Weirdling_Wolf

Seven Steps of Kung Fu - Wong Chong Kwan & Ting Chung.

Another martially manic, blazingly fight-packed gem from the frequently awesome Vengeance Video. With zesty, light-hearted interludes, a righteously arduous training montage, walking on hands, destroying eggs with power, no quarters spared retribution, and thrillingly acrobatic combat, Seven Steps of Kung Fu remains a dynamic martial arts spectacular! I'm not absolutely clear about the plot, but the expert, wholly honourable kung fu good guys ultimately prevail over this cabal of traitorously scheming villainy in an exhausting, tremendously exhilarating climactic battle!

Dawn of The Mummy (1981) - Frank Agrana.

Languidly paced, the palsied narrative occasionally lumbers forth no less sluggishly than its mothballed mummy, and any crude Euro-schlocker so closely resembling Jess Franco's Oasis of the Zombies will have its detractors, but I am certainly not one of them. Maligning it for its grisly goofiness is somewhat counter-intuitive, since that is very much its saving disgrace! Agrana is manifestly no De Palma, eschewing dynamic set-pieces for plentiful gut-bucket gore, graveyard synths, and skinflick acting trauma provides far more entertainment than one might initially think possible. For me, a true cult film matures mustily over time, its value not decided by fatuous pundits/shills, but the legitimate fans, and avid film collectors who cherish these frequently disparaged works. In this rare case, you can very much can judge a book by its cover, the bodacious-lookin' mummy luridly adorning the poster/sleeve righteously telegraphs the scintillatingly gory goods within! Lovingly gussied up by Treasured Films, Dawn of The Mummy's stunning HD resurrection is a veritable triumph, this truly lovely Blu-ray edition taking pride of place in my burgeoning Euro-horror collection.

This compelling admixture of Groundhog Day and Hellraiser finds that the increasing unstable life, and frequent deaths of Hallmark handsome Mike Vogel is disturbingly due to the predatory nature of Harvesters, fearsome, fear-feasting demons. This novel attempt at a horror upgrade proves mostly successful, the attractive young cast, delirious plot, and Stan Winston's exemplary creature design prove engaging. The giddy first act is genuinely intriguing, the hugely beleaguered Stone's grimly existential plight hooked me from the very get-go, and I relished all the bloody, whizz-bang Harvester vs human interludes! As always, Michael Feast's acting contribution proved exemplary, sexy PVC-clad demons always rock, and Piana's darkly demon-seeded shocker's upbeat conclusion felt altogether righteous. Horror protagonists are frequently little better than silicon-pumped cannon-fodder, but the dire jeopardy of Stone's delightfully angelic paramour (Christina Cole) manifestly held my interest. I give The Deaths of Ian Stone additional kudos since it isn't a remake, doesn't rely solely on asinine jump-scares, and, thankfully, it has absolutely nothing to do with Eli Roth.