Maniac
Directed By: William Lustig
1980
87 minutes-Color
When Wayne first asked me to do some reviews for the site this is the movie
that came to mind. I know to this day it still urks him that I grabbed this
gem used for 9.99. Maniac has everything a slasher flick should. Joe Spinnell
could have been a horror master if he kept at it. I don't know how the hell
you go from being in "The Godfather" and "Rocky" (take
her to the zoo, retards like the zoo) to this slasher masterpiece. Maniac
is the story of Frank Zito, a man tormented by the mistreatment of his mother.
The gritty realness of the movie makes it so appealing. Much like Gein, Frank's
mother drives him to murder through all her mistreatment. No monsters, no
killers from beyond the grave, frankly NO BULLSHIT. Just a maniac and his
collection of mannequins. Frank picks up women, kills them and removes their
scalp to add to his collection. The shotgun scene with "disco boy"
Tom Savini is fan-fucking-tastic. Maniac could really happen, serial killers
have been working in this fashion for decades. Probably the only unbelievable
thing in the movie is the fact Frank was able to get Anna to go out with him.
She's fucking hot and Joe Spinnell looks like a garbage bag full of vomit.
Buy this movie or get AIDS fag, it's everything a movie should be.
"I warned you not to go out tonight"
Murder Rating: 10
(although the close up of the throat slash with the wrong side of the knife
bugs me)
Movie Rating: 11
Review by Devilman
Maniac
Dirtected By: William Lustig
1980
87 Minutes - Color
A crazy guy stalks the streets of New York looking for female victims so he
can scalp them and put their hair on his mannequins. He had an abusive childhood
and that has turned him into a maniac.
Simple plot, but done so perfectly. Every review I've ever read on this movie
mentions the performance by Joe Spinell as the madman Frank Zito. Well, this
review will contibue on by saying that his performance makes the movie 10
times better. This is the role he was made to play.
Some amazing death scenes like the shotgun through the window will go down
in obscure horror history. Great Savini effects and ultra creepy atmosphere
rank this up there at the top of the genre. You'll probably have to pay $20
for this, but it's well worth it.
Murder Rating: 9
Movie Rating: 9.5
Review by Baron
Monster Man
Directed By: Michael Davis
2003
95 Minutes - Color
What we have here is another Texas Chainsaw Massacre type plot, except in this one, the bad guy kills people by running them over in a monster truck. I'm not lying.
This is far from a brilliannt cinematic work, but it's fairly entertaining.. I guess. Some of the special effects are cool, and some are downright horrible. The "twist" is really predictable, but it doesn't really take much away from the movie since it's just average at best.
The premise is awesome but the result isn't.
Murder Rating:
6
Movie Rating: 5
Review by Baron
Mutant Man
Directed By: Suzanne DeLaurentiis
1996
77 Minutes - Color
Wow. This piece of shit makes Monster Man look like Citizen Kane. Some slut gives birth to a deformed monster kid and when the kid grows up, they keep it locked in the basement and feed it meat. A dumb family breaks down near the house and blah blah.. You know the deal.
I think this is rated PG-13 if I remember right. So don't expect just the gore alone to entertain you. Burn all copies of this shit at once.
Murder Rating:
3
Movie Rating: 2
Review by Baron
New Blood
Directed By: Pou-Soi Cheang
2002
90 Minutes - Color
Japanese with English Subtitles
I don't really understand this movie that much. It's easy to follow the basic storyline in the beginning, which is a young couple attempt suicide and the guy dies but the girl is saved from three blood donors. After this happens, those three seem to be haunted by visions of the girl. After that, your guess is as good as mine.
The acting is good and the look to the film is truly top notch. The way everything is filmed looks really good, without being too conventional of Asian horror these days. The major flaw is how the story just becomes too hard to follow and things just seem to happen for no reason. I checked imdb.com on this and I'm not alone. No one really "gets it" I see.
This is a bit similar in style to The Eye 2. I wish I hadn't watched them back to back, because it makes this look even worse.
Murder Rating:
7.5
Movie Rating: 5.5
Review by Baron
Night Of The Demons
Directed By: Kevin Tenney
1988
90 Minutes - Color
I recently borrowed this DVD from a buddy of mine thinking I hadn't seen it
before. After the scene of Linnea Quigley bending over in the convienence
store, I totally remembered watching it when I was younger.
Ten kids go to a party on Halloween night in an abandoned funeral home called
Hull House. The main girl that set the party up is into witchcraft so she
decides to get them involved in a past life seance. They think the summoning
ends early, but a demon escaped from the mirror and possessed one of the girls.
