Pizza (Hindi: पिज़्ज़ा) is a 2014 Indian 3D Hindi supernatural thriller film written and directed by debutant, Akshay Akkineni. The film features Akshay Oberoi, Parvathy Omanakuttan and Dipannita Sharma in lead roles, while Arunoday Singh, Rajesh Sharma, Omkar Das Manikpuri and Sonali Sachdev play supporting roles. The film is a remake of the 2012 Tamil horror film hit, Pizza, directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The critical and commercial success of the Tamil version led to its remakes in Kannada as Whistle and Bengali as Golpo Holeo Shotti. The remake right for the Hindi version was bought by Bejoy Nambiar for a whooping 1.5 crore (US$250,000), which by itself is the actual budget of the original version. The Hindi Pizza is set to release on 18 July 2014.

Plot teaser:

Kunal, a Pizza delivery boy, was sent to make a delivery of Pizza at a home of a family full of Dark Secret. The crux of the story is about how will Kunal be able to overcome this situation with twists and turns…

‘A killer comedy with big… eyes.’

Killer Rack is an upcoming American comedy horror film to be directed by Gregory Lamberson (Slime City; Slime City Massacre, Dry Bones) from a screenplay by actor Paul McGinnis, producing it along with special effects designer Rod Durick. It will star Scream Queen Debbie Rochon, Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman and Roy Frumkes

The project is currently seeking funding via online site IndieGoGo – at the time of writing their target has nearly been reached.

Official synopsis:

A feature length screwball horror comedy about a woman whose new breast implants turn out to be Lovecraftian monsters hell bent on world domination!  It’s an outrageous concept which is funny as hell; it’s also actually endearing. The heroine is a survivor in a sexist culture that objectifies women. Our story is ultimately a comedy about female empowerment, and a warning against changing your physical appearance to please others.

Poor Betty is unhappy with her love life, her work life, and her life-life, and blames her problems on her small breasts. Determined to change her life for the better, she consults with a breast enhancement surgeon, Dr. Thulu, who harbors a diabolical plan to take over the world.

Betty has the surgery, and her life does indeed improve: she takes the upper hand in her romantic and work relationships, and learns what it’s like to be empowered.  But there are strange side effects: at night, while she’s asleep, the boobs take control of her body and guide her through the city streets, searching for men to seduce…and devour.

Betty becomes suspicious one morning when she awakens wearing a blood soaked shirt. The only person she can turn to for help is Tim, a co-worker who has admired her from afar for a long time…but will she seek Tim’s help in time to save the entire world from her new puppies?

Killer Rack on Facebook

‘See the horrors of a voodoo curse!’

The Dead One, also known as Blood of the Zombie, is a 1961 independent American horror film written, directed and co-produced by ‘nudie cutie’ specialist Barry Mahon (The Beast That Killed Women; The Sex Killer; Fanny Hill Meets Dr. Erotico). It stars John McKay, Linda Ormond, Monica Davis, Clyde Kelly, Darlene Myrick, Lacey Kelly, Paula Maurice.

Plot teaser:

New Orleans, Louisiana: A young woman’s cousin has recently been married and being the sole surviving male, sets to claim the family’s plantation. Unwilling to give up what she believes to be hers, she uses voodoo to resurrect her dead brother (referred to as “The Dead One“) to kill her enemies…

Reviews:

“For 68 minutes, Blood presents a living, breathing time capsule of New Orleans circa 1961, capped off with an Alice-Cooper-on-valium zombie in a dinner tux. We get extended nightclub jazz performances, even longer burlesque dance routines, nifty over-acting, and colorful locales that you can reach out and hug. Since this is an early Barry Mahon work, the typical “point and shoot from ten feet away” method of anti-kinetic filmmaking is in full effect.” Bleeding Skull

“Even though there is only one zombie throughout the film, and he doesn’t even do anything particularly interesting or memorable, he still looks kick ass. The zombie in Blood of the Zombie is a precursor of the Romero rotting corpses. He is a voodoo zombie, under the command of a voodoo spell, but he visually looks a lot like the putrefied fleshy zombies of the Romero era, complete with burial tuxedo.” Analog Medium

Buy Blood of the Zombie + Voodoo Swamp on Shriek Show DVD from Amazon.com

“If you’re a mainstream film fan who enjoys Hollywood movies that have competent acting and a story, then this movie gets 0 stars out of 5. You will hate every second of it. If you’re the kind of person who seeks out schlocky old low-budget horror films, then this movie gets 4 out of 5. It’s not the bottom of the barrel (that’s coming next), but it’s pretty bad. The bare-bones production values and the use of real New Orleans entertainers give the movie a certain charm and you’ll love the voodoo ritual.” DVD Talk

Buy The Dead One on DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb | Trailer on Daily Motion | Images thanks: Wrong Side of the Art | Zombo’s Closet

‘Lust has never been this terrifying!’

Horror Rises from the Tomb (original title: El espanto surge de la tumba is a 1972 Spanish supernatural horror film starring Jacinto Molina (better known as Paul Naschy) and was directed by Carlos Aured. The film introduced Naschy’s character of Alaric de Marnac, an executed warlock who returns to life centuries later to wreak his revenge. De Marnac later returned in a belated 1982 sequel Panic Beats. The film was also released in the US as Mark of the Devil 4: Horror Rises from the Tomb.

Reviews:

” … an entertaining late-night mishmash made up of the kind of thrills that make Paul Naschy’s films what they are. In its strongest version, it’s packed pretty well with gore, sexuality and nudity — chiefly from the lovely Helga Line, one of the most underrating celluloid scream sirens, and sexy Emma Cohen (as Naschy’s romantic interest) who was never too shy to shed her threads in front of the cameras. Nothing groundbreaking genre-wise (a sacred religious emblem is used to fight off the evil doers, a visit from the walking dead is strictly inspired by George Romero, etc.), but this has Naschy (in multiple roles, no less!) at his best, bloody gut-extracting effects that pre-date Tom Savini’s by years, and more beautiful woman on display (in various states of undress) than you could possibly ask for.” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In

Buy Horror Rises from the Tomb on DVD from Amazon.com

“The entire film contains the look and feel of a nightmare. There are long stretches with little to no dialog allowing the music and sound effects to create an unsettling mood. As with most of the man’s films, it’s not technically a great movie, but the atmosphere takes hold maintaining the viewers interest … Although the film is bloody, you only see the aftermath most of the time (save for one shot of Line ripping through a man’s chest to tear out his heart) but there is plentiful nudity on display. There’s probably more nudity than blood, actually.” Cool Ass Cinema

“There are some great shots as always from director Carlos Aured, including a beautiful death scene with bright red blood flowing down a bank into a running stream. Add some real sadism and perversity going on and it’s enough to keep any fan happy.” Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies

“For a sleazy derivative Gothic-exploitation movie, it is excellent, never going more than five minutes before offering some exciting event or image. While no single scene draws everything together, many small and medium thrills come along the way. Spooky understated organ an d overcast wintery mountains help build atmosphere. Some of the chopped heads and ripped hearts are very realistic. Oner scene features zombies. You can watch it for camp, but it’s hard not to take it seriously  since it;s so well done.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

Buy Claws & Saucers 630 page book from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: Jade Vine | DVD Vision | Cool Ass Cinema | Gifsploitation

Strange Hostel of Pleasures (original title: Estranha Hospedaria dos Prazeres) is a 1976 Brazilian film by Brazilian horror film director José Mojica Marins. Marins is also known by his alter ego Zé do Caixão (in English, Coffin Joe). The film features Coffin Joe as the main character, although it is not part of the “Coffin Joe trilogy” (At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse, and Embodiment of Evil). In the US, it was released on DVD as Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures.

The film was written by Marins and the bulk of the film directed by Marcelo Motta as a favour to the busy Marins, although Marins maintained control over certain scenes. The film was produced on a low budget and is filmed in that style, which at that time in Brazilian cinema was known as Boca do Lixo, or Mouth of Garbage Cinema. The film features simple yet gruesome visual and audio effects such as stock sound clips, surreal noises, screams and vocal utterances.

Plot teaser:

The film opens with a surreal sequence of dancing women, monkey-like figures fearing lightning, and native Brazilian drummers. An old man begins chanting over a closed coffin. The coffin opens and a man rises. He appears with a top hat, cape, and long fingernails.

In an isolated inn called “Hospedaria dos Prazeres“, the mysterious proprietor advertises for employees to serve his guests while they stay the night of a tempestuous storm. As the storm gathers and night falls, various people begin to show up. The proprietor (Marins) allows some to stay while informing others that there are no vacancies, to their obvious displeasure because of the severity of the storm. A wealthy patron who is turned away vows to get the police. The guest book is already filled with the names of the permitted guests before they arrive; they include a group of drunken and promiscuous bohemian motorcyclists, an adulterous couple, a suicidal man, an amorous couple, a group of thieves who just finished a robbery, and some gambling businessmen preparing a deal to bankrupt a competitor. The number of guests is twelve…

Reviews:

“By any conventional standards it’s truly awful, whether you’re looking at the acting, the direction, the editing, the writing, the effects, the soundtrack. Yet it’s somehow hypnotic, never boring even though it really should be, and definitely something that you know you’ve seen. You may not know what but you’re probably going to remember it, talk about it to others and try to find it to watch again. As strange and exploitative as the title suggests.” Hal C.F. Astell, Apocalypse Later

“As with the other Coffin Joe films, the movie is very surreal and features lots of screams and other weird sound effects that are designed to really put the viewer at unease. Seeing Coffin Joe standing at the counter of a hostel, stroking a stone skull, is not something one easily forgets. It is amazing to me how well these movies stand up, given their age, and Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures is no different.” Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies

Choice dialogue:

“Live to die or die to live? Is there an answer? No! Only doubts! Only deductions… Only the conviction of emptiness… of loneliness… the desperate search for the whole and the nothing in the vastness of the dark. The unveil of this enigma would be the end of the mystery. The end of the secret of eternity. The apogee of happiness. The mission is accomplished! Men would be facing his biggest conquest… the awakening of his own origin.”

Wikipedia | IMDb | Official site | Image credits: Cinema Para Doidos

‘You’ll be paralysed with fear…’

Target Earth is a 1954 science fiction film and Herman Cohen‘s first production. It was directed by Sherman A. Rose from a screenplay by Bill Raynor, AIP’s James Nicholson and Wyott Ordung (Monster from the Ocean Floor). It stars Richard Denning (The Creature from the Black Lagoon; The Black Scorpion), Kathleen Crowley (Curse of the Undead), Virginia Grey, Richard Reeves and Whit Bissell (I Was a Teenage Frankenstein). The movie was based on the 1953 short story “Deadly City” by Paul W. Fairman.

Even though a “robot army” is mentioned several times, the production crew only constructed one robot which was used for all scenes. The film’s story is based in Chicago but was actually filmed in Los Angeles. Street scenes were filmed during early mornings when the streets were empty.

Plot teaser:

Chicago is seemingly deserted. A small group of people who have been overlooked during a mass evacuation band together to face an invasion of robot like beings from the planet Venus…

Buy Target Earth on DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

“What makes this film work quite well is the sense of unease and tension that is maintained throughout most of the first half of the movie followed by the character revelations in the second half. Add to this not only the imminent threat posed to the humans by the alien invaders, but also the potential threat being posed by General Wood and the military. The group in the hotel are unaware that the city could be destroyed by tactical nuclear weapons at any moment-a fact that the audience is quite well aware of.” Sci-Fi Film Fiesta

“Outside of the military scenes, the rest of the film is taken up with the survivors sitting around in a hotel room. All the alien invasion takes place off-screen and is only relayed through what the characters tell us. There is a competent cast but the dramas involving them are dull – moreover, we learn almost nothing about any of them as characters throughout.” Moria

“A tight, engaging little thriller that focuses more on character than special effects.” PopMatters

“Despite its very low budget, Target Earth is an excellent film. It achieves a real sense of menace with minimal materials. It is fast paced but slows down when it needs to. The small cast may have been dictated by the limited budget but the film makes an asset of what could have been a liability – accentuating the foursome’s isolation and peril and also letting us get to know and like them. The acting is consistently good to excellent and the characters are believable and have depth that is usually missing in SF of the era.” Common Place Book

Choice dialogue:

“I came to about noon, the only thing I had left was… a headache”

“In the meantime we gotta play hide and seek with a bunch of zombies from Mars, or wherever they come from?”

Wikipedia | IMDb

Ragnarok - original title: Gåten Ragnarok – is a 2013 Norwegian fantasy adventure monster movie directed by Mikkel Brænne Sandemose from a screenplay by John Kåre Raake. It stars Pål Sverre Hagen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Bjørn Sundquist, Sofia Helin, and Maria Annette Tanderød Bergly.

In the US, Magnet are unleashing Ragnarok in theatres, on iTunes and on demand August 15, 2014.

Official synopsis:

Archeologist Sigurd Svendsen (Pål Sverre Hagen) has for years been obsessed with the Oseberg Viking ship. The only inscription found on the ship is the enigmatic “man knows little” written in runes. Sigurd is sure that the Oseberg ship contains the answer to the mystery of Ragnarok, the end of days in Norse mythology. When his friend Allan finds similar runes on a stone from the north of Norway, Sigurd becomes convinced that the runes are in fact a treasure map. Together they mount an expedition group, and their adventure leads to the “No Man’s Land” between Norway and Russia, which has been deserted for decades. Here Sigurd learns the true meaning of the runes – a secret more terrifying than he could possibly imagine…

Source: Dread Central

Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda is a 2014 American horror film directed by Kevin O’Neill (Dinocroc; Dinoshark) from a screenplay by Matt Yamashita (Art School of Horrors) for Roger Corman’s New Horizons Pictures. It stars Robert Carradine (Humanoids from the Deep (1996); Monster Night; Slumber Party Slaughter), Katie Savoy, Rib Hillis (Piranhaconda; 616: Paranormal Incident; Cowboys vs Dinosaurs), Tony Evangelista, Hector Then, Hensy Pichardo.

The film is one of two sequels to the hit Sharktopus, the other being Sharktopus vs. Mermantula, also directed by O’Neill. It is due to be screened by Syfy in July as part of their ‘Sharknado’ festival to celebrate sharksploitation in general and the unleashing of Sharknado 2: The Second One in particular.

Plot teaser:

The offspring of Sharktopus goes into battle with the latest science experiment “Pteracuda” – half pteradactyl, half barracuda – in a challenge for monster supremacy…

IMDb | Thanks: Dread Central

Poltergeist III is a 1988 American supernatural horror film. It is the third and final entry in the Poltergeist film series. Writers Michael Grais and Mark Victor, who wrote the screenplay for the first two films, did not return for this second sequel; it was co-written, executive produced and directed by Gary Sherman (Death Line aka Raw Meat; Phobia (story only); Dead & Buried), and, after a troubled production and re-shoots, was released on June 10, 1988, by MGM.

The film was panned by critics, and was a box office disappointment. Sherman has said that although he is proud of portions of the movie (particularly the creative use of mechanical “in camera” effects instead of the traditional optical effects often seen in movies of that genre), it is the least favorite of his films.

Heather O’Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein were the only original cast members to return. O’Rourke died four months before the film was released and before post-production could be completed. It was dedicated to her memory.

Plot teaser:

The Freeling family has sent Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) to live with Diane’s sister Pat (Nancy Allen) and her husband Bruce Gardner (Tom Skerritt). Pat and Bruce are unaware of the events of the first two films, just noting that Steven was involved in a bad land deal. Along with Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle), Bruce’s daughter from a previous marriage, they live in the luxury skyscraper of which Bruce is the manager.

Carol Anne has been made to discuss her experiences from the first and second films by her teacher/psychiatrist, Dr. Seaton (Richard Fire). Seaton believes her to be delusional; however, the constant discussion has enabled Rev. Henry Kane (Nathan Davis) to locate Carol Anne and bring him back from the limbo he was sent into at the end of the second film. Not believing in ghosts, Dr. Seaton has come to the conclusion that Carol Anne is a manipulative child with the ability to create mass hysteria and to perform mass hypnosis, making people believe they were attacked by ghosts. Also during this period, Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) realizes that Kane has found Carol Anne and travels cross-country to protect her…

Reviews:

“Sherman’s sensible approach to the material was to eschew the ILM overload that marked the series up to that point and opt for (much cheaper) in-camera optical effects and low-tech illusionry. At its best, Poltergeist III recalls that surreal mix of DIY ingenuity and narrative ineptitude that mark some of Lucio Fulci’s lesser efforts. At its worst, well, it’s just another soulless, hacky-tacky horror sequel.” Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine

“A low-budget sequel which tries, and fails, to make a virtue out of adversity by substituting cheap mechanical effects for the expensive light and magic of Parts I and II … A couple of choice moments cannot compensate for a threadbare scenario bereft of attention-grabbing visual effects.” Nigel Floyd, Time Out

“Poltergeist III is not as bad as people would have you believe. The storyline is more cohesive than Poltergeist II but it never reaches the heights of the original movie. It’s eerie to watch the movie knowing that O’Rourke was seriously ill whilst making it and the fact she died before it was released makes it even more difficult to watch in places. Poltergeist III is a good little horror that works well as a standalone movie and as a final chapter to the much-loved horror trilogy.” Pip Ellwood, Entertainment Focus

Cast:

• Tom Skerritt as Bruce Gardner
• Nancy Allen as Pat Gardner
• Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne Freeling
• Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina Barrons
• Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna Gardner
• Richard Fire as Dr. Seaton
• Nathan Davis as Reverend Henry Kane
• Kipley Wentz as Scott

Wikipedia | IMDb

Vincent Price’s Dracula (aka Dracula: the Great Undead) is a 1982 American documentary directed by John Muller, Jerry Fijalkowski from a script by Kate Lonsdale and Ted Lonsdale. 

Vincent Price presents this ‘historical’ horror documentary. There’s stock footage of battles that vaguely relates to Vlad the Impaler‘s bloody reign and his doomed fight against the incursions of the Islamic Turks into Wallachia.

This is followed by an apparent overview of various screen incarnations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula character, though its more specifically vampires in general, if they are public domain and the rights are not owned by Universal or Hammer. Films covered are Murnau’s Nosferatu; Vampyr; Mark of the Vampire; a fuzzy clip from Return of the Vampire; small town science fiction addiction nightmare The Vampire (1957); and The Return of Dracula (1958). Yep, that’s Dracula’s outings on screen fully covered!

The final section is folklore orientated and mondo-style with wailing women “peasants” at gravesides. 1982 Romania is presented as satisfyingly poor for smug for Western viewers elucidation.

Unsurprisingly, Price’s delivery is thoroughly engaging, typically camp and definitely worth 50 minutes of any horror fan’s time. He ends with a salutary “Good morning” and the wee hours is perhaps the perfect time to enjoy one of the horror legend’s later performances, albeit via this opportunist cheapo documentary.

Adrian J Smith, Horrorpedia

IMDb

Daniel is a 2014 American horror short directed and co-produced by Peter Dukes (Little Reaper). This Dream Seekers production stars Dominic Pace, Varda Appleton, Peter Le Bas, J.P. Giuliotti and Jake Ryan Scott. It was photographed by John Snedden and the music is by Giona Ostinelli.

Plot teaser:

A boy is hiding in a closet from a dangerous intruder, but is all what it seems…

Behind the scenes still for Daniel (2014)

‘If you invite it in… it will never let you go’

The Possession of Michael King is a 2014 American horror film produced by Paul Brooks (White Noise; The Haunting In Connecticut) and written and directed by first-time director David Jung from a story by Jung and Tedi Sarafian (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). It stars Shane Johnson, Dale Dickey (Iron Man 3), Julie McNiven (TV’s Supernatural), Cara Pifko and Tomas Arana (Bats: Human Harvest; Guardians of the Galaxy).

Anchor Bay Films is releasing the film in cinemas on August 22nd and on iTunes, On Demand, DVD, and Blu-ray on August 26th.

Official plot teaser:

Documentary filmmaker Michael King (Johnson) doesn’t believe in God or the Devil. Following the sudden death of his wife, Michael decides to make his next film about the search for the existence of the supernatural, making himself the center of the experiment – allowing demonologists, necromancers, and various practitioners of the occult to try the deepest and darkest spells and rituals they can find on him – in the hopes that when they fail, he will once and for all have proof that religion, spiritualism, and the paranormal are nothing more than myth. But something does happen. An evil and horrifying force has taken over Michael King. And it will not let him go…

IMDb | Official Facebook | Official Twitter | Source: Dread Central (click for more images)

Le Macabre was a coffee house on Meard Street in London’s Soho area in the 1960s. Coffee houses had been popular places for Britain’s youth to hang out in since the mid-fifties but Le Macabre had the distinction of being the only horror-themed cafe. Located just off Wardour Street – home to the Hammer house of horrors – was a bonus too. It had coffins as tables and bakelite skulls for ashtrays, plus a ghoulish jukebox selection of deathly records. Regulars included legendary local characters such as Iron Foot Jack, who had a genuine iron foot…

George Skeggs, cousin of Hammer’s Roy Skeggs, recalls the 60s Soho scene on this blog

Creature Feature! is a 2010 American ‘adult’ horror film. It was directed by Lizzy Borden aka Janet Romano (who also directed Cannibalism, a similar sex/horror crossover movie, in 2002). It stars Sunny Lake, Mark Zane, Anthony Rosano, Evan Stone, Tommy Gunn, Tom Byron, Jennifer White, Andy San Dimas.

A surprising number of porn parodies are a lot of fun to watch, including Jonathan Morgan’s Double Feature (1999) which appears to have been the overall role model for this incompetent poverty-row portmanteau video, with Sunny Lane as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark introducing five hardcore vignettes (“The Bride of Fuckenstein”; “The Mummy – It Will Leave You Speechless”; “Count Dracula”; “The Wolfman”; “Night of the Fucking Dead Zombie!”) produced in what looks like one or two days with approximately $200 worth of Halloween props and costumes. You will find yourself fast-forwarding through most of it to end your misery.

Sunny Lane as the Hostess with the Mostess:

Evan Stone apparently doing a Rotwang-impersonation, though it may be coincidental, with Jennifer White as The Bride of Fuckenstein:

Gracie Glam as a Lara Croft-lookalike, with the mummy behind the cobweb though you can’t tell it’s there untill she kneels down to unwrap its member. You should have seen his face, but we don’t, as the camera never leaves the crotch area:

Anthony Rosano as Count Dracula in vampire cinema’s smallest cape:

Tommy Gunn as the Wolfman:

Mark Zane as Johnny and Andy San Dimas as Barbara. With a graveyard set consisting of one plastic gravestone leaned against a tree, this actually manages to make Plan 9 from Outer Space” look big-budget!

Look, there cums one of them now: The film’s producer Tom Byron as The Zombie:

Nicolas Barbano, Horrorpedia Guest Reviewer

The Worst of Eerie Publications

in September 2014, IDW Publishing/Yoe Books are re-publishing some of the most gruesome and gory moments from Eerie Publications’ horror comics in a collection gathered together by Mike Howlett.

Eerie Publications was a publisher of black-and-white horror-anthology comics magazines such as Horror Tales; Terror Tales; Terrors of Dracula; Witches’ Tales and Tales of Voodoo. Less well-known and more downscale than the field’s leader, Warren Publishing (Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella), the New York City-based company was one of several related publishing ventures run by comic-book artist and 1970s magazine entrepreneur Myron Fass. They even sneaked in reprinted tales from the pre-Comics Code Authority days.

Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part Two, Draconian Days is a 2014 British documentary film co-directed by Jake West and Marc Morris. It is released on July 14, 2014.

Official press release:

Disc One: “Video Nasties: Draconian Days”
Nucleus Films’ critically acclaimed follow-up documentary to ‘VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP AND VIDEOTAPE’ (2010) from Director Jake West and producer Marc Morris who continue to uncover the shocking story of home entertainment following the introduction of the 1984 Video Recordings Act. The United Kingdom was plunged into a new Dark Age of the most restrictive censorship, where the horror movie became the bloody eviscerated victim of continuing dread created by self-aggrandizing moral guardians, and the film charts the consequences of this, including subversive social culture that sprung up around it. With fascinating interviews and more jaw dropping archive footage, get ready to reflect and rejoice on the passing of a turbulent time.

