Massacre Mafia Style (Blu-ray Review) - Grindhouse Releasing

USA/1978
Directed By: Duke Mitchell
Written By: Duke Mitchell
Starring: Duke Mitchell, Vic Caesar, Louis Zito
Color/82 Minutes/R
Region FREE
Release Date: March 10, 2014

The Film
Duke Mitchells stars as Mimi Micelli, the son of a mafia kingpin who decides to return to America leaving his baby son to be raised by his father. Mimi head's to Hollywood and quickly finds his niche in the organized crime family there, leaving a bloody mess nearly everywhere he goes. Eventually Mimi decides he wants to take down a major pimp they call "Super Spook" which gives Mimi and the gang all they can handle until Mimi decides to leave the crime in Hollywood behind and return home to his father and see his son who is now grown.

MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE, also known as Like Father, Like Son, is the directorial debut from famed nightclub performer Duke Mitchell. Mitchell made this movie as an answer to The Godfather, promising more action and violence than the classic gangster film. Mitchell certainly delivered on that promise. If the opening and closing scenes of MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE don't leave a lasting impression on you I don't know what will. They are truly two of the most memorable scenes I've ever had the fortune to watch play out onscreen.

Just about every big plot device and main idea for mob movies are crammed into the 82 minute run time. Mitchell manages to get really solid performances and action sequences out of his limited budget. There's really no lull in MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE. It pushes and pushes until it all comes to a screeching halt at the end. The fact that much of this violence is set to extremely stereotypical Italian songs that you might hear at your local Olive Garden or at an old nightclub just makes it all that much better, if even a bit surreal.

If Duke Mitchell made MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE as an answer to The Godfather he certainly made a film I'd rather watch over The Godfather. While I can't say that this film is technically superior to the Francis Ford Coppola film, I can say that there's no doubt in my mind I would choose to watch this crazy violent, uber-exploitative take on the mafia movie nine times out ten. Hell, It'd probably be more like ninety nine times out of a hundred. It really is that good. Any and all fans of exploitation film need to see MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE.

The Audio & Video
Grindhouse Releasing gives the high-def treatment to MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE with a largely gorgeous anamorphic widescreen (16x9) transfer. Scanned from the original director's cut, the transfer features great detail, particularly in close-ups. Colors are vivid and natural while skin tones appear healthy without any waxiness. There's sporadic moments where the image shows a bit more wear from age, being a bit more washed out. These moments only make up a small percentage of the film and don't look bad enough to complain about. There's some scratches and speckling scattered throughout but the vast majority of the film looks fantastic. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is clean and crisp. I didn't notice any damage or background noise to the track. The mix is well done as the soundtrack and the dialogue are complimentary to one another.

Please note: Screen grabs have been taken from the DVD copy of the film and don't represent the glorious quality present on the Blu-ray.

The Extras
This 2 disc, Blu-ray/DVD combo pack is loaded with special features, including...

-"Like Father, Like Son" - a featurette on Duke Mitchell and his son featuring interviews from friends and collaborators of Duke.
-Further interviews with Matt Cimber and Kim LoBianco
-Nearly an hour of Duke Mitchell home movies
-Lost audio recording of a live Duke Mitchell concert from June 9, 1960
-Theatrical trailers
-Radio Spots
-Still galleries
-Filmographies
-Grindhouse Releasing previews
-DVD-Rom extras including original screenplay and treatments for the film
-"An Impressionistic Tribute To Jimmy Durante" - A bonus TV special

And if that wasn't enough, a Blu-ray exclusive feature of BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA. Yes, an HD presentation of the film in which Duke Mitchell makes his feature film debut.

The Bottom Line
It's been a long time coming and it was well worth the wait! This beautiful release from Grindhouse Releasing is a potential candidate for the best home video releases of the year!

MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE is available HERE

TEETH & BLOOD (DVD Review) - Image/RLJ Entertainment

USA/2015
Directed By: Al Franklin
Written By: Al Franklin, Glenn Plummer, Pamela J. Richardson
Starring: Glenn Plummer, Michelle Van Der Water, Sean Christopher
Color/101 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: March 10, 2015

The Film
A beautiful actress is murdered on the set of a horror film and her body ends up missing. A pair of detectives go undercover as a grip and the new starlet of the film to investigate the murder and disappearance of the corpse. Meanwhile, the town's blood band supplies are rapidly depleting with no end in sight. As more bodies pile up the detectives find out that they're in the middle of a war between rival vampire clans.

Do you remember at the beginning of the 21st century, around 2001-2003, when there was a glut of poorly made direct to video horror films that were heavy with really shitty CGI effects because CG effects programs were finally widely available and affordable for independents? Yeah, that's what BLOOD & TEETH feels like. It feels extremely dated, more so than films two or three times its age, with its incredibly cheap looking CG glowing eyes and blood, rapid movement effects, and shadow/ghost effects. It was excusable for effects to look like this 12 or 13 years ago, but with effects programs getting better and better and remaining affordable there's no reason for it in 2015. It's as if they found an old PC running Windows 2000 with some old FX program installed and thought "jackpot!".

The acting in this movie isn't terrible, some camp and cheese aside the performances are tolerable. That said, even if you can beyond the awful special effects the writing totally lets down any upside the movie had in acting. The pair of detectives might be the most inept and unaware duo I've seen in any movie recently. They literally witness a murder in front of their own eyes and don't realize it. Oh boy. Had this movie been made in the years that it resembles you'd have found it for 99 cents at a Hollywood Video store closing sale and you'd feel ripped off when you got home and watched it.

The Audio & Video
Image/RLJ's transfer of TEETH & BLOOD looks okay. There's some compression issues scattered throughout the anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) presentation but overall it's decent. Colors are strong and sharpness is average. The 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack sounds good with a clear and clean mix of dialogue and soundtrack. There's no damage or background noise to mention.

The Extras
As bare as bones can be.

The Bottom Line
I'm not a fan and I cannot in good conscious recommend this title at all.

TEETH & BLOOD is available HERE

HELL FIRE (DVD Review) - Midnight Releasing

USA/2012
Directed By: Marc Fratto
Written By: Marc Fratto
Starring: J. Scott Green, Katelyn Marie Marshall, Selene Beretta
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: December 30, 2014

The Film
The Antichrist is kidnapped by a group of women who are taking vengeance on the men and pimps who have wronged them. He takes control of the women one by one causing them to turn on each other and commit violent acts of murder and mutilation in an effort to stop a child of God from being born.

HELL FIRE is an interesting and mostly well done indie horror film. The actors are competent and the performance from J. Scott Green as The Antichrist is oddly compelling as he channels his inner Matthew McConaughey. Seriously, his delivery feels like he's giving his best McConaughey impression. It kind of works. There's plenty of blood being shed and violence is in high order here. Gore hounds will really enjoy HELL FIRE.

The direction by Marc Fratto is stylish, with heavy filters and strong coloring to many scenes. One of the downfall is that the sound mixing isn't very good. Dialgoue is muffled and lost at times as it is obvious that it wasn't recorded well during the production. The film also feels longer than it should, especially when it only clocks in at 93 minutes. HELL FIRE did leave me feeling a bit bored and it had a bit of a monotonous quality about it. That said, the positives outweigh the negatives and this one is worth a look.

The Audio & Video
Midnight Releasing releases HELL FIRE on DVD with a decent A/V presentation. The 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks good, with the low budget digital photography being clean relatively sharp. The stereo audio track sounds good in spite of the issues stated above. There's no damage or background noise to the audio.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with the director, producer, and stars
-Behind the scenes featurette
-"Cinnamon's Movies" - A collection of short films

The Bottom Line
A flawed but original and interesting enough indie horror film. HELL FIRE is worth a look.

HELL FIRE is available HERE

42ND STREET FOREVER: THE PEEPSHOW COLLECTION VOLUME 6 (DVD Review) - Impulse Pictures

USA/1970s-80s
Directed By: Various
Written By: Various
Starring: Various
Color/124 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: January 13, 2015

The Film
Do you want to see a prisoner give herself up to her jailor just to get a tampon? How about watching the jailor earn his red wings? Yup, that is how this volume of 8mm adult loops starts off...

Then how about watching the housewife pleasure herself with a cucumber before an Asian stranger (or neighbor?) shows up at her door to finish the job. Not everything is as off the wall as period blood and vegetables though. There's the far more straight forward "Stewardess" which is the simple story of a lovely flight attendant returning home and getting it on with her man. There's a unique mix of sexual encounters and acts in this volume (including more veggies! Yum!) and a bit more envelope pushing with interracial scenes which had not yet become normal.

The raunch factor is upped yet again with these 15 loops that are sexy and obscene and will make you want to make sure your doors are locked and the blinds are shut before popping this disc in. You'll be instantly teleported back to the sticky porn shops and theaters from decades passed and that is half the fun!

The Audio & Video
The Impulse Pictures line from Synapse Films delivers this collection of 8mm stag reels with a 1.33:1 full frame transfer straight from the original prints. Quality ranges from beaten and battered, while still being perfectly enjoyable to rather clean and rather sharp for 8mm productions. There's scratches and dirt present while color washes out at certain moments. It all adds to the nature of these great shorts. There's no audio except for the sound of the projector.

The Extras
The lone extra is liner notes from the editor of Cinema Sewer magazine Robin Bougie. These notes are good enough to not need other extras.

The Bottom Line
Aficianados of vintage smut will feel the need to add this volume to their collection and who am I to tell them otherwise? This is good stuff!

42ND STREET FOREVER: THE PEEPSHOW COLLECTION VOLUME 6 is available HERE

SWAMPHEAD (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2012
Directed By: Dustin Drover, Justin Propp
Written By: Dustin Drover, Justin Propp
Starring: Josh Harmon, Andrea Smith, Theodore Koepke
Color/75 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: October 21, 2014

The Film
I love SWAMPHEAD. I now own two different releases including this DVD and a previous limited DVD/VHS combo pack. I first saw the movie on a pre-release screening one Saturday night on the website Infini-Tropolis back in 2011. Since that night I've been in love with this over the top, cheese fest of epic proportions.

The film revolves around an ancient severed head that has recently been released from its resting place in the swamp. This evil head terrorizes a small town, including a party, and our main group of characters who are camping in the woods for the weekend. Only a special dagger can stop the severed head from creating more bloody carnage.

SWAMPHEAD is a brilliant blend of raunchy humor, gore, the energy and spirit of Troma and a DIY independent attitude. This is indie horror at its best and most creative. Despite its obvious low budget the production is never held back from accomplishing what it wants to do. That is the true spirit of indie film. I can't stress enough how much fucking fun SWAMPHEAD is. It's full of stupid shit (literally) and one liners and gore and a dancing robot. Jose Canseco is still somebody in the world of SWAMPHEAD and you'll never be quite the same after watching this one.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing gives SWAMPHEAD a proper home on DVD that looks and sounds slightly better than the previous limited DVD release the film received. There's a clean widescreen transfer that features decent colors (the entire film has a bit of a dreary appearance) that look good for this movie. There's no scratches or damage to the source material and overall appearance is nice. The audio is the better improvement of the two, giving a quality stereo mix that nicely blends dialogue and soundtrack. There's no popping, crackling or other annoying damage.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with the directors
-Deleted Scenes
-Short film selection
-Still gallery

The Bottom Line
SWAMPHEAD is one of my favorite horror movies, independent or otherwise, of the last five years. It could also work in being one of my favorite comedies of the last five years. I never get tired of this in your face, pedal to the metal thrill ride that will make you question your morals and good taste.

SWAMPHEAD is available HERE

CUT! (2014)

USA/2014
Directed By: David Rountree
Written By: David Banks, David Rountree
Starring: David Rountree, David Banks, Sam Scarber

Travis Simon (David Rountree) is an aspiring film maker working at a film equipment rental warehouse fulfilling orders to help other film makers make the movie of their dreams. Along with his friend Lane (David Banks) who is on parole, they aim to make their own hit horror film by scaring real people. Things quickly get out of hand and someone dies from their tactics. Lane decides this is the way to make a truly terrifying and realistic film, and reluctantly Travis agrees, driven by the dream of making a successful film.

CUT! caught me off guard as I had heard nothing about it prior to viewing the film for this review. The film is successful on all levels, but the foundation is in its fantastic screenplay. David Banks and David Rountree nailed a story and script that is simple and effective complete with a couple of twists that the viewer won't see coming and will turn the entire film on its head. A well done plot twist at the climax of a film is something of a cliche these days and one that most films don't manage to pull off. CUT! pulls it off and really makes the film that much more interesting and special at the end.

Rountree and Banks play very well off each other as the nerdy dreamer with his head in the clouds and the asshole, "fuck the world" friend made bitter by a stint in jail who is quite unlikeable.  The dichotomy works very well in progressing the actions and decisions of the characters in getting to the final product. The supporting cast is also pretty damn spot on. There's no performances that the audience needs to overlook as a downside to independent horror films. The special effects work is also good, with a good amount of blood being spilled. The negative here is that much of the violence is off screen, which is important to the context of the film but as a horror film it may leave the audience wanting a bit more in the way of gratuitous violence and gore.

CUT! came out of left field and is a tight character study in to the mind of someone that will do anything to create the art he loves. Horror fans should appreciate this approach and the success of the performances and the script.

8/10

BLOOD CAR - (DVD Review) - Horizon Movies

USA/2007
Directed By: Alex Orr
Written By: Adam Pinney, Alex Orr
Starring: Mike Brune, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Rowlett
Color/76 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: March 3, 2015

The Film
In the not too distant future gas prices have risen to record high prices topping $30 per gallon. Almost nobody can afford to drive anymore, least of all Archie, a shy vegan school teacher. Archie is trying to build an engine that runs on wheat grass. Eventually Archie discovers that his engine can be fueled with human blood and devises a contraption in the trunk of his car that he can dumb bodies into to fuel his car. While Archie enjoys the attention he is getting from the ladies now that he can drive he quickly loses his grip on his sanity with each and every person he shoves in to the trunk.

BLOOD CAR is a black comedy horror film steeped in social commentary. Unfortunately the commentary was more poignant and powerful a few years back when it was made. The humor largely falls flat for me and the production is quite cheap at times with the "meat" and "vegan" stands being little more than a child's lemonade stand made from cardboard. There is quite a bit of gore in the film from the rotating blades in Archie's trunk among other scenes so gore hounds might be a bit more likely to enjoy it.

This was my second viewing of BLOOD CAR, I had seen the film several years ago and found it to be complete and utter trash that deserved a spot at the bottom of the ocean. While I'm still far from being a fan of the movie I must say that I wasn't offended by the movie this time and found it to be considerably more tolerable. The acting is decent for what it is and the idea is interesting but BLOOD CAR is still rather monotone and bland throughout.

The Audio & Video
Horizon Movies' anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) transfer on BLOOD CAR looks pretty good overall with a clean presentation that has a nice sharpness to it. Colors are natural and there's no damage to the transfer. The 2.0 stereo audio track is nothing special but it features a proper mix of dialogue and soundtrack with a nice clear quality.

The Extras
-Trailer
-"The Adventure" (short film, 21 minutes)
-"The $100 Short Short" (short film, 10 minutes)

The Bottom Line
Simply put, I'm not a fan of BLOOD CAR despite my opinion of it improving upon a 2nd viewing. There's enough gore and dark humor in this for gorehounds or big fans of comedic horror to give it a shot though.

BLOOD CAR is available HERE