From Far & Wide, From High & Low Vol 21

As an overview Charles Band's PUPPET MASTER franchise is like watching a really long turd swirling stubbornly around the bottom of the bowl refusing to flush. And I'm not exaggerating for literary affect. This panhandled, umpteenth sequel is, simply stated; a piece of shit.

Director John KILLJOY'S PSYCHO CIRCUS Lechago and long-time Full Moon scribe Roger KRAA! THE SEA MONSTER Barron cranked out this more-of-the-same spin-off to Charles Band's PUPPET MASTER franchise. Picking up from where she left off at the end of PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, Elisa a psychic reporter (who shares a supernatural bond with Andre Toulon's murderous puppet Blade) attempts to thwart the latest Axis plot to rule the world by using sadistic electro-torture experiments, Egyptian magic & bio-energy to create a handful of Nazi rage-zombies for the the SS. BLADE: THE IRON CROSS suffers from the same cripplingly low, rock bottom production values that hamstrung the latest Axis trilogy across the boards. Bad actors awkwardly tustle with cringe-worthy dialogue & dollarstore practical effects. Genre addicts might want to have a look.

BUNKER OF BLOOD VOL 1: PUPPET MASTER BLITZKRIEG MASSACRE differs slightly from Full Moon's usual 'best of' clipfests in that it incorporated a dozen or so panels of 'comic book action' in lieu any attempt at filming new material to explain the following barrage of impoverished, special effect kills. The routine murders were culled from PUPPET MASTER parts 1-11. Viewed in it's entirety this snuff/stuff barely cut it 30 years ago as a video rental. I can't imagine who this DOG would even appeal to other than director Charles Band who routinely releases these videos to pick the pockets of his ever diminishing fanbase. Pitiful & depressing.

The tremendous reception for HOUSE OF USHER launched an informal series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptions from B-movie studio American International Pictures and legendary producer/director Roger Corman. Vincent THEATRE OF BLOOD Price (who starred in 6/7 Poe inspired horror pics for A.I.P.) plays the depraved son of an Inquisiter who who is incited to murder by the spirit of his dead wife; Elizabeth. Top-billed but little seen Barbara SHIVERS Steele cemented her reputation as a reigning scream queen of the era with her terrifying turn as the exquisite Elizabeth although her English voice was dubbed by an American actress. PEYTON PLACE's John Kerr plays Elizabeth's brother who arrives at the castle determined to discover how she died only to be imprisoned himself beneath the castle in a secret torture chamber. The white-knucked finale which finds our hero strapped underneath the razor sharp swinging pendulum may not give you a whiplash but I guarantee you're going to need a dramamine afterwards. Corman is at the top of his game as a director and that disorienting, surreal pendulum gag has never been done better. The period detail, gorgeous costumes and opulent sets provide the perfect stage for a memorable cast especially Price who's insanity becomes wonderfully operatic at times. This genuine cult classic was written by Richard HELL HOUSE Matheson and immediately followed by THE PREMATURE BURIAL. Although the story has been filmed before and since this adaption is perhaps the best remembered along with Stuart Gordon's cultish Full Moon Features production from 1991.

This would be the last of the Edgar Allan Poe inspired A.I.P. B-movies directed by Hollywood icon Roger Corman. Vincent TIME EXPRESS Price stars as a grief stricken & guilt ridden widower who falls in love with Elizabeth DAMIEN: OMEN II Shepherd thereby evoking the vengeful spirit of his 1st wife. Considering Robert CHINATOWN Towne wrote the screenplay this ghostly tale of hauntings and possession is surprisingly bland. Director Corman sets the mood in this English, gothic melodrama set in the 19th century but never manages to pay off with scares. For about half the movie I was a little bored and only stuck through it for a very likeable cast.

