Nailbiter (2012) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Patrick Rea
Starring: Joicie Appell, Emily Boresow, Jason Coffman
Rated: R/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Lions Gate

Forced to take refuge from a deadly tornado, the Maguire family finds shelter in an abandoned storm cellar. As the storm passes, the family tries to make their way out, only to realize that someone – or something not quite human – is holding them captive. Struggling to get out alive, they soon find out they aren’t alone.

What we have here is a horror film done on a lower scale, yet it makes the best of what it has and the end results aren’t bad. We play on the mystery of what is really going on in the middle of a tornado outbreak and when we see the cause of our four ladies troubles it doesn’t disappoint. Now, we do have an issue with only about two of our four ladies seeming to have much of a point. Perhaps that is just nitpicking?

I think it is better to just point out what is good about a movie like this rather than just point out ever flaw it has. The film does have flaws, it IS a straight to video release and those are usually far from perfect. This one does do a better job of staying more entertaining and it does so by perhaps using its way of building tension to push it through any other short-comings it might have.

- Director’s Commentary
- Cast Commentary

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Dark Skies (2013) (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review)
Directed By: Scott Stewart
Starring:  Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo
Rated: PG-13/Region: 1/2:35/Number of disc: 2
Available from Anchor Bay

From the producer of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.

Aliens are creepy. That is a fact and to this movie’s credit it does keep them creep and has some nice creepy moments. I don’t know if I’d go as far as to call it scary, but it is what it is. The acting does not stand out too much overall. I’d still not say that the acting hurt anything either. It is nice to see Keri Russell again, I just wish her performance had a little more behind it than just one note-able scene where she’s banging her head against something. The movie seems to be on to something for a great deal of its running time. It just somehow seems to fizzle out and lacks that big moment to really take it over the plateau we’d hope for.

The line of what is reality and what is in someone’s head does get blurred along the way. This might actually make for some of Dark Skies’ best moments. There isn’t a whole lot of blood here, note the Pg-13 rating. However, I’d have liked to have seen what little gore moments we have been done without the use of CGI. On the bright side of things, while Dark Skies could warrant a rent, the movie actually looks pretty good with the colors looking great and some outside setting looking outstanding. It isn’t eye-popping, but it works.

- Alternate/Deleted Scenes
- Audio Commentary

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This is it folks! A podcast that rivals the running time of an Exorcast podcast and that’s with the first twenty minutes being lost! We cover everything from White Zombie to Warm Bodies! That means ALL (or most) of the most well-known zombie films of all-time are talked about this week. We also cover the ones that suck as well! It’s a five man show this week, so download and enjoy!

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Ninja III: The Domination (1984) (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review)
Directed By: Sam Firstenberg
Starring:  Lucinda Dickey, Sho Kosugi
Rated: R/Region: 1/1:85/Number of disc: 2
Available from Scream Factory

A female aerobic instructor is possessed by an evil spirit of a fallen ninja when coming to his aid. The spirit seeks revenge on those who killed him and uses the female instructor’s body to carry out his mission. The only way the spirit will leave the aerobic instructor’s body is through combat with another ninja.

To put it simple, Ninja 3 (Which has nothing really to do with Enter the Ninja or Revenge of the Ninja) is ridiculous. I mean that in the best way possible. You can’t take what you see on screen seriously and that makes things all the more fun. In this story we get a girl who works for the phone company that gets possessed by the spirit of a ninja. Pretty soon she’s climbing more polls than just the phone ones when she runs into a male cop. Adding to that she is being made against her will with the spirit of this ninja to kill off his cop friends and this is all leading to battle with another ninja played by the legendary, Sho Kosugi. The movie lacks logic, but I still love it.

And what is not to love? Yes the movie has a lot of logic flaws and corny effects, but we still get a great deal of ninja action and one of the more creative uses of V8 juice you will ever find. I also think the transfer here really stands out above and beyond most. This is a 1984 film from Cannon, but the folks at Shout have it looking amazing and nearly perfect. If you loved this movie before you will love it even more now. If this was your first time seeing it, it is goofy, but you will enjoy it for that fact.

