FROM BEYOND (1986) & DAGON (2001): Goo, Gore & Elder Gods (Stuart Gordon’s Wet and Weird Lovecraft Films)

FROM BEYOND (1986) d. Stuart Gordon (USA)
DAGON (2001) d. Stuart Gordon (Spain)

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Following the cult success of Re-Animator, director Stuart Gordon continued refining his visceral, darkly comic approach to H. P. Lovecraft the following year with 1986’s From Beyond and, 15 years later, Dagon (2001). Rather than adhering strictly to Lovecraft’s prose, Gordon and screenwriter Dennis Paoli emphasized sensory excess—transforming cosmic dread into something immediate, tactile, and perversely entertaining.

RE-ANIMATOR (1985) AT 40: GREEN, GOO, GUTS, AND GAGS!!

RE-ANIMATOR (1985) d. Stuart Gordon (USA)
BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR (1990) d. Brian Yuzna (USA)
BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR (2003) d. Brian Yuzna (Spain)

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Stuart Gordon’s debut feature Re-Animator is a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek blend of horror, sci-fi, and dark comedy that helped define the splatter subgenre of the 1980s. Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s serialized novella and set at the fabled Miskatonic University, the wildly intense Herbert West (deliciously played by Jeffrey Combs) embarks on a series of experiments to bring the dead back to life—with increasingly chaotic and outrageous results.

TO DIE FOR (1988) / TO DIE FOR II (1991) Movie Review

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Belgian filmmaker and horror enthusiast Gert Verbeeck and AC continue their journey through the 80s/90s Direct-to-Video (DTV) boom, assaying a pair of double-fisted, double-fanged vampire flicks that emerged in the wake of the mid-1980s bloodsucker bash that served up such popcorn classics as Fright Night, Near Dark, The Lost Boys, and Vamp!

SCANNER COP (1994) / SCANNER COP II (1995) Movie Review

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Belgian filmmaker and horror enthusiast Gert Verbeeck is back in the Doc's office, this time to talk about a couple of belated sequels to David Cronenberg's 1980 class-sick, SCANNERS. Apparently, the Canadian wunderkind signed away the rights to his characters at some point to producer Pierre David, who decided to crank out Scanners II and Scanners III (both 1991), and then these two law enforcement-themed flicks three years later!

ZONE TROOPERS (1985) Blu-ray Review

Zone Troopers (1985) d. Bilson, Danny (USA) (86 min)

In contrast to this month’s other KRYPTIC ARMY selection, while I had been aware of its indelible box art staring back at me for decades from the VHS shelves, Zone Troopers had never really struck me as “must-see material,” and being that I was never the biggest Empire/Full Moon fan growing up, it was never more than a blip on my radar. However, as the years rolled by and my tastes mellowed, I’ve learned to appreciate and enjoy quite a bit of Charles Band’s output, so it was with a mild degree of optimism that I pulled this one up off the interwebs. Happily, I was not disappointed.

THE LAUGHING DEAD (1989) movie review

The Laughing Dead (1989) d. Somtow Sucharitkul (USA)

A faith-challenged priest (Tim Sullivan) leads a group of vacationers on an archeology tour in Mexico and stumbles into a legion of demons, both personal and literal. It seems our collared cruise director fathered a child out of wedlock a decade ago with a co-worker (a nun no less) and guess who has decided to join the excursion, foul-mouthed 10-year-old in tow? Further compounding the tour’s woes are a trio of Mayan priests who have unsavory designs for the recently reunited family, hoping to fulfill an ancient prophecy that includes, you know, the end of the world.

GHOST TOWN (1988) Blu-ray Review

Ghost Town (1988) d. Richard Governor (USA)

On the outskirts of Riverton County, AZ, handsome quick-draw expert deputy Langley (Frank Luz) gets a call that local bad girl Katie (Catherine Hickland) has fled the altar and headed out into the desert. But when her car turns up missing its driver (played out in a fine spectral dust storm kidnapping sequence), it’s up to Langley to track her down, which he ultimately does in a desolate, literal ghost town run by malevolent gunslinger Devlin (Jimmie F. Skaggs). Seems Katie bears a striking resemblance to the dark one’s former barkeep flame Rose, and Devlin isn’t giving her up without a fight. The haunted netherworld’s residents’ souls hang in the balance – and it’s mighty hard to kill what’s already dead.

CELLAR DWELLER (1988) / CATACOMBS (1988) Blu-ray Reviews

Cellar Dweller (1988) d. John Carl Buechler (USA)
Catacombs (1988) d. David Schmoeller (USA)

Yet another double pack from Shout! Factory, although unlike their recent, head-scratching pairing of The Outing and The Godsend, at least the two films in question bear the common thread of having been produced by Charles Band’s Empire Pictures during its twilight (aka bankruptcy) era. An amiable monster movie and a convoluted possession tale make for unlikely bedfellows, especially with the muddled and occasionally slapdash storylines and characters that mark both pictures, and the results are as decidedly mixed as one might imagine.

GHOULIES II (1988) Blu-ray Review

Ghoulies II (1988) d. Albert Band (USA)

In the traveling Hardin Carnival, the Satan’s Den haunted ride is facing financial issues, and money-hungry Philip Hardin (J. Downing) is ready to cut bait, much to the disappointment of washed-up boozehound magician Ned aka The Great Fausto (screen veteran Royal Dano) and his nephew Larry (Damon Martin). But when four of the titular creatures, which we saw escaping the isolated mansion at the end of the first film, take refuge amidst the mechanical mummies and monsters inside of the Den, things get a lot more lively . . . and deadly!

GHOULIES (1985) Blu-ray Review

Ghoulies (1985) d. Luca Bercovici (USA)

Unapologetically juvenile with a paper-thin plot, entertainment value for this early Empire Pictures effort will depend entirely on one’s palate for cheesy effects and lusty overacting. Jonathan Graves (Peter Liapis) and his girlfriend Rebecca (Lisa Pelikan) move into the old family mansion inherited from his Satan-worshiping pop (rock singer-turned-actor Michael Des Barres). Upon taking up residence, and stumbling upon a tome of ancient spells and a family grave, he finds himself compelled to summon a myriad of latex beasties into this world (designed by creature man extraordinaire John Carl Buechler) and unleash them upon his circle of friends in a decidedly murky basement ritual.

CRAWLSPACE (1986) Blu-ray review

Crawlspace (1986) d. David Schmoeller (USA)

Despite having the estimable FX talents of John Carl Beuchler and John Vulich among the ranks, the greatest special effect in this mid-80s shocker from executive producer Charles Band’s Empire Pictures is its wackadoo headliner, Klaus Kinski. The Poland-born star commands every onscreen moment as the offspring of a notorious Nazi doctor, now living a quiet life as the landlord of a apartment building who spends his times spying on his exclusively female tenants and every so often – when they get too nosey – bumping them off with elaborate mechanical traps. Each murder is followed by a round of Russian Roulette, and – after clicking upon an empty chamber – the chilling whisper, “So be it.” Out goes the “For Rent” sign and in come the fresh victims.

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.