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Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Tarantula (1955)

Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) is doing the dodgy science bag down Arizona way with the plan of increasing the world’s food supply via making shit large AF. Naturally being a reasonable and sane individual, one of the things the good doc has enlarged is a tarantula, because…well who the fuck knows really…I mean if I was trying to cure world hunger I’d enlarge like a steak or a banana or some shit, not a poisonous as balls eight legged killing machine, but I’m admittedly no doctor…unless it’s a doctor of love because then I got the PHd! So, where the hell was I? Oh yeah… Of course that tarantula gets loose and goes on a bovine based murder spree and soon it’s up to small town doctor Matt Hastings (John Agar), and Deemer’s comely assistant, Stephanie Clayton (Mara Corday), to attempt to save the town from that rapidly growing arachnid. Also a young Clint Eastwood takes pot shots

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 11, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Scared Stiff (1987)

In the late 1800’s, a shit heel of a slaver named George Masterson (David Ramsey) is cursed by the poor souls he bought and sold…flash forward to the late 1980’s, and a Psychiatrist named David (Andrew Stevens) and his pop singer gal pal (and former patient), Kate (Mary Page Keller) move into that doomed a-holes house…what could go wrong? The answer of course is every fucking thing. Heralded by an abundance of natures most terrifying creations, pigeons…wait, fucking pigeons?!! Anyway, a few bad dreams and visions, some outre discoveries in the abode (read: centuries old corpses and a strange talisman), and yes, pigeons, lead to a voodoo monster terrorizing our heroes six ways to Sunday! While a bit of a slow burn in the actual horror department, Scared Stiff never became tedious for your’s cruelly (and the third act pay-off is an absolutely fantastic display of gooey, monster-packed practical effects wizardry and well worth the wait). The ages old mystery,

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 6, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Keoma (1976)

Keoma (Franco Nero), a half-breed former Union gunfighter proves the old adage that you can’t go home again as he returns to the land of his youth to find the entire place stricken with a plague. As if that wasn’t bad enough, his racist AF half-brothers have teamed up with a real shit heel of a dude, the Confederate tyrant Caldwell (Donald O’Brian) and the lot of ’em keep the town strangled under an iron grip of terror. Soon our hero teams up with his father (William Berger) and aging mentor George (Woody Strode) to attempt to rid the town of those no-good sidewinders! Coming near the end of the spaghetti western cycle, Enzo G. Castellari’s (1990: The Bronx Warriors, Warriors of the Wasteland) Keoma is stylish, loaded with over-the-top violence, and surprising levels of soul searching from our stoic, sharp-shootin’ hero. And while the basics of the story…ultra-serious gunfighter blows into town and has to protect the people from

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 6, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Black Site (2018)

In order to rid our world of eldritch nasties, the Artemis Black Site was created; an underground military base that contains and deports all the evil demons and deities the universe has thrown at us. Enter Erebus (Kris Johnson) a particularly nasty mother fucker inhabiting a human form that has no great desire to be the latest prisoner of the Black Site and is going to make sure he doesn’t stay there long. Soon it falls on the shoulders of tough but inexperienced Danforth (Sophia Del Pizzo) to battle the machinations of this devious devil…but will she be up to the task? Let’s talk about all that is oh so very right about Black Site, shall we? First of all this baby is a serious love letter to the film’s of John Carpenter. You get the down and dirty fights of flicks like Escape From New York or They Live, along with all of those heavy Lovecraftian influences that informed

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 5, 2019
Horror Fuel

DVD Review: Matriarch (2018)

Rachel (Charlie Blackwood) and Matt Hopkins (Scott Vickers, who also wrote and directed the film) becoming stranded in the Scottish countryside after havin’ a slow speed run-in with a rando tree. Soon our heroes find themselves at a secluded farm owned by Bob and Agnes Fairbairn (Alan Cuthbert and Julie Hannan respectively) who offer them shelter for the night while being mega-creepy infatuated with Rachel’s pregnancy. Speaking of “mega-creepy”, Rachel and Matt discover that the Fairbairn’s daughter Faith (Briony Monroe) is actually Ellie Adams, a child that went missing years before…in fact all of the family’s children once belonged to someone else…and now they want Rachel’s unborn son to add to their unholy brood! Matriarch took me by surprise…I expected some sort of uncomfortable, pregnancy based torture porn affair, but instead I got a flick balls deep in atmosphere, tone, and world building…though the “uncomfortable” element does come into play…but more on that in a bit. Set among rolling pastoral

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971)

In that most conventional of settings for an Italian giallo flick; Dublin, Ireland an acid-hucking psycho with an affinity for razors kills the shit out of a lassie and sticks the newly minted corpse in a limousine owned by Swiss Ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring). Being a foreign diplomat, that mother fucker claims immunity toot-F’n-sweet as the body count continues to rise. The police decide to play hardball and bring in a real ball busting son of a bitch; namely ex-cop John Norton (Luigi Pistilli) to hunt down that murderous maniac before he can kill again! Full of lurid violence, an overwrought mystery, mod fashions, nudity, and of course, a black gloved killer; The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire is a fine example of the giallo fare that followed in the wake of Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage; although to be fair, this one pushes the tasteless meter more towards the likes of Fulci’s New York Ripper, especially

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)

As The Haunting of Sharon Tate begins, the titular character (Hilary Duff) relates to an unseen interviewer that she has been having visions of her own demise…and we just know how this is going to go…because, you know, that shit actually happened…well, maybe not the visions…anyway… So long story short; Tate and her pals stylist Jay Sebring (Jonathan Bennett), coffee heiress Abigail Folger (Lydia Hearst), and European Lothario Wojciech Frykowski (Pawel Szajda)…but not Tate’s husband; world class pedo and philanderer Roman Polanski…take up residence at a rented home where they shoot the shit, play some occult board game (which looks totally rad as all fuck bee tee dubs), and get menaced superficially by some weirdos…well superficially at first, because we all know that Chuck Manson and the fam are going to be turning up the heat and the murder biz right quick! The bottom line with a flick like this is; just how tacky will the production be? I mean,

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Sheena (1984)

After her parents are killed in a cave-in in deepest Africa, young Janet is taken in by the Zambouli tribe where she is viewed as a goddess and given the new handle; Sheena, Queen of the Jungle! Sheena (Tanya Roberts) matures among the tribe in their land of Tigora where she learns the ways of the animals and develops a telepathic bond with them…as one does. Soon our buxom heroine finds herself up to her bleached blonde hairdo in an assassination plot which she must help solve with the assistance of reporter Vic Casey (Ted Wass), and his cameraman Fletch Agronsky (Donovan Scott)…all while finding the time to ride a zebra bareback and ass around with some chimps and an elephant. Priorities and all that… Look boils n’ ghouls; this is Tarzan with tits and it features all of the lunacy that concept suggests! You get a stunning beauty in Roberts, who is athletic, and fun to watch…even if she

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 31, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Head Hunter (2018)

In a cold, medieval forest, a warrior (Christopher Rygh) stalks the land eternally hunting for one more monster head to add to his collection…but this one will come from not just any random beastie, but rather from the abomination (played by that killed his young daughter (Cora Kaufman). As he battles creature after creature he moves closer to his goal…but will this final stop on revenge road be too much for even our grim hero to overcome? The Head Hunter is everything I crave from genre cinema; unique, inventive, and packed with sweet, sweet creatures! While at it’s heart an absolute exercise in minimalism…to wit; the cast is comprised of two actors (with Rygh being in the entire picture…and boy does he ever deliver a ton of emotion and gravitas with barely any dialog at his disposal), a horse, and a monster performer, and the brunt of the locations are wooded exteriors, but the entire affair seems unbelievably epic due

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 30, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Terra Formars (2016)

In a very Blade Runner influenced future; a group of humanity’s rejects (including the likes of a serial killer, the leader of a child prostitution ring, Yakuza members etc.) are loaded onto a spacecraft and sent on their (un)merry way to Mars where they are to eliminate a roach infestation that is the result of a terra-forming project 500 years previous. In exchange for their service they will have their records wiped clean. Sounds like a breeze, right? Well as fate and sci-fi comic book tropes would have it, those roaches have rapidly evolved into humanoid creatures who are quite able to kick some ass. To combat this situation, our “heroes” are given injections that turn them into super-powered half-human/half-insect hybrids…and then the war for Mars is on in earnest! Directed by the master of disturbing Japanese horror Takashi Miike; Terra Formars is a violent, over-the-top- comic book come to life (not surprising as it is adapted from one). You

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 30, 2019

More from #review

Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Tarantula (1955)

Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) is doing the dodgy science bag down Arizona way with the plan of increasing the world’s food supply via making shit large AF. Naturally being a reasonable and sane individual, one of the things the good doc has enlarged is a tarantula, because…well who the fuck knows really…I mean if I was trying to cure world hunger I’d enlarge like a steak or a banana or some shit, not a poisonous as balls eight legged killing machine, but I’m admittedly no doctor…unless it’s a doctor of love because then I got the PHd! So, where the hell was I? Oh yeah… Of course that tarantula gets loose and goes on a bovine based murder spree and soon it’s up to small town doctor Matt Hastings (John Agar), and Deemer’s comely assistant, Stephanie Clayton (Mara Corday), to attempt to save the town from that rapidly growing arachnid. Also a young Clint Eastwood takes pot shots

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 11, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Scared Stiff (1987)

In the late 1800’s, a shit heel of a slaver named George Masterson (David Ramsey) is cursed by the poor souls he bought and sold…flash forward to the late 1980’s, and a Psychiatrist named David (Andrew Stevens) and his pop singer gal pal (and former patient), Kate (Mary Page Keller) move into that doomed a-holes house…what could go wrong? The answer of course is every fucking thing. Heralded by an abundance of natures most terrifying creations, pigeons…wait, fucking pigeons?!! Anyway, a few bad dreams and visions, some outre discoveries in the abode (read: centuries old corpses and a strange talisman), and yes, pigeons, lead to a voodoo monster terrorizing our heroes six ways to Sunday! While a bit of a slow burn in the actual horror department, Scared Stiff never became tedious for your’s cruelly (and the third act pay-off is an absolutely fantastic display of gooey, monster-packed practical effects wizardry and well worth the wait). The ages old mystery,

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 6, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Keoma (1976)

Keoma (Franco Nero), a half-breed former Union gunfighter proves the old adage that you can’t go home again as he returns to the land of his youth to find the entire place stricken with a plague. As if that wasn’t bad enough, his racist AF half-brothers have teamed up with a real shit heel of a dude, the Confederate tyrant Caldwell (Donald O’Brian) and the lot of ’em keep the town strangled under an iron grip of terror. Soon our hero teams up with his father (William Berger) and aging mentor George (Woody Strode) to attempt to rid the town of those no-good sidewinders! Coming near the end of the spaghetti western cycle, Enzo G. Castellari’s (1990: The Bronx Warriors, Warriors of the Wasteland) Keoma is stylish, loaded with over-the-top violence, and surprising levels of soul searching from our stoic, sharp-shootin’ hero. And while the basics of the story…ultra-serious gunfighter blows into town and has to protect the people from

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 6, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Black Site (2018)

In order to rid our world of eldritch nasties, the Artemis Black Site was created; an underground military base that contains and deports all the evil demons and deities the universe has thrown at us. Enter Erebus (Kris Johnson) a particularly nasty mother fucker inhabiting a human form that has no great desire to be the latest prisoner of the Black Site and is going to make sure he doesn’t stay there long. Soon it falls on the shoulders of tough but inexperienced Danforth (Sophia Del Pizzo) to battle the machinations of this devious devil…but will she be up to the task? Let’s talk about all that is oh so very right about Black Site, shall we? First of all this baby is a serious love letter to the film’s of John Carpenter. You get the down and dirty fights of flicks like Escape From New York or They Live, along with all of those heavy Lovecraftian influences that informed

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 5, 2019
Horror Fuel

DVD Review: Matriarch (2018)

Rachel (Charlie Blackwood) and Matt Hopkins (Scott Vickers, who also wrote and directed the film) becoming stranded in the Scottish countryside after havin’ a slow speed run-in with a rando tree. Soon our heroes find themselves at a secluded farm owned by Bob and Agnes Fairbairn (Alan Cuthbert and Julie Hannan respectively) who offer them shelter for the night while being mega-creepy infatuated with Rachel’s pregnancy. Speaking of “mega-creepy”, Rachel and Matt discover that the Fairbairn’s daughter Faith (Briony Monroe) is actually Ellie Adams, a child that went missing years before…in fact all of the family’s children once belonged to someone else…and now they want Rachel’s unborn son to add to their unholy brood! Matriarch took me by surprise…I expected some sort of uncomfortable, pregnancy based torture porn affair, but instead I got a flick balls deep in atmosphere, tone, and world building…though the “uncomfortable” element does come into play…but more on that in a bit. Set among rolling pastoral

