The Sleeping Car

Mix one part Evil Dead, one part House, one part David "American Werewolf in London" Naughton, a splash of Kevin "UHF" McCarthy,and cram it all into a converted, haunted train sleeper car, you will get Douglas Curtis' "The Sleeping Car", a whatever 90's gory ghost story(thats also on the long list of horror flciks at 16 Thousand Movies(R.I.P.) I wasnt allowed to watch). A times the film does manage to brew up some atmosphere which is usually then scared away by the acting. There is a few good moments and several familiar faces supporting including Judie "Weird Science"Aronson and Jeff "Annoying as a Motherfucker" Conaway. Im a sucker for practical FX so I did enjoy this somewhat. The zombiefied corpse of "The Mister" is pretty awesome, and Kevin McCarthy's performance is good. Other than that there is alot of drag with Naughton spitting out tons of clunky dialogue. Its streaming on Netflix if you got the time...whatever..

I Sell The Dead

With a list of actors including Larry Fessenden (Who also produced),Angus Scrimm(of Phantasm fame), & Ron Perlman, theres not much you have to say to get me to watch this. Top it off with Dominic Monaghan, some zombies & vampires & theres even less to say to me than before when I mentioned those 3 actors I like.  Although it tries a little hard in spots overall this flick is very enjoyable, and all the key actors do thier damn thang. Its definitiely made by horror fans for horror fans. On top of that ths is the feature length debut of Glenn Mcquaid. I'd include this on that very small list(Dead Snow & Pontypool are the only others) of recent zombie films with a fresh approach to the genre, even though this isnt entirely a zombie film. Two nubs up!

Mario Bava's Planet of The Vampires

Wow. I love these moments. Moments when you realize you've been over looking an enormous talent and its time to play catch up. Such is the case with me and Mr Bava. Its even more interesting because im a big fan of Lucio Fulci &  Dario Argento, who are both obviously very influenced by the films of Bava. After passing this title up a million times as a kid I finally sat down and watched it last night. Its hard to make sci-fi spooky but boy does Bava accomplish just that. From the zombie like "Vampires", to the colors, the smoke, to the erie recorded voices of long dead alien giants, this flick lays it on thick. The plot would go on to be rehashed by many future films(roughly) such as "Alien" & "Creature" . Beautiful atmosphere and sets. Smashing stuff! This Bava fellow is really good.

Mario Bava's Black Sabbath (Anthology Series pt. 7)

Im here to inform and confess. First off this film is amazing, secondly, its the first Mario Bava film I've fully seen(seen half of Baron Blood). Yes I know, I know...and I call myself a fan of the genre? I know. But I plan on seeing the rest of his films. This film looks amazing, its quite a delight to the eye. I found myself alone,shirtless on my couch last night around 3am and I decided to pop this on my netflix. Damn. The first story gave me chills, which just doesnt happen that often. Second story was some good "When a stranger calls" type horror and the last story bousts Boris Karloff,the master himself, stepping into the role of vampire. Good stuff. From this one joint I can tell that Bava is without doubt a master of atmosphere and brooding terror. The use of sound in the first story(about a ghost attached to a certain ring) is top notch. More Bava going into the que immediately!

Reccomended for fans of Argento,Fulci, and Boris Karloff.

Visiting Hours

After reading Caelum Vatnsdal's "They Came From Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema", 'Visiting Hours"(directed by Jean Claude Lord) was on the top of my list of Hoser Horror to check out. Not because of Vatnsdal's review(he actually didnt give it much praise at all),but the combo of William Shatner & Michael Ironside was too much to pass up. The results are meh, not bad/ not great overall. The only real treat is Ironside really. The movie looks pretty good, some creepy shit in it. But I was definitely disappointed. Michael Ironside's performance is definitely worth checking out, but overall this is just for the avid slasher fan. Shatner is aight in it,hes no Rack Hansen though.

Recommended for fans of Canada.......the country in general.

-The Mark Of Quality- Wings Hauser-

AAAAAHHHHH yes, It is time for our second Edition of "The Mark of Quality", and what better way to honor this section then with one of the finest actors of all time? Wings Hauser. The man ,the myth, the legend. From his immaculate performance in Gary Sherman's Vice Squad to his breathtaking badassery in Nico Mastorakis's "The Wind" ...the man simply can do no wrong. Here is a list of films that utilize the acting talents of the one and only Wings Hauser!!!!!!!

1.Tales From The Hood
2. The Wind
3. Mutant (aka Night Shadows)
4. Nightmare At Noon (a loose remake of "Mutant" by Nico Mastorakis, review coming soooon!)
5. Watchers 3
6. Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time
7. The Carpenter
8. Vice Squad

Put some Wings Hauser deep inside your VCR now!!!!!!!

The Beast Within

Advertised on Netflix as a werewolf related film (but soon removed from the section when I double checked the next day), The Beast Within is more of a were-cicada film. Yeah thats right, were-cicada. The film starts off with a happily just married couple and their dog getting stranded on the side of the road, of course the husband volunteers to go get a tow from the nearest gas station, while his wife stays behind and protects the car in the middle of the creepy ass woods. Nearby, in a creepy old house, something breaks free of its chains and heads out into the night. The wifey's dog gets spooked so she lets it out of the car where it promptly runs off into the woods and gets killed by the approaching beast .The wifey gets out of the car to inspect ...then, OOPS! She gets raped by a were-cicada. 17 years later the couples son is acting strange, you know, like he may be the son of a were-cicada. He returns to the town where his mother was raped to find out about his true past. He soon begins to react to the moons cycle and the sound of the cicadas in the forest, both making him crave human flesh. Add in a teenage love interest and you gots yourself the makings of a fine, atmospheric, and entertaining little film. Props to director Phillipe Mora (who also directed The Howling 2 & 3).


for fans of Silver Bullet and cicadas.