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518,396 | 8,239,592 | 304,850 | 8 | A nifty martial arts comedy romp | Wily ace thief Trinity ( nicely played to the cocky hilt by Steve Tartalia ) steals the sacred dragon ball from Shaolin Temple . The dragon ball gets misplaced . Trinity joins forces with gruff , determined Interpol agent Bambino ( an engagingly bearish turn by Roberto Lopez ) , formidable karate master Meng Ray ( the excellent Sky Dragon ) , and feisty tour guide Wen Ling ( fetching Helena Li Hung ) to retrieve the dragon ball before it falls into the hands of the wicked Paschy ( deliciously essayed with lip-smacking evil aplomb by John Liu ) . Director Robert Tai and screenwriter George Tan concoct an enjoyably inane and lightweight comedic martial arts outing that moves along at a snappy pace , delivers plenty of amusingly broad and inoffensive humor , and , of course , certainly doesn't skimp on the well-staged wild , lively and exciting chopsocky action ( the climactic confrontation between Meng Ray and Paschy is especially tasty and thrilling ) . This film further benefits from several charming and inspired offbeat touches : Bambino has a cute little pet pig named Colonel and the main villains hire a bunch of ninjas for rent to bump off our intrepid protagonists . Better still , a welcome and refreshing human element can be found and relished amid all the infectious tomfoolery ; Bambino's love for Colonel is genuinely sweet and touching . John McEnerney's sparkling cinematography gives the picture an attractive glossy look . Alessandro Alessandroni's tribal , robust , flavorsome score likewise hits the stirring spot . Good , goofy fun . |
518,358 | 8,239,592 | 78,990 | 8 | An amiably silly redneck comedy romp | Tom Selleck and Jerry Reed are utterly engaging as rascally , penniless , down-on-their-luck cowboy drifters Will and J . D . , who find themselves stuck in Nashville , Tennesse . A lovely young woman ( the gorgeous Morgan Fairchild ) mistakes the pair for private detectives and hires the affable duo to find her missing sister . Pretty soon both Will and J . D . are neck deep in all kinds of trouble . Briskly directed by Burt Kennedy , with a slight , inane cookie cutter script by Jimmy Sangster , crude cinematography by Victor Salzis and Alan Stensvold , a jaunty hillbilly bluegrass country score by Reed ( who also sings the rousing theme song " Breakin ' Loose " ) and the expected copious slapstick fist fights and wacky car chases , this totally inconsequential piece of made-for-TV piffle makes for a perfectly enjoyable diversion . The loose'n'wiggy chemistry between Selleck and Reed is a treat to watch . Solid supporting turns by Claude Akins as a famous country singer / songwriter , Gene Evans as a gruff police lieutenant , Lucille Benson as a stern , but friendly whorehouse madam , and Grace Zabriskie as a wax museum worker are likewise delightful . Special guest appearances by country stars Roy Acuff , Ray Stevens and Barbara Mandrell as themselves further add to the goofy fun . A likably silly timewaster . |
518,467 | 8,239,592 | 71,318 | 8 | A very creepy and effective little 70's B sci-fi / horror flick | How's this for a really inspired and effective handy-dandy sci-fi / horror combo premise : Let's take your basic randomly selected motley assortment of everyday folks gathered together in a deep , isolated , self-contained underground nuclear fall-out shelter so they can survive an impending end-of-the-world holocaust tale and embellish on this standard situation with a borrowing from the then hip killer-animals-run-amuck trend by having a horde of vicious , relentless , chattering vampire bats with a taste for human blood attack the understandably terrified bunch at regular bloodcurdling intervals . Sounds like a pretty desperately reaching " high concept " effort , right ? Well , that brusque blow-off assumption is wrong . Dead wrong . Under episodic TV show vet Sutton Roley's taut , capable direction the admittedly threadbare story works surprisingly well , resulting in a genuinely scary , creepy and suspenseful nail-biter . The neatly varied cast helps a lot ; they fill out their stock roles with commendable conviction . Former child actor Jackie Cooper portrays a cross , feet-of-clay rich jerk grumbler with stand-out sliminess . Constantly reliable B-pic perennials Richard Jaeckel ( who later had a fatal run-in with a killer bear in " Grizzly " and got offed by a pack of wild dogs in " Day of the Animals " ) and Alex Cord ( the latter bears a passing resemblance to tough guy thesp extraordinaire William Smith here ) make for properly stalwart heroes . The always composed and elegant Diana Muldaur brings a welcome touch of class to the tense , grisly proceedings . Future " Hill Street Blues " regular Barbara Babcock is a lovely damsel in distress . A bespectacled Bradford Dillman ( who went on to get stung to death by killer bees in " The Swarm " and had his face nibbled on by carnivorous fish in " Piranha " ) nerds it up nicely as a duplicitous dweeby scientist . Chronically unsung character actors Pedro Armendariz , Jr . and Lincoln Kilpatrick contribute solid performances as an eminently expendable decent dude and a gallant , rugged Olympic athlete , respectively . The sequence where Kilpatrick tries to climb out of the subterranean shelter on a rope is both gripping and nerve-wracking . The bat attacks are almost unbearably frightening and ferocious . The claustrophobic set design , Gabriel Torres ' cramped , closed-in cinematography , Fred Karlin's jazzy , spooky score , the unremittingly eerie tone , and the bleakly ironic ending all add considerably to the gut-wrenching tension . And those nasty screeching bats are truly horrifying little suckers ! |
518,475 | 8,239,592 | 94,262 | 8 | A twisted horror splatter ode to 80's VHS mania | Steven Emory ( the affable Art Neill ) runs a video rental outlet in a sleepy small New Jersey town . The unfriendly locals frequently watch gruesome horror movies . One day a customer leaves behind a videocassette with what appears to be an actual real filmed murder on it . When Steven decides to investigate matters on his own , he finds both himself and his loyal wife Rachel ( the charming Jackie Neill ) in considerable jeopardy . Director / co-writer Gary Cohen concocts a novel and involving story which puts a fresh and disturbing 80's VHS mania spin on the ever creepy and effective snuff movie premise . Moreover , Cohen does a good job of creating a bleak , mean-spirited tone and pours on the hideously nasty graphic gore with unflinching abandon . Philip Gary's competent cinematography likewise does the trick . The game no-name cast all give decent performances ; Bart Sumner and Uke ham it up with infectiously depraved aplomb as joyfully deranged wackos Howard and Eli . The surprise bummer ending concludes things on a pleasingly nihilistic note . Only the often plodding pace and one of those irritating overbearing and monotonous synthesizer scores detract a bit from this otherwise solid and satisfying micro-budget shot-on-video splatter winner . |
519,237 | 8,239,592 | 439,294 | 8 | An immensely funny and entertaining tongue-in-cheek low-budget horror anthology movie send-up | Fed-up B-horror scream queen Rebecca Raven ( a winningly spirited and self-deprecating performance by the adorable Misty Mundae ) gets sacked by the low-rent studio that regularly employs her . Raven goes to a remote house in the country to rest while sleazeball hack director Frank ( a deliciously smarmy Michael R . Thomas ) looks for a new starlet to replace her . First and most amusing yarn , " Mecharachnia " - A couple of mischievous tiny aliens terrorize down-on-his-luck junkyard owner Jed Callahan ( amiable Rob Monkiewicz ) and his feisty ex-girlfriend Linda ( foxy brunette spitfire Caitlin Ross ) . This segment boasts some very funky old school-style stop-motion animation special effects , with a towering makeshift monster made out of spare car parts rating as the definite highlight . Second and most inspired story , " Zombie This " - Raven has to tap into her experience as a veteran schlock horror actress after she accidentally resurrects a shambling zombie ( Duane Polcou in nifty make-up ) . It's a real treat to watch Mondae parody her trash pic goddess persona ( she even takes an obligatory nude bath ) and get tough as she kicks some pesky undead butt . Third and most outrageous story , " Lonely Are the Brain " - Crazy mad scientist Dr . Carruthers ( nicely played by the luscious Julian Wells ) uses a handful of lovely young ladies in a home for wayward women as guinea pigs in dangerous experiments conducted for an evil giant brain with an insatiable hunger for erotic pleasure . It's up to brassy take-charge lass Naomi ( a strong and sympathetic turn by the yummy AJ Khan ) to stop Carruthers . This wonderfully warped affair offers a deliriously intoxicating mix of tasty female nudity , kinky soft-core sex , and trippy , surreal , nightmarish visuals . Writer / director Brett Piper maintains a brisk pace throughout and does a fine job of creating a playfully macabre atmosphere . Moreover , the enthusiastic cast have an absolute ball with their juicy roles and Jon Greathouse supplies a delightfully campy Danny Elfmanesque rollicking ooga-booga score . A great deal of blithely goofy fun . |
518,328 | 8,239,592 | 135,363 | 8 | A very cool documentary on the 70's daredevil scene | An excellent , very observant and illuminating Crown International Pictures documentary which offers an intimate and minutely detailed portrait of a traveling roadshow of fearless , courageous , even downright foolhardy nomadic carnival daredevils known collectively as the Death Riders . The Death Riders , a truly special breed of fanatical , dedicated , four-sheets-to-the-wind wacko lunatics , are shown demolishing cars , driving through intensely hot tongues of flame , blowing themselves up with dynamite , jumping motorcycles over people who actually volunteer for this honor , performing at a nudist colony ( one Death Rider thoughtfully does a car wrecking stunt in the buff ! ) , goofing around , riding wild bulls , engaging in a motor-cross race , and trekking across the country to put on their show for hundreds of awestruck spectators . Director Jim Wilson gives a sharp-eyed , insightful and wholly fascinating you-are-there look at a once prevalent , but now sadly vanished subculture and celebrates a uniquely 70's free-spirited desire to live life to its fullest extent , specifically focusing on a rare , now largely extinct type of all-American red-blooded male whose insatiable craving for wealth , fame , women , attention , excitement and adoration compels him to live life to a gloriously crazy , dangerous , fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants uninhibited extreme . Vilmos Zsigmond's characteristically proficient cinematography adeptly uses such nifty flourishes as slow motion , freeze frames and split screen to precisely capture the Death Riders ' mortality-testing antics in all their gut-twisting , heart-pounding , nerve-frying , marrow-freezing gonzo splendor . Further complimented by a top-rate country and western soundtrack , this fine and unjustly forgotten slice of vintage 70's Americana makes for genuinely absorbing , informative and often quite harrowing viewing . |
519,368 | 8,239,592 | 389,475 | 8 | A pleasant surprise | The drab tranquility of the sleepy little town of Rockville gets harshly thrown out of wack after four teens are viciously murdered . It's up to stalwart Sheriff Duncan ( a strikingly good portrayal by the usually lacking Joe Estevez ) and sincere , but rather inept Deputy Charlie Fisher ( the engagingly geeky Circus Szalewski ) , assisted by obsessively thorough Detective Amy Rogers ( well played by ravishing brunette Nicole Buehrer ) , to catch the culprit . The most probable suspect is a young lady who just escaped from a nearby asylum . The young lady is arrested , attempts to get away and is subsequently killed while making her attempt . But the seemingly simple cut and dried case is far from over or solved . In fact , it's just the opening of a whole can of worms which will change several people's lives forever . " The Rockville Slayer " rates as a most pleasant and unexpected surprise . For starters , it's a complex and involving mystery thriller instead of the mindless slasher horror flick its misleading title suggests . Moreover , the well-drawn characters are refreshingly real , flawed and recognizably human . Director Marc Selz , working from his own intricate and intriguing script , delivers a nice smattering of nudity and grisly violence , effectively creates a creepy and unnerving atmosphere , offers plenty of truly startling plot twists , and keeps the pace moving forward at a pleasingly speedy clip . The fine cast all contribute excellent performances , with especially nifty appearances by Linnea Quigley as a local harlot who went crazy and the ever-intimidating Robert Z'Dar as her brutish husband . Kudos are also in order for Joe Harris ' crisp , handsome cinematography and Karl Sundstrom's neatly spare'n'shivery synthesizer score . Overall , this baby qualifies as a real strong and satisfying unsung little sleeper . |
518,246 | 8,239,592 | 71,323 | 8 | Nifty martial arts mortality tale | Decent , honest , simple Chinese country farmhand and ace martial artist Tai-Lin ( a fine and likable performance by Jason Pai Piao ) goes to a big city in the Phillippines to seek his fortune . Tai-Lin befriends scruffy petty street hoodlum Siao-Mao ( amusingly played to the wormy hilt by Ruel Vernal ) and gets a job as a dock worker . When Tai-Lin discovers that the people he works for are part of a crime syndicate that specializes in smuggling opium , he quits his job and joins forces with both fierce black boxer Ron Van Clief and equally formidable Filipino boxer Jorge Estraga against the evil organization . Director Chin-Ku Lu tells the serious and compelling story about morality , integrity and corruption in an effectively plain and straightforward manner while maintaining a snappy pace throughout and staging the plentiful rock ' em , rock ' em chopsocky fisticuffs with considerable aplomb . Moreover , Lu manages to add a few poignant moments amid all the expected stirring kung-fu carnage ; the relationship between Tai-Lin and Siao-Mao is quite warm and touching . Piao makes for a very strong and appealing protagonist as the naive and innocent Tai-Lin ; he receives sound support from Nancy Veronica as the sweet Ching Kwei , Thompson Kao Kong as Tai-Lin's smug , slick , arrogant hotshot successful brother Chi-Fu-Shi , and Subas Herrero as a smarmy flunky for the bad guys . The neatly varied score alternates between sappy orchestral mush and jaunty hillbilly bluegrass ( complete with fiddle and banjo ! ) . The big showdown between our heroes and the villains is very lively and exciting . A cool little movie . |
518,310 | 8,239,592 | 82,804 | 8 | A nifty little early 80's haunted house horror chiller | The late 70's and early 80's saw a surprising rash of entertainingly trashy low-budget haunted house chiller dillers , resulting in the vigorously pulpy " The Evil , " the not half bad " The Hearse , " the dreary " Death Ship , " the enjoyably sleazy " The House Where Evil Dwells , " and this pleasingly lurid outing , which starts out pretty low-key and unsettling before delightfully degenerating into a wildly frantic and gruesome over-the-top shockfest . Lauren Cochran ( a deeply sympathetic performance by the wispily attractive Robin Groves ) is a hugely successful , but extremely repressed and neurotic author of Gothic novels who suffers from severe agoraphobia . So Lauren decides to take a load off and subsequently acquire a firmer hold on her shaky sanity by taking a much-needed vacation in the country . Lauren holes up in a musty , dingy , dilapidated old Victorian mansion that turns out to be a onetime bordello haunted by the vengeful , insanely laughing specter of the red-haired madame ( the ever-sultry Gloria Grahame in her last film role ) . When Lauren tries to find out about the squalid abode's grimy past history , several seedy secondary male characters meet ghastly untimely ends and Lauren herself gets manipulated by the unrestful spirits of prostitutes murdered in the house decades ago to exact a brutal revenge on the people responsible for the massacre . Former porno filmmaker Armand Weston , who did both the capable direction and co-wrote the solid , twisty , engrossingly sordid script , initially opts for a quietly nerve-rattling and unexpectedly delicate things are slightly out of whack eerie and mysterious mood , what with windows strangely breaking , a Victrola suddenly playing in the dead of night , Lauren experiencing horrific nightmares , cryptic messages left on Lauren's typewriter , and the ghost of the madame making sporadic jarring manifestations . Then the killings begin about halfway through and the film starts laying on the crudely visceral shocks something thick , thus making this one of those rare fright flicks that manages the tricky feat of blending an ambiguously creepy-crawly atmosphere with more bluntly presented jump-out-at-you scare tactics with praiseworthy effectiveness . The noodling synthesizer score by Jack Malkin and Kim Scholes and Joao Fernandes ' gloomy cinematography contribute greatly to the overall gooesepimply spookiness while old reliable John Carradine turns in his customary robust cameo as a cranky , wheelchair-bound town elder with a few dirty skeletons in his fiercely guarded closet . Moreover , the sex , nudity and violence quotient is reasonably high , therefor making this picture satisfyingly scuzzy exploitation fare as well . Plus there's a thoughtful and provocative underlying subtext concerning closure and catharsis that's neatly integrated into the story . With all these things working in its favor , this feature overall sizes up as an unjustly neglected sleeper that's well worth checking out . |
518,024 | 8,239,592 | 140,174 | 8 | Beware the deadly dweeb in the delivery van ! | I absolutely love this delectably cheap'n'cheesy late 60's exploitation trash psycho howler . Hopelessly geeky bespectacled dweeb Howard ( a hilariously histrionic performance by Robert Gribbin , who overemotes to the point where you swear he's going to give himself a nosebleed ) drives a delivery van for the local laundromat service . Howard has gone murderously around the bend ever since his beloved sister ran away from home six years ago . While making his daily rounds Howard picks up stray runaway teenage lady hitch-hikers and brutally butchers them . Among Howard's victims are a token gay guy , a little girl whose bloodied corpse Howard leaves in a dumpster , and one luckless lass Howard strangles in the back of his van with a wire coat hanger ( I'm sure Joan Crawford would have approved of this last one ) . Earnest , but ineffectual police captain Shaw ( well essayed by Russell Johnson ; the Professor on " Gilligan's Island " ! ) tries to catch Howard , but thanks to indifferent and negligent parents finds this to be a most difficult task to accomplish ( nice pointed social commentary here ) . Not released for ten years until it was picked up by legendary soft-core flick king Harry Novak's Box Office International Pictures for theatrical distribution in the 70's , sporting suitably shoddy production values , largely atrocious acting ( the scenes where Howard either experiences painful seizures or erupts into a wildly raving psychotic frenzy while killing folks are especially sidesplitting ) , and a gloriously ghastly country-and-western theme song ( " Danger on the road / Danger on the road / There's no way you can tell / When you hitch-hike to hell / Danger on the road tonight " ) , this grubby grindhouse gem is well worth picking up if you're a fan of deliciously down'n'dirty drive-in dreck . |
518,399 | 8,239,592 | 1,302,189 | 8 | Amusing DVD extra | This neat ten minute short is featured as an extra on the DVD for the enjoyably nasty redneck horror zombie splatter hoot " Trailer Park of Terror . " It's a cool and funny series of mock interviews with the cast members who portray the colorfully vile , hateful and repulsive hillbilly stereotype zombie characters . Nichole Hiltz as the saucy and devilishly seductive Norma boasts that she's the queen of the trailer park while Michelle Lee's lusty Asian masseuse Miss China claims otherwise . Ed Corbin's mean , ill-tempered Vietnam veteran Sergeant Stank brags about his special beef jerky recipe . Myk Watford's rowdy wannabe Southern rocker Roach nurses delusions of scoring a record deal with a major music label . Lew Temple's whiny Marv complains about Norma not wanting him anymore . Best of all , Trisha Rae Stahl's gluttonous morbidly obese Larlene happily discusses her ravenous love for meat . This short has the same infectiously twisted sense of rude'n'rude hick black humor as the movie . Fans of the flick should get a kick out of this baby . |
518,583 | 8,239,592 | 75,229 | 8 | A solid and exciting action thriller | A group of vicious , nefarious terrorist scum kidnap the stalwart , protective wife ( a plucky , spirited Susannah York ) and kids of wealthy industrialist Jonas Bracken ( finely played by Robert Culp ) . So Jonas , assisted by York's macho , take-charge mercenary ex-husband Jim McCabe ( an excellently wry and laconic performance by the always cool and unflappable James Coburn ) , diligent police chief Charles Aznavour , and a bunch of hang-gliding enthusiasts led by the handsome , dashing John Beck , decide to raid the terrorist's remote mountainside fortress in Greece in order to get ' em back . Directed with tight , brisk , straight-down-the-line concise and unpretentious razor efficiency by Douglas Hickox , from a similarly taut , smart and sharply honed script by Jack DeWitt , Stanley Mann and Garry Michael White , further enhanced by one of Lalo Schifrin's customary lush , stirring and majestic full orchestra scores , a pleasingly prompt , unflagging pace , top-rate aerial photography , frequent outbursts of excitingly fast'n'furious violence , solid acting , glossy production values , a properly no-nonsense let's get down to brass tacks attitude , and a wild bullets and bodies a flyin ' everywhere mondo destructo shoot ' em up finale , this nifty little number overall sizes up as a satisfyingly terse and to the point action / suspense thriller . |
519,147 | 8,239,592 | 48,991 | 8 | A nicely spooky sci-fi / horror flick | The Kelley Family find themselves in considerable jeopardy when an evil alien force with the power to control minds lands nearby their ranch and causes all the animals to go into a lethal rage . Director David Kramarsky relates the absorbing story at a steady pace and does a sound job of creating an eerie atmosphere . The solid acting from a sturdy cast rates as another definite plus : Paul Birch as rugged rancher Allan Kelley , Lorna Thayer as his snippy wife Carol , Dona Cole as their cute , spunky daughter Sandra , Dick Sargent as amiable Deputy Larry Brewster , Leonard Tarver as hulking , pathetic mute handyman Carl , and Chester Conklin as cranky old-timer Ben Webber . The shivery orchestral score and the stark black and white cinematography by Everett Baker and Floyd Crosby further enhance the creepy tone . Moreover , the desolate desert location projects an unnervingly palpable sense of isolation and vulnerability . Granted , the hilariously horrendous ( much less than ) special effects leave a lot to be desired , but overall this film sizes up as a pretty nifty and enjoyable low-budget shocker . |
518,270 | 8,239,592 | 71,330 | 8 | A terrifically gritty , exciting and tough-minded Italian crime vigilante thriller knockout | Cagey , hard-working , obstinate no-nonsense scientist Franco Nero gets kidnapped during a brutal bank heist by a trio of vicious , nasty crooks . The hoods severely pummel Nero , take him along for a wild , harrowing car chase , and leave Nero forever scarred psychologically by the distressful experience . When the police prove to be ineffectual , Nero decides to go the Charles Bronson " Death Wish " - like enforce the law on your own self-proclaimed keeper of the peace vigilante route , teaming up with genial , helpful illegal arms dealer Giancarlo Prete in order to exact harsh revenge on the vile , untouchable low-life criminals who regularly get away with preying on decent , law-abiding folks . An unexpectedly potent little crime / action potboiler , " Street Law " manages to be both utterly arresting and extremely hard-hitting thanks to its bang-up execution and accomplished technical polish . Under Italian B-film ace Enzo G . Castellari's typically strong , punchy , expert direction the compelling , convoluted and twist-ridden narrative unfolds in a most suspenseful , exhilarating and wickedly dead-on manner . Moreover , the gritty , smoky , squalid and threatening big city urban cesspool environment seems authentically grim and grimy , the cool , driving , harmonica-tinged rock score really hits the socko sonic spot , the brisk , starkly lit , sinuous cinematography gives the movie an excellent slick look , and the ferocious , rousing , often quite jolting action sequences - - Castellari's use of strenuous , gut-wrenching slow motion is incredibly effective - - deliver one hell of a strong and lingering punch . Better still , Nero contributes his usual top-notch performance , Prete is surprisingly likable as a conscience-plagued miscreant who yearns to go straight , and beauteous brunette Barbara Bach registers well as Nero's concerned , caring girlfriend . Why , " Street Law " even comes complete with a provocative , gruffly unsentimental , yet profound moral : Revenge is anything but sweet - - and it almost always comes with a highly serious and painful price to pay . Resolutely tough-minded and unusually complicated , with a suitably bleak tone and a pungently brooding atmosphere , this coarse , crackling , thoroughly gripping and exciting hard-edged vengeance crime thriller sizes up overall as an absolute powerhouse . |
518,453 | 8,239,592 | 148,746 | 8 | An enjoyably tawdry serving of 60's soft-core smut | New York suburbanite housewife Lynn Merrick ( dishy brunette Terri Steele ) likes expensive things . Lynn drives into the city and works for a special " agency " so she can earn some extra money . Said agency caters to various clients with all kinds of kinky sexual tastes . Director Al Ruban , who went on to produce several respectable art-house films for acclaimed director John Cassavettes , certainly doesn't skimp on the tasty female nudity . Foxy Jackie Miller takes a long bath . 60's soft-core picture regulars Gigi Darlene , June Roberts , and Marlene Starr all pose topless for pervy shutterbug guys . A voluptuous belly dancer shakes her sexy stuff at a wild stag party . Moreover , we also got sadomasochism ( Lynn's first customer is a pathetic whimpering dude who enjoys being whipped ) , voyeurism , lesbianism , and even ( sort of ) necrophilia . Meanwhile , a grim-voiced narrator solemnly intones about the sordid escapades throughout the movie . Steve Karmen's swingin ' jazz score really hits the groovy spot . The stark , grainy black and white cinematography by Jerry Denby and C . " Chuck " Davis Smith further enhances the overall racy fun . Smith also pops up as a leering cameraman and Ruban appears as Lynn's unsuspecting husband Bob . A nice slice of amusingly mild , yet still titillating 60's soft-core sleaze . |
518,032 | 8,239,592 | 75,249 | 8 | A very warm & engaging , but clichéd rags-to-riches showbiz film | A remarkable example of cinematic alchemy at work , with a trite'n'turgid lump of lead script ( penned by numbingly mediocre Hollywood hack nonpareil Jole Schumacher , no less ) being magically converted into a choice chunk of exquisitely gleaming 24-carat musical drama gold thanks to brisk direction , fresh , engaging performances , spot-on production values , a flavorsome recreation of 50's era New York , an infectiously effervescent roll-with-the-punches tone , and a truly wondrous rhythm and blues score by the great Curtis Mayfield . The story , loosely based on the real life exploits of the Supremes , prosaically documents the arduous rags-to-riches climb of three bright-eyed , impoverished black teenage girl singers who desperately yearn to escape their ratty , unrewarding ghetto plight and make it big in the razzle-dazzle world of commercial R & B music . All the obvious pratfalls of instant wealth and success - - egos run destructively amok , drugs , corruption , fighting to retain your integrity , and so on - - are predictably paraded forth , but luckily the uniformly excellent work evident in the film's other departments almost completely cancels out Schumacher's flat , uninspired plotting . The first-rate acting helps out a lot . Irene Cara , Lonette McKee , and Dwan Smith are sensationally sexy , vibrant and appealing leads - - and great singers to boot . Comparably fine performances are also turned in by a charmingly boyish pre - " Miami Vice " Philip Michael Thomas as the group's patient , gentlemanly manager , Dorian Harewood as McKee's venal , aggressively amorous hound dog boyfriend , and perennial blaxploitation baddie Tony ( " Hell Up in Harlem , " " Bucktown " ) King as a dangerously seductive , smooth operating , stone cold nasty gangster . The tone dips and dovetails from funny and poignant to melancholy and blithesome without ever skipping a beat , deftly evolving into a glowing , uplifting ode to the human spirit's extraordinary ability to effectively surmount extremely difficult and intimidating odds . Veteran editor Sam O'Stern acquits himself superbly in his directorial debut . Bruce Surtees ' luminescent cinematography and Gordon Scott's expert editing are both flawless . O'Stern's firm grasp of period atmosphere , keen eye for tiny , but telling little details , and unerring sense of busy , unbroken pace are just as impressive . No fooling about Curtis Mayfield's impeccable soundtrack contributions , either . " Jump , " " What Can I Do With This Feeling , " " Givin ' Up , " " Take My Hand Precious Lord , " " Lovin ' You Baby , " and " Look Into Your Heart " are all terrifically tuneful , soulful , almost unbelievably fantastic songs , with the sweetly sultry love jones number " Something He Can Feel , " which was later covered by both Aretha Franklin and En Vogue , clearly copping top musical honors as the best-ever song in the entire movie . The net result of all these above cited outstanding attributes persuasively illustrates that sometimes it's not the screenplay so much as what's done with said script which in turn determines a film's overall sterling quality . |
518,223 | 8,239,592 | 82,782 | 8 | A very good and effectively creepy early 80's seasonal slasher flick | The stupendous success of John Carpenter's holiday horror slasher classic " Halloween " not surprisingly beget a rash of similar seasonal slice'n'dice fright flicks . " My Bloody Valentine " is one of the better low-budget copies made at the height of the early 80's teen body count craze . The story is nothing special , but it does the trick just the same : A homicidal killer ( juicily played to the deranged hilt by Neil Affleck ) goes on a grisly murder spree in the bleak little mining town of Valentine Bluffs on February 14th . Although routinely plotted and pretty predictable , this baby nonetheless still rates as an above average entry thanks to George ( " Pick-up Summer " ) Mihalka's strong direction , solid acting from the entire cast ( said cast deserve extra kudos for looking , speaking and behaving like credibly rough-around-the-edges working class young adults ; I especially liked the goofy curly-haired fat guy who resembled a young Avery Schrieber ) , genuinely personable characters , gory make-up f / x by Tom ( " The Beast Within " ) Burman , a truly creepy and hauntingly downbeat atmosphere ( the sequences in the underground mine in particular have a potently clammy and claustrophobic spookiness to them ) , Paul ( " Prom Night " ) Zaza's eerie score , Rodney Gibbons ' impressively slick cinematography , and a respectable corpse tally of 10 . And that groovy folkie ending credits theme song is an absolute hoot ! |
519,280 | 8,239,592 | 51,434 | 8 | An enjoyably odd picture | Rugged big game hunter Dan Fuller ( a solid and likable performance by Lance Fuller ) discovers much to his dismay that his lovely new bride Laura ( a nicely sexy portrayal by fetching brunette Charlotte Austin ) has a most troubling and peculiar affinity for gorillas . Dan is forced to shoot his pet ape Spanky ( Steve Calvert in a funky suit ) dead after the big brute breaks free from his basement cage and goes after Laura . Dan takes Laura with him on a safari to Africa . The expedition not only runs afoul of two lethal tigers , but also a couple of hulking gorillas who abduct Laura . Director Adrian Weiss milks plenty of compellingly aberrant thrills from the typically outlandish script by the notorious Ed Wood , Jr . : Weiss treats the weird and perverse premise with admirable seriousness , relates the gloriously wacky story at a steady pace , and concludes things on a bravely downbeat note . Naturally , Wood's script features the inevitable reference to angora sweaters and incorporates a pretty far-fetched reincarnation theme into the already heady mix ( Laura was a gorilla in a previous life ! ) . Kudos are in order for the surprisingly sound and sincere acting by sterling leads Fuller and Austin ; they receive sturdy support from Johnny Roth as loyal native houseboy Taro and William Justine as helpful psychiatrist Dr . Carl Reiner . The scenes with the savage tigers attacking people are staged with rousing aplomb . Roland Price's sharp black and white cinematography and Les Baxter's sweeping orchestral score are both up to par . A pleasingly offbeat and unusual little oddity . |
518,156 | 8,239,592 | 277,986 | 8 | An enjoyable killer animal horror flick | Gutsy reporter Jennifer ( a winningly spunky performance by fetching blonde Sarah Downing ) poses as the troubled Samantha so she can be admitted into the mysterious sanitarium Brookdale Institute in order to research a possible expose on the place . Jennifer uncovers more than she bargained for when she discovers that the joint is infested by lethal carnivorous mutant rats . Director Tibor Takacs , working from an engrossing script by Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson , does a sound job of creating a suitably creepy'n'claustrophobic atmosphere , stages the rat attack sequences with a reasonable amount of flair , maintains a steady pace throughout , and further spices things up with a nice smattering of grisly splatter . The mental patients are a colorfully freaky bunch : Bailey Chase as the amiable Johnny Falls , Eileen Grubba as the scrappy , belligerent Rose , Patrick Dreikauss as the twitchy Morgan , Desislava Tenekedjieva as the fragile , suicidal Cypress , and Tarri Markell as spiky junkie Naomi . The rest of the cast are likewise fine in their roles , with especially praiseworthy work from Ron Perlman as humane psychiatrist Dr . William Winslow , Michael Zeliniker as oddball custodian Ernst , Denise Dowse as no-nonsense head nurse Matilda , Sean Cullen as Jennifer's concerned fellow reporter boyfriend Michael , and Michael Hagerty as likable orderly Lenny . Barry Gravelle's polished , shadowy cinematography does the trick . Guy Zerafa's shivery score hits the shuddery spot . While the rats with their glowing red eyes and insatiable flesh-eating appetites are pretty unnerving , the main giant rodent alas proves to be a total washout due to extremely poor and unconvincing CGI effects . That criticism aside , this movie overall sizes up as a nifty little fright feature . |
518,945 | 8,239,592 | 86,443 | 8 | A very cool and enjoyable low-budget 80's sci-fi / Western time travel favorite | Fred Ward gives a typically credible and engaging performance as Lyle Swann , a hotshot off-road motorcycle champion who becomes lost in the Mexico desert while in the middle of a motorcross race . Swann accidentally stumbles across a top secret government base that's conducting a time travel experiment and gets transported back to 1877 . Grimy , vicious desperado Peter Coyote and his two dumb , craven , greasy , unwashed scuzzbag partners ( marvelously played by the ever-grubby Tracey Walter and an uncharacteristically nasty Richard Masur ) want to steal Swann's wheels . Swann seeks refuge in a small , remote Mexican village . The God-fearing peasant vocals think Swann is the devil incarnate . Only priest Ed Lauter and fiery , fetching femme Clair ( the highly alluring and enticing Belinda Bauer ) treat Swann with any hospitality and become his sole allies , protecting him from both Coyote's gang and a couple of bothersome federal marshals ( one of ' em is grizzled Sam Peckinpah movie regular L . Q . Jones ) . The fantastic premise is given a semblance of gritty , lived-in plausibility thanks to the brightly conceived script , believable reactions the 18th century characters have to both Swann and his motorcycle , sound acting from a top-rate cast , and especially director William Dear's harsh , rough around the edges , very dingy and fiercely unromanticized evocation of the Old West . It's this latter element of ragged , dust-under-the-fingernails filthy historical authenticity which makes " Timerider " such an effective and engrossing offbeat sci-fi / Western outing . Former Monkey Michael Nesmith co-produced , co-wrote the quirky screenplay , and supplied the lively , thumping , guitar-blasting , synthesizer-driven rollicking rock score for this interesting anomaly . The Anchor Bay DVD offers an excellent letterboxed presentation of this unsung favorite , along with a disarmingly candid William Dear commentary , two theatrical trailers and a bunch of TV spots . |
519,167 | 8,239,592 | 86,434 | 8 | An immensely entertaining Italian rip-off of " First Blood " | Noble Native American Thunder ( likable Mark Gregory ; Trash in " 1990 : The Bronx Warriors " ) returns to his small desert home town only to discover that an ancient Indian burial ground is being demolished by construction workers . Thunder tries to stop them to no avail . He gets beat up and run out of town but returns to further stir things up . Next thing you know Thunder is on the lam and being doggedly hunted in the wilderness by a posse led by hard-nosed Sheriff Bill Cook ( the always fine Bo Svenson ) . Sound familiar ? Yep , this low-budget Italian movie blatantly copies the superior Sylvestor Stallone vehicle " First Blood . " Fortunately , director / co-writer Fabrizio De Angelis compensates for the dearth of originality by expertly maintaining a ceaseless breakneck pace throughout . Moreover , De Angelis stages the plentiful action scenes with rip-roaring brio ( a wild car chase rates as the definite exciting highlight ) . Sergio Salvati's handsome , expansive cinematography , Francesco De Masi's rousing , tuneful , majestic score , the occasional snazzy use of strenuous slow motion , and the breathtaking Monument Valley locations are all up to speed . Nice supporting turns by Raimund Harmstorf as the jerky , antagonistic Deputy Barry Henson , Antonio Sabato as the zealously wicked troublemaker Thomas , Valeria Ross as the feisty Sheila , Paolo Malco as pesky TV reporter Brain Sherman , and Michele Mirabella as groovy disc jockey Dancing Crow . While it's no classic , this fast'n'furious little Grade B action item still makes the grade as a fun and thrilling flick all the same . |
519,203 | 8,239,592 | 63,607 | 8 | Jayne Mansfield's sad , haunting and underrated cinematic swan song | This cheap and offbeat , yet astute and absorbing slice of everyday life drama centers on the forlorn and unfortunate plights of the down in the dumps occupants of a seedy urban apartment complex . Writer / director Matt Cimber displays real skill and sensitivity at capturing the underlying sense of despair , regret , and desperation that defines the common working class folks who just sort of quietly exist . The acting by a sturdy cast is truly exceptional . Jayne Mansfield in her final filmic farewell in particular shines in a complex and challenging part as a troubled lady with multiple personalities : she starts out as hopeful and innocent teenager Johnnie , then becomes dejected pregnant cocktail waitress Mae , and ultimately devolves into jaded , worn-out prostitute Eileen . The third story centering on Eileen offers the most poignant moments , with a memorably crazed turn by Walter Gregg as creepy stalker sailor Billy and a positively heart-wrenching climactic closing shot . However , Mansfield ain't the whole show . Special kudos are also in order for the adorable Dorothy Keller as sweet fisherwoman Flo and Fabian Dean as amiable big lug Charley ; their scenes together are both highly affecting and beautifully acted . Moreover , there's fine supporting work from Billy McGreene as folksy superintendent Pop , Terri Messina as naive , impressionable teenager Maria , Martin Horsey as Johnnie's gawky , restless husband Frankie , and Bruno VeSota as one of Eileen's oddball customers . Laszlo Kovacs ' appropriately plain cinematography and James Sheldon's moody , melancholy score are both up to par . Although a tad slow and clunky in spots , this film overall sizes up as a lovely and touching little sleeper . |
518,902 | 8,239,592 | 125,806 | 8 | An enjoyably quick'n'painless piece of French soft-core crime thriller fluff | Assertive Monica ( slim brunette fox Joelle Coeur ) and her more passive gal pal Jackie ( zaftig blonde looker Gilda Arancio ) are a couple of nubile and attractive young drifters who stumble across a big and beautiful abandoned house in the middle of nowhere . The girls decide to crash for the night at this swanky abode . Things turn sour when the ladies run afoul of a trio of nasty no-count jewelry thieves lead by wicked , sadistic , yet alluring ice queen villainess Bea ( smoldering raven-haired dish Marie Helene Regne ) . Prolific French horror director Jean Rollin relates the flimsy meandering story at a leaden pace , but thankfully crams more than enough tasty distaff nudity and sizzling soft-core sex to ensure that this flick remains luridly entertaining throughout . Moreover , we've got the inevitable obligatory steamy lesbian encounter , an ineptly staged shoot-out set to groovy early 70's prog-rock music , a decent catfight , and some mild moments of torture and degradation . Pierre Raph's alternately jaunty and jazzy score , the pretty rural countryside scenery , Jean-Jacques Renon's plain , unpolished cinematography , and the laughably atrocious dubbing all further enhance this trashy potboiler's considerable scroungy charm . Plus the short'n'sweet 67 minute running time ensures that this tawdry romp certainly never outstays its welcome . A nifty serving of diverting Eurosleaze . |
518,138 | 8,239,592 | 90,849 | 8 | A terrifically wacky'n'tacky Troma trash treat | A leak at a nuclear power plant contaminates a crop of marijuana . Teenagers who smoke the toxic pot transform into crazed murderous mutants . One nerdy kid spazzs out and takes a fatal spill out of a window . A vicious gang of deranged goons called the Cretins led by the insane Spike ( a gloriously gonzo portrayal by Robert Prichard ) terrorize the other students . Worse yet , straight-laced goody-goody two shoes Chrissy ( sweetly played by the adorable Janelle Brady , who has a great topless scene ) and her equally square boyfriend Warren ( affable Gil Benton ) give in to their naughty lascivious urges and engage in raunchy sex . A hilariously wild sense of anything-goes raucous'n'tasteless lowbrow humor , ripely hammy acting from a game cast ( tubby Pat Ryan is an absolute hoot as shady nuke plant manager Mr . Finley ) , some yummy gratuitous nudity , a nonstop frantic pace , a handy helping of cartoonish over-the-top splatter , and an infectiously vibrant feeling of sheer go-for-it energy and enthusiasm all add immensely to the blithely silly'n'schlocky fun that's on abundant display in this gleefully madcap gut-buster . Michael Mayers ' snazzy cinematography makes nice use of vertical wipes . A grotesque lethal monster goes on a rousing and righteously gruesome rampage at the film's stirring conclusion . Cool catchy theme song , too . A total zany riot . |
518,893 | 8,239,592 | 82,107 | 8 | A really fun martial arts action romp | Reformed criminal Bruce ( handsome , charismatic chopsocky film star Bruce Le ) decides to go straight and settle down with his girlfriend after he gets released from prison . The gang he used to work for kidnap the fetching young daughter of an American ambassador ( co-producer Dick Randall in a small role ) . Bruce goes trekking all over the world in search of the lady . Directors Le and Joseph Velasco ( the latter also wrote the cheerfully ridiculous script ) relate the lively and eventful narrative at a nonstop brisk pace , toss in a pleasing plenitude of tasty gratuitous female nudity and lurid soft-core sex , and cram this baby with more frantic knock-down , drag-out kung fu scuffles than you can shake a pair of nun-chucks at . Perenial Asian bad guy thespian Harold " Oddjob " Sakata portrays his usual nefarious lead heavy who this time sports a lethal steel claw hand while the ubiquitous Bolo Yeung once again essays his umpteenth flunky part . Randall's hot redhead wife Corliss pops up in a handful of scenes as a tough female detective ( she's billed under the choice pseudonym of Chick Norris ! ) . The glossy widescreen cinematography and exotic globe-trotting locations give this flick a nice sense of scope . Better still , the neatly eclectic film library score alternates between schmaltzy elevator music-style instrumental versions of popular hit tunes ( which include the famous James Bond theme ! ) and funky , syncopated , groovy-jammin ' discoid funk . The rousing and lengthy climactic confrontation between Bruce and erstwhile best buddy Ron ( wiry Wang Jang Lee ) likewise hits the stirring spot . Hugely entertaining trash . |
518,537 | 8,239,592 | 400,329 | 8 | A nifty low-budget supernatural shocker | A motley bunch of young college news students check out the mysterious town of Acheron , a weird hamlet that's located in a remote fog-shrouded woodland area . They discover that not only is Acheron populated by an array of deadly and unrestful spirits who come out at night , but also that the ungodly place feeds on people's sins , wickedness , and deepest desires . Writer / director Tom Lewis concocts an effectively eerie and inspired take on the standard ghost town premise : he creates a strong and compelling creepy gloom-doom atmosphere which becomes more progressively unnerving and nightmarish as the plot unfolds , relates the intriguing story at a steady pace , further spices things up with a few modest lashings of grisly gore , and delivers one doozy of a surprise jolting ending . The capable acting from an appealing no-name cast rates as another substantial asset , with especially praiseworthy work by Brandon Largent as the decent , amiable Todd Harding , Laura Mazur as the troubled Courtney , Kathryn Carner as the bitchy Amber , America Young as the ruthlessly ambitious Misty , Tyler Lassiter as scruffy slacker Ruben , and Richard Kinsey as a sinister preacher . Royce Allen Dudley's sharp cinematography and Carlos Vivas ' moody , spooky score are both on the money solid . Only some dodgy CGI effects detract a bit from this otherwise sound and enjoyable horror sleeper . |
