The cheapest way to collect Full Moon movies

Everybody loves Full Moon movies, right? Those of us who are of a certain age whereby we really do remember the '80s and early '90s without the aid of rose-tinted spectacles grew up renting everything that Charles Band managed to get onto the shelves of our local video rental stores, and we thoroughly enjoyed doing so. As rentals turned into PVTs, we all went a little bit crazy buying up the big-boxed B movies of our teens. We never thought they'd be worth anything, we just had to have them, and we replayed them to death.

But time moves on, unfortunately. Our once great collections of VHS tapes are now rotting in their boxes, or being sold in yard sales, and we've got huge DVD collections instead. The trouble with collecting Full Moon movies again on DVD, though, has always been two-fold. First, there's just so damned many of their movies to buy, and second, a semi-cultish following has helped to keep the prices up. Both aspects are great for Full Moon of course, but not for anybody with limited funds (and space) who is trying to collect their products.

Maybe you've wanted to upgrade your Empire/Full Moon favourites to DVD, but thought it was too expensive to buy the box sets? Maybe you've missed out on a few of the newer Full Moon titles too? Well, thanks to a distribution deal with Echo Bridge Home Entertainment which has been going on for the last couple of years, there's actually no need to bankrupt yourself. For only $55 (plus tax) and a trip to Kmart, you can have all the good ones again, plus a load of crappier horror movies which you'll probably never watch.

Here's how to do it:

The first thing you'll want to buy is a big pack of "Puppet Master" movies. These are the most famous Full Moon movies, and you can't call yourself a horror fan if you don't have them. In their wisdom, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment have created two packs to choose from which are both priced at $5 each (except online!), so the only thing you need to decide is if you want the three "Killjoy" movies as a bonus.

If you choose not to buy the "Puppet Master and Killjoy' collection, you can get the "Killjoy" movies as part of the "Death comes in 3s" pack along with the first three "Gingerdead Man" movies and the "Demonic Toys" trilogy. What a bargain! Even if the newer Full Moon movies aren't to your taste, you can at least check them out for only $5. That's less than a bag of beef jerky and a fizzy drink to wash it down with!

You may also want to collect the triple pack of "Deadly Dolls" movies (which I've only added to keep my pairs of pictures even!) despite double-dipping on "Demonic Toys 2", but don't do it unless you absolutely must have the bonus "When Puppets and Dolls Attack!" featurette. You need to slow down in your excitement! I'll tell you why later.

Moving on to the more important sets, the first three "Subspecies" and "Trancers" movies are exactly what they say on the box. They are barebones versions with no frills or extras, but you can't go wrong for $5 each from the bargain bin. With only one more "Subspecies" movie, and three more "Trancers" movies left, you can complete each series by buying them from Full Moon Direct, Amazon, eBay, or anywhere else, and still know that you've saved money.

Remember our old friends the "Midnight Horror" collections? If you haven't already got them, you'll need these for "Evil Bong", "Demonic Toys", "Meridian", and "Decadent Evil" (in Volume 1), or "Evil Bong II: King Bong", "Demonic Toys 2", and "Doll Graveyard" (in Volume 2). You can also get the latter three and "Decadent Evil" in Volume 3, but let's not confuse things any more than Echo Bridge Home Entertainment already have done.

Finally, these two "expensive" $10 multipacks containing "20 Horror Films" each will provide you with the "Dangerous Worry Dolls" movie from the triple pack—which I told you not to buy—as well as "Seed People", "Evil Bong 3: The Wrath of Bong", "Lurking Fear", "Head of the Family", "Dollman", "Vampire Journals" (a spinoff of "Subspecies"), "Netherworld", and "Doll Graveyard" again. Sadly, there will always be repetition with Echo Bridge Home Entertainment's horror movie collections, but on the bright side, only having one double-dipped movie can be considered negligible. For that reason, I've avoided listing "Castle Freak" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" which are also available in multipacks but not together.

As for the "When Puppets and Dolls Attack!" featurette, it'll be available on Full Moon's streaming site - http://fullmoonstreaming.com - which you can join for only $6.99 a month. Of course, most of the movies above will also there, so you may not want them on physical media either. At the end of the day, it's all down to how much of a collector you are.

Although there's a very slight possibility that more Full Moon movies may appear in Echo Bridge Home Entertainment DVD packs in the future, if you buy this lot, you will have 43 of them to start you off. 43 Full Moon movies! That'll keep you busy for a while!

Another Midnight Horror from Kmart!

I don't know when I'm going to watch this because I'm still swamped by dozens of Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multipacks which I haven't opened, but yeah, I bought another one. What makes it even worse is that I've now seen the $3.99 Hallowe'en display in Kmart with more new "Midnight Horror" collections which aren't listed on the official Echo Bridge Home Entertainment site, and I want those too!

As this wasn't one of my usual "Big Days Out", I wasn't prepared financially to cope with four overflowing dump bins and a whole aisle dedicated to bargain DVDs. I'd only gone out to take my empty Monster cans to the recycling bin at Target, but having found nothing interesting in the DVD section there, I used the refund money in Kmart instead. I only had $6.35 to spend anyway.

I would have preferred to give my money to Target (who I'll always support because they ban the Salvation Army chuggers at Christmas, which Kmart doesn't), but in the weeks coming up to Hallowe'en, Kmart is apparently the place to go for cheap horror DVDs. They've got multiple copies of every "Midnight Horror", "Masters of Horror", and "Horror Collector's Set" with $5 two-pack deals and most of the older "4 Films" packs from 2010 reduced to $2.99.

Because the artwork on this one is in the same style as the Midnight Horror multipack which Amazon calls "The Midnight Horror Collection V.11", I think this one originally came out in August or September last year too.

I actually saw this pack in Wal-mart earlier this year on a $4 rack, but didn't get it then because I'd read bad things about the transfer of "The Reflecting Skin". A lot of horror bloggers said that it looks like a VHS transfer, and I've got "The Reflecting Skin" on VHS, so it's only a convenience upgrade rather than a quality one.

As I'm poorer than a church mouse, I also didn't want to waste my money on any of the obviously crappier movies. Apart from "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "Office Killer", I'd never heard of the other titles. After going home, looking them up on the IMDb, and discovering that a couple of them are renamed, I decided to give them a chance just so that I'd have something else to write about. But by the time I returned to Wal-mart, the two copies there had either already been sold or been moved, so that was the end of that.

Anyway, I've got it now. My dithering cost me an extra dollar and a few months of non-buyer's regret, but it's hardly the end of the world. I've got a feeling that I'll be spending almost $100 on the rest of these packs at some point in the very near future.

My first auction wins on Listia!

Yeah, you knew it would happen. I joined Listia to get rid of stuff and ended up getting more. I can't help it, I have a DVD collecting mental illness or something.

Anyway, my first wins arrived this morning. As you can see, I have another Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multipack of crap to review at a later date (probably next week) and a PD Laurel and Hardy film without its original case.

Here we go again!

I've already seen "Memory" (2006) and "Darkness" (2002), but I haven't seen the other four yet. That's four horror movies which I've never heard of for absolutely nothing, so where the risk? One of them might even be good.

The pack is still sealed, so it's just like having a new one. If it hadn't been offered on Listia, I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to buy it at Kmart or anything though.

WTF is up with those fonts? Why is "THE" so different?

The second DVD obviously isn't horror. "The Flying Deuces" (1939) is now the first Laurel and Hardy movie which I've ever owned a physical copy of. I really want the "Ultimate Collection" which I've seen in Sam's Club, but it's never likely to happen because I'm poor. I don't care who knows it, I own practically nothing but DVDs, two ex-shelter cats, and four jars of toenail clippings. Woe is me!

As somebody with no sense of humour, Laurel and Hardy movies are the only things which I find funny. I have no explanation for why that is other than because they are just so perfectly timed. Maybe it's because Stan Laurel was English? I dunno.

I've already seen "The Flying Deuces" dozens of times, and it's not my favourite, but it'll have to do for now. It's actually a remake of their "Beau Hunks" short from 1931, and to be honest, I prefer the earlier version. I'm not going to review it anyway.

If you want some free stuff, click the banner below to join Listia. I will be putting some of my unwanted DVDs on there eventually, but there are thousands of DVDs on there already.

