Halloween Girl, Volumes 1 and 2, Graphic Novel Review

Yep...horror!  Icky monsters, like giant spiders for example.  Ominous adventures leading into horrific lairs and ghostly settings.  But Richard T. Wilson has given us something much more...and fans of this blog are going to grab onto it and not let go.  Mr. Wilson's "Halloween Girl" comic book series intends to fill seven volumes.  We will look at the first two volumes today.  By the way...Mr. Wilson has created a sultry teen heroine, the amber haired Charlotte.  She's nubile, perky, quite a dish, and her spunk may be just what she needs to defeat monsters and an eerie enemy seeking to capture her soul.

Artist Stephen Mullan gives us Mr. Wilson's creation...the sultry Charlotte.  We first meet Charlotte, a ghost, sadly, in Volume 1 ("Promises to Keep").  She resides in a cemetery and instantly we see she is in awful danger from some force seeking to...well, whatever they want to do to her, it'll be so evil.  The beauty finds a jack-o-lantern filled with a monster spider and the adventure is on.  Next we see the benevolent sort of gal (or ghost) Charlotte is.  Her goodness, beauty, and desire to help the underdog will put her in danger of being picked apart and eaten. 

Volume 2 ("Charlotte's Web") gets creepier. Now Charlotte will be lured into deadly traps as her nemesis, known as "The Hollow," uses her vulnerabilities to exploit her.  Pulled into a monstrous lair, and forced to wander the labyrinth inside, Charlotte is pursued by giant spider creatures that seek to eat her...and worse...well, you'll see.  Mr. Wilson brings his heroine into terrifying danger as creatures converge to ravage and so completely destroy her.  Thank you to Mr. Mullan for his artwork in which the images of the nubile beauty in mortal danger fill our minds with allure and horror.  Horrific and fast-paced, a Young Adult audience will love the story.  I dare say, Charlotte may even bring some adolescents through puberty.  Never fear, Charlotte is one of the good guys...and the monsters are pertinent metaphors for many pitfalls our youngsters are in danger of falling into.

Richard T. Wilson's creation, enhanced by Stephen Mullan's artwork, have given us the most sultry horror heroine of the 21st century.  The story will appeal to Young Adult audiences and fans of hardcore horror...giving inspiration and good morals to each audience.  Charlotte's beauty, naivete, and spunk exude in every frame even when it appears the evil and monsters are ready to devour her.  Do yourself a favor and start reading the "Halloween Girl" comics.     

Ring Around the Rosie, Gina Philips and Tom Sizemore Frolic

Okay...sure...a flawed thriller.  Still, Gina Philips is a babe and Tom Sizemore is...well, awkward!  Whatever flaw this movie has, we still get to see Gina Philips as a nubile babe in much distress.  The modern day scream queen that Ms. Philips is, she absolutely will not let any of us down.  This brings us to 2006's "Ring Around the Rosie," directed by Rubi Zack.

Karen (Philips) is a successful publisher in the big city.  Her grandmother dies and leaves Karen the summer home.  Karen spent all her summers there and loved it, we think, up to the age of 13.  Her task is to go claim the house and get it ready for sale.  She and her boyfriend Jeff (Randall Batinkoff) will drive there together.  They'll have lots of pre-marital sex and we'll see Karen in some nice lingerie.  Usually the intimacy is interrupted by ghostly visions that sees Karen pulling away from Jeff.  After a few nights of some nice intimacy, Jeff must return to the big city...useless!!!  Uh oh...Karen meets Pierce (Sizemore), the estate's caretaker.  He tends the horses and looks creepy.  Something draws Karen to the weird Pierce and he seems like he wants to screw Karen's brains out.

