White Dog (1982)

Director: Samuel Fuller

Writers: Romain Gary, Samuel Fuller, Curtis Hanson

Composer: Ennio Morricone

Starring: Kristy McNichol, Paul Winfield, Burl Ives, Dick Miller, Parley Baer

More info: IMDb

Tagline: When man's best friend becomes his fiercest enemy...

Plot: A trainer attempts to retrain a vicious dog that's been raised to attack black people.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

It looks like this is the closest Fuller ever got to making a horror picture and that's a damn shame because this is very good.  This isn't just a drama as it's listed as on IMDb.  It's a solid thriller and horror with a lot of what you find in those genres, particularly the latter.  The story is interesting and it pulled me right in.  The performances are even better.  I can't say enough how much I miss Paul Winfield.  What a talent he was.  I dig everything about this picture.  They did a hell of a job with the dog.  I even found myself admiring the editing.  Ennio Morricone's score was beautifully atmospheric and set the scenes well and the ending was very satisfying.  I watch hundreds of movies a year and I'm always surprised to find so many that I've known about and have been meaning to see but somehow they escape me for years and years.  I'm glad I finally saw this one.  It surpassed my expectations.  

A Southern Yankee (1948)

Director: Edward Sedgwick

Writers: Melvin Frank, Buster Keaton, Norman Panama, Harry Tugend

Composers: David Snell, Robert Franklyn

Starring: Red Skelton, Brian Donlevy, Arlene Dahl, George Coulouris, Lloyd Gough, John Ireland, Minor Watson, Charles Dingle, Art Baker, Reed Hadley, Arthur Space, Joyce Compton

More info: IMDb

Tagline: See Red in a Union Suit with Southern Exposure!

Plot: A hapless bellboy in a St. Louis hotel near the end of the Civil War is recruited by the Union secret service to impersonate a notorious Confederate spy.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Probably.

This isn't as funny as it could be but when it is, it's hilarious.  One of the best bits is when Skelton is marching down the middle of the front line in between the opposing sides causing a cease fire.  He's carrying a flag but half of him is dressed as a Union soldier holding the Stars and Stripes and the other half (facing the Rebs) he's dressed as a Confederate soldier with the Rebel flag.  He's being cheered on by both sides until the wind changes direction and his ruse is exposed.   The performances by everyone are good.  I just wish there were more great gags and laughs.

Krvavá pani (1980)

AKA: The Bloody Lady

Director: Viktor Kubal

Writer: Viktor Kubal

Composer: Juraj Lexmann

Starring: Jela Lukesova

More info: IMDb

Plot:  This is the fairy tale / horror account of noblewoman Elizabeth Bathory, a notorious murderer of hundreds of young women in Hungary from 1585 to 1609 to bath in their blood in an effort to retain her youth.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Boy, oh, boy did this sound good.  An animated Czechoslovakian film about the 16th Century murderess Elizabeth Bathory?  Where do I sign up?  Now that I've seen it, I'm much less enthusiastic.  It's not a bad film but perhaps my self-inflated hopes were too high.  The music is often cartoonish to the point that it hinders the film.  When things get grisly the music improves with a more horror-themed score but it doesn't save the film.  Except for the brief narration in the beginning that quickly explains who Bathory was, that's all the dialogue you get.  The animation and storytelling feels more like a fairy tale with a horror element.  The horror is what interested me most about this and that's the best part.  The movie is only 71 minutes long and it takes a good twenty minutes in before you get any sense of the film going to a dark place.  Then it's a while before any blood stuff starts pouring in.  It's an interesting watch with some nice moments of horror but it's not the horror film I was looking for.  And I don't mean that I wanted something completely different filled with blood and horror but I finished the picture imagining a few different ways the film as a whole could've gone that would've satisfied my appetite.

