August 5, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1971 film Willard starring Bruce Davison, Ernest Borgnine, Elsa Lanchester and Sandra Locke. Willard is a loner who lives with his crusty old mother and develops a bond with rats. His two closest companions are a white rat he names Socrates and a black rat named Ben. Willard works for a horrible man took over his father's business and makes Willard work insane hours without paying him. After Willard's mother dies, he learns the house if heavily mortgaged and his boss is just waiting to take it, fire Willard and sell the house. Willard trains the rats to steal and kill, but Willard also has a conscience and tries to make it right. This movie is frightening, mainly the most horrifying part is it could possibly happen, which is what makes it so good.
July 23, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter starring Gloria Holden, Otto Kruger, Gilbert Emery, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan and Hedda Hopper. This film picks up just after the 1931 Dracula film starring Bela Lugosi ends. Van Helsing has been arrested for the killing of Count Dracula and has to convince Sir Basil Humphrey that although he did kill Count Dracula, it's not murder since he had already been dead for hundreds of years. Dracula's daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska wants her servant to help her burn Dracula's body hoping it will free her from the vampire curse. Her servant talks her out of it and convinces her to live as a vampire. She gives in and goes on the hunt, though it's really not what she wants. A lot more happens but you'll have to see it to find out what. This is really one of the pioneers of lesbian vampire films when you think about it. A great classic!
July 11, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2014 film SHHHH! starring James Henderson, Tiana Cara, Peter Stickles, Diana Ayala Goldner, Kitten Natividad, Austin Stoker, Joe Pilato and Elissa Dowling among many others. This is an exploitation film about a pathetic 30 something man who is a wannabe film maker who works in a video store and lives with his mother. The two of them spend a lot of time going to the movie theater, where people are becoming increasingly rude and annoying. You know the type, those who use their phones when you're trying to enjoy the movie, crying babies, talking etc. The question is, who's doing it? I get it... these types of movies aren't for everybody. You'll get plenty of gore and crass humor, but you can tell it was made with very little money. For me, I actually prefer the low-budget horror movies over blockbusters any day... the lower the budget the better! I know first-hand how difficult it is to make a film so I always appreciate those who make it happen.
July 7, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2012 comedy/horror film Silent But Deadly starring Dawn Wells, Lee Meriwether, Rip Taylor, Bruce Vilanch, Jacqui Holland, Martin Kove, Jerry Douglas, David Proval, Shawn Harrison, Jason Lockhart and John Tartaglia among many others. There's a serial killer killing the residents of a retirement home and a very colorful cast of characters have to try and stay alive and figure out who the killer is. It's quirky, silly and fun starring some very beloved and iconic actors... some of whom I've had the honor and privilege of working with over the years on various projects. I really enjoy these types of movies.
June 28, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2018 film Grindsploitation 4: Meltsploitation; a collection of silly, campy, scary and gory... very gory faux grindhouse film trailers with such titles as "The Ooze from Outer Space", "Waxhouse Rock", "The Flytipper", "The Itch", "Nuns of Evil", "Spaghetti on Satan's Blade", "Blue Balls", "Coming Attractions", "Rose & Viktor: Lynch Mobbin" and the segment near and dear to me as it involves some people I really adore; "Fondu or Die" written by Michael Varrati, directed by John Knowles, starring Peter Stickles, Brian Nolan, Lotti Knowles, Tamika Katon-Donegal, Patrick Falvey, Vincent Cusimano, David Charles, Samantha Acampora and John Knowles. What could possibly go wrong when an evil cursed fondu recipe book falls into the wrong hands? As of this writing, this film is available on Amazon Prime so check it out!
June 24, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1963 film The Crawling Hand starring Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Alan Hale Jr. and Allison Hayes. Something goes horribly wrong for a team of astronauts in space. The lone survivor knows something has taken over his body and begs mission control on earth to blow him up... so they hit the red button and blow him up. Somehow part of his lower arm and hand end up on a California beach where it's discovered by a young medical student and his foreign exchange girlfriend and he decides to take it home and study it. Naturally there's an alien force inside the arm that immediately takes over the young man and turns him into a killer. A lot more happens, but if you want to know what it is, you'll have to see the movie. I love these old low budget movies. Yes they're cheesy by today's standards but for their time they are pure genius and deserve to be appreciated and enjoyed.
June 18, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1985 horror/comedy/sci-fi film The Stuff starring Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino, Scott Bloom, Danny Aiello, Patrick O'Neal, Rutanya Alda, Abe Vigoda, Mira Sorvino and Patrick Dempsy. Railroad workers discover a substance oozing from the ground, so naturally, not knowing what it is, they eat it and discover it's sweet and addictive so they decide to sell it and make a fortune. The substance is a life form that takes over the brain, turns the hosts into zombies, then eats them from the inside out until only their shell is left. Again, it's meant to be simply enjoyed as silly and not meant for anything serious.
