Latest Articles
Blu-ray Review: The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968)
Jayne Mansfield, apparently quite the international jet-setter, is kind enough to take us along on her last tour around the globe. Make sure you take your Dramamine as I suspect this is going to be a bumpy-ass ride… We start off in Rome, where Jayne just putzes around nearly deserted streets (in black and white footage… remember this)… but c’mon, Jayne is a big star, they aren’t really selling it… oh, wait… thankfully stock footage of countless people looking at… something… has been spliced in (via color footage). Ciao Bella Mrs. Mansfield… After more stock footage, some people eventually show up and Jayne gets her ass pinched (which may be more stock footage… but definitely involves a look-alike) in the middle of the afternoon, watches some ladies take their clothes off, fills us in on the games of the coliseums (via scenes from an old Hercules picture and a rando soccer game), fantasizes about dragons and ancient orgies (thankfully not
Continue reading →
Artist Spotlight: Giuseppe Balestra
A little while back I did a review of the new fantastic Ghostbusters Art Book, a collection of amazing artists paying tribute to the iconic movie. In my review, I listed some of my favorite pieces, the poster by the incredibly talented artist Giuseppe Balestra. I feel that Giuseppe’s artwork deserves a more in-depth look. Born in Rome and raised in South Italy, the artist prefers using pen and inks, cross-hatching and stippling, before eventually combining digital color, drawing inspiration from literature, movies, especially horror and fantasy. I like to create illustrations in which the darkness of the shadows stands in contrast to the light. They’ve been called “melancholic, mysterious and poetic. I’ve always loved doing art since I was a child, always experimenting with all kinds of media. I published my first work in late 2015 in The Lovecraft eZine vol.36 and since then I’ve been doing it professionally, working on internal illustrations and covers for books, posters, and
Continue reading →
Blu-ray Review: Mondo Balordo (1964)
After a big spoon of hippie-dippy bullshit (set to some pseudo-Vic Damone crooning) that attempts to rationalize the horrors we will doubtfully soon witness, Mondo Balordo gets underway… … and in less than five minutes we get handicapped, and possibly deranged, people busking, a man that can inflate his stomach to asinine degrees, and sex with a midget prostitute… fuck me (but not like our little person harlot), this is going to be a bumpy ride… oh, and Boris Karloff of all people is mixed up in this too… Moving on we get a thick stew of Hercules flick stock-footage, exercises to reinvigorate the tiddies of ol’ biddies, strip shows, light S&M, female rasslin’ … and so much, much more. Also a blonde-haired Buddy Holly clone sings some song that is an unholy combination of ’50’s rock mixed with the manic energy of Guitar Wolf set to images of native peoples dancing to god knows what… honestly, that was my
Continue reading →
DVD Review: Game of Death (2020)
Game of Death goes as follows: a group of hard partyin’ millennial-types do the whole gamut of drinkin’ druggin’ and dirty lovin’ until they find something new to occupy their vacuous noodles; namely playing a board game that requires the players to kill one another or else the game will do the murder biz via making the player’s heads explode! Now, will our hapless heroes have the stones to play the game to it’s conclusion, or will they all end up a heap of headless hosers? Before we get to the one glaring negative with this fright flick, let’s start with some good vibes, shall we? The concept of the killer game, and how it’s presented is tight and outta sight, and the story itself (courtesy of scribes Edouard H. Bond, Sebastien Landry, Laurence Morais-Lagaceis, and Philip Kalin-Hajdu) is aces, as is the slick n’ stylish direction from Landry and Morais-Lagaceis that blends elements of found footage, animation, 8-bit graphics
Continue reading →
Watch The Brutal Red Band Trailer For Shudder’s ‘Random Acts Of Violence’
A cult-hit in the making, Jay Baruchel’s long-anticipated Random Acts of Violence, adapted from the popular 2010 horror graphic novel by the same name, is a force to reckon with. The Canadian filmmaker and actor, best known for his comedic bow in This is the End and as the voice of Hiccup in the How to Train Your Dragon series, has long been committed to bringing Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti’s brutal pages to the big screen, and wrote, directed, produced and stars in the upcoming film. The brand new Red Band trailer teases a bloody and brutal film that explores ideas of legitimizing cruelty, the responsibility of the artist, and what makes a monster in society. Masterfully lensed by award-winning cinematographer Karim Hussain (Hobo With a Shotgun, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor), the film holds a ferocious mirror up to art, society, and violence. What are the real consequences when life begins to imitate art? Comic book creator Todd Walkley (Jesse
Continue reading →
Book Review: Jack Kirby the Epic Life of the King of Comics (2020)
Jack Kirby is the single greatest comic book creator that ever lived. Period, full fuckin’ stop. You can disagree of course, and of course you would be wrong… I mean come the hell on; the dude created The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, and most importantly to me, The X-Men, and roughly eleven-billionty others (including the genius of his New Gods work for DC, and creations for animation)… and his place in history is well-and-duly preserved, not to mention his influence on modern cinema with all of those Marvel flicks comin’ out every 15 seconds (well they were before the world temporarily turns upside down). So that brings us to Jack Kirby the Epic Life of the King of Comics; the new four-color opus from Tom Scioli (American Barbarian, G.I. Joe vs. Transformers, Go-bots, and Fantastic Four Grand Design to name a few), a genius-level creator in his own right… and one of my all-time favorite artists around today, who (not)
Continue reading →
Blu-Ray Review: Ozone (1995)
There’s a new drug on the mean streets called Ozone, and it has the nasty habit of making those that take it explode… and those are the lucky ones! Enter: Detective Eddie Boone (James Black), who finds himself injected with Ozone while on a bust that also results in his partner, Mike (Tom Hoover) being maimed and abducted by a gang of Ozone “zombies”. Now Boone must search for his partner while suffering nightmarish Ozone hallucinations, and contending with the monstrous mutant addicts that stand in his way! Shot on Super VHS-C, for next to no cash, Ozone is punk rock fright flick filmmaking at it’s best! Director/Co-writer J.R. Bookwalter (along with Co-writer David A. Wagner) creates a truly unique vision of endless mutations, body-melts, Cenobite-style punks, and gallons of grizzly gore (most realized via excellent practical effects work, though some early CG “morphs” are utilized as well) that parade around a world just a few minutes ahead of our
Continue reading →
John Jarratt Confirms New ‘Wolf Creek’ Season And Movie
The future of the Wolf Creek franchise has been in question for a while now. But that has just changed. Star John Jarratt took to social media this week teasing that Wolf Creek has two new projects in the works, but like many others is stuck in Covid limbo. To my delight – I have received an overwhelming amount of messages about Wolf Creek 3 – the season and the movie. [Franchise creator/director] Greg McLean and I have both projects in the works but unfortunately Covid-19 has the world at a standstill. I promise to keep you updated as we all try our best to get through these tough times.” Jarratt wrote. Jarratt stars as stone-cold serial killer Mick Taylor who roams the Aussie Outback, first conning victims with his rugged charms to bring them in before brutally murdering them. The original film, written and directed by Greg McLean, was released back in 2005 with the sequel following in 2013.
Continue reading →
Horror Meets Sci-Fi In “The Honeymoon Phase” Trailer
Writer-director Phillip G. Carroll Jr. examines marriage in the new sci-fi horror-thriller The Honeymoon Phase, out this August from Dark Sky Films. “Down on their luck and needing some quick cash, struggling young lovers Tom and Eve lie about their relationship in order to enter The Millennium Project, an experiment for married couples run by the mysterious Director and Handler. With the promise of $50,000, Tom and Eve must survive 30-days isolated together in a futuristic smart home, while the researchers attempt to determine why couples fall out of love. Over the course of their stay, Eve begins a violent descent into madness as she questions if her lover really is the man she thinks he is. Starring Jim Schubin (“Boardwalk Empire”), Chloe Carroll, with Tara Westwood (The Grudge 2020) and Francois Chau (“Lost”, “TheExpanse”), the film is a paranoid sci-fi thriller about the nature of trust in relationships, The Honeymoon Phase is as much classic Twilight Zone as contemporary
Continue reading →
Board The Crazy Train For New Travel Channel Series “The Osbournes Want to Believe”
All aboard the crazy train! Join America’s tell-it-like-it-is family, the Osbornes, as they examine jaw-dropping paranormal videos in Travel Channel’s new series “The Osbournes Want to Believe,” premiering this August. The new eight-part series starring Ozzy, Jack, and Sharon Osbourne as they explore mind-blowing videos os supernatural and paranormal activity. Jack Osbourne is determined to make his parents, Ozzy and Sharon, full-fledged paranormal believers. Dim the lights and settle in for fun, scares, and unfiltered humor in Travel Channel’s “The Osbournes Want To Believe,” premiering Sunday, August 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. They might be known as the first family of darkness, but when it comes to the paranormal, legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, “The Talk” co-host Sharon Osbourne, are borderline skeptics. Determined to turn them fully to the other side, Jack reunites with Ozzy and Sharon to share the craziest, most jaw-dropping videos of supernatural activity ever caught on camera. But the question still remains if the
Continue reading →More latest articles
