Boomstick Comics

'The Cat People' really thrilled people back in 1942, so in 1944, they made a sequel called 'The Curse of the Cat People'. It was all marketing though as 'Curse' barely had anything to do with the original film, besides some of the same characters and actors. Notably, the filmmaker Ray Wise made this movie. Who is Ray Wise you ask? Holy Shit, I'll tell you. He directed 'West Side Story', 'The Sound of Music', and even edited 'Citizen Kane' to name a few projects he's worked on. Not exactly a light-weight.

The film is about a young girl who lives with her father and stepmother, while still upset that her mother died recently. This little girl then sees the ghost of her mother and befriends an aging actress in hopes she has a mother's care because her parents are not doing the job right now. As the story goes on, her parents won't believe her about seeing her dead mother and choose to punish her for saying these things until a brutal climax in the end, which oddly resembles a Disney film. That's what is so good about 'The Curse of the Cat People'.

It plays out like a fairytale from the world of Disney in how it focuses on a young child with a gift and the innocence of the said child that is tempered within evil adults. It's a great story and still holds up to this day. The performances are all excellent even though there was a troubled production here. Scream Factory has delivered an incredible 1080p HD video transfer here along with a decent audio mix. There are even some excellent new bonus features here too. This is one of those films you have to own if you're a fan of the horror genre or a passionate cinema fan.

Official Synopsis: 

Filled with “wonderful atmosphere [and] fine, moody fantasy” (Leonard Maltin), this continuation of 1942’s Cat People follows Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), now remarried, living in idyllic Tarrytown, New York, and the father of six-year-old Amy. When Amy becomes withdrawn and speaks of consorting with a new “friend,” Oliver worries that she may be under the influence of the spirit of the first wife. Is it just Amy’s imagination that has manifested the enigmatic Irena (Simone Simon), who long believed herself to be descended from a race of Cat People?

Directors Gunther V. Fritsch and Robert Wise (making his directorial debut), co-helmed a gothic-laced mix of fantasy and fright so astute it was used in college psychology classes. And producer Val Lewton, given small budgets and lurid, pre-tested film titles by RKO, worked with rising filmmakers to emphasize the fear of the unseen and turn meager resources into momentous works of psychological terror.

Special Features:

·        NEW Audio Commentary with author/historian Steve Haberman

·        Audio Commentary with historian Greg Mank, with audio interview excerpts with actress Simone Simon

·        NEW Lewton’s Muse: The Dark Eyes of Simone Simon – a video essay by filmmaker Constantine Nasr (Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy)

·        NEW Audio Interview with Ann Carter, moderated by Tom Weaver

·        Theatrical Trailers

·        Still Gallery

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.

Not to be confused with Michael Jackson's song (Rockwell) 'Somebody's Watching Me', this 1978 made-for-television film called 'Someone's Watching Me!' was directed by the iconic John Carpenter (Halloween), which interestingly enough, came out a couple of weeks after 'Halloween' was released in theaters. The film stars Lauren Hutton as a young woman who moves from NYC to LA in order to become a TV producer/director. She seems to be enjoying life out there, however, she has a stalker who spies on her from the building across from her with a telescope. This stalker sends her awful messages, harasses her, and even sends her strange gifts in the mail.

This stalker's identity is a mystery until the terrifying climactic scene. Is it a sadistic killer or is it her new friend played by Adrienne Barbeau. The film itself still holds up and is quite fun to see where John Carpenter made a PG-rated horror thriller for TV before he became the man he is known as today. Scream Factory releases a brand new video transfer with a good audio option and some excellent new bonus features, which are detailed below. This is a super rare OOP (for a long time) movie and is a MUST- OWN for any John Carpenter fan out there.

Official Synopsis:

In 1978’s Someone’s Watching Me, Los Angeles newcomer Leigh Michaels moves into a chic high-rise apartment building. She loves the view. So does the Peeping Tom who lives somewhere in the adjacent tower. John Carpenter writes and directs this thriller where the breath-catching suspense starts at the moment Leigh (Lauren Hutton, American Gigolo) is framed in the lens of a telescope. For Leigh, it's the beginning of terrors that escalate from anonymous calls and gifts to lights that mysteriously flicker to prove that someone watches every moment of her life. Leigh fights back, matching her tormentor's obsession with her own relentless drive to uncover his identity. The prey is now predator – and that escalates the stalker's game to a deadly new level. Someone is watching.

Someone’s Watching Me Special Features

* NEW 2K scan from the original film elements – in both 1.85:1 and 1.33:1 aspect ratios

* NEW audio commentary with author Amanda Reyes (Are You in the House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999)

* NEW Adrienne Barbeau: Looking Back at Someone’s Watching Me

* NEW Carpenter’s Enforcer – an interview with Charles Cyphers on his career in John Carpenter’s films

* NEW Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – a look at the film’s locations today

* John Carpenter: Director Rising

* TV Promo

* Still Gallery

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

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Back in 1972, a man by the name of William F. Claxton made his last feature film with 'Night of the Lepus', before heading into the TV realm with shows like 'Little House on the Prairie'. That's not a joke either. This movie is based off a book by Russell Braddon from 1964 called 'The Year of the Angry Rabbit'. Yes, a killer rabbit movie is what 'Night of the Lepus' movie is all about. It's about as good as you'd expect it to be, which is not very good. That being said, it's so bad - it's good and is so much fun to watch.

This film stars Janet Leigh ('Psycho') and DeForest Kelley (Bones from 'Star Trek') along with a few others who are trying to survive a mutated group of rabbits. Well, not really a group, but more like thousands of killer rabbits. We haven't been so scared of rabbits since 'Monty Python's Holy Grail' movie or lack thereof. The dialogue, script, and even performances by these veteran actors are laugh worthy, but it's not their fault. They're in a killer rabbit movie that plays out like 'Tremors' with Kevin Bacon. Luckily Scream Factory gave us a fantastic video and audio transfer with some excellent bonus features, which are listed out below. 'Night of the Lepus' is still a fun-as-hell movie despite at how bad it is. This is true cult status.

Official Synopsis: 

There was no limit to the horror ... no end to the Night Of The Lepus! A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning Arizona ranchlands ends up turning them into flesh-eating, 150-pound monsters in Night of the Lepus.

Stuart Whitman (Eaten Alive), Janet Leigh (Psycho), Rory Calhoun (Motel Hell) and DeForest Kelley (Star Trek) are among the intrepid humans facing off against the behemoth bunnies, using guns, flames, dynamite and anything else in their grasp to battle their oversized, hungry tormentors.

Special Features:

* NEW 2K scan of the original film elements

* NEW Audio Commentary with author Lee Gambin (Massacred by Mother Nature: Exploring the Natural Horror Film)

* NEW Audio Commentary with Pop Culture historian Russell Dyball

* Theatrical Trailer

* TV Spot

* Radio Spot

* Still Gallery

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.

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Here is the super spectacular 23rd episode of our horror podcast under the MULTI-MEDIA MEN banner called ‘My Bloody Podcast‘, where the show is related to all things HORROR! Here on this new show, Preston Barta from Fresh Fiction and the Denton Record-Chronicle and I talk about everything we love about horror movies, tv shows, and horror themed music. 

In our twenty-third episode, our topics include discussions on what to expect from this new season of 'Walking Dead', 'Conjuring 3' news, more 'Halloween' sequels, a great question that asked: “what scares you that doesn't scare most people” and more. We also give you “Bloody Recommendations” of three horror films, being 'Extremity' and 'Revenge of the Blood Beast'. Our big topic is, of course, is ‘CHILD'S PLAY‘, where we discuss the film, it’s production history, the actors, and more. It was so much fun. This episode is guaranteed to thrill you, chill you, and fulfill you. 

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.

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Here is the BRAND SPANKING NEW debut of the newest podcast under the MULTI-MEDIA MEN banner called ‘The Unbalanced Note‘, where the show is related to all things MUSIC! Here on this new show, musician Jacob Douglas and I talk about everything we love or dislike about music, musicians, and the music industry. 

