When Ava Gardner Co-Starred With The East Side Kids ("Ghosts On The Loose", 1943) (video)

This East Side Kids comedy was Ava Gardner's first credited role.

She played "Betty", bride of Rick Vallin and sister of "Glimpy" (Huntz Hall).

Ava grew up on a North Carolina tobacco farm, the youngest of seven children.

She got her first break in Hollywood on the strength of a single portrait...
...in the window of a photographic studio.

Ava was once dubbed "The World's Most Beautiful Animal" in a publicity campaign.
A director once gushed, "She can't talk, she can't act, she's sensational!"

By 1945 she smoked three packs of cigarettes a day...
...and was known for her drinking and salty language.

She was married to Frank Sinatra, Artie Shaw, and Mickey Rooney.

She was nominated for Best Actress for "Mogambo" in 1953.
And later won critical praise for her role in "Night of the Iguana."

Ava died of pneumonia in 1990 at age 67.

Her last words were: "I'm so tired."


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

When Ava Gardner Co-Starred With The East Side Kids ("Ghosts On The Loose", 1943) (video)

PSYCHOMANIA -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 10/7/2010
 

Here's an odd little artifact from the early 70s--a horror movie with no real horror or scares, a biker movie without a single "real" biker, and what appears to be an exploitation flick that's as tame as an extended episode of an old TV series.  In fact, director Don Sharp (CURSE OF THE FLY) helmed a few episodes of "The Avengers" and brings the same competent but rather dry style to PSYCHOMANIA, aka "The Death Wheelers" (1973), turning it into a pleasantly diverting yet ultimately bland experience. 

Still, this seems to be a fondly-remembered flick for a lot of people (including Fangoria editor Chris Alexander, who gushes about it during his five-minute introduction), especially those who look back on it through that nostalgic VHS-bargain-bin haze of their youth.  I can imagine enjoying it a lot more on a drive-in screen or some obscure late-night TV slot.  Seeing it now for the first time on DVD, it doesn't quite conjure up that magical feeling I still get from so many other guilty-pleasure films of that era.  Yet it's definitely an enjoyable little piece of goofball cinema. 

The main characters are a group of post-mod juvenile delinquent boys and girls who call themselves "The Living Dead" and ride around on wimpy bikes terrorizing the proper English citizenry.  Their leader, Tom (Nicky Henson, WITCHFINDER GENERAL), is a handsome sociopath whose mother (Beryl Reid, THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE) practices the occult arts.  From her, he learns that if one willingly commits suicide with the firm intention of returning from the dead, it will happen.  In one of the film's best scenes, Tom--buried by his friends in a sitting position on his beloved motorcycle--comes roaring up out of the grave in a shower of dirt.
 

After amazing the rest of the gang with his unexpected return, they can't wait to go out and start offing themselves in amusing ways.  These include some nice stunt scenes with them lunging off bridges and buildings, skydiving without parachutes, and (my favorite) crashing their motorcycles through the back end of a moving truck.  Now undead and unstoppable, the lethal pranksters go on a rampage which consists mainly of running motorists off the road and trashing a supermarket.  The latter scene features another cool stunt with bad girl Jane (Ann Michelle) gleefully running over a baby carriage and then crashing into a glass display case.

Tom, meanwhile, is having the time of his afterlife until he discovers that his girlfriend Abby (Mary Larkin), a nice girl at heart, isn't keen on dying.  This takes some of the fun out of spree-killing for poor Tom, who gives Abby an ultimatum--either die, or he will kill her.  Tough choice!  Disturbed by her son's evil ways, Mom takes steps to stop him with the help of her devoted servant, Shadwell, who is played by none other than top-billed George Sanders.  If Sanders looks a little bored in the role, which must've been a disheartening end to his distinguished film career, it's because he was soon to commit suicide with boredom being specified as one of the reasons in his farewell note.  However, his presence along with Reid's does help to class the movie up a little.


The actors portraying the "Living Dead" gang do an okay job, with Ann Michelle as Jane and Denis Gilmore (who reminds me a bit of Michael J. Pollard) as "Hatchet" making the biggest impression.  As a biker gang, though, these dweebs are a mixed-up bunch who kill for fun one minute and sit around singing folk songs and making floral wreaths the next.  Tom burial is accompanied by an ear-bending acoustic guitar ballad lip-synched by Miles Greenwood (as "Chopped Meat") while the corpse sits upright, mounted on his motorcycle, in the open grave.  In a film surprisingly devoid of the droll humor one might expect, this is definitely the most stupefyingly hilarious image.

The DVD from Severin Films is in 1.78:1 widescreen and Dolby Digital mono.  Taken from the best available print as the original negative is deemed lost, the image quality is good.  Extras include the lovingly-rendered 25-minute documentary "Return of the Living Dead", which features a charming Nicky Henson along with several other original castmembers.  "The Sound of Psychomania" offers composer John Cameron's recollections of creating the film's score.  In addition to Chris Alexander's introduction to the film and the original trailer, singer Harvey Andrews recalls recording the vocals to the awful folk song "Riding Free" which is heard during Tom's burial scene. 

With the emphasis on stunts and some really exciting car and bike chase sequences (but very little actual violence), PSYCHOMANIA's supernatural aspect is treated so lightly and matter-of-factly that it hardly registers.  Dying and coming back just seems to make these young smarties a little snarkier.  After an early scene in which Tom ventures into a mysterious locked room in search of some occult epiphany (his vision of a floating bullfrog shrouded in mist doesn't quite terrify), there's no attempt to scare viewers in any way until the slightly creepy ending.  What makes the film watchable is that it's lively, quirky, endearingly retro, and enjoyably dumb.

PSYCHOMANIA -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE FORLORNED -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 10/14/17

 

It seems as though ghost stories are one of the hardest kinds of movies to make, or at least make scary.  Most are lucky if they manage to be scary half the time, usually starting out strong before fizzling out toward the end. 

In these cases, a bunch of spooky peripheral glimpses and some nerve-jangling jump scares keep us on edge until the story gets in the way and things start being a little too literal and on-the-nose expository. 

THE FORLORNED (2017) suffers from this problem, but fortunately it doesn't suffer too terribly much.  Why?  Because it's such a likable effort and builds up so much goodwill in the first half that we're willing to go along with it to the end even when it isn't creeping us out.  That first half, while not exactly heart-attack-inducing, is all goosebumpy, Halloween-style fun.   

The setting is a big old mansion on a remote, fog-swept island in New England (the movie was filmed on location--in Montana) next to an abandoned lighthouse.  Bad, and I mean VERY bad things are said to have happened on that island, dating back to the War of 1812 when some really horrible atrocities took place.  Since then, anyone setting foot on the island has terrifying ghostly experiences that are whispered about in reverent awe by the townsfolk.