She passes it on to another and another and another until only a couple haven't
been turned into demons. Speaking of Demons, a lot of the makeup effects seemed
heaily influenced by that Argento film. Not a bad thing really. The special
effects aren't bad at all, and some of the murders are pretty interesting.
The lipstick scene is so bizarre you will always remember that.
While not the best movie I've ever seen, it's hardly the worst either. Another
one of those mindless teen slashers, but it's done in a convincing manner.
Find it used somewhere and pick it up for stupid fun.
Murder Rating: 7
Movie Rating: 6.5
Review by Baron
Night Of The Living Dead
Directed By: George A. Romero
1968
96 Minutes - B/W
Oh man, this is my #1 zombie movie EVER. Everything is perfect in this movie...from the zombie scenes to the acting.
Radiation from a satellite falls and the dead walk the earth. They terrorize the living with a hunger for human flesh. The ones who survive lock themselves in an old farm house with a plan to get gas for a truck that is near. The only way to kill the zombies is to destroy the brain. (duh)
This pretty much sums up the whole movie. I won't tell you the ending because if you don't know, well you should go out and buy this ASAP. This zombie flick works for the time, because the use of B/W shadows and the doomed feeling you get.
Murder Rating:
5 (how gruesome can a B/W film be)
Movie Rating: 10
Review by Anne
Night Of The Living Dead 3
Directed by: Brian Yuzna
1993
97 Minutes - Color
This movie, oddly enough, is really entertaining. I remember watching it when
it first came out when I was younger, and it is still as great today.
This one tells the story of Julie [a redhead!] and her boyfriend... basically
its a zombie lovestory. When Julie gets thrown off a motorcycle and into a
telephone pole, she dies instantly.. but her boyfriend has a plan to save
her. He takes her to his father's secret government testing facility where
they are currently bringing the dead back to life via a toxic gas and trying
to kill them with manufactured weapons. Of course, she is brought back
to life... with some side effects. Unlike every other zombie in the movie,
she has the power of human recognition, and can stave off her craving for
human flesh by experiencing physical pain... thus, she turns into a fucking
hot redheaded bondage fetish zombie.
The special effects in this film are great, we see her slicing and puncturing
her flesh in every way imaginable during the film, and the visuals are just
amazing... some look so convincingly real that its ridiculous.. and of course
she has a few relapses where her zombie tendencies get the best of her.. brains!
more brains!
Some great murder/death sequences include the scene at the convenience store
where the vato gangbangers try and harass Julie and her boyfriend and she
procedes to tear a huge chunk of flesh out one of the vato's arms.. thus creating
a ghetto vato zombie who , what else, craves brains! The vietnamese store
clerk with the ripped-out-but-still-connected-and-really-really-tall spinal
cord is also worth of mention. His brains get munched on as well.
Overall, a pretty decent film and worthy of at least one viewing. They attempted
to create an emotional element to the film, and it mostly fails, but its funny
to watch B-grade actors try and create this plotline in the midst of sadistic
self-mutilation and zombie attacks.
Murder Rating: 6
Movie Rating: 6
Redhead Rating: 10
Review by Dave
Omen
Directed By: Richard Donner
1976
111 Minutes - Color
On June 6th at 6:00am, Robert's wife gives birth to a baby. The child is stillborn,
and he can't manage to tell his wife, so he quickly adopts another baby. Things
seem to go alright until the kid turns 5, then everything begins to happen.
A priest warns him that his son is actually the spawn of Satan but at first
he doesn't believe him, even if there are many clues to it. The movie shows
Robert and a photographer who took pictures that foretold the priests death
on a quest to figure this whole thing out and understand how to stop it.
Gregory Peck's performance is awesome, as are most of the leads, such as Patrick
Troughton as Father Brennan and Billie Whitelaw as Mrs. Baylock. Mention must
be made of Damien, played by Harvey Stephens.. It's hard to imagine how you
would case a kid as Satan and know he was right for the part, but somehow
they managed to do it.
What I like about this movie is how they don't really SHOW everything and
you have to just figure out what is really happening. Damien is the main focus
of the movie, yet he's not shown half as much as he could be. I think that
is a good thing. It adds to the suspense of the whole film. This can be appreciated
by fans of any movie genre. Recommended.
Murder Rating: 2
Movie Rating: 9
Review by Baron
Omen 2
Directed by: Don Taylor
1978
107 Minutes - Color
Overall, this is a good sequal to a masterpiece that is the original. A lot
of the impact has kind of worn off, but it's still effective. The few death
scenes aren't as good as before, and there isn't much build up to them like
there was in the first. It seems to go 'ok, you understand Damien is the devils
spawn so you will die in the next scene' which is predictible. Although the
plate glass decapitation in the first one can't be topped, the elevator scene
in this one is pretty damn close.
