When Jessica, a wayward trailer park teen with a drunk n’ abusive momma, is accepted by a trio of “party all night” female vamps, she enters a nocturnal world of murder and mayhem. As they stalk clubs and bars for victims—and avoid a notorious vampire hunter—Jessica comes find her inner “girl power.”
Based on its original title of Teenage Bloodsuckin’ Bimbos, and the John Carpenter-esque keyboard noodling, Z-grade ‘80s-styled metal, and its VHS-styled opening titles and end credits sequence, you know what you’re getting into: a campy send-up of ‘80s Troma-style gore films. And there’s bonus points for dredging up our vinyl memories of the Canadian joke-metal band Piledriver by including “Metal Inquisition” on the soundtrack.
Girls Just Want to Have Blood made its world premiere at last year’s New Jersey Film Festival and found distribution with Red Eye Releasing with a DVD and VOD release on May 26th. As of October 2020, you can now watch this on TubiTv.
Disclaimer: This was sent to us by the film’s PR company.
Evil Laugh. American Drive-In. Hard Rock Zombies. These are the legacy of producer/director Krishna Shah. This movie is…well, there’s never been a movie exactly like this. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not that’s a good or bad thing.
Jessie, Tommy, Chuck and Bobby are Holy Moses and in order to impress a music business bigwig, they decide to go to a town that has outlawed rock and roll. Of course, these towns were everywhere in the wake of Footloose because they saw how well that went.
The town they pick — Grand Guignol is the name, which is only slightly more subtle than Nilbog — has not only outlawed music, but it’s also full of evil dwarves, sex perverts and not just Nazis, but Hitler and Eva Braun who has become a knife-carrying werewolf who lets other men have sex with her while she cucks Der Fuhrer.
The band gets killed, but thanks to the fact that their new song was based on an occult prayer, they come back to life and bring the town’s dead back from the choir invisible to kill everyone else.
Jessie is also in love with a young fan named Cassie, who is all of 12. So there’s that. And he’s the good guy.
This movie was supposed to be only twenty minutes long and appear as the movie within a movie for American Drive-In. Someone decided to spend a little more cash and finish the film.
How much do we love this movie? We also reviewed it as part of our weekly “Drive-In Friday” feature — with a second look — for a “Heavy Metal Horror Night” alongside the likes of Monster Dog, Blood Tracks, Terror on Tour, and Rocktober Blood.
We live in a magical reality, the kind of place where Michael Winner, the same man who made some of the roughest films ever — Death Wish, Death Wish 2, Death Wish 3, The Mechanic, The Sentinel — made this movie that’s a kind of, sort of biography of Hollywood star dog Rin Tin Tin.
It was originally called Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Warner Bros. before Paramount bought the film and, well, the movie had to change its name, right?
Estie Del Ruth (Madeline Kahn) has made her way to Hollywood, followed by a dog named Won Ton Ton. While she has dreams of being a star — and a director who continually and unsuccessfully pitches movies that will be made many years later named Grayson Potchuck (Bruce Dern) tries to help — the truth is that the dog has all the talent.
This is less a film than a collection of vignettes about the Golden Age of Hollywood, such as Ron Leibman’s effeminate take on Rudolph Valentino and Art Carney, Phil Silvers and Teri Garr as players in the tale of Estie and Won Ton Ton.
The draw for me — beyond how strange it is that Winner directed this comedy misfire — is the huge cast of Hollywood legends, many of whom made this movie their final role. Here are as many as I could remember:
Dorothy Lamour: One-time star of the Hope and Crosby Road movies, she shows up here as a visiting film star.
Joan Blondell: Often cast as a gold digger, Blondell’s career stretched back to vaudeville. She’d appear in two more movies after this: The Champ and Grease.
Virginia Mayo: Warner Brothers’ biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s, Mayo continued acting until 1997. She was one of the first actresses to be awarded a star on the Walk of Fame.
Henny Youngman: The rapid-fire standup who would always say, “Take my wife…please.”
Rory Calhoun: Readers of this site will definitely know Calhoun, as he reinvented himself in the 80’s, appearing in genre films like Motel Hell, Hell Comes to Frogtown and the first two Angel films.
Aldo Ray: Much like Calhoun, Ray appeared in just about every genre film he could in the later part of his career. Shock ‘Em Dead, Human Experiments, The Glove, Don’t Go Near the Park, Haunts…I can and will go on.
Nancy Walker: This star of Rhoda would go on to direct an even bigger bomb than this: Can’t Stop the Music, the unreal story of the Village People.
Ethel Merman: Playing Hedda Parsons here, Merman was considered the First Lady of musical comedy.
Rhonda Fleming: Her name in this movie is Rhoda Flaming, which is…par for the course of this film. She was known as the Queen of Technicolor for how well she filmed.
Dean Stockwell: If you only know him from Quantum Leap, I’d recommend you check out his roles in To Live and Die in L.A. and Married to the Mob.
Tab Hunter: Known for his clean-cut, boy next door looks, his later years are marked by interesting turns, such as playing Mary Hartman’s dad on the spin-off Forever Fernwood and appearing Divine in Polyester (1981) and Paul Bartel’s Lust in the Dust.
Dick Haymes: This big band vocalist sang in the session where Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters recorded both “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better).”
Robert Alda: Yes, he’s Alan’s dad. But you knew that. And you also knew that he played Father Michael in Mario Bava’s House of Exorcism.
Victor Mature: This would be the actor’s last major role; he also shows up in a cameo at the end of Winner’s film Firepower.
Edgar Bergen: As Professor Quicksand, this is one of his few roles not holding one of his trademark partners like Charlie McCarthy or Mortimer Snerd. He’s also in The Phynx, which still blows my mind.
Henry Wilcoxon: You may not know that he was very involved with the films of Cecil B. DeMille, but you do know him as the priest caught in a rainstorm in Caddyshack.
Yvonne DeCarlo: In 1950, the Camera Club of America voted her “Sexnicolor Queen of the Screen.” You know those guys — the pre-Internet creeps that’d hire women to pose for them as they stood around en masse. DeCarlo is better known as Lily Munster, she also appears in the kind of movies that this creep enjoys, namely Satan’s Cheerleaders, Silent Scream, Play Dead, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, American Gothic and Mirror, Mirror.
There are literally dozens and dozens of stars here, so get ready…
Edward Le Veque (the last surviving member of The Keystone Kops); William Benedict (Whitey of The Bowery Boys); Huntz Hall of The Dead End Kids; silent stars Carmel Myers, Dorothy Gulliver, Maytag repairman Jesse White; comedians Jack Carter and Shecky Greene; Marilyn Monroe rival Barbara Nichols; Variety columnist Army Archerd; Fernando Lamas; Zsa Zsa Gabor; Cyd Charisse, whose legs were once insured for $5 million dollars; Doodles Weaver (who also shows up in plenty of insane movies like The Zodiac Killer); cowboy actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez; Dick Van Dyke Show co-star Morey Amsterdam; Monroe/JFK scandal magnet Peter Lawford; Eddie Foy Jr.; Patricia Morison; The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok star Guy Madison; John Carradine as a drunk (yes, I realize that this is an easy target; I also realize that I watch at least one movie with Carradine in it a day); Regis Toomey, who is also in another dog of a film C.H.O.M.P.S.; Ann Rutherford (Gone with the Wind); Milton Berle (once perhaps the most famous person in entertainment); Keye Luke (a founding member of the Screen Actors’ Guild as well as the original Brak on Space Ghost and Mr. Wing from Gremlins); Walter Pidgeon (he’d be in one more movie, the Mae West vehicle Sextette); character actors Phil Leeds and Cliff Norton as dogcatchers; Winnie the Pooh’s original voice Sterling Holloway; two of the Ritz brothers; Edward Ashley (Professor Sutherland from Waxwork); Fritz Feld (who is also in The Phynx); George Jessel; Ken Murray; Stepin Fetchit (considered to be the first African-American to have a successful acting career, now seen as an example of how Hollywood treated minorities); Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller; Louis Nye; Dennis Morgan; William Demarest (Uncle Charley from My Three Sons); Billy Barty who plays an assistant director; Ricardo Montalban; Jackie Coogan; Roy Rogers’ sidekick Andy Devine; Broderick Crawford (of his many movies, I’ll let on that Harlequin is one of my favorites); Richard Arlan; Jack La Rue; former pro wrestler “Iron” Mike Mazurki; as well as singers Dennis Day, Janet Blair, Jane Connell, Ann Miller, Rudy Vallee and Gloria DeHaven.
