Tagged: punk
H.R. GIGER’s Forgotten Cybernetic SLASHER flick: FUTURE KILL!
Straight from the video store days of the 1980s we’re talkin’ a bizarre flick that features those oh so irritating Frat Boys coming face to face with a gang of mutant punks in downtown Austin, Texas!! This “trapped on VHS” ridiculously idiotic GEM is in desperate need of a fancy blu ray restoration!
DESCENDENTS/ALL Filmage RE-View: The Original 80’s Kings of POP-PUNK in 2025!
The BEST Craziest Episode of the 1980’s Twilight Zone: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN style!!
Today we’re talking’ some 1980s TV and we’re covering the scariest, craziest episode of the 1980s Twilight Zone directed by William “The Exorcist” Friedkin! This 80s incarnation of the the iconic anthology series just does NOT get enough love, in fact so many people seem to have forgotten it all together. Well we’ll discuss how it all came together after the highly controversial, tragic but iconic 1983 film and just how some of these installments of the 1980s series could’ve been used for a sequel film! Check it out!
Henry Rollins & His Action Hero Stint in WRONG TURN 2: DEAD END!
Ok so we all know Henry Rollins as the front man to one of the most popular punk rock bands of all time: BLACK FLAG. However in the 2000s he was kind of really “going for it” in some pretty cool indie horror films, today we take closer look at his seriously over the top 2007 horror/action hybrid flick: Wrong Turn 2: Dead End! This one shoulda kicked off his career as an action hero-check it OUT!!
THE BOY’S NIGHT OUT: My 80s Wisconsin Teen Horror Flick on VHS & Youtube!!
So the time has finally come, I just officially released my 1989 teen horror film on VHS, a co-release with Black VVideo. This little 34 minute film was a huge part of my teenage years growing up in The Fox Valley, Wisconsin and I’ve had the film on a lone VHS for 35 years. So I finally edited the original footage, and even grabbed a camcorder last summer and filmed a some bonus footage to tie the narrative as tightly together as I could. So now it’s come full circle after all these years, it’s really a time capsule of teenage life in the midwest during the tail end of the 1980s. It tells the story of two “nerds” who are transformed into supernatural killers and exact revenge upon a gang of fellow bully classmates who’d finally pushed the bloody envelope way too far.
I’m pumped to add this to the catalogue of SOV horror films and the small gang of backyard teen films of the 1980s officially. So the VHS is out and can be found right HERE to purchase or you can check it out right now on the new U-Dork YouTube channel if you don’t have a working VCR.
Either way it’s a little accomplishment I’m quite proud to share with everyone after all these years-The Boy’s Night Out has arisen from the muck of the toxic pond waters of Wisconsin’s most wretched rock quarries and haunted forests! Check it out!!
1993’s Kamen Rider Zo: Kicks MAJOR Monster Butt!!
If you’re like me and are totally obsessed with monsters then I’ve got a great recommendation for you! 1993’s ‘KAMEN RIDER ZO’ Is a short & sweet, bizarre little super hero adventure that packs a monstrous punch to the gut. Clocking in at around 50 minutes, it wastes no time getting to the action and wild special effects sequences that are jam-packed into this little nasty nugget.
I must admit, I’m a bit of a newbie to this character and the fairly extensive lore behind him. Kamen Rider (aka Masked Rider) was established in the early 1970s and has several different iterations through the years. One thing is certain the character is an iconic Japanese superhero and his costume is obviously top notch-This 1993 film too is the perfect intro to the character and so up my alley with all of the crazy monster villains. A bit for me like ‘Guyver 2’ if it had all the clunky exposition trimmed.
That all being said, I’d heard that this was a great place to start and maybe one of the most inventive visually, as well as over the top, action-packed and violent than any of the other installments. Naturally I was thrilled to find out that the director Keita Amemiya is the same person who did one of my all time favorite Japanese action monster movies: ‘Zeiram’ from 1991 and another fave being 1988’s Cyber Ninja.
Also the effects artist being responsible for the totally bonkers fx of another absolute Hong Kong favorite gem of mine ‘The Peacock King’. With this fast paced little adventure you’re going to get all the frenetic action sequences and all of the cool practical fx mayhem jammed packed into “Terminator” style chase film. A group of creatures are hunting down a little boy and it’s up to Kamen Rider to stop them.
That’s all you really need to know, as the version I watched had pretty subpar subtitles & was a bit difficult to follow plot wise to say the least-but who cares! The flick, which was originally planned as a feature film was massively cut down from it’s original vision. That being said it’s almost ALL eye candy and for me it made the perfect warm up for my movie nite where the main even was the glorious 1995 film ‘Godzilla vs. Destroyah’. More on that first watch for me later.
It features some impressive monsters for tour badass grasshopper themed hero to pummel on, one being a sort of “predator” style creature as well as a totally bonkers spider/human hybrid freak with some dazzling stop-motion & also a grotesque bat-man who takes flight to cause everyone major headaches. It’s drenched in style and oozing with great atmosphere as well as a genuine cyberpunk style with dashes of straight up horror.
The fight scenes are quite cleverly choreographed too and the action sequences filled with fine detail are a marvel to behold. The sets and locations aren’t skimped on either, it’s all so colorful to soak in & the kind of film that when it ends you might feel a bit cheated (in a good way mind you) by its swift runtime and craving more monstrous mayhem in its wake.
Bear in mind too, ‘Kamen Rider: Zo’ is not really a kids film either-though there’s not a ton of “human blood” there’s a good amount of goopy monster carnage to relish in. Oh yeah and Kamen Rider cruises around on a rad motorcycle too, usually before he’s ready to beat on some creeps and the main character who plays the masked rider’s alter ego is quite the well dressed hunk!
I give high praises to this largely forgotten little film that probably should have a proper release here in the USA, I got a sweet dvd copy from Taiwan on eBay but you can also check it out on Youtube:
Comic Book Cover of the Week: New Years Brings…JUDGE DEATH!
40 years ago in January this amazing cover hit the stands, Judge Dredd #3 is a heavy hitter and features the always brilliant artwork of Brian “The Killing Joke” Bolland! This guy never disappoints and I’d say he’s EASILY crafted some of the sweetest covers of all time.
Judge Death also is obviously such a cool looking villain and he’s never looked more freakin’ evil than right here. It’s one of my favorites and hopefully someday we get a film that captures the Judge and his nemesis in the vein of these classic adventures. This issue is so cool that you get EVEN more of Judge Death on the back cover as well-here’s to 2024!
Movie Review: Tom Delonge Reveals the “Alien Conspiracy” in MONSTERS OF CALIFORNIA?
I took a chance the other night out of sheer boredom and stopped by the Redbox kiosk at the grocery store to give Blink 182’s Tom Delonge’s first directorial effort a shot-MONSTERS OF CALIFORNIA. I’ve been a bit curious about this for a while now, specifically curious about just what the hell Tom’s agenda is these days as he’s hooked up with Government officials apparently to slowly reveal the “alien agenda” softly to the public. He’s been a BIG alien buff for quite sometime and of course I can totally respect his efforts. But as he’s been hangin’ with the gov’t big wigs I became even more curious just how much he can really be trusted to deliver the truth?
Well here we likely get a glimpse into the thing perhaps he’s trying to reveal in his first “To The Stars Academy” film. I think his heart is sort of in the right place movie wise-trying to put together a of Gov’t conspiracy type of film that appears to be inspired by himself and likely his Blink bandmates. He goes hard with the 90’s/early 2000’s humor which frankly didn’t surprise me one bit some of it lands and well some fall as flat as a Blink B-side. Trying here to not be too PC, we get an onslaught of dick jokes and “I wanna bang your mom and you sister” type of ‘Enema of the State” style stoner humor that sometimes hits but mostly feels a bit generic and safe. Still though he tries his best to create characters and situations that you might feel lifted from an old 80s Spielberg flick as you get three teen dudes who’re obsessed with the paranormal. They spend much of their time trying to prove the existence of ghosts, aliens, the afterlife and yes of course Sasquatch.