Tom Doherty (Colton Christensen), a young carpenter desperately in need of money, sets foot big time by getting hired to stay in the house by himself for several weeks doing renovations. He's one of those "ha ha, I don't believe in that kind of stuff" types until colorfully grizzled old local Murphy (Cory Dangerfield), who owns a pub on the mainland, helpfully lets him in on all of the island's terrifying ghostly history in graphic detail.

Thus the stage is set for that first half of THE FORLORNED that keeps us all giddy and tingly as Tom experiences all sorts of noises, fleeting glimpses, an old radio that keeps coming on by itself, and electrical failures that must be remedied at the breaker box located in--you guessed it--the basement, into which Tom must venture in pitch dark as we're thinking, "Uh...no. Just no."  And I haven't even mentioned the man-eating ghost warthog.

It's ideal entertainment for that eerie Halloween mood, even throwing in a couple of effective gross-outs (chocolate cake with maggot filling, a flashback of early 1800's sailors turning into ravaging flesh-eaters) and the kind of queasy haunted-house stuff that makes certain people recall films such as THE CHANGELING and THE OTHERS so fondly.  (This big, creepy old house, by the way, is an ideal setting for the film, aided by some effective CGI-generated environs.)

Eventually, Tom is joined by Amy Garrity (Elizabeth Mouton), a plucky young woman who lived in the house as a little girl and is back seeking closure for the mysterious death of her father and disappearance of her mother.  She's a good character and we like her, but it's right about here that the film starts to get less scary and more talky, especially when Tom's body gets "occupied" by a surprise guest ghost and Colton Christensen's previously understated performance becomes big and theatrical, as though the final scenes were part of a broad dinner theater play. 

Still, by this time we're pretty invested in the story and don't really mind that it's no longer all that blood-curdling.  It all comes to a mostly satisfying conclusion and leaves us feeling as though we've just heard a particularly effective sleepover story.  And if that's what THE FORLORNED was aiming for, then it pretty much succeeded. 

THE FORLORNED -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE ABANDONED -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/19/10

 

I have to go to the bathroom real bad, damn it.  But the bathroom is at the end of a dark hallway which is behind a closed door, and it's late, and I'm by myself. 

Watching scary movies by myself at night isn't the same as it was when I was a kid; rarely do I see one that cuts right through my adult sensibilities and makes me afraid to go down a dark hallway because there might be something creeping up behind me or because when I turn on the bathroom light that same something will be standing in there ready to lunge at me.  THE ABANDONED (2006), however, is one of those movies.

The story begins as Marie (Anastasia Hille) arrives in Moscow to track down her origins, having been adopted as an infant after her Russian mother was found brutally murdered.  She discovers that she has inherited the old home place, a sprawling, dilapidated farmhouse in the middle of the deep, dark woods between nothing and nowhere, and hires a farmer to take her there in his truck.  Before they leave, an old Russian woman pleads with her not to go, while other bystanders regard her with fear and sorrow.  It's very similar to the scene at the beginning of DRACULA in which the villagers beseech Renfield not to travel to the evil Count's castle, and we all know what happened to him.

After what seems like hours of travel, the driver leaves Marie alone in the woods at night, within walking distance of the house.  Out of the corner of her eye, Marie thinks she sees a ghostly figure glide across the path up ahead.  She reaches the really, really spooky old house and goes inside, peering into the deep darkness with her flashlight and making her way slowly through shadowy, cobwebbed rooms and corridors.  She hears noises.  And maybe a voice or two.  I'm thinking, "Would I be in that house at that time?  No, I would not."  I'm also thinking that there's gonna be a "jump" shock any second now, and I'm right--there is.  But expecting it doesn't help.  In fact, it just makes it worse.


A lot of horror flicks these days depend on jump shocks, which can startle the crap out of you for a few seconds but are soon forgotten.  This film is filled with them, but they're often only the beginning of a long sequence of sustained fear that doesn't subside after you've been soundly goosed.  The interplay of the various cinematic elements is masterful in these scenes--direction, photography, special effects, and acting are all outstanding--creating the sort of sustained terror that usually comes along only in your worst nightmares.  This movie, in fact, is like one long nightmare that you don't even fully wake up from when the end credits start rolling.

But back to Marie.  After the first really scary stuff happens, she discovers that there's someone else in the house with her.  That is, another living, flesh-and-blood someone.  He turns out to be her twin brother, Nicolai (Karel Roden of BLADE II and HELLBOY), who has also been drawn to the house trying to find out what awful thing happened to their mother there, forty years ago.  After suffering through one hellishly terrifying ordeal after another, they finally find out.  I'm not going to tell you any more of what happens, but when Nicolai has a sudden realization and says ominously to Marie, "We're haunting ourselves...", you just might be thinking: "No sh*t!"  One thing's for sure--the old "blank white eyeballs" thing has rarely looked scarier.

The last haunted house movie that tried to scare me was THE MARSH.  But it tried to do this with a bunch of obvious CGI and noisy, flashy effects.  THE ABANDONED has some CGI, too, but it's the best kind--the kind that tries not to look like CGI.  Both of these films contain a similar scene in which a decrepit old room goes backward in time to its original state, but the difference is stunning.  One scene seems to say "Look at this cool CGI!", while the other is more interested in maintaining your level of involvement in the scene itself.


THE ABANDONED looks great, with beautiful photography and imaginative editing worthy of an art film, always establishing and maintaining the right mood without being merely for show.  The sound design and haunting score also contribute substantially to the ominous atmosphere, making even the scenes of Marie arriving in Moscow seem forboding and pulsing with bad tidings for what's to come.

The house itself is a marvel of production design, a labyrinth of dingy rooms, spooky corridors, and ominous passageways that constantly had me muttering "Don't go in there!"  And with it, the stage is set for Spanish director Nacho Cerdà to do his stuff.  To paraphrase a line from POLTERGEIST, he knows what scares you.  His handling of this type of material is masterful compared to the ham-fisted direction often seen in similar films.  And the two leads, Anastasia Hille and Karel Roden, are so good that they put the whole thing across with utter conviction.  It didn't even bother me that the last few minutes didn't really seem to make total sense, because the worst nightmares rarely do. 

I've seen a lot of horror films, especially of the haunted house variety, that tried their best to be scary but just didn't know how to do it, or how to sustain it all the way through to the end.  But THE ABANDONED knows how.  Boy, does it ever.  It left me feeling drained, stunned, entertained yet uncomfortably uneasy and disturbed; and most of all, really, really creeped out.  And I still have to go to the bathroom real bad, damn it.