518,552 | 8,239,592 | 90,837 | 8 | Good , silly 80's teenkill body count horror fun | Oh yes , the 80's . That glorious magical era when oversexed naughty teenagers got brutally offed in one cheerfully trashy low-budget Grade B fright feature after another . Well , this time it's a group of kids who are partying in a shopping center after hours who include the adorable Kelli Maroney of " Night of the Comet " fame and the luscious Barbara Crampton of " Re-Animator " infamy who are targeted for slaughter by these laughably hokey-looking murderously malfunctioning security robots . Yep , this item is admittedly pretty silly and not in the least bit scary , but thankfully director Jim Wynorski keeps the movie hurtling along at a snappy pace , stages the copious kill scenes with a reasonable amount of flair ( the juicy exploding head gag is a definite gory highlight ) , elicits solid performances from a likable cast ( Maroney in particular is very spunky and appealing ) , and laces the whole dopey thing with plenty of campy humor and amusing in-jokes . Moreover , both Crampton and the busty'n'lusty Suzee Slater bare their breasts , the briskly concise 77 minute running time ensures that there isn't any boring lulls throughout , and such familiar junk picture faces as Dick Miller , Angus Scrimm ( acting under his real name of Lawrence Guy ) , Angela ( " Fairy Tales , " " H . O . T . S . " ) Aames , Gerrit Graham , Mel Welles , Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov ( the latter two reprise their roles from " Eating Raoul " ) pop up in funny cameos . Sure , it's no work of art , but it's nonetheless a good deal of nice , dumb , undemanding schlocky fun . |
518,567 | 8,239,592 | 75,278 | 8 | A really enjoyable 70's drive-in romp | Three nubile young prison inmates - - fiery Carrie ( slinky blonde Jillian Kesner ) , sassy Chicago ( lovely eyeful Janice Heiden ) , and fragile Mitzi ( foxy brunette June Fairchild ) - - are chosen for an unorthodox college study on human behavior that's being conducted by shrink Professor Blalock ( a solid turn by Warren Stevens ) . Unbeknownst to the gals , they are really being used as guinea pigs for an experimental drug that causes all of them to become more exceedingly hostile and unstable : Mitzi steals a giant stuffed penguin from a toy store display window , Chicago becomes aggressively libidinous , and Carrie suddenly develops a moral conscience . Ably directed with flair to spare by underrated 70's B-movie master Gus ( " Nashville Girl " ) Trikonis , with a pleasing plenitude of tasty distaff nudity , a smidgen of soft-core sex , several cool set pieces ( highlights include a rough'n'tumble catfight in an all-girls juvenile penitentiary , a rowdy pool party , and a smoky back alley high stakes craps game ) , a tight'n'trim 75 minute running time , profane dialogue , a pertinent central message about the dangers of unethical unregulated drug testing , and a winningly raunchy sense of breezy'n'easy irreverent humor , this flick serves up loads of infectiously trashy grindhouse fun . The three lady leads are hot , sexy and attractive ( Fairchild in particular is absolutely adorable ) , plus they all are pretty capable actresses . This movie further benefits from spirited acting by an enthusiastic supporting cast : Peter Hooten as Blalock's hunky nice guy son Carter , Judith Roberts as the shrewish Ms . Blalock , Vic Jolley as the girls ' uptight guardian Vernon , David Ankrum as the nerdy Leroy , and Faith Barnhart as the snippy Sharon . The always reliable Gary Graver's typically proficient cinematography does the trick . The groovy 70's cop show-style disco score by Don Bagley and Steve Michaels likewise hits the funky spot . A hugely entertaining and unjustly overlooked exploitation blast . |
518,143 | 8,239,592 | 105,690 | 8 | An infectiously absurd escapist action hoot | A vicious band of terrorist hijackers lead by bitter and vengeful covert operative William Stranix ( the always fine Tommy Lee Jones in peak wicked form ) take over a Navy battleship in order to get their evil hands on an arsenal of nuclear missiles . It's up to cynical and disgraced former Navy Seal turned measly cook Casey Ryback ( remarkably stiff'n'stolid stoneface supreme Steven Seagal sans his trademark ponytail ) and several others to stop them . Director Andrew Davis , working from a gloriously preposterous script by J . F . Lawton , relates the gripping " Die Hard " on a boat story at a nonstop breakneck pace , creates a reasonable amount of tension , and stages the copious action set pieces with considerable rip-roaring aplomb . Seagal is his usual dry and cardboard self . Fortunately , the strong supporting cast compensates for his flatness . Jones in particular makes for a great hateful and ruthless heavy . However , Gary Busey almost steals the whole show with his deliciously deranged portrayal of the treacherous Commander Krill , a man so heinous that he not only tries to drown his own men , but also has the gall to spit in Ryback's bouillabaisse sauce as well ( Gary even does a hysterically funny drag scene to boot ! ) . Plus there are sound turns by Patrick O'Neal as the sage Captain Adams , Andy Romano as the ramrod Admiral Bates , Colm Meaney as the coldblooded Doumer , Nick Mancuso as shady chain-smoking jerk Tom Breaker , and Troy Evans as the gung-ho Granger . Delectable " Baywatch " blonde babe Erika Eleniak isn't given much to do in the thankless role of the token hot chick , but at least bares her beautifully bountiful breasts in one of the single most laughably gratuitous topless scenes ever committed to celluloid . The brutal hand-to-hand fisticuffs and heated firefights are every bit as taut and exciting as they ought to be . Frank Tidy's slick cinematography , Gary Chang's rousing , throbbing score and a cool trashy rock soundtrack are all likewise up to par . Sure , this movie is wildly implausible and ridiculous to the extreme , but it's this very sense of gleeful absurdity which makes it so much tremendously entertaining dumb fun . |
517,964 | 8,239,592 | 82,084 | 8 | An enjoyably bent early 80's killer kid horror hoot | This agreeably perverse and oddball early 80's teen body count flick may never reach the astonishingly bent pinnacle of the deeply unsettling and criminally underrated murderous moppets movie " Devil Times Five , " but it's still an above average killer kid opus nonetheless . The slim , but serviceable plot centers on a trio of misfit tykes - - two bratty boys and one creepily twinkle-eyed , albeit angelic-looking little girl - - who are all born during a solar eclipse on June 9th , 1970 . When the strange antisocial trio , who stick together in a tightly self-contained and exclusive circle , reach ten years of age they suddenly go homicidally bonkers and declare open season on the hapless , unsuspecting local yokels of the heretofore sleepy and peaceful California suburb of Meadowvale . Writer / director Ed Hunt , the usually incompetent unsung hack responsible for such wonderfully wretched clunkers as the delightfully dopey " Starship Invasions , " the uproariously inane Jesus Christ vigilante parable ( ! ) " Alien Warrior , " and the stunningly silly " The Brain , " does a pretty solid and capable job here : the kill scenes are abundant and reasonably brutal ( the arrow-through-the-eye gag is especially nasty ) , there's a sizable smattering of gratuitous nudity and soft-core sex , a goodly amount of tension is neatly created and maintained , some nice dollops of dark humor punctuate the arrestingly warped mayhem , and the surprise grim ending manages to be truly jolting . Moreover , the top-drawer cast further elevates the proceedings to the perfectly watchable and absorbing : Jose Ferror as a small-town doctor , future " Jake and the Fatman " TV series star Joe Penny as an amateur astrologer , " The Prey " ' s Lori Lethin as the plucky babysitter heroine , Susan Strasberg as a bitchy school teacher , " American Ninja " ' s Michael Dudikoff as a chowderhead jock , and Cyril O'Reilly ( the lonely misanthrope vampire in the hauntingly melancholy " Dance of the Damned " ) as a libidinous teen dude who gets bagged while doing just what you think with some naked hot chick in back of a parked van . Billy Jacoby ( who went on to star in such late 80's direct-to-video dross as " Dr . Alien " and " Demonwarp " ) , Andy Freeman , and especially the eerily adorable Elizabeth Hoy are genuinely creepy and convincing as the terrible troika of chillingly evil and amoral rugrats . And , yes , that's none other than Julie Brown , the brassy comedienne who scored a surprise Top 40 hit with the hilarious novelty tune " The Homecoming Queen's Gotta Gun , " as the lovely , vacuous , full-breasted redhead bimbo who does a great lengthy , totally extraneous , yet still sizzling and much-appreciated nude striptease while dancing in her bedroom to a cheesy blaring rock song ! All in all , this baby sizes up as a sturdy and satisfying slasher item . |
518,575 | 8,239,592 | 82,083 | 8 | An oddly appealing piece of cheerfully cheap'n'cheesy 80's horror monster schlock | How's this for a novel premise : a foul , carnivorous , subterranean monster whose exact origin is never properly disclosed feasts upon sundry teenagers , pretty young honeys , cops , bums and little old ladies who are all unfortunate enough to be treading on the beach when the sucker is on the prowl , thereby puzzling the local clueless and ineffectual authorities and whipping up a heretofore sleepy California coastal community into a frenzied tizzy . Boy , does that ever sound fairly similar to " Jaws , " now doesn't it ? Although the threadbare story ain't much , this surprisingly fun cheapo fright flick somehow manages to be quite entertaining . Veteran B-movie flatfoot John ( " Black Christmas , " " Welcome to Spring Break " ) Saxon as the dour , irascible police chief who's disgusted with the whole bloody mess and the ever-coarse Burt Young ( Paulie in the " Rocky " films ) as the boorish , jocund homicide detective investigating the baffling murders both delightfully grouch it up while longtime favorite unsung character actor Stefan ( " Blue Sunshine , " " Spellbinder " ) Gierasch gleefully commits thespic grand larceny as a pompous , pipe-smoking coroner with a ludicrously protracted drawl ( Gierasch talks as if he graduated with top honors from the William Shatner Academy of Studiously Affected and Mannered Overdone Hammy Elocution ) . Despite several glaring flaws - - writer / director Jeffrey Bloom's hopelessly all-thumbs cinematic technique , sometimes excruciatingly sluggish pacing , drab performances by David Huffman and Marianna ( " The Baby , " " Messiah of Evil " ) Hill as a pair of middle-aged seaside lovers who make a belated attempt at rekindling their extinguished relationship , Gill ( " A Cold Night's Death , " " The Ultimate Warrior " ) Melle's rather inappropriate , but still funky moody jazz score , Steve ( " Dead and Buried , " " Donnie Darko " ) Poster's peculiarly fuzzy photography , and the lamest , phoniest , most pitifully unscary beast this side of the killer walking carpet in " The Creeping Terror " - - " Blood Beach " nonetheless still rates as a weirdly winning low-rent creature feature , mainly because a certain sweetly misguided , but very palpable and thus engaging enthusiasm permeates every single fabulously fumbling frame . It's this unusual synthesis of earnestness and ineptitude which ultimately makes this baby so endearing . And any picture which boasts a scene where a nasty would-be rapist gets gruesomely castrated by the rampaging monster will always get my vote . |
518,046 | 8,239,592 | 79,665 | 8 | An excellent , engrossing and unjustly forgotten 70's prison drama sleeper | One of the best , most grimly realistic and , alas , very neglected and under-appreciated 70's prison films , a meticulously detailed and unflinching portrait of the harsh , rigidly set and strictly enforced caste system which exists within your average penitentiary . Thomas Waites gives a fine , sturdy , quietly menacing performance as Chilly , a brutal , cagey , ruthless top con who governs over a Staten Island calaboose's black market with the proverbial iron fist . John Heard delivers a strikingly excellent and appealing turn as a shy , soft-spoken wife killer who winds up locking horns with Waites after he borrows cigarettes from him without paying for them first . Lane Smith ( Nick Nolte's sympathetic cell mate in the lovely drama " Weeds " and the nasty authoritarian warden in the superior supernatural revenge horror picture " Prison " ) as the hard-nosed security captain , Joe Grafasi as a timid , browbeaten inmate , Richard Bright ( Al Neri in the " Godfather " movies ) as a shrewd , sneaky top con determined to knock Waites off his throne , and a young James Remar in his film debut as a surly punk kid lend top notch support . But the guy who clearly makes off with the entire feature is Mike Kellin , an always outstanding heavy-set , craggy-faced character actor who never received his full due . Kellin's terrific , touching , wistfully funny portrayal of Red , an amiable , but pretty imbecilic elderly felon who's been in the joint for so long that he's completely lost sync with the outside world and thus will forever remain behind bars for life , radiates a frail yearning and wounded hangdog humanity that's simply a wonder to behold . The scene where Red makes a game , albeit futile attempt at persuading the parole board to spring him rates as a tragicomic gem ; it's both sadly affecting and wryly amusing at the same time - - and it's followed by an extraordinarily moving moment of devastating heartbreak that's made all the more poignant by being presented with commendable taste , subtlety and understatement . Raphael D . Silver's tough , steady , laudable direction , aided by Alan Metzger's silvery , velvety cinematography and Charles Gross ' haunting , low-key , melancholy jazz score , forcefully renders a properly grim , desolate and credibly down'n'dirty jailhouse milieu . Only the somewhat rambling and occasionally scattershot narrative and an incongruously light-hearted finale fail to fully pass muster . Those faults aside , " On the Yard " overall cuts it as a gritty , hard-hitting , totally absorbing and convincing guys doin ' time sleeper . |
518,703 | 8,239,592 | 265,870 | 8 | A really amusing and entertaining Grade Z schlock camp hoot | Professor John Coleman ( nicely played by John Holland ) gets abducted by a group of evil Nazis . Coleman's decent , morally upright son-in-law Phil ( likable Walter Stocker ) and his sweet wife Kathy ( lovely Audrey Claire ) go to the South American country of Mandoras to save him . They discover the living disembodied head of none other than Adolph Hitler ( a hilariously manic portrayal by Bill Freed ) , who plans on taking over the world with a deadly nerve gas that only Professor Coleman knows the antidote to . David Bradley's competent direction maintains a steady pace throughout and effectively develops a colorful south-of-the-border atmosphere . The acting is generally solid , with especially stand-out turns by Nestor Paiva as polite , friendly , cigar-puffing police chief Alaniz and the delightful Dani Lynn as wacky slang-slinging beatnik hipster chick Suzanne . Film noir veteran Stanley Cortez's gorgeously sharp'n'slick cinematography gives the movie an attractive glossy look . The booming'n'bombastic stock library score is pretty funny . Ditto the priceless scene where a dead body falls out of a phone booth . Although a bit slow and talky , this notorious Grade Z schlock camp classic nonetheless radiates a certain cruddy charm that's both amusing and entertaining in equal measure . The BCI Eclipse DVD offers both the superior and more coherent original picture along with the extremely muddled and dreadful alternate version " They Saved Hitler's Brain . " |
519,048 | 8,239,592 | 55,902 | 8 | A nifty little devil cult horror flick | Succussful businessman Rick Turner ( a solid performance by Robert Alda ) experiences seductive visions of wicked and alluring witch Bianca Milan ( a deliciously sultry portrayal by breathtaking blonde beauty Linda Christian ) . Frank gets drawn to a toy doll shop run by the suave Francis Lamont ( smoothly played by Neil Hamilton ; Commissioner Gordon on " Batman " ) and becomes involved with a sinister satanic cult that worships the evil devil god Gamba . Meanwhile , Frank's sweet fiancé Donna Trent ( attractive brunette Ariadna Welter , who appeared in such Mexican horror flicks as " The Brainiac " and " 100 Cries of Terror " ) winds up in the hospital suffering from severe paralysis . Director William J . Hole , Jr . keeps the pace clicking along at a reasonably quick tempo and effectively creates a suitably spooky otherworldly atmosphere . Familiar trash picture regular Bruno VeSota has a nice bit as a cult member . Meredith Nicholson's crisp , handsome black and white cinematography , the moody score by Allyn Ferguson and Michael Terr ( the groovy swinging reverb guitar instrumental theme is fantastic ) , the tight 71 minute running time , the rousing fiery conclusion and the ambiguously dark ending further enhance the overall sound quality of this nifty little fright feature . |
518,065 | 8,239,592 | 75,389 | 8 | A fun and charming fantasy adventure romp | 1898 . Hearty geologist Professor Otto Lindenbrock ( a solid performance by Kenneth More ) , his sweet and gutsy niece Glauben ( lovely Ivonne Sentis ) , her eager , but clumsy soldier fiancé Axel ( affable Pep Munne ) , and rugged shepherd porter Hans ( brawny Frank Brana ) embark on a stirring , but perilous expedition into the center of the earth . They discover a strange and startling subterranean world populated by warring sea beasts , huge poisonous mushrooms , lethal giant tortoises , and a gigantic ape ala King Kong . Our intrepid group also run across mysterious arrogant scientist Olsen ( ubiquitous Spanish horror film mainstay Jack Taylor in peak haughty form ) . Director Juan Piper Simon , who also gave us the splendidly sleazy slasher schlockfest " Pieces " and the deliciously ridiculous killer animal hoot " Slugs , " delivers a pretty lively and entertaining fantasy adventure outing that moves along at a steady clip and offers a reasonable amount of diverting thrills throughout . Andres Berenguar's vibrant cinematography and the lush , robust orchestral score by Juan Carlos Calderon and Juan Jose Garcia Caffi are both up to par . Moreover , the endearingly hokey rubbery monsters , laughably shoddy ( much less than ) special effects , the flavorsome period setting , priceless dopey dialogue ( favorite line : " A prehistoric boneyard is no fit place to bring up babies " ) , the good-natured tone , and an exciting climactic volcanic explosion all further enhance this picture's infectiously goofy charm . A pleasing piece of amiably silly piffle . |
518,402 | 8,239,592 | 105,636 | 8 | A real cracking action thriller winner | Eager beaver Vince ( a fine performance by Bill Paxton ) and his more cynical buddy Don ( the always excellent William Sadler ) are two Arkansas firemen who stumble across a map to a fortune in gold . Vince and Don go to a rundown derelict factory located in a dangerous East St . Louis ghetto neighborhood to retrieve the loot . They find themselves in considerable jeopardy when they run afoul of a lethal gang of drug dealers led by the ruthless King James ( a superbly menacing Ice T ) and his hot-tempered right-hand man Savon ( Ice Cube in peak surly form ) . Don and Vince manage to abduct King James ' crippled junkie brother Lucky ( a nicely twitchy De'voreaux White ) , which leads to a tense cat and mouse stand-off between the two opposing groups . Director Walter Hill relates the narrative hurtling along at a constant breakneck pace , expertly milks a maximum amount of suspense from the absorbing story , and stages the stirring action scenes with his trademark fiery brio and striking style . The tight , edgy script by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis makes a bleak and potent statement about how greed and power lust bring out the worst in people while making a radical departure from the standard action picture formula : There are no clear-cut distinctions between the good guys and the bad guys in this dark tale of betrayal and disloyalty ; instead we've got a handful of desperate folks who all find themselves neck deep in a whole lot of trouble . The film further benefits from the uniformly sound acting from a tip-top cast : Paxton and Sadler have a sturdy , relaxed rapport , Ice T and Ice Cube spar with each other with rip-snorting gusto , plus there are stand-out turns by Art Evans as bitter , hapless old bum Bradlee , Stoney Jackson as the suave Wickey , Bruce Young as smooth gun dealer Raymond , Tommy " Tiny " Lester as the hulking Cletus , and Gwenn Plummer as itchy trigger man Luther . Lloyd Ahern's slick cinematography and Ry Cooder's rattling , rousing bluesy score are both solid and effective . The last third of the movie is especially gripping and exciting . A bang-up little beaut . |
518,794 | 8,239,592 | 66,561 | 8 | A really fun flick | The time : Sometime in the very distant ( nonexistent ) past . A tribe of evil primitive cave folks sacrifice gorgeous blonde women to the gods in order to be protected from lethal predatory dinosaurs . The lovely and feisty Sanna ( the remarkably shapely and beautiful Victoria Vetri , a delicious " Playboy " Playmate who looks totally smokin ' in her skimpy two piece fur bikini ) manages to escape from the evil tribe and joins a much nicer tribe where she meets and falls in love with the kind , noble Tara ( handsome hunk Robin Hawdon ) . When the moon appears on the horizon for the first time poor Sanna gets blamed for it and is subsequently banished from the tribe . Writer / director Val Guest treats the endearingly silly story with admirable seriousness and elicits sincere performances from the attractive cast . This immensely entertaining film offers a little something for everyone : we've got insanely hot cave babes clad in revealing outfits , cool and convincing stop-motion animation dinosaurs done by Dave Allen and Jim Danforth , muscular young men running about in loincloths , an attack by a carnivorous tree , Vetri playing with a cute baby dinosaur , men with spears fighting giant deadly reptiles , big killer crabs , fierce torrential storms , a wild beachside catfight , and , best of all , Vetri displaying her awesomely ample body in both a cave love scene and skinny-dipping sequence ( make sure to see the 100 minute full uncut version or else you'll miss this tasty latter stuff ) . Dick Bush's crisp cinematography delivers a few striking visuals while Mario Nascimbene's lush orchestral score hits the stirring spot . Patrick Allen glowers effectively as the brutish villain Khaku . The luscious Imogen Hassall also makes a strong impression as jealous brunette spitfire Ayak . A hugely enjoyable , if admittedly preposterous picture . |
518,884 | 8,239,592 | 90,788 | 8 | Ruggero Deodato's enjoyable entry in the popular 80's summercamp slasher genre | Ruggero Deodato's rather belated entry in the then trendy " Friday the 13th " - inspired 80's summercamp slasher horror sub-genre is a much more solid , enjoyable and even fairly scary fright feature than it's usually given credit for being . The dead simple story can be summed up in a single sentence : a hairy , homely , horrible homicidal Indian shaman viciously bumps off an affable bunch of fun-loving teens vacationing in a lovely , remote campsite that's located on a cursed area of land that was once owned by Native Americans . Yep , that's about it as far as a complex narrative is concerned . And that's about all you need , if you ask me . I mean , in a body count pic like this the plot really doesn't matter , now does it ? The toothpick-lean plot aside , the film delivers the goods overall : spaghetti splatter specialist Deodato ( the sweet , subtle , sophisticated gent who blessed us with the infamous " Cannibal Holocaust " ) provides adroit direction , the slick , sinuous , expansive cinematography is real easy on the eyes ( the shots where a fluid Steadicam goes snaking hither and tither amongst the trees are real nice ) , Goblin's Claudio Simonetti hits a righteously spooky , shimmering groove with his throbbing rock score , the kill scenes pack a gruesome , lingering wallop ( throat gashings , a girl gets dragged through broken glass , the ol ' axe in the noggin bit , that sort of grisly stuff ) , the characters are appealing , well-developed and attractive , there's a hefty amount of gratuitous nudity ( mostly female , but there's a naked fat guy , too ) , the rapid pace never falters , and the picturesque forest locations evoke a harrowingly palpable sense of ambient menace . The choice trash movie supporting cast qualifies as another significant asset : the ever-intense David ( " The Last House on the Left " ) Hess as the grouchy , unfriendly camp caretaker , the always winsome Mimsy ( " Riot on Sunset Strip " ) Farmer as Hess ' sweet , neglected , unfaithful wife and the great Charles ( " Beyond the Valley of the Dolls " ) Napier as the bluff , helpful sheriff Mimsy's having an adulterous fling with , plus brief appearances by John ( " Deported Women of the SS Special Section " ) Steiner and Ivan ( " Jungle Holocaust " ) Rassimov . Sure , this movie sure ain't no classic , but it's still a superior sylvan slaughterfest just the same . |
518,974 | 8,239,592 | 55,872 | 8 | An offbeat and interesting early 60's post-nuke sci-fi oddity | Following a devastating nuclear holocaust mankind is forced to create a race of highly intelligent and adoptable humanoid robots ( derisively referred to as " clickers " ) in order to rebuild civilization . Problems arise when the robots ' remarkable evolution threatens mankind's status as the master race . A fanatical organization called the Order of Flesh and Blood led by the volatile Craigus ( a solid performance by Don Megowan ) are determined to stop the robots before it's too late . But are the robots a true threat to man's future existence ? Or could the robots be mankind's possible salvation instead ? Jay ( " The Killer Shrews , " " The Giant Gila Monster " ) Simms ' bright , witty , if overly talky script provides a wealth of tasty food for thought for the viewer to chew on , smartly addressing such heady provocative themes as faith , bigotry , identity , mortality and what it means to be human . Wesley E . Barry's effectively no-frills direction , Hal Mohr's splashy , colorful cinematography , the amusingly quirky dialogue ( " Why don't you beat it while you still have a beat to beat ? " ) , and the legendary Jack ( " Frankenstein , " " The Wolf Man " ) Pierce's nifty robot make-up ( the robots are hairless beings with blue skin and uncanny shiny silver eyes ) are all likewise up to par . Moreover , the movie's conspicuously ragged production values - - variable acting from an uneven cast , cardboard sets , a droning " spacey " score , stock library footage of an A-bomb blast which plays over the opening credits - - add to rather than detract from the film's oddly alluring singularity , giving this picture a peculiar charm that's impossible to dislike . Although a bit dull and static , " The Creation of the Humanoids " overall still qualifies as an enjoyable and intriguing low-budget post-nuke sci-fi oddity . |
518,795 | 8,239,592 | 110,557 | 8 | Harvey Keitel is the scariest villain ever in a 90's kiddie flick ! | The plot for this family feature is pretty negligible ( an eminently insufferable should-be lovable'n'huggable little girl adopts a cuddly capuchin who's been trained to steal things as a pet and hides the little bugger from her disapproving parents ) , but fortunately this film does have one tremendous ace up its otherwise empty sleeve : the chimp's evil , sinister , glowering gypsy organ-grinder owner is played by none other than a hilariously miscast Harvey Keitel ! Sporting a mouth full of gleaming gold teeth , long , greasy , unwashed hair , an awful wardrobe of blindingly gaudy gypsy rags , gold chains hanging around his chest , a feeble attempt at a dense European accent that's betrayed by Harve's unmistakable Brooklyn rumble , and the same crazed'n'creepy aura that he brought to his sleazy street corner pimp role in " Taxi Driver , " the ever-manic Keitel acts with a savage intensity and gritty authenticity which seems alarmingly out of place in an alleged kiddie pic . One simply hasn't lived until witnessing the hair-raising moment in which Harvey blames the monkey for the recent loss of his latest girlfriend : " She even took my freakin ' food ! , " Keitel roars at the poor , cowering creature . " She hated you and your stinkin ' mess ! " Alas , at no point in the film does Harvey curse out the monkey at the top of his lungs while furiously masturbating . Moreover , this flick's cast and crew should send the mind of any devout trash cinema aficionado reeling : Ridley Scott ( ! ) was the executive producer , cinematographer Luciano Tovoli also shot Dario Argento's landmark giallo " Tenebre , " " Bad Georgia Road " director John Broderick co-produced , and the cast includes such " what the hell are they doing here ? " notables as Mimi Rogers , Christopher McDonald , and dependably gruff Abel Ferrara movie mainstay Victor Argo in one of his customary mob capo parts . And one last remark before I conclude this particular comment : I bet dollars-to-donuts that there's a whole generation of hopelessly messed-up six year old tykes who are currently experiencing marrow-freezing nightmares because of Harvey Keitel's frightening , fire-breathing , full-throttle histrionics in this film . |
518,849 | 8,239,592 | 75,359 | 8 | A bleak and cynical , yet still gripping thriller | A very bleak and cynical 70's all-star cast suspense thriller about a crazed motiveless sniper who for no rationale reason decides to blow away a bunch of spectators in a crowded stadium during a football game . It's up to ramrod police chief Charlton Heston , assisted by coldly efficient SWAT team commander John Cassavetes and antsy stadium manager Martin Balsam , to stop the mysterious lunatic before it's too late . Among the many folks in jeopardy are Beau Bridges as an unemployed dad who's trying to show his wife Pamela Bellwood and kids a good time , David Janssen and Gena Rowlands as a pair of middle-aged lovers , Jon Korkes as a pathetic jerk whose date with the lovely Marilyn Hassett goes disastrously awry , Mitchell Ryan as a gentle priest , Walter Pigeon as an elderly pickpocket , and Jack Klugman as a hapless compulsive gambler who's bet what little money he has left on the big game . Director Larry Peerce relates the tightly streamlined plot in a fiercely stark and unsentimental manner , artfully using subjective camera-work , long lenses , and high angle shots to stoke the gut-wrenching tension to a nerve-jangling fever pitch . The set-up of said suspense tends to be a bit laborious at times and the background exposition on the many secondary characters is likewise a tad extraneous ( and even a bit tedious , too ) , but the final climactic eruption of raw violence and sheer pandemonium ( the crowd explodes in a frenzied blind panic when the sniper starts shooting them ) is both gripping and disturbing in comparable measure . But what really gives this film an extra unnerving edge is its bitter cynicism and surprisingly upfront amorality , especially when it comes to the frequently brutish tactics used by Cassavetes to nail the sniper . The scene where Cassavetes gives an innocent spectator a severe beat-down and doesn't even apologize to the poor guy after-wards is particularly unpleasant and upsetting . This guy is the iron lung of law enforcement who's portrayed with a wired intensity and seething psychosis by Cassevetes that's genuinely frightening to behold . Whether intended or not , it's this nice nihilistic blurring the line between the cops and the sniper which in turn makes " Two-Minute Warning " a distinctly 70's kind of gritty and absorbing dead serious thriller . |
518,111 | 8,239,592 | 75,347 | 8 | A very enjoyable Disney adventure romp | The south just after the Civil War . Brave young David Burnie ( likable Johnny Doran ) and his equally gutsy best buddy Thad ( an appealing performance by Billy Attmore ) gain possession of a map for a treasure located somewhere in the Florida Keys . The lads are assisted by charming rascal Jim Burnie ( a fine Robert Foxworth ) , spunky Southern belle Lauriette Paxton ( delightfully played with radiant aplomb by Joan Hackett ) , and flamboyant charlatan physician Dr . Ewing T . Snodgrass ( a marvelously robust portrayal by Peter Ustinov ) . Moreover , a rival group of scurvy pirates led by the ruthless Spangler ( a perfectly nasty Vic Morrow ) are also determined to get their grubby hands on the treasure . Director Vincent McEveety , working from a colorful and eventful script by Don Tait , relates the thrilling story at a constant snappy pace , maintains a lighthearted tone throughout , and offers a rich and flavorsome evocation of the 19th century deep south . Of course , there are plenty of perils faced along the way which include a run-in with the Klu Klux Klan , a lethal horde of deadly mosquitoes , and a fierce hurricane . Popping up in nice supporting parts are Mills Watson as Spangler's mean right-hand man Catrell , Jane Wyatt as the feisty Aunt Effie , Robert DoQui as friendly ex-slave Ben , Dub Taylor as the peppery Sheriff Forbes , Dick Van Patten as a flashy con artist gambler , and Brion James as a mangy thief . Both Buddy Baker's rousing score and Frank V . Phillips ' crisp cinematography are up to snuff . A fun film . |
518,136 | 8,239,592 | 90,773 | 8 | A potently harsh'n'harrowing New Zealand " Deliverance " variant | A coed contingent of five rowdy street-savvy city kids venture into the remote woods for a weekend of fun and excitement ; they get more than they bargained for when they run afoul of a mean , nasty , reclusive , obsessively self-reliant and misanthropic forest-dwelling psycho hermit ( a first-rate rip-snorting villainous turn by the always excellent Bruno Lawrence , who confirms his scruffy status as the Down Under equivalent to Warren Oates ) who most emphatically doesn't cotton to any meddlesome outsiders trespassing on his fiercely guarded cut off from the rest of civilization secluded sylvan terrain . Naturally , the hapless group must resort to ferocious animalistic tactics to fend off this dangerously antisocial " leave me the hell alone " loony . Tautly directed with considerable muscular élan by Ian Mune ( who also co-wrote the lean , tight , compact script with Bill Baer ) , with breathtakingly lush and expansive outdoor photography by Kevin Hayward and an effectively spare , shuddery , skin-crawling synthesizer score by Stephen McCurdy , " Bridge to Nowhere " sizes up as a tense , edgy and gripping suspense thriller . Although Lawrence clearly dominates the film with his impressively fearsome portrayal of a cunning maniac who's not to be trifled with , the rest of the cast is equally on the money : gorgeous redhead Allison Routledge gives a warm , engaging performance as Lawrence's loyal , loving wife ( Lawrence and Routledge previously acted together in the terrific science fiction end-of-the-world pip " The Quiet Earth " ) , Phillip Gordon is genuinely frightening as a hot-tempered brute , and Matthew Hunter , Margaret Umbers , Shelly Luxford and Stephen Judd are credible and sympathetic as the other scared , vulnerable , totally out of their depth backpackers . An undeservedly forgotten little sleeper that's eminently worthy of rediscovery . |
519,408 | 8,239,592 | 75,339 | 8 | A satisfyingly sleazy Cheri Caffaro 70's drive-in trash movie treat | Buxom , leggy , shapely , irresistibly trashy platinum blonde 70's schlock action movie bombshell Cheri Caffaro , who rather uncomfortably resembles a cheap dime-store Dolly Parton clone , struts her electrifying el skanko woman hot stuff to the sizzling low-rent max as cagey , sexy and very deadly international hit babe Samantha Fox ( who shouldn't be confused with either the New York porn star or the vacuous British pop singer ) , who's armed with an assortment of lethal weapons and clever disguises , plus sports the world's ugliest dark blue eye shadow and an extremely deep all body tan . Fox gleefully kills an eminently hateful bunch of wealthy slimebags ( my personal favorite is the sadomasochistic B & D leather freak Cheri smothers by putting a plastic bag over his head after she ties the sicko up ) who all live in the Phillipines . She's been hired to rub out these evil rich scum by some mystery person . In between offing people Cheri finds time to strike up a steamy romance with hunky police chief Aharon Ipale ( one particularly hot date involves attending a cockfight ; the killer roosters ' wild brawl is tastefully inter-cut with scorchingly hot shots of a naked Caffaro excitedly writhing on a bed ! ) . Cheri's perpetually all-thumbs director husband Don Schain , who also helmed all three sensationally scuzzy " Ginger " pictures and the tawdry " A Place Called Today " for his darling celluloid sleaze goddess wife , fumbles the ball here with truly inept , but still oddly engrossing and often painfully sidesplitting results : some priceless dialogue ( aphorism to live by : " I never bet on anything but a sure thing " ) , copious gratuitous Caffaro nudity , hilariously ham-fisted action scenes ( don't miss the gut-busting karate fight between Cheri and a would-be kung-fu assassin on Cheri's yacht ) , Hugo Montenegro's funky , pulsating pseudo-John Barry score , choppy editing , quite primitive cinematography by Fredy Conde ( the strenuous slow motion and eyeball-straining four way split screen are both endearingly clumsy ) , gorgeous scenic Manila locations , an almost excruciatingly funny surprise ending , Julie McFadden's haunting rendition of the unforgettably atrocious theme song " Lady Samantha " ( " Lady Samantha / He fell in love with you " ) , and the incomparable Vic Diaz's marvelous portrayal of a sweet , tubby , gluttonous blundering oaf of a detective all jostle for the viewer's attention in this tacky , degenerate and resolutely crummy ersatz James Bond-style action / adventure dreckfest released by New World Pictures that's absolutely essential viewing for any self-respecting Cheri Caffaro fan worth his weight in crushed beer cans , which hopefully doesn't exclude too many folks . |
518,899 | 8,239,592 | 82,146 | 8 | A very funny and charming comedy | Runtish nice guy caveman Atouk ( a wonderfully engaging performance by Ringo Starr ) has the hots for the gorgeous , but stuck-up and self-absorbed Lana ( luscious Barbara Bach , who looks simply stunning in her skimpy two piece fur bikini outfit ) . Atouk gets banished from his tribe by hulking brute chief Tonda ( fearsome behemoth John Matuszak ) . Atouk becomes leader of his own tribe of misfits . Moreover , the sweet Tala ( Shelley Long at her most cute and appealing ) gets a crush on Atouk . Director Carl Gottlieb , who also co-wrote the blithely inane script with Rudy DeLuca , crafts a good-natured piece of silliness that unfolds at a constant snappy pace and maintains an amiably daffy and pleasant tone throughout . Sidesplitting comic highlights include the discovery of fire , the invention of music , a predatory tyrannosaurus rex getting stoned after eating marijuana , a gut-busting appearance by a shaggy and shambling Abominable Snowman ( towering Richard Moll in gnarly make-up designed by Chris Walas ) , and Lana's ultimate comeuppance . The screwball humor remains endearingly goofy from start to finish ; it never becomes too mean or vulgar . The delightfully ridiculous stop-motion animation dinosaurs by David Allen are especially hilarious . In addition , the enthusiastic cast have a ball with the broad material , with stand-out work by Dennis Quaid as Atouk's loyal friend Lar , Jack Gilford as blind old man Gog , Cork Hubbert as dwarf Ta , and Evan Kim as articulate Asian dude Nook . Alan Hume's slick cinematography makes nifty frequent use of wipes . Lalo Schifrin's robust , bouncy , funky score likewise hits the nutty spot . A cool and amusing romp . |
519,042 | 8,239,592 | 75,334 | 8 | Much better than its poor reputation would suggest | I finally saw this infamous final theatrical fright feature from the legendary Hammer Studios and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was nowhere near as bad as its many detractors claim . In fact , I thought this movie was quite good . Granted , it's got its flaws ( the much-ridiculed silly monster hand puppet and the weak climax are both below par ) , but overall this picture has a lot of solid stuff in it . For starters , the plot is fresh and compelling : Sinister excommunicated renegade Satanist priest Father Michael Rayner ( a wonderfully wicked Christopher Lee ) plots to impregnate sweet innocent nun Catharine ( a ravishing and beguiling Nastassja Kinski in her first big role ) so she will give birth to the spawn of the Devil . It's up to humble , but shrewd and charming best-selling occult novelist John Verney ( superbly played by Richard Widmark , who makes for an engagingly unlikely Hammer hero ) to stop Father Rayner and his avid followers before it's too late . Moreover , director Peter Sykes maintains a steady pace throughout and effectively creates a chillingly creepy atmosphere . The smart and intricate script by Christopher Wicking and John Peacock offers a gripping story and a strong pair of refreshingly mature adult characters as the two principal adversaries . David Watkin's polished cinematography and Paul Glass ' spare , spooky score are on the money fine . Kinski does well as an extremely fair maiden in distress ( and performs a truly startling full-frontal nude scene at the movie's conclusion ) . The stellar supporting cast qualifies as another substantial plus : Denholm Elliott as a wormy , wayward weakling member of the evil cult , Honor Blackman as Verney's spunky agent Anna Fountain , and Anthony Valentine as Anna's suave boyfriend David . Eerie , intelligent and underrated , this undeservedly maligned movie is well worth checking out by general horror film fans and hardcore Hammer aficionados alike . |
519,205 | 8,239,592 | 156,894 | 8 | An amusingly silly tongue-in-cheek gay biker romp | This flick sure ain't your run of the mill biker exploitation item . The biker gang in this highly peculiar picture are a bunch of openly swishy and flamboyant homosexuals who encounter various forms of harassment and prejudice while embarking on a road trip to a Los Angeles drag convention . During their merry trek our endearingly campy protagonists get hassled by the cops , have a run-in with a hostile rival heterosexual biker club , eat a fancy lunch on the side of the road , engage in a food fight at a roadside hot dog stand , and try on dresses at a clothing store . Director Larry Brown and screenwriter Margaret McPherson treat this gleefully lowbrow nonsense with an appropriately lighthearted touch , maintain a zippy pace throughout , and keep things way too inane for this movie to ever seem even remotely offensive . Sure , the titular bunch are depicted as broad limp-wristed queenie stereotypes , but they're also the most affable and appealing characters in the entire feature . Moreover , the actors who portray this jolly group play their parts with delicious eye-rolling gusto : John Alderman as tough , scruffy leader Michael , Tom Basham as the effeminate David , Bruce Kimball as temperamental hulk Arnold , Henry Olek as dandyish Brit-accented aspiring poet Edward , Maurice Warfield as the mincing Ronnie , and Robert Biheller as the equally epicene Henry . Plus familiar B-movie regulars Michael Pataki and Dan Haggerty appear as belligerent straight bikers . The soundtrack of insanely groovy songs hits the funky spot . Michael Weyman's sunny cinematography likewise does the trick . The totally unexpected surprise downbeat ending packs a pretty strong and lingering punch . A real nutty one-of-a-kind vintage 70's grindhouse hoot . |
519,242 | 8,239,592 | 79,758 | 8 | By no means a good movie , but a very enjoyable and strangely endearing bad one | I must confess that I've always had a special abiding fondness for this admittedly clunky and all-thumbs big budget major studio fright film failure . Sure , it's pretty goofy and inept , what with John Frankenheimer's jarringly erratic direction , poky pacing , a painfully unsubtle and oversincere pro-ecology / anti-pollution message that's way too blatantly articulated in " The Omen " scribe David Seltzer's heavy-handed script , a ridiculously stuffy , grimly serious and portentous tone , and especially the hopelessly hokey special effects . The infamously laughable giant seven foot grotesquely misshapen killer mutant bear is an absolute riot ; the scenes with the bear on a murderous rampage are unintentionally gut-busting ( definite highlights include the kid in the sleeping bag being slammed against a rock and the truly priceless moment when the bear bites a screaming man's head off ) . Robert Foxworth and Talie Shire make for genuinely engaging leads while some of the secondary characters are unusually complex and well-drawn . Having would-be noble Native American Armand Assante come across like an unlikeable and antagonistic jerk and should-be hateful lumber mill boss Richard Dysart seem like a really pleasant and affable guy is an especially nice touch . Furthermore , the whole cast tackle the silly material with utmost conviction and commitment , thereby giving this otherwise totally absurd feature a much-needed dab of credibility . Both Harry Stradling , Jr . ' s slick photography and Leonard Rosenman's lively , thrilling score are up to par . The fact that the copious violence is quite brutal and graphic for a PG-rated film qualifies as a substantial plus . And that uproarious final shot plays like the perfectly pitiful punchline to a delightfully drawn-out cinematic shaggy dog joke . |
519,243 | 8,239,592 | 71,150 | 8 | The devil made her do it | A bitter and sexually frustrated crippled young woman ( superbly played with absolutely fearless abandon by Carla Gravina ) renounces her faith in God . Since said lovely young lady was in a previous life a witch who got burned at the stake as a heretic 400 years ago , this makes it doubly easy for Satan to take possession of her body . ( The scene where Gravina gives herself to Lucifer is a total doozy : a blue-painted man wearing a ram's head mask forces her to eat a severed toad's head and Gravina gleefully copulates with a goat . ) Pretty soon Gravina is making unseemly incestuous advances on her brother , cruising the streets for young men to seduce , using foul language at the diner table , frothing at the mouth , and levitating around the house . Father Mel ( " Nightmare City " ) Ferror and stepmother Alida ( " Suspiria " ) Valli are understandably perturbed . It's up to bishop Arthur ( " Let Sleeping Corpses Lie " ) Kennedy and priest George ( " Tower of Evil " ) Coulouris to save Gravina's soul before it's too late . Capably directed by Alberto De Martino ( who also co-wrote the bold script ) , with sharp photography by notorious celluloid sleazemeister Joe D'Amato , a typically fine , haunting and stirring score by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai , a creepy , uneasy atmosphere , plenty of hilariously excessive profanity ( " You stinking pots of st ! " ) , some lovably chintzy optical effects , solid acting from a uniformly excellent cast , and a rousing climactic exorcism , this enjoyably trashy Italian exploitation horror outing really delivers the satisfyingly junky demonic possession goods . |
517,930 | 8,239,592 | 86,320 | 8 | A deliciously sick and deviant early 80's summer camp slasher flick | Shy , repressed teenage girl Angela ( winningly played by Felissa Rose ) makes her first trip to Camp Arawak with her nephew Ricky ( the solid Jonathan Tiersten ) . Several mean teens at the camp start to mercilessly pick on Angela . Before you can say " here we go again , " the body count starts to mount , with a handful of folks getting bumped off in assorted gruesome ways . Could it be Angela or someone else who's committing these horrible murders ? While the basic plot is obviously derived both " Carrie " and " Friday the 13th " alike , this satisfyingly grim early 80's low-budget slice'n'dice item still cuts it as good'n'ghoulish slasher fun thanks to Robert Hiltzik's strong direction and a suitably sick , perverse and twisted script . Moreover , this movie plausibly depicts adolescents as cruel , selfish and fiercely competitive little monsters . The make-up f / x by Ed French are top-notch and each grisly murder is creative in its own macabre way : A portly , repulsive pedophile cook has his face severely burned with scalding hot water , a jerk drowns under a boat , another dork is stung to death by wasps , a bimbo gets knifed in the shower , a vicious floozy's face gets roasted by an electric curling iron , three kids are hacked up with a hatchet , and the same hatchet is used for a decapitation . WARNING : Major SPOILER ahead . Plus there's one startling doozy of a shock surprise ending : Angela turns out to be a boy who was raised by his wacko aunt ( delightfully overplayed to the campy wacko hilt by Desiree Gould ) to believe that he's a girl instead . This conclusion was later shamelessly copied in " The Crying Game . " Craggy-faced character actor Mike Kellin turns in a fine performance as Mel , the irate , cigar-chomping camp owner who tries to cover up the murders and ultimately winds up having an arrow shot through his neck . This nasty nugget was followed by two entertaining tongue-in-cheek sequels , but the original remains the best of the bunch . |
518,384 | 8,239,592 | 90,735 | 8 | A fun 80's action thriller | Master thief Sam Quint ( Tommy Lee Jones in peak rough'n'tumble craggy form ) is hired by the government to steal data from a shady organization . Quint hides the data in an experimental supercar called the Black Moon . The Black Moon gets ripped off by sassy ace automobile booster Nina ( a winning performance by the insanely foxy Linda Hamilton ) , who works for a stolen car ring run by the ruthless Ed Ryland ( a nicely slimy Robert Vaughn ) . Quint has to break into Ryland's impregnable office building so he can steal back the Black Moon . Director Harvey Cokeless maintains a constant brisk pace and stages the action scenes with real rip-snorting brio . Lalo Schifrin's robust , rousing , jazzy score pumps up the tension . Misha Suslov's slick cinematography gives the film an attractive polished look . The bang-up supporting cast rates as another major plus : Richard Jaeckel as nerdy scientist Earl Windom , Bubba Smith as intimidating government agent Johnson , Lee Ving as vicious thug Marvin Ringer , Dan Shor as Windom's amiable assistant Billy Lyons , William Sanderson as sweet deaf guy Tyke Thayden , and Keenan Wynn as the ailing Iron John . Jones makes for a refreshingly human and vulnerable protagonist . The climactic break-in sequence is especially tense and gripping . Moreover , there's an amusingly sly sense of humor evident throughout . This tight , trim and witty B action thriller gets right down to brass tacks and hits the stirring spot in a satisfying straightforward and unpretentious manner . |
518,827 | 8,239,592 | 66,767 | 8 | A fun 70's crime caper outing | Wily thief Duke Anderson ( the always fine Sean Connery in wonderfully charming form ) gets out of prison after serving ten years and immediately devises a plan to steal a bundle from the fancy Upper East Side New York City apartment complex his classy call girl mistress Ingrid ( winningly played with sexy and spunky aplomb by Dyan Cannon , who looks absolutely gorgeous ) lives in . Given financial backing by cagey , but reluctant mobster Angelo ( a terrific Alan King ) , Anderson rounds up a motley crew for the daring heist which includes merry gay antique dealer Haskins ( Martin Balsam camping it up with tremendous glee ) , brash safecracker the Kid ( a marvelously dynamic Christopher Walken ) , mellow wheelman Spencer ( likable Dick Williams ) , sour sadsack old-timer Pop ( solid Stan Gottlieb ) , and vicious brute Mafia hit-man Parelli ( a genuinely scary turn by Val Avery ) . Unbeknownst to Anderson , his every move is being watched and recorded by the authorities . Ably directed with smooth assurance by Sidney Lumet , with a constant snappy pace , a funky , jazzy , syncopated score by Quincy Jones , zesty acting from a first-rate cast , slick cinematography by Arthur J . Ornitz , colorful characters , an engaging sense of breezy humor , a neat underlying theme on how advanced technology is intruding on everyday life in both positive and negative ways , an infectiously groovy 70's vibe , and a tense , gripping and exciting last third depicting the big gig , this snazzy affair makes for a perfectly engrossing and entertaining crime thriller . Popping up in nifty bits are Ralph Meeker as hard-nosed police sergeant Delaney , Margaret Hamilton as feisty old battleaxe Miss Kaler , and Garrett Morris as brave patrolman Everson . A hugely enjoyable romp . |
518,755 | 8,239,592 | 101,745 | 8 | A really nice and charming comedy | Ambitious yuppie doctor Ben Stone ( a supremely assured and affable performance by Michael J . Fox ) completes his internship at a Washington hospital and rushes off to Los Angeles for a cushy high-paying job as a plastic surgeon . En route to California Ben finds himself stranded in the quaint small South Carolina hamlet of Grady , where he's forced to do 32 hours worth of community service . Ben plans on leaving town as soon as possible , but has second thoughts after meeting feisty and fetching ambulance driver Lou ( a delightfully spunky portrayal by the deliciously lissome Julie Warner ) . Director Michael Caton-Jones , working from an amiable script by Jeffrey Price , Peter S . Seamon and Daniel Pyne , keeps the pace bubbling along at a steady clip , gives the picture a gentle , folksy charm that never becomes too corny or sappy , maintains a pleasant , good-natured tone throughout , and displays a sincere affection for the colorful and likable salt-of-the-earth rural characters . Fox's ingratiating presence keeps the movie humming from start to finish ; he receives fine support from Warner ( her nude skinny-dipping introductory scene is a genuinely sexy corker ) , Woody Harrelson as shrewd , dashing life insurance salesman Hank Gordon , David Ogden Steirs as hearty , jolly Mayor Nick Nicholson , Barnard Hughes as cranky veteran physician Dr . Aurelius Hugue , Bridget Fonda as aggressively flirtatious man-hungry tramp Nancy Lee Nicholson , Frances Sternhagen as sour old maid Lillian , Roberts Blossom as crusty Judge Evans , Mel Winkler as laid-back , gregarious Melvin the Mechanic , and Eyde Byrde as stern , by-the-book Nurse Packer . George Hamilton contributes an amusing cameo as hotshot plastic surgeon Dr . Halberstrom . Michael Chapman's sunny cinematography gives the film an attractive sparkling look . Carter Burwell provides a tuneful , jaunty , countryish score . A sweet little winner . |
519,053 | 8,239,592 | 59,878 | 8 | A good deal of dopey fun | This completely ridiculous tongue-in-cheek adolescent sci-fi comedy romp represents 60's kitsch at its most delightfully dumb and inoffensive . The plot alone is pure silliness : A precocious little squirt scientific genius named - - what else ? - - Genius ( none other than future " Happy Days " TV show star and mainstream feature director Ron Howard ! ) creates a special formula called goo that causes both people and animals to growth substantially in size . Of course , a no-count band of rowdy rebellious teenagers led by the suave Fred ( an embarrassingly bad turn by Beau Bridges ) eat the goo and become evil tyrant towering behemoths who take over the town . It's up to nice guy Mike ( former Disney movie star Tommy Kirk ) to stop them . Boy , does this hilariously ludicrous honey deliver the campy goods with a gut-busting vengeance : we've got fumbling ( mis ) direction by the ever-inept Bert I . Gordon , uproariously poor and unconvincing ( not so ) special effects ( the huge wooden legs are especially laughable ) , extremely variable acting , a pair of giant dancing ducks , hopelessly dated " hip " slang ( favorite line : " Dig that nitty gritty " ) , a cheerfully silly tone , blithely lewd and idiotic humor ( one dude hangs off the breasts of a busty lady giant ! ) , an excellent rock soundtrack , and more insanely groovy dancing than you can shake a tail feather at ( the lengthy sequence with the over-sized teens dancing up a storm is positively sidesplitting ! ) . Better still , Jack Nizsche supplies a terrific catchy score ( the rumbling instrumental tune " The Last Race " is simply fantastic ) , both Freddy Cannon and the Beau Brummels make special guest musical appearances , and such hot babes as Joy Harmon ( the buxom blonde car wash girl in " Cool Hand Luke " ) , Tisha Sterling , and Toni Basil provide a plethora of delicious distaff eye candy . Stanley Kubrick film regular Joe Turkel plays the no-nonsense sheriff and Rance Howard even briefly pops up as a deputy . All in all , this infectiously inane stupidity sizes up as a total goofy hoot . |
518,010 | 8,239,592 | 52,104 | 8 | A delectably tacky 50's sci-fi kitsch hoot | Four men on a space ship - - ramrod Captain Neal Paterson ( stolid Eric Fleming ) , smooth ladies man Lt . Larry Turner ( smarmy Patrick Waltz ) , jolly Professor Konrad ( a delightfully lively Paul Birch ) and antsy comic relief Lt . Mike Cruze ( annoying Dave Willock ) - - land on the planet Venus and discover that men have been outlawed and women reign supreme . The wicked and hideously disfigured Queen Yllana ( juicily played to the hissable hilt by Laurie Mitchell ) plans on blowing up the Earth with her Beta Disintegrator . Meanwhile sympathetic scientist Talleah ( a perfectly vampy Zsa Zsa Gabor , whose heavy accent acts as a key source of often sidesplitting unintentional humor ) and her fetching female cohorts want the guys to themselves . Boy , does this legendary lemon possess all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a total sidesplitting camp classic : ham-fisted ( non ) direction by Edward Bernds , a poky pace , a cheerfully dopey , talky script by Charles Beaumont , paltry ( markedly less than ) special effects , a ridiculously serious tone , lush , bright , vibrant widescreen color cinematography by William P . Whitley , hot babes in skimpy outfits , laughably bad dialogue ( " Hey , you kids play rough ! " ) , groan-inducing sexist humor , a generic spooky'n'shivery score by Marlin Skiles , largely lousy acting , a surprise appearance by a hilariously hokey rubbery giant spider , and a rousing fiery conclusion . Better still , there's a clunky sincerity evident throughout that's both amusing and endearing in equal measure . A real gut-busting howler . |
517,990 | 8,239,592 | 218,495 | 8 | A very funny and inspired handy dandy combo parody of both " The Blair Witch Project " and " The Wizard of Oz " | Perky Dorothy Gale ( delightfully played with infectiously spunky aplomb by the adorable Meredith Salenger ) , the abjectly craven Cowardly Lion ( a hilariously whiny Curtis Eames ) , the brave Tin Man ( a fine Guy Stevenson ) , and the witless the Scarecrow ( solid Ron Repple , Jr . ) get hopelessly lost in the woods while filming a documentary on the Yellow Brick Road . Everyone soon succumbs to blind panic and morale rapidly deteriorates when no one can find the Yellow Brick Road . Director / co-writer Michael Rotman offers a wickedly amusing send-up of both " The Blair Witch Project " and " The Wizard of Oz " which perfectly nails the primitive homemade low-budget quality of the former and savagely pokes fun at the sweetly endearing characters in the latter classic family film . The biggest laughs are delivered by seeing these lovable childhood favorites swear , bicker and fight amongst each other in a most base and selfish manner , with Dorothy in particular proving to be a complete foul-mouthed riot ( choice sidesplitting line : " Where the beep is the Yellow Brick Road ? " ) . The ending is likewise positively sidesplitting , with the Scarecrow hanging upside down from the ceiling of a dark basement and Dorothy feebly kicking her ruby slippers together as she dies . Special kudos are in order for David M . Barsky's shaky hand-held cinematography . A total hoot . |
519,366 | 8,239,592 | 71,120 | 8 | An off-beat & intriguing 70's made-for-TV oddity | The always excellent Stacy Keach stars in this compellingly quirky mid 70's TV movie curio as a freelance photographer driving through the deep South who encounters a strange family of hillbilly kids who include John ( " The Deer Hunter " ) Savage , Arlene ( " The French Connection " ) Farber and Robby ( " Ode to Billy Joe " ) Benson ( the latter also heartily belts out the flavorsome folkie theme song ! ) . The peculiar parentless backwoods brood want both Keach and Samantha ( " The Brood " ) Eggar to be their surrogate father and mother , but Keach just ain't too keen on the idea of playing pa to these unruly and squabbling hick hellions . Tightly directed by Burt ( " Support Your Local Sheriff , " " Hannie Caulder " ) Kennedy , with a vivid evocation of the swampy remote marshland setting , polished photography by Gene Polito , a nicely harmonic country music score by Ron Frangipane , an off-beat and absorbing story , and uniformly fine acting from a solid cast ( Savage in particular impresses in an early thespic gig ) , " All the Kind Strangers " is well worth checking out . |
518,709 | 8,239,592 | 75,393 | 8 | A shamefully ignored and underrated 70's redneck action exploitation gem | Anarchy and lawlessness reign supreme in the podunk hick hamlet of Elk Hills . The town elders deputize tough , cagey Vietnam veteran Aaron ( a wonderfully robust and engaging performance by Kris Kristofferson ) and several of his fellow vet buddies to clean up the place . The plan goes sour when Aaron and his cruel cronies decide to take over Elk Hills after they get rid of all the bad elements . It's up to Aaron's decent do-gooder brother Ben ( amiably played by Jan-Michael Vincent ) to put a stop to him before things get too out of hand . Writer / director George ( " Miami Blues , " " Gross Pointe Blank " ) Armitage whips up a delightfully amoral , cynical and wickedly subversive redneck drive-in exploitation contemporary Western winner : he expertly creates a gritty , no-nonsense tone , keeps the pace brisk and unflagging throughout , and stages the plentiful action scenes with considerable muscular aplomb ( the rousing explosive climax is especially strong and stirring ) . The first-rate cast of familiar B-feature faces constitutes as a major asset : Victoria Principal as Ben's sweet hottie girlfriend Linda , the fabulous Bernadette Peters as flaky saloon singer Little Dee , Brad Dexter as the feckless mayor , David Doyle as a slimy bank president , Andrew Stevens as an affable gas station attendant , John Carpenter movie regular Charles Cyphers as one of the ' Nam vets , Anthony Carbone as a smarmy casino manager , John Steadman as a folksy old diner owner , Paul Gleason as a mean strong-arm shakedown bully , and Dick Miller as a talentless piano player . Moral : Don't hire other people to do your dirty work . William Cronjager's slick cinematography , Gerald Fried's lively , harmonic hillbilly bluegrass score , and the abundant raw violence further add to the overall trashy fun of this unjustly neglected little doozy . |
519,175 | 8,239,592 | 79,803 | 8 | An immensely enjoyable piece of chopsocky action junk | Shrewd , suave Chang Wong ( a solid and amiable performance by the handsome and charismatic Bruce Li ) and his redoubtable female partner ( superbly essayed with delicious vigor by the foxy Angela Mao ) devise an elaborate scheme to take out a heroin drug ring led by the nefarious Paul ( nicely played by the enormous Paul Smith of " Popeye " and " Dune " fame ) . Moreover , Chang also works for a rival dope-dealing organization in order to further stir things up . Director Jimmy Shaw crams this baby with a handy helping of hugely entertaining good stuff : wall-to-wall fierce and crazy martial arts fights , several groovy nightclub scenes ( the funky-chillin ' house band is simply amazing ! ) , a couple of brutal garrotings , inspired occasional use of strenuous slow motion , a nonstop speedy pace , a wild free-for-all confrontation between the two criminal factions , and a fantastic rousing climactic showdown between Li and Smith in which Li's graceful physical agility is pitted against Smith's fearsome brute strength . Chou Fu Liang's awesomely gnarly throbbing disco score hits the soulful spot . Chiou Yao-Hwu's reasonably polished cinematography likewise makes the grade . Best of all , the lovely Ms . Mao looks smoking hot in a sparkling silver jumpsuit and beats the living tar out of a teeming volume of guys . What's not to like about this totally fun vintage 70's grindhouse flick ? |
518,352 | 8,239,592 | 82,000 | 8 | The amazing exploding torso movie ! | From Luigi Cozzi , the same dependably derivative dimestore cinema ace who blessed us with the marvelously mindless " Star Wars " copy " Starcrash , " comes this equally unoriginal , but still immensely enjoyable , often funny and excessively tacky Italian " ALIEN " cash-in . Severely demented'n'tormented German astronaut Siegfried Rauch brings back from Mars a gaggle of noisy , sticky , glowing bright green watermelon-sized eggs which are stored in a Columbian warehouse and smuggled into America ( they're disguised as prime coffee beans ! ) on a rusty freighter . Said evil eggs spew forth a foul , viscous , deadly liquid that makes folks explode something disgusting ; their torsos blow out and their guts erupt all over the place in a most wonderfully repulsive way . Naturally , the whole thing's a pernicious plot to wipe out the human race and make our planet more open to being colonized by your typically malevolent invading horde of conquer-happy extraterrestrials . The telepathic , slime-covered , preposterously hokey-looking wicked ET cyclops leader will make you laugh so hard that you might very well dry out your tear ducts . Ian McCulloch , that singularly charmless and nondescript British bore who saved the day in both Lucio Fulci's potently visceral spaghetti splatter milestone " Zombie " and the splendidly sordid'n'slipshod grindhouse nugget " Dr . Butcher , M . D . , " plays yet another insipid hero with his trademark bland , humorless , stiff-upper-lip solemnity , therefor making it easier for the more sociopathic viewers out there to cheer for the aliens with a clear conscience . Perfectly topped off by priceless dippy dialogue , dreadful acting , even worse dubbing , plentiful juicy gore , and a first-rate raw , throbbing , rough-grooving score by Goblin , this tasty piece of sci-fi / horror trash provides a great deal of infectiously schlocky fun . |
517,921 | 8,239,592 | 131,789 | 8 | A pretty goofy 70's porn flick riot | Legendary 70's porn stud Harry Reems of " Deep Throat " and " The Devil In Miss Jones " fame portrays Roger , a meek , lonely , dorky guy who works as a dog walker for rich , horny Ms . Mammal ( hysterically overplayed by 70's hardcore character actress Mary Stuart ) . While gawking and making faces at the gorilla cage in a nearby zoo , Roger fantasizes about having sex with Ms . Mammal while wearing a shoddy ape costume ( said suit is pretty tacky , with rubber gloves for hands and Harry's naked feet completely uncovered ) . You see , Roger secretly wants " to be a gorilla " ! Roger's sexually sicko dreams come true when he befriends the adorable Ellen ( the luscious Bree Anthony ) , a lovely lass who's also turned on by gorillas . If the story fails to make you burst out laughing , then several of this film's gloriously ludicrous production touches might very well cause you to crack up instead . For starters , there's the neatly varied array of carnal activity which includes fellatio , lesbianism , cunnilingus , and an especially lively partner swapping climactic foursome . Moreover , the gals holler such inane exclamations as " Oh , you big gorilla ! " and " You're such an animal " while doing just what you think with Roger . Plus Roger makes these funny " ooh , ooh , ooh ! " monkey noises as he gets it on with the ladies . Best of all , the movie makes splendidly schlocky use of fuzztone guitar-burning rock music : Besides the insanely groovy theme song " Everyone Wants to Be King Kong , " we also got choice crappy covers of " Ape Man " by the Kinks , " Whole Lotta Love " by Led Zeppelin , and a truly wretched instrumental mangling of " Come Together " by the Beatles ( ! ) . Director David Sears depicts all the libidinous goings-on in that highly graphic and clinical intense gynecological style which makes 70's porn so uniquely raw and alluring , thus ensuring that this blithely dippy hardcore romp is a real hoot from start to finish . |
519,298 | 8,239,592 | 56,027 | 8 | A really enjoyable Italian muscleman movie | Noble gladiator Rezio ( a fine and engaging performance by the handsome Richard Harrison ) gets freed by evil emperor Rabirio ( a nicely smug and hateful Leo Anchoriz ) and put in charge of an army . When Rezio learns of Rabirio's cruelty towards slaves , he joins a rebel army to overthrow the wicked tyrant . Directors Alberto Martino and Antonio Mompley , working from a tight and eventful script , relate the compelling story at a snappy pace , keep the lulls to an admirable minimum , and stage the plentiful action scenes with real lively and exciting brio ( for example , the movie opens with some absolutely brutal to-the-death arena combat ) . Both the rough'n'ready swordfights and vigorous battle set pieces deliver the stirring goods , with the rousing last reel revolt rating as an especially tasty highlight . The serious tone , suitably harsh violence , Carlo Franci's robust , roaring score , and welcome dearth of any distracting campy humor are further assets to the picture's overall sound quality . Better still , the acting from a capable cast is uniformly solid : Harrison makes for a strong and impressive hero , Anchoriz likewise does well as a wholly detestable villain , plus there are sturdy supporting turns by Isabelle Corey as the fiery Sira , Livio Lorenzon as honorable gladiator trainer and master Ito , Jose Marco as Rezio's loyal friend Vibio , Antonio Molino Rojo as Rabirio's wicked partner Euclante , and Edoardo Nevola as sweet , impressionable little boy prince Dario . A fun and entertaining picture . |
518,401 | 8,239,592 | 90,659 | 8 | A hugely enjoyable Grade B action film | Rugged ex-cop World War II veteran Burt Roth ( a marvelously crusty Lee Van Cleef ) and his equally tough Vietnam veteran bartender son Jim ( a typically fine David Carradine ) lock horns with ruthless Yakuza mobster Akira Tanaka ( a deliciously wicked Mako ) over who's got dibs on a priceless jade statue . Capably directed with real style and flair by the insanely prolific exploitation veteran Fred Olen Ray , with a brash , witty script by T . L . Lankford , a snappy pace , glossy cinematography by Paul Elliott , a gnarly rock soundtrack , an amusingly sarcastic sense of humor , a funky , syncopated score by Thomas Chase and Steve Rucker , a smidgen of gratuitous female nudity , a tight 86 minute running time , and several thrilling well-staged action scenes ( a wild and destructive protracted car chase rates as the definite exciting highlight ) , this slick , lively and entertaining low-budget romp makes for very rewarding viewing . The first-rate cast of familiar trash flick faces helps matters a whole lot : Ross Hagen as shifty , double-crossing hoodlum Cory Thorton , Brent Huff as the likable , laid-back Tommy Roth , Lois Hamilton as Jim's sweet , concerned wife Sara , Michael Berryman as vicious assassin F . C . , Dick Miller as sleazy small-time thief Steve , Laurene Landon as Steve's feisty partner Deborah Silverstein , Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as cruel torturer Toshi , Bobbie Bresee as helpful informant Anna , Dawn Wildsmith as a scrappy thug , and Michelle Bauer as a stripper . A neat little flick . |