In our 9th episode, our topics include discussions about if Tupac is still alive, according to Suge Knight's son, a big box set vinyl release from The Police, a big 'Breaking Bad' soundtrack box set, the Ticketmaster fiasco, and more. Our main topics include a weekly One-Hit Wonder Discussion, which was Aqua's 'Barbie Girl'.  Our other main topic is all about 'FUNKADELIC', where we discuss their formation, the man, the members, albums, and fandom. It was so much fun. This episode is guaranteed to thrill you, chill you, and fulfill you. 

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.

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Remember when computers, the internet, and CD-ROM games were first all the rage in the early 1990s? I certainly do. So did Hollywood, which is why they decided to make a string of films based on that fact. One of the horror films that fit this bill was 'Brainscan', which starred the short-lived popular kid Edward Furlong, mostly known as the young John Connor in 'T2: Judgement Day'. The film follows a young teenager who lives in his dad's wealthy abode but is never around to take care of him.

This teenager (Furlong), spends his days playing computer games that are horror and realistic while listening to heavy metal music. When Furlong hears about this new video game that is supposed to be ultra-realistic, he buys it on CD-ROM and starts to play, only to be transported into the game where a ghoulish demon known as The Trickster has Furlong kill people. When he is back to reality, he realizes this is no game, but real life as people start showing up dead. It's almost like a crime noir, but with a supernatural aspect to it.

The film itself isn't very good, but the nostalgic aspects of it (the video games, CD-ROMs, and music), make it fun to watch, even if Furlong isn't that great in the film. In fact, there are a ton of interviews with others on set talking about what a pain it was to work with Furlong, which makes me laugh for some reason. Still, I'm glad Scream Factory chose to release this because it brings back a ton of memories from the early 1990s. It should be known that this is the very first time this film has been released on Blu-ray. It comes with a top-notch video and audio presentation as well as some brand new bonus features that are all worth your time, which are detailed below. Recommended for nostalgic sake.

Official Synopsis:

When Michael, a lonely teenager (Edward Furlong), orders the latest interactive video game, the new high-tech wizardry penetrates his subconscious, where his darkest impulses lead him through a deadly maze of murder, deception and desire. Pursued by homicide detective (Frank Langella) and prodded by "The Trickster" (T. Ryder Smith) who materializes into his room, Michael is torn between the worlds of good and evil, of reality and fantasy and, ultimately, life and death.

BRAINSCAN Blu-ray Special Features:

·      NEW Audio Commentary with assistant to the director Tara Georges Flynn

·      NEW  A Virtual Debut – an interview with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker

·      NEW Talking With Trickster – an interview with actor T. Ryder Smith

·      NEW Merging Realities featuring interviews with special make-up effects supervisor Steve Johnson and special make-up effects artists Andy Schoneberg and Mike Smithson

·      NEW Musical Virtuosity – an interview with composer George S. Clinton

·      Trickin’ With Trickster: Vintage Behind-the-Scenes Fun on BRAINSCAN

·      Deleted Scene

·      Behind-The-Scenes Footage

·      Teaser Trailer

·      Theatrical Trailer

·      TV Spot

·      Still Galleries

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.

There is a fun horror sub-genre about pregnancy and demonic babies. In 1991, a film called 'The Unborn' was added to that list and could be compared somewhat to 'It's Alive' and 'Rosemary's Baby'. What's crazy about this movie is the amount of talent involved before they were A-List. This is filmmaker Rodman Flender's first film who went on to make a ton of horror movies and TV shows such as 'The Office', 'Arli$$', and 'Leprechaun 2'. It was produced by Roger Corman, starred a young Lisa Kudrow, with cinematographer Wally Pfister, who went on to lens all of Christopher Nolan's movies, including the 'Dark Knight' trilogy. It's crazy, I know.

