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[BoyScoutKevin]

"The Terror" (1963)
Trailer - The Terror (1963)

A young Jack Nicholson and horror icon Boris Karloff star in this Gothic tale from Roger Corman, about a French soldier who follows a beautiful woman to a creepy old castle (are there ever any other kind of castles in Roger Corman movies?). She turns out to be a vengeful spirit intent on tormenting her former husband (Karloff) to suicide.

"The Terror" may not make a whole lotta sense (the "shocking plot twist" at around the three quarter mark seems utterly random and totally unnecessary) but it has cool atmosphere and features nice performances by Karloff and the then-unknown Nicholson.

This film is probably known by B movie lovers as much as who was behind the camera, as who was in it.

It had 5 directors. Besides Roger Corman, the directors included . . .

Jack Nicholson in his 1st directorial effort.
Monte Hellman in his 2nd directorial effort.
Jack Hill in his 3rd directorial effort.
and Francis Ford Coppola in his 4th directorial effort.

The screenplay had 3 writers.

Leo Gordon, the B movie tough guy.
Jack Hill, the director
and Roger Corman.

[FatFreddysCat]

This film is probably known by B movie lovers as much as who was behind the camera, as who was in it.

It had 5 directors. Besides Roger Corman, the directors included . . .

Jack Nicholson in his 1st directorial effort.
Monte Hellman in his 2nd directorial effort.
Jack Hill in his 3rd directorial effort.
and Francis Ford Coppola in his 4th directorial effort.

The screenplay had 3 writers.

Leo Gordon, the B movie tough guy.
Jack Hill, the director
and Roger Corman.

Yep, I just recently watched a documentary about Corman's career ("Corman's World") where they talked about how many people had a hand in that movie. Jack Nicholson sez that to this day he has no idea what "The Terror" is about. 

[JaseSF]

Much as I like the talent involved with it, I always find The Terror to be a dreadful bore.

[indianasmith]

Last night I watched a movie called STARRY EYES . . . a fascinating look at a young actress, struggling to break into the biz in Hollywood while working at a burger joint by day to pay the bills.

Finally she gets her big break . . . or does she?

A mysterious production company offers her everything she's always wanted: a starring role, prominent placement on the movie's poster, her name in lights - all the hallmarks of fame.

The price?  Her soul.  And her friends' lives.
And her life, too - although she will be reborn as one of THEM.

The question is, will she take it?

The answer, sadly, is YES.

This movie was depressing but pretty brilliant, and the lead actress is really quite lovely.

4/5

[JaseSF]

Killpoint (1984): Lt. James Long (Leo Fong), still recovering from the psychological damage of his wife being raped and murdered, teams up with FBI Agent Bill Bryant (Richard Roundtree) to try and track down a trail of automatic weapons falling into the wrong hands after being stolen from a military depot. The criminal masterminds behind it all are twisted psychopath Joe Marks (Cameron Mitchell) who has a penchant to strangling women who annoy him and his associate, the cunning and seemingly cold-blooded Nighthawk (Stack Pierce).

Don't expect a masterpiece or anything with this but there is tons of action, particularly involving guns and fighting showdowns. Fong is enjoyable in this one as an unlikely hero. Pierce gives yet another memorable villainous performance too but it's Cameron Mitchell's completely unhinged performance as Marks that steals the show here. Roundtree only really appears in this film for a brief time which was kind of disappointing. This film is a bit less humorous than some other films starring Fong but it's surprisingly action-filled to the point it rather reminds me of some violent video games albeit without any real believable gore. The final climactic showdown does seem to go on and on a bit too long. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Low Blow (1986): Private detective Joe Wong (Leo Fong) puts together a rag-tag team of fighters/mercenaries in an attempt to rescue a young woman being held against her will by a religious cult run by an ex-con named Karma (Akosua Busia) and its figure-head swami type Yarakunda (Cameron Mitchell) and their assorted armed thugs.

This movie is a surprisingly entertaining bad movie. I really found it to be great fun. There's a nice sense of humor to the proceedings here with one running joke being Wong drives around in a rundown beater of a car and another being that while he seems dumb on the surface, he's brighter than he appears. The pulling together of mercenaries involving an ex-wrestler, ex-boxer, knife fighter, martials arts fighter, female strong-woman, etc. proves entertaining as well. Kind of like a poor man's mix of G.I. Joe meets the Magnificent Seven. Not a movie one should think on too hardly but it's nevertheless enjoyable with surprisingly likable characters particularly Wong and his secretary Diane (Diane Stevenett). Stack Pierce appears in this one too actually playing a good guy for a change in a bit role as one of the mercenaries. The film does feel a bit disjointed with a fight competition in the middle feeling out of place but it does ultimately make sense when Wong pulls together his fighting force. Of course, why these people can handle guns and act like soldiers is never really explained but who cares? ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985): A special team of anti-terrorist agents are sent to the Philippines to rescue a busload of kidnapped tourists being held by a group of terrorists lead by a Nazi/Dr. Strangelove type named Alby the Cruel (Blackie Dammett).

This film clearly wasn't intended to be taken too seriously as an awful lot of it feels tongue planted firmly in cheek. The team of agents are made up of a Kung Fu fighter named Spike Shinobi (Shô Kosugi) code-named Lollipop, an American square-jawed blonde buff musclehead type carting around large guns, even Rambo-esque at times, and whose a womanizer named Steve Gordon (Brent Huff), and a communications specialists named Jennifer Barnes (Emilia Crow). Alby the Cruel is joined by a female mercenary dominatrix/leader of an army of scantily clad female soldiers named Honey Hump (Regina Richardson), a sleazy nutbar nicknamed Dr. Wolf (Bruce Fanger). Alby wants the release of a demented whackjob terrorist named Rahji (Sonny Erang) who comes across as a stereotypical drooling moron/unstoppable madman.

While it's often very silly and you have to hold your disbelief with regards to how moronic the villains really are, this is surprisingly enjoyable silliness with lots of action, some funny sequences, some scantily clad women, and some memorable stunts. Sure it plays on many stereotypes and the title makes little sense given the only ninjas that appear here are villains and their appearances make little to no sense but I still enjoyed this so much more than logic says I should have. Just to me, a fun movie. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

The Patriot (1986): A former Navy SEAL/Vietnam veteran, Matt Ryder (Gregg Henry) while investigating the murder of a friend finds himself unexpectedly drawn into the investigation of the theft of several nuclear weapons that could potentially threaten the United States.  

This is another one of those mindless action films where the hero puts together a team to fight the villains in some isolated place, here it's on a ship tied to an offshore rig. Some regulars from the previous Leo Fong films appear here and I found it somewhat entertaining to see the familiar faces again including Stack Pierce playing one of the main villains yet again, a weapons smuggler named Atkins in a role surprisingly similar to that which he played in Killpoint. Also on hand is Diane Stevenett as Ryder's friend Maggie. Other familiar faces include Leslie Nielsen in a bit role as an Admiral in the Navy, Michael J. Pollard as Ryder's buddy Howard who just happens to be able to provide whatever assistance Ryder needs at certain key points in the film, Jeff Conaway, and beautiful Simone Griffeth as potential love interest Sean. Everything about this was so predictable and cliched I knew everything that was going to happen before it did. A bad movie in a mostly bad way, only moderately entertaining for some action sequences that prove too wholly predictable, the underwater battle scenes being even more confusing to follow. Still I have to admit I enjoyed it on some levels. What can I say, I enjoy bad action movies. *** out of ***** stars.

[FatFreddysCat]

"R.O.T.O.R." (1988)

R.O.T.O.R. (trailer)	Small | Large

The robotic lawman of the future malfunctions and goes on a killing spree, so the scientist who invented it must track it down... with the help of a female body builder with a skunk streak in her hair. Much unintentional hilarity ensues.

This awful no-budget "RoboCop"/"Terminator" wanna-be has achieved semi-legendary status in bad movie circles. The acting and dialogue are horrendous, the pacing is non-existent, and the "robot" is just a leather jacketed dude with a porn 'stache. WTF moments abound.

For best results, watch this movie while under the influence of at least a 12 pack of beer.

[lester1/2jr]

Jase- I saw a Leo Fong movie once called Blind rage or something. They trained a bunch of blind guys to rob a bank because no one would suspect them of being bank robbers because they're blind. Yeah, why not just put non blind people in sunglasses and do it?

powerfully stupid stuff

[FatFreddysCat]

"Swamp Women" (1956)

Swamp Women (1956) Trailer

One of Roger Corman's earliest directorial efforts, this enjoyably trashy "bad girl" movie follows four female prison escapees into the swamps of Louisiana, on a quest to recover a stash of stolen diamonds. Needless to say, greed and the wildlife both take a toll on the partners along the way. Hot '50s chicks in short-shorts having catfights? Hubba hubba, Roger, you DO know what I like. :D

For some reason, this film was included in my "50 Horror Classics" DVD pack even though it's most definitely NOT a horror movie, it's a crime/caper flick... unless you consider attacks by rattlesnakes and rubber-alligators "horror" material.

[lester1/2jr]

Swamp Women was a MST3K episode too I believe.

The Pyx (1973) - I got a cheap o collection of horror movies this year or maybe last year or maybe 35 years ago I can't remember. The quality isn't the best but I liked it quite a bit anyway. It's trying to be an NYC cop movie mixed with a Omen/ Rosemary's baby type devil movie. The latter is a little outside of it's grasp, but it gets the former down pretty well. There's plenty of street level atmosphere and tough talk with hookers junkies and crooked cops. While the devil stuff is a little bit tacked on there is a nice scene with backward sped up church music playing.  It's is a colorful if ridiculous touch that takes place as they have a low budget devil ceremony. You'd hope those things were a little better choreographed and set designed than this. Karen Black looks great, is nude here and there and sings the crappy theme song.

I watched a fair amount of it while playing bass and making up incidental music. If I can play guitar during it it usually means its a little backgroundy and not grabbing.

3/5 it really hit the spot though

[Rev. Powell]

NANA (1926): A 19th century courtesan destroys the lives of men unfortunate enough to come under her spell. There are a few good moments of co-dependent mutual humiliation in the second half, but basically this slow-paced and overdrawn melodrama is everything you would fear a 2+ hour silent adaptation of an Emile Zola novel would be. 2.5/5

MEMPHIS (2013): An eccentric R&B singer wanders around Memphis, unsure of his talent and unable to compose songs for his follow-up album. A nice look at the African American community in Memphis, a bluesy throwback to a pre-hip hop age where grizzled men wear hats and play dominoes while drinking out of paper bags, but whatever this non-story about artistic constipation had to say could have been told in one-third the time. 2/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Dominique is Dead (1979) - nice haunted spouse cuz he killed her horror that could have used a little more sleaze. A guy scares his wife to death (or thinks he does?) and is then visited by her ghost at night. The quality of this DVD was bad but the hazy weirdness added to the snow day viewing fun. the versions on the web are way better. There is plenty of him walking around his huge house getting scared there was time for a little more female flesh and maybe a Satanic ritual or two. 3.5 /5

[etmoviesb]

Today I saw Prometheus [2012] again and here is the begin of Mr. Borntreger review of "The Giant Claw":

This is an awesome film. It has almost everything that a b-movie should contain: a completely ridiculous monster, incredibly bad (but delivered with complete sincerity) dialog, mishmashed stock footage and special effects work, creative science, and a plot that is devoid of rational thought.

I kinda noticed that in the same mindset the movie was actually not so bad, read here:

This is an awesome film. It has almost everything that a b-movie should contain: completely ridiculous characters, incredibly bad (but delivered with complete sincerity) dialog, unexpectedly high quality special effects work, creative science, and a plot that is devoid of rational thought.

And you get Prometheus [2012] in a nutshell!

[JaseSF]

Continuing on in the Mill Creek Explosive Cinema set...

Top Cop (1990): Victor Malone (Stephen P. Sides), a renegade cop who pretty much plays by his own rules becomes obsessed with taking down a drug kingpin named Johnny Costello (Len Schlientz) and his army of armed associates, believing him/them responsible for the death of his partner. Complicating things further, a mysterious assassin nicknamed the "Avenger" might also be hunting for Malone.

This low budget action flick has its entertaining moments here and there. Sure a lot (honestly almost all of it) of what goes down is predictable and cliched, there's lot of scenery chewing acting from its no-name leads, there's an unconvincing romantic fling providing us with the obligatory nude scene yet this manages to draw you into its plot and you want to see how it will all play out. Sides is not your typical action hero lead looking like a more beefy redneck version of Chuck Norris. He tries his best though but really his acting chops aren't really up to par here although he doesn't mind mixing it up in authentic looking fights and action scenes. The final showdown in the scrap yard seems to drag on and on and the unexpected ending twist I guessed before it ever happened. Honestly you could pretty much guess everything that was going to happen or be revealed before you saw it unfold on screen. Definitely a more gritty guy type of action film yet it never fully satisfies. *** out of ***** stars.

The Silencer (1992): Angel (Lynette Walden) is a special agent/assassin assigned the task of executing various members of a kidnapping/child prostitution ring. She learns of each target via messages sent through a local arcade game named "The Silencer". Following each successful hit, Angel's desire for love and intimacy drives her into the arms of various lovers.  Meanwhile, a jealous ex-lover named George (Chris Mulkey) follows her trail of violence with seemingly evil intentions of his own.

This cheesy low budget movie mixes action with erotic fantasy with really the later being the more important here. This plays like a bored female's fantasy of thrills and chills with all the men being basically sexual boy toys for Angel's affections and each are pretty much stereotypes. You get a thieving biker bad boy, a boy scout/arcade owner/cook who looks like a male fashion model, and finally a dark and mysterious stranger stalking our heroine (who may just represent another part of who Angel is, her dark side perhaps). It plays on the bad girl goes for bad boy, then goes for good guy cliche. Arguably there are sexual metaphors here aplenty with all the cigarette smoking and gun welding by Angel not to mention she's usually the sexual aggressor in our story. All her targets are thoroughly repulsive and unlikable (one of whom is actually played by Morton Downey Jr.) and sadly are much too easily dispatched. We even get a prolonged scantily clad fashion show at one point featuring Walden and to me personally, her breasts are probably the most entertaining part of this film. The rest just disappoints again and again or feels nonsensical. Bad but not as painfully bad as some others of its type. Kind of interesting that this exploitation thriller had a female director.  **1/2 out of ***** stars.

[Trevor]

To Catch A Killer (1992): the story of the terrifying John Wayne Gacy murders with a powerhouse portrayal by the great Brian Dennehy. Frightening film indeed. 

[Jack]

Blood Relic (2005) - some kids are helping to clean up an aviation museum in preparation for its grand opening. But they find some evil talisman and whoever wears it turns into a serial killer - but as the bodies start accumulating, nobody knows who's wearing it. I've watched this several times in the past an kind of liked it, but last night, I dunno...it was like the writing, acting and directing were all at such an amateurish level that it was more annoying than anything else. Lots of boobies though. 2.5/5.