MANIAC (1980)

To be honest I'd only heard about this one after reading the "Video Nasties" list, a list of movies that got banned from the UK due to their explicit horror content.

The film revolves around a deranged serial killer with mommy issues, Frank who is striking fear into the hearts of the New York City residents after a series of his murders go unsolved. Frank obviously has issues separating reality and fantasy and his apartment is littered with mannequins with whom he has deluded himself that he is carrying on a relationship.

I could probably over analize this film and say that Frank has the similar sexual retardation as many horror movie villains (such as Jason Vorhees) and takes it out on his attractive female victims, but really this film isn't a thinker.... It does however attempt to dwell into the psychology behind the serial killer, and for that reason it still holds up to some degree today... but  I'm going to say its more firmly rooted in the B Grade Genre and I don't want to attribute any brilliance to it that wasn't there... Not to say its a bad film either, its quite watchable, and enjoyable... solid, but by no means a classic. The gore was reasonably full on for the era (but there was way more extreme films around by 1980) which was over seen by the one and only Tom Savini.

I got a reprint of this film, but I hear the currently available versions of this film are quite expensive. If you're on a budget there are a lot of films you should get before this one. If you see it cheap or have a lot of money to blow on BLURAYS its not a bad addition to the collection. And for collectors, it is... As I'm sure the main audience for this film now days would be the horror collector market.

for more great horror movie reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com on a regular basis

A DEADLY BELSSING (1981)

This one, directed in 1981 by a then relatively unknown,  but rising star after his directorial effort in "The Hills have Eyes" in 1977, Wes Craven  revolves around a group of women who find themselves in the unfortunate situation of living in bible belt America surrounded by a backward religious sect known as the "Hittites".

Modelled on the Amish community they fear god and everything else they deem falling outside his teachings. Nothing really too bad in that I guess if that's how you feel you want to live your live but one of the flock (the same guy who played the inbred in "The Hills have Eyes / Goonies") starts taunting (well in this day and age it would be victimizing) the young women on fear they are incubus, sent by the devil to temp men.

This one stars a very young Sharon Stone as one of the sisters. The other two sisters are really good looking too so at least there's some eye candy as an added bonus. On another note, it's interesting how many big stars seem to have gotten a leg up in horror films and in particular Wes Craven's works. This one I would have to say falls closer to the "thriller" territory than straight out horror but either way I think it's a great watch.

Anyway back to the plot, one excommunicated member of the religious sect dies under a tractor in mysterious circumstances, then the big slow guy William is knocked off next... the mystery deepens as to who is killing off the locals but of course I won't go any further than that for fear of ruining the story for you, rest assured there are some good plot twists that keep the viewer interested for the duration of the film. While I wouldn't go so far as to say its a classic its a great watch and definitely worth seeing if you can get a hold of the film.

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EATEN ALIVE (1980)

Another one from the vault of politically incorrect over the top exploitation flicks from the late 70s/early 80's. Directed by Italian director Umberto Lenzi, also responsible for Man from Deep River (widely regarded as responsible for starting up the Cannibal film genre and featuring a few of the same actors as this film) and Cannibal Ferox after this film

Basically this one follows the story of a wealthy cotton farm heiress, Sheila who is investigating the disappearance of her older sister suspecting that she may have become involved in a strange religious cult in jungles of Asia (New Guinea). She then heads off to find out what has become of her sister. Along the way she partners up with Mark, an ex Vietnam vet for protection before making her journey through the savage and cruel jungle. After an eventful run through the jungles she finds her sister in a settlement/commune type set up run by cult leader Jonas, which is of course surrounded by cannibals and dangerous animals.

The usual assortment of gore, animal killings, ritual sacrifice, nudity, primitive and violet rituals and of course cannibalism one would hope to see when watching a film like this are present to make this a pretty confronting but entertaining watch. Shot in the same grizzly reality style as other films in the genre,  it does not have quite the same feel as Cannibal Holocaust, but this will pretty much appeal to anyone  who liked that film. Probably not quite at the same level of extremity but not far off either, it holds it own in terms of gore thats for sure. Probably not recommended for the easily offended or those new to the horror genre. This is some pretty full on stuff, its sleazy and filled with atrocity after atrocity and would have been one of the most extreme movies ever committed to film at the time. Either way its a solid watch and defs worth the time to watch it.

