When you start a film off with exploding heads, severed limbs that spray arterial blood like a garden hose, and a chainsaw fight, you can be pretty sure that a film is going to be over-the-top and live up to the word gore in its name.
In the wake of 1992’s LA riots, has there ever been a more pointed commentary on police brutality than the thought-provoking Psycho Cop 2: Psycho Cop Returns? Perhaps there is, but I don’t want to know about it.
A Christmas horror movie where Santa Claus kills Fran Drescher and Chris Kattan in the opening scene has at least two things going for it. Fortunately for Santa’s Slay it not only provides Santa a chance to kill off two of the most irritating people of all time, it’s surprisingly enjoyable ride.
Not only has this limp, bloodless, Italian horror got a just plain genius title, it’s sexy star Rita Calderoni (who has a bush to rival Linay Romay’s) actually does get nude for satan. In fact, while she and her doctor pal (James Harris) are stranded at a remote castle, she gets nude a whole lot, whether she’s washing, having a nightmare, walking the dog or peeling the spuds, she’s as nudey as ya’ like.
Normally, I’ll give any $4 crock of D.I.Y shot-on-video horror flik the vast benefit of the doubt and press play to see what the deal is, but this… pitiful lump of Texan, no budget, living dead poo from ‘Cemetery Cinema’ made me wanna’ press eject within minutes. Ok, I know it’s not intended to be high art, or even basic trash, and it’s obviously a labor of love made by friends, but god damnit, there’s only so much footage of the same 10 zombies coughing up ketchup any mere mortal can withstand.
If you’re seeking out the indescribably weird, The Boxer’s Omen is a must-see. An insane Hong Kong cocktail of disgusting Thailand black magic, Buddhist spirit-fu, and a bit of martial arts, movies just don’t come much weirder than this one.
Best place yer brain in a jar while you indulge in this stupefying chunk of childish fantasy-ham starring Michael De Mesa as a smarmy circus magician called Jamir who is not only handicapped with a bad beard and a fat side-kick Bojok (Tom Tom), he’s utterly shite at magic and accidentally makes his daughter ‘really’ disappear during a show one night. Shocked and dumfounded (not really), Jamir then spends the rest of the film farting about like a tool in another dimension searching for the missing girl, but don’t cheer just yet... this low budget stinker from the Philippines is sadly, as dumb as they come.
Low budget, filmed in New Orleans monster laughs starring screenwriter Billy Holliday, Chuck Long and Chuck Bush in a pile of slimy swamp trash that opens with creature POV, an asthma attack, a spot of wildlife, some Jaws (74) music and a ridiculous gory murder.
A colourful and crazy example of whacky horror cinema from Indonesia starring (Australian) Ilona Agathe Bastian as Cathy, an American student in Bali who wants to learn the secret of Leak (’Lee-Ack’) black magic so she can scribble a dull book about it. With the help of her effeminate boyfriend (Yos Santo) and some stock footage of genuine ritual shows, Ilona is soon shaking hands with a mental witch in a field where she’s quickly cursed, possessed, hexed and up to her 1980’s fringe in trouble.
Quirky, obscure and partly wonky low budget shocker about a creepy run down carnival owned by 'Mr Blood' (Jerome Dempsey) and operated by his family of inbred weirdos, amputees, zombies and misfit killers. Possibly filmed by a drunken cameraman, everything is oddly framed as it unveils a strange, supernatural tale that has various locals wander into the fair, never to leave.
