HALLOWEEN 4 and HALLOWEEN 5 on Blu-ray August 28th from Anchor Bay

On August 21st Anchor Bay Entertainment revamps two of the most iconic horror films to ever grace the big screen with Halloween 4 (1988) and Halloween 5 (1989).  The films are coming to Blu-ray with all brand-new hi-def transfers and over an hour of both archival and newly created bonus features! This is great news for slasher fans whom can also look forward to Collector Edition Blu-rays of Halloween 2 (1981) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) on September 18th from Scream Factory. The Anchor Bay discs are loaded with some very cool newly created bonus content including new audio commentaries and deleted scenes.

HALLOWEEN 4 (1988)  Blu-ray 

Label: Anchor BayEntertainment

Release Date: August 21st, 2012

Rating: R

Duration: 88 Mins

Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 with English, Spanish Subtitles 

Director: Dwight H. Little 

He had maimed 16 people to get to his sister.  He was shot and incinerated, but still the entity that Dr. Sam Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) calls “Evil on two legs” would not die. Tonight, Michael Myers has come home again…to kill! This time, Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris, Halloween 5, The Last Boy Scout) – the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode – and her babysitter Rachel (Ellie Cornell, Halloween 5, House of the Dead). Can Loomis stop Michael before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece?

Bonus Features: 

- Deleted and Alternate Scenes (30 minutes of NEW scenes!)

- Audio Commentary with Director Dwight H. Little and Author Justin Beahm(NEW)

- Audio Commentary with Actors Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris

- Halloween 4/5 Discussion Panel

- Theatrical Trailer

HALLOWEEN 5 (1989) Blu-ray 

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Release Date: August 21, 2012

Rating: R

Duration: 98 Mins

Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 with English, Spanish Subtitles

Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard

Michael Myers survived the mine explosion thought to have killed him. One year later, his traumatized young niece Jamie is horrified to discover she has a telepathic bond with her evil Uncle…and that Uncle Michael is on his way back to Haddonfield. But Dr. Loomis has a new plan to destroy The Boogey Man in his childhood home using Jamie as bait.  With enhanced gore and effects, vengeance has never looked so gruesome!

Bonus Features: 

- Audio Commentary with Director Dominique Othenin-Girard and actors Danielle Harris and Jeffrey Landman

- Audio Commentary with Actor Don Shanks and Author Justin Beahm (NEW)

- Halloween 5: Orginal Promo (NEW) 

- Halloween 5: On the Set Footage (NEW - 17 mins. of raw footage)
- Theatrical Trailer

DVD Review: COUNTESS PERVERSE (1973)

COUNTESS PERVERSE (1973)

Original Director's Cut DVD 

Label: Mondo Macabro
Region: ALL NTSC 

Duration: 78 min.

Rating: Unrated

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono French with English Subtitles

Video: Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Director: Jess Franco

Cast: Alice Arno, Howard Vernon Kali Hansa, Lina Romay, Tania Busselier, Robert Woods 

Synopsis: In the Countess Perverse aka La Comtesse Perverse (1973) a pair of decadent and debauched aristocrats turns their private island into a human hunting ground where they can stalk their naked prey. As each victim is murdered, their carcass is then cooked and fed to their guests; simply delicious! What the unsuspecting visitors don't realize is that they will soon become the next evening’s “meal, “ eventually fighting for their lives in a shocking and flesh-baring cat-and-mouse game.

The ever-prolific Jesus Franco is a true master of Euro-sleaze cinema with a stunning filmography that's 200+ strong. Franco is someone whom I honestly cannot say I've seen a ton from but of what I have seen it's been a love it or loathe it experience. A title that I am particularly fond of is the erotic-revenger  She Killed in Ecstasy (1971) starring the stunning 70's sexpot Soledad Miranda (Vampyros Lesbos) which I just cannot recommend enough for Euro-cult enthusiasts. It's problematic for me that it was my first entry into the Cult of Franco because I  think it set the bar rather high for a director who's rather hit and/or miss for me. 

This erotic take on the pre-code classic The Most Dangerous Game (1933) begins with a couple discovering a naked and unconscious woman on the beach. They take her back to their home where the gorgeous red-haired beauty named Kali (The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff) spins a delirious tale of  traveling to the island of Count (Howard Vernon, Seven Women for Satan) and Countess Zaroff (Alice Arno, Justine De Sade) in search of her missing twin sister. We get a an odd flashback as she is transported to the eerie island on top of which sits a fantastic home, it's a bizarre construct. It seemed so familiar to me and then it dawned on me that I had previously seen it in Franco's She Killed in Ecstasy. Unfortunately the couple whom found her washed-up  on the beach, Bob (Robert Woods, Lady Lucifera) and his wife Moira (Tania Busselier, Ilsa the Wicked Warden), are in league with the Zaroff's and procure young beauties for their diabolical games.

Bob and Moira are a swinging couple whom befriend young ladies, seduce them and  take them to the island of the bizarre Count and Countess Zaroff whom treat their guests to a succulent meal then tag-team rape them and then stalk their naked prey before eating them and serving them to the next guests. It's a delirious and fever-pitched slice of cinema that doesn't always make sense but never fear because Franco is a master of his craft and before your brain can properly launch a protest your mind and libido are assaulted by a feast of nubile flesh. Franco may have his shortcomings as a filmmaker but his eye for exotic locations and stunning naked women are never in doubt.  The true find for me here was the super-hot Silvia (Lina Romay, Female Vampire) as a Spanish tourist whom befriends Bob and Moira and ends up in their bed and inevitably on the island where she is seduced by the Countess only to later discover the duo in the process of beheading poor Kali. Silvia faints at the sight and awakens to find she has become prey for Countess Zaroff in the film's finale. The site of a nude Alice Arno stalking Lina Romay over the island with a bow and a quiver full of arrows is quite a sight and not one you'll soon want to forget but the final scene  featuring Robert Woods decked out in a rhinestone studded denim jacket and bell bottomed jeans wading into the ocean carrying the lifeless body of his beloved is a bit too dramatic and early 70's for me, totally laughed my ass off. There's some 70's cheese here but the cinematography and locations are quite striking as are the women. The story is pretty threadbare but it's entertaining and perverse with deviant elements that should delight any Euro-sleaze enthusiast.  

DVD: Mondo Macabro's presentation of Jesus Franco's erotic-thriller Countess Perverse (1973) is presented in it's original 4:3 aspect ratio and not 16:9 as the DVD jacket would indicate. That said the transfer is sourced from a newly restored camera negative and is pretty fantastic with vibrant color and nice clarity and sharpness that's free of debris, artifact and blemishes. The French language Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio is clean and the post-dubbed dialogue and film score sound great, especially loved the sweet fuzzed-out guitar score alternated with some less than stellar organ-mashing. 

We get a video interview with actor Robert Woods whom discusses the uneasy transition from westerns into Countess Perverse and  there's some discussion of the  other six films he went onto do with Franco. He speaks about the genius of the director and his less than enthusiastic opinions of the alternate XXX versions of the film. The second interview comes from author Stephen Thrower whom speaks about the film's origins as a take on The Most Dangerous Game (1933) with some Marquis De Sade elements, good stuff. 

We also get a 10 pg. text essay entitled "About the Film" which is pretty informative with plus we get "Cast and Crew Profiles" of Robert Woods, Alice Arno, Tania Busselier, Howard Vernon and Lisa Romay. There's a nice Mondo Macabro video preview of a ton of Mondo Macabro titles. I haven't seen a ton of MM's stuff and this got me excited to check out a few more really soon. The films on the preview reel are Snake Sisters, The Queen of Black Magic, Silip - Daughters of Eve, Mystics in Bali, The Blood Rose, Snake Dancer, The Devil's Sword, Lifespan, Don't Deliver Us from Evil, Satan's Blood, Virgins from Hell, For Your Height Only, French Sex Murders, The Deathless Devil, Living Doll, Satanico Pandemonium, Panic Beats, Clonus, The Killer Must Kill Again, The Mansion of Madness, Alucarda, The Diabolical Dr. Z, Aswang, The Living Corpse, Blood of the Virgins, Seven Women for Satan, Lady Terminator, Crazy Love, Mill of the Stone Women, Dangerous Seductress and More!

