Blu-ray Review: V/H/S HALLOWEEN (2025)

V/H/S HALLOWEEN

Directed by:  Bryan M. Ferguson, Casper Kelly, R.H. Norman, Alex Ross Perry, Micheline Pitt-Norman, Paco Plaza, and Anna Zlokovic

Distributed by:  Acorn Media International /AMC - SHUDDER

 If I have counted correctly, V/H/S HALLOWEEN marks the 8th entry into the V/H/S movie franchise.  Now normally by the 8th installment in a franchise, the films get pretty bad.  I am happy to report that the V/H/S series is still going well and strong in my opinion!  

  

 I reviewed the last installment in the V/H/S franchise, V/H/S BEYOND, almost a year ago exactly!  You can see that review HERE.   I like how these latest installments in the V/H/S franchise are all themed towards a particular subject.    The last installment, BEYOND, was an anthology of shorts all centered around aliens.   This latest installment is an anthology all about Halloween! 

 Here is the basic plot synopsis of the film(s) courtesy of the Acorn Media International press release:

V/H/S/Halloween introduces a collection of wickedly watchable tales of terror from a host of renowned filmmakers including Bryan M. Ferguson (Pumpkin Guts), Anna Zlokovic (Appendage), Paco Plaza (Verónica, [Rec]), Casper Kelly (Adult Swim Yule Log), Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell), Micheline Pitt-Norman (Grummy) and R.H. Norman (Haji).  

 

Kicking off with Coochie Coochie Coo, written and directed by Anna Zlokovic – we meet two high school trick or treaters, dressed as babies who come face to face with a malevolent spirit known as ‘The Mommy’ – an urban legend who supposedly kidnaps children from their homes on the spookiest night of the year. 

 

Next up is Paco Plaza’s Ut Supra Sic Infra where Enric – the sole survivor of a Halloween party massacre – accompanies police to the original crime scene to try and help them reconstruct the events of that fateful night – but unbeknownst to them, evil entities await them inside. 

 

Halloween candy takes on a new life in Casper Kelly’s Fun Size, as four friends on the hunt for sweet treats are swallowed up by a candy bowl.. They emerge in a parallel reality where sweets rule supreme and humans are turned into sugary snacks. 

 

Kidprint – from writer-director Alex Ross Perry – takes an even darker turn, feeding into the all too real fear of kidnappings. When disturbing secrets about a local video store that specialises in creating video IDs which can be used to help search for missing children come to light, every parent’s worst fears are about to come true. 

 

A homemade house of horrors comes to life in Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman’s Home Haunt as a family construct their annual haunted house for Halloween. But the fun ritual takes a deadly turn when a spooky stolen record makes the decorations come to life, wreaking paranormal havoc on the guests. 

 

Bryan M. Ferguson’s frame narrative Diet Phantasma weaves through the feature, with each segment documenting a group of taste trial participants who face life-threatening side effects from a new kind of diet soda. 

 

Grab your sweet bucket and press play on V/H/S/Halloween for another round of truly disturbing found footage nightmares centred around every horror fiend’s favourite time of the year. 

 

  While all of the shorts were very entertaining, I did have my favorites.  Anna Zlokovic's COOCHIE CHOOCHIE COO was probably my favorite entry in this collection.   There were so many disturbing images in this film, as the girls go from room to room trying to find a way out of this house of horrors that they are trapped in.   It was super creepy and the first person perspective made it seem as though the viewer themselves are going through this super creepy house. The "mother" in this house was one of the creepiest creatures I have seen put to film....something about her really got under my skin.  I think this film has also turned me off of drinking milk forever!  You'll have to watch this segment to understand that reference! 

  Another favorite of mine was Paco Plaza's UT SUPRA SIC INFRA.   The survivor of a Halloween party massacre takes detectives and police to the scene of the crime, hoping they can get some memories to resurface so they can find out exactly what happened that night.  Little do they know, they will get more than just memories from that night.  They will get an encore performance!   This one was really creepy and had some amazing effects.   

 Bryan M. Ferguson's DIET PHANTASMA was also a lot of fun.  This is the film that starts and ends the movie, and has a view segments in between the other films.   Basically it a group of kids in a lab testing this new drink called Diet Phantasma.  It's marketed that it's made from real ghosts!  Ha!  Well, something about this drink is spooky for sure, as all the kids that drink it have some very vile and disgusting reactions!

 While these were my favorites, all the entries in this V/H/S film are very strong and very entertaining.  Most all contain some great effects and gore.  

  I'm so glad to see that the V/H/S series is still going strong, and I look forward to any future installments for sure!

 

 V/H/S HALLOWEEN will be released on April 7th, 2026 and contains the following Special Features:

*  Filmmaker Commentaries

*  Behind the Scenes:  Diet Phantasma & Coochi Coo

*  KidPrint Deleted Scenes

*  Diet Phantasma Uninterrupted Cut

*  Diet Phantasma Commercial

*  Diet Phantasma Gallery

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

Blu-ray Review: MARK OF THE WEREWOLF (2025)

MARK OF THE WEREWOLF

Written & Directed by:  Dennis Vincent

Distributed by:  DVF

  Back in November, I reviewed an independent horror film called RAGE OF THE MUMMY from writer/director Dennis Vincent.   You can find that review here.   It was a surprisingly good film, made by someone you could tell had a passion for the horror genre.   Vincent's latest film is MARK OF THE WEREWOLF.   You could tell that Mr. Vincent tried to go bigger with this film, but it still has that passionate feel about it.  Here is the basic plot from the DVF website:

 Brooke Meadows, a fashion model and actress from New York City, sets out on a photoshoot in the country where things take an unexpected and sobering turn in this unique and highly original werewolf movie.

  One thing I loved about RAGE OF THE MUMMY, was it's family friendly feel to it.  That film was tame enough to show to kids of all ages, and was a great introduction into horror.  This time around, we are treated to a more grown up type horror film.  This one is not for the kiddos!   MARK OF THE WEREWOLF has a lot of great gore, and what looked to me like all practical effects.   There is also some brief nudity and a sex scene, although it's very tame.  I am just pointing these out since they are so different from Vincent's previous film. 

  Once again Director Dennis Vincent creates a film that feels like you're watching a comic book, like something out of the pages of Creepshow.   The use of colors in the film is something that popped out immediately,  he has a very cool style to his films.   The creature effects are pretty good, especially for a low budget independent film.  

  Overall this is a fun werewolf film, but just when I thought it was going to end being your typical werewolf film, the film spins out of control with a crazy twist ending that I never saw coming!   I won't go into that anymore, as I don't want to ruin the surprise, but it is worth checking out for sure!   

  Needless to say, I am a big fan of Mr. Vincent's films and look forward to any future projects he does!   

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray

Blu-ray Reveiw: DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS (1975)

DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS

Directed by:  Greg Corarito

Distributed by:  VCI Entertainment / MVD Entertainment

 The 1970's was such an interesting decade for entertainment.  You had so many different genres that were popular within those ten years.   Think of music that was popular.  You had Southern Rock, Funk, R&B, and the outbreak of Disco toward the end.   Movies were the same way.  You had some of the greatest horror films of all time, think TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and the EXORCIST, but then mixed in with these serious films was the Exploitation boom.   

  Exploitation films came on fast in the 1970's, and  really only lasted for that decade, with a few outliers here and there.  One of the most notable exploitation sub-genres was the Nazisploitation films.   Think films like the ILSA series, SS EXPERIEMTN LOVE CAMP,  and SALON KITTY just to name a few.  Nunsploitation films were also huge in the 1970's, with films such as BEHIND CONVENT WALLS,  THE DEVILS,  ALUCARDA, and SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST.  The most popular exploitation films, though, was probably the Women in prison films.  There were films in this sub-genre way before the 1970's and lasted well into the 1980's, but they were definitely at the height of their popularity in the 1970's with such films as THE BIG BIRD CAGE,  THE BIG DOLL HOUSE, and CAGED HEAT among countless other titles.  

  This brings us to our subject for review today, Greg Corarito's 1975 exploitation feature, DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS, a.k.a. CARNAL MADNESS.    While definitely an exploitation film, this one doesn't really fit into any sub-genre of exploitation films.   It's definitely a unique one, although it contains all the tropes of your typical exploitation film. 

 Here is the basic plot synopsis of the film, from the VCI Entertainment website:

Our protagonists in this K-Mart budgeted cinematic carrion are escapees from an insane asylum! One is an ex-baseball player turned rapist, another is gay, and the ringleader is a low-rent impressionist. When they stumble upon an all-girls school, antisocial behavior with these siliconed “students” ensues, but with a twist – the busty babes know karate!

  As I mentioned before, this is a very unique exploitation film, that doesn't fall into any certain sub-genre.   There is no doubt by watching it that it is an exploitation film, though, as there is really no substance to the film whatsoever.  The films is basically an excuse for the 3 escaped insane asylum members to torment beautiful women in some sadistic ways.   What's interesting about this film, though, is that it is more "comedic" than most exploitation films of this time.   I put "comedic" in quotations because it is supposed to be comedic, but really misses it's mark there in my opinion.    One of the escaped asylum patients is a comedian, specializing in impressions.  Although if his regular comedy routine is as bad as his impressions are, I don't want to hear it!   His impressions are laughably bad.  Instead of the producers hiring an actual impressionist, they must have just hired an actor and told him he is going to do impressions in this film.  They are laughable in the wrong way for sure!

  Another weird thing about this film, is that in some scenes where they are terrorizing the women, the women like it, or end up liking it at some point.    In one scene, after all the violence and raping is done, the three escaped patients and the women they just abused are all sitting around a table drinking, laughing, and playing cards!   

  I've seen some weird exploitation films in my lifetime, but this ranks up there among the weirdest for me!   It's a strange movie for sure, but an interesting one, and is a time capsule into the strange cinema of the 70's.  

 DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS is available now from VCI Entertainment and contains the following Special Features:

• *  Two original theatrical trailers for Delinquent Schoolgirls.
• *  Archival Commentary track by Bob Minor, Actor and Stuntman, with psychotronic expert, Elijah Drenner.
• *  Video Featurette 'Psychotronica: Dive into Cult Cinema'.
• *  2-Sided Coverwrap.

CLICK HERE TO purchase the Blu-ray from VCI Entertainment

CLICK HERE TO purchase the Blu-ray from MVD Entertainment

Blu-ray Review: LUTHER THE GEEK (1989)

LUTHER THE GEEK

Directed by:  Carlton J. Albright

Distributed by:  Troma Films / MVD Entertainment

 If you are familiar with Troma Films, you usually know what to expect going into a film.  There is a difference, though, in a true Troma produced film and one that Troma just picked up the distribution rights to.  A Troma produced film are films such as THE TOXIC AVENGER, TROMEO AND JULIET,  CLASS OF NUKE'EM HIGH, and POULTRYGEIST, just to name a few.  They are silly and crude (think lot of bathroom humor).   LUTHER THE GEEK does not fit your normal Troma Film stereo type, as this is just one that they picked up the distribution rights to.  Now don't get me wrong, I love the crazy Troma films and all their non-pc humor, but this film is just not that kind, so I wanted you to be aware of that for sure.  While I wouldn't say this is a serious horror film by any means  (the killer does bawk like a chicken most of the film), but it is more serious compared to those above mentioned Troma titles. 

Before I go any further, here is the basic plot of the film from courtesy of the Troma Films website:

A young country boy is plunged into the depts of homicidal madness after witnessing the strange expolits of a carnival “geek,” a caged drunk so desperate for whisky that he bites the heads off live chickens in front of a freak show audience. Thirty years later, Luther is all grown up and out on parole, after spending his childhood behind bars for a series of grisly murders. Armed with only a pair of razor-sharp metal dentures and only able to communicate thorugh chicken clucks, Luther restarts his bloody rampage as he terrorizes the citizens of a small town and takes a young mother and her family hostage in their isolated farmhouse.

  I had no clue what to expect going into this one.   As much as I love Troma Films, and collect them, this is one I had never seen.  I've owned the DVD for years, but had just never got around to watching it.  I was glad when the newly released Blu-ray arrived for review, as it gave me an excuse to watch this film finally.  I had been curious about it for years, and after watching it,  I'm a little upset it took me this long to see it.  

  

  LUTHER THE GEEK is an excellent horror film from the 1980's.   While it barely counts as an 80's horror film having been released in 1989, it definitely has the 80's horror movie feel to it.    One thing I was really impressed with was the gore and the amounts of it.  Luther made himself some dentures with metal teeth filed down to sharp points, so he can really do some damage!  And boy does he do some damage!   He uses his new metal teeth to go on a killing spree, with his method of choice being to rip out the neck and jugular of his victims.   Actor Edward Terry does a remarkable job and plays this part of a twisted killer to perfection.  He gives off such a creepy vibe, especially when he is taunting his victims with his clucks and bawks like a chicken. 

 One thing to note here, this is Director Carlton J Albright's only Directing credit on IMDb.  I find that very odd, as this was such a well made film, especially for it's time.   I would have loved to see what else he could of done with more horror films.   He did write and produce one of my all time favorite (yet little known) horror movies, THE CHILDREN. That film came out in 1980 and is a must see.   If  you haven't seen THE CHILDREN or LUTHER THE GEEK, get both and make a night of it with an amazing double feature!  

 

 LUTHER THE GEEK is available now on Blu-ray and contains the following Special Features:

• * Original Lloyd Kaufman DVD Intro
• * Carlton J. Albright’s Blu-Ray Intro
• * Director’s Commentary with Carlton J. Albright
• * Classic Interview With Director Carlton J. Albright
• * Classic Interview with William Albright
• * A Conversation With Carlton: An Interview With Carlton Albright
• * Fowl Play: An Interview With Jerry Clarke
• * Fowl Takes
• * Troma’s Freak Show
• * INNARDS! Music Video
• * Radiation March
• * Troma Trailers

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray