The Brighton Strangler, Sultry British Dame in Uniform in Peril

A play within a movie!  No, not an Irving Berlin spectacular, but a gritty horror film conjuring images of the Jack the Ripper legends.  The setting is a very foggy London and the quiet coastal town of Brighton. This gem, which came out in the final year of World War 2 mixes the classic killer in the fog theme with the horror of air raids and fire bombings which the Germans inflicted on London.  The two will be directly blended and what follows is our film, 1945's "The Brighton Strangler," directed by Max Nosseck.

The play, The Brighton Strangler, has wrapped up.  The stars are giddy, yet exhausted from this drama that has enthralled a besieged city. Besieged by air raids.  The horror of a mysterious strangler seems pale in comparison. Now that the curtains have lowered for the final time, hunk star, Reginald Parker (John Loder), who portrayed the strangler, is set to marry the writer/producer Dorothy (Rose Hobart). Just before Reginald departs the theater, the Germans bomb London and the theater.  Knocked out, Reginald wakes up with some form of Amnesia and believes he is Edward Gray, aka The Brighton Strangler.  He even finds his murder weapon in the pocket of his coat. Now, as Edward Gray, Reginald will take a train to Brighton and kill the people which the strangler murdered in the play.  He's charming and well schooled, thus a sultry dame in uniform, the lovely April (June Duprez) befriends him.

June looks marvelous in the uniform of a WAC (Women's Army Corps).  She is engaged to an American officer, the hunk Bob (Michael St. Angel). When the two depart the train in Brighton, April introduces Edward to her mom and dad who are also taken by his charm. Just like the script calls for, Edward Gray, the strangler, seeks the beloved mayor of Brighton and strangles him to death.  Uh oh...the script calls for several more murders, which also include the wise old police detective (Miles Mandor) on the case. Continuing his charm, April feels a closeness to Edward and confides in him for guidance and help.  The sultry uniformed dame has no idea that the drama, which just closed in London, ends with her own murder. Trickery and deceit enable Edward with alibis and set up a perfect plan for April's murder.  

Will the hunk Bob, American soldier, get wise and flee to Brighton to save his girl?  Did the screening boards in the U.K. use this film as an example of how violence on the stage can influence the youth to do naughty things? Will the sultry and smart appearance of April in a military uniform help with military recruiting in Britain?  This is a scary and suspenseful and Ms. Duprez performs the damsel in peril with allure and perkiness.  Mr. Loder's charm and refinement makes his strangler character just so much more terrifying.  For a foggy and vicious thriller, see "The Brighton Strangler."

Phantom Fun-World, A Real Slasher Film

How many times do we see slasher films when the killer...slashes?  Yep, he has a big knife and instead of jabbing, or poking...he slashes.  Slashes up, slashes down, slashes from one side, slashes from the other side...then turn her around and do all this slashing again.  Real slashing! We have it here...at least on one of the myriad of kills.  The astronomical death count in this film by a really big knife are all gorier than the last.  Remember, knives don't kill people...slashers kill people.  Our feature today is 2023's "Phantom Fun-World," directed by Tory Jones.

17 years ago six employees of Fun-World were slashed...the killer?  Well, eventually you will see exactly what happened all those years ago.  Present day the lovely Andi (Celeste Blandon) is desperate to find a job so she can support her teen-age brother, Cole (Jace Carson). Their mom (Kira L. Wilson)? Well, she has had her problems and now is in  rehab and in a 12-strep program. Andi's bestie, Collins (Spooky Madison) gets her a job at Fun-World on the graveyard shift. On her first night of work, the murders start again.  Before Andi can find her way around, four employees are graphically murdered.  The slasher (L.C. Holt) is just getting started.  He'll go through the graveyard shift and the security guards like crap through a goose.

Soon Cole is dropped off by their mom so he can have fun on his birthday. Andi, Cole, and a very sweet security guard, Noah (Wes Robinson) tour the park. Noah and Andi are hot for one another, so cute. Now the slasher keeps finding employees and murdering them with his knife.  Then he finds Collins and the elongated scene that follows will cause you to turn your head and wince.  Uh oh...our fiend has his sights on Cole, Andi, and Noah.  Surprises ensue and so do some extremely heartbreaking and taboo scenes.

Just who is this killer and does he have plans for Andi?  Now that Andi and Cole's mom is out of rehab, what bearing will she have on the bloody plot?  Will Noah be able to swap spit with Andi or will the slasher pour cold water on that idea?  Gory, ominous, and heartbreaking are three words that sum up this slasher film which will deliver more deaths than a Mariah Carey concert.  See "Phantom Fun-World" and don't be surprised to find yourself averting your eyes from the screen.

The Barn, Demons vs. Teen Age Landscapers

Filmmaker, Justin M. Seaman set his 2016 film in 1989.  Intentionally, this one has the feel of a 1980s slasher offering.  Harping back to the Golden Age of slashers, we have an extremely gory one today with spikes, sickles, hedge clippers, pruning shears, spades, and holy weed killer.  As the Fall is just about here, we will look at one set in pumpkin fields, corn fields, and an old barn.  Our feature today is "The Barn."

30 years ago a really cute 10-year-old girl goes to a barn for trick-or-treating.  She gets a pick-axe in the head and demons will haul her corpse into the barn. Shocking and perhaps just a bit taboo. Present day, Sam (Mitchell Musolino) and Josh (Will Stout) are two low ambition high school seniors who have a landscaping business. The duo love Halloween and Sam has a crush on the virgin Michelle (Lexi Dripps). The trio will collect young lovers Nikki (Nikki Howell) and Chris (Cortland Woodard).  Also, the fifth wheel Russell (Nickolaus Joshua) and head to a Halloween concert.  On the way they stop at a closed down town and find the barn the little girl was pick-axed.  Now the teens have a Halloween party and Sam tells them the legend of that barn.  In a game of Truth or Dare, the demons are summoned and the gore returns.

Joshua will be cut up into little pieces and have his innards eaten. The culprits, a pumpkin head guy, a scarecrow guy, and a miner demon.  The trio hit the town and cut everyone up into little pieces.  They find Nikki and Chris having pre-marital sex and...well, you can figure that one out.  Now Josh and Sam realize they have let the demons loose and feel obliged to go to war with them.  At stake is the virgin Michelle.  You can imagine what a trio of demons want to do with a virgin.  The landscaping duo, armed with holy weed killer, hedge clippers, and other bladed implements go on the offensive against the demons.  Sadly, the demons have the virgin Michelle strung up and are ready to...well, you can figure it out.

Will Michelle be de-virginized by Sam or the demons?  Will our two young landscapers have enough holy weed killer to disintegrate the demons?  If Sam can de-virginize Michelle, will the demonic rite be ruined?  This is an incredibly gory one and the death count is in the dozens.  For a bloody homage to 1980s horror, see "The Barn."  

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."