THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI (1966) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/11/21

 

Currently watching: THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI (1966), the last American-International teen flick to bear even the slightest resemblance to the studio's original "Beach Party" series that began in 1963 and lasted until original stars Frankie and Annette had moved on to other things and only a few hardy supporting players and extras still remained.

For the first time, there's no reference whatsoever to the beach or surfing. In a repeat of the earlier PAJAMA PARTY, the action takes place in a large mansion (this time, it's the haunted hideaway of recently-deceased Hiram Stokely, played by a very aged Boris Karloff) and its swimming pool, giving the cast an excuse to cavort in bikinis and swim trunks and flail around to the music of a bland rock 'n' roll band, the Bobby Fuller Four.

Basil Rathbone (SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, "Sherlock Holmes" series) plays Hiram's crooked attorney, Reginald Ripper, who plans to eliminate the old man's heirs after they assemble for the reading of his will. They include beach-movie veterans Tommy Kirk and Deborah Walley, along with venerable comic actress Patsy Kelly as "Myrtle Forbush." 

 

Aiding in Ripper's deadly scheme is his cohort J. Sinister Hulk (Jesse "Maytag Repairman" White), along with series regular Bobbi Shaw and Benny Rubin as Princess Yolanda and Chief Chicken Feather. All three characters are holdovers from PAJAMA PARTY, although Rubin replaces an ailing Buster Keaton who originated the role.

Of course, Harvey Lembeck is on hand as motorcycle gang leader Eric Von Zipper, with his usual motley mob of sycophantic cycle stupes. This time, he falls in love with Princess Yolanda, thus giving the writers an excuse to have Von Zipper and crew scurrying around the mansion along with everyone else once the plot, as it is, finally goes into high gear.

When Myrtle's nephew Bobby (Aron Kincaid, whom I think of as "the male Joy Harmon") shows up with a double decker bus full of swinging teens who turn the mansion into party central, the search for Hiram's hidden fortune quickly becomes a frenetic free-for-all as the rightful heirs clash with Ripper's dastardly baddies and a gaggle of spooks and monsters have the freaked-out teens going ape.

 

This will lead to an extravagantly silly finale that's like a deluxe live-action episode of "Scooby-Doo", only dumber and less coherent as everyone runs screaming hither and yon throughout the mansion (finally ending up in old Hiram's ghastly torture chamber) while some of the hoariest gags and haunted house tropes imaginable are recycled by former Three Stooges writer Elwood Ullman, who co-wrote the script with beach-party regular Louis M. Heyward.

Amidst all this, the simple romantic subplot between Tommy Kirk and Deborah Walley is barely given a chance to develop. Meanwhile, Ripper's gorgeous but evil daughter Sinistra (Quinn O'Hara) directs all her considerable seductive powers toward eliminating Myrtle's nephew Bobby (I forgot why), a goal that's repeatedly thwarted by her extreme nearsightedness.

Also appearing in the film are Nancy Sinatra (who sings the wince-inducing "Geronimo"), a young Danny Thomas discovery named Piccola Pupa (who's cute but not much of a singer), famed gorilla suit actor George Burrows as "Monstro", and former silent film star Francis X. Bushman (BEN HUR), who joins the rest of the cast's rather impressive group of vintage stars having some late-career fun (we hope) in this bit of nonsense.

 

Not the least of these is the great Boris Karloff, whose scenes with gorgeous Susan Hart were added, according to Wikipedia, after AIP producers James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff were unhappy with the film and thought it needed improvement. In their framing scenes, Karloff, as Hiram Stokely, is awakened from death's slumber by the ghost of his dead wife Cecily (Hart) and told that they will be reunited in the afterlife if he performs one final good deed.

The result is Hart's character, clad in an "invisible bikini", being awkwardly inserted into already filmed scenes as a mischievous but helpful ghost, with cutaways to Karloff observing the action in his crystal ball and making various comments being fed to him from off-camera.

One of the film's best assets is its use of lavish sets that are obviously left over from other AIP productions. That, along with the interesting cast and an occasionally infectious sense of fun, are just about the only reasons to recommend THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI to all but the most diehard beach movie fans and lovers of bad movies in general.  As part of the latter group, I enjoyed it, but others may find it just shy of unwatchable.

THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI (1966) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Batman & Robin Rescue Chief Brody! ("BATMAN" 1966/ "JAWS" 1975) (video)

 

The Orca is sinking! The shark is hungry! Chief Brody's in peril!

It looks like our sea-soaked citizen has only one hope for rescue...

...the Caped Crusaders, Batman and Robin!


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Batman & Robin Rescue Chief Brody! ("BATMAN" 1966/ "JAWS" 1975) (video)

Nightmare Prison Sequence In Anti-Weed Film "She Shoulda Said No!" (1949) (video)

In 1948, actress Lila Leeds was busted for marijuana along with actor Robert Mitchum.

She ended up in this anti-weed roadshow exploitation quickie...

...as a woman on the verge of becoming a dope fiend.

