Horror Movie Reviews

I was a kid in the 1970s and loved horror movies. I watched a lot of late night creature features and read every book on horror films I could find. The books normally included a photo from VAMPYRES but my chance of ever seeing it were beyond remote at the time. From what I read then, I could see that the film was the next logical progression after watching Hammer Films and reading Vampirella comics at the time: blood-soaked lesbians out of control!

So, when I found a DVD version I could order through Amazon, I bought it. I think waiting so long to see it has really helped. Very Seventies! The music definitely took me back by mixing spooky organ music with electric guitars. The girls were (and still are!) very sexy. I really appreciated the interviews with them now.

I would definitely recommend this to any horror fan, especially of the 1970s. (Not for kids though--even by today's standards, I found this a very erotic film).

Ever since I read about this movie in a British horror magazine I wanted to watch it. And finally - it was released by Blue Underground on DVD, for the first time ever uncut (a former DVD release missed about 30 seconds of footage, former videotape releases were even more cut, totalling sometimes up to three minutes) Needless to say I ordered it. And I was not disappointed.
VAMYPRES is undoubtedly the best erotic horror movie ever committed to celluloid. The plot concerns two VERY sexy female vampires, mysterious, ample Fran (Marianne MORRIS) and the blonde, more fragile Miriam (ANULKA). They are unusual vampires: daylight does not harm them and they do not have fangs. At dawn the duo leaves their rundown castle (a really beautiful and very gothic building), ask male motorists for a lift and invite them to their castle for vine and sex. After killing them and feasting on their hapless victims' blood, the bloodsucking duo deposes of the corpses in staged car accidents. (Wouldn't so many traffic accidents within such a small area arouse suspicion? Okay, okay, I admit, I'm nitpicking here.) One of Fran's victims, Ted, awakens in the castle after a night of lovemaking and boozing, to find his arm severely cut. He thinks he hurt himself with a shade of glass the other night due to his inebriation. (Contrary to her usual habit, Fran did not kill Ted immediately.) Ted gets weaker and weaker and though he gets increasingly suspicious, finds himself unable to leave the castle, because he fell for Fran (small wonder!)
All the while, a young couple holidays outside the castle in their caravan, and the wife gets increasingly nervous about the strange duo of women...
Will Ted survive? Will the young couple be able to uncover the dark secret of the castle?
Well, watch for yourself... I won't give it away, but let me assure you that you won't be disappointed.
VAMPYRES will be enjoyed by any fan of horror movies for a large number of reasons. Firstly and most importantly, VAMPYRES is super ultra sexy!!! Rarely did I see an actress with the outstanding good looks and sex appeal of Marianne MORRIS. And there is lots and lots of nudity and (surprisingly graphic) sex in the film! The script provides many opportunities for the vampires to appear in the nude.
Secondly, there is enough bloodshed to appeal to horror fans. However VAMPYRES does not entirely rely on sex and violence to keep you entertained, it is also beautifully shot, exceptionally well written and with the mood and feel of a vampire film of the well-known HAMMER studios. The castle and the autumn season, during which VAMPYRES was shot, add immensely to the gothic feeling.
As is appropriate for an outstanding movie, Blue Underground's DVD presentation is very impressive. The film is presented in the correct widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85 : 1 and offers a lot of extras. There is a 14 minute interview with the lead actresses Marianne MORRIS and ANULKA. Despite being in their early 50ies by now, both (and MORRIS in particular) still look very good today. Both comment on the film shot, provide anectodes about the director, reveal how they felt during the more lascivious scenes and remark on their further live post VAMPYRES. (It is a shame that MORRIS did not pursue her acting career after this film, but opened a refurbishing company instead.) Both are proud of their participation in VAMPYRES.
There are also two trailers, the international one and the US trailer. Both are very good, with the US having the advantage, but unfortunately give away too many highlights.
Another interesting feature is a recreation of a scene, which did not made it in the final cut. The footage is now lost, so some stills give you an impression of the scene.
There are also very extensive picture galleries with interesting behind-the-scenes photoes, promotional material and stills from the film (including many nudity stills). And there is a socalled ANULKA glamour gallery (actress ANULKA was photomodel before and after her lead role in VAMPYRES) There are scores of pictures to watch!
Also included is a rather short biography and filmography of director Jose Ramon LARRAZ.
There is even a small poster of the Italian version of VAMPYRES in the keepcase.
Believe my raving and buy this DVD! I'm sure, you'll like it as much as I do!

Up until recently, Anchor Bay Entertainment used to be the undisputed king of releasing horror, exploitation, foreign, art house and cult cinema on DVD with all the bells and whistles that rabid collectors love. However, former Anchor Bay head honcho (not to mention notable genre director) Bill Lustig has since focused his talents on making Blue Underground the premiere distribution company amongst those who know their cult cinema...

Take their treatment of Jose Ramon Larraz's evocative vampire (make that vampyre) classic. Previously available on the format in a slightly censored print from Anchor Bay, Blue Underground have released what is likely to be the definite release of VAMPYRES on DVD and anyone who has even a passing interest in foreign horror films should already own this fantastic disc... The extras (including a commentary track and a featurette) are plentiful, the print is cleaned up and, most importantly, the film is UNCUT and UNCENSORED!

The movie itself is much like your standard vampire story, albeit done with a little more style that we're accustomed to seeing in this sort of film... European horror film directors always seem to have a better sense of atmosphere and visual direction than their American counterparts and it certainly shows here... Larraz makes full use of the autumnal settings and injects some real class in the film with some top-notch lighting at key moments... A scene where three characters share a drink in a wine cellar benefits greatly from this... you yourself feel as if you're down there with them by the candle-light. Outdoor scenes are particularly surreal in the way that they're shot...

Of course, this is a horror film so genre fans can expect an ample amount of blood to be shed over the course of the film. Much of it isn't very explicit but I found myself shocked at least once because I wasn't really expecting it... the deaths in VAMPYRES come quick and mercilessly, as I suppose they should. There's also quite a bit amount of nudity to be found here as well, a good portion of it softcore lesbian erotica (VERY softcore... don't expect the film to slip into Jess Franco territory at all).

In any case, they most certainly DON'T make them like this any more... If you even consider yourself a fan of vampire movies, or the 70s European exploitation scene in general, you should definitely have this minor classic in your collection... Not only does it provide fans with the lurid thrills that they're accustomed to seeing but it does so with just a bit of class, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I was a kid in the 1970s and loved horror movies. I watched a lot of late night creature features and read every book on horror films I could find. The books normally included a photo from VAMPYRES but my chance of ever seeing it were beyond remote at the time. From what I read then, I could see that the film was the next logical progression after watching Hammer Films and reading Vampirella comics at the time: blood-soaked lesbians out of control!

So, when I found a DVD version I could order through Amazon, I bought it. I think waiting so long to see it has really helped. Very Seventies! The music definitely took me back by mixing spooky organ music with electric guitars. The girls were (and still are!) very sexy. I really appreciated the interviews with them now.

I would definitely recommend this to any horror fan, especially of the 1970s. (Not for kids though--even by today's standards, I found this a very erotic film).

Ever since I read about this movie in a British horror magazine I wanted to watch it. And finally - it was released by Blue Underground on DVD, for the first time ever uncut (a former DVD release missed about 30 seconds of footage, former videotape releases were even more cut, totalling sometimes up to three minutes) Needless to say I ordered it. And I was not disappointed.
VAMYPRES is undoubtedly the best erotic horror movie ever committed to celluloid. The plot concerns two VERY sexy female vampires, mysterious, ample Fran (Marianne MORRIS) and the blonde, more fragile Miriam (ANULKA). They are unusual vampires: daylight does not harm them and they do not have fangs. At dawn the duo leaves their rundown castle (a really beautiful and very gothic building), ask male motorists for a lift and invite them to their castle for vine and sex. After killing them and feasting on their hapless victims' blood, the bloodsucking duo deposes of the corpses in staged car accidents. (Wouldn't so many traffic accidents within such a small area arouse suspicion? Okay, okay, I admit, I'm nitpicking here.) One of Fran's victims, Ted, awakens in the castle after a night of lovemaking and boozing, to find his arm severely cut. He thinks he hurt himself with a shade of glass the other night due to his inebriation. (Contrary to her usual habit, Fran did not kill Ted immediately.) Ted gets weaker and weaker and though he gets increasingly suspicious, finds himself unable to leave the castle, because he fell for Fran (small wonder!)
All the while, a young couple holidays outside the castle in their caravan, and the wife gets increasingly nervous about the strange duo of women...
Will Ted survive? Will the young couple be able to uncover the dark secret of the castle?
Well, watch for yourself... I won't give it away, but let me assure you that you won't be disappointed.
VAMPYRES will be enjoyed by any fan of horror movies for a large number of reasons. Firstly and most importantly, VAMPYRES is super ultra sexy!!! Rarely did I see an actress with the outstanding good looks and sex appeal of Marianne MORRIS. And there is lots and lots of nudity and (surprisingly graphic) sex in the film! The script provides many opportunities for the vampires to appear in the nude.
Secondly, there is enough bloodshed to appeal to horror fans. However VAMPYRES does not entirely rely on sex and violence to keep you entertained, it is also beautifully shot, exceptionally well written and with the mood and feel of a vampire film of the well-known HAMMER studios. The castle and the autumn season, during which VAMPYRES was shot, add immensely to the gothic feeling.
As is appropriate for an outstanding movie, Blue Underground's DVD presentation is very impressive. The film is presented in the correct widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85 : 1 and offers a lot of extras. There is a 14 minute interview with the lead actresses Marianne MORRIS and ANULKA. Despite being in their early 50ies by now, both (and MORRIS in particular) still look very good today. Both comment on the film shot, provide anectodes about the director, reveal how they felt during the more lascivious scenes and remark on their further live post VAMPYRES. (It is a shame that MORRIS did not pursue her acting career after this film, but opened a refurbishing company instead.) Both are proud of their participation in VAMPYRES.
There are also two trailers, the international one and the US trailer. Both are very good, with the US having the advantage, but unfortunately give away too many highlights.
Another interesting feature is a recreation of a scene, which did not made it in the final cut. The footage is now lost, so some stills give you an impression of the scene.
There are also very extensive picture galleries with interesting behind-the-scenes photoes, promotional material and stills from the film (including many nudity stills). And there is a socalled ANULKA glamour gallery (actress ANULKA was photomodel before and after her lead role in VAMPYRES) There are scores of pictures to watch!
Also included is a rather short biography and filmography of director Jose Ramon LARRAZ.
There is even a small poster of the Italian version of VAMPYRES in the keepcase.
Believe my raving and buy this DVD! I'm sure, you'll like it as much as I do!

Up until recently, Anchor Bay Entertainment used to be the undisputed king of releasing horror, exploitation, foreign, art house and cult cinema on DVD with all the bells and whistles that rabid collectors love. However, former Anchor Bay head honcho (not to mention notable genre director) Bill Lustig has since focused his talents on making Blue Underground the premiere distribution company amongst those who know their cult cinema...

Take their treatment of Jose Ramon Larraz's evocative vampire (make that vampyre) classic. Previously available on the format in a slightly censored print from Anchor Bay, Blue Underground have released what is likely to be the definite release of VAMPYRES on DVD and anyone who has even a passing interest in foreign horror films should already own this fantastic disc... The extras (including a commentary track and a featurette) are plentiful, the print is cleaned up and, most importantly, the film is UNCUT and UNCENSORED!

The movie itself is much like your standard vampire story, albeit done with a little more style that we're accustomed to seeing in this sort of film... European horror film directors always seem to have a better sense of atmosphere and visual direction than their American counterparts and it certainly shows here... Larraz makes full use of the autumnal settings and injects some real class in the film with some top-notch lighting at key moments... A scene where three characters share a drink in a wine cellar benefits greatly from this... you yourself feel as if you're down there with them by the candle-light. Outdoor scenes are particularly surreal in the way that they're shot...

Of course, this is a horror film so genre fans can expect an ample amount of blood to be shed over the course of the film. Much of it isn't very explicit but I found myself shocked at least once because I wasn't really expecting it... the deaths in VAMPYRES come quick and mercilessly, as I suppose they should. There's also quite a bit amount of nudity to be found here as well, a good portion of it softcore lesbian erotica (VERY softcore... don't expect the film to slip into Jess Franco territory at all).

In any case, they most certainly DON'T make them like this any more... If you even consider yourself a fan of vampire movies, or the 70s European exploitation scene in general, you should definitely have this minor classic in your collection... Not only does it provide fans with the lurid thrills that they're accustomed to seeing but it does so with just a bit of class, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Work number one by Dario Argento, this movie is also referred to as the original matrix to the Italian Giallo Movies. Check out the reason why. Excellent plot, good acting, sensational atmosphere, black gloves, hats and raincoats, knives, razors, screaming good-looking girls, sex traumas, violence, gore, and that flash, burnt in the protagonist's memory, which is the key to the solution (and what a solution!) to the entire plot. This is enough to recommend you the purchase of a DVD which, unfortunately, is quite disappointing. The video format is partly disturbed, the audio is unbelievably in mono and no extras are available rather than the theatrical trailer and (good choice) the original soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. But we're talking about a masterpiece, and I suggest this purchase anyway.

THIS FILM HAS THE RIGHT ATMOSPHERE FOR A CREEPY THRILLER AND IT KEEPS YOU INTERESTED THROUGHOUT.
THE MOVIE ALSO FEATURES A "SURPRISE" ENDING THAT YOU PROBABLY WON'T PREDICT.
IT'S FAIRLY SAFE TO SAY THAT THIS THRILLER SUCCEEDS ON ALL LEVELS AND IS A GOOD WAY TO PASS 100 MINS. PLUS!!
I ENJOYED THIS HORROR THRILLER AS YOU WILL WHEN YOU SEE IT!!
IF YOU ENJOY THE MOVIES OF HITCHCOCK, YOU MAY ENJOY THIS FILM ALSO!!

I own this movie and it's very a good one!! If you like Hitchcock movies, this one is a must-have like almost all of the movies by Argento!! We have the constant terror feeling in the movie and wow the ending totally stunned me!! It's not very young but it's great quality and a good directing with an acceptable casting!! Own it, it's very not dissapointing me!

god people, when will the horror end. now the bastards in Vegas making more murders because of his gold, thats the whole story of all the movies. his frickin gold. with mindnumbing supportees and bad directing. this is a toiletbowl mess.

favorite line in the whole movie
Leprechaun- there was an old man from O'Grass, his balls were made of brass and in stormy weather his balls clanked together and sparks flew out of his ass(this was hilarious)

The first entry in the "Leprechaun" franchise arrived on the scene in 1993, with the second appearing as if by magic the following year. Why not keep the trend going and release "Leprechaun 3" in 1995? That is exactly what the movers and shakers behind the "Leprechaun" series did, probably thinking that striking a rapidly cooling griddle is better than striking one when it is ice cold. Once again calling on diminutive star Warwick Davis to play the wicked elf, the individuals responsible for "Leprechaun 3" decided to move the setting to Las Vegas where the lure of bright lights and the thrill of gambling could provide a suitable backdrop for the machinations of the leprechaun. Does this move work? Sort of, even though "Leprechaun 3" suffers from numerous problems that only get worse from this point on: atrocious acting, increasingly lame sight gags and jokes, cheaper budgets, annoying characters, and a failure to follow rules established in earlier films. Despite these glaring failings, "Leprechaun 3" is really the last film I am able to say I enjoyed in the franchise. Parts four and five simply collapse under the weight of the aforementioned problems.

In "Leprechaun 3" the little beastie appears in Las Vegas when a haggard looking fella stumbles into a pawnshop lugging a big bundle. It turns out that this package is our old friend the leprechaun, frozen into a little statue due to some jeweled necklace. The guy sells the statue to the pawnshop owner for chump change and as quick as you can say "Begorrah," the greedy employee removes the necklace and unleashes the malevolent force that is Warwick Davis decked out in knickers and pepperoni faced makeup. The pot of gold appears as well, and since we all know by this time that the slimy sprite cannot stand to see humans pawing his precious coins, the pawnshop guy promptly incurs the wrath of the little devil. It is also during these opening sequences that we learn the rules of the game have changed once again: now the leprechaun cannot stand the presence of other leprechauns and his gold coins suddenly have the power to grant their possessor one wish. Obviously, this knowledge sets up the idea that another leprechaun will challenge Warwick Davis and that several people will find one of the coins and make wishes.

Enter Scott McCoy, an impressionable kid driving to Southern California so he can start school in a few weeks. He quickly meets local cutie Tammy Larsen, a young lady who works for a hack magician at the Shamrock, one of the cheaper looking casinos on the strip. Tammy agrees to sneak Scott into the casino so he can see what Las Vegas is all about, and it isn't too long before the inevitable happens. Scott gambles away the twenty thousand dollars his parents gave him for school and goes to the pawnshop where the leprechaun went on a bloody rampage. McCoy finds a coin, figures out how to make a wish, and wins big time at the tables. In the meantime, we follow Tammy's adventures with her unctuous boss Fazio and the lecherous owner of the casino named Mitch. Mitch owes some money to a couple of local goons (can't have a movie set in Las Vegas without a mafia reference, huh?), but really has an eye for Tammy's expansive cleavage. Rounding out the cast is casino employee Loretta, a big haired, screechy lady who spends way too much time lamenting the loss of her youthful figure. I won't spoil the unfolding hijinks for you, but most of the characters learn about the magic coin and make their greedy little wishes with often tragic, and gory, results. During the course of the movie, we see somebody swell up and explode, a body sawed in half, and a cheesy electrocution. It's all done in good fun and is occasionally entertaining.

I definitely appreciated a gorier, sleazier "Leprechaun" movie. What I didn't welcome was the acting, which certainly ranks as some of the poorest in the series (although not as bad as the Bridget character in the second film). The guy who plays Scott and the woman in the Tammy role are the worst offenders. Every time these two appeared on screen I could literally smell the sour odor of their performances wafting off of my television set. These two are so bad that even my DVD player belched derision over their ham handed antics. Fortunately, the other actors do slightly better, and Warwick Davis is great as always as the leprechaun. In fact, my favorite scene in the movie occurs when Davis is strolling down the streets of Las Vegas looking for his stolen coin. Here's this evil, ugly looking monster moving in and out of crowds of people and no one notices him! Moreover, he occasionally cackles loudly for no apparent reason during his jaunt. I laughed so hard over this scene that I watched it several more times just to get the full effect of the whole thing.

The DVD is the same as other Trimark "Leprechaun" discs. The picture transfer looks good and there are several trailers for this film and other installments in the series. After viewing all of the "Leprechaun" movies, I would like to see a commentary from Warwick Davis on at least one of these DVDs. I would like to hear what the man himself has to say about these films. Anyway, "Leprechaun 3" is worth watching if you have a couple of hours to spare and can't think of anything better to do. If nothing else, this movie is the only place you will ever see a flaming dwarf flying though the air, and that ought to be worth something.

This is by far the best of the series!It is also the funniest!He's in Vegas and he's fealing lucky!After his magic coin is lost the leprechaun goes after it killing any who have wished upon it!Now a boy who is bitten by the leprechaun is turning into one.The two battle to find the better leprechaun!Who will win,who will loose?!For any horror or comedy collector this is a must have!A+!

Critters 3 I thought wasnt as good as they said because they didnt do some real action.When I frist saw the movie it was the first critters movie I saw so I thought it was pretty good,but when I got 1,2,and 4 I didnt think it was that good of a Critters movie.Besides what happened when Charlie got the Cherif duty in the secound one and he's not the Cherif of Groversbend in the third?When Charlie gave that kid a crystal and it would glow if there was trouble and it didnt when there wasnt , that was like something that didnt even need to be in the movie.Afterall I guess it is an ok critters movie but some things I just think are just plain stupid.

I have been a fan of the Critters Movies, since I was a little Boy. I remember being about three years old and sitting on my fathers lap, watching these Movies. I was really scared. Now I watch them and I'm not that scared, there just very good campy fun. And there is little to no gore, and maybe 3 Adult Terms, through the hole film.

For the third film, "Critter 3" there were many changes. Namely different hero, different setting, differnet production company, and a guarented sequel (this and part 4 were filmed back-to-back). This film trys to have more comedy than the other films, which I hate to say doesn't really work well.

A young girl returns home after cammping, with mysterious eggs under her families camper. The egg's hatch and the hair-balls infest her "Starshallow" like apartment building.

I am a HUGE Critters fan and this is the honest truth: Critters 3 may be the best of the four movies made in the Critters series. I loved every bit of it. The Krites (a.k.a. Critters) are better than all of the older ones by how realistic they were in my oppinion, and they gave most of them personalities. My favorite Krite was the one who rolled in bleach and the upper half of his left side became white. He was the smartest Krite. He was also the last Critter standing in the end. I only had two minor problems with the movie. When Josh (Leonardo DiCaprio) is explaining to Annie why he was at the appartment, he says "...We came here to evict you," then he turns around and says, "pretty awful, huh?" Now that's not the problem. It's what Annie says next that I have a problem with. All she says is, "Ya..." What the heck? All you can say is 'ya'? Why not, "It's O.K.", or "Well, you didn't make the choice, so I can't blame you," I mean, even "What?" or "Why?" would have given Josh a chance to explain. Make the poor kid feel even worse! "Ya, that is an awful thing," maybe it was, but still... The other thing was in the end Ug says that Charlie can't kill the last two eggs if it means total extintion. In the second one the grand master alien giving the bounty hunters orders says that they need to be terminated. All well, I'm just picky, so maybe no one else minds. I don't really care, I just find it slightly annoying. I still love the movie, even its minor flaws. I hope that they someday make a movie where the Critters finally do win. SOMEDAY THE KRITES WILL PREVAIL!!!! All in all, I'd say that the Critters movies are possibly the best movies ever in past, present, and future. Definitly a must buy for all movie lovers!

