‘The fate of mankind lies in the heart of one’

Bleeding Steel is a 2017 Chinese science fiction cyberpunk action film written and directed by Leo Zhang. It stars Jackie Chan, Show Lo Nana, Ou-Yang Nana, Erica Xia-Hou, Callan Mulvey and Tess Haubrich (Necromancer; Wolf Creek; Alien: Covenant).

While tracking down a deranged, mecha-enhanced villain, police inspector Lin (Jackie Chan) discovers that a geneticist’s lost bio-chemical invention has been surgically implanted into his missing daughter. With the help of a young hacker, Lin connects the dots between the device that haunts his daughter, his enemy’s sinister army, and a strange cultural phenomenon called Bleeding Steel.

Having been released in China on December 22, 2017, Bleeding Steel is released by Lionsgate Premiere in select theaters and on VOD on July 6, 2018.

The Innocents is a 2018 British science fiction TV series created by Simon Duric and Hania Elkington. The New Pictures production stars Sorcha Groundsell, Percelle Ascott and Guy Pearce (Ravenous). The series will be streamed on Netflix from 24 August 2018.

June McDaniel has a major change in her life when she discovers that she comes from a line of shapeshifters on her mother’s side. She will have to wrestle with the choice of going on a journey to discover more about her mother and how her shapeshifting ability works and that of staying with her boyfriend Harry who has been by her side through it all. Who can she trust as she embarks on her journey?

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“Watch the exclusive reveal of DOOM Eternal, featuring over 15 minutes of gameplay.

The DOOM Slayer returns in DOOM Eternal, the much-anticipated sequel to DOOM, coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch!

With a redesigned set of armour, and an arsenal of new equipment, your fight against the onslaught of Hell continues. Take on twice as many demons in DOOM Eternal, including fan favourites from classic DOOM titles like the Archvile, Pain Elemental, and the Arachnotron.

In our reveal gameplay presentation, we show off Hell on Earth and Phobos, two of many vastly diverse worlds that you’ll visit in DOOM Eternal. Watch as the DOOM Slayer uses his signature weapons and powerful new tools, including the Super Shotgun’s new Meat Hook mod, the brutal new extendable blade, and his shoulder-mounted cannon with flamethrower for devastating blows toward his enemies.” – Bethesda Softworks press release

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‘A new breed of predator’

The Dawnseeker is a 2018 science fiction horror feature film written, co-produced, edited and directed by Justin Price (Alien: Reign of Man; The 13th Friday; The Elf; Forsaken). The Pikchure Zero production stars Franziska Schissler, Alexander Kane, Jason Skeen and co-producer Khu.

In 2245, the Earth’s sun has dwindled and no longer provides the energy needed to sustain human life.

Five hired mercenaries travel to an uncharted planet to collect a rare mineral known as stardust to replenish the dying star. After their spaceship crashes on the alien planet, they are stalked and hunted by a creature far more advanced than anything they have ever encountered before…

The Dawnseeker is unleashed on VOD on September 4, 2018, via Uncork’d Entertainment.

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‘When good puppets go bad’

Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge is a 1991 American science fiction horror feature film directed by prolific David DeCoteau (Swamp Freak; The Killer Eye; Creepozoids; et al) from a screenplay by C. Courtney Joyner (Lurking Fear; Prison; From a Whisper to a Scream) based on an original idea by Charles Band. The Full Moon Entertainment movie stars Guy Rolfe, Richard Lynch, Ian Abercrombie, and Walter Gotell.

Berlin, 1941: Doctor Hess (Ian Abercrombie) is working on Operation Death Corps, a Nazi project designed to bring recently deceased soldiers back to fighting, battle-ready life. Unfortunately, his colleague Major Krauss (Richard Lynch) is unimpressed.

Meanwhile, Krauss’ driver and protege, Stein (Kristopher Logan), a keen puppeteer in his spare time, has discovered that marionette master Toulon (Guy Rolfe) has seemingly brought his puppets to life with a secret serum…

Reviews:

“Expect some revelations regarding the nature of the puppets reanimation, but also expect them to come hand in hand with a few lapses in logic and series continuity (Didn’t Toulon commit suicide in 1939?). Actually, it plays more like a series reboot than a prequel, ignoring the first 2 movies and forging its own mythology and tone. As with the others, pacing a still an issue here…” Digital Retribution

” …for all its faults, Puppetmaster III is a film in which a depressed looking wooden Hitler doll is blown to smithereens by a (sort of) sentient puppet called Six Shooter. There are scenes of period puppet carnage, goose-stepping galore, and the return of the series’ wonderful score. It’s a decent, if workman-like close to the trilogy…” Joel Harley, Horror Talk

“Less care has been taken with the puppet effects than in previous entries and these are only so-so. On the plus side is Guy Rolfe, who also played a toymaker in the Bands’ Dolls (1987), who gives a dignified performance as Toulon. Richard Lynch also makes for a convincing Nazi.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge is the best sequel in the entire series, arguably the best entry in the entire franchise and possibly one of the best films Full Moon ever made. Whilst that’s not a total badge of honour given some of the poor sequels which followed, it’s at least a fitting testament to a film from an era in which low budget horror films like this had a bit of spunk and fight about them.” Andrew Smith, Popcorn Pictures

“The pace is brisk, the gore is mild but effective, and we get occasional boobies. The stop-motion puppet FX is great as expected, and it’s nice to hear Richard Band’s original score play over the opening titles. But the real strengths of Puppet Master 3 are its aforementioned strong actors (and their well-written, easily identifiable characters), a decidedly darker tone than its predecessors and the shift from portraying Toulon as a megalomaniacal psycho to a hard-done-to antihero.” Stuart Willis, Sex Gore Mutants

“Its only genuine brilliance lies in the stop-motion puppet special effects courtesy of Full Moon effects regular David Allen, which look much better than they deserve to given the film’s clearly low budget. Puppet Master III is as silly as you would expect, with horrendous acting and the cheesiest Nazi impressions you’ll see in a while.” Chris Scullion, That Was a Bit Mental

“Despite the obvious lack o’ funds, the overall production values are quite good, and the quality of the acting better than average. Much care has been lavished on the puppets, and their scenes are always adequate and occasionally remarkable. Six-Shooter’s displays of marksmanship are particularly impressive…” TV Guide

“David DeCoteau does a competent job behind the camera for the most part. A few sequences are robbed of their potential though, due to some shoddy editing (especially during Lynch’s comeuppance scene). And since this is a Puppet Master movie, you know there’s gonna be some flashbacks to help pad the running time.” Mitch Lovell, The Video Vacuum

Cast and characters:

• Guy Rolfe … André Toulon – Dolls; Mr. Sardonicus; The Stranglers of Bombay
• Sarah Douglas … Elsa Toulon
• Richard Lynch … Major Kraus
• Ian Abercrombie … Dr. Hess – Jack Frost 2; Army of Darkness
• Kristopher Logan … Lt. Eric Stein
• Aron Eisenberg … Peter Hertz
• Walter Gotell … General Mueller
• Matthew Faison … Hertz
• Michelle Bauer … Lili
• Jasmine Touschek … Prostitute
• Eduard Will … Soldier on Stage
• John Regis … Morgue Attendant
• Neal Parrow … Young Driver
• Kenneth Cortland … Pharmacy Soldier
• Lenny Rose … Airport Agent
• Laurie Mateyko … Little Girl
• Rhonda Britten … Mother
• Michael Lowry … Hess’s Guard
• Michael Leroy Rhodes … Hess’s Guard
• John Cann … Young Dead Soldier
• Ivan J. Rado … Cairo Merchant

Puppets:

• Blade
• Pinhead
• Leech Woman
• Jester
• Tunneler
• Six Shooter
• Djinn the Homunculus (flashback)
• Mephisto (flashback)

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Freaks is a 2018 Canadian science fiction psychological thriller feature film directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B Stein. The Amazing/Bloomgarden Films production stars Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Grace Park, Amanda Crew and introducing Lexy Kolker.

A disturbed father (Emile Hirsch) locks his seven year-old daughter in a house, warning her of grave dangers outside. However, the mysterious Mr. Snowcone (Bruce Dern) convinces the girl to escape and join him on a profound quest for family, freedom, and revenge…

Freaks premieres on 7 September 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Notes:

This movie should not to be confused with the 2017 Freaks directed by Grek Zekowski.

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‘Join the hunt’

Alien Predator is a 2018 American science fiction horror action feature film directed by prolific Jared Cohn (Halloween Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!; Devil’s Domain; Hold Your Breath; 12/12/12; et al) from a screenplay by Bill Hanstock (3-Headed Shark Attack; Age of Tomorrow). The Asylum ‘mockbuster’ production stars Xavi Israel, Alex West, Philip Nathaniel, Amanda Rivas, Sebastien Charmant, and Kris Black.

A black ops reconnaissance team is sent to investigate the crash of an unidentified aircraft. When they arrive, they find strange markings and residue visible only in infrared. As the team gets deeper in and tries to figure out the source of the markings, they discover that they are being hunted by an alien expedition to Earth…

The Predator – USA, 2018

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‘They came from a doomed world to save us from the same fate’

Apocalypse Rising is a 2018 science fiction fantasy horror feature film directed by Richard Lowry (Alien Overlords; Dominion; Jessica: A Ghost Story) from a screenplay by Gregory P. Wolk. The movie stars Hunter Alexes Parker, Shane Samples and Justin Lebrun.

Mia is an extrasensory teenage girl living on the planet Rathe, a world besieged by the undead. After a violent last stand, Mia and her warrior friends escape their world in a spacecraft…

Gravitas Ventures and Giant Meteor Films have released Apocalypse Rising on various VOD platforms such as Amazon Instant as well as DVD.

Cast and characters:

• Hunter Alexes Parker … Mia – Anomaly
• Shane Samples … Magnum
• Justin Lebrun … Phoenix
• Johanna Rae… Beset
• Victoria Steadman … Thora
• James R. Frey … Karl 
• Kelly Brown … Shira
• Shiah Luna … India
• David Namminga … David
• Katelyn Levario … Noa
• Dennis Marin … Jesus
• John R Mangus … Mia’s Father
• Ronald Bush … High Priest

ZombieChrist – USA, 2010

New and Future Releases

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‘Sometimes your nightmares become your reality’

Theta States is a 2017 American science fiction horror feature film about induced nightmares written and directed by Manny Serrano (Blood Slaughter Massacre; Zombie Hunters: City of the Dead TV series; M Is for Mastectomy short). The Mass Grave Pictures production stars Tom Ryan, Erin Brown and Kathryn Lill.

Danny is a long-term insomniac. He comes across an ad for the Audible Lucid Perceptions sleep clinic, run by the peculiar Dr. Zovnig, and goes in for a consultation. The doctor gives him a small audio device, which generates brain-frequency-altering audio waves, intended to hypnotise Danny into a dream state.

Upon the first treatment, Danny is cured and is now sleeping better than he ever has in his life. Danny starts to realise that although he may be able to sleep again, there could be something wrong. Nightmares haunt his sleep, with recurring hallucinations and blackouts while he’s awake. Is it all a side effect of the treatment, or is there some evil force at work, affecting Danny’s every move?

Reviews:

“The plot can be a bit confusing at times with it’s blurred lines between what is and isn’t real, in some ways it’s like Cronenberg’s Videodrome but with auditory cues instead of video ones. The cast do a good job of keeping things from getting to muddled, especially Tom Ryan as a man fighting to keep his world from totally collapsing.” Jim Morazzini, Beneath the Underground

“The acting could stand to be stronger at times, but Tom Ryan really comes through when it counts during the film’s most climactic moments. Danny is a likeable, relatable character, as is Nicole, and their relationship is is one the audience can get behind. Dreams, reality, mystery, and a bit of the supernatural all come together nicely here, anchored by characters that matter and a story that knows what it wants.” Roger Maléspin, Cryptic Rock

“Theta States is a step or two above Blood Slaughter Massacre production-wise and the camera work, lighting and audio is much, much better than before. The effort and hard work put into this movie shines through and I’d be remiss if I didn’t congratulate everyone involved on a job well done.” Horror Society

Official site

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‘In the end.. chaos will find you’

I Think We’re Alone Now is a post-apocalyptic science fiction feature film directed by Reed Morano from a screenplay by Mike Makowsky, The movie stars Peter Dinklage (Knights of Badassdom) and Elle Fanning (Mary Shelley; The Neon Demon; Twixt).

Having premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, I Think We’re Alone Now will be shown in New York and Los Angeles theaters on September 14 before expanding to limited theaters nationwide as well as coming to OnDemand on September 21.

Del is alone in the world. After the human race is wiped out, he lives in his small, empty town, content in his solitude and the utopia he’s methodically created for himself — until he is discovered by Grace, an interloper whose history and motives are obscure. And to make matters worse, she wants to stay…

Reviews:

“Though most of the drama comes from the personality clash of Del and Grace, there is, eventually, more of a science fiction twist to the story […] I Think We’re Alone Now is mostly a stylistic exercise that happens to have two great actors in the middle of it. Too bad it doesn’t know what to do with them.” David Bax, Battleship Pretension

“Unfortunately, a troublesome plot twist in the third act finds Morano and screenwriter Mike Makowsky losing their narrative footing. While this twist bolsters the film’s themes about constructing worlds to accommodate our own insecurities, it also squanders the emotional currency between Del and Grace.” J.R. Kinnard, Pop Matters

” …basically a two-hander, led by Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning as two people looking for comfort in a world that’s gone to shit. Twists and turns abound, and while the screenplay by Mike Makowsky loses control ultimately, Morano’s subtle direction and the performances by her stars are the film’s highlight.” Punch Drunk Critics

“Once I Think We’re Alone Now establishes that Grace and Del represent love versus stability, the film doesn’t have a convincing way to reconcile the two. An adorable violin-accompanied montage doesn’t sell us on their partnership. A scene where they cruise blasting metal as Fanning head-bangs in slo-mo just seems like a beautifully photographed migraine.” Amy Nicholson, Variety

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Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein is a 1972 European horror feature film written and directed by Jesús Franco. The movie stars Dennis Price, Howard Vernon, Paca Gabaldón and Alberto Dalbés.

Plot:

Dracula kills another innocent victim and Dr. Seward decides it’s time to wipe the fiend off the face of the earth. Armed with a hammer and a wooden stake, he arrives at Castle Dracula and duly dispatches the vampire Count.

Next day, however, Dr. Frankenstein arrives with his assistant, Morpho, and a large crate containing the monster. Using the blood of a pub singer who has been abducted by his creation, the doctor brings Dracula back to life and uses him for his own ends.

The Count and a female vampire continue to terrorise the town, so Dr. Seward once again sets out for Castle Dracula. Unfortunately, he is attacked by the Frankenstein monster and left for dead. Amira, a gypsy, rescues him and summons up a werewolf to do battle with the forces of evil…

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com

Review:

What do you get when you combine competent directorial technique, a solid script, and a clearly delineated narrative? Not this. Jess Franco’s Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein is on par with most of his other early ’70s productions. That is to say, it’s stodgy, painfully slow, cheap, gratuitous, embarrassing, and essentially an unwatchable, coma-inducing sledgehammer.

Franco’s filmmaking skills come dangerously close to the incompetent here, with his visual style summed up simply as: zoom, zoom, zoom, with the occasional insertion of extreme long-shots, claustrophobic close-ups, and soporific slow pans. His boggling narrative execution is hallucinatory at best, but not in an interesting way; scenes float into the air, unattached to anything else around them until an innocuous and brief pseudo-grounding is provided via an equally innocuous action or galumphing explication later on, giving the viewer headaches while trying to piece it all together.

Thematically and conceptually, Franco’s on the level of a lurid, feeble-minded child playing with his newly acquired, and tattily-made, monster action figures; for example, in the climactic scene where Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolf Man are slapped together in order to duke it out Three Stooges-style, the monster nearly loses his toupée. This would all be quite funny if it had been planned or at least done with some enthusiasm, but it wasn’t; the whole thing is simply bloated and indifferent, dragging itself to a conclusion that Franco doesn’t seemingly even care about. This movie is a cinematic creature best left un-revived.

Ben Spurling, HORRORPEDIA

Other reviews:

“A Brillo-pad werewolf. Bubbling sex that never boils over. Four-star, no budget vampire attacks. The expected Jess Franco Nightclub Sequence. A strange focus on frantic bats (both rubber and real). Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein is, quite literally, a pleasant dream. Upon regaining your wits, you’re left half-asleep, yet ready to conquer the world. Or, at the very least, your insomnia.” Joseph A. Ziemba, Bleeding Skull!

“Only Britt Nicholl’s elegantly erotic Lady Dracula comes off as a credible, original creation. In fact, the actresses here, Josiane Gibert as the doomed cabaret singer, Genvieve Deloir as the gypsy and Paca Galaban’s mentally disturbed Maria are much more defined and interesting characters than the male leads. They have to react to the mad scientists and monsters, who are pretty much one-dimensional menaces in Franco’s raggedy mise-en-scene.” Robert Monell, El Franconomicon

” … has laughable make-up and special effects but offers rich surrealistic moments lightened by a corny nightclub act with sub-sexy songs […] it is an enjoyable piece of fun for people with a good sense of humour.” Lucas Balbo, Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco, 1993

“It’s like a dream that seems to tell a logical and coherent story while you’re in the midst of it, but appears utterly nonsensical under the scrutiny of the waking mind. Franco did that sort of thing a lot in the early 70’s, of course, but to see the narrative sensibility of A Virgin Among the Living Dead applied to the old House of Frankenstein template somehow feels so counterintuitive.” Scott Ashlin, 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

Cast and characters:

• Dennis Price … Doctor Frankenstein
• Howard Vernon … Dracula
• Paca Gabaldón [as Mary Francis] … Maria
• Alberto Dalbés … Doctor Jonathan Seward
• Carmen Yazalde [as Britt Nichols] … Female vampire
• Geneviève Robert [as Genevieve Deloir] … Amira
• Anne Libert … Dracula’s first victim
• Luis Barboo [as Luis Bar Boo]… Morpho
• Brandy … The Wolf Man
• Fernando Bilbao… The Monster
• Josyane Gibert [as Josiane Gibert] … Estela

Filming locations:

Estoril, Cascais, Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal
Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Alternate titles:

Drácula contra Frankenstein
Dracula contro Frankenstein
Dracula prisonnier de Frankenstein
Die Nacht der offenen Särge
The Screaming Dead

Image credits: El Franconomicon

The views expressed in the HORRORPEDIA review above are those of the author only and may not necessarily represent the opinions of the website editor and/or its owner.

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Nekrotonic is 2018 Australian science fiction comedy horror feature film directed by Kiah Roache-Turner from a screenplay co-written with Tristan Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead). The movie stars Monica Bellucci, Ben O’Toole, Caroline Ford and Tess Haubrich.

Sanitation worker Howard (Ben O’Toole) discovers that he is actually a powerful necromancer who must stop the Queen of the Demons (Monica Bellucci) from consuming 1.3 million souls via a network of Nekropod power boxes in a giant pentagram around the city…

Reviews:

“Where the film falters, or the component that most dampens its enthusiastically juvenile appeal, is the formulaic plot. Bellucci is a campy villain and her internet domination plans are beyond silly, but the accidental white hetero saviour who swoops in the save the day (at the expense of the far more qualified female protagonists no less) is at best too familiar and at worst frustratingly reductive.” Joe Lipsett, Bloody Disgusting

” …while it very much looks like a B-movie, it looks like a B-movie with a budget. The visuals are also very vibrant and filled with more colour than Wyrmwood, which is justification for a more riotous feeling — and the really bad jokes support that spirit. But the ultimate reason to sit through this very boring, exhaustive assault on the senses is for Monica Bellucci. She chews scenery whether it’s for the benefit of comedy or horror; no one else comes close.” Christopher Cross, Goomba Stomp

” …nobody that sees Nekrotronic will expect it to be anything more than ridiculous fun. Roache-Turner delivers on that end, and shows that he has the potential to become a great director. There are some pieces still missing from the film, especially in the storytelling, that hold it back. Despite its flaws, it’s still entertaining throughout its whole running time.” Anthony Le, Keithlovesmovies

” …there’s virtually nothing here to wholeheartedly (or even partially) connect to, with the lack of any real stakes certainly preventing one from working up any real interest in or sympathy for the protagonist’s ongoing endeavors. The endless, special-effects-heavy climax ensures that Nekrotronic concludes with a whimper…” David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

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Patrick Still Lives – original title: Patrick vive ancora – is a 1980 Italian paranormal horror feature film directed by Mario Landi (Giallo in Venice) from a screenplay by Piero Regnoli (Nightmare City; Malabimba; The Playgirls and the Vampire). The Stefano Film production stars Sacha Pitoëff, Gianni Dei, Mariangela Giordano and Carmen Russo

It is a unauthorised sequel of the Australian horror film Patrick (1978) and is known primarily for its scenes of nudity and gore.

Review:

Of all the rip-off sequels the Italians have ever quickly rushed into production, this follow-up to Richard Franklin’s Patrick remains the oddest. Sleazier and far more compulsively enjoyable than it’s somewhat more sombre Australian model, the late Landi’s final work for the big screen is a far cry from the many episodes of Inspector Maigret he directed for TV.

While not as pathologically violent as his previous Giallo a Venezia, there is no shortage of grisly moments, each prefaced by an hilarious pair of staring eyes tackily superimposed onto the print. Villa’s photography is cleanly functional, mixing the occasional high-angled shot with some atmospheric day-for-night exteriors, all filmed at the Villa Parisi in Frascati, the same mansion used in Blood for Dracula and The Nights of Terror.

As with other Gabriele Crisanti-produced horrors, Patrick vive ancora manages to create an eerie feeling of claustrophobia, effectively enhanced by Berto Pisano’s soundtrack music which mixes a sub-‘Tubular Bells’ melody with doom-laden bass guitar notes, discordant electric paino and the Eno-like synth beeps from the soundtrack of The Nights of Terror.

This cut-price carnage pic also scores heavily in the thespian department: Gianni Dei, who had been the boyfriend of Femi Benussi and the husband of Magda Konopka, and was rumoured to be very well endowed, was a regular face in Z-grade features; Franco Silva has acted in every popular genre the industry had to offer; John Benedy had graduated from tawdry Sixties photo-novels; Paolo Giusti was the handsome hunk in sleaze dramas such as Red Light Girls; and Sacha Pitoëff was outrageously slumming it after his work with Resnais and Argento (Inferno).

To ice the casting cake, the movie serves up plenty of gratuitous nudity from Carmen Russo and Anna Veneziano, and the ever dependable Mariangela Giordano – then producer Gabriele Crisati’s girlfriend. Of her infamously over-the-top death-by-long-poker scene she has said, “It took two days to film that scene, and because the poker had to keep thrusting between my legs before it came out of the top of my head, it got more and more painful as we kept going. And it was cold and freezing. I don’t know why Gabriele insisted on making these movies during winter.” One sequence Giordano remembers with affection, however, is a drunken catfight with busty glamour puss Carmen Russo: “That was fun, all my pent up rage towards Gabriele is in that brawl.” As usual she wore all of her own outfits too…

Patrick vive ancora may be little more than bottom-of-the-barrel schlock but compared to much of the conveyor belt fodder that gets passed off as A-grade cinema these days, it’s one cheesy little treasure that deserves to be cherished. Viva Patrick!

Mark Ashworth, HORRORPEDIA

Other reviews:

“Even with a half dozen gruesome deaths, Patrick Still Lives moves almost as slowly as Patrick did. Except the mesmerizing quality of its bizarreness becomes so consuming that the film’s plentiful shortcomings melt into being part of its odd appeal.” Ian Sedensky, Culture Crypt

“There are five women in the movie and every single one of them spends a good chunk of time in the nude. One of them appears nude more often than clothed, in fact. Even a scene that shouldn’t really have any nudity – a girl walking around the spooky courtyard prior to her obvious doom, for example – has more full frontal shots than just about any other horror film I can recall…” Brian W. Collins, Horror Film a Day

“The nudity is so gratuitous and so excessive that it actually becomes amusing. By the time the film’s male lead (who, it should be noted, had quite an impressive p*rnstache) was standing naked at a dresser and casually lighting a cigarette while ominous music played on the soundtrack, I simply could not stop laughing.” Lisa Marie Bowman, Through the Shattered Lens

” …like Burial Ground it’s hard to look away from the craziness. Everything is so inept, so totally unstylish it works in it’s own confined space of silly filmmaking. It might be crap but it’s not boring at all, even if it never comes up in the same entertainment value as Burial Ground.” Fred Anderson, Schmollywood Babylon

Cast and characters:

• Sacha Pitoëff … Dr. Herschel – Inferno
• Gianni Dei … Patrick Herschel – Giallo in Venice
• Mariangela Giordano [as Maria Angela Giordan] … Stella Randolph – Giallo in Venice; The Nights of Terror
• Carmen Russo … Cheryl Kraft – Ring of Darkness
• Paolo Giusti … David Davis
• Franco Silva … Lyndon Kraft
• John Benedy … Peter Suniak
• Anna Veneziano … Meg
• Andrea Belfiore … Lydia Grant

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Giallo in Venice – Italy, 1979

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‘Can you spare a soul?’

C.L.E.A.N. is a 2018 Croatian-German-British science fiction horror feature film directed by Aurelio Toni from a screenplay by Konstantin Georgiou. The Dream Team Pictures production stars Costas Mandylor, Jenny Paris, Vjekoslav Katusin, Maik van Epple and Tom Sizemore.

Inside a remote rehab sanatorium, four newly arrived patients, each one with a specific emotional damage, go through hell by discovering and enduring the vicious methods of the sinister doctor’s treatments, while attempting to stay alive…

Main cast:

• Costas Mandylor
• Jenny Paris
• Vjekoslav Katusin
• Maik van Epple
• Tom Sizemore – Black Wake; The Intruders; Halloweed; Slumber Party Slaughter; et al
• Imer “Lacky” Tairi
• Fred Lobin
• Agnes Burger
• Marisa Mattioli
• Jani Banovac
• Mateo Kliba
• Drasko Andjis
• Anamarija Lovrencic
• Maria Reka Sakovic
• Ahmet Öztürk
• Angelo Borer

Filming locations:

Pula, Istria, Croatia

Trivia:

C.L.E.A.N. 2 is apparently already in pre-production.

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‘It preys on human fear. It feeds on human flesh.’

Without Warning is a 1980 American science fiction horror feature film produced and directed by Greydon Clark (Uninvited; Wacko; Satan’s Cheerleaders). The movie stars Tarah Nutter, Christopher S. Nelson, Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Neville Brand and Ralph Meeker. Cameron Mitchell makes a cameo appearance.

Many observers have noted that thematically, this movie predates yet is similar to Predator (1987). In fact, the same actor, Kevin Peter Hall, plays both aliens. It is also known as It Came… Without Warning, The Warning and Alien Shock, its German title.

Special effects designer Greg Cannom, who was later involved in major studio productions such as Jurassic Park, Hook and Titanic, created the memorable aliens. Cinematography was provided by Dean Cundey (The Thing; The Fog; Halloween).

Plot:

A father and son go into the mountains. Before they can begin hunting, which the son does not want to do anyway, they are killed by flying starfish-like creatures, which penetrate their skin with needle-tipped tentacles.

Some time later, four teenagers, Tom, Greg, Beth and Sandy, hike in the same area, ignoring the warnings of local truck stop owner Joe Taylor (Jack Palance).

A group of cub scouts is also in the area; their leader (Larry Storch) is killed by the alien creatures, while his troop run into an unidentified humanoid and flee…

Reviews:

” …Landau and Palance are both highly entertaining, both because it’s fun to watch younger versions of these venerable actors slumming in such silly material, and because they bring some dignity to roles that are, admittedly better-developed and deeper than most horror-movie-death-fodder characters. That said, it’s an awfully slow, dry ride between meaningful scenes…” Tasha Robinson, AV Club

“Despite its many shortcomings, it nonetheless has a goofy charm all its own that at least makes it worth one viewing for the peculiar creatures. Old school horror fans will also get a big kick out of spotting many of the familiar faces from TV and movies.” Cool Ass Cinema

” …Clark does a nice job of building up tension […] With its impressive cast and retro style (retro in that the film itself harkens back to 1950s sci-fi and that its oozing special effects are of the organic kind in the days before modern CGI was the norm), Without Warning is now perfectly ripe for rediscovery…” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

“Without Warning is an interesting little horror picture not only because of thematic consistency but because it also adopts without question the slasher paradigm […] Some reviewers have complained about the special effects, but given that they’re 1980 vontage, the creatures in Without Warning remain pretty frightening.” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1980s

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“Without Warning may not be a lost masterpiece but it is a really entertaining low budget horror picture that makes the most of its effects set pieces and a few notable cast members. If it takes a little while to get going, the last half makes up for that…” Ian Jane, DVD Talk

“It starts off OK enough, with some little alien things (that look like the result of a mating between Alienfacehuggers and starfish) flying around and killing folks like Mitchell, but then it just falls apart after they find Caruso’s body (poor sod doesn’t even get a death scene). The alien frisbees all but completely disappear until the closing reel…” Horror Movie a Day

“Without Warning’s biggest enemy is its pacing. Director Greydon Clark never latches onto a tempo to help build momentum or suspense. Sure, he creates a foreboding atmosphere here and there, but true terror is never achieved. (The most effective element is composer Dan Wyman’s spooky blend of piano tinklings and early ‘80s synth). FilmFather

Buy Blu-ray + DVD: Amazon.com

“Greydon Clark never does much to generate suspense and tension out of scenes […] Moreover, the alien is only an intermittent menace – for much of the middle of the film, Martin Landau’s bug-eyed crazy becomes far more of a threat than the alien. We only ever get to see the alien’s appearance in the last ten minutes and for the rest of the film it is represented by its discs.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“The gags are effectively gooey and gory, plus the actual alien (who is withheld until the climax, so Clark at least has some understanding of showmanship) feels like a cool throwback to 50s B-movie monsters with its bulbous head and blue skin. Clark never quite finds the right tone, though—there’s a certain severity to his handling of the film…” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

“Perhaps the trouble here is that later in the decade something like this would have been injected with an air of fun, but here it’s played too straight: fine for unintentional humour, but not much for real thrills.” Graeme Clark, The Spinning Image

“Greydon Clark directs from a script with no less than four writers listed for some reason. He gives the flick a rather pedestrian pace but, he treats his material seriously as do the cast, especially Palance and Landau who properly chew up the scenery with Landau especially cranking up the nuttiness.” Tomb of Nostalgia

Cast and characters:

• Tarah Nutter … Sandy
• Christopher S. Nelson … Greg
• Jack Palance … Joe Taylor – Alone in the Dark; Tourist Trap; Craze; Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Torture Garden; Man in the Attic; et al
• Martin Landau … Fred ‘Sarge’ Dobbs – Ed Wood; Sleepy Hollow; The Being
• Neville Brand … Leo – Evils of the Night; Eaten Alive; Killdozer
• Ralph Meeker … Dave – The Food of the Gods; The Dead Don’t Die
• Cameron Mitchell … Hunter – The Tomb; The Demon; The Toolbox Murders; Blood and Black Lace; et al
• Darby Hinton … Randy
• David Caruso … Tom – Session 9
• Lynn Thell … Beth
• Sue Ane Langdon … Aggie
• Larry Storch … Cub Scout Leader
• Kevin Peter Hall … The Alien – Predator; One Dark Night; Prophecy

Filming locations:

Paramount Ranch – 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California
Malibu Creek State Park – 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California

Running time and aspect ratio:

97 minutes (restored) | 1.85: 1

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‘New approach to suspense’

Raccoon Valley is a 2018 American science fiction horror feature film written, produced, edited and directed by Turner Clay (The Blackwell Ghost and sequel; Disaster L.A.; State of Emergency). Clay also handled the score, sound and VFX. The movie stars Terri Czapleski, Justin Ray and Nick Cafero.

A plane carrying a biohazard crashes into a town. A deaf women has to navigate her way through the aftermath of the accident…

Review:

Sensory disability horror, which started with Wait Until Dark (1967), was given new life in Don’t Breathe (2016), and achieved conspicuously hyped-up critical acclaim with A Quiet Place (2018), makes another appearance here, ostensibly riding a trendy wave that’s quickly losing its dewy freshness and could soon become a venal pandering contest if horror filmmakers don’t watch out.

Terri Czapleski plays a deaf woman – who remains unnamed – who’s suddenly trapped in a quarantine zone after a plane full of toxic chemicals crashes and contaminates the area’s water supply, turning the remaining residents into shambling, white-face ghouls right out of Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (1962); as a result, her character is virtually the only one in the movie, which means she has to carry it. This is unfortunate, because her acting range consists entirely of what the supposedly hipper crowd refers to as “resting bitch-face”, a character trait perfected by the wooden duo of Jennifer Lawrence and Brie Larson; this is apparently supposed to denote some kind of mystical inner female strength but instead makes the character look like a puerile cipher. In order to flesh the woman’s role out and emphasise her deafness, Turner Clay, the one-man creative force behind Raccoon Valley, fills the background with aural flashbacks, sounds from her past echoed through her head. It does very little filling-in and actually becomes a nuisance early on. Meanwhile, the story itself is nearly non-existent, consisting of lots of wandering around and long, stony looks.

There’s very little in the way of original material here; as stated before, the deaf motif has already been done; the smattering of creatures that make an appearance are direct steals (homages?) from Carnival of Souls; even the main buzzy riff in the soundtrack is lifted directly from The Book of Eli (2010). Beyond that, the story is built upon movie logic as opposed to real-world logic, with an ending which suddenly jumps to a real-world conclusion, essentially providing a punchline and making everything prior to that moment moot.

Technically, the movie is impressive, considering the brazenly low $175 budget (it’s in the end credits, just so we know), with every creative aspect of the film – from writing and directing to the sound and special effects – handled by Turner Clay. Visually and aurally, Turner is incredibly talented; but he needs more work when it comes to plot construction. When all’s said and done, Raccoon Valley can be thought of as a remarkably professional demo reel for him. It’s quite amazing what you can do with Blender, a GoPro, and a strong visual sense. Let’s hope Clay can bump his writing up to the same level as his technical skills with his next project.

Ben Spurling, HORRORPEDIA

Technical details:

65 minutes | 16:9 HD

Trivia:

The film’s budget was apparently just $175.00

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‘Welcome to Hell Week’

Pledges is a 2018 American science fiction horror feature film directed by D.J. Red from a screenplay by Bryan Binder (writer/director of Riddle Room) and editor Austin Reading (director of Darkness Rising). The Bump in the Night/Liquid Theory production stars Arthur J. Davis, Tim Drier, Natassia Halabi and Ren Harris.

Tied up, blindfolded, and left in the woods in nothing but their underwear as part of a Hell Week initiation, six college-aged pledges are tasked with setting up camp.

Broken up into two teams, boys versus girls, they must complete a number of extreme hazing rituals set up by their hosts – who happen to be watching their every move through camera-equipped glasses.

Both hazers and hazees become victims when a mysterious force that haunts the forest begins to prey upon the participants one by one…

Cast and characters:

• Arthur J. Davis [as A.J. Davis] … Chad
• Tim Drier … Zack
• Natassia Halab … Sarah
• Ren Harris … Emma
• Calida Jones … Michelle
• Scarlett Mellinger … TBC
• Sierra Mellinger … TBC
• Everett Moss … Matt
• Rebecca Lee Robertson … Heather
• Tyler Straessle … Ryan

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‘Spine chilling horror!!’

Doctor Jekyll and the Wolfman is a 1971 Spanish directed by León Klimovsky (The Vampires’ Night Orgy; Vengeance of the Zombies; The Dracula Saga; et al) from a screenplay by Jacinto Molina (aka Paul Naschy). The latter stars, alongside Shirley Corrigan, Jack Taylor and Mirta Miller.

Newlyweds Imre (Jose Marco) and Justine (Shirley Corrigan) are visiting Transylvania for their honeymoon when they are attacked by bandits. Imre is killed but Justine is rescued by Polish nobleman Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy), who is also a werewolf. The local villagers launch an attack on Daninsky’s castle, so he and Justine flee to London.

Besotted with Daninsky, yet aware of his tragic lycanthropic condition, Justine asks her friend Dr. Henry Jekyll (Jack Taylor) if he can help. Jekyll injects Daninsky with his grandfather’s potion to try and cure him…

Reviews: 

“Some of the action scenes seem slow and a bit sloppy, but the plethora of horror elements and gore (Daninsky even pulls chunks of flesh out of one victim) override the shortcomings […] Dr. Jekyll and the Wolfman (1972) is well worth your investment; and for Naschy fans, this tour de force of werewolfery and Hyde’s hedonistic sadist is a howlingly good time.” Brian Bankston, Cool Ass Cinema

“Klimovsky treats the rather campy premise with considerable style, with the action moving from the traditional horror movie motifs of the old country (the angry villagers, local superstitions, freakish looking scavengers) to modern London where the scenic images include a rather seedy early 1970s Soho district. Naschy acts and looks as great as ever as the werewolf, but his Mr. Hyde, well he’s a pisser.” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

“Naschy is having so much fun and projects such infectious enthusiasm that it is simply impossible to be overly critical of his endeavours here. And Naschy is actually very effective in parts, particularly when he transforms into the heinous Mr Hyde. And, as the werewolf, he pulls off a good crowd scene in a groovy night-club…” Lee Brougton, DVD Savant

” …there are moments of acknowledgeable proficiency as displayed periodically by director Klimovsky in other films: the awakening of Justine in the centuries old castle and her subsequent meandering through the dark corridors by candlelight is exceedingly spooky, and similarly the locations used for Transylvania’s barren landscapes…” The Grim Cellar

” …gives Naschy the chance to ham it up as two classic monsters for the price of one. Whether growling into the camera or wielding a mean cane, he’s great fun to behold and keeps the film lively through some of the slower spots. Taylor has surprisingly little to do […] but the clash between gothic and groovy environments more than makes up for it.” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital

“The first half feels exactly like a normal Daninsky-movie – mountain road, attack, castle, lynch-mob, macho-Naschy – but it because extra fun when he flees from there and ends up in party party party-London. The disco scene is way to short, but the whole storyline of Dr Jekyll trying to cure Daninsky from the werewolf-syndrome is fun and creative.” Ninja Dixon

“The set-pieces when Naschy transforms into werewolf or Mr Hyde is wonderfully staged, the best one being in a stuck elevator together with a scared shitless nurse…and of course the famous disco-scene, which still is very cool.” Fred Anderson, Schmollywood Babylon

“His first onscreen wolf transformation is pure unadulterated Shatner but his portrayal of Mr Hyde is worth the price of admission alone. See Hyde complete with full original vintage costume hit the streets of swinging 70’s London, cruising the strip bars and grooving clubs for wenches to play with in his own devilish way – simply brilliant and lots of fun!” Sex Gore Mutant

“Although deliriously implausible (and merely an excuse for Naschy to do double duty acting – once again), this middling Eurohorror benefits from Klimovsky’s always reliable direction and a few nice touches, such as Waldemar’s cool transformation scene in a trapped elevator.” The Terror Trap

“The decent amount of gore (head crushing, throat ripping, severed head) and a lax running time help make Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf better than the usual Naschy mishmash. The thing that really makes the movie though is the transformation scenes […] And this one has plenty of them.” Mitch Lovell, The Video Vacuum

Choice dialogue:

Sandra: “Good and evil. The eternal make-up of all human beings. And which we can change with a chemical formula. It’s fascinating.”

Cast and characters:

• Jacinto Molina [as Paul Naschy] … Waldemar Daninsky / Wolfman / Mr. Hyde
• Shirley Corrigan … Justine – The Crimes of the Black Cat; Devil’s Nightmare
• Jack Taylor … Dr. Henry Jekyll – Wax; Pieces; Female Vampire; The Night of the Sorcerers; Count Dracula; et al
• Mirta Miller … Sandra – Eyeball; Vengeance of the Zombies; Count Dracula’s Great Love
• José Marco … Imre Kosta – Horror Express; Knife of Ice; Fury of the Wolfman; The Horrible Sexy Vampire
• Luis Induni … Otvos – The Werewolf and the Yeti; Exorcism; The Devil’s Possessed; The Loreley’s Grasp; The Horrible Sexy Vampire; et al
• Barta Barri … Gyogyo, the innkeeper – Horror Express; The Horrible Sexy Vampire
• Luis Gaspar … Thurko, Otvos’s thug
• Elsa Zabala … Uswika Bathory
• Lucy Tiller … Prostitute

Technical credits:

Filmed in 70mm

Release:

The film was released in Spain on 6 May 1972.

Image credits: Cool Ass Cinema

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Shocking Dark is a 1989 Italian science-fiction film directed by Bruno Mattei (Snuff Trap; Rats: Night of Terror; The Other Hell; et al)from a screenplay by Claudio Fragasso (Troll 2). Produced by Franco Gaudenzi, the movie stars Christopher Ahrens, Haven Tyler, and Geretta Geretta.

It has also been released as Terminator II, Terminator 2, Aliens 2, Aliennators, and Contaminator.

Although the film was promoted as an offshoot of James Cameron’s The Terminator, it is actually mostly a rip-off of Aliens, also directed by Cameron.

Venice, Italy: A team of Mega Force marines, a tough female civilian and an orphaned girl battle monsters beneath the Venice canals while being chased by an indestructible killer cyborg…

Reviews:

“Shocking Dark doesn’t have much of a plot, at least not of the coherent variety, and it rips off movies that are much better. It also features lots and lots of shouting and some of the most hysterical line readings in the history of cinema. And there’s plenty of cheap, fun gore — it is a Bruno Mattei film after all.” Chris Coffel, Bloody Disgusting

“Shocking Dark is just bat guano crazy a lot of the time, bolstered by hyperbolic line readings, lots of screaming, and a production design that is equal parts Ed Wood and not quite ready for prime time Star Trek: The Original Series.” Jeffrey Kauffman, Blu-ray.com

“Basically this is just an hour and a half of non-acting entities running around darkened corridors blowing mutants away with pump action shotguns and screaming incessantly […] Aliens, Terminators, shotguns, gore, absurdness and Bruno Mattei all together in one low budget shlockfest of awesome.” Cool Target

“Shocking Dark’s biggest asset is its blatant plagiarism; if it didn’t hew so close to Cameron’s world it would be just another cheap knock off released at a time when the cinematic universe was littered with them. The film’s audacity sets it apart and gives it a sheen that others simply don’t have; the viewer has no choice but to compare, and the end result is a compulsion to praise it rather than admonish.” Scott Drebit, Daily Dead

“Don’t expect to see anything but men in gooey rubber suits menacing the cast, but there’s a charm to the effort that made me love these ugly suckers. Mattei doesn’t hold them back for the finale, either; these things are the xenomorphs of the film and they are shown often and, perhaps unwisely, in good lighting.” Anthony Arrigo, Dread Central

” …one must admire a movie which has the audacity to name a character “Samuel Fuller”. On the other hand, there’s some racist statements here which probably wouldn’t fly today. From the costumes to the locations to the acting to the dialogue, everything here is Grade-Z, but if you think that you’ve seen the bottom of the Italian barrel, prepare to be shocked.” Mike Long, DVD Sleuth

” …one hell of an entertaining fright flick in it’s own right, due mainly from a game performance from the legendary Geretta Geretta, fun creature suits, amazingly cheesy (yet amazingly awesome) costuming… the whole thing plays out like a bizarre, alternate reality…” Horror Fuel

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com

“Anyone familiar with Mattei and company should have a basic idea of what to expect here: stilted acting, nutty plot twists, lots of padding with actors roaming dark sets, and screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. The rubbery, Sid and Marty Krofft-style monsters are actually fun when they pop up and show more variety than you’d expect, and it actually becomes a fun game trying to catch every single lift from other movies…” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital

Cast and characters:

• Christopher Ahrens [as Cristofer Ahrens] … Samuel Fuller
• Haven Tyler [as Geretta Giancarlo Field] … Dr. Sara Drumbull
• Geretta Geretta … Koster – Demons
• Fausto Lombardi [as Tony Lombardo]… Lieutentant Franzini
• Mark Steinborn … Captain Dalton Bond
• Dominica Coulson … Samantha Raphelson
• Clive Riche [as Clive Ricke] … Drake
• Paul Norman Allen … Kowalsky
• Cortland Reilly … Caine
• Richard Ross … Price
• Bruce McFarland … Colonel Parson
• Richard Berkeley [as Richard Bercheley] … First Scientist
• John Champion … Second Scientist
• Massimo Vanni [as Alex McBride]… First Soldier
• Elain Richmond … Speaker

Release:

Until 2018, the film had never been released on video in the United States for legal reasons. However, it was been released on VHS in countries such as Japan, Brazil and Italy itself.

Severin Films released the film on Blu-ray on May 29, 2018.

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‘Another world awaits’

Darken is a 2017 Canadian science fiction horror feature film directed by Audrey Cummings (She Never Died; Tormented) from a screenplay by RJ Lackie. It was produced by Shaftesbury Films’ Smokebomb Entertainment.

The movie stars Bea Santos, Oluniké Adeliyi, Christine Horne, Paul Amos, and Ari Millen. Natasha Negovanlis makes a cameo appearance.

In 2018, an eleven-part limited digital series (acting as a prequel to the film), called Darken: Before the Dark was released on KindaTV.

After a young woman – Eve (Bea Santos) – is accosted by a dying warrior in the middle of the street, a bizarre incantation propels her into the realm of Darken – a violent prison-like world of labyrinthine rooms, interconnected with no apparent rhyme or reason and no way of escape.

As Eve fights for survival within this brutal place, she finds allies who are rebelling against the rule of a self-appointed religious despot who demands allegiance to an all-powerful god called “Mother Darken.” Eve and her allies must fight with everything they have if they are to have any hope of surviving the horrors Darken has in store for them…

Reviews:

“With a story penetrated by plot holes, slightly substandard cinematography, as well as the majority of the portrayals of the film’s rather insipid and inconsistent characters, Darken could only be described as “just missing the mark.” Darkenappeared to be a more ambitious project than what was capably executable. ” Misty Wallace, Cryptic Rock

“As long as you accept the presentation at face value, Darken’s ambitious ideas retain their entertainment weight. It’s a toss up if you’ll want a return ticket to this weird world. But one time through its portal is worth the trip.” Ian Sedensky, Culture Crypt

“The plot itself is fairly different with the twists, turns and places it goes. While some of its ideas could certainly use fleshing out it’s still unusual and interesting enough to hold your interest and builds to a finish that for once deserves its open ending.” Jim Morazzini, Voices from the Balcony

“Screenwriter RJ Lackie must’ve missed the tutorial on how to elaborate on ordinary details in special ways.  His derivative script hardly provides any decent characterization – making the film’s exposition hard for viewers to comprehend or care for – and he’s also written roles to match basic cutouts found in generic action thrillers.” Addison Wylie, Wylie Writes

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