VHS Visions: Valet Girls (1987)

By Brad Henderson

Sex comedies are my forte. I’m in love with them, even the bad ones. It doesn’t matter to me if they’re bad because I find something enjoyable out of each of them. There are a lot of sex comedies but there are some real gems hidden about all the boobs and sand. One of those flicks is Valet Girls.

With these films you can’t go on expecting a plot. Usually there’s a very simple story with lots of boobs and running from the villain or trying to overcome some obstacle and having to raise money for it. Valet Girls is about a singer who wants to make it big so she becomes a valet girl? What?

(more…)

VHS Visions: The Kindred (1987)

By Brad Henderson

Like I’ve said countless times already, there are thousands upon thousands of movies that have never been released on DVD or Blu-Ray. That’s kind of the whole point of this VHS Visions feature: to make people aware of some amazing films that have never seen the light of day and hopefully shed some light on them, so that distributors are aware that there is a market for these movies.

(more…)

DVD Review: The Invoking

By Brad Henderson

Making a film is hard no matter what subject matter or genre you tackle, but some genres are harder than others. When it comes down to it, I believe most people would rather watch a bad horror film rather than a bad drama or comedy because watching a bad horror film is just easier on certain levels.

Indie horror is something hard to pull off for many reasons. The story and acting have to be solid or you will just bore your audience. If you have special effects in the film—either CGI or practical—they also have to look solid or you have a problem. I’m pleased to say that The Invoking is an indie horror film that gets things right.

(more…)

The Unseen: The Forsaken, Asylum Blackout, The Party Animal

By Brad Henderson

We all have those films that have slipped under our radar or those that we just didn’t get around to seeing yet. These films could be blockbusters, indie flicks, or just films that weren’t publicized or spoken about enough. In this feature, I’m going to be discussing three films you need to see that you probably missed or maybe even forgot about.

(more…)

Blu-Ray Review: Night Of The Demons (Collector’s Edition)

By Brad Henderson

Angela is having a party; Jason and Freddy are too scared to come. But you’ll have a hell of a time.

That is the freaking tagline to Night Of The Demons. The box art for this movie always stuck with me when I passed by it and its sequel numerous times at my local video store as a child. My mom let me watch a lot of R-rated films but this one was off limits . . . until I was ten or so. Yeah, my mom is a badass and let me watch R-rated films when I was five, but it had to do with the content.

(more…)

DVD Review: Wakefield Poole’s Bible!

By Brad Henderson

When we see the rating X or XXX, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Hardcore porn? Or a film that has so much sexual content that it isn’t fit for an R rating? Sometimes neither of these things can be the case. Back in the 1960s and ’70s films that had sexual content were rated X because in that day and age it was considered too much. Those films are nothing compared to what we have today between porn and R-rated films that are deemed “extreme.”

Vinegar Syndrome is probably a name that you aren’t familiar with yet, but take note because these guys are true fans of vintage/art cinema. I was fortunate enough to watch one of their reissues, an X-rated film from 1974 called Bible! directed by Wakefield Poole. Just looking at the synopsis or reading about it you might think it’s a hardcore porno or maybe a sexplotation film. I’m here to tell you that it’s neither.

(more…)

Blu-Ray Review: Argento’s Dracula 3D

By Brad Henderson

Let me start off by saying that I’m a huge fan of Dario Argento. Huge. He’s been a big influence in my life and is one of my favorite directors of all time. I’m sad to say this is the first Argento flick that I’ve disliked. (Yes, I like Giallo, so don’t bother asking.) Still, I didn’t go into this film with high hopes but it has Rutger Hauer and Asia Argento so I was thinking what could go wrong with something like that?

(more…)

DVD Review: Dark Touch

By Brad Henderson

It’s hard to keep up with horror films because there are so many. Between all of the indie and mainstream horror movies released, it is next to impossible to determine what to watch and stay away from. That is why there are people like us to help you decide what you need to watch right away or take your good ol’ time to get around to seeing.

Dark Touch is a film that I recommend that I actually didn’t care all that much about. Weird, right? I know. I’m one of those people that will recommend a film even though I disliked it because I can see many people digging this film and enjoying it quite a bit. The plot is very intriguing and it immediately got me interested: A little girl is the survivor of a massacre that took place at her home. The cops suspect vandals broke into the home and killed her parents but the little girl knows the truth of what happened on that horrific night.

My main problem with the story is that we know the truth of what happened right away. This kind of ruined the film for me because I would have rather been on the other side of the table with this one. The film is beautifully shot and well done, but that wasn’t enough to save Dark Touch for me personally. Even though it wasn’t for me I think this film will find its audience quickly . . . or not.

Dark Touch was released on DVD by IFC Midnight on January 28.

VHS Visions: Never Too Young To Die (1986)

By Brad Henderson

In 1986 a film was born. That film was Never Too Young To Die. It’s sad that many haven’t seen it, but that’s the point of this review. George Lazenby, Vanity, John Stamos, and Gene Simmons (yes, from Kiss) star in this magnum opus and give the best performances of their entire careers . . . I’m joking, but it isn’t that bad.

(more…)

DVD Review: Stonados

By Brad Henderson

I often wonder how people come up with an idea for a disaster film. Not only do we have volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and everything else but also we now have other things combined with these normal disaster films. Just about every week it seems that there is either a weird shark film or a disaster film on television and it gets old. I know there’s a small market out there but where do they actually find the producers of these films? If someone handed me a script called Stonados I would laugh. I even laughed when I got an email about the release of the film, but since I’m a film geek I gave it a chance. I give anything a chance.

(more…)