The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009) movie poster

Director: Rob Zombie

Writers: Rob Zombie, Mike Bell, Joe Ekers, Tom Klein, Mr. Lawrence, Joe Orrantia, Tom Papa, Carey Yost

Composer: Tyler Bates

Starring: Tom Papa, Ken Foree, Sheri Moon Zombie, Rosario Dawson, Dee Wallace, Joe Alaskey, April Winchell, Tom Kenny, Laraine Newman, Cassandra Peterson, Jess Harnell, Harland Williams, Rob Paulsen, Debra Wilson, Tom Klein, Clint HOward, Brian Posehn, Dee Bradley Baker, Paul Giamatti, Geoffrey Lewis, John DiMaggio, Jeff Bennett, Danny Trejo, Carlos Alazraqui, Tura Satana, Bill Moseley, Rodger Bumpass, Sid Haig

More info: IMDb

Tagline: From the pages of Spookshow International

Plot: A washed-up luchador and a super-spy investigate Nazi zombies, a nefarious scientist, and a stripper with a Satanic birthmark.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

 Man, Rob Zombie is surprising the hell out of me lately.  But then I'm catching up to the flicks he's made that I've missed so far and with this one, I've seen all of the pictures he has directed.  With the exception of the most recent one, 31 (2016), I've liked them all and I'm really in love with THE LORDS OF SALEM (2012) at the moment and I think it's his best work but then it's completely different than the rest of his catalog.  And this picture is different still.  There's so much to like about it, too.  The Ralph Bakshi style of animation was a brilliant choice as the look of it serves the film well.  Then there's the wonderful cast who are well suited for their animated characters.  The score was fun, the jokes were good, there's loads of nudity and the horror references will keep horror fans pointing out as many as they can.  I did.  In fact, that's part of the reason I'd like to watch it again, but most of all it's a fun flick.  I've never understood the Rob Zombie haters.  This guy has a cinematic voice that's unlike any others at the moment.  His first four pictures were straight up horror/slasher films and it's nice to see that he broke away from that for a while and made some very, very different films.  I'm glad to see that he's not content on beating the same drum even though I dig the tune.  I hope he doesn't stop making pictures that interest him because they certainly interest me.  The Blu-ray looks outstanding, by the way.

You Kill Me (2007)

Director: John Dahl

Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Composer: Marcelo Zarvos

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni, Luke Wilson, Dennis Farina, Philip Baker Hall, Bill Pullman, Marcus Thomas, Scott Heindl, Alison Sealy-Smith, Aron Tager, Jayne Eastwood

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A killer comedy by John Dahl

Plot: While drying out on the West Coast, an alcoholic hit man befriends a tart-tongued woman who might just come in handy when it's time for him to return to Buffalo and settle some old scores.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Great cast and funny shit.  What's not to like?  Kingsley plays a droll, lifeless contract killer who's been fucking up.  Sooner or later he's going to get taken care of and it's going to be sooner.  When he's not boozin' he's on top of his game and Kingsley plays cold and subdued well.  Leoni was a good choice to play his love interest.  She's weird in her own ways, too, but they have a shared charisma that works well.  Farina kills every scene he's in.  I dig the picture's sense of humor.  It's dark but often very funny.  Filming this in San Francisco doesn't hurt at all.  

The Beast Must Die (1974)

Director: Paul Annett

Writers: Michael Winder, James Bish

Composer: Douglas Gamley

Starring: Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon, Michael Gambon, Sam Mansary, Andrew Lodge, Carl Bohen, Eric Carte, Valentine Dyall, Annie Ross

More info: IMDb

Tagline: One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!

