Sorry I'm a bit late with this post, but truthfully, it's no big deal because you're not missing much. It's a small list of genre releases this week that includes a bunch of indie direct-to-DVD titles, with a few cool Blu-rays tossed into the mix. I suggest that you hang on to your cold hard cash unless you have an intense desire to spend it! Here's what's new:
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY The Grapes of Death (Redemption Films) A Haunted House Night of the Hunted (Redemption Films) Thale
NEW TO BLU-RAY Castle Freak (There is an issue with this title; release date may be subject to change.) Dementia 13 & The Terror Jurassic Park 3D The Pit and the Pendulum (There is an issue with this title; release date may be subject to change.) Poor Pretty Eddie & Carnival Magic
NEW TO DVD All American Zombie Drugs Bloodsucking Vampire Freaks Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles Cold Prey II Dark Passions of a Sexual Serial Killer Deep Dark Canyon Flash Point Gothkill: The Soul Collector It's in the Blood Judgement Last Caress Pegasus vs. Chimera Re-Generator Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy Sloppy the Psychotic Treasure Chest of Horrors 2 Ultimate Zombie Feast 2
Hey gang! This week has a small number of genre releases BUT a lot of it is quality stuff! Tibor Takacs (director of THE GATE) delivers a new CGI spider-fest in 2D & 3D, George Lucas' 80s "Hobbit" flick WILLOW makes its Blu-ray debut, THE TAINT makes its shocking Blu-ray debut, and Peter Weller Batman brings the crazy in BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART 2! Check out what's new below and put some of your tax return money to good use!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 Grave Encounters 2 Life of Pi Rise of the Guardians Spiders (2D & 3D) Storage 24 The Taint (DVD/Blu-ray combo) Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 25th Anniversary Edition (DVD/Blu-ray combo) Willow (DVD/Blu-ray combo)
NEW TO BLU-RAY Abolition Blade Runner: The Final Cut The Blob (Criterion Collection) Giant Killer Till Sunset
NEW TO DVD Curandero: Dawn of the Demon The Devil is My Witness Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Season 4 In Their Skin Jack the Giant Killer Killer Biker Chicks Monster Mystikal Unaware Underground Lizard People Vampire Boys 2: The New Brood Xena: Warrior Princess - Season 4
MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON DVD 4-Film Favorites: Post-Apocalyptic Collection Contains: I Am Legend, Logan's Run, Dark City Director's Cut, and The Omega Man.
Death Penalty.com / Death Penalty.com: A New Beginning (Double Feature)
Dimension Extreme 6-Film Collection Contains: Black Sheep, Automaton Transfusion, Broken, Rogue, Welcome to the Jungle, and 13.
Savage Water & Death by Invitation (Double Feature)
SyFy Mega Pack - Maneater Series Contains: SWAMP DEVIL, SEA BEAST, RISE OF THE GARGOYLES, WYVERN, SAND SERPENTS, and ROADKILL.
BLU-RAY DOUBLE FEATURES Clash of the Titans (1981/2010) The Losers / Jonah Hex Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic / Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter
Also, I have to note that today is the premiere of Charles Band's new film OOGA BOOGA! The film is available to stream or download online EXCLUSIVELY through GrindhouseFlix.com! It will be $1.99 to rent it or $7.99 to own the digital download. The movie revolves around a black kid that's gunned down by racist cops for a crime he didn't commit, so naturally he returns from the grave as a goofy killer puppet to avenge the wrongs done to him by us evil whitefolk. This is what it's like when the worlds of Puppet Master and Blaxploitation cinema collide! Check out the trailer below:
Hahahahahaha. The doll hiding amongst other stuffed animals and toys "E.T." style had me cracking up! And it's good to see Karen Black being terrorized by a killer doll again! Ooga Booga looks fun; think I'll give it a rental this weekend!
If you've got about fifteen minutes, then allow me to show you how to waste that time. Below are three new Youtube vids that should have most of you b-movie fans salivating. The first is a trailer for Newt Wallen's MIDNIGHT SHOW. The film is a love letter to cult, grindhouse, and trash cinema, and features a strange night out at the movies for a young couple, who will experience a barrage of trailers for non-existent films like RUGMUNCHER, ATTACK OF THE ROBOT NAZI, HER TIME OF THE MONTH, and other hilarious throwbacks to exploitation cinema! Check it out below:
For a closer look at some of the fake trailers, and a little history on the inception of MIDNIGHT SHOW, check out this new episode of UNDERBELLY:
Finally, Youtube sensation Mike Diva (a.k.a. Mike Dahlquist) teamed up with GrindHouseFlix.com and came up with a really kick-ass dubstep music video that utilizes footage, dialogue, and sound effects from fifty different grindhouse/exploitation flicks! Next to Diva's dubstep tribute to Macho Man Randy Savage, this is probably one of the greatest videos to ever exist on the internet. Watch it now!
How AWESOME was that?! Cool enough to watch again?! Was just thinking that myself.... [hits play on video for the tenth time]
Starting at NOON on Wednesday, February 13th, and ending at NOON on Monday, February 18th, you can get 50% off almost everything being sold at FullMoonDirect.com! There's not a full list of what will be half-price at the moment, but you can most likely expect all DVDs, Blu-rays, boxed sets, and probably posters, toys, t-shirts, and replicas.
I should also note that if you share the above image on Facebook, you'll be entered to win any boxed set of your choice, signed by Charles Band! If I win, (and I most likely won't, haha) I'm either grabbing the Puppet Master Blu-ray trilogy, or picking up one of the Full Moon Classics sets.
Also, I'm a little late on reporting this, but Charles Band announced a few days ago, that a bunch of mint condition Wizard Video boxes were discovered in one of Full Moon's warehouses. Let me reiterate that part: The BOXES for thirty-six Wizard Video VHS titles were discovered. Determined to turn lemons into lemonade, Charles, who still has the masters for each VHS title, is going to duplicate video tapes to put into each Wizard Video big box.
Each original VHS big box will be numbered and signed by Charles Band, and will contain a duplicated VHS copy of the film. Four titles are being released a month, for the next nine months, and will be going for about fifty bucks apiece. For more details, check out the Full Moon vidcast below:
I myself used to be a big VHS collector and had maybe half a dozen flicks in oversized boxes, but I've either sold them or given them away, and for that I am now kicking myself. The only big box/clamshells I have left (that I can think of) are for "Exterminator 2" (with MARIO VAN PEEBLES!) and "Exterminators from the Year 3000."
While some have complained about the price, especially considering the fact the boxes (though in great condition) lack the original VHS tape, this is still a really cool collectible, and once they are gone, they are gone for good. So keep an eye out for the first batch of Wizard Video VHS tapes, which go on sale TOMORROW, at www.wizardvideocollection.com!
Racists beware! You won’t even have enough time to scream, “Ooga Booga!”
With the success of "Django Unchained," Charles Band has taken some inspiration (if the tagline at the top of the poster is any indication) and decided that the time has come for a new killer puppet/doll movie. Said film, entitled OOGA BOOGA revolves around the wrongful death of Devin, an African-American medical student, whose soul is transferred into an Ooga Booga action figure. Once inside the stereotypical-looking African doll, he seeks vengeance against his killers (dirty cops), meth heads, and corrupt city officials.
The film features Stacy Keach (holy cow... he's alive?!) and Karen Black (who's already had experience battling a killer Zuni fetish doll), and may be released sometime in February.
In other Full Moon news, they have branched off and started up a streaming video arm called GRINDHOUSEFLIX. As of my writing this, their subscription service costs $4.99 a month for unlimited streaming of weird and obscure cinema. However, if you don't want to sign up, you can "rent" one film at a time for a mere $1.99 or purchase them for $7.99 apiece. They currently have twenty titles available for streaming (such as "Necropolis," "Savage Island," and "Slavegirls from Beyond Infinity") and will be adding six more in the very near future, including: RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES, THE LEGEND OF THE WOLF WOMAN, TRAUMA, DEMONIAC, FEAR, and HEADLESS EYES.
