Happy 4th of July from Hayes Hudson's House of Horror!!

  I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends, cooking out, swimming, and shooting fireworks!   Why not finish off the day watching the essential 4th of July film, UNCLE SAM!   It's a great, gore-filled celebration of America! 




 Have fun!

Book Review: HIDDEN HORROR: A CELEBRATION OF 101 UNDERRATED AND OVERLOOKED FRIGHT FLICKS

HIDDEN HORROR:  A CELEBRATION OF 101 UNDERRATED AND OVERLOOKED FRIGHT FLICKS
Edited by Aaron Christensen
Published by Kitley's Krypt

  I'll be honest, I don't read much these days.  I just don't seem to find the time with a full time job and a family, to sit down and read most books.    Also, I am a bit of a slow reader, and I have an awful memory, so if I am reading a book and I go a few days without reading, I tend to forget what was going on and have to go back and re-read chapters.   I tell you this to explain why I love books like HIDDEN HORROR from Dr. AC!   I love books about movies and reference books like this are perfect for me.  If you don't have time to sit and watch a movie, it is a lot of fun to be able to take a few minutes and read about it! And each essay is about a different movie, and only 2-3 pages long on average, so you can read just a few minutes if that is all you have time for.

 Now, a lot of reference books are like this, but you tend to start reading about the same mainstream or cult status films when you read a horror movie reference book.  What this book does differently is focus on those films that normally wouldn't get much, if any, write up in any movie reference book. That is one of many things that sets this book apart from others like it.  Another is that each essay was written by a different author, so if you don't like the style one of the essays is written in, well the next one will be completely different since it will be by a brand new author!  I had a good time reading all the different authors and was excited to see that I knew a couple of them from my blogger circle of friends!  I know B.J. Colangelo from the "Day of the Woman" Blog who wrote an essay on the film, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE  (a movie I don't think is overlooked, but definitely underrated) and John Squires from the "Freddy In Space" Facebook page/blog who did a great article on the film, PSYCHO II.

  One of the things that was so much fun about this book was finding some horror films that I had never heard of before, and reading about those I might have heard of but had never seen.  There were only a handful of films I had never heard of, but there were quite a few I have to admit I have never seen.  In fact, I went through and counted which ones I had seen and I had only seen 32 of the 101 films reviewed in this book!!  And I consider myself a horror fan!!  Shame on me, I obviously have some work to do!  

  This is one of the best movie reference books out there right now in my opinion.  Any and all horror fans need a copy of HIDDEN HORROR on their bookshelf for sure.   This is very nicely put together book.  The book is 313 pages and includes tons of pictures from the films being reviewed.  The price tag is awesome too, costing just $15!  That is bargain for such a great book that is full of great movie info!

CLICK HERE to purchase the book
CLICK HERE to visit the book's official Facebook page

Blu-ray Review: MANIAC COP 2

 
MANIAC COP 2
Directed by William Lustig
Written by Larry Cohen
Distributed by Blue Underground

I am a pretty big fan of the first MANIAC COP film.  I hadn't seen it until I reviewed it on this blog a couple of years ago  (see that review here).  So needless to say, I had never seen the two sequels of the film. I have never known too many sequels that matched the original in terms of enjoyment, let along surpass the original, but I really think MANIAC COP 2 managed to do this!  It is at least as good as the original, but I would go as far as to say this one is even better. I enjoyed it more, anyway.  Here is the basic plot of the film from the Blue Underground website:

  The "Maniac Cop" is back from the dead and stalking the streets of New York once more. Officer Matt Cordell was once a hero, but after being framed by corrupt superiors and brutally assaulted in prison, he sets out on a macabre mission of vengeance, teaming up with a vicious serial killer to track down those that wronged him and make them pay... with their lives!

  This was a very cool film with a simple plot, just the maniac cop going around killing people, but it was done so well that you have to give it credit when it comes to the cinematography and general camera work.  That is the one thing that really stuck out for me was the camera work, something that normally goes unnoticed and under appreciated in most films.  There were a couple of car chase scenes that were done remarkably well, leading me to ask myself how there were able to get some of those camera shots.

  I also liked that the maniac cop had some more creative kills in this film, my favorite being when he handcuffs a woman to the steering wheel of a car through the window  (she was standing outside the car), then puts the car in neutral and pushes it down the downhill street!  This was another instance of some great camera work and some great stunt work as you could tell this was actually a performed stunt, not a computer trick or green screened.

  I would encourage you check out MANIAC COP 2, especially if you are a fan of the first film.  MANIAC COP 2 is available now on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and contains the following
special features:

*  Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn
*  Back On The Beat - The Making Of MANIAC COP 2
*  Cinefamily Q&A with Director William Lustig
*  Deleted Scene
*  Theatrical Trailers
*  Poster & Still Gallery
*  Isolated Music Track
*  Enhanced for D-Box Motion Control Systems


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack

Blu-ray Review: MANIAC COP (1988)

   

MANIAC COP
Written by Larry Cohen
Directed by William Lustig
Distributed by Synapse Films

  
MANIAC COP is a film I have always known about, but for one reason or another have just never seen.  The premise sounds cool and it stars two of my favorite horror movie actors  (Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins), but this was just always slipped past me somehow.   If you haven't seen this film either, now is a perfect time now that the fine folks at Synapse Films have released this brand new high-definition transfer of the original unaltered theatrical release version!  If you are not familiar with the film, here is the basic plot courtesty of the Synapse Films website:

Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell, TV’s BURN NOTICE and the EVIL DEAD trilogy), finds himself marked as the chief suspect after his wife is murdered. As Lieutenant Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins, DRIVE ANGRY and LETHAL WEAPON) investigates, the death toll rises and he suspects a mysterious police cover-up. This “maniac” cop must be stopped, but it might not be so easy. He seems inhuman, and ready to take on the entire police force, hell-bent on revenge!

I'm not sure why you don't hear more about this film....this film isn't talked about too much, but to me this is a classic slasher flick for sure!  It was at least good enough to garner two sequels and can definitely hold its own when compared with other horror films of the 80's (the greatest decade for horror films in my humble opinion). 

MANIAC COP actually reminded me of a FRIDAY THE 13TH film.  I say that because the killer in this film is a big, hulking man who moves slow and [in the beginning at least] never shows his face.  When we do see his face finally, it is very disfigured and we get a flashback scene to explain why.  Slap a hocky mask on this beastly cop and you could have a FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 8: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN that was actually good!!  HA! 

I loved the fact that this killer was a cop, or at least wore a cop uniform.   Policeman usually are the ones to protect us from the bad guys, so when the main bad guy is a cop, it gives the viewer a real uneasy feeling.  This was noticed right from the start when in the opening scene a lady is mugged by two street hoods.  She gets away and they chase her, but before they can catch her, she spots a policeman in the distance.  She runs to him yelling "Officer! Officer!" and when she gets to him, you can see an instantaneous feeling of safety replace here feeling of panice and dispair.  This feeling of safety and protection is short lived, though, as she sees the officer's face and is lifted off the ground by the neck.  Her neck is snapped and she is tossed aside like a piece of trash.   The thought of someone who is supposed to protect you being the one you have to be aware of is very unsettleing to me.   Another grim aspect of the killer stalking the city being a cop is that all over the city, people now don't trust any of the police officers.  This leads to a very grueling scene in which an innocent cop is shot by a motorist thinking she was about to be attacked by the "maniac cop" on the loose.  

This is a great film and I recommend it for any horror fan.  It was a blas seeing Bruce Campbell in another horror film other than the EVIL DEAD films.    As with all their titles, Synapse Films has released this Blu-ray with tons of awesome special features including the following:

*New 2011 2K HD Restoration of the Original Unaltered Theatrical Release Version
*DTS-HD MA 6.1 Surround / DTS-HD MA 4.0 Surround / DTS HD-MA 2.0 Stereo
*MANIAC COP MEMORIES - Interview with Robert Z'Dar (HD)
*OUT THE WINDOW - Interview with Tom Atkins (HD)
*THREE MINUTES WITH DANNY HICKS Featurette (HD)
*Motion Still Gallery (HD)
*Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
*Additional Scenes Filmed for Japanese Television
*Spanish Radio Spot


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray


CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Synapse Films