TOBE HOOPER DIRECTS THE TV VAMPIRE MOVIE OF 'SALEM'S LOT'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LkdiChvC5dw/XbZirWABzsI/AAAAAAABKJ4/qkm7gf6pAsoTzcxZXk0jHyh3O1IZOGQogCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-27%2Bat%2B8.35.09%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1600" height="287" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LkdiChvC5dw/XbZirWABzsI/AAAAAAABKJ4/qkm7gf6pAsoTzcxZXk0jHyh3O1IZOGQogCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-27%2Bat%2B8.35.09%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Little pink houses for James Mason in SALEM'S LOT Year: 1979</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Although groundbreaking horror/exploitation director Tobe Hooper is best known for and forever linked to the legendary low-budget slasher TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, his coolest, tightest and most accessible work is fulfilling and utterly frightful, unlike some other television movies/miniseries during the 1970's in which Stephen King's SALEM'S LOT rode the crest of... <br> <br> Involving an eclectic ensemble from several cinematic generations behind leading man David Soul as a second-rate author returned to the titular New England hometown, doing investigative research on the locally-infamous, spooky-looking haunted manor on a hill described to former English teacher/mentor Lew Ayres: "Can a house be evil in its stone foundations? In its wooden beams? In the glass of its windows?" <br>

body count, david soul, fred willard, geoffrey lewis, horror, james mason, julie cobb, kenneth mcmillan, lance kerwin, lew ayres, miniseries, seventies, stephen king, tobe hooper, tv movie, vampire

TOBE HOOPER DIRECTS THE TV VAMPIRE MOVIE OF 'SALEM'S LOT'

Little pink houses for James Mason in SALEM'S LOT Year: 1979 Although groundbreaking horror/exploitation director Tobe Hooper is bes...

LON CHANEY TRIPLE FEATURE EXPLOITATION HORROR HOWLERS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Of6g_pf6M4o/XbSqH1AOwoI/AAAAAAABKBE/8D7bxUF4BkYWK0gksAxbKCNQHFdRxfVuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-26%2Bat%2B1.12.54%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="750" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Of6g_pf6M4o/XbSqH1AOwoI/AAAAAAABKBE/8D7bxUF4BkYWK0gksAxbKCNQHFdRxfVuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-26%2Bat%2B1.12.54%2BPM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Unsung Scream Queen Connie Nelson circa 1971 Score: **</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN</u>: The worst thing about this Al Adamson doozy... involving monologue-driven mad scientist J. Carrol Naish working out of a carnival fun house with an axe-wielding idiot man-child, Lon Chaney, sent to kill women for experiments to give his other employee, a brooding Count Dracula, eternal life...<br> <br> All the while reanimating Frankenstein's monster who resembles a melted cabbage... is that it can be quite boring with tedious bouts of dialogue, spouted mostly by two love-struck heroes: a man helping his new girlfriend (after pictured beauty Connie Nelson's killed with Gary Kent) to find her lost sister and eventually happening upon... everything mentioned, plus Adamson's SATAN'S SADIST biker leader Russ Tamblyn returning on wheels. But, somehow, it can be surprisingly involving too. And really, really awful... but that's a given.<br>

al adamson, beverly garland, connie nelson, creature, cult, exploitation, fifties, horror, j. carrol naish, jack hill, lon chaney jr., monster, regina carrol, seventies, sid haig, thriller

LON CHANEY TRIPLE FEATURE EXPLOITATION HORROR HOWLERS

Unsung Scream Queen Connie Nelson circa 1971 Score: ** DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN : The worst thing about this Al Adamson doozy... invol...

