TABOO (Blu-ray Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1980
Directed By: Kirdy Stevens
Written By: Helene Terrie
Starring: Kay Parker, Mike Ranger, Juliet Anderson
Color/86 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Blu-ray/DVD

The Film
Barbara's husband has left her, blaming her frigidity and lack of passion for destroying their love life and marriage. Now without an income Barbara has to find a job while taking care of their son who is getting ready for college which is another added expense. Stressed to the max, Barbara turns to her free swinging friend Gina who sets her up with the local swinger scene but Barbara's sexual tension is growing hot and heavy with her own son instead.

TABOO is one of the most notable adult films of the era as it is very well made featuring great performances for a porno flick and really solid writing. The screenplay from Helene Terrie is great, with a few truly memorable and wonderfully staged scenes including one of the most wonderfully photographed orgy scene of all time and a dreamlike incestuous encounter that feels quite surreal. Kay Parker handles her range of encounters and emotions with grace, showing true acting ability. It's no wonder that she would rocket to stardom in the adult world soon after TABOO was released. Her incredible body certainly didn't hurt either.

This film's main draw is how shamelessly it deals with kink and, as the title so plainly suggests, taboo subjects. And there ain't nothing wrong with that. Everybody has their own fetishes and incest is certainly one of the biggies. TABOO tackles that fetish and is so sexy that the viewer won't be feeling any guilt while enjoying this film. TABOO can still be called shocking to this day but you can't call it shocking for the sake of shock value. TABOO is a stylish movie, with heaping helpings of sex that will continue to be considered a classic piece of adult cinema for years to come as not only a piece of kinky smut but a look at the harsh reality of being a single mother... who happens to fuck her son.

The Audio & Video
As much as I love Vinegar Syndrome's horror and exploitation output, their real bread and butter is their vintage X-rated and nobody does it better so it's no surprise that their brand new 2K scan of TABOO looks incredible. The amount of detail is exceptional from clothing and surface texture to strands of hair. Colors are strong and vibrant but in no way come across as artificial. The entire anamorphic widescreen transfer has a warm, film look with a nice grain structure that will leave you wondering if you're watching this in an old porno house. The audio is no different as it is handled with a DTS-HD mono track that gets the dialogue and funky bass driven soundtrack across with crispness and crystal clarity.

The Extras
Vinegar Syndrome has this release absolutely stacked with commentaries! There's two new commentary tracks, one with Kay Parker and one with writer/producer Helene Terrie. There's also two archival commentary tracks which feature Kay Parker on her own and director Kirdy Stevens and Helene Terrie together. There's also an archival video interview with Kay Parker, a promotional image gallery and reversible artwork.

The Bottom Line
The film's tagline is "The ultimate sin!", the real ultimate sin would be considering yourself a fan of porno flicks and skipping this Blu-ray.

TABOO is available HERE

SODOMANIAC (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2015
Directed By: Anthony Catanese
Written By: Anthony Catanese, Steve Revesz
Starring: Craig Kelly, Allan Sconza, Dale Gordon
Color/85 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: July 12, 2016

The Film
"Booty vision motherfucker, booty vision!"

A masked killer is stalking a group of guys who have a bad habit of date raping girls during a party they're hosting at their house. If that wasn't bad enough this killer has a bad habit of killing their victims with the most violent anal sex you'll ever come across. I guess the tag line is right - Everyone gets it in the end.

SODOMANIAC, like many slasher films is a simple premise - a masked killer stalks and kills their victims for whatever reason this particular film has come up with. The twist here is that the killer is most definitely the protagonist as they are killing off a group of obnoxious guys who are only concerned with getting high and drugging girls at the bar or their house parties to rape them while they're passed out. And what better way to kill a rapist than to rape them anally with a Dildo Of Doom. I didn't make that up folks, the movie really refers to this device as the Dildo Of Doom. It's an appropriate name for the weapon when you see it. Imagine a dildo, power drill and sphere from Phantasm rolled into one sex toy. It's absolutely hilarious but you'll be clenching your cheeks when you see it.

Anthony Catanese co-wrote along with Steve Revesz and directed SODOMANIAC and the duo scripted a genuinely funny, stoner type dark comedy housing a brutal slasher film. The cast, lead by Craig Kelly as the biggest douche bag of the bunch, Hamilton, is great. There are some fantastic exchanges throughout including one with a friend fresh out of prison who is getting some booty and the local nerd who's playing Edward Fortyhands and curses Tim Burton when he pisses himself. For a film condemning such a serious topic SODOMANIAC is as lighthearted as it comes. It blends both ends perfectly.

Anthony Cantanese made sure this film had a style to it as well, with heavy doses of colored lighting, which you don't have to assume is influenced by Dario Argento's Suspiria, there's a line in the movie that confirms it. It makes the generic house party setting looking a lot more extravagant without doing a lot of extra set dressing or needing a lot of extra money. It's not only a choice that makes the movie prettier to look at but it also helps the production value of this independent production. And speaking of production value we can't forget that the killer wears a giant butt on it's head, complete with anus, which I assume is where the killer gets their limited vision. If you think that seeing an oversized butthead mask for 85 minutes would eventually stop being funny you are wrong. I may be 12 years old at heart but the butthead mask is absolutely hilarious. Do you remember the episode of South Park where two parents who have butts for heads try to find their lost butt headed son? Yeah, it's something along those lines and I love it.

If I have one complaint with SODOMANIAC it's that we are cheated out of the gory goods for each murder. I don't need gore to enjoy a horror movie, I think poor films rely on gore and shock far too much but this movie had me crying out to see some special effect scenes of buttholes being destroyed by the Dildo Of Doom, even if only once of twice. So there you have my complaint. Otherwise you can feel the energy of this movie resonating off the screeen. It's obvious that the cast and crew had a great time making it and I appreciate that energy and reciprocate it while watching. I laughed and laughed and cheered on the killer while knowing that my butthole was safe.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing gives SODOMANIAC a home on DVD and it looks great. This film is a very colorful production and the colors really shine through on this disc. Darker scenes are no problem and there's no blocking or compression issues. It's a very clean and strong picture overall in the anamorphic widescreen transfer. The audio is a strong and steady mix with great clarity. Dialogue and music are complimentary and never overpower the other. Job well done on the technical side of this release.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary With Cast Members
-Audio Commentary With Crew Members
-Original Opening
-Original Ending
-Outtakes
-Trailers
-Music Video
-Short Film

The Bottom Line
It's lewd, crude and filled with... I got nothing. It's entertaining, full of laughs and features the most ridiculous mask in slasher movie history along with a killer we can all cheer for. I had a great time with SODOMANIAC.

SODOMANIAC is available HERE

TALES OF POE Coming To DVD and Digital HD From Wild Eye Releasing Oct. 11

Edgar Allan Poe Resurrected by Iconic Scream Queens

Wild Eye Releasing Brings Tales of Poe to DVD 

And Digital HD October 11th

"A loving tribute to the work of one of history's greatest horror writers." 

-- Rue Morgue Magazine

"A truly stylized take on Poe's work and just brimming with beauty, 

elegance and downright horror." -- HorrorMovies.ca

"Something very special to the horror genre... 

both beautiful and horrifying." -- Hacked in the Head

New York, NY - Wild Eye Releasing has announced the October 11th DVD and Digital HD release of the acclaimed horror anthology Tales of Poe.  Since the world premiere at the famous Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Tales of Poe has been met with acclaim and awards on the festival circuit.  San Francisco Weekly called the anthology "a worthy successor to the Roger Corman/ Vincent Price Poe films" while Icons of Fright hailed the result as "downright stunning to witness...wickedly adventurous".  

Co-directed by Bart Mastronardi and Alan Rowe Kelly and co-written by Michael Varrati, Tales of Poe combines the classic horror prose with the star power of legendary scream queens Adrienne King (Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2), Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Halloween 2), Amy Steel (Friday the 13th Part 2, April Fool's Day) Debbie Rochon (Model Hunger, Hell Town) and Lesleh Donaldson (Happy Birthday to Me, Funeral Home). 

Based on the timeless works of Edgar Allan Poe, three of the renowned author's most popular stories (The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and Dreams) receive unique retellings by directors Bart Mastronardi & Alan Rowe Kelly. Offering a compelling and shocking journey into madness and the macabre, Tales of Poe features some of the most beloved final girls in horror movie history in new and exciting roles.

Reel Gore Releasing #2 - MASKS - Press Release (Review Incoming)

COMPANY SITE: www.reelgorereleasing.com

PRESS CONTACT: press@reelgorereleasing.com

REEL GORE RELEASING presents Neo-giallo MASKS by Andreas Marschall (German Angst) on Blu-ray/DVD with bonus CD on September 13, 2016

Los Angeles, CA (September 2016) For immediate release. Synopsis: In her quest for fame, drama student Stella gets caught in the grip of a mysterious and deadly stage school. Stella longs to be an actress. When she is accepted to a private school in Berlin, her dream seems to come true. But there is something wrong with the “Matteusz Gdula-Institute”. In the seventies, the school´s founder, Matteusz Gdula, practiced a learning style that promised to let students shine by driving them to their mental limits. In the end his method was banned, as mysterious deaths occurred during his lessons and Gdula committed suicide. At night, Stella hears eerie sounds in the corridors of the school. A fellow student disappears. Stella suspects that behind the closed door to the abandoned, forbidden wing of the school lurks a bloody secret.  A secret that kills the students... 

The first 3000 numbered BD/DVD combos include bonus CD with Original Soundtrack, Collectible Blu-ray/DVD Slipcase and Sleeve, AND A 24 Page Booklet. For the Die Hards the first pressing of No. 1 -1000 includes as well a Collector’s Card.

MASKS (Blu-ray/DVD/CD)

Price:                              $39.95 

Street Date:                              September 13, 2016

Production Year:                     2011

Film run time:                 Approx. 109 minutes

Language:                                German language with optional English, Spanish subtitles

Aspect Ratio:                           2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen 

Audio:                                      DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround/Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Label/Distributor:                    Reel Gore Releasing/CAV

Catalog Number:                     RGR002

UPC:                                        881190600290

Rating:                                     Not Rated

BONUS FEATURES

Exclusive Original Soundtrack CD

24 Page Booklet

Behind The Scenes

Deleted Scenes

     Music Video Clip

Trailer

Slideshow

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA aka Godzilla 1984 (Blu-ray Review) - Kraken Releasing

Japan/1984
Directed By: Koji Hashimoto
Written By: Hideichi Nagahara
Starring: Ken Tanaka, Keiju Kobayashi, Yasuko Sawaguchi
Color/103 Minutes/PG
Region A
Release Date: September 13, 2016

The Film
By 1984 the Godzilla franchise had mostly dried up. It had been 9 years since the last entry into the series, Terror Of Mechagodzilla, had been released to underwhelming fanfare in theaters. It would be one of only two films in the franchise to sell less than one million tickets in Japan. The franchise was put on hold. Stories and scripts came in but none were put in to production. The giant monster movie would return with THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (aka GODZILLA 1984) as the world dealt with the Cold War and the threat of nuclear warfare starting at the push of a button. Oddly enough, the theme that created Godzilla would be the one that resurrected him three decades later.

Godzilla is awakened when an Earthquake hits the Island he's been slumbering in. A local fishing ship has been wrecked and the majority of the crew has been found in a mummified state with only one crew member surviving the bloodsucking attack of a mutant sea louse. It's found that the sea louse has mutated in an exponentially larger size than the centimeter it should be because it was feeding off the radiated blood of Godzilla. Shortly after a Russian submarine carrying nuclear weapons is attacked and they blame the Americans until satellite imaging shows that it was truly Godzilla who attacked to feed off of the nuclear energy. The Russians and Americans demand Japan use nuclear bombs to destroy Godzilla before he potentially attacks their shores. Japan strongly opposes the use of such weapons knowing the effects that they've had for decades on their land and people after World War II. The leaders of Japan come up with a plan to poison Godzilla with Cadmium and lead him to his death in a volcano.

The political commentary that was such an important part of the original Godzilla film is once again on display here and is an equally important part in resurrecting the franchise. The mid 1980s were a boiling point for tensions with the Soviet Union and it provided basis for some very memorable movies of the time. THE RETURN OF GODZILLA uses the political turmoil and its own history to create a film that is not only entertaining and exciting but at times especially tense. Godzilla is a giant monster stomping around cities of Japan but the main antagonist of this film is the nuclear bombs that would cause massive casualties and loss of life along with the radioactive fallout that would cause medical issues for years to come. Godzilla is a sympathetic character and appropriately so. It's ironic that the USA and Soviet Union team up to try and bully their weapons use on to Japan in the film as the US was anything but friendly and willing to be on the same side as the Soviet Union in 1984 but as long as they can protect their own shores from the threat of Godzilla it doesn't matter if they destroy Japan with nukes again. It creates an interesting dynamic for the real world situations that were among the biggest issues facing the entire world.

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA returns to the roots of the series, leaving G-man to carry the film as the lone monster. There's no giant fights with other Kaiju, and to the people of Japan in the movie Godzilla is once again a threat and not a lovable hero, despite being sympathetic on a deeper level. The fact that there's only one monster leads to the film feeling a bit slower than you may be used to with the majority of the film's in the franchise but it works in giving plenty of time to develop a meaningful story with important character relationships and interactions.

There have been 29 Japanese Godzilla films from Toho to date, this being the 16th and it certainly falls among the top half of the franchise. Admittedly I'm a big fanboy of Godzilla so I probably enjoy the lesser entry of the series more than most people do but I think that speaks to the quality of THE RETURN OF GODZILLA. I'm not sure I'd rank it among my top 10 but it doesn't fall far outside of it.

The Audio & Video
Kraken Releasing brings THE RETURN OF GODZILLA to the states for the first time and in HD no less with a respectable looking 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer that features a clean picture free of damage and debris. The colors are faithful to all versions of the film I've seen but look sharper than ever. Black levels are deep and detail is fairly strong. Close-ups of Godzilla deliver the highest level of detail in his rough, scaly skin. Sure there's room for improvement in the picture quality, it could be sharper and feature better detail but the picture is very clean and is a rock solid HD presentation of the film. 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks in both English and the native Japanese with optional English subtitles round out the listening options. I opted for the original Japanese language track which sounds excellent. The sound quality is crisp and crystal clear with no distortions or instances of popping or background noise. The mix is very well done between levels of dialogue and score. The subtitles are translated well and easy to read with perfect timing. The subtitles are yellow, which is a minor nitpick of mine, except when dialogue from characters overlaps and the 2nd character's dialogue is subbed in white. While I understand the benefit of separating colors for different characters it was a bit distracting having different colored subtitles popping up. Another minor nitpick which I wouldn't let affect the score I give this release.

The Extras
The lone extra is an original theatrical preview promoting the upcoming release. Similar to a trailer but more of an extended commercial. It was a lot of fun to watch this throwback of movie advertising.

The Bottom Line
It's been a long time coming for fans of the big guy to get the original Japanese version of the 1984 film and now we have a rock solid Blu-ray release thanks to Kraken Releasing. It's among the better Godzilla films so I'm calling it essential viewing.

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA is available HERE

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY VANILLA (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

Australia/2014
Directed By: Stuart Simpson
Written By: Addison Heath
Starring: Glenn Maynard, Kyrie Capri, Aston Elliot
Color/85 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 24, 2016

The Film
Warren is a lonely and totally awkward ice cream truck driver obsessed with a soap opera star named Katie. He also has to deal with a shitty bully who is trying to run him out of his favorite spot while stealing ice cream cones. One day fate shines down on Warren and Katie visits his truck while on break from filming in the area and they strike up a friendship. Katie visits the truck a few more times over the next several days and eventually agrees to go out to dinner with Warren but when he arrives to pick her up for their date she blows him off and Warren suffers a breakdown of the worst kind.

I went into CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY VANILLA knowing very little about it other than it was marketed as a horror film to the best of my knowledge and one look at the DVD cover art would make anyone think that this film is about a killer ice cream man. I'd have been fine with that premise as it is a fine idea for a horror film even if it has been done several times in the last twenty years. This is not a killer ice cream man film. This is the story of Warren, portrayed brilliantly by Glenn Maynard as a troubled man, dealing with issues and life events that have plagued him for a long time and trying to make his way in the world. He's a genuine and kind soul that is sadly damaged mentally. His shyness and overall awkwardness can't be mistaken for psychosis however as he is not a violent man, he's a loving man that has no real way of showing it but in strange introverted ways. It's not until a series of events starting with his accidental killing of his pet cat to being tormented daily by some local thugs and eventually the love of his life rejecting him that he finally loses control.

It's an emotional journey for the audience to watch Warren slip further and further from reality, it's entirely possible the Katie's visits to the truck are nothing more than fantasy, and deeper and deeper into a broken mental state. It's difficult to watch Warren when he snaps as it is one of the most intense and disturbing mental breakdowns in memory. There are lighthearted comedic moments but most of the comedy has a bit of a dark side and the film's final five minutes turn into what you'd expect from the artwork.

Director Stuart Simpson keeps the film tight in terms of locations and characters. It's a small scale production giving us a glimpse into Warren's everyday life. It all works towards the film's success.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing delivers an attractive looking anamoprhic widescreen transfer on DVD with excellent clarity and colors for standard definition. There's nothing much to say about this release other than only an HD treatment would improve it. The English audio is much of the same, handled with care and featuring a stable mix free of distortions or damage.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary With Director Stuart Simpson
-Behind The Scenes
-Deleted Scenes
-"Baby Did A Bat Bat Thing" Short Film
-"Round The Block" Full Episode

The Bottom Line
I wasn't expecting what CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY VANILLA ended up being but that didn't hamper my enjoyment. This is a character piece that is well worth the 80 minute investment it requires and if you're a fan of very dark comedies you'll want to seek this one out.

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY VANILLA is available HERE

The Art Of Rozz Williams: From Christian Death To Death - Announcement

Press Announcement

The darkness of life and art, the world of Rozz Williams.

Rozz Williams as featured in the movie PIG (as directed by Nico B) was the founder of CHRISTIAN DEATH an influential band in the genres Death Rock and Goth to this day. Rozz was also an artist, poet unknown to many who sadly past away after the making of PIG. Nico B published a book on him in 1999 which is now long out-of-print. To bring back to life THE ART OF ROZZ WILLIAMS- FROM CHRISTIAN DEATH TO DEATH as a hardcover book, support the INDIEGOGO campaign to get this book reprinted.

The Art Of Rozz Williams- From Christian Death To Death
New Revised Hardcover Book, Edited by Nico B, Sign up now and get your copy!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-art-of-rozz-williams/coming_soon