From Far & Wide, From High & Low Vol 12
A list of 100 titles from a wildly diverse selection of genres
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- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.George MARTIN Romero & John CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD Russo collaborated on this phenomenally successful almost universally praised indie zombie film which became ground zero for the genre just in the way Universals 1931 version of DRACULA starring Bela Lugosi became the template for vampirism. A handful of strangers barricade themselves inside a farmhouse as flesh-eating re-animated corpses come calling. It's quite impossible to say just how vast the influence of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD has spread because the movie lapsed into public domain almost immediately so has been an easy target for fan-made films and plagiarists not to mention a string of direct sequels directed by Romero himself which concluded with SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD shortly before his death. And part of the appeal was no doubt those stark black and white images of zombies greedily devouring human flesh which have haunted viewers for decades. Originally shot in B&W colorized prints are floating around for those who prefer them. Followed by DAWN OF THE DEAD.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.George THE CRAZIES Romero & Italy's Dario DEEP RED Argento put together this ground-breaking zombie masterpiece under Romero's direction. The idea was to release two versions with the Italian release edited to suit Argento's taste. Additionally DAWN OF THE DEAD was given an X-Rated release for gore (a considerable amount of it too thanks to the up and coming special effects artist Tom Savini). It was a marketing strategy that broke open a lot of doors for horror film-makers especially. A group take possession of a shopping mall in the dying days of human civilization. Their struggle to stay alive and maintain a semblance of normalcy is chronicled while the world crumbles around them & their time runs out is perfectly staged by the director. It's arguable the greatest zombie film ever made. Easily on par with the original. Remade in 2005. Followed by DAY OF THE DEAD in 1985
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsTisa FarrowIan McCullochRichard JohnsonStrangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.Following the international success of George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD which was released in Italy as ZOMBIE by collaborator Dario Argento this unofficial sequel was rushed into production. When a death ship drifts into NY harbour a young couple decides to follow the trail of death back to the island of it's origin. Together they and their friends discover flesh eating zombies brought back to savage life via voodoo rituals. ZOMBIE 2 is a terrible movie on it's face value. It's so close a steal Romero is said to have sued. Lucio Fulci has a certain cult following these days but even his most devoted fans would be lying through their teeth if they said they didn't know he was a hack. But there's enough vulgar and extreme horror action here to make it work. Eyeballs are skewered, guts are munched & by the final scene it's the end of the world staged in a manner which managed to trump even Romero. And let's not forget the scene depicting a duel between a zombie and a great white shark. It just goes faaar beyond what you'd ever imagine or expect. Begrudgingly, I like this one a lot more than it deserves. Followed by Zombi 3
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsLori CardilleTerry AlexanderJoseph PilatoAs the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.In an underground military bunker, the last remaining human scientists struggle to find a cure for the apocalyptic plague of undeath. joseph Pilato is the nearly psychotic army chief Rhodes who threatens to shut the place down despite promising results from a domesticated zombie named Bud. Tom NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Savini handled the gruesome special make up effects while George THE DARK HALF Romero directed this third film in his legendary series. This movie is rock solid across the boards. There's not a weak moment to be seen. The ending especially is a crowd pleaser. You'll hold your breath watching the elevator descend. It's a show-stopping sequence you won't soon forget. Followed by LAND OF THE DEAD, poorly sequeled by DAY OF THE DEAD 2: CONTAGIUM, remade badly in 2008 & 2017 and most recently had been scheduled to appear as a 10 episode series on the SyFy network in 2021
- DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.Dan ALIEN O'Bannon helmed this in-name-only adaption of John THE MAJORETTES Russo's trashy novelized sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. A diverse group of young people decide to party in the local graveyard the same night a secret cannister of militarized nerve gas leaks at the nearly medical supply store causing the dead to rise. O'Bannon keeps his cliches fresh and funny & the old school make-up effects front and center for maximum impact. The cast functions quite well as an ensamble and is clearly having a great time with some rather quotable dialogue. The soundtrack is also far better than zombie fans are used to. THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD sat on the shelf before it's lack-luster release but did find a lot of cult classic love in video rental stores. To date this unexpectedly fine horror film has spawned four sequels.
- DirectorKen WiederhornStarsJames KarenThom MathewsMichael KenworthyCurious kids unearth the barrels that previously helped revive the dead, which proves the second time's an undead charm.SHOCK WAVES director Ken Wiederhorn did an ok job with this 'family friendly' gut-munching follow-up to the 1985 cult hit. The cast (including a few hold overs from the original) has plenty to do and the special effects work is rather well done considering it's relatively low budget. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as smart, scary or funny as part one. Rotten Tomatoes gave this a 0% rating but it's a perfectly average horror pic genre addicts should enjoy to a limited extent. Followed by RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3.
- DirectorLucio FulciClaudio FragassoBruno MatteiStarsDeran SarafianBeatrice RingOttaviano Dell'AcquaWhen a terrorist's body, infected with a stolen chemical, is cremated by the US military, a virus is unintentionally released into the atmosphere over a small island.Cult film-maker Lucio Fulci was nearing the end of his career making ZOMBI 3; one of several films which were marketed as a direct sequel to ZOMBIE 2 including BURIAL GROUND: THE NIGHTS OF TERROR & RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES. The run time on this derivative Italian gut muncher came up short so Bruno HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD Mattei completed additional scenes in the Philippines after shooting wrapped. Most of it looks plagiarized from DAWN OF THE DEAD. The special effects are low end and the cast is mostly forgettable. Followed by ZOMBIE 4: AFTER DEATH.
- DirectorClaudio FragassoStarsJeff StrykerCandice DalyMassimo VanniA woman goes back to the island where her parents were killed. They had been working on a cure for cancer and accidentally raised the dead by angering a voodoo priest. With the woman is a group of mercenaries and they meet up with some other researchers. They raise the dead again and all hell breaks loose.ZOMBIE 4: AFTER DEATH was a late entry in the wave of Italian gut-munchers inspired by Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE 2. I'm giving it an extra star for casting bisexual porn star Jeff Stryker as a lead but there's not much else to recommend about this bargain basement tale of voodoo curses and magical amulets. Follwed by ZOMBIE 5: KILLING BIRDS which was filmed 2 years before this mess. Director Claudio Fragasso is notorious for work on TROLL 2
- DirectorClaudio LattanziJoe D'AmatoStarsLara WendelRobert VaughnTimothy W. WattsA group of college students go into the woods to study birds. They encounter a strange blind man who's connected to the killer zombies that prowl a dilapidated house deep in the forest.Robert SUPERMAN III Vaughn stars as a murderous vet who killed his adulterous wife but spared the son they made together. On the day of their reunion the dead rise to seek revenge. It's more odd than scary. Other non seqitor sequels followed with everything from Jesse Franco's A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD to PANIC to ABSURD falsely marketed and thrown into the mix.
- DirectorTom SaviniStarsTony ToddPatricia TallmanTom TowlesWhen the unburied dead return to life and seek human victims, seven refugees shelter in a house in the Pennsylvanian countryside.Make up artist extraordinaire Tom Savini directed this smart remake of the George Romero horror classic from 1968. Tony CANDYMAN Todd & Patricia Tallman recreate the roles of survivors Ben & Barbara and offer fresh takes on the themes of race relations & feminism despite a screenplay which remains quite faithful to the source material. Savini not only keeps the characters fresh and interesting but he makes the most of the gruesome special effects that are the driving engine of any good zombie pic. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is not only very good, it's very under-rated.
- DirectorBrian YuznaStarsJ. Trevor EdmondMelinda ClarkeKent McCordHaving recently witnessed the horrific results of a top secret project to bring the dead back to life, a distraught youth performs the operation on his girlfriend after she's killed in a motorcycle accident.Brian BRIDE OF REANIMATOR Yuzna directed this slow simmering take on ROMEO AND JULIET set in the world of trioxin zombies. And it works! Melinda THE O.C. Clarke stars as a free spirited young woman in love who employs self mutilation as a means of maintaining her reason during the inevitable process of becoming a zombie. It opens up a wonderful conversation about body art and feature modification that probably wasn't intended at the time of it's production. Get over the rough patch at the beginning and you'll be treated to a practical effects butcher shop of climactic horror mayhem. I liked this a lot. Quite unique. Followed by a tv movie sequel in 2005.
- DirectorJohn A. RussoStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA re-edited version of Night of the Living Dead (1968) by a few members of its creative team, excluding director George Romero. It cuts 15 minutes from the original and replaces it with 15 minutes of newly-shot footage.I shouldn't dislike THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION as much as I do but I HATE IT! It looks like a cheap distributer buddied up to John Russo and the two conspired to release their own version of George Romero's classic as a cash in designed to spin off a zombie franchise. Russo filmed addition black and white footage to insert into the Romero film and also layered in a sub-standard soundtrack. The additions are amateurish and distracting. The loose sequel CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD was even worse.
- DirectorTor RamseyStarsTom SaviniMarty SchiffDamien LuvaraIn a small Pennsylvanian town, Matthew has just taken over an old farm property in order to start his new car dealership. Unknown to him the farm is located on the site of a graveyard, which the local townsfolk claim should be left alone.Director Tor Ramsey complained bitterly that interfering producers were responsible for the fiasco that was CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD but nothing that made it to the screen is good. Writer John NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Russo also expressed dissatisfaction with the filming experience and wanted to quit early on. The focus is on a zombie outbreak associated with the resurrection of a serial killer named Abbott Hayes. Make up star Tom CREEPSHOW Savini signed on for a cameo before he knew what a stink-bomb this film was going to be.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsSarah PolleyVing RhamesMekhi PhiferA nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.Zack SUCKER PUNCH Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD wasn't a big critical or commercial hit despite being a remake of the George Romero zombie classic from 1975. It has in the years since been somewhat vindicated by a devoted cult of admirers who swear they prefer this version. I can see why. The zombies are a swarming sea of cannibalism overwhelming everyone in their path. The survivors are hopelessly outnumbered. The violence and scares are plentiful and the special effects are strong. Snyder is planning a follow up film called ARMY OF THE DEAD due to premier on Netflix in 2022
- DirectorAna ClavellJames Glenn DudelsonStarsLaurie BaranyayStan KlimeckoJohn F. Henry IIIn 1968, in the Ravenside Military Hospital in a military facility in Pennsylvania, the army loses control of an experiment of a lethal bacteriologic weapon that changes the DNA and transforms human beings into zombies. A group of soldiers is sent to the hospital to eliminate the infected staff and interns but private DeLuca steals a test tube with the virus and hides it inside a vacuum flask. He is transformed into a zombie and killed but the vacuum flask falls in the grass. In the present days, a group of patients in the mental institution Ravenside Memorial Hospital finds the vacuum flask and later when one of them opens the vessel, the culture tube drops on the floor of a bathroom contaminating the group and their Dr. Donwynn.This 'from poverty' prequel to the George Romero cult classic is certain to disappoint fans. The special effects are sloppy and the script is terrible. There's not a 'name' actor in the cast and if the directors have any previous films under their belts I'm drawing a blank. An alien virus thought contained in 1968 is released on the inmates at a psychiatric hospital.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsJohn LeguizamoAsia ArgentoSimon BakerThe living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.LAND OF THE DEAD is the 4rth film in George Romero's cult classic zombie franchise following NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD. This rather lavishly budgeted (for Romero) post apocalyptic horror movie finds a segment of Pittsburgh still under human control; a neighborhood bordered by an electric fence and water. Inside the city, the corrupt overlords live in a secured tower while the poor live in the slums in the street. To keep supplies coming the villainous Kaufman (played by Dennis Hopper) has built a zombie proof tank. During an earlier raid the survivors caught the attention of an unusually smart zombie named Big Daddy who is leading an army towards the city in retaliation. I didn't hate LAND OF THE DEAD. It wasn't as scary or fresh as his earlier installments but it kept me watching. Followed by DIARY OF THE DEAD.
- DirectorEllory ElkayemStarsAimee-Lynn ChadwickCory HardrictJohn KeefeA group of teenagers, in an attempt to rescue their friend from an evil corporation, end up inadvertently releasing a horde of bloodthirsty zombies.RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 4: NECROPOLIS is a sy-fy original filmed back to back with RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD V: RAVE TO THE GRAVE as a cost cutting measure. An unrated disc containing more explicit violence was made available after the television film initially aired. Peter SPHERE Coyote stars as a spy sent to Chernobyl to retrieve canisters of the reagent Trioxin 5. The military needs the gas to develop zombies equipped like cyborgs. Their plot to create an army of undead super soldiers is exposed when a group of young people go looking for their missing friend who is being used as a human guinea pig. It's not bad as tv zombie pics go. The special effects are plentiful if not high end and the cast is attractive. Nothing special but worth a look.
- DirectorEllory ElkayemStarsPeter CoyoteAimee-Lynn ChadwickCory HardrictA college student creates a drug called "Z" and sells it on campus, inadvertently resurrecting the living dead, who wreak havoc at a Halloween rave.RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD V: RAVE TO THE GRAVE was a sy-fy network television movie shot back to back with RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 4: NECROPOLIS to lower production costs. While the Eastern European locations are lovely to look at the special effects afforded by Eastern European film crews are often not. The practical old school special make up effects are terrible! They do pile it on though. It's like an all you can eat buffet of substandard make up effects. The young cast (some of whom carry over from Necropolis) and a busy script help make up for the shortfalls. Peter Coyote returns as a dealer of Trioxin 5 who is killed by zombies when a canister leaks. A group of kids discover the reagent and believe it's a new kind of Ecstasy. Don't be surprised if 'Tar-Man' doesn't drop by for a visit! A Slight improvement over part 4.
- DirectorJeff BroadstreetStarsBrianna BrownJoshua DesRochesSid HaigBoth an homage to and a re-imagining of the original 1968 film, this update follows a group of survivors trapped in a farmhouse battling a siege of undead zombies....in 3D!Jeff SEXBOMB Broadstreet directed this 2nd remake of George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in 3D. Not that it helped. Sid 3 FROM HELL Haig stars as a mortician named Tovar who accidentally began the zombie apocalypse by reanimating his father. The original story of how Ben, Barbara etc survive plays out loosely against the new, inferior concept. The gore is poorly presented even in 3D and the scares aren't there. Followed by a prequel; NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: REANIMATION 3D.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsMichelle MorganJoshua CloseShawn RobertsA group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.This 5th film in George MONKEY SHINES Romero's epic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD saga exists during the timeline of that original film as the zombie outbreak begins to impact civilization. Romero opted to utilize the found footage style approach sometimes necessitated by a small budget but still employed a proper cinematographer to give it some polish. For the most part, it works. Romero's strength as a director is felt but in the end his efforts are undermined by poorly drawn characters and an over-reliance on the same zombie tropes we've been watching for 50 years. Personally speaking; these 'found footage' things rarely work for me even when there's a competent director present. Followed by SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsMena SuvariNick CannonMichael WelchWhen a small Colorado town is overrun by the flesh hungry dead a small group of survivors try to escape in a last ditch effort to stay alive.Steve Minor has a hit & miss career. He's capable of solid work but you'll not see any evidence of it here. A strange chemical developed by the military causes the citizens of a city to turn into wall-crawling, super fast, flesh-eating zombies. Stark Sands plays the vegan zombie Bud and Ving DAWN OF THE DEAD Rhames tackles the role of Captain Rhodes. It never gets old watching zombies running along the ceiling. It never gets scary either.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsAlan Van SprangKenneth WelshKathleen MunroeOn an island off the coast of North America, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state.SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD was the 6th film in THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD franchise & the cinematic swan song for director George Romero. A rifleman from DIARY OF THE DEAD makes it to an island where the dead & the living exist in a dangerous truce where the inhabitants are trying to domesticate the zombies. There's nothing fresh about this Canadian made low budget horror pic although Romero still knows his moves. It's a good looking film but the screenplay is vague & ultimately unsatisfying.
