Tagged: Movie
Movie Review: J.R. Bookwalter Returns with Gooey Horror Social Satire ‘SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY’!
Lately I’ve been checking out a bunch of J.R. Bookwalter’s movies that I somehow missed out on over the years, films like ‘Ozone‘ and ‘Robot Ninja” (which I can’t wait to review) as well as recently hooking myself up for a rewatch with the blue ray of his bonafide cult jam- ‘The Dead Next Door‘! But most interesting is that he’s just released a brand new film after a 20 plus year hiatus. His latest ‘Side Effects May Vary‘ is currently on tour. Yes the director himself has gone on the road to exclusively show this bizarre new film in select indie theaters only, well before it streams anywhere or has any other physical release other than an exclusive VHS (I need one of these!).
However I was able to check this nasty little nugget out early and soak up all the gory goo drenched shenanigans that ensue in this weird little adventure. Basically what we’ve got here going on is a fairly simple story, flashback a couple of years to the height of the latest pandemic when everyone was getting the covid vaccine like it’s a god damn McDonald’s hamburger! We have our main character a mild-mannered middle-aged man named GLENN ROLLINS (um yeah I love that obviously) who just doesn’t wanna get the jab despite pressure from his wife as well as currently being sick as a dog at home. Meanwhile we get a glimpse into what’s going on with the newest safest, state of the art Covid-19 vaccine that’s getting ready to hit the market. It’s set to safely treat the entire population of the planet. So deep inside a secret pharmaceutical research center that’s tucked away in the countryside, we witness a test subject get injected with an unknown substance that immediately causes some, shall we say, interesting reactions to say the least. It seems this new vax does indeed have some intriguing side effects and our main dude Glenn finally gives in to the mounting pressure. Essentially to satisfy his wife by “doing the right thing”, he reluctantly agrees to the latest, safest and MOST utterly effective, state of the art, yet totally experimental covid vaccine at a doctors appointment. This thing is supposedly gonna save the world from the sickness- so what’s the goddamn fuss about already – right?
Initially the thing makes him feel like a million bucks, but soon his normal boring life begins to drastically change – first off his wife immediately finds him more attractive (woohoo!) and feels the urge to get frisky with her hubby. There’s surprisingly plenty of gratuitous nudity here in Bookwalter’s latest (remember what that was back in the 1980s?!) to behold and that’s the first sign that I was seeing something that felt ripped from the “golden era of horror” but also cleverly grounded in modern times. Yeah, let’s be honest here you just don’t really see good nudity like this anymore in current films. There I said it! It was kind of a breath of fresh air as an avid 80s horror fanatic, especially seeing Brinke Stevens playing the nosey neighbor next door watching some genuinely shocking events go down eagerly with her binoculars. Yeah the scream queen who’d spent plenty of time in her “birthday suit” was now on the opposite end of the spectrum in a completely charming little role in this film.
Including her here was a treat – 1988’s ‘Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama’ is a fave of mine & that reminds me I NEED to see the sequel! Ok though, from this point on things do get pretty perverse, but in that old school low budget, practical effects heavy way that I’ve really missed so damn much over the years. It’s really all quite charming. Not just all the fx work on display-but the general vibe of it. This one might even make a good double feature with something like ‘Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama’. It has that same sort of playfulness and disgusting charm.
Ok, well sadly for Glenn, he does develop a few “side effects” that sort of put the kibosh on his passionate sexy time session, at least for the moment. Confused and most likely humiliated by his sexual performance or lack there of, he races out into the city while his side effects do indeed “vary” in to the next level. This leaves him to encounter a zany cast of colorful characters along the way. He’s also develops a new hobby: SPOILERS: killing people! It’s quite obvious this safe and effective vaccine might’ve caused him a few more problems than the initial covid infection-but hey at least he’s not worried about relapsing with latest current strain I suppose?
Luckily the cops are on the case. One of his pals Jack, a former police officer, teams up with his old boss from the force. They quickly go on the move to find this heavily vaccinated freak of nature as he ventures deep into the night. So yeah, there’s lots to enjoy here not only as a horror film but also equally a social satire that puts a lot of our human behavior during the covid-19 pandemic under the lens of the microscope. The societal pressures to conform, big pharma propaganda, public paranoia, conspiracy theories & general trust in our Gov’t institutions are all addressed. But not in any sort of weird polarizing way. Instead Bookwalter lets the audience forget about the real world stresses of it all & just shows the whole damn thing play out in an entirely entertaining, absurd fashion. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a courageous effort of dark satirical commentary but it’s also really just a wild little old school splatter flick at heart. The kind of movie Romero might’ve even crafted if he’d still been alive today.
It also pleasantly breaks the usual tropes in sweet yet subtle manner, one of my favorites being the ex-cop character Jack and his boss Chief Tom Danvers. Their rather unique past on the force together, erupting with emotions tied to an intense night off the job at a holiday party is an interesting character study. I love the way their interactions were handled in response to this unforgettable event at least for one of them. That being said as much as I enjoyed the film-the way it was shot looked maybe a little too crisp. Bare in mind I just recently watched Ozone & Robot Ninja, two bonafide 80’s & 90’s horror classics IMO. So coming into this one the look of it all was a bit shocking coming directly off his older work.
I love the grimy look of ‘shot on video’ stuff and the beauty of shooting a movie like ‘Robot Ninja’ on film. I know, it’s 2024, so to actually shoot on film is expensive and probably pretty annoying BUT Bookwalter fans I know personally really do crave the look of his earlier work. A small criticism, but if ‘Side Effects May Vary’ had been shot in a similar manner I think it’ve been that much more impactful to longtime fans of his productions.
At the end of the day though it’s most definitely a gory little horror character study for the modern times that really pushes the envelope, takes risks and dresses it all up in a bloody, slimy mess of old school oozing practical FX very reminiscent of Bookwalter’s cult classics. An absurd cautionary tale for the polarized pandemic era that we’re hopefully on the other side of-if you dig his earlier flicks check this out with a live audience – likely coming to the big screen in a city near YOU!
Move Review: Mutants Do “Killer” Drugs in 1993’s SOV Action Splatter Jam – ‘OZONE’!
If you’ve ever seen 1989’s Sam Raimi produced cult zombie indie gem ‘The Dead Next Door’ then you can bet J.R. Bookwalter’s 1993 mutant mash up OZONE is bound to quench your low budget horror thirst!
I’m not really that “late to the party” having seen ‘The Dead Next Door‘ for the first time ala my Netflix DVD red mail envelope subscription many years ago. However I’m a newbie when it comes to anything else he did after that-and I’m pretty excited about it. Ozone is his 4th film that I got rently on dvd along with his 1989 film ROBOT NINJA that I’m super psyched to check out especially now. Ozone is a shot on video horror/action hybrid that’s full of impressive gore and wild drug fueled mutants!
This ambitious low budget mash up set in (Akron, Ohio) features a cop named Eddie Boone who loses his partner in a raid on a mysterious drug den. However these pesky addicts are on an intense mind & body altering drug called ‘ozone’ and they’re ready to kill anyone who steps into their dirty lair. Unfortunately our trusty protagonist here while infiltrating this place is stabbed with a full syringe of this repulsive substance by one of the mutants.
It turns his life into a living nightmare, not only mourning for the loss of his good friend but also the constant paranoia that this drug that’s now a pumping’ through his body will turn him into some sort of monster maniac.
It leads Eddie down to path into the ultra seedy urban underworld with a grim discovery unlike anything he could ever imagine. It also leads him into several ridiculous situations that are a pure joy to watch unfold on the screen. One of which involves him going into a bizarre dive bar for a couple drinks to cool down, where nearly every patron of the joint appears completely either in some sort of trance or just simply ridiculously bored beyond belief. I’m still not sure what the fuck is up with these duds. Never underestimate a gang of bored ass bar dwellers I guess (?), as they soon all gang up & attack, dragging him down into the basement and make him participate in a weird sort of “gladiator” showdown! That shit came out of NOWHERE.
Those are the type of “plot lines” that find their way into Eddies path here and that’s what makes this movie so much damn fun. It’s a great mix of horror, practical gore and action full of a big dose of gunfighting. It’s quite an ambitious film for a SOV venture and feels like it’s budget is MUCH more than I’d ever imagine. Director J R. Bookwalter definitely knows how to make a LOT with just a little. The effects on display are pretty awesome too and not for the faint of heart as you get bulging sloppy bursting boils, hacked off limbs, disgusting body morphing- but that’s not all the mutant monster drug lord is a glorious surprise as well, who almost appears as some sort of “Jabba the Hut” type puppet creature.
Another thing worth noting here: the acting is actually pretty decent and the main character Eddie Boone played by James Black delivers a pretty heavy dose of charisma a chair is rolled, a tough feat to sometimes pull off in shot on video films like this. So If you’re a big fan of schlocky low budget off the wall cinema, then ‘Ozone’ is a real treat and it’s clear that J.R. Bookwalter is a regional gem that needs to be appreciated and discovered by so many more fans of SOV cult cinema! Get jacked up on some Ozone I say!
Holiday Horrors: ‘TWO FRONT TEETH’ An Ambitiously Stupid, Low Budget Creepy Y2K Christmas Adventure!
I’m trying to track down some weird cinematic Christmas gold this year by finally checking out some films that I’ve sort of avoided for years. Hearing that they’re a complete waste of precious holiday time or just resorting again to my “go to selections” that I often find myself a bit tired of when I pop on the tube as of late. So took a chance on a film that’s been on my radar for years when I spotted it at Portland, Oregon’s most prized video store, Movie Madness. TWO FRONT TEETH, released 2006 (but looks more like it was shot in the 90s?) is a shot on video (digital?) Christmas themed horror film that looks like a heap of cheap trash, is full of bad acting, lots of jokes that don’t work and yet there’s something about it I kinda love! This one was also made before everyone and their mother were pumping out Christmas themed horror films by the dozens every year. So it still stands out as an interesting largely hidden holiday oddity.
There’s quite a bit to dislike about the film if you’re gonna be really picky, mainly at how badly shot it is-it’s pretty ugly looking with lots of bad lighting, unimpressive sets and terribly bland locations. For instance, the opening scene take place on Christmas Eve in what looks like a cheap manufactured home that’s at the very least got an abundance of holiday decor on display. That’s what sort of saves this one-pretty much every scene is jam packed FULL of Christmas, so as bland as a lot of the sets do look they really give it their all to put the holiday on display. Sometimes obviously overdoing it-but considering the main characters names are Gabe Snow & Noelle it’s quite clear that was the intention here. Pretty much EVERYTHING is Christmas related, but somehow at it’s core has a somewhat “engaging” story that’s part horror, part comedy, part road adventure and even somewhat of a “romantic” drama. It’s a true oddity with a fair amount of heart & passion at it’s core that’s trying damn hard to push a narrative that’s far more ambitious than its budget actually allows. That’s not say though there’s not a lot to be quite impressed with here though somehow.
The plot is a wild one, It’s Christmas Eve and we meet Gabe Snow, a cowardly tabloid writer who’s emotionally traumatized by the holiday for unknown reasons, is investigating a Yuletide conspiracy for a paper called the X-Mas files. Gabe believes that a commercial airplane was brought down on Christmas Eve by a flying reindeer and is determined to bring the truth to the general public. He’s also in the midst of a nasty divorce as his foul mouthed, quite unlikable wife Noelle is banging one of her coworkers that festive evening at their home. But that’s the least of Gabe’s worries. Wicked vampire elves, descend upon his home and nearly murder his wife. This forces him and his wife to head out onto the open road to escape the threat and to find the only one who can seemingly help them, a “Creighton Duke” style bounty hunter who’s got the scoop on the deadly holiday conspiracy.
So as you can see the plot is quite absurd, but not played only just for cheap laughs-though there are plenty of those thrown around. Some of the comedy works and some of it does come off a bit too ham-fisted, again like the writers here think they’re really comedically clever. That being said the bulk of the film is actually played pretty straight for the most part and I think it works in it’s favor, despite most of the time looking like total shit. But being used to watching stuff that most would classify as total shit, I found that to be barely a problem. There’s some interesting backstories thrown in that pack some emotional weight as well that I give props for making attempts at real character development.
The movie never really slows down, at around 74 minutes it’s pretty lean and some of the fx here especially with the vampire elves look surprisingly pretty damn solid. They’re clad in black leather, have real creepy makeup fx with huge fleshy ears & some of their attack sequences are pretty well done too. Plus the “Creighton Cowboy” character is pretty fun addition as well and they definitely try and produce some solid action with him and his “toy guns”.
That’s not all though there are also three ninja nuns that show up as well as a pretty creepy vampire Santa named “Clausferatu” (an instance where the writers think that’s like super “clever”). The whole thing is pretty idiotic, but still shows an ambitious plot execution that you can feel is filled with passion and despite the odds is a lot of fun.
The kind of movie where you sort of begin to root for the cast and crew to deliver the goods within the confines of the budget. I kept thinking that this film if given to the right director and writer to tweak the somewhat too on the nose, cringey “holiday themed comedy” shit down a bit could have been an instant cult Xmas classic, if this exact same film had been shot on video in the 80’s people would likely today would regard it as a holiday horror genre must see. However given it’s release in 2006(an era not fully appreciated yet by most) it’s likely going to take a few more years before people catch on to just how unique this stupid little yuletide adventure really is. I for one will most definitely be giving this another watch next year! Two Front Teeth was a definite holiday treat I think that is currently aging quite nicely…
U-Dork MUST See Holiday Viewing: 1985’s ‘MONSTER’S IN MY ROOM’ w/ Seth Green?!
I just had a revelation: One of my long lost favorite episodes of ‘Tales from the Darkside’ is actually a Christmas themed horror story! Yeah, the legendary 1980s horror tv series created by icon George Romero is easily one of the best of all time, like any anthology series there are some misses among it’s three seasons but when they hit they’re some of the best. Originally planned as a ‘Creepshow’ sequel tv series, but renamed ‘Tales from the Darkside’ due to rights issues. Many of these episodes are just as good or better than what we got in the first two installments of the original two ‘Creepshow’ movies. So now that we’re back in the holiday season I’ve began some deep diving into forgotten xmas themed horror once again!
I hadn’t seen the 1985 episode ‘Monsters In My Room’ from the second season likely since the 80’s, however I never really forgot it. I just recently got the second season collection of the show on DVD and realized that Seth Green was the star of the episode AND that it also takes place on Christmas! A favorite of mine and a holiday horror treat I could appreciate all over again. The series already has two great Christmas themed episodes-and if you combined all three of these with a holiday wraparound it’s be akin to a real
“Creepshow Holiday anthology” flick-eons better than their 2020 special ‘Shapeshifters Anonymous’. The episodes you need to check out, if you’re looking for real 80’s Xmas horror are ‘The Yattering & Jack’, ‘Seasons of Belief’ & this episode ‘Monsters In My Room’.
We get a super creepy little tale that takes place at Christmas time were Seth Green is terrorized by creatures who live in his room and “come out to play” during the holiday. To make matters worse Seth’s new stepdad “Biff” is a total dick and is obsessed with “making a man” out of little Seth Green on Christmas Eve. When the monsters materialize in the form of an ogre, a huge saw blade, a tentacled monster beneath his bed and a wild wicked witch he naturally goes to his parents to let them know what he’s seen. But of course NO one believes him-especially not Biff who thinks he’s being a coward.
Things take a dark twist though as the “tuff guy sailor” Biff gets wasted one night and enters Seth’s room, singing him old school sailor anthems-one of the things that always seemed to stick with me was his ridiculous drunken singing where he performs: “what do you do with a yellow belly sailor? Shave his belly with a rusty razor” like a total buffoon. I love this episode, I think it’s one of the quintessential of the series, it’s got the holiday vibes all over it and a gang of super cool looking monsters, as well as some really well executed genuinely creepy sequences. Plus little kid Seth Green is awesome here and around this same time appeared in the ‘Amazing Stories’ episode ‘The Sitter’ a total gem of the series and horror themed as well.
So yeah check out THIS episode this year and if you by chance haven’t seen the other two Christmas themed ‘Tales from the Darkside’ episodes you’ve got to watch all three in ONE sitting, like a long lost 80’s Holiday “Creepshow” anthology film-a true trio of Xmas terror!
Watch the whole thing on Dailymotion!
Forgotten Halloween Gems: The Gory SOV Teen Horrors of 1991’s ‘SOUL OF THE DEMON’!!
Halloween is JUST around the corner and I’ve been on the move hunting down the coolest, forgotten, under-seen Halloween themed horror films. I highly recommended 1991’s ‘SOUL OF THE DEMON’ a largely unknown shot on video film needs a bigger cult following as it’s packed with some really fun characters and practical fx as well as taking place on Halloween night!
If you’re familiar with SOV films you likely know that many of them can be a bit of an intentional slow burn, but while ‘Soul of the Demon’ doesn’t have the budget of many of the more popular indie horror of the era it’s really got all the right moves, at least for me! At a lean runtime under 80 minutes you can’t really go wrong giving this a whirl.
It’s got a great set up, two teens skipping school head off on their BMX bikes to secluded pond and find a strange cursed demonic artifact. They take it home on Halloween night and it becomes the source of evil-possessing far too curious teenager and spoiling a raunchy Halloween get-together at a creepy abandoned house with a spree of satanic bloodshed.
There’s also a ridiculous teen basketball game montage, a BMX bike montage, plenty of sexy bonehead humor and some cool special effects you might not expect for a shot on video film from of the era. Once the horny teens take a break from being sex maniacs and decide to conduct a serious seance, things quickly escalate into a full blown horror buffet of gooey gore.
It’s a film that was clearly not just thrown together carelessly and I’m a bit surprised it’s remains so far under everyone’s radar for a Halloween themed horror film. The director, Charles T. Lang, got all the bang for his buck and his style of filming is pretty ambitious for being shot on video. He’s got plenty of cool camera angles and tricks up his sleeve here that give it a much more cinematic feel than most SOV flicks.
There’s a lot of fun to had here, with a bit of a “Night of the Demons” vibe here going on and our teen characters are pretty hilarious as well sporting some pretty great over the top teen dialogue, impressive mullets, Misfits tees and 80s style party favors to enjoy. Sure like most SOV films it might take a little long for the real action to really get going, but once it does there’s some great gore and make up fx on display.
There’s a pretty impressive finale crafted as well with some excellent animated special fx you almost never see in a movie shot on tape. My one complaint is as much as the kids talk about it being Halloween there’s pretty much no Halloween decor anywhere in sight.
I really do like the seasonal horror films to at least try to sell the holiday on film and unless I missed something I think it really could’ve used a boost in that aspect. Regardless, it’s a pretty great forgotten demonic possession Halloween film that rightly deserves much more attention-I found it on a cheap-o six film dvd package for under ten bucks on Ebay.
So to me that means it’s really ripe for the ripe for the picking for any of these blu-ray labels out there looking for their next release next Halloween. It probably wouldn’t cost a fortune to get the rights to put it out. ‘Soul of the Demon’ is sure to be a real treat for cult horror fanatics. It gets the job done with its own unique blend of SOV practical monster, gore and even animated fx that make this a killer standout among the niche genre.
The director’s got one other film out there listed on Letterbox I’ll need to check out-but in the meantime if you’re looking for something much more obscure this year to check out for Halloween I highly recommend ‘Soul of the Demon’ if you’re a fan of the SOV genre, I think this is one of the best it has to offer!! And as it’s short notice the whole damn thing is up on YouTube for the moment at least!
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….
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!
Comic Cover of the Week: The 1970’s LEGION OF MONSTERS!
Here’s an awesome comic book cover from the 1970s, that every time I look at it makes me wish that Marvel would have released a 1980s film about this particular team of superheroes. Imagine this being released as an 80s horror/action film, with special FX work similar to the Monster Squad?! I’d be in heaven!
Well as it stands I definitely DON’T need a Legion of Monsters movie personally that feature’s Jared Leto’s Morbius-However I’d take Nic Cage any day still as Ghost Rider as long as they could make him NOT look like a flaming TURD! I actually quite enjoyed the Werewolf by Night MCU mini movie, which featured Man-Thing too so hey were 3/4 of the way there already…hmmmm? I love this horror monster team from 1975 and the art work is pretty sweet and apparently the only Marvel Comics cover art ever done by Nick Cardy.
Hong Kong’s 1989 Satanic Cult Action Flick- BLOOD RITUAL!
After re-watching the 1976 classic satanic cult/ road trip/ action/ horror/ hybrid ‘Race with the Devil’ I was still in the mood for more “devil cult” related flicks. Well lucky for me, Hong Kong gave us a nice little CAT III gem from 1989 called ‘BLOOD RITUAL’ and it delivers quite the grimy punch-a wild and crazy little forgotten actioner that’s ripe for a fancy-ass blu ray release!
I had quite a bit of fun with this one and it’s sorta refreshing when weeding through so many overly slapstick Hong Kong horror comedies, when you come across something that really balances just the right amount of humor action and gore all into one weird little freaky package. ‘Blood Ritual’ definitely starts out with a bang. Featuring a sexy sweat covered woman in red high heels, completely naked being, stalked by a gang of cult members all dressed in white. She’s caught, carried away and immediately enters into, you guessed it, a god damn blood ritual!
We then get a tuff cop who’s hot on the case and a detective who’s just been released from prison, who’s trying to start a new life. At least that’s what I was able to cobble together with rudimentary & hard to read subtitles on this film print. They both get way more than they bargained for when it comes to their attention via a pretty sweet looking indie comic book zine that’s been making the rounds in Hong Kong that a killer satanic cult has been taking innocent victims for their bizarre ritualistic sacrifices. It’s all dressed up with evil hand drawn imagery, sexy sinister situations and pentagrams a’ plenty! It’s the kind of comix I couldn’t seem to get enuff of in the late 80s- DAAAAMN~!
This starts a race against time, trying to track down the wicked cultists before they snatch their next innocent victim. Meanwhile we get a pretty likable/comical cast and I’d go as far to say that it at times actually moves a bit into the “rom com” category as well, making it quite an interesting little over the top mash up. So the “recently released from prison detective” (I’m guessing that is what he is?) manages to meet a sassy bar room singer one evening and even manages to rent a room from her family. In classic form, neither of them get along too well together at first and their “relationship” leads to one of the strangest sequences I’ve seen in a Hong-Kong movie yet. Involving a severed finger, a ring, laxative, a fishbowl and chopsticks. Ok so if your imagination is running wild you’ve probably guessed exactly the truly bizarre scenario that unfolds to help complete the detectives bizarre lead on these cult members whereabouts. It sorta has to be seen to be believed, you won’t see this line of action in ‘Silence of the Lambs’ or ‘Se7en’ to get a lead on a case that’s for SURE!
I really love checking out these obscure and in this case forgotten foreign films like this that managed to hit all the right wild beats yet still remain unknown to the general public, here in the USA at least. Movies just like this that manage to show you something you’ve never quite seen before in a film-it’s pretty impressive. ‘Blood Ritual’ delivers some genuine thrills and chills as well as some frenetic action sequences that are quite unique to this era of Hong Kong cinema. Stunt work that blows your mind. Also the cult members are the real devilish deal, sever their limbs and they’ll use them as a weapon in a total animalistic rage against you-it’s not being played for laughs either, something I totally can get behind. Check this shit out if you’re in doubt!
Filled with spooky locales, intense bloody action, some pretty decent humor (as least from what I could make out), some “romance” and a finale that’s right up there with the best of anything that USA produced in that era, imo better – Blood Ritual will knock you right on your ass. Think a bit of Stallone’s ‘Cobra’ with more over the top action and a vicious killer cult to dismantle. I got a copy of this on DVD from Far East Flix, though I enjoyed it, I’d say this movie is in desperate need of a cleaned up blu ray release with better subtitles.
The subs at times don’t seem to make a lick of sense either, many of them disappearing completely into the background of the movie doesn’t seem to help, still I was able to get the gist of things and could tell it’s a unique littler horror thriller in need of a “CULT” following. Someone step up to the plate and give Blood Ritual the damn respect it rightfully deserves!
Nightmare FEDDY & ROBERT Cop 2: The Compelling Cinema Icon Step Bros!
Wait just who the HELL is “Nightmare Feddy”? Maybe I’ve been livin’ in a cave here but ol’ Feddy here has escaped me all these years! Am I late to the party here or WHAT?
This Feddy guy is pretty awesome too he’s definitely got the look of the icon, but just with a brighter cheerier Christmas style & sweater sweet ass pair of what appear to be shiny lil’ penny loafers? Either that or he’s headed to a ballet class after killin’ some folks?!
Well that is just fine by me! I guess Nightmare Feddy is a Chinese bootleg doll of Freddy Krueger(duh!), and a damn good one! lots of people seem to make fun of Feddy but he, at least from a distance to me, seems like he could seriously give Ken a run for his money and invade Barbie’s nightmares any freakin’ day of the week!
From what I can tell he came out in 1990s around the same time as “ROBERT COP 2”! Where’s Robert Cop one though? What a name, it’s almost better than Nightmare Feddy….
OMG I love these two misfit morons-Hurrah for the imposters! So I decided to see if I could get a Feddy or Robert Cop action figure for myself but BEWARE: currently a Robert Cop 2 figure on eBay is $895.00 and a Nightmare Feddy completed listing actually sells for a legit $150.00-$450.00. Nice work you guys! I’vegot to check out “BAT HERO” next too bad his name wasn’t a bit more idiotic tho…
Universal Dork 