The Last House on the Left (1972)

There was an H-E-B grocery store on old Highway 83 that we used to frequent in Weslaco,Texas back in the late 80's. As all these little places did at the time, they had a small video rental section at the front of the store and it seemed like all of them silently competed to see who had the latest in horror films. Some titles were at specific stores and not others and every store you walked into had it's own little variety of what to offer. I remember picking up the box - which had the alternate art than what you see on the left, the picture of the dead girl lying in the palm of a giant hand with a house lit up behind it - and didn't know what to think of it. I don't remember feeling frightened or uneasy and I found that strange, even back then. I guess it didn't appear to me to be all that interesting. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening.

Flash forward to the winter of 1997, the Spice Girls were still trying to hold on to the U.S. chart, Good Will Hunting had been a smash in theatres, and my kid brother had taken up the notion to date a girl significantly older than he was. Though I scowled at that idea, I got to know her and we became good friends. Around the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we all decided to go out and rent some movies and hang out and as we looked through the store shelves, my brother pointed this one out to me. I wasn't keen on the idea of taking that one home and reluctantly, I motioned him to go ahead and take it. I mean, I may as well give it a looksie, since at this time, I was still naive of many the horror classics. We got home popped it in the player. One hour and thirty minutes later, my life as a horror fan was changed forever. I was sickened, repulsed, and outright shocked.

I bought this DVD when it was released uncut by MGM in 2002 (or was it 2003?) when I was living in Missouri and showed it to a friend of mine. She, too, was completely appalled. It went back on the shelf and was never heard from again. Last night, this precious piece of horror cinema was playing on Fear Net and my cousin, her husband, and I decided to give it a play. Why not? It was a cold Monday night and we didn't have to be at work the next day. They had never seen it before so I didn't say a word about anything that was about to appear on the screen. When the last bit of the credits disappeared from the screen, I sat there with my eyes closed. I had completely forgotten how powerful this film really is and how in this modern day and age, it still packs a wallop that many of the Hollywood remake trash being churned out recently wish they had. I will expand on that later.

Horror buffs know the premise: Two young girls, Mari and Phyllis are on their way to see their current favorite band, Bloodlust, in concert. While on their way, Phyllis gives the idea of scoring a bit of weed to make the whole night all that much better. They approach a young mentally challenged young man who takes them upstairs into an unknown building that is harboring a group of recently-escaped vigilantes led by horror villain, and fan favorite, Krug (David Hess). The two girls are taken out into the woods and humiliated and tortured on camera in ways never before seen on film. When I first saw this film, I was shocked. I'd never seen anything so brutal before, so unredeeming of itself. The scenes are so realistic in many ways and you have to actually tell yourself that you're watching that was created by someone else. The scene where Phyllis is disemboweled remains one of the most horrific I've ever seen in a film from that period of time. Most people who watch the film now argue about it's potency but always compare it to the films that were produced years after this was first shown. Nothing had ever been shown on the big screen like this back in the early 1970's. It was so controversial and yet groundbreaking at the time and you have to really imagine what it would have been like to sit in a theater in those days and watch the atrocities that were given to you here in a very visceral, full-force way. You actually feel sympathy for the girls - although it was their hunt for grass that got them into the predicament in the first place - and you could actually feel every cut, every drop of blood, every scream, every cry for help.

The filmmakers give the film a sense of doom that you don't find in motion pictures these days. Take for instance the scene where Phyllis appears to have outwitted Krug and his gang and comes up to the road at the end of the woods. Within yourself you feel a sense of relief and you really think the poor girl is going to make it. But when it all comes around and the gang of ghouls mount their violence on her with all they have, there is a sickening sense of dread that you feel within the pit of your stomach. And not many films have ever gotten me to feel that way. The scene where Mari is shot in the lake gives you that same sense of dread, like something or someone could have come to rescue them from an awful demise. But, keeping that in mind, let's move on to Act II.

The gang make their way to a house up the road from where Mari's body was left behind. They meet a husband and wife who, after playing on their sympathies, allow them to stay in their house. Little do they know they are the parents of poor Mari, and soon enough, Mom and Dad put two and two together and figure out just who these people are. The second half of the film is perhaps darker than the first act in many ways, seeing that now Mari's parents have vowed to take revenge. Everything leads up to the parents offing each of their daughter's assailants one by one in really surprising - and horrific - ways. It all comes down to the moral being that you never know what you're capable of in this life unless you're really put to the test. So many people have their opinions about this film and I've spoken with horror fans each with their own perspective on this one. There is a sheer brilliance behind everything seen on the screen if you really think about it. Craven himself knew that he was pushing buttons that people back in that day and age and hitting subject people probably weren't going to swallow very easily. You have to commend the man, though, for showing us real life and risking his own name - and the names of future horror-icons like Sean S. Cunningham and Steve Miner - and staying true to the message in the film.

What did it for me, though, was the brilliance and panache that David Hess brought to the picture. This man didn't play the part of Krug, he was Krug! There has never been a horror villain so brutal, so macabre, so fucking evil as this character and there hasn't been one ever since. This man is amazing in this movie and it makes you wonder how he prepared for the role of horror's most beloved and enduring villain. I've seen him in The House on the Edge of the Park, where he echoes Krug in a thousand and one ways, but this one will remain his magnum opus, the pinnacle of shallow, senseless, over the top brutality and hostility. If you get the MGM DVD, watch his on-camera interview and listen to him how he talks about not being able to go out into the streets for people pointing at him and actually thinking he was the real-life Krug. There was a realism and a frankness to his character and when he evil reaches the point to where he has his own son kill himself on camera, you can't help but love the bastard and loathe him at the same time. Others have tried to mimic the nuances of this character, but nobody has ever come close.

Did I enjoy this film? Absolutely not. Was this a good film? Positively, without a doubt, this is one of the most powerful films ever released. It is one of those films that drains the life out of you and causes you to have a sigh of relief once the end credits roll. It's overwhelming in some areas and it isn't for the faint of heart. Many films in this genre try to pass themselves off as 'the real deal', where in this case, this film can. There is a realism and a truth to it that you can't shy from. It's almost like watching a snuff film. You watch the screen and just can't believe what's going on. This is a true piece of horror history. I honestly feel that if this film hadn't been made and released, horror films as we know them just wouldn't exist. Someone had to push that envelope. Someone had to get the message across that life can be terrifying and horrific and I'm glad that Wes Craven and his pals had the gumption and the audacity to release this. I remember being deeply disturbed by this film when I first saw it. It stayed in my head for weeks and weeks and it was really hard to get it out of my brain. Now, tell me the last horror piece you saw that had that kind of effect on you?

