First of all this movie was really not much of a prequel. It was basically a remake that tried to do everything the original did but just ten times less impressive. Sure it linked at the end to the Carpenter version but overall this movie didn’t bring anything new to the table. The story was pretty bland, as were the characters even though the movie was pretty well shot and looked very similar to the original-all except for the special effects.

Now we all know that the 1982 version is really the king of practical monster effects. It still remains to this day as perhaps the most creepy and realistic looking effects on screen. The new version however looked as fake and pathetic as ever. Like something out of DOOM interacting with real people. But was it always meant to be that bad? I guess not. The movie originally boasted that no CGI would be used and from what I have read 80% of it was shot with bad ass practical monster effects. Then when the movie was show to the studio they were told the monsters were too slow and they needed the monsters to be jumping around more ect. So they had to go back and reshoot and mostly cover up the old effects with CGI to give it a more modern look. By modern it ended up getting a more fake video gamey look that the kids love so much today. Anyway I am curious-is there a version out there with the original effects?! How about releasing a special edition original cut version? Well here’s a little video that shows you some of the magic that could have been in the 2011 version…

Of course you guessed it this movie was produced by Charles Band! Never has the idea of intergallactic monster boxing sounded so awesome! I am on the hunt ofr this one but of course it’s nowhere to be found on Ebay or Amazon. I am sure you can find some downloads online but another cool place to get crazy rare movies on dvd is Ioffer.com check that out too!

If you haven’t heard already this one is produced by the Shaun of the Dead guys and it shows throughout the entire movie, right down to Nick Frost’s role as a slacker pot dealer middle man. Pretty much the same dude he played on ‘Shaun’. The movie however is a bit different, as it follows a group of asinine teenagers in London who stumble upon an alien creature, shot down from space like a meteor, while mugging a defenseless neighborhood woman. As the groups teen leader is briefly attacked by the monkey like alien, the woman flees and the teens become dead set on chasing down the creature and putting it down. However in doing so it ends of being the worst mistake of their life, as shortly thereafter dozens more bigger, deadlier aliens are shot down from space into their hood. From this point on the movie goes into hyper drive, with fierce action, gore and suspense that will likely please any fan of good classic monster movies of yesterday.

There’s been a lot of critics who have put this flick down saying that there’s not a likable character in the whole lot. Just a group of mean spirited teens acting like a troupe of jackasses. I however disagree, first off they probably act like real kids today which make the characters much more believable and in fact in the end I think this movie does a nice job at showing that these misfits DO indeed have heart and a conscience.

Lastly though the aliens of this movie aren’t likely to hold a candle to creatures like say the Predator or Gremlins, but they are fairly well done with practical monster effects and quite tasteful CG. Nothing looks too outwardly fake, perhaps their simple design worked it their favor, but honestly the focus is not really on the creatures of this flick, it’s just a great chase & survival movie jam packed with action, the way it used to be delivered in movies. Simple fun, with a group of misunderstood teens armed with illegal fireworks, samurai swords and gas filled squirt guns. If you get a chance check this one on the big screen, if you’re a fan of creature features you won’t wanna miss it!

This box office bomb has it all really, super awesome 1980′s monsters are everywhere in this movie and even better they are throwin’ down with each other constantly! What’s better really than monsters duking it out? It’s kinda like the same concept as a Godzilla movie really. Now some may argue that the movie has something even better going for it- Heather Locklear!

Yeah it’s hard to argue that she wasn’t one of the hottest 80′s chicks on the scene way back then and the fact that she’s in this movie makes her that much more rad! All in all this movie hardly takes itself seriously and that makes it all the more fun.

I have to say in comparison to Wes Craven’s take  which I love, I’d have to say this one wins the battle hands down. It really makes you appreciate those good old creature effects of the 80′s too as this one definitely improved on the first films monsters. Yeah you know this movie tries really hard to be funny too, the fact is it’s really not. Which in a weird way makes it even better!!  So if you’re looking for a good super hero flick and have never seen this don’t wait this second chapter of  Swamp Thing won’t disappoint fans of campy monster movies! However keep in mind this flick most likely makes Alan Moore wanna vomit!!!

So can anyone out there tell me if this looks good next to the comic book?

Here’s the Twitch Synopsis: The doc jumps off from the conceit] that the Norwegian government has been hiding the fact that they have a secret population of trolls – real, actual trolls – living on game preserves in the far north of the country, kept safe and secure and out of the public eye to prevent mass panic should people realize that these fairy tale creatures are real. Those high tension power lines you see stretching out over the horizon in unpopulated areas, seemingly going nowhere? Not power lines at all but an electric fence to keep the beasts contained.

I know the whole false documentary thing is a little over played nowdays but I think  this movie has enough originality going for it with it’s subject matter so far to make it stand out on it’s own. As you know I’m a sucker for a good monster movie and though this one seems to bare alot in common with Cloverfield and maybe that 90′s movie Twister, these newly released clips have got me pretty dang excited!! Make sure to check out the other clips after the trailer-you’ll get a little more Troll in those…

Razorback directed by Russel Mulcahy, who went on later to direct the Highlander films, was a work of art as it followed the story of a crazed Hogzilla in the Australian outback who’s on a killing spree. It’s been most effectively described as Jaws on land. With amazing effects and stunning cinematography this relatively unknown horror flicks remains as one of my fav monster movies of the 80′s. 

It’s also one which I need to find on dvd (I do however own the vhs version). Set against an ultra bleak and desolate landscape, this movie’s charm lies in the fact that the monster hog is never really exploited onsceen and only brief images are incredibly effective at capturing the true horror the the big pig himself. If you’ve never seen this movie I highly recommend tracking it down as it definately does NOT disappoint. Check out the mighty hog from Razorback below..

So naturally I was pretty pumped to find that there was a new crazed giant boar flick hitting the shelves this last week. The “mighty” Pig Hunt however did not live up to it’s reputation. It followed the basic horror movie backwoods formula, a bunch of douche bag jackasses are headed out on a hunting trip on the search for wild boar, they meet up with some skeezy red necks who offer to be their guides and ultimately reveal to them the legend of the mighty hogzilla.

 Things go wrong when one of the red necks oversteps his boundries and ends up dead by a gun shot wound from the movie’s heroes. This sends our stereotypical cast of “handsome’ mysterious hero and his “hot” girlfriend, token black guy along with his irritating sidekick and finally the wimpering chubby loser into a game of cat and mouse with a whole family of inbreds lead by a backwoods priest played by none other than Les Claypool who also wrote all the music for this movie. But it’s not until the movies third act that anything even remotely interesting goes down.

Our heroes run into a hippie commune full of women straight out of Maxim Magazine who apparently worship the mighty pig and occasionally leave horses bound in the woods as an offering to the mighty beast. Finally in about the last five minute of the movie we actually get to see this creature, who for the most part is entirely done with animatronics and puppety. Usually that’s right up my alley, but unfortunately there’s not much you can do to make a final showdown interesting using a puppet pig head almost entirely for every shot. It could have been alot worse if they attempted to create a cg monster with their limited budget. So kudos to them for doing it the old school way. What can you really expect though from the director of Skinwalkers though-that movie was a craptastic mega terd and maybe even one of the worst werewolf movies ever!  The movie could have been great had it not been a rehash of shit we’ve seen so many damn times before done ten times better. So ultimately in the end if you are looking for a superior monster movie take a little time and hunt down the classic Razorback. It looks better and is a hell of alot more interesting!  Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to go find my own dvd copy on Ebay thank you!