Blu-ray Review: The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968)
Jayne Mansfield, apparently quite the international jet-setter, is kind enough to take us along on her last tour around the globe. Make sure you take your Dramamine as I suspect this is going to be a bumpy-ass ride… We start off in Rome, where Jayne just putzes around nearly deserted streets (in black and white footage… remember this)… but c’mon, Jayne is a big star, they aren’t really selling it… oh, wait… thankfully stock footage of countless people looking at… something… has been spliced in (via color footage). Ciao Bella Mrs. Mansfield… After more stock footage, some people eventually show up and Jayne gets her ass pinched (which may be more stock footage… but definitely involves a look-alike) in the middle of the afternoon, watches some ladies take their clothes off, fills us in on the games of the coliseums (via scenes from an old Hercules picture and a rando soccer game), fantasizes about dragons and ancient orgies (thankfully not
Continue reading →
Artist Spotlight: Giuseppe Balestra
A little while back I did a review of the new fantastic Ghostbusters Art Book, a collection of amazing artists paying tribute to the iconic movie. In my review, I listed some of my favorite pieces, the poster by the incredibly talented artist Giuseppe Balestra. I feel that Giuseppe’s artwork deserves a more in-depth look. Born in Rome and raised in South Italy, the artist prefers using pen and inks, cross-hatching and stippling, before eventually combining digital color, drawing inspiration from literature, movies, especially horror and fantasy. I like to create illustrations in which the darkness of the shadows stands in contrast to the light. They’ve been called “melancholic, mysterious and poetic. I’ve always loved doing art since I was a child, always experimenting with all kinds of media. I published my first work in late 2015 in The Lovecraft eZine vol.36 and since then I’ve been doing it professionally, working on internal illustrations and covers for books, posters, and
Continue reading →
Blu-ray Review: Mondo Balordo (1964)
After a big spoon of hippie-dippy bullshit (set to some pseudo-Vic Damone crooning) that attempts to rationalize the horrors we will doubtfully soon witness, Mondo Balordo gets underway… … and in less than five minutes we get handicapped, and possibly deranged, people busking, a man that can inflate his stomach to asinine degrees, and sex with a midget prostitute… fuck me (but not like our little person harlot), this is going to be a bumpy ride… oh, and Boris Karloff of all people is mixed up in this too… Moving on we get a thick stew of Hercules flick stock-footage, exercises to reinvigorate the tiddies of ol’ biddies, strip shows, light S&M, female rasslin’ … and so much, much more. Also a blonde-haired Buddy Holly clone sings some song that is an unholy combination of ’50’s rock mixed with the manic energy of Guitar Wolf set to images of native peoples dancing to god knows what… honestly, that was my
Continue reading →
DVD Review: Game of Death (2020)
Game of Death goes as follows: a group of hard partyin’ millennial-types do the whole gamut of drinkin’ druggin’ and dirty lovin’ until they find something new to occupy their vacuous noodles; namely playing a board game that requires the players to kill one another or else the game will do the murder biz via making the player’s heads explode! Now, will our hapless heroes have the stones to play the game to it’s conclusion, or will they all end up a heap of headless hosers? Before we get to the one glaring negative with this fright flick, let’s start with some good vibes, shall we? The concept of the killer game, and how it’s presented is tight and outta sight, and the story itself (courtesy of scribes Edouard H. Bond, Sebastien Landry, Laurence Morais-Lagaceis, and Philip Kalin-Hajdu) is aces, as is the slick n’ stylish direction from Landry and Morais-Lagaceis that blends elements of found footage, animation, 8-bit graphics
Continue reading →
Watch The Brutal Red Band Trailer For Shudder’s ‘Random Acts Of Violence’
A cult-hit in the making, Jay Baruchel’s long-anticipated Random Acts of Violence, adapted from the popular 2010 horror graphic novel by the same name, is a force to reckon with. The Canadian filmmaker and actor, best known for his comedic bow in This is the End and as the voice of Hiccup in the How to Train Your Dragon series, has long been committed to bringing Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti’s brutal pages to the big screen, and wrote, directed, produced and stars in the upcoming film. The brand new Red Band trailer teases a bloody and brutal film that explores ideas of legitimizing cruelty, the responsibility of the artist, and what makes a monster in society. Masterfully lensed by award-winning cinematographer Karim Hussain (Hobo With a Shotgun, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor), the film holds a ferocious mirror up to art, society, and violence. What are the real consequences when life begins to imitate art? Comic book creator Todd Walkley (Jesse
Continue reading →
Book Review: Jack Kirby the Epic Life of the King of Comics (2020)
