The Video Creep with Casey C. Corpier

Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark

2019-08-14T14:54:00.002-07:00

It seems that the Halloween season is beginning early this year. The Alamo Drafthouse is planning a great time for all with their annual even. There is a great amount of flicks coming out and this week has seen the release of the highly anticipated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Personally I have been waiting for this flick for a while being a fan of the original stories by Allan Schwartz and growing up during the banning of the books in the 80s while in elementary school and seeing their rise to immortality in the hands and eyes of readers like myself on the playgrounds, and this movie gives these stores a new meaning to that statement.

Following his genre hits Trollhunter and The Autopsy of Jane Doe director André Øvredal has joined genre master and Academy Award Winner Guillermo del Toro as producer of the film inspired by the infamous literary trilogy.

Now you will notice that I said Inspired. Well that is due to the fact that while there are many references to the books they aren’t exactly the same.

Del Toro made the decision not to make the flick into an anthology movie in order to avoid comparisons to films like Creepshow and Trick R Treat and to go in a different direction.

Now that direction makes me feel that the movie is a crossbreed between Hulu’s Castle Rock and the Goosebumps movie in the fact that the movie follows a trio of teenagers while enjoying what they feel will be their last night of Trick or Treating confront the town bully and meet a young outcast and decide to go to the local Haunted House and tell the local urban legend.

Our main character Stella, a local horror fan who is also in conflict after the abandonment of her mother, finds and steals a book belonging to Sarah Bellow, the local centerpiece of the legend.

Fascinated by the stories Stella soon sees that the book writes itself with the fears of the people that it encounter and these fears are based on the stories that the victims have heard in the past.

Stella and her friends now must stop the stories from happening while solving the mystery of Sarah Bellows and her magic book.

Now I feel that it is more appropriate to say that the inspiration of the book takes the form of Easter Eggs as while the stories take life form that aren’t the same as the book and are completely different in their outcomes which makes it interesting for those of us familiar with the stories and their outcomes.

That being said the film is in many ways predictable and runs the same as many of the films that you can find today with the Conjuring and Insidious films.

Younger viewers will get a kick out of the Jump Scares and the suspense but I feel that they will find the flow of the film is slow in getting to the plot and may get board early on but when the scares begin they are good.

I have to express my disappointment with the references to the book in the fact that there are too few of them. While the use of Harold and "Me Tie Dough-ty Walker" and the others are nice there are so many more that I would have liked to be seen.

Granted The Hook has been done to Death but I would have liked to have seen The Thing and Wonderfull Sausage being shown through the eyes of the directors.

Those issues aside this was not a bad flick and I can see it having a long life on the streaming sites especially around Halloween.

2 Dead Bodies

2 Disappeared Bodies

1 Disembodiment

5 Beasts

Spiders

Stalking

Stabbing

Arms Roll

Legs Roll

Torso Rolls

And

Head Rolls

3 Stars

Check It out

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

2019-07-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

What is this recent fascination with Ted Bundy that we are seeing on the net over the past year!?!

It seems that Joe Berlinger is at it again Now as many of you may be aware is that I am a fan of Berlinger and you are all ranting about his two past flicks Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and the more recent Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile which are both available on Netflix.

First off I have to do a disclaimer.

The truth is that I don’t often do true crime as I have had my fair shares of runs ins with those on the net and it is often when I talk about this subgenre. I have received many not so friendly comments due to my support of the Death Penalty as well as my desire to bring back the Electric Chair.

Ted Bundy is a firm reason for this belief. That and I am a Texan, What can I say.

In contrast to that statement I am also a huge supporter of The West Memphis Three and in Joe Berlinger’ trilogy of documentaries that led to their freedom and my support of them has led to many backlashes on the internet as well. You can find my review of these documentaries in the archives.

Now on to the flicks.

You see everyone is going on about these flicks because apparently they are trying to “Make us have Sympathy for Bundy” and to “Make Bundy appealing”. Okay I have a question...WHAT FLICKS ARE YOU PEOPLE WATCHING!!!

Now first off Ted Bundy was a lying peace of work that got his jollies; and I mean that in the literal sense by bashing women’s skulls in and strangling them and then returning to them so he can perform some necrophilia on their corpses. He was also a thief and con-man who thought he was smarter than the every lawyer in judge that he came across and truly believed he would get away with it all.

In the end was so afraid of being taken to “Old Sparky” down there in Florida that he tried every trick in his book of con jobs that he was able to stay his execution for a decade.

He even tried to help them find The Green River Killer to No avail.

Well the reason that I am asking What movie did everyone see is that when I saw these flicks myself I did not get the impression that everyone says that they got.

Let’s start out with Conversations with a Killer, this documentary follows the format of the men sent to interview Bundy in regards to his crimes and his origin. Well the reactions from the journalists that were forced to work with him. They pretty much admitted that they despised him and that they were glad to see him get the chair.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile which I feel the need to point out that this flick is only Berlinger’s second foray into narrative film after Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows and features appearances from many of his past collaborators such as Jeffrey Donovan and Metallica frontman James Hetfield among others.

Here is what everyone is going on about with this flick is that it makes Bundy look like a romantic figure as it is told primarily from the point of view from his girlfriend Liz Kendall who was in a real relationship with Bundy, and had no idea that while they were together and he was even a father figure to her young daughter he was killing his victims.

The movie is based on on Kendall’s (whose real name is Kloepfer) memoir The Phantom Prince about her life with the sadistic killer.

The film begins at the moment where Liz first meets Ted and follows their relationship

It does deviate from this primary narrative because, well let’s face it we all already know the story of Ted Bundy. That being said As a result the film focuses less on the actual murders and more emphasis is given to the characters that define The story, There is constant shifts in pointo of view primarily following Bundy in his escapes, recaptures and the trial.

While all of this is going on Bundy relentlessly calls Liz driving her to dring and have trouble at work which leads to a relationship with her coworker Jerry played by Haley Joel Osment.

For the record Haley Joel Osment’s character does not really exist as he is a combination of multiple people in Kendall’s life who tries to help her deal with the facts about her former lover. I personally like the scene where he tries to get tough with Bundy over the phone.

There are other fictional elements in the film that were added for artistic purposes such as the growling dog.

I admit that I don’t know too much about Zac Efron as I have only seen one of the flicks he is in but I feel that he was a good pick for Ted Bundy.

Efron plays the character with the charm that was Bundy’s M.O. and how he was able to lure his victims and to avoid detection for so long. The depiction is quite accurate, especially in the way many “groupies” were going to the trial and Bundy even later got married and conceived a child while on death row.

John Malkovich was great in the role of Judge Edward Cowart.

As a fan of Joe Berlinger I would recommend this flick as well as for fans of True crime I recommend seeing flick along side The Stranger Beside based on the memoir from the late Ann Rule.

Now due to the circumstances of this story there will be no totals out of respect for the victims in this horrific case.

That being said please check this movie out.

Scary Stories

2019-06-05T14:13:00.001-07:00

While The Scary Stories Documentary seems like it would be the perfect special feature to the upcoming film being produced by Del Toro. I have been looking forward to this flick for quite sometime.

First let me explain for those of you that are not aware. Scary Stories is a trilogy of books published in the 80s and marketed to children. The books the stories in the books were greatly researched by author Alvin Schwartz who took stories from folklore around the world and retold them for children all while instructing the reader how to tell the stories to receive the best reactions.

These stories were accompanied by the morbid and dark artwork by Stephen Grammel.

While keeping the drawings black and white the artwork features a surprisingly large amount of gore and creative framing to particularly shock the reader. It is this fact that many claim brought in the controversy.

Scary Stories to tell in the Dark was banned in school libraries across the country, which effectively added to the desire for children to want to read them and many believe paved the way for other children’s books like Goosebumps among others.

Those of you that have followed my work know when I was growing up I was a rather large fan of the literary trilogy and they were a great influence in my works, as well as the works of other artists of my generation and the ones to follow.

In watching this documentary that followed the controversy that was generated by the frightening images and stories that made it the most challenged book for the past 20 years I was reminded of my own childhood and when I was introduced to Scary Stories to tell in the Dark and how fast it was removed from the shelves.

The funny thing about this ban in my school was that it was thwarted a few months later when the school had a book fair and Scary Stories to tell in the Dark was the number one seller at the fair.

Years later I would reflect in one of my films on the amount of us that were reading the book on the playground at recess, I would also think of it when I was watching The Ring and Stay Alive as if Scary Stories was some kind of cursed literature that was now out in the mainstream.

I would not view this as a bad thing rather than a victory over the censorship of the concerned parents that believed we would all become serial killers or would be scared to death of our own shadows. None of that happened.

While focusing on the controversy the film also explains the history of the making of the books and the research that Schwartz put into the history and folklore of the regions where the stories originated from.

The Documentary also follows the influence that the trilogy had in the artistic communities as well as the loyal fandom that includes tattoo artists and photographers that seek to recreate the Grammel artistary.

I enjoyed the sequences in the film where in the recollections of the subjects cut to flashbacks of animated sequences where the characters were drawn to resemble characters form the artwork from the book.

I would have loved to have been interviewed for this documentary but I am sure that the filmmakers weren’t aware of my history with this series.

For fans of Scary Stories and folklore I would love to recommend this documentary. While short it still cuts to the point while also making us reminisce of our own experiences with the books and is also a great reminder about the evils and censorship and that we can't be silenced...Especially when the ones in power don't even read the books that they are protesting.

I say Check it out.

Halloween (2018)

2018-10-19T12:02:00.001-07:00

The Halloween season is in full swing this week.

After enjoying “A Paranormal Evening with Alice Cooper” in the New Pavilion at the Toyota Music Factory, which Was awesome in many ways ranging from some of Alice’s Classics to the guitar solos from Nita Strauss. You have to ask, How do I follow this?

The awnser was over at the Alamo Drafthouse on Thursday October 18th for the Opening Festivities…and Shenanigans of the New Halloween Film.

The event began with the 4:20 screening of the original 1978 classic.

Now those of you that are familiar with me know my love for this flick and know that my number of viewings of this flick ranks in the 30s the truth is that I never tire of it and I realized that this night and to be honest with you, the place to see it is on the big screen in a theater with the fans where it was always intended to be seen.

After the original film came the long awaited opening of the new film.

Produced by John Carpenter and Jason Blum and helmed by Texas’ own David Gordon Green, Halloween also sees the return of Jamie Lee Curtis in the role of Laurie Strode, The role that brought her to the dance of fame.

There has not been this much hype for a Halloween film in a decade. I feel the need to point out that many of us have to thank Jamie Lee Curtis for this. I definitely loved the moment at Comic Con this year wham Curtis met a fan who thanked her for the courage to face a trauma of his own. This is probably why I love the Halloween franchise the most.

I also feel the need to point out this is the first Halloween film in over 20 Years that the Weinstein's aren't involved and I am excited with the involvment of Blumhouse due to the quality of work that they have turned out in the past few years.

Unlike the 1998 predecessor H20, Halloween ignores the events of all sequels including part 2 and picks up 40 years later where Dr Loomis has passed away and Michael Myers after being apprehended after the events in 1978 has been in Smith’s Grove and with the facility’s’ impending closure Michael is being transferred to another Maximum Security institution.

Laurie Strode we find has had too much trouble with her life in the past 40 years and while divorced has a daughter that she is estranged and a granddaughter that she rarely sees, lives in a compound and prepares for the return of her nemesis from her youth.

All the while a pair of podcasters are making a documentary about the events of the Night He Came Home and have acquired the infamous Captain Kirk mask. Inadvertently setting off a series of events that lead to Myers’ Escape and the stalking of Laurie’s Granddaughter and the inevitable showdown 40 years in the making.

This flick I feel is the way the aforementioned H20 should have been.

The film maintains the suspense of it’s original and keeps up with the scares. The dark atmosphere of Haddonfield keeps our attention and the camerawork returns the series to its roots with many continuous takes following The Shape as he stalks his prey. Again Carpenter’s score with the aid of Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies add to the suspense and crosses lines that make us ask where are we being taken.

Like many of the sequels there are plot twists but in this flick they are quickly ended and the story continues with it’s basic story.

Again in contrast to the bloodless of the original and as is often the case with sequels “the body count is bigger and the death scenes are much more elaborate”…In the words of Jamie Kennedy in Scream 2.

While there are a few Easter eggs the film has moments of humor but they don’t take away from the story and there were many points where the audience were applauding.

All in all this was a great flick and if the franchise should continue, this is a tough act to follow.

16 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
2 Beasts
Stabbings
Bashings
Head Crushing
Strangulations
Burnings
And
Shootings

Pumpkin Fu
Teeth Fu
Skull Fu
And
Babysitter Fu

4 Stars

Check it out!!!

Hell Fest

2018-09-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

Well Kiddies it’s that time of year where the leaves are about to change color and we all enjoy Pumpkin Spiced…Everything!

Two things that I love the most about this time of year is the massive amounts of Horror programming and the openings of Haunted Attractions that I will spend most of the season filming for HauntShooter.

Now in the past couple of years we have seen a strange amount of genre films that contain the premise of a Haunted House, and I have to say that I like this.

It is no secret that Haunts are a personal passion of mine and one of the advantages of running a show is that I get to attend attractions all over the place during the Halloween season. Not to mention others hat are open during different times of the year.

Needless to say this past Thursday I fired up The Regal and headed over to The Alamo Drafthouse in Irving, used my Victory coupon to order myself a Carnivore Pizza and a Shiner Bock, and caught an advance screening of Hell Fest to officially kick off the 2018 Halloween season.

Okay Kiddies I want to say that this flick is the “Basic Slice and Dice” but it feels like a batter flick than the common Slasher flick.

Our plot follows a pair of reunited best friends, who along with another former classmate and their boyfriends attend a traveling Haunted Park while Unknown to them a masked killer is stalking them while blending in with the employees of the park.

While following the typical tropes of the slasher the reason that I compare it to some of the originals is we have the setting of the Haunted attraction, The randomness of the killer, and the Typical “Final Girl” with the other characters being systematically taken out however they do not follow the typical order.

I would be willing to say that this flick is a combination of John Carpenter’s Halloween, The Strangers, Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse and The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

Both the acting and camerawork in the film also combines well and the location and the lighting works, especially for those of us that are familiar with Haunts. That also has it’s drawbacks as we obviously will know where to escape and must remind ourselves that the characters are not there as employees but as patrons.

All in all this flick was enjoyable and we may see it appearing on lists of the better flicks of this time in the future or on lists of the great flicks that you have not seen. This will either be a hit or will find it’s audience on the streaming services.

6 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
1 Beast
1 Dull Guillotine
Multiple Stabbings
Head Crushing
Photo Stealing
Eyeball Fu
Kudos to Bex Taylor-Klaus as the Haunt enthusiast and to Candyman himself Tony Todd for Cameo of the month.

