Nightmare in Wax (1969)

One movie down and one flick to go to meet my goal of completing the Gorehouse Greats Collection this weekend. My first selection was the 1969 Cameron Mitchell entry Nightmare in Wax.

Plot/ A former film special effects engineer who is disfigured by Max, a rival for the affections of a woman. Leaving the film industry, Vince opens a wax museum just as popular stars of the screen start to go missing. Those selfsame stars soon feature as wax models in the museum.

This was a fun film, not great or even relatively good, but fun. Cameron Mitchell does a great job in this one, possibly his better performances (especially when hamming it up with his creations). The rest of the acting is mediocre, which makes the scripts flaws even more evident. The scenery, the idea of creating live zombified figures and the wax figures of the Hollywood greats are done really well, but that is about where the good parts of the movie end. In all, an ok film that had its moments, while it is not for everyone, one could do far worse than spending 90 minutes with this flick.

Brain Twisters (1991)

This weekend is it, I am going to finish the Gorehouse Greats Collection! Tonight I watched Brain Twisters from 1991 and tomorrow I will finish the last two flicks Nightmare in Wax and Stanley.

Plot/ College student Laurie Stevens gets a crash course in horror when she discovers that her favorite professor's computer-game research is really a series of mind-control experiments. Pushed by a software company to accelerate his research, the unethical teacher ignores the fact that students become violent after exposure to the game. Soon, Laurie teams with police to investigate a series of seemingly unrelated on-campus murders and suicides.

Again, I am amazed at how this ended up on this box set, because this movie totally lacks any type of gore. In fact, my first thought was this was a made-for-TV flick that ended up on video. In the end, it is just another mediocre movie that is destined to be forgotten (until it ends up on another one of these box sets). For horror fans, there is very little to like and it is missing many of the elements that at least made the low budget movies tolerable. There are very little (if any) blood, no guts, no nudity and only a couple of kills that take place on screen. The acting is OK and the video effects look more late 1970s early 1980s. To be honest, this one is a mess and I cannot recommend it at all.

They Saved Hitler's Brain (1968)

After a few weeks, I decided it was time to venture back into the Gorehouse Greats Collection in hopes of finally finishing that set. With that in mind, I chose They Saved Hitler’s Brain for the evening. Unfortunately, I may have been better off watching a rerun of Warehouse 13, it may have been more interesting the third time around!

Plot/ At the end of World War II, Nazi officials spirited the living head of Adolf Hitler out of Germany to a hiding place in the South American country of Mandoras, in order to revive the Third Reich at a later date. By the 1960s, these men believed the time had come, so they kidnap a top scientist in order to force him to help keep Hitler alive. Several intelligence agencies find out about the plot and send agents to stop it.

I do not know where to begin, this movie is a disjointed mess from start to finish. The scenes are unbalanced, the special effects are laughable and the acting is abysmal. Do not get me wrong, I am a huge fan of B Movies and love some of the cheesiest more than other more popular titles from that era. Those are at least fun, something that this is not other than the few minutes with Hitlers’ Head in the jar, which is hilarious. Other than that this movie has very little to offer and is difficult to watch. Personally, I am unsure of how it was selected to be part of the Gorehouse Greats Collection.

The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

Now that I have returned from my trip to Phoenixville and the annual celebration of the classic movie the Blob at Blobfest, it was time to relax. After hanging out and talking with some horror hosts (old and new), I was left craving some more of the movies from the classic era of horror and sci-fi cinema. With that in mind, I broke down and re-watched the Giant Gila Monster!

Plot/ A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped until their bodies are found in a ravine. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend, Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang for help. A series of tragic motor accidents occur and it becomes apparent that a giant gila monster is roaming the area and depleting the town of its hot-rodding teen-agers and might have plans on attending the record-hop party.

To me, this is a classic example of what a b-monster movie with ridiculous dialogue and dismal special effects is all about! This film has everything it needs to have to be entertaining. Yes, I know this film is bad; the monster is nothing more than a lizard on the ground with some miniature trucks, cars, buildings, and even a train. I know the acting is sub par and script is second rate. Yet, this movie has a draw and is full of heart and actually attempts to be a bit more than the typical entry of the day and that is what makes it so entertaining.

BLOBFEST 2010 (random pictures)

Some random pictures from my weekend trip to BLOBFEST (more can be found on my Facebook page).

Genesis with her tin foil hat

The Projector Room as seen in the Blob

Genesis and I with the Blob

Stella, Hives, Mr. Lobo and Dr. Frank N. Stone

Wes Shank and the original Blob

The Invisible Man and Creighton from Ghoul-A-Go-Go

The Colonial Theatre

With Stella and Hives

The Patient Creatures

Thank You!

I just got back from Blobfest 2010 where I found out that my short film won for Fan Favorite! Thanks to all that voted! Pics to follow...

BLOBFEST 2010

Just two days remain until Blobfest! The annual 3 day event in Phoenixville, PA in celebration of the 1958 horror movie "The Blob," starring Steve McQueen. Anyone in the Philadelphia area this is a great event! Hope to see you there.

BLOBFEST 2010: Friday Night Re-Enactment Revelry


Fri, Jul 9, 7:00 pm

Doors open at 7PM. The shenanigans start at 7:15PM – whee! The Running Out Re-Enactment will take place at approximately 9PM. Schedule is subject to change.

A live stage show hosted by Dr. Frank N. Stone & Ghoul-A-Go-Go
Special Guest: Stella, the Maneater from Manayunk
Special Guest: Wes Shank and the Original Blob
Music by Matt Hallacker and the Blobs
Shorty Award Contest Winners Announced
Shorty Award Winning Films Screened
The Running Out Re-Enactment
There is no Scream Contest this year.
There is no screening of The Blob on Friday night.
The Phoenix Village Art Center has adopted the Tin Foil Hat Contest.
After the revelry, head on over to the 3rd Annual Blob Ball

BLOBFEST Saturday StreetFair (11 AM - All activities on the street are FREE.)

Hosted by Hot Rod Scott & the Professor of Roadhouse Radio WPRB 103.3FM
The Fire Extinguisher Parade is set to start at 12PM
Zydeco-A-Go-Go performs at 12:05PM
The Costume Contest will follow at 1PM
Blob Trivia Contest will begin at 2:30PM
The Phoenix Village Art Center will announce the winners of their Tin Foil Hat Contest at 4:45PM
Music, food, vendors and classic cars ’til 5PM
Don’t forget to check out all the merchants in town that are taking part in our Facade Contest!
Schedule is subject to change.

Breeders (1986)

Evidently, I was doomed to watch strange and cheaply made monsters this week. Maybe it is because Blobfest is on the horizon and subliminally I am being drawn toward strange alien creatures that want to take over the planet. Who knows, but my latest endeavor was Breeders from 1986, what a blast from the past!

Plot/ The Manhattan General Hospital has admitted a string of young women who have been raped by something otherworldly. The perpetrator only attacks women who are virgins. Dr. Pace and Detective Andriotti work together to try and isolate the strange organic material found on the victims, and to try and locate the fiend. Soon the victims begin arising in a trance and leaving the hospital by an underground passage where their fate awaits them.

After watching this movie, I have come to the conclusion that it was one of the first direct to VHS movies from the 1980s and it definitely had to be before Tipper Gore went crazy won her censorship crusade. Yes, this movie by all accounts is terrible, almost beyond terrible, with horrid acting, lousy special effects and an alien monster that would have made Roger Corman proud. However, with the almost “I want to make porn” feel with the constant variety of naked women and breasts that populate the screen, this movie may deserve some type of cult status. If like me you just read the plot or synopsis, you might think this movie is about aliens. As I soon found out, I was wrong… Yes, there are aliens, and yes, they do attack, but in the end, this movie is about female breasts!

Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

What a great 4th of July, an antique car show, created a new zombie head for a display jar and generally just chilled. While hanging out, I decided it was time to beak into some of the low-budget flicks I have in my collection. My choice for the early afternoon was the 1961 cult classic Creature from the Haunted Sea!

Plot/ Inept government agent XK150 is on the trail of mobster Renzo Capetto, a Bogart wanna-be who is transporting General Tostada, a group of exiled Cuban nationals, and a large portion of the Cuban treasury out of Cuba. Mary-Belle Monahan (an infamous gangster moll), Happy Jack Monahan (her dim-bulb gangster-in-training brother) and Pete Peterson Jr. (a hoodlum/animal impersonator) also accompany Renzo. Agent XK150 assumes the identity of "Sparks Moran" and somehow convinces Renzo to add him to the gang. Renzo concocts a plan to "invent" a sea monster, so that the Cubans will allow him to change their course. The phony sea monster will allow him to eliminate a few of the Cubans, and get himself closer to the treasure. Unfortunately, someone else invented the monster first.

What a Corman classic! This horror/comedy blending humor and suspense is totally absurd and cheesy but has a few fine moments mixed in. The movie has storyline full of gaps, and unfathomable twists and is actually a total mess. However, the incredibly cheap special effects with the ridiculous rubber monster have to be an all-time great! In the end, this is just another Z- budget gem from Roger Corman! A playful and witty send up of horror thrillers mixing gangsters, fleeing revolutionaries and a sea monster, what else could you ask for?