This is Perry
from the group Sorcery. I
am not sure this will get to the right person, but we'll give it a
try...The name on the e-mail appears
to be "Fadelman". I
recently came upon the review of the movie "STUNTROCK"
on you website, used google search and saw the review, and enjoyed
your comments.
I just wanted
to take a minute and thank you for the "STUNTROCK" review.
I thought you got it right! I
think you actually describe this picture in it's simplicity
better and more accurate than anyone else I've
read. And YOU get it. It's
just a fun movie about Stunts and Rock and Roll. Grant
was really good at what he did, so was Brian, and
most
everyone involved did a good job. Brian
didn't have alot of time and wanted people who could
work fast. Sorcery was a well known LA group being
"courted" by several major record labels in LA. at
the very time this opportunity presented itself to the
group. It also came with a record contract with EMI as well as a
movie contract. Because
we/Sorcery where such a "visual" act,we took the
movie deal so we could get the Live show on film, with a
professional director as well. EMI
was the original Label for the soundtrack LP.
Here is some
trivia...Did you know...
Phil Hartman,
from saturday nite live, is the one who takes
the machine gun away from Monique in the movie. Telling
her "it's to dangerous" for her, and her "agent insists".
Also; Van Halen
opened for Sorcery in 77'.
Here is a link
you might find interesting... It's
the Sorcery website:
www.sorcerymusic.com
Again,
thanks
for the review.
Perry/Sorcery
Music Int'L
Emails
like this are why I love my job! - Editor
My husband
swears that he saw a movie when he was a kid that was called "Egg
Eyes" about a man that had eggs for eyes. I think
it was supposed to be a horror film. I can't find anything anywhere,
and I would like to get it for him
Thanks,
Kelly
Schreiner
In
my 50 years of watching and reviewing movies, I have never seen or
heard of a film called EGG EYES. Have your husband email me with all
the info he remembers about this film. It's possible that it is known
under another title, but I think I would remember a film about a man
with eggs for eyes. Either that, or he's high. - Editor
I got connected
to your web site in trying to find a movie with an obscure
theme. First I got to say, very cool web site and easy to
navigate. Here's the question... there was a movie, B-rated (at
best) about a killer who used a fishing rod and oversized lure to
terrorize and kill people. I don't know what the key words for
the title would be, the actors, or the director. I know my
husband and sons watched it on a late nite horror festival back in
the late 80's early 90's. Do you have any idea what it could be?
Sally
Cox
That
film would be BLOOD HOOK (1987). It's
one of Troma's better 80's pick-ups. It's readily available on eBay.
- Editor
Hi,
I have to say
sir it was a real treat for me to stumble upon your site. I am a
HUGE! fan of nostalgia video companies of the eighties and about a
week ago I was searching for a reputable site for more information on
the many companies that dominated that era and was fortunate enough
(by the little site we know as google) to find yours in a search. I
read every piece of info and am completely hooked. Thanks for the
site. I am twenty-four years old and really wished I was a little
older just to be able to enjoy every part of the eighties. The kids
today defiantly don't know what they missed. I was fortunate to have
a passion for the roots of both good and bad DTV's and movies in
general of that period. Anyway being a professional in this area for
many years do yo think with On-Demand today and the affordability of
making indi features that the crave of these kind of movies will
strike the hearts of people in today's generation? Or has everyone
turned to the 100 million dollar movie! Man I hate to be in the shoes
of one of the big studios in today's world because unlike twenty-five
years ago lets say, if you take a hit on a feature now it will blow
you out of your shoes a long way. Again thanks for the retro trip
memories and I will pass your site on even thou a lot of people I am
sure know who you and your site is. Take care!
Ken
Foisy (Rhode Island)
Thanks
for the kind words. The 70's & 80's were a special time for
films and I fear that we will never see a period like that again.
That is why I created my web site. To keep the spirit of the 70's and
80's alive. Nostalgia for all of us who lived through it and an
on-line history lesson for those who did not. I will keep adding to
it until I run out of films. I never see that happening, though. - Editor
RE: Your quote
about Media Entertainment:
"A lot of Media's early releases command
big bucks today in the auction market. I own a few from the late 70's
and they play perfectly. Just a side note here, but don't the early
tapes weigh much heavier than tapes produced in the last 10 years?
You could drop an older tape and nothing would happen. Drop a new
tape and be prepared to bring out the vacuum as it will shatter into
hundreds of small pieces. The older tapes were made to last, and 25
years later they play as well as the first time."
I agree, it's
kinda weird that as VHS became a bigger industry that the VHS tapes
themselves became a whole lot more fragile. I used to work at a video
store a few years ago and by weight alone you could tell what was old
and what was new. A 1982 hour and half movie would weight about 5 lbs
and a 2002 three and half hour movie would only tip the scales at the
weight of a penny. We constantly had problems with the flap falling
off/cracking, the reel "window" (sorry, don't know what
you'd call it) cracks quite easily as well. I remember dropping many
an old VHS tape on our linoleum floors behind the counter and nary a
piece of plastic or spring would be out of place.
By the way, I
just discovered your site by browsing Stomp Tokyo and I'm loving it.
I was born in '81, so by the time my parents were renting me videos
it was pretty much an old standby as far as I was concerned. I never
knew life without VHS, so it's kinda weird to think of d-grade horror
& action movies renting wildy during those years. But I guess
when something's new, sometimes it isn't about quality... it's about
quantity (and the lack of). Now that I think about it though, that's
kinda the way things went when DVDs were first getting released.
Enjoying
the site,
Justin
Walden
Thanks
for the kind words. As one who was an adult when the VHS
"fad" was just starting, I can tell you it was an
adventure. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. - Editor
Hi Fred
Well I must say
I love your site. Saw a couple of your posts on DVD
Maniacs. You mentioned you did an interview with LON KERR of
MPM. Looked on your site - can't find it. Curious if you posted it yet.
It was nice to
find out on your posts all the showman who handled the east coast
releases of some of the B pictures. Terry Levine, Howard Mahler,
etc. These guys must have amazing stories about how they sold
those pictures. Worth a book I'd imagine.
Some of my very
early pics played on 42nd street I understand. CREEPOZOIDS,
SORORITY BABES, ASSAULT
OF THE KILLER BIMBOS. Would of loved to see them on those big screens!
Best,
Dave
DeCoteau
www.rapidheart.com
Unfortunately,
I did the interview of Lon Kerr for another site as a paid gig. I
don't have the rights to it. As far as I know, it has never been
posted anywhere since the site no longer exists. I'll have to search
my library for the audiotape and the written interview (I always keep
copies just in case). When I find it, I'll email you a copy.
Keep
up the good work. I know how tough it must be running your own
production company. Keep cranking out the films and I'll keep
watching them! - Editor
Good afternoon,
Browsing the
internet, I came across your website (most impressive I might
add). As a hobby-of-sorts, I collect memorabilia from
"B"-grade monster flicks, mainly from the 50's-60's
timeframe. I would like to inquire whether you are able to
obtain/sell any 8 x 10 images (stills) from a movie entitled
"Beach Girls and the Monster" (aka "Monster from the
Surf"), in particular of a certain actress (Sue Casey)? I
do own the DVD (which has an excellent film gallery) but would like
to obtain 8 x 10 movie stills (including
"behind-the-scenes", etc.); unfortunately, I do not have a
home computer at this time. I have already exhausted the most
obvious sources (Google & Ebay) to no avail. It's my
understanding that Corinth Films distributes this movie...perhaps
with your insight in the industry, you could obtain this?
Thank
you for your time and consideration.
Emilio
M. Alcantar
I
decided to post this email as an example of the kind of inquiries I
get on a daily basis. Here are the facts: I do not and have not ever
sold anything on this web site. Everything on this site is from my
personal collection and I do not achieve any financial gain from my
reviews or anything else I post. There has never been, or will there
ever be, paid advertisements on this site. I have no problem
identifying films for people based on their memories, but once the
film is identified, it is up to that person to locate a copy. I do,
on occasion, trade films with people, but if I did it with everyone
who requested it, I wouldn't have time to breathe. If you have
requested trades from me (or copies of films I have reviewed) and
have not heard back, it's probably because I don't want to trade.
Don't take it personally, I'm just too busy to do so. - Editor
Wow, what a
website! A treasure of esoterica. Please help me if you can. I can
still see the scenes after many years (1970's I think) but can't
recall the title. Henry Silva played a crazed hitman for his
brother. An unstoppable assasin driven by speed and PCP. The
plot involved a high pay prostitute that falls under the protection
of Silva. He is ultimately betrayed and slapped in the face by
his brother and left behind to die as the older Don attempts to make
his escape alone. Silva's fury is unleashed.
A startling
scene occurs earlier in the movie when he goes to murder a woman at
her apartment. When she comes to the door and looks through the
peep hole to see who is there-it's Silva with a sawed-off shotgun-the
barrel placed directly over the door sight. He waits until he
sees her shadow under the crack at the bottom edge of the door. Then....
I thought it my
be CRY OF A PROSTITUTE
but the description doesn't fit the plot as I remember it. At first I
thought it was JOHNNY COOL but I got that and it wasn't it. Not
WIPEOUT (aka Il, Boss) either.
