Day 31: The Final Terror

      A group of rangers are off on an assignment to explore an unfamiliar forest. For some reason they're allowed to bring a few girls with them. After arriving at the forest one of their group goes missing. When they split up to search for him someone begins murdering them off one by one.

     The Final Terror has a few characters that stand out but for the most part is pretty boring. Sporting a surprisingly low body count for the amount of characters in it, this film spends most of it's time showcasing people getting mad at each other. I'm wasn't even entirely sure why or how these people are even out in the woods in the first place. It's all poorly explained.

    With as few kills as it has, the film doesn't even showcase any gore. The material is typical backwoods slasher, but the director refused to have any fun at all with it. The ending is also very confusing and isn't explained at all. There are several superior slashers out there. If you're looking for one with a wilderness setting, stick with the Friday The 13th series.

Body Count:4

Side Note: Sorry for the weak review. Happy Halloween!

Day 30: House 2

      I'm gonna be completely honest and say I couldn't really focus on House 2. I was watching it during my Halloween party. So there was a lot of conversation and activity going on. I will write about what I saw.

     House 2 appears to be about a Crystal Skull that may or may not be in the first film (It's been years since I've seen that one.) From what I could gather, the Crystal Skull can apparently grant eternal life to those who possess it (or are in it's general vicinity?) Two brothers who apparently know of this legend move into the house where all this hocus pocus goes down. They're great great grandfather used to live there. They find their grandfathers grave and resurrect him. What ensues from there involves a lot of time travel, strange creatures, and gunfights.

    House 2 hardly even qualifies as horror film. It's more of a fantasy adventure that just so happens to be a sequel to a haunted house film. It's kind of similar to Waxwork 2 in that respect. Some of the creature effects are neat and there is some pretty choppy stop motion. For what it's worth, House 2 is probably a fun fantasy adventure film. Just not the creepiest horror film you could pick out with Halloween coming up.

Body Count:5

Day 28: The Devil Bat

   Dr.Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is a well liked perfume maker. But after not earning as much money as some of his business partners off of his products, he plots revenge. Carruthers develops a shaving lotion which scent attracts bats. He then uses electricity to make the bats grow in size and power. They become Devil Bats! Using his new product,Carruthers tricks his colleagues into wearing the shaving lotion. Only for them to become victims of the Devil Bat!

   Bela Lugosi is no stranger to terrible films. Aside from his famous role of Dracula, Lugosi was often cast in supporting roles or starred in several b films. It's unfortunate because the mans talent is evident. None of it could stop him from becoming the horror icon that he is and nothing could stop him from always being impressive on screen. As is the case in The Devil Bat.

   The Devil Bat is a bad movie. Forgettable characters, stupid plot, and god awful special effects even for the time! The bat looks absolutely ridiculous! I don't think I've ever seen more obvious wires in film. Every time we get a close up of the "Devil Bat", it's apparent stock footage of a close up on an actual bat. It differs greatly from the horrid prop they fly around to kill people with.

    Lugosi is the saving grace of the film. Where just about everything else falls flat, he comes through with a great performance as Dr. Carruthers. Seemingly unfazed by the absurdity of the material he was given, Lugosi brings his subtle menace to role. You can always see the bad intentions in his eyes as he interacts with the other characters. This movie is for Lugosi fans only. They should be happy with his performance. But casual film watchers should avoid The Devil Bat.

Body Count:4

Day 28: The Corpse Grinders

     A pet food company is experimenting with new ingredients for their cat food line. Human corpses! After eating the food the felines are acquiring a taste for human flesh. After a string of deaths occur all involving house cat attacks, a local doctor and his nurse investigate.

    The Corpse Grinders seems to walk the line of mediocrity. Yes, it's a dumb B-movie. Sure, it's kind of entertaining. Of course you and your friends could share a laugh at the sight of full grown adults being massacred by harmless house cats. But there isn't much else to this 70's exploitation (catsploitation?).

      This film, while reasonably short already, could probably be shorter. The main concept of the film is revealed pretty early on. We must painfully watch on as our protagonists idiotically try to get to the bottom of a mystery that's already been solved. There's an entertaining moment here or there. But don't expect to visit this one more than once.

