Cutting Edge Cinema: Extreme Monsters

This is one of several multipacks from R Squared Films which came out during the Summer last year to compete directly with Echo Bridge Home Entertainment's "Midnight Horror Collection". Having artwork designed to fool the less observant buyer into thinking that these are more Echo Bridge Home Entertainment products is only slightly less reprehensible than the quality of the movies themselves.

Make no mistake, most of these "movies" (and I use that term very loosely) are the kind of no-budget, "hobby horror" dreck which give independent horror an even worse reputation than its deluded and easily butthurt fans have already made for it. According to various message boards and blogs, there's one movie in every pack that's tolerable, but the rest are almost unwatchable unless you enjoy the lowest common denominators on YouTube. Some lucky people even have defective DVDs that won't play all the movies listed anyway.

Other titles in the range include "Extreme Horror", "Extreme Vampires", "Extreme Zombies" and an "Extreme Canadian Horror: 5 Movie Collection" (presumably because nobody could find 3 more Canadian horror movies to make another 8 pack). I can't say that I have any interest in the others especially as the titles of each collection aren't entirely appropriate for the subject matter contained within.

"Extreme Monsters" is the first of these collections that I've bought. All the movies play perfectly, but it's likely to be the last of these packs for me based on what's in it.


Little Red Devil (2008)

"Jimmy Lidell is a 'nobody', stealing to earn a living in a dead-end life searching for his long lost girlfriend... until he meets Luc Tyer... a bigger-than-life underworld heavy that makes him an 'offer he can't refuse'. Jimmy accepts, but is leery about the secret motives behind Luc's willingness to teach the business. Jimmy's mother suspects that Jimmy may be running with the wrong crowd, but Jimmy turns a deaf ear to her religious warnings."

Tommy Brunswick's version of "Angel Heart" (1987) isn't too bad apart from the special effects and demon which looks like it escaped from "Legend" (1985). It's a bit slow, the characters aren't very likeable, but it's still very watchable and even has a couple of great performances which are completely wasted due to everything else.

Starring Daniel Baldwin, James Russo and Dee Wallace, "Little Red Devil" is the closest that Tommy has come to making a decent horror movie, but it's probably her last too. You have to give her credit for getting this far as a director though.


Spirits of the Fall (2008)

"This Halloween, the spirits are restless and things that go bump in the night are closer than they seem for Chris, a widower who is coming to terms with his loss. While living in his hotel, strange things begin to happen. Voices in the night and faces at the window are not uncommon and things are about to get a lot worse when he is forced to face the paranormal and save his wife's soul from the evil spirit of her killer."

This poorly acted haunted house movie is the only reason why I wanted this pack. It's a British "indie horror" (AKA crappy amateur movie) which makes it a bit of a novelty. As a country used to only renting real movies from Blockbuster, we don't go in for a lot of these no-budget nasties.

Having struggled to get through it, I can see why we have more sense in Britain than to get involved with such utter crap. Even if this was uploaded to YouTube, it would still be hated. The overused faux "Jacob's Ladder"-style head wobbling and screaming near the end is icing on the cake.

Definitely one to skip.


The Whistler (2006)

"When a no-good band of thugs enter a quiet small town to unleash their terror, nothing could prepare them for the wrath of a gentle giant who would defend the honor of his one true love to the end of his life, and beyond."

Entertaining in places, especially the nudity and gore effects early on, but ultimately "The Whistler" is another pile of zombie crap made by people with no storytelling skills whatsoever.

It tries so hard to be serious that it's often pompous rather than being bad enough to be unintentionally funny. The dialogue and delivery are particularly atrocious, but it's the pacing which kills it.

If I was bored enough, I would rewatch sections of this for the beautiful girls but not as a horror movie.


Where the Dogs Divide Her (2011)

"Where the Dogs Divide Her begins amid the aftermath of a family massacre. A nameless man sits in an unfamiliar bathroom, his bloodied hands trembling as he ponders his crime of passion. An amnesiac without an identity, he goes in search of himself, only to unearth a long-buried family secret surrounding the bizarre deaths of his parents. An abstract ghost story populated by ever-threatening specters, shadowy souls with evil motives who inhabit a nightmare world within a troubled killer's psyche. They might offer a smile or a kind word, but their only purpose is to snare others into their Hell. Before the killer can come to terms with his deeds and escape this esoteric prison, he must confront his dead parents and make good on an infant's promise made thirty years ago."

Great title, but a desperately horrible "experimental movie" full of flashbacks and flashforwards like this isn't likely to satisfy anyone. At nearly 2 hours long, it's quite an endurance test which I don't think many horror fans will tolerate. I really tried to enjoy it, but I couldn't. Sadly, I didn't make it to the end and have no desire to return to it for more brain-numbing torture.

Fans of David Lynch might get something out of it, but the characters were too uninvolving for me. I don't like arty-farty movies anyway, and I wouldn't call "Where the Dogs Divide Her" a horror movie either.

The music used is quite nice though.


They Must Eat (2006)

"Sanford will forever be a socially inept loser. Now approaching the age of forty, his only girlfriend of 3 years has given him the boot and he’s working a dead end job. Beyond despair, Sanford decides to ask his only living relative, Uncle Alistair, to take him in. Alistair is not very fond of his deadbeat nephew but with his failing health he needs someone around to carry on his work after he dies. Unfortunately for Sanford, Alistair’s work involves frequent murders to feed an evil clan of flesh eating ghouls that live in the woods surrounding his house. At first Sanford is terrified by these foul beasties, but then learns to lead them and actually train them after his Uncle passes. Now all those who cross him will suffer the wrath of his monstrous minions."

"They Must Eat" is a very low-budget, slightly comedic Tommy Brunswick movie which is reminiscent of "Willard" but with ghouls instead of rats.

It's definitely not the worst movie that I've ever seen, but it's one of those where it's sometimes more fun to look at the background than the foreground. Checking out what other people have in their houses or places of work in low-budget movies always satisfies a certain nosiness when things lag. Fortunately, the pace improves as the story progresses.

Apart from the gore, the highlight is a hot Jehovah's Witness played by Meshelle Melone (who has a bigger role in "Little Red Devil"). Look out for her nipple piercing!


Closet Space (2008)

"What happens when the quest for knowledge comes up against the insatiable hunger for flesh? Six grad students slowly and horrifically discover the answer as they search for their missing professor."

If you can make it through the irritating "found footage" during the titles, there's a kind of H.P. Lovecraft story struggling to be told in "Closet Space". Unfortunately, like all Lovecraftian horror, it's very boring. Stuart Gordon has nothing to worry about here!

As you might expect, the acting is inconsistent, the dialogue is cringeworthy, and the camerawork is mostly terrible. On the plus side, some of the effects are nicely done.


Dreams of the Dead (2007)

"For 15 years the large estate of Samuel Arnold has stood silent and empty. From its darkened windows, dark and foreboding eyes stare out from behind the glass. But like a midwinter’s breeze in the lonely hours of the night, something stirs in both dreams and reality, unable to find any peace. What is the mystery of Danbury House?"

Originally titled "The Haunting of Danbury House" and taglined as "An Erotic Haunting", this is merely an excuse to wrap up a couple of beautiful girls getting topless with a badly arranged mystery. Natasha Neilsen (from "Bikini Bloodbath") is my favourite, by the way.

Despite that, some of the acting is half-way decent, and it's filmed competently enough. What sets this apart from the other movies in the pack is the location. Although not to my taste, the house itself is outstanding if you like that Victorian sort of thing.

As a ghost story, "Dreams of the Dead" isn't scary or creepy in any way. Possibly the most horrific things are the songs performed by the lead and her band. One of them is apparently called "Lava Lamp of Love"! What the Hell?


Evil Offspring (2009)

"There is a definite balance to the forces of good and evil in the universe. The quiet backwoods town of Angel Falls is home to this great equalizer! Enter two unsuspecting lost souls trying to find their way back to the highway, and become stranded on an old farm. The owners, Pa and Nan are quite hospitable, to the right type of guests, but if you’re a sinner, you wind up on their chopping block and fed to the voracious creatures known as THE EVIL OFFSPRING."

Finally, we have a third film by Tommy Brunswick, but not a very good one. I have a feeling that Tommy just sent all her movies apart from "Mr. Jingles" off to R Squared for distribution and hoped for the best. I wouldn't be surprised to see more of her movies on other multipacks from this company although I haven't checked into it.

Suffice it to say that "Evil Offspring" is made up of the same ensemble cast as Tommy's other movies, homages several very famous horror movies (in particular, "The Evil Dead" at the start), but then turns into a mixture of exploitation and badly done torture porn. At least there's a proper monster in this one again, the practical effects are mostly okay, and it's moderately entertaining in places.

The acting really sucks, and the line delivery often proves to be more than anyone can handle, but "Evil Offspring" tries to have a clever (also unoriginal) twist at the end.


I really don't recommend "Extreme Monsters" to anyone who calls themselves a horror fan. None of the movies deliver any scares whatsoever, plus only half of them are actually about "monsters" unless you stretch that term very broadly.

I got my copy of "Extreme Monsters" from my local pawn shop, but if you're a bit silly and want one for yourself, you're going to have to search the drugstores such as RiteAid or order it from Amazon.

As far as I know, these "Cutting Edge Cinema" collections haven't shown up in places like Wal-mart's bargain bins yet although they are available from Wal-mart's online store from between $5 to $12.

I can't honestly remember where I last saw these packs in the flesh because it was so long ago, but I think they may have been in Kmart. Next time I go, I'll be able to confirm it because I bet there are plenty of them left. Kmart's online store has them listed for $9.99 each anyway.

The Horror Collector's Set Series (2009 - 2010)

Beginning in June 2009, although the artwork looked a bit dated and the second volume was a reissue from the "Horror Classics" series, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment provided some much needed budget horror packs with a $5 price which appealed to casual shoppers and horror movie collectors alike.

But, in September 2009, they started getting tricky with it. Note the way that "Salvage" has been replaced by "Wages of Sin" and its position on the coverart moved around to make another pack.

March 2010 was a busy month for Echo Bridge Home Entertainment as they released four new horror collector's sets. Note that "Skeleton Man" has been repeated from the first volume and has been joined by "Wages of Sin" from the previous one. The "Surf 'n' Turf" sea monsters and werewolves set is comprised of two existing double-features.

"Night of the Living Dead" from the second volume shows up again while "Nadja" makes an appearance in the spin-off "Vampire Collector's Set" (which Amazon backdates to September 2009).

Curiously, in a pack which Amazon dates to February 2010 but calls "Vol. 6" (it can't be both!), the remaining titles from volume one, "Prom Night" and "The Nurse", are now joined by "Descendant" and "The Dead One" in a restyled pack. "Mortuary" and "Memory" from the third volume are then added to create the first 6 pack.

The range of "Horror Collector's Sets" ended in June 2010 with a final burst of trickiness. Why Echo Bridge Home Entertainment thought that anyone would choose to buy "Skeleton Man" again instead of "Lost Souls" is mind-boggling.

Of course, we haven't heard the last of these titles anyway as Echo Bridge Home Entertainment reissued them again in the "Midnight Horror Collection".

These older multipacks are still available from most retailers including Amazon. If you would like to support this blog, you can buy them from "The Bloody Horror Store" (which is also Amazon) instead.

Horror DVDs which I don't have in my collection - part 1

While going through my Region 1 horror DVDs, I highlighted some of the films which I haven't bought on DVD yet. There's actually quite a difference between the best titles in the Video Vault and the ones which I have a physical copy of.

Of course, there are several good reasons why I don't own a copy of every horror movie ever made including having limited space, not being a millionaire, having no interest in the bad ones, but, most of all, because there are a lot of movies which I would probably never watch again anyway.

In the following (very occasional) series of posts, I'll go through the horror DVDs which I have never bought and explain why they are missing from my collection.


1. Angel Heart (1987)

Even though this film was a big relief from all the stupid comedy-horrors and mindless slashers of the '80s, like every story with a twist, you can really only watch it once. Having said that, the main reason why I don't have it in my collection is because it feels like an extended pop video to me. The transitions between some of the scenes are particularly bad and a lot of the reasons why (and how) Harry Angel goes from point A to point B don't make a whole lot of sense either even with repeated viewings. Of course, if I ever find it cheap enough I'll pick up a copy, but it's not something which I'm desperate for.


2. The Blob (1988)

I have seen this several times in FYE's used sections so I guess that it isn't considered such a great film anymore. I remembered "The Blob" remake as being really good at the time especially as I saw it on TV and never had to rent it. I always intended to rewatch it sometime when I was in the right mood for it. Unfortunately, it was shown on one of the American cable channels when I still had cable and, although I missed the start, I watched enough of it to see that it was more of a kids' movie than an adult horror. It was typically '80s, it made me cringe, and I was ashamed to have once liked it so it's almost a certainty that I will never buy "The Blob" on DVD now.


3. Daughters of Darkness (1971)

I stayed up really late at night in the early '80s to watch this on the new TVS channel when it first took over from Southern. When I got to school the next day, I found out that a friend of mine had done exactly the same thing and talked for ages about this seemingly obscure movie which we were sure that nobody else but us had seen. Of course, we were both naive and stupidly young so this seemed like an erotic European masterpiece at the time. Having watched it again fairly recently via Netflix, it was terribly slow and languid with a subtext which I still can't quite work out. In truth, it bored me so I won't buy it.


4. Half Light (2006)

I really want a copy of "Half Light" but every time one turns up in the pawn shops or FYE, it's always in an ex-rental case with all the stickers, tears and other damage. I don't particularly want to buy it new even though I like Demi Moore a lot and the British setting makes it rock somewhat. It's possible that I'd only watch it one more time anyway before it got consigned to rot in its box for the rest of eternity, but I'm still hopeful that a copy will turn up which I find acceptable.


5. The Innocents (1961)

This is another ghost story which I've only ever seen at a stupid price in FYE so I chose to rent it from Netflix instead of buying it. It's a great film, has a really creepy atmosphere to make up for the shortcomings of the dialogue, but I just can't justify the $14.99 price tag (or, worse, the $36.99 Blu-ray!) especially for something in black and white. I know I could get it from Amazon or eBay far cheaper, but I always forget to search for it when I'm on either site.


6. The Legacy (1978)

I've never seen "The Legacy" available to buy anywhere except online so I may have to give in and order it. I've always liked this film although, with it being another DVD which I rented from Netflix, I wasn't too impressed with the transfer and weird stretches of some of the scenes to widescreen. I highly doubt that there'll ever be a better version or some kind of fully restored Blu-ray edition, but I've seen it so many times that I can hold off buying it just in case. Of course, if a copy turns up in the pawn shop or FYE's used section then I'll probably get it even with its current flaws.


7. Let the Right One In (2008)

Not including the CGI cats, this was much better than the unnecessary and crappy Americanised remake, but I still haven't bought my own copy. It has come and gone several times in my local pawn shop due to my own ignorance about the barcode numbers. There were errors with the subtitles on the original run of DVDs and so, because they both look the same (and knowing my luck), I'd most likely end up with one of the bad ones and not the newer pressings. I'm very wary about buying this as a Region 1 DVD and I have no intention of learning Swedish.


8. Lust for a Vampire (1971)

Simply because I've seen all the Hammer movies so many times every year on television from when I was young to the time I left Britain, I really don't think that I'd ever watch this again even if I had it in my collection. Knowing how Yutte Stensgaard became ashamed of ever being in it really put the dampers on my enthusiasm for this film and, as a big fan of Ralph Bates when he was in "Dear John", it makes me sad to see him in anything now that he's dead. I know it's mostly irrational because many of the films I watch have dead actors in them, but that's just how I roll.


9. Monkey Shines (1988)

I've got a feeling that this is out of print because there's no other reason why it should be $19.99 from Amazon. If I ever see "Monkey Shines" for $5 or less (especially if it's in a multi-pack) then I'll buy it. I used to have it on VHS back in Britain and watched it probably half a dozen times over the years. I like little monkeys and Ella was great in this but I'm not going to pay a premium price for a nearly twenty-five year old George A. Romero film now.


10. The New Daughter (2009)

Basically, as much as I loved "The New Daughter" and the director's commentary, I'll never buy it because of the gratuitous cat death. I found it completely unnecessary and clichéd. The plot wasn't the most original either as it was much the same as "Inhabited" (2003). I believe the same story has been repeated since in another film which I've completely forgotten the name of for now but it's bound to come back to me once I finish writing this post. (Edit: Nope, I still can't remember.)


Those are the horror DVDs which are most obviously missing from my current collection. There are a couple more movies which don't even exist on Region 1 DVD yet but I'll do a completely new article about those eventually.

Next time, I'm going to write a list of the Region 1 DVDs which I will never buy, never want, and if I was ever given them, I would just throw away. I bet you can't wait to read that one!

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 13

The Fifth Shelf - part D

Well, this is it. The final part of the last shelf full of my Region 1 horror DVDs has come. Are you sad about it? I know I'm not. It's not the last time that I'll be posting parts of my collection anyway, but I will never, ever, EVER, go through them all like this again.

Since I've already made posts about all of my Mill Creek Entertainment packs over the last two years (I have them all, just so you know), it's fortunate that I only have two of them on this shelf and I don't think I ever reviewed the second one.

As you can see from the picture on the right, between them I have two old Brentwood (BCI) "4 Movies" packs from FYE which I don't think that I've written anything about either. All the EastWestDVD double-features at the end, I covered last year in my "I bought that for a dollar" bargain DVDs series but I'll still say something about them again because I can.

