Vegas Vampires Review

Well, we're in a new month, and I am starting fresh. Well, nothing too fresh, just back to basics, horror movie reviews. This time around we're looking at a modern blaxploitation film called Vegas Vampires. This film was directed by long time blaxploitation star Fred Williamson, and stars my favorite bad guy from yesteryear, Debo (Tom "Tiny" Lister). Vegas Vampires isn't going to win any major awards, and it really isn't all that scary, but it has a good amount of cheer to gore ratio, that will make you at least look up for a second. So to start this month, I'm reviewing the film Vegas Vampires!

Here is a trailer for the film Vegas Vampires:



The movie starts out with a couple of cops looking into a regular phone call. Things get out of hand and they immediately realize that they are fighting the macabre. This is where we see how low the budget is. We visibly see smoke machines, the guns are not police issue, and the vampire floats on what seems like strings. The computer graphics are awful, beyond amateur. Seriously, the computer graphics shouldn't even be called that.

The acting is terrible. The acting is immediately, flawed, and while these actors have been in other films, they are just not trying very hard. The film progresses in slow fashion with other story lines. The most memorable one starts Williamson, he and a partner are simply going to Vegas to blow off steam. They arrive and witness some vampires, so in classic blaxploitation film, they fight! This is where the BEST part of Vegas Vampires occurs. Williamson and his partner (another vet in Blaxploitation) fight these vampires bare knuckled and at one point Williamson kicks a vampires head off! I kid you not, he actually kicks the head off a vampire! This sole act of violence and gore is the GREATEST part of this film.

The rest of the film is really poorly constructed. The two police officers still pursue the head vampire, but it's a slow moving process. The movie really derailed in the third act when a vampire hunter shows up and plays both the supernatural and physical realm. She flirts with our main character, later even agreeing to going on a date, but also says she's from a fourth dimension of sorts and that she fights the undead.

Vegas Vampires is quite possibly one of the worst horror movies I've seen in a long time. The production is terrible, the music is worse, and it seemed like it was a made for tv movie for none other than BET or something along those lines. The greatest thing about this film is not so much the subject matter of horror, but more so the fact that this is a great example of modern day Blaxploitation film. Blaxploitation is a genre I love, and this is a good nostalgia piece of nothing more, it's nice to see Williamson is staying true to his film roots, but wow, it's just not the same. Vegas Vampires is NOT for everyone, but I think it's worth a look if you're a fan of the genre. It's not a scary film, but it's horror for sure, I liked it, just not THAT much.

Black Cobra Review

Well here I am, back again, your favorite Mexican with a pad and pen…or rather a laptop and some clove cigarettes. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been swamped with writing assignments and haven’t had much luck in the way of watching the latest and greatest in film. That’s all changing though, with the next couple of films in the can ready to update. Here is the first of two reviews that I recently got to throw up in. Join me today in the reviewing or whatever you’d like to call it of Black Cobra.

Black Cobra is a rip off of the 1980’s Stallone film “Cobra” and some might say that it’s far better. Fred Williamson plays a rogue cop that is hired to protect a young lady from a vicious motorcycle gang, and is caught up in some dangerous liaisons. As he moves forward with trying to protect her, the gang gets closer and closer, leaving him no choice but to start exacting a fierce revenge.

Williamson is ok; his acting is about the best you can get in this Blaxploitation film from the 1980’s. The plot moves forward fast, he fights hard, and has big guns amidst a gang who continually shoots him with automatic weaponry. By the time you get to the nitty gritty of the action, you realize that this film is over.

The gang is hilarious, it’s like a Vanilla Ice type of street gang from his film, and Fred Williamson is way too large of a character actor for the role he’s playing. He seems to be sly and nearly gets the white woman at one point, but it doesn’t matter. The movie is gets tiresome by act 2, and you really just want it to end. Pegged as a martial arts film, this is far from anything to do with kung fu or karate, unless you count Williamson’s punches and kicks.

The sound quality is low, the picture quality is even worse, but then again, this is Blaxploitation cinema at its best. While this is not a scary film, it does have some harsh fights and some sick pieces of violence that has to be mentioned. At one point a dude gets shot in the back in front of his girlfriend that is about to get raped, and in another scene Williamson battles his way through a parking lot of foes with one automatic hand gun and his guts.

Creating the Black Super Hero is hard for anyone, but in this film, I saw glimpses of all the archetype heroes from the 1980’s. While this film is not going to be a top 10, and it is not overtly horror, I found it should be reviewed here because it fits into the Blaxploitation and Exploitation era of film that I love and you scary film review fans love too. I don’t recommend repeated viewings of this one, but if you see it once, you’ll at least think it’s not half bad. I liked a few elements of it, I admit it, it is just not one of my favorites, that’s all.

The Top 5 Urban Horror Movies

One of the major categories that I appreciate in horror is blaxploitation, and while some people say that has passed us by, I say it is alive and well. I recently was given a copy of "Black Santa's Revenge" and that my friends is living proof that the Urban Horror market is alive and well.

I'm not black, but I have African American (black) friends and they love horror movies with "brothers and sisters" cast in leading roles. I for one am hoping that people do Mexploitation films because I feel like my people aren't represented well in horror,but I digress.

Here are the Scary Film Blog's top 5 Urban Horror Movies:



5. Blacula - While I haven't done a full review of this one, it's a favorite of mine none the less. This 1972 film is a shining example of taking a good horror formula and making it for an African American audience. I loved it, and I love the sequel, it's a shining example of Urban Horror in an era that would allow you to say a lot more in film, not necessarily show more. There are some lines in this vampire tale that you can't get away with today, because film makers are far more "pc" than I'd like them to be.



4. The People Under the Stairs - This 1991 film really made some great box office hysteria when it came out. I happened to remember fondly going to the movie theater and waiting in line, hearing my friends say stuff like, "I can't wait to see The People Up Under Them Stairs" as if that was the title of the movie. Sure, it's a Wes Craven film but Ving Rhames takes center stage when he has to fight flesh-eaters from beyond! Or if not beyond, under them stairs!



3. Bones - I have no idea how anyone would think that Snoop Dogg is a great actor, but he somehow made his way into a great urban horror movie with this better than expected piece of work. Bones is a 70's gangster movie trapped in a horror package and despite some terrible lines and stupid decisions by the characters in the film, there is a great deal of finesse and care taken to bring you a new scary piece of urban horror. If you haven't seen this one, watch out for Pam Grier, she's still hot.



2. Def by Temptation - I recently reviewed this one, and despite not being a great film, it has a lot of key moments that made me rethink the whole urban horror tag. Samuel L. Jackson is in it, which is one major reason to see it, but there is enough scary points to make you question your own reality. If ever there was a reason why young men should stay away from hot women, it's this one, man, I'm scared of any bar where hot chicks are hanging out. Then again, I'm scared of bars anyways, because I'm a nerd and a horror geek with a crazy imagination.



1. Tales From The Hood - The best of the genre, is not even a new film. This anthology horror film is one of my favorite horror films of all time. It features several stories that will scare you to death. Of course my favorite is the abusive father story as it is something that I had to go through in my life, well stepfather, but still, this movie packs a serious punch and it is worth checking out. If you haven't seen it, you're just missing out on a tremendous opportunity to see some great, slick Urban horror.

There you have it folks, my top 5 Urban horror films. Of course, I've seen far more blaxploitation than the average person, and while there are a lot of films that I could've shoe horned in here, I decided to go with these 5. Obviously, we can argue what is better and what is worse, but since no one really reads this site and comments enough, I'll have to take my list and run with it, until someone comes up with more movies.

NO, Ax'Em is not going to grace my lists, unless I do a "worst" horror movie list. But even Ax'Em with all the terrible things I've seen with it, isn't the worst film ever made...and NO Troll2 isn't the worst either...trust me, you don't want to see what I've seen...because I've seen the worst, worst than you can ever hope to imagine. Maybe I'll do a list later...just not now, I'm going to go and play scrabble (aka words with friends) by myself, because i have no friends.

Top 5 Dracula Movies

There are a lot of genres in horror that have been done to death, and one of those genres is vampirism. There are so many vampire movies, that it’s hard to throw a rock in the horror section of any (if they are still open) video store and not hit a vampire movie. It’s hard to say which of the many films are the best, especially since there are so many good ones out there, but alas, I thought about the granddaddy of them all, Dracula. I wanted to compile a list, and here goes a list that will spark a few arguments here and there. Here are my picks for the top 5 Dracula films of all time.



5. Nosferatu – This film follows the original Bram Stoker novel quite closely. The silent film is a visual feast, and the sound is not bad either. This German expressionist film is still one of the best ever. The shadow, lighting, and overall themes were horrific for the time, but now, they seem very tame. This 1922 film should be an instant classic for anyone that hasn’t seen it this day.



4. Horror of Dracula – This 1958 film from Hammer really took over the genre for many. While the sequels are terrible, with the exception of Dracula 1972 A.D. this genre really took an interest turn. Hammer’s studio lent a good place to recreate the story into a new world. The sets are gothic and cool; the blood is rad, and all natural breasts? Oh yes, you got to give some love to this old school classic. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee unite to make Dracula and Van Helsing worth checking out for years to come. Hammer might not get as much love from everywhere, but I give it love whenever I can.



3. Blacula – This 1973 Blaxploitation film is one of my favorites. It showcases that Count Dracula is really an asshole, as the whole point of this film revolves around his decision. An African Prince asks Dracula to stop the slave trade, and instead of helping, the Count turns our Black Prince into a vampire and locks him up. Fast forward to the 1970’s and we see an all new world, and our Prince now he’s got to get his love back and feed on blood. While this is not strictly a Dracula film, it is worth noting as my #3 because of his direct involvement in the first plot point of this movie. Plus, I couldn’t resist adding a Blaxploitation film in here.



2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Whether you loved it or hated it, this early 90’s film is a complete visual feast. The film might not have the best cast, but you still get some stellar performances, and you get to see a sort of “love” story unfold, where there might not have been one intended by Stoker. The colors are so vivid here, and the book really comes alive in a modern way, even if it takes full notes from the setting of the book. If you haven’t read the book, read it, then watch this film, they are somewhat close, if only by visualization of the images, which are lavishly presented for viewers to see.



1. Dracula – During the 1931 filming of the Universal classic, a Spanish Language version of the film was being made by George Melford, and it was better than the American version. Many people will disagree, but once you sit down and watch it, you’ll understand that this classic is quite good, even though it deviates from the source material a little bit. The difference here is noticeable with better lighting, more movement of the camera, and a richer cast in many ways. This version should be the one shown more often, but alas, Lugosi is a great vampire, so it’s hard to pick this one ahead of the other.

Frankenhood Review

This latest piece of modern day blaxploitation film is interesting to say the least. The preview makes it seem like it's a modern day take on Frankenstein, but it really dumps out more comedy than anything truly scary. Unless your idea of fear is losing a 3 on 3 basketball tournament.

Frankenhood stars Charlie Murphy, and a bunch of guys that you probably saw in Leprauchan Back to the Hood or Leprechaun in the Hood. The movie looks well enough, the colors are nice, but the plot...wow...it is far from truly terrifying.

Here is a trailer for the 2009 film Frankenhood:



The movie starts really creepy, inside a morgue with lots of test tubes. The colors are reminiscent of ReAnimator, a lot of florescent green and reds. It really is somewhat creepy, and then we meet our two main characters. Two morgue workers fixing a light bulb run into Charlie Murphy who plays Franklin. Franklin is a scientist? It's never really clear what he does there at the morgue, but he is there.

The movie progresses and we get into the Frankenstein storyline, and it's not very good at all. It's worse than Black Frankenstein was in the 70's, it's almost as good/bad as the MADTV sketch Blackenstein and Black Dracula.

Seen here:



The movie never gets creepy. The two friends, in a freak accident, become friends with Frankie, the monster. They then proceed to train and play basketball and enter a 3 on 3 basketball competition. It's hilarious to say the least.

I hate to spoil it for you, but they win.

What? No protagonist?

Well, if you must know, there is a rival basketball team that tries to figure out who in the world Frankie is, and when they figure out he's dead they simply do nothing. Yep, they really don't do much. The crux of the film is lame one liners and simpleton humor mixed with a basketball plot line. Sure it's Blaxploitation but they aren't even trying anymore.

The movie really is terrible, but it looks good. The straight to dvd cinematography isn't really there, and really looks good at times. There is some film grain, and attempts to master the colors which is nice, but the acting is terrible the plot is unbelievable and the story isn't really a Frankenstein story! It just breaks all the rules. Then again, watching Frankenstein play basketball isn't half bad.

Frankenhood looked scary...but ended up being just another bad attempt at comedy. It has a few one liners, but it's no Friday After Next. Watch at your own risk; the scariest part of Frankenhood is that there are people out there green lighting these things.



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.

REWIND: Snuff Documentary Review

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Full Eclipse Review

Today we have a special movie review. While I was under the impression that this film was a blaxploitation film, but turns out it wasn't such. This 1993 film is not exactly the first thing you hear about in the cannon of Mario Van Peebles. However, it's an interesting movie that takes a look at a genre of film that is dominated by bigger budgets, that genre of course is werewolves. The movie I'm going to try and review for you guys today is the 1993 film Full Eclipse.

Full Eclipse is a movie about a group of werewolves who have infiltrated the local police infrastructure, becoming an elite unit of vigilante crime fighters. When our main character resists joining the elite group, he's dragged into it, only to want to fight out tooth and nail.