Vincent HOUSE OF WAX Price gives a laceratingly cruel performance as MATTHEW HOPKINS: WITCHFINDER GENERAL who satisfies his sadistic lust for power with false accusations of witchcraft & public executions. And he forces the citizens to pay for his services! A pair of young lovers run afoul of the despot and face certain death in the torture chamber or public stakes unless they can outwit the villain. Ian ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE Olgilvy scored the heroic lead after appearing in director Michael Reece's 1966 drive-in hit THE SHE-BEAST while this would be the film debut of Hilary CRY OF THE BANSHEE Dwyer as his love interest. Price is said to have had a combative relationship with the young director who stripped the actor of his charm, humor & potential camp appeal forcing him to portray the inquisitor as a vicious rapist and murderer of women. After seeing the completed film price made a point of mending his fences with Reece and credits the man with helping to bring out one of his most powerful and vividly rendered villains. Censors in England balked at the level of torture and sexual violence but it found an audience via distributer A.I.P. who released it as EDGAR ALLAN POE'S THE CONQUEROR WORM to capitalize on a string of Poe films made in collaboration with Roger Corman. To establish a connection with Poe, Price was asked to do an audio recording of the famous poem which was used to bookend the film along with the credits. It's grindhouse rough but serious horror fans swear by WITCHFINDER GENERAL which also developed a morbid following when the director died soon after from a drug overdose.

Roger BLOODY MAMA Corman directed this atmospheric horror hit while filming a series of Edgar Allan Poe inspired tales for A.I.P. To capitalize on their popularity & the presence of Vincent Price (the actor most closely identified with the franchise) the studio gave this adaption of H.P. Lovecraft's story THE STRANGE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD a title drawn from the pages of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER and marketed it as being the brainchild of Poe. Watching, you'll see the difference as the hour of human sacrifice to ancient gods draws near and barely glimpsed horrors in the fog prowl amongst the cursed inhabitants of Arkham at night. Charles THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Beaumont captures the 'cosmic' flavor of the source material perfectly on a B-movie budget & Corman is at his best; filling the screen with gorgeous period detail and even shared footage from THE RAVEN to maximize the resources on hand. Vincent DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE Price is perfectly cast as Ward who begins to transform into the vengeful ancestor who was burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft there generations ago. Debra TALES OF TERROR Pagent play Ward's wife and the doomed spouce of the diabolical warlock who's reincarnation threatens not only her marriage but her very life. This film marked the only onscreen horror pairing of Price and genre icon Lon SPIDER BABY OR THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD Chaney Jr. although they did costar in the 1948 comedy ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. The seminal H.P. Lovecraft novella would be filmed again in 1992 as THE RESURRECTED.

Ray BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Milland plays an obsessive scientist experimenting on a potion that substantially increases human eyesight. This cult classic begins breezily enough but takes a very dark turn when Dr. Xavier's ability to see accelerates. Soon the scientist must fight for his sanity when he sees through the very fabric of space/time. Milland generates a lot of empathy as his life spirals out of control and the screenplay by Ray MR. SARDONICUS Russell & Robert THE FRENCH CONNECTION II Dillon give the actor plenty of opportunity to shine. Roger MACHINE GUN KELLY Corman deserves some credit for this rather ambitious B-Movie hit which co-stars Don INNOCENT BLOOD Rickles, Harold THE INVISIBLE BOY Stone & John ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE Hoyt. If I have to quibble it's only to say the special effects aren't very effective & the chilling finale is jarringly abrupt.

Charles THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO Beaumont & Ray THE INCUBUS Russell adapted the Edgar Allan Poe short story for A.I.P. The plot doesn't offer a lot by way of character development other than to say Ray X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES Milland plays a wealthy eccentric with a hysterical phobia of being buried alive. Milland is more ham-fisted than campy but still manages to deliver a harrowing portrayal of paranoia and insanity in this Victorian-era horror hit that also borrowed elements of GASLIGHT. This was the third of a series of eight Poe adaptions from Roger FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND Corman following HOUSE OF USHER and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM that built on those prior successes with opulent production design and a skilled direction filling the air with gothic flavor and the stench of decay. A minor cult classic. PREMATURE BURIAL was filmed before as THE CRIME OF DR. CRESPI and again in 1991 as HAUNTING FEAR.

Paul THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES Birch starred as an alien who's race has been stricken with a rare blood disease since atomic warfare ravaged their civilization. 'Mr. Johnson's mission on earth is to determine if human blood carries curative value. If our blood can save their species a full scale invasion begins which would see the human population enslaved. If our blood has no benefit then the planet and all it's inhabitants are marked for annihilation. Beverly SWAMP WOMEN Garland played the beautiful nurse who agreed to help the alien but came to fear him. Roger FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND Corman directed this nifty, B&W B-movie that was shot back to back with ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS as a double feature. Charles DEATH RACE: 2000 Griffith wrote the script for both which have distinguished themselves as cult classics. NOT OF THE EARTH was remade in 1988 and again for cable tv in 1995.

Roger Corman produced this tacky remake of his 1957 cult classic NOT OF THIS EARTH starring Traci Lords who is best known for MELROSE PLACE and porn. Lords (who is terrible, by the way) plays a nurse who meets an alien vampire in need of a blood transfusion. Arthur Roberts (who also appeared in the 1995 tv movie version) plays the empathetic creature in this dreary trash from Jim SHARKANSAW WOMEN'S PRISON MASSACRE Wynorski who pads NOT OF THIS EARTH relentlessly with recycled footage from BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP, FORBIDDEN WORLD and GALAXY OF TERROR to give it some production value. The script was from R.J. MUNCHIES STRIKE BACK! Robertson based on a screenplay by Charles ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS Griffith. Look for Ace Mask as Dr. Rochelle; a character who would return for Wynorski's THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING & GHOULIES IV.

Michael THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU York has a little fun as a sinister alien in search of a cure for a blood disease decimating his homeworld. Producer Roger Corman cut a deal with Showtime to remake a handful of his cult classic B movies including THE ATTACK OF THE 50 FT WOMAN, PIRANHA and HUMANOIDS OF THE DEEP but NOT OF THIS EARTH was the only good one in the bunch thanks to a nifty screenplay based on the 1957 drive-in hit by Charles Griffith and some solid work from director Terence H. Winkless who genre addicts know best for THE HOWLING. The TV movie special effects are also unexpectly strong with plenty of disgusting, practical make-up monsters in the tight budget. Arguably the best version of the three.

THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES was the sole directorial credit for David Kramarsky who was replaced (uncredited) by dissatisfied producer Roger Corman. This $30,000 rip off of INVADERS FROM MARS featured Lorna Taylor (who's claim to fame as an actress was her chicken salad scene with jack Nicholson in FIVE EASY PIECES) and Paul NOT OF THIS EARTH Birch as a couple trying to save our planet from an alien invader who crash landed near their deserted farm. With a special effects budget of about one hundred bucks the team whittled the million eyes concept down to under 2. It's power to see through a million eyes comes from it's uncanny ability to possess the bodies of the farmer's chickens, pigs and such. Soon the family is under attack by barnyard animals and a simple-minded farm hand susceptible to Venusian telepathy. Samuel Z. Arkoff's American Releasing Corporation made this Grade-Z snooze-fest which was eventually double-billed with THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES. B&W

Gordon KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK Hessler matter-of-factly directed this overly complicated gothic horror movie set in 19 century England for A.I.P. THE OBLONG BOX was marketed as having been written by Edgar Allan Poe to capitalize on a string of adaptions directed by Roger Corman beginning with HOUSE OF USHER. Vincent MADHOUSE Price plays a wealthy noble who's disfigured brother (Allister Williamson) has been cursed by an African Voodoo witch-doctor named N'Galo. Overwhelmed by guilt Julian imprisons his insane brother unaware that grave-robbers are about to expedite his murderous return to polite English society when they inadvertently sell his still-living corpse to a surgeon played by Christopher THE WICKER TREE Lee. Sally CRY OF THE BANSHEE Geeson is very lovely as helpless maid who's life is in mortal danger because of the killer's obsessive love. Screenwriter Lawrence THE VULTURE Huntington borrows as much from Hammer's Frankenstein franchise and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA as anything formally written by Poe. This was the 1st pairing for horror legends Vincent Price & Christopher Lee and fans will be bitterly disappointed in the worthless scene they share. Turgid and forgettable.

Sidney THE LAST MAN ON EARTH Salkow directed this okay anthology based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories; Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, Rappuccini's Daughter and the 1851 novel THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES the last of which had been filmed twice before. The 1910 version from Edison Studio is considered a lost film while fans of gothic, B&W horror are probably still enjoying the fine 1940 adaptation which also starred Vincent TALES OF TERROR Price. Here; Price narrates the introductions to these Victorian-flavored chillers about family curses, betrayal & eternal youth co-starring along-side Brett THE RETURN OF THE FLY Halsey, Sebastian THE TIME MACHINE Cabot & Beverly NOT OF THIS EARTH Garland for United Artists. The time-killing script was from prolific producer/writer Robert GAS LIGHT KIDS GO WEST Kent.

Hollywood veteran Albert THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Werker was transitioning to poverty row B movies when he made this minor film noir about a drug addicted psychiatrist (Vincent EDWARD SCISSORHANDS Price) who murders his wife at the insistance of his lover (Lynn CHARLIE CHAN. IN CITY IN DARKNESS Bari) who also works at the asylum. When a hysterical young woman claims to have witnessed the killing, the adulterers conspire to have her committed! Anabel BULLDOG DRUMMOND STRIKES BACK Shaw is the vanilla flavored heroine and Frank CAPTAIN PHANTOM Latimore is the heoic detective brought in to save the day. Price delivers his performance with a minimum of scenery-chewing & WWII pin-up Bari (The Woo Woo Girl) femmes her fatale just enough to keep the turgid, B&W boat afloat. Average.

Bruce MOONLIGHTING Willis is at his smirky, self-aware best as Korben Dallas; a Jetson-style cabbie in the 23rd century who is entrusted with a powerful weapon against evil in the form of a young humanoid woman named Leeloo. Frequent RESIDENT EVIL actress Mila Jovoich gives a star-making, fearless performance as the one woman army corps who can convert the power of love into a fifth element capable of obliterating a hellish celestial object on a collision course with earth. Gary HANNIBAL Oldman loses himself completely in the role of Zorg; a leader of industry who has become a minion of the darkness that threatens to consume our world every 5 millennium. Both he & Chris RUSH HOUR Tucker steal as many scenes as humanly possible with the help of some outlandish hairstyles, disturbing fashion choices and some funny, quotable dialogue. Tucker plays a Prince-inspired lounge entertainer aboard an orbital cruise ship who becomes drawn into the chaos when Korben & Leeloo attempt to retrieve magical stones hidden there before a squadron of heavily armed aliens find them first. THE FIFTH ELEMENT is an eye-popping fantasy of the magnitude of BLADE RUNNER and every penny of it's 90 million budget in onscreen with dazzling special effects & lipstick vibrant sets lit with neon & green screen. The story doesn't really hold up under any kind of scrutiny but with so much else going on you won't have time to catch your breath to notice! I'm giving THE FIFTH ELEMENT an additional star for Meiwenn Le Besco's show-stopping pop-opera appearance as a blue Diva who takes to the stage as the invasion begins. It's nothing short of movie magic. Rumors of an extramarital tryst between stars Willis & Jovoich didn't help box office & contributed to Demi Moore filing for divorce. THE FIFTH ELEMENT will remind fans of the more challenging films of director Terry Gilliam that are so densely packed with sophisticated visuals you won't be able to process all of it in one sitting. Regardless of it's lukewarm reception, this fondly remembered sci-fi adventure has a fiercely devoted cult of admirers.

YONGARY is a prehistoric dinosaur awakened by nuclear weapons tests which causes earthquakes as it lumbers beneath the earth heading towards a reasonably well made miniature mock up of Seoul in this Korean kaiju obviously inspired by Toho's GOJIRA. The rubbery YONGARY suit bears more than a passing similarity to GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS creature design and was crafted by Masao Yagi, the same special effects wizard who created GAMERA THE INVINCIBLE for the Japanese studio Daiei. In between destructive rampages the beast befriends a awestruck little boy who teached it how to do the twist! This kid-friendly giant monster movie was picked up for American distribution by A.I.P. who packaged it for syndicated television as YONGARY: MONSTER OF THE DEEP. The original Korean print is considered a lost film with the americanized TV movie the only copy still known to exist. Remade towards the start of the millennium as YONGGARY.

This Korean remake of the 1967 cult classic YONGARY: MONSTER OF THE DEEP was allegedly their most expensive film made up till that time. Any given episode of POWER RANGERS looks like PACIFIC RIM by comparison to YONGGARY which was released before the CG work was complete. For the American DVD the special effects were cleaned up a little but it's surprisingly amateurish. My biggest problem with the visuals is that after decades of watching rubbery kaiju monsters it's jarring to see one so cartoonishly rendered it appears to be made of plastic. During an excavation, miners discover the dormant remains of a 200 million year old dinosaur which roars unexpectedly back to life at the command of aliens who plan to use the city crushing beast to conquer our world. Dire.

The only thing worse than sitting through crowd-funded garbage like Full Moon's GINGERDEAD MAN is wasting an hour and a half of your life watching 'best of' clips from the franchise. The price of admission includes CG animations that wouldn't have cut it on playstation 2, gratuitous tiddy and a tiresome litany of poorly staged murders rehashed from titles like GINGERDEAD MAN VS EVIL BONG. Cutting corners even closer, Charles Band sandwiched the ugly, recycled footage between 'comic book panel action' as if that would sweeten the pot. Do yourself a favor & avoid this headache inducing DOG.

Robert ROAD GAMES Thompson plays the uni-browed, pop-eyed psychopath PATRICK who has been comatose since the night he murdered his mother while she was having sex. The inhumane experiments conducted on his mute body unleash the young man's dormant telepathic ability. A recently hired nurse assigned to his bed believes that not only is the killer able to communicate but is somehow responsible for a string of terrifying intrusions into her personal life. Character actress Susan Penhaligon (who fans may remember from THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT) took the female lead in this fondly remembered and slightly under-rated Austrailian cult classic from director Richard Franklin and screen writer Everret STORM WARNING de Roche. Universal execs thought PATRICK was so clever & edge-of-your-seat scary they chose Franklin to direct PSYCHO II. An unauthorized sequel called PATRICK STILL LIVES hit grindhouses in 1980 in addition to the decades-later remake PATRICK: EVIL AWAKENS.

This gruesome, unauthorized sequel to the cult classic PATRICK would be the final film for Italian director Mario Landi and co-star Sasha INFERNO Piteoff who plays the comatose young man's father who's experiments have created a telepathic monster. Piero INVASION OF THE ATOMIC ZOMBIES Regnoli's screenplay finds a group of travellers lured to the isolated estate where they are picked off by the psychic sadist. A lingering shot of a woman being slowly impalled by a stake driven up her vagina through gaping mouth will undoubtedly appeal to gorehounds but as disgusted as I was watching there's no denying it's power. As revolting as PATRICK STILL LIVES is, it works as a horror movie and despite it's obscurity deserves a look if you were a fan of genre favorites like CARRIE, THE FURY or SCANNERS back in the day. Followed by a franchise reboot in 2013.

PATRICK: EVIL AWAKENS is a close remake of the cultish Austrailian horror pic from 1978. It was written & directed by documentary film-makers Mark Hartley & Justin King who collaborated on NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION and starred HOME AND AWAY actors Shami Vinson & Jackson Gallagher. Vinson plays a pretty young nurse who suspects the inhumane experiments being conducted on the comatose body of Patrick (Gallagher) have unleashed in him a terrifying telepathic power. If the obsessed patient doesn't kill her the sinister Dr. Roget just might for meddling in his affairs. Charles GAME OF THRONES Dance is quite good as the Frankenstein-like scientist but the writer hasn't given him much to work with. It's obvious the director loves the original & has loaded this remake with clever references but he doesn't have the talent necessary to sell the material...not with the same authority & skill Richard Franklin brought to the table 35 years before. Above average in spite of itself.

Ron Koslow who created the cultish BEAUTY AND THE BEAST tv series developed this unsold pilot about a government agent mortally wounded during a raid who is revived THE BIONIC WOMAN-style. SEX AND THE CITY star Kim Cattrall is just fine under the the steady hand of director Richard PSYCHO II Franklin and displays some on screen chemistry with the under-rated actor Billy DEAD CALM Zane cast as her new partner. The sci-fi elements are gently incorporated into the plot which focuses on action and the charismatic lead's growing rapport. If it made it to the fall schedule I would have watched.

John RIPPER: LETTER FROM HELL Eyres directed this low-budget rip-off of DIE HARD about a cyborg (Frank AIRBOSS IV: THE X-FACTOR Zagarino) who takes the President's daughter (Meg THEY LIVE Foster) hostage during the invasion of an office high-rise. Martin CROCODILE 2: DEATH SWAMP Cove plays a convicted criminal accidentally defrosted from his cryogenic prison by the authorities in the mistaken belief he's the architect who designed the tower. To mitigate his sentence, Cove must save the hostages & take out the terrorists. Not much bang for your action movie buck but it steals enough from better movies to at least make it endurable. Stephen XTRO 2: THE SECOND ENCOUNTER Lister wrote this formulaic video store rental which was followed by ARMED AND DANGEROUS, EDGE OF DARKNESS and SHADOWCHASER IV: THE GATES OF TIME.

STORM TROOPER was a noisy sci-fi/action pic from director Jim THE WASP WOMAN Wynorski which borrows elements of STAR WARS & THE TERMINATOR but comes up with only B-movie stock footage for this nicely cast but instantly forgotten thriller. A cyborg seeks the aid of a woman who finds her home under siege by futuristic (mostly unarmed) troops. Carol SNAKEHEAD TERROR Alt, John CRIMES OF PASSION Laughlin and Corey PUPPET MASTER VS DEMONIC TOYS Feldman star working from an inferior script by T.L. HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS Lanford.

J. Christian Ingvordsen has toiled away for decades churning out movies you've never heard of like THE BOG CREATURES and AIRBOSS III: THE PAYBACK. CYBER VENGEANCE typifies what you can expect from the indie hack; gratuitous boob shots, photoshop quality special effects, lousy actors and ineptly choreographed action. The story (such as it is) concerns a virual reality prison of the future (2005) where inmates are sold as trophies to wealthy hunters up for a little THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME style action. CYBER VENGEANCE was shot using the same scant resources Ingvordsen had at his disposal for 1993's THE OUTING incuding sets & costumes but sat on the shelf till it found a distributer in 1997...a year after it's sequel ABSOLUTE AGGRESSION said hello to the bottom of Walmart's discount movie bin. Not that anyone noticed.

Frederick V.I. WARSHAWSKI Coffin & Michael JOY RIDE McCleery play a couple of inbred, backwoods savages who's mother has raised her pride and joy to rape and murder any women they find back packing through the woods. Beatrice CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? Pons plays the depraved biddy who's sadistic lessons in child rearing put the hillbillies into a twisted confrontation with a trio of lovely young campers who aren't going down without a fight. Charles FEROCIOUS FEMALE FREEDOM FIGHTERS Kaufman made this rather sickening mash-up of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE & FRIDAY THE 13TH with a scripting assist from Warren LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Leight. As repellant, noisy and downright bad as MOTHER'S DAY was I still found myself cheering for the ladies during the blood soaked final confrontation. This Troma release was given a superior remake in 2010.

Darren REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA Lynn Bousman directed this in-name-only reboot of Troma's 1980 cult exploitation flick MOTHER'S DAY based on a script by Scott Milan. Milan, as a 'writer' is best known for co-producing the last TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE sequel LEATHERFACE. Speaking of producers, Brett SANTA'S SLAY Ratner financed this unexpected remake before an onslaught of credible sexual abuse allegations derailed his once white-hot career. Rebecca THE SHINING De Mornay stars as Mrs. Koffin who (along with her insane family) crashes a birthday party hosted by a young, unhappily married couple and their friends. The Koffins are on the run having committed a string of crimes including murder, rape & bank robbery so need the cash hidden in what used to be their home before it's foreclosure. Additionally, the youngest son (Matt FRAILTY O'Leary) has been shot & requires 1st aid. As luck (and a contrived plot device) would have it a doctor (Shawn X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Ashmore) just so happens to be there celebrating. The doctor & Mrs. Koffin form an uneasy truce but soon, everyone is hacking at one another anyway with butcher knives or blowing each other's heads off with shotguns as this chaotic pic rushes to a conclusion you'll spot coming from a mile away. For a movie that allegedly cost 11 million to make the practical gore effects are surprisingly low end & unconvincing. De Mornay is rather fun at 1st as the demented mother who channels Martha Stewart and Shelley Winters circa BLOODY MAMA but the performance disintegrates with nothing but the promise of rape and torture to sustain the illusion. Close but no cigar. Troma's Lloyd & Charles Kaufman appear in cameo. Anchor Bay distributed this ugly, box office BOMB.

This largely forgotten horror pic was informally based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem Some Words With a Mummy & was slated to begin production under the direction of Ken Russell with Anthony Perkins cast in the supernatural lead. Unfortunately, Perkins died from AIDS and the talented director bailed leaving producers scrambling to find suitable replacements. Eventually a horribly miscast Tony THE MANITOU Curtis was hired to play the ressurrected mummy Aziru who prowls Egypt in search of his reincarnated love. Sound familiar? Curtis looks like a deer caught in the headlights of a garbage truck every moment he's onscreen & costars Leslie MAYFLOWER MADAM Hardy and Greg BARBARIAN QUEEN II: THE EMPRESS STRIKES BACK Wrangler fair no better. This flavorless throw back to those fondly remembered Universal monster classics from the 1940s sank like a stone under the direction of Gary O'Hara and screenwriter Nelson BEYOND THE POSIEDON ADVENTURE Gidding both of whom quit the business immediately afterwards. Also known as EDGAR ALLAN POE'S THE MUMMY LIVES! Prove it.

Umberto EATEN ALIVE! Lenzi directed this Itallian copy of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD based on a screenplay by Antonio Cesaro Corti (AKA: Tony Corti) & Piero Regnoli who also wrote PATRICK STILL LIVES!. The film starred Hugo GUYANA: CRIME OF THE CENTURY Stiglitz as a reporter on the scene when a team of scientists make an emergency landing at an airport in Rome. Unfortunately the passengers who were all exposed to a mysterious radioactive element have been transformed into blood-drinking zombies. Mel EATEN ALIVE Ferrer plays the general called in to halt the infectious horde of smart, fast mutations as the city-wide death toll spirals into the thousands. A handful of characters make a break for the country in this competently made gut muncher which moves at a brisk pace & fills the screen with enough grue and gore to satisfy the fans. A heavily cut version eventually hit US video store shelves in 1983 as CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD or NIGHTMARE CITY which is also the title of the pending remake from famed make-up artist Tom Savini.

Fresh off their infamous grindhouse classic ZOMBIE 2 Italian hack Lucio Fulci & co-author Dardano Secchetti produced this close copy of John Carpenter's THE FOG which many fans consider to be the 1st of a non sequitur trilogy which also includes THE BEYOND and THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY. Catriona MacColl who appeared in all 3 THE GATES OF HELL movies (the US title of CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) plays a psychic named Mary who witnesses the suicide of a priest in the town of Dunwich while conducting a seance. The hanging of Father Thomas (Fabrizio THE PSYCHIC Jovine) on hallowed ground has opened a portal to the underworld where the priest now reigns dispatching all manner of supernatural horror in the form of vengeful spirit and flesh-ripping zombie on the helpless inhabitants of the fog shrouded community. Christopher PIECES George took top billing as a reporter who may be able to halt the invasion of the undead if he can rescue Mary from her premature burial first. Fulci has a ferocious fanbase among gore-hounds and they'll find much to love as power tools tear into human flesh and insides become outsides during unholy acts of regurgitation. Not for all tastes but recommended.