The Fear, Fears of the Prurient Nature

The 1990s was a weird decade for horror.  The 80s carried us through puberty and developed our cynicism and imagination.  We look back on the 1990s...wait...no we don't.  It is easy to forget that some great horror emanated from this lost decade.  Straight to VHS flourished in the 90s and eventually birthed straight-to-DVD.  So let us look at a good one from the 90s, the very sordid and prurient "The Fear," (1995) directed by Vincent Robert.  Oh yes, Wes Craven has a nice role in this one. 

So much in this one, where to begin!  Okay, Richard (Eddie Bowz) is a hunk psychology major who gets permission from his professor, Wes Craven, to do a thesis in fear.  Richard has his reasons for the subject.  He is traumatized by a mysterious event in his childhood that gives him dreams/visions of cult like figures in wooden masks stalking him.  Richard gets a bunch of college babes and hunks together to spend a weekend at his boyhood home in the wilderness, including his babe GF Ashley (Heather Medway).  Also going along are several other great looking college students and his best buddy Troy (Darin Heames).  Uh oh...Troy's older sister Leslie (Ann Turkel) and her neer-do-well BF Vance (Leland Hayward III) join them.

Now it gets weirder.  Richard has each confess their inner most fear.  Oh yeah!  Ashley finds a human size wooden sculpture of a creepy looking guy we will call Morty (Erick Weiss).  Guess who also arrives!  Richards's weird Uncle Pete (Vince Edwards) and his 20 year old bikini babe GF Tanya (Ann Karin).  They also are told to confess their fears to Morty.  Yep...the fears start stalking the college kids.  Then the fears actually manifest and cause vicious and gory death.  Tanya, our bikini babe, has quite the episode in a hot tub, as her fear is water.  Oh yeah!  What's more...Morty seems to be quite the pervert and pops up when our characters engage in pre-marital sex.  Oh yes...we also find out, because of these fears, each character is keeping a deep dark secret.  These secrets all seem to be quite prurient, taboo, and perverted...and will shock you.

So, Tanya, our bikini babe...will she survive until the end credits or become a love toy of the creepy Morty?  What is Richard's fear and will it cause bloody carnage to his test subjects/friends?  Will Wes Craven pass Richard if any of the students survives the weekend?  This is a weird one and quite deviant.  Ann Turkel's character will have some very taboo and icky surprises.  For some great hunks, babes, gore, and killings...plus a neat bikini babe...see "The Fear."    

The Straun House, Poor Man's Re-Animator

Mad scientists who invent mysterious glowing liquids for injections. Can't argue with that plot device. Of course, when those glowing liquids are injected into blood streams, the results are quick and usually lead to death, destruction and dismemberment...or melting and insanity...or hopefully, all of the above. Today we look at 2005's "The Straun House" (aka "Dr. Rage"), directed by Jeff Broadstreet. Perhaps a flawed film, but the final 20 minutes shouldn't be missed. 

Through some weird events, cab driver Michael (Stephen Polk) is arrested. His weird lawyer, Molly (Karen Black), gets him spared jail time...with a catch. Michael must submit to be a test-subject for a new experimental treatment for rage. Yep, he must become the charge of mad-scientist Dr. Straun (Andrew Divoff). This is a weird madman who spends his free time in a straight jacket. Good news, Dr. Straun's intern is the sultry Susan (Denice Duff). She is very professional for now but will eventually become a sex-crazed nympho...an all too familiar story in our own lives. Okay, the testing starts and Michael is injected with the glowing yellow stuff. Little does Michael know, previous test subjects are locked up in cells in the basement of this facility.

Susan, the babe that she is, tries to keep her relationship with Michael professional. Little does she know...she is also a test-subject for Dr. Straun. Now Straun plays the voyeur through an intricate surveillance system, is able to enjoy scenes of rough deviant sex between his two subjects. Straun is very ambitious and is able to addict the local homeless population to his new drug. So, what does this drug do? Initially, this drug brings out rage...and lust...but what is locked in the basement will eventually reveal a more sordid and horrifying use for the concoction. Of course, the locked subjects in the basement will get out and...well, you'll see.

Will Susan's and Michael's lust for each other survive the injections of Straun's rage drug? Will whatever is locked up in the basement also want some action from Susan? Is whatever Dr. Straun is doing any different than what our CDC is involved in? The final 20 minutes of this film make it all worthwhile, so don't be put off by the choppiness of the first hour. For some deviant fun and mad-scientist frolics...see "The Straun House." 

Exposure, Miami Models Die Horribly

Misogyny! In the movies it is either a device to chronicle western civilizations disrespect for womanhood...or merely a prurient device to amuse divorced guys. Either way...is this theme one which serves to enslave and victimize females?  From an exploitation and horror viewpoint...well, it can be fun. There I said it.  Perhaps, even women might find it...a turn on.  There, I said it again. It also gives Corey Feldman an avenue to turn in a 90 minute impression of Jimmy Durante. The beautiful will die so horribly in this one in what may be a weird and twisted remake of the Albert Finney/Susan Dey film, "Looker." Today we look at 2013's "Exposure," directed by Gordon Scott Venters.

Weird Seth Black (Feldman, looking a lot like Jimmy Durante) runs a top modeling agency in Miami. Every babe would kill to be picked up by this agency.  As the film begins a sultry model, after being raped, tortured, experimented on, and given an acid shower, has her stem cells removed. Mad scientist Aaron (Barry Joy Minoff) has created an anti-aging cream made from the stem cells of babes. Models in Seth's agency are all murdered for their stem cells in order that this anti-aging cream can be made. Here comes Nikki (Jolyne Lowery)...a babe from Carolina. She wants to be a supermodel and gets picked up by Seth's agency.  More babes get horribly mutilated and have their cells removed.  Seth begins prepping Nikki to make her the latest babe sacrifice.

Okay, Seth is quite the psycho. If he doesn't use the babes for their stem cells, he turns his henchman, Damien (Jeffrey Michael) onto them. Damien murders the babes with deadly industrial tools. Very gory. Seth and Aaron believe Nikki has what it takes to be the face of the modeling agency and the Miami social scene.  Nikki hasn't a clue...oh, wait!  She does have a clue.  Nikki isn't as naïve as originally thought. Now we see Nikki has no intention of being a victim.  She has a nice gun and a twisted idea for revenge. Revenge...for what?  I didn't mention her sap boyfriend Blain (John Fiore)...hunk.  See, Seth saw Blain as unnecessary baggage and sent Damien after him.

Enough of the plot.  Seedy, twisted, gory, sexy, and all misogynistic. Will Nikki get dissected...or will Seth be dissected?  Will Aaron's anti-aging cream convince American females that a few dead babes is worth the sacrifice to get rid of wrinkles?  Will anyone other than me admit to enjoying this film? See "Exposure," you won't have to tell anyone else you saw it...or even enjoyed it.   

Antarctic Journal, Frozen Death

Space exploration and Antarctic exploration have something in common. Both these endeavors represent man trudging into hostile settings with the promise of great discoveries. Unfortunately, over the past 40 years or so, they also have represented man's incompetence an futility. The space program died in the early 1980s when President Reagan's NASA put all its effort into a silly space shuttle program. Antarctic exploration died twenty years later when the world scientific community was hijacked by global warming activists seeking fairy-tale science. Hence today's film from Korea, "Antarctic Journal."

A scientific exploration to the South Pole! Wait...no...not the South Pole, but to the Point of Isolation (POI). Reached only once, by the Soviets, in the 1950s, this geographic location is the point in Antarctica furthest away from any of its coasts. World renown climber, Choi Do-hyung (Kang-ho Song) leads five other explorers, on foot, to reach the POI. Choi's history indicates he is the right man for this frigid trek and his guys respect him. The trek will take a couple of months. You guessed it, the expedition heads south pretty quickly...literally and figuratively. 24 hours of sunlight begin playing havoc on the men. A hint of some weird monster occurs and madness slowly sets in.