Okay, time to finally get this monkey off my back as I go through to the end of the shelf.

Chilling 20 Movie Pack
I've already got a post about this so I'll just repeat that if you only buy one Mill Creek Entertainment horror multi-pack in your life, this should be the one you get. Nearly all the Public Domain greats are here including "Dementia 13", "The House on Haunted Hill", "The Last Man on Earth", "The Little Shop of Horrors", "Maniac", "Moon of the Wolf", "Night of the Living Dead", "Snowbeast" and "The Terror". If only it had "Carnival of Souls", "Nosferatu" and "City of the Dead", you wouldn't need to buy any more. You can download those or watch them on YouTube for free anyway. I'm a big supporter of Mill Creek Entertainment's products so I recommend that you treat yourself to at least a 50 pack sometime as well. Wal-mart and Target always have good deals on them.

Ghost Stories
"Dominique Is Dead", "Death at Love House", "The Invisible Ghost", and "Carnival of Souls". Basically, another four VHS transfers of Public Domain movies. The weakest link is "The Invisible Ghost" although even that has a better than usual performance by Bela Lugosi.

Horror Rises from the Grave
"Horror Rises from the Tomb", "Zombie Flesh Eaters", "Zombie Hell House", and "Night of the Ghoul". Quite a mixture of quality here with the standouts being "The House by the Cemetery" (aka "Zombie Hell House") in widescreen and "The Ghoul" (aka "Night of the Ghoul") for everyone who loves British horror. If you've never seen "The Ghoul", the recent remake of "The Wolfman" borrowed heavily from it. The weakest link is Paul Naschy's "Horror Rises from the Tomb" but it's still entertaining.

12 Movies - Gorehouse Greats Collection
"Blood Mania", "Blood of Dracula's Castle", "Brain Twisters", "The Devil's Hand", "The Madmen of Mandoras", "Nightmare in Wax", "Prime Evil", "Satan's Slave", "Stanley", "Terrified", "Terror", and "Trip with the Teacher". Only $5 from Wal-mart and worth every penny since I still haven't watched all these movies. Standouts are "Trip with the Teacher" which is a lot like "The Last House on the Left", and "Satan's Slave" for all those people who think that "House of the Devil" was so original. Depending on what you are in the mood for, there aren't really any weak links apart from the quality of the transfers.

Double-feature - Moon of the Wolf / Snowbeast
Very much a staple of the Public Domain DVD distributors. If you collect PD discs, you'll have these two films a dozen times. At least these are in colour. All my EastWest DVDs came from a dollar supermarket which no longer exists but you'll find them in most dollar stores.

Double-feature - The Ghost / Nightmare Castle
A couple of Italian Barbara Steele movies. Not bad either.

Double-feature - Picture Mommy Dead / Murder Mansion
These are thrillers not horrors although they are dated enough to be awful to watch.

Double-feature - Vault of Horror / Frightmare
One good one and one which makes you wonder what the Hell you are watching. I won't say which is which, you can decide that for yourself.

Double-feature - Invisible Ghost / White Zombie
An obligatory Bela Lugosi double bill which I don't particularly care for.

Penny Dreadful
Not the Rachel Miner one from the "After Dark Horrorfest" but the far superior short starring Emily Vaughan. I bought my copy through eBay from the director, Bryan Norton, who signed it before sending it to me. I don't know for sure, but I expect he's still selling them.

Horror Express
This is the Digiview version which I found in Dollar Tree. I have a slightly better version in one of my Mill Creek packs.

That's it. That's really it! Such an anticlimax, but at least I'm free to watch some more horror films and do some real reviews again now.



I'm going to take a break now since I'm expecting another day with a temperature of 95 degrees and tomorrow is a big shopping day (I mean "holiday") which I intend to make the most of.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 12

The Fifth Shelf - part C

Of course, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment aren't the only company to be distributing horror multi-packs. At the present time, the other big players are Lionsgate, Universal, and, of course, Mill Creek Entertainment.

During my regular visits to Wal-mart, Target and Kmart (which I tend to hit one after another), I've encountered quite a few multi-packs, multi-features, or whatever you want to call them. Some have been better than others and quite a few haven't interested me at all.

If you surf YouTube in search of horror DVD collectors, you will see some people with so many DVDs that you'll be almost drooling at their apparent wealth. If you look closer at the movie titles, however, you will see that most of these people have no discernment and 90% of their collections are made up of total rubbish which you probably haven't even heard of. The only reason their collections are so big is because they've bought every movie individually no matter what it was.

As you know by now, I'm a bit different to those guys. I prefer good horror movies not the trashy ones, and, through my abstinence, I've been able to get some fantastic bargains as the trend towards horror multi-packs has taken off.

In this post, I will quickly go through some of the better movie packs from the bigger names.

Lionsgate 4-Film Pack 1
"Drive Thru", "Creep", "Boy Eats Girl", and "Tamara". This was one of the first Lionsgate "4-Film" packs other than some conflated "After Dark Horrorfest" multi-features. It was also exclusive to Wal-mart as far as I know and easily found in their $5 bargain bin. As with all these sets, they weren't silly enough to give away a premium title or an above average movie but this selection really isn't too bad at all. "Drive Thru" is the weakest link but you don't have to watch it. The production values are pretty decent throughout these movies so you definitely won't feel cheated should you ever buy this yourself.

Lionsgate 4-Film Pack 2
"Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings", "Leprechaun", "Wishmaster", and "Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies". I sold my double-feature of "Wishmaster" and "Wishmaster 2" the day after I found this in Wal-mart's $5 bin. The weak link here is "Pumpkinhead II" but you know that they weren't going to put a premium title on here even if they owned the rights to it. Lionsgate also have a four pack of "Leprechaun" movies for $5 which I know a lot of you own. I didn't buy it because I only like the first one and that was in this pack anyway.

Haunting - As Seen on the Discovery Channel
"A Haunting in Georgia" and "A Haunting in Connecticut". This is by Echo Bridge and was out of order on my bottom shelf but I'll say something about it anyway. Both these TV movies are way better than "A Haunting in Connecticut" which I rented and hated. I seriously got creeped out by the original Discovery Channel version and highly recommend this DVD. As ever, there is another Echo Bridge Triple-Pack available with "Haunting of Winchester House" in it as well for the same $5 price. I didn't think it was a very good movie so I don't feel that I lost out by not having it.

Universal - 4 Cult Horror Movies
"The Funhouse", "Phantasm II", "The Serpent and the Rainbow", and "Sssssss". Seriously, Universal, what's the deal here with "Phantasm II" and not "Phantasm"? This is one of the weirder collections with even less of a linking theme than Lionsgate could come up with. All of these are pretty good movies for $5 though and, again, seem to be exclusive to Wal-mart's bargain bin or online purchases. "Sssssss" is known as "Sssnake" in the UK.

Universal - 4 Horror Movies
"Slither", "Altered", "Cry-Wolf", and "The Return". I was very pleased to get this pack especially as I sold my copies of "Cry-Wolf" (nothing to do with werewolves, by the way) and "The Return" at a yard sale. I still have "Slither" double-dipped but never had "Altered" so it saves a bit of space. There isn't really much of a linking theme with any of these movies either except for being in the same genre and even that is debatable.

Universal - 4 Dark Comedies
"Serial Mom", "Nurse Betty", "Very Bad Things", and "Your Friends & Neighbours". As far as movies go, this is pure gold but I only wanted it for the first movie and the third. Fangoria did an article about "Serial Mom" so it counts as horror, albeit a horror-comedy, and "Very Bad Things" is definitely the darkest of dark humour. For $5, I'm even tempted to give "Nurse Betty" a try.

After Dark Horrorfest III
"Autopsy", "The Broken", "Slaughter", "The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations", "Perkin's 14", "Dying Breed", "From Within", and "Voices". Back to Lionsgate again with this $5 pack, this really is the way that all the "After Dark Horrorfest" movies should have been released. There are two other conflated packs of the worst of the first two horrorfests which I admit that I was tempted by. I still haven't watched all these movies yet, I think I have three and a half to go, but they are very below average and instantly forgettable.

Just by browsing the DVD shelves in your local Wal-mart, Target or Kmart, you will see dozens more of these multi-feature packs. If you are new to collecting, these really are a very good place to start.

Only Echo Bridge are a bit of a fly in the ointment by releasing the same movies across many different packs with only one or two changes, but every company has been guilty of the same sneakiness even Warner Brothers with their "4 Film Favorites" packs.

A couple of years ago, the end-caps in Wal-mart were full of some of the strangest combinations of horror movies with other movies which I have ever seen. I didn't buy them and forget who put them out, but I'd bet money on it being MGM or 20th Century Fox in a desperate attempt to claw back some money and test the market for potential blu-ray triple-features which are, indeed, starting to appear now.

Whether a movie is on blu-ray or a standard DVD, if it's a crappy movie, it will still be a crappy movie no matter what format it's on. My advice, for what it's worth, is to be very careful with the multi-packs and try not to end up with too many copies of "Gothika" and "Dreamcatcher", okay?

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 11

The Fifth Shelf - part B

If you've been reading my previous posts, I'm sure there are some of you who are thinking, "Hey, you don't have [insert name of horror movie here]. Why is that, bro?" or, even, "Hahaha, you think you are some kind of horror movie expert or something, but you don't even have a copy of [insert name of really crappy or obscure horror movie here]. You suck."

As for the latter, you haven't seen inside my Region 2 Case Logic folders or even my screener folders yet (nor will you because none of us have lives long enough for that series of blog posts to happen).

The simpler answer to the former, however, is that I've been buying a lot of multi-packs (is "multipacks" without a hyphen a word? My spell checker doesn't think so).

To cut a long story short, if I can get at least four movies for the price of one, the single DVD purchase isn't going to happen.

Owing to the number of titles on these packs, I have divided up the second half of the bottom shelf into another three parts. This post will be about my Echo Bridge Home Entertainment horror multi-packs, all of which came from my local pawn shop.

From left to right, not that it matters because the spines are fairly similar, here we go again.

4 Films - Vampire Collector's Set
"Shadow Zone: The Undead Express", "Vampire Wars: The Battle for the Universe", "Nadja" and "The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire". This really sucks (no pun intended) as in "this is the worst collection of vampire movies I have ever seen". This was the first of these packs which I ever bought and I diligently watched every movie.

4 Films - Horror Collector's Pack
"Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep", "Howling IV: The Original Nightmare", "Night Shadow", and "Raging Sharks". I have, unfortunately, watched all these movies too now. It's not the worst of these packs but nothing here would rate more than a 3 out of 10.

4 Films - Horror Collector's Pack 2
"Hindsight", "Night of the Living Dead", "Razor Eaters", and "Cruel World". Is it just me or has nobody on the planet even heard of any of these movies apart from "Night of the Living Dead"? I haven't watched this DVD yet but I can almost taste how awful it will be.

4 Films - Horror Collector's Pack 3
"Live Animals", "Roman", "Wages of Sin", and "Skeleton Man". Nope, I haven't watched any of these yet either. I've heard of "Roman" before but that's it.

4 Films - Horror Collector's Pack 4
"Bloody Mary", "Mortuary", "Memory", and "Salvage". Things improved with this pack since I've heard of Tobe Hooper's "Mortuary" before (in a bad way) and I know that "Salvage" was filmed on the old set of "Brookside" (if I'm thinking of the right film). Have I watched them yet? Nope.

The Midnight Horror Collection - Bloody Slashers
"Hoboken Hollow", "Secrets of the Clown", "Room 33", and "Curtains". I've watched two of these so far, "Hoboken Hollow" (which I've reviewed on here) and "Curtains". Maybe I'll finish this DVD one day but I don't hold out much hope for the quality of the other two films.

The Midnight Horror Collection - Road Trip to Hell
"The Craving", "Sheltered", "Hell's Highway", and "Feeding Grounds". I've watched the first two and they weren't totally awful so this pack still holds the most promise for me.

The Midnight Horror Collection - Blood Predators
"The Vampire Conspiracy", "Fist of the Vampire", "Curse of the Wolf", and "Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned". I've watched part of the last movie from this set just to see Zoe Hunter get nude. It wasn't a pleasant movie and I now have a feeling that the others will all be handycam crap as well.

8 Movies - Midnight Horror
"Night of the Living Dead", "Windcroft", "Interview with a Serial Killer", "Dark Woods", "Keepsake", "My Sweet Killer", "Final Remains", and "Colour from the Dark". I haven't even opened this yet because I've only just got it. Obviously, I've already seen "Night of the Living Dead" but that is all.

8 Movie Pack - The Midnight Horror Collection
"The Legend of Sorrow Creek", "Prom Night", "Below", "I Am Omega", "Evil Bong", "Meridian", "Demonic Toys", and "Decadent Evil". So far, I've already seen "Prom Night", "Below", "Meridian" (known as "Phantoms" in the UK), and part of "Demonic Toys". "Below" and "Meridian" were good.

The trouble with these Echo Bridge packs, although not so much now that they are distributing Miramax's back catalogue, is that you often get one average film and a load of below average crap just to fill up the set.

They also swap titles from one volume to another so randomly that, if you were to buy every Echo Bridge collection, you would probably end up with 6 copies of "Night of the Living Dead" (and God knows how many copies of everything else) just to get one extra movie.

I have only collected the packs which gave me the least amount of repetition so I don't have them all. If Echo Bridge were to create some real "volumes" with no repeated titles, I think most people would be a lot happier and would buy them all for completeness. I know I would.

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 10

The Fifth Shelf - part A

I've reached the bottom shelf! It was also the most awkward to photograph so I apologise again for the wonky picture which follows. The titles are legible but the angle left a lot to be desired. You can click it for an enlargement and to laugh at my lack of photography skills.

Time to go through them then. From left to right, or from top to bottom as you read the list, here are the final "normal" horror DVDs in my Region 1 collection.

Tremors - Attack Pack
Okay, I fibbed a bit. This is, of course, a multi-pack and not a single DVD. I got it from FYE in a clearance sale so I have no idea if this is out of print now or if they just had too many. Either way, only the first "Tremors" film is any good and the other three sequels are SyFy channel quality dreck. If I had my "drothers" as they say round here, I'd be just as happy with the single DVD of "Tremors" even though it wouldn't save me any space.

Triangle is in my R1 folder.

Trick or Treat
If I ever find this in a multi-pack, I'll be selling it or giving it away. I saw it in the late '80s and it seemed okay, but I hate "rock and roll" or "heavy metal" music and I can't stand the sight of Ozzy Osbourne or Gene Simmons after being subjected to their reality TV shows. I think this DVD came from Big Lots or it may have just appeared one day to torment me.

Tales of Terror / Twice Told Tales
Another double-feature which is only half out of alphabetical order due to the second title. Big Lots had most of the MGM "Midnite Movies" collection. Apparently, they are worth a fortune on VHS now but not so much on DVD. I can imagine that someone out there has all of them and I expect they'd all look really good together on a shelf even if their contents leave a lot to be desired. These two movies are the Vincent Price ones, of course, since they are the only ones I like from this series.

Twilight
I LOVE TWILGHT! Yes, I'm "Team Bella" all the way and I don't care who knows it. Seriously, "Twilight" is as much a part of the horror genre as "Dark Shadows" or crappy handycam zombie movies. None of them are scary but they all contain monstrous characters who you really wouldn't want to encounter in real life. I bought the first three Twilight Saga movies for $2 each from a pawn shop so I win anyway.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
I will admit that this one is pretty bad and is the weakest in the series but Bella looks great in it so I win again.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Finally, some action! Werewolves and vampires fighting each other, some sinister stuff happening as a subplot, and Bella is still gorgeous. Triple win! I've seen the first part of "Breaking Dawn" now too (I couldn't wait any longer) so I'll be reviewing that soon. It was awesome!

Ultraviolet
It's by the director of "Equilibrium" and it stars Milla Jovovich. You would think it couldn't fail, right? Unfortunately, it's a horrible movie other than how it looks. "Daybreakers" did this kind of story much better.

Underworld
And the crappiness continues with "Underworld" or, as I refer to them, "those crappy Kate Beckinsale movies which are all in blue and black". I got this and the sequel from the pawn shop for $2 each so I'm prepared to try and enjoy them one day when I've lost some more brain cells. I've seen the other two movies as well and really hated the prequel with Rhona Mitra in it so I won't be buying them unless I get the same deal.

Underworld: Evolution
I have no words for this except, "Gah!"

The Uninvited
I honestly like this better than "A Tale of Two Sisters". I couldn't follow the original Korean movie at all and it was way too long. This was $5 of my store credit spent wisely. I love the look of the film and all the actresses are hot in it. That's okay too because the two younger ones are a lot older than the characters they are playing.

Urban Legend
I saw it for $3 in Big Lots and thought, "Why not?" It's okay, the sequels both suck so I didn't ever buy them, and, well, it marked the end of the "trendy teen horror" phase of the '90s pretty well. As you know, I don't have "Scream" or "I Know What You Did Last Summer" except on VHS because I refuse to waste any more of my money on that crap.

Vacancy
Kate Beckinsale again. It's the only reason I have this. I think I got it used from FYE but I can't remember. I'll grudgingly say that it was better than average.

Vacancy 2: The First Cut
From the pawn shop because I was curious. You all know what curiosity did to the cat, don't you? This was a horrible prequel which I thought that I'd reviewed recently. If I haven't then look forward to when I do tear it apart.

Vampires
Also known as "John Carpenter's Vampires" as if having his name on any movie will sell it to you. James Woods is great in this and Sheryl Lee provides the much needed eyecandy. From the pawn shop again because it was there.

Village of the Damned & Children of the Damned
If only Big Lots had "Cat People & Curse of the Cat People" then I'd have the full set of these double-features. I've seen these films so many times on the Turner movie channels that I still haven't even taken the shrink-wrap off this.

White Noise
I watched it and can't remember it. That's a great recommendation for a horror movie right there. It was from Big Lots along with its superior sequel.

White Noise 2: The Light
A pretty decent Nathan Fillion vehicle which does all the things that the first movie didn't including having some scares and characters that you can care about.

The Wicker Man is in my R2 folder.

Wind Chill
I watched this on the plane when I came to America. I don't know where I bought it but I haven't opened this one either. It was a very good film apart from the ending.

When a Stranger Calls
I've seen all three (almost four) versions of this story, "When a Stranger Calls", "When a Stranger Calls Back" and "When a Killer Calls". Even though it's a PG-13, this is still the best out of all of them. Both the originals suffer from having a good first 20 minutes and nothing else while the version by The Asylum goes in a different direction apart from the title. The house is the real star in this though. As ever, it came from the pawn shop because I was too stupid to buy it from Big Lots for a dollar more.

Witchcraft 13
Seriously, this is the worst horror movie in my collection. I don't say this often but DO NOT BUY THIS CRAP! Everything about this "movie", from the manufacture of the DVD itself to the "acting" or "effects" (those words have to be in quotation marks for sarcasm), is terrible. This is my reminder to be even more careful about my pawn shop purchases in future.

The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection
Guess what this contains? If you guessed other than Universal's "The Wolf Man", "Werewolf of London", "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" and "She-Wolf of London" then go away quickly and recite the irritating poem from the 1941 classic until you can't stand it anymore. This was from FYE for $14.99 and it's the weakest of the main three "Legacy" packs in terms of extras.

The Wolfman
This has the unrated director's cut and the theatrical version which only makes sense to own because certain cuts in the theatrical version highlight some major continuity errors in the longer version and vice-versa. From my usual pawn shop for $2.50 otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with it.

The Woods
Lucky McKee's version of "Suspiria" and a much better movie than anything Dario Argento could make anyway. Agnes Bruckner stands out as does the updated musical version of "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore which is played in full over the end credits. Oh, Bruce Campbell is in it too. I got it from Big Lots for $3.

The Wraith used to be here but I sold it.

Wrong Turn
The only "Wrong Turn" movie worth having. All the sequels suck. From Wal-mart for $5 and with a crappy eco-case to add insult to injury. It has Faith from "Buffy" in it though.

There are no X, Y or Z's worth buying so, obviously, I don't have any. Off the top of my head, I can't even think of any horror titles beginning with those letters apart from "Xtro", "Young Frankenstein" or "Zombie Flesh Eaters" and one of those is really a comedy.

Woohoo! I'm done... sort of. This may be the end of the more obvious horror DVDs but now I can take a bit more time over the other double, triple, quadruple, octuple and even duodecuple features. You get the idea. Tomorrow's posts will be all about the multi-packs.

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 9

The Fourth Shelf - part B

I'm starting to get a headache from sitting in front of my computer cataloguing these DVDs all day but I keep telling myself that it'll be worth it in the end. Once again, I have a picture which you can enlarge by clicking on it.

There's no good way to give this listing process any variety so I've stayed with the existing format.

Saw III
The movie which effectively ended the "Saw" franchise before the producers realised their mistake and dragged it on for another four films which nobody cared about. This and the following came from the same pawn shop which had 100s of copies of the "Saw" movies and not much else.

Saw IV
I barely made it through this film, hated the look of it, and just wanted it to be over.

Saw V
I didn't make it through this one at all. I got this from a different pawn shop for $2 and it wasn't worth even half of that. I decided to not buy any more "Saw" movies at this point. I've never seen "Saw VI" but I did watch "Saw VII" (or "Saw 3D"). I'm just glad the franchise is over now.

Seed of Chucky
Although I like "Bride of Chucky" more, I still only have it on VHS. I bought this from Big Lots because Jennifer Tilly looks great in it.

Shredder
Not in alphabetical order. I've been doing that a lot lately. This came from Big Lots when they had all those MGM titles. I thought it was suprisingly good, but I admit that I expected it to be the worst thing I'd ever seen when I first started watching it.

The Shining
If you don't know what this is about then give up horror now! I recently upgraded to this from my VHS copy which looks identical. I've also seen it in real plastic DVD cases rather than the crappy cardboard one. Kmart has this for only $2.99 so go there quickly and get one!

Shutter (remake)
What can I say? I like Joshua Jackson as an actor and I didn't even know that there was an original version of this movie until afterwards. It's actually a little bit scary in places. I'm sure I got this from the pawn shop when I was looking for something else so it turned out to be a bit of a bonus.

The Skeleton Key
This was from Big Lots a couple of years ago. I have various reasons for not entirely liking it but the end of "Alison's Birthday" (1981) is now my new one. I think I like Kate Hudson though.

Sleepwalkers
This movie has everything. Not only are there vampiric cat monsters, lots of domestic cats, cameos by various horror writers and directors, and, most of all, sexy Mädchen Amick being sexy without trying, but it's just a good throwback to the early '80s in terms of style as well. Well worth $3 of anyone's money from Big Lots especially if, like me, you only had a VHS copy before.

Slither
I've double-dipped this with a recent multi-pack so I'm not going to say much about it here. It came from Big Lots, I bought it because it got so heavily promoted by the horror nerds on message boards in the year before I moved to America, and it stars Nathan Fillion who was still cool at the time.

Species
I got the "Species" trilogy from Big Lots all in one go because, basically, I'd never seen them. This one was the best of a bad lot (no pun intended) and Natasha Henstridge was gorgeous as Sil.

Species II
The first sequel to "Species" was pretty crappy but what can you expect from sci-fi which pretends to be horror?

Species III
Sunny Mabrey takes over from Natasha Henstridge in this one and it's a slightly better film than the last one even though it went straight-to-video. There's a fourth one too but I lost all interest in this franchise when I heard that Ben Cross was in it.

Splice
Not a great film but I got it from the pawn shop a couple of months ago. I reviewed it when it first came out and wasn't impressed by its lack of originality. "Embryo" did this story so much better back in 1976.

Stir of Echoes is in my R1 folder.

The Strangers
Another cheapie from the pawn shop which I only bought so I could shout at the idiotic characters on my TV screen. It's a poor man's version of "Ils".

Sublime
I have the unrated version of this from Big Lots, of course, and it's pretty gory in places. I liked the twist which I didn't see coming at all although I'm sure other people did. For a straight-to-video release this was both very effective and tragic at the same time.

The Stuff
I used to think this was better than it actually was but I've only watched it once since I found it lurking in the pawn shop. Larry Cohen also directed the "It's Alive" trilogy (which all suck) but he's written the screenplays for a lot of much better films.

Tamara
Another recently double-dipped movie since it came out as part of a Lionsgate multi-pack too. This was marketed as a Canadian version of "Jennifer's Body" even though it was made four years before and isn't really the same thing at all. I got it from the pawn shop for $3.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake)
As you can see in the picture, I haven't even opened this. It was $3.99 from T.J. Maxx and has some weird collectible metal plate inside the pack which I don't understand the point of. I watched the movie on TV and enjoyed it as much as the original but I just haven't watched this particular DVD.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
I really enjoyed this gory prequel although I doubt that I'll ever watch it again. It has a scored-through UPC so I think I got it from Big Lots but it may have come from FYE.

They Wait
Canadians seem to copy everything, don't they, eh? In this case, they made their own Asian horror movie which is just as good as (if not better than) a real one. Jaime King is of course the big selling point and she's certainly very beautiful. I also bought "The Spirit" with her in it from the pawn shop at the same time as I got this, but the less said about that film the better.

The Thing
Even if you have a blu-ray player, this is still the best version to have if you want to see the special features as nature intended. Everything on this DVD was copied over from the laserdisc version (not that I've ever seen one). "The Thing" is one of my favourite horror films of all time so I was happy enough to pay full price for it from FYE.

Thir13en Ghosts
Hardly a great movie but the look of the ghosts was quite good and, if you are feeling a bit timid, it could probably put the willies up you if you aren't expecting it. I got it from Big Lots just because I was collecting all the Dark Castle movies at one point and they had them.

Turistas
The first of my Melissa George horror movies and a lot better than "Hostel" or any of its other clones. I got it from FYE by mistake in 2008 because I was actually looking for "The Last Resort" starring America Olivo which hadn't even been released at the time.

Torture Garden
I was so jealous of all the people that were getting this from Big Lots (when the branch nearest me didn't have it) until I walked into FYE and saw dozens of them in the bargain bin for only a dollar more. This is one of the better Amicus horror anthologies although only the last segment is really any good.

Trackman
I got this from the pawn shop along with the Lordi film because there was nothing else left. It's not a good film at all but there's one Russian actress in it who ticks all the right boxes for me looks-wise. I think her name is Svetlana Metkina, but it might be the other one, Yuliya Mikhailova. It doesn't really matter because I doubt that either of them will act in anything else that I will ever watch.

Not much further to go now. It's been an epic journey and I didn't even have to throw a ring into a volcano.

There's only half a shelf of regular DVDs left and then it's on to the multi-packs. Will I ever do more? We shall see.

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 8

The Fourth Shelf - part A

I'm getting there! Only this shelf and one more, and then I can get back to writing about something more interesting.

I'm past caring about the pictures. This one will just have to do. You can click on it to see it bigger anyway.

From left to right, because going from right to left would make no sense to me at all, these are the horror DVDs on the first half of the fourth shelf.

The Orphanage
Ah, the movie which introduced me to the pleasure of watching Belén Rueda. I'm not overly keen on Spanish films but this has the same look and feel to it as "The Others" which was also by a Spanish director. It was only $5 from Wal-mart so it was quite a bargain. I don't like the eco-case that it came in or the ending of the movie but such is life.

The Others
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar (who also did "Open Your Eyes") and starring Nicole Kidman, "The Others" is possibly my favourite ghost story of the 21st century. This is the bigger boxed "Dimension Collector's Series" version with 2 discs and came from FYE's used section. I think it was only $5 as well.

One Missed Call (remake)
I don't know why this is out of alphabetical order. I was probably going to watch it and then put it back again in a rush. I still haven't finished it in spite of half a dozen tries so I'm getting my money's worth out of this pawn shop purchase.

Pathology
This came from a yard sale for $2. I never did finish watching it because it reminded me too much of the "Anatomy" movies and I got bored with it. One day, I'll give it another chance.

Patrick
My favourite Australian horror movie apart from "The Loved Ones". Of course, it tried to cash in on the success of "The Medusa Touch" from the same year, 1978, but it's a little bit different and has Susan Penhaligon as a sexy nurse in it. This was from the pawn shop but I think it started out as part of an Aussie Horror Collection box set from FYE. I'm sure the other three films from that set will turn up eventually.

The People Under The Stairs / Shocker
I've never seen "Shocker" but the first film of this double-feature is the only reason I bought it anyway. Originally sold by Wal-mart but from my local pawn shop for $2.50. These are both very '80s horror movies. Yes, I do say that as if it's a bad thing.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
I couldn't believe that I was lucky enough to find this at Big Lots for $3. It's not strictly a horror movie and is several classes above what I usually watch for entertainment. I don't know why this didn't get more promotion when it came out as it's a beautiful film.

Pet Sematary is missing!!! I don't know where it has gone.

Phantoms is in my R1 folder.

Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou
I think this is the best of the "Prom Night" series. I never liked the first "Prom Night" and I only have the third and fourth ones on VHS because they are pretty weak as well. I got this in Big Lots. I wonder what happened to Lisa Schrage? She was the only reason I wanted this, of course.

Prophecy - The Complete Collection
All five "Prophecy" or "God's Army" movies for $5 from Wal-mart's bargain bin! Even better than that, I got this from the pawn shop for $2.50! It's not so much of a bargain now that I've seen all these movies plus the six "Hellraiser" sequels in an "11 movie pack" for $7.50 at Kmart. Echo Bridge keep bringing these things out. I still want the "Dracula 2000" triple pack.

Psycho II
Basically, Meg Tilly is in it. I have "Psycho" and "Psycho IV" on VHS but might upgrade if the price is right. This and the second sequel came from the pawn shop but they were also on sale at Big Lots along with a triple pack with "Psycho IV" in it as well. I almost bought it but there are some movies I like to have separately. I have my reasons and most of those involve my loathing of flipper discs.

Psycho III
Anthony Perkins directed this but it's a horrible movie and not nearly as good as "Psycho II". I might sell this in a yard sale after I've swapped the case with one of my scruffier DVDs.

Pulse
This is the 1988 film with Roxanne Hart in it not that awful Japanese crap or the remakes about internet ghosts. I got this from Big Lots and was really pleased to get it too. It's a really underrated sci-fi/horror along the same lines as "Maximum Overdrive" but with electricity having a life of its own. Roxanne Hart is hot in it too (both literally and figuratively).

Pumpkinhead is in my R1 folder.

Q - The Winged Serpent is in my R1 folder.

Quarantine
It's almost identical to the Spanish version but without all that foreign language. The ending is a little bit more supernatural with "[Rec]" but it's a scene by scene remake. I just have it on the shelf to fill the "Q" spot. It came from the pawn shop anyway.

Re-animator
You may have expected "Rawhead Rex" to be here but I got greedy and sold it for a ridiculously high price. It's not as if I haven't got another copy in my R2 folder anyway. So, yes, my "R" section now starts with "Re-animator". This is the full version from Anchor Bay (although not the one from the pack which came with a syringe-shaped highlighter pen). I got it new from FYE but I don't remember how much I paid.

Resident Evil / Resident Evil Apocalypse
Sort of horror and sort of only purchased by me because I fancy Milla Jovovich. I'm not ashamed of it. Sometimes I buy films just based on the actress (actresses or actors) involved. I was really pleased to get this from the pawn shop because I'd been looking for this double-feature ever since I missed out on it at Sam's Club.

Resident Evil: Extinction
This is the best of the Resident Evil movies. Lots of action, zombies and some good characters. I actually bought this one first from the pawn shop only a couple of weeks after it was released.

Rest Stop: Dead Ahead
I have no excuse for keeping this turd in my collection except that I got it for $2 from a pawn shop which no longer exists. I actually bought the sequel from the same place first and then went back and got it.

Rest Stop: Don't Look Back
I didn't realise that this was a sequel and only bought it because I was MySpace friends with Jaimie Alexander. She wasn't even in this film! If you don't know who she is, she was "Sif" in the "Thor" movie. You're still none the wiser, are you?

The Return of the Living Dead
I got this through a trade with someone who does a podcast. He wanted "Inside" pretty desperately (and I didn't want it at all) so we swapped. This edition has a "glow in the dark" cardboard slipcase. I like this movie a lot and it was the first zombie film I ever saw theatrically back in the '80s.

The Ring (remake)
Where did I get this? Oh yes, the pawn shop. It was still sealed so I grabbed it. I later discovered that it was the full screen version but I don't really care. I've already seen it at least five times and I'm still alive.

The Ring Two
This is the unrated edition. I don't know if I've seen that version or an R-rated version but it was still pretty weak. I just got it for completeness and I think it came from Big Lots.

Ringu
I still haven't watched this DVD because someone posted all the "Ring" movies on YouTube and I watched them there. It was $3 from Big Lots and it's a pretty good movie even though everyone knows the story now thanks to those "Scary Movie" idiots.

Rosemary's Baby used to be here but I sold it.

The Ruins
With hindsight, this was one of the better horror films from 2008 but I thought it was silly at the time and probably gave it a scathing (and very brief) review. I'll have to watch it again when I'm ill or something and see if it improves. This is yet another movie where I can't remember where I bought it from. It may have been $5 of my store credit when I did my big DVD exchange.

Salem's Lot is in my R1 folder.

Saw
My "S" section only starts with "Saw" because I bought "Salem's Lot" on one of my previous trips to the States, took it home to England, and then brought it back in a Case Logic folder without the cardboard case that it originally came in. I don't even want to talk about "Saw". I bought the first four "Saw" movies all in one go from a pawn shop a few miles away. They had put together packs of them at the time, so I ended up with a mixture of full screen and widescreen unrated versions for $10. "Saw" and "Saw IV" turned out to be full screen versions but I don't care since I'll never watch either of them again.

Saw II
Yeah, Shawnee Smith is pretty and this movie has all the good traps, but it's not something which I feel like rewatching ever. I just keep it to show my support for the "Saw" franchise or something. Actually, I do feel like watching it again right now which is odd.

I'll continue the shelf, starting with the rest of the Saw DVDs, later today. I'm quite pleased with myself now for getting this far and I can see finally see light at the end of the tunnel. The weather is even cooling down a bit now (at least at night).

Now I realise why people don't do things like this on blogs. It takes ages to list all these DVDs. It will be a very long time before I'm ever silly enough to go through my other five bookcases but I'll never need to since I only have action movies, thrillers and girlie dramas on those.

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 7

The Third Shelf - part B

I'll be glad when this series of posts is over and I bet you will be too. As if it isn't bad enough trying to get the DVDs in focus, I then have to rotate the resulting picture, crop it, and hope that it doesn't come out too fuzzy. Once again, I failed at all of the above.

