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Slaughter High

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‘Where the student body is going to pieces.’

Slaughter High is a 1986 American/British independent slasher film written and directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra and Peter Litten. It closely follows the tropes of many other slasher films of the period and is mostly notable for the casting of Caroline Munro in the lead female role and the distinctive jester’s mask worn by the killer.

slaughterhigh2 In an American high school populated by the usual jocks, hot girls and outcasts, Marty Rantzen (Simon Scudamore, misspelled on the credits with an extra ‘d’ – sloppy!) is most firmly the latter, the atypical, bespectacled nerd, good at complicated sums, not so good on basic human interaction. Come April Fool’s Day, Marty can’t believe his luck as he is lured by school sex siren, Carol (Munro) into the girls’ locker room for a baptism of shower-based sex. Alas, this is not the case and whilst disrobed and expectant in the shower, the curtain is pulled to reveal the school jokers armed with video recording equipment and a fire extinguisher to put a dampener on Marty’s dreams and his dignity down the toilet (which is literally where he’s heading, face down, thanks to his tormentors dangling him in).

slaughterhigh17 He is ‘rescued’ by the arrival of the military instructor-like sports coach (played by Marc Smith, best known for his voice acting, of note his redubbing on Dario Argento’s Four Flies on Grey Velvet, and Deep Red) who does little to sympathise with Marty but does insist all the boys responsible report for detention that afternoon. Cleaned up, Marty is given a joint by arch bully Skip (Carmine Iannaccone) as an apology, though it is in fact laced with something less desirable. Sometime later, when Marty is diligently conducting solo chemistry experiments, he tries the joint and immediately rushes to the nearest public convenience to vomit. In his absence, Skip (even shirking detention, the rotter) enters the lab and rigs the experiment to blow up in Marty’s face. This does indeed have the desired effect but in the mayhem of the detonation, Marty knocks a jar of acid over himself, the net result being a half destroyed school and a hideously disfigured and broken nerd.

slaughterhigh13 Some years later (anywhere between five and ten), Marty has disappeared from public life, doomed to a lonely existence as a scarred, damaged and apparently insane man. Meanwhile, his school ‘friends’ are enjoying their reunion, which happens to be on April Fool’s Day. Deciding to revisit their now closed school, though the corridors are still roamed by the old janitor, whose portrayal sets the racial equality movement back several decades. As the kids get down to drinking, smoking, snorting high jinks, the janitor is lifted off the ground by a jester-masked figure (actually played by co-director Ezra) and impaled on a coat hook. So begins a one-by-one slaying of the gang in occasionally inventive ways (intestinal explosion by tampered-with beer is a highlight) in a school which for reasons which are unclear, houses both a bath and a bed. The jester figure is, of course, Marty, eager to exact his revenge, though he leaves his beloved Carol until the end…

slaughterhigh11 Slaughter High is a prime example of the problems which can arise from trans-Atlantic co-productions. Supposedly set in an American school, all the locations are obviousluy leafy Britain, the population of students and staff also British but tasked with adopting US accents, lest the idea of a film not set in America be an insult to the masses. The accents aren’t awful but are all underpinned by the hopelessly forced insistence that in no way is the wool being pulled over everyone’s eyes. Despite the fact that an actual school was used for the filming (remarkably, it did indeed have a bath in situ), the film feels very cramped and is largely shot in only a smattering of locations, again giving the impression that something is being kept from us.

slaughterhigh8 The April Fool’s Day setting does leave the audience with that ‘one last gag’ feeling always looming on the horizon, though this could have been even more lumbering, the title having to be changed from April Fool’s Day to Slaughter High due to a genuinely unfortunate timing issue with the better-known film of that title just pipping it to the release post. Some prints retain this original title and have the replacement hastily tagged on as an apparent afterthought – Vestron’s Japanese release not even bothering with the afterthought. There is a certain irony of the film revolving around a date that so fuels the plot, time and continuity being haphazard throughout, from the eye-narrowing anniversary reunion timing to the incredulity-testing age of the students – Caroline Munro clocking in at 36 years-old at the time of filming and many of her co-stars well into their 20’s at least.

slaughterhigh21 Dugdale and Ezra combined again on the curious if ultimately beige Living Doll (1990) with only the latter evidently staying in the industry, though with little in the way of breakout hits. Co-director Litten had slightly more lasting influence, his special effects creature work seen in Rawhead Rex and more significantly culturally as the co-creator of the non-more-80’s Max Headroom. Caroline Munro is sadly miscast, still radiant but a sore thumb as a school girl and barely more believable as an airhead actress who is just about savvy enough to avoid the casting couch of leering movie producer, Manny (played by actual film producer Dick Randall of Don’t Open Till Christmas and Pieces frame; never one to miss a trick, a poster for Pieces hangs behind him in his office). Munro appeared in the film off the back of The Last Horror Show, before 1987’s Faceless and Howl of the Devil signalled her all but withdrawal from the genre for some time.

slaughterhigh4 Scudamore is far more serviceable in his role, a believable nerd whose character is let down by innate dumbness, belying his academic genius. Given a large school as his lair, it is weakly and unrealistically dressed, leaving him to bookend the film as Ezra, rather meanly, does the jester-masked stomping around. Sadly, aged only 28, Scudamore took his own life shortly after filming through a drugs overdose.

slaughterhigh18 With a masked killer, illegal substances, lithe teens and variable morals, it is fitting that the score is composed and performed by Harry Manfredini, a huge nod to the film’s primary influence, Friday 13th. Manfredini is one of the luckiest of composers for horror films, his career largely pivoting on his work on the 1980 slasher classic, a score which, in truth, consists of piled-high stingers, pilfered exaggerated strings and the oft-repeated killer’s theme and little else of interest. Here he is rumbled somewhat, a clearly more meagre budget revealing his work to be perfunctory at best, at worst cringe-worthy tripe.

slaughterhigh5 Somehow, despite all this, Slaughter High is strangely rewarding viewing. Perhaps it’s the carefree, glitch-ridden production values; perhaps it’s the contact threat of Munro relieving herself of her flouncy, voluminous dress suit (she doesn’t, instead the main nudity is, surprisingly, male and full-frontal). It’s possibly the fact that it sticks to the slasher rulebook so rigidly, the viewer can put in the least effort imaginable to watch… although the ending will jolt even the most heavy-lidded audience out of its slumber with its ridiculousness.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

Choice dialogue:

Stella: Talk dirty, Frank! Talk dirty!

Frank: Um… tits.

Stella: DIRTY dirty!

Frank: Um… fuck. Ah, tits. Screw.

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Beyond the Darkness aka Blue Holocaust

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Buio Omega – aka Beyond the Darkness, Buried Alive and Blue Holocaust – is a 1979 Italian horror/exploitation film directed by Joe D’Amato [Aristide Massacessi] from a screenplay by Ottavio Fabbri based on a storyline by Giacomo Guerrini.

The film stars Kieran Canter, Cinzia Monreale (The Beyond; The Sweet House of Horrors; The Stendhal Syndrome), Franca Stoppi (The Other Hell), Sam Modesto, Anna Cardini and Lucia D’Elia. The score is by Goblin (credited as The Goblins).

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The film remains controversial in many countries, even today, notably Australia, where it has been banned since 1992 due to very high impact violence throughout. Buio Omega remains banned in several other countries to this day although a quick internet search means you can watch it fully uncut online.