- DirectorJeff BroadstreetStarsAndrew DivoffJeffrey CombsSarah LievingAfter inheriting the family mortuary, a pyrophobic mortician accidentally exposes hundreds of un-cremated bodies to toxic medical waste. As the corpses re-animate, the mortician's inheritance-seeking younger brother unexpectantly shows up, stumbling upon a full zombie outbreak!Andrew WISHMASTER Divoff stars as a mortician named Tovar who accidently brings the dead back to life via exposure to toxic medical waste. Jeffrey CASTLE FREAK Combs co-stars as the gold-digging estranged brother. Every bit as cheap and unnecessary as Jeff Broadstreet's earlier NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D which this film prequels. Unwatchable even in 3D.
- DirectorZebediah De SotoKrisztian MajdikStarsAmanda NilesGus MalliarodakisDanielle HarrisA group of survivors trapped in a New York apartment fight to stay alive against legions of zombies.NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: DARKEST DAWN is an CG animated remake of the 1968 George Romero zombie classic set in modern NYC & featuring some voice work by Tony Todd as Ben; a role he earlier played in the 1990 remake by director Tom Savini.
- DirectorHèctor Hernández VicensStarsSophie SkeltonJohnathon SchaechJeff GumA small group of military personnel and survivalists dwell in an underground bunker as they seek to find a cure in a world overrun by zombies.A scientist looking for a way to halt the spread of the zombie-virus discovers the cure she's seeking may be found in the body of an unusually smart 'rotter'. In life, the zombie who holds the cure stalked the scientist & even attempted to rape her. As a flesh-eater, it still has a thing for her. DAY OF THE DEAD: BLOODLINE tears the guts out of George Romero's 1985 cult classic leaving only the bare bones concept of a human outpost located in a military bunker and this less than compelling business of a horny zombie layered on top. Attractive cast tho'.
- DirectorMisty TalleyStarsAllisyn SnyderDave DavisMichael PapajohnA vacation to the Ozarks turns upside-down when bull sharks somehow infiltrate Arkansas' freshwater lakes and wreak havoc on a town's big fireworks festival.A shark infested lake becomes the scene of a feeding frenzy when a local festival involving fireworks draws the deadly school closer to shore. This is another SyFy tv movie in the preposterous style of the abysmal SHARKNADO franchise from director Misty ZOMBIE SHARK Talley. Even if the special effects were good, they wouldn't be enough to make this worth watching.
- DirectorGriff FurstStarsRobert AberdeenJayme BohnEliot BrasseauxWhen rednecks on a fishing trip kill a great white shark, its spirit comes back for revenge, and soon turns its sights on the town of Smallport.Griff ARACHNOQUAKE Furst directed this ridiculous tv movie produced for the SyFy network about a mysterious 'pet sematary' at the bottom of the ocean which resurrects the ghostly spirit of a murdered shark in order for it to exact revenge against the rednecks responsible for it's death. Even by the subterranean standard of post SHARKNADO JAWS rip-offs this one's pretty lowly. The special effects are pitiful but an appearance by former NIGHT COURT star Richard Moll may hold your attention. An in-name-only sequel called GHOST SHARK 2: URBAN JAWS found crowd-funded life in 2015.
- DirectorMisty TalleyStarsCassie SteeleJason LondonMiles DoleacSharks attack a fish rodeo on the Mississippi River, and it is up to a group of locals to stop them.Misty SHARK ISLAND Talley directed this typical SyFy bottom-of-the-barrel television film about an infestation of man-eating sharks along the Mississippi river the same day fishermen have gathered for a local competition. The CG attacks are plentiful but like the gore it's poorly rendered & somehow the movie still drags.
- DirectorMisty TalleyStarsReid MillerCourtney Lauren CummingsJim KlockTrying to survive his family Christmas, Cody makes a wish to be alone, which ends up backfiring when a shark manifests and kills his entire family.Misty MISSISSIPPI RIVER SHARKS Talley directed this stupid holiday JAWS rip off about a cartoonist who's man-eating creation springs to life out of his vengeful imagination complete with a festive hat worn atop it's shark fin. Another sub-standard failed attempt at a camp classic from the SyFy network.
- DirectorGriff FurstStarsKristy SwansonD.B. SweeneyJason RogelAn animal smuggling deal goes wrong, resulting in a large shark escaping into the swampy backwoods river.A shark is deliberately introduced into the Louisiana swamps by a crooked police chief and mayhem ensues. The CG effects are unconvincing and the gore is minimal in this Sci Fi network tv movie directed by Griff TRAILER PARK SHARK Furst
- DirectorGriff FurstStarsMichael BairdNicoye BanksChristopher BerryWhen a young woman comes home from college to her family, mutated alligators start attacking her kin and the rivaling family in the bayou. They must overcome their feuds and fight together against the redneck gators.Griff LAKE PLACID 3 Furst directed this lively tv movie about a family of were-gators running amok in the stereotypical deep south. A pleasant cast & unusual concept help sell this minor shot at cult status and makes it a little easier to swallow despite the so-so cg fx. Better known as RAGIN' CAJUN REDNECK GATORS.
- DirectorDavid WinningStarsBruce DernCindy SampsonNicolas WrightA young girl finds out some disturbing supernatural truths about her father, who has been a suspect to multiple murder cases.SWAMP DEVIL is the 13th film in the Maneater series produced by the Sci Fi Channel. Bruce FAMILY PLOT Dern gets top billing as a man falsely accused of murder who looks to his daughter to help prove a swamp devil is responsible for the killings. But the bargain basement CG special effects are the real star of the show and they are bad. Followed by YETI: CURSE OF THE SNOW DEMON
- DirectorGary YatesStarsJames Van Der BeekAlexandra CastilloArne MacPhersonA young scientist arrives to a small fishing town to fight against the creature living under the water.This 7th film in the Canadian ManEater series produced for the Sci-Fi- Channel isn't as bad as others we've seen. The CG special effects depicting a giant squid present to viewers a scary looking monster that gets the job done. It's still not a great movie despite the solidly designed FX. It's on par with junk like TENTACLES, not as good as Peter Benchley's BEAST and light years behind 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. Followed by THE HIVE.
- DirectorSteven R. MonroeStarsNick ChinlundErin KarplukBarry CorbinThey Find a Live Wyvern in small town Alaska.This 15th entry in the ManEater tv movie franchise was produced in Canada for the sci-fi network. Global warming causes a glacier to crumble releasing an ancient dragon on an unprepared Alaskan town. The CG animations depicting the WYVERN aren't as bad as they could have been judging from other entries in the series and Steven I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 2 Monroe keeps the pace brisk. Average. Followed by SEA BEAST
- DirectorPaul ZillerStarsCorin NemecMiriam McDonaldDaniel WislerMythic creatures emerge from the sea to feast on the residents of a fishing village.This 16th tv movie in the Canadian Maneater series for the sci-fi channel is every bit as cheap and cheesy as the Roger Corman B-movies made 50 years ago. CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA comes immediately to mind. It's even got lowly special effects to complte the picture. A coastal community is terrorized by a troglodyte who rises from the sea to lay her deadly eggs. Did I mention troglodytes are invisible? Followed by JERSEY DEVIL (aka CARNY)
- DirectorJames A. ContnerStarsDaryl HannahJohn SchneiderArmand AssanteA fisherman and his family fight to take down a greedy real estate developer who has released toxins into the ocean, turning the area's sharks into bloodthirsty hunters.SHARK SWARM was the 11th film in the long running Maneater series made in Canada for the American SyFy network. John 10,000 DAYS Schneider and Darryl MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN Hannah star as a couple who discovers a land developer has poisoned the water around their town causing the sharks to become blood-thirstier than usual and quite cunning. The supporting cast which includes John Enos III F. Murray Abraham and Armand Assante helps make those cheesy special effects a bit easier to take. Followed by VIPERS
- DirectorRobert YoungStarsF. Murray AbrahamMatt RyanAmy MansonA renowned but mad professor leads a small group of American students into the jungles of Africa to investigate a remote tribe of killer chimpanzees rumored to be the missing link.Robert VAMPIRE CIRCUS Young directed this 1st film in Sci Fi Channels long-running ManEater series starring Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham on the trail of an evolutionary missing link. Unfortunately, Abraham's character is an obsessive nut leading students to their death because the apes kill on sight. It's bad. Ocassionally it's good but mostly bad. The special fx also suck, particularly the final cg reveal of the apes at the very end. Followed by GRIZZLY RAGE
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsMichael VartanRadha MitchellSam WorthingtonAn American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile while trapped on a rapidly flooding mud island.Australian film maker Greg McLean carved a little horror niche for himself with WOLF CREEK and continued on in that vein with this tale of tourists who become gator bait for a 7 meter long monstrosity. ROGUE is a scary monster but he's little seen till near the end. If you can make it that far you won't hate it.
- DirectorGary YatesStarsGary BuseyIan D. ClarkTy WoodA tiger is loose on a small town and only a young boy, a sheriff and the hunter to destroy the beast.Gary SILVER BULLET Busey stars in this canadian tv movie; the 3rd in the Maneater series produced for the sci fi channel. Busey plays the sheriff of a small town trying to catch a tiger in the woods. Busey's gives an informal performance that's nuanced with humor and charm. Ty THE HAUNTING IN CONNETICUIT Woods is also quite natural and relaxed as the boy who has developed a relationship with the tiger. The bengal tiger used in MANEATER was real not cg. What little push the film recieved from having an authentic tiger was negated by the director being unable to film it doing anything scary in those few moments it's onscreen. I liked this more than most. It's slow as molasses but absorbing. Followed by SOMETHING BENEATH
- DirectorTerry WinsorStarsLance HenriksenEmma CatherwoodLisa LivingstoneIn India, the backpacker American friends Gina, John, Stacy, Geraldine and Phil hike in the woods with their guide Brian. When Geraldine is bitten by a poisonous spider, the group decides to seek an American doctor that lives in the jungle in a tribe. Dr. Lecorpus treats the girl and while Gina, John and Phil return to the village in the civilization, Brian and Stacy stay with the native. They decide to visit a temple in the forest while waiting for the recovering of Stacey; however, they find a dark secret about Dr. Lecorpus.Lance THE VISITOR Henriksen starred in this odd and unsatisfying 2nd film in the Maneater franchise for the SyFy network. Henriksen plays an organ smuggler living in a remote African village where spiders are worshipped as gods. In addition to the organ smuggler, he's got a deformed murderous brother who wears a spider web cowl. Apparently, spider venom helps keep the newly harvested livers and hearts fresh. The special effects are especially bad. Followed by MANEATER
- DirectorDavid WinningStarsSebastien RobertsSarah AllenJayne HeitmeyerThe widow, Deputy Sheriff Jane Kozik, moves from Manhattan to Black Stone, New York, with her daughter Kelsey Kozik. There she expects to find a safe place to live. The day after moving, a homeless man is found dead in the tool shed of Jane's blind friend Beverly Rowe. Devin Hall and the entomologist Katherine Randell are summoned to help with the investigation. Devin is Jane's brother-in-law and former boyfriend, and Jane still has a crush on him. Meanwhile, Kelsey befriends the scientist Eli Giles, who has developed genetically modified wasps for the Army as a weapon, and now he is trying to revert the process. When the wasps attack Black Stone, Jane, Devin, and Eli team-up to attempt to destroy the swarm.A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREETs Robert England plays a grungy old scientist developing super wasps for the army. When his experimental bugs escape they immediately begin transforming people into slaves by laying eggs in their brains. This 9th film in Canadas Maneater series (which aired on the Sci Fi network) is one of the least interesting. It's deadly dull and poorly written. Followed by HYBRID
- DirectorRobert F. HillStarsBela LugosiBruce BennettJoan BarclayFeature version of the 1936 serial "Shadow of Chinatown."Robert FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS Hill directed this black and white crime drama as a serial for the poverty row studio Victory Pictures. It starred Bela PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE Lugosi as the mastermind of a criminal syndicate infiltrating Chinatown to undermine business. This version of SHADOW OF CHINATOWN was released as a feature length movie and lacks much of the excitement and charm of the cliffhanger format.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsForrest TuckerCarol HughesEvelyn BrentA test pilot and his weather observer develop a "robot" control so airplanes can be flown without pilots, but enemy agents get wind of it and try to steal it or destroy it.William JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER Beaudine directed this dull, unfunny comedy about a GI pilot looking for love. Filmed in Black and white.
- DirectorClark L. PaylowStarsGeorge E. MatherAustin GreenEsther FurstA group of medical students undertake some silly and frightening endeavors in order to pledge a fraternity.This dreadful B&W DOG from 1962 features some unusually mature college students drawn into a hazing involving the theft of a ring from the corpse lying in a nearby crypt. Will the corpse come to life? Will the actor in his 30s playing a student die from the fright of grave-robbery. It's a turgid, horrible bore.
- DirectorHarald ReinlStarsGert FröbeLex BarkerDaliah LaviEvil mastermind Dr. Mabuse is using brainwashed prison inmates to commit crimes but the German police aided by an FBI agent is on his trail.This B&W German crime drama is a sequel to Fritz Lang's THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE from director Harold Reini. An inspector is called in to solve the murder of an informant working for Interpol & the FBI. Wolfgang Priess would star as the diabolical Mabuse in a handful of cultish films released in the 60s
- DirectorOtto BrowerB. Reeves EasonStarsGene AutryFrankie DarroBetsy King RossRe-edited feature version of serial The Phantom Empire (1935). Singer Gene Autry discovers a race of advanced humans living beneath the earth.Iconic western B movie star Gene Autry starred in the cult classic sci fi serial THE PHANTOM EMPIRE which was re-edited into a feature 5 years after it's release. Autry plays a singing cowboy on the Radio Ranch who discovers a fantastic civilization hidden underground. A lot of it's cliff-hanger charm is lost in this truncated format. B&W
- DirectorTerry MarcelStarsRichard HatchKay LenzJohn SaxonThree people are transported into a parallel reality, where they find they must use modern technology, but medieval weapons, in order to save the citizenry from a murderous warlord.Richard BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Hatch starred in this low budget South African film about a couple who are hurled into an alternate reality following a scientific experiment on matter transmission. There, the two must survive warrior tribes and John BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS Saxon who co-stars as the villainous overlord; Kreel. Feels like a television movie. The action is weak & the special effects entirely fail to impress.
- DirectorWilliam GibsonStarsWilliam SmithPeter BrownAhna CapriWildlife photographer Terry and her brother Art go to Venezuela for a photo shoot. They hire Jim Pendrake to guide them through the jungle. However, the trio run afoul of evil local hunter Caribe.A trio of americans hire a mentally unstable guide to lead them into the dangerous jungles of Brazil. Utterly and completely boring 'thriller' that never once catches fire. Loaded with stock footage & mercilessly padded with scenes of the characters biking or hiking.
- DirectorWilliam MarshallStarsDean FredericksColeen GrayAnthony DexterAfter an invisible asteroid draws an astronaut and his ship to its surface, he is miniaturized by the phantom planet's exotic atmosphere.American International Pictures released THE PHANTOM PLANET as a double feature with ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE. After an accident in space, an earth astronaut is tractor beamed to an asteroid and shrunk. From there it becomes a turgid space opera with battling aliens. Future James Bond star Richard 'Jaws' Kiel makes his film debut as a solarite. Most of the special effects were lifted from the 1950s CBS show MAN INTO SPACE. Filmed in B&W
- DirectorFord BeebeSaul A. GoodkindStarsBela LugosiRobert KentDorothy ArnoldA military intelligence officer and a pretty reporter try to find a scientist whose inventions can destroy the world.Bela GLEN OR GLENDA Lugosi & Edward DRACULA'S DAUGHTER Van Sloan starred in this wonderful black and white movie serial from Universal and director Ford BUCK ROGERS Beebe and Saul Goodkind. Lugosi plays a mad scientist named Dr Zorka who plans to dominate the world with his diabolical inventions including a 7 foot tall indestructible robot. THE PHANTOM CREEPS works as well as it does because it takes full advantage of it's B-movie roots and isn't afraid to throw in a bit of the score from THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN or some pivotal bit of footage from THE INVISIBLE RAY to make a scene work. This 12 part adventured was also shown as an edited feature length film for tv syndication.
