Sharks of the Corn Review

The horror genre has a lot of different angles that can be utilized to scar audiences. In recent years, a lot of comedy has come through and while it is meant to be in the horror genre, it just fails to scare. That’s not the intent, as many directors and writers are looking to turn the genre into a comedic affair, which can work at times (IE Scary Movie), but can lackluster in others. With “Sharks of the Corn”, we get one of the coolest posters that I’ve seen in a long time, and something that really seemed promising going into it with no other vision but the poster. 

Once you start the movie, you realize that you are in straight to vhs territory. Not even dvd, mind you, as the quality of the film is not HD at all, and really feels like it was amateur at times. I brushed that all aside and pushed through and what we got was an intentionally bad, comedy horror movie. The movie’s plot surrounds a few things, including a serial killer that is taking out his victims with shark teeth, and of course sharks in a corn field taking out anyone and anything that comes near it. The movie shuffles a little, and even has an alien invasion twist to it, shoehorned straight into the middle of the movie. 

“Sharks of the Corn” has an interesting premise to me, I liked the idea, I didn’t like the presentation however, but once I started this thing, I was all in, and kept watching to the end. It isn’t going to win awards, and most people may not want to sit through it all, but it’s schlock and decent in my opinion. In fact, it’s one of the best worst movies I’ve seen in a while, and I tip my hat to the filmmakers for throwing themselves into the mix and making a movie, with limited budget, and yet still comes out with some stellar moments. Heck a shark attacks a helicopter at one point! Grab a beer, get some pizza, and watch the mess of a movie, it’s exactly what you would expect, or worse. I laughed, so there’s that. 

Angel Review

Angel (1984) Poster

I was first exposed to the movie "Angel" when I saw the poster at a video store in Inglewood, California. I was a kid, but the poster looked like a porno movie, and I always had a fascination with porno posters. This movie came out in 1984, and it is an exploitation movie, that has a tinge of horror, but mostly it's a thriller with notes of sexploitation. This is a grindhouse picture that would play in theaters alongside other B-movies, but it has some good moments. The movie was directed by Robert O'Neill, and stars Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn, and Donna Wilkes.

The plot of this movie features an underage girl who is just an average prep school teenager by day, but at night, she becomes a hooker. She walks the streets with her friends, and they are all part of the sex trade, or performing on Hollywood Blvd. After you are introduced to both sides of her world, you start to meet her friends, and they are all performers, or prostitutes. Once the introductions are done, a serial killer strikes, killing prostitutes in brutal fashion. A rogue detective comes on board and talks to the ladies and men of the night and tells them to work in pairs and to keep an eye out, and that he's not going to bust them, he wants to get the killer. Well, the movie progresses and we see the killer stalking Angel and her friends, even her transgender friend, and things get way out of hand. When Angel has enough, she gets found out, her life starts crashing down, and she gets even, with a revolve and street justice.

This is the same kind of movie that you would expect from Charles Bronson and others at Cannon. It's a good movie, in the sense that it has the tropes of a grindhouse movie, with bad acting, illicit elements of sex, and of course vigilante justice. That alone makes this movie one of the many standouts that you'll get to see when it comes to the world of cinema. It's the start of a 4 movie picture series, and it features the same premise nearly every time, with a woman that is working the streets by night, but by day is a normal school girl.

I'm not sure if this is a true to life tail, but it has a bit of sex, violence, and mostly drawn out dramatic moments. It's nonsensical at times, that's for sure. There's a bit of film grit to the movie, and at times I think it's similar to a porno movie that would star Ginger Lynn from the same time frame. In fact, some of the sets even looked like one of her movies that I reviewed online before.

"Angel" is a movie that walks the line between sexploitation and horror. It's not quite horror, it's more exploitation and grindhouse than anything else. It's a stellar ride, and it's something that many people will enjoy, but it's definitely not purely horror. It's a sign of the times, and something that wouldn't get made today. I love the plot, the killing fields, and the idea of the main character being a prostitute trying to make ends meet. She makes the choice, she's not being exploited.

You can order Angel from 1984 by clicking here, and getting the trilogy in one box set. Or you can order below:

WolfCop Review

WolfCop is available HERE

I love cult and horror, you know this. 800 plus reviews thus far has proved it. Well, last night while everyone in my house was asleep, I decided to slip in an action horror movie known simply as “Wolf Cop”. I had heard of this before, and I want to say that I saw it advertised at art theaters near me, but I never went to see it. This movie’s premise reminded me of an idea that I had about writing a novel with this notion of a half man, half wolf cop. Then again, maybe I dreamed this movie? I don’t know. Either way, “WolfCop” lives up to a lot of hype, even if the running time is way under the average movie. It’s only around 88 minutes total, but they do a lot more in this than many other horror movies. With that in mind, consider these thoughts on “WolfCop”.

The Transformation

The transformation in “WolfCop” is the most graphic I’ve seen. I say that because it starts with a penis shot transformation and it’s really graphic. In fact, I would not let a younger viewer watch this, it’s that graphic. It may be a few moments, but it’s enough to make you feel very uncomfortable. Heck, I had to look down to see if my junk was going to explode into a wolf penis. Other than that, the transformation is definitely great, fast, and it looked painful to boot. The practical effects and overall cinematography was great to watch, and I loved that aspect.

The story is a bit fast, convoluted, but I can dig it. A drunken cop gets thrown into a serious mess when a coven turns him into a werewolf. This all goes fast, but while he’s transforming, there’s someone close to him that is set to help him thwart off the danger of the coven, that just wants to drink his blood. Our anti-hero must defend himself and try to turn back to human before he is stuck as a wolf forever.

A Fast Paced Visual Feast

There’s enough cult movie references, and status to make “WolfCop” a good watch. It’s fast paced, doesn’t let up, and features a great deal of gore and practical effects. The story is simple, and the ending is quite enjoyable. I liked how it all panned out, and especially give credit to the director of photography for pulling out some great shots in this one. You really get a mix of grindhouse cinema and modern horror mixed with that 1980s cliché visual design palette.

Peter La Rocque’s visuals mixed with Mark Montague’s editing make this a great overall feature in my book. Lowell Dean writes and directs a classic in my book, with a great poster to boot. It’s definitely a quality horror movie that mixes action and 1980s cop influences. This is my third favorite werewolf movie of all time now, and that’s saying a lot. This is a classic folks.

Pick up “WolfCop” by clicking here, and see what all the hype is about.

Tusk Review

Kevin Smith made one of my favorite movies. When “Clerks” came out, I was 11. I didn’t know that just a few years later I would fall in love with being a video store clerk. To this day, I wish I was jocking a counter instead of being an idiot. I loved every minute of it. However, today, is not about the past, it’s about the future, or rather present, or something. Today I will be trying to make sense of a movie that my wife decided to nearly throw a shoe at. “Tusk” is a movie that will divide your senses as you perceive it as a dark comedy, or a horror movie. Whatever the case is, this is one hell of a narrative.

The setup is simple. An abusive, idiot of a douche played by Justin Long is on his way to interview an internet sensation. He has a podcast that talks about weird people, and things. He ventures to Canada where he finds himself at a loss. The interviewee dies and he’s left without someone to interview. Told through flashbacks, however, is his life with his girlfriend and friend. It turns out he’s not such a good guy and you start thinking that he deserves whatever is coming to him. What he ends up moving forward with will have you creeped out, especially after you realize that this concept is based on a story that Kevin Smith came up with after reading Craigslist ads.

The movie moves towards horror in the mid-section. Our interviewer meets an eccentric old man who literally turns the guy into a walrus. That’s right, gore and all the dude turns his victims into walruses, and that sparks his friends to come search for him. Well, that leads to a midpoint of boredom. Johnny Depp shows up as a detective, although his story takes too much time to explain, and nearly forced me to sleep.

All in all, “Tusk” is a horror movie with comedy elements. There are some sick moments, some absolute twisted elements. However, there are also comedic disjointed positions. Overall, it’s a movie that fills the time with “what if”, and then launches you into a “Twilight Zone” level production. The end result is one of my favorites, seeing as this movie appears to be more related to a grindhouse film than anything else. It’s slick, it’s done well, it lags a bit here and there, but in the end, you go full Walrus. I loved it. I recommend “Tusk” as an oddity of horror and comedy. I think Troma should’ve done this one, but that’s just me. Smith does well here, and it shows. Check it out on blu ray today.

Death Race 3 Inferno Review

I ate the worst burrito in the world today, and then fell asleep. When I woke up, I had a headache and one thing on my mind, Death Race 3. This movie is the third of the sequels that came through with the remake featuring Jason Statham, only this is straight to video and stars Danny Trejo, and Luke Goss. This time around the formula is similar, but has been thrown into a washing machine, because you’re going to find it to either be very boring, or quite fascinating towards the end. I found it tedious to start, but then things really took a turn for the better, and this started to make a lot more sense.

The movie centers on Luke and his pit crew getting sent to South Africa to start racing for a new prison warden. The warden is taking things international, and he’s throwing out the old policy of freedom after winning 5 times. Frankenstein is on the verge of winning big, but now he’s stuck trying to fight back and he’s not going to get any leverage. Meanwhile, he reveals to his crew that the person under the mask is none other than Carl Lucas aka Luke. The gang hates him, but oh well, he then reveals the real reason they are there.

As you expected, there is some racing here. However, the Ford Mustang is gone. Goodbye mustang and hello some dune boogie piece of crap. The rest of the cars are all retrofitted for the sands and dunes of this desert prison area. I don’t like it, but then again, it works for what it is. As the movie progresses, the teams race and things go in order as you would expect. There are minor details here and there that makes this more of a combat movie, then things explode into a frenzy towards the end of the film.

In the third act you start to realize that Frankenstein is not going to win, he has other plans. With a stroke of genius, or perhaps luck, this whole things blows up in the favor of Frankenstein when he and his crew escape the prison with the help of an insider and a new guy changes places with him. This is very much like the first movie, and it goes in line with the notion that the monster can be replaced by any idiot. As you start to wonder why this is all going down the way it is, you’re given the full reveal. The movie bounces back to where Lucas was giving away his “truth” and you realize this was the plan all along.

Death Race 3 Inferno is not a great movie. However, if you’ve invested in the first two, you might as well finish this one. I found it to be slow at first, but there’s enough action and a good fourth act to really get into it. I actually didn’t hate it that much, and that’s saying a lot. Tanit Phoenix is hot, and waiting for a nip slip is about as crazy as you’re going to get here. I liked the grindhouse style, and I do appreciate the continuity, but overall, this is not as good as the first, and that’s not exactly “Citizen Kane” or anything. Overall, if you’re going to get this, get it as part of the Death Race Trilogy or don’t watch it. Then again, buy something, I need the money, and you need to add another dvd to your collection, so how about it?

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Death Race 2 Review

I remember when I first saw the remake of Death Race. I was living in Seattle and was at a mall. While walking through the mall, I noticed that a jean company was giving away movie tickets for trying on pants. I was curious, so I went in and tried on a pair of pants and afterwards was given a certificate to use for the movies. Since nothing was really out, I decided to look into Death Race, the remake, and was surprised with the film itself.

Fast forward 5 years or so and I finally sit down to check out this movie. While it’s not a horror film, and it’s not meant to be, there are some nice moments that remind me of grindhouse cinema, especially the way the gore gets ramped up towards the mid-point and end of this movie. Death Race 2 is a prequel to the Death Race series and goes into looking into “Frankenstein” the mythical driver. While I appreciated the original, and liked the remake a bit, this is one that really grew on me. I didn’t like it at first, and really thought it suffered from horrendous plotting, and terrible acting. However, Luke Goss sold me on it towards the middle of the film and Ving Rhames definitely adds some character. The movie has some sick driving at first too, and I’m a huge fan of the Cobra Mustang, so seeing that run through the action was good.

The preliminary set up for this movie is that criminals are fighting to the death via pay per view or internet streaming. That goes so far and eventually the whole thing is turned into a race to the death around Terminal Island. It’s within that realm that Luke gets burned alive and creates the template for Frankenstein!

Overall this movie is not great. However, there are some really good elements in it, and I couldn’t stop staring at Lauren Cohen’s cleavage. Wow! I’m just saying, what an amazing, never mind. The movie flows through the same elements you would expect from the previous incarnation, and you get some nice driving sequences. However, you’ll have to turn your brain off for this one, there are loopholes everywhere and it’s completely unbelievable at times.

Death Race 2 has some nice driving, some good action, and it sits well with me. Danny Trejo’s involvement sold it for me. With all that in mind, you’ll want to check this one out as a way to unwind and really not think about anything important. It has an ok soundtrack, some good driving sequences with the Mustang, and Laruen Cohen’s cleavage. Solid release, and a start to something more compelling, I’m sure. Rent it, buy it, do something.

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Top 5 Japanese Monster Movies of All Time

Japanese monster movies have a life of their own. They are not just one sided, and they are not just based on Godzilla. Some are laughable, some are grand but no matter how you want to label them, you’ll find that the influence they have made on Hollywood is extraordinary. You may find that even today, the thrill of the mega monster movie is alive and well, and that’s not just because Godzilla just pulled $93 million at the box office over the weekend. Compiling this list was not easy, but hey, someone’s got to do it right? It’s with that in mind that I present to you the top 5 Japanese Monster Movies of all time! You can purchase these by visiting Amazon HERE, otherwise miss out on the biggest and the best.

King Kong Escapes (1967)

Dr. Who has created a mechanized monster that looks exactly like King Kong and is looking for Element X. It is found deep in the caverns of the North Pole, and fails due to the cold. At that point the mad scientist goes to Mondo Island to capture the beast known as Kong. The plot thickens and it’s like a poorly constructed version of the 1933 movie, only with robotic Kong as the villain and the Tokyo Tower playing as the backdrop for an epic battle. This one had me laughing, and I love the parody, even if it wasn’t intentional. This was just cool, I don’t know what else to say about it, and even the poster is cool. Watching Kong take on a metal counterfeit is pretty cool, and this one has a lot more appeal than just the poster, so watch out for it. I should've positioned it higher on my list, now that I think about it.