The Sign of the Cross (1932)

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

Writers: Waldemar Young, Sidney Buchman, Wilson Barrett, Henryk Sienkiewicz

Composers: Jay Chernis, Rudolph G. Kopp, Paul Marquardt, Milan Roder

Starring: Frederic March, Elissa Landi, Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Ian Keith, Arthur Hohl, Harry Beresford, Charles Middleton, John Carradine

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  A picture which will proudly lead all the entertainments the world has ever seen

Plot:  A Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

This Sword & Sandal picture has some amazing things in it but the acting is half and half.  The Christians act like they're in a trans.  They're either WAY too noble in their speech and posture or they act like they're hopped up on grass, looking up and off in the distance as they drift away into melodrama.  Everyone else, especially the sinners, are acting more like normal people and they're the ones that I enjoyed watching.  It's kind of what you see in most biblical epics except this flick shows a greater range.   That aside, smokin' hot Claudette Colbert takes a bath...

And that's not all!  There's a great gladiator fight in the final act that precedes the Christians being fed to vicious animals.

The religious bits pale in interest to everything else.  Despite that, it's still a good movie with a lot going for it and it's well worth a look.  The Universal DVD sports a good looking print and there are no extras.

Fascination (1979)

Director: Jean Rollin

Writer: Jean Rollin

Composer: Philippe D'Aram

Starring: Franca Mai, Brigitte Lahale, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Fanny Magier, Muriel Montosse, Sophie Noel, Evelyne Thomas, Agnes Bert, Cyril Val, Myriam Watteau, Joe de Palmer, Jacques Sansoul, Jacques Marbeuf

More info: IMDb

Plot: This erotic horror film, set in 1905, tells the story of a thief who seeks refuge in a castle owned by two women, Eva (Lahaie) and Elisabeth (Mai) who have different plans for him and he's all too willing until it's too late.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I've seen a few of Jean Rollin's films and if there's one thing he likes, it's naked women.  His career focus for a while was making erotic horror films.  Most of what I've seen isn't that good but I did like THE SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRE (1971) and this one but they're both very different films with different vibes.  There's one that I'm really looking forward to based on Rollin's work and the title, THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970).  Rollin's films have an arthouse vibe. 

The pacing is leisurely, if not downright slow), the women are beautiful and sensual and they look fantastic in that erotic, European 70s way.  All of that applies here except this doesn't drag.  I was hooked from the first few minutes.  I did tag this with 'gratuitous nudity' but the nudity isn't there just to be there.  Rollin paints with an erotic brush so the abundance of nudity serves that aesthetic. 

I'm not going to ruin any surprises but I was really taken aback at Rollin's refreshing look at vampires.  And that's just one of many reasons why I dug this flick.  I'd rather watch it again than talk too much about it.  If you know this man's work and like it (or want to like it) then this is a must watch.  For everyone else, Give it a shot but sit back and relax with a glass of wine because you just might find yourself taken in by the lure of Rollin's storytelling and the lure of Elisabeth and Eva. 

The Young Racers (1963)

Director: Roger Corman

Writer: R. Wright Campbell

Composer: Les Baxter

Starring: Mark Damon, William Campbell, Luana Anders, Patrick Magee, John McLaren, R. Wright Campbell, Milo Quesada, Anthony Marsh, Marie Versini, Margrete Robsahm, Christina Gregg, Beatrice Altariba, Jimmy Clark, Francis Ford Coppola, Bruce McLaren

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Actually Filmed at the Grand Prix Tracks of the World

Plot: A former race-car driver-turned-writer decides to expose a ruthless, womanizing Grand Prix race driver in a book. However, his scheme explodes when his life is saved by this man, who is actually sensitive and misunderstood.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

It was really wild because soon after Mark Damon opens his mouth he sounds just like William Shatner and it was killing me for the rest of the picture.  Then I read that it was Shatner who dubbed Damon.  Had Shatner been in the role it would've been a little better.  As it is, it's a pretty good movie.  The European location shooting elevates this above and beyond Corman's usual work.  In fact, this doesn't even feel like a Corman picture.  The acting is good, like in his best films.  It's heavy on the drama but then those scenes are broken up frequently with race action (which is well done) and the European scenery.  It's worth checking out for a few reasons but definitely for Corman fans looking to see something of his that's not horror. The MGM DVD delivers a great looking print but it's non-anamorphic widescreen and there are no extras.

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.