Double T's blog of reviews

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 20 The Stepfather Remake

2026-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

TITLE-The Stepfather

SOURCE-Screen Gems DVD

Having seen the original back in the day when this remake was announced I wondered why? I get remaking films that were good but had flaws. The Stepfather had no flaws. Decided to wait till I could get the DVD in thru Netflix by mail,remember that? Got it in,watched it and it was decent. Totally forgot about it until I found the above pictured copy at a junkstore cheap.

So this is an ex-rental DVD. Which means a great super tough case,these Blockbuster cases are great and much better than the eco-cases we get now with most releases. And yea I gotta get the "$9.99 sale" sticker residue on the bottom right corner.

The film starts off with our lead having just killed another family. He targets widowed or freshly divorced women with kids. Ends up married to them and as the family disappoints him he kills them and then moves to another state and starts up again.

After moving the Stepfather meets Sela Ward in a grocery store. They start talking and 6 months later when Sela's oldest son is coming back from reform school and learns he has a new step dad.

The new Stepfather starts cracking,like when the younger son is told to turn the TV down and doesn't. So Stepfather gets a bit rough with the kid. More and more cracks are showing, with the oldest son and his girlfriend noticing them.

Decent remake. Still wasn't needed. Good cast with Sela Ward standing out as the best in the film. Still it's a film I doubt I watch again for a long time. Glad I paid a buck or less for this.

The Stepfather Remake gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 19 Primate

2026-10-19T01:45:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Primate

SOURCE-Blu Ray

I barely remember seeing ads for this when it was hitting theaters. Never heard many folks talking about it. Saw the Blu ray cheap,got a local pawn shop I have found out that usually has new releases in a week after they came out cheap.

A family that lives in Hawaii has a pet chimp. One of the daughters is coming home to visit right when the father has to be gone. So she plans a party with her friends. Not knowing a mongoose with rabies in in the chimps cage.Now our lead and her friends are trapped by a rabid chimp.

Simple plot and one I've seen before with other animals. What made Primate stand out is the level of gore. First few minutes got one guy getting the skin ripped off his face. Got another scene where all the women are in the pool,the chimp fears water. They think they are safe,but the chimp shimmys out on some wires grabs one girl by the hair and rips her hair out by the root.

Yea it's nothing amazing. Just not use to see a studio film with this levels of gore. More than worth seeing.

Primate gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 18 Pet Sematary II

2026-10-18T09:35:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Pet Sematary II
SOURCE-DVD

I am sure I saw this back in the day. More than likely in a 2 year period where I got cheap/free rentals from a video store. But when I put the movie on I remembered nothing about it.

Ed Furlong is the son of a actress. He is on the set of her newest film and watches as she accidentally gets electrocuted on set. And wow is it brutal. Which leads to his father taking him and moving from California all the way to Maine. His dad is Anthony Edwards and is a vet.

In this new town of course Ed stands out. Making just one friend,a local fat kid with a POS step dad. This step dad is a local cop and played by the great Clancy Brown. The POS Step Dad shoots and kills the fat kid's dog Zowie. So of course Fat Kid and Ed go bury Zowie in the Pet Sematary and big surprise the dog comes back to life.

Shit happens and the step dad dies and gets buried and comes back. And that is when the film just goes off the rails. Clancy is amazing in this role and single handedly saves this movie.

I had heard for years how this was horrible,and it could be,if not for Clancy Brown. Him as the piece of shit cop saves this movie. He is so over the top and appears to be having a blast. Like in the scene where he kills a kid using a motorcycle tire.

Sure this ain't a classic like the original. It is still one of the best sequels to a Stephen King movie.

Pet Sematary II gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 17 Skeleton Man

2026-10-17T09:01:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Skeleton Man

SOURCE-DVD

I had heard for years how bad this "horror" film is. Had a friend that loved shitty horror claim it was one of the worst she had seen. So when I found the DVD for a buck I had to grab it.

A man removes a skull from an ancient Indian Burial ground. Causing the Skeleton Man to rise from the grave,hop on his horse and ride through the woods killing people. Skeleton Man is someone in a cheap leftover cloak the production staff got from an after Halloween sale at Walgreens. And Skeleton Man has on a skull mask. The standard Skull mask you find for 10 bucks at any store around Halloween. The horse Skeleton Man rides,it changes color from shot to shot. Yep they didn't bother to get horses that look similar for this film.

Fairly quickly Skeleton Man kills off two "Delta Force" troops that are in the woods. Never seen Delta Force dressed in cheap workout gear. Still their deaths brings in the only names this film could get.

Michael Rooker,yea I know to many he is Merle from Walking Dead,he is always Henry from Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer to me. He is head of a another group of "Delta Force" Troops. Which also includes Casper Van Dien. I always wondered how and why he went from big roles like Starship Troopers and Sleep Hollow to made for SYFY tripe like this.

The rest of the film is this group of "Delta Force"members trying to stop Skeleton Man. And if this is legit Delta Force wow recruiting standards have went way down since I was in the military.

The kills are decent,fairly gory and look good. Just you get dumb stuff like a scene where Skeleton Man uses a standard arrow to take down a helicopter.

Normally a film like this I can just sit back and enjoy it being BIG DUMB FUN. This is just dumb!

Skeleton Man gets a D+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 16 Office Killer

2026-10-16T02:00:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Office Killer

SOURCE-Echo Bridge DVD

Oh Miramax,made a pile or aqquired a pile,then either sat on them for years or dumped them straight to cable/home video. Office Killer is one of those films that got that treatment.

In 97/98 this came out,I saw no press about it in the genre mags. Never even heard of it until 10 or so years ago when I bought a 20 pack of horror films from Echo Bridge. 20 films spread across 4 discs. So 5 films a disc. And while the film looked rough and a bare step above vhs I enjoyed it.

Skip ahead to early this year. Heard Vinegar Syndrome was releasing it on a packed HD release. Dug out this old ass DVD to rewatch it and see if it was worth a pricey upgrade. Thinking I paid 5 bucks for this release. Then the DVD got knocked under the TV stand. I forgot about it. Found it a week ago and watched it today.

Carol Kane is a office worker,who also takes care of an elderly relative. Her workplace is downsizing so everyone is worried about their jobs. Then late one night working over Carol accidently electrocutes a co worker. Instead of reporting it,she takes the body home hides it in her basement. And now any co worker pisses her off she kills them. And the co workers is a great cast. Got Molly Ringwald in 1 of the 2 horror films she has starred in. As the bitchy co worker that gets downsized. Jeanne Triplehorn a as another co worker.

More of a dark comedy/thriller than horror. But worth a watch. Not sure I will upgrade unless I can find it for 25 or less.

Office Killer gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 15 Return to Silent Hill

2026-10-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Return to Silent Hill

SOURCE-Blu Ray

While I heard about the Silent Hill games I never played any of them much. By the time they were coming out I was not playing many modern video games. So that first Silent Hill movie came out. I skipped it. Then one day years ago wanting something to watch bought it on DVD. Enjoyed it and when I saw the trailers for Return to Silent Hill I wanted to go see it. Never could work out a day that I could make it to the good theater up in Pearl MS. My local theater charges too much for subpar projection and sound. Day the blu ray came out I bought it and like what happens often it got put on the to be watched pile and sat.

A young man returns to Silent Hill,possibly to save someone named Mary. And it seems he is stuck in a time loop. This isn't a film with a deep plot. It relies on the creepy images and sound to tell it's story. Which works well for me. Again I don't know the games so I have no clue how close to the games this film is.

Our lead is an actor I have never seen before and he is decent in his role. The lead actress is another I have never seen. She does a great job with her part. The rest of the cast ain't bad.

I gotta say the practical FX work in the film looks great. Got a few scenes that feel like they are outta Society. Now the CGI work... some is decent and some looks like junk from a PS1 game.

Hearing this bombed,which sucks,cause I would love to see a sequel.

Return to Silent Hill gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 14 Hollywood Kills

2026-10-14T01:30:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Hollywood Kills

SOURCE-Echo Bridge DVD

Sometimes you just need a film to kill sometime. And this one did that.

Hollywood Kills is the perfect example of a great premise that gets turned to doo doo butter cause of budget and the cast.

A crazy director likes to invite young actors/actresses to his studio. Then he drugs them and hold "Auditions". Where he kills them while filming the kills. This time a young female director in the bunch of aspiring thesbians. So the crazy director takes her nails her to a director's chair. And forces her to watch as one by one her friends are slaughtered.

See sounds decent. Coming out in 2006 this was trying to catch some of the wave of popularity that Saw/Hostel and other films like that had. Just Saw and Hostel had budgets higher than what I paid for my first car and a cast that wasn't found by throwing darts at the Los Angeles phone book.

At least the kills are all practical. The best is a broken champagne bottle shoved into someone's mouth. The worst is when the crazy director cuts the lady director's eye lids off,so she cant shut her eyes. And it looks like those fake "nasty eye" appliances you would find near Halloween at places like K-mart and TG&Y.

Barely and hour and 20 minutes including the opening and closing credits the film still fills too long. Maybe cut the film down to 30 minutes and it would work decently as part of a horror anthology film or an episode of a TV show like Tales from the Crypt,Tales from the Darkside or Creepshow.

