Fast and Furious Week: Redux Review Roundup

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Back in early March, when Universal Studios announced that the ninth Fast & Furious movie in the “Fast Saga,” officially titled F9, would be pushed back from its May 22, 2020, North American premiere to April 2, 2021, as result of the coronavirus, our positraction wheels started turning. . . .

Yeah, we’re at it, again.

So from Sunday, August 2, to Saturday, August 8, we rolled out forty film reviews that encompassed the films of the Fast & Furious franchise and its rubber-burning inspirations from the ’50s through the ’90s. The parking lot — uh, our review slots — got so crowded, the car flick reviews even took over our weekly “Drive-In Friday” featurette with six hot-rod n’ road racin’ films from the 1950s and our monthly “Exploring” featurette with an examination of the “Clones of the Fast and the Furious.” And we even got Mill Creek involved (poor them) as we included films from their Savage Cinema box set — that set, and all of the movies we reviewed in August — are link’d up in our “Savage Cinema (and “Fast and Furious Week”) Recap!

Well, guess what? That still wasn’t enough . . . as one car flick led into another, then another . . . before we knew it, we had another 30-plus reviews. Did we finally get them all? We think so.

But this is B&S About Movies. And we never say “never” when it comes to movies. Here’s the list of our reviews from Sunday, December 6, to Saturday, December 12, for our “Fast & Furious Week Two Redux”:

Gone in Sixty Seconds (1974)
Double Nickels (1977)
The Junkman (1982)
Deadline Theft Auto (1983)
Shaker Run (1985)
Freedom (1982)
Hot Rod (1979)
The Last Chase (1981)
Corky (1973)
The Last American Hero (1973)
The Last Run (1971)
King of the Mountain (1981)
The Driver (1978)
No Man’s Land (1987)
The California Kid (1974)
Fast Charlie . . . the Moonbeam Rider (1979)
Flash and the Firecat (1975)
Dixie Dynamite (1976)
Drag Strip Girl (1957)
The Racers (1955)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1973)
The Choppers (1961)
Thunder in Carolina (1960)
Speedtrap (1977)
Pit Stop (1967)
Car Crash (1981)
Moving Violation (1976)
Drag Racer (1972)
Safari 3000 (1982)
Checkered Flag or Crash (1977)
Run, Angel, Run! (1969)
Supervan (1977)
Rad (1986)
Used Cars (1980)
Joyride to Nowhere (1977)
The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)
Frankenstein Created Bikers (2016)
Crash! (1977)
Killing Car (1993)
Dear God No (2011)
The Checkered Flag (1963; from our “William Grefe Week“)
Racing Fever (1964, yeah, we know it boats, work with us)

Drive-In Friday: Elvis Racing Night
Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Spinout (1966)
Speedway (1968)

Drive-In Friday: Drag Racing Docs Night
Funny Car Summer (1973)
Wheels on Fire (1973)
Wheels of Fire (1972)
Seven-Second Love Affair (1966)

Doh! And we still still didn’t get to all of them! Here’s the ones we had on our list but didn’t get to watch, well, one day!

The Gumball Rally (1976)
The Young Racers (1963)
Catch Me If You Can (1989)
The Devil’s Hairpin (1957)
Hot Rods to Hell (1967)
Licensed to Drive (1987)

So wraps our second tribute week to the franchise of . . .

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies.

New Movies on Tubi!

You may have noticed that we review quite a bit of films released on the free-with-ads stream Tubi platform. That’s because Tubi streams some really great content deserving of a watch. As you can see from the theatrical one-sheets of the movies we’ve reviewed in 2020, Tubi offers a wide array of films in the action, comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, and family-oriented realms.

There’s a hyperlinked list of our reviews that feature links back to Tubi for your watching pleasure, at the end of this article.

Happy Holidays from the crew of B&S About Movies. Stay safe by staying home and watching a movie.