Leeds gives a powerful performance in this lurid thriller.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Nightmare Prison Sequence In Anti-Weed Film "She Shoulda Said No!" (1949) (video)

BRIDES OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted 11/10/2018

 

As the first film in the "Blood Island" trilogy, which was kicked off nine years earlier by its unofficial prequel "Terror Is a Man", the American-Filipino co-production BRIDES OF BLOOD (Severin Films, 1968) gets this particular horror cycle off to a lively, lurid, and very colorful start that's nothing if not wildly frenetic and fun.

("Terror Is a Man" and the entire "Blood Island" trilogy are now available in the 4-volume Blu-ray set from Severin Films, "The Blood Island Collection." Each film is also available separately. )

This time the island is inhabited by a tribe of natives who are regularly attacked by a terrifying jungle monster that is only appeased when they sacrifice their lovely young maidens to it two at a time.  Lashed to poles and stripped, the unfortunate lasses await the toothy, snarling beast who then has its horrible way with them before ripping them to pieces.

None of which sets well with idealistic young Peace Corps worker Jim Farrell (John Ashley), who arrives at the island to oversee various work projects and promptly falls in love with native girl Alma (Eva Darren), who, naturally, promptly becomes one of the next women chosen as a sacrifice to the jungle monster.

Also getting involved are seasoned research scientist Dr. Paul Henderson (Kent Taylor) and his neglected, sex-starved, and rather voluptuous wife Carla (exotic dancer-turned-actress Beverly Hills).  Dr. Henderson is interested in gauging the effects of nuclear tests on the islands in the area.

The three outsiders soon meet Estaban Powers (Mario Montenegro), a wealthy gentleman who invites them into his nearby mansion which is stocked with all manner of odd servants including the ogre-like Goro.  He seems nice and hospitable enough, but there's something off about him that won't become blindingly obvious until later.

Meanwhile, Powers shows the astonished outsiders some of the surrounding jungle's bizarre features, which include snakelike vines and tree tentacles which are alive and very carnivorous (all due, of course, to those nuclear tests and their radiation).  When these puppet-like tentacles get riled up, they give the living forest in THE EVIL DEAD a real run for its money.

With such a set-up, it doesn't take long for BRIDES OF BLOOD to become a free-for-all of mutated flora and fauna attacks (even the butterflies and cockroaches get into the act) along with a deadly conflict between Jim Farrell and the natives when he rescues his love Alma from the jungle monster's hungry clutches and both must flee for their lives.

Meanwhile, the mansion serves as a backdrop for sexual tension with poor Carla wandering around looking for love after trying in vain to arouse her husband and continuously throwing herself at Mr. Powers.  This works out nicely for the viewer since the generously-endowed Beverly Hills (aka Beverly Powers) is very easy on the eyes.

Some long, talky sequences soon give way to lots of action, especially when the slavering, comically-outlandish jungle monster is ready for its closeups.  This thing has to be seen to be believed--it's like a big, mutant escapee from a deranged Sid and Marty Krofft series and is constantly bellowing for victims to ravage and rend asunder.

Production values are pretty good although not as polished as those of its predecessor, "Terror Is a Man."  In color this time, the film is loaded with action that's vividly staged and fast-moving.  Graphic violence consists mainly of quick glimpses of body parts and such.  Nudity is also brief and seen mainly from a distance.  

Kent Taylor played in lots of prestigious films in his career but I think of him most fondly in stuff like THE CRAWLING HAND, THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH, and this.  Beverly Hills, who lent her talent and looks to a wide array of films such as SPEEDWAY and I'LL TAKE SWEDEN, is ideal as the sexy wife.

Best of all is the great John Ashley, former teen idol and star of such classics as FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER, HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, and the legendary "Beach Party" series.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films features a 4k scan from a recently discovered 35mm interpositive and is presented absolutely uncut for the first time ever.  The usual bundle of bonus features includes:

Audio Commentary with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Jungle Fury: Archival Interview with Co-Director Eddie Romero
Here Comes the Bride: Interview with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Beverly Hills on Blood Island: Interview with Actress Beverly Powers a.k.a. Beverly Hills
Alternate BRIDES OF BLOOD ISLAND Title Sequence and JUNGLE FURY Title Card
Teaser Trailer
Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Reversible ISLAND OF LIVING HORROR Cover  

Not quite a top-drawer production, BRIDES OF BLOOD is still technically far superior to the gore-drenched jungle exploitation dreck we'd start to see in the coming decades.  Thanks largely to its great cast and freewheeling style, it's a barrel of fun from start to finish.


Buy "The Blood Island Collection" at Severin Films

Buy "Brides of Blood" at Severins Films

BRIDES OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

 

Originally posted on 9/23/20

 

Just to clear things up, there ain't no dinosaurs in MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY (Severin Films, 1985), so all you Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien fans can scratch that off your list of reasons why you might want to watch this movie. There aren't even any iguanas with fins glued on their backs waddling around on a tabletop jungle set.

What there is, however, might very well appeal to you anyway if you're into jungle adventures with plenty of action, violence, gorgeous babes, manly heroes, sadistic cannibals, and that always-unbeatable combination of nudity and gore.

What's more, the overracting, bad Italian-movie-style dubbing, and very low-budget filmmaking might even satisfy your bad-movie sweet tooth, although this lively effort is (a) not all that bad, and (b) by no means dull. 

 

In fact, once our expedition of disparate character types survive a chartered plane crash in the Brazilian jungle (which is surprisingly well-staged) and find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive all its many dangers (including the aforementioned cannibals), this flick tends to get downright riveting at times.

Those various characters include the handsome, two-fisted young paleontologist Kevin (Michael Sopkiw, BLASTFIGHTER, KILLER FISH), a venerable professor and his beautiful but reserved daughter Eva (as Susane Carvall), Viet Nam vet Capt. John Heinz (Milton Rodríguez) and his hateful ex-wife Betty (Marta Anderson, BARE BEHIND BARS).

There's also a naughty photographer and his two sexy models, and a shady pilot whose inferior flying skills plus some freak turbulence get them all stuck slogging through the jungle in the first place.

Before that, the film establishes itself as having a lighthearted streak with dinosaur bone hunter Kevin bopping around Brazil with no money but a way with the ladies. He also gets into a humorous brawl with two guys who are each two feet taller than he is, and has a sexy encounter with one of the models which is just the first taste of nudity and softcore sex that the film has to offer.

After the plane crash, he and ex-Green Beret Capt. Heinz supply the movie with its maximum daily requirement of testosterone as they battle for leadership of the ragtag group in a fight to the death that is interrupted by a cannibal attack that results in a very entertaining and somewhat colorful reduction of the sizable cast one screaming character at a time.

Of course, we get the standard sequence in which the ladies are dressed in revealing ceremonial garb and tied up in the middle of camp for some good old cannibal fun and games which include the usual horrific stuff that we've sat through the previous half of the movie to see. 

This leads to an exciting escape thanks to the ever-stalwart Kevin and a frenzied pursuit through perilous jungle and raging river, with our heroes little suspecting that they're headed straight for an even more dangerous encounter with white jungle crime lord China (Andy Silas) in his secluded plantation where slaves mine diamonds and his lesbian henchwoman Myara (Gloria Cristal) helps him ravish all female captives before executing them in not-so-nice ways.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is scanned uncut in 4k from the original negative. In addition to a trailer, Italian main titles, and some deleted scenes, the extras menu includes the very engaging "Valley Boy – Interview with Actor Michael Sopkiw" (Kevin) and "Lost in Brazil – Interview with Co-Writer Dardano Sacchetti." The special edition Blu-ray features a slipcover and different box art.

What director Michele Massimo Tarantini (as Michael E. Lemick) lacks in finesse, he more than compensates for with an ability to stage big frenetic action and mayhem by making the most of his meager budget in imaginative ways. In other words, MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY should give those receptive to such slapdash fun more than enough to tickle their funny bones.


Buy it at Severin Films

Special edition with slipcover


Special Features:

    Valley Boy – Interview with Actor Michael Sopkiw
    Lost in Brazil – Interview with Co-Writer Dardano Sacchetti
    Deleted and Extended Scenes Reel
    Trailer
    Italian credits
    Reversible Wrap
    Exclusive Slipcover (not on standard edition)



Special edition/slipcover art:

 

MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. (aka ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 7/17/16

 

I really scored this week, getting to see two notorious exploitation titles from the 80s that I hadn't seen before.  Well, not quite, since they're both pretty much the same movie. 

Thanks to Severin Films, both are now available in a 2-disc Blu-ray set under the title DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. (1980), which includes that noteworthy "video nasty" along with its predecessor, ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST. 

The initial film, an Italian gorefest directed by Marino Girolami (father of Enzo G. Castellari of "Inglorious Bastards" fame) and featuring both loinclothed zombies and ravenous cannibals on a tropical island, was then purchased by ballyhoo master Terry Levene and somewhat "Americanized" for the 42nd Street crowd. 

In addition to some general editing for time and a different score, the main changes consist of the new name (from "Zombie Holocaust" to "Dr. Butcher, M.D.") and an entirely new prologue and main titles sequence with footage taken from an unfinished anthology film called "Tales That Will Tear Your Heart Out" and starring its producer Roy Frumkes as a zombie whose presence is totally unrelated to the original storyline.

What the two versions have in common is the story of a New York hospital plagued by a rash of weird cadaver mutilations that stymie Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch) and Lori Ridgeway, a hospital staff member who's also an anthropologist (Alexandra Delli Colli, renamed "Alexandra Cole" for the altered version). 

After catching the culprit actually eating the heart of one of the cadavers and then jumping to his death to avoid capture, Peter and Lori organize an expedition to the man's native island in the West Indies where it is said that primitive tribes still engage in cannibalism.

With Peter's assistant George (Peter O'Neal) and an annoying photo-journalist named Susan (Sherry Buchanan) in tow, they meet up with Dr. Obrero (Donald O'Brien) in his island research retreat and head out for the dreaded Kito Island.  Soon after arriving, their party is attacked by bloodthirsty cannibals who dismember and devour anyone they can lay their hands on. 

