Hellmaster: Saxon Unleashed!

Title: Hellmaster (aka Them)
Director: Douglas Schulze
Stars: John Saxon, David Emge
Year: 1992
Length: 96 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Format Viewed: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray

I remember watching this once before, I also remember liking it but I did not remember a whole lot of it. It is for good reason, and I am kind of glad that I didn't. Watching it this time was like watching it again for the first time. Let me tell you, this movie is batsh*t, bonkers and mesmerizing.

Hellmaster makes very little narrative sense. John Saxon plays a professor who was experimenting with a drug that turned people into these crazy creatures. There was a fire and a bunch of students died. Now, twenty years later, Saxon's Professor Jones is back to take over the college campus and is ready to continue his experiments with a handful of of his follower horde in tow. Toss in a bunch of college kids, including a handicapped fellow, and a whip carrying bully, and stir into psychotronic madness.

Plot is completely secondary to style and look. lights are heavily gelled and the look of the film becomes more and more surreal the deeper we get, going into full on Suspiria mode during the final act. It really helps that both John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Cannibal Apocalypse, Enter the Dragon) and David Emge (Dawn of the Dead's Flyboy) play it completely straight.

Hellmaster has creatures galore, plenty of bad acting, some really good practical effects, and a surprisingly interesting story if you can dig it out of the "style as substance" film-making. I mean, I am not exactly sure what the story or bad guy's end game is, but it certainly seemed worthwhile.

Rating: 3.5/5

Movie Review: Candyman

In my estimation, he does not get the same respect that other horror killers do. He may not have the notoriety of a Freddy, or a Jason, or a Michael, or a Pinhead, but he should not be forgotten or underestimated. He should stand as an iconic killer of the 1990's, not to be overshadowed by the likes of Ghostface. Seriously, if you match them up, the all too human Ghostface would be gutted from groin to gullet. Of course, I am talking about none other than Candyman, the movie and character that would put Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen on the map. It is a movie that mesmerizes, haunts and terrifies. It holds up to this day and should not be forgotten.

Movie Review: Mindwarp (1992)

Mindwarp was released way back in 1992 and was the first film released by the short lived Fangoria Films label. Yes, that name has been used a few times since, but this was back when the intention was to actively finance one film a year (it lasted through three films before folding). In the years since it has been used as a distribution company and as a marketing label. Anyway, this movie debuted on home video and does not seem to have gone much of anywhere. It is not a movie that comes up in everyday conversation, even among genre fans. I guess the question could be asked about whether you should care or not? The answer is a resounding maybe.

Movie Review: Badlanders

There are bad movies and there are bad movies. Badlanders is a bad movie. It is not a so bad it's fun movie, it is a movie that just boggles the mind with its inherent ineptitude. Have I watched worse movies? Sure, I would not go so far as to call it the worst movie ever, that sort of hyperbole never seems to fit. It is a movie that is so bad that I kept watching, not because I was in any way entertained, I was just wondering if it would get worse or if anything worthwhile would crop up. Nothing did and it stayed on pretty much the same bad line across the board from start to finish.

The Movies of Brandon Lee: Rapid Fire

It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since Brandon Lee was tragically killed on the set of The Crow. The movie has gathered a cult following and I consider to be one of my all time favorite movies. It is a shame that his life was cut down at such a young age, just as he was about to become a big star, in my estimation anyway based on his iconic performance in The Crow. In any case, I have decided to revisit his brief filmography.