CANNIBAL TERROR Movie and DVD Review

CANNIBAL TERROR (1981)

When two bumbling crooks and their prostitute friend hatch a plan to kidnap the young daughter of a car manufacturer, they think their money troubles are all over. But, these crooks can’t even get a simple kidnapping right, and when their plan falls through, the trio pull a few favors and quickly cross over into the next country to hide out, taking the little girl with them. There’s only one problem - the cottage they’re hiding out in is right on the border of cannibal territory!

Though the crooks think they’re safe, tension mounts no doubt due to the fact that Mario rapes Manuela, the wife of the cottage’s owner. Manuela’s husband deals with Mario in his own special way, while the other two race into the jungle. On their trail though, are the parents of the little girl and the tribe of cannibals who have picked up their scent. As the chase turns into free-for-all battle for survival, the only question remains is who will be lucky enough to simply die and who will become the next sacrificial meal of the cannibals?

For bottom-of-the-barrel EuroTrash sleaze looking to cash in on a horror fad, look no further than this Alain Deruelle (directing under the pseudonym Allan W Steeve) French/Spanish co-production from 1981, as he tries to ride the coattails of Italian directors like Ruggero Deodato and his infamous CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. However, Deruelle proves that his abilities to mimic a genre to make a few bucks are even worse than Jess Franco at his worst. Interestingly enough, Franco was thought to be the true director of this movie for years.

The cannibal sub-genre is a particularly nasty offshoot in the realm of horror, and lends its perverse violence, often times demeaning stereotyping and lurid acts of sexual depravity to those with an acquired taste. And that is when the genre is done right. When done as a poorly cobbled together cash-in such as CANNIBAL TERROR, the results are a mixture of unintentional humor and boredom, interrupted ever so briefly with moments of stomach-turning disgust.

Here, the laughter starts from the first scene with abysmal acting from everyone involved, magnetized by the canned and nearly-emotionless English dubbing, but really gets the guffaws rolling with the introduction of perhaps the worst depiction of cannibals the screen has ever seen. These cannibals, who for the most part are pasty white Europeans with sideburns, flowing locks of hair, and beerbellies who have painted their faces and can barely contain their giggles as they hoot and holler and dance around endlessly. Rather than try to exploit their “savage rituals” a la MONDO CANE, here it amounts to nothing more than a ridiculous updating of white guys pretending to be Indians in old Hollywood westerns.

Now the highlight, if one can call it that, of any good cannibal films is of course the visceral display of flesh eating. Derulle’s version of that is to substitute a pig’s body for that of human, drape some clothes over it, and let a few extras tear it apart. We get two scenes of this grotesque barbarity, as a few fellows pull at and pretend to eat the organs of some piggy. Its a bit revolting, until you notice their smiles, as if it say, “look at us, we’re cannibals!” It is impossible to take anything even remotely serious after that.

The rest of the film amounts to a few brief glimpses of nudity thanks to exploitation mainstay Pamela Stanford (BLUE RITA, GIRL SLAVES) in one of her final roles, lots and lots of walking, a few clips of jungle stock footage, and a rollicking African beat inspired soundtrack. In fact, there’s just enough footage of interesting and exciting scenes to be able to cut together a trailer that (as is often the case) promises much more than is ever delivered.

It is a sure bet that if CANNIBAL TERROR had not been labeled a Video Nasty and briefly banned in the UK during the mid-’80s, the film would have long ago disappeared into obscurity. But now, thanks mostly to this infamous list it has lived on, and now the movie has finally been restored to all its uncut “glory” by Severin Films for its US DVD debut, where it will surely continue to provide laughs for a whole new generation of gut-munching fanatics.

The DVD provides an anamorphic widescreen transfer of an uncut print, and has been remastered in Hi-Definition, though the quality varies from one scene to the next, and even one cut to the next. The sound retains glaringly obvious of its dubbed roots. The special features include a deleted scene, which is just a short clip of Pamela Stanford dancing around topless that should have been reinstated into the film and the theatrical trailer featuring a priceless voice-over, especially when the announcer exclaims “Cannibal Terror!”

For genre enthusiasts this is worth a precursory glance just for the sake of curiosity and mocking, and for those that absolutely positively have to own every Video Nasty. For the rest, there is nothing to see here.

GINGER SNAPS (2000) Movie Review

GINGER SNAPS (2000)

Sisters and best friends Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald are inseparable teens who share everything together, and are never far from each others side. When the two decide to kidnap a fellow student's dog for attacking Brigitte, Ginger is attacked by a snarling monster in the woods. Was it just a big dog, or was it the small town's fabled beast, who kills and eats animals? The next day, Ginger's graphic wounds from the attack begin to rapidly heal, and Ginger starts to feel a primal change within her. She also finally gets her period, three years later than she should have.

When Ginger's changing attitudes begin to drive the two sisters apart, Brigitte begins to suspect that Ginger was attacked by a werewolf. Ginger's physical changes, from thick coarse hair and a small tail protruding from her back, solidify her fears. She turns to the local drug dealer and horticulturist for advise on a possible cure. Ginger's changes appear to be from a biological virus, and if it is a disease, then there must be a cure. The only question is whether an antidote can be found before Ginger completely snaps.

Horror, and to a slightly lesser degree science fiction, has always had the benefit to its writers to mean something else or to be seen as an allegory to a more serious or dangerous topic to discuss. The classic monsters of early horror cinema hid frail human emotions. Communist undertones were rampant in the 1950s, under the guise of cheap B-horror schlock. The "body horror" sub-genre was perfected by David Cronenberg and Shinya Tsukamoto to talk about contagious disease and the natural breakdown of the human body. Sometimes these topics can be overlooked, or not even noticed, by those who are just looking to be entertained or get a cheap scare. Sometimes they are seen by those with a keen perception. Sometimes however, the "real" topic of the film is so obvious that it almost becomes silly to hide it within another genre. Such is the tragic story about Ginger, written by Karen Walton and directed by John Fawcett.

Werewolves have always had the distinction of being a cover to talk about involuntary physical and mental changes or to serve as a juxtaposition to a spreading disease via blood. From THE WOLFMAN to AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, the main protagonists become lycanthropes against their will, and must deal with their permanent curse. Such is the case in GINGER SNAPS, were Ginger's affliction is merely a red herring for puberty and all the unbalanced hormones that come with it. For Ginger, the slowly gestating lycanthrope virus is just the same as her new found primal desires for boys and her period - she can not control her desires, and is willing to do anything to make it stop. Karen Walton's script, which is laden with the terrors of womanhood, gives a feminine injected boost to a genre that seems permanently bulls-eyed at 18-34 year old males. For the men in this film, their horror comes from their inability to dominate and control a woman either through verbal put-downs or archaic parenting, in the face of her female ferocity.

This is not to say that the film skimps on the actual werewolf story. It is quite the opposite in fact. Walton's biological take on the subject is well thought out, and it takes the entire film for Ginger to finally succumb to the virus. In between, make-up and creature effects designer Paul Jones (who previously worked on NIGHT BREED and the HELLRAISER series) slowly transforms actress Katharine Isabelle into an animalistic version of herself. The changes are very subtle, and his dedication to physical make up and latex, play integrally into the believability of Ginger's transformation. And when Ginger finally makes the full transformation, it is a violent and painful turn, recalling the transformation in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The final creature, which again is a physical effect brought to life by an actor and animatronics, is a unique creature. And thanks to Jones' build up earlier on, one can easily make the connection, especially in the eyes of the creature, that this was once Ginger.

Under Fawcett's direction, the film gets a standard horror atmosphere as he brings his characters through dimly lit woods and drenching school hallways and the sisters' room with shadows, though there is nothing mind blowing in his approach to his suspense set-ups. During the attack sequences, the camera keeps with the characters witnessing the attack, or are hiding during the attack, rather than showing what is actually happening. Fawcett gives just enough of a glimpse to let the viewer fill in what is happening. Though this may have been done due to the budget constraints, Fawcett makes it work. What he doesn't skimp on is the aftermath, showing multiple half eaten dogs and the invariable dark-laced humor that follows during clean up, or Ginger's shredded victim when she has to protect her secret.

Upon its release in the US in early 2001, it was completely ignored as a theatrical release (IMDB states it was shown on *one* screen) and then unceremoniously dumped on DVD in 2003 in a full-screen only version. Fortunately for those with a little hunting power, in Canada (the Canadian government funded this film as part of their film program) there is an incredible DVD release. It is a shame too, because this film deserves a much wider audience than it has received. Two decent sequels rounded out the Ginger "trilogy" in 2004.

BAY OF BLOOD (1971) Movie Review

BAY OF BLOOD (1971)

On a grand estate on the shore of a bay, an elderly woman clings desperately to the land so that it will not be bought and turned into a resort. However, her murder sets off a chain reaction that brings all of the potential heirs to the estate out of the woodwork, and more disturbing, an unknown killer who begins to systematically murder each of these heirs. The situation takes another turn for the worse when a group of teenagers decide to trespass on the estate, and are quickly targeted by a killer who knows no remorse, sympathy, or limits to their cruel imagination for slaughtering their next victim.

In 1970s Italy the murder-mystery, also known as a giallo, was coming into its golden age soaking the screen in blood, filling it with red herrings and sleazy sexuality and generally confusing the hell out of the audiences with complicated plots. But when famed director and writer Mario Bava brought BAY OF BLOOD to the screen, it was like nothing anyone had seen before. Starting off from a generic storyline that could be found in any run-of-the-mill giallo, Bava quickly amps everything up from the almost insane weaving of all the characters' relationships, to the one-after-another murders that are each committed in a more horrific way, to the gratuitous and graphic sex and nudity.

This film has become known as the very first official slasher film, and is (or at least should be) the water mark to compare all other films that compete for the slasher subgenre label. In America, it can be debated whether BLACK CHRISTMAS or HALLOWEEN was really the first US slasher film, though both owe all their screen credit to Bava's masterpiece. The early FRIDAY THE 13TH films in particular also borrow heavily from this film, right down to the first-person POV and some of the signature murders in the series. For better or worse (and for most fans it is probably the better), due to BAY OF BLOOD, sex and violence will always be married in the slasher genre.

It is not just that the film is the very first slasher, it is a great slasher and can still to this day hold up against any would be film adversary. The groundbreaking murder sequences within the film alone make the film worth seeking out, even if you are passive fan of the genre. The make-up special effects, helmed by Carlo Rambaldi (who would later work on E.T. and ALIEN among others) can still hold up almost forty years later, which is testament to their realism. It is truly a crime that as the years passed this film has become more obscure, fallen off the "must see" lists of some horror stalwarts, and may even be unknown to younger and newer faces to the horror scene.

This was one of the last films that Mario Bava would make, and it is a culmination of a lifetime of work. Even though the movie's essence can be boiled down to a horror shocker, each of the film's individual parts are given the respect and professionalism that would be seen in a high art or dramatic picture. Bava has always been known as one who uses color to manipulate and enhance his films, and it is no exception here. The music plays a critical part in setting moods and building up suspense. Bava's camerawork pulls from the well established "unknown killer" motifs and makes them his own, which set the stage for future directors and cinematographers to mutate to their own needs.

Any horror fan owes it to themselves to give this film, and Mario Bava, the full credit and respect that it deserves, and that even if it doesn't become a permanent part of your home collection, that it is seen at least once for historical purposes. When watching this, try to keep in mind when it was made practically no one had done anything like this before. And guaranteed, no one will see the ending coming, nor has anyone had the balls since to make an ending quite like BAY OF BLOOD. The couple being double-impaled on the bed while having sex is just icing on the bloody cake.

NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE Movie Review

NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE (2006)

When a young woman is found dead in her apartment, her gruesome death appears to be a suicide, and the Tokyo Police Department are ready to close the case. But when a second death is reported, another suicide by a salaryman whose wife witnessed him as he brutally stabbed himself in the neck again and again while sleeping, the detectives become much more suspicious of the first death. When both of the victims’ cell phones show their last conversation was with a caller known only as "0", they fear the suicides may have been coerced.

The detectives split off into two groups, with one taking on a traditional investigation attempting to hunt down "0", while newcomer detective Kirishima (J-pop star Hitomi) is assigned to approach from a more experimental viewpoint, trying to decipher what happened in their dreams. Her inquest leads her to a recluse known as the Nightmare Detective, a man who is cursed with the ability to enter people’s dreams. With his reluctant help, the Nightmare Detective enters into the dreams of Detective Wakamiya, who has since made contact with "0" and now is under suicide watch. Soon after entering Wakamiya’s dream, the Nightmare Detective discovers that there is a powerful entity in the dreamworld, whose desire to make others kill themselves rivals that of the Nightmare Detective’s desire to kill himself!

If the name Shinya Tsukamoto does not immediately put a smile on your face, then pay very close attention. Shinya Tsukamoto is an auteur in the Japanese film industry whose style is most commonly linked with the body-horror of David Cronenberg and the surrealist horror of David Lynch. Tsukamoto’s early film, TETSUO: THE IRON MAN helped to pave the way for the cyberpunk subgenre, and his influence can clearly be seen in the works of Takashi Miike and Darren Aronofsky. When Tsukamoto is not behind the camera making his own movies he is acting in his contemporaries’ films, and is most recognizable as the sinister Jijii in ICHI THE KILLER.

With NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE, Shinya Tsukamoto once again takes on almost all key production roles including director, writer, cinematography, editor, art designer, and even the role of the mysterious "0". His singular hand in the creation of the entire film is paramount in giving the movie its unique vision. While at the very core of the film is a death-by-dream motif that is similar to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Tsukamoto takes his ideas of what nightmares would look like if they were caught on celluloid (well in this case HD video) further than Wes Craven would ever dare.

Tsukamoto’s visions of what happens within people’s nightmares is truly horrific, and as with many of his previous films, he takes full advantage of the visual medium that is film and exploits it to the fullest, offering up imagery you’ve never witnessed before. His blending of reality and dream as the film progresses is subtly twisted through his editing, and at times pushes beyond arthouse horror into pure experimental terror. Tsukamoto’s bloodlust once again makes a welcome return as his victims’ necks are ravaged by box-cutters in the real world, while in the dreamworld victims are chased by a horrible monstrosity of cobbled together body parts and exposed intestines.

But with the visuals being so utterly fantastic, the story itself and characterization suffers somewhat under the demands of said visuals. Tsukamoto does make a brave choice by making his titular character, played by Ryuhei Matsuda, hate the fact that he is able to enter into dreams, and doesn’t even want to help Kirishima. And while he may look cool with his straight-out-of-manga haircut, he is a completely introverted person who just wants to die, which makes it difficult to root for him despite his protagonist status. J-pop star Hitomi makes her feature film debut as detective Kirishima, and while she does a surprisingly good job as an actress with the bizarre material, the character itself offers little to care for. Shinya Tsukamoto does bring on the goosebumps with his portrayal of "0" with his natural facial features, including his emotionless and dead eyes, chilling the screen whenever he pops up.

NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE is a difficult film to watch for its disturbing visuals and is at times difficult to follow due to the information heavy dialogue (the subtitles sometimes flash by at a brisk pace) and the interpretive way the story unfolds. Still, this is an incredible cerebral horror firlm and a breath of fresh air amidst the deluge of long-haired ghosts that have been plaguing Japan over the past decade. Shinya Tsukamoto, as he enters into his third decade of filmmaking, proves once again that he is still ready and willing to take chances with his movies, and has lost none of his dedication to making sure that cinema stays dangerous.

CHAIN LETTER Teaser Trailer for Delayed Slasher

Deon Taylor's CHAIN LETTER has been plagued with official release date delays since it started showing at film festivals at the beginning of the year. It is now scheduled to finally open October 1st, to help kick off the official 2010 Halloween season.

The film chronicles the plight of six friends who receive a mysterious chain letter via text messaging and in their email accounts from a maniac who's hunting down teenagers who fail to forward his online chain letter. The maniacal game pits friend against friend as they race to beat rules that seem impossible to escape, as the master behind the chain letter uses the teens' own digital technology to track their movement. Someone will break the chain. Its just a matter of who, and when.

The film includes Nikki Reed, Betsy Russell and Bai Ling, plus horror favorites Brad Dourif (the voice of Chucky; Sheriff Brackett in RZ's HALLOWEEN) and Keith David (THE THING, THEY LIVE). Check out the latest teaser trailer below.

THE BLOB (1988) Movie Review

THE BLOB (1988)

In a small sleepy town in Colorado, a giant meteor has crashed in the foothills only to be discovered by a homeless hermit, who learns the hard way not to poke a gelatinous goo seeping out of a rock. The town's sole rebel Brian and the high school's star cheerleader Meg also get a taste of what this blob can do when they come across the ever growing Jell-O Mold From Hell. With each victim that it dissolves and consumes, the Blob grows in strength and size. When Brian decides to make a self-preserving dash on his motorcycle, he crosses paths with a military containment brigade that seems to have arrived on the scene too quick and too well prepared to be just a coincidence. Meanwhile, the townsfolk are being rounded up under the pretense of a bacterial outbreak, and The Blob, growing stronger still, has made its way into the sewer system. And it is pissed off!

Like a younger and often ignored sibling to John Carpenter's THE THING, this remake of a cheesy 1950's b-movie has a distinct privilege of expanding upon and improving the original source material. Coming from director Chuck Russell (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3, THE MASK) who also wrote the screenplay along with Frank Darabont, the communist-allegorizing original film is updating for a cynical anti-authoritarian and anti-government 1980s audience with an additional warning against the Cold War arms race thrown in for good measure. Unlike the original, in which a mysterious "red" entity comes from the skies and threatens America's heartland, here Russell and Darabont provide an origin to the beloved goop that is much worse than any external force could hope to create.

Continuing with the connection to Carpenter's creation, Russell out does the original monster as he makes his Blob faster, more dangerous, more powerful, and perhaps unstoppable. Along with a horde of special effects creators, Russell employs just about every trick available at the time to bring the Purple People Dissolver to life. Surprisingly, aside from a few just a layering shots, the effects hold up quite well over twenty years later, with miniatures, puppets, and matte shots all coming into play. On top of the Blob itself, the creature's new way of "eating" leaves some quite gory and gooey messes in its wake, and as it grows bigger and gets deeper into the town, the new ways it learns to find victims leads to some quite over-the-top ends to the secondary characters.

Speaking of characters, THE BLOB gets a few actors early in their career as they cut their acting chops in the horror field. Kevin Dillon steps into the shoes of Steve McQueen as Brian, whose rather wooden and goofy turn here is right at home with the b-movie styling, though it was probably not conscious on his part to play it off that way. The wardrobe choice, fitting somewhere between Bon Jovi and Adam Ant, definitely does not shout "rebel", but boy can he throw a half-empty beer in anger! Watch for future Baywatch babe Erika Eleniak as a potential date-rape victim, Bill "Chop Top" Moseley as a soldier, and is that everyone's favorite female torture prodigy Shawnee Smith getting second billing as cheerleader Meg? You bet it is!

For whatever reason, and perhaps it is because this came out before the "everything must be remade" mentality in Hollywood, Russell's re-imagining of the 1950s drive-in sci-fi film is often forgotten in the argument to defend or defame remakes. THE BLOB is a highly entertaining piece of 80s schlock that has fun with the source material, takes time to poke at the then current cookie-cutter slasher films, and makes sure that you know none of the characters are safe by employing my favorite expect-the-unexpected tactic of killing a kid. While no masterpiece in any sense, Russell's sophomore effort in the horror/dark-humor hybrid genre certainly deserves more than it is has gotten and should be used whenever possible as an argument of how a movie should be remade, and more importantly what should be remade.

HATCHET 2 Red Band Movie Trailer Unleashed

Earlier this week we showed you the official HATCHET 2 movie poster. Now, feast your eyes on the official red band trailer for HATCHET 2, coming from Dark Sky Films October 1st.

Its a little self-serving to director Adam Green, with plenty of push for the HATCHET franchise to become bigger than it ever will be, but the clips from the actual movie to hint at making good on delivering the carnage that has been promised with this unrated feature.

BOY EATS GIRL (2005) Movie Review

BOY EATS GIRL (2005)

Nathan is your average teen in a small town in Ireland, where he hangs out with his mates, and is secretly in love with his friend, Jessica. On the night that he prepares to tell Jessica his true feelings, he is tricked into believing that Jessica is out on a date with one of the school's jocks. Distraught with grief, he drinks himself into a stupor, and contemplates suicide by hanging, but when his mother walks into his room and knocks him from the chair, he actually does kill himself.

All is not lost though, as Nathan's mother has just uncovered a book on reanimation in the church she is restoring. She uses the book, and brings Nathan back from the dead, though he is unaware of his short trip to the afterlife. Although Nathan seems fine at first, he notices he no longer wants food of any type, and realizes that his strength has increased. On the night of the school dance, he gets into a fight with one of his tormentors and in a fit of rage bites him. This bite causes a chain reaction which soon has the entire student body and townspeople turning into vicious zombies. Only a few are left alive, including Jessica and Nathan's mates, but will they be able to find a way to stop the onslaught, or are they just the next course on the menu?

Although not as romantic or comedic as SHAUN OF THE DEAD, this entry into the niche rom-com-zom sub-genre is still a fun movie to watch, and runs circles around MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK. The teen-angst portion of the storyline is nothing new, but coupled with believable above-average acting and the addition of Irish accents, it makes it more watchable than most current teen comedies.

Once the zombie action begins about half-way through the film, the caro syrup and rubber limbs come out for some good old fashioned gutmunching. The zombies in BOY EATS GIRL are the running and hunting type, who pursue and tackle their pray. Stomachs are pulled open, intestines are spilled out and heads are bashed open. During the final sequence, Jessica dispatches a horde of zombies in a way that must have been written in an attempt to one-up the lawnmower scene in BRAINDEAD, and although it does not take the crown, gorehounds will surely squeal with delight.

BOY EATS GIRL is by no means a perfect zombie movie, and does have a few glaring absences of explanation, the biggest being why Nathan does not turn into a full zombie for the whole of the movie, while all the other victims become zombies immediately. For that matter, why does a reanimated corpse who bites someone cause them to become a zombie to begin with? The answer is, it really doesn't matter. The film does not seem to latch itself onto any specific zombie rulebook, nor does it try to instill any amount of seriousness into the movie.

For fans of the above mentioned films, as well as Japan's STACY or IDLE HANDS, this rom-com-zom is highly worth the rental for a few chuckles and ewwws.

Official SAW 3D Theatrical Trailer Revealed

SAW 3D brings the franchise to a close, as a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy. A group of Jigsaw survivors have gathered to seek the support of self-help guru while fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man with his own dark secrets, is about to unleash a new wave of terror.

I'm sure its just a marketing gimmick to sell the 3D aspect of the movie, but the trailer almost has me believing that somehow the audience will become part of the movie, a la William Castle, making each viewing a unique experience. Maybe the view changes slightly depending on where you are sitting in the theater or somehow select seats are "chosen" to become part of a specific trap? Were that the case I might just have to plunk down my $13 dollars and reinvest in the series. I abandoned the franchise after watching SAW III.

We'll all find out how the "traps come alive" when SAW 3D opens in theaters nationwide October 29th, 2010.

THE DEAD PIT Movie Review

THE DEAD PIT (1989)

Twenty years ago, a mad surgeon named Ramzi worked at a hospital for the mentally insane and used his patients in a secret experiment deep within the hospital’s basement and found a way to conquer death just before being shot in the head and sealed in the tomb by a fellow doctor. Now, an earthquake has broken open the seal and the undead surgeon, who has patiently waited for his day to return and begin his experiments anew, has been let loose. It is on this very day that the hospital receives its latest patient, a buxom brunette who claims to have had her memory stolen and goes by the name of Jane Doe.

Jane spends each day being terrorized by images of the insane undead surgeon, although no one else seems to notice him, while at night her dreams are tormented by images of her past. But Ramzi is not content in just giving Jane goosebumps, and begins to kidnap patients and hospital staff, bringing them back to the now abandoned building where he continues his experiments in keeping the dead alive. When his army of still living and stumbling corpses is discovered, they are unleashed upon the hospital grounds to feed. Only Jane, a patient obsessed with explosives, and a little holy water can stop them!

As part of the last wave of horror films to be released in the 1980s, director Brett Leonard’s low budget zombie flick is a shambling hodgepodge of what makes these sort of creature features so great and at the same time so bad. With inspiration that can easily be traced back to RE-ANIMATOR, Leonard and co-writer Gimel Everett try to give their zombie hoards a fresh and perhaps even pseudo-scientific origin rather than the “no more room in Hell” motif. But as the zombies don’t make their appearance until well into the final reel of the movie, Leonard seems even more interested with providing as many chances as possible to get Jane Doe;s (Cheryl Lawson) well-endowed body into a tank-top that is two sizes too small, and providing politically incorrect humor at the expense of the mentally insane that wander in the background.

Despite this being his debut, Leonard, who would go on to give the cyberpunk genre two memorable entries with THE LAWNMOWER MAN and VIRTUOSITY, has all the makings of an entertaining schlockfest well in hand. With the movie being filmed inside an actual asylum for the criminally insane which had been closed down, the shadow-filled clinical feeling of the sets provides a very natural and uneasy tingling that permeates much of the movie. Leonard uses this with an amazing and resonating effect to build up a very suspenseful atmosphere with more than a dash of claustrophobia. Leonard also takes on the use of the tried-and-true 1980s style blue backlighting through fog to cast unearthly shadows across the screen.

While the zombies wait patiently just off stage for their chaotic reign of terror, Cheryl Lawson provides ample entertainment as Jane Doe. Sure she may not have the best line delivery (incidentally, she later found success as a stunt woman) and any attempt to become scream queen material leaves much to be desired. However she does have an incredible body and absolutely no shame when it comes to parading around in skimpy clothes on cold nights, and that goes a long way in a borderline exploitation movie like this. Danny Gochnauer, who makes his only screen appearance as here as Dr. Ramzi, uses his naturally demonic facial expressions coupled with some generously applied latex, to a make a memorable king of the zombies. The medical-themed puns he is entrusted with might even make Freddy Kruger cringe, but his creepy screen presence more than makes up for it.

Once the zombies become unleashed and Ramzi goes into overdrive conducting his experiments on his freshest victims, Brett Leonard and the special effects crew let the fake blood and gore flow. Some of their highlights include a dentist drill through the eye, the affects of holy water on a zombie, and an exposed brain being poked by acupuncture needles. Of course there is also the prerequisite brain munching and the bloody corpses that make up a majority of the zombie masses, and Leonard relishes in it all with great abandon. Though there are a few weak elements here and there, it all just adds to the overall charm of the production.

And that is what it all comes down to. THE DEAD PIT is certainly not without its faults, with more than a few questionable plot holes throughout the meandering story and nothing but b-grade acting across the board, but damn if it isn’t a fun and charming little zombie flick that never gets pretentious and never takes itself seriously. Leonard just wants to provide a hundred minutes of pure 80s cheese to the home video market, and that he most certainly does.

RABID (1977) Movie Review

RABID (1977)

When a young couple on a motorcycle are in a horrific crash, they are brought to the nearby plastic surgery hospital for emergency care, where the local surgeon uses an experimental skin grafting procedure to help heal Rose's (porn star Marilyn Chambers) wounds. After a month-long coma, Rose awakens to discover that she has an insatiable appetite for blood, which she draws from anyone who gets close to her via a penis-like growth that now protrudes out of her armpit. Scared and confused, Rose races out into the night, hoping to find her way back to the city where she can be safe. But with each victim that she attacks, she creates a frothing-at-the-mouth psychotic monster, who in turn attacks and creates more mindless raging creatures. By the time Rose has made her way back to the city, she has unknowingly created an epidemic which has forced martial law on the entire area!

Everyone's favorite gray-haired body-horror obsessed Canuck David Cronenberg is back after SHIVERS with his second feature-length nightmare, with partial funding from the Canadian government and Ivan Reitman serving as executive producer. This time around sex and desire are once again the enemy, with elective plastic surgery and the price of human physical perfection via experimentation added to the list. Though predating the AIDS scare of the 1980s, this is none the less a cautionary tale about the dangers of unprotected physical contact with strangers, and a warning about the consequences of unnaturally altering the human body. A majority of the film takes place at a plastic surgery institute, whose overseers discuss creating a plastic surgery franchise. Cronenberg deals with this installation and its inhabitants with pure disgust for those obsessed with human physical perfection.

Marilyn Chambers, the star and sensation of the 1972 porn classic BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR, shows off some solid acting chops here as Rose. Chambers' natural, innocent and intoxicatingly attractive look plays an important part in making RABID work the way it does. She performs with a vulnerability and slightly-spacey look on her face for most of the picture, which allows the seedier characters to attempt to take advantage of her. The twist is that she is the most dangerous character in the film, carrying a virus that will destroy any who get close to her within hours. That she is unaffected by the virus herself makes her all the more deadly. She is not shy about shedding her clothes here either, and thus we as viewers are filled with lust and become victims ourselves. Chambers appears in almost every scene, and even with her limited filmography, is able to muster a performance that keeps the film held together.

Taking some cues from George Romero's 1973 film THE CRAZIES, this virus turns its victims into grotesque mouth-foaming, eye-bulging lunatics who bite and claw at others, spreading the disease. The effects, even with the films obvious low-budget, are handled with a professional touch. They are effective, shocking, and above all disturbingly real. Cronenberg's takes another cue from Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, in which he keeps the viewer in the dark as to what exactly caused Rose's body to mutate the way it did and thus creating the virus, though several characters attempt to explain it throughout the movie. The film primarily revolves around Rose's subjective view about what is happening to her, and since no one explains to her what is wrong with her, we as viewers are left in the dark to the origins as well. It makes her character's experiences all the more frightening, and the more tragic.

Cronenberg's writing and directing style here is icy and already masterfully distant considering his short career at the time. He comes in close, whether literally with the camera or figuratively with the dialog, only when he absolutely has to, as if disgusted by the human race, the individual subjects at hand and what the species is capable of. Cronenberg doesn't flinch when showing what humans will go to whether it is a man trying to take advantage of a frail young woman, a bandaged patient nonchalantly discussing how many times they've had plastic surgery done, or the military's cold and calculating way of dealing with the epidemic through herding the masses like cattle and blindly executing anyone that has symptoms of the virus. This disgust is a stance that Cronenberg has taken again and again over the years in almost every project he's put his stamp on. Here in RABID though, it is particularly raw and unfiltered, and from the mind of an angry young man who sees the world a little differently than most, and wants those viewing to realize the ugly truth about what we are, what we do, and where we are going.

PIRANHA 3D Movie Review

PIRANHA 3D

Review by Mary Rizzo

Jaws with piranhas + boobs.

Fell asleep halfway thru.

With a background in American Studies, pretty much the only thing Mary Rizzo is qualified to write about is popular culture: food, fashion, ads, movies and so on. While she splits her time between nonprofit management, teaching, writing and baking bread, her ultimate goal in life is to get to ride in a deep-sea submersible.

ATTACK OF THE BLIND DEAD (1973) Movie Review

ATTACK OF THE BLIND DEAD (1973)

500 years ago, the Templar Knights were finally captured by a small village, and had their eyes burned out so they couldn't find their way back from Hell before being put the stake. Every year since then, the village has held a festival celebrating their victory and have let the Templars' pledge to return from the grave to seek revenge fad into myth and legend, save for the village idiot, Murdo. On the evening of the latest festivities, Murdo sacrifices a virgin, and uses her blood to finally bring the Templars back to life.

The Templars, shrouded in decaying cloaks and riding a herd of dead horses with their swords brandished, hunt only by the sound of their soon-to-be victims' screams. As the village is slaughtered by the dozens, a small group escapes and barricades themselves in a church. But instead of fighting together, they individually try to escape, in hopes of leaving the others for the Templars, only to find themselves surrounded by the bloodthirsty knights. With daylight still hours away, who will stay alive long enough to see the sun rise again? The Mayor? The mother and child? Murdo? Or will each find fall before the night is through.

This is the second film in Spanish director/writer Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead cycle, which are each stand alone films and not interlinked save for the main antagonists. This film is known by several alternate titles, including RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD and RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD, both capitalizing on the first movie, 1971's TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD. De Ossorio's dead are different from the then newly-founded flesh-eating zombies that were the rage in America and the UK thanks to George A Romero. Here, the victims are not eaten and do not return to life, and the Templars are dry and brittle skeletal corpses with limited commuting skill and strategic plotting. Their main goal is either revenge or to collect virgin's blood in order to resurrect, depending on the movie being watched.

In this film, de Ossorio blends a mixture of gothic ghost-like atmosphere, using plenty of fog, shadows and a dream quality slow-motion when focusing on the horse-riding corpses, with brutal violence and exposed flesh that were becoming the staples of 70's horror. Most characters meet their end through close-up impalements that does not hold back the red. There is also a familiarity here for zombie enthusiasts, as the final third of the film feels very reminiscent to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and it is probably no coincidence that many of the characters here have a striking resemblance to the barricaded septet in Romero's masterpiece.

ATTACK OF THE BLIND DEAD (which is the original title translated to English) has been plagued by cuts and edits for all of its home releases here in the United States. Even the claimed "uncut" laserdisc and original DVD releases did not contain the full Spanish version, but merely the uncut English language version, which omitted practically all of the gore and even crucial plot points including the scene where Murdo sacrifices the virgin, leaving the viewers to make guesses as to why the Templars finally rise from the grave. Fortunately, sleaze aficionados Blue Underground finally put all that behind for zombie lovers everywhere in 2005 with their DVD release. It features both the Spanish and English versions, and showcases a fantastic print of the film considering the age of the movie and the mistreatment it has received over the years.

De Ossorio's Blind Dead films, and this one in particular, while an interesting take on the living dead genre, still fall a little short to their American and Italian cousins. The film takes a little time to get moving, and even then plods along until the final third of the movie. Horror fans of all things "zombie" and those sentimental for 1970s exploitation should not miss out on watching at least one of these films though for archival purposes at the very least. For casual fans this is not essential viewing, but having one of these movies under your belt will definitely your horizons and is worth at least a rental come the next Dia De Los Muertos.

THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN (2007) Movie Review

THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN (2007)
(aka CARVED)

Rumors have been circulating from child to child in a small Japanese town that the Slit-Mouthed Woman has returned. She is an entity that appears for children alone, wearing a long raincoat, holding a giant pair of sewing shears, and has a horribly disfigured face with a jagged slash from ear to ear. After asking the child "Am I pretty?" she takes the child back to her hideout to cut up in her own image. When a child disappears from the playground, the entire town goes into hysterics, and when a second child is kidnapped, a teacher from the school, Ms Yamashita, witnesses the Slit-Mouthed Woman before both disappear.

Yamashita becomes obsessed with finding the young girl, and when she crosses paths with a fellow teacher, Mr. Matsuzaki, she learns much more than she bargained for. Matsuzaki believes that the Slit-Mouthed Woman is actually his mother from thirty years ago. He describes the constant abuse he and his siblings took from the fists of his chronically ill mother, and fears that she has since returned to the land of the living to kill him as well. Following the consistently corroborating rumors that they have heard from the children, Matsuzaki comes to the realization that the Slit-Mouthed Woman has once again taken up residence in the now abandoned house where he used to live.

The power and destruction that rumors and gossip can have when they spread like wildfire and morph into what is perceived to be truth takes on an unstoppable physical manifestation in this horror tale from director and co-writer Koji Shiraishi, who pulls pieces from a well-known Japanese folk legend for his tale. Shiraishi begins the film with an ambiguous energy that is not unlike the chicken-or-egg question. It is never revealed whether the Slit-Mouthed Woman strikes first, which start the rumors, or if the rumors start first which brings her into the real world. In either case, the Slit-Mouthed Woman draws her power from the collective gossip and fears circulating around the town. In that sense, she is very much Japan's answer to Freddy Krueger of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, with a maternal twist. She is an unstoppable force that can not be killed. She has no true physical form, and can only be seen when she possesses the body of a caring mother.

Koji Shiraishi, who has spent his entire filmmaking career in the warm embrace of Japan's horror community, is no stranger to shadows and jump scares. He utilizes these skills into a very subtle yet driving force within the context of the film here. His camera slowly pans and creeps along doorways and walls, obstructing the view just enough to make you anticipate the next shocking moment. However, the most horrific moments and the most difficult scenes to watch come from the flashback sequences of Matsuzaki's youth. Here, as a human, Matsuzaki's mother is truly a monster. Shiraishi lets his camera linger as the woman walks from child to child, striking with her fists. The muffled sound of each contact will send pangs of helplessness down through your soul, and Shiraishi holds just long enough for the viewers own protective instincts to kick in before turning away. This is where the film finds its greatest success, and it is these scenes that will most likely stay with the viewer longest.

Although children seem to be the targets of this entity, it is the mothers of the town that are the true victims. They become powerless and helpless to stop their children from being taken away, even when they attempt to protect them with their very lives via maternal instinct. That these caring mothers are possessed by the Slit-Mouthed Woman, who then in turn maims and murders, is the ultimate perversion of maternal care. This monster's only instinct is to lash out, hurt, and kill not only her own children, but any child that has a loving environment. Teens have long been fodder for slaughtering, but only in very rare instances do young children become victims in modern horror. In the world of this movie, young children are not safe from harm, and the film's creators take a daring step over a line that has been repeatedly drawn in cinema.

Within the murder and maiming sequences though, almost all of the actual penetration and cutting is done just off camera. Instead, sound is used to its greatest potential here. Horror crafters have long known that the mind can create a vision far more terrifying than anything that can be faked, and Shiraishi is certainly no exception. The grisly sounds the Slit-Mouthed Woman's sewing shears make will send shivers down the spine. Most people have probably been cut by scissors at some point in their life, and that real-life connection to pain makes the scenes just that more agonizing to watch. We are shown multiple mouth-gaping shots of the Slit-Mouthed Woman throughout the film, which are quite convincing. These are not the neat and surgical cuts of ICHI THE KILLER's Kakihara, these are jagged slashes, with the skin looking like it has even been torn beyond the initial cut.

