Tag Archives: Movies

Brad reviews NEXT DOOR (1994), a “neighbor from Hell” film starring James Woods and Randy Quaid!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

This sitcom looking picture is not a good indicator of the dark places this movie will go!

NEXT DOOR (1994) is a dark suburban satire that introduces us to college professor Matt Coler (James Woods), his lovely wife Karen (Kate Capshaw), and their son Bucky, who have recently moved out to the suburbs. As the movie begins, Matt, Karen and even Bucky seem to be slightly obsessing over their next-door neighbors, Lenny and Marci Benedetti (Randy Quaid and Lucinda Jenney). For one, Lenny and Marci enjoy engaging in sexual intercourse on their backyard lawn furniture within view of each of the Coler family members. That’s quite awkward, but more irritatingly, Lenny insists on constantly watering his front yard near Matt’s property, which is having an extremely damaging effect on Matt and Karen’s beloved azaleas. Invited over to the Benedetti’s house for a cookout, Matt and Karen hope to get to know their neighbors a little better, as well as make a polite request of Lenny to not water the area near the boundary of their yards quite so much. We soon find out that Lenny, who works at the local meat packing plant, is loud, obnoxious, smarter than he looks, and seems to have a really big chip on his shoulder towards Matt, who he doesn’t see as being much of a man. He even tells Karen that her husband is a child, and that’s why he went into teaching rather than getting “a real job.” This upsets Karen so she tells Matt it’s time to leave, but before going, they ask Lenny not to water the part of his yard near their flowers so much. That night, Lenny moves the sprinkler even closer to Matt’s yard, which puts the final death knell in the azaleas. Very annoyed, but not wanting to go too far, Matt gets even by spraying Lenny’s outdoor patio furniture with a lot of water as a prank. Lenny doesn’t handle Matt’s prank very well, and this is where things begin getting out of hand, igniting a full-blown feud between the two men. Soon the annoyances of wet furniture and dead flowers give way to outright horror involving poisoned family pets, police investigations, attempted sexual assault, and even attempted murder!

NEXT DOOR, which is a made for Showtime original, starts out as an amusing and entertaining film involving innocent pranks between James Woods’ meek teacher and Randy Quaid’s boorish butcher. As the intensity of the feud picks up between the men, and the retaliations become more and more sinister, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor as it goes to places that aren’t funny at all. The story seems to be trying to make a statement about the class divide, the survival of the fittest, and the danger that lurks behind the picket fences and in the backyards of the innocent looking neighborhoods around us. It does that job well, as I certainly sensed the real danger that the more “civilized” man found himself in when he came up against a man who didn’t really concern himself with societal norms. I have to give a lot of credit to Randy Quaid’s performance as Lenny for making me feel that way. He is simply a force of nature, and his portrayal of the beer guzzling, opinionated, blue collar bully is excellent in its unhingement! Sadly, I’ve known quite a few people who acted way too much like Lenny for my comfort. James Woods is also excellent as the somewhat timid, intelligent college professor who keeps thinking he can talk his way out of this predicament. We know how intense James Woods can be in his best roles, but he’s quite different here as the man who tries to remain reasonable until the very end of the film when he’s finally forced to take a stand for his family’s safety. He doesn’t have the showy role here, but I can definitely identify with his character, as that would be me in this situation. Kate Capshaw and Lucinda Jenney are both appealing as the suffering wives, providing some good support and wit to the proceedings, but this show belongs to the men.

NEXT DOOR is a true horror film as far as I’m concerned, because if I found myself in this kind of situation with my own neighbor, I would consider it a nightmare. There have been a couple of times in my own life where I have found myself in situations with a neighbor that made me uncomfortable. One of those times involved our next-door neighbor driving across the boundary between their yard and ours and then taking our driveway out to the main road instead of using their own, less maintained driveway. This really bothered my wife as they had never asked if they could do it, and it had practically made a “path” that looked like a road at the boundary. Since it bothered my wife, we ended up having a polite conversation with our neighbors, they understood our concerns, and we worked out a plan that worked for all of us. A different time, however, one of our neighbors across the road left their pitbull out and it attacked our small dog in our own yard. It almost killed our dog, requiring her to have emergency surgery from our veterinarian to save her leg, and it also led to high vet bills. Our neighbors refused to discuss the situation with us, and being from West Virginia, my wife wanted us to take the situation to more extreme levels, including getting local law enforcement involved. In a situation like this, you have to truly consider how far you want to take a situation and then be prepared for the whatever events could follow. There’s a lot of unknown, and it’s pretty scary to be honest with you.

Ultimately, I would have to admit that I didn’t really enjoy NEXT DOOR very much, but I did find it fascinating. I appreciated the great performances of Woods and Quaid, but the movie made me very uncomfortable. If my discomfort was director Tony Bill’s (MY BODYGUARD, FIVE CORNERS, FLYBOYS) goal, it certainly worked. I just think that the farcical nature of the black humor at the beginning didn’t quite mesh with the dark and disturbing elements at the end. Or maybe it just took me places I wasn’t really prepared to go. Either way, it’s still an interesting relic of the 90’s made-for-premium-cable-TV movie. You never knew where those movies were headed! If you’re interested, as of this writing, it’s available for streaming on Tubi.

