Mansion of the Doomed (1976)

The movie opens with a desperate man on a mission. His name is Dr. Leonard Chaney, and he is an eye specialist. This is ironic as due to an accident his lovely daughter Nancy is now blind. Partially out of love but more so out of guilt (he was driving the car) he is determined to restore her sight. But how can he accomplish that? He decides the only way is to transplant the entire eyeball from a living donor! I bet you can see where this is going.

The first donor/victim is Dr. Bryan who is not only a colleague of Dr. Chaney but was also his daughter’s boyfriend/significant other. It is hinted at that he has left her after she lost her sight, so Chaney seems to think it is a good place to start. Amazingly enough she can see again, but it only lasts for a couple of weeks and her father is back starting all over again. By that I mean he keeps going out and finding victims so he can knock them out and remove their eyes. Though it seems futile because none of the other surgeries even temporarily restore her vision. But being a doctor, he won’t just kill the donors so soon he has a cage full of them in his basement. This leads to an attempted escape, his nurse being murdered by an angry victim, and eventually them being released to get their bloody revenge. Sounds like a good time, no?

I enjoyed the heck out of this movie. I was a bit worried when the credits started off with “A Charles Band” production but this was back when he cared and was trying to make a good movie. The voice over from Dr. Bryan lets us know what he is thinking and sets his desperation up to heal Nancy right away. That then leads to him slowly becoming more and more monstrous as he keeps pushing. In his own mind we see him try to justify the blinding of his Guinea pigs with the “I’ll fix them once I have this perfected” only to conveniently forget that would mean blinding someone else. This total lack of logic as well as the performance from Veteran actor Richard Basehart sells the character and the story.

Speaking of actors selling the story we get a very young Lance Henriksen as the first victim and eventual ringleader of the blind Dr. Bryan. He disappears for a long stretch until his eyeless face is revealed in a cool jump scare. Once that happens we see a lot more of the basement and the caged victims interacting with each other. This makes what has happened to them so much worse. The script also takes the time to show different reactions from comatose, to wanting to escape, and finally homicidal rage for what has happened to them. I was shocked that the script has us spend that much time with them. I was expecting an exploitative drive-in movie, and this was far more than that.

We should talk special effects. This movie doesn’t have many kills as again the doctor tries to be humane; I mean other than ripping their eyes out and keeps them alive. When they do die it is tame with an escapee getting hit by a car and the nurse being strangled. Where the movie shines is the makeup used to show the eyeless prisoners as well as some gruesome gags with the surgeries. I was again shocked and surprised to see a familiar name connected with the work. This is a Stan Winston flick! He manages to make the audience squirm on a low budget, and I dug it.

The final thing that I wanted to note was the director. Michael Pataki is more well known as an actor appearing movies like Graduation Day, Halloween 4, The Return of Count Yorga, and my personal favorite Grave of the Vampire. He only has three directorial credits to his name with this being his first. From what I see here he had some talent as a director, and it is a bummer that we didn’t get to see more from him. If you haven’t figured it out yet I’m recommending Mansion of the Doomed. It is a fun, creepy, and at times gross movie that checks all the boxes I want from a drive-in horror flick with the bonus of an excellent script.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama 2 (2022)

Sometimes the only thing I can do is rock and forth and mutter “Why dear God… why do they do this?” Okay that might be overly dramatic but it is how I felt after watching this so called sequel to Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama (the title suddenly makes sense now, right?). In fact, it is more of a remake or rehashing of that flick, which I genuinely love in all of it’s cheesy glory. More on that later.

There are girls getting ready to pledge a sorority. To do so they must put up with all sorts of hazing, until the den mother Auntie Snake puts and end to it. If you are wondering Auntie Snake is the sister of Linnea Quigley’s character Spider from the original. Why is she the den mother when Spider wasn’t one of the sorority girls from the first movie but instead a thief who coincidentally was breaking in the bowling alley? Who cares because there is a shower scene and once again some dumbass fraternity boys are spying on them. Only being in the now they are using a series of cameras to catch them all naked and what not. But then why are they immediately outside the open window other than to be caught like in the first movie? Who cares because they do and then are forced to go to the bowling alley like in the first movie.

