Lory R's Reviews

Lions Gate should be ashamed. The quality on this one is about on the level of an average Alpha release, poor. In fact, it's clear that they used a 16mm "dupe" as their master. You expect that from low end public domain distributors like Alpha, Passion Productions, ect. but not from a major company like Lions Gate. What a let down.
Review Date: 1/21/2015

Overall picture quality is good for a public domain release but be aware it's not a true widescreen version of the film. All Synapse Films did was crop a full screen edition. You could get the same effect by just zooming in on any full screen edition.
Review Date: 12/28/2011

World's greatest horror film? Absolutely not. Worst slasher movie ever? Far from it. What Blood Reaper really is, is a tribute to the slasher films of the 70's. Shot in 11 days, just outside of Yosemite National Park (and the SF Bay Area) on an extremely low budget that included casting Brinke Stevens in a small but important role.

If you're looking for a big budget, Hollywood production with CGI effects, this is not the movie for you. But true fans of no budget, 70's slasher films (with dark humor) should enjoy what we were able to complete. I say we, because I not only co-starred with Brinke, I also directed it.

Yea, I'm a little bias.

Lory-Michael Ringuette
Review Date: 10/21/2024

Under-rated tribute to the films of the Marx Bros. If you're a fan of Harpo, Chico, & Groucho, you probably enjoy this one. Interesting note: Original working title was "A Day At The Ballet".
Review Date: 4/30/2024

Nobody seems to have noticed that this Shout release of the PBS concert is missing 2 important groups that were included in the original broadcast. They are Chad & Jeremy (one song) and Herman's Hermits (3 songs). Problems with the songs rights? Hard to tell since the release makes no mention of the missing songs or why they are not there. The original My Music edition of this PBS concert that was given to members for their donations does include these 4 performances.

To make up for the 4 missing songs Shout has included 12 additional performances not included in the PBS broadcast. This includes a song by Billy J. Kramer who was not seen on the original broadcast.

So to get a complete edition of this historic event, you will need to get both releases of it. I gave it only 2.5 stars because of the missing artists.


Review Date: 1/11/2020

Before going into details about this movie, I need to state that Bob Clark is one of the most underrated American directors. How many people could honestly say they've created both a true family classic as well as a horror classic? Not many but Bob Clark did. His "A Christmas Story" will be enjoyed for years to come, alongside of "It's A Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol" and other holiday classics. And "Black Christmas" is a true cult horror favorite.

Now having shared that, I have to say this was not his best work. But what it is, is the first film he directed and on a shoestring of a budget. Yes, the acting is hammy as can be and the make-up is not up to today's higher standard but it's still creepy as hell. It's also the first flesh eating zombie rip-off after "Night Of The Living Dead"s big success. I remember the cast coming on Creature Features promoting it as better than "Night of......." because they shot it in color. It's true that this was the first modern day Zombie movie shot in color. That didn't make it better but it did make it a lot more graphic & gory zombie film than any other shot before that time. So in it's own way, it was a first.

The VCI release is the most complete there is available
Review Date: 3/5/2023

First of all, the review below is about another edition, not the Front Row release. The Front Row release is a widescreen edition.

If you're a Bruce Lee fan and don't mind having a badly dubbed version (no sub-titles) then you'll be happy with this one.
Review Date: 6/6/2012

What a great Grindhouse, exploitation double bill! First off, there's "Cut-Throats Nine" which looks like a spaghetti western that was doctored by Hershell Gordon Lewis. Probably the only western gore film ever made. The 35mm print used to master the DVD is in generally good condition with noticable wear at the reel changes. Probably the best print that still exists.

Then there's "Joshua", written & starring Fred Williamson a man seeking revenge on a group of outlaws who killed his mother. Fred clearly wrote the screenplay, so his character encounters several sexy ladies along the way. They also cast many of the roles with community playhouse level actors who probably were never in another film. The awful repetitive musical score will have you climbing the walls if you don't tune it out. True grindhouse material.

Also included are 4 exploitation trailers including one for "Cut-Throats Nine".

A must have for fans of drive-in movies.
Review Date: 9/27/2022

Edward Arnold is very effective as a blind detective who's partner is a dog named Friday. The talented cast includes Donna Reed, Mantan Moreland, Allen Jenkins, Reginald Denny, and a young Barry Nelson. The usual plot of murder & espionage is handled well and keeps your interest from start to finish. I understand MGM followed up with a second detective Duncan Maclain feature. Would love to see it as well.

