CUT! Your Friday the 13th Just Got A Little Scarier

Posted on February 2, 2015 by geelw

I just realized that February has a Friday the 13th rolling up, but I’m not the superstitious type these days. Real life tends to do more damage if you’re unprepared for it, so dodging black cats climbing mirrored ladders while carrying buckets of salt in their mouths doesn’t faze me one bit. That said, Psycho Rock Productions and Dog House Post’s new indie horror film, CUT!, (set for a DVD and VOD release February 24), will be getting a special week-long screening for horror fans in the Los Angeles area. From February 13 – February 19, 2015 the film will be showing at the Arena Cinema Hollywood (1625 N. Las Palmas Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028).

You’d like to see the trailer, right? Fine, then. Here you go:

“What’s it all about, Alfie?,” you ask? Well, thank you for asking and here’s a bit more to read:

In CUT!, the apparent is never the truth as an ex-con and aspirant filmmaker set out to manufacture a film by scaring people for real; however, when it goes too far and someone actually dies, the pair decide that killing for real on film is the only way to make a truly terrifying movie.

Well, my teeth are chattering already and that’s despite the heat not working here at the library today. Directed by David Rountree and starring David Banks, Dahlia Salem, Sam Scarber, Allen Maldonado and Suze Lanier-Bramlett, CUT! won Best Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actor, and the Award of Merit for Audio at the 2014 Independent Film and Television Festival and was named by Movie Rankings as one of the Top 5 Horror Movies of 2014. Hmmm. If it’s as good as all those awards make it out to be, I’m going to be typing my review from about halfway under the couch. There’s a screener on the way, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed…

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…

Continue reading →

Random Films: Bad Movies: It’s What’s For Dinner!

Posted on January 20, 2015 by geelw

Okay, I couldn’t help myself. After the cheesy charm of Mill Creek Entertainment‘s 50 movie bundle Sci-Fi Invasion sent me to Nostalgialand, I had to have more. Fortunately, I was able to track down five more of these sets for dirt cheap ($35 shipped for everything) and now never need to go outside again. Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement. Sure, there are all so-so transfers and if I had enough bandwidth, a load of time and a bigger hard drive I could look around the internet and get all of these for no money at all. But I’m a perfect example of someone who can’t use any streaming service at home thanks to jumpy internet as well as one of many who just prefer physical media over downloads. I’m not so fond of this digital future everyone is pushing for because it’s too much trouble and expense to keep up with every trend.

That and many of these tech items that are supposed to be changing the world are ending up to be disappointing failures. Segway, 3DTV and Google Glass owners who got sucked into those technological wonders as early adopters shelling out small fortunes are probably feeling a lot less chatty these days. Unless of course they’re those staunch defenders who claim we all didn’t “get” what the “future” those expensive toys were supposed to bring the world. Now, I’m NOT against new inventions and innovations at all. It’s just that people will be people and think that recreating stuff from movies that should stay in movies and/or thinking people will adopt every bizarre idea as the next big thing has led to a LOT of time and money wasted. Work on saving the damn planet, not just trying to sell us stuff and maybe I’ll be impressed…

Anyway, I have some movies to watch (“SOME” he says? HA!). Not now, but soon, as I’ve a ton of work in my inbox. Um, anyone want to come over and watch too many bad movies? Bring food and beverages, because I’ll probably be feeling far too lazy to cook anything.

Okay, back in a bit…

Richard Corben’s RAT GOD #1 Preview: The Squeamish Reader Gets The Quease…

Posted on January 17, 2015 by geelw

Well, there’s a face only a mother could love, huh? Dark Horse Comics is going to be publishing Richard Corben‘s latest work, RAT GOD in February. Here’s a sneak peek of the first five pages plus the cover to issue #2 of this three issue limited series. Corben’s ink work has grown a lot more uniquely stylized over time, but still works excellently in conveying his storytelling skill. The story is Lovecraft inspired with a Native American twist and from the teaser below, seems on par with some of Corben’s older work for assorted Warren magazines back in the 70’s.

A little synopsis for you if you’re now curiouser:

There’s something in the woods… Eisner Award Hall of Famer Richard Corben is set to deliver an original backwoods tale of terror inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

Terrible things stalk the forests outside Arkham in this chilling series from comics master Richard Corben! An arrogant city slicker on a quest to uncover the background of a young woman from the backwoods finds horrors beyond imagining, combining Lovecraftian mutations with Native American legends.