The cast... only one person in the cast have I seen in anything before. The actor that was Scutt Farkus in A Christmas Story. And his part is tiny with little screen time.

Overall I say don't buy this.I got it on a set that was 20 horror films for 5 bucks. And feel like even at 25 cents a movie I overpaid for Hollywood Kills. Maybe if you have to see it track it down on TUBI or one of the other FAST apps.

Hollywood Kills gets a D+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 13 Final Remains AKA Mortuary 2005

2026-10-13T02:00:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Final Remains AKA Mortuary (2005)

SOURCE-Echo Bridge DVD

Remember like 10 years ago when Echo Bridge had the license for a pile of Dimension and Miramax films? You could get a 20 pack of movies,5 films per DVD,for 5 to 10 bucks depending on the store. And this wasn't your normal Mill Creek/Brentwood/Diamond Public Domain or Grey market stuff. You got real "winners" like Dracula 2000 and that Halloween with Busta Rhymes (RIP TheFUCKERFROMHELL).

On one of these packs I discovered this forgotten 2005 slasher comedy. Looks like it was shot on video and cause it is crammed onto one disc with 4 other films it looks like a ex rental VHS. The sound was also a bit low. Normally I watch movies in the living room on the large tv. And that one I can normally keep the volume at 14 to 17 for a DVD and hear it clearly. This one I kept having to bump it up to 20 or even 25.

A bunch of college age teens want to party in their small town. A killer is on the loose and a man suspects the killer is hiding out at the local funeral home. And of course the teens goto the funeral home late one night to party.

Thankfully this is only 76 or so minutes. A bigger budget and more professional cast would have this at the level of forgotten horror that Vinegar Syndrome would release with a limited to 2k slipcase edition. But this has a budget around what a family of 4 would spend on a 3 day trip to Disney World.

The kills are not bad. I like the look of the killer,surgical face mask and shower cap. Being a homage to 80s slashers we do get some nudity. With one scene feeling very gratuitious.

When we finally learn who the killer is I wasn't surprised. My short list of who it could be was 2 people.

Betting this is streaming on say Tubi or one of the other FAST services. And if you like slashers and comedy it is worth watching. I doubt I will ever upgrade from this DVD.

Final Remains gets a C-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 12 It's Alive

2026-10-12T07:30:00.000-05:00

TITLE-It's Alive

SOURCE-DVD

Somehow as a kid in the early 80s I ended up with a vhs tape with the first of this trilogy of films on it. Watched it over and over as a kid. Then kind of just forgot about it until last year when I found the trilogy on DVD for cheap.

A expecting father enters the delivery room to see everyone dead and a trail of blood. His new born son is a mutant baby that kills. And the rest of the film is this father trying to find his son and protect him.

Great concept,playing off the various "these drugs if taken when pregnant will mess up your baby" scares of the 60s/70s,and Larry Cohen does a good job. Just wow this movie is slow as fuck. We don't see the mutant baby clearly until almost the end. Which makes the film feel a bit like a 50s drive in monster movie. When we do it looks a bit like a Cabbage Patch kid put into a microwave.

As a kid this was one of my favorite films. One I know I saw at least once a week. Rewatching it now it isn't as good as I remembered. Which kind off sucks. The film isn't bad. Just my brain had built it up as this gore soaked forgotten 70s classic. Which it isn't.

It's Alive gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 11 Bambi the Reckoning

2026-10-11T02:00:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Bambi the Reckoning

SOURCE-ITN/Scream Factory DVD

Few years back when I watched the first entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe films I made a joke about "I want a killer Bambi movie". Not knowing just 3 years later I would get it.

Not long after the Bambi movie we all know Bambi meets a doe.Then have an offspring that dies and Bambi gets exposed to toxic waste and mutates into a giant killer deer.

And we also got a family gathering at their mothers home,a mother who is suffering from dementia,and guess what that home is in the woods Bambi lives in.

Now years back I bought a few films from ITN,who I dubbed International Turd Network. Mostly cause almost all their films were made overseas and they all sucked. This was the exception.

Instead of folks in obvious rubber masks this film has decent CGI FX for Bambi. The actors/actresses feel more like the crew tracked down people that do acting for a living and not "Hey didn't your cousin once star in the little theater production of Driving Ms Daisy?"

So far the other 3 Twisted Childhood films work mostly cause it is seeing a person from your younger years now out there killing people. This one works because it has a decent script. You could take away the connection to the Disney animated film and it would still work.