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Plot teaser:

On a luxurious estate in the Italian countryside, Francesco mourns his deceased lover. Soon pain and loss turn to madness and violence, as this troubled young man decides he cannot part with his love just yet. Excavating her corpse, he preserves her body with excruciating attention to detail. That, however, is only the beginning. Soon he is overcome with rage, murdering innocent young women and anyone else who infringes on the privacy of his estate…

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It has been rumoured that D’Amato used actual cadavers in some of the autopsy scenes and during the attack on the hitchhiker. The presence of pretty obvious prosthetics makes this highly unlikely. A goregrind metal band named themselves after the film.

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Buy Beyond the Darkness on DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

‘Despite a couple of mis-steps here and there, D’Amato’s movie is capped off with a nifty little shock moment that is a fitting end to an already intriguing, lunch launching little movie. Beyond the Darkness is still a strong feature all these years later and a shining, if highly repugnant example of extreme Italian horror.’ Cool Ass Cinema

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‘Despite its shortcomings, Beyond the Darkness has some truly classic scenes that could potentially stick in the viewer’s mind forever. A must for all fans of Italian horror cinema, Beyond the Darkness could well be D’Amato’s best movie.’ The Spinning Image

‘Unfortunately, Massacessi’s approach is cheaply realist, trying to shock by unimaginatively filming butchery and cruelty. The potential poetry of a mad, necrophiliac passion that animates, for instance, Bava’s Lisa e il Diavolo (1972) is kept at bay by the crudely exploitative approach…’ Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia

Beyond the Darkness (Joe D'Amato, 1979)

Beyond the Darkness is a great movie; gory, kinky and surreal in a way that only D’Amato could deliver it. His cinematography leaves nothing to complain about, he knows what he wants from his compositions and that’s what we get. Ornella Micheli’s editing is perfect once again, and then there’s that excellent soundtrack by Goblin, that constantly keeps the movie moving along with their progressive rhythms … although not as violent and aggressive as Anthropophagus: or Absurd is possibly Joe D’Amato’s finest hour as a horror director.’ CiNEZiLLA

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Also Known As:

(original title) Buio Omega
Blue Holocaust
Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) Отвъд мрака
Spain Demencia
Spain (video title) House 6: El terror continua
France (video title) Bio Omega
France Blue Holocaust
France (video title) Folie sanglante
Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title) Mesa sto skotadi
Greece (video title) Pera ap’ to skotadi
Greece (video title) Pyrina matia sto skotadi
Greece Πύρινα Μάτια στο Σκοτάδι
Hungary A sötétségen túl
Italy (reissue title) In quella casa buio omega
Mexico (alternative title) Zombi 10
Portugal Para Além da Escuridão
USA Beyond the Darkness
USA (dubbed version) Buried Alive
West Germany (video box title) Blutiger Wahnsinn
West Germany Sado – Stoß das Tor zur Hölle auf

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: Wrong Side of the Art

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Zombie Resurrection

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‘Prey for Salvation’

Zombie Resurrection is a 2014 British horror film, made partly with the aid of online funding. Set in an unspecified part of the UK, eight survivors of an apocalyptic outbreak, which has seen the dead rise from their graves, attempt find sanctuary as the undead hordes thin out and make sense of the chaos that surrounds them. It is the debut feature of directors Andy Phelps and Jake Hawkins.

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Fifteen months after zombies ravaged the country, eight survivors trudge through the British woodland attempting to find a place of refuge known as Imperium, the destination known only by one of their number, the upper class Major Gibson (Joe Rainbow, Stag Night of the Dead), who revels in the hold he has over the others. These include Mac (Jim Sweeney), a sweary Scottish tough guy; God-fearing Esther (Shamiso Mushambi); almost respectably middle-class Beaumont (Danny Brown), who carries a golf club just to make sure you’ve “got it”, and the shackled prisoner Dr. Sykes (Eric Colvin), plus three more utterly detestable individuals.

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In a twist to the usual lore surrounding zombie outbreaks, we learn that time has taken its toll on the dead, who are now few in number and those who do survive are ineffective decaying lumps. Regardless, the disagreeable bunch of the living find getting on with one another impossible and tensions rise even further when Gibson steps in a mantrap and has his leg removed. Taking shelter in a school building (expanding the quite obviously tiny shooting area by up to twenty feet), we find that Sykes is held as a prisoner due to his role in the development of the ‘virus’ which started the apocalypse – actually an attempted cure for chemical warfare – and that he is due to be hanged. Events spiral out of their control when they realise the building actually houses some unexpectedly spritely zombies and, even more surprisingly, that one of them has a quasi-religious gift for resurrecting the more decayed of his number, threatening to send them back to the early days of the outbreak.

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On the plus side, there are some interesting ideas here; the diminished threat of rotting corpses over time has been touched upon in film and fiction before but, in this case, it’s central to the plot; similarly, aside from voodoo, there hasn’t been a great deal of emphasis on religion’s part in such a scenario. Unfortunately, these really only become viable as part of a short story – at a push, a play, though presumably a rubbish one. Without zombies as an immediate threat, you have to rely on the living characters and their back-stories to provide the drama and tension, done skilfully in periods of Romero’s early zombie films and large tracts of The Walking Dead comic and television series. You’d be correct in assuming this film has none of that.

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Firstly, there are far too many characters, none of whom are engaging or illicit any sympathy from the viewer. This is exacerbated by the fact that the acting is of a shockingly poor quality, veering from potty-mouthed shouting to something that resembles the farce of a drunken person assuring assembled onlookers that they’re completely sober, whilst stood in a duck-pond. This sits particularly badly when the closing quarter of Zombie Resurrection attempts to ponder the complexities of life, religion and all points between, with the film left hanging as neither fish nor fowl, though almost certainly, foul.

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The gore effects and make-up are passable and indeed, if that sends your pulse racing, you may still find something of interest here. Despite this, at no point is anything in the least believable; how a compound came to be called Imperium in just over a year (surely rejected even by eager Apprentice candidates), why the filmmakers opted to omit someone in a wheelchair from their parade of abysmal stereotypes and why, four years after filming wrapped, has this been allowed to surface without anyone having the guts to recognise this simply didn’t work. It’s another nail in the coffin of a horror sub-genre that just won’t stay shut.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

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Werewolf By Night – comic

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Werewolf by Night – birth name Jacob Russoff, legal name Jacob Russell, nicknamed Jack – is a fictional character, an anti-heroic werewolf in the Marvel Comics universe. The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2. (February, 1972) and was based on an idea by Roy Thomas.

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The apparently ‘sudden’ appearance of monsters and horror themes in mainstream comics around this time is almost entirely based upon the updating of Comic Code in January 1971. This allowed the depiction of corruption, criminal activity to be shown in a sympathetic light on occasion and even the killing of police. The update also allowed for ‘classic’ horror characters to appear in comics – these could range from protagonists in the literature of Poe, Lovecraft and other notable writers but also those of vampires, creations of mad scientists and werewolves. Still off-limits were zombies and other monsters which had no firm literary basis but the scramble to bring previously forbidden foes to the page was immediate.

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The series name was suggested by Stan Lee and the debut story was crafted by Gerry Conway (co-creator of the Punisher) and Mike Ploog (also responsible for Man-Thing and The Monster of Frankenstein). The character made additional appearances in Marvel Spotlight #3 and #4 and then graduated to his own eponymous series in September 1972. Werewolf by Night was published for forty-three issues and ran until March 1977.

Absent for much of the 1980’s, Russell was gradually introduced in ‘guest star’ roles in issues of Spider-Woman, West Coast Avengers, and Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme. Werewolf by Night was later revived in the pages of Marvel Comics Presents, where he appeared irregularly from 1991-1993. He also made regular appearances as a supporting cast member in the pages of Morbius, the Living Vampire from 1993-1995.