June 16, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1988 film Night of the Demons starring Cathy Podewell, Amelia Kinkaid, Linnea Quigley, Hal Havens and Billy Gallo among others. High school kids decide to have a party in an abandoned mortuary on Halloween... what could possibly go wrong? A botched seance releases a demon who posses each of the kids and forces them to kill. This is one of those fun to watch horror films, and of course it spawned a franchise of several sequels over the years.
June 11, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2006 film Cemetery Gates starring Reggie Bannister, Peter Stickles, Aime Wolf and Nicole DuPort and many others. Peter Stickles is among my favorite actors, so you'd think I would have seen this movie a long time ago, but actually I finally watched this movie recently. Two animal rights activists break into a scientist's laboratory and steal a large crate to set the animal free. What they don't realize is that the animal is a huge mutated Tasmanian Devil named Precious. It gets out and Precious heads to a nearby cemetery. The scientist's son, who has a history with Precious, and his friends are going to that same cemetery to film a horror movie. You can imagine that things go very badly for a lot of people and it's up to the scientist and his son to stop Precious. This film has a little of everything; a love story, humor, sci-fi, suspense, boobs and a whole lot of gore. I really enjoyed it.
June 9, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2013 film The Giant Spider starring Shannon McDonough, Daniel Sjerven, Billie Jo Konze and many more. This film is a throwback to those old black and white horror movies with giant killer creatures we used to watch as kids on Sunday mornings since we only had 5 TV channels at the time. Discarded radiation used in weapons testing creates a gigantic spider and a group of scientists, military people and a reporter have to stop it before it kills everyone. I admit, I am an arachnophobiac and would rather burn down my own home than deal with a spider, but since the spider in this is hokey just like they were in those old movies, I'm ok with it. If you'e seen those old movies I'm talking about, you'll swear this is one of them. This type of film isn't mean to be dissected and criticized, it's just meant to be enjoyed... and I did enjoy it very much.
June 6, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre starring Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Seidow and Gunnar Hanson. Two siblings and their friends go to the old family home to look into the vandalism of their grandfather's grave. Along the way they pick up a psycho hitchhiker, whom, after a violent outburst, ditch him. They set out to look for the local swimming hole and stop at a house to ask the owner's for some gas. Things go very badly from there as they encounter a family of psycho cannibals... notably Leatherface, who wears a mask made out of human skin and kills people with a chainsaw. The most frightening parts of this movie are the things you don't see, which in my opinion, are the best horror movies. There have been some sequels and a remake, but nothing compares to the original... a must see for anyone who loves horror movies.
June 4, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2009 film The Beacon or its alternate title Haunting at the Beacon starring Teri Polo, David Rees Snell, Elaine Hendrix, Ken Howard, Michael Ironside, Nick Sowell, Jonny Cruz, Kelli Dawn Hancock and Marnette Patterson. This is really good ghost story/psychological thriller. A couple trying to cope with the death of their young son move into the Beacon Apartments. The wife sees visions of a young boy and believes if she helps him, he'll help her get to her son. Of course there's all kinds of evil in the building. The husband confides in a professor he works with who investigates the history of the apartment building and the results are startling. Both come into contact with characters who really aren't what they seem. It starts out a bit slow and uneventful, but if you stick with it, you'll probably like it. It's one of those that leaves you thinking long after it's over.
May 30, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1981 comedy/horror film Saturday the 14th starring Paula Prentiss, Richard Benjamin, Jeffrey Tambor, Severn Darden, Kari Michaelsen, Rosemary DeCamp, Kevin Brando and Nancy Lee Andrews. This is NOT part of the Friday the 13th franchise and it's NOT a spoof of that particular movie. This is a spoof of the classic horror movies like Dracula. A family inherits an old house but a vampire and his wife want the house so they can have the evil book that's in it. Through a series of events, the Van Helsing character comes into it and he also wants the book. A whole lot of silliness occurs and a major plot twist you're not expecting. I love this silly fun movie and actually watch it every time a Saturday the 14th comes around.
May 27, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night starring Robert Brian Wilson, Alex Burton, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick and Linnea Quigley among many others. A man, as a young boy, witnessed his parents being murdered by a man in a Santa suit at Christmas. He then grows up in a very abusive orphanage. He attempts to have a normal life, but events occur that make him snap and go on a murderous rampage. I remember the big media stink about this movie back in the 80s. People wanted it banned from the theaters because of the killer wearing a Santa suit and killing on Christmas. Them bringing attention to it made it successful enough to spawn 4 more sequels.