THE ABANDONED -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE CARETAKER -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/28/16

 

Some horror movies seem to be able to look right into our minds and find exactly what flat-out scares us, and then they use that to turn us into shivering, quivering, gibbering blobs of giddy terror.  Others, unfortunately, don't seem to have a clue and simply throw everything but the kitchen sink at us in hopes that something scary will stick.

And then there are those fright flicks that traverse the middle ground between the two, occasionally causing a tingly chill up and down the spine but never quite hitting that elusive terror sweet spot within our delicate psyches.  THE CARETAKER (2016, Level 33) is like that, although not for lack of trying.  It's a respectable effort.

Sondra Blake, a familiar face for those of us who grew up watching TV in the 70s (in addition to being married to Robert Blake, she played Susan Atkins' cellmate in the TV-movie "Helter Skelter" among many other things), is a welcome presence as dotty old hag Birdy, who lives in a huge antique of a house and drives away every caretaker hired to watch over her.

Not only is Birdie stubbornly unwilling to take the meds that keep her psychoses at bay, but when she isn't behaving like an even nuttier version of Blanche DuBois from "A Streetcar Named Desire" she tends at times to be...well, scary.

The movie's first (effective) jump scare, in fact, is due to her, which finally drives away caretaker Gilberto and forces her granddaughter Mallorie (Meegan Warner, "TURN: Washington's Spies") to move back into the old house she grew up in (Birdie raised her from the age of four after her mother's mysterious disappearance) to take over as caretaker herself.

Mallorie's boyfriend August (Sean Martini) comes along for the ride--the occasional chance to ride Mallorie, that is--although he chafes at having to sleep on the dusty old couch.  They'll both get more than they bargained for when Birdy turns out to be not only more unmanageable than they imagined, but also displays a tendency toward witchery that lends a growing air of creepy foreboding to the proceedings.

As the two young people learn more and more about Birdie's past--such as being expelled from her position as a circus medium, of all things, for heresy--Mallorie starts sleepwalking and seeing things.  She also tells August of the time as a child when she was in the living room one dark night and thought she saw a clown standing in the corner.  Okay, end of movie--I'd be outta there faster than a McDonald's employee asks "Would you like fries with that?"

Sondra Blake is pretty effective throughout, but in a relatively subtle way--she never really lays it on as thick as I thought she eventually would, even when Birdie turns the tables on her caretakers and teeters off the deep end. 

In fact, the movie itself never quite goes for broke, content to maintain a decent level of interest with the mystery of what terrible things happened in the house back in Mallorie's unremembered past, what secrets are locked away in the old dark attic, and other stuff about spells and seances and such.

What's missing, ultimately, is the sense of genuine fear we anticipate and desire but which the film is never quite able to pull off.  The elements are all there for an experience similar to that of, say, THE OTHERS, a movie that chilled us to the bone because it knew just how to pull our strings.  Even the potential to capitalize big-time on the clownophobia most people suffer from these days goes largely unrealized. 

The story does make one last stops-out attempt to end things with a bang, or rather a scream, but even this final twist is merely noteworthy (in a "hmm, that's an interesting end to the story" kind of way) rather than chilling. 

Still, although I was totally unmoved by the 1980 ghost story THE CHANGELING, some of the guys I saw it with found it really disturbing.  Similarly, your mileage may vary with THE CARETAKER.  It does have a nice creepy atmosphere, good performances, a decent script and production values, and Sondra Blake, which I found enough for an enjoyable if mostly non-terrifying experience.

THE CARETAKER -- Movie Review by Porfle

DAMNED BY DAWN -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 10/28/10

 

The DVD cover blurb for DAMNED BY DAWN (2009) states "Sick of waiting for EVIL DEAD 4?  Check out Damned by Dawn."  Well, not quite.  But it is about half of the spookiest movie I've seen in quite a while. 

Not that director and co-writer Brett Anstey, along with his filmmaking co-horts who call themselves The Amazing Krypto Bros., aren't going for a Sam Raimi vibe here, because they are.  It's just that they aren't quite capable of delivering the kind of balls-out gut-wrenching terror fest that the original EVIL DEAD was when it first came out.  Not for the entire running time anyway.  What they do manage to achieve to a certain degree, however, are the kind of good old-fashioned ghostly chills that get under your skin and give you goosebumps.

Though shot in Australia, the isolated setting of DAMNED BY DAWN has the fog-shrouded feel of the English countryside.  It's here that Claire O'Neill (Renee Willner) and her boyfriend Paul (Danny Alder) arrive at the old family estate where she grew up to visit her dying grandmother.  Paul meets Claire's dubious dad, Bill (Peter Stratford), and her bouncy younger sister, Jen (Taryn Eva), before setting off for the nearby village for some pizza.  He almost runs into a ditch at the sight of a spectral figure standing in the road.

Meanwhile, Claire is at Nana's bedside when the old woman begins to tell her a disturbing tale of a banshee who will come for her when she dies.  Claire awakens in the middle of the night to frightening far-off screams, and before long the entire family is beset by the Banshee herself and a host of other undead figures who have risen from the grave.  During a night of terror, Nana is taken away and their efforts to find her result in some grisly deaths.  The survivors attempt to escape the next day but are confronted by an army of the dead at every turn.


An atmosphere of unease begins to build from the very start and sets us up for the kind of scares that used to have us peeking through our fingers when we were kids.  An early shot of the Banshee appearing in an old family photograph during a flash of lightning is just the beginning of a series of chilling jump scares that are truly frightening.  Earlier, when Paul is standing on that dark road after his fleeting vision, a brief glimpse of the white-shrouded spectre floating by in the background should raise a few hackles. 

Director Anstey places her off-center in several shots and lets us discover her slowly approaching figure ourselves as she emerges out of the fog, along with the terrified Claire who watches from a window during the initial siege.  The front door slowly swings open in a swirl of mist, the Banshee enters, and Claire hides in a closet as the ghostly apparition moves through the house.  It's like something out of a child's nightmare, recalling some of our earliest irrational fears and giving us that old familiar shivery feeling. 

The film succeeds in doing so only sporadically from that point forward.  There are some nice shots of zombie-like wraiths floating through the air, one of them wielding a scythe in Grim Reaper fashion as he inexorably pursues his living victims.  These figures begin to lose their effectiveness, however, as the film's reliance on less-than-convincing CGI steadily increases.  Rarely are computer-generated ghosts scary, and DAMNED BY DAWN is no exception. 

The mood is further diminished as the film makes the same mistake that ruined the finale of POLTERGEIST along with many other supernatural films--namely, the belief that ratcheting up the noise level and adding a bunch of flashy effects and frantic activity will increase the scare factor, when, in fact, it has the opposite effect.  Having the Banshee repeatedly break out in prolonged, supersonic screams is also less than terrifying.  As the story goes on, long stretches in which a character creeps around waiting for something to jump out at her tend to further drag the pace of the film's second half.


Still, there are some good moments throughout.  When a shotgun-wielding Claire warily enters an old barn in search of her missing sister, last seen being yanked away from a window by an unseen force, the sequence generates jittery suspense.  The gross-out factor takes front and center with a Raimi-inspired episode in which a character previously hanged by his own intestines shows up in the kitchen the next day, spilling entrails from his gaping stomach and vomiting cockroaches.  Kindly old Nana gets into the act herself later on when she returns as one of the hostile undead in the film's frenetic climax.

For a low-budget effort, DAMNED BY DAWN looks great and is clearly the work of a talented and enthusiastic bunch of filmmakers.  The cast is uniformly good, especially Renee Willner as Claire and Dawn Klingberg as Nana.  Bridget Neval does her best as the Banshee, though the character's effectiveness varies depending mostly on the director and the script.  She's never better than in those early scenes in which her unnerving presence is fleetingly seen.  (Call me weird, but I think she's pretty hot, too.)

The DVD from Image Entertainment is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.  No subtitles this time.  Along with the trailer there's a 55-minute behind-the-scenes documentary that is quite engaging.  A crew commentary provides more information on the making of the film, while the cast commentary (most of them are seeing it for the first time) is lively and fun.

Although DAMNED BY DAWN isn't entirely successful and can't maintain its ability to scare us past those chilling early scenes, it's still a worthwhile effort that should please horror fans.  Definitely the sort of thing to liven up your Halloween viewing experience.  

DAMNED BY DAWN -- DVD Review by Porfle

PALISADES TARTAN TERROR PACK VOL. 1 (SHEITAN, CARVED, SLAUGHTER NIGHT) -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 10/15/09

 

A sampler of scares from around the world, Palisades Tartan's TERROR PACK VOL. 1 offers a tasty assortment of horrors with an international flavor. These may not be the most utterly nightmare-inducing films you'll ever see, but they're definitely kooky, spooky, and very entertaining.

Much of Japan's creepiest film horror is derived from their popular ghost stories and urban legends. CARVED: THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN (2007) is a prime example, beginning with the rumor of the titular ghost being passed from child to child at school until the entire populace is on edge. Before long, kids start disappearing as the terrifying slit-mouthed woman, a trench-coated apparition with long black hair and a hideous visage, appears with her long, razor-sharp scissors. "Am I pretty?" she asks cryptically before snatching them away.

Two young elementary school teachers end up on the ghost's trail for various reasons--Ms. Yamashita (Eriko Satô) seeks to make amends for abusing her own daughter, while Mr. Matsuzaki (Haruhiko Katô) has a terrible personal connection that enables him to sense the ghost's next attack before it happens. They encounter her several times before a final battle in her hidden cellar of death becomes an ordeal of unspeakable horror.

CARVED isn't nearly as blood-curdlingly terrifying as some of the Asian ghost stories I've seen, but it's the kind of macabre tale that brings back that childhood feeling of walking home in the twilight after trading too many scary stories with your friends. With her staring snake eyes and gaping ear-to-ear gash of a mouth (the makeup is great), the slit-mouthed woman is an imposing presence. The acting by the kids is very good, but if seeing children getting wasted is too much for you, you might want to skip this one. Because of this factor, much of the film is more disturbing than scary.

The DVD is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound. The soundtrack is in Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles. Extras include "The Making of Carved", cast interviews, and original theatrical trailer and TV spots.

Kôji Shiraishi's direction is smooth and unobtrusive, with some cleverly executed shots. He stages the fright scenes well and maintains an unsettling aura of fear without relying solely on jump scares. The finale is tense and suspenseful, and the movie fades out on a disturbing open-ended note.



The Dutch horror film SLAUGHTER NIGHT, aka SL8N8 (2007) seems at first to be your typical "teens getting stalked and slaughtered" bore, but it turns into one killer spookhouse ride as soon as our stereotypical group of good kids and party animals find themselves trapped in an abandoned mine and terrorized by the vengeful ghost of a maniacal serial killer.

A prologue detailing the gruesome murder spree of one Andries Martiens (Robert Eleveld) centuries ago gets the movie off to a shocking start as he captures several children, then lops off their heads and mounts them on poles (another warning to those who find child murders hard to watch). Killing eight people in this way will allow Martiens to enter Hell and return, for reasons made clear later on. His plan is thwarted as he is captured and put to death.

Switch to present day, as our fun-loving youngsters take a tour of a vast system of mine tunnels that is haunted by Martiens' ghost. After the elevator goes on the fritz and they're trapped underground, Martiens begins to possess them one by one and resumes his headhunting expedition that was interrupted centuries before. The result is a series of extremely unnerving stalk-and-kill sequences with some gruesome and very inventive deaths (the shovel beheading is truly memorable).

Victoria Koblenko stars as Kristel, the level-headed girl whose father was recently killed in a (spectacularly staged) car crash and who is now helping them from the other world via a Ouija board. Kurt Rogiers is also good as her would-be boyfriend Mark, and Linda van der Steen is quite convincing as the spoiled bratty girl, Estrild, who becomes one hot monster later on. The EXORCIST-style makeup on the possessed characters is chilling and the actors do a great job as either terrified victims or crazed psycho-killers.

The DVD is in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound. Soundtrack is the original Dutch with English and Spanish subtitles. Extras include "The Making of Slaughter Night", outtakes, and the theatrical trailer.

The movie looks great and directors Frank van Geloven and Edwin Visser stage everything beautifully. Even the Shaky-Cam is used to good effect most of the time. SLAUGHTER NIGHT is one of the best movies of its kind that I've seen in a long time, maintaining a high level of fear and suspense with a pace that never lets up.



While the DVD cover of SHEITAN (2006) is clearly a ripoff of Anthony Hopkins' leering visage as HANNIBAL, I'd be hard-pressed to think of anything that the film itself could be compared to. This French "WTF?"-fest is one seriously, and I mean seriously, deranged movie.

Three unlikable, perpetually-horny party boys--Bart, Ladj, and Thai--get thrown out of a hip-hop club and follow a mysterious girl named Eve (Roxane Mesquida) home to her large family mansion in the country. The club's bartender, a nice Middle Eastern girl named Yasmine (Leïla Bekhti) tags along. The guys lust after the girls and compete for their attentions while Eve goads and teases them.

Into this scene blusters Eve's groundskeeper, Joseph (Vincent Cassel), a garrulous, overbearing, invasive force of nature who's always grinning like a loon. With his bulging eyes, handlebar moustache, and freakish demeanor, Joseph is a nerve-wracking presence whom the youngsters find alternately fascinating and disturbing. Bart is especially put off when Joseph keeps inviting him to go skinny dipping in a nearly hot spring.

Like a French version of DELIVERANCE or TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, the film places a bunch of city kids in the middle of inbred hillbilly hell and then ratchets up the "weird" factor with each new character and situation. We know something strange is going on between Joseph and his pregnant sister, whom we never see until later on, and a wild story he tells during their feast of a freshly-slaughtered goat--something about a man who makes a deal with the Devil ("Sheitan") in order to become invincible and then impregnates his sister to create a Devil child--has an uncomfortable ring of truth. By the time our protagonists finally discover the real reason why they've been invited to the house, all hell has already broken loose and there's nothing left to do but scream.

Much of SEITAN is sneaky build-up, with Joseph and the other locals being weird and the boys vying for the girls' affections (with Eve deviously egging them on). It's intriguing enough that the promise of what's to come sustains interest until a point about three-quarters through when I finally thought to myself, "This is really starting to drag." It's right about that time, however, that the Sheitan hits the fan and all that build-up suddenly starts paying off like a bank of slot machines.

The last fifteen or twenty minutes of this film are an explosion of mind-bending bizarreness that had me shaking my head in giddy disbelief. I don't want to ruin it by describing it in too much detail, but we finally get to see Joseph at his full power, and we find out what eyeballs have to do with everything, and, last but definitely not least, we meet Joseph's sister. In a word, "yikes."

First-time director Kim Chapiron does a beautiful job of putting all of this on the screen in interesting and dynamic ways, and the highly-capable cast does a convincing job with the characters. Cassell, of course, is the standout as Joseph, having a field day with the role and instantly becoming one of the most fascinating maniacs in genre history.

Like the other DVDs in this set, SHEITAN is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound. The soundtrack is in French with English and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include "The Making of Sheitan" and the original trailer.

Alternately shocking, funny, sexy, gory, and incredibly perverse--with a final shot that will be seared into your memory--SHEITAN is one of those movies that seems relatively harmless at first and then knocks you right on your ass.

If you're in the mood for a ghastly good time with some well-made, effective, and genuinely creepy flicks, TERROR PACK VOL. 1 from Palisades Tartan Video is the right stuff. I'll be looking forward to more in this series.

PALISADES TARTAN TERROR PACK VOL. 1 (SHEITAN, CARVED, SLAUGHTER NIGHT) -- DVD Review by Porfle

APARTMENT 1303 -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/1/08

 

Asian horror has gotten a reputation lately for being the real deal, but that doesn't mean every film in the genre is a total terror-fest. Tartan Asia Extreme's APARTMENT 1303 has many of the familiar elements, but it isn't all that successful in putting them to good use.

As the story opens, a young woman who just scored a great apartment with an ocean view for a paltry sum goes flying off the balcony the day she moves in--SPLAT! A month later, Sayaka moves in and moves out the same way--SPLAT! Turns out she's number five on the hit list, a small detail the landlords conveniently forget to mention to prospective renters. The perplexed police, meanwhile, chalk them all up as suicides.

Sayaka's big sister, Mariko, decides to investigate and discovers that two of the previous tenants were an abused girl and her crazy mother, whose restless spirits still inhabit the apartment and don't take kindly to anyone else moving in. When a group of teens rent the place for the summer and start sailing over the balcony rail--it's a triple-header this time!--Mariko goes in for a face-off against death.

The first half of APARTMENT 1303 is the creepiest. Director Ataru Oikawa does a good job of establishing an eerie, anything-can-happen atmosphere within the claustrophobic confines of the apartment, even making a simple closet seem like a thing of dread. There are a few of the traditional "gotcha!" shots here, and one in particular had me jumping out of my skin about halfway through. Special effects are pretty good without relying much on CGI. The cast does a nice job, particularly Noriko Nakagoshi as Mariko, and there's also a little girl who lives in apartment 1302 who really started to give me the willies after awhile.

After a promising start, however, the film fails to realize its potential. The apparitions that keep popping up now and then aren't that scary, even when one of them starts sprouting yards and yards of knotty black hair for no reason. One of them has so many long closeups that we begin to concentrate on the somewhat unconvincing makeup.

The climactic confrontations between the living and the dead are filled with lots of fog, wind effects, flashing lights, etc., which aren't any more frightening here than they were in POLTERGEIST. There is a pretty chilling moment shortly before the fadeout, but it leads to what I found to be a distinctly less-than-satisfying ending. After all is said and done, in fact, the most effective part of the film is probably the drama between Mariko and her hopelessly grieving mother.

The DVD comes in 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound. The soundtrack is in Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features consist of a photo gallery plus the trailer for this and six other Tartan Asia Extreme releases.

Not a bad film by any means, APARTMENT 1303 would probably make for a good introduction into Asian horror. But for those who have already shivered in fear at the cream of that genre's crop, this one may seem hardly scarier than an average episode of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery."

APARTMENT 1303 -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE SURVIVOR -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 2/14/17

 

Talk about survivor's guilt--airline pilot Keller (Robert Powell) is the only person who walks away, totally unscathed, from a fiery crash that kills 300 passengers and crew. 

And with no memory of what happened after takeoff, THE SURVIVOR (1981, Severin Films) will find no relief from his nightmare until he uncovers the truth behind that deadly flight. 

Fortunately for us, Keller's horrible waking nightmare is made all the more entertaining by a strong supernatural element.  ("Pilot error? Or supernatural terror?" prompts the tagline.)



When a young woman named Hobbs (Jenny Agutter of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and LOGAN'S RUN in full cuteness mode) tells him that she's been in contact with the dead passengers and they have a message for him, he's skeptical at first.  But eventually he begins to believe her and together they seek out the truth via the world beyond.

Director David Hemmings' style is a bit unpolished around the edges but he knows how to stage a scene, and the crash itself is the film's highlight.  I like the way the SPFX get the job done with a sort of rough-hewn panache as the plane is shown making an impromptu landing close to a populated area and then exploding in spectacular fashion.

The aftermath is grandly staged in a way that fully conveys the chaos and confusion that would follow such an event.  In fact, despite the somewhat iffy SPFX, this is one of the most dramatic and authentic-looking depictions of a plane crash that I've seen in a movie.  Clearly most of the film's budget went into it.

 

 Moreover, the laborious investigation which follows has an air of realism to it, as Keller's survival itself puts him under suspicion as well as making him the object of deep resentment from the victims' families.

But what makes THE SURVIVOR most watchable is the increasing ghostly activity that begins to occur to those involved. We get the eerie feeling that the people killed in the crash are definitely not at rest, especially when a creepy little blonde girl starts popping up here and there and causing frightened people to have unfortunate "accidents." 

These scenes are done in a way that slowly builds tension and suspense rather than relying on shock or jump scares to unnerve us. Hemmings also takes his sweet time letting this adaptation of James Herbert's novel unfold, allowing us settle in and enjoy each chilling nuance as the plot leisurely makes its way toward the revelatory climax.

Agutter is as winsome here as she was in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and LOGAN'S RUN, while Robert Powell (TOMMY, "Jesus of Nazareth", "Marple") is perfectly cast as a man who seems to exist just a few centimeters outside his own timeline.

The venerable Joseph Cotten (CITIZEN KANE, WHITE COMANCHE) also appears as a sympathetic priest but his character doesn't really have that much to do.  Fans of Australian cinema will recognize composer Brian May's distinctive musical stylings.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is widescreen with English 2.0 sound and English subtitles.  Once again Severin offers a packed bonus menu, this time with what seems to be hours of various interview segments with the film's cast and crew, featurettes "Robert Powell on James Herbert" and "The Legacy of James Herbert", an extended final scene, a TV spot, and a selection of trailers from producer Antony I. Ginnane's films including this one.

THE SURVIVOR isn't quite a total nailbiter and it may not give you any nightmares, but it's solid supernatural entertainment with a dazzling disaster-movie beginning and an involving mystery whose solution lies beyond the grave. 

THE SURVIVOR -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS ROOM -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/27/16

 

Another nice family moves into another spooky old house and encounters yet another restless spirit (or spirits) who may have met a violent end.  Like many an oft-heard song, the notes are the same but it all comes down to how well they're played. 

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS ROOM (2016) handles the verses about as well as can be expected; the choruses are so familiar we can practically sing along.  Director D.J. Caruso (DISTURBIA, THE SALTON SEA), a capable craftsman, comes through with a catchy solo now and then.  But ultimately it's the same old song.

We're already in comfortably well-traveled territory when Dana (Kate Beckinsale, UNDERWORLD, VAN HELSING) and David (Mel Raido, CLUBBED, THE INFORMERS) move into a large and very quaint old house that's way off the beaten track, along with young son Lucas (Duncan Joiner).

All of them are still smarting from a horrible family tragedy that's barely even begun healing.  Hardest hit is wife Dana--she's deep in therapy, constantly on meds, and, unfortunately, a little unclear about what's real and what isn't. 

So naturally she's the one to discover that the house has its own tower with spiral-staircase access (which Dana, an architect, somehow missed while house-hunting) leading to a hidden room where someone, or something, may have been imprisoned.  And it (or its ghost) may still be there, waiting to get out.

At first, the film takes its time establishing a bucolic mood which will gradually turn dark and sinister for our unsuspecting protagonists. We meet some of the local townspeople who, of course, all seem a bit off to the transplanted city dwellers (the feeling is mutual) and who hint that bad things have happened in that old house.

Dana, it turns out, has the strongest personality of the two, with David being a bit of a wuss.  In fact, when he has to go away to the city for a few days and leave Dana alone in the house, I was thinking it might've been better the other way around.  Still, seeing her resolute (and borderline-bitchy) attitude fall apart in the face of possible madness and delusion makes her mental deterioration all the more effective. 

Along the way, director Caruso tries his best to pull some scary stuff on us, including one sequence that's right out of Danny's hallway encounter with the twins in THE SHINING.  But what he mainly manages to do is generate suspense--Dana is often desperately racing to rescue Lucas from some imminent danger and we, seeing much of the story from her point of view, are never quite sure if it's real or imagined.  This keeps us off-balance much of the time, and the tension is strong and well-rendered.

The scary stuff, on the other hand, is pretty weak sauce.  I was glad to see that the film doesn't rely a lot on the loud noises, flashy effects, and "gotcha!" scares that are so prevalent in recent horror films. 

But the ghostly elements just aren't that effective--we're interested in how the story plays out, while being in no danger of it scaring us.  Especially when someone as old-shoe comfortable as Gerald McRaney ("Major Dad", "Simon & Simon") turns up as a "scary" ghost.

Beckinsale, now with blonde hair, is easy on the eyes and does an adequate job without really over-exerting her acting muscles.  As husband David, Raido effectively comes across as a bit mousey and not much help to Dana when the ectoplasm hits the fan, which is probably intentional.  Lucas Till (LAID TO REST, ALL SUPERHEROES MUST DIE) turns up as a young handyman but his part doesn't really go anywhere.

The DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is in 2.39:1 widescreen with English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and subtitles in English and Spanish.  Extras consist of a brief making-of featurette and a trailer.

If you're looking to be scared out of your wits, this'll probably barely manage to raise a single hackle.  But for a darkly suspenseful mystery tale with some nice gothic elements and a knack for keeping the viewer off-guard, THE DISAPPOINTMENTS ROOM should keep you occupied for awhile.



Follow Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on Twitter @FoxHomeEnt

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS ROOM -- DVD Review by Porfle

TEENAGE GHOST PUNK -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/12/17

 

The word "lightweight" is usually used in a deprecating way, but in the case of TEENAGE GHOST PUNK (Midnight Releasing, 2014) I don't think anything weightier would've worked.  It would be like dumping an entire pint of ice cream on top of a Twinkie instead of a tasty dollop of Cool Whip.

The Twinkie, in this case, is a pleasant little tale of a displaced family: recent divorcée Carol (Adria Dawn), nervously re-entering the workforce in a new town; teen daughter Amanda (Grace Madigan), angst-ridden about leaving her old school and friends; and kid brother Adam (Noah Kitsos), a prematurely intelligent, erudite little wiseacre who enjoys getting on his big sister's nerves. 

What they don't know is that the neat little two-storey house they're about to move into is already inhabited by the ghost of Brian, a teenaged punk rocker who was electrocuted back in the 70s while playing guitar on the roof in the rain and has been unable, or unwilling, to "move on" since then.

 

At first, there are a few weird POLTERGEIST-type occurrences--rooms found in disarray, silverware spelling out words, bumps in the night--that Carol blames on the kids, but nothing really scary.  It's just lightly, comically spooky stuff because this movie isn't trying to scare us as much as it just wants to be lightly comical.

In fact, the funniest thing about TEENAGE GHOST PUNK to me isn't the ghostly stuff, but rather some of the secondary characters such as Squatchie (Jake Shadrake), a clumsy, extremely hirshute fellow student of Amanda's who keeps trying to get her to go out with him, and Carol's new co-worker Barry (Darren Stephens), a conceited jerk whose constant come-ons are delightfully annoying and groanworthy.

And then there's faux medium Madame Lidnar (Lynda Shadrake), recommended to Amanda by their new neighbors, a mixed-race gay couple who are both named Steve.  But best of all are a ghost-hunting group known as SPIT (Super Paranormal Investigation Team), a funny take-off of shows like "Ghost Hunters" where excitable team members creep around in the dark, jumping at shadows and "hearing" things. 

 

For me, the film's biggest giggles come when this gaggle of idiots are loose in the house or giddily explaining why all their equipment has an "X" in the name (because an "X" makes everything sound cooler).

Naturally, Amanda will eventually form a simpatico relationship with Brian (and his friends, who all hail from different time periods but are equally stuck in the limbo between two worlds) that helps compensate for her recently being dumped by her old boyfriend. 

There are the usual complications when Carol doesn't believe Amanda's ghost stories and blames her for various manifestations, and a twist or two that are so obvious that we must be intended to figure them out in one second flat.  But we know it'll all work itself out by the end because this movie has "happy ending" scrawled all over it.

 

It's all pretty smartly-written and acted in a way that makes even the less interesting scenes watchable, and writer-director Mike Cramer handles it all adeptly.  Still, by the time Amanda's Halloween party arrives--in which all ghosts will be visible to the living and all secrets revealed--the story has begun to lose some of its steam.  But by now it's as comfortable as an After School Special and remains easy to take until the upbeat fadeout.

TEENAGE GHOST PUNK may come up short for those expecting something with more depth and substance. For me, however, it's like a party balloon--lightweight, but colorful and amusing enough until it pops. 

TEENAGE GHOST PUNK -- Movie Review by Porfle

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS is part of "THE AMICUS COLLECTION" (Blu-ray 4-volume box set) from Severin Films.
(And Now the Screaming Starts/Asylum/The Beast Must Die/The Vault of Amicus)]

(This review was originally posted on 12/17/17)


The title of the original novel by David Case was "Fengriffen", with Roger Marshall's screenplay similarly dubbed "The Bride of Fengriffen."  To the actors' dismay and my delight, the title of this 1973 Amicus production ultimately became AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS (Severin Films). 

I find this not only more interesting-sounding but quite apt, as leading lady Stephanie Beacham (DRACULA A.D. 1972, "The Colbys") and various of her co-stars emit piercing, full-bodied screams every five minutes or so in reaction to some unbearable horror visited upon them by the script.

It all starts when 18th-century British nobleman Charles Fengriffen (genre stalwart Ian Ogilvy) brings his new bride Catherine (Beacham) home to the rustic but extravagantly elegant family estate in the country.  (Perennial film location Oakley Court provides the lavish exteriors, with equally elaborate interiors constructed and shot at Shepperton Studios.)

What Catherine doesn't realize--and which both Charles and everyone else take pains to hide from her--is that due to the heinous crimes of Charles' grandfather Henry against his woodsman Silas (Geoffrey Whitehead), there's a terrible curse on the house of Fengriffen that's to be visited upon the first virginal bride to reside there.  (For which she, to her grave misfortune, qualifies.)

This offers director Roy Ward Baker a chance to punctuate the formal, richly Gothic atmosphere with shocking flashes of lurid imagery as the horrified Catherine is subjected to ghostly visions such as a bloody hand plunging through Henry's portrait and glimpses of the disembodied but ambulatory hand making its way around inside the house while a spectral Silas appears intermittently at the window with gory holes for eyes. 

We're led to wonder if such visions are real or merely figments of her heated imagination--that is, until various household staff and others connected with the Fengriffens begin to die off in violent ways.  Catherine herself needs no more convincing after a spectral presence seems to force itself upon her sexually on her very wedding night, setting into motion what will become the eventual ghastly fruition of the curse.

Baker's surehanded directorial experience on such classics as A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, ASYLUM, and FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH comes into play as he moves the camera fluidly within the spacious indoor sets.  Lighting, costumes, and other production details also contribute to give this film a look beyond its relatively modest budget.

This look is similar to that of the earlier Gothic-tinged Hammer films, and indeed seems to be trying to fill the gap left by Hammer's move at the time toward a more modern image.  Yet it somehow retains what I think of as the distinctive, perhaps indefinable visual ambience of an Amicus production.

Even with its R-rating, gore is kept to a minimum although that severed hand stays quite busy and Silas' bloody axe gets its chance to swing as well.  A couple of implied rape scenes (one featuring second-billed Herbert Lom in a revelatory flashback as the evil Henry Fengriffen) and some brief nudity add to the adult content.

The closing minutes also contain a scene in which a grave is desecrated in such a violent way that it comes off as shockingly morbid, and almost makes everything that came before seem sedate in comparison.  The final twist is no less effective for its predictability--the fact that what we expected all along finally comes to pass is, in fact, somewhat satisfying.

Performances are fine, with the always-reliable Ogilvy and the wonderfully expressive Beacham aided by supporting castmembers such as Patrick Magee (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, ASYLUM) as a family doctor all too familiar with the curse, and the aforementioned Lom in his brief but effective flashback scenes. 

Distinguished genre legend Peter Cushing doesn't make his appearance until around the halfway mark or later, but he makes the most of his role as a psychiatrist who tries to make scientific sense of what's happening to Catherine and those around her.  Even in those moments when the film's stately pace begins to lag, he and the other leads are always interesting to watch.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films offers a lovely remastered print with only the occasional rough patch.  The bonus menu is nicely stocked as usual, with a lengthy, clip-filled featurette about Oakley Court hosted by horror authors Allan Bryce and David Flint, an audio interview with Peter Cushing (with accompanying photo montage), a review of the film by horror author Denis Meikle, plus a trailer and radio spot.  Two seperate commentary tracks are available, one with Roy Ward Baker and Stephanie Beacham, the other with Ian Ogilvie, and both are marvelous fun to listen to.

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS is one of those simmering Gothic tales that might've been a bit slow for me in my younger days, but now it's just the thing for me to settle into and enjoy like a good book. Only turn the pages in this book and you never know when a bloody hand or an eyeless woodsman with an axe are going to jump out at you.  

Read our reviews of: 

ASYLUM
THE BEAST MUST DIE!
THE VAULT OF AMICUS

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

The Old West Meets Old-School Horror In "GHOST RIDERS" Coming 2/8/22 on Blu-ray and DVD -- Watch Trailer HERE!

 

Verdugo Entertainment Proudly Presents:

"GHOST RIDERS"
Coming February 8th 2022
For the first time ever on Blu-ray & DVD via MVD Entertainment Group
 
THE OLD WEST MEETS OLD-SCHOOL HORROR IN VERDUGO ENTERTAINMENT’S ‘GHOST RIDERS’ MAKING ITS LONG-AWAITED DEBUT ON BLU-RAY AND DVD VIA MVD ENTERTAINMENT GROUP


Revenge is a hearty meal for phantoms of the prairie! On a dark and haunting night, all that is visible by the campfire light is the breath of vicious lawmen. The local preacher and townspeople gather on a lonesome prairie as the lawless career of desperado Frank Clements is about to end. Just as the hangman’s noose tightens around his neck, the most feared outlaw of 1888 shouts a curse of revenge on the town preacher – a curse which will haunt the preacher’s family through generations.