I'v been reading the other reviews on this movie, and people who say it was bad are weird. This movie was awsome. It really shows vlad the impaler for what he was. Dark, quiet, and smart. I hate watching those Dracula movies where he has short slicked back hair and that stupid cape. In this movie he has his long black dirty hair and the clothes you would actually see him in. All in all this movie gets 10 stars. If you wanna see a good movie I advise you to watch this.

I had figured this would be just another cheesey vampire movie, but it wasn't. I don't even know why he had fangs on the cover. He was never portrayed as a vampire in the movie. It is a factual and historical account of Vlad The Impaler from ancient Romania. The movie was touching, intense, and kept my eyes glued to the tv so as not to miss a single thing. It was so good, that my other Army buddies that watched it with me all fought over who was going to borrow it from me first! I think it'll be weeks before I get this dvd back! It arrived fast and in perfect condition. ...

I loved this version of Dracula. It was more about being historical rather than horror. Rudolf Martin is just so darn sexy, this character is perfect for him. I hope to see more movies with this hottie! Also, the beautiful Jane March is gorgeous as ever, does a great job also. I highly recommened this movie.

Very boring! Not scary! Very stupid! Take my word for it! I am a horror fan myself and I can tell you that this is a waste of time!!!! On a positive note: The movie did have a lot of BLOOD! That is why I gave it one more star!

I first watched "The Slumber Party Massacre" on cable because I happened to catch that women both wrote (Rita Mae Brown) and directed (Amy Holden Jones). I am surprised that many reviewers criticize this 1982 splatter flick for not reflecting feminist sensibilities, but I have to say that my immediate reaction to the film was that it was different from the tradition being established by "Halloween," "Friday the 13th," and their host of immitators. Yes, early on in the film there is a shower scene and this provides a perfect opportunity to figure out which one of these young women is the "good girl" who is going to be alive at the end of the film. However, all those who enjoyed how "Scream" both honored and subverted the rules of this particular genre should appreciate that this film does the same thing. In fact, I am going to go way off on a sociological limb and argue that "The Slumber Party Massacre" is indeed a feminist splatter flick.

We all know that the supposed sub-text of slasher films is that those who have unsafe sex are (literally) risking their lives. Laurie Strode remains the icon good girl, who survives in the original "Halloween" because she is a virgin and therefore not sneaking around with her boyfriend while a killer is in the house (forget for a minute the "Halloween II" revelation that Laurie and Michael Myers are siblings). Even though she is a straight-arrow of the group, she is part of the group. Here friends hold out hope for her getting a date (remember Ben Craemer?). Her girl friends die because they are preoccupied with sex.

However, in "The Slumber Party Massacre" the good girl is much more than a virgin. Yes, Val Bates (Robin Stille) has the requisite purity to survive the coming massacre (she drinks too much milk, the others complain), but she is also the new girl in town and ostracized by the rest of the girls because she is a better basketball player than any of them. Consequently, the girls at the slumber party are guilty of turning their backs on the one person who could keep some of them alive by the end of the movie. I do not want to give away too much, even when talking about a predictable slasher flick like this one, but look at not only who is alive at the end of this film but why, and what they do to be the ones standing. Look at that and tell me that at least on same level there is not a message on the inherent strength of sisterhood somewhere at the side of that pool.

As the title indicates the idea here is that a bunch of senior high girls are throwing a slumber part just like the ones they enjoyed when they were younger. The party is at the house of Trish (Michelle Michaels), whose parents are away. The house is right across the street from where Val is taking care of her kid sister, Courtney (Jennifer Meyers). To this mix we add two guys (David Millbern and Joseph Allen Johnson) who want to crash the party and play some tricks on the unsuspecting scantily clad girls, and an escaped mental patient, named Russ Thorn (Michael Villella), who has followed the girls home from practice and has a tool box. This particular toolbox is full of tools, but this guy really, really likes his power drill.

Pointing out that this film has bad dialogue, lousy acting, gratuitous nudity, and most of the killing scenes are too dark to really see anything, seems well beside the point. Those are relatively standard fare in splatter flicks, especially in the decade of the 1980s. The point is that all things considered "The Slumber Party Massacre" is an above average slasher movie, which is not saying much until you remember how made the average slasher film was during the gory days of the genre. Besides that, I have to say that in the absence of a concrete idea of what truly "feminist" splatter flick would be like, there is a decidedly different "message" built into this film that does make it stand out from its contemporaries.

There are two more films in this series as it heads quickly downhill. Some of the characters from this one pop up in "Slumber Party Massacre 2," although played by different actresses (such as Crystal Benard), but basically they are low-grade films that spend more time on the "Slumber Party" parts of the title than the "Massacre." "Cheerleader Massacre" is supposedly the fourth film in the series, but by that point the people making these movies have pretty much forgotten they are supposed to be splatter flick and are trafficking in softcore porn. Watch this one if you are so inclined and then move on to better things. They are hard to find when you are talking splatter flicks, but they are out there.

I bought this movie fully expecting nothing but T&A and maybe a little gore. It delivered on those two expectations, with enough of the cheesecake to keep it interesting but going surprisingly light on the gore, with some of the killing actually taking place off-screen. Of course character development is given low priority, which hardly comes as a surprise.

But you can imagine my surprise when, halfway through, this thing actually turned out to be scary! Yes, the whole atmosphere of the film was done quite nicely, and it worked well enough to make me a bit uneasy. While watching it, my cat was sitting in the window, and he suddenly jumped back and ran out of the room - so I went over and somewhat cautiously closed the window and locked the door! LOL.

Overall, if you're looking for a nice slasher flick with all the things teenage boys most enjoy, or maybe you just want to relive those memories of drive-ins in the early '80s, you'll probably be quite satisfied with this little gem.

This movie starts out in a small fishing town, which may or may not be getting a cannery built, depending on if the local political activist / indian chief gets his way. This whole subplot only exists to set up some explanation as to where the salmon men came from (the cannery people want to increase salmon population, and they use science - eek! - and it goes horribly wrong). Two things this introduction doesn't do is to 1) introduce the characters very well and 2) establish some sort of atmosphere. In the town, pretty much everybody dislikes pretty much everybody else; they argue, they scheme, they fight, they carry beer in from a truck. You don't really get to know (or care about) any of them. They're quite interchangeable actually. There are a few interesting secondary characters but they get little screen time, absolutely no character development at all, and are soon fodder for the special effects. As far as atmosphere, everyone seems to hang out on the dock or else go to the big annual salmon festival. And you should hear the salmon festival band - imagine a bunch of retired people going to the American Legion on a Wednesday night. Now imagine the band that might play there; now imagine a band four times worse than that. Egads, these folks must have been praying for salmon men to kill them for years if this is what they do for entertainment.

Anyhow, after suitable time is given to showing more and more of the monsters, they finally attack in force, and there's lots of blood spurting in all drections. Not an exceptionally exciting action sequence, but it is campy as can be.

Overall, this reminds me of something one might see on the Sci-Fi channel at 10:00 am on a Saturday morning. Not very good, but watchable. And there are some pretty girls getting nekkid. Too bad they didn't spend a lot more time on that, and a lot less time on those banal primary characters.

I consider myself well schooled in low budget schlock from various film genres. Watching cheesy films is an acquired taste, one not easily cultivated overnight. Even with some knowledge about who makes these types of films under my belt, I still stumble over major contributors to the clunker movie catalogue and wonder why I haven't spent time with these delicacies before now. Roger Corman is my latest discovery. I admit to having heard of Corman before in reference to the spate of Vincent Price horror classics that emerged in the 1960s along with a few other films he made over the course of his career, but until now I never saw any of them. This guy is a giant of the low budget film, producing or directing some 500 plus movies in the last forty years. He's still going strong as far as I know, and never limits himself to one particular genre; he's made westerns, horror, action, drama, and science fiction films with seeming ease. Moreover, according to the bio on this DVD, Corman helped launch the careers of numerous Hollywood bigwigs. If "Humanoids From the Deep" is any indication, I will spend a lot of time with this filmmaker's projects in the near future.

This movie really ought to be a huge cult cinema classic. Maybe it is in some circles, but if so, I never heard about it. What a shame, too, because "Humanoids From the Deep" is classic camp that rips off every 1950s monster film you ever heard about. The movie, set in a fishing town called Noyo, tells the story of a town rapidly fading away. The local tars are having a tough time catching enough fish to make a living, and just when it seems that all is lost a big time cannery corporation arrives on the scene promising to build a factory that will rejuvenate the local industry. Who can argue with an influx of well paying jobs? Certainly not a fisherman named Hank Slattery who sees dollar signs in the arrival of the suits. Most of the townspeople adopt Hank's position concerning the changing times, even level headed Jim Hill. Hill, who really doesn't care for Hank due to the man's racism against the local Indian tribe, grudgingly agrees that the cannery will help salvage the town. He's a bit suspicious about corporations in general, a thought shared by his wife, but he's willing to go along with it if it means food on table. The local Indians, led by Hank's nemesis Johnny Eagle, despise the idea of building a cannery on old tribal grounds. When a series of unexplainable incidents occur in rapid succession, the Indians and Slattery's goons duke it out with other over the future of the area.

What in the world could possibly cause all of the dogs in the area to die violently in the space of a single evening, lead to the disappearance of a few of the local ladies, and cause such discord between the Indians and the Anglo community? Why, humanoids from the deep, of course! That's right, within mere minutes we learn that Noyo has a big problem in the form of some weird half-salmon, half man beasties roaming around offshore. And these monstrosities take no prisoners, either, since they aren't above tearing open a few bodies, ripping off a few heads, or liberating a few bosoms in order to capture Noyo's women for mating purposes. Corman permeates this film with everything a low budget horror lover could want: completely unnecessary nudity, gallons of gore, and numerous massive explosions. The cars, houses, and boats blowing up in "Humanoids From the Deep" especially impressed me since the producers of the film sank a lot of money into these blossoming fireballs. This is obvious because they use the hilarious old "numerous camera angles and quick cuts" to get the most out of the effect. If you don't care explosions, there is always the gore to float your boat. The conclusion of the film, when Noyo celebrates their town festival and the humanoids make an impressive yet unannounced visit is sure to thrill you with the arterial sprays and gory amputations going on all over the place. What a great little film.

The performances aren't all that bad either. Vic Morrow plays Hank Slattery with all the menace you would expect from the late star. Doug McClure turns in steady work as the even tempered Jim Hill. The rest of the cast, while not as well known as these two actors, all do a pretty good job with their parts. Of course, the humanoids share top billing with the human actors, which is fine because the special effects used in creating these violent creatures worked quite well in my opinion. The humanoids are gruesome looking, with sharp teeth, oversized heads and arms, and a shambling gait resembling the undead in all of those Italian horror movies. I can't say I cared too much their endless shrieking and wailing, but the look and the unremitting violence of these monsters repeatedly entertains.

The DVD is quite a catch too (pun intended). You get five trailers: "Humanoids From the Deep," "Eat My Dust," "Big Bad Mama," "Death Race 2000," and "Grand Theft Auto." A short interview with Corman, conducted by Leonard Maltin, graces the DVD, along with bios for Corman and the cast. The film transfer looks good for an old film of this caliber, at least good enough to see all of the splattery effects and nubile young women running around town. "Humanoids From the Deep" is a must see for those looking for a way to spend a wacky eighty minutes.

This was another classic from filmmaker Roger Corman.You have
legitimate actors in the persons of Doug McClure,Vic Morrow and
Ann Turkel. In this movie sea creatures come from the deep to
kidnap unwilling females for mating purposes. These creatures
are a cross between a giant salmon and the Creature From the
Black Lagoon.These females are taken and held by these creatures
and of course this starts a panic in the community.The good guys
seem to have no method to stop these creatures.The special effects also add to the quality of this film.The ending of the
film is also something to see. Buy this movie.You will find it
to be very entertaining.

Italian director Mario Bava (1914-1980) is one of the giants of the horror film genre. Bava's big break into came with his 1960 black and white classic "Black Sunday" starring Barbara Steele. This was only the beginning, as Bava churned out a series of gruesome shockers over the next seventeen years. His films always promised great style mixed with scenes of murder and mayhem. The Bava legacy continued with son Lamberto, one of the guiding lights behind "Demons," an instant cult favorite with gorehounds worldwide. Perhaps Mario's biggest contribution to horror movies was his 1972 picture "Twitch of the Death Nerve," also known as "Bay of Blood." It doesn't take too long to realize "Friday the 13th" shamelessly cribbed from Bava's bloodbath. At least two of the murders in this film appear almost unchanged in the first installment of the Jason Voorhees franchise. That's right: Mario Bava gave birth to the modern slasher film.

The Countess Frederica Donati is a wealthy woman who owns most of the land around a beautiful bay. It is quite unfortunate for her that there are many people interested in gaining control of the land in order to build shopping malls or a resort then in keeping the bay in pristine condition. Donati refuses to sell out her interest, however, and this sparks a jealousy and greed with tragic consequences for anyone in the area. Someone will have Donati's land, even if they have to murder anyone who gets in their way. The first murder (there are ultimately thirteen of them'ring any bells? Remember the trailer to the original "Friday the 13th" trailer that counted up the murders?) claims the countess herself, strung up with a noose in a particularly cruel way. Throw in a greedy lawyer and his secretary, an illegimate son who fishes for squid in the bay, a nature lover and his loony, tarot card reading wife, a quartet of kids looking for some fun, and a family of four with a personal stake in the disposition of the bay's land and you have the makings for a non-stop blitz of murder and mayhem. Just when you think you know who the murderer is, Bava throws a curveball and reveals a little more of the background concerning the struggle over Donati's inheritance. By the time you get to the conclusion you have no idea where this thing is going to end up. I am still shaking my head over the last minute of the film, trying to decide if what I saw is the most ridiculous ending in film history or one of the most brilliant. "Twitch of the Death Nerve" may have loads of graphic killings, but it also has one of the most convoluted plots in horror film history.

The secondary elements of the film, namely gore, atmosphere, and acting, are all well done for this type of movie. You don't often expect great acting with Italian horror films, and you don't exactly get that here, but it is above average. The atmosphere is spectacular, with lots of fade-ins and outs, excellent use of colors, and an oppressive sense of doom hanging over the entire movie. "Twitch of the Death Nerve" is definitely not made by some yuck with a video camera looking to make a few bucks on the straight to video market. Mario Bava knows how to craft atmosphere and scenery, and he does a great job here. The gore is slightly more problematic, with some scenes really working while others looking decidedly cheesy. Still, the intention is here, as the film possesses a streak of cruelty not seen in many horror films.

The biggest difficulty in watching "Twitch of the Death Nerve" falls squarely in the lap of Image Entertainment, the company that released this DVD version of the film. The extras aren't the problem, as there are enough goodies here to satiate every horror aficionado. Image throws in a "murder menu" where you can go straight to the grue, a funky trailer for the film under the title "Carnage" that is one of the most inventive movie trailers I have ever seen, two cheesy radio spots, a biography and filmography of Mario Bava, and trailers for SIX other Bava films released under the Image banner. How can it all go wrong after such a bonanza? It's the sound, my friend. The audio for the film is the worst I've ever heard on a DVD. Dialogue is tinny, drops out with cringing regularity, and then swells up so much I feared my system would explode. In fact, I thought my sound system wasn't working correctly until I saw other reviewers complaining about the sound on the DVD. I cannot imagine any company releasing a product with audio this bad. There is a "Bay of Blood" DVD released under the Scimitar label that supposedly has good audio, but the picture quality on that disc is reportedly mediocre. If we can find a way to transfer that audio track to this disc's picture quality (which is pretty good with a minimum of grain), maybe "Twitch of the Death Nerve" would be the total package. Yes, the audio is THAT bad! What a shame, too. The soundtrack for this film is excellent, with lots of drums and orchestral movements that really add a suspenseful element to the movie.

I'm looking forward to seeing other Mario Bava films in the future, hopefully with better sound quality than this. Mario was quite the technician with his films, not only sitting in the director's chair but working on the special effects and scripts as well. He's probably rolling in his grave right now over Image's mutilation of his movie.

In short, another masterpiece from horror maestro bava and a beautiful widescreen transfer dvd with one litte exception, in terms of sound quality this is the worst dvd ever released!!!
The music is as loud and distorted as each dialogue is low and barely audible unless you have a stadium sound equipment of course. So DON'T BUY IT and go for a vhs or dvd english edition of this one, it's not uncut but the sound is perfectly OK. Shame, shame, shame Image Entertainment!!!

And it does so many times in this movie. A double-murder within the first ten minutes of a movie gets the pace going in what has been called the utmost in Mario Bava's ouvre of horror movies. Minutes after Countess Federica is murdered by her husband Filippo Donati, he himself is killed by an unknown person and his body dragged away.

Many people then come down to the bay. There's Albert and his wife Renata, the latter being Donati's daughter. Frank Ventura is the scheming architect who wants to turn the bay and the area into some unspecified development project. There are also some teenagers who arrive in a yellow dune buggy and carouse in the abandoned night club by the bay. They are murdered most foully. It is the scene involving these people that served as the guiding inspiration for the Friday The 13th series, you know, brainless teens getting chopped up. But they are quick and brutal, or surprising in one case. Brunhilda, a German girl who looks like Penny Irving (House of Whipcord, Are You Being Served?) has a nice nude swim and a shocking surprise before her demise. She's actually one of the more decent of the four.

Of the residents, entomologist Paolo Fosatti, who is too involved in his Coleoptera (that's the taxonomic order of beetles, BTW) than in his complaining, wine-bipping, fortune-telling wife Anna, and when she was alive, Countess Federica, are opposed to turning the bay "into a sea of cement," the former for the insect life, the latter for its natural beauty and serenity. Simon, the Countess's illegitimate son, hunts squid and lives by the bay.

This movie is also known as Bay Of Blood, Carnage, The Last House On The Left Part II, Ecology Of A Crime, Reazione a Catena, and Antefatto, so take your pick, but Twitch Of The Death Nerve is the official English title. Whatever the title, this film sports a very high body count and brutal blood flow. Despite the cover boasting it being the uncut version, running 84 minutes, I read in one of my film books that the running time was 90 minutes, so a discrepancy there.

The only face I recognized here was Claudine Auger (Renata), who played vivacious Domino in the Bond movie Thunderball. Here though, there is not a shred of decency or compassion in this Lady Macbeth of a woman. Mario Bava's stylish technique on lingering on victims and blood plays a large part here, as does Stelvio Cipriani's piano score, which resembles that of the Rachmaninoff-like love theme in his first movie, Black Sunday.

It's difficult to filter out the message of human greed and also that of preserving the environment. Simon says it best: "Man should live and let live and without any interference." When Fosatti points out that the squid he was eating was alive, Simon retorts, "At least I eat my squid. I don't kill as a hobby like you do. If you kill for killing's sake, you become a monster."

I imagine that every so often, when he remembers that he starred in "Shocker," Mitch Pileggi has to excuse himself and go sob quietly in a corner. It's okay, Mitch. We forgive you. You've redeemed yourself ten times over as Skinner on XF.

Wes Craven recycles a bit of his "Nightmare on Elm Street" plot (our hero's dreams lead him to the killer) in this perfectly dreadful film. Any hope that the premise might have had is dashed to bits on the rocks of bad acting and outlandish plot points (apparently prisoners on death row are allowed to have two TV sets, jumper cables, and black candles to perfom evil rituals before they're executed...and don't even get me started on the girlfriend's ghost and her magic necklace). The chase through TV shows was a clever idea, but unfortunately doesn't come until the end of the film, and isn't long enough to be worth waiting for.

Skip this one. You'd have more fun sticking your fingers into an electrical socket.

This 1989 horror flick directed by Wes Craven (Last House on the Left, Hills Have Eyes, Nightmare on Elm Street) is far from Craven's finest hour, but it is still worth a look for horror fans. The story revolves around a serial killer (Mitch Pileggi, Skinner from The X-Files) who is re-born as a spiritual, electrical force which can jump from one body to another. His target: a young athlete (Peter Berg from TV's Chicago Hope and the director of The Rundown) who shares a link with the killer. Full of uneven pacing and more than a few loose ends, Shocker still manages to be entertaining despite it's faults, and thanks to the oddball, colorful casting and Craven's directing, Shocker avoids being the piece of horror shlock it seemed destined to be. The film is backed by a rocking metal soundtrack, highlighted by Megadeth's headbanging cover of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy".

Shocker says "finger licking good" after he bites off the fingers of a security gurard. Now thats comedy!!!

The Shocker gets the power to move his soul into different people's bodies. It becomes humorous when he goes into the bodies of a female doctor, and the body of a 10 year old girl. He also gets the power to tellepot through electric wires.

This movie is good old-fashioned bloody horror, without the million dollar special effects that you see in movies nowadays.