John S Berry really came through, getting this next Chilling Classics movie our way on a quick deadline. I watched this movie too, so I can feel the pain that he had to go through. I never want anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do, you know? You can check out John on Twitter. 

When it comes to the world of cinema (especially bargain, Mill Creek sets) I often remind myself at just how difficult it is to get a movie made, any movie. I try to live by the Shock Waves podcast credo of how the movie that you didn’t like somewhere it may live as someone’s favorite movie and to be positive.

We really do have enough negative bullshit going on many fronts these days (and most days) to let it soak into what a lot of us like, movies. When I am not a huge fanboy, supporting pied piper or when my neck is sore from shaking it I just repeat the mantra “It was not for me. But if you liked it please enjoy, it was not for me.” I guess this is my cinema version of the Bill Burr philosophy of “fair enough.”

Maybe this is too much philosophy for a movie by a western movie involving Frankenstein’s Monster directed by a man who had close to 350 known films. But really isn’t this the 1966 version of indy cinema in the vein of Abe Lincoln vs. Zombies?

William Beaudine also made Billy the Kid vs. Dracula in the same year. Maybe he shot them back to back or maybe these were some passion products that he always wanted to do. He could make films fast and cheap, according to IMDB “Instead of shooting full coverage of scenes, he would shoot only what he knew was absolutely necessary. This saved both production time and raw stock, an important factor at the Poverty Row studios where he worked.”

The film has a few things going for it. On my second viewing after a long day, I appreciate it more. The previous night even with sleeping in and a nap under my belt I dozed off about half way thru and decided I would attempt later. The poster artwork has a distinct style and I wonder what young kids thought in the context of the times. Did they laugh at the crazy concept or did they wonder what the evil lady and Monster had in store of the Robin Hood of gunfighters?

This movie is made for when you can’t sleep at 3AM or an afternoon when you are home sick from school. I cannot imagine watching this many more times but I am hoping to snag the version with Joe Bob Briggs commentary once it is somewhat affordable on the eBay. I am not sure if it is anyone’s favorite movie or ranked in their top 20 but it has its charm, unlike the lead who plays Jesse James John Lupton.

He is a very slender blonde hair guy and does not seem to have any charm or wit to his personality. Lupton reminded me of Jim Varney (Ernest Goes to…) with a thin blond mustache. Is it wrong that in my fantasy booking of a remake I have Ernest playing Jesse James and William Smith from Grave of the Vampire playing loveable oaf muscle man Hank Tracy? But I am sure the budget was not huge but I am sure Beaudine was able to turn a profit.

The film has some good ideas for the story but it never really has a scary or creepy vibe. It starts off with a pretty bland western feel (I have probably seen too many shoot ’em up carve ’em up Spaghetti Westerns) and Jesse James is seen as a noble outlaw. His big galoot of a buddy Hank Tracy is trying to win them some money in a fist fight. Hank is a huge dude and I instantly think he is going to be the star of the movie. Nope, Hank wins his fight IE does all the work and Jesse just threatens the would be welcher and gets their money.

Most of the town folk are leaving and the Frankenstein bro and sis are running out of folks to experiment on. Dr. Maria Frankenstein is actually the granddaughter of Dr. Frankenstein and she works with her brother Dr. Rudolph (who looks like a Grandpa) on various mind control, raising from the dead, super soldier kind of experiments. Seems like mainly what they get done is ruining Maria’s hair with a rasta painted helmet and either killing off the person or injecting them with some good ole skull and crossbones poison.

Luckily Maria just happens to flip thru the right book and figures out why her experiments failed. She needs a strong man and lucky for her one will soon land in her lap. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Jesse and Hank have been double-crossed by the remnant of the Wild Bunch. Hank takes a bullet for Jesse and they are on the run.

They run into Juanita and her family and she decides to take them to get help for Hank. The Frankensteins patch up Hank and don’t trust Juanita. Jesse must be giving off some sort of pheromone because not only does Juanita decide she loves him but Maria is smitten too (funny scene her brother teases her for actually being human and she paintbrushes him). But really he is more into his badass outlaw persona and chooses to stay on the run.

I am not too sure why they wouldn’t be into Hank. He is built like a brick shit house and seems very loyal and sweet. Jesse comes across cranky and moody and he smokes a lot so he probably has hot trail breath as well. Hank does not come across too bright but neither does Jesse. Jesse is easily conned and taking this noble approach way to far.

Jesse is sent away for “medicine” which is really a note incriminating himself so he will get caught. Before he goes on his mission Juanita (who is probably the smartest one) begs him not to go. She sees it is a trick and Jesse in his pompous ass fashion tells her a version of a man has got to do what a man has got to do and leaves to the near town.

Even after her begging him he has no inkling to maybe take a peek at the letter just in case. This arrogant SOB doesn’t even hold up to any light and try to read the letter. Nope he figures Dr. Maria is so smitten with him she is on the up and up.

Jesse gets some revenge and Juanita calls him on his macho BS as she has seen what Dr. Maria has done to poor Hank. Hank was smitten with Maria before he was Igor and Maria cannot stand the thought of Jesse becoming a mindless beast. Actually with Maria controlling him maybe he would have a little more charm. Juanita goes to get the Sheriff and saves the day and Jesse. At the end, Jesse rides off with the Sheriff and I am not sure if he is going to jail or to hang from a willow tree.

The film ends with a sad ending for Hank. Sadly for him, Juanita was a pretty good shot with her eyes closed but lucky because there were no gaping bullet holes in his chest. Poor Hank is buried and to add insult to the injury his grave says “Hank Tracy He was Jesse James’ friend.” Come on! The guy can’t even have top billing on his own headstone!!!

Jesse James is an egomaniac and I wish Hank as Igor would have squeezed him until he was just a hat and a bad mustache. Hank would have lived out his days with Juanita raising a family, they would have saved money on horses on account of Hank could be the plow horses.

This entry was written by Bill Van Ryn, who is the creative force behind the website Groovy Doom and the zine Drive-In Asylum. Somehow, he’s tackled nearly every yeti related film on this box set. Thanks, Bill!

Filmed in 1972, Track of the Moon Beast never received any significant theatrical distribution. It sat shelved for years after completion, and IMDB claims it premiered June 1, 1976, but I’ll be damned if I can find an ad for any theatrical engagements in any newspaper archive.  The first appearances I can document are when it came to TV in 1978, and after that it was a frequent item on local stations desperate to fill their late night slots. Even though the film takes place in the early 1970s (a fact that the fashion and decor will never let you forget), the plot for this is straight out of classic 1950s science fiction.

A young man named Paul (Chase Cordell) is struck by a tiny shard from a falling meteorite from the moon. The shard has embedded itself in his head, and for some reason this causes him to transform into a rampaging lizard monster whenever the moon rises.  He happens to be friends with a local professor who connects this bizarre turn of events with an ancient Native American legend, although nobody can stop Paul’s deadly transformations.

Track of the Moon Beast boasts an interesting creature design by Rick Baker and Joe Blasco, about on the level with Baker’s monster suit work for 1971’s Octaman. It’s a throwback ‘man in a suit’ monster movie, and the majority of the film is just total camp. Even its most ridiculous moments are played with a serious tone, and the experience of watching the limited actors devour the absurd script makes it an easy target for riff trackers, both professional and amateur.

There is one scene in the film that I found extremely effective: after Paul transforms for the first time, we see an older man and his wife who are in the middle of a fight. The wife is angry and has locked the drunken man outside, threatening to go to bed and leave him out there all night. They are ridiculous caricatures, and we know he’s going to be attacked by the Moon Beast, but the film presents it in an unexpected way, focusing on the wife’s stunned look of horror as she hears the sounds of it attacking and killing her husband just outside their front door.  The camera pans from her frozen face to a large pool of blood that has started to seep under the door, and for a few moments the film actually seems capable of something.

Although it never lives up to that moment again, Track of the Moon Beast probably would have ended up with a better reputation if it had just been a little more lighthearted. The nihilistic aspects of the story are a real bummer, made even worse by the fact that there is actually some real chemistry between Chase Cordell and Leigh Drake, who plays Paul’s girlfriend Kathy.  It’s almost by accident, but they do seem very natural together, and Kathy of course is about to find out the cruel truth that every girl who ever dated a werewolf could have told her: there’s no future when you fall in love with a man who transforms under the moon. There’s a scene where Paul and Kathy overhear a doctor in an adjacent room casually discussing the fact that Paul’s condition is hopeless and he is doomed to die. Although the film veers off into a ludicrous climax at this point, it’s hard to shake the fact that a man is given a medical death sentence on screen and runs off into the desert with intentions of suicide. The fact that he turns into a man-lizard and disappears in a supposed shower of cosmic rays might make you smile, but you’ll either be asleep or seriously bummed out when it’s all over. I couldn’t blame you either way.