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971)

In that most conventional of settings for an Italian giallo flick; Dublin, Ireland an acid-hucking psycho with an affinity for razors kills the shit out of a lassie and sticks the newly minted corpse in a limousine owned by Swiss Ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring). Being a foreign diplomat, that mother fucker claims immunity toot-F’n-sweet as the body count continues to rise. The police decide to play hardball and bring in a real ball busting son of a bitch; namely ex-cop John Norton (Luigi Pistilli) to hunt down that murderous maniac before he can kill again! Full of lurid violence, an overwrought mystery, mod fashions, nudity, and of course, a black gloved killer; The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire is a fine example of the giallo fare that followed in the wake of Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage; although to be fair, this one pushes the tasteless meter more towards the likes of Fulci’s New York Ripper, especially

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)

As The Haunting of Sharon Tate begins, the titular character (Hilary Duff) relates to an unseen interviewer that she has been having visions of her own demise…and we just know how this is going to go…because, you know, that shit actually happened…well, maybe not the visions…anyway… So long story short; Tate and her pals stylist Jay Sebring (Jonathan Bennett), coffee heiress Abigail Folger (Lydia Hearst), and European Lothario Wojciech Frykowski (Pawel Szajda)…but not Tate’s husband; world class pedo and philanderer Roman Polanski…take up residence at a rented home where they shoot the shit, play some occult board game (which looks totally rad as all fuck bee tee dubs), and get menaced superficially by some weirdos…well superficially at first, because we all know that Chuck Manson and the fam are going to be turning up the heat and the murder biz right quick! The bottom line with a flick like this is; just how tacky will the production be? I mean,

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Apr 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Sheena (1984)

After her parents are killed in a cave-in in deepest Africa, young Janet is taken in by the Zambouli tribe where she is viewed as a goddess and given the new handle; Sheena, Queen of the Jungle! Sheena (Tanya Roberts) matures among the tribe in their land of Tigora where she learns the ways of the animals and develops a telepathic bond with them…as one does. Soon our buxom heroine finds herself up to her bleached blonde hairdo in an assassination plot which she must help solve with the assistance of reporter Vic Casey (Ted Wass), and his cameraman Fletch Agronsky (Donovan Scott)…all while finding the time to ride a zebra bareback and ass around with some chimps and an elephant. Priorities and all that… Look boils n’ ghouls; this is Tarzan with tits and it features all of the lunacy that concept suggests! You get a stunning beauty in Roberts, who is athletic, and fun to watch…even if she

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 31, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Head Hunter (2018)

In a cold, medieval forest, a warrior (Christopher Rygh) stalks the land eternally hunting for one more monster head to add to his collection…but this one will come from not just any random beastie, but rather from the abomination (played by that killed his young daughter (Cora Kaufman). As he battles creature after creature he moves closer to his goal…but will this final stop on revenge road be too much for even our grim hero to overcome? The Head Hunter is everything I crave from genre cinema; unique, inventive, and packed with sweet, sweet creatures! While at it’s heart an absolute exercise in minimalism…to wit; the cast is comprised of two actors (with Rygh being in the entire picture…and boy does he ever deliver a ton of emotion and gravitas with barely any dialog at his disposal), a horse, and a monster performer, and the brunt of the locations are wooded exteriors, but the entire affair seems unbelievably epic due

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 30, 2019
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Terra Formars (2016)

In a very Blade Runner influenced future; a group of humanity’s rejects (including the likes of a serial killer, the leader of a child prostitution ring, Yakuza members etc.) are loaded onto a spacecraft and sent on their (un)merry way to Mars where they are to eliminate a roach infestation that is the result of a terra-forming project 500 years previous. In exchange for their service they will have their records wiped clean. Sounds like a breeze, right? Well as fate and sci-fi comic book tropes would have it, those roaches have rapidly evolved into humanoid creatures who are quite able to kick some ass. To combat this situation, our “heroes” are given injections that turn them into super-powered half-human/half-insect hybrids…and then the war for Mars is on in earnest! Directed by the master of disturbing Japanese horror Takashi Miike; Terra Formars is a violent, over-the-top- comic book come to life (not surprising as it is adapted from one). You

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 30, 2019
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