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.

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 Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movie Pack (Vol. 2)

This pack from two years ago is the first and last of the real "volumes" before Echo Bridge Home Entertainment started reissuing their previous "Horror Collector's Sets" with different cover art. You'll see what I mean as I continue these posts about multipacks.

You have to be very careful with these "Midnight Horror" collections if you are on a restricted budget especially as "Vol. 3" is made up of the Full Moon second disk from the first Midnight Horror collection plus "Zombie Dearest" from this one. Most collectors who are after "completeness" will find themselves with multiple copies of the same movies just to get one or two extra ones which aren't worth watching.

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment horror movie collections are always worth the money individually, but the sheer number of them which they've created by remixing their limited catalogue is very annoying. I would rather pay $60 or so and have everything that they have to release in one bigger pack rather than "Demonic Toys 2" and "Prom Night" half a dozen times. Obviously, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment won't make as much money if they do that so it's never likely to happen.


Watch Me (2006)

"One by one Tess Hooper's friends are brutally murdered. Linking them together is a file that spreads through electronic address books to seek its victims."

If you're anything like me, you'll switch this movie off after the first few seconds because it's clearly a "micro budget" Australian clone of "The Grudge", "The Ring" and several other Asian horror movies mixed together.

Having now seen it all, I can only say that it should be renamed as "Don't Watch Me".


Deadfall Trail (2009)

"Three campers head into the wilderness for a bare-bones expedition, but when the situation becomes desperate, the building tension reaches a breaking point."

Unless you are really into testosterone, survivalism, and men going mad in the wilderness for no good reason, there's not much to get excited about with this low-budget drama either.

Unfortunately, it's so talky that you can't even fast forward through it to say that you've seen the good bits. If you stay with it, there's a nude woman covered in blood at one point, but apart from some nasty bug eating, this movie barely counts as horror.


The Fear Chamber (2009)

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

Although it's very slow-moving and predictable, there's some lovely gore in "The Fear Chamber" which is worth fast forwarding to and replaying.

The supernatural revenge plot is a nice twist on "The Hands of Orlac" formula, but ultimately, too much time is spend on the cop wrestling with his inner demons. It might have worked if the lead had been able to act his way out of a paper bag.


Haunted from Within (2004)

"A modern retelling of the legend of La Llorana unfolds in an Arizona town."

This is an absolutely horrible movie in every way and on every level, but at least it has beautiful Rina Fernandez in it.

Sometimes an actress is so beautiful that you think you could just gaze at her all day doing nothing and enjoy it. "Haunted from Within" will, however, prove any such theory wrong.

There are much better low-budget "La Llorona" (pronounced "Yorona") movies available and quite a few worse ones. This was originally called "Spirit Hunter: La Llorona" just to confuse collectors of La Llorona movies such as myself.


Evil Bong II: King Bong (2009)

"On the search for a cure for their strange weed-smoking side effects, a group of stoners head to South America."

The same characters as the first "Evil Bong" movie and pretty much the same jokes too. Despite a change of location, what looks like a bigger budget, and even more topless models, it's not good.


Demonic Toys 2 (2010)

"When an oddball group of characters gather to inspect an ancient puppet, strange things begin to happen."

A couple of pretty actresses don't quite make up for the pacing problems, boring story, and poorly differentiated killer toys in this weirdly numbered third sequel. None of the "Demonic Toys" movies are as good as the "Puppet Master" ones, and that's really saying something since they are all terrible even as comedies.

I tried to like it, but "Demonic Toys 2" is somewhat unengaging, too slick looking and sounding, and tries vainly to be a throwback to the '90s instead of catering for a modern audience. Something went very wrong in the mix this time, but everyone is allowed a turkey or two. Putting all the turkeys together on one DVD is asking for trouble though.


Doll Graveyard (2005)

"A teenage loner discovers a set of handmade dolls buried in his backyard. When the clan comes to life, they protect him from harm... fighting a bloody battle in his name."

Easily the best movie in this pack. "Doll Graveyard" might be yet another '80s-style "Puppet Master" and "Demonic Toys" clone, but the wish fulfilment and revenge angle is well played and uses the stereotypical characters perfectly. The casting of the actors is also very good. In particular, the brother and sister look as if they could be siblings in real life.

I enjoyed this one. It's a real shame that it's "windowboxed" on large screen TVs and is shorter than a regular feature by a good 20 minutes.


Zombie Dearest (2009)

"While digging up the septic tank, Gus unearths an obedient, hard-working zombie... a zombie that will do whatever he wants."

When I read the plot synopsis, I thought that this would be another "Fido", but it's not even in the same league. More mediocre than anything else, "Zombie Dearest" only held my interest because of the facial similarity between sexy Shauna Black and Carol Decker from T'Pau (remember them?). I won't use the emoticon which looks like this: o_O because that would be cruel.

If "Zombie Dearest" is supposed to be a horror-comedy then, once again, I missed all the horror and the jokes.


Thus, volume two of "The Midnight Horror Collection" contains one DVD full of lacklustre, low-budget dreck coupled with another which is mostly made up of equally dire Full Moon titles. I'd give it a 50/50 chance of ending up in my yard sale, but that may change again nearer the time.

I have one reader of this blog who I know would love to live in America and have access to all these multi-feature DVDs, but since the dozens of multipacks usually contain the same movies over and over again, I can assure him that he really isn't missing out on much.

"The Midnight Horror Collection 8 Movie Pack" series has now reached "Vol. 13". I only have one more of the 8 packs myself, and it doesn't even have a volume number on it. Instead, I collected the original "Horror Collector's" sets as they came out or ended up in my local pawn shop. While I may still be missing two or three movies, I don't have any desire to buy more.

In my coming posts, I'll go through each "4 Film Horror Collector's Set" and let you know in which "Midnight Horror" packs the movies have been repeated.

The Midnight Horror Collection: 8 Movie Pack (Vol. 1)

Although a lot of these movies have been published before in other Echo Bridge Home Entertainment packs, I believe that this was the first of their "Midnight Horror" collections. I bought it for the full $5 price from Wal-mart just to have a DVD copy of "Meridian" (known in the UK as "Phantoms"). Getting "Below" and several lesser known Full Moon movies was simply a bonus.

The thing is that even though I've had the pack for almost two years, I hadn't watched any of the newer Full Moon movies or other low-budget nasties until today.

Overall, I had a good time watching it. While not every movie in the pack is good, it's definitely worth the money.


Prom Night (1980)

"Four seniors, who all share the same terrible secret, are stalked by a vengeful axe-wielding killer on Prom Night."

You all know this one so I'm not going to re-review it.

The ratio is the old fullscreen 4:3 format, and it's a bit dark, but "Prom Night" isn't a bad movie. I've never really raved about it though and used to think it was boring. It's all about the nostalgia for some people.


Below (2002)

"A submarine picks up three survivors of a U-boat attack but these visitors seem to spark a series of chilling, otherworldly occurrences."

I've reviewed "Below" already too, and it's an okay movie. I liked it more when I first saw it on TV and didn't notice some of its more glaringly lower-budget qualities until I watched it again.

At the end of the day, it's just another Miramax/Dimension Films horror with a fairly decent cast and production values.


I Am Omega (2007)

"The lone survivor of a deadly plague is doomed to an eternal battle with the mutant creatures that now control the Earth."

Something from The Asylum to cash-in on "I Am Legend", of course, but it isn't bad at all. Some of the camerawork is a bit shaky, but I got through a couple of bags of crisps and half a pound cake without incident so it's perfectly watchable.

The action scenes are very good indeed, Mark Dacascos has some nice martial arts skills, and Jennifer Lee Wiggins is great eyecandy. The bottom line is that "I Am Omega" is one of the best movies that The Asylum has ever made. If I ever start doing "Sci-fi Saturday" reviews again, this movie deserves a more in-depth and honest critique than anyone else has given it so far.