Seems the only two companies who have put this out on DVD so far are Alpha & Mill Creek (as a part of one of their multi-movie packs. The Alpha release looks like they used a better looking (then most of their other DVDs) VHS tape as a master and is very watchable. I haven't seen the Mill Creek version but they are not known for doing a good job. It would be great if MGM decided to find their masters for both of the films and give them the release they deserve. Until then I think the Alpha release is the way to go.
Review Date: 5/20/2016

This is not so much a review as it is listing what 4 features are included in this set. Included are:
1. "Let The Children Say Amen" 87min. directed by David Petersen
2. "Any Town USA" 90min. directed by Kristian Fraga
3. "Pirate For The Sea: The Whale Warrior" 100min. directed by Ron Colby
4. "OT: Our Town" 75 min. directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Hope this helps.
Review Date: 5/27/2013

Not sure what set the other reviewers saw, but I just got done watching all 5 movies and all but one looked and sounded good to me. Yes, Sudden Fear is a little dark, muddy looking, & has low sound but is still very watchable. Some of the reviews make it sound like they all look like an Alpha or Passion Productions release(They often use VHS tapes as masters). All of these were clearly mastered from film originals.
Review Date: 12/8/2018

This is a review of the Nostalgia Video edition. First of all, It's a DVD-R knock-off of another company's VHS or DVD. They don't even put their name or contact info on the cover art or disc so I can't be sure who really made the one sent to me. Looks like something that someone made at home to sell on ebay.
Review Date: 3/12/2018

In answer to another review, the three movies are: "Harm's Way" "Hack!" and "Baby Blues" (not the Japanese movie). All 3 are decent unknown horror films.
Review Date: 12/19/2019

Gave two stars because I've seen worse but I've also seen much better transfers then the 5 movies included in this set. Not going to review the acting, storylines, ect. Will leave that to others. What I am going to expose is that the other reviewers seem to be sight impaired. All 5 are second-rated dupes mastered off of other distributor's copies. Will not be requesting any more Pop Flix releases any time soon.
Review Date: 7/22/2014

Character actor, Marvin Miller (Hogan's Heroes) must have really been hard-up for work when he agreed to do this movie. He has one unintentionally hysterical scene as an evil sheik with a hungry lion (Don't want to give any more away).

This one really is so bad it's good. First of all, it's a rip-off of another (better) no-budget feature "The Doll Squad" directed by Ted V. Mikels. Secondly, there are so many shots with the microphone in it that you'll find yourself making a game out of spotting them. And third, the dialog and acting is so stilted & wooden you'll have a hard time believing they were being serious.

Have you ever seen a dozen Las Vegas show girls in a tub together? If not, you need to see this movie. In fact, you'll see them in the tub a bunch of times.

Sadly, the quality of the viedo copy it was mastered from is less then perfect. Clearly it was originally shot on film but this DVD was copied off a tape of the film. It's watchable though.
Review Date: 1/4/2014

Decter Arkoff's Mondo Movie Review:

This Something Weird Video release features 2 "Adults only" movies from the 50's plus several strip tease featurettes. All would be considered "R" rated by today's standards. Both features are basically examples of what you would have seen at a Burlesque show in the 40's and early 50's. Made up mostly of one after the other, girls dancing around looking like they will expose more than they ever do. What makes these movies worth watching is not the endless parade of women spinning around. It also captures the roots of comedy routines like "Who's On First?". The Burlesque stage was the training ground of up-and-coming comedy teams like Abbott & Costello. All of the comedians in these movies are now long forgotten (for good reason) but are fun to watch as they attempt to entertain in-between the stripers.

The quality of 16mm film to video transfers are not bad considering the rarity of such movies. Unlike films that were shown on TV or made for rental libraries, only a few prints were ever struck of adult road show movies and they saw a lot of use.
Review Date: 9/11/2023

This Blu-Ray/DVD edition (white cover) from Xenon/Vinegar Syndrome is the uncut 96 min. version and the one to get. The earlier release from Xenon was the badly cut 85 min. version. There's also an earlier Vinegar Syndrome release that is complete and the same as this one.

One of the worst Blaxploitation films ever made, but that's what makes it so much fun to watch. It's right up there with Plan 9. A must have for Phycotronic fans.
Review Date: 1/22/2023

Two bad movies for the price of one. Chamber of Fear looks like something Ed Wood would have made if he had worked in Mexico. Island Monster has no monster at all. These two films are strictly for Karloff completists.

Since another review has already covered the storylines, I'll just talk about the DVD quality. First, Island Monster was clearly mastered from a 16mm film print. So, it's not super sharp but both sound & picture are not bad. Chamber of Fear is another story. They clearly used a first-generation VHS tape to master the DVD. It's so blurry in the dark scenes, you'll have no idea what's going on. What's even worse is Retro-Media released this one totally out of sync. I'm not talking about the bad dubbing. I mean the audio is clearly slightly ahead of the video, all the way through. I guess this is the best you can find, for now.
Review Date: 9/28/2024

Since others have already gone over the merits of the film itself and the importance of his story, I'll just review the quality of the DVD release. There are several distributors that have chosen to release this movie because it has fallen into the public domain. Mill Creek put it on a multi-movie disc with "Kill The Umpire" starring William Bendix. That disc is only worth getting for the Bendix movie. The copy of the Jackie Robinson Story used by Mill Creek is a second rate dupe.
There's only one way to get the best copy and that's the MGM vintage Classics edition. They clearly went from a clean original film print. Even the trailer included looks good. Thank you, MGM.
Review Date: 2/15/2018

What a fantastic, simple way to record a great Power Pop band to save their music for now and the future. No frills, just a fine performance of their old and newer songs. Yes, it's just a live performance by the Knack on a white stage for an hour, not a music video with colorful images or stories. Too bad other bands of the 70's & 80's haven't done this.

There seems to be a misunderstanding about this DVD. Yes, it's clearly a live performance with a background, fill track. Rock bands have been doing this at live performances for many years. You can thank or blame The Moody Blues for inventing this back in the 1960's, so they could afford to play concerts with their full back-up. I attended a Moody Blues concert back then and was shocked by the violins, ect. back-up. Later it became common practice to keep touring costs down. In fact, a band I was part of back in the 80's, called Tommy Tadlock & the Lockettes recorded my bass track ahead of time, so they could play small houses with out me. The clubs just didn't pay that much. So what you get here is a true LIVE PERFORMANCE.
Review Date: 8/12/2013

I have some good and bad news about this collection. First, the good news. The transfer quality is much better than you'd expect on a collection of PRC "B" westerns put out by Echo Bridge. Excellent contrast and overall great film pre-prints were used. I doubt you could ever find better copies of any of the 12 films included.

Now for the bad news. There are 12 movies included in this collection, or are there? Truth is at least 5 on the second disc of the 12 are really re-releases of the same movies that were on the first disc. Seems director/producer Don Armond was the Ed Wood of Poverty Row westerns. "B" westerns were always known for using the same storylines over & over, but he took it even further by literally using earlier films he shot and just adding a couple of days' worth of new footage to slightly change the plot enough to change the titles and call them a new movie. Since he almost always only used his stock players in support of Lash & Fuzzy, it was easy to re-cut them. I found it fun to try and figure out what was old and what was new in the later films.

The only real bad news is the one with the highest production values, "The Dalton's Women" is not complete. It's missing a reel (about 10 min.) from the middle of the movie. There's a very noticeable jump in the story at that point. Also, most of the 12 are the trimmed (54 min) versions made for TV release. That actually probably made them better.

So, I say if you're a fan of Lash LaRue or Fuzzy or campy cheap westerns, this is the set for you.
Review Date: 6/12/2022

Oh my God!! The Echo Bridge colorized version has to be seen to be believed. Why would any distributor do this to an old John Wayne "B" western? There's only one reason, an attempt to make a copyrightable edition of a public domain film.

Here's what they did to it:

1. Colorized it using that old computer method which makes everyone look like they were embalmed.

2. Totally replaced the original score (there wasn't much to replace) with canned music.

3. Added sound effects that sometimes sound like it was shot in a jungle.

4. Re-dub all the voices with dialog that at times doesn't even match the mouths. Not sure if they just over cleaned the track of John Wayne's voice or it was a John Wayne impersonator. Other actors clearly had their voices replaced. Looks like a foreign dubbed film.

The Lawless Frontier is available from many distributors and you can find a decent b&w copy with all the sound as it was originally recorded if you are a true John Wayne fan or get this edition just for a laugh.
Review Date: 8/22/2020

Others have already gone over the merits of Midnight Cop in their reviews, so I'll just share my thoughts on the quality of the actual DVD. When I saw that it was released by BCI, I should have known better then to request it but they seem to be the only distributor putting this title out. The audio is clear enough but the video leaves a lot to be desired. Clearly this was mastered off of an older video tape, probably VHS. It looks like it was projected though a cheese cloth. Very muddy looking and a lot of ghosting in the movements.

There are no special features. Not even a trailer or the usual public domain short, BCI generally sticks on their releases. It's watchable but deserves a much better release
Review Date: 5/12/2020

The movie itself is an average "B" feature with an excellent cast. As usual, Alpha has released a terrible copy of it. I can't believe other reviewers liked the quality. It is clearly mastered from a VHS tape (that was made from a well worn 16mm print). If this is a better quality release from Alpha, they owe a lot of people an apology.
Review Date: 5/19/2012

Wild Women Of Prague is not a Porn DVD. More like rated "R" with women posing half naked. How on earth did it get into the system with that nonsense Headline. Decorative Skin Sticker? Yikes!!
Review Date: 12/5/2021

If you're looking for a young Jet Li, flying from one building to another, this is not for you. But if you're open to seeing another side of Jet Li, this is a great film. If you're not a fan of Jet Li but like movies that explore the love between a man and his son, you'll be a fan after watching this one. Well acted all around.
Review Date: 8/8/2015

Wish I could give this set 5 stars because it's a very funny show but it turns out this is one of the BBC sets that will not play all the shows. All 4 discs in the set I got were defective.
Review Date: 9/17/2024

My review is for the MGM Midnight Movies release only. This is the only copy to buy. They mastered it from 35MM film and it's presented in the original widescreen format. The contrast is good and so is the sound. Since it fell into the public domain, several distributors have put out copies as well. I understand some are even mastered off of an old VHS tape.

I won't go into my feelings about the artistic values of this next-to-no budget 50's epic. I'll let the other reviewers do that.
Review Date: 6/8/2016

I'm writing this review because there seems to be a misunderstanding about this film. It's one of the rare cases where the full frame edition is truer to the original film then the widescreen edition. That's because Joe Dante himself has stated that the film was not shot widescreen. That means they have to cut off some of the top and bottom image to release it in a widescreen edition. The earlier full screen special edition actually is closer to how it was shot and originally shown.
Review Date: 10/3/2017

Beware: One thing that's not mentioned in the description is the fact that these are b&w transfers of a show that was originally in color.
Review Date: 1/14/2022

First, I have to say, "What the ....were they thinking!

This is a "G' rated rip-off of the movie "Halloween". I think they were trying to preach the evils of celebrating Halloween? Typical bad acting you always find in these "Christian" productions. I got the feeling they wanted to use this movie in the same way they used those gross comic books given out to unsuspecting children instead of candy on Halloween. So bad it's good? Not really. More like just bad.

Now let's talk 3D. Most of the film is 2D but there are some true 3D scenes scattered throughout. They actually work pretty well. You get both a side by side edition and a blue/red edition as well as a 2D version. If you have a 3D TV, the side by side edition is the best way to watch it. If you don't, the blue/red works ok.

Here's the strange part. All of the so-called real world shots are in 2D, while the parts with the actors shooting video are in 3D. Shouldn't it be just the opposite? Duh!
Review Date: 7/20/2023

Much better that you'd expect. A comedy that makes fun of many different types of horror films. This is kind of like one of the "Scary Movie" series but without all the known "B" actors. In fact, there's only one cameo appearance of a person you might know with the rest of the cast being total unknowns. I won't say who the surprise guest star is but it's a good one that true horror fans will appreciate.

Most of the humor is pretty silly but I did find myself laughing out loud throughout. I should point out that this is also one of the goriest films I've seen lately. All the effects are 80's old school, which only adds to the humor. Nice to see a recent feature without all the CGI crap.
Review Date: 5/21/2022

This one ends where most Zombie movies begin. So many zombie flicks immediately start out with zombies coming out of nowhere without any explanation of how or where they came from. "The Scientist" is the prequal to all those films. The acting and story are fine but the pacing is painfully slow at times. If you like zombie films, this one is worth checking out but only a die hard would add it to their collection.
Review Date: 6/4/2022

First of all, these are probably two of the worst Slasher films made in the 80's. Each is bad in their own way.

"Terror At Tenkiller" is slow and I mean sloooow. To me, the biggest problem is the afternoon teen special music score that makes it drag even more. Some good scary music would have helped the pacing. The killer is revealed less then halfway in so there's no real suspense. Another reviewer is mistaken about this being shot on video. It's clearly shot and edited on film (probably 16mm) then transferred to a video (1 inch?) master. The DVD was mastered from the video, not the film original. This is why there are a couple video clitches.

"The Last Slumber Party" is a different story. This one is just a very bad rip-off of late 70's slasher films. The acting is wooden, the camera work is sloppy, and the crazy doctor had me laughing out loud. As another reviewer stated "You have to see it to believe it". Slumber Party was also shot on film. The difference here is they transferred the camera original or work print (looks like it's more likely a one light work print) to video and then edited the video transfer, common practice in the 80's to keep costs down if they were making it for cable or direct-to-video (VHS) sales. VHS distributors wanted movies shot on film and this is the way producers did it if they had no real budget to work with. Last Slumber Party is the reason to get the DVD and why I give it 3 stars. Unintentionally funny.
Review Date: 9/21/2017

A great collection of silent shorts but this is one of those sets with discs that will freeze and not play all the shorts. While I can't say they are all defective, I can say I've gotten 2 sets and both had the same problems.
Review Date: 9/11/2024

Sunrise Surprise! This is really a silent movie. There's no music or sound effects track added. Decent visually but a dead soundtrack.
Review Date: 8/26/2024

If you like independent, low budget 80's camp horror, you can't go wrong with these two. Both are centered around a TV, one with zombies and the other with aliens coming from it.

Terror Vision is the sillier of the two, played for laughs. In this one an alien uses a TV to create havoc. Of the two, this one has the "Bigger" budget and some known actors.

The Video Dead (1987) was shot on 16mm and blown to 35mm for theatrical release. Director Robert Scott managed to put together a fun new look at zombies. Shot in the SF Bay Area for next to no budget. How do I know all this? This was the first movie I had a credited speaking role in. Over the years it's found a cult following of horror fans. Yes, I'm more then a little bias since I worked 14 days on the movie. I truly am proud of being a part of this production. If you like zombie movies, I think you'll enjoy it.
Review Date: 7/5/2020

While the widescreen release is truly the higher quality edition, this pan & scan copy is 5 minutes longer than the one from Hen's Tooth that is missing scenes.
Review Date: 6/1/2024

The closest anyone has ever come to capturing the humor and feel of a stooges short. There are Stooges haters out there that will put this feature down but if you love Larry, Moe, & Curley (as I do), you'll probably enjoy this tribute to them. Will Sasso really catured Curly. Larry David was perfect in a role (probably would have been played by Monty Collins in an original short) as a nun.
Review Date: 9/28/2013

This is a review is for the original release of this DVD. Be aware that it's one of many classic titles released by Warner Bros that were mastered defectively. I've checked 4 copies so far and all had the same defect, they only play Meet The Baron and will not play The Gold Raiders. Other reviewers seem to have been able to view Gold Raiders on the discs they got, but you should know there's more copies that will not play it then that will.
Review Date: 6/18/2022

One of my favorite newer 3D movies. To fully enjoy this movie you should find one of the rare 3D Blu-rays. Funny with some great 3D effects.
Review Date: 2/16/2024

Please note that this edition is mistakenly listed as sub-titled. It is in fact, the English language edition. No Italian track or sub-titles. Widescreen.
Review Date: 10/25/2017

It's too bad that reviewer who only watched the first half hour didn't give this one a little more time to get going. It starts out looking like it might be another amateur weekend production but actually develops into a truly original take on zombie films. Yes, it's an extremely gory zombie movie but it's also a strong statement about prejudice and spousal abuse. Most of the actors were better then you usually find in a no budget production of this type. The language at times is very crude and might offend some viewers but it also rings true to the characters involved.

If extreme gore or foul language offends you, stay away. If not and you're looking for a truly original take on films about the living dead, give it a chance. It does get better after that first half hour.


Review Date: 11/17/2020

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