Bambi The Reckoning gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 10 Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare

2026-10-10T05:10:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare

SOURCE-Scream Factory DVD

Now I saw and enjoyed both Winnie the Pooh horror films. So when I saw the same universe Peter Pan horror movie I grabbed it. And like with most DVDs/Blu Rays I buy it sat on the to be watched stack for months.

Peter Pan is a sick man. He kidnaps kids and "sends them to Neverland" by killing them. After forgetting to go pick up her brother after school,Wendy learns Peter Pan kidnapped her brother and is trying to get hi back,

I like how the writer took the basic Peter Pan story and twisted it. Reminds me of how at one time the comic book Fables the big bad guy was planned to be Peter Pan,that got stoppedd cause at least during that time frame Peter Pan wasn't public domain in the UK.

And quickly I wanna speak on all these "horror" fans I see complaining about "All these films taking childhood things and making them edgy and evil" Ok yea I get that but just don't watch the films then. Nope they will go watch it knowing they will hate it. And I do not get that at all. I got more free time than most and I don't have the time to watch something I know I won't enjoy.

Overall this ain't a bad film. The acting isn't bad. The FX work is well done. I would say it is a step above Winne the Pooh Blood and Honey part 1 and almost as good as it's sequel.

Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 09 The Devil's Dolls aka Worry Dolls

2026-10-09T09:34:00.001-05:00

TITLE-The Devil's Dolls aka Worry Dolls
SOURCE-IFC Midnight/Scream Factory DVD

Made a bit over a decade ago,and shot in Natchez,Canton and Jackson MS,this is the second feature fro the director.

A serial killer's worry dolls end up in the hands of a crafty young girl. Who uses their parts to make charm bracelets. Which are sold at her mothers junk store. Seems these dolls are possessed by the evil spirit of the serial Killer

Each person that buys one of these charms gets possessed and starts killing. Like when one guy attacks a corner store owner with scissors. Once the leads figure out what is up they start trying to find everyone who bought one of the charms.

Decent acting some good gore and helps it is shot in locations I know somewhat. Like one scene I knew they filmed in Jackson cause I saw a place I have been often.

The film is a mixture of serial killer+possession horror. It works. But also this is a movie that if I hadn't found it for a buck I wouldn't have bought it. The kind of film you are wanting something to watch so scroll through TUBI ffor an hour and decide on this.

The Devil's Dolls gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 08 Good Boy

2026-10-08T03:30:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Good Boy

SOURCE-Shudder Blu ray

Heard about this movie last year and planned on watching it and just kind of forgot to. Earlier this year saw the blu ray was wanting something to watch early in the morning with my dog,Maggot Ass the Wonder Mutt,and put it on. But kept being distracted and really only half watched the film.Now having seen it fully,I see why it got loads of praise.

A man with a chronic lung illness moves into his grandfather's house way out in the woods. It is just him and his dog Indy. The man's sister is sure the house is haunted and that is what killed the grandfather. And Indy keeps seeing stuff that is spooky.

I was really surprised by this film. Went in not expecting that much,had heard early on the dog playing Indy was new to acting. And owning a stubborn dog I was figuring this would not work. Nope Indy is amazing. The sequence near the 3/4th mark with Indy figuring out how to escape being chained to his dog house was so well shot.

The various spirits and supernatural entities in the film got a spooky look to them. Which helps makes the film have this creepy vibe.

What can I say I'm a sucker for a film where the dog is the hero. And watching Indy try his best to save his owner got me right in the heart.

For extras we get a Making of and a BTS featurette. Plus a decent commentary with the director and the producer.

Now for me this was worth buying,and I keep a sub going to Shudder. Give this a watch to see one of the more unique modern horror films.

Good Boy gets a B+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 07 Phantom Brother

2026-10-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

TITLE-Phantom Brother

SOURCE-Terror Vision Blu Ray

The 80s the decade that produced piles of slashers. And cause of the lowered cost of consumer grade video cameras started the Shot on Video Horror sub genre. Phantom Brother is a mash up of horror+comedy plus shot on video+slasher. And for a low budget shot on Betamax,yep on one of the commentaries we learn this wasn't shot on VHS but the superior tape format,this isn't bad. It is actually funny and the lack of a budget doesn't hurt it that much.

The only survivor of an accident that killed the rest of his family,a young man gets raised by the crazy Hickman family. Now grown this young man has to clean up the mess left when the ghosts of his dead family kill anyone that enters their old abandoned home.

Phantom Brother is just various reasons for people to enter this home and then be killed by the Black/White mask wearing Phantom Brother. We start off with two couples going there to make out. After getting the required for the era topless nudity Phantom Brother shows up with a sharp weapon and kills. Or how when a group shows up to film a sleazy horror film in the home. What surprised me is the ending twist wasn't what I figured it would be.

Loaded with a pile of commentaries this release from Terror Vision is loaded. Having listened to 2 of the commentaries so far I gotta say they are fun to hear.

Phantom Brother got a now rare VHS release. That on the extras is mentioned to sell for over 200 bucks. For a long time a crappy upscale rip of the VHS was on Youtube. This blu ray looks decent,considering it was filmed on Betamax tape. The sound has a tiny bit of hiss,but I was expecting that.

If you want a horror/comedy that has way more ambition than budget this is worth tracking down.

Phantom Brother gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 06 Copperhead The Snake Movie

2026-10-06T06:51:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Copperhead the Snake Movie

SOURCE-Terror Vision Blu Ray

Last year I think it was in November Terror Vision had a deal,3 random blu rays shipped for a total of I think it was 30 bucks. Got 2 of these packs planning on watching them for this years 31 years of Horror. Copperhead is up first.

Made in the first half of the 80s,I keep seeing conflicting dates mostly 83 and 84,this is a low budget snake horror film. Way out in the woods of Missouri a wildlife painter lives with his family. And a kind of scummy family moves into a nearby abandoned church. A church that is packed with mice and copperheads.

Seems this family is on the run cause of some gold they stole from Peru. The dad is a gun nut,with not long after he first meets the painter and his family,the dad is whipping out a pistol and shooting a glass jar with a snake in it. Then shoots the snake a few times. Oh yeah real snakes were killed in the making of this film. Forgot the opening scene is a copperhead eating a rat. The Blu ray claims to have a cruelty free version,I haven't watched that version.

We get lots of thick southern accents from folks that I bet might have done a few community theater plays or local commericals. Lots of guns shooting stuff. The family in the church feels like the relatives of Ethal and her son from Friday the 13th part 5.

The ending connects us back to Peru and we get to see the snakes get their revenge on the scummy family,and it was better done than I expected.

Being a Terror Vision release this is LOADED with extras. You get a few commentaries,interviews with the family that made the film. A film made by the son of the director called Motorhome From Hell. A commentary on that extra film.

Go in knowing this a cheap regional horror. Made by most a crew of locals. Kind of surprised I had never heard of this until getting it. On one of the commentaries the director claims copies of the VHS release was in videos stores all over the States. I never saw it and was in plenty of stores back in the 80s.

Copperhead The Snake Movie gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 05 Tremors 5 Bloodlines

2026-10-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Tremors 5 Bloodlines

SOURCE-Universal Blu Ray

Still kind of amazed that Tremors has had 6 sequels,yes there is 2 more after this one,and a tv show. Yea that first film was a blast. Great cast,good fx work.

Part 4 was a prequel set a long time ago. So years later when part 5 Bloodlines was made they went back to the standard story. Burt Gummer goes where the Graboids are and fights them.

This time it is South Africa and he gets stuck with Jamie Kennedy as his side kick. Being a new Tremors film they give us a never variant of the Graboids. We already got the biped Shriekers and the flying Assblasters. This film adds a new type that looks like a snack with a graboid head.

I wasn't expecting much going into this. It premiered on SYFY channel. And after how just average part 4 I figured this would be cheap cash grab attempt to revive a franchise that might should have stayed dead.

I was WRONG! Not really a fan of Jamie Kennedy,he was decent in the first Scream film but since then he annoys me more than makes me laugh. His chemistry with Michael Gross shines. The rest of the cast was made up of folks I haven't seen before. Betting since this appears to have been filmed on location it was South African based actors/actress.

Two scenes stand out. Burt and Travis(Jamie Kennedy) are out in the brush. Huge herd of cows around them. And a massive Graboid is near. To distract it long enough to get to safety they try to get the herd to stampede. Nicely shot and paced action scene that worked. The other was near the end when using a trick a kid showed Jamie early on they draw out the big Graboid. And while that is happening you have a stunt man "Jamie Kennedy" on a dirt bike grinding up the snake graboids with it's tires.

Think about it ,this is the 5th film in the franchise,and there has already been a one season long TV show,you know going in if you are a fan of Burt and the Graboids. I am and really enjoyed this one.

Tremors 5 Bloodlines gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 04 The Legend of Boggy Creek

2026-10-04T02:21:13.748-05:00

TITLE-The Legend of Boggy Creek
SOURCE-Sterling Entertainment DVD

Pretty sure I saw this at least once as a kid on late night TV in the early 80s. And over the decades had some many people just a bit older than me talk about how scary it is. When I found the DVD in a junkstore for a buck I took a chance.

