Check out GRINDHOUSE GUTMUNCHERS, available now on DVD!

 
  If you are a follower of this blog, you might recognize the name Scarlet Fry.  I have reviewed a few films of his in the past, 2 of which are now being re-released in a cool double feature DVD set!   The new DVD is called GRINDHOUSE GUTMUNCHERS and it includes the films SCREAM MACHINE  (read my original review HERE) and SCARLET FRY'S JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST  (read my original review HERE).    

  Here is a bit more about the new DVD set from the film's official press release:

 Gutmunchers don't have to be Zombies They can be anything that will get under your skin and eat away at your flesh and your soul! Gutmunchers is two discs worth of horror, gore and more that will have you crying home to your momma. Demented Nurses, Freaky Perverts, Satanic Slashers, Zombies, Vampires & more Grindhouse Gutmunchers is full of Gutmunching Madness, so dive in and get your awesome gore fix on! Scarlet Fry's Junkfood Horrorfest: Scarlet Fry takes you on the thrill of your life with: Blood-Thirsty Cannibals, Satanic Zombies, Demented Nurses, Junkie Serial Killers, Freaky Perverts and More! This Blood Drenched Deluxe Horrorfest isn't for the weak of heart. A drug dealer has made his last deal after he decides to hand a junkie serial killer some bad junk. Scream Machine: As a gift to Dr. Fry from his long lost friend Lloyd Kaufman, comes 5 twisted tales guaranteed to make you faint, puke and quite possibly soil your pants! Not even the Plague can survive the Scream Machine and only a few have made it through to the end of these six twisted tales of Gore Stew!

  I was a big fan of these films.  I love the 80's VHS throwback feel and the practical gore effects were a lot of fun!   If you haven't seen these films, I highly suggest you check them out!

  Scarlet Fry's GRINDHOUSE GUTMUNCHERS is available now on DVD from World Wide Multi Media...it's a 2 Disc buffet of gore!! 

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

DVD Review: SCREAM MACHINE (2015)

SCREAM MACHINE
Written by Walter Ruether and Paul C. Hemmes
Directed by Walter Ruether (Scarlet Fry)

  As I have mentioned before, I am a huge fan of horror anthologies.  I like them so much because they play well to my short attention span!   The latest anthology I watched is called SCREAM MACHINE, from Walter Ruether, aka. Scarlet Fry.  You might know that name from his past films that I have reviewed like NIGHTMARE ALLEY, SCARLET FRY'S JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST, and DEATH BY VHS.

  This latest film brings us 5 new tales of terror:

1.  "SLEDGEHAMMER" - a tale about a baseball pitcher with a truly killer fastball!
2.  "CANNIBAL PEN PALS" - a creepy tale about a man infatuated with Jeffery Dahmer, vowing to carry on his traditions after learning of Dahmer's death.
3.  "APRIL FOOL'S PARTY" -  a group of friends decide to play a joke on their druggie friend, only the joke goes too far!
4.  "SEPTIC SHOCK" - an unhappy wife has a plan to get rid of her husband by burying him alive in the septic tank!
5.  "THE DEADLY INDI DRIVE-IN" shows a crazy lady who hears voices in her head, and from the movie screen telling her to kill the man she is there with.

  As I have mentioned in past reviews of Scarlet Fry's films, you have to go into them realizing that they are very low budget.  I was kind of disappointed that I haven't seen much quality improvement over the years in his films, but then at the same time, I think that is what gives them their unique quality.   The film feels like you are watching an old VHS tape of gritty horror tales.   Mr. Ruether works very hard on his films, writing, directing, producing, and even starring in them!  You can tell this film was made by a fan of the horror genre.   I really appreciate Mr. Ruether sticking with practical effects as well, that always makes a movie so much better in my opinion than going the cheaper route with CGI.

  SCREAM MACHINE will not be for everyone, but if you love low budget, campy, B-grade, Troma type movies, I think you will agree that SCREAM MACHINE is bloody good time!



CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to visit the film's official Facebook page for news and updates

DVD Review: SCARLET FRY'S HORRORAMA

  I have seen and reviewed a few of director Walter Ruether's movies before on this website.  First, back in 2010 with  NIGHTMARE ALLEY (see that review here), then SCARLET FRY'S JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST back in 2011 (see that review here), and finally DEATH BY VHS just last year (see that review here).

 These are all very low budget movies, made by someone who obviously loves the horror genre. What director Walter Ruether lacks in terms of budget is made up for in his fun stories and gore effects. Ok, let's be honest, the gore effects are not state of the art by any means...they are cheap, practical, fun effects, which is why I like them.

   This latest review is actually for one of Mr. Ruether's earliest films, called SCARLET FRY'S HORRORAMA.   Host Scarlet Fry takes you on a trip through 6 short segments in this horror anthology. This film is actually my favorite of Ruether's films, I believe. This film was made back in 1989 and watching this immediately brought back memories of the VHS days. The transfer looks like a VHS film, and the sound is not great, which makes you feel like you are watching an old VHS. This is how you would have seen the film back when it was originally released and brought upon me a very fun, nostalgic feeling.

   As I mentioned earlier, the film is broken up into 6 segments or short films. Some are better than others, but all are entertaining and fun.  A couple of my favorite segments were "IN THE SACK" about a psycho woman who makes an evening with her one you will always remember...or should I say, dis-member!  My other favorite was "MANWICH", mainly because of the awesome gore scene involving a chainsaw and a man's leg.   The rest of the segments were good too, you will see everything from zombies attacking people in a graveyard, to a abusive wife who abuses her husband one too many times, which turns out to be the last time!

  Like I mentioned before, this film is very low budget, and it looks every bit of the 25 years old that is, but if you go into it knowing what to expect, I think you will really enjoy this film.  I know I did!

 SCARLET FRY'S HORRORAMA is now available in a 25th Anniversary Edition DVD, loaded with bonus features such as a trailer, music video, and an interview with Walter Ruether. This new DVD is available directly from the director, Walter Ruether, for only $15 in the U.S (or $35 overseas) by emailing him directly at waltruether@yahoo.com.  Mr. Ruether will even sign the DVD for you at no additional charge!


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer


Also, Mr. Ruether is already hard at work on his next feature, SCREAM MACHINE, but he needs our help!   An Indiegogo campaign is underway to help raise funds for this new film!  There are tons of great perks for donating to this new film!

CLICK HERE to visit the SCREAM MACHINE indiegogo page

Movie Review: DEATH BY VHS (2013)

 
DEATH BY VHS
Written by  Scarlet Fry
Directed by Scarlet Fry, David Sabal, and Jacob D. O'Neal

I recently had the privilege of checking out the latest film from Director Scarlet Fry called DEATH BY VHS.   I enjoyed his last couple of low-budget outings, NIGHTMARE ALLEY and JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST, I was expecting to enjoy this one as well, and I was not disappointed.  Before I get to my review, here is the basic plot synopsis of the film:

A battered and mysterious VCR...A bevy of lethal video- tapes... These are the building blocks of horror in "DEATH BY VHS".  A mind blowing descent into madness and death. Five shocking vignettes, designed to take your sanity and devour your soul!  Mild curiosity leads to severe consequences when a couple rents a supposedly cursed video cassette recorder. An urban legend renowned for leaving a trail of agonizing and torturous death. Unbelieving, they take the plunge... And another legend is horrifyingly born...
Do you dare give fate a winning hand, and test yourself against the hellish consequences of the VHS machine?  Insert Cassette Press Play...DIE!

Ok, before I start let me say if you have seen NIGHTMARE ALLEY or JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST, you know exactly what you are in for. These are very low budget films and it shows....but, don't let that keep you from watching this film.  What it lacks in budget, it makes up for in storytelling and charm, and keeps you entertained.  That is really all you need from a movie, big budget, small budget...it doesn't really matter as long as it does what a movie is supposed to do, and that is entertain you in some form or fashion.

Now I will say that the low budget does make for some unfortunate technical problems with this film.  Most notably the sound quality and picture quality in a few scenes.  If the filmmakers can get a little more $$ behind their next feature, it would help to improve those areas for sure.   Sometimes it was very hard to make out what the actors were saying due to the sound quality or background music being louder than the dialog.   I like low budget cinema and can appreciate it though, so this did not take the enjoyment out of watching the film for me. 

Like NIGHTMARE ALLEY and JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST, DEATH BY VHS is an anthology made up of 5 different stories/short films.  The film centers around couple that hear about these VHS tapes that have some power that gets you high by watching them.  The couple get the VHS player and the tapes from the local drug dealer, and head home to watch the films.  Each film they watch takes them to a deeper and darker place, with fatal (yet, hilarious) consequences after watching all 5 films. 

 The 5 short films within the movie are very interesting and of varied sub-genres.  The first film is "Suburban She Freak" and was probably my favorite tale of the bunch.  It centers around a woman with a major face deformity that she struggles with, until one day she orders a secret elixir from a black magic shop on the Internet.  She takes the elixir and all is well, but sometimes the side effects to certain medications can be killer!

  The next film was a black and white zombie film (I don't remember seeing a name for this one) that was very well done, and had zombies reminiscent of Romero's zombies from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.  Lots of good gore in this one!  Check out the intestine eating scene in the trailer!

  Next was a film called "Christmas Krampus" which centers around a retarded boy and his awful, abusive parents.  Santa has a special place in his heart for kids with disabilities apparently, and gives the little boy exactly what he wanted for Christmas!  This one was a good story, and tremendous acting by the man playing the part of the mentally challenged boy.  Some may not like this one or feel as it is making fun of the handicapped, and it is a valid argument.  So, just beware going into this one.  

  The next film was titled, "Regenerate" and was a great story of an abusive boyfriend who treats his paralyzed, wheelchair bound girlfriend horribly.   A friend of hers gives her a secret drug that will help her walk again, but before that happens, her abusive boyfriend ends up killing her.  But...will that stop the drug from working? 

  The final film is called "Lepus" and I think it was the longest of all the films, at least it felt that way to me.  I would think they would leave the best for last, but unfortunately this was my least favorite of the short films.  It does contain one of the creepiest killers you will see...some dude dressed in a bunny suit that keeps saying something in German and hacking people up with a hatchet!  Unfortunately, that for me was about all it had going for it. 

  Overall, I enjoyed this film and recommend it.  This is how low-budget film making should be.  You can tell it's low  budget, but there is enough there to keep you entertained and wanting to watch.  This film reminds me of the old EC comics like "Tales from the Crypt" or "Vault of Horror" in that most of those tales had a lesson to learn from them.  This is the case with these stories as well, especially with "Suburban She Freak"  (negative results from doing anything to improve outward beauty) and "Regenerate" (don't treat others bad, or something even worse will happen to you).

DEATH BY VHS is not perfect by any means, but it is fun and entertaining which is all I ask for in a film.   DEATH BY VHS should be available on DVD this summer. 


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer