DVD Review: BLOOD SCARAB (2008)

BLOOD SCARAB is another film from writer/director Donald F. Glut and Frontline Entertainment. Here is the basic plot from the Frontline DVD:

To exit in daylight, Elizabeth Bathroy, the infamous Blood Countess and widow of legendary vampire Count Dracula, makes a blood pact with an Egyptian goddess that involves three lovely victimes and a living Mummy! A centuries old craving collides with an ancient curse in this horrific climax to Frontline Entertainment's COUNTESS DRACULA and MUMMY'S KISS series.

As with most all of Mr. Gluts films, expect some sub-par acting, and lot of naked women. Expect some cheesy special effects and some silly plot lines. But, you can also expect to be entertained, as I have been with all of the Frontline Entertainment films I have seen. And isn't that what a movie is supposed to do? So on that merit alone, this film is a success. Although, I must say the mixing of the Mummy story and the Vampire story is a little far fetched and actually quite confusing at times!

Something else to expect from these films, is a sense of humor throughout the film. The film doesn't take itself seriously and neither should you. Instead, just have fun with it and enjoy the ride! One of the funniest scenes in this film is when Count Dracula's servant, Renfield, watches his master burn up, after not making it into the castle before the sun came up. All that's left of the Count is a small pile of ashes, which Renfield quickly cleans up with a small broom and dustpan!

Overall this is a fun film. If you enjoyed other Frontline Entertainment releases, you will love this one too.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Frontline Entertainment

DVD Review: COUNTESS DRACULA'S ORGY OF BLOOD (2004)

COUNTESS DRACULA'S ORGY OF BLOOD was written and directed by Donald F. Glut of Frontline Entertainment. Here is the basic plot synopsis from the allmovie website:

When lusty female vampires descend upon a 19th century village and begin sinking their teeth into the citizens, fearless Father Jacinto (Paul Naschy) attempts to put an end to the terror by driving a stake through the heart of head bloodsucker Lord Ruthven. When Dracula himself appears in modern-day Los Angeles to stake his claim on this city, the dark prince is enraged to discover that Father Jacinto's actions have prevented him from sucking the blood directly from his victims. Only through the resurrection of Lord Ruthven and his deadly assistant Diana will Dracula be able to drink the blood he needs to survive, and it isn't long before a mysterious figure from the past attempts to thwart his nefarious plans.

First off, it is important to note that this film marks Spanish Horror icon Paul Naschy's American film debut! I have always been a big fan of Mr. Naschy, so seeing him in this film was a pleasant treat, and he brings a sense of Horror credibility to this otherwise low budget soft core Vampire flick. Now, that is not a knock on this film at all, it just is what it is. And as most people know, films written and directed by Mr. Glut are full of beautiful females in various stages of undress. Usually the final stage, which is wearing nothing at all...but I digress.

If you are offended by female nudity, stay away from the film. If you don't mind it (i.e. every man in America) then check the this film out. I have watched some pretty good Vampire movies lately, and I can add this one to the list.

The film has a nice Gothic Vampire vibe to it. The acting (as in most of Mr. Glut's films) is surprisingly good. Not what you would expect from this type of film. Paul Naschy had a great performance, but I was really impressed with Arthur Roberts, who plays Lord Ruthven. He played a very believable and creepy Vampire. One fun thing about this film is when Lord Ruthven is awakened from his hundreds of years of slumber. He is amazed at such modern day things such as a light switch which provides some comedy in the film. Also, watching the Vampire Diana walk along a modern day inner city street, in her century years old clothing, and coming in contact with some modern day prostitutes was amusing as well.

I need to also mention the special effects and gore effects. John Carl Buechler and his effects team did a wonderful job with the Vampire death sequences, as they slowly withered away to leave nothing behind but skeletal remains.

The DVD itself is loaded with tons of great special features, including: Behind the Scenes Footage, an Alternate Ending, Actress Auditions and Interviews, Original trailers, Bloopers and Outtakes, and much more! I highly recommend you check out the Bloopers, as it is fun to watch a Vampire who's fang just won't stay in and is was a rare treat to see the great Paul Naschy as he fumbles with a prop weapon that just won't cooperate!

Overall this film is a lot of fun, which is what a movie should be. I recommend it for any fans of the Vampire genre.

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Frontline Entertainment

DVD Review: THE MUMMY'S KISS: 2ND DYNASTY

I recently had the pleasure of watching the Frontline Entertainment feature, THE MUMMY'S KISS: 2ND DYNASTY. The film is written and directed by Donald F. Glut a director that many people might not recognize the name of, but definitely should! Mr. Glut has many titles under his belt, including BLOOD SCARAB, COUNTESS DRACULA'S ORGY OF BLOOD, and DINOSAUR VALLEY GIRLS just to name a few. Now, by the titles of these films, it is pretty obvious that we are not dealing with huge Hollywood produced films here. These are very small productions on very limited budgets. The difference between Mr. Glut's low budget films and other low budget films, though, is that they don't look low budget. THE MUMMY'S KISS: 2ND DYNASTY is a beautifully shot film with some great makeup/special effects. The mummy itself looks great and very gross...just like a 3000 year old mummy should! Here is the basic plot from Frontline Entertainments official website:

The MUMMY of evil Egyptian sorceress Hor-Shep-Sut is unveiled at a museum exhibit opening. PROFESSOR BRAMWELL, an Egyptologist, relates the legend of how this Mummy allegedly once came back to life. Among the guests is ELYSE DARCY, a lovely reporter covering the opening for a tabloid newspaper, as well as several lovely young women. In charge of the exhibit is DR. ZITA FURNEAUX, a once-beautiful aging woman and closet lesbian, who has let her professional career interfere with her love life. Realizing what she has missed in life, Zita discovers some hieroglyphics through which she is able to contact the Egyptian goddess Nephthys in the Egyptian Afterworld. Zita vows to be loyal to Nephthys in exchange for the secret of restoring her lost youth. Nephthys reveals that Zita can be young again through the “Mummy’s Kiss”…by which she will drain off the “kas” (spiritual twins) of beautiful young women. Performing the required ritual, Zita brings the Mummy back to life and dispatches the Mummy to bring back young female victims – including some of the women she had spotted at the museum’s exhibit opening. Each time she first makes love to the Mummy’s captive…then climaxes their lovemaking with the “ka”-draining kiss, transforming them into zombie-like Egyptian handmaidens. There’s a drawback, however. Zita’s new youth effect is not lasting…and when she continues to revert back, she looks older than her original age. There must be a way, she says, to stay young forever…even to become like an immortal goddess herself. Angered by Zita’s misuse of her powers and attempt to become goddess-like, Nephthys takes control of the Mummy and turns it against Zita. In the Mummy’s clutches, Zita reverts back to a much older woman…then a becomes withering corpse…and finally a skeleton that explodes into dust. Nephthys restores the handmaidens’ “kas,” returns the Mummy to its death state, and then returns to the Afterworld. In the last scene, the Mummy is dead is dead forever. Or is she…?

This was a very fun movie to watch. The acting was good for the most part, and the story was a lot of fun. The actresses in the film are some of the most beautiful you will see in any film. Please be warned though, the film does contain a lot of sexual situations and nudity. In fact, if I had to find any faults with the film, it might have been that it contains a little too much nudity for a horror film, something I never thought I would say! While obviously shot quick and on a cheap budget, the film did something that some big budget Hollywood films don't do, and that is it kept me entertained the full running time. And really, that is all a good movie is supposed to do. This movie proves it doesn't take a multimillion budget to make a good movie.

I look forward to checking out more films of Mr. Glut's and will bring you more reviews of his films in the future.

CLICK HERE to visit the Frontline Entertainment Official Website and to purchase THE MUMMY'S KISS DVD directly from Frontline Entertainment.
You can also order most Frontline Entertainment titles from Amazon.com