Voodoo Rob's Hellbilly Hollywood

Voodoo Rob's very underrated albums!

2012-02-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I have done anything about music. So I thought I'd talk about some albums that many have not heard, but should have!

Misfits - Famous Monsters

I think music fans, especially hardcore fans, get too caught up in legacy. Many think that just cause someone did something first, that means it is better. I disagree. At the end of the day, all that really matters is how much YOU enjoy a song or album. The Misfits have been one of my favorite bands since I was a preteen. I started with the Danzig era stuff and continued to follow them when new singer Michale Graves came in. That being said, I have never had that bias against Graves because Danzig was first.

Famous Monsters, released in 1999, is hands down my favorite Misfits album. It has the best production, the best written songs, it is the heaviest(some songs very close to metal), great packaging, and Graves is by far a better singer than Danzig. Whether one likes his style or not, you can not deny the man has an amazing range. This album should have been a much bigger success. Yet, it wasn't. And why? Because people were so hung up on Danzig, many never even gave it a shot. Had it been under a name other than Misfits, I think it would have been accepted. And even those that still like Danzig Misfits better, there is no denying that Famous Monsters is better than any post Misfits Danzig release.

So if you like melodic punk mixed with metal with horror movie themes, give this album a shot! And the video below was directed by George Romero!

WASP - Kill, Fuck, Die

WASP is a band that many people associate with hair metal. While it is true they had big hair, and did do a glam rock album, the band was overall NOT hair metal. They began as more of a satanic/occult shock rock/metal band. The first few WASP albums were way heavier than most hair metal and the later ones moved into a much more serious, often political direction.

Well, right there in the middle was Kill, Fuck, Die, which is my favorite WASP album. After a short hiatus, the band returned and they were pissed off at the world. And it shows! It is their darkest album, it is their heaviest album, and it is the most experimental. Many fans were turned off by just how dark the lyrics were and the fact that Blackie incorporated Middle Eastern and industrial music into their sound. The WASP stage show grew even darker at this point as well including the slaughter of a dead pig and the brutal knife codpiece raping of Marilyn Manson. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to.

Kill, Fuck, Die is the one album I have found that non-WASP fans often enjoy. So if you want some heavy metal with screeching vocals, industrial high lights, and Middle Eastern guitar riffs, give K.F.D. a listen.

Lene Nystrom - Play with Me

Now for a very different album that I love, that NO ONE else has heard. Lene, as you may know, is the singer for the Danish pop group Aqua. They had a huge hit with Barbie Girl and some minor hits followed. No, they were not a one hit wonder. Every one of their singles charted and did well. And that was just in America. In Europe the band stayed, and remains, huge.

So I can understand how some may not have liked Aqua. Lene's voice, especially the cutesy style parts, is something you love or hate. Well, there isn't much of that on Play with Me, Lene's first solo album. What you have instead is sexy dance music mixed with rock and touches of pop. It is much more akin to the poppier Lords of Acid songs. Lene had said in an interview that the Bloodhound Gang was a big inspiration and that certainly shows. The lyrics aren't silly like theirs, but the song structures and sound is very similar. So kind of picture BHG with a sexy female vocalist, often singing about sex. That is this album!

2012 Universal Monster toys

2012-02-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

Coming in 2012

Man, I can't wait for that Creature.

Special thanks to Johnny Thunder's Midnite Spook Frolic for posting the info!

How to watch Erotic Nights of the Living Dead

2012-01-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

Erotic Nights of the Living Dead aka Sexy Nights of the Living Dead, is a movie that had a lot going for it and should have been amazing. Yet, for several obvious reasons, it was not. Some of those reasons being a blogged down plot in the beginning(it takes an hour to get to the island) and some hardcore porn scenes. I love nudity in movies, but actual full on porn in a normal movie is very offputting to me.

These things aside, the movie has real potential. Cool zombies, George Eastman being all badassy, great music, nice scenery, and of course, Laura Gemser. So on a recent re-watch I made my own edit of the film, so the speak. Basically with a few chapter skips and a tad of fast forwarding, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead becomes a really cool Italian zombie movie with some great eye candy. I have not seen the edited version, so this guide is only for the uncut edition. So here we go!

1. Begin at Chapter 2 and fast forward to the 5:45 mark.
2. At the 9 minute mark, jump ahead to chapter 8
3. At 34:18 jump to Chapter 8
4. At 43:25 fast forward to 50:32
5. At 125:00 jump to Chapter 15

This seem like a bit of work, but it is worth it! Enjoy the Voodoo Rob edit of Erotic Nights of the Living Dead.

Spookies - 1986 Twisted Anger Undead Edition

2012-01-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

Today's update is about the Twisted Anger special release of Spookies on DVD. You may remember my review of Twisted Anger a few months back. They are an amazing company offering some of the rarest movies around, at good prices, and in GOOD quality.

Spookies is a very strange, but very cool monster movie. It has the typical 80s teens in a haunted house kind of plot, but with some of the most unique monsters ever put on film. Ranging from a really cool Grim Reaper to a spider woman to zombies. It kind of feels like a video. The people go from place to place in the house and run into different monsters. I highly recommend it for monster movie fans and 80s horror fans.

This Twister Anger special edition is really a great release. Not only has Spookies never been released on DVD before now, this version is of the best quality I have ever seen of it. Far better than the old VHS release in the late 80s. The packaging is top notch with full color artwork on case and DVD, as well as a unique looking white DVD case. For only 11.90 this DVD is a steal. I really just can't say enough nice things about Twisted Anger. So head on over and buy Spookies Undead Edition and 12 other titles.

And make sure and check out Twisted Anger's website
and Facebook

Happy Hellidays from Voodoo Rob

2011-12-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

In honor of Christmas...yes Christmas(it's ok to say it), here is my favorite Christmas song off my favorite Christmas themed album, King Diamond's The Puppet Master.

Trailer Time!

2011-12-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

And now for another instalment of some of my favorite trailers! Being that it is cold out, I figured I'd do a summery themed post. Enjoy.

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals - starring my favorite actress, Laura Gesmer. This movie is great cause it works as a horror movie AND a titty movie. Great date movie.

Bikini Summer - Probably my second favorite bikini movie. Lots of nudity, fun hi-jinx, and several laughs. The early '90s was such an amazing time for boobie movies.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death - From the looks of the trailer, I thought this movie would be kind of boobie movie. But in truth, it has very little nudity. It is more so just a fun '80s comedy. Kind of a silly Indiana Jones.

X-Men Second Coming

2011-12-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

I've been an avid X-Men fan since the early '90s. I started collecting somewhere around issue 200 and haven't stopped since. Recently, I really got back into the swing of things and collected some crossovers and mini-series that I had missed. The culmination of this was the 2010 mega-cross-over Second Coming. And wow, I have not read an X-Men event this good since The Age of Apocalypse back in '95.

The plot is complicated, so I won't go too much into here. But basically, after an event called M-Day, most of the worlds mutants were lost. For almost a year no new mutants were born and the mutant race was dying off. Then, during the also great Messiah Complex, a new mutant was born. This new mutant brought hope that the mutant race would not die off. To protect her, Cable took her off into the future.

Second Coming picks up with the sential hybrid Bastian making an attempt to not only kill off the remaining mutants, but to kill Hope(the mutant Messiah). The writing is dark and fast paced, yet still deep. There is a feeling of urgency throughout the whole book as the X-Men try to get to Hope before Bastian does. Also, a major character is killed off.

If you've been out of X-Men for awhile, I would recommend you getting the Messiah Complex and Messiah War graphic novels first. But with the three of them you have one of the greatest comic epics ever written. THere is also some amazing art within, especially the X-Force issues.

I Love Ilsa

2011-11-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

I Love Ilsa is my newest novel, the first of three in a new horror/comedy series. Definitely the best thing I have ever written. So instead of ranting about how good I think it is, I'll just put the publisher summary up!

The story of a band of monsters, Pretending to be a band of humans, Pretending to be a band of monsters!

Monsters are commonplace and have lived among humans since the 1970s. There was a time when the two races were at war. But now, years after the war, the two are at an uneasy truce. I Love Ilsa follows the zany adventures and tour of an all monster rock band made up of mostly girl-crazy female members and only one male. From an epic battle with emo zombies in Florida to an evil carnival in California, I Love Ilsa is a funny and ultra violent tale that rock and horror fans alike will love!

Monster High

2011-10-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Being an avid toy collector, I am always on the lookout for new cool and/or random weird toys. A little over a year ago I discovered, what I thought was going to be a rare gem. On the bottom shelf, almost hidden, at a Toys R Us was a new toy line called Monster High. The concept was that these 10 inch fashion dolls were the daughters of famous monsters including Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and generic monsters such as the sea monster, zombie, etc. The dolls were very cute, really unique looking, and a really nice addition to the world of monster toys. I assumed they would come and go quickly, being rare at best. Monster fashion dolls seemed a bit scary for kids and a bit too girly for the often "macho" monster fans.

Spectra - Daughter of the Ghost

Well, I was thankfully wrong. Here we are a year later and the line has blown up to include so many new dolls and monsters, playsets, a clothing line, a webshow, Comic Con exclusives, the whole shebang! For once I am thankful to collectors, because I really believe it is adults who are keeping this line alive. The fanbase is rather rabid and wage a constant battle against shady toy herders/resalers.

As I said, the dolls are about 10 inches tall. They all come with accessories and some come with extra outfits. They are a tad frail, but unless you are actually playing with said dolls a lot, they should be fine. And for only around 20 bucks, it is easy to build up a large collection fast. I personally collect Lagoona, who is the daughter of the sea monster(generic term for the creature from the Black Lagoon). Most of the dolls are really cool and creative. There are a few duds though. All the males look terrible, either like boy band members or hipsters. Try to avoid those!

Most of the dolls are readily available at Toys R Us, Target, and Amazon. I highly recommend them, especially if you are a monster collector and are tired at looking at dudes all the time.

Draculara - Daughter of Dracula

Abby Bominable - Daughter of the Yeti

Lagoona - Daughter of the Sea Monster

Ghoulia - Daughter of the Zombie

Twisted Anger Video

2011-09-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is the first of what may become a regular feature on Hellbilly Hollywood. I do a lot of internet shopping. Hell, most of my shopping is done on the net now. Sales tax, and everything being overpriced here, makes shopping in Hollywood not worth it.

So I thought I would do a feature on some of the better places I shop from. Not only to send a little business their way, but to help other net shoppers like me to find good, trust worthy, places to order from.

Today I would like to talk about Twisted Anger, a DVD site I discovered semi-recently. Back in the days before the net, cult movie collectors like myself often had to struggle to get ahold of certain films. Usually it was mail order or from cons. The movies often were horrible quality, with weird subtitles or in another language, with crappy artwork. But you know, there was a certain charm and excitement to that. I'll never forget my coverless, copy of a copy of a copy of Hard Gore I paid 25 bucks for in the early '90s.

These days, with the internet and downloading, and most movies just a download away, the whole bootleg or underground movie market has dwindled away. But not over at Twisted Anger. Channard, the dude that runs the site, has managed to capture and bring back that feeling and then some.

Twister Anger Review:
Twisted Anger is a DVD site that specializes in rare and out of print movies ranging from horror to westerns to porn. The dvds are not only affordable, but of very good quality. They have menus, chapter stops, and are playable on any DVD player. It is obvious a lot has gone into these transfers.

Twisted Anger offers two different kinds of DVDs. There is the standard edition which is the disc only, but it has a label printed directly on the disc and features chapter stops and menus. These discs are a steal at only $6.45 each. I bought Endgame, starring Laura Gemser, which is a standard. Then he offers the deluxe editions which have full color printing on the disc, full, unique covers, and any bonus material Twister Anger could put together. The packaging looks better than many store bought DVDs. And these run only $11.90.

Example of Standard edition

Example of the Deluxe edition.

And how is the quality, you may be asking? From what I have seen it is very good. Each DVD has a rating on its info page, and to be honest, I think Channard is a little harsher with his transfers than I would be. For example, my copy of Endgame has great picture and sound for an old Italian print. I would have given it a 9 or 10, yet the site listed it as an 8. So you can trust the ratings.

Shipping took about three weeks. Which may not be Amazon fast, but Twisted Anger is one dude working his ars off. So it is understandable and worth it for such quality. Ordering was simple, easy, and I was very pleased with my purchase.

So head on over to Twisted Anger and check it out! The about me section gives a much more in-depth overview of how he does things.

Here is just a small list of some of rare gems this site has to offer:
Spookies
Dinosaur Island
C.H.U.D. II
Tarzan X:Shame of Jane
Edward Penishands
Ilsa: Tigress of Siberia
Evil Dead the Musical

5 Voodooriffic Questions with Chuck Cirino

2011-08-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Chuck Cirino is a name you may have never heard.....but you certainly should have. Chuck is a man that, for some unknown reason, is not a household name. When in fact, Chuck is pretty much a legend in the B-movie world. An accomplished composer, he has over 50 scores under his belt. Including such amazing films as Chopping Mall, Terror Toons, Return of Swamp Thing, and Dinosaur Island.

Not only that, Chuck was the mastermind behind one of the greatest pieces of 90s pop culture, the nationally aired, Weird TV which I covered here! Also, his very entertaining webshow, Weird Los Angeles, of which Voodoo Rob is a constant viewer.

Q. What two famous, or not-so-famous, monsters that have never battled, would you like to see battle?
A. I would like to see one of Roger Corman's "Crab Monsters" battle "Alien". I think the mixture of rubber, plastic and paper mache would make a great protein shake.

