Face of the Frog, Sequel to The Third Man

Wait!  There was no sequel to 1949's "The Third Man."  Harry Lime (Orson Welles) dies at the end.  Au contraire! If Patrick Duffy can come back from dead, just by taking a shower, Harry Lime can come back... or can he?  From West Germany we have a film set in London...1959's "Face of the Frog," directed by Harold Reinl and starring a whole bunch of krauts!  Wait, is "krauts' a derogatory term? 

The Frog is a mystery.  A crime lord who wears a frog mask and commands a gang of 300 loyal and ruthless followers. For the past four years he has spread his wrath of murder, robbery, terrorism, and more murder all throughout England. On his tail is American playboy, Richard (Joachim Fuchsberger) and Detective Inspector Hedge (Siegrfied Lowitz). Fair is fair, if the Germans can culturally appropriate English and Americans, I can call them krauts.  So there.  Richard figures out the ultimate target of The Frog is the Bennet family...more specifically, he wants the lovely Bennet daughter Ella (Elfie von Kalckreuth) as his bride or lover. Too bad for this reptile wannabe, Richard has fallen in love with Ella and now sees it as his divine duty to protect her.

A lot happens in this film, but the theory is posed by Richard that Harry Lime did not die five years ago, but survived and moved to London.  Is Harry Lime The Frog?  The creep gets everywhere and corrupts every institution of the government.  Who else works for The Frog? Lolita (Eva Pflug).  Lolita is a nightclub songstress and is all seduction.  What happens to her at the hands of The Frog will shock you and give us one of the most vicious scenes in film history.  Richard seems to be outsmarted, as does the good inspector, at every turn.  The Frog takes and murders at will and now he makes his move on Ella.  He does this by seemingly annihilating any effort to stop him.  After a couple of sultry and seductive numbers by Lolita, she too will be grabbed.  What happens next is shocking and all loose ends will be tied up.

Just what will The Frog do to the two babes, Lolita and Ella?  Will Richard shake off his failures and regroup with the inspector to track down The Frog and save a couple of damsels?  Will Richard or The Frog end up with Ella?  This is a quirky one, as was "The Third Man."  For some neat West German cultural appropriation of England and America, see "Face of the Frog."    

Rabid Love, Get Your Shots

Wow! This is a terrific horror film.  The question is, which type? Slasher? Monster? Or maybe one of those Cronenberg style body horror ones? Taboo...icky...gory...and to some extent a slow burn.  A lot is rolled into this one, and we meet some great babes and hunks.  Bikinis, pre-marital sex, a lot of beer drinking, and some rock 'n roll!  Today we look at a film set in 1984, 2023's "Rabid Love," directed by Paul J. Porter.

Heather (Hayley Derryberry) has just graduated from college and her fawning BF John (Porter) will probably propose to her. Unsure, but with nothing else to fall back on, Heather figures she'll say 'yes' when he pops the question at the cabin in the woods getaway they will go on with their three friends. The sultry bikini babe, and very naughty Summer (Hannah Landberg) and her BF, the drunk brute Adam (Josh Hammond) will be along.  The sultry fifth wheel will be Julie (Jessica Sonneborn). These five provide great cheese and beef to the viewer...but will they stay that way. A lot of beer drinking, mostly by Adam occurs, and the gals will frolic in bikinis. In the woods John meets the weird nature photographer David (Brandon Stacy).  David isn't really a nature photographer...he's a MAD SCIENTIST wannabe who President Reagan fired for being demented...kind of the point of being a mad scientist. David manages to inject serum into John that will cause him to...change.

The friends are taken by the supposed sweet David not knowing he is conducting experiments.  Meanwhile, something is in the woods and is shredding hippie animal rights advocates.  We see these graphic killing but are they from a monster or something, or someone else? Remember that prick David gave John? Yep...the change begins and it will be a downward spiral.  See, David is perfecting a drug that will eventually be airborne that could wipe out entire armies.  He is...well, you'll see.  The fate of the babes and hunks will be, at time, painful to watch.

Does the sultry nymphomaniac Summer have a shot at reaching the end credits?  Will John be able to propose to Heather?  Will David get funding from Fauci or Soros to continue his humanity-eliminating experiment?  This is a gut wrenching film that will have you squirming.  When the end credits roll, you would have seen one heck of a horror film that never masquerades as a comedy, love story, or witty drama.  See "Rabid Love" and stay away from cabins in the woods.  

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Narcotic, Gooey-Mooey and Opium

Opium gummies!  How backwards they were back in 1933, the year this film was made.  Today we're so much smarter, we would never put a narcotic in a gummy bear.  Perish the thought. Of course, marijuana is harmless, as was opium back in the day. Warning, our feature today is grim, gory, and ominous.  The portrayals are graphic, over-the-top, and do not present our human condition in a pleasant ight. If you can survive the gore of the first 10 minutes, hang in there, for a much more sobering account of addiction and drug carnage than Nancy Reagan and Michael Jackson ever told us about. Today we look at "Narcotic," directed by Dwain Esper.

This is the biography of carnival sideshow huckster Dr. William G. Davies.  Before he was a huckster, heroin pusher, he was an altruistic and brilliant MD. He ran a free clinic and married his beautiful nurse, Vivian (Joan Dix). Then a former medical school classmate, Gee Woo (J. Stuart Blackton, Jr.) from China, introduces him to opium dens as a form of relaxation.  The stress in William's life is intense and soon is addicted to opium.  This addiction lands him in rehab and his Vivian is by his side. A car accident later will addict the poor soul to opiates. Now he is fast going down an abyss of addiction and ruination.

William will prove a marvelous huckster and will be granted a booth at the carnival where he sells heroin, opium, marijuana, and morphine wrapped in his elixir called "Tiger Fat."  He'll throw drug orgies and the loose dames that show up will begin the night sultry and end the night as pathetic drug whores.  William, who used to save lives, now ruins them.  How low can he go?  You can probably hazard a guess or two.

Warning, the medical miracle performed by Dr. William Davies at the beginning of this film, where he saves a baby from the womb of the dead mother, is actual footage of this surgical procedure.  The bacchanal and gratuitous effects of the drugs is sobering and frightening.  This is not the feel good film of 1933, and a look into our headlines in 2025 reveals we've learned nothing. Oh, and don't worry that CBD smoke shops are opening up in your neighborhood like crazy and family owned restaurants are closing. No, nothing to see here! Go ahead, go to your CBD shop, buy a few gummies, and pop them with a Mountain Dew...but do that at your own peril.  See "Narcotic" and consider yourself warned. 

Scream Baby Scream, Disfiguring the Beautiful

Hippies!  There is a problem with hippies in movies.  We end up cheering for the monsters or killers that seek to dismember them.  The hippie movement of the 60s gave way to abhorrent politicians when they grew up.  Many of today's ghoulish and evil senators, congressmen, or governors were hippies who grew up, put on a suit and tie, and decided to ruin America.  They succeeded. The hippies in this film will be tormented or murdered...but there are a couple of babes that we do pull for...imagine that.  Our feature today is the psychedelic drive-in offering, 1969's "Scream Baby Scream," directed by Joseph Adler.

Art student and major league babe Janet (Eugenie Wingate) paints nudes nicely.  Her boyfriend, the grouchy Jason (Ross Harris) is also painting nudes in the same class.  The nude?  Joyce (Candy Ernst) comes on to Jason, but Jason only has eyes for Janet...for now. No matter, a guest professor, Charles Butler (Larry Swanson) woos the class with his paintings of disfigured women.  He'll then kidnap the nude Joyce, disfigure her face, and paint her portrait.  See, the portraits of disfigured women are all real babes which he has disfigured through a scalpel and a secret formula.  Okay, we should mention Marika (Suzanne Stuart).  Marika is also in the same art class.  She's hot for the grouchy Jason , but Jason only wants Janet.  By the way, Janet looks terrific in blue go-go boots and short skirts.

While doing acid, the quartet goes exploring.  I have not mentioned the rock musician Scottie (Chris Martell).  Scottie and Jason fight when Jason disses Janet.  Marika comforts and tries to seduce Jason.  Scottie will be murdered by a ghoul and Janet will be captured by Butler.  Why has Butler captured Janet?  Guess!  Now Jason wants Janet back and he is also wanted for the murder of Scottie.  Butler is busy with his scalpel, babes, and his paints.  Marika is busy trying to seduce Jason, but she is too good for him. Now Jason forces the issue and in his way will be disfigured ghouls, a mad artist, a mad scientist (Jim Vance), and a cop who believes he murdered Scottie.

Will the beautiful Janet keep her beauty as the mad artist with the scalpel sets his sights on her?  Just why is Butler marring sultry dames?  Does Marika have any shot at all with Jason...especially if Janet succumbs to the disfigurement?  The cheese factor is tremendous in this film and the go-go boots add to the allure. For some neat drive-in exploitation horror of the psychedelic type, where acid is dropped, and beatniks serenade pot heads in seedy clubs...see "Scream Baby Scream."   

Amp House Massacre, Social Media Influencers Shredded

The most popular influencers in the world. Social media influencers. People who have no worth in human existence and keep popping up at Taylor Swift concerts or trendy nightclubs.  The types of nightclubs that you and I would not be allowed to enter. They're young. They're millionaires several times over. No one really likes them even though they get billions of likes a day. There is good news.  These young pukes will probably get murdered by their boyfriends, or overdose, or end up in jail in some Asian country.  Good riddance.  This all plays out in 2024's "Amp House Massacre," directed by Dante Pierre and Mike Ware.

Mario (Dallas Hart) is the young punk who is the #1 social media influencer in the world. No worth to the human race at all, but worshipped by the pathetic hordes of humanity seeking to be equally as worthless. His millions have bought him luxury cars and a mansion. His mansion, Amp House, he lives in with an almost equally popular influencer, the young babe Janelle (Kara Royster). Of course Mario has a lot of buddies, also popular influencers who are young and great looking with major brands are invited to live in Amp House. Then Mario ODs!  Bummer! The influencers are sad.  Views on the Amp House Vlogs plummet, and Mario's best friend Josh (Nathan Ansermet) is now the boss.  He and Janelle try to figure out a way to get the mansion's social popularity up again.  Oh! Rumors on social media suggest Mario did not OD...they say he was murdered.

Yep, one by one, the snooty social influencers begin dying horribly.  Tiffany is one we like because she is played by Cassandra Scerbo. Oh yeah, the cell reception has been taken over by a mysterious hacker and the doors and windows are now locked. This fiend begins showing everyone that their dear friends are actually two-timing cheats who are not really their friends. The influencers are also shown videos of each one of them dissing Mario.  Sadly, we see Mario's GF, Tiffany, having pre-marital sex with another influencer. Yep, she cheated on him.  The others worked to backstab him. One by one, the influencers who backstabbed Mario when he was alive die horribly.

Okay, a standard horror/mystery.  It is nice to see these pukes get it in such awful fashion, I must admit. This is sort of a metaphor of what real life will eventually do to these creeps. Who is murdering all the most popular social influencers?  Is Mario really dead? Will Tiffany stand a chance at surviving to the end credits?  There will be plenty of naughty behavior and gory kills.  For a satisfying film in which we are happy to see a high kill count, see "Amp House Massacre."   

Temptation, Lesbian Vampires Sucking and Kissing

Yep, another lesbian vampire film.  Right, the vamps are clad in lingerie or other kinky party gowns.  Yep, the vamps are fond of one another and are great kissers. Right, they hang at a strip/dance club call and lure brute men to alleys or back hallways and suck them dry...of blood.  Well, let's face it, we just can't have too many movies with these tropes contained.  Our feature today, from England, is 2009's "Temptation," directed by Catherine Taylor.

Having just caught her boyfriend sucking face with another dame, Isabel (Caroline Haines), all dressed up in a sexy party gown, meets her friends after work.  Sad and betrayed, Isabel runs out, cries, and is helped into a taxi driven by a rapist.  Yep, he rapes her, and guts her with a knife.  Along comes the sultry redheaded vamp, Aurelie (Rachel Waters).  Right, you guessed it.  Aurelie is a centuries old vampire searching for her long lost love, a dame named Margo.  Right.  Margo is a spitting image of the sultry vampire Margo. Aurelie drains the rapist of blood, and bites and shares blood with the almost dead Isabel.  Isabel is now on her way to becoming Aurelie's lover.  Not realizing the score, Isabel runs off and goes home.  There, she finds her babe sister, Kylie (Laura Evans). Like all sultry blondes in England, and they are rare, Kylie is taking a bath.

Isabel is alarmed as sunlight decimates her and all she hungers for is...you got it...blood. Isabel runs off as Aurelie and her vamp brigade continue draining men and dumping the bodies.  The police are now investigating and the clues lead them to Isabel.  Isabel is drawn to Aurelie and some nice make-out sessions ensue.  Still, Isabel is hesitant about signing up with the coven, or whatever you call it, but Aurelie knows it is just a matter of time.  More make-out sessions occur, the cops get closer, and now Isabel's old boyfriend (Alexander D' Andrea) wants her back...he has no idea.

Will Aurelie eat Isabel literally or figuratively?  Will Isabel eat Simon, literally or figuratively? Will Aurelie and Isabel become passionate lovers or deadly enemies (you know dames)?  This is an erotic one, though may not have surprises, it does have a huge cheese factor.  For arousal purposes, see "Temptation" and enjoy the scenery.   

   

#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, No One Gets Away with Anything

You won't get away with it. However brilliant and perfect your murder plot is...you won't get away with it. First, we need to give credit to the casting. The four actresses, five really, in this film are all stunning. Watching Jade Pettyjohn, JoJo Siwa, Jennifer Ens, Ali Fumiko Whitney...and Michaella Russell in danger and in the throes of passion is quite the cinematic privilege. The hunks?  Yeah, they're okay, too. The kills...gory to the max.  Sure, an experienced horror film fan will see the twists coming, to a certain point. Our feature today is 2024's "#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead," directed by Marcus Dunstan.

Okay...something happened 20 years ago at the Karmapalooza Music Festival. A serial killer murdered seven college kids in a motif of the Seven Deadly Sins. He was never caught. Fast forward to two years ago...something else happened...and what exactly that was will remain a bit of a mystery until the end of this film. What we do know is pretty Collette (Siwa) had her head blown off.  Police say suicide, but from what we see...highly unlikely. Now, present day, seven great looking college students are headed to Karmapalooza.  This is the first Karmapalooza since the murders 20 years ago. Clean cut but sultry Sarah (Pettyjohn) is the responsible one and drives her six friends. Her best buddy is Liv (Whitney), and the bitch in the group is influencer Mona (Ens). Mona is hot and will make out with hunk and babe alike. She'll have a gratuitous bikini scene, a gratuitous pre-marital sex scene, and a gratuitous...well, never mind that for now.

Oops...secrets emerge. Sarah is curious as she is new to this social group.  See, everyone, including Sarah gets a text from the dead Collette. Uh oh, everyone in the group knows something about how and why Collette's brains leaked out over the floor of a cabin in the woods.  Now, one by one, the gang starts dying in grotesque fashion. All the murders have a connection to the Seven Deadly Sins. One of the gals has acid dumped all over her, hence she ceases being a babe. Sarah appears clean cut and above all evil that has taken place in this group.  Mona is so, shall we say "bitchy," that we wait for an extra excruciating death for her.  But wait!  All is not what it appears. Oh, I haven't mentioned Michaella Russell as the babe policewoman...watch the movie and understand why. When the final reveals are...revealed... it will be shocking.  Then just after the final credits roll (watch the final credits), you will see that maxim play out that I began this review with.

Is Sarah really an innocent player in this bloody game?  So, just who is this babe cop and why has she not been mentioned in this review?  Is Mona too beautiful to die?  This is a good one and is a slasher film in the true sense of the word.  For a great cheesecake factor, and incredibly gory kills, see "#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead" and try to figure out who will be the final girl.