The movie starts with two detectives responding to a call in a night club. Together they unload shot after shot and one of them nearly dies. As the movie progresses we see a sinister plot unfold and someone gives a serum to the fallen. We learn that the serum wasn't poison, at least not in the traditional sense, it's werewolf serum and we get into the action portion of this film. The former slain victim is now super human and we see a poorly choreographed chase scene to illustrate the fact.

As the movie progresses our main hero is wrangled into an elite group of werewolf warriors, but he doesn't want in. After finding out more about these hero's things go awry and he fights them, and that only progresses after about 90 minutes of set up, creating a boring film.

Seriously, this movie took a major turn after the first twenty minutes. The first twenty minutes of this film has a lot of action, and at times you really think you're watching a Batman film or something because this thing is tedious in its initial set up and action packed for apparently no reason. As the movie progresses though, it starts to slow down, then really slows down, eventually it slows down to a crawl and you start to compare this film to Scifi original tv films. I started to give up on the film, and then the last ten or so minutes really sewed it up.

At the full eclipse of the moon the main werewolf transforms into a monster. The transformation is instant, and you can completely tell that there is a man inside a werewolf suit. The characters fight it out for a good four or five minutes, and it's interesting to see how this turns out.

The computer graphics are terrible. The story is full of plot holes and really terrible acting. The make up and effects on the werewolves themselves are mediocre. The wolves don't even have legitimate claws, they come out of their fists like Wolverine! The film is terrible, it's not scary and really insults your intelligence.

However, that's the type of film that I enjoy sometimes. Sure Full Eclipse isn't going to win any major awards soon, but I'd watch this film over any recent Nicolas Cage film. I enjoyed this film on a comedic level, even though it's suppose to be a serious film. This film has a scary premise, consider it. Think about the idea that the Police were run by werewolves, outlandish, but if it were possible it'd be scary. This whole movie could be a metaphor for drugs. If you take drugs you will become an animal, and won't be able to control yourself. You know what, it's more of a metaphor for cult activity. Once you get in, you can't get out without blood being spilled.

Nevermind, this movie doesn't deserve much more review. Full Eclipse is laughable, but it's not worse than Vegas Vampires. In fact, you want a good time? Watch Full Eclipse and Vegas Vampires back to back, and enjoy the show. It doesn't add or take away much from the werewolf lore or stories from the past, even though it's definitely a sore spot for horror movie fans that saw this one.



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.

End of the Month Death Toll January 2011

January has come and went and it's interesting to note, I have reviewed more this month than many other months in the past few years. I even gave you guys a triple feature over the weekend, subjecting myself to some horror film. I hated it, you hated it, or liked it, I never really know.

Business

Before I give you a recap of links, I wanted to let you guys know a few things talk about somethings and just well, ramble. First and foremost, the ads are bother me personally. Over the weekend I spotted some ads on this site that I didn't like. I don't like the "russian brides" ad that keeps running. I also am not liking the ads that are being displayed that are just download links, I hate them.

Why have Ads? The reason that I have advertisements on my site is because I have no job, and I have to pay my student loans. I owe 40,000 dollars in student loans, and my degree hasn't really helped me in the city that I live in. In fact, it's been 17 months or so that I haven't had a job nor any income other than the ads that I get paid for on this website.

Yes, I know, I'm selling out for cheap, but what should I do? Let's talk about how much money I make from scary film review.

This month I've made $5. Thank you for that one person that bought DVD's with the links. I DO NOT REVIEW horror for the money, let's get that straight. I started this site when I had a good job and didn't need money so I never had ads in the way I have now, because I didn't need the money. Now I need the money so there's ads and more links.

What should I Do going forward? Should I stop? Do you readers care? Seriously, do you actually care? Should I stop? Does it get in the way? PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS

Comments. For any ladies out there that can't stand commenting, I'm sorry. For all you dudes that don't comment because I don't know, don't comment, COMMENT DAMN IT! Ok, i'm sorry, i just get lonely in the horror world.

You can also send me emails, dirty and non dirty, recommendations, anything at sirjorge at gmail dot com. I really would like to make any of you readers friends, and I am on aol instant messenger so send me your aim name and we can chat, nothing crazy, but I have time on my hands, and watch more horror than I can shake a stick at.

LEAGUE OF TEA DRINKERS & OTHER HORROR SOCIETIES

I don't know what I need to do to get your attention, but I've posted 500+ reviews and get NO love from the horror community. I can't get guest bloggers in, I can't get comments, I can't get screeners, I can't seem to do anything right in the eyes of the horror fans out there. I leave comments on horror blogs and NOTHING! No Love. Is the whole internet world of horror that miopic? Am I the most hated man in horror blogging?

Maybe I just am not as good as I think. I swear, I never said i was anything, so how can anyone expect me to be?

February Preview

I thought about doing a Black Horror Month since it is Black History month and I love Blaxploitation and Urban Horror. But I don't know if I could get enough of those movies to fill a full month. I'll be reviewing Children of The Corn for sure, and that's about it. I don't really have a map for next month. If you have any ideas, please let me know, please send me comments, suggestions, and let me try to review some films.

Alright, here are the movies I reviewed through January 2011:

Best Worst Movie Review
Tales From The Hood Review
Def By Temptation Review
Howling III: The Marsupials Review
Bear Review
Night of the Creeps Review
Weekend Double Feature Next Week
Jason Goes To Hell Comic Books
Witchfinder General Review
Night of the Demons 2009 Review
The Lost Boys 3: The Thirst Review
Misery Review
The Twilight Zone Season 2 Review
Friday The 13th 4: The Final Chapter Review
Total Recall Review
The Book of Eli Review
Top 5 Horror Television Shows

If you missed any reviews, you can check out the FULL LIST of REVIEWS HERE.

Def By Temptation Review

Alright folks, the beginning of the weekend Double Feature here on Scary Film Review, and we start with an instant classic, much on par with the terrible horror films like Ax'Em. Def By Temptation is a film that came out in 1990 and most likely went straight to video, and you can tell this from the very moment you start the film. The movie was directed by a guy named James Bond III, and supposedly stars Samuel L Jackson, even though he's only in the movie for about 5 minutes, oh and the fact that this is a Troma Entertainment film!

The movie has an interesting premise. It's simply a vampire movie, although there are some moments where I thought the main villain was a werewolf, but that's ok. The movie stars out with a man in a bar, going home with an attractive lady, only to get slaughtered by her. Then we move to another plot point, two friends move in together, and they both find this woman that is killing off men. We get a lot of sex scenes, most of them ending with the death of a guy that was taken with her from the bar. When one friend ends up meeting this new woman, and the other friend recognizes her, and gets himself involved with a Cop that can take her down.

The movie's pacing is slow, and is carried by ridiculous dialogue. The first conversation in this film has a guy saying, "just get an abortion, drop the baby and come hang out, I'll pay for it", and he laughs, which is like a kick in the groin to wake up anyone that wasn't paying attention after the boring credits started. The rest of the movie is just bar scene after bar scene of men picking up the vampire, then getting killed, with lots of cut scenes of pools of blood, and random hairy hands reaching and scratching. At one point there was a "grim reaper" moving around, but that character was abandoned later on in the film. I kept watching because after the second act, the editing and film work gets 100 times better, and I'm not sure why. It really does turn a corner visually towards the end of the film, something that was really lacking in the first parts of the film.

Even though a great deal of plot involves sex, you don't really get a lot of nudity. You don't really get a lot of gore either. There are some interesting points that show some scary points, but they are mild in comparison to a great deal of other vampire films. In fact, you do get that sense of a "made for tv" movie or something awry, even though there are some harder sequences.

The movie starts to ramp up towards the end and the pace really speeds up with more and more visual effects turning out to be greater and greater. I really thought this film was going to just end abruptly, but it really speeds up to make sure the film gets the "horror" theme down, before reviewers like me start to say that it's tame. The r Rated is definitely achieved with the zombie bar room scene, which is a dream sequence, but has some great visual effects and NO camera tricks.

It's not a scary film, but there are some definite scary moments. Specifically in the last act when the main characters try to kill the vampire by giving her a "holy water" martini! I kid you not. They get scared, when she over powers them and then runs away scared, and a great line is heard, "There's a fuckin devil bitch chasing us man...let's get outta here", and the two tough guys run away like scared little kids. If you put yourself in their shoes, you'd get scared too. I was just thinking about what I would do if there were urban vampires after me, I think I'd be dead fast, cause I have no friends. Another great sequence happens towards the end and it is is just awesome! A dude gets sucked into the television and then blood spills out...and a silhouette is seen, creating one of the most intricate pieces ot an otherwise straight forward vampire film at times...oh and of course, Samuel L. Jackson is scary as a ghost...oh man, the movie got better and better.

In regards to Black Horror Films, this one is better than many that I've seen. It's not a mainstream film, but Troma did a good job with trying to make a unique tale of vampirism, in the Black community. The budget looks like it wasn't very high, but there is some great moments in an otherwise dismissible film. I don't think this one is an amazing film, but I'll say this much, Def By Temptation is better than 90% of mainstream horror films that came out in 2010. Check it out, it's an entertaining piece of Black Cinema, and something that would fit in nicely in the Blaxploitation era of films.