I didn't think so.

Every horror connoisseur should already have this in their collection. The only version I own is the MGM DVD, but I'd really like to find the VHS version with the woman's body in that great big hand. If you haven't seen this, please see it before you go and watch the upcoming remake. Yes, there is going to be a remake. With that said, take a gander at this. You won't be sorry.

"Blow your brains out!"

The Outing (1987)

Picture it: Sicily, 1946. No, wait, that's a line from The Golden Girls. Let's try again. Picture it: La Feria, a small rural town in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It's a hot summer day in 1990 and yours truly here has just come out of the bathroom of the local Maverick Market off on old Highway 83. My father is putting gas in the family van and I've strayed away from the bunch, as I always did when I had the opportunity in those days. As I made my way to the store's exit to rejoin the rest of the clan, I saw a little video rental section out of the corner of my eye and without even thinking, made a B-line for it. Quickly, I scanned the merchandise to see what they had to offer and saw a slew of titles that I'd never seen before. At the bottom of the shelf, I picked up this box and stared lovingly at the fantastic art before me. I'm a sucker for good box art. Just look at the photo for the blog's banner taken from Video Gem's big box art for the film House of Death. Just amazing. As my father came into the store to have me escorted by the ear, I kept that neat picture in my head and stored it for future reference alongside the great box art of The Mutilator and Squirm. Little did I know that I wouldn't see this again until 2003.

There was a little mom and pop video shop in the lovely little city of Warrensburg, Missouri called Video Castle that I frequented due to it's low rental prices and no membership fee. "Membership fee" - when was the last time you heard that term? My kid sister had introduced me to the place and I immediately fell in love with it due to it's vast collection of out of print and very hard to find 80's horror titles. Up to then and not since the 80's had I seen such a wide VHS horror collection as they boys showcased. I was a bit jealous, let me tell you, and within those great forgotten titles like Cheerleader Camp and Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, was this little piece. As many times as I'd been in there and as many times as I rented, I never picked this one up. Soon enough, as all mom and pops did, they fell victim to converting the whole store into the DVD format and all their older titles - and I mean all of them - went on sale for the low price...of 49 cents. When I heard the news, I got into my car and rushed over only to be disappointed in seeing that most of the good horror titles had been sold, including this one. Though I did manage to rescue several ones that were on my list, this one was still one of those elusive videocassettes I thought would forever be out of my reach.

I did some reading on this title on various other horror sites and I was disappointed to read that this was just another bad piece of 80's horror history. It didn't seem to have any redeeming values or qualities, that the story was bad and it was just outright pointless. I got to exchange emails with several horror collectors on-line and they all had the same opinion. I was crushed. There wasn't any way that a film with such great box art would end up being a 10-ton bomb, could there? Needless to say, last month I was finally to get this on DVD-R through a collector's website and I was excited that I finally had it. Seeing that it had taken me this long to just find the film itself in any format, I told myself that I would put everyone's reviews and opinions aside and judge it on my own.

The basis of the story is that a mysterious lamp and a mystical bracelet are recovered from the scene of crime when a group of thugs vandalize an old woman's home, leaving her for dead. The items are turned over to the local museum and curator Dr. Wallace (played by daddy eye-candy James Huston) who is in charge of finding out their origins. While vising him one day, his daughter Alex (Andra St. Ivanyi) sees the lamp as suddenly has an immediate attraction to it. The lamp itslef is a prime example how one piece of critical prop can make or break a film. In this case, whomever was responsible for the creation of lamp really outdid themselves. Sleek design, crafty artsmanship and just the touch it needs to be memorable: the small hand on the end of the lamp that hold the red jewel. Absolutely beautiful. Alex begins to obsess over the lamp, even going as far as to steal the bracelet from the museum and ask her schoolteacher if there are such things as genies. Her curiosity grows until she one day grabs hold of the lamp and accidentally lets out the contents. When she is chastised by her father for messing with the darn thing, she spits out the usual teenaged tantrum and even goes as far as to say, "I wish you were dead." to poor dear ol' dad. She is soon possessed by the spirit of what's inside the lamp and, as corny as all this sounds, it actually holds up in the end. When her classmates attend a field trip to the museum, the "spirit" gets her to convice several of her best friends, including her beau, to sneak into the museum once everyone has gone for the night to have a sleepover. I mean, she's the daughter of one of the curator's, right? Why wouldn't she be able to have access to the place? But here is the little twist: Once all the kids are in the museum basement and once all the doors are locked for the night, the spirit leaves Alex and she becomes confused as to why she - and everyone else - are in the museum at all.

The group then remembers why they are there - to have fun, drink, and sex each other up, as they do in these kinds of films. But mysteriously, the kids are all picked off one by one, along with the remaining staff on board including the head curator and an opera-toting - and rather obnoxious - secutiry guard which are gloriously slaughtered by means of ceiling fan and large harpoon, respectively. The films suddenly turns into an all-too fun game of cat and mouse as Alex tries to comprehend just what's going on. The best scene in the whole film was the "death by snakes", watch it and see what I mean. It made my skin crawl, and not in the good way. That scene itself was one of the most inventive - and by the way, eerie - death scenes I'd ever seen in a teen slasher pic.

Now we will touch on the subject of the actual genie, or "Djinn" as it is referred to here. We all were brought up with the stories of Ali Baba and the Forty theievs and the younger generation was raised on the Disney classic, so we all know when you release a genie, he grants you one wish as a token of gratitude for setting him free. See where I'm going with this? Well, it turns out that the "Djinn" isn't after Alex, he's after her father in the goal of fulfilling her wish! What wish, you ask? The one she muttered without thinking at the film's opening! Now is it coming together? So that's the reason the bracelet on her wrist glows! Not because the genie is in pursuit of her, but because the genie is actually determined to grant her wish! So with this in mind, we finally get to see the demon, sorry, the genie face to face. Now, seeing how great the film was up to this exact point is something to marvel in itself, but once the bad boy is actually materialized, oh Lord, is it funny. I think they found the poor chap in the bargain bin at Muppet Remnants R Us, because it totally shows. Now in fear of their lives, Alex and her dad have to find the mystery of the lamp and figure out how to defeat it. With the aide of a strategically placed Commodore 64 (did I just say that?) they find out that the only way to destroy the genie is to destroy the lamp! Now who would have thought that one out, right? To make this discombobulated long ending short, the "Djinn" just about destroys Alex's father but once the lamp is thrown into the even-more strategically placed incinerator, the darn things explodes in a fiery frenzy and poof! just like that, the story comes to a close and all can live happily ever after.

The film as a whole, honestly, isn't that great. But it's got so much going it for it in terms of camp and eighties references that you can't help but like it. In terms of the murder sequences, just the whole "Snake Bath" scene is enough to give you the heebies. I don't know why so many horror fans have a complete "I loved it" or "This movie sucks" viewpoint toward this hidden fun fest. For all the time I waited to finally set eyes on this one, it was a great payoff. Kids in 80's gear with their hi-top shoes, leg warmers and boom boxes, the cheesy synth music in the background, you just can't resist. This one is a real hard one to find, folks, but if you see it, please do me the honor of picking this up! Give it a try and you'll see what I mean. Just don't make any wishes you really don't want to have come true.

The Campus Corpse (The Hazing) (1977)

I'm not one to shy from a new experience when it comes to films, especially those that were produced with the 70's and 80's. There was a certain manner in which they were filmed and sadly, movies aren't made in those ways anymore. The carefully placed storyline, the atmosphere combined with an original soundtrack and good direction always made for a unique viewing experience. Scare films in the 70's - thanks to the still-uninvented use of computer graphics - were all the more effective. Producers and Directors had to use their brains to make something that had never been shown before to attract the audience they wanted to reach. They hoped that word of mouth would be a reason for the film's success and, hopefully, be remembered by anyone and everyone who saw it.

The Hazing or The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse was one of those films that caught my attention solely because of the poster art and tag lines. I found this by accident on a horror collector website and by the poster art you see on the left, I assumed that it was a horror film, or a fright film if you must. But, that wasn't the case at all. But, before dismissing it a a film which "lied" about what it was, I need to make a point by outlining this little Iowa-made piece of celluloid beauty. Before I go on, I will have to say as of now that this is not a horror film in any shape or form. There is no blood, there is no gore. But give it a chance, dig a little deeper and this is what you will find:

The movie begins with a young droopy-eyed boy named Craig Lewis (played by Jeff East, which most die hard film fans will recognize as the face of the young Clark Kent in the original Superman film). As beautiful as he ever was, is, or will be, the blond-haired, wide-eyed high school track star has his sights on a scholarship at one of the finest colleges in the country. His parents died when he was young and he is left in the care of his older brother, Carl (David Hayward). When his brother drops him off at his new college home, he is immediately befriended by a group of young men who are wanting him to pledge their fraternity known simply as "the Delts". Craig and his friend Barney (Charles Martin Smith of Never Cry Wolf fame) both must survive the initiation into the group, which is nothing more than to be taken up into the mountains in the freezing cold and run through the woods in nothing but a jockstrap. No, I'm not kidding. Though it was great to see lots of skin for a good amount of screen-time (and I mean lots of skin), I wondered where the film was taking direction. It didn't feel like this was going to be a fright film of any kind. It felt more like an ABC After-School Special, which was already letting me down. Once head frat leader Rod (Brad David) releases the two boys into the cold, the boys run in the direction of a cabin nine miles into the woods. Sounds easy enough? Just as it seems as it were too good to be true, Barney falls down one of the steep slopes and breaks his leg, leaving the two out in the freezing cold in nothing but their athletic supporters. Yes, I'm being serious.

With no choice but to leave his friend and go for help, Craig eventually finds Rod and the rest of the gang, including his wise-ass sidekick Phil (Jim Boelsen) and tells them about the accident on the mountain. The boys go rushing to where poor Barney was still waiting, cold and helpless, only to find him dead. I do have to be honest and say that during this scene, not even a half-hour into the film, I already knew the ending. I even went as far as to make a monetary wager with my cousin as to how this whole thing was going to pan out. Moving on, the fraternity vows to keep everything a secret, dub the whole as a "skiing accident" and hide Barney's body in the frat house freezer. Much to Craig's opposition, he is instructed to keep everything hush-hush and to pretend as if Barney were still alive and well, attending classes, and taking tests. But with Craig being a country boy being brought up with good moral values, this whole thing begins to eat away at him little by little, slowly. When he goes to one of Barney's classes and "sits in" for him, one of the girls from the opposing fraternity sniffs him out and questions the reasons why he is posing as someone else, which gets the rest of the frat boys all riled up. In exchange for her silence, she gets the poor chum to take her out on the town, which is something he wouldn't normally do. When he takes her to the local bowling alley and she wants to be taken to the local make out point, the two end up feuding and she walks out him and into the arms of his frat-brother Phil promising she would figure out just what is going on.

Soon, the police start sniffing around the frat house and start questioning the disappearance of Barny. Oh did I mention that Craig's older brother has a history with the Delts? Something about a protest, a bag of piss, and the removal of the fraternity from the school altogether. Anyway, with Criag's guilt eating away at him, he actually one day does go to the police ready to spill everything he knows. Rod and Phil barge in and pretend they're drunk and rebuke poor Craig for almost squealing on them. The boys have a plan, though: They will take Barney's frozen body up to the ski lodge, plant him out in the wilderness and make it look like a skiing accident - wait, I said that already, didn't I? Craig wants no part in any of this but Rod pushes for him to go along with it, stating that he is doing everything he can to protect Craig, the fraternity, and the school. How considerate, huh? The day comes to carry out their plan and the guys take the poor frozen bastard up to the ski lodge, dress him, and leave him out in the wilderness. When Rod and Craig hear the account of Barney's body being found out in the wilderness over the local radio station, Rod turns to him, smiles and coyly says "They bought It!" It seems all is well, but is it? Remember, I already said I had this movie figured out.

Craig's girlfriend comes to visit him, contrary to Rod's earlier disapproval. She immediately notices something is wrong and just as he is about to tell her everything, Rod comes into the picture and immediately announces that Barney's body had been found and that he was dead. Easy-squeezie, in the words of one Ms. Karen Walker. She leaves on the next bus and the next day, the homicide detective comes to snoop around the frat house and questions Craig about what he knows. To make matters worse, Barney's father comes around and wants to know why Barney would ever go on a skiing trip if the chap had only done it once in his life and hated it? This only mounts the pressure on Craig and it seems like it's only a matter of time before he pops.

Then, comes Barney's funeral - something Craig doesn't want to face. He knows too much and him being unable to talk about it has weighed on his mind. He wants everything to be over, to be done with. Sitting at the funeral surrounded by his fraternity brothers, he begins to hear voices in his head as the officiating minister reads the 23rd Psalm aloud. He can hear the voice of the homicide chief, the voice of his girlfriend, the voice of Barney's devastated father echoing back and forth in his mind. His face can no longer hide his shame. He is no longer wanting to hide the secret, but he must. As the boys go up one by one to pay their last respects, Craig approaches his friend only to see something terrifying: He begins to see Barney's eyes open! Is he seeing things? Has all the pressure finally driven him to the point of hallucinations? Barney opens his eyes and slowly begins to sit up! I'm not kidding! I started laughing to myself as I waited for those words that I was certain with my life he would say:

"Welcome to the Fraternity!"

The whole thing was a fucking practical joke! The whole incident was the actual Initiation itself! All I could say was Ha! Ha! I was right! and at the same time my brain was thinking WTF? This is how I said the film would turn out. I guess having watched April Fool's Day more than a dozen times taught me a thing or two. So there is poor Craig surrounded by everyone who was in on the joke the entire time. His frat brothers, the detective, Barney's father. So what's a poor guy who has been eating himself up alive for the last few days supposed to do? Transfer schools, that's what! Now, here is where I was a bit confused: As Craig says his goodbyes to everyone, he gets Rod to sign a document saying that if he didn't get it signed, he wouldn't be able to get his fee returned to him. Rod signs another paper, the guys say good bye, and Craig walks outside to meet his brother who is waiting for him. He pops his bags into his brother's truck and he takes off with his girlfriend into the setting sun. Meanwhile, his brother Carl takes the signed documents and mounts a rather large bulldozer. He turns the son-of-a-bitch on and rams it into the side of the frat house, scaring the horse shit out of Rod and Phil. The boys flee the house and everyone comes rushing over to see what the commotion was all about. Laughing hysterically, Carl rams into the house again and screams out for joy. My question is: What were those documents that Rod signed and why did said documents - I'm assuming - allow Carl to demolish the building? The part was left open-ended for me. The movie ends here and I rushed over to imdb to see if anyone had posted on this and I found nothing. Damn.

This film is great, not as a horror film, obviously, but for a great story, told rather well, with some good acting and a great ending - though I predicted it really early. Sure the plot twist may seem a bit hokey, but it explains many of the plot holes and inconsistencies that are present throughout the movie. I wouldn't go out and purposely hunt this film down as I found the version I found (as a DVD-R) was the alternate title to this films original one called, The Hazing. Not sure if the title change was because of distributor choice to market to a different demographical group - hence the original poster made the film seem like just your run-of-the-mill college film of the time, not like the "horror teasing" art that you see above.

If you find it at your local mom and pop, pick it up (Code Red actually released it under the "Campus Corpse" title). It's worth watching, just for the twenty minutes or so of semi-nude boy beef. Enjoy!

Ghosthouse (1988)

Happy New Year everyone!

I am so sorry that I haven't posted anything new. I've been out taking some much needed time off and now that I'm back, let's get this thing going full force again! During my brief hiatus, I've been able to add a few morsels of good-'ol cheesy horror to my collection and am excited to share them with you within the coming weeks.

There are films that somehow have slipped under the radar of the avid 80's collector and they sometimes do for many reasons. Either the film didn't well and fell into the realms of obscurity or it was promoted enough to get a proper following. In this case, Ghosthouse, is one of those films. At least, as far as I'm concerned. This was released in 1988, just as the horror boom of that era was slowly coming to a close and I'm still trying to find out as to why I've just heard of this film within the last year or two. The first time I heard of this film was while browsing on the Internet one rainy June back in 2007 and I was researching some other films and through another horror website, I discovered an entry for this film. Drawn solely by the film's title, I clicked onto the page and started to read. Instantly intrigued, I started looking up page after page of Internet information on this little ditty and was surprised to read many of the things I uncovered.

For starters, this film was helmed by none other than Umberto Lenzi. Yes, as in Cannibal Ferox Umerto Lenzi. That was ten points just right there. I read the storyline and the whole background of the film and I knew I had to get my hands on this. But, where? I'd never even heard of this film and had never seen it at any of the mom and pops back in the day nor recently in any of the shops I frequent so I didn't even know where to start. Before resorting to paying for it via mail order, I scrounged all the local shops and surprisingly, no one had ever heard of this film. I did some calling around and chatted with some fellow horror collectors and one day, while on a trek to the Humdinger Toy Show in San Jose, I found a horror collector who not only had heard of this movie, but actually had it in his collection. We talked for a good while about it and I was amazed at his fond recollection of the film. He gave me a little overview of the whole thing, though he was reluctant seeing as how I'd never seen it and I could see the sparkle in his eye as he talked about ever facet of the film, but concentrated on one piece of the puzzle: The killer clown.

Ever since I first sat through Poltergeist at the tender age of nine, I've been deathly afraid of the clown within the horror film element. I passed over Killer Klowns from Outer Space and It for just that sole reason but there was something about the way this guy was talking that had me itching to get home and onto the computer to find this. I'm the avid horror collector preferring my selections to be on VHS, especially if I can find them in their original boxes. It has a lot to do with the nostalgia factor and remembering the days when mom and pop video stores were in their prime. So, I logged on to ebay and started to look around for it. And, I looked for several months for this, losing auction after auction. Well, the ones that would come up, seeing that this is a rare piece to find in it's original Imperial U.S. VHS version. The last bid I lost was for the hefty price of $78 - which was something I wasn't going to fight after. I had already spent those kinds of price tags for films in the past and I really didn't have the wallet to do that again anymore. So, I gave up. But, when I returned to the same Humdinger Toy Show a year later and ran into the guy I'd met before, he asked if I'd been able to come across the film. Sulking, I had to tell him my plight to get this on VHS. For one thing, he laughed and told me to get the idea out of my mind that I was going to find it laying around at the local Hollywood Video. This is a real collector's item, Leonel, he said to me. You're going to have resort to something a little more gung ho. Long story short, have me the web address of a private horror collector, a deal was made and two weeks later, I had a DVD-R of the film in my hands. It was just that easy.

Sidebar: Just before Christmas, I wandered into the local Fresno Best Buy and came across Witchery, starring Linda Blair and David Hasslehoff which is better known as Ghosthouse 2. I decided to wait until viewing the first one before proceeding. More on that later.

Excited as a virgin on prom night, I sat my cousin down and we popped this thing into the DVD player. The first thing I immediately noticed was the beautiful transfer. I couldn't tell you if it was a direct-from-VHS or DVD but it was clear and crisp and magnificent. The sound was just as great. Now, onto the film itself:

The film deals with a ham radio enthusiast Paul, played by eye-candy Gregg Scott who one day hears a mysterious transmission come over his radio of some people screaming as if they were meeting their demises. He and his girlfriend follow the signal to a remote house in the woods where several squatters have taken up residence. The house hold a secret: A little girl whose father enclosed her in the basement below for an incident of killing the family cat with a knife (!) is left to die along with her father and mother who are killed by an unseen force by axe and knife, respectively. The murder is never solved and the house remains haunted to this day. But the kids don't know that yet. Shhh!

When two of them recognize the eerie voices from the radio transmission as their own, the group of them suddenly become terrorized by the apparition of the dead little girl and her um...friend. Her friend is a really spooky kid-sized clown doll that will give anyone who'd ever been afraid of the jester in the original Poltergeist film a run for their money. And I'm not joking either. So the group of teens plays a game of who-done-it while trying to figure out what's killing them off one by one. While this sounds like a great reason to spend the night inside, this film, ladies and gentlemen, I must warn you, makes absolutely no sense. There are plot holes everywhere and the film stands as more of a paradox of itself. In some spots it's so good that you're on the edge of your seat and in other's you're reaching for the remote to turn the bloody thing off. There are a few genuinely spooky parts but for every scene that makes you jump out of your seat and scream, there are two or three that will have you asking who the hell green-lit this cattle drive? But, that's the irony of whole thing: Somehow, it works. And it manages to keep you creeped out, spooked and laughing all at the same time. The "song" that's played when the killer is about to make his presence known will remain in your head for days. It's overtly diabolical in all it's own right and you'll want to turn the volume down every time it comes on just to keep the hairs on the back of your head from standing at attention.

The direction by Ferox maestro Lenzi - who uses a crock American pseudonym for this Boston-filmed-but-Italian-produced scare fest - is actually quite good and the gore scenes are not bad to watch a few times. The whole guillotine scene was completely unexpected and I thought it to be one of the highlights of the film. I will be honest and admit that there were a few times where I screamed out loud - and rather loudly - during the appearance of the clown doll. Especially during the scene where Paul's girlfriend stumbles upon the little girl's bedroom and is attacked by the birthday decorations and ultimately, Mr. Clown himself. But the scene where I couldn't help but close my eyes and mutter oh shit in a low murmur has to be the scene where the girl is inside the RV and the television turns on by itself and the program du jour is of the little girl and her clown. Scary! There is a lot more plot to the story, surrounding the groundskeeper of the house and his connection to local funeral parlor where Paul visits and has a crack at one of the dead people who is being prepped. The mortician is quick to make note that the woman being prepped had been stuck by a bus and that it wasn't polite to laugh at the dead.

The secret is then known as to how to free the house from the spirit of the dead little girl and in one whoosh of a match and a can of gas, the evil force is broken and those who remain are allowed to leave the house and lead happy, normal lives. The best scene of the film for me though was it's unexpected ending where Paul's girlfriend is waiting for him on the sidewalk of downtown Boston after they've come home and allowed themselves to move on from the horrible events at the house. It's like a Mentos commercial: She sees him across the street and throws him a pearly white smile. He returns the smila and waves back to her. Just as he begins to cross the street, she turns around to take a glimpse in the shop window and to her horror she sees the clown doll she thought they'd been freed of. She screams and turns around and just as Paul makes it to where she is, the evil song comes on again and a bus comes out of nowhere and slam! The closing shot is a freeze frame of poor Martha, hands over her mouth, screaming in horror as she's just witnessed the demise of her boyfriend. Just like that, the film ends, unhappy ending, with no resolution. I love films that take this turn instead of the long denouement and closing. Only a few number of films in my recollection have this type of ending: I Spit On Your Grave and Pieces come to mind first. It leaves you with that last closing shot in your mind, left to wander around for hours and hours once the closing credits end. Just brilliant.

This ended up being a great film. After all I'd read about it and the devout following that it still has, I'll be honest and say that I did expect a lot more, but what I got was fantastic on it's own. It's a great piece of film work that stands out above some of the more-known horror fodder and gives you many chills and scares that you don't expect. And let me tell you, the image of that bloody clown is going to stay in your head for days. I'm sure you'll be thinking of the picture at the top of this posting and thinking oh, you bastard. Get your hands on this if you can find it. If you really want to know where I got it from, send me a message and I'll be more than happy to refer you to the collector site where I got it from.

Enjoy, and happy new year!

Pieces (1982)

It is a warm summer day in Reedley, California. It is 1983 and my parents and I are at the local drive-in theater. Don't hold your breath, though. We're at a drive-in, but it's Saturday afternoon so we're at the drive-in-turned-flea-market on the corner of Alta and Manning Avenues. The day is hot and my mother, sister and I are in line in the concession building, taking in the cool air of the swamp coolers overhead and listening to 80's music over the loudspeakers, something along the lines of Air Supply or Hall and Oates or something in that style. My father is out in the heat trying to find something to buy, or browse, I can't remember which. I'm holding a Pepsi in my hand - ah, some things never change, do they? - and I'm chewing the wax rim off the paper cup and looking around at the movie posters behind the glass casings. Suddenly, this bright red poster catches my eye and has me frozen. The picture of a dead woman strewn on the floor with a large chainsaw hovering over her glares back at me with a force so strong that I can't stop staring at it. I can read the tag line at the top of the poster and the notice that "No one under 17 admitted to this performance" is screaming at me. I remember my mother calling my name to tell me we were going back outside but I couldn't move, my eyes were fixed on that image of the woman. She came to grab me and when her hand touched my shoulder, I remember jumping out of sheer fright. It was something I never forgot.

Several years while living in South Texas, I bumped into this one again while at Valley Mart - a grocery store in the city of Weslaco where I first came into contact with many horror classics - and listening to Kon Kan's "I Beg Your Pardon" as it came over the store's loudspeakers. I recognized the art that I'd seen on the poster and walked over to pick it up. This little wave of fear came over me and I held my breath as I read the back of the box. The premise? A crazed killer is stalking the girls of a local college in an attempt to mutilate them and create his own human puzzle. Sure, it sounded grisly, but it had my attention. With the voice of my mother calling me (again), I put the box down and walked away. Little did I know I wouldn't see this title again until my late twenties living in Independence, Missouri. I was in the local Best Buy and I saw the Diamond DVD release and snagged it without thinking. I ran home, put it in my player only to discover that the disc was a total dud. Man, was I pissed. I was pissed enough to where I didn't take the disc back - I'd only paid about $5 for it - and I didn't look for the film again. About a year or so later, I was shopping with some friends at the local pawn shop and rummaging through the used VHS, as I always do when I visit a pawn shop, I found the Vestron version of this movie and grabbed it. For only 50 cents, you'd better believe that I was walking out of the store with it. But I noticed that there was no label on the tape. No sort of sticker or anything. I wasn't going to fall for it twice so I asked the guy behind the counter to allow me to play it on one of their many VCRs and thankfully, the tape in the box was actually the film itself. I took it and as soon as I got home - and everyone went to bed - I popped this into the player and finally got to watch this one in its entirety.