Every night Karen wakes in cold sweat after nightmares and ghostly memories.  Something happened in a closet down the hall and that seems key to what causes Karen angst.  Good news!  Karen's hot sister Wendy (Jenny Mollen) shows up to help.  Wendy thinks Pierce is sort of cute and leads him on.  Now Pierce gets more aggressive and drools more.  As Wendy and Karen catch up on old times, Pierce gets more aroused by the two nubile babes.  Now the nightmares/visions increase and we begin to see what is going on here.  As Pierce's libido explodes, the two sisters will find themselves trapped in this wilderness house by a maniacal pervert.

What is really going on here between Karen and Pierce?  Will Karen and Wendy engage in an erotic and sweaty catfight?  Are the secrets of what happened in the closet down the wall related to Pierce's creepiness?  An experienced horror fan will see what is going on here, but Gina Philips and Tom Sizemore shine in the allure and creepy departments.  Oh yes, Wendy is a real dish and you guys will love her.  See "Ring Around the Rosie" for some weird psychological thrills and creepy allure. 

Shiver, Danielle Harris vs Pervert Serial Killer

There is something about Danielle Harris.  The sweet and nubile final girl just draws us in and seduces us.  So when a brutish pervert wants to cut her head off and soil her corpse...well, perhaps we take it personally.  The scream queen icon always pleases and in today's feature we pull for her to survive, even though all the other babes in this film will lose their pretty heads.  Today we look at 2012's "Shiver," directed by Julian Richards.

So sad...Franklin Rood (John Jarratt) is a serial killer who has it in for sultry dames.  By the time he gets to Wendy's (Harris) neighborhood he has already abducted, humiliated, mutilated, murdered, and raped the corpses of several babes.  After he does this to a beautiful stewardess (Lisa Foiles) he turns his attention to Wendy.  The cops (Casper Van Dien and Rae Dawn Chong) are useless and incompetent.  We will not mention them further.  Now Rood makes his move for our favorite scream queen.  Uh oh for Rood...Wendy is different.  He sees her as pure and the real deal and hesitates just a moment before decapitating her.  This is, of course, Danielle Harris, and she takes advantage of the hesitation, stabs the monster, and flees.

Now the hunt is on.  Rood wants her back.  He'll murder her boyfriend and a lot of cops on the way to her.  Ultimately, the pervert will catch up to her.  Even worse for Wendy...he wants her to be his wife and lover.  You will see the most awkward rape scene in film history as Wendy is tied to a bed in an abandoned barn.  Now Wendy must really put on her seduction and survival instincts to survive and escape again.  Oh yeah...Wendy has companions in her twisted prison...the heads of Rood's beautiful victims are on display in jars.  This Rood guy has staying power and law enforcement and the justice system will all fail in their bid to end his wrath.

Will Rood succeed and torture Wendy into being his bride/love slave?  Will Wendy further turn the tables on this fiend and inflict her own wrath on him?  The beautiful will die so horribly in this one and we plead with the screen that Wendy will not also fall.  For a gory, brutal, and prurient good time, see "Shiver."

Blood Vessel, Vampires, Nazis, and a Ghost Ship

1980's "Death Ship" is one of my favorite movies. The George Kennedy film had a haunted derelict Nazi ship picking up an innocent bunch of survivors from a shipwreck.  Today, we have a look at an almost identical plot in 2019's "Blood Vessel," directed by Justin Dix.  This World War 2 film also has a derelict Nazi ship...this time infested by vampires, picking up survivors from an allied sunken ship.  Dark, and not the feel good film of 2019, it is a vampire film set on the high seas...which merit it a look.

A motley crew of allied survivors are adrift in a life raft after a U-Boat sinks their vessel.  Starving, the castaways believe they catch a break when a Nazi freighter comes by.  After their captain is shredded by the freighter's propeller, the others manage to climb aboard.  Interesting survivors...the babe nurse Jane (Alyssa Sutherland), the Aussie Nathan (Nathan Phillips), the English Intel guy/traitor Faraday (John Llotd Fillingham), and the Russian Alexander (Alex Cooke...I guess cultural appropriation is no great sin if it concerns Russia).  Soon our surviving allies figure out the vessel seems deserted.  Then they find the charred, rat bitten, maggot infested corpses of the crew.  Now our survivors figure they may not be as lucky as first theorized.

