Best Cheesy Horror of 1986: MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, CHOPPING MALL, & More!

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986) d. Stephen King (USA)
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986) d. Fred Dekker (USA)
CHOPPING MALL (1986) d. Jim Wynorski (USA)
TERRORVISION (1986) d. Ted Nicolau (USA)
KILLER PARTY (1986) d. William Fruet (Canada)

**CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL YOUTUBE EPISODE**

If you love horror with a little extra cheese on top, 1986 might be one of the most glorious years the genre ever produced. Tonight, we’re digging into five low-budget cult favorites that prove horror and comedy have always made a deliciously messy combination.

LUCKY BASTARD (2014) DVD review

Lucky Bastard (2014) d. Robert Nathan (USA)

Fading porn producer and director Mike (Don McManus) runs the “Lucky Bastard” website, which arranges and records the sexual exploits of their devoted male fans with adult film professionals. Against her better judgment but in need of cash, sexy starlet Ashley St. Clair (Betsy Rue) is cajoled into pairing off with eager amateur “Dave G.” (Jay Paulson) for a bout of interweb wank material. Unfortunately, Dave turns out to be a little too eager both in and out of the bedroom – he surprises his co-star by revealing her real name and then prematurely loses the crew from his pink submarine. Emotions run high and devil-deals are made, all captured within the hidden-camera laden lair, but as the crime scene footage that opens the film makes clear, there is no “happy ending” in store for anyone.

THE WASP WOMAN (1995) movie review

Wasp Woman, The (1995) d. Jim Wynorski (USA)

Janice Starlin (Jennifer Rubin), owner and lead model of Starlin Cosmetics, finds that her looks and company stock have begun to sag a little, leading her investors to suggest that she step down and find a newer, younger model (Maria Ford). Stung by such criticisms (ohoho, so witty), she recruits discredited scientist Dr. Zinthorp (Daniel J. Travanti) to use her as his human guinea pig for an incredibly volatile new serum derived from, you guessed it, wasp hormones.

SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS (2012) movie review

Screaming in High Heels: The Rise and Fall of the Scream Queen era (2011) d. Collum, Jason Paul

The three most influential, successful and beloved actresses ever to bear the title of “scream queen,” Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer, are given their rightful due in this insightful, good natured documentary which examines the ladies’ distinctive charms and the circumstances surrounding their respective rise to cult stardom. Assembling a startling amount of video clips and interview footage, Cullom (aided immeasurably by Derrick Carey’s pitch perfect editing) celebrates the charming femmes alongside various players in the direct-to-video 80s boom (Fred Olen Ray, Jim Wynorski, etc), granting these artists some long overdue respect. Far from bimbos, the trio of top-popping thespians reveal themselves to be congenial, intelligent, well-spoken and self-aware women with no regrets about the legacy they’ve left behind. If you weren’t under their spell already, you will be come the final credits crawl.

DINOSAUR ISLAND (1994) review

Dinosaur Island (1994) (1st viewing) d. Wynorski, Jim / Ray, Fred Olen (USA)

One look at the directors’ credits should tell you what you’re in for. Yes, the comedy team of Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski, those purveyors of energetic, bouncy, low budget fun, ride the Jurassic Park gravy train with a bevy of bountiful babes who just can’t seem to keep their clothes on and “dinosaurs genetically engineered and trained by” f/x whiz John Carl Buechler. (Read as: hand puppets and a smattering of dodgy stop motion animation. If the T-Rex seems a little familiar, you probably saw it in 1993’s Carnosaur.) The anemic plot: a small military plane containing hard-nosed Ross Hagen and a shiftless trio of brig-bound bozos (Richard Gabai, Peter Spellos, Tom Shell) crash lands on an uncharted island inhabited entirely by prehistoric beasts and fur bikini-wearing beauts (namely Michelle Bauer, Antonia Dorian, Griffin Drew, Toni Naples and Nikki Fritz). After a series of (un)wisecracking misadventures – Gabai’s “witty” retorts will wear out your throwing arm – the boobs pair off with the babes and the film’s remaining run time trades between episodes of fleshy canoodling and flesh eating carnivores. Classic late-night Skinemax entertainment the way it used to be done.