Film Review: Though Highly Anticipated, ‘Chillerama’ (2011) May Leave You in The Cold

 Anthology, B. Woodell, Exploitation, Horror  No Responses »
Sep 212011
 

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Chillerama is a new horror film anthology by four writer/directors who came together to recreate the old drive-in experience, without the fear of running your battery dry listening to the radio.

The film starts out with a guy who gets bitten by a corpse (I will not spoil this gem of an opening), and goes back to work at the drive-in for the final night before it gets torn down and turned into a strip mall. There, the man’s infected bodily fluid goes into the popcorn butter thereby turning the theatergoers into zombies. This is the main plot for the film Zom-B-Movie, that runs throughout the picture tying the other three shorts together and ends as a full blown zombie film.

Cecil Kaufman (Richard Riehle of Office Space fame) plays the drive-in owner ready to unleash three films locked away for years, one final spin Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘The Super’ (2010) Brings Grime Back to Indie Cinema & Exploitation Junkies

 Crime, Exploitation, Horror, Revenge, T. Strauss, Thriller  6 Responses »
Jun 252011
 

DVD Artwork

George Rossi (Demetri Kallas) is a Vietnam vet who lives in Astoria Queens, and is the super of an apartment building that has been in his family for over 40 years. It’s a station he’s proud of, and he treats his tenants with respect and warmth, trying to provide the best life possible for his wheelchair-bound wife, Maureen (Lynn Lowry), and their withdrawn daughter, Helen (Logan De Sisto). Oh, sure, some of the tenants take advantage of his kindness, as Maureen never hesitates to point out, and some of them are downright disrespectful, but George does his best to take these things in stride.

George’s job carries a lot of pressure. Russian dominatrix Continue reading »

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Film Review: Lamond’s ‘Nightmares’ (1980) is an Ozploitation Slasher Film You’ll Not Soon Remember

 B. Harris, Exploitation, Horror, Thriller  2 Responses »
Jun 212011
 

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When a small child loudly protests her mother’s infidelity during a car ride, she distracts the woman for a split second, causing a terrible car accident and the gruesome death of her mother. Years later, after being released from a mental health facility, little Cathy is now all grown up, struggling as a stage actress and going under the name Helen Selleck. Naturally the vivid, bloody memories of her past still haunt her and only intensify when people begin dying on the set of a stage play she’s preparing for.

Is Helen to blame for the terrible murders being committed or is somebody else stalking the thespians and punishing them Continue reading »

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Film Review: Flynn’s ‘Defiance’ (1980) Remains True to Rolling Thunder’s Theme of Revenge

 Action, B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Exploitation, Revenge, Thriller  No Responses »
May 182011
 

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Tommy Gamble, a seaman on suspension, finds himself grounded indefinitely in New York City as he awaits word from his union when his next departure might be. Wasting no time securing a small apartment in a crime-infested slum and making friends with some of the residents, Tommy ends up running afoul of the neighborhood street gang, Savage Souls.

With the Souls gunning for him and the cops unwilling to make any move on the gang without official complaints filed, there seems to be no other alternative but to pressure the union into placing him on the next ship leaving port. Will Tommy turn his back on friends and to the mercy of the Souls and their brutal strong-arm tactics Continue reading »

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Film Review: When a Cult Leaves You No Other Choice, It’s Time to ‘Drive Angry’ (2011)

 Action, Adventure, B. Harris, Demons, Exploitation, Fantasy, Horror, Revenge  No Responses »
May 172011
 

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Roaring up from the depths of hell, a damned soul named Milton (an allusion to John Milton?) returns to the world of mortal man with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance. Forced to spend his afterlife bearing witness to the suffering of his loved ones, Milton steals a legendary weapon and hits the road in search of a cult responsible for the murder of his daughter and the kidnapping of his granddaughter.

With law enforcement breathing down his neck and a mysterious denizen of the underworld named The Accountant dogging his every step, Milton and his road trip partner Piper must stay alive Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘Run! Bitch Run!’ (Revisited – 2009) – They Know Just How to Find You

 Crime, Exploitation, Extreme, J. Felton, Rape/Revenge, Revenge  2 Responses »
May 082011
 

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The rape/revenge sub-genre is a strange beast, one that has always courted controversy. Movies such as I Spit on Your Grave, Ms.45 and Thriller: They Call Her One Eye, from the 70s and 80s, up to more recent efforts such as Torched or the big budget remake of The Last House on the Left. Are they purely exploitation? Or do they somehow bring a sense of empowerment with the inevitable revenge? Well, that’s not really for me to say, as I think each person takes away something different from each movie they watch. I’ll just try and stick to whether the movie is good or bad, or neither as the case may be.