Body Count:9

Day 27: After Midnight

    After Midnight is an anthology horror film that follows a college class taking Psychology 102. Which is apparently the psychology of fear. The professor uses very unorthodox methods to teach his students about fear. To understand fear you must feel fear. So he holds a gun to one of his students heads and quite literally scares the piss out of him. After that he stages a fake suicide to frighten the whole class. Needless to say the school board isn't pleased with his methods and forces him to teach a more traditional style. However, he decides to hold a private seminar at his home for those students brace enough to attend. Here he takes a much lighter approach to scaring his students. Telling scary stories...Yeah this guy went from shooting himself in the head to telling scary stories.

     The first tale follows a married couple out celebrating the husbands birthday. They go for a drive and come across an old abandoned home that once belonged to a murderer. Looking for some adventure, the couple decides to break in and explore it. Little does the husband know that this is all an elaborate setup to frighten him before revealing a surprise party. The frights go a little too far and the husband mistakenly ends up decapitating his wife. This story is a little slow to develop, but the ending is kind of fun.

    The second tale follows 4 young girls who are out to do some clubbing. Due to them being underage they are unable to enter any clubs. They soon get lost in a bad part of town and run low on fuel. They stop at a seemingly abandoned gas station to call for help only to find a man and his 3 dogs inhabiting the building. After the man attempts to rape one of the girls they make their escape and must now avoid him and his 3 violent dogs that are in hot pursuit. This story is more of a thriller than an actual horror tale. It's probably the weakest story in the film but features a lot of poor character decisions and a very over the top ending.

    The third and final story is about a woman who operates an apartments phone directory. She just returned from a ski trip where she broke her leg. Her first night back on the job she receives multiple phone calls from a deranged man looking to get ahold of a famous woman that lives in the apartment buildings. The man finally enters the building and kills the woman he's been calling about. He then turns his attention to the phone operator. This is a decent segment that squanders some of its potential. I felt that despite having her leg broken, the protagonist makes good use of her crutches and never seems to have much of a handicap.

    Overall After Midnight isn't a terrible anthology film. The wrap around starts off pretty interesting, but goes off the rails once the first story is told. Each short is pretty engaging though despite their shortcomings. I've seen better anthology films and I've seen much worse.

Body Count:5

Day 26: The Night Nurse

   A famous but retired opera singer known only as "The Diva" hires a young nurse to help care for her. The Diva's current attendant is a bitter old woman who doesn't take kindly to anyone new around the house. As the days go by the behaviors of The Diva and her attendant grow stranger and stranger. There also have been attempts to take the new nurses life! Is it the old attendant?

   I will admit that the audio on my tape was well below par for this. So I could hardly understand much of what was being said. And A LOT is said. Not much is done till the final moments of this dull sort of horror film. It mostly plays out as a drama/mystery until the climax. I'm just gonna skip all the details and say don't bother with this film. The end reveal is eyerollingly lack luster and there is hardly a fright to be had.

Body Count:2
Side Note: This gets a whole tape because it does have one of the funniest "kills" I've seen in a while.

Day 25:The House On Sorority Row

    It's college graduation time! A house of sorority sisters is planning a huge party to celebrate the occasion. But their strict house mother forbids the party and demands that all of the sisters leave at once. Plotting revenge, the sisters use a gun  they think is full of blanks to play a harmless prank on the house mother. The prank goes horribly wrong and the house mother is shot and killed. The sisters hide the body in the pool so they can move on with their lives and party. However, as the party begins the body disappears and some of the party goers are being picked off one by one.

    The House on Sorority Row is everything you'd look for in a slasher movie. Bloodshed, nudity, partying, humorous moments, and fun characters. I'm a sucker for party scenes, myself. The party they have going in this film is no slouch. They have a pretty catchy new wave band jamming out every time it cuts back to the party.

    Not too much bad to say about this movie. It certainly isn't perfect but it's one of the best films I've watched this month. I will ask what these girls were thinking. Did they really think none of them would ever be questioned when people noticed their house mother is missing? No idea how they truly planned on getting away with their heinous accidental crime.

    The twist near the end is kind of predictable but still fun. It may fool people who aren't familiar with the genre. But even if you figure it out early, the final 20 minutes or so is incredibly tense. The director takes several moments and leaves you in suspense for as long as possible before finally delivering his scares. If you're a fan of slashers and haven't seen this one for some reason check it out!

Body Count:8
Side Note: It's kind of regular for these 80's films to cast actors who look much older than their characters. This movie is extremely bad about it though. I don't think their is a single male college student in this that looks like he's any younger than 35.