3 Stars

Check it out!

Assassination Nation

2018-09-18T09:55:00.002-07:00

With many thanks to Loyd Cryer and Texas Frightmare I was able to head over to Addison to catch an advance screening of Assignation Nation opening to continue my delving into this “Technological Terror” flicks that I am taking a look at this month.

Now while this flick is a satire that bills itself as Heathers and The Purge it does explore something we have to look at about ourselves. We put too much information on our divices and what happened when this information is exposed
Debuting at Sundance this past a January our flick tells the story of a group of the traditional “Mean Girls” that are subject to many online activities ranging from sexting and cyber bullying.

Well the ladies aren’t the only ones that are misbehaving online as many of the town of Salem are having their own indiscretions and soon there is a sonystyle mass hack in which all secrets are revealed.

Needless to say the film mostly focuses on the reaction of the town’s citizens who placed the blame on our quartet who must survive the night.

What begins as a vulgar comedy soon selves into dark horror and maintains the golden rule that anyone can Die at any moment and soon takes the cartoon approach. Which really makes this film fore of a mix of Heathers, The Purge and a Little off The Strangers and Halloween with the use of continuous takes and camera movement.

Actually I liked that aspect of he film and was pleasantly surprised. I thought this flick would have taken the Cookie Cutter approach but they didn’t and with the flick taking a heavy emphasis on Satire we once again have to take a look at ourselves and realize that in many cases the mob mentality and what we do in private and our quickness to judge, we need to think about that.

15 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
Throat Slashing
Face Bashing
Head Bashing
Shooting
Exploding Heads
Massive Shooting
Inappropriate Texting
Gratuitous Crossdressing
Gratuitous Creepy Masks

Computer Fu
Vigilante Fu
Teenager Fu

3 Stars
Check it Out

Netflix and Chills: I.T.

2018-09-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

What is up with all of the retro? It seems to me that the remakes are all done and now Hollywood is looking to take their flicks to the 80s.

Now granted this may have to do with the many advances in technology so in the case of genre flicks we are going to a time where everything that we needed was not literally at the plans of our hands and need to add the sense of fear in the fact that there was a time where tech was not an option and we had to rely on our own skills to survive.

We have seen the remake of IT which takes place in 1989 and we also have Stranger Things that takes place in the 80s, not to mention many other different flicks that take place in a time not long forgotten.

I feel that as mentioned earlier that this may have to do with the real fear that we have now that what would happen if we did not have our tech and tools that we have become not just accustomed to but rely on for our very lives.

This is where I state that we look at the dystopian fiction where the machines have taken over and I have to say, IT IS ALREADY HERE! THE FUTURE IS NOW!!!

Technology in the wrong hands can be a hell of a weapon, when used in the wrong hands.

Now the relevance of this rant is that I had just seen a flick on Netflix and…Well I loved it.

It is no secret that I am a massive fan of 007, and particularly a fan of the Brosnan entries in the famous franchise. However I must confess that Pierce Brosnan is one of my favorite actors. From The Matador to A Long Way Down, and I am here to talk about this mostly ignored Thriller on Netflix.

The flick is I.T, which makes us think that we are seeing a film about a cute alien, or a killer clown. This is actually a suspense/Thriller more in the vein of The Crush or Single White Female.

Brosnan plays Mike Reagan, an aviation Tycoon who while in the process of taking his company public is saved by a Tech Support employees, While Brosnan is not exactly technology literate despite living in a “Smart House” gives the I.T. tech Ed a job as gesture of gratitude, and soon invites him to his home to fix some tech issues giving him access to the house. Ed mistakes the gesture for a friendship and soon crosses the line and is promptly let go from the company.

Well needless to say Ed does not take this too well and is quickly off his meds. He soon begins to utilize his extreme technical knowledge to not just cyber stalk Regan and his family but to subject them to various cyber attacks ranging from interference with company assert and uploading embarrassing videos of Regan’s daughter to tampering with The Wife’s medical information finally going as far to use the GPS on Regan’s car to almost kill him in an automobile accident.

To face off against this new enemy Regan must go “Off the Grid” and rely on basic non tech against his cyber adversary.

Now this flick received many negative reviews from critics but I honestly liked the flick. I grew up watching the Thrillers in the 90s and it was nice to see a similar film utilizing the technology of this day and age.

Brosnan as always brings his A-Game and James Frecheville plays the villainous Ed Porter with a combination of reality and psychological evil that makes him a plausible threat that is highly believable in the real world.

The use of the camera angles and editing is a nice touch.

Needless to say for fans and Netflicks
Check It Out!

Please Check out My New site
videocreep.com

Summer of 84

2018-08-23T13:22:00.001-07:00

Well Kiddies, I know that I keep saying that I will make it to Sundance eventually but that day has yet to come, and …well I have to be honest with you I am for more interested in the flicks than the events. There are some amazing flicks despite the fact that festivals are notoriously biased against genre films.

That being said there are often some genre flicks and usually I hear of them. The Alamo Drafthouse is great at arranging limited screenings and often times will even arrange their programming around a particular film. As was the case this summer with the Sundance hit “Summer of 84”.

After seeing the movies that the Alamo was showing to aid us in remembering the Summer of Return of the Jedi…No they could not show that flick, The films included naturals like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Footloose and to more obscure titles like BMX Bandits for last months AGFA.

Summer of 84 came to The Alamo for a limited release at the Irving location, so off I went to check it out.

Basically in the darker tradition of The Goonies, and The Monster Squad premise this flick is the basic plot line of “The Monster Next Door” our main character begins through a series of coincidences to suspect that his police officer neighbor is the serial killer that is stalking the children in the local area, Assembling his quartet of friends and beginning their own investigation into these crimes.

Taking place in the titular summer of 1984 the film manages to create the nostalgic feel while not going the cheesy route that other 80s period films entail, while also creating a Bradbury like community and science of isolation the film at many times feels predictable but leads to a direction that many will not see coming, as well as a darker tone.

With a Carpenter like synthesized score the flick adds suspense and Drama where it needs them to be and Jump scares in all the right places.

I can see why this would have simply a limited release but will soon be found on the streaming services and will find it’s audience there.

2 Dead Bodies

1 Breast

1 Beast

2 Gallons of Blood

1 Broken leg

Gratuitous girl watching

Gratuitous 6th Grade Humor

Gratuitous family fighting

3 ½ Stars

Check it out

The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs

2018-07-30T12:36:00.001-07:00

There are times in life that you just can’t relive. Sure you can take pictures and watch recordings of the experience, but that does not match the real time. Last weekend was one of those events.

To tell you about it first I have to take you back to my youth. In what many would consider the early days of the internet, not to mention “The Dial-Up Years”. One of my greatest memories of this time is the late nights on TNT.TURNER.COM/MONSTERVISION playing “Find That Flick” among other activities on the website and in the chatroom with other fans. All of this while watching the late night double feature of Monstervision all hosted by one of my hometown heroes John Bloom, better known as his alter egos Joe Bob Briggs.

After the cancelation of Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theatre on The Movie Channel the program was quickly picked up by TNT and became a late night staple as viewers watched the antics of the host and his mail girl along with the crew. Enjoying gimics like Summer School where viewers were given quizzes on the website in relevance to the film that was viewed and featured guest lectures from actors in the flick. Joe Bob’s Last Call, and the Halloween weekend marathons where Joe Bob and his crew were stalked by a maniacal Ted Turner or the search for The Nair Witch.

Without warning in the height of the popularity of the show Monstervision was abruptly canceled by TNT, The first victim of the AOL merger and the change in format of TNT. Viewers were informed of this after logging on to the website to see an official statement by the network. Overnight Monstervision was gone without a finale leaving viewers asking the simple question…Where was Joe Bob?

While many of us were now without our Saturday night hero, Joe Bob was not hard to find. Soon DVDs were released with commentary tracks by the former host and Joe Bob frequently appeared at many conventions and festivals, but the question remained. Will there be another Monstervision? Viewers longed for the trailer and to enjoy a “Long Neck” while hearing of The Drive-In Totals, and to be delivered by the Mail Girl letters form inmates at various correctional facilities that wrote sent letters and later exclaimed the Joe Bob got them through that time.

The answer to these questions came in the announcement from Joe Bob and Shudder.

Joe Bob was back for The Last Drive-In; a 24 Hour Marathon on Friday the 13th where Joe Bob will host 13 flicks “Monstervision Style” where he will interrupt the flick every now and then to give his opinions on the flick as will as give some facts about what was seen, and Joe Bob was off to the promotional tour with appearances on popular podcasts, websites and personal appearances hosting films at specialty theatres around the country.

My home away from home, aka Richardson’s Alamo Drafthouse was the location of the Screening of the 1980s Cult Classic The original Sleepaway Camp featuring a similar intro by Joe Bob in which our audience was treated to a rant about the drama involving transgender restrooms. Needless to say it was a hell of a night.

Now this is where I have my own rant about Shudder. You see Shudder was not prepared for this kind of fan base and on the long awaited night of the screenings, well…WE CRASHED THE SERVERS!!!

Now while I was able to quickly troubleshoot this problem by constantly refreshing there were many of us that were not too fortunate. Needless to say this was not the fault of Joe Bob Briggs and I do give credit to Shudder for their handling of the situation.

Now this issue aside this 24 Hr marathon did indeed remind me of tho old days where I would spend the evenings watching Joe Bob and the fact that I was on Twitter and Instagram the whole time. As a matter of fact with the uncensored content of the films I considered this to be Monstervision Unrated!

While there were no commercials the Joe Bob segments interrupted the flicks with a static channel change effect, giving us the illusion that Joe Bob was hacking the website to give us facts about the films and I have to say that I loved these segments more for this reason.

Cosplayer Diana Prince took over the Mail girl Role, and I did briefly meet her in her appearance at the Alamo she seemed nice and polite but taking into consideration that in this case this role is more ceremonial as it made myself and others on social media long for Honey, or my personal favorite Rusty. Who I am sure have since have moved on from the role decades later.

That being said Diana added a new freshness to the role as she appeared in every Mail Call segment wearing a different costume in relevance to the film that was being shown.

Like many times before The Last Drive-In featured guest appearances relevant to a couple of the flicks. Starting with an appearance by Sleepaway Camp Star Felecia Rose giving her own facts and experiences working on the film and her chemistry with Joe Bob added to the humor and was a great way to start the night. I would like to talk about her “confrontation” with The Mail Girl but that would contain spoilers for those of you that have not seen the flick.

Personally I admit that the appearance by my friend Cryptozoologist and Ghoultown frontman Lyle Blackburn during the showing of The Legend of Boggy Creekwas my favorite part of the marathon. Seeing Joe Bob express his theory of the identity of The Fouke Monster with Lyle alone was enough, but when they had their own rendition of the Travis Crabtree “Ballad” from the film had many of us singing along despite ourselves.

When it finally came down to the final film Joe Bob selected the cult Hit Pieces due to his personal history of the film.

Emotions ran high as Joe Bob opened the flick talking about his recently departed friend and original horror host John Zacherle and became emotional speaking about his history and the tremendous respect he had for the man.

Fans fought back tears as Joe Bob closed the program thanking the fans who reached out to him and reminded us as the lights went out on The Last Drive-In. The credits rolled as Joe Bob sat in his chair in the dark after his trademark closing reminding us the “The Drive-In will Never Die”.

The Last Drive-In can be seen by Shudder Subscribers on Shudder.com and the Amazon channel.

By the way it was just announced that like the villains that we frequently seen in the genre that Shudder is in fact bring Joe Bob back for another marathon. This in fact proves that not only The Drive-In but Joe Bob Briggs will never Die!

Deep Blue Sea 2

2018-05-02T17:32:00.003-07:00

There are some things that are better left alone, there are some flicks that are great Stand Alone stories…Basically that means that a sequel is unnecessary.

Deep Blue Sea is one of those films.

Released in 1999 The Rennie Harlan classic is regarded by many as “The Greatest Non-Jaws Shark Movie”. Telling the story of Genetic altered Maco Sharks and their intended victims, including then relatively unknown actors Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, with LL Cool J and Samual L. Jackson I’m memorable roles that are still relevant in our pop culture.

Well the folks at Warner Brothers decided that the franchise needed to continue because…well the direct to video market does not have enough flicks for your on demand watchlist.

Deep Blue Sea 2 which was released in April is a sequel in title alone and taking into consideration that the first film isn’t referenced is far more remake/reboot than anything else.

Like it’s predecessor DBS2 the plot follows a pharmaceutical company that has experimented on The brains of Sharks to find the cure to brain detonation and in the Murphy Law of a genre film leads to a group of survivors trying to escape their under the sea prison while being stalked by angry carnivorous fish.

Now there are some differences and twists. In the original flick the Sharks were macos and the threats weee their speed. In this entry the villainous breed are Bull Sharks chosen for their aggressiveness.

The other twist in this flick is that our female shark gives birth to a litter of small sharks that behave more like a school of piranha therefor no place is safe.

This sequel feels more like a pilot for a TV series version of the original film. Clearly a fraction of the budget of it’s predecessor and lacking of Star Power like Samuel L. Jackson as well as characters like Preacher, the film barely allows for any real character development and this is due to the fast paced story and the blink and you will miss the character.

The film also lacks Harlin’s direction.

The lower budget is shown is in the lack of kills. While there are some great and original kills most often the characters are either taken out off camera or are dragged under the water and blood surfaces.

All that said On the positive note the film does make for an entertaining SYFY original movie type of flick if you can avoid comparing it to the original flick and we are shown the Real Human villain of the flick to add interest to the story as well as some creepy sequences involving the Sharks peeking into windows and eavesdropping on the conversation…Where they learned English? I don’t want to know!

There is an interesting James Bond like opening credits scene and the ending reeks of the original Piranha.

All in all it’s an OK flick but not worthy of it’s title.tures

Blu-Ray Features include two Behind the scenes, Deleted Scenes and an Outtake Reel.

8 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
5 Sharks
10 Killer Baby Sharks
1 Head Biting
2 Biting in Half
2 Severed Faces
Shoe Fu
Human Fu
Drone Fu

2 Stars

Check it out!

Please check out my New Website
www.videocreep.com

Encounter with The Unknown

2018-04-06T11:38:00.003-07:00

I can’t believe that I am saying this but I think I like Amazon Prime’s streaming service better than the others because they have the rarer gems.

There are also flicks that are just plain nostalgic.

Now what I am here to talk about tonight is a rare gem from 1972 titled Encounter with the Unknown.

I am not going to go into too much detail about my personal history of this flick but I will say that it creeped the hell out of me when I was a kid.

First off what sold me on the film was on the cover was none other than Mr. Rod Serling himself credited as the narrator and I immediately thought Twilight Zone…though the film is far more Night Gallery.Actually to be honest to you other than the voice over work Serling had really nothing more to do with this flick. As a matter of fact he isn’t even the only narrator in the movie, More on that later.

This flick helmed by Harry Thomason is an Anthology film that details some of the stories in a cemetery in an unknown location and while the film takes a scientific approach as we are informed of the studies of Parapsychologist Dr. Jonathan Rankin revealing that he has linked various paranormal phenomena and certain cemeteries across the country and these tales are all contained in this particular graveyard.

This is when Serling takes over the narration in his own twilight zone fashion.

The first tale is of a seemingly innocent prank that ended in tragedy with the unintended death of the victim and the mother cursing the three that she sees as responsible, telling them of the heptagon and “seven times around go the three of you and may your award be just and true”.

What follows is a airplane confession to a traveling priest from one of the three telling of the tragedy and the death of one of them seven days later.

Now this tale is creepy and when I first saw the flick and the constant imagery of The Mother’s curse and her face particularly the eyes…It added some further atmosphere to the story.

The next tale follows a boy searching for his lost dog and while searching finds a hole in the ground with an unearthly growling coming from inside. Needless to say the father and some of the local men including The Sheriff investigate with disastrous results and proving the theory that sometimes you don’t have to see to be scared.

Our third tale is a retelling of “The Girl on the Bridge” aka “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” with Playboy Playmate Rosie Holotic in the title role. Holotic was known for other genre works including Don’t Look in the Basement.

This interpretation of the famous ghost story spends a great amount of time with our Hitchhiker showing her story of love, loss, and the ultimate tragedy and fate of all involved that ultimately makes the tale hard to watch due to the fact that we know early on the outcome of the story.

Now this is where I talk about the end of the film where another narrator takes over for Serling and examines all three stories and their meanings and tries to explain the logical and supernatural explanations. This narrator is implied to be Dr. Rankin who was established earlier to be deceased himself and remains uncredited.

Now I will come forward to state that I do believe this unknown and uncredited Voice to be None other than Dana Andrews.

Now many have complained of the use of repeats in the film as many believe that it was used to expand the films running time and added much redundancy to the film. Now I state that that did not bother me as much because in many ways it added to the creepiness and tragedy to many of the stories. Also bear in mind that this was an often used narrative during this film’s production era and adds to the nostalgia.

Now the film’s use of many often seen character actors as well as it’s production technique does give the flick it’s regional feel as one of the Southern Exploitation of the time.

Nice pick in the cemetery for the location.

This is also a flick that you can watch during he day and still be creeped out.

I agree with some sites that this flick should be screened with Legend of Boggy Creek and Town that Dreaded Sundown or with some episodes of Night Gallery or In Search Of.

The Strangers: Prey at Night

2018-03-08T10:55:00.002-08:00

I love advance screenings simply because I feel that I can give all of you an advance notice of where to spend your money on the weekends and this week was no exception and I decided to check out Lewisville’s newest Movie Place The Coyote Drive-In over on Hwy 121 for an Early showing of The Strangers:Prey at Night.

First off these advance screenings have tight security and I unfortunately understand why. With advances in technology the movie can be on the file share sites before you know it and…that ruins it for everyone. As a result the studios didn’t want us in our cars for this show and had us all placed in chairs in front of the screen on a lawn. Well you had to bring your own chair and blanket.

I did not receive this memo from the boys at GoFobo.

Thank You to the folks at The Coyote who not only gave me a lawn chair that you would reserve they even carried it to the lawn for me, and when I told them that I was going to my car to get a warmer coat they saw that I was walking with a cane and had quite a way to go across the field, even had one of their guys give me a lift in a golf cart! Needless to say It was appreciated.

That is service as well as quite an experience as well. With it being a Drive-In Theatre there is a nice retro vibe from a era many thought was gone and never to return while also giving a modern approach.

The popcorn was excellent! They also have a Pepsi mix fountain and a full bar. I will have to try the rest of the offerings in the restaurant at a later time.

Now on to the Flick!

The Terror Trio of Sadistic Psychos are back! This time with 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts taking the helm from Bryan Bertino who remained on as writer with Ben Ketai.

After their horrific attack in the original 2008 film they have a new set of targets, including Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, and The Ring’s Martin Henderson as their intended victims.

Following a distinctions family that is in the process of taking the daughter to a boarding school, which this is against her wishes as well as a brother that is forced to come along, our set of parents plan to stay the night at an empty trailer park managed by their Aunt. Well you can assume what happens next. It however does not go the way you will expect.

Like it’s decade old predecessor focuses more on it’s Darkness and suspense than it does on jump scares and gore…That being said it does follow the basic sequel rules being that there is more gore and a bigger body count.

Also like the previous flick…Someone went to “The John Carpenter Film School”. From the music that made me think of The Fog to a scene that made me reminisce about Christine. Not to mention a part that made me think of the late Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

All that aside this flick is your Basic Slice and Dice and does not break any real ground but is still a great time to be had and I will recommend watching in a full Theatre.

7 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
3 Beasts
2 car chases with multiple Crashes
Throat Slashing
Multiple Stabbings
Beatings
Shootings
Burnings
Impaleings

Gratuitous 80s Soundtrack
Trailer Park Fu
Stranger Fu

Netflix and Chills: Jeepers Creepers 3

2018-03-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Okay Kiddies The Creeper is back!!!

Now you ask why am I so excited well it’s been too long and I didn’t think that there was going to be a sequel since the last time we saw The flying People Eater he had gone back into his slumber for 23 years, which left us wondering will we have to wait until then till we see him.

In the new millennium we had a severe lack of a good Boogeyman. While we still had the remakes and the Devil’s Rejects films the classics did rear their heads around occasionally.

The truth is that I liked the flicks. Jeepers Creepers became a staple of AMC Fear Fest in October but it was noticeably absent this year because they were airing on SyFy’s “31 Days of Halloween”. Which I was surprised about and then I saw that the flick had debuted part 3.

I have to admit that I was not too happy about this development as that sometimes means that the movie is not too good but that has changed in recent years. Well you know what they say don’t judge a book by it’s cover and this flick is no exception.

Here is the cool part. 3 takes place between 1 and 2 and follows another group in a different area terrorized by The Creeper during his time awake, Not to mention that it picks up where the first flick leaves off.

Jonathan Breck also returns as The Creeper.

Now what makes this flick different is the fact that we follow a group of survivors from the Creepers rampage 23 Years earlier especially Gaylen Brandon, played by genre favorite Meg Foster, as she struggles to keep her grand daughter from meeting the same fate as her own father during The Creepers previous rampage years earlier. Gaylen also shares a physic link to both The Creeper and her dead son.

While this storyline is going on we also see the authorities in pursuit of The Creepers truck that we discover is laced with various boobytraps seeking to both keep The Creepers meals safe…I feel the need to mention also that the Damned thing moves by itself.

This flick was not bad though I have to admit that I expected more after the 12 years since part 2 but I was still not disappointed and I do look forward to another entry in the near future.

A good Pizza and Beer flick!

11 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
1 Creeper
1 Ghost
1 Demonic Truck
1 Psychic Severed Hand
1 Car Chase with 2 Crashes
Severed Arms
Double Body Impaling
Head impaling
Axe to the Face

3 Stars

Check it out and have a round for me.

At the Alamo: Bomb City

2018-02-09T15:34:00.000-08:00

I have been reflecting much on my Past in the recent years…Well taking into consideration all that has been happening. I remember when I was a senior in High school during the Holiday season of 1997 when my focuses were on my performance in the winter Drama play, as well as the events and responsibilities of becoming 18 years (not to mention being constantly reminded that I was now to be tried as an adult). Despite all of this I did hear about an event in Amarillo.

Learning of the murder of Brian Deneke caught my attention due to the circumstances of the tragedy. While I was not too into the Punk subculture I did in fact have friends that were and I did at times witness what they went through in the hazing and bulling from the more affluent types.

What would turn out to be the more disturbing aspect of this tragedy is the leniency of the jury and justice system on the killer which caused an uproar in many communities years before Affluenza became a title.

Not too much was said about this case with the exception of an episode of City Confidential and a few videos and some interviews from Marlyn Manson on the subject.

Recently we have seen the release of Bomb City which is a dramatization of the events leading up to the tragic event. Focusing on Deneke and his relationships with his friends and family in flashbacks during the trial of Dustin Camp.

There are parts of this flick that are hard to watch in the fact that you are also shown the biased position the authorities show “The Whitecaps” as opposed to their treatment of “The Punks”.

Now this is where I commend Glen Morshower as the defense attorney who bashed the lifestyles of the victims and their families while commending the murderer and his friends. His performance was great in the fact that myself and my friend that was with me wanted to jump into the flick and punch him in the face.

Despite the fact that this is a hard flick to watch due to the fact that the disturbing events happens I do recommend that you check it out.

Leatherface (2017)

2017-12-21T12:42:00.002-08:00

It is no secret what The Texas Chainsaw Massacre means to me. With the recent passing of of Tobe Hooper I admit that I have been in a Saw mood. Not to forget Lifeforce and The Funhouse. I even watched Poltergeist which I don’t care what anyone else says Tobe directed that flick!

Naturally I decided to head over to The Alamo Drafthouse to check out the line of Horror flicks that were being released for the Halloween season and being that this is Texas, naturally I enjoyed a nice Shiner Bock while viewing the recent Leatherface film.

Now I don’t think that Tobe had that much involvement in the flick but he is listed as a producer similar to Texas Chainsaw 3D in 2013 and I will talk more about Tobe in a different installment of The Video Creep.

TodayI am here to talk about the new Leatherface flick and, First off Yes I am aware that this a prequel to the original 1974 Classic.

Okay I know that there are already some of you haters out there saying WTF! Well Kiddies I am going to be one of the ones that says it was way better than that prequel to the remake that came out in 2006.

Taking place quite a few years before the original the story introduces us to the familiar family and the characters that we all know. Not to mention that we are introduced to the matriarch of The family. Well it appears that there is a feud going on with this family and the local Lawman (Stephen Doriff) Who after the death of a loved one has the youngest of the family taken away and placed in Juvenile Hall.

Naturally there is a jailbreak and the man who will grow to become the famous Chainsaw wielding ICON embarks on a quest to his home and the protection of his family…But which one is Leatherface?

Now this interpretation contains much of the violence that comes standard in today’s Horror Film but it still keeps you interested. Now there are some interesting Twists and fun Easter Eggs for fans of the films but like it’s 2006 Counterpart you can still guess the outcome but the difference is in the twists.

I will give this flick credit for showing that the old dog still has some new tricks and they work well.

13 Dead Bodies
2 Breasts
6 Beasts
Bullets to the Head
Grinding
Necrophilia
Shooting
Stabbing
Inmate Fu
Cake Fu
And yes we have Saw Fu

3 Stars
Check it out

Cult of Chucky

2017-11-30T12:48:00.000-08:00

It has been one hell of a Halloween season if you are a horror fan!

This has been the season of great releases and return of many of the genre icons.

This year alone we have seen the theatrical return of Leatherface as well as Jigsaw and Pennywise the Clown. Now what many of you may realize is that we have been treated to the final appearance of the Tall Man, a reboot of King Kong, and a surprise return of Victor Crowley. Not to mention the announcement that next year we will see the return of The Shape himself Michael Myers facing off yet again against Jamie Lee Curtis with John Carpenter at the helm.

While I will speak more about this at a later date I am here to speak about the return of another genre favorite. None other than our deranged killer doll Chucky.

Featuring a BluRay release as well as being streamed on Netflix we saw the low profile release of Cult of Chucky with once again Brad Douriff providing the voice of the titular villain.

Picking up almost where Curse of Chucky‘ post credit sequence left off, we are once again introduced to Andy Barkley who has acquired the head of Chucky…Now this is where it gets weird.

When we last saw Nica Pierce in Curse she had been institutionalized after being accused of the murders. Well Kiddies while she is in this place Chucky soon arrives looking to torment her…Okay there are multiple Chuckys here.

Now this twist is in fact a welcome addition to the series as it maintains the original humor but avoids the cheesiness of some of the later sequels.There are many humourous scenes where Chucky laments about the crazy people in the asylum and the addition of Andy and Tiffany is a nice touch. Not to mention that there are plenty of new scares for the gore fans out there.

All in all Cult is a welcome edition to the long running franchise that has not turned to the remake direction and even maintains it’s cast with Alex Vincent, Jennifer Tilly, as well as Brad and Fiona Douroff reprising their roles.

Fans of the Franchise will enjoy the flick.

6 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
5 Chuckys
1 Tiffany
Throat Slashing
Wrist slashing
Disembowling
Breast chewing

Voodoo Fu
Doll Fu
3 ½ stars

Check it out

Victor Crowley

2017-10-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well Kiddies, Adam Green is on Tour showing the most recent Installment of the Hatchet Franchise, and naturally when I found out that his first stop was at none other than my Alamo Drafthouse I was front and center.

Okay I was a little off to the side so far that when he took his selfie I was not in the shot.

Don’t worry I did wait in line to get a picture with him and we had a brief conversation.

It turns out that George Romero was the motivation for this flick that he made after a QnA and sadly George Passed away before the film was completed. This story made me think of George and the last time that I was with him just a couple of years ago.

I will go into that story later this month.

You see Adam Green had given me quite a bit of inspiration himself. Just the fact that he is going out there and shooting films that he wants to shoot and getting them done gives me the motivation to do the same. It is not just Adam Green that has provided this inspiration but he does disservice some of the credit as this flick shows just that.

What I am referring to is the fact that Hatchet is one of the biggest horror franchises happening today that did not begin in the 70s or 80s and in the “Age of the Internet” he was able to keep the film a secret until it was already produced as well as some twists that were kept secret until the film was screened.

The plot is simple. A plane crashes in the swamps 10 years after the events of the Original Hatchet series and by a series of events leads to the return of Victor Crowley who lurks outside the crashes plane while our characters try to survive inside.

That is all of the details that I am going to give about this flick as to avoid spoilers but what I will say is that fans of the franchise and The Hatchet Army will not be disappointed.

Definitely check this flick out.

The Houses October Built 2

2017-10-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well it is my favorite time of year again and there is a plethora of genre films to seek out this Halloween season.

Last week I brought you a look at Friend Request and it seems that all of the theaters have gone Killer Clown crazy but there are those of us that know where the clowns are lurking…In the local Haunted Attractions.

I know that many of you are aware of my history with Haunts and my channel HauntShooter. I love these places.

A few years ago I brought you a review of The Houses October Built, which takes us in the direction of the Found Footage tour of local Haunted Attractions all while seeking The Blue Skeleton.

Well Kiddies As is the case with any good flick a sequel is inevitable.

Picking up where the first left off The Houses October Built 2 reveals to us that all of the characters survived the film and while It is speculated that this is due to police interference, In the aftermath a video of Brandy buried alive is posted on the internet and received millions of hits making the group internet celebrities and are soon approached to shoot and attend other Haunts for pay.

While the group attends Haunts as well as Zombie Crawls, and other Halloween events we soon see characters from the Blue Skeleton lurking and stalking the group leading to an unexpected conclusion.

Like it’s predecessor I found this flick quite enjoyable and the use of a drone added to the Found Footage aspect of the film in a way that last year’s Blair Witch failed to utilize.

The return of the characters was a nice touch and the development was enjoyable. The twists in the story kept you interested and the flick was not a carbon copy of part one.

I like the reference to The Monster Squad with the “Stephen King Rules” Shirt.

For fans of the first flick this is definitely worth a look. Now in the mean time I need to find someone with a drone. As for the rest of you.

Check It out

Friend Request

2017-09-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

Well Kiddies…I’m Back and I am here again with my own brand of movie reviews and more to come on the horizon. Believe me these are big.

Well last night I met up with my old friend Ray and went out to The Angelica Film Center in Mockingbird Station to check out a TFW sponsored advance screening of the upcoming flick Friend Request.

Okay Damn! This flick takes cyber stalking to a new level.

Being one of the more popular girls at her school and in Social Media our main character Laura soon gains the attention of the artist/outcast Marina and soon a variation of Cyber Stalking ensues leading to a incident that ends in Marina’s suicide.

What follows is a series of cyber hacks of the supernatural variety intended to turn Laura’s friends against her and soon Laura’s inner circle of friends find themselves the target of a supernatural entity intent on their deaths.

Friend Request relies heavily on Jump Scares which judging from the audience’s reactions were pretty good but for those of us that are more familiar with the genre are harder to get.
That being said the film was still enjoyable.

The film also relies on the creepy imagery to add to the suspense and over all creepiness of the film. Also utilizing comic relief in the right moments without resorting to campiness.

Over all this flick is quite good in the basic slice and dice category. Fans of Unfriended and the cyberhorrors may enjoy as well as those of you in college. Blair Witch and The Ring also come to mind.

6 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
4 Beasts
Face Smashing
Throat Slashing
Shooting
Stabbing
Burning
Hanging
Wasp Fu
Social Network Fu

3 Stars

Check it out!!

Tower

2017-08-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

There is a feeling when you look at the news coverage about a school shooting and they talk about the hallways and classrooms but it is something different when the school is where you earned your degree and have walked down the hallways hundreds of times.

That is what recently happened to me when I heard about the shooting at Northlake College where not only did I attend school I have also maintained professional relationships with much of the staff as well as the fact that the school has people that I am close to attending as students so yes this incident bothers me.

Donald Pleasence in the documentary Terror in the Aisles “Why create fake Terror, when there is so much real Terror in the world?” That is the question that I find myself asking often when I see specials and Documentaries like this here film Tower.

You see I am often asked “What Scares me”? When I was a child people often wondered this very question, primarily because of my love of Halloween and the horror genre. What scared me and kept me up at night was actually the nightly News.

It was these evenings that I would hear of true tales of children being abducted and murdered, Robberies, abuse of authority, so forth.

When I was 10 years old my Family and I took a trip to San Antonio and we passed through Austin and the University and my parents first instinct was to point out The Clock Tower “Where that Sniper was”. Well naturally I am going to look that up.

What I did not know that this incident was the first of it’s kind these days we are just happy when it is just one victim, which is a sad state of our society.

The subject of Tower is the retelling of the shooting in a bizarre animated format. Now the reason for this format is that they are trying to recreate the Austin of the 1960s.This is infact a different style of animation…Think of Scanner Darkley.

Now while the animation style is distracting the story focuses on the victims of that tragic day and make it a point not to mention the name of the shooter or detailing his history like many other documentaries about the clock tower.

This flick was all the rage at SXSW and there is definitely reasons for it I am familiar with much of the works of the crew of this flick and I expect more in the future until then Tower is definitely worth a look and checking out.

Kong: Skull Island

2017-03-16T22:33:00.003-07:00

What is up with all the monster movies lately? There are plenty upcoming flicks and sequels that have just come out.

I am glad that some of the originals are throwing their hats in the ring as from what I gather there is a reboot of the Toho Kaiju films and naturally the "King of the Monsters" our favorite giant Lizard is in the mix.

But there is another giant in this equation the one that I personally consider to be the real King aka "The Eighth Wonder of the World" and his name is Kong.

This explains the release of Kong on Skull Island that came out this past week and naturally I was at the Alamo Drafthouse for the opening festivities.

From the photo op where you are with King's giant Hand to the fact that they are playing Donkey Kong in the lobby. Not to mention the Kong themed food specials.

The preshow alone was a celebration of Monkeys that would make Eric Rhoades Happy.

Now on to the flick.

Kong's last cinematic outing was in 2005 and utilized the basic formula of Kong on the island and then he is captured and taken to New York where...well it does not end well for this giant gorilla.

The only exceptions to this is the 1962 flick where King Kong faces off against Godzilla where Kong is in fact taken off the island to fight Godzilla in Japan.

Also 1967's King Kong Escapes also produced by Toho. As well as King Kong lives but there are many who are trying to forget that flick.

That brings us to Kong on Skull Island, The fact of the matter is that Kong never leaves the island in this flick.

Now this is intended to be the first in a series of Toho flicks bringing in American versions of Godzilla, Rodan, Ghidorah, and Mothra among others.

I'm happy to see Kong in the mix.

Taking place in 1973 the flick follows an expedition led by John Goodman and a military unit led by Samuel L Jackson where Kong is quickly encountered along with a new species known as Skullcrawlers are also discovered.

Needless to say our heroes must find a way off the island all while avoiding Kong, Skullcrawlers as well as all of the other giant animals on the island...and that is all that I am going to give you in regards to plot.

Well anyway the movie definitely kept me entertained and the visual effects were great. I again wondered why Kong is walking upright for most of the flick but does that really matter at this point?

I agree with The Alamo's view that this flick is far more Apocalypse Now than Beauty and the Beast.

12 Dead Bodies

0 Breasts

5 Beasts

23 Explosions

Military Fu

Skullcrawler Fu

Gorilla Fu

3 Stars

Check it out

At the Alamo: GI:Joe The Movie

2017-03-16T22:27:00.004-07:00

I love The Alamo Drafthouse's programming. Sometimes it is just fun. This past Saturday Morning I attended a screening where we had a buffet of Cereals with milk where we watched a iconic kids film from he 1980s.

Yes the 80s! I remember that time. One thing I love about the Drafthouse is they aren't afraid to acknowledge that era in cinema history.

And I love the fact that there are folks that aren't alive during that time that confuse the icons of hat era with the Reboots and counterparts today.

Here are the facts, back in the 80s a new trend began with the creation of cartoon shows with the intention of selling the toys. As a result we received some great programming...including none other than GI JOE: A Real American Hero.

"GI Joe is the Code name for America's daring highly trained Special Mission Force. It's purpose, to defend Human freedom against Cobra, A ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule he world."

This was the quote from the television series which every episode featured the focus on a particular character ranging from the sailor Shipwreck, the martial artist QuickKick, and even wrestler turned Drill Instructor Sgt Slaughter.

With Slaughter being an actual living person in reality often served as host during wraparound segments on the program.

I recently showed the show to a young chap the toys and all he wanted to ask was why does Roadblock and Duke look nothing like The Rock or Channing Tatum...I responded "long story".

The original program produced by Sunbrow was all the rage in the 80s and brought much patriotism in the youth of America at the time.

Inevitably a movie was produced which was intended as a finale to the sunbrow era...and also to sell a new line-up of figures.

Featuring the voices of Don Johnson and Burgis Meredith, GI Joe the movie explains the origins of Cobra and Cobra Comander as well as it introduces the audience to Duke's brother Lt Falcoln.

Now there are some facts about this flick that are far interesting.

First off the film was produced at the same time as Transformers: The Movie and the My Little Pony film and due to the poor performance of the latter film which was released theatrically, the decision was made to release the film Direct to Video and eventually it was cut into five segments and aired in syndication.

This brings us to the next interesting fact of the film...Duke.

Though produced first production problems caused delays for GI:Joe and Transformers was released first.

Now as many of you will know Optimus Prime is killed off early in the film. A fact that was not well received by the fans.

What many don't realize is that in the original cut of GI:Joe is that Duke is killed 3/4ths into the flick while taking a spear to the chest to save his brother and having the dramatic death with one last "Yo Joe".

After the backlash from Transformers film dialogue was added to the film where it is said "He's Gone into a Coma". However if you watch the film you will see that the way all characters are reacting to his death.

In the end of the film you again hear dialogue stating that Duke has come out of his coma and that hi is going to be "A-Okay".

This is not the last time that this happens to the character. Those of you that have seen Retaliation know what I mean.

Now while this was intended to be the finale of the series it was the last to be produced by Sunbrow as production was taken over by DIC studios. The reason for this remains unknown and those of us that remained for the transition could definitely tell the difference between the shows.

I am happy that The Alamo included this flick in their line up for the Saturday Cereal but then again why not? This is in fact a classic with a strong nostalgia and the toy give away from Lost Toys was a nice touch.

Check it out.

Autopsy of Jane Doe

2017-02-17T13:57:00.002-08:00

Everyone that has seen this flick has been singing the praises. From Blumhouse to IHorror.com they have all stated to check this Festival flick out.

Well I headed over to the Alamo and enjoyed a couple of Mexican Martinis deciding to checkout The Autopsy of Jane Doe

I have to say that the praise is well deserved.

The plot seems relatively simple. A body is taken from a crime scene to a local morgue where a father and son team conducts the autopsy and that is where the simplicity ends.

All that I can say is that this body is connected to a series of strange events in the morgue and there are strange things afoot here that will keep you guessing till the end.

Helmed by Andre Ovredal, The Autopsy of Jane Doe utilizes it's limited location and cast with lighting and addition to the claustrophobic and isolated feel to the flick.

Emile Hersch and Brian Cox make a great father and son duo and Olwen Kelly maintains the frights despite being a corpse for the entire flick.

8 Dead Bodies

2 Breasts

3 Beasts

1 Dead Cat

1 Fire

3 1/2 stars

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Beware The Slenderman

2017-02-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Tragically sometimes a documentary has to be made to tell us the bad news.

They always say its all fun and games till someone gets hurt and that is the recent case with our internet habits. Sometimes we get so into things that we blur the lines between reality and fiction with disasterous results.

I admit that yes I am into Creepypastas in the fact that I love a good scary story and in the words of 1978's Halloween "Everyone is entitled to One Good Scare".

The subject of Beware The Slenderman is the events of

Lucky for all parties involved there were no deaths in this tragedy, which is a sad state of affairs in our society today.

Now first off...What is Slenderman?

I am not here to debunk the myth because quite frankly I've seen Candyman enough times that I know what not to mess with but I will do my best to explain...without Spoilers as well.

Essentially Slenderman is an internet creepypasta character that has achieved quite a following, so much in fact that many believe that the character is real.

Depicted as a tall man in a black suit and tie with a featureless face and in other cases hidden tentacles and often in he company of children. An internet boogie man of sorts.

The brand new documentary from HBO follows a tragic case where a couple of girls stabbed a friend in an attempt to appease Slenderman and the aftermath. The victim being Payton Leutner and the perpetrators being her two best friends Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser.

Academy Award nominated Irene Taylor Brodsky not only tells the story of Slenderman and the case but looks into an explanation of the phenomena and how it could appeal to the young and lead to the tragedy.

Looking at folklore such as Grimm Fairytales and especially the case of the Pied Piper and the linking of the tales to The Slenderman. All of this while taking a look at the psychology of a child and why this would appeal to them making Slenderman an imaginary friend rather than a Boogieman.

The documentary also focuses on the families of the accused in a search for awnsers to the many questions.

I particularly liked he cinematography of this documentary and the flow that it maintained and the putting a human face on the attackers.

I know that there are some controversies with the production of this documentary but due to the subject matter that can be expected.

All in all I feel it is worth a look.

Kickboxer: Vengeance

2017-02-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

Memories! I'm reminded of staying up late in the summer when I was 10 years old for HBO's "Best Summer Ever".

It was during this time that I was introduced a flick and its star in what was pretty much his second film. That star would go on to be known as "The Muscles from Brussels" aka Jean Claude Van Damme.

The film that I am referring to of course is Kickboxer which was by the looks of it was intended to be a Star vehicle for Van Damme who was fresh off the success of Bloodsport and was being built as the next Sly or Arnold.

Following Kurt Sloan (Van Damme) who while serving as corner man to his USA Kickboxing Champion brother Eric travels to Thailand to face their champion Tong Po, Tragically Eric is quickly defeated by the massive brute and to add insult to injury is paralyzed and left for dead with Kurt vowing revenge.

Taking the tutelage of Master Xian (Dennis Chan) Kurt learns Maui Thai and works his way to a face off against Tong Po and his corrupt handlers in the "Ancient Way".

Needless to say Van Damme enjoyed his success and Kickboxer spawned 4 sequels.

Penned by David S Goyer Kickboxer 2 was produced and was in fact a success.

Van Damme at this point would not return for the second film and it was explained that his character was gunned down by Tong Po after his defeat in an act of Rage.

Taking over for Jean Claude was Sasha Mitchell who remained for 3 films with Dennis Chan returning for 2 and 3.

Despite the killing off of characters many of the sequels were pretty good flicks though I admit that I stopped at 4 as Mitchell's character was killed in the opening credits using a body double.

The original flick has enjoyed its own following and has had the jokes of memorial scenes such as Van Damm's Bar Room Dance.

Recently Kickboxer received the full remake treatment and clearly with a bigger budget and cast.

Helmed by genre veteran and Director John Stockwell who you may all remember from Christine and Top Gun and director of Turistas and Into the Blue, Kickboxer: Vengeance is basically the same story as the original with a few brief subplots dealing with corrupt officials.

Van Damme also returns to the Franchise in the Dennis Chan role as Master Durand. While maintaining some of the quirks still keeps his status as action star.

Where in the original you briefly saw Xian take action with Van Damme it happens often.

Van Damme also serves as Executive Producer alongside he man who takes on the role of Tong Po is taken on by former WWE Champion Dave Batista who I already knew would make a great villain as I am familiar with his work and presence that would be required for the role.

Also joining the cast is female MMA Star Gina Carano in a villain role.

That brings us to lead actor and stuntman Alain Moussi in the role of Kurt Sloan. I have to say I was impressed with him. Not only taking on the role but to play the role opposite the actor who played the original.

All in all I enjoyed the flick. As a matter of fact I watched again soon after my original watching and I just learned of a planned sequel which I am looking forward to.

2 Dead Bodies

4 Breasts

5 Street Fights

Elephant Chase

Dance Parody

3 Stars

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