Definitely First Blood

This week we’re hanging out with desert vampires with J.S. Cardone’s THE FORSAKEN! This 2001 take on a vampire tale sees Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr and Izabella Miko trying to evade very attractive vamps played by Johnathon Schaech and Phina Oruche. Obviously heavily inspired by Near Dark and The Lost Boys this one misses the mark and doesn’t get where it wanted to. That said, its still an entertaining movie with some decent kills and eye candy.

Summer is coming to a close and we’re off the the carnival this week with DEATH SCREAMS aka HOUSE OF DEATH! This slasher starring Jennifer Chase, Susan Kiger and Andrea Savio suffers from behind-the-scenes rewrites and poor editing that leaves the final story disjointed and largely nonsensical. We hope that the footage still exists out there and one day somebody can cobble it together in a better way!

WARNING: SPOILERS!!! We review horror/comedy/thriller READY OR NOT! Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett and starring Samara Weaving, Andie MacDowell, Adam Brody & Mark O’Brien this film is A LOT of fun!

We’re headed back into the woods again this week to talk about Joe Giannone’s 1981 non-union slasher MADMAN! Gaylen Ross, Harriet Bass, Jan Claire, Alex Murphy, Tony Fish and Seth Jones star as counsellors at a camp being offed in classic slasher fashion by the legendary lunatic Madman Marz! It has elaborate jacuzzi twirling, decapitations and one of the worst hiding spots!

Get those grenade launchers ready because this week we’re talking about 1976 Jaws copycat from director William Girdler, GRIZZLY! This movie about a giant killer bear stars Christopher George, Andrew Prine & Richard Jaekel as a trio of pals trying to track down a man-eater terrorizing some sort of park or campground! It also had some wild behind-the-scenes drama and the star-studded sequel that never saw the light of day. We didn’t care for it!

We’ve got another “erotic” horror this episode as we talk about Brian De Palma’s DRESSED TO KILL! This American giallo stars Nancy Allen, Michael Caine, Keith Gordon and Angie Dickinson and features some really beautiful camera work, pacing and is, overall, pretty solid. It has a few issues under a modern lens but is aesthetically spot-on!

It’s our 69th episode and we’re celebrating the milestone with “erotic horror comedy” OUT OF THE DARK!!! This slasher follows the phone fantasy operators of ‘Suite Nothings’ as they’re stalked and murdered by Bobo the clown. Out of the Dark was written by Zane W. Levitt & J. Gregory De Felice, directed by Michael Schroeder and stars Lynn Danielson-Rosenthal, the legendary Karen Black, Starr Andreeff & Cameron Dye. It has a wild cast of amazing supporting characters like Divine, Tracey Walter, Geoffrey Lewis, Karen Witter, Lainie Kazan, Tab Hunter, Marcie Leeds, Bud Cort and Paul Bartel! We freakin’ loved this movie.

WARNING: SPOILERS!!! Our review of Ari Aster’s amazing horror fairy-tale MIDSOMMAR starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren and William Jackson Harper!

WARNING: SPOILERS!!! Our stream-of-consciousness review of Alexandre Aja’s CRAWL starring Kaya Scoledario, Barry Pepper and Cso-Cso!

Invisible nazis, a guy in a Nixon mask, a truly awful wig and rocket science! This week we’re talking bizarre slasher HORROR HOUSE ON HIGHWAY FIVE!!! Written and Directed by Richard Casey, this non-union flick stars Gina Christian(Christiansen here) & Irene Forrest(F.) as college students researching a rocket built by a nazi scientist who become the targets of a crazed dude in a Richard Nixon mask. It’s a very weird movie with lots of silence, a future superstar cinematographer and one of the best performances by a supporting actor ever! You must have a low IQ!