Movie Review: Deathdream (aka Dead of Night)

Well before he was making mainstream films like Porky’s and Rhinestone, and way before he directed the Christmas bomb that became a Christmas classic (A Christmas Story), Bob Clark was creating horror movies. It is hard to picture, but it’s true. He made his debut in 1972 with the (in my opinion) overrated Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (I know I have friends who love it, believe me, I’ve tried). He would peak in 1974 with the classic Black Christmas. However, earlier in 1974, he released another horror movie that, despite it’s alluring title, tells a tale that could easily fly under the radar. The movie is called Deathdream (aka Dead of Night, which is the title on the actual transfer presented here). I had seen pieces of it before, but this is the first time I have seen it in its entirety. The best thing to start with is to say: See this movie.

Critical Capsule: Best Friends

If you want to remain best friends with someone, do not watch the movie Best Friends with them, no matter how much they tell you they love Richard Hatch. Also, no matter how many times marketing folks call a movie a Grindhouse or Drive-in cult classic, chances are if you've never heard mere mention of it before, there is probably a reason. Best Friends follows two buds and their respective lady friends, reunited and heading out on cross-country trek in an RV. It has some gratuitous nudity, but for the most part, this is Lifetime theater circa 1974. Bad acting and a story that goes nowhere and ends when it should be interesting. This is what happens when you make a coming of age movie and neglect to give it a point. Boredom ensues.

Movie Review: Rape Squad (1974)

The 1970's were a wild and crazy time. While I do not remember much of the decade do to my youth, but reliving it through the movies, well dang, it was a free for all. You could pretty much make a movie about anything you wanted, make it as sleazy and over the top as you want, make it gritty, unsavory, disgusting, anything. You would likely be able to find a home in the grindhouse/drive-in scene at the time. Think about it, what are the chances of getting a movie made called Rape Squad these days? Nevermind what it is about, the title alone would be enough to get you black listed. Of course, it did get re-released as Act of Vengeance, but still...

Movie Review: Phase IV (1974)

I love discovering awesome movies by accident, and that is just how I stumbled across Phase IV. At some point I added it to my Netflix queue, and there is sat until I noticed it was about to expire. So, with nothing else planned to watch, I selected it, pressed play, and sat back. What I experienced was nothing like what I expected and pretty much everything I liked. All I really knew about the film was that it was from 1974 and was a man versus nature film, specifically ants. I mistakenly thought the film was going to be more along the lines of Them!, but was pleasantly surprised to find something wholly different.

Movie Review: Night of the Seagulls

There was a time when I would look at Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead movies and just crack a joke, be bored, or both and then move on to something else. Fortunately, I have grown and matured since then. I am not saying they are great films or that everyone should like them, but they do have something to offer the horror fan. Granted, the third entry, The Ghost Galleon, is pretty bad, save for an excellent ending, and they generally do not make much sense (then there is the Planet of the Apes cut of the original, don't ask). With that said, I kind of dug Night of the Seagulls, the final Blind Dead flick.

Movie Review: The Ghost Galleon

The Ghost Galleon, also known as Horror of the Zombies, was released way back in 1974 and was the third film in the blind dead series, following 1972's Tombs of the Blind Dead and Return of the Evil Dead in 1973. They all seem to be connected by style but not by narrative, more or less exercises on a theme. All of the films were written and directed by Amando de Ossorio and were successful to wildly varying degrees. In this case, we are given some nice atmosphere and great looking dead, but everything else is half baked.

Movie Review: The Thirsty Dead

If you had an idea for a trashy little film and little money to make it with, and it was the 1970's, it was a foregone conclusion that you would somehow find yourself in the Philippines. For a of chunk of years in the 70's, it was the place to go. There is even an awesome documentary on the subject (Machete Maidens Unleashed!). Unfortunately, a few bucks and an idea does not always result in a winning movie. In order to find the good ones you will often find yourself wading through piles of junk. That wonderful thought brings us to the movie at hand, a rather dry little thing called The Thirsty Dead.

Movie Review: Truck Turner

There is nothing quite as motivational as movies getting set to expire on Netflix. It forces me to make time for movies I kept looking for the right time to watch. You know, some movies demand to have that special moment in time and expiration dates make that special moment now! The movie in question is one of those expiring and I made the time and I think I am a better person for it. It is a movie that comes highly recommended by a couple of friends and now, after watching it, I can see why. The movie is none other than Truck Turner.

Horror-A-Day: House of Whipcord

As October continues being unseasonably warm, my remote is still able to find movies I have not seen before indoors, where I can ignore the non-Fall like weather. The more I watch, the more there are to see. This time my remote came to land on a movie called House of Whipcord. It is a 1974 Britsploitation movie by Pete Walker and is one of those movies I wish I was pointed towards earlier. Of course, I am fortunate hat movies like his are popping up on Netflix. I also encourage anyone into grimy 70's exploitation, definitely check this one out.

Movie Review: Bamboo Gods and Iron Men

I think I may have just seen the ultimate red herring movie. No, it is not a movie about a fish, it has a fantastic dodge. The focus of the movie turns out to be a complete nothing. Think of it like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Do you remember what was in it or of it really even mattered? That is exactly what is going on here. Well, it has that and the fact that it is a wonderful mash up of blaxploitation and kungfusploitation. The movie is the oft forgotten gem Bamboo Gods and Iron Men. No, the title doesn't really describe the movie, but it certainly is catchy, right?

Movie Review: T.N.T. Jackson (1974)

The letters T.N.T. will always bring AC/DC to mind. It is that rocker in me that always associates those letters with that band. Well, now my mind may ave some choices to make when those letters come up now. You see, I have just experienced T.N.T. Jackson, an exploitation mash up from 1974. It brings blaxploitation, sexploitation, Kung fu, and the Philippines crashing into each other with low budget producer extraordinaire Roger Corman guiding the way.