This movie is similar to the first one in plotline, but since you already
know the basic story, you're ahead of what the characters know. I guess that's
a problem with most sequels, hence them rarely living up to the original.
Damien is now 12 years old and he's at a military academy where he's trying
to blend in, although some people know of his powers.
If you liked the first one then you will probably get into this one as well.
Hell, it's not as bad as the Exorcist 2.
Murder Rating: 5
Movie Rating: 7
Review by Baron
Omen 3: The Final Conflict
Directed By: Graham Baker
1981
107 Minutes - Color
This is a really enjoyable film if you can get past the few plotholes that
are constantly there. This is better overall than part 2, although the ending
isn't as BIG as you expect or want it to be. The overly Christian ending is
a bit generic, but it doesn't distract from the great script.
Sam Neill plays Damien at age 32, where he is now head of the Thorn company
as well as the Ambassador of England. He continues his evil rampage in this
one, brainwashing and controlling everyone into thinking he's a normal guy.
Of course, some know of his power and they try to track him down and kill
him with the seven daggers. Damiens power weakens when the son of God is born,
and he orders all the babies born on a certain date and time to be killed
so he can reign supreme.
I guess you have to watch these movies in order, but in a way, you really
don't. I would recommend this more than part 2, but I guess watching that
one sort of helps to understand things a bit better.
Murder Rating: 4
Movie Rating: 8
Review by Baron
Phantasm
Directed By: Don Coscarelli
1979
88 Minutes - Color
Two orphaned boys, Mike (Michael Baldwin) and Jody (Bill Thornbury) notice
some strange things happening at Morningside Mortuary. Bodies are disappearing
from coffins; a lady in lavender has sex with men in the graveyard and then
stabs them to death; little midgets in brown cloaks (making sounds like lions)
are roaming about and there's a flying silver orb with spikes that embeds
itself in people's heads! And then there's the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) overseeing
it all...Soon Mike, Jody and there friend Reggie are fighting for their lives...
Ok, I admit it. I stole that from someone else who did a write up on the movie.
That sums it up perfectly. Some of the storyline is a bit tough to understand,
and a few things don't really make sense, but oh well. Apparently this movie
was going to get an X rating because of the scene with the orb digging into
the guys forehead, but the writer/director fought it to the end and got an
R rating out of it. The whole movie isn't really that violent, so that is
sorta strange to me. What this movie does have is a real creepy vibe going
and fairly strong actors in the leading rolls. We all know how often that
happens in these type films..
I just recently watched Phantasm after not seeing it in about 10 years and
it's as good and spooky as it was when I was younger. I haven't seen the three
sequels, but word has it they suck big time.
Murder Rating: 6
Movie Rating: 8
Review by Baron
Phenomena
Directed By: Dario Argento
1985
110 Minutes - Color
I got the American version called 'Creepers', but it's not the 82 minute version
that's floating around. It's also not the full 116 minute one with the dialogue
in place. Oh well, I got it for 94 cents, so eat shit.
Jennifer has a strange ability to communicate with insects. She's sent to
a school in Switzerland, and around the same time, a lot of murders begin
taking place. Her ability allows her to team up with a scientist guy and solve
the crime.
Ok, there's more to it then that, but that's a basic idea. I read a lot of
reviews saying this was Argento's best film, but I just don't see that.. I
mean, it's a good movie, but no way this tops the writing of Deep Red, the
suspense of The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, or the visual brilliance of
Inferno. That being said, I still enjoyed this movie.
The murders are a bit lower in numbers this time around, but the quality is
up there with his best work. The last 15 minutes of this movie is amazing,
by the way. I won't say why, but it's really well done and memorable.
I'd rate this as ALMOST essential Argento. Check it out, sucka.
Murder Rating: 8
Movie Rating: 7
Review by Baron
Pieces
Directed by: Juan Piquer Simon
1983
90 Minutes - Color
"It's exactly what you think it is!" sums up this flick pretty well. It starts with a mother finding her 8 year old son putting together a puzzle with a naked lady on it. The mom gets mad and takes the puzzle so the kid hacks his mother to "pieces" with an axe. Then it goes ahead a bit and the kid is an adult. He decides to BRUTALLY murder everyone at a college campus to assemble a human jigsaw puzzle.
