Spain | Wildside Cinema

The Skin I Live In (DVD/BD – March 6, 2012)

Jan 262012

Synopis: Dr. Robert Ledgard is a driven plastic surgeon haunted by personal tragedies. After many years of trial and error, he finally perfects a new skin – a shield which could have prevented the death of his wife in an accident years earlier. His latest “guinea pig” is a mysterious captive whose true identity masks a shocking mystery. THE SKIN I LIVE IN is a masterful tale of secrets, obsession and revenge from Oscar-winning writer/director Pedro Almodovar.

Starring Antonio Banderas (Desperado, Assassins), Elena Anaya (Mesrine 1 & 2) & Marisa Paredes (The Devil’s Backbone) Continue reading »

Magnet Attracts Zombies!

News, Press Release 2 Responses »

Mar 262010

Promotional Poster

Magnet Releasing Takes U.S. Rights to [REC] 2

New York, NY – March 26, 2010 – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnet Releasing, genre arm of Magnolia Pictures announced today that it has acquired US rights to [REC] 2, the anticipated sequel to the terrifying cult favorite, [REC]. Directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza return for [REC] 2, maintaining the same claustrophobic concept or the original while finding new means of delivering scares to the audience. [REC] told the story of a quarantined apartment building infected with a ferocious virus that spread a terrifying form of demonic possession to the Continue reading »

[REC] 2

Action, B. Harris, Horror, Zombies 8 Responses »

Mar 122010

Italian Theatrical Poster

Paranormal Activity? HA! If Hollywood really wanted to scare the pants off of audiences they should have screened [REC] nationwide (dubbed of course) instead of spending the money on a remake. Don’t get me wrong Quarantine wasn’t bad, as far as remakes go, but it really doesn’t capture the raw terror [REC] was able to generate. As for PA, don’t even get me started on that pimped-out, feature-length episode of Paranormal State. It made loads of money sure but at the expense of horror critics losing credibility (again) and fans regretting their trip to the theater.

When the first few teasers and trailers came out for [REC] 2, fans went nuts and rightfully so Continue reading »

Pieces (1982)

Crime, D. Foster, Exploitation, Horror, Thriller 1 Response »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

A young boy working on a nudie jigsaw puzzle, is caught by his mother and severely chastised. The boy snaps and chops up dear Mommy with an axe. 40 years later, brutal murders are taking place on a University campus and the game of catch the slasher is on! The splatter is immediate and relentless; the blood flows, and body parts accumulate unremittingly. There’s enough chunks and fluid to satisfy even the seasoned gore hound and enough nudity for the perv in all of us. Cheesy dialog and stiff acting don’t hurt this one in the slightest, if anything it enhances an already good time. A few goofy characters are sure to generate some laughs, and a totally pointless kung fu scene is a riot. Pieces is a memorable watch that won’t Continue reading »

Exorcismo (1975)

B. Harris, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller No Responses »

Feb 142009

OOP DVD Release

I’m not going to go on and on about Exorcism (Exorcismo) being just another The Exorcist rip-off because it should be fairly obvious to even casual horror fans. This isn’t going to be an original work of terror or even a classic religious thriller; it’s just another entry in a barely breathing sub-genre that deserves very little attention. The one and only reason Exorcism isn’t a complete waste of time is mainly due to the presence of genre icon Paul Naschy and I just don’t think I’d recommend watching this film just based on him alone to people that aren’t familiar with his work. I love Naschy’s work myself but a bad film is a bad film no matter how cool the leading man is. Continue reading »

Bloody Moon (1981)

Horror, P. Escott, Thriller No Responses »

Nov 182008

DVD Release

Severin Films double-Franco-whammy continues with his infamous video nasty, Bloody Moon! The tale of a Spanish school of language that, as luck would have it, has a killer on campus that has an eye on the school’s attractive female populace and a penchant for thinning out their numbers; be it by knife, fire or a huge mill-saw! Welcome to the slasher genre, a la Jess Franco.

Bloody Moon has finally arrived in its HD glory, the beautiful Spanish scenery is full of vibrant colors that match that of it actors dreadful fashion sense. Problem is, the film isn’t any good. Sure it has plenty of boobies and ‘that’ saw scene, but aside from that? It’s an exercise in boredom. The music is as easy on the ear as a cat in heat, to be fair one theme works well, the actors all do a great job at looking confused and all share a sense of “whose line is it?” Continue reading »

The Backwoods (Bosque de Sombras – 2006)

Action, Drama, P. Escott, Thriller No Responses »

Jun 022008

U.S. DVD Release

70′s Spain, Norman (Considine) and Lucy (Ledoyen) are visiting his friend and old boss Paul (Oldman) and his wife Lucy (Sanchez-Gijon). Their aim is to work on their failing relationship; so the discovery of a deformed young girl, found on a hunting trip, doesn’t help with their plans. Especially when the already hostile locals come looking for her!

The Backwoods is a mixed bag. It has quality actors in the shape of Considine and Oldman and has some beautiful cinematography, yet the material is so clichéd and familiar that it never manages to find its way out of mediocrity and is constantly predictable. Quiet why these guys signed on for the movie is baffling, surely the script was Continue reading »

Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1973)

Crime, Gialli, Horror, P. Escott, Thriller No Responses »

May 122008

OOP DVD

An ex-convict, Gilles (Naschy) gets hired as a care taker for three beautiful sisters. While settling into his new found freedom and responsibility he starts having troubling nightmares; nightmares that show him strangling women! Not to soon after, slaughtered blonde women are turning up near by… missing their lovely blue eyes! Is Gilles just a misunderstood loner, loved by the ladies and loathed by the blokes? Or is he capable of the murderous act that are being carried out?

Blues Eyes of the Broken Doll is a Spanish attempt to cash-in on the popular ‘Giallo’ genre that was hugely popular at the time in Italy. All in all, it’s a solid effort and and Continue reading »

28 Weeks Later (Theatrical)

Action, Horror, P. Escott, Thriller, Zombies No Responses »

Oct 212007

Theatrical Poster

I’m going to come clean and admit that I REALLY don’t understand how 28 Days Later became as popular as it has. I thought it was as scary as an Andrex puppy. Danny “They’re not zombies” Boyle’s non-zombie zombie movie really didn’t grab me. As with most of Doyle’s work it’s rooted with a typical British miserableness that really gets under my skin. So why the hell would I do it to myself again by going to see its bastard sequel? – Good question.

The answer lays three simple words: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the man responsible for the criminally under-seen Intacto. With Intacto, his debut feature, he showed he had a raw talent. Dealing with lucked up hooligans Continue reading »

Cannibals (1980)

B. Harris, Exploitation, Horror No Responses »

Oct 152007

Just...Awful.

While traveling down river one day, Dr. Jeremy Taylor and his family are ambushed by bloodthirsty cannibals! Taylor’s wife is eaten alive in front of him and he and his daughter are kidnapped and brought back to the cannibal camp. Jeremy loses an arm to the cannibals but manages to escape, forced to leave his daughter behind!

Years later he secures financing and heads back out to the tropics in an effort to locate his daughter and bring her home. Unfortunately for Dr. Taylor and his party, the cannibals are prepared to war with the white man at any cost…even if it means losing their lives! Continue reading »

Black Venus (1983)

Erotic, Exploitation No Responses »

Sep 252007

Erotic Classic

Black Venus (1983)
(Private Screening Collection / R0 NTSC DVD)
Review by James Garfield

How do you like your erotica? Viewing Black Venus raises the question of the general difference between American and European approaches to sexploitation. American films like Video Vixens take a raunchy, lighthearted approach to stimulating the viewer, while with the Spanish-produced Black Venus we’re in a whole different world. The plot is set in the nineteenth century, and claims to be based on a story by Honore de Balzac (although I’ve yet to be able to find that story anywhere). The costume and set design are lavish, and the soundtrack bulges with classical favorites like Johann Strauss’s “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”, Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture”, and Offenbach’s “Gaite Parisienne”. Continue reading »

Rojo Sangre

Drama, Horror, Thriller No Responses »

Sep 172007

DVD Artwork

Rojo Sangre
(Fangoria / R1 NTSC DVD)
Review by Adam Tracey

I am nowhere near a newbie to the horror genre, but I certainly won’t claim to be an expert or offer myself up as some type of resource for it. I started to really get into horror late, my family was not the type to encourage watching these types of movies and you can bet I didn’t get into many in the theater. While I am much better versed in them now, I take recommendations when it comes to renting/purchasing movies that come from overseas somewhere. Then I will branch off based on what if anything I like about a film. So while my opinion on a movie such as this counts just as much as anybody else’s, I get the impression from researching this movie that someone with a better background might have another angle from which to approach this movie. Continue reading »