- DirectorTonino RicciStarsDavid WarbeckJanet AgrenRoberto RicciA scientist's experiment with a deadly bacteria goes awry and leaves him horribly deformed. The monstrous man then runs amok in his town.PANIC reminded me a lot of THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN thematically and in execution. And like that 1977 drive-in release, it's a decidedly hit and miss affair. After chemical gasses in a military lab are released, a scientist who's been exposed transforms into a slimy brute with a taste for human blood. The FX are just good enough to sell the concept. Sometimes marketed as an unauthorized sequel to ZOMBIE 2
- DirectorPhillip MarshakTom McGowanGregg G. TallasStarsCameron MitchellMarc LawrenceFaith CliftMitchell, a police detective investigating the death of a victim of a German concentration camp, discovers a nightclubbing playboy who has strange powers over women and is seemingly ageless.Cameron KNIVES OF THE AVENGER Mitchell stars as a cop investigating a series of murders which appear to center on a powerful stranger. Is he the rebirth of the Anti-Christ? Is he a clone of Adolf Hitler? This rip off of THE OMEN is more murky than polished so it never succeeds as well as it should. I found much of it to be intriguing but the execution is lacking. Blame the director. THE NIGHTMARE NEVER ENDS was used to cobble together 1/3 of the anthology NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR in 1985
- DirectorJames A. SullivanStarsJohn AgarCarol GilleyRalph Baker Jr.A government space experiment into the effects of cosmic rays on animal life goes horribly wrong, creating a mutant monster that terrorizes a rural community.Dreadful grade Z cheapie about a killer whatzit that escapes from a NASA laboratory into the swamplands of Texas. Inexplicably re-released in the 1980s as ETN: THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL NASTY.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsBrigitte HelmJohn StuartTela TchaïTwo French Foreign Legionnaires are lost amid the shifting sands of the Sahara Desert when they stumble across the entrance to an underground world. Searching this new found subterranean passage, our heroes are surprised to find the lost city of Atlantis. Ruling over this fantastic underworld realm, an evil queen sets her sights upon these strangers to her kingdom.THE MISTRESS OF ATLANTIS is a German fantasy film and a remake of the 1921 silent film; L'ATLANTIDE both of which were based on the novel by Pierre Benoit. Brigitte METROPOLIS Helm starred as the evil queen of Atlantis who threatens the lives of adventurers who stumble on her lost empire beneath the Sahara desert. It's a gorgeous production filled with elaborate sets and artistry that probably deserves a wider audience than it currently enjoys. Filmed in B&W
- DirectorRon OrmondHerbert TevosStarsJackie CooganAllan NixonRichard TravisA mad scientist named Arana is creating giant spiders and dwarfs in his lab on Zarpa Mesa in Mexico. He wants to create a master race of superwomen by injecting his female subjects with spider venom.Orville Hampton (an Oscar Nominee, no less!) wrote the dreadful screenplay for this legendary DOG for director Ron THE MONSTER AND THE STRIPPER Ormond. This black and white mad scientist travesty is set in the Mexican desert where women and tarantulas are mutated into man-eaters and it just so happens a bunch of tasty men have recently crash landed nearby. On par with the best of the worst of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
- DirectorGeorge P. BreakstonKenneth G. CraneStarsPeter DyneleyJane HyltonTetsu NakamuraAn American journalist stationed in Japan is given a mysterious injection by a mad scientist, turning him into a murderous, two-headed monster.THE MANSTER is probably best known for the homage it recieved during Sam Raimi's ARMY OF DARKNESS when Ash divides like an amoeba. This Japanese/american co-production about an insane scientist conducting monstrous experiments on human guinea pigs never achieved the cult classic status it deserves because it's neither good enough or bad enough to stand out. I'm fond of THE MANSTER and if you're into retro genre B Movies you'll like it too. Filmed in B&W
- DirectorGuido BrignoneStarsBartolomeo PaganoUmberto GuarracinoMario SaioThe devil takes Maciste down to hell in an attempt to corrupt and ruin his morality.This Italian silent era classic stars burly Bartolomeo Pagano as Maciste. Pagano played the character in blackface over the course of two dozen films. Umberto Guarracino co-stars as the Devil who lures the heroic body-builder into Hell to tempt him away from his virtuous life. The special effect sequences are deliriously inventive for the era & quite enjoyable almost a century later. The underworld itself is wonderfully realized in glorious B&W.
- DirectorKenneth HartfordDavid L. HewittStarsRobert VaughnMerrie Lynn RossKeenan WynnAn intelligence agent discovers a Nazi plot to revive the Third Reich by using clones.THE LUCIFER COMPLEX is a recently discovered DOG I recommend highly to cinematic masochists. It appears to be a television movie starring Robert BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS Vaughn as a secret agent sent into a secret Nazi bunker where an attempt is being made to clone Hitler! As if that wasn't bad enough (and trust me; it's plenty bad) additional material was shot suggesting a post apocalyptic world came about because of the rebirth of the German dictator. It's obscure and terrible and maybe even deserving of recognition as one of the worst movies ever made.
- DirectorHarry O. HoytStarsWallace BeeryBessie LoveLloyd HughesThe first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.THE LOST WORLD was a masterpiece of stop-motion animation from Willis THE VALLEY OF THE GWANGI O'Brien who would go on to be revered as a master of his craft for KING KONG in 1933. The story is based on a novel by Sir Conan Arthur Doyle and concerns a team of explorers who discover a plateau in Venezuela occupied by a host of prehistoric monsters. This is unquestionably the best known film by director Harry Hoyt but it's those spectacular special effects the people paid to see. This B&W silent era production has been recognised as being culturally, historically and aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress. THE LOST WORLD is one of the most influential films of the era and is available for all to enjoy in the public domain.
- DirectorHarry RevierStarsWilliam 'Stage' BoydKane RichmondClaudia DellAn evil scientist plots to take over the world from his base in Africa, where he has invented a machine that can cause earthquakes.Harry CHILD BRIDE OF THE OZARKS Revier directed this 1935 serial told in 12 B&W chapters. William Boyd (who died after this films release) starred as the evil scientist Zolok who is a survivor of Lemuria intent on reigning destruction upon Africa and the world with his electrical weapons. THE LOST CITY was produced independently of the studios so lacks both star-power and production value. Like many series, it was re-edited for theatrical release and syndicated television.
- DirectorDavid HowardArmand SchaeferStarsClyde BeattyCecilia ParkerSyd SaylorFeature version of the 1934 Mascot serial "The Lost Jungle".This theatrical length film was edited down from a 12 chapter B&W serial from poverty row studio Mascot who mostly made B-movie westerns. The film starred real-life lion tamer Clyde Beatty and was a sequel to his earlier cliffhanger serial DARKEST AFRICA from Armond Schaffer who also produced THE PHANTOM EMPIRE. Beatty plays a circus star oblivious to the deadly intentions of a rival performer and the affections felt towards him by a marriage minded acquaintance. Soon, all are swept up in an African safari adventure. This one was very poorly reconstructed and left damaged when it was pruned down for syndication.
- DirectorBJ DavisStarsBrandon LeeDebi A. MonahanErnest BorgnineAction superstar Brandon Lee portrays rebellious government agent Michael Gold who is sent on a desperate mission to a Soviet-controlled African nation in order to uncover a top-secret laser weapons operation and destroy it.Brandon THE CROW Lee stars in this forgettable action pic about a secret agent tasked with protecting the life of a scientist developing laser technology. The film fell instantly into public domain and has been a staple of cheap distributers ever since.
