Topic: Jimmy's - 2013 Ooctober Horror Marathon

[Jimmy]

It's october so that means that I will write reviews a lot and watch the horror movies I've purchased this summer and some other I haven't watch in a while or never watch.

As usual that will be a mix of well known films and unknown movies (common this is what I'm known for)... if I feel like it some adult films will be included.

Enough talking it's time to start

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Sorority House Massacre (1986)

Genre: Horror
Director: Carol Frank
Rating: R
Length: 1h12
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Angela O'Neill
Wendy Martel
Pamela Ross
Nicole Rio
John C. Russell   

Plot:
Horror-suspense thriller! Beth visits her friends' sorority and finds it hauntingly familiar. The girls' night of fun becomes a night of terror as Beth remains unaware that an escaped psycho stalks the girls one by one!

My Thoughts:

Unsurprisingly since the Slumber Party Massacre trilogy was a success it gave birth to a batch of films of the same genre. So this is the first entry in the Sorority House Massacre franchise, a serie who had a good reputation. But honestly I hope this isn't because of that one that is rather poor. The action doesn't start fast enough (common after 30 minutes nothing is happening yet) and when it finally starts we got a feeling of improvisation like the director would have said "the hell with it". The story is predictable, yeah the principal girl and the killer share a link... guess what it is? The acting is mostly screaming and the image is too dark. Not really a good start.


 
Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Sorority House Massacre II (1990)

Genre: Horror
Director: Jim Wynorski
Rating: NR
Length: 1h17
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Gail Harris
Melissa Moore
Stacia Zhivago
Barbii
Dana Bentley   

Plot:
Meet the girls of Sigma-Pi. Some will live and some will die. Playboy Playmate Melissa Moore, Joe Bob's Breast Actress Robyn Harris and nubile newcomer Stacia Zivago are three sexy coeds spending their first night at their new sorority house. Unfortunately, like their boyfriends, the old mansion has a past. These girls party till they panic... a killer has crashed the bash and he's really hooked on them. Now they must struggle to stay alive with only their brains and their bustiers to support them.

My Thoughts:

A director can make a big difference in a movie and Jim Wynorski is one of those directors who get what the horror genre is all about. Of course this movie is nothing new, but almost everything is there : nice looking girls in distress, a story who goes fast and make sense (they use stock footages of the first Slumber Party Massacre movie to build a backstory), victims who can fight back and an effective score by Chuck Cirino... in fact the only weakness is the killing because we don't see much thanks to the MPAA. Toni Naples and Savannah (if you were an adult movies watcher in the nineties you knew who she was) are also there in small role.

One thing to remember kids: Playing with a Ouija board at night in a creepy house where murders occurred is never a good idea.


 
Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Hard to Die (1990)

Genre: Horror
Director: Jim Wynorski
Rating: R
Length: 1h23
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Gail Harris
Karen Mayo-Chandler
Deborah Dutch
Melissa Moore
Bridget Carney

Plot:
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorised by a series of bizarre killings...

My Thoughts:

Don't let the title fools you, it is in fact Sorority House Massacre III. Except than calling it by that name would make no sense since it had nothing to do with a sorority or a house. But some of the characters for the previous one are back and two actresses are back too (with a different role since they were killed). So this time it's in an office building but that's no excuse to not get naked, take a shower and wear sexy lingerie. Not as good as the previous one since it countains too much comedy for my taste, but it's a good time waster.

And no the girls aren't "hard to die" but someone sure is...


 
Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Vampires Night Orgy (1974)

Genre: Horror
Director: León Klimovsky
Rating: R
Length: 1h24
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2:35.1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Jack Taylor
Dyanik Zurakowska
José Guardiola
Charo Soriano
Helga Liné

Plot:
A group of people are traveling by bus to the town of Bojoni, when the driver has a heart attack and dies. The group of passengers decides to drive to the near village of Tolnio instead to spend the night, and follow to Bojoni on the next morning. They find nobody in the apparently abandoned ghost city, but the next morning, they meet the hospitable dwellers. Unfortunately, their bus has a problem with the engine, and they have to stay in Tolnio a while longer. To their shock and horror, they soon find out that they are trapped in a vampire village, and their fight for survival begins!

My Thoughts:

I really wanted to like that film... but even if the cinematography is beautifull, the mood mysterious, the story interesting and is available for the first time uncut it just didn't work for me. The movie move too slowly for my taste and the dubbing doesn't work (not that it is over the top like in Italy, but it is unemotional).

Average for a spanish movie.


 
Rating :

[addicted2dvd]

Figures... have this one in one of my big box sets... was considering it.

[Jimmy]

Don't expect a lot from the version you have (I guess it's from one of those Mill Creek 50 movies set). It will be cut, hard to watch (too dark) and with the wrong ratio (so you won't even have the chance to see the good works done by the director of photography).