Don’t have the Chilling Classics box set? You can watch this for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Dr. Cross (an amazingly young Vincent Price) is treating a young patient for shock, as she went into a coma when she saw a man kill his wife with a candlestick. But what if that man ended up being Dr. Cross? And how will she escape?

Lynn Bari plays the Doctor’s lover/nurse Elaine, and if you know anything of noir, she’s never a leading lady but always the seductress, a “sultry, statuesque man-killer” as Wikipedia refers to her. Sadly, her career fizzled by the 1950’s, “sabotaged by unresolved problems with her domineering, alcoholic mother and three marriages.”

Once Dr. Cross realizes that Janet knows he’s the killer, Elaine convinces him to overdose her on insulin and give her shock therapy, which sends her into a coma. He can’t find it in his heart to kill her, but his nurse won’t help him save her, so he chokes her. Luckily, Dr. Harvey saves the day and all is well — but things sure got close.

If you don’t have the Chilling Classics set, you can always watch this on Amazon Prime. Actually, since the original copyright holder never secured the rights, it’s in the public domain, so you can find it pretty much anywhere.

Imagine a movie that starts with a fourteen year-old girl being killed by a faceless maniac wearing a black leather glove with razor-tipped fingers. If you’re ready for that before the first credits roll, then you’re ready for The Demon.

That very same killer then kills a trucker, steals all his money and gets a place in a sleazy hotel in Johannesburg. Emily’s parents are frustrated by the police and turn to Bill Carson (Cameron Mitchell, the whole reason why I picked this movie), a psychic detective who was once a U.S. Marine. Of course.

Emily’s mother just wants to know if her daughter is alive or dead. Her father, though, wants revenge. Carson replies that its best for the Parkers if they don’t find the killer, telling them that he’s pure evil. I mean, you should believe a dude who can tear up a bed like this.

The killer has moved on to an American schoolteacher named Mary (Jennifer Holmes, who was on TV’s Newhart before being replaced by Julia Duffy). She first sees him outside her classroom window, as he can seemingly appear and disappear at will. And when she’s not seeing killers, she’s hanging out with her South African cousin who is dating Dean Turner, a rich American playboy that Mary hates.

Jo is out having fun and poor Mary is stuck at home, getting phone calls with heavy breathing and menacing knocks on her front door. Is it the killer? Or is he happy to be at home grunting, groaning, doing push-ups and shredding porno mags?

The Demon also likes to go out and try and pick up ladies. And where does he go? Boobs Disco! Yes, this was a real place. And yes, it was really called that.

We even get to hear some of Lipps Inc.’s “Funkytown” in this scene, as the killer is stopped from raping a girl by two motorists, one of whom is slashed and the other gets his motorcycle blown up real good.

Meanwhile, Cameron Mitchell is getting the most out of his ten minutes of screen time. I guess that’s all the producers could afford. He creates a faceless sketch of the killer and tells the Parkers where the man lives. He warns Mr. Parker one more time, but the guy just can’t listen and gets his neck snapped pretty much immediately, then thrown off a balcony.

Children are playing in the woods when they find Emily’s remains, which brings Carson back to Mrs. Parker, telling her that he’s sorry, but the time of The Demon is drawing close. She accuses him of being behind all of this to keep his career going as a psychic and shoots him in the face. Well, that had really nothing to do with the other half of this film, which is becoming a riff on Halloween.

Mary and Jo go out on dates that night while The Demon gets ready for them. Mary tells Bobby, her man, that she’s been getting stalked late at night. And she’s right — The Demon has, for reasons known only to him, broken in to kill Jo and rich guy Dean, then hide in the house.

You know, if I had a cool razor glove, I wouldn’t suffocate people with a plastic bag like The Demon. But hey — I’m just a writer on a web site.

It’s time for this movie to go full Halloween, with The Demon chasing Mary all over the house — up and down the stairs, through a closet, into the attic and finally through a hole in the roof. She finally makes it to the bathroom, where she builds a trap with scissors, the shower and shampoo. That’s right — The Demon is the first masked killer I’ve seen that is basically killed by slipping in the shower.

If you’re watching this movie based on the description Mill Creek gives, you’re going to be disappointed. Cameron Mitchell never gets to be the Australian Dr. Loomis, instead being felled by a housewife with a handgun. And I know that I give generous berth to the transfers on these, but even I was amazed by how long scratches would appear on the footage.

If you enjoy scenes that having nothing to do with the overall film being given the same importance as major facts, then let me recommend The Demon. Come for Cameron Mitchell, stay for Boobs Disco.

