VIDEO GAME WEEK: Mortal Kombat (1995)
The first Mortal Kombat video game is essentially Enter the Dragon with some magic and ninjas added. So it stands to reason that the movie should be pretty much the same idea — a martial arts tournament to the death with implications for our entire world. And the movie delivers the goods. Director Paul W. S. Anderson (Soldier, the Resident Evil films, […]
VIDEO GAME WEEK: Street Fighter (1994)
Street Fighter features many of the characters from the game and some of them hit the mark. Many of them don’t. And for years, I wrote the film off. I wondered, why did they pick Raul Julia to play M. Bison? After finally watching it, I now know that no one else could have played […]
VIDEO GAME WEEK: Doom (2005)
Andrzej Bartkowiak has been the cinematographer on three films that were nominated for Best Picture Academy Awards: The Verdict, Terms of Endearment and Prizzi’s Honor. But he may be better known for his films that combined hip-hop and action, like Cradle 2 the Grave, Exit Wounds and Romeo Must Die. He’s also been behind two video game films: Doom and Street […]
VIDEO GAME WEEK: Double Dragon (1994)
Released in 1987 by Technos, Double Dragon is the spiritual successor to Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (known to the US as Renegade), a game that was inspired by the high school life of creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto. Basically — you fight to survive. When Renegade was released in the U.S., it was localized so that it appeared to be a video game […]
MARIO BAVA WEEK: Kidnapped/Rabid Dogs (filmed in 1973, released in 1998)
Lisa and the Devil was shelved after a negative reception at the Cannes Market. A Bay of Blood was a box office disappointment. So Mario Bava decided to do something unlike any of his other films — developing a “poliziotteschi” film. According to Roberto Curti’s Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980, poliziotteschi films “generally featured graphic and brutal violence, organized crime, car […]
BAVA WEEK: Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970)
Bava believed this was one of his worst films. It wasn’t released in the U.S. until 2001. And yet, I found plenty to like about this murder-filled affair. It also taught me an important lesson: if you invent a new chemical process, don’t go to a rich industrialist’s vacation island. George Stark is one of […]
BAVA WEEK: Baron Blood (1972)
There’s an urban legend called The Well to Hell, which claims that you can hear Hell through a hole in the earth, and there have even been audio recordings posted as proof. Those recordings have been revealed to be the soundtrack to this film. That should tell you what you’re getting into. Peter Kleist arrives […]
BAVA WEEK: A Bay of Blood (1971)
Also known as Ecology of Crime, Chain Reaction, Carnage, Twitch of the Death Nerve and Blood Bath, Last House on the Left – Part II and New House on the Left, this is the most violent and nihilistic of all of Mario Bava’s films. It started as a story idea so that Bava could work with Laura Betti (Hatchet for the […]
DRIVE-IN ASYLUM ISSUE #10 up for order!
The first 14 orders include a free Drive-In Asylum fridge magnet. Get yours now! Orders will ship Monday! I have a long article in this issue on Rats: The Night of Terror that won’t appear anywhere else until June, along with three drawings that will only appear in this zine! This has my highest recommendation!
BAVA WEEK: Lisa and the Devil (1973)
By the late 60’s, a series of commercial failures caused Mario Bava to lose his deal with American International Pictures, but the successes of Twitch of the Death Nerve and Baron Blood turned his fortunes around. Now, he was allowed to make movies without studio interference. Bava was allowed to create Lisa and the Devil as a non-commercial film, but […]
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