Something must be said of the terrible [but awesome!] dubbing job on the voices. Oh man, it's so bad it rules. The movie itself is so violent and gory that it's worth watching just for that alone, although the story itself is done well. The ending of the movie is really bizarre and it's something you'd really have to see to understand.. and appreciate!
Murder Rating:
10
Movie Rating: 8.5
Review by Baron
Poltergeist
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
1982
114 Minutes - Color
This movie will always be one of my favorite early 80's paranormal movies. It wasn't Hollywood over-done with supernatural experiences. In fact, the poltergeist series has a lot of history in the making with weird mishaps and deaths.
Heather O'Rourke who played Carol Anne in the movie was extremely right for the part. A young girl who is contacted by supernatural spirits, at first from a fuzzy channel on a TV. Later the spirits began to talk to her and improve their skills of getting her to the other side. Carol Anne is finally forced to the other side by the starting point...her closet. The Freeling family calls on psychic Tangina Barrons to help bring back Carol Anne from the other side. This movie has a flowing feel to it, with not a lot of action to make it seem over the top.
Murder Rating:
There really wasn't murder in this movie fag
Movie Rating: 10
Review by Anne
Porno Holocaust
Directed by: Joe D'Amato
1970 something
113 Minutes - Color
French with English Subtitles
This is basically a 70's porno filmed with an island holocaust type theme. I dare you to watch the explicit sex scenes without fast forwarding through them. It's pretty damn brutal to say the least.
This movie takes forever to get going. The English subtitles make this movie even harder to watch than it should be. Everything about this movie is way more difficult than a movie like this should be!
Anyway, a group of scientists go to a deserted island that has been used for radiation testing. Supposedly people are reporting seeing weird mutant animals there as well as things they can't explain. They get to the island and they start to be sliced and diced by these cannibalistic zombies who enjoy forcing the female scientists to give them blowjobs and full on poorly filmed sex. One great scene is when a zombie knocks a girl out and rapes her for a loooooong time. The next scene of them discovering her, she is laying on her side and blood is pouring out of her ass. A totally classy movie!
I can see someone thinking this is the best movie ever made, but for me, it's just a little too boring overall.
Murder Rating:
8
Movie Rating: 6
Review by Baron
Psycho Cop Returns
Directed By: Adam Rifkin
1993
85 Minutes - Color
Officer Joe Vickers is back again, and he is pissed off. He is a deranged
police officer who kills off anyone he finds that is breaking the law. He
overhears about a bachelor party being held in an office building after the
place closes. He hears them talking about hookers and drugs, so he warns them.
They don't listen, and they have the party anyway. Big mistake.
I've seen this movie on HBO many times over the past 10 years, but I never
drew a connection with the title. I recently picked it up for $5 and I was
glad I did. There is much to like about this movie, including good performances
by Robert Shafer as the cop, a good number of creative death scenes, and some
pretty funny commentary by the madman when he's hunting them down.
Highly entertaining flick that is worth your money. Now if only I can find
the first one...
Murder Rating: 6.5
Movie Rating: 8
Review by Baron
Pumpkinhead
Directed By: Stan Winston
1989
86 Minutes - Color
A group of kids racing motorcycles accidently hit a little boy causing him to die. The boy's father seeks revenge by going to the town witch. Together, him and the witch conjure a tall, fanged demon that sets about killing the kids. When Henriksen finally realizes what his actions are causing he tries to call off the demon, but discovers it's too late.
This was a decent flick with some cool special effects in the monster department. It looks about as real as it could look for 1989 and it doesn't look CGI'd like it would like nowadays. Overall, this movie is a bit slow for me, but it's definitely a solid movie you should be able to pick up anywhere for cheap money.
Murder Rating:
5
Movie Rating: 5.5
Review by Baron
Pumpkinhead 2
Directed By: Jeff Burr
1994
88 Minutes - Color
Some kids are driving along and they hit a known witch, sending her to the hospital. They go into her house to investigate stuff and they SOMEHOW bring back the evil Pumpkinhead, the local legend in town. The old witch lady's house burns down and now the demon is unleashed to get revenge on the kids as well as the group of people that tortured him when he was still a human.
The story is nothing great, but it's interesting to watch. It's hard to see Punky Brewster as one of the lead roles here though, because she's old and stupid now. Mention must be made of scream queen Linnea Quigley having a small role in this too. You know it's decent when she's nude in the first scene. A great cameo that I felt proud of myself for noticing is my hero Kane Hodder [if you don't know who he is, suffocate on AIDS cum you stupid faggot] in a small hockey maskless role.
Some good gore, faster paced than the original, and somewhat entertaining.
Murder Rating:
7
Movie Rating: 6
Review by Baron