You can also watch this for free on Amazon Prime.

Editor’s Note: I first read Melody Vena’s writing in this year’s Horror and Sons Halloween Horrors 2018 event and learned that she won the 2017 and 2018 Monster Movie Maniac “Monster Movie Marathon” contest by watching the most movies in one month. It’s super exciting to have her write for us and share a movie all about Jack the Ripper. She also reviewed My Mom’s a Werewolf for our reviews of Mill Creek’s Pure Terror box set.

In 1913 author Marie Belloc Lowndes wrote a fascinating book called The Lodger; which is a fictional portrayal of the Jack the Ripper killings. By the year 1927, the book would have its first cinema counterpart,  filmed by none other than Alfred Hitchcock. The movie would see several versions from the years of 1932, 1944, 1953 and 2009. The 1953 movie that I am discussing was released December 31, in San Francisco and starred Jack Palance, Constance Smith and Byron Palmer.

Set in London, 1888 just as Jack the Ripper was beginning his reign of terror, an older couple decide to rent out their attic desperately in need of extra cash, on the third night of the killings a man appears and rents the room. The man, a researcher pathologist with a desire for experiments begins working in his newly rented room. The landlady meets the man and becomes suspicious, these suspicious feelings are fueled when her niece starts to show an interest in the man.

The movie opens to two police officers walking the streets discussing the killings when they come across a woman of the night being tossed from a pub, after she has a brief altercation with the owner, and throws some clever insults at the coppers, they proceed to walk her down the road for her safety. After a bit she decides to go off on her own down the dark alleyways of London and happens to fall victim to an off-screen Jack the Ripper. The following scene introduces us to Mr. and Mrs. Harley who are sitting in their living room, Mr. Harley discussing current events of the Ripper with his dog, when Mrs. Harley chimes in he has a way of curtly asking her to stop. Suddenly a knock at the door has both startled with Mrs. Harley asking “ I wonder who that could be at this hour” Mr. Harley replying “Well I’m sure if you think long and hard you’ll figure it out.” The door opens to Mr.Slade (a young Jack Palance) inquiring about a room for rent. The man enters the house and the family dog runs over wagging his tail and jumping on him, inciting a “He never does that to strangers,” from Mr.Harley; which earns him a glance from the man.

Innocent enough.

Mrs. Harley proceeds to show the man her rooms that are for rent, but once he steps inside he’s not very happy about the accommodations. After offering them for a reasonable rate he still asks if there are any other rooms, she says, “No unless you want the attic,” his disposition changes and he asks to be shown. Once in the attic he gets excited and says that he’s a research pathologist and will be needing to conduct experiments without interruption, and will also be renting the other rooms. They leave, he pays her in advance telling her that “his experiments take him out late at night,” his attention is drawn to an old Bible on the desk and they discuss who it was Mrs. Harley’s grandmothers; their conversation is cut short by the town crier yelling “MURDER IN WHITECHAPEL, JACK THE RIPPER STRIKES AGAIN.” Mrs. Harley lets her feelings be known after saying she wishes they would catch him, meanwhile, Mr. Slade, with a scowl on his face says”Jack the Ripper…what a horrible revolting name” and slams the Bible shut.

Not so innocent.

Without giving too much away, I suggest that you watch it for yourself. Black and white movies are always fun, and The Man in the Attic is sure to deliver for any classic movie fan, withitst musical score and dance numbers, to its suspense and mystery and an ending that will leave you guessing till the final frame. Any movie that has Jack the Ripper as its main antagonist usually pushes the envelope, and how could they not, not only was it never solved, it caused a widespread panic turning neighbor on neighbor. The Man in the Attic is able to show a little of what that hysteria was like, without gore, blood and visual effects, just sound and great acting.

I leave you with these final chilling words:

“One day men will look back and see that I gave birth to the twentieth century” – Jack the Ripper

Back in my teenage days of haunting Prime Time Video, the case to this movie would call out to me. It featured a photo inspired by Henry Fuseli’s painting The Nightmare, with a near-nude Natascha Richardson being menaced by a goblin who has decided to squat on her chest. And while this is an arty film directed by noted director Ken Russell, it was known in my high school as the movie where “a lady has eyeballs for nipples.”

The film is a semi-fictionalized retelling of the Shelleys (Julian Sands and a debuting Richardson) visiting Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) at Switzerland’s Villa Diodati to do opium and the horror stories that resulted, with Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein and John Polidori creating The Vampyre.

You may be wondering: Why is an arty film about Lord Byron and the Shelleys on a box set of mostly kitschy horror films? Because Mill Creek is either awesome, insane or takes whatever public domain films they can get. Actually, the right answer is all three.

After a reading of the book Phantasmagoria, the party guests conduct a séance around a human skull, during which Claire, Mary Shelley’s stepsister has a seizure. These happened throughout their childhoods whenever the supernatural reared its head. Here’s a real otherworldy event: Lord Byron goes down on Claire and she has a miscarriage during his ministrations. And oh yeah, Polidori claims a vampire has bitten him. He also tries to poison and hang himself because he can’t deal with his homosexuality.

What follows are a series of visions in which, yes, breasts do grow eyeballs, a shadowy figure rides on horseback, Claire disappears and Mary sees her future son William in a coffin and visions of her miscarriage. She tries to throw herself off the balcony but is saved by Percy.

As we fast forward to modern times, we learn the truth via voiceover: Mary’s son, William, did die just three years later, followed by Percy’s drowning in 1822. Byron would die two years after Percy, and Polidori would kill himself in London. Mary wanted to raise her child from the dead, so she created Frankenstein and The Vampyre came from Polidori’s homosexuality and suicidal thoughts. 

Your willingness to enjoy this film will depend on how much you enjoy Victorian writers and Russell’s visual style. It’s always amazed me that this was stocked in the horror section of most video stores. Chilling Classics continues that tradition by putting it into this set.

Want to watch it? The newly reminted Vestron Video released it earlier this year and you can find it at Diabolik DVD.

Concert Vernon Paris’ hard work has finally paid off. He’s become the biggest star there is. That’s when his hands are ruined in an auto accident and Dr. Gil Harding amputates them — with no authority — and replaces them with the hands of a murderer, all in the hopes that Paris can play piano again. Sure, the transplant is a success, but Paris becomes unhinged and increasingly violent toward those he blames for him needing his killer new mitts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4az6zEBxWk

Sure, this is based on the 1920 novel Les Mains d’Orlac by French writer Maurice Renard, but the real draw is the absolutely over the top slasher like violence — well, as good as it gets in 1962 — throughout the film. First, Paris argues with his former girlfriend Eileen, who can’t love him as a normal man and craves the limelight that dating him gave her. Her dress catches on fire as they fight and she burns alive. Later, Skeet, the son of the taxi driver who caused the accident, enrages Victor by being able to play the piano when he cannot. He crushes the child’s hands, then smashes his head open.

Keep your eyes peeled for a very young Sally Kellerman and Irish McCalla, who was TV’s Sheena: Queen of the Jungle. This isn’t a great movie, per se, but it’s over the top and filled with brimming menace. It’s also anything but boring!

It’s available on Amazon Prime for free with a subscription.

Is Bill Rebane a horrible filmmaker or a secret genius? If we’re to go by Blood Harvest, I lean toward the latter. However, every single other one of his films that I’ve watched so far has left me feeling like that movie is his lone success, his moment where the hundreds of monkeys all writing scripts for him finally got one that approached Shakespeare. Will 1984’s The Game (also known as The Cold and we all know how much Mill Creek cares about getting the correct title on their films or letting you know that the same movie has multiple names) convince me otherwise?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBNRvLKWlNk

It’s a good conceit. Imagine if three millionaires gather nine people in an old mansion and give task them to conquer their biggest fears. If they make it, they each get a millon dollars in cash. That’s the idea. What follows is a gaseous cloud that chases people, a 1980’s looking amateur band rocking out, people sharing pickles at dinner, an Alien ripoff, people drinking tea with spiders in it, tennis playing, a hunchbacked mental patient who ends up being a British thespian, singalongs of “Jimmy Crack Corn” and so many endings, you’ll feel like you’re watching The Return of the King on LSD.

I haven’t seen a movie that makes less overall sense that didn’t come from the hands of an Italian director. Seriously, this movie is bonkers. Come for the swimsuit models, stay for the meta reference to Rebane’s other film, The Giant Spider Invasion. I really need to watch this like twenty-five more times to really appreciate it and its not-so-subtle nuances.

Which Rebane made this, the schlockmeister or the auteur? I’m thinking the genius, but then again, some people think Claudio Fragasso is one of those too.

Thanks to Dustin Fallon from Horror and Sons for this entry. He’s been instrumental in helping us get writers for this project and is one hell of a nice guy. Also, his site is great!

As the population of a small, quiet town prepares to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of its founding, the literal ghosts of its past return to seek retribution for the actions of their forefathers long, long before. If you think that this plot synopsis sounds like it’s for John Carpenter’s 1980 film The Fog, you are right! It sounds a whole Hell of a lot like The Fog.

In this case, the film in question is Bill Rebane’s 1983 release, The Demons of Ludlow. However, in Demons, it is the town’s founder himself that has returned with a supernatural bloodlust. And while Blake and his men may have sailed into Antonio Bay in spooky style in The Fog, Demons of Ludlow‘s Ephram Ludlow comes to town by way of a haunted piano. Somehow, that just doesn’t seem as “grand” an entrance.

The most significant difference between both films is undoubtedly in the quality of the production. Simply put, The Fog had a budget, while Demons clearly does not. By no means is that to say that Demons of Ludlow is not worth watching. In fact, it’s these same budgetary limitations that gives all of Rebane’s films whatever appeal they may have.

Being a major studio release, Carpenter was able to enlist the acting talents of heavyweights such as Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, and John Houseman to help lend his film some “credibility” (as well as some highly entertaining performances). However, the cast of Demons is comprised almost entirely of actors native to Rebane’s home of Wisconsin, most of whom had no previous or future film credits to their name.

Expectedly, performances here aren’t as “polished” as those in Carpenter’s film, but the majority of Demons‘ cast give respectable performances. A few scenes do feel like community theater performances, and this feeling is further enforced by a couple of the sets looking like just a backdrop on a stage. Overall, the film has a very “made for early 80’s syndication” look to it, which may provide some additional appeal for audiences alive during that era.

While The Fog undoubtedly provided more than a few chills and shocking deaths, Demons of Ludlow is much more gleefully sadistic with its underworldly carnage. Demons unabashedly presents scenes featuring a beheading, severed hands, an old woman pelted in the face with stones, and (most notably) a pack of ghouls possibly sexually assaulting a mentally handicapped woman while ripping her to pieces and eating her. Interestingly enough, the forthcoming scene featuring the Mayor’s complete lack of empathy about the girl’s death (with her mother present) is the film’s biggest comedic moment.

Gore is quite light in Rebane’s film, presumably due to budget. However, what is implied is just as effective as a pile of blood and guts on the screen, if not more so. There is one quick moment of nudity during the attack on the handicapped woman, and one character spends the majority of her screen time in sexy lingerie despite being the minister’s wife, so the film may not be appropriate for audiences of all ages. As there’s little to no outdoor lighting used in this film, it probably fits best as a late night viewing.

Much like Rebane’s most successful film, The Giant Spider Invasion, Demons of Ludlow is far from polished, but shines as an example of local filmmaking. What makes this film work is that all parties involved are trying their best to make it work. Special effects really aren’t all that “special”, but are wisely kept secondary to the story itself. The story is fairly ambitious, but the film never tries to be bigger than it is.

Demons of Ludlow is definitely not the best film on Mill Creek’s 50 Chilling Films collection, but it’s also far from being the worst. (I feel sympathy for the poor bastard stuck reviewing either War of the Robots or The Witch’s Mountain.) I’ve owned this set for quite a few years now and highly recommend it to any fan, new or old, that may want to freshen up a bit on their older horror films.

The first Bill Rebane movie I saw was the berserk Tiny Tim vehicle Blood Harvest. Once I realized that The Alpha Mission — one of his older efforts — is on the Chilling Classics box set — I jumped on it.

Much like Night of the Living Dead, a space probe has returned, this time from Mars. It’s brought back an organism that can kill all life on Earth. As it’s being transported by train, an employee accidentally releases it and the entire station is quarantined and must wait endless hours for the government to find the cure. There’s only one problem — if they fall asleep, the organism will kill them.

Basically, this is a movie about a bunch of people drinking coffee. doing amphetamines and making horrible decisions. Ralph Meeker (Without Warning) stars here, bringing along several unknowns and George “Buck” Flower (who shows up in nearly every John Carpenter film). It’s basically a movie where people stand around, upset one another and stand around some more.

With a better team of actors, this could be a much better film. That said, it’s enough to keep me interested. My disclaimer is that I’m exactly the kind of person who loves watching horrible movies with bad transfers from a $9 box set with fifty movies on it.

“What year is this from? Is this foreign?” asked Becca. No, this movie is magically made in this country, unless Wisconsin is really a foreign country. “Is this the end of the movie?” she also asked. Yep, that’s the kind of film this is.