One hundred years later, unsuspecting of the events in 1888, the town is prospering. Frank Clements and his gang return from hell to seek revenge against the preacher’s grandson and his family. The fight against the phantoms from the past proves futile, and they become unwilling victims of bloodthirsty outlaws. Weapons are defenseless against the phantom cowboys – you can’t kill what’s already dead!

 
WATCH THE TRAILER:

 

GHOST RIDERS hails from the producers and writing team of the cult classic action extravaganza Action U.S.A. and boasts a great cast that includes legendary stuntman Bill Shaw (The Dirt Bike Kid), Jim Peters (Challenger), Mike Ammons (Action U.S.A.) and Arland Bishop (Black Snow).
 
Verdugo Entertainment has teamed up with distribution partner MVD Entertainment Group to bring collectors a fully loaded special edition Blu-ray packed with hours of all-new bonus material produced exclusively for this release including an audio commentary with producers Thomas L. Callaway & James Desmarais and moderator Steve Latshaw, a new making of documentary, a vintage making of featurette, photo galleries, trailers and more!
 
MVD Director of Acquisitions Eric D. Wilkinson coordinated with Verdugo Entertainment to put GHOST RIDERS in the hands of collectors. “I’m proud to say that MVD continues to be the perfect distribution partner for cult classic films and “Ghost Riders” is yet another video store staple from the 1980’s that was long overdue for its release on physical media. I’m excited to add this to my collection and I’m confident my fellow collectors will too!” “Ghost Riders” will also be making its debut on standard DVD.

 

"GHOST RIDERS" SPECIAL FEATURES

·        NEW! Audio Commentary with director of photography / producer Thomas L. Calloway, writer/producer James Desmarais and moderator Steve Latshaw
·        NEW! “Bringing Out the Ghosts: The Making of Ghost Riders” (new original documentary)
·        “Low Budget Films: On the Set of Ghost Riders” (vintage documentary)
·        Movie Stills & Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
·        English Subtitles
·        Original Theatrical Trailer
·        New Reissue Trailer
 

Additional information:

 
North American release date – February 8, 2022
Available exclusively on Blu-ray and DVD via MVD Entertainment Group
BLU-RAY: MVD8076BR / UPC: 760137807681 / $29.95 SRP / RATED R
DVD: MVD8075D / UPC: 760137825999 / $19.95 SRP / RATED R
 
VERDUGO ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS AN ALAN L. STEWART PRODUCTION “GHOST RIDERS” STARRING BILL SHAW JIM PETERS RICKY LONG CARI POWELL MIKE AMMONS ARLAND BISHOP WRITTEN BY CLAY McBRIDE AND JAMES J. DESMARAIS PRODUCED BY ALAN L. STEWART THOMAS L. CALLAWAY AND JAMES J. DESMARAIS MUSIC BY FRANK PATTERSON, III DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS L. CALLAWAY DIRECTED BY ALAN L. STEWART
 
©1987 GHOST RIDERS, INC.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©2022 VERDUGO ENTERTAINMENT, LLC AND MVD ENTERTAINMENT GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PACKAGE DESIGN & SUMMARY ©2022 VERDUGO ENTERTAINMENT, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Old West Meets Old-School Horror In "GHOST RIDERS" Coming 2/8/22 on Blu-ray and DVD -- Watch Trailer HERE!

LEVEL 33 ENTERTAINMENT Releases Horror Film "COMPANION" on Digital/VOD on 9/14/21 -- Watch Trailer HERE!

 

LEVEL 33 ENTERTAINMENT  
presents

"COMPANION"

 

In 2030, society fell as malicious entities appeared around the world. The survivors must fight each other and the dead. Across this brutal landscape, Ella Grace’s burden of guilt is exposed. The past, and the horrors of what she will become, force Ella to kill what she loves in order to discover the terrifying meaning of the ghosts that feed on her fear.


AVAILABLE ON DEMAND 9/14/21

105 MINUTES | HORROR | ACTION | THRILLER | DRAMA  | INDEPENDENT

WATCH THE TRAILER:

 

CAST & CREW:

Written & Directed by JOHN DARBONNE (Dead Man’s Fuel, Standing Ovation).

Starring Festival Award Winners RUSSELL SHEALY (Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird, The Farmhand, Surrender Me), ERIC HANSON (The Challenger Disaster, No Ordinary Love, Brady’s Lot), CHRISTINE NGUYEN (Vigilante Diaries, Attack of the Killer Donuts, Get Him to the Greek), STEPHEN BRODIE (Fear the Walking Dead) and ANNA FLYNN (Persuasion), CODY RENEE CAMERON (El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie), MARCUS ANTHONY.

RATING: TV-14

RUN-TIME: 105 Minutes

THEATRICAL RELEASE:  N/A

DIGITAL RELEASE: September 14, 2021

STUDIO/DISTRIBUTOR: Level 33 Entertainment

GENRE: Horror, Action, Thriller, Drama, Independent

LANGUAGE: English

YEAR:  2021

COUNTRY: USA

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12093604/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Level33Entertainment/

TWITTER: @Level33_ent

INSTAGRAM: @level33entertainment



MULTIPLE FESTIVAL AWARD WINNING HORROR / ACTION THRILLER!
WINNER Audience Choice Award — Lift-Off Global Network Film Festival Berlin
WINNER Best SFX in a Feature — HorrorHound Spring Film Festival
WINNER Award Winning Feature — Horror Hotel International
WINNER Award of Merit Special Motion Supporting Actor Eric Hanson — Accolade Competition
WINNER January Award Best Feature & Best VFX — Hollywood Blood Horror Festival
WINNER January Award Best Horror Feature Film — Istanbul Film Awards
WINNER Best Feature — London Independent Film Awards
WINNER The C.O. Award US Narrative Feature, The Sergeants Awards Best Production/Narrative Feature Editing &  Make Up, The Desk Boss Award Best in Genre HORROR,  The Flash Award Best Fight Scene / Stunt Choreography — Prison City Film Festival
WINNER Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Awards Season 4
WINNER Best Director — Mykonos International Film Festival
NOMINATED Werewolf Bite Awards Best Director, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Cinematography — Horrors4You
AWARD OF MERIT John Darbonne, Companion, Film Feature, Actress: Leading (Anna Flynn), Editing, Cinematography, Direction, Special Effects: Non-Animation, Script/Writer — The IndieFest Film Awards
OFFICIAL SELECTION — CoverFly Pitch Week Spring 2020

LEVEL 33 ENTERTAINMENT Releases Horror Film "COMPANION" on Digital/VOD on 9/14/21 -- Watch Trailer HERE!