With this little film called 'The Unborn' from the early 1990s, it follows a young couple trying to have a kid, which doesn't seem to succeed. The couple turns to IVF, which is a success, but soon this couple realizes there is some sort of mutant, demonic baby inside. Come to find out, their IVF doctor is a madman. What's great about this is the suspense it causes and is rather the scientific side of things, instead of the religious side like in 'Rosemary's Baby'. It's a fun and energetic film with great performances and is shot perfectly. Scream Factory has done a great job with new video and audio transfers, as well as a new audio commentary track, which is excellent to listen to. Recommended for sure!

Official Synopsis:

A young wife (Brooke Adams) suspects that a mysterious doctor (James Karen) has inseminated her with mutated sperm in an attempt to create a super-human fetus. Unfortunately, there are extreme side-effects. More frightening than Rosemary’s Baby, this horror classic is not for the faint of the heart!

THE UNBORN Blu-ray Special Features:

* NEW 2K scan of the original film elements

* NEW Audio Commentary with Producer/Director Rodman Flender and filmmaker Adam Simon

* Theatrical Trailer

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.

John Carpenter is mostly known as a maestro of horror with movies like 'Halloween', 'They Live', 'Escape From New York', and 'Big Trouble In Little China' under his belt. In 1992, a mostly forgotten movie he made is 'Memoirs of an Invisible Man', which starred Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, Sam Neill, Michael McKean, and Stephen "Ned Ryerson" Tobolowsky. Carpenter and Warner Bros. Studios didn't exactly get along, because they wouldn't let Carpenter have total creative control here, so the film is safe and family friendly, unlike the rest of his films. In fact, Ivan Reitman of 'Ghostbusters' was set to make this movie, but it never got off the ground and Carpenter was offered the role.

The film follows a guy named Nick (Chevy Chase), who is a stock analyst who in a superhero-like turn of events, is transformed into the invisible man. The CIA finds out about him and wants to recruit him as a super spy, but he wants no part in it and is on the run from just about everyone in hopes to find a doctor who can reverse his issue. It's a solid movie and is an anomaly on both Chase and Carpenter's film resume. This is kind of a family-friendly sci-fi comedy for Carpenter, where this is perhaps the most serious role Chevy Chase took on and he nails it. It still holds up to this day and should be seen. In fact, this film was super rare and out-of-print for the longest time until now. All the more reason to get this one from Scream Factory. The new video and audio presentations are good and there are some vintage bonus features as well, but no new ones. Still, this comes recommended.

Official Synopsis:

Chevy Chase takes center stage in 1992’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man. Thanks to a nuclear accident, Nick Halloway (Chase) has become invisible. Invisibility makes it easier to spy on agents (particularly chief adversary Sam Neill) who've put him in his predicament. And he can romance a lovely documentary producer (Daryl Hannah) in a way she's never "seen" before. John Carpenter directs and Industrial Light and Magic create eye-opening effects as Nick embarks on his manic quest.

Memoirs of an Invisible Man Special Features

* NEW 2K scan of the original film elements

* How to Become Invisible: The Dawn of Digital F/X

* Vintage interviews with director John Carpenter, actors Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah

* Behind the Scenes footage

* Outtakes

* Theatrical Trailer

* TV Spots

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit 

Gimmicks used to be a huge thing in horror movies back in the 1950s. They were used all the time in these low budget horror films to conjure up scares, word-of-mouth, and good publicity to sell a movie that wasn't necessarily any good. In 1959, filmmaker William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts) was a pioneer in using these gimmicks. He was known for paying actors to attend movie screenings and scream and or faint during the film to cause a stir. In House on Haunted Hill, Castle rigged a fake skeleton to fly through actual movie theaters to scare the audience. He was a genius for sure, way ahead of his time. In 1959 though, he made a film called 'The Tingler', which starred Vincent Price. His gimmick for this film was to use some of the budget to attach buzzers to theater seats to simulate scares and screams at certain moments in the movie. It worked perfectly and this is the type of movie where this gimmick succeeds.

'The Tingler' follows a doctor (played by Vincent Price), who discovers that everyone has a centipede-like parasite attached to the bottom of their spine. When in fear, this parasite does its bidding until it kills you unless you release a scream. One of these parasites gets loose into a crowded movie theater and wreaks havoc on a ton of people, however, there is a murder mystery involved too, involving a supernatural mute/deaf woman. It's still a fun film some 60 years later. The video presentation and audio mix from Scream Factory are excellent and there are some good bonus features to boot as well, which are listed all out below.

Official Synopsis:

In The Tingler, Vincent Price stars as an obsessed doctor who discovers a parasitic creature which grows on the spinal cords of terrified people. If they scream, the Tingler can be destroyed. If they don't, it will sever the spinal column and kill them. He successfully isolates and removes the Tingler from a deaf-mute (Judith Evelyn) who has been scared to death by her devious husband. Once captured, the Tingler escapes and runs amok in a crowded movie theater. Terror is loose, but can it be stopped?

The Tingler is legendary horror director William Castle's magnum opus. After the success of House On Haunted Hill, Castle devised a new gimmick called "Percepto." Participating theaters would wire seats so that random moviegoers would get a tangible electric shock during climactic moments in the film. Another novelty used to maximum effect is the short color sequence depicting blood pouring from a faucet and filling a bathtub. Castle went on to direct more cult classics like Homicidal and 13 Ghosts and later produced the mainstream hit Rosemary's Baby.

The Tingler Bonus Features

* NEW Audio Commentary by author/historian Steve Haberman

* NEW I Survived The Tingler – an interview with Pamela Lincoln

* NEW Unleashing “Percepto” – an interview with publicist Barry Lorie

* Scream for Your Lives! William Castle and “The Tingler” – vintage featurette

* William Castle’s Drive-In “Scream!” audio

* Original “Scream” Scene

* The original 1959 theatre lobby recording

* Theatrical Trailer

* Still Gallery

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast.

 

Back in 1981, the world was introduced to filmmaker James Cameron (T2: Judgement Day, Avatar, True Lies). His first feature film was called 'Piranha II: The Spawning' or otherwise known as The Flying Killers and was a sequel to the first 'Piranha' film from a few years prior. The production of this movie had a very troubled history, where Cameron wasn't even the filmmaker hired for the job. The original director was fired due to differences with the hard-nosed Italian producer. This was also true with Cameron as well, where Cameron had a completely different filmed version and script of the movie that was more or less a comedy horror film that was fun.

The producer though wanted a more serious (if that could be possible) tone and basically only had Cameron shoot the film. Cameron had no creative input, editing, or ideas that were put into motion. There is  Cameron cut of this film somewhere out there, but it's rarely seen. What we have today through Scream Factory is the producer's cut which has no real rhyme or reason. It takes place on an island where there are tourists, families, scuba classes, girls in bikinis, and couples making love in and around the beach, while Lance Henricksen is playing cops and robbers. All of this is cut short due to some killer fish who have learned to fly and end up killing people around the beach.

Nothing more and nothing less is shown or expected. All we get to do is sit back, relax, drink a cold one, and enjoy the laughter and absurdity of it all while realizing that one of the biggest filmmakers of all time started here. Scream Factory gives us a fantastic video and audio presentation with some new bonus features to boot, which are detailed below. Recommended or sure.

Official Synopsis: 

While investigating the mysterious death of a diver, scuba instructor Anne Kimbrough (Tricia O’Neil - Titanic) makes a horrific discovery: Piranha-like fish, with wings that enable them to fly, are responsible for the death. As the body count rises, Anne desperately tries to convince the manager of the Club Elysium resort to call off the annual fish fry on the beach, but he’s determined to give his guests the ultimate feeding frenzy. This exciting sequel to Joe Dante’s original PIRANHA also stars Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Pumpkinhead) and is the directorial debut of James Cameron (Avatar, The Terminator, Aliens).

Special Features:

* NEW 2K scan from the original camera negative

* NEW interview with actor Ricky Paull Goldin

* NEW interview with special effects artist Brian Wade

* Theatrical Trailer

Please listen to the review in podcast form below.

And don’t forget to visit iTunes and Stitcher to subscribe to our podcast. Enjoy the show and see you next week! Thank you for listening.