This is the second time I've watched this and was able to absorb it a little better than the first time I watched and reviewed this film a few years back. One detail I missed the first time round was the amount of animal deaths, ie: animals eating and preying on each other. It really paints the jungle as a violent place and sets the tone for the violence of humans to not seem out of place in the jungle.

I've managed to find a version on you tube that looks reasonably sharp if you want to check it out for yourself

For more great horror movie reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com on a regular basis! 

FRIDAY 13th Part 4

With Friday the 13th upon us it is of course time to throw on another installment of the Friday the 13th series.

One of the biggest horror franchises in history returns for another trip around the block. The movie opens with another recap of the last movie where Jason is carted off to the morgue... and another group of over sexed teenagers descend on to Camp Crystal Lake to party and carry on as they do in these films. Among the usual assortment of teenagers another family takes up residency there with a young Corey Feldman as Tommy the 12 year old kid of the family.

The box office takings from the third installment were surprisingly good, so good in fact, that Jason somehow resurrects himself from the massive injuries and escapes from the morgue to start wreaking havoc on Crystal Lake once again. If you can suspend disbelief long enough to believe that he could recover get through that what you have is a quite enjoyable teenage slasher film in the tradition of the 3 that preceded it. Heaps of attractive females and some cool killings keep things moving along nicely. Despite the sarcastic tone of this paragraph, I have to say I did enjoy this movie and would again recommend to any fans of the first 3 movies. If you haven't seen a friday the 13th film, I'd suggest you go back to the beginning and start from there, as this is one series that's much more enjoyable in chronological order.

Anyway you guys have a great friday 13th whatever you're doing ... and if you're looking for more horror reviews always check out http://www.gorenography.com

for other Friday 13th movie reviews check out:
Friday 13th
Friday 13th part 2
Friday 13th part 3
Friday 13th (2009 remake)

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. 2 : FREDDY's REVENGE (1985)

Following hot on the heels of the original "A Nightmare on Elm St." movie, which had done unexpectedly well at the box office it was time to strike while the iron was hot so to speak.

Plot wise it follows on from the first movie with a new family that has moved into the Thompson house on Elm St. after the events of the first movie had taken place. Obviously I'm assuming if you're reading this you've seen the previous movie (but if not check out our article on it here). Jesse a teenage boy is having some disturbing nightmares centering in on an unknown character who is trying to get Jesse to do his killing for him. After learning of the horrid past of the house they've just moved into from another student at school, Jesse and his love interest Lisa do some research into the house and find Nancy's diary left there and realise it is the same creature haunting his dreams that caused so  much bloodshed in the first movie, Freddy Krueger.

Freddy is back and forcing his way into the real world through the dreams of Jesse. This movie takes on a more 'fantasy' approach to proceedings where it allows more emphasis to be placed on the Freddy character than in the first movie. This has the 3 fold effect of allowing for more creative horror effects and the building of another completely different realm within the dreams which can be explored in this film and the subsequent sequels that followed it, and also opening up the character of Freddy and most importantly allowing the viewer to build a relationship with the iconic character.

Similar to the first film Jesse is afraid to sleep for fear of the nightmare to make its way into reality but either way the body count starts to mount and it is up to Jesse to stop the dreams and with it, Freddy Krueger.

I didn't like this film as much as the first one, nor the sequels when I saw it as a teenager, but through the magic of DVD re-releases I've been able to go back and give it another watch through older eyes and I have to say I really liked it this time around. Obviously its not directed by Wes Craven but I think the film holds up well, and follows on from the first quite nicely. Obviously I wasn't the only one who liked it as it managed to surpass the original in terms of box office success as well ($40mil at box office) and pave the way for a raft of sequels. The movie itself has gone on to be a staple part in what is one of the most successful horror franchises of all time

Anyway track it down for yourself, there's an 8 pack DVD release which I've got quite cheaply which is a great way to get the whole series in one hit which you should be able to get quiet easily online.

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DEMONS (1985)

Directed by Dario Argento (also known for his work on Suspiria) this one is less of a "thinker" than Suspiria, more a film where you can just sit back and enjoy the over the top gore.

I had seen a download of this film before, but seeing it again on BluRay was something else all together, I'm not sure if its been remastered and coded onto blu ray but the picture was really sharp, much sharper than I remember it. The film itself is well shot and the horror effects are really cool, though they can look a little dated as many 80's horror flicks can tend to do.