Jack Kirby is the single greatest comic book creator that ever lived. Period, full fuckin’ stop. You can disagree of course, and of course you would be wrong… I mean come the hell on; the dude created The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, and most importantly to me, The X-Men, and roughly eleven-billionty others (including the genius of his New Gods work for DC, and creations for animation)… and his place in history is well-and-duly preserved, not to mention his influence on modern cinema with all of those Marvel flicks comin’ out every 15 seconds (well they were before the world temporarily turns upside down). So that brings us to Jack Kirby the Epic Life of the King of Comics; the new four-color opus from Tom Scioli (American Barbarian, G.I. Joe vs. Transformers, Go-bots, and Fantastic Four Grand Design to name a few), a genius-level creator in his own right… and one of my all-time favorite artists around today, who (not)
Continue reading →
Blu-Ray Review: Ozone (1995)
There’s a new drug on the mean streets called Ozone, and it has the nasty habit of making those that take it explode… and those are the lucky ones! Enter: Detective Eddie Boone (James Black), who finds himself injected with Ozone while on a bust that also results in his partner, Mike (Tom Hoover) being maimed and abducted by a gang of Ozone “zombies”. Now Boone must search for his partner while suffering nightmarish Ozone hallucinations, and contending with the monstrous mutant addicts that stand in his way! Shot on Super VHS-C, for next to no cash, Ozone is punk rock fright flick filmmaking at it’s best! Director/Co-writer J.R. Bookwalter (along with Co-writer David A. Wagner) creates a truly unique vision of endless mutations, body-melts, Cenobite-style punks, and gallons of grizzly gore (most realized via excellent practical effects work, though some early CG “morphs” are utilized as well) that parade around a world just a few minutes ahead of our
Continue reading →
John Jarratt Confirms New ‘Wolf Creek’ Season And Movie
The future of the Wolf Creek franchise has been in question for a while now. But that has just changed. Star John Jarratt took to social media this week teasing that Wolf Creek has two new projects in the works, but like many others is stuck in Covid limbo. To my delight – I have received an overwhelming amount of messages about Wolf Creek 3 – the season and the movie. [Franchise creator/director] Greg McLean and I have both projects in the works but unfortunately Covid-19 has the world at a standstill. I promise to keep you updated as we all try our best to get through these tough times.” Jarratt wrote. Jarratt stars as stone-cold serial killer Mick Taylor who roams the Aussie Outback, first conning victims with his rugged charms to bring them in before brutally murdering them. The original film, written and directed by Greg McLean, was released back in 2005 with the sequel following in 2013.
Continue reading →
Horror Meets Sci-Fi In “The Honeymoon Phase” Trailer
Writer-director Phillip G. Carroll Jr. examines marriage in the new sci-fi horror-thriller The Honeymoon Phase, out this August from Dark Sky Films. “Down on their luck and needing some quick cash, struggling young lovers Tom and Eve lie about their relationship in order to enter The Millennium Project, an experiment for married couples run by the mysterious Director and Handler. With the promise of $50,000, Tom and Eve must survive 30-days isolated together in a futuristic smart home, while the researchers attempt to determine why couples fall out of love. Over the course of their stay, Eve begins a violent descent into madness as she questions if her lover really is the man she thinks he is. Starring Jim Schubin (“Boardwalk Empire”), Chloe Carroll, with Tara Westwood (The Grudge 2020) and Francois Chau (“Lost”, “TheExpanse”), the film is a paranoid sci-fi thriller about the nature of trust in relationships, The Honeymoon Phase is as much classic Twilight Zone as contemporary
Continue reading →
Board The Crazy Train For New Travel Channel Series “The Osbournes Want to Believe”
All aboard the crazy train! Join America’s tell-it-like-it-is family, the Osbornes, as they examine jaw-dropping paranormal videos in Travel Channel’s new series “The Osbournes Want to Believe,” premiering this August. The new eight-part series starring Ozzy, Jack, and Sharon Osbourne as they explore mind-blowing videos os supernatural and paranormal activity. Jack Osbourne is determined to make his parents, Ozzy and Sharon, full-fledged paranormal believers. Dim the lights and settle in for fun, scares, and unfiltered humor in Travel Channel’s “The Osbournes Want To Believe,” premiering Sunday, August 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. They might be known as the first family of darkness, but when it comes to the paranormal, legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, “The Talk” co-host Sharon Osbourne, are borderline skeptics. Determined to turn them fully to the other side, Jack reunites with Ozzy and Sharon to share the craziest, most jaw-dropping videos of supernatural activity ever caught on camera. But the question still remains if the
Continue reading →