INFINITE SANTA 8000 / DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW Scary Cryptmas Contest

SCARY CRYPTMAS CONTEST!

We has some awesome DRIVE-IN HORROR SHOW / INFINITE SANTA 8000 prize packs up for grabs courtesy of Burnt Reindeer Films and Drive-In Horrorshow Records.

Up for grabs are signed posters, Twisted Christmas Cards, DRIVE-IN HORROSHOW soundtrack CD's, DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW music video collection DVD's and INFINITE SANTA 8000 VOL. 1 DVD's. It's pretty awesome stuff and you know you wanna win one 'em, so here's how to enter...

THE PRIZE PACKS:

4 GRAND PRIZE PACKS
1. DRIVE-IN HORROR SHOW RECORDS 'GHOULISH VIDEOS' DVD
2. DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW Soundtrack CD
3. INFINITE SANTA 8000 VOL. 1 DVD
4. 2 INFINITE SANTA Twisted Christmas Cards
5. Signed INFINITE SANTA 8000 or DRIVE-IN HORROR SHOW Poster

5 RUNNER-UP PRIZE PACKS
1. DRIVE-IN HORROR SHOW RECORDS GHOULISH VIDEOS DVD
2. DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW Soundtrack

TO ENTER!

There are three ways to enter the contest:

1. Follow Us on Twitter and Tweet:

"I’m celebrating #ScaryCryptmas. RT and follow @mcbastard2000 for your chance to win. www.mcbastardsmausoleum.blogsot.com" 

2. "LIKE" the McBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM Facebook page HERE.

3. Leave a comment on any of our reviews or posts on the site: www.mcbastardsmausoleum.blogspot.com

We’ll randomly select all the winners on December 23rd at 6PM ET from all the eligible entries (U.S. residents, 18+).
GOOD LUCK!

http://www.driveinhorrorshow.com/

http://www.infinitesanta.com/

DVD Review: HAUNTED CHANGI (2010)

HAUNTED CHANGI (2010)

Label: MVD Visual
Region Code: 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Andrew Lau
Cast: Farid Azlam, Sheena Chung, Audi Khalis, Andrew Lau

I gotta say that the found-footage and faux-documentary films still seem to have some bite left to 'em, from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, REC., TROLLHUNTER (review HERE), THE LAST EXORCISM on through to the wildly successful PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and it's two sequels theatre goers are still jammin' the multiplexes to get their fix of found footage frights. Away from the theatres we have a plethora of indie direct-to-DVD entries too; from EVIL THINGS (review HERE) to PARANORMAL ENTITY, it's a sure sign of pop culture success when The Asylum cranks out a copycat film. That said, despite the continued demand and the sub-genre's success I do tend to elicit a low groan whenever I hear of a new entry, such as the rumored sequel to the FRIDAY THE 13th re-imagining, fuck me, say it ain't so. So, when I first opened up a package from MVD containing HAUNTED CHANGI I can't say that I was enthused at the prospect of it's value based on it's rather lame artwork, but 81 minutes later and a few beers in I was pleasantly surprised by what the film had to offer.  

The story goes something like this; in January of 2010 a group of local young filmmakers began exploring the famously haunted Old Changi Hospital in Singapore with terrifying and tragic results. What we see in the film are pieces edited together from the original Haunted Changi film crew's footage to tell their tragic story. It's pretty simple stuff. First up we meet our documentary crew; the director Andrew, cameraman Audi, producer Sheena and soundman Farid, all pretty likable folks. The four announce that they are setting out to document one of the most notoriously haunted places in all the world, the aforementioned Changi Hospital in Singapore. The property is a series of buildings left abandoned since the 1990's when the hospital was decommissioned. The hospital has a dark and disturbing history beginning during WWII when the location was used by the Japanese to torture and kill hordes of enemy Chinese and British combatants, after the war the property was re-purposed as a military hospital treating ill and wounded soldiers. Now two decades after being decommissioned the structure is said to be haunted by the legions of souls who met their fate there. It's an eerie place for sure and it brought to my mind the sanitarium from Brad Anderson's masterful SESSION 9, a labyrinthine decaying urban enviorment coated in graffiti art, thick with atmosphere and steeped in creep factor.