Hope you can
fill in the blanks.
Regards,
Ron
That
movie is SHARKY'S MACHINE
(1981), directed by none other than Burt Reynolds. Henry Silva is
simply terrifying in this film. You should be able to pick up a copy
of this film on DVD on Amazon.com.
- Editor
My name is
Martin Kaderabek, I reside in Príbram, an old mining town in
the Czech Republic, in a two-story house that I share with my family,
several other tennants and several stacks of videocassettes and
digital versatile discs, and I would like to express my
appreciation for your site. It is truly a place where any
horror fan can find abundance of information concerning all kinds of
cinematic gems, oddities and things worth watching. Each review
contains valuable facts, references to other works of creators or
actors involved, information about various cuts and
versions of movies and about distributors. Your site can serve as a
source of knowledge and also as a guide for future generations of
those, who will at some point of their lives have to ask themselves:
"Is this version of Nightmare in a Damaged Brain
complete?" Those are the reasons why Critical Condition should
be commended.
I also noticed
an image of poster or VHS cover of HOLLOWGATE
in Polish language, and that image reminded me of those times shortly
after the "velvet revolution", the early 90´s, when
videocassettes with foreign movies became legally available in my
country. Almost all movies from City Lights were released around that
time, I used to pay visits to our local video rental shop as a boy
and bring home such titles as EPITAPH, THE
NEWLYDEADS, MAYHEM, FRESH KILL, L.A.
CRACKDOWN I,II, CONTRA-CONSPIRACY or PAYBACK, all City Lights
productions. The system of rating was non existent at that
time, of course, kids wouldn´t be allowed to rent adult
themed movies, but I was able to pick all those City Lights horrors
and actioners, flicks from Action International Pictures such as NIGHT
WARS, series of movies from New World Video, and even some Troma
movies that were released in our small, post-comunistic country
between 1990 and 1995. Today, the majority of Czech DVD distributors
tends to release only the newest productions and older horror flicks
and movies of all other genres made more than 5 years ago are
ignored. Sad, sad times. Every now and then, I have to smell the
scent of old plastic VHS containers in my library to cheer myself up.
Well, that
would be all I intended to say. The main point of this message is
that even in such place as The Czech Republic there are
people who find your site and also the style of reviews useful and
valuable, and who hope that you are going to continue in your work of
utmost importance for years and years.
Martin
Kaderabek
Thanks
so much for the kind words. It's nice to know that my little site is
appreciated halfway around the world. You are the first person to
ever email me from the Czech Republic and I appreciate the history
lesson about VHS and DVD releases in your country. Sadly, your story
is no different than a lot of countries, including mine. It seems we
are getting less and less independent releases, as most companies are
happy releasing just the major films to DVD. Thankfully, there are
plenty of grey market sites on the internet where I can get all this
good stuff from the 70's and 80's. If those grey market sites ever
dried up, I wouldn't know what to do! - Editor
I would like to
add one thing I forgot to mention in the first message, and that is
the impression left by your visual history of video distribution
companies I personally find extremely well done. While browsing
that magnificent collection of colourful VHS covers, one idea came to
my mind. I have always been fascinated by variations in artworks for
one title distributed by different companies or in different
countries. Your site gave me the chance to compare the U.S. covers of
certain movies I am familiar with to the Czech versions. If it was of
any interest, I could scan some covers of videocassettes in my
library and send them by email just for the sake of comparation. I
noticed that some of the films released in Bohemia have the same
artworks as those used in the USA while others are the original
creations of our local distributors from 1990´s, who apparently
didn´t have the slightest idea what they were releasing (Fred
Olen Ray´s HAUNTING FEAR released with title HUNTING
FEAR on the cover, and so on..).
Martin
Martin
sent me a bunch of great VHS cover scans of films released in the
Czech Republic. Click on the "HUNTING FEAR" link above to
see one example of what Martin is talking about. I will use more of
his cover scans in my film reviews. - Editor
Hello.
I recently came
across your website and found your video companies page. I must
say, it's amazing. One of my friends and I have been scrolling
through your galleries, excitedly pointing at box art we haven't seen
since childhood. You're absolutely right when you write about
kids today not being titillated by bizarre box art, and experiencing
all the mystery that creates and promises (although we've all been
burned by that match). That's gone now, with more subdued box
art and the internet available everywhere. I wanted to tell
you, "excellent job."
I also had a
couple of films I was looking for; one of them I only remember the
box art. It featured muscle-bound twins who were barbarians
(before you say it, they were not the Barbarian Brothers). The
ones I remember were blond, and were fairly ugly men. I'm
pretty sure it was Italian.
The other was
something I saw on late-night TV when I was in grade school. I
only saw part of one scene, in which an elderly wealthy man in a
lonely mansion shows his visitor his arm or hand, and from a small
wound, pulls out an ant or small insect. There was some dialog
in the scene in which the old man implies that this is some sort of
family curse. Beyond that, I've got nothing. The thought
of insects infesting your body freaked the shit out of me as a
kid (well, to be honest, it still does), and I've always wondered
what that was. Any idea?
While my friend
and I have nowhere near 6000 titles (holy shit! that's impressive),
we've got a good bit, and much of it is out of print. Is there
anything you're looking for?
-
Ryan Checkeye
I
can't help you with the first film (There are too many Italian films
with that description), but I'm pretty sure the second film is THE
DEVONSVILLE TERROR (1983), directed by Ulli Lommel. If you want
a copy, email me your address and I'll send one to you. - Editor
Dear Fred,
Since you
printed the e-mail from Fred Olen Ray under your caption E-mails from Famous
People and Fans, in connection with the Retromedia/Rebane matter, it is indeed
time if not mandatory for the Accused to set the record straight.
You of all
people need not to color yourself embarrassed, and your web site does not
have to be used for defamatory statements, nor to be a
judgmental in statements
made by third parties or either writer.
Being a writer
and journalist myself for years, for dailies and periodicals, reporting
the facts or quoting third party statements, is the name of the game, without
putting the spin on anything. You have not done that.
And nothing I wrote
other then asking What is he smoking and referring to
Freds web site
as Sleazy should reflect on you. Those are my
opinions period.
I do believe
however, in view of the statements made by Fred Olen Ray to you and published
by Criticonline , I am entitled to a response. The statements
I am committing
to writing are not opinions but facts. Mr. Ray, while admitting that
Retromedia had been had adequately compensated by BCI and Rhino, was and is
the greatest enlightenment on this matter thus far. As this
statement is self
incriminating and a blatant confession that in fact there were no damages for
any of the alleged wrong doings on my part. As you know, under
the law there
cannot be a legal action and or judgment without prove up of
damages. No damages...no
case. And, just what is it Rhino and BCI Eclipse compensated Retromedia
and Fred Olen Ray for??? The
original licensing agreement with Retromedia was canceled in 2003,
and there were
no provisions for sub-licensing.
Fact:
There are over three criminal complaints lodged with prosecutorial agencies
in California and Wisconsin against Fred Olen Ray, Retromedia and his attorney
Vince Racine, for perjury, corruption and conspiracy to defraud.
Fact: Yes
Retromedia obtained a $66,000 dollars judgment for alleged damages.
But damages for what? For seven years and to this date, nobody
including any court
of law, any arbitrator, yet alone myself,, has seen an accounting
and or proof
of damages for anything Retromedia and Fred have alleged. No
ticki, no money.
No damages, no legitimate legal action.
The above is
like a news release written and quoted by the undersigned, based on facts.
I withhold my opinion. For ongoing written documentation of
these, as I refer
to the Retromedia swindle, will be posted on my web site, BillRebanenews.com
under ticker tape or legal blasts.
I for one will
not be afraid nor hesitate to name every individual in connection with
the conspiracy and fraud that includes inside stories on the Arbitrator, the
judges and lawyers.
The above are
statements made by the undersigned, anyone reprinting and or reporting
same as stated shall be held harmless.
Also I wish to
thank you for printing Fred's comments on your web site as it proves
up there were no damages.
Very
truly yours
Bill
Rebane
Always
great hearing from you Bill! Thanks for clearing up the Retromedia
mess and handling it like the true gentleman you are. I would also
like to take this time to inform everyone that Bill's novel, FROM
ROSWELL WITH LOVE, is now available for purchase at finer
bookstores and from online sites such as Amazon.com.
- Editor
Dear Fred:
Hi, this is
Bobby A. Suarez, the Filipino movie-producer and director who has a
good international track record, having produced more than 2 dozen
English language low-budgeted or grindhouse movies and directed nine,
five of which are sought-after cult-classic and collectors' item
entitled The BIONIC BOY (El Nino
Bionico), THEY CALL HER CLEOPATRA WONG
(La Mujer Maravilla), DYNAMITE
JOHNSON (El Nino Bionico II and La Mujer Maravilla II), DEVIL'S
ANGELS (La Mujer Maravilla III) and ONE-ARMED
EXECUTIONER.
It was my
grandson Mark, an 11-year old boy, who informed me about your
magazine and your being a collector of cult and/or cult classic
movies, when he is browsing in the internet about my movie entitled - AMERICAN
COMMANDOS (a.k.a. Hitman), which was released in DVD in North
America (for the fifth time) through Action International Pictures (A.I.P.)