Plus, if you sign up now for monthly unlimited streaming, you will get a $25.00 gift card to FULL MOON DIRECT! And that gift card will most definitely come in handy because....
Details about the sale have yet to be announced but I'll post about them as soon as I get the info. Stay tuned Full Moon fans!
Hello fellow film collectors! Today, you can get your paws on the latest Scream Factory release, pick up two new Blu-rays from Olive Films, or indulge in some of Full Moon Entertainment's catalog of cult classics! There's something for everyone this week, so here's what's new!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY Cujo (Olive Films) Deadly Blessing (Collector's Edition - Scream Factory) Death Race 3: Inferno Hold Your Breath Tai Chi Zero A Thousand Cuts Ticks (Olive Films) Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
NEW TO DVD Barrio Tales Bikini Bloodbath Shakespeare Bleeding Through Claustrophobia Crowsnest Dead Sushi End of Animal Ghost of Rashmon Hall Hansel and Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft The Hounds The Incubus Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen Night of Templar Night of the Tentacles Tomboys Tunnel Vision Zombie Ed
FULL MOON TITLES ON DVD Arcade Bad Channels Dark Angel: The Ascent Lurking Fear Mandroid Robot Wars Seedpeople
BOXED SETS Halloween Haunts 3 DVD Box Set Contains "Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt," "Skull Heads," and "Decadent Evil."
Well I've been home for a few hours; got a belly full of pancakes and sausage, and I'm unwinding a bit before I have to get back to the grindstone at work. This past weekend was quite an experience, and I'm finding myself wanting to go to another convention almost ASAP! It was amazing to meet people I've only seen on film, and though I didn't get to greet all the cult celebs I wanted to, I met enough to give me a lifetime of memories. In any case, here's the rundown of Monster Mania Con DAY TWO and DAY THREE:
I woke up bright and early, intent on getting some grub and hitting up an early screening of "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives." However, after getting showered up, grabbing cash and my business cards, and then hitting the restaurant downstairs for some breakfast, I totally missed out on that particular film (though I did get to see Malcolm MacDowell and several "My Bloody Valentine" guests chowing down nearby).
After Tara and I had our fill of the delicious breakfast buffet, we wandered off to find Dan and Bill from Radiation-Scarred Reviews. Since they ran back up to their room after breakfast, Tara and I decided to wander into the main Ballroom and take in the final twenty-five minutes of "Silver Bullet," which was part of a tribute to the late Corey Haim.
After watching Gary Busey get tossed around by a lycanthrope that is shot in the eye with a silver bullet by cripped Corey, we finally managed to meet up with the "R-SR guys" and take in a few movies up on the mezzanine level of the hotel. Movie number one was the awesomely fun "House" starring William Katt. Surprisingly my two fellow internet movie scribes had never seen this movie, so it was a treat to watch their reactions to the supernatural shenanigans of this beloved cult classic.
This was quickly followed up with a screening of "Night of the Creeps" which surprisingly had the original "alternate" ending where Tom Atkins' crispy corpse unleashes some brain slugs into a cemetery. (Sorry if I ruined that for anyone.) Once again, I was shocked to discover that Dan had never seen "Night of the Creeps," and I was happy to be present for his moment of "Thrill Me" cherry-popping!
After "Creeps" ended, our foursome took a break and parted ways for a half hour, then rejoined our forces to take in another screening of Jay Woelfel's "Closed for the Season." I was more than happy to see that this screening was packed with people, and a lot of them stayed put this time. Even better, there were no issues with the film this time, so the show kicked off on time.
The movie was still the two-hour cut we saw the previous night, but this time the picture and audio quality were far superior. (Gone were the "too dark" night shots that were a bit confusing during the film's initial screening.) The film still has a ways to go before it is ready for the general public, (I'm thinking a twenty minute chunk should be cut out... though that would be hard to do since there are scenes that are referenced and re-referenced throughout the film.) but the second screening was far more fulfilling and understandable.
After the movie ended, they did a quick Q&A session and revealed that there were some neat scenes that didn't make it into the current cut (and may not be in the final cut) of the movie, and shed a little light on the strange plot of this mind-boggling independent feature. After all was said and done, Bill, Dan, Tara, and I chatted it up with Jay, and got a few pics with the infamous director of "Trancers 6."
Jay Woelfel photo-op after the screening of "Closed for the Season."
At this point, the various Q&A panels were going on downstairs in the ballroom (sadly I missed out on the "Night of the Creeps" reunion panel amongst others), but instead of heading down there, we all ordered some pizza and convened in Bill and Dan's room to nerd out. After chowing down on some Domino's, Bill and Dan snuck off for a secret Low Budget Pictures screening of "Filthy McNasty 4" and met director Chris Seaver.
With nothing better to do, Tara and I grabbed some seats in the main screening room and caught "Return of the Living Dead." I haven't seen it in years, and truly fell in love with this parody of zombie flicks all over again. After the film ended, we went downstairs and waited outside of the main ballroom to see Charles Band's Full Moon Road Show!
Gary Busey suddenly showed up in his PJs (no ice cream this time) to investigate the area and inquired about what's going on. (Or most likely inquired if that "bastard" Charlie Band was in the room at the moment! Hahahaha.) I said hello to "crazy Busey" as he walked by and got a genial "Hey!" from everyone's favorite mad-man.
Not too soon after Gary's departure, Charles Band arrived and filmed everyone standing in line, then vanished back into the ballroom where Dario Argento's Q&A was coming to a close. Ten minutes later, Tara and I got into the (already nearly full) ballroom and managed to save to chairs for Dan and Bill, who were about a mile back in the line.
Once we were seated, we discovered that things were starting to run behind, and sadly Charles Band had to greatly shorten his usually two-hour long show. You could try and blame Dario Argento but really it was because it took the event coordinators A FULL HALF HOUR TO SEAT EVERYONE AND PACK THE ROOM DANGEROUSLY BEYOND CAPACITY! But you know what? It was all freakin' worth it for this:
The show kicked off with the awesome promo reel seen above and people were going nuts, especially when the guitar solo from Guns N' Roses "November Rain" kicked in. Once that ended, the lights came up and Charles took the stage and WOWED the audience with humorous anecdotes about his career, which included his major breakthrough with "Ghoulies" and how the advertisements featuring the creature in the toilet stopped an entire generation of children from being potty-trained, and some great stories involving Gary Busey on the set of "Gingerdead Man."
He followed this up with a promo for the upcoming "Puppet Master: Axis of Evil" (available on DVD and Blu-ray March 15th - check out www.fullmoondirect.com for more details!), and then brought BILL MOSELEY up on stage for some fun! (They worked together on a little futuristic cyborg cheapie called "Crash and Burn.") He then auctioned off an authentic "Puppet Master" chest, full of puppets, for $450 and then a custom built electric chair that was onstage for (I believe) $150, then got to the final act of his truncated show.
Charles finished things off with a little "play" up on the stage made up of volunteers from the audience. It would take a while to explain the gist of the play in full detail but essentially a girl in a werewolf costume (Susan) was the villain, sentenced to death in the electric chair for her/its crimes. The hero of the piece was a musclebound dude named Scott who played the werewolf's brother, while the damsel in distress who gets felt up by the "hero" was played by a busty model named Violetta. And oh yeah, there's a naughty nurse (Meelz? Is that really your freakin' name?) up there for good measure.
Charles gives directions to his cast of characters!
So the plot goes like this: Werewolf is getting fried, sees brother molesting lesbian lover, breaks its bonds, kills brother, prepares to leap into the audience to go on a murder spree, and can only be calmed down by the bare breasts of its chesty lover. And oh yeah... there's a naughty nurse there too.
As a newcomer to the onstage antics of Charles Band I was surprised to see this little scene play out THREE times (they didn't quite get things right the first two times) with Violetta unleashing her hooters to a cheering audience each time! I was shocked, enthused, and amused by this, and luckily got it on (grainy) video! (Said video will be available to all the Vault's FACEBOOK fans within another day or two, so BECOME A FAN OF THE B-MOVIE FILM VAULT FACEBOOK PAGE if you want to see it!)
After roaring applause, Charles exited stage left, and headed off to sell Full Moon swag (at 50% or more off!), meet fans, and sign EVERYTHING he could. He was a very personable fellow, and took time out to talk to everyone and sign everything, AND he even went as far as to apologize to the lengthy line of eager fans multiple times.
He apologized to me personally once I got up to meet him and I told him "Hey, no worries Charles... you showed us boobs! We're grateful!" I ended up getting the "Trancers: Definite Collection," "Gingerdead Man," "Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust," "Puppet Master Legacy," and "Laserblast" ALL SIGNED, for a mere $45.00! Wow, what a guy! After meeting Charles, Tara and I parted ways with Bill and Dan and hit the hay.
MONSTER MANIA XIV: DAY THREE The next morning I got an early phone call from Bill, wishing me a safe trip, then prepared to hit the road myself. After a hot shower, I helped Tara take all our stuff out to her car, then headed back inside to scope out the vendors' goods one last time. I ended up getting a screener of "Zombie Hunters: City of the Dead Vol. 1" along with bootlegs of "Alligator II" and "Blood Beach." Afterwards, I double-checked to see if maybe, just maybe I could sneak in and see Gary Busey, but the line was once again too damned long. And so, after some debate, we finally left the Crowne Plaza Hotel in search of food.
And that's pretty much the end of the story folks. While I had originally planned on staying the entire day on Sunday, I realized that I (along with Tara) was completely exhausted. Even though we left earlier than anticipated, it was definitely the best course of action, because driving back through Philly is a bitch and a half, especially if you try to do it during rush hour. And somehow, we managed to miss all the tollbooths from Philly to Scranton. As a result, we had to pay a whopping $29.30 to pass into Scranton at the final tollbooth. (F*CK-ING BULLSHIT!)
Once at Tara's, we told our stories to her folks, showed off our swag and pictures, then settled down and watched "Gingerdead Man 1 & 2" before calling it an early night. Now I'm home, and unfortunately have to get ready for work. It's been a crazy couple of days, and I look forward to regaling everyone at the workplace with tales of Gary Busey's insanity, of memorabilia I obtained, and of the kindly stars that I got to meet and greet for twenty bucks an autograph!
Do I have regrets? Well yeah: I missed all the Q&A panels and didn't meet everyone I wanted to, but you know what? There's always next year! (Or this Summer if I can pull together another $800.00 by August 22nd!) I gotta run b-movie fans, so have a great day! I hoped you enjoyed my coverage of Monster Mania XIV, and really hope that I have in some way convinced you to attend one of these conventions! It's expensive, and can be a total pain in the ass, but in the end, its definitely worth it!
Stay tuned for some Monster Mania related movie reviews and be sure to check out my buddy Bill's Monster Mania coverage over at his blog!
Well after a few false starts and numerous failed attempts, I finally managed to figure out how to upgrade the software for my forum. Though I lost a few cool mods that I had installed (the reputation system chief amongst them), I am quite happy with how things went. (Luckily I backed up the forum files before going full steam ahead with the update.) Please, feel free to swing by the BMFV forum (which is chock full of movie and DVD news) and give it a look-see.
Also, be sure to check out my refurbished (old) review for the 1993 Albert Pyun / Full Moon classic, Arcade. This is a pretty bad flick (though not nearly the worst I've ever seen) that features a sentient virtual reality game that steals the souls from anyone who sucks at video games.
Here's the trailer for this straight-to-video schlocker:
I was hoping to finally review "Godmonster of Indian Flats" before the month was over, but alas, it was not meant to be. Have no fear though, because that awful giant mutant sheep epic will become part of the Vault archives in the very near future; probably even as soon as Monday night. I'll keep you posted on my progress with that review and will announce its arrival at the Vault as soon as I get it uploaded.
Well that's it for tonight. I'm friggin' tired and I need to get up relatively early to go to the bank, so g'night everyone!
