YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE (1983)

Label: Mill Creek Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: PG
Duration: 89 Minutes
Audio: English LPCM Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widecrseen (1.78:1)
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Cast: Reb Brown, Corinne Cléry, John Steiner, Carole André

Yor, The Hunter from the Future (1983) offers up some sweet eighties sword and sorcery cheese for fans of that ilk, we have Reb Brown (from the 70's Captain America TV movie) starring as the titular Yor, a bare-chested, blond-maned barbarian-warrior who at the top of the movie is jogging through the pre-historic wasteland to one of the cheesiest  80's theme songs you will ever EVER hear, it's awful stuff. Along the way Yor encounters pretty cave-girl Kala (Corinne Cléry, Lucio Fulci's The Devil's Honey) and her mentor and adopted father  Pag (Luciano Pigozzi, Exterminators of the Year 3000) who are hunting a baby dinosaur (which is obviously a baby pig wrapped in a cheap dino-skin) when they are attacked by the hybrid dinosaur  "stegoceratops", which Yor kills using his trusty stone-ax with a few crushing blows, which were surprisingly bloody! Afterward he drinks the dino's warm blood, offering some to Kala and Pag, saying that drinking the blood of your enemies makes you stronger, Pag humorously refuses the offering.  

Yor accompanies his new friends back to their village, enjoying a dino-feast and a seductive dance from Kala, until they gala is interrupted by the arrival of a warring tribe of purple-skinned cavemen who kidnap Kala and take her back to their cave. Yor and Pag track the kidnappers and Yor kills a giant bat, using the creatures leathery wings as an impromptu hang-glider to fly into the cave, afterward flooding the cave killing the purple-skinned enemies along with a few innocent villagers who were being kept prisoners, but he saves his woman so all is good. 

Pag and Kala continue to travel with Yor on his aimless adventure, along the way Kala competes for Yor's affections with a blond woman named Tarita (Marina Rocchi) who also has blond hair and wears a similar amulet to that worn by Yor, but she is killed by more purple skinned cavemen, but not before revealing to Yor with her dying breath as to where he can find more of his own kind, a blond haired race of advanced people who live on an island surround by storms.

The trio find the island, discovering the technologically superior  race of blond people led by the tyrant Overlord (John Steiner, Tenebre), here we discover in a fun Planet of the Apes (1968)sort of twist that this is not pre-historic Earth at all, but Earth after a nuclear apocalypse, which begs all sorts of questions, like why are dinosaurs roaming the earth! While the film begins in a standard Beastmaster/Krull sword and sorcery sort of way it becomes a serious Star Wars rip-off with the Overlord, who is sort of in the Ming the Merciless vein, overseeing over an army of Darth Vader-esque looking androids, there's even a scene that lifts large portions of the scene from Star wars with Luke bridging the chasm in the death star with a trapeze twist! The film culminates with the trio aligning  themselves with a group of rebels led by the scientist, Ena (Carole André, The Bloodstained Butterfly)and a blind man known as the Elder. It's all cheesy fun, very low-budget but never less than fun. 

The film is helmed by Italian director Antonio Margheriti (The Long Hair of Death) who keeps things lively if lo-fi, the creature effects are decently awful but thoroughly entertaining, the sword and sandals imagery does the job, and having been shot in Turkey the film has some nice locations that add flavor to the sword and sandal sci-fi stew. Actor Reb Brown seems to be having a blast making this one, running around with his loin cloth with a smile plastered on is face, there's a moment after his first dino-kill where he seems so excited, giving out a strange howl that almost seems like he's going to burst out in a victorious song! Corinne Clery is super-sexy, a beauty that holds her own just fine against Reb Brown, not that it would take much, but they make for a decent enough coupling. Luciano Pigozzi as the mentor Pag physically has always has reminded me of director Lucio Fulci, imagining him in this sword and sandal epic brought a smile to my face. As for the dino special effects, they remind me not of Harryhausen but more akin to what we saw with Kevin Connor's  The Land That Time Forgot (1975), and that's not a bad thing! 

Audio/Video: Yor, The Hunter from the Future (1983) arrives on Blu-ray from budget-label Mill Creek Entertainment in 1080p HD and framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. Not sure what the source is for the HD Master but I know it's not the 35mm negative, the image is soft and marked with blemishes including white speckling, dirt and debris and the occasional vertical scratch. darker scenes are bogged down in grain and murkiness, it falls short of my modest expectations but is never not watchable. Audio comes by way of an English LPCM 2.0 Stereo track, and it does the job without much fuss. Extras include a theatrical trailer and a new audio commentary from actor Reb Brown who is very candid in his memory of making  the film.  

