Category: Movies
Forgotten Halloween Gems: ‘HELLBENT’ Was The First Gay Slasher?!
I’ve been looking for some different films to watch this Halloween season-We’re now over halfway through October and for me it’s all about “Halloween themed” horror! But this year I’m feeling a lot more like branching out than ever before & watching some of those usual traditional flicks can get a little bit boring each & every year in my opinion. So if you’re feeling like I am & looking for something worth a real watch then you’ve come to the right place I’m going to throw a few gems your way that take place on Halloween! Well back in 2004 “the first gay slasher” was released and largely ignored by the horror community, HELLBENT lives up to the tag line and also takes place on Halloween night! Not only that but it’s a pretty damn solid slasher with unique, likeable characters and some good suspense to keep your heart a’ poundin’.
The only totally gay horror flick of its kind I’ve ever seen, (I guess there might’ve been another one similar on Hulu a couple years back called ‘Into the Dark: Midnight Kiss’ that sort of had this same vibe?) Hellbent though was way ahead of the curve, coming out of the closet almost 20 years ago now, making a purely gay horror movie that during the time was pushing the boundaries of what you might see in your local video store (remember those?). I don’t think the characters here act like the gay stereotypes we’ve seen in most films, instead the director wanted to insert slasher movie character/victim tropes of the 70s, 80s and 90s. So what we kind of get here is more of the “traditional slasher” characters but given the gay twist. In some ways the characters end up feeling almost like they were plucked right out of ‘American Pie’, I’d say the best factor of this movie is just how endearing the characters are. Most slasher films of the past and especially the present feature a lot of people who you might sorta hope die at the hands of the psychotic sicko because they’re just so damn annoying. Not the case here, I really didn’t want to see ANY of them die and that’s a big part of what makes a good horror film so much more engaging, the suspense and the wonder of who, if anyone at all is going to survive.
Back to my “American Pie” comparison, ‘Hellbent’ does feature a gang of pretty hilarious horny gay guys going out on the town during Halloween night, headed off to a wild pride costume party, with fore-knowledge of a vicious serial killer on the loose who’s already murdered two hunky gay men. The main slasher villain is pretty imposing, he’s basically built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, wears a red devil mask, no shirt and carries a sharp sickle that he uses to decapitate his prey. In other words he’s an evil silent force to be reckoned with and his motives are never quite clear-but it’s implied he might be repressed and mentally deranged. It’s anyones guess!
‘Hellbent’ has also got a lot of solid locations for a horror movie as well, some taking place in the midst of the party, a heavily wooded foggy park and some of the most vicious scenes right on the dance floor. There’s plenty of Halloween decor to absorb as well as some creepy misty atmosphere, despite the fact the film was shot on digital video which can at times be a bit shoddy looking and at other times quite fantastic, you can clearly tell that the director put a lot of passion trying to give it just the right vibe. Sadly some of it’s scenes can look a bit inconsistent in presentation-maybe a clean blu ray restoration could clear that all up? That would be nice.
So does this slasher deliver the the gory kills? While it’s not a total bloodbath, there are enough ghastly kills too keep you on the edge of your seat, covering your eyes and I’ll go as far to say this is one of the best slasher films I’ve seen of the 2000’s Y2K era. But it’s all not just blood-and-guts as there’s plenty of well delivered comedy and even a surprising amount of romance in the air for this gang of wild and crazy dudes. As you might expect, not everyone makes it out of the predicament alive and it’s tension rises as you try to figure out who’ll be the last to survive this grizzly Halloween night party massacre!
I’ve never quite seen a horror movie quite like it, you’d think in 2023 this sort of concept would be all the rage. But this one doesn’t make a giant deal out of the fact that our main characters are all gay, instead they just happen to be gay and put into an extremely tense situation. Hellbent also doesn’t preach to the audience or bring up tired tropes about aids or even dabble in homophobia, it rather showcases a sweeter side of being gay and having cool friends to hang out out and party with…
It’s not trying to lecture you either, like a lot of films currently seem to feel the need to try to do, it’s just trying to give you a good Halloween horror adventure with characters to root for- just like many of the great slasher films of the iconic 80’s era. This one deserves a lot more love and I’m certain it’s bound to soon be discovered again by a new generation of horror fans and build a firm cult following.