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Hands of the Ripper (1971)

Genre: Horror
Director: Peter Sasdy
Rating: NR
Length: 1h25
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.66:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Eric Porter
Angharad Rees
Jane Merrow
Keith Bell
Derek Godfrey

Plot:
An infant girl watches in horror as her father, the infamous "Jack the Ripper", brutally murders her mother. Years later, young Anna (Angharad Rees) is now under the care of a fake psychic and has been forced into prostitution. At the end of a séance one evening, a woman is mysteriously killed. Dr. John Pritchard (Eric Porter) suspects Anna is the murderer but cannot understand how she could do this unspeakable act. Using new Freudian psychoanalysis techniques, Pritchard experiments on Anna and discovers a shocking secret. The spirit of the "Ripper" is alive and well, and may be possessing his own daughter! Can this evil be stopped before it's too late?

My Thoughts:

The Hammer Studio was pretty much at the end of its run of success at that time due to the more graphics movies produced by the other studios. So it was in need of a new direction away from the vampire what he did that year with Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Twins of Evil and this one. I've already reviewed Twins of Evil last year and I've never seen Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (too bad it is OOP and way too costly as it sounds like a cool movie), but this year it's Hands of the Ripper.

This film is certainly the most violent and bloody Hammer's film I've seen, but too be honest Hammer isn't that extreme unless you compare them to the Hollywood studio productions of the time. The Jack the Ripper story is treated with an interesting angle since it's not about him but his daughter. The story countains a good balance between psychology and horror, even if it isn't scary per se. Strangely even if it deals with "demonic possesion" this is almost credible and you feel like it could be real. Evidently like most of the Hammer films you got a very good historical recreation. Angharad Rees in her first principal role give a very good performance in a role who requires a lot of subtility and Eric Porter isn't bad either. Also, and this is something I always like, there is no Hollywood ending for that story.

Strongly recommanded, even more considering the quality of this HD release.


 
Rating :

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: The Adult Version of Jekyll & Hide (1971)

Genre: Horror
Director: Lee Raymond
Rating: NR
Length: 1h31
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Laurie Rose
Jane Tsentas
John Barnum
Jude Farese
Rene Bond

Plot:
When slimy stud Dr. Chris Leeder (Jack Buddliner) takes possession of Dr. Jekyll's ancient notebook, he quickly becomes obsessed with the murderous sex crimes of the original Mr. Hyde. Ignoring the notebook's warning that the Jekyll and Hyde formula "makes people appear as they really are," the demented doc mixes the potion and promptly turns into... "Miss Hide" (Jane Tsentas), a sexy blonde in a mini-skirt who just happens to be a homicidal nymphomaniac!

After enjoying a lesbian romp with Leeder's secretary (legendary skinflick starlet Rene Bond), and the sadistic slaughter of a drunken sailor (ouch!), Miss Hide decides to pay a visit to Leeder's fiancee (Jennifer Brooks) and permanently cancel the wedding...

My Thoughts:

OK nobody would call this film a works of taste, common even Dave Friedman who picked up the movie said it's a piece of crap. But it's a fine movie for what it is, a drive-in sexploitation shocker. To be honest I sure prefer to watch an adaptation of Stevenson where the doctor turns as a sex crazed woman than a monkey like creature. The film, even if the effects are basic, is quite violent: the scene where Linda York is killed sure is. John Barnum (using the Jack Buddliner alias here) isn't that much of an actor and he sure isn't a sex symbol (he is the kind of guy you don't want to see naked, but you will...). But you get some decent acting from an underused Laurie Rose, the lovelly Rene Bond and, of course, Jude Farese who will appear regulary on TV series some years later untill 2007.

Not great not bad, but it delivers what you expect.

Evidently the trailer isn't on Youtube and I won't bother posting it since it had male nudity in it.
 
Rating :

[Piffi]

Wow, 6 movies in under 2 days huh? Are you going to end on the 100's before October ends? Keep it up Jim! A few interesting movies indeed. You got them from amazon or? (in case i'm tempted to get some of them?)

[Kathy]

If you click on Jimmy's recently watched icons, it will direct you to his collection which has where he bought his DVDs.

[Jimmy]

As Kathy said

Just click on the image in my reviews and it will open the profile when you are in it click on "Purchase place". Of course it doesn't meant that everything I review is always in print...

[Jimmy]

MOVIE / DVD INFO:

Title: Re-Animator (1985)

Genre: Horror
Director: Stuart Gordon
Rating: NR
Length: 1h26
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Jeffrey Combs
Bruce Abbott
Barbara Crampton
David Gale
Robert Sampson

Plot:
A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.

My Thoughts:

No need to say a lot about the film since it's a classic... perfect cast chemistry, excellent special effects, a very catchy and recognizable theme by Richard Band and a perfect mix of horror and comedy.

Highly recommanded and if you have never seen it what are you waiting for?


 
Rating :

[addicted2dvd]

I haven't seen that film in years! It is one that is surprisingly not in my collection yet.

[Piffi]

Thanks guys, i will try to do that