THE CAR (1977) Blu-ray Review

The Car (1977) d. Elliot Silverstein (USA)

Sandwiched between Duel and Christine in the annals of “Hell on Wheels” comes this hoot about a driverless chop-top black sedan menacing the inhabitants of a small Utah township. An ill wind blows whenever it approaches, tipping us off that this, my friends, is one B-A-D motorscooter. From its yellow-tinted behind-the-wheel POV shots, we watch the vicious vehicle mow down bicyclists and pedestrians, hide in garages, and even blast through houses while local motorcycle-riding sheriff Wade Parent (James Brolin) furrows and furrows his brow.

EVILSPEAK (1981) Blu-ray Review

Evilspeak (1981) d. Eric Weston (USA)

Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard) doesn’t have it easy. His parents were killed in an automobile accident, he’s a bit on the awkward and overweight side, he’s stuck at a military academy with a bumper crop of sadistic bullying jerkwads, the school authorities all think he’s a whiny sob story, and he’s assigned the most menial tasks conceivable, including mucking out the pigpen and cleaning up the chapel’s cavernous basement. It’s during the latter labor that he stumbles across an ancient book of spells, one which may reveal the power to revive the spirit of fallen 16th-century priest Father Esteban (Richard Moll), renowned for his knowledge of the dark arts and gleeful beheadings.

THE BEAST WITHIN (1982) Blu-ray Review

Beast Within, The (1982) d. Philippe Mora (USA)

Lensed before (but released after) the shapeshifting one-two punch of The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, this bladder-blasting freakshow first entered my consciousness – as it did for many a youthful fright fan – via its terrifying and evocative poster art. (If anyone knows who the artist is, please drop me a line and let me know!) I assumed, as many did, that it was another lycanthrope movie, only to find out years later that the titular beast was, ahem, a giant were-cicada.