Q. Harmonica(Once Upon a Time in the West) vs. Blondie(The Good, the Bad, the Ugly), who would win in a gunfight?
A. Blondie always wins, even if he doesn't have a musical instrument to play.

Q. You've been all across weird America and then some. What is the single weirdest thing you have seen?
A. That would have to be the three massive school buses I found buried nose-down in the ground somewhere in Oregon. There was no explanation for why they were there or who planted them.

Q. You are a very prolific, yet underrated composer, having recorded some amazing scores. Do you have a favorite score you have written?
A. I know this sounds clichéd, but my favorite piece of music is always the one I'm working on now. Whatever that may be.

Q. The Chuck Cirino deluxe edition action figure with Weird action grip....what accessories would it come with?
A. One full-sized star ship with full interstellar capabilities, the ultimate gourmet food synthesizer and a hot female side-kick.

Since Chuck was awesome enough to take the time to answer these questions, you should take the time to run over to the Weird America website to watch great weird things. Then go to over to Weird TV on DVD and buy every DVD. You will NOT be disappointed.

Lollipop Chainsaw!

2011-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Can't wait for this one! Coming 2012.

Top Ten Bad Remakes

2011-07-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

And now for a list of remakes that failed on one level or another from bad to terrible.

Ten Pooptastic Remakes(in no real order):

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2005 - Inferior in pretty much every way. It lacked the vibe, the look, and the integrity of the original. Tim Burton, in yet another dreadful remake, threw his generic style over a classic and tried to make up for in flash what it lacked in...well...everything. Johnny Depp couldn't even save this stinker.

2. A Nightmare on Elmstreet 2010 - The Freddy movies, as they are often called, were made what they were by Robert Englund. His personalty and acting is what made Freddy what he was. It was really a role that no one could play but Englund. This flat feeling, dull, and generic remake, took all the personality out of the character. The acting was poor and the cast completely generic. You need to either love or hate a cast. When you don't care at all, something has been done wrong. And Freddy's new look, that of a real burn victim, just looked sad, not scary.

3. Planet of the Apes 2001 - Another crime against cinema by Tim Burton. Poorly acted, all flash, completely missed the point and the feeling of the Planet of the Apes movies. Had Burton even seen one? Then to top it all off, the ridiculous, vague ending. Was that an attempt to hint at a sequel? Gawd, I hope not.

4. The Crazies 2010 - Not a horrible movie, but bland, sorta dull, and just not needed. What made the original so good was the vibe of it all. This film lacked any kind of personality. It played everything very safe.

5. Batman 1989 - Like Batman Begins, this wasn't a remake but a reboot. And a terrible one at that. Batman was barely in it, Joker was mangled and far removed from the source material, and the look of it was confused and should have been another movie. Again I ask, had Tim Burton ever read a Batman comic? Another case of using flash and style to cover up a bad movie. The Burton formula.

6. Transformers 2007 - Not a remake or reboot persay, but I just couldn't resist mentioning this "film". Poorly written, poorly acted, silly, stupid, complete lack of respect to the source material. Even with a Rifftrax running I was barely able to make it through this. Not even Megan Fox's hotty hot hotness could save it. Easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

7. Day of the Dead 2008 - A key sign that a movie is going to be terrible is if it stars a rapper. I usually won't watch anything starring a rapper, but since the Dawn of the Dead remake was good, I gave Day of the Dead a shot. I am sorry I did. Horrible, silly, and not funny(though it tried). Just bad bad bad. Rappers should NOT be allowed to act. Not as bad as Transformers, but darn near close. Uwe Boll would have been proud!

8. Dark Water 2005 - Boring American remake of a boring Japanese film which was an adaption of a boring Japanese short story. But being that I don't like J-Horror overall, I may be a tad biased. Either way, Dark Water was dulllllllllllll. And for the record, I actually really like the author that wrote the story. Just not that story.

9. Quarantine 2008 - Haven't seen the original and actually kind of enjoyed the remake. BUT, I have a weak stomach when it comes to motion(car sickness and such) and all the shaky cam made me quite sick to my stomach. Not the movie's fault, but now I associate it with nausea. Plus, I find that girl from Dexter kind of gross.

10. Prom Night 2008 - I made it twenty minutes before I turned it off. Teen horror in the 80s worked. Teen horror now, does not. 80s teen horror was sleazy and often full of nudity. Nowadays it might as well air on the Disney channel.

And some upcoming remakes I dread: The Crow, Susperia, and Spiderman.

Wow, that was a much more involved blog than I had meant. I'm a big boy blogger now!