Angels Fallen
Banging Lanie
The Candy Witch
The Capture
Case 347
Cold Ground
Countrycide
Coven
Cry for the Bad Man
Dark Sister
Darkness Reigns
Daughter
Dead House
Double Riddle
Edge of Extinction
The Evil Insider Her
Evil River
5th of July
Getaway
The Girls of Summer
Inmate Zero
Jurassic Thunder
Loqueesha
Making Time
Nana’s Secret Recipe
The Neon Dead
One Night in October
Our Father’s Keeper
Revenge
Soft Matter
Water
0.0 MHz

SLASHER MONTH is dead

Every year, October becomes the month that I try and watch as many slashers as I can. This year, my goal was to watch a hundred. And guess what? I hit my goals. Here are the ones that I watched this year, along with links so you can read about them.

  1. To All A Goodnight
  2. Berserker
  3. The Red Right Hand
  4. Girls Nite Out
  5. Don’t Go In the House!
  6. Random Acts of Violence
  7. The Redeemer
  8. The Last Slumber Party
  9. He Knows You’re Alone
  10. The Forest
  11. Snuff Kill
  12. I, Madman
  13. Jack-O
  14. To Your Last Death
  15. Beyond the Darkness
  16. Dead Girl
  17. Mongrel
  18. Hellmaster
  19. Another Son of Sam
  20. Terror On Tape
  21. Last House on Dead End Street
  22. 976-EVIL II
  23. The Video Dead
  24. Hospital Massacre
  25. Possession
  26. Hatchet
  27. Hatchet II
  28. Hatchet III
  29. Victor Crowley
  30. National Lampoon’s Class Reunion
  31. Blood Lake
  32. Color Me Blood Red
  33. Terror In the Aisles
  34. Bells
  35. Axe
  36. Corpse Mania
  37. Scary Movie
  38. Amsterdamned
  39. The Majorettes
  40. Dreamaniac
  41. Camp Blood 8
  42. Meatcleaver Massacre
  43. Evil Judgment
  44. Puppet Master
  45. Puppet Master 2
  46. Video Violence
  47. Evil Ed
  48. The Ghost Dance
  49. Invasion of the Blood Farmers
  50. Deadly Camp
  51. Girls Just Want to Have Blood
  52. Getaway
  53. Evil Clutch
  54. Tokyo Stay Home Massacre
  55. Silent Madness
  56. Just Before Dawn
  57. Three On a Meathook
  58. House on the Edge of the Park
  59. Too Scared to Scream
  60. Retro Puppet Master
  61. Blood Song
  62. Tag the Assassination Game
  63. Waxwork
  64. Waxwork 2
  65. Fatal Images
  66. City In Panic
  67. Cut and Run
  68. 10 to Midnight
  69. Witchtrap
  70. Scream Park
  71. Deadbeat At Dawn
  72. Witchouse
  73. Whiskey Mountain
  74. Houseboat Horror
  75. The Witch Who Came from the Sea
  76. The Last House on the Beach
  77. Freeway Maniac
  78. Witchboard 
  79. Witchboard 2: Devil’s Doorway
  80. Witchboard III: The Possession
  81. The Toolbox Murders
  82. Zipperface
  83. Scalps
  84. The Undertaker
  85. Camp Twilight
  86. Necromancer
  87. Devil Girl
  88. Demonwarp
  89. Splatter Architects of Fear
  90. Housesitter: The Night They Saved Siegfried’s Brain
  91. Nail Gun Massacre
  92. Evil Dead Trap
  93. Evil Dead Trap 2
  94. Naked Fear
  95. The Dentist
  96. The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself
  97. Prom Night III: The Last Kiss
  98. No Such Thing as Monsters
  99. The Haunted House of Horror
  100. Destroyer
  101. Bloody Beach
  102. Spellcaster
  103. Redwood Massacre: Annihilation
  104. The Hitcher
  105. Hard Rock Nightmare
  106. Home Sweet Home
  107. Never Hike in the Snow
  108. Watch Me Die
  109. Gorgasm
  110. Shriek of the Mutilated
  111. Slaughterhouse
  112. Rest In Pieces
  113. The Wind
  114. Unhinged
  115. Olivia
  116. Happy Halloween
  117. Halloween Revenge of the Sandman
  118. House of Wax
  119. Hack O’Lantern

We also shared a few articles along the way, like how the first Halloween aired as a commercial for Halloween 2 and Robert Freese’s article on the history of slashers!