Brad reviews SESSION 9 (2001), starring David Caruso and Peter Mullan!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan) the owner of a company that removes asbestos from old buildings, makes a bid for the work at the Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. In a desperate need for cash in his personal life, Gordon promises that his crew can complete the job in only one week, even though a job like this should normally take at least three weeks. His crew… Phil (David Caruso) is Gordon’s right hand man who tries to keep everyone else in line. This isn’t very easy these days considering that another member of the team is Hank (Josh Lucas), who’s currently “dating” (not the word Hank uses) Phil’s ex-girlfriend. The crew is rounded out by Mike (co-writer Stephen Gevedon), a law school dropout who seems to be way too smart to be doing this kind of work, and Jeff (Brendan Sexton III), Gordon’s nephew. As you might expect, once they begin the job, strange things start happening as the crew members find various items in the gigantic mental institution that once housed up to 2,400 people. Mike finds a box of tapes of nine therapy sessions detailing the case of Mary Hobbes, a patient with many personalities who may have murdered someone decades before. Meanwhile, Hank finds a stash of coins and other valuable items in one of the walls. A gambling addict, Hank goes back late that night when no one is around to collect his discovery. Things don’t go well and Hank doesn’t show up for work the next day. We’re led to believe that Hank has headed off to Florida for “casino school,” and this is where things start really getting weird as the pressure of the job and the strange events seem to be getting to the entire crew. When Jeff spots a very oddly acting Hank in the building a couple of days later, the sinister events at the Danvers State Hospital begin to completely unravel! 

Director Brad Anderson’s SESSION 9 is a creepy, slow burn that’s best described as a psychological horror film. It’s one of those movies where you can’t trust what you’re seeing on screen because the story is about the disturbed and damaged human mind. In my opinion, this is the most haunting kind of horror film because there are so many examples in the real world of mentally disturbed people committing horrific acts of violence. My wife has spent the last decade of her nursing career in the area of forensic psychology where she takes care of mentally ill individuals who have committed these types of horrible atrocities, often against the very people in their lives who take care of them. This is real world stuff. And the film’s setting, the actual Danvers State Hospital, also known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum, in Danvers, Massachusetts, which operated from 1878 to 1992, adds a lot to the atmospheric feel of dread in the film. The Neo Gothic architecture of the facility, and the labyrinth of tunnels connecting the various buildings are a perfect setting for the creepy elements of Anderson’s story, and he takes full advantage of the location. The story and the setting set the stage for what feels like true terror, and I have to admit that SESSION 9 has stayed with me after my initial viewing. 

The cast of SESSION 9 is very effective. Though David Caruso receives top billing, the story really revolves around Gordon Fleming, portrayed by Peter Mullan. I primarily recognized Mullan from his interesting role as Jacob Snell in the excellent Netflix series OZARK, but he’s had quite a career as both an actor (TRAINSPOTTING, THE VANISHING) and director (THE MAGDALENE SISTERS). His quiet, internal performance is a solid anchor for the strange things going on around his crew. Caruso’s character is experiencing his own share of problems in his personal life, and the actor’s edgy intensity is a nice counterbalance to Mullan’s stillness. His life seems to be getting a little out of control and that dynamic works well for the moody paranoia of the film. Of the remaining performances, Josh Lucas seems to fair the best. His character isn’t really all that likable, but he does bring some humor to the role, and it’s ultimately the revelation of his character’s fate that begins to bring the story’s horrifying events to light. 

As I mentioned earlier, SESSION 9 is a slow burn of a film. Brad Anderson takes his sweet time setting the story up by introducing us to the dynamic of the main characters and placing them in the spectacular environment of the institution’s decaying buildings. It takes a bit for the doom and gloom to really start kicking in, so it’s possible that impatient or distracted viewers could lose interest as not much seems to be happening. I also wasn’t very surprised when the revelations of the story finally came to light. If you’re paying attention, the end moments of the movie aren’t as big of a “gotcha” as they could have been. But that’s all okay, because the brilliance of SESSION 9 is ultimately the mood it creates and the impending sense of dread we feel for the final discovery of what some of our characters may be capable of. In those aspects, SESSION 9 is a resounding success. 

20 Films For The Week (10/19/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A Few Classics

The original The Omen (1976) can currently be viewed on Tubi.  The Omen is still the best of all of the 1970s apocalypse movies.  Whereas later Omen films would increasingly get bogged down with overly elaborate death scenes, the first Omen still holds up as a genuinely scary movie.  The scene with David Warner and that plate of glass …. agck!  Damien Thorne was never creepier than he was in The Omen, perhaps because little Harvey Stephens didn’t know that he was playing a villain.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the sequels are available to stream for free.  I have a soft spot for the mess that is Damien: Omen II.  The Omen can be viewed here.

Of the many film that were inspired by The Omen, my favorite remains The Visitor (1979).  John Huston — yes, the director — plays a Polish angel who lives on a plant far away.  Huston is sent to Earth to rescue 8 year-old Katy, who has psychic powers and who has apparently been picked to mate with her half-brother and give birth to the Antichrist.  Lance Henriksen plays a Satanist who also owns a basketball team.  Mel Ferrer, Shelley Winters, Glenn Ford, and director Sam Peckinpah all have small roles.  Franco Nero plays Jesus!  This is a visually stunning and narratively berserk film.  The Visitor is on Tubi.

The Changeling (1980) is an absolutely brilliant horror film that should definitely be seen by more people.  After a family tragedy, widower George C. Scott moves into a mansion that turns out to be haunted.  It all links back to potential scandal involving a U.S. Senator, played by Melvyn Douglas.  Well-acted, this film has tons of atmosphere and one of the best seance scenes that I’ve ever seen.  The Changeling is on Tubi.