Midnight Horror: 8 Movies

I have no idea when Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released this multipack other than sometime in 2012. I got it from my local pawn shop a little under a month ago although, as it turned out, I already had a sealed copy which I bought from Wal-mart last year. Ah well, these things happen when you're dealing with movie collections which are designed to confuse the buyer into purchasing the same movies over and over again.

The powers that be must really have it in for me though because I had to scan the cover of this "Midnight Horror" multipack too (and it blurred in the bottom left corner). On the plus side, once again there are no other reviews online and no listing on the official website so I now have my second exclusive in forever. Yay, me! I'd do the Snoopy dance if I even knew what that was.


Night of the Living Dead (1968)

"A brother and sister visit the gravesite of their deceased father... but the trip turns into a terrifying nightmare when darkness falls and zombies attack."

Really, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, really? Do you think that there's anyone who hasn't got this famous Public Domain movie already? It's even come free inside packets of cereal in some places!

Whatever. I'm not reviewing it again.


Windcroft (2007)

"When his father dies, John inherits the family farm... and a dark and disturbing past."

Sounds like a bundle of laughs, doesn't it?

Actually, "Windcroft" is all very serious and rather dull in spite of having the best looking blonde that I've seen in any low-budget horror movie ever. She can even act a bit too. Her name? I have no idea without looking it up... but having done that, it's Vanessa Daniels. She hasn't done a lot of other stuff apart from being in a couple of episodes of "Law and Order", but based on her performance in "Windcroft", I wouldn't mind seeing her in another horror one day.

Having obviously skimmed the IMDb for the finer details, I noticed that a lot of the "reviewers" (I mean synopsis writers) were complaining about the acting. But what do they know anyway? The IMDb is full of 12-year-olds who can barely put one word after another let alone know what the terms they use mean. An "IMDb reviewer" complaining about "acting" usually means that he or she didn't like the characters. You'll rarely see one add an "-isation" to the word "character" either or mention "empathy". As far as the IMDb is concerned any actor/character over 30 is old and not somebody they can identify with anyway. But I digressed.

There's really nothing that wrong with the acting in "Windcroft". The script would have benefitted from having someone with better dialogue writing skills go through it and give it some polish, but the acting itself is fine. Given the subject matter (which I'm not going to spoil for you), a little bit of nudity wouldn't have harmed anything either.

The location is great (albeit far too clean for a working farm), and the camerawork is outstanding for this kind of movie. The only niggle I have with some of the shots is that the cameraman must be long-sighted. Short-sighted people make the best cameramen, just so you know, because they use the camera lens to compensate and get in closer. If you're aiming for an oppressive or claustrophic atmosphere, you can't have all that space and distance going on.

The two things which really let "Windcroft" down are the pacing and the really irritating "music" in it. I can almost allow the former because the slowness makes the movie slightly offbeat in a Lucky McKee or Angela Bettis way, but I can't forgive whoever thought it was a good idea to put that horrible cacophony in the background. All the way through, I wanted to turn down the backing track and enhance the vocals, but of course, there's no way to do that.

If someone were to re-release this movie with no "music" (I can't bring myself to remove the quotation marks because it's that bad!), some tighter editing, and whatever clever digital enhancement there is available to make it look more "filmy", "Windcroft" would be a real award winner rather than boasting ones from obscure festivals which nobody has ever heard of.

As it stands, "Windcroft" shows the potential of whoever made it, but it doesn't deliver the goods where it counts, i.e. to anyone watching it who expects either a horror movie or the "modern gothic" tale that I imagine it was meant to be.


Interview with a Serial Killer (1994)

"A well-known crime novelist has reason to believe that her new tenant is a serial killer who has brutally murdered more than a dozen women."

Also known as "White Angel", this is a low-budget/TV quality British crime drama which apparently failed to get a major distribution deal. In the UK, it can be found as a double-feature with "Urban Ghost Story" from the same company. Despite a little bit of brutality, blood, and a flash of boobs or two, it's hard to call this horror. For one thing, the kill scenes are more off camera than on.

There are real actors in this including Peter Firth and Don Henderson (in an extended cameo), but Harriet Robinson is clearly out of her depth in the lead role of Ellen Carter after only being in bit parts beforehand. I don't know if hairy-forearmed Harriet realised that she wasn't cut out for acting or if something more sinister happened, but she was never in anything else afterwards. From her accent, she's Canadian, not that it or her hirsuteness is important to the story in any way.

As a very dated character study with a twist, "Interview with a Serial Killer" isn't a bad role for Peter Firth, but the movie feels like it should be a TV episode of "Bulman" from the 1980s due to Don Henderson's occasional appearances. The late Ken Sharrock who was typecast as a policeman throughout his career makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance as a bank teller too.


Keepsake (2008)

"When a freak accident strands Janine on a deserted highway, a call for help soon becomes a fight for survival."

The first of the two DVDs in this collection ends with some below average torture porn in the form of "Keepsake".

In spite of a powerful start, good production values (apart from the cheaper practical effects and handheld camerawork which was trendy 5 years ago), and an actress with an unexpectedly attractive body which she doesn't mind showing, it's a real shame that a movie which promised so much goes into the realm of flashbacks and hallucinations instead of staying linear.

While it becomes obvious what the filmmakers were trying to do, the eventual twist doesn't work so well either and borders on contempt for the audience. On the plus side, at least this is a more contemporary horror movie even if it isn't a particularly memorable one.


Colour from the Dark (2008)

"A family accidentally frees something from the Earth's womb while drawing water from their well and now a sinister glow is seeping into their lives."

Debbie Rochon stars in this, but don't let that put you off. "Colour from the Dark" is the classiest thing that she's ever been in, and it's not her fault that the movie is boring. Debbie certainly doesn't mind getting naked for purely gratuitous reasons, and even though she's 40 years old here, she's still a very good looking woman.

The setting in World War 2 Italy is anachronistic but also looks the part, and the atmosphere starts off right. Unfortunately, it's the horribly slow pacing of the story (based on "The Colour Out of Space") which isn't conducive for excitement. A little bit of gore here and there tries to liven things up but without much success.

While I didn't completely hate this movie, I found it slightly confusing and very unfocused. Some very odd casting choices complicate matters unnecessarily by having quite a mix of nationalities with no explanation of how or why they are all in Italy.

Nobody has ever made a good adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story anyway, but filmmakers still keep churning out these overambitious low-budget attempts. I suppose it's better to be overambitious than to have no ambition though.


Final Remains (2005)

"Four college students, who think they are making a harmless midnight stop at the mortuary, are caught in the middle of a deadly and twisted encounter."

Originally named "Mortuary" to confuse people looking for Tobe Hooper's movie from the same year, "Final Remains" is absolute crap of the highest order. While obstensibly a satire of the "Halloween" movies, it's too ineptedly put together to be funny. Thus, even if you give it credit for recognising the slasher formulas, "Final Remains" is nothing but a z-grade copycat.

A couple of flashes of full frontal female nudity early on are just randomly placed teases and don't lead to more of the same, which is a shame considering that the lead actresses are very pretty indeed. Without them, this movie would be an even greater struggle to get through, but it's still quite an ordeal. The first half is such a mess that I was tempted to hit fast-forward myself.

At the end of the day, this isn't much of a step-up from the kind of hobby horror dreck that drunken friends make in their backyards after getting a camcorder for the first time. The camerawork is considerably better than any of those abominations, but the acting, unoriginality, and half-arsed kills are easily as bad.


My Sweet Killer (1999)

"An ex-mental patient becomes obsessed with the beautiful woman who committed suicide in his apartment."

The best way to describe "My Sweet Killer" is as a no-budget version of "Taxi Driver" but with less plot and a faux ghost story to pad the 77 minutes running time.

It's not horror but drama, and as a languid character study where you're supposed to empathise with the lead, Kirk Harris isn't interesting, charismatic, or a good enough actor to draw anyone in. There are lots of movies about mental illness like this including "Loving Walter", "May" and "Roman". The most famous is "The Machinist" (2004), but I don't think "My Sweet Killer" had any influence on it.

Since very little happens until the very end, eyecandy is provided by Stephanie Knight. Recognisable TV face Clifton Collins Jr. also makes a brief show-stealing appearance.


Dark Woods (2010)

"A couple moves to a secluded cabin to deal with the wife's terminal cancer... but an erratic young visitor forces the husband to make a deadly decision."

Finally, a movie which looks like a real movie... or at least a TV movie with decent production values and solid cinematography!

