Topic: Jimmy's - 2012 Ooctober Horror Marathon

[Jimmy]

I guess you would like it more than me... The film isn't that great, at least for me it wasn't, but Katarina Leigh Waters is a great film hostess and Anthony Ginnane commentaries are always informative and interesting as he is the most important Australian film producer of the seventies so it isn't a waste of money.

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Demon Knight (1995)

Genre: Horror
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
Rating: 18+
Length: 1h32
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English and French
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
Billy Zane
William Sadler
Jada Pinkett
Brenda Bakke
CCH Pounder   

Plot:
Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight stars Billy Zane as the seductively evil Collector. When he conjures up a gruesome cadre of cadavers to bedevil the inhabitants of a run-down hotel, who will make it to the "mourning light"? William Sadler and gorgeous Jada Pinkett-Smith also star.

My Thoughts:

This one was an huge failure arround here, just to give you an idea I was the only one in the theatre when he was shown openning night. So it was my greatest theatre evening, watching a movie in peace like if I was in my living room on an huge home theater system. For the film it isn't that bad if you like the "Tales from the Crypt" style of horror. The story is interesting and the action isn't lacking, but one ingredient is missing to make it a real Tales from Crypt story : a moral twist at the end. The acting is perfect for this kind of comic book horror (the overacting is volontary) and it's always nice to see Dick Miller in a movie. Chasey Lain is also in a possesion sequence, but you probably don't have the slightest idea of who she is... She was the first contract girl for Wicked Pictures, the biggest star of Vivid Films, not a bad actress and one of the best looking woman in the adult industrie during the nineties (not anymore as she destroyed herself using crystal meth).

A fun movie to watch even if the Crypt Keeper annoy me, but the fast forward button is made for this.  


 
Rating :

[samuelrichardscott]

Chasey Lain is also in a possesion sequence, but you probably don't have the slightest idea of who she is... She was the first contract girl for Wicked Pictures, the biggest star of Vivid Films, not a bad actress and one of the best looking woman in the adult industrie during the nineties (not anymore as she destroyed herself using crystal meth).

Is that the same Chasey Lain from The Bloodhound Gang's song The Ballad of Chasey Lain?

[Jimmy]

Yes. But she isn't in that video at all because it's the cut one

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Bordello of Blood (1996)

Genre: Horror
Director: Gilbert Adler
Rating: R
Length: 1h26
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English, French and Spanish
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish

Stars:
Dennis Miller
Erika Eleniak
Angie Everhart
Chris Sarandon
Corey Feldman   

Plot:
Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood stars Dennis Miller, supermodel Angie Everhart, Erika Eleniak and Chris Sarandon in a fiendish frightmare about a house of "kill" repute where luscious ladies of the evening don't just take money for services rendered — they bleed you dry!

My Thoughts:

At one point in the movie Dennis Miller say that he feels like he is in a bad episode of Tales from the Crypt and I sure agree. This movie isn't for me at all, just too much juvenile humour and non-sense for anyone who is more than 13 years old... Seriously what the hell Dennis Miller and Chris Sarandon (common he was in Fright Night for God sakes) does in that piece of crap... I can understand for Eleniak or Feldman since they have no talents whatsoever and Angie Everhart since she is a great looking woman with no real acting talent...

Even the massive ammount of t&A didn't do it for me as we talk of plastic T
Complete waste of time in my book...  


 
Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Severed Arm (1973)

Genre: Horror
Director: Thomas S. Alderman
Rating: R
Length: 1h24
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Deborah Walley
Paul Carr
David G. Cannon
Marvin Kaplan
John Crawford   

Plot:
A bunch of groovy coal miners boogie down in the mining shaft only to get trapped. After a week, they get hungry and draw straws to choose whose arm will be dinner! Glad they didn't want a hotdog! Many years pass and the severed coal miner now wants revenge on those who chopped his arm off. No more picking straws, he's now picking arms! John Crawford (RAVINE), Paul Carr (BRUTE CORPS) and Marvin Kaplan (TOP CAT) star.

My Thoughts:

This one was doom to the "public domain" set in its TV cut for years untill it was rescued by my good friend Bill of Code Red DVD. So finally we are able to see it in its real theatrical ratio and all its gory glory (it isn't that bloody). Without being the greatest film ever done it's an ok revenge story that is a little bit hurt by the lack of budget. I have really appreciated the nuance in the interpretation of Deborah Walley. I liked too the "karma is a bitch" ironic ending...

I would recommand it without hesitation, but it was available only two weeks before being removed from the Code Red catalog. To make a long story short the usual mercenaries working from another label (I will not name) and a producer of extra materials (I won't name him either but he was fired from Anchor Bay, Blue Underground and Dark Sky) did their usual jobs of trashing the label because a little bit of irrelevent dialogue from a character was not included (the print used was the british X certificate who is the longuer version of this film surviving). So to put a stop at all the whining the decision was taken to stop the sale of this title.

Sadly the american DVD industry is full of cut throating and back stabbing like that behind the scene... 

Rating :

[Jimmy]

I've found a long interview of Marvin Kaplan in four parts in case some of you would be interested. He had a very long career beginning in the late 40s and the interview is really an interesting reading.

An Interview with Marvin Kaplan (from Classic Television Showbiz Blog)
part 1, 2, 3 and 4

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: So Sad About Gloria (1973)

Genre: Horror
Director: Harry Thomason
Rating: R
Length: 1h28
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Lori Saunders
Robert Ginnaven
Dean Jagger
Lou Hoffman
Seymour Treitman   

Plot:
Lori Saunders suffers from deep madness and insanity in this chilling tale that takes place in a sleep inducing trance! Dean Jagger and Robert Ginnaven (ENCOUNTER WITH THE UNKNOWN) co-star.

My Thoughts:

That one win the title for the most honest synopsis ever written... God it was boring to watch. It has a great start with a very brutal murder scene and became Love Story for almost the rest of the running time. Something happen at the end but I didn't really care anymore at this point as I was always checking the time in hope to see the film end soon.

Boring but I give it one point for the honesty

Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Visitor (1979)

Genre: Horror / Science Fiction
Director: Giulio Paradisi
Rating: R
Length: 1h49
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Mel Ferrer
Glenn Ford
Lance Henriksen
John Huston
Joanne Nail   

Plot:
Katy Collins (Paige Conner, LITTLE DARLINGS) is no ordinary 8 year-old girl. Indeed, she is unique, carrying within her the power of Sateen, an inter-spacial force of immense magnitude. Katy's primary mission on earth is to carry these genes forward, a task accomplished by convincing her mother, Barbara (Joanne Nail, SWITCHBLADE SISTERS) to bear a similarly endowed male child with whom Katy would eventually mate. Opposing this scheme is The Visitor (John Huston, Academy Award winner, CHINATOWN, AFRICAN QUEEN, THE MALTESE FAMCON), a sage of galactic stature who has come to this world not to kill Katy, but to end her "confusion". Find out what happens in this unforgettable, supernatural, suspense thriller from the maker of the box office hit BEYOND THE DOOR. The incredible cast includes Glenn Ford (BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, SUPERMAN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME), Lance Henriksen (ALIENS, THE TERMINATOR, DAMIEN OMEN 2), Shelley Winters (Academy Award winner THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, LOLITA), Mel Ferrer (NIGHTMARE CITY, EATEN ALIVE), Sam Peckinpah (THE WILD BUNCH, CONVOY, STRAW DOGS), and a cameo by international superstar Franco Nero (DJANGO, CAMELOT, DIE HARD 2). This long awaited cult classic is finally out on DVD!

My Thoughts:

A favorite of mine that was just put back in print recently for a limited period by Code Red, so if you missed it the first time it is now the time to get it. Believe me you will not regret trying this one.

I have already wrote a review for this film last year and since my oppinion didn't change at all, I don't see the point of writing a new one.



Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Willard (2003)

Genre: Horror
Director: Glen Morgan
Rating: PG-13
Length: 1h40
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: English and Spanish

Stars:
Crispin Glover
R. Lee Ermey
Laura Harring
Jackie Burroughs
Ashlyn Gere   

Plot:
For years, Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle) has been trapped in a dead end job with no friends and no future. Willard's life seems hopeless until he makes an eerie discovery: He shares a powerful bond with the rats that dwell in his basement. Now a guy who has been trampled in the rat race his entire life is suddenly ready to tear up the competition...beginning with his boss.

My Thoughts:

To be honest this isn't a great film, but Crispin Glover made it great. He sure is the perfect actor to play that weird guy and R. Lee Ermey wasn't bad either (even if he mostly play the Sergeant Hartman as a boss). Nice to see Ashlyn Gere in a mainstream role too. But one thing for sure if a lot of rats like that were in my house I will not try to be friend with them as I would die of an heart attack quite fast  



Rating :

[Jimmy]

BTW am I a bad guy if the cat scene made me laugh so much that I had to pause the film

[addicted2dvd]

I will have to make time for Willard some point this month. I remember enjoying it... but it has been many years. Bought the movie when it was first released.... haven't watched it since. Don't remember the cat scene... so don't know Jimmy! 

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Willard (1971)

Genre: Horror
Director: Daniel Mann
Rating: PG
Length: 1h34
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Bruce Davison
Sondra Locke
Elsa Lanchester
Michael Dante
Ernest Borgnine   

Plot:
A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. (And their increasing number of friends) However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.

My Thoughts:

Of course I have to watch the original after the remake. The tone in this one is quite different as it isn't played as a comedy wich I personally prefer. One thing for sure Ernest Borgnine did a better job playing the boss of Willard, he sounds and acts like an asshole not a caricature. We feel also more empathy for Willard as he isn't an "insane" guy but a normal unlucky everyday guy. All in all the films development aren't that different as much of the events are the same, except for the end who is more dramatic in the original.


The trailer is for Willard and Ben that I will watch next.

Rating :

[Dragonfire]

I hadn't realized that Willard was a remake...not that I've seen it.  But I've heard of it at least.

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Ben (1972)

Genre: Horror
Director: Phil Karlson
Rating: PG
Length: 1h31
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Lee Montgomery
Joseph Campanella
Arthur O'Connell
Rosemary Murphy
Meredith Baxter   

Plot:
A lonely boy named Danny Garrison befriends Ben, the rat leader of the swarm of trained/telepathic rats found in Willard. Ben becomes the boy's best friend, protecting him from bullying and keeping his spirits up in the face of a heart condition.

My Thoughts:

They sure did an awfull sequel for Willard... Remember that the rat was the bad guys previously, not anymore. In this disney like sequel Ben is a friendly rat and this is as stupid as it sounds. Except for the "war" against the rats at the end there are nothing good in that story (even the end is a cheesy happy ending). Really don't try to find it as it doesn't worth it...

Not recommanded at all but I must say that Meredith Baxter (remember her in that awfull Familly Ties sitcom?) was quite a good looking woman in her younger days



Rating :