Then the vampires arrive.  First a little girl vampire takes an unhealthy liking to Jane.  Then it is discovered this Nazi crew looted artwork, relics, and coffins from central Europe.  Wouldn't you know it... vampires are in the coffins.  Soon the allies figure out what is going on and a war erupts...beyond World War 2.  The awkward group must now trust one another and work together as the toothy menaces do not die easy.  The creepy derelict ship is spooky enough and the vampires aren't the attractive ("Underworld") variety.  As the kid vampire continues to hunt and torment Jane, the guy survivors tangle with the full grown vampires.

Will Jane survive the wrath of the toothy little girl?  Will the Australian, Russian, and English traitor put their cultural differences aside and realize diversity is their greatest strength (NATO is trying to do this now, w/o much success)?  Creepy and horrific..."Blood Vessel" is a dark horror film which adds new meaning to the phrase "horrors of war."        

Dead Mary, Possession and the Annihilation of Babes and Hunks

Dominique Swain!  I don't know why she doesn't show up on most people's "favorite actress" lists.  She's on mine.  Her name alone will draw me to a film.  So will bikinis and catfights, which Ms. Swain will wear and partake in in today's film.  Pick-axes, garden tools, other blades, fire, and...well...now that I think about it...no beartraps...will all be part of some really nice carnage.  Sure, we'll plead with the silver screen to leave our Ms. Swain unmarred...but this will be a vicious one.  Today we look at 2007's "Dead Mary," directed by Robert Wilson.

Babe Kim (Swain) and hunk Matt (Jefferson Browning) are on the outs after they decided to have an "open" relationship.  Surprise, it did not make theirs stronger.  Now both bicker all the way to a weekend at a secluded wooded cabin with their babe and hunk friends.  Also there is is babe Amber (Reagan Pasternak) and her hunk Dash (Michael Majeski)...they're married and Amber believes happily.  Then there is Eve (Marie Josee), a sultry looking babe who is there w/o a beau.  Then the intellectual looking Baker (Steven McCarthy)...he has a beard, and his new squeeze, Lily (Maggie Castle). Lily is uncomfortable around all the friends as she is a newbie to the group.  Oh, yeah!  Everyone here has secretly slept with everyone else's partner...of course, these won't stay secrets.

Kim and the gals will frolic in bikinis and look bored while the guys will drink and smoke marijuana.  Then as Kim and Matt continue to bicker...and Amber looks really needy, and Lily and Eve mysteriously disappear in the woods, the plot thickens.  Now the fools play Dead Mary...you know, recite her name three times...etc!  Well, they do this and the possession begins.  One at a time the hunks and babes turn into demons and the only way to get rid of them is to chop them up and burn them.  The demons reveal more intimate secrets about the babes and hunks driving the not-possessed farther apart and into more paranoia.  Now Kim will get into a nice catfight and no one is really sure who the next demon will be.  With disembowelment and burning ruling the second half of the film, the horror and relationship drama get more intense.

Is the demon possession a good metaphor for the typical relationship angst faced by many young 20-somethings, today?  Are any of the sultry babes in this film adept enough to take on Dominique Swain in a good catfight?  Do we need anything else in a film other than Ms. Swain frolicking in a bikini and engaging in catfights?  This is a good one with a fine looking cast.  Pick your favorite hunk and babe and just maybe they won't be disfigured and cut up before the end credits.  For a prurient and gory good time, see "Dead Mary."   

And Then YOU Die!, Our Future is Here

1993's "Falling Down" is an over-rated piece of garbage. The bore-a-thon was billed as a common man's anthem that turned on its intended audience. The A-List cast mailed in their performances and a great idea became mindless drivel. The film was promised to be a classic, yet by 1994...no one was talking about this Michael Douglas film. Hence, 2013's "And Then YOU Die!" On the surface, a similar plot than the aforementioned film, but perhaps a different message. With no A-List, pampered actors, and a micro-budget, this film will not receive any praise.