Acting-wise, "Dark Woods" is full of TV actors including Mary Kate Wiles, James Russo and Corey Mendell Parker so there's a certain level of quality throughout this which most movies in these "Midnight Horror" packs tend to lack. The leads, Tracy Coogan and John Muscarnero (who is also the writer/producer), are virtual unknowns however.

It's not all good news as the pacing is very slow and a lot of the interactions between the husband and the girl are clearly inspired by "The Crush" (1993) starring Alicia Silverstone. What makes it worse is that the name of Mary Kate Wiles' character is Alicia too!

Initially, I wouldn't call this horror as it's more of a tragic love story/psychological thriller with a lot of sexual temptation going on, but there's also a macabre twist which I'm not going to spoil for you. You can already guess that things do not end well.


It's nice to end this series of posts on a high note although I still wouldn't rate these movies together as more than average. Average is better than something which you want to take outside and set fire to though.

Unlike the other "Midnight Horror" collections, there's no subtitle or volume number this time. Another thing which used to bug me more than it should is how these packs don't form a real collection due to having so many changes in the style of artwork. In this case, I think it's meant to be an oval mirror in the middle, but it could be a wooden plaque. Who knows? I don't suppose it matters, and I no longer even care after turning my brain to mush with all these crappy movies in the last couple of weeks. I'll be glad to see the back of them.

Of course, if anyone wants to donate some money to my PayPal begging bowl (link on right), I'll happily trot off to Walmart or Kmart and rummage through their bargain bins for more. At the present time though, this is the final "Midnight Horror" pack that I own, and I won't be reviewing any more of them for a while. As awesome as I am, I can't sustain reviewing 8 crappy movies a day forever.

Next week, I'll write a couple of articles about the history of these multipack releases, but I'm not in any rush to buy the dozen or so packs which I haven't acquired.

Midnight Horror: Hatchets & Cleavers

Having looked all over the internet for a picture of this multipack before being forced to scan it myself, it looks like I might have an exclusive here for the first time in years. Despite being released last October, nobody else has reviewed "Hatchets & Cleavers" yet. There aren't even people complaining about it on Amazon!

Thus, it falls to me to break the bad news about this penultimate Echo Bridge Home Entertainment 8 movie pack. On the bright side, I only have one more of these collections to watch and write about before I'm done with them forever. Yay!


Loaded (1994)

"Seven young adults gather at a country home to shoot a horror movie. But they quickly learn that friendship, seduction and jealousy can be a very dangerous combination."

Originally called "Bloody Weekend", this is a BFI funded (and Miramax distributed) movie which stars Thandie Newton and a load of other Brits who no one has ever heard of. It's also as far from being a horror movie as possible so it makes no sense that it's part of a horror movie collection.

Basically, "Loaded" is a drama about emotionally immature art student types who alternate between poncing around while making a crappy handycam movie and talking about their relationships until, after an hour, they all get high on acid, have an accident, and go into low-rent "Shallow Grave" territory.

It's not a bad movie for what it is, and there are brief flashes of nudity, but it never really takes off. Good acting performances, and one character who sounds a lot like David Walliams, don't make up for the story being a whole lot of nothing which just fizzles out at the end. There are no scares either.


The Ridge (2005)

"A group of young adults head off to a vacation home in the mountains where they are joined by a legendary murderer known as The Ridge Runner."

Moving on from irritating British teenagers, "The Ridge" now presents a group of Americans with such a lack of communication skills that most people will turn these neurotic stuttery-gutses off in the first five minutes. If Vicky Pollard has an American equivalent, it's every character in this movie. Nothing they say makes any sense even within the internal logic of their own conversations.

Of course, what we have here is another batch of irksome cannon fodder all ready to be offed by an athletic serial killer in the most ungratifying offscreen ways that the low-budget will allow. Even for a generic slasher clone, this is an extraordinarily bad one.

Among all the lousy camerawork, improvised dialogue and non-acting, "The Ridge" is nothing but tropes, clichés and extremely alienating, pussified, teenage WASP behaviour. It also takes ages before it becomes anything other than a load of talk.


Animal Room (1995)

"When Arnold Mask is sentenced to isolation in a controversial program at his high school called 'The Animal Room', he is pushed to the brink by a gang of bullies."

"Animal Room" is another drama which doesn't belong in a horror collection. Just because it contains a brief discussion of "Night of the Living Dead" is too much of a stretch. By that token, it won't be long before "Juno" appears in a "Midnight Horror" multipack for mentioning "Suspiria" and "The Wizard of Gore".

Despite being almost as gritty as "Scum" (1979), "Animal Room" is very much a product of '90s America, a lot more punches are pulled, and it's hard to sympathise with any of the characters. Think "The Breakfast Club" with an R-rating and aspirations to be more "cult" than it really is. A home-invasion scene borrows so heavily from "A Clockwork Orange" that all claims to originality are lost at one fell swoop.

Once again, this isn't a bad film, but it probably only remains in print because it stars Matthew Lillard as a psychopathic bully and Neil Patrick Harris as his victim. There are some great performances (especially from Gabriel Olds as a half-way house looks-wise between Brandon Lee and James Franco), and a fair bit of violence and swearing. Unfortunately, it's all rather dated, uneven, and cringeworthy with it.

I enjoyed the novelty value of "Animal Room" being a movie that I'd never seen or heard of before, but it's not something I'd ever want to watch again. Although it's very brief and you don't see anything, the animal cruelty to a rabbit has no place in my entertainment.


Dirt Boy (2001)

"While reading the best-selling serial killer book 'Dirt Boy', Matty Matthews begins to make mysterious connections between the story and a small Cape Cod community."

I don't often do this, but I skipped most of this one on fast-forward because it's boring. Maybe I'll watch it one day after I've had my brain damaged by a stroke or something.

"Dirt Boy" is only a self-referential crime thriller with the gimmick of being a story within a story anyway, and it's not something that I could ever get into. Slow-moving, slightly comedic, murder-mystery movies starring uncharismatic leads simply aren't my cup of tea.


Hollywood Scarefest Premiere Edition (2010)

"A collection of award-winning shorts from the annual Hollywood Scarefest premiere."

Whenever I see this kind of short movie labelled as "award winning", it makes me wonder what exactly that award was for. In every case here, the award was presumably for being a crappy film school project.

The 6 shorts are:
"Vision" - a futuristic eye transplant with a criminal rehabilitation twist.
"Horla" - based loosely on the short story by Guy de Maupassant, an artist gets interfered with by some kind of succubus. (In black and white.)
"Recharge" - a dreary sci-fi about a quality inspector in a battery factory who kills people in gas masks for no apparent reason. (Also in black and white.)
"Cellular" - badly filmed images of people talking on cellphones which looks as if the camera was damaged when they made it. It turns into body horror as addiction causes the phones to embed themselves on the users' faces.
"Last Stop Station" - a tabloid photographer stops at a "gas station"... literally! Lots of dry ice and a couple of thieving Grim Reapers appear. (Black and white again.)
"The Suffering: Static" - a moderately attractive blonde falls asleep in front of the TV and sees herself getting murdered on it, but which side of the screen is reality?
"Fait D'hiver" - a Dutch horror with subtitles about a bald businessman stuck in traffic whose phonecall home reveals his wife to be having an affair. The twist reveals that he called the wrong number.

"Fait D'hiver" is a nicely reworked "Tales of the Unexpected" episode and is the best of a bad lot.


Green River (2008)

"Haunted by her sister's mysterious disappearance, Charisma and her friend Allison, return to Green River for answers."

The aerial shots of a car driving along a road during the opening credits look like an homage to "Burnt Offerings" or "The Shining", but that's as good as it gets. Everything goes downhill once the story begins.

Nothing happens for the first half of the movie other than a couple of uncomfortable-looking city girls get intimidated by the mere existence of hillbillies in a backwoods setting where much prettier girls have already disappeared. Red herrings, plot holes, and overuse of the "Chekhov's gun" trope abound, not that whoever made this movie understood how to use any of those devices properly anyway.

The camerawork is nice, and there's lots of scenery to look at, but all attempts at creating a tense atmosphere fall flat. From the constant expression of disgust on the stressy brunette Alison's face, blonde Charisma must have been farting next to her continuously out of spite. Sexier leads or some hot lesbian action might have made things more interesting. Hiking though woods and a failed bit of rock climbing provide a miniscule amount of characterisation but far more padding than is necessary.

