JUDD NELSON IS 'RELENTLESS' WITH LEO ROSSI & ROBERT LOGGIA

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvkXIJmOu6Ar1krsooooS46LJsy8mrJ1btppf9LhwopkEnAJWlslcKgHQ4jTWdKq3R-olhKY2KF0Y4LqlRQ1IrSojONKVqVBzl_tKYDQaFo8wDYQMOnDgYnRv0JBABZXDh8llID7NNfBcbnBhxR_UHw6Q7dyQP69IRjb2WhCR6yMHmVmOiczFpmmmyJAK9" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvkXIJmOu6Ar1krsooooS46LJsy8mrJ1btppf9LhwopkEnAJWlslcKgHQ4jTWdKq3R-olhKY2KF0Y4LqlRQ1IrSojONKVqVBzl_tKYDQaFo8wDYQMOnDgYnRv0JBABZXDh8llID7NNfBcbnBhxR_UHw6Q7dyQP69IRjb2WhCR6yMHmVmOiczFpmmmyJAK9=s1600"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the mid-1980's, starting out with famously low-budget Cannon Films in MAKING THE GRADE before breaking into Universal stardom for THE BREAKFAST CLUB, by 1989, Judd Nelson was back in the little leagues...</p><p>Getting first-billed in exploitation drive-in maestro William Lustig's RELENTLESS, a kind of revamp of WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS involving Nelson as a man-child serial killer, motivated by the media's goading perception of his ultra-violent actions based on lonely loser motivations... <br></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

angel tompkins, body count, cop, eddie bunker, eighties, frank pesce, judd nelson, leo rossi, meg foster, neo noir, robert loggia, william lustig

JUDD NELSON IS 'RELENTLESS' WITH LEO ROSSI & ROBERT LOGGIA

Year: 1989 Rating: ***1/2 In the mid-1980's, starting out with famously low-budget Cannon Films in MAKING THE GRADE before breaking into...

YVETTE MIMIEUX LEADING 'BRAINWASH' AKA 'CIRCLE OF POWER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAI7HsLi_B1iVT_TzyQkl5ilCkdMORKF46KU6GCwwM3ZWVVBOu0boo0c1AlFPrUmYpYOP_zZQUR2puppQdusrLZg0OzE3gXkpq1JHV4kos12sOGp8i4eHFsNQbTa4rk1I-_5qzqpPU7FdWm667LcF_JFyJvK_F5wYcFO3AgXgtwzl7qXamqRAkH5umzDf/s1018/3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAI7HsLi_B1iVT_TzyQkl5ilCkdMORKF46KU6GCwwM3ZWVVBOu0boo0c1AlFPrUmYpYOP_zZQUR2puppQdusrLZg0OzE3gXkpq1JHV4kos12sOGp8i4eHFsNQbTa4rk1I-_5qzqpPU7FdWm667LcF_JFyJvK_F5wYcFO3AgXgtwzl7qXamqRAkH5umzDf/s16000/3.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Yvette Mimieux in BRAINWASH/CIRCLE OF POWER Year: 1981 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Mostly known by the far more dramatic title CIRCLE OF POWER — which probably made the video rental more of a shelf-grabber or else the original title that somehow had to be changede — this early-80's cult curio now genuinely titled (on the opening credits) BRAINWASH is based on the previous decade's self-help Erhard Seminars Training aka EST, where a group of participants are stuck inside a room, sometimes for days, without even a bathroom, under intense scrutiny by a charismatic leader for individual inner-self discovery, or something...<br><br>But in the Reagan-era, Hollywood saw fit to make Yvette Mimieux's gorgeous forty-something Bianca Ray a corporate tycoon (owner of a gigantic advertising firm) rather than hippie-guru, programming a handful of married couples not into personal-fulfillment but to become high-paid executives, and, halfway through... in a televised interview the group watches during a much needed break... she mentions how the current American leader wants her in his cabinet...<br><span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

carmen argenziano, christopher allport, cult, denny miller, eighties, hugh gillen, leo rossi, mary mccusker, scott marlowe, terence knox, thriller, tony plana, walter olkewicz, yvette mimieux

YVETTE MIMIEUX LEADING 'BRAINWASH' AKA 'CIRCLE OF POWER'

Yvette Mimieux in BRAINWASH/CIRCLE OF POWER Year: 1981 Rating: **** Mostly known by the far more dramatic title CIRCLE OF POWER — which prob...

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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEajCtOUvPGOMv1u8pU8ymlwlx8qcLC-Eq2OBgDSgIKb4Ew2xaIHczNvj_EXfoTCFUe8ZLQuoYYcCFpxa4BBJDUeSY1a08mfIzb1uOMRr8iC6i8E14HLk8RN_rWQjQDHXXzoZaVwNi9i-/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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEajCtOUvPGOMv1u8pU8ymlwlx8qcLC-Eq2OBgDSgIKb4Ew2xaIHczNvj_EXfoTCFUe8ZLQuoYYcCFpxa4BBJDUeSY1a08mfIzb1uOMRr8iC6i8E14HLk8RN_rWQjQDHXXzoZaVwNi9i-/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...

ROAMING THE CORRIDORS OF THE ORIGINAL 'HALLOWEEN II'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m82I8_L0NFJIpUa1WNoDT-JFhOc1aDr_pU46yB9k4DXObXKK3E19sj2NjnAhPr9LaNlQO2wn2wEQ8RuqTyoMjFbea4PIieVHfJnRSi7m9SPI0ueBA1OigHMAfFc5AdflbCRaSq-Iuxg/s1600/halloween-2-the-nightmare-isnt-over-movie-poster-1981-1020144238.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m82I8_L0NFJIpUa1WNoDT-JFhOc1aDr_pU46yB9k4DXObXKK3E19sj2NjnAhPr9LaNlQO2wn2wEQ8RuqTyoMjFbea4PIieVHfJnRSi7m9SPI0ueBA1OigHMAfFc5AdflbCRaSq-Iuxg/s400/halloween-2-the-nightmare-isnt-over-movie-poster-1981-1020144238.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1981 </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> For the neurotic, paranoid, panic-attacked among us, hospitals are the place to be: The cool white walls, the medicine, the wise doctors and those lovely nurses – it’s a sublime safe haven where hearts can beat comfortably.<br /> <br /> So when Jamie Lee Curtis... reprising her role as sole surviving ingénue Laurie Strode on the same night, Halloween... awakes in a hospital room, she has nothing to worry about, right? <br /> <br /> Well that’s what really works with HALLOWEEN II…The hospital setting is ominous, creepy and best of all, contained as The Shape, Michael Myers, haunts an assortment of expendable characters, practically begging to violently flatline: Two ambulance drivers: one an obnoxious womanizer, the other a nice young sap…<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEq3aDA_DHJfeQTIpontWRrJiuDOip36GyRYdNmNaUnEvRwgwFEimpsZagd82Hk-iwq5cu4X5N8XwQY0T-1zOi_8BbVxhplbg1GlIuySvzPdUSpuO2zZqjyzXnvDF2r78lkUO_b8vSSgM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-20+at+8.28.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="508" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEq3aDA_DHJfeQTIpontWRrJiuDOip36GyRYdNmNaUnEvRwgwFEimpsZagd82Hk-iwq5cu4X5N8XwQY0T-1zOi_8BbVxhplbg1GlIuySvzPdUSpuO2zZqjyzXnvDF2r78lkUO_b8vSSgM/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-10-20+at+8.28.00+PM.png" width="184" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ana Alicia H2Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The latter, played by future LAST STARFIGHTER Lance Guest, warms up to a recovering Laurie while Leo Rossi has both leering eyes on Pamela Susan Shoop… Their sizzling "jacuzzi" scene is tops in the body count horror canon. And while Curtis lays around till the scorching 11th hour climax, the “heroic” stature goes to Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis…<br /> <br /> Along with several oblivious police officers, Loomis, in a Noir fashion, is on Myer's trial through the dark Halloween streets: he alone knows the story behind the mysterious suburban killer, and no one else is buying it.  <br /> <br /> With the return of camera-gliding cinematographer Dean Cundey, produced, co-written (with Debra Hill) and scored by John Carpenter and directed by Rick Rosenthal, HALLOWEEN II is a clean slate for the viewing audience and a chance for Michael Myers to be even more present and menacing: covering the ground he broke in the original.   

charles cyphers, donald pleasence, eighties, franchise, halloween, horror, jamie lee curtis, john carpenter, john zenda, lance guest, leo rossi, pamela susan shoop, sequel

ROAMING THE CORRIDORS OF THE ORIGINAL 'HALLOWEEN II'

year: 1981 For the neurotic, paranoid, panic-attacked among us, hospitals are the place to be: The cool white walls, the medicine, the ...

ROBERT Z'DAR RETURNS IN MANIAC COP 2

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLM1PAM3d9FteGJBMREiJflylAcmkPZpGVKJPRnf3WcQkG6ECMZqtmxxMCk1WUDuRh3Jtr5aNYlWVV2Pnq1VJWkPL8-e8F6o0B7m-0OcXztX7G82epqKuSZbf_y-htW_PRhINYGuPmLY/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLM1PAM3d9FteGJBMREiJflylAcmkPZpGVKJPRnf3WcQkG6ECMZqtmxxMCk1WUDuRh3Jtr5aNYlWVV2Pnq1VJWkPL8-e8F6o0B7m-0OcXztX7G82epqKuSZbf_y-htW_PRhINYGuPmLY/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1990 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/10/ManiacCops.html">REVIEW HAS MOVED HERE</a></span>

action, bruce campbell, horror, larry cohen, leo rossi, nineties, robert z'dar, sequel, william lustig

ROBERT Z'DAR RETURNS IN MANIAC COP 2

year: 1990 rating: ***1/2 REVIEW HAS MOVED HERE