Thus, after a prolonged stretch of exposition and build-up, the stage is set for an almost non-stop parade of some of the most grisly and disgusting gore effects that a low budget and ample imagination can provide.  They range from obviously fake-looking to near Tom Savini-quality gore, and even the less convincing stuff displays a sort of giddy showmanship. 

(The main FX fail, in fact, is when a dummy thrown from the hospital roof loses an arm upon hitting the ground, whereupon in the next shot the victim's arm is intact.)

Entrails are strewn, eyeballs plucked out, scalps lifted--and that's before the zombies show up.  It turns out the living dead are the result of Dr. Butcher's mad experiments in his island laboratory, which he soon stocks with the survivors of the expedition in order to include them as additional unwilling subjects in what resembles an even more horrific variation of "The Island of Dr. Moreau."

This guy's a real sadistic bastard, which means that we're in for some more grotesque makeup FX which must've delighted gorehounds over the years while giving anti-"video nasties" crusader Mary Whitehouse and her ilk heart seizures.  The exposed brain effect with its pop-top skull foreshadows a very similar, and much more expensive, one in Ridley Scott's HANNIBAL.

Marino Girolami's direction is serviceable as are the modest production values--the film has the same basic look as other Italian cannibal and zombie pictures of the era by directors such as Lucio Fulci and Ruggero Deodato, as well as later ones by Bruno Mattei (ZOMBIES: THE BEGINNING, IN THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS, MONDO CANNIBAL).  The dubbing is often amusingly bad, yielding (as expected) some lines of dialogue that are real corkers. 

The acting isn't always top-notch either, but the cast give it their all.  Alexandra Delli Colli shows off her nude body a few times to stunning effect, especially in her big human-sacrifice scene during the film's climax.

The 2-disc Blu-ray from Severin Films is a treasure trove of extras.  The keepcase itself features a reversible cover insert and a barf bag.

Disc one contains the feature film DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. plus the following extras:

"Butchery and Ballyhoo": an interview with Terry Levene
"Down on the Deuce": Roy Frumkes and Chris ("Temple of Schlock") Poggiali's nostalgia tour of 42nd Street's grindhouse theaters
Roy Frumkes' unfinished segment from "Tales That Will Tear Your Heart Out"
"The Butcher Mobile": an interview with "Gore Gazette" publisher Rick Sullivan
"Calling Dr. Butcher": an interview with editor Jim Markovic
"Experiments With a Male Caucasian Brain": an illustrated essay by Gary Hertz
Theatrical and Video trailers

Disc two contains the feature film ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST and these extras:

"Voodoo Man": an interview with star Ian McCulloch
"Blood of the Zombies": an interview with FX master Rosario Prestopino
"Neurosurgery Italian Style": an interview with FX artist Maurizio Trani
Filmmaker Enzo G. Castellari Remembers His Father/Director Marino Girolami
Interview with Actress Sherry Buchanan
"New York Locations Then vs. Now"
Ian McCulloch sings his hit "Down By the River"
Theatrical trailers

The films are anamorphic widescreen with English 2.0 sound.  No subtitles.  "Zombie Holocaust" can also be viewed with its original Italian soundtrack.  Picture quality is a bit rough at times due to the source material but the films probably look as good here as they're ever going to look.

All in all, DR. BUTCHER M.D. is a gorehound's delight, with its slower first half giving way to a veritable charnel house of hokey horror later on.  Which might truly horrify if it were meant to be taken at all seriously, instead of being such total dumb fun that your main reaction to its ample atrocities may be simply to laugh yourself sick.

Release date: July 26, 2016

DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. (aka ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

World Trade Center Blooper In "The Valachi Papers" (1972) (video)

Much of "The Valachi Papers" takes place in 1930s-era New York...

...where we can spot a 1960s-era car or two.

In one scene, Charles Bronson is pulling a robbery...

...with some modern-looking buildings in the background.

And although it wouldn't exist for another 40 years or so...

...there's the World Trade Center.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

World Trade Center Blooper In "The Valachi Papers" (1972) (video)

THE BABY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/21/14

 

As if 1973's THE BABY weren't already mind-bending enough--not to mention disturbing, perverse, subversive, borderline repulsive, and just plain coo-coo--Severin Films has made the whole horrifying experience even more vivid by releasing a spanking new version ("restored from the original film negative") on Blu-ray.

Now we get an even clearer and more high-definition view of some of the most cheerfully repellent images of all time as a full-grown man (known only as "Baby") is spoon-fed, nursed, diapered, cattle-prodded, and even sexually molested by his also-grown sisters while their overbearing psycho-mom, played by the incomparable Ruth Roman, presides over the whole sordid scenario.

What happens when this idyllic situation is encroached upon by a nosey, bleeding-heart social worker (70s TV-movie icon Anjanette Comer as "Ann") intent upon taking Baby away from them has to be seen to be believed. When Ruth and Anjanette finally clash in the movie's heated climax, it's a confrontation that must've had jaws dropping in drive-ins across America.



The Severin Films Blu-ray disc is in 1080p full HD resolution widescreen with Dolby Digital English mono sound. No subtitles.

As with Severin's 2011 DVD release of this title, extras consist of telephone interviews with director Ted Post and star David Manzy, and a trailer.

Here's our original in-depth DVD review:

If you remember "The ABC Movie of the Week" or have seen some of the low-key but weird thrillers that showed up on it during the 70s (BAD RONALD, DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK), you should recognize the dingy, suburban gothic style of THE BABY (1973). Right down to the bland opening titles, mawkish musical score by Gerald Fried, and television-level production values, this looks like the typical made-for-TV chiller from that era.

Surprising, then, that not only is this a theatrical film directed by Ted Post (MAGNUM FORCE, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES), but it contains language, sexual situations, violence, and an overall air of perversion that would've had the TV censors working overtime with their scissors.

Ruth Roman does her patented "tough gal" act as swaggering single mom Mrs. Wadsworth, who, along with her grown daughters Germaine (Marianna Hill) and Alba (Suzanne Zenor), must care for her son Baby, a twenty-one-year-old with the mind of an infant. Their new social worker, the recently-widowed Ann (Anjanette Comer, a familiar TV face at the time), expresses great interest in Baby, which raises the jealous Mrs. Wadsworth's suspicions. When it appears as though Ann may be scheming to take Baby away from her, she and her deranged daughters take deadly action.

The plot of this languidly-paced tale unfolds slowly but is dotted with enough bizarre incidents to keep things interesting. The first one occurs when a babysitter (Erin O'Reilly) is caught breastfeeding Baby and is soundly thrashed by Mrs. Wadsworth and the girls. Just hearing Ruth Roman say lines like "Nothing happened? With your damn tit in his mouth and nothing happened?" is weird enough. Seeing the babysitter begin to change Baby's diaper as he's stretched out in his giant crib conjures up disturbing images of diaper service men in hazmat suits.

The attitudes of Baby's sisters toward their developmentally-challenged brother are also less than wholesome. Flaky blonde Alba, bless her, takes after him with a cattle prod when he displays too much progress (such as saying "Ma-ma") in one of my favorite scenes. "Baby doesn't walk! Baby doesn't talk!" she shrieks between zaps. The horny Germaine, meanwhile, has even more perverse uses for her "baby" brother. Nothing's explicitly shown, but it's still enough to make you go "Yuck!"

But perhaps the most off-putting thing about THE BABY is David Manzy's insipid antics in the title role. He reminds me of a porn actor who's been asked to perform beyond his range. Whether Baby's sucking on a bottle, frolicking around on the floor, or bawling and making pouty faces in his crib (with real baby noises dubbed in as he mugs it up), I just want to throttle the goofy bastard.

(On the other hand, though--how, exactly, would a better actor approach such a role? It would be interesting to see somebody like Sean Penn strap on the giant diaper and go for an Oscar.)

One of the film's key sequences is a birthday party for Baby, during which Mrs. Wadsworth and the girls make their move against Ann. This dreary, dreadfully unhip bash, with middle-aged losers in mod attire dancing to quacky "rock" music, is somebody's idea of what a wild party looked like in the 70s, and it's cheesier than a platter of movie-theater nachos.

The great Michael Pataki appears here to wincingly comic effect as a bushy-haired horndog. With the film's furious finale, THE BABY at last serves up a helping of Grand Guignol horror as Roman and Comer huff and puff their way through a hokey but bloody clash that leads to a nice little head-scratching surprise ending.

Ted Post's no-frills direction gets the job done and his two leading ladies deliver the goods. Anjanette Comer was never all that forceful as an actress, so she gives her character a suitably vulnerable quality. Hollywood veteran Ruth Roman, on the other hand, is the epitome of the brassy broad and her hot-blooded histronics are the most fun part of the whole movie. Marianna Hill (Fredo Corleone's wife in THE GODFATHER PART II) and Suzanne Zenor, who played the "Chrissy" role in the first pilot for "Three's Company", hold up their end of the film's oddball quotient.

Those seeking the balls-out bizarro shock-horror flick promised by the posters will be disappointed, since it comes off more as one of those early TV-movies with forbidden exploitation elements tacked on. But this is what makes THE BABY such a strangely interesting little curio. If you're in the mood for something unabashedly off-the-wall, then it should be worth your while to check it out.

THE BABY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

HORROR EXPRESS -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/3/11

 

Growing up with Forry Ackerman's "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine, I tended to drool over all the tantalizing stories and pics about cool-looking horror films that, for one reason or another, I never got to see over the years.  One of those was the Spanish shocker HORROR EXPRESS (1972), which, thanks to the new Blu-Ray/DVD combo from Severin Films, I've finally gotten to experience in all its 70s-Gothic glory.

Fans of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing should be ecstatic about this pairing of the two horror superstars as reluctant allies against a deadly supernatural force aboard the Trans-Siberian Express.  It's 1906, and stuffy Professor Alexander Saxton (Lee) has discovered the missing link in an icy cave in Manchuria.  Transporting it West by train, he runs into an old rival, Dr. Wells (Cushing), and his diminutive assistant Miss Jones (Alice Reinhart).  The prehistoric creature returns to life and escapes from its crate, causing a reign of terror aboard the train which Saxton and Wells must join forces to stop.

The horrific fun gets under way right there in the station when a thief breaks into the crate, gets a load of it contents, and drops dead, his eyes a blank white.  The baggage man meets the same fate during the monster's escape, as do several other passengers in a series of lively death scenes.  Julio Peña of THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN plays the increasingly irked Inspector Mirov, who suspects Saxon himself of foul play until he meets the creature face to face.  At that point, what started out as a simple horror-adventure yarn suddenly turns sci-fi when we discover that an alien entity capable of transferring from one body to another is behind it all.



This new wrinkle, reminiscent of John Campbell's "Who Goes There?" and its subsequent screen adaptation THE THING, adds a whole new element of suspenseful horror to the story as the being's victims either become possessed or have their brains sucked dry.  More weird science comes into play when Saxon and Wells do an autopsy on the missing link and discover that his optic fluid contains images of everything it has seen, including a view of planet Earth from outer space. 

Speaking of autopsies, the film features a couple which were fairly strong stuff back in '72 with graphic images of pop-top skulls and exposed brains.  Other makeup effects are good, including the glowing red eyeballs of the being's hosts and the blank, bleeding ones of its victims.  The reanimated ape creature sports a nice body suit with appropriately hideous facial features that have been partially decayed over time. 

Just when the story has already gone in a number of unexpected directions, Telly Savalas arrives as Captain Kazan to awesome things up even more.  Kazan and his fellow Kossacks barge their way onto the train and start terrorizing everyone, with Savalas having a scenery-chewing field day in the role.  All hell breaks loose after Kazan inadvertently forces the entity's hand and sets the film's chaotic and zombie-packed finale into high gear--Lee hacks his way through the living dead with a sword, Cushing struggles to unhook a baggage car full of civilians from the speeding train as it heads toward a cliff, and Telly goes all bloody-blank-eyes on us.  It just doesn't get any better than this.

Director Eugenio Martin adds a number of clever directorial touches to this handsomely mounted production, which is undermined only by some bad dubbing and awkward handheld camerawork.  In addition to the full-size antique locomotive, a very cool model train (left over from Savalas' PANCHO VILLA) chugs through beautiful miniature Siberian landscapes with numerous cutaways adding to the forward momentum of the film's pace.  An unusual musical score by John Cacavas is alternately atmospheric and cheesy.



Heading an outstanding cast, Peter Cushing's wryly humorous Dr. Wells is a fine counterpoint to Christopher Lee's stuffy Professor Saxton and it's fun to watch them play off each other.  One of the choicest bits of humor comes when Inspector Mirov remarks to them, "What if one of you is the monster?", to which an indignant Cushing responds, "Monster?  We're British, you know!" 

Gorgeous Silvia Tortosa (WHEN THE SCREAMING STOPS) is captivating as Countess Irina Petrovski, whose traveling companion is a mad monk named Father Pujardov (Alberto de Mendoza).  Resembling a cross between Jesus and Rasputin, Pujardov is the stereotypical "crazed religious fanatic" whose allegiance to the entity gives the actor a chance to go way over the top.  Also on hand are a number of Spanish character actors familiar to Spaghetti Western fans. 

The DVD from Severin Films is in 16x9 widescreen with English and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono soundtracks.  No subtitles.  In place of a commentary track there's an 80-minute audio interview with Peter Cushing from 1973 which should delight his fans.  (Cushing reveals during the audience Q and A that he got into acting mainly due to his love of Tom Mix westerns.)  We also get an introduction by Fangoria editor Chris Alexander, new interviews with director Eugenio Martin and composer John Cacavas, the film's trailer, and "Notes from the Blacklist: Producer Bernard Gordon Discusses the McCarthy Era."

Whether you're an old fan or just seeing it for the first time like me, HORROR EXPRESS is a delightfully entertaining old-school horror/sci-fi romp that's bursting at the seams with ridiculous fun.  They don't make 'em like this anymore.

HORROR EXPRESS -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/19/19

 

Penelope Spheeris may be best known for her comedies, but she gave us one of the hairiest, scariest thrill-killer flicks of the 80s when she directed THE BOYS NEXT DOOR (Severin Films, 1985).

Maxwell Caulfield (GREASE 2, "Dynasty") and Charlie Sheen (YOUNG GUNS, HOT SHOTS!) play high school misfits Roy and Bo, just graduated but faced with the dull prospect of going to work in a local factory for the rest of their lives.

These kids are filled with aggression and frustration and are just itching to take it out on the world, starting with their classmates whom they terrorize at one of those graduation parties held by someone whose well-to-do parents are out of town.

But that's not enough to quell the fire in their bellies, so they head for Los Angeles, where cruising Sunset Strip is just the beginning of a weekend of wild abandon that will quickly escalate into violent crime and, eventually, murder.

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR makes a halfhearted effort to "say something" about violence in society, serial killers, etc., but it pretty much boils down to total exploitation with some slasher-horror elements. (Which, of course, is a good thing.)

It's actually not all that scary--it never gets as intense, horrific, or graphic as, say, HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. It's more like an edgy adrenaline rush that gets the blood going while leaving a sour taste in your mouth.

Caulfield is so much better here than in his pretty-boy, nighttime soap opera-type roles, never overplaying but giving us just enough "crazy" bubbling up beneath the sweaty surface.

His sociopathic young "monster-in-progress" character is always wire-taut and on the lookout for people he can violently take out his impotent frustrations on, channeling his pent-up sexual aggression into narcissistic rage.

While his friend Bo is constantly on the prowl for girls, especially ones that remind him of his unobtainable blond heartthrob from school, Roy seems so sexually paralyzed as to be violently asexual.

We wonder if his biggest problem is impotence with girls or a fear that he's actually gay, one which he acts out by attacking an innocent homosexual who invites them back to his apartment after meeting them in a gay bar.

Sheen gives an equally strong performance as an impressionable, easily-led type who tries to maintain a cool fascade while his own deep-seated emotional problems are coaxed into action by the stronger personality. 

We wonder if he would be capable of such antisocial behavior on his own, and, like so many serial killer duos, the two disturbed youths combine into one very dangerously psychotic entity that thrives on acts of swift, senseless violence and murder.

Iconic 70s-80s actress Patti D'Arbanville (BILITIS) plays Angie, a sophisticated Hollywood girl who unwisely lets herself be picked up by these two very bad eggs.

The film  also follows the progress of two dogged, world-weary police detectives (familiar faces Christopher McDonald and Hank Garrett) who are on the killers' trail.

Each murder sequence builds inexorably as the unsuspecting victims are dispatched in quick, jarring bursts of rage that come seemingly from out of nowhere, mostly at the hands of the ever-unstable Roy as Bo either looks on in shock or is compelled to join in.

Spheeris (WAYNE'S WORLD, BLACK SHEEP) directs it all in taut, crisp fashion, giving us plenty of action (including a couple of exciting chase scenes) as Roy and Bo head nonstop for the inevitable bad ending. 

The Blu-ray from Severin Films looks and sounds great, and comes with a well-stocked bonus menu which includes a commentary track with Spheeris and Caulfield, several interviews and featurettes, alternate titles and extended scenes, and the film's trailer.

Watching THE BOYS NEXT DOOR is like watching a driver speed down the wrong way on a freeway and knowing he's eventually going to crash, taking out a number of innocent people along with him and doing it just for sick, suicidal thrills. 


Buy it at Severin Films

Special Features:
    Audio Commentary with Director Penelope Spheeris and Actor Maxwell Caulfield
    Blind Rage: Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Nightmare USA
    Both Sides of the Law: Interview with Actors Maxwell Caulfield and Christopher McDonald
    Give Us Your Money: Interviews with Street Band Performers Texacala Jones and Tequila Mockingbird
    Caveman Day: Cinemaniacs Interview with Director Penelope Spheeris and Actor Maxwell Caulfield
    Tales from the End Zone: Interview with Actor Kenneth Cortland
    The Psychotronic Tourist – The Boys Next Door
    Alternate Opening Title Sequence & Extended Scenes (Silent)
    Trailer

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

BRAIN OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/19/22

 

(BRAIN OF BLOOD is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, THE BLOOD DRINKERS, and THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM.)


Al Adamson fans who can't get enough of such films as DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES, and HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS should take special interest in Severin Films' new Blu-ray release of the 1971 Adamson horror-thriller BRAIN OF BLOOD. 

Originally released by Hemisphere Pictures, it was intended to resemble their quickie Philippines-lensed flicks which had been so successful for them. Adamson managed to pull this off, giving it much the same sleazy, gore-drenched ambience as previous Hemisphere horrors such as BEAST OF BLOOD, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, and BRIDES OF BLOOD.

 

Still, it looks and feels enough like his work to please his fans.  Shot quickly and cheaply with a script that doesn't always make sense, BRAIN OF BLOOD ranges from competent (Adamson's staging of the brain transplant sequence is particularly good, and there's a nifty car chase ending in a fiery crash down the side of a cliff) to slapdash, as in some of the later scenes of the monster's pursuit which tend to drag.

The story involves the dying ruler of a Middle Eastern country who plans to have his brain transplanted into a healthy young body. The American surgeon who performs the operation, Dr. Trenton, turns out to be a mad doctor with a dungeon stocked with captive young girls to experiment on and a sadistic dwarf assistant named Dorro who enjoys tormenting them. 

When no other suitable donor body can be found, Dr. Trenton removes the brain (in the film's most gruesome sequence) and pops it into the body of his other assistant Gor, a seven-foot-four acid-scarred galoot with the mind of a child (John Bloom of THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT).

This not only upsets the ruler's blonde bombshell wife Tracy (Adamson's own wife and frequent star Regina Carrol) and their associates Bob (Grant Williams) and Mohammed (Zandor Vorkov), but proves disastrous when the confused behemoth escapes from the laboratory and runs loose.

Meanwhile, dungeon captive Katherine (Vicki Volante) manages to shed her shackles, her subterranean ordeal giving the film a bit of a medieval flavor.  She'll later hook up with Bob as they battle the pathetic brain-beast that Gor has become, as two personalities battle for dominance within his own skull.

The cast is terrific, led by venerable stars Kent Taylor (BRIDES OF BLOOD, THE CRAWLING HAND, PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES) as Dr. Trenton and Reed Hadley (THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, "Racket Squad") as the stricken ruler, Amir.

Also on hand are THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN himself, Grant Williams, plus Adamson regulars Zandor Vorkov and John Bloom of DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN and the aforementioned Regina Carrol. The mad dwarf Dorro is played by genre stalwart Angelo Rossitto (FREAKS).

BRAIN OF BLOOD isn't the most insane Al Adamson movie I've seen, but there are times when it gets pretty darn close.  With such a delightfully eclectic cast and nutty plot, not to mention a 7'4" monster who looks like a jar of Grey Poupon blew up in his face, it pushes the needle pretty high on the fun scale. 


Order it from Severin Films
Order the Hemisphere Box of Horrors From Severin Films

Special Features:

    Memories Of Blood: Interviews With Director Al Adamson, Producer Samuel M. Sherman, Associate Producer J.P. Spohn, Actor Zandor Vorkov, Actor Sean Graver, and Filmmaker Fred Olen Ray
    Partial Audio Commentary With Producer/Co-Writer Samuel M. Sherman
    Trailer
    Radio Spot
    English Captions

Brain of Blood trailer:

BRAIN OF BLOOD -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

THE BLOOD DRINKERS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/22/22

 

(This Blu-ray disc is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM, and BRAIN OF BLOOD.)


Another fun horror outing from Philippines-based Hemisphere Pictures, THE BLOOD DRINKERS (1964) is also another superlative low-budget thriller from prolific, talented director Gerardo de Leon (CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, TERROR IS A MAN, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, BRIDES OF BLOOD).

His visual style here is pleasingly old-school, taking his limited resources and fashioning a Gothic horror tale which, like his later CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, eschews gore and cheap sensation in favor of mood, fever dream visuals, and an atmosphere of growing claustrophobic dread.

This time we meet Dr. Marco (Ronald Remy), the bald, black-caped head vampire of a small group who, in their crypt headquarters, are trying to revive Marco's one true love Katrina (Amalia Fuentes, CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES).

 

But to do so, they need the heart of Katrina's twin sister Charito, who was raised by foster parents and is unaware of her twin.

Meanwhile, the tragically-conflicted mother of the girls (Mary Walter, who would give such an impressive performance as a raving vampire in CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES), is forced by the lovestruck Marco into betraying one daughter so that the other may live.

This basic plot serves as a springboard for a prolonged clash between good and evil with a venerable old local priest and a circle of loyal friends helping Charito battle not only Marco but her foster parents who were murdered by Marco's vile hunchback henchman and have risen from the grave as bloodthirsty vampires themselves.

Director De Leon pours on the consistently engaging visuals complete with spooky cemeteries and crypts shrouded in swirling fog.  Marco's lackeys are a repulsive lot, including a huge bat who growls like a wild animal and looks creepy in its frequent close-ups even though it's utterly fake-looking. 

The vampire attacks and other action, including some furious fistfights between Marco and his gang and Charito's staunch, oily-haired admirer Victor (Eddie Fernandez), are staged with flair and keep the movie moving along at a good pace between the slower dramatic scenes. 

Interestingly, Marco isn't played with the usual vampire mannerisms we're so used to from actors such as Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee.  He's actually more of a Bond villain type, although his only motivation is a tragic love for his dying Katrina (who, technically, is already undead, but we won't go into that).

As in CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, the eternal clash between the diabolical forces of evil and the power of religious faith, as represented by the old priest and his congregation, is conveyed in no uncertain terms as a very real and ongoing thing in which monsters such as Marco and his ilk must be conquered.

One thing which must be noted on the technical side is an interesting visual conceit, being that the film is shot mostly in black-and-white which has been tinted various colors--blue for night time scenes, red for scenes depicting vampiric activity, and so on--with the odd scene here and there in color.  Some may find this effect jarring, while others will no doubt be captivated by it.

The print is good, presumably the best one available.  Dialogue is dubbed into English, with English subtitles available.  As usual, Severin Films offers a full menu of enjoyable extras which are listed below.

THE BLOOD DRINKERS comes to a head in the exciting conclusion with Marco's final desperate push to vanquish Charito's allies and get his hands on her precious heart.  It's all wonderfully old-fashioned in a classic horror sort of way but with touches of the more garish Hammer influence of the 50s and early 60s, and horror fans should find this a pleasingly novel confection.


Buy the Stand-alone Blu-ray at Severin Films

Buy the Hemisphere Box of Horrors Collection


Special Features:

    Manong of the Philippines: Interview With Script Supervisor and Gerry De Leon’s AD Dik Trofeo
    Hemisphere Appreciation by Filmmaker David Decoteau
    Audio Commentary With Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
    Partial Audio Commentary With Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
    Deleted Scenes
    Blood Drinkers Trailer
    Vampire People Trailer
    Radio Spot

THE BLOOD DRINKERS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle