BLACK SUNDAY (aka The Mask of Satan)(aka La Maschera Del Demonio)

Black Sunday Movie Review

Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele, Shivers, Nightmare Castle), a witch, is burned alive, promising to return one day to get her revenge. Two centuries later, she begins to come back to life, brought back by some dope who discovered her tomb. One of Asa's ancestors, Katia (also Steele) lives nearby, and looks identical to Asa, giving the witch the perfect body to take over.

"You will work nicely"

"Please tell me there's somebody behind me"

This 1960 Italian film, originally titled La Maschera Del Demonio, is considered the breakthrough movie for Steele, who does an absolutely fantastic job with her dual performance. Long-time readers will know I am a fan of Steele (she may be my favorite horror actress of all time), and her performance in this movie is probably her best ever. The rest of the acting, however, is a considerable drop from the awesomeness that is Barbara Steele. The story is a solid one, though it does drag at times. The amount of violence and gore in this movie is probably a bit more than one would expect from a 1960 film, but it is executed extremely well. Unfortunately, the end of the movie is a bit underwhelming and rushed--you will leave it thinking they could have done so much more. Black Sunday is a creepy old movie that makes for a good late-night viewing with all the lights off.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

Black Sunday Movie Trailer

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Movie Review

Set thirteen years after the events of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we find the Sawyer family terrorizing radio DJ Stretch Brock (Caroline Williams) while being chased by officer Lefty Enright (Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider). The Sawyer Family, by the way, is now Drayton (the returning Jim Siedow), Leatherface (this time played by Bill Johnson), Grandpa (Ken Evert), and newcomer "Chop Top" (Bill Moseley, House of 1000 Corpses). Let us assume you have watched the original movie, which is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time, but not this sequel--you may be expecting something that at least tries to match the terror of the first film...this is not the case. Director Tobe Hooper wanted to go less horror, more dark comedy with this movie, and the results are shaky.

Yes, there's a chainsaw sword fight

The gore is certainly amped-up from the original film, but much of it is done in a comedic way--you will notice this atmosphere pretty much right out of the gate. The performances are odd, with Moseley being so over the top it's easy to see why his character completely stole the show from Leatherface. The direction seems very lacking in this film, as much of what we see is repetitive--it feels like they had a lot of time to fill, and didn't quite know what to do with the time. The ending is very sudden, but I was okay with that--leaving Chop Top potentially still alive had tons of potential for future movies, but alas, he was not to be seen again (at least as of 2019 and at least 5 or 6 Texas Chainsaw movies since). As a side note, in many circles this movie is known for being sampled in the Primus song "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver". As a fan of the band, I did find it amusing watching this scene in the movie, and may have hit the rewind button to watch it more than once.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about

Your enjoyment of this film is going to depend a great deal on your attitude coming in to it. I have known people over the years who have loved this movie while finding the original film boring--these people hold a special place in society, and the less said about them, the better. I have also known people with absolutely no sense of humor at all who loathe this film because it is "an insult to a classic". These folks actually scare me a little, so I will say no more about them. Me? I fall kind of in the middle, and appreciate what Hooper was trying to do with this movie. This had the potential to be an absolute dumpster fire, but Moseley's performance saves the day, making this movie much better than it should have been.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Movie Trailer

AREA 51

Area 51 Movie Review

Three friends decide to raid Area 51 after one experiences a strange happening at a party. They meet up with a woman whose father had maps of the underground tunnels at the mysterious desert location. This movie, which was completed in 2009 but not released until 2015, is brought to us by writer and director Oren Peli--if this name is familiar to you, it's likely because he is the same guy who brought us Paranormal Activity, an extremely low budget film that made an absolute fortune and, more importantly, was an original, creative, and scary movie--Area 51 is far less inspired. Most of this movie is the three guys making their way to Area 51 and talking about their plans--for as dull as those conversations are, when they are talking about anything not related to Area 51, it's even worse. The movie is presented as a found footage film, as the guys record everything on their phones and small cameras, resulting in shots that look like...

this...

this...

and this.

We get some brief shots of Las Vegas, which is nice, as that's one of my favorite cities. The shots of the desert are also nice, and honestly, it is these settings that helped get me through this movie. Once the friends and the woman make it into Area 51, things pick up a bit, but we really get the case of taking the good with the bad once there. Some of the ideas about what could be inside Area 51 and the technology used is really interesting, and plays out well. Unfortunately, much of what happens there is in the dark--this, coupled with the constantly shaking camera, makes it nearly impossible to see anything happening for much of the time. We get just a brief look at the aliens, which is fine, as this approach works quite well here. The ending is a bit lazy, but certainly could have been worse. Should you decide to watch this film, be warned--everything that happens leading up to the characters actually being inside Area 51 is a LOT to get through, but what you see once there almost makes you feel like it was worth the wait. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

Area 51 Movie Trailer

LADY FRANKENSTEIN

Lady Frankenstein Movie Review

Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotten) and his partner, Dr. Marshall (Paul Muller), create a monster out of a corpse. After the monster murders Frankenstein and begins killing the locals, Marshall teams with the Baron's daughter, Tania (Rosalba Neri, The Devil's Wedding Night), to create a new monster to destroy the original one. Straight off I will tell you that if you are picturing one of the classic Frankenstein movies from the first half of the 20th Century, you are way off base. This is an Italian film from 1971 that contains a bit more blood than those films (some of the worst looking fake blood you will ever see, by the way). This one also has a lot of nudity, creating a mixture of a 1960s Hammer film and a 1970s sexploitation flick--Italy produced many of these type films around this time. More memorable than any of this, however, is the look of the monster. Boris Karloff's Monster is iconic in its awesomeness--the Monster here is less awesome and more....

This

Some of the scenes we know from the original film are played out in similar ways in this movie, leaving one feeling they have temporarily slipped into an alternate reality. The movements of the monster are odd, often resembling a slapstick comedic performance more than a frightening assault. To her credit, Neri, credited in this movie as Sara Bay, is impressive in her role, bringing a proper amount of wickedness to her manipulative character. As a side note, Neri played Lady Frankenstein here, and Lady Dracula two years later in the aforementioned The Devil's Wedding Night...I guess Lady Creature From The Black Lagoon wasn't in the cards...or maybe it was, and I just haven't slipped into that reality yet. Anyway, this movie isn't bad for a cheap knockoff flick, but it really comes unhinged near the end when Marshall's brain is put into another man's body to create the perfect love interest for Tania. While probably a little better than it should have been, Lady Frankenstein isn't really one I can suggest going out of your way to watch. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

Lady Frankenstein Movie Trailer (Rob Zombie fans will love this one)

HEAD COUNT

Head Count Movie Review

A group of twenty-somethings are sharing spooky campfire tales when one reads the story of Hisji, a shape-shifting entity that immediately arrives to terrorize them. The twist is, they have no idea it's there. Head Count is a slick little horror flick I caught on Netflix, and the film is very ambitious when it comes to trying to separate itself from the pack. For the most part, that goes a long way in this movie. Gore and jump scares are largely ignore here, traded in for creepy atmosphere and some things being left to our imagination. The anticipation of the arrival of the spirit is built well, as we see hints dropped throughout that it is, in fact, already there.

They may be catching on

Where the movie fails is when it does bring what we expect from similar horror films. The characters are a bunch of stereotypical ones--we have the hero, the stoner, the jerk, the jerk's jerky girlfriend and his heart of gold ex-girlfriend, etc, and they spend a large part of their time drinking and getting high. Repeated scenes of the parties and the aforementioned jerk and hero getting into it drag the movie down and makes the run time seem much longer than it is. That said, Isaac Jay makes a likable lead, and the movie never comes off the rails enough to lose your attention. The third act plays out exceptionally well, and will have you on the edge of your seat--unfortunately, the ending falls flat, taking all the air out of the balloon. Still, Head Count is worth watching for the fresh ideas. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

Head Count Movie Trailer

THE WASP WOMAN

The Wasp Woman Movie Review

Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot) is the owner and face of a cosmetics company--unfortunately, her aging face is blamed for the decline in profits her company is seeing. Thankfully for her, a scientist has discovered that he can use the royal jelly from a queen wasp to reverse the aging process. The antidote works until...well, it doesn't, and Janice becomes a half-wasp creature. Schlockmaster Roger Corman brings us this one, a film often referred to (rightfully so) as a knock-off of the 1958 film The Fly. Let's not let that notion ruin the fun though! We know pretty much right from the start where this story is going, so most of the time is spent waiting for Janice to become the wasp woman...I won't let you wait that long.

"What's all the buzzzzz about?"

Something a bit out of the ordinary (though not completely original) is the scientist becoming the eventual hero of sorts--this fails in that the character isn't terribly likable, and the actor playing him, Michael Mark, doesn't do much to help this matter. Much of the movie is painfully dull and seems to take forever to take off. Once it does, of course, we get what we came for--a cheap looking monster and its attack on humans, though this is sadly minimal as well. Cabot does a fine job with her role as Starlin, so that will help get you through most of the film. The final scene is entertaining, though not in a scary way by any means. The Wasp Woman isn't Corman's best work, but it's certainly not his worst either. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

The Wasp Woman Movie Trailer

ALL HALLOWS’ EVE 2

All Hallows' Eve 2 Movie Review

A mysterious masked man leaves a VHS tape at a woman’s door. Curious, she watches the tape, finding it contains a series of disturbing videos. Of course, this is a series of shorts that comprise this anthology film, and the results are very much a mixed bag. We have the wraparound story, which is pretty much just like in the first All Hallows’ Eve movie, with a single woman instead of the babysitter and kids watching the tape—the ending is almost identical as well. If you are wondering why a woman in the year 2015 still has a VCR to play the tape in, she does provide a fantastic answer, explaining to her friend that horror movies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are scarier on VHS, and that Blu-ray makes movies seem too fake.

I couldn't agree more!

Also similar to the first All Hallows' Eve is the disjointed feel of everything as, just like the original, this is a series of shorts thrown together to make a film instead of segments made specifically for the movie. All that considered, when you read that this is an anthology, think less Creepshow and more The ABCs Of Death. The number of segments, eight, is odd--it doesn't allow time for the segments to build a lot of story, but also lacks the quick-fire feel of the ABCs of Death movies. The first segment, Jack Attack, gets things off to a great start, as we see a jack-o-lantern get revenge in a most unusual and disturbing way. Next in line is The Last Halloween, a segment that is almost as good as the one before it. The third segment, The Offering, is heavy on suspense but fails in its payoff, dropping the bar a little but keeping your attention--things fall apart from there. We'll skip ahead to the only other interesting segment, Alexia. Most of this one takes place on a computer monitor and the words are in Spanish--I understand just enough of the language to pick up the general idea of what is going on, but even if you can't do that, this is still a really good segment, as the visuals are very intense.

Muy atemorizante

Had these four segments been made for this movie, were expanded upon, and were the only segments in this movie, we may have had a modern day classic on our hands. Unfortunately, we have four other entries, none standing out as anything memorable, with M if for Masochist and Mr. Tricker's Treat lowering the excitement considerably. Descent and A Boy's Life are somewhat interesting, if not predictable. If you're looking for a good Halloween season movie, this one is worth checking out, if only for half the content.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

All Hallows' Eve 2 Movie Trailer