Discs Two and Three: “The Section 3 List”
Presents the official additional 82 titles that were officially designated under “Section 3″ of the Obscene Publications Act by the Director of Public Prosecutions. These titles were liable for seizure and forfeiture by the police, removed from sale or hire and then destroyed; although they were not ultimately prosecuted. This list was discovered whilst researching legal paperwork for the original “VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE” and finally clears up why so many additional titles were historically considered to be “Video Nasties”.

Titles include: ‘Blood Lust’ , ‘Brutes & Savages’, ‘Cannibals’, ‘Dead Kids’, ‘Deep Red’, ‘Death Weekend’, ‘Demented’, ‘Eaten Alive’, ‘Headless Eyes’, ‘Hell Prison’, ‘Love Butcher’, ‘Mark of the Devil’, ‘Massacre Mansion’, Savage Terror’, ‘Scream for Vengeance’ ‘Suicide Cult , “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’, ‘Xtro’ and ‘Zombie Holocaust’.

Buy limited edition DVD rom Amazon.co.uk

Frederick Walter Stephen West (29 September 1941 – 1 January 1995) was a serial killer in England. Between 1967 and 1987, West – alone and later with his second wife, serial killer Rosemary West – tortured and raped numerous young women and girls, murdering at least eleven of them, including their own children. The crimes often occurred in the couple’s homes in the city of Gloucester, at 25 Midland Road and later 25 Cromwell Street, with many bodies buried at or near these homes.

Fred killed at least two people before collaborating with Rose, while Rose murdered Fred’s stepdaughter (his first wife’s biological daughter) when he was in prison for theft. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and August 1979, in their home at 25 Cromwell Street.

The pair were finally apprehended and charged in 1994. Fred West committed suicide before going to trial, while Rose West was jailed for life, in November 1995, after having been found guilty on 10 counts of murder. Their house at Cromwell Street was demolished in 1996 and the space converted into a landscaped footpath, connecting Cromwell Street to St. Michael’s Square…

Wikipedia

Half Past Midnight  (1988) is only half an hour long. Wim Vink — director, writer, and make up artist — clearly shot it for not all that much money. The story is very straightforward. Debbie (Angelique Viesee), attractive but awkward high schooler, is relentlessly bullied by her dickish classmates. Her teacher (Ad Kleingeld) at first seems sympathetic, but it’s not long before we realise that his apparently sympathetic stares are actually lecherous. After taking her out on a lovely date and romancing her, he rapes her.

Taunted by her peers, abused by her teacher, things couldn’t get any worse for Debbie. But they do. Leaving school, her classmates spray something from an aerosol can in her face. Blinded, she walks into traffic and is hit by truck. She survives, but then a nurse — the horrible mother of one of the bullying classmates — injects her eye with poison. What a shit nurse! Debbie dies. And then comes back to life! She kills everyone.

Simple and derivative as it is, Half Past Midnight is enormous fun. The bullies are truly despicable and, even though they take things absurdly far, weirdly believable. I think this is in part thanks to Vink’s attention to detail. In a recurring motif, one of the tormentors constantly takes photos of Debbie in compromising situations — from earlier, less extreme moments when she scrambles to collect her school books to her bloodied unconscious body as it lies on the road hit by a truck. The photo snapping is unsettling and brings to mind modern schoolyard bullying.

Half Past Midnight is light on dialogue but heavy on wailing guitars. Synthesized music by composer Rob Orlemans booms over the vision — even if the scene is just a montage of students taking a test, or someone eating a sandwich. It’s all very loud and obnoxious, and perfectly suited to the film’s tone and direction.

We know exactly where Half Past Midnight is heading from its opening moments, and Vink delivers with Debbie’s violent and satisfying revenge. Chainsaws whir. Guts spill. Everyone gets what’s coming to them. There’s a lot of blood.

Half Past Midnight  is like a raw and simplified Carrie. There’s no telekinesis or tampon throwing. There’s no hyper-Christian mother. There’s just Debbie, a chainsaw, and an overbearing music score. I’m not sure why it’s called Half Past Midnight. It should have been called Debbie. See this.

Dave Jackson, Mondo Exploito (Horrorpedia guest reviewer)

‘… a strange and forbidding race …a giant fiendish creature’

Missile to the Moon is a 1958 American science fiction film with monsters directed by Richard E. Cunha (Giant from the Unknown; She Demons; Frankenstein’s Daughter) from a screenplay by H.E. Barrie and Vincent Fotre (Night of the Witches; Baron Blood). Distributed by Astor Pictures (Robot Monster; Peeping Tom), the film is an even lower budget remake of 1953′s already low budget Cat-Women of the Moon.

The cast includes Richard Travis, Cathy Downs (The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues; The Amazing Colossal Man; She Creature), K. T. Stevens, Tommy Cook, Nina Bara, Gary Clarke, Michael Whalen, Laurie Mitchell, Leslie Parrish, Henry Hunter, Lee Roberts, Sandra Wirth, Pat Mowry, Tania Velia, Sanita Pelkey, Renate Hoy (“Miss Germany, 1952″), and Mary Ford.

In 2008, Legend Films issued the film in a colorised version, plus a remastered black and white upgrade.

In 2009, Filmusik presented a live performance of Scott J. Ordway’s soundtrack with a showing of the colorised version. The same year, a Blue Waters comic series, inspired by the movie, was issued.

Plot teaser:

Two escaped convicts, Gary and Lon, are discovered hiding aboard a rocket by scientist Dirk Green, who then forces them to pilot the spaceship to the Moon. Dirk, who is secretly a Moon man, wants to return home. Dick’s partner, Steve Dayton, accompanied by his fiancé June, accidentally stowaway on board just before the rocket’s launch. Moon man Dirk is later killed in a meteor storm during the lunar trip. Once they land on the Moon, the spaceship’s reluctant crew encounter an underground kingdom of beautiful women and their sinister female ruler The Lido, giant lunar spiders, and mysterious surface dwelling, slow-moving, rock creatures…

Buy The Brain from Planet Arous + Cat-Women of the Moon + Missile to the Moon + The Day It Came to Earth on DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

” … the level of invention is low and the whole thing becomes progressively sillier as it proceeds.” BFI Monthly Film Bulletin

“The direction is so rushed and the puny sets so restrictive that most of the scenes are flat-blocked. Players march onscreen single file, go through the dialog, and exit again stage right or left. Just like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon … you can’t get the full impact of Missile to the Moon until you witness the Orlandan marriage dance performed with a bongo and tambourine accompaniment. Or see our heroes throw doorknobs at the Rock Men, exploding one to bits (a more successful effect, actually, than a similar one in Barbarella). Don’t see it alone, it’s funnier with friends.” Glenn Erickson, DVD Talk

“Among the camp highlights: dubbed screams (taken, reportedly, from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), obvious photo-blowup backdrops (you can even see the line between two connected photos), a cardboard spaceship (watch it sway in the wind), rock monster that look like Gumpy, Earth-like oxygen and gravity on the Moon, and more.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

Buy Claws & Saucers 630 page book from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

“Truly an all-time low, based on the lowest of the low to begin with, Cat-Women of the Moon.” John Stanley, Creature Features

” … best remembered for its extraordinarily inept plot, set and props.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction

Buy Missile to the Moon colorised and remastered black and white DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Rent or buy on Amazon Instant video

The same poster as above but the with censored women!

Buy Missile to the Moon poster from Amazon.co.uk

Buy Missile to the Moon + Earth vs. Flying Saucers + Planet Outlaws on DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Buy Missile to the Moon on Image Entertainment DVD from Amazon.com

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credit: Wrong Side of the Art! | Monster Movie Music

Horror-themed spitballs – rubber balls that when filled with water and squeezed, squirt the water back out – were manufactured and sold by American company Entertech in 1989. There were four sets with two spitballs each, moulded into horror heads: Freddy and Victim; Jason and Victim; Dracula and Frankenstein; Slimer and the Ecto-1 from The Real Ghostbusters.

Entertech claimed on their packaging that the water could travel as far as eighteen feet which seems highly unlikely. But several feet would certainly have been fun enough!

We are grateful to Dinosaur Dracula! for the images above.