Look Who's Rocking!

Hello Friends and Horror fans alike, I have a special little post today. Back in January, I wrote a review on a cool little indie horror film called "I Didn't Come Here To Die" (Review Here). Through watching that film I discovered the absolutely stunning Emmy Robbin. Emmy is an amazing person and absolutely one of the sweetest people I have come a crossed during my foray as a blogger. I posted the review of "IDCHTD" and to my shock, a facebook friend request followed from Emmy. She was very thankful and appreciative of the review. We almost crossed paths a couple of weeks ago at the Chicago Wizard World Con, but unfortunately, I am a chicken and not big on autographs. Back on track.

I have found out that since 2005 Emmy has been in almost all of Robert Rodriguez films. Films such as Sin City, Planet Terror, and both upcoming films Sin City 2 and Machete Kills. I could not be more excited to see Emmy getting more and more roles! However, Someone in the media doesn't care about this. Recently, new photos of Machete Kills have been cropped to remove Emmy. How Rude! So If you haven't already peep the actual photo below.

From Left to Right: Emmy Robbin, Elle LaMonte, Sophia Vergara, Alexa Vega

Check out how bad ass this is! I am very excited to see my friend Emmy in Machete Kills and hope you all go out and support the film. Machete Kills is set to be released on October 11th of this year. Check out Emmy in Rodriguez's films as well as I Didn't Come Here To Die...you won’t be sorry. View the Machete Kills trailer below.

My Top-10... (Part 2)

This week I finish Part 2 of My Top 10 Lesser Known 80's Slasher Movies list. I will say that for me making this list was HARD! I'm such a huge fan of the Slasher genre that picking only 10 was one of the hardest decisions ever. My process for this was to write down the first 10 lessor known films that popped into my head, then I organized them to the best of my abilities. Trust me, this was no easy task. I will probably post something in the coming weeks as honorable mentions to this list. So lets get on with the show.

5. Just Before Dawn
A group of teens go out into the wilderness for a camping trip, but when they start encountering strange things, and noises they find out that they may not be the only ones in the woods.

This movie had a lot of good things going for it. It is a slasher film but its rather toned down compared to most others from this time. It sports an above average cast that does tremendously well, a great score, and a setting the provides just the right amount of eeriness that makes a great horror film. The final scene of the film is what most will remember from this movie and the supsiquent death of some poor hunter in the beginning of the film. All in all its a great watch.

4. Nail Gun Massacre
After a woman is brutally raped by a large group of construction workers, someone wearing army fatigues and a motorcycle helmet armed with a nail gun is picking off locals one by one. Is it the rape victim or is it someone more sinister all together?

This film is full of campy goodness. From start to finish it gets more ridiculous by the second. This film was made on a next to nothing budget and it defiantly shows, but the film has this odd charm about it. I think this charm is part of the reason it has became such a cult classic among slasher enthusiasts. There is ample nudity throughout the film, pleny of bloody deaths, and the same song plays though different scenes in the movie. HILARIOUS. Great watch, check it out.

 3. Curtains
After a very predominate actress puts herself in a mental institution to study a role, the director leavers her there and decided to cast some new fresh faced talent instead. He gathers the girls at his mansion, and beings a long audition process for the role. When girls start going missing and seeing a strange old lady, they realize that they may be cut from the competition completely.

This film is great, one of the better stand alone slasher films of this time period. Its got a very ominous killer and a great cast. There is a very iconic death scene in this movie that everyone talks about...watch it and you will know what I'm talking about. This film also has a very shitty dvd release in a midnight horror 4 pack, that fans are not very happy about.   

2. Madman

When a camper investigates the house of the legend Madman Marz, He awakes something evil and Madman his out to destroy anything in his path. 

The film is a classic. Its got a great story, an iconic killer, and really awesome deaths. Its also a little hard to find too, with an Anchor Bay release that trumps the Code Red release 10 fold. If your lucky enough to grab an anchor bay release prepare to spend anywhere between 30 - 75 bucks on a solid copy. Watch this film now.

 1. Graduation Day
After a high school track star dies, a killer is hunting down her former teammates. Is the killer out for revenge or are they just quenching their thirst for blood.

While this movie is more widely known among horror fans, it is still not an extremely popular title. Graduation Day is an early Troma film that takes itself surprisingly serious. Most notable Troma films are goofy and downright ridiculous. This film plays the slasher game by the numbers and is pretty successful. With a decent cast, and some pretty cool kills this film really stands out for me. With a "twist" ending that really encapsulates the 80's slasher time period. this film is a great watch. This film also boasts an early apperance of the vivacious Vanna White.

Well that's it. We made it to the end. Let me know what you think of the list in the comments section below.

My Top-10... (Part 1)

I’ve decided to do something a little different this week. I have seen a lot of people doing top 10 list in many sub-genres of horror. Lists like “My Top-10 Vampire Movies” are even “My Top-10 80’s Horror Boob Shots” ect, ect. I tend to love reading through these types of lists on other blogs and websites, even if I don’t agree it’s always nice to see where some movies stack up for other people.

As most of you know, I am a HUGE fan of goofy 80’s Slasher Movies…To me this era was the best, the kills pushed the envelope, the skin ran rampant through dusty VHS tapes. So today, I present to you part 1 of “My Top-10 Lesser Known 80’s Slasher Films”

10. Scalps

This forgotten little slasher gem is about a group of college kids who venture out into the desert in search of ancient Indian artifacts. The group however unknowingly awakens an evil Indian spirt who will stop a nothing to protect his land.

In short, this film is pretty fun. The acting is horrendous, and the plot is a little slow but once you get into the film the film kicks into overdrive and creates some pretty gory and violent kills. The score of the film is pretty cool too.

9. The Dorm That Dripped Blood (aka Death Dorm, Pranks)

TDTDB is about a small group of college students (notice a trend here) that stay at the college during Christmas break to clean out an old dorm so it can be demolished. Someone however is picking off the students, but is it really who they think it is? 

This film is a classic. Made by 2 UCLA students in the early 80’s on a next to nothing budget this film has become somewhat of a cult classic. This film is also one of the unfortunate victims of the early MPAA being heavily cut for excessive gore and violence. The plot is again slow to start but it picks up about 15 – 20 minutes in. Lucky enough for us hardcore slasher fans, synapse films released a stellar UNCUT Blu-Ray/DVD combo of the film that TRUMPS all the other releases of the film including the notoriously bad lighting problem of previous transfers.

8. Superstition 
Superstition is about a witch that was condemned to death and drowned in 1692. The witch curses the grounds she was killed on and promises eternal revenge. Jump to our present time (80’s) and the property has been given to a local church. Since the curse extremely violent things have happened here, and now the violence has escalated.

I love this film, not only does it involve witchcraft but it’s REALLY gory. The story is solid and the effects are great. The acting is again full of cheese, and the score leaves a bad taste in your mouth but it’s a fun & entertaining supernatural slasher flick.

7. Roctober Blood
A heavy metal rocker goes on a killing spree and after he is caught and executed he comes back, and is ready for his encore.

This film is BAD, the acting is terrible. The storyline is wack, and the kills are pretty basic. For some reason, I am drawn to this film like flies to shit (pun intended). Maybe it’s the sheer ridiculousness of it all, or the fact that it’s based around heavy metal. Still it’s a great watch, even better with a group of like-minded individuals of some equally bad beers.

6. Hell High
A group of high school teens decide they are going to get even with their wicked science teacher and play a cruel trick on her. The kids prank quickly goes wrong, and terrible things start happening to the students.

This film is a very good flick. The story is solid and the acting is not dreadful. The gore effects are good and the score is appropriate. While it’s not perfect (most slashes are far from it), it possesses a charm not found in most rare slasher films. I am honestly surprised more people don’t know about this film.

That’s it for part 1 of “My Top-10 lesser known 80’s Slasher Films.” Stay tuned for the next installment in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined seek out these films and let me know what YOU think about them in the comments section below.

Twixt (2012)

Have you ever finished a movie, and while the credits are rolling ask yourself, “What were they thinking?” Well that’s exactly what I did after watching this next film. With a film that had as much hype behind is as this one, I was surprised at the outcome. What was the killer of the film? Read on for my thoughts.

Twixt is about a struggling writer named Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) who has resorted to drinking and the moniker of “a bargain basement Stephen King”. Hall is tired of writing failing witchcraft stories and while in a small town, gets an offer of his dreams. While investigating strange deaths in the town, Hall is thrown headlong into a blended world of dreams & reality.

The film is not the completely terrible; there are moments when you really want to find out what happens next, but with bad green screens, cgi, and extremely bad pacing issues the film becomes hard to watch and ultimately a letdown. Written, Directed & Produced by Francis Ford Coppola the film never really had a solid sense of direction. I feel like too many plot elements resulted in the film being overly complex.

The acting in the film was one of the only qualities I enjoyed in the film. Val Kilmer holds his own, and re-affirms why he was so popular in the 90’s, Young Elle Fanning hits a homerun as V, and gives her older sister a run for her money. The rest of the cast is decent, but none really stand out as great.

Unfortunately, Twixt is not for everyone. Some will hail its artistic cinematography and used of “Touch Of Color”, will others will really get lost in the muck. The pacing issues are the hardest to get through. The middle of the film makes the film drag on for what seems like an eternity. Lack of movement and anything exciting left me wanting more, so when the film actually starts to pick up, it abruptly ends. The ending left me saying “WTF” and “You got to be fucking kidding me”. Nothing is resolved and nothing is really explained.

The most distracting aspect of the film is the weird and often overly fake green screen. By the looks of it, the effect was to add a dreamy aspect to the film but unfortunately it fell very short. I get the goal but it just wasn’t successful.

The film just doesn’t really do much for me. There are just too meny aspects of the film that make this a very low caliber film, and effort by the great Francis Ford Coppola. Plagued by terrible pacing, low rate cgi green screens GLP gives Twixt, a 1 out of 5 stabs. For more information on the film visit the official website and Facebook. View the trailer below.

GLP Rating: