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: Runaway Nightmare

So, as I was looking for something to watch, my gaze turned to my collection of Vinegar Syndrome releases. In the past couple of days, I watched a pair of their releases and figures I might as well keep it going. As I scanned the spines looking for an appropriate title, I settled on Runaway Nightmare. An oddity released way back in 1982 and one I was pretty sure I had never seen before, that’s always a plus. Anyway, as I started to watch the movie, something seemed vaguely familiar. As it turns out, I have seen Runaway Nightmare before, but I’ll be damned if I could remember any specifics about the plot. The deeper into the movie I got, I realized why I couldn’t remember the details.

Movie Review: Night of the Strangler

Sometimes I watch a movie and when I consider writing about I have to really sit and think about how to start it and if I am going to have enough to say about said movie. This is one of those movies that I doubt I am going to have a lot to add to the discourse of said movie, but I figured I would try anyway. The movie in question is Night of the Strangler, a film saved by the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome. An oddity of a film that features a Monkee in a lead role and one that may have been completely forgotten about if not for the efforts of Vinegar Syndrome. This bare bones DVD release features a new 2K scan from original 35mm elements and while it does show its age, this is probably the best it’s looked since its 1972 release.

Movie Review: Pigs (1972)

Pigs. Yes, the movie is called Pigs. Sure, it has gone by many names over the years, from The 13th Pig to Menu for Murder, to Daddy’s Deadly Darling, to Love Exorcism. It is one of those movies where when mentioned to mainstream loving friends will be received with a cocked eyebrow and a clueless stare. Rest assured, it is their loss for not knowing it and another notch in your belt for seeking out and watching obscure oddities. Yes, Pigs can and should be considered an obscure oddity. It is also another winning release from Vinegar Syndrome, plus it has some pretty snazzy reversible cover art by Chris at Quiltface Studios.

Movie Review: Psychic Killer

Here is another 70’s era exploitation feature that has come to my attention by way of a Vinegar Syndrome release. Psychic Killer is a fun, pulpy romp that is not as serious as it wants to be, nor as in depth as it could be. It is a movie that you really have to accept on its own terms. I found that the minute you begin to question it, is the same time your interest will begin to waver. It is buoyed by some decent performances, but even as I was entertained, I wonder what it could have been had it been given another rewrite or two.

Movie Review: Luther the Geek

Genre movie fans owe a debt of gratitude to boutique distributors such as Vinegar Syndrome. Thanks to them, some truly bizarre films are being preserved and made available to the public. In some cases this is their first ever home video release and in other cases it is in a beautifully restored version, where the movie looks as if it were brand new. The movie at hand today is called Luther the Geek. It is a truly odd feature from 1988 that features a clucking killer who never says a word, and some truly unsettling atmosphere. No, it is not the best film, but it is surprisingly effective and certainly worth the effort to watch.

Movie Review: Death Force aka Vengeance is Mine

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Movie Review: Don't Go in the Woods

Before really getting into this, I think we should thank Vinegar Syndrome for unearthing, restoring, and releasing some long forgotten films. Without them, I do not think we would ever be talking about a screening, much less a Blu-ray release, of a movie like Don't Go in the Woods. It is not the sort of film that a widespread mainstream audience is going to be clamoring for, but it has a certain audience, an audience that may not be aware of just how much they need this movie. I have to be honest, I did not think that I needed this movie until I saw it projected on the big screen. I need this movie in my life.