- Commentary with Director Sam Firstenberg and Stunt Coordinator Steve Lambert
- Original Theatrical Trailer

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Lifeforce (1985) (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review)
Directed By: Tobe Hooper
Starring:  Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Mathilda May
Rated: R/Region: 1/2:35/Number of disc: 2
Available from Scream Factory

A mission to investigate Halley’s Comet discovers an alien spacecraft. After a deadly confrontation, the aliens travel to Earth, where their seductive leader begins a terrifying campaign to drain the life force of everyone she encounters. Her victims, in turn, continue the cycle, and soon the entire planet is in mortal danger.

Lifeforce is a fantastic story all around. While the base of the plot is about space vampires that suck the life out of you instead of blood, the story includes apocalyptic elements and even seem to touch on some zombie elements as well. Our lead vampire is played by Mathilda May and this one is about as perfect as you could get. This of course only adds to the story and her character is very memorable for reasons beyond the obvious ones you’d think of when you take into account she spends most of the movie completely naked. I’ve never been that crazy about vampires, but this movie impressed me with its story and its look.

We also have some great 80s effects here. They do seem to remind you at times of the zombie on the table in Return of the Living Dead, then again Tobe Hooper did leave that project and Dan O’Bannon who did that screenplay did do this one as well. I think that might be why the story is so well-done. Add in Tobe Hooper behind the camera and you can see why we have a classic. The movie is just slightly slow out the gate, but still packs creepy settings. The film then rolls into an epic vampire adventure that combines science fiction with horror perfectly. The transfer here is also really good we well, with just a bit of grain in some darker settings.

- Both Theatrical & International Versions of the film (Theatrical cut available on the Blu-ray only.)
- New Commentary with Director Tobe Hooper
- New Retrospective with Cast & Crew including Star Steve Railsback, Tobe Hooper and others!
- Original vintage “Making-Of Lifeforce” Featurette
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
- Still Gallery

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The Howling (1981) (Blu-ray  Review)
Directed By: Joe Dante
Starring:  Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan
Rated: R/Region: 1/1:85 /Number of disc: 1
Available from Scream Factory

Severely traumatized by a near-fatal encounter with a serial killer, TV newscaster Karen White (Dee Wallace) takes time off at a secluded retreat called the Colony. But when, after nights of being tormented by bestial, bloodcurdling cries, Karen ventures into the woods seeking answers, she makes a terrifying discovery. Now she must fight not only for her life but for her soul!

I don’t at all think The Howling is a bad film, but I also don’t think of it as a great film either. There are some cool werewolves in this thing and a nice transformation, but over the years we’ve seen better and I’ve seen the better ones before I saw this one. The film is also a victim of a slow start. I understand that they try to build up a story, but the build does hurt things a bit at the start. And, I do also think the story lacks in excitement in a few areas.

But if you make it to the hour mark of the film what is left is pretty darn good for the most part. That is where the excitement and drama builds. This is also where we get the most wolf action and the effects and blood. This last part of the movie ALMOST makes up for the first part, almost. When describing The Howling I’d call it a slightly above-average horror flick. It was probably great for its time, yet hasn’t aged as well with time.  Still, the movie gets a brand new breath of life due to an above-average transfer that really makes the film look the best it has ever looked.

- Audio Commentary With Director Joe Dante And Actors Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone and Robert Picardo
- Unleashing the Beast: The Making Of The Howling Multi-part Documentary
- Deleted Scenes And Outtakes
- Making Of A Monster: Inside The Howling Documentary
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations
- Photo Gallery
- Theatrical Trailers

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HALO

From the moment that Halo made its XBOX debut people have wanted an epic movie to match the epic game storyline. There have been rumors for years now of a movie, but that has yet to happen. Halo has the potential to make a series of epic movies if they so choose to. Can you imagine a trilogy of three hour long action movies based off this game? Bet that would be enough to give the coolest of geeks a boner.

GRAND THEFT AUTO

Add another to the list of games that had rumored movies that never happened. Can anyone remember a time when the movie was in talks to happen with Eminem in the lead role? Or at least that was the rumor. There is ton of potential in a GTA movie. While there is tons of material to work with, I’m sure the best way to go about a movie like this would be to do an original story with all the GTA game elements.

PUNCH OUT!

I’m not sure we will ever see another Rocky movie and that being the case leaves a giant hole in all of our souls. Punch Out could pack a lot of action, but with the cartoony characters it would be best to go the full on comedic route with this one. If you wanted to go the full nine yards with it, I’m pretty sure Mike Tyson isn’t doing much these days.

NINJA GAIDEN

Rest a sure a movie of this nature should be in the same vein as such ninja classics as Enter the Ninja. I just want more blood included. Ninja Gaiden has become a legendary game, if for nothing else how extremely difficult the damn thing was. Since many of us will never know the joy of beating Ninja Gaiden 1, 2, or even *shutter* 3, a movie would be a suitable replacement.

DOUBLE DRAGON

Yes, there was a movie. And, yes it did suck majorly. I’ve been running this site since 2009 and since day one I’ve been BEGGING someone to make a Double Dragon movie and do it in a nice R rated/blood soaked glory. I never liked part 3, but I feel movies based off Double Dragon 1 and 2 would be an awesome one-two punch. Just please do me one favor, as much as I loved Double Dragon Neon and its comedic satire glory, please don’t bring that vibe to a movie.

FINAL FIGHT

Speaking of great “beat-em up” games, Final Fight was my second favorite behind Double Dragon. This game features the cool wrestler/governor (not Jesse Venture) Mike Hagger and friends going on what the movie would call a roaring rampage of revenge on the streets, in the subway, and in steel cages. What better way to honor that than with a live action movie of the same stuff?

BAD DUDES

Rounding out what we could call a trilogy of awesome is Bad Dudes! Again, another game that had the same format as Double Dragon and Final Fight, but this time we have two bad dudes trying to save the president from ninjas! That makes three awesome games that could make equally as awesome movies. Will someone PLEASE get started on this??

CASTLEVANIA

Well, vampires are IN these days right? Regardless if that ship has sailed or not, this game could make a super movie with a very gothic overtone. The Belmonts have been battling Dracula and his dark army for centuries, or in video game years that would be decades. Since 1986 we’ve helped a Belmont destroy Dracula and in some cases resurrect him just to kill him again! Doesn’t that sound like the stuff classic movies are made of?

SUPER MARIO BROTHERS

Once again we have a great game that had a movie we would rather forget about and just start from scratch. Especially with the technology we have today, Super Mario Brothers, could be a pretty gnarly HD 3D adventure. Maybe we could go as far as to even hint that the princess might be sleeping with an evil giant turtle behind Mario’s back.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

If Lord of the Rings was a little too boring for your taste, Zelda could be what the doctor ordered. The adventures of Link could be grand from start to finish and the stories need to be told in live action ways that fanboys and girls just can’t honor in their fan made movies with their cardboard swords and green screens.

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Kino Lorber and Redemption Films celebrate the cinematic legacy of director Jess Franco

New York, NY – May 17, 2013 - Kino Lorber and Redemption Films celebrate the cinematic legacy of director Jess Franco with deluxe Blu-ray and DVD editions of three of his most important films, presented in association with Eurociné: The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962), A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973) and Nightmares Come at Night (1970). Though highly regarded among cult movie enthusiasts, Franco is a notorious figure within the world of horror, for the savage eroticism and obsessive nature of his films, which defy the conventional structure and tone of the typical thriller. “Too arty for the horror crowd and too macabre and lowbrow for the art crowd,” Fangoria editor Chris Alexander wrote, “He existed in a world of his own, a class of his own.”

Born Jesús Franco Manera in 1930, credited on a variety of pseudonyms (such as Clifford Brown and A.M. Frank), he is best known as Jess Franco, director of such horror/sexploitation films as Female Vampire (1973), Exorcism (1975), and Vampyros Lesbos (1971). Franco directed almost 200 features, in virtually every genre, and was perhaps at his best when working with his muses, Soldedad Miranda (1943-1970) and Lina Romay (1954-2012). Because he made so many films, which were released in multiple versions and under various titles, and because he so frequently employed a pseudonym, a complete Franco filmography is likely impossible to compile. Franco died Tuesday April 2, 2013, at the age of 82, after being hospitalized for a stroke on March 27.

“Franco was, and is, a true hero of exploitation cinema. A man who loved, ate and slept film,” recalls Redemption founder Nigel Wingrove, “and who in his heart was an artist and like most artists he had his flaws and weaknesses but ultimately what made him an artist was that he could do nothing else but make films. He may have used a camera rather than a paintbrush and film instead of a canvas, but that was because film was his blood, and he only stopped filming when his blood stopped flowing and his heart, like his camera, finally stopped.”

In August, 2013, Redemption will commemorate Franco with a special Blu-ray edition of his breakthrough film, The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962), featuring “The Horror of Orlof,” one of the last videotaped interviews with Franco (directed by David Gregory and produced by Elijah Drenner). Newly mastered in HD, this is the original French-language version (the film was later censored and padded with inconsequential footage for release in Spain). Among other features, the disc will include a brand new commentary track by Tim Lucas (founder and editor of Video Watchdog), as well as a newly-filmed remembrances by Franco’s friends and collaborators (directed by Daniel Gouyette).

Lesser-known in the director’s canon (because for more than 40 years it was considered a lost film), Nightmares Come at Night is an erotic thriller starring Soledad Miranda and Diana Lorys. In the years since its rediscovery, Nightmares has become embraced as quintessential Franco for its facile blending of horror, eroticism, and the surreal. The disc will feature a Lucas commentary, and a second memorial video by Gouyette, and a third mini-documentary to be announced.

The pièce de résistance of the collection is A Virgin Among the Living Dead, which features Franco’s original cut in its entirety (Christina, Princess of Eroticism), as well as the more commonly-available recut version (with zombie footage directed by Jean Rollin: A Virgin Among the Living Dead), as well as a deleted orgy scene, featuring Alice Arno, which was shot for a third incarnation of the film. The disc also includes “Mysterious Dreams,” one of the last videotaped interviews with Franco (directed by Gregory and produced by Drenner), as well as a third collection of posthumous tributes by the director’s friends and collaborators.

All three films were newly-mastered in HD from archival film elements from Eurocine Paris, are presented in French with optional English subtitles or English dubbed, produced for video by Bret Wood.

In 2014, Redemption will continue to pay its respects to Franco with at least three additional Blu-rays of his notorious films.

As Tim Lucas recently wrote in a memorial piece, “Jess Franco is finished with life, but life is far from finished with him.”

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Twisted Illusions 2 (2004) (DVD Review)
Directed By: John Bowker, Tim Ritter, Joel D. Wynkoop
Starring: Jasi Cotton Lanier, Joel D. Wynkoop, Larry Joe Treadway
Rated: UR/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from SRS Cinema

Twenty Years ago, Tim Ritter and Joel D. Wynkoop unleashed a little video anthology called TWISTED ILLUSIONS that helped jumpstart a whole new movement in independent moviemaking. Now they’re back, joined by fellow cult filmmakers John Bowker and Larry Joe Treadway, with the sequel to TWISTED ILLUSIONS that was threatened twenty years ago. Yes, some things are worth waiting for! This exclusive, limited edition, DVD celebration contains three very disturbing tales that will bend your mind! First up, BETRAYAL, the story of revenge from beyond the grave.Next up, THE PART, which chronicles a thespian who goes over the edge trying to audition for a horror movie role. And finally, DEXTER DEADBEAT, about a woman being stalked by a maniac for the most unorthodox reasons imaginable!

Twisted Illusions 2 might not look pretty seeing as how it is a no-budget shot on video release. Still, it gives us three very creative stories in this anthology. There might not be glitz and glamour here, but when you boil things down the stories are very creative and usually pack a very cool twist near the end of them. There isn’t a ton of blood and some stuff that happens somewhat falls short, yet the movie is driven by awesome story telling regardless.

The movie also has some nice acting to go along with that. I would name Joel D. Wynkoop directly for being a man that can act his butt off in just about any situation. He also directs a story here and shows that he has skills in that area as well. Add all that in with your typical wizardly ways of Tim Ritter and you have yourself a movie that is better than you’d expect.

- None

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In the not too distant future, telemarketing is going to get even harder for vacuum cleaner salesman, Martin Banks. Martin’s boss introduces teleporting as the next great way to place their products in the customer’s homes. But no amount of training could have prepared Martin for what he will find in this home. Proving that works sucks, even in the future.

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