Blu-Ray Review: Mark of the Devil

Posted on March 18, 2015 by geelw

How frightening. I’m actually old enough to remember seeing ads for Mark of the Devil in newspapers as a kid and while far too young to see it, wanting to just because of the free vomit bag handed out to viewers. I recall either a cousin or other relative seeing it and showing off their unused bag while they bragged about how violent the film was. Hey, it was after all “RATED V FOR VIOLENCE”… just not by the MPAA. That snazzy bit of marketing was courtesy Hallmark Releasing, the films distributor that packed houses for years during the 70’s and 80’s by retitling all sorts of sleazy to amazing genre movies.

Flash forward maybe a dozen or so years and I finally got to see the movie thanks to a fairly lousy quality VHS tape copy that had a few other horror flicks on it (one of which was Twitch of the Death Nerve, another Hallmark released flick). I certainly didn’t need a vomit bag, but the film’s overall tone and torture scenes did get under my skin (pun intended). Over time, I’d almost forgotten about the film thanks to only seeing it that one time, but thanks to Arrow Video and MVD, here I am back in front of a television with a superior in every way possible Blu-Ray version.

While not as relentlessly gory as more modern horror films, Michael Armstrong’s classic and controversial film is more of a “you are there” trip back in time than a traditional fright flick. Shot in and around Austria, the film’s lush outdoor landscapes are contrasted by the brutal torture segments that won’t have you tossing your cookies at all, but maybe reaching for a pillow to hide behind or stuff in your ears as you avert your eyes from some onscreen nastiness.

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Mezco’s Talking Mega Scale 15″ Chucky: “Best Friends Forever”… But Not One of the Good Guys

Posted on March 5, 2015 by geelw

Well, now. Chucky’s back in action, this time in a new Mezco Toyz figure bound to scare up some sure sales among collectors when it ships out this September. Be very polite and don’t forget to wave and smile back, now. You really wouldn’t want to get Chucky angry with you, not even a little bit.

Mezco’s latest take on the classic horror villain from the Child’s Play and Chucky films stands 15″ tall and features real cloth Good Guys clothing, 11 points of articulation, a plastic knife and his trademark flaming orange hair. Did I mention he also talks, saying seven phrases from the movies? Well, he does. Nope, “I Can Talk” isn’t from any of the films, but seeing that in the image below made me immediately chuckle and think “Well, I can run away while you talk!” as well as “Exit, Stage Left!”

Anyway, you can pre-order the Talking Mega Scale 15″ Chucky by clicking away on that handy link I’ve provided. It’s $94 worth of scares coming your way, but you knew that from the moment you laid eyes on him. Make some room for him, or he’ll be pretty upset when he arrives and has to lurk about in his shipping box while you clear out that space you should have beforehand. If he starts yapping away in that box before you get to opening it, that’s not a good sign at all…

Bravo for IDW! Alex Toth’s Classic Gets A Collection Worth Owning

Posted on February 22, 2015 by geelw

File this under “It’s about time!” and “Thanks again, IDW Publishing!” as Alex Toth’s excellent Bravo For Adventure finally gets a solid-looking complete edition absolutely worth a buy. Toth’s work as a cartoonist and character designer is legendary, but his illustrated stories are for a number of fans, some of the most visually outstanding and memorable.

Headed to a comic shop or online book retailer in July, this 100-page 9.5″ x 13″ hardcover contains the original 48-page story from 1975 along with two other stories featuring Toth’s handsomely heroic creation Jesse Bravo, a slew of never before seen sketches and even color samples from the Bravo tale that was to originally be published back in 1975. The man was and is called “The Genius” by his loyal fans for good reason. Whether looking at a single panel or entire story he worked on, there’s a sense or realism and stylization blended together with a phenomenal use of black and white and a solid sense of storytelling. Anyway, keep an eye peeled for this one when the summer sun is strong, as it’s a great read from one of the best classic comic illustrators ever.

Random Film of the Week(end) Quickie: The Pit and the Pendulum (Or: That Funky Cold Medina)

Posted on February 1, 2015 by geelw

So, here’s how MY Saturday night went. I’m sitting in the living room watching “The Price of Fear” marathon on This TV (which seems to be an offshoot of WPIX here in NYC that shows better movies, albeit edited for network standards) and during a commercial break in The Pit and the Pendulum (I know, I know – but I can’t pass up those Vincent Price/Roger Corman films anywhere they’re aired), I heard some loud music booming outside from someone going deaf in his or her car.

A few seconds later I end up nearly falling off the couch laughing because the song playing with its bumpy bass hanging out the window is none other than Tone Loc’s ode to lousy overpriced wine, Funky Cold Medina. Bwah and ha. Suddenly, my Saturday night got a great deal more interesting…

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Zojoi’s MacVentures Keep You Inside, Snow Outside!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by geelw

Well, well… the MacVenture series is back and in fine nostalgic form, this time as a set of Steam digital downloads. While you can buy each of these four classics for $2.99 a pop, it’s best to go whole hog and bag the bundle for $8.99. For that price, you get the original Macintosh 128k black and white and Apple IIGS 4-bit color versions of the MacVenture Series: Uninvited, Shadowgate, Deja Vu and Deja Vu II: Lost In Las Vegas. Yes, they will run on current Macs (of course!) and any PC that’s using Windows 7 or above.

Even better, since Zojoi Games is happy to get these classics back out in the fresh air, there’s s 20% launch discount on Steam ($2.39 each, $7.19 four pack bundle) until February 2, 2015. Yeah, so now you can’t say you have nothing to do because you’re snowed in with nothing but the cat to look at. Leave that pet on the bookshelf and go play with something a lot more entertaining…

Oh, Zojoi! Shadowgate Gets A Nice Retro-Packed Sale Today

Posted on November 22, 2014 by geelw

Hey, Zojoi Games! I fixed the typo in your email ad (you’re welcome and sorry about the spacing, as there’s only so much I can do in MS Paint in under three minutes) and thankfully, you fixed it before it went up on Steam. There’s nothing worse that dealing with nit-picky fans raking you over the coals for a misplaced “a” or other letter. Anyway, overexcited typist/layout person aside, this deal on the new Shadowgate game and two well-aged adventure classics cannot be missed, folks.

You’re getting a lot of awesome point and click-ness for that $20 and if you want your brain to jump up and thank you for making it work hard figuring out puzzles and trap solutions, well, here you go. A gift to you from you (because I don’t know you and wouldn’t give you something you may not want). Go get these NOW!

2001: A Space Odyssey Gets a New Trailer. Time Travel Seems To Work After All!

Posted on October 22, 2014 by geelw

Well, if you’re a very lucky resident of the UK with an interest in the classics, you get to see Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece as it NEEDS to be seen – in a nice theater with a huge screen for a short run starting November 28. This trailer is quite nice even though it sort of gives away a lot of stuff to people who’ve seen this one many times. On the other hand, it’s also mysterious and unsettling in a “What the heck is this film about?” manner that may pull in a few younger viewers yet to experience this ultimate trip. Fat chance of this coming out here, as I have no idea who would go see this other than people like me who don’t mind hoofing it out to a theater just to see something already viewed multiple times (to the point of knowing certain lines of dialog and timing almost perfectly. “Ham, ham, ham, ham…”) Eh, given that I’d have to travel far to see this anyway (we’re down to two faraway theaters of questionable quality in this borough, boooo!), in a goofball way, it’s almost worth the airfare to London. But that’s not going to happen, ladies and gents…

Coming Up for Air in Time for Some Vib-Ribbon News…

Posted on October 7, 2014 by geelw

Actually, I heard about this yesterday, but it was after a long day of poring over email and plotting out today’s Alien Isolation run, I was too tired and amused to post anything. Anyway, today on PSN, Sony is finally releasing the original PlayStation game Vib-Ribbon in North America, but not for that old console. This port is headed to the PS3 and Vita, with a future trip to the PS4 in the cards. I’ll let you boogie on over to the PlayStation Blog to read up on this wonderfully cool little game, which retains its ability to use music CD’s to generate random levels on the PS3. It seems that the Vita version loses this feature (unless it can work with MP3 files), but even without it, the game is still quite whimsical and still a ton of fun to play.

I still have my Japanese copy of the game and a PS1, but I’ll most likely grab this for my Vita because it’s one of those quirky little charmers that’s an excellent traveling companion. Okay, back to being scared half (plus) to death…

Ah, Bumpy Tuesday! Someone Call The Cops!

Posted on September 16, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Chaplin 1914!)

Well, okay… it’s not THAT serious so I’ll take the Keystone Cops whenever they can get here, but I am having some connection issues today. Hmm. going through my inbox here I see mostly mail about bundles and more bundles, more news about Microsoft buying Mojang and Minecraft (yeah, it was bound to happen that SOMEONE would snap this up once Notch got bored, but Microsoft? Hmmmm…) and a few media events coming up. Oooh, I get to see some new peripherals later this week! Nice.

Okay, let me mess around here with some computer stuff (or a hammer) and see if I can put up something actually worth reading later this evening or tonight. Hopefully THIS post actually posts, as that seems to be the MAIN problem I’m having today. Boo. In English: “We are experiencing operating difficulties. Please stand by…”

The Wire Returns, Sharp As Ever (But Sharper In HD. Maybe)…

Posted on September 3, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, aegies!)

I caught this news on a friend’s facebook post late last night and did a little hoot and short fist pump. While the official air dates have yet to be set by HBO, the company is finally rebroadcasting the entire groundbreaking series in high definition. What remains to be seen (pun intended, by the way) is HOW the episodes will look on that now standard format if they weren’t originally shot in that format. 4:3 was the standard back when the show originally aired back in 2001, although 16:9 HD televisions were creeping into the marketplace and very common by the time the show’s final episode aired seven years later. That said, poking around on a few message boards shows that either the show was shot in the wide format and cropped for the common man, the show was ONLY shot in 4:3 and we’re going to see less of what we should (boo) or we’re all just nuts and have fallen for a grand hoax. Damn you, internet! Anyway, if this does happen, GOOD. I can go and recommend this excellent series to a few friends who missed out on it and haven’t committed to buying that big DVD box set. If it doesn’t happen, hell, I’ll just hope HBO reruns the entire series on their On Demand channel like they did when I caught the series over the course of a few months thanks to them being smart enough to run a season a month.

As always, we shall see…