Without further ado, because the titles are hard to read, these are the DVDs on the shelf.

It
One of my early $5.99 purchases from FYE's used section and another which I used to have on VHS back in England. The first half of Stephen King's "It" with all the kids is a lot better than the second half, but the ending completely ruins it all.

It! / The Shuttered Room is in my R1 folder.

Jaws is in my R2 folder.

Jeepers Creepers
Another pawn shop find. I could have had the sequel as well but I didn't like it as much. I've seen both in a double-feature pack at Wal-mart so I might swap it over one day. The movie itself promised a lot more than it delivered.

Jennifer's Body will go here when I find a copy.

Joy Ride
Called "Road Kill" in the the UK, you've probably guessed that I bought this just for Leelee Sobieski. My Region 2 copy came from MVC (which no longer exists since it was owned by Woolworths) and I was talked into buying it by one of the kids who worked there. It's a really good film along the lines of "Duel" and "The Hitcher" but, ultimately, it's a bit far-fetched. This came from the pawn shop along with its sequel.

Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead
The straight-to-DVD sequel to "Joy Ride" came out nine years too late but made up for it with a couple of great looking actresses. This is another which is also now available in a double-feature pack from Wal-mart so I might upgrade (or downgrade as the case may be) to free up a space on the shelf.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space used to be here but I sold it.

King Kong
This is the super-duper, remastered, collector's edition of the classic 1933 monster movie. The only thing which would have made it even better other than the $3 price (which I paid for it from Big Lots) is if it had come with a free monkey. Absolutely the best giant ape film ever made.

Konga used to be here but I sold it.

Lady in White
I was really impressed by this at the time and couldn't believe my luck when I found it on DVD in FYE. I paid full price for it but it was worth it for one of my favourite ghostie films from the '80s.

Land of the Dead
The last George A. Romero zombie film which was worth watching. I got it from Big Lots for $3. It's flawed and the CGI blood looks bad in places but the story isn't too bad at all. I have a feeling that Romero was trying to be preachy about something in it but I don't notice stuff like that anyway.

Laid to Rest
It's out of alphabetical order because I just bought it from the pawn shop and I wasn't paying attention to where I put it on the shelf. I really like this, hated the sequel, and am a big admirer of Robert Hall's effects work. You know I only got this to ogle Bobbi Sue Luther, right?

The Last Exorcism
Still holding on to a high price at Wal-mart and FYE, I was lucky to get this ex-rental copy from the pawn shop for $2.50. For a mockumentary/faux found footage movie, it's really good. The ending seemed to be a little bit rushed but that's nearly always the way with these things. The characters were well played especially the preacher.

The Last House on the Left
The original, of course, and not the remake with the terminator robot guy from "The Sarah Connor Chronicles". I just bought it because it was cheap at the pawn shop and I wanted something to remember the late David Hess by after talking to him for ten minutes about "Manimal" on a podcast.

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane
It's more of a drama with a couple of horror elements than anything else but I had to have it for $3 from Big Lots after I heard a few people talking about it on yet another podcast which no longer exists. I'd never heard of it before so it was a nice surprise to see something which was new to me. It's out of alphabetical order because I suck at putting my DVDs away.

The Legacy will go here when I find a copy.

The Legend of Hell House
It's a kind of remake of "The Haunting" but with an exceptional performance by Roddy McDowell and a nudie bit with Gayle Hunnicut. This scared me as a child so I bought it used from FYE. I think it is part of a multi-pack in Wal-mart's bargain bin now too.

Let the Right One In will go here when I find a copy.

The Lost Boys
Hey, don't judge me, it was only $3. It's a crappy '80s movie which doesn't know whether to be a kid's film, a comedy or a horror, but it had bit of a cult following until the two sequels killed it retrospectively. I prefer "Near Dark" of course.

Lost Souls
I haven't watched it yet. I always get this movie confused with "Bless the Child" and "Stigmata" so I don't know if I have ever seen it or if it's just wishful thinking. I got it from the pawn shop and I'll get back to you about the contents sometime.

The Loved Ones will go here when I find a copy.

The Mad
Big Lots had several "3 for $3" packs at one point and this was the only movie out of all of them which I ended up keeping. Billy Zane was really good in it. It's yet another silly zombie movie but with decent production values for once.

Martyrs
I've got the unrated version inside the R-rated cardboard slipcase. These are the joys of pawn shop purchases. Somewhere, somebody has an R-rated version in an unrated case, but I don't expect they'll even notice the difference. This French horror movie is pretty messed up (in a good way) no matter which version you watch.

The Messengers
Ghosties and Kristen Stewart, what more do you need to know? I got this from Dollar General for $6 when I went out to get for my daily Monster energy drink. I think it was about three years ago but it might have been more recent than that.

Messengers 2: The Scarecrow used to be here but I sold it.

Midnight Offerings will go here when I find a copy.

Mirrors
It seemed like a good idea to buy this for $3 from the pawn shop. I don't hate it as much as some people seem to but the ending wasn't all that great.

The Mist
Apart from the CGI and the fact that the novella was much better than the movie, this grew on me enough to buy it from Family Dollar. They have some great films there from time to time even though they are a couple of dollars more than Big Lots would sell them for.

Monkey Shines will go here when I find a copy.

Mother of Tears
This is the only Dario Argento film which I can bear watching. I hate all his other stuff especially the ones which all the American fanboys rave about. None of his films are scary, all of them are horribly dated, and, if Fangoria had found something more interesting to write about, I don't think anyone would even have heard of Dario Argento on the other side of the pond. "Mother of Tears" has the only decent thing which Dario has produced and that's his daughter Asia. It also has even more hot girls, it's really gory, and it's not so weird that you can't follow it. Well worth $2.50 from the pawn shop.

Mum & Dad is in my R2 folder.

The Mummy
It's the Boris Karloff one. I bought this from FYE instead of "The Legacy Collection" because it came with a half price ticket to see "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" which I used. It also has a really nice box.

Mute Witness
I've always loved this horror/thriller not just because of Marina Zudina but also because it was actually filmed in Moscow just after Russia stopped being communists. I looks the part, has some nicely done moments of suspense, and, yes, it has Marina Zudina in it looking all cute and vulnerable.

Near Dark
This was my second copy of "Near Dark" after I had to take the first one back to FYE because it had the wrong second disc in it. The two discs inside are labelled "Near" and "Dark" but I had some weird promo thing instead of the "Dark" special features disc. It happens. It's no big deal. The new version of this DVD has coverart which looks like "Twilight" so I might get that too one day.

Needful Things
Big Lots provided me with this when they had that massive MGM overstock buyout. I just bought everything in sight since they were only $3. I really like Bonnie Bedelia in this but it's as predictable as every other Stephen King adaptation.

The New Daughter will go here when I find a copy.

A Nightmare on Elm Street
A good '80s horror apart from the stupid ending. Freddy is really nasty in this one and not the comedy parody which he became. Once again, this came from Big Lots along with the second sequel below.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
This is the only Freddy Krueger sequel which I really enjoyed. I keep seeing the NOES multi-packs, "4 Film Favorites", and other sequels around but I have no interest in them. I was never that ready for Freddy.

The Ninth Gate
At first I hated it but then I watched it one Sunday afternoon and really enjoyed it. It sounds odd but it made me feel homesick for Europe. I suppose this is a bit like an updated version of "Angel Heart" in a lot of ways, pretty slow, and creepy rather than scary. I have absolutely no idea where I bought it from but the security tape on the box suggests that it was from Big Lots.

The Omen Triple-Pack
Yes, it's "The Omen", "Damien: Omen II" and "Omen III: The Final Conflict" on three separate DVD discs and all in one box. There is a bigger pack with that awful remake (which I refer to as "The Uglies") and the TV movie "Omen IV" which didn't really work for me. I rate this trilogy quite highly (even the third one). This is real horror to me not all that handycam crap and stuff played for laughs. Serious, scary, supernatural horror is what I prefer over everything else. I got this from Sam's Club and I think it was just under $12.

Thus ends the second-half of the third shelf. I might even get this chore finished by the end of the week. Who knows?

Is anyone actually reading these posts? Really? You are? Are you enjoying them? Do you wish you could reach out and grab one of those DVDs and watch it right now?

My Region 1 Horror DVDs - part 6

The Third Shelf - part A

Oh my God, could anyone suck more at taking pictures of DVDs than me? Probably, but here's another half-shelf for you anyway. As ever, just click on it to see everything bigger and fuzzier.

Here we go again, from left to right. You know the routine by now.

The Haunting (remake)
This is the "Signature Selection" edition which fooled me for a second because I thought it was autographed by the director. I have got a few autographed DVDs which I'll come to eventually, but, obviously, this one from Big Lots $3 sale is not one of them. Yes, it has notoriously bad CGI, but it also has Owen Wilson being decapitated and lots of sexy Catherine Zeta Jones. I bought it for both of those reasons.

He Knows You're Alone used to be here but I sold it.

Hellraiser is in my R2 folder.

Hellraiser 2: Hellbound is in my R2 folder.

Hideaway
I have no idea where this came from. I assume that I got it in Big Lots but I've never watched it anyway. I saw it on TV a few years ago and always meant to revisit it. I know that Alicia Silverstone and Jeff Goldblum are in it and that it's based on a Dean R. Koontz novel. I also know that I enjoyed it.

High Tension
I double-dipped this from FYE as I also have the UK version labelled as "Switchblade Romance". I've even seen a version of this on DVD which looks like a bootleg with the original French title of "Haute Tension" slapped across its red cover. The ending sucks but this movie certainly surprised people at the time.

The Hills Have Eyes is in my R2 folder.

The Hills Have Eyes (remake)
This is the theatrical version because there really isn't enough difference between it and the so-called "unrated" version to justify buying it again. If you look up the comparisons, you'll see what I mean. This was new from FYE, but it wasn't full price. I don't like it as much as the original and I'm not completely sure if I like any of it at all.

The Hills Have Eyes 2
Fortunately, this isn't a remake but a similarly titled movie instead. The original "The Hills Have Eyes Part 2" (1985) sucked and blowed at the same time. I have no idea what the purpose of that awful film was either because I find it completely unwatchable. I actually enjoyed this version though. It's gory, unrated, and I got it cheap from the pawn shop.

The Hitcher
The 1988 original, of course, not the remake. I used to have this on VHS and the artwork on the cardboard cover is identical. When I was a student, I had the Italian poster "La Lunga Strada Della Paura" (the long road of fear), on my wall and the postcard version stuck on my front door. I used to think that I looked a bit like Rutger Hauer at the time, but I was deluding myself. My girlfriend back then said I looked more like Emilio Estevez. Anyway, this came from the pawn shop.

The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting used to be here but I sold it.

The Host
The only DVD that I've ever paid full price for from FYE. Seriously. This was $26.99 and I had to order it through them because the only one they had in stock was the single disc edition for the same price. Even though it was completely different, it had the same feel to it as "Nightwatch" and "Daywatch". I know that may sound stupid since this is a Korean monster movie, but it makes sense to me. I love this film.

House of 1000 Corpses
I still haven't finished this so I have nothing much to say about it other than I bought it from the pawn shop for $2.50. I don't think it's a very good film but it was cheap.

House on Haunted Hill (remake)
Again, this isn't really a remake as just another film with the same title. Everything is a lot different to the Vincent Price classic. I really liked it though so I bought it and the sequel from Big Lots. Later on, Big Lots sold double-feature packs of them both plus another with the original and remake. I already have the original half a dozen times on Mill Creek packs.

Return to House on Haunted Hill
It turned out to be as not quite as good as the first one but the story interested me. There was a little bit of a twist to this and some good effects in places. I think it was a straight-to-DVD release and it showed.

The Howling
I only bought it because it was cheap. I can't stand Dee Wallace's voice and the story was stupid. I read the Gary Brandner novels when I was at school and they were a lot more erotic than any of the films. This, of course, came out at the same time as "An American Werewolf in London" which was far better.

Howling II
This was cheap from Big Lots too so I grabbed it. I saw it when it first came out and it was crap. I don't know why I expected it to be any different on DVD because, obviously, it wasn't. I can't believe that Christopher Lee was in this. Mind you, it's certainly not the worst thing he's ever been in.

Ils (aka Them) is in my R2 folder.

Isle of the Dead & Bedlam
A double-feature which I should probably move to the bottom shelf. I haven't watched either movie since they were on BBC2 in the early '80s so I'm just waiting for a rainy Saturday night when the mood is right to watch them again. It may never happen and I probably wasted my $3 in Big Lots on them.

I Walked with a Zombie & The Body Snatcher
Yes, I bought this at the same time as the double-feature above. I have actually watched these movies again last year. I liked "I Walked with a Zombie" more than "The Body Snatcher" but Karloff was really good in the latter.

In a Dark Place
It's another version of "The Innocents" and not a very good one either. I got it from the ex-rental section of Hollywood Video for $2.99 because it had Leelee Sobieski in it. I almost sold it at a yard sale last year but decided to keep it for the artwork.

In the Mouth of Madness
I have a slightly amusing story about this movie which leads in to why it took me so long to actually buy it on DVD. This was shown ad nauseum by both Channel Four and the ITV networks in Britain back in the day. I'm sure it was on each station 5 or 6 times a year and maybe even more than that. I even recorded it on VHS at one point rather than ever buy it but taped over it. Then, when I first came to America nearly 13 years ago, it was nearly Hallowe'en and guess what I saw when I switched on the hotel TV? Yes, that's right, "In the Mouth of Madness" was playing on something like AMC or TNT and repeated over and over again. Having not seen it for a while, I decided to get it from the pawn shop last year. I watched it just before Hallowe'en but couldn't be bothered to review it. Yes, it's a great film but I've seen it too many times.

Innocent Blood
John Landis' follow-up to "An American Werewolf in London" but this time about vampires. I bought this as an ex-rental VHS in England because it was one of the first tapes to be protected by Macrovision. Nobody could copy it and I know because I tried. The technology didn't even exist then for home pirates to break the encyption and it really annoyed me as an owner of a double VCR. Of course, I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that now. With the prices of DVDs being what they are nowadays, I have no need to pirate anything anyway. This was $3.99 from FYE nearly four years ago.

The Innocents will go here when I find a copy.

Inside
No, this isn't the French horror. I did have that one which I bought for $15.99 from FYE but, after watching it only once, I hated it so much that I swapped it with someone from a popular horror podcast at the time, for a brand new copy of "The Return of the Living Dead" (which I talk about more when I come to it later). This version of "Inside" is from 2006 and is a teenage version of "Misery" in a lot of ways. I really liked it but I'm slightly annoyed that it is now turning up on Echo Bridge multi-packs. I actually paid full price for this too from FYE before I realised that there were other places to buy DVDs in America.

Interview with the Vampire
When I was at University, everyone was reading Anne Rice. A year after leaving, this movie came out and there was all kinds of moaning about Tom Cruise not being right as Lestat. I'd just started as a video reviewer for a vampire magazine and I really enjoyed the film apart from not being able to understand half of what Brad Pitt was slurring with those fangs in. It's a story which actually improves the more times you watch it (and think about what motivates the characters) but it's still highly flawed. Kirsten Dunst is the best part. I'm tempted to say that I got this from Big Lots, but it could have been from from the pawn shop. It was originally from Big Lots thoughand has the scored through UPC.

The Invasion
From FYE's used section, I only bought this because of Nicole Kidman. She can do no wrong in anything as far as I'm concerned. I even liked her in "The Golden Compass". It's a remake of a remake (of a remake?) of course, but it isn't as bad as lot of people might have you believe.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (remake)
One of the earlier remakes which a lot of sci-fi/horror nerds rave about. I attempted to watch this again fairly recently and found it horribly dated. You already know that I can't bear to watch Brooke Adams in anything with all her "teeth and eyes acting", but, back when I was a child, I found a couple of the scenes scary in this. They don't work anymore and I spent most of the film trying to decide if I fancied Veronica Cartwright or not. I'm sure this came from Big Lots for $3.

The Invisible
I watched this on a movie channel but fell asleep before the end. As usual, I had to buy it as an ex-rental from Blockbuster not because I couldn't have just rented it from somewhere but because they were going out of business (and I liked the price). I can't remember a lot about it except that it was more of a supernatural mystery than a horror movie and actually made me feel quite emotional at the end. It's something which I will definitely watch again. I highly recommend this movie.

Invitation to Hell
Suffice it to say that I remembered this from the days of VHS as being a lot better than it actually was. My girlfriend of that time didn't get how much I enjoyed it either or my strange "man crush" on the late Robert Urich. I grew up watching everything he did from "Tabitha" (the sequel to "Bewitched") to "Vegas" and beyond. It's really sad that he's no longer with us. "Invitation to Hell" is still a neat story but it's very dated and by Wes Craven (so you know the score). I was a bit naive once upon a time and used to think that Wes Craven was a really good horror director. This was worth having for $5 of my DVD store credit but I really shouldn't keep it.

I'm half way through. I can hardly believe it! Of course, I'm only fooling myself because the bottom shelf will need to be split up into 6 sections and will take ages to go through. In reality, I'm only a quarter of the way through my Region 1 DVDs at this point and I still have another shelf and a half before I get to the worst part anyway.

I hope I'm not boring you too much with all this. Let me know if I am and I'll post something more interesting for you to read. I'm starting to wish that I'd done this as a YouTube video but I suppose I have to finish it now.