- DirectorW. Lee WilderStarsPeter GravesJames SeaySteve PendletonAn atomic scientist claims he was abducted by aliens after being injured in a plane crash.Billy Wilder was one of the greatest film-makers during the golden age of Hollywood, producing masterworks such as NINOTCHKA, DOUBLE INDEMNITY & SUNSET BOULEVARD. His not so talented older brother Lee subjected the world to DOGS like THE SNOW CREATURE and this likely candidate for the worst movie ever made. Leslie Neilson's less talented brother Peter PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR Graves stars as a pilot who becomes snaired in the plot of alien invaders with Ping-Pong ball eyes determined to conquer our world with giant mutant bugs. This Grade Z DOG really has to be seen to be disbelieved. Enter at your own risk. B&W
- DirectorJerry WarrenStarsJohn CarradineRobert ClarkePhyllis CoatesWhen the cable breaks on their diving bell four people find themselves trapped in a hidden underwater world.Jerry FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND Warren directed this deadly dull sci fi pic about a group who become stranded in an underwater cave beneath an active volcano. There's a sub plot about a murderous old letch of a sailor who was stranded inside the cavern a decade before but I assure you he never petrified the world either. THE INCREDIBLE PETRIFIED WORLD sat on the shelf for 3 years until it finally made it's B-movie debut alongside Warren's TEENAGE ZOMBIE in 1960. Filmed in B&W.
- DirectorPeter FondaStarsKelly BohanonKevin HearstCaroline HildebrandDuring a time of waning global resources, a crew of young researchers travel into the future to escape an apocalypse before the shutdown of their time-transfer project. They find that some type of disaster has de-populated the Idaho region and, by implication, the nation or perhaps the world. Facing an unknown, barren future of abandoned towns and deserted vehicles, void of radio signals or any signs of air or land traffic, they encounter an abandoned freight train filled with bagged bodies. Their further discoveries of humanity's future fate is less than rosy. They also learn their time travel was not without significant costs to their own health. After one of the group travels further into the future, she encounters a family in a futuristic automobile, which implies that humankind has recovered from the disaster. Or have they?This low key indie science fiction movie told of humans traveling to their past following an ecological disaster. None of it's satisfying and mostly it's known for having been directed by peter EASY RIDER Fonda
- DirectorRay AustinStarsMark BurnsShirley Anne FieldDavid OxleyOn a South African plantation, a maniac is on the loose, first killing the estate's animals, then starting on the human members.This is a rather obscure South African horror film which seems to have fallen into public domain. An insane young man experiments with the containment of the human soul after death while people begin to turn up dead and voodoo rituals can be heard at night. A mail order bride arrives to solve the mystery of the soul-less undead before she becomes another victim. Below average gothic horror on the cheap.
- DirectorDon DohlerStarsRichard RuxtonFaye TillesGeorge StoverAn alien is hunted by a gang of drunken hillbillies who saw him crash-land his spaceship.Don Dohler is a minor cult icon in the world of independent horror film making not unlike Bill Rebane. He's known best for THE ALIEN FACTOR, NIGHTBEAST and this terrible late night offering about a man-in-a-rubber-suit alien on the run from redneck goons after his UFO crashes in the boonies. Heavy-handed and lacking polish.
- DirectorJosé María ZabalzaStarsPaul NaschyPerla CristalMiguel de la RivaA man has had a werewolf curse cast upon him. If he doesn't get rid of it, he turns into a killer werewolf when the moon is full.Popular Spanish B movie star Paul Naschy played the werewolf Waldemar Daninski in a long-running series of which this is the 4rth. After murdering his adulterous wife, a body builder is bitten my an abominable snowman but instead of dying, he's transformed into a werewolf & placed under the hypnotic control of a sadistic female scientist. Lowly eurotrash exploitation pic.
- DirectorBernard KnowlesStarsMark StevensMarianne KochWolfgang LukschyA scientist experimenting with suspended animation decides to use himself as a test subject. Before he is frozen, his wife is killed, and he is suspected of her murder.Bernard SPACEFLIGHT IC-1: AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE Knowles directed this turgid German science fiction picture filmed in B&W. A scientist researching suspended animation is frozen at the time his wife is murdered and must find her killer after he is thawed. This feels much older than it is.
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsYôko TaniOldrich LukesIgnacy MachowskiWhen an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.THE FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS is a slightly trimmed and dubbed Crown International release of a German/Polish film they had acquired for distribution. The original print ran about 14 minutes longer and was entitled; THE SILENT STAR. Scientists find a mysterious spool in the devastated Tunguska region they believe originated from a flying saucer from Venus. A manned expedition sets off to our sister world where it's discovered the inhabitants are dead because of atomic warfare and that their most powerful weapon is not only still active but is programmed to destroy Earth! I rather liked this not-quite-classic adventure. The special effects are inventive, occasionally beautiful and sometimes even convincing. The movie was based on a Polish novel called THE ASTRONAUTS by Stanislaw Lem who despised THE SILENT STAR although it wouldn't take too many twists of my arm to get me to watch again. I liked it. Footage of THE FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS was used in GALAXINA
- DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsWinston RekertKaren BlackJohn NovakA director of TV commercials learns about astral projection. He has out of body experiences during his sleep and his dad in law and doctor die mysteriously.Canada's answer to Michael Landon; Winston Rekert stars in this mediocre horror pic about astral projection from director George MY BLOODY VALENTINE Mihalka. Karen BURNT OFFERINGS Black plays a woman who knows more about the astral attacks occurring than she lets on. Inexplicably nominated for 2 Genie Awards including Best Actor.
- DirectorJohn HayesStarsChristopher LeeSue LyonKirk ScottAfter witnessing a man's death in a bizarre accident, Father Pergado goes on a spiritual retreat, where he encounters his alien double bent on world conquest.Following the collapse of Hammer, legendary English actor Christopher DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE Lee made the trip across the atlantic to make lousy American movies like THE END OF THE WORLD. Charles Band produced this cheesy garbage about an alien race sent to earth in order to destroy our planet. the human race has been determined to be a plague-like threat and must be eliminated before the universe is infected. Lots of 1960s disaster movie special effects stock footage gets trotted out depicting the destruction of earth but none of it's convincing.
- DirectorArch Hall Sr.StarsArch Hall Jr.Marilyn ManningRichard KielTeenagers stumble across a prehistoric caveman, who goes on a rampage.Nicholas Merriwether (AKA: Arch Hall, Sr.) tried in vain to make his son (Jr.) a star with a series of atrocious B movies and EEGAH! was their most infamous collaboration. You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger DOG. Arch Hall Jr. stars as a singing beach bum whose girlfriend is kidnapped by a giant caveman (James Bond actor Richard 'Jaws' Kiel in an early role). After the woman is rescued, Eegah goes on a wild rampage overturning lawn furniture and waving around his large bone in a hilariously threatening manner. Infamous director Ray Dennis Steckler (THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES) served as camera man. Easily one of the very worst films ever made.
- DirectorHarry HopeLee SholemHerbert J. LederStarsBobby VanRuta LeeMala PowersSpies discover that the Red Chinese have built a "doomsday machine" capable of destroying the surface of the Earth, and that they plan to use it within a matter of days.This DOG began filming in 1967 under the title ARMAGEDDON 1975 but was shelved mid-production when financing collapsed. Several years later when the rights to the existing footage was sold the film was completed using an entirely different cast & crew. Following the annihilation of planet earth, the last survivors voyage to Venus in the hope of establishing a human colony. Painful to watch.
- DirectorJud TaylorStarsGlenn FordBradford DillmanDavid SoulDuring a radar test mission, Flight 412 witnesses the disappearance of 2 fighter-jets scrambled to intercept a UFO but the Air Force is determined to cover-up the incident.Glenn HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME Ford plays a colonel who becomes entangled in the mystery of what happened to a crew of fighter pilots who engaged a trio of U.F.O.s over his military base. The well cast NBC television film tries hard to set the mood with newsreel stock footage of flying saucers but it's hardly good science fiction. Done in the style of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN to give it an authentic feel only nothing about THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FLIGHT 412 feels authentic.