If The Changeling is an unusually intelligent haunted house film, Burnt Offerings (1976) is perhaps the opposite.  It’s a remarkably dumb film but thanks to the performances of Karen Black and Oliver Reed and the no-holds barred direction of Dan Curtis, it’s still a pretty scary movie.  Poor Bette Davis is wasted in one of her final roles.  You’ll cheer when the chimney collapses.  Burnt Offerings is on Tubi.

John Saxon later said that making Cannibal Apocalypse (1980) was one of the most depressing experiences of his career, just because he wasn’t prepared for how gory the film would get and he wasn’t particularly happy about the idea of playing a veteran-turned-cannibal.  That feeling certainly comes through in his performance, which ironically is so authentic that it elevates Cannibal Apocalypse above the typical Italian zombie/cannibal film.  Giovanni Lombardo Radice and Tony King give excellent performances as Saxon’s fellow cannibals and the entire film is far more emotionally effective than it has any right to be.  Cannibal Apocalypse can be viewed on Tubi.

The Black Cat (1981) never gets as much attention as it deserves but it’s probably one of Lucio Fulci’s more accessible films.  An adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe short story, it features David Warbeck at his most likable, Patrick Magee at his most demented, and a killer cat with more than 9 lives.  The Black Cat can be viewed on Shudder.

I, Madman (1989) is a personal favorite of mine, largely because I relate to the main character played by Jenny Wright.  Wright plays an aspiring actress and bookstore employee who becomes obsessed with the horror novels of an obscure pulp fiction writer named Malcolm Brand.  Suddenly, murders start to occur that seem to match the murders in the books.  Both Jenny Wright and Clayton Rohner give likable performances in this film and Randall William Cook’s disfigured surgeon is a wonderful villain.  I, Madman can be viewed on Tubi.

Time After Time (1979) provides viewers with the rare chance to see Malcolm McDowell play a gentle soul.  McDowell plays H.G. Wells, whose time machine is used by Jack the Ripper (David Warner) to escape into the modern age.  Wells pursues him.  Time After Time is as much a love story as it is a thriller.  (McDowell married his co-star Mary Steenburgen.)  McDowell, Warner, and Steenburgen all give excellent performances.  Time after Time is on Tubi.

Malcolm McDowell is far more sinister in Paul Schrader’s 1982 film, Cat People.  Cat People was made at a time when cocaine was very popular in Hollywood and the film has all the excessive hallmarks of a production that was under the influence.  It’s about thirty minutes too long, the plot makes little sense, and Schrader sometimes seems to be struggling with determining what it is he’s trying to say.  That said, it’s also an atmospheric and stylish film and it has a killer soundtrack.  The sequence where Annette O’Toole is menaced while jogging and then swimming still creeps me out.  Cat People can be viewed on Prime.

Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) was the first and the most effective of several Spanish horror films to feature Templar zombies wrecking havoc on the countryside.  This film is atmospheric and creepy and features some of the most convincing zombies to ever appear in a movie.  This film also actually manages to effectively use slow motion.  The Blind Dead are pure nightmare fuel.  Tombs of the Blind Dead can be viewed on Tubi.

Hack and Slash

Directed by Bill Rebane, Blood Harvest (1989) tells the story of a young woman who returns to her family home, just to discover that her parents are missing and the house has been vandalized.  As the bodies are strung up in a nearby barn, viewers are left to try to figure out who the killer is.  Is it the handsome and hunky Gary?  Or is it his brother, Mervo?  Mervo, who deals with stress by putting on clown makeup, is played by Tiny Tim, a notably eccentric singer.  This is one of those odd films that everyone simply has to see once.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Directed by Joseph Zito, The Prowler (1981) is a notably gruesome but undeniably effective slasher film.  The gore effects were provided by Tom Savini.  Zito keeps the action moving, the cast is filled with actors who are likable enough to make up for the fact that none of the characters are written to have much depth, and the killer is truly frightening.  The Prowler can be viewed on Tubi.

Terror Train (1980) is another classic slasher film that is perfect for Halloween viewing, as all of the victims are in costume and the killer is a master of disguise.  The train makes for a wonderfully claustrophobic setting and the film owes as much to the Italian giallo genre as it does to the typical American slasher film.  Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, and Timothy Webber are amongst those being stalked.  Ben Johnson is wonderful as a conductor.  Even magician David Copperfield is put to good use.  Terror Train can be viewed on Tubi.

Prom Night (1980) is another Canadian classic.  This is film the mixes disco with slasher thrills.  Jamie Lee Curtis rallies the school with her dance moves.  Leslie Nielsen gives one of his final “serious” performances at the principal of the school.  The kills are genuinely frightening and, given that most of the victims are either likable or determined to live, genuinely sad.  The twist ending works a hundred times better than it should.  Prom Night!  Everything is alright!  I love this movie.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

The House on Sorority Row (1982) is a diabolically clever little slasher film about a prank gone wrong.  One minute, you’re accidentally causing your house mother to have a heart attack after you pull a gun on her.  The next minute, you’re getting tossed in a shallow grave.  The main lesson here is don’t try anything like this when you’ve also got a big, end-of-the-year college bash to put together.  Director Mark Rosman comes up with some truly inspired visuals.  Eileen Davidson gives a great performance as the sorority sister who can’t believe how difficult it is to cover up a murder.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Finally, Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1983) is not as well-known as some of the other films that I’ve mentioned but it features a memorably isolated location and a few effective scares.  It’s a good example of the rural slasher.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Odds and Ends

Zombie Nightmare (1987) features a long-haired zombie, an early performance from Tia Carrere, and an oddly serious performance from Adam West.  The zombie is played a heavy metal musician named Jon-Mikl Thor.  It’s a film so ludicrous that it becomes entertaining.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Ghost Story (1981) features a dead woman whose ghost returns, seeking vengeance on a group of elderly men who, decades before, covered up her death.  Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. play the four men.  Alice Krige is the ghost.  Patricia Neal is Astaire’s wife.  Craig Wasson plays twins.  It’s a bit of an uneven film but it still has its moments.  It can be viewed on Prime.