Once the girls kidnap a suspicious game warden, the movie changes gear into the kind of "torture porn" that the Hallmark Channel would make if they did torture porn. I have to admit that Kristina Hughes' performance as an increasingly more horrible psycho-bitch is kind of entertaining, but her acting is still pretty bad.

I suppose there are worse ways of spending 90 minutes in front of the television, although I can't immediately say what they are without digressing far too much. The ending makes absolutely no sense at all.


Followed Home (2010)

"Four young adults witness a deadly attack during a weekend trip to the mountains. But the tragic experience continues as the killer follows them home."

As soon as the hot brunette during the prologue told whoever was on the other end of her phone, "the cabin down the street gets super loud" that was nearly the end for me. The correct word is "VERY' or "REALLY" not "SUPER" (ugh!) unless you are a Japanese marketing executive. Oh God, I hate this "super" nonsense that's crept into common usage via YouTubers from the West Coast in the last three years. Fortunately, the hot brunette then gets stabbed by a masked attacker so I was able to continue my appraisal of this low-budget crap with the satisfaction that someone else hated her grammar too.

But having suffered through another hour and a quarter of even poorer dialogue and lazier acting, I don't have anything good to say about this lacklustre slasher. The attack scenes are some of the worst that have ever been filmed, the jump scares aren't scary, and I really wish that I had switched "Followed Home" off when I initially wanted to. Five minutes showing one of the girls running round a park with terrible background music tested my patience beyond human endurance, and that's really saying something considering how drawn-out and tedious the rest of the movie is.

Apart from the first girl who makes a second appearance before allegedly dying in the hospital, there aren't even any pretty actresses (or actors, if you are that way inclined) to ogle in this. If I wanted to see girl-next-door types with highstreet tans, I could do that by going to McDonald's or sticking my head out of the window for free rather than buying a camcorder movie starring them.

There's an extra scene during the credits which will satisfy anyone who hates YouTubers (and an "outtake" at the very end), but frustratingly for anyone who cares, the identity and motivation of the killer is never revealed.


The Killing Mind (1991)

"A psychological profiler attempts to solve a case she witnessed as a child—the graphic murder of a woman dressed as a ballerina."

As much as I used to lust over Stephanie Zimbalist, this old PG-13 TV movie of hers isn't her finest hour. To be fair, nothing could ever compare with the level of fame she achieved during "Remington Steele" although I think she was at her most beautiful in "The Awakening" (1980).

While there's nothing fundamentally wrong with "The Killing Mind", and it's a chance to see Danielle Harris and Lee Tergesen in earlier roles, it's a cop movie not a horror. As far as TV movies go though, I found it dated but quite enjoyable.


One minor gripe about this collection is that the order of the titles printed from top to bottom on the two DVDs doesn't match up to their order from left to right on the menus. Since the movies are still on the same disc that they are meant to be, it doesn't make a lot of difference unless you are writing a review, but it's sloppy work.

From my most recent visit to Wal-mart, I can confirm that the $5 bargain bin has quite a few of these packs in it. Amazon, however, claims to only have one left in stock so be quick if you want a new one. You'd have to be very silly indeed to buy that with the best price for a second-hand one being only a penny (plus shipping), but some people are odd like that.

Not to be too negative about Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multipacks, but you do get what you pay for. If all you want is some below average horror entertainment, I wholeheartedly recommend "Hatchets & Cleavers" as the perfect example. The link is above if you need it. As usual, fans of good horror movies should look elsewhere.

The Midnight Horror Collection: Road Trip to Hell

I get worse. I bought this collection way back in March 2012 (although it actually came out in August 2010), and I only finished watching it today.

It's not that "Road Trip to Hell" is a particularly bad set of movies or anything, but I had other things to do and newer movies to watch. Time slips aways so quickly, doesn't it?

Despite spending most of the weekend watching the two Alfred Hitchcock biopics, "Hitchcock" and "The Girl" (which I'll review later), I need to finally finish off these Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multipacks this week. They've been hanging over me like a dark cloud for far too long.


Sheltered (2010)

"On the eve of a massive storm, Joey, an awkward but straight-laced bartender, offers a group of vacationers refuge at his house. As the storm wreaks havoc outside, the group slowly discovers why they've been invited to the house, just how disturbed their host is, and that they'll have to fight a crazed killer if they're to see the light of dawn."

Although "Sheltered" is a very formulaic and predictable, the acting is above average for a slasher, everything looks okay, and the story is good enough to sustain anyone's interest until the end. Well, it kept me amused anyway.

The only downside is that the "twist" is given away right from the start so there's no mystery apart from who is going to die and in what order. Like I said, it's a slasher.

The sex scenes would have benefitted from some nudity as well, but that's not really a problem. The girls in this are very beautiful indeed even with their clothes on.


The Craving (2008)

"On a road trip across the country, a group of college friends become stranded in the desert. Miles from anywhere and with limited supplies, they discover that when the sun goes down, a deadly killer comes out. Something that will not go into the night quietly... or without a meal. The group must battle the creature for their lives in a desolate, harsh land that few have survived."

"The Craving" is quite an enjoyable monster flick if you are prepared to overlook some awful dialogue and frequent lapses into slasher formulas. There's enough mystery and tension to keep it interesting although the poor decision-making skills of the characters makes you want to slap some sense into them.

I'd like to say that I enjoyed this movie most of all, but I'd be lying. The concept of the monster and the purpose for luring it to a shack in the middle of the desert is original, but it's only an "Evil Dead" clone otherwise.


Hell's Highway (2002)

"A road trip for four college friends turns into a twisted, bloody nightmare when they pick up Lucinda, a hot, young hitchhiker who lusts for the kill. After she terrorizes them, the group kills her. But around the next bend—and every bend—she appears like a mirage, ready to slaughter again..."

Easy to confuse with "Detour" (also known as "Hell's Highway" in the UK), I mistakenly thought that I had the other movie until I watched it. The plot and tone are completely different.

This is the much lower-budget one with Phoebe Dollar (from "Goth") and Ron Jeremy in it, so it's not as serious as it should be. I must admit that I spent more time looking at Phoebe's slightly wonky teeth than concentrating on the story or lack of production values anyway. Phoebe is still a very pretty girl though, and one scene is genuinely erotic.


Feeding Grounds (2006)

"En route to a weekend at a desert cabin, four young couples find themselves in a dangerous situation that will push them to their breaking points. After a glitch in plans forces them to pull over, they burn time by getting the party started amid the gorgeous desert scenery until a grisly discovery sets them running. But there's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide..."

"Feeding Grounds" starts off really well, then jumps the shark when it becomes yet another story about bickering teenagers being picked off by monsters in the desert. It could have been scary, but there's too much talk and not enough action.

Taking the low-budget into account, there's still no excuse for the huge plot holes and confusing ending.


"Road Trip to Hell" is one of the best "Midnight Horror" collections if you like low-budget movies. While not exactly brilliant, these aren't "hobby horror" movies like so many which give the genre a bad name.

The best way to look at a themed pack like this is to imagine it as a really long anthology without a wraparound story (and with some of the segments being weaker than others). There's certainly enough variety to keep you from feeling that you're watching the same thing over and over again.

As you can see from the Amazon link (to the left), the best price for "Road Trip to Hell" is only a penny. I can wholeheartedly recommend it for twice that price!

This is one of the few Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multi-features which I intend to keep.

Puppetmaster/Killjoy - 12 movies for $5!

I bought this multipack two weeks ago from Wal-mart for only $5, but I don't think that I posted anything about it except on Facebook and Twitter.

As you can see from the scan, I haven't even opened it yet so I can't tell you anything about the quality of the transfers or how the movies are arranged on the DVDs. I intended to have a marathon "Puppetmaster" day, but I fell asleep in a big furry heap with Willow (my cat not the kids' movie) instead. It's only the later movies that I haven't seen anyway.

Here are the synopses from the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment site where they are still selling this pack for $19.99:

PUPPET MASTER
A demonic crew of puppets unleash their murderous talents on psychics investigating their owner, Andre Toulon.

PUPPET MASTER 2
Toulon's army of assassin puppets exhume their beloved creator to gather the brain matter that keeps them alive, but the Puppet Master has a deadly plan of his own.