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Werewolf by Night, Volume 2 ran for six issues in 1998. The series was written by Paul Jenkins (creator of the Inhumans) and pencilled by Leonardo Manco. After the book’s cancellation, the story was continued in the pages of Strange Tales, which also featured the Man-Thing, though this was short-lived, the strand cancelled due to poor sales. In early 2007, Marvel published a one-shot entitled Legion of Monsters: Werewolf by Night, with art by Greg Land, followed in January 2009 by the four-issue limited series Dead of Night Featuring Werewolf by Night. He was featured as a member of Morbius’ Midnight Sons in Marvel Zombies 4 in 2009.

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Though eyebrows could quite rightly be raised at Marvel’s pun-laden name, there was no little thought went into the back story of Russell’s condition. Ancestors of Russoff were plagued with the mark of the wolf as far back as Grigori Russoff in 1795, seeing Dracula slay Grigori’s wife Louisa after he refused to acknowledge Dracula‘s primacy upon his return to Transylvania. Grigori then ambushed and destroyed Dracula, but was turned into a werewolf by Lydia, a werewolf formerly imprisoned by the vampire lord. Grigori took a second wife, but accounts vary as to why lycanthropy failed to pass to his descendents. Sometime prior to May 1930, Grigori’s descendent, Gregor, obtained the legendary Darkhold scrolls, binding them back into book form. Reading lycanthropy’s origins in the Darkhold under a full moon triggered the dormant curse, turning Gregor into a werewolf. Gregor further transcribed much of the Darkhold into Grigori’s diary, essentially creating a Darkhold copy, which he used as his own diary.

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Other adventures saw him pitted against adversaries clad in silver-plated armour and an appearance by the Lovecraftian elder God, Chthon before the story skips forwards several generations to another Gregor Russoff, married to Laura, the former girlfriend of his younger brother Philip. Jacob (later Jack) was born in Mediaş, Transylvania, soon after, and Laura became pregnant with Lissa within two years of marriage; however, when lightning struck Russoff’s Transylvanian castle during a full moon, the werewolf Gregor escaped confinement and began attacking villagers. They tracked down and killed Russoff with silver bullets. Gregor’s mother, Maria, was stoned and driven from the village, living with gypsies and learning magic. After Gregor’s death, Laura found Philip – who had moved to Los Angeles, anglicising his name to Russell – and they married after a year; Jack and Lissa remained unaware of Philip’s past. By the time Jack is eighteen, the curse is now apparent in him, causing him to lock himself in a cage during full moons to try to tame his alter-ego, whilst also battling against mystical forces, the law, and strange cults, all of whom would rather see him dead.

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This particularly Marvellian intertwining of backgrounds completed, the comic series concentrates on Jack’s battles against numerous foes, which can neatly be split into three. The supernatural element to his plight allows the writers to pit him against the likes of the demon, Krogg; 12th century Mad Monk, Aelfric; the sorcerer, Taboo; the ghost of 19th-century black magician Belaric Marcosa and many others. The horror aspect of the character allows him to seamlessly slot into battles (and sometimes partnerships) with other well-known horror characters: Morbius the living vampire; Frankenstein’s monster, and Mr Hyde, as well as new-comers on the block, Man-Thing and Ghost Rider. More conventionally, the werewolf also features in story-lines featuring Spiderman, the Hulk, Iron Man and Moon Knight (with whom he regularly appears, for obvious reasons), as well as a host of others.

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Jack Russell is a descendent of the mystically altered offshoot of humans known as Lycanthropes. During the night of the full moon and the two nights surrounding it he is forced to transform into a werewolf, a large, powerful form which is a hybrid of human and wolf, and loses his human intellect. Through a series of events, he is also capable of transforming voluntarily outside of the full moon, at which time he remains in control of himself.
As a werewolf, Jack gains the proportionate physical advantages of a nearly 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) wolf. In this form, he possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes, as well as possessing a superhuman sense of smell, which carries over to his human form. He has razor sharp teeth and claws able to rend light metals. The werewolf is resistant to many forms of conventional injury and very hard to kill by conventional means. Though he can be severely wounded, he recovers from non-fatal wounds much faster than a human would. He is vulnerable to magical attacks and, like all supernatural creatures, he can be killed by weapons made of silver, due to its inherent mystical “purity”.

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By 2008, Jack had been rebooted entirely for Dead of Night Featuring Werewolf by Night, part of Marvel’s MAX line, intended for ‘more mature’ readers – a green light for gore, nudity and bad language. This allowed writers the freedom to do away with much of the mysticism and magic that permeated many of the story-lines and concentrate more on the plight of Jack’s situation, putting him nearer in league with Hulk’s inability to contain the beast within. The werewolf has also appeared in one-off (“one-shot”) issues, often under the Legion of Monsters banner, which sees him protecting other monsters from harm. He has also found himself interwoven into Marvel’s most popular modern horror line, Marvel Zombies, hunting down the undead as well as assisting in the search for a cure.

Buy Dead of Night: Werewolf by Night from Amazon.com

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Television:

•  Werewolf by Night appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode “This Man-Thing, This Monster“, voiced by Rob Paulsen. Iron Man arrives and helps Werewolf by Night fight an army of mummies led by N’Kantu, the Living Mummy until his girlfriend Ellen is captured. Together with Iron Man and Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night fights Dracula and his mummy army. After Dracula retreats, it is discovered that Ellen was turned into a vampire and joins Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing into forming a team that would defend the town from future monster attacks.

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•  Werewolf by Night appears in the Halloween-themed episodes of Ultimate Spider-Man entitled “Blade” and “The Howling Commandos“, voiced by Ross Lynch. He is a member of Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos and seems to have had a bad history with Blade.

•  Werewolf by Night, along with the Howling Commandos, appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode “Hulking Commandos“, voiced by Nolan North. He appears as a member of Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos.

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•  The episode “Days of Future Smash: Dracula” featured Werewolf by Night‘s grandfather (also voiced by Nolan North) who was around in 1890 during the Victorian era and helped Hulk, Frankenstein’s Monster, and N’Kantu the Living Mummy into thwarting Leader and Dracula‘s plan to blanket the Earth in darkness with their Gamma Furnace.

Film:

•  A film version of Werewolf by Night, written by Robert Nelson Jacobs (The Water Horse), was announced in 2005, though some ten years later, there are no further developments.

Video games:

•  Russell appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds in Jill Valentine’s ending. He attacks her and Blade alongside other Marvel monsters.

•  Werewolf is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

 

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Flesh for the Beast

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FLESH FOR THE BEAST, Ruby LaRocca, Sergio Jones, Caroline Hoemann, Barbara Joyce, 2003, (c) Media Blasters

Ruby LaRocca, Sergio Jones, Caroline Hoemann, Barbara Joyce

‘Open the Gate. Step In. Lose Your Mind.’

Flesh for the Beast is a 2003 American horror film directed and written by Terry M. West (Witchbabe: The Erotic Witch Project 3; Vampire Queen; Satan’s School for Lust). The film’s score is by Buckethead.

A graphic novel tie-in was released the following year through Media Blasters.

