Category Archives: Movie reviews

LIONSGATE STEELBOOK 4K ULTRA HD AND BLU RAY RELEASE: The Wicker Man (1973)

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The Lionsgate steelbook release of The Wicker Man is gorgeous. Just look at that illustrated package and then marvel at what’s inside it: the final cut of the film in time for its fiftieth anniversary, reborn in 4K. Plus there are exclusives like “Revisiting the Locations of The Wicker Man,” “The Wicker Man at 50,” the lost ending of the movie, an interview with Britt Ekland, an archival interview with Robin Hardy and Christopher Lee and a series of features that will reward fans of the movie. The edition I have is exclusively from Best Buy.

The Wicker Man begins with Christopher Lee, a Hammer star, talking to writer Anthony Shaffer about more interesting roles. Shaffer had read the David Pinner novel Ritual — which had first been written as a script for Michael Winner, and I can’t even imagine what he would have done — and turned that inspiration into his own story.

Shaffer’s vision for the film was unique. The story delves into the intersection of modern religion and ancient pagan practices. It departs from the typical blood and gore of horror, opting instead for a creeping, unknown terror that lurks in the shadows. This unique approach is what we now refer to as folk horror.

The Wicker Man stands at the crossroads of art and horror, somewhere between movies like Performance and The Devil Rides Out, but with a twist, as the traditional rules of horror no longer apply. The concepts of good and evil, as defined by Judeo-Christian beliefs, are absent in this story. Instead, it’s a journey into the unknown, exploring ancient ways that have existed long before the modern era.

Christian Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) is initially presented as the virtuous hero. He is on the island of Summerisle investigating Rowan Morrison’s disappearance, yet the villagers refuse to admit that she ever existed.

He’s shocked at these people’s ways, which include putting frogs in their mouths to cure illness and dancing around phallic maypoles. He finds images of past May Queens. He meets Lord Summerisle (Lee), who leads this village. And he sees the answers that he seeks, despite perhaps not liking them.

There’s also tempted by Willow MacGregor (Britt Ekland, who was three months pregnant; she was dubbed by Annie Ross, and her body double was dancer Rachel Verney), and there’s a scene where she dances with a wall between her and Howie that is volcanic. It has no nudity, but it’s filled with sensual energy.

Director Robin Hardy also made The Fantasist and The Wicker Tree, a very loose sequel to the original movie. Hardy first published the sequel as a novel, Cowboys for Christ, about American Christian evangelists who travel to Scotland and end up in a similar situation. Lee plays the Old Gentleman, who is either Summerisle or not.

Shaffer also wrote The Loathsome Lambton Worm, a direct sequel that begins immediately after the ending of The Wicker Man. In it, Howie is saved by his fellow police officers. The movie features a fire-breathing dragon and is much more fantastic than the first one.

I love that I am still discovering things in this movie even so many years after I first saw it. The 4K version gives you a deeper and more beautiful experience as you explore Summerisle. I’ve found myself just staring at the cover in joy and wonder.

MILL CREEK SCI-FI CLASSICS: The Brain Machine (1972)

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James Best, before he taught Tarantino and chased the Dukes. Gerald McRaney, before he was a Simon and was with Delta Burke. An ESP experiment gone wrong and well, a lot of talking. That said, it’s very 1972 and looks every bit as dated as you’d imagine, so I saw that as a very relaxing place to spend time in.

Director Joy N. Houck Jr. also made Night of Bloody Horror and Creature from Black Lake. He wrote this with Thomas Hal Phillips, who plays the General, and Christian Garrison.

I think this was a government experiment so that anyone who wanted to know about MK Ultra in 1972 would watch this movie and be bored into thinking that it’s not worth caring about. It’s like The Alpha Incident but somehow more boring, so imagine. Please just imagine. Actually, just do that. Maybe you don’t need to watch it.

Hey — Cannon released it on home video in Germany.

Don’t have the box set? You can watch it on Tubi.

Spagvemberfest 2023 and Arrow Video Savage Guns box set: Wrath of the Wind (1970)

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The plan? Wealthy landowner Don Antonio (Fernando Rey) wanted Marcos (Terence Hill) and Jacobo (Mario Pardo) to put a stop to the revolutionaries that threaten his profits. Marcos will kill anyone for money and easily does his job before he figures out that he did wrong. What helps is that he gets interested in a gorgeous woman connected to them named Soledad (Miss Italy 1959 Maria Grazia Buccella) and then decides to work on the side of the common man.

Directed by Mario Camus, who wrote this with Manuel Marinero and Mario Cecchi Gori, who would go on to script Il Postino, this may be a movie more interesting for the titles it went under than what it actually is. Also known as The Wind’s Anger, The Wind’s Fierce and — sold as a comedy and it isn’t — Trinity Sees Red,* this is the last non-comedy that Terence Hill would make for a bit. Hence this being sold as a Trinity movie.

*In Germany, it was called Der Teufel kennt kein Halleluja (The Devil Doesn’t Know Hallelujah), Trinity: I Open Graves With My Pistol in Greece and Vultures Are Waiting in Finland.

Arrow Video’s Savage Guns box set has high definition 2K restorations of all four films from the original 35mm camera negatives, with El Puro newly restored by Arrow Films. Plus, you get brand new introductions to each film by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli, an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by author and critic Howard Hughes, a fold-out double-sided poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx and limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original artwork and a slipcover featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx.

Wrath of the Wind has an alternate 106-minute Spanish-language version of the film, featuring additional and extended scenes not found in the Italian or English versions. There’s also new audio commentary by author and critic Howard Hughes, a short film by filmmaker Francisco Lacerda and the alternate Revenge of Trinity opening.

You can get this set from MVD.

MILL CREEK SCI-FI CLASSICS: Bloodtide (1982)

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When you see the names Brian Trenchard-Smith and Nico Mastorakis listed as producers, you know that you’re probably getting into something good. Also known as Demon Island, this film was directed by Richard Jeffries, who is probably better known for the films that he’s written like Scarecrows and Cold Creek Manor. He’s only directed one other film, the 2008 TV movie Living Hell.

It’s funny, when I discussed this movie earlier today with Bill from Groovy Doom, he referred to it as “the monster movie with no monster.” That’s an apt description.

It’s also about a treasure hunter named Frye (James Earl Jones) whose underwater scavenging brings back an ancient sea monster that demands virgin blood.

Meanwhile, Neil and Sherry (Martin Kove and Mary Louise Weller, who appeared in Q The Winged Serpent the same year as this movie) have come to the island looking for his missing sister Madeline (Deborah Shelton, who also sings the song over the end credits with her then-husband Shuki Levy). Plus, Lydia Cornell stops hanging out with Cosmic Cow on Too Close for Comfort and shows up as Jones’ girlfriend.

Inexplicably, Lila Kedrova from Zorba the Greek and Jose Farrar — well, he’s less of a surprise as Jose may have been the first actor to win the National Medal of Arts, but he’s also in spectacular junk like The Sentinel, Bloody Birthday and The Being — both appear.

Arrow’s write-up promised “blood, nudity and beachside aerobics.” This delivered, as well as some great dream sequences and moments where beachfront rituals seem to go on forever. That said, I had a blast with this movie, as any film that has Martin Kove skipping around the waves holding a miniature engine while the ladies go wild and James Earl Jones yells at everyone will hold my attention.

Don’t have the box set? You can watch this on Tubi.

MILL CREEK SCI-FI CLASSICS: Battle of the Worlds (1961)

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Known in Italy as l Pianeta degli uomini spenti (The Planet of Extinct Men), this was directed by Anthony Dawson, who is better known everywhere other than America as Antonio Margheriti.