The opening scene was completely laughable and nothing like what I was expecting. I laughed as I watched the kid put together the pieces of the porno puzzle and listened as his mother called him every name in the book when she catches him with it. What was even funnier was how the kid came back and hacked his mother over the head with axe to get her back. Blood spewing everywhere as the ax literally bounced off her head. A scene like that should have been terrifying and disturbing but it was just the opposite. I knew at that moment that I was in for a treat - especially when the telephone in the house rings and the camera shows us a push button phone. Doesn't the entire opening scene take place in 1942? Wait, there goes the phone again. Low Budget, is that you calling?

What transpires throughout the film is that there is a killer loose on the campus of a local college looking for female bodies to dismember to create his own human puzzle of sorts. We have the late, great Christopher George heading the whole thing and his lovely then-wife Linda Day going undercover as a professor at the college to get to the bottom of the murders. With the aide of the college dean (Edward Purdom) and cute student Kendall (Ian Sera), the four intend to get to them bottom of things. This film is fantastic. It reeks of sleaze and that's it's enduring quality. As a horror film alone, it stinks and not in the good way, but there are characteristics about it that still have it as the classic that it is, still showing in midnight runs throughout the country (I almost got to see it in Dallas, Texas during the fall of 2005 at the Angelika but, just as the time I almost got to see Cannibal Ferox...) and people still sell the show out. There is a sort of humorous touch to the whole thing and some of the scenes are so outrageous that you have to sit back and just laugh to yourself and wonder how the hell this crap fest got greenlit. I guess I can answer my own question on that one: back in the horror heydays of the 70's and 80's, if a particular film became an international smash hit, film distributors would cash in on that particular subject in their own ways to make money. When The Exorcist was released, how many possession films followed? Beyond the Door, Abby....I could go on. This was a film that cashed in on the success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and they were brave enough to admit it on the film's adverts! Only this one gave everyone what they didn't get in that film: Blood and gore!

The Georges are great in this film. They play serious roles but play them in a manner in which they don't have to take themselves seriously. Wait, did that make sense? The best scene in the film is when the killer activates the campus' public address system and the sounds of a marching band blare across the schoolyard. No one can understand why this is happening and everyone tries to find out how it happened and how to shut it off. But when dear Mary Riggs (played by Day) reaches her tolerance limit and begins to scream the word, "Bastard!" at the top of her lungs in hopes of the killer hearing her over the already louder music, without wanting to, you just begin to laugh until you have tears in your eyes. Don't get me wrong, you feel her pain and understand her plight. But If you're a fan of this film, the moment you hear someone say the word, "bastard", you smile to yourself and see Mrs. Day-Greorge clutching her fists and screaming out into the open air. They don't make cheese like this anymore, kiddies.

The gore in this film is fantastic. It holds nothing back and it is what it is. Some of the murders in this film are so gruesome that you have to sit back and smile. They are presented with a loving detail that while you're smiling, you have to admire how these guys pulled them off in the first place. The acting is particularly sub par, but with a film of this nature, can you expect anything more than that? Toward the end of the film, it takes a bizarre twist that you're not expecting, which made the film all the more worth while. With the added treat of Ian Sera's full frontal shot - in front of a poster for Friday the 13th! - the film ended up being more than I would have ever expected, and then some. When the identity of the killer is revealed in the final act and when you realize what the whole thing is really about, you have to put your hand over your mouth and refrain from both laughing and screaming. But, I have to say, though, that the film's final shot remains one of the most disturbing in horror history - especially if you're of the male persuasion. You've got to admire and love a schlock film such as this that can make you laugh and then leave you with an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

If you're a horror fan, get this one. I know that Grindhouse Releasing have just put out a newly mastered version of this film on DVD which I don't have yet. I think it's about time this gem got the proper DVD treatment as this one is really hard to find still in print. I own the Diamond DVD (though it doesn't work), the original Vestron VHS, and the VHS print on a DVD compilation called The Blood Feast Collection released by TGG Direct, grain, noise hiss and all. They'll never make them like this again. Enjoy them while you still can get a hold of them. This one is by far one of my favorites and it belongs in every horror fan's collection. Now that it's widely available, there's no reason why you shouldn't own it already.

I couldn't find a trailer, but here is the opening act of the film. Sleaze heaven if you ask me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqhRvIiQ_zw for the original Spanish version and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLer508DxEk&feature=related for the English version. Notice the difference in the music and dialogue. Wait, did I hear someone say, "Bastard"?


(Update 5/25/12): I have to apologize for the review above. Since I wrote this a few years ago, my writing style(s) have changed and have "grown up" a little. I've been able to get my hands on the new 2-disc Special Edition by Grindhouse Releasing and let me say that it is the definitive version. The picture and sound are great (it can even be watched with the original Spanish-language soundtrack). One of the great special features on the second disc is an on camera interview with director Juan Piquer Simon, giving some insight on the filming of Pieces. But, the best feature of all - which was also done similarly on the Grindhouse Releasing version of Cannibal Ferox - is that you can watch the film with a track from a live audience watching it on the big screen at a Los Angeles theater. I did it only once and though it was oddly entertaining, it was something I will only do once. Then there's an on-camera interview with Eli Roth talking about the film and it's legacy and impact. The film comes with a fold-out replica of the original poster above and a picture of the original Spanish-language title, Mil Gritos Tiene La Noche. But honestly, I still love my Vestron Video VHS version, grain, hiss and all. If anyone knows how the Diamond version is (if it's cut, quality, etc), let me know, since I'll never know how it is; I've never seen it again in any store since I purchased my non-operational version back in 2003. I don't know how limited it is so get it before it goes out-of-print. It's worth having. 