518,857 | 8,239,592 | 59,792 | 8 | A superior sci-fi / horror hybrid from the masterful Mario Bava | A spaceship crew goes to a remote distant world to investigate a distress call . They run afoul of a race of malevolent disembodied aliens who wish to possess their minds and take over their bodies . Acclaimed Italian fright film director Mario Bava , working from an inspired and intriguing script by Ib Melchior and Louis M . Heyward , does his customary sterling job of creating and sustaining a supremely spooky , misty and brooding midnight-in-the-graveyard gloom-doom atmosphere which becomes more increasingly eerie , unsettling and nightmarish as the narrative progresses towards its perfectly bleak and nihilistic bummer ending . While the basic premise is pure science fiction , Bava treats said story as if it was a piece of sheer Gothic horror : the fog-shrouded landscape of the planet seems like a desolate cemetery , mangled corpses litter the floors of empty spaceships , and several dead astronauts wrapped in plastic rise out of the ground in strikingly stylized slow motion in the movie's single most scary set piece . Gino Marinuzzi , Jr . ' s shivery score further enhances the uncanny mood while the gorgeously vibrant color cinematography by Antonio Rinaldi , Antonio Perezolea and an uncredited Bava boasts plenty of prowling tracking shots . Barry Sullivan gives an excellent performance as the stalwart Captain Mark Markary . Both the luscious Norma Bengell and the ravishing Evi Marandi look positively smashing in their shiny black leather outfits . The special effects are pretty solid and convincing ; the miniatures in particular are really nifty . An obvious influence on both " Alien " and Carpenter's " The Thing " remake , this fine and satisfying winner is well worth checking out . |
519,327 | 8,239,592 | 79,828 | 8 | Another enjoyable yuletide TV special winner from Rankin / Bass | The evil wizard Winterbolt ( deliciously voiced with plummy aplomb by the great Paul Frees ) gets reawakened from his centuries of slumber and decides to take over Christmas from Santa Claus . He gives Frosty the Snowman and his family magic amulets so they can go see a circus in July without melting . Moreover , Winterbolt tries to get Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to do something bad so his nose will go out . This typically pleasant and good-natured feature length holiday television program from the always reliable Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin , Jr . benefits greatly from a steady pace , nifty stop-motion animation , cool characters ( Winterbolt's fearsome snow dragons are genuinely gnarly ) , a simple and engaging story , an amusingly easy'n'breezy sense of gentle humor , and plenty of catchy'n'merry songs . Moreover , the cast all voice their roles with tremendous flair and affection : Jackie Vernon as Frosty the Snowman , Shelley Winters as Frosty's sweet wife Crystal , Red Buttons as affable lovestruck ice cream salesman Milton , Ethal Merman as feisty cowgirl circus owner Lily Lorraine , Billie Mae Richards as the endearingly nasal Rudolph , Mickey Rooney as the warm and lovable Santa Claus , Shelby Flint as fetching high wire artist Laine Lorraine , and Alan Sues as nasty , jealous , spiteful outcast reindeer Scratcher . A really fun and entertaining show . |
519,010 | 8,239,592 | 149,022 | 8 | An enjoyably lowbrow piece of early 70's Southern-fried soft-core smut | Bethal Buckalew , who churned out such choice , often innocuous and brashly facetious country-themed 70's soft-core sizzlers as " The Dirty Mind of Young Sally , " " Tobacco Roody , " " Sassy Sue , " and the uncharacteristically sadistic roughie " Below the Belt " for Harry Novak's unceasingly cut-rate schlock feature outfit Box Office International Pictures , rates as the poor man's Russ Meyer . Although Buckalew shares Meyer's penchant for broadly caricatured rustic settings and overdrawn hayseed stereotypes , as well as a similarly ribald'n'rowdy sense of rollicking redneck humor , Buckalew's invariably slapdash movies sorely lack the dazzling technical prowess and hopped-up vitality which makes Meyer's films such awe-inspiring treats . Still , it's the very crudeness and flagrant ineptitude of Buckalew's singularly stinky cinematic unskillfulness which gives his admittedly ham-fisted flicks a certain oddly endearing cruddy appeal . Think " Hee Haw " on Quaaludes with the asinine non sequitors intact , but the added attraction of comely naked down-home gals doing just what you think on a regular basis with hunky pea-brain yokel dudes and you'll have a good idea of what your average Buckalew romp is like . This typically shoddy and witless comedic corn-pone soft-core item is an excellent example of what I'm talking about . All the essential Buckalew ingredients are present and accounted for : static cinematography , a boozy'n'woozy country swing score that sounds like it was done by a severely inebriated third-rate bar band , lethargic pacing , flat acting , dreadful dialogue , dumbbell comic relief Buckalew regular John Tull reprising his unforgettably fatuous part from " Sassy Sue " as Junior , a stuttering , muscular , lobotomized lunk with a deviant sexual appetite for farm animals ( yuck ! ) ; corny good ol ' boy humor , nice-looking women frequently doffing their duds ( the gratuitous skinny-dipping scene qualifies as a definite steamy highlight ) , extremely crass jokes about marijuana , bestiality and interracial coitus , and , of coarse , a jaw-dropping plenitude of assorted sleazy soft-core sex scenes . Oh yeah - - and there's the faintest wisp of a so-called story : A shifty con man and his three tantalizing hot tramp lady friend accomplices put on a beauty contest at a cranky old crackpot geezer's seedy rundown abode . The only thing missing is George " Buck " Flower , but the terrifically trashy trio of luscious female leads more than carry the day on their own : slinky'n'saucy flaxen-tressed sexploitation veteran Monica Gayle ( the traitorous Patch in Jack Hill's fantastic " Switchblade Sisters " ) , petite'n'perky brunette cutie pie Wendy Winders , and tall , leggy drink of dirty blonde water Judy Angel all strut their scorching sexy stuff with marvelously gleeful and uninhibited abandon . As with any given Bethal Buckalew opus , viewers are best advised to put their brains on hold prior to watching this flick in all its delightfully dopey'n'draggy dunced-out glory . |
518,268 | 8,239,592 | 71,095 | 8 | The Cinefear DVD is very good | It always ticks me off when the drooling fanboy geeks on various internet web sites specializing in rare , obscure and offbeat cult cinema savagely ridicule particular DVDs because the transfers aren't polished and spit-shined to crystalline sparkling perfection or the discs don't have enough fancy-schmancy extras to appease their picky snotnose expectations . The unjustly vilified Cinefear DVD for William Girdler's enjoyably trashy 70's blaxploitation demonic possession hoot " Abby " is an excellent example of what I'm talking about . 70's drive-in flick aficionados the world over should be rejoicing that this heretofore hard-to-find and never officially available on video feature has been rescued from oblivion and put out on DVD so the option to see it is a valid and easily pursuable one . The fact of the matter is that whenever a movie comes out on DVD it gets a second lease on life and another chance to be discovered by a new audience that might have missed it when it first came out . Cinefear should be applauded for putting " Abby " out on DVD instead of being fiercely ridiculed for same . Contrary to what the hateful naysayers have articulated on numerous DVD review web sites the DVD itself is actually quite good . Besides a perfectly acceptable quality transfer , the extras alone make it a solid and praiseworthy release : Said tasty extras include the theatrical trailer , a radio spot , a still and poster gallery , and , best of all , an intelligent , informative and well-written essay on the troubled history of this gnarly little nugget . So ignore all the undeserved negative criticism and give the DVD a chance . It's well worth checking out and makes for a sound addition to your horror exploitation library . |
519,028 | 8,239,592 | 94,998 | 8 | A delightfully schlocky sci-fi / horror trash hoot | Sasquatch splatter schlock reaches its seriously stupid jaw-dropping zenith with this incredibly idiotic low-budget direct-to-video sci-fi / horror atrocity . A gaggle of bonehead kids venture into a spooky forest called Demon Woods looking for Bigfoot . Well , these immature collegiate dolts find Bigfoot all right : He's one mean bloodthirsty bastard with a nasty propensity for tearing off heads and spearing folks in the stomach with a tree branch . WARNING : Possible SPOILERS ahead . In a stupendously ridiculous surprise twist ending ( that's directly swiped from the 70's " Six Million Dollar Man " TV series ) , Sasquatch ultimately gets exposed as a front for a nefarious extraterrestrial who's worshiped by a crazed priest as a god ( ! ) , has a fondness for eating human hearts ( ! ! ) , and possesses the magical ability to reanimate the freshly dead so it can use the zombies as slave labor ( ! ! ! ) . As one character brilliantly deduces early in the supremely inane action , " Hey man , there's weird st in these woods ! Do you know what I mean ? " No kiddin ' , dude . But that's not all this silly dilly has to offer . We also get clumsy ( mis ) direction by Emmett Alston , who previously gave us the equally awful ( and uproarious ) " Nine Deaths of the Ninja . " Then there's the sorry sight of a rotund , trapped - in - a - dismal - career - slump George Kennedy grumbling his way through the demeaning part of a crusty old father who's determined to bag Bigfoot because it murdered his daughter . Better still , three luscious ladies dutifully doff their duds in the name of sleazy low-grade exploitation : Pamela Gilbert does just what you think with her boyfriend , Colleen McDermott takes a gratuitous shower , and the always desirable Michelle Bauer shucks her bikini top in order to avoid tan lines . The rusty tin-eared dialogue includes such priceless gems as " Come on you six foot fleabag ! " A real gut-buster . |
518,439 | 8,239,592 | 90,666 | 8 | A cool made-for-TV sci-fi / action flick | Rugged former secret government agent Henry Stanton ( a fine performance by Robert Conrad ) gets called out of retirement by the agency he used to work for to stop crafty , lethal and resourceful renegade cyborg assassin Robert Golem ( nicely essayed with smooth intensity by Richard Young ) . Shrewd'n'sassy scientist Mary Casallas ( winningly played by the fetching Karen Austin ) helps Stanton out . Writer / director Sandor Stern relates the involving plot at a snappy pace , develops a good deal of tension , stages the action scenes with considerable aplomb , and further spices things up with a slyly amusing sense of deadpan humor . Conrad and Austin display a pleasingly casual and engaging rapport as the likable lead characters ; they receive excellent support from Robert Webber as Stanton's huffy , slippery superior Calvin Lantz , Jonathan Banks as Lantz's steely partner Earl Dickman , Jessica Nelson as alluring , unsuspecting barroom pick-up Ann Walsh , and Nancy Lenehan as Mary's steady gal pal Grace Decker . Moreover , the violence is surprisingly rough and brutal stuff for a made-for-TV feature . Chuck Arnold's polished cinematography does the trick while Anthony Guefen supplies an effectively groovy'n'moody score and the special effects are pretty nifty and convincing . A neat little item . |
519,382 | 8,239,592 | 958,826 | 8 | Marvelously messed-up monkey movie madness | Representing good'n'gross nickel'n'dime exploitation horror sludge at its most feverishly enthusiastic and righteously offensive , Keith Crocker's deliciously scurrilous indie effort " The Bloody Ape " stands out as a terrifically trashy serving of top-rate tacky fun that's loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's seminal short story " Murders in the Rue Morgue . " Eccentric vengeful carnival barker Lampini ( a delightfully hammy performance by Paul Richichi ) trains his 7-foot , 300 lb sideshow gorilla Gorto to kill all his enemies . Gorto gets loose and proceeds to wreak some major league mondo disgusto blood-spilling , gut-slinging , head-crushing , limb-rending , heavy on the puke-inducing splatter havoc : a hippie hitchhiker gets brutally castrated in a simply smashing scene that pays lovely homage to the infamous Bigfoot gore gem " Night of the Demon , " a naked chick taking a shower gets mangled , the ape rapes two nude women , a jerky cop has his head torn off , the savage simian beats a lady up and steals her car ( you'll hit the floor with hysterics when you see the ape recklessly driving the freshly stolen automobile down the street ) , and generally behaves in a highly vicious , psychotic and anti-social manner that's more befitting of your average garden variety sociopathic serial killer . And , just to spice things up a wee bit more , despicable racist slime homicide detective Lieutenant LoBianco ( robustly played to the hateful hilt by George Reis , who also portrays Gorto ) blames the killings on a luckless innocent black man ( the affable Chris Hoskins ) . Although a bit slow and talky during its first 10-odd minutes and further marred by one of those annoyingly inconclusive " it ain't over yet ! " - style sequel set-up endings , " The Bloody Ape " overall still does a splendidly scuzzy job of paying tribute to all those gleefully obnoxious fright flick gruefests of yore by delivering a tasty truckload of all the right seedy schlock movie stuff : we've got gratuitous female nudity galore , plenty of witty , knowing 70's movie and TV show references sprinkled in the often furiously raw and profane dialogue , a rich rogues ' gallery of superbly scummy supporting characters , a very agreeable no-nonsense , let's get right down to business attitude that's thankfully bereft of the smugly ironic , " I know more than you know " arrogant sensibility which undermines most fanboy affairs , grainy , rough-around-the-edges , but still quite polished and mobile cinematography ( besides some choice cheesy solarization , we also get some decent tracking shots and a little nifty hand-held camera-work towards the end of the flick ) , a veritable sea of messy , juicy , lowdown repulsive gore , a cockeyed view of the world which depicts humans as largely base , evil , horrible folks who enjoy doing crummy things to each other and subsequently gives the rampaging gorilla the oddly sympathetic aura of a mixed-up anti-hero , and , most importantly , an ever-present sense of very dedicated , eager and aiming to please affection for cheerfully lowbrow grindhouse cinema which proves to be quite engaging and extremely entertaining in equal measure . Directed with infectious gonzo zeal by Keith Crocker , who collaborated with George Reis on the script , photography , producing and editing ( the film took five whole years to complete ) , " The Bloody Ape " rates as a gloriously grody testament to fiercely self-reliant Do-It-Yourself underground cinema at its most beautifully bent , batty and berserk . By the way , I'm featured in the retrospective " making of " documentary that's a nifty extra on the excellent special edition DVD as a " trash film historian " under my real name of Joe Wawrzyniak ; just do your best to ignore my wildly gesticulating hands at the bottom of the frame as I happily discuss both this movie and the other flicks that influenced it . |
518,524 | 8,239,592 | 86,339 | 8 | An enjoyably lightweight action adventure romp | Rough'n'tumble professional burglar and safe cracker Rick Spear ( the late , great David Warbeck in fine rugged form ) is hired by smarmy , crippled British millionaire Lord Dean ( a pleasingly smooth portrayal by John Steiner ) to retrieve a sacred scepter that belonged to the god Gilgamesh from a temple in Istanbul . The nefarious Prince Abdullah ( neatly essayed with sneering aplomb by Aytekin Akkaya ) also wants to get his evil hands on the scepter . Capably directed by Antonio Margheriti , with slick cinematography by Sandro Mancori , a steady pace , a lively , rousing score by Aldo Tamborelli , a loose and engaging chemistry between Warbeck and Steiner , a groovy rocking theme song , a likable breezy tone , and several stirring well-staged action sequences ( I especially dug the nice use of funky miniatures for the car chase scenes ) , this film overall delivers the goods in a commendably straightforward and unpretentious manner . Warbeck and Steiner both excel in their roles ; they receive solid support from Susie Sudlow as Rick's sweet , fetching girlfriend Carol , Luciano Pigozzi as boozy , amiable old-timer Beetle , Ricardo Palacios as sly criminal Mohammed , and Achille Brugnini as Lord Dean's loyal servant Rupert . A perfectly entertaining little diversion . |
518,452 | 8,239,592 | 86,337 | 8 | A charming and touching fantasy sleeper | Troubled Lori Anderson ( superbly played by Sarah Jessica Parker ) is trying to recover from the untimely death of her father in a plane crash . Nice young Terry Stockton ( a solid and likable performance by Tom Shea ) also dies in a plane crash , but his spirit lives on and forms a special bond with Lori . Lori and Terry have to figure out together why he's still here . Writer / director Robert Wiemer delivers a thoughtful , moving and funny meditation on appreciating being alive , learning to cope with tragedy , and getting on with your life . The fine acting from a tip-top cast qualifies as a real significant plus . Shea and Parker make for a very engaging , if decidedly offbeat on-screen couple ; the chemistry between them is really sweet and palpable . They receive excellent support from Nancy Addison as Lori's concerned mom Betty , Rick Weber as Betty's decent , amiable cop boyfriend Alec Peiski , and Paul Bates as Terry's jolly best pal Paul Bart . Glenn Kershaw's polished cinematography and Paul Baillargeon's lovely , low-key score are both up to speed . Parker even sings a couple of wonderfully uplifting songs . A warm , gentle and affecting little gem . |
519,254 | 8,239,592 | 86,340 | 8 | An enjoyably inane piece of early 80's sword and sorcery trash | Busty'n'lusty medieval twins Mira ( Leigh Harris ) and Mara ( Lynette Harris ) vow to seek revenge on the evil sorcerer Traigon ( a constantly snarling Roberto Ballestros ) for both murdering their mother and attempting to kill them when they were little girls . Assisting the lovely ladies are horny barbarian Erlick ( hunky Bob Nelson ) and portly warrior Baldar ( chubby wonder Bruno Key ) . Said mission is naturally easier said than done because Traigon has many tricks up his sleeve and is obsessed with sacrificing one of the beautiful'n'bountiful babes so he can become powerful enough to rule the world . Director Jack Hill , working from a blithely dopey script co-written by Jim Wynorski , loads this laughably tacky sword and sorcery fantasy romp with all the necessary ingredients to make it a so-dumb-it's-fun high camp howler : a constant fast pace , gut-bustingly bad dialogue ( favorite line : " Death is only death , swine ! " ) , hokey ( far from ) special effects , terrible acting from a lame no-name cast , an outrageously overwrought conclusion , a few nifty monsters ( I especially dug the satyr which nays like a goat and the winged lion ) , and , of course , a decent smattering of gratuitous distaff nudity courtesy of the absolutely delectable Harris sisters . As an added bonus , we even get a thrilling score from future Oscar-winning A-list composer James ( " Titanic " ) Horner and a last reel appearance by an army of zombie swordsmen . Sure , this flick is goofy junk , but it's still quite entertainingly silly schlock just the same . |
518,278 | 8,239,592 | 59,821 | 8 | An eerie and elegant horror winner from the unbeatable duo of Vincent Price and Roger Corman | This film marked the final feature out of several horror movies the legendary Vincent Price and director Roger Corman did together that were adaptations of short stories by noted master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe . Price delivers a typically splendid and commanding performance as Verden Fell , a morose and reclusive 19th century nobleman who's haunted by the recent death of his beloved wife Ligeia ( excellently played by the ravishing Elizabeth Shepherd ) . Ligeia returns as a pesky black cat to torment both Verden and his headstrong and vivacious new bride Rowena ( also essayed with winning grace by Shepherd ) . Corman , working from a witty and literate script by Robert Towne ( who later won an Oscar for his screenplay for " Chinatown " ! ) , does his usual expert job of creating a beautifully brooding and pervasive gloom-doom Gothic atmosphere , relates the grim story at a steady pace , and stages the rousing fiery conclusion with considerable rip-roaring brio . Moreover , Corman brings a stately quality to the morbid material . The uniformly top-rate acting from a capable cast qualifies as another substantial asset : Price shows admirable restraint and subtlety as the bedeviled protagonist , Shepherd excels in her juicy dual roles , plus there's fine support from John Westbrook as the dashing Christopher Gough , Oliver Johnston as loyal servant Kenrick , and Derek Francis as the hearty Lord Trevanion . Kenneth V . Jones ' lush , moody , melancholy score , Arthur Grant's sharp , vibrant , prowling color widescreen cinematography , and especially the bleak , grayish English countryside all further enhance the hypnotically creepy tone . A pleasingly spooky little gem . |
519,318 | 8,239,592 | 52,169 | 8 | An enjoyably creaky 50's horror potboiler | Charming widower Eric ( solid John Hudson ) and his sweet , pretty new wife Jenni ( appealingly played by Peggy Webber ) move into the gorgeous palatial mansion of Eric's late wife . Pretty soon Peggy starts to see an unsettling disembodied skull all over the place . Is she going crazy ? Or is the place really haunted ? Director Alex Nicol , working from an endearingly hokey script by John Kneubuhl , keeps the pace stately , but steady throughout , creates a suitably spooky atmosphere , elicits acceptable acting from a game cast , and stages the rousing conclusion with considerable aplomb . Floyd Crosby's moody black and white cinematography makes expert use of crazily tilted Dutch camera angles and gracefully gradual tracking shots . Ernest Gold's effectively eerie score likewise hits the spot . Nice supporting performances by Nicol as weird , slow , scruffy gardener Mickey and Russ Conway as friendly Reverend Edward Snow . Moreover , since the movie is a trim 62 minutes long it's never dull and gets right down to brass tacks with a refreshing dearth of pretense . Good , harmless Grade B fright feature fun . |
518,898 | 8,239,592 | 139,418 | 8 | An enjoyable revenge thriller | 1945 , the Philippines . Several members of a platoon of American soldiers not only kill a Japanese general , but also rape and murder the man's wife . His son Kimon witnesses the ghastly event and vows revenge . Thirty-three years later the platoon members get back together in Manila for a reunion . The adult Kimon ( decently played by Leo Fong ) also arrives in Manila to pick off those who are responsible for butchering his parents . Director Jay Wertz relates the absorbing story at a rather slow , yet still steady pace , stages the action scenes with a reasonable amount of flair , delivers a sizable amount of bloody violence , and sprinkles in a dab of tasty female nudity to further spice things up . The sturdy cast of familiar B-movie faces qualifies as a substantial plus : Cameron Mitchell as the tough , no-nonsense , but compassionate Sam Hacker , Vic Silayan as amiable police chief Raoul Amante , Hal Bokar as mean , hateful , trouble-making jerk Tom Steadman , Philip Baker Hall as weak , cowardly alcoholic Mike Sills , Stack Pierce as the easygoing Frank Washington , Charlie Davao as arrogant and obnoxious martial arts film star Dante Salazar , and Chanda Romero as sweet prostitute Rita . Hope Holiday has a funny small part as sassy nightclub singer Sally . Moreover , there's a refreshingly thoughtful and reflective quality to Galen Thompson's script which adds some extra substance to the plot . William Loose's rousing score offers a few nifty variants on a handful of classic musical themes . A neat little flick . |
518,413 | 8,239,592 | 174,360 | 8 | An amateurish , but very enthusiastic and hence hugely enjoyable piece of low budget zombie horror splatter trash | A meltdown at a nuclear power plant causes a majority of people to turn into lethal , rot-faced , shambling zombies who naturally go on a grisly rampage . A ragtag handful of uninfected folks do their best to survive this grueling ordeal . Director / co-writer / producer Todd Sheets displays an appealingly sincere love and passion for go-straight-for-the-throat lively and gruesome horror fare : he maintains an unflagging snappy pace throughout , fills the screen with wall-to-wall crazy action , and thankfully keeps the terrible dialogue to a pleasing minimum . Moreover , Sheets certainly doesn't skimp on the gloriously graphic and excessive over-the-top splatter : this picture delivers a tasty truckload of flesh melting , evisceration , lots of gut munching , one dude has his heart yanked out , and there's even a nice impalement on a tree branch . Sheets earns bonus points for keeping the tone grim and nasty to the literal bitter end ( for example , almost all of the main characters wind up becoming zombie chow ) . Granted , this flick has its fair share of flaws : the ragged editing , several ham-fisted attempts at pathos , and the largely awful acting from a rank no-name cast all leave a good deal to be desired . Top thespic honors go to the pretty and perky Kasey Rausch for her winningly spunky portrayal of the resourceful Daria Trumillio . Frank Dunlay likewise does well as rugged take-charge army veteran Ralph Walsh . Best of all , Sheets ' sure grasp of an infectiously slambang sense of unrelenting headlong momentum and obvious affinity for the horror genre ensure that this remains a total blast to watch from start to finish . |
518,271 | 8,239,592 | 249,224 | 8 | A neat little indie low-budget vampire horror outing | Nice guy Bob Friedman ( a likable turn by Paul Borghese ) meets and falls in love with the sweet and appealing Angela ( a charming portrayal by fetching blonde looker Sarah Watchman ) . Bob and Angela get married . Complications ensue when Bob discovers that Angela is really a vampire who has to occasionally kill folks and drink their blood in order to stay alive . Can Bob and Angela find some way to get out of their dire predicament ? Writer / director Glenn Andreiev offers a fresh and interesting spin on the standard vampire premise while still delivering a generous serving of grisly gore , a handy helping of tasty female nudity , and even a little sizzling soft-core sex . Moreover , Andreiev depicts a genuinely touching romance between the two engaging main characters . The game no-name cast give competent performances : Borghese and Watchman are quite good and sympathetic in the lead roles , with solid support from Edna Boyle as Angela's wicked sister Cassandra , Mimi Stuart as Bob's shameless blackmailing slut ex-girlfriend Roxanne , and Burt Wright as the vampire sisters ' irascible caretaker Mr . Goodlife . Steven McKenzie's rough , grainy , but overall acceptable cinematography and Nicholas D . Kent's moody , shivery score further enhance the luridly creepy atmosphere . An enjoyable fright flick . |
519,314 | 8,239,592 | 117,226 | 8 | A solid and engrossing mystery thriller | Tom Berenger gives a typically excellent and engaging performance as Ernest DeWalt , a retiring , laid-back and amiable former cop turned crime novelist and college professor who's asked by the fiery , enticing Elizabeth Laughton ( well played by the lovely Valeria Golino ) to investigate the murder of her unfaithful husband Alex ( a fine Stephen Lang ) and the disappearance of his sultry tramp mistress Jeri Gillen ( a smoking hot Kari Wuhrer ) . Both DeWalt's attraction to Elizabeth and his precarious health complicate things to a substantial degree . Director Salome Brezinger , working from an absorbing script by Randall Silvis , wrings plenty of tension from the gripping story and adroitly creates a pungent , vivid and sweltering downhome Southern atmosphere . A top-notch supporting cast qualifies as another major asset : Robert Davi as a compassionate detective , Richard Edson as a sleazy whitetrash druggie , Geoffrey Lewis as a bumbling oaf , and Ellen Greene as a sassy diner waitress . As an added bonus , both Wuhrer and Golino take their clothes off . Anton Sanko's flavorsome , harmonic country score and Mauro Fiore's bright , pretty cinematography further enhance the overall sound quality of this nifty little winner . |
518,055 | 8,239,592 | 110,410 | 8 | A quite entertaining , but very loose H . P . Lovecraft adaptation | Ex-convict Blake Bailey goes to the small burg of Laffert's Corner , Massachusetts to unearth a corpse in the local cemetery that's stuffed with several million dollars . A heinous trio of nasty cooks led by smooth British baddie Jon Finch ( Jerry Cornelius in the fabulously flip sci-fi black comedy blast " The Final Programme " ) also materialize at the sleepy armpit podunk , eager to get their greedy , grubby , grasping paws on the hot loot . The only glitch : the hamlet's currently being besieged by a ghoulish gaggle of nocturnal subterranean cannibalistic zombies with wan complexions , egg-white eyes , longish pale hair , long black claws , gaunt skeletal faces , a mouthful of yellow fangs , and a decidedly inhospitable disposition . It's up to the hoodlums and a handful of fear-stricken beleaguered townspeople to make a stand against the lethal creatures or else they will all get devoured by the evil albino undead . Writer / director C . Courtney ( " Trancers III : Death Lives " ) Joyner , loosely adapting an H . P . Lovecraft story , does a real deft , fluent and commendable job with crafting a handy dandy blend of horror and crime thriller elements : the swift pacing , a reasonably enthralling and intricate story , the pretty high suspense factor , and a few punchy and genuinely stirring action sequences all add up to make for one really fun little fright flick . Moreover , the bang-up cast contribute uniformly up-to-snuff performances , with especially stand-out turns by the ever-fine Finch ( who makes for an exquisitely hateful heavy ) , Lovecraft movie perennial Jeffrey ( " From Beyond , " " Necronomicon " ) Combs as a boozy , bearded , chain-smoking physician , lovely , buxom " Hellraiser " series heroine Ashley Laurence as a resourceful , two-fisted take-charge survivalist , Mike Todd as the head fiend , Paul ( " Day of the Animals , " " The Manitou " ) Mantee as a virtuous , selfless priest , and , in a splendidly slimy small role , the always sublimely creepy Vincent Schiavelli as a wormy , untrustworthy mortician . Although by no means a classic , " Lurking Fear " nonetheless rates well as a solid , thrilling and worthwhile horror item . |
518,243 | 8,239,592 | 66,735 | 8 | A cool giallo from Dario Argento | Rock drummer Roberto Tobias ( a solid portrayal by Michael Brandon ) is stalked by a guy ( sinister Calisto Calisti ) who plans on blackmailing him . After accidentally killing the man , Roberto finds himself being tormented and terrorized by a crazed maniac who witnessed the murder . Said maniac begins bumping off folks who are close to Roberto . Writer / director Dario Argento brings his trademark fluid and hypnotic style to this engrossing giallo murder mystery thriller while maintaining a steady pace and tense atmosphere throughout . Of course , Argento stages the murder set pieces with his usual twisted gusto , with a climactic juicy decapitation rating as the definite grisly highlight . Moreover , Argento brings a welcome and amusing sense of offbeat humor to the picture : there's a striking perspective shot from inside a guitar , one person keeps receiving unwanted Swedish pornography in the mail , and Roberto beats up a hapless mailman he mistakes for the maniac . Mimsy Farmer delivers a strong performance as Roberto's frosty wife Nina ; her intense and forceful pull out all the stops acting at the film's conclusion is especially impressive . Brandon as Roberto makes for a decidedly flawed and less than sympathetic protagonist . Popping up in colorful supporting parts are the ever-amusing Bud Spencer as Roberto's grumpy friend Godfrey ( who Roberto refers to as " God " ) , Jean-Pierre Marielle as jolly openly gay private investigator Gianni Arrosio , and Oreste Lionello as flaky oddball the Professor . The killer's true identity is genuinely startling - - and strangely poignant . Franco Di Giacomo's sumptuous widescreen cinematography boasts a lot of wild camera angles while Ennio Morricone supplies a nicely spooky'n'shivery score . Well worth seeing for Argento fans . |
518,753 | 8,239,592 | 139,414 | 8 | A very enjoyable horror monster comedy hoot | A giant carnivorous prehistoric crocodile terrorizes a sleepy lakefront New England community in Maine . It's up to nice guy game warden Jack Wells ( a likable turn by Bill Pullman ) , naive big city paleontologist Kelly Scott ( a fine , feisty performance by Bridget Fonda ) , flaky rich ancient mythology buff Hector Cyr ( delightfully essayed with off-the-wall relish by Oliver Platt ) , and grumpy Sheriff Hank Keough ( the always excellent Brendan Gleeson ) to stop the ferocious reptile before things get too out of hand . Capably directed by Steve Minor , with a cheerfully silly and wickedly witty script by David E . Kelley , a steady pace , a shivery , ominous score by John Ottman , an engaging assortment of colorfully neurotic central characters ( Platt in particular is a total howl as the gloriously eccentric Hector ) , a good amount of tension , polished , sparkling cinematography by Daryn Okada , a refreshingly tight and trim 82 minute running time , an affectionate tongue-in-cheek tone ( this film pays nifty homage to the first two " Jaws " pictures ) , a cool animatronic crocodile by Stan Winston , a reasonable sprinkling of gore , and plenty of gut-busting deadpan dialogue , this infectiously quirky and self-parodic romp does the trick in a pleasingly sly and amusing unpretentious B-flick manner . Betty White almost steals the whole show as batty , foul-mouthed old broad Delores Bickerman while the gorgeous Meredith Salinger has a nice supporting part as perky Deputy Sharon Gare . A fun fright feature . |
518,064 | 8,239,592 | 79,869 | 8 | A really spooky and entertaining low-budget horror anthology winner | A bunch of young adults go deep into the woods to a remote cabin and tell each other several scary urban legend-style stories . First and coolest vignette - A diminutive albino Bigfoot creature stalks a teenage couple who find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere after their car runs out of gas . Second and most frightening tale - Three college fraternity pledges spend the night at an old abandoned hospital that's said to be haunted . Third and most disturbing yarn - A mousy , repressed young coed turns out to be a deranged murderess . Finally , our motley group of young adults discover that the local legend of a vicious Indian wind demon isn't far-fetched in the least . Director James L . Wilson and writer Richard H . Wadsack neatly craft a fun and engrossing omnibus outing that eschews the usual graphic gore and bloodshed in favor of creating and sustaining a potently creepy and nightmarish midnight-in-the-graveyard gloom-doom atmosphere ; the opening credits sequence in particular is very chilling and the conclusion packs one hell of a terrifying punch . The isolated sylvan setting projects a truly unnerving sense of dread and vulnerability . The spirited shivery'n'shuddery score by Don Zimmers does the flesh-crawling trick . The pretty , fairly polished cinematography by Robert E . Rogers likewise hits the spot . Moreover , the game no-name cast all contribute winningly sincere and enthusiastic performances . A shamefully neglected and unheralded drive-in terror treat . |
518,572 | 8,239,592 | 70,782 | 8 | An excellent , unusual and exciting 70's drive-in exploitation variant on your standard prison picture | Token distaff feminist 70's drive-in movie writer / director Stephanie ( " Group Marriage , " " The Student Nurses " ) Rothman's intriguing and intelligent social allegory on how the strong cruelly oppress and viciously lord it over the weak , here cunningly done under the guise of being your standard down'n'dirty grindhouse exploitation prison item . Two rival factions , one peaceful and egalitarian , the other brutish and dictatorial , battle it out for supremacy on a remote island penitentiary where society's most heinous and irredeemable criminals are permanently banished to rot out the rest of their lives ( the basic premise definitely shares striking similarities to " Escape from New York " ) . The first-rate cast of familiar TV show and B-flick faces greatly enlivens this fun'n'funky favorite : " Lost in Space " cutie Marta Kristen in fine , feisty form ( she also looks mighty tasty in a skimpy halter top and cut-off denim hot pants ) , statuesque eyeful Phyllis ( " Sweet Sugar , " " Beyond the Valley of the Dolls " ) Davis , Roger E . ( " The Mack , " " Hit Man " ) Mosley , Clyde ( " ' Gatorbait , " " Bury Me An Angel " ) Ventura , the beauteous Barbara ( " Seven , " " Junior Bonner " ) Leigh , Albert ( " The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant , " " The Female Bunch " ) Cole , the ever-scummy James ( " Planet of Dinosaurs , " " The Candy Snatchers " ) Whitworth , and even a pre - " Magnum P . I . " Tom Selleck as a nice guy doctor . Moreover , this film not only delivers the expected sex , nudity and violence ( Davis ' smoking hot skinny-dipping scene in particular is a luscious wonder to behold ) , but also plenty of meaty and provocative food for thought to chew on and digest as well . Hard to find , but definitely worth checking out if you're lucky enough to stumble across a rare copy of it . |
518,840 | 8,239,592 | 101,577 | 8 | A crackerjack and unjustly ignored sci-fi / horror gem | Created by the shady animal research outfit the Jenner Clinic as an unsightly malformed mutant hybrid of both human and monkey DNA , Chad ( vividly played by Douglas Mann , who skillfully alternates between being quite frightening and surprisingly touching ) is part man , part simian and all-nasty , a hairy , gnarled , hunch-backed toddler with the mind of a child , superhuman strength , an easily set-off temper and a murderous sociopathic disposition which makes him one seriously lethal piece of messed-up work . Chad breaks free from his cage ( where the poor critter has spent his entire life ) , butchers nine people , trashes the laboratory where he's been secluded from the rest of the world , and goes on the lam . He's doggedly tracked by diligent sympathetic journalist John Lynch , obsessed protective scientist Christine Kavanagh , and flinty , sinister , enigmatic lab company bigwig Hennessey ( a marvelously steely Kenneth Cranham ) , the latter a first-class baddie who's hellbent on covering up the whole bloody affair so he can continue his morally questionable experiments undeterred . Lawrence Gordon Clark's crisp , pacy direction , a knotty , thoughtful , intricately woven script by Stephen Gallagher which astutely examines a provocative science gone amok theme without ever becoming some preachy , self-righteous , heavy-handed tract ( Gallagher adapted his novel " Chimera " ) , fine acting from a uniformly excellent cast , top-rate make-up f / x by Bob Keen , a few gory kill scenes , an elegant orchestral score , a genuinely creepy and grotesque , but strangely poignant and pitiable subhuman monster tyke , the compact , gripping narrative , a strikingly poetic and haunting conclusion , and the all-around well-drawn intriguing characters ( Sebastian Shaw in particular has a lovely part as a sweet elderly scientist who unwittingly participated in Chad's creation ) combine together to form a scary , suspenseful and overall superlative fright feature sleeper which not only delivers the expected spine-tingling goods , but also gives the viewer plenty of tasty food for thought to gnaw on . |
518,479 | 8,239,592 | 70,770 | 8 | A hugely enjoyable tongue-in-cheek British horror anthology hoot | Psychiatrist Dr . R . C . Tremayne ( the always fine Donald Pleasence ) and colleague Dr . Nicholas ( Jack Hawkins in his final film role ) investigate the case histories of four inmates being kept in an experimental asylum . 1st and most whimsical tale , " Mr . Tiger " - Little boy Paul Patterson ( cute Russell Lewis ) can't convince his constantly bickering parents ( played to snarky perfection by Georgia Brown and Donald Houston ) that his " imaginary " tiger friend is actually real . 2nd and most offbeat yarn , " Penny Farthing " - Timothy Patrick ( likable Peter McEnery ) purchases an antique bicycle which enables him to go back in time to the Victorian era where he meets fair maiden Beatrice ( the extremely charming and comely Suzy Kendall ) . 3rd and most perverse segment , " Mel " - Jeolous , possessive housewife Bella Thompson ( the ever classy and lovely Joan Collins ) becomes really upset when her husband Brian ( solid Michael Jayston ) becomes infatuated with a sensuous , but lethal sentient tree ( ! ) . 4th and most twisted vignette , " Luau " - Stuck-up rich lady Auriol Pageant ( a wonderfully radiant Kim Novak ) holds a big bash in which the surprise ingredient in the meat turns out to be none other than her sweet virginal daughter Virginia ( the stunningly gorgeous Mary Tamm ) . Director Freddie Francis , working from a witty and inspired script by British fright film scream queen Jennifer Jayne , handles the macabre material with his customary crisp and polished assurance , punctuating the grisly anecdotes with a nice , dry line in quirky black humor and offering up a fair amount of gore . Norman Warwick's slick , sparkling cinematography gives the picture an attractive glossy look . Bernard Ebbinghouse's alternately groovy and spooky score likewise scores a bull's eye . Deliciously droll fun . |
517,899 | 8,239,592 | 94,929 | 8 | Gross , creepy and underrated | A sterling example of how a threadbare and unpromising premise can be made genuinely creepy and effective thanks to a proficient execution . Granted , the story ain't much : Young fellow Clark ( affable J . Eddie Peck ) and his sweet girlfriend Lisa ( a winning performance by late 80's flash-in-the-pan scream queen cutie Jill Schoelen of " The Stepfather " fame ) are driving their jeep across the parched , desolate Arizona desert . The pair take an ill-advised detour off the main road and discover an old abandoned nuclear test site . Things turn sour when one of the jeep tires goes flat . Things get worse when Clark gets bitten by a radioactive snake . And , naturally , things become all the more hairy and freaky when Clark's bitten arm starts to mutate into a foul , icky , highly deadly and disgusting snake monster ! As I said before , the hackneyed plot leaves plenty to be desired . However , with this supremely yucky and revolting horror movie gross-out splatterfest it's not the story that counts ; it's Screaming Mad George's astonishingly vile and revolting make-up f / x and Federico Prosperi's commendably able direction which really make the difference here . Among the picture's sickening highlights are a woman's jaw being torn off , a man's heart being yanked out of his throat , and Peck vomiting forth dozens of steaming slithery snakes . The acting is uniformly tops as well : Peck and Schoelen are credible and likable leads , with solid support from Bo Svenson as a mean , intimidating jerk sheriff , Jamie Farr as a friendly , helpful salesman , " Midnight Ride " ' s Savina Gersak as a kind , pious Baptist lady , Sydney Lassick as a meek , squeamish motel clerk , and " Parasite " ' s Al Fann as a belligerent gas station attendant . Roberto D'Ettorre Piazoli's crisp , fluid cinematography , the eerily forbidding atmosphere , Carlo Maria Cordio's spare , shivery score , the superbly spooky use of arid , swelteringly hot and sticky New Mexico locations , and the spectacularly grotesque and hence immensely upsetting bummer ending further enhance the overall flesh-crawling uneasiness of this harrowingly unpleasant and unnerving fright film surprise . |
519,162 | 8,239,592 | 114,568 | 8 | An effectively tense and sleazy thriller | Cunning and lethal blind maniac vagrant Neil ( a wired , intense , bravura performance by the late , great Rick Dean in one of his patented insane villain parts ) terrorizes a handful of folks in a strip club at gunpoint . Neil cruelly uses everyone's individual weaknesses against them . The main target of Neil's twisted obsession is lovely stripper Christina Martin ( well played by the stunningly gorgeous Maria Ford ) . Director Dan Golden , working from a clever and compact script by Duane Whitaker , wrings plenty of gut-wrenching tension from the simple , yet gripping premise and certainly doesn't skimp on the tasty bare distaff skin . Dean and Ford both turn in stand-out work in their juicy lead roles ; they receive excellent support from Lance August as stuttering shy guy Carey , George Tovar as corrupt cop Roland , Nikki Fritz as mannish , domineering lesbian Sandra , the adorable Ann-Marie Holman as Sandra's mousy , passive lover Kitten , and R . A . Mihailoff ( Leatherface in " Leatherface : Texas Chainsaw Massacre III " ) as tough bartender Little . Both Timothy Wynn's funky score and Andrea Rosotto's slick cinematography are up to par . Popping up in nice cameos are John Lazar ( Z-Man in " Beyond the Valley of the Dolls " ) as a bar patron and Linnea Quigley as a waitress . The DVD boasts a few nifty extras : several trailers , a funny outtake reel , and a lively , informative and highly entertaining commentary by Rick Dean and Dan Golden . Good , nasty fun . |
519,442 | 8,239,592 | 66,905 | 8 | A choice trashy chunk of mean-spirited 70's drive-in exploitation junk | Whiny , mellow dope dealer Harris ( runty Robert Lott ) and moody , scruffy murderer Weed ( burly Michael Stearns ) are a couple of dangerous no-count criminals . The pernicious pair escapes from a chain gang and go on the lam . Director Lee Frost , who also co-wrote the harsh script , did the fairly polished cinematography ( the rousing break out sequence makes inspired use of split screen and freeze frames ) , and even co-edited the picture , crams a reasonable amount of gratuitous nudity , soft-core sex and raw violence into the flick to ensure that devout grindhouse sleaze movie fans will get their grubby money's worth . In addition , Frost keeps the pace suitably brisk throughout and effectively develops a fiercely hard'n'gritty tone . Porter Jordan's fantastic st-kicking hillbilly bluegrass score certainly hits the stirring and spirited spot ; the bluesy theme song in particular rates as an absolute hoot . Popping up in nifty secondary roles are Linda York as Harris ' lovely , loyal girlfriend Ann , Wes Bishop as trouble-making con Coleman , Bruce Kimball as tubby prison guard Fat Sam , Phil Hoover as a volatile racist Gentry , Ralph Campbell as an ornery farmer , and Barbara Mills as the farmer's lusty , unhappy young wife . Nice downbeat ending , too . |
518,102 | 8,239,592 | 94,918 | 8 | A very enjoyable and unjustly overlooked futuristic sci-fi action flick | In yet another bleak and depressing depiction of the future ( this time as a post-plague , post-World War III , perpetually dark and desolate wasteland run by strict authoritarian " 1984 " ish Big Brother types ) , young lovers Bone ( a solid and engaging portrayal by the handsome Peter Nelson ) and Helen ( a winningly fiery'n'feisty turn by the sexy Sherilyn Fenn ) are hired by crafty rich guy Jason ( a really amusing and entertaining David Carradine ) to pull off a few heists . When Jason doesn't live up to his side of the bargain Bone and Helen become wanted on the lam fugitives ala Bonnie and Clyde . Luis Llosa's capable , energetic direction ( Llosa went on to helm the trashy Sly Stallone vehicle " The Specialist " and the delightfully hokey giant killer snake hoot " Anaconda " ) , Daryl Haney's witty , profane script , Rick Conrad's rousing synthesizer score , and fine supporting performances by Michael Shaner as Bone's obnoxious brother Creon , Orlando Sacha as amiable old-timer Alexi and Robert Englund lookalike Don Manor as petty crook J . D . all ensure that " Crime Zone " makes the grade as a lively , exciting and overall above average sci-fi action romp . |
518,927 | 8,239,592 | 70,756 | 8 | An amusingly silly 70's drive-in diversion | A strangely affable piece of fluffy-headed 70's drive-in comedic piffle which lazily coasts along on the faintest whiff of a plot . The story as far as it goes centers on a spacey solar-powered futuristic supervan equipped with lasers and a plush interior created by your standard flaky inventor ( amiable nerd Tom Kindle ) . Evil corporate head T . B . Trenton ( white-haired perennial bad guy thespian Morgan Woodard doing his patented so - slimy - he - slides - when - he - walks villainous bit ) wants the supervan for himself so he can win a big annual van contest . Starry-eyed working class zhlub dreamer Morgan the Pirate ( impish Mark Schneider ) makes off with both the supervan and Trenton's rebellious teen daughter Karen ( cute , spunky , buxom brunette Katie Saylor ) . The expected wacky comic hi-jinks and crazy , careening slapstick car chases ensue . Sure , the admittedly skimpy story ain't much and the loosey-goosey pace meanders all over the place , but what this mama lacks in intricate and sophisticated narrative substance ( plenty , to be brutally honest ) it surely compensates for in giddy , good-natured , just - give - the - audience - what - they've - paid - to - see eager to please stupidity . For instance , there's a totally gratuitous , but still welcome wet t-shirt contest . Moreover , a nearly endless barrage of funky-throbbing disco songs about vans and van culture blares away on the soundtrack throughout . Irv Goodnoff's pretty , hazy , sunshine-soaked cinematography boasts a few fine sinuous tracking shots and radiates a distinctly 70's warm'n'fuzzy glow ( coincidentally , Goodnoff also shot the equally asinine , but still awesome " The Van " ! ) . Blustery custom car king George Barris puts in a guest appearance and a sweetly mellow laid-back vibe permeates the entire feature . Why , we even got slack direction from Lamar Card , a sappy romantic sub-plot , lots of filler footage of the van contest , so - loving - they're - downright - fetishistic close-ups of resplendently tacky van decals , dated CB lingo ( " We're doin ' it to it " ) , a gang of hostile bikers , a jailbreak , delightfully politically incorrect comic relief lisping homosexuals , and absolutely no pretense to get in the way of the enjoyably goofy'n'silly fun . |
519,309 | 8,239,592 | 91,121 | 8 | A surprisingly solid mid-80's made-for-TV vehicular " Death Wish " variant | When one thinks of the singularly raw , gritty and hard-hitting cinema of Abel Ferrara ( who's rough'n'tumble films include " Driller Killer , " " Ms . 45 , " and " Bad Lieutenant " ) , several scattered idiot box credits aren't the first thing to spring to mind . But back in the mid-80's the often fiercely indie and underground Ferrara briefly went mainstream and somehow wormed his way onto the boob tube , where he directed the " Crime Story " pilot , a few episodes of " Miami Vice , " and this fairly generic , yet miraculously rough-edged and compelling made-for-TV feature . Ken Wahl of " Wiseguy " TV show fame gives a somewhat stolid , but overall acceptable and engaging performance as an amiably zhlubby blue collar ordinary shmoe ace automobile mechanic whose younger brother gets killed by a drunk driver in a sinister black muscle car . Haunted by his bro's untimely death and angry as all hell , Wahl builds himself a lethal souped-up tow truck , hits the dark , hazy , perilous Los Angeles nocturnal streets looking for that spooky muscle car , and winds up becoming a self-appointed vigilante who takes out all those leering , unruly , bellicose , recklessly inebriated killers on wheels who pose a general threat to decent , law-abiding folks on the road with them . Naturally the cops want to nail Wahl real quick and the media turns him into a folk hero . Okay , so the plot is little more than a vehicular " Death Wish " variant crossed with " Duel " and the picture does suffer somewhat from unavoidable mild'n'middlebrow TV movie sanitizing ( the sporadic sappy pop-slop tunes mewling away on the soundtrack are especially irritating ) , but Ferrara's strong , sturdy and stylish direction certainly compensates for these minor flaws . As usual with Ferrara , he takes a provocative questioning stance with the obsessive , tormented protagonist , vigilantism is properly addressed as the knotty , nothing remotely simple or easy about it issue that it really is , James Lemmo's slick , polished , glittering neon-hued cinematography vividly depicts a luridly gleaming nighttime atmosphere , and the palpable evocation of the scary , forbidding and dangerous urban hellhole jungle setting positively seethes with a frightfully omnipresent menace . Moreover , there are fine supporting turns by Nancy Allen as a sweet radio talk show host , the always reliable Robert Culp as a hard-nosed detective , and Stan Shaw as Wahl's nice dude best buddy , David Frank supplies an effectively spare , shivery , jazz-flavored score , and the final showdown between Wahl and the muscle car delivers the pulse-pounding , heart-stopping , metal-mangling auto-to-auto stand-off goods . Sure , it's not exactly one of Ferrara's best-ever offerings , but this generally solid and satisfying item sure ain't no lemon , either . |
519,193 | 8,239,592 | 86,176 | 8 | An admirably offbeat & ambitious Italian post-nuke sci-fi item | One of the more interesting , creditable and refreshingly offbeat additions to the rather overburdened Italian post-nuke sci-fi / action genre which proliferated in the wake of " The Road Warrior " ' s meteoric success , " Rats " qualifies as one of the few genuinely good movies to be found in notorious spaghetti schlockmeister Bruno Mattie's largely ignoble cinematic oeuvre , mainly because it's just about the only Italian post-apocalyptic affair with a thoughtful , provocative subtext . 225 , A . B . ( After Bomb ) - A motley assortment of survivalist bikers seek sanctuary at an abandoned warehouse that's richly abundant in food , water and comfortable shelter . Naturally , there's one huge glitch : The place is also teeming with a horrid array of hungry , super-intelligent carnivorous rats with a sickening sweet tooth for human flesh . The basic plot seems routine and unpromising , but " Rats " luckily - - and , more importantly , successfully - - aspires to be more than just another by-the-numbers post-nuke killathon by cleverly working in an odd , imaginative , breaking - against - the - standard - mold religious allegory into the tense and scary proceedings . Furthermore , the characters are unusually well-drawn and solidly acted , going above and beyond cardboard cut-out status : the laconic , relaxed , grimly rational chopper gang leader Kurt ( neatly played with sufficient poise and charisma by Richard Raymond ) serves as a scruffy , rough-around-the-edges tough guy Christ figure , the savage , scurvy , libidinous Lucifer ( a magnificently malicious Christopher Bretnor ) assumes snarling , refractory rebel chores with frightful intensity , and the flighty , girlish motorcycle mama Lilith ( the tall , beauteous , dark-haired Moune Duvivier , who's indeed luscious enough to entice any man into engaging in sinful behavior ) represents the wicked carnal temptations of the flesh . Director / co-writer Mattie and co-director Charles ( " Curse of the Dead , " Monster Dog " ) Aured explore the dark , troubling , substantial themes of faith , loyalty and betrayal , man's inhumanity towards animals and his fellow man , the foolishness and self-destructive nature of greed , and stupid , self-affirming arrogance bringing about one's own untimely demise with a reasonable amount of depth and aptitude . Technically , the film is quite polished , with both Luigi Ceccarelli's tersely creepy and effective synthesizer score and Franco Delli Colli's vivid , shadowy , atmospheric cinematography rating as most up to snuff . The bleak , grimy , brooding tone , punctuated by several crudely upsetting rodent attack scenes ( Lilith's ultimate fate is notably nasty ) and capped off by a bitterly ironic , starling surprise twist ending , rarely falters . There's even some pretty spot-on cool dialogue ; a flamethrower-wielding Kurt cops the film's single most groovy line when he angrily growls : " I'm gonna warm their whiskers ! " Although not without its flaws - - atrocious dubbing , a few dreadful performances ( Ann Gisel Glass as the fidgety , hysterical Myra serves up a horribly overdrawn and indigestible slice of distasteful dried-up ham ) , and a slight degree of heavy-handedness pervades in the tackling of the weighty theological issues - - " Rats " nonetheless still warrants praise for its audacious willingness to boldly break from no-brainer after Wolrd War III sci-fi / action picture conventions by actually giving the audience a sizable ( and all too rare ) amount of food for thought to chew on . |
519,012 | 8,239,592 | 200,753 | 8 | A rather clunky , but overall sincere and touching social drama | Mischievous Johnny Banes ( scrappy Dion Gossett ) has an unfortunate knack for getting into all kinds of trouble : he smokes , lies , steals , rudely disrupts class , doesn't do his schoolwork , and even mugs an old guy for his money ! Worse yet , Johnny's vain struggling actress mother Denise ( nicely played by Sandy Reed ) and hard-working insurance salesman stepfather Phil ( a strong and likable performance by Renny Roker ) spend more time squabbling with each other than they do with Johnny . Writer / director Horace Jackson concocts a somewhat clumsy , but well-meaning and insightful social drama that pertinently addresses how severe parental neglect contributes substantially to juvenile delinquency . Moreover , Jackson tosses in occasional " what the hell ? " unexpected oddball moments : Denise gives Johnny a rubdown in a scene that's simmering with incestuous undertones and in one especially startling sequence a creepy pedophile assaults a little girl in a bathroom . The jolting downbeat ending packs a pretty potent punch , too . The kid actors are all appealingly natural ( Gossett in particular impresses as the moody and unhappy Johnny ) . Rich Holmes is memorably hateful as stern history teacher Mr . Bishop . Dennis Coffey's funky , syncopated score and Mark Rasmussen's plain , no-frills cinematography further enhance the gritty realism of this moving and effective picture . |
518,038 | 8,239,592 | 82,350 | 8 | A perfectly enjoyable , if totally predictable early 80's Chuck Norris action item | Okay , let's start this review off by stating for the record that this flick sure ain't no groundbreaking work of exceptional cinematic art . However , it's an enjoyably funky little martial arts action item that does the trick quite nicely , getting immediately down to butt-kicking business right from the stirring start and never letting up to the thrilling end . A clean-shaven , baby-faced Chuck Norris stars as rugged San Francisco cop Sean Kane , who after losing his partner in an ambush ( a brief appearance by Terry Kiser of " Weekend at Bernie's " fame ) quits the police force and decides to go after the no-count drug-dealing evildoers responsible on his own , using his chopsocky prowess to clean their clocks like nobody's business . So far , so formulaic and predictable . Fortunately , director Steve ( " Big Bad Mama " ) Carver maintains a snappy pace and a gritty atmosphere which keeps the pretty flimsy story on track throughout . The action is both plentiful and exciting , with especially cool use of strenuous slow motion and a substantial body count racked up by our man Chuck . Moreover , a bang-up supporting cast helps a lot : the late , great Mako as a fellow martial artist who's constantly criticizing Norris ' sloppy form ( Mako makes for a really funny comic relief character ) , Richard " Shaft " Roundtree as Norris ' huffy , disapproving superior , Rosalind Chao as a gutsy lady TV reporter , the always terrific Christopher Lee as the suavely slimy main villain , Matt Clark as a weaselly cop on the take , and the enormous Professor Toru Tanaka as a hulking ferocious flunky for the bad guys ( the scene where Tanaka beats up a Volkswagon is an absolute riot ! ) . Sure , this film will never be hailed as some kind of great overlooked classic , but it's nonetheless loads of solid , silly , straight-down-the-line early 80's action fun and that's good enough for me . |
518,189 | 8,239,592 | 82,346 | 8 | Of pigs and geeks | Stanley Coopersmith ( a fine and engaging performance by Clint Howard in his first juicy lead role ) , a paunchy , put-upon misfit techno nerd , gets in touch with Ol ' Scratch via way of a computer hook-up ( ! ) so he can get revenge on the vile antagonistic jerks who constantly accost him at the elite snobby military academy he attends . Directed with remarkably infectious go-for-it style and verve by Eric Weston and featuring plenty of outrageously over-the-top gruesome splatter ( gory highlights include a heart being torn out of someone's chest , a head being spun around and Coopersmith splitting a guy's noggin in two with a sword ) , a little gratuitous nudity ( the luscious Lynn Hancock warrants special kudos here as a comely , but bitchy secretary who gets attacked and eaten by ferocious demonic pigs while taking a shower ) , and a boffo shoot-the-fireworks wild climax set in a church , this funky early 80's low-budget " Carrie " clone sizes up as a whole lot of gleefully mindless schlocky fun . Howard simply shines in a strong and sympathetic substantial starring part , receiving sterling support from R . G . Armstrong as a boozy , abusive janitor , Charles Tyner as the stern colonel who runs the school , Lenny Montana as a nice guy cook , Richard Moll as an evil Devil cult leader , Hamilton Camp as a mean English teacher , Joe Cortese as a nasty priest , and Don Stark as Coopersmith's chief cruel cadet tormentor . The bang-up Anchor Bay DVD offers a nice widescreen presentation of an uncut and uncensored print along with the theatrical trailer , a still and poster gallery , and a very lively , informative and entertaining commentary by Weston and Howard . A delightfully trashy horror hoot . |
518,034 | 8,239,592 | 70,743 | 8 | An enjoyably silly and lively comedic 70's drive-in romp | A quirky , fluffy , free-wheeling series of humorous vignettes involving three aspiring student teachers ' seriocomic experiences at Valley High School in California . Susan ( " Blood Sabbath " ) Damante teaches an open-minded , but controversial after school class which promotes a healthy , up-front attitude about sex . Brooke ( " Dream No Evil " ) Mills blows off her hypocritical pseudo-bohemian male chauvinist art teacher lover Richard Doran in order to become more attached to a much more nice and considerate guy in her photography class . Streetwise black student Brenda Sutton pulls off an elaborate scam in which two drug cartels are pitted against each other in order to raise enough money to save a burgeoning learning center from closing down . The supporting cast is right on the money : Johnny Ray McGhee as an overaged borderline drop-out who assists Sutton with her crafty , dangerous ruse , the ever-sleazy Charles ( " The Hot Box " ) Dierkop as a ruthless Italian smack pusher , then popular radio disc jockey " the Real " Don Steele as a - - you guessed it - - super-smooth disc jockey , the ubiquitous ( and very short ) Dick Miller in a hilarious piece of miscasting as an uptight , foul-mouthed , irascible jerk of a basketball ( ! ) coach who turns out to be a brutal rapist , Tara Strohmeier as a cute teen , and none other than Chuck Norris , who has a quick " sneeze and you'll miss him " bit as a - - what else ? - - karate instructor . The essential drive-in movie ingredients for a solid and satisfying romp are all present and accounted for : mucho gratuitous nudity , sexual assault , goofy montages set to dippy early 70's pop-rock tunes , zany car chases , wacky shoot-outs , swear words , free love - - y'know , all that fun , funky junky stuff which makes these kind of flicks so worthwhile . Jonathan ( " White Line Fever , " " Heart Like a Wheel " ) Kaplan's speedy , stable direction , Stephen ( " Switchblade Sisters , " " Sister Sister " ) Katz's bright , pretty cinematography , and David Nichtern's nifty banjo-happy , harmonica-tinged blues and country music score earn passing marks as well , thereby clinching this baby's status as an endearingly wiggy , disjointed , and , yes , even charming so - idiotic - it's - oddly - appealing - and - entertaining New World Pictures teen sexploitation treat . |
517,992 | 8,239,592 | 273,896 | 8 | A funky low-budget horror psycho winner | What we got here is a real rarity , a genuine surprise , something that's almost unheard of and all too often hard to find : An extremely good , capably done , and intelligently plotted made-for-video low-budget indie fright flick that doesn't resort to the usual cheap excessive gore and gratuitous T & A in order to grab a viewer's attention . Instead , this creepily right-on little sleeper offers neatly realized three dimensional characters ( for example , the titular freaky bloodthirsty wacko is a toxic product of severe child abuse , thus making him a semi-pitiable individual who's just as much a victim as the people he preys on ) , decent acting , solid direction , a clever , firmly constructed script , fairly accomplished cinematography , a few effectively scary moments , authentically grungy Michigan locations , judiciously used splatter make-up , a potently rendered gloom-doom atmosphere , and a shivery , flesh-crawling synthesizer score to relate the arrestingly oddball tale of a grubby , disaffected , socially maladaptive seething misogynist psycho ( well played with edgy dysfunctional conviction by Carl Zschering ) who acquires the magical ability to transform his physical appearance so he can become whoever he wants at any time . Under the guise of a cute , seemingly shy and awkward teenage girl ( the toothsome Ann Flood ) , the nutjob befriends and eventually kills an ever-growing number of unsuspecting high school girls in order to get back at his mean mother and equally nasty aunt for grossly mistreating him as a kid . This peculiar shape-shifting story angle thankfully manages to be more than just a silly , ridiculous " gimme a break , man " gimmick , primarily because the story itself is handled with commendable seriousness and competence . Highlighted by several shockingly ghastly murder set pieces ( our sicko likes to cannibalize his victims ) and topped off with a wonderfully twisted nihilistic ending , " The Nostril Picker " makes for an unexpectedly gripping and highly satisfying horror outing . |
519,357 | 8,239,592 | 114,608 | 8 | A real wild and gory blast of a horror flick | Mysterious drifter Brayker ( superbly played by William Sadler ) possesses the last of seven ancient keys that the demonic , yet charismatic Collector ( deliciously essayed with lip-smacking sardonic panache by Billy Zane ) needs to acquire in order to destroy humanity . Brayker seeks refuge in a rundown motel . The Collector and his army of lethal , grotesquely ugly ghouls lay siege to the joint . Ably directed with considerable rip-snorting flair by Ernest Dickerson , with slick cinematography by Rick Bota , a handy helping of graphic gore ( gruesome highlights include a fist punched through a head and an arm being ripped off ) , unusually well-drawn and engaging characters , a rousing score by Ed Shearmur , an admirably straight tone , and inspired touches of pitch-black gallows humor , this movie delivers a fast-paced package of fun and frights . Sadler and Zane are terrific in the leads ; they receive excellent support from Jada Pinkett-Smith as spunky ex-con Jerryline , CCH Pounder as tough , cynical motel proprietor Irene , Brenda Bakke as forlorn prostitute Cordelia , Thomas Haden Church as sleazy abject coward Roach , Dick Miller as lovable old drunk Uncle Willie , John Schuck as ramrod Sheriff Tupper , Charles Fleischer as the meek Wally , and Gary Farmer as bumbling Deputy Bob Martel . A very solid and satisfying horror picture . |
518,316 | 8,239,592 | 66,940 | 8 | A neat little Italian crime drama | Honest , dedicated Commissioner Bonavia ( superbly played by Martin Balsam ) risks both his life and career in order to arrest wily , powerful and evasive mobster Ferdinando D'Ambrosio ( a marvelously slimy portrayal by Luciano Catenacci ) . Bonavia clashes with shrewd , smooth and by-the-book young district attorney Traini ( the always fine Franco Nero ) over the questionable methods he uses to nab D'Ambrosio . Director Damiano Damiani , who also co-wrote the sharp , complex and intriguing script with Salvatore Laurani , relates the absorbing story at a steady pace and does an expert job of maintaining a serious and gritty tone throughout . The uniformly sound acting from a tip-top cast rates as another substantial plus : Balsam and Nero both excel in their meaty roles , with fine support from Marilu Tolo as D'Ambrosio's frightened old flame Serena LiPuma , Giancarlo Prete as gutsy union organizer Rizzo , Claudio Gora as crooked attorney general Judge Malta , Arturo Dominici as shifty mafia shyster lawyer Canistraro , and Adolfo Lastretti as dangerous , unhinged hoodlum LiPuma . Both Riz Ortolani's moody , melodic score and Claudio Ragona's polished cinematography are up to speed . The potent central message about pervasive corruption and travesties of justice packs one hell of a strong punch . Moreover , the film's tough , no-nonsense sensibility stays grimly true to itself to the literal bitter end . Those expecting your usual nasty and sleazy shoot ' em up action picture will be disappointed , but fans of more demanding and complicated fare should appreciate this admirably ambitious and intelligent character study of two radically contrasting law enforcers . Well worth a look . |
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