Sam (Chuck Smith), a dumpy loser, is having a bad day. The used car salesman sleeps late, runs out of gas, is fired, and humiliated by people in his life who he seeks help from. Left on the side of the road, a bunch of 20-something campers mock him. The cops show up and treat him like a criminal. The tow-truck driver is incredibly rude and taunting, and his boss is hardly understanding. Worse yet, he tries to call his wife Tessa (Ellie Church) and his best friend Brad (Christopher Hunt). Neither answer as they are having passionate sex, together. He gets home, catches his wife and friend in the act, tries to kill them, but Brad gets the best of him and conks him out. Brad believes he has killed Sam. Not so.

Now Brad and Tessa dump his corpse in the woods...then Sam wakes. Now a homicidal mad man, he will begin a trek to find all the folks who humiliated and disrespected him earlier in the day. He'll find a machete, woodchipper, handyman tools, tire irons, gas grills, etc. The killing spree will be bloody and at times heartbreaking. No one will be spared his wrath, including a young pregnant woman.  As the blood splatters, and body parts fly, Sam is slowly working his way back to his home where Brad and Tessa are unsuspecting that he is still breathing. Sam indeed intends to save the best for last.

Bloody, and more vicious than the Michael Douglas film, Sam's tirade is seen as justified and maybe a lot of us may be cheering for him. Will Sam get back some of his humanity before arriving home where his best friend and wife are? Is anyone in this film innocent? If this film had an A-List cast and CGI, would we be yapping about it as a neo-classic? Some will find this film without any merit or semblance of taste. Interestingly, those same folks extoll the idiotic DC and Marvel pieces of trash. Not for everyone, but if you are in the mood...see "And Then YOU Die!"  This film is directed by Daniel Murphy and Brian Gaillard.

Lake Fear, A Bloody Horror Musical

Musical?  Okay, maybe not...but at times it feels like one.  Our feature today is a bloody horror film in the style of "The Evil Dead," complete with a deserted cabin in the woods and four nubile babes who will be under much distress.  The nubile babes, which carry this film, were cast because of their proclivity to give the camera some nice T&A shots while clad in tight tops and short shorts.  Is this what we want to carry our horror films?  Yep.  Let us examine 2014's "Lake Fear," directed by Michael Crum.

We are introduced to our babes early on.  First Tina (Jessica Willis).  She won a weekend at the aforementioned cabin in the woods...on some internet contest.  She has a Mustang and picks up Kathy (Taylor LeeAnn Graham), the maybe clean cut (okay, not so clean cut) Jordan (Shannon Snedden) and and the weird (wears cat ears) Stephanie (Jori Gill).  Deep into the woods they go and reach the cabin.  The horror begins right away...no slow burn here.  Demons emerge...let's see...there is a pig demon, a reptile demon, and an eyeless demon...and many more.  The gals are horrified and jump around as the camera catches many shots of their posteriors and chests as they do. 

Soon the demons begin claiming the nubiles.  One by one, the pretty fall to beings from Hell and become possessed vessels of theirs.  Now covered with blood and still running, the gals still look appealing...and also seemed quite doomed.  Gory injuries, one in particular with a circular saw, beset them.  The beauties turn from nubile babes jiggling around to hunted damsels soaked in blood.  The demons seem to smell blood and now the gals are also running from each other, as they become possessed one by one...a lot like in "The Evil Dead."  This won't end well for the quartet...but as far as tormented beings...they are not alone in this cabin.

Will any of our nubile protagonists survive the demons, circular saws, or each other and make it to the end credits?  Will we see blood-soaked catfights between the possessed and not-yet-possessed?  Just who else is being tormented in this cabin?  Gratuitous and weird, "Lake Fear" is a high-energy jaunt into possession and prurient voyeurism.