Basket Case (1982)

As I mentioned in a previous post, some horror films are made in the attempt to outright shock the hell out of you. I love to see those old posters with warnings across them and unforgettable tag lines that stayed in your mind. I love to see the uniqueness of the poster art and the thinking behind some of those now-famous and collectible pieces. That's why I miss the horror trash of the eighties - it seemed that every B-horror film maker with the smallest of budgets was just out to see how low they could sink and how much they could gross you out. From horrific styles of murder and gore to stupid plot lines with deranged characters, 80's films hold their spots in history. Before they existed, there was nothing like them. And in today's modern world, there's nothing that could hold a torch to them. Whether it was to establish a reputation is to be argued by some, but Mr. Frank Henenlotter shocked the horror world when Basket Case was unleashed back in 1982. And I know if you're reading this, you're laughing to yourself because you've seen it and love it.

I first saw the VHS of this film at El Chaparral Supermarket in La Feria, Texas about mid 1986. I remember staring at the cover of Belial creeping out of the basket as it looked back at me and for weeks, I wouldn't pick the cover up. Every time I was in the store, I looked at the box but never held it. As stupid as that sounds, I must have been about 13 at the time, but one day I did and when I saw the horrific images on the back of the box, I remember throwing the box back onto the rental shelf, heart beating rapidly, and my imagination raced as to what kind of horror film this must be. I immediately vowed that I would never see it as something this horrifying would mess me up for life. And I held that promise to myself even seeing the box over and over again at various rental places and grocery stores as years went by. That is, until 2005, when the local mom and pop was easing out their VHS inventory to make room for DVD and this was on the seller's block for a measly $2.50. Hey, I was already in my thirties, right? How bad could this really be? I'd sat through atrocities like I Spit on Your Grave and The Last House on the Left, so this should be a piece of cake, right? Right...?

The plot is quite simple: Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Henteryck) makes a trip to New York and checks into the Hotel Broslin with a large basket in his hand. Being questioned by everyone wherever he goes, he keeps the contents of the basket secret and visits several doctors in the area. But there's a reason why he's visiting them. You see, Duane has a secret: In the basket, he carries around his twin brother Belial, who isn't really human per se, but a blob of skin and organs with no legs and two stout arms. They were separated by the evil Doctor Kutter (Diana Browne) and the boys have come to take their revenge on her and Doctor Needleman (Lloyd Pace) for separating them. The twins have a bond, a connection as all twins do, but since Belial cannot speak, he can communicate telepathically with his brother Duane and vice-versa. Belial spends most of his time quiet inside the basket, but when he finds out that Duane has found a love interest by means of the secretary at the doctor's office named Sharon (Terri Susan Smith), Belial wants out, and he'll do what it takes to break them apart.

Filled with humor and some of the sickest murders ever, this film is something you have to see to believe. The boys wreak havoc on those who cross their paths and Belial wastes no time in disposing of them, in rather ultra-violent ways. Some of the murders are so over the top, you wonder how people back them could stomach them. But what I love most are the scenes where Belial 'comes to life' in the form of stop-motion animation. That's right, stop-motion animation. It makes you laugh and creeps you out at the same time to see the little wad of skin and blood move around and it's something I can guarantee that you've never seen before and will never see again in a film of this nature. How this didn't get a slap on the wrist by the MPAA is pretty astounding. At least, I haven't read anywhere that this film was threatened with an X-rating. It should have, though. It pushes so many envelopes, and it pushes them off the table and onto the floor. Most of the film takes place within the Hotel Broslin, which provided the perfect sleazy setting for this kind of motion picture. It's dark, dingy, and you can smell it from a mile away. It reeks of the old days of 42nd Street - and there's even a scene where Duane is walking down the street in front those cheap and dirty theatres while being haggled by a fellow offering him every drug in the book. I always love to see scenes like those. One of the best scenes is is when Duane recalls the day him and Belial were separated. Totally cheap and totally fake, but you can't take your eyes off the screen. And the death of Doctor Kutter remains one of my all-time favorite murders and is one of the highlights you can't miss.

The pinnacle of the film is when Belial finally can take no more and escapes from his basket to roam around New York. Tired of being copped up and tired of living under his brother's thumb - and jealous of the woman Duane has found - he goes missing and the hunt is on to find the missing twin. Where he is finally found and what he is doing when they find him will actually have you saying out loud, "Oh, I think I threw up a little. (gagging noise)" It isn't pretty, kids, and it's something you don't expect. This turn of events causes the brothers to feud until they are hanging off the Hotel Broslin's sign hanging over the street below and end up on the pavement next to each other. 


Not to worry, Basket Case 2 was made several years later, so the story of the Bradley boys doesn't end here. If you're not already a fan of this film, you need to be. Thankfully, Something Weird released this on DVD a few years back and though it's not entirely cleaned up, it still looks damn good. The bonus material is great, especially some of the outtakes and alternate takes. They're worth looking at. Along with the two trailers, there's a radio spot or two. But you've got to take time and see the featurette, "In Search of the Hotel Broslin" in which Frank Henenlotter himself guides us through some of the many areas used during filming. Everything from the apartment building where the hotel stood to the building where the sign hung, to the S&M club that the bar scenes and basement scenes were shot in. And if you watch it, ignore the goof that's tagging around Henenlotter like a sick puppy, with nothing clever to say but emit a grunt here and there. Wait, he's a rapper? I rest my case. The SW DVD is marked unrated and I haven't seen the feature in its entirety to tell you how it compares to the Media VHS version that I also own.

Hands down, get this. I picked this up at Rasputin's new for less than $9. Even if you pay a little more than that, it's worth every penny. There is nothing like a bloody exploitation cheesy film to make a rainy day. And there's no film more bloody, exploitative and outright cheesy than this one. Shocking at times, hilarious at others, this belongs in your collection.

Here's one of the short (but sweet) trailers:

The Undertaker and His Pals (1966)

Every so often, I will come across a film by accident that will completely take me by surprise. Sometimes I'll pick up a film just for the cover art, or I'll pick it up because I've heard about the film, and other times, as in this case, I'm purchasing a film which has another attached to it. Every Halloween, I'll make a round through all the local retail stores and see who has cheap horror films for sale to celebrate the season.


 Every so often, I'll find a good deal on a DVD that I already have on VHS cheap, or something will catch my eye. This year, I got to see a slew of compilations put out by TGG Direct - with some gruesome Rob Zombie-esque cover art - for the nice price of $5. Most of the films they were showcasing were ones I already had in my collection but I picked up one particular set because it had Pieces and I don't have that one on DVD format. At the end of the compilation's second disc was this film, nice and tucked away. I'd never heard of it so I thought I'd give it a try and all I can say is that I was really surprised.

