While it’s an interesting title and Virginia Madsen is one fine actress in more ways than one, the actual execution of this 1987 horror film doesn’t come close to living up to its title and instead is a frankly dull film and has nothing to do with zombies in the classic sense (flesh eating types).
The Car is a cheese-ball action/thriller with more laughable scenes than anything scary or even horrific. The acting is subpar however I can’t place much blame on James Brolin or Ronny Cox considering the material they’re given. Producers wanted this to be Jaws on land which in itself is a hilarious concept and boy did this deliver the goods with a supernatural twist at the end.
Women’s Prison Massacre, the latest to a variety of exploitation movies from the 1970s, and frankly these kind of films aren’t exactly my thing but with that said there is a certain entertainment value in just how bad it is topped with some over-the-top acting in conjunction with incredibly awful dubbing. This release from Shout via their Scream Factory line, is rather disappointing.
Blood & Lace is quintessential 1970s with a catalogue score, bad ADR work and so-so performances, though Gloria Grahame is meticulously menacing and Melody Patterson has some charisma in the lead role. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers OK video and audio and while the features are limited, the commentary is well worth listening to.
This “Collector’s Edition” for Army of Darkness brings together all versions available and a great selection of bonus material, that I believe also ported over from previous releases, to go along with great video and audio transfers.
Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knights is a fun horror-comedy with some good performances, though none better than Billy Zane who chews the scenery like no other and has a good old time playing the outlandish villain. The movie itself is quite entertaining and features some impressive make-up effects and even the VFX, for its time, isn’t all that bad.
Tales from the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood, despite the chaotic and haphazard production, might not be a very good film beginning with questionable casting and so-so acting, even when considering the genre, yet the outcome is a cheesy and semi-enjoyable flick, the kind worthy of a late Saturday night viewing.
Neither The Outing/The Lamp nor The Godsend are particularly well made movies but they do have a niche audience who might appreciate it. The Blu-ray released by Shout via their Scream Factory line is rather basic with basically no bonus material while the video and audio transfers are both OK and nothing extraordinary.
Robot Jox is a dumb but harmlessly cheesy sci-fi actioner done on a relatively limited budget. The acting isn’t anything amazing but for the most part the special and visual effects were impressive enough all things considered.
Both Tentacles and Reptilicus speak to a specific niche crowd, fans of the old creature-features so while I myself wasn’t overly impressed, it is nice to get both on one disc looking and sounding better than ever. Even though this release falters in the bonus feature department, it might be worth picking up for fans.
Scarecrows isn’t a great supernatural horror but it has its moments with a few impressive make-up effects and a well rounded cast of scumbags to get their comeuppance. The Blu-ray released by Scream Factory is fairly impressive with decent to fair video/audio transfers and a decent selection of bonus material.
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland isn’t a good horror movie and honestly kind of dull, though some of the kills are at least unique (i.e. the lawnmower) but by today’s standards, and this is nothing against this film in particular, it is rather tame in all areas from sex to the violence. Even so, I guess big horror fans, and fans of the Sleepaway Camp movies specifically, might enjoy otherwise it’s a forgettable sequel.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers is absolutely not a very good movie but in fairness, I don’t think the filmmakers or cast thought they were making high horror art. The performances are mostly throwaways though Pamela Springsteen does make for an effective psycho, I suppose. Personally I didn’t care that much for this movie, and wasn’t that fond of the first one outside of the now well-known “twist”, but horror fanatics might treasure this sequel.
Escape from New York might be far from perfect, but it’s an entertaining flick with an outstanding, and subdued, performance from Kurt Russell and a fantastic electronic score from Carpenter and Howarth. This new 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release from Shout Factory is phenomenal not only porting over the features from the previous CE release but includes a few more goodies for fans to peruse.
I don’t think anyone is under any illusion that these Ghoulies movies aren’t cheesy and all around C-movie 1980s crap, yet for it’s cheap production and questionable acting, it’s got a certain charm and both films would make for a fun Saturday night double feature with friends; watch it alone and you’ll probably feel a bit silly…