In a nice expository maneuver the film dumps some vintage newsreel footage on us to explain the location's history, a few man on the street type interviews with the citizens of Singapore to set-up it's reputation as a place of supernatural activity and then we get to some footage from within the hospital captured by our crew that's rife with the expected variations on the found-footage aesthetic we've come to expect; night vision, creepy darkened hallways, eerie shadows and spooked filmmakers running scared through corridors. Not a ton of originality here; it's definitely BLAIR WITCH meets SESSION 9 with some cool j-horror elements but it works and is a pretty effective little chiller that raised the hairs on my neck more than a few times.

There's a fun bit during the film when the Singapore contingent of Ghost Hunters shows up to aide the documentarians but are scared off the property by some headless apparitions that appear on a thermal cam, this is very much what I think would happen if any of these "ghost hunters" on TV ever really encountered anything more than each other making random fart noises in darkened spaces.

The slow build-up of the film is quite effective, well-paced and satisfactorily spooky. Andrew, the director of the documentary, increasingly becomes obsessed with the location, returning on his own to meet-up with a mysterious woman all the while becoming sickly ill. Meanwhile, Sheena becomes more and more unhinged by the place after an eerie, shadowy encounter that leaves her physically sick and unwilling to return to the location. The film's shortcomings for me include questionable actions on the part of the crew, it's the rare found-footage film that doesn't irk me that way, motivations and actions are oftentimes preposterous. Also, while the film's finale is pretty chilling it doesn't quite live up to the dread and suspense of the first two thirds of the film, but  it's still a pretty effective chiller and a nice found-footage exercise that should please fans of eerie supernatural thrillers and found-footage films.

DVD: The film is presented in 16:9 widescreen (1.85:1) and looks pretty good for a hand-held shaky cam flick, it's not completely hand-held but it's well in line with what we've come to expect from a found footage/faux-documentary  narrative film. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds pretty good to with some nice use of the surrounds to accentuate the film's creepier elements, good stuff. The English subtitles are optional but I found I kind of needed 'em on what with the actors thick accents, not a criticism just a fact.

The film comes with a nice selection of bonus content; the first being that this DVD features "enhanced footage"not seen during it's theatrical run, three text chapters from a book written by a character from the film, more of the archival WWII footage seen in the film and an easter egg with some behind-the-scenes footage.

Verdict: Not the final nail in the coffin of found-footage film by any means, this is a fine low-budget supernatural chiller, very well done and worth a watch. It may not be a classic of the genre but it's a good watch on a Friday night. 3 outta 5

Blu-ray Review: THE PROPHECY (1995)

THE PROPHECY (1995)

Label: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 97 mins
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Dolby Digital 5.1, LPCM 2.0
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Gregory Widen
Cast: Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stolz, Amanda Plummer, Viggo Mortensen
Tagline: Marked By Fate. Doomed By Prophecy... Time Is Running Out For Mankind.

I don't think the 1990's are exactly remembered for standout genre film fare but in actuality there were quite a few truly great films, they've just been forgotten under a heap of crap nineties SCREAM clones and shitty sequels.  I mean we had JACOB'S LADDER (1990), THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991), DEAD ALIVE (1992), ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992), CANDYMAN (1992), CEMETERY MAN (1994) and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1990). Sure, some of these verge on thrillers and not so much pure horror I think we can agree they're pretty great, no? Let's add to this venerable list a film that seems to have slipped by the wayside - THE PROPHECY (1995), fine horror-thriller that is just not mentioned nearly enough for my tastes, this is a gem of a genre film that's been given short shrift and undeservedly so.

The film's prologue begins with Tomas Dagget (Elias Koteas, LET ME IN) on the cusp of becoming an ordained priest when he is overcome with disturbing images of angels slaughtering each other, the horrific vision costs him his faith and he leaves the order to become L.A. detective. While investigating a strange homicide Dagget encounters Simon (Eric Stoltz, PULP FICTION), who claims to be a fallen angel, warning Dagget that a stalemated civil war amongst the Angels rages on in Heaven and that the fate of the life eternal hangs in the balance. Dagget further investigates the strange homicide which takes him to Arizona and on a journey that will test his languished faith. The Archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken, MCBAIN) is a key figure fueling the war in Heaven, it would seem the Angel has grown jealous of God's love for the "talking monkeys" on Earth and he come to Earth in search of an evil soul which is to lead his army against the Lord in Heaven.

When a young girl named Mary becomes a pawn in the battle between the Angels her school teacher Katherine (Virginia Madsen, CANDYMAN) is also drawn into the Angelic war alongside Simon and Dagget. Adam Goldberg (DAZED AND CONFUSED) appears as a would-be suicide victim named Jerry whom was stopped from dying by Gabriel and has in effect become his undead chauffeur on Earth, it's a fun role and later in the film Amanda Plummer (NEEDFUL THINGS) assumes the mantle when Jerry is dispatched, much to his own happiness, the relationship between Gabriel and his familiars is laced with dark humor, it's fun stuff.

While Mary suffers what appears to be a possession of sorts she is given an exorcism by Native Americans as our heroes battle the Archangel, during the conflict who should appear but Lucifer himself, played with Devilish delight by Vigo Mortensen (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE), a mischievous tempter whispering sweet blasphemy into the ears of our protagonists. Of course Old Scratch has a stake in the Heavenly civil war however his motivations turns out to not be quite as apparent as one might think, that Satan sure is a sneaky sort of fellow.

THE PROPHECY is a pretty great film, it's well-paced, the some nice action set-pieces, the cast is top-notch and there's some decent practical effects work and haunting imagery. It's great to see Walken, Plummer and Stoltz reunited after their turn in Quentin Tarantino's PULP FICTION just a year prior with my favorite performance coming from Walken as the seething Archangel, so disgusted by the talking monkies that have won the love of the Lord, it's rife with dark comedy and vitriol, it's fucking awesome. If I have to leverage a complaint I would say the film needed to run at least 120 minutes, the scope of the story outreached the film's breadth in my opinion. I easily could have  gone another half-hour with this story without a fuss, I was left wanting more and that's a good thing. I have yet to check out the sequels and would love to hear what you think about the film, it's sequels and your favorite 90's horror films.

Blu-ray: Previous DVD editions of the film were non-anamorphic presentations so I give a big thumbs up to Echo Bridge for the 16:9 widescreen (2.35:1) transfer though the box art erroneously advertises 1.78:1. Appropriate aspect aspect ratio aside the transfer is not very dynamic and lacks fine detail, clarity, vibrancy and depth.

The disc offers English language 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options with no subtitles. The 5.1 DTS offers some decent channel separation with dialogue, effects and the impressively textured score from David C. William (CRITTER 3) coming through rather nicely if not exactly giving the home theatre system a substantial workout. There is no subtitles option on the disc. Pretty typical of the Echo Bridge blu-rays there are no special features, not even a theatrical trailer. 

Verdict: If you haven't caught up with THE PROPHECY yet I say treat yourself, it's a wonderful thing and a true gem of the mid-90's genre filmmaking, it's smart, action-packed and entertaining. The recent film LEGION attempted something similar and failed quite miserably in my opinion. Quite the opposite THE PROPHECY is a faith testing supernatural-thriller that's definitely worth a watch. 3.5 outta 5

DVD Review: MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD (2011)

MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD (2011)

Label: Michael Perez Entertainment
Region Code: 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 120 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo with Optional Subtitles
Director: Bill Phillputt
 

Dan O' Bannon's THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) was hands down my VHS cassette of choice all through high school, having grown up on a steady diet of George A. Romero's zombie films I was well primed for this unique punk rock zombie film when it made it's way to VHS, it was definitely one of those gorgeous VHS boxes that caught your eye. It had it all; splatter, black comedy, nudity and a blazing punk rock soundtrack featuring DAMNED, TSOL, THE CRAMPS and that iconic tune "Partytime" by 45 GRAVE. The blend of black humor and splatter-rific gore was and still is unparallelled - when it comes to horror-comedies no film before or since touches this classic by a mile, not even SHAUN OF THE DEAD, well, maybe EVIL DEAD 2 but not much else. When I would come home from school, typically bummed out after a shitty day of academia and social leprosy, I would toss this one in the VCR, it was my cinema pick-me-up of choice and still is.
 

This extensive documentary answers pretty much any question one could hope to know about the film with interviews with pretty much the entire cast; Thom Mathews ("Freddy"), Don Calf ("Ernie"), Brian Peck ("Scuz"), Beverly Randolph("Tina"), Miguel A. Nunuz, Jr. ("Spider"), Linnea Quigley ("Trash"). John Philbin ("Chuck"), Jewel Shepard ("Casey"), James Karen ("Frank"), Clu Galager ("Burt") and even the "Tarman" himself Alan Trautman, plus Drew Deighan ("Paramedic #1) and James Palesandro ("Paramedic #2"), the notable exception being Mark Venturini ("Suicide") whom passed away after battling leukemia in '96. There's also interviews galore with the crew of the film, including assistant editor John Penney, casting director Stanzi Stokes, cinematographer Jules Brenner (SALEM'S LOT) the very smug (and awesome) set designer William Stout plus co-producer Graham Henderson. There are also chats with many of the films special effects and make-up artists; Kenny Myers, (the much maligned) William Munn, and Tony Gardner, the latter of whom created the stunning half-corpse in the film. It's an impressive gathering of the cast and crew and everyone really seems to be into talking about the film and their experiences on set.
 

The documentary is directed by Bill Phillputt whom produced both the HIS NAME IS JASON and NEVER SLEEP AGAIN docs, it's narrated by actor Brian "Scuz" Peck and starts off with John A. Russo speaking about the his partnership with George A. Romero on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and their legal arrangement that allowed both to pursue sequels to that film with a few stipulations, writing and casting the film on into the production and filming up to it's release and reception. The interviews come fast and furious, there's never a dull moment but it's the senior cast members like Clu Gulager (THE INITIATION), James Karen (POLTERGEIST) and Don Calfa (1941) whom are my favorite talking-heads, particurly Mr. Karen, he's so goddamned funny, these codgers have been around a while and have a story or two to share. Linnea Quigley, always a great interviewee, is no different here and Peck is all over this thing. Jewel Shepherd whom played "Casey" really comes off as a stoner valley girl survivor, I'm definitely gonna add her autobiography "If I Am So Famous, How Come Nobody's Ever Heard of Me?" to my reading list, I definitely wanted to hear more about and from here, the cast really seemed to have a disdain for her, both then and now.


There's discussion about the tension on set between he director and cast, the cast and the producers, it really sounds like it was quite a warzone on set which makes for some pretty awesome storytelling, some often contradicting the preceding one, such as Clu Gulager refuting that he through an object at O'Bannon on-set, which is actually pretty easy for me to believe. You may recall the TV series PROJECT GREENLIGHT when Clu's son John Gulager was filming the splatter-comedy FEAST, he was a tyrant on-set. There's also Nunez denying he sported a cod-piece during the film, which Linnea swears is true. It was also interesting to hear the different takes on director Dan O'Bannon, most recall him as cold and difficult, definitely a man of uncompromising vision but maybe a few quarts low in the social graces department by some accounts. Regardless, the man is a recognized genius - he's the screenwriter of ALIENS, DARK STAR, DEAD AND BURIED and LIFEFORCE, it's a damned shame he didn't go onto direct more during his time on this Earth.
 