Voodoo Rob's first top ten list - Remakes

2011-06-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

The topic today is the dreaded remake. Purists love to hate them. Teenie boopers with no concept of the past love them. Me, I'm in the middle. There are some that are good, some that are as good as, and some that are better than the original. I have to agree with the purists in some cases. Some movies just have no need to be remade. But some, could use it for sure. What makes a good remake? There really isn't one thing I can put my finger on. But it is clear when the film makers just didn't get it.

Top Ten Remakes(in no real order):

1. The Thing 1982 - An amazing movie that many don't even know is a remake. A total revamping of the 1951 movie, The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter's redo is better on every level. Though the original is a good watch, this one far surpasses it.

2. Batman Begins 2005 - Ok, so not really a remake but a reboot. Regardless, it is so many times better than Tim Burton's disaster that Batman 1989 should be make illegal. And Tim Burton should be forced to read the Batman Begins script 100 times as punishment for his crime against comic books.

3. Halloween 2007 - This is another of those rare cases where I think the remake was better than the original. With all the added back story and the pure fierceness of Michael, Zombie really took the story to the next level. I re-watched the original not too long ago and it just didn't strike me the same way that Zombie's did. I know, horror purists are getting pissed now. And to make that worse, I thought Zombie's Halloween II was by far the best entry in the Halloween series. The only real complaint I have about both, which I understand the critics blasting of, is Zombie really doesn't write young people dialog very well. And only in a perfect world does a cheerleader wear a Slayer shirt.
Honestly, people love to hate this movie. But the thing is, say what you will about it, there is no arguement that it is better than any of the later Halloweens. I don't understand how people can talk trash about Zombie's Halloween but defend Halloween H20.

4. I Spit on Your Grave 2010 - A good remake of one of my favorite movies. The violence was really well done and updated, it wasn't made silly, and the lead actress did a great job(not to mention her fantastic buttocks). I only had a few small complaints here. It needed more sexy nudity. They whole "I'm back, seducing the badguys" element was gone. Also, they switched the setting to the South. It's that Hollywood media bias against the South. Cause rape and terrible things only happen in the deep South right? That nonsense aside, it was a good watch.

5. Friday the 13th 2009 - You know, I like Jason. He is a cool looking and fun killer, but I just have never enjoyed the earlier films very much. I think 6 is by far the best, when it had gone in a really different, supernatural direction. This remake managed to take the best elements of the early films, combine them with some boobies, and make a fun movie. Also, it did a little something I love in horror movies. It made most of the cast super annoying. Maybe you aren't supposed to root for the killer, but sure enough I had a great time seeing most of these turds get it. The dude from supernatural, one of the only non-annoying characters, was a good lead and carried the movie well.

6. Dawn of the Dead 2004 - This movie had A LOT going against it. First, it was a remake of my all time favorite movie. Second, it had an annoying, militant gangsta type in the main cast. Third, it was flashy and had those stupid running zombies ala 30 Days Later. But even with all those things, the movie still ended up being a good watch. Why I think it worked was because it was so different than the original, it was really only a remake in title and the mall setting. None of the same characters, totally different plot, and no attempts to recreate old scenes. So it was like a whole new zombie movie. A decent one at that.

7. The Blob 1988 - The original was a fun little movie, cool nothing but nothing great. The remake was pretty much the same way. Fun movie, cool monster, nothing great. But this one had Shawnee Smith in the lead. That is my money's worth right there! Also, the deaths were much cooler and I like the sequel that never happened hinting ending.

8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 - When I first heard about this movie I was pissed off. I felt there was NO need to remake it. And after the disaster that was TCM 4, I just knew it was gonna be total crap. I went to the cheap theater with a total bias against the movie and walked out disgusted and hating the film completely. Yeah, I let bias get the better of me. Not sure why, but later I gave the movie another shot and really enjoyed it. It was true enough to the original with a few new twists. Though I missed the Nubbins, the sheriff was really fun and the lack of annoying Franklin was even better. Plus, Jessica Biel in a cowboy hat....mmmhmmm. I won't even put on a front, I like eye candy and expect most horror films to have it. Any straight dude that says he doesn't want hot girls in his movies is lieing, trying to sound sophisticated, or trying to impress a girl.

9. Piranha 3D 2010 - I will admit I have not seen the original since I was a little kid. But I wasn't overly fond of it. After watching the remake I went back and tried to watch the original and didn't make it but a few minutes in. The remake was so much fun I think it ruined any potential the first one had for me. The remake had amazing amounts of nudity, violence and gore. The cast was really good too. I highly recommend this one. It's fun, it's silly, and doesn't make any attempt to take itself seriously. The film makers really captured that 80s vibe here.

10. The Ring 2002 - Time to piss the purists off even more. The American redo of the Japanese film Ringu was better on every level imaginable. Ringu was entertaining, but not the least bit scary or creepy and the victims looked silly. The remake was better written, far creepier, and had amazing effects. It really upped the supernatural element and had me on edge the entire film. It was one of two movies that have actually creeped me out in my adult life. I think being a remake, and a remake of a foreign film, people have a bias against it. They want to believe the original is better. It was so scary to the Japanese because of an ingrained cultural thing about ghosts of that style. They are iconic over there. To an American that style of ghost was about as iconic as Elvis to a caveman. The remake added an American flare to it, making it actually scary to a western audience.

Some honorable mentions include: House of Wax, The Shining, Psycho, The Wolfman

To be continued with my top ten list of BAD remakes!

The Grind by Ultra Flesh

2011-06-17T03:29:00.000-07:00

The Grind, directed by Gary Landry Jr., is a stunning tribute to 70's grindhouse movies. It has it all; explosions, half naked girls, blood, and even a robot! It may very well be the greatest music video of all time! Or I could be just biased, being that I have a small connection to the band.

THE GRIND from Gary Landry Jr on Vimeo.

If you like what you hear, be sure and check out Grindploitation, the newest album by Ultra Flesh.

Millionaire's Express aka. Shanghai Express

2011-06-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

Millionaire's Express, aka. Shanghai Express, is one of my all time favorite martial arts films. I got it on DVD recently and decided to do a little write up about it. The movie, which a mix of comedy, martial arts, and spaghetti western; stars the very underrated Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung.

Millionaire's Express is about a small Western town in China that is having money troubles. Sammo Hung, who plays a lovable scoundrel, brings in some whores and a big plot to save the town. He decides to strand a trainload of rich people nearby, forcing them to stay in the town. Simple enough, but there are also several other plotlines running within the train. Once in the town, it all comes together. The film ends with pretty much everyone coming together and battling. It is quite fun.

What makes the movie really stand out, other than the things I have mentioned, is the large cast of very quirky characters. It ranges from some very sneaky Japanese warriors, a group of bandits(featuring Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton), the local police(who are in Jail for robbing the only bank in town), some gangsters from Shanghai, and Yuen Biao and what used to be the fire department.

If you like comedy martial arts and westerns, I think you will enjoy Millionaire's Express. Even if you don't enjoy those type of movies, you might just like this one. It is also one of those stand-out movies that I have shown to Non-Martial Arts fans and they enjoyed it a lot.

A Rob Zombie interview....sorta!

2011-05-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

Over on Rob Zombie's official blog he is answering random questions from fans. There were already a 100 something questions asked, but I figured I would shoot one over, just to see. And sure enough, mine is one of the ones he answered. So here ya go, the only Rob Zombie "interview" I will ever get to do.

Q. Will we ever get to see some more superbeasto, in comic or animated form?

A. I hope so. I having been talking with Tom Papa lately about bringing Mr. Beasto back. I'm not sure yet in what format, but he will return one day to sort of fight crime and party.

Hopefully this happens. The world desperately needs more el Super Beasto. So hop on over and check out Zombie's film blog.

Hell Ride 2008

2011-03-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hell Ride is a little Quentin Tarantino presents gem that I somehow, until this weekend, had not seen. And I am glad I did. Hell Ride is a true modern Grindhouse film. It isn't one of those ones styled to be like the 70s exploitation films, it just simply is one of those, just made now.

Starring and directed by Larry Bishop, who has done many exploitation films in the past, Hell Ride is a biker epic full of violence, back stabbing, and nudity! And shockingly enough, even though these are supposed to be biker women, they all had good bodies.

The plot isn't too complex, but has some nice twists and turns. Two rival gangs of bikers battle over a hidden treasure and a murdered Native American drug dealer. But in films like these, it's the writing and dialog that carry them, not the plot per-say. Some of the best movies of all time have simple plots. People switch sides, they die, they look at naked girls, it was great.

My only real complaint about the film is the bad guy's hangout looks like it was filled up with Suicide Girls for extras. Doesn't really affect the movie at all, but geez I hate them suicide girls. And there is enough nice looking girls to make up for it. Looking past that, I enjoyed the movie alot. It definitely has that early Tarantino feel to it.

Hell Ride also stars Michael Madsen, Dennis Hopper, and Vinnie Jones.

Random Music Post!

2011-03-12T02:49:00.001-08:00

Micro Bikini Oily Dance

2011-02-21T16:27:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog I promised some sleaze. Well, I kind of slacked on that element of the blog. Trying my hardest to promote things I want to.....promote. So I am long overdue in giving you a dose of sex and sleaze.

Today I will be talking about Reggae Dance. A semi-new movement in Japan where girls basically just dance around in the skimpiest bikinis they can find. How is this different from strip clubs or strippers? Well, from my understanding these Reggae Dances are more like special events. The girls do them for the thrill of performing and rarely get fully naked. There is no interaction with the males in the audience. So kind of a bikini show.

I stumbled across Reggae Dance from a DVD series called Micro Bikini Oily Dance, which is basically a filmed version of one of the dances. Being a sucker for bikinis and oily girls, I was instantly hooked and filled up my computer with Reggae Dance downloads. I would love to actually collect that DVDs, but the only place I have found them is the extremely overpriced J-list. And I refuse to buy anything from those bandits.

So if you enjoy the clip, here is a rapidshare link to download Vol 2, the one the clip is for.

Weird TV

2011-02-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

The 90s. A strange time for those of us who were of a semi-close to adult age. I am very torn with the 1990s in general. The early 90s were awesome. Great music, cool pop culture stuff, bikini movies were at their pinnacle, rap wasn't garbage yet. It was a good time. Then, around 1995 it all went to crap and the 90s became a terrible decade for pop culture. Boy bands, gangster rap, rap metal, movies like the Matrix, the rise and fall of Marilyn Manson. Just a black mark on pop culture history. Those of you who think things are bad now, just imagine flipping channels and being bombarded with crap like the Deftones or N'Sync. MTV began slowly phasing out music at this pont. Bleak bleak bleak!

One of the last great pop culture items of the 90s was the amazing Weird TV that ran in 1995. It only ran for a season, and came on at 3 in the morning in my home town, but was still a not-to-miss show. My friends and I would stay up late with great anticipation every Saturday night.

Weird TV was like the late night TV of the late 70s and 80s. Random skits, serials, music videos, interviews, it was like Night Flight but weirder! Programs like Adult Swim of today are the closest thing we have to this sort of television, but they just don't have the same charm that Weird TV had. Adult Swim has its moments for sure, but it is trying to be like things like Weird TV, whereas Weird TV and Night Flight were what they were.

Some of the recurring skits(thanks wiki) of Weird TV were:
Weird America, a segment of the show in which the crew flies out to unusual events all across the country. For example, "Car Hunt," where a full-sized, remote-controlled car is let loose in the Nevada desert and is hunted down with high-powered weapons, "just like big game," according to Cirino.

Shadoevision, a continuing science-fiction thriller hosted by Shadoe Stevens.
The Dr. Ruehl show, where noted "phenomenologist" Dr. Franklin Ruehl talks about viewers of the latest cases of strange phenomena.
Video Dave's UFO Clip of the Week, where Dave Aaron reports on the latest extraterrestrial sightings from around the world.
Newsweird, which features strange news from around the globe.

I had been searching for, and hoping for, Weird TV to be released on video or DVD ever since it first aired. Now, finally, thanks to Weird TV mastermind Chuck Cirino, the entire series it available on DVD. I recieved the first DVD recently and it is awesome. Great to see this stuff again. It has definately held the test of time.

The only flaw with the DVDs is a lack of chapter stops. You have to watch it straight through. Which kind of makes it feel more like late night TV or VHS. Which I guess is kind of cool in a way. Nonetheless, this is an amazing show that all weirdos NEED to see.

You can order the DVDs directly from them at: The Weird TV site
Or grab them below from Amazon.
Click here to watch the trailer for the first episode.

Wicked City

2011-01-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

This first paragraph will be mostly reminiscing and rambling about anime, so if that doesn't interest you, just skip ahead to the second paragraph for info on Wicked City. I have been into anime for most of my life, I just didn't know it was something different until my teens. Growing up in the 80s I watched alot of Nickelodeon. Back when it started it had no original programming, just whatever random crap they could get a hold of.Many of those early cartoons were in fact, anime. The Little Prince, Grimms Fairy Tales, and Bell and Sebastian to name a few. I was a big Voltron fan growing up and dabbled in Robotech. It wasn't until spring break 1992 when my local Movie Gallery added a tiny animation section that I really realized these cartoons were Japanese and sort of their own genre. I rented up everything they had from Robot Carnival to Windaria, the old Streamline Pictures releases. Not long after I saw Vampire Hunter D. and I was totally hooked. Watching so much anime over the years I have seen trends come and go and suffered through the anime explosion where every other thing on TV was Japanese.

That being said, I come to Wicked City. This review is for the book, not the anime. Written by Hideyuki Kikuchi in 1985, Wicked City tells the story of an elite guard that defends the human world against demons from, you guessed it, the demon world. Written in first person, it is a journal of sorts of a man named Taki, a human who uses psychic powers to battle demons. His partner, a good demon named Makie, joins him to protect a small Italian pervert who is instrumental in keeping the peace between the two worlds. The plot may seem generic, but you have to keep in mind when it was written. It was one of the first of its kind and set the stage for dark animes and hentai to come. Hideyuki would develop plot devices and gags that would forever be mainstays in hentai. Don't get me wrong, Wicked City is not hentai, it has a serious plot and much action, but it is very naughty in parts including a giant vagina with teeth that tries to eat the hero.

I go won't too much more into the story. It is fairly similar to the anime adaption, but with much more detail. The world they live in and the urgency of the peace treaty make a great deal more sense. If you liked the anime, you will enjoy the book even more. It is also cool to see the blueprint for modern anime.

The translation, by Tor/Seven Seas publishing is fair, though slightly confusing in a few select parts. Not enough to discourage from reading, but enough to make you have to go back and read a couple of sentences over again. There are also some scattered illustrations throughout the book. The art is good, but often contradicts Kikuchi's descriptions completely. Makie is described as having long dark hair in the book, yet the drawing of her has short blonde hair.

Wicked City, subtitle Black Guard, is the first of three Wicked City books put out by Tor/Seven Seas. If there are more coming I am not aware.

If you are a fan of dark, somewhat sexual, fiction, you will enjoy Wicked Enjoy. Many people compare the author to Stephen King, which I do not agree with at all. I think Clive Barker would be a better Western author to compare to.

Wicked City went on to be adapted into an anime and a Chinese live action film.

It's Trailer Time!

2011-01-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here is, what I hope to make, a regular new feature here at HH. Enjoy some of my favorite trailers ranging from horror to bikini movie.

Vampyros Lesbos, probably my favorite sleaze-film of the 70s. Great cast, music, visuals. Amazing.

Thriller, aka They Call Her One Eye. I've only seen the hardcore version, which I actually didn't care for. But I love the trailer.

Destroy All Monsters, my second favorite Godzilla movie. A MUST see for fans of DaiKaiju.

Finally, Bikini Carwash Company, the Citizen Kane of bikini movies. That is, if Citizen Kane wasn't long, boring, pretentious and had hot bikini girls.

Dynaman!

2010-12-29T23:32:00.000-08:00

My first exposure to the world of Sentai Rangers was not Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, like with most, but with Dynaman which ran on USA in 1987. Years before Saban would retool and re-edit Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, the USA Network's Night Flight dubbed and put out their own version of Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, known simply as Dynaman.

Rather than translating the plot, Night Flight created its own very silly comedy centered dub and replaced the Japanese music with 80s metal, punk, and pop. It was quite cleaver and the lampooning of Japanese culture still makes me laugh. The voice acting, which was an over-the-top parody of Kung-Fu movie dubs, is very well done.

I caught this show late night, which was when Night Flight ran, by accident one saturday night and was hooked. Back in the 80s little gems like this were rare. This was many years before everything Japanese became a big trend. Sadly, there were only 8 dubbed episodes, but all are well worth watching if you can find them. My personal favorite is Episode 6: The Last Adventure of Spunky the Wonder Squid.

Cracked Monster Party

2010-12-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

As a youngin', growing up obsessed with monsters and comics, one of my favorite reads was Cracked Monster Party. Many people have accused Cracked of being nothing more than a Mad parody. But in my view, a person that never liked Mad, Cracked was far better. Mad was a bit snotty and I wasn't familiar with many of the things they parodied. Cracked on the other hand focused on many things I liked, especially monsters.

Cracked Monster Party began in 1988 as an offshoot of the main magazine and ran until 2000 or so. It's focus was horror movies and classic monsters but done in a funny way. The content featured short comics by the great John Severin(stories like Dracula looking for a new line of work), classic horror screen caps with funny captions, monster interviews, original comics, movie parodies, random pin-up art, and more. One of my favorite articles as a child was the Transylvanian Translation guide.

By today's standards the humor may seem a bit childish, but for the time it really hit home with an 80s monster kid. Any classic monster fan should be able to look back on this stuff and at least smile.

Sadly, the magazine is long out of print. But sites like http://www.mycomicshop.com/ gets back issues here and there for a good price. Very much worth grabbing an issue or two.

Thanks to Satire Gallery for the cover scans!