- DirectorDavid BlythStarsMichael HurstMargaret UmbersNorelle ScottA kid is hypnotized by a scientist to kill his parents and ends in a mental institution. As a grown up he returns to seek revenge over the scientist.Michael HERCULES THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS Hurst plays an insane murderer who travels to an island in order to kill the scientist who fed him mind altering chemicals. Hurst is an ok actor but the movie is nihilistic, cheap and not much to look at or think about. Filmed in New Zealand
- DirectorPaul L. SteinStarsRobert BeattyMervyn JohnsNova PilbeamAn escaped World War 2 Nazi doctor impersonates a murdered English doctor so he can work on a vaccination to protect Germans in their planned germ warfare.Mervyn Johns plays a Nazi scientist who escapes Germany after the war and murders his way into a university as a researcher secretly planning the downfall of England using a bio-weapon he's been developing. COUNTERBLAST was released to television audience at the same time a sneakily titled version DEVIL'S PLOT hit theaters to swindle audiences into buying the sour milk they could have had for free. It's a turgid film. Not a lot of action or drama and overlong. Filmed in B&W
- DirectorVittorio SalaStarsDorian GrayRod TaylorGianna Maria CanaleTwo musclemen come up against a tribe of Amazon women.Future star Rod THE BIRDS Taylor stars in this campy Italian sword & sandal pic from director Vittorio Sala. Taylor plays a pirate who abducts a gladiator played by Ed THE WILD WOMEN OF WONGO Fury in order to assist him in plundering an island filled with beautiful Amazon women. The production values for this one are higher than you'd expect as is the acting but the script is riddled with unintentional laughs.
- DirectorJoy N. Houck Jr.StarsJames BestBarbara BurgessGil PetersonSeveral people volunteer for a scientific experiment about mind-reading and memory, but the experiment goes horribly wrong.Deadly dull and terminally confused melodrama about scientific experiment in mind control and their boring side effects observed in test subjects. Sleep inducing.
- DirectorEddie RomeroStarsJohn AshleyMary Charlotte WilcoxLeopoldo SalcedoSatan saves a man from death on condition he become his disciple (and, as it turns out, a hairy murderous beast).Eddie THE MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND Romero directed this indie horror pic in the Philippines for distributer Roger Corman. John BRIDES OF BLOOD Ashley stars as a murderer who's pact with Satan requires him to become a were-thingy come nightfall. Ashley would go on to produce APOCALYPSE NOW
- DirectorJoseph V. MascelliJack PollexfenStarsMarjorie EatonFrank GerstleFrank FowlerA rich but unscrupulous old woman plots with a scientist to have her brain implanted in the skull of a sexy young woman.This notorious DOG was better known to tv audiences as THE ATOMIC BRAIN. An evil woman uses her wealth to hire a brilliant scientist to transplant her brain into the body of her unsuspecting maid. A cheesy pile of homogenous mad doctor clichés. B&W.
- DirectorJohn FloreaGene Fowler Jr.Arthur C. PierceStarsRobert FoxworthStefanie PowersSue LyonA convicted strangler, studying the paranormal in his jail cell, learns to make himself invisible. As an invisible man, he escapes from prison to stalk and strangle the five women who testified against him at his trial. Robert Foxworth plays the police lieutenant assigned to protect them, and to catch the invisible strangler.Gene I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE Fowler & John Florea co-directed this bland horror pic about a murderer who experiments with astral projection permit him the ability to become invisible which will allow him to kill the women who testified against him at trial. Robert FALCON CREST Foxworth starred in THE ASTRAL FACTOR which was alternately issued as INVISIBLE STRANGLER
- DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsRik Van NutterGabriella FarinonDavid MontresorIn the 22nd Century, Ray Peterson, reporter for the Interplanetary News, is assigned to write a story aboard a space station.Antonio Margheti (YOR: THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE, MR. HERCULES AGAINST KARATE, KILLER FISH etc) made his directorial debut with this unlikely but occasionally entertaining Italian science fiction pic sometimes known as SPACE MEN. A crew of astronauts attempt to save the Earth from incineration when a malfunctioning spaceship returning to the solar system directs it's photon jets towards the planet. The special effects are adequate (relatively speaking) for the time it was made. Fans of retro space operas will find something to love. Others beware.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsMarguerite ChapmanDouglas KennedyJames GriffithA crazed scientist invents an invisibility formula. He plans to use the formula to create an army of invisible zombies.THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN was shot concurrently with director Edward G. Ulmer's BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER over a 2 week period. James MA & PA KETTLE AT THE FAIR Griffith attempts to conquer the world with an army of invisible soldiers starting with an invisible safecracker whom he pays to steal dangerous radioactive material from a US military base. This B&W DOG found another 15 minutes of fame being lampooned on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000. Easily one of the worst films I've seen.
- DirectorBurt KennedyStarsStacy KeachSamantha EggarJohn SavageA man traveling through a backwoods area is held hostage by a group of orphans who want him to become their father. Unfortunately, the kids have a habit of killing adults who refuse that particular honor.ALL THE KIND STRANGERS is a fondly remembered ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK that reminds me a lot of CHILDREN OF THE CORN. When a large group of children become 'orphaned' they seek out new suitable parents in the form of unwary travelers Stacy THE NINTH CONFIGURATION Keach & Samantha THE BROOD Eggar. Burt DIRTY DINGUS MAGEE Kennedy directed this effective thriller which also starred Robby ODE TO BILLY JOE Benson.
- DirectorSharron MillerStarsJohn EricsonIvor FrancisJudith Novgrod"The House of the Dead" is a 1978 horror anthology movie with "The Mortician" introducing each scary tale.Prolific character actor Ivor Francis (ROOM 222, QUINCY: ME, DUSTY'S TRAIL, etc) is quite convincing as a sinister mortician who tells 4 stories to a visitor to his establishment explaining how each coffin on display came to be occupied. This low end horror anthology may be better known as HOUSE OF THE DEAD. but it's still pretty obscure. In terms of quality or content it's miles behind something like TRILOGY OF TERROR.
- DirectorPeter MarisStarsCharles NapierHoke HowellDavid HombFive miles below the surface of planet Earth, a new fear is born.Dull as dishwater tv movie about an alien invasion (use your imagination because the special effects budget simply can't make it happen) and a group of humans who take refuge in a cave. The end credits promised viewers ALIEN SPECIES 2: THE INVASION but no one ever made good on the threat.
- DirectorLuigi CozziStarsIan McCullochLouise MarleauMarino MaséA former astronaut helps a government agent and a police detective track the source of mysterious alien pod spores, filled with lethal flesh-dissolving acid, to a South American coffee plantation controlled by alien pod clones.An alien Cyclops from Mars begins laying exploding eggs on a plantation in Brazil where brainwashed human slaves ship them out in coffee bean cans. It's somehow supposed to result in alien conquest. Anyway, the feds are on it and an astronaut who was accused of being a nut for talking about Cyclops monsters on mars is suddenly being taken seriously. You can't take any of this low budget ALIEN rip off seriously. As sloppy as it is, it's still one of director Luigi THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULES Cozzi's better films
- DirectorJames WongStarsDevon SawaAli LarterKerr SmithAfter getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.Devan THE EXORCISM OF MOLLY HARTLEY Sawa plays a student travelling to France who experiences a terrifying vision which reveals flight 180 is doomed & everyone on board is destined to die. During the commotion which follows, he and a handful of others from his class are expelled from the plane which does go down in flames shortly after takeoff. The wonderful Tony CANDYMAN: FARWELL TO THE FLESH Todd plays a sinister mortician named Bludworth who reveals to the survivors that by having cheated death their lives are in danger as the fates circle back to make things right. The excellent director James THE X FILES Wong & his frequent collaborator writer Glen MILLENNIUM Morgan scored a major horror hit with FINAL DESTINATION which spawned a successful franchise. This is a real nail-biter with a wicked sense of humor.