PUPPET MASTER 3: TOULON'S REVENGE
After Toulon escapes a kidnapping attempt that killed his wife, he exacts revenge with Six Shooter, Blade and Leech Woman, a new army of mini-murderers.

PUPPET MASTER 4
Blade, Tunneler, Pinhead and the newest head-swapping puppet, Decapitron, go toe-to-toe with their most menacing enemy yet—a team of terrifying gremlin-like creatures.

PUPPET MASTER 5
Caught between two foes, the half-pint heroes must preserve the magic formula which gives them life...while Puppet Master Rick's life hangs in the balance.

CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER
Toulon's puppets have a new master in backwoods scientist, Dr. Magrew, who has been desperately trying to duplicate the great Puppet Master's work.

RETRO PUPPET MASTER
Young Toulon is taught the secret of life by an Egyptian sorcerer, but then becomes the target of an evil god.

PUPPET MASTER: THE LEGACY
Toulon's reanimation formula is in jeopardy when a rogue agent threatens its protector.

PUPPET MASTER: AXIS OF EVIL
A young man named Danny saves Toulon's puppets after his death and must now bring them to life to defeat the axis of evil.

KILLJOY
When an outcast is bullied to death, a killer clown exacts revenge in his honor. His name is Killjoy and he thinks murder is a laughing matter.

KILLJOY 2
On a wilderness rehabilitation trip, a group of at-risk youth find themselves in the home of a voodoo woman where Killjoy's spirit is summoned.

KILLJOY 3
A group of unsuspecting college students accidentally open the portal to Killjoy's demon realm and get trapped in a strange funhouse world with the killer clown and his friends.

One thing to beware of if you go to Wal-mart is that they also have a pack of just the 9 "Puppetmaster" movies for the same price, and that's the one which is on the racks rather than in the $5 bin. It's still a good deal if you don't want the "Killjoy" movies, and the artwork is better anyway.

I found this pack in the bargain bin at the front of the store and saw that there was also one copy in the regular bargain bin next to the DVD section. I don't think that they are as rare as the Lionsgate multipacks which had everyone on a wild goose chase last year, but don't be surprised if your local Wal-mart doesn't have any left. From the sticker at the top right, it looks like they've had these since March.

If you can't find it or don't have a Wal-mart, you can also get this pack from Amazon for $4.99. The best price is coming up as $1.37 right now, but that's without the shipping.

The Midnight Horror Collection: Bloody Slashers

Moving on to yet another Echo Bridge Home Entertainment four movie pack, I find that I'm now in a world of "Bloody Slashers", i.e. the least interesting and most formulaic horror subgenre.

Originally released in October 2010, I actually bought my copy from the pawn shop almost a year ago to this day. It's scary how time flies, and it's even scarier that I've only just got round to watching all these movies.


Room 33 (2009)

"Hidden in the woods is an abandoned institution where many suffered horrible deaths. It is also where a group of road trippers are forced to settle for the night, and where someone is waiting for them—Roxy, a deranged, abused girl with a deadly secret. As the institution takes on a life of its own and mutilated bodies are discovered, the group races to learn Roxy's story and uncover a savage killer in their midst."

The girls are nice looking, the Roller Derby team makes an unusual set of victims, but everything becomes very generic once the cell phone tropes and discovery contrivances start appearing.

I really wanted to like "Room 33". Everything was in place for it to be very entertaining: good production values, decent camerawork, great acting, and a superb location to do it all in. Unfortunately, the story itself is a load of crap, and this below average, supernatural slasher certainly drags its feet telling it.


Hoboken Hollow (2006)

"Kidnapping. Slavery. Torture. Murder... For decades the Broderick family built their brutal dominion with the sweat and blood of their captives. Lured with promises of work and shelter, drifters, hobos and migrants found themselves captive at a modern-day slave ranch instead. Inspired by true, horrific crime stories from Texas and beyond, Hoboken Hollow spins a dark tale of violence, terror and slaughter on the farm."

Here's another one that I've already reviewed. 'Hoboken Hollow" is just a poor man's version of every "Ed Gein" inspired story out there, but full of usually good actors who should've known better.


Curtains (1983)

"The stage is finally set for 'Audra,' Jonathan Stryker's latest movie, to begin filming. As six candidates arrive at Stryker's mansion to audition, a deranged murderer stalks to kill them, one by one. Just who is behind the mask, and just how far will they go to make sure the role is theirs?"

Many people suffering from nostalgia on message boards rave about this film. A couple of the kills are gory, but "Curtains" is more of a throwback to '70s giallo than a typical '80s slasher flick.

"Curtains" takes a long time to get warmed up, and I found myself getting bored intermittently even though I watched it all the way through without needing to fast-forward it. The mystery of the killer's identity has a nice twist to it which I didn't see coming.

The transfer isn't that great so a lot of scenes are too dark to see what's going on properly.


Secrets of the Clown (2007)

"After the brutal murder of his best friend Jim, Bobbie is haunted by visions of his mutilated body, sinister clowns and graphic nightmares of a murder in progress. As Bobbie begins to question his own sanity and the strange clues behind his friend's death, he summons a psychic to contact Jim. And when secrets are revealed, Bobbie learns the hard way that some are never meant to be discovered..."

Despite opening well with the gory deaths of a Muscle Mary and his silicon-enhanced girlfriend, "Secrets of the Clown" lost me when it started to look like a camcorder movie.

The heroine wasn't attractive enough to draw me in, and I'm not scared of clowns anyway, so "Secrets of the Clown" was nothing but a waste of 1 hour and 40 minutes for me. The acting is the most horrible part of this movie.

Having endured rather than enjoyed "Secrets of the Clown", I know that I'll never watch it again either.


If you like slasher movies, this isn't a bad multipack, but I really don't like slashers very much and didn't get much out of it. I'm glad that I got "Bloody Slashers" cheap because I would have felt ripped-off if I'd paid $5 for it.

As ever, the Amazon link is to the left (which I have to tell you because I know everyone is using AdBlock and can't see it anyway). The best price for "Bloody Slashers" is less than a dollar which doesn't doesn't surprise me in the least. My copy will either be tossed into an upcoming yard sale or traded-in at the pawn shop. I've got a feeling that a lot of these packs end up being used as replacement cases for better movies or given to thrift shops though.

Having now watched two of the four movie "Midnight Horror Collection" packs, it's highly likely that I won't like the third one which I own a copy of either. I'll probably go through it next week then take a break before reviewing my final, still unopened "8 Movie Pack".

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.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 5

I don't have a copy of this "Horror Collector's Set", but I do have all the movies from it in other Echo Bridge Home Entertainment packs due to repetition.

After changing the artwork to a '50s diner/motorcycle theme in February 2010 for what the online retailers call "Vol. 6" (featuring "Prom Night", "Descendant", "The Nurse" and "The Dead One"), Echo Bridge Home Entertainment reverted back to their older design in June 2010 for presumably what should really be called "Vol. 7". I'd lost all interest in buying multipacks at this point, so I'm still missing a few titles which I know have been reused again in "The Midnight Horror Collection" 8 packs and 20 pack.

More shenanigans!

Just to complicate things further for the collector, a second version of this set was released with "Skeleton Man" instead of "Lost Souls". Whether it's a regional variation, a mistake made during the manufacture of the DVDs, or Echo Bridge Home Entertainment intentionally trying to get people to buy another set just for one different movie, I have no idea. I'd hazard a guess that it's a combination of all three with a tendency towards the latter based on my experience with the first of these packs.

I'd warn you against buying the "Vol. 8" variant because "Skeleton Man" is an absolute piece of crap, but owing to the nature of these packs anyway, that's kind of a moot point. Some people with more money than sense love collecting crappy movies, so it's as valid as any "Horror Collector's Set" especially if you haven't already bought others in the series.

I must admit that if I had a load of money to waste on these things, I'd buy all the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment horror packs just to go through them, line them up on my shelves, and marvel at how one movie was taken from somewhere else and another was randomly added to make so many sets. With pawn shop prices continuing to drop and DVDs becoming cheaper than candy bars, I might do that one day for the fun of it.

For now though. I'll quickly go through this final "4 Films Horror Collector's Set".


The Fear Chamber (2009)

"A detective is on the verge of capturing a serial killer, but nightmarish visions thwart his efforts."

I've already written about "The Fear Chamber". It has some gore, but it's not a very good movie.