Night Terror (1977), which is also known as Night Drive, features Valerie Harper as a woman trying to drive from Phoenix to Denver over the course of the night and finding herself pursued by a mute psycho played by Richard Romanus.  Clocking in at 74 minutes, Night Terror is suspenseful and features good performances from both Harper and Romanus.  It can be viewed on Prime.

Finally, The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1977) is a creepy little film starring Jodie Foster as a child who will stop at nothing to keep people from figuring out that she’s living on her own.  The true monster in this film is played, quite memorably, by Martin Sheen.  It can be viewed on Prime.

The Hong Kong Film Corner – RIGOR MORTIS (2013), directed by Juno Mak! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’ve had the Hong Kong horror flick RIGOR MORTIS (2013) sitting on my shelf for quite a few years. I remember reading a lot about it when it first came out in Hong Kong back in 2013, so I just went ahead and bought it. There was a lot of talk about it resurrecting the Hong Kong “hopping vampire” genre of films that was very popular in the 80’s, led by movies like the MR. VAMPIRE series and ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND 2. My personal favorite Hong Kong films are the “heroic bloodshed” gangster films featuring actors like Chow Yun-Fat, Lau Ching-Wan and Andy Lau, but I do enjoy the idea of hopping vampires. In the spirit of October and Halloween, I decided to tear open the plastic wrap and finally give it a go! 

Actor Chin Siu-Ho (portrayed by Hong Kong actor Chin Siu-Ho in a Meta version of himself) is suicidal after his wife leaves him and takes away their young son. He moves into a huge, dilapidated apartment building and immediately hangs himself. As his hung body is convulsing and jerking around, the supernatural story immediately kicks in and a pair of twin sister ghosts, who just happened to die tragically in the same apartment, emerge and take over his body. Out of nowhere, Yau (Anthony Chan), a neighbor, busts through the door, cuts the noose, and smashes Chin against a wall, saving his life and driving the ghosts out in one fell swoop! Yep, there are strange things afoot in this apartment complex and Yau decides to fill Chin in on a couple of items. First, he’s a vampire hunter, but there aren’t really any vampires left in Hong Kong, so he mostly just cooks rice these days. Second, there are a lot of ghosts hanging around the building that won’t leave, but there’s really no reason to be that scared of them because most of them aren’t trying to possess anyone, with the twin sisters being a notable exception. Wouldn’t you know it though, around the same time they’re having this conversation, an older neighbor named Tung (Richard Ng) slips and breaks his neck. Rather than just letting him die, his devastated wife Mui (Hee Ching Paw) goes to see her neighbor Gau (Fat Chung), a master practitioner of the blackest of black magic. Soon Gau has Tung’s dead body covered in dirt, wearing a mask made of Chinese coins and being fed crow’s blood. In seven days, Gau tells the wife, your husband will be back. I won’t go into all the details, because there are a bunch, but soon people will start dying, a vampire will be hopping, Yau will be living up to his family’s vampire hunting legacy, and Chin will be fighting ghosts and vampires, only this time without a director yelling “CUT” when things get dangerous!

I truly appreciate a movie like RIGOR MORTIS. Actor-director-producer-singer Juno Mak was only 29 years old when he directed this film that truly does pay lots of respect to the popular MR. VAMPIRE series of films from the 80’s. His casting goes a long way in bringing back those nostalgic memories. Actors Chin Siu-Ho, Anthony Chan, Billy Chau, Richard Ng, and Fat Chung all appeared in the MR. VAMPIRE series, along with tons of other films during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, and its fun for me to see them all here. Chin Siu-Ho especially sticks out to me because of the film he made with Chow Yun-Fat in 1986 called THE SEVENTH CURSE. And the image of a slow-motion Richard Ng, decked out in full Hong Kong vampire regalia, hopping his way towards some serious trouble, is pure fan service. That part had me sitting up with a smile on my face. 

While the tributes to the Hong Kong vampire genre are all here, the tone of RIGOR MORTIS is decidedly different. Completely foregoing the elements of slapstick and comedy that existed in the 80’s films, Mak has made a moody, supernatural film that’s full of emotionally damaged characters in need of some sort of purpose or redemption. Most of the characters are incapable of dealing with the difficult events of their life even remotely in a positive way, and it’s their collective bad decisions that lead to so much of the death and destruction in the film. Chin doesn’t know how to deal with his divorce, so he tries to kill himself, unleashing the twin sister ghosts. Auntie Mui so hates the prospect of being alone that she wants to bring back her dead husband, unleashing the vampire. And when the vampire and twin sister ghosts join forces, things get really crazy! Now that I write out the things that Chin and Mui are dealing with, Yau’s situation doesn’t really seem that bad. Sure, he may not get to fight vampires like his dad did, but is that any reason to mope around? Chin tells him that he makes the best glutinous rice in Hong Kong, and since Chin has been a successful actor, I’m sure he’s had a lot of the best glutinous rice around. The compliment doesn’t move Yau in any way, with the man brushing it off as meaningless. It’s actually kind of sad that Yau finding his purpose requires a supernatural unleashing of evil and many tragic victims. Come on Yau!