Plot teaser:

A group of parapsychologists are called in to investigate a mansion with a reputation for being haunted, as it was previously a brothel where many men would go missing. One of the investigators, Erin Cooper (Jane Scarlett) finds herself particularly drawn to the place. As the night progresses the group discovers that they are not alone and that three succubi inhabit the house, imprisoned by a warlock’s amulet. The amulet would give its user the ability to control the succubi, giving them extreme amounts of power. The succubi kill the group members one by one as the group tries desperately to discover the amulet’s whereabouts and perform a ritual that would stop the succubi…

Reviews:

Flesh of the Beast gets the look down almost exactly right, with plenty of atmospheric lighting, a wonderfully moody credits sequence, and some flashy, mobile camerawork. The gore flows thick and heavy throughout (though the latex masks aren’t nearly as impressive), and while it’s hard to top an opener that finds one character upchucking into the gory remains of another, the filmmakers certainly do their damnedest. The film doesn’t slouch in the nudity department either, as the demon-vixens remain unclad for entire scenes at a time.” Mondo Digital

FLESH FOR THE BEAST, Alfred Fischer, Caroline Munro, 2003, (c) Media Blasters

Alfred Fischer, Caroline Munro

“Derivative, indifferently acted, artlessly photographed and awash in nudity and rudimentary gore effects.” Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide

” … this one focuses less on the scares and more on the naked girls and gore. Speaking of which, the gore isn’t too bad. Lots of entrails torn from victims, as usual, and these ladies seem to enjoy the intestines as much as your typical Hollywood zombie would. A couple scenes of pure blood-drenched fun are snuck into the film.” HorrorNews.net

FLESH FOR THE BEAST, Sergio Jones, Jane Scarlett, 2003, (c) Media Blaster

Sergio Jones, Jane Scarlett

Jane Scarlett, Barbara Joyce, Ruby LaRocca, Caroline Hoemann, 2003, (c) Media Blasters

Jane Scarlett, Barbara Joyce, Ruby LaRocca, Caroline Hoemann

FLESH FOR THE BEAST, Barbara Joyce, 2003. ©Media Blasters

Barbara Joyce

FLESH FOR THE BEAST, Jane Scarlett, 2003, (c) Media Blasters

Jane Scarlett

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Cast:

  • Jane Scarlett as Erin Cooper
  • Sergio Jones as John Stoker
  • Clark Beasley Jr. as Ted Sturgeon
  • Jim Coope as Jack Ketchum (as Jim Coop)
  • David Runco as Joseph Monks (as Victor Flynn)
  • Aaron Clayton as Douglas Clegg
  • Michael Sinterniklaas as Martin Shelly
  • Caroline Hoermann as Pauline
  • Ruby Larocca as Cassandra (as Ruby LaRocca)
  • Barbara Joyce as Irene
  • Kevin G. Shinnick as Jimmy / Zombie
  • Keith Leopard as Zombie #1
  • Kelly Troy Howard as Zombie #2
  • Zoe Moonshine as Zombie #3
  • Michael Roszhart as Zombie #4
  • Caroline Munro as Carla, the Gypsy

Wikipedia | IMDb


The Dark Below

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‘Nature. Nurture. Kill.’

The Dark Below is a 2015 British horror film directed by Stewart Sparke from a screenplay by Paul Butler.

The film is currently in post-production and will be entering the festival circuit seeking distribution in early 2016.

Press release:

A psychological horror film about a young scientist whose discovery of a malevolent entity sets her on a bloody descent into the jaws of insanity. Blending the gut wrenching futility felt in H.P. Lovecraft’s best work with slimy practical creature and gore effects, the film promises to bring you a deeply disturbing new addition to the international horror scene.

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Cast:

Anna Dawson, Michaela Longden Daniel S. Thrace, Johnny Vivash, Zach Lee, David Shackleton and Libby Watts.

Plot:

During a traumatic accident whilst on a deep-sea dive in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, Olive, a gifted, young marine-biologist discovers an unearthly creature. Loosing her dream job, Olive smuggles the creature home, intent on studying it in her basement, unbeknownst to her loving boyfriend Matt. Whilst struggling to re-adjust to landlocked life and recover from her recent trauma, Olive begins to realize that she and the creature share a symbiotic bond that drives her to carry out its sinister will.

Plagued by gruesome nightmares, her fractured memories of what happened during the accident in the depths of the ocean begin to unravel and reveal an eldritch horror far older and malevolent than she could ever imagine, one which she has unwittingly set free. Olive’s obsession leads to madness as her discovery consumes her entire humanity, with deadly results for those around her…

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Filming locations:

Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

York, North Yorkshire, England

Trailer:

IMDbOfficial website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr


Video Nasties Lurid Trumps – Series 3

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section 3

Gods & Monsters

Lurid Trumps are a card game based on the fondly remembered Top Trumps of the 1970’s and 1980’s, themselves based on an even older game called Quartets. The third in a series of four covering the so-called Video Nasties films banned in Britain during the 1980’s, the final two sets will cover the Section 3 films – those which were not banned outright but which could still be seized by local authorities and the owners/sellers tried at magistrates courts.

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Produced by UK-based company, Gods & Monsters, Lurid Trumps are a card game playable by two or more players. Each player is dealt an equal number of cards from a shuffled pack, keeping the face of the card shielded from prying eyes. From the dealer’s left, each player in turn reads a category and score from their top card – the highest value wins, the winner taking all the cards played in that hand and placing them at the bottom of their stack. The ultimate winner is the player left with the most cards.

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The first two series of Video Nasties Lurid Trumps covered the 72 films banned outright as a result of the Video Recordings Act 1984, which required all home released videos to be assessed and rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The 72 films listed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) were each given a rating on their respective cards. The categories are:

Gore Score

Gratuitous Sex

Infamy Level

Nasty Rating

Each is given a rating out of 100 – no one card is impossible to beat. With the first two sets having sold out within days (and now commanding absurdly high prices on internet auction sites), Gods & Monsters have now released the penultimate set, covering the murky world of titles classed as “Section 3”. These films were liable to get a conviction under the lesser section three of the Obscene Publication Act:

3. In section 3(5) of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (exempted supplies), for paragraphs (b) and (c) substitute—

“(b)does not, to any significant extent, depict any of the following—

(i)human sexual activity or acts of force or restraint associated with such activity,

(ii)mutilation or torture of, or other acts of gross violence towards, humans or animals, or

(iii)human genital organs or human urinary or excretory functions, and

This would mean the confiscation and destroying of video tapes ordered by a magistrate but were not considered to be capable of getting a conviction at the High Court – though there were examples of guilty pleas at Magistrates Court.

The list of the Section 3 titles is as follows:

Abducted

Aftermath

The Black Room

Blood Lust

Blood Song

The Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll

Brutes and Savages

Cannibal (aka Last Cannibal World)

Cannibals

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

The Child

Christmas Evil

Communion

Dawn of the Mummy

Dead Kids

Death Weekend

Deep Red

Demented

The Demons (Jess Franco)

Don’t Answer the Phone!

Enter the Devil

The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein

The Evil

The Executioner

Final Exam

Foxy Brown

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th Part 2

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Graduation Day

Happy Birthday to Me

Headless Eyes

Hell Prison

The Hills Have Eyes

Home Sweet Home

Inseminoid

Invasion of the Blood Farmers

The Killing Hour

The Last Horror Film

The Last Hunter

The Love Butcher

The Mad Foxes

Mark of the Devil

Martin

Massacre Mansion

Mausoleum

Midnight

Naked Fist

The Nesting

The New Adventures of Snow White

Night Beast

Night of the Living Dead

Nightmare City

Oasis of the Zombies

Parasite

Phantasm

Pigs

Prey

Prom Night

Rabid

Rosemary’s Killer (aka The Prowler)

Savage Terror

Scanners

Scream for Vengeance!

Shogun Assassin

Street Killers

Suicide Cult

Superstition

Suspiria

Terror

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The Thing

Tomb of the Living Dead

The Toy Box

Werewolf Woman

Wrong Way

Xtro

Zombie Holocaust

Zombies Lake

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As with the previous sets, the cover card will feature a key figure in the history of the Video Nasties saga: following in the footsteps of Mary Whitehouse (Series 1) and former BBFC zealot James Ferman (Series 2), Series 3 will feature Graham Bright, an MP who was particularly outspoken about films he’s never actually seen, going as far to suggest that some of the films had the power to even corrupt innocent dogs who may be watching! Having been made a Sir (British democracy at its finest?), keen dog-protector Bright is now a highly-paid Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner, although he finds it difficult to attend meetings that finish “too late in the evening”…

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Nightmare aka Nightmares in a Damaged Brain

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‘The dream you can’t escape alive!’

Nightmare is a 1981 American slasher horror film written and directed by Italian filmmaker Romano Scavolini (Spirits of Death). It has also been released as Nightmare in a Damaged BrainNightmares in a Damaged Brain and Blood Splash

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The film gained instant notoriety among horror fans when it was banned in the UK as a ‘video nasty‘ and its distributor David Hamilton Grant was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to edit violent footage from his World of Video 2000 VHS release.

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Nightmare also garnered controversy for claiming in its press material that Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead; Friday the 13th; The Prowler) had provided the film’s special effects, which he vehemently denied.Nightmare-1981-Tom-Savini-axe-gore

In fact, as the above production  image shows, it seems he supervised the work of Ed French (Necropolis; Breeders; Blood Rage) during the infamous beheading scene.

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The production supervisor was Simon Nuchtern, who filmed the fake murder footage at the climax of Snuff and director of Silent Madness (1983).

On 23rd November 2015, 88 Films are releasing the film uncut on Blu-ray with the following confirmed extras:

  • Terror in Times Square – A Guide to Nightmare’s Grindhouse Kingdom
  • Audio Commentary with The Hysteria Continues
  • Audio Commentary by Bill Paul
  • Interview with Tom Ward, CEO of 21st Century Films
  • Trailer
  • TV Spots

Cast:

Baird Stafford, Sharon Smith, C.J. Cooke, Mik Cribben (Beware: Children at Play)

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Plot:

Having escaped from a mental institution, George Tatum (Baird Stafford) journeys back down to his home in Florida. Along the way, he has recurring nightmares of a violent incident from his childhood, which forces him to kill again. George’s frustration amidst the sleazy streets of New York are also shown to be a cause of his mental state.

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George’s ex-wife, Susan Temper (Sharon Smith), young son C.J. (C.J. Cooke), and the family babysitter begin to receive “hang-up” calls, which none of them realize is George making sure his family is home.

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The closer George gets to his destination, the more gruesome his murders become and the memories of his first childhood-murder intensify…

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Reviews:

Nightmare is a schizophrenic puzzle of a movie. It’s director, Scavolini, shows he is able to use editing to heighten the sense of tension and horror one minute. The next, it seems he was wearing a blindfold whilst he was snipping away! He also lifts many elements from Halloween … But, like Ulli Lommel’s Bogeyman (1980), Scavolini fashions something different.” Hysteria Lives!

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“Instead of emphasizing pretty teenagers and slick production numbers, Scavolini instead emphasized the sordid “reality” of the film’s rather trashy cast of characters.  There’s not a likable character to be found anywhere within this film nor is there a single scene that doesn’t feel as if it’s been drenched in sleaze.  An ominous atmosphere of impending, relentless doom hangs over every second of the film.” Lisa Marie Bowman, HorrorCritic.com

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“The movie does require repeated viewings to actually understand what is going on, as it’s a bit incoherent on the screen. However, it is very compelling, with some nudity (including a lady using a sex toy while on the phone), lots of gore (including the infamous beheading) and a twist ending of sorts.” David Steigman, DVD Drive-In

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“God, this movie is so, so filthy. The gore scenes are mostly unconvincing and the sex couldn’t be more unsavory (including a pivotal kinky flashback no viewer has ever forgotten), but that hardly matters when the end product still feels so grimy and unhealthy from the opening frames … but at least there’s a hefty vein of unintentional comedy running through it as well thanks to Italian-born director Romano Scavolini’s odd view of American culture.” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital

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Choice dialogue:

“Sorry!? You lose a dangerous psychotic patient from a secret experimental drug programme and all you can say is sorry!?”

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Trailer:

Wikipedia | IMDb



Twice-Told Tales

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‘A trio of terror!’

Twice-Told Tales – also released as Twice Told Tales and Nights of Terror  is a 1963 American supernatural horror film directed by Sidney Salkow (The Last Man on Earth) from a screenplay by producer Robert E. Kent (Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome; The Werewolf; Diary of a Madman).

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The film is based on two of Nathaniel Hawthorne‘s stories, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” (1837) and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” (1844), and the novel The House of the Seven Gables (1851), which had previously been adapted in 1940 also starring Price. Only “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” was actually published in Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales, which supplied the film’s title. The 1963 British United Artists release was cut by BBFC censors for its 1967 release.

Reviews:

Twice-Told Tales is dull and ponderous. The stories in themselves, even the mangled adaptation that they are, could have worked well with a different director. Alas, the film is hamstrung with the dreadfully pedestrian Sidney Salkow who also directed Price in The Last Man on Earth (1964), another thoroughly dull adaptation of a fine horror story. Salkow’s sedentary direction and Technicolor colour wrings all the atmosphere out of the stories.” Moria

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“Even with only two out of three being particularly good, Twice Told Tales is still one of my Halloween favourites. Price is in classic form, the addition of Sebastian Cabot is wonderful, the atmosphere of those two pieces is excellent, and the type of film inaugurated by Corman, Matheson, and Price is so much in its stride that it has taken on ghoulish life of its own.” Cory Gross, Voyages Extraordinaires

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“None of the stories featured in Twice-Told Tales are particularly well-paced. This isn’t terribly annoying through the beginning segments of the picture, because the stories themselves keep our interest. However, as the film progresses, we become more restless. By the final segment we’re at the verge of boredom, and then that final tale pushes us over the brink.” Exclamation Mark

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“In a year that saw Mario Bava create Black Sabbath and Herschell Gordon Lewis shoot Blood Feast, this Sidney Salkow directed portmanteau sits rather uncomfortably amongst such bold and vibrant work. With its absorbing stories, though, coupled with immaculate stage design and costumes, it does have a Gothic charm about it that’s impossible to dislike.” Zombie Hamster

“Director Sidney Salkow’s pacing is slow, but rich in detail in Kent’s script and good ensemble acting make the film a stylish one.” John Stanley, Creature Features

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“All the familiar thrills are here in this marathon shocker, but the interests are varied and the effects quite often startling. The more avid seeker after the gruesome class of fare should be amply awarded.” Kine Weekly, 1967

“Triple-layered ‘spine-chiller’, based on the stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne; flatly directed and scripted, but spiritedly acted and climatically thrilling.” MH, The Daily Cinema, 1967

“Price’s performance in the third tale is even an improvement on his The House of the Seven Gables (1940). However, production values – miniature work and makeup – leave something to be desired in places.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Encyclopedia of Film: Horror

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Cast and Characters:

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Trailer:

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: Wrong Side of the Art!


Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre

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‘The catch of the day… is you’

Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre is a 2009 Icelandic horror film directed by Júlíus Kemp from a screenplay by Sjón [Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson], a poet, novelist, lyricist and long-standing collaborator with singer Björk.

Icelandic-born Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; The Demon Lover; Mosquito) has a cameo role as a ship captain.

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Gunnar Hansen

The film is also known as Harpoon: Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre Harpoon: Whale Watching Massacre and RWWM.