And since you’ve been good, take a peek at the cover to issue 3 (if you dare!). Now that you’re hooked in, each issue will be available at your nearest comic emporium for $3.99. Issue one should be in stores February 4, 2015 with March and April ship dates for the remaining issues.

Wyrmwood: Dead Down Under In This High-Octane Horror Hybrid

Posted on January 15, 2015 by geelw

With no signs of stopping zombie films (and believe me, I’ve tried!), it’s great to see directors getting a bit more creative than usual with the genre. Case in point, WYRMWOOD, see to land in theaters February 13th, 2015 courtesy IFC Midnight. First time director (and co-writer) Kiah Roache-Turner takes the standard undead stalking the living formula and adds it to a post-zombie apocalyptic Down Under setting with some interesting characters and twists galore. Sure, it’s rocking that Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead vibe somewhat fierce. But there seem to be enough laughs here to evenly balance out the gore factor and if there’s anything a good horror hybrid movie needs, it’s some decent humor to break up the monotony. Well, at least I think so.

Here’s the trailer:

As well as what your ticket money gets you (fun!):

WYRMWOOD
In Select Theaters on February 13th

Zombies invade the Australian Outback in this brain-splattered, Mad Max-meets-the-undead thrill ride. When an apocalyptic event turns everyone around him-including his wife and daughter-into marauding zombies, everyman mechanic Barry arms himself to the teeth, soups up his car, and hits the road in order to rescue his sister from a deranged, disco-dancing mad doctor. Bursting with high-octane car chases, crazy-cool homemade weaponry, and enough blood-and-guts gore to satisfy hardcore horror fans, WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD takes the zombie flick to bone-crunchingly berserk new heights.

Cast: Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey, Leon Burchill, Luke McKenzie, Yure Covich, Catherine Terracini, Keith Agius, Meganne West

Directed by: Kiah Roache-Turner

Written by: Tristan Roache-Turner, Kiah Roache-Turner

Genre: Action/Horror

Distributor: IFC Midnight

Sounds like a plan. Bring a date and all that stuff. I think I’ll need to review this one for sure…

Random Art: It’s Not Really A Day Off, As I’m Still Breathing…

Posted on January 13, 2015 by geelw

Yuck. Between the cold weather outside, the home being too toasty (hey, at least the heat is on, but yikes, does it get steamy up in here!) and someone who moved back in recently with his nasty smoking habit (who needs to quit before he gets beaten senseless or drops dead himself), I’m a bit under the weather today.

(Thanks, chshaw87!)

Well, it’s not THAT bad, but past experience tells me that if I get too occupied with cranking out work when I’m starting to get sick, I usually end up this way in a few days. Anyway, I’m going to go out for a short walk (I ran out of aspirin and need a refill), pop back in to get some resty-rest and be back tomorrow with more intelligent things to say. Have a tree in the meantime.

See you all tomorrow. Or perhaps later if I pop up and feel less froggy and possessed.

Random Films: Robo Vampire Makes My Monday More Tolerable…

Posted on January 5, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, andybluefox!)

Well, the plasterer is at lunch for an hour (yes, he left before noon!), so there’s a pause in today’s nightmare. In the meantime, after taking some more pinup photos of the wreckage in the kitchen, to keep my sanity level somewhere close to normal I’ve been catching up on some bad movies. Godfrey Ho’s 1988 howler Robo Vampire made my morning thanks to it being even worse (and much funnier) than its title suggests. Swiping badly from Paul Verhoeven’s stellar Robocop is bad enough to dismiss this without even watching it. But toss in hopping ghosts (wait, how does a cyborg fight ghosts outside of some seven-year old kid’s notebook scribbles?), mercenaries, long water torture scenes and slow, dull “chases” and editing that makes the film seem like three or four movies spliced together and you get an instant classic. Well, “classic” in that “How the hell did this ever get made?” manner. Seriously. I’ve seen student films with better quality EVERYTHING than this clunker.