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsA.J. CookAli LarterTony ToddDeath is stalking Kimberly Corman and multiple survivors of a deadly highway accident.Davis SNAKES ON A PLANE Ellis directed this mildly unsatisfying sequel to the smash horror hit FINAL DESTINATION. How this film resolves itself evolves from a 'trick ending' that adds a layer of confusion instead of being clever (which it wasn't). Beyond that quibble, it's still a rather decent 2nd installment. Survivors of an interstate highway pile up are dying in horrific accidents as Death circles back to claim his intended victims. Not quite as effective as the original but worth a look.
- DirectorJames WongStarsMary Elizabeth WinsteadRyan MerrimanKris LemcheWendy Christensen and a group of teens who escaped a fatal roller-coaster crash face a bloody date with Death.Glen Morgan & James Wong who forged a name for themselves on television series like THE X-FILES and MILLENNIUM wrote/directed this awesome sequel to FINAL DESTINATION. The movie opens with a spectacular roller coaster disaster foretold in a premonition which comes to horrific life. The survivors are pursued by the spirit of death who is enraged at their having escaped from him once before ensuring the 'kills' that are coming are wonderfully disgusting and over-the-top! Tony Todd lends his welcome voice as the carnival barker who invites thrill seekers onboard the doomed roller coaster. Arguably as good as the original. Followed by THE FINAL DESTINATION.
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsNick ZanoKrista AllenAndrew FiscellaA horrifying premonition saves a young man and his friends from death during a racetrack accident but terrible fates await them nonetheless.David HOMEWARD BOUND II: LOST IN SAN FRANSISCO Ellis directed this smash hit 4th film in the franchise specially designed to play in 3D. Surprisingly, this was the most successful FINAL DESTINATION film despite lackluster reviews. The film opens with a premonition of disaster unfolding at a Nascar racetrack where those 3D effects are used to horrific effect as bodies are squished, squashed, sliced and diced. After the carnage, the survivors who managed to evade death are subsequently done in by the merciless spirit of death. THE FINAL DESTINATION 3D concludes with another disaster scenario playing out at an exploding mall. It's a packed film but despite the action and gore it's not as much fun as the earlier films. Followed by FINAL DESTINATION 5
- DirectorSteven QualeStarsNicholas D'AgostoEmma BellArlen EscarpetaDeath returns to claim the lucky survivors of a deadly bridge collapse in this fifth frightening installment in the series.Steven Quale who is probably best known for co-directing the documentary ALIENS FROM THE DEEP with James TITANIC Cameron helmed this above average horror prequel to James Wong's smash hit FINAL DESTINATION. Like the earlier entries in the series, the movie opens with a premonition of pending disaster which allows a handful of characters to escape death's design. Part 5 introduces a new element to the franchise whereby the survivors may extend their lives by killing one another. It's an ugly and unnecessary twist that never quite works as a plot device although the spectacular 3D special effects and gruesome gore deliver the goods.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.Sharon GLORIA Stone gives a bravura performance as the psychotic, sexually predatory novelist Catherine Tramell looking to bag a detective played by Michael Douglas in this Paul Verhoeven pot-boiler. Joe SHOWGIRLS Eszterhas wrote the hyperventilating, bawdy screenplay which doesn't hold up under scrutiny but you'll be far too entertained by all the sexual perversion and violence to notice. Followed by the 2006 flop BASIC INSTINCT 2
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsSharon StoneDavid MorrisseyDavid ThewlisNovelist Catherine Tramell is once again in trouble with the law, and Scotland Yard appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her. Though, like Detective Nick Curran before him, Glass is entranced by Tramell and lured into a seductive game.Men are turning up naked & garrotted in their beds about the same time Catherine Tramell begins seeing a therapist David Morrissey at the request of Scotland Yard who suspect she may be a murderer. Soon, the psychiatrist's life has been turned upside down by the deadly seductress and her mechanisms. Michael Caton Jones seems an odd choice to direct this high profile pic. There's nothing especially stylish or memorable about how he handles the material. Sharon Stone is excellent as Tramell and at the time she received a lot of criticism because she was nearly 50 when BASIC INSTINCT 2 was made and many felt there was something grotesque about her highly sexual performance given her age. She was fine! The director, screenplay and supporting cast simply wasn't up to par. The movie was a box office bomb that swept the Razzies.
- CreatorJay Presson AllenStarsSada ThompsonJames BroderickGary FrankThe joys and heartaches of the Lawrence family of Pasadena, California.Hit-maker Aaron DYNASTY Spelling produced this popular ABC series which ran between 1976-1980 in association with Mike WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFF? Nichols. FAMILY starred Emmy winner Sada Thompson & James Broderick as the upwardly middle class parents (Kate & Doug Lawrence) of Meredith Baxter Birney, Gary Frank & Kristy McNichol (Nancy, Willie & Buddy) During the 4rth season Quinn Cummings joined the cast as adopted daughter Annie Cooper. Frank & McNichol would win Emmys for their roles while the series was nominated for Outstanding Drama for 3 of it's five seasons on the air. FAMILY attracted some of the top writers, directors & guest stars during it's critically acclaimed run and set the standard for excellence in television drama at the time of it's production.
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsTimothy BottomsLindsay WagnerJohn HousemanA first-year law student at Harvard Law School struggles with balancing his coursework and a woman, unaware that she has a connection that affects their relationship.James THE CHINA SYNDROME Bridges adapted John Jay Osborne's novel about a 1st year law student (Timothy THE LAST PICTURE SHOW Bottoms) who must fight to survive the rigors of law school & the stigma of having been 'shrouded' by an iron-fisted but brilliant professor named Kingsfield (John GHOST STORY Houseman in his Oscar winning, star-making, signature role). Complicating matters; Kingsfield's free-spirited daughter (Lindsay THE BIONIC WOMAN Wagner) has decided to engage the law student in a tempestuous love affair! This classic drama made a solid impression with audiences & critics alike & was remade as a weekly series by CBS.
- CreatorJames BridgesStarsJohn HousemanJames StephensTom FitzsimmonsThe trials of a group of law students under the tutelage of a strict professor.The Oscar winning film THE PAPER CHASE (based on the best-seller by John Jay Osborne) was adapted as a weekly series by CBS but despite almost universal critical acclaim low ratings forced it's cancellation. Showtime revived the show for a full 2nd season in 1983 with additional 12 episodes produced in 1985. The 4rth and final season consisted only of 6 shows including a 2-part finale. Academy award winner John THE WINDS OF WAR Houseman reprised his role as Professor Charles Kingsfield with James FATHER DOWLING MYSTERIES Stephens stepping into the role of 1st year law student James T. Hart. A number of notable actors came & went throughout the run of THE PAPER CHASE including Lainie Kazan, Robert Ginty & Michael Tucci. Houseman would also guest star in THE ASSOCIATES (a 1980 ABC sit-com) playing Kingsfield.
- DirectorWilliam CrainStarsWilliam MarshallVonetta McGeeDenise NicholasAn 18th-century African prince, turned into a vampire by Dracula, finds himself in modern-day Los Angeles.William DR. BLACK & MR. HYDE Crain directed this fondly remembered American International Blaxploitation film starring William Marshall who may be best know for his role as The King of Cartoons on PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE. Marshall plays an African prince named Mamuwalde who is sealed in a coffin after being cursed with vampirism by Dracula himself. Once awakened in the swinging 1970s the prince of darkness seeks a mate. Followed by the slightly superior SCREAM, BLACULA SCREAM
- DirectorBob KelljanStarsWilliam MarshallDon MitchellPam GrierThe vampire Mamuwalde (a.k.a. Blacula) is resurrected by voodoo and forced to kill again.The director of the cultish COUNT YORGA...VAMPIRE! & THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA; Bob Kelljan made this minor blaxploitation classic featuring William ABBY Marshall in his second appearance as Prince Mamuwalde (AKA: Blacula). The African prince cursed with vampirism is resurrected via voodoo rituals & sets his sights on Pam FOXY BROWN Grier who's boyfriend just happens to be an expert in the occult in addition to being the investigating officer for the NYC police. It's not a great film but fans will find much to love.