All that rambling brings me to director Joseph Guzman’s addition to this controversial little corner of cinema. With a title like Run! Bitch Run! it will have Continue reading »

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Film Review: Nishimura’s ‘Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl’ (Revisited – 2009) Offers Gore Galore & More

 Action, Asian Cinema, Exploitation, Extreme, Fantasy, Horror, J. Felton, Japan, Martial Arts, Sci-Fi, Zombies  No Responses »
May 082011
 

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Within seconds of this movie starting a freakish looking girl gets her head peeled by a disembodied skull. If that doesn’t make you want to see more of this then you are probably already dead. Either that or warped over the top Japanese splatter isn’t your cup of tea. This opening scene sets the tone for the entire movie which gets more and more outrageous the further it goes. But really, what do you expect from a movie from a movie with this title?

To break the plot down would take far too long to go into detail, something I try to avoid anyway, as there is so much going on at any one time. However, the general jist of it is that Japanese Continue reading »

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Film Review: Eisner’s ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’ (2010) Blasts Audiences from their Seats

 Action, Crime, Exploitation, J. Felton, Revenge  No Responses »
Apr 202011
 

DVD Artwork

I remember the excitement surrounding the trailer of Machete that screened on the Grindhouse release. Of course the movie didn’t actually exist at that time, but the trailer was cooler than an Eskimo’s dog dragging its nuts on the snow. When the movie did eventually see the light of day I have to admit that I was thoroughly underwhelmed. I mean, it was cool and had some great moments, it just didn’t grab me in the way I had hoped it would.

Hobo with a Shotgun had very similar origins, with a trailer for a movie that didn’t exist screening with Canadian screenings of Grindhouse. Now whereas the actors that appeared in the Machete trailer also starred in the movie, Hobo with a Shotgun Continue reading »

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Film Review: Ling Pan’s ‘Brutal Sorcery’ (1983) Casts a Spell on Taste

 Asian Cinema, B. Harris, Exploitation, Hong Kong, Horror, Martial Arts, Revenge  No Responses »
Mar 292011
 

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Born in a bad year and month, on a bad day and time, Alan Chang finds himself plagued by disturbing ghostly encounters. Local medium Lady Luck informs his family that he must dig up the bodies of two spirits in particular and bring them to Thailand where they can be reunited in death in order to end the nasty mojo afflicting him. During his trip abroad, Alan hooks up with the sister of one of the deceased and a short love affair ensues. Agreeing to return to his lover in three months time, he heads back to his family in Hong Kong and gets on with his life. When three months come and go without a trip back to Thailand, Alan once again begins experiencing strange occurrences but this time it’s no mere haunting, it’s the blackest of black magic… Continue reading »

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Film Review: Margheriti’s ‘Alien from the Deep’ (Alien degli Abissi – 1989) Has “Balls! Balls! Balls!”

 Action, Adventure, B. Harris, Exploitation, Horror, Italy, Sci-Fi  No Responses »
Jan 202011
 

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Despite a foreboding aerial reception, a nosy environmentalist and her cameraman sneak onto a small island in order to monitor the possibly illegal activities of the multinational conglomerate known as E-Chem. After successfully sneaking into the E-Chem facility, the pair witness a truly horrific sight, the company is disposing of its radioactive waste in the island’s active volcano! They video tape the entire process but are forced to quickly hide the tape after being caught by security. E-Chem is the least of their troubles though, the radioactive volcano begins generating massive amounts of energy becoming a beacon, of sorts, which attracts an alien lifeform!

The island is thrown into chaos as E-Chem and the Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘The Bunny Game’ (2010) Combines S&M/Bondage and Horror

 B. Harris, Erotic, Experimental, Exploitation, Extreme  No Responses »
Jan 062011
 

Theatrical Poster

The Bunny (Rodleen Getsic) is a drug addict and prostitute caught in an ugly cycle of abuse and self-destruction when a truck driving john, Hog (Jeff F. Renfro), enters her life and introduces her to an existence far worse. Abducted from the uncaring streets to the unforgiving desert, The Bunny is forced to endure unspeakable torment and humiliation at the hands of the Hog in preparation for something much darker.

Presented in beautiful B&W, Adam Rehmeier’s The Bunny Game features breathtaking imagery, creative editing and outrageous performances by lead actors Getsic and Renfro as The Bunny and Hog. Very few low budget endeavors that cross my desk these days look this good or feature actors so Continue reading »

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Film Review: Boll’s ‘Rampage’ (Revisited – 2009) Continues to Draw Fire from Fans & Critics

 Action, Crime, Drama, Exploitation, Extreme, Horror, Thriller  No Responses »
Dec 282010
 

DVD Artwork

It is common in violent video games to engage in extreme antisocial behavior. The popularity of such games as the Grand Theft Auto series has raised alarms for those who believe that playing violent video games will lead to inflicting violence in real life. This same argument has been applied to ultra-violent films as well. In Uwe Boll’s film, Rampage, he cleverly merges the two mediums by giving a solid film that incorporates the feeling of playing a violent video game through following the protagonist as he goes on a mass murder spree in his small town. Should we as an audience go on such a journey with Bill Williamson, played by Brendan Fletcher, or should we be appalled that a filmmaker would give us Continue reading »

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