Plot:

Reykjavik, Iceland: A group of international tourists who go on whale watching expedition. During the expedition the ship breaks down and they are picked up by a nearby whaler. Unfortunately, the fishbillies on the vessel are murderous inbreds…

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Reviews:

Harpoon is well shot and directed with some impressively stark images (really love the image of the harpooned body hanging off the front of the ship) and even some very dark scenes remaining easily discernable … definitely worth checking out if you’re willing to lay back and go along with the unexpected callousness of some characters’ actions.” Gareth Jones, Dread Central

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” … deeper-than-usual characterizations help make up for the film’s rather generic plot, which is basically just the usual survival stuff, albeit on a boat instead of a backwoods dungeon or isolated house. A few folks get it right away, some hide and run around, others escape only to find themselves “rescued” by someone who is in cahoots with the villains, etc.” Horror Movie a Day

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“The look of the film contributed to the eeriness; in particular the ominous ship’s peeling paint, heavy metal doors and rusted sides. The look of the fishbillies, with their greasy hair and dirty clothes, really did evoke the “back country” feeling I think the film was aiming for.”Alana Odegard, Iceland Review

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“The film looks great, providing some stark images and genuine moments of suspense; some of the performances are good, the rest are, if nothing else, inhibited by the simplicity of the script and the cartoon character-depth they are subjected to in the script.” Bloody Disgusting

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Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Trailer:

Wikipedia | IMDb | Post dedicated to the late Gunnar Hansen


The Musk

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‘Please do not disturb Tony. He already is!’

The Musk is a 2015 American-Italian horror film produced, written and directed by George Nevada.

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Cast:

Fabrizio Occhipinti (as the mutant Tony Maio), Frances Williams, Antony Ferry, Raphael and Danny Willis, Marcello Iaia, Ruby Miller, Francesca DiCaprio, Gabrielle Bergère.

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Plot:

Farmer Tony Maio turns into a fierce mutant because of a meteorite impact on Earth. Disguised as a scarecrow in order to hide his appearance, he starts to kill people with a machete to satisfy his bloodlust…

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Teaser 1:

Teaser 2:

IMDb | Official website | Facebook


Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

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‘Evil awaits’

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a 2007 American horror film directed by former actor Joe Lynch (Chillerama) from a screenplay by Turi Meyer and Al Septien (writing credits for both: Leprechaun 2; SleepStalker; Candyman: Day of the Dead).

The film is a sequel to the 2003 film Wrong Turn and the second entry in the Wrong Turn film series.

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It was released on DVD on October 9, 2007 and was commercially successful while receiving a generally positive response from critics.

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Buy for £6.99 from Amazon.co.uk

Cast:

Erica Leerhsen (Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Haunted Traxx), Henry Rollins (Psychic Murders; Feast; He Never Died), Texas Battle (Final Destination 3; Hydra; Boggy Creek), Kimberly Caldwell (The Ring Two; The Veil), Crystal Lowe (Hood of Horror; The Hills Have Eyes II; The Collector), Steve Braun (Pterodactyl); Matthew Currie Holmes (The Fog; Demon Legacy).

Plot:

Reality show contestant Kimberly is driving through the West Virginia back country searching for the location of her next project. While driving, she accidentally hits a teenager. She stops to check on him, but the teenager is revealed to be Brother, a cannibal, who bites her lips off.

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She attempts to escape, but runs into Three Finger, who splits her in half vertically with an axe. He and Brother drag her halves away…

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Reviews:

“Yeah, it has its shortcomings, but then again so do the movies that inspired it. Only a horror fan could have delivered a movie this much fun. A movie that knows exactly what it wants to be and revels in it … Wrong Turn 2 is a love letter to the genre that’s been scrawled in gore.” Steve Barton, Dread Central

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” … a far more satisfying experience than its pedigree would suggest. While it won’t gain entry into the halls of classic horror, it will make slasher-film fans happy for a couple of hours.” Ian Visser, DVD Verdict

“what could have been a cheap and lazy cash-in turned out to be one of the year’s better genre offerings”. Brian Collins, Bloody Disgusting

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“Joe Lynch just goes for it in this maxed-out mutant sequel, sating the errant appetites of gorehounds everywhere.” Anton Bitel, Film4

“A fast-paced and completely unapologetic love-letter to the old-school ’80s splatter sequels like Friday the 13th Part 2 and Texas Chainsaw 2. (Gory, too!)” Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

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Cast and characters:

Trailer:

Wikipedia | IMDb


Drive-In Massacre (1976)

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‘ …Your nightmares are about to come true!!’

Drive In Massacre aka Drive-In Massacre – is a 1976 American horror film produced, written and directed by porn specialist Stu Segall from a screenplay by John F. Goff (The Night Stalker; Deadly Intent) and actor George Buck Flower, based on Godfrey Daniel’s storyline.

On March 14, 2016, Drive-In Massacre is released on Blu-ray in the UK by 88 Films with an interview with director Stu Segall.

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Cast:

Jake Barnes, Adam Lawrence, Douglas Gudbye, Verkina Flowers, Newton Naushaus, Catherine Barkeley, Norman Sherlock, Frank Hollowell, Valdesta, Michael Alden, Marty Gatsby.

Plot:

A couple go to a drive-in cinema in a rural California town, and are butchered by an unseen assailant, who uses a sword to decapitate the man, and skewer the woman through the neck.

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Investigating this dual homicide are police detectives Mike Leary and John Koch, who interview the drive-in’s boorish manager, Austin Johnson, and the odd custodian, Germy. Germy mentions that a peeping tom likes to cruise the area to watch couples and lone girls, and he is told to try and write down the voyeur’s license plate number the next time he sees him.

That night, the killer strikes again, impaling two lovers while they are making out in their vehicle…

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Reviews:

Obviously inspired by Peter Bogdanovich’s masterful Targets (1968), Drive-In Massacre has none of its predecessor’s insight, intelligence, or craft. Instead, it’s an ultra cheap slice-and-dice effort that even boasts the tired “They’re coming to get you!” ending designed to make drive-in audiences uncomfortable.” TV Guide

“Aside from a great opening double death sequence, there really isn’t enough happening in the film to recommend it. It’s an oddity, but one not worth much more than a single curious glance. In the right mood and with the right group of friends, it might prove to be a bit of fun…” Wes R., Oh, the Horror!

“The only things that really make this flick (and how appropriate is it that its acronym would be DIM?) stand out are the cultural kitsch value of the drive-in setting and the hilariously cheesy gimmick ending.” Balladeer’s Blog

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“There’s a background story about the land the drive-in is on having formerly been a carnival, and the current workers at the drive-in are ex-carnies. This almost gives a few of the interviewees enough to chew on to project interesting characters, but they go nowhere because there’s just nothing to be done with the combination bad writing and bad acting.” Weird Wild Realm

Cast and characters:

  • John F. Goff as Police Detective Mike Leary
  • Steve Vincent as Police Psychologist
  • Douglas Gudbye as Charlie “Germy” Garmey
  • Verkina Flower as Girl in Warehouse
  • Robert E. Pearson as Austin Johnson
  • Catherine Barkley as Kathy
  • Norman Sheridan as Orville Ingleson
  • John Alderman as Jim
  • Jacqueline Giroux as Arlene
  • Bruce Kimball as Police Detective John Koch
  • Marty Gatsby as David
  • Sandy Carey as Lori
  • Tiffany Jones [Janus Blythe] as Alan’s Date
  • Myron Griffith as Alan
  • George Buck Flower as Guy with Machete

Choice dialogue:

“You really wanna talk to that piece if puke?”

Trailer (with Massacre as Masacre!):

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: Critical Condition


Herschell Gordon Lewis’ BloodMania

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Herschell Gordon Lewis’ BloodMania aka BloodMania is a 2016 Canadian horror anthology film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast; Two Thousand Maniacs!; The Wizard of Gore); The Gore Gore Girls), Kevin Littlelight and Melanie Reinboldt for Diabolique Films. The screenplay is by Herschell Gordon Lewis, Kevin Littlelight, James Saito, Justin Sane and Bob Schultz.

The film is schedule for release sometime in 2016.

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Cast:

Genoveva Rossi, Caroline Buzanko, Carolyn Bridget Kennedy, Saleste Mele, Roger LeBlanc, Chengis Javeri, Erica Cukulin, Brian MacDougall, Sarah Troyer, Donovan Cerminara, Emily Siobhan McCourt, Laura Gillespie, Faith Amantea, Jewelle Colwell, Emeri Cukulin, Carly McKee, Stuart Bentley.

Press blurb:

“Four unique stories that combine horror and gore with outrageous humor that will satiate every horror fan’s appetite!”

Trailer:

Teaser:

IMDb | Facebook


Night Watch (1973)

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‘You’ll be seeing this nightmare every night for the rest of your life.’

Night Watch is a 1973 British suspense thriller film directed by Brian G. Hutton from a screenplay by Tony Williamson and Evan Jones.

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The film reunited Elizabeth Taylor with co-star Laurence Harvey from their Butterfield 8 (1960). Some of the story elements were inspired by the play of the same name by Lucille Fletcher (Sorry, Wrong Number) and 1944 film Gas Light.

Main cast:

Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey (Welcome to Arrow Beach), Billie Whitelaw (Twisted Nerve; Frenzy; The Omen [1976]), Robert Lang, Tony Britton, Bill Dean (Beasts). Horror icon Linda Hayden has a brief role as a young woman killed in a car accident.

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Plot:

London. One night, during a raging thunderstorm, Ellen Wheeler (Elizabeth Taylor), frantically tells her husband John (Laurence Harvey) that from the living room window she has seen a murder being committed in the old deserted house next door. John calls the police, but a search turns up nothing.

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Ellen is revealed to be recovering from a mental breakdown that occurred after her unfaithful first husband, Carl, was killed a few years earlier in an auto accident with his young lover…

Reviews:

“Quite cleverly, though, by closely following the visual and aural conventions of the genre (the thunderclaps whenever someone says something significant; the lightning flashes that reveal hidden information, the discordant music/noise on the soundtrack anytime Ellen becomes confused and threatened), Hutton sets us up to pull the rug out from under our expectations.” Paul Mavis, DVD Talk

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“It’s a tight, well-paced thriller that deftly builds its suspense by playing with the audience’s mind as cleverly as it plays with that of Taylor’s character.” Dreams Are What Le Cinema is For…

” … a superior domestic suspense film, better than I expected it to be, and warmly recommended to those looking for a good seventies scare.” The Passing Tramp: Wandering through the mystery genre

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“On the surface, the plot of Night Watch appears to be similar to many “women-in-peril” thrillers, but just when you assume you know the direction the film is taking, Night Watch explodes in a bloody finale that’s sure to leave a few viewers shocked.” Kimberly Lindbergs, Cinebeats

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“… has a gratuitously bloody climax and a kick-yourself ending, but its amoebic plot is stretched almost to snapping point over 98 minutes.” David McGillivray, Time Out 

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“The direction at times has the appearance of a pastiche of the worst of Hammer’s Gothic productions.” Alexander Stuart, Films and Filming

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“Predictable coil-spring shocker which goes curiously flat despite a star cast and lashings of blood. Perhaps we have all been here once to often.” Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide

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“… the ancient plot and Taylor’s side of ham ruin the best efforts of all concerned.” Andy Boot, Fragments of Fear

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“A flat mystery thriller that fails to create any feeling of suspense.” John Elliot, Elliot’s Guide to Films on Video

Cast and characters:

Choice dialogue:

Billie Whitelaw: “What, ruin a good love affair by getting married? No thank you.”

Wikipedia | IMDb



The Thrill of a Kill (2011)

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The Thrill of a Kill is a 2011 Norwegian micro-budget splatter horror film produced written, photographed, edited and directed by Lars-Erik Lie on a budget equivalent to just $5,000.

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Cast:

Kirsten Jakobsen, Arve Herman Tangen, Camilla Vestbø Losvik,  Toril Skansen.

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Plot:

After fighting with her mom, Kimsy runs into the woods to cool off, where she meets a friendly photographer. A day of bloodshed and murder follows…

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Reviews:

With The Thrill of a Kill, producer/writer/director Lars Erik Lie went all the way in order to make the goriest splatter film ever made in Norway, and additionally, he succeeded in making an entertaining horror film … minor glitches are easily overlooked as the story progresses and the blood squirts faster.” Nordic Fantasy

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“The shots are kept tight with a strong range of believable performances by the women actors involved. It never needs to use too many fx as the ones that are captured on camera are shot in a way that make the scenes feel realistic without a large budget to work with.” HorrorNews.net

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The film is released on DVD in the US on January 26, 2016, by Wild Eye Raw.

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Trailer 1 (mature only):

Trailer 2 (mature only):

International trailer (mature only):

IMDb | Facebook


The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963)

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‘Women’s virtues made him a killer!’

The Virgin of Nuremberg is a 1963 Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti (Castle of Blood; Killer Fish; Cannibal Apocalypse) [as Anthony Dawson] from a screenplay co-written with Edmond T. Gréville and Renato Vicario. The film’s brassy score is by Riz Ortolani (Mondo Cane; Cannibal Holocaust).

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The film’s original Italian title is La vergine di Norimberga and it has also been released as The Castle of Terror (UK, by Compton Films) and Horror Castle (USA, by Zodiac Films). 

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Main cast:

Rossana Podestà, Georges Rivière, Christopher Lee, Jim Dolen, Lucille St. Simon, Patrick Walton.

Production:

The Virgin of Nuremberg was based on an Italian paperback novel La vergine di Normberga, issue #23 in the KKK series of Italian pulp paperback novels. These novels were part of a trend of cheap paperback novels that blended Gothic, horror and erotic styles.

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The film’s producer, Marco Vicario, was the co-founder of the company G.E.I. who published the KKK paperbacks. Margheriti changed elements of the plot of the story to include a war and surgery subplots. The film also removes some of the more extreme elements of the novel, such as a part where a man severs a woman’s nerve before pulling out almost all of the bones from her body.

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Many sources state that giallo specialist Ernesto Gastaldi was credited as Gastad Green, but he has denied contributing to the film’s writing, stating he may have discussed plot elements with Margheriti, but did no actual writing. The official documents relating to the film’s production credit Marco Vicario’s brother Renato Vicario as Gastad Green.

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Plot:

When Max Hunter leaves his American bride Mary alone in his German castle, a series of gruesome slayings occur in the abandoned torture chamber. In a shocking revelation, a hideous phantom killer, with a ghastly Nazi past, stalks the castle corridors and dusts off some of the tools of torture for some fresh bloodletting…

Reviews:

” … a totally illogical script in which virtually every plot development hinges upon the heroine’s bottomless stupidity and complete lack of any sense of self-preservation!” Scott Ashlin, 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

” … the film isn’t without its problems, which mainly reside in the script. The amazing, literary style quotes of so many classics are sorely missed here and the dialogue is merely average. The plot displays only one decent twist but it is ahead of its time in the way of being quick to the punch and this trait separates it from the vast pack of slower, story building gothic horrors.” Brett H., Oh, the Horror!