Back in 2004 it played the gay & lesbian film festival circuit and was released on dvd by TLA Releasing, a global leader in LGBTQ films. It’s been disputed if it’s indeed actually the first gay slasher film-but hey that’s how they marketed it. So If you’re looking for something different this year like I am, you can’t go wrong with this cool little indie queer horror fright film- It’s full of plenty of tricks and treats standing on its own as a good example of how to celebrate diversity in horror in a refreshing way….
MOVIE MELT Podcast: Sensei Kreese is the Real HERO and also the ‘JUDGE & JURY’!!
First & foremost, I am one of the BIGGEST ‘Karate Kid’ fans on the PLANET! Hence that means I’m a HUGE damn fan of Martin Kove AKA Sensei Kreese-so imagine discovering that Kove starred in a weird action/horror hybrid flick called ‘JUDGE & JURY’ from 1996 was quite exciting for my lizard brain! Better yet Martin Kove isn’t the villain, nope he’s the god-damn hero finally and it’s a also plays on the horror trope of “evil death row inmate who can’t be killed in the electric chair and comes back for vengeance with supernatural powers” -YES! Look at this crap-tastic VHS cover too- is it really any wonder why it’s not a well know film?!
This falls into the whole “Shocker/Horror Show/Prison” genre but with almost a “Lifetime channel” film vibe mixed with huge explosions, car chases and supernatural shenanigans a’plenty. Well now all of you Cobra Kai fanatics can get the full scoop on this odd little forgotten 90’s gem that IMO deserves a lot more love and attention (not to mention a sweet long overdue blu ray) on the newest episode of MOVIE MELT! We cover all the details of this bizarre film, talk plenty about Martin Kove’s career & also for some reason get stuck in a wild hamster wheel of discussing the hottest, sexiest primate on the damn planet: SHABANI!! Have you heard about this handsome model-esque real life gorilla model? HOTT as HELL!
Ok well there’s also a “battle of the bands” and soooo much more ridiculous cinematic brain numbing nonsense you likely need to fill your head with- we discuss RIGHT HERE! Check this shit out….And Martin Kove if you’re listening (I know you often read the blog still) pleeeez call the Movie Melt hotline to let us know what you think about our intense feels about JUDGE & JURY!! Even if you’re not Mr. Kove call us at this number (724) 246-4669 we promise no one will answer!!! Listen to MOVIE MELT RIGHT HERE!
Wisconsin’s Lost 80’s SOV Teen Horror Tale: THE BOY’S NIGHT OUT Coming Soon On VHS?!!
I’m super excited to announce something very special to me that’ll be finally be seen by the public! THE BOY’S NIGHT OUT is a 30-minute “supernatural slasher” horror film that my friends and I shot on video with a camcorder in Wisconsin waaaaaay back in 1989! I’ve been holding on to the VHS copy of the tape for 34 years, the raw footage was essentially a loose story that we tried to our best to cobble together with no re-shot scenes, in “one take” chronological order. Hey, I know that of course isn’t a great way to film a movie-but we didn’t have editing apps or cellphone tech of today to do it all-this was the REAL deal. To make things even more difficult in our film making endeavor, a few of the “key dialogue” scenes were accidentally shot with NO sound (we were sooo bummed!) and many of the scenes needed a big volume boost as well as a music score. The film’s music was recorded by the camcorder, with a boombox being played next to it (we used the Halloween 5 soundtrack) and the “special fx” sounds done by teenagers snapping sticks etc in close vicinity. This was indeed a HIGH quality production!