The film opens up with a beautifully sequenced, or should I say, choreographed scene of three motorcycles in the night doing circles on a city street. Three motorcycles head off to a small apartment on the other side of town and end up killing a beautiful girl and hacking her to pieces. Her name? Sally Lamb. There's a reason I mention her name but I'll get to that shortly. Cut to a small funeral home where an undertaker with no name - played by Ray Dannie - is performing the funeral service for poor Sally. The murder is then investigated by a handsome private eye with a beautiful secretary who's trying to get him to marry her. Deciding to talk about it over lunch, they go to a small diner and what do you know? The chef's special is Lamb's Leg. Oh yes, I went there. The diner is owned by two low lives who are trying to strum business by getting the undertaker to supply the meat for the restaurant. Get the idea now? This movie must have caused a sir back in the late sixties. Gore, trash, sleaze, it's all there and yours for the taking. I don't want to give much of the plot away but this was probably one of the funniest slasher films I've ever seen. This was probably the predecessor to future classics such as Blood Feast and Motel Hell as the tongue-in-cheek humor mixed with blood and gore are enough to please. The film has a very dark tone but you don't really don't feel it, mainly because you actually get familiar with the characters and start liking them for the sheer comic value of their personalities. The movie is a laugh riot and before I knew it, I was really into the film and wondered to myself just how many people this film grossed out back in its drive-in heyday.

This took me by complete surprise and it's now in my top list of funny horror films, beating out Motel Hell by a long shot. If you can be patient - even with its very short 63 minute running time - and give this a chance, you'll end up loving it and wonder where it'd been hidden for so long. The best part of this whole film is the treat the producers give you at the end: when all the dead victims 'come back from the dead' to give one last bow and smile to the cameras. I apologize that this review is really short, but seriously, if you've seen the other two films I mentioned, you're already familiar with this type of plot. I've seen this on many of those 'multi-film' compilations and just last week I saw this one alone selling for about $2 in the bargain bin. If you see it, grab it, it's worth the price and worth investing your time in. You'll be laughing at the camp silliness - seriously, some of these scenes are a total laugh and a half - and paradoxical gross out factor - there are some genuine slasher scenes - that this has to offer. Look for this one. You will be smiling at the end during the closing credits and you'll want to see it again, just for the comedic value and you'll sit there wondering just how director T.L.P Spicewood got the nerve to not only write this film, but helm it as well.

Have fun with the trailer!

The Other (1972)

In the horror genre, there are films that each have a goal in mind: Some scare you, some shock you. Some gross you out and some make you cringe in your seat. Then, there are those rare few that make you think long after the ending credits have rolled. This is one of them.

The Other is a 70's film that I read a little about back in the late 90's. The plot didn't seem to interest me much then for some reason and I skipped it. Now, this was before I was a more mature horror viewer, when all I wanted to see was how creative slashings and murders could be without ever taking tone, setting and atmosphere into consideration. Many years late, I've learned to appreciate little things in a horror film - or any film for that matter. The combinations of set pieces, locale, music, symbolism all combined to make a film what it is. I didn't get to actually see this film until just this year, which was fantastic because I was able to take this in as a whole and not pass it off as just another suspense film. I unexpectedly found this DVD in the used horror bin at Rasputin's and was immediately furious because the core of the plot - and its famous twist - can all be found on the back of the DVD's cover. Shame on you, 20th Century Fox! But I digress.

The story revolves around a small town in Connecticut and twin brothers, Niles and Holland (played by Chris and Marin Udvarnoky, respectively) who hang around each other and get into trouble. Niles, the good boy has to take the rap for the bad things his brother Holland does and nobody understands why bad things are happening. Niles seeks advice and comfort of his friend Ada (Uta Hagen) whom has taught him to play "the game", a euphemism for psychic telekinesis, in which Niles can become an object, for example, a bird, and become it for a brief moment and experience everything it feels and does. Luckily only they know about "the game".

The basis of the story revolves around a ring that was given to Holland when their beloved father passed away after an accident on their farm. Only the eldest child is allowed to have it, but Holland passes it on to his brother who keeps it in a small tobacco tin and guards it with his life, with another item wrapped in cloth. But, why does Niles have the ring when Holland is the eldest child? And why does Holland keep getting Niles into trouble?

The story is presented well and the acting is by far some of the best I've ever seen. Maybe that's thanks to legendary acting coach, Uta Hagen, who possible lent out her knowledge and skills because everyone just oozes superb acting, even the always wonderful and beautiful John Ritter shines in his minimal role as Rider. The film becomes more than just a suspense film, it becomes a study of a child who has refused to let go of the one thing that meant most to him in the world: his brother. There have been studies conducted across the ages of the mystical bond that unite twins and this film explores that bond and gets the viewer to understand how Niles and Holland are still connected, even though Holland is dead. Niles can still see him. Niles can still hear him. And Niles is the only one that can stop the reign of accidents that have been happening across the farm. But can he betray his brother? Can he use his gift of "the game" to finally put Holland to rest before the worst happens?

The strong point of the film is when the other item Niles has been keeping in his tobacco tin is finally revealed. He keeps a decomposed finger, which the ring he bears was attached to, safely put away in hiding. But where did this finger come from and who does it belong to? How did Niles get the ring from Holland if he died before he was able to pass it on to his brother? That answer will make your jaw drop if you're ever able to see this film. Then, Rider's wife finally has the baby she's been carrying. One night, the baby disappears while sleeping in Niles' room and the entire family, along with the town, goes on a manhunt to find the missing child. Niles has a feeling who's behind it and calls out his brother to return the child. The first time you hear Niles whisper, "Holland, where is the baby?" will give you the eeriest chill to ever run down your spine. You know who has the baby. And you know that nothing good can come out of this. It's even more heartbreaking when an innocent man is taken off to jail whom is suspected of killing the baby by drowning it in a pickle barrel. But who really killed the poor child?

The climax of the film will have you thinking for days. The who, the what, and the why will be constantly running through your mind and when you come to the conclusion of just what happened, you'll close your eyes and smile and wonder why films like this aren't made anymore. Sometimes, it isn't about how much blood can be shed on screen, but what kind of real scares you can give your viewers with the least amount of dialogue and just enough atmosphere to make your skin crawl. While the VHS of this film is long out of print, get the DVD while you can. This is a remarkable piece of film making that shouldn't be skipped or overlooked. And I'd never heard of Uta Hagen until her name was referenced in a Will & Grace episode, which is sad, because she truly made her mark with this film. If you can get your hands on this one, do so.

Here is the trailer so you can see what I'm talking about: