Inn of the Frightened People, Perverts Judging Perverts

We've seen it before.  Schmucks with a fool-proof plan to pull off the perfect crime.  They may have logic and probability on their side, but as we know, chaos and Murphy's Law rear their ugly heads. If the perfect plan is intended to get away with torture and murder, the consequences of something going very wrong can be fatal.  Today we take a peek at a gritty Joan Collins film, 1971's "Inn of the Frightened People" (aka "Revenge").

After Jim (James Booth) and Carol's (Collins) little girl is abducted, raped. and murdered by a slimy pedophile, they have a hard time grieving.  Then, Jim and his son Lee (Tom Marshall) join forces with their friend Harry (Ray Barrett), who's daughter was also murdered by this fiend,  in a plot for revenge.  The police have released the killer, Seely (Kenneth Griffith) for lack of evidence, and our trio intend to grab him and torture a confession out of him.  What could go wrong? They do grab him in a very sloppy display of criminal activity and secure him in the basement of Jim's pub.  Soon Carol discovers the men in the pub's basement and has to be restrained.  Now what?  This is a good question which Jim, Lee, and Harry hadn't given much thought to.

After severe beatings, Seely is on the brink of death.  Uh oh, friction is in the ranks as Harry, Lee, and Jim disagree about what to do with their pervert.  Double uh oh...Lee and Carol, his stepmom, have a sexual relationship unbeknownst to Jim.  The plot gets more complicated when the police haul in another suspect for the murders of the girls. As the men come up with complicated and way-out ideas for what to do with Seely, doubt as to Seely's guilt starts playing on them.  As Carol's relationship with Lee explodes into the plot, and the police begin looking for the missing Seely, desperation guides our ill-equipped criminal enterprise.

Is Seely the murderer?  Will Jim find out about his wife and son's sexual betrayal?  Will Jim, Lee, and Harry's incompetence get anyone else killed?  This is a fast-paced murder mystery that will not make any feel-good film lists. Directed by Sidney Hayers, "Inn of the Frightened People" is a shocker with some stellar performances and dire warnings to good people who are thinking of becoming criminals.

Lower Level, A Hillary We are Cheering For

Unlike many battered, bruised and humiliated women in the 1990s, Elizabeth Gracen's sex with Bill Clinton was consensual. Unbeknownst to Hillary, the then Governor of Arkansas was enjoying extra-marital relations with former Miss America, Ms. Gracen. Hardly a sympathetic victim, Hillary didn't earn sympathy or affection from the beauty queen turned actress. In 1991 "Lower Level" would be released. Elizabeth Gracen would star in this thriller and portray a sultry architect beset by a sex-crazed psycho (...no, not Bill Clinton). Can you guess what Ms. Gracen's character is named? Yes! Hillary!

Sultry architect Hillary and her unsatisfying boyfriend Craig (Jeff Yagher) are the last to leave the building late at night. Our beauty designed this structure and she also loves to write her deepest most intimate thoughts in her diary. Enter security guard Sam (David Bradley). Entranced by Hillary and the thought of loving her he traps her and Craig in the parking garage. Hillary and Craig stop bickering and engage in pre-marital sex as Sam watches on surveillance cams. Afterwards, Sam makes sure Craig has an elevator accident and moves in on his object of desire. Oh yes, Sam is eager to be alone with Hillary and when he finds another amorous couple in another elevator, he turns homicidal.

It doesn't take Hillary long to figure out she is in danger. As Sam starts quoting her diary entries and shoots to death a pair of maintenance men, Hillary realizes she needs to run for her life. Sam is unrelenting and pursues his love interest all over the skyscraper. Unbeknownst to Sam, he failed to kill Craig who is now conscious again and determined to rekindle the spark with the former Miss America. With several kills under his belt in the pursuit of Bill Clinton's mistress, Sam will stop at no carnage to keep Hillary from Craig and also any other man. Guns, shards of glass, paper-cutters, elevators, and a bear-trap will figure prominent in the war between  damsel and madman.

Will Sam ever make Hillary believe that he is the only man for her? Will Craig pull himself out of the bottom of the elevator shaft in time to save Hillary's virtue?  Is the sexual-psycho Sam merely a foretelling of the the eight years of the Clinton reign? This is a pretty good thriller and whenever Sam or Craig yell "Hillary," we thank our lucky voting ballots that Elizabeth Gracen starred in this film rather than Hillary Clinton! Directed by Kristine Peterson, enjoy "Lower Level."

The Vineyard, Wine plus Human Blood Equals Eternal Life

A moody Merlot...some aged brie...blessings from a Mayan wind god and a bit of voodoo. That's all we need for achieving eternal life. The quest for eternal life, at least on this side of the grave, usually doesn't go well. Living long doesn't always translate to wisdom, sometimes it is only an opportunity to royally screw things up and make bigger mistakes. In 1989's "The Vineyard," we will meet a man who seems to have attained eternal life...but with some catches.

Dr. Elson Po (James Hong) operates a vineyard on his California island. Uh oh...he's been around for centuries. In his basement (dungeon, actually), he has a lot of beautiful women strung up as he utilizes their blood for a potion that keeps him young. Enter a group of great looking young actors and actresses. Po is also a movie producer and lures the talent to his island under the guise of making a film. In reality, he needs the blood of the beautiful. Wouldn't you know it, a sultry blonde, Jezebel (Karen Lorre), just happens to be the anointed bride-to-be- of the Mayan wind god. After the group arrives, Po wines and dines them, charms them, entertains them, then hits the voodoo and Mayan magic.

 This will be unfortunate for much of the talent. In her underwear, Claudia (Cheryl Lawson) will have spiders crawling out her orifices. Her room mate Celeste (Sherri Ball) will be grabbed and strung up in the dungeon. A couple hunks will either be decapitated or have some acupuncture mishaps. Now Po goes after Jezebel. He puts her in some spell and gets her agree to eternal life. Jezebel doesn't understand that a dagger to the heart will be part of this process. Oh yeah, some magical force is controlling dozens of zombies buried in shallow graves among the grapes. As Jezebel falls deeper and deeper into Po's spell, her surviving friends mount up an offensive. Uh oh, some unseen force secreted within Po's mansion has summoned the zombies.

Even with eternal life, will Jezebel age well, or will Po likely tire of her? What of the beauties strung up in Po's dungeon, and do they have a chance at revenge? Just who...or what...is controlling the zombies and will the undead creatures feast on the surviving talent or on Po and his men? This is a fun one which was directed by Mr. Hong and William Rice. The cast is great looking and not all will fare well, I'm afraid. For some zombie/voodoo/Mayan deity/ red wine fun, see "The Vineyard."

Death Walks at Midnight, Fashion Model Beset by Psycho

Ah, the ravishing Nieves Navarro. Because of her proclivity to jiggle in the right places, she lights up Giallo. Sadly, her fate in "Death Walks on High Heels" was death by drowning. Two years later, with much of the same cast and husband director Luciano Ercoli, we have 1972's "Death Walks at Midnight." Instead of an exotic dancer, Ms. Navarro plays a super-model in much peril. Beacause she is so stunning, we are pulling for this Euro-babe to survive a most brutal killer...and some misguided relationships.

In a major league judgment error, super-model Valentina (Navarro) agrees to be injected with HDS (think LSD). Gio (Simon Andreau), a pulp reporter has paid the beauty $300 to capture the event for an exclusive news story. The vixen is injected and trips out. Uh oh, Valentina doesn't see bright colors jumping around...no, she sees a murder. Her vision is of a weird looking man with a spiked glove pummeling the face of a beautiful woman, leaving more holes in it every time he throws a punch. When she comes back down to earth, she is assured her visions were merely drug induced. Double uh oh, Valentina begins seeing the killer in her visions stalking and pursuing her. Still, no one believes her.