I am
communicating to you now to let you know that I am but grateful for
the wonderful comments you have written about some of my produced and
directed movies, which up to now (after I stopped momentarilly in
producing and directing movies - 2000 - to help my wife Gene, to take
care of our youngest and only daughter who was diagnosed as autistic)
still generating good income to enable me to take care of my family,
specifically, my daughter Roma.
By the way, I
will appreciate it very much if you can inform your collector and
blogger friends that two of my "cult-classic" movies
entitled THEY CALL HER CLEOPATRA WONG and ONE-ARMED EXECUTIONER will
be available in DVD as re-issue, for the territory of NORTH AMERICA
(including Puerto Rico and Mexico) by middle or end of February, 2009
through MPI MULTIMEDIA/DARK SKY FILMS of Illinois and afterwards will
be aired in Cable TV in same territory.
I might go back
to my first love, that is producing and directing English language
movies geared for the International market middle of next year and my
comebacking movie will be VENGEANCE OF CLEOPATRA WONG, with
Ms. Marrie Lee (original Cleo Wong) to play the lead role opposite a
French martial-arts actor. In this movie project which will be funded
by no less than Studio Canal Plus through the representation of my
good French diplomat friend, Mr. Raphael Millet, the audiovisual
officer of the Franch Embassy in Singapore. In said movie project, we
will introduce the new Cleopatra Wong, who is supposed to be the
daughter of Cleo Wong.
Afterwards, I
am planning to do the shoot of two movie projects entitled The
WANDERING SAMURAI and The LADY EXECUTIONER, and would like to know
from you if you got any friends who might be interested in
co-producing with me said two movie projects which will only
cost US$350,000.00 for The WANDERING SAMURAI, with Gary Daniels
to play the villain role and US$300,000.00 for The LADY EXECUTIONER
with Ms. Maria Isabel Lopez (of RED ROSES FOR A CALL GIRL' fame) to
play the lead role, opposite again with my good friend, Gary Daniels.
Cost of post production works and CGI visual effects which must be
done in Los Angeles is not included in said production budgets.
Herewith you
will find informative data about me and my humble works for your
study and reading pleasure.
Thank you and
hoping to hear from you soonest.
With Kindest
personal regards.
Sincerely
yours,
BOBBY
A. SUAREZ
President-Producer-Director
B.A.S.
FILM PRODUCTIONS, INC.
It's
receiving emails like this that makes it such a pleasure
maintaining this site. For those of you not familiar with Mr.
Suarez's work, I would advise you search out any of his films and
watch them as soon as possible. He is one of the most talented action
directors in the Philippines. Here's hoping that his future films
become reality! - Editor NOTE: Unfortunately, Bobby passed away
in February 2010. A big loss for Filipino cinema and filmmaking in general.
Hello Fred,
I stumbled upon
your Critical Condition site accidentally, and am glad I did.
You gave a great review of my movie, "VENGEANCE".
By the way, that's the original title and the title Magnum used on
their U.S. video distribution. "SCREAM
FOR VENGEANCE" was the name Manson International put on it
with their worldwide distribution, which came several years prior to
our Magnum deal.
The reason I'm
writing is to let you know I'm putting together a new 2-disc DVD
package, mastered from the original 16mm film, which I have. I
shot it in 16mm and supervised the 35mm blow-up at CFI in
Hollywood. By the way, Francis Ford Coppola sat in on part of
the color timing session. Also, the special features will be
numerous: all the screen tests of every actor we tested, over
50 I believe, a promotional fund raising 20 minute film I made to
show potential investors, a super-8 sound test film, a 30 minute TV
talk show on which I was the only guest, talking about
"VENGEANCE", many behind the scenes photographs, an
introduction video explaining the history of the film, and a full
audio commentary with me and several of the cast members. I'm
hoping that this DVD set will be popular with film buffs of the
genre, but I'm really hoping it will help future potential
independent filmmakers like I was back then, and give them
encouragement to follow their dreams and make their movies.
When it's
complete (with all new art and printed material, and stamped full
color discs, not burned) I'll let you know. It will be months
from now, but it IS in production. I liked your review very
much! Thanks.
Best
regards,
Bob
Bliss
Thanks
so much! It's nice to know that you liked my review. I absolutely
love your film and look forward to the DVD release. In my opinion,
it's one of the unsung classic low-budget films from the late-70's. Please
keep me updated on it's progress and let me know who is distributing
it so I can tell my readers where to buy it. I get a lot of emails
from people wanting to know where they can purchase a copy. It will
be great to tell them that it is finally going to be released on DVD.
I know I'll be one of the first to do so! - Editor
Hi Fred,
I'm just
writing to let you know that I have just discovered your website via
another page, and am, to be completely honest, totally blown away!!!
I am a huge fan of 70's and 80's schlock horror, and so finding your
site is like a dream come true. (I think yours and 'Bleeding
Skull' are my favorites because there's so much to look at and
read). I feel like I'd have to call in sick from work or something
for a couple of weeks to (maybe) read everything you've written.
PLEASE, don't ever stop doing this. Your website is an incredible
resource for people like me who just can't get enough of B-horror
movies, especially the really unknown ones.
Thanks
so much and take care,
Jason
Tetreault
Providence,
RI
Thanks
so much for the nice words. Rest assured, I will keep doing this
until I breathe my last breath. - Editor
I have been
trying to find the name of a movie I saw when I was a kid, in the
early or mid 70's it was about some Vietnam Vets who come home to the
states and buy a limo and ride around the country with a trunk load
of weapons. They try to adjust to life, then come to a small town,
seems I remember in the desert and run into conflict with the
townsfolk and then unleash hell on the town. Ends with a showdown
with I believe National Guard troops or maybe state police in the
middle of town like on old showdown. I came across your site and
thought you might know of it.
Thanks,
Rich
Las
Vegas, NV
The
name of the film is WELCOME
HOME SOLDIER BOYS (1972) and you can find a review of it right
here on my site by clicking on the link. - Editor
Hi,
Just a few
words to congratulate you on the site. First, any site which
starts with a quotation from our mutual friend Scooter, has to be of
great value and interest. Yours stands up to the challenge.
Great
compilation of reviews on films nobody will take the time to
detailed. The reading is a bit tough though because of the small
fonts and single column layout, but it is great to see the color ads
you added to each review. I am surprised you could not find a worthy
publisher to put all those in a "forgotten" film
encyclopedia in a nice big fat cofee table book.
All
the best,
Lucas
Balbo
Thanks,
Lucas. I'm also a big fan or your writing, especially your book on
Jess Franco and your wonderful articles in the late, great
Psychotronic Video magazine (especially the one on Paul Naschy). As
for finding a worthy publisher for a coffee table book: I'm not
against the idea! - Editor
Dear Fred,
I just wanted
to drop you a line to say how much I enjoyed your review of 'GRIZZLY
2: THE PREDATOR'. I played the drummer in the electronica band
that featured in the film. My then boyfriend, a drummer and producer,
was producing the music for the film's band. The producers
wanted him to play the drummer, but he had to dash off to Sweden to
produce Adam Ant, so he suggested me. He taught me how to "mime
drum" in a few lessons and then I was off to Hungary! (I
used to be a classically trained mime artist, amongst many other things.)
I can't tell
you how odd the whole experience was: a Hungarian director on the
edge of a nervous breakdown, bemused Hollywood stars wondering what
the heck they were doing in the middle of the Hungarian woods,
Nazareth arriving and 10,000 eager Hungarians starved for heavy metal
music descending on the set.
Best
wishes,
Barbie
Wilde
http://www.barbiewilde.com
Thanks
for the info, Barbie! I would suggest readers check out Barbie's
site. She also appeared as the Female Cenobite in HELLBOUND:
HELLRAISER II (1988)! - Editor
I have had a
lot of enjoyable movie nights because of you and your website, and I
just wanted to say Thank You. Your reviews are always reliable,
and I hope you keep doing this for a long time. Any chance you
will add a category of your best reviewed films to your home
page? Not that I will stop reading your website, I just know
that this would be a great resource for the discerning horror
viewer. Whatever you do, please keep up the great work!
Charlie
Lellman
Watching
films is so subjective, I never thought of putting my favorite films
in their own category. Even I find myself reading my old reviews from
twenty years ago and thinking to myself how my opinion has changed.
Who's to say that my favorite films now will still be my favorites in
the years to come? It's best just to leave things as they are:
Paragraphs in history that shouldn't be changed because they
reflected my thoughts at that moment in time. - Editor
Hi,
I just read
your review of STRANGERS
IN PARADISE. I first saw a clip of it on Public Access in
Pittsburgh, PA while I was in school. This weird goth guy named Buck
Darkhorn had a show called "Buck the System" (clever!). He
showed random clips or would drone on while words flashed on the
screen that said "Shut up already!" I remember seeing a
full Pigface concert and a topless girl dancing on a stump to the
song "Heirate Mich". So, you get the kind of odd show this
is...especially public access.
One night, he
played a montage of obscure films. One scene had the punk kids from
Strangers in Paradise walking down the street and a kid saying to his
parents, "I wish I was back in Pittsburgh".
After I saw
that scene, I had to buy the movie. I asked Buck what that clip was
from, so that's how I found out the title of the film. I soon after
somehow found the movie on VHS on ebay or something.