The Legend of Sorrow Creek (2007)

"When two sisters return to their childhood summer getaway, they soon fall under the wrath of an evil curse—one that threatens to rip them apart forever."

This Canadian "Blair Witch" wannabe is the weakest link on the first DVD, but it's no longer than a TV movie and occasionally looks like one too. If you make it through the first couple of minutes, it gets better intermittently.

"The Legend of Sorrow Creek" is cheap, the dialogue is full of clichés, and the acting is nasty, but at least it isn't a "found footage" movie. Having said that, it's still best to skip it if you don't want your evening's entertainment ruined.


Evil Bong (2006)

"A toke from a mysterious and powerful vintage bong takes a group of college kids on the wildest trip of their lives."

What begins as a passable stoner comedy with a retro vibe eventually turns into an even lamer horror/situation comedy which isn't worth sitting through except for some hot topless girls and amusing vulgarities.

"Evil Bong" is another slightly shorter than regular feature though so it's not worth getting too upset over.


Demonic Toys (1992)

"When a sixty-six-year-old demon with the power to bring toys to life is awakened, he goes in search of a body to inhabit."

Having never been a fan of the "Puppet Master" movies or this spin-off with similar effects, the whole movie feels dated to me in a bad way.

The real draw is Tracy Scoggins rather than the demonic toys themselves although some of the puppetry is nicely done for the time.


Meridian (1990)

"When a young woman visits her recently inherited Italian castle, she discovers that she has also inherited a medieval curse that threatens her life."

If you ever wanted to see Sherilyn Fenn and Charlie Spradling get strumped all over the place by a werewolf, this is the movie for you. There are some nice performances, everything looks great, and the erotic scenes are genuinely erotic.

The only faults are that "Phantoms" is a very girlie, romantic film at heart rather than a horror, and Malcolm Jamieson bears too much of a resemblance to Martin Kemp during his Spandau Ballet days.


Decadent Evil (2005)

"A vampire named Morella feasts upon the blood of strip club clientele while housing her ex-lover Marvin—part human/part reptile—in a bird cage."

"Decadent Evil" is more or less a run-of-the-mill vampire flick with a TV episode running time, terrible dialogue, and a few weird bits thrown in which don't always gel. It's like a mixture of "The Hunger" and a below average "Tales from the Crypt" episode.

This is another Full Moon movie which most people haven't seen (or would even want to), but the girls are all very pretty. It's not really very "decadent" or "evil" though.


If you haven't already got any of the older "4 Films Horror Collector's Set" packs then either this or the newer "Midnight Horror" 20 pack is a decent purchase for $5.

As a gift for someone who is only just starting to collect horror movies, you can't really fault it. More serious collectors who are looking for better transfers will certainly find something to moan about, but it's higher quality than most Mill Creek packs.

There's definitely something for everyone in this collection so I recommend it. It's just a pity that "Meridian" isn't on the first DVD instead of "The Legend of Sorrow Creek" since I would quite happily throw the second DVD away otherwise.

The Midnight Horror Collection: Blood Predators

I've bought and watched some horrible movies in my time, but nothing prepared me for how awful this Echo Bridge Entertainment multi-feature DVD would be. I didn't make it through any of the movies in one sitting and had to do other more interesting things such as housework just so that I could wake myself up enough again to watch them in 20 minute bursts.

As you know, I got this DVD from my local pawn shop ages ago, but didn't get round to watching it. The first three movies are also in the Pendulum Pictures "Mortuary of Madness" pack, but if Mill Creek Entertainment had continued that series, the final one most certainly would have been included in the "big boxes of shite" as I call them.

Just like the Mill Creek/Pendulum Pictures packs, the transfer is terrible and the movies are even worse. While some of us can laugh at how badly made these movies are and use them to torture the people who were involved in them for the rest of their internet lives, there are actually people who like this kind of thing and who clearly have something very wrong with them mentally otherwise there wouldn't be a market for such abominations. No matter how long I live, I'll never be able to work out why that is.

In the coming series of posts, I'm going to go through these multipacks and finally sort out which ones are going to be flipped so that I can buy something good such as all the seasons of "True Blood" on Blu-ray instead.

And so, without further ado, here's what I thought about this one.


The Vampire Conspiracy (2005)

"Five people are abducted by a maniacal vampire and put into a deadly maze of wits and endurance. If they make it through alive, the Vampire's fortune is theirs. If they fail, they'll be placed back in the game—forever—as bloodthirsty slaves pursuing the next round of victims. The group must discover the connection between them to solve complex clues and survive the band of slaves to escape a twisted game of predator and prey."

To say that this is the best of a bad lot doesn't do it any favours since all the movies are total crap. It's all in black and white, with lots of constantly angry, shouty "actors", and whoever filmed it lacks any framing ability whatsoever.

As far as the story goes, I was intrigued enough to want to find out how all the characters were linked together, but as soon as that was revealed, nothing else interested me.


Fist of the Vampire (2007)

"As an undercover detective infiltrates an illegal underground fighting ring, he begins to piece together bizarre clues connected to an unsolved murder. And when he discovers that the ring is run by bloodthirsty vampires, the underworld of the undead becomes more dangerous than ever..."

Although it's pretty much unwatchable due to all the faux film damage effects such a scratches and grit constantly on screen, I stuck with this for the sexier bits. One of the vampiresses looks the part, but it's all bad acting, and the story isn't very interesting either.

I haven't checked out the Mill Creek version of this yet to compare it, but "Fist of the Vampire" came up "windowboxed" right in the centre of my TV screen and was too small to enjoy even if it hadn't been a turd to begin with.


Curse of the Wolf (2006)

"Dakota, a young werewolf, has finally learned to control her nighttime transformations. She desperately wants to live a normal life, and to break free from her curse, she flees to hide in the city. When the pack aggressively hunts her down, the bouncers offer her protection and band together to battle the werewolves who want her dead... and who won't give up their wolf without a vicious fight."

I only watched this to see what happened to Pamela Sutch who I interviewed through MySpace back in the day. "Curse of the Wolf" is very slow with a few nudie bits which don't make up for it. The horrible rock music in the background also had me fast forwarding to anything that looked interesting just to avoid it.

At nearly two hours long, I will probably watch this again one day and review it for another blog I write, but I don't have the patience to do it now.


Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned (2008)

"Sammy, who wants to throw the ultimate bachelor party in the Hamptons for his best friend Chuck, has scored a bungalow for the fest. The wild weekend takes a turn for the rowdy and raunchy when a trio of strippers arrives at the door... but these are no ordinary strippers! They're smokin' hot and dance to kill. One by one, the guests are seduced and devoured—only a lucky few will survive the Bungalow of the Damned!"

Hahaha. I've finally seen Zoe Hunter in all her glory, but sorry, I'm not impressed. I know this is meant to be some kind of comedy, but it's not funny in any way apart from the amusing end credits.

The best thing I can say about "Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned" is that it's always interesting to see what the insides of other people's houses look like. These "indie horror" films are great for that.


Although I definitely don't recommend it, if you really want to torture yourself, you can buy the "Blood Predators" collection from Amazon, eBay, Wal-mart, K-mart, and most good pawn shops near you.

I've included the Amazon link to the left (as usual) anyway since it leads to some even more venomous reviews than mine.

You also have to laugh that the best price offered is only 1¢. Bear in mind that the shipping will be probably be equal to the normal retail price that this DVD sells for anywhere.

The best price I've seen "Blood Predators" for is $2.99 in K-mart's bargain bin.

My own copy of this DVD is heading for the yard sale where I'll be lucky if I get $1 for it.