Movie Review: The Shape Returns (2017)

The Shape Returns (2017) - USA - Horror - Not Rated (PG)

Independent Short Film - 12 Mins

Directed by Tony Crespo and Mykee Morettini

Written by Tony Crespo

Music by Mykee Morettini

Starring Chelsee Chauhan, Rob Sheppard, William Welch King, Desmond Huey

A fun and fitting tribute to the original Halloween film with pastiches of other films in the series worked in.

You know the story, if you're a fan of the Halloween films started by John Carpenter. It's Halloween night and among the trick or treaters is a guy wearing the scariest mask you can think of, William Shatner, as he stalks a teenage girl. Almost makes one think this is the story of a Hollywood producer.

A fan film is a different area for me. Back in the 80s a Halloween inspired fan film was the next slasher movie to show up at the drive-in. Unlike the glut of slasher flicks to hit the big screen in the 80s, the fan film of today is one which openly emulates its source. But perhaps the most important aspect of a fan film, I would think, is staying true to its source and not warping it into something it's not; a lesson Rob Zombie should have taken to heart.

The Shape Returns has the earmarks of a fan's love of the Halloween movie franchise. Taking from the first film the most basic plot of a masked stranger and the teenage girl he stalks for unknown reasons (again, from the first film) is the core plot. What ups the film is the infusion of elements from other films in the series including the post-Carpenter sequels and Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

One of the prime elements working for The Shape Returns is the attention to detail in the mask. Several of the official sequels did a poor job in recreating the mask from the original, and being the mask is like the trademark of the franchise you'd figure it would be important. For The Shape Returns, being the original 1975 Kirk mask, though available, was sold out, Mykee Morettini was left with buying the best Michael Myers mask he could find and modifying it to look like the original. And he certainly succeeded.

For the attention to detail to the original, and especially the mask, the filmmakers have brought the character of Michael Myers into the present. The Halloween theme is naturally present, and Morettini brings some up-tempo to it that makes it feel celebratory. There is a bit of an early 80s feel with the character of Jackie who rocks a Sarah Jessica Parker Square Pegs look, though that's probably just coincidental. The film doesn't break any new ground, as that is not their intention, but is a tribute to the original. In that respect alone I give it 3 Fingers, but because of some extra fun worked into the film from the other sequels I'll take that up a notch.

My Rating: 4 Fingers

You can watch The Shape Returns on YouTube and find them on Facebook

Movie Review: The Majorettes (1987)

The Majorettes (1987) - USA - Horror - Rated R

Directed by Bill Hinzman

Starring Kevin Kindlin, Terrie Godfrey, Mark V. Jevicky, Denise Huot, Carl Hetrick, Russell Streiner

Starts off as a standard slasher flick but plot twists make it a more interesting movie, unfortunately marred by poor production.

The pretty, baton twirling majorettes for a high school marching band are being stalked and killed by someone in a camouflage hood and fatigues, a nurse caregiver has sinister plans for the elderly woman in her charge while a drug dealing gang has a score to settle with a quarterback. All of these stories are connected.

The Majorettes is based on the novel of the same name written by John Russo, who also wrote the screenplay, produced this movie, and even has a bit part in it as a coroner. Russo was co-writer of the original Night of the Living Dead and has been a successful independent filmmaker, writer and influence on other filmmakers since. Others from the original Pittsburgh zombies associated with this movie include Bill Hinzman, the first zombie seen in Night of the Living Dead, and Russel Streiner, Johnny in Night of the Living Dead. Bill Hinzman both directed and edited The Majorettes.

The Majorettes is a different kind of slasher movie. It starts off in the same vein as others of the subgenre, a masked killer stalks and kills people, in this case the majorettes of the high school marching band, but then it goes off on its own into an interesting twist that changes the direction of the movie, and to some degree turns it into an action/revenge movie. Overall this would be a good thing, and interesting, but it is brought down by poor production.

Audio in this movie is its biggest downfall. Too many scenes are using obvious omnidirectional mikes, or a poor audio tech, which not only pick up the foreground audio intended but also every bit of background noise. Even if the background noise is not distinct, there is still hiss and hum mixed in with the audio. This is not consistent throughout the movie as there are scenes with excellent audio, but just too many scenes where it is either difficult to make out what someone is saying or distracting, and often both.

Bill Hinzman directed and edited this movie. Both are its strong points, the story as well. Hinzman keeps the storline moving in a coherent arc. There are well done scenes, such as the first appearance of the killer which is impressive, that keep the tension up. 

Unfortunately other than the direction and editing there is little consistency to the production. Poor audio, dim night scenes on some occasions, and amateurish acting all hurt the movie overall. With better production this could have been something to recommend, but it's too much work on the viewer's part to enjoy the movie rather than where the work should have been done, on the production part rather than going on the cheap.

My Rating: 2 Fingers

You can find the full movie on YouTube

Toxic Fletch

Movie Review: Rush Week (1989)

Rush Week (1989) - USA - Horror - Unrated

Directed by Bob Bralver

Starring Pamela Ludwig, Dean Hamilton, Roy Thinnes, Donald Grant, Courtney Gebhart, John Donovan, Gregg Allman, Kathleen Kinmont

It's Animal House meets The House on Sorority Row in a well paced and produced slasher flick.

Toni, a journalism major, has just transferred to Tambers College and her first assignment for the college paper is to cover rush week, not something she would prefer to write about. Overhearing a conversation about a missing female student, she noses around to find out if there is a story, despite being put off by the dean and others telling her there is no story that the girl just took off and didn't tell anyone. But she is obviously stepping on someone's toes as she receives strange messages via computer while a cloaked, labris (double-edged axe) wielding figure continues killing college girls.

For those looking for a bloody mayhem type of slasher movie along the lines of Friday the 13th, you are not going to find that in Rush Week as the kill count is low and the movie plays more like a detective story combined with a college hijinx movie.

In addition to the underlying story of Toni searching for a killer, there is a secondary story revolving around the BDB (Beta Delta Beta) House fraternity, a group of pranksters and sleazebags just reinstated after having been shut down the previous year. These two running plotlines are not unrelated, but they do also provide a good pacing for the movie as it moves between a slasher thriller and a fraternity comedy.

What impressed me about Rush Week was the quality of the audio, and I mean on the production end, and the camerawork. The audio is well done with solid dialogue and even nuances as trivial as the crushing of a beer can not being overlooked. The photography uses tight framing, and very much to their credit uses natural lens distortion and perspective to create mood. The night shots are also all well lit, and distinctively night, shot with muted colors, near black & white, while still maintaining detail.

What didn't impress me with Rush Week was the 80s insensitivity. Par for course in an 80s fraternity movie there is likely going to be a derogatory reference to gays. Rush Week goes beyond that by having a fraternity rival to BDB, the Gamma Alpha Epsilon House, regular referred to as the GAE House and pranks are pulled on them which center around homosexuality.

Aside from the gay insensitivity issue, which as I previously stated is par for course in some 80s movies, Rush Week is entertaining with good pacing, playing the slasher theme as a detective story, having plenty of humor with the college fraternity part of the story, and of course with a story that is part slasher movie and part frat movie there has to be boobs, and there are!

An interesting footnote is this movie also is the first acting gig for Gregg Allman, the musician, though in only two scenes and with nothing much to say.

My Rating: 3 Fingers

You can find the full movie on YouTube

Toxic Fletch

Movie Review: Blood Frenzy (1987)

Blood Frenzy (1987) - USA - Horror - NR

Directed by Hal Freeman

Starring Wendy MacDonald, Tony Montero, Lisa Loring, Lisa Savage, Hank Garrett

At a minimum a slasher movie needs a group of actors willing to play victims and a plot any 5 year old can figure out. That minimum is all this bland entry in the slasher subgenre succeeds in accomplishing, other than having two stars from 60s TV sitcoms on-board.

A psychiatrist takes a group of her patients to a secluded spot in the desert for group encounter therapy. Unfortunately for them, and perhaps for the viewing audience too, someone starts killing off members of the group. Could it be one of them? Is there something in someone's past that has come back to haunt them? Are these questions more entertaining than the movie?

An opening flashback sequence, an RV ride into the desert, right off the bat we can see this movie is going places we've all seen before in horror movies. The only thing Blood Frenzy adds is having Lisa Loring (Wednesday from The Addams Family TV show) and Hank Garrett (Nicholson from Car 54, Where Are You?, the TV show) along for the ride.

Most of the acting in this is amateurish at best, save for Wendy MacDonald and Lisa Savage who both do a good job. Lisa Loring's performance belongs in the over-actors' hall of fame. I got the impression they may have shot this in sequence as most of the performances improve as the movie advances. On the other hand the dialogue from the start comes off like one-liners from beer can koozies, and I can't help but feel the writer and producer of this are no strangers to beer can koozies.

The only possible reasons to see this would be if you are a fan of gruesome neck slashing scenes, which seems to be the only special effect the crew knew how to do, or for Lisa Loring's over-acting. Even with the inclusion of a character who is a nymphomaniac, there is no nudity in this movie other than a drunk falling off a toilet, and that's something I would have been happy to not have seen.

My Rating: I give it a finger!

If you really want to see this, you can find the full movie on YouTube.

Movie Review: Lost After Dark (2015)

Lost After Dark (2015) - Canada - Horror - Rated R

Directed by Ian Kessner

Starring Elise Gatien, Jesse Camacho, Kendra Leigh Timmins, Justin Kelly, Eve Harlow, Stephan James, Lanie McAuley, Alexander Calvert, David Lipper, Sarah Fisher, Mark Wiebe, Robert Patrick

A retro slasher flick set in the 80s succeeds in having the look and feel of a genuine 80s slasher flick with some creative touches to boot.

Adrienne and her fellow high school friends are sneaking off for the weekend to use her father's cabin for some fun and sex. They steal a school bus during a high school dance and make their way toward the cabin but run out of gas. Finding an old abandoned house that looks like it belongs in a horror movie provides a place for them to stay, but they soon discover this book can be judged by its cover as they are being stalked by a killer.

If someone didn't know better, barring recognizing any of the actors, it would appear this movie were an actual 80s slasher movie. The music, the vehicles used, Adrienne's home, the school, even down to the black guy wearing a comb in his 'fro, they paid attention to a lot of detail to make it look genuine. They even throw in occasional scratches on the film, lens flare, and a burnout for that authentic look.

The story is not any different from a hundred slasher movies from the 80s. A group of teenagers are out at night on their way to party and have sex and instead run into a killer whose family tree most likely has never branched. The story itself is also the weakest part of the movie as, with any 80s slasher flick, it takes its time getting to the eventual killings.

There are several creative touches to this. Don't get comfortable with thinking you know who the protagonist of the story is. The first kill is an absolute shock you will not see coming, and at that point anyone is fair game as the next victim. In addition to the burnout I mentioned before they use another glitch in the movie which actually allows them to introduce a plot twist.

A not so creative touch, like so many horror and especially slasher movies, is this one takes place entirely at night and some scenes can be a little on the dark side. I watched the movie from a DVD on my laptop which could account for some of the scenes being a little difficult to make out. Watching it on a TV screen is advised over a laptop.

Robert Patrick adds a bit of humor by playing the typical 80s Vietnam vet turned gung ho teacher, in this case it's gung ho vice-principal, and he has fun chewing the scenery with this character interestingly named Mr. Cunningham or Mr. C. Most of the rest of the characters are stereotypical for the time period as well.

A bit of warning for anybody who is disturbed by animal cruelty scenes, this may be one you want to skip. The scene does not show anything, so there is no actual animal cruelty, but it is implied and brutal at that, and probably will stick with you during the rest of the movie.

My Rating: 4 Fingers

Get Lost After Dark on Blu-ray, DVD or Instant Video

Movie Review: To All a Goodnight (1980)

In anticipation of having my other blog shut down because of Blogger saying they will now not allow adult blogs, specifically pictures and/or videos with graphic nudity (ambiguous as usual for Google I know), I am taking my reviews from The Sex and Blood Show and posting them here, minus the pics. This has been previously published by me, just edited for content so I can't be accused of using graphic, or overly graphic language.

To All a Goodnight (1980) - USA - Horror - Rated R

Directed by David Hess

Stars Jennifer Runyon, Judith Bridges, Forrest Swanson, Linda Gentile, Kiva Lawrence

A killer Santa is on the prowl at a girls' finishing school, but the danger Santa poses to the girls is nothing compared to the danger of the viewer falling asleep while watching this.

Two years ago at the Calvin Finishing School for Girls on a Christmas Eve a prank gone out of control causes one of the students to fall to her death. Two years later, the present, the current crop of girls are planning to spend Christmas break at the school with some boys who are flying in for this occasion. But it seems the boys are not the only new guests arriving as someone dressed in a Santa suit has already arrived as is ready to treat some naughty boys and girls to some killing that's not so nice.

It is difficult to fairly rate To All a Goodnight viewing it today rather than when it first came out. It seems littered with slasher movie conventions, yet it originally came out in 1980, before so many of those conventions became standard and is one of the movies that set those in stone. It does borrow from what came before, but what it did not borrow is something to keep any interest going.

Sitting down to watch this movie you had either have had a good night's sleep before this or something like toothpicks or tape to hold your eyes open. Though it starts off well enough, it soon lingers with seemingly nowhere to go but filling time to make it a full length movie. They could have cut the time in half and still kept every moment in the movie.

Although the killer in this movie becomes obvious at a certain point, I won't give any spoilers but someone is not present when the killings take place, I did not see an additional surprise ending coming and it did explain inconsistencies with the identity of the killer. Yes, ultimately it was hokey, like a lot of the 'baited' scripting in this movie, but it was a nice touch.

My Rating: 2 Fingers. What nudity there is in the movie is too little to have to sit through that much boredom. An additional note is that the framing on the new DVD release cuts from the top and bottom, so the scene in the bathroom with a naked Leia does not show her below the waist as it does on the old VHS copy.

Get To All a Goodnight on DVD or Blu-ray

Movie Review: Hide and Go Shriek (1988)

Hide and Go Shriek (1988) - USA - Horror - Rated R

Directed by Skip Schoolnik

Starring Bunky Jones, Brittain Frye, Annette Sinclair, Sean Kanan, George Thomas, Donna Baltron

Not only is the dark a good place to have a private party, it is also a good place to fall asleep watching this dull movie.

John's father owns a large furniture store and being closed at night it provides the perfect place for John and 7 teenage friends to have a party, and for their own private place for some love making. But it also provides the perfect place for a deranged madman to hide out, and they have provided plenty of victims for him.

Hide and Go Shriek missed the classic slasher movie cycle by a few years, but who says you can't resurrect an already overdone premise of a killer stalking teenagers? The timeworn premise though is only part of the problem this movie has. Yes, it is dull as it just sets up another group of boring teenagers for the slaughter, but its even bigger problem is, other than the beginning and end of the movie, it takes place entirely in the dark; I kid you not.

They follow the premise of the kids staying the night in the furniture store without anybody's knowledge, and so the lights are kept off. Not only are things truly lowlight in this but at times things fade to black. In a theater this might not have been as much of a problem but when transferring film to video, for its time, lowlight scenes get worse.

There's not much original here other than the killer to some degree. There are four pairs of teenagers who are ultimately going to make out; nobody is surprised by this. There is the weird guy who is a red herring to make you think he might be the killer. And of course there is the boring build up of events so common with slasher movies. But the one thing it is lacking is the final killing spree. Perhaps they wanted to be more original, but in hindsight if you are going to copy everything else then go with a more action-packed killing spree rather than ending with a thud.

The one thing going for this movie is a decent amount of nudity. There is also a really well done decapitation scene. But unfortunately the rest of it is fast-forward territory unless you need a cure for insomnia, and don't mind the potential headache from watching a movie with so little light.

My Rating: 2 Fingers

There is a DVD available somewhere, but it is hard to find. You can get it on VHS.

Movie Review: Just Before Dawn (1981)

Just Before Dawn (1981) - USA - Horror - Rated R

Directed by Jeff Lieberman

Starring Deborah Benson, Gregg Henry, Chris Lemmon, Jamie Rose, Ralph Seymour, Katie Powell, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, John Hunsaker, Hap Oslund, Barbara Spencer, Charles Bartlett

A backwoods slasher film with excellent characterizations that is not only a good slasher movie but a good movie period.

Warren has acquired some property, effectively a mountain way off anybody's beaten path except the few who make it their home, and for whom a deed means nothing. He and four friends, including his girlfriend Connie, trek to the mountain despite a forest ranger's warnings and that of a frightened hunter who tells them of a demon who is after him. They take the hunter's warning's as the delusion of a drunk. There may be no demon in the woods, but there is somebody, and the campers are just his latest prey.

Just Before Dawn works on several levels, of course not the least of which is the scenic backdrop having filmed on location in Oregon with the majestic green of the woods, the placid clarity of lakes in echoing hollows, the roar of sparkling waterfalls amid the sounds of nature. Yet among the serenity of nature lurks predators and prey, and not necessarily of the four-legged variety. Even in the wilds of nature man is his own greatest enemy, even as the result of the evil he has done to his own.

The 5 campers are a well integrated mix, both working off of each other and lighting a fuse for a transformation taking place which is the best feature of the film. George Kennedy is a welcome presence as the forest ranger who would rather be sitting at home working on his botany but his sense of duty won't let him, and his under-played demeanor hits just the right note.

The most beautiful part of the film is Deborah Benson's role as Connie. Her character is reserved at first. Reserved is an easy thing to over-play, but under her reserved stature is a confidence that just needs the right spark to pull it out. Jamie Rose's character of Megan lights the fuse with her contrast in a character who is the first one to strike up a dance when the music plays, or the first one to go skinny dipping when the chance presents itself.

The outdoors play an important role in Connie's transformation. Our homes are closed up. We dress by acceptable dress codes (eh...most of us). But in the outdoors nature is open and free, and so becomes Connie as her hair comes down, she goes from the conservative khaki's to wearing the short shorts Megan let her have. Her blouse is tied up around her bare waist now rather than tucked into her pants. She is a part of nature, and as a part of nature she must fight to survive. In her performance as Connie and in her character's transformation and literal knock-down drag-out fight with the killer, Deborah Benson may well be the sexiest woman in any slasher movie.

Another transformation that takes place is that of Gregg Henry's character. Unlike many who feel his character becomes a coward, I feel that his character becomes unsettled, effectively losing his security blanket, so to speak, which is his friends. He falls into a state of denial. For example when the tent falls down, he blames it on being poorly erected in the first place. He constantly talks as though talking is some kind of mojo that will keep bad things away. Not unlike many of us when we are scared we will rationalize things away, and sound, even the sound of our voices, will make thing go away, we hope.

Just Before Dawn is not Friday the 13th, Wrong Turn, or any of a slew of other slasher flicks that throw out 2 dimensional cardboard characters to be slayed by a killer. It is a movie first, a story of survival and transformation, and it happens to have a backwoods killer in it. Watching slasher movies is about like panning for gold, you're there to have fun and don't expect to actually find gold. But once in a while a brilliant nugget shows up in your pan. Just Before Dawn is one of those few nuggets.

My Rating: 5 Fingers!

Get Just Before Dawn on a 2-Disc Special Edition DVD

Movie Review: Alone in the Dark (1982)

Alone in the Dark (1982) - USA - Horror - Rated R

Directed by Jack Sholder

Starring Jack Palance, Donald Pleasence, Martin Landau, Dwight Schultz, Erland van Lidth, Deborah Hedwall, and The Sic F*cks as themselves

A different kind of slasher flick that has fun with multiple killers terrorizing a family isolated during a power outage.

A new psychiatrist arrives at the Haven mental hospital run by an unorthodox psychiatrist who at times seems as crazy as the patients. There is also a special third floor of the hospital inhabited by four hardcase patients who all have developed a paranoia about the new doctor having killed their old doctor and is out to kill them. But the new doctor is safe as the third floor is a lockdown floor protected by electric locks. That is, until a power outage sets them free and four psychopaths are on the loose and gunning for the new doctor and his family.

Alone in the Dark is definitely a different kind of slasher flick. There are no masked killers in this, but instead there are four would be killers on the loose, and perhaps their masks really are what each of them are capable of. A preacher who sets churches on fire unfortunately while people are in them, a 400 pound child molester with the mentality and temper of a child, a war vet who pretty much sees life as having to defend his space and knowing the way out, and a mysterious killer known as Bleeder who never shows his face to others and got his nickname from getting a nosebleed after he kills someone.

Unlike the usual mindless inhabitants of most any slasher flick, the would be victims are a family and some friends who are in the unfortunate path of a paranoid delusion of four killers on the loose. These characters are well developed and not cardboard ducks to be knocked off by the killers. And with a cast like this, perhaps slumming a bit for the time it was, they have a lot of fun with chewing the scenery and it works well for this kind of movie.

Fraught with tension and scares, Alone in the Dark is an enjoyable ride. The performances are very entertaining, and special mention to Erland van Lidth whose childlike performance makes his character that much more real and threatening. With additional surprises, especially in a twist ending, this is a movie that delivers on the goods.

A special note about Bleeder and the hockey mask: Alone in the Dark was made before Friday the 13th Part 3, but not realeased until several months after it. It may seem like Bleeder wearing a hockey mask in one scene was a rip-off of Friday the 13th, but in actuality it was not as Bleeder wore the mask first, and the opposite may well be true as a member of the crew of Alone in the Dark subsequently worked on Friday the 13th Part 3.

My Rating: 4 Fingers. This is a little longer than my usual review, but this is also among my favorite horror movies and I let my enthusiasm run amok.

*I wrote this review before I realized how expensive the DVD is. Obviously the price has gone up since I got mine several years ago. If you want to check it out you can get the DVD here. As much as I enjoy this movie, it is not worth $30+ dollars for a DVD. Perhaps wait for prices to drop or for a Blu-ray release.

Movie Review: Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th (1980) - USA - Rated R

Directed by Sean S. Cunningham

Stars Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Kevin Bacon

Slasher flick that set the standard for other slasher flicks to follow keeps the tension going but the killer is unbelievable and a disappointment.

In 1958 two camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake sneak off to have sex and are abruptly interupted and murdered by an unseen assailant. Fast forward 20+ years later since the murders and the camp being subsequently shut down and new counselors are arriving to refurbish and reopen the camp for a new owner, despite warnings from locals and a crazy man on a bicycle to leave things alone and their lives are in danger. Being the previous murders were never solved, someone is still out there and stalking the new counselors.

Even though Friday the 13th came on the heels of John Carpenter's Halloween in an attempt, and a successful one at that, to capitalize on its success, along with the aforementioned Halloween it would provide a standard template for slasher flicks many would copy, including the producers of Friday the 13th itself. Beyond its success it obviously was very influential and set the tone for the use of tension and gore in movies of the stalk and slash variety. Of course it also set the tone for two-dimensional cardboard characters, and in this first one the killer is a big disappointment, but despite its flaws, and it's not lacking in those, it accomplishes its goal in telling a story while keeping the mood going and can be an entertaining watch for the easily amused.

My Rating: 2 Fingers

Get the First 4 Friday the 13th Movies on DVD and Save

Movie Review: The Burning (1981)

The Burning (1981) - USA - Rated R

Directed by Tony Maylam

Stars Jason Alexander, Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Fisher Stevens

A sleazier and more entertaining Friday the 13th inspired slasher flick based on an actual urban, or summer camp, legend.

A group of campers decide to play a prank on the caretaker of the summer camp, Cropsy, but things go wrong and they end up setting him on fire. Cropsy survives the fire, though with considerable scars from it, and several years later after being released from the hospital he returns to the camp to exact revenge on a new set of campers with a set of hedgeclippers in hand and nubile and naked young girls running around the woods.

The plot is as basic as it gets, even moreso than Friday the 13th, yet The Burning delivers on several things its predecessor failed on, and that is better character development, more sympathetic characters, a more threatening killer...and did I mention naked girls? The burning makes for an entertaining movie, despite a few flaws. Not much more can be said, and that's probably why it succeeds is it delivers the goods...simply.

My Rating: 3 Fingers

Get The Burning on Blu-ray/DVD Combo