Enter the equally ravishing, but not entirely sane Verushka (Claudie Lange). She abducts Valentina and tells her about a murder which occurred six months ago that matches her hallucination. She brings Valentina to an asylum where the killer is incarcerated, but this is not the man in her visions. When Verushka ends up with a knife through her sternum, the Police Inspector Serino (Carlo Gentili) suspects our desperate beauty of the carnage.  As Gio seems to be Valentina's only friend, she struggles to get even him to believe her.  As bodies pile up, and more babes meet tortuous fates, the menace closes in on Valentina. Wearing a spiked glove, the monster has very nefarious plans for our super-model's face.

Was Valentina's drugged out vision a psychic experience? Are Valentina's boyfriends, including Gio, psychos? I know...aren't they all. Is the answer to this mystery at that insane asylum that may have triggered Verushka's demise? Ms. Navarro is excellent as a beautiful damsel in much peril. Knowing her fate in "High Heels" makes us all really pull for this Euro-beauty. After all, in Giallo, no one is too beautiful to die. For some neat horror and mystery thrills, see "Death Walks at Midnight."

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, Sea Monster and Uranium

Dr. Ted Stevens (Kent Taylor) says it best, "Nature has many secrets that man must not disturb." We all know what will happen if we disturb nature's secrets. Yep! Sea monsters will come and eat swimmers...happens all the time. At first glance 1955's "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues" appears to be a standard scifi/horror B movie. Directed by Dan Milner, our film today has a lot of likable plot devices that make it a very enjoyable watch. Beautiful damsels, square-jawed hunk heroes, and a sultry femme-fatale all add to this flick's allure.

Okay, Professor King of the Pacific College of Oceanography is our mad-scientist that has activated a uranium deposit just off the California coast. This is bad news for several divers and fishermen. Enter Dr. Stevens and G-man William Grant (Rodney Bell). They have picked up on the radiation and begin investigating Prof. King. Meanwhile a sea creature guards the uranium and kills any diver or fisherman who gets close. Ah yes, the Soviets want Prof. King's secrets on radiation experiments. Enter the sultry spy Wanda (Helene Stanton). With one seductive glance Wanda can get any man to kill for her. She has seduced George (Phillip Pine), Prof. King's assistant. With a trusty spear gun, George kills people in search of Prof. King's secrets.

Enter Prof. King's nubile daughter Lois (Cathy Downs). Ted will fall in love with her, but her inclusion in the plot is unnecessary...other than she is very pretty...and that's okay. As the vixen/spy Wanda, the feds, and Ted Stevens close in on Prof. King's secrets, he grows desperate. Soon Prof. King's experiments begin to cause death on a wider scale and he realizes the thing is out of control. As Wanda puts on a very revealing white swimsuit, George is tasked to become more homicidal. As for Lois...well, we'll be treated to her trying on a number of alluring sun dresses.

Will Prof. King's Uranium experiments lead to a Pacific Ocean filled with monsters and radiation? Will Wanda and Lois engage in a cat-fight in the interest of the cold war between the Soviets and the U.S.? Were the 1950s swimsuit and sun dress fashions influenced by this film? For a lot of fun as the summer comes to an end, enjoy "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues." 

Metelitsa: Winter of the Dead, Zombies in Russia

Great quotes from Russian Cinema? Here is the one that we have all heard, "F#@K! There are zombies! That's Resident Evil...everyone dies at the end." Yep, the keynote oration from "Battleship Potemkin." Er...actually, it is from 2012's "Metelitsa: Winter of the Dead." True poetry on film! Filmed in Belarus, directed by Nikolai Pigarev, this zombie film may be a metaphor of Vladimir Putin's crusade against a grouchy all-girl band and all free thinking Russians...but probably just a bloody zombie flick from a land with a fast-growing sense of humor.