Special Features:

- Brand New Transfer from Original Negative 

- Cast and Crew Profiles of Robert Woods, Alice Arno, Tania Busselier, Howard Vernon and Lisa Romay

- Interview with actor Robert Woods (15:56) 

- Introduction by film critic Stephen Thrower (16:03) 

- Exclusive Profile of director Jess Franco 

- Mondo Macabro Previews (7:43) 

 http://www.mondomacabrodvd.com/

Verdict: I was completely turned-on by Countess Perverse, it's an erotic and twisted take on The Most Dangerous Game with all the sex and perversion one has come to expect from a Franco film with a nice side of rape, cruelty and cannibalism thrown in. After the erotic-revenger She Killed In Ecstasy (1971) this is my favorite Jess Franco feature so far, definitely puts me in the mood to further explore the filmmakers prolific early 70's filmography. In 1973 alone Franco completed nearly a dozen films, truly a mad genius.  

3.5 Outta 5 

DVD Review: THE COLLAPSED (2011)

THE COLLAPSED (2011) DVD

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment 
Region: 1 NTSC
Duration: 82 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with English Subtitles
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Justin McConnell
Cast: John Fantasia, Anna Ross


After a slightly ambiguous world-ending event a family of four find themselves scouring the countryside for supplies which brings them to an abandoned gas station where they hope to collect gasoline and snacks. While there the father spots a group of heavily armed men entering the building and the family abandon their vehicle and make the forested wilderness where they encounter other survivors of the apocalypse whom may or may not be cannibals and something otherworldly that's all together more sinister.

I do love a well-crafted apocalypse film, one I can throw myself into and think what would I do in that situation and what are these guys on-screen doing wrong that I could do better. That's something that I think I first encountered with George a. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) when I was eight years old  thinking what the Hell would I do and how awesome would it be to be holed-up in a frigging mall of all places. When I was eight that was appealing but now thirty years later when I step foot in a mall it feel like a soul-sucking apocalypse but for different reasons, now I loathe the mall.


Justin McConnell's film The Collapsed (2011) offers up some decent suspense and mystery for it's duration, it moves along a t a pretty good pace and there's a supernatural element to it that reminded me a bit of Gregg Holtgrewe's Dawning (2009), it gave the film a nice sense of paranoia and dread that amped up the finale. 

The acting in the film is pretty decent, maybe a bit short of great but definitely serviceable. These people are in a desperate and dire situation compounded by personal feelings. These are family members under a lot of stress, the tension is palpable and to that end it's pretty successful and pulls you in with some nice character moments. Now one of my main issues  are some suspect motivations that left me scratching my head wondering just what a few characters were thinking, but for the most part this was a very decent watch and nothing was so odd that it withdrew me from the film.

Special Features: 

- Feature length behind-the-scenes documentary "Apocalypse On A Budget: The Making of The Collapse"
- Two audio commentaries: director/writer/producer Justin McConnell and co-story/co-producer Kevin

Hutchinson; lead actor John Fantasia;
- Music Video: Rob Kleiner's "Devil In Disguise"
- Trailers
- Photo Gallery
- Original Score Jukebox and MP3 Album Download
- Original Screenplay
- Easter Eggs



Verdict: Not a perfect film but a thoroughly enjoyable watch and a well crafted apocalyptic indie-thriller with some sweet nail-biting moments. A definite rental at the very least and a probably a buy for the apocalyptic nuts out there. Good Stuff.  3.5/5 

Blu-ray Review: Mother's Day

MOTHER'S DAY (2010)

