RIP George Romero 1940-2017

RIP George Romero

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

Dir- John Erick Dowdle

This pseudo crime documentary details the events surrounding a fictional serial killer who operated in the New York town of Poughkeepsie in the 1990s. It begins when a police raid a house and find hundreds of videotapes inside, it is revealed that the tapes document untold numbers of abductions and murders committed by an unknown assailant all cataloged and numbered in order. The serial killer never allows himself to be seen unless he is disguised and in many of the tapes he tortures his victims physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Police and crime experts appear in numerous interviews trying to profile the killer and look for patterns that could aid in his capture. The serial killer is given a name, but not much else is learned about him due to the random nature of the crimes that he appears to plan in a deliberate attempt to confuse authorities. The few bits of footage shown detail a handful of some of his more notorious crimes offering a glimpse into the mind of a genuinely disturbed and evil mind. The Poughkeepsie Tapes was never released theatrically and until Oct 2017 was never released on video in any format except for VOD on DirecTV. This lack of release has added to the notoriety of the film as word of mouth has increased the desire of horror fans to watch and see if it is as disturbing as people say.

Best Killer Doll

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Dir- Dan Curtis

A made for TV horror anthology with three tales of terror written by Richard Matheson, each of the chapters is named for the female lead portrayed by the beautiful and talented Karen Black. Of the three tales, the best is the final chapter offering a terrifying fight for survival against one of the coolest villains of horror. The first tale "Julie" involves a young college student who stalks his teacher and hopes to blackmail her into having an affair. The second "Millicent and Therese" involves a rivalry between two sisters that may lead to a fatal circumstance. The final story titled "Amelia" involves a young woman who brings home a package and is then stalked by an African Zuni fetish doll. The battle that takes place is well paced and acted out wonderfully; we get 20 minutes of absolute terror and thrill. The story is simple, and the FX are quite good, truly brilliant performance by Ms. Black in the fight she has with the evil doll. The Zuni Fetish Doll Rules! Sadly we would find many imitators borrowing on the theme of a killer doll with nowhere near the excellent portrayal of the Zuni Doll.

Alien Clone Part III

Inseminoid (1981)

Dir- Norman J Warren

A colony of scientists is on an unknown planet excavating the ruins of an ancient civilization when one of their female members is attacked and raped by an alien creature. She then wreaks havoc on the station and crew as she murders her colleagues to protect the unborn alien hybrids she carries. Released in 1981, Inseminoid was one of the first movies to capitalize on the success of Alien despite claims that it was not influenced by the 1979 classic sci-fi thriller. Of the many films that were made in the years since Alien, Inseminoid aka Horror Planet in the United States was one of the few I did not rewatch. I did not recall much of the film except for the sleazy rape scene and goofy looking space suits. Watching it again reaffirmed that this movie is boring and made up largely of people running around and screaming at a pregnant woman who suddenly becomes homicidal. Unlike the cult classics Galaxy of Terror and Creature, Inseminoid would not get the numerous releases on DVD and Blu-Ray and remains somewhat obscure to most horror movie hounds save for fans of Alien knockoffs.

Alien Clone Part II

Mutant (1982)
Dir- Allan Holzman
When the universe is in need of troubleshooting, they call Commander Colby who's motto is "if it moves and it ain't one of us kill it." Along with his robot sidekick SAM-104, Cdr Colby is summoned to planet Xarbia where a genetic experiment has decided to go rogue threating the safety of the small team of researchers. If it sounds like a ripoff of Alien, it pretty much is but with lots of nudity, sex and nude women showering. This Roger Corman produced offering shared special effects and props from Galaxy of Terror along with footage taken directly from Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars. Among the numerous Alien clones, Mutant aka Forbidden Planet aka Subject 20 was a standout favorite of mine along with Creature and Galaxy of Terror for the sheer cheesiness and nudity. Not as bad as you would think considering most of these films were churned out on slim budgets and depended on late night cable showings.

Alien Clone Part 1

Creature (1985)

Dir- William Malone
Also known as Titan Find, this Alien knockoff focused on the crew of an American ship sent to find some mysterious containers located during a failed geological survey. The team is surprised to learn that a security officer is among them when it is revealed they are competing with a rival German company for the claim. Their ship is damaged after impulsively landing requiring them to seek help from the rival party. On the German ship, they find dead crewmembers instead along with a mysterious creature that uses mind control to attack them. Joining forces with a German survivor the crew along with the bad ass security officer seek to destroy the creature and return to Earth. What made Creature different from the many other Alien knockoffs was that it has a better script and decent special effects. Special praise goes out to Diane Salinger who plays the security officer Melanie Bryce who in her black leather outfit surely kicked ass a year before Sigourney Weaver did in Aliens. Klaus Kinski also appears as a feisty German scientist who takes a liking to Ms. Bryce. Two versions of this movie exist, the version known as Titan Find is uncut and in widescreen.

What a Wacko film

Wacko (1982)

Dir- Greydon Clark
Unlike the very similar Student Bodies, Wacko boasts a cast of some well-known stars including George Kennedy, Julia Duffy, a pre-Dice Andrew Clay and Joe Don Baker. All appear in this silly parody of Psycho, Prom Night and Halloween that just fails as a comedy and as a parody. The movie starts with a girl getting murdered by a killer wielding a lawnmower on Halloween night. Years later the students wanting to attend Hitchcock High’s Halloween Pumpkin Prom are in danger as the infamous Lawn Mower Killer stalks the doomed students who are obviously not in their teens. Duffy portrays the poor teenager who is haunted by the image and sounds of the lawnmower that killed her sister 13 years prior. A weird movie that goes into some bizarre areas and incorporates homage’s from some famous horror films. Wacko is a genuinely bad movie that unlike Students Bodies never attained cult status. It was simply not funny and was just awful. Joe Don Baker does a decent job parodying the roles he was known for, but that is not enough to save this film. Good luck trying to find it as most of the people who appeared in it would do anything to forget this mess.