Dangers are braved and the men must work as a team to keep each other alive. Uh oh...is Choi really rock solid, or is he sinking into madness? A journal is found from a failed British expedition from 1920 and the expedition's youngest member Kim Min-jae (Ji-tae Yu) translates it for the men. That expedition also had six men and their leader appears a striking resemblance to Captain Choi. As the pages are turned, less and less of the expedition members seem present. Uh oh...the Korean expedition begins meeting horrific fates. Frostbite, crevasses, and the remains of British explorers play havoc on Korean morale. As more and more details of Captain Choi's backstory are flushed out, we the viewer sense this Korean expedition is toast.

Will our Asian friends reach the POI? Is something monstrous following the expedition southward? What is the Koreans' relationship to the failed British expedition, and are the ghosts also pursuing them? As President Obama mandated NASA to reach out to Islam, and as the entire world has given up on anything worthwhile in space (except satellites that can help send nude photos of ourselves to the other side of the planet), and the 20,000 scientists stationed in Antarctica spend more time partying and tending to moonshine stills, at least Korea has made a nice horror film about the last continent, "Antarctic Journal" (directed by Pil-sung Yim).

Exam, Competitive Hiring Process

Gemma Chan is a hot Asian.  In this film we see her looking really good.  Wait!  Ms. Chan is a modern woman.  She's empowered.  She's no one's patsy.  Gemma Chan does not take a backseat to any man.  She has worth and ability.  The lovely lady wants us to know why she believes she is best for a competitive and high paying job. Thankfully, when it is apparent she will not don a bikini in this film, the babe is dragged off set and thrown onto the street...never to be seen again. I guess she didn't get the memo. Hence 2009's "Exam," directed by Stuart Hazeldine.

Eight job applicants (four hunks and four babes...or, most of them, anyway) have reached the final stage of the hiring process...the written test.  During the credits we are made to understand the earlier stages of the process may have been tortuous and perhaps bloody. Now, all eight are looking good (well, most of them).  The instructions...they have 80 minutes to answer one question...do not attempt to leave the room. Each candidate is given a piece of paper and pencil and told to begin.  Uh oh...nothing is written on the paper.  Gemma Chan, being assertive and empowered begins writing an essay on why she believes she should be hired for the position.  Before finishing the first sentence, a guard forcibly removes the confident dame, kicking and screaming.

Seven remain...with no clue what they are supposed to do.  White (Luke Mably), a hunk who is a cut-throat. Dark (Adar Beck) is a sultry shrink. Black (Chukwuki Iwuji) is a Christian. Deaf (John Lloyd Fillingham) is a maybe deaf and frumpy Frenchman. Brunette (Polyanna McIntosh) is a beautiful and ambitious businesswoman.  Brown (Jimi Mistry) is an Indian and as we find out a former soldier. Then the blonde babe, Blonde (Nathalie Coz).  With Gemma's removal, the seven must put their heads together to figure out what they are supposed to do...more importantly...what is the one question they must answer. These seven will not gel...in fact violence and bloodshed will ensue. In the end...all the answers are delivered...as many lives will be destroyed.

Was Gemma Chan's character dragged out and put into another room to compete for a secretary position or something more suited a woman?  Just what is that one question that must be answered and why weren't the job candidates told what it was?  Could a remake be done with each character clad in a swimsuit?  Interesting and not entirely overwhelming, "Exam" delves into the psyche of cut-throats and type A persons...not very favorably, I might add.  See "Exam" before your next job interview.   

The Screaming Dead, A Pervert, Some Nude Models, and a Vengeful Ghost

Flawed? Sure.  Still...a lot of fun. Whenever three nude models are thrown into a plot, fine cinema isn't far behind.  Oh yeah...did I mention an old abandoned insane asylum as the setting for a photo-shoot?  Yes! Does it get any better?  Hunks?  Sure...they'll grunt and do stupid things.  Today we have a neat one from 2003, "The Screaming Dead," directed by Brett Piper.  There will be gratuitous plot devices including...well, you'll see.

Roger (Joseph Farrell) is a sleaze photographer.  He loves photographing babes, chained and in the throes of death and climax. I know...who doesn't?  He hires three models for an avantgarde photo shoot; Bridget (Erin Brown, aka Misty Mundae), Lauren (Heidi Kristoffer), and Jennifer (C.J. DiMarsico). Also going to the shoot will be babe assistant Maura (Rachel Robbins).  Roger is a dictator and requires his gals to obey him an never talk back. This will, of course, be a problematic requirement.  He rents an old abandoned asylum for the weekend.  The property company mandates Roger be supervised by their guy, Sam (Rob Monkiewicz). He's quite the hunk and will make moves on the gals as he makes sure Roger is not damaging the property. 

Sam and Maura get sweet on one another.  Roger scouts for a torture chamber to do his shoots in.  The gals engage in gratuitous showers and are forced into lesbian sex by Roger.  Roger has hidden cameras everywhere and he is quite the voyeur.  Then the ghost of the mad doctor of the old asylum appears. He loves torturing and marring lovelies.  Now he is after the gals.  When Roger finds the torture chamber, the ghost uses Roger to get the gals into it.  Once there, unimaginable pain and torture await.  Sam continues to try to get in Maura's pants but when the ghost takes Maura into the chamber, he decides to fight the entity.  Now Sam must fight the pervert Roger and the ghost.

Will the instruments of torture put ends to the modeling careers of the three lovely nude models? Will Roger be possessed by the ghost?  Will Sam be able to salvage at least one of the lovelies for pre-marital sex?  This is a good one and very prurient.  For a neat horror story with classic slasher and H.P. Lovecraft themes, see "The Screaming Dead." 

Satan's Blade, Mountain Cabin of Death

Oh, the 1980s!  The Golden Age of slasher films. How did we miss this one!?  This is so good.  Here's the opening scene. Two babes Trish (Mary Seaman) and Ruth (Meg Greene). rob a bank.  The two beauties, while robbing the bank sexually assault two sultry tellers before riddling them with bullets. The beautiful robbers hide in a mountain cabin and Trish strips for a shower. Ruth strips to some naughty black lingerie. Ruth murders the nude Trish and a mysterious mountain man breaks in and murders Ruth. Today we look at 1984's "Satan's Blade," directed by L. Scott Castillo, Jr. There will be a lot of babes in lingerie or nude in peril in this film.

The legend says that the spirit of a mountain man kills tourists because it is mad that his land has been taken over. Yawn. Okay, two cabins exist in the mountain. One is rented by babe Stephanie (Stephanie Leigh Steel) and her four skank buddies. They'll shower, paint their toenails, and hang out in negligees. Stephanie will try to steel the husbands from the babes next door. Next door is hunk Tony (Tom Bongiorno), his wife Lisa (Elisa R. Malinovitz), hunk Al (Thomas Cue), and his babe wife Lil (Janeen Lowe). In a drunken stupor, Tony and Al will do a panty-raid on the skanks next door. Okay, that homicidal spirit? It is back and has a sharp dagger. 

As the skanks have gratuitous showers and toenail painting scenes...the quartet next door acts more civilized. Stephanie will make a move for Tony.  The spirit in the form of a psycho-killer begins the weeding out process.  So sad...so many nude or negligee clad beauties will die so horribly. Stephanie will continue trying to have extra-marital sex with Tony, and the skanks will continue to die in bloody fashion. An all out attack looms as Al and Tony prove incapable of setting up a plan of defense. What follows is really bloody and heartbreaking.  Many of the kills are elongated and we really feel sad for the beautiful victims...not much so for thew clueless hunks who should be protecting them.

Will Stephanie pry Tony away from Lisa?  Might one of the babes, maybe Lisa, be the real killer? Is Stephanie too slutty to die? I bet you have never heard that question before. This is a gem from the 1980s which probably has been missed by all you slasher connoisseurs. For an alluring and bloody good time, see a great 1980's slasher film, "Satan's Blade."