Mai Lin vs Serena & Oriental Hawaii (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1981-2
Directed By: Carlos Tobalina
Written By:
Starring: Mai Lin, Serena
Color/158 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: September 9, 2014

The Films
The Peekarama line from Vinegar Syndrome has collected some of the hottest, weirdest and most entertaining vintage adult films ever released to DVD. That trend continues here with a pair of films directed by Carlos Tobalina who is no stranger to the Peekrama line, and starring Mai Lin. The first film MAI LIN VS. SERENA features the two legendary adult film stars battling for the starring role in Tobalina's next feature. All sorts of sexual exploits happen as the two girls set out challenges for the other leading to a group encounter in a hot tub.

ORIENTAL HAWAII features a family who gets to know each other quite well in this film filled with taboo. A vacation to Hawaii leads to a family orgy, Asian beauties servicing the brothers, sisters servicing each other and much more. No subject was off the table for Tobalina's films and he proves that with vigor in this one. There's some nice visuals in both films which are both carried by Mai Lin. 

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome has done some damn fine work on their releases to date and this is no different. Both films are presented in their original aspect ratios of 1.85:1 (16x9 anamorphic transfers) and are as pretty as the girls featured. Sharpness is good along with strong colors and flesh tones. There's some print damage but its not distracting. An English mono track is the sole audio option for each film and despite a bit of background noise they sound very good. The mix is quality and gets the job done nicely. 

The Extras
A trailer for each film is included.

The Bottom Line
If you've been a fan of the Peekarama Collection so far there's nothing here to stop you from continuing your enjoyment. You'll love the pleasures of the Orient. 

MAI LIN VS SERENA and ORIENTAL HAWAII is available HERE

Paranormal Diaries: Clophill (DVD Review) - Image

UK/2013
Directed By: Michael Bartlett, Kevin Gates
Written By: Kevin Gates
Starring: Craig Stovin, Criselda Cabitac, Kevin Gates
Color/88 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: September 30, 2014

The Film
In 1963 a black mass was held as the rundown church in Clophill, Bedfordshire, England. Bodies were desecrated, tombs looted and animals sacrificed. Since then the church has been home to numerous other instances of witchcraft and general desecration. A team of investigators plan to make a documentary in 2010 to get to the bottom of the legends and alleged paranormal activity that still frighten the townspeople.

PARANORMAL DIARIES: CLOPHILL is simply a test of patience for its viewers. I sat, eyes attached to the screen, waiting and waiting, seemingly forever, for something exciting to happen. It got to the point where I was hoping for a false jump scare to happen. But no, it never came. Very little of any significance happens in this movie. We sit around with a group of people, who at the very least are capable of acting with some skill, watching their footage which is largely in night vision around the outside areas of this old ruined church. Occasionally they'll find some animal bones or hear a noise or maybe they break out the Ouija board or perform various tests looking for ghosts and the like. This is pretty much an hour and a half long episode of any cable TV ghost hunting show without the douchey hosts.

If you sit around long enough you're rewarded with one ghostly image, one brief black magic sequence with full frontal female nudity and one gate that swings open without anybody touching it. There you go, I've given you all the payoff that PARANORMAL DIARIES: CLOPHILL gave me. You win because you get the satisfaction without wasting the time.

The Audio & Video
The DVD of PARANORMAL DIARIES  looks good considering how it is filmed. Filmed on handheld cameras, in night vision and played back in night scenes with nonexistant lighting. Despite being presented in conditions that are far from optimal for a nice looking disc, Image Entertainment handles it well with good clarity and a job well done handling black levels which can be problematic. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks pretty good overall. The audio is handled with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that is clear and mixed well. There are some sound effects that come through nicely.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with the cast
-Audio commentary with the director
-Deleted Scenes

The Bottom Line
There's really nothing at all worth wasting your time on here unless you want to sit through over 80 minutes for one tame scene of a black magic ritual to see some full frontal nudity in night vision.

PARANORMAL DIARIES: CLOPHILL is available HERE

The Last Step Down (DVD Review) - Kino Redemption

USA/1970
Directed By: Lawrence Ramport
Written By: Arthur Allen, Phil Miller
Starring: Olivia James, Beatrice Stolen, Uschi Digard
Color/70 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: September 30, 2014

The Film
A film that starts with a fifteen minute sex scene inside of a Satanic cult's sanctuary pretty much defines itself in those opening minutes. THE LAST STEP DOWN certainly did. In a film with a plot that largely doesn't exist, two gorgeous and voluptuous women help a young virgin to loosen up and experience sex for the first time. Of course that means a little lesbian threesome action before bringing her to the same sanctuary we saw in the opening scene where two cult members have their way with the young virgin and the other two women enjoy each other. Then the three women return home and discuss the newly deflowered girl's future as a high price hooker and have her practice her women pleasing skills on them. Roll credits.

THE LAST STEP DOWN doesn't have much going on and despite the presence of a Satanic cult it certainly isn't a horror film in any way. While the girls are incredibly attractive and sexy as hell this movie has little going for it aside from the girls. There's some great goof like during the last lesbian sex scene where one of the cameramen come into frame for about a minute. The real winner of this DVD is in the special features.

The Audio & Video
Kino Redemption bring this horror themed piece of soft erotica to straight from the 70s to DVD with an okay presentation. It is a perfectly watchable disc but the transfer (1.66:1 widescreen) is full of scratches, dirt and various damage. It is battered but it does add a certain vibe to the film that works. The mono English audio track has a bit of whirring background noise and a few split second dropouts but it is serviceable. 

The Extras
The best part of this disc is the 15 minute shirt film BLOOD LUST. This adaptation of "Carmilla" is an adult film produced for the 8mm home video market and was sold exclusively through adult magazine advertisements. This is a rare chance to get to see a piece of stag and horror history. The film isn't anything special but I think the production values are superior to the main feature and it is more entertaining as Dracula sends one of his sexy vampires to get a virgin to be his bride. There's plenty of nudity and sex, Dracula looks like a nasally accountant and out of nowhere there's a climax to it all. 

The Bottom Line
I would recommend this to fans of erotic horror for the BLOOD LUST short alone with THE LAST STEP DOWN being a bonus. The roles have reversed!

THE LAST STEP DOWN is available HERE

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (DVD Review) - Image/RLJ

USA/2014
Directed By: Kaare Andrews
Written By: Jake Wade Wall
Starring: Ryan Donowho, Brando Eaton, Sean Astin
Color/95 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: September 2, 2014

The Film
A small group of friends have planned a bachelor party for their friend on a gorgeous yacht and secluded island in the Caribbean. It doesn't take long for the party of lifetime to turn into the party from hell. A dive into tainted waters reveals hundreds of dead and decaying fish which quickly begins eating away at our partyers. The rest of the group stumble upon an old research facility where they find out the secret testing responsible for the tainted water and the death it has caused.

Now up to its third installment, this particular entry being a prequel, CABIN FEVER is a film I never thought would turn in to a franchise. The first film, Eli Roth's debut, was good. It had some tense moments, plenty of gross out factor and even a few laughs along the way. It was a solid movie on its own. Then came the first sequel, "Spring Fever", directed by Ti West who would eventually try to have his name taken from the film because of how much studio interference there was and what a giant ball of shit it turned in to. That movie should have killed the thought of turning CABIN FEVER in to a franchise.

But no, CABIN FEVER is alive and well, well alive anyways, with PATIENT ZERO. Instead of making another sequel this time the filmmakers decided to show us the origins of the sickness and in what better way than to randomly set it in a beautiful paradise location. It makes no sense really, but the franchise already sucks so why the hell not? CABIN FEVER: PATIENT ZERO does nothing new or exciting. It feels like it could be the prequel (or sequel) to just about any recent horror franchise just having moved the setting somewhere exotic. There's plenty of gore, so if that's all it takes to please you then jump on in but other than that it is painfully generic in every way.

The Audio & Video
The DVD of this prequel from Image/RLJ looks quite good. There is a nice sharpness to the picture which makes the attractive exotic locations look gorgeous and the dark scenes are handled very well. Overall it's a nice 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. A 5.1 Dolby Digital track is the lone audio option and it has good clarity and a great mix. There's no background noise to speak of.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
If you're a super fan of the franchise then you'll probably be interested in checking out this prequel but other than that the only people I can see really appreciating PATIENT ZERO are lovers of direct-to-video franchises.

CABIN FEVER: PATIENT ZERO is available HERE

Doctor Mordrid (Blu-ray Review) - Full Moon

USA/1992
Directed By: Albert Band, Charles Band
Written By: C. Courtney Joyner
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Yvette Nipar, Jay Acovone
Color/74 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: September 23, 2014

The Film
DOCTOR MORDRID is the story of two rival sorcerers and their long running battle over Earth. Mordrid has sworn to protect Earth from Cabal who wants to turn the planet it a burnt pile of nothing. Cabal sends his minions to distract Mordrid while he works on freeing the demons from the Fourth Dimension who are locked away and patrolled by Mordrid's friends to help with his plan of destroying Earth. Mordrid and his neighbor who works for the police department must rush to stop Cabal from getting the Philosopher's Stone, the final piece Cabal needs to unleash hell. The museum that houses the stone turns into a battleground between two experts in magic.

DOCTOR MORDRID is one of the most underrated Full Moon films there is. It moves incredibly fast and is ridiculously entertaining. Jeffrey Combs takes the cheeseball movie and turns in a fantastic performance, as he has done numerous times in his career. He's a brilliant genre actor, one of the best this generation has to offer. There's some fun early 90s special effects which are obviously dated but still bring a smile to my face. The Band family (directed by Albert and Charles and scored by Richard) do a great job making a movie that far exceeds its budgetary constraints in terms of fun and quality. The stop motion animation is awesome and the battle between the T-Rex and the Mastodon is one of my favorite scenes in Full Moon history.

There's no secret that Full Moon isn't high art but DOCTOR MORDRID was made during the years I like to refer to as the "Golden Age" for Full Moon which I think ran until about the mid-90s. This time period had some fantastic B-movies being released from the company and MORDRID is one of the best.

The Audio & Video
In comparison to the old DVD put out by Full Moon this new Blu-ray is a revelation. The film is finally available in an anamorphic widescreen print and features great PQ. The detail level is high, especially in skin tones and textures. Colors are vivid and vibrant while remaining realistic and not overly enhanced. There's a few instances where the film is a bit soft but they are few and far between. There's no signs of edge enhancement or DNR. Two audio options are available, a 5.1 surround track and a 2.0 stereo track. The 2.0 track sounds good with no hiccups or background noise or damage to the track. The very good soundtrack by Richard Band is mixed beautifully with the dialogue to compliment the film. 

The Extras
-Audio commentary with Charles Band and Jeffrey Combs
-Original Videozone featurette
-Over 90 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage
-Vintage interview by William Shatner with Jeffrey Combs, Stuart Gordon and Barbara Crampton
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
Full Moon has done a great job with the majority of their Blu-ray releases and DOCTOR MORDRID is no exception. It is one of the most underrated films from Full Moon and it finally has a home video release that does it justice.

DOCTOR MORDRID is available HERE

Cry For Cindy/Touch Me/Act Of Confession (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/Various
Directed By: Anthony Spinelli
Starring: Kim Durey, Amber Hunt, George "Buck" Flower
Color/229 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: September 9, 2014

The Films
Cindy is a classy girl who loves her man enough to work as a prostitute to earn money to put him through medical school. The only problem is he doesn't know what she's doing for this money until he finds her at her pimp's apartment. Cindy breaks down and ends up killing herself. At her funeral friends gather to share stories of Cindy and to CRY FOR CINDY. There's plenty of sex in the stories though none of it is all that hot or memorable. It is easy to see how a softcore version was released.

TOUCH ME features a group of sexually hung up young adults who go to a retreat to work out their problems. Featuring a married couple, a playboy, a reserved girl and a man who is ashamed of his size among others, this varied group offers up quite a few different encounters and situations for the viewer to enjoy. Things are a bit more sinful in ACT OF CONFESSION where a nun who has just taken her vows struggles with her sensual urges and dreams along with another newbie who is more than willing to act out some lesbian desires with her. There's not much to the story here but where else will you see Jesus walk on water to get a blowjob? Hallelujah. 

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome delivers these three golden age pornos with good audio and video quality. The audio tracks are presented with their original Mono English tracks. The tracks do have some background noise and instances of popping and crackling but it never becomes overbearing or distracting. The films are all presented in their original aspect ratios and all have pretty good clarity. There is some print damage and debris on the prints but colors are strong and skin tones are fleshy.

The Extras
A softcore version CRY FOR CINDY is included.

The Bottom Line
Three different and altogether sexy and entertaining movies on this 2 disc set make for a solid entry into the Peekarama Collection.

CRY FOR CINDY/TOUCH ME/ACT OF CONFESSION is available HERE

Stunt Squad (Blu-ray Review) - Raro Video

Italy/1977
Directed By: Domenico Paolella
Written By: Domenico Paolella, Dardano Sacchetti
Starring: Marcel Bozzuffi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Riccardo Salvino
Color/96 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: September 23, 2014

The Film
Shopkeepers and businesses are being extorted and forced to pay for protection by a crime ring in Italy. Bombings, shootings and other forms of violent crime are way up and the crime bosses are taking advantage of it. The normal police force is unable to do much of anything to stop it so they secretly train a special squad of officers known as The Stunt Squad. This special unit is trained in dirtbike pursuits, shooting from moving vehicle and while performing acrobatic stunts among other special skills that will help them bring down the crime rings being run by the ruthless Valli. The pursuits on Valli prove deadly for not only the police and the crime rings but innocent bystanders as well. The public has had enough with living in fear and make their move when the police have Valli cornered.

THE STUNT SQUAD features some of the most extreme and nasty violence in any Euro crime film I've seen to date along with some exciting chases and ridiculous training sequences. The film's title may be a bit misleading as the Stunt Squad doesn't show up until about halfway through the film and there is quite a bit of social commentary about that particular time in Italy. The title is a bit lighthearted for what the movie holds but the story is a good one and the direction from Domenico Paolella gives us some great action scenes. Vittorio Mezzogiorno steals the film as Valli and the scene in his hideout/home with his birds is purely brilliant. I have read that Valli may be the most vile character in all of Euro crime films and I think he certainly would be in the discussion at the very least.

A review of THE STUNT SQUAD wouldn't be complete without mentioning the score by Stelvio Cipriani which is quite good and allows the viewer to groove through the city streets with it. Cipriani was one of the best at scoring genre films and he didn't slack off here. 

The Audio & Video
Raro Video gives STUNT SQUAD a home on Blu-ray with a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Overall the transfer is pretty good. Detail level is pretty strong while colors are realistic in their presentation. Sharpness is above average though there are some moments of softness and unremarkable visuals. There's also a bit of ghosting early on in the film. There are two audio options, Italian and English, both 2.0 tracks. The Italian track features English subtitles and while I think it sounds slightly better than the English track with a bit better and fuller mix the subtitles are awkward to read as they seem to have been translated literally and not fixed to read properly in English. The English track which is how I watched the film after finding out about the subtitles is still good, a bit thinner than the Italian track but it is clear, and free of background noise. The levels compliment each other nicely.

The Extras
A 6 minute video introduction and a full color booklet by Euro Crime historian Mike Malloy are included

The Bottom Line
Crime film fans, especially those who prefer the Italian crime film variety will want to add STUNT SQUAD to their collection. A decent transfer for a film packed with violence and excitement should sell fans of the genre quite easily. 

STUNT SQUAD is available HERE