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“As a director, Antonio Margheriti provides few of the subtle, wonderfully atmospheric moments present in his more successful Castle of Blood. Instead, Margheriti prefers to stun the audience with gratuitous gore and graphic tortures that disgust rather than frighten.” Lawrence McCallum, Italian Horror Films of the 1960s 

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“It’s a stylish, atmospheric and effective gothic horror film…” Monster Minions

“The script and the dialogue are ludicrous, but the extraordinary cruelty of the film – like the rat cage placed over a woman’s face, with predictably terrifying consequences – soon chokes the temptation to laugh and the efficient special effects arranged by Margheriti himself makes for some impressive scenes.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror

The Virgin of Nuremberg rat in a cage torture

” … worth it, especially if you like cold violence, as Margheriti pushes the limits with his tortures” Danny Shipka, Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980

“The ultimate explanation is so far-fetched that it borders on goofy, but if you can handle such things, the film might satisfy.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

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Cast and characters:

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Choice dialogue:

Max Hunter: “Was he a moralist? Or a maniac?”

Max Hunter: “The war left my spirit in a worse state than Erich’s face.”

Martha: “You shouldn’t trust strange Americans.”

The Punisher: “Instruments of torture are more or less the same, wherever you go!”

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Offline reading:

Bizarre Sinema: Horror All’Italiana 1957 – 1979, Glittering Images, 1996

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Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957 – 1969 by Roberto Curti

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Italian Horror by Jim Harper

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Italian Horror Film Directors by Louis Paul, McFarland, 2010

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Spaghetti Nightmares by Luca M. Palmerini, Gaetano Mistretta, Fantasma Books

Spaghetti Nightmares

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Italian trailer:

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: antoniomargheriti.com


Patchwork (2015) [updated with Frightfest report]

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Patchwork

‘Some assembly required’

Patchwork is a 2015 Canadian-American comedy horror film directed by Tyler MacIntyre from a screenplay co-written with Chris Lee Hill.

Main cast:

Tory Stolper, Tracey Fairaway, Maria Blasucci, James Phelps, Craig Anstett, Seth Cassell, Anthony DiMieri, Eric Edelstein, Camila Greenberg, Mark Hapka.

Plot:

Three young women go out partying one night and find themselves Frankensteined together in one body. Now they must put aside their differences so they can find who did this and exact revenge!

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Reviews:

” … the film gets a bit more Re-Animatory with an owl-cat hybrid, some stumbling remote control zombies and a lot of limb-lopping and power-tool surgery, but the best material involves the three women and their erratic killing spree cum consciousness raising session.  The three lead actresses are on the money, with Stolper especially delivering a tour de force.” Kim Newman, Frightfest Notes

“Not much in the way of scares – but the frequent and well-done gore will have you laughing and gagging simultaneously. Honestly, whether in the operating room where Stitch was brought to life, or during one of the many murderous rampages to find her/their killer, there is no shortage of bloody fun in Patchwork.” Michael Klug, Horrorfreak News

“The acting by the three ladies is superb, as was the overall story. The humour hit home more often than not, and the makeup effects were excellent. While the sadist in me wishes that it was a little gorier, there’s still plenty of brutality here being doled out by the creature. Tyler MacIntyre has taken the Frankenstein tale and tweaked it, giving us something new and fun.”Pat Torfe, Bloody Disgusting

“Tyler MacIntyre’s film Patchwork is a riotous take on the Frankenstein story by way of Stuart Gordon. The writing by MacIntyre and his writing partner Chris Lee Hill (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) is strewn with humor and cartoonish violence. During one scene the girl(s) are bashing in someone’s skull with a brick and his partner, in a panicky voice, asks, “Can you please stop doing that?”. The pair really have put a lot of laughs into their film.” Andrew Mack, Twitch

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Patchwork is a highly entertaining, funny, twisted and original take on the classic Frankenstein mythos. It features fine performances, solid directing and great use of practical make-up effects; one piece nearly stole the entire film. MacIntyre’s film is very much Re-Animator for a new generation of genre fans. It’s not as good as that horror classic – not many genre films can or ever will be – but it certainly deserves to be recognized as one of the best genre films of the year…” Ernie Trinidad, Film Pulse

“Having more meaning than most lends an endearing intelligence to “Patchwork” not often found in this kind of film.  Equally genius about the presentation is that none of the messaging is heavy handed.  There is enough subtlety that subtext can be ignored if one chooses, and the meat of the movie can be enjoyed as unadulterated horror humor no matter what.” Culture Crypt

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“Much like Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator and Hennenlotter’s Frankenhooker, this film has a wicked sense of humor while it tosses body parts into your face. The film pulls no punches with the ultragore, which is a part of all the fun. Those who long for the 80s blood-drenched horror films have a new film to fawn over as this film sloshes around in the red stuff with unabandoned glee.” Ambush Bug, Ain’t It Cool News

Trailer:

IMDb | Facebook


Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons – book

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Death by Umbrella The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner book

Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons is a 2016 book by Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner published by BearManor Media.

Press release:

“As horror movies have become more extreme, even the tools of the tree surgeon have be-come passé. Besides, why risk industrial deaf-ness dispatching virgins with a chainsaw?

Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons is a fun-filled romp through the world of gore ordinances. Hosts of The Really Awful Movies Podcast, Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner, explore a variety of very odd weapons that have helped people meet their maker in horror films.

These include being fatally skewered by mounted deer antlers, death by exercise machines, curling irons, and ears of corn, laceration by avant-garde sculptures, bludgeoning into the beyond by pogo sticks, and even lethal basketballs thrown at high velocity (!)

A must for horror fans, the book also features some really cool (and gory) illustrations, plus a foreword by Troma legend Lloyd Kaufman.”

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Honeymoon Horror (1982)

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Honeymoon-Horror-1982-slasher

‘Til death do us part.’

Honeymoon Horror is a 1982 American slasher horror film written and directed by Harry Preston (Blood of the Wolf Girl) from a story by L.L. ‘Jack’ Carney.

This was one of the first direct-to-video films purchased by Sony Home Video and released to the fledgling video rental market. It allegedly made millions of dollars for Sony who bought it for $50,000 from the Texas film makers.

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Main cast:

Paul Iwanski, Bob Wagner, Cheryl Black, Philip Thompson, James Caskey, Bill Pecchi, Jerry Meagher, William Clarke, Margi Curry, Mary Lou Wittman, Leslie McKinley, Kathy Johnson.

Official synopsis:

‘Imagine every newlywed’s fantasy, a rustic secluded lover’s paradise- Honeymoon Island. What starts as a weekend of love, turns into a nightmare of blood and terror for three young innocent couples. What lurks in the shadows of Honeymoon Lodge? Is it the caretaker, or perhaps something more fiendish and deadly? Honeymoon Island, where newlyweds joined in holy matrimony spend their wedding night screaming in terror!’

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Reviews:

Honeymoon Horror is a poorly put together movie, but looks much better here than in the most common print available. Preston has said that the production was so awkward that most of his ideas were devoured by the lack of budget and the film does look shoddy and cheap. For a slice of regional filmmaking with a cool maniac though, it at least deserves to be seen.” A Slash Above

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” … even with the slow pace I was never really bored. The horrid dialogue kept me laughing throughout; I particularly liked the guy who told his wife he had to go practice his weightlifting on their wedding night (which in any other movie would result in the now isolated man being clubbed to death with his own barbells, but not Honeymoon Horror!” Brian W. Collins, Horror Movie a Day

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Honeymoon Horror is helplessly bogged down with talky scenes and nudity, not to mention absurd characters, particularly the Cockney maid (!). When it actually shows up, the gore is pretty plentiful and the special effects not too bad, but the cast are uniformly awful.” Jim Harper, Legacy of Blood

Legacy of Blood Jim Harper

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Honeymoon-Horror-AVI-VHS

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Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

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Filming locations: 

Austin Patio Dude Ranch in Grapevine, Texas, USA

Clip:

IMDb


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