Another really cool thing about this film is the most righteously rocking 80's rock soundtrack featuring Motley Crue, Saxon and heaps more, its a fun ride and nothing to be taken too seriously. I said before the gore content in the film was over the top (and the film itself got an 18 rating on my copy) its nothing too full on or offensive ... good, clean, gory, pus filled fun!

The plot itself is pretty straight forward featuring a few central characters including some young adults / teenagers, hookers, married couples young and old who all go to a screening of a new horror movie and one of the aforementioned hookers tries on a display mask, set up as a promotional display) before entering the theatre. The mask cuts her and whilst watching the film she develops an infection which turns her into a zombie like creature (I guess a demon as the title alludes) who of course embarks on a murderous rampage and the movie goers are soon exposed to a real life horror movie in which they are part of the proceedings. As usual I won't spoil the plot beyond this point, but what follows is a epic gorefest contained within the cinema

Whilst I won't say its a classic by any means its definitely a worth watch and great fun!

For more great horror movie reviews and other stuff be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com on a regular basis!

XTRO (1982)

This one film that I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on, considered a cult classic I was excited to finally get my hands on a VHS copy of this bad boy! This one sits half way between sci-fi and horror and would probably appeal to both crowds.


The plot focuses in on a young boy, Tony whose dad is abducted by aliens. He's struggling to deal with it obviously and longs for the return of this dad. Meanwhile a strange alien creature is lurking in the country side attacking innocent humans and on the second occasion impregnating them with its alien embryo.

The title "Xtro" to me suggests the film was meant to cash in on the wave of publicity and interest in sci-fi garnered by Stephen Spielberg's film ET. This one however is not family viewing and more aimed at the seasoned horror fan. The gore factor is pretty high, and quite impactful especially the scene where the woman who was raped by the alien gives birth to a full sized version of Tony's missing dad!

Tony's dad is not the same as he was however this becomes apparent in a gruesome chain of events that I won't spoil for you. Regardless, it's good squeamish fun!

The film itself is quite watchable and would definitely be considered a cult classic in my books. It apparently got canned by critics at the time, but this time I'm going to have to disagree and say I think its a B Grade classic. It's well shot and keeps the viewer interested the whole way through the film. Being an English production the pommie accents dominate the film and old school 'moog' type synthesizer sounds really ad a creepy atmosphere to the proceedings.

for more great horror movie reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com on a regular basis!

ELVIRAS HAUNTED HILLS (2001)

Now this is a refreshing change, a horror/comdey that's actually funny.... While I doubt anything in this movie would scare anyone reading this blog this is a genuinely funny watch. Elvira (most famous for her movie compare's in the 80s) stars as herself in the 1800's as a struggling performer making her way from from Carpathia to Paris (with no money) where she is to perform as part of some review.


Elvira and her assistant are picked up by a business man who is making his way to Romania and the Elvira spends the night in a castle owned by the business associate he's supposed to meet, where it is discovered she bares a striking resemblance to the Owner's (Lord Hellsebus) deceased wife Ellura

The plot thickens as basically everyone in the household seems to loose their minds over the Ellura connection... A mystery which Elvira comically gets to the bottom of in her own unique way.

Whilst in the castle Elvira gets up to her usual hijinks an of course looks stunning in her black and rather asset revealing trademark dress. The cheesy jokes, black humor, some musical numbers and innuendo we all love are here, though not as obvious as in the first film. It's nothing to be taken too seriously and is probably best enjoyed with a light heart... leave your brain at the door and have a good laugh!. I found this one to be immensely fun, though I will say I liked Elvira's first movie better.

For more great movie reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com of a regular basis

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (a horror classic in its own right) was loosely based on a true story of a series of Texas killings and based on the life of Ed Gein. Not sure how accurate the retelling of said story was but in this the sequel, from my understanding it took a LOT of liberties with the truth but the plot departs further into a more twisted tale of mass killings, taking place 13 years after the still unsolved murders portrayed in the original film.

This is a higher budget, and much gorier continuation of the story, focusing on not only on Leatherface but the rest of his family. I guess the family that plays together ,  stays together.

Having said that, if you can suspend some disbelief in the plot and timeline (like how did the family get so much money/time to create the entire underground section of the farm between the times of part 1 and this movie...)  this is a great watch and captivating from start to finish. The twisted depravity of Leatherface's family is captured perfectly... has a very similar feel in parts to Rob Zombie movies like "House of 1000 corpses" perhaps this was an influence on a young mr. Zombie? Who knows?

for more great reviews and other stuff check out http://www.gorenography.com

BASKET CASE (1982)

Well, this is certainly a strange little film. Somehow I'd managed to live my entire adult life (I've hit middle age now) without having seen this film. Originally released in 1982 I gather it didn't do anything special at the box office but was one of the first ever horror films released on the then revolutionary format of VHS. I guess being one of the only horror films at the time to get a home video release it got an artificial boost of sorts and became a bit of a cult classic from there.

I actually quite like this film, I don't know yet if it will become an all time classic of mine but I'll definitely go back and rewatch this film to see what it holds a 2nd time around.

The plot focus' in on young Dwayne Bradley who has just moved to the big city with his little brother, Belial (who inhabits a basket) in some shithole flat in New York. Dwayne is relatively normal whilst his brother is his conjoined twin who is unfortunately the looser in the genetic sweepstakes  of life and seperated from Dwayne at birth, and subsequently discarded like a sack of genetic waste (which he pretty much was). As it turns out, Belial doesn't die and manages to survive with the help of his conjoined twin ad live in a basket with Dwayne

Basket Case uses a then revolutionary technique knows as stop motion animation (also employed in Evil Dead) and while it may or may not hold up now it was state of the art at the time. Back to the plot of the film, Dwayne starts to meet ladies and socialise in New York whilst Belial is resigned to life in a basket and obviously cracks the shits as a result and starts a murderous rampage.

I have to say I really enjoyed this film, and it kept my interest throughout the whole affair. Whilst there are some cheesy bits its overall pretty cool and there's some decent amount of horror and gore, I'd recommend it to any horror fan to at least watch once. It does have a certain charm which is hard to put your finger on but still retains a certain 'campness' that many B grade films are known for.

All  I can say is give it a watch and it will be a couple of hours well spent

For more great horror movie reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com on a regular basis!


Anyway the film is up on You Tube so you an stream it from here!

FRIDAY 13th PT 3 (1982)

Well with yet another Friday 13th upon us why not re-visit one of the greatest horror franchises of all time, this time its the third part in the series that goes under the postmortem examination.

This installments starts of with a handy re-cap of the events of the last film (which was great because its been a while since I've indulged in watching them) and then kicks off in the immediate wake of Jason's killing spree in part 2 with the body count starting to rise from the start with Jason still on the loose and adding to his grizzly death tally.

As luck would have it a brand new gang of teenagers come to visit Crystal Lake and take up residence in an old farmhouse, the usual suspects in terms of characters feature in this one with the horny couple, the jokester, the spanish chick, a jock, a couple of pot heads and of course a previous survivor of Jason's killing spree and soon after a couple of random bikers who hassle a couple of the teens.

After the run in with the teens the bikers co-incidently stop in at the farmhouse the teenagers have rented and unbeknownst to them that Jason has also taken up refuge in and of course this is where the mayhem and the killings starts again.

Probably the most important thing about this film is while at this farmhouse Jason finds his trademark hockey mask, which later set up what  the iconic imagery  by which the whole franchise would be known.

Over all im going to say I don't find anything particularly ground breaking or brilliant in this film but its a cool watch and keeps the franchise going nicely, I didn't find the violence as realistic as the first two films, some of it rather cartoonish actually.....  but my opinions aside, it did rather well at the box office for its time as well with a very healthy $36 million dollar pull in at cinema's making it the pretty darn huge for that year!

Check out our review of Friday 13th part 1
and Friday 13th part 2

FRIDAY 13th PART 2 (1981)

It's Friday the 13th here in Australia, so what better way to celebrate the occasion by watching a Friday the 13th movie? Friday the 13th (along with Halloween) set the standard for all slasher flicks  to follow ... So how does part 2 stack up? To be honest I can't really remember, it was so long since I've seen this one, but it was great to pull out the box set and relive the follow up that I watched so long ago.

If you haven't seen the original I strongly recommend you do so as it is a classic but not necessary to enjoy this film in my opinion. Either way whatever you decide to do It's pretty easy to follow this film (though this following review could ruin the plot for you if you're one of the few horror fiends on the planet that still haven't seen it.)

Part 2 opens up with a dream sequence recap of the first movie through the mind of the lone surviving teenager, Alice (which makes it easy for newcomers to follow the plot) who is obviously messed up from the whole affair and 5 years after the event is still having nightmares regarding Mrs. Vorhees and the boy in the lake which she's sure she's seen. Meanwhile, camp Crystal Lake has reopened for a new bunch of teenagers to experience the joys of the great outdoors.

Whilst obviously Mrs. Voorhees had been decapitated in the first film it turns out the body of her supposedly drowned son had never been found, or confirmed dead. Somehow he'd been surviving in the woods on his own (no mean feat for a mentally disabled lad... not really what I'd call a plot hole, but the only hard to swallow aspect in an otherwise quite reasonable plot sequence) and wants revenge for the death of his mother and begins to take it out on the camp inhabitants one by one starting with the death of the old crazy dude from the first film

Whilst the first film was an all time classic this is a more than worthy follow up and definitely worth watching as it is really here that the legend of Jason Vorhees really starts to develop. Overall it's not really that much of a thinker, but more of a genuine slasher film which can be enjoyed on your own or with friends but either way its great fun and a cool watch!

For more great horror movie reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com

RAZORBACK (1984)

Well this was an interesting find... I inherited a whole bunch of VHS tapes from a friend and while I had throw most of them out there were some gems in there, this one being one of them.

I never managed to catch Razorback before so it was with bated breath that I loaded this one into my 'state of the art' 6 head Hifi VCR and prepared to absorb the movie in all its grainy VHS glory.

Once one's eyes adjust to the analogue / grainy-ness of said tapes, this was a pretty cool watch. It's shot in the Australian outback and I have to say is a fairly entertaining watch. It kind of reminds me of the "Dingo Ate My Baby" case of the 80's revolving around Azaria Chamberlain (not sure if it was loosely based on that story or not) but in this story revolving around a strange mutant breed of pig/boar that is twice the size and killing power of a normal pig that dragged an infant off to be eaten in a grizzly death. The case goes to court and the grandparent that is supposed to have been looking after the child is aquitted, but no-body is sure of the existence of said razorback

a couple of years later an American journalist is on a mission to the Australian outback seeking to create a news story on suspected animal cruelty, carried out by Australian farmers (hunters) and said grandparent who has now become a full time razorback hunter and gets a whole lot more than she bargains for withe the Australian outback folk and the mutant pig..... Over all thats about all I can say about the plot without ruining it, but it does have enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and moving at a steady pace

Overall a pretty cool watch and a great one for those who like Australian Horror, not that we have a lot of it here, but its nice to see the ones that do get produced. Its by no means a master piece but will appeal to fans of the movies Jaws, Cujo, the hills have eyes (for the creepy/rapey Australian outback folk)  etc.... but obviously done on a smaller budget.

I thought it was a decent watch and had a fun watching it, the horror effects are all practical as this was before the time of CGI, not a huge reliance on gore but a gritty watch none the less....... Its also a great chance to check out the Australian outback on film and marvel at Aussie slang and marvel our strange accents and euphamisms

For more horror movie news and reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.comon a regular basis

SHOCKER (1989)

Directed in 1989 you know anything with Wes Craven as director is going to be a pretty solid film. Shocker is no exception. Violent killer Horace Pinker has been terrorising the town for a while now and nobody can get a lead on who he is, except high school football player Jonathon who after a series of on field head blows develops an ability (maybe a psychic dream connection) to meet the killer in his dreams and see the brutal crimes for himself.... witnessing the brutal murder of his own family. Jonathon's dream connection to the serial killer allows him to lead the police to Horace and have him captured (in spectacularly violent fashion) and eventually put to the chair.

The main problems is that true evil like Horace doesn't die, and after a black magic ritual conducted in his cell before his execution, neither does Horace's spirit, as a result ...after his physical body is executed Horace's spirit continues inflicting his atrocities in a more supernatural fashion, possessing the bodies of still living to hunt down Jonathon. There's a little more to the plot than that but I'll leave a few surprises for the viewer..... Overall its a really cool flick and the attention to detail is pretty good, especially the way that the hosts infected by Horace have the same gimpy leg that Horace does.

It has a similar feel to another Wes Craven movie, "A Nightmare on Elm St" in many regards and I'd say it would appeal to a similar crowd.  The movie has a deliciously 80's hard rock / heavy metal soundtrack featuring Megadeth, Iggy Pop, and "The dudes of Wrath" featuring hard rock icons Tommy Lee, Paul Stanley, Rudy Szarzo and Vivian Campbell which provided a huge bonus for an old metal head like myself!



For more great movies and reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com

MANIAC COP (1988)

Sitting somewhere between action and horror this slice of B grade action is not a bad little watch. A large rogue cop is running around killing random citizens on the streets and basically nobody can figure out who it is.

Starring Bruce Campbell as Jack, a police officer whose marriage is on the rocks, and his wife busts him in bed with another woman and then shows up dead as well... and of course Jack gets nicked for the murders, (to be fair the circumstances did point to him) until of course the killer keeps killing.

On first contact with the killer it appears that the killer maybe something more than human after withstanding a police gunfire attack. Further research points towards a violent ex police officer named "Cordell" who was previously assumed dead, after he was thrown into prison.

Style wise its another 80's action flick and obviously shot on a budget but its pretty well done and keeps the viewer interested while not an all time classic its pretty solid watch and has become something of a cult classic amongst the B grade set


Heres a copy of the film on youtube, it looks to be ripped straight from VHS too for that authentic feel!

For more great movies and reviews check out http://www.gorenography.com

TRICK OR TREAT (1986)

More 80's Cheesiness here, with Trick or Treat. For those old enough to remember, Heavy Metal was a dirty word in the 1980's with Tipper Gore (wife of future politician Al Gore) leading a movement called the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Centre) which condemned rock n roll and heavy metal as tools of the devil and even tried to get many heavy metal bands banned or censored, claiming some bands had backmasked messages in their songs which would subliminally influence the youth of America.

This movie is based loosely on that controversy in a tongue in cheek fashion using the idea that heavy metal can summon the dead. It follows the trials and tribulations of Eddie, a young metal fan who is getting mercilessly bullied at school. His Idol, and heavy metal legend Sammi Curr (who co-incidently went to the same high school many years earlier) dies and Eddie manages to summon his spirit when inadvertantly playing Sammi's last unreleased recording backwards. The returned Sammi Curr then wreaks his revenge on unsuspecting victims and of course it's then up to Eddie to try and stop his Idol Sammi.

This movie is quite watchable if you like 80's Shlock, and 80's heavy metal (which I do),  but I'm not sure how others would take it. Honestly, there are a couple of cool little cameos including Gene Simmons (KISS) and of course Ozzy Osbourne perfectly cast as a concerned preacher looking out for the youth of the day, but  if you don't like 80's heavy metal this will probably bore the shit out of you. The 80's was a special time full of awesome denim and big hair that now looks so cringe worthy its almost worth watching the film for the fashion horrors alone ... which many of us lived!

For more great horror movie reviews check out http://www.gorenography.com

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

One of the greatest horror movies of all time, without question. And the film responsible for introducing a whole generation (of then)  teenagers to discover the simple joys of the slasher flick. And paving the way for many horror franchises to come.

Set in the present time (of 1980 ish) a group of hormone filled teenagers volunteer to work at a summer camp in a newly re-opened Camp Crystal Lake. Upon arrival to the nearest town the teenagers are warned of a mysterious drowing death in 1958 and a couple of violent killings that took place at the camp the following year in 1958. The camp was shut down soon after and the murders never solved, only to be re oponed again 20 odd years later under new management.

In true horror movie style nobody heeds the warning of the locals and one by one the the teenagers start getting killed.

Most of you will have probably seen this movie but for the few people on the planet who haven't yet had the pleasure (or are lucky enough to be too young to have seen it)  I won't spoil the plot beyond that. Needless to say there are some excellent plot twists which makes the movie quite unique for its time, perhaps reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" in some ways.  I will say however that this film is well written and beautifully shot.I have it on DVD so I'm not sure if my version has been remastered but its a great watch and holds up well to this day, the actual horror while not considered over the top by todays standards, I think would have been considered pretty confronting for the time (aside from the more extreme films like Dawn of the Dead and the wave of Italian horror/cannibal flicks surfaced around the same time) as the death scenes do look fairly realistic.

Anyway for me this film is considered to be an all time classic and still receives a regular rotation on my DVD player once every couple of years at least. More than worth anyone's time to check it if you haven't seen it or a good one revisit if you haven't seen it in a while.

I couldn't find a full version of the movie on you tube (which is fair enough as the movie still probably sells well) but it shouldn't be too hard to buy and its worth it or if you can find the 8 disc box set and get the first 8 films its a box set worth having, or hunt it down at any second hand haunts you may have I'm sure you'll find it somewhere

Also be sure to check out our reviews of:

FRIDAY 13TH part 2
FRIDAY 13TH PART 3
FRIDAY 14TH PART 4
JASON X
FRIDAY 13th (2009 remake)

for more great movie reviews and recommendations be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com regularly!

HERBERT WEST RE ANIMATOR (1985)

I'm a great fan of the works of HP Lovecraft, so I try to watch as many of the adaptations of his works on  film as I can get a hold of, some them translate well onto film and others, sadly do not.

This one is very cool I have to say, I think as far as the time goes it does translate quite well onto the screen. It follows the trials and tribulations of one Herbert West, who is trying to unlock the building blocks of life itself with the hope of returning life to the dead.

Herbert West is creepy, sullen, introverted character played quite convincingly by Jeffrey Combs who studies at the Miskatonic University (HP Lovecraft fans will recognize the name) and develops a serum that once injected can bring the dead back to life. Said serum is then tested on a cat and succeeds in bringing the cat back. His first success becomes an obesseion as West and his Housemate Dan report the findings to the University and are subsquently removed from the university program. West then takes the bold step from animal to human and tests it on a corpse bringing the corpse back to a zombie-like state of life, an of course unleashes a whole lot more trouble than he bargained for.

The film is slated as a horror comedy, I don't see much humour in it, well maybe some black humour. Some pretty gruesome gore scenes and some that come off a little dated, but overall it is a well done horror flick in that glorious 80's style of horror, genuinely captivating and a great watch, true to the dark styles of HP Lovecraft.... definitely an all time fave of mine!

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SLAUGHTER HIGH (1986)

Another one taken from the deepest darkest depths of the 80's... I do remember seeing this one sitting on the shelves of the local video rental store as a young horror fan but never got around to seeing it.

Once again thanks to the magic of youtube we can relive this long forgotten horror classic in all its grainy,blurry, VHS glory. I have to admit I wasn't holding out for a classic when I started this one up but sometimes you get a pleasant surprise when you're not expecting too much of anything, and this was definatley one of those times.

This follows the exploits of a group of popular kids who tormented the school nerd Marty to breaking point.  Years later the kids re-unite as adults for their high school reunion ... only its not as it seems and the popular kids of course, get picked off one by one by a now deranged Marty who has been unsuccessfully coping the effects of high school bullying in the years that have elapsed.

Again without giving away too much of the plot this is actually a quite well written and executed little gem. Some very inventive and novel killings and cool plot twists keep this a captivating and enthralling watch once you can get past the real horror of the 1980's ladies fashion on display. Some of the horror effects do come across as a little dated but all in all, I hope this does one day get a re-issue on DVD or blue ray ... maybe even a remastering. A much better movie than some of the crap out there and it would be a shame to see this fade into obscurity. Overall its no classic but still a worthy watch.

check it out for yourself!

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HOUSE (1986)

One of the cooler things about writing this blog is that I get to revisit movies that I saw in my adolescence and view them again them as a fully grown adult heading straight into middle age. Again this is one of those movies that I had seen but could barely remember, so it was great to refresh the old grey matter and give it another go.

It follows the story of a writer, Cobb (suffering writers block) that moves into his Aunty's house after she is found hanging in the attic. Mr. Cobb has a special attachment to the house having grown up there after the death of his mother he was raised in the house by said Aunty. It was also the scene of the dissappearance of his child and resulting breakdown in marriage. His Aunty always maintained the house was haunted, but was of course written off as a demented old bat. Of course bit by bit Cobb realizes that the old lady might have been right.

Over all a great film, well executed and the acting is great. It maintains the viewers interest from start to finish, no major plot holes either. There is some level of gore in the film but it is far from over the top meaning again it is probably cool to watch with children (say 12 yrs and up) depending on how easily scared they are. The horror effects still hold up reasonably well in my opinion but are never over the top or cheesy. The same cannot be said for the gloriously 80's fashion sense on display :) Overall a pretty cool film and defs worth a watch!

For your viewing pleasure:

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