Matango (1963)

I saw this when I was a kid, thanks in large part to VHS and it’s awesome. A shipwreck lands a group of people on a far off island, and there they find wild mushrooms, but that’s not all, they discover Mushroom People! This iconic horror film is more comedic in nature, and on par with “Plan 9 From Outer Space”. There are some bleak tones, and themes that are beyond the imagination of average horror and fantasy movies. The weird science fiction elements play well with the mad scientist idea that comes at the beginning. This may not be the pinnacle of monster movies, nor is it going to sit well with many, but I think it’s a fine monster flick from Japan.

Goke (1968)

Goke is also known as Body Snatcher From Hell and other titles in the United States. The movie features a mix of vampire lore, and monster movie moments. Some people compare the movie to “Lost” but I find it more on par with a vampiristic type of horror movie. The survivors here face a fate worse than death, as they must fight to live amidst what very well maybe the best vampires coming out of Japan. There’s a lot of little things that make this one a classic, more than I can really talk about in a quick blurb here. Over time it has become one of the cult classics that has seen numerous releases, and lots of praise from more fans than just my pesky list.

Gamera 3 (1999)

I was in high school when I got a bootleg copy of this movie and it’s one fine monster movie. Gamera returns from the edges of lackluster film, and brings about one of the best comebacks ever. So much so that the critics and most fan boys agree that the special effects and story found in this one is top notch. Some critics even noted that the movie plays on an “X-Files” note, and it really does do more for the genre than most other movies that mimicked the success of Godzilla and the original Gamera. Some people don’t like this monster, but I’ve always liked the notion, perhaps it’s because I like turtles. Gamera is badass in this movie, just simply badass!


Godzilla (1954)

The mother of them all, right? Godzilla’s initial movie came out in 1954 and sparked incredible interest from all over the world. The movie presents a lot of science fiction tones, and can be seen as funny at times, but it’s quite the accomplishment for movie making. The plot involves a giant monster that ravages Tokyo with heavy devastation not unlike World War II. The special effects were top notch, the critical reception was grand, and it has changed the face of the monster movie in a lot of ways. Sure, King Kong from the 30s was grand, but compared to the rampage that Godzilla brings out, Kong is outmatched. This is the #1 monster movie from Japan, hands down.

There you have it, 5 of the best monster movies that have come out of Japan ever. If you are going to go back and see these iconic pieces of cinema, please purchase the dvd or stream them from Amazon here. It will help me get this site more reviews and possibly get a prize for you 3 or so readers still interested in what I do here.

Grizzly Review

One of my favorite shirts from Rotten Cotton is their iconic silk screen of this movie’s poster. Grizzly was released in 1976 and another entry in the PG era, which is insanity. I can’t believe these were horror movie releases with such tame ratings, and yet today, we can’t come up with a good movie that is in the same genre with the same kind of iconic punch. Whatever the case is, this is not an epic, it’s not going to win awards and most people will find this to be just like the reviewers stated in the past, “Jaws” on the land. Yeah, that is a fitting tribute, but it’s a bit worse than the mighty shark film, even if LJN didn’t make a video game after this one.

The movie follows a group of campers that are just chilling and not dealing with any of your normal traps. Even though the opening showcases a good bear attack, it won’t haunt your dreams, that’s for sure. As campers are killed, you have a chief ranger that is set on closing things down and trying to set up a party that will take out the 18 foot beast. Of course, no story would be good without a good sense of danger, scares, and jump scenes, right? Well you get it all in this schlock fest of a film from the 1970s.

The story components are all the same that you would expect from a giant monster film, and nothing is really done that well here. Sure, there are some strong story elements, but in the full frame of things you are going to get a lot of slow down and ramp up for a bear that is laughable at best. Sure, it’s better than some of the ones that I’ve seen in recent years even though some were passable.

Perhaps the best thing about Grizzly is that it’s not a man in a bear suit, it’s a real bear. Yes, a real bear is used through the film and it’s not half bad. Mix a serial killer movie, with nature and you may start to see this one develop before your very eyes. The whole natural killing elements, camp sequences, and screaming will definitely have you smiling, but it’s far from “classic”.

Grizzly does have some good scenes, and the filmmakers didn’t completely botch this one. I don’t hate it, but I feel that it hasn’t stood the test of time. It’s definitely something to put on during your Halloween season of watching horror films, but repeated viewings? Well, only diehards will want to get Grizzly and watch it over and over. Not me, but I’m not really a measuring stick.



Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.