For a two-hour documentary the film has a great flow with great production values, some fine narration from Brian "Scuz"Peck and cool motion-comic type scene transitions, sorta like what we saw with the director's cut of THE WARRIORS or the WATCHMEN motion comic. The film is jam-packed with behind-the-scenes video, stills, storyboards, conceptual artwork and clips from the film, of course. When the credits rolled I was left wanting more but in the best possible way, and luckily there's a shit-ton of bonus content to appease those like myself.
 

The wealth of complimentary bonus materials includes two half-hour mini disc covering the lesser sequels THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 2 and 3, loads of deleted scenes not found in the doc, one with designer Stout recalling a time both he and O'Bannon desecrated the cremated remains of infants, no lie! We also get a fun featurette ROTLD in 3 minutes, a guided tour of the filming locations as seen today, plus a half hour interview with writer/director Dan O' Bannon. It's pretty great all around and it offers a well-rounded and often times contradictory perspective of the film from all the angles.

Special Features:
- A Conversation with Dan O'Bannon: The Final Interview (28:29)
- They Won't Stay Dead: A Look at Return of the Living Dead Part II (29:42)
- Love Beyond the Grave: A Look at Return of the Living Dead 3 (20:52)
- Stacey Q Live! Exclusive "Tonight" Music Video (3:21)
- Even More Brains: Deleted Documentary Interviews
- Return of the Living Dead in 3 Minutes 3:01)
- Resurrected Settings: The Filming Locations Today (10:00)
- MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD  Trailer (1:35)
- NEVER SLEEP AGAIN Trailer (0:57)

Verdict: If you love ROTLD there's just no way I could conceive that you're not gonna wanna own this doc - it's pretty fantastic and definitely the most enjoyable movie doc I've seen in a very long time. A more definitive doc made by people who so obviously love a film you will never find, it's outstanding stuff. It's great to see the film that introduced brain-eating zombies into popular culture finally get some serious and long overdue respect. 4.5 outta 5

http://www.getmorebrains.com/

Trailer for THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012)

The trailer for the Joss Whedon (DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG-BLOG) produced and Drew Goddard (CLOVERFIELD) directed horror film THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012) is upon us, check it out and let me know what you think...

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS In Theatres April 13th 2012

Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen.

If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, a mind blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out.

Produced by Whedon and directed by Goddard from a script by both, the film stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford.

 

http://www.discoverthecabininthewoods.com/

 

DVD Review: ZOMBIETHON (1986)

ZOMBIETHON (1986)

Label: Full Moon
Region: 0 NTSC
Rating: R
Duration: 90 mins
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Video: 4:3 Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Ken Dixon
Tagline: Shambling shapes! Crawling creeps! Fleshless fiends! The liveliest Festival of the Dead is about to begin!

If you were a horror nerd in the 80's you might be familiar with Wizard Video, a video distribution company founded by Charles Band of Full Moon Features fame. Wizard released wonderful VHS's with lurid box art of ZOMBIE (1979), THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978) and even John Waters' PINK FLAMINGOS (1972) plus dozens of lesser b-movie, cult and exploitation fare. Wizard also released trio of video compilations, omnibus clips collections of films from the Wizard catalog. Long unavailable and out of print these video compilations are now available for the first-time-ever-on-DVD as part of the FULL MOON GRINDHOUSE COLLECTION from http://www.fullmonndirect.com/.

These video collections featured a wrap-around story that framed the anthology of clips and ZOMBIETHON's hook was a collection of rotting undead gathered together in a dark movie theater to watch zombie movies, natch. They're also peppered with some pretty 80's ladies in various states of undress and nudity, just gotta have it, right? These segments were directed by Ken Dixon (SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY) and are schlocky, slightly surreal vignettes with some decent production value if not much scripting, they're pretty awful but form a decent enough connective tissue linking the zombie clips.

The Wizard Video licensed films featured on this compilation of the undead begin with Lucio Fulci's unofficial sequel to DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), ZOMBIE (1979) aka ZOMBI 2. Surely, I need not tell you what a savagely atmospheric masterpiece this film is, it's simply the tits straight up. Having just watched Blue Underground's 2-Disc Ultimate Edition of the film (reviewed HERE) it was a nostalgic and novel trip watching the murky fullscreen VHS transfer of the film in all it's shitty glory, but don't think I didn't get caught up in it all over again, the clips total nearly 15 minutes in length and at one point I'd forgotten I wasn't actually sitting down for a viewing of the gore-classic until the connective segment started rolling featuring a bikini clad babe being chased by a zombie-mutant into the El Rey Theatre, a theatre that I walked by on a recent trip to LA, fun stuff.The next video entree is Jean Rollin's ZOMBIE LAKE (1981), a film I've never seen but the clips were enthralling; featuring green-skinned Nazi-zombies rising from the depths of a lake to consume a bus load of skinny dipping hotties with thickets of 70's bush, awesome. Goddamn I know this film is just gonna be vile and awful but the seed has been planted and I'm a perv- I just can't help myself and I must own this film against my better judgment.

With another clip of zombies arriving at the El Rey were watching the Jess Franco (SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY) film OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES (1983). That's right, more Nazi-zombies, fewer nude women, and a bit of a snoozer to be honest. I have a public domain print of this film on one of those 50 pack film collections and I don't think I've ever been able to finish it, it's a pretty terrible film. Another segment featuring a mother and child chased into the El Rey by zombies and were knee-deep in a film called FEAR (1981) which I've never heard of and after looking around it doesn't appear to be an easy find either. This looked more Giallo than zombie-film but there's some great gore to be had including a chainsaw to the neck. Added this one to the to-watch list I keep scrawled on a piece of paper in my wallet, definitely looks intriguing and it fared better than the next two clips; THE INVISIBLE DEAD (1973), and another Jess Franco feature called A VIRGIN AMONG THE DEAD (1973). Lastly we get a reel of clips from the psychotically fun b-movie classic ASTRO-ZOMBIES (1968) featuring the awesome John Carradine as the diabolical Dr. Demarco and the sultry femme fatale Tura Santana...meow. Definitely saving one of the best for last.

Special features include an Charles Band's Grindhouse Intro (8:07) in which Band recalls his beginnings in the industry with the x-rated feature film CINDERELLA (1977) featuring Cheryl Smith (FANTASM COMES AGAIN), his definition of what makes a grindhouse film, the beginnings of Wizard Video's video compilations and the making of SAVAGE ISLAND with Linda Blair (CHAINED HEAT). It's a fun listen, Band is the ultimate bullshitter and always an enthusiastic promoter. There's also what's touted as a Grindhouse Featurette (2:45) but is really just a promo reel for the GRINDHOUSE COLLECTION of films plus a selection of Full Moon Trailers.

Verdict: With ZOMBIETHON we get a schlocky b-movie wrap-a-round with some trashy video clips, many with tons of nudity, a stone cold classic (ZOMBIE), some schlocky cult (ZOMBIELAKE, ASTRO-ZOMBIES) and some real stinkers (THE INVISIBLE DEAD). It's definitely a mixed bag, some of these films are surely unwatchable in their feature length presentations, but I do find some nostalgic value in this video compilation. While I might not throw this on again anytime soon I think it would be a fantastic DVD to play in the background at your next party with the music cranked to 10 and the beer flowing freely. 2 outta 5

Blu-ray Review: HORROR EXPRESS (1972)

HORROR EXPRESS (1972)
Blu-ray +DVD Combo

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region FREE

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 90 minutes

Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.Mono Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.66:1)

Director: Eugenio Martin

Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Telly Savalas, Angel De Pozo, Julio Pena, Albert De Mendoza, Silvia Tortosa, Helga Line

Tagline: Your Non Stop Ride to Hell Boards at 8 P.M.

HORROR EXPRESS aka PANIC ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS stars the dynamic team-up of horror royalty Christopher Lee (THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD) and Peter Cushing (ASYLUM) in a rare instance of on-screen kinship as opposed to their usual Dracula vs. Van Helsing dichotomy. The film also features a memorable appearance from a scenery chewing Telly Savalas (LISA AND THE DEVIL) and Albert de Mendoza (A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN) as a Rasputin-like Monk. This classic 70's thriller-chiller features a prehistoric creature that turns it's victims into eye-bleeding zombies on the Trans-Siberian Express.
 

Alexander Saxton (Lee) is a British anthropologist who discovers what he believes to be the evolutionary "missing link" frozen deep in an ice cave in Manchuria. He crates this discovery and boards the Trans-Siberian Express bound for Moscow and then onward to England. At the train station in Shanghai Saxton runs into his British colleague Dr. Wells (Cushing) and his assistant Mrs. Jones (Alice Reinhart, RAT FINK). Shortly before the crate can be loaded onto the train a would-be thief is found dead after attempting to pick the lock of the crate. The thieves eyes have turned unnaturally white with blood streaking from the eyes, nose and mouth. This catches the watchful eye of Inspector Mirov (Julio Pena), the Polish Count Petrovski (George LIVES!) and his stunning wife Countess Irina (Silvia Tortosa, WHEN THE SCREAMING STOPS) plus their spiritual advisor Pujardov (Albert De Mendoza, A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN), the latter of whom begins to suspect that something evil lays within the crate, which Saxton, a man of science, scoffs at outright.

With the cause of death unknown the crate is loaded into the train and the passengers board the Russia bound steam engine. After the unexplained death Dr. Wells becomes increasingly curious as to what mystery lays within the wooden crate and offers baggage man Maletero (Victor Israel, THE DEVIL'S KISS) a small bribe to take a peak inside the crate at his next earliest convenience. Meanwhile Wells and Saxton accommodate themselves into their sleeper cars where Wells makes the acquaintance of an attractive petty thief by the name of Natasha (Helga Line, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMBS) and we are then introduced to an engineer and amateur science nerd named Yevtushenko (Angel De Pozo, THE PASSENGER).

Meanwhile Maletero is attempting to open up Saxton's crate when he is attacked by the thawed primitive creature inside who it turns out is only too alive. When Maletero stares directly into the beasts eerie, red-glowing eyes he is stricken with the same fate as the would-be thief; whitened eyes and hemorrhaging from orifices. An autopsy is performed on the man by Wells and Saxton whom deduce that the creature is of alien nature and is inexplicably able to absorb it's victim's knowledge, so much so that it actually sucks the wrinkles right out of their brains leaving the vacant orb smooth as a baby's bottom.

 After a few more deaths the creature is shot and killed by Inspector Mirov, it would seem the culprit was a threat no more but when the killing of the trains more educated passengers continue Wells and Saxton further hypothesize that the alien threat is formless and able to inhabit the body of it's victims. The two men of science are left to sleuth whom among the passengers is the red-eyed, brain-sucking beast. Late in the film Telly Savalas makes an appearance as the larger than life Cossack officer Captain Kazan, he having been summoned to board the train with an attachment of officers by the Russian authorities after news of the murders is wired from the train. Savalas winds up momentarily stealing the show with his scenery chomping performance, it's fun stuff. One of my favorite aspects of the film involves the monk Pujardov's seduction by the evil entity which he mistakes for Satan, already seemingly near mad at the start of the film with religious fervor he is completely seduced by it's power, it's great stuff and an intense performance from De Mendoza.

The film certainly takes inspiration from John Campbell's story WHO GOES THERE (the inspiration for both Howard Hawks THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD and John Carpenter's THE THING) the film masterfully isolates a core group of characters on a train speeding through a desolate landscape. As the mystery deepens the paranoia is ramped up to the breaking point, it's thick with atmosphere and this early 70's chiller is a grisly and macabre slice of sci-fi horror with a pretty steep bodycount for the day with no less than 15 by my count. At only and hour and a half the film's well-plotted structure keeps the momentum moving forward with thrilling twists and turns, there's no point at which the story becomes stagnant, it's a finely paced film.


Blu-ray: Having seen this film several times on terribly fuzzy VHS and DVD editions Severin's brand-new restored hi-definition transfer from the original camera negative is nothing short of a revelation, perhaps more true than any of the many times I've said it - this was like seeing the film for the first time. The print is not pristine by any means, there are plenty of blemishes throughout, but comparatively it's the best we're possibly ever going to see. There's a new depth and clarity to the image and the fine detail of the tweed and hounds tooth jackets are nicely resolved by the 1080p presentation. That said, there's scratches, dirt, speck and nicks. The film is dominated by muted browns and grays but some of the red, blues and greens are nicely represented, particularly the red-eyed creature and blue Cossack uniforms. The grain can be unsightly at times which is not helped by some digital artifacting and noise either but despite these shortcomings I must say visually this is a delight. After years of languishing in the public domain this is sure to be a revelation. Definitely check out the screenshot comparison below for a clear example of just how amazing the restoration is.

For reasons unknown Severin Films have chosen not to include an uncompressed audio track and we are instead given the choice of Spanish and English language Dolby Digital Mono with no subtitles, the exclusion of subtitles may be dismaying to those choosing to partake in the Spanish track. The fidelity may not be ideal but is relatively clean and strong when compared to my Mill Creek DVD edition, the fuzzed out guitar score and haunting main theme from John Cacavas (MORTUARY) sounds fantastic.

Severin Films have done a wonderful job complimenting the feature film with a wealth of bonus features. Beginning with an Introduction by Fangoria Editor Chris Alexander (6:50) in which the enthusiastic editor fondly recalls discovering the film on VHS, it's dubious public domain stature and delves into what makes the film such a classic.




Murder On The Trans-Siberian Express: New Interview With Director Eugenio Martin (13:50) in which the director recalls many facets of the film including the scripting, casting, using the train sets from PANCHO VILLA (also starring Telly Savalas) and working with Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Savalas.

Notes From The Blacklist: Producer Bernard Gordon Discusses The McCarthy Era (30:30) is a 2005 interview with the film's producer whom recalls the tribulations of being a blacklisted writer during the McCarthy era. There's no mention of HORROR EXPRESS but it's an interesting watch.

Telly And Me: New Interview With Composer John Cacavas (8:04) features the composer of the score discussing his friendship with actor Telly Savalas through the years and working on HORROR EXPRESS, PANCHO VILLA and the TV series Kojak (which starred Savalas).

Also included is a 1973 Audio Interview With Peter Cushing (88 mins) conducted not too long after HORROR EXPRESS. It's a captivating interview with Cushing recalling his entire career up till that point, including his legendary work with Hammer and Amicus Films.The interview is an audio option that can be played while viewing the film.

Rounding out the features are a Theatrical Trailer (2:53), a trio of Severin Trailers: PSYCHOMANIA (2:45) 16:9, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (0:47) 16:9, NIGHTMARE CASTLE (3:20) 16:9 and a separate disc containing the DVD edition of the film with mirrored supplemental features. This marks Severin's first dual format release, I'm a fan of the Blu-ray +DVD combos and I hope it proves to be a trend for 'em.

Verdict: HORROR EXPRESS is a chiller classic and the new transfer brings renewed life to this musty public domain gem like never before. Not just a great transfer but a fantastic fright film, a gruesome sci-fi thriller that can now be viewed in a manner befitting of such a classic, say goodbye to your dark, scuzzy public domain prints and enjoy, your in for a treat. 4 outta 5

DVD SCREENSHOT COMPARISON: Here are some revealing DVD screenshot comparisons rather unfairly pitting the 4:3 transfer of HORROR EXPRESS from my Mill Creek Entertainment's CHILLING MOVIES 50 PACK against Severin Film's newly restored print presented in it's original aspect ratio of 16:9 enhanced widescreen (1.66:1) - it's an eye-opener...

TOP: Mill Creek 4:3

BOTTOM: Severin Films 16:9