I sat down this afternoon and watched my DVD-R of a 1982 slasher horror film called Humongous. I've been on a mission of sorts over the last few years to buy campy 80's slasher horror movies on DVD and would definitely buy this Paul Lynch directed movie if it was on official DVD...but it isn't, yet. I've seen some internet speculation that Scorpion is planning to release Humongous on official R1 DVD in either late 2011(October) or the spring of 2012. I sure hope so. Slasher horror film fans who have not seen this movie should. Is it a work of art? Absolutely not but it is, I think, considerably better than most reviews I've seen for this film on the web. Director Paul Lynch gets quite a few things right with this movie: the hulking man monster who stalks(and kills) the group of stranded young people on "Dog Island" is never fully revealed in appearance until near the end of the film which definitely adds a great element of mystery to the character. The use of shadows is done quite well by the director as well and the audio rendering of "Humongous" is very effective: the hulking man beast emits variations of dog like growls and roars which definitely add to the "creep" factor of this antagonist. The man monster is played by Garry Robbins, a seven foot, five inch tall Canadian actor-stuntman and "tallest man in Canada" who would later return as one of the crazed, deformed and inbred hillbillies commonly referred to as "Sawtooth" in the 2003 horror film Wrong Turn. Admittedly the acting in Paul Lynch's Humongous is pedestrian and the film itself borrows heavily from the "Friday The 13th" films. Still, I think Humongous(1982) is worth an official DVD release. Slasher horror fans should give this one a look: I think they'll be glad they did.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Growth spurt: Gnaw-Food Of The Gods 2(1989)
I've always been a huge fan of horror movies which feature giant animals on the loose. There are so many of them out there I'm not going to even begin trying to list those that I like. I will give some limited props to 1989's Gnaw - Food Of The Gods Part 2, a film which, like the 1976 movie Food Of The Gods, takes a look at what happens when various animals consume an experimental chemical which causes unchecked growth. Like the '76 film, Gnaw-Food Of The Gods Part 2 employs rats, and lots of them, as the film's proverbial "bad guys". These rodents consume tomatoes that have been fertilized with a scientist's experimental growth concoction. The rats, after attacking a group of students engaged in trying to destroy the laboratory in which they have been caged, escape to the underground sewer system of a college campus where they proceed to grow as big as large canines and with a generally hostile disposition. The college dean predictably turns a blind eye to the rat problem on campus and a ceremony is held to christen a brand new athletic facility despite the infestation and menace of the enlarged and vicious rats. The rats crash the ceremony and all hell breaks loose. There is the expected gore and blood in this film, mostly from rats chewing off body parts of victims. The effects of these creatures is not what I would call great but they are serviceable and the film itself is campy and never takes itself too seriously. One of the scariest sequences in this film, for me was the young boy who experienced an unnatural growth spurt courtesy of this experimental drug, especially the ending(no spoilers).
The DVD I recently purchased of this movie is fairly basic, presented in a 1.33.1 full frame aspect ratio and with only scene selection option. Luckily I have a "16.9" widescreen viewing option on one of my televisions that I used to reduce the stretch effect from a 1.33.1 full frame image.To see this film for sale on R1 DVD at Amazon click the DVD cover art image above.
The films' trailer:
The DVD I recently purchased of this movie is fairly basic, presented in a 1.33.1 full frame aspect ratio and with only scene selection option. Luckily I have a "16.9" widescreen viewing option on one of my televisions that I used to reduce the stretch effect from a 1.33.1 full frame image.To see this film for sale on R1 DVD at Amazon click the DVD cover art image above.
The films' trailer:
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Gojiramatthew's Zombie Flesh Eaters - Music Video
One of the things I enjoy most as the founder of my internet message board Monsterland Forums is the opportunity to promote the work, be it video, story or artwork, of one of my board's members. The below video was produced by a member of my online community who lives in Australia and goes by the username "gojiramatthew". Click the video below to listen to Matthew's latest video which is an homage to one of director Lucio Fulci's zombie horror films.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
E-reptile dysfunction: Alligator(1980)
Seems like there are so many horror movies on the market featuring menacing, and often over-sized reptiles, that even a dedicated horror movie fan like myself can lose track of them. Just about every decade starting with the 1960's has seen movies produced to capitalize on rampaging lizards, snakes and other reptilian mutations. Films that come to mind include The Alligator people(1959), Hammer Film's The Reptile, The Giant Gila Monster(1959), Anaconda(1997) and Crocodile(2000).
Two of my personal favorite horror films featuring ravenous reptiles are the 1976, Tobe Hooper directed Eaten Alive, which features a grubby bayou motel owner who has this nasty habit of feeding his guests to his pet alligator...and Alligator, directed by Lewis Teague and originally released in theaters back in 1980.
The film's story: a small, pet alligator named "Ramon" is unceremoniously flushed down the toilet by the Kendall family after being deemed a nuisance, the unwanted reptile ending up in a Chicago, Illinois sewer where the small creature, feeding on discarded and experimental laboratory dog carcasses(part of some experiments with hormones), not only survives but grows to a colossal length of thirty six(36) feet and two thousand pounds. The hungry, monster sized gator, to satisfy its hunger dines on homeless people and other vagrants. When body parts begin turning up in a public, man made city lake, a local cop named "David Madison"(played by Robert Forster) and a reptile expert named "Marisa Kendall"(played by Robin Riker) team up to investigate who, or what is doing the killing. Madison, a good guy and veteran cop with a tragic past, is predictably under the gun to find the killer by his caustic boss, Chief Clark...who also rejects the cop's claim the killer may be an animal of some kind.
The alligator eventually decides to tour the city and blasts through the street, literally, beginning a murderous, bloody rampage as it devours numerous locals who happen to get too close to its enormous and powerful jaws. The police try to kill the huge animal and fail. To that end a renowned and equally arrogant, surly big game hunter, "Colonel Brock"(played by Henry Silva) has arrived in town to kill the giant alligator. The climax of the movie features the cop and his lady scientist pal taking on the huge gator in one last ditch effort to stop the creature. (no other spoilers)
Observations: this film's effects are obviously dated by today's standards but the effects used to render the giant gator, including close up shots, are quite decent. Director Lewis Teague allows for some suspense before revealing the enormous creature from head to tail. Robert Forster is effective as a cop who, when not fretting about his receding hairline, displays real guts and determination in stopping the giant gator. Henry Silva's character, the big game hunter, is easy to despise: smug, conceited and brusque, he arrogantly presumes he will easily kill the huge alligator(which he doesn't by the way). The film obviously includes violence and some gore but not what I would call an excessive amount of gore. More attention seems to be focused by the director on the victims' sheer terror in the moments leading up to their being consumed by the giant gator as opposed to simply showcasing the blood, body parts and carnage. That doesn't mean there aren't numerous scenes of what I refer to as "meatball effects" because there are, you can be certain of that. The climax of the film, while not spectacular, is a satisfying conclusion to the movie, for me anyway. The highlight of this movie, from an effects perspective, might be the sequence where the monster sized alligator literally crashes an outdoor party attended by many local VIPs, the garden party quickly becoming a human stock yard of blood and flying bodies and body parts. The ensuing chaos and carnage caused by the arrival of the enormous alligator is well rendered as people scatter in terror, tables are upended, some of the party's attendees are trampled and of course there are those who become victims of the giant reptile.
The film's trailer:
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released Alligator to quality R1 DVD(remastered picture and audio), the film presented in its original 1:78.1 widescreen aspect ratio and 5.1 digital audio. DVD extras include an audio commentary with director Lewis Teague and actor Robert Forster, an interview with writer John Sayles, English closed caption option and English/Spanish subtitles option.
The movie for sale on R1 DVD(Lionsgate) at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alligator-Robert-Forster/dp/B000SQFBZA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1303852893&sr=1-1
(or click the title of this blog entry to see the DVD for sale at Amazon)
Two of my personal favorite horror films featuring ravenous reptiles are the 1976, Tobe Hooper directed Eaten Alive, which features a grubby bayou motel owner who has this nasty habit of feeding his guests to his pet alligator...and Alligator, directed by Lewis Teague and originally released in theaters back in 1980.
The film's story: a small, pet alligator named "Ramon" is unceremoniously flushed down the toilet by the Kendall family after being deemed a nuisance, the unwanted reptile ending up in a Chicago, Illinois sewer where the small creature, feeding on discarded and experimental laboratory dog carcasses(part of some experiments with hormones), not only survives but grows to a colossal length of thirty six(36) feet and two thousand pounds. The hungry, monster sized gator, to satisfy its hunger dines on homeless people and other vagrants. When body parts begin turning up in a public, man made city lake, a local cop named "David Madison"(played by Robert Forster) and a reptile expert named "Marisa Kendall"(played by Robin Riker) team up to investigate who, or what is doing the killing. Madison, a good guy and veteran cop with a tragic past, is predictably under the gun to find the killer by his caustic boss, Chief Clark...who also rejects the cop's claim the killer may be an animal of some kind.
The alligator eventually decides to tour the city and blasts through the street, literally, beginning a murderous, bloody rampage as it devours numerous locals who happen to get too close to its enormous and powerful jaws. The police try to kill the huge animal and fail. To that end a renowned and equally arrogant, surly big game hunter, "Colonel Brock"(played by Henry Silva) has arrived in town to kill the giant alligator. The climax of the movie features the cop and his lady scientist pal taking on the huge gator in one last ditch effort to stop the creature. (no other spoilers)
Observations: this film's effects are obviously dated by today's standards but the effects used to render the giant gator, including close up shots, are quite decent. Director Lewis Teague allows for some suspense before revealing the enormous creature from head to tail. Robert Forster is effective as a cop who, when not fretting about his receding hairline, displays real guts and determination in stopping the giant gator. Henry Silva's character, the big game hunter, is easy to despise: smug, conceited and brusque, he arrogantly presumes he will easily kill the huge alligator(which he doesn't by the way). The film obviously includes violence and some gore but not what I would call an excessive amount of gore. More attention seems to be focused by the director on the victims' sheer terror in the moments leading up to their being consumed by the giant gator as opposed to simply showcasing the blood, body parts and carnage. That doesn't mean there aren't numerous scenes of what I refer to as "meatball effects" because there are, you can be certain of that. The climax of the film, while not spectacular, is a satisfying conclusion to the movie, for me anyway. The highlight of this movie, from an effects perspective, might be the sequence where the monster sized alligator literally crashes an outdoor party attended by many local VIPs, the garden party quickly becoming a human stock yard of blood and flying bodies and body parts. The ensuing chaos and carnage caused by the arrival of the enormous alligator is well rendered as people scatter in terror, tables are upended, some of the party's attendees are trampled and of course there are those who become victims of the giant reptile.
The film's trailer:
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released Alligator to quality R1 DVD(remastered picture and audio), the film presented in its original 1:78.1 widescreen aspect ratio and 5.1 digital audio. DVD extras include an audio commentary with director Lewis Teague and actor Robert Forster, an interview with writer John Sayles, English closed caption option and English/Spanish subtitles option.
The movie for sale on R1 DVD(Lionsgate) at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alligator-Robert-Forster/dp/B000SQFBZA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1303852893&sr=1-1
(or click the title of this blog entry to see the DVD for sale at Amazon)
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