This single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve  of artwork featuring the original U.S. theatrical poster, it also comes with a sweet slipcover (o-card) sporing a gorgeous illustration, which I believe is the European artwork, easily besting the U.S. artwork, looking a bit ike Thundarr the Barbarian with that flaming sword! It's too bad we do not get a reversible sleeve of artwork featuring this, it's a great slipcover with attractive lettering on the spine that makes it stand out when it's on the shelf.

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary with star Reb Brown
- Theatrical Trailer 

Yor, The Hunter from the Future (1983) is a fun watch, if you have love for 80's sci-fi/sorcery cheese along the lines of Space Hunter and Metal Storm there's bound to be a lot here you will love, and this can be picked-up for under $10 right now.       

SSSSSSS (1973) (Blu-ray Review)

SSSSSSS (1973)

Label: Scream Factory 
Release Date: April 26th 2016 
Region Code: A
Duration: 99 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA  Stereo 2.0 with Optional English SDH 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Bernard Kowalski 
Cast: Heather Menzies, Reb Brown, Richard B. Shull, Strother Martin, Tim O'Connor, Dirk Benedict

Synopsis: Strother Martin (Cool Hand Luke) and Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica) star in this eerie tale of a respected snake expert who masks a frightening desire to transmute a man into a king cobra. Realizing that his new lab assistant, David (Benedict), is the perfect specimen, the demented doctor begins administering injections of "immunization serum." Soon, David begins experiencing strange side effects: his skin is shedding while his body shape is changing. But before he realizes the horrible truth, the metamorphosis from human to serpent has begun. This thriller, directed by Bernard L. Kowalski (Attack of the Giant Leeches), also stars Heather Menzies (Piranha) and Reb Brown (Howling II and TVs Captain America).

I do seem to love these absurd horror films from the '70s, with Sssssss from 1973 we here we have herpetologist Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin) and his daughter Kristina (Heather Menzies) running a snake snake research lab out in a rural area, the doc takes on a research assistant from the local college, a dopey but good natured guy named David Blake (Dirk Benedict, The A-Team) who is unaware that the good doc is actually a mad scientist of sorts obsessed with the transforming man into some creepy cobra-hybrid, what he believes to be the next step of human evolution. The plot makes no sense whatsoever but that does not detract from the pure entertainment value of this '70s cult-classic. 

Longtime TV veteran Strother Martin turns in a rather good performance as the kindly nut of a doctor, sure he is a mad scientist who has wild ideas but he comes off as a nice old man, just, you know,  a little crazy. His daughter Kristina is a bookworm-ish cutey and she and the ill-fated David strike up a flirtation which becomes something more, much to the dismay of Doc Stoner, you see his daughter doesn't know about his diabolic plans to mutate young David. The whole process begins as the doc gives David a sot in the arm with a hypodermic, what he calls a necessary venom inoculations, and soon enough David begins to show signs of change, beginning with the shedding his skin, and then his facial features slowly begin to evolve ever so slightly. 

The movie begins with the doc selling off one of his failed hybrid experiments to a crooked carnival owner who parades the guy - the doc's former assistant - at a the carnival freak show. Reb Brown who played Captain America in the cheesy 70's live action TV show appears as a college football jerk-jock who makes the fatal mistake of killing one the doc's prized snakes, in revenge the doc sneaks into the jocks college apartment and unleashes a deadly mamba into the shower, what follows is a nice scene of '70s slow-motion of the creep stepping on the venomous serpent in the shower.  There's also a fun appearance from Richard B. Shull (Spring Break) as Doc Stoner's colleague and nemesis at the college, the two have a few fun scenes together sparring over much needed grant funds the doc needs to continue his work, which Shull's character holds over is head with relish.

I love these silly '70s horror movies, I love how weird and absurd they are, and this one is up there when it comes to pure absurdity, but everyone plays it straight without any winking, it is so damned earnest about everything and I love that. It does have some pacing issues, the love story really drags it down a few notches, as does the skinny dipping scene with the leaves which are hilariously super imposed over the naughty parts, but the final oddball few moments are worth the watch. We have poor David transforming into a King Cobra through a process of time lapse photography and some cool make-up special effects, but the final transformation is a bit of a letdown as we don't get the promised human-snake hybrid,

Extras on the disc begin with a brand-new interview with star Dirk Benedict, an animated guy with tons of great stories about the cast and director, remembering "Bernie" as a director who got things done without much fuss, someone who enjoyed other's misery and had a wicked cackle of a laugh. Remembering how Strother Martin was scared to death of snakes, and how Kowalski managed to get him to allow a snake to bite him for the movie, but not before egging him on to the point that he pulled down his pants on the Universal back lot! This was a fun one, I am sure many like myself remember Benedict as the vain "Face" from 80's TV show The A-Team. 

The second interview on the disc is with actress Heather Menzies who speaks about her own fear of snakes and working with the cast and crew, Other extras include a handful of trailers for the movie, radio spots, a gallery of behind-the-scenes images and a sleeve of reversible artwork with the minor Sssssnake variant. 

Special Features: 
- NEW My Reptilian Past – An Interview With Actor Dirk Benedict (18 Mins) HD 
- NEW The Herpetologist's Daughter – An Interview With Heather Menzies (18 Mins) HD 
- Photo Gallery (4 Mins) HD 
- Radio Spots (2 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailers (4 Mins) 

Sssssss (1973) is a solid slice of '70s cinema schlock, if you're a fan of sort of b-movies this is something you just might need to own on Blu-ray. Scream Factory offer up a solid HD A/V presentation with a few choice extras. 3/5 

 

HOWLING II: YOUR SISTER IS A WEREWOLF (1985)

HOWLING II: YOUR SISTER IS A WEREWOLF (1985)

Label Scream Factory 

Release Date: July 14th 2015
Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 91 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Philippe Mora

Cast: Reb Brown, Annie McEnroe, Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Marsha A. Hunt

This sequel picks-up just after the events of the first Howling movie, TV anchorwoman Karen White is dead following her transformation into a werewolf live on-camera during the nightly news broadcast, but apparently the entire episode has been swept under the rug and her lycanthropic revelation did not have the desired impact of exposing the world to the existence of werewolves. The movie opens with a very odd intro with Christopher Lee standing in front of a star field reading some cryptic passage all the while standing next to a medical skeleton. A very strange beginning for an oddball movie, and it sort of reminded me of the way Dune opens up with the narration only way ore confusing and weird.  

Then we're onto Karen's funeral which is attended by her brother Ben White (Red Brown, Captain America TV Move) and his girlfriend Jenny (Annie McEnroe, The Hand), a reporter. After the funeral Ben is approached by Stefan Crosscoe (Christopher Lee, The Whip and the Body), who introduces himself as an occult investigator, informing Ben that his sister is not actually dead, that she is a cursed werewolf and the only way for her to rest in peace is to stake her through the heart.  Ben doesn't take the news very well but his girlfriend Jenny seem keenly interested in what Crosscoe has to say, and soon enough the trio are headed for Transylvania to fight Stirba - the Werewolf Queen! Wait a minute ...Transylvania, stakes through the heart ... I thought this was a werewolf movie, one of the many oddities about Howling II is they way they throw a bunch of vampire tropes into the mix, which is an odd choice. 

Stirba is played by the busty and lusty Sybil Danning (Chained Heat) wearing a very 80s leather and brass get-up that wouldn't be out of place in a Stryper music video. Striba hosts a series of werewolf orgies at her castle, when she's not sucking the life force from virgins or making glowing crackles of electricity emanate from her fingertips. I love Sybil Danning but this role is overwrought and ridiculous, which is part of the movie's charm, overwrought and fun in a bad sort of way that manages to keep things entertaining, if confusing. 

She has a pair of minions named Vlad (Judd Omen, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure) and the black beauty Mariana (Marsha A. Hunt, who Mich Jagger penned "Brown Sugar" about), whom have a threesome with Stirba (Dannning) which is fantastically awful, the half-transformed lycanthropes are covered in hair, making the most ridiculous oh-faces you've ever seen, clawing at each other, and cooing ridiculously, the contorted faces in this movie are simply laugh-out-loud funny. 

Unfortunately the design of the werewolves owe more to monkeys than wolves and look awful, rightfully so they are kept in the dark or glimpsed only briefly. Knowing that these werewolves were awful I think the filmmakers knew they had to give us at least some decent gore, and we get very little. One of the best is when a midget's eyes explode in a spray of blood, and a priest is attacked by a gargoyle who chokes him with it's tail before crawling down throat, but honestly these are few and far between. Mora seems to be throwing everything and the kitchen sink onscreen into this mess of a movie, but nothing can save it. The final showdown between werewolf-hunter Crosscoe and the Queen of Werewolves Stirba is pretty damn awful, with the Werewolf Queen not transforming into a monstrous werewolf but instead using her occult powers to summon an awful 80's laser-light show which ends with both going up in flames in a less than spectacular fashion. 

Apparently this movie is so awful that Christopher Lee apologized to Joe Dante on the set of Gremlins 2 - The New Batch for having appeared in it - wow. Highlights are some strange but inconsistent atmosphere, some fun set design, and a werewolf who looks remarkably like Daryl Hall from the band Hall and Oates, plus a memorable new wave musical performance from Steve Pasrons with the song "Howling", but not even the prestige of Christopher Lee and the voluptuous nudity of Sybil Danning cannot save this stinker of a werewolf film. 

Audio/Video: Howling II arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory with a 1080p HD transfer framed in the original widescreen aspect ratio looking pretty good for the most part. The source material has some minor print damage, some specs of dirt and debris and a few small scratches, but the colors are solid through and through, the black levels are decent and skin tones look good -- and trust me -- there's a lot of skin to watch. The mono audio does the job nicely, music, dialogue and score are well balanced and free of distortion. Optional English subtitles are provided. 

This may not be an official Scream Factory Collector's Edition but it is packed with special features, beginning with a pretty great commentary with director Philippe Mora moderated by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures. A very candid commentary, speaking at length about shooting a film from behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia, offering up some real nuggets about the making of this very strange movie, a lot of which explains the strange feel of the film. There's a second commentary from Composer Steve Parsons And Editor Charles Bornstein which I have not gotten around to yet, but I think that the Mora commentary is fantastic,and worth the price of purchase by itself. 

There are also brand new interviews with actor Reb Brown and actress Sybil Danning who chime in on their experience making the film, both with kind words about working with the recently departed horror icon Christopher Lee, and Danning speaks about the infamous topless scene in the movie which is replayed over a dozen times in the film.   

Special Make-Up Effects Artists Steve Johnson And Scott Wheeler offer up a very candid set of interviews about the making of the movie and the set of challenges they faced, including applying hair appliances to actor Judd Omen's cock. Additionally there's some Behind The Scenes Footage, Alternate Opening And Alternate Ending, Theatrical Trailer and a Still Gallery, plus a reversible sleeve of artwork with new artwork from illustrator David Levine.  Scream Factory have gone above and beyond what this awful sequel might have deserved, packing it with loads of great extras. 

Special Features
- Audio Commentary With Director Philippe Mora
- Audio Commentary With Composer Steve Parsons And Editor Charles Bornstein
- Leading Man - An Interview With Actor Reb Brown (14 Mins) HD
- Queen Of The Werewolves - An Interview With Actress Sybil Danning (17 Mins) HD
- A Monkey Phase - Interviews With Special Make-Up Effects Artists Steve Johnson And Scott Wheeler (15 Mins) HD
- Behind The Scenes Footage (In HD - From Philippe Mora's Archive) (4 Mins)
- Alternate Opening (In HD – From Philippe Mora's Archive) (11 Mins) 
- Alternate Ending (In HD – From Philippe Mora's Archive) (10 Mins)
- Theatrical Trailer (1 Mins) HD
- Still Gallery (8 Mins) HD 

Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985) is a seriously confused and awful film, and one of the stranger horror sequels, but it does have some minor appeal. It has a strange atmosphere, and some decent lensing, plus Christopher Lee and Sybil Danning add some legitimacy to the production, but those awful werewolves are pretty hard to forgive, particularly when the first film had such great looking werewolves. I cannot recommend this to the average horror fan, not even if you loved the original film, I think you would have to be quite a bad movie fiend to find this one fun, and I guess I love bad movies because I enjoyed it and have for years. I'm hoping this moves a lot of units and Scream Factory pick-up Philippe Mora's sequel The Marsupials: The Howling III (1987) for release on Blu-ray. that Ozploitation take on the genre is one I absolutely love. 2.5/5