May 25, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1987 cult classic film Surf Nazis Must Die starring Gail Neely, Robert Harden, Barry Brenner, Dawn Wildsmith,, Michael Sonye and Tome Demenkoff among others. An earthquake destroys the California coast and basically makes everyone nuts. The Surf Nazis gang of white supremacist losers, lead by Adolf, intend to rule what's left of the beach communities and kill off the other surf gangs. They kill a black man named Leroy while he was jogging on the beach and Leroy's Mama is so distraught, she escapes from her nursing home, buys a gun, grenades and vows to get the ones responsible for her boys murder. Not all super heroes wear capes and you don't want to mess with Leroy's mama. This is a micro budget movie from Troma Entertainment, who specialize in low budget satirical mainly horror and exploitative films. The way to love these movies it to not take them seriously, don't overthink or over-analyze them and just enjoy them for the silliness they are.
May 23, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1958 film The Blob starring Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howland, Stephen Chase, John Benson and George Karas. A teenage couple on a date see a meteorite crash to earth in Pennsylvania and go to investigate. Another townsman got there first and discovered an ooze coming out of it which attacked him. The teens come along and take him to the doctor and from there the ooze kills everyone it comes in contact with... growing bigger and turning more red with each one. The town needs to stop it somehow before it kills everyone. I love the end credits when it says The End, which then turns into a question mark leaving the possibility for a sequel. The best part about this movie is Steve McQueen was really almost 30 years old when it was filmed and he was playing a teenager. True horror fans know that the classics are a must see.
May 21, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is Fred Olen Ray's 1988 horror/comedy Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers starring THE Gunnar Hanson (Texas Chain Saw Massacre), Jay Richardson, Dawn Wildsmith, Esther Elise, Tricia Burns and legendary Scream Queens Linnea Quigley and Michelle Bauer. This is a satire B-movie with plenty of one-liners, naked women and gore. A private investigator is hired to find a missing girl in Hollywood where he encounters a cult of prostitutes who kill people with chainsaws for their master. Fred managed to mix the satire and horror perfectly and what you have is a fun movie.
May 19, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1979 psychological horror When a Stranger Calls starring Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst and Rutanya Alda among others. The first 15 or 20 minutes of this movie are the most frightening I think I've ever seen. A teenage girl is babysitting and keeps receiving phone calls from a man asking "have you checked the children lately?". She calls the police, who trace the calls and what comes next will freak out just about anybody. Those of you who have seen it know exactly what I'm talking about, those of you who haven't seen it will know soon enough. The story picks up 7 years later when he escapes from the asylum and she begins to be harassed again about her own children. If you like to be freaked out, this one is for you.
May 18, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1958 sci-fi horror Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. The radiation from a woman's encounter with a UFO and a giant alien in the desert makes her grow into a giant. Her marriage was already on shaky ground as her husband had been carrying on an affair. He planned to give her a fatal dose of a sedative to kill her, but she broke free before he could do it and she went on a rampage to find him. Most of us know how the story ends, but in case you haven't seen it, I'll stop right there. There's a 1993 remake for those who don't like to watch black and white movies. However, this one is a wonderful classic and should be seen at least once.
May 16, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2014 comedy horror Zombeavers starring Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins, Hutch Dano, Jake Weary, Peter Gilroy and Bill Burr among others. Two inept truckers hauling toxic waste hit a deer and one of the barrels rolls off the truck and into a beaver dam in the river. A group of college students staying in a nearby cabin are attacked by a beaver and kill it... or did they? Guessing by the title of the movie you can guess what happens. If you're in the mood for silly bloody fun then you'll probably enjoy this. Oh, and there's a cameo of John Mayer in this... see if you can spot him.
May 15, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1931 classic film Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan and Frances Dade among others. This is based on the novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. The classic tale. Dracula, protected by his slave Renfield travel to London where he turns Lucy into a vampire and preys on Mina. It's up to Harker and Van Helsing to stop him. I love this movie. I love how the light glows on shots of Dracula, so handsome, so hypnotic. I know in modern day, the special effects and CGI are more realistic than ever before, but there's just something so great and eerie about these old horror movies. Once you start watching them, it's difficult to stop. If you've never seen this movie before, do it now!
May 12, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is Gregory Blair's 2017 film Garden Party Massacre starring Andy Gates, Nichole Bagby, David Leeper, Lisa Hart, Gregory Blair, Dawna Lee Heising and Matt Weinglass. An arguing couple are having a small group over for a cookout; a gay man and his +1 who is a clueless Gilligan-like type whom we're not sure if he's gay or not, an woman who is anal about her red velvet cake and the way over-dressed for a barbecue woman who tends to get on people's nerves. The party is awkward from the start and gets even more nuts when a maniac appears with a pickaxe and the blood starts to flow. The movie is campy with a lot of slapstick humor and just enough gore. Of course there's a couple of twists you don't see coming. Be sure to check it out!
May 11, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1978 film I Spit on Your Grave starring Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Gunter Kleemann and Anthony Nichols. A writer from New York goes on vacation to a lakeside cabin to begin writing a book. Three men decide they are going to abduct her so their mentally challenged friend can lose his virginity. All four men savagely gang rape her and the mentally challenged guy is ordered by the others to kill her, but he lets her live and makes the others think he killed her. She decides to exact revenge and brutally murders each of them. You can guess that this film is "controversial" in many ways - the rape scene alone is about 1/3 of the movie'd run time - but for a low budget movie that was written, produced, directed and distributed by Meir Zarchi because he couldn't find anyone else to distribute it, this film is fantastic and has become a major cult classic and a franchise of sequels has followed.
May 10, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1984 super hero comedy horror film The Toxic Avenger starring Mitch Cohen, Kenneth Kessler, Mark Torgl, Andree Maranda, Pat Ryan Jr., Sarabell Levinson and Dan Snow among many others. A scrawny little man works at a health club where the customers bully him relentlessly and violently. One day they chase him, he jumps out a window and lands in a drum of toxic waste and catches on fire. As he washes it off and puts out the fire, he transforms into a huge hideous creature with super strength. He becomes a super hero helping the people of the city, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. This is a pure campy fun movie to watch.
May 9, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is Mark Bessenger's 2011 gay themed comedy horror film Bite Marks starring Benjamin Lutz, Windham Beacham and David Alanson Bradberry. A man's brother is missing so he decides to make his deliver of coffins to a mortuary for him. He picks up a gay couple hitchhiking who constantly argue with each other. His directions lead him to a junkyard where the truck breaks down. As nigh falls, the coffins open and out come the vampires who have the ability to hypnotize their intended victims. The three guys have to try and stay locked in the cab of the truck until morning. The movie is scary and funny with just the right amount of tension and one-liners. Also, it was fun to see Stephen Geoffreys, whom we all loved in Fright Night, make an appearance.
May 7, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1978 black comedy / musical / horror film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes starring David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor, Stephen Peace, Ernie Meyers and Eric Christmas among many others. The premise of this movie is the tomatoes revolt against humans leaving death and destruction in their wake and can only be controlled by one song. The ultimate B-movie: low budget, bad effects, technical glitches and production guffaws... but that's what makes it so great. If you're paying attention you'll recognize references to other horror movies like Jaws and The Blob and American cultural events like the Japanese sinking of the U.S.S. Arizona as just a couple of examples. This movie isn't intended to be taken seriously, it's meant to be ridiculous which is why it's so fun to watch.
May 5, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2018 or 2019 (depending on which website you look at) film The Convent starring Hannah Aterton, Clare Higgins, Rosie Day, Dilan Gwyn, Freddy Carter and Michael Ironside among others. The story is based on a screenplay written by my friend Gregory Blair. The film takes place in the 17th century. Persephone is falsely accused of being a witch and sentenced to death by burning until a Reverend Mother offers to take her back to the convent for redemption and salvation. You can probably guess that all ain't right at the convent and there's plenty of evil, violence and blood. I personally have a real-life irrational fear of nuns, yet I love to watch movies about evil nuns. As of this writing the movie is currently in theaters and for rent or purchase on the VuDu website. Be sure to give it a go.
May 4, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1988 film Lady in White starring Lukas Haas, Katherine Helmond, Alex Rocco and Len Cariou. A 9 year old boy in 1962 is bullied by his school mates and locked in a cloak room on Halloween, where he ends up having to stay the night. He sees the ghost of a little girl get attacked, then someone attacks him until he's unconscious. He sees the girl again, who asks him to help her find her mother. His father finds him and takes him to the hospital while the janitor is arrested for the attack. That's as far as I'm going to tell you about the story because saying more will give away the ending so you'll have to see the movie for all the details I left out. The movie really isn't too scary, it's a great ghost story.
May 3, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1977 natural horror film Day of the Animals starring Christopher Geroge, Lynda Day George, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara, Jon Cedar, Andrew Stevens, Ruth Roman and Bobby Porter among others. Chemicals released into the earth's atmosphere have depleted the ozone layer raising the UV radiation to levels that cause animals in higher altitudes to become extremely vicious. A group of hikers have to fight for survival while trying to get back to civilization. These types of disaster movies were very popular in the 70s and I can never get enough of them.
May 2, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1957 classic film I Was a Teenage Werewolf starring Michael Landon, Yvonne Lime, Whit Bissell, Malcolm Atterbury and Barney Phillips. A hot head teenager who loses his temper at the drop of a hat. He goes to a doctor for hypnotherapy to deal with his temper, but is instead the doctor uses him as a test subject for an experimental serum that regresses the individual back to their natural state. It's determined after a few sessions that the boy was once a wild animal. The experiment eventually turns him into a werewolf. We all know that doesn't go so well. This is a great movie and anyone who enjoys horror really must see it.
April 30, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2010 film Virus X starring Domiziano Arcangeli, Dylan Vox, Sybil Danning, Jai Day, Joe Zazo and Dave Vescio among many others. Scientists are quarantined in a lab because they have all been exposed to a mutated virus they had been working on a cure for from a human test subject who was trying to escape and when she was shot, her blood splattered on them. They have 3 days max before the virus definitely kills them, and they uncover the secret of the evil rich woman who wanted a plague after the cure was found so she would get even richer by selling the cure. If you love these "will they or won't they save the world" movies, you'll really enjoy this.
April 29, 2019
This spotlight is the 1976 film Massacre at Central High starring Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine, Kimberly Beck, Lani O'Grady and Steve Bond among others. The film is about a guy who is bullied relentlessly in high school and begins to murder the bullies one by one. It's not long before the others, who were once victims of the bullies, begin to fill the void and become bullies themselves... so he must kill them as well. This is not a slasher film. The frightening part about this film is, at the time it was made, kids bullied to the breaking point by killing other kids out of revenge was unheard of. Of course in this day and age, the scary thing is, it's all too common in reality.
April 28, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1988 sci-fi horror comedy film Killer Klowns from Outer Space starring Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson and John Vernon. A species of aliens who look like evil clowns invade a small town on earth to collect humans for food. A few young people figure out what they're doing, but nobody takes them seriously because they're circus clowns, so it's up to them to save the town and earth. For me personally, this is one of those movies you can never watch too many times. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it over the years. It's goofy, silly and has just the right amount of horror to keep you jumping.
April 26, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 1972 British film Vampire Circus starring Adrienne Corri, Laurence Payne, Thorley Walters, Lynne Frederick, John Moulder-Brown, Elizabeth Seal and Anthony Higgins among many others. The film takes place in the 19th Century about a Serbian town that had been cursed by the vampire lord as the towns people were destroying him. Fifteen years later, that same town is quarantined and ravaged by the plague. No one is allowed in or out, but a traveling circus gets through, most of which are vampires who prey on the children. In my eyes, this is among the greatest vampire movies of all time.
April 25, 2019
Tonight I'm going to spotlight a movie and it's sequel...
First is the 2006 comedy/horror film Yeti: A Love Story starring Adam Malamut, Dave Paige, Lauren Glascott, Loren Mash, Eric Gosselin, Joe Mande and Curt Croner among many others. The movie takes place in the 80s where a group of college kids go camping and stumble upon The Children of the Yeti cult. One of the cult members lures men to sexually satisfy the Yeti, which, due to his strength and size (if you know what I mean, and I think you do) kills them. One of the female college students is deemed by a priest as the chosen one to take down the Yeti cult. One of the boys is taken hostage by the Yeti, where they then fall in love. I'm not going to reveal what happens, you'll have to see it yourself for that.The end, however, does hint at a sequel. In all honesty, when I was watching this, I thought it was ridiculous, but couldn't stop watching it. I attempted to shut it off a few times, but then something would catch my attention and I'd keep watching. Then, when it was over, I watched it again. It's just really silly fun.
Next is the 2017 comedy/horror film Another Yeti a Love Story: Life on the Streets starring Adam Malamut, Eric Gosselin, Whitney Moore, Lloyd Kaufman, Marissa Merrill, Tommy Pistol, Jim Martin and Michael Varrati among many others. The same guy who was in love with the Yeti in the first movie now has a baby Yeti. The baby is abducted for sex trafficking and he and his friends have to join forces with a drug addict Yeti prostitute to get the baby back. It's vulgar, disgusting and a lot of campy fun.
First is the 2006 comedy/horror film Yeti: A Love Story starring Adam Malamut, Dave Paige, Lauren Glascott, Loren Mash, Eric Gosselin, Joe Mande and Curt Croner among many others. The movie takes place in the 80s where a group of college kids go camping and stumble upon The Children of the Yeti cult. One of the cult members lures men to sexually satisfy the Yeti, which, due to his strength and size (if you know what I mean, and I think you do) kills them. One of the female college students is deemed by a priest as the chosen one to take down the Yeti cult. One of the boys is taken hostage by the Yeti, where they then fall in love. I'm not going to reveal what happens, you'll have to see it yourself for that.The end, however, does hint at a sequel. In all honesty, when I was watching this, I thought it was ridiculous, but couldn't stop watching it. I attempted to shut it off a few times, but then something would catch my attention and I'd keep watching. Then, when it was over, I watched it again. It's just really silly fun.
April 24, 2019
This spotlight is the 1978 film Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Nick Castle, P.J. Soles, Nancy Kyes, Tony Moran, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richardson, Brian Andrews, John Michael Graham, Will Sandin and Nancy Stephens among others. Who knew that the movie that spawned a franchise that earned several hundreds of millions of dollars started out as a little independent film? But it did. In 1963, 6 year old Michael Myers murdered his sister on Halloween. The story picks up 15 years later when his doctor and a colleague begin to transfer him to a hearing when he escapes and returns to his hometown. He stalks a high school student named Laurie Strode. On Halloween night, she is babysitting while Michael kills her friends one by one before having a final showdown with her. Because of the low budget of this film, there's relatively little gore and it relies on surprises and the thought of what you don't see on film to scare the audience. This is one of those movies you just have to see at least once in your life...and if you do, chances are you'll watch it several more times.
April 22, 2019
This spotlight is the 1999 found footage film The Blair Witch Project starring Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams. Three young film students go to Maryland to make a documentary about the Blair Witch urban legend. After interviewing various town folk, they set out into the woods and were never seen again. A year later, their film footage was found and made into The Blair Witch Project. We see how the three were terrified by what they were going through and losing their minds. This is one of those films where what you don't see is what scares you the most. The Blair Witch Project is one of those rare low-budget films that becomes an world wide success. It was produced with a budget of less that $60,000 and ended up earning over $250 million world wide. It was funny at the time just how many people thought the film was real and kept reporting sightings of the actors to law enforcement.
April 21, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is the 2013 comedy/horror film The Trouble With Barry Co-written and co-directed by Mike Justice and Stephen Kitaen. Starring Peter Stickles, Rena Riffel, Lynn Lowry, Eric Dean, Shannon Amabile, Brian Nolan, Matthew Stephen Herrick, Juliette Danielle, Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigly, Michelle Bauer, Chris Pudlo, Craig Taggart, Monique Bricca, Michael Carbonaro and Lotti Pharriss Knowles. This is a dark comedy LGBT theme throwback to the slasher films of the 1980's. Barry Montenegro is an actor with no internal filters and is naturally offensive in everything he says and does... yet a charmer who can talk his way in and out of just about any situation. He used to have a successful acting career but no one wants to work with him anymore so he's left taking roles in web series. The actors he's working with are dying one by one and he ends up the prime suspect. You'll have to watch it to see how all of that turns out. It's a fun campy movie for those who don't like to take things too seriously.
April 20, 2019
Tonight's spotlight is George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley and Kyra Schon among others. Radiation contamination from a space probe entering Earth's atmosphere causes the reanimation of dead people... zombies. One by one living people arrive at a farmhouse surrounded by the zombies and try to survive... and one by one they don't. It's a groundbreaking film in that it's the first time a black man was cast as the lead hero. You can't call yourself a true horror fan unless you've seen all of the classics like this one. I watch Night of the Living Dead at least once a year, usually as it's getting close to Halloween.
April 19, 2019
This spotlight is the 2010 comedy/horror film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil starring Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Chelan Simmons and more. A group of friends go camping, where they encounter hillbillies Tucker & Dale. They were skinny dipping near where the hillbillies were fishing. Tucker & Dale see one of the girls fall into the water, save her from drowning and take her back to their cabin to help her. The other friends see them carry her off and think they're kidnapping her. As they try to "save" her, one by one, each has bonehead accidents that leads to their gruesome deaths. The people who are alive think the hillbillies are killing their friends... the hillbillies get scared because they think the campers are committing a mass suicide. Then there's a whole other sub-plot that puts an unexpected spin on the outcome of the story I'm not going to tell you about. If you want to know, you have to see it. This movie is gross, but it's hilarious and I loved it!
April 18, 2019
Today's spotlight is the 2015 film Flesh for the Inferno starring Anna Rizzo, Michael Thurber, Jamie Lyn Bagley, Jamie Dufault and Sean Leser among others. The film was written by the great Michael Varrati and directed by Richard Griffin. I really do have a serious fear of nuns in real life, so naturally I watch every horror movie about them. A group of nuns discovers a priest is sexually molesting young boys and decide to put a stop to it. The sadistic priest forces the nuns to the basement where he walls them in alive. Just before he puts up the last brick, one of the nuns curses him and the school and all of the nuns renounce their commitment to and faith in God. Some years later, the building is run down and a group of teenagers volunteer to clean it up for remodeling. I'm pretty sure you can guess where this is going... although the end really shocked me... wasn't expecting that. You'll have to see to know what I'm talking about.
April 17, 2019
Today's spotlight is the 1983 film Sleepaway Camp starring Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiertsen, Christopher Collet and Mike Kellin among many others. In 1975 John, his friend and John's kids go on a boating trip at the lake. The kids capsize the boat on purpose and when they're swimming to shore, one of the camp counselors accidentally runs over a kid with her boat. The story picks up 8 years later. Angela and her cousin attend the camp where Angela is bullied mercilessly. Events happen and people start dying one by one. This is one of those movies where the ending will catch you off guard if you don't already know about it. I'm not going to tell you what that is, you'll have to watch the movie to find out. Definitely a cult classic worth the time to watch.
April 16, 2019
Today's spotlight is the 2014 New Zealand mockumentary style horror/comedy film What We Do in the Shadows starring Jermaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh and Ben Franscham among others. Four vampires are roommates being filmed by a documentary film crew, who all have to wear crucifixes to stay alive, doing the same every day things everyone does... except the preying on humans for food thing. It's really more of a comedy than a horror, but it has it's horror moments. They have a female human familiar who helps them by setting them up with victims and cleaning up the mess afterwards. They accidentally bring a young out of control vampire into the fold along with his best human friend. They deal with their lost loves, issues with each other and trying to fit in to the 21st century lifestyle when they're hundreds of years old. It's just one of those movies where if you haven't seen it, you have to see it.
April 15, 2019
Today's spotlight is the 1980 film Friday the 13th starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby III, Kevin Bacon, Jeannine Taylor, Laurie Bartram and Mark Nelson among others. Jason Voorhees drowned at Camp Crystal Lake in 1957 when the camp counselors who were supposed to be watching him were off having sex. Twenty one years later, the camp owner and a group of counselors refurbish the camp for future campers. One by one they all meet gruesome deaths as we try to figure out who's doing it. Yes, this really did start out as an independent film. When the big studios saw how successful it was, they began a bidding war for the distribution rights, which Paramount secured. Warner Bros. bought the international distribution rights. Of course we all know it turned into one of the most successful horror franchises spawning so many sequels, I've completely lost count. If you've read my blog, MY SUPPORT OF INDEPENDENT FILMS, I wrote about how I saw this in the theater in 1980 and it traumatized me so badly, it took me years before I would watch another horror movie again. I'm much better now.
April 14, 2019
This is a spotlight of the 1986 psychological horror film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer starring Michael Rooker, Tom Towles and Tracy Arnold. The movie is loosely based on the story of real serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole. Henry is a drifter and chooses his victims randomly, then, along with his friend Ottis, gruesomely murders them without a care in the world. Henry makes sure none of the killings are related so the police won't catch them. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. This is an extremely frightening and difficult movie to watch because it's over the top gruesome... and because, though it's dramatized for the movie, things like that really did happen. If you can handle all of that, the movie is very well done.
April 13, 2019
Today's spotlight is the 2009 comedy/horror zombie film George's Intervention starring Peter Stickles, Carlos Larkin, Michelle Tomlinson, Shannon Hodson, Eric Dean, Vincent Cusimano, Brian Nolan, Matthew Stephen Herrick and Scream Queen Lynn Lowry among others with Brinke Stevens and Lloyd Kaufman in cameo appearances. A red star releases spores into the earth's atmosphere that have gotten trapped in human's lungs. The spores are dormant until a person dies, then the spores turn them into zombies. The zombies can function normally but they have to stay out of the sun so they don't rot and they'll always be tempted to eat people. George is a zombie. His friends believe he is eating people and they stage an intervention to get him into rehab, which George resists. It's the perfect mixture of silly and gore. The cast is cohesive and Peter Stickles has that natural screen charm that makes him perfect in a lead role. I'm not a huge fan of zombie movies. Too many of them are carbon copies of each other and once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Every now and then an original zombie film will come along and those are the ones I enjoy. I really enjoyed George's Intervention.
April 11, 2019
This spotlight is the 1971 British horror/drama The Devils starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. The story takes place in 17th century France where a cardinal is trying to influence King Louis VIII that the individual cities need to be demolished to stop the Protestants from gaining power. He agreed to all but one town where he promised the Governor he would let them be. When the Governor dies, a sleazy priest is left in charge. The hunchback mother superior of the convent is sexually obsessed with the priest and is jealous when he marries another woman and accuses him of witchcraft and the other nuns in the convent of being possessed by the devil causing mass hysteria. This film had been banned for many years and is finally getting to see the light of day again. Yes there's scenes with nuns doing sexual things, and in 1971 it was unheard of... but in present time, this film would be considered tame. I saw this with a friend a couple of years ago at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. I don't know what I was expecting, but I thought this film was fantastic. It's definitely worth the time to see.
April 10, 2019
Last year when I was doing the Faye Dunaway marathon (HERE), I watched a 2008 low budget British horror film she's in called Flick. The film also stars Hugh O'Connor, Mark Benton, Michelle Ryan and Liz Smith. At first it stunned me because I thought it was odd an Oscar winner would be in a low budget horror movie, but as I'm learning more and more with my actor marathons, that's actually quite common. So, I hesitantly watched it, but it didn't take long for me to LOVE it... and when it was over, I watched it again. Yes it's campy and cliche... but that's part of its charm. A teenage boy who died in the 1950's comes back in modern time seeking revenge on those he feels did him wrong and to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, who is now in her 60's. It feels like a cross between any zombie movie and Peggy Sue Got Married. Plus, if you love Rockabilly music, you'll love this!
April 9, 2019
Horror and comedy go hand in hand really well, so as this page builds, you'll see several. Today's spotlight is the 2013 horror/comedy Chastity Bites written & produced by Lotti Pharriss Knowles, directed by John Knowles and starring Allison Scagliotti, Louise Griffiths, Greer Grammer, Francia Raisa, Eddie Riosecon Lindsey Morgan, Amy Okuda and Chloe Crampton. A Countess, who needs the blood of virgins to stay young, poses as a school counselor and persuades the female students to abstain from having sex so she can use them for her ritual. She also recruits the girl's mothers to encourage their daughters to abstain from sex. One girl and her friend are on to what the countess is doing and they do what they have to do to stop her. I do know Lotti and John personally, their personalities are all over this film and I can say with all honesty, it's just pure campy fun. I really enjoyed it.
April 8, 2019
You can't have an independent horror film spotlight page and not include the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu starring Max Schreck, Gustov von Wangenheim, Greta Schroder, Alexander Granach and George H. Schnell among others. This is an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which if you know your movie trivia, the Stoker family sued the makers of this film and the courts ordered it to be destroyed. Luckily they didn't destroy all of the copies and it's still out there. The story is very similar to Dracula with name and location changes. Count Orlok buys a castle from real estate agent Hutter and becomes obsessed with his wife. There's a lot more to the story, but I'll let you watch it. I know a lot of the younger people out there can't imagine watching silent black & white movies, but try it... you'll like it.
April 7, 2019
Today's spotlight is Gregory Blair's 2013 film Deadly Revisions starring Bill Oberst Jr., Cindy Merrill and Mikhail Blokh. This is categorized as a horror, but it leans more towards a psychological thriller. A horror writer and film maker wakes from a coma after a fall and has blackout periods in his memory. He begins to have horrifying visions and it's like a puzzle trying to figure out if it's real, characters from his writings or if he's insane. As the story unfolds, with the help of a hypnotherapist, we learn what's really happening. I think this is a great story that kept me guessing.
April 6, 2019
To kick off this page, I would like to spotlight the 2014 anthology film Tales of Poe. This is a special one for me because I personally know some of the people involved. That doesn't cloud my opinion though, this is a wonderful film.
There are three short stories based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe:
* Tell Tale Heart - written & directed by Bart Mastronardi and starring Debbie Rochon. A nurse is taking care of an elderly former actress who is blind with a white eye... which drives the nurse insane and to murder. The story is told from her point of view in a mental hospital.
* The Cask (Cask of the Amontillado) - written & directed by Alan Rowe Kelly and starring Randy Jones, Alan Rowe Kelly and Brewster McCall. This is a story of newlyweds, wealth, deceit and revenge.
* Dreams - written by Michael Varrati, directed by Bart Mastronardi and starring Amy Steel, Caroline Williams and Adrienne King. Dreams is one of Poe's poems;.a story about a woman dreaming as she's dying. I can't think of any better words for it than "hauntingly beautiful".
The film is true to Poe's work, yet unique in its own way. Definitely see this if you haven't already.
There are three short stories based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe:
* Tell Tale Heart - written & directed by Bart Mastronardi and starring Debbie Rochon. A nurse is taking care of an elderly former actress who is blind with a white eye... which drives the nurse insane and to murder. The story is told from her point of view in a mental hospital.
* The Cask (Cask of the Amontillado) - written & directed by Alan Rowe Kelly and starring Randy Jones, Alan Rowe Kelly and Brewster McCall. This is a story of newlyweds, wealth, deceit and revenge.
* Dreams - written by Michael Varrati, directed by Bart Mastronardi and starring Amy Steel, Caroline Williams and Adrienne King. Dreams is one of Poe's poems;.a story about a woman dreaming as she's dying. I can't think of any better words for it than "hauntingly beautiful".
The film is true to Poe's work, yet unique in its own way. Definitely see this if you haven't already.
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