Cohen Media packages together two early British film noirs. As counterpoints to their American films, these films offer unique British favored crime stories. Of the two, Dancing with Crime (1947) is the more interesting post-war thriller. There is plenty of sleaze and repressed anger under the surface. The Green Cockatoo is in rough condition considering…
Koko-Di Koko-Da Blu-ray Review
Dark Star Pictures and OCN Distribution bring us the spiffy Swedish fantasy horror of Koko-di koko-da directed by Johannes Nyholm in a packed new blu-ray as a new entry in one of Vinegar Syndrome’s ever-growing partner label releases. Tobias and Elin (Leif Edlund and Ylva Gallon) are happily married and celebrating their daughter Maja’s birthday,…
Ben Reads the Horror Classics: The Troop Sounds the Witching Horn
Welcome back for another enticing sandwich of fiber and justice! In this installment of the wildly popular and generations-defining feature Me Reads Horror Bookz, we have a boy scout trip gone horribly wrong, a strange tale of a Nazi-fueled alternate future with cat women, a massive omnibus of mostly classic ghost stories, a beautifully illustrated…
Blu-ray Review – Vampire Lovers – Scream Factory
Hammer Studios has already existed for decades when they experienced a sudden jolt of success with their one-two punch of the Curse of Frankenstein and the Horror of Dracula. These 2 films aside from being grounded by two men who would become a legendary pairing in the realm of fantastic film, had amazingly lurid color…
Blu-ray Review – Shock – Arrow Video
Finally, we have Shock on Blu-ray, so now I can start asking about Shock and the filmography of Bava on 4K UHD! Shock is the final film directed by the legendary Italian maestro of the macabre Mario Bava. It was made in 1977, and has a tonally different feel than his prior horror films, though…
Blu-ray Review – Dororo – Complete Collection – Sentai Filmworks
This review took a lot longer than anticipated. Dororo is the third-ever adaptation of the manga by Osamu Tezuka. In this series a baby is born without limbs of senses, and is sent downriver to die. He is found, and fixed up and manages to survive. It turns out that his ailment was caused by…
Blu-ray Review – Krampus (The Naughty Cut) – Scream Factory
Christmas has lost its luster for young Max (Emjay Anthony) and his family. His adolescent years are right around the corner and he’s getting just a wee bit too old to keep believing in Santa Claus. The rampant commercialization of the holiday and the pressure to get along with their extended family at all costs…
Ivanhoe Blu-ray review
Ivanhoe is a 1952 British-American historical adventure epic film directed by Richard Thorpe and features one of the greatest casts ever assembled for a film. Legendary actor Robert Taylor (Waterloo Bridge, High Wall) stars as knight Saxon Wilfred of Ivanhoe who is searching for the recently disappeared Richard the Lionheart, Norman King of England (Norman…
Blu-ray Review – Shawscope Volume One – Arrow Video
Classic kung fu films have always struggled to find legitimate release in the U.S., for a short spell in the early 2000’s in the direct period after Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill was released Miramax/The Weinstein Company made a deal with Celestial Pictures/Shaw Brothers to release some of their titles under the Dragon Dynasty banner. At…
Ben Reads The Horror Classics: Ghostly Cellars and Vampiric Crones
When I first started this whole journey through a big ass list of horror books and started mentioning it to people, I inevitably received the response: “How can you read that much horror? Don’t you think you’ll get sick of it?” To that I say, of course not, silly goose! Sure if I stuck just…