You can always track the entire list of our slasher watching with our Letterboxd list.

Want to see these for yourself? Plenty of them came from Vinegar Syndrome, which has been releasing some of the best lost VHS era slashers on blu ray. There are others that came out from Arrow Video, as well. Within each article, you’ll always find a place to watch the movie in streaming form or where you can order a copy.

Thanks for reading! Now, I have to prepare to beat this record for next year.

Halfway through Slasher Month!

Every October, I get a little crazy about slashers and try to watch as many as I can. It was sixty last year. This year, it’s a hundred. Who can say what happens next? This is my attempt to share all of them in one place. And if you’d like to share one that you watched, go ahead! We’ll post it!

  1. To All A Goodnight
  2. Berserker
  3. The Red Right Hand
  4. Girls Nite Out
  5. Don’t Go In the House!
  6. Random Acts of Violence
  7. The Redeemer
  8. The Last Slumber Party
  9. He Knows You’re Alone
  10. The Forest
  11. Snuff Kill
  12. I, Madman
  13. Jack-O
  14. To Your Last Death
  15. Beyond the Darkness
  16. Dead Girl
  17. Mongrel
  18. Hellmaster
  19. Another Son of Sam
  20. Terror On Tape
  21. Last House on Dead End Street
  22. 976-EVIL II
  23. The Video Dead
  24. Hospital Massacre
  25. Possession
  26. Hatchet
  27. Hatchet II
  28. Hatchet III
  29. Victor Crowley
  30. National Lampoon’s Class Reunion
  31. Blood Lake
  32. Color Me Blood Red
  33. Terror In the Aisles
  34. Bells
  35. Axe
  36. Corpse Mania
  37. Scary Movie
  38. Amsterdamned
  39. The Majorettes
  40. Dreamaniac
  41. Camp Blood 8
  42. Meatcleaver Massacre
  43. Evil Judgment
  44. Puppet Master
  45. Puppet Master 2
  46. Video Violence
  47. Evil Ed
  48. The Ghost Dance
  49. Invasion of the Blood Farmers
  50. Deadly Camp
  51. Girls Just Want to Have Blood
  52. Getaway
  53. Evil Clutch
  54. Tokyo Stay Home Massacre
  55. Silent Madness
  56. Just Before Dawn
  57. Three On a Meathook
  58. House on the Edge of the Park
  59. Too Scared to Scream
  60. Retro Puppet Master

You can always track the entire list of our slasher watching with our Letterboxd list. And we’ve also shared a few articles along the way, like how the first Halloween aired as a commercial for Halloween 2 and Robert Freese’s article on the history of slashers!

Classic Euro Horror is on KinoLorber’s KinoNow!

Our friends at Kino Lorber were kind enough to let me know that they have some classic Eurohorror streaming just in time for Halloween.

Kill, Baby…Kill! is a Mario Bava piece of magic, with a ball-bouncing ghost leading people to suicide amidst a swirl of colors and artistic style in the master’s return to gothic horror.    You can get it right here.

Black Sunday is another Bava classic, featuring the eyes of Barbara Steele and enough fog and atmosphere for ten movies. If you’ve never seen Bava before, this is a great place to start. It’s available here.
Fascination is some Jean Rollin to add even more doom mood to your October. Starring French adult star Brigitte Lahaie, this is kind of, sort of a vampire film, but totally engaging and otherworldly. It’s available here.
More Rollin? Well, speaking of doom cinema, The Iron Rose starts as a romantic romp in a graveyard and ends as anything but. It’s available here.