Ah well. Everything exists for a reason, I suppose. This crazy flick just kept me laughing through the continuing (and seemingly never ending) mess that is my apartment. I suppose I should thank Mill Creek Entertainment somewhere in all this because I’m too lazy and busy to seek out and download all those public domain flicks I paid ten bucks for and still consider that a steal because that’s time and bandwidth money I didn’t need to waste. Back in a bit…

The Invasion Has Begun (Finally!)…

Posted on January 3, 2015 by geelw

Yeah, yeah. Some of you have this budget-priced collection of mostly crappy sci-fi/fantasy flicks with a few old TV shows no one over a certain age knows about already. But I’m late to the party and loving it, warts and all. I’ll probably drop in a few Random Film of the Week posts on some of these flicks at some point. I spent too much of last night and early this morning scanning through some of the fifty films spread across a dozen discs mostly laughing my head off or having my eyes pop out of my head at some of the wilder films. I’d actually seen some of them long ago on TV but forgot all about them, so being reminded that they existed was probably the most amusing thing.

That said, it’s too bad the video formatting and picture quality is all over the map in this set. The best-looking films are some of the made for TV stuff or the older black and white films and TV shows that were made to fit screens of a certain size. Some of the theatrical features suffer with the sides if images chopped off and/or too grainy/too dark transfers that make them hard to sit through. Still, a few of the gems I’ve wanted to see again are here, so R.O.T.O.R. is going to crack me up all over again and probably be close to the top of the list as a review. or perhaps I’ll do Slipstream, a really offbeat sci-fi flick with Mark Hamill and Bill Paxton I’d only heard and read about but never saw until last night. We’ll see, however. I only made it through two full movies and seven discs worth of watching assorted clips before I keeled over. The entire set is 70 hours, 34 minutes and I’ll probably watch every second. Even those awful Rocky Jones, Space Ranger shows from the 50’s will get a look-see from me. Hey, I have to know what my folks were watching back in the day, right?

Well, at least I won’t be whining about having nothing to watch for a while, right?

Random Film of the Week: To The Devil… A Daughter

Posted on December 22, 2014 by geelw

Swiping bits from Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist while leaving a “Why the hell am I watching this again?” aftertaste, To The Devil… A Daughter manages to be a pretty bizarre and somewhat unintentionally 1976 funny horror film from Hammer Studios. From what I understand by poking around a few books and online, the UK film industry was in a bit of a mess when this mess was made and it shows in a few key areas. Granted, you do get Christopher Lee in a scenery-chewing performance for the ages (including a brief nude scene performed by a double!) and Richard Widmark making a payday and playing an occult writer turned cranky old action hero long before Liam Neeson.

Yes, you also get a too young Nastassia Kinski flailing about and screaming as if possessed (well, she kind of is) in her part as a fallen “nun” and trying too hard to keep up with the other more experienced cast doing their own screaming and flailing about. Yes, the film is also notorious for the infamous bloody baby demon hand puppet molestation and a shot near the finale of her fully nude. While some genre fans may groove on that little detail, for some new viewers those elements will just come off as creepy central.. and not in a good way, either. Continue reading →

THE FLY: Outbreak – IDW Invokes Cronenberg, So It Better Be Worthy…

Posted on December 17, 2014 by geelw

Hmmm. As a David Croneberg fan, I get the shaky eyebrow whenever someone uses his name to sell a project, particularly one linked to one of his better major studio horror films. That said, I’ll give IDW Publishing a bit of a break (wrist or ankle – see the film and you’ll get a chuckle from that, I hope) for its upcoming five-part miniseries THE FLY: Outbreak. While the press release isn’t giving much away in terms of the plot, if what’s below is done up correctly, it just may work for even the most jaded fan of the film. To wit:

Years ago, a scientist had a horrific accident when he tried to use his newly invented teleportation device and became a human/fly hybrid. Now his almost-human son continues to search for a cure for the mutated genes. But a breakthrough turns into a breakout, and anyone exposed risks turning into a monster as well…

Now, to me, that sounds like a mix of 1959’s Return of the Fly and the not at all needed 1989 sequel to Cronenberg’s film, The Fly II, but in what’s looking to be more the capable hands of writer Brandon Seifert (Hellraiser, Witch Doctor) and artist menton3 (Silent Hill, Monocyte).

Of course, this got me wondering if Cronenberg’s idea for a “sequel” that’s been in limbo for a few years (studio politics at work again, whee!) is finally going to see the light of day and the green light that means he can shoot the damn thing. I didn’t even think that a proper sequel or remake was even possible, but I trust Cronenberg to always shake things up and deliver the unexpected. But I guess let’s have this IDW book hit the stands and see how it sells first before buzzing about anything else that lands on movie screens a few years down the pike…