Day 24: Twisted

  

Mark (Christian Slater) is a gifted teenager from a wealthy family. The family has just moved to a new town and are looking to make a great first impression in the community. Things go south early, however, when they find their house maid dead one night. Mark is getting into more and more trouble with each passing day. A new babysitter is hired to care for Mark's younger sister. But will she get more than she bargained for?

     Christian Slater comes off about as menacing as a puppy dog in this film. Sure, he has the occasional moment where he does something horrible enough to draw a reaction. But that's the scripts doing. Slater's acting chops hadn't quite developed enough to play this sort of psychotic character. He's much better in Heathers in that type of role. He comes off more as an annoying little brat that occasionally kills people.

  The script really isn't helping poor Christian out either. His character is so inconsistent. He goes from murdering a house maid to just playing pranks (the chemistry prank is kinda extreme, but it was unlikely to kill anyone) for the next hour and 10 minutes. At one point I wondered if he had even murdered the maid and it was all a red herring. That probably would have been a better movie. But nope! As a result the only suspense in the movie is wondering when he's gonna stop being an annoying pest and actually kill someone.

   Twisted spends far too much time messing around and not really accomplishing much. They honestly could have gotten to the climax within a half hour and not much would have been missed. You probably could have added more after that and made a more interesting film. I can't recommend this to anyone except Christian Slater diehards. Even then I'm tempted to just say "Stick with Heathers!"

Body Count:3
Side Note: The cover artwork clearly depicts a much older Slater than in the film. Kinda weird.

Day 23: Don't Look In The Basement

     Charlotte has been hired to work at Stephens Sanitarium by Dr. Stephens. Unfortunately for her, he is murdered by one of his patients before her first day. When Charlotte finally arrives, she's greeted by the strict Dr. Masters who is now the head doctor of the sanitarium. Her patients include an axe wielding judge, a sergeant with apparent PTSD, a nymphomaniac, a lobotomized  man with the mind of an 8 year old, an angry old lady, and more. The entire operation is so understaffed that it's only a matter of time before the inmates start running the asylum.

     Don't Look In The Basement is full of insane characters that are basically just walking around being crazy. There is hardly any depth to them beneath their mental illness. But I suppose that's to be expected from the kind of 70's Drive In B Movie this is. The wealth of colorful characters makes for a satisfying bloodbath during the climax. So it all works out in the end.

    The acting is above average for this grade of film. The cast all do a good job portraying their illness and making their characters memorable. Murder scenes feature a decent amount of blood. The special effects aren't exactly good or anything. But I'm sure each murder could get a cringe out of casual viewers just based on whats implied and how much blood we see.

    Overall Don't Look In The Basement is a fun way to spend an hour and a half. You can watch it with  friends or even alone. Their isn't much action to be seen until the last 20 minutes. But even while the plot stagnates the characters are always engaged in some sort of scene that will hold your attention. The ending is fun and makes it all worth the wait.

   Body Count:7

SideNote: Don't Look In The Basement is originally titled The Forgotten. Probably a more appropriate title because the basement isn't really a factor until the end of the film.

Day 22: The Entity

      The Entity is apparently a recreation of real life events. It's obviously been altered to make a for a more entertaining film. But allegedly it's biographical. It is based on the "Doris Bither Case." A haunting where Doris was allegedly raped by the spirits of 3 Asian men. In the film her name is Carla Moran and I don't believe it's ever insinuated that there is more than one spirit.

    The problem with this film is it's pacing. The ghost rape scenes are intense and shocking but they're short and spread far apart. To fill in the gaps there are several snore inducing scenes of psychiatric and scientific analysis. These scenes tend to go on too long. With no actual conclusion to the plot, one has to wonder why it takes 2 hours for the film to reach it's climax. Sure, it's horror scenes are worth seeing, but they never really change or grow in intensity.

Body Count:0

Side Note: Martin Scorsese has said that he considers The Entity to be one of the scariest films of all time.

Day 21: Critters 3

    Nobody is ever going to have a passionate argument for Critters as a great franchise. The first two films were fun little Gremlin's rip offs. But the concept had basically been driven into the ground already. Small (Or apparently HUGE) creatures with an insatiable appetite wreak havoc on the human race. So what does Critters 3 do to set itself apart from the first? Pretty much nothing.