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama 2 eventually makes its way to the bowling alley after thirty minutes of runtime. Did I mention that the movie is only sixty two minutes long? So half the movie is them dicking around at the sorority house doing nothing and going nowhere. Cool… not really! It takes another seven minutes of a bowling/flirting montage before they knock the trophy over and the imp gets loose. Credit where credit is due, I did like the way they brought the imp back. Some stupid shit happens and then the movie is mercifully over.

Before I start my review let me get one thing out of the way. This is the argument that I always have with remakes and make no mistake this is in effect a remake. I mean they ignore the original plot and have a character die that didn’t (Snake wasn’t the only survivor movie…) and somehow tie the Snake characters sister into the sorority without any explanation. Since it is a remake then I fell completely justified comparing this to the original and making judgements based on the two side by side. I also don’t accept the idea that “because the first one was dumb entertainment” that I should automatically accept that this one can be terrible, and I should like it. I’ll explain more about that below.

This movie doesn’t need to exist, and I certainly didn’t need to waste an hour on it. My biggest issue is that it is clear that zero effort was put into making this sequel. I’ll admit that the original isn’t exactly a classic or an example of top notch filmmaking. But the overall attitude and the fact that everyone involved in front of as well as behind the camera is giving it their best effort comes across. The actresses, real scream queens Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, and Michelle Bauer could act as well as take off their clothes. Director David DeCoteau keeps the action moving along and never lets the audience think too much about how silly the proceedings are. I haven’t even mentioned the funny dialogue and wisecracking imp. Finally, the special effects while on a budget are fun.

How does this compare to this one? The actresses were clearly picked for their willingness to disrobe on camera and not for their ability to deliver lines. That might be due to the lack of quality actresses to pull from here in Cleveland Ohio where this one was shot but still isn’t an excuse. Then again, they aren’t given much to work with as this is an abbreviated, again only sixty two minutes long, cliff notes version of the original. The dialogue at it’s best is recycled from the original with any updates coming off as being written by an aspiring high school drama club original. Brinke Stevens is back as director and the ghost of her character from the first, along with Michelle Bauer's character, but that doesn’t save the movie. In fact, her direction is uninspired. The camera never moves resulting in a very static and boring set of visuals. Say what you want about DeCoteau, but he could shoot a movie, even with no budget.

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama 2 is yet another example of Charles Band making a sequel/remake of one of his recognizable properties without putting any effort into it. He used to care about the silly shit Full Moon cranked out and that is why as a fan I cared. Please do me a favor and skip this soulless cash in on our nostalgia and watch the original instead. That movie is a blast and deserves to be in everyone’s collection. This one shouldn’t have been made or at a minimum been made better.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Doctor Mordrid (1992)

Charles Band’s Full Moon Pictures put out a lot of stuff that I love. Which makes it odd that I think that this might be the first Full Moon movie that I’ve covered for the Horror Dude Blog. Ghoulies was an Empire Pictures (Band’s earlier company) so it probably is. I can guarantee you it won’t be the last.

The new Blu-Ray is a must have

The movie stars genre icon Jeffrey Combs as the titular Doctor Mordrid. He has spent decades living in New York City protecting the Earth from the forces of evil. Primarily Kabal and his army of demons. Even though Kabal is locked up in an extra dimensional prison there is always a chance he could escape. Which he does. How else could there be a movie if he doesn’t? Kabal’s goal is to collect the raw materials needed to cast a spell to free his army, so he can unleash Hell on Earth. Of course, Mordrid is out to stop him.

This should be a much simpler task than it turns out to be. The cops get involved while investigating a murder that Kabal committed to acquire the blood of a young lady (a necessary spell component). The only clue is the strange symbol burned onto her forehead. The detective in charge of the investigation is pointed towards our hero as an expert in all things occult. But as soon as he sees the same symbol on Mordrid’s medallion he arrests him and tossed his keister in jail. Luckily, he makes his escape and the two have a showdown in the museum where Kabal has located his last ingredient for the spell. Cue the stop motion T-Rex and Mastodon fight!

This is a quick movie that clocks in at a tight seventy-four minutes. The pacing is great with every scene moving the story along. The characters are interesting, we get a little exposition on the Mordrid and Kabal story. I did find it odd that this happens so late in the movie, but it does get there before the big finale at the museum. It would have been nice to have a better idea of what was going down earlier. It would also have been nice to get a bit more development of the supporting characters. These are both minor complaints that don’t take away from my overall enjoyment of Doctor Mordrid. 

Stop motion throw down!

I’m a huge fan of Jeffrey Combs, so I’m inclined to like this movie. He can make even the most unwatchable crap fun. When he is given something to work with it is a blast, which is what Doctor Mordrid is. Combs is perfectly cast as the kind-hearted sorcerer waiting to do battle with his nemesis. To be honest the material is silly, but he sells it. Brain Thompson is also great as the villain Kabal. He could have gone over the top but doesn’t. Instead we get a genuinely scary bad guy here that just wants to destroy the world. Is that really too much to ask?

The special effects are surprisingly good. We get some green screen work when they travel to the alternate dimension that is solid. There isn’t much gore as we see one gunshot in a simple effect. The real highlight is the stop motion animation used to bring the skeletal T-Rex and Mastodon to life as our sorcerers use them as proxies in their battle with each other. There is also a small but nifty bit with the demons from Kabal’s army that also appears to be stop motion. Honest to God I love this sort of work so much more than CGI.

Doctor Mordrid is a great movie that I highly recommend. I watched the new Blu-Ray release from Full Moon Pictures. The picture is amazing, and we get a couple special features that makes it worth the purchase price. Go get yourself a copy and watch it right now.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer

Spellcaster (1988)

A bit of a history lesson before we get into the review. When MTV first hit cable television they played music videos. That is why they were called Music Television or MTV for short. I only mention this because the plot of Spellcaster has a cast of characters that are assembled for a weekend at a castle by a music channel. They get to spend it looking for a million-dollar check and hanging out with pop star Cassandra Castle! What they don’t realize is that the owner of the castle is really a demon/devil/sorcerer or something like that who is tempting them so he can take their souls to hell!

Each victim meets a fate catered to their failings as a person. The hunter meets a critter that gets her, the fat guy turns into a pig as he is making a pig of himself, and the sexy tease gets cornered by a demon who I guess teases her… Okay that one was confusing, but you get the idea. It comes down to a brother and sister from Cleveland who with the help of Cassandra fight it out with the big bad, played by Adam Ant. Who lives and who dies? Well that is a sore point for me. More on that later.

I’m a child of the ‘80s so a movie like Spellcaster pushes a lot of buttons for me. First it is a cheesy low budget horror movie from Empire Pictures (aka. Charles Band). It “stars” Adam Ant, who really just shows up for a few seconds at the end but is top billed on the poster and VHS. Also in the movie are William Butler who did a ton of work in the eighties and nineties, including the Night of the Living Dead remake. But what really got my attention was the fact that one of my favorite new wave DJs Richard Blade and the girl from the A-Ha video Bunty Bailey (had a huge crush on her!) are in the cast. Both get lots of screen time which was fun. This thing has nostalgia written all over it. But I don’t think that is the only reason I dig it.

The pacing of the movie is solid. The characters fit into the ‘80s horror archetypes so establishing who they are and where they fit into the story is done quickly. This allows the movie  to jump right into the action. After a couple of cameramen explode things slow down a bit as the characters look for the million-dollar check and our rocker Cassandra meets up with some zombies in the basement! The kills are evenly spaced out and include furniture coming alive, a demon popping off of a tapestry, some dog monster getting the great huntress, and my personal favorite the fat guy turning into a pig! The special effects work is excellent which isn’t surprising since John Carl Buechler, of Ghoulies fame, is responsible for them.

Richard Blade and Bunty Bailey!

This movie also has one of the best lines ever! Remember the brother and sister are from Cleveland. When he introduces himself to Cassandra the conversation goes like this.

“We are the winners from Cleveland.”

“No such thing kid.”

That is some funny stuff! Really the only downside is the ending. This is the sore point that I mentioned earlier. The movie is a big tease. The brother and sister are able to save themselves and when they do it hits the “reset” button. Everything rewinds, and all the characters live happily ever after. Well I guess except for the demon guy that missed out on all the souls. I still recommend Spellcaster as a wonderful example of ‘80s direct to video goodness. The fact that it has so many familiar faces and is from Charles Band’s Empire Pictures is just a bonus. Just wish that the ending was better.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer