Last of The Astro-Zombies

 

 (abc news)

ASTRO-ZOMBIES M4-INVADERS FROM CYBER SPACE-2012-Apparently there is a planet of Astro-Zombies who are very disappointed they haven't destroyed Earth in their previous attempts. They decide to try again and start by causing death and destruction in Berlin. Then the Sydney Opera House is demolished. In Washington DC, a virus is released that allows the Astros to come through computers and fry people with their laser eyes. A woman in a gym is terrorized but escapes thanks to her boyfriend. Then a shrine in Osaka is burned up. In NYC a young girl is killed and weird newscasters warn of an alien invasion.

 At the Astro-Zombies meeting hall, the Astro leader talks about his plan to annihilate humans and replace them with Astro-Zombies. Then the Golden Gate Bridge and Big Ben in London are destroyed. Characters like a psychic and some pothead musicians are introduced and killed. The finale is pretty funny when it's found out using a mirror to deflect the laser beams back at the Astros is the only way to defeat them. 

Much more entertaining than the previous two and Ted V. Mikels best one in years. Beverly Washburn (SPIDER BABY) has a small role.

 (imdb)

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Riki Oh

 

 (anisearch.com)

RIKI OH 2: CHILD OF DESTRUCTION-1990-Riki searches for his brother Nachi in this sequel. On his way to the city he's captured by Lord. Washizaki. Naichi is a healer who's worshipped as a god and used by Washizaki for his own diabolical means...until Naichi revolts. After some destruction and death, the brothers confront each other. Director Tetsu Dezaki also made part one as well as the anime THEY WERE ELEVEN. Both are based on a popular manga series,

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Pirkle

 

 (imdb)

IF FOOTMEN TIRE, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? -1971-Laughable commentary by a guy who looks like Floyd the barber on how communism is going to invade America and make everyone work 7 days a week. They'll kill children too and leave their bloody bodies lying in the street as a warning. Those they don't kill they will brainwash into hating Jesus. They ride horses and wear armbands. Their leader makes kids pray to Fidel Castro and they get the candy Jesus wouldn't give them. When they hear the word of God being preached one little guy has a bamboo stick shoved in his ear. One kid is decapitated. Church goers are shot en mass after attending a service. Lots of red paint. 

When a woman named Judy accepts Jesus after her mom dies, some weird looking women (one plays a zither) sing while Rev. Estus W. Pirkle implores the viewer to accept Jesus. 

This cheap badly acted Christian propaganda film was written and directed by Ron Ormond and based on Pirkle's book. They teamed up for other outings too.

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Low Budget Trilogy

 

 (imdb)

GREEDY TERROR-(aka SHOCK CHAMBER)-1985-A trilogy of terror from Canada. 

1) “Symbol of Victory”-The nerdy son of corporation head is sweet on a woman who couldn't care less. He buys a love potion and tragedy results. 

2) “Southern Hospitality”- A husband & wife and two dimwitted brothers kill a guy with poison for his money and find out he was a kidnapper traveling with the ransom money. More deaths follow and the survivor gets a big surprise in the twist ending. 

3) “The Injection”-Two brothers are involved in an insurance scam. One brother is given an injection that makes him appear to be dead. But an insurance investigator seems to catch on. This is the worst of the 3 with very bad acting, stupid characters and a woman sings a terrible song. 

This was the first movie for director Steve DiMarco who later directed a lot of cable TV.

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Short But To The Point

  (TCM.com)

THE ERL KING-1931-A man races on horse back through a forest with his dying son but death in the form of the lurking Erl King (elf king) pursues them. This early French sound film (based on a novel Goethe) features crude but effective sfx. It was made in France by Marie-Lousie Iribe, a former actress who formed her own film company and directed her own movies. Highly recommended.

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Stray

 

STRAY-2019-Murphy (Christine Woods), a female police officer coming back to her job after the death of her child, investigates the mysterious burning death of a woman who later appears to be 1000 years old. Murphy meets the woman's daughter Nori (Karen Fukuhara) who seems to have some special power. A guy (Japanese guitarist-singer Miyavi) who might be Nori's brother hangs around. This weird supernatural tale has very good acting and direction but might be a little too dark.

 This is the only feature film (so far) by director Joe Sill who before and after made video shorts, commercials and music videos.

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More Steele

TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE-1965-Attorney Albert Kovac (Walter Brandi) visits the castle of Jaromus Haup on behalf of his partner Joseph Morgan who received a letter from Haup. At the castle Kovac meets Haup's second wife Cleo (Barbara Steele) and Haup's daughter Corinne (Mirella Maravidi). Kovac is informed by Cleo that her husband could not have written the letter because he's been dead for a year! Kovac hangs around long enough to fall in love with Corinne and investigate some murders with a local doctor (Alfredo Rizzo). It seems all the witnesses to Haup's death (he fell down the stairs) are dying in strange ways. It also seems that Haup, who was dealing in the black arts and resurrection of the dead, is still alive (they find his coffin empty) and that the supernatural is involved. It's discovered Haup wants to bring back the plague to kill his adversaries! 

Although we never see any creatures, clocks tick, hearts in jars pound and coffins open. Director Massimo Pupillo made the much wackier BLOODY PIT OF HORROR the same year but this movie doesn't credit him. He was unhappy with the final results so producer Ralph Zucker is credited as director! 

1965 was a busy year for Steele who also made NIGHTMARE CASTLE, THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVIL, THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH and an episode of TV's SECRET AGENT.

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More Corman! More Price! More Poe!

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH-1964-In the village of Kitanya, a red cloaked figure gives an old woman a red carnation and says she should tell her town “your day of deliverance is at hand”. Evil Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) treats the people who harvest his fields like animals. When he is insulted by two men he condemns them to death. A innocent girl Francesca (Jane Asher) begs the prince to spare their lives but he makes her choose which should live or die. One is her father Ludovico (Nigel Greene) and the other her fiance Gino (David Weston). That's forgotten when it's discovered the old woman is carrying the plague. The prince takes the trio to his castle and orders the village burnt. He takes a shine to Francesca despite the protests of Juliana (Hazel Court), one of his guests who brands herself for Satan and has weird (drug induced?) dream-visions. After she thinks he's betrothed to Satan she's clawed to death by a bird. “I beg you do not mourn for Juliana. We should celebrate. She has just married a friend of mine”. 

Prospero invites princes from all over the region to join him at his castle for a decadent “protection from the plague” party. He's a nasty guy who insults his guests and makes them imitate animals and worship Satan. He especially gets the goat of Alfredo (Patrick Magee), a slimy aristocrat who slaps a little ballerina girl (but maybe she is suppose to be a dwarf as she has a dubbed in “adult” voice) during her dance. This leads to a sub-plot based on another Poe story “Hop-Frog” where her dwarf partner (Skip Martin) convinces Alfredo to dress like an ape then burns him alive. 

After Ludovico is killed, Pospero allows Gino to leave but he goes back and tries to rescue his beloved. The same red cloaked figure who spoke to the old woman tells Gino he will bring Francesca to him later. While the guests entertain themselves Prospero, all dressed in black and looking rather Dr. Phibes-ish, finally thinks he meets his master the Devil but in fact it's Death who's come to claim him. 

Director Roger Corman has said although he holds MASQUE has one of his favorite films he wasn't that pleased with the final scene where Pospero's plague infected party goers crowd in on him and thought it could have been better since he felt it was rushed (he did it in one day). His use of colors is awesome and the photography by Nicolas Roeg (in his only work with Corman) is a highlight. The screenplay was written by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell. This AIP co-production with the English Anglo-Amalgamated was filmed in England in 5 weeks (long for a Corman production!).

Although she had an un-billed cameo in 1981's THE FINAL CONFLICT, MASQUE  was the last film role for Hazel Court (also featured in THE PREMATURE BURIAL and THE RAVEN by Corman) who settled permanently in the US and only made TV appearances. She died in 2008. 

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Dragon

DRAGON EYES-2012-In the urban hell of a place called St. Jude, African-American and Hispanic gangs fight each other over drugs. Enter Hong (MMA fighter Cung Le also one of the producers), mysterious master martial artist haunted by his past. When he was in jail he was mentored by Tiano (Jean Claude Van Damme). After he starts trouble with the gangs he comes to the attention of MIster V. (Peter Weller, kind of stealing the show) the corrupt, cigar smoking dandy of a chief of police. Hong tries to clean up the neighborhood and give hope to its residents. He impresses Mr. V. and for a while works as his thug. But Hong has other plans. Including bringing down V. despite nearly being beaten to death (by another MMA fighter Dan Henderson).  Tiano appears in flashbacks relating his philosophy and in a flashback inside a flashback kills his own son.

The violent story is ok and Le isn't bad (but if he's to be judged by Van Damme's acting talents that's not saying much...) but the real drawbacks are John Hyams' pretentious direction, CGI enhanced fighting and a bring down ending. Van Damme's real son Kristopher Van Varenberg also appears as a corrupt police sergeant. A couple of other real fighters also appear. The director made two "Universal Soldier" entries both with Van Damme. Filmed in Louisana.

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1960

THE LEECH WOMAN-1960-A stuck up scientist Paul Talbott (Phillip Terry) insults his alcoholic wife June (Coleen Gray; still alive at this writing) at his clinic where he's trying to reverse the aging process. An ancient woman named Malla (Estelle Hemsley) visits him and claims to be 142 years old. She says that her tribe in Africa holds the secret to eternal youth. After some tests, Talbott decides to take a journey there and convinces June to come along. He acts very cheerful and nice but only wants to use her. They hire a European guide (John Van Dreelan) and are eventually captured by the tribe where they meet Maila who promises to show them the eternal youth ceremony but then they must die! Malla does turn young (and into actress Kim Hamilton who just passed away in September) but the secret ingredient is human fluid found at the base of the skull. So a life has to be sacrificed when doing it. When June is offered the "treatment" she gets her revenge on hubby by picking him as her victim/sacrifice. She turns young and hightails with the guide to civilization but not before June starts to turn old again and kills the guide. 

Back home she's beautiful and youthful (and bitchy) and posing as her own niece where she seemingly mesmerizes her lawyer Neil Foster (Grant Williams; THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN), much to the irritation of his fiance' Sally (Gloria Talbott with a terrible hairstyle). When she gets old again June (now posing as herself) puts on her finest jewelry and lures an unsuspecting robber/gigolo (familiar TV actor Arthur Batanides, who had an un-billed role in SPARTACUS the same year!) to his death.

Just when June thinks she has everything going her way (she kills Sally for her vital fluid and plans to have Neil all to herself) the injections fail to work, she turns permanently old and falls out a window to her death.

Director Edward Dein (SHACK OUT ON 101) moves the episodic story along quickly (maybe too quickly!) giving it  a "Corman" type of feel. Producer Joseph Gershenson (also a music supervisor on many films) work on lots of things including MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS and several Abbott & Costello comedies.

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