When Augustus von Schumacher attended the premiere — he was the dog who played the lead role — he walked in with Mae West. Now that’s how you become a star.
As for the movie — unless you’re someone like me that gets excited about cameos, you’re going to hate it.
When I was a kid, Beaver Valley Bowl always seemed so intimidating. How strange then that it’s the place where Roy Munson has his hand smashed and his bowling career ruined. I never had such a bad time there myself, but you always felt like something could go badly. That scene where they walk up the steps and Roys asks, “People bowl here?” They didn’t fake a single thing about that place. It has always looked that frightening.
Kingpin is filmed in and around the bowling alleys of Pittsburgh. You can see just about every major lane in the film, other than my favorite, the Hollywood Show Lanes inside Arsenal Lane with their giant photo of Telly Savalas, autographed with “Who loves you, baby?”
I’m sure that everyone has seen this movie, but you’d do well to watch it again and appreciate the magic that is Bill Murray in this movie. Every single moment he’s on screen is perfect. That scene where he bowls three strikes in a row? That’s real. He also ad libbed just about every line in the entire movie.
It’s worth remembering that before assassins began hunting down Randy Quaid, he was a pretty wonderful comedic actor. This is also probably one of the first times that many realized who Lin Shaye was.
At one point, Michael Keaton was to play Munson, with Chris Farley as Ishmael and Charles Rocket as Big Earl. Jim Carrey was another choice to play the evil bowler.
It’s also worth noting that the character Seabass from Dumb and Dumber (played by Cam Neely) is a confirmed relative of this movie’s Skidmark, who is Roger Clemens.
Many of the lanes in this movie are gone. We’ll always have this movie to remember them by.
You remember that friend from high school or college that you went through so much with and then lost touch? You might keep up with one another on the internet or check in on Facebook, but you always mean to hang out someday. Finally, when you do, you’re reminded of their worst annoyances and realize why you never worried all that much about truly staying in touch.
Welcome to that person in film form.
This movie is the very definition of “If it works for you, good for you.”
It may have worked for me twenty some off years ago, but it feels trapped in that time, like a nostalgia band that’s living off two or less hits, moving siblings and relatives to play bass and slowly playing smaller and smaller venues. It’s not totally that way, as this movie did make money. But it just feels like diminishing returns, like a story I’ve seen before, coming from a place where nostalgia and remember that time has replaced any chance of originality.
In the same way that I don’t care about most prequels, that’s how I feel about this sequel. I thought the multiple sendoffs these characters have had were enough. Yet I get it. People love these films and I feel like exactly the kind of person I hated when I was obsessed with the ViewAskewniverse.
So, at the risk of saying things like, “the last twenty minutes of this movie are wasted moments that I will regret forever,” let me just say that if you liked the other films and want more, here it is.
DISCLAIMER: We were sent this movie by its PR agency and obviously, I appreciate getting it but probably am doing myself no favors in getting anything else from them.
Renowned surgeon and culinary enthusiast Carmine Braun (Bill Sage) invites a struggling playwright, Jeffrey Duncan, and his wife to his semi-annual dinner party with a promise to fund Duncan’s new production. No sooner do the Duncan’s enter the mansion’s foyer, the weirdness begins at the hands of the party’s eccentric, elitist guests. And the weird visions begin, such as Haley washing her hands in bathroom basin and seeing a swimming goldfish. As the weirdness turns to madness, Jeff and his wife come to realize the guests are practitioners of an ancient religion—and they’re the “centerpiece” of the ceremonial dinner.
Writer/director Miles Doleac is an actor who’s worked on a variety of shorts, indie films and web series (TV’s American Horror Story and Banshee the most familiar) who’s expanded into a behind-the-scenes roll—and has shown tremendous growth on this, his fifth feature film (his others are The Historian, The Hollow, Demons, Hallowed Ground).
While you’ll recognize the marquee name of Jeremy London (T.S Quint from Mallrats, TV’s Party of Five and 7th Heaven), the star here is familiar U.S. TV actor Bill Sage from the CSI, NCIS, and Law & Order franchises, along with his recurring roles on cable’s Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, Orange is the New Black, and Power.
Doleac’s an obviously a student of the Hammer-Amicus Institute of British Psychological Horror; he knows his way around the Southern Gothic corridors of his “secluded, creepy mansion” loaded with off-kilter characters. Think Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and a giallo-bent version of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut with touch of Paul Naschy’s The People Who Own the Dark (without the zombies), and you’ll enjoy your evening at this dinner party.
The Dinner Party will be available via DVD and Digital from Amazon, Google Play, Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu, and Xbox, as well as Dish Network, Direct TV and local cable providers on June 5 through Uncork’d Entertainment.
Disclaimer: We were provided a screener by the film’s P.R firm. That has no bearing on our review.
About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook.He also writes for B&S About Movies.
John Hancock had Jaws 2 taken from him, but did the same with Wolfen. What really amazes me is that the same director who did Prancer also made this movie.
Inspired by The Haunting, Hancock turned a basic monster movie script into a psychological exploration of whether or not the main character is really being stalked by a vampire. That original script was titled It Drinks Hippie Blood.
Jessica has just been placed in the care of her husband after some time in a psychiatric ward. He’s given up his job with the New York Philharmonic to care for her, moving upstate to an old farmhouse. When they arrive, a girl named Emily is already there. She offers to leave. Jessica invites her to stay. Suffice to say, things get worse from here.
This movie is less about the narrative story than it is about Jessica slowly losing her mind. That said, she might not be. The movie doesn’t really tip its hand in either direction, instead slowly growing darker and stranger like some proto-Lynch film with a wild synthesizer soundtrack.
I’m not certain today’s audience would like this film. I could really care less what they think, however.
Did you like the cast of The Flintsones movie? Bad news. None of them are back.
Mark Addy replaces John Goodman as Fred. Stephen Baldwin is no Rick Moranis as Barney. Kristen Johnston takes over for Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma Slaghoople. Jane Krakowski is here instead of Rosie O’Donnell as Betty.
The 2000’s were a time of prequels. So if you ever wanted to know how the Flintstones got together — and you desired to see the character that ruined the original show, The Great Gazoo (Alan Cumming, who also plays Mick Jagged, the Mick Jagger character ) — it’s all here for you.
This was directed by Brian Levant, who was also behind the first film, as well as Problem Child 2, Beethoven, Jingle All the Way, the direct to video sequel to A Christmas Story and supposedly the reboot of Police Academy.
Look, I’ll watch any movie with Joan Collins in it. That was pretty much what kept me going in this film. Harvey Korman shows up, which is ironic, as he was the voice of Gazoo in the original cartoon. And hey, Taylor Negron roles are always appreciated.
Burgess Meredith’s final film, this is the sequel to Grumpy Old Men, basically taking the relationship between Max (Walter Matthau) and John (Jack Lemmon) to its logical friendly — for a time — level as their kids Melanie (Daryl Hannah) and Jacob (Kevin Pollak) prepare to get married and John and Ariel (Ann-Margret) enjoy their new wedded bliss. But of course, there must be a fight before its all over.
Director Howard Deutch worked with John Hughes often, directing The Great Outdoors, Pretty In Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful. He’d work with Lemon and Matthau again for The Odd Couple II yet had much more success with The Replacements, which if you had basic cable, chances are you’ve seen at least once.
Improbably, Matthau’s character somehow wins over a newcomer to town, Maria Ragetti, played by Sophia Loren.
There was nearly another sequel called Grumpiest Old Men, which would be set in Rome and feature Marcello Mastroianni as Maria’s former husband. Sadly, Mastroianni died and so did Lemon and Matthau’s other films, Out to Sea and the aforementioned Odd Couple sequel.
Dr. Jason Holden is in his early 50s with a family reeling from a tragic automobile accident that has placed his daughter in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, he is going through his old dark night of the soul, as a new job as a piano accompanist at a local ballet studio leads to him coming out and falling in love with Brandon a troubled young dancer.
Frederick Keeve is the auteur behind this, as the writer, director and star. This film is the result of a shorter version of the movie that he made in 2018.
He also is making The Accompanist Awakening, which will feature the newly engaged lovers as they return to Los Angeles after two years in New York City.
While this is a world I’ve never lived in, I could really feel the emotion in every scene. If this sounds like a story you’d be interested in, you should check it out when it is released digitally on Tuesday, June 2.
DISCLAIMER: This film was sent to us by its PR agency,.
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