Passed the Door of Darkness (2008)

"Two detectives try to track a serial killer but end up becoming the murderer's next target."

Another "Night Light Films" production which tries to be a low-budget clone of "Se7en" to start with, turns into a soap opera, and then throws in a twist which you've seen dozens of times before. "Human Behavior" (2005) in Mill Creek Entertainment's "Tomb of Terrors" multipack does this better.

Being full of clichéd lines, horrible characterisation, and overlong at 100 minutes, "Passed the Door of Darkness" is even worse than "The Fear Chamber".

There's some okay gore, and a couple of supernatural red herrings are thrown in, but it's not really a horror movie. Despite that minor detail, it's also in the "10 Movie Horror Pack" and "20 Film Horror Set Vol. 1".


Marked (2007)

"A group of Ghost Hunters discover a powerful force that puts one of their members in great danger."

This isn't very good. It looks cheap, the pacing is all over the place, and the plot is confused. It ranges from nothing going on to too much being forced in too quickly, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense anyway.

The acting isn't too bad, the girls in the movie are pretty, but nobody really stands out either. With no atmosphere, no genuinely creepy scenes, and nothing scary for anyone, "Marked" misses the mark completely.

At least it's a supernatural horror movie after the two "crime" films on the other side of the DVD, but it's still a low-budget nasty that's more of an endurance test than entertainment.


Lost Souls (1998)

"A move into a new house takes a chilling turn when a family realizes the spirits of two murdered children are communicating through eight-year-old Megan."

Not to be confused with the Winona Ryder film from 2000, this is a decent made-for-TV movie which originally aired on the UPN network for the "Thursday Night at the Movies" series in 1998. It's full title is "Nightworld: Lost Souls".

Although the use of a Thomas Edison "frequency harmonizer" machine in the movie had me thinking about "The Brink" (2006), the story is completely different. Apparently, it's very similar to Orson Scott Card's "Lost Boys" novel. Having never read it, I'd say that this is more of a precursor to "The Orphanage" (2007). I can also see a few similarities to Stephen King's "The Green Mile" and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird".

Essentially, "Lost Souls" is a formulaic ghost story/murder mystery with several red herrings and a "Scooby Doo" villain, but it's very well done. John Savage does a good job while his onscreen wife is played by MILFy German actress Barbara Sukowa. Even the kids aren't annoying in this one.

For some bizarre reason known only to Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, there is no single-feature DVD of "Lost Souls". You can only get it as part of this 4 pack, as a double-feature with "Marked" (which does have its own DVD!), or as the bonus movie with the boring Miramax Anna Paquin movie "Darkness" (2002).


Sadly, this is a very weak ending to the "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" range with only one good TV movie and three really bad, low-budget "indie" ones.

Basically, this is a collection of Night Light Films with "Lost Souls" added to it instead of their "Battle Planet" (2008). "Battle Planet" has a single DVD release, comes as a double-feature with "Riddler's Moon" (1998), and is part of a "4 Films Sci-Fi Collector's Set", just in case anyone is a big fan of Night Light Films and wants all four of their movies.

I can't, in good conscience, recommend this collection to anyone because of the two extremely boring serial killer thrillers. Instead, the "Lost Souls/Marked" double-feature offers much better value at $2.99 in K-mart's bargain bin or wherever else you may find it.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 4

This is the last of the "4 Films Horror Collector's Sets" which I own a copy of. Only one more set followed although Echo Bridge Home Entertainment changed one movie on it (just as they've done before) to make two versions. I'll post something about it next time even though I didn't buy it.

I was haunted by this movie collection in nearly every store that I went in from T.J. Maxx through to K-mart until I finally gave-in just to get "The Howling IV". It isn't that "The Howling IV" is a great movie or anything, but it was one of the titles that I'd left in Big Lots back when they had lots of horror movies for $3 each, and I stupidly still wanted it.

Suffice it to say that I really didn't have a lot of interest in anything else here or in any more Echo Bridge Home Entertainment multipacks which followed. I've bought several of their Miramax and Full Moon collections since but only two more of "The Midnight Horror Collection" packs (one of which I still haven't even opened).

Thus, because I don't particularly like these movies, I'm now going to rush through these capsule reviews just to get them out of the way.


Raging Sharks (2003)

"When the crew of an underwater lab discovers an unearthly sunken object that's mysteriously attracting hundreds of sharks, they become a security risk... and a target."

I've been told that this is a really bad movie, but I'll never know because I switched it off soon after the Nu Image and Tosca Films logos were replaced by a giant spaceship crashing into another one above a red planet. Ugh! Then I did my usual trick of fast-forwarding to see if there was any nudity or anything else interesting. Apart from lots of stock footage of sharks, I didn't see anything worth stopping for.

"Raging Sharks" is a Sci-Fi channel movie from the days when they still at least attempted to put vaguely science-fiction movies on instead of wrestling or "Ghost Hunters". Unfortunately, it was years before this point that all their movies sucked anyway.

It's got Corbin Bernsen in it and nobody else that I've ever heard of. They all look very worried, wave their hands about, and fire guns at something, then the credits roll featuring lots of Bulgarian names.

My life isn't long enough to watch crap like this.


Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep (2006)

"Thirty years ago, Ray Reiter witnessed the brutal death of his parents at sea by a strange, octopus-like creature. Now determined to avenge the murders, he joins a perilous high-seas expedition that brings him face to face with the killer Kraken—guardian of the coveted Greek Opal—and a ruthless crime lord who wants the treasure for himself."

Another horrible Sci-Fi channel movie made by Nu Image which shouldn't be in a horror pack. This is an adventure movie for little kids who like CGI monsters.

Too much talk, not enough action, but the pretty (mostly Canadian) actors and actresses do a fairly decent job in spite of the script.

Again, I watched this mostly on fast-forward, but I saw cleavage a few times and had to find out who owned it.


Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988)

"At the direction of her doctor, Marie and her husband plan a restful getaway to the picturesque town of Drago. Marie knows that something sinister is going down in the town, but what she doesn't know is that it has razor sharp claws, an insatiable lust for blood, and it kills by the cold light of a full moon..."

A lot of people hate this movie for being little more than a low-budget remake of "The Howling" (1981), but it's actually closer to Gary Brandner's novel than the original. It doesn't have Dee Wallace in it either which is another point in its favour as far as my viewing pleasure is concerned.

"Howling IV" is slow to the point of frustration, the audio sounds redubbed like a foreign movie, the werewolf transformation scenes near the end obviously aren't as good as Rick Baker's, and, basically, it's all because the financial backers pulled out a couple of days into shooting. You therefore have to commend everyone involved for still making a watchable movie even though it isn't a particularly good one. Or not, as the case may be.

I appreciate this film because it's serious in tone rather than continuing the silliness of "The Howling III: The Marsupials" (1987) which I loathe with a passion. It's easily the best of the "Howling" sequels, but I don't overrate it and would never recommend it as a full price purchase.


Night Shadow (1989)

"Alex, an up-and-coming TV journalist, returns to her hometown of Danford as local poilice attempt to cope with a series of brutal murders. The small town plunges into a state of panic and the murders—clearly the work of a monster, more beast than man—continue... until Alex comes face to face withe evil itself."

I reviewed "Night Shadow" back when it was shown on Zone Horror in the UK. I barely made it through once so I'm certainly not going to torture myself with it again.

I really didn't like it, but the director (or someone claiming to be the director) said that I made some fair points. Unfortunately, I deleted that comment along with everyone else's when I added the Disqus widget. Never mind.


Amazon no longer sells this pack although Wal-mart and many other online retailers still do. I think they refer to it as "Horror Collector's Set Vol. 6" even though it's really number 8 or 9 in the series.

I don't understand why anybody would want these 4 movies in the first place, but the easiest (and cheapest) way to get them is by buying "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Pack Vol. 4" (left) instead.

I haven't bought this volume so I can't tell you a thing about the 4 vampire movies which it also contains. The first "Subspecies" might be good through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, but I watched all the "Subspecies" movies so long ago that I can barely remember anything about them now.

Tomorrow (or the day after), I'll post a quick recap of the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment packs so far followed by a comparison of the new packs to the old ones to make things easier for collectors.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 3

This pack and the following one were both released at the same time in March 2010 so it's pretty much impossible to give them a chronological "volume number". Amazon calls this "Vol. 5", but it's the third of these packs that I saw and bought. I didn't really want yet another copy of "Night of the Living Dead" (which I now have 14 times!), but I got it cheap in a "4 for $10" pawn shop deal.

Even though "Night of the Living Dead" is a space-filling reissue from their first series of classic horror multi-feature DVDs, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment put together quite a varied set here. The three "new" films are ones which most people wouldn't have gone out of their way to buy previously.

There are several known stars in these movies, but as usual, their performances (and the movies themselves) vary in quality. Let's face it, if these were top-notch horror movies, they wouldn't be in a $5 multipack.


Night of the Living Dead (1968)

"When a brother and sister visit the gravesite of their deceased father, the dreaded trip turns into a terrifying nightmare when night falls and a flesh-eating zombie attacks. Starring Russell Streiner and Judith O'Dea."

If you don't know this classic George A. Romero movie by now, you can consider your "horror licence" revoked. I'm not going to review it again.

There's an apology about the print quality before "Night of the Living Dead" begins which is nice. You might think it's unnecessary since they've used the same Public Domain master as every other DVD version, but this transfer is particularly bad.

If you've honestly never seen "Night of the Living Dead" before, this is the cheapest way of getting it on DVD other than downloading it and burning it to DVD yourself. Ideally, most fans would rather pick up for the true "remastered" Elite Entertainment version instead.


Hindsight (2008)

"When an unexpectedly pregnant—and broke—couple lists their unborn baby for adoption on the internet to score an upfront payment, they're lured into a twisted, sadistic game of desperation and deception. Starring Jeffrey Donovan, Leonor Varela, Waylon Payne, and Miranda Bailey."

"Hindsight" is a solid but very slow thriller with some violence and a creepy twist that almost makes it a horror movie.

The production values are good, the acting is decent, and Leonor Varela is beautiful. Does that save it from being a bit boring though? Not really.

Give or take some of the more adult scenes, this is almost Hallmark Channel stuff. With its cast made up of actors who have all been quite successful in TV dramas fairly recently, "Hindsight" is a contemporary non-horror genre movie which would be better in a "4 Films Thriller Collector's Set" if such a thing even exists.

A very recognisable face in this movie is Richard Riehle who plays Peter (as in "Saint Peter" if you haven't guessed the twist from the title itself).


Cruel World (2005)

"A vengeful reality show reject traps nine co-eds in his own sick version of reality TV—where the challenges are bizarre, the danger is real and death is just a competition away. Starring Edward Furlong, Jaime Pressly, and Andrew Keegan."

Having never heard of it before, I wasn't expecting a lot from "Cruel World", but it's only supposed to be a fun "Ten Little Indians"-style slasher film with a decent budget anyway.

Just because it has some humour, "Cruel World" isn't really a horror-comedy in spite of how some sites categorise it. If you hate reality TV shows, the satire is kind of cool in places, but you'll still hate reality TV shows just as much afterwards. The drawback is that everything looks, feels and sounds like a slick teen movie rather than a reality TV show so there's no catharsis possible.

Sadly, Jaime Pressly is only in it for the first 15 minutes, but it's enough to get your fix if you fancy her. There are several other pretty girls with very little characterisation (or clothing) to make up for her absence otherwise.

Much maligned Edward Furlong really seems to enjoy his role as a slob, but how much of that is acting or a result of how things were for him at the time is hard to tell. Whatever the case, he definitely stands out more than anyone else and gleefully chews the scenery.

The kills in "Cruel World" range from mildly amusing to effective although, ultimately, this movie is a huge waste of acting talent. The epilogue/end is nothing but hastily cobbled together nonsense.


Razor Eaters (2003)

"A lethal mix of Fight Club, Jackass and Natural Born Killers, RAZOR EATERS follows an anarchistic gang on their week-long rampage of violence, death, and destruction. Based on shocking true events."

Based very loosely on the exploits of the Hedge-Burners gang who plagued Melbourne, this violent Australian movie provides a powerful and very serious finale.

The trouble is that it looks cheap and nasty like a film school student's project. It probably is one too, but I don't really know any of the details about how it came to be made. All I can say is that if you're expecting this to be another "Romper Stomper", "Chopper" or "Snow Town", you'll be very disappointed.

The switching between handheld cameras and badly lit, grainy film makes a mockery of the decent $1,500,000 budget (which the IMDb claims it had). Windowboxing it to save space on the DVD doesn't help either.

Crime films aren't really my thing no matter how much bloodshed there is in them, so "Razor Eaters" is the least watchable of the movies in this pack for me. I didn't get very far into it before switching it off through boredom. Your mileage, however, may vary.


As entertaining as it might be overall, once again, we have another weak link in these multi-feature sets. While offering very good value, the three newer movies can only be rated as 3.5 out of 10 on a good day, and less than that on a bad one.

Even with the inclusion of "Night of the Living Dead", I wouldn't recommend buying this "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" unless you are a completist. Now that these movies make up half of "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movie Pack Vol. 6" (with the others being the final "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" from June 2010), the 8 pack is the better way to go.

It has to be said that "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movie Pack Vol. 6" (the final obviously numbered one) is pretty weak too though. You may want to save your money for a newer one with a good combination of Full Moon and Miramax horror titles in it instead.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 2

The second "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" which I bought is labelled as "Vol. 3" and came out in March 2010 according to Amazon. This causes some confusion as the previous volume (or rather two volumes with one movie changed!) was released in September 2009 (or November 2009 for the changed one) after the official first two volumes of June 2009. Obviously, Amazon have made a slight mistake with their listing, but it's an easy thing to do.

It certainly doesn't help that there were several double-feature and single-feature DVDs of the same movies floating around at the same time, or that I've now chosen to put these packs in my own order, but I didn't see any of the others in the flesh until a year afterwards. Without knowing which retailers ordered what, it's hard to say when these packs really hit the stores.

If you want to mess up your mind, go to the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment site and marvel at all the possible combinations. Just imagine how the average horror nerd would feel when confronted by so many packs in a bargain bin no matter how good his visual memory might be. I'm sure that I've seen some which aren't even listed on the site anymore.

But that's enough preamble. You get the point. These "4 Films" packs appeared absolutely everywhere at different times, and they are still out there.

Let's have a look at what's in this "4 Films Horror Collector's Set".


Wages of Sin (2006)

"When a beautiful college graduate inherits an abandoned house in the countryside, she and her friends go there for a weekend getaway, only to discover that the evil presence of a twisted preacher still lingers there—and it doesn't want them to leave."

Ah, the movie which was replaced by "Salvage" (2006) in the previous set begins this one just to cause a double-dip for some people and falsify the popularity of the title. Please note that such tactics do not work. Most people have still never heard of this movie or anyone in it.

Give "Wages of Sin" time to get past the opening credits, and you'll want to switch it off every second for the next hour and a half even though there's a pretty girl (Ashlie Victoria Clark) in it. It's yet another piece of low-budget, handycam crap rather than a real movie. There are no big stars or known names, and it just drags on and on for what feels like days.

Apart from a confusing story with hardly any horror, you do get to see some of Washington State and what things look like there. Basically, it's full of the same wooden houses and big, chunky cars as the rest of America.

If there's a lesson to be learned from this formulaic "cabin in the woods" movie, it's that looks are no substitute for talent. Nobody from "Wages of Sin" has become a big showbiz success or done anything else unless they've got channels on YouTube which nobody has ever heard of either.


Skeleton Man (2004)

"When an elite crew of soldiers investigating the brutal and mysterious death of four Army Special Forces officers meet an old blind Indian who claims to know what happened to the dead men, they become terrorized by The Skeleton Man."

No matter how much you like Michael Rooker (now in "The Walking Dead") or Casper Van Dien (whose "Starship Troopers" role is his biggest claim to fame), you'll find something to hate in this movie. Apparently, "Skeleton Man" was made for the Sci-Fi channel, but it's extremely bad even for a TV movie. It's not even horror.

Whether it's the low-rent ripoff of "Predator" (1987) or the seemingly indestructable Skeletor-style character who can get the better of heavily-armed soldiers with nothing more than a horse and some spears, this is just awful in every way. Whatever the purpose of any of it was supposed to be, it's really nothing more than a bunch of soldiers shooting guns in the woods.

There's no real acting since everybody is angry all the time, the "undercover" military team is half-filled with equally snarky, female models, and the plot is all over the place.

The only good thing about "Skeleton Man", apart from a couple of the stunts and explosions, is that it eventually ends.


Roman (2006)

"When an encounter with the beauty next door (Kristen Bell) goes horribly wrong, a moment of desperation triggers a chilling turn of events for a reclusive social misfit. Starring Kristen Bell, Nectar Rose and Lucky McKee."

"Roman" is more of an off-beat psychological drama than a horror movie although there's still enough horror involved in it to count. In a reversal of roles after "May" (2002), Angela Bettis directed Lucky McKee. Both deliver exactly what you would expect.

With surprisingly good acting all round and enough quirkiness for it to appeal to horror hipsters looking for something classier than usual, you won't even notice the low-budget. Everything about this movie is designed to be minimalist and cool. I think it's a lot more polished than "May". It's also more believable.

Most people will agree that "Roman" is the only reason to buy this pack and is easily worth $5 (or more) on its own. If all "indie" movies were this good, I wouldn't hate so many of them.


Live Animals (2008)

"Explosive, grisly and gutsy filmmaking, Live Animals is a twisted descent into Hell on Earth. After a group of young adults are kidnapped and tortured, their attempt to escape leads to even more gruesome and deadly consequences."

Although clearly inspired by "Hostel" (2005) and all the other "torture porn" clones which followed, "Live Animals" is actually better than many of them. With lots of gore and the kind of tension which makes you feel as frustrated as the captives, it's quite harrowing in a couple of places.

Other than the lack of originality, the biggest problem is that the characters are so stereotypical that you can't really care about any of them particularly. Most of the gore happening off-camera with only the aftermath shown doesn't help much either. It's still a pretty gory movie though and definitely as mean-spirited as they come.

If "Shuttle" (also from 2008) hadn't gone into the same territory purely by coincidence (and hadn't been promoted better), I would have liked "Live Animals" a lot more. For all of its faults, it's the second best movie in the pack.


Despite still being available from gas stations and pharmacies to convenience, grocery and department stores, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment have now combined this pack with the previous "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" to form "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movies Pack Vol. 5".

With only one good movie, one average movie, and two really terrible movies in each 4 pack, the "Vol. 5" version doesn't have as much entertainment value as the first two in the series. For $5, it's much the same as buying one 4 pack and getting another one free so it's still a good deal overall, but given the way these movies are mixed and matched anyway, it's slightly disappointing that the strongest movies weren't made into another 4 pack on their own.

As a "4 Films Horror Collector's Set", I only recommend this one if you want "Roman" and you can find it cheaper than the original recommended retail price.

4 Films Horror Collector's Set: 1

There are two almost identical versions of this pack from 2009. The one I have has "Salvage" instead of "Wages of Sin" (2006) which is in place of "Bloody Mary" on the cover of the other. "Wages on Sin", however, is also on the second (chronologically the fourth or fifth) of my "4 Films" collections. Thus, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment were up to confusing mischief right at the beginning.

Shenanigans!

Prior to June 2009, the 20 "Horror Classics" multipacks were made up of Public Domain movies much like the ones from Mill Creek Entertainment so everybody thought the duplicates were merely schoolboy errors from a new company rather than intentional. How wrong we were!

While the "official" Volume 1 contains "Prom Night" (1980), "Nadja" (1994), "Skeleton Man" (2004) and "The Nurse" (1997), Volume 2 has "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1973), "The Terror" (1963), "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) and "The Devil Bat" (1940).

The throwback/reissue of four titles from their Public Domain catalogue makes a bit of a mess in the midst of the more modern horror movie packs especially as everyone is likely to have them several times over from other sources. Thinking that the series was only going to be a repackage/reissue of "Horror Classics", many collectors decided to ignore these multipacks in favour of the ones from Mill Creek Entertainment from then on. Being a late arrival to the party and already a collector of Mill Creek packs, I missed out on this kerfuffle completely.

If you think that I should have started with the chronological first volume rather than the first one I bought, you can rest assured that we haven't heard the last of "Prom Night", "Nadja", "Skeleton Man" and "The Nurse" by any stretch of the imagination.


Mortuary (2005)

"A family movies to a small town to run a long-abandoned funeral home, only to discover that something evil lurks there—something that raises the dead and feeds upon death itelf. Starring Dan Byrd and Denise Crosby. Directed by Tobe Hooper."

Most people (especially on message boards) seem to really hate this Lovecraft-style "B movie", but it's not that bad until the CGI vines and zombies start appearing. "Mortuary" has a good atmosphere for the first 30 minutes or so and a fair bit of creepiness going on. Too much comedy ultimately ruins everything, the pace drags in the middle, and it's a bit of mess towards the end, although it's still about the same as something moderately gory which you'd normally see on the SyFy channel.

Dan Byrd is a couple of years too old to play a teenager and Denise Crosby from "Star Trek" looks very worn, but neither is as bad as 34-year-old Alexandra Adi playing half her age (even though she doesn't look it unless you scrutinize her). If there's any justice in the world, I'm sure she looks her age nowadays. The worst offender, however, is diminutive 12-year-old Stephanie Patton playing either an 8-year-old or a mentally challenged tweenager. In fairness, it's hard to decide what she is other than extremely annoying.


Memory (2006)

"When Dr. Taylor Briggs is exposed to a mysterious drug while lecturing in Brazil, he is forced to relive the dark, twisted memories of a killer whose work may not be over. Starring Billy Zane, Tricia Helfer, Ann-Marget and Dennis Hopper."

For a slow-moving, Billy Zane-centric thriller, this isn't bad either. The made-for-TV aesthetic is a little bit off-putting at first, but when the horror elements start kicking-in, it's all very entertaining. The twist/reveal is a tad "Scooby Doo" and doesn't come as a big surprise if you watch a lot of movies like this.

Don't expect any gory unpleasantness from "Memory" as it's primarily one of those predictable "hero shares a psychic link with a kidnapper/murderer" deals with the usual discovery contrivances, some product placement, and a couple of nice tweaks to the formulas. Even from a heterosexual male point of view, Billy Zane is a very attractive man, and this is an excellent vehicle for him to show his talents as an actor.

The only bad point is a confusing scene 1 hour and 15 minutes in which feels forced rather than being part of any logical progression or set off by any trigger. Since the dénouement follows it, it's a glaringly rushed join.


Bloody Mary (2006)

"When a group of psychiatric hospital nurses invoke the spirit of Bloody Mary—a supposed urban myth—the slaughter begins. The legend is real, her vengeance is fatal, and to free her, all you have to do is say her name."

After two reasonably good movies, by necessity there has to be a bad one. Lots of pretty girls can't redress the balance in this "Candyman" clone, but they do at least try to by showing some skin. The opening scene has the best looking actress, and it's amusing watching her walk toe-to-heel without any shoes on. A nurse who is used to wearing high heels gives away the casting decisions.

If you're not a fan of "Candyman" or the "Urban Legend" trilogy, "Bloody Mary" is a lower-budget alternative which fits into the latter's "trendy teen horror" subgenre with no problem. As a supernatural slasher, it's not very memorable though.


Salvage (2006)

"Claire Parker is going to die. At the hands of a sadistic and depraved killer, she will endure a terrifying, unimaginably brutal death—and it will all happen again. Starring Lauren Currie Lewis and Chris Ferry."

Having once owned the single DVD version of "Salvage" which I sold at a yard sale years ago because it was so amateur and boring, I don't really need to say much more about it. It's yet another confusing, low-budget horror version of "Groundhog Day" which also owes an enormous debt to all the old Amicus anthologies or anything else with a downbeat twist at the end. It's "windowboxed" too to save space.

Don't do what I did and confuse "Salvage" (also known as "Gruesome") with the 2009 movie of the same name which was filmed on the set of "Brookside" because it isn't the same thing at all.


Despite being bare-bones releases, these movies don't need any extras anyway so having two on each side of a single DVD without commentaries and featurettes isn't anything to complain about. The menu system is adequate and the transfers are decent enough.

The only problem for collectors is that these movies have been repeated another 6 times throughout the "4 Films" and "Midnight Horror" DVD packs without even counting the latest Blu-ray versions.

Nowadays, "The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movies Pack Vol. 5" has replaced this set (plus the following one), offers marginally better value for $5, and takes up one less shelf space.

Obviously, the "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" is still worth buying for $2.99 from Kmart (or less on Amazon and eBay) if you either don't want or already have the other titles.