Plot: Eight people have been invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The film begins with narration and title cards telling you that you, the viewer, are to act as a detective to figure out who the werewolf is and that you will be giving a chance to think about it when the obvious and appropriate time comes.  Not too long before the end the film stops and an animated stopwatch counts down 30 seconds as you look at the survivors to make your final guess at which point the film continues and the truth is unveiled but not in a way you would expect.  It's gimmicky but unnecessary.  The film would've played out better without that needless interruption.  Is it worth your time?  Absolutely it is.  Just look at the cast!  Are you kidding me?  Fun fact...Lockhart was the first black actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company to have lead roles.  He's great in this picture even if he tends to over do it sometimes.  Everyone else is great, too.  I dug the opening sequence and its turn of events.  I was trying to solve the mystery early on but my pick was the first one to snuff it.  I'm not very good at these things apparently.  The picture plays out nicely despite being a little slow in the second act but thing pick up quickly in the final twenty minutes.  And the ending?  Nice!  The modern score didn't do anything for me (as little as there was of any music).  Having a James Bernard soundtrack would've done a better job of creating atmosphere and making this feel more dark, deadly and horrific.  But still, it's a neat take on the murder mystery film that had been done to death for the previous forty years and it was enjoyable all the way until the end.

Crime Busters (1977)

Original title: I Due Superpiedi Quasi Piatti

Director: Enzo Barboni

Writer: Enzo Barboni

Composers: Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

Starring: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, David Huddleston, Luciano Catenacci, Ezio Marano, Luciano Rossi, Luigi Casellato, Edy Biagetti, Jill Flanter, April Clough, Laura Gemser

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Hill and Spencer! They're a pair of car-crashing, womanizing, rough-housing loudmouths... and they're the good guys!

Plot: An attempted robbery turns to be an unexpected recruitment when two unemployed men mistakenly break into a police office instead of a store.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

You know what you're getting if you've seen a Hill/Spencer flick.  And when it's Barboni at the helm, it's a guaranteed fun time.  The trio made five pictures together and they're all silly fun but you've got to like Hill and Spencer and don't mind ridiculous comedy.  I really enjoyed this one.  The plot is secondary and it's not believable at all but it doesn't matter.  All you need is any flimsy excuse to give these guys lots to do. 

What makes this one even better is that it was filmed entirely in Miami, Florida and most of it was filmed outdoors in the beautiful sunshine.  If you're unfamiliar with these guys then I'd suggest starting with the movie that put all three of these guys on the international stardom map, THE CALL ME TRINITY (1970).  It's hilarious.

The Lords of Salem (2012)

Director: Rob Zombie

Writer: Rob Zombie

Composers: Griffin Boice, John 5

Starring: Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Judy Geeson, Meg Foster, Patricia Quinn, Ken Foree, Dee Wallace, Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Fancy, Andrew Prine, Michael Berryman, Sid Haig, Lisa Marie

More info: IMDb

Tagline: We've been waiting ... we've always been waiting.

Plot: Heidi, a radio DJ, is sent a box containing a record - a "gift from the Lords". The sounds within the grooves trigger flashbacks of her town's violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the Lords back to take revenge on Salem, Massachusetts?

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Minutes after finishing I was ready to watch it again.  That's very rare.  I was mesmerized.  This is Zombie's most mature film yet.  It's visually stunning.  You can tell that a lot of time and thought went into much of the scenes and I get the impression that Zombie asked himself a lot, "What would Stanley Kubrick do?".  It was a little distracting at times seeing the Kubrick influences because they were plain as day, so much so that my friends and I were blurting out which of Kubrick's films he was paying homage to.  The music score is the best he's had so far.  It's perfectly moody and atmospheric.  The marriage of sound to visual was gorgeous.  You also have to pay attention although you might find just going with the flow and letting the film take you on a journey a better way to go.  Has anyone seen this wasted?  I'm not one for that but it felt like it could play well to being in an altered state.  The performances are great and I particularly loved Davison.  Sheri was very good here and it's her best work I've seen so far.  She's not a seasoned actor and because of that she usually gets on my nerves but not here.  She nailed it.  Are there boobs?  Damn straight!!!