Since Director Mak is going for melancholy horror, to be truly successful, a movie like RIGOR MORTIS really needs good performances from its cast, and it needs to be somewhat scary. Chin Siu-Ho is good as the former actor whose life has turned into a dumpster fire. He’s introduced to us wearing shades that would have been perfectly at home on Chow Yun-Fat’s face in the Hong Kong Classic A BETTER TOMORROW (1986). I enjoyed that nod to Hong Kong’s legacy of cool action stars. Thinking back on it now, I may have criticized his character’s moping around, but Anthony Chan’s performance as the vampire hunter Yau is probably my favorite performance of the film. He’s a man who doesn’t care, until he does, and then he’s all in. I also liked Kara Hui as a woman whose life was destroyed in the same apartment that Chin now lives in, and who now just kind of wanders around the building with her son Pak. Her character is somewhat peripheral to the main story, but there is definitely something appealing about her performance. Heck, it may just be that she’s really pretty. Old veterans like Richard Ng, Fat Chung, and Hee Ching Paw give solid, professional performances just as you’d expect them to. 

So, the performances in RIGOR MORTIS are good, but is the film scary? I will say that if there would be any criticism I would level at the film, it’s the fact that I just didn’t find it very scary, or really even that spooky for that matter. The setting, the dilapidated apartment building, seems like a perfect background for jump scares, yet there are very few. Mak seemed to prioritize special effects driven visuals over sending shivers down our spines. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because Mak does find some true horror in his story. For example, one of the most horrific scenes in the film is our first real image of the dangerous vampire, whose fingernails grow in front of us as it sets its sights on a truly innocent young victim, a scene that proves that no one is safe in the world of this film. However, if you’re looking for a movie that’s going to make you jump throughout its hour and forty-five-minute runtime, this film did not have that effect on me. 

Ultimately, I would give RIGOR MORTIS a solid recommendation to any person who might appreciate a modern take on Hong Kong horror films of the 1980’s. I’d also recommend it to people who enjoy visually impressive horror films that rely more on mood than outright scares. I probably would not recommend it strongly to those who insist on lots of gotcha moments in their horror films. For me personally, I enjoyed it very much, and I’m glad I finally got around to watching it. It may be time to pull out my old DVD of MR. VAMPIRE for a revisit! 

Happy 86th Birthday to the excellent actor, Robert F. Lyons!! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Every so often in life something incredible happens when you least expect it. First, a little background… back in 2021, Charles Bronson celebrated his 100th birthday in heaven. At that point in my life, I had mostly celebrated my love of Bronson movies by myself. But back in 2021, I saw a news article that stated that Bronson fans around the world were celebrating his 100th birthday on social media using the hashtag #Bronson100. Following the hashtag on Twitter, I discovered a group of people who were doing a “live tweet” of the Bronson classic DEATH WISH 3! That night I met Doug Dietz, Chris Rauch, Lisa Marie Bowman, and many others who just wanted to celebrate Bronson like I did. These folks have become so important in my life! As I continued to search the world of social media for all things Charles Bronson, this time on Facebook, I came across the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST, run by a man from the Philadelphia area named Eric Todd. I made my request to join the page and was happy when they let me in. Soon I was sharing my love of Bronson, and they even asked me to be part of the podcast!! I guess they thought it would be nice to have someone on the podcast who sounded like the biggest hick in America. After all these years, I had found my people!! Eric and my friends in the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST Facebook group have become some of my very best friends. We would talk about Bronson and his movies on the show, but we thought it would always just be a bunch of Bronson geeks talking shop. And then another strange thing happened, we started reaching out to actors and actresses who had worked with Bronson and asked if they would come on the show. Lo and behold, many of them started saying YES! Soon Juan Fernandez (KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS), Jordan Rhodes (MR. MAJESTYK, THE INDIAN RUNNER), and Jan Gan Boyd (ASSASSINATION) had joined us for an episode!! It was so fun hearing their firsthand stories of working with Bronson. Which brings us back to Robert F. Lyons… 

Robert F. Lyons was a hot young actor in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He was incredible in his debut film PENDULUM (1969) as the psychopath Paul Martin Anderson opposite George Peppard. Soon he was stealing scenes in movies like GETTING STRAIGHT (1970) with Elliot Gould and SHOOT OUT (1971) with Gregory Peck. Before long he was headlining his own films like the creepy THE TODD KILLINGS (1971) and the oddly titled DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES (1972). As great as Robert F. Lyons is in these roles, his career as a leading man didn’t take off and he was soon back to character parts on movies and TV. He continued to play some really interesting parts along the way, like the awful Harrison Hancock in the Jesse Vint redneck action film BLACK OAK CONSPIRACY (1977) and the doomed vigilante Skeeter Norris in the TV horror film DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW (1981). It was in the early 80’s when Robert F. Lyons, his friends call him Bobby, began working with Charles Bronson. It was also in the early 80’s when I discovered Charles Bronson. From 1982 to 1986, Bobby worked with Bronson in three of his classic Cannon films, first in DEATH WISH II (1982), followed by TEN TO MIDNIGHT (1983), and finally in MURPHY’S LAW (1986). I truly became Bronson’s biggest fan around the same time DEATH WISH 3 and MURPHY’S LAW were hitting home video. Lyons plays Bronson’s trusted partner Art Penney in MURPHY’S LAW, and I’ve watched the film at least 100 times in my life. Over the years, 10 TO MIDNIGHT has developed into my personal favorite Bronson / Cannon Films movie. If you’ve seen the film, Bobby’s in the interrogation scene where Bronson confronts the killer with his masturbation device and he’s also in the courtroom scene (spoiler alert!) where Bronson has to admit he planted the evidence against the killer. These are very memorable scenes in Bronson’s “slasher” film. Bobby, Charlie, and Jill Ireland got along great during these years, the same years I was becoming obsessed with my lifelong movie hero. In some ways, he was part of that obsession!

Later in his career, Bobby appeared on top notch TV shows like COLD CASE and CRIMINAL MINDS. He’s had a phenomenal, five-decade career as a working actor and teacher. Well, in 2024, Bobby agreed to join Eric Todd and me for an episode of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST. Knowing how much I love Robert F. Lyons, Eric, who’s the host of the show, let me introduce him at the beginning. Introducing Bobby Lyons and being part of an interview with him is one of those incredible and unexpected things that have happened in my life. He’s the nicest guy, and he spent a couple of hours with us discussing Bronson, his movies, and everything else that came up. It’s one of the greatest nights of my life, and I’m sharing that podcast episode below! Please forgive me for totally fanboying out, but that’s just how it is. Happy Birthday Bobby Lyons! You’re in my film-watching Hall of Fame! 

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: 1950s Part Two

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films.  I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we continue to look at the 1950s.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films

La Bruja (1954, dir by Chano Urueta)

La Bruja (1954, dir by Chano Urueta)

Cult of the Cobra (1955, dir by Francis D. Lyon)

Cult of the Cobra (1955, dir by Francis D. Lyon)

Dementia (1955, dir by John Parker)

Dementia (1955, dir by John Parker)

The She Creature (1956, dir by Edward L. Cahn)

The She Creature (1956, dir by Edward L. Cahn)

6 Edward D. Wood Jr. Trailers For Horrorthon

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today would have been the 101st birthday of director Edward D. Wood, Jr., it seems appropriate to dedicate this week’s edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse Trailers to him!

Below …. can you handle six trailers for six Ed Wood films!?

Watch, if you dare!

  1. Glen or Glenda (1953)

2. Jail Bait (1954)

3. Bride of the Monster (1955)

4. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957)

5. Night of the Ghouls (1958)

6. The Sinister Urge (1960)

Charles Bronson interviews the slasher in 10 TO MIDNIGHT (1983)!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Charles Bronson played a cop a bunch of times in the 1980’s, but my personal favorite is Leo Kessler from 10 TO MIDNIGHT. Kessler wants to be a better dad to his daughter Lori (Lisa Eilbacher), but first he needs to catch a psychotic killer who’s murdering beautiful young women. One of the most interesting things about 10 TO MIDNIGHT is the way it tries to fuse a badass cop film with the popular slasher films of the 1980’s. It’s arguably Bronson’s best Cannon film, and Gene Davis is a certifiable creep as the slasher, Warren Stacy. Enjoy this infamous scene where Kessler confronts Stacy about his, ummm… private sexual activities!

Brad reviews HOUSE OF WAX (1953), starring Vincent Price and a very young Charles Bronson!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

As my readers probably know, I’m one of actor Charles Bronson’s biggest fans, and I’m always on the lookout for venues showing his films on the big screen. In the summer of 2024, the Ron Robinson theatre in downtown Little Rock screened the 1953 Vincent Price classic, HOUSE OF WAX, which features Bronson in one of his earliest on-screen roles. It was so early, he was still being billed as Charles Buchinsky! Of course I wasn’t going to miss it! 

HOUSE OF WAX stars Vincent Price as Professor Henry Jarrod, a talented wax sculptor in early 20th-century New York City. Jarrod’s museum, which features historical figures that look amazingly lifelike, is his pride and joy. However, his business partner, Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts), has grown impatient with his investment and decides he wants to burn down the wax museum for the insurance money. When Jarrod refuses to take part in the fraudulent scheme, Burke sets the museum on fire, leaving Jarrod presumed dead in the process. But Jarrod survives, and with the help of his mute henchman Igor (Charles Bronson), returns to open a new wax museum with a dark and dangerous twist… his exhibits are eerily lifelike because they are real bodies coated in wax. As his former friend Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) and her boyfriend Scott Andrews (Paul Picerni) snoop around the house of wax, they begin to suspect that Jarrod has lost his mind and has descended into the mad depths of murder. Will they be able to expose Jarrod’s gruesome secret, or will they become his next exhibit?!!

Directed by André de Toth, HOUSE OF WAX is a landmark horror film, notable for its early use of 3D and Vincent Price’s excellent performance. The film’s strength lies in its undeniably creepy premise, that of turning human beings into wax sculptures, as well as Price’s ability to blend sophistication with menace. Jarrod is quite the sympathetic character at first, but he’s gradually revealed to be certifiably insane as a result of his near-death experience, and that transformation is quite scary. Young Charles Bronson’s portrayal of Igor is also quite freaky. His cold, blank, murderous stare says, “I’ll kill you and not even think twice about it.” His stalking of the heroine, played by Phyllis Kirk, in the dark, spooky house of wax near the end, is one of the true highlights of the movie. It’s also fun seeing Carolyn Jones (AKA Morticia Addams) show up as a spirited victim of the madman! Of course, you can’t help but notice the moments set up for the 3D effects, which come off as quite gimmicky at this point. I specifically took note of the movie’s use of paddleballs and leg kicks! I must admit, however, that these dated elements add to the overall charm of HOUSE OF WAX as a reminder of the olden days of 50’s Hollywood! 

Overall, in my humble opinion, HOUSE OF WAX is a classic scary movie. It’s a perfect treat for fans of vintage horror as well as a testament to the magnetic screen presence of Vincent Price!

20 Horror Films For The Weekend (10/3/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Horrorthon!  Here’s 20 films to help get you into that October mood!

The Dreams of Jean Rollin

I have been a fan of the French director Jean Rollin ever since I first watched Night of the Hunted on one rainy night.  His dream-like film were often both frightening and, in their way, rather touching.  At heart, Rollin was a poet and a romantic, along with being a cinematic rebel.  This October is the perfect time to get caught up on Rollin.

The Nude Vampire (1970) opens at night, with a woman wearing an orange nightgown being chased down a street by three men wearing bird-like masks.  The woman runs into a man named Pierre.  Pierre watches as the woman is shot in the back and then carried into what appears to be a secret club.  Pierre follows and soon finds himself in the middle of a surreal world featuring cults, vampires, and one of Rollin’s trademark trips to the beach.  This was Rollin’s second film.  It’s surreal trip into an undergouns world and it owes more than a little to the serials that Rollin enjoyed as a young man.  The Nude Vampire can be viewed on Shudder.

The Shiver of the Vampires (1971) is Rollin’s tribute to the old Universal haunted house films.  A newlywed couple visits a castle that was owned by the wife’s cousins.  Upon arriving, they are told that the cousins are dead and the house is now occupied by two mysterious young women.  Over the course of the night, the couple discovers that the castle is also home to vampire named Isolde.  This atmospheric film is best-remembered the scene with Isolde emerges from a grandfather clock.  It was an image that Rollin liked so much that he reused it in several later films.  Shiver of the Vampires can be viewed on Tubi.

Requiem for a Vampire (1971) tells the story of two young girls who, having committed some sort of crime while wearing clown makeup, wander through the French countryside until they come across a castle that is occupied by a sickly vampire and his servants.  Atmospheric, dream-like, and sexually-charged, Requiem for a Vampire is a mix of horror, crime, and melodrama.  “Let’s go to the cemetery!”  Requiem for a Vampire is available on Shudder.

Lips of Blood (1975) mixes two of Rollin’s favorite themes: vampires and memory.  A man sees a picture of a ruined seaside castle and becomes convinced that he’s visited it in the past.  His search for castle leads not just to vampires but also a meditation on the act of remembering and how people are always trying to recapture an idealized moment of time.  A truly beautiful film, Lips of Blood can be found on Shudder.

The Living Dead Girl (1981) is one of Rollin’s best films.  A toxic spill brings a young woman back to life.  She has only vague memories of her past life but she also has an insatiable need for blood.  When her childhood friend discovers that the woman has come back to life, she tries to keep her fed.  It soon becomes clear that, even though the title character would rather be allowed to return to the peace of death, her friend is determined to keep her alive.  This film is a bloody, gory, and ultimately very moving examination of love and friendship.  How far would you go?  The Living Dead Girl can be found on Tubi.

Hacking Away At October

Graduation Day (1981) is one of my favorite of the early 80s slasher, an entertainingly lowbrow film about a killer who is seeking revenge on the high school track and field team.  Christopher George is the hard-pushing coach.  Michael Pataki is the ineffective principal.  Linnea Quigley, who was reportedly cast as the last minute after one of the actresses walked off the set, is the closest thing the film has to a likable character.  Vanna White is a high school student.  The music is incredible!  Felony performs a 10-minute version of Gangsters of Rock.  Graduation Day can be viewed on Tubi.

If you enjoyed Christopher George in Graduation Day, you’ll definitely want to follow up with Mortuary (1983), in which he plays the creepy owner of a funeral home.  When he’s not embalming, he’s yelling at his socially awkward son (Bill Paxton).  Someone is committing murder in the suburbs.  Could it have something to do with the weird cult that occasionally meets in the mortuary’s back room?  Christopher’s wife, Lynda Day George, plays the widow with a secret.  Be sure to yell, “We can see you breathing!” during the later embalming scenes.  Mortuary can be viewed on Tubi.

Christopher George and Lynda Day George also appear in Pieces (1982), one of the goriest slasher films ever made.  The film’s tag line was “You don’t have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre” and this film proves it by setting the action in Boston.  This film divides it’s time between genuinely disturbing gore and scenes that are so bizarre and misconceived that you can’t help but wonder if the director was trying to satirize the slasher genre.  The random kung fu fight is an obvious example, as is the scene where the killer casually steps into an elevator while carrying his chainsaw.  The film’s goriest scene is disturbing up until the moment that Lynda Day George starts screaming, “BASTARD!” at the sky.  Pieces can be viewed on Tubi.

Hell Night (1981) may not feature Christopher and Lynda Day George but it does feature Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, and the absolutely dreamy Peter Barton as part of a group of fraternity and sorority pledges who spend the night in a supposedly haunted house.  Uh-oh — it turns out the house really is haunted!  Though the plot features the usual slasher hijinks, Hell Night is a well-acted movie that makes good use of its location and which features a few moments of wit to go along with all the death and horror.  It can be viewed on Prime.

Even by the standards of director Jim Wynorski, Sorority House Massacre 2 (1990) is a trashy film.  Four sorority girls try to clean up their new house, which basically translates to taking showers, wearing lingerie, and playing with a Ouija board.  Their creepy neighbor, Orville, tries to warn them that they’ve moved into the old Hockstader Place but he just keeps getting stabbed for his trouble.  The film is pure exploitation but it’s also cheerfully self-aware.  It’s so shameless and the story plays out with so much energy that it becomes entertaining in its own very stupid way.  Gail Harris and Melissa Moore give surprisingly committed performances.  Peter Spellos is the neighbor who wants to help but keeps freaking everyone out.  The film’s ending is oddly effective.  It can be viewed on YouTube.  

Supernatural Creeps

Ulli Lommel’s The Boogeyman (1980) has an intriguing premise.  What if a mirror stored the evil that it once reflected?  It also has a lot of ominous country atmosphere and a good performance from Lommel’s then partner, Suzanna Love.  There’s a disturbing dream sequence that still freaks me out whenever I see it.  It’s also an often ludicrous film that doesn’t always make a lot of sense but it’s still the best of Lommel’s American films.  John Carradine shows up as a psychiatrist.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Burial Ground: Nights of Terror (1981) is an Italian film about what happens when a bunch of decadent, sex-crazed rich people find themselves trapped in a villa by a bunch of zombie.  The zombie effects are surprisingly effective.  There’s a lot of gore and also a political subtext of sorts.  (The dead peasants rise from the dead and use the tools of their life — like scythes — to attack the rich.)  That said, most people remember this film for Peter Bark’s bizarre performance of Michael, who is supposed to be a young teenager and who has a taboo scene with his mother (played by Mariangela Giordano) that seems to come out of nowhere.  There’s some debate over whether or not Bark was an actual teenager or an elderly little person.  I still have to cover my eyes during the finale.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Zombie 5: Killing Birds (1988) is another Italian zombie film.  Ignore the “Five” in the title, this film isn’t an actual sequel to anything.  A group of college students head to down to steamy bayous and find themselves besieged by the living dread.  Birds may or may not be involved.  Robert Vaughn hams it up as a blind man.  There’s a genuinely frightening nightmare sequence.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

Shock Waves (1977) also features zombies.  In this case, they’re living underwater, off the coast of Florida for some reason.  Shock Waves is a truly scary film.  The zombies are relentless and brutal and the scene where they emerge from the water is a 100 times more frightening than it has any right to be.  Brooke Adams plays the tourist who screams a lot.  Peter Cushing is a mad scientist.  John Carradine is a crusty old boat captain.  Shock Waves can be viewed on Tubi.

Count Dracula (1970) stars Christopher Lee in a version of the Dracula story that sticks closer to the original Bram Stoker novel than any of the Hammer films.  This version was directed by Jess Franco and features none other than Klaus Kinski as Renfield.  Lee’s refined, aristocratic Dracula is quite a contrast to the feral version of the character that he often played for Hammer.  Lee always cited this as the only Dracula film that he took pride in.  It can be viewed on Tubi.

They’re Coming To Get You

Chopping Mall (1986) features the latest in mall security.  Instead of security guards, the mall will now be patrolled by security robots.  It’s all good and well until the robots malfunction and start chasing down the hot young employees who foolishly decided to spend the night in their store.  Directed by Jim Wynorski and featuring Kelli Maroney, Russell Todd, Gerrit Graham, Barbara Crampton, and Dick Miller, Chopping Mall is a lot of fun.  I don’t know if Wynorski has ever topped the exploding head scene.  The film can be viewed on Tubi.

Hellmaster (1992) features John Saxon as a crazed and apparently immortal professor-turned-cult-leader who injects his followers with drugs that turn them into mindless zombies.  David Emge, who was in Dawn of the Dead, plays the reporter who is haunted by Saxon’s crimes.  Saxon is certainly intent on turning people into zombies but the film never really explains why.  Still, the film has an intensity to it that I appreciate.  John Saxon makes for a strong villain.  The film can be viewed on Tubi.

Something Weird (1967) tells the story of Mitch.  He gets electrocuted, which leaves him both psychic and disfigured.  While his best friend wants to Mitch’s psychic abilities to defeat the communists, Mitch instead accepts a deal with a witch.  She takes away his disfigurement and soon, Mitch is a celebrity.  However, the witch doesn’t do anything for free.  Eventually, Mitch takes LSD to try to strengthen his powers.  Director Herschell Gordon Lewis was better-known for his gore films but Something Weird lives up to its title.  With its mix of witches, ESP, and LSD, it’s a true horror time capsule.  The film can be viewed on Tubi.

Terror At London Bridge (1985) features Jack The Ripper time traveling to Arizona.  Can David Hasselhoff stop him!?  Watch the film on Tubi to find out.  The film will probably be best appreciated by David Hasselhoff fans but hey, who isn’t a fan of the Hoff?

Track of the Moon Beast (1976) is a film that is so much a product of the 70s that it deserves to be put in a museum.  Come for the story of an innocent man transformed into a monster by a moon rock and stay for the lengthy performance of California Lady.  Watch the film on YouTube!

Check out my previous week’s movies by clicking here!