That also doesn’t mean the sound fx dudes always did their job and there were always a few scenes where we wish we’d have tried a second take. But for a bunch of teens in the midwest back in the 80s we made it work and it was still a project to remember for life. Well flash forward to present times, for years I’d alway thought about how awesome it’d be to edit the movie for real, especially since there seems to be a new appreciation for shot on video relics. So after reviewing the footage again it was clear that some changes were needed to shape the narrative of the story. So I wrote a new “script” to our old story that my friend John Kundinger and I came up with back then. I got some of the original cast members to lend their voices to fill in the gaps where the camcorder failed to record dialogue and we even added some new dialogue to round out the plot points but never erasing any of the the original lines that were clear and audible.
The problem was, back in the summer of 1989 we didn’t have any way of editing footage and to make it cohesive everything had to be put in the exact order on the first take of filming each scene. If this didn’t happen the story just wouldn’t flow so we did our best to plan it all out every time the record button was pressed. Since the 80s only a handful of people saw the movie. That being said we did have a “premiere”, a one time showing in class at Neenah High School in Wisconsin. The teacher was kind enough to let us show it during class to my fellow classmates and pulled up that big TV/VCR from the AV department into the classroom. Quite a big deal to us at least! Of course we had to explain a few key scenes to everyone while the movie played due to sound issues etc. Despite that, the class loved it and it was a pretty great day at school in 1989 that I’ll never forget! There were even a few fx shots that had the class in awe….ahhh the 80s….
So here I am 30 plus years later, I just got a new laptop and finally got that classic footage uploaded to ensure my lone VHS copy of the movie lived on. Then my friend who runs ‘Black VVideo‘ (a Portland, OR movie label that specializes in unearthing long lost movie relics specifically on VHS) encouraged me to try to give the film the edit or let’s now say a “director’s cut”. I followed her advice and finally I think was able to give the film’s story more of the original narrative we were trying to convey, even adding a little extra to mix this past summer when I’d luckily gotten my hands on a real life camcorder. I’d also gave it an improved soundtrack where music was missing (yeah there’s still the original ‘Halloween 5’ cassette score in the scenes, recorded directly from the boombox positioned next to the camcorder), but now there’s a few local punk/metal bands from the Fox Valley area in the movie’s mix (from demo tapes of that era) and an additional synth score added where needed that a couple of my friends here in Portland provided. This little film obviously isn’t the greatest SOV horror flick, but it is a time capsule of 80s teenage life in the midwest and working on it really brought me back to simpler times. But I’ll never forget it because we caught it ALL on tape!
“Shot in 1989 with a camcorder on VHS in the Fox Valley, Wisconsin. ‘The Boys Night Out’ follows a group of mischievous teen bullies whose plans to “eliminate” two nerds during the final weekend of summer takes a dark unexpected turn. Can they survive to see their junior year of high school begin on Monday? Or will they fall prey to the vengeful supernatural forces they’ve somehow awoken? It’s anyones guess in this coming of age tale of betrayal, murder & retribution.”
That’s ‘The Boys Night Out’ in a nutshell and it’s coming soon on VHS from Black VVideo & Hollywood Babylon Home Video-so pull out your VCR from the attic and dust it off-I’ve got an old school authentic midwestern horror relic from 80’s that’s coming your way soon on VHS! Stay TUNED!
Afraid of CGI Grey Aliens? If So ‘NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU’ Delivers the GOODS!
HULU finally brings me a grey alien home invasion horror film I’ve asking for-‘No One Will Save You’ delivers a simple premise with some fairly well executed drama but also manages to take the terrifying silent “greys” of movies like ‘Communion’ & ‘Fire in the Sky’ and turns them into loud rubbery CGI lunatics. Yeah these modern UFO films or all films in general now tbh) just can’t resist going digital and at times these creatures end up feeling more “Roger Rabbit” than ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. I’ve been saying it for years someone should make a home invasion film with “the greys”, I’d always found them quite terrifying and it’d be really a unique premise to see them pursue a human in a secluded home.