   With a flat cast of characters, low body count, and an unbearable script, Critters 3 is hard to sit through. This was the time to bring some sort gimmick to the franchise. Instead we're treated to the same old crap. You know it's trouble when one of the best scenes in the movie is a pointless one showcasing the Critters ability to pass gas. My advice is to stop at 2 unless you've become a hardcore Critters fanatic for some reason.

Body Count:2
Side Note: This is Leonardo DiCaprio's film debut! He's a far cry from the Hollywood A-Lister we know today. It's a very interesting way for him to start his career.

Day 20: Horror Hotel

    Witches, Christopher Lee, and a ton of fog! A young coed is studying the history of witchcraft. A recommendation from her professor (Christopher Lee) has her travel to the small town of Whitewood, where centuries earlier a witch had been burned at the stake. The town's inhabitants are rude to her and she checks into a mysterious inn. It isn't long before she goes missing. Her brother and boyfriend must now try to solve the mystery of her disappearance.

    Horror Hotel (aka The City of The Dead) has a fantastic atmosphere. All the scenes that take place in Whitewood are dimly lit, filled with fog, and backed with foreboding music. Everything about Whitewood is creepy. Even the priest that fights against the evils of the town has a creepy look to him!

    Christopher Lee is absolutely awesome! This isn't the performance of his career or anything. His screen time is kind of limited but it's used well. Lee's portrayal of the satanist covering as a professor is menacing. You can just see in his eyes his evil intentions. Everyone ought to know that you probably shouldn't study witchcraft under Christopher Lee. Bad things will happen! On the other hand, who better to learn from than fucking Dracula, himself!

   Horror Hotel is a surprisingly good Black and White horror film. You don't often hear about this one. While it's not perfect, it certainly holds up with a lot of the better horror films of the 60's. Fans of Christopher Lee should definitely check this out. But also fans of classic horror need to give this a watch. Spooky stuff.

Body Count:9
Side Note: This is the second movie this month dealing with Satanic themes that ended with everyone being set on fire.

Day 19: The Slayer

      Kay has been having strange nightmares for her entire life. Sometimes her nightmares show her of a desolate location and other depict her friends being murdered. Her husband takes her on a vacation alongside her brother and his wife to an abandoned island. Kay recognizes the island from her dreams. As the days pass on, Kay's family is murdered one by one all as she sleeps.

    The Slayer is a dark and eerie slasher film when it's time for a murder scene. These sequences are filled with creepy music and fantastic suspense. There is ample blood shed and some neat special effects that landed this on the Video Nasties list in the 1980's. One particular scene depicts Kay and her husbands decapitated, bleeding head sharing a passionate kiss. The kill scenes aren't exactly ground breaking but are effective in their realistic depictions.

     As great as these kill scenes are the film hardly has a chance to showcase them. The main cast is only four characters deep. What's worse as that these four characters are devoid of any sort of entertainment value. They simply plod along with the plot having mostly uninteresting conversation until they are killed. One random island fisherman adds the body count but it isn't really enough to save the slow pacing of this film. There are only a couple brief moments of excitement before the climactic 20 minutes.

     I liked The Slayer, but I find myself disappointed in its squandered potential. With its ambiguous narrative, creepy atmosphere, and excellent murder scenes, it could have really benefited from having more characters to kill off. Adding a little intrigue or charisma to the characters couldn't hurt either. The Slayer is worth a watch, but it's bad pacing is sure to limit any revisits.

Body Count: 5
Side Note: Arrow recently released this on Blu Ray. Until then it was not available on any other format in the US aside from VHS.

Day 18: Parents

    I remember when I was growing up I'd frequent the library and often rent horror VHS tapes. I'd mostly re-rent Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street. But one tape that always caught my eye was Parents.  It's subtle cover hinting at cannibalism always struck me as creepy. What would I do if I discovered my parents were cannibals? I never rented it for some reason. Well, it's over a decade later and I own it now. So it's time to watch the damn thing.

     It's the 1950's. Michael and his family have moved to a new home. Michael has recurring nightmares and is very shy. He also doesn't seem to enjoy the meat he's served at dinner. This is because he suspects that his parents are cannibalistic murderers. With each passing day, Michael's parents act more and more suspicious. But are they really hiding a dark secret or is Michael just having way too many nightmares.

    Parents is supposed to be a satirical black comedy horror film. There is some satire, but the comedy doesn't really deliver any laughs. The horror scenes, however, are tense, atmospheric, and actually creepy. The end result is a very weird tone for the overall film. Weird in a good way.

     Randy Quaid is really impressive in his performance of Michael's father. He finds the perfect blend of 1950's super normalcy and creepiness. He's the star of the picture. The other performances aren't too shabby either. Michael is a little too withdrawn though. You'd think a 10 year old who suspects cannibalism in his home would act out a little more.

   Parents is a cult film. It's not going to impress everybody. But for fan's of satire and horror, I'd recommend watching this one alone at night. The plot is kind of a slow burn. So watching it with a room full of people could be distracting. It gets pretty intense near the end, so it's worth the wait. 

Body Count:3
Side Note: I hate cannibal movies. But maybe since this wasn't a tribe I was able to enjoy it.

Day 17: Mr. Frost

     When most people think of horror and Jeff Goldblum they immediately think of the 1980's remake of The Fly. For good reason! It's one of the greatest horror films of the 1980's and one of the best body horror films of all time. But in 1989, Goldblum took on another horror role that is much lesser known. 

      Goldblum plays the title character, a serial killer with at least 24 victims. One of his bodies is discovered by thieves attempting to steal his car. When a detective goes to investigate, Frost has no problem admitting to his heinous crimes. After being admitted to a mental institution, Frost doesn't speak for two years until he's transfered and meets Dr. Day. He refuses to speak to anyone else but her and informs her that he is in fact, Satan! He begins an elaborate scheme to have her murder him. Initially skeptical of Frost's claims, Day begins noticing strange things happening around her.

      When you look at the film's script it's not much more than a standard horror/thriller. Though none of the actors turn in bad performances, none of them can stand up to Goldblum. He is the vehicle that drives this film to a level above average. Without his perfectly executed performance as the cool, charismatic Mr.Frost, this film would be more forgotten than it already is. 

     There are several weak points to the film. I felt personally that it was made too obvious too soon that Frost was exactly what he said he was. There are several murder scenes carried out with guns that lack any sort of tension or suspense. But these can all be overlooked due to solid direction and Goldblum's standout performance. This, unlike several films I've reviewed this month, is actually a good movie. Check it out.

Body Count:5
Side Note: Its shocking to me that this doesn't have an American DVD release. You'd think Goldblum's whole filmography would be on DVD by now.

Day 16: Creepozoids

      Creepozoids is set in 1998 after an apocololyptic nuclear war. A group of 5 US Army deserters take refuge in what they believe to be an old bomb shelter. The shelter is actually home to a large mutant creature. Now they must fight to survive against a creature they nothing about.

    This film is full of cheesy special effects and creature designs that are sure to make it a fun ride for any fan of practical special effects. Some of the effects are better than others. The creature looks corny but is cool. There are some mutated rats that look like absolute hell. Some of the death scenes are cool, but it's hard to even tell what happens.

      Overall, Creepozoids is your standard slightly campy monster flick. There's been better, there's been much worse. Don't go into it expecting too much. You can probably enjoy this one by yourself or even with a couple friends. 

     

Body Count:5

Side Note: My reviews have been kinda brief lately due to balancing work, movies, and my birthday. Please just bear with me.

Day 15: Octaman

     A team of researchers launch an expedition in a small Mexican fishing community after discovering a mutated octopus that can crawl on land. The mutation is created from heightened radiation levels in the waters. The expedition soon turns deadly when a mutated octopus/human hybrid attacks the researchers and their crew.

   Special Effects guru Rick Baker actually created the monster suit for this 50's B movie throwback. You wouldn't be able to tell just by watching this schlock fest. The suit looks incredibly bad. It would perhaps work in an actual 50's black and white film. But in the 1970's full color it loses a lot of the charm that those 50's B movies had.

    Octaman is the perfect film for an episode of MST3K. The show never did an episode for it. You can still have fun with this movie if you watch with a group of friends. Don't bother trying to pay attention the plot. When Octaman isn't slapping people around with his tentacles, you'll be bored to sleep by the scientists interactions.

Body Count:7
Side Note: This is kind of a Creature From The Black Lagoon rip off. Except the Creature suit looks a billion times better in that movie with was made over a decade earlier.

Day 14: The Crawlers

     Josie has returned to her small, country hometown to visit. She and her ex fiance travel off into the woods for a day of romantic adventure where the discover a corpse. After notifying the police, the body mysteriously disappears. A worker at the local nuclear plant has discovered rising radiation levels in the forest but his boss seems intent on keeping him quiet. The body count rises as everyone's worst fears are confirmed. The plants are murdering the townspeople!

    It's hard to watch The Crawlers without being immediately reminded of a particular scene in The Evil Dead. There is no actual rape, the plant's intent is only to kill. But the way the roots wrap around it's victims just brings back memories of that infamous scene. Perhaps that was the inspiration for this film.

   The Crawlers is a highly entertaining B movie! The acting is horrid and over the top, the script is filled with unnatural dialogue, the effects are mixed, and its a movie about killer plants. There are some really cool effects sequences mixed in with the standard animated roots whipping around, choking people. Nothing that's really gonna blow you away though.

   With some likable characters and a really high body count, The Crawlers is a B Movie I will recommend. If you're having some people over and want to put on something cheesy, this film is a ton of fun. Even when there isn't someone hamming it up with a root around their neck, the dialogue exchanges will provide entertainment and laughter. Pop this one in for a good time but don't expect any legitimate frights unless you're Botanophobic for some reason.

Body Count:17
Side Note: This movie has one of the best helicopter explosions in a horror film. Not that there are too many in horror.

Day 13: Dracula vs Frankenstein

     You ever watch an old Godzilla film? I'm a huge fan. But the problem with them is that there is never enough monster mayhem. You always sit around watching dreadful human characters interact until the next time the big guy shows up. Dracula vs Frankenstein isn't about the king of monsters. But it sure as hell gives you the same feeling and doesn't ever reward you.

    A group of aliens plans to take over the planet. They capture 4 of the most famous monsters in the history of mankind. Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, and a Werewolf are all used as test subject. The goal is to research them and possibly create an army of such creatures to take over Earth. The only problem is that these creatures aren't so easy to manipulate.

    Dracula vs Frankenstein is a rotten piece of garbage film. In a twist that should shock nobody, Dracula doesn't even fight Frankenstein's shitty looking monster in this movie. It's more like Wolfman vs the other 3 monsters...1 at a time! The film is littered with choppy editing and sleep inducing dialogue. When the action finally does occur, it's lit so poorly that you can hardly tell whats happening! I could go on about how awful this is. However, I'll just summarize it by saying avoid this film at all costs! Just admire the great box art from afar.

Body Count:9
Side Note: This is actually an entry in the Paul Naschy "Hombre Lobo" series. I reviewed Curse of The Devil last year, which was much better. Also, Naschy isn't even mentioned on the box.

Day 12: Man Beast

       A woman and her boyfriend travel to the Himalayan mountains in search of her brother who was on a Yeti expedition. After they arrive at his last known location they meet a man who agrees to take them into the mountains to pursue her brother. As they travel further and further into the mountains they come across a mysterious guide. All the while, they're being stalked by a Yeti.

      Man Beast is far from good. It's definitely a B-movie. The Yeti suits look absolutely awful and the acting isn't exactly top notch. You'll find yourself losing your suspension of disbelief as the main characters forget their actual objective. Characters die and are never spoken of again. You'd think the female lead would say something, ANYTHING when your boyfriend is killed by a club wielding Yeti. Nope. Nothing.

    Still, at just over an hour in length this film moves at a reasonable pace. The terrible looking Yeti suits would probably make for good joke fuel when watched with friends. With a pretty surprising twist near the climax, you could certainly find worse ways to spend an hour of your time. I find myself pretty indifferent to this film. 

Body Count:4
Side Note: This film was directed by Jerry Warren. He's known for directing several abysmal B movies. Some consider this to be his best.

Day 11:Black Roses

    In the 1980's Heavy Metal was at it's most popular. Glam Metal bands rose to the top of the charts. More and more teenagers were growing their hair out and banging their heads. In 1985 the PMRC was formed, arguing the bad influence that the music was have on the youths of that age. Black Roses is a cheesy, over the top film that depicts literal corruption through Heavy Metal.

    Black Roses is an extremely popular Glam Metal band surrounded in controversy. Their lyrics contain satanic references and their loud presentation make parents wary. After years of never playing live anywhere outside of the studio, the band decides to finally take it's act on the road. They choose a small town high school to play their first string of shows. The local parents protest the shows, believing the band will corrupt their children. But after the first performance seems harmless they back off. As the shows continue, however, the local teenagers begin acting strangely..

    With a very tongue in cheek take on the PMRC's accusations of corruption, Black Roses is quite a bit of fun. None of the dialogue is particularly well written or delivered and the bands lyrics reek of top quality cheddar. But these are the things that make it charming and bearable. Some of the creature designs also reflect the absurdity of the premise. 

     It seems like every year I end up watching at least one of these Heavy Metal Horror entries. This one isn't the best. It certainly wasn't the worst (Good lord, Terror on Tour). Get some friends together and slide this one into your VCR and surely you'll have a good time. There's plenty of funny kills and special effects to keep you and your friends entertained till the next really bad metal song gets you head banging again.

Body Count: 9
Side Note:Most of the music performed by Black Roses was written by the band King Kobra with Mark Free and Carmine Appice on percussion.

Day 10: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

      Ah, the 70's and 80's. What a time to be a kid. Several made for TV horror films were being produced. Some of them are great. Some others not so much. Kid's could just stay up and look to the ol' tube for a healthy dosage of horror. 1973's Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark is one such entry into the made for TV horror realm.

    

     Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark follows Sally and her husband as they move into the old mansion of her late grandmother. As they renovate the home, Sally discovers a dark room that her grandfather used as a study. The lights do not work and the fireplace is sealed off. Their handyman, Harris refuses to remove the seal on the fireplace. Sally, overtaken by curiosity, removes the seal herself and in turn releases several small creatures into her new home.

     The score and atmosphere of this 70's horror are actually chilling. It's easy to see how any kid growing up at the time could turn on ABC and have nightmares for weeks. Even the creature designs (Kinda silly by adult standards) would most likely have ruined a few nights of sleep for me as a child. 

     Don't mistake this as a child's horror film though! Many of the themes are pretty adult oriented. Feelings of neglect and marital problems are abound as Sally and her husband Alex proceed throughout the film. Alex focuses too much on his job and not enough on Sally, causing her to feel unloved. Things don't get much better after the creatures show up either. Alex looks like a complete asshole as he argues with Sally and Harris over the existence of the goblins.

     While it's not perfect, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark is probably the best made for TV horror film I have seen. The acting is solid and all the characters are interesting enough to hold your attention throughout. There are a couple moments that are a bit ridiculous but there always seem to be when horror deals with tiny creatures. This is a film that's a ton of fun for adults and possibly a great introduction to horror for your kids.

Body Count:2
Side Note: Sally looks so much like a little boy. I thought she was a boy on the cover of the box for the longest time.

Day 9:Trilogy Of Terror

       Trilogy of Terror is a made for television horror anthology film from 1975. As you can probably assume from the title, it's a collection of three short stories. Karen Black (Five Easy Pieces, Invaders From Mars) plays the lead role (or roles) in each. 

       The film starts with "Julie". The story of a teacher who is relentlessly pursued by one of her students. After agreeing to one date, Julie is drugged by her student and presumably raped. Using photos from the incident, the student blackmails Julie to continue seeing him. But who is really pulling the strings? This isn't the strongest of the segments. Karen Black does well as the seemingly innocent teacher. But there isn't much else to say.

     "Millicent and Therese" is the next story. It follows two sisters after the death of their father. Therese is allegedly evil and satanic. The other, Millicent, is an innocent do-gooder bent on stopping her sister's evil ways. She tries to warn those who become involved with Therese and even asks help from the family doctor. The second story does little to up the ante. Karen Black once again delivers. This time in a duel role of Millicent and Therese. The "twist" ending is obnoxiously easy to predict. If you can't figure this one out early on this is probably your first movie ever.

     "Amelia" is the final and best story of the film. The title character purchases a Zuni Fetish Doll for her anthropologist boyfriend. The instructions warn her, that it's golden chain prevents the doll from actually coming to life. Amelia unwittingly breaks the chain and pays the price as she has to fight for her life against the deranged doll. The Zuni Fetish Doll saves the entire film. The struggle between human and doll is extremely entertaining. The final shot is also very creepy in its own right and probably haunted many children watching this is the 70's.

    "Amelia" is such a good horror short that one has to wonder how it even got lumped together with the other completely forgettable segments. Karen Black does well portraying all of her characters throughout. But without the final story, even she wouldn't be able to save this from being a forgettable TV film. I'd suggest just skipping ahead if you ever want to watch this.

Body Count:1
Side Note: Apparently "Amelia" is available on VHS separately as "Terror Of The Doll".

Day 8: The Cabinet Of Dr.Caligari

     Film making is a form of art. Perhaps some of it's artistic merits have been lost over time after more and more filmmakers began copying each other. But back in it's infancy, many popular films were still experimenting and creating very diverse experiences for audiences. The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari was one of the first horror films and is also an expressionist piece of art.

    The story follows a young man telling the tale of Dr.Caligari. A mad doctor who uses a sleepwalker to carry out murders. After the murder of his friend, Francis must now convince the local police that Caligari is responsible. But things aren't as they seem.

    The first thing you may notice of this film is it's crazy set designs. Most of the backdrops are painted on to create strange shadows. Windows and architecture are all designed at strange angles. Everything has a surreal dreamlike look to it. Combine that with the fact that due to the time period of production, this is a silent film. All this comes together to give the film a very unique look and feel.

     The version I just watched clocks in at just around 51 minutes (My tape box says 69. Okay.) Dr.Caligari isn't hard to sit through. It moves at a reasonable pace and doesn't wear out it's welcome. Throw in an interesting twist ending (I'm not sure if that was even normal at the time) and you have a movie that has aged pretty damn well for being made in 1920. I highly recommend it for those with an interest in actual art and the history of film.

Body Count: 1
Side Note: The VHS version of this looks absolutely abysmal. You wont here me say this often, but I'm watching this on DVD next time.

Day 7: The Next Victim

     In the 1980's Thriller Video took episodes from a 70's British television series entitled Thriller and released them in their video catalog. The Next Victim is an episode from the final season of that series. It follows a woman who is confined to a wheelchair and left alone at her apartment as she is stalked by a psychotic strangler.

     As a made for television film from the 70's, you can probably guess that this isn't going to be a gore heavy slaughter fest. The Next Victim has to rely on suspense and tension to draw the viewer in. The problem is that it's not very tense or suspenseful. The final 15 minutes kind of pick up. But even then, you'll probably have a hard time caring.

    Carroll Baker does a decent job in this. But her character isn't really interesting. The only character that really grabbed my attention was the head detective on the strangler case. He's a complete asshole! He'a constantly insulting his partner or falling asleep on the job.

     The Next Victim is totally awful. It won't be drawing any comparisons to Hitchcock, however. If you're looking for something a little more suspense driven to fulfill your blood lust, you should probably look elsewhere. Word on the street is that earlier seasons of Thriller actually had some great episodes. Maybe check there.

Body Count:3

SideNote: I'm not sure how many Thriller episodes Thriller Video released. I own One Deadly Owner. Hopefully it's better than this. , 

Day 6: The Tempter

      In 1973, William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty released the Exorcist. It was one of the most influential horror films of all time. To this day it is still being ripped off and paid tribute to. So of course around the time following it's release it would be followed by a string of possession movies to cash in on it's popularity. The Tempter (AKA The AntiChrist) is an Italian film that does just that.

     At the young age of 12, Ippolita was involved in a car accident that took the life of her mother and left her unable to walk. Now confined to a wheelchair, Ippolita and her family hope to find a cure for her partial paralysis. They turn to a psychiatrist who believes her paralysis is a symptom of the mental trauma she endured from the accident. He attempts hypnosis to cure her. But as treatment proceeds she becomes vulnerable to possession by an ancient ancestor of hers. A witch.

     While the premise is very similar to The Exorcist, there is a little influence thrown in from Rosemary's Baby as well. This film lacks the tension and genuine frights that The Exorcist boasted. It makes up for it with genuinely shocking, obscene, and over the top moments. There were moments in The Tempter that even had me in disbelief!

     The Exorcist is still the obvious king of possession films. The Tempter doesn't come close to matching that quality of film making. It's still very much a low budget horror film. But as far as rip offs go, The Tempter at least tries to up the ante and does so to a certain extent. Horror fans will definitely enjoy the sacrilegious imagery and truly shocking moments. This is definitely worth a look. 

Body Count:2
Side Note: The version of this movie I saw was cut down to 96 minutes from the full 112 minute cut. I'm wondering if it was mostly dialogue or perhaps even more shocking scenes!