Summer in Russia...and its snowing! Constantine (Michael Borzenkov) is a Moscow reporter sent to an unidentified Russian city to cover some protest. Uh oh, the summer snow isn't the only messed up phenomenon. The dead are coming back to life and within hours the entire population are zombies except for a motley crew of Russians. Constantine immediately joins up with teen rollerblader, Iskra (Tatyana Zhevnova) who kills zombies with a nail gun. Also, Khan (Sergey Shirochin)...an oil industrialist who is running for governor. He takes the occasion of a zombie apocalypse to film a campaign add promising to restore the region to normal. As Khan and his bodyguards (who will all be eaten) fight for their survival, Constantine and Iskra (who is also Khan's daughter) seem to be trapped.

Enter Igor (Dmitriy Kozhuro), the last surviving soldier...and his machine guns. He saves our duo, but then he'll need rescuing. Enter Dariya (Yuliya Yudintsova) who is taking on the zombie apocalypse in a little black dress and stiletto heels. This is Khan's trophy wife and Igor is her lover. Iskra sees her as a mortal enemy, but this motley crew of survivors will have their hands full killing the undead and surviving an inconvenient apocalypse. As the snow gives way to a night fog, decapitated zombie heads fly through the city as Father Michael (Aleksandr Abramovich) and his axe joins the survivors. As all looks hopeless our gang come up with a plan and perhaps a theory of why all this is happening.

Will Khan's election chances depend on American meddling? Will Iskra and Dariya put there differences aside and work together to defeat the horde of undead, or will they engage in a cat-fight? Will the snowy apocalypse spread to Moscow and all parts west? Fast-paced and bloody, this Russian gore-fest is a neat little zombie flick that looks big-budget. For some neat zombie drama from the land no longer behind an 'iron-curtain,' see "Metelitsa: Winter of the Dead."

Down By Kontact, The Living Dead Live

Recently, one of the godfather's of horror was taken from us. George Romero! Appropriately, even in death he lives in the hearts of every horror fan who has been shocked by his zombie films. Fortunately, unlike his zombies, he isn't eating our hearts. My good buddy Matthew Myers has given us a nice homage to Mr. Romero. In a terrifying comic book, "Down By Kontact," Mr. Myers has used influences of "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead," and I maintain a tip of the hat to "Shaun of the Dead" in this work.

 This is a comic book (okay...graphic novel, if you must) and hits us in black and white (Dixie Filloy does some great work here). What is important here is the use of the black and white medium. To say it is a reference to "NOTLD" is an over-simplification. Mr. Myers and Dixie Filloy utilize it to seduce us into a false sense of security. Don't be fooled, the reds...deep reds, may not be present, but the detailed artwork activates our minds and allows our own minds to enhance the experience in all its gore, real and imagined. As our story begins, all is good. Like all zombie stories...it will deteriorate quickly. This is extra sad because Mr. Myers introduces u to some likable blokes who could be us. Too bad for these chaps they missed the opening scene (you'll see). They sleep late, drink a lot of beer, smoke, and behave like juveniles...at the age of 54...I can still relate. They also pick up a sultry barmaid and go party in the woods.

Boom! Isolated in their own forest party they miss the start to the end of the world. They'll emerge to a Romero-esque zombie apocalypse. However immature our boys....and barmaid are, the end of the world does something to the good-at-heart. The flesh ripping horror that besets them will take its toll on our quintet, but a plot device from Mr. Myers will change their priorities. Amidst the sacrifice of life and limb, our schmucks turned hero-wannabes will have a chance at redemption (albeit, a lot earlier in life than they would've liked). Okay, the world was good...the world ended...then...well, you'll see.

No spoilers for the ending but when you get there it will take you a couple days to figure out what exactly happened. Sure, the story ended with a gut-wrenching, blood soaked finale. However, the very last page not only wrapped up this story, but if you look real close, perhaps Mr. Myers meant it to be a salute to Mr. Romero. George Romero won't be climbing out of his grave...er, at least I don't think he will...but Mr. Myers has put together a comic which pays great homage to much of his work. In that respect, George Romero lives on in the minds of all of us horror fanatics. "Down By Kontact" is a zombie story you need to read...and experience. To order this work click on the link below:
Down By Kontact