The subject matter at hand is quite subjective. While those viewing who do not have children will most likely focus on the more supernatural mystery end of the film's spectrum, parents watching will no doubt be focusing on the plight of the worrying parents. More sensitive viewers may want to avoid this one, as this is a fairly mean-spirited film and though you'll get some good scares out of it, there is little entertainment value to be found here.

Co-Writer Confirms that SAW 3D Will Be Last Movie

Co-Writer Patrick Melton had this to say about rumors of an eighth SAW script already being written, "At one point we had an idea for two more movies. But after VI opened, we decided to combine everything into one last film, which is SAW 3D. This one is the last shebang!"

So there you have it, the series is coming to a close. Though I guess there's always the inevitable remake of the original which will inevitably spin off into its own original franchise.

SAW 3D is current set to open in theaters October 29th.

SHOGUN ASSASSIN Movie Review

SHOGUN ASSASSIN (1980)

When the shogun's head assassin Ogami defies an order to commit seppuku, and then kills the shogun's son in a duel, both he and his son are marked for death. Ogami and his young son Daigoro wander the countryside, hiring themselves out as hired killers and always, always on the lookout for ninjas. They could be anywhere or anyone. For the pair's latest hiring, they have been asked to murder the shogun's brother. Ogami accepts, but before he can kill his target, he must first face off against the three Masters Of Death!

It is impossible to keep a body count and impossible not to enjoy this purely guilty pleasure that has been keeping samurai fans squealing with delight for decades. SHOGUN ASSASSIN is a strange hybrid unlike anything else in cinema. "Director" and writer Robert Houston took footage from the first two LONE WOLF AND CUB films from the early seventies, which were film adaptations of an extremely popular manga, and spliced them into one film. Next, he wrote the English dialogue that would be dubbed by American actors. Finally, through musician W. Michael Lewis, he added in a completely new score that thumps and bumps with lo-fi electronica and jazzy grooves, leaving just a bit of the original score.

While the original six-part Japanese films series was filled to the brim with a historically accurate account of the Japanese Edo period, it is now remembered much more so for the relentless bloodbath action sequences that came with Toho's attempt to give Japanese audiences a reason to go to the cinema, and give them thrills and excitement that couldn't be found on television. Today, these movies still championed for their almost-comical decapitations and dismembering of limbs, and the geysers of blood to follow. These are the parts that Houston knew his audience would want, and in the creation of SHOGUN ASSASSIN has stripped out most of the political and slower portions of the film to get to Ogami's masterful way with a sword and dispatching ninja after ninja.

And boy does Ogami know how to dispatch ninjas! Ogami is not just content with using his sword to slice and dice with more precision than a ginzu knife, but also uses a staff with blades on both ends to remove his enemy of their heads! Even little Daigoro gets involved, with his baby cart filled with hidden weapons. With just the simplest hit of secret panels, blades pop out of the wheels, spears fly through the air, and knives pop out of the handles. However, the lone wolf and his cub are not the only ones who know how to take a life. Among those who would attempt to stop Ogami are a band of female ninjas that work like a school of piranha removing bits and pieces of their target until there is nothing left but the stump of a torso, and the three Masters Of Death. This trio, who wear oversized straw hats, are each trained in one specific weapon - nail covered gloves, a deadly studded club, and a giant metal claw! Their accuracy with these weapons is matched only by their cruelty when they use them.

Although I will be the first to denounce the unnecessary dubbing of any foreign film, for SHOGUN ASSASSIN I will not only accept the dub (there, in fact, is no Japanese version of this movie) but applaud Houston for his approach to the dub. The actors approach the material with a serious yet soft tone, almost completely opposite of what you would think of for most kung fu dubs, and are able to act with their voices. Sure, there is the standard over enunciation and maniacal laughter, but it is relegated to the scenes where it works. Of standout here is Gibran Evans, in his only credited performance, who dubs Daigoro and tells most of the movie's story via the character's voice over. His voice is sweet and innocent, with just a hint of fear, and flows like a little brook through a bloody battlefield.

SHOGUN ASSASSIN has had its share of infamy and praise over the years. In the early eighties, it was marked as one of the "video nasties" in the UK when the Video Recordings Act of 1984 was passed. It has since been passed by the BFCC and for a long time was the only place to get an official release of the movie. The soundtrack was sampled for GZA's 1995 hip-hop album "Liquid Swords". The movie surged back into pop culture earlier this decade when Quentin Tarantino mimicked the insane bloodletting during the House Of Blue Leaves sequence in KILL BILL Vol. 1 and named dropped it at the end of KILL BILL Vol. 2.

For years and years in the US, this film was only available on murky multi-generation VHS and poorly-transferred DVD bootlegs. US company AnimEigo has since released a restored and reconstructed version of the movie, using the remastered prints from the LONE WOLF AND CUB series. The film has never looked better!

Photos and DVD Cover Released for NIGHT OF THE DEMONS Remake

A remake of NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is finally getting its DVD and Blu-Ray debut just in time for Halloween when it is released on October 19th. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS is directed by Adam Gierasch and includes Shannon Elizabeth, Monica Keena, Bobbi Sue Luther, Diora Baird and Edward Furlong plus horror queens Tiffany Shepis and Linnea Quigley.

Angela Feld is throwing the Halloween party to end all Halloween parties at the infamous Broussard Mansion in New Orleans, where dark events transpired almost a century ago. But when the packed party gets busted by the police, Angela and her friends Maddie, Lily, Suzanne, Colin, Dex and Jason are the only ones left behind. Soon Colin and Angela make a grisly discovery in the basement and inexplicable events start to take place. With the mansion gates mysteriously locked, the seven find themselves trapped for the night...and soon they're fighting ancient demons for their very souls.

HUMAN LANTERNS Movie and DVD Review

HUMAN LANTERNS (1982)

Rivals Lung and Tan have been at each other for years, trying to best the other in everything from martial arts skills to festival competitions. When Tan invites Lung to his home, only to show off what will be his entry in this year’s lantern competition, Lung is jealous and humbled. But when Tan brings out a local prostitute in front of Lung and his wife, who Lung has been secretly seeing, Lung is humiliated. Vowing revenge, Lung turns to a master lantern craftsman (Shaw Brothers legend Lo Lieh) to construct a lantern guaranteed to win the competition.

Meanwhile, a psychotic madman with a mastery over monkey-style kung fu has vowed to take away everything that is precious to Tan and Lung. Dressed in black and donning a skull mask, the madman begins to kidnap women including Tan’s sister and Lung’s wife. Tan and Lung at once begin to suspect each other, and bring in the local police to place blame on one another. The police begin to search for clues, hoping to find the women still alive, unaware the kidnapped victims have already been skinned alive to be used as material for the madman’s dazzling lanterns.

Mixing the expected incredible martial arts choreography that the Shaw Brothers are known for with the rising desire for macabre subject matter of the early eighties, director Sun Chung (THE SEXY KILLER, THE AVENGING EAGLE) along with co-writer Ni Kuang, who has written pretty much every worthwhile Shaw Brothers title since the mid 1960s, created what would become one of the studio’s most sought after cult films.

Starting with the shocking and seductive title, which also goes by the slight more descriptive Human Skin Lanterns, the film proceeds to deliver the goods with several jaw-dropping sequences in which the still living women are turned into raw material for lanterns while strung up in a fog-drenched torture chamber and workshop. Using clever camera angles, along with latex, flesh-toned fabrics and copious amounts of bright red food coloring, these sequences may even bring a grimace to those with a penchant for gore and horror. While the grotesque skinning is shown as much as it can, just enough is left not seen in order for a vivid imagination to fill in the blanks.

But for its alluring title and gory sequences, the film is much more in line with putting another notch in the Shaw Brothers’ martial arts belt than experimenting and expanding into horror. Lung and Tan, played by Liu Yung and Chen Kuan-Tai respectively, provide several fun one-on-one martial arts duels using classic Shaw Brothers choreography techniques. But it is the fight sequences that focus on the mystery madman that are surely the highlight of the film. His style, which emulates the movements of a wild monkey, is made all the more unreal by altering the film speed of the camera. By either slowing down or speeding up the movements, his attacks seem impossible to overcome, and merely toys with his kidnap victims and opponents until he is through having his fun.

Individually, the macabre horror and martial arts scenes are well done and left on their own provide great entertainment. But this is clearly a case where the parts are greater than their sum. Sun Chung often has difficulty switching between the vastly different styles, and the jarring editing at times feel like two entirely different films were used to create one. That being said, it is certainly nowhere close to ruining the picture, but perhaps a more thought out singular feel would have made the editing flow better and given fans and even greater movie.

Helping to give HUMAN LANTERNS its rise in cult status and infamy is due to the unavailability of an uncut print on any commercial format. Originally released in its entirety for its 1982 theatrical run in Hong Kong, subsequent VHS releases had much of the gore and nudity cut out. Even for its remastered release on DVD in 2003 by Celestial Pictures in Hong Kong, some of the most noticeable cuts remained and left fans more than a bit disappointed. But now, with the help of Image Entertainment through their Eastern Masters banner, the hunt is a thing of the past. Sporting extended footage of the these infamous scenes, this release is exactly what the fans have been waiting for.

Using Celestial Pictures remastered print, Image provides an anamorphic widescreen transfer with the original Mandarin soundtrack along with English and Spanish subtitles. The DVD features an interview with actress Shaw Yin-Yin, who recalls her days at Shaw Brothers and her time on the set of HUMAN LANTERNS. Also included is one of the skin peeling scenes with alternate footage cut in, as well as a selection of production stills. Finishing out the disc are a large assortment of classic martial arts and action movie trailers from Hong Kong.

SICK NURSES Movie Review

SICK NURSES (2007)

In a rundown hospital that never seems to have any patients, Dr. Taa and his harem of sexy nurses sell dead bodies on the black market to make extra money. But when one of the nurses Tahwaan, who was supposed to marry Dr. Taa, becomes jealous after he decides to marry another nurse, she threatens to go to the police. For her disobedience, she is murdered by the rest of the nurses and put on ice to become the next body sold.

But on the seventh day after her murder, Tahwaan returns in the form of a vengeful spirit with her sights set on killing the nurses. Taking a play out of John Doe’s handbook, Tahwaan begins using each nurse’s particular vice to dispatch them in bloody and torturous ways. As the hospital’s black and white tiled floors are stained red, the ever dwindling survivors believe that they only have to survive until midnight which is when Tahwaan will lose her spirit form. But Tahwaan has a particular trick up her sleeve to ensure that the clock never reaches 12:01!

Short on plot and even shorter on character development, co-director and writers Piraphan Laoyont and Thodsapol Siriwiwat embark on a rather misogynistic trip that takes a look at the excessive vices and jealousy that brews within women. To these two, apparently, women are nothing more than vain and vindictive creatures who only enjoy looking their best and being number one. This view is reflected in their choice of actresses, many of whom make their film debut here and deliver their lines tenuously at best, and seem to be chosen only for their sexual energy and ability to shriek.

The hospital setting, with flickering fluorescent bulbs and eerily painted hallways, is laid out as a labyrinth like maze of endless twists, turns, and random tables of surgical equipment. Hospitals are scary enough as it is, and that is before you drench it in a nighttime setting, which provides all the natural lack of light necessary to keep the shadows thick and piled up in corners, and add in some boiler pipes and a room full of specimens in jars. The nightmarish quality of this hospital is outstanding, and provides all them ample atmosphere for a few great scares.

Where the film does shine through is with their ghost creation, who supplies some very bloody and satisfying kill sequences. This ghost, which is painted black and wears a draping black dress at first appears to be nothing more than another generic long-haired spirit, but quickly breaks out of this mold to become one of the more creative killers in recent East Asian horror. Though she has the standard ability to spread her hair out like tentacles, she takes particular pleasure in possessing part of her victim and forcing them to bring about their own demise. These particularly grim sequences include a bulimic who is forced to eat a mouthful of metal, forcing a pregnant woman to impale her own stomach, and forcing one woman to use a bone saw to remove another woman’s legs.

SICK NURSES continues the trend of low-budget Thai horror, who will take bad taste to the extreme, exploit sensitive topics for a buck, splatter the screen with grisly violence, and inject sexual objectification where ever they can, but will not for any reason whatsoever show nipple. After all, using a fetus from a jar of formaldehyde as a killing device is a-okay, but nudity is strictly forbidden! Fans of spraying blood and the final sequence in GOZU, and those with a predilection for Asian women in nurse outfits should definitely seek this out.