Soak in those leather saddlebags!  Actually, there's a lot of nudity and its not all meant to be erotic (although I'm sure there's someone out there who just deposited the above picture into their spank bank).  The Blu-ray image looks fantastic and it's a definite improvement over the DVD.  The Anchor Bay release has only one extra and that's a commentary track with Rob Zombie.  Really?  That's it?  I expected more from AB & RZ as something like this would usually get a lot more love.  Unfortunately the internet has chosen to hate on this guy and he gets a lot of undue criticism.  I dig this guy's work and I think he's got a fresh voice with one foot in the past.  He's a true fan of horror cinema and he's in the enviable position to take it to he next level. 

The Cycle Savages (1969)

Director: Bill Brame

Writer: Bill Brame

Composer: Jerry Styner

Starring: Bruce Dern, Melody Patterson, Chris Robinson, Maray Ayres, Karen Ciral, Mick Mehas, Jack Konzai, Walter Robles, Casey Kasem

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The WILDEST Bunch of the '70s!!!

Plot: The leader of a biker gang takes exception to an artist sketching them, so he makes plans to crush the artist's hands.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The problem with most of these biker flicks is that they tend to have padding to fill out the run time, there's not enough action or they're just too damn slow.  This one runs about 80 minutes but it still drags.  Even with Bruce Dern in menacing psycho mode (you can never get too much of that) a lot of scenes need to be tighter.  Some of the fist fights could use some tightening up, too.  A guy stands waiting for the punch and that takes you out of the picture because you know damn well that wouldn't happen in real life.  This isn't some fantasy picture.  I do loves me some Bruce Dern, especially when he's in bad guy mode.  He's tall, lean and he looks and sounds unhinged and unpredictable.  And how about that plot?  It's fucking hilarious.  I bet writer/director Brame thought it would be silly as shit and challenging if he could make a movie where a tough biker gang sets their sights on an artist who sketched their faces.  Oooooooh, big bad men going after soft artsy fartsy man.  The plot tickles the piss out of me.

While I'm thinking about it, would it have been that much harder to film on location instead of in a studio?  I get the logistics and ease of staying in a studio but the biker's garage would've been so much nicer if it were in an actual bike garage.  If you're going to get brutal and manly, don't make the manliest location in the film look like a school play set.  Just sayin'.  Bill, if you're reading this, drop me a line.  I'd love to talk to you about making this film.  It looks like it was a gas to be a part of.  The MGM DVD sports a great looking anamorphic widescreen print with the theatrical trailer also anamorphic wide.

Cross of Iron (1977)

Director: Sam Peckinpah

Writers: Julius J. Epstein, Walter Kelley, James Hamilton, Will Heinrich

Composer: Ernest Gold

Starring: James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner, Klaus Lowitsch, Vadim Glowna, Roger Fritz, Dieter Schidor, Senta Berger

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Power of Peckinpah Has Never Been So Real...Or So Brilliant!

Plot: A German commander places a squad in extreme danger after its Sergeant refuses to lie for him.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

"Don't rejoice in his defeat, you men.  For though the world stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again." -- Bertolt Brecht

Man, I love that quote.  Thus ends Sam Peckinpah's WWII opus.  I really dig this flick.  The cast is amazing.  It's nice seeing Mason in his role as an aging German soldier.  He's doing something different.  Then there's David Warner who's always fun to watch and I can't get enough of that guy.  James Coburn is a top tier manly actor and it was great casting to pit him against Maximilian Schell.  If you're familiar with Peckinpah movies you know that you're going to get manly men doing manly things.  He doesn't pull his punches and I'm so happy that he got the chance to make a WWII flick and not a run of the mill one at that.  You'd think, being Peckinpah, he'd crank out a pro war film but it's just the opposite.  War is hell and he knows it and wants to tell you all about it.  It's a great flick that satisfies all of your slow motion needs.