Jess Franco and Lina Romay made plenty of movies together, but Female Vampire is one of the better ones. Here, Lina is Countess Irina Karlstein, a bloodsucker who only feasts at the point of orgasm. You can get it here.

Want more Franco? The Awful Dr. Orlof starts like a Hammer film and ends up being total Franco, which is…well, an acquired taste that I often find myself dining upon. It’s also on their site.

Check out all of Kino Lorber’s horror selections right here! There’s so much there, like A Virgin Among the Living DeadDie Screaming MarianneFrightmareHatchet for the HoneymoonThe Living Dead GirlThe Grapes of DeathThe ComebackHouse of Whipcord and Zombie Lake, among others.

They also have all of these movies available on DVD and blu ray, if you’d rather have physical media. Here’s hoping they make your Halloween more interesting and artistic!

Rock ‘n’ Roll Week II Round Up!

Are your ears bleeding?

Back in July, we held our first “Rock ‘n’ Roll Week” with over 50 film reviews. Then we came back, as the rock ‘n’ roll could not be contained in just one week of reviews. So, this past week — from Sunday, September 20th to Saturday the 26th — we rolled out another 50-plus films concerned with all things rock ‘n’ roll on the big screen.

Sam, please . . . not a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Week III.”

Nah, why not!

My Light Stratocaster” courtesy of Rome-based artist-photographer Andrea/Flickr.

Here’s the reviews!

AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (1980)
All This and World War II (1976)
American Hot Wax (1978)
Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008)
Back to the Beach (1987)
Bankaku Rokku, aka Fairwell to Rock ‘n Roll (1973)
The Beatniks (1968)
Big Meat Eater (1982)
Border Radio (1987)
Charles Manson: Superstar (1989)
CREEM: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine (2020)
Cry-Baby (1990)
Dead Girls (1990)
Desolation Center (2020)
Devil Girl (2007)
Eat the Rich (1987)
Filth and the Fury (2000)
Forbidden Zone (1980)
Get Crazy (1983)
The Great Rock ‘n ‘ Roll Swindle (1980)
Groupie (2010)
Hesher (2010)
I’ll Be Around (2020)
It All Begins with a Song (2020)
The Incoherents (2020)
Last Days (2005)
Lisztomania (1975)
Louder Than Love (2012)
Mayor of Sunset Strip (2003)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Modern Girls (1986)
Mona et Moi, aka Mona and I (1989)
Monkey Grip (1982)
Mr. Rock “n’ Roll: The Alan Freed Story (1999)
Mister Rock and Roll (1957)
My Life with Morrissey (2003)
Never Too Young To Rock (1976) (Take 2)
Orion: The Man Who Would Be King (2015)
The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll (2009)
The Phynx (1970)
The Point (1971)
Population 1 (1986)
Prey for Rock & Roll (2004)
Psych-Out (1968)
Record City (1977)
River’s Edge (1988)
Rock and Roll Fantasy (1992)
Rockula (1990)
Roseland (1971)
The Runnin’ Kind (1989)
S.F.W. (1994)
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
Sing Street (2016)
Slipstream (1973)
Spice World ( 1997)
Starstruck (1982)
Strange Frequency (2011)
Suzi Q (2020)
Valley Girl (1983)
Valley Girl (2020)
Vibes (1988)
Young, Hot ‘n Nasty Teenage Cruisers (1977)

And there’s more rock ‘n’ roll movies to be had with our “Exploring” and “Drive In Friday” featurettes from this week:

Exploring: Movies Based on Songs
Drive-In Friday: Rock, Rock, Rock with Streets of Fire, Wild Zero, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, and The Apple

And here’s a few older “Exploring” featurettes spinnin’ the rock n’ roll:

Exploring: Eddie Van Halen on Film
Exploring: 50 Gen-X Grunge Films of the Alt-Rock ‘90s
Exploring: Radio Stations on Film
Exploring: Ten Bands Made Up for Movies

So keep on watching . . . and rock!