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 112 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2:40:1)
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Cast: Shawn Ashmore, Lyriq Bent, Patrick John Flueger, Frank Grillo, Jaime King, Warren Kole, Lisa Marcos, Kandyse McClure, Rebecca De Mornay, Tony Nappo, Matt O'Leary, Deborah Ann Woll Darren Lynn Bousman's remake of the Charles Kaufman's Troma classic Mother's Day (1980) makes it's way to Blu-ray after languishing for some time on a shelf having been deprived of a theatrical release. I should mention that I watched this without the benefit of having seen the Troma exploitation original but hopefully we'll be seeing a Blu-ray of that feature in the very near future, it having been delayed numerous times not unlike the remake. Beth (Jamie King) and Daniel Sohapi (Frank Grillo) are young couple just having moved into a new home following a family tragedy. The night they host a birthday party attended by several friends the party is crashed by the Koffin Brothers, a trio of sadistic bank robbers. We have Izaac (Patrick John Flueger), Addley (Warren Cole) and the youngest of the bunch Johnny (Matt O'Leary) who suffers a  nasty gunshot to the chest after a double-cross during the robbery. The trio arrive at the house under the assumption that the home belongs to their mother, not realizing it was recently foreclosed on and is now home to the young couple. Taken by surprise the party goers are forced to remain in the basement at gunpoint while one of the guests, a doctor (Shawn Ashmore) tends as best he can to the gravely injured Johnny. It's not long before mommy dearest (the awesome Rebecca De Mornay) and daughter Lydia, the gorgeous ginger-haired Deborah Ann Woll of HBO's True Blood, arrive on the scene and mom takes over. De Mornay as the steely-eyed patriarch is quite the chilling character; a strict punishment minded momma who is the scary embodiment of every quietly seething mother who's ever uttered the phrase "come here, I just wanna talk, I'm not gonna hurt you" right before she snags you by the ear and whips the snot outta ya. Only De Mornay's momma is more likely to have one of her sadistic sons poor liquor on your head and set it on fire rather than grabbing a handful of earlobe, she's a scary intense piece of work. We haven't seen the actress this scary since the thriller The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and even still that's nowhere near what we have here. There's quite a few torturous moments on display here, it's a real nail-biter. Not a splatterfest by any means but there's definitely some decent moments of gore including a couple of sweet shotgun blast to the skull. It's disturbing stuff as the twisted family pit the party guests against each other taking delight in their misery. There's a matter of missing money that fuels the horrific events throughout the film and I think it's mighty successful.I don't count myself as a fan of the few Darren Lynn Bouseman films I've seen including Saw II and Repo! The Genetic Opera but this I truly love. It's a sickening nailbiter that's pretty twisted and it's a damn shame it didn't get a wide theatrical run.  4 outta 5

Blu-ray Review: 42ND STREET FOREVER: THE BLU-RAY EDITION (2012)

42nd Street Forever: The Blu-ray Edition [Blu-ray]

Label: Synapse Films 

Region: All Regions (ABC)
Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 225 minutes

Audio: DTS-HD MA English 2.0 Mono

Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)

Director: Various

Cast: Various


Synopsis: Synapse Films’ best-selling 42ND STREET FOREVER DVD series has been a favorite of grindhouse and exploitation fans around the world. Presented here for the first time on Blu-ray, this colossal “best of” collection combines a selection of vintage theatrical trailers from the first two DVD volumes of the series, and mixes them up with some all-new selections! Remastered in true 1080p high definition, this mind-numbing dose of classic original coming attractions will have your Blu-ray player exploding with more than three and a half hours of sex, exploitation, action, horror and science-fiction advertisements from around the world! Can your brain take all this sleaze in one sitting? A collection so huge, we can’t even list them all on the Blu-ray packaging!

The Film: What we have here is a "best of" collection of trailers culled from Synapse Films much beloved 42nd Street Forever trailer compilations. Some of you out there might be thinking what's so great about a compilation of film trailers but let me tell you - it's a pretty fantastic watch. As someone who loves not just a well executed trailer but owns a pretty large collection of mp3 "radio spots" for  grindhouse/horror films this set is pure gold from the get-go with an arsenal of action, blaxploitation, sexploitation, rape-revenge, kung-fu, horror and smut, it's just a terribly good watch.


We get some b-movie cheese sandwiched between slices of fried gold, and even the cheese is so godawful terrible that it's not just bad cinema it's awesome. I'm maybe not the world's biggest connoisseur of blaxploitation but if the trailer for The Guy from Harlem (1977) from the director of the black exorcist film Abby (1974) doesn't make you weep for joy the reel for the crazy weird revenge tale Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975) surely will, especially with that junk cutting scene, ouch. Not doing it for you, how about the mighty Boss Nigger (1975) or the urban voodoo zombie flick Sugar Hill (1974) both of which I haven't seen but if these trailers are to be believed they're must-see trash films.


Now I have seen a lot of obscure cult films but I've only seen maybe 1/3 of the treasures on display here. There's several trailers that left me scratching my head and wondering aloud "Why the fuck have I not seen these!?!". Three that particularly struck me were the William Devane action-revenger Rolling Thunder (1975), Abel Ferrara's rape-revenger Ms. 45 (1981) and They Call Her One Eye (1974) starring Christina Lindberg - Oh My Lord do  these look fucking awesome.


Trashy sexploitation is well represented by the trashy women in prison epic Chained Heat (1983) starring Linda Blair. The film is part of Impulse Pictures Women in Prison Triple Feature, get that shit quick! Sleazy fun with Ginger (1971), The Teacher (1974) and Delinquent Schoolgirls (1975). Need a little sci-fi with your softcore well how about Flesh Gordon (1974),  havent' seen it? Me neither but now I think need to.


Creature features are well represented with the slimy 80's awesomeness of The Deadly Spawn (1983), The Green Slime (1968)  (available on DVD on Demand from the Warner Archive) and the killer mushroom feature Matango (1968) - yeah that's right, killer 'shrooms.


Now if you own the first two DVD volumes of the series don't go trading 'em in just yet for there are over 3 dozen trailers from those set not carried over here, remember this is a best of with some new selections thrown in.


Blu-ray: The nearly four hours of trailers are presented in 1080p and look like what you would expect from a collection of grindhouse trailers. The source material can be mighty suspect at times but the grit and grime are part and parcel of the grindhouse experience. This distinct patina of the non-pristine is much sought after and when you think of recent films like Grindhouse (2007), Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) and Astron-6's Father's Day (2011) this is exactly the atheistic they're trying to capture to varying degrees of success. Likewise the audio is not pristine with pops and audio imperfections but it's all part of the charm and I wouldn't have it any other way.


Special Features:
- Audio commentary with AVManiancs.com's Edwin Samuelson, Fangoria Magazine's Michael Gingold and Temple of Schlock's Chris Poggiali


Verdict: 42nd Street Forever Blu-ray Edition gets a high recommend from me. It's a great night of beer drinking and skipping through to the goodies and enjoying the awesomeness and crappulence of 70's and 80's  grindhouse cinema. I couldn't take it all in one sitting, that would have been brain-melting but every night after work I would  sit on the couch with a Guinness and a plate of bleu cheese curds and delve into the awesomeness for an hour or so  and it was awesome. Much like viewings Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation (2008) and Machete Maiden Unleashed (2010) I sat with pencil ion hand scribbling down names of films that i just needed to see, great stuff. This is definitely a Blu-ray I'll be handing out as gifts this Christmas. Here's hoping a second volume is in the works... 4.5 outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: KILLER NUN (1979)

KILLER NUN (1979)

Label: Blue Underground
Region Code: All
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 88 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen  (1.85:1)
Audio: English, Italian DTS-HD Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, English for Italian Version
Director: Giulio Berruti
Cast: Anita Ekberg, Joe Dallesandro, Lou Castel, Alida Valli, Paola Morra


Synopsis: Legendary Swedish sex bomb Anita Ekberg (La Dolce Vita) stars as Sister Gertrude, a cruel nun who discovers depraved pleasure in a frenzy of drug addiction, sexual degradation and sadistic murder. Joe Dallesandro (Flesh for Frankenstein), Lou Castel (A Bullet for the General), Alida Valli (Suspiria) and the luscious Paola Morra (Behind Convent Walls) co-star in this notorious 'Nunsploitation' based on actual events that took place in a Central European country not many years ago!


The Film: Could it be that this is my first entry into the nunsploitation sub-genre? I think it is. Killer Nun is a title I've long heard of and now being able to sit down and watch the damn thing I think it may have been a case of expecting maybe a bit too much. A weird little film starring one-time sex goddess Anita Ekberg as Sister Gertrude - a nun slash nurse at a psychiatric center who is none-too-slowly becoming unhinged from reality as she spirals down a path of morphine addiction, seduction and murder. Director Berruti doesn't seem to really know what kind of film he's looking to make, there's the exploitative elements one would assume with nunsploitation but it's never quite sleazy enough with only hints at lesbianism - I wanted more - I'm a perv what can I say? Ekberg while a bit older here is still a striking woman from the top down if you know what I mean but she just doesn't commit to the full-on sleaziness this role demands, what she does do quite excellently is portray the madness of Sister Gertrude when given the opportunity, she's got some serious problems. I would have liked to see the film be more of a character study such as William Lustig's Maniac but like I say the film tries to be too much at once and yet not enough ever. We get the sleazy but not sleazy enough nunsploitation, a bit of character study and even some Italian-style Giallo murder-mystery but like everything else it's not fine pointed enough to be successful at any of 'em in my opinion.


Don't get me wrong the film is pretty entertaining all around, visually it's attractively shot  and it's difficult to not enjoy Ekberg's performance as an morphine-addicted nun unraveling before your very eyes but it lacks a certain something. The are gruesome, there's some nice atmosphere and thankfully gorgeous co-star Paolo Morra disrobes several times throughout the film much to my delight. The drug-induced hallucinations are fantastic and when Ekberg loses her shit and stomps a patients dentures into oblivion I laughed my ass off, that was a bit over-the-top but you gotta love it. 


Blu-ray: Blue Underground presents the film newly remastered from the original negative fully restored in high definition. It's a very nice transfer from a near flawless print. The natural grain is lovingly intact and the image has some nice depth to it at times. Black levels are decent and the 1080p is pleasingly crisp and detailed. Likewise the DTS-HD MA Italian and English audio tracks are crisp and clear if not particularly dynamic, a very nice presentation from Blue Underground.


Special features include a poster and still gallery, theatrical trailer and a fourteen minute interview with director Giulio Berruti conducted in Italian with English subtitles. It's a great watch as he recounts working with Ekberg and filming in an actual monastery while trying to hide the true nature of the film from the priests, fun stuff.


Special Features:
From the Secret Files of the Vatican (13:41) 16:9
Theatrical Trailer (2:56) 16:9
Poster and Still Gallery


Verdict: As an exploitation film I don't think Killer Nun (1979) quite lives up to it's legend, it's a bit middle of the road and doesn't define itself enough for my taste. If it had gone more in the direction of out n' out sleazy nunspoitation I would be ecstatic or if it had gone the way of a full tilt character study of a drug-addicted nun spiraling out of control but as it stands its still a nice slice of sleazy exploitation with some nice kills, depraved visuals, sexy women and some arty leanings but its just a bit too tame for my tastes. Not a great film, it's a renter and maybe a buy for the more determined Italian exploitation nut.  
3.5 outta 5 

DVD Review: THE BURNING MOON (1997)

THE BURNING MOON (1997)

Label: Intervision Picture Corp
Duration: 98 mins
Video: Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio: German Dolby Digital with English subtitles
Director: Olaf Ittenbach
Cast: Andrea Arbter, Ellen Fischer, Ronald Fuhrmann
Tagline: No Matter What You Have Seen... You Have NEVER Seen anything like...


 Synopsis: In 1992, writer/director/special effects master Olaf Ittenbach changed the face of video horror, force-fed its ripped-out eyeballs to screaming audiences, then used a drill, machete and shotgun on its still-twitching torso: Ittenbach himself stars as a degenerate junkie who babysits his young sister with two bedtime stories of the damned. First, an escaped serial killer turns date night into a graphic family massacre. Then a country priest on a rape and murder spree leads to a disturbingly explicit descent into Hell. It became the VHS that shocked America. It has been banned in its Motherland for nearly 20 years. And it remains perhaps the most violent and depraved shot-on-video saga in history. This is The Burning Moon.


Olaf Ittenbach’s shot-on-video gore-fest The Burning Moon (1997) makes its way from VHS dustbin obscurity to DVD from Intervision Picture Corp, a company who know a thing or two about obscure SOV films. They've brought us the Canadian VHS mindfuck Things (1989) and the slow-mo nightmare Sledgehammer (1983). If you know anything about either film you know they're not fucking around, these are some truly fucked-up films. Maybe not great films but really weird and wonderful in a you-just-gotta-see-this sorta way.


The Burning Moon is actually an anthology film of sorts featuring two tales with a neat framing device featuring a German thrasher dude named Peter (director Olaf Ittenbach) as he arrives for a job interview. He's really just one of the most-unhireable teens you'd ever want to come into an interview situation. After bombing the interview he takes off for a night of drinking and street fighting with his Hessian friends. The fight between two street gangs is loaded with carnage; chains, bottles being broken, head-bashing and lots of blood. In the aftermath Peter wanders home to tend to his wounds. The family dynamic at the house is nothing short of hostile with Peter verbally abusing his mother followed by a physical altercation with his father. In the midst of this he is told he must babysit his younger sister whom he clearly has no love for. Once mom and dad are gone Peter shoots a load of heroin into his arm, sweaty and disoriented he ventures outside and looks up  into the sky where he sees a vision of the moon on-fire, it's a very cool lo-fi effect. Strung out on dope he sits aside his sister's bed and spins the sibling two twisted bedtime stories.


First up an escaped mental patient escapes from a hospital for the criminally insane in a way that will seem pretty familiar to fans of John Carpenters Halloween. Having been away from the dating scene for some time he's anxious to get back into the swing of things and sets himself up on a blind date. The unfortunate young woman who winds up in his company only just narrowly escapes his clutches when she overhears a radio broadcast in regard to the escaped nutcase. But like any true psycho you just can't get away clean and he soon arrives on her doorstep leading to a pretty heinous slaughter. For a lo-fi shot-on-video slasher this film is heavy on the gore, it's not always realistic but just great stuff for the gore aficionados. The carnage is highlighted by a rather gruesome machete being shoved through a mouth and exiting the ear, it's fantastic gore. There are several decapitations, beatings and stabbings plus a wicked finger slicing scene with the killer leaving the severed digits in a butter dish. There's just tons of nastiness on display here.


The second story involves a countryside priest on a sadistic  murder-rape spree that begins with a woman being brutally raped and then shot in the head - it's pretty grim stuff. The priest continues his spree of rape and murders performing Satanic rituals to what end I am unsure. At the same time some hapless farmer  gets the blame for the violent rampage and a group of irate villagers hire one of the townies to stab, beat and pulverize his sorry ass to a bloody pulp. Apparently that Satanic ritual the priest performed had an effect because he then rises a zombie to wreak his awful revenge, sort off. He scrawls a bloody "666" onto the house and the perpetrator is then transported to Hell and then things get really strange. The finale is a glorious vision of Hell that's a lo-fi macabre masterpiece of gore, a cornucopia of the despicable and depraved. We've got ghouls tearing flesh, tons of gut-munching, a face peeled from a skull, flaming eye-sockets, vivisection and enough eye-trauma to appease even the most depraved fan of Lucio Fulci - it's fantastic stuff. Pretty elaborate effects highlighted by images of teeth being drilled which shattered my nerves, its horrendous stuff that culminates with someone being torn in half from the anus upwards, nauseating from start to finish.


Special Features:
- Making of Burning Moon (47mins)
- Trailer (0:39) 
- Intervision Trailers: ABC's of Love and Sex (2:42), Secret Life Jeffrey Dahmer (3:46)


Verdict: If The Burning Moon (1997) were a plate of nachos it wouldn't just be messy it would hands down be the gnarliest and nastiest plate o' nachos you've ever seen from the dirtiest dive-bar you've ever entered and you would scarf it down in a drunken hunger despite the imminent threat of food borne illness. This gets my vote for best shot-on-video feature I've ever seen, chock full o'  gore-tastic carnage and demented depravity. 3 outta 5