DVD Review: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Directed by George A. Romero
Distributed by Cheezy Flicks

 If you consider yourself a true horror fan, then there is no possible way you have never heard or seen George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.  Most people consider this film to be the first true zombie film, and it is definitely the film that ushered in the modern zombie film.    Here is the basic plot from the Cheezy Flicks website:

  Barbra and Johnny visit their father's grave in a remote cemetery when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbra manages to get away and takes refuge in what seems to be an abandoned farm house. She is soon joined by Ben who stopped at the house in need of gad. Beset by the walking dead all around them Ben does his best to secure the doors and windows. The news reports are grim however with creatures returning to life everywhere. Barbra and Ben are surprised when they realize there are 5 people hiding out in the basement: Harry, Helen, and Judy Copper; and a young couple, Tom and Judy. Dissension sets in almost immediately with Harry Cooper wanting to be in charge. As their situation deteriorates, their chances of surviving the night lessen minute by minute.

  While there are many releases of this zombie classic, I have to say that this is my favorite cover art of any of the NOTLD releases to date.   I love the simplicity of the title on the gravestone and the single skeleton hand rising from the grave.     I doubt I really need to talk much about the film itself, as most everyone has seen it I would hope.  It is a classic zombie film that doesn't need the blood and gore like more modern zombie films.  What it lacks in gore it makes up for in atmosphere and suspense.   This is such an important part of film history, and a copy of this DVD belongs in every horror collectors collections for sure.

  One other reason for picking up this release is an exclusive interview with George Romero as a special feature on this DVD.   It's a lot of fun and lets you see the lighter side of Mr. Romero.
 
  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is available now for only $5 from Cheezy Flicks!   Grab your copy today!


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

DVD Review: MARK OF THE DEVIL

 
MARK OF THE DEVIL
Written & Directed by Michael Armstrong &  Adrian Hoven
Distributed by Cheezy Flicks Entertainment

I love old horror films, especially ones from the 70's and 80's.  They just don't make
them like that anymore.    MARK OF THE DEVIL is from 1970 and is truly a horror classic.  I had often hear of this film, but had never had the opportunity to check it out until now.  Here is the basic plot of the film from the Cheezy Flicks website:

Banned in many countries!  - Udo Kier is a witch hunter apprentice to Herbert Lom. Udo believes strongly in his mentor and in the ways of the church but loses faith when he catches Lom strangle a man to death for calling him impotent. Kier begins to see for himself that the witch trials are nothing but a scam of the church to seduce women, rob people of their land, money, and other personal belongings. in the end, the towns people revolt, Herbert Llom escapes and poor Udo is tortured to death by the towns people with the his own devices from the dungeon.  - Rated 'V' for violence - this film contains very strong graphic torture!

I was actually surprised at how well the torture scenes held up.  I assumed they would all be super cheesy and look just awful, considering the age of this film, but that was not the case.   The gore looks good and some of the  torture scenes are downright cringe-worthy, especially a scene of two women being burned alive at the stake, due to being accused of being witches.  

 The acting in this movie is pretty good from all actors.  The film reminds me of the old Hammer films, and some of the beautiful, busty actresses could easily be Hammer actresses. 
 
  At 96 minutes, the movie moves along well and has very few dull parts.  Overall, I would highly recommend this film.   This is a welcome addition to my DVD library, and is a film I will be watching again in the near future. 

  Cheezy Flicks has this DVD at the ridiculous price of only $3.99 at the time of this writing.  The DVD comes with a vomit bag, a recreation of the vomit bags handed out in theaters back when the movie was originally released.

Check out the Cheezy Flicks website for crazy cheap deals on this DVD and other great classic films!


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

 

DVD Review: SHE FREAK (1967)

SHE FREAK
Directed by:  Byron Mabe
Distributed by:  Cheezy Flicks

  I had heard about the movie SHE FREAK for many years, but have just never had the chance (or made the time) to watch it.  I really didn't know anything about it, but I was very intrigued when I heard it was a loose interpretation/remake of the 1932 Tod Browning film, FREAKS.  

  FREAKS is one of my all time favorite films, so I knew I had to check out SHE FREAK.  Here is the basic plot from the Cheezy Flicks website:

Claire Brennen stars as a discontent waitress working in a small-town greasy diner, and looking for something more. When the circus comes to town, she finds herself attracted to its excitement - and secures a job with the traveling show as a food service worker. As the circus moves on, and she with it, life seems to be going well - new friends, steady work, a romance or two, and eventually a new husband - but she discovers that she despises the freaks and human oddities of the side shows, and uses her marriage to the Circus' owner to take control of the carnival. Now she must strike a balance between profit and patience, as the carnies and side show freaks set out to exact revenge on her for her Gestapo-like management techniques -- FREAK STYLE!

I enjoyed this film a lot, mainly for it's nostalgic feel, as it was filmed in 1967.  Be warned, though....do not go in to this film expecting another brilliant masterpiece like Tod Browing's film.  You will be disappointed.  This is a very watered down version of the film and doesn't really even use that many real "freaks" like Browning's film did.   While not nearly as good of a film overall, I think this film actually improves on the ending when the carnies get their revenge on the owner's wife.   In FREAKS, they turn the lady into a some sort of chicken like creature if I remember correctly.  In this film, they turn the woman in a half burned/scarred thing with one bugling eye.  Very creepy image and very good makeup effects for this time period.

This is a fun film that I would recommend...especially at the crazy price that Cheezy Films is selling it for over on their website  ($2.99!!!).  Not sure how long that price will last, so visit Cheezy Flicks to buy this film or any of their other great films they sell. 


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

DVD Review: FAN OF THE DEAD (2007)

-------------Review by contributing writer Scott Baker------------------
   
FAN OF THE DEAD
Distributed by:  Cheezy Flicks

  Let’s face it: to fans like me, George Romero is almost a deity. The man has an amazing imagination and his track record of films prove it. He is a myth, a legend, and a reality, all rolled into one. So when Hayes offered me this documentary to review, I knew it was right for me.

 

  If you’re not familiar with FAN OF THE DEAD, here is the plot synopsis courtesy of the Cheezy Flicks website:

 

  In 1968, George Romero traumatized a whole generation with his legendary and revolutionary "Night of the Living Dead", which truly marks the birth of modern horror movies. This movie was followed by the cult classic "Dawn of the Dead" in 1978 and the apocalyptical "Day of the Dead" in 1985 and Night of the Living Dead (1990). The George Romero trilogy became instant classics. With a worldwide community of fans, the phenomenon is not without evoking the Star Wars mania! Camera in hand, Nicolas Garreau crossed the Atlantic Ocean from France to realize his dream. Roaming the steep roads day and night of a sometimes lugubrious Pennsylvania countryside, he found the locations and people who made the Romero zombie trilogy come alive. This DVD contains exclusive interviews with cast and crew members and reveals all the filming locations of the trilogy including locations not known to the public, like the missile launch pad of "Day of the Dead" and the real basement used in "Night of the Living Dead - 1968", a guided tour of the mall with Ken Foree and others, along with extras and bonus footage.

 

  I was surprised to find out that this documentary was actually a French-made production. The narrator/director is Nicolas Garreau and this film is actually a compilation of video clips that he put together from a trip he made to the United States a few years back. But what makes Garreau’s trip unique is that he used it to visit several of the filming locations of Romero’s films.

 

  In addition to the DEAD films, Romero had other noted works, such as CREEPSHOW. Garreau visits several locations in the DEAD genre as well as a couple from CREEPSHOW as well. During each visit, he manages to squeeze in some history as well as notable facts for each location.

 

  Probably the best section of FAN OF THE DEAD for me was when Garreau visits the Pittsburgh Comic Convention and gets to interact with several of the stars of the original DAWN OF THE DEAD, including Ken Foree and David Early. He then gets to tag along with them as they visit the mall where much of the film was shot. The stars point out specific locations for scenes in the film and tell interesting stories about the shoot as well.

 

  Because it’s a documentary, there’s really nothing to note as far as cinematography, acting, or special effects go. But there is plenty of information crammed into this hour-long film. Give this one a look if you want to see one man’s pilgrimage to his zombie-Graceland. 

 

-MSB-

 

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to visit the film's official website
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

It's not too late to order your 2012 Pinup Monsters Calendar!!

 

Hey guys and ghouls!  I just thought with the new year here, you might be needing a new calendar to adorn your walls with.  I know what you are probably thinking...."I want a calendar with pinup girls on it, but I also want a horror movie related calendar".  Well fret no more, because now you can have both!!  Trionic Entertainment  has created the amazing 2012 PINUP MONSTERS CALENDAR!!   Here is the official description of the calendar:

Classic movie monsters with a sexy pinup twist. This 12 month calendar combines iconic monsters from the golden age of movies with the classic style of pinup photography. 12 beautiful women recreating classic pinup poses for the horror or pinup lover.

The calendar is on sale over at the Cheezy Flicks website for only $10.99  (plus shipping, I assume).  The back page of this calendar is also a full 12-month 2013 calendar, so you can actually enjoy this calendar for 2 years!!  Get yours today before they are gone!

CLICK HERE to order your Pinup Monsters 2012 Calendar

DVD Review: BLOODSUCKING NAZI ZOMBIES (1981)

BLOODSUCKING NAZI ZOMBIES
Directed by:  Jesus Franco
Distributed by:  Cheezy Flicks

This might be the best title of a Zombie flick I have ever seen!  BLOODSUCKING NAZI ZOMBIES is also known as OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES, but I like that the great folks at Cheezy Flicks went with the BLOODSUCKING NAZI ZOMBIES.   That is just an awesome title.  Now...if only the movie were as good as the title......

Here is the plot from the Cheezy Flicks website:

During World War II, a small German squadron was assigned the task of carrying a shipment of Nazi gold across the African dessert. Along the way, the squadron was ambushed by the Allies, and only one American survived who knew the secret. Years later, the American survivor tells his story to a cutthroat German treasure hunter, who promptly murders him. The American survivor's son, upon learning of his father's death, vows to travel to Africa and find the lost gold himself. While the desert is hazardous enough by itself, the dangers lurking around this oasis are more than any of the treasure hunters flesh eating Nazi zombies stand in their way to an unknown fortune.

So the movie wasn't as good as that awesome title led me to believe it might be, but it was still a pretty good movie overall.   I bet this was considered an especially good zombie flick back in 1981 when it came out, unfortunately I think it just hasn't held up over the past 30 years like some superior zombie films from the 70's and 80's have  (DAWN OF THE DEAD, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, for example). 

The main problem I had with this film was from a technical aspect.  The movie was very grainy and out of focus at times and even had some "tracking" issues which I didn' even know was possible on a DVD.  It is basically like watching an old VHS tape.  While sometimes that can be cool and kinda nostalgic, here it was just really annoying.  It looked almost like to make this DVD they just recorded the film off a TV while they played an old VHS tape of the film.  The film was so dark in parts that you couldn't even see what was going on.

BUT.....the parts you could see were really good.   There is a bunch of dialog, so you gotta get past that, but once you get to the zombies, you are in for a treat!  The zombie make up is actually really good....much better than what I expected to see.  Some of the zombies reminded me of those from Fulci's ZOMBIE,  including the squiggling worms in the eye sockets!   Real worms add a huge amount of realism to seeing a freshly exhumed zombie, I wish more zombie films practiced the art of putting live worms on their zombies!!

So, overall, this was just an OK zombie flick.  Nothing too special, but not horrible either.  I think this is definitely worth a watch.  While not all horror fans will enjoy this one, you zombie fans should at least check this out for the great zombie effects if nothing else.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

DVD Review: STRIPPERLAND (2011)

STRIPPERLAND
Directed by:  Sean Skelding
Distributed by:  Cheezy Flicks

"First They Dance, Then They Kill!"

I just watched the latest flick from Cheezy Flicks Entertainment, and if there is one word that can sum up this film, it is F-U-N!   STRIPPERLAND is a take off of ZOMBIELAND except instead of just people turning into zombies, well now some virus or something is causing just women to turn into zombies...and strippers.   Here is the official plot from the Cheezy Flicks website:

In a world where women have turned into exhibitionist man-eaters, a small band of survivors must make their way to the safety of the West Coast. Along the way, they encounter hordes of ravenous half-dressed strippers. Will they survive, or be eaten alive by millions of pole dancing zombies?

As stated above, the film is an obvious spin off or spoof of the film ZOMBIELAND, a film most Horror fans should be familiar with.  The film has many similarities, in that a dorky kid meets up with a cool dude and meets up with 2 girls along the way.  They all work together to fight off the hordes of zombie strippers...or stripper zombies.  

Ben Sheppard plays the dorky role of Idaho and plays it well.  He is one of the better of the actors in this film in my opinion and has some of the funniest lines.  He has his set of rules for dealing with stripper zombies, and they are popped up on screen for you to see, just like they were in ZOMBIELAND.  

Along with the obvious comedy in the film, STRIPPERLAND has a great amount of gore in it.  Tons of shotgun blasts the guts and heads of the stripper zombies and blood flying everywhere!  My only complaint was the most all the blood/gore was CGI instead of practical effects, but I understand the necessity of it, especially on a low budget film such as this (imdb lists the estimated budget at $500,000).

The film also includes a lot of notable cameos from some of Horror's most famous icons, including scream queen Linnea Quigley, Troma's head honcho Lloyd Kaufman, and a great cameo from Boyd Banks (Dawn of the Dead remake, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead) as a pimp, one of the funniest scenes in the film in my opinion. Also, I have to mention that one of the infamous Baldwin brothers (Daniel) makes an appearance here as rapper named Double D.  And just as an F.Y.I...his rapping skills are about as good as his acting skills....maybe even worse! HA! 

Daniel Baldwin rapping aside, this is a great movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.  The film had a funny ending that set it up perfectly for a sequel.   I would recommend this film for all you who like a little comedy with their Horror, and a little zombie with their strippers...or vice versa.


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchas the DVD

DVD Review: THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT (2010)

-------------Review by contributing writer Scott Baker------------------

THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT
Directed by:  James Baack
Distributed by:  Cheezy Flicks

THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT is one of those movies that defies all logical convention: it is a two-hour-and-forty-five minute travesty that somehow found distribution. And although the film sucks almost three hours of your life away, my review in turn will be much shorter.

This movie officially replaces my Worst Movie of 2011 selection (see Bikini Vampire Babes review here). Not only does this movie suck, it sucks for ALMOST THREE HOURS. Wow. I didn't know something could piss me off that long but THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT proves that it can.

The subject matter alone is something that will not interest most people. I've seen several Bigfoot movies and NONE of them have been able to hold my attention. I mean, if you want to make a movie about something cryptozological, then pick a creature that no one has done a movie on before. Or hell, even make one up. And if you absolutely must make one on Bigfoot, at least try to make it interesting.

Aside from the ho-hum subject matter, the title is extremely inappropriate, not to mention misleading. There is no rage to speak of, let alone much blood. And the blood we do get to see is nothing more than water with pink dye in it...or something similar. I am more disappointed in these special effects than I was with Zombies by Design (see review here). I kept yelling at the screen, "Come on, guys...at least TRY to make it look real!"

The acting in this film is beyond horrible, with most of the cast fumbling through a poorly written script and then glancing at the camera every few minutes, I guess to make sure they were still in the shot or something. And when they're not bumbling their lines, they're improvising something lame that doesn't make much sense to the movie. Bad acting I can overlook, IF the story and/or action is good...THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT unfortunately fails at all three.

Now for the editing. Damn...I wish the guy(s) that cut the film would have stayed awake while working on it. I mean, falling asleep is the only excuse I can come up with for all of the errors that were allowed in to the final cut. There's one scene in particular that sticks out in my head: towards the beginning of the movie, Satantha and Lucy-fur are running to get into a stolen car...but both girls run to the driver's side. Satantha stops at the driver's side door, turns back to the camera, and then says with a giggle, "Oops...I went to the wrong side." The scene then cuts away. I rolled my eyes and tried to keep from kicking my MacBook across the room. Like I said: "Come on, guys...at least TRY!"

The main reason this film pisses me off so badly is because of its length. It would have been one thing if it were an hour and a half long and sucked...but almost three hours? I can't believe I wasted so much time on this piece of trash. I want that time back and so does my laptop.

To sum up, THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT is the worst movie I've seen so far this year, and will be tough to beat out for that title. I'm not sure if the producers were setting out to make a comedy or a true-to-form horror movie, but it failed miserably on both fronts. It's almost cliche to say, but THE BLOODY RAGE OF BIGFOOT almost sent me into a rage-blackout. Don't bother to give this one a look.


CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD
CLICK HERE to visit the official website and watch the trailer

Check out the 2011 ZOMBIE PIN-UPS CALENDAR !

H
Do you like pin-up girls? Of course you do! Do you like Zombies? Duh!! Then you are going to love the 2011 ZOMBIE PIN-UPS CALENDAR from Cheezyflicks.com! This calendar mixes the best of both worlds, sexy women and Zombies, to create an awesome 12 month wall calendar. The calendar features 12 gorgeous pin-up Zombie models, all in different stages of zombification! This is another great Horror themed calendar that any Horror fan will want to get their hands on! What a cool collectible to have, even after the year is through!


CLICK HERE to purchase the 2011 ZOMBIE PIN-UPS CALENDAR for only $9.99 (+ shipping)

DVD Review: SAVAGE WEEKEND (1979)

Title: SAVAGE WEEKEND

Distributor: Cheezy Flicks

Written and Directed by: David Paulsen

I have to admit, I had never heard of this film before. I thought I was pretty aware of most every Horror film, esp those from the late 70's and 80's, the greatest era of Horror films in my opinion. Somehow I didn't know about this one.

Here is the basic plot from the Cheezy Flicks website:

Nicky, Shirley, Marie, and two others from NYC travel deep into upstate New York for a long weekend vacation. Once at their destination they mix with Otis, Mac Macauley, and some locals who offer supplies, lumber, eggs, erotic cow-milking lessons, and they even like to tell strange tales. While the weekend vacationers have their fun with fishing, boating, nude sunbathing, relieving their sexual frustrations, and throwing costume dinner parties, there also marks the appearance of a masked killer who is dead set on ruining this weekend with whatever weapons are handy.

Ok, so maybe there is a reason I didn't know about this one. Any film that involving "erotic cow-milking" probably isn't going to be a mainstream Horror film. This is probably one of the strangest Horror films I have ever seen. Does that make it bad? No. Does that make it good? Well, No. This films falls somewhere in between. I have always liked weird films. Slasher flicks that follow the same plot line can get pretty boring, so at least this one changes things up a bit. Overall, compared to other slasher films this is pretty tame in terms of the killings. There are only a few kills and there is very little blood overall. This is a not a film for gore hounds. This almost reminds me of an old Italian Giallo film mixed with a slasher in the woods film. I think after watching this film, that will make more sense.

Now, that being said, there are a few memorable scenes, one involving a chainsaw, and the other is a scene of a woman being branded with a red hot branding iron. While most films would cut away and just show the end result, this film shows you the entire thing. This was a very good effect and looked very realistic for an older, low budget film. Congrats to the special effects crew on that shot alone.

The masked killer was another highlight....although he only shows up in the last half of the film, I really enjoyed the scenes he was involved in. The killers mask is very creepy looking, sort of a cross between Leatherface and Michael Myers.

With a larger budget and some more kills, this could have been a classic, unfortunately it falls a little short overall. While I don't think most mainstream Horror fans will like this one, I think there is a section of Horror fans out there looking for something different, and who like weird, off the wall films. This definitely falls into that latter category, and fans of obscure 70's Horror films should give this one a try.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Cheezy Flicks