Well this movie grants me my wish but makes a mistake, one that just can’t be avoided today it seems-heavy reliance on shoddy looking CGI fx. Last year we saw a practical effects alien attack film in ‘Kids vs Aliens’, which used practical fx but dropped the ball in the approach, like this, showing the aliens far too much in plain sight. Maybe I’m the only one here, but to me being chased down by CGI creatures just doesn’t strike terror in my heart. I need to feel that there is a real threat there onscreen WITH the actual actors-it really needs to feel convincing. The aliens in ‘Fire in the Sky’ are pure perfection, I can only imagine them invading a home, but for some reason Hollywood just doesn’t have either the skill or patience to film real monster effects anymore. That all being said ‘No One Will Save You’ is still somewhat entertaining and filled with a few twists and turns. There’s several styles of aliens too that enter the mix-two of them particularly look awkwardly cartoonish and some of the chase/fight sequences get a bit too ridiculous and cartoonishly rambunctious at times. But, there is a neat little story here at play despite all of my visual gripes that make this worth a look.
There’s a GREAT setting for all of this to take place, a beautiful little home tucked away in the countryside and it really doesn’t take long for the Aliens to arrive and get “nasty”. Kaitlyn Dever does a good job in the lead with almost no spoken dialogue and does her best trying to look scared shitless by CGI creatures. It’s definitely not the best alien invasion film I’ve seen before and works better honestly as drama than a “horror” film. There’s some decent attempts at deep character development/motivation as a young woman lives in seclusion by choice and we go on a journey to put together exactly why she’s struggling so much with every day life. The film by the end takes some turns I didn’t see really see coming-mostly in the film’s last final couple minutes. It’s got a message that’s worth some discussion and likely could be interpreted in several ways.
It’s pretty decent streaming content but nothing that’s anywhere near as effective or memorable as Communion, Fire in the Sky or even Dark Skies from 2013. I was pretty excited for my grey alien fix but I feel film now just isn’t capable of going the distance-I’m not even sure many of these modern directors could execute a film like E.T. these days without relying largely on digital fx. I think they could have given us some terrifying creatures using animatronics, like a lanky marionette and used CG to remove wires, strings and puppeteers. Also keeping a creature like a grey in the shadows is when they feel most terrifying-instead this film has them running and jumping all over the place in plain sight. Their design is far too digital to showcase so prominently. Instead the less is more approach makes them much more mysterious and terrifying. This pic from Fire in the Sky is a good example:
The craft of executing a real shot on real film feels like a true thing of the past. This one’s worth a watch, I don’t expect too much anyways from an original film for HULU. I say check it out if you’re looking for some classic alien action and if you’re REAAAALLLY scared of CGI monsters this movie will NOT disappoint.
NETFLIX DVD Gets Totally TERMINATED…….Today!!
Today Marks the END of the Netflix DVD, something you might not have even know was still going on-as a complete and total cinefile I’ve hung onto the iconic red envelope physical media service to it’s very LAST day-today September 29th. Who gives a shit right? The world moves on with loads of Instagram & Tik Tok posts and a over abundance of streaming service content. But there’s truly something bitter sweet to know that these red envelopes will cease to exist forever! The dvd catalog of Netflix was pretty good and about ten years ago it was awesome! There’s plenty there still to this day that’s not streaming anywhere and there’s some totally out of print rare gems tucked away as well.
To this day, there was still a sort of excitement in waiting for the red envelops to arrive and pop them into the trusty ol’ DVD player. Now everything is at your finger tips-but that everything isn’t always very inspiring with mass produced “conveyer belt style” streaming shows and highly disposable movies churned out for low attention spans. That all being said at times I felt over the past five years that perhaps I was the ONLY one getting the DVDs in the mail still? However in 2020 there was still 2 million peeps getting the goods delivered to their house through the USPS.
So I’m feeling a little odd today, it’s sure to pass but this is as a movie fanatic the end to something that still felt real and nostalgic. Tomorrow all of our DVD accounts will be automatically terminated. But an interesting fun fact-apparently Netflix will be sending you ten dvd still left in your queue to keep! Hey the party still rages on for one last hurrah and I’ve got a few gems narrowed down for a few fun late nite movie parties-so all that said, we’re moving to a new chapter-even more trips to my LOCAL operating video store Movie Madness to pick out movies to rent the way I did way back in the 80’s and 90s at our local Wisconsin video store-Bricco’s Video vault. Goodbye Netflix DVD it was a great run……here’s an old commercial for nostalgia’s sake.
NIGHT TRAP: Sega’s 1992 “Controversial” B-Movie VHS Video Game?!
Anyone else remember the intense horror of 1992’s interactive shot on video Sega video game NIGHT TRAP?! Me neither-but I stumbled on this oddity recently and was fully intrigued to somehow check it out. Well it’s not a video game that I’ll likely be able to track down to play anytime soon on a real consoles, we can watch all the footage though and see for ourselves what this weird lil’ B-movie video game is really all about.
Developed in 1992 for ‘Sega CD’ using SOV footage from 1987 the game concept was originally picked up by Hasbro but was suddenly shelved in 1989. However people were still sniffing around this intriguing interactive movie concept and Sega eventually bit and released it in 1992 and the game generated some real negative hype quick fast. Take a look at these “vampires” in one of the scenes that got it’s creators in HOT water!
The game’s story line was absolutely perfect for B-movie horror fanatics, featuring a teenage girl’s slumber party being overrun with bloodthirsty “vampires” while you watch “live surveillance” video of them and trigger traps around the house to foil the creatures of the night from feasting upon them for a midnight snack. Night Trap however brought along some big controversy though-it was discussed in a Senate hearing along with ‘Mortal Combat’ as being an example of violence in video games that corrupts the minds of youths in America and brings real life violence into the streets and suburbs-Night Trap was that intensely influential to young psychopaths everywhere apparently-who’d a thunk?!
It triggered a “rating system” for games, it must’ve been quite a wild bloodbath huh? Hardly, but it was wild enough to get huge toy store chains to completely remove it from their shelves. I definitely remember in the 90’s the campaign’s for censorship running WILD in the music industry but who knew an SOV horror video game could generate SO much intense governmental rage?! When you actually watch the game’s most “notorious” scenes it’s laughable that anyone would use THIS as an example for extreme video game violence. This is prime cheez and obviously early 90’s politicians didn’t know a good thing when they’ve seen it!
There really is no blood and it’s somewhat pathetic execution of said “violence” is pretty much just dumb fun. There’s vampires being foiled by amusing but sub par “home alone style” house traps and I guess it’s likely that some of the controversy came from the concept of a home invasion on teenage girls. Speaking of the teens a familiar face of the 1980s stars here as well, Dana Plato (RIP) known best as Kimberly in ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ starred in the game to really give it some 80’s star power super cred.
This is such a cool little relic for fans of bad horror movies and VHS, to me it reminds me a bit of the “Dragon’s Lair” style game play. Where pressing buttons simply changes scenes and outcomes-rather than actually “controlling things”. Like a “choose your own adventure” style video game that really outraged those politicians-looking back they must feel like morons raising a stink about this cheeky, cheezy little video game. I suggest watching the full game on YouTube or check this video out-it gives you a great idea visually what this oddity was all all about!
DYLAN’S NEW NIGHTMARE: Freddy Krueger’s SORTA Back!!
Have you been hoping for Freddy Krueger to return in the same way that Michael Myers has in the latest “Halloween” trilogy? Me neither-But I’m always open to check out a sweet new fan film! From some director Cecil Laird and the same team who brought the excellent ‘Never Hike Alone’ (Friday The 13th) fan film has returned, adding a new chapter to the ‘New Nightmare’ chapter of ‘A Nightmare on Elm St’ franchise. I gave this a whirl the other night and was pretty impressed with this 34 minute short film.
We continue with Dylan, the son Heather Langencamp (Nancy) from Wes Craven’s ‘New Nightmare’, is now an aspiring actor trying to land a role in the next “Hatchet” film when his audition goes off the rails when Freddy shows back up to begin terrorizing him! To keep it extra authentic Miko Hughes returns in the role of Dylan, now all grown up and ready to face a newer nightmare. So this alone is a real treat that keeps the thread of terror grounded firmly in the franchise-a real nice touch. But what about the real star of the show, Mr. Freddy Krueger himself? Obviously we don’t get Robert England back, I’d for a moment hoped they’d have gotten him at the very least for the voice because Freddy here looks pretty great for the most part (his caved in sunken black eyes are a bit much tho). Dave McRae has some big boots to fill here and though he isn’t always the spitting image of the classic Freddy he does a decent enough job in the role, one that’s evident here, is near impossible to fill.
What we get though is a pretty ambitious little “new” chapter here that highly improves on the imperfections of the wretched remake from 2010. Freddy feels much more like his old self, armed with his campy one-liners with the vibe more in line with the original franchise, with a few moments of practical fx gore to chomp on. It looks pretty good for the most part, it does feel a little fan film-ish and maybe needed a few better locations and amped up dreamy atmosphere to real hit the point home for die hard Fred Heads. I also think this short film could’ve really benefitted from a more inventive sequence to end the film, one of the best things about Freddy in the movies are the totally memorable horror sequences, things like the roach motel, the pizza with the Freddy faces etc are a staple in the classic franchise-this could have based it’s somewhat lackluster “finale” instead on an more inventive horror sequence reminiscent of the classic franchise to really up the ante and quench that Elm Street thirst. Still it’s a neat little fan film that is worth a watch for the fans as we all obviously yearn for more Freddy.
I’d say it’s time for one final Englund Freddy flick. Though he’s recently stated he’s in no shape to reprise the role, he’s 75 and (thicker around the waist) I still think he could make it work as is. Perhaps it’s been too long in the dream realm and as Freddy’s been out of the psyche of all of the teens he once scared to death, he’s older, much less powerful now and slowly dying off, but he get’s one last chance perhaps being aided by some sort of dream demon apprentice who brings his power back and in turn is willing to continue on his legacy-there we could explore the actual lore that made Freddy into the legendary dream demon. A final showdown with him and his apprentice when Nancy realizes his power is returning-she must enter the dream realm to finish him off before he reaches full power.
Who knows “older Englund Freddy” could even possess Kevin Bacon (as a new character and rumored to have real interest in taking over the role) in the real world, transform him into the new version of Krueger-they could even utilize Robert’s voice when he’s possessed? Just ideas-but likely Hollywood just wants a new Freddy Krueger cast to try and make some $$$ rather than an inventive “one last hurrah”, working a story that caters to Robert Englund’s age. In the meantime though this is a good enough fan film to keep the spirit of Elm Street in the consciousness of teens of the modern age-If they could bring back Krueger there’s so many interesting modern tropes that Freddy could riff on-that being said it’s probably realistically time to leave the Elm Street legacy alone and let it age gracefully….
Check out Dylan’s New Nightmare to watch for free right HERE!
William Zabka’s Forgotten 90’s PM Magic-Infused Karate Flick: THE POWER WITHIN!
Ever wonder what William Zabka was doing after ‘The Karate Kid’ franchise wrapped up his character Johnny Lawrence’s story? Well here’s a little glimpse into the action career “post Johnny”. A weird little PM Entertainment flick from 1995 called ‘The Power Within’. This one comes right off the heels of another sweet PM movie with a strong “Karate Kid” connection called ‘A Dangerous Place‘ that I reviewed here that feature the same teen lead. This sweet little magical martial arts adventure film hits all the sweet spots, Zabka being one of the highlights as well as some of the wild action set pieces you might have come to expect from ‘PM Entertainment’ films from the era.
Ted Jan Roberts return for his second PM stint as a teenage martial artist with major problems that escalate from being afraid to ask out the girl of his dreams, to high school bullies and eventually going one on one with William Zabka in a fight for some magical rings given to him by a strange stalker.
Throw in some explosions, some cool martial arts fights, glowing rings full of neon energy and wild prom scene with a low rent grunge band with a saxophone player and you’re really beginning to check off some BIG-time boxes! Better yet much of the movie take’s place in early 90’s Universal Studios where the teens work weekends, giving this whole affair a heavy dose of high powered nostalgia. In someways it feels like a 1990’s Universal Studios commercial in the best ways possible.
It also features kid actor Keith Coogan (Adventures in Babysitting, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead, Toy Soldiers) as the wise ass side kick of teenage “PM heart-throb” Roberts. There’s plenty of great teen drama & comedy and lots of familiar b-movie faces to move things along at a steady pace too. Zabka commands the cheez factor here with his “pony tail bowl cut” and red shades as the big baddie who’s determined to acquire a magic ring to obviously do some evil shit.
Roberts however gets it first from an old mysterious karate master and from there things keep getting more ridiculous with each passing moment. There’s a good amount of action here and Zabka gets to flash his moves once again while Ted Jan Roberts does feel a bit more subdued 7 restrained than he was in the more frenetic ‘A Dangerous Place’. This I think had a PG-13 rating, (A Dangerous Place was R-rated) and it’s more timid in it’s themes and situations-but still packs a powerful punch.
My only slight gripe would be the film’s finale, which don’t get me wrong, is still pretty fun, but the final showdown with Zabka and Roberts should’ve been a total banger of a battle. Seeing Roberts in ‘A Dangerous Game’ flaunt his skills was a bit of an un expected treat and I was hoping his showdown with “Johnny Lawrence” would really up the ante further. Instead it’s a bit of a quick brawl that’s a bit light on magical ring action. Still I can’t help but relish in seeing a movie this fun as a GIANT fan of The Karate Kid franchise sooo many damn years later.
It’s a real treat to find forgotten gems like this and I’m honestly a bit surprised someone hasn’t jumped on this one since the success of Cobra Kai and the full on renewed interest in The Karate Kid franchise. This is a film ripe for the pickin’ and I can’t help but wonder why some of these really insanely fun PM entertainment releases haven’t see the light of day on blu ray! If you dig The Karate Kid most definitely check this out as well as ‘A Dangerous Place’-it most definitely hits the Cobra Kai sweet tooth!
The Next Best Thing to The 1990 Practical FX TMNT!!?
Cowabunga dude!!! I’ve been saying it for years, they need to bring back the 1990’s practical fx Jim Henson Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!! Lets face the damn facts nothing they produced since has been very good or really anywhere close to what the fans want. I really haven’t been excited about the TMNT franchise since the first two films.
Having recently revisited the 1990 original it was more than apparent how well that movie had aged and how dark it really is in comparison to anything they’ve put out since. One of the best things about it was indeed the practical effects, but also the sets, choreography and real martial arts that were used to bring them to life on screen. We are now living in an age where no filmmaker seems to be ambitious enough to attempt to bring them back to life in the way that soooo many fans have wanted for so long. So what do you do when you’ve completely given up on the Turtles coming back in the way they did in that original film?
I guess you just wait for a CGI animated version of the characters that might still deliver that original spirit and oddly that’s exactly what we got in these new 2 pieces of test footage put together by John Likens. This is incredibly interesting, when I first viewed it I was a bit perplexed, at first glance I almost thought these were new practical fx Turtles! I was a bit disappointed to find they were created via CGI, of course, it’s 2023-no one would ever film the Turtles with their real suits. Still tho, this footage is wildly impressive, so much so that I just might be willing to give a TMNT film another real go, check this out and let me know if I’m crazy?!
Even though each of these 2 clips are only seconds song I can see the potential and as we’re never going to get real life actors playing the characters again this is clearly the best version of them I’ve seen since. Their look reminds me of the darker original comic books of the 80s blended with the 1990 cinematic TMNT.
I’d say give this guy a chance to work his magic, better yet how about a mix of practical fx Turtles AND cgi ala the magic of The original Jurassic Park?! I know it’d never happen Hollywood is clearly unable to wrap their head around filming real fx, with real stunts, clever real life choreography and real old school pyrotechnics. So this seems like the best we might get, but it also feels too much like something fans would like. These days it seems like Hollywood is unwilling to really give fans what they want. I’m not sure quite why? I’m excited to see the remaining Turtles get the test footage treatment regarless….
VHS Verdict: 80’s ‘Flesheaters from Outer Space’ Invade New Jersey!
Some ‘shot on video’ horror flicks can be a real challenge to get through in my opinion. I always give an “A for effort” but let’s face it, shooting a feature film on a camcorder in the late 1980s doesn’t always equal a real memorable viewing experience. However I can firmly say that if you’re in the mood for some highly ambitious, enjoyable trash that ‘Flesheaters From Outer Space’ all the way back from 1989 surely delivers the damn goods!
It’s actually got quite an ambitious little plot going on for something made on a shoe string budget. Somehow director, Warren F. Disbrow, manages to for the most part pull it off while slipping in some heavy metal Jersey hunks and babes as well as gore a ‘plenty along the way. As you can probably imagine the New Jersey area in this Nifty little horror film is a delight to visit and of course features a carnivorous space alien on the loose causing havoc major around around every seedy corner in town. The film goes in a lot of strange directions particularly having a hard time settling on one particular plot narrative to follow. It features a hunky heavy metal band, a woman with psychic powers, a “John Rambo” type drifter as well as an offshoot serial killer storyline trying to interweave into it as well. But all that aside this is really a movie to turn your brain off too becuz ‘Flesheaters from Outer Space’ also really manages to cram in some pretty gory and gooey C-grade monster affects as well for horror hounds to chomp on. Yeah there’s plenty of the red stuff flowing freely here, and a whole motley cadre of numbskulls for this hungry alien creature to munch on.
But it’s not all just horror here, there’s plenty of boobs, butts (men and women), wild 1980s parties, teenage drama and even some unexpected romance as well as a couple musical numbers by a pretty “impressive” glam rock band that’s slightly over stays it’s welcome in the best ways possible. I guess in a way it has a sort of “low-rent x files” type of thing going on as well, at around 90 minutes though it sure does oddly begin to feel it’s run time being much longer than it actually is. However I can’t say in this case it’s a particularly bad thing because this movie never gets boring-it’s is a pretty excellent party flick to enjoy with your friends and a couple of beers. That’s most definitely the best way to view this one. I think it’s likely because the movie goes in so many stupid directions that you feel like you’re getting an overload of ridiculous subplots and without spoiling it all it has one of those relatively abrupt but satisfying endings.
There’s also some pretty cool little twists that you probably will never see coming-I mean it’s no Alfred Hitchcock but it really tries to deliver you the goods and I’ve always got to appreciate the ambition the director had for his shot on video vision. Apparently they filmed a sequel for this in 1998 called ‘Invasion for Flesh and Blood’.
I’m gonna have to seek that out for sure and see if the lighting strikes twice. I see that Troma released this on a double feature disc-but back in the day it was released on video by In the meantime I’m looking forward to checking out the sequel. If you’re looking for something stupid to watch with friends on a Saturday night then this one’s sure to scratch your “so bad it’s good” movie itch. It’s really got it all and you can’t help but find the charm in a movie that really tries it’s best to go for the gold….Oh and there’s no trailer for this one online but there is for the sequel:
Universal Dork 