When I finally
saw the entire film I couldn't believe how ridiculously funny it
was...so bad it was good. Most of the music in the movie is pretty
bad...although there are a few really interesting songs. Of course,
it falls tremendously short of Rocky Horror status. But, there is
something about it that should have made it a cult movie. There is
hardly any information about it online. I wonder even how the
director got money to make this film...
Anyway, I
appreciated seeing that more than two people have seen this awfully,
terribly, funny/bad movie.
Julia
Philly,
PA
The
director of that film, Ulli Lommel, is still making films today.
Many of them. like CURSE OF
THE ZODIAC (2006), are awful shot-on-video crime films based on
true-life serial killers. They make STRANGERS IN PARADISE look like GONE
WITH THE WIND in comparison. - Editor
I don't want
anything from you; no dubs, no copies, no...nothing. Except the
honour and priviledge of telling you how much I admire your
phenomenal - and might I say exhaustive - body of work. I know this
must be your passion, and I suppose it satisfies you; but I wonder if
you realize just how much pleasure your work gives people like me,
and just how much more enjoyable you make life for us??
I wish you the
very best of good health and long life.
My
grateful thanks,
John
Warwick Arden
This
is the reason why I love doing this. No other words are nesessary,
except: Thanks, John. - Editor
Hello,
I stumbled onto
your website today. Good stuff. I was wondering if maybe you could
help me out with a movie title. I saw it when I was very young on TV.
All I remember is a family went into a cave and when they came out,
everyone had turned to dust. Kinda like NIGHT
OF THE COMET, but I dont think there were zombies. Do you have
any clue what this movie is? I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
Aaron
Thanks
for the kind words about my website. The film you are thinking about
is WHERE HAVE ALL
THE PEOPLE GONE?, a 1974 TV movie starring Peter Graves and Verna
Bloom. It's shown on the Fox Movie Channel every now and then. I hope
this helps. - Editor
Dude,
You are
awesome. I asked 100 people and no one had a clue. I appreciate it.
Aaron
Actually,
this was quite easy for me to answer because I just watched the film
two weeks previously! - Editor
Would
you know who released the 1975 version of SUDDEN
DEATH starring Robert Conrad? I saw it crediting Richard Foreman
as the director. He must have shot some new footage. Eddy Romero
followed Oscar Williams 58 page script, which was too short. It came
out a little more than an hour. It wasn't a bad film, but had a
pretentious message. It was an early anti-CIA film. Test
marketed in Denver to lukewarm reception. Caruth C. Byrd's father did
not want to invest any more in distribution. I wondered who wound up
owning the film. I note Caruth C. Byrd died on December 16, 2010. He
is the albino in the photograph.
I shot stills for it, and know it was Eddie Romero. He must have
added scenes. I'm aware it was too short at just over an hour. Test
marketed in Denver to a tepid reception, The producer, Caruth C.
Byrd's father did not want to throw away good money after bad. I
wrote the website, but instead of answering me, it was taken down. I
was not pursuing legal action. I think it's a violation of the
director's code to work on a film without the original director's
permission even if the film stinks.
Carl
Kuntze
I
reviewed the film and the print I watched (on VHS from Media
Home Entertainment) was credited to Eddie Romero as the
director. When it was released to theaters in my area by Bedford
Entertainment, it mentioned that it was a Caruth C. Bird
Production, but no mention of the director was to be found on the
print ads. - Editor
Hello, my name
is Brian Coghill. I worked on the film SLOW
BULLET in 1988. I was the weapons handler for the film. I also
was one of two SFX artists on the project. This was my first film,
pretty much right out of high school. I went on to work for Disney
and I am currently contracted by LucasFilm for various projects. I
can tell you first hand the making of SLOW BULLET was far worse than
actually sitting through it. I must of course admit I have never seen
the finished product. What we went through on the film crew (all four
of us) was akin to torture. The majority of the film was, as you
mentioned, filmed in Florida. It was actually filmed in Ft.
Lauderdale at the back lot of a production company that worked on the
movie FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR as well as many others. One of these
days I will try to wrangle a copy of this gem and attempt to sit
through it. I just wanted to thank you for including it on your list.
It is quite hard to track down, and since we never received our pay
for the work, we can't hunt down the company either. I often tell my
friends and daughter about this film, and now I can show them someone
else that knows about it.
Brian
Coghill
Well,
Brian, the film was released on VHS by Phoenix Associates
Distributors/Mama's Home Video/Rest Area Productions Home Video. I
never heard of any of them before. I do see a copy of the film pop up
on eBay every now and then, so you may want to try there first. - Editor
Fred:
My name is
David Christiane and without repeating what you have heard a million
times I think your website is great. Thanks for documenting this
stuff. I'm a sleaze fan from way back who started out in the late
'70s as a teenager going to sleaze theatres in my old hometown of
Milwaukee, WI.
I noticed some
info on your website and thought I'd write, not to sound arrogant,
but rather to help set the record straight on a mystery that seems to
bother lots of people concerning whether or not BRUKA
is or is not same film as DEVIL WOMAN.
I beleive it is for the following reasons which may prove helpful to
this riddle.
I actually saw
BRUKA at the long defunct Cinema Theater in downtown Milwaukee. I saw
it in November 1980 on a triple bill with two other Asian grinders:
FORTRESS IN THE SUN and BAMBOO TRAP. I saw BRUKA again in summer
1983, do not recall the co-features but seem to think it was HOUSE
THAT CRIED MURDER. BRUKA was a popular item in Milwaukee
grindhouses in late '70s-early '80s, turning up every six months or
so, usually with other Asian films.
Ok, here goes.
My young mind was so fascinated by these films that I have great
recall for these early ones. However, one I may have seen last month
I've already forgotten. it's the early ones that make the impression.
BRUKA opens as
I recall with the closing scene from DEVIL WOMAN! It's the scene
where the the snake girl dies by falling off the cliff. An American
narrator says that this is the story of the snake girl and then the
scene of the girl by her parents' grave is shown as the we are told
that the girl will avenge these horrible deaths. I assume that the
scene of the girl falling off the cliff is supposed to allude to her
dead parents. Then a big red title card saying BRUKA, QUEEN OF EVIL
is inserted. This entire opening, which consists of various scenes
taken out of sequence from DEVIL WOMAN, runs about two minutes. The
rest of the film contains many of the scenes found in the BRUKA
trailer on youtube, but I do not recall the rock men. I do seem to
recall the snake lady with the long gray hair. I recall my father,
who would sometimes go with me to these things, telling me that this
was at least two or three different movies put together. That's how
confused we were!!! To complicate matters even more, I recall the
poster for the film hanging in the lobby and it's the exact same
poster that is on the Temple of Schlock website which is listed as
being the Filipino poster! This was actually the American poster as
well, and I recall it said a Hallmark presentation, which makes sense
since they distributed DEVIL WOMAN.
All this said,
my theory is that they are the same film more or less. My guess is
that either the original producer or American distributor simply
chopped up DEVIL WOMAN and redited it into another film by changing
some the sequences and adding what appears to be additional footage
of midgets, rock men, etc., from possibly another film. BRUKA may
have been another film that was supposed to be shot together with
DEVIL WOMAN but was never finished beyond a few scenes, which were
then combined to make another film out of what was really just one.
One thing that
may give insight into this whole mess was a conversation I had with
Belton Clark this summer, who used to head Ark Films, which was a
major distributor of low-brow kung fu in late '70s. He told me that
only two prints would be bought of these Asian releases. The American
distributor would then come up with a new title and send it back to
the Asian producer who would then cut a trailer and insert the new
title. All trailers and title changes were done in Hong Kong and then
sent back to American distributor. Often times title would be altered
again by American, but never inserted into film. I saw dozens of Ark
releases that simply just started with no credits, title, anything.
Only a newspaper ad would give title. One such example is a film
called AMSTERSAM CONNECTION which appeared also as BIG BAD BOLO, MEAN
KUNG FU KILLER, and who knows what else. I also suspect that Ark
would sometimes take a title from one film and put it on another
film, so that there would be two films with the same title moving
around the country, but at different times. In other words, they
would just switch film titles with each other!
Best,
David
Christiane
David:
You are not going to believe this, but my good friend Andrew Leavold
from Australia has sent me a DVD-R copy of BRUKA:
QUEEN OF EVIL and I'm glad to report that it is actually a
direct sequel to DEVIL WOMAN!
They are, indeed, two separate films (besides the closing scene in
DEVIL WOMAN that opens BRUKA, all of the other footage is brand new)
and I can't wait to sit down and properly write a review for this
sucker! I love when stuff like this happens and I get to actually
watch a film that I've been dying to see for over 30 years. - Editor
|
|
For the record:
Despite what Sal says, the Camp involvement on HOLLYWOOD
CHAINSAW HOOKERS was to pre-buy the US VHS
rights for a period of 7 years on a royalty basis. When that license
expired so did their rights. I believe we did offer them producer
credits as they did in fact pay up before the film had actually been shot.
On EVIL
SPAWN they didn't even get involved until the film was
completed, and like HCH, the rights reverted back to me upon
expiration of their initial license.
They DID
produce a movie of their own (DEATH
ROW DINER?) that I had no in involvement in.
Fred
Olen Ray
This
was in response to information that Sal Richichi Jr., the son of one
of the owners of the original Camp Video VHS label, supplied me
regarding the history of the label, which can be found HERE
- Editor
I came across a
posting for Lava creatures referencing the file THE
PIT.
I have the film on the way, but it doesn't sound like the "lava
monster" film I've been searching for now decades. I watched
this film while growing up on a local affiliate station in Florida in
the early 80s. The film could be from the early 70s...MAYBE the late
60s, but I doubt it. From what I remember about the film since it's
been awhile and my memory of the film is slowly becoming fuzzier.
This starts out
as a couple are traveling in the woods somewhere. It looks like it
could have been somewhere in the Northwest United States. So, the
foliage is similar to Oregon or Washington State. They stop at a
secluded natural wood colored house that has a porch. I vaguely
remember that they could have been out of gas. They speak to this
man. He's either a sheriff or a supervisor or owner of the property.
I believe he tells them about the caves, but is very reluctant to
show them the caves claiming that its just too dangerous. The
true reason was because his wife fell into the pool OR she was just
attacked by the creature. The couple came to take a look at lava
caves (I believe?) He takes them down a forest trail to the small
entrance that leads to a cave. He shows them the pool. It has a guard
rail next to the edge. I forget what happens to the man, but I
believe that he is killed by the owner of the property and then
thrown into the pool so the creature/lava can dispose of the body. I
believe that the woman resembles his wife or wants companionship, so
he wants her to stay with him. He keeps the woman trapped inside his
house. She eventually gets free and hides from him under the porch.
Once he enters the house, she makes a run for it down the road/trail,
but doesnt make it. Eventually, she makes her way back into the
cavern and the creature rises from the pool to kill the property
owner. This is the one single film I have yet to collect from my
childhood. I found MASTER
OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE
from Kung Fu Theater, Grizzly (still searching for the sequel), NIGHT
OF THE DEMON
(Bigfoot), SCALPS,
THE
SLAYER,
and my personal favorite James Brolins THE
CAR.
This is the only one I have remaining.
Is there ANYONE
out there that can help??
Thanks
in advance,
William
Hickey
This
possibly sounds like Director Larry Buchanan's IT'S
ALIVE! (1969), not to be confused with Larry Cohen's IT'S
ALIVE (1974) about a killer baby. The
plot points are nearly identical. There's a monster in a cave that
lives in a lava pit ands the owner (Bill Thurman) of the cabin
imprisons a man and a woman in a cage when their car breaks down. The
man also has a woman living inside the house who is scared to death
of him (flashbacks show him feeding her a rat for dinner and then
beating her with his fists and a whip when she tries to escape). The
man also catches another guy (Tommy Kirk) who, in the end, lobs some
lit dynamite in the cave killing the owner and the monster. The
finale shows the lava pit with the words "THE END?" The
creature was nothing more than a cheap rubber monster suit with ping
pong balls for eyes. It was the same monster used in Buchanan's CURSE
OF THE SWAMP CREATURE (1967). I
hope this helps. - Editor
HI,
I came across
your website while looking for info on Imperial Entertainment Corp.
and hope that you might share your knowledge with me...I was at a
horror festival this past weekend, where many vendors were selling
their "collection" in bulk - most of the DVD's were
obviously just homemade copies of the original VHS, but how are they
legally doing this? Is it simply the art of a carefully constructed
disclaimer (I see you've got yours intact)?
Also, if a
person wanted to go about buying the original copyright, how
difficult would this be, and where would you recommend I start?
Just curious
and clueless.
Thanks in
advance for any information you will share.
Regards,
Stephanie
Stanina
The
fact is if anyone is selling copies of a copyrighted videos, they
are breaking the law. There is a list of public domain features that
anyone can sell, but if they are just simply copying a VHS tape to
DVD and selling it, they are breaking copyright law. I do not sell
any films, I simply trade with other people for films in their
library. That is not against the law, since we are not accepting
payment of any kind for the copies. Also, people can sell copies of
films that never had a legal release in the U.S. as long as no
companies own the copyrights to them in the U.S. That is how all
these gray market sellers work.
If
you want to go about buying an original copyright, the first place
to start is by hiring an entertainment lawyer. It's not cheap,
though. - Editor
This is Enrique
from Monterrey , Mexico
First excuse me
please...my English is not so good.
I'm a huge
slasher, terror, 80s movies , I wanna thank for your web. It
rules !... with all that magic covers... these wonder years....
Well, I have a
problem and i hope you can help me. Look, I´m searching
for the name of a movie. It is a terror movie which I have seen
in my childhood It is about a bunch of guys they enter in an old
house, I think that house was owned by an old dead actor from
the 40s or 50s. Then, the actor's "ghost" begin to kill
every boy and girl and we can see "storyboards"
before every death. "Storyboards" that show us many
scenes that the actor played in life and show us how will be killed
every kid... this is all I can remember. I don't know if it is
American or European.... I have seen this movie when I was 10 or 11
years old, now I'm 25 and I can't find it until now. Please help meee !!!
Congratulations
for your web and stand by me
Enrique
Ramirez
That
fim is called BLOODY MOVIE
(original title: TERROR NIGHT). It was made in 1987 and is available
on DVD from Retromedia Entertainment. - Editor
Hey Fred,
I love the
website! Thanks for all of your hard work. I found it after I was
trying to search for a review of "THE
CARRIER" from the 1980s. I now own that on VHS and love it!
I was talking
to a friend about some of Bob Clark's films and he mentioned "DEATHDREAM".
I went to your website and, naturally, you wrote a great review of
it! I want to purchase the film but am confused as to what version I
should get. The DVD version by Blue Underground looks rife with
extras and a nice digital transfer, but Amazon has it listed as a
"PG" flick. Does that mean this version is the heavily cut
70s TV version, or does this DVD version have the film shown in its
entirety, ala Gorgon's
release? If it is indeed the cut version, what full version do you
recommend I get? Gorgon on VHS?
Thanks, Fred! I
look forward to hearing from you. If I find any flicks that I think
you might enjoy, I'll let you know.
Brian
J. Crush
Never
fear, the Blue Underground DVD of DEATHDREAM is uncut. It was always
rated PG and never rated R (back in the 70's a PG film could show a
lot of blood and violence that a PG film of today can't). The
misconception that the film was rated R was when some theaters
mistakenly slapped R ratings on their ads and some zines copied them.
Go for the DVD. Thanks for the kind words about my site. I put a lot
of work into it and it's nice to hear good things about it every once
in a while. - Editor
Fred,
Hello. My
name is Todd Garbarini and I write articles under the name of
Jonathan Stryker. I am looking for a TV episode of a show (the
name escapes me) that I saw circa 1984 or 1985 that had a story about
a young girl who gets a birthday cake with a magician candle on
it. She makes a wish, then her evil babysitter comes to
babysit. The babysitter terrorizes the girl until the end of
the episode wherein a magician jumps out of the closet and kills the
babysitter. Do you have any idea what show this was? I thought
it was SCENE OF
THE CRIME with Orson Welles, but I'm not sure. ANY HELP
would be appreciated.
Thank
you,
Todd
Garbarini
That
was indeed SCENE OF THE CRIME. The episode's title was "The
Babysitter" and it starred Anne Lockhart, Robert Pierce, Angela
Lansbury and Priscilla Weems. It aired during either September or
October of 1984 and is available on VHS if you search for it. - Editor
Hello,
I came across
your site and thought you might know the answer to my question.
I saw this horror flick 2-4 years ago. It starts out with
a scene in the backwoods. Two hillbillys come across a rough
cabin/shack looking for some food etc. They come across the
housewife and proceed to assault and rough up. The young son is
also slashed and left to die but he ends up hiding under the front
porch for years, debilated. He ends up killing anyone that
comes to this shack in the woods, basically renacting what he
witnessed. The movie has 4-6 young adults, one by one they get
taken out. That is all I saw of the movie, I'm wondering if you
know the title?
Thanks
M.
Murphy
That
film would be A CRACK IN THE FLOOR
(2000), directed by Corbin Timbrook and Sean Stanek. Mario Lopez,
Gary Busey, Rance Howard and Bo Hopkins star. It's available on Amazon.
- Editor
My name is Tom
Wenz and I happened across your website and review of the movie "THE
CARRIER". I was actually in the movie, but have never
seen it. It was filmed in the Summer of 1985 and I moved away
from Michigan (where Swan Productions was located) the next
June. I assumed it was never released -- until now.
This brings
back quite a few memories for me. I was actually called back 5
times for the lead role of Jake before the director found someone he
felt was more what he was looking for (too bad for me), but I got to
be "Dick's Buddy" and have some fun that Summer.
