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