Dr. Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini, The Antichrist) and Eve Barnett (Maya Brent in her only acting role) are looking forward to leaving the island that they work on and getting married. However, a rogue planet called The Outsider is on a collision course with our world so no time for love Dr. Steele. However, Professor Benson (Claude Rains in one of his last acting roles) — who lives away from mankind with his dog Gideon — believes that our world is safe. No one else agrees and some, like Commander Robert Cole (Bill Carter, who is also in Larry Buchanan’s fantasy The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald) and his wife Cathy (Jacqueline Derval) travel to the planet to see how they can stop it.

The Outsider doesn’t hit the Earth but does something even odder. It goes into orbit around the planet. As Earth ships approach, flying saucers attack and The Outsider begins spiraling into the atmosphere causing disasters. A team is sent to investigate the planet and Benson believes that some intelligence is controlling all of these ships and the planet itself.

In the final attack, Cathy is mortally wounded and Benson refuses to leave, as he believes that life without scientific knowledge is not a life at all. He tries to communicate with the computer at the core of all of the planet — the crew is long dead — but it’s too late as nuclear warheads blow out. the planet real good. The movie closes with Benson’s dog Gideon waiting for him. Way to break my heart.

Writer Ennio De Concini also adapted The Four of the Apocalypse for the screen, wrote The Girl Who Knew Too Much and directed Hitler: The Last Ten Days, Daniele e Maria and Gli 11 Moschettieri. He’s listed as Vassilij Petrov in the credits. This film re-teams he and Margheriti after Assignment: Outer Space.

If you don’t have the box set, you can watch this movie on YouTube. You can also download it from the Internet Archive.

MILL CREEK SCI-FI CLASSICS: Attack of the Monsters (1969)

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Attack of the Monsters is really Gamera vs. Guiron. That’s the name it was given by American International Television. That’s so weird to me as there are a bunch of other Gamera movies and you’d think that this series would have some popularity, you know?

At this stage in the Gamera series, the special effects are starting to not feel so special and there’s even more padding than in past films. But you know, Guiron looks so awesome — he has a giant sword nose and throws shuriken from around his eyes — that I can’t help but love this movie.

Two boys find a flying saucer and are taken on an adventure into space, where Gamera magically appears and rescues them from an asteroid field. But then, they go into hyperspace and a new Gyaos appears to attack their ship. That’s when Guiron shows up and slices that beast — which just gave Gamera so much grief — into small little bits, even beheading it, which seems way too far for what is supposed to be a kiddie film.

It turns out that the Space Gyaos are all over this planet called Terra, which is on the other side of the sun. Somehow, those scientists — some of the dumbest smart people in the world are in the Gamera movies — have never found their planet.

There are also twin alien women named Barbella and Florbella who control Guiron, who eventually gets out of control and cuts their spaceship in half. Florbella then kills the injured Barbella, explaining that useless members of their society are euthanized. What is she, in charge of the stock market?

Finally, Gamera does what you’ve wanted him to do all along: he slices that monster in half. Yes, unlike Godzilla, Gamera straight up eviscerates and annihilates his foes. Godzilla would just heat blast them. Nope. Gamera is like, “You’re not getting up from this one.”

Don’t have the box set? You can watch this on Tubi.

MILL CREEK SCI-FI CLASSICS: The Atomic Brain (1963)

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Also known as Monstrosity, this is one of the first movies where decay is given as the reason for the diminished intelligence of zombies. It also features plenty of people better known for other things, like narrator Bradford Dillman, Commerical pitchman Frank Gerstle and Marjorie Eaton, who played the original Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back before the special edition re-imagining.

In just 72 minutes, we learn an old woman who gets her pick of three servants to insert her brain into, thus getting a young body that will extend her lifespan.

This was directed by Jack Pollexfen, who also made Indestructible Man, and Joseph Mascelli, who was the director of photography on The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?, The Thrill Killers and Wild Guitar.

This is the last film of Judy Bamber, who is also in A Bucket of Blood and Dragstrip Girl. The budget was so low that she provided Xerxes the cat, who was her housecat.

Don’t have the box set? You can watch it on Tubi or download it from the Internet Archive.

Director’s Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein (2015)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Exploitation-film historian A.C. Nicholas, who has a sketchy background and hails from parts unknown in Western Pennsylvania, was once a drive-in theater projectionist and disk jockey. Currently, in addition to being a writer, editor, podcaster, and voice-over artist, he is a regular guest co-host on the streaming Drive-In Asylum Double Feature and contributes to the Drive-In Asylum fanzine. His upcoming essay “Emanuelle in Disney World and Other Weird Tales of a Trash Film Lover,” detailing bizarre and hilarious stories about midnight movies, grindhouses, and exploitation films, appears in Drive-In Asylum #25.

If ever they gave out awards to films with the most off-the-wall concepts, Director’s Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein would be at the top of the list. Taking a forgotten film version of the novel Frankenstein, co-writer/director Tim Kirk created something that can best be described as “meta layered upon meta.” But then again, Kirk has a history of being involved in bizarre projects. He was producer of Room 237, the nutty documentary purporting to unveil the hidden meaning in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, as well as producer/co-writer/director of pseudo-documentary Sex Madness Revealed with Patton Oswalt and Rob Zabrecky, and producer of the segment “Q is for Questionnaire” in ABCs of Death 2. Those projects don’t even hint at the lunacy of on display here. I had no clue what to expect.

The film opens on the static DVD menu screen purporting to be for the special edition of Terror of Frankenstein, a Swedish/Irish co-production from 1977, starring Per Oscarsson (The Girl Who Played with Fire), Nicholas Clay (Excalibur), and Leon Vitali (Eyes Wide Shut and Barry Lydon), adapted by Calvin and Yvonne Floyd, and directed by Calvin Floyd (In Search of Dracula). An unseen hand clicks on the menu to scroll through a gallery of a few nondescript photographs that appear to be from the movie’s premiere before turning on the director’s commentary and starting the film.

Up pops the blocky Independent-International logo (which would delight Sam Panico to no end) because Sam Sherman’s company released Terror of Frankenstein in the U.S. And then the commentary track begins. We hear legendary character actor Clu Gulagar (The Return of the Living Dead, Once Upon a Time In…Hollywood and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge) as “the director” and Zack Norman (Romancing the Stone, Cadillac Man and Chief Zabu) as “the writer.” They explain that Yvonne and Calvin Floyd listed in credits were their pseudonyms.

From the outset, it’s clear that there’s some tension between the two. Those expecting a Mystery Science Theater 3000 or Rifftrax version of the film will be surprised. It’s not. The film soon becomes its own original object. Although there is indeed droll humor sprinkled throughout the commentary—I laughed out loud a lot—there are tidbits dropped about “a trial,” “the execution,” and “those suitcases” to foreshadow that something sinister happened during filming. So what you get is a well-mounted, faithful, though somewhat sluggish, version of Frankenstein with a mysterious commentary track that sounds like an episode of the 1940’s radio show Inner Sanctum.

Getting to the revelation of the meta-plot is the fun here, as Gulager and Norman discuss the production, bicker, joke, weigh the virtues of method acting, and make inside-baseball remarks that are clues for the viewer. Eventually, Leon Vitali, one of the film’s actual stars (see the wonderful documentary, Filmworker, about Vitali’s life as Stanley Kubrick’s buddy and go-to guy), shows up in the last twenty minutes. All is then revealed in an existential ending that I can only describe as Ingmar Bergman meets the Drive-In Asylum Double Feature gang at the Monster-Mania Con. In other words, this is a film made by fans of exploitation films for a small group of select fans who would “get it.”

I enjoyed the experiment Director’s Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein. It’s the weirdest, most original thing that I’ve seen in a long time. It’s funny, intellectual, and completely bonkers in conception and execution. Gulagar, Norman, and Vitali understood the film’s universe perfectly, and the technical team did a fine job of mating their commentary to appropriate action in the film. Bless Tim Kirk and company’s twisted little black hearts. I felt like they made a movie just for me. Discerning cinephiles out there will love it.

The film is available with a subscription to Night Flight Plus. I hear you can also order a DVD by contacting the director from the film’s Facebook page.

Spagvemberfest 2023 and Arrow Video Savage Guns box set: I Want Him Dead (1968)

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Clayton (Craig Hill) has been working for three years to earn money only to learn that money from the Confederacy is no longer worth anything. He comes back home and soon his sister Mercedes (Christina Businari) is assaulted and killed by two of Mallek’s (Andrea Bosic) thugs. Clayton can’t even go to the sheriff for help, because he killed that man’s brother in self-defense. Mallek also wants the Civil War to keep on warring, so he has a plan to kill off the generals who are in the middle of peace talks.

I haven’t seen many of Paolo Bianchini’s films before. He also made The Devil’s Man, Superargo and the Faceless Giants, God Made Them… I Kill Them, Gattling Gun and Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death. He’s still making movies. Il profumo delle Zagare was released in 2022.

The writer was Carlos Sarabia, who only wrote this movie, and everything looks great thanks to cinematographer Ricardo Andreu, who also filmed Beyond Terror, Assignment Terror, The Price of Power and Labios rojos.

I love that there’s someone on IMDB that points out that everyone uses Colt Single Action Army revolvers that didn’t come out until 13 years after this movie was set. There’s that and the fact that it’s set in a desert while the actual peace talks between Grant and Lee took place in Virginia.

But come on! We’re here for revenge, not a history class.

Arrow Video’s Savage Guns box set has high definition 2K restorations of all four films from the original 35mm camera negatives, with El Puro newly restored by Arrow Films. Plus, you get brand new introductions to each film by journalist and critic Fabio Melelli, an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by author and critic Howard Hughes, a fold-out double-sided poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx and limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original artwork and a slipcover featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx.

I Want Him Dead has new commentary by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint, new interviews with director Paolo Bianchini and editor Eugenio Alabiso, a trailer and an image gallery.

You can get this set from MVD.

MILL CREEK SCI-FI CLASSICS: The Astral Factor (1978)

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This movie was made in 1976, released in 1978 in theaters as The Astral Factor but then released on VHS in 1984 as The Invisible Strangler missing the killer’s killer’s dialogue but gaining new music and some new scenes. Why? Who knows!

It’s pretty confusing because in The Invisible Strangler, the killer is invisible for the entire movie. All of these scenes were completely reshot with a different cast. There are a lot of plot holes, as you can imagine, that you can fill in with the full movie.

Roger Sands (Frank Ashmore) has been in a sanitarium after killing his mother. While there, he’s learned how to meditate and make himself invisible. He walks out and starts killing again.

The original material was directed by Arthur C. Pierce, who made Dimension 5, and the new scenes are by John Florea, who mostly directed a lot of TV. There’s also some scenes directed by Gene Fowler Jr., who worked often as an editor and also directed I Married A Monster from Outer Space. Pierce and Earle Lyon wrote the script.

I have no idea why more people aren’t talking about this movie. Sure, it’s shot like a lower tier TV movie, but then the murder scenes look like the covers of sleazy old black and white true crime magazines, the kind that felt dirtier than real porn. It also has an absolutely stacked cast, including Stefanie Powers as a cop’s wife who always talks about herself in the third person, Sue Lyon (Murder In the Blue World, Evel Knievel, Lolita), Leslie Parrish (The Giant Spider Invasion), trailer voice Percy Rodrigues, Marianna Hill (do I even need to go on?) and Elke Sommer, who amazingly plays an acoustic version of Leadbelly’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” in this film.

What? How has no one brought this up in a single review and instead just talks about how boring it is? Did I watch the same movie as them? I mean, the killer’s mom was an actress who pretended that he didn’t exist which makes him turn into a killer invisible man. It’s not well made, but the ideas are there.

You can watch The Astral Factor in the Mill Creek Sci-Fi Classics set and on Tubi. You can watch The Invisible Strangler on YouTube.