Tom
Wenz
Thanks
for sharing that information! - Editor
Greetings,
I have a
question for you. I saw this movie when I was a kid, I am now
32, it was more than 20 years ago when I saw it. By the way,
kudos on your site, it's kick ass!! Anyway, I can't remember much
about it other than this guy was some type of thief/ archaeologist
and he was recruited by some less than savory individuals to steal
this jewel from some temple out in the middle of from what I remember
to be similar to a middle east setting. He ends up saving some
woman who was not there of her own free will, by retrieving the other
jewel, of which he already had the other, and using them to cut the
baddies into pieces all while sacrificing his own self because the
power of the two jewels were too much for any man to wield. The
scene is very dramatic and shows his flesh being seared away by
the heat of the red jewel. The jewels were two colors (green
and red). One representing evil and the other good. I
hope that you can free my mid of it's early cable watching experience
trauma. I love movies, and have been engrossed ever since I saw
the cable box for my fist time in 1981. The beautiful bold
dazzling of the original HBO logo with the cool miniatures and
stars that went into lights. It all had a profound impact on
me, and watched so many of those low budget movies back then that I
did not even know the names of them. One that had plagued me until I
was about 18 was Sword and the Sorcerer, which by the way when I
finally bought it and watched it on DVD, I definitely realized why it
was only a hit with my childhood fascination with swords and not my
adult fascination with cinema. Although I must still give
myself props for liking things like Excalibur, the Deep and
Dune, movies which were way above my pay grade at 7 and 9 years old.
Any who, while typing this, I have had the epiphany of another movie,
which for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was called.
I saw this
movie in the 80's also. The hero, once again a
sacrificial lamb, is a deep sea researcher or deep sea recovery
technician who is needed to assist an underwater touring expedition
that get stranded on an underwater ledge. He has his own little one
man submersible which he uses to first make contact with and then aid
in the rescuing of the party in distress. Upon holding up the
edge of the wrecked vehicle for the remaining rescue, he and his
"little ship that could", are drug down to an abyss-y doom
to leave him celebrated as a hero. Any who, I am assuming it
was probably a late 70's/ early eighties movie due to the fact that
the hero was sporting a very manly full beard. Being that the
small time frame was the precipice of the beard, if safe to assume
that it was somewhere in there.
I hope that my
requests are not too trivial for you and that you may be able to shed
light on these long haunting memories from my childhood and make it
possible for me to be able to revisit these movies so that I can know
what the hell I was watching back them. Take care and "May
the schwartz be with yooooooouuuuuuuu........!!!!!"
Prof.
NO
The
first movie sounds like TREASURE
OF THE FOUR CROWNS (1983) and the second film you describe
sounds exactly like the plot to GRAY
LADY DOWN (1978). - Editor
I'm not sure if
this movie even exists or if its just in my mind but
hopefully you
would know after looking through your site a bit. I have asked a
number of people but they dont recall such a movie. The movie is
about this guy who works at a burger joint and hates his life. He
goes to a witch and wishes to be the greatest guitar player in the
world. She stirs up this potion with a knife and stabs him with it.
When he wakes up hes in bed with 4 groupies. If you know of such a
movie, I'd like to know what its called.
Thanks,
Zach
Irvin
That
movie is called SHOCK
'EM DEAD (1990). The guy worked at a pizza parlor, not a burger
joint, though. You can read my review by clicking on the above link.
- Editor
To Mr. Adelman,
As for your
report that I've moved to France, I did go to France for three days
in 2000 to film AN EROTIC
VAMPIRE IN PARIS with Misty Mundae, but I don't quite follow how
my working in a country for half a week means that I have
"moved" there. I should advise you that I plan to spend a
few days in Canada this summer, so if you'd like to begin reporting
that I'm about to move to Canada, please be my guest.
Donald
Farmer
I
hope you're traveling first class, because you need some. - Editor
Hello.
My name is Matt
Minadeo. First off, let me say that you have a very cool website.
Where did you get all those images from? I know that you are probably
too busy to help me out, but I'll ask you anyways. Do you think that
you could identify a horror movie for me? I've never seen this
particular movie, but I remember what the VHS box cover art looks like.
The box cover
art was some guy (I think he was a zombie) with blue skin. I think he
was wearing a suit and tie. I think that he had a moustache. His face
was not deformed or anything. He may have been busting out of a
television or swinging on a rope. I can't remember. This artwork was
drawn by an artist. The name of the movie might have had
"zombie" or "dead" in the title. This movie was
from the 1980's. It was a low budget, not very well known movie. This
movie may have been foreign, like from Italy. I'm sure that this
movie was put out by one of the video companies that you listed on
your website. If you know the name of this movie could you please
e-mail me back and let me know? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks
alot. Take care. Keep up the good work.
Later,
Matt
Minadeo
I
haven't got a clue. My first thought was ZOMBIE
HIGH (1987), but that was a photograph and not drawn by an
artist. If anyone reading this knows the answer, please email me HERE
with the answer. - Editor
UPDATE:
Several people, including Gabriel Barron and Danial Budnick have
emailed CritCon to inform that the film in question is director Bert
L. Dragin's 1988 horror film TWICE DEAD.
Hi,
A few years
back I managed to watch a sci-fi film on TV twice without catching
the title, it was terrible but it's been bugging me. I think it was
made in either the 80s or early 90s. There was a group of people on a
spaceship that was headed out to help a colony (I think), something
went wrong with the spaceship and the captain abandoned ship leaving
his crew to die. Back on Earth the captain was saying he was the only
survivor and talking about his heroic escape whilst his crew watch on
the news. They had to decide what to do as oxygen was low (or
something), the female second in command had a dog, there was a
wise-ass character, a knowledgeable engineer and a young female
cadet. Can't remember much more but I remember that the young female
cadet's head explodes when her space suit gets a rip in it whilst
repairing something outside the ship. Also the wise-ass guy watches
little virtual hula girls in his cabin, the second in command commits
suicide with her dog... eventually all that's left is the wise-ass
character who saves himself by getting into a cryogenic frozen coffin.
If you have any
idea what this film is I'd be eternally grateful.
Steph
Dawson
I
haven't got a clue, although the plot sounds vaguely familiar. If
anyone has the answer, please email me HERE.
UPDATE: The film in question is TRAPPED
IN SPACE (1994), a made-for-cable TV movie starring Jack Wagner,
Kay Lenz and Craig Wasson. It was directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman,
whose first directorial effort was HERCULES
IN NEW YORK (1970), starring a then-unknown Arnold
Schwarzenegger! - Editor
Hi Mr. Fadeleman:
I didn't write
the screenplay for DESERT WARRIOR
(1988). I suspect Mr. K. Y. Lim, The Chinese Producer used my name to
get a screening because he sold one I wrote. I did write BLACK
MAMBA (1974), a film that was not shot seriously, but was used
by the late actor John Ashley and late Philippine American director,
George Rowe to get girls, ("I'm going to put you in
pictures."). They saw something marketable after it was
finished, but was uneven. I tried to patch it up as well as I could,
difficult to do, because Alex David, also coincidentallly, a Chinese
producer, was so disgusted, he did not want to put up any more money.
I tried to get it from Dimension Films, but Larry Woolner had given a
small advance to John Ashley, who couldn't deliver the film. David
kept the negative in his office, chilling it in the daytime, then
baking it at night when the air conditioning was turned off. I had no
idea BLACK MAMBA was sold until I saw your review. He stiffed me my
10%. How did the print look after such maltreatment? Never mind
content, they were screwing around throughout the production. Is it
worth the US $ 20., or should I just flush the money down a toilet?
Best,
Carl
Kuntze
Thanks
for the information, Carl! As far as the print used for BLACK MAMBA
goes: It's pretty faded and in bad shape, at least the one used for
Retromedia and Image Entertainment's BLOOD-O-RAMA DVD release. Mr.
Kuntze supplied some fascinating behind-the-scenes information on the
film. To read it, click on the link to the review of BLACK
MAMBA. - Editor
Hello Fred Adelman.
I stumbled
across your webpage, and well I think you might be able to help me.
I am looking
for a film I saw when I was younger, and I think it was around 12
years ago, due to these facts and that english isn't my main
language, it has been a bit troublesome trying to find it again.
Anyway, the
plot is something in the lines of this:
A cursed tree
that has statues in it, some kids removing the statues, and the
statues then become alive and start making havoc in the town, the
kids gather up the statue people and place them back into the tree.
I don't know if
that will help you much, the movie was on Video when I saw it, and it
was in color, soo I dunno how old it is.
Really
looking forward to hearing from you
Kieron
Anyone
have a clue? If you do, email me HERE
- Editor
Hello!
Great web site.
I was especially glad to find info on THE
ABOMINATION. I had rented this way back when, and I always
wondered what the title was. Now, I must find a copy!
I was hoping
you could help with another 80's cheapy, but a great one!
Perhaps you have seen it, and could help me with the title.
Here is the plot:
Rich old lady
wants to be young. With the help of her faithful servant, she
kills young girls for their blood. She takes the blood, becomes
young, goes out with young men, but the affects wear out and she
becomes monstrous. I remember she had a very weird voice.
So, the killing must go on, and the affects of the youth tonic become
even shorter. At the end of the movie, I believe her house is
on fire, and her faithful servant dies with her, confessing how much
he has always loved her. This film is either late 70's or early
80's, though I believe it was made during the 80's.
How I have
tried to Google and Yahoo the key words, but at no avail...any help
would really be appreciated.
Thanks
again.
Claudio
Duckardt
The
title of the film you are looking for is THE
REJUVENATOR (1988), also known as REJUVENATRIX.