Throw in some generic teen “romance and family drama for good measure and you get a sort of “by the books” supernatural adventure that feels oddly familiar. The characters are likable enough, but the only one who really gets any real depth is our lead played by Jack Samson, who in the movie is severely depressed at the disappearance (death?) of his father. His dad was apparently involved in some top secret shit that involved government secrets into the supernatural realm of thing like cryptids and flying saucers. The kid and his friends discover some classified coordinates to paranormal “hot spots” setting out on an adventure to expose the truth and also get to the bottom of the kid’s missing dad. However the Government isn’t too happy with the teens meddling into these top secret affairs and soon it’s a race against time for survival as things quickly spiral out of control.
I think Monsters of California is good watch if you’re looking for something fun at the Safeway Redbox. Tom Delonge tries his best to craft a quirky adventure, some of it works and some of it feels a bit too ham-fisted at times. The special fx are for the most part pretty decent too, aside from the CG ghost the teens encounter, which I think they shouldn’t have shown at all. One of the main problems here is the full reveal of supernatural entities being “real” within the first few minutes sort of spoils the fun. That being said, there’s actually a pretty cool looking Bigfoot that employs some sweet practical fx and a few solid laughs. The movie in general looks pretty great and it’s definitely not a bad effort at all for Delonge. It’s just a bit too timid and doesn’t bring anything new to the table, staying too firmly within boundaries that probably needed to be pushed a bit to make this a memorable cinematic experience. This is first and foremost a comedy but I can’t help but feel as if Delonge is trying to send us some sort of “message” here as to what he’s been privy to with his real life government connections.
It’s really anyones guess, but the movie clearly has a strong narrative and I do wonder if what we’re shown here is at least a vague idea of what he thinks is really going on with all of these UFO or now “UAP” sightings. Personally I believe Tom might’ve been purposely given dis-information from the Government about the alien phenomenon to spread to the public-time will tell I suppose. However maybe he does really know something we don’t and I guess ‘Monsters of California’ likely gives us a glimpse of what Delonge thinks is happening. I’d say this is worth a watch if you’re hanging around a Redbox, but don’t go too far out of your way to watch it-as it’s a fairly familiar, slightly generic foray into the mind of Tom Delonge and the alien conspiracy….
The BOY’S NIGHT OUT Trailer & STRANGE TAPES Strange Show!!
We’re getting ready to release THE BOY’S NIGHT OUT soon, a 1989 no budget- supernatural horror- slasher film I made way back when with my friends that I recently finally edited into a more “cohesive story” with all of the raw footage-It only took 34 years!! Filmed back in my native state of Wisconsin, the movie was shot in and around The Fox Valley and features cheese-head horror the way it was meant to be-80s style!!
It will be a co-release of my new VHS label ‘Hollywood Babylon Home Video’ and the super cool ‘Black VVideo‘, who has several awesome releases under her belt already. She appeared on The ‘Strange Tapes Strange Show’ just a few days ago to chat about The Boy’s Night Out and more releases COMING SOON! Check this shit out:
Here’s what the hell this little flick is all about:‘ The Boys Night Out’ follows a gang of mischievous highschool bullies whose plans to “eliminate” two nerds during the final weekend of summer takes a dark unexpected turn when the deeds turn deadly. One is brought to a secluded rock quarry where a chemical spill has poisoned the pond waters and the other is left for dead in a local “haunted forest” were ghostly whispers of evil have been rumoured for decades.
Can these misguided teenage miscreants 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 anyone’s guess in this coming of age tale of betrayal, murder, retribution and most of all horror- Straight out of the late ’80s from “America’s Dairyland”. The lost SOV film from the Fox Valley gets it most frightening revival, rescued from out of VHS obscurity! Here without further ado is the brand spankin’ new official trailer!
There you have it-a time Midwestern time capsule, that is not only a shot on video horror relic but also a look into life way back in 1989 Wisconsin! More details coming soon, but in the meantime get your VCR out of the attic-because The Boy’s Night Out is headed your way on VHS!!!
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!
Universal Dork 