The film is a weird blending of documentary and horror. Seems the cast is made up of lots of people from the town it is set in. Foulke Arkansas. Which means some of the cast is horrible and some are ok. The little you see of the creature ain't bad. But you see so little of it. And the movie is just so SLOW. I don't mind a slower film. This one is almost dreadfully slow. Add in the DVD I got is a obvious VHS rip. 4:3 smeary as hell picture. Sound that is mono. Plus it appears it ain't a brand new vhs nah they went to Movie Hutt and got the copy that had been rented 100 times. Then found a 2 head vcr to rip it with.

The story...swamp monster is attacking people in a small rural town in the south. That is it.

Yes I know it is one of the earliest Bigfoot movies. And it appears for a generation that was kids when this came out it is SCARY AS FUCK. I had just woke up maybe an hour before viewing it this time and was so bored 45 minutes in I almost dozed off.

I have been told a nice looking Blu Ray is available. Plan is get that and give this a rewatch. See if better picture and sound can help save this movie in my eyes.

Legend of Boggy Creek gets a D-

31 days of Horror 2026 Day 03 Sinners

2026-10-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Sinners

SOURCE-4K UHD

I heard about this movie when I was being made. The film being set in North Mississippi I was semi interested. Heard it was a horror film and really wanted to see it. Grabbed the 4k and planned on watching it soon. Late one night started it and was loving it and halfway through I was so tired I couldn't stay awake. Stopped the film went to bed.

Today get up wanted something to watch. Saw the 4k was still sitting in a stack by the player in the living room and started it up. Bit over 2 hours later I was done and saw why the film was getting so much praise.

Based in Clarksdale MS,a tiny town up in the Delta region of the state,we got a set of twins,Smoke and Stack,who have come back from working for the mob in Chicago. Their plan is open up a juke joint in this old mill. The man they are renting the mill from acts a bit odd. First half of the movie is mostly the twins gathering people to work at the juke joint and usicians and singers to perform there.

Then almost right at the halfway point we get a twist. Seems vampires are real and one is in the town. And this drama becomes a horror film. With a juke joint full of folks while the vampires outside keep adding more members and trying to get into the building.

And even after the vampire issue is taken care of we get another twist. Seems the guy who owns the mill is part of the Klan. And he had planned on coming with his group of inbred moronic crackers and burning the juke joint down.

Gorgeously shot,with some great musicial numbers. And the cast is packed with folks that while you will not know their names you will know their faces.

Sinners gets a A-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 02 Basket Case 2

2026-10-02T07:31:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Basket Case 2

SOURCE-Synapse DVD

8 years after the first film we finally got a sequel. Dwayne and his brother survived the last film and a lady that has a house full of freaks helps sneak both of them out of the hospital.

The rest of the film is mostly the two brothers becoming part of this family of freaks. Belai finding a female that is in the same shape as he is. And Dwayne falling for the young lady that lives there helping her "Aunt". And we got a reporter and PI trying to find the brothers.

Yea this isn't as good as the original film. Matter of fact first time I saw it in the early 90s on Showtime I was mega disappointed. Gone was the scuzzy vibe that first film had. The increase in budget also hindered this sequel in my eyes back then. Now I think it is one of Frank Hellenlotter's better films.

The highlight of the films is the look of the various freaks. Each who has a talent that makes them stand out as much as their odd appearance.

This DVD includes two extras. One is a 20+minute piece on the film. Lots of good info about the making of the film. Then we get a short interview with David Emgee. Who plays Moonface in the film. This isn't as good.

Basket Case 2 gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 01 Black Swarm

2026-10-01T00:05:00.002-05:00

TITLE-Black Swarm

SOURCE-Maneater films triple feature dvd pack

Back months ago I started gathering cheap dvds of horror films. Every year I cover 31 horror/Halloween themed films on this blog each October. So I'm always needing stuff to watch for this. Saw for a buck each two Triple packs of these made for SYFY channel CGI creature feature films.

Black Swarm has a lady moving back to her home town. Along with her young daughter. She is gonna be a local cop. All seems ok. Until a local homeless man is found dead from wasp stings. Then we find out there is mutant wasps in the area. Created by Robert Englund. If you get stung by them the Queen Wasp gets control of you.

With that simple plot they managed to fill 90 odd minutes and not make the film feel padded. Decent acting,the guy playing the Ice Cream Man is a stand out. Yea the wasps are CGI but they are small so it being cheap CGI doesn't stand out as much as it normally would in a film of this monetary level.

This is the third film I've watched off those two Triple feature packs and all three were worth seeing. Not sure if they are worth owning. And most of these Maneater Films movies are on Tubi or Fawesome or another of the FAST services.

Black Swarm feels like the modern version of those 60s creatures on the loose films. Stuff like Monster from Green Hell. But unlike Green Hell,Black Swarm is entertaining from start to finish.

Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison

2026-09-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison

Noticed ,maybe,I have slowed down again here at the blog. 2 entries a month instead of 4. Big part of that is I have been going through my comic collection and reading stuff I have had for years. While doing this I found my full run of Vol 2 of Doom Patrol. Wanted to re-read the run written by Grant Morrison,issues 19-63. Didn't want another big stack of loose single issues laying around. Saw I could get it all in TPB in 6 vols for a bit under 8 bucks a volume. Maybe the order and a week later got them in.Since if I can sleep I will read some from this run. A run I was reading as it happened decades ago.

Doom Patrol was a team I heard about from my Uncle. So when that 70s return happened,and quickly fizzled out,I was there. Enjoyed it and wanted more. Then vol 2 is announced. I grab it and like it but after about 8 issues it dropped lower in my reading stack. Back then I read every comic I bought,wish i still did that,just I would stack them in how much I wanted to read something.

Issue 19 came out I bought it and added it to the stack. Not even noticing it had a new writer. Maybe 2 weeks later was in a comic shop that I wasn't in often. Heard the cashier telling someone they needed to read the new DP issue. Got up to the counter with my huge stack of 80s indies from the quarter bins,asked the cashier what was up with DP and just got told "Go home read it next". I did and yea I saw why he told me that.

Grant Morrison took this team that many at the time saw as DC's xerox of the X-men and made it a book about identity. About mental illness and dealing with chronic illness. The stories got weird,like when the Brother Hood of Dada ran Mr Nobody for President. We lost a pile of the 70s team members. Tempest hung around but didnt use his powers and was the team medic. Cliff Steele ends up in a mental hospital and meets Jane,a lady with 63 personalities and each has super powers.

The Doom Patrol gains what has to be the most unique Headquarters/transportation in Danny the Street. A living street that is connected to everywhere at once.

After all this just weird stuff ,but even with all that the light tone of the book stayed,there is a twist. One I hate spoiling,so maybe skip the rest of this post, While Cliff,Jane,Rebis(which is Negative Man and Negative WOman combined into one being) fighting some odd villain Joshua(the former Tempest) is back at the base with Dorthy Spanner(who can bring her imaginary friends to life) and the Chief. Oh the Chief,he was cranky in the old Silver Age stories and over the course of Morrison's run he is shown to be an asshole. The Chief shoots Joshua,and when this is discovered by Cliff we learn that all the accidents that created the Silver Age Doom Patrol were caused by the Chief. All part of his big plan to take over the world. With nano bots.

That gets prevented. Thanks to this evil being called the Candle Maker,who is connected to Dorthy,but in this happening Crazy Jane is sent to Hell. By this time it is obvious Cliff (Robotman) and Jane are in love.

The final issue of Morrison's run,issue 63 up at the top,is the perfect ending for this series. Jane is in the real world. She is in a mental hospital and keeps telling everyone that she must get back to stop the Candle Maker. One doctor wants to help Jane another just wanted to give her shock treatment. The one wanting the shock treatment gets his way. Jane gets shocked. Leaves the hospital and goes out.Works a normal job and goes home each day.

Till one day she leaves a note. Goes to a nearby bridge and is about to jump. When Cliff appears. He has been using Danny the street to travel the multiverse to find Jane. And we end with them going onto Danny and leaving.

Like Preacher,like Swamp Thing,after all the craziness and violence the story ends with our two leads finally together and off to live a happy life.

Got read this run. Go see the 4 season tv show that is semi-based on this run.

New Jack City

2026-09-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

TITLE-New Jack City

SOURCE-Warner Brothers Blu Ray

For a film that had a pretty big impact when it came out New Jack City feels a bit forgotten. Which is odd to me. Opening night we were there to see it. And the asshole at the box office refuses to sell us tickets. After years of never being carded at that theater this time it happened. We were back the next night with a buddy of mine who was 17 at the time. He claimed to be our Uncle and we got in.

Take the blaxploitation films of the 70s,majorly increase the budget and add a cast full of soon to be big stars and you got New Jack City. Wesley Snipes is Nino Brown who at the start of the film is a low level drug dealer on the rise. With the crack explosion his business is booming.

On the other side we got Ice T as an undercover cop forced to team up with Judd Nelson. They end up using a reformed crackhead,Chris Rock,to infiltrate Nino's big crack lab.

Real quick HOW THE HELL DIDNT Chris Rock at least get nominated for his role as Pookie the Crackhead?

Pookie gets back on the pipe,ends up getting busted at the lab with a wire on him and is killed. We get a big action sequence of the cops raiding the projects this den is in. Which are wired to explode. And in a scene that feels a bit like the toilet explosion scene in Lethal Weapon 2,Ice T and Judd argue over what wire to pull on the bomb.

Now this is the first time I've watched this on Blu ray. Had the DVD for years,before that had it taped off HBO. And until this viewing the films lower budget never really was that obvious. Now some of the outdoors scenes it shows. You can tell they had to use the natural light whiich makes it look odd when you are use to how most stuff is filmed.

One of those films I go back and re-watch every few years. And each time I noticed something or someone I didn't last viewing.

New Jack City gets a A+

Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson's Manhunter

2026-08-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Manhunter

SOURCE-Early 80s DC reprint

When I was still young and hitting a comic shop I would hear the old guys talking about the infamous 70s Manhunter run. When this above pictured comic came out one of them jokingly gave me some shit for not buying it. $2.50 was half my weekly comic budget back then and the new GI Joe was out.

Now many decades later I have read it. Thanks to me not reading closely I didn't realize the copy I had bought was being shipped from Canada. So 13 bucks for shipping and 2 weeks later I had a copy. Thought about it and decided against reading it all in one sitting. Nah pace it out. One chapter every day or so.

So each night normally after dinner I would read a chapter. And I see why this is acclaimed. Plus see how it had major influences on stuff I was reading not many years after this. Yes Frank Miller credits managa and mostly Lone Wolf and Cub for his page and panel layouts on his Daredevil run. I see a pile of influence from this short run of Manhunter.

Until the ending chapter where Batman shows up this feels more like a spy thriller than a 70s Superhero story from DC. Paul Kirk is back from the dead. He has a healing factor and is on the run from The Council. A group of powerful men that are slowly taking control of the world. Besides clones of himself ,Paul also has a Interpol Agent on his tail.

I rather not spoil much of the story cause of how good it is. Word of warning if you find older comics wordy this is a WORDY comic. But even then it reads fast. Just a masterclass of words and drawings to create a run that ended sadly too soon.

Manhunter by Archie Goodwin(writer) and Walter Simonson(Artist) gets a A+

Terminator Infinity VOL 1

2026-08-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Terminator Infinity Volume 1

SOURCE-Dynamite TPB

I have read some of NOW Comics Terminator stuff,mostly The Burning Earth mini series. A handful of the ones Dark Horse published. Just never read any of the Terminator stuff from Dynamite. Found this TPB cheap and took a chance.

Set a few years after Terminator 3,John Connor is alone in the bunker. His girlfriend died a few years ago. He knows it is as safe as I will get to go out and see what is left. But he is scared.

Thankfully he leaves and ends up meeting up with a small group of resistance. Who have in their group Old Bob,a T-100 terminator sent back with it's mission to protect John Connor. And in this group is a young boy,who doesn't talk much. And is named Kyle.

First issue in this TPB sets up all that. And then we meet the T-Infinity. The most powerful Terminator so far. A shapeshifting unkillable machine that has a mission to killer a Connor. But is that Connor John or another one?

Our group is heading to a giant radio station out in the desert. Hoping by using it they can get a message out to whoever else is alive. John is trying his best to not let the group know Old Bob is a Terminator.

The issue is a Hunter Killer base is nearby. John and Old Bob lead a raid on this base taking out the base and 2 Hunter Killers. And a group of resistance meets them back at the radio station.

Will the T-infinity complete it's mission? Why is Old Bob vague as fuck about what his mission is? Is Kyle KYLE REESE?

I got answers to two of these questions and I'm hoping if there is another TPB I find out the answer to the other one.

Terminator Infinity Volume 1 gets a B.

Superman Batman Public Enemies

2026-07-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

TITLE-Superman Batman Public Enemies

SOURCE-Warner Premiere DVD

Now I have never read the comic series this film is based on. Never really been a big Superman fan. And Batman is one I like but depends on the creative team.

A meteor is heading to Earth,Lex Luthor is President of the USA. Using manipulated footage Luther convinces the US citizens that Superman murdered Mentallo. Leading to a pile of heroes hunting for Superman and Batman. All while Luthor is up to something and this meteor is not that far from hitting Earth.

I love how the animation style used in the film looks like a tweeked version of the Timmverse style. The voice work is well done. And the film isn't too long.

What I really enjoyed is how many lesser known heroes get to appear. Black Lightning,Captain Atom,Nightshade and so many others get appearances. Then you got Power Girl in a major role. With a sly joke about her best known feature when her,Batman and Superman have to goto a 13 year old genius to stop the Kryptonite meteor from hitting Earth.

I know there is a sequel. Which deals with what was in that meteor. Had that part spoiled for me already. Will track that sequel down soon.

Superman Batman Public Enemies gets a B-