Click on either of the links to read my review. - Editor
Dear Fred,
Hello, my name
is Chris Koenig and I'm a Fall 2007 graduate of Columbia College of
Chicago. I happened upon your website devoted to those old classic
video labels of the 80s; unfortunately I grew up in the ever-so dull
90s but I always journeyed to the local Mom and Pop video stores and
saw releases from Vestron, Wizard, Regal and the rest. I'm writing to
ask if you know anything about an obscure video company known as
Genesis Home Video; I know you are still working on the info on your
site but if you have anything about Genesis that you can tell I would
really appreciate it.
The reason I
ask is because I have one of their rare VHS releases of a film called
ETHAN, an independent film made in 1964 by producer-director Michael
du Pont and starring Robert Sampson, who would later go on to play
Dean Halsey in RE-ANIMATOR (1985). I've been trying to find Michael
in hopes that he still has the rights to ETHAN and if he's interested
in getting it out on a good quality DVD, but so far no luck in
locating him yet. I have contacted two others involved: executive
producer Ferde Grofe Jr. and music composer Paul Glass, both of which
have been extremely cooperative in telling me anything they know
about the making of the film. I also hope to get in touch with Robert
Sampson as well, but so far my busy schedule has been getting in the
way. In the meantime, I've been trying to get Severin Films to look
into this film, but so far I haven't gotten any response yet. But if
you know anything about Genesis Home Video and how they got some of
their titles, I'm very interested to hear their story.
Thank you for
reading my letter and I hope to hear back from you soon.
Thank
you,
Chris
K.
I'm
working on a profile of Genesis
Home Video, but I'm afraid I can't help you with the information
you seek, especially with the film ETHAN. Maybe some reader can fill
us in? Email
me if you can. - Editor
Hi
Fred
My
name is Earl and your website/whole deal rocks! I am a huge fan and
collector of horror and obscure film and I absolutely love the old
school xeroxed zines! There is so much info on your site that I
haven't left it since I discovered it! All those cover scans and the
history of the VHS companies is info I have been dying to hear. And I
never hear anyone talk about the value of VHS and how films are
getting lost...I have been thinking the same. I bet VHS becomes like
record collecting with value and obsession. Its already on the rise
as I see more and more horror VHS go for more and more $$$ on ebay.
Those magazine ads you have scanned are awesome I want to collect and
save them all from your site for fear I'll never see them anywhere again.
Keep
up the good work and THANKS!
Earl
Kessler
Stroudsburg
PA
Thanks
so much for the nice words. I hope it shows that I pour my heart and
soul into the website. Keep the Memory of VHS alive! - Editor
Sir/Madame,
On your website
you have the name Zacarias Salveron under the film "THE
CURSE OF PIRATE DEATH." Please take off this name
because it is not affiliated with this film. I have contacted
IMDB regarding the issue and I would appreciate it greatly if you
took off the name from this film from your website. Legal
actions will be taken if this request is not addressed within 30 days.
OK,
Zacharias, it was done. At least we have your email to remind us
that you had nothing to do with this film. I wonder if you would have
sent me the same email if you appeared in a GOOD horror film? Every
couple of months or so, I receive emails like this with someone
threatening legal action if I don't retract or remove information
from my site (Like the guy who threatened to take me to Texas Supreme
Court if I didn't remove the DVD cover scan of CHAINSAW
CHEERLEADERS!). Mainly I just laugh,
because if they just asked nicely, I would have been more than glad
to do so. People today lack the proper manners and etiquette and
think that legal action is the only recourse. Screw them! - Editor
Hello! I was
wondering if you might know the movie that I'm talking about? I'm
thinking it was called Dusk Till Dawn, Wait Till Dawn, or something
like that. It was a setting in the woods and some kids go to this
cabin and a huge (fat) maniac killer with an orange vest on kills the
kids and you find out later in the movie that there was also a twin
brother of his killing them as well because throughout the movie
you're like "how can he be there too." He also has an
orange vest on. I know 1 scene is in an old log cabin schoolhouse or
church or something and then the one person runs across a rope
bridge, one person climbs up a tree and I think the killer has a
chainsaw. If you know this movie, do you know how I can get a copy of
it? Thank you!!!
Steve
Hennaman
That
film is JUST BEFORE DAWN
(1980), one of the better "terror in the woods" films. It's
available on DVD (from Shriek Show),
but you would be better off searching for the old Paragon
Video VHS tape of it, as the DVD is edited of most of the nasty
gore. UPDATE: Now available on uncut DVD & Blu-Ray from Code Red!
- Editor
Hi.
I noticed your
review of IFD's PLATOON THE WARRIORS.
The cover scans you have up seem to be from a legit DVD release of
the movie. Is it really available on DVD?
Also, it was
released here in the States on VHS; I have two copies from someone
called "Hollywood Family Entertainment," based out of
Canoga Park, California. It has the awesome tagline, "Evil
destroyed by righteous revenge." It's got some wonderfully
awful cover art; when I have access to a working scanner, I'll send
you a scan of it.
Ryan
There's
no legit DVD release of this film yet. The artwork you saw were
scans of a pressbook that Joseph Lai released to promote his huge
library of films for sale to territories around the world. Thanks for
the info on it's U.S. video release and I look forward to the scans.
- Editor
Hi,
I stumbled upon
your site today and I really love it. I added "THE
MANSON FAMILY" to my Netflix queue after your review of it.
Sounds interesting. Anyway, I was wondering if you or anyone you know
has ever seen "BLOOD CIRCUS", the movie made by Santo Gold,
the '80's fake gold pitchman? It was only released for a very, very
short while in Baltimore in the 80's and never released on video but
some people have seen it. I could only find a few reviews of it. And
I wonder if there's a copy of the negatives floating around
somewhere. The director, Santo Gold, is probably one of the most
interesting people in the world. Honest. I'm obsessed with him.
According to his website, he has a copy of the negatives for anybody
that wants to buy them. I really wish there's some really rich nerd
like me who will buy that and release it to the world. But Santo Gold
is a notorious bullshitter so who knows.
Bryan
Bierman
Well,
Bryan, your right about Santo Gold being an interesting person, but
I doubt we'll ever see a release of BLOOD CIRCUS any time soon. Mr.
Gold is notorious about protecting his name and "reputation"
(He recently sued singer Santogold for copyright infringement and
she had to change her stage name to "Santigold".), but he
keeps dangling BLOOD CIRCUS in everyone's face like a carrot to a
racehorse. I'm sure there's a print of the film around somewhere (I
keep hearing that there was a Beta tape master made of the print),
but Santo Gold is a huckster, a modern-day carnival barker, so don't
get your hopes up too high on ever seeing this film. Maybe when he
dies, his family will finally give it a release. - Editor
Hello Fred,
... It has been
awhile. I know Mr. Fred Olen Ray is much busier then I am
making sure the internet lines are filled with trivia and hyped
nothings. Restraint is a virtue and so is silence.
Eventually however the chickens come home to roost.
In view of the fact that Mr, Fred Olen Ray makes the public claim
that he has never been sued. I am afraid he will have to
retract that one.
Yes , and a I
am sorry to say it did happen now. And for good reasons. After
years of venom and uncalled for behavior on his part I had to
put a stop to all of it. By filing a libel and slander suit against
Fred Olen Ray and Retromedia Enertainment Inc. for a very
reasonable half a million dollars. For confirmation of this NO
SPIN information you can confirm this public information with Iron
County, Wisconsin circuit court. File # 09-CV-43 now in the works.
It is
most unfortunate that matters have to come to this over what
started as $525.00 dollar dispute on royalty reporting.
In addition and nothing to do with this legal matter, I also recall
That Fred Olen Ray attempted to fault you for printing what you are
in business to do. In journalism, opinions are one thing, statements
are something else. and NEWS is something else again. It must be
reported with accuracy and precision, and no spin. My recall is that
you have always done just that. Yet at one point Fred Olen Ray
attempted to fault you for his own writings.....
In any event,
that's were things stand now...
Best
regards,
Bill
Rebane
It's
always a pleasure to hear from you, Bill, and it's unfortunate that
business has to get dragged through the court system to set things
straight. I really hope it works out for you. Now, when are you gonna
direct another film!!!!! - Editor
Hi,
I was wondering
if you can help me on a title of a horror movie. I believe the film
came out during the early to late 90's. All I can remember is its
about a paperboy (maybe the title) who becomes a killer somehow, by
the end someone finds somebody parts in his freezer and then he gets
arrested somehow (while cursing the cops out) the end. This film has
plagued in my mind for years. Please Help!!
It
is indeed called THE PAPERBOY
(1994). You can find out more about this film (including how to
purchase it) by clicking on this link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110770/
- Editor
Hello,
First off, I
often check out your site to check up on 80s horror video labels or
find new artwork. So, thank you for the archive. I am a collector
myself and have a question I've wondered about for years, if anyone
knows the answer, it's probably you.
I have a lot of
early Media
video releases (the yellow, orange, and white boxes with Media in the
corner). Half of these releases say "Media" and the other
half say "Meda." I often see copies on ebay with the Media
label selling for large amounts of money and advertised as the
"very first release" of the film.
My question is
- did the MEDA copies come out earlier, later, or were they some kind
of misprint?
I hope you can
help me with an answer.
Thanks,
Luke
Charles
Band (the director/producer/writer who would later go on to helm
FULL MOON PICTURES) was one of the original owners of this company.
He originally named the company "MEDA" after the first name
of his then-wife and when he sold the company, the name was changed
to MEDIA. So, any VHS tapes you have with the name MEDA on them did
come out before the titles with the MEDIA label. That explains why
many of this company's titles were early Band productions, like LASERBLAST
and TOURIST TRAP. I
hope this helps. - Editor
Enjoyed reading
along in your website very much!
I have a
question. Yes, I want to know what film the following scene is from,
(if you have seen it and remember). You may not have time to answer,
or know the film, of course. But I thought I would ask cause it is
making me nuts.
A friend loaned
me a copy of some film like Beaches, or something, back in 1996,
around November or so, to watch. At a certain point, he or someone
else accidentally pressed "record" on the VCR over
over-recorded a snippet from a horror flick, that must have played at
Halloween that year or the year before.
It was a man in
I think a typical suburban home, going around, paranoid, scared of
something. He comes out of one room into another, a bedroom I think,
and a woman in a flowing nightie or dress is there. They know each
other. They both act all relieved that it is them. They begin to
kiss. It gets more involved. She appears to, well, go down on him, as
she breaks their kiss and moves we see from the camera POV her eyes
start to glow and her face transform into something hideous. He
notices not. She begins to do her thing. He seems OK at first. The
film gears into Slow-mo. The music turns dissonant, allietory. His
slow mo voice registers pain, his face looks tortured. We then see
the thing the woman has transformed into--some kind of demon or alien
with green glowing eyes, and 80 million rows of hideous, sharp,
teeth, covered in blood and gore, in some kind of special effect
grin--there isn't quite a face, more lie some kind of lines or
strings that connect whatever it is together. I don't know what it
was. The movie went to commercial break. I was--stunned, and
unnerved, and could watch no more. I returned the film but later
became curious as to what the heck I'd seen. Do you have any clues to
what it could be? It seemed to be late 80's up to 1995, the tech was
too good to be older.
Thanks in
advance if you know, thanks for reading if you don't!
Robert
Strickland
It
sounds an awful lot like director Kenneth J. Hall's THE
EVIL SPAWN (1987), which Fred Olen Ray then re-edited, shot new
scenes and renamed THE ALIEN WITHIN
a few years later. I'm not 100% certain this is the film you are
talking about, though. Maybe some educated reader can confirm
or deny? - Editor
Today I came
across Critical Condition and was really taken aback by the number of
VHS covers you had to show! I was VHS junkie and spent a ton of
my paychecks renting and watching movies from the local video store
in my teens and 20s, and those pages brought back a lot of
memories! Thank you! However, they got me thinking about a film
I used to watch that I have yet to be able to locate, and I was
hoping you might recognize what I'm talking about. I do not
remember the name of the movie, or release date, or actors. All
I can recall is the VHS cover. It's an Italian film, dubbed in
English, and I could have sworn it was released by Prism
Entertainment. The cover was mostly white, with the appearance
of looking through Venetian blind I believe. All I remember is
the lead actress' character was in a loveless marriage, and she took
a trip where she had an affair with a young man with long blond hair,
and dressed him as a woman late in the movie to fool her
husband, All I remember is I liked that movie a lot
for some reason, but that is all I remember. Does that cover or story
ring a bell? Any idea what I'm trying to find? I've been
perusing your huge catalog of covers, but have not seen it yet.
Any ideas? Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Steve
Schmall
Boise,
Idaho
Frankly,
I'm stumped. Maybe some sharp reader will recognize this synopsis
and contact us? - Editor
I was wondering
if you could do me a huge favor by letting me know if the Video Gems
release of BLADE (1973) is the original
90 minute version or the censored 79 minute version that appeared on
the budget releases. I can't find this information anywhere online,
and don't know of anyone else who might know. Thanks!
Grayson
Webster
Sorry
to say that the Video Gems release is of the altered version, but
there are some kick-ass scenes of late-70's Times Square in that
edit. I do believe BLADE is finally going to get a deluxe DVD release
in the near future and it will contain both edits - Editor
Just writing to
tell you how great your site is. You really do your homework. I
especially enjoy your in-depth history of video companies in the
80's. I worked at Magnum Entertainment in 85 and 86, so I know
whereof I speak. I also did freelance work at Family Home
Entertainment/Monterey/USA Home Video (all owned by the same company)
in 1984, and I did freelance copywriting work at Warner Home Video in
1985. So I know that time and industry well. I was there during the
85 video explosion, and you got the details right. Excellent job. I'm
also a fan of 70's B-movies, and your reviews are great -- lots of
in-depth behind the scenes info along with thorough plot synopses.
I've also stumbled upon some films that I didn't know about. I'll
continue to explore your site, which is crammed with lots of great
stuff. Thanks again.
Best
wishes,
Bob
Ellis
Thanks
a lot for the kinds word, Bob. I did, indeed, spend a lot of time
putting together the VHS companies of the 80's section and I tried to
get the facts right. It's people like you who make this hobby so fun
when they say that I got it correct. Thanks so much! - Editor
Fred:
Just passing
along some kind words for your site... it is nothing short of
fantastic. I typically visit a few times a week to get my much-needed
regimen of reviews for, let's call them, "off-beat" films.
The focal point
for my enjoyment of CritConOnline is the content on the history of
VHS. Being that I turn 30 this year, I was fortunate enough to
remember the good times. My father purchased a VHS player in 1985,
and he had us at Video Works and Mega Video and every other
mom-and-pop store at least once a week. Oh, how I remember being 5
years old and gazing at boxes for DOCTOR
BUTCHER and DON'T GO IN THE WOODS,
hoping some day I could bring them home for just one night. Magical.
It was a time that I'll never forget.
On my mind
these days is the effect on the home video industry with the advents
of Blu-Ray and HD. I work in the industry myself as a TV producer,
and even so with all these technological advancements, which get
shoved down the throats of consumers and weasel their way into the
home video market, it truly signals, I think, a final and absolute
death for many of these older
haven't-been-released-since-early-VHS-days films. HD & Blu-Ray
has determined the absolute need for quality masters for the home
market, and it's sad to think that THE
WITCHES MOUNTAIN and THE REVENGE
OF DR. X and so many great (did I say great?), ok, interesting
films will absolutely never ever see the light of day again. 1,000's
of films.
Don't get me
wrong, HD is just fine. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that
I absolutely love my super-compressed 1080i signal so that the HD
picture quality looks like a pixelated mess because the dish and
cable networks are cramming too much content through their lousy
not-up-to-snuff fiber optic and satellite interfaces. On the other
hand, Blu-Ray I have no problem with, but to kill the idea of
releasing CLASS REUNION MASSACRE
due to lack of a decent master is what we are faced with. Criminal, I
say. I'd like to send The Redeemer to the offices at Anchor Bay to
set the suits straight.
VHS collecting
of old and important films will become a frenzy of activity.
Actually, looking at prices of used content on Amazon.com and
Ebay.com, it most certainly already has gone this way... we're
already there. So my message to your other readers would be, save
your VHS decks, and if you own any VHS tape that is in a box with a
size larger than the cassette shell, you are a nincompoop if you part
with it. Put it on your mantle and display it proudly. The cover art
for HEADLESS EYES belongs in a
frame next to the Mona Lisa.
And the only
thing I ask of you, dear editor, besides the source of your GRIZZLY
II copy (not expecting a reply there, naturally) is just who
were these fine folks who made the cover art back in the day. Those
are the twisted individuals whom I'd enjoy reading about, and their
interactions with the video companies. I believe you've mentioned
there's not much info on the subject, and that's just too bad, I say.
I think it was Bob Ross's job on the side.
Thanks and keep on.
Regards,
Andrew
I
couldn't have said it better myself, Andrew. The advent of Hi Def
and Blu Ray has turned a lot of people into film snobs who are
worried more about the presentation of fims than the actual films
themselves. What concerns me more than these snobs are the DVD
releasing companies who try to cater to these snobs and forget that
there are people out here who would like to see the thousands of VHS
releases that have never had a DVD release to be given a fair chance.
I think we will never see that happen, though, because everything
today has to turn a profit. This is the reason why I continue to
review these films on this site. VHS will never die as long as
Critical Condition is around. As for the names of the artists who
drew all the garish VHS artwork that we know and love: I'm afraid
very little is known about them, but I am sure that someday we will
see a detailed article or book about them. They deserve recognition!
- Editor
You might be
able to help. I've been searching for years trying to identify
a horror where a psycho uses a four poster bed to crush people to
death - preferably booby vixens. I remember him looking through
a hole in the wall, using something like a ships wheel to raise the
roof of the bed which was weighted with rocks. And I remember a
hot tub. Not sure if the booby vixens were in the hot tub prior
to death, or if the psycho moved them after the fact. Lots of
broken capillaries on the dead girls. Definite nudity.
Possibly an episode of some horror series if not a movie. Would
likely have been 1970s - definitely prior to 1983.
Jason
It
sounds like the weird Australian western/horror film INN
OF THE DAMNED (1974), written and directed by Terry Bourke and
starring Alex Cord and Dame Judith Anderson. - Editor
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