Say what? A third “Rock ‘n’ Roll Week“? You bet. “No Sleep ‘Til Pittsburgh” is our motto.

Image courtesy of Wall Paper Cave/Banner by R.D Francis/type by PicFont.

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies and publishes short stories and music reviews on Medium.

Get ready for the Drive-In Super Monster Rama!

Tomorrow night at the Riverside Drive-In the Drive-In Super Monster Rama plays for two awesome nights! For just $20 ($10 a night), you get eight astounding movies! Here’s a breakdown (and how to see them if you’re unable to attend) as well as a drink recipe for each night!

NIGHT ONE

Brides of BloodThat poster should show you what you’re in for as you enter Blood Island. Between carnivorous trees eating women and the movie ending in a huge orgy, this is probably unlike any other movie you’ve seen before. And you’re about to see three more just like it. This was streaming on Amazon Prime, but sadly, no longer. Hope you have the Severin blu ray!

The Mad Doctor of Blood Island:This movie starts with a blood oath and a drink of a green vial that is to save you from becoming one of the horrible beasts of Blood Island. Luckily, our mixed drink below is ready to save you. If you can’t make it to the Riverside, this alternate title cut can help (or you should already own the Severin blu ray).

Beast of BloodA monster that can live without its head? Yes, these are the magic moments that Blood Island has for you. This movie was sold by scattering counterfeit $10 bills with the movie poster on the back. Yes, really. Sadly, this was only on the Severin Blood Island set and is no longer streaming.

Terror Is a ManYes, Blood Island is somewhat adjacent to The Island of Dr. Moreau. Somehow, it’s even better than that, with man/animal hybrids driven wild by their cruel master. You can watch the alternate title cut of this movie or buy it on blu ray from Severin.

Here’s our drink for Friday night!

Blood Island Swampwater

  • 2 oz. pineapple juice
  • 2 oz. orange juice
  • 1 oz. cherry vodka
  • 1 oz. blue caracao
  1. Mix ’em all together one at a time and marvel at the way the colors shift and change!
  2. Stir and drink! Now you’re safe — well, as safe as it gets — to walk freely around Blood Island (or at least Vandergrift, PA).

NIGHT TWO

King Kong vs. GodzillaIf there was ever a battle that was fated to happen, it was this, a movie that completely owned my childhood. Somehow, Toho was able to improve on King Kong by making it completely bonkers and I thank whatever beings exist beyond this plane for it! Sadly, this movie is not streaming.

King Kong EscapesHonestly, this is my favorite Kong movie and one of my favorite movies ever. I would stay up until 1 AM as a six-year-old for this movie and scream the entire time. If you’re at the Riverside, you’ll probably hear me shouting in glee the entire time. This isn’t streaming either.

The Legend of Boggy CreekThe newly cleaned up version of this Bigfoot classic was due to play in April before COID-19 shut down the drive-in. Well, we’ll be wearing our masks and ready to delight in this reality-esque affair! You can watch this on Shudder.

The Brain That Would Not Die: This was a movie on all the time when I was a kid and with good reason. It’s ridiculous in all the best of ways, with an amazing performance by Virginia Leith. You can watch it on Tubi.

To celebrate the second night, we’re drinking King Kong style.

That’s right — the Jim Beam King Kong cocktail!

If you’re coming to the drive-in, make sure to say hello. I’ll be rocking a Severin hoodie — of course — and either a Frizzi/Fulci shirt or a Tenebre one! Bring a mask, grab a blanket and ask for a drink — I’ll have extras!

Check Sam out on The Necrocasticon podcast!

Want to hear Sam talk way too much about drive-ins, wrestling, his love of horror and pick his top ten drive-in horror movies? Good news. He guest starred on The Necrocasticon podcast, which blends horror fiction with heavy metal. Each week they find a common link between a horror property and heavy metal music and talk about it.

The esteemed panel of experts in the field of metal and all things that are scary on the show includes our host and moderator; fledgling horror writer, veteran podcaster and internet journalist Token Tom Clark, musician Maxx Axe, and horror fan Smoking Walt Hades.

Of course, Sam had to bring up Trick or Treat, because if you want to talk metal movies, that’s the best choice there can be.

You can listen to it right here.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Week Round Up!

Phew! We did it! Sam and I set out to spend a week reviewing rock n’ roll flicks for the week of July 19th to the 25th and went overboard – as is the B&S About Movies modus operandi — with 55 films. Things got so nuts — why do I let Sam’s brilliant ideas for “theme weeks” get me into these messes — that we also did a special “Drive-In Saturday” featurette to go with our usual “Drive-In Friday” weekly feature.

And we still didn’t get to them all!

So be on the lookout for our “Rock ‘n’ Roll Week II” rolling out the week of September 20th to the 26th with another 50-plus films.

No Sleep ’til Sunrise!

Image courtesy of My Hot Posters/text courtesy of PicFont

Here’s the list!

American Satan (2017)
Another State of Mind (1984)
Battle of the Mods (1966)
Blackhearts (2017)
Blank Generation (1980)
Breaking Glass (1980)
Bula Quo! (2013)
Cha Cha (1979)
Color Me Obsessed (2011)
Confessions of a Pop Performer (1975)
Cotton Candy (1978)
Daddy-O (1958)
Dangerous Youth (1957)
Darktown Strutters (1977)
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years (1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization III (1998)
Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (1984)
Down On Us (1984)
duBeat-e-o (1984)
Exploring: Ten Tangerine Dream Soundtracks
GG Allin: All in the Family (2017)
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)
Hair (1979)
Hanging on a Star (1978)
Hangin’ Out (1983)
Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies (1993)
Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986)
I Am Thor (2015)
It’s a Complex World (1991)
Josie and the Pussycats (2011)
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)
Legend of the Stardust Brothers (1985)
Lo Sound Desert (2015)
Musical Mutiny (1970)
The Mentors: Kings of Sleaze (2018)
Never Too Young To Rock (1976)
Pennsylvania Hardcore (2014)
Rock-a-Die, Baby (1975)
Rock All Night (1957)
Rockbitch: Bitchcraft (1997)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel (1983)
Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956)
Rocktober Blood (1984)
Rocktober Blood 2
Rollercoaster (1977)
Saturday Night Special (1994)
Second Time Lucky (1984)
Seven Notes of Terror (1984)
Sex & Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll (2010)
Shake, Rattle and Rock (1956)
Shock ‘Em Dead (1990)
Son of Dracula (1974)
Song of the Succubus (1975)
Space is the Place (1972)
Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal (1970)
Stunt Rock (1978)
Suburbia (1983)
Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
Terminal City Ricochet (1990)
Thunder Alley (1985)
Theory of Obscurity (2015)
20th Century Oz (1976)
Until the Light Takes Us All (2008)
Vinyl (2012)

Drive-In Friday: Movie Punks
La Venganza de Los Punks (1987)
Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains (1982)
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)

Drive-In Saturday: Punk Night II
Punk In London (1977)
The Punk Rock Movie (1978)
D.O.A (1980)
Urgh! A Music War (1980)

And here’s a couple of older “Drive-In Fridays” concerned with rock . . .

Musician Slashers Night
Zombie Nightmare
Blood Harvest
Kiss Daddy Goodbye
Blood Song

Heavy Metal Horror Night
Monster Dog
Blood Tracks
Terror on Tour
Hard Rock Zombies

And it all began back in June 2017, then April 2018, with out first theme weeks!

No False Metal Week
Messed Up and Musical

WHAT? MORE ROCK? Don’t forget that there is a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Week II” to jam on! And there’s a third installment week coming in the last week of August. We’re crazy that way.

My Light Stratocaster” courtesy of Rome-based artist-photographer Andrea/Flickr.

Happy viewing . . . and rock!

About the Author: You can learn more about the writings of R.D Francis on Facebook. He also writes for B&S About Movies and publishes short stories and music reviews on Medium.