WILLIAM LUSTIG & LARRY COHEN FIRST TWO 'MANIAC COP' FILMS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18ZZU2zHwV4/XbLwo0BCKNI/AAAAAAABJ-U/x2yP1nH3gLUNm9kIv2hyBkQhOkdde9Q9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/maniac-cop-poster-robert-zdar-shapiro-glickenhaus.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="640" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18ZZU2zHwV4/XbLwo0BCKNI/AAAAAAABJ-U/x2yP1nH3gLUNm9kIv2hyBkQhOkdde9Q9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/maniac-cop-poster-robert-zdar-shapiro-glickenhaus.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The first MANIAC COP Year: 1987 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>MANIAC COP</u>: Director William Lustig makes horror and action flicks with a murky Film Noir vibe where the night is a character in itself: and not too friendly, centering on a killer cop played by the unique Robert D'Zar, faceless through most of the film, the first half is a mystery/thriller, making every policeman, including tough and growling William Smith, a possible suspect.<br> <br> Tom Atkins investigates a rogue cop on the loose. Bruce Campbell is a beat cop and cheating husband both, making him a crooked kind of hero only writer/producer Larry Cohen could create. But most of the bloody fun is the Maniac Cop going from victim to victim. And he could be a zombie, or something otherworldly, because even bullets can’t do the trick. So once the killer's identity is revealed, followed by flashbacks and a b-story about his crippled lover (Sheree North), the action subsides into a much slower, less involving pace. Yet it’s all original throughout: leading to a somewhat overlong car chase, and then a battle with Campbell versus the Maniac Cop. And once his grotesque face is revealed, things rush to a predictable conclusion. And yet, despite the sporadic flaws, it's an action/horror that always keeps the beat.<br>

action, bruce campbell, claudia christian, eighties, horror, larry cohen, laurene landon, leo rossi, nineties, robert z'dar, sequel, william lustig, william smith

WILLIAM LUSTIG & LARRY COHEN FIRST TWO 'MANIAC COP' FILMS

The first MANIAC COP Year: 1987 Rates: ***1/2 MANIAC COP : Director William Lustig makes horror and action flicks with a murky Film Noir...

STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS A SPIDER JAWS 'ARACHNOPHOBIA'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7EzuYqSPFRw/XbGG-_s6NXI/AAAAAAABJ8o/6PDRwr_aXPUCxhdm1RSB5loqaX8qpmFCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-24%2Bat%2B1.28.30%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="1277" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7EzuYqSPFRw/XbGG-_s6NXI/AAAAAAABJ8o/6PDRwr_aXPUCxhdm1RSB5loqaX8qpmFCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-24%2Bat%2B1.28.30%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>What a doll this spider is in ARACHNOPHOBIA Year: 1990</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Director Frank Marshall, a Steven Spielberg protégé, teams up with his mentor for this spider version of JAWS. But the first ten minutes provides a RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (that Marshall co-produced) déjà vu as renowned arachnid expert Julian Sands ventures into South America to discover a new form of creepy-crawlers...<br> <br> Along for the ride is whiny and reluctant photographer Mark L. Taylor, who’s so nervous and timid you know he’ll buy the farm. Not only that but one of the formidable spiders, that can paralyze and kill victims in one bite, hitches his coffin ride to a small town back in America, where Jeff Daniels and family have just moved in: Daniels a big city doctor with a fear of spiders (like Roy Schieder’s Chief Brody hated the water), and since the local doctor won’t retire, Daniels has only a few patients. And everyone he diagnoses, dies – a mystery to everyone but the audience, and providing a Noir like Wrong Man vibe, at least for a little while, and these are probably the film's best sequences, providing an infectious mystery vibe for the characters that the audience is in on. <br>

action, cori wellins, creature, frank marshall, harley jane kozak, horror, jeff daniels, john goodman, julian sands, nineties, peter jason, roy brocksmith, spiders, steven spielberg, stuart pankin, thriller

STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS A SPIDER JAWS 'ARACHNOPHOBIA'

What a doll this spider is in ARACHNOPHOBIA Year: 1990 Director Frank Marshall, a Steven Spielberg protégé, teams up with his mentor fo...

JOHN CARPENTER DIRECTS STEPHEN KING'S KILLER CAR 'CHRISTINE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-jH-Fz723Q/XaqVQMXaiXI/AAAAAAABJvE/TSY2KdxNmGQZj3hfXU0MFLio-jTu90ASQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-18%2Bat%2B12.21.19%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-jH-Fz723Q/XaqVQMXaiXI/AAAAAAABJvE/TSY2KdxNmGQZj3hfXU0MFLio-jTu90ASQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-18%2Bat%2B12.21.19%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Shot of Carpenter's Christine in her resting place YEAR: 1983</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> John Carpenter's most sparse and subtle horror film, and based on Stephen King's multi-perspective novel, CHRISTINE is to high school what THE SHINING is to hotel management as Keith Gordon plays an initially geeky character suitably named Arnie, who, best friends since childhood with popular yet humble jock John Stockwell as Dennis, the tables turn when the dork lands the prettiest girl on campus, new student Leigh played by meek ingenue Alexandria Paul..<br> <br> Well Kelly Preston's actually the hottest but that's an opinion, and as head cheerleader, football hero Stockwell has her in the bag yet still tries for/strikes out with Leigh before a cool Carpenter glide-cam sports scene where Dennis, running for a long bomb pass, sees Arnie kissing the tall beauty, leaning on an old, recently purchased Chevy he seemed possessed by from the moment he laid eyes on this titular 1950's vehicle, and all to Dennis's distrust and chagrin. <br>

alexandra paul, body count, bully, christine belford, harry dean stanton, horror, john carpenter, john stockwell, keith gordon, kelly preston, killer car, stephen king, teen

JOHN CARPENTER DIRECTS STEPHEN KING'S KILLER CAR 'CHRISTINE'

Shot of Carpenter's Christine in her resting place YEAR: 1983 John Carpenter's most sparse and subtle horror film, and based on ...

FROM 'MADMAN OF MANDORAS' TO 'THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw9te1o7T4c/XalWY1MER8I/AAAAAAABJqo/mMgFhVR1lM4C48ChriiiKYvcQBN1vJ8eQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/hqdefault.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="473" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw9te1o7T4c/XalWY1MER8I/AAAAAAABJqo/mMgFhVR1lM4C48ChriiiKYvcQBN1vJ8eQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/hqdefault.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Madman of Mandoras Years: 1963 into Hitler's Brain: 1968</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Well someone out there knew the title THEY SAVED SATAN'S BRAIN, a television movie in 1968, sounded much more campy and nafarious and downright awesome than the 1963 vehicle where most of the scenes were lifted, THE MADMEN OF MANDORAS... <br> <br> And the real shame is our first two heroes, tacked-on from the latter sixties and resembling that loose, shaggy, counter-culture era compared to the earlier clean-cut handsome/beautiful hero inspired by Eisenhower scientists from the early sixties, are fun to watch as porn-jazz music plays in the background, resulting in a banal argument about male chauvinism where eventually, the two polar opposites not only get along, but seem to have a future... in the story itself...<br>

audrey caire, cult, exploitation, horror, jazz score, nazi, sixties, suspense, thriller

FROM 'MADMAN OF MANDORAS' TO 'THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN'

The Madman of Mandoras Years: 1963 into Hitler's Brain: 1968 Well someone out there knew the title THEY SAVED SATAN'S BRAIN, a ...

ROBERT FORSTER TURNS 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kNOrjp7XgSs/XaXrQ79XEII/AAAAAAABJhI/qY-Sw7bmlGQEe7a-nhoL4E-Az1kBst8JgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/72635888_804991683263343_6573479353840041984_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="957" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kNOrjp7XgSs/XaXrQ79XEII/AAAAAAABJhI/qY-Sw7bmlGQEe7a-nhoL4E-Az1kBst8JgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/72635888_804991683263343_6573479353840041984_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Fred Williamson in VIGILANTE aka STREET GANG Year: 1982</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> During the eighties, the decade-old DEATH WISH template was alive and kicking ass. Not like the Charles Bronson classic invented the revenge theme, but when it came to law without order and giving the streets back to the people, for VIGILANTE it was the more, the merrier...<br> <br> Robert Forster stars as, like Bronson, an average family man who winds up seeking revenge, but unlike Chuck he's far from alone. Fred Williamson leads a group of working class tough guys including THE GODFATHER bodyguard Richard Bright and SHORT EYES scene-stealer Joe Carberry, who were beating up muggers/rapists before our hero got into the swing of things....<br>

action, crime, don blakely, eighties, exploitation, frank pesce, fred williamson, joe carberry, joe spinell, revenge, richard bright, robert forster, rutanya alda, vigilante, william lustig, woody strode

ROBERT FORSTER TURNS 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

Fred Williamson in VIGILANTE aka STREET GANG Year: 1982 During the eighties, the decade-old DEATH WISH template was alive and kicking as...

AARON PAUL'S JESSE DRIVES 'EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jgcJ34mk_LQ/XaGtrXPzKqI/AAAAAAABI7M/c9eWcBUlbPIahIhxs75FbvF6GjLkhsqLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-12%2Bat%2B3.29.49%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1458" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jgcJ34mk_LQ/XaGtrXPzKqI/AAAAAAABI7M/c9eWcBUlbPIahIhxs75FbvF6GjLkhsqLACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-12%2Bat%2B3.29.49%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in El Camino YEAR: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman suffered so much in BREAKING BAD... just working with Bryan Cranston's Walter White alone... that it's easy to forget the particular hell he went through in the 11th hour of the last season <i>without</i> his mentor...<br> <br> Spending half of this sequel-movie decompressing mentally, physically and emotionally from having been locked up by the Neo-Nazi uncle of mellow yet sociopathic Todd (like a grownup kid enjoying his first "friend" whom he can't differentiate from a favorite stolen toy), who has more screentime here than Pinkman's two living tweeker buddies, Skinny Pete and Badger... And the otherwise likeable Badger spouts some of the most contrived, cringe-worthy dialogue ranging from quips about short-buses to naming every brand of clothing and toiletry they own. It just doesn't seem very natural, or like <i>they would ever</i> say things like, for example... SKINNY PETE: "You couldn't drive a two-button elevator." BADGER: "You couldn't drive Miss Daisy!" <br>

2019, aaron paul, body count, bryan cranston, crime, jesse plemons, netflix, robert forster, sequel, thriller, tv movie

AARON PAUL'S JESSE DRIVES 'EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE'

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in El Camino YEAR: 2019 Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman suffered so much in BREAKING BAD... just working with...

COMPARING 'CURSE OF THE DEMON' WITH 'NIGHT OF THE DEMON'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqlUS-eOr7s/XaATjxNY3ZI/AAAAAAABI2k/yitEgGC5mgceg2hYpdOUdmW6bjcaSAIOACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/night-of-the-demon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="1315" height="321" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqlUS-eOr7s/XaATjxNY3ZI/AAAAAAABI2k/yitEgGC5mgceg2hYpdOUdmW6bjcaSAIOACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/night-of-the-demon.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Art for NIGHT OF THE DEMON w/ Dana Andrews & Peggy Cummins</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This won't be worthwhile reading unless you've seen and know all about both CURSE OF THE DEMON and NIGHT OF THE DEMON...<br> <br> The second, NIGHT, is the original British cut while CURSE was edited for American audiences. But that doesn't mean CURSE is just a chopped version of NIGHT as each film has its own order, aura, and fans who decide which one they prefer. So perhaps this reexamination rundown will help with that decision, or even change it...<br> <br> On the airplane, following the demon-killing intro that's the same in both versions, in NIGHT OF THE DEMON Peggy asks the stewardess is she can move seats because she bothered Dr. Holden. He's trying to sleep and she's writing a letter to the kids in her classroom. Also in NIGHT, Holden speaks longer to the professors greeting him into the airport baggage claim and then walking out the door. CURSE cuts from him going down the escalator to being right outside the airport...<br>

article, british, cult, dana andrews, fifties, horror, jacques tourneur, list, niall macginnis, occult, peggy cummins, thriller

COMPARING 'CURSE OF THE DEMON' WITH 'NIGHT OF THE DEMON'

Art for NIGHT OF THE DEMON w/ Dana Andrews & Peggy Cummins This won't be worthwhile reading unless you've seen and know all ...

PAMELA SUE MARTIN STARS IN 'BAY COVE' WITH TIM MATHESON

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl9pg8pVA4s/XZ15V6qkV9I/AAAAAAABIu4/zBguAsP7Bbc1e85AFaIGDumH8U8yHXvbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/72045674_800680560361122_2357363761859264512_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="935" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl9pg8pVA4s/XZ15V6qkV9I/AAAAAAABIu4/zBguAsP7Bbc1e85AFaIGDumH8U8yHXvbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/72045674_800680560361122_2357363761859264512_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marsha Moreau serves it creepy in BAY COVE Year: 1987</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Occasionally, made-for-television movies delving into the horror genre are surprisingly good. GARGOYLES comes to mind from the seventies, and for the next decade, here’s another...</span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Pamela Sue Martin and Tim Matheson are a big city couple who decide to move to the nearby old-fashioned island of Bay Cove, which, it turns out, has some strange content...</span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Including an eerie old man who stares out a window SENTINEL style; neighbors who really hate/fear dogs; and a cemetery that's most recent headstone dates back to the 1700's, possibly making the middle-aged residents a couple hundred years old as Pamela Sue's our investigative Mia Farrow ala ROSEMARY’S BABY (sans impregnation); the in-denial Matheson adheres quickly to the weird locals, taking the John Cassavetes soulless husband mantel (only in this case, <i>he</i> takers <i>her</i> into the purchase); and Woody Harrelson's the heroine's best friend who, like Maurice Evans, gets a piece of clothing stolen before buying the farm. </span><br>

barbara billingsly, eighties, exploitation, horror, jeff conaway, marsha moreau, mystery, occult, pamela sue martin, thriller, tim matheson, tv movie, witch, woody harrelson

PAMELA SUE MARTIN STARS IN 'BAY COVE' WITH TIM MATHESON

Marsha Moreau serves it creepy in BAY COVE Year: 1987 Occasionally, made-for-television movies delving into the horror genre are surpri...

JOSIE BISSETT FINDING HER PLACE WITH 'HITCHER IN THE DARK'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6GWKG_74Q4c/XZselnSLLWI/AAAAAAABIm0/sQstS8AdV14kb2SQzrK15QB3YJInqKR1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/71559568_799248560504322_6951175380531150848_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="563" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6GWKG_74Q4c/XZselnSLLWI/AAAAAAABIm0/sQstS8AdV14kb2SQzrK15QB3YJInqKR1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/71559568_799248560504322_6951175380531150848_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Josie Bissett tries and tries to survive as the lovely hitcher YEAR: 1989</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Before what would become an intensely popular super-bad horror phenomenon, TROLL 2, featuring a group of teenage boys traveling in a recreation vehicle, Italian producer Joe D'Amato and his synth-composing Carlo Maria Cordio used just one young man, a kind of misleadingly boy-next-door Ted Bundy type, who kidnaps, tortures, rapes and kills female hitchhikers in HITCHER IN THE DARK, where the title is also misleading, sounding as if THE HITCHER were the villain...<br> <br> Instead it's Winnebago-driving rich kid Mark (Joe Balogh), who picks up a girl he saw fight with her muscular, two-timing boyfriend, and she's one of the cutest blonde starlets in the history of cheap horror exploitation. Although MELROSE PLACE fans may not recognize a slightly younger Josie Bissett in her literal career beginnings with long locks. But soon enough, like put-upon wife Jane Mancini, it's cut short and dyed (actually a wig)... which wasn't her idea... <br>

body count, cult, eighties, exploitation, horror, indie, italian import, josie bissett, kidnapping, road movie, serial killer, thriller

JOSIE BISSETT FINDING HER PLACE WITH 'HITCHER IN THE DARK'

Josie Bissett tries and tries to survive as the lovely hitcher YEAR: 1989 Before what would become an intensely popular super-bad horror...

PETER CUSHING 'LAND OF THE MINOTAUR' AKA 'THE DEVIL'S MEN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A0azojFAG9Y/XZWp4BZQ9tI/AAAAAAABIZ0/k4hP6Myi9FcabaBLv3VhQxLGT05go6RIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-03%2Bat%2B12.54.18%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1073" height="325" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A0azojFAG9Y/XZWp4BZQ9tI/AAAAAAABIZ0/k4hP6Myi9FcabaBLv3VhQxLGT05go6RIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-03%2Bat%2B12.54.18%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Deliciously wicket poster art for the MINOTAUR Year: 1976</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> You can't deny the timeless aesthetic villainy of Peter Cushing, one year before managing the Death Star in STAR WARS and after years of starring in England's legendary Hammer Films, he slummed in the Crown International Picture LAND OF THE MINOTAUR aka THE DEVIL'S MEN, where, alas, that famous scowl means very little...<br> <br> And while Ray Harryhausen vividly brought a Minotaur to life in THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD a few years earlier, this bullish beast, important enough for the alternative title, rises slowly and then just stands there, a literal statue in a hidden labyrinth wherein a sporadic handful of young archaeologists wind up, trapped and... could be made into sacrifices unless our unlikely heroes find them. And, shockingly not too bad for a bad movie where each frame resembles a last known photo, MINOTAUR creatively juggles various twenty-something victims...<br>

body count, crown international, cult, donald pleasence, drive-in, exploitation, horror, import, luan peters, occult, peter cushing, seventies, thriller

PETER CUSHING 'LAND OF THE MINOTAUR' AKA 'THE DEVIL'S MEN'

Deliciously wicket poster art for the MINOTAUR Year: 1976 You can't deny the timeless aesthetic villainy of Peter Cushing, one year ...