Change Your Image
Dashner
Reviews
The Van (1977)
It's Van-tastic!
Simple-minded but good-natured drive-in movie about a simple-minded but good-natured high school graduate who has dreams of owning the coolest custom van in the world to use as his "ballroom".
Bobby, our hero, spends his entire savings to acquire the vehicle of his dreams. Joint sharing and love making quickly commence with girls Bobby has picked up at the local pizza parlor, but he finds out much responsibility, danger and heartache come with being the owner of such a mechanical marvel.
The Van is a guilty pleasure of mine. It captures the laid back mid 70's mood and has enough unintentional humor to put it into the "so bad it's good" category.
Tunnel Vision (1976)
Not Bad
This one is definitely a product of the 1970's with it's post- Watergate and Viet Nam cynicism. Perhaps it's a bit dated, but does a great job capturing the smarmy quality of TV commercials of the era, especially because it uses some of the best voice over talent of the time (Ernie Anderson, Danny Dark, etc.). Look for pre-fame bit parts by John Candy, Chevy Chase, Ron Silver, and director Betty Thomas.
The Curse of the Screaming Dead (1982)
Nearly unwatchable
As a big fan of B-movies, I've felt I've always that I have a cast-iron constitution when it comes to watching cinematic crap. That is until the day a friend happened to find a copy of Curse of the Screaming Dead in the bargain bin (big surprise) at our local video store. Wow! This truly has to be one of the most technically incompetent movies ever released to video. Terrible lighting, bizarre sound mixing, non-existent acting, half-assed editing, plus a plethora of other ineptitudes add up to make this movie as laughable as it is forgettable. A dismal, black-hole of a film.
Space Mutiny (1988)
Embarassingly Bad
This is one of those movies that makes me cringe with embarassment for the film makers. Couldn't have anyone on the set told the director how incredibly crappy everything looked? I understand low budgets, but come on. It's not like they paid any money for the stock Battlestar Gallactica spaceship footage. And what was up with the ancient PC's? They could have made some sort of cardboard prop of a futuristic computer for less money than it took to buy all those TRS-80 model Tandy computers from Radio Shack.
View this movie only if you're a hardcore B movie fan. You'll get a few chuckles. Otherwise, avoid it .
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Good... not excellent
I went expecting to see more biting satire, but it was funny none the less. Some characters (the engineer, especially) needed more development. Great special effects and creature make-up sort of make up for it though. If you're a fan of Star Trek I would highly recommend it.
Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987)
Blame Canada
One in a series of God-awful '80's Rock 'n' Roll horror movies. This one takes place in Canada (you know, the world center for the Arts). It's actually little more than a vanity piece for it's star Jon-Mikl Thor, who plays the grade-z-David-Lee-Roth-clone singer of the cheese-rock act that appears here.
This film is loaded with the things that make any bad movie fan fill with glee: bad acting, inane dialog, bargain basement special effects, an irritating "comic relief" character, gratuitous nudity, horrible music, continuity errors, stupid plot... the list goes on and on.
Just some of the things to look out for: finger puppet monsters, one of the characters disappearing and reappearing "Australian" accent, Thor's "cool" van and jackets, and one of the worst renderings of Satan I've ever seen.
All in all, a masterpiece.
Shriek of the Mutilated (1974)
Out of Whack and Unforgettable
This movie is a true gem for fans of 1970's trash cinema. With unintentionally wacky dialog, ham-handed performances, and its superb "shock" ending, Shriek of the Mutilated should have a rightful place in bad movie history. A truly entertaining oddity.