnibus fright format has always been a personal favorite of mine but they just don't seem as prevalent today as they were in the 70's and 80's - they've definitely fallen out favor. Perhaps it's just cause I was catching up with some of my favorites like Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH (1963) and one of the many Amicus entries TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) some decades years after their initial release, either way there's not exactly a glut of 'em these days no matter how you slice it up and the format seemed to have peaked in the early 80's with the one-two punch of CREEPSHOW (1982) and TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983). The nineties weren't exactly overflowing with anthologies either with the notable exceptions of FOUR ROOMS (1995) and PULP FICTION (1999) but in recent years there's been a resurgence with the Tarantino/Rodriguez feature GRINDHOUSE, TRICK R TREAT (2007) and effective, low-budget indies like THE DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW (2009) and III SLICES OF LIFE (2010).

So, when word began to spread about this love letter to the schlocky drive-in films of the 60's and 70's from a handful of talented young directors I was pretty psyched and primed for some b-movie omnibus action. Beginning with the directors we have Adam Rifkin whose 70's stoner-comedy DETROIT ROCK CITY (1999) is a perennial favorite of mine, Joe Lynch who won me over with WRONG TURN 2 (2007), Adam Green who most recently nailed it with the winter-bound horror of FROZEN (2010) and lastly we have Tim Sullivan, director of 2001 MANIACS (2005).


The film CHILLERAMA is a series of vignettes that really sets out to celebrate the b-movie schlock cinema of yesteryear beginning with a wrap-a-round story called ZOM-B-MOVIE from director Joe Lynch that right away gets to the gritty with some distasteful necro-felatio which goes horribly awry, I would ask is there anyway necro-felatio could go well, I guess it's all a matter of perspective, right? The amorous grave robber leaves the cemetery injured to say the least with his naughty bits having been shredded by his graveyard girlfriend. Not something I would do myself but this guy actually limps his way back to his night job at the drive-in movie theatre where it's a special night, it's their last hurrah before the drive-in closes it's doors forever. To commemorate this sad occasion the aptly named drive-in proprietor Cecil Kaufman (Richard Riehle, OFFICE SPACE) is sending his beloved cinema out in style with a four film marathon of rare splatterfests projected on the big screen for a jam-packed crowd of gore-hounds and splatter-fiends.

The first feature is WADZILLA written, directed and starring Adam Rifkin (THE DARK BACKWARDS) and it's a truly tasteless send-up of the b-movie creature features of the 50's. Miles Munson (Rifkin) is a man afflicted with a low sperm count and when he seeks medical help for his condition he is prescribed an experimental drug called "spermupermine" by wacky wang-ologost Dr. Weems (Ray Wise, TWIN PEAKS). The testicular steroid has the unfortunate side effect of enlarging Mile's scrawny sperm when he is aroused - which is pretty often, there are babes galore in this film. These growing pains cause Miles great discomfort in the junk and the only way to alleviate the excruciating sensation is to beat-off and release the beast - and what a beast it is. The short is populated by gorgeous busty ladies and awful b-movie effects from none other than The Chiodo Brothers (KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE). There's appearances from Lin Shaye (INSIDIOUS) and Eric Roberts (SHARKTOPUS) as Gen. Bukaki and while Rifkin couldn't act his way outta a wet paper bag I found the flick to be a juvenile, raunchy exercise in trashiness with a sense of humor about it that brought to mind FRANKENHOOKER (1990) and ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES (1978) - fun stuff with a creamy climax that seemed to reference GHOSTBUSTERS (1984).

Up next is director Tim Sullivan's I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR, a weird mash-up of BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1965) and TEEN WOLF (1985) zapped with a walloping dose of homo-eroticism and fun musical numbers. A clean-cut preppie named Ricky (gay porn star Sean Paul Lockhart) finds his life altered when he's bit on the ass during a sexually charged wrestling match with a leather daddy werebear. Not my cup o' tea but still slightly amusing. This is the first film I've seen from Tim Sullivan and while I can't say it did much for me it did have some fun musical numbers, but honestly it was just a bit too goofy and gay for me. I'm also a bit biased as I generally kinda sorta hate musicals, so that didn't help either. Lin Shay also appears in this segment as Nurse Maleva in a fun homage to THE WOLFMAN (1941) while director Tim Sullivan appears as Coach Tuffman. Some fun moments but overall this was the runt of the litter for me.

In Adam Green's demented Nazi-ploitation comedy THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANKENSTEIN actor Joel David Moore (SPIRAL) makes a turn as Adolf Hitler who sets out to create the perfect Jew-killing machine using the secrets of the family of Anne Frankenstein. Unfortunately he assembles his Arian masterpiece with the body parts of Jews and as can be expected his Golem-esque creation rises up against him with bloody results. This segment looks pretty fucking awesome, a spot on period piece shot in black and white, great production value and set design made this the best looking bit o' the bunch. Kane Hodder (FRIDAY THE 13th VII) appears as the creature Meshugannah and he really puts the "Bear Jew" from INGLORIOUS BASTERDS to shame in the Nazi killing department. The actors in the film seem to be speaking German fluently aside from Moore who wings it with some marble-mouthed nonsense. It's pretty funny stuff with Hodder delivering more than a fair share of cock n' balls destruction to some deserving Nazis, giving them a pounding that leaves them screaming "Shalom!". Pretty absurd stuff, it peters out towards the end having overstayed it's welcome just slightly but there's definitely some fun to be had here for sure.  

The not quite final segment is DEATHICATION, a short interlude of people shitting themselves to death, it's mighty pointless but quickly passes on into the true final vignette, the continuation of the wrap-a-round film ZOM-B-MOVIE. You may recall that the drive-in projectionist lost his junk following an unfortunate graveyard fellatio incident and returned to the drive-in at the start of the film but his blue neon infected wound has leaked the worst kind of cross-contamination possible into the concession stands popcorn unleashing a zombie horde upon the cinema. Luckily, the cinema's suicidal owner/horror host Cecil Kaufman, the awesome Richard Riehle, not only has great taste in bad cinema but a gigantic stash o' guns and an endless array of famous one-liners with which to combat the undead throngs.

So, does this trashy collection of bad b-movies work? Yes and no, these are bad films made to be seen as such, trashy love letters to an era of awfulness awesomeness and to that end I would say it's successful. Whether you enjoy it or not really depends on your stomach for schlock shittiness, for me it mostly hit all the wrong notes just the right way.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Directors' Video Commentary
- Wadzilla Deleted Scenes and Trailer (6:04)
- The Making of The Diary of Anne Frankenstein
- I Was A Teenage Werebear Behind the Scenes (21:59), Deleted Scenes (14:27), and Trailer
- Zom-B-Movie Deleted Scenes (4:02)
- Famous Monsters Directors' Interviews (5:41)
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Trailers: CHILLERAMA (2:13), WADZILLA (2:39), I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR (2:01)

VERDICT: I found it hard not to appreciate the zest with which these young directors tore into making such schlocky, awful films and in the end it really won me over despite some dud humor and flat gags throughout that are part and parcel of the films it's pays tribute to. Make no mistake, they're undoubtedly quite terrible films one and all, trashy, raunchy and distasteful on almost every level and I guess that's what I love about 'em - there's something so cool about a bad film. Now I know there's gonna be some haters who just